64 



PRINCIPLES GOVERNING BIBLE TRANSLATION. 



had necessarily a metaphorical meaning, the translator was at liberty 

 to let that appear in the translation of the particular passage in 

 which that was the case : but if they had not, he was not. The 

 business of the translator was to put the reader as nearly as possible 

 in the position of a man who understood the original language. 



He had been much interested by the remarks of Mr. Thomas on 

 Classical Chinese. Mr. Thomas said that Chinese scholars simply 

 would not look at a book unless it was written in Classical Chinese. 

 His contention was the Bible used in public worship should be in 

 the language of the common people, and that the Bible used in 

 public worship must be the standard translation, whatever sub- 

 sidiary versions might be made for other classes of readers. 



He had not quite followed the questions that had been raised as 

 to the possibility of mistakes. Xo principles could be laid down 

 which would avoid any possibility of mistakes. If in Greek the 

 copula was, in any phrase, inherent, and might therefore be either 

 expressed or omitted, then the question of its insertion or omission 

 in any translation must depend on the rules governing the language 

 in which the translation was being made and must be decided by 

 those having a competent knowledge of that language. 



He returned his grateful thanks to the Meeting for their kind 

 reception of his paper. 



The Meeting adjourned at 6.10 p.m. 



