All such
changes as those instanced above, in our judgment, mar the simplicity
and obscure the meaning of the passages where they occur.
But we will now notice what appears to us a more serious defect than
any of those already mentioned. Mr. Sawyer throughout his translation
substitutes vulgar Latinisms and circumlocutions for the vigorous
phrases of the received version. Sometimes this is done at the expense
of homely Saxon words which are the very sinews of our language; and
wherever such words are sacrificed for Latinisms, the beauty and force
of the whole are impaired or destroyed. Again, the translator seems to
have a peculiar antipathy to everything like poetical expressions or the
euphonious arrangement of sentences. He has evidently fallen into the
error of supposing that the most prosaic rendering is necessarily
the most exact; whereas the fact is, that the most poetical form of
expression of which a passage is susceptible is often the most clear,
forcible, and precise. The best method of giving the reader an idea of
the justice of this portion of our criticism of Mr.
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