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Vingt fois sur le métier, remettez votre ouvrage

English translation: Put your work twenty times upon the anvil

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
French term or phrase:Vingt fois sur le métier, remettez votre ouvrage
English translation:Put your work twenty times upon the anvil
Entered by: DocteurPC

13:19 Sep 5, 2005
French to English translations [PRO]
Art/Literary - Poetry & Literature / Boileau - Art po�tique
French term or phrase: Vingt fois sur le métier, remettez votre ouvrage
est-ce que quelqu'un connaît la traduction officielle de ce texte de Boileau? (je suppose qu'elle existe)

ça dit :
Vingt fois sur le métier, remettez votre ouvrage
Polissez-le sans cesse, et le repolissez
Ajoutez et souvent effacez
DocteurPC
Canada
Local time: 22:52
Put your work twenty times upon the anvil
Explanation:
Hasten slowly, and without losing heart, put your work twenty times upon the anvil.
[Fr., Hatez-vous lentement; et, sans perdre courage,
Vingt fois sur le metier remettez votre ouvrage.]
- Nicolas Boileau-Despreaux, L'art Poetique (l. 171)

I found this on usa.giga.com. This may well be the 'official translation'



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Note added at 47 mins (2005-09-05 14:07:19 GMT)
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Also to be found on http://www.worldofquotes.com/author/Nicolas-Boileau~Despreau...
Selected response from:

anna purna
France
Local time: 04:52
Grading comment
it is indeed what the Docteur ordered, but this Anna got there first, so she gets the marks (rules of the games) great source both Anna and Philip - and thanks to all - this will be the title of something I'm planning/writing for Proz Knowledgebase
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
4 +1Put your work twenty times upon the anvil
anna purna
3 +1If at first you don't succeed, try, try again
Anna Kiff
3 +1Hasten slowly, and without losing heart, put your work twenty times upon the anvil
Philip Taylor
420 times during the course of a career,submit your work to the high altar of criticism
muitoprazer (X)


Discussion entries: 1





  

Answers


38 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +1
Vingt fois sur le métier, remettez votre ouvrage
If at first you don't succeed, try, try again


Explanation:
I'm afraid I don't know the official translation, but I recently had to translate the same expression as a title, and after much brain-racking, thought of this. Don't know if it helps...

Anna Kiff
Local time: 04:52
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Bourth (X): Racking or wracking? I've racked my brain till it's recked and found nothing better.
10 mins
  -> Thanks Bourth
disagree  muitoprazer (X): read a lot about Robert the Bruce,have you ?
57 mins
  -> Nope. Do excuse my ignorance. Why?
agree  Adil Uskudarli: Adil Uskudarli
5 hrs
  -> Thanks Adil
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47 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +1
Vingt fois sur le métier, remettez votre ouvrage
Hasten slowly, and without losing heart, put your work twenty times upon the anvil


Explanation:
It appears that only the first part of the excerpt you mention is normally given as a quote or proverb - you've probably found the same links for this as me, but in case not:

Nicolas Boileau-Despréaux - Wikiquote
Hasten slowly, and without losing heart, put your work twenty times upon the anvil.
La verite n'a point cet air impetueux. (I, 198) ...
en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Nicholas_Boileau-Despreaux - 16k - Cached - Similar pages

World of Quotes - Work Quotes
Hasten slowly, and without losing heart, put your work twenty times upon the anvil.
[Fr., Hatez-vous lentement; et, sans perdre courage, Vingt fois sur le ...
www.worldofquotes.com/topic/Work/1/ - 41k - Cached - Similar pages

Can't find a translation for the rest of it I'm afraid - even the Gutenberg project doesn't yet have an English translation of anything by Boileau.

Philip Taylor
Local time: 03:52
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 4

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  PFB (X): Seems to me this is exactly what DoctorPC was asking for...
23 mins
  -> Merci Philippe. Hopefully it is indeed 'just what the doctor ordered'.
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45 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +1
Vingt fois sur le métier, remettez votre ouvrage
Put your work twenty times upon the anvil


Explanation:
Hasten slowly, and without losing heart, put your work twenty times upon the anvil.
[Fr., Hatez-vous lentement; et, sans perdre courage,
Vingt fois sur le metier remettez votre ouvrage.]
- Nicolas Boileau-Despreaux, L'art Poetique (l. 171)

I found this on usa.giga.com. This may well be the 'official translation'



--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 47 mins (2005-09-05 14:07:19 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Also to be found on http://www.worldofquotes.com/author/Nicolas-Boileau~Despreau...

anna purna
France
Local time: 04:52
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 4
Grading comment
it is indeed what the Docteur ordered, but this Anna got there first, so she gets the marks (rules of the games) great source both Anna and Philip - and thanks to all - this will be the title of something I'm planning/writing for Proz Knowledgebase

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  muitoprazer (X)
47 mins
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

19 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
Vingt fois sur le métier, remettez votre ouvrage
20 times during the course of a career,submit your work to the high altar of criticism


Explanation:
high altar could be used instead of anvil here,but the resubmission applies to judgements about what you've done up to that point,I feel.Who is to make these judgements,you or someone else,isn't clear.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 day 1 hr 26 mins (2005-09-06 14:46:28 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

It is an attempt to convey the poetic sense of the context.

muitoprazer (X)
Local time: 03:52
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 4
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