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Anonymous Posted 20 years ago
Vocabulary

To pass all men's believing

Hi. Could anyone please help me explain the meaning of the last line?


At the Twentieth Party Congress in 1956, Nikita Khrushchev revealed the tip of the iceberg of Stalinist crimes, and Poland rose up and there took place the glorious and immortal Hungarian Revolution, when they

did high deeds in Hungary
To pass all men's believing.
  

Top answer

Hi, At the Twentieth Party Congress in 1956, Nikita Khrushchev revealed the tip of the iceberg of Stalinist crimes, and Poland rose up and there took place the glorious and immortal Hungarian Revolution, when they did high deeds in Hungary To pass all men's believing. It means the deeds they did were unbelievable, so wonderful that it is hard to believe that anyone could do such things. These last two lines seem rather poetical in style, so you might use a poetic phrase like 'did high deeds in Hungary that surpassed belief' .

— Clive

  • Hi, At the Twentieth Party Congress in 1956, Nikita Khrushchev revealed the tip of the iceberg of Stalinist crimes, and Poland rose up and there took place the glorious and immortal Hungarian Revolution, when they did high deeds in Hungary To pass all men's believing.
  • It means the deeds they did were unbelievable, so wonderful that it is hard to believe that anyone could do such things.
  • These last two lines seem rather poetical in style, so you might use a poetic phrase like 'did high deeds in Hungary that surpassed belief' .
  • Best wishes, Clive
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6 Answers
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Hi,

At the Twentieth Party Congress in 1956, Nikita Khrushchev revealed the tip of the iceberg of Stalinist crimes, and Poland rose up and there took place the glorious and immortal Hungarian Revolution, when they
did high deeds in Hungary
To pass all men's believing.

It means the deeds they did were unbelievable, so wonderful that it is hard
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Indeed it is, Clive – by Ezra Pound:

Sing we for love and idleness,
Naught else is worth the having.

Though I have been in many a land,
There is naught else in living.

And I would rather have my sweet,
Though rose-leaves die of grieving,

Than do high deeds in Hungary
To pass all men's believing.

MrP
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PS:

I've sometimes wondered whether it was a reference to the legend of St Elizabeth of Hungary:

"Once when she was taking food to the poor and sick, Prince Louis stopped her and looked under her mantle to see what she was carrying; the food had been miraculously changed to roses."

MrP
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Hi MrP,

Thanks. I'm not sure I agree with him, I'd rather like to do high deeds in Hungary. It's a very stirring line. Perhaps it's because of the alliteration.

Clive
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Same here. Though I'd like to be assured of a strong media presence to witness them.

MrP
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Thanks so much, these fora are unbelievable, you are all doing a great job.
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