--- title: "4 David Bellos Quotes - Famous Translator" description: "British translator and author... | David Michael Bellos was a British academic, translator and biographer. He was the Meredith Howland Pyne professor of..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b031/author-david-bellos-73830.jpg" --- ![Portrait of David Bellos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b031/author-david-bellos-73830.jpg) # David Bellos (1944–2025) Translator **4** quotes in **40** categories Rate this collection: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet David Bellos was a translator. ## Quick Facts About David Bellos Born November 30, 1944 Died October 26, 2025 Profession Translator ## About David Bellos British translator and author... \| David Michael Bellos was a British academic, translator and biographer. He was the Meredith Howland Pyne professor of French and comparative literature at Princeton University in the United States, and was the co-founder and first director, from 2007, of its translation and intercultural communicat ## Quotes by David Bellos > [Translating is a respectable, valuable, creative and worthwhile use of a human brain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bellos/translating-is-a-respectable-valuable-creative-and-worthwhile-use-of/) [David Bellos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bellos/) [Brain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brain/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/91b/david-bellos-73830_brain_translating-is-a-respectable-valuable-cr_16119.png) > [“The difference between a translation and an original is not of the same order as the difference between powdered and steamed coffee.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bellos/the-difference-between-a-translation-and-an-original-is-not-of-the/) [David Bellos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bellos/) [Creativity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creativity/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c48/david-bellos-73830_creativity_the-difference-between-a-translation-and_258259.png) > [In painting as in prose, a good eye is not enough to tell you whether what you see is real or fake.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bellos/in-painting-as-in-prose-a-good-eye-is-not-enough-to-tell-you-whether/) [David Bellos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bellos/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3a2/david-bellos-73830_artist_in-painting-as-in-prose-a-good-eye-is-no_1773190.png) > [The practice of translation rests on two presuppositions. The first is that we are all different: we speak different tongues, and see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bellos/the-practice-of-translation-rests-on-two-presuppositions-the-first-is/) [David Bellos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bellos/) [Broads](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/broads/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/087/david-bellos-73830_broads_the-practice-of-translation-rests-on-two_3013055.png) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "ItemList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bellos/#itemlist", "name": "David Bellos Quotes", "numberOfItems": 4, "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Translating is a respectable, valuable, creative and worthwhile use of a human brain.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "David Bellos" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bellos/translating-is-a-respectable-valuable-creative-and-worthwhile-use-of/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/91b/david-bellos-73830_brain_translating-is-a-respectable-valuable-cr_16119.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/91b/david-bellos-73830_brain_translating-is-a-respectable-valuable-cr_16119.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/91b/david-bellos-73830_brain_translating-is-a-respectable-valuable-cr_16119.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Translating is a respectable, valuable, creative and worthwhile use of a human brain.” — David Bellos", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The difference between a translation and an original is not of the same order as the difference between powdered and steamed coffee.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "David Bellos" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bellos/the-difference-between-a-translation-and-an-original-is-not-of-the/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c48/david-bellos-73830_creativity_the-difference-between-a-translation-and_258259.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c48/david-bellos-73830_creativity_the-difference-between-a-translation-and_258259.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c48/david-bellos-73830_creativity_the-difference-between-a-translation-and_258259.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The difference between a translation and an original is not of the same order as the difference between…” — David Bellos", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "In painting as in prose, a good eye is not enough to tell you whether what you see is real or fake.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "David Bellos" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bellos/in-painting-as-in-prose-a-good-eye-is-not-enough-to-tell-you-whether/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3a2/david-bellos-73830_artist_in-painting-as-in-prose-a-good-eye-is-no_1773190.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3a2/david-bellos-73830_artist_in-painting-as-in-prose-a-good-eye-is-no_1773190.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3a2/david-bellos-73830_artist_in-painting-as-in-prose-a-good-eye-is-no_1773190.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“In painting as in prose, a good eye is not enough to tell you whether what you see is real or fake.” — David Bellos", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The practice of translation rests on two presuppositions. 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