Abstract
As first published in 1774, over seven per cent of Goethe's novel, Die Leiden des jungen Werthers, consists of translation from extended passages from James Macpherson's Ossian. What should the anglophone translator do with these? The essay begins by considering the merits of J. M. Coetzee's criticism of Stanley Corngold's translation for simply inserting what he and Coetzee take to be Macpherson's English original, instead of back-translating from the German. Questions about the editions used, both of Macpherson and Goethe, are raised. The function of the Ossianic translations within the economy of the novel is discussed and the ways in which the source text is adapted in order to serve this. In consequence it is argued that back-translation represents the only legitimate option.
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