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Old 09-10-2008, 07:22 PM   #8
Cookie Monster
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Quote:
Originally Posted by HarryT View Post
However, if you want to read them in English, then the translation has its own copyright, and depends on the date of death of the translator.
For translations of Ancient texts the ones out of copyright are often very old and the language more so.

Look how they describe anything sexual. The translators often use funny euphemisms. The number of ways they describe homosexuals is probably the most variable. I've seen close friend, effete man, bosom friend; i remember once seeing a translation that actually used pervert.

This sort of censorship only really ended around the 60s. Now you can find out what the women in Herodes mime 6 bought from the tanner without actually learning Attic Greek. You can also now know what half the humour of Aristophanes' Lysistrata is about
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