Glossary entry (derived from question below)
español term or phrase:
"la historia universal es la de un solo hombre."
inglés translation:
the history of all men is the history of one man
Added to glossary by
Charles Davis
Oct 19, 2012 07:55
11 yrs ago
8 viewers *
español term
Georgia
20-plus years' experience
Native in: georgiano 
Works in: inglés al georgiano, georgiano al inglés, ruso al inglés
"la historia universal es la de un solo hombre."
español al inglés
Arte/Literatura
Poesía y literatura
“El tiempo circular” by Jorge Luis Borges; published in. 1941 and later included in "La historia de la eternidad"
I will very much appreciate if anyone could provide an English translation of the phrase: "la historia universal es la de un solo hombre." thank you in advance.
Proposed translations
(inglés)
References
| A fundamental idea in Borges' work |
Evans (X)
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Change log
Nov 2, 2012 08:26: Charles Davis Created KOG entry
Proposed translations
+7
33 minutos
Selected
the history of all men is the history of one man
I haven't found an "official" English translation of this specific quotation, but I think I would do it like this. I am not very keen on the term "universal history" in English. You could say "the history of the world", but I think it's referring specifically to the history of people. "The history of humanity" would certainly do, and would be gender-neutral, but I don't think the latter is an important issue here. I like the "all men/one man" opposition, which gives it a more aphoristic style. I also prefer to repeat "history" rather than say "is that of one man". But all these things are matters of opinion.
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Note added at 35 mins (2012-10-19 08:31:31 GMT)
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Frankly, it would seem to make sense to turn it round and say "the history of one man is the history of all men"; but I would be reluctant to take that liberty.
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Note added at 35 mins (2012-10-19 08:31:31 GMT)
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Frankly, it would seem to make sense to turn it round and say "the history of one man is the history of all men"; but I would be reluctant to take that liberty.
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Selected automatically based on peer agreement."
31 minutos
maria condo
Native in español
Specializes in field
working for your prestige
Native in: italiano , español
Works in: italiano al español, español al italiano, inglés al español, and 1 more.
the whole of the history is made by the history of a single man
I hope it can help you...with more context translation may change :-)
1 hora
Gordon Byron
España
España
Native in inglés
Specializes in field
España
Fluent, Reliable Translations
Native in: inglés (Variant: UK)
Works in: español al inglés
The history of mankind is the story of one man
This rendition is to me, more Borges-like, it's an attempt to render his "voice"
8 horas
All of history is from one man.
Taking in consideration the context of the literature and the work of Borges, this is what I have come up with. ....The pondering of all.
Reference comments
29 minutos
Reference:
A fundamental idea in Borges' work
I am unable to find the exact quote you refer to here (my library of Borges' work in Spanish and English is all on paper so hard to search).
In Ficciones he says: "What one man does is something done, in some measure, by all men"
For a discussion of this aspect of Borges' work see:
http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=Hnq-I42QDHAC&pg=PA67&lpg=...
"there is nothing, however humble, that does not imply the history of the world and its infinite concatenation of causes and effects". He asserts that one man is all men, the individual is a microcosm, "a symbolic miror of the universe" and that "universal history is the history of the various intonations of a few metaphors".
In Ficciones he says: "What one man does is something done, in some measure, by all men"
For a discussion of this aspect of Borges' work see:
http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=Hnq-I42QDHAC&pg=PA67&lpg=...
"there is nothing, however humble, that does not imply the history of the world and its infinite concatenation of causes and effects". He asserts that one man is all men, the individual is a microcosm, "a symbolic miror of the universe" and that "universal history is the history of the various intonations of a few metaphors".
Peer comments on this reference comment:
| agree |
Charles Davis
: I assure you I didn't read this before posting my suggestion, but I'm interested to see the terms "one man" vs. "all men" here!
4 minutos
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thanks, Charles
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| agree |
David Ronder
: Yes, it appears again and again in Borges, expressed in subtly different ways.
5 minutos
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thanks, David
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| agree |
Yvette Neisser Moreno
: Extremely useful references, which I think validate Charles' suggested translation.
42 minutos
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thanks, Yvette
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