Ulysses and the Cyclops

phil · February 11, 2009, 8:09am

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

benissimus · February 11, 2009, 9:25am

more idiomatic might be “those dear to you”, i.e. your companions

phil · February 11, 2009, 9:59pm

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 · February 11, 2009, 10:16pm

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.