# Sedibus ut saltem placidis in morte quiescam.



## ain'ttranslationfun?

Ave, 

"Sedibus ut saltem placidis in morte quiescam" is the epigraph to the H. P. Lovecraft short story "The Tomb". What does it mean, please? (It's a quote from Virgil.)


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## Scholiast

Greetings, all

'That in death I may at least rest in peaceful quarters'.

Σ


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## bearded

Hello Scholiast
I like your very elegant translation, but  have a (probably unjustified) doubt:  semantically, is it _ at least rest _or _at least in death_? The latter looks more probable to me, but can that be deduced based on the Latin word order?
_That at least in death I may rest..._? Or does your fine English version mean the same?
Many thanks in advance for your reply.


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## Scholiast

saluete de nouo!

To _Bononiensis noster barbatus _(# 3), for his kind remarks and for this suggestion, naturally _gratias_. Honestly, I don't think we can decide, and perhaps we are not meant to. One of the characteristic and eternally fascinating things about Virgil's work is his constant ambiguity: W. R. Johnson's study, _Darkness Visible_ (Chicago 2015) is very good value on this. I am moved to wonder whether even Virgil himself, had he known English, could have chosen between my version and bearded's alternative proposal.

Σ


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## bearded

Scholiast said:


> his constant ambiguity


  
Thanks again!



Scholiast said:


> wonder whether even Virgil himself, had he known English, could have chosen


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## ain'ttranslationfun?

Gratias, Scholiast! 

Nota: I could have sworn I posted this yesterday, but I see I didn't. (And gratias, bearded, too!)


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## Scholiast

saluete commilitones!

I should have added: this (from _Aen._ VI.371) is spoken by Aeneas' late helmsman, Palinurus, who in Bk V had been swept overboard in a storm, and therefore received no proper funeral rites or burial. Here, Aeneas meets his shade in the underworld, and Palinurus laments the fact that even in death he has no rightful resting place.

To go back to bearded's query about the word-order (# 3): having checked the passage, I don't think I am any the wiser than in my previous responses. Had Virgil vouchsafed to his readers any significant 'biographical' information about Palinurus, suggesting (for example) that he had had a troubled life, we might indeed prefer 'at least in death', but there is no such indication.

Σ

Edited afterthought: Dryden's (usually terrific) translation has: 'And in a peaceful grave my corpse compose'.


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## bearded

Once again many thanks!


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## A User

Le anime dei morti, se non ricevono sepoltura, sono condannate a vagare nell'oltretomba al di fuori dell'Ade vero e proprio, e per questo motivo non possono riposare. A prescindere dalle vicende tormentate vissute da Palinuro dopo il naufragio o dall'ossessione di Jervas Dudley, è proprio la sepoltura che, *perlomeno*, permette alle loro anime di entrare nell'Ade, ovvero nei luoghi ove potranno serenamente riposare, o trovare pace.

Perciò 'saltem' (almeno, perlomeno, come minimo, se non altro, a dir poco) va interpretato non relativamente alla morte,  ma con il senso che l'anima può 'almeno riposare', ma cio potrà compiersi solamente all'interno della placida dimora, l'Ade; e questo spiega perché, grammaticalmente, 'saltem' si lega a 'sedibus placidis'.


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## ain'ttranslationfun?

Re the reference to "Jervas Dudley" in A User's # 9, he is the narrator of the Lovecraft story.


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## Scholiast

Greetings once more

Al Signore 'A user', per il responso tuo, mille grazie. Al questo tempore non è possibile giudicare. Ma alla prima vista, sembra la tua interpretazione fondomentale credibile.

Σ


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