The Thomas Merton Center at Bellarmine University

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Author QuotedBahya ibn Pakuda
Title QuotedIntroduction aux devoirs des coeurs / transl. André Chouraqui, 1943
Date (Year/Month/Day)1963/12/21
Imprint[S.l.] : [s.n.]. 1943
QuotationZwi Werblowsky has sent Bahya [ben Joseph] ibn Pakuda in the remarkable [André] Chouraqui translation. This is a very great book [Introduction aux devoirs des coeurs, trans. André Chouraqui, 1943]. The translation itself is classic. It was made in the time when the Nazis occupied France, and the furnaces of Auschwitz were in operation. Chouraqui was writing in occupied France. His rhythms in translation of the Psalms (the book is full of Biblical quotations) are superb. I think I have never seen such high religious quality in any translation of the Psalms except perhaps the Vulgate. But I think Chouraqui is even better.
JournalDancing in the Water of Life: Seeking Peace in the Hermitage. The Journals of Thomas Merton, Volume 5, 1963-1965.; Edited by Robert E. Daggy. / San Francisco : Harper Collins. 1997, p. 47
Link to Merton's Copy