Glossary entry (derived from question below)
French term or phrase:
A peu que le cueur ne me fent
English translation:
My heart is well-nigh cleft in twain/My heart is almost breaking/It's almost tearing me apart/...
Added to glossary by
Carol Gullidge
Jul 22, 2010 16:54
13 yrs ago
French term
United Kingdom
poetically precise prose with... panache
Native in: English 
Works in: French to English, Spanish to English, English
A peu que le cueur ne me fent
French to English
Art/Literary
Poetry & Literature
Medieval French (Villon: le grand testament)
Bien sçay, se j'eusse estudïé
Ou temps de ma jeunesse folle
Et a bonnes meurs dedïé,
J'eusse maison et couche molle
Mais quoy ! je fuyoie l'escolle
Comme fait le mauvaiz enffant.
En escripvant ceste parolle,
****A peu que le cueur ne me fent****
_______________
Villon is regretting his misspent youth, although, despite the many pranks he was involved in while at university, he did manage to gain his degree...
This quote appears in a (modern-French!) guide to Paris, in a section about the history of the old university, including rioting that took place there in the Middle Ages.
I believe most of this verse is fairly straightforward: basically, the way I see it is that if he had been a good and diligent pupil, he would by now own his own house and have a soft bed to lie on. But...
He had also been involved in the student riots, which the last 2 lines of this verse may refer to.
However, I'm stumped with interpreting the final line. Any help would be much appreciated - many thanks!
Ou temps de ma jeunesse folle
Et a bonnes meurs dedïé,
J'eusse maison et couche molle
Mais quoy ! je fuyoie l'escolle
Comme fait le mauvaiz enffant.
En escripvant ceste parolle,
****A peu que le cueur ne me fent****
_______________
Villon is regretting his misspent youth, although, despite the many pranks he was involved in while at university, he did manage to gain his degree...
This quote appears in a (modern-French!) guide to Paris, in a section about the history of the old university, including rioting that took place there in the Middle Ages.
I believe most of this verse is fairly straightforward: basically, the way I see it is that if he had been a good and diligent pupil, he would by now own his own house and have a soft bed to lie on. But...
He had also been involved in the student riots, which the last 2 lines of this verse may refer to.
However, I'm stumped with interpreting the final line. Any help would be much appreciated - many thanks!
Proposed translations
(English)
| 4 +2 | My heart is well-nigh cleft in twain. |
SMcG (X)
|
| 3 +4 | my heart is almost breaking |
polyglot45
|
References
| This is what I think it means |
diana T
|
Change log
Jul 29, 2010 13:22: Carol Gullidge changed "Edited KOG entry" from "<a href="/profile/134264">Carol Gullidge's</a> old entry - "A peu que le cueur ne me fent"" to ""My heart is well-nigh cleft in twain/My heart is almost breaking/It\'s almost tearing me apart/...""
Proposed translations
+2
4 hrs
Selected
My heart is well-nigh cleft in twain.
Yeah, I met once had the pleasure of sharing a drink in Paris with poet Stephen Rodefer who translated Villon. Got turned to this 19th Century translation by John Payne of 'The Poems of Master François Villon of Paris', URL below is for the full text, including your fragment which is translated below and it's public domain.
Of course very elegant with the modern 'my heart is nearly broken in two' seeming a bit prosaic.
Best
If in my time of youth, alack !
I had but studied and been sage,
Nor wandered from the beaten track,
I had slept warm in my old age.
But what did I? As bird from cage,
I fled from school : and now with pain,
In setting down this on the page,
My heart is well-nigh cleft in twain.
Of course very elegant with the modern 'my heart is nearly broken in two' seeming a bit prosaic.
Best
If in my time of youth, alack !
I had but studied and been sage,
Nor wandered from the beaten track,
I had slept warm in my old age.
But what did I? As bird from cage,
I fled from school : and now with pain,
In setting down this on the page,
My heart is well-nigh cleft in twain.
Reference:
http://www.archive.org/stream/poemsmasterfran00villgoog/poemsmasterfran00villgoog_djvu.txt
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Linda Sansome (X)
: This is lovely.
11 hrs
|
| agree |
Imanol
: Beuutiful ! Common wording options are not appropriate here, in my opinion
16 hrs
|
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "thanks so much everybody for all the thoughtful suggestions and comments! In the end, the client preferred to use an existing "official" version rather than one by me, which would have been more modern (along the lines of Polyglot's suggestion) and - like the ST - would have both rhymed and scanned. This of course would have cost the client more, as I explained to them ..."
+4
7 mins
polyglot45
Native in French
&
English
Native in: English 
, French
Works in: English to French, French to English, German to French, and 4 more.
Related KudoZ points
:
52
my heart is almost breaking
in modern English - but I fled school like a bad boy and just writing these words .....
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 8 mins (2010-07-22 17:02:55 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
of course Writeaway is correct - this is just so you understand - I was not only of those respected translators but Villon was one of my special subjects
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 8 mins (2010-07-22 17:02:55 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
of course Writeaway is correct - this is just so you understand - I was not only of those respected translators but Villon was one of my special subjects
Note from asker:
| thanks so much polyglot! Your "just writing..." puts the whole thing beautifully into perspective! Thanks also to Wordeffect for the marvellous link, although I haven't yet managed to find the exerpt in question - must be one of those days! |
| thanks again polyglot - this was a really hard deecision, and I think you also deserve 4 points! |
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Alison Sabedoria (X)
: Galway Kinnell's translation can be seen here: http://books.google.com/books?id=wymYGppBHm8C&printsec=front...
Wonderful stuff!
4 mins
|
| agree |
Claire Nolan
43 mins
|
| agree |
Hermeneutica
: my heart almost breaks --- OK, "official" translation as just posted under Discussion = "my heart is nearly breaking"
49 mins
|
| agree |
sktrans
1 hr
|
Reference comments
10 mins
Reference:
This is what I think it means
When I read this I thought about: juste d'écrire ça, mon coeur a failli de s'arrêter/mon coeur éprouve une telle tristesse/ça me fait très mal au coeur....
Something like that, hope it helps!
Something like that, hope it helps!
Note from asker:
| many thanks for the help Diana! Your ideas seem to coincide pretty much with polyglot's :) |
Discussion
Ah God if only I had studied
In the days of my heedless youth
And set myself in good ways
I’d have a house now and soft bed
But I ran from that school
Like some good-for-nothing child
As I write these words
My heart is nearly breaking.