This quote has been attributed to Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, for example, at goodreads.com.
"By seeking and blundering we learn."
I would appreciate seeing the original German.
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1 Answer
A quick search yielded two relevant results:
- Auch ist das Suchen und Irren gut, denn durch Suchen und Irren lernt man. (Goethe, J. W., Gespräche. Mit Johann Peter Eckermann u.a., 1. Mai 1825)
- Irrend lernt man. (Goethe, J. W., Briefe. An August von Goethe, 14. Januar 1814)
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1@Joseph O'Rourke: "Irren" has two meanings - 1. to err, to make a mistake, and 2. to wander (without aim or orientation) - usually in the form "umherirren". The proximity to "Suchen" implies that Goethe went for the second meaning, and "blundering" seems like a reasonable translation. Sep 26, 2019 at 12:33
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4@JosephO'Rourke I would not consider it a reasonable translation. I am not a native English speaker, but my gut feeling would connote a kind of carelessness or foolishness in 'blunder', while 'sich irren' is a rather neutral description of being wrong. I would rather have translated the quote with 'By seeking and being mistaken, we learn.'– jarnbjoSep 26, 2019 at 12:36
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1@Joseph, „seeking“ isn’t pithy either and we’re fine with it. The problem with blunder is that it includes a sense of carelessness that’s not in the original. It also doesn’t respect the connotation of going amiss, which forms the contrast to seek. In my eyes, (to) err matches best: it’s rare enough to be pithy and combines the original meanings of being wrong and lost best.– FlorianSep 28, 2019 at 9:36