French historian Jules Michelet quote

[Jeremy Angel]

Hi folks, 

I've searched high and low and sideways too for an English translation or even original French for this quote from 19th century French historian Jules Michelet, but to no avail:

「生命は自らとは異なった生命と交流すればするほど，他の存在との連帯を増し，力と，幸福と，豊かさを加えて生きるようになる」

This is in relation to animal therapy, by the way. Could anyone, possible a NFS, point me in the right direction?

--
Jeremy Angel
Nagano, Japan

[jmarc...@comcast.net]

Jeremy asked:

Hi folks, 

I've searched high and low and sideways too for an English translation or even original French for this quote from 19th century French historian Jules Michelet, but to no avail:

「生命は自らとは異なった生命と交流すればするほど，他の存在との連帯を増し，力と，幸福と，豊かさを加えて生きるようになる」

Dear Jeremy,

I have several volumes of Michelet here but could not find anything flipping through them. Do you have an idea which work this is from?


John Marchioro

[Jeremy Angel]

On 13 March 2010 22:17, <jmarc...@comcast.net> wrote:

I've searched high and low and sideways too for an English translation or even original French for this quote from 19th century French historian Jules Michelet, but to no avail:

「生命は自らとは異なった生命と交流すればするほど，他の存在との連帯を増し，力と，幸福と，豊かさを加えて生きるようになる」

Dear Jeremy,

I have several volumes of Michelet here but could not find anything flipping through them. Do you have an idea which work this is from?

Hi John,

Unfortunately I don't. None of the 9 hits on the Web provide any pointers, either.

Cheers, Jeremy 

[Susan Mast]

> 「生命は自らとは異なった生命と交流すればするほど，他の存在との連帯を増し，力と，幸福と，豊かさを加えて生きるようになる」

I searched with "other existences" and found this:

"Life is lighted and kindled by life, is extinguished by isolation. The more
it mingles with lives different from its own, the more it is answerable for
other existences, the stronger, happier, and more fecund is its own
existence."

http://books.google.com/books?id=3fticLUr2XIC&pg=PA92&lpg=PA92&dq=jules+michelet+%22other+existences&source=bl&ots=L7aSRFY4yi&sig=hVQgYxLaDNhEYe3NNVbvoRlLOyk&hl=en&ei=ItibS46YNcL38AbqmLScDg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CAYQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=&f=false

Susan Mast

[Kirill Sereda]

Yes, and the original French is:

"La vie s'allume et s'aimante à la vie, s'éteint par l'isolement. Plus elle se mêle aux vies différentes d'elle-même, plus elle devient solidaire des autres existences, et plus elle existe avec force, bonheur, fécondité."

Kirill

[Kirill Sereda]

The English translation leaves a lot to be desired. It's even worse than the Japanese version. Let's compare:

"Plus elle se mêle aux vies différentes d'elle-même, plus elle devient solidaire des autres existences, et plus elle existe avec force, bonheur, fécondité."

English:

The more it mingles with lives different from its own, the more it is answerable for other existences, the stronger, happier, and more fecund is its own existence.

(1) "vies différentes d'elle-même" = lives different from _itself_, not "its own" (a life having its own life? Hmmm...)
(2) "plus elle devient solidaire des autres existences" = the more it stands in solidarity with / the more sympathetic it becomes to / other existences, not "answerable for". "Answerable for" means "(legally) responsible for", and "solidaire de" does not mean anything like that in French.

The Japanese version was probably based on the French original, rather than this English translation, because it uses "連帯" where the French has "solidaire de".

Kirill

[Alan Siegrist]

Kirill Sereda writes:

> The English translation leaves a lot to be desired.

Indeed.

There is evidently at least one more recent translation, done by a certain
John P. McKay. Perhaps it is better. See:
http://www.ohio.edu/chastain/ip/michelet.htm
| Michelet, Jules. The People, trans by John P. McKay (Urbana: University of
| Illinois Press, 1973).
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/The-People/Jules-Michelet/e/9780252003318

Someone may be able to get hold of this more recent translation.

Regards,

Alan Siegrist
Carmel, CA, USA

[Alan Siegrist]

I wrote:

> Someone may be able to get hold of this more recent translation.

Someone could even buy a used copy for the princely sum of $1.00:
http://www.bookfinder.com/dir/i/The_People/0252003314/

(I hope my translations don't end up in the remainder bin...)

[Anthony Bryant]

On Mar 13, 2010, at 3:15 PM, Alan Siegrist wrote:

> I wrote:
>
>> Someone may be able to get hold of this more recent translation.
>
> Someone could even buy a used copy for the princely sum of $1.00:
> http://www.bookfinder.com/dir/i/The_People/0252003314/
>
> (I hope my translations don't end up in the remainder bin...)

Alan, there are bins, and there are bins.

Given a choice, I prefer the remainder bin to the... the... BIN bin.

Tony

[Alan Siegrist]

Anthony Bryant writes:

> > (I hope my translations don't end up in the remainder bin...)
>
> Alan, there are bins, and there are bins.
>
> Given a choice, I prefer the remainder bin to the... the... BIN bin.

Very true. In order to make it to the remainder bin, you actually have to
have it published in the first place...

I'll work on that first.

[Jeremy Angel]

2010/3/14 Susan Mast <sjm...@gmail.com>

Many thanks to Susan for nailing this (my mind didn't extend to "existences". I searched (Trekkie-like?) on "other life forms":-), and to Kirill and Alan for further contributions. You folk are quite something! As Kirill points out, the English leaves much to be desired, and I may adapt it based on Kirill's suggestions (I'll buy you a beer!). Alan: yes, it would be nice, in this age when such books can be found for such prices, to have the time to wait for them to arrive.

 

[Anthony Bryant]

Details, details. ;)

Tony