must not press the evidence too closely

R

RMGomez

New Member
Spanish
Hola, agradecería que alguien me pueda ayudar a traducir correctamente al español el siguiente texto (se está hablando de la datación y lugar donde pudo desarrollarse la historia narrada en una obra literaria anónima del mundo antiguo; el que habla es el editor de dicha obra en el prólogo):

" If we say the scene was in Italy and the date about A. D. 40 or 50, we get as near as we have reason to expect. We must not press the evidence too closely"

Mi intento (muy libre): "Si decimos que el escenario/lugar estaba en Italia y la fecha en torno al 40-5o d. C., nos quedamos muy cerca de lo que razonablemente se puede esperar. No debemos forzar las pruebas con demasiada atención"

MUCHAS GRACIAS.
 
    • Your translation seems fine to me. The English means that the evidence can only tell us the approximate place and time, so we shouldn't try to make those more precise.
     
    Muchas gracias, Gengo, por tu rápida respuesta y tu aclaración. Lo que en realidad me costaba más entender es la frase "get as near as we have reason to expect" y la de "we must not press the evidence too closely", que no sabría muy bien cómo traducirla más literalmente y en buen español (yo lo he hecho atendiendo a la idea, pero sin traducir literalmente).
     
    we must not press the evidence too closely: Esta es la idea:
    no debemos intentar arduamente de sacar mas evidencia
     
    I don't think the idea is that of not obtaining more evidence. It is that the available evidence does not provide us with a precise date or location, and can only tell us the approximate date and location.

    To press someone closely means to ask very detailed questions. In this context, "evidence" is being anthropomorphized, as if we were interrogating the evidence, and the writer is saying that we shouldn't ask for too much.
     
    Mirlo said:
    we must not press the evidence too closely: Esta es la idea:
    no debemos intentar arduamente de sacar mas evidencia
    Click to expand...
    Muchas gracias, Mirlo. Es mucho más literal y mejor.

    gengo said:
    I don't think the idea is that of not obtaining more evidence. It is that the available evidence does not provide us with a precise date or location, and can only tell us the approximate date and location.

    To press someone closely means to ask very detailed questions. In this context, "evidence" is being anthropomorphized, as if we were interrogating the evidence, and the writer is saying that we shouldn't ask for too much.
    Click to expand...
    Perfecto. Mil gracias. Muy bien explicado y perfectamente claro. Muy agradecido. Coincide con lo que pensaba. Si no es mucho pedir y no quiero abusar más, ¿cómo dirías de otro modo en inglés la otra frase "get as near as we have reason to expect"? Thank you!!

    Mister Draken said:
    Yo diría "las pruebas no nos aportan mayor precisión".
    Click to expand...
    Bravo!! Gracias
     
    RMGomez said:
    ¿cómo dirías de otro modo en inglés la otra frase "get as near as we have reason to expect"?
    Click to expand...

    Reworded:
    If we say the scene was in Italy and the date about A.D. 40 or 50, that is probably as precise as we can expect it to be. We shouldn't expect the evidence to provide anything more precise.

    Note that the A.D./B.C dating system has been replaced in scientific writing with C.E./B.C.E. ([before] common era) as the latter is non-religious.
     
    I agree completely with what you have reworded!! Thank you so much, Gengo.
    Yes, you are right: the C.E. dating system is becoming more and more widespread.
     
    Only for information, when I gave my answer, it was based in that, to press something is to push it firmly.
     
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