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Lenkwinkelgeber
episklerale Plomben

Glossary entry

German term or phrase:

Am Ende geht einer doch immer dahin, wohin es ihn zieht.

English translation:

“No one is ever satisfied where he is.”

Added to glossary by Ramey Rieger (X)
Aug 21, 2015 07:45
8 yrs ago
German term

Am Ende geht einer doch immer dahin, wohin es ihn zieht.

German to English Art/Literary Poetry & Literature Quote from "The Little Prince"
I'm afraid this is very urgent and my first Google searches failed. So I thought I'd better ask the experts. Does anybody know the English version of this Quote?
„Am Ende geht einer doch immer dahin, wohin es ihn zieht!“
Proposed translations (English)
3 “No one is ever satisfied where he is.”
3 In the end, people always wind up in the place they felt drawn to from the start
2 People always end up where they want to go.
References
For info - Pilote de Guerre/Flug nach Arras/Flight to Arras
Change log

Aug 26, 2015 06:34: Ramey Rieger (X) Created KOG entry

Discussion

Horst Huber (X) Aug 22, 2015:
Bit late, apologies --- is your German sentence in the German translation, Flug nach Arras?
Ramey Rieger (X) Aug 21, 2015:
@Silvia In any case, you can now attribiute one of my later suggestions to Antoine de Saint-Exupéry 'we naturally gravitate towards the place we feel most welcome' with a disclaimer 'freely translated'.
Ramey Rieger (X) Aug 21, 2015:
@Alison WOW! you've solved the riddle! Post it!
oa_xxx (X) Aug 21, 2015:
Sorry - dont have anything very constructive to add to the rest of the discussion - just found it interesting! I think the others have covered it all, would definitely just suggest some alternatives to the client that fit the sentiment...
oa_xxx (X) Aug 21, 2015:
Have seen a few examples that back up your conclusions that this was never actually said in the Little Prince. Does this happen a lot in English too?? I've had about 3 cases of quotes in German that were falsely attributed to a particular author - or were never said by anyone (well they probably were but not recorded anywhere ;)) - and yet like this one I'd find dozens if not hundreds of websites - from sites that list quotes to hotels, conferences, other authors and literary sources - that all faithfully reproduced the same false quote! I guess it must happen in English too, one person paraphrases and then it somehow gets picked up by others and becomes accepted as a quote?
Ramey Rieger (X) Aug 21, 2015:
Hey there Wendy! Yes, sort of. After combing the Little Prince, I doubt if it is an original (translated) quote. Either the client paraphrased and thought Antoine de Saint-Exupéry would reflect well on his/her hotel (of course it would, it's a miracle of a book!), or he/she is misinformed by her/his copy writer. OR we missed it! Hope you're having a wonderful (dry & hot) summer!
Wendy Streitparth Aug 21, 2015:
On reflection, this sounds rather like "Home is where the heart is".
Ramey Rieger (X) Aug 21, 2015:
@Silvia I added it to my previous answer.
In The Little Prinz, it has a flavor of human nature, Wanderlust. Not really appropriate for a hotel, I would think. You'll have to inform the client, though - not necessarily a pleasant job. Good luck!
silvia glatzhofer (asker) Aug 21, 2015:
Ramey, please make your comment an answer so that I can grade it!
Ramey Rieger (X) Aug 21, 2015:
In the end, we all go where we feel most at home..../ we naturally gravitate towards the place we feel most welcome....
but certainly not as a quote from The Little Prince
silvia glatzhofer (asker) Aug 21, 2015:
Context sorry: it's from a 10-line (!!!!) letter from a hotel inviting guests to book their winter holidays with them. "Nach einem wunderbaren Sommer sind wir gerade dabei, alles für unsere Gäste vorzubereiten. Die aktuellen Angebote finden sie auf unserer Website..... Wir freuen uns auf Ihre Buchung." and then there's the quote followed by the signature of the hotel owner
Ramey Rieger (X) Aug 21, 2015:
@Silvia So, how about a bit of context? What's the quote supposed to denote?
silvia glatzhofer (asker) Aug 21, 2015:
@ Ramey and Thomas Ich habe denselben Verdacht. Habe soeben die dt. Ausgabe quergelesen und konnte das Zitat nicht finden.
Ramey Rieger (X) Aug 21, 2015:
Hi Thomas, I've been reading the online version in German, no luck yet...
Thomas Pfann Aug 21, 2015:
Ich frage mich, ob das wirklich ein Zitat aus dem kleinen Prinzen ist. Es gibt zwar unzählige Websites, die den Satz als Zitat aus „Der kleine Prinz“ führen, aber ich habe jetzt in drei Online-Versionen von „Der kleine Prinz“ nach dem Zitat oder einzelnen Wörtern daraus gesucht und bin nicht fündig geworden.
Ramey Rieger (X) Aug 21, 2015:
Wrong I'm on chapter 7 of the German edition and haven't come across the quote yet.
Ramey Rieger (X) Aug 21, 2015:
@Isabel I think it would be relatively early on. My copy is in the attic and I can't get to it right now.
“No one is ever satisfied where he is....Only the children know what they’re looking for....”
Isabel Stainsby Aug 21, 2015:
Sorry. I wish I had time to read it through for you! Do you know what the quote is in the original French? - than might help.
silvia glatzhofer (asker) Aug 21, 2015:
no idea Dear Isabel, I'm afraid I don't know that either :-(
Isabel Stainsby Aug 21, 2015:
I have the English translation of the book - where in the book does this come?

Proposed translations

17 mins
Selected

“No one is ever satisfied where he is.”

https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/search?commit=Search&page=2...

Perhaps?

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 22 mins (2015-08-21 08:07:43 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Why not?


--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 32 mins (2015-08-21 08:17:44 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

"Don't linger like this. You have decided to go away. Now go!"
https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/search?commit=Search&page=8...

This is much more obscure, and I'm pretty sure it's the first one, but...

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 3 hrs (2015-08-21 11:30:36 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

In the end, we all go where we feel most at home..../ we naturally gravitate towards the place we feel most welcome....
but certainly not as a quote from The Little Prince
Note from asker:
found the same site but don't think that this is it
The first one is translated as "'Man ist nie zufrieden dort, wo man ist', bemerkte der Weichensteller"
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Thank you for all your efforts. "... go where we feel most at home" seemed to suit the purpose best"
2 hrs

People always end up where they want to go.

Putting it literally.
Something went wrong...
2 days 9 hrs

In the end, people always wind up in the place they felt drawn to from the start

Well, we can always make up our own translations which is not particular difficult in this case, anyway.
Something went wrong...

Reference comments

6 hrs
Reference:

For info - Pilote de Guerre/Flug nach Arras/Flight to Arras

The quote is indeed by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, but not from The Little Prince. It is in fact from Pilote de Guerre (Flight to Arras / Flug nach Arras)



Celui qui marche vers sa maison, j’ignore s’il marche vers la querelle ou vers l’amour. Je me demanderai : « Quel homme est-il ? » Alors seulement je connaîtrai vers où il pèse, et où il ira. On va toujours, en fin de compte, vers où l’on pèse.
http://www.ebooks-bnr.com/ebooks/html/saint_exupery_pilote_d...

Here is a man striding towards his home: I cannot say if he is going towards quarrel or towards love. I can ask myself only this: "What sort of man is he?" And when I know that, only then shall I know by what lodestone he is impelled, and where he is bound. For in the end man always gravitates in the direction commanded by the lodestone within him.
https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=Ulh-yhlmN8cC&printsec=fr...
Peer comments on this reference comment:
agree Ramey Rieger (X) : Hah! My translation idea wasn't that far off! Why don't you post this as an answer????
34 mins
Hi Ramey, info only as I don't think the translation I found is suitable for Silvia's purposes
agree Johanna Timm, PhD : Bravo!!
58 mins
Thanks, Johanna
agree Horst Huber (X) : Seems to be the right place. I'd rather do without the lodestone.
1 hr
Thanks, Horst. I agree completely re lodestone.
agree Thomas Pfann : Probably a bit heavy for this sort of marketing copy. Nice detective work, though! This common misattribution probably comes from the fact that for many people Antoine de Saint-Exupéry is the little prince. :-)
1 hr
Thanks, Thomas and yes, I think you're correct.
agree oa_xxx (X)
3 hrs
Thanks, orla
Something went wrong...
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