17 September 2009

Be back soon

My 64-year-old body will undergo an unexpected and undesired cholecystectomy and my mind will have to take a rest from thinking through Wikcriticism or interlingual criticism or language or literature or anything else. My cardiologist swears that I am a low cardiac risk, so I am not supposed to worry. Fortunately, I have a little bit of Spanish blood running in my veins, so I can say with all interlingual conviction, "Que será será" though I know that that is not Spanish at all (since the grammar is terribly wrong!), but a Hollywood corruption of "che sarà, sarà," the motto of the Duke of Bedford. The phrase appears in Christopher Marlowe's The Tragical History of Dr. Faustus (1594):

If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and
there's no truth in us. Why, then, belike we must sin, and so
consequently die:
Ay, we must die an everlasting death.
What doctrine call you this, Che sera, sera,
What will be, shall be? Divinity, adieu!

The phrase may be interlingual (Spanish, French, Italian, whatever), but I'm not sure I like Marlowe's context! In any case, I shall be back online in a week or so, God willing.

5 comments:

  1. Cheers and prayers for the brilliant blogger on language who sends us a "que sera sera, sera" meditation on his surgery. I join your faithful followers in wishing you a quick recovery and resumption of the internet delight you provide.

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  2. Wish you all the best! Get well soon!

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  3. GOD willing Sir Isagani, you will be back : in your heart, strong as a bull; in God's context, a healing miracle of grace. We would pray. Smile.

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  4. May random chance seem to favor ye with your
    cholecystectomy. Moi had a, much overdue, heart bypass 19 months ago and I'm A WORLD BETTER!

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  5. Take care Dr. Cruz, may you recover quickly.

    Antoine Cassar

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