Notes on translating Hegel

The main problem with extant Hegel translations (and this holds true with translations generally) is that they do too much interpreting and do not allow the text to speak for itself. Granted, there is a great temptation to interpret the text for the reader because the original may otherwise appear incoherent in the target language. But I think a translator should err on the side of fidelity to the original text and trust that the context and the repetitious use of the same jargon or phraseology will render the text intelligible to the reader in a way that well-meaning a priori interpretations will not. In-text intepretation simply tends to obfuscate and clutter the text, rendering it increasingly difficult to wade through, and after a few paragraphs of such well-intentioned additions and glosses, often conducted without the reader having the least awareness that nothing of the kind was contained in the original, the said reader can be excused for tossing the book aside in exasperation if not exhaustion. In my own translation I try to keep it clean and reduce the verbiage to the bare minimum. I think that goes a long way toward improving intelligibility.