Study of the Abregé de l'Histoire ancienne, ou des Cinq grands empires (J. B. Duchesne) and its translation into the Spanish Compendio de la Historia Antigua o de los Cinco Grandes Imperios

Abstract

This paper analyses the Abregé de l’histoire ancienne of the French Jesuit Jean-Baptist Duchesne (1743) and its translation into Spanish Compendio de la Historia Antigua (1792-1793). This work is a manual of Ancient History which narrates, from a biblical perspective, the succession of the great empires of the Ancient World, their main dignataries and milestones. After an introduction, a selection of compared extracts are exposed focusing on the most relevant divergences related to the form and to the sense between the original text and the translation. The final conclusions reflect on the method, the strategy and the translation techniques of this Enlightenment document as a divulgation instrument.