The German Commercial Code #265898

At the outset I would wish to warn the possible reader that if he opens this volume hoping to find in it a model of English prose, he is in danger of disappointment. I would frankly recommend the better works of Milton or of Burke as more suited for the purpose. The difficulty of translating an enactment of this kind must be so obvious from the most cursory perusal of the German that I will refrain from further apologizing for the awkward phrases and cumbrous sentences with which, as I well know, this volume abounds.<br><br>There are two distinct methods of translating from the German. The first is the word-for-word method, by which the translator merely seeks to render the German into English piecemeal and as literally as possible. Where this method can be successfully employed it is undoubtedly the most satisfactory, but if followed slavishly it will frequently result in a form of language which, besides being grotesque in the extreme, conveys absolutely no meaning to the ordinary English reader.