In Selected Prose (Faber), Pound quotes Machiavelli several times, applying
the dictum 'gli uomini vivono in poche' figuratively as follows:

"The life of the race is concentrated in a few individuals."   -- "I Gather
the Limbs of Osiris"
"And the will becomes concentrated in the few." -- "A Visiting Card"
"The books that change our understanding are few."   -- ibid.

Race. Will. Books.  A regular vortex, this.

Tim Romano
www.aimsdata.com/tim


----- Original Message -----
From: "Stoner James" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Thursday, July 05, 2001 12:28 PM
Subject: Re: help


| I wish to weigh in on the query.  I would render it as
|
| The men live in few or men live in the few.  Considering his political
| and social views it is likely that he is refering to the few people
| whose ideas matter (which for the bittered Pound was him and his
| imagist buddies - and not the academics nor the Capitalists).  This
| would be consistent with his rendering in the Cantos as well as how it
| is generally rendered in _The Prince_ (although no such exact wording
| exists), which is replete with Machiavelli's discussion of the few
| people whose ideas matter to the Prince.  The allusion to Machiavelli
| may exist, however, I am not certain of any scholarship investigating
| such an allusion.  I am also not certain of the 1922 timing of the
| letter and it's later relationshop to the much later written Cantos.
| Maybe, Wayne could clafify his statements regarding the _Prince_ and
| the Cantos?
|
| Thanks, Stoner
|
|
|
| I'm surprised at the lack of response on this query, forcing me out of
| > my lethargy. The source is Machiavelli's <The Prince> and if memory
| > serves, and it may not, Pound renders it in the Cantos and elsewhere
| as
| > "men live in the few." I.e., the few artists and thinkers whose ideas
| > matter.
| >
| > Wayne
| >
| > jason sweitzer wrote:
| >
| > > The nearest i get to is:
| > > men: only a few live
| > > or
| > > only a few men live
| > >
| > > Source unknown.
| > >
| > > --- Stephen Wilson <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
| > > > In Pound's Jan. 1922 Paris Letter (Dial Feb. 1922)
| > > > the following Italian phrase occurs: Gli uomini
| > > > vivono in pochi. Does anyone have a source for this?
| > > > Can anyone suggest a good English translation?
| > > >
| > > > Stephen Wilson.
| > >
|
|
|
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