Here is a translation from the Latin.
WORD FOR WORD
de - from ; parvis - little things ; grandis - grand things ; acervus - accumulation ; erit - will come
TRANSLATION
"From many small contributions a great work can emerge."
PURPORT
Google's continual development of information processing applications - from gadgets like those for the iGoogle home page and desktop, to services like Google Maps - amounts to a great contribution.
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Whitney, Geffrey. A Choice of Emblemes, and other devises, For the moste part gathered out of sundrie writers, Englished and Moralized. And divers newly devised. / by Geffrey Whitney ... Imprinted at Leyden, In the house of Christopher Plantyn, by Francis Raphelengius, 1586.
More here: Meaning of De parvis grandis acervus erit | Programming Blog by ASG
10 comments:
Thanks! Been looking everywhere for a translation of that!
or in Middle English; "And heapes are made, of manie little thinges" It is part of an "embleme poem" from Whitney's Emblemes (1586) http://dbqp.blogspot.com/2004/07/and-heapes-are-made-of-manie-little.html
Thank you, i prefer the most direct translation... To me, it seems it could mean many things!
- From ones and zeros we get multi national corporations that rival countrys?
- From bits of unidentifiable info we can corolate, we can control the world?
- Add penys, get dolars?
- Ants will rise to kill us all?
- From (the) accumulation (of) little things, grand things will come???
My point is that similar things are not equal or general ideas in any language should not be translated any way more spicific that the original!
We understand enough about the culture and society that produced the Latin quote under consideration to know for certain that it does not refer to our being overcome by ants.
But, interesting point.
"Mighty oaks from little acorns grow"
I would not be so hasty to completely eliminate the ants as a threat.
E pluribus unum
I suppose the picture in this Whitney embleme represents a fascia....just lovely
"De paruis, grandis aceruus erit"
none of us is as strong as all of us
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