"Within the present decade a greater emphasis has been placed on translations than ever before," said Clem W. Collins, Publishers' Agent, who directs the publishing of Mrs. Eddy's writings for the Trustees under the Will of Mary Baker Eddy. "The year 1966 marked one of the top growth years in our history for the sale of these translations," he said. "At present, German sells by far the most; then Spanish, then French." Of the Spanish translations of Science and Health, over 90 percent go to South America, mainly to Argentina, Uruguay, and Chile. Brazil buys the bulk of Portuguese translations. German translations go mainly to Germany and Switzerland, but many others go to German-speaking communities throughout the world. After France, more French translations are sold in Switzerland than anywhere else.
At this writing there are about eighty translators in twenty-four countries working on Mrs. Eddy's writings. "During the past two years we have begun to put new emphasis on African and Asian languages, for the people in these language areas represent three-fifths of the world's population," said Mr. Collins. He cited Chinese as one language that is to receive attention, although it will be several years before a book will appear. Chinese is spoken by well over six hundred million people, and there are some thirty million people living outside mainland China— such as those in Hong Kong and on Formosa—who speak Chinese as their primary or only language.
"There are people starving for translations of Mrs. Eddy's works. Requests stream into our office, and we meet them as fast as possible," Mr. Collins declared. "When we think about it, there are many more people whose language background has prepared them to read Science and Health in translation rather than in English. But because the inspired English version accompanies each translation, page for page, the translations actually help the reader to learn English, which is a further aid to understanding the import of Mrs. Eddy's carefully chosen English words."
