--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Either the translator leaves the author…" description: "\"Either the translator leaves the author in peace, as much as is possible, and moves the reader towards him: or he leaves the reader in peace, as much a..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/44d/friedrich-schleiermacher-29979_books_either-the-translator-leaves-the-author_3113003.jpg" --- # Either the translator leaves the author in peace, as much… ![“Either the translator leaves the author in peace, as much as is possible, and moves the reader towards him: or he leaves the reader in peace, as much as possible, and moves the author towards him.” quote by Friedrich Schleiermacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/44d/friedrich-schleiermacher-29979_books_either-the-translator-leaves-the-author_3113003.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/44d/friedrich-schleiermacher-29979_books_either-the-translator-leaves-the-author_3113003.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/44d/friedrich-schleiermacher-29979_books_either-the-translator-leaves-the-author_3113003.jpg) > “Either the translator leaves the author in peace, as much as is possible, and moves the reader towards him: or he leaves the reader in peace, as much as possible, and moves the author towards him.” [Friedrich Schleiermacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-schleiermacher/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Translation can either prioritize the author's intent or the reader's ease, but balancing both yields deeper understanding. **In simple terms:** Balance author and reader. Key Takeaway Seek balance in translation. Themes translation interpretation communication Mood thoughtful analytical Type philosophical educational When to use this quote - literary translation - academic texts - cross‑cultural communication Key Concepts linguistics philosophy Questions to Reflect On - How do you decide which side to prioritize? - What compromises are acceptable? A Different Perspective Focusing on both sides may dilute the original voice. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Peace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/peace/) [Translators](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/translators/) ## Related quotes > [“The reader leaves his mark on the book, as the book leaves its mark on the reader.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-dubois/the-reader-leaves-his-mark-on-the-book-as-the-book-leaves-its-mark-on/) [Gabrielle Dubois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-dubois/) > [“every time a reader leaves a book review, a crippled monkey gets a free banana. I”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bobby-adair/every-time-a-reader-leaves-a-book-review-a-crippled-monkey-gets-a/) [Bobby Adair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bobby-adair/) > [I have always maintained that translation is essentially the closest reading one can possibly give a text. 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He's the mailman of human civilization.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pushkin/please-never-despise-the-translator-he-s-the-mailman-of-human/) [Alexander Pushkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pushkin/) > [What is the task of the translator? I think the task depends on the book and on the translator.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idra-novey/what-is-the-task-of-the-translator-i-think-the-task-depends-on-the/) [Idra Novey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idra-novey/) > [A translator is essentially a reader and we all read differently, except that a translator's reading remains in unchanging print](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-rabassa/a-translator-is-essentially-a-reader-and-we-all-read-differently/) [Gregory Rabassa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-rabassa/) > [I think that if you are sticking to the text, essentially, you're not trying to write your own version of it. I mean, of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-goldstein/i-think-that-if-you-are-sticking-to-the-text-essentially-you-re-not/) [Ann Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-goldstein/) ## More by Friedrich Schleiermacher > [Virtue is only a conflict by which we get the mastery of our failings; that, by which every man proves his peculiar power of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-schleiermacher/virtue-is-only-a-conflict-by-which-we-get-the-mastery-of-our-failings/) [Friedrich Schleiermacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-schleiermacher/) > [The essence of religion consists in the feeling of an absolute dependence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-schleiermacher/the-essence-of-religion-consists-in-the-feeling-of-an-absolute/) [Friedrich Schleiermacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-schleiermacher/) > [The first, that their pretensions to this possession of an art properly so called in their art of speaking are entirely unfounded; and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-schleiermacher/the-first-that-their-pretensions-to-this-possession-of-an-art/) [Friedrich Schleiermacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-schleiermacher/) > [“Like Chaos, before the world was created”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-schleiermacher/like-chaos-before-the-world-was-created/) [Friedrich Schleiermacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-schleiermacher/) > [Women are certainly more happy in this than we men: their employments occupy a smaller portion of their thoughts, and the earnest longing of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-schleiermacher/women-are-certainly-more-happy-in-this-than-we-men-their-employments/) [Friedrich Schleiermacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-schleiermacher/) > [To be a religions man and to pray are really one and the same thing. To join in the thought of God with every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-schleiermacher/to-be-a-religions-man-and-to-pray-are-really-one-and-the-same-thing/) [Friedrich Schleiermacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-schleiermacher/) > [And, moreover, it is art in its most general and comprehensive form that is here discussed, for the dialogue embraces everything connected with it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-schleiermacher/and-moreover-it-is-art-in-its-most-general-and-comprehensive-form/) [Friedrich Schleiermacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-schleiermacher/) > [“If we look into the matter of how Christian theology rose in the beginning, the Christian Church was always already earlier, and thus even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-schleiermacher/if-we-look-into-the-matter-of-how-christian-theology-rose-in-the/) [Friedrich Schleiermacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-schleiermacher/) > [Whenever I find a spark of that hidden fire that will sooner or later consume the old and create the new, I am drawn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-schleiermacher/whenever-i-find-a-spark-of-that-hidden-fire-that-will-sooner-or-later/) [Friedrich Schleiermacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-schleiermacher/) > [No God without a world, and no world without God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-schleiermacher/no-god-without-a-world-and-no-world-without-god/) [Friedrich Schleiermacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-schleiermacher/) > [Now the relation which, in the sphere of nature, being and semblance or sensation bear to one another in this antithesis, is the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-schleiermacher/now-the-relation-which-in-the-sphere-of-nature-being-and-semblance-or/) [Friedrich Schleiermacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-schleiermacher/) > [For when it is the good that is under consideration, and the ethical object is predominant, truth must be considered more in reference to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-schleiermacher/for-when-it-is-the-good-that-is-under-consideration-and-the-ethical/) [Friedrich Schleiermacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-schleiermacher/) > [The essence of the religious emotions consists in the feeling of an absolute dependence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-schleiermacher/the-essence-of-the-religious-emotions-consists-in-the-feeling-of-an/) [Friedrich Schleiermacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-schleiermacher/) > [Belief must be something different from a mixture of opinions about God and the world, and of precepts for one life or for two.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-schleiermacher/belief-must-be-something-different-from-a-mixture-of-opinions-about/) [Friedrich Schleiermacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-schleiermacher/) > [“My heart is properly cultivated ... and is not left to wither under the burden of cold erudition, and my religious feelings are not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-schleiermacher/my-heart-is-properly-cultivated-and-is-not-left-to-wither-under-the/) [Friedrich Schleiermacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-schleiermacher/) [Explore all 18 Friedrich Schleiermacher quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-schleiermacher/) ## 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. 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