Es gibt Menschen, die krempeln die Ärmel hoch; und andere, die reden davon.
There are people who roll up their sleeves; and others who talk about it.
Oskar Stock (*1946), German administration specialist, writer, and aphorist
(1) Die Würde des Menschen ist unantastbar. Sie zu achten und zu schützen ist Verpflichtung aller staatlichen Gewalt.
(2) Das Deutsche Volk bekennt sich darum zu unverletzlichen und unveräußerlichen Menschenrechten als Grundlage jeder menschlichen Gemeinschaft, des Friedens und der Gerechtigkeit in der Welt.
(3) Die nachfolgenden Grundrechte binden Gesetzgebung, vollziehende Gewalt und Rechtsprechung als unmittelbar geltendes Recht.
(1) Human dignity is inviolable. It is the duty of all state power to respect and protect it.
(2) The German people therefore acknowledge inviolable and inalienable human rights as the foundation of every human community, of peace and justice in the world.
(3) The following fundamental rights bind the legislature, the executive and the judiciary as directly applicable law.
Article 1 of the Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany
Jetzt haben wir die Bescherung!
literally: Now we have the presents!
Usually a resigned comment on an unpleasant surprise or a bad result that one warned about but that others ignored. Occasionally also used humorously or comedically.
Origin: The term “Bescherung” refers to the presents under the Christmas tree, which are sometimes unpleasant surprises but nevertheless forseeable.
Im Bewußtsein seiner Verantwortung vor Gott und den Menschen, von dem Willen beseelt, als gleichberechtigtes Glied in einem vereinten Europa dem Frieden der Welt zu dienen, hat sich das Deutsche Volk kraft seiner verfassungsgebenden Gewalt dieses Grundgesetz gegeben.
Conscious of its responsibility before God and mankind, and inspired by the will to serve world peace as an equal member in a united Europe, the German people, by virtue of its constituent power, has given itself this Basic Law.
Preamble of the Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany
Sich an kleinen Dingen freuen heißt oft im Leben glücklich sein.
Being happy about little things often means being happy in life.
Oskar Stock (*1946), German administration specialist, writer, and aphorist
sich ins gemachte Bett legen
literally: to lie down in a made bed
to gain an advantage or reap the glory, where others have done the actual groundwork
Loreley
According to the legend, Loreley is a beautiful woman with long blonde hair sitting on the eponymous slate escarpment in the rhine gorge where it makes a sharp bend accompanied with rocky riffs and rapids, which endangered ships and frequently caused the loss of life of fishermen.
Loreley is a relatively recent figure. While the escarpment was associated with dwarfs, the devil, or other evil spirits in the medieval ages, prompting sailors to say prayers before attempting to tackle the rapids, the figure of Loreley first appeared in 1800 in a ballad by Clemens Brentano.
In the ballad, Lore Lay is introduced as a sorceress whose magic is based on her beauty. Every man falls for her and dies as a result. So a bishop has her summoned before a spiritual court. But he too succumbs to her magic spell and cannot break the staff over her, cannot sentence her to death, because he immediately falls in love with her.
But Lore Lay asks for her sentence to be brought. Since her lover has left her, she is tired of life, her mind is depressed. Exactly where her magic spell should have worked, on the man she really loves, it didn't work. Now Lore Lay doesn't want to love anyone anymore, her magic is useless.
Lore Lay begs the bishop, but he does not send her to her death, but to a monastery. Three knights accompany her. On the way, Lore Lay wants to see her lover's castle one more time and climbs a rock above the Rhine. Then she sees a ship, thinks her lover is on it and bends so far forward that she falls into the river. The knights who accompany her follow her to her death.
This motif was taken up and processed by many other authors in the following years, with the figure transforming into a mermaid or siren-like figure who distracted passing sailors with her singing and beauty and thus led them to their doom.
The most famous adaptation is Heinrich Heine's poem I don't know what it should mean (The Lore-Ley). By the 19th century, the story of the siren-like Loreley had become so widespread that it was considered an ancient legend and still is today.
Jahre sollte man nicht zählen, sondern erleben.
Years should not be counted, but experienced.
Oskar Stock (*1946), German public administration specialist, writer, and aphorist
über den Berg sein
literally: to be over the mountain
to have overcome the worst phase of something (e.g. an illness)
Origin: Derived from the fact that climbing a hill to reach the summit is more difficult than descending.
Wer von der Zukunft nichts Gutes erwartet, der sollte lieber nicht warten.
If you don't expect anything good from the future, you'd better not wait.
Oskar Stock (*1946), German public administration specialist, writer, and aphorist
Der kreißende Berg gebiert eine Maus.
literally: The laboring mountain gives birth to a mouse.
Something that was previously announced with great fanfare turns out to be completely unspectacular.
Origin: Adapted from Horace, De arte poetica, verse 139: „Parturient montes, nascetur ridiculus mus“.
Schreibt gerne dazu, wo ihr her kommt.
Je mehr ein General von seinen Truppen zu fordern gewohnt ist, desto besser werden seine Forderungen erfüllt werden.
The more a general is accustomed to demanding from his troops, the better his demands will be met.
Carl Philipp Gottlieb von Clausewitz (1780 – 1831), Prussian general, army reformer, and military theorist
Ohne Mut und Entschlossenheit kann man in großen Dingen nie etwas tun, denn Gefahren gibt es überall.
Without courage and determination you can never do anything in great things, because dangers are everywhere.
Carl Philipp Gottlieb von Clausewitz (1780 – 1831), Prussian general, army reformer, and military theorist
das Bauernopfer
literally: pawn sacrifice, farmer sacrifice
fall guy, sacrificial lamb
Origin: In chess, pawns (in German: farmers) are the weakest figures, which are sacrificed to protect higher ranking figures or to open the opportunity for a positional advantage.
Vergnügungen
von Bertolt Brecht
Der erste Blick aus dem Fenster am Morgen Das wiedergefundene alte Buch Begeisterte Gesichter Schnee, der Wechsel der Jahreszeiten Die Zeitung Der Hund Die Dialektik Duschen, Schwimmen Alte Musik Bequeme Schuhe Begreifen Neue Musik Schreiben, Pflanzen Reisen Singen Freundlich sein.
Amusements
by Bertolt Brecht
The first look out of the window in the morning The rediscovered old book Enthusiastic faces Snow, the change of seasons The newspaper The dog Dialectics Showering, swimming Old music Comfortable shoes Understanding New music Writing, plants Traveling Singing Being friendly.