#time of contempt

[brokimoon]

"" ‘Geralt . . . Listen to me—’

‘Listen to what?’ shouted the Witcher, before his voice suddenly faltered. ‘I can’t leave— I can’t just leave her to her fate. She’s completely alone . . . She cannot be left alone, Dandelion. You’ll never understand that. No one will ever understand that, but I know. If she remains alone, the same thing will happen to her as once happened to me . . . You’ll never understand that . . .’

‘I do understand. Which is why I’m coming with you.’ "

Time of Contempt - Andrzej Sapkowski

[chemicakedraws]

Vilgefortz's gambit

[helvarcult]

“believe me, little one, you should only regret inactivity, indecisiveness, hesitation. you shouldn’t regret actions or decisions, even if they occasionally end in sadness and regret.”

[vulpinesaint]

can’t take this guy anywhere. the complainerrrrrrr

[realkaijuhavecurves]

I love them your honour

[deathcries]

Latin from The Witcher books translated

This took a bit longer than I expected, but I finished them :] Keep in mind that I've only been studying Latin for 3 years and that I've had to translate these into Finnish first (all my Latin dictionaries are in Finnish) so there might be some slight mistakes. I've sorted these by book and marked the page number (which might be slightly off due to translations and editions of the books). A few of the phrases are used multiple times in the books, I've only included the first page where the phrase was used for the first time in the book. Some of these have the translation right next to them in the books, but I've also included them here. Also some of these have multiple translations, but I've chosen the one that best fits the context in my opinion.

Blood of Elves

p. 209, ad valorem - according to value p. 309, casus belli - occasion for war

Time of Contempt

p. 254, victoria - victory

Baptism of Fire

p. 34, persona non grata - person not welcome p. 35, quod attinet - which is related (to) p. 36, justitia fundamentum regnorum - justice is the foundation of kingdoms p. 36, crimen horribilis non potest non esse punible - a horrible crime can not be without punishment p. 36, lapis super lapidem - a stone on top of a stone p. 37, fundamentum regnorum - the foundation of kingdoms p. 37, primo - firstly p. 37, secundo - secondly p. 37, memoria fragilis est - (the) memory is fragile p. 37, raptus puellae - abduction of a girl p. 38, sempiternum meam* - my ass p. 179, perpetuum mobile - perpetual motion machine (lit. perpetual motion) p. 186, vagina dentata - toothed vagina p. 344, summa cum laude - with highest praise

The Tower of the Swallow

p. 15, vulnus incivisum - incision wound p. 18, rubor, calor, tumor & dolor - redness, fever, swelling & pain p. 115, crimen - crime p. 204, delirium tremens - alcohol-induced delirium (lit. mental disturbance with shaking) p. 217, per fas et nefas - by right and wrong p. 230, cui bono? - to whose advantage? p. 340, de non preiudicando - without prejudgement p. 349, casus belli - occasion for war p. 356, pacta sunt servanda - agreements must be kept p. 408, de profundis - from the depths p. 409, propria manu - with one's own hand p. 461, societas leonine - partnership with a lion

The Lady of the Lake

p. 27, ad usum delphini - for the use of Dauphin / for the use of the heir p. 27, summa summarum - all in all p. 77, pericolosus - dangerous p. 171, omnia mea mecum porto - I carry all my possessions with me p. 378, exitus - passed away p. 496, post factum - after the fact p. 497, per acclamationem - by acclamation p. 498, persona turpis - ugly/disgraceful person p. 502, ad futuram rei memoriam - for future reference p. 502, nihil ad rem - nothing to do with the matter p. 502, status quo - existing state (or just 'status quo') p. 503, pro publico bono - for the public good p. 503, salus publica lex suprema est - the health of the people is the supreme law p. 504, verba volant - words fly p. 504, non possumus - we can not p. 505, ad referendum - for referral p. 506, ultimus familiae - last of the family p. 537, vivant - long live p. 537, digitus infamis - infamous finger p. 539, perpetuum mobile - perpetual motion machine (lit. perpetual motion) p. 577, et cetera - and so forth (or just 'et cetera')

Season of Storms

p. 15, status quo - existing state (or just 'status quo') p. 16, ipso facto - by the fact itself p. 35, primo - firstly p. 35, secundo - secondly p. 35, tertio - thirdly p. 37, notitia criminis - notice of a crime p. 38, probatio de relato - proof concerning the telling of events p. 39, praeiudicium - prejudgement p. 39, Testimonium unius non valet. Testis unus, testis nullus. - One testimony is not strong. One witness is a worthless witness. p. 39, ergo - therefore p. 39, praesumptio - presumption p. 39, in dubio pro reo - in doubt, on behalf of the accused -> in doubt, favour the accused p. 42, cautio pro expensis - security for expenses p. 81, nil admirari - don't be surprised / let nothing surprise you p. 102, summa cum laude - with highest praise p. 102, quadrivium - 2nd group of 7 liberal arts (arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, music) p. 102, Sphera Mundi subdividitur - The sphere of the world is subdivided p. 102, aer - air p. 102, aether - aether/sky p. 102, firmamentum - support p. 102, erratica sydera** - roving stars p. 102, fixa sydera** - fixed stars p. 102, sydera cadens** - falling stars p. 103, quod erat demonstrandum - which had to be proved p. 109, causa finita - (the) case ended p. 125, unguentum ortolani*** - gardener's ointment p. 133, sine ira et studio - without anger and enthusiasm p. 137, bene vale - be well -> goodbye p. 142, pax - peace p. 172, fulmen sphaericus, sagitta aurea - lightning ball, golden arrow p. 186, magister magicus - teacher/master of magic p. 193, ad rem - to the matter p. 193, et consortes - and colleagues p. 196, tapetum lucidum - a layer of tissue in the eye (lit. bright tapestry) p. 238, post Resurrectionem**** - after the Resurrection p. 309, Illustrissimus et Reverendissimus - Most illustrious and Most venerable p. 309, Magnus Magister - Great Teacher/Master p. 309, Honoratissime - Most honored p. 309, anno currente - during this year p. 310, non compos mentis, eo ipso - not in control of his mind / not of sound mind, thereby p. 310, impune est admittendum quod per furorem alicuius accidit***** - it must be admitted with impunity that something happened due madness / it must be admitted with impunity that somebody was attacked due to madness p. 310, ad interim - temporarily p. 311, item - also p. 311, non sufficit - not enough p. 312, bene valere optamus - I wish you good health p. 312, semper fidelis vestrarum bona amica - always faithful to you, good friend p. 312, manu propria - with one's own hand p. 345, ad libitum - to please p. 351, deus ex machina - god from the machine p. 359, crescite et multiplinicamini****** - increase and multiply p. 393, quarto - fourthly p. 393, quinto - fifthly p. 394, persona non grata - person not welcome

Latin that I can’t find the page for or isn't in my books (trans. Tapani Kärkkäinen), but are in other versions

Baptism of Fire, incognito - unknown

Bonus

Regis - genitive singular of rex, regis m.: king

-

*Sempiternum isn't Latin in this one, but an old Polish word sempiterna (ty reddit) **usually written as sidera ***ortolani is probably a corruption of hortulanus (ty reddit) ****probably talking about the conjunction of the spheres and not a resurrection *****simplified from Impune autem puto admittendum, quod per furorem alicuius accidit, quo modo si casu aliquo sine facto personae id accidisset from Digest of Justinian which suggest that a person who commits a wrongful act while in a state of madness should not be held responsible for it (ty u/IndigoBuntz on reddit) ******should be crescite et multiplicamini

I might've missed a few, if so, do tell me!! I'll gladly discuss and read your thoughts about these, especially if you have differing translations!! :]

[sapotewastaken]

warning!: I being harsh on geralt + defending triss

Sooo are we gonna talk about how Geralt set my girl up to be berated by Yennefer at the banquet in Time of Contempt? Excerpt from ToC:

They went over to Triss, who was shimmering in shades of blue and pale green. On seeing them, Triss broke off her conversation with two sorcerers, smiled radiantly and hugged Yennefer; the ritual of kissing the air near each other’s ears was repeated. Geralt took the proffered hand, but decided to act contrary to the rules of etiquette; he embraced the chestnut-haired enchantress and kissed her on her soft cheek, as downy as a peach. Triss blushed faintly.

•Time of Contempt•

Did you see it everyone? Geralt ignored the rules of etiquette when Triss offered her hand for him to kiss. This is right in front of Yennefer mind you. I'm gonna be petty, but who was the desperate one again? I hope that fuck you got after the banquet was worth it Getalt for making Yen jealous so she tore Triss a new one. Like straight up setting her up for humiliation man.

What an icon you were, Geralt of Rivia 🤩👏👏👏 /s

Also, tiny rant on the topic of Triss being manipulative (within the text of ToC), if she were, why didn't she take Geralt to Montecalvo instead of Brokilon? Why didn't she rationalise that he would have better medical care there? Would a manipulator let a manipulatee escape her influence? She could have kept him closer to her to ensure his safety not in faraway Brokilon, where lady Eithné showed her the door.

And later the order came from Duén Canell, from the sliver-eyed Eithné, the Lady of Brokilon. Send the sorceress away, said the ruler of the Forest of the Dryads. And tend to the Witcher.

•Baptism of Fire•

She sent him faraway because she knew if she took him to Phil, there's no reasons to trust Phil not to trade him for information with Dijkstra. Despite being interested in him, I reasons that it wouldn't beneath her to do such thing. Triss prioritised taking Geralt to people he trusted over hers. She took him to where she, even as someone who saved him, was expected to leave without exception. Furthermore, she could have fled without him as Tissaia said:

‘Run, Triss Merigold,’ the enchantress’s words came from far away, as if from behind a wall. ‘Philippa Eilhart has already fled; she flew away on owl’s wings. You were her accomplice in this wicked conspiracy and I ought to punish you. But there has been enough blood, death and misfortune! Begone! Go to Aretuza and join your allies! Teleport away. The portal in the Tower of Gulls no longer exists. It was destroyed along with the tower. You can teleport without fear. Wherever you wish. To your King Foltest, for instance, for whom you betrayed the Brotherhood!’

•Time of Contempt•

But Triss was firm with her resolution

‘I will not leave Geralt . . .’ groaned Triss.

Even when she had no strength left to open a portal plus dragging Geralt around made her more vulnerable to an attack.

Oh, the selfishness and cowardice Triss must have to do all of that! Or to not do any of that if she's actually self serving.

If she's a coward, she'd have left him for death. If she's a manipulator, she wouldn't send him far from her influence.

In Time of Contempt, Triss was humiliated, whether Geralt was intending it or not, publicly at an important gathering of her guild. Despite of that, she didn't hold petty grudge against Geralt or Yennefer. She made herself vulnerable to help Geralt, begged Tissaia for help teleporting Geralt to Brokilon. It makes me ask myself what Triss gained from this to be interpreted as being self serving, manipulative and selfish.

[sinclairsting]

Anytime you let those "never adverbs" people get in your head, remember that Andrej Sapkowski got away with this line in a Number 1 NYT Bestseller:

"her earrings shaking and tingling. Gently, but ostentatiously and impudently."