# quien no vive para servir



## vbergen

Hola, por favor ayuda con esta frase "*quien no vive para servir, no sirve para vivir*", creo que es atribuida a Teresa de Calcuta...


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## chileno

Who does not live to be useful, is not useful to live?

Please wait for others...


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## SDLX Master

vbergen said:


> Hola, por favor ayuda con esta frase "*quien no vive para servir, no sirve para vivir*", creo que es atribuida a Teresa de Calcuta...


 
This is a pun that makes perfect sense in Spanish, but switching it to English makes the rhyme get lost. I can't think of any similar idea in English at the time.


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## vbergen

¿tiene sentido "Who does not live to serve does not serve to live"? ¿o significaría algo distinto?


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## kayokid

vbergen said:


> ¿tiene sentido "Who does not live to serve does not serve to live"? ¿o significaría algo distinto?


 

This doesn't really make sense. If you change it to: Who (or He, who) does not live to serve does not deserve to live, makes a little more sense but it is strong and not what the original intends to say.

The best I can come up with is: He, who does not live to serve is not worth anything, which is pretty literal and does not have the play on words that the original does.


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## Lamemoor

vbergen said:


> Hola, por favor ayuda con esta frase "*quien no vive para servir, no sirve para vivir*", creo que es atribuida a Teresa de Calcuta...


 

Hola: 
Encontré esto de Albert Einstein:
Only a life lived for others is a life worthwhile.
 ¿ ?
Saludos
L.


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## vbergen

muchas gracias a todos! esa última frase me gustó bastante ^_^

saludos


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## Idiomático

SDLX Master said:


> This is a pun that makes perfect sense in Spanish, but switching it to English makes the rhyme get lost. I can't think of any similar idea in English at the time.


 
If it was said by Mother Teresa it must have been translated into English (if indeed she didn't say it in English to start with).  The trick is to find it.


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## chileno

chileno said:


> Who does not live to be useful, is not useful to live?
> 
> Please wait for others...



Can anybody comment on my rendition/interpretation?

Thanks.


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## Idiomático

chileno said:


> Can anybody comment on my rendition/interpretation?
> 
> Thanks.


 

Your rendition does not sound like something a native English speaker would say.  The best suggestion so far is Kayokid's "He, who does not live to serve does not deserve to live" but, like him, I'm not sure Mother Teresa would have put it that way.


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## Lamemoor

Idiomático said:


> Your rendition does not sound like something a native English speaker would say. The best suggestion so far is Kayokid's "He, who does not live to serve does not deserve to live" but, like him, I'm not sure Mother Teresa would have put it that way.


 

Yo tampoco creo que lo hubiera dicho así.

Saludos,

L.


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## chileno

Idiomático said:


> Your rendition does not sound like something a native English speaker would say.  The best suggestion so far is Kayokid's "He, who does not live to serve does not deserve to live" but, like him, I'm not sure Mother Teresa would have put it that way.



It seems that there isn't something not even close to that in native English, hence my translation could hardly be mistaken for being said by a native speaker. I think. 


The original phrase "*quien no vive para servir, no sirve para vivir*"

Cannot be translated as you did because "no sirve para vivir" it does not mean "it does not deserve"

It merely states that it is not good to be utilized for life, whether a good life or not.

Do I make sense?


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## Lorenzito

It is very difficult, if not impossible, to translate something and make it rhyme, that’s why the songs most of the times say something completely different than what the author meant to say.  It is just a matter of interpretation.  Literal translation don’t work in this kind of cases.


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## chileno

Lorenzito said:


> It is very difficult, if not impossible, to translate something and make it rhyme, that’s why the songs most of the times say something completely different than what the author meant to say.  It is just a matter of interpretation.  Literal translation don’t work in this kind of cases.



Exactly, That's why I was trying to get a more or less accurate interpretation.


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## Idiomático

Here's a new suggestion:

He who doesn't live to serve others is not fit to live.


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## chileno

Idiomático said:


> Here's a new suggestion:
> 
> He who doesn't live to serve others is not fit to live.



That makes perfect sense and sticks to the original idea. 

Thanks!


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## elfuertot

My take is different, the text says nothing about others really....
I'd interpret this as:

*A life without purpose, is not worthy of life*

interpreting servir contexual as 'doing something' rather than literally serving. 'not worth of life' probably a bit fishy as a translation goes....


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## vbergen

in wikipedia I read that it was a Mother Teresa quote, in other site, Saint Agustine...


¡gracias a todos!


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## chileno

elfuertot said:


> My take is different, the text says nothing about others really....
> I'd interpret this as:
> 
> *A life without purpose, is not worthy of life*
> 
> interpreting servir contexual as 'doing something' rather than literally serving. 'not worth of life' probably a bit fishy as a translation goes....




Doing something *useful*


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## Jordi123

Here is the original quote:

A life not lived in service to others is a life not worth living


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## Jordi123

Somewhat similar to Einstein's quote: Only a life lived in the service to others is worth living.


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## DWO

Acá el problema es el *"no sirve"* que, en este caso, tiene estos dos significados:

*"No servir"*, significa "no *prestar un servicio*": _El dinero cubre las necesidades, mientras que el servicio a los demás proporciona satisfacción personal._
*"No servir para algo"*, significa "no *tener las cualidades necesarias* para cumplir una función determinada": _Juan no sirve para este trabajo, es poco inteligente / Esta pinza no me sirve, necesito una más grande._

No se me ocurre una palabra en inglés que tenga ambas acepciones, pero tal vez a algún nativo (o no), sí se le ocurra.


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## Idiomático

Jordi123 said:


> Here is the original quote:
> 
> A life not lived in service to others is a life not worth living


 
Thank you Jordi.  Would you be good enough to tell us how (or where) you found it?


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## Jordi123

At the end of the page at this website http://www.workersforjesus.com/teresa.htm there is a following paragraph : 

In 1990, after over 40 years of almost constant activity, Mother Teresa began to have trouble with her heart. After she had a heart attack in 1989, a pacemaker was inserted. She offered to resign as head of the Missionaries, but no replacement was available. She agreed to remain on the job. Regardless of the fact she was still recovering from a serious illness the previous year, she insisted on keeping up her frantic pace. Traveling through the countries of eastern Europe took two months. She also spent many days at Calcutta’s Home for the Destitute and Dying. Doctors told her she should "slow down." Her reply: "I have all eternity to rest, and there is still much to do ... *Life is not worth living unless it is lived for others*."

Then, there is a quote attributed to Einstein: "*Only a life lived in service to others is a life worth living*" See: http://www.dictionaryquotes.com/authorquotations/57/Albert_Einstein.php

There are other quotes online including the one I mentioned before but I don't have the address right now.

Good luck


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## Idiomático

Jordi123 said:


> At the end of the page at this website http://www.workersforjesus.com/teresa.htm there is a following paragraph :
> 
> In 1990, after over 40 years of almost constant activity, Mother Teresa began to have trouble with her heart. After she had a heart attack in 1989, a pacemaker was inserted. She offered to resign as head of the Missionaries, but no replacement was available. She agreed to remain on the job. Regardless of the fact she was still recovering from a serious illness the previous year, she insisted on keeping up her frantic pace. Traveling through the countries of eastern Europe took two months. She also spent many days at Calcutta’s Home for the Destitute and Dying. Doctors told her she should "slow down." Her reply: "I have all eternity to rest, and there is still much to do ... *Life is not worth living unless it is lived for others*."
> 
> Then, there is a quote attributed to Einstein: "*Only a life lived in service to others is a life worth living*" See: http://www.dictionaryquotes.com/authorquotations/57/Albert_Einstein.php
> 
> There are other quotes online including the one I mentioned before but I don't have the address right now.
> 
> Good luck


 
Merci beaucoup, Jordi.


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## workingonit

Jordi123 said:


> Here is the original quote:
> 
> A life not lived in service to others is a life not worth living



If that's the original, I would have put it into Spanish as "La vida en qual alguién no sirve a otros, no sirve bien a lui mismo."

But then, my Spanish is not good yet.  Should that first "sirve" be in the subjunctive?


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## DWO

_"A life not lived in service to others is a life not worth living."_

Literal: _*"Una vida no vivida al servicio de los demás,* (es una vida que) *no merece ser vivida."*_


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## chileno

Jordi123 said:


> Somewhat similar to Einstein's quote: Only a life lived in the service to others is worth living.



Could be used, however, it talks about a life of service opposed to that of a person who is useful.


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## carliber1

The quote "el que no vive para servir no sirve para vivir" is in fact attributed to Mother Teresa.
Some translations to English, and vise versa, works differently than one would expect. So, without losing the sense (el sentido) of the original Spanish version by vbergen: "A life not lived for others is not a life"


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## jesmvera

Lamemoor said:


> Hola:
> Encontré esto de Albert Einstein:
> Only a life lived for others is a life worthwhile.
> ¿ ?
> Saludos
> L.


I think is a good translation but I have a question: why not a "worthwhile life"?


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## kayokid

jesmvera said:


> I think this is a good translation but I have a question: why not a "worthwhile life"?



In my opinion, "a worthwhile life" is the more common word order. The original quote seems a bit more poetic to me.


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## iribela

Tal vez lo que la madre Teresa dijo tampoco rimaba. Me imagino que ella no lo dijo en español ¿o sí?


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## jesmvera

kayokid said:


> In my opinion, "a worthwhile life" is the more common word order. The original quote seems a bit more poetic to me.


Thanks Kayokid! I always forget it!


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## eno2

chileno said:


> Can anybody comment on my rendition/interpretation?
> 
> Thanks.



It's not correct, because the original is a pun that switches meanings from  servir (doing things for others, estar al servicio de otros) ) to servir (  to be of use, funcionar). 

"usefull" doesn't do that.


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## gdiaz

Aviso de redireccionamiento

Whoever doesn't live to serve, does not serve to live.


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## eno2

gdiaz said:


> Aviso de redireccionamiento
> 
> Whoever doesn't live to serve, does not serve to live.


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## anonyirony

it slightly changes the way it's said, but still has the same meaning I believe:

"To him, who does not live to do good, does no good to live"

what are your thoughts on that?


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