From my recent small attempts at the translation of Latin hymns, I can safely say the following:
- Latin hymns do not observe the English hymn convention of having one thought per line. Sometimes thoughts are even carried through from verse to verse.
- Some sacrifices must be made. Better to have perfect meter than perfect rhyme. (My standard authority for this rationalization is Milton's introduction to Paradise Lost.) Better to keep the images true, even if it means an occasional word-order inversion.
- After a decent translation is made, it's not finished. It is not yet poetry. Euphony comes with one more draft. This is different than in my original English compositions, in which euphony comes first.
- If you're going to translate hymns when you grow up, try to be born in a place with a native language other than English--otherwise you will be very frustrated by the rigidity of English word order and by rhyme poverty. I heartily recommend being born speaking a Romance language.
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