"Woe to the makers of literal translations, who by rendering every word weaken the meaning! It is indeed by so doing that we can say the letter kills and the spirit gives life"

This quote by Voltaire is a warning to those who make actual translations of texts. He is cautioning versus the tendency to translate every single word, as this can damage the significance of the original text. He is suggesting that by doing this, the letter of the text is provided more value than the spirit of the text. This is because when a literal translation is made, the subtleties and subtleties of the original text can be lost, and the real meaning of the text can be misshaped. Voltaire is emphasizing that it is very important to capture the spirit of the text, rather than simply the letter, in order to genuinely understand the significance of the text. He is recommending that it is the spirit of the text that gives life to the text, and that by focusing excessive on the letter of the text, the significance can be eliminated.