English translations of the aphorisms of Nicolás Gómez Dávila
March 30, 2010
#816
Negative criticism sometimes achieves those conversions of the soul which significantly modify the problems. “Constructive” criticism only multiplies catastrophes.
La crítica “estéril” logra a veces esas conversiones del alma que modifican substancialmente los problemas. La crítica “constructiva” sólo multiplica catástrofes.
I translated estéril here as "negative," rather than "sterile," which is the literal meaning of the word, in order to make the English translation more idiomatic.
The original Spanish is:
ReplyDeleteLa crítica “estéril” logra a veces esas conversiones del alma que modifican substancialmente los problemas.
La crítica “constructiva” sólo multiplica catástrofes.
I translated estéril here as "negative," rather than "sterile," which is the literal meaning of the word, in order to make the English translation more idiomatic.