The Life of St. Teresa of Jesus, of the Order of Our Lady of CarmelTeresa, of Avila, Saint
Religion
The Life of St. Teresa of Jesus, of the Order of Our Lady of Carmel
Teresa, of Avila, Saint
Avila (Spain) -- Biography; Christian saints -- Spain -- Avila -- Biography; Teresa, of Avila, Saint, 1515-1582
Concerning the English translations of the "Life" noticed by
Mr. Lewis it should be mentioned that the one ascribed to Abraham
Woodhead is only partly his work. Father Bede of St. Simon Stock
(Walter Joseph Travers), a Discalced Carmelite, labouring on the
English Mission from 1660 till 1692, was anxious to complete the
translation of St. Teresa's works into English. He had not
proceeded very far when he learnt that "others were engaged in
the same task. On enquiry he found that a new translation was
contemplated by two graduates of the University of Cambridge,
converts to the Faith, most learned and pious men, who were
leading a solitary life, spending their time and talents in the
composition of controversial and devotional works for the good of
their neighbour and the glory of God." One of these two men was
Woodhead, who, however, was an Oxford man, but the name of the
other, who must have been a Cambridge man, is not known.
They undertook the translation while Father Bede provided the
funds and bore the risks of what was then a dangerous work.
As there existed already two English translations of the "Life,"
the first volume to appear (1669) contained the Book of
Foundations, to which was prefixed the history of the foundation
of St. Joseph's from the "Life." When, therefore, the new
translation of the latter appeared, in 1671, this portion of the
book was omitted. [38] The translation was made direct from the
Spanish but "uniformly with the Italian edition."
Mr. Lewis, whose translation is the fifth, was born on the 12th
of November, 1814, and died on January the 23rd, 1895. The first
edition was printed in 1870, the second in 1888. It is
regrettable that the latter edition, of which the present is a
reprint, omitted the marginal notes which would have been so
helpful to the reader.
St. Teresa's life and character having always been a favourite
study of men and women of various schools of thought, it may be
useful to notice here a few recent English and foreign works on
the subject:--
The Life of Saint Teresa, by the author of "Devotions before and
after Holy Communion" (i.e., Miss Maria Trench), London, 1875.
The Life of Saint Teresa of the Order of Our Lady of Mount
Carmel. Edited with a preface by the Archbishop of Westminster
(Cardinal Manning), London, 1865. (By Miss Elizabeth Lockhart,
afterwards first abbess of the Franciscan convent, Notting Hill.)
Frequently reprinted.
The Life and Letters of St. Teresa, by Henry James Coleridge,
S.J. Quarterly Series. 3 vols (1881, 1887, 1888).
And, from another point of view:
The Life of St. Teresa, by Gabriela Cunninghame-Graham, 2 vols,
London, 1894.
Histoire de Sainte Thérèse d'après les Bollandistes. 2 vols,
Nantes, 1882. Frequently reprinted. The author is
Mlle. Adelaide Lecornu (born 5 July, 1852, died at the Carmelite
convent at Caen, 14 December, 1901. Her name in religion was
Adelaide-Jéronyme-Zoe-Marie du Sacré-Coeur).
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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