The Myth of Aristophanes, from Plato's Symposium, translated by Percy Bysshe Shelley
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Shelley's translation of The Symposium
Shelley's translation of The Symposium was written in 1818, but not published until 1840, when it appeared in his translations and fragments, edited by Mary Shelley. According to her journal, it was completed in ten days, and there were several readings of it out loud. Some have considered it (rightly in my opinion) to be the best representation in English of the style and spirit of Plato, as well as a great work in its own right. "[The] radiance and delicacy of language," writes Mary Shelley, "with which the ideas are invested in the original... the dramatic vivacity, and the touch of nature, that vivifies the pages of the Athenian... are all found here. Shelley commands language splendid and melodious as Plato, and renders faithfully the elegance and the gaiety which make the Symposium as amusing as it is sublime."
This translation was also the first in English to present the Symposium essentially without censorship. It was, however, itself censored for publication, all references to same-sex attraction being removed, and did not appear in its original form until so late a date as 1930. Even today, I can find no plain-text copy which is freely available online: Project Gutenberg and the Online Library of Liberty do have a version, but it is the censored one. The passage which is read in this video would be too long to include in this description-box, but I have uploaded the text here for anybody who may find it useful:
https://www.thomaswhichello.com/?page...
The phrase beginning ἅμα δ᾽ εἰ καὶ ἄρρην ἄρρενι in the Greek, "and also, if male met with male they might have satiety of their union and a relief, and so might turn their hands to their labors and their interest to ordinary life" (tr. Loeb) is left out in this translation; but this is in accordance with Shelley's general aim, which, as Stephanie Nelson (2007) infers, is to make the love which is described in the Symposium more spiritual.
The myth which is recounted in this passage (perhaps the earliest exposition of an idea reminiscent of our modern "soul mate") has been so extraordinarily influential, that the most beautiful translation of it into English deserves to be much better known.
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Glossary:
Psetta. From Greek ψῆττα. A kind of flat fish, perhaps the turbot; the idea, as Holmes (1980:136) points out, is that a flat fish is able to be divided down the spine into two equal halves. The shape of a turbot, appropriately, is very round.
Hetairistriae. From Greek ἑταιρίστριαι. Holmes glosses this as "female homosexuals."
Lispae. From Greek λίσπαι. "Dice, cut in two by friends, who each kept half as tallies, so that the reality of the bond could at any time be proved by producing them." -- Liddell and Scott.
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Chapters
00:00 Beginning of video
00:19 Introduction
01:49 Origin of mankind; the androgynous sex
03:11 Description of the original human beings
05:58 War against the gods
09:03 The division
14:06 Mutual love; origin of same-sex attraction
18:54 Nature of true love
23:35 Wisdom of obedience to the gods
26:57 Conclusion
This translation was also the first in English to present the Symposium essentially without censorship. It was, however, itself censored for publication, all references to same-sex attraction being removed, and did not appear in its original form until so late a date as 1930. Even today, I can find no plain-text copy which is freely available online: Project Gutenberg and the Online Library of Liberty do have a version, but it is the censored one. The passage which is read in this video would be too long to include in this description-box, but I have uploaded the text here for anybody who may find it useful:
https://www.thomaswhichello.com/?page...
The phrase beginning ἅμα δ᾽ εἰ καὶ ἄρρην ἄρρενι in the Greek, "and also, if male met with male they might have satiety of their union and a relief, and so might turn their hands to their labors and their interest to ordinary life" (tr. Loeb) is left out in this translation; but this is in accordance with Shelley's general aim, which, as Stephanie Nelson (2007) infers, is to make the love which is described in the Symposium more spiritual.
The myth which is recounted in this passage (perhaps the earliest exposition of an idea reminiscent of our modern "soul mate") has been so extraordinarily influential, that the most beautiful translation of it into English deserves to be much better known.
-
Glossary:
Psetta. From Greek ψῆττα. A kind of flat fish, perhaps the turbot; the idea, as Holmes (1980:136) points out, is that a flat fish is able to be divided down the spine into two equal halves. The shape of a turbot, appropriately, is very round.
Hetairistriae. From Greek ἑταιρίστριαι. Holmes glosses this as "female homosexuals."
Lispae. From Greek λίσπαι. "Dice, cut in two by friends, who each kept half as tallies, so that the reality of the bond could at any time be proved by producing them." -- Liddell and Scott.
-
Chapters
00:00 Beginning of video
00:19 Introduction
01:49 Origin of mankind; the androgynous sex
03:11 Description of the original human beings
05:58 War against the gods
09:03 The division
14:06 Mutual love; origin of same-sex attraction
18:54 Nature of true love
23:35 Wisdom of obedience to the gods
26:57 Conclusion
8 ماه پیش
در تاریخ 1402/09/09 منتشر شده
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