--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is in the translation that the…" description: "\"It is in the translation that the innocence lost after the first reading is restored under another guise, since the reader is once again faced with a n..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/24a/alberto-manguel-2467_books_it-is-in-the-translation-that-the-innoce_1136554.jpg" --- # It is in the translation that the innocence lost after the… ![“It is in the translation that the innocence lost after the first reading is restored under another guise, since the reader is once again faced with a new text and its attendant mystery. That is the inescapable paradox of translation, and also its wealth.” quote by Alberto Manguel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/24a/alberto-manguel-2467_books_it-is-in-the-translation-that-the-innoce_1136554.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/24a/alberto-manguel-2467_books_it-is-in-the-translation-that-the-innoce_1136554.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/24a/alberto-manguel-2467_books_it-is-in-the-translation-that-the-innoce_1136554.jpg) > “It is in the translation that the innocence lost after the first reading is restored under another guise, since the reader is once again faced with a new text and its attendant mystery. That is the inescapable paradox of translation, and also its wealth.” [Alberto Manguel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alberto-manguel/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Translation inevitably loses original innocence but regains it by presenting a fresh mystery, creating both loss and richness. **In simple terms:** Translation loses and regains innocence through new mystery. Key Takeaway Embrace the paradox of translation. Themes translation paradox literature interpretation creativity Mood reflective curious thoughtful Type analytical philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - literary analysis - language learning - cross‑cultural communication - writing - editing Key Concepts semiotics intertextuality reader-response Questions to Reflect On - How does the new mystery affect your understanding? - Can loss of innocence be a benefit? A Different Perspective The new text may still obscure original meaning, limiting clarity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Innocence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/innocence/) [Mystery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mystery/) [Paradox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paradox/) [Reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading/) [Translation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/translation/) [Translations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/translations/) [Wealth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wealth/) ## Related quotes > [It is until you are lost into reading you will never be found among true readers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jumbo-obiesia-ukot/it-is-until-you-are-lost-into-reading-you-will-never-be-found-among/) [Jumbo Obiesia Ukot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jumbo-obiesia-ukot/) > [“We all have a bit of Adam and Eve in us. Sooner or later we come to a point in our youth when we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-ryan/we-all-have-a-bit-of-adam-and-eve-in-us-sooner-or-later-we-come-to-a/) [Tom Ryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-ryan/) > [His eyes were dimmed with tears and, looking humbly up to heaven, he wept for the innocence he had lost.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/his-eyes-were-dimmed-with-tears-and-looking-humbly-up-to-heaven-he/) [James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) > [Innocence, Once Lost, Can Never Be Regained. Darkness, Once Gazed Upon, Can Never Be Lost.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-milton/innocence-once-lost-can-never-be-regained-darkness-once-gazed-upon/) [John Milton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-milton/) > [“Over the years, the kitchens I grew up in and around continued to draw me in, like a moth to a flame, as though…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sasha-martin/over-the-years-the-kitchens-i-grew-up-in-and-around-continued-to-draw/) [Sasha Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sasha-martin/) > [“Innocence is lost, where innocence is found, at birth. from The Physics of Madness”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/psm/innocence-is-lost-where-innocence-is-found-at-birth-from-the-physics/) PSM > [No, it is not only our fate but our business to lose innocence, and once we have lost that, it is futile to attempt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-bowen/no-it-is-not-only-our-fate-but-our-business-to-lose-innocence-and/) [Elizabeth Bowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-bowen/) > [I can't remember coming across a more precise evocation of innocence lost since Golding's The Lord of the Flies. With The Death of Sweet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-lehane/i-can-t-remember-coming-across-a-more-precise-evocation-of-innocence/) [Dennis Lehane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-lehane/) > [“Innocence is never lost when you feel it pounding in your heart.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/goo-goo-dolls/innocence-is-never-lost-when-you-feel-it-pounding-in-your-heart/) [Goo Goo Dolls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/goo-goo-dolls/) > [Innocence lost is not easily regained. The designer simply cannot predict the problems people will have, the misinterpretations that will arise, and the errors…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-a-norman/innocence-lost-is-not-easily-regained-the-designer-simply-cannot/) [Donald A. Norman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-a-norman/) > [Where will I find again my lost innocence..my lost dreams..my lost childhood , Where is gone the shade of trees..where I made myself a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/km-ii/where-will-i-find-again-my-lost-innocence-my-lost-dreams-my-lost/) [KM II](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/km-ii/) > [“Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world, The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere the ceremony of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-b-yeats/things-fall-apart-the-centre-cannot-hold-mere-anarchy-is-loosed-upon/) [W.B. Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-b-yeats/) > [“Innocence could be lost more than once after all.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/selena-kitt/innocence-could-be-lost-more-than-once-after-all/) [Selena Kitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/selena-kitt/) > [We must face the fact that we are on the brink of times when man may be able to magnify his intellectual and inventive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-alexander/we-must-face-the-fact-that-we-are-on-the-brink-of-times-when-man-may/) [Christopher Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-alexander/) > [“Once innocence is lost, the truth surely follows.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-stilwell/once-innocence-is-lost-the-truth-surely-follows/) Donald Stilwell ## More by Alberto Manguel > [Most readers, then and now, have at some time experienced the humiliation of being told that their occupation is reprehensible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alberto-manguel/most-readers-then-and-now-have-at-some-time-experienced-the/) [Alberto Manguel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alberto-manguel/) > [Libraries, whether my own or shared with a greater reading public, have always seemed to me pleasantly mad places, and for as long as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alberto-manguel/libraries-whether-my-own-or-shared-with-a-greater-reading-public-have/) [Alberto Manguel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alberto-manguel/) > [At different times and in different places I have come to expect certain books to look a certain way, and, as in all fashions,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alberto-manguel/at-different-times-and-in-different-places-i-have-come-to-expect/) [Alberto Manguel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alberto-manguel/) > [I have no feelings of guilt regarding the books I have not read and perhaps will never read; I know that my books have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alberto-manguel/i-have-no-feelings-of-guilt-regarding-the-books-i-have-not-read-and/) [Alberto Manguel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alberto-manguel/) > [“Then one day, from the window of a car (the destination of that journey is now forgotten), I saw a billboard by the side…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alberto-manguel/then-one-day-from-the-window-of-a-car-the-destination-of-that-journey/) [Alberto Manguel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alberto-manguel/) > [The shelves of books we haven't written, like those of books we haven't read, stretches out into the darkness of the universal library's farthest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alberto-manguel/the-shelves-of-books-we-haven-t-written-like-those-of-books-we-haven/) [Alberto Manguel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alberto-manguel/) > [“I have no feeling of guilt regarding the books I have not read and perhaps will never read; I know that my books have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alberto-manguel/i-have-no-feeling-of-guilt-regarding-the-books-i-have-not-read-and/) [Alberto Manguel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alberto-manguel/) > [Old books that we have known but not possessed cross our path and invite themselves over. New books try to seduce us daily with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alberto-manguel/old-books-that-we-have-known-but-not-possessed-cross-our-path-and/) [Alberto Manguel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alberto-manguel/) > [Ordered by subject, by importance, ordered according to whether the book was penned by God or by one of God's creatures, ordered alphabetically or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alberto-manguel/ordered-by-subject-by-importance-ordered-according-to-whether-the/) [Alberto Manguel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alberto-manguel/) > [The starting point is a question.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alberto-manguel/the-starting-point-is-a-question/) [Alberto Manguel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alberto-manguel/) > [“Ljubav je imbecilna izvesnost pomoću koje naša fantazija stvara verodostojnu utvaru.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alberto-manguel/ljubav-je-imbecilna-izvesnost-pomo-u-koje-na-a-fantazija-stvara/) [Alberto Manguel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alberto-manguel/) > [I know that something dies when i give up my books, and that my memory keeps going back to them with mournful nostalgia.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alberto-manguel/i-know-that-something-dies-when-i-give-up-my-books-and-that-my-memory/) [Alberto Manguel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alberto-manguel/) > [Something about the possession of a book - an object that can contain infinite fables, words of wisdom, chronicles of times gone by, humorous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alberto-manguel/something-about-the-possession-of-a-book-an-object-that-can-contain/) [Alberto Manguel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alberto-manguel/) > [Maybe this is why we read, and why in moments of darkness we return to books: to find words for what we already know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alberto-manguel/maybe-this-is-why-we-read-and-why-in-moments-of-darkness-we-return-to/) [Alberto Manguel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alberto-manguel/) > [As centuries of dictators have known, an illiterate crowd is the easiest to rule; since the craft of reading cannot be untaught once it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alberto-manguel/as-centuries-of-dictators-have-known-an-illiterate-crowd-is-the/) [Alberto Manguel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alberto-manguel/) [Explore all 159 Alberto Manguel quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alberto-manguel/) ## More Books quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [If what I write is literature, I guess you'd better emphasize the 'litter.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-lunch/if-what-i-write-is-literature-i-guess-you-d-better-emphasize-the/) [Lydia Lunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-lunch/) > [My sentences got sharper and my stories more efficient, and I gradually learned to imagine the reader more clearly and to empathize with that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/my-sentences-got-sharper-and-my-stories-more-efficient-and-i/) [Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [“Within the pages of books, I've journeyed to Mandalay, the Milky Way and Santa Fe, without once having to leave my armchair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-ansbro/within-the-pages-of-books-i-ve-journeyed-to-mandalay-the-milky-way/) [Kevin Ansbro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-ansbro/) > [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [“Tacitus did not write a most dangerous book. His readers made it so.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-k-krebs/tacitus-did-not-write-a-most-dangerous-book-his-readers-made-it-so/) Christopher K. Krebs > [“Take some books and read; that’s an immense help; and books are always good company if you have the right sort.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-may-alcott/take-some-books-and-read-that-s-an-immense-help-and-books-are-always/) [Louisa May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-may-alcott/) > [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. There is nothing like a child who knows more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-cooper/i-have-many-who-keep-me-going-i-am-very-fortunate-in-this-sense-there/) [Floyd Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-cooper/) > [I think books in which people are really happy and things are going well are probably the most challenging novels there are to write,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-books-in-which-people-are-really-happy-and-things-are-going/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [It's like the query letter problem that I just mentioned, magnified a hundredfold. You might be good at telling a story, but that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/it-s-like-the-query-letter-problem-that-i-just-mentioned-magnified-a/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [“Be careful about reading health books. Some fine day you'll die of a misprint.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-herz/be-careful-about-reading-health-books-some-fine-day-you-ll-die-of-a/) Markus Herz > [But editors are still the world's readers. And thus the eyes of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/but-editors-are-still-the-world-s-readers-and-thus-the-eyes-of-the/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) [Browse all 59,485 Books quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It is in the translation that the innocence lost after the first reading is restored under another guise, since the reader is once again faced with a new text and its attendant mystery. 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