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[blue-segment.livejournal.com]

Hi,

I'm having trouble understanding these 2 Russian sentences. Any help is appreciated.

Топят болотные топи в сестрах-лихорадках. -- no clue what this means

"Цели", попрежнему, необходимы, -- надо, чтобы они "целили", со всяческими ударениями, и над е, и над и. -- play on aim/heal?

thank you

 

Comments

[icamel.livejournal.com]

Лихорадки in folklore were sisters who caused various diceases. Is that some kind of spell?

The second is really looks like playng with stresses with meanings aim/heal.

[annyway.livejournal.com]

1. Swamps are drowning (plunging) [you] into fever. Сестры-лихорадки is about types of fever - like yellow fever, hay fever, remittent fever, tropical jungle fever, etc.
2. Yes, it is play on aim/heal.

[annyway.livejournal.com]

That is just some kind of poetry. :)

[icamel.livejournal.com]

why are you so sure? Do you know author?

[annyway.livejournal.com]

I know Russian.
The phrase sounds very poetical. But it doesn`t look like spell.

[icamel.livejournal.com]

Doesn't sound convincing.

На море на Окияне, на острове на Буяне, лежит камень Алатырь, на том камне сидят три старца с железными прутьями; идуть к ним навстречу двенадцать сестер лихорадок. "Вы куда идете, грешные, окаянные, проклятые?" - "Идем в мир, у людей кости ломать, да силу вынимать". - "Воротитесь, грешные, проклятые, окаянные".- "Мы тогда воротимся, когда эти слова будуть все знать да по три раза читать".

Does this look like charm for you? Or just very poetical? How would you define the difference?

2moderators: sorry, I'm not able to provide translation of the example.

[annyway.livejournal.com]

I`m not going to convince you anyway. My english is not good enough.
"How would you define the difference between airplane and helicopter? Both of them can fly and look so charm!"

[blue-segment.livejournal.com]

it's from a novel's description of a landscape

[blue-segment.livejournal.com]

thank you

who is doing the action in the first sentence? the meaning is still very confusing to me

[annyway.livejournal.com]

Болотные топи (Топи is from топь. I don`t know how to explane this in English. Swampy places in swamps. There is some kind of tautology in Russian too) топят (from топить - to drown) somebody (I think, some human beeng, I can`t say without context) in fever.
So топи топят - swamps drown or swamps are drowning.

[blue-segment.livejournal.com]

now it makes sense
thank you very much for the explanation

[icamel.livejournal.com]

Easily. Airplane has carriyng wings and vertical propellers. Helicopter has carriyng horizontal propeller.

So, if you have nothing to proove convinction, why are you so sure?

[icamel.livejournal.com]

Maybe, a bit wider context needed to understand that.

[annyway.livejournal.com]

I have many things to to proove my convinction. But my English is to poor to talk about philological problems. If you really want to talk about spells and poetry, let`s do it somewhere else - in Russian.
In English I can only say that the phrase is not as archaic as it should be to be a spell.

[icamel.livejournal.com]

Is the example above archaic enough to be a spell?

[annyway.livejournal.com]

OK, I don`t speak English. But do you speak English? Which words are obscure for you in this two sentences: "But my English is to poor to talk about philological problems. If you really want to talk about spells and poetry, let`s do it somewhere else - in Russian"?

[icamel.livejournal.com]

No I don't want to talk about spells and poetry. I only want to know why do you insist that the discussed quote cannot be a spell and is poetry even after poster stated that it is taken from a novel, not a poem.

[icamel.livejournal.com]

Во-первых, фраза "это какая-то поэзия" была отчасти шуткой и в значительной степени иронией.

That would be enough.

[annyway.livejournal.com]

I`ll never try to speak ironically in English anymore, I promise!

[whitest-owl.livejournal.com]

Actualy, this is a charm.
That is a warding spell against sickness. I am not sure how old or 'real' it is but I saw it in the history books about pagans of pre-Christianity Russia.
This version of charm is also translated to a modern Russian.