A José Artigas quote...

[laepelba]

José Artigas was an important figure in Uruguayan history - is considered the "father of Uruguayan independence".

Some Uruguayan friends were here in DC visiting me last week. While touring monuments and statues, we saw a statue of Artigas (on Constitution Ave., nonetheless) and talked about him again when we were in the Jefferson Memorial. I made a comment that I love that Jefferson was such a proponent of public school education.

My friend said that Artigas has a famous quote that goes like this:

La educación de los pueblos no admite la menor demora.

I have not been able to find that exact quote online, but have found one similar:

La causa de los pueblos no admite la menor demora.

Because my friends explained the quote (the first one) to me, I understand that it means "the education of the people cannot be delayed".

I understand every word in the sentence. "Pueblo" meaning a people group or a community. "Admitir" meaning to accept or allow. "Demora" meaning delay.

But I do NOT understand the meaning of the entire sentence the way the translation was presented to me. As many times as I have looked at it, I still cannot understand.

To me, it seems like it should mean "the education of the people should not allow the least delay". That doesn't make sense to me, even in English.

What am I missing here?

(Note: Whether the word "educación" or "causa" is used, the sentence structure is basically the same.)

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

I can't translate, you know I'm bad for that, but what the sentence is saying is that the needs of the people should be satisfied urgently, and never be put aside.

[laepelba]

Thanks. It just bothers me that, given that I know every word in the sentence, I wouldn't be able to know what it means without someone telling me.

[poli]

The cause for educating the masses (the people) must not be even slightly delayed.

[laepelba]

I know.... I just don't know how the Spanish is translated to the English.

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

The needs of the people cannot be even slightly neglected.

[laepelba]

I think that my issue is with which is the subject of the sentence and which is the object. Is "the education/cause" the subject? Is *the eduction/cause* of the people what is not admitting/allowing the delay/neglect?

Would it be the same to say "La educación de los pueblos no debe ser demora"?

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

Originally Posted by laepelba

Would it be the same to say "La educación de los pueblos no debe ser demora"?

No, that would mean "Education of the peoples can't be delay"

La educación de los pueblos no debe ser demorada.
La educación de los pueblos no debe demorarse.

[laepelba]

Originally Posted by AngelicaDeAlquezar

No, that would mean "Education of the peoples can't be delay"

La educación de los pueblos no debe ser demorada.
La educación de los pueblos no debe demorarse.

Ahhh, so would those two options be equivalent to the original sentence using "admitir"? Maybe I don't really have a clear understanding of the word "admitir"....

Wait - so I'm reading about this a bit, and I see "no admitir demora" are two words that, when used together, indicate "cannot be delayed".

So, could I also say something like: "Él nunca se comporta bien. La llamada a los padres no admite demora."

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

Yes, you can say that, but you'll sound too solemn or a bit archaic.

Take a look at the dictionary for "admitir".