The Dialogue on Translation between a Lord and a Clerk forms the preface of John Trevisa's 1387 translation of the Polychronicon of Ranulf Higden, made for his patron, Lord Berkeley. Written in Middle English, it consists of a series of arguments made by the clerk (representing Trevisa) on why books should not be translated from learned languages such as Latin, each one followed by a rebuttal from the Lord (representing Lord Berkeley). The clerk eventually agrees and the dialogue concludes with a prayer for guidance in the translation.
Famous quotes containing the words dialogue on, dialogue, translation, lord and/or clerk:
“You hear a lot of dialogue on the death of the American family. Families aren’t dying. They’re merging into big conglomerates.”
—Erma Bombeck (b. 1927)
“You hear a lot of dialogue on the death of the American family. Families aren’t dying. They’re merging into big conglomerates.”
—Erma Bombeck (b. 1927)
“To translate, one must have a style of his own, for otherwise the translation will have no rhythm or nuance, which come from the process of artistically thinking through and molding the sentences; they cannot be reconstituted by piecemeal imitation. The problem of translation is to retreat to a simpler tenor of one’s own style and creatively adjust this to one’s author.”
—Paul Goodman (1911–1972)
“Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for the LORD does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart.”
—Bible: Hebrew, 1 Samuel 16:7.
“In the cold morning the rested street stands up
To greet the clerk who saunters down the world.”
—Allen Tate (1899–1979)