--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The best thing on translation was said by…" description: "\"The best thing on translation was said by Cervantes: translation is the other side of a tapestry.\" — Leonardo Sciascia" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f78/leonardo-sciascia-25896_cervantes_the-best-thing-on-translation-was-said-b_2865559.jpg" --- # The best thing on translation was said by Cervantes… ![“The best thing on translation was said by Cervantes: translation is the other side of a tapestry.” quote by Leonardo Sciascia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f78/leonardo-sciascia-25896_cervantes_the-best-thing-on-translation-was-said-b_2865559.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f78/leonardo-sciascia-25896_cervantes_the-best-thing-on-translation-was-said-b_2865559.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f78/leonardo-sciascia-25896_cervantes_the-best-thing-on-translation-was-said-b_2865559.jpg) > “The best thing on translation was said by Cervantes: translation is the other side of a tapestry.” [Leonardo Sciascia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-sciascia/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Translation creates a new perspective, turning original meaning into a different pattern. **In simple terms:** Translation changes meaning into a new form. Key Takeaway Embrace multiple viewpoints. Themes communication interpretation creativity Mood reflective inquisitive Type analytical philosophical When to use this quote - literary analysis - cross‑cultural work - teaching language - marketing copy Key Concepts translation theory metaphor Questions to Reflect On - How does re‑framing alter understanding? - What is gained by seeing the other side? A Different Perspective May lose nuance of the source text. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cervantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cervantes/) [Cervantes Translation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cervantes-translation-3892148/) [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/said/) [Said Cervantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/said-cervantes-3892149/) [Sides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sides/) [Tapestry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tapestry/) [Translation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/translation/) [Translation Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/translation-said-1314432/) [Translation Tapestry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/translation-tapestry-447859/) [Translations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/translations/) ## Related quotes > [“Translation is the other side of a tapestry.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-sciascia/translation-is-the-other-side-of-a-tapestry/) [Leonardo Sciascia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-sciascia/) > [“So...what are you working on now?" “Right now, an essay about Don Quixote.” “One of my favorite books.” “Mine too.” “What’s the gist?” “It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mazzucchelli/so-what-are-you-working-on-now-right-now-an-essay-about-don-quixote/) [David Mazzucchelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mazzucchelli/) > [A translation is no translation, he said, unless it will give you the music of a poem along with the words of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-millington-synge/a-translation-is-no-translation-he-said-unless-it-will-give-you-the/) [John Millington Synge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-millington-synge/) > [“Translation,” I said. “We got around her fair and square. She won’t like it, but she’ll accept it.” “Oh yeah,” Thomas muttered under his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-butcher/translation-i-said-we-got-around-her-fair-and-square-she-won-t-like/) [Jim Butcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-butcher/) > [“Daemon spoke in his language. The lyrical quality of his words made no sense to me. “What did you say?” I asked. “There’s really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-l-armentrout/daemon-spoke-in-his-language-the-lyrical-quality-of-his-words-made-no/) [Jennifer L. Armentrout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-l-armentrout/) > [Cervantes smiled Spain's chivalry away; A single laugh demolished the right arm Of his country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-byron/cervantes-smiled-spain-s-chivalry-away-a-single-laugh-demolished-the/) [Lord Byron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-byron/) > [“No hay memoria a quien el tiempo no acabe, ni dolor que muerte no le consuma.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-cervantes-saavedra/no-hay-memoria-a-quien-el-tiempo-no-acabe-ni-dolor-que-muerte-no-le/) [Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-cervantes-saavedra/) > [“Faint heart never won fair maiden”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cervantes/faint-heart-never-won-fair-maiden/) [Cervantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cervantes/) > [“Marcela: Hízome el cielo, según vosotros decís, hermosa, y de tal manera, que, sin ser poderosos a otra cosa, a que me améis os…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-cervantes-saavedra/marcela-h-zome-el-cielo-seg-n-vosotros-dec-s-hermosa-y-de-tal-manera/) [Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-cervantes-saavedra/) > [Cervantes smiled Spain's chivalry away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-byron/cervantes-smiled-spain-s-chivalry-away/) [Lord Byron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-byron/) > [ “\[He\] looked exactly like Michael's idea of Don Quixote, 'the luminary and mirror of all knight-errantry', and for that gentle and melancholy knight Michael… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-goudge/he-looked-exactly-like-michael-s-idea-of-don-quixote-the-luminary-and/) [Elizabeth Goudge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-goudge/) > [“It’s madness to see life as it is and not how it should be.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/knight-of-the-woeful-countenance/it-s-madness-to-see-life-as-it-is-and-not-how-it-should-be/) [Knight of the woeful countenance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/knight-of-the-woeful-countenance/) > [ “the best of Cervantes is untranslatable, and this undeniable fact is in itself an incentive \[for one and all\] to learn Spanish.” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aubrey-f-g-bell/the-best-of-cervantes-is-untranslatable-and-this-undeniable-fact-is/) [Aubrey F.G. Bell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aubrey-f-g-bell/) > [Cervantes is the most important Spanish writer. But he is not the most representative of the Spanish. His irony, his sense of humor -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-munoz-molina/cervantes-is-the-most-important-spanish-writer-but-he-is-not-the-most/) [Antonio Munoz Molina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-munoz-molina/) > [Modern critics, who refuse to let a plain thing alone, have now started a theory that Cervantes's work is a vast piece of "symbolism."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-leacock/modern-critics-who-refuse-to-let-a-plain-thing-alone-have-now-started/) [Stephen Leacock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-leacock/) ## More by Leonardo Sciascia > [“Translation is the other side of a tapestry.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-sciascia/translation-is-the-other-side-of-a-tapestry/) [Leonardo Sciascia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-sciascia/) > [All of Sicily is a dimension of the imagination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-sciascia/all-of-sicily-is-a-dimension-of-the-imagination/) [Leonardo Sciascia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-sciascia/) > [A sort of melancholy, and regret, seizes us every time we meet a sophisticated, adulterated idiot. Oh the nice fools of yestertime! Genuine, natural.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-sciascia/a-sort-of-melancholy-and-regret-seizes-us-every-time-we-meet-a/) [Leonardo Sciascia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-sciascia/) > [“…And the sound of the sea, like the wild-animal breath of the world itself, frightened them as it gasped and died at their feet.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-sciascia/and-the-sound-of-the-sea-like-the-wild-animal-breath-of-the-world/) [Leonardo Sciascia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-sciascia/) > [“il brigadiere cominciò a fare il suo lavoro di osservazione, in funzione del rapporto scritto che gli toccava poi fare: compito piuttosto ingrato sempre,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-sciascia/il-brigadiere-cominci-a-fare-il-suo-lavoro-di-osservazione-in/) [Leonardo Sciascia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-sciascia/) > [I hate and detest Sicily in so far as I love it, and in so far as it does not respond to the kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-sciascia/i-hate-and-detest-sicily-in-so-far-as-i-love-it-and-in-so-far-as-it/) [Leonardo Sciascia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-sciascia/) > [“The only institution in the Sicilian conscience that really counts is the family; counts, that is to say, more as a dramatic juridical contract…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-sciascia/the-only-institution-in-the-sicilian-conscience-that-really-counts-is/) [Leonardo Sciascia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-sciascia/) > [“Scientists say that the palm tree line, that is the climate suitable to growth of the palm, is moving north, five hundred metres, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-sciascia/scientists-say-that-the-palm-tree-line-that-is-the-climate-suitable/) [Leonardo Sciascia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-sciascia/) > [“Maybe the whole of italy is becoming a sort of Sicily.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-sciascia/maybe-the-whole-of-italy-is-becoming-a-sort-of-sicily/) [Leonardo Sciascia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-sciascia/) > [“The Sicilian language is the only one in Europe that has no future tense. The island’s bitter legacy of conquest and revolt seems to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-sciascia/the-sicilian-language-is-the-only-one-in-europe-that-has-no-future/) [Leonardo Sciascia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-sciascia/) > [“There's a proverb, a maxim, that runs, 'The dead man is dead; let's give a hand to the living.' Now, you say that to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-sciascia/there-s-a-proverb-a-maxim-that-runs-the-dead-man-is-dead-let-s-give-a/) [Leonardo Sciascia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-sciascia/) > [The truth is at the bottom of a well. You look in a well, and you see the sun or the moon, but if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-sciascia/the-truth-is-at-the-bottom-of-a-well-you-look-in-a-well-and-you-see/) [Leonardo Sciascia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-sciascia/) [Explore all 13 Leonardo Sciascia quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-sciascia/) ## More Cervantes quotes > [“It’s madness to see life as it is and not how it should be.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/knight-of-the-woeful-countenance/it-s-madness-to-see-life-as-it-is-and-not-how-it-should-be/) [Knight of the woeful countenance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/knight-of-the-woeful-countenance/) > [Cervantes smiled Spain's chivalry away; A single laugh demolished the right arm Of his country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-byron/cervantes-smiled-spain-s-chivalry-away-a-single-laugh-demolished-the/) [Lord Byron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-byron/) > [Cervantes is the most important Spanish writer. But he is not the most representative of the Spanish. His irony, his sense of humor -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-munoz-molina/cervantes-is-the-most-important-spanish-writer-but-he-is-not-the-most/) [Antonio Munoz Molina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-munoz-molina/) > [ “the best of Cervantes is untranslatable, and this undeniable fact is in itself an incentive \[for one and all\] to learn Spanish.” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aubrey-f-g-bell/the-best-of-cervantes-is-untranslatable-and-this-undeniable-fact-is/) [Aubrey F.G. Bell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aubrey-f-g-bell/) > [Modern critics, who refuse to let a plain thing alone, have now started a theory that Cervantes's work is a vast piece of "symbolism."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-leacock/modern-critics-who-refuse-to-let-a-plain-thing-alone-have-now-started/) [Stephen Leacock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-leacock/) > [ “\[He\] looked exactly like Michael's idea of Don Quixote, 'the luminary and mirror of all knight-errantry', and for that gentle and melancholy knight Michael… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-goudge/he-looked-exactly-like-michael-s-idea-of-don-quixote-the-luminary-and/) [Elizabeth Goudge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-goudge/) > [Cervantes smiled Spain's chivalry away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-byron/cervantes-smiled-spain-s-chivalry-away/) [Lord Byron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-byron/) > [“Marcela: Hízome el cielo, según vosotros decís, hermosa, y de tal manera, que, sin ser poderosos a otra cosa, a que me améis os…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-cervantes-saavedra/marcela-h-zome-el-cielo-seg-n-vosotros-dec-s-hermosa-y-de-tal-manera/) [Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-cervantes-saavedra/) > [“Faint heart never won fair maiden”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cervantes/faint-heart-never-won-fair-maiden/) [Cervantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cervantes/) > [“No hay memoria a quien el tiempo no acabe, ni dolor que muerte no le consuma.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-cervantes-saavedra/no-hay-memoria-a-quien-el-tiempo-no-acabe-ni-dolor-que-muerte-no-le/) [Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-cervantes-saavedra/) > [“It was a hard life, a life of poverty, of incessant struggle, of toil ill paid, of disappointment, but Cervantes carried within himself the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-cervantes-saavedra/it-was-a-hard-life-a-life-of-poverty-of-incessant-struggle-of-toil/) [Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-cervantes-saavedra/) > [Cervantes shrewdly advises to lay a bridge of silver for a flying enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-percy-whipple/cervantes-shrewdly-advises-to-lay-a-bridge-of-silver-for-a-flying/) [Edwin Percy Whipple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-percy-whipple/) > [They can expect nothing but their labor for their pains. - Cervantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-cervantes/they-can-expect-nothing-but-their-labor-for-their-pains-cervantes/) [Miguel de Cervantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-cervantes/) > [“O Don Quixote, wise as thou art brave, La Mancha's splendor and of Spain the star! To thee I say that if the peerless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cervantes/o-don-quixote-wise-as-thou-art-brave-la-mancha-s-splendor-and-of/) [Cervantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cervantes/) > [“Hell,” he finished absurdly. “Because—” He produced a twenty-peso note and laid it on the table. “I like it,” he called to them, through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-lowry/hell-he-finished-absurdly-because-he-produced-a-twenty-peso-note-and/) [Malcolm Lowry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-lowry/) [Browse all 20 Cervantes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cervantes/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The best thing on translation was said by Cervantes: translation is the other side of a tapestry.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Leonardo Sciascia" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-sciascia/the-best-thing-on-translation-was-said-by-cervantes-translation-is/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Cervantes" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-sciascia/the-best-thing-on-translation-was-said-by-cervantes-translation-is/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f78/leonardo-sciascia-25896_cervantes_the-best-thing-on-translation-was-said-b_2865559.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f78/leonardo-sciascia-25896_cervantes_the-best-thing-on-translation-was-said-b_2865559.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f78/leonardo-sciascia-25896_cervantes_the-best-thing-on-translation-was-said-b_2865559.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The best thing on translation was said by Cervantes: translation is the other side of a tapestry.” — Leonardo Sciascia", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Leonardo Sciascia", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-sciascia/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The best thing on translation was...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-sciascia/the-best-thing-on-translation-was-said-by-cervantes-translation-is/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-sciascia/the-best-thing-on-translation-was-said-by-cervantes-translation-is/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```