--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: As far as modern writing is concerned, it…" description: "\"As far as modern writing is concerned, it is rarely rewarding to translate it, although it might be easy. Translation is very much like copying paintin..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/238/boris-pasternak-1944_concerned_as-far-as-modern-writing-is-concerned-it_2274117.png" --- # As far as modern writing is concerned, it is rarely… ![“As far as modern writing is concerned, it is rarely rewarding to translate it, although it might be easy. Translation is very much like copying paintings.” quote by Boris Pasternak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/238/boris-pasternak-1944_concerned_as-far-as-modern-writing-is-concerned-it_2274117.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/238/boris-pasternak-1944_concerned_as-far-as-modern-writing-is-concerned-it_2274117.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/238/boris-pasternak-1944_concerned_as-far-as-modern-writing-is-concerned-it_2274117.png) > “As far as modern writing is concerned, it is rarely rewarding to translate it, although it might be easy. Translation is very much like copying paintings.” [Boris Pasternak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boris-pasternak/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Translating modern literature is often unrewarding, likened to copying paintings, suggesting loss of originality. **In simple terms:** Translation can diminish original art. Key Takeaway Value original language. Themes translation art originality literature Mood critical thoughtful Type analytical philosophical When to use this quote - publishing - academic study - literary criticism - cross‑cultural communication Key Concepts aesthetic theory linguistics Questions to Reflect On - When is translation justified? - How can translators preserve artistic intent? A Different Perspective Some works lose nuance in translation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Concerned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/concerned/) [Copying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/copying/) [Easy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/easy/) [Easy Translation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/easy-translation-5282697/) [Might](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/might/) [Modern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/modern/) [Modern Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/modern-writing-726858/) [Rewarding Translate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rewarding-translate-5282696/) [Translate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/translate/) [Translate Easy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/translate-easy-5282698/) [Translation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/translation/) [Translation Like](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/translation-like-399353/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [Reading a poem in translation is like kissing a woman through a veil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-michaels/reading-a-poem-in-translation-is-like-kissing-a-woman-through-a-veil/) [Anne Michaels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-michaels/) > [Translation is like a woman. If it is beautiful, it is not faithful. If it is faithful, it is most certainly not beautiful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yevgeny-yevtushenko/translation-is-like-a-woman-if-it-is-beautiful-it-is-not-faithful-if/) [Yevgeny Yevtushenko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yevgeny-yevtushenko/) > [You know, they say in France that translation is like a woman: she is either beautiful or faithful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marjane-satrapi/you-know-they-say-in-france-that-translation-is-like-a-woman-she-is/) [Marjane Satrapi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marjane-satrapi/) > [ “\[reading a work in translation\] is like viewing a piece of Flemish tapestry on the wrong side.” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cervantes/reading-a-work-in-translation-is-like-viewing-a-piece-of-flemish/) [Cervantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cervantes/) > [“Poetry translation is like playing a piano sonata on a trombone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nataly-kelly/poetry-translation-is-like-playing-a-piano-sonata-on-a-trombone/) [Nataly Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nataly-kelly/) > [Any historian of the literature of the modern age will take virtually for granted the adversary intention, the actually subversive intention, that characterizes modern…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-trilling/any-historian-of-the-literature-of-the-modern-age-will-take-virtually/) [Lionel Trilling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-trilling/) > [“If I were a modern writing about a modern young woman I would have to do her wedding night in grisly detail. 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We err in copying the lower animal world if we are superior to it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/i-hold-flesh-food-to-be-unsuited-to-our-species-we-err-in-copying-the/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [There are a lot of kids out there copying and distributing movies - not because they care about seeing the movies or sharing them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-perry-barlow/there-are-a-lot-of-kids-out-there-copying-and-distributing-movies-not/) [John Perry Barlow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-perry-barlow/) ## More by Boris Pasternak > [“Happy are the downtrodden.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boris-pasternak/happy-are-the-downtrodden/) [Boris Pasternak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boris-pasternak/) > [“The saddest thing of all was that their party represented a deviation from the conditions of the time. 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