LatineEnglish
From the first chapter of Genesis.
Ex capite primo Geneseos.
In principio creavit Deus caelum et terram. Terra autem erat inanis et vacua, et tenebrae erant super faciem abyssi; et Spiritus Domini ferebatur super aquas. Dixitque Deus: Fiat lux. Et facta est lux. Et vidit Deus lucem quod esset bona, et divisit lucem a tenebris. Appellavitque lucem Diem, et tenebras Noctem; factumque est vespere et mane, dies unus.
In the beginning God created heaven and earth. And the earth was void and empty, and darkness was upon the face of the deep; and the Spirit of the Lord moved over the waters. And God said: Let there be light. And there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good; and he divided the light from the darkness. And he called the light Day, and the darkness Night; and there was evening and morning, one day.1
Dixit quoque Deus: Fiat firmamentum in medio aquarum, et dividat aquas ab aquis. Et fecit Deus firmamentum, divisitque aquas quae erant sub firmamento ab his quae erant super firmamentum. Et factum est ita. Vocavitque Deus firmamentum Caelum; et factum est vespere et mane, dies secundus.
God also said: Let there be a firmament made amidst the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. And God made a firmament, and divided the waters that were under the firmament from those that were above the firmament. And it was so. And God called the firmament Heaven; and there was evening and morning, a second day.2
Dixit vero Deus: Congregentur aquae quae sub caelo sunt in locum unum, et appareat arida. Et factum est ita. Et vocavit Deus aridam Terram, congregationesque aquarum appellavit Maria. Et vidit Deus quod esset bonum, et ait: Germinet terra herbam virentem et facientem semen, et lignum pomiferum faciens fructum iuxta genus suum, cuius semen in semetipso sit super terram. Et factum est ita. Et protulit terra herbam virentem et facientem semen iuxta genus suum, lignumque faciens fructum et habens unumquodque sementem secundum speciem suam. Et vidit Deus quod esset bonum. Et factum est vespere et mane, dies tertius.
And God said: Let the waters that are under the heaven be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear. And it was so done. And God called the dry land Earth, and the gatherings of the waters he called Seas. And God saw that it was good, and said: Let the earth bring forth the green herb, both such as may bear seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after its kind, whose seed is in itself upon the earth. And it was so done. And the earth brought forth the green herb, both such as beareth seed according to its kind, and the tree that beareth fruit, having each its own seed according to its species. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening and morning, a third day.3
Dixit autem Deus: Fiant luminaria in firmamento caeli, et dividant diem ac noctem, et sint...
And God said: Let there be lights made in the firmament of heaven, to divide the day and the night, and let them be...4
...sint in signa et tempora et dies et annos, ut luceant in firmamento caeli et illuminent terram. Et factum est ita. Fecitque Deus duo luminaria magna: luminare maius ut praeesset diei, et luminare minus ut praeesset nocti, et stellas. Et posuit eas in firmamento caeli, ut lucerent super terram, et praeessent diei ac nocti, et dividerent lucem ac tenebras. Et vidit Deus quod esset bonum. Et factum est vespere et mane, dies quartus.
...for signs, and for seasons, and for days and years, to shine in the firmament of heaven and to give light upon the earth. And it was so done. And God made two great lights: a greater light to rule the day, and a lesser light to rule the night; and the stars. And he set them in the firmament of heaven, to shine upon the earth, and to rule the day and the night, and to divide the light and the darkness. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening and morning, a fourth day.5
Dixit etiam Deus: Producant aquae reptile animae viventis, et volatile super terram sub firmamento caeli. Creavitque Deus cete grandia, et omnem animam viventem atque motabilem quam produxerant aquae in species suas, et omne volatile secundum genus suum. Et vidit Deus quod esset bonum, benedixitque eis dicens: Crescite et multiplicamini, et replete aquas maris; avesque multiplicentur super terram. Et factum est vespere et mane, dies quintus.
God also said: Let the waters bring forth the creeping creature having life, and the fowl that may fly over the earth under the firmament of heaven. And God created the great whales, and every living and moving creature which the waters brought forth, according to their kinds, and every winged fowl according to its kind. And God saw that it was good, and he blessed them, saying: Increase and multiply, and fill the waters of the sea; and let the birds be multiplied upon the earth. And there was evening and morning, a fifth day.6
Dixit quoque Deus: Producat terra animam viventem in genere suo, iumenta et reptilia et bestias terrae secundum species suas. Factumque est ita. Et fecit Deus bestias terrae iuxta species suas, et iumenta, et omne reptile terrae in genere suo. Viditque Deus cuncta quae fecerat, et erant valde bona. Et factum est vespere et mane, dies sextus.
God also said: Let the earth bring forth the living creature in its kind, cattle and creeping things, and beasts of the earth according to their kinds. And it was so done. And God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds, and cattle, and every thing that creepeth on the earth after its kind. And God saw all the things that he had made, and they were very good. And there was evening and morning, the sixth day.7
Translator’s notes
- Genesis 1:1–5 (Vulgate). The first day. ↩
- Genesis 1:6–8. The second day. ↩
- Genesis 1:9–13. The third day. ↩
- Genesis 1:14a. The fourth day begins; the sentence continues onto printed p. 21. ↩
- Genesis 1:14b–19. The fourth day. ↩
- Genesis 1:20–23. The fifth day. ↩
- Genesis 1:24–25, 31. NOTE: this printed Historia excerpt OMITS the creation of man (Gen 1:26–30); the text jumps from the beasts straight to "And God saw all the things… very good." Reproduced exactly as printed. ↩