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  3. Esoteric practices

il faudra le recul du temps

English translation: only time will tell

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
French term or phrase:il faudra le recul du temps
English translation:only time will tell
Entered by: Andy Tolle

17:25 Aug 2, 2009
French to English translations [PRO]
Science - Esoteric practices
French term or phrase: il faudra le recul du temps
The writer talks about a certain discovery he has done and the coincidences that were needed to make this discovery. He explains how many mayor discoveries, like the one of radioactivity (discovered by Becquerel: he noticed a piece of uranium ore, accidentally placed on a photographic paper that was forgotten in a drawer) needed many coincidences to see the light.

A piece of the text:

Or, j'estime - et il faudra le recul du temps pour pouvoir porter un jugement sur cette affirmation - j'estime avoir bénéficié d'un hasard au moins aussi important que celui dont le tiroir de Becquerel a été le théâtre.
Andy Tolle
Belgium
Local time: 00:19
only time will tell
Explanation:
… whether I was right.
Selected response from:

rkillings
United States
Local time: 15:19
Grading comment
I agree with Tony's opinion here: when I saw this translation I felt a sense of "that's it".

Thanks for all the suggestions. I appreciate it.
3 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
4 +9only time will tell
rkillings
5with a little hindsight...
Nikki Scott-Despaigne
3 +1only from the perspective of time
Marco Solinas
4You will need to let time go by and then...
MatthewLaSon
3when some time has elapsed, one can judge
Estelle Demontrond-Box


  

Answers


8 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
when some time has elapsed, one can judge


Explanation:
or
It will be some time before...

Estelle Demontrond-Box
Australia
Local time: 08:19
Native speaker of: French
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19 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +1
only from the perspective of time


Explanation:
"..., and only from the perspective of time will it be possible to assess this statement,..."

Marco Solinas
Local time: 15:19
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish, Native in ItalianItalian
PRO pts in category: 4

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Helen Shiner
3 hrs
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1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +9
only time will tell


Explanation:
… whether I was right.

rkillings
United States
Local time: 15:19
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 3
Grading comment
I agree with Tony's opinion here: when I saw this translation I felt a sense of "that's it".

Thanks for all the suggestions. I appreciate it.

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Jean-Claude Gouin
17 mins
agree  sueaberwoman: My first thought, too.
1 hr
agree  Anne-Marie Grant (X)
2 hrs
agree  Tony M: What sprang to my mind too, and I think the most natural expression in the context as given.
2 hrs
agree  Helen Shiner
2 hrs
agree  L.J.Wessel van Leeuwen: and then it is too late ....
10 hrs
agree  Emma Paulay
12 hrs
agree  George C.
17 hrs
agree  Nektaria Notaridou
9 days
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2 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
You will need to let time go by and then...


Explanation:
Hello,

Avec le recul (du temps) = you gain perspective from letting time go by. The "temps" is sometimes not said.

I hope this helps.

MatthewLaSon
Local time: 18:19
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
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48 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5
with a little hindsight...


Explanation:
*

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 55 mins (2009-08-02 18:21:19 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Or, j'estime - et il faudra le recul du temps pour pouvoir porter un jugement sur cette affirmation - j'estime avoir bénéficié d'un hasard au moins aussi important que celui dont le tiroir de Becquerel a été le théâtre.

With a little hindsight, I reckon that I was (have been) every bit as fortunate as Becquerel was with the drawer.

When I think about it, I reckon that sheer luck has had as much to do with it as the drawer did for Becquerel.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 7 hrs (2009-08-03 00:25:49 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

A little hindsight will be necessary, but I reckon that chance has played just as important a role for me as as it was for Becquerel.

OR (present tense in the first part, with future rendering in the second part, thus )

With the benefit of hindsight, it may turn out that in much the same way as the drawer came into play for Becquerel, chance will have had a lot to do with this!


Nikki Scott-Despaigne
Local time: 00:19
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 2

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  Tony M: OK — though I still don't feel 'hindsight' is quite the best idea here; to me it always conveys the idea of "if only I'd known that...", which I think is a little different from "standing back and taking the long view of things"
2 hrs
  -> The original is in the future, yes, and my suggested renderings need tweaking for that. However, "with the benefit of hindsight" can be used. See new suggestions.
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