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> 才能を隠すのにも卓越した才能がいる。

This is a translation of a quote from _Réflexions ou sentences et maximes
morales_. The original text is as follows:

> C'est une grande habilité que de savoir cacher son habileté.

I tried to translate this with the help of jisho.org.

  * 才能を隠すの - hiding talents
  * にも - also
  * 卓越した - excellent
  * 才能 - talent
  * いる - ???

So the whole sentence is something like "Being able to hide talents is also an
excellent talent".

However, I don't understand why いる is used here. I would've just put a だ there
because the sentence is stating that something _is_ something else. If using
an existence verb here is correct, why isn't ある used? I'm sure talents are
inanimate.
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-07-20T02:44:42.440
50549
2017-07-20T08:31:35.610
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question
verbs animacy
Why is いる used with 才能?
There are several different verbs with the same reading いる. This one is 要る in
kanji, and it means "to be necessary".

  * 居る【いる】: to be, to exist (used for animate objects)
  * 要る【いる】: to be required, to be necessary
  * 入る【いる】: to enter (usually read as はいる)
  * 煎る【いる】: to roast
  * 射る【いる】: to shoot (with an arrow)

入る is uncommon and literary, but 居る and 要る are both common and usually written
in hiragana. So you need to guess from the context which いる is used. It's easy
in this case because 才能 is not a living thing.

The whole sentence means "Talent is needed also to hide your talent."
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-07-20T06:06:59.867
50558
2017-07-20T06:48:16.423
2017-07-20T06:48:16.423
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answer
I am a Japanese.

As naruto san answered, いる means "to be required" here, not "to exist." So you
cannot use ある in this sentence.

We have a proverb 能ある鷹は爪を隠す. The meaning is that talented person hides the
talent. Japanese people do not think it to be very nice to show off talent.

I guess that 才能を隠すのにも卓越した才能がいる this sentence follows or indicates the proverb
above. The meaning is that Hiding the talent also requires excelled talent.

If the author of this sentence is not aware of the proverb, he/she might write
this as 才能を隠すのはまた卓越した才能だ, as you thought. This is literally correct.
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-07-20T08:31:35.610
50559
2017-07-20T08:31:35.610
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answer