| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift: civility; "because," as he told them, privately, "this would put
me into good humour, and make me more diverting."
Every day, when I waited on him, beside the trouble he was at in
teaching, he would ask me several questions concerning myself,
which I answered as well as I could, and by these means he had
already received some general ideas, though very imperfect. It
would be tedious to relate the several steps by which I advanced
to a more regular conversation; but the first account I gave of
myself in any order and length was to this purpose:
"That I came from a very far country, as I already had attempted
to tell him, with about fifty more of my own species; that we
Gulliver's Travels |
The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from An Open Letter on Translating by Dr. Martin Luther: it as well. No one is forbidden to do it better. If someone does
not wish to read it, he can let it lie, for I do not ask anyone to
read it or praise anyone who does! It is my Testament and my
translation - and it shall remain mine. If I have made errors
within it (although I am not aware of any and would most certainly
be unwilling to intentionally mistranslate a single letter) I will
not allow the papists to judge for their ears continue to be too
long and their hee-haws too weak for them to be critical of my
translating. I know quite well how much skill, hard work,
understanding and intelligence is needed for a good translation.
They know it less than even the miller's donkey for they have
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The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from Almayer's Folly by Joseph Conrad: verandah supports--retired for the night under the eaves-- peered
and grinned at Almayer, as it swung to one of the bamboo roof
sticks and caused a shower of dust and bits of dried leaves to
settle on the shabby table. The floor was uneven, with many
withered plants and dried earth scattered about. A general air
of squalid neglect pervaded the place. Great red stains on the
floor and walls testified to frequent and indiscriminate
betel-nut chewing. The light breeze from the river swayed gently
the tattered blinds, sending from the woods opposite a faint and
sickly perfume as of decaying flowers.
Under Almayer's heavy tread the boards of the verandah creaked
Almayer's Folly |
