Professor van Linden of Alchemy:
"...had to use an adaptation of the Dobu yam-calling chant..." (p. 8)
- to find his mislaid copy of the Ars Thaumaturgica. Googling this Ars... discloses only this reference to it so we deduce that it is fictional.
Magic is Ars, the Art:
"'Magister Merline... Sapientissime Britonum, secreti secretorm possessor, incredibili quodam gaudio afficimur quod te in domum nostram accipere nobis - ah - contingit. Scito nos etiam haud imperitos esse magna artis - et - ut ta dicam...'"
-CS Lewis, That Hideous Strength IN Lewis, The Cosmic Trilogy (London, 1990), pp. 349-753 AT CHAPTER 12, 6, p. 626.
Lewis helpfully provides a footnote:
"Master Merlin, wisest of the Britons, possessor of the secrets, it is with inexpressible pleasure that we embrace the opportunity of - ah - welcoming you in our house. You will understand that we also are not unskilled in the Great Art, and, if I may say so..." (ibid.)
("secreti secretorum possessor" means "possessor of the secret of secrets," not "possessor of the secrets," but I can't find my single-volume That Hideous Strength to compare the footnote in that edition.)
See Ars Magna.
I envy Wither, a twentieth century man, his ability to converse readily in Latin but our study of Latin grammar and texts was never aimed at conversational ability.
A few pages later, we find yet another Biblical quotation:
"All is vanity..." (p. 87)
Addendum:
"Master Merlin, wisest of the Britons, possessor of the secret of secrets..."
-CS Lewis, That Hideous Strength (Pan Books, London, 1979), CHAPTER TWELVE, VI, p. 161, footnote.
5 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
I checked my copy of THAT HIDEOUS STRENGTH (Macmillan, ninth printing, 1970) to look up the footnote Lewis added to Chapter 12 of the book. And this is what I found: "Master Merlin, wisest of the Britons, POSSESSOR OF THE SECRETS, it is with inexpressible pleasure that we embrace the opportunity of--ah--welcoming you in our house. You will understand that we also are not unskilled in the Great Art, and, if I may say so..."
I am a bit puzzled why a scholar like Lewis did not render "secreti secretorum possessor" as "possessor of the secret of secrets," instead of the less accurate "possessor of the secrets."
I think there are still some people who can read, write, and speak Latin fluently. I know of at least one person online who frequently quotes in Latin and seems to have no difficulty translating what he quotes when I ask him to do so.
"Vanity of vanities, said Ecclesiastes: vanity of vanities, and all is vanity" (Ecclesiastes 2.2). Yet another of Anderson's frequent quoting from the Bible! I remember reading an article in THE CATHOLIC DIGEST many years ago about this book, in which the author called the Ecclesiastes/Qoheleth a sad but wise man. And despite that famous opening line of the book, its author did not advocate despair, but simply realism about this life.
Ad astra! Sean
Sean,
I take "possessor of the secrets" to be a textual error.
Paul.
Kaor, Paul!
I'm not sure. Both of our copies of THAT HIDEOUS STRENGTH has that rendering, so Lewis might have MEANT to translate it that way. Erroneous tho I think it was.
Ad astra! Sean
Sean,
See the Addendum which I have just added to the post.
Paul.
Kaor, Paul!
And I like "possessor of the secret of secrets" better than "possessor of the secrets."
Ad astra! Sean
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