TL;DR
Thomas Urquhart, a failed Scottish nobleman, produced one of the greatest English translations ever—Rabelais' Gargantua and Pantagruel—through his wildly extravagant style.
Thomas Urquhart, born in 1611, failed at nearly everything: he drowned in debt, bungled battles, and wrote an incomprehensible math book and a mad plan for a universal language.
But he left one masterpiece: his English translation of Rabelais' Gargantua and Pantagruel. Many call it the greatest translation in the language, and it's still in print.
A mad nobleman's fancy
Urquhart dreamed of inventing a universal language where every word encoded meaning and read backward too. He spent seven years on three thousand pages, then lost them on a battlefield—the pages were used to wrap groceries.
Translation as final act
To pay off debts, he translated Rabelais. The original is full of obscure words and bawdy jokes, but Urquhart was oddly suited: he loved coining words and piling them up.
His translation sparkles with treasures like 'flimflam' and riotous lists of insults, and his sentences roll with irresistible rhythm, capturing Rabelais' vitality.
Sadly, it didn't sell; he died laughing when the king returned. In 1694, a successor finished the last books, and the translation endured, inspiring works like Gulliver's Travels.
Bottom line: even a ridiculous man can leave an immortal mark if he finds the thing he does best.
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