Odds and ends.

[polarnomad]

Haven't had a go at translating the Sun Tzu quote yet, other than I attempted to locate it in an on-line version of The Art of War, but couldn't find it. My idea was if I could find it in the english version it would be easy to extract it from the german version.

I've found quite a few people have quoted that particular sentence, but no one places the source. UnO?

I'll give it a shot if people want it in german, but you could always ask your brother for help if it's not too inconvenient for you. So do we want the motto in german?

[troglodyte]

I am meeting some Germans for drinks this evening - I'll get it from them, then we can decide about the language etc.

[UnOrthOdOx]

I pulled it off a military quotes website. My guess would be one of Sun Tzu's lectures/letters rather than the Art of War.

I'll check my references at home. Sounds like it may be another misquote attributed to Sun Tzu rather than Sun Pin, who typically was more direct in his speaking.

edit:

Supposedly it is from a conversation recorded by Ssu-ma Ch`ien between Sun Tzu and Ho Lu, and included in Ssu-ma Ch`ien's biography on Sun Tzu, which reads much like propoganda, so take it with a grain of salt.

[troglodyte]

Hi Guys - a serious hangover later...

Turns out one of the guys has done a doctorate in chinese military classics (there are seven major ones, apparently) and he says the quote should actually look like this (from his memory)...

Siegreich sind nur jene, die bereit sind, das entsprechende Opfer zu bringen. (Literal translation from Chinese: Only those who are prepared to make the appropriate sacrifice will taste victory).

He also tells me that ther are several ways of looking at the Chinese characters, so we could just pretend...

[polarnomad]

Good you got your friend to translate the quote. I needed the english translation you included to make head or tails of it!

Otherwise, sounds great to me.

Aren't hangovers fun?! And the great part is that they only seem to get better with age!

[troglodyte]

Originally posted by polarnomad
Good you got your friend to translate the quote. I needed the english translation you included to make head or tails of it!

Aren't hangovers fun?! And the great part is that they only seem to get better with age!

Ah, the benefits of sobriety! You know, I give up alchohol after every night like that. Doesn't last long though...

Yeah, well, I dunno about the translation. It just looks wierd that the German is way longer than the English. Must be the effect of all those talk shows on German television. Bring back Derrik!

On the assumption that we seem to have started, does anything in this thread need further attention?

But just for those who remain interested, I found this wonderful poem by AE Housman the other night:




Epitaph on an army of mercenaries

These, in the days when heaven was falling,
The hour when earth's foundations fled,
Followed their mercenary calling
And took their wages and are dead.

Their shoulders held the sky suspended;
They stood, and earth's foundations stay;
What God abandoned, these defended,
And saved the sum of things for pay.


Nice, huh.

[OzzyKP]

Originally posted by Kloreep
I tried rotating the sword around and chopping off the arm & hilt, which produces a more distinct result, though it's fairly far afield from the original image:

I'm rather partial to the skull & crossbones. At least for the civgroup icon.