Vladimir Nabokov

NABOKV-L post 0021578, Mon, 2 May 2011 21:36:56 +1200

Subject
Re: Gradus
Date
Body
What seems most interesting about Alexey's post is that he hasn't pointed out the near-anagram of Gradus and Gosudar' (Your Majesty). Or perhaps he has elsewhere and I haven't retained it.

Brian Boyd

On 1/05/2011, at 8:46 AM, Alexey Sklyarenko wrote:


Below is an excerpt from A. N. Tolstoy's play "The Conspiracy of the Empress" (Act One). The czar (poor Nicolas II who just emptied a glass) consults the thermometer and predicts the rise in temperature. He uses the word gradus ("degree") several times:

Царь (у окна смотрит градусник). Сегодня к вечеру температура должна подняться. Утром было семь градусов выше нуля, полчаса тому назад – тринадцать градусов, ветер поворачивает с востока на юго-восток.

Вырубова . Государь, как ваш кашель?

Царь. Ничего.

Царица . Он говорит – ничего, а между тем ночью кашлял. И беби кашлял. Я тревожусь, – как они поедут.

Царь . Ничего, доедем. А в Могилеве будет еще теплее. Алексеев телеграфирует, что вчера было семнадцать градусов выше нуля.

A very minor point concerning Tolstoy's play: in the list of dramatis personae Felix Yusupov (Prince Feliks Feliksovich Yusupov Count Sumarokov-Elston) appears as "a page" (cf. Kinbote's pages, for example young Baron Mandevil who was his throne page on Coronation Day).

Alexey Sklyarenko

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