Hymn to Diana

This afternoon I went to visit a friend whom I've known since the 1980s. She is in hospital in Essex following a fall that has resulted in broken bones, compounding a number of other medical conditions (she is elderly and vulnerable to such injuries). I remember talking to Di in earlier days about Greek and Roman religion and mythology - she is a great admirer of Pythagoras amongst others.
The Ancient Roman poem Catullus wrote a hymn to the moon goddess Diana, which seems an appropriate "gift" to my friend to listen to when she gets out of hospital and maybe one Diana will intercede to help another now she is in a bad way. My Latin is very rusty, and hopefully will not cause too much distress to those friends who are more fluent in it. I'll print off a version to frame and hang on her wall at home as well.
The English translation I found on line, created by Pete Crowther (I don't know anything about him but will keep an eye open for his other work now) and it seems by far the nicest, jolliest translation - much preferable to some of the stuffy Victorian ones.



Comments

  1. Unknown4 November 2018 at 01:04

    Not bad, Robin - not bad at all. You seem to have acquired a charming Sicilian accent when speaking the fine, hard Latin :-) Not keen on the translation, which I find somewhat stilted - but the first smile of the day - for which, my grateful thanks - was provided by the gratuitous subtitles the video offered. From turning the English of your speech to a mildly weird Lewis Carroll surrealism, when you switched to the Latin of Catullus' verse, the text exploded into a glorious Dadaist splendour of absurd homophony :-)

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    Replies
    1. Robin11 November 2018 at 10:26

      I didn't even realise translation services would kick in! How weird. I might try other such recordings in future just to spread confusion.

      Delete
  2. Lorna Smithers7 November 2018 at 05:48

    Thanks for sharing this in both languages. I have recently come across Catullus' notorius Carmen 16...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Robin7 November 2018 at 12:05

      I'm tempted to record Carmen 16, but it might not do my career much good!

      Delete

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