| Christoph Martin Wieland's History of the Abderites, perhaps a greater literary work than his Oberon (Sengle) aand one of the best German novels, has, so far as I know, appeared only once before in English, in the translation by Henry Christmas entitled The Republic of Fools: being the History of the State and People of Abdera in Thrace. It was published in two volumes without notes in 1861 by W. H. Allen in London. With my translation I wish to make this splendid novel available once again in English, and it is my hope that the Introduction and annotations will help make it accessible to a wide reading public so that I might, in some measure, repay this fascinating author for the many hours of enjoyment and delight I have found in his writings over the years. |
| To the version by Christmas I owe little or nothing, because I laid it aside until my own translation was finished. I differ basically with my predecessor about how Wieland should be translated. Wieland's style, as is well known, is the quintessence of his art and determines the character of his humor. The translation must therefore convey his manner as well as matter, and this is not possible if one changes his metaphors and imagery. These, however, are often bound, in turn, to his long, frequently very complex periods. Consequently, I have tried, wherever at all possible, to reproduce them in their entirety. (Cf., for example, the opening sentence of the Fourth Book.) Where I could not, I broke the construction into two or more parts and avoided scrupulously any summarizing of the original. |
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