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The excerpt represents the core issue or deciding factor on which you must meditate, and is drawn from Charmides by Plato: produced by the original. To him the feeling should be more important than
the exact word. He should remember Dryden's quaint admonition not to
'lacquey by the side of his author, but to mount up behind him.'
(Dedication to the Aeneis.) He must carry in his mind a comprehensive view
of the whole work, of what has preceded and of what is to follow,--as well
as of the meaning of particular passages. His version should be based, in
the first instance, on an intimate knowledge of the text; but the precise
order and arrangement of the words may be left to fade out of sight, when
the translation begins to take shape. He must form a general idea of the
two languages, and reduce the one to the terms of the other. His work
should be rhythmical and varied, the right admixture of words and
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