Voltaire et la traduction : tuer, énerver ou vivifier le sens du mot, de la phrase et du texte
Voltaire and translation: killing, upset or quicken the word, sentence and text

Summary/Abstract: Voltaire on translation: misrepresenting, mollifying or meliorating the meaning of a word, sentence and text This paper demonstrates how Voltaire proposes a philosophy of bad, mediocre or good translations. It explains and deepens Voltaire’s rather obscure statement in his Lettres Philosophiques which places the quality of translation at three levels: a bad translation which kills or mutilates the meaning of the word, sentence or text, a mediocre one which mollifies it, and a good one which, by capturing the underlying spirit of the discourse, meliorates and gives it energy. This paper points to the translator’s responsibility not to massacre or weaken the text but rather put life into it while remaining faithful.

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