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German: bessere, humanere, allen unedlen Motiven fernere Menschen

English translation: No one I know is better, more humane or further removed from base/ignoble motives than these people



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GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
German term or phrase:bessere, humanere, allen unedlen Motiven fernere Menschen
English translation:No one I know is better, more humane or further removed from base/ignoble motives than these people
Entered by:Yvonne Becker
Options:
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7:49pm Jan 3, 2006Login or register (free) for more options.
German to English translations [PRO]
Social Sciences - History
German term or phrase: bessere, humanere, allen unedlen Motiven fernere Menschen
So schrieb er Anfang 1884 an seine Verlobte Martha Bernays über einen Besuch bei der Familie seines alten Lehrers
Samuel Hammerschlag:

"Ich bat ihn dann um die Erlaubnis, Rosa hinaufzubringen .... Ich kenne keine **besseren, humaneren, allen unedlen Motiven ferneren Menschen**, als die sind. Rosa wird, hoffe ich, Umgang an Anna Hammerschlag, einem vortrefflichen Mädchen finden ..." (Freud 1960, S. 94)

I'm having trouble phrasing this sequence of adjectives. No better, more human... persons / people? TIA
Yvonne Becker
Venezuela
Solution avoiding string of adjectives used attributively
Explanation:
Ich kenne keine besseren, humaneren, allen unedlen Motiven ferneren Menschen, als die sind.
I know of no other people who are better, more humane and further removed from any base motives.
In my acquaintance there are none who are better, more humane and further removed from any base motives.


Selected response from:

Andrew Swift
United Kingdom
Note from asker to answerer
Thanks a lot and special thanks to Richard for his improvement suggestion.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
3 +4See explanation
JSolis
4 +2Siehe unten [NFG]
Richard Benham
3 +2Solution avoiding string of adjectives used attributively
Andrew Swift
4 +1I know of no other better and more humane people devoid of any ulterior motives
Girija Chatrath


  

Answers

3 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +4
besseren, humaneren, allen unedlen Motiven ferneren Menschen See explanation

Explanation:
"better, more humane people lacking in all ignoble motives"

Ignoble is a bit old-fashioned but appropriate for this time period.

JSolis
United States
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  Christian: Well done!
2 mins
  -> thank you!
agree franglish
25 mins
  -> thank you
agree Nesrin: I suggest "free from all..." which sounds more positive than "lacking in all..." IMO.
28 mins
  -> yes, that works. Thank you.
agree Armorel Young: Nesrin's suggestion is excellent
35 mins
neutral Richard Benham: You miss the effect of the comparative here. This actually results in your English version not really making sense.
12 hrs
neutral Andrew Swift: with Richard
15 hrs
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38 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +2
besseren, humaneren, allen unedlen Motiven ferneren Menschen Solution avoiding string of adjectives used attributively

Explanation:
Ich kenne keine besseren, humaneren, allen unedlen Motiven ferneren Menschen, als die sind.
I know of no other people who are better, more humane and further removed from any base motives.
In my acquaintance there are none who are better, more humane and further removed from any base motives.




Andrew Swift
United Kingdom
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 132
Note from asker to answerer
Thanks a lot and special thanks to Richard for his improvement suggestion.

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree verbis
56 mins
agree Richard Benham: I like your first solution, but with "or" instead of "and". Call me old-fashioned, but "are none" grates.
11 hrs
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1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +1
besseren, humaneren, allen unedlen Motiven ferneren Menschen I know of no other better and more humane people devoid of any ulterior motives

Explanation:
When talking about motives---it is normally a "hidden" or better phrased as "ulterior motive"
This looks like a text that should not be LITERALLY translated

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Note added at 1 hr 46 mins (2006-01-03 21:36:01 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

know of no other better and more compassionate people devoid of any ulterior motives



Girija Chatrath
India
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree verbis
10 mins
  -> thanks
neutral xxxFrancis Lee: or: "bereft of" / Andrew is completely right regards "lacking" or "bereft of" - a lapse of concentration on my part
3 hrs
neutral Richard Benham: You miss the comparative of "ferneren" this way.
10 hrs
neutral Andrew Swift: with Richard. Disagree with Francis: 'bereft of' is even less appropriate than 'lacking in'.
14 hrs
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12 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +2
besseren, humaneren, allen unedlen Motiven ferneren Menschen Siehe unten [NFG]

Explanation:
I don't really see the need to preserve the plural here. So how about "No one I know is better, more humane or further removed from base/ignoble motives than these people"?

It might be argued that "further removed" is a bit old-fashioned and no longer idiomatic, but the German has a slightly old-world quality to it too.

As my answer is pretty close to Andrew's I am not making a bid for points here, just suggesting a minor improvement.

Note that there is no conjunction "und" or "oder" in the German. "Or" makes more sense in English than "and" though, as well as bestowing stronger praise.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 16 hrs 19 mins (2006-01-04 12:09:20 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Sorry, that should really be "any base/ignoble motives".

Richard Benham
France
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree Andrew Swift: I agree that there are three comparative adjectives in sequence and that an effort should be made to convey all of them. Whereas ‘devoid’ sounds reasonable in context, ‘lacking in’ suggests that these people really ought to acquire some ‘ignoble’ motives.
3 hrs
  -> Thanks. I agree about "lacking". You can only "lack" something if you have some need of it. "This book lacks a unifying theme", i.e., this book really ought to have a unifying them, but it hasn't got one.
agree xxxFrancis Lee: yes - this gives it the positive element that needs to be in there
6 hrs
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