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Glossary entry

Portuguese term or phrase:

A fealdade é o destinado selo com que uma alma é votada à solidão

English translation:

Ugliness is the seal of destiny with which a poor soul is consigned to loneliness

Added to glossary by Oliver Simões
Apr 14, 2022 19:20
2 yrs ago
16 viewers *
Portuguese term

A fealdade é o destinado selo / Com que uma alma é votada à solidão

Portuguese to English Other Poetry & Literature Lyrical poetry
A quem a Natureza não fez belo
Com seu corpo lhe disse: Tu não ames!
A fealdade é o destinado selo
Com que uma alma é votada à solidão.
-- Fernando Pessoa

I am curious to know if this construction with "get elected" sounds natural in English. I've seen "got elected for president, governor, mayor, etc." And "got elected for the office of blah blah blah". Can "get elected" be used with an abstract noun?

Not sure that I like two -ness-ending nouns in the same sentence. Better to replace the first one with "being"?

To those Nature didn't give a beautiful
Body, she said: Don't you love!
Being ugly is the predestined ballot
That gets a soul elected for loneliness.

I also thought of "doomed to" instead of "elected for", but there would be a loss of meaning (by association): selo (ballot), votada (voted, elected).

Anyway, I'm exploring different possibilities, trying to come up with something acceptable (meaning natural, poetic, and in line with Pessoa's style).

Comments? Suggestions?

L2: EN-US
Register: poetic
Proposed translations (English)
4 +2 Ugliness is the seal of destiny...with which a poor soul is consigned to loneliness
3 Ugliness is the predestined token/with which a soul is destined to loneliness
2 Ugliness is a fateful stamp / leaving a hapless soul cast with a vote of isolation

Discussion

José Patrício Apr 15, 2022:
'get elected' é aceitável mas 'is consigned' ganha em harmonia...
with which a poor soul get elected to loneliness
Why loneliness needs to be an election priority - https://wavelength.org.uk/why-loneliness-needs-to-be-an-elec...
Simone Taylor Apr 14, 2022:
Posso estar enganada, mas acho que votada aqui é no sentido de se destinar (Veja número 5)

https://dicionario.priberam.org/votada

Proposed translations

+2
1 hr
Selected

Ugliness is the seal of destiny...with which a poor soul is consigned to loneliness

Those whom Nature did not make beautiful
With his body he said to them: Do not love!
Ugliness is the seal of destiny
With which a soul is consigned to solitude.
Note from asker:
Nice. Thank you. I would change "his" to "their" (their bodies) and "he" to "she" (in reference to Nature, definitely a feminine noun in PT, "a natureza"). Although common nouns are genderless in English, "nature" is often referred to as "she" in poetry. Example: mother Nature: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mother_Nature
It looks like you used Google Translate for the other lines. Considering the errors I found, I'll just ignore the translation of the other lines.
Peer comment(s):
agree Simone Taylor : Actually, I was writing at the same time and only saw yours when I had posted and solitude sounds much better than loneliness and it solves the problem of two "ness" endings.
3 mins
Yes, crossing in posting is easily done! Yes, solitude/loneliness, no difference really;
agree José Patrício
13 hrs
Thank you!
neutral Adrian MM. : seal of destiny - 'where did you fish that one out from?' - an aquarium, perhaps, or Paddington of Seal the Singer // Literary : you have learned a new translation technique of 'leaving' to link the subordinate clause vs. a bland & literal 'with which'.
2 days 2 hrs
Well, certainly not from your lexicon Adrian; far too literary and relevant!
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4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Thanks again."
1 hr

Ugliness is the predestined token/with which a soul is destined to loneliness

Eu acho que selo é como uma marca e votada no sentido de destinada. A feiura é uma marca que destina a pessoa a ser só.

Mas concordo que dois "ness" ficou meio estranho.
Something went wrong...
16 hrs

Ugliness is a fateful stamp / leaving a hapless soul cast with a vote of isolation

More than the 10-word ProZ asking limit, but never mind.

Selo doesn't seem to mean ballot, even in Brazil cf. the 10 entries in Novo Dicionário Aurélio da Língua Portuguesa (Dicionário Aurélio), so let's have some support for that meaning.

> wherewith would have been Biblical or poetic for 'com que'.

Hapless soul vs. spirit as it's not about ghosts, unless we've turned into ghost writers for other translators.

Cut to good-looking translators...
Example sentence:

cast a vote: to vote in an election or on a political issue.

Reference:

http://iate.europa.eu/search/result/1650023514195/1

Peer comment(s):
neutral Andrew Bramhall : "cast with a vote of isolation" where did you dig that up from?
1 day 6 hrs
Again, it's not ProZ etiquette to comment on someone else's answer after you've posted your own ambiguous effort with a subordinate clause opening with a dull-thud : 'with which'.
Something went wrong...
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