[91324] in tlhIngan-Hol
Re: [Tlhingan-hol] Klingon Word of the Day: bortaS
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Steven Boozer)
Mon Dec 19 16:41:20 2011
From: Steven Boozer <sboozer@uchicago.edu>
To: "tlhingan-hol@kli.org" <tlhingan-hol@kli.org>
Date: Mon, 19 Dec 2011 15:41:00 -0600
In-Reply-To: <BAY166-W1539B469D0DCF52CFB8BA1AAA00@phx.gbl>
Errors-To: tlhingan-hol-bounces@stodi.digitalkingdom.org
Voragh:
>> bortaS bIr jablu'DI' reH QaQqu' nay'
>> "Revenge is a dish best served cold." TKD
>>
>> [Originally a quote by one of the Borgias? Used by Mario Puzo in
>> _The Godfather_ and by Joseph Goebbels in his book _Vom Kaiserhof
>> zur Reichskanslei_.]
QeS:
> Further odd facts relevant to the Klingon version: the English version
> was also attributed as an "Old Klingon proverb" by Quentin Tarantino in
> the intro of the film Kill Bill Vol. 1, and the Klingon phrase was
> directly quoted by Jim Parsons (at Wil Wheaton!) in the Big Bang Theory
> episode "The Creepy Candy Coating Corollary".
And supposedly Wil Wheaton was able to translate it immediately! =
According to the WikiPedia article on "Revenge" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wi=
ki/Revenge):
"The first written appearance of the proverb "revenge is a dish best ser=
ved cold" is often wrongly credited to the novel _Les liaisons dangereuses_=
(1782); it does not, in fact, appear there in any form. It is also said to=
have been borrowed by late 19th century British writers from the Afghan Pa=
shtuns. However, its earliest identified appearance in European literature =
is in the 1841 French novel _Mathilde_ by Marie Joseph Eug=E8ne Sue: "la ve=
ngeance se mange tr=E8s-bien froide" - there italicized as if quoting a pro=
verbial saying - published in English translation in 1846 as "revenge is ve=
ry good eaten cold".
"The popularly familiar wording can be attributed to _The Godfather_ by =
Mario Puzo, a major bestseller in 1969, but the 1949 film _Kind Hearts and =
Coronets_ had it as "revenge is a dish which people of taste prefer to eat =
cold". The familiar wording more recently appears in the title sequence of =
the 2003 Quentin Tarantino film "Kill Bill: Vol 1", first used as an "Old K=
lingon Proverb", referencing its use in "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan', =
which so cites it.
"The proverb suggests that revenge is more satisfying as a considered re=
sponse enacted when unexpected, or long feared, inverting the more traditio=
nal revulsion toward 'cold-blooded' violence. In early literature it is use=
d, usually, to persuade another to forestall vengeance until wisdom can rea=
ssert itself. This sense is lost in recent presentations."
--
Voragh
Ca'Non Master of the Klingons
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