5.0480 Rs: Quotation Cite (4/67)
Elaine Brennan & Allen Renear (EDITORS@BROWNVM.BITNET)
Wed, 27 Nov 1991 18:56:56 EST
Humanist Discussion Group, Vol. 5, No. 0480. Wednesday, 27 Nov 1991.
(1) Date: Tue, 26 Nov 91 19:32:21 MST (11 lines)
From: <DMIALL@UALTAVM>
Subject: Spanish quotation
(2) Date: Tue, 26 Nov 91 23:08 PST (15 lines)
From: Shirley Arora <ILX3ARO@UCLAMVS.BITNET>
Subject: Re: 5.0477 Qs: Quote
(3) Date: Wed, 27 Nov 1991 15:48 EDT (20 lines)
From: Karl Van Ausdal <VANAUSDALK@APPSTATE.BITNET>
Subject: Response: Nov. 25 quote query
(4) Date: Wed, 27 Nov 91 20:34:40 GMT (21 lines)
From: "N.O." Monaghan <monaghan@hci.heriot-watt.ac.uk>
Subject: Re: 5.0477 Qs: Quote
(1) --------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Tue, 26 Nov 91 19:32:21 MST
From: <DMIALL@UALTAVM>
Subject: Spanish quotation
From: David S. Miall Department of English
University of Alberta
The lines that Martin Raish quoted the other day seem to be a version
of the quote attributed to Charles V: "Je parle espagnol a Dieu,
italien aux femmes, francais aux hommes at allemand a mon cheval."
How he spoke to his cat is not recorded.
Regards, David Miall
(2) --------------------------------------------------------------134---
Date: Tue, 26 Nov 91 23:08 PST
From: Shirley Arora <ILX3ARO@UCLAMVS.BITNET>
Subject: Re: 5.0477 Qs: Hypertext S/W; Quote; Unix; Newport News (4/74)
Charles V is supposed to have said: "If I were to speak to the ladies, I
would speak Italian; to men, French; to my horse, High Dutch; to God, Spanish."
Another version is: "German for soldiers, French for women, Italian for
princes, Spanish for God" (attributed to Gaspar A. Reiss). There are probably
other variants in circulation as well. In one of his letters Lord Chesterfield
alludes to the Charles V quotation but with a variation: the language used to
one's horse is English. (See _The Macmillan Book of Proverbs, Maxims, and
Famous Phrases_, ed. Burton Stevenson, New York, 1948, p. 1345:6.
Shirley Arora
Dept. of Spanish and Portuguese
UCLA
(3) --------------------------------------------------------------29----
Date: Wed, 27 Nov 1991 15:48 EDT
From: Karl Van Ausdal <VANAUSDALK@APPSTATE.BITNET>
Subject: Response: Nov. 25 quote query
According to the *Oxford Dictionary of Quotations*, 2nd and 3rd eds., the
quotation "I speak Spanish to God, Italian to women, French to men, and German
to my horse," has been attributed to Emperor Charles V, 1550-1558 (King
Charles I of Spain). ("Je parle espagnol a Dieu, italien aux femmes, francais
aus hommes et allemand a mon cheval.")
Bartlett's *Familiar Quotations*, 14th and 15th eds., attributes the same
statement to Charles V (Charles the Wise) of France, 1337-1380.
H.L. Mencken, in his *A New Dictionary of Quotations on Historical
Principles*, cites a related Spanish proverb: "Spanish is the language for
lovers, Italian for singers, French for diplomats, German for horses, and
English for geese." He does not provide a source.
Karl Van Ausdal
Appalachian State University
(4) --------------------------------------------------------------54----
Date: Wed, 27 Nov 91 20:34:40 GMT
From: "N.O." Monaghan <monaghan@hci.heriot-watt.ac.uk>
Subject: Re: 5.0477 Qs: Hypertext S/W; Quote; Unix; Newport News (4/74)
I believe that a similar quartet of sayings was attributed to the Emperor
Charles V, except that it was more on the lines of that he remarked that
he spoke Spanish to his officials; French to men; German to his horse; and
Italian to women.
Nils.
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N.O. Monaghan Scottish HCI Centre
monaghan@hci.hw.ac.uk Heriot-Watt University
Edinburgh
*** So much to do, so little time: Cecil Rhodes ***
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