The poetry in the snapshot[s] below represent... sage advice from Nicolas Boileau to writers that derived from an ancient Greek adage by way of Latin, "festina lente" (Wikipedia, Festina lente), meaning hasten slowly.
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| "Hasten slowly..." (Boileau, 1674, & Beaufait, 2015), ver. 1 |
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| "Hasten slowly..." (Boileau, 1674, & Beaufait, 2015), ver. 2 |
The snapshot[s] above comes from a presentation in preparation by Edwards, Beaufait, and Lucovich ([n.p.], [n.d.], except as otherwise noted some rights reserved). The French text comes from the Wikipedia article (Festina lente, History, ¶5, similar rights reserved).
[147 words]
I've posted two versions of my translation here in hope that they might attract attention and precipitate feedback in comments as I gradually reorient the Writing Studio Blog.
ReplyDeleteOnce I'd posted the first version, which began, "Proceed apace, taking courage in small strides," I experienced a surprisingly strong sensation of infidelity to the original, because of a walking metaphor that I'd keyed spontaneously into the first line.
That gnawing sensation would not abate until the next morning, when I composed a second version conceived during the night, which began with words already in the title of the slide and the post, "Hasten slowly," and which I felt was faithful to the original.
Conservative (ver. 2) or progressive (ver. 1), which appeals to you, and why?
The page to which the following link points provides background and context for the passage I translated. This resource page is in French: http://www.alalettre.com/boileau.php
ReplyDelete