From The Celestial Emporium of Benevolent Knowledge
In “The Analytical Language of John Wilkins,” Jose Luis Borges describes 'a certain Chinese Encyclopedia,' the Celestial Emporium of Benevolent Knowledge, in which it is written that animals are divided into:
those that belong to the Emperor, embalmed ones, those that are trained, suckling pigs, mermaids, fabulous ones, stray dogs, those included in the present classification, those that tremble as if they were mad, innumerable ones, those drawn with a very fine camelhair brush, others, those that have just broken a flower vase, those that from a long way off look like flies.
Michel Foucault wrote that it “shattered all the familiar landmarks of his thought” — see the introduction to Words and Things. (Thanks Eva Meijer/Trouw).
the dutch translation is a little different, and, at least to my mind for some reason, funnier : a) toebehorend aan de Keizer, b) gebalsemd, c) getemd, d) speenvarkens, e) zeemeerminnen, f) fabeldieren, g) zwerfhonden, h) die welke in deze classificatie zijn opgenomen, i) die welke te keer gaan als dwazen, j) ontelbare, k) die welke zijn getekend met een heel fijn kameelharen penseel, l) enz., m) die welke net een vaas hebben gebroken, en n) die welke in de verte op vliegen lijken.