"Translation is like a woman. If it is beautiful, it is not faithful. If it is faithful, it is most certainly not beautiful"

This quote by Yevgeny Yevtushenko is a commentary on the difficulty of translating a text precisely while still maintaining its appeal. He is recommending that it is difficult to have both a faithful and gorgeous translation. A loyal translation is one that is accurate and communicates the initial significance of the text, while a lovely translation is one that is visually pleasing and catches the essence of the original text. Yevtushenko is implying that it is hard to attain both of these qualities in a translation, as one often comes at the expense of the other. He is recommending that a translator should choose in between a loyal translation that is not gorgeous, or a gorgeous translation that is not loyal.