Sunday at 2 PM

[quislibet]

This is when the weekend can start to wear a bit. Sunday at 2 PM. Too late in the day to laze about, too early to call it a day or start making dinner or any number of other things. On the cusp of "plenty of time to accomplish something" and "oh my god where did the weekend go."

I have to reduce the abstract in my previous entry to nearly one third of its size. Ugh. J. was a big help with that, mercilessly hacking away bits and pieces, but as she does not know the material there are a couple of places that need fixing. So I'm trying to decide how to fix those things and add a point or two without going over the limit.

The other thing I plan to do today is read a chapter of a relevant book in German. But in my current mood I know how that will go. I will look at the page and see an eternal sentence like

"Der retrospektiven Sehweise des Tacitus steht die Gestaltung der 'barbarischen' Gegenbilder zum römischen Bereich nahe, ja, die Großtaten außerrömischer Völker und Einzelpersonen gewinnen eine Wesensverwandtschaft mit altrömischer Größe und eine Kontrastfunktion zur römischen Gegenwart, ohne daß immer die Sittenspiegeltechnik bewußt im Spiel ist..."

I can't remember "Sehweise," even though it should be easy to piece together. I'm too overcome with ennui to look in the dictionary. I try to keep reading. "Wesensverwantschaft" and "Sittenspiegeltechnik" look daunting too. Looks like I will have to open the damn dictionary after all. Let's flip open to "S." Oh, look, "Sightseeing" means "sightseeing." Neat. "Siebenbürger" apparently means "ethnic German from Transylvania" (the adjective is of course "siebenbürgerisch"). That's cool. What seven cities are meant, I wonder? A few lines down I see "Siebenhügelstadt" means "city of seven hills," i.e. Rome. Woah, here's a word that means both "dormouse" and some late June analog to Groundhog's day. I realize that I'm thirsty. [Get drink, feed cats. Munch some flavorless imported cookie things that were mistaken for a different more flavorful kind. Oh, CD has stopped; select new music. Look at all those CDs that need putting away. 30 minutes pass, until I sit down at my desk again.] "Sehweise," I think, "I still don't know what that means." I find that it means "point of view." There is no specific entry for "Sittenspiegeltechnik." I stare at it until J. announces a trip to the supermarket or something. I go along.

And so on.

At present I have marginally more of a chance of completing the abstract properly, so back to that, I think.

Comments

[damiel.livejournal.com]

Goodness gracious! A piece of writing that is both academic and in German!

The term Siebenbürger, I believe, comes from the lay of the land (i.e., the area in question being surrounded by the siebenbürgische Westgebirge). That still doesn't answer which seven cities, though. The standard Duden doesn't shed any light on the etymology, but you made me look in a dictionary.

Damn you.

As for Sittenspiegeltechnik, you're on your own. I'll be damned if I know what to make out of customs, mirror and technique

[quislibet.livejournal.com]

From the general context I'm assuming Sittenspiegeltechnik has to do with Tacitus' use of non-Romans (the Other, if you will) as a mirror to Roman morality: the trope of the "noble savage" in contrast with civilized decadence.