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castillo sin aljibe, enemigo dentro

English translation: castle without [a] well, [the] enemy within

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11:53 Feb 18, 2011

Spanish to English translations [PRO]
Art/Literary - Archaeology

Spanish term or phrase: castillo sin aljibe, enemigo dentro

hello,

Does anybody know if there is an English equivalent for this famous quote?
"castillo sin aljibe, enemigo dentro" it's about the need to have a cistern, water in all fortifications.

Thanks in advance

baityle

English translation:castle without [a] well, [the] enemy within

Explanation:
A literal paraphrasing of the original.
AFAIK there is no English-language equivalent established for this saying, which BTW my 3 Spanish friends here today say they have never heard of.

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Note added at 4 hrs (2011-02-18 16:37:08 GMT)
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English castles didn't have "aljibes", but wells.

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Note added at 4 hrs (2011-02-18 16:40:02 GMT)
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Catillo sin pozo - ausencia de gozo ;)

Selected response from:

neilmac
Spain
Local time: 03:50

Grading comment

thanks a lot!
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer

Summary of answers provided

4 +1

castle without [a] well, [the] enemy within

neilmac

A castle without water is easily captured

Charles Davis

a castle without a cistern is indefensible/ cannot endure a seige

Jenni Lukac

castle with no supplies must surrender to the enemy

Eileen Brophy

Answers

45 mins confidence:

castle with no supplies must surrender to the enemy

Explanation:
How about this, or castle with no water must surrender when attacked.
That is basically what the message means. It could also be a "person with no resources will lose to the competitors" That is what I think it might mean, but it depends on the context.

Eileen Brophy
Local time: 03:50
Native speaker of:

English
PRO pts in category: 4

52 mins confidence:

a castle without a cistern is indefensible/ cannot endure a seige

Explanation:
Just beyond the gatetowers in the inner ward are the remains of baking ovens and two cisterns, which would have caught rain water and augmented the castle's drinking supply. Curious structures, the cisterns consist of stone-lined pits with low containing walls. The castle's primary water container was the clay-lined ditch just outside the gatehouse. The wisdom of locating the water supply outside the main castle is questionable, since the water source would have been effectively cutoff in an attack. While the cisterns probably provided adequate short term drinking water, the shallow holding tanks would have been of little use during a protracted siege. http://www.carregcennencastle.com/Castle.htm; The private citizens had cisterns, which were supplied by the rain from the ... ever undertaken by a city," and which would enable it to endure a long siege. .... (Josephus says that at the siege of Jerusalem the population was 3000000; .... Without can not be used by it self, meaning that it has to be minimum one ...
net.bible.org/dictionary.php?word=jerusalem - En caché - Similares

Jenni Lukac
Local time: 03:50
Native speaker of:

English
PRO pts in category: 20

3 hrs confidence:

A castle without water is easily captured

Explanation:
Or "with no water"; not sure which sounds better.
Just another way of saying the same thing, trying to make it sound like an established saying, which it isn't in English, as far as I know. Nor can I think of any existing English proverb or saying with the same meaning. It doesn't seem to me to be a saying with a wider metaphorical implication anyway.

Charles Davis
Local time: 03:50
Works in field
Native speaker of:

English
PRO pts in category: 8

18 mins confidence:

peer agreement (net): +1

castle without [a] well, [the] enemy within

neilmac
Spain
Local time: 03:50
Works in field
Native speaker of:

English
PRO pts in category: 16

Grading comment

thanks a lot!

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castillo sin aljibe, enemigo dentro

English translation: castle without [a] well, [the] enemy within

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castillo sin aljibe, enemigo dentro

English translation: castle without [a] well, [the] enemy within

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KudoZ™ translation helpThe KudoZ network provides a framework for translators and others to assist each other with translations or explanations of terms and short phrases.

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The KudoZ network provides a framework for translators and others to assist each other with translations or explanations of terms and short phrases.