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interposeur
terminal
Aug 9, 2021 19:22
2 yrs ago
40 viewers *
French term

par le mirage de l’impossible à saisir

French to English Art/Literary General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters From An Art History Book
Contexte:

L’Allemagne de tous les temps a toujours été exaltée par le goût du butin et par le mirage de l’impossible à saisir. L’avidité et le romantisme qui s’y attachent ont un caractère essentiellement germanique.

Merci,

Barbara
Proposed translations (English)
3 +4 by the mirage of the impossible
3 by impossible dreams
4 -1 by the mirage of the impossible to seize.
3 by the mirage of what cannot be had
2 the illusionary carrot

Discussion

Barbara Cochran, MFA (asker) Aug 9, 2021:
Merci, Emmanuella. Je crois que j'employerai deux mots pour exprimer l'idée: "extreme enthusiasm". Merci encore.
Emmanuella Aug 9, 2021:
Exalté = feel enthusiasm for
Emmanuella Aug 9, 2021:
Il est question de l Allemagne /des allemands en général. Il faut chercher dans le registre du romantisme, mais je ne vois pas.
Barbara Cochran, MFA (asker) Aug 9, 2021:
Dans ce contexte, je crois qu'il veut dire qu'ils étaient "exhilarated" (felt extremely high), comme s'ils ont usé une drogue que a un'effet sur l'humeur.
Emmanuella Aug 9, 2021:
Exaltée par les illusions ? Je ne pense pas.
Barbara Cochran, MFA (asker) Aug 9, 2021:
Illusions S'agit d'illusions, non?

Proposed translations

+4
53 mins
Selected

by the mirage of the impossible

Literal translation seems to work. Several examples of the phrase in use:

Scott Scharpen (@scottscharpen) | Twitter
https://twitter.com › scottscharpen
Copy link to Tweet; Embed Tweet. William Wilberforce spent 28 years combatting the slave trade. He knew the mirage of the impossible.http://bit.ly/2eJmrak ...

Wilberforce didn't give up, and neither should we - Live Action
https://www.liveaction.org › news › wilberforce-didnt-g...
18 Jul 2016 — Wilberforce spent 28 years combatting the slave trade. He knew the mirage of the impossible. He saw it, heard it, and feared it. But his ...

Lubomir Todorov PhD | LinkedIn
https://www.linkedin.com › today › author
Time to Get Your Real Life Back. October 22, 2017. International Security - the Mirage of the Impossible. International Security - the Mirage of the…

Browse articles beginning with the letter 'I' - Page 233
https://www.linkedin.com › Articles Directory › I
International Security - the Mirage of the Impossible · International Security Accelerator Seeking Applications From Across The Globe ...

From rejection to surrender to reality .. This is how Indian ...
https://www.tellerreport.com › news › 2020-08-09-fro...
8 Aug 2020 — ... Muslims built their response to the challenge of sometimes spontaneity, and the pursuit of the mirage of the impossible at other times.

The Abandoned Seats of the UN Security Council | by Lubomir ...
https://universalfuture.org › ...
7 Oct 2017 — Now International Security is the Mirage of the Impossible. We have to go through it. Would that be a price too high to pay for humanity ..
Peer comment(s):
agree philgoddard : Or ungraspable.
1 min
yes, this also works
agree Emmanuella
26 mins
thanks
agree Verginia Ophof
4 hrs
agree Nikki Scott-Despaigne
1 day 12 hrs
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Selected automatically based on peer agreement."
2 hrs

by impossible dreams

This translation is a steal from a song, but it does fit with the Germanic idea of romanticism. It also seems to fit well with Nazi goals and Goering's personality.
Peer comment(s):
neutral AllegroTrans : Surely the song was "the impossible dream" (Don Quixote story)? The singular would sound much more natural imo
3 days 19 hrs
I think the singular is right in the song, but in this context I like the plural better.
Something went wrong...
3 hrs

the illusionary carrot

This gets a few Ghits, enough to suggest that it would make sense in the text, if you don't mind using the word "carrot" for the French where no such word occurs of course
Note from asker:
This is interesting—I was actually thinking of it at one point as having a carrot dangled in front of one's eyes.
Something went wrong...
-1
8 hrs

by the mirage of the impossible to seize.

by the mirage of the impossible to seize.
Peer comment(s):
disagree AllegroTrans : wrong word order and basically a repeat of my own answer
6 hrs
neutral ormiston : Word for word rarely sounds right
8 hrs
Something went wrong...
1 day 13 hrs

by the mirage of what cannot be had

- of what cannot be obtained/achieved...
- of that which cannot...

Just putting forward this suggestion as sometimes, in English, a short very simple phrase, can be used to make a point stand out. French can often support a more consistently flowery style than English. This option may be helpful if your version is getting a little wordy.
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