Translation, by Octavio Paz

Interesting point that Paz makes connects to the Storytelling class- People used to look for connections and similarities in other cultures, and find the "one substance" that was being communicated through "many languages". "Translation was not only a confirmation but also a guarantee of the existence of spiritual bonds." But in modern times, segun Paz, people "began to find it difficult to recongnize [themselves] in [others]" because of the immense variety of differences. Thus, translation and exploration have become abut finding differences instead of similarities. "Foreignness was no longer teh exception but the rule." "Translation had once served to reveal the preponderance of similarities over differences; from this time forward translation would serve to illustrate the irreconcilablility of differences, whether those stem from the foreignness of the savage of of our neighbor."
He speaks about all language being translation. In learning to speak we are learning to translate. I used to think that everyone thought in English, as I did, but spoke in Spanish, or Desano, or English.