Acceso usuarios
Jürgen Von Stackelberg
When I published in 1987 a new translation of La Rochefoucauld's "Maximes et réflexions morales" (second edition: 2012) I had a look, from time to time, at the older translation, written by Konrad Nußbächer and published in 1977. Among other differences I found as particularly interesting the notion of French humeur and humeurs. Nußbächer prefers the German 'Launen' ('moods, whims') (in the maxims 7, 414, 435) or 'Stimmung' (45, 488) suggesting thus a passing state of mind, and only twice a permanent one by choosing 'die Säfte des Körpers' or 'Gemüt'. La Rochefoucauld however always uses the older notion of a perduring quality, never the modern meaning of a passing mood. That's why in this brief note I prefer the translation 'Naturell', 'Beschaffenheit' or 'Charakter'.
