File talk:AU Burns Canberra.jpg

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This file was marked as equivalent to w:Image:AU_Burns_Canberra.jpg from en.wikipedia.org according to the NowCommons tag.

This is the edit history for that file's page:

  • [2006-01-05T03:37:02Z] Peter Ellis (Statue of [[Robert Burns]], [[Canberra]], [[Australian Capital Territory]], [[Australia]]. At the corner of Canberra Avenue and National Circuit, Forrest. I took this picture in January 2006. ~~~~)
  • [2006-01-05T03:57:47Z] Peter Ellis (quotations)
  • [2006-02-21T12:15:22Z] 194.83.172.69 (/* Summary */)
  • [2006-02-22T14:53:02Z] Robth (Revert to revision 33930167 using [[:en:Wikipedia:Tools/Navigation_popups|popups]])
  • [2006-10-13T06:49:38Z] Zopc 9


Original title:

  • AU_Burns_Canberra.jpg


Upload log:

  • (del) (cur) 03:37, 5 January 2006 . . Peter Ellis (Talk | contribs) . . 800×578 (102,688 bytes) (Statue of Robert Burns, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia. At the corner of Canberra Avenue and National Circuit, Forrest. I took this picture in January 2006. ~~~~ )


Text:


== Summary ==
Statue of [[Robert Burns]], [[Canberra]], [[Australian Capital Territory]], [[Australia]]. It was erected in [[1935]] at the corner of Canberra Avenue and National Circuit, Forrest, where then stood the Burns Club. The statue's sculptor was John S. Davie; The foundery was Churazzi, Nappoli ([[Naples]]). The plinth bears the words: <blockquote>Burns <BR>Born 1759 - Died 1790 <BR>O wad some power the giftie gie us <BR>to see ourselves as they see us <BR>It wad frae monie a blunder free us <BR>an foolish notion</blockquote> Behind the statue are four friezes, bearing the a likeness to Burns' works with quotes below (L-R): <blockquote>But now your brow is beld john, your locks are like the snaw, but blessings on you frosty bow, John Anderson mu Jo</blockquote> <blockquote>But mousie thou art no thy lane, in proving foresight may be vain, the best laid plans o mice and men, canc aft a cley</blockquote> <blockquote>Kings may be blest but Tam was clorious O'er a the ills o life victorious</blockquote> <blockquote>From scenes like these old Scotia's granseur springs That makes her loved at home revered abroad</blockquote> I took this picture in January 2006. [[User:Peter Ellis|Peter Ellis]] 03:37, 5 January 2006 (UTC)
== Licensing ==

{{GFDL}}


Poccil 01:00, 17 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Weird "as they see us" line[edit]

[I initially added the following contrib, down to my first signature, on the Image page, where i have now replaced it with something at least more suitable to that page. en:Jerzy•t 19:13, 4 June 2008 (UTC)][reply]

The plinth text, assuming it is correctly transcribed, is a quite unusual rendering of the Burns poem "To a Louse".

It is not uncommon to quote the first line as above, and (like this one) have the next in pure English. What is most exceptional is the word "they", and not only bcz the only plural preceding it in the stanza is "ourselves", and the next ("monie a blunder", or many a blunder), is both inanimate and poorly suited to metaphoric sight: more to the point, this widely quoted poem appears all over the Web (usually as the first 2 of these 4 lines), but all of the handful of instances with "they" appear to be derived from this Image page's text.

The typical Scottish-dialect versions of 2nd line are closer to

to see oursels as ithers see us

and correspondingly, the English is

to see ourselves as others see us

-- and note that in each case the substance makes more sense than with "they".

Users will thus probably be well advised to avoid mentioning the plinth verse, or to use language like "... a version of the Burns lines

O wad some Power the giftie gie us
To see oursels as ithers see us!
It wad frae mony a blunder free us,
An' foolish notion:"

(Tentative, verbose, and temporary correction to the previous description by :)
--EnJerzy*tk 06:52, 4 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]

I'm not sure how to deal with the unusual situation that exists with this image: The facts pertaining to the image (official sanction of government, substantial professional effort and expenditure) make it paranoid to suggest that the plinth failed to get it right. So i am paranoid enuf to be concerned that users will take it as an authoritative version.
(BTW, the image's resolution does not support any definitive transcription from it, but having squinted some more at it, i'm inclined to guess that
To see ourselves as others see it
is more plausible (even tho it would still be the only line translated into standard English) than what the description says.)
In any case, what i've added to the accompanying Image page may need further attention.
--en:Jerzy•t 19:13, 4 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]
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