Ulysses and the Cyclops

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phil
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Ulysses and the Cyclops

Post by phil »

Hi All,

In one of the 38 stories, Ulysses and the Cyclops there is this line:
"Quid vos, tu tuique cari, mihi dabitis?"
I get
"What will you(pl), you(sg) and your(sg) dears, give me?"
Dears?!? Can that be right?
Cheers

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benissimus
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Re: Ulysses and the Cyclops

Post by benissimus »

more idiomatic might be "those dear to you", i.e. your companions
flebile nescio quid queritur lyra, flebile lingua murmurat exanimis, respondent flebile ripae

phil
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Re: Ulysses and the Cyclops

Post by phil »

Thanks. It threw me that a great ugly monster in a cave would use the word cari, rather than something like amici or comites when describing a dozen or so cheese-eating soldiers. It seemed a bit incongruous.

tjnor
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Re: Ulysses and the Cyclops

Post by tjnor »

Then again, it is comparable to Tolkien's Gollum and his use of endearments like "My Precious." Dickens had his villian Fagin call members of his gang of thieving boys, "My dear." The irony reinforces the deadly intent behind the words.

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