The Naked Year (23 page)

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The proverb says: “Not our business, said Mama, Papa will come–he'll sort everything out.”

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Here is the rest of the poem:

“A humble mortal am I,

Much in love with Thee,

Forget about my vow

(Keep this a secret)

And if it not be repulsive

I, sinful Pimen, pray

To You to give me a kiss.

On the Sabbath I await You

By the holy gates…

Then.....pornography.

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“Copernicus slaved away for a whole century…”

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But then the Ordinin princes had already turned into moneylenders.

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Trans. Note–‘Belye-Kolodezy' means ‘white wells.'

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Trans. Note: An untranslatable pun. The man has misunderstood the sign, thinking that some people were being issued one product, the rest another. “Komu…komu,” in Russian, means “to some…to others.”

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Trans. Note: Pilnyak's untranslatable use of the suffix used in the chapter's subtitle.

Trans. Note:
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Incorrectly Russianized words.

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A. A. shows his lack of education by mispronouncing the word.
Mogut
means “they can.”