Dear friends
This is a little fable from one of my favorite writers. Carlos Monsiváis. I did my best to translate it, please, let me know if it can be improved. I had some problems finding nouns, since in English there are more verbs than nouns (I would say).
Antonieta
DEL NUEVO CATECISMO PARA INDIOS REMISOS
From the New Catechism for Unwilling Indians
Carlos Monsiváis
The Sin that could not hide its Punishment.
Upward mobility. That Sin was obsessed with upward mobility. Fed up with its condition of venial, tired of inciting petty disobediences, and soft ruptures of the law; the sin aspired to become mortal, to shake up earth and paradise with its demolishing deeds and its abhorrent consequences. Looking for a promotion, the sin fine-tuned its techniques, subverting, and dominating nightmares, introducing chaos in Creation, infiltrating carefully crafted lasciviousness into innocent infantile kisses, caused virgins to faint nearby satyrs.
However, no matter how skillful the Sin was, it could not distance itself from its correspondent Punishment. Punishment was always next to Sin, visible, warning it, intolerant. Sin wanted to cover like a dress, and Punishment increased its severity; Sin’s job was to captivate, and Punishment’s job was to disappoint; Sin unleashed choreographies molding to the body, and Punishment made the probable victims feel ashamed of trying.
Temper’s triumph, lustfulness’ failure. Nobody fancies to break the norm if a check is immediately presented to him or her. Abandoned, robbed from its glamour, trying to combat its insignificance, Sin increased enchantments, tied breasts and bellies with eloquent hands, exaggerated and lied. Useless exercise. When Sin wanted to conquer, next to him would appear the rectifying shadow, with soul examinations, purposes of correcting misdeeds, repentance acts, anticipating punishment. “I cannot live like this”, Sin said, and gave up his effort. Satisfied, Punishment wrote a report and got a promotion from soft to really severe.
This is the Spanish version
EL PECADO QUE NO CONSEGUíA OCULTAR A SU PENITENCIA
Carlos Monsiváis
El ascenso. La obsesión de aquel Pecado era el ascenso. Harto de su condición de venial, de incitar a mínimas desobediencias y leves rupturas de la Ley, aspiraba a la condición de mortal, a estrujar tierra y Paraíso con sus hazañas demoledoras, sus consecuencias espantables. En pos de su elevación jerárquica, el Pecado afinó sus técnicas, subvirtió y domó pesadillas, introdujo desórdenes en la Creación, infiltró lascivias minuciosas en besos infantiles, propició el desmayo de doncellas en los alrededores de los sátiros.
Mas por hábil que fuese el Pecado, no conseguía alejar de sí a su correspondiente Penitencia. Estaba siempre a su lado, visible, admonitoria, intolerante. El Pecado quería envolver como un vestido y la Penitencia acrecentaba su severidad; el Pecado cautivaba y la Penitencia desencantaba; el Pecado desataba coreografías que se amoldaban al cuerpo y la Penitencia inhibía a las probables víctimas.
Triunfo de la templanza, falla de la concupiscencia. A nadie se le
antoja transgredir la norma si le presentan de inmediato la cuenta.
Abandonado, desprovisto de glamour, el Pecado, en postrer intento de
combatir su insignificancia, arreció encantamientos, ciñó senos y
vientres con manos de elocuencia, mintió y exageró. Ejercicio inútil.
No bien el Pecado pretendía una conquista, aparecía a su lado la sombra
rectificadora, poblada de exámenes de conciencia, propósitos de
enmienda, actos de contrición, anticipos del castigo. “Así no se
puede”, dijo el Pecado y renunció a su empeño. Satisfecha, la
Penitencia presentó un informe y obtuvo el ascenso de leve a muy atroz.
i think i understand it. so we are like the sin in academia, right?
Posted by: jingejinge | 05/30/2007 at 01:17 AM
[this is good] Yes, I guess. We are always trying to get a raise, or move upward in the ladder. I wonder who would be Punishment in Academia......because at this point, everybody seems like Sin to me.
Toni
Posted by: Toni Merchant | 05/30/2007 at 04:50 PM