WI-005
From Mark Twain in the German Language Press
[The new century] | 25 Jan 1901
Nord stern. La Crosse [WI], 25 Jan 1901. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers, Lib. of Congress, https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn86086186/1901-01-25/ed-1/seq-1/.
Mark Twain's "Salutation-Speech from the Nineteenth Century to the Twentieth" was widely reprinted in US newspapers and later translated by the German-language press.
Changes in the translation are indicated as follows:
- Inserts; not present in the English original: {in green}
- Changes in word choice or meaning ⟦in blue⟧
- Omissions; not included in the German translation ⟪in red⟫
| Transcription | English Translation |
|---|---|
| Mark Twain verfasste folgenden Begrüßungsspruch des 19. Jahrhunderts an das 20te: | {Mark Twain penned the following greeting from the 19th century to the 20th:} |
| „Ich bringe Ihnen die stattliche Matrone, genannt Civilisation, auf der Rückreise von Piratenausflügen nach Kiautschou, der Mandschurei, nach Südafrika und den Philippinen, beschmutzt und entehrt, mit einer Seele voll Niedertracht, mit den Taschen voll Beute und mit einem Mund voll Heuchelei. Gebt ihr Seife und ein Handtuch, doch versteckt den Spiegel! | “I bring you the stately matron named Christendom ⟦translated as "Civilisation"⟧, returning bedraggled, besmirched, and dishonored, from pirate raids in Kiaochow, Manchuria, South Africa, and the Philippines, {dirtied and dishonored} with her soul full of meanness, her pocket full of boodle, and her mouth full of pious hypocrisies. Give her soap and towel, but hide the looking glass. |