'Full of Assertions and Contradictions'

In 1995, R.L. Barth published a slender chapbook titled Samuel Johnson: Selected Latin Poems Translated by Various Hands. Included are twenty-three of Johnson’s poems prepared by ten poets including Turner Cassity, Timothy Steele, John Finlay and Barth himself. Steele’s translation is titled “Pater benigne” (“Kind Father”): “Kind Father, always and supremely kind, Relieve the guilt that weighs so on my mind Grant me true contrition; may I lead My life according to what You’ve decreed; Direct with holy light my steps, my will, Protect me, banish soul-corrupting ill. To a sincere petitioner, release The grace petitioned and the joys of peace That, tranquil, he may trust You, who are free Of Human error and anxiety. Grant this which Christ, in dying, won for me.” Seldom is piety so human. This most tormented of men asks not for carte blanche absolution but for “true contrition.” He understands that human pleas are so often conditional: “Just forgive me and I’ll never do it again.”…