Page:Essay on the Principles of Translation - Tytler (1791, 1st ed).djvu/245

 fashion of thought of their respective countries. Voltaire, in his essay sur la Tragédie Angloise, has chosen the famous soliloquy in the tragedy of Hamlet, "To be, or not to be," as one of those striking passages which best exemplify the genius of Shakespeare, and which, in the words of the French author, demandent grace pour touter ses fautes. It may therefore be presumed, that the translator in this instance endeavoured, as far as lay in his power, not only to adopt the spirit of his author, but to represent him as favourably as possible to his countrymen. Yet, how wonderfully has he metamorphosed, how miserably disfigured him! In the original, we have the perfect picture of a mind deeply agitated, giving vent to its feelings in broken starts of utterance, and in language which plain-