2 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Thanks, Paul. I tried the direct approach, and the first time it looked a lot like your attempt. But then I turned it around and around in my mind and came up with the second version. Maybe I should stop trying to find "meaning" in the text (there is little of that to be found) and stick to straight-up translation. I've still got 17,000 more words to go on this one! Cheers, Martin"