Section 11. CONCENTRATION OF POWERS.
Reading edition
The weakest living creature[1], by[2] concentrating his powers on a single object, can[3] accomplish something. The strongest[4], by dispersing his over many, may fail to accomplish anything[5]. The drop, by continually[6] falling[7], bores[8] its passage through the hardest rock. The hasty[9] torrent rushes[10] over it with hideous uproar, and leaves no trace behind.—T. Carlyle.
Notes in this chapter
Note 1 · creature, Wesen, n.; strengthen the superlative of the adjective by placing ‘aller’ before it, forming one compound expression, analogous toNote 2 · ‘by concentrating his powers’, durch Konzentration seiner Kräfte; to accomplish something, etwas zustande bringen. Use the adverbial expressNote 3 · The copula ‘can’ must be placed immediately after the subject and its attributes, as has been pointed out in S. 5, N. 2.Note 4 · The strongest — fail, Dem Stärksten hingegen wird es durch Zersplitterung seiner Kräfte nicht gelingen.Note 5 · anything, auch nur das Geringste.Note 6 · continual, unablässig, adj.Note 7 · To render ‘falling’, form a noun of the verb ‘fallen’. The German language makes frequent use of the Infinitive Present of verbs to form absNote 8 · to bore one’s passage, sich einen Weg bohren. Place the verb according to S. 5, N. 2; the adverbial clause ‘by continually falling’ must folNote 9 · hasty, ungestüm; torrent, Strom, m.Note 10 · to rush over something, über etwas hinweg´stürzen; ‘rushes — uproar’, say ‘rushes with hideous (entsetzlich) uproar (Getöse) over the same.’