“Among all books, those of reasoning seem the most susceptible of good translations. Reason and morality belong to all countries. The genius of language, this bane of translators, is less noticeable in books where only ideas have to be conveyed, and where style is not the first merit, whereas works of imagination can be rarely transmitted from one person to another, for, in order to translate a good poet, you would have to be as good a one as he.” WritingReasonLanguageBooksMoralityTranslation Book:Reason, Illusion, and Passion: Philosophical Works Source: Reason, Illusion, and Passion: Philosophical Works
“Translators are the traders in the Republic of Letters and they deserve, at least, praise for sensing and understanding their own forces, and for refraining from producing books themselves and carrying a burden that would crush them.” WritingLanguageBooksTranslationTranslators Book:Reason, Illusion, and Passion: Philosophical Works Source: Reason, Illusion, and Passion: Philosophical Works