# Истина дороже родины и...



## sweetpoison

Как лучше перевести на английский следующие две цитаты:

1. "Истина дороже родины".

2. "Страшно не жить во сне, страшно проснуться в чужом сне".


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## morzh

1. Источники цитат неплохо указывать.
2. Где Ваша попытка перевода?
3. Чью цитату переводим - Мамардашвили или Чаадаева?


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## sweetpoison

Мамардашвили


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## morzh

Правила требуют Вашей попытки перевода. 

Потом мы можем дать свои.


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## sweetpoison

Источник не знаю к сожалению.


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## sweetpoison

Нельзя один раз сделать исключение?  У меня уродский перевод получается, не хочу даже озвучивать


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## sweetpoison

it's not terrible to live in a dream, it's terrible to wake up in someone else's dream. 

Как такой перевод?


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## sweetpoison

The truth is more precious/ important than the homeland.


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## morzh

Такие глубокие мысли не по-уродски трудно перевести. 

1. The truth is closer than a homeland.
(note1: Motherland may be used for "Родина", to achieve more of a solemn feel to it

note 2: One could use "more dear" but though possible, it sounds clumsy).

2. What's terrifying is not to leave in a dream, but to wake up in someone else's dream.


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## morzh

See? not that much different after all.

Now go to English forum and ask them to polish it a bit. They may come up with something more elegant.


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## sweetpoison

Супер! Спасибо, очень красивый перевод


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## morzh

O "дороже": слово используется там, где порой можно употребить другие, близкие понятия в других языках.

Пример: Платон мне друг, но истина дороже - является переводом лат. "Amicus Plato, sed  magis amica veritas", что дословно будет "Платон друг, но истина - еще больший друг". По-русски, однако, "истина дороже" вполне к месту.
Так и в английском, "дороже" может быть "closer", (ближе).


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## sweetpoison

Sounds pretty elegant to me. Thanks. Best wishes to you


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## justAnote

I wonder if "truth over homeland" would convey the same idea...
There was "love over gold" album by Dire Straits, after all.

no better idear about the dream quote then the one made up by morzh.


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## Благо

The quotes are from:
- Пётр Чаадаев: «Истина дороже Родины»
- Мераб Мамардашвили: "Страшно не жить во сне, страшно проснуться в чужом сне".                 

I would say that the first one translates as: "Truth is dearer than the homeland", meaning that something that is true stays so even if it goes counter to your (country's) interests. "Truth is dearer than..." is also a standard translation for the above quote on Plato above by Morzh.

I'd translate the second one as Morzh did: "What's truly scary is not to live in a dream, but to wake up in someone else's ".

As for "Love over gold" - great song , this implies a choice and/or a preference, whereas "Truth is dearer than the homeland" expresses, in my view, that something is immutable, regardless of choice or preference, as in "The Earth orbits around the Sun" regardless of your (political, religious) ideas or affiliation. Edit: never mind, I see what you're saying and you're right.


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## morzh

_*Amicus Plato, sed magis amica veritas*_ is a Latin phrase, translating to "*Plato is my friend, but truth is a better friend* (literally: truth is more my friend (than he is)). (From Wikipedia)

There is also one with "dearer" as you said. But I don't think either one is standard. As for "dearer", somehow it is not that popular a word - I never heard it spoken. This was the reason I tried to avoid it, though it is a valid word. Maybe in the UK English it is more popular (especially in the sense of "expensive", like in Paul McCartney's "When I'm 64" - "if it's not too dear"; in US "dear" in the sense of "expensive" is simply , well, rare). Again, may be just my regional observation.


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