The Translator and The Man With a Different Father
A Daily Dose of Peace. Each week, I focus on Love, Joy, and Peace in the world languages. March focuses on Italy in Europe.
The Translator
Friedrich Schleiermacher (1768–1834)
said to translate a foreigner
as he would have written
had he not been foreign
is like painting a portrait of a man
not as he actually looks
but as he would have looked
if he had had a different father
The translator brings together
two entirely separate people
his author and his reader
The translator’s job
assist the reader
obtain the most correct
complete understanding
and enjoyment possible
of author without forcing the reader out
of the circle of his or her mother tongue
The translator leaves the author in peace
moving the reader towards
or leaves the reader in peace
moving the author towards
someone has to move in translation
Originally Published in Finding Peace in Italy, a Travel and Meditation Journal on March 4, 2021.
