Timeline for Translation of a sentence by Darwin
Current License: CC BY-SA 4.0
5 events
| when toggle format | what | by | license | comment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 16, 2020 at 23:40 | comment | added | brianpck | @Blincer According to Lewis & Short vario can also be used intransitively. "Alii" would be fine, though (obviously) it's a bit different from what Darwin says. As for plants, I suspect that masculine wouldn't be appropriate in that case. | |
| Aug 16, 2020 at 23:37 | comment | added | brianpck | @Cerberus animal is neuter, but I think a masculine plural would still be plural given that pretty much every single animal name is masculine or feminine. A neuter plural adjective strongly suggests to my ear "things that are X" to the exclusion of people and animals. But I could be wrong! | |
| Aug 16, 2020 at 22:39 | comment | added | Cerberus♦ | One difference between Blincer's original translation and this one is that he added the audience: "you, the strongest [beings], must live, while you, the other [beings], must perish". I suppose either is possible, depending on the desired effect. But you are of course right that the original is also in the third person. // As to the gender, the noun animal is neuter. | |
| Aug 16, 2020 at 17:31 | comment | added | user3165 | Thank you very much for your answer and for having made me discover the hortatory subjunctive. I used mutor because according to the Olivetti dictionary, vario is a transitive verb. I could also use alii instead of infirmissimi so that the quote covers all beings. And finally, does the masculine also apply to plants? Thanks again! | |
| Aug 16, 2020 at 16:11 | history | answered | brianpck | CC BY-SA 4.0 |