Candide (Translated and Illustrated)
Or Optimism
Description:... A little while back, after a 40-year career in publishing, I sat down to enjoy reading my favorite French classics, but this time in English. I was amazed and very displeased to find that even the most expensive editions offered less than totally accurate translation of the works; not to mention many translator's mania to go off on their own tangent, adding new words--or phrases--to the author's original text. Let us be clear, the classics are such because the authors were brilliant writers who took great care in choosing accurate words; when I read Voltaire I am not interested in reading a translator's middling description of a scene, or a translator's clarification of a word or name of a personage mentioned in the text. So, I ventured, as a hobby and to amuse myself, to give some of these classic books my own translated version, unadulterated and without my own interpretation of the text; just pure and straightforward translation of the text as the author wrote it. Allow me to say that I am quite pleased with my endeavor. I think I might have done a better job of it than most. Why? because I am native French and studied this literature in college? because I translated books I especially liked and read several times? because as the illustrator I took great care in understanding what the author was talking about? because as a published writer I can better get at the author's true meaning?Maybe because of all the above!Further comment; in doing the illustration I tried to be as accurate as possible and did much research to accomplish this. The artwork must necessarily match the text but the text must correspond to the illustration as well. In Chapter XXIII, I illustrated the execution of Admiral Byng according to military records and history books. In this case Voltaire got it wrong.The original text: ... quatre soldats, postés vis-à-vis de cet homme, lui tirèrent chacun trois balles dans le crâne ...English translation:... four soldiers, posted opposite this man, each shot three bullets in the skull ...This is quite impossible for many reasons that I will not elucidate to spare the reader precious time.Historical records:Nine marines in their scarlet uniforms lined up in three rows, with the rear row held in reserve; after a few agonizing moments the man dropped his handkerchief, the six marines fired and he fell gently on his side. Being a retired naval officer myself, this is the only digression I permitted myself. I translated Voltaire's text as written but I have maintained historical accuracy in the artwork. One more: In all the illustrations I have seen of Candide the artwork always represented Voltaire's sheep as European sheep; South American red sheep that were used as pack animal were in fact llamas; so I maintained historical accuracy in the artwork, here as well.Translating this masterpiece increased my appreciation of its worth. I very much enjoyed rendering it into modern English and I hope you enjoy reading it.
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