A Conversation for Gnomon - 'The Creation', an oratorio by Josef Haydn

"Speaks it the night" is very odd

Post 1

paulh, vaccinated against the Omigod Variant

"The heavens are telling" has some odd stuff. "The night that is coming, speaks it the night" is very odd.

"Never perceived, ever understood,
ever, ever, ever understood" goes form never to ever, and it goes by fast enough that you hear it as "never understood."

"Have us, oh have us in thy keeping" means...what?

smiley - winkeye


"Speaks it the night" is very odd

Post 2

Gnomon - time to move on

Yes, some of the text makes no sense in English. I might ask my brother, who is a professional translator, to translate the original German


"Speaks it the night" is very odd

Post 3

Gnomon - time to move on

In mine it is “To day that is coming speaks it the day”, which should really be “ The day declares it (the wonder of his work) to the next day.”

It’s “never unperceived, ever understood”. This doesn’t seem to be a translation of the German at all, but something that Van Swieten came up with himself. It’s not great English.

I can’t find “oh have us in thy keeping”, but it means “look after us”, “care for us”.


"Speaks it the night" is very odd

Post 4

Gnomon - time to move on

In mine it is "To day that is coming speaks it the day", which should really be "The day declares it (the wonder of his work) to the next day."

It's "never unperceived, ever understood". This doesn't seem to be a translation of the German at all, but something that Van Swieten came up with himself. It's not great English.

I can't find "oh have us in thy keeping", but it means "look after us, care for us".


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