conversation with the deceased/immortality

The book I have been translating these days is Menschenkenntnis written by Alfred Adler(1870-1937), who was a Viennese psychiatrist. This book is based on the lectures he gave in Vienna for the non-professionals and written mostly without using technical terminology. My impression ,however, is that his books written in German is more difficult to read than those in English, which he had to use after he moved to America. One reason why his German seems to me difficult is that most of his books are based on the transcripts of lectures and that he seldom wrote the books himself. He may not have been interested in writing compared with Freud for example. Nevertheless his books are very interesting and have long attracted me. I thought I could get the key to understand human being when I first read his work in 1989. I feel as if I were listening to his lecture or more precisely I were conversing with Adler every day when translating his German into Japanese. It is surprising that I can feel he is still alive though has been dead for many years. It may be said that he is immortal in his works he left for the later generation. This is one form of immortality we can get and I translate books and write books myself because I want to get this kind of immortality.

Comments

[Ichiro]

Making a living is important, it is true, but it cannot be the motive (at least the strong motive) to concentrate on working. I want to contribute. Work-in your case music- is not a personal satisfaction. I do hope many people will read my books and translation but the number cannot be the problem. If the books and your music reach only one people I can be satisfied.

[monika]

I very clearly understand what you explain here of the immortality through your work achieved and left behind.

Currently I am - mostly together with two very close friends of mine - preparing for a new music publishing endeavor of which I hope the same: That it may be one such trace on our world that may still be visible and of importance to some (and best of all, "many") people once the three of us will already have gone - to "other shores". Time will show and tell if we can achieve it, but this is definitely one of the main drives that make me work a lot more than I would have to to make my living.

Good luck for your current and following books! May they remain alive across the boundaries of our own personal death(s)!