On Dec 6, 2010, at 03:48, D E Engelbrecht wrote: > >> Authoritarian schemes--Programming languages constructed as dialects of > Newspeak, Was its nicht erlaubt ist verboten, and the like--are always > misconceived. > > 'misconceived' - Agreed. > > For the purists: > > Was ist nicht erlaubt is verboten (What is not allowed is forbidden). > Was ist nicht verboten ist erlaubt (What is not forbidden is allowed). > I suppose. Google (which John G. knows is always right) agrees with the translation. But it lacks the irony of a similar English maxim:
What is not compulsory is forbidden. (I admire Sam Siegel's capacity for forgiveness.) -- gil
