" Power does not corrupt men." Translation exercise.

Question

Poder no corrupta los hombres, pero los tontos cuando en poder , ellos puedan corrupta poder.

Power does not corrupt men , but fools when in power , they corrupt power.

Please correct . And comment please , how do you feel about this statement by

George Bernard Shaw?

Ray, you're flying high today! - annierats, Apr 27, 2012

Thank you Annie , I was getting tired of the vacuum we appeared to be in. a catalyst was needed to break the lethargy . - ray76, Apr 27, 2012

I've been thinking about it Ray. I think power does corrupt. Possibly I think this because the bank just turned me down for more overdraught... - annierats, Apr 27, 2012

Answer 1

"El poder no corrompe a los hombres, pero cuando los tontos tienen el poder lo corrompen"

La de arriba es una versión sencilla. Pero en español hay una forma más exacta, pero también más complicada.

“El poder no corrompe a los hombres. Los tontos, sin embargo, si acceden al poder corrompen al poder mismo"

Thank you Sylvia , i can see that i have made some basic mistakes . - ray76, Apr 27, 2012

Don't worry. "corromper" is a complicated verb ;-) - SilviaC, Apr 27, 2012

Answer 2

Power does not corrupt men , but fools when in power , they corrupt power.

El poder no corrupte a los hombres pero los tontos, si tuvieran poder, lo corrumperían// or perhaps les corrumperían al poder??.

This is a rather brave attempt at another way of saying it. Not sure if it works.

Silvia's second suggestion looks perfect.

Actually, I'm not sure what Shaw means..I mean, exactly, what does he mean? Que significa? - annierats, Apr 27, 2012

Only shaw knew what shaw meant , and he aint telling ! - ray76, Apr 27, 2012

Thank you Annie , it is an intriguing statement and a difficult translation . - ray76, Apr 27, 2012

Thanks, Annierats :-D - SilviaC, Apr 27, 2012

Answer 3

Creo que es "El poder no corrupta a los hombres, pero los tontos, cuando en poder, corruptan el poder."