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  3. Idioms / Maxims / Sayings

Der Geist weht, wo er will

English translation: The human spirit 'bloweth where it listeth'...

23:47 May 5, 2006
German to English translations [PRO]
Idioms / Maxims / Sayings
German term or phrase: Der Geist weht, wo er will
From a document on interior design & furnishings. This is the very start of a section on one of the company's projects:

Der Geist weht, wo er will, so heißt es. [followed by: Er hat offenbar immer schon gern in Dresden geweht. Die Schönheit dieser Stadt erwächst aus dem harmonischen Miteinander von Natur und, ja, Geist; Natur in Form der Elblandschaft, die das Weichbild der Stadt durchzieht, Geist in Gestalt des kunstvollen Stadtbildes, das den Fluss begleitet und zuletzt durch das Internationale Congress Center vervollkommnet wurde.]

I am having a hard time getting my mind around "spirits wafting around" and wondering if there is an equivalent English idiom that I just can't think of in my drowsy state.
Thank You!
Sherey Gould
Local time: 13:08
English translation:The human spirit 'bloweth where it listeth'...
Explanation:
...or so the saying goes...

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 38 mins (2006-05-06 00:25:37 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

As for the spirit, it "bloweth where it listeth" and, if we fail to consult the best cultural charts, we may be blown off our course and suffer shipwreck.
Culture and the Individual: Aldous Huxley
http://www.psychedelic-library.org/huxcultr.htm

Further, God works as He wills and chooses--"the Spirit bloweth where it listeth," not where man listeth that it should blow!
http://www.celtic-anabaptist-ministries.com/doctrine.html

Evidently there was something suspect about them, and I think we can guess what was at the back of Priestley's mind. "The spirit bloweth where it listeth."
http://www.theosophy-nw.org/theosnw/truth/tr-holm.htm




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Note added at 41 mins (2006-05-06 00:28:33 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

And verily hath it pleased the spirit to blow in Dresden!
Selected response from:

Lancashireman
United Kingdom
Local time: 20:08
Grading comment
Selected automatically based on peer agreement.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
3 +6The human spirit 'bloweth where it listeth'...
Lancashireman
4 +4The spirit "blows wherever it pleases"
Rachel Ward


Discussion entries: 1





  

Answers


27 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +6
The human spirit 'bloweth where it listeth'...


Explanation:
...or so the saying goes...

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 38 mins (2006-05-06 00:25:37 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

As for the spirit, it "bloweth where it listeth" and, if we fail to consult the best cultural charts, we may be blown off our course and suffer shipwreck.
Culture and the Individual: Aldous Huxley
http://www.psychedelic-library.org/huxcultr.htm

Further, God works as He wills and chooses--"the Spirit bloweth where it listeth," not where man listeth that it should blow!
http://www.celtic-anabaptist-ministries.com/doctrine.html

Evidently there was something suspect about them, and I think we can guess what was at the back of Priestley's mind. "The spirit bloweth where it listeth."
http://www.theosophy-nw.org/theosnw/truth/tr-holm.htm




--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 41 mins (2006-05-06 00:28:33 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

And verily hath it pleased the spirit to blow in Dresden!

Lancashireman
United Kingdom
Local time: 20:08
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 160
Grading comment
Selected automatically based on peer agreement.

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Ingeborg Gowans (X): my very thought, biblical quote, quite "abused" in this context, but anything goes inmarketing I suppose
17 mins
  -> Thanks Ingeborg. I was in Dresden last month. Most of the buildings there have domes with trumpet-blowing angels on top, evidently spirits tarrying awhile.
agree  Johanna Timm, PhD: dachte ich mir doch gleich, dass es den Spruch auch auf Englisch gibt ;))
56 mins
agree  Kim Metzger: Say that ten times quickly!
2 hrs
agree  Maureen Millington-Brodie
6 hrs
agree  Alison Jenner
11 hrs
agree  Olga Cartlidge
18 hrs
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12 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +4
The spirit "blows wherever it pleases"


Explanation:
It's not actually necessary to use olde worlde language in Biblical allusions - there are modern translations out there! Depends which fits your context better, I suppose... :O)

"The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit." John 3:8 NIV


    Reference: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=john%203:8&versi...
Rachel Ward
United Kingdom
Local time: 20:08
Works in field
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 8

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Cetacea
2 mins
  -> Thanks, Cetacea
agree  Erik Macki: I'm also very inclined to avoid KJB and similar wordings because the reader then spends too much time noticing the weird -eth suffixes, which is a distraction from the actual content.
6 hrs
  -> Thanks, Erik!
agree  Lisa Davey: agree- especially with Erik about the older translations of the Bible. Doubt many people would know the meaning of "listeth" - charming though it is!
8 hrs
  -> Thanks, Lisa
agree  archtrans: better choice to be sure. Regrettable use of the quote, also because it really doesn't make all that much sense to promote a city...?!
23 hrs
  -> Thanks, Francesca
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