Looking back at those who paved the way is always insightful, and who better to illustrate this legacy than Étienne Dolet (1509-1546), a major figure in translation and terminology? Printer, writer, humanist and translator, he left his mark on history not only through his works, but also through his commitment to the French language. Whether you're familiar with this illustrious figure or not, here are five surprising facts about him.
In 1540, he published La manière de bien traduire d'une langue en aultre, a meticulous exploration of the art of translation considered the first true essai on the subject and still taught today.
This work contains the five essential rules for a good translation: understanding the original text perfectly, mastering both languages (source and target), avoiding word-for-word translation, using natural expressions in the target language, and finally, respecting the rhythm and harmony of the text.
Through his erudite yet accessible style, Dolet lays the foundations for translations that respects not only the original text, but also the spirit of the target language.
Already imprisoned twice, it was for 3 small words, sounding almost cynical - “nothing at all” -, that he was convicted by a tribunal of the Inquisition.
In one of the passages from the Axiochus dialogue attributed to Plato, Dolet's “bad” translation is said to be part of an argument designed to show that death is nothing (“after death, you will be nothing at all”). In the eyes of the inquisitorial tribunal, this addition was proof that Dolet, visible through his translation, did not believe in the immortality of the soul after death, and blasphemed religious dogma.
To intervene or not to intervene in translations? That was the question his death posed for generations of translators to come.
Étienne Dolet was thirty-seven years old when, after eighteen months in prison, he was hanged and burned with his books on August 3, 1546, on Place Maubert in Paris.
By the 1700s, he had become a martyr to intolerance and, later, to freedom of expression and freedom of the press. This is why he is often cited as an emblematic figure of the dangers to which translators can be exposed.
His statue, inaugurated on Place Maubert on May 19, 1889, became a symbol of struggle, and quickly became a focal point for anti-clerical and atheist demonstrations. Unfortunately, it was melted down in 1942.
At a time when Latin dominated scholarly writings, Étienne Dolet actively campaigned for the recognition of French as a language of knowledge and culture.
In particular, Dolet saw translation as a means of freeing thought from the constraints imposed by Latin, making texts accessible to a wider audience. This vision has influenced the way translation is still perceived today, as a tool for democratizing knowledge.
His words preceded the Ordinance of Villers-Cotterêts (1539), signed by François I, which finally imposed the use of French in the kingdom's legal and administrative acts.
After working for four years as a proofreader for Sébastien Gryphe, the “Prince of booksellers”, Étienne Dolet was granted the privilege of being a printer by King François I, who himself fell under his spell.
He soon opened a workshop, which he used to publish not only classical and humanist texts, but also works deemed subversive by political and religious authorities.
By printing texts by Cicero, Plato and contemporary thinkers critical of the Church, Dolet quickly attracted the suspicion of censors. He was even accused of printing forbidden texts and forging the royal publishing privilege, which contributed to his downfall.