The present paper reflects on translation as a matter of choice. At the heart of translation lies the free will or choice of the translator as he or she is faced with a predetermined text. Whether his decison is based on careful thought and reconstruction or is the result of his trained instinct, the matter comes down to his choosing the closest thing possible to an equivalent, trying hard to add any new nuances or to lose any of the same that are present in the original word. The author argues that the translator could then serve as a fine Platonic example of the perfect coordination of freedom and responsibility.