M. Translation (11th‑century manuscript punctuation preserved)
For — concerning the city of both. The earthly, that is, and the heavenly, within due bounds of obligation I now see that I must proceed to dispute; first must be set forth, as far as the plan of finishing this work allows, the arguments of mortals. By which they themselves strove to make beatitude for themselves in the unhappiness of this life, so that from their vain possessions our hope may be shown how it differs from what God has given us. & the thing itself — this is the true beatitude — which he will give, not only by divine authority. But, with reason also applied — such as, on account of the faithless, we can apply — let it become clear.
Editorial decisions for M
- Retention of punctuation: I preserved the manuscript's full stops and commas (e.g., the period after “vtrivsque.”) and the ampersand “&”. These break the prose into the particular periodic beats Augustine favors.
- Expansion and emendation: the manuscript reads "rfebus"; this has been rendered as "rebus" (vanities/possessions) on the basis of paleographic likelihood and sense. The stray final characters (e.g., "s" after "disputandum") are treated as scribal noise and not read as part of the sense.
- Syntax and rhythm: I preserved Augustine's tendency toward long modifying phrases that culminate in a clause (Oberhelman’s observations on rhythm). Where the Latin stacks subordinate material before a main point, I kept the English clause order close to that effect to recreate the rhetorical build‑up.
- Tone (Ally McBeal cadence): I used short conversational asides and dashes to mirror the modern, intimate cadence requested, but only within the manuscript’s punctuation boundaries (no insertion of new sentence breaks where the manuscript places them).
- Ambiguities left literal: the small sigla like "i" after "dabit" were treated as marginal/uncertain; I read the clause as "which he will give" and kept the punctuation and rhythm rather than interpolating a fuller gloss.
N. Translation (14th‑century manuscript punctuation and markings preserved)
For — concerning the city of both, the earthly — that is — and the heavenly. Within due bounds of obligation I see that I must next dispute t; first must be set forth, as much as the plan of finishing this work permits. Arguments of mortals, by which they themselves laboured to make beatitude for themselves in the misfortunes of this life • so that from their vain goods our hope may be shown / than what God has given us and the thing itself / this is true beatitude / which he will give / not only by divine authority • but, reason also being applied / of the sort which, on account of the faithless, we can (adhibere) / let it be made clear.
Editorial decisions for N
- Punctuation fidelity: I retained the manuscript’s bullets (•), slashes (/), interpuncts and parentheses exactly as given, rendering them in the translation as visual markers of the breaks and emphases the scribe encoded. These produce the halting, emphatic cadence visible in the source and give a different rhetorical music than M.
- Literal retention of scribal marks: the parenthetical "(adhibere)" in the manuscript is shown parenthetically in the translation; where the scribe supplies a reading in parentheses I preserve that status rather than integrating it unmarked into the main text.
- Readings and scrivener matters: "facio patitur" / "facio" in the printed line appears odd; I read the clause in sense as "the plan/ratio permits" and translated to reflect that sense, while noting the manuscript’s oddity in the reading by keeping the punctuation and nearby t‑mark intact in the line.
- Rhythmic choice: the many small breaks — bullets and slashes — produce a more punctuated, almost spoken or performative rhythm. I matched that with shorter English fragments and emphatic forward motion (Ally‑style asides and line breaks). That choice aims to reflect a 14th‑century scribe’s breath marks while honoring Augustine’s ordered periodicity.
- Sensical emendations: where letters are corrupt or errant, I chose the reading that best fits Augustine’s thought (e.g., "rebus" for corrupted forms). Where the manuscript explicitly offers an alternate (parenthesis), I preserved the alternate as such.
Overall translator’s note on style and rhythm
I aimed to honor three constraints simultaneously: (1) preserve each manuscript’s visible punctuation and marking (periods, bullets, slashes, ampersand, parenthesis), (2) respect Oberhelman’s account of Augustine’s periodic rhetoric by keeping subordinate material before culmination, and (3) render the English in the requested Ally McBeal conversational cadence — clipped asides, emotional inflection, and brief parenthetical remarks — but only insofar as they do not conflict with the manuscripts’ punctuation. Where the Latin allows a prolonged buildup, the English mirrors that buildup; where the scribe put many small breaks, the English adopts short, punchy fragments. Emendations (e.g., rfebus → rebus) were minimal and conservative, guided by paleography and sense.