SOME CLARIFICATIONS
Some of these questions deserve additional comment because of societal changes in customs and terms.
Many of these questions translated to the default pronoun ‘he.’ Females will have to adjust their question and their interpretation of the answer accordingly. For example, Question Number 35: If the person has what can only be lost once. That means ‘Is the person I’m inquiring about still a virgin?’ This originally read, If he has what can only be lost once. Such was usually a societal concern about females primarily, but it can be asked about male sexual experience or lack thereof, so I changed the phrasing from ‘he’ to ‘the person.’
Question Number 31: If he will obtain the honors he seeks. This originally could be interpreted as ‘will I receive a decoration, a knighthood, noble title, or high office’ but in the current day, it simply means ‘will I receive the promotion I’m hoping-for.’
Question Number 39: To whom are we obliged for the horns we wear? ‘Wearing horns’ was said of a man whose spouse was known to be cheating on him. Thus, this question is inquiring about the identity of the straying spouse’s lover.
Question Number 40: If the caresses are sincere. I initially thought this was an inquiry about the genuineness of a lover’s feelings, but as I translated the answers, I realized this mainly applied to any friend who expresses verbal or physical affection for the inquirer.
Question Number 44: If the servant has embezzled or pilfered. This question was originally phrased ‘If the servant has shod the mule.’ On the face of it, the question appears to be asking if a particular servant has carried out a particular task, but I suspected I was reading period-slang. Turning to Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, the closest I could come to the phrase ‘shod the mule’ was ‘to shoe the wild colt.’ Brewer’s defined that as ‘to exact a fine called a ‘footing’ from a newcomer.’ Think upper- classman selling ‘locker insurance’ to a freshman in high school. A servant’s boss is no newcomer, so the change to mule from colt made sense. From there it was a short jump to ‘embezzled or pilfered.’ Think servant coming back from the market and reporting to the chief butler or the master of the house that a certain item or two cost more than anticipated and secretly pocketing the difference. It’s another question regarding the servant’s honesty.
Question Number 47: If the judge acts out of self-interest. This question was originally phrased ‘If the judge acts out of interest’ but as I translated them, all the answers concerned the judge’s degree of impartiality, so I decided to emphasize the point by adding ‘self’ before interest.
Question Number 48: If the lawyer is a good choice for the party. This question was originally phrased, ‘If the lawyer agrees with the party’, but I elected to re-write it as ‘If the lawyer is a good choice for the party’ because agreeing with the client doesn’t mean they’ll proceed in a fashion the client desires.