Usenet Posted 21 years ago
Usage
Que fors aus ne le sot riens nee (again)
Dear friend,
A few weeks ago I posted a message with the question what this phrase could mean:
"que fors aus ne le sot riens nee".
I found this phrase as the motto of a novel - The Collector by John Fowles - and I wondered what it could mean.
Many of you responded but opinions differed.
I have now received new information which I hereby offer:
fors aus: 'en dehors d'eux' (aprt from them)
ne le sot: 'ne le sut' (did not know)
riens: 'personne' (in Old French 'rien' from Latin 'res/rem', 'thing' of 'being'; it is a feminine word)
nee: past participle (and so,also feminine) from 'naître': to be born (meaning: 'living')
So that the whole would mean something like: 'Apart from them no living being knew'.
Nico
A few weeks ago I posted a message with the question what this phrase could mean:
"que fors aus ne le sot riens nee".
I found this phrase as the motto of a novel - The Collector by John Fowles - and I wondered what it could mean.
Many of you responded but opinions differed.
I have now received new information which I hereby offer:
fors aus: 'en dehors d'eux' (aprt from them)
ne le sot: 'ne le sut' (did not know)
riens: 'personne' (in Old French 'rien' from Latin 'res/rem', 'thing' of 'being'; it is a feminine word)
nee: past participle (and so,also feminine) from 'naître': to be born (meaning: 'living')
So that the whole would mean something like: 'Apart from them no living being knew'.
Nico
Top answer
[nq:1]A few weeks ago I posted a message with the question what this phrasecould mean: "que fors aus ne le ... [/nq] Several web sites are devoted to the study of this writer. Have you looked there?
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[nq:1]A few weeks ago I posted a message with the question what this phrasecould mean: "que fors aus ne le ... phrase as the motto of a novel - The Collector by JohnFowles - and I wondered what it could mean.[/nq]
Several web sites are devoted to the study of
this writer. Have you looked there? Have
you identied the language? (It looks like Old
French as distinct from Provencal.) H
Several web sites are devoted to the study of
this writer. Have you looked there? Have
you identied the language? (It looks like Old
French as distinct from Provencal.) H
0