Relative Pronoun explanation in a German quote

Question

So I've been looking at some German quotes and came across one by Nietzsche that goes like this:

Der sicherste Weg, einen jungen Menschen zu korrumpieren, ist, ihn zu lehren, die, die gleich denken, höher einzuschätzen als die, die anders denken.

What are the "die's" in this sentence referring to? Is it "Menschen?" Also, when continuing a single main clause with several subordinate clauses, do you need to constantly carry forward the relative pronoun as shown here where "die" appears to be a relative pronoun four separate times?

Answer 1

The German words der, die and das are very often used as articles, but they are also very often used as pronouns (relative and personal pronouns)

Here is an example that is a little bit shorter than your sentence, but displays the word die in all three flavours:

Zwei Männer werden in den Arrest gebracht. Die Polizisten sagen zum Gefängniswärter:
»Hier sind die, die die Diebstähle begangen haben.«

Two men are taken to the detention center. The policemen say to the jailer,
"Here are those who committed the thefts."

• hier = here
  A local adverb that indicates where the action is going on. "Hier" and "here" mean: next to the speaker.
• sind = are
  Verb of the main clause.
• 1^st die = those
  Subject of the main clause. This word is a demonstrative pronoun. There is also an alternative form for it: »jene«
• 2^nd die = who
  This is the first word of the relative clause »die die Diebstähle begangen haben« which describes the subject. And since every relative clause starts with a relative pronoun, the 2^nd die in this sentence is a relative pronoun. It can be replaced by an other relative pronoun in its plural form, like »welche«.
• 3^rd die = the
  This word is the plural definite article of the noun Diebstähle (thefts). The only way to replace it would be to turn the definite phrase »the thefts« into the indefinite phrase »thefts«, but then the article disappears completely in English and also in German.
• Diebstähle = thefts
  A noun.
• begangen haben = committed
  "Begangen" is the main verb of the relative clause and "haben" the auxiliary verb needed to create the German tense Perfekt.

Using the optional replacements, we get:

Hier sind jene, welche die Diebstähle begangen haben.

This is clearer, but its not idiomatic. German native speakers do not like jene and welche very much. They prefer the demonstrative pronoun die and the relative pronoun die (and if the word is used as a definite article, you have no choice anyway).

You can also create examples with der and das, using the same pattern:

Hier ist der, der der Derbheit entsagt.
Hier ist das, das das Dasein erleichtert.

Here is the one who renounces rudeness.
Here is that which makes existence easier.

---

So, here is you sentence:

Der sicherste Weg, einen jungen Menschen zu korrumpieren, ist, ihn zu lehren, die, die gleich denken, höher einzuschätzen als die, die anders denken.

The four die's are:

• 1^st and 3^rd die = those
  Two demonstrative pronouns. Both can be replaced by »jene«
• 2^nd and 4^th die = who
  Two relative pronouns opening two relative clauses. Both can be replaced by »welche«.

With replacements (correct, but not idiomatic):

Der sicherste Weg, einen jungen Menschen zu korrumpieren, ist, ihn zu lehren, jene, welche gleich denken, höher einzuschätzen als jene, welche anders denken.

In English:

The surest way to corrupt a young person is to teach them to value those who think alike more highly than those who think differently.

Answer 2

Let me rephrase with the real pronouns instead of their definite article shortcuts, and let's skip the relative clauses for now:

… ihn zu lehren, diese höher einzuschätzen als jene.

Those diese and jene are alternatives. They are demonstrative pronouns, not relative pronouns. So they aren't referring to anything in the sentence. You have to derive their meaning from context. It's again humans of course. But not junge Menschen but other humans in general.

Let's add the relative clauses that explain both alternatives:

… ihn zu lehren, diese, welche gleich denken, höher einzuschätzen als jene, welche anders denken.

(Mind the comma after denken. It's missing in your transcript.)

Answer 3

No, the dies do not refer to Menschen. The dies before and after a comma each serve a different purpose, the first being a demonstrative pronoun, the second being a relative pronoun referring to the first. So "... die, die ..." translates to "... those who ...".

Answer 4

Der sicherste Weg, einen jungen Menschen zu korrumpieren, ist, ihn zu lehren, die, die gleich denken höher einzuschätzen als die, die anders denken.

This sentence is like an onion: layers upon layers. The easiest way to deal with such sentences is to peel them apart bit for bit. First, the main sentence:

Der sicherste Weg ist, ihn zu lehren.
_{The most fool-proof way is to teach him.}

The next layer is the answer to the question the most fool-proof way - to do what? The answer is a relative sentence:

einen jungen Menschen zu korrumpieren

Der sicherste Weg, einen jungen Menschen zu korrumpieren, ist, ihn zu lehren.
_{The most fool-proof way to corrupt a young person is to teach him.}

Now, this begs a question: to teach him - what? The answer to this is another relative sentence:

die höher einzuschätzen als die

The first "die" hier means "the [ones]" and the second one "the [others]". If you ask now who or what the ones and the others are: we will come to that.

Der sicherste Weg, einen jungen Menschen zu korrumpieren, ist, ihn zu lehren, die höher einzuschätzen als die.
_{The most fool-proof way to corrupt a young person is to teach him to hold the [ones] in higher esteem than the [others].}

Finally, we need to adress who the ones and the others are. This is explained in two other relative clauses, following the respective "die":

die, die gleich denken
die, die anders denken

So, the first "die" are "the ones thinking the same" and the second "die" are "the ones thinking differently". In English one would always use "the ones - the others" and in German that is possible too, but not necessarily so. In German it is possible to define what is meant in a relative clause and have the respective Demonstrativpronomen¹) - here "die", because it is Akkusativ Plural in the sentence higher up in the hierarchy stand in for the rest of the clause. For instance:

Das, was man nicht selbst produzieren kann, muß man kaufen.
_{[That] what one can't produce himself, one has to buy. - One has to buy what he cannot produce himself.}

The main sentence is "Das muß man kaufen." (One has to buy that.) and what "Das/That" exactly constitutes is explained in the clause following the Demonstrativpronomen: "was man nicht selbst produzieren kann".

Now, here is the whole sentence again:

Der sicherste Weg, einen jungen Menschen zu korrumpieren, ist, ihn zu lehren, die, die gleich denken höher einzuschätzen als die, die anders denken.
_{The most fool-proof way to corrupt a young person is to teach him to hold the ones who think the same [way] in higher esteem than the others who think differently.}

---

¹) Notice that "die" is NOT an article here, although it looks like and is inflected like one.

Answer 5

Der, die, das are multi-purpose words in German that occur in quite a number of flavors which can confuse non-native speakers:

1. A simple article. It helps clarifying the Genus of a noun as well as its state of individualism (because they are definite articles, they denounce a definitive item).
2. A demonstrative pronoun, translating to this in English - Pronouns don't stand with the noun like articles, but rather for the noun and are demonstrative as in pointing at something.
3. A relative pronoun, translating to which or that in English - Here they stand for a noun typically found in the main clause

Der sicherste Weg, einen jungen Menschen zu korrumpieren, ist, ihn zu lehren, die(DP), die(RP) gleich denken, höher einzuschätzen als die(DP), die(RP) anders denken.

A sure way to identify a demonstrative pronoun as in your example sentence is: if you can replace "die" with "diejenigen" without changing the meaning, it surely is a DP.

Der sicherste Weg, einen jungen Menschen zu korrumpieren, ist, ihn zu lehren, diejenigen, die gleich denken, höher einzuschätzen als diejenigen, die anders denken.

A demonstrative pronoun doesn't necessarily need to refer to something (while a relative pronoun needs to). In your example, the DP doesn't. It's like pointing into a specific direction and saying "this one". So, the DP die do not reference a noun, while the RP die reference the DP.

A proper translation would be

The safest way to corrupt the youth is to teach them to value the ones that think alike higher than the ones that think different.