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Fw: Nabokov and Augustine
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----- Original Message -----
From: Hanny Hindi
To: NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU
Sent: Thursday, September 12, 2002 4:55 PM
Subject: Nabokov and Augustine
Hello all--
I had a couple of questions regarding a passage in Mary.
First, most generally, is there any evidence that Nabokov read Augustine's _Confessions_? I can't imagine that he missed it, but if there is any direct evidence that would be helpful. And, did he know Latin (even at the level of "Auden's French") or would he have read it in Russian (or English or French) translation.
Second, what is the original Russian of the phrase translated in chapter 2 of Mary as "dispersion of the will" (18)? Could the phrase be a translation of and allusion to Augustine's "distentio animi" (distension of the soul) a key element in his account of time in Book XI of the _Confessions_ (11.14.17ff)?
Thank you all in advance,
Hanny Hindi