Betrayal! The 1806 English translation of Pinel's traité médico-philosophique sur l'aliénation mentale ou la manie.

The translation of important work in science and medicine into the major vernacular languages became imperative when Latin went out of fashion some two hundred years ago. Unfortunately the choice of the translators remained haphazard and without standards as to their qualifications. The only English translation of Philippe Pinel's masterpiece, the Traité médico-philosophique sur l'aliénation mentale ou la manie, is a sad example of betrayal by its translator. The Traité appeared in Paris in 1800 and was issued in English in 1806 by the well-known London publishers Cadell and Davies. Why did they choose a young obstetrician from Sheffield, David Daniel Davis (1777-1841)? Fragmentary sources indicate that one Sayer Walker, M.D., who had known Pinel in Montpellier, acted as intermediary. This article investigates the flaws of the translation and the bias of the translator, with fatal consequences for the Anglo-American literature in the history of mental illness.