The Odyssey: Rendered into English prose for the use of those who cannot read the original — Page 8
Any one who at the present day discusses the questions that have arisen round the "Iliad" since Wolf's time, without keeping it well before his reader's mind that the "Odyssey" was demonstrably written from one single neighbourhood, and hence (even though nothing else pointed to this conclusion) presumably by one person only—that it was written certainly before 750, and in all probability before 1000 B.C.—that the writer of this very early poem was demonstrably familiar with the "Iliad" as we now have it, borrowing as freely from those books whose genuineness has been most impugned, as from those which are admitted to be by Homer—any one who fails to keep these points before his readers, is hardly dealing equitably by them.
Wer heutzutage die Fragen erörtert, die seit Wolfs Zeit um die „Ilias" entstanden sind, ohne es seinem Leser stets deutlich vor Augen zu halten, dass die „Odyssee" nachweislich aus einer einzigen Gegend heraus geschrieben wurde und daher – selbst wenn nichts anderes auf diesen Schluss hinwiese – vermutlich von nur einer einzigen Person verfasst wurde – dass sie mit Sicherheit vor 750 und höchstwahrscheinlich vor 1000 v. Chr. geschrieben wurde – dass der Verfasser dieses sehr frühen Gedichts nachweislich mit der „Ilias" in der uns heute vorliegenden Form vertraut war und ebenso frei aus jenen Büchern schöpfte, deren Echtheit am meisten angezweifelt wurde, wie aus jenen, die allgemein als Werke Homers anerkannt sind – wer es versäumt, diese Punkte seinen Lesern vor Augen zu halten, handelt ihnen gegenüber kaum fair.
Any one on the other hand, who will mark his "Iliad" and his "Odyssey" from the copies in the British Museum above referred to, and who will draw the only inference that common sense can draw from the presence of so many identical passages in both poems, will, I believe, find no difficulty in assigning their proper value to a large number of books here and on the Continent that at present enjoy considerable reputations.
Wer andererseits seine „Ilias" und seine „Odyssee" anhand der oben erwähnten Exemplare im Britischen Museum kennzeichnet und den einzigen Schluss zieht, den der gesunde Menschenverstand aus dem Vorhandensein so vieler identischer Passagen in beiden Gedichten ziehen kann, wird, so glaube ich, keine Schwierigkeit haben, einer großen Anzahl von Büchern hier und auf dem Kontinent, die derzeit erhebliches Ansehen genießen, ihren wahren Wert zuzuweisen.
Furthermore, and this perhaps is an advantage better worth securing, he will find that many puzzles of the "Odyssey" cease to puzzle him on the discovery that they arise from over-saturation with the "Iliad.
Darüber hinaus – und dies ist vielleicht ein Vorteil, der es noch mehr wert ist, gesichert zu werden – wird er feststellen, dass viele Rätsel der „Odyssee" aufhören, ihn zu verwirren, sobald er erkennt, dass sie aus einer übermäßigen Sättigung mit der „Ilias" entstehen.
Vocabulary
- Wer
- Who; interrogative pronoun asking identity.
- heutzutage
- Nowadays; in modern times or currently.
- die
- The; definite article (feminine singular or plural).
- Fragen
- Questions; plural of Frage or to ask.
- erörtert
- Discusses; examines or debates a topic thoroughly.
- seit
- Since; indicating duration or point in time.
- Zeit
- Time; period or era in history.
- um
- Around; concerning or in order to achieve.
- entstanden
- Originated; came into being or was created.
- sind
- Are; plural present tense of sein.
- ohne
- Without; lacking or in absence of something.
- es
- It; neuter personal pronoun or expletive.
- seinem
- His; dative masculine singular possessive pronoun.
- Leser
- Reader; person who reads texts or books.
- stets
- Always; at all times or constantly.
- deutlich
- Clear; obvious or clearly perceptible to senses.
- vor
- Before; in front of or preceding.
- Augen
- Eyes; plural of Auge, organs of vision.
- zu
- To; preposition indicating direction or purpose.
- halten
- To hold; keep or maintain something.
- dass
- That; conjunction introducing subordinate clause.
- nachweislich
- Verifiably; provably or demonstrably according evidence.
- aus
- From; indicating origin or source.
- einer
- A; feminine singular or plural indefinite.
- einzigen
- Single; only one or sole instance.
- Gegend
- Region; area or locality with boundaries.
- heraus
- Out; outward direction or from within.
- geschrieben
- Written; past participle of schreiben.
- wurde
- Was; past tense singular of werden.
- und
- And; conjunction connecting words or phrases.
- daher
- Therefore; consequently or as a result.
- selbst
- Even; oneself or by one's own.
- wenn
- If; conditional conjunction or whenever.
- nichts
- Nothing; negation or absence of anything.
- anderes
- Other; different or something else.
- auf
- On; upon or concerning something.
- diesen
- This; demonstrative pronoun masculine singular accusative.
- Schluss
- Conclusion; end or logical deduction.
- hinwiese
- Pointed; past subjunctive of hinweisen.
- vermutlich
- Presumably; likely or probably assumed.
- von
- By; indicating agent or possession.
- nur
- Only; sole or exclusively one thing.
- Person
- Person; individual human being or character.
- verfasst
- Composed; written or created as author.
- sie
- She; feminine personal pronoun or they.
- mit
- With; accompanying or using something.
- Sicherheit
- Certainty; assured state without doubt.
- höchstwahrscheinlich
- Most likely; extremely probable or almost certainly.
- der
- The; definite article masculine singular nominative.
- Verfasser
- Author; person who writes or composes.
- dieses
- This; demonstrative pronoun neuter singular.
- sehr
- Very; to great degree or extent.
- frühen
- Early; adjective describing beginning stages.
- Gedichts
- Poem's; possessive form of Gedicht.
- in
- In; within or inside something.
- uns
- Us; personal pronoun objective case.
- heute
- Today; present day or current time.
- vorliegenden
- Present; lying before or under consideration.
- Form
- Form; shape or structure of something.
- vertraut
- Familiar; known or intimate with something.
- war
- Was; past tense singular of sein.
- ebenso
- Likewise; equally or in same manner.
- frei
- Free; unoccupied or not constrained.
- jenen
- Those; demonstrative pronoun plural or distant.
- Büchern
- Books; plural dative of Buch.
- schöpfte
- Drew; past tense of schöpfen.
- deren
- Whose; relative possessive pronoun plural.
- Echtheit
- Authenticity; state of being genuine.
- am
- Most; superlative article or on.
- meisten
- Most; superlative form or majority.
- angezweifelt
- Doubted; questioned authenticity of something.
- wie
- As; comparative or interrogative conjunction.
- allgemein
- Generally; commonly or usually accepted.
- als
- As; comparison or temporal conjunction.
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