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fonte purulente de l'oeil
Nov 24, 2020 17:43
3 yrs ago
40 viewers *
French term

Fièvre quartaine/quarte

French to English Medical Medical (general) Old medical terms used
In 'Les Fourberies de Scapin' by Molière, he uses the term "fièvres quartaines" in the following context: "Cinq ou six cents fièvres quartaines qui le puissent serrer!". After a long research I have the options of "quartan fever", "quartan ague" (although I think by the 17th C the term 'ague' was not used any longer), and "fitful fever" (which I found in a text by Shakespeare). I understand that that fever was similar to malaria, however, in this case, I think it's more a matter that the character is wishing the worse to the person who he is talking about, rather than the actual exact illness. I was wondering what you think and please add any other suggestions you might have. Thanks in advance.
Proposed translations (English)
4 +6 ...plagues upon him!
4 +2 quartan fever

Discussion

Drmanu49 Nov 29, 2020:
The chosen translation is definitely not a medical term but a popular curse. Plague is "fléau" or "peste" and it would be misleading for a non specialist. This should not be in "Medical - Médecine (général) ".
Althea Draper Nov 24, 2020:
The translation at this link puts it like this:-

"SCA. He spoke of no less than five or six hundred pistoles.

ARG. Five or six hundred agues to choke him withal. Does he think me a fool?

SCA. Just what I told him. I laughed his proposal to scorn, and made him understand that you were not a man to be duped in that fashion, and of whom anyone can ask five or six hundred pistoles!

https://www.gutenberg.org/files/8776/8776-h/8776-h.htm
Suzie Withers Nov 24, 2020:
Ague might be okay. According to these sources, it was still being used later than the 17th Century:

https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/ague
https://www.thornber.net/medicine/html/medgloss.html

However, if you're looking for an expression wishing someone ill, you could use "A pox on you!" or something similar.

For example, this line from The Tempest: "A pox on your throat, you bawling, blasphemous, uncharitable dog!"

Shakespeare had some excellent insults!

Proposed translations

+6
2 hrs
French term (edited): ...fièvres quartaines qui le puissent serrer
Selected

...plagues upon him!


"A plague upon him" would have been quite a common imprecation of that era.

I agree with you that an accurate translation of "fièvres quartaines" isn't necessary here, and feel that in this literary context, a more general and widely-used term (plague, pox, ...) would sound more natural.

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Note added at 1 day 1 hr (2020-11-25 19:00:20 GMT)
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I think it would depend on your translation of the previous line - especially on the number of pistoles ... If you have used "five or six hundred pistoles" in that line - see Althea's Discussion entry - then I feel you'd probably opt to duplicate this, otherwise it might not make sense.

Btw, this is why I didn't suggest the more obvious "a plague/pox on him!"
Note from asker:
Thank you very much for this. Do you think it could be used in a sentence as it follows: "Five or six plagues upon him!" ?
Yes I will be mentioning the 5 or 6 hundred pistoles in the line before. I was wondering if it would make sense with that exact line: "Five or six plagues upon him!". I very much appreciate this! Thanks again for the suggestion
Peer comment(s):
agree Suzie Withers : Yes, this was the sort of thing I thought would work
27 mins
Many thanks, Suzie!
agree Yolanda Broad
1 hr
Thanks Yolanda!
agree ph-b (X) : as in "A plague o' both your houses!"
10 hrs
many thanks ph-b! Thats what I had in mind, although it depends on how the previous line has been rendered!
agree Anne Schulz
10 hrs
thanks Anne!
agree raptisi
11 hrs
thanks rapt isi!
agree Noni Gilbert Riley : Like ph-b I was put in mind of Mercutio!
15 hrs
Many thanks Fiona! Me too, but the actual rendering go that ellipsis here depends on how the previous line has been translated (regarding the number of pistoles)
neutral Drmanu49 : OK but in this case this is NOT medicine.
4 days
I already mentioned that I don't regard this as a Medical question, but a Literary one! Agree that it should be reclassified
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4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Very helpful, thank you."
+2
5 mins

quartan fever

QUARTAN FEVER [1 fiche] - TERMIUM Plus® — Recherche ...
www.btb.termiumplus.gc.ca › alpha-fra › srchtxt=QUA...
30 oct. 2020 — P. malariae causes quartan fever with recurrent paroxysms coinciding with sporulation every 72 hours in long established cases. 1, fiche 1 ...


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Note added at 6 minutes (2020-11-24 17:49:53 GMT)
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Malaria in Literature – Malaria Site
www.malariasite.com › history-litera...
Traduire cette page
The Atharva Veda specifically details the fact that fevers were particularly common ... and quartan fevers (caturthakah) and Susruta Samhita even associated fevers with ... William Shakespeare (1564–1616), mentioned ague (English word for ...

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Note added at 7 minutes (2020-11-24 17:51:00 GMT)
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Fièvre quartaine, fièvre quarte. Ne s'employait guère que dans des formules d'imprécation. Que la fièvre quartaine te serre !
Peer comment(s):
agree Gabrielle Leyden : definitely - quartan fever, quartan malaria (in both Gladstone's and Lexicon Medicum)
1 hr
Thank you.
agree pennylyd
1 hr
Thank you.
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