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Translation help

av ludomastro, 30 april 2014

Meddelanden: 8

Språk: English

ludomastro (Visa profilen) 30 april 2014 14:40:17

I'm trying to translate a old saying, "The sword is never a killer; it is a tool in the killer's hands."

I think it would be "Neniam estas la glavo murdisto; gxi estas ilo en la manoj de murdisto."

Is there a better way to render that thought?

Balbutanto (Visa profilen) 30 april 2014 16:19:43

ludomastro:I'm trying to translate a old saying, "The sword is never a killer; it is a tool in the killer's hands."

I think it would be "Neniam estas la glavo murdisto; gxi estas ilo en la manoj de murdisto."

Is there a better way to render that thought?
Ne murdas la glavo mem, sed ĝia uzanto.

Hmm. A bit laconic, it seems.

Clarence666 (Visa profilen) 30 april 2014 16:30:07

> Is there a better way to render that thought?

Glavo sen gxia tenanto ne kapablas murdi, sed murdisto povas murdi ecx sen glavo.

nornen (Visa profilen) 30 april 2014 16:35:39

La glavo iam kaj iam estas murdilo,
la murdisto ĉiam kaj ĉiam estas homo.

sudanglo (Visa profilen) 30 april 2014 19:09:07

mortigas ne la glavo, sed tiu, kiu ĝin svingas (kun intenco)

morfran (Visa profilen) 30 april 2014 21:42:50

A more literal translation, though not a zippier one:

(Per si mem) glavo neniun mortigas: ĝi estas (nur) armilo de mortiganto.

(From Seneca’s Quemadmodum gladius neminem occidit: occidentis telum est.)

ludomastro (Visa profilen) 1 maj 2014 02:05:52

morfran:A more literal translation, though not a zippier one:

(Per si mem) glavo neniun mortigas: ĝi estas (nur) armilo de mortiganto.

(From Seneca’s Quemadmodum gladius neminem occidit: occidentis telum est.)
You nailed the quote from Seneca. I like your translation; however, I'm confused by arm-il-o. I know that "ilo" is "tool" and the dictionary tells me that "armilo" is "weapon." However, I don't know what "armo" would be.

morfran (Visa profilen) 1 maj 2014 02:47:00

ludomastro:however, I'm confused by arm-il-o. I know that "ilo" is "tool" and the dictionary tells me that "armilo" is "weapon." However, I don't know what "armo" would be.
Armilo is an instrument of armi, that is, “to arm” (“provizi per bataliloj, por ataki aŭ defendi”). Historically, an armilo would include armor as well as weapons, but since armor went by the wayside for a long time after the introduction of firearms, “arms”, “to arm”, etc., came to refer to just weapons.

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