Glossary entry (derived from question below)
German term or phrase:
Wer aufhört, BESSER sein zu wollen, hat aufgehört GUT zu sein.
English translation:
Anyone who stops wanting to be better, has stopped being good.
German term
Wer aufhört, BESSER sein zu wollen, hat aufgehört GUT zu sein
This is reputed to have been said by Robert Bosch, German inventor & industrialist.
The quotation appears on the website of a large firm of engineers, and it part of their corporate philosophy (success, excellence, etc.)
I should be grateful for any help in improving my initial attempt:
"Whoever stops wanting to be BETTER, has stopped being GOOD."
I have enriched my knowledge of Robert Bosch (!) but could not find anything comparable on the web.
| 4 +3 | Anyone who stops wanting to be better, |
Kim Metzger
|
| 4 | Whoever stops seeking improvement, has stopped being good |
Ramey Rieger (X)
|
Jan 19, 2011 17:45: Lancashireman changed "Level" from "Non-PRO" to "PRO"
Jan 19, 2011 17:56: Ingo Dierkschnieder changed "Term asked" from "Wer aufhört, BESSER sein zu wollen, hat..." to "Wer aufhört, BESSER sein zu wollen, hat aufgehört GUT zu sein"
Jan 26, 2011 08:57: Allison Wright (X) changed "Edited KOG entry" from "<a href="/profile/992168">Allison Wright (X)'s</a> old entry - "Wer aufhört, BESSER sein zu wollen, hat aufgehört GUT zu sein"" to ""Anyone who stops wanting to be better,""
PRO (3): Kim Metzger, Jonathan MacKerron, Lancashireman
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Proposed translations
Mexico
Committed to Quality and Service
Native in: English (Variant: US) 
Works in: German to English
Anyone who stops wanting to be better,
good.“ In keeping with this quotation from Robert Bosch,
the Economic Development Department in Stuttgart also works
successfully for the most varied of companies.
http://www.comnetconsultants.com/Information Brochure on Stu...
| Thank you, Kim. "Anyone" neatly avoids the more didactic "Whoever". |
| agree |
Jonathan MacKerron
: and with the googles to prove it
1 min
|
| agree |
Lancashireman
: Simultaneous posting.
7 mins
|
| agree |
Jenny Streitparth
5 hrs
|
| neutral |
Horst Huber (X)
: Are we all so sure that marketing consultants should be the final arbiters of translation? I would suspect that Cromwell's English is better than Robert Bosch's German anytime.
10 hrs
|
|
I don't find Cromwell's wording very exciting. He wasn't exactly a poet.
|
Whoever stops seeking improvement, has stopped being good
| Thank you, Ramey. |
Discussion
Wer aufhört, besser sein zu wollen, hat aufgehört, gut zu sein. (Oliver Cromwell ) ...
www.gruenderinstitut.info/weisheiten/index.html
and
http://www.zitat-service.de/quotation/show/627
...and a search for Cromwell+better+best brings up the following quote:
He who stops being better stops being good... ...
www.brainyquote.com/quotes/.../o/olivercrom130154.html
In any case, I prefer your translation and Kim's to this original, if indeed it is! :-)