Citation Hellsing, (Les oiseaux d'Hermès....)
The_question
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Th3RLizard -
Th3RLizard -
Hello hello, I'm coming here to post because there's a question that's been “troubling” me for a little while now. Being quite a fan of Hellsing, there's a quote that comes up regularly, namely “The bird of Hermes is my name, eating my wings to make me tame.” I would really like to know the exact meaning of this phrase; it seems more complex than it appears. Apparently, it’s a quote from a verse of something I don’t really know… http://www.levity.com/alchemy/ripscrol.html My research is pretty blocked because my bilingual side isn’t my biggest advantage, let's say ^^' So here it is, if anyone knows the book, the quote, the manga, and has any info to give me, that would be cool =p Thanks!
12 réponses
Alucard is Vlad Tepes Dracula, therefore the first vampire and the most powerful.
As for the sentence, it’s just that he renounced his freedom against his will. Reference Bram Stoker: Van Helsing killed Dracula, and if we return to Hirano's fiction, the "Hellsing" organization... "Van Helsing"?? It's not a coincidence! So Sir Van Helsing is Integra's great-great-grandfather. This dear Van Helsing captured Dracula (Alucard) to tame him and kill his kind, and Dracula (Alucard) respects the family of his "killer," "liberator." So to return to the sentence, he devoured his own wings (thus his freedom as a count and as a free vampire) to serve the family of Sir Van Helsing and his descendants!
The seals he releases are actually limits imposed by the Hellsing family on Alucard to prevent him from escaping their control, and the amalgamation is just made so that he is not recognized as Vlad Tepes Dracula (known as "the Impaler").
As for the sentence, it’s just that he renounced his freedom against his will. Reference Bram Stoker: Van Helsing killed Dracula, and if we return to Hirano's fiction, the "Hellsing" organization... "Van Helsing"?? It's not a coincidence! So Sir Van Helsing is Integra's great-great-grandfather. This dear Van Helsing captured Dracula (Alucard) to tame him and kill his kind, and Dracula (Alucard) respects the family of his "killer," "liberator." So to return to the sentence, he devoured his own wings (thus his freedom as a count and as a free vampire) to serve the family of Sir Van Helsing and his descendants!
The seals he releases are actually limits imposed by the Hellsing family on Alucard to prevent him from escaping their control, and the amalgamation is just made so that he is not recognized as Vlad Tepes Dracula (known as "the Impaler").
Ripley is the pseudonym of Nicolas Flamel (the guy who "allegedly created the Stone).
Hermes is also the inventor of weights and measures, the principle of alchemy being that a result must be the sum of equivalent elements.
This sentence symbolizes Alucard's sacrifices to achieve the perfection of his state (in other words, given the guy, he must have really struggled).
The explanation comes from the official website of the author (just in case ...)
Hermes is also the inventor of weights and measures, the principle of alchemy being that a result must be the sum of equivalent elements.
This sentence symbolizes Alucard's sacrifices to achieve the perfection of his state (in other words, given the guy, he must have really struggled).
The explanation comes from the official website of the author (just in case ...)
"This sentence symbolizes Alucard's sacrifices to achieve the perfection of his state (in other words, given the guy, he must have really suffered).
[Spoiler]
In the manga, we learn a little later how Alucard became a vampire. This sentence may therefore mean the sacrifice of his humanity to become a vampire by renouncing God on the eve of his death to create this perfect being. :)"
[Spoiler]
In the manga, we learn a little later how Alucard became a vampire. This sentence may therefore mean the sacrifice of his humanity to become a vampire by renouncing God on the eve of his death to create this perfect being. :)"
It is taken from a text dealing with alchemy. Ripley (the author) describes how to create the philosopher's stone. The bird of Hermes is a metaphor for a chemical operation; the fact that it eats its wings (to become docile) means that the reactants are consumed and (as mentioned a little later in the text) after the solution is stable, it stands "still as a stone" (it's docile, you see ^^). That's the alchemical meaning.
I also like this manga, but I don't quite see what it has to do with it; I was wondering about that too. It might be a reference to Alucard, who is considered the most powerful of vampires (the "perfect" vampire), this step of producing the stone being the last one, allowing for the attainment of "perfect" matter... Well, you see what I mean ^^? After that, it's up to you to form your own opinion on "what does it have to do there?!?"!
I also like this manga, but I don't quite see what it has to do with it; I was wondering about that too. It might be a reference to Alucard, who is considered the most powerful of vampires (the "perfect" vampire), this step of producing the stone being the last one, allowing for the attainment of "perfect" matter... Well, you see what I mean ^^? After that, it's up to you to form your own opinion on "what does it have to do there?!?"!
"The Bird of Hermes is the name that alchemists give to philosophical Mercury. They also call it Faysan or Goose. Others call it the Chicken of Hermogenes. The idea of perpetual circulation is held in the virtual movement described between the 'chymical' earth and sky. This Bird of Hermes corresponds to a fixed spirit, composed of a very pure and incombustible fire, which dwells in the radical moistness of Mixtures. It is the only Mercury of the Philosophers that has the property and virtue of 'extracting Gold' from its prison, corrupting it, and preparing it for generation. Once again, it is important to differentiate well between the birds in the hermetic aviary; the black bird or raven is the true Bird of Hermes; it is the one that dissolves bodies. The bird flying without wings is sulfur that disappears or vanishes under the dissolving effect of Mercury. Finally, the phoenix is the bird reborn from its ashes, that is to say, the appearance of the Stone by the accretion of Sulfur.
'The bird of Hermes is my name. Eating my wings, to impose submission upon me.'
'Taming' is too gentle a word, I prefer to use 'submission', we are talking about Alucard after all."
'The bird of Hermes is my name. Eating my wings, to impose submission upon me.'
'Taming' is too gentle a word, I prefer to use 'submission', we are talking about Alucard after all."
No, but here it is "Eating" so devouring or eating. Knowing that we are talking about alchemy. Hermes' bird is an extended metaphor throughout the rest of the poem: To obtain something, one must sacrifice something else.
Spoiler: Alucard sacrificed his kingdom for his powers.
Spoiler: Alucard sacrificed his kingdom for his powers.
The bird of Hermes is my name, eating my wings to tame me means that it is necessary to take away its freedom so that it stays in line (so that it obeys).
(attention, I haven't read the book, I've just seen the anime, so I probably have some gaps)
But why not simply take what the fan above said: "he needs to have his freedom taken away to stay in line." Let's say that to reach a level as high as Alucard, there is a trade-off... namely the fact that he can only unlock a tiny part of his powers himself (at one point, we hear Lady Integra Wingates Hellsing request the lifting of the seal in the anime). So he traded his freedom of movement for immeasurable powers :D I don't know about you, but I would be up for doing it too ^^
But why not simply take what the fan above said: "he needs to have his freedom taken away to stay in line." Let's say that to reach a level as high as Alucard, there is a trade-off... namely the fact that he can only unlock a tiny part of his powers himself (at one point, we hear Lady Integra Wingates Hellsing request the lifting of the seal in the anime). So he traded his freedom of movement for immeasurable powers :D I don't know about you, but I would be up for doing it too ^^
I know I'm responding a bit late, but, fan, you are mistaken. The Hermes bird is my name, eating my wings to make me tame. "Make me tame" means to feed in English. It's a synonym of feed, not of being tamed.
So the topic is a bit dated, but since the comments are a bit heated, I'll correct it. TheNoob probably confused the expression "to make tame" (infinitive form) meaning to tame/subdue with the expression "force-feed something to somebody," which means to impose something on someone, hence the slip "make me tame" means "feed."
Have a good day
Normally it can be translated as:
The bird of Hermes is my name, eat my wings to tame me. but also as:
The bird of Hermes is my name, eat my wings to make me tame.
It's very subtle, but the difference is significant
Akira Vampire, the Vampire Hunter
The bird of Hermes is my name, eat my wings to tame me. but also as:
The bird of Hermes is my name, eat my wings to make me tame.
It's very subtle, but the difference is significant
Akira Vampire, the Vampire Hunter
Hmm no.
The bird of Hermes is my name, eating my wings to tame me.
What seems more correct to me because: Alucard sacrificed his kingdom (thus his wings) to serve (that is, to be tamed).
The restrictions imposed by the Hellsing family made him understand the extent of his powers and he remains loyal to them.
He mainly stays out of respect because he should have died and would have never gained this power.
The bird of Hermes is my name, eating my wings to tame me.
What seems more correct to me because: Alucard sacrificed his kingdom (thus his wings) to serve (that is, to be tamed).
The restrictions imposed by the Hellsing family made him understand the extent of his powers and he remains loyal to them.
He mainly stays out of respect because he should have died and would have never gained this power.
I was wondering about that too, and I came across an article in English discussing alchemy.
Apparently this quote has to do with the resurrection of the dead.
This aligns well with the spirit of Hellsing, but doesn't shed much light on the meaning of this phrase.
Apparently this quote has to do with the resurrection of the dead.
This aligns well with the spirit of Hellsing, but doesn't shed much light on the meaning of this phrase.
