zlacker

>>agomez+(OP)
Warning: Do not read this translation!

OK, that may be a bit harsh. But the danger is that a translation that is out-of-date or badly done will turn you off the book. Many classic books whose translations are now beyond copyright are available for free. But these translations are, generally speaking, poor. To really appreciate these books, find a translation that is up-to-date and that suits your reading style.

>>herodo+98
I disagree, strongly. Most modern translations try to be "accessible" which means they're written in a lukewarm, boring style that avoids difficult (but artistically relevant) language. This is especially true with Victorian-era English, which is criticized for being overly verbose today. Sometimes, maybe that's true. But if say, Confessions of an English Opium Eater had been written in French and was only read as a contemporary translation, you'd completely miss the beauty of De Quincey's writing.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confessions_of_an_English_Opiu...

https://standardebooks.org/ebooks/thomas-de-quincey/confessi...

>>keifer+Sx
Everything is subjective, there's no bad opinions, but this comes close. To cast so wide a brush as to paint Lattimore, Fitzgerald, Fagles, Wilson, Mandelbaum, and other renowned modern translators as lukewarm and boring...

If you have some particular fondness for Victorian English, sure, read what you enjoy; but antiquated language doesn't make anything intrinsically better, and it takes the average modern reader further away from the work itself. These works weren't composed in a language that was, for their audience, hundreds of years out-of-date.

Moreover - particularly with ancient texts - older translators were typically writers first, scholars second. As pointed out elsewhere on this thread, Pope didn't even speak Greek when he "translated" the Iliad. The Butler translation here is prose. An approach to translation that takes fidelity seriously is a more modern invention.

>>wk_end+hY
You’re welcome to disagree with me, no problem. But is the passive aggressive side comment really necessary?

I have found that modern translations inject a “modernness” into the language that isn’t present in translations from a century or two ago. If that doesn’t bother you, then sure, pick up a recent translation.