Romania as Europe’s translator
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Sean Cotter
Abstract
Constantin Noica’s philosophy is prominent in multiple domains in Romania, from metaphysics, to cultural politics. The connections between these domains have been heavily contested and confused, in part because of a central paradox: his nationalism is a type of internationalism, his concern with definitions of Romania is a concern, first of all, with the country’s connections with the West. Noica’s international nationalism informs two important aspects of his thought: his refusal to adopt a dissident stance toward Ceauşescu, and his definition of Romania as “Europe’s translator.” This chapter defines Noica’s internationalism through an analysis of his rhetoric of translation from the 1970s and his practice of translation in the 1930s. In particular, I examine his 1973 assertion that Romania is “Europe’s translator” alongside his 1938 translation of Sagittarius Rising, Cecil Day Lewis’s autobiography. Translation is key to his intellectual formation before World War Two, and it remains central to his thinking about Romanian language and culture during the Communist period. Translations are the laboratory in which he develops his negative relationship with Europe. Noica’s positions are not, strictly speaking, “post-colonial.” Rather, they are characteristic of a small country’s necessary engagement with the terms of major countries, the international perspective inherent in the cultural self-image of a minor nation.
Abstract
Constantin Noica’s philosophy is prominent in multiple domains in Romania, from metaphysics, to cultural politics. The connections between these domains have been heavily contested and confused, in part because of a central paradox: his nationalism is a type of internationalism, his concern with definitions of Romania is a concern, first of all, with the country’s connections with the West. Noica’s international nationalism informs two important aspects of his thought: his refusal to adopt a dissident stance toward Ceauşescu, and his definition of Romania as “Europe’s translator.” This chapter defines Noica’s internationalism through an analysis of his rhetoric of translation from the 1970s and his practice of translation in the 1930s. In particular, I examine his 1973 assertion that Romania is “Europe’s translator” alongside his 1938 translation of Sagittarius Rising, Cecil Day Lewis’s autobiography. Translation is key to his intellectual formation before World War Two, and it remains central to his thinking about Romanian language and culture during the Communist period. Translations are the laboratory in which he develops his negative relationship with Europe. Noica’s positions are not, strictly speaking, “post-colonial.” Rather, they are characteristic of a small country’s necessary engagement with the terms of major countries, the international perspective inherent in the cultural self-image of a minor nation.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Acknowledgments vii
- Notes on contributors ix
- Introduction 1
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Part I. Contexts
- Shifting contexts 19
- Nation and translation 33
- Vasilii Zhukovskii as translator and the protean Russian nation 55
- Romania as Europe’s translator 79
- Translating India, constructing self 97
- The water of life 117
- Translation trouble 137
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Part II. Subtexts
- Between the lines 149
- Translation theory and cold war politics 171
- The poetics and politics of Joseph Brodsky as a Russian poet-translator 187
- Squandered opportunities 205
- Meaningful absences 219
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Part III. Pretexts
- Translated by Goblin 235
- “No text is an island” 249
- Russian dystopia in exile 265
- Between cosmopolitanism and hermeticism 277
- The other polysystem 295
- Translation as condition and theme in Milan Kundera’s novels 317
- Index 323
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Acknowledgments vii
- Notes on contributors ix
- Introduction 1
-
Part I. Contexts
- Shifting contexts 19
- Nation and translation 33
- Vasilii Zhukovskii as translator and the protean Russian nation 55
- Romania as Europe’s translator 79
- Translating India, constructing self 97
- The water of life 117
- Translation trouble 137
-
Part II. Subtexts
- Between the lines 149
- Translation theory and cold war politics 171
- The poetics and politics of Joseph Brodsky as a Russian poet-translator 187
- Squandered opportunities 205
- Meaningful absences 219
-
Part III. Pretexts
- Translated by Goblin 235
- “No text is an island” 249
- Russian dystopia in exile 265
- Between cosmopolitanism and hermeticism 277
- The other polysystem 295
- Translation as condition and theme in Milan Kundera’s novels 317
- Index 323
