The Book, Cat, & Cat Book Lovers Almanac

of historical trivia regarding books, cats, and other animals. Actually this blog has evolved so that it is described better as a blog about cats in history and culture. And we take as a theme the advice of Aldous Huxley: If you want to be a writer, get some cats. Don't forget to see the archived articles linked at the bottom of the page.

May 26, 2012

May 26, 1817

Denis Florence MacCarthy (May 26, 1817 to April 7, 1882,) was an Irish poet, editor, and translator. Our interest right now is his translations of Pedro Calderón de la Barca. They are referenced in an obituary Emily Clerke wrote for MacCarthy. It was published in the Dublin Review, (1883) the same periodical that published MacCarthy's translations.

"The Sorceries of Sin," the first of the Autos [by Calderon] translated by Mr. MaeCarthy [mentions]... the Five Senses, false and delusive guides, ...[which], lead ...[the subject] to the palace of the metaphorical enchantress Sin, with all her wiles and allurements. Her nymphs typify the evil passions, each of which ensnares and debases the sense specially subject to its temptation; thus Taste, enticed by Gluttony, is transformed into a hog; Sight, perverted by Envy, assumes the shape of a lion; Hearing, made captive by Flattery, is turned into a chameleon.Reason vainly urges man to disregard the teaching of sense, but he follows its dictates, presumptuously confiding in his own power of resistance, and once led into the presence of the enchantress, easily becomes her slave. It is only by the aid of the celestial messenger Penance, who comes rainbow-borne as the symbol of reconciliation with heaven, that he is enabled to triumph in the end, and, by the help of the divine amulet she has brought, to redeem his senses from their degraded condition....


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