I picked this passage deliberately, not just because it's a gorgeous bit of writing, but because the clauses appear to be a right bitch. There's gonna be subordinates and subjunctives all over the shop. Nothing like a challenge, eh...It's also direct speech, and doesn't have too many names, and is shorter than Hurin.
Silmarillion
"Yet if it stands but a little while, then out of your house shall come the hope of Elves and Men. This I say to you, lord, with the eyes of death: though we part here forever, and I shall not look on your white walls again, from you and from me a new star shall arise. Farewell!"
-Huor to Turgon at the Battle of Unnumbered Tears
English
No1 = conditional clause (basic, I think)
Yet IF it continues to stand for a little while, THEN the hope of Elves and Men shall come out of your house.
Lord, I speak to you with the eyes of death (a slight change in meaning, which means I don't have to use reported speech for the next bit. I think. Also, I'm not sure how far "I say this to you: reported" is used in Latin)
No . 2 = concessive clause (using quamquam because again, I don't want to cope with the subjunctive just yet)
THOUGH we are about to part here forever, and I am not going to look on your white walls again, from you and me a new star shall arise.
Farewell - the easy bit
Latin
"attamen si paulisper manet, spes OF ELVESque hominum ex tuo domo veniet. Domine, ad te providentia moriturorum dico - quamquam semper divellebimusque non iterum ad tuos muros candidos spectabo, stella nova nobis oriabitur. Vale"
Huor Turgontem inter Innumeras Lacrimas
moriturorum - nasty word, check this is correct.
Notes
I mean "domus" in the sense of family - apparently, the Romans use house with the same double meaning as we do.
Playing with the clauses turned out to be pretty easy, compared with"Eyes of death", a tricky Tolkien thing - it's the prophecy given those soon to die. I'm not sure my rather too literal translation works in Latin - did the Romans have this concept?
Domine, ad te morituris oculis dico
"Lord, I speak to you with eyes about to die" - literal, but weird in Latin
Domine, ad te moriturus dico
"Lord, I speak to you about to die" - better sense, but loses the foresight.
Domine, ad te id quod erit moriturus dico
"Lord, about to die I say to you what will be" - now this is more like it, but I'm not confident of my use of "id quod erit"
Domine, ad te providentia mortis dico
"Lord, I speak with the foresight of death" - not sure about mortis
Domine, ad te providentia moriturorum dico
"Lord, I speak with the foresight of those about to die" - this is genuinely what I want to say, I think. It seems most "latin-y", though "moriturorum" is an ugly word I must have got wrong.
Questions
"From you and me a new star shall arise". Should this be future - something he knows will happen - or is it optative subjunctive, something he hopes for?
I've used a direct translation of lord - "domine", but did the Romans use the word Lord in the same way as Huor here means it? As an address to someone of higher rank? It has such a religious connotation for me, it seems somehow wrong.
"moriuturorum" and "oriabitur" both sound wrong to me. So what's the correct forms?
What have I learnt?
Paulisper - for a little while
Divello, ellere, elli - sepa$rate
There are three sorts of conditionals:
Basic - when the consequence will definitely follow the condition (Both parts indicative)
Foggy - where the consequence might or might not follow the condition (Primary subjunctives (present or perfect) in both parts)
Contrary to fact - where the condition is not fufilled (If I had known, I would have come myself) (Historic subjunctives (imperfect or pluperfect) in both parts)
Labels: Silmarillion project
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