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Roi ne puis, Prince ne daigne, Rohan suis

English translation: King, I cannot be, Prince deign not to be, Rohan, am I

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
French term or phrase:Roi ne puis, Prince ne daigne, Rohan suis
English translation:King, I cannot be, Prince deign not to be, Rohan, am I
Entered by: Florence Bremond

11:57 Apr 11, 2002
French to English translations [PRO]
Art/Literary - History
French term or phrase: Roi ne puis, Prince ne daigne, Rohan suis
This is the motto of a certain Armand Gaston de Rohan Soubise - I'm not really sure how to translate it, particularly the puis bit:
"A king has power, a prince condescends, I am Rohan"
I'm not sure if pouvoir as a verb can also be used to mean "to have power", but it would make more sense that any of the other meanings of pouvoir in this context ...
Sarah Downing
Local time: 03:20
King, I cannot be, Prince deign not to be, Rohan, am I
Explanation:
-

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 2002-04-11 12:13:34 (GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

\"The Rohan’s motto illustrates the point: \"King, I cannot be, Prince deign not to be, Rohan, am I\". And the Lord of Coucy’s: \"Neither King,nor prince nor duke, but Lord of Coucy am I\".
\"
Selected response from:

Florence Bremond
France
Local time: 09:20
Grading comment
Thank you to everyone. I tried looking for the translation on the net myself, but I think I must have gone about it the wrong way. As it is, I think this is a really good suggestion.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
4 +5King, I cannot be, Prince deign not to be, Rohan, am I
Florence Bremond
5a king I can't be, a prince I will not be,
Madeleine van Zanten
4Do not translate
DPolice
4"A king, I cannot, a Prince I deign not, a Rohan I boast to be!
Pierre POUSSIN
4King, I cannot (can't) be, and Prince, I would not (wouldn't) deign to be, for I am Rohan
markmx


  

Answers


11 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5
a king I can't be, a prince I will not be,


Explanation:
I am Rohan

je puis = je peux; puis has been used here for the rhyme.

Madeleine van Zanten
Switzerland
Local time: 09:20
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in FrenchFrench
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13 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +5
King, I cannot be, Prince deign not to be, Rohan, am I


Explanation:
-

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 2002-04-11 12:13:34 (GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

\"The Rohan’s motto illustrates the point: \"King, I cannot be, Prince deign not to be, Rohan, am I\". And the Lord of Coucy’s: \"Neither King,nor prince nor duke, but Lord of Coucy am I\".
\"

Florence Bremond
France
Local time: 09:20
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in FrenchFrench
PRO pts in category: 15
Grading comment
Thank you to everyone. I tried looking for the translation on the net myself, but I think I must have gone about it the wrong way. As it is, I think this is a really good suggestion.

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Victoria Barkoff: this captures the rhythm
3 mins
agree  Yakov Tomara
10 mins
agree  Guereau: Excellente la traduction (?) de la citation du sire de Coucy, elle rend bien la devise de Rohan.
19 mins
agree  Yolanda Broad: Good research! It's always best to look before trying to translate! Since you are giving the already existing English version of this, I thought a couple of URLs with that wording would be helpful: www.zappi.org/storia/ caltrap.bbsnet.com/some.htm
41 mins
agree  markmx: Agree; but would rephrase slightly for panache - maybe' King, I cannot be, Prince I deign not to be, for I am Rohan
4 hrs
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54 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
Do not translate


Explanation:
Would you translate "Honni soit qui mal y pense" also a motto?

DPolice
Local time: 09:20

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Jane Lamb-Ruiz (X): that's right but it could be parenthesized
30 mins
disagree  Margaret Doney: "Honni soit..." is a well-known motto - the same can't be said for Rohan's
4 hrs
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1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
"A king, I cannot, a Prince I deign not, a Rohan I boast to be!


Explanation:
Rohan is a very old and powerful noble family. Traditionally, the Head of the family is a Duke. Many branches in here. In Brittany, the Head is Josselin De Rohan, whose castle is...at JOSSELIN. He is the Président du Conseil Régional de Bretagne, and a very nice man, who loves to speak a very good English, indeed!
If you wish I can ask him how he would translate his motto...

Pierre POUSSIN
France
Local time: 09:20
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in FrenchFrench
PRO pts in category: 24
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5 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
King, I cannot (can't) be, and Prince, I would not (wouldn't) deign to be, for I am Rohan


Explanation:
a slightly more modern turn of the phrase could work for more impact, clarity and drama without detracting from the noble sentiment

markmx
Local time: 09:20
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
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