Saturday, August 30, 2014

violer d'amores

on Finnegans Wake by James Joyce

violer d’amores
Discovered in p3:
Sir Tristram, violer d’amores...

Humpty Dumpty says:

“A violer d’amores might be a player of viola d’amore, the baroque musical instrument like a viola. The word viola is of Italian origin; in the Italian vocabulary, there is the homonym of viòla, that refers to a violet; amores, literally in Italian, means “loves,” the plural of love. thus, Sir Tristram, player of viola d’amore, & violet of love affairs or lovers, I imagine. In Joyce’s intention, according to his letter to his patron Harriet Shaw Weaver, d’amores means “in all moods and senses.” Just to make sure, I add; French word violer is English verb violate or rape.”

Friday, August 29, 2014

All Human Undertakings

Even if the plan were not perfectly orderly, when necessary, people should undertake a project somehow or other, & then, even if it were slightly different to the original plan, the project should be completed some day. It is difficult for us to be perfect & to gain enough time, money, energy, vitality, & cooperation all the time. John Galsworthy (1867-1933), Nobel-laureate UK novelist, observed people doing such things & recorded:
The beginnings and endings of all human undertakings are untidy.

Thursday, August 28, 2014

Howth Castle and Environs

on Finnegans Wake by James Joyce

Howth Castle and Environs
Discovered in p3:
riverrun, past Eve and Adam’s, from swerve of shore to bend of bay, brings us by a commodius vicus of recirculation back to Howth Castle and Environs.

Humpty Dumpty says:
“Norse Vikings first invaded the eastern shore of Ireland, 819, & then began to build the settlement of Dublin. The name Howth is considered to be made up of the Old Norse hǫfuð “head” in English & related to the Contemporary Norwegian hode. Now, the peninsula on the north side of Dublin Bay is called “Howth Head.” On this peninsula, looking like the head of HCE, Howth Castle stands. Who is HCE? Hero in Finnegans Wake! But I don’t know about him exactly yet now. The word environs means “surroundings” in an aspect, but Joynglish words always have many faces in general. For example, environs seems the 2nd verb of this sentence (the 1st is, of course, brings), which  can probably be paraphrased: riverrun brings... back to HC and environs us. Read as you like, anyway. Finnegans Wake is not a scientific paper but a literary work. “

Eve and Adam's

on Finnegans Wake by James Joyce

Eve and Adam’s
Discovered in p3:
riverrun, past Eve and Adam’s...

Humpty Dumpty says:
“The building called the church of Adam & Eve is located in Merchants Quay, Dublin; you can find its picture on Google Earth. JJ also brings us by their names back to the Garden of Eden, where it is believed that the four rivers ran & God-created Adam & Eve lived happily wothout knowing the original sin. In Joyce’s mind, probably, a church can be a tavern, which can be a paradise.    I have been told that the name of Adam & Eve’s is favorably used for the nickname of a tavern or pub in Dublin, & I don’t know whether it is true or not, that the modern Irish go to the church in the morning, watch the horce-racing afternoon, & stay in a pub on night. Ulysses nearly shows us such their everyday life. Why Eve and Adam’s in FW? What means in this inversion? The true answer to this question might be that JJ only knows.”

Tuesday, August 26, 2014

riverrun

on Finnegans Wake by James Joyce

riverrun
Discovered in p3:
riverrun, past Eve and Adam’s, from swerve of shore to bend of bay, brings us by a commodius vicus of recirculation back to Howth Castle and Environs.

Humpty Dumpty says:
Riverrun is a seemingly simple compound made with  river & run, whose surface sense is  the “flow of a river which shapes itself.” But (nous) rêverons hides in this river that means “we will dream” in French, I sense. The sound of French r is slightly different that of English r, but their shapes are completely the same. To read Finnegans Wake is like to dream. We should also keep in mind the oldest Westeern philosophy by Heraclitus: you can’t step twice in the same river, for other waters are ever flowing on to you. In other words, permanence is an illusion & everything is changing forever, A Joystream seems to us readers the same sentence all the time, but in fact we can’t step in the same Joystream, because it is  ever flowing onto us like a river. By the way, in Akitsujima, Chomei Kamono is known by his essay HOJOKI, whose opening sentence is: The river is ever flowing which has not had the same waters before.”

ジョイス作『フィネガンズ・ウェイクについて

ハンプティ・ダンプティいわく
riverrun は river と run から成る一見単純な熟語で、その表面上の語義は「川自体を形成する川の流れ」じゃ。じゃが、ヌレヴロンなるものがこの川には潜んでおるのじゃ。フランス語で「われら夢見る」ちゅうことじゃ。フランス語の r音と英語の r音はちょいとちゃう が、形は完全におんなじじゃ。『フィネガンズ・ウェイク (終再起)』を読むことは夢を見ることに似ちょるわい。また、ヘラクレイトスによる西洋最古の哲学も心に止めておくべきじゃろう。同じ川に二度入ることはできぬ。水がたえず流れてくるからじゃ。言い換えれば、恒久は幻影であり、万物は永遠に流転する。ジョイス流はおらだ読者には同じ文に見えるげんども、実際、二度同じジョイス流に踏み込むことはできないのじゃ。なぜなら、ジョイス流は川のようにずっと流れちょるからじゃ。話はそれるが、秋津島には『方丈記』を書いたことで知られる鴨長明っちゅう人がいよるな。その書き出しの文はこうじゃ。行く川の流れは絶えずして、しかも同じ水にあらず」

vicus

on Finnegans Wake by James Joyce

vicus
Discovered in p3:
a commodius vicus of recirculation...

Humpty Dumpty says:
“A vicus, at first, is a village or settlement in the Roman Empire; in the political sense, it was the smallest unit of their municipal administration. Joyce gives more senses to this word. The Vico Road in Dublin is one of commodius streets (= a commodius vicus); & a street, which can be called a “commodius vicus” in Joycean or Joynglish, is found everywhere every time in his views;. & moreover, he has hidden the name of the Italian philosopher Giambattista Vico in this word. His 18th century publication NewsScience puts forth a famous theory of the cyclical nature of history.”

commodius

on Finnegans Wake by James Joyce

commodius
Discovered in p3:
a commodius vicus of recirculation…

Humpty Dumpty says:
“By erasing -o- from -ous, the ending of commodious “big, wide, roomy, comfortable,” or “convenient” in the archaic sense, JJ implies Commodus, Roman emperor from 180 to 192, the son of Marcus Aurelius. He is often considered one of the worst emperors.”

Monday, August 25, 2014

Rivers Know

Alan Alexander Milne (1882-1956), British author, known as the creator of Winnie the Pooh, wrote in his book Pooh’s Little Instruction Book (1954):
Rivers know this: there is no hurry. We shall get there some day.

Sunday, August 24, 2014

ウォン

ウォン ( /won/ ) は韓国と北朝鮮の通貨単位。語源は () である。韓国では (circle, round) (中国通貨) ウォン、または、ワンと発音する。

韓国では、元々日本と同様に、を通貨単位にしていたが、別字のお金を指す ( = ファン /hwan/ ) を用いた時代もある。

英語では、 won という。

朝鮮語
ビビンバ






Monday, August 11, 2014

Devil's Definition of Money

Money, n. A blessing that is of no advantage to us excepting when we part with it. An evidence of culture and a passport to polite society. 
--- A. Bierce, The Devil’s Dictionary


Ambrose Bierce (1842-1914), US writer, defines money in The Devil’s Dictionary as:
A blessing that is of no advantage to us excepting when we part with it. An evidence of culture and a passport to polite society. 
国の著述家アンブローズ・ビアスは『悪魔の辞典』でお金のことを次のように定義している。
おかね (お金) [名詞] 手放すときをのぞけば何の優位性もないありがたきもの。教養の証拠にして上流社会へのパスポート。

Friday, August 01, 2014

Doughnut and Hole

The optimist sees the doughnut, the pessimist the hole.
--- O. Wilde

Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) , Irish author, explains what optimists & pessimists see in the same thing. He says:
Between an optimist and a pessimist, the difference is droll. The optimist sees the doughnut, the pessimist the hole.

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