I don't think that any work, original or translated, could be "eternal", but the sucess of a good translation is also a good dose of language creative work.

I agree with Jorge, translations do get old. It is said by linguists that, as dictionaries, translations should be redone every 10 years. 

Hi George, could you come up with a few examples of books and papers you are talking about?  Thanks!

Martha

George, your observation confirms translation theory - it is more common for translations of scientific and technical texts to be produced in a creative way than those of literature. 

Intuitively it makes sense because literature is already emotionally charged, therefore it is more difficult to render the emotions retaining the nuances because every language is different, and more so if you try to compete with the original writer in terms of creativity. It would be easier to play with technical fields (technical is used broadly) because first you would find the corresponding term and then you could play with the rest - how to translate the explanations and the accompanying information. For instance, I am finding it easier to understand math in English than in Bulgarian. I can give you several reasons but I am still not sure. I suspect that we relate to a language in a specific field in a specific way - I mean that there is some psychology as well.

Knowing what the source and target language audience is another factor. Works translated into English have gained success because there are many readers, it is more difficult to establish trust and gain a market niche if you translate into less popular languages.   

Back to the question - if translators would strive for writing creatively and giving life to eternal works now in our times, I believe they should be looking at: 

• online content and what is hot here (original lang) and there (target lang) - for instance translating technology-related talks just when we are waiting for an exponential technology to change our lives, writers who publish online (many successful writers publish online for free for marketing purposes or simply because they can afford it), scientific content including science communication
• translating fairytales from rare languages into other and into popular languages. There are a lot of stories but not enough resources to translate them and even less resources to make them popular. I think they will be very interesting because they are always creative content in both languages. Just imagine how many movies such stories will inspire and there is always an audience for fairytales.  
• some older books and documents - in an important area or by known people - might have escaped writers and scientists attention and if such are accidentally discovered (for instance biographies or diaries or drafts of a discovery, negotiations and plans during wars), their translations will become eternal 

Every translation may have its refreshing parts and some other parts that call for improvement by other translators. My experience of doing translation studies is that the first translation/translator of an important work will always be remembered---whether it is to praise the good parts or criticize the bad parts. History (and maybe distance) adds value, most of the time. I'm taking about literary translation.

A translated work becomes eternal when a version of the guest language i.e. the ‘source language’ is rendered realistically into the ‘host language’ or ‘target language’. An example is when the Chinese word 醫 yi ( the ‘source language’) ‘translates’ into English ( the ‘target language’) as ‘medicine’ . Doing translation in this way the local practical context gives life to their respective meanings.

When the original work is eternal (it contains truths) and the translation is perfect (it does not manipulate or change its contents).

Translation is always re-creation, that is why, most often, ''perfect'' works are not perfectly translated - emotions are often untranslatable, the most important scenes remain in the cognitive realm of the reader [you see pictures, you imagine characters, you feel the pressure of the moment, you think of previously evoked or new feelings and emotions], they cannot be translated with the same intensity or precision. To that adds the psychological factor that once a writer is known, readers will think of him or her while reading and translation will be a medium, therefore less appreciated.

Translation may be eternal in the sense of memorable when voice is added - e.g. adapted vs. subtitled movies or audio and TV programs; interpretation. Voices carry with them a lot of music values and elements which makes works alive and add affection and attitude - readers will relate to the translations as if they were the original works.

Translation may be eternal in the sense of precious when eternal works are translated but it would be more so for the original works, the quality of the translation being hidden (for instance, if you have not read the original work, you would not know how the translation is positioned in respect to it although most of the content is accessible to readers). In this case, as suggested in the thread, the first translation will be important (or it may be the most recent ones if it attracts a bigger audience depending on buyers' demography and taste)

Translation may be eternal in the sense of rare or done at the right time.

If there are two translators from Korean and Hindi in a given country, then probably their translations will be eternal because of scarcity, and hopefully because they are good.  

Translations may be done at the right time, for instance if there is a transition that comes with new opportunities - and it always does. If twenty years ago - in that country in transition - there were no books on spirituality, self-help, yoga, and currently there is a great demand for books covering these topics as a part of a fashionable trend - then it is probable for a translation to be noticed (again, the psychology behind it is do we ever notice the translation when we concentrate on an author or even a topic - yoga in its essence vs. how it is translated). 

In other words, books that will be reread dozens of times are more likely to be appreciated for their translation, no matter how we understand your term "eternal". 

I think that a translation may be just as "eternal" as language is, i.e. not "eternal" at all. Since it is nothing but language in use, a translation will always become obsolete after some time, as the language in which it is written will certainly change to accommodate the evolution of society and its new realities. A written work of art as an original creation may stand the test of time (although I'm not sure how many people today have the patience to read the original plays of Shakespeare, for instance) and survive as an item in an antique shop, but translation (which is also motivated by financial reasons) does not afford to remain just that and has to keep up with both the language and the society in which it is written. So, to answer the question, I don't think that a translation can ever be eternal (and it should not aspire to that either).

Holiness. Religious document tends to be received as they are translated.