IX. NOTE. AMONG the numerous translations of scientific and philosophical works published nowadays there are many that are thoroughly bad, adding not a, little to the student's difficulties, and often leading him astray. But he is generally, in the nature of the case, without adequate means of testing their accuracy. They escape any definite exposure, and are followed by others equally bad. The only stimulus to the raising of the standard seems to lie in some public criticism more detailed and decisive than is possible in an ordinary review. A translation recently published of Prof. Hoffding's admirable little book, Philosophische Probleme, 1 is a piece of work that, appearing under such auspices (see end of Preface), is a direct challenge to criticism, which becomes a public duty. It will be sufficiently characterised by the following specific criticisms, which I will endeavour, so far as space allows, to put in such a form as to be intelligible to all who have some little knowledge of German. What is to be said of a translator who has not yet learnt that also never means ' also ' (p. 73, 1. 13 of the translation ; 108, 8 ; 127, 14), and eben never means 'even' (57, 16; 62, 11); who renders darf nicht by
- need not ' instead of ' must not ' (73, 3 ; 79, 10 ; 124, 12) ; who confuses
zucjleich, 'at the same time,' with sogleich, 'immediately' (109, 5); deuten, trans., 'to interpret,' with deuten auf, 'to point to' (82, 23); entscheidend, 'decisive,' with verschieden, 'different ' (128, 20; 146, 13) ; Reichtum ' wealth,' with Reich, 'empire' (76, 18; 143, 16); namentlich, 4 especially,' with ndmlich, ' that is to say ' (146, 12) ; auf etwas verweisen, 'to point to . . . ,' with einem etwas verweisen, 'to reprove a person for , . . ' (135, 11) ; and who grotesquely inisrenders such common phrases and idioms as was . . . betrifft, 'as to . . .' (100, 1); es kommt darauf <tn (77, 9 ; 128, 10) ; in dieser Beziehung (75, 11) ; die Rede ist von etwas (82, 1) ; hierzu kommt noch (105, 11) ; nicht einmal, 'not even' (44, 5 ; 196, 28) ; sich anschliessen (30, 13 ; cf. Anschluss, 89, 10, translated ' addition ') ; zur Verfuguiig stehen, etc., etc. It will be noted that these mistakes show ignorance of German rather than of philosophy, but there is no lack of others which a regard to the philosophical meaning would have made impossible. ' Wesen ' des Bewusstseins is rendered ' exist- ence,' instead of ' nature ' or ' character,' of consciousness (19, 6) ; Sinnesempfitidungen, ' emotions ' (42, 21) ; die unwillkurliche Denkar- beit, 'unconscious thought' (67, 2) ; Handlung (action), 'construction' (69, 12) ; Deckungsgleichheit (equivalence), ' outward likeness ' (82, 9) ; Bestehen (= persistence, continuance), 'organisation' (148, 6), 'upbuild- ing' (149, 8), ' existence ' (154, 10) ; Handgrip (trick, device), 'tool ' (80, 17) ; Umwertung (re-valuation), ' unworth ' (sic, 157, 5) ; allrrdings, con- cessive, ' to be sure,' is made strongly assertive, ' by no means ' (153, 17) ; 1 The Problems of Philosophy, by Harald Hoffding. Translated by Galen M. Fisher. With a preface by William James. New York : The Macinillan Company ; London : Macmillan & Co., 1905.
