Charmides | Page 8

the most troublesome. Strictly
speaking, except a few of the commonest of them, 'and,' 'the,' etc., they
ought not to occur twice in the same sentence. But the Greek has no
such precise rules; and hence any literal translation of a Greek author is

full of tautology. The tendency of modern languages is to become more
correct as well as more perspicuous than ancient. And, therefore, while
the English translator is limited in the power of expressing relation or
connexion, by the law of his own language increased precision and also
increased clearness are required of him. The familiar use of logic, and
the progress of science, have in these two respects raised the standard.
But modern languages, while they have become more exacting in their
demands, are in many ways not so well furnished with powers of
expression as the ancient classical ones.
Such are a few of the difficulties which have to be overcome in the
work of translation; and we are far from having exhausted the list. (6)
The excellence of a translation will consist, not merely in the faithful
rendering of words, or in the composition of a sentence only, or yet of a
single paragraph, but in the colour and style of the whole work.
Equability of tone is best attained by the exclusive use of familiar and
idiomatic words. But great care must be taken; for an idiomatic phrase,
if an exception to the general style, is of itself a disturbing element. No
word, however expressive and exact, should be employed, which
makes the reader stop to think, or unduly attracts attention by difficulty
and peculiarity, or disturbs the effect of the surrounding language. In
general the style of one author is not appropriate to another; as in
society, so in letters, we expect every man to have 'a good coat of his
own,' and not to dress himself out in the rags of another. (a) Archaic
expressions are therefore to be avoided. Equivalents may be
occasionally drawn from Shakspere, who is the common property of us
all; but they must be used sparingly. For, like some other men of genius
of the Elizabethan and Jacobean age, he outdid the capabilities of the
language, and many of the expressions which he introduced have been
laid aside and have dropped out of use. (b) A similar principle should
be observed in the employment of Scripture. Having a greater force and
beauty than other language, and a religious association, it disturbs the
even flow of the style. It may be used to reproduce in the translation the
quaint effect of some antique phrase in the original, but rarely; and
when adopted, it should have a certain freshness and a suitable
'entourage.' It is strange to observe that the most effective use of
Scripture phraseology arises out of the application of it in a sense not
intended by the author. (c) Another caution: metaphors differ in

different languages, and the translator will often be compelled to
substitute one for another, or to paraphrase them, not giving word for
word, but diffusing over several words the more concentrated thought
of the original. The Greek of Plato often goes beyond the English in its
imagery: compare Laws, (Greek); Rep.; etc. Or again the modern word,
which in substance is the nearest equivalent to the Greek, may be found
to include associations alien to Greek life: e.g. (Greek), 'jurymen,'
(Greek), 'the bourgeoisie.' (d) The translator has also to provide
expressions for philosophical terms of very indefinite meaning in the
more definite language of modern philosophy. And he must not allow
discordant elements to enter into the work. For example, in translating
Plato, it would equally be an anachronism to intrude on him the feeling
and spirit of the Jewish or Christian Scriptures or the technical terms of
the Hegelian or Darwinian philosophy.
(7) As no two words are precise equivalents (just as no two leaves of
the forest are exactly similar), it is a mistaken attempt at precision
always to translate the same Greek word by the same English word.
There is no reason why in the New Testament (Greek) should always
be rendered 'righteousness,' or (Greek) 'covenant.' In such cases the
translator may be allowed to employ two words--sometimes when the
two meanings occur in the same passage, varying them by an 'or'--e.g.
(Greek), 'science' or 'knowledge,' (Greek), 'idea' or 'class,' (Greek),
'temperance' or 'prudence,'--at the point where the change of meaning
occurs. If translations are intended not for the Greek scholar but for the
general reader, their worst fault will be that they sacrifice the general
effect and meaning to the over-precise rendering of words and forms of
speech.
(8) There is no kind of literature in English which corresponds to the
Greek Dialogue; nor is the English language easily