That'll be the day when I read Hegel in Russian. I liked Leonardo di Caprio in the movie Aviator. I did the owl quote quickly from memory. Night is wrong; it's dusk. I stand corrected. For Stan, I don't quite follow how if one is grounded in logic one can still subscribe to a religion, any religion? To have a religion one needs to believe in burning bushes that talk and God micromanaging life and all the other stuff, no? Or where is the religion? > [Original Message] > From: Robert Paul <rpaul@xxxxxxxx> > To: <lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> > Date: 10/15/2006 4:45:38 PM > Subject: [lit-ideas] Re: Poetry x 2 = Sabbatical > > > I once heard Joseph Campbell give the direct translation into English of the > > German version of "The owl of Minerva flies at night" and it sounded much more > > Russian than English to me. More flourishy, less austere (although in this > > case I prefer the English). > > This must be the new Minerva Mark II with night vision goggles. There's no doubt > that, having spread its wings (taken flight) at dusk, the owl would have kept > going, but if Campbell's translation was 'The owl of Minerva flies at night,' > he missed something. > > 'Die Eule der Minerva beginnt erst mit der einbrechenden Dämmerung ihren Flug.' > > This is at the end of the Preface to Hegel's Philosophy of Right. It implies > that philosophy cannot say how things will be but can only understand events > after they've revealed themselves. Something like that. > > 'The owl of Minerva first begins her flight with the onset of dusk.' ('The owl > of Minerva begins first with the [falling of]dusk her flight.') The translation > in parentheses is nearly word for word--I'm not sure how to translate > 'einbrechenden'--but it's barbarous English. If Joseph Campbell has a different > version, it would be interesting to see it; and to see a Russian translation as > well. > > 'When philosophy paints its grey on grey, then has a shape of life grown old. By > philosophy's grey on grey it cannot be rejuvenated but only understood. The owl > of Minerva spreads its wings only with the falling of the dusk.' [T. M. Knox, > (1952)] > > I don't know who T. M. Know is. Erin must. > > Robert Paul > The Reed Institute > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------ > To change your Lit-Ideas settings (subscribe/unsub, vacation on/off, > digest on/off), visit www.andreas.com/faq-lit-ideas.html ------------------------------------------------------------------ To change your Lit-Ideas settings (subscribe/unsub, vacation on/off, digest on/off), visit www.andreas.com/faq-lit-ideas.html