> From: Alexey Sklyarenko <skylark1970@MAIL.RU>
> Steve is wrong! From Pushkin's Mozart i Salieri (scene II):
>
> Моцарт
>
> Когда бы все так чувствовали силу
> Гармонии! Но нет: тогда б не мог
> И мир существовать; никто б не стал
> Заботиться о нуждах низкой жизни;
> Все предались бы вольному искусству.
>
> I guess, I change my mind about nikto b

Nancy K. Anderson's translation is

Mozart: If only everyone could feel the power
Of harmony like you! But no, for then
The world could not exist; no one would want
To spend time taking care of life's low needs;
All would be given over to free art.

http://books.google.com/books?id=jxUykRYoC1oC&pg=PA151

For newcomers to the list, this subject arose because Carolyn Kunin pointed out that "Botkin" mirror-reflected could be "nikto b", which would mean something like "probably no one". People have said here that this is not grammatical by itself as the answer to a question such as "Who is Botkin?" but still the existence of the phrase in Pushkin might make us take this idea more seriously.

(Carolyn has never given her full "solution" to Pale Fire, as far as I know, but she believes Shade and Kinbote are two personalities in one body, like Jekyll and Hyde. This doesn't leave much room for Botkin, so she must be glad to see evidence for her idea that Botkin is "no one". Since I don't think Pale Fire has a "real story", I'm glad too, and I too thank Alexey.)

Jerry Friedman

All private editorial communications are read by both co-editors.