Pushkin Pronouns and Participle issues.

[quem98.livejournal.com]

Ok, 2 questions... Guess what I'm having trouble with? No, really! you'll never guess!
/sarchasm

I want to translate a line from this:
Два чувства дивно близки нам —
В них обретает сердце пищу —
Любовь к родному пепелищу,
Любовь к отеческим гробам.
Животворящая святыня!
Земля была б без них мертва,
Как пустыня
И как алтарь без божества.
poem by Pushkin. And I understand it all with the exception of the line Животворящая святыня!
How the hell do I translate that? Life creating sanctuary? Unpoetical as that sounds?

The poem was cited in an article I'm translating.
I had particular trouble with this one passage from the article that cited the poem.


... знание своего прошлого облегчает целесообразный выбор: оно не тольно потребность мыслящего ума, но и существенное условие сознательной и корректной деятельности. Вырабатывающееся из него историческое сознание дает обществу, им обладающему, тот глазомер положения, то чутье миниуты, которые предохроняют его как от косности так и от торопливости.


The participles are giving my particular trouble... what does обладающему refer to in this passage? I can't figure it out.


Knowledge of their past makes the appropriate choice easy: it is not only the neccesity of an intellectual mind, but also the existing conditions of a conciensious and correct action. The Historical knowledge that is being worked out from this (Did I understand that correctly?) gives society and those who own it (own what?) that clear view of the position and that instinct of the present moment, which guard it (guard what? Society? Historical knowledge?) from sluggishness as well as from hastiness.
Did I come close?

Comments

My two cents

[nale.livejournal.com]

"Животоворящая святыня" here means, I think, something close to "beneficial, salutary relic". "Святыня" is not only a sacred place, but an object of worship, too.

[tolangue-agess.livejournal.com]

"животворящая святыня" in this case could be translated something like "invigorating shrine" (does it make sense?)

The passage. First part is great. For the second part - this might be of help:
As the result , the historical consciousness gives the society that precise vision and natural instinct of time, that guard it from stagnation as well as from forbearance.

[quem98.livejournal.com]

Thanks. It helps a great deal!

[oryx_and_crake]

существенное is not "existing" (that would be существующее), it's "essential". Essential condition.

потребность - need

деятельность - activity (action = действие, one-time act, while activity is a process)

The historical conscience produced from this (meaning - from the knowledge of the past mentioned in the preceding phrase) gives the society who has it (it=conscience or knowledge, I am not sure which, could be both; please note that there is no "and" here) that clear view of the position and that instinct of the present moment, which prevents it (it=society) from being too conservative/narrowminded and from (are you sure that it says терпеливости here? according to your translation, hastiness, it should be торопливости).

Hope this helps.

[oryx_and_crake]

sorry, it should be "the society THAT has it"
"обществу, им обладающему" means "обществу, обладающему им", т.е. "обществу, имеющему это" - there is no "and those that own...etc." here.

[quem98.livejournal.com]

It's торопливости. I my mistype.

[quem98.livejournal.com]

Thanks!

[nbuwe.livejournal.com]

One technique I find useful for translating Church Slavonic borrowings is to compare Russian and English Bible translations.

For "животворящий" - "quickening" (1 Corinthians 15:45). Also "quickeneth" (1 Timothy 6:13, Romans 4:17).

[simonff.livejournal.com]

Are you sure it's a modern article? :)))