Centre for Romanian Studies » quotations

WInter Drifts and Snowdrift: latest news from Absurdistan!

editor — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 17:42:26 +0000

According to the Bulgarian rag “The Echo” – all is well with our “brothers in arms”, the Bulgars, but NOT so well across the border in Absurdistan:

Motorway to Bucharest, January 2012

In Bucharest, a number of major streets were closed to traffic and efforts continued to clear the snowdrifts on the city’s ring road. Snow-clearing vehicles from nearby towns were called in to aid the efforts, but these were delayed for some time after their drivers had to return and purchase road vignettes before proceeding on the motorway.

Domnikios et Tovaras

editor — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 12:27:02 +0000

Domnikios et Tovaras

Les Domnikios ont été des seigneurs depuis des temps immémoriaux : ils sont toujours venus au monde pour être des seigneurs. En vérité, ils se vantaient de descendre en droite ligne des empereurs byzantins et, à travers eux, d’une foule d’empereurs romains et de figures mythiques de l’Ancien Testament, allant ainsi jusqu’à Adam. À une époque plus récente, celle dont le souvenir garde la trace, il a été reconnu que les Domnikios ont continûment régné sur la principauté de Domnikia, quelque part dans les terres sauvages du tourbillon balkanique — et ce n’est qu’un débat académique que de savoir si la principauté de Domnikia a ainsi été nommée d’après les Domnikios, ou si, au contraire, les Domnikios ont emprunté ce nom aux terres sur lesquelles, des siècles durant, ils on régné sans partage en Despotes ou DOMNI. Car il y a ici un autre mystère quant à l’origine de ce nom dont les Domnikios sont si fiers : leurs hagiographes affirment sans l’ombre d’un doute que le mot « Domnikios » proviendrait du mot latin DOMINUS, contracté, des siècles plus tard, en « DOMN », ce qui signifie « seigneur » dans la langue vernaculaire domnikienne. Et cela démontre avec force que les Domnikios étaient destinés à être des chefs. Mieux encore : comme le latin « Dominus » signifie « Dieu », l’ancienneté domnikienne implique le fait qu’au début, ils étaient aussi des Dieux, ou des Dieux-régnants à Domnikia. Ainsi le veut la tradition depuis la plus haute antiquité, lorsque les attributs des souverains absolus se confondaient toujours avec ceux de la divinité. C’est pour cela que les prières orthodoxes domniqiennes s’ouvrent à chaque fois sur la phrase :

« Au commencement, ce fut Domn, et Domn était Dieu, et Dieu était Roi, et ils n’étaient qu’une et unique Foi, et cette Foi s’appelait Domnikios, le Dieu-Roi qui régnait sur Domnikia. »

Rien ne saurait être plus différent des Domnikios que les Tovaras : ceux-ci n’avaient ni ancêtres ni histoire — ils étaient des parvenus. En fait, les Tovaras savaient — et, à leur tour, les Domnikios ne le savaient que trop bien — que les Tovaras étaient contemporains des Domnikios, puisqu’ils avaient été créés à la même époque, et que leur destin était d’être « le sel de la terre » mais qu’ils étaient devenus les esclaves perpétuels des Domni. Mais les Tovaras ne pouvaient le prouver, car ils n’avaient jamais eu une terre à eux, leur progéniture ne portaient pas des noms patronymiques, ils n’avaient jamais été mentionnés par les chroniques de la principauté domnikienne et, par conséquent, les Tovaras, tout simplement, « n’existaient pas ». Les enfants des Tovaras naissaient toujours esclaves, ils portaient toujours le nom de leurs mères, parce qu’ils ne savaient jamais qui était le père. En revanche, de temps à autre, on pouvait leur permettre de porter le nom de l’endroit où ils étaient venus au monde sur les terres domnikiennes. Mais, en dépit de ces circonstances, les Domnikios ne pouvaient survivre sans les Tovaras, car, ainsi que le veut l’ancienne sagesse, chaque chef a, par définition, besoin d’un serf, tout comme chaque fouet de cirque, afin de justifier sa raison d’exister, a besoin d’un lion dressé.

Mais il y a une chose bien plus profonde qui distingue les Domnikios des Tovaras : c’est le sens même de parvenu du nom « Tovaras », le fait que celui-ci ne puisse être rattaché à aucune tradition. Car l’étymologie de « Tovaras » n’est nullement latine, mais slave, et les Slaves sont arrivés tard dans ces lointaines contrées, très tard dans l’histoire de Domnikia. Ce sont les Slaves qui ont donné le nom « Tovaras » aux serfs sans nom, car ils semblaient peu engageants et ainsi ils les ont appelé « Tovaritch ». En fait, avant que les Slaves n’envahissent Domnikia, on appelait toujours les fils sans nom des traînées avec un court et tranchant : « Hé, toi ! », et les serfs rampaient avec empressement vers leurs maîtres. Mais, maintenant, que leurs terres avaient été piétinées et leurs attributs diminués, les Domnikios, qui ont toujours et de manière congénitale zézayé, ont édicté que les serfs devaient recevoir le nom de « Tovaras », comme une sorte d’acceptation de mauvaise grâce de l’intrusion slave dans les affaires féodales de la principauté domnikienne.

Et c’est ainsi que les malheurs ont commencé, et que les digues de l’Enfer se sont rompues, et nous allions assister à des siècles de guerres civiles entre les Domnikios et les Tovaras, que, de temps à autre, entrecoupaient de brèves périodes de coexistence durant lesquelles tous retenaient leur souffle.

En Français par Radu PORTOCALA
© Romanian Studies Centre, London 2003 &
© Constantin ROMAN

Poetry in Translation (CI): Lord BYRON (1788-1824) – “Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage” – “Pelerinajul Tânărului Harold”

editor — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 11:50:30 +0000

Lord Byron (1788-1824)

LORD BYRON:
Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage
Canto the Fourth
CXLI

He heard it, but he heeded not — his eyes
Were with his heart, and that was far away;
He reck’d not of the life he lost nor prize,
But where his rude hut by the Danube lay,

There where his young barbarians all at play,
There was their Dacian mother — he, their sire,
Butcher’d to make a Roman holiday –

All this rush’d with his blood — Shall he expire
And unavenged? Arise! ye Goths, and glut your ire!

Lordul Byron (1788-1824)
Pelerinajul Tânărului Harold
Al patrulea Canto CXLI

El auzise, fără să- şi dea seama. – căci gândul lui
Cu inima era, dar ea era acuma prea departe;
Şi nu mai cugeta la viaţa scursă, nici ls răsplata dată orişicui,
Ci doar la vatră visul să-l mai poarte,

Pe valea Dunarii, unde-s la joacă toţi fraţii săi barbari,
Cu gândul e la muma-i, la Dacia străbună,
Adânc măcelărită de braţ de legionari…

Tot visu-i i-e in sânge – Cum, moartea să-l răpună
Nerăsplătit? La arme, Goţi, mânia vă răzbună!

Versiune in limba Romănă
Constantin ROMAN
Londra, Ianuarie 2012
© Constantin ROMAN

Trajan's Column - Roman legions crossing the Danube

Trajan viewing the slaughtered Dacians (Column Rome)

Book Launching (France): “Journal d’exil” by Mircea Milcovitch, Éditions Amalthée

editor — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 09:36:01 +0000

The Éditions Amalthée publishing house will launch in February 2012 the Memoirs of artist sculptor Mircea Milcovitch (Mircea Milcovici), with a preface by Mark Andronikoff. This book is written by en exile, whose family was no stranger to the sad road of uprooting. Mircea’s father, himself a native of Bessarabia, was compelled to seek refuge in the Kingdom of Romania in the wake of the invasion by the Red Army, at the end of WWII.
Whilst reading an early draft of this Memoir, one encounters a certain melancholy, imbued by generations of displaced ancestors, living at the confluence of warring empires. But beyond this one can detect a strong determination to live the newly-found freedom and to succeed in the artistic career.

Les “Éditions Amalthée” publieront dans la seconde moitié du mois de février 2012 le “Journal d’Exil”. Ce récit avait été rédigé après l’arrivée en France de l’artiste, entre octobre 1968 jusqu’à la fin de l’année 1969. Le livre est préfacé par le docteur Marc Andronikof.
he Éditions Amalthée publishing house will launch in February 2012 the Memoirs of artist sculptor Mircea Milcovitch (Mircea Milcovici), with a preface by Mark Andronikoff.

Poetry in Translation (C I): William Stafford (1914 – 1993) – “A Story That Could Be True”, “O poveste aproape adevărată”

editor — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 13:15:17 +0000

They miss the whisper that runs any day in your mind, "Who are you really, wanderer?"-- and the answer you have to give no matter how dark and cold the world around you is: "Maybe I'm a king."

William Stafford (1914–1993, U.S.A.)

A Story That Could Be True

If you were exchanged in the cradle and
your real mother died
without ever telling the story
then no one knows your name,
and somewhere in the world
your father is lost and needs you
but you are far away.

He can never find
how true you are, how ready.
When the great wind comes
and the robberies of the rain
you stand on the corner shivering.
The people who go by–
you wonder at their calm.

They miss the whisper that runs
any day in your mind,
“Who are you really, wanderer?”–
and the answer you have to give
no matter how dark and cold
the world around you is:
“Maybe I’m a king.”

(William Stafford, 1914–1993, U.S.A.)
(Going Over to Your Place: Poems for Each Other)

William Stafford, American Poet (1914-1993)

O poveste aproape adevărată
(William Stafford, 1914–1993, S.U.A.)

Din leagăn de-ai fi fost pierdut
iar maica ta ar fi murit
fără să sufle vre-un cuvânt nimănui
atunci nimeni nu ţi-ar fi ştiut numele
iar pe undeva prin lume
tatăl tău s-ar fi pierdut, fiindu-i dor de tine,
iar tu ai fi departe.

El n-ar avea de unde şti
Cât de netăgăduit eşti si cât de dornic.
Când vântul suflă puternic
şi ploaia ropoteşte
tu stai la răscruce de drumuri tremurând de frig
privind oamenii ce trec pe lângă tine
şi eşti uimit să vezi cât de stăpani sunt de sine.

Ei nu-ţi vor auzi şoapta
ce-ţi trece mereu prin minte.
“Oare cine eşti tu, străine?”
Iar tu, ori cât de intunecată şi rece
ţi-ar părea lumea din jurul tău, vei răspunde:
“Eu, poate sunt Împăratul!”

Versiune in Limba Româna:
Constantin ROMAN
Londra, 28 Deeembrie 2011

Poetry in Translation (C): W.B. Yeates (1865 – 1939) – “When you are Old”, “

editor — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 12:27:28 +0000

Pe culmi de munţi, zburând spre zări pustii, O clipă, chipu-ţi trist a adăstat. Dar ai purces, cu dorul necurmat Si faţ-ascunsă printre galaxii.

When You are Old
by W. B. Yeates

When you are old and grey and full of sleep,
And nodding by the fire, take down this book,
And slowly read, and dream of the soft look
Your eyes had once, and of their shadows deep;

How many loved your moments of glad grace,
And loved your beauty with love false or true,
But one man loved the pilgrim soul in you,
And loved the sorrows of your changing face;

And bending down beside the glowing bars,
Murmur, a little sadly, how Love fled
And paced upon the mountains overhead
And hid his face amid a crowd of stars.

When you are old and grey and full of sleep, And nodding by the fire, take down this book, And slowly read, and dream of the soft look Your eyes had once, and of their shadows deep...

Când esti bătrân

Când eşti cărunt, letargic şi bătrân,
Pe lângă sobă-o carte ai deschis…
Iar ochilor, târcoale dau, în vis,
Sclipirile ce-au fost, dar nu mai sânt.

Câţi oameni n-ar fi vrut să fi primit
Atâtea haruri dela Dumezeu,
Dar dintre toţi, eu singură, mereu
Am înţeles tot ce ai pătimit.

Pe culmi de munţi, zburând spre zări pustii,
O clipă, chipu-ţi trist a adăstat.
Dar ai purces, cu dorul necurmat,
Si faţ-ascunsă printre galaxii.

In Romaneste de Constantin ROMAN
Rendered in Romanian by Constantin ROMAN
© Constantin Roman, London, December 2011

HM King Mihai I de Romania 2011 Christmas Message to the Romanian People

editor — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 09:35:57 +0000

H.M. King Mihai I de Romania

HM King Mihai I de Romania 2011 Christmas Message to the Romanian People

In 1940, after the departure of my father, I addressed you for the first time, on New Year’s Eve. I was, then, nineteen-years old, and our Country and, indeed, the whole Continent, were at war.

Today, from la Săvârşin, I am sending you my message, after seventy years of a nearly unbroken tradition. From Bucharest, Sinaia, Versoix, or from Săvârşin my message is addressed to you with the same love, care, respect and hope.

The passing of the years enables one to see how things had evolved and what had remained unchanged. Something which remained unaltered, in the life of Romanians, is the importance given by each family to Christmas and the New Year. The same festive thrill, the same wish to do good, to open one’s spirit to the miracle of the birth of Christ. During the last decade, at Săvârşin, our Family was able to enjoy the same folk traditions and family spirit which remained almost unaltered.

In this year of 2011, the same as it happened during my childhood years, or during the trying years of the War, grandparents, parents and children gather, around the Christmas tree, offering gifts, sharing the Christmas repast and being close to the dear ones.
During 2011, I met Romanians from all corners of our country and indeed from Europe. The festivities during the 90th year jubilee gave me the opportunity of meeting thousands of Romanians, who came to Săvârşin or Elisabeta Palace for a celebration which inspired the whole country. This proof of affection and love, crowned by the address given from Parliament to the Romanian Nation had the effect of soothing
the sufferings and shortcomings which we confronted during past decades.
The Queen and I are happy to gather our family around us and acknowledge all that our children and grandchildren endeavored so that the role of the Royal House may continue, for the good of Romania. The nativity of Our Lord, Jesus Christ, is indeed a family history, a family tried by difficult times, a beautiful lesson about the care given to ordinary people, just as ourselves are part of a greater family. This is a lesson not only of humility, but of pride, of pain as it is of an uplifting sentiment of humanity. In today’s world, this is a much-needed example, when so many people feel forgotten, humiliated or misunderstood.

As the New Year approaches, we wish it to be better than the year past. I have no doubt that we shall experience times of uncertainty and much left to be desired. Yet, we shall never have a chance to secure a safe path for the new generations if we always leave it to others to take care of our responsibilities.

This time of the year, my thoughts go to the Romanian soldiers, who risk their lives and their families’ happiness for the good of the Country. All my thoughts are extended to those who feel abandoned, unloved, or who are unwell. I address my good wishes to those Romanians who know that they contributed something worthwhile for the progress of their country. For the year 2012, I wish the Romanian people and those dearest to them, young and old, living within or without the boundaries of our country, a Happy Christmas, a peaceable spirit and many happy wishes to be shared by those dearest to them.
So help me God!
Mihai R.

Romanian Royal Coat of Arms

HM King Mihai I de Romania – Christmas Address to the Romanian People

editor — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 22:31:47 +0000

Mesajul adresat de Majestatea Sa Regele Mihai I pentru români, cu ocazia sărbătorilor de Crăciun 2011:

În anul 1940, după plecarea tatălui meu, am adresat primul mesaj de Anul Nou către voi. Aveam 19 ani, iar ţara şi continentul nostru se aflau în război.

În aceste zile, de la Săvârşin, vă transmit mesajul meu, după şaptezeci de ani de tradiţie aproape neîntreruptă. De la Bucureşti, Sinaia, Versoix sau Săvârşin, cuvintele mele s-au îndreptat mereu către voi cu aceeaşi iubire, grijă, respect şi speranţă.

Trecerea anilor îţi dă posibilitatea să vezi ce s-a schimbat în lume şi ce anume a rămas. Un lucru neschimbat în viaţa românilor este importanţa pe care familia o acordă Crăciunului şi Anului Nou. Acelaşi fior al sărbătorilor, acelaşi îndemn la bunătate, la deschiderea sufletului şi la minunea Naşterii Domnului. Ultimii zece ani la Săvârşin au adus Familiei mele bucuria de a vedea tradiţiile populare şi entuziasmul familiilor de la ţară aproape neschimbate.

Şi astăzi, în 2011, ca şi în anii copilăriei mele sau anii grei ai războiului, bunicii, părinţii şi copiii, alături de restul familiei se adună în jurul bradului, îşi oferă daruri, petrec la masa de Crăciun şi se bucură de apropierea celui drag.

În anul 2011 am avut multe întâlniri cu români din toate colţurile ţării şi de pe multe meleaguri ale Europei. Sărbătorirea Jubileului de 90 de ani mi-a dat ocazia să primesc mii de oameni la Palatul Elisabeta şi la Săvârşin, într-o sărbătoare care a cuprins întreaga suflare românească. Această dovadă de iubire şi de preţuire, încununată de adresarea de la tribuna Parlamentului către Naţiunea română, a fost o alinare pentru toate suferinţele şi neajunsurile pe care a trebuit să le trecem cu toţii în ultimele decenii.

Regina şi cu mine suntem fericiţi să avem alături familia noastră şi să vedem cât de mult copiii şi nepoţii noştri fac pentru ca rostul Casei Regale să continue, pentru binele României.

Naşterea Domnului Isus Hristos este tot povestea unei familii. O familie aflată în împrejurări grele. O frumoasă lecţie despre grija faţă de cei neînsemnaţi, despre cum noi, oamenii, suntem parte a unei mari familii. O lecţie de umilinţă, dar şi de mândrie. De durere, dar şi de înălţătoare umanitate. O lecţie necesară în lumea de astăzi, în care atâţia oameni se simt uitaţi, umiliţi sau neînţeleşi.

Se apropie un nou an, pe care vi-l doresc tuturor mai bun decât cel trecut! Sunt sigur că vor fi în continuare momente de cumpănă şi că multe aspecte din viaţa noastră vor lăsa încă de dorit. Nu avem nici o şansă de a aşterne un drum solid generaţiilor viitoare dacă vom lăsa mereu pe ceilalţi să rezolve ceea ce este răspunderea noastră.

Transmit gândul meu bun soldaţilor români care îşi riscă viaţa şi fericirea familiei pentru binele ţării. Totodată, gândurile mele se îndreaptă către toţi cei care se simt singuri, neiubiţi sau cei care sunt bolnavi. Felicit pe românii care ştiu că au făcut ceva bun pentru ca ţara lor să meargă mai departe. Şi doresc tuturor românilor, tineri şi bătrâni, din ţară şi din afara hotarelor ei, Crăciun fericit, cu pace în suflet, şi la mulţi ani pentru 2012, împreună cu cei dragi!

Aşa să ne ajute Dumnezeu!

Mihai R

Săvârşin, 24 decembrie 2011

Poetry in Translation (XCIX): Richard Lovelace (1618 – 1658): “Tell Me Not, Sweet, I Am Unkind?” – “Lucastei – Adio, înainte de Luptă”

editor — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 09:59:32 +0000

Bayeux Tapestry

Richard Lovelace (1618 – 1658)

Tell Me Not, Sweet, I Am Unkind?

“Tell me not, Sweet, I am unkind
For, from the nunnery
Of thy chaste breast, and quiet mind,
To war and arms I fly.

True, a new mistress now I chase,
The first foe in the field;
And with a stronger faith- embrace
A sword, a horse, a shield.

Yet this inconstancy is such
As you too shall adore;
For, I could not love thee, Dear, so much,
Loved I not honour more.”

Norman Shield, Bayeux Tapestry

Richard LOVELACE (1618 – 1658)

Lucastei – Adio, înainte de Luptă

Iubito, să nu-mi ţii de rău
Că din ispita fragedului piept
Mă-ndepărtez de chipul tău
La luptă, aprig să mă-ndrept.

Mireasă nouă voi fi luat
în bătălie, ţanţoș,
Căci Sfântul Duh, m-a înarmat
C-un cal, c-un scut si-un paloș.

Dar pururea eu voi păstra
în sufletu-mi aprinsă
Că-n vecii vecilor vei sta
Iubirea mea nestinsă.
.

Richard Lovelace, (1618-1657), Poet and Royalist Supporter of Charles II

Richard Lovelace (1618-c.1658), described by a contemporary as ‘the most amiable and beautiful person that ever eye beheld’, fell from privilege into desperate poverty during his short life.

The reason was the English Civil War. Lovelace remained loyal to the King, having served him as ‘gentlemen wayter extraordinary’ from the age of 13. He was imprisoned briefly in 1642 after presenting a Royalist manifesto to Parliament, and imprisoned again five years later for his part in Royalist disturbances. While in prison, he prepared the Lucasta poems for publication. But he was broken and ruined by his experiences, and spent his final years as ‘the object of charity’, lodging in ‘obscure and dirty places’. His exact date of death is unknown, but he was reported by John Aubrey to have died in a cellar in Long Acre.

http://war-poets.blogspot.com/2009/10/richard-lovelace-to-lucasta-going-to.html

Poetry in Translation (XCVII): Gabriela Melinescu, “Birth of Constellations” (Ivirea Stelelor)

editor — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 15:13:24 +0000

Gabriela Melinescu (b. 1942, Romania) Swedish Romanian Poet, Exile

Poetry in Translation (XCVII): Gabriela Melinescu, “Birth of Constellations” (Ivirea Stelelor)

Other people are born here, on Earth,
In a fresh scent of salt and milk.
The buds burst out biting the twigs,
With the silky movement of a serpent.

O, would I ever
Be reborn?
With dilated pupils, o, breeze of pain
With white clouds, will you pass over my face?

Would you, one evening, leave me again
Like a translucent bone on the hot sands
And fretting on the sky’s pavement, oh, Mater,
Would you ever remember our love?

Nichita Stanescu and Gabriela Melinescu