When a Sophist Speaks of Sophists: Untranslatables and Holy Men in Lucian (Peregr. 13)

This article aims at analyzing and solving the translation problems deriving from Lucian’s definition of Jesus as σοφιστής in Peregr. 13. This problem appears to be an actual untranslatable situation, caused by the coexistence of a lexical difficulty (the high and problematic polysemy of that attribute) and a context of uncertainty that does not allow a definitive interpretation. To tackle this situation, analysis is here conducted on both the linguistic and interpretative level. From the linguistic point of view, the term σοφιστής is studied in its historical development, in the peculiar ways Lucian employs it, and in its rendering in modern languages. Subsequently, the main interpretative proposals of the past are explained and a new one, based on the connection between Jesus and Peregrinus through their definition as σοφισταί, is suggested. Finally, after considering the most recent translations of this passage in different languages, a new solution is proposed, in the light of a dynamic conception of untranslatability.