Dear Sarah,
since I do not have the context handy I cannot say that the translation of
this sentence is incorrect (although I suspect it to be). However I can
provide you with at literal translation...

funge la purezza
fungere = to act; to function; to serve as a substitute for something else
la purezza = purity - singular feminine noun
usually fungere is followed by the preposition "da" = english "as"

if it were
funge da purezza it would mean "it is a substitute for purity"

funge la purezza might mean..."purity is the object doing the subsituting in
order to compensate for another object which is not doing what it should"

if you could provide me with a context I might be able to give you a more
accurate translation.

Sincerely,
Maria Anna


>From: Sarah Graham <[log in to unmask]>
>Reply-To: - Ezra Pound discussion list of the University of Maine
>    <[log in to unmask]>
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: Italian phrase in c. 74
>Date: Wed, 26 Jul 2000 15:14:59 +0100
>
>Dear list members,
>I wonder if anyone out there could shed a little light on this:
>in c. 74, fourth page from the end of the canto in my edition, EP uses the
>Italian phrase, 'funge la purezza', which Terrell translates as 'the
>tensile
>light pours down' (on p. 385 of the Companion to the Cantos). In my
>(postgraduate) work on the Pisan Cantos, I have quoted this phrase and -
>perhaps unwisely - discussed its possible implications based on the Terrell
>translation. However, I have been told by an examiner of my work that
>Terrell's version of the phrase is wrong. So my questions for the list are:
>is this a mis-translation on Terrell's part and, if so, what is the correct
>version of the phrase?Fortunately, this has only caused a minor blip in my
>work, but it's something I need to resolve and would appreciate any help
>the
>list can offer.
>Many thanks,
>Sarah Graham

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