The beginnings of philosophical translation in Poland

Abstract

The article constitutes an attempt to present some of the oldest translations of philosophy into Polish using the methodology suggested by Lieven D’hulst, based on the seemingly simple model: Quis? Quid? Ubi? Quibus auxiliis? Cur? Quomodo? Quando? Cui bono? (Who? What? Where? With whose help? Why? How? When? For whose sake?). In the introduction, the author presents the state of historical research, primarily that in French, and attempts to contextualise in it the study of philosophical translation, understood as non-literary translation. The most important works in historical translation studies are quoted – for example, The History of Translations into French (Histoire des traductions en langue française) – and proposals for Translator Studies are propounded. The latter are compared to the methodology proffered by D’hulst. Next, six works are presented: the first translations of Aristotle and Cicero into Polish. All works discussed date back to the late 16th and early 17th centuries and were published in Łosk (in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania) and Kraków. In accordance with D’hulst’s guidelines, the paper places equal emphasis on such elements of analysis as the translators (Quis?) and other people involved in the publishing of the translated works (Quibus auxiliis?), the context in which the translations were created (Ubi? Quando?), and elements of translation strategy (Quomodo?). The latter were studied using the method of comparative analysis of the translators’ strategies, mostly in the context of philosophical terms. Elements of domestication and foreignization as well as the presence of the translator’s paratext were considered. In the summary the author attempts to briefly answer the question of the influence of these texts on Polish readers (Cui bono?).