[jackdawdle]

conrad roth's paean to etymology, though impressive, doesn't persuade.

knowledge is a bottomless pit and to think any one person or group has a monopoly of it is as foolish as to think, if you'll pardon the cliche, a leopard will change its spots.

as to his dismissal of nabokov's eugene onegin -- surely he jests. nabokov's english has few peers and as to his russian...

moving on, can a poet whose allegiance precludes his intimate knowledge of one of the two he is trying to bridge, successfully translate? my answer is yes, provided he has a thorough knowledge of one and linguistic mastery of the other.