PLATO’S CRATYLUS TRANSLATED BY RAKOVSKI

Abstract

The article examines how Rakovski translates Plato’s dialogue Cratylus and uses it to prove the superiority of the Bulgarian language over the Greek in the framework of his Hindistan theory. After a brief overview of the formation of Rakovski as a Hellenist and the place of the dialogue in Plato’s philosophical doctrine of εἶδος, the author firstly focuses on a passage composed by Rakovski compiling three different sentences from the Cratylus which he uses twice as a motto and once as a quote. The second way in which Rakovski utilizes Plato’s text is in the treatise The advantage of Bulgarian over Greek language (1865). In this essay, he selects six passages of the Cratylus which he lists, translates, and comments. His translation strategies have been examined and defined as ranging between authenticity and manipulation.