| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Charmides by Plato: 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
|
The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from Kwaidan by Lafcadio Hearn: Minokichi fastened the door, and lay down to rest, with their straw
rain-coats over them. At first they did not feel very cold; and they
thought that the storm would soon be over.
The old man almost immediately fell asleep; but the boy, Minokichi, lay
awake a long time, listening to the awful wind, and the continual slashing
of the snow against the door. The river was roaring; and the hut swayed and
creaked like a junk at sea. It was a terrible storm; and the air was every
moment becoming colder; and Minokichi shivered under his rain-coat. But at
last, in spite of the cold, he too fell asleep.
He was awakened by a showering of snow in his face. The door of the hut
had been forced open; and, by the snow-light (yuki-akari), he saw a woman
Kwaidan |
The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from The Master Key by L. Frank Baum: erratic clock in the boy's room, woke the servants at all hours of the
night and caused the cook to give warning; a bell rang whenever the
postman dropped a letter into the box; there were bells, bells, bells
everywhere, ringing at the right time, the wrong time and all the
time. And there were telephones in the different rooms, too, through
which Rob could call up the different members of the family just when
they did not wish to be disturbed.
His mother and sisters soon came to vote the boy's scientific craze a
nuisance; but his father was delighted with these evidences of Rob's
skill as an electrician, and insisted that he be allowed perfect
freedom in carrying out his ideas.
The Master Key |
