Glossary entry (derived from question below)
English term or phrase:
and to the world let it remain
English answer:
and leave it to everyone else
Added to glossary by
Donata Rosca
Nov 6, 2017 17:55
6 yrs ago
1 viewer *
English term
Not a translator
Germany
Germany
Native in: German 
Works in: Japanese to German, Italian to German, English to German, and 2 more.
and to the world let it remain
Non-PRO
English
Art/Literary
Music
Renaissance Madrigal
This is a line from a madrigal of the late 16th or early 17th century.
Full lyrics:
"As I went a walking in the month of May,
Merrily talking, I thus began to say,
Where dwelleth Love, that lively boy,
How might I see his face,
that breedeth pain and bringeth joy,
that alt'reth ev'ry case:
then with a sigh I did refrain,
AND TO THE WORLD LET IT REMAIN."
I would like to know if the phrase "let it remain to the world" is an idiom / a figure of speech and if so what exactly it means.
Full lyrics:
"As I went a walking in the month of May,
Merrily talking, I thus began to say,
Where dwelleth Love, that lively boy,
How might I see his face,
that breedeth pain and bringeth joy,
that alt'reth ev'ry case:
then with a sigh I did refrain,
AND TO THE WORLD LET IT REMAIN."
I would like to know if the phrase "let it remain to the world" is an idiom / a figure of speech and if so what exactly it means.
Responses
2 hrs
Selected
and leave it to everyone else
AFAIK not a specific idion, just poetic (and rather archaic) language.
I think Phil is right: the poet is saying that after seeing what Love does to people, they decide, with some regret, perhaps, to renounce the search for love and leave it for others... 'the world" meaning 'everyone else' and 'to let it remain' being a now-archaic way of saying 'to leave it'.
I think Phil is right: the poet is saying that after seeing what Love does to people, they decide, with some regret, perhaps, to renounce the search for love and leave it for others... 'the world" meaning 'everyone else' and 'to let it remain' being a now-archaic way of saying 'to leave it'.
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
2 hrs
Herbmione Granger
Germany
Germany
Native in English
&
English
Germany
An American scholar based in Germany
Native in: English (Variant: US)
Works in: French to English, German to English, English
leaves it up to fate
In May, while I was walking,
Mindlessly talking, it occurred to me to say:
Wherever Eros/Amor is,
I've noticed,
there is pain and joy.
He infuses everything with
The possibility of love
But leaves its actualization up to Fate.
Mindlessly talking, it occurred to me to say:
Wherever Eros/Amor is,
I've noticed,
there is pain and joy.
He infuses everything with
The possibility of love
But leaves its actualization up to Fate.
+1
17 hrs
May we not lose it
then with a sigh I did refrain,
AND TO THE WORLD LET IT REMAIN.
Note the "sigh". As I read it, the author is hoping that the world will not lose Love.
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Note added at 17 hrs (2017-11-07 11:53:12 GMT)
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I don't think that "the world" means "everybody else". I think it means the world as opposed to heaven. So, whatever the difficulties involved, the poet wishes love to remain a feature of life here and now, not just in the hereafter.
AND TO THE WORLD LET IT REMAIN.
Note the "sigh". As I read it, the author is hoping that the world will not lose Love.
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 17 hrs (2017-11-07 11:53:12 GMT)
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I don't think that "the world" means "everybody else". I think it means the world as opposed to heaven. So, whatever the difficulties involved, the poet wishes love to remain a feature of life here and now, not just in the hereafter.
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Tony M
: Interesting take! I had assumed 'I' was the subject of both 'did refrain' and also 'let', but now you point it out, I can see how this would work too. I just though the 'sigh' sorted of implied resignation to being without love...
15 mins
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Thanks Tony. "How might I see his face, that breedeth pain and bringeth joy," So, still hopeful.
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| neutral |
philgoddard
: I interpret "let" as the past tense, meaning "allowed". The whole thing is in the past tense, including "did" in the previous line.
1 hr
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I interpret it as an imperative. "then with a sigh I did refrain, AND TO THE WORLD LET IT REMAIN." So the sigh and the poet's refrain happened in the past, but the refrain itself is not past tense and is in the imperative.
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Discussion