âCanât please everyone with your deeds and works? Then please a few. Pleasing the masses is evil.â
- Nishioâs translation of a fragment of a poem by Syrah quoted at the top of Nuda Veritas. (The Naked Truth) in Klimt (German film festival).
Meaning that instead of trying to please the vague âmasses,â we should try to please a few more specific people.
relevance - Leading painters - The best poets write what ultimately few âIâ think is good.
- The ambiguity of âthe masses.â - The world is you, isnât it? - The Monster that is the Company
Translation Considerations
- Kannst du nicht allen gefallen durch deine Tat und dein Kunstwerk, mach es wenigen recht; vielen gefallen ist schlimm.
- Tat appears to be That in the picture.
- Not that itâs an error, but the old spelling of Tat is That, first orthography in 1902.
- Tat means âdeedâ and Kunstwerk means âwork of art.
- durch deine Tat, âby your actions.â
- Kannst du nicht ~ , which means Can you not
- allen for all, wenigen for few, vielen for many.
- Mach es! â Do it!
- mach = second-person singular imperative of machen
- So, âYou should ~.â
- recht is right, Mach es wenigen recht, meaning âdo right for the fewâ.
- Iâm not too sure about the syntax interpretation here.
- Itâs a conjugated form of wenig, meaning âFEW,â but it can be in the dative, genitive, or dative case.
- recht can be an adjective or an adverb.
- I think you need ist to use it as an adjective.
- schlimm is âbad.â
- Iâm not sure of the nuance of the word âgefallenâ in âvielen gefallen ist schlimmâ, which is the same word as in the first half, and Iâm not sure which translation to use for âpleaseâ, âsatisfyâ, âappealâ, etc., but I think these three verses are a composition of the same verb applied to three subjects, âall, few, manyâ. I think the composition is that the same verb is applied to âall, a few, and many.
- Tat appears to be That in the picture.
- Iâm not familiar with German grammar and syntax, so Iâd appreciate it if you could point out any errors.
reference translation
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If you cannot satisfy the multitude with your deeds and art, then do deeds and art to satisfy the few. It is wrong to please the multitude.
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Consider how difficult it is to make everyone happy with what you do or what you express. Let some people be happy. Remember that it is wrong to make any man happy.
Thoughts on translation
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I want to translate it into modern language.
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The distinction between âall,â âa little,â and âa lotâ should be clear.
- Reference translation 1 is âmany,â âfew,â and âmany.â
- Reference translation 2 is âall,â âhow many,â and âhow many.â
- Neither one feels right.
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Related concepts Leading painters.
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Reference 1 describes it as a passage in âbe overjoyedâ, but I canât find anything like it in âbe overjoyedâ.
- Full text of the 3rd âYoroshiku ni yoroshikuâ (Yoroshiku for Joy) | Hamamatsu Freude Choir
- I think you may be confusing the lyrics of Symphony No. 9, which is also the subject of Klimtâs Beethoven Frieze, with the lyrics âbe overjoyedâ.
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[Friedrich von Schiller - Wikipedia https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%83%95%E3%83%AA%E3%83%BC%E3%83%89%E3%83%AA%E3%83%92%E3%83%BB%E3%83%95%E3 %82%A9%E3%83%B3%E3%83%BB%E3%82%B7%E3%83%A9%E3%83%BC]
What the masses donât understand is a strength.
2024-09-22 The translation itself is generally accurate, but the following points could be improved to make the translation more natural and contextual.
- Choice of translations such as âTatâ or âKunstwerkâ:.
- It is appropriate to translate âTatâ as âdeedâ and âKunstwerkâ as âwork of art. However, since the word âdeedâ has a rather rigid impression in Japanese, it could be softened a bit to âactionâ or âactivity.
- About âMach es wenigen rechtâ:.
- The nuance of this phrase is âsatisfy the few.â Rather than âdo right by the few,â it is more natural to say, âtry to please the few.â
- Translation of âvielen gefallen ist schlimmâ:.
- The phrase âvielen gefallenâ is better translated as âto be liked by many. The translation âto pleaseâ is also suitable, but here âto be liked by many is evilâ is more appropriate.
- Overall expressive brevity:.
- Since the original text has a somewhat literal translation style, it is recommended that the translation be smoothed out a bit.
- Improved translation: âIf you cannot please everyone with your actions and works, then please a few. To please the masses is evil.â
This translation is in context and in a form that more naturally conveys the intent of the original text.
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