St. John of Ávila (?): "Moves Me Not, My Lord, to Love You"

One of the greatest mystical poems of the Spanish Golden Age is the anonymous "Sonnet to Christ Crucified."  At one time or another, it has been attributed to practically every important spiritual writer of the time; one of the strongest cases is for St. John of Ávila (1500-1569), as some lines in his authentic works come very close to the themes and language of the poem.

Over a decade ago, I posted the Spanish text and an English translation: the translation was off in a few spots, and it certainly did not flow as a poem.  

The translation below certainly wouldn't pass scansion as a traditional English poem, and i have forgone attempts to match the Spanish rhyme scheme, but I think it has a rhythm of its own, and it gives a much better sense of the original poem than my translation a decade ago.  The odd syntax (where the verb "move" comes before its varied subjects) reflects the syntax of the Spanish original.


Moves me not, my Lord, to love You
the Heaven You've promised me;
nor moves me the hell so, so feared
to cease, for that, offending You.

You move me, Lord; moves me to see
You nailed on a cross and despised;
moves me to see Your body so hurt;
move me Your shaming and death.

Moves me, last, Your love, just so
that though there weren't heaven, I'd love You,
and though there weren't hell, I'd fear You.

You need give me naught to love You:
if what I hope I didn't hope,
same that I love You I'd love You.

 

Translation ©2025 Brandon P. Otto.  Licensed via CC BY-NC.  Feel free to redistribute non-commercially, as long as credit is given to the translator.

 

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