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🦋 First sentence
In one beginning, for everything must have a beginning, even in the case where this beginning is the same as that terminal point from which it cannot, ultimately, be broken, and to say "cannot" is not the same as saying "will not" or "need not", it is the extremity of not being able, for if this breaking could take place, we know that the whole universe would crumble into its component bits, the universe is a fragile construction, it cannot bear interruption, in one beginning, then, four paths were laid out.
I'm really getting somewhere with this translation of "Ebb-Tide" -- I've got a rough draft nearly done and have been doing some revisions, I think it's going to come out very pleasant. In the first sentence you can already hear Saramago's unique rhythm and pacing.It's interesting to read Saramago talking about two cycles of his work, the narrative novels and the more allegorical novels he wrote after moving to the Canary Islands -- it makes a lot of sense to me that he named this book as the root source of the allegorical stories, I can hear Blindness and The Cave in it. I think Death With Interruptions will be worth rereading with this story in mind.
 (It occurs to me that "the extremity of not being possible" or "of impossibility" might be better English. I kind of like the sound of "the extremity of not being able". The Spanish is "el extremo no poder".)
posted evening of Tuesday, October 19th, 2010
➳ More posts about An Object, Almost
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I wish I had seen this post when you were actually translating, this is now possibly too late to interest you.
I would say:
Firstly, for everything needs a beginning, even when that beginning is the ending point from which it cannot be broken, and to say "cannot" is not the same as saying "will not" or "should not", it is the extreme inability, for if such breaking could take place, it is known that the whole universe would crumble, as the universe is a fragile construction that cannot bear continuity solutions - firstly four paths were laid out.
although the 'laid out' does not express the 'were opened' of the literal translation, layout expresses a motion of setting, design; open conveys the new, open path.
It was great to read your observations :) Thanks.
posted afternoon of June 6th, 2016 by Ana
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