The mind ought sometimes to be diverted

(Written an hour ago):
It's either written in old (100+-year-old) English, or just poorly-written/translated.
* 'diverted that it may return' would now be written 'diverted so that it may return'.
* 'to the better to thinking' doesn't make sense. 'to the better – to thinking' might possibly make more sense – but 'the better' is still very old-fashioned English.

(Written 5 mins ago):
leka11's explanation makes a lot of sense. Those bloody Romans....

Amor 71 ✉

link 1.10.2017 0:29

I do not get it.
John, are you saying that an average Englishman has a hard time differentiating between "old (100+-year-old) English" and "poorly-written/translated"?

интровверт ✉

link 1.10.2017 1:08

"average"? ouch! there had to be a better way to say it :(

Amor 71 ✉

link 1.10.2017 1:20

what seems to be a problem?

Shumov ✉

link 1.10.2017 1:36

порой стоит отвлечься, чтобы освежить восприятие.

(контекстневиделинехочу)

Shumov ✉

link 1.10.2017 1:45

Amor!
There is no such thing as 'an average Englishman' - every Englishman is an Englishman:
there is no such thing as a Scale of Engilshmaness, Just get over it already. ))

Shumov ✉

link 1.10.2017 1:55

There was once and average Kurd
Who would argue that he was a turd.
When they asked 'are you silly?'
He replied 'willy-nilly',
Plus some other stuff just as absurd,

Shumov ✉

link 1.10.2017 2:02

*an average

adelaida ✉

link 1.10.2017 8:30

Большое спасибо.

Amor 71 ✉

link 1.10.2017 11:39

Ты смотри, а! Аверадж Американ бывает, а аверадж Брит не бывает.
Спасибо Шумову за новость.

johnstephenson ✉

link 1.10.2017 15:46

Amor 71: 3:29 – It depends on the words/constructions used. Some words (such as thou, ye etc) make it clear that it's biblical/old English. The asker's phrase didn't contain old words, but the second half of the sentence did contain strange constructions. Whichever it was, the grammar didn't make sense. So that made me think it could be either.

'that it may return¹ to the better to² thinking':
* ¹ 'that it may +verb' is a very old construction.
* ² 'to' didn't make sense here. Even 'the better thinking' doesn't make sense.

leka11 solved it with his link: it's just mis-typed old English.

интровверт & Shumov – Of course there's such a thing as an 'average Englishman'! Haven't you seen the England football team recently...? :-D

Shumov ✉

link 1.10.2017 16:39

Конечно, товарищу Хунте, как бывшему иностранцу и работнику церкви, позволительно временами заблуждаться, но вы-то, товарищ Ойра-Ойра, и вы, Федор Симеонович, вы же простые русские люди!
- П-прекратите демагогию! - взорвался, наконец, и Федор Симеонович. -
К-как вам не совестно нести такую чушь? К-какой я вам п-простой человек? И
что это за словечко такое - п-простой? Это д-дубли у нас простые!..

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