"Die Hefe ist auch nur ein Mensch"

06:40 Jun 8, 2021 

Good morning Edith! you may be putting too much emphasis on the "nur," since yeast is not human, but it is alive. It seems to me the point is that yeast is alive and must be handled as a living thing, not as a mere means to an end.
It's alive! Yeast needs your care.

16:24 Jun 7, 2021 

Actually, my original suggestion ties in with your reading, propounding the living qualities of yeast and therefore the care it should be given. After all can surely enhance that statement as it draws attention to the possible lack of such awareness (that yeast is also a living thing).

16:12 Jun 7, 2021 

I disagree wholeheartedly with that last comment: we're not talking here about a slavish, word-for-word literal translation, which is clearly almost invariably far from ideal — but here, about a specific but important difference in meaning between 'nur' and 'nur auch', as hinted at by our colleague Lancashireman.
Surely it all hinges on whether or not that little 'only' is excusing man's (and yeast's!) inadequacies (which ties in with L/M's 'schließlich' > 'after all, only human'), which is not how I read it.

14:59 Jun 7, 2021 

I don't think you should be worrying whether a certain word is reproduced in the translation. A literal version would be out of place here - it needs a creative rewrite.

12:02 Jun 7, 2021 

Jawohl, Andrew

11:20 Jun 7, 2021 

nur = schliesslich?

08:45 Jun 7, 2021 

Yes, I see your point, Edith:
Yeast can only live/only lives so long.
Yeast is only a living thing.
Yeast is alive, but only so long.
The life of yeast is only what you make it.
Yeast wants to live, too.
Yeast can only rise to the occasion you give it. :-)
and so on....

08:19 Jun 7, 2021 

I am missing the "nur" in the proposals, that was the crux of question. I think that up to now, Dorothy's answer comes closest but let us wait and see.