Regarding translations of certain classics.

[Intuition]

As I am unable to find a translation that has been deemed accurate I will make further inquiries here:

'The Orchard,' and 'The Rose Garden' of Sa'di
'The Olympian Spring' of Spitteler
'Gargantua and Pantagruel' of Rabelais
'Dead Souls' of Gogol

If anyone has a clue as to what the proper translations of the aforementioned works are then mention so. I realize that Eastern literature is scarce in Western society-- I have not been able to find a complete English translation of Sa'di' due to this. I'm not entirely sure whether or not Spitteler's masterpiece has been translated into English, and I have read that certain versions of Rabelais are structured improperly. As for Gogol's Dead Souls, that's simple; the award winning Russian translator team: Pevear and Volokhonsky have made a recent translation of this comical masterpiece, although Nabokov praised another.

Thanks in advance.

[Calidore]

You can often find translation comparisons in Amazon's comments.

[Intuition]

I realize that. Last time I checked amazon-- Olympian Spring was nowhere to be found.

As for redirecting me to amazon in terms of comparisons, most people do not tend to go through the trifles of articulating the translations in depth.

I realized that on the Sa'di page someone merely said something along these lines, "This does not contain the entire book," ending his comparison there, and not giving further information as to what translation to seek out.

Therefore I had the assumption that individuals would be able to speak at greater length in forums centralized solely on literature, rather than an internet marketplace.

[stlukesguild]

'The Orchard,' and 'The Rose Garden' of Sa'di:

This, in spite of the cheesy cover, appears to be rated as the best translation of the Gulistan (Rose Garden):

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6008/5992406605_c90a2c0cc2.jpg

although this translation, with the Persian facing and Persian vocabulary and notes in the back of the book may be even better:

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6131/5992969210_4bdcbee032.jpg

This seems to be commonly held as the best translation of the Bostan:

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6010/5992966326_104939a6be.jpg

It is quite likely that with increased interest in the Middle-East as the result of oil, politics, war, as well as the growth of populace of Middle-Eastern immigrants in the US and UK there will be more and better translations of Middle-eastern classics.

Rabelais exists in three good translations: Donald Frame, Burton Raffel, and Sir Thomas Urquhart/Pierre Le Motteux. The last, published in Everyman, uses a 17th century translation which gives something of a feel of how this early precursor to the novel might have been seen at the time the novel was taking hold in England. It is considered by most accounts an excellent translation... but perhaps not a first choice. I would personally go with Donald Frame, who was a masterful translator from the French (his Montaigne is unrivaled), but Burton Raffel is good as well.

Dead Souls has been translated by the team of Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky who have been acclaimed as the unrivaled translators of Russian classics in our time. I have several other translations by Pevear and Volokhonsky and have been well pleased with all of them.

[Intuition]

The translations of the 'Gulistan' seem perfect; although the translation you linked of 'The Bostan' seems to be flawed, as I have heard scholars complaining of its omissions. It seems to be missing entire chapters, although as I have not been able to find a better translation, I see I will most likely have to treat myself to this one.

As for Rabelais' masterpiece I would most likely be content with Frame, I've read his translation of Montaigne some time ago since it is widely believed to being the supreme translation of the aforementioned work, although I was not sure if the same would go in this case, therefore I had to make sure. I did not want to commit the same mistake in reading a faulty translation of a novel slightly longer than the average length novel. The mistake I committed was reading a translation of Anna Karenina which was not Pevear and Volokhonsky.

You're most likely in a favorable situation choosing that team of translators for Dead Souls rather than the translation Nabokov praised, I haven't gone wrong with them either. I've read all of their Dostoevsky, and a great deal of their Tolstoy, so I'll most likely continue with theirs.

My gratitude for your time spent in convincing myself towards these translations.