How to deal with errors that crop up in the original text, in professional life and in teaching translation? The answer gives strong evidence as to the difference between literary and pragmatic translations. In the latter case, the object to be translated is not only a text with meaning, but also the real world it represents. The translation of intent thus takes precedence over that of meaning. It is a stringent task of the translator to define his position inside the communication chain, and a mistake not to insist on being an active part of that chain. However, looking for congruence at any price may also result in blurring parts of the original text that may seem incoherent but are actually most meaningful.