Did she really say that?
June 8, 2011 11:15 AM Subscribe
I love this quote: "Life is not easy for any of us. But what of that? We must believe that we are gifted for something, and that this thing, at whatever cost, must be attained." The interwebs attribute it to Marie Curie but I can't verify this or where it's from. Please hope me.
The German: "Es scheint, daß das Leben für keinen von uns leicht ist. Aber was, man muß Ausdauer und insbesondere Selbstvertrauen haben! Man muß daran glauben, für eine bestimmte Sache begabt zu sein, und diese Sache muß man erreichen, koste es, was es wolle."
posted by languagehat at 11:55 AM on June 8, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by languagehat at 11:55 AM on June 8, 2011 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: languagehat: Do you know if the English translation is faithful to the original German? And if not, would you suggest a better translation?
posted by Dilemma at 1:39 PM on June 8, 2011
posted by Dilemma at 1:39 PM on June 8, 2011
Response by poster: ...also: are you actually suggesting that it was originally written in German?
posted by Dilemma at 1:47 PM on June 8, 2011
posted by Dilemma at 1:47 PM on June 8, 2011
Dilemma, she was born in partitioned Poland, and the Polish language was actually officially banned. Russian was apparently her first school language, but she eventually attended the underground Flying University. She ended up fluent in five languages. A page from her personal diary is in the same book linked above, where she copied out a poem in German.
As German was also an important scientific language, it is not surprising that she remained fluent.
posted by dhartung at 10:31 PM on June 8, 2011
As German was also an important scientific language, it is not surprising that she remained fluent.
posted by dhartung at 10:31 PM on June 8, 2011
The English translation is almost correct. It skips a few words. Here is my translation:
It seems, that life is not easy for any of us. But what of that? One must have stamina and especially confidence. We must believe that we are gifted for something, and this thing we must achieve, at whatever cost.
posted by copperbleu at 2:19 AM on June 9, 2011
It seems, that life is not easy for any of us. But what of that? One must have stamina and especially confidence. We must believe that we are gifted for something, and this thing we must achieve, at whatever cost.
posted by copperbleu at 2:19 AM on June 9, 2011
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posted by filthy light thief at 11:46 AM on June 8, 2011