In message <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, Patrick Roper <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes >In chapter 12 of 'A Pair of Blue Eyes, the novel by Thomas Hardy, the author >says of Mrs Swancourt "She had held out to Elfride hands whose fingers were >literally stiff with rings, signis auroque rigentes, like Helen's robe" > >The Latin is from The Aeneid
Book 1, verse 648 > and, I think, should read "signis auroque rigentem". Indeed, but Hardy naturally changed it to agree with the plural 'fingers'. I have seen this translated as "stiff with rings and gold" and >"stiff with golden wire." Neither is right: it means 'stiff with golden embroidery', or more expansively 'with figures embroidered in gold thread': _signis auroque_ is a hendiadys, equivalent to _signis aureis_. > >I am not quite sure how either of these two version was arrived at, but it >seems most likely to me that Helen's robe or 'palla' would have been woven >with gold filigree and thus somewhat rigid. Hardy's comparison therefore >seems rather inappropriate, especially as he goes on to describe Mrs >Swancourt's rings as heavy and grotesque and far from anything attributed by >Virgil to Helen. _Signum_, amongst its many other meanings, may be a signet-ring; hence the humorous application to Mrs Swancourt's rings. 'Inappropriate' misses the point: the reader is expected to observe the incongruity and smile. > >I wonder if Hardy had translated the Latin himself Of course; it's hardly a difficult achievement. >and if he really thought >his average 19th century reader would be well enough versed in the Aeneid to >enjoy his quotation. Certainly yes, and certainly rightly. Leofranc Holford-Strevens *_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_* Leofranc Holford-Strevens 67 St Bernard's Road usque adeone Oxford scire MEVM nihil est, nisi ME scire hoc sciat alter? OX2 6EJ tel. +44 (0)1865 552808(home)/353865(work) fax +44 (0)1865 512237 email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (home) [EMAIL PROTECTED] (work) *_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_* ----------------------------------------------------------------------- To leave the Mantovano mailing list at any time, do NOT hit reply. Instead, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the message "unsubscribe mantovano" in the body (omitting the quotation marks). You can also unsubscribe at http://virgil.org/mantovano/mantovano.htm#unsub
