Jan 15, 2019 10:08
5 yrs ago
Russian term

со старым уйдет то, что может не прийти с новым

Russian to English Art/Literary Poetry & Literature
An old woman is chastising her younger relatives for turning their backs on the past.

- Для меня [этот самовар] - самая дорогая вещь на всем свете, потому что он слышал не раз голос моего деда, из него наливала чай своим гостям моя бабушка. Почему же мне не ценить ее как священную реликвию? Сумеете обращаться с ним как подобает – он еще немало послужит и вам!
- Но ведь времена-то самовара ушли. Каждому времени к лицу свои вещи,– не сдается тетя Кульзипа.
- Э-эх, наступят и такие времена, когда серебро потеряет свою ценность,– возможно, я не собираюсь оспаривать это.
Неумно смеяться над старым, отжившим свой век. ***А то можно и не заметить, как со старым уйдет то, что может не прийти с новым.*** К чему я это говорю, дети мои? Чтобы вы научились отличать хорошее от плохого, прежде чем разбираться, что новое, а что старое.

I understand what the passage means but I am struggling to put it into a form that doesn't read like a literal translation. Any suggestions?

Discussion

Turdimurod Rakhmanov Jan 15, 2019:
What's gone or what's lost or something has gone Susan, IMHO, if we clarify "what or something", it would be a literal translation, it is better to use what, something or completely different version as Ian suggested. It is clear for the Reader what's gone or what's lost? I think Ian's version is an ideal fit for this context except for slight difference: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don't_throw_the_baby_out_with_...

Yuri Larin Jan 15, 2019:
(?) What's lost is nothing to what's found (if taken without the rest of the quote) :)
Simon Hollingsworth (asker) Jan 15, 2019:
Thanks, Ian. This is very helpful.
Ian Mansbridge Jan 15, 2019:
Throw the baby out with the bathwater I know the meaning is slightly different, but this is what immediately came to mind for me - perhaps you could come up with a variation of it?

Proposed translations

+2
2 hrs
Selected

something has gone away that may not come again

How would the old lady talk? Maybe she'd say "old things," rather than "the old." Maybe she'd use a pronoun, rather than repeating "old." Maybe "the new" could be expressed with "again."

"It's not a good idea to make fun of old things that are past their time. You might just not notice that with them something's gone away that may not come again."

It brings to mind "Binsey Poplars," the poem by Gerard Manley Hopkins: "After-comers cannot guess the beauty been."
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44390/binsey-poplars
Peer comment(s):

agree Yuliia Behen (nee Herus)
2 hrs
Thanks, Gulliette.
agree NNG
1 day 22 hrs
Thanks you.
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Thank you, Rachel"
-2
36 mins

gone with the old out with the new / gone with the old lost with the new

I would say:
You may not even notice what's gone with the old out with the new or lost with the new

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 49 mins (2019-01-15 10:58:21 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Here it is about the values, traditions, customs and memories that you can't find in the new
Peer comment(s):

disagree Susan Welsh : что может НЕ ПРИЙТИ с новым
1 hr
Спасибо, то может НЕ ПРИЙТИ с новым-в контексте-You may not even notice what's gone with the old out with the new or lost with the new
disagree The Misha : GT translation: with the old will leave what may not come with the new. If you ask me, Google did a better job here.
6 hrs
Thank you, The Misha, I would suggest reading the context carefully, I believe that it is truly valuable to you
Something went wrong...
-2
1 hr

'We will build a new world,' and destroying the old one to the ground.

as a jest
«Мы наш, мы новый мир построим», причем разрушив до основанья мир старый.
ну дальше все знают: кто был никем, им и останется((


--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2019-01-15 11:24:31 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

delete "and" pls
Peer comment(s):

disagree Susan Welsh : It says nothing about building a new world or destroying anything to the ground (even if that were good English, which it is not).
1 hr
disagree The Misha : I knew at the first glance you were reinventing the bicycle. I mean, rewriting the International. And the point of it here is...?
5 hrs
Something went wrong...
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