a few Teffi questions

[Christine Worobec]

Dear Robert: The reference to Barachiel is definitely as to his role as
gardener. Keep in mind that all Orthodox monasteries are believed to
represent aspects of heaven on earth. As a result their gardens and
orchards are attempts at representations of Eden and a fulfillment of God's
mandate to tend nature.

Best wishes,
Christine Worobec
Northern Illinois University


2014-06-15 10:13 GMT-04:00 Robert Chandler <kcf19 at dial.pipex.com>:

> Dear all,
>
> Teffi is in Odessa in early 1919.  Odessa has been occupied by French
> troops, but these are now being evacuated.  Nearly everyone in Teffi's
> circle has already left, but Teffi has not yet managed to arrange for her
> own departure.  Feeling anxious, she drifts off into a reverie, remembering
> her visit to Solovki several years earlier.
>
> Старенький монашек у глухой церковки далеко в глуби леса. На стенах
> церковки все архангелы: Михаил с мечом, Рафаил с кадилом, Варахиил,
> вертоградарь  райский, с розами в руках, и Гавриил, ангел благовещения, с
> веткой лилий, и Иегудиил — карающий, с бичами, и Силахиил, ангел молитвы,
> со сложенными руками, и Уриил, скорбный ангел смерти со свечой,
> перевернутой пламенем вниз.
> —   Святые ангелы у вас, батюшка?
> Старичок моргает, не понимает, не слышит:
> —  Куды? Куды?
> Улыбнулся мелкими лучиками сухих морщин.
> — Лики, милая, лики!..
>
> My questions:
> 1. "Варахиил, вертоградарь  райский" - gardener or guardian?  Both seem
> possible, according to dictionaries.
>
> 2. "Святые ангелы у вас, батюшка?" I don't understand this at all.  "Are
> your angels holy"? Or is it more along the lines of  "Do you have holy
> angels living with you?"?
>
> 3. "Лики, милая, лики!.."  This seems still more difficult.  Perhaps just,
> "They're holy, my dear, holy!)
>
> 4. And lastly, on the page after the memory of Solovki, some minor public
> figure calls on Teffi and laments how a friend has let him down, making
> false promises about how the French would look after him and his family:
> "Он клялся, что французы заберут нас всех. Назначил прийти за пропусками
> сегодня к одиннадцати… Мы сидели, как дураки, перед запертыми дверями до
> трех, и вдруг входит секретарь и выражает полное удивление нашим
> присущствием."
> The word that confuses me here is "входит".  Is it being used as a synonym
> for "prikhodit"?
>
> All the best,
>
> Robert
>
> Robert Chandler, 42 Milson Road, London, W14 OLD
>
>
>
>
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------
>   Use your web browser to search the archives, control your subscription
>   options, and more.  Visit and bookmark the SEELANGS Web Interface at:
>                         http://seelangs.wix.com/seelangs
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------
>

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Use your web browser to search the archives, control your subscription
  options, and more.  Visit and bookmark the SEELANGS Web Interface at:
                        http://seelangs.wix.com/seelangs
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://listserv.linguistlist.org/pipermail/seelang/attachments/20140615/0e107ddb/attachment.html>