nosmo@pyuxqq.UUCP (P Valdata) (08/23/84)
Once again my Latin fails me. What are Peter and Harriet saying near the end of Gaudy Night, when he asks "Placetne, Magister?" and she replies "Placet!" Is it from a quotation or are they just being ultra-scholarly? Pat Valdata pyuxqq!nosmo
berry@zinfandel.UUCP (Berry Kercheval) (08/23/84)
In article <655@pyuxqq.UUCP> nosmo@pyuxqq.UUCP (P Valdata) writes: >Once again my Latin fails me. What are Peter and Harriet saying >near the end of Gaudy Night, when he asks "Placetne, Magister?" >and she replies "Placet!" Is it from a quotation or are they just >being ultra-scholarly? Here is a translation (remember, Peter has been pestering Harriet to marry him) Placetne, magister? Does it please you, Mistress? Placet! It pleases me. In other words, she finally accepts his proposal. I think 'magister' is an inaccurate quote; It means 'master' and is the term used by those with degrees to address one another (in Latin); the feminine form escapes me. -- Berry Kercheval Zehntel Inc. (ihnp4!zehntel!zinfandel!berry) (415)932-6900
monique@ucla-cs.UUCP (08/24/84)
They are being extra-scholarly. "Placet" is in the English dictionary!
betsy@dartvax.UUCP (Betsy Hanes Perry) (08/24/84)
As far as I know, they're just being scholarly.
Wimsey says 'Placetne, Magistra?'
Harriet says 'Placet'.
This translates, roughly, to
'Does it please (you), Mistress?'
'It pleases.'
Isn't Sayers' habit of non-translation maddening? I nearly went bats
over the ending of Clouds of Witness until I found an American edition
which provided a translation of the crucial letter.
I apologize to any true Latin scholars for the crudity of my translation.
--
Betsy Perry
UUCP: {decvax|linus|cornell}!dartvax!betsy "What is Truth?" said
CSNET: betsy@dartmouth jesting Pilate; and would
ARPA: betsy%dartmouth@csnet-relay not stay for an answer.cdl@mplvax.UUCP (Carl Lowenstein) (08/25/84)
My copy of Gaudy Night says "Placetne, magistra?" which is appropriately feminine.
moriarty@fluke.UUCP (Jeff Meyer) (08/28/84)
I am not sure, as my knowledge of Latin is, to say the least, slight, but I
believe that this is not a quote... Lord Peter was searching for a way of
popping the question (after he had done it about 60 times) that would
reflect just the right tone, and in Latin, with the various tenses, he had
quite a few to pick from.
This book is right up there on my list of favorites... possibly the only
intelligent romance (about intelligent people falling in love, and the
problems therin) I know of. And Harriet's doubts about getting married (not
wanting to lose her independence, etc.) were far ahead of the time (1935),
methinks. Give this a look.
"You gave them to me, and I loved them."
Moriarty, aka Jeff Meyer
John Fluke Mfg. Co., Inc.
UUCP:
{cornell,decvax,ihnp4,sdcsvax,tektronix,utcsrgv}!uw-beaver \
{allegra,gatech!sb1,hplabs!lbl-csam,decwrl!sun,ssc-vax} -- !fluke!moriarty
ARPA:
fluke!moriarty@uw-beaver.ARPAcolonel@gloria.UUCP (George Sicherman) (08/28/84)
[pearls before swine] >> In other words, she finally accepts his proposal. I think >> 'magister' is an inaccurate quote; It means 'master' and is >> the term used by those with degrees to address one another (in >> Latin); the feminine form escapes me. The feminine form is of course "magistra." This has no bearing on degreed scholars, since women did not take degrees; but the term was subsequently used by schoolboys to address a schoolmaster. I have no idea whether the quote is accurate, or what (if anything) it alludes to. -- Col. G. L. Sicherman ...seismo!rochester!rocksanne!rocksvax!sunybcs!gloria!colonel