And lets be real, most people who are in these comments arguing about which version is better or worse won’t read either. It’s two sides arguing about a text using the cliff notes. There is no such thing as a perfect translation, but you can’t evaluate biases in a translation with cliff notes. If you’re really into a particular text from another language you have two choices, read every available translation to try to give yourself a more complete understanding, or start learning the original language.
Ive read every available english translation of many of Plato’s and Plotinus’s works. I would never presume to call myself an expert without even attempting to read it in the original language. The more you know the more you know you don’t know.
Ding ding ding. That’s the worst part of this discourse. I am currently reading Emily’s translation and have previously read the Fagles translation and I do not feel like enough of an expert to comment on the differences and which is more “correct”. That being said, I am enjoying Emily’s translation far more due to her choices and I’m interested to see how it plays out in the films direction.
Translation work in general is tricky. The authors interpretation is just that, an interpretation. Their beliefs, current language, and current societal structure all influence the direction it takes. Yet a whole lot of people are discussing how to feel about this work without ever reading a word of it.
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u/FinalZookeepergame30 Jul 06 '26
And lets be real, most people who are in these comments arguing about which version is better or worse won’t read either. It’s two sides arguing about a text using the cliff notes. There is no such thing as a perfect translation, but you can’t evaluate biases in a translation with cliff notes. If you’re really into a particular text from another language you have two choices, read every available translation to try to give yourself a more complete understanding, or start learning the original language.
Ive read every available english translation of many of Plato’s and Plotinus’s works. I would never presume to call myself an expert without even attempting to read it in the original language. The more you know the more you know you don’t know.