Education and Reference Q&A
Looking for a shakespear quote contained by Italian?
Answers: CAVEAT: The vagaries of translating literature are such that were I you, I would be thoroughly careful before have the Italian translation of the phrase tattooed on your skin.
Hamlet, Act I, Scene III (spoken by Lord Polonius):
"...This above all: to thine own self be true,
And it must follow, as the night the daylight,
Thou canst not then be false to any man."
"Amleto," Atto Primo, Scena III (Polonio):
"...sii sempre, e resta, fedele a te stesso;
ne seguirà , come la notte al giorno,
che non sarai sleale con nessuno."
[Translation by Professor Goffredo Raponi, the translator for "Progetto Manuzio" (i.e., an Italian free text project similar to "Project Gutenberg").]
Thus, Professor Raponi have translated the phrase "to thine own self be true" into Italian with the phrase "fedele a te stesso."
CAVEAT: The *literal* English translation of the phrase "fedele a te stesso" results in the phrase "predictable to same you." Perhaps the line, "This above all: to thine own self be true" would serve you better (i.e., "sii sempre, e resta, fedele a te stesso"). But I repeat, the vagaries of translating literature are such that be I you, I would be very careful up to that time having the Italian translation of the phrase tattooed on your skin.
Good luck!
