Tolstoy KS translation

[William Ryan]

Michael,
Not a problem, though more commonly in English in the phrase  "of the 
first water". See OED s.v. water:


      originally (with implied comparison to a jewel), of the highest
      excellence or purity; now only following a personal designation
      (often of reproach) with the sense ‘out-and-out’,
      ‘thorough-paced’.  [Similarly in French]

so the expression means "love of the purest kind".

Will

On 19/09/2012 01:26, Katz, Michael R. wrote:
> Dea Colleagues:
>
> I am currently retranslating Tolstoy's "Kreutzer Sonata" and I came across a curious phrase in the second paragraph of Chapter 7.  Pozdnyshev is talking about how he fell in love and he says:
>
> И если идет туда, спасательный клапан открыт, все благополучно; но прикройте клапан, как я прикрывал его временно, и тотчас же получается возбуждение, которое, проходя через призму нашей искусственной жнзни, выразится влюбленьем самой чистой воды, иногда даже платоническим.
>
> The phrase that puzzles me is: "влюбленьем самой чистой воды."
> The Maudes and David McDuff (Penguin) omit it entirely.
> Pevear & Volokhonsky translate it literally: "will express itself in a love of the purest water, sometimes even platonic."
>
> That doesn't make much sense to me.
>
> Any thoughts?
>
> With many thanks for your suggestions,
>
> Michael Katz
> Middlebury College
>
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