PREFACE

Translations are usually designed either to present the thought of a foreign writer in the English most appropriate to it, without regard to the peculiarities of his style (so far as style and thought can be distinguished), or, on the contrary, to convey to the English reader, as far as is possible, the style as well as the thought of the foreign original.

It would seem, however, that neither of these objectives should be the primary aim of a translator constructing a version that is to be printed facing the original text. In these circumstances, the purpose of the version is to assist the reader of the original to understand its meaning. This modest intention must guide the choice of a rendering for each phrase or sentence, and considerations of English style are of necessity secondary.

A few biographical notes on persons mentioned by the author will be found in the index.