Just for your information: The English title will remain The Path of Cinnabar - and let me forward this comment from our native italian translator:
Personally, I have no doubt whatsoever that "Il cammino del cinabro" = "The Cinnabar
Path" OR "The Path of Cinnabar". A similar rendering retains all the
ambiguity of the original Italian. (Also note that 'Path' is better
than 'Way' as 'Way' in Italian would probably be 'Via').
Path" OR "The Path of Cinnabar". A similar rendering retains all the
ambiguity of the original Italian. (Also note that 'Path' is better
than 'Way' as 'Way' in Italian would probably be 'Via').
----- Original Message -----From: vandermokSent: Thursday, October 25, 2007 5:46 PMSubject: Re: [evola_as_he_is] CINNABAR
Agreed, but it is also a problem of language. In Italian 'il cammino al o per (to, toward) il cinabro' does not sound well even in that interpretation.By the way: I quoted the translation by Longfellow of the Divine Comedy (he uses 'journey' and 'pathway') only because even if we are in an alchemical and Taoistic context, in my opinion an echo of Dantesque poetry can be present in the title. Out of the poetry, in Italian, "cammino" is archaic and pompous, and not very used. We have for instance 'il cammino di Compostella' or 'il cammino della vita' (of the life)."Nel mezzo del cammin di nostra vita / Mi ritrovai per una selva oscura / che la diritta via era smarrita".Midway upon the journey of our life / I found myself within a forest dark / For the straightforward pathway had been lost".--In <evola_as_he_is@yahoogroups. > Rowan Berkeley wrote:com >>If "the term 'cinnabar' ('cinabro') simply designates the conclusion of the
alchemical work, the marriage of sulphur and mercury, the elixir of
immortality", then the most accurate reading of the title would be "The road TO
(i.e., to the state of being like) cinnabar", but 'of' can be justified instead
of 'to', in the sense that the goal of the path gives its name and patronage to
the whole path.