"por ensalzar la fe"?
I came upon this phrase which confused me for a bit. I think I understand what it means but wanted to be sure. here is the context: "diciéndole como era hijo de un buen hombre, el cual, por ensalzar la fe, había muerto en la de los Gelves..."
I'm guessing it's an expression that means something along the lines of "bless his soul!" as when someone speaks of the dead. Is this correct? Thank you Alix
5 Answers
Is this from 'La Vida de Lazarillo'? I just finished reading that book, and a sidenote mentioned the 'Battle of Gelves', so I transalted it as:
"...(my mother) telling me I was the son of a good man, who in order to spread the faith, had died at (the battle of) Gelves."
Now keep in mind that the anonymous author had a sarcastic tone towards religion in this book, and uses irony in phrases such as "Espero in Dios que está en la gloria, pues el Evangelio los llama bienaventurados" --- referring to how his father had been arrested, confessed, and was persecuted; which is a biblical reference.
at the risk of sounding like I am giving you a sermon, in that expression we have to consider the concept of "sal" as used in the Bible.
"You are the salt and the light"...."What good is salt if it has lost its saltiness..."
"ensalzar la fe" is to "salt up the faith" or "to work for the spread of the faith" or "to work for the protection of the faith."
It sounds like the character is the son of a good man who had died in Gelves for the purpose of spreading the faith or protecting the faith.
Just as an aside - "May God rest his soul" - "Que Dios lo tenga en Su Gloria."
ensalzar.
(Del lat. *exalti?re).
tr. engrandecer (? exaltar).
tr. alabar (? elogiar). U. t. c. prnl.
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hmm guess I was way off... thank you for the responses.
Alix, I am not sure why could be something related to "bless his soul". The phrase "por ensalzar la fe" means "to exalt faith" or "to praise faith". I would need more content to give you a better idea. Hope this helps! Cecilia
