4 ms·

I don't speak French, probably like the majority of HN crowd. Leaving aside the bizarre fact that this got promoted to the front page, can anyone TLDR this for

I don't speak French, probably like the majority of HN crowd. Leaving aside the bizarre fact that this got promoted to the front page, can anyone TLDR this for me?

seesawtron 6y ago
Its the dilemma between keeping historical literature intact despite its controversial and possibly inciteful passage vs translating/adapting it to be more politically correct for the present day audience. In this Dutch translation, they chose the latter. "when Dante enters Hell, he visits the nine concentric circles. He then meets the many people - some of whom are historical figures - who are punished there for their sins. Arrived at the eighth circle, the poet meets the prophet Muhammad, punished " because by spreading his religion he would have sowed discord on Earth " reports the Belgian daily De Standaard. This passage has thus been partially amputated in the new translation." "The goal of the publisher was to make L'Enfer accessible to a public. wider possible, and especially the young audience, and we knew that if we left this passage as it is we would have unnecessarily hurt a large part of the readers. The passage has been preserved, but the name of Mahomet has been deleted".
- Veen 6y ago
  That doesn't seem like a dilemma at all. Historical literature has contents some people find offensive. It's a poem written by a Medieval Catholic; of course he had negative opinions about Islam. Why pretend otherwise? Any mature and reasonable person should be able to understand that context.
  - ismaildonmez 6y ago
    > Any mature and reasonable person should be able to understand that context. Amen, it seems like we can't take this for granted anymore.
  - laichzeit0 6y ago
    It’s ironic given the Quran is littered with antisemitism.
belval 6y ago
In Dante's inferno, he encounters Mohammed in hell, implying that he was responsible for the violence of Islam. This is seen a provocative to muslim readers so they edited it out.
- SuperNinKenDo 6y ago
  He is clearly in hell for being a heretic in Dante's eyes, not because he was "responsible for the violence of Islam".
  - belval 6y ago
    "sown discord on the earth" is a bit stronger than simply calling someone an heretic.
    - SuperNinKenDo 6y ago
      Even if I accepted that, and I don't considering you're talking about a medieval Catholic, they would have been part-and-parcel for Dante if my understanding of his views on politics and religion are reasonably calibrated.
  - hiyer 6y ago
    Heretics belonged in the 6th Circle, and Mohammed was in the 8th, so clearly Dante thought he had done something more than just heresy.
deleted 6y ago
[deleted]

I don't speak French, probably like the majority of HN crowd. Leaving aside the bizarre fact that this got promoted to the front page, can anyone TLDR this for me?

seesawtron 6y ago

Its the dilemma between keeping historical literature intact despite its controversial and possibly inciteful passage vs translating/adapting it to be more politically correct for the present day audience. In this Dutch translation, they chose the latter. "when Dante enters Hell, he visits the nine concentric circles. He then meets the many people - some of whom are historical figures - who are punished there for their sins. Arrived at the eighth circle, the poet meets the prophet Muhammad, punished " because by spreading his religion he would have sowed discord on Earth " reports the Belgian daily De Standaard. This passage has thus been partially amputated in the new translation." "The goal of the publisher was to make L'Enfer accessible to a public. wider possible, and especially the young audience, and we knew that if we left this passage as it is we would have unnecessarily hurt a large part of the readers. The passage has been preserved, but the name of Mahomet has been deleted".

Veen 6y ago
That doesn't seem like a dilemma at all. Historical literature has contents some people find offensive. It's a poem written by a Medieval Catholic; of course he had negative opinions about Islam. Why pretend otherwise? Any mature and reasonable person should be able to understand that context.
- ismaildonmez 6y ago
  > Any mature and reasonable person should be able to understand that context. Amen, it seems like we can't take this for granted anymore.
- laichzeit0 6y ago
  It’s ironic given the Quran is littered with antisemitism.

belval 6y ago

In Dante's inferno, he encounters Mohammed in hell, implying that he was responsible for the violence of Islam. This is seen a provocative to muslim readers so they edited it out.

SuperNinKenDo 6y ago
He is clearly in hell for being a heretic in Dante's eyes, not because he was "responsible for the violence of Islam".
- belval 6y ago
  "sown discord on the earth" is a bit stronger than simply calling someone an heretic.
  - SuperNinKenDo 6y ago
    Even if I accepted that, and I don't considering you're talking about a medieval Catholic, they would have been part-and-parcel for Dante if my understanding of his views on politics and religion are reasonably calibrated.
- hiyer 6y ago
  Heretics belonged in the 6th Circle, and Mohammed was in the 8th, so clearly Dante thought he had done something more than just heresy.

deleted 6y ago

[deleted]