Of all the French epigrammatic writers, La Rochefoucauld (1613-1680) is at once the most widely known and the most distinguished. Voltaire said: "One of the works that most largely contributed to form the taste of the [French] nation, and to diffuse a spirit of justice and precision, is the collection of maxims by François, duc de La Rochefoucauld; though there is scarcely more than one truth running through the book-that 'self-love is the motive of everything'-yet, this thought is presented under so many varied aspects that it is nearly always striking." And Lord Chesterfield, in his letters to his son: "Till you come to know mankind by your own experience, I know no thing nor no man that can in the meantime bring you so well acquainted with them as La Rochefoucauld: his little book of Maxims, which I would advise you to look into, for some moments at least, every day of your life, is, I fear, too like and too exact a picture of human nature. I own it seems to degrade it, but yet my experience does not convince me that it degrades it unjustly." The Maxims were first published in 1665, under the title "Reflections or sentences and moral maxims"; and the edition of 1678, the fifth, from which the text has been used for the present translation, was the last revised by the author and published in his lifetime (with maxims numbered 1 to 504). Maxims which appeared in previous editions and were suppressed by La Rochefoucauld can be found in the second part, entitled "Maxims withdrawn by the author", here numbered 505 to 583. The French original of this bilingual edition was reviewed by Philippe Renaud. The English translation, originally by John William Willis-Bund and James Hain Friswell, has been thoroughly revised by Rebecca Hazell and Philippe Renaud.

Kirsten Malmkjær argues that translating can and should be considered a valuable art form. Examining notions of creativity and their relationship with translation and focusing on how the originality of translation is manifest in texts, the author explores a range of texts and their translations, in order to illustrate original as opposed to derivative translation. With reference to thirty translators’ discourses on their source texts and the author’s own experience of translating a short text, Malmkjær explores the theory of creativity, philosophical aesthetics, the philosophy of language, experimental and theoretical translation studies, and translators’ discourses on their work. Showing the relevance of these varied topics to the study of translating and translations underlines their complexity and the immensity of understanding that is regularly invested in translations. This work proposes a complete rethinking of the concepts of creativity and originality, as applied to translation, and is vital reading for advanced students and researchers in translation studies and comparative literature.

Law and Language in the Middle Ages investigates the relationship between law and legal practice from the linguistic perspective, exploring not only how legal language expresses and advances power relations but also how the language of law legitimates power.

This is the fullest collection of La Rochefoucauld's writings ever published in English, and includes the first complete translation of the Miscellaneous Reflections. A table of alternative maxim numbers and an index of topics help the reader to locate any maxim quickly.

The Routledge Dictionary of Cultural References in Modern French reveals the hidden cultural dimension of contemporary French, as used in the press, going beyond the limited and purely lexical approach of traditional bilingual dictionaries. Even foreign learners of French who possess a good level of French often have difficulty in fully understanding French articles, not because of any linguistic shortcomings on their part but because of their inadequate knowledge of the cultural references. This cultural dictionary of French provides the reader with clear and concise explanations of the crucial cultural dimension behind the most frequently used words and phrases found in the contemporary French press. This vital background information, gathered here in this innovative and entertaining dictionary, will allow readers to go beyond a superficial understanding of the French press and the French language in general, to see the hidden yet implied cultural significance that is so transparent to the native speaker. Key features: a broad range of cultural references from the historical and literary to the popular and classical, with an in-depth analysis of punning mechanisms. over 3,000 cultural references explained a three-level indicator of frequency over 600 questions to test knowledge before and after reading. The Routledge Dictionary of Cultural References in Modern French is the ideal reference for all undergraduate and postgraduate students of French seeking to enhance their understanding of the French language. It will also be of interest to teachers, translators and Francophiles alike. French students in khâgne, Sciences-Po and schools of journalism will also find this valuable and relevant for their studies.