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Early Indo-European Texts
Lithuanian
Virginija Vasiliauskiene and Jonathan Slocum
This page contains a text in Lithuanian with a modern English translation. This particular text and its translation are extracted from a lesson in the Early Indo-European Online series, where one may find detailed information about this text (see the Table of Contents page for Baltic Online in EIEOL), and general information about the Lithuanian language and its speakers' culture.
In the Shadow of the Altars, by Vincas Mykolaitis-Putinas
Pirmàsis galimùmas bùvo visái mèsti tã poèzija ir visàs tàs svajonès. Tai butu tinkamiáusias ir paprasciáusias kláusimo sprendìmas. Bèt Vasãris nùjaute, kàd jìs vargù ar pajegs issizadeti tu vilciu, kuriõs ìs dalies ji i seminãrija àtvede. Seminãrijos gyvenimas, tiesà, gerókai jàs apgrióve, taciau tuo paciù metù jisai vìs delto pamãte turis tãlenta. Ir dabar vìsko issizadeti? Nè, tai negãlimas dáiktas.
Antràsis galimùmas siule jám suderinti kurýba sù kùnigisku gyvenimu. Bèt kaip? Lig siõl jám tai nepavyko. Jìs zinójo ir tikejo, kàd Dievas yrà visókios tobulýbes, grõzio ir kilniáusios poèzijos saltìnis. Bèt kodel visì relìginiai, doróviniai, amzinõsios tiesõs, gerio ir grõzio motyvai ji palìkdavo sálta kaip leda, õ kurýbinis lyrinis susijáudinimas vèsdavo i gyvenimo zabángas ir pavojùs?
Õ treciàsis galimùmas tuõ metù jám bùvo dár tìk pradejes aisketi. Jõ paties prãktika róde jám, kàd "kunigãvimas" ir "poetãvimas" yrà dù visái skirtìngi, jéigu nè príesingi, pasaukìmai. Tàd kám juõs butinai jùngti? "Kaip kùnigas, às nè poètas, õ kaip poètas, às nè kùnigas." Stai fòrmule, kurià Liùdas Vasãris savè apgaudinejo ìlga laika. Sìto psichològinio sofìzmo, ivairiomìs atmainomìs gyvenime ganà daznai sutinkamo, jisai nusitvere kaip skestas siaudelio. Sità iliùzija ìlgus metùs laike ji pavirsiuj, jìs "kunigãvo" ir "poetãvo", õ tuõ tárpu kùnigas ir poètas vãre jamè zutbutìne tarpùsavio kõva. Jisai uzfiksãvo daugeli siõs kovõs momentu ir mãne, kàd kùria poèzija. Tuõ tárpu jìs rãse sàvo zuvìmo krònika, vienur kitur pamárginta tikrù kurýbos zíedu - liudnù jõ tãlento liùdininku.
Translation
The first possibility was to completely abandon poetry and all those dreams. That would be the most appropriate and simplest solution to the problem. But Vasaris felt that he could hardly have the strength to give up those hopes, which to some degree had brought him to the seminary. Seminary life, indeed, had practically destroyed them, but at the same time he saw that he had talent nevertheless. And now to give up everything? No, that is an impossible thing.
The second possibility offered him (the chance) to reconcile creativity with the priestly life. But how? Up to this time he had not succeeded. He knew and believed that God is the source of all perfection, beauty and the noblest poetry. But why did all the religious and moral motifs of eternal truth, goodness and beauty leave him as cold as ice, whereas creative lyric emotion led to the traps and dangers of life?
But at that moment the third possibility just began to become clear. His own practice had shown him that being a priest and poeticizing are two completely different, if not opposing vocations. Then why is it necessary to unite them? 'As a priest I am not a poet, and as a poet I am not a priest.' This is the formula with which Liudas Vasaris deceived himself for a long time. Like a drowning man (grasping) for a straw, he grasped for this psychological sophism, rather frequently encountered in various guises in life. For long years this illusion kept him afloat; he acted as a priest and acted as a poet, and at the same time the priest and poet in him were engaged in a desperate struggle. He wrote down many of the moments of this struggle and thought that he was creating poetry. At the same time he was writing the chronicle of his ruin, here and there marked by a true spark of creativity, the sad witness of his talent.