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MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
EDITED BY
EDWARD C. ARMSTRONG JAMES W. BRIGHT BERT J. VOS
C. CARROLL MARDEN, MANAGING EDITOR
ft
VOLUME XXX
1915
BALTIMORE
THE JOHNS HOPKINS PRESS
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
ORIGINAL ARTICLES.
Lancaster, H. Carrington, The Dates of
Corneille's Early Plays 1-5
Tupper, Frederick, Chaucer's Bed's Head . . 5-12
Evans, M. Blakemore, Schiller's Attitude
toward German and Roman Type as
Indicated in his Letters 12-13
Crawford, J. P. Wickersham, The Seven
Liberal Arts in Lope de Vega's Arcadia 13-14
Graham, Walter, Notes on Sir Walter Scott 14-16
Olivero, Federico, On R. H. Home's
Orion 33-39
McCobb, A. L., The Loss of Unaccented E
in the " Transition Period " 39-41
Conley, C. H., An Instance of the Fifteen
Signs of Judgment in Shakespeare... 41-44
Shepard, William Pierce, The Imperfect
Subjunctive in Provencal 44-45
Pound, Louise, Intrusive Nasals in Eng-
lish 45-47
Sypherd, W. 0., The Completeness of Chau-
cer's Hous of Fame 65-68
Kittredge, G. L., Chaucer's Troilus and
Guillaume de Machaut 69
Adams, Jr., Joseph Quincy, Hamlet's
" Brave o'erhanging Firmament " . . . . 70-72
Young, Karl, Chaucer and the Liturgy. . . . 97—99
Jensen, Gerard E., Concerning Christopher
Smart 99-101
Appelmann, A. H., Longfellow's Poems on
Slavery in their Relationship to Freilig-
rath 101-102
Porterfield, Allen Wilson, Rhetorical Con-
trasts in Schiller's Dramas. — 1 129-136
Woodbridge, Benjamin M., Biographical
Notes on Gatien de Courtilz, Sieur du
Verger 136-139
Berdan, John M., Speke, Parrot. An Inter-
pretation of Skelton's Satire 140-144
Campbell, Gertrude H., The Swinish Mul-
titude 161-164
Porterfield, Allen Wilson, Rhetorical Con-
trasts in Schiller's Dramas. — II 164-169
Hibbard, Laura A., The Books of Sir Simon
de Burley, 1387 169-171
Kueffner, Louise Mallinckrodt, Orphic
Echoes in Modern Lyric Poetry: Ernst
Lissauer's Der Strom 172-175
Whyte, John, The Order of Monosyllables
and Dissyllables in Alliteration 175-176
Albright, Evelyn May, Eating a Citation . . 201-206
Brenner, C. D., The Influence of Cooper's
The Spy on Hauff's Liechtenstein 207-210
Lancaster, H. Carrington, Rostand, Magne,
and Baro 210-211
Tilley, M. P., Notes on All's Well that
Ends Welt 211-214
ii
Crawford, J. P. Wickersham, Sources of
an Eclogue of Francisco de la Torre. .
Scott, Fred Newton, Vowel Alliteration in
Modern Poetry
Bronk, Isabelle, Notes on M6re
Campion, John L., Zu Minnesangs Friih-
ling
Laubscher, Gustav G., Depuis with the
Compound Tenses
Gray, Henry David, Greene as a Collabo-
rator
Upham, A. H., Notes on Early English
Prose Fiction
REVIEWS, «-
Helmrich, Elsie Winifred, The History of
the Chorus in the German Drama.
[Jos. E. Gillet.]
Saint Vincent de Paul, Textes choisis et
commentes par J. Calvet. [Walther
Fischer.]
Lewis, Edwin Herbert, Business English.
[John C. French.]
Paetzel, Walther, Die Variation in der alt-
germanischen Alliterationspoesie. [P.
R. Kolbe.]
Hermannsson, Halldor, Catalogue of the
Icelandic Collection Bequeathed by
William Fiske. [L. M. Hollander.'] . . .
Walter, Max, and Anna Woods Ballard, Be-
ginners' French. [Murray P. Brush.]
Kleist, Heinrieh von, Prinz Friedrich von
Homburg. Edited by George Merrick
Baker. [John William Scholl.]
Friedemann, Kiite, Die Rolle des Erzahlers'
in der Epik. [Henrietta Becker von
Klenze.]
Gflnther, Kurt, Die Entwicklung der no-
vellistischen Kompositionstechnik
Kleists bis zur Meisterschaft. [Hen-
rietta Becker von Klenze.]
Davidts, Hermann, Die novellistische
Kunst Heinrichs von Kleist. [Henri-
etta Becker von Klenze.]
Pellisson, Maurice, Les Comedies-Ballets
de Moliere. [Walter Peirce.]
Caminade, Gaston, Les Chants des Grecs
et le philhellenisme de Wilhelm Mailer.
[James Taft Hatfield.]
Champion, Pierre, Francois Villon: sa Vie
et son Temps. [R. T. Holbrook.]
Bailey, Margaret Lewis, Milton and Jakob
Boehme. [Preston A. Barba.]
Stroebe and Whitney, Geschichte der
deutschen Literatur. [Hans Froe-
licher.]
214-215
233-237
237-241
241-243
243-244
244-246
246-247
16-18
18-20
20
20-23
23-24
25-26
26-28
47-50
51-54
54-55
56-60
60-61
72-76
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
111
Guillaume, F. G., Etudes de grammaire
frangaise logique. [Gustav G. Laub-
scher.]
Breul, Karl, Schiller, Die Braut von Mes-
sina. [W. B. Carruth.]
Auzas, Auguste, Les Poetes frangais du
XIXe Siecle. [Oeo. N. Henning.]
Capen, Samuel P., Lesaing's Nathan der
Weise. [John Preston. Hoskins.]
Canibell, Eudaldo, Restitucion del texto"
primitiuo d'la Uida de Lazarillo de
Tormes. [Charles Philip Wagner.]
Sorrento, L., La Vida de Lazarillo de
Tormes. [Charles IJhilip Wagner.]
Cejador y Frauca, Julio, La Vida de Laza-
rillo de Tormes. [Charles Philip
Wagner.]
Schenck, Eunice M., La Part de Charles
Nodier dans la Formation des idfies
Romantiques de Victor Hugo. [Hora-
tio E. Smith.]
Syr Gawayne: A Collection of Ancient
Romance-Poems. By Sir Frederic
Madden. [Thomas A. Knott.]
Sir Gawayne and the Green Knight. E.
E. T. S., 4. [Thomas A. Knott.]
Sir Gawayne and the Green Knight. E.
E. T. S., 4, fourth edition. By I. Gol-
lancz. [Thomas A. Knott.]
"Classen, E., On Vowel Alliteration in the
Old Germanic Languages. [Albert
Morey fjturtevant.]
Balzac, Honori; de, Eugenie Grandet. Ed-"
ited by A. G. H. Spiers. [J. L. Bor-
gerhoff.]
Daudet, Alphonse, Tartarin de Tarascon.
Edited by Barry Cerf. [J. L. Borger-
hoff.]
David, H. C.-E., Chez nous. [./. L. Bor-
gerhoff.]
Mesonero Romanes, Selections. Edited by
G. T. Northup. [Philip H. Church-
man.]
Cronan, Urban, Teatro espaEol del siglo
XVI. Tomo primero. [Ralph E.
House.]
Spenser, Edmund, The Poetical Works.
Edited by J. C. Smith and E. de 86-
lincourt. [Percy W. Long.]
Foulet, Lucien, Le Roman de Renard. — I.
[Wm. A. Nitze.]
Boas, Frederick S., University Drama in
the Tudor Age. [Tucker Brooke.]
Duriez, Georges, La Theologie dans le"
drame religieux en Allemagne au
moyen age. [Maximilian Josef Rud-
icin.]
Duriez, Georges, Les Apocryphes dans le
drame religieux en Allemagne au
moyen age. [Maximilian Josef Rud-
76-78
78-79
79-81
81-85
85-90
90-93
102-108
108-114
114-119
119-121
121-123
123-125
145-149
149-151
151-155
Serban, N., Leopardi sentimental. [George'
L. Hamilton.]
Serban, N., Leopardi et la France. [George
L. Hamilton.]
Serban, N., Lettres in^dites relatives fl.
Giacomo Leopardi. [George L. Ham-
ilton.]
P£rez de Hita, Guerras civiles de Granada,
Primera Parte. Ed. by Paula Blan-
chard-Demouge. [8. Grisuxild Morley.]
The Cambridge History of English Litera-
ture, Vol. XI. [Samuel C. Chew, Jr.]
Ghetelen, Hans van, Dat Narrenschyp.
Hrsg. von Herman Brandes. [Agathe
Lasch.]
Foulet, Lucien, Le Roman de Renard. — II.
[Wm. A. Nitze.]
Sipma, P., Phonology and Grammar of
Modern West Frisian. [Hermann Col-
litz.]
Vossler, Karl, Italienische Literatur der
Gegenwart, von der Romantik zum
Futurismus. [Ernest H. Wilkins.] . . .
Hebbel, Friedrich, Three Plays by — . In-
troduction by L. H. Allen. [T. M.
Campbell.]
Olmsted, Everett Ward, Elementary French
Grammar. [Richard T. Holbrook.] . .
Benson, Adolph Burnett, The Old Norse
Element in Swedish Romanticism.
[Albert Morey Sturtevant.]
Falconnet, Lucien, Un Essai de renovation
theatrale: "Die Makkabaer" d'Otto
Ludwig. [John A. Hess.]
Fontaine, Andr6 C., Nouveau cours fran-
gais. [B. L. Boiven.]
Dedieu, J., Montesquieu. [E. Preston
Dargan.]
Gebelin, F., and Morize, A., Correspon-
dance de Montesquieu. [E. Preston
Dargan.]
Cru, R. L., Lettres persanes by Montes-
quieu. [E. Preston Dargan.]
Elson, Charles, Wieland and Shaftesbury.'
[F. Schoenemann.]
Grudzinski, H., Shaftesburys Einfluss auf
Chr. M. Wieland. [F. Schoenemann.]
CORRESPONDENCE.
Barry, Phillips, Bells Ringing without
Hands
Kelly, Edythe Grace, Comfort's Transla-
tions of Chretien de Troyes
Campbell, T. M., Two Lines of Grillparzer.
D'Evelyn, Charlotte, Bede's Death Song . . .
Jordan, John Clark, Greene and Gascoigne.
Jensen, Gerard E., Abraham Cupid
Colby, Elbridge, Winthrop and Curtis. . . .
Tupper, Frederick, Anent Jerome and the
Summoner's Fri»r .
155-158
176-182
182-186
186-189
189-195
215-217
217-220
221-223
223-227
227-229
247-251
251-253
253-260
261-263
28-29
29-30
30-31
31
61-62
62
62-63
63-64
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
Snell, Florence M., The Date of Jonson's
Tale of a Tub 93-94
Smith, Winifred, A Note on As You Like
It, II, vii, 139 f 94-95
Harvitt, Helen J., Wells' Passionate
Friends and Fromentin's Dominique. . 125-126
Swaen, A. E. H., A Note on the Blickling
Homilies 126-127
Snell, Florence M., A Note on Volume Two
of the 1640 Folio of Ben Jonson's
Plays 158
Crawford, A. W., 0 Proper Stuff!— Mac-
beth, HI, iv, 60 158-160
Potter, Alfred Claghorn, But me no Buts . . 160
Tatlock, John S. P., Bells Ringing without
Hands 160
Sampson, Martin W., The Interior of the
Fortune 195
House, Roy Temple, Noires Sates 195-196
Johnson, Elizabeth Winthrop, Concerning
Theodore Winthrop 196-197
Brown, Carleton, A Homiletical Debate be-
tween Heart and Eye 197-198
Vann, W. H., A Note on Comus 198-199
White, Elliott A., Adam's Motive 229-231
Brown, Carleton, Chaucer and the Hours
of the Blessed Virgin 231-232
Rinaker, Clarissa, Thomas Edwards's Son-
nets 232
Porterfield, Allen Wilson, Lessing and
Wackenroder as Anticipators of Will-
iam James 263-264
BRIEF MENTION.
Gauss, Christian, Selections from the
Works of Jean- Jacques Rousseau .... 32
Prokosch, Deutsches Lese- und tfbungs-
buch 32
Meyer-Liibke, Introducci6n al estudio de
la Lingiifstica Romance 32
American-Scandinavian Foundation 64
, Mustard, W. P., The Piscatory Eclogues
of Jacopo Sannazaro 64
Barnouw, A. J., Beatrijs, a Middle Dutch
Legend 95-96
Hall, Henry Marion, Idylls of Fishermen.. 96
Roman, Manuel Antonio, Diccionario de
Chileniamos 96
Bellows, Max, German-English and Eng-
lish-German Dictionary 96
Jahrbuch der Goethe-Gesellschaft 127
Terracher, A.-L., Les Aires morphologiques
dans les parlers populaires du nord-
ouest de 1'Angoumois 127-128
Menendez y Pelayo, Orfgenes de la novela,
IV 128
Soltmann, H., Syntax der Modi im mo-
dernen Franzosisch 128
Ligne, Prince de, Lettres a la Marquise de
Coigny 199-200
Diez, Max, Ueher die Naturschilderung in
den Romanen Sealsfields 200
Heine, Die Harzreise, ed. by L. R, Gregor. 200
Tobler, Adolf, Altfranzosisches Worterbuch,
hrsg. von Erhard Lommatzsch 232
Kurrelmeyer, William, Die erste deutsche
Bibel 232
Schiller, Fr., Wilhelm Tell, ed. by Palmer,
new edition 264
EBRATUM.
264
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
VOL. XXX.
BALTIMORE, JANUARY, 1915.
No. 1.
THE DATES OF CORNEILLE'S EARLY
PLAYS
In dating the plays that Corneille wrote be-
fore the Cid most modern scholars have ac-
cepted conclusions of the freres Parfaict,1
Marty-Laveaux,2 and a few other writers, with-
out thoroughly testing them with recently dis-
covered facts concerning Corneille's contempo-
raries and the stage for which they wrote. The
following table gives the dates assigned to the
first representations of his first eight plays by
the freres Parfaict, Marty-Laveaux, and Lan-
son,3 as well as the date of each play's privilege
and acheve d'imprimer.
Melite .,
Clitandre
La Veuve
La Galerie du Palais. . .
La Suivante
La Place royale
Medee
L'lllusion comique
To estimate the correctness of these dates,
let us turn first to the evidence given by Cor-
neille himself. His statements as to the length
of time he has been writing help us little, for
1Histoire du theatre francais, Paris, 1734-1748.
1 (Euvres de P. Corneille, Paris, 1862-1868 (Grands
fcervvaina collection).
'Corneille, second edition, Paris, 1905, pp. 11 and
48.
* Lanson's dates are substantially the same as
those given in 1885 by U. Meier, ZSNS., VII, 127-
135, except that the latter makes 1631 the date of
Clitandre and has the Suivante precede the Place
royale. Faguet has returned to Marty-Laveaux's
dates in his recent volume, En lisant Corneille,
Paris, 1913, p. 8.
"I, p. xxiv, he gives the first date; II, 1, 9, the
second.
' I, p. xxiv, he gives the first date and explains his
mistake in giving the second, found II, 215, 219.
in 1660 he calls this period thirty years, in
1668 forty, in 1682 fifty.7 They indicate
merely that he began to write about 1628-1632.
But he does render us valuable assistance when
he states that Melite was his first play,8 that
Clitandre was written after a visit to Paris
which followed the first representations of
Melite,9 that by March 13, 1634, he had writ-
ten six plays,10 and that the order of the com-
position of his plays is that of their position
in the first edition of his collected plays.11
From these facts it is evident that Melite and
Clitandre were acted before March 8, 1632,
date of the latter's privilege, that the Veuve,
Galerie, Suivante, Place royale were composed
in this order before March 13, 1634, and that
§
~ a
fe PH
iJ
a
£
0
1629
1629
1629
Jan. 31, 1633
Feb. 12, 1633
1632
1632
1632 (?)
March 8, 1632
March 20, 1632
1633
1633
1632 (?)
March 9, 1634
March 13, 1634
1634
1633,1634'
1633
Jan. 21, 1637
Feb. 20, 1637
1634
1634
1633-4
Jan. 21, 1637
Sept. 9, 1637
1635
1634,1635'
1633
Jan. 21, 1637
Feb. 20, 1637
1635
1635
1635
Feb. 11, 1639
March 16, 1639
1636
1636
1636
Feb. 11, 1639
March 16, 1639
Medee and the Illusion comique appeared be-
fore the first representation of the Cid, which
took place in December, 1636, or January,
1637. These facts seem certain. Let us now
consider the plays separately.
1. Melite. Fontenelle's date, 1625, is en-
tirely inconsistent with other dates in Cor-
neille's career, as will appear from the follow-
ing discussion. The freres Parfaict 12 substi-
tute for it 1629 on the ground that Mairet de-
7 Discours du poeme dramatique, Marty-Laveaux,
I, 16.
8 Examen de Melite, Marty-Laveaujc, I, 137.
' Examen de Clitandre, Marty-Laveaux, I, 270.
10 Au Lecteur de la Veuve, Marty-Laveaux, I, 378.
11 Au Lecteur, (Euvres de Corneille, Rouen et Paris,
1644, petit in-12; Marty-Laveaux, I, 2.
13 IV, 462.
2
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
[Vol. xsx, No. 1.
clared18 in 1636 that Rotrou, Scudery, Cor-
neille, Du Eyer began to write in this order
after himself. To their knowledge that Rotrou
began writing in 1628, Marty-Laveaux " adds
the information that Scudery produced his first
play " en sortant du regiment des gardes," and
that he was in the army as late as March, 1629.
He then states that Du Ryer's first play was
Argenis et Poliarque, whose privilege was ob-
tained February 25, 1630, and concludes that
Melite was first represented between these
last dates. Eugene Rigal 15 supports this con-
clusion by citing Corneille's assertion " that
Melite " etablit une troupe de comediens &
Paris," and by arguing that this troop, after-
wards that of the Marais, began to play in the
fall of 1629.
But Mairet's statement cannot be accepted
with confidence. The passage in which it oc-
curs is one in which he is trying to prove him-
self very precocious and the first in date of
the new generation of dramatists. He deliber-
ately changes his own birth-date for this pur-
pose and may have pretended that Du Ryer
began writing after Rotrou, Corneille, and
Scudery because it was he who was his nearest
rival for priority. It is probable that Du Ryer
wrote Argenis et Poliarque no later than the
first part of 1629 and it is still more probable
that he had already written two other plays.17
Moreover, it is by no means certain that Scu-
d^ry's first production appeared before 1630.18
Consequently Mairet's evidence does not prove
a £pitre dfdicatoire to his Galanteries du duo
d'Ossnnne.
"I, 129.
" Esquisse d'une histoire des theatres de Paris,
Paris, 1887, pp. 75, 76.
" Examen de Mtlite, Marty- Laveaux, I, 138.
" Aretaphile and Clitophon, which were never pub-
lished. I have shown from statements in their
avertissement, from their structure, and from the
facts of Du Ryer's life that these were his first plays,
brought out as early as 1628. Cf. Pierre Du Ryer
Dramatist, Washington, 1912, pp. 33, 34; Pierre Du
Ryer, ecrivain dramatique in Revue d'histoire UM-
raire de la. France, 1913, pp. 313, 314.
"Note the altogether unsatisfactory reasons for
dating it 1629 given by Battereau in his Georges de
Bcuddry als Dramatiker, Leipzig, 1902, pp. 7, 8.
that Melite was written in 1629, but merely
that Corneille began to write about the same
time as these other dramatists, in the period
1628-1630.
Rigal's opinion is influenced by his ac-
ceptance of Marty-Laveaux's dating. Mon-
dory's troop, which, according to Corneille, was
established by Melite, was accused in a law-
suit, brought against it on February 25, 1631,
of having at that time given 135 performances
outside of the Hotel de Bourgogne.19 From
this accusation Rigal argues that, as in
Chappuzeau's time (1674) the troops gave
three performances a week, while at the begin-
ning of the seventeenth century they had given
only one, they gave probably two a week to-
wards 1631, and that therefore Mondory's troop
must have begun playing by the fall of 1629
in order to have acted 135 times by February
25, 1631.
But we do not have to go so far as the time
of Chappuzeau to find a troop giving as many
as three performances a week. When Moliere
returned to Paris, his company acted regularly
either three or four times a week, probably con-
tinuing a custom already established at the
capital. Occasional omissions of regular per-
formances were offset by extra representations
at the houses of the nobility, so that this troop
gave 135 performances in less than ten months,
between April 28, 1659, and February 10, 1660.
Three performances a week, therefore, are not
too high an average for Mondory's troop while
it was trying to establish itself at Paris. Cer-
tainly there is nothing improbable in this num-
ber, so that the evidence indicates only that
the new troop began to play either in the fall
of 1629 or in the early months of 1630.
Finally, the use of the word " etablir " does
not show that Corneille's play was the first
that Mondory represented. His troop may have
struggled for several months before being per-
manently established by the representation of
Melite. Rigal's testimony, therefore, while
showing that the play was not represented be-
fore 1629, by no means prevents the acceptance
" Eudore-Soulie', Recherches sur Moliere, Paris,
1863, pp. 164, 165; Rigal, op. tit., 69.
January, 1915.]
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
3
of 1630 as the probable date of its first rep-
resentation.
Positive evidence in favor of the 1630 dat-
ing was discovered by Dannheisser 20 as early
as 1890, but it has been very generally over-
looked. In one of the polemical articles occa-
sioned by the Cid's success, the Avertissement
au Besanc.onnois Hairet, mention is made of
"cette malheureuse Silvanire que le coup
d'essai de M. Corneille terrassa des sa premiere
representation." 21 Evidently, then, Melite fol-
lowed Silvanire. What was the date of the
latter play?
Dannheisser shows that, while Mairet, in the
Epltre to his Galanteries du due d'Ossonne, de-
liberately changes his age to prove his pre-
cocity, the statements he makes with regard to
the relative order of his own plays and the
number of years that separated them from one
another are probably correct. " Je composay
ma Chriseide a seize ans. . . . Silvie, qui
la suivit un an apres . . . Je fis la Sil-
vanire S. 21, Le Due d'Ossonne a 23, Virginie
a 24, Sophonisbe a 25, Marc-Anthoine et Soli-
man a 26." Therefore, since Marsan22 has
established the date of Sylvie as 1626 or 1627,
Silvanire was written in 1630 or 1631, pref-
erably the former year as the privilege was
obtained February 3, 1631.28
Moreover, both Dannheisser and Marsan 21
call our attention to the following reference to
Silvanire in the Au lecteur to the 1630 edi-
tion of Sylvie : 25 " Contente-toy de cet ouvrage
cy, en attendant que je te donne une Tragi-
Comedie purement Pastorale M de ma derniere
*° Zur Chronologie der Dramen Jean de Mairet's,
Romanische Forschungen, V, 37-64, 1890.
* Marty-Laveaux, III, 70.
"La Sylvie du sieur Mairet, Paris, 1905, pp. vii-
zii.
"Had Silvanire been first produced in 1631, Mairet
would not have taunted Corneille with his unseemly
haste in printing the Cid so soon after its first rep-
resentation. Cf., below, my discussion of the date of
Clitandre.
"La Pastorale drama-tique, Paris, 1905, p. 375.
"La Sylvie du sieur Mairet, S. The achev6 d'im-
primer to this edition is not given.
M There can be no doubt of the fact that this
means Silvanire, for Mairet wrote no other pastoral
than this after Sylvie.
et meilleure facon. Ce que je promets a ta
curiosite, je le tiendray dans cette annee 1630."
If Mairet is here referring to the approaching
first representations of Silvanire, this is, of
course, excellent proof that it appeared first in
1630, but even if he is referring only to its
publication — and it seems strange that, if he
is here promising its publication in 1630, he
did not secure the privilege to print it till
February 3, 1631 — he still clearly implies that
Silvanire is a new work, finished, perhaps, but
not yet known to the public.
The preponderance of evidence points clearly,
then, to the fact that Silvanire was first repre-
sented in 1630, and, indeed, this date has been
generally accepted for it. But we continue to
find 1629 set down as the year of Melite's first
appearance. It is difficult to change a date so
important as one that marks the opening of a
great writer's career. Nevertheless, if we accept
this date for Silvanire, and the evidence is most
strongly in favor of it, we must acknowledge
the logical implication that Melite, which fol-
lowed it, appeared no earlier than 1630.
That its first representation took place no
later than the winter of 1630 is shown by Cor-
neille's statement 27 that its " trois premieres
representations ensemble n'eurent point tant
d'affluence que la moindre de celles qui les
suivirent dans le meme hiver." This cannot
mean the winter of 1630-1631, for that would
place the first performance of Melite too late
to allow a reasonable time for the large num-
ber of representations that came between this
first performance and February 25, 1631, date
of the law-suit to which I have referred above.
The reference must be to the winter of 1629-
1630. Therefore, the conclusion that best fits
all the facts in the case is that Melite was first
represented towards the month of February,
1630.
2. Clitandre. We know that this tragi-
comedy was written after its author had taken
a trip to Paris to inquire about the success of
Melite?* and that the permission to print it
" £pttre a Monsieur de Liancour, Marty-Laveaujc,
I, 135.
28 Marty-Laveaux, I, 373.
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
[Vol. xxx, No. 1.
was obtained March 8, 1632. Its earliest pos-
sible date would therefore be late in 1630. It
is improbable that it was first acted later than
1631, for at this period, according to Chapelain
in a letter of March 9, 1640, a play was rarely
published less than six months after its first
representation. This was largely due to the
fact that a play could be acted by a troop other
than that which first gave it only after its
publication.29 It was consequently to the in-
terest of the actors to keep it out of print as
long as possible. For this reason Mairet con-
sidered Corneille's quick publication of the
Cid an injustice to the actors for whom he
wrote.30 Unless we have proof to the contrary,
as in the case of the Cid, it seems safe to as-
sume that a play's first representation occurred
at least six months before the date of its privi-
lege. I conclude, therefore, that Clitandre
should be dated, not 1632, but 1631 or late in
1630.
3. La Veuve. The privilege was granted
March 9, 1634. Expressions in the dedication
and in a poem published with the play, "le
bon accueil qu' autrefois cette Veuve a rec,u,"
" un temps si long sans te montrer au jour,"
show, as Marty-Laveaux points out,81 that con-
siderable time elapsed between the first repre-
sentation of this comedy and its publication.
Consequently the Veuve, represented after Cli-
tandre and before the Galerie du Palais, must
have appeared in 1631 or 1632.
4. La Galerie du Palais. According to the
Au lecteur to la Veuve, printed March 13,
1634, Corneille had written six plays by this
time.82 Hence la Galerie du Palais, la Sui-
vante, and la Place royale were already fin-
ished, as well as Melite, Clitandre, and la
" Freres Parfaict, IX, 105.
"Lettre familiere, quoted by the freres Parfaict,
V, 269. Cf. also Marty-Laveaux, III, 8.
» Op. tit., I, 373.
"Marty-Laveaux, I, 378. Though this scholar
realized what inference was to be drawn from this
evidence, he stuck to the traditional date, 1635, for
the first representation of the Place royale till he
learned of the next piece of evidence I cite. The
correct inference was drawn in 1885 by U. Meier,
op. oit., VII, 131.
Veuve. A Latin poem, composed between Sep-
tember, 1633, and August, 1634, confirms this
evidence by references to the Galerie and the
Place royale.33 It is probable, therefore, that
the first of the three was written and acted as
early as 1632. To give it an earlier date
would crowd too many of Corneille's plays into
the years 1630-1631 and put the unusually
long period of six years or more between the
first acting and the printing of the Galerie.
To date it 1633, on the other hand, would put
too many plays into this year. Therefore, 1632
is the probable date of the play.
5. La Suivante. The fact that this comedy
was printed a few months later than the Place
royale does not mean that its first representa-
tion followed that of the other play, as can be
seen by comparing the case of Clitandre, pub-
lished before Melite, but represented after it.
On the other hand, we have Corneille's state-
ment that the Suivante preceded the Place roy-
ale and there is a reference to the former play
in the latter.34 The Suivante should therefore
be dated between the Galerie du Palais and the
Place royale, in the first half of 1633 or, per-
haps, late in 1632.
6. La Place royale. Claveret's Place royale
was acted before the king at Forges between
June 15 and July 3, 1633.35 Its author
charged Corneille with undertaking his play of
the same name "des que vous sutes que j'y
travaillois." Probably both plays were begun
before the royal visit and Corneille's was
brought out in the latter half of 1633. We
have seen that it cannot possibly have appeared
later than March 13, 1634.
7. Medee. By a reference to one of Balzac's
letters 36 Marty-Laveaux 37 shows that Medee
88 Bouquet, Louis XIII et sa cour aux eaux de
Forges, in Revue des Societes savantes des departe-
ments, 2e sgrie, I, 611-642 (1859); Marty-Laveaux,
X, 68.
84 Marty-Laveaux, II, 260.
85 Lettre du Sieur Claveret au Sieur Corneille, 10;
Bouquet, loc. tit.; Marty-Laveaux, X, 64; U. Meier,
op. tit., VII, 131, 132. The latter was, I believe,
the first to date Corneille's play by its association
with Claveret's.
88 To Boisrobert, April 3, 1635.
"II, 330, 331.
January, 1915.]
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
must have been represented before April 3,
1635. It could not have been written long
before, as it is referred to as " presque achevee "
in the Parnasse of La Pineliere,38 a book
printed in 1635, written perhaps as early as
the latter part of 1634. The date assigned to
Medee should be, then, the end of 1634 or the
beginning of 1635 and not simply the latter
year, as we ordinarily find it.
8. L'lllusion comique. As Mareschal tells
us in the preface to his Railleur that this play
preceded Corneille's Illusion, Marty-Laveaux 8S
dates the latter comedy 1636, having learned
from the freres Parfaict40 that the Railleur
was first given that year. But the freres Par-
faict admit that they date the Railleur 1636
because it preceded the Illusion. As a matter
of fact we do not know the date of the Rail-
leur,tt so that, while we wait for its discovery,
we must date the Illusion between Medee and
the Cid, in 1635 or 1636.
I conclude from the foregoing that the most
probable dates for the first representations of
Corneille's early plays are:
1. Melite, 1630, towards the month of Feb-
ruary.
2. Clitandre, 1631, possibly late in 1630.
3. La Veuve, 1631 or 1632.
4. La Galerie du Palais, 1632.
5. La Suivante, 1633, possibly late in 1632.
6. La Place royale, 1633, possibly 1634 be-
fore March 13.
7. Medee, end of 1634, or 1635 before
April 3.
8. L'lllusion comique, 1635 or 1636.
H. CAHRINGTON LANCASTER.
AmTierst College.
" Freres Parfaict, V, 166, and Marty-Laveaux, loc.
cit.
» II, 424.
"V, 177.
41 If ita author is correct in stating that it offers
the first miles gloriosus of his generation, it must
have been represented at least as early as 1633,
date of the publication of Rayssiguier's Bourgeoise,
which contains among its characters " Le Vaillant,
Fanfaron."
CHAUCER'S BED'S HEAD
I. CHAUCER AND AMBROSE
In the Physician's Tale Chaucer, like Gower
in his version of the theme of Apius and Vir-
ginia (Confessio, VII, 5130), is telling a story
of Lechery and of its antitype, Chastity. In
order to emphasize the baseness of " the cursed
judge," the poet devotes many lines to the
maidenly virtues of Virginia. She is indeed
such a composite of moral traits that
In her living maydens mighten rede,
As in a book, every good word or dede,
That longeth to a mayden vertuous.
And as the reader surveys these attributes of
noble maidenhood, he cannot resist the thought
that Chaucer himself had "read them in a
book." But in what book? Certainly not in
the Roman de la Rose, which had furnished
him large aid in his picture of the beauty of
the girl and of Nature's delight in her work-
manship ; nor yet in Titus Livius nor in Gower.
If Chaucer is not " having it all his own way,"
as Skeat suggests, if these seemingly typical
traits of chastity are designedly conventional,
they should naturally be sought — so reasoned
this source-hunter — in early treatises upon Vir-
ginity. Could it be that Virginia — the name
itself pointed the way to the poet — was pat-
terned upon " the consecrated maid " of so
many essays by the Fathers of the Church?
Keen in his quest, the seeker turned him
first to Jerome, for had not the famous tract
against Jovinian provided the Wife with much
matter and supplied the Franklin with many
examples of oppressed maidenhood courting
death rather than shame? But though in the
Jovinian treatise and in the admirable letters
on Virginity, those to Eustochium (XXII,
CVIII) and Furia (LIV) and Laeta (CVII)
and Gaudentius (CXXVIII), one found in
the many interesting parallels with Chaucer's
sketch r comforting assurance that one was on
the right track, still there was nowhere direct
'Compare with Chaucer's lines on the "mais-
tresses" (C. 72 f.) Jerome's words in the Gauden-
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
[Vol. xxx, No. 1.
indebtedness. Perhaps then in Augustine,
whose definition of Envy is cited in this very
context of Virginia's perfection? But a close
examination of Augustine's De Virginitate and
of his interesting discussion (De Civitate Dei,
I, 19) of virgins who preferred suicide to
violation yielded little save scattered resem-
blances. Why not then the writer whose
" Three Books concerning Virgins " 2 is quoted
with such approval by both Jerome and Au-
gustine, Ambrose of Milan? And there the
search came happily to an end.
Ambrose's description of Mary (Book II,
chap, ii), "the pattern of life, showing as an
example, the clear rules of virtue " might well
have inspired Chaucer : " She was a virgin not
only in body but also in mind, who stained the
sincerity of her disposition by no guile, who
was humble in heart, grave in speech, prudent
in mind, sparing of words, studious in reading
. . . intent on work, modest in discourse,
. . . being wont only to go to such gath-
erings of men as mercy would not blush at,
nor modesty pass by. There was nothing
gloomy in her eyes, nothing forward in her
words, nothing unseemly in her acts." *
Though the words, " She was a virgin not
only in body but mind," are close indeed to
Chaucer's " As wel in goost as body chast was
she " and the likeness of traits is very striking,
still these resemblances may not in themselves
tius letter: "Give her for guardian and companion
a mistress and governess, one not given to much
wine or in the apostle's words, idle and a tattler, but
sober, grave, industrious in spinning and one whose
words will form her childish mind to the practice
of virtue. . . . One of soft and tender years is
pliable for good or evil; she can be drawn in what-
ever direction you choose to guide her," etc., etc.
'Migne, Patrologia Latina, XVI, 187-239, trans-
lated in The Nicene and Post Nicene Fathers, 2d
Ber., Vol. X.
• " Virgo erat non solum corpore, sed etiam mente,
quae nullo doli ambitu sincerum adulteraret af-
fectum; corde humilis, verbis gravis, animi prudens,
loquendi parcior, legendi studiosior, . . . in-
tenta operi, verecunda sermone . . . eos solos
solita coetus virorum invisere, quos miserieordia non
erubesceret, neque praeteriret. Nihil torvum in
oculis, nihil in verbis procax, nihil in actu vere-
cundum."
suffice to compel belief in direct borrowing.
Such a conclusion seems, however, inescapable,
when we juxtapose with the several traits of
Virginia those of Ambrose's ideal. I note
many parallels that seem to remove all doubt
(1) Compare with "Discreet she was in
answering alway" the words of Ambrose (III,
iii, 9) : " Not to answer a question is childish-
ness, to answer is nonsense. I should prefer,
therefore, that conversation should rather be
wanting to a virgin than abound." '
(2) We are told of Virginia,
Bacus hadde of hir mouth right no maistrye;
For wyn and youthe doon Venus encrece.
Far closer to Chaucer than the passage cited
from Ovid by Skeat is Ambrose's sentence (III,
ii, 5), "Use wine therefore, sparingly, in order
that the weakness of the body may not increase,
not for pleasurable excitement, for wine and
youth alike kindle a flame." B
(3) Compare with Virginia's avoidance of
" festes, revels and dances, that been occasions
of daliaunces" Ambrose's prohibition (III, v,
25) : " There ought then to be the joy of
mind, conscious of right, not excited by un-
restrained feasts, or nuptial concerts, for in
such modesty is not safe, and temptation may
be suspected where excessive dancing accom-
panies festivities. I desire that the virgins of
God should be far from this."* A maiden's
danger from light company, on which Chaucer
touches, is more than once the theme of Am-
brose (II, ii, 10; III, iii, 9).
(4) Like Chaucer, Ambrose brings his lesson
home to fathers and mothers (III, vi, 31) :
"What say you, holy women? Do you see
what you ought to teach, and what also to
•" Interroganti non respondere, infantia: respon-
dere est fabula. Deesse igitur sermonem virgini,
quam superesse malim."
' " Modico itaque vino utere, ne infirmitatem cor-
poris augeas, non ut voluptatem excites; incendunt
enim pariter duo, vinum et adolescentia."
"'Debet igitur bene consciae mentis esse laetitia,
non inconditis comessationibus, non nuptialibus ex-
citata symphoniis; ibi enim intuta verecundia, ille-
cebra suspecta eat, ubi comes deliciarum est extrema
saltatio. Ab hao virgines Dei procul esse desidero."
w M- A *&**-
n . W
January, 1915.]
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
unteach your daughters? . . . She who is
modest, she who is chaste, let her teach her
daughter religion, not dancing. And do you,
grave and prudent men, learn to avoid the ban-
quets of hateful . men." 7 The figure of the
sheep among wolves, which Chaucer employs
in the guise of a well-known proverb, is a com-
monplace in Ambrose's treatise (II, iv, 28, 30,
31).
(5) The fair fame of Virginia, " Thurgh
that land they preysed hir echone," finds its
parallel in the high repute of Mary (II, ii,
10) : " How her parents loved her, strangers
praised her ! " 8
(6) Virginia's walk toward the temple with
her mother — an incident that assumes this
form only in Chaucer's version of the story —
seems to be suggested by Ambrose's description
of Mary (II, ii, 9, 14) : " She was unaccus-
tomed to go from home, except for divine ser-
vice, and this with parents and kinsfolk. . .
And so Mary did not go even to the temple
without the guardianship of her modesty." *
Perhaps the mother's companionship in the
walk to the temple was partly due to Ambrose's
enigmatic phrase (II, ii, 15) : " Virgo intra
domum, comes ad ministerium, mater ad
templum."
(7) Chaucer's pathetic passage, in which
Virginia chooses death rather than dishonor,
has no parallels in variant versions of the
tale and is obviously modeled upon the ready
self-sacrifice of virgin martyrs in the many
examples cited from Jerome by the Franklin,
or in such a story as that of Saint Pelagia
narrated by Ambrose (III, vii). Indeed the
speeches of Virginius and Virginia before the
maiden's death recall Pelagia's words in her
"'Quid dicitis vos, sanctae feminae? Videtis quid
docere, quid etiam dedocere fllias debeatis? . . .
Quae vero pudica, quae casta est, filias suas reli-
gionem doceat, non saltationem. Vos autem, graves
et prudentes viri, discite detestabilium hominum
epulas vitare."
• " Quid enim in singulis merer, ut earn parentes
dilexerint, extranei praedicaverint, etc."
• " Prodire domo nescia, nisi cum ad ecclesiam
conveniret, et hoc ipsum cum parentibus, aut pro-
pinquis. . . . Nee ad templum igitur Maria sine
pudoris sui custode processit."
last hour : " ' What are we to do ' says she to
herself, ' unless thou, a captive of virginity,
takest thought? I both wish and fear to die,
for I meet not death, but seek it. ... God
is not offended by a remedy against evil, and
faith permits the act. ... I am not afraid
that my right hand may fail to deliver the
blow, or that my breast may shrink from the
pain. I shall leave no sin to my flesh. I fear
not that a sword will be wanting. I can die
by my own weapons.' " 10
(8) On account of its place in the context,
Chaucer probably owes the suggestion of the
Jephtha story, cited by Virginia, to the promi-
nence of Jephtha and his daughter in Am-
brose's treatise, " De Virginitate " (cap. i-iii)u
which supplements the "De Virginibus."
Enough has been said to show the indebted-
ness of Chaucer's " gem of chastity " to the
" consecrated virgin " type of Ambrose.12 In
his "ensample" of the Deadly Sin of Lechery 13
how could Chaucer better exemplify its anti-
type than by a generous use of the great Bish-
op's highly famed record of the traditional
traits of Virginity?
10 " ' Quid agimus,' inquit, ' nisi prospicias, captiva
virginitatis ? Et votum est, et metus est mori; quia
mors non exeipitur, sed adsciscitur. . . . Deus
remedio non offenditur, et facinus fides ablevat.
. . . Non timeo ne dextera deficiens non peragat
ictum, ne pectus se dolore subducat. Nullum pec-
catum carni relinquam. Non verebor, ne desit
gladius. Possumus mori nostris armis, etc.' "
11 Migne, Pat. Lat., XVI, 266 f.
"Twice in his writings Chaucer cites Ambrose by
name: first in a second-hand reference in the Second
Nun's Tale (G. 271), to the Preface of the Missa
Ambrosiana on the Feast of St. Cecilia (Holthausen,
Herrigs Archiv, LXXXVII, 269) ; and later in the
Parson's quotation (I. 82) from a passage in the
Bishop's sermons.
"As an exemplum of Lechery and Chastity the
Virginia story figures even in Elizabeth's time. The
title of the old edition of the well-known morality,
Appius and Virginia (1575) reads thus: "A new
Tragicall Comedie of Apius and Virginia. Wherein
is lively expressed a rare example of the virtue of
Chastitie by Virginia's Constancy in wishing rather
to be slaine at her owne Fathers handes then to be
dishonored of the wicked Judge Apius." Mackenzie's
unhappy comment upon the moral of the story (The
English Moralities, 1914, p. 13) ignores utterly its
traditional function.
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
[FoZ. xxx, No. 1.
II. JEEOMB AND THE SUMMONEE'S FEIAE (2) The Summoner's Tale, D 1885 f. :
In the face of the Summoner's slighting
reference to "Jovinian" (D 1929) it seems
surprising — if the oversights of Chaucer schol-
ars can any longer awake surprise — that no
one has marked the large indebtedness of the
Summoner's Tale to the famous tract of
Jerome, " Against Jovinian," 1 which had stood
the Wife of Bath in such stead. All of the
scriptural exempla of fasting put into the
mouth of the friar are taken directly from one
or two chapters in the second book of the
treatise. I shall let the parallels tell their own
story.
(1) The Summoner's Tale, D 1876 f. :
We han this worldes lust al in despyt.
Lazar and Dives liveden diversly,
And diverse guerdon hadden they ther-by.
Who-so wol preye, he moot faste and be clene,
And fatte his soule and make his body lene.
We fare as seith thapostle; cloth and fode
Suffysen us, though they be nat ful gode.
Compare Adversus Jovinianum, II, chap. 17:
" Who tells of purple-clad Dives in hell for
his feasting, and says that poor Lazarus for his
abstinence was in Abraham's bosom ; who, when
we fast, bids us anoint our head and wash our
face, etc." Id., chap. 11 : " Hence the Apostle
says : ' Having food and clothing let us there-
with be content.' . . . You have the world
beneath your feet, and can exchange all its
power, its feasts and its lusts . . . for com-
mon food, and make up for them all with a
sackcloth shirt." 2
'Migne, Patrologia Latina, XXII (II, 305), trans-
lated by Freemantle in The Nicene and Post Nicene
Fathers, 2d Ser., VI, 346 f.
' " Qui Divitem purpuratum propter epulas narrat
in Tartaro, et Lazarum pauperem ob inediam dicit
esse in sinu Abrahae; qui quando jejunamus, ungi
caput et lavari faciem praecipit, etc." " Unde et
Apostolus : ' Habentes victum et vestitum, his con-
tenti sumus' . . . Mundum habere sub pedibus
et omnem ejus potentiam, epulas, libidines, . . .
vilibus mutare cibis et crassiore tunica compensare."
Lo, Moyses fourty dayes and fourty night
Fasted, er that the heighe god of might
Spak with him in the mountain of Sinay.
With empty wombe, fastinge many a day,
Keceyved he the lawe that was writen
With goddes finger.
Compare Adversus Jovinianum, II, chap. 15 :
" Moses for forty days and forty nights fasted
on Mount Sinai and showed even then that
man does not live on bread alone but on every
word of God. . . . Moses with empty sto-
mach received the law written with the finger
of God." 3
(3) The Summoner's Tale, D 1890 f. :
and Elie, wel ye witen,
In Mount Oreb, er he hadde any speche
With hye god, that is our lyves leche,
He fasted longe and was in contemplaunce.
Compare Adversus Jovinianum, II, chap. 15 :
" Elijah after the preparation of a forty days'
fast saw God on Mount Horeb, and heard from
Him the words, ' What doest thou here,
Elijah?'"*
(4) The Summoner's Tale, D 1894 f. :
Aaron, that hadde the temple in governance,
And eek the othere preestes everichon,
In-to the temple whan they sholde gon
To preye for the peple and do servyse,
They nolden drinken, in no maner wyse,
No drinke, which that mighte hem dronke make,
But there in abstinence preye and wake,
Lest that they deyden; tak heed what I seye.
But they be sobre that for the peple preye,
War that I seye.
Compare Adversus Jovinianum, II, chap. 15 :
"Aaron and the other priests, when about to
enter the temple, refrained from all intoxicat-
ing drink for fear they should die. Whence
* " Moyses quadraginta diebus et noctibus jejunus
in monte Sina etiam tune probans, non in pane solo
vivere hominem sed in omni verbo Dei. Cum Deo
loquitur. . . . Hie vacuo ventre legem accipit
scriptam digito Dei."
*"Elias quadraginta dierum jejunio praeparatus
Deum vidit in monte Oreb et audit ab eo, ' Quid tu
hie, Elia?'"
January, 1915.]
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
9
we learn that they die who minister in the
Church without sobriety." 5
(5) The Summoner's Tale, D 1915 f.:
Fro Paradys first, if I shal nat lye,
Was man out chaced for his glotonye;
And chaast was man in Paradys, certeyn.
Compare Adversus Jovinianum, II, chap. 15:
" So long as he (Adam) fasted, he remained
in Paradise; he ate and was cast out; he was
no sooner cast out than he married a wife.
While he fasted in Paradise, he continued a
virgin." 8 It is significant that this very pas-
sage from Jerome is used by the Pardoner in
his attack upon Gluttony (C 508 f.). Indeed,
as has been often noted, the Latin is there
quoted upon the margin of many manuscripts.
This use of a common source in these two tales
of the Sins is suggestive.
The evidence just presented disposes effec-
tually of the view of the Globe editors, Dr.
Pollard and his collaborators, that the " Jovin-
ian," to whom the Summoner refers, " is prob-
ably the mythical emperor of the Gesta Ro-
manorum." It is possible that, in the descrip-
tion of Jerome's adversary, " Fat as a whale
and walkinge as a swan," Chaucer has in mind
not only the passage cited by Skeat from the
first book of the treatise (chap. 40), "iste for-
mosus monachus, crassus, nitidus et quasi
sponsus semper incedens," but the even less
flattering sketch in the second book (chap. 21) :
' Nunc lineis et sericis vestibus et Atrebatum
ac Laodiceae indumentis ornatus incedis. Eu-
bent buccae, nitet cutis, comae in occipilium
frontemque tornantur, protensus est aqualicu-
lus, insurgunt humeri, turget guttur, et de
obesis faucibus vix suffocata promuntur." But
the lively similes are seemingly Chaucer's own.
The generous use by the Summoner of the
Jovinian treatise furnishes another strong link
"Aaron et ceteri sacerdotes ingressuri templum
omne quod potest inebriare non potant, ne moriantur.
Ex quo intelligimus mori eos qui in Eccleaia non
eobrii ministrarint."
'"Quamdiu jejunavit, in paradiso fuit; comedit
et ejectus est; ejectus, statim duxit uxorem. Qui
jejunus in paradiso virgo fuerat, etc."
between Chaucer's Friar-Summoner tales and
their immediate precursor, the contribution of
the Wife, the largest borrower from Jerome's
tract.
III. CHAUCER AND THE PRYMER
The indebtedness of Chaucer's "Invocacio
ad Mariam," which prefaces his story of Saint
Cecilia, to certain Latin anthems is now as
fully recognized as the allegiance of these
stanzas to Dante's Paradiso. Professor Holt-
hausen 1 long since revealed the relation of
the fifth stanza to the Salve Regina and Pro-
fessor Carleton Brown 2 has recently indicated
the connection between lines 43-47 and the
Quern Terra. Brown suggests that "the
phrases which Chaucer took from this source
had become so familiar to him through the
liturgy and manuals of devotion that when he
sat down to write this prayer of the Virgin,
they came into mind unbidden." Neither
scholar seems, however, to have recognized that
the direct source of Chaucer in much of the
Invocation was "The Hours of the Virgin,"
which forms so important a part of the Prymer
or Lay Folk's Prayer Boole.*
Ten minutes' examination of the contents
of the Prymer — I use Littlehales' text of the
English version, derived from an early fif-
teenth-century Cambridge manuscript 4 — dis-
closes the presence of the Salve Regina in the
Compline service of the Hours, and of the
Quern Terra as the hymn for Matins. The
former, in its English guise, is peculiarly in-
teresting to the Chaucer student: "Hail,
quene, modir of merci, oure liyf, oure swet-
nesse & oure hope, hail! to thee we crien, ex-
iled sones of cue; to thee we sigen, gronynge
in this valey of teeris; ther-for turne to usward
thi merciful igen, & schewe to us ihesu, the
blessid fruyt of thi wombe, aftir that we ben
1 Herrig's Arcliiv, LXXXVII, 267.
'Modern Philology, IX, 1911, 1 f.
* With the history of the layman's prayer book in
England Brown has made us familiar in a valuable
section of his study of The Prioress' Tale, Chaucer
Society, 1910, pp. 126 f.
'Early English Text Society, Orig. Ser., CV.
10
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
[Vol. xxx, No. 1.
passid hennes. 0 thou deboner, 0 thou meke,
0 thou swete maide marie, hail ! " Moreover,
here in the Home is the hitherto undisclosed
source of Chaucer's lines (G 47-49) :
and thou, virgin wemmelees,
Bar of thy body, and dweltest mayden pure,
The creatour of every creature.
A dozen times and more are the changes rung
upon this motif in the Prymer — for instance
in the anthems for Evensong : " Post Partum,
— Aftir thi childberynge, thou leftist maide
withouten wem;" " Beata es Virgo, — Blessed
art thou, maide marie, that bar cure lord ; thou
brougtest forth the makere of the world, that
made thee; & thou bileuest maide withouten
ende." It is significant that the anthem for
Sext (Midday), " Rubum quern, — Bi the busch
that moises sig unbrent, we knowen that thi
preisable maidenhede is kept," corresponds to
Chaucer's figure both in the Prologue of the
Prioress and in the A. B.C. (where he is merely
following in the wake of DeGuilleville) .
Chaucer's use of the Prymer in his Hymn to
Mary seems not only natural but inevitable
in the light of Patterson's statement in the
Introduction to his Middle English Peniten-
tial Lyric 5 (p. 22) that "the many poems that
celebrate the joys of the Virgin go back ulti-
mately to certain antiphons in the florae."
"The Hymn to the Virgin" (No. 30 of Pat-
terson's collection) is "a mosaic of phrases,
responses, versicles, lessons and scripture found
in the florae." In his large drafts upon the
universally familiar Hours, Chaucer was but
following the tradition of the religious lyric.
Another trait of the Invocation must now
be remarked. No one has noted that such a
prelude to a Miracle of the Virgin or to a
Life of a saint is a literary convention even
more common than the " Idleness " prologue.6
•Columbia University Press, 1911.
' To the interesting examples of " Idleness " in-
troductions, cited by Brown in his Modern Philology
article, may be added the Prologue of Henry Brad-
shaw's Life of Saint Werburg (E. E. T. Soc., Orig
Ser., LXXXVIII), 11. 71-84. See also Bradshaw's
restatement of his purpose at the close of his work,
II, 2006 f., "to avoyde slouth and idelness." It is
A few illustrations will serve as well as a score.
Mark the short address to " Jesu Cryst, croune
of maydenes alle," which opens Capgrave's
"Life of Saint Catharine;"7 the appeal to
the Maker, which prefaces another Life of this
saint;8 the invocation to "Leuedi swete and
milde," which ushers in the poem, " Coment
le sauter noustre dame fu primes cuntroue " in
MS. Digby 86, fol. 130; 9 and what seems much
to our purpose, the lines upon the Christ that
begin the story of Saint Cecilia in the North
English collection.10 Among the petitions that
preface several Miracles of the Virgin in the
Vernon MS.11 is a thirty-line invocation to
Jesus and Mary (introducing the fifth Mira-
cle), which is thus paraphrased by the editor:
"Jesus, Thou wast born of Mary and wast
crucified for us, as Thou rosest from the dead,
freedest the souls in Hell, ascendedst into
Heaven, and sentest the Holy Ghost to Thy
disciples, we ought to thank Thee and Thy
Mother. She is solace in every sorrow and
never fails, though she oft delays." Very close
to Chaucer's praise of the Virgin (G 56, 76)
is the line, " In everi serwe or seknesse outher,
heo is sovereynest leche." The time-honored
function of such a prelude as Chaucer's "In-
vocacio ad Mariam" constitutes good ground
for believing that it was composed at the same
time as the Life of Saint Cecilia.12 The con-
tention that the dexterity displayed by Chaucer
significant that Alexander Barclay, who launches his
Ship of Fools with the Idleness convention (Jamie-
son's edition, I, 18), "But the speciyl cawse that
mouethe me to this besynes is to auoyde the exe-
crable inconuenyences of ydilnes whyche (as saint
Bernard sayth) is moder of al vices," concludes his
translation with an elaborate Invocation to the Vir-
gin (II, 333 f.) richer even than Chaucer's in litur-
gical phrases.
7 E. E. T. Soc., Orig. Ser., C.
8 Horstmann, Altenglische Legenden, N. F., p. 242.
»/rf., p. 220.
"Id., p. 159.
u E. E. T. Soc., Orig. Ser., XCVIII.
"The argument for the synchronism of Invocation
and Life is reinforced by the now generally accepted
view that a similarly derived invocation, the Pro-
logue of the Prioress — which the "quod she" of its
second line assigns to the period of The Canterbury
Tales— -mas composed at the same time as her Tale.
January, 1915.]
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
11
in blending various elements in the Invocation
indicates a period of maturer powers than the
Life itself ignores utterly the wide vogue of
such "skilful mosaics." It is obviously un-
safe to employ as a touchstone of a great poet's
ripeness the sort of thing that every rimer of
his time does well.
Yet whether, as custom clearly shows, the
" Invocacio ad Mariam " was composed at the
same date as the story of Saint Cecilia, or
whether, as has been unhappily contended, it
was a later insertion, there is, of course, no
doubt that the prologues, which represent the
written rather than the spoken word and are
connected with no narrator,13 and the tale were
combined at a period prior to the composition
of The Canterbury Tales. Nowhere, however,
in the whole range of Chaucer's reading could
the poet have found, nor could he have put
together for the nonce, any matter better suited
to the illustration of Sloth than this treasure-
trove of his portfolio with its opportune com-
bination of Idleness prologue, Invocation full
of the spiritual devotion that is ever the anti-
dote of this Deadly Sin, and finally, the tale
of the traditionally busy Saint Cecilia.14
IV. A PARALLEL TO THE PARSON'S SERMON
By the dexterous methods of attenuation
now in high favor among certain scholiasts of
our older literature it would be easy to devote
many pages to the relation between Dan Jon
Gaytringe's fourteenth-century " Sermon on
Shrift," which is printed by Perry from Eobert
"Though the assignment of protests against Idle-
ness to the Second Nun, a member of a notoriously
slothful class, is ironically apt (Publications of M.
L. A.., March, 1914), still there is no direct associa-
tion of this material with that pilgrim. This neces-
sary adjustment Chaucer relegated to the limbo of
many of his undertakings, the morrow.
14 Further proof of Chaucer's indebtedness to the
Prymer is the appearance of the Domine, do-minus
noster (Psalm VIII) — upon which the first stanza
of the Prioress's Prologue is moulded — in the Matins
service of the " Hours of the Virgin " immediately
after the Quern Terra. The second and third stanzas
of the Prioress are strongly reminiscent of several
anthems of the Horae, particularly the Ave Segina
and, as we have seen, the Rubum quern.
Thornton's MS. in the Lincoln Cathedral Li-
brary x and "The Lay Folk's Catechism" of
Archbishop Thoresby, edited by Simmons and
Nolloth from " the authentic copy in his regis-
ter at York," and from the Wycliffite adapta-
tion of this ; 2 but the story of this connection
shall be told very briefly. Gaytrik, who was
deputed by Thoresby to draw up the Catechism,
was no other than Gaytringe, as external evi-
dence shows, and the treatise — though the fact
is unsuspected by the clerical editors — is iden-
tical with the Sermon, published in an earlier
number of the same series. Any reader who
will take the trouble to examine the two docu-
ments will speedily become convinced of their
essential oneness.
In this identity of Sermon and Catechism
there is much to interest the student of Chau-
cer's Parson's Tale. " The chief solicitude of
Archbishop Thoresby was for the poor Vicars
who had the cure of souls, yet were often too
meanly provided for" — for just such men as
our Parson; and the Catechism was put forth
"to amend the ignorance and neglect of the
parish-priests and the consequent godlessness
of their flocks." 3 The wise prelate commanded
all his clergy, parsons, vicars and priests to
read diligently to their parishioners this Cate-
chism, which contained the Pater Noster, Ave
Maria, the Apostles' Creed, the Points of Be-
lief, the Commandments, the Sacraments, the
Works of Mercy, the chief Virtues and the
Deadly Sins. Knowledge of these things must
precede Confession. Hence Gaytringe's Ser-
mon, the counterpart of the Catechism, merely
teaches, " in scrifte how many thynges solde
be consideride."
So with the Parson. In his Sermon he in-
cludes the conventional divisions of the Peni-
tential— stock instructions to his flock. Under
the second of the main-heads of Penance, Con-
fession, he may well have comprised the formal
themes of Gaytringe and the religious treatises
of the period — the Ayenbite, the Handlyng
Synne and various Summae and " Mirrors," —
'•Religious Pieces, Early English Text Society, 28,
pp. 1-14.
'Early English Text Society, 118.
• See Nolloth's " Introduction to the ' Catechism.' "
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
[Vol. xxx, No. 1.
but he prefers to follow his source in limiting
himself to the most important phase, the ac-
knowledgment of Sins. And a comparison be-
tween the Parson's description of the Sins and
the formulae of the Catechism and Prymers
attests — if, indeed, the matter needs attesta-
tion— that Chaucer's parish priest voices the
commonplaces of the fourteenth-century Con-
fessional. The Parson thus appeals not only
to the understanding but to the emotions of
men who were wont to rehearse their Sins in
this wise : " First, I knowledge my selfe gylty
unto Almyghty God, unto our lady, saynt
Mary, and to all the company of heuen. . . .
that ... I haue oifended my lord God
greuously and specially in the seuen deedly
synnes. ... I haue synned in pryde of
herte ... in pryde of clotynge : in strength :
in eloquence: in beaute: in proude wordes
. . . ," and so through the other Sins.4
In the light of this relation between the
Confessional and Penitential sermons, we can
better appreciate the admirable aptness of
Chaucer in making many of the Parson's hear-
ers guilty of the Sins that the good priest after-
wards exposes — sometimes in the very words
of their own revelations.5 So far from alle-
gorizing his pilgrims, the poet deepened their
humanity in contemporary eyes by large illus-
trations of their characteristic vices, in which
every reader freely and frequently confessed
his share. Such men and women, erring some-
times confessedly but often unconsciously, were
not only the proper audience for a Sermon on
Shrift, but, by reason of their very faults, were
flesh-and-blood beings entirely convincing to
the medieval mind and heart.
FREDERICK TOPPER.
University of Vermont.
•Cited from a Salisbury Prymer by Maskell,
Monumenta Ritualia Ecclesiae Anglicanae, II, 274.
In this connection Patterson points to the many
metrical renderings of such confessions or of sepa-
rate portions of them (Middle English Penitential
Lyric, p. 161).
* See my article, " Chaucer and the Seven Deadly
Sins," Publications of the Modern Language Associa-
tion of America, March, 1914.
SCHILLER'S ATTITUDE TOWAED GEE-
MAN AND EOMAN TYPE AS INDI-
CATED IN HIS LETTEES 1
When reading Schiller's letters I noticed
what seemed to be an inconsistency on the part
of the poet in his attitude toward German and
Latin type. A more complete investigation,
however, and a chronological arrangement of
the passages in question showed conclusively
that the inconsistency was merely apparent,
that in reality Schiller's attitude was clearly
defined. It is only a matter of minor impor-
tance, but seems to have been quite overlooked
by the " Schiller-Forscher." As the subject it-
self is of some general interest and has at-
tracted considerable attention, the attitude of
Germany's most popular poet is perhaps de-
serving of brief mention.
The references up to the year 1796 show a
preference for the Eoman type. On November
7, 1791 (No. 584), Schiller writes to Goschen,
his publisher, regarding the periodical Thalia:
"Dass Sie lat. Schrift nehmen, freut mich
recht und ich denke, es wird sieh der Miihe
schon verlohnen." To his friend Wilhelm von
Humboldt Schiller writes August 21, 1795
(No. 893) : " Ihnen iiberlasse ich es ob latei-
nische oder deutsche Schrift zum Almanach ge-
nommen werd (en) soil. Hatte linger (the pub-
lisher) eine recht passende lateinische Schrift,
so wiirde ich dieselbe vorziehen; doch bin ich
nicht so sehr darauf gestellt, und es kommt
ganz darauf an, wie Sie Seine SchriftProben
finden." To his publisher Cotta he writes, Oc-
tober 31, 1796 (No. 1121): "Dass Sie die-
selbe Lettern, wie bey der erstern (Ausgabe des
Almanach) beybehalten, ist gar nicht nothig.
Ich selbst wiinschte kleinere Lettern, (obgleich
auch lateinische)."
In the letters up to 1796 I found but one
instance where a preference for German type
was expressed, and that, too, is noteworthy. In
a letter to Cotta, October 2, 1794 (No. 753),
1The quotations are from Schillers Briefe edited
by Fritz Jonas, Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt. The num-
bering of the letters is that of Jonas.
January, 1915.]
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
13
we read: "Wir (i. e. Schiller, Goethe and
possibly also Hofrath Schutz, who is mentioned
in the preceding paragraph of the letter) sind
der Meinung, dass Deutsche Schrift der latei-
nischen vorzuziehen sey." It is to be noted that
in this instance Schiller uses the first person
plural, not the first singular. He is stating
not his own preference, but the decision of
several.
In these earlier references no reason, no
cause is given, it is simply the statement of a
personal preference.
In later letters, from 1799 on, there is a
change in Schiller's attitude. To the pub-
lisher Crusius he writes, November 29, 1799
(No. 1524a) : "Ich wiinsche deuische Schrift
zu den Gedichten, weil ich aus Erf ahrung weiss,
dass man ein Buch dadurch in weit mehr
Hande bringt." Very similar are the words
written to the Jena printer Gopferdt, May 20,
1800, regarding this same collection of poems
(No. 1584) : " Auch konnen Sie Herrn Cru-
sius versichern, dass es eigentlich sein Vor-
theil ist, und nicht der meine, warum ich auf
der Deutschen Schrift bestehe, denn mir ist
bekannt, dass im Siidlichen Deutschland viele,
welche gem solche Werke kaufen, die lateinische
Schrift nicht lesen konnen." Less suggestive
is the following, taken from a letter to Cotta,
dated October 8, 1802 (No. 1821) : "Was die
Ausgabe meines Theaters betrift, so iiberlasse
ich Ihnen ganz das wo und wie. . . . Zu
lateinischer Schrift kann ich aus vielen Griin-
den nicht rathen."
Especially instructive, however, is the pas-
sage contained in a letter to Cotta relating to
the printing of Tell. It bears the date May
28, 1804 (No. 1971) : " Was den Druck be-
trifft, so iiberlasse ich es Ihnen ganz ob Sie
gleich 2 Editionen eine in lateinischer, die
andre in deutscher Schrift machen wollen.
Wollen Sie aber bei Einer Ausgabe
bleiben, so wird sie wohl mit deutschen Lettern
am bessten seyn, weil der Tell doch auch vom
Volke wird gelesen werden."
Just as in the period up to 1796 I noted
but one passage advocating the use of German
type, so in these later letters I ran across but
one in which a preference for Latin type is
shown, but that one is also significant. It is
in a letter to the publisher Crusius regarding
the planned edition de luxe of Schiller's poems.
It is dated March 10, 1803 (No. 1855):
" Eine Prachtausgabe der Gedichte wird mir
recht sehr angenehm seyn, und ich weiss auch,
dass man im Publicum sie wiinscht. . . .
Lateinische Schrift ist zu einer Prachtausgabe
wohl nothwendig."
Viewing these quotations as a whole, the
following conclusions may, I think, be drawn.
Schiller's personal preference was for the Latin
type, and in the case of an edition de luxe, a
" Prachtausgabe," where the book even as a
book should appeal to the aesthetic sense, he
deemed this type necessary to the end of his
life. On the other hand, experience taught
him that his works could gain widest recogni-
tion and popularity only if printed in German
type — he tells us directly that in South Ger-
many and among the humbler classes Latin
type was not merely a hindrance to ready com-
prehension but at times, even in the case of
lovers of literature, an insurmountable obstacle.
Naturally and rightly, Schiller subordinated
his own artistic preference to the existing con-
ditions of his day. It is, however, interesting
to see how modern he really was.
M. BLAKEMORE EVANS.
OMo State University.
THE SEVEN LIBERAL ARTS IN LOPE
DE VEGA'S ARCADIA
In the fifth book of Lope de Vega's pastoral
novel entitled Arcadia,1 composed between the
years 1591 and 1594 and first published in
1598, the wise Polinesta conducts the shep-
herds Anfriso and Prondoso to an immense
palace containing eight halls presided over by
1 For the best account of the Arcadia, see Dr.
Hugo A. Rennert's monograph, The Spanish Pastoral
Romances, 2nd edition, Publications of the Univer-
sity of Pennsylvania, Department of Romanic Lan-
guages and Literatures, Philadelphia, 1912, pp. 142-
156, and the same writer's Life of Lope de Vega,
Glasgow, 1904, pp. 100-104.
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
[Vol. xxx, 2Vo. 1.
eight maidens, Grammar, Logic, Ehetoric,
Arithmetic, Geometry, Astrology, Music and
Poetry! Each of these explains in verse to the
shepherds the purpose and function of her art
and the walls of each room are decorated with
portraits of those who were regarded as the
founders of that particular branch of human
knowledge. We naturally expect to find here
an allegorical treatment of the studies of the
trivium and quadrivium, with the addition of
poetry, indicating the progress attained in the
seven liberal arts at the end of the sixteenth
century. As a matter of fact, Lope de Vega
copied almost literally the facts stated in the
first six chapters of the Vision delectable of
Alfonso de la Torre, probably composed be-
tween 1430 and 1440 and published about the
year 1480.
I have shown elsewhere 2 that in writing
the Vision delectable Alfonso de la Torre was
indebted to the Anticlaudianus of Alanus de
Insulis for most of his allegorical material,
that the chapters on grammar, rhetoric, arith-
metic, geometry and music are derived from
Isidore of Seville's Etymologiae and that the
chapter on logic is borrowed from Al-Ghazzali's
treatise on that subject included in his Maka-
sid al-Falasifa. The author seems to have been
ignorant of the revival of classical studies which
characterized the reign of John II and stand-
ing at the very threshold of the Kenaissance
in Spain, he represents the state of knowledge
in the rest of Europe in the Dark Ages. In
composing his treatise, he was content for the
most part to translate from the Etymologiae
of Isidore of Seville which typifies the last
stage and decadence of the age of compila-
tions and he seems to have known little of
the progress in the arts and sciences since that
time.
* The Seven Liberal Arts in the Vision Delectable
of Alfonso de la Torre, Romanic Review, Vol. IV.
Chapters eight to nineteen of the First Part, which
discuss the most important questions of scholastic
philosophy and theology, are derived from the Moreh
"Nebvchim or Guide of the Perplexed of Maimonides.
See J. P. W. Crawford, The Vision Delectable of
Alfonso de la, Torre and Maimonides' s Guide of the
Perplexed, Publications of the Modern Language
Association of America, Vol. XXVIII, 1913.
It would be futile and tiresome to establish
the "deadly parallel" by printing (side by
side the portion of the fifth book of the
Arcadia dealing with the seven liberal arts
and the first six chapters of the Vision delec-
table. The allegorical description of the seven
maidens, and the account of the portraits rep-
resenting the founders of the various arts are
copied almost textually from the Vision de-
lectable, and the poems in octaves describing
the purpose and function of the studies in-
cluded in the trivium and quadrivium are
merely incomplete summaries of the facts
stated by Alfonso de la Torre. Even the omis-
sions were made in an unintelligent fashion
and Lope's only addition is a brief discussion
of the nature of poetry, including an inordi-
nately long list of well-known and unknown
Spanish poets of his time.
If we looked no further for evidence to prove
the contrary, the study of the indebtedness of
Lope de Vega to the Vision delectable would
lead us to believe that the work of Nebrija,
Hernan Nunez Pinciano, Luis Vives, Sebas-
tian Fox Morcillo and other scholars of the six-
teenth century, was fruitless. We must admit,
however, that in seeking information concern-
ing the seven liberal arts in a medieval work
which was entirely inadequate and antiquated
at the time of its publication in 1480, the great
dramatist was sadly lacking in critical acumen.
J. P. WlCKERSHAM CRAWFORD.
University of Pennsylvania.
NOTES ON SIR WALTER SCOTT
In a recent article in Modern Language
Notes 1 attention is directed to an interesting
misquotation of Chaucer made by Sir Walter
Scott in the Antiquary. The passage under
consideration is the motto before the tenth
chapter, and the author of the article reminds
us that Scott was frequently inaccurate in quo-
1 J. R. Schultz, " Sir Walter Scott and Chaucer,"
Mod. Lang. Notes, XXVIII, 246.
January, 1915.]
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
15
tation, especially in the matter of mottoes for
chapter headings.
Another even more interesting example of
this carelessness in citation occurs in Rob Roy,
his next novel, at the beginning of the eigh-
teenth chapter.2 The motto in this case is
And hurry, hurry, oS they rode,
As fast as fast might be;
Hurra, Hurra, the dead can ride,
Dost fear to ride with met
It is credited to Biirger (signed "Burgher"
in the first edition), and the lines are from
the Lenore. The quotation as Scott has used
it is not to be found in his own rendering of
the ballad (1796) nor in that of any other
translator. Yet all the lines are found in dif-
ferent parts of Scott's translation. The first
two occur in the thirty-seventh stanza of Wil-
liam and Helen as
And, hurry ! hurry ! off they rode,
As fast as fast might be; '
and the only difference is in the punctuation.
The last two lines of the motto are found in
the forty-ninth stanza of the translation in
inverted order and as the second and third
lines of the quatrain. The entire stanza is
Dost fear? dost fearf The moon shines clear,
Dost fear to ride with me I —
Hurrah! Hurrah! the dead can ride! —
O William, let them be!
Scott's recollection of his own lines may have
been modified by a reminiscence of Taylor's
version which was published the same year as
his own, for in the latter the last two lines of
the motto appear in the order quoted and, save
for one word, in the same language.
Hurrah! the dead can ride apace;
Dost fear to ride with meet *
1 1 am indebted to Professor O. F. Emerson for
this and other items.
'The Poetical Works of Walter Scott, ed. John
Dennis (Aldine Edition). London, George Bell &
Sons, 1892, vol. V, p. 97.
*Cf. The Annual Begister, London, 1796; vol.
XXXVIII, p. 499, St. 40. The two lines are repeated
in St. 49 and St. 50. For this reference I am under
obligation to Prof. Emerson's paper on the transla-
tions of Btlrgcr's Lenore, read at the last meeting of
the Modern Language Association.
Perhaps it may be possible to suggest a rea-
son why Scott should be thinking of the ballad
at this time. Rob Roy is considered to some
extent autobiographical, and in Miss Vernon
is generally recognized a sweetheart of Scotfa
youth. With this fact in view, I venture to
suggest that the passage,
"'There is a great deal of it,' said she,
glancing along the paper and interrupting the
sweetest sounds which mortal ears can drink
in, — those of a youthful poet's verses, namely,
read by the lips which are dearest to him." B
may have- been based upon his own experience
when the lady he was fond of read his transla-
tion of the Lenore. If there is any truth in
this supposition, Scott may have had in mind
the incident which occurs in Rob Roy only two
chapters before the Lenore quotation, when
he wrote the motto. The remarkable shuffling
of lines can easily be accounted for by his
habitual inaccuracy.9
Apropos of Scott's freedom in quotation, we
are told by Lockhart T that in correcting the
proof sheets of the Antiquary, the novelist first
began to give his chapters mottoes of his own
invention. The biographer says :
" On one occasion he happened to ask John
Ballantyne, who was sitting by him, to hunt
for a particular passage in Beaumont and
Fletcher. John did as he was bid, but did not
succeed in discovering the lines. ' Hang it,
Johnnie,' cried Scott, ' I believe I can make a
motto sooner than you will find one.' He did
so accordingly, and from that hour, whenever
memory failed to suggest an appropriate epi-
graph, he had recourse to the inexhaustible
mines of ' old play ' and ' old ballad.' "
The motto alluded to is probably at the head
of chapter thirty :
Who is he? — One that for the lack of land
Shall fight upon the water — he hath challenged
Formerly the grand whale; and by his titles
Of Leviathan, Behemoth, and so forth.
5Ko6 Roy (Centenary Edition), Edinburgh, Adam
and Charles Black, 1890, p. 200.
•See circumstances of his translating Lenore:—
Lockhart, Memoirs of the Life of Sir Walter Scott,
vol. I, chap. VII, pp. 216-7 (Cambridge Edition),
1902. See also Adam Scott, Sir Walter Scott's First
Love, pp. 51-2. Edinburgh, 1896.
'Ed. cit., vol. Ill, p. 106 (chap. XXXVII).
16
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
[Vol. xxx, No. 1.
He tilted with a sword-fish — Marry, sir,
The aquatic had the best — the argument
Still galls our champion's breech.
— Old Play.'
All the mottoes of the chapters preceding this,
with the single exception noted above, are cred-
ited to known authors; but ten of the fourteen
following are signed " Old Play." A further
examination of the novels shows that only one
motto was chosen from an unknown or ficti-
tious source before Scott wrote the Antiquary.
This one is before the forty-eighth chapter of
Guy Mannering, and the signature, " Old Bor-
der Ballad," merely indicates that he had for-
gotten what he derived it from. As a matter
of fact, he was quoting the thirty-fourth stanza
of the ballad, Kinmont Willie, included in his
own collection, Minstrelsy of the Scottish Bor-
der.9 In novels following the Antiquary, Scott
quoted from "Old Play" ninety-one times,
"Old Ballad" twenty times, "Old Song"
seven times, " Anonymous " (which was prob-
ably employed in the same way) twenty-five
times, "Old Poem" once, and "Ancient
Drama" once; and in nearly every case the
motto is believed by Dennis and other editors to
be the novelist's own work.
WALTER GRAHAM.
Columbia University.
The History of the Chorus in the German
Drama, by ELSIE WINIFRED HELMRICH.
New York, Columbia University Press, 1912.
8vo., paper, pp. ix + 95.
I
This book represents the development of the
chorus 1. in the early church-plays, 2. under
the influence of the Latin comedy, 3. from
•The Antiquary, p. 280 (ed. cit.). The epigraph
of chapter twenty-six, which later is signed " Old
Ballad," appears without signature in the first edition.
'Guy Mannering, chap. XL VIII, p. 344 (ed. cit.).
Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border, vol. II, p. 64 (Ed.
Henderson, Edinburgh, 1902). The epigraphs of
chapters six and forty-five were not signed in the first
edition. Later, they were credited to " As You Like
It " and " Shenstone." Waverley has no mottoes.
Gryphius to Gottsched, 4. in the eighteenth
and nineteenth centuries.
The undertaking is ambitious and the diffi-
culties that beset it are great. Not the least of
these is that, for the second and third periods
treated, the country's resources in texts are
inadequate. It is a sad fact that in spite of
the efforts of Kiirschner, Goedeke and Titt-
mann, Hermann and Scamatolski, and others,
the number of reprinted texts is comparatively
small. Of course, those plays that are remark-
able from an esthetic point of view have mostly
been reprinted, but it is not always in the most
artistic dramas that the most significant
changes in the development of dramatic forms
occur. There are, I believe, a certain number
of original seventeenth-century editions scat-
tered through the libraries of this country, but
they are practically out of reach, unless they
happen to be in one of the two or three largest
universities.
It may be tempting to trace the beginnings
of the chorus in the medieval drama and to
proclaim its triumph in Wagner, but the facts
do not seem to me to warrant the assumption.
There may be a superficial resemblance be-
tween the development of Greek tragedy and
the relation between the medieval drama and
the liturgical chant, but the cases are far from
being similar. As Miss Helmrich says herself
(p. 2) : " Even before the dramatic element
had begun to develop, the [ancient] chorus
had reached an artistic form." It had become
a lyric form of art, which took its place in the
dialogue and combined with it, thus forming
an organic whole, in which its function became
more and more definite. Aristotle based his
definition of it on the loftiest achievements of
Greek tragedy. A chorus is a specific element
of the drama: we have admirable examples of
it; its functions have been defined by one of
the world's finest critics, and even if he had not
been a Greek philosopher of the highest stand-
ing, writing about artists who were almost his
contemporaries, and with a broader experience
than any of our philologists can hope to have,
nobody could impeach his a posteriori remarks
about the functions of the chorus. Therefore
it seems hardly scientific to declare that one
January, 1915.]
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
17
will "use the term chorus when referring to
the choir" (p. 12) of medieval liturgy. The
choir is not a definite form of art. After the
dialogue of medieval drama had sprung from
it, it did not take its place in the drama, as-
suming an organic function. Miss Helmrich
must repeatedly have felt the sterility of her
parallel ; at least, some of her own very sensible
conclusions should have brought it home to her.
Summing up this chapter, Miss Helmrich finds
that " one cannot really speak of the evolution
of the chorus in the religious drama" (p. 21).
How could a thing which never became an or-
ganic part of the drama be expected to evolve?
One might as soon expect the butterfly's cast-
off chrysalis to develop.
I do not so completely disagree with the
author when she tries to identify Wagner's
music with the chorus. And yet, it will not
do to simply tell us that "the role played by
the [modern] orchestra is much the same as
that played by the chorus in the Greek tragedy "
(p. 86). Such is Wagner's opinion, I know,
but is it safe to base a whole investigation on
such a vague statement? In my opinion,
Wagner's music is not a real chorus. It can-
not be said to fulfil, in anything like the orig-
inal sense, the first two functions assigned to
it by Aristotle, i. e., be an actor in the play,
and be an inherent, i. e., an indispensable part
of the whole. As to the third requisite, it all
depends on one's personal interpretation of
" a-vvaycavi&crOcu ." It is true that, according
to the best of those interpretations, the orches-
tra might at least partly fulfil it : whether one
agrees with Schiller's conception of the chorus
as " furthering and accompanying the plot," or
thinks with Baumgart that it should contribute
to bring about the katharsis, or credits it with
the novel but important function of starting
emotions among the spectators, as Him sug-
gested.
Miss Helmrich does not appear to be firmly
enough grounded in the history of the theories
of the chorus. It is a great pity that she did
not make use of Dr. W. F. Klein's excellent
book (Der Chor in den wichtigsten Tragodien
der franzosischen Renaissance, Erlangen, 1897) ,
the first 51 pages of which treat with authority
of the development of the theories of the chorus
from Aristotle down to the latest poetics, and
which contains a discussion of Schiller's use
of the chorus, so thorough as to make us rather
critical towards later writings on the same
theme. Klein ignores German criticism before
Gottsched, in which he may be wrong. But it
is nevertheless to be deplored that, even for
seventeenth-century Germany, Miss Helmrich
should have had to rely exclusively on G. Popp.
I should have liked Miss Helmrich's method
better if her book had been one for which the
ground had been sufficiently prepared by a
series of reliable ' Vorarbeiten.' But this sub-
ject, as seen here, is new. Klein's book seems
to me to show the safest way of approaching
the subject : a painstaking way, to be sure, not
fertile in direct large results, a little too Ger-
man, perhaps, for the practical trend of our
time, but the right way nevertheless. Klein
knows the theories in detail, and then analyzes
a number of tragedies and their choruses with
an eye to the three aspects of the Aristotelian
definition: the technical, the material, the
dramaturgic. He completes this by metrical
studies and esthetic valuations.
Let us now turn to some less general points.
Following Creizenach, Miss Helmrich states
that Eeuchlin introduced choruses into his
Henno 1 in imitation of Greek comedy. She
quotes Beuchlin's commentary to the word
" comediam " in line 3 of the prologue, but the
passage from Diomedes which she adds in a
footnote is not convincing. If anything, this
passage, ending as it does with the express
statement " Latinae igitur comoediae chorum
non habent " would have deterred Eeuchlin
from introducing choruses into his Latin com-
edy. Furthermore, this passage refers to Greek
comedy in general, not to one aetas. It is
more likely that the passage referred to, if any,
is this one (Keil, Grammatici Laiini, I. 489) :
" secunda aetate fuerunt Aristophanes, Eupolis
et Cratinus, qui et principium vitia sectati
acerbissimas comedias composuerunt." But
1 1 am surprised that Miss Hflmrich should have
been unable to obtain Eeuchlin's Henno, which has
been reprinted, together with his Bergius, by Hoi-
stein, in 1888.
18
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
[Vol. xxx, No. I.
whether he had the choruses or the general
nature of the play in mind, when he marked it
as a comedy of the ancient Attic type, we do
not know. To be sure, the play may he con-
sidered as a satire of astrologers and lawyers,
and that may explain the association with the
three dramatists he mentions. It seems to me
less probable that he was thinking of the
choruses, especially in Aristophanes and Eupo-
lis, where they began to dwindle away, till they
entirely disappeared in the so-called " inter-
mediate comedy." Nevertheless Miss Helm-
rich's idea of Greek influence on Reuchlin, even
in the matter of the chorus, is very probably
right. Holstein (1. c., p. 145) thought that
the chorus might have been introduced for the
sake of the music, Reuchlin's patron, Bishop
Johann von Dalberg, being a great lover of
music. Creizenach (II, p. 48) also points out
that Eeuchlin's own love of music might have
brought him to do so. That the idea of writ-
ing a regular chorus in the Greek manner was
in his mind is again suggested by his trying, in
the commentary, to show how the choruses, at
least the first two, are connected with the body
of the play. Besides, Eeuchlin has told us, in
his Sergius, where he tentatively inserted his
first chorus song:
Si senserit placuisse primitias suas
Faciet deinde integras comedias.
(8er gilts, Prologus.)
It strikes me as rather comical when the author
says of the meter of the Latin chorus songs
(p. 39) that they are "generally ... in
iambic or trochaic dimeter, asclepiad, sapphic,
glyconic or alcaic meter." What else generally ?
Miss Helmrich may confuse our ideas about
the early Eeformation drama, first speaking,
as she does, of a Swiss " Tendenzdrama " which
she connects with Gengenbach's Der Toten-
fresser (not Die) and Nic. Manuel's Ablass-
kriimer (1525), and then surprising us by say-
ing : " Then came the Eeformation," etc.
To come down to matters of mere detail, I
do not understand Note 44 of Chapter II. Did
not also the audience of a Passion-play know
the whole plot beforehand? The stage-direc-
tion " pausando " does not necessarily point to
instrumental music (p. 40). In Vondel's
Palamedes there are not only two (p. 47), but
four choruses, the others being a " Eey van
Peloponnesers en Ithakoisen " and a " Eey van
Trojaensche Maeghden."
Too much space would be taken up if all the
problems that have been suggested by the read-
ing of this book were to be stated here. Take,
for instance, the question : why did the Human-
ists introduce a chorus at the end of the fifth
act, whereas their greater familiarity with
Latin tragedy could be expected to make them
followers of Seneca, rather than induce them
to develop a fashion which was still embryonic
even in Greek tragedy? In how far did
Horace's moralistic and didactic interpretation
influence the chorus? How much havoc was
worked by the misreading of " autoris partes "
instead of " actoris " ? What about the intro-
duction of German choruses into Latin plays
"fur die kleinen Schuler, welche noch kein
Latein verstehen," as Schb'pperus said in 1602,
or for other purposes? What was the precise
relation between the chorus and the interlude,
the chorus and the dumb shows, the chorus and
the "lustige Person"? . . .
We have measured this book by an ideal
standard, but this should not make us overlook
its merits. It shows intelligent industry, clear-
ness and forcefulness of thought, and creditable
expression. It is the first book attempting to
cover the subject as a whole. It contains many
just and interesting remarks, and, as it stands,
will certainly prove of use as a preliminary
survey of the field.
JOS. E. GlLLET.
University of Wisconsin.
Saint Vincent de Paul. Textes choisis et com-
mentes par J. CALVET. Paris : Plon-Nourrit,
1913. ii + 336 pp. (Bibliotheque Fran-
§aise, dirigee par F. Strowski.)
i
t
It was an excellent idea of Mr. Strowski's
to include Saint Vincent de Paul in his col-
lection of French classics of the seventeenth
century, and it is to be hoped that the literary
January, 1915.]
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
19
importance of the great Apostle of Charity
will soon be more generally recognized. Mr.
J. Calvet, to whose care the present volume
was entrusted, was well prepared for the task
by his previous studies.1 He illustrates the
different phases of Saint Vincent's activity by
ample extracts from his writings, principally
his letters, prefacing them with helpful bio-
graphical and literary sketches.
For the student of French letters the chap-
ter on Le role national de Saint Vincent de
Paul is of especial interest. We perhaps tend
to judge events like the Fronde from a rather
narrow point of view. We are influenced by
V. Cousin's sincere but romantic historical
studies or by the egotistical narratives of a
Eetz or a La Rochefoucauld. But is not Saint
Vincent de Paul, who intimated to the Queen
that she was compromising herself in her re-
lations to Mazarin (1643)2 and who suggested
to the mighty Cardinal to withdraw from the
political field at least for a short while (1652),8
a witness more imposing than the peeved
Frondeurs? His sympathies are with the suf-
fering people, and he even implores the Pope
to remedy the appalling misery of the country.4
Similarly, we see Port-Royal and the Jan-
senist movement almost exclusively as Sainte-
Beuve saw them. Here again the letters of
Saint Vincent show us a different aspect of the
question. We realize that vital interests of
the Church were at stake, that her unity was
jeopardized and that the relations between Jan-
senism and Protestantism were of such a na-
ture as to alarm any orthodox churchman.5
Saint Vincent had examined the points at issue
as closely as any member of the Sorbonne and
he knew his Augustinus perhaps as well as the
author of the Provinciates : "Je vous avoue,
monsieur," he writes to d'Horgny, Superior of
the Mission in Rome, " que j'ai fait une petite
etude touchant ces questions et que c'est le
1 Cf. Revue Catholique des £glises, June and Sep-
tember, 1904.
' See Lavisse, Histoire de France, vol. VII, p. 7.
'Letter 14, p. 120.
4Cf. Letter 13, pp. 116-118.
• Cf. Letters 16 and 19, pp. 123, 128, 141.
sujet ordinaire de mes oraisons." 6 His elo-
quent and indignant refutation of Arnauld's
Frequente Communion (letter 17, esp. p. 136)
reminds us in its very temper of Pascal.
Interesting from the psychological point of
view are the letters which Saint Vincent ad-
dressed to Mile. Le Gras as her " directeur
spirituel." His principles are sound and
healthy; he is a man of practical piety, averse
to all mystic inclinations. He repeatedly ad-
monishes his almost too fervent correspondent
" de proceder doucement," " de ne pas prendre
certaines choses trop au criminel " and " de
ne pas se surcharger de regies." T
The latter part of the book is devoted to the
splendid activity of Saint Vincent as a mis-
sionary at home and abroad, and to his numer-
ous Conferences. In the latter Saint Vincent
uses his " petite methode," which consists in
plain preaching as the Apostles practised it:
"tout bonnement, familierement et simple-
ment" (p. 244). This method was not with-
out influence on Bossuet himself.
The question of the Missions leads Mr. Cal-
vet to take issue with the view set forth by Mr.
Raoul Allier that Vincent was one of the most
active agents which the Compagnie du Saint-
Sacrement used outside of its mysterious com-
munity.8 Calvet argues that on the contrary
Vincent made use of the Company, whenever
he thought it advisable (p. 95). Without en-
tering into the details of this intricate ques-
tion, a further argument in support of Cal-
vet's opinion may be advanced. Allier himself
admits that as late as 1634 Saint Vincent was
ignorant of the very existence of the Company.
In 1634, however, most of his charitable works
were founded : the first Confrerie de la Charite
in 1617, the Mission of the Galley-Slaves in
1624, the Congregation of the Mission in 1625
(approved by Urban VIII. in 1632), the En-
fanls Trouvcs and the Ladies of Charity in
1634. If up to 1634 Vincent had been the very
soul of all these foundations, can we reason-
ably assume that at any time he allowed him-
• Cf. Letter 16, p. 129.
'Cf. Letters 4, p. 42; 17, p. 55; 9, p. 48.
' E. Allier, La cabale des devots, Paris, 1902, p. 59.
20
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
[Vol. xxx, No. 1.
self to be used as the tool of a secret society,
however laudable its purpose may have been? 9
In the main, care seems to have been exer-
cised in editing the selections, but a few typo-
graphical errors have slipped in.10 An index
of names would have facilitated the use of the
book.
WALTHER FISCHER.
University of Pennsylvania.
Business English. By EDWIN HERBERT LEWIS.
Chicago, LaSalle Extension University, 1914.
i
Business English, as defined by Mr. Lewis,
is " such English as is used in mercantile trans-
actions." Since it does not differ notably from
the English used in most other transactions, his
purpose is to point out, by means of illustra-
tions and exercises drawn from the discussion
of business topics, some of the established prin-
ciples which govern effective expression. The
book is deliberately simplified so as to be ser-
viceable in the upper years of high schools as
well as in the first year of technical colleges.
It adopts a lightness, not to say breeziness, of
tone that is obviously designed to relieve the
dulness of correspondence-school study.
The qualities of style — interest and clear-
ness, outlines, paragraphs, and connectives
are treated somewhat scantily in brief chapters.
Then follow chapters on various matters of
usage, such as punctuation, the use of the
hyphen, grammatical correctness, and on vari-
ous aspects of diction. An appendix supplies
exercises for each chapter.
The book is to be commended for its insis-
tence on mechanical accuracy and on the value
of words. A decent respect for usage and an
appreciation of the worth and dignity of words
are essential to the effective use of English of
* The texts quoted by Allier (pp. 60-62) seem far
from conclusive, and later in the book (p. 139) he
himself modifies the above-quoted sweeping statement.
"Read, page 16, line 5: son embarquement par le
moyen duquel; 40, 29: ne vans fait connattre; 207,
21: vous ne fassiez point exception; 269, 12 and 17:
fetardise.
any kind. On this account the work would
serve well for a review of freshman English by
sophomores who need further training in writ-
ing. The uniform reliance upon examples
rather than upon explanation is another merit.
In the terms, " regular relative clause " and
" extra relative clause," instead of the well-es-
tablished restrictive and non-restrictive or ex-
planatory, there is an unfortunate effort for
simplicity. Neither clause is more regular than
the other, and there is nothing extra about the
second. The volume is unduly large for hand-
ling and carrying by students, and is none too
clearly printed. A more specific index would
eeem desirable to make the helpful rules for
mechanical details available for reference.
JOHN C. FRENCH.
Johns Hopkins University.
Die Variation in der altgermanischen Allitera-
tionspoesie (Palaestra XLVIII), von WAL-
THER PAETZEL. Berlin: Mayer und Miiller,
1913.
In 1905 Paetzel published his Berlin disser-
tation, of which the present work is an ampli-
fication and completion. The ever increasing
body of literature which deals with the subject
of variation has evidently been studied with
care by Paetzel, although BehaghePs impor-
tant work, Beitr. 30, 431 ff., seems to have es-
caped his notice. Paetzel, however, has ap-
parently approached his subject with a more
thorough knowledge of past and contempora-
neous efforts in the same field than any of his
predecessors. Especially valuable is his sum-
mary of the various conceptions of the term
" variation " as it is understood and defined by
other writers. In view of this it is especially
disconcerting to find his own definition of
variation so different from that of all others
that he is discussing a practically new theme
under the old familiar name. For the pur-
poses of this article we may divide the various
authorities on variation into two groups, first,
January, 1915.]
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
21
those who define the term broadly and, second,
those who would sharply limit its application
in one way or another. Such a division is
doubtless inevitable in the discussion of any
stylistic element whose very nature makes sharp
definition an impossibility. As a representa-
tive of the liberal group may be taken the defi-
nition of Pachaly in his work, Die Variation
im Heliand und in der altsachsischen Genesis:
" Ihr Wesen ist aus der Musik bekannt. Es
besteht in der auf mannigfache Art veranderten
Wiederholung eines Begriffes. An einen Be-
griff, der den Ton angibt, werden ein, zwei,
selbst drei und vier andere annahernd synonyme
Ausdriicke angeschlossen ; folgen mehrere, so
klingt der Grundbegriff deutlich durch. Die
Var. bringt also nichts absolut Neues hinzu,
sie bringt nur Abwechselung, individuelle Ziige,
ein Hin- und Herwogen in die Darstellung und
rechtfertigt so stilistisch begrifflliche Tauto-
logien."
This definition represents the common con-
ception of variation or parallelism. As must,
however, soon become apparent to every worker
in this field, some limitation of the general
conception is desirable. It has remained for
Paetzel to so lose sight of the essential charac-
ter of variation, as broadly defined above, that
he offers us as a substitute for the whole a
minute subdivision, which he assures us is
really the only part worthy of consideration.
His definition follows:
" Ein fur das Verstandnis geniigend gekenn-
zeichneter Begriff wird, entgegen dem Gebrauch
der Prosa, noch einmal und zwar oft mit TJn-
terbrechung des syntaktischen Zusammenhanges
dem Hb'rer oder Leser vor die Seele geriickt.
Diese Ausdrucksform nenne ich Variation.
Ihre Hauptkennzeichen sind also 1. begriffliche,
2. syntaktische Entbehrlichkeit, woraus sich
ergibt — 3. seltenes Vorkommen in der Prosa"
(p. 3 f.).
From the above we gain that Paetzel recog-
nizes nothing as variation unless it be tauto-
logical as regards both syntax and meaning.
Hence the possibility of variation is practically
denied to prose style. Even appositive word
pairs are excluded if connected by a conjunc-
tion (cf. p. 6). How artificial such differen-
tiation is, appears from the fact that synony-
mous words in other relations are freely ad-
mitted as examples of variation, as, for instance,
p. 190 ff., where a number of examples are
given as variations in which a preceding geni-
tive is varied by a following nom. or ace. case.
Here Paetzel makes syntactical relation all-
important, even to the exclusion of that only
element which can logically determine varia-
tion, namely, meaning. Evidently he has not
forgotten his directly opposed method of treat-
ment on p. 20, when he seeks to excuse the in-
consistency of admitting sentences joined by
conjunctions as examples of variation by re-
course to a distinction between exactness of
correspondence in meaning. As a matter of
fact, by admitting such sentence variation to
consideration at all he disregards the very prin-
ciple which he emphasizes as most characteris-
tic of variation — namely " syntaktische Ent-
behrlichkeit." He here throws himself open to
the very criticism which he directs against those
who interpret the meaning of variation more
broadly — namely, " verschiedene Dinge in einen
Topf zu werfen."
To sum the matter up, Paetzel's conception
of variation is so limited as to apply only to
one small manifestation of the subject. This
detail he has studied with such concentration
of attention as to render him insensible to the
fact that what he is treating is not variation,
but rather only a single phase of that great
principle. It is therefore not surprising that
his theory of the origin of variation should be
equally limited. The " Erregung der dichte-
rischen Phantasie " which he regards as its psy-
chological and only basis, is of course one of the
great underlying reasons for variation. How-
ever, it is only one reason out of many, and it
would be as ridiculous to try to explain every
example of variation by this principle as to
assert that Faust is based solely on Goethe's
experiences at Strassburg. Any such limited
conception furnishes a delightfully easy solu-
tion, but it can scarcely satisfy those students
who have not allowed a too close scrutiny of
particulars to dim their vision of the whole
subject. In fact, Paetzel himself could scarcely
reconcile some of his own examples to this
theory. Take, for example, Beowulf, 11. 2482b-
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
{Vol. xxx, #0. 1.
2483a (Paetzel, p. 79). Here the principle of
" Erlauterung " which Paetzel refuses to ac-
cept as a basis of variation (p. 11) is self-evi-
dent. (On p. 25 a number of similar cases are
excluded!) Such variations as he admits in
considerable numbers would also be perfectly
in place in prose and we need not have re-
course to "poetic frenzy" for their explana-
tion. Paetzel is, however, quite right in reject-
ing Panzer's fantastic explanation (p. 12) of
the basis of variation as consisting of a desire
to proceed from the particular conception to
the general class. Every student of the sub-
ject must realize that the opposite procedure is
much more common — a fact which Paetzel
clearly shows by examples. The whole subject
of the reasons underlying variation is too com-
plex to be dismissed by a superficial treatment.
Only a thorough psychologist with a broad
knowledge of the literatures of many nations
and periods may at some time be able to bring
together the scattered threads and show how
many different forces have been at work.
Any work on variation will necessarily al-
ways be open to the criticism of incompleteness
and inconsistency. Not in a carping spirit, but
rather with the purpose of pointing out the
possibilities of the pitfalls into which even the
most careful worker may fall, I would men-
tion the following.
P. 14. A fourth class, covering adverbial
variation, should be added to Paetzel's three
classes. Such variation is especially common
in Otfrid; cf. IV, 8. 1: rumano joJi ferro. —
P. 20. The statement that two words joined
by a conjunction are scarcely ever exact
synonyms, for " vollstandige Synonyme gibt es
so gut wie gar nicht," would in all justice seem
to apply with equal force to asyndetical word
pairs, and yet the latter are freely admitted as
variations. Moreover, one asks, how can en-
tire sentences correspond exactly in meaning,
as Paetzel states just below, when exact word
synonyms are impossible? In the last sen-
tence on the same page the statement that
"exact synonyms practically do not exist" is
again inferentially contradicted by the phrase
" Wortvar. deren Glieder wirklich ganz dasselbe
sagen, erscheinen stets ohne Konjunctionen."
The whole method of reasoning seems to lack a
firmly established working basis, since the au-
thor's assumptions apparently vary with the
point which he is trying to prove. " Is exact
correspondence of meaning essential to varia-
tion ? " we ask. If so, why should it not be
required of word variation as well as of sen-
tence variation, and why should we be told
that exact word synonyms are an impossibility
and, a little later on, that exact word synonyms
always appear without conjunctions ? — P. 25 ff.
The five pages (25-29) of so-called doubtful
cases are a mute proof of Paetzel's difficulties
in following out consistently his own self-im-
posed definition of the term variation. Why,
for example, should Beowulf, 11. 1960-61,
Earner — Hemminges mceg be excluded, while
the instance above mentioned (11. 2482b— 2483a)
is included (Paetzel, p. 79) in the list of varia-
tions ? The explanations on pp. 24, 25 are far
from convincing. — P. 157. The results of the
tests to which Paetzel subjects the material
collected are naturally of greatest ultimate in-
terest. However, I cannot approve of his
method of estimating frequency of variation
by ascertaining the relation between the total
number of variations and the number of verses
in the selection in question. This method is
inaccurate since a single variation may cover
several verses. The frequency of variation can
best be measured by comparing the number of
verses containing variation with the total num-
ber of verses. Thus a single variation ten
verses long would, by Paetzel's method, give
these ten verses only 10% of variation, whereas
the actual relation is 100%'. It is difficult
also to understand why "lebende und leblose
Wesen" and "Eigennamen" should be ar-
ranged in the table under " Form " rather than
under " Content."
Material of real value is given us in p. 162 ff.,
where the relation of variation to epic, didactic
and lyric style is discussed. Here the real na-
ture of variation becomes clearer, and it is only
to be regretted that the author's narrow con-
ception of the term hinders him from attaining
even more satisfactory results. To this same
January, 1915.]
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
25
limited conception, doubtless, is also due the
fact that the author fails wholly to see in varia-
tion any criterion of age, or hint as to author-
ship (pp. 215-216). A more comprehensive
survey of a considerably more limited field
might have led to clearer results.
P. E. KOLBE.
Municipal University of Akron.
Catalogue of the Icelandic Collection Be-
queathed by Willard Fiske. Compiled by
HALLDOR HERMANNSSON. Ithaca: Cornell
University Library, 1914.
Altogether too few Germanic scholars are
aware of the treasures which the Library of
Cornell University houses in its fine building
on the hill crest overlooking the valley of Lake
Cayuga. I refer particularly to the Fiske Ice-
landic collection. To those who have not vis-
ited Cornell Library, which, by the way, in the
same wing contains the same bibliophile's
famous Dante and Petrarch collections, the
present monumental catalogue will be a reve-
lation.
A stately quarto volume of 755 pages on
good paper, it is a handsome testimony, not
only to the gifted owner's zeal and energy, but
also to the indefatigable industry of the present
curator, to whose labors we already owe six
volumes of bibliographical monographs in the
annual Islandica.1 A few facts concerning the
history and nature of the collection will be in-
teresting to not a few.
The collection "was bequeathed to Cornell
1 Ithaca, 1908-13. I, Bibliography of the Icelandic
sagas and minor tales, 1908; II, The Northmen in
America, 1909; III, Bibliography of the sagas of the
kings of Norway and related sagas and tales, 1910;
IV, The ancient laws of Norway and Iceland, 1911;
V, Bibliography of the mythical-heroic sagas, 1912;
VI, Icelandic authors of to-day, 1913. A catalogue
of the Runic library, formerly a part of the Ice-
landic collection, is in preparation.
University by Willard Fiske, Prof esb ,lt ^e
North-European languages and Librarian-^
the University from 1868 to 1883. He di>^
on September 17, 1904, and the collection camt,
to the University Library in the spring of 1905.
Mr. Fiske had commenced collecting Icelandic
works about the middle of the last century.
The visit (to Iceland) which he finally made
in the summer of 1879 doubtless gave him op-
portunity to add many volumes to his library,
besides making him personally acquainted with
the people in whom he had taken so great an
interest ever since his college days. . . ."
At his death, the collection "numbered about
8,600 volumes, including pamphlets. In his
will Mr. Fiske provided for the maintenance
and increase of it the income of $8,000 annu-
ally, and at the time when this Catalogue went
to press the Collection numbered about 10,200
volumes on the shelves (excluding the Eunic
portion containing some 500 volumes)."
" The contents of the collection may be
briefly summarized as follows. In the first
place it contains all the editions and transla-
tions of the Old Icelandic and Old Norse texts
so far as these have been obtainable; works on
that literature, such as histories and commen-
taries ; works on the language, religion, history,
manners, and customs of the Scandinavian na-
tions in early times, principally, of course, of
the Norwegians and Icelanders; archaeological
and ethnographical works; in short, all publi-
cations which, in one way or another, elucidate
the Old Icelandic literature, the periods in-
volved, and the subjects with which it deals, in-
cluding even writings of modern authors in
various countries, such as poems, novels, and
dramas which have been influenced by that
literature. In the second place, the collection
comprises the modern Icelandic literature since
the sixteenth century, beginning with the first
book printed in Icelandic, the New Testament
of 1540, thus covering Icelandic books, pamph-
lets, and periodicals, whether printed in Ice-
land or elsewhere, as well as writings of Ice-
landers in other languages than their own, and
other works in foreign languages dealing with
Iceland, the nature of the country, and its af-
fairs ; or, as Mr. Fiske himself expressed it, it
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
[Vol. xxx, No. 1.
2483a .6es ' all the annals,
" Erjjgj government <\r
cePitings, biograp1"'
dfjan, in anv
etopogr-
f>
latural his-
plesiastical
ps, which
listory,
ierce,
very good Germanic library of the
University, render Ithaca the only place in this
country where research on the subject in all
its aspects can be carried on. In fact, the col-
lection is " the richest in existence, with the
exception of the National Library in Eeyk-
javik and the Eoyal Library in Copenhagen."
To be sure, there are hardly any iiss.3 On
the other hand, there is a surprising wealth of
rare early books, reprints now difficult to pro-
cure, presentation and personal copies, fre-
quently containing the autographs, notes, and
reviews of noted scholars; also, of rare pamph-
lets, newspaper articles, etc. The collection
is particularly rich in old printed bibles, gradu-
als, psalmbooks, and books of devotion. Amoug
the curiosa of the collection are the volumes of
grafsJcriptir (epitaphs and obituary poems),
erfiljoS (commemorative poems), and tceki-
fceriskvcefti (poems written for special occa-
sions). These are all published separately and
distributed at the funeral, wedding, etc., of the
person in question, a custom which has been
much observed in Iceland during the last cen-
tury.4 In all probability it is a belated sur-
vival of the Gelegenheitsdichtung which flour-
ished so abundantly on the continent of Europe
during the seventeenth and eighteenth centu-
ries. Each collection contains some 300 en-
tries ordered to a nicety.
It is amusing to note that no less than 117
individuals with the patronymic Jonsson — of
which number again 22 are Jon Jonssons —
have been busy in a literary way ; among them
such shining lights as the learned priest Arn-
* I quote from the preface.
• I note, though, a large vellum MS. of the J6nsb6k.
•As Mr. Hermannsson informs me.
grim Jonsson (1568-1648), author of the
Crymogaea; Bunolfr Jonsson whose Linguae
Septentrionalis incunabula was published to-
gether with Hickes' Institutiones grammatics
Anglo-Saxonicce et Mceso-Gothicce, 1688; the
historians Bjorn Jonsson and Bishop Finnur
Jonsson ; the poets Kristjan and Hjalmar Jons-
son; and Finnur Jonsson, the greatest living
scholar in the wide realms of Old Norse lan-
guage and literature.
It is rather humiliating to note that some
of the best sagas still await the translator, as
e. g., the Hrafnkelssaga FreysgoSa, the Her-
vararsaga, the Gautrekssaga, the Hrolfs-saga
kraka — to mention only a few. Not even the
famous Speculum Eegale has ever been done
into English.
The arduous work of cataloguing this great
collection has been performed in an unexcep-
tionable fashion. I have not discovered a single
error in dates or pagination, notwithstanding
the very numerous cross-references, and there
are remarkably few misprints and omissions.
One of the most serious omissions is that of
M. Lorenzen's Gammeldanske Krfinilcer and
the cross-reference to G. Storm's EritisJce
Bidrag (Nyt Norsk Tidsskrift I, 140, 388; and
Norsk Historisk Tidsskrift 2den raekke I, 371).
No mention is made of the Publications of the
Society for the Advancement of Scandinavian
Studies (Urbana, 1911, ff.). Under the head-
ing " Older Edda " also the partial transla-
tions, as e. g., those of Herbert Green and E.
E. Kellett might have been listed. By an over-
sight the complete translation in Vol. I of the
Corpus Poeticum Boreale is omitted. The
printing is flawless; only, it is very confusing
to have a name continued on a succeeding page
in black type (as if it were a new entry) with-
out a " cont." or other sign to indicate the fact.
The subject-index at the end adds greatly
to the usefulness of the catalogue; also the
feature that the less known or older works are
briefly characterized as to contents and treat-
ment. This is well done.
L. M. HOLLANDER.
University of Wisconsin.
January, 1915.]
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
25
Beginners' French, by MAX WALTER and ANNA
WOODS BALLAED. New York, Scribner, 1914.
xxvi + 249 pp.
When, in 1911, Direktor Max Walter of the
Musterschule at Frankfort on the Main came
to the United States, he not only aroused en-
thusiasm at the Teachers' College of Columbia
University, where he gave a substantial course,
but also at all the institutions he visited during
his stay. Known as he is as the leading expo-
nent of the so-called Direct Method of teach-
ing modern languages, everyone was interested
in hearing and seeing his exposition ; and every-
one who heard and saw was impressed. Since
this first visit, Professor Walter, in collabora-
tion with Miss Ballard of the Teachers' Col-
lege, has brought out in book form the lessons
he makes use of in instructing beginners in
French.
As we look over this book, we see that the
appeal to the student is to be made first through
the ear and then through the eye. If this is to
be the case, then a great deal of time and care
must be taken in the beginning to help the stu-
dent to acquire an accurate pronunciation of
the syllabic elements ; he must be taught to dis-
tinguish between open and close vowel sounds,
to enunciate consonants clearly; he must be
taught the correct basis of articulation of the
foreign language. The authors advise the free
use of phonetic transcription for this purpose.
The student once well started upon his pro-
nunciation, the actual lessons begin. These
lessons are largely lemons de choses, the teacher
relying upon such objects as he sees about him
or can easily command as a basis for teaching
vocabulary, the book itself providing seventeen
illustrations. From the first there is also in-
ductive teaching of grammar. Lessons I, II
and IV, for example, are on the article, Lessons
III, V, VI, VIII-X, XII, XIV-XVII,
XXXII, XXXIX, XL bring in the present
indicative, and the other lessons bear simi-
larly on other important points. The au-
thors say: "In French the chief difficulty
is the verb. From the beginning an exact
and thorough knowledge of the verb is striven
for and the drill on it continues throughout the
book." Therefore, in order to give this drill,
an action or a series of actions, somewhat as in
the Gouin Method, is frequently made the basis
of the lesson, and the students are called upon
to repeat so far as practicable the action men-
tioned, at the same time describing it aloud.
In this way the attention of the pupil is concen-
trated upon what he is doing, he learns how to
describe his movements in the foreign idiom
without having to make use of his mother
tongue as a medium. The lesson once compre-
hended orally, the student writes it down and
then by a variety of ingenious methods is in-
duced to make use of the words and phrases
just learned.
The book contains sixty-three lessons based
upon things, actions, or brief passages of de-
scriptive prose. The common forms of ordi-
nary conversation are covered and a vocabulary
of some two thousand words is introduced.
Following the lessons are a few anecdotes for
reading, a most condensed resume of grammar,
the table of irregular verbs, four songs with
music, and the vocabulary. As far as the de-
tails of the text go, there seems to be room for
little criticism. Misprints are few and unim-
portant ; some rules are given as absolute which
are subject to exception, but no one could ob-
ject to this in a book for beginners; and one
or two statements are made which are not liter-
ally true, though they give rise to no misappre-
hension on the part of the reader.
As a presentation of the Direct Method of
teaching languages the Walter-Ballard book is
more explicit and more complete than any
which has hitherto appeared. The successful
use of it will, however, depend upon various
circumstances. In the first place the Direct
Method makes a far greater demand upon the
teacher than any of the older methods. The
instructor must be able to pronounce the for-
eign language with some degree of accuracy,
he must have some conversational ability in the
foreign tongue, he must command the attention
and respect of his class so that the pupils will
not regard the very active work as kindergarten
play without serious intent. Granted that the
teacher is what he should be, to obtain practical
26
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
[Vol. xxx, #o. 1.
results with average pupils, the class must be
small enough for every member to recite fre-
quently during every period, and the periods
must come with sufficient frequency, not less
than four times a week, so that there may be no
lapse between the lessons. As Professor Downer
said at a recent convention, " if you have fifty-
three students to call upon in a fifty-three min-
ute recitation period, what oral work can you
expect of each ? " The problem is easy enough
to solve provided the teacher remain absolutely
silent. Lesson III of the Walter-Ballard opens
with the words : " In this lesson the pupil
speaks as he performs the actions already
learned. The class, helped by the teacher, says
what each pupil does. The teacher works with
individuals and with the class until all can give
fluent answers." There follow three pages of
French for oral practice.
All who have had the privilege of hearing
Professor Walter, know that he has made a
success of the Direct Method, they also know
that he would have achieved unusual results by
any method he had chosen to use. It remains
to be seen whether the average teacher of be-
ginners can handle this strikingly personal
method with success.
MURRAY P. BRUSH.
The Johns Hopkins University.
Prinz Friedrich von Hamburg. Ein Schau-
spiel, von HEINRICH VON KLEIST. Edited
with Introduction, Notes and Vocabulary by
GEORGE MERRICK BAKER. New York, Ox-
ford University Press, 1914.
"I
About fifteen years ago Professor Nollen
made accessible to students for the first time
Heist's masterpiece Prinz Friedrich von Ham-
burg. His edition was creditable for its time,
but very much has been done since its appear-
ance to clear up obscure portions of the poet's
life and set him in correct relation to his times.
The older edition was dependent upon the state
of our knowledge at that time, and much of
Professor Nollen's Introduction is now known
to be in error.
A new edition is therefore highly desirable,
but it ought to show an advance upon the older
work, if it is to justify its printing. Unfor-
tunately the new edition by Baker is a com-
plete disappointment. Apparently the re-
searches of Kleist scholars in recent years have
been wholly ignored by the editor, who frankly
holds that Brahm is " the final word on Kleist."
In literary importance Kleist stands so close
to the greatest classics of Germany that it is a
pity no good biography of him is accessible to
English readers. Considering this fact, it
would seem an editorial blunder to limit the
biographical sketch to fourteen pages. The
whole is so condensed, that the reader could
get no adequate idea of the personality of the
poet, the chronological sequence of the really
important events of his life, or his relation to
his age, even if they were correctly presented.
The uninitiated reader of this sketch (and for
such it surely is written) will either form no
conception at all of the poet's career, or any
one of a thousand distorted ones.
But brevity is not the chief fault. Funda-
mental errors abound. Kleist's love of Nature
was not first shown either at Dresden or in the
Harz in 1797, but was marked already as early
as 1793, when he went to the army of the
Rhein. With the works of Morris and Rahmer
and the Letters of Kleist before him, no editor
should treat the Wiirzburg journey in this wise :
" Accompanied by one of the younger members
of the group, Ludwig von Brockes, he started
on a trip to Dresden by way of Leipzig and
Wiirzburg. The immediate cause of this jour-
ney is unknown, but it may be inferred from
one of his letters, that lie intended to look over
the industrial situation with a view to chang-
ing his employment. At any rate the sojourn
in Wiirzburg and Dresden marks an epoch in
Kleist's life. Here at last he finds himself and
his true vocation. From the larva of the busi-
ness man develops xinexpectedly the full-fledged
poet." As many blunders as sentences!
The assumption that Kleist referred to his
drama Eobert Guislcard in a passage from a
January, 1915.]
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
27
letter from Wiirzburg, " geschmiickt mit den
Lorbeern meiner That," is so baseless, that
surely the editor must never have had the Let-
ters before him, or at least never have exam-
ined the context. The Guiskard was begun in
the spring of 1802 on the island of Delosea in
Lake Thun, as the Letters show.
Ulrike did not refuse Kleist financial aid
toward his purchase of an estate in Switzer-
land, but, on the contrary, the money was sent
and arrived after the project had been given
up for political reasons. The boisterous laugh-
ter with which the friends in Switzerland
greeted the close of the Familie Schroffenstein
was not exactly " unqualified praise and en-
couragement." Ulrike came to Switzerland in
order to care for her sick brother, but found
him already recovered. He was not "nursed
back to health only by the loving care of his
sister Ulrike." Kleist's departure from Switzer-
land was not merely a " taking up of the wan-
derer's staff " to restore his " equilibrium " by
" change of scene and environment," but he
went along, contrary to his previous plan, to
help his friend Ludwig Wieland seem to get
out of Bern voluntarily rather than by order
of the government. This determined his visit
to Weimar and Osmanstadt. It was probably
not " a chance of happiness " that Kleist re-
nounced on leaving Wieland's home, but an un-
expected entanglement that threatened both
career and honor. It is difficult to see how the
poet's illness at Mainz in 1803-4 was really
the means of saving his life, for the crisis was
passed at Boulogne when Lucchesini's passports
ordered him home to Potsdam. Ewald von
Kleist was undoubtedly an illustrious kinsman,
but not Heinrich's " ancestor."
These are by no means all the errors and
misrepresentations that crowd the fourteen
pages of this biography, but they are typical.
The whole is vague, distorted, and nowhere
enlightening.
The brief account of the history of Branden-
burg up to the campaign of the Great Elector
against Sweden, as well as the treatment of
Kleist's sources, give the impression of off-hand
compilation, their substance being drawn chiefly
from Nollen's Introduction. The Interpreta-
tion of the Play gives the editor another oppor-
tunity to misrepresent the experiences of the
poet and the message of the drama.
The Notes are unusually brief. A compari-
son of them with those of Nollen's edition
shows that they were drawn almost entirely
from the latter, often without change of phrase-
ology, sometimes with considerable omissions.
What Baker adds to Nollen is mostly gram-
matical, superfluous, or of no importance.
What he omits is often of far greater impor-
tance than what he copies. Whatever deals
with the drama's place in literature, its kin-
ship with other plays or its dependence upon
them, is generally omitted. When the copy is
briefer than Nollen's original, the brevity often
either spoils the sense or robs it of lucidity.
See the Note to 1. 783 : " von - - Korn, ' of
the good old sort.' Schrot has reference to
measure or quantity, Korn to fineness or qual-
ity." This tells nothing. Nollen gives the in-
formation that the phrase refers to coinage,
Schrot indicating the proper size of the metal
cut off for stamping and Korn the standard
fineness of the metal. The Note to 11. 409 f.
runs : " lautete zur Andacht ein, a confusion of
two constructions. Either zur Andacht or ein
should be omitted." The omission of zur
Andacht would spoil the meaning. Nollen
says that lautete die Andacht ein is the alterna-
tive to lautete zur Andacht. Note to 1. 392:
" sprengt, make run." We should have to say
' makes run ' at any rate, but Nollen notes the
causative relation of the verb to springen.
Note to 1. 545 : " In Staub, more correctly im
Staub." With niedersinM the preposition in
requires the accusative, and we have here
simply in=in'n=in den, which Nollen admits
may be the case.
In his Note to 11. 11-13 Baker selects the
better of two commentaries offered by Nollen.
As this seems to be the only case, it deserves
mention.
There were opportunities to correct Nollen.
Baker never seems to grasp them, but copies
uncritically what he finds. So the Note to
1. 280 : " gtellt; subject is Kottwitz understood "
is copied verbatim from Nollen. But a glance
at the text shows that this verb is a part of the
28
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
[Vol. xxx, No. 1.
continuous text of the ' Parole ' which is merely
interrupted in dictation by other speakers. The
subject is Der Prim von Hamburg — , 1. 269.
Again, Note to 1. 493 : " du horst; supply
' that we are ready,' " copied from Nollen.
The present tense refers to the words of Kott-
witz spoken but a moment before in 11. 477-481.
Note to 11. 1264 ff. : " An invention of Nata-
lie's. It is not probable that the Elector would
entrust so important a matter to her." This
follows Nollen. As Colonel of her regiment
she takes the liberty to commit an insubordina-
tion herself, as a foil to the Prince's. Baker
himself seems to have an inkling of this (p.
xxxvii). Note to 1. 1581: "In den Sternen
fremd, either ' a stranger to high ideals,' or
' short-sighted,' as Tcwrzsichiig in 1. 1583."
Again direct from Nollen. The phrase is de-
rived from astrology, and implies inability to
read the destinies of nations as shown by the
positions of the planets ; here, ' unwise in state-
craft,' in assuming that future power can be
secured by crushing out initiative in the army.
In 1. 1719 it matters little that delph'sche re-
fers to the oracle of Apollo at Delphi; the
whole point is that the oracles of Apollo were
always capable of more than one interpretation.
Neither editor notes this fact, though it is ob-
viously Kleist's sole reason for mentioning the
delph'sche Weisheit of the Generals. The Elec-
tor has just given a second interpretation of
Hohenzollern's argument. See 11. 1713-8.
Baker missed another opportunity in 11.
1294 f . : " Ich glaub's ; nur schade, dasz das
Auge modert, Das diese Herrlichkeit erblicken
soil." Nollen refers to a passage in 1. 990,
where duftend is used by the Prince to describe
his dead body, and comments on Kleist's ten-
dency to use terms that were elsewhere taboo
because of their ugly suggestion. It is much
more to the point to note that this is one of the
finest examples of the result of the poet's strug-
gle with Kant's KritiTc der reinen Vernunft.
The Introduction and Notes as a whole rep-
resent at best a lost opportunity and inexcus-
able borrowing. One wonders how such a piece
of work could have passed the scrutinizing care
of the general editor.
Excellence of printing and binding can not
atone for such unfortunate editorial shortcom-
ings. Those who wish the better of the two
editions will continue to use Nollen's in spite
of defects due to its age, unless a brief vocabu-
lary outweigh all scholarly helps.
JOHN WILLIAM SCHOLL.
University of Michigan.
CORRESPONDENCE
BELLS RINGIKG WITHOUT HANDS
In Notes on Chaucer, Dr. J. S. P. Tatlock
refers to the conceit of bells ringing without
hamds, examples of which he cites from bal-
lads, Old French romances, and other sources.1
With the origin of this conceit and its dif-
fusion in literary and popular tradition, the
following remarks will deal.
The use of church bells, first mentioned by
Gregory of Tours,2 became established during
the eighth and ninth centuries. Willibald,
writing between 755 and 768, records for the
first time a legend of a bell that rang of itself;
on this occasion warning the monks of Fulda
to return the relics of St. Boniface to Mainz:
" Mirabile statim ac memorabile
auditum est miraculum, aecclesiseque gloccum
in signum ammonitionis sancti corporis, hu-
mana non continguente manu commotum
est." 8
As Willibald's work was widely read and
imitated, this legend was freely copied by later
writers.* In witness whereof, certain texts
may be put in evidence.
1. Nun of Heidenheim (c. 778), Vita S.
Wynnebaldi: " Confestim . . . ilia glocka
in aecclesia sine manibus hominum, sine om-
nium adminiculo se ipsam commovere cepit." *
1 Mod. Lang. Notes, XXIX, April, 1914, p. 98.
'De Virtutibus 8. Martini, III, 23: Interea sig-
num movetur horis matutinis, adgregatur ut populus.
Cf. Ill, 38.
• Vita S. Bonifatii, 8, ed. W. Levison, p. 53.
4 W. Levison, Vitae Sancti Bonifatii, p. ptvii.
"G. H. Pertz, Monumenta Germaniae Historica,
XV, 115.
January, 1915.]
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
29
2. Monk of Hornbach (c. 826), Vita 8. Pir-
minii: " Dum . . . sanctum corpus gleba
levaverunt . . . tintinnabulum
angelicis, ut credendum est, manibus pulsatum,
. . . iucundum reddidit sonum." °
3. Altfrid of Miinster (d. 849), Vita S.
Ludgeri: " Sed et cloccarum illic sonitus fre-
quenter audiebatur, humana non tangente
manu, sed agente potius cognitione deitatis
arcana." T
4. Flodoard of Ebeims (948), Historia
Eemensis Ecclesiae, IV, 41 : " Cui dum pro-
pinquare coepissent eis adhuc . . . spatio
leugae fere distantibus, ecclesia signa nullo
impellente resonare coepere." 8
As bells were rung to welcome distinguished
persons,9 so, according to Heiric of Auxerre
(d. 876), the bells of a church in Orleans rang
of themselves in honor of St. Germain.10 In
a hagiograph written about 900, the bells of
Groix are made to greet St. Gwenael of Land-
evecen, Wales.11
It is evident, then, that by the middle of the
tenth century, a literary tradition of bells ring-
ing without hands on certain joyous or solemn
occasions, was known to the clerics of Mainz,
Heidenheim, Hornbach, Miinster, Eheims,
Auxerre, and elsewhere. During the eleventh
century, the legend passed from the hagio-
graphy to the chansons de geste, of which " the
church had been the cradle." 12 It is thus
• Ada Sanctorum, 3 Nov., II, 42. The reference is
to a chapel-bell ringing of itself as St. Boniface's
funeral train passed by.
r/6id., 26 March, III, 651.
8G. H. Pertz, Monumenta Germaniae Bistorica,
XIII, 592, relating to St. Balderich of Rheims.
•Gregorius Turonensis, Historia Franconim, VI,
11: " Ingrediuntur dux . . . et episcopus . . .
cum signis et laudibus."
10 Acta Sanctorum, 31 July, vii, 257 : " Cum
Aurelianensi urbi iam proximus immineret,
extemple signa basilicae senioris nemine impellente
concussa concentu ultroneo . . . adventus eius
coepenint esse praenuntia."
11 IUd., 3 Nov., I, 677 : " Cum enim applicaret in-
sulae, campanis ecclesiarum nullo pulsante diu so-
nantibus, et quasi applaudentibus in introitu sanc-
torum insulani . . . mirabantur."
11 J. B6dier, Lea Lfgendes £piques, IV, 475-6.
found, as Dr. Tatlock observes,18 in Amis et
AmileSj Li Coroonemanz Loois,1* and Florence
de Rome; 1B also in the romance of Claris et
Laris. Bedier has shown, moreover, that Amis
et Amiles reverted in the twelfth century to
ecclesiastical tradition : 10 the hagiograph of
Amicus and Amelius retains the miracle as in
the original text. In time, the legend became
a mere literary commonplace of the hagio-
graphy.17
In popular tradition, the belief that church
bells at times ring of themselves, is widely
prevalent, as shown by the testimony of ballad
and tale. Records of it exist in English, Ice-
landic, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Bre-
ton, Welsh, Moravian, and Wendish.18
PHILLIPS BARRY.
Cambridge, Mass.
COMFORT'S TRANSLATIONS OF CHRETIEN DE
TROYES
Among the recent publications in Every-
man's Library is a volume by Professor W. W.
Comfort containing translations of four of the
romances of Chretien de Troyes. The transla-
tions themselves are excellent, closely following
" Mod. Lang. Notes, XXIX, April, 1914, p. 98.
"Only in the text of manuscript D. (E. Langlois,
Li Coroonemanz Loois, p. 128).
18 This romance has been connected with the legends
of St. Elisabeth of Hungary. (L. Karl, Florence de
Rome, et la vie de deux Saints de Hongrie, Revue des
Langues Romanes, LII, 1909, pp. 163-80.)
"J. Bgdier, Les Ltgendes Spiques, II, 189, ff. :
" L'hagiographe d'Ami et Amile avait sur sa table
la Vita Hadriani, . . . les Annales Regni Fran-
corum, . . . une redaction de la chanson fran-
caise d'Ami et Amile; il a m616 le tout, pour confgrer
quelque dignitfi historique a la legende de ses saints."
17 E. Kolbing, Amis et Amiloun, p. cvi : " Dum
vero ad sanctam ecclesiam currerent, ut et ibi Deo
gratias redderent, mox tintinnabula Deo volente per
se sonare ceperunt."
UF. J. Child, English and Scottish Popular Bal-
lads, I, 173, 231 ; III, 235, 244, 519. P. Sebillot, Le
Folk-Lore de France, II, 454; IV, 142, 143, 174, 342,
380. J. C. Davies, Folk-Lore of Wales and Mid-
Wales, pp. 209-10 (of a death foretold by the spon-
taneous ringing of a church-bell).
30
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
[Vol. xxx, No. 1.
the Old French texts, yet sufficiently free in
their rendering to do away with any of the
awkwardness usually resulting from transla-
tions of so literal a character as these. Besides
the texts, the work comprises an introduction
containing sufficient material on the life and
works of Chretien to meet the desires of the lay
reader or to serve the needs of the student who
is concerned only indirectly with Chretien as
a figure in mediaeval literature. The notes —
not a few of which are taken, as indicated by
the translator himself, from those found in
the critical editions of the original texts by
Professor W. Foerster — and the bibliography,
which is complete enough to supply information
even to students who have considerably more
than a passing interest in Chretien, not only
meet, but even surpass the requirements for a
volume of a popular nature.
Thus, briefly, Professor Comfort's work not
only enables the reader of English to secure,
at second hand, the material in Chretien more
conveniently than has so far been practicable;
but it also gives him some idea of what schol-
arly research in this field entails. It is unfor-
tunate, however, that the work should not sug-
gest, at first glance, its full scope. The title,
both on the cover and on the title-page, is
Erec and Enid, by Chretien de Troyes, yet it
contains, not only Erec et Enide, but Cliges,
Le Chevalier de la Charrette (Lancelot), and
Le Chevalier au Lion (Yvain). As Professor
Comfort points out,1' these four romances may
well be classed together, for they are the only
works which are indisputably Chretien's own,
and all of them, with the exception of a small
part of the Lancelot, were composed entirely
by him. Furthermore, these are the only ones
of his romances which deal with Arthurian
matter. Such a title as The Arthurian Ro-
mances of Chretien de Troyes would perhaps
gain more attention than will the present one.
At any rate, one of this sort would have been
a boon to both bibliographer and student.
EDYTHE GRACE KELLY.
Columbia University.
1 Introduction, p. viii.
Two LINES OF GEILLPAHZER
Bebst vor der Schlange? Schlange!
Die mich umwunden, die mich umstrickt,
Die mich verderbt, die mich getotet!
(Die Argonauten, 11. 1541-43.)
The two lines in question are the last two
quoted. The second volume of the new Grill-
parzer edition,1' this particular volume being
edited by Eeinhold Backmann, gives a com-
ment on these lines, which, as well as several
others there adduced and refuted, fails to find
the real meaning of Grillparzer's words. The
lines are perhaps not immediately plain when
one first reads them, yet they are very impor-
tant, since they express the emotional effect on
Medea's mind of her own tragedy. They sum
up as much of that tragedy as already lies in
the past and they anticipate whatever there is
left of it for the future.
The comment referred to is as follows:
V. 1541. Falsch ist es, wenn Pachaly auf
Gesslers Hass im " Tell " verweist und meint,
wie dieser vergesse es Jason Medea nie, dass
sie ihn schwach gesehen, und das falle mehr
ins Gewicht als der Schimpf und Spott, den
Medea liber den " Starken, Kiihnen, Gewalti-
gen" ausgiesst. Davon kann bei Grillparzer
keine Rede sein. Auch ein Ausbruch der Eeue
bei Medea, der Eeue, ihm gefolgt zu sein
(Verres) kann es doch nicht genannt werden.
Gleich gar nicht aber hat Matthias recht, wenn
er sagt : " Sie fiihlt sich unwunden, umstrickt,
verderbt und getotet von der Schlange des Ge-
schickes, das ihrer wartet " und ihre Worte
" Prophetische Worte " nennt, " die auf die
Zukunft gehen." Was es aber ist? Eine Auf-
reizung Jasons? wohl nicht. Sie will die
Wirkung des Schrecklichen bei Jason verdop-
peln, ihn abhalten, zu gehen, es ist ihr letzter
Versuch.
These interpretations do not seem to fit. The
right one is both simple and evident. Through-
out the Gastfreund and the Argonauten up to
this point, Grillparzer has laid great stress on
Medea's freedom. She is introduced to us as
a huntress, a sort of Amazon, who despises one
of her girls for being captured by the love of
lGrillparzers Werke, Im Auftrage der Beichs-
haupt- und Residenzstadt Wien, herausgegeben von
August Sauer. 2. Bd. Wien und Liepzig, 1913.
January, 1915.]
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
31
a man. She continually emphasizes her inde-
pendence of will. Now she herself has fallen
a prey to the very servitude she so strongly
condemned in Peritta. As if by a hypnotic
spell Jason enslaves her will, prevents her from
aiding her people, even makes her turn traitor
and discover the way to the Fleece. Her de-
feat is as complete as his victory is ruthless and
brutal. Immediately after this struggle be-
tween them, occurs the scene from which the
lines in question are taken. Jason and Medea,
against her bitter protests, are already in the
cave where the dragon guards the coveted
trophy. Once again, just before Jason opens
the fatal doors behind which the danger lies,
Medea implores him by her love to desist. Her
inner resistance he brushes aside as easily as
her outward resistance — no deeper humiliation
could be imposed on Medea. The doors spring
open, and the sight Jason sees is so terrifying
that he shrieks aloud and rushes to the fore-
ground. It is then that Medea, wildly laugh-
ing, begins her mad speech, overwhelming him
•with mockery and accusing him of being brave
only when he has to deal with her. She asks
him why he shrinks from the " Schlange," and
in the next breath she calls him a " Schlange "
(1. 1541). In the comment to 1. 1506 the edi-
tor refers this word, " Schlange," to Jason, and
it is therefore all the stranger that he should
not refer the " Die mich umwunden, etc." to
him as well, rather than, as he apparently does,
to the real serpent. Medea tells Jason to go
and be enfolded, entwined and destroyed by
this dragon, as she has been enfolded, entwined
and destroyed by his love. This idea also easily
erplains a subsequent line (1550), to which
the comment is not very clear. Medea says:
Geh bin, mein stlsser Brautigam,
Wie zUngelt deine Braut!
What does she mean by "siisser Brautigam,"
and by calling the serpent Jason's "Braut"?
She puts a world of irony and scorn into the
first of these expressions. Her " gentle lover "
has just a moment before subjected her to the
bitterest humiliation of soul — she has just ex-
perienced his conception of the relation of
"Brautigam." What he has just done to her
the serpent will now do to him, i. e., become
his bride, or what is the same according to his
methods, will enfold and destroy him.
Grillparzer thus shows Medea in a state of
despair little removed from madness. And
Jason exclaims :
Von mir weg, Weib, in deiner Raserei!
Mein Geist geht unter in des deinen Wogen!
Her mood here is the same as that we see
later, only in an intensified form, when her
final reckoning with her " gentle lover " occurs
in the third part of the trilogy.
T. M. CAMPBELL.
Randolph Macon 'Woman's College.
BEDE'S Death Song
To a list of MSS. preserving versions of Bede's
Death-Song, which R. Brotanek has recently
printed (Texte u. Untersuchungen, Halle, 1913,
p. 150 f.), should be added MS. No. LXIX of
Stonyhurst College, in which, at fol. 15a, is
found a copy of Cuthbert's letter to Cuthwin
on the death of Bede, with the Anglo-Saxon
verses (written as prose) on fol. 15b. The text
of the poem has been printed already in the
Report of the Royal Commission on Historical
Mss. II, p. 144 of the appendix. The follow-
ing copy is the result of a fresh collation of
that text with the Stonyhurst MS. recently made
by Dr. Carleton Brown.
For })am ned fere
Nseni wyr{>ej>
pances snotera
pon him fearf sy
To ge hicsenne
JEr ids heonen Sanje
Hpset his saste
godes o}>)>e yfeles
Mfter dea)>e heonon
Demed peorj>e.
It will be seen that the Stonyhurst text be-
longs among the more numerous versions pre-
served in the Southern dialect. Comparison
with the texts printed by Brotanek makes it
appear that it agrees exactly with the version
of the poem in MS. Digby 211.
CHARLOTTE D'EVELYN.
Bryn Mawr College.
32
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
[Vol. xxx, No. 1.
BRIEF MENTION
Teachers of French literature are much in-
debted to Professor Christian Gauss for bring-
ing out a volume of Selections from the Works
of Jean-Jacques Rousseau (Princeton Univer-
sity Press, 1914). As the editor indicates in
his preface, it has always been a matter of great
difficulty to find anything of Rousseau's which
could be conveniently obtained for class-room
use, the result having been that the average
student passes him by unread. Professor Gauss,
therefore, without attempting an exhaustive
presentation, has simply chosen four articles,
each complete in itself, which would give the
reader some idea of the style and manner of
thinking of the author. The items selected are
the Discours sur les sciences et les arts, two
Lettres a M. de Malesherbes dated respectively
January 12th and 26th, 1762, and the Cin-
quieme reverie du promeneur solitaire. The
text is prefaced by a Biographical Note and a
pleasing Introduction, and is followed by the
necessary Notes. The booklet as a whole is at-
tractive in appearance, though one might wish
for slightly larger typing in the text.
M. P. B.
Prokosch's Deutsches Lese- und Ubungstuch
(Holt and Company, 1913, 8vo., vi+ 117 pp.)
is intended as a Reader " to be taken after six
or ten weeks of work in elementary German."
The reading matter is divided into six parts,
the first part dealing with Germany as a whole,
each of the others with a division. The prose
selections are followed by " Erklarungen,"
"Fragen." and " Ubungen." In the case of
poems, the "Fragen" and "pbungen" are
omitted. All of this apparatus is, in the main,
in German that is idiomatic, and simple enough
to be within the comprehension of the beginner.
The book, furthermore, offers the advantage of
combining features of the older type of Reader
with much of the newer Realien. A consider-
able amount of verse is included. It is, on the
whole, well chosen, but unfortunately there is
scarcely a single selection that is correctly given.
In some cases the variation is doubtless inten-
tional, as when, with sovereign freedom, Uh-
land's Des Knaben Berglied is reduced from
five to three stanzas, or when, in the Lied des
Hirten from Tell, the refrain is omitted, while
in the Lied des .Alpenjagers the last two lines
are run into one, an operation that, incredible
as it may seem, is also ventured upon in the
first lines of the Wandrers Nachtlied. If such
mutilations are necessary, considerations of
Pietdt demand that they be at least noted.
Other cases seem real corruptions of the text,
so, to mention only a part, erwacht for erwachet,
p. 56, 1. 1; spielen for spiilen (die Wasser), p.
56, 1. 2; Lief er gleich (schnell), p. 35, 1. 4;
ohne for ohn, p. 17, 1. 7 (a three, not a four
beat line) ; halt for hat, p. 68, 1. 3.— A curious
misconception is found in the note on Kron'
und Schweif from the Erllconig: " Nach
manchen Sagen hat der Konig der Weldgeister
die Gestalt einer riesenhaften Katze mit einer
goldenen Krone auf dem Haupte." In keeping
with this interpretation the Vocabulary renders
Schweif with tail. Are we to conclude, accord-
ingly, that Erlkb'nigs Tdchter are "giant kit-
tens"? That the map accompanying the vol-
ume is inadequate is shown by the fact that
several names in the text (Havel, p. 5, 1. 15;
Thilringer Wald, Fichtelgebirge, Naab, p. 62)
are not to be found on it. Osnabriick (p. 23,
1. 45) is not in Westfalen but in Hanover. The
number 5000, p. 78, 1. 17, should, I suppose,
be 65.000 (Gebhardt II, 185). With proper
corrections, the Lese- und Ubungsbuch should
prove a very serviceable First Year Reader.
Meyer-Liibke's Introduccion al estudio de la
Lingiiistica Romance; traduccion, revisada por
e] autor,1 de la segunda edicion alemana, por
Americo Castro (Madrid, Revista de Archives,
1914, 8vo., 365 pp.) is intended primarily for
use by "las gentes de lengua espanola." In
view, however, of the many improvements in-
troduced into the Spanish version, the book de-
serves a more general use than that just noted.
The initial chapter (Bibliografia) is brought up
to date, and a consecutive reading of the re-
maining chapters is much simplified by the plan
of printing as foot-notes all adjustable bibli-
ography. The translator's additions consist of
elucidations of obscure points in the German
text and further illustrative material for vari-
ous linguistic phenomena, in which tasks he
has been aided by Carolina Michaelis de Vascon-
cellos. All additional material is clearly desig-
nated by means of square brackets. It is to be
regretted that the word-index does not offer a
complete record of the additional material. To
cite but a few of the many omissions: Spanish
atril 184, efeuto 109, latril 184, nimbla 176,
Los Arejos 184, Alcdtara 299, Bisagra 299;
French cheveu 52, grotte 54, moulin 76; etc.
The volume appears under the auspices of the
"Junta para ampliation de estudios e investi-
gaciones cientificas."
*P. 251 note: " Desde aqui hasta el final va el
texto sin la revisifin del autor por hallarse inte-
rrumpidas las comunicaciones postales con austria. —
Agosto de 1914."
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
33,
VOL. XXX.
BALTIMORE, FEBRUARY, 1915.
No. 2.
ON E. H. HOENE'S ORION
Home's Orion is one of the best instances to
show how Keats's allegoric way of handling a
Greek fable was intimately responsive to the
aesthetic ideals of an age fond of a kind of
poetry which might adorn subtle, metaphysic
conceptions with the radiance of a sumptuous
imagery. Keats tried to express the passion
and mystery of life by means of symbols de-
rived from an Hellenic legend, and Home used
the same artifice to manifest his theories; the
latter, however, goes even farther on this philo-
sophic track, and we find in him a strong ten-
dency to transcendentalism. Allowing for the
difference of race and genius, we may say that
Home's method when composing Orion was
rather akin to the system followed by Novalis
when writing Heinrich von Ofterdingen. The
myth of Orion is to him an allegory of the ele-
vation of the soul from earthly passions to pure,
eternal love; his fate is to rise, through hard
ordeals, from the mire of a brutish life to the
effulgence of heaven, to acquire wisdom through
sorrow, and, at last, to pass away from earth
and to shine, forever young, in the temple of
Night blazing with immortal stars;
rising still
With nightly brilliance, merging in the dawn, —
And circling onward in eternal youth.1
Orion is a symbol of bold, struggling, ever
aspiring life; he likes conflict and strife, he
tastes a fierce delight in the battle against the
gigantic powers of nature; Orion, the builder,
the monster-fighter, is the emblem of the in-
defatigable energy of man, seeking ardently,
anxiously, on the dark sea of Life, for the land
of supreme, perfect bliss, for the Land of heart's
desire. We see him surrounded by the alle-
gorical forms of his giant brothers : Akinetos,
the symbol of self-destroying wisdom, living a
strange life in the barren land of Inertia, in-
i
'P. 158 [London, Chatto and Windus, 1874].
stead of breaking through the forest of Doubt
and reaching the glorious fields, where the
golden fruits of Fame glitter among clustering
flowers, — Ehexergon, the destroyer, — Hormetes,
following his wayward impulses, careless of
reason, — Harpax, "in rapine taking huge de-
light,"— Biastor, the emblem of strength with-
out a ruling mind, — Encolyon, the subtly rea-
soner, the craftiest man in arguing,
in all things slow,
The dull retarder, chainer of the wheel.
But Orion, unlike Akinetos, possesses an ac-
tive wisdom, not a passive one; he knows that
hard trials and painful labor are not suffered
in vain; unlike Ehexergon and Harpax, he is
endowed with sublime aspirations and does not
indulge in low pleasures and the cruel ecstasy
of slaughter. What mainly distinguishes Orion
from his brothers is his spiritual power, his
faculty of conceiving dreams superior in beauty
and splendor to material things; he is indeed
the type of the dreamer, the Shadows-hunter,
pursuing bright visions, radiant ideals of good-
ness, of love, of truth. He perceives the har-
mony of a sphere, — the sphere of spiritual
beauty, — ringing with music, revolving around
the earth; through the golden and black pat-
tern woven in the wood by the sunlight, he
descries flowers brighter than those springing
from the darkness of the ground, gems more
refulgent than the colored crystals broken from
the rocks, trees of a deeper green, birds with
wings of amethyst and fire. Orion has to pierce
through the wall of matter in order to reach
his aim ; and threefold is the symbol of nature :
Artemis symbolizes the mystery of nature, Me-
rope, the tragedy of the blind forces of the
world, Eos the divine glow of perfect beauty.
Artemis allures him to weird, fascinating,
haunting visions; crowned with the black pop-
pies of sleep, he tries to forget his power, his
proud ambitions, his glorious goal; lying on
the misty shore of the violet lake of dreamland,
he drinks the influence of nature as a magic
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
[Vol. xxx, No. 2.
philtre; he sees the world aureoled with fairy
rays spreading out into mysterious gloom ; there
is sublimity in every feature of the landscape,
but there is also a mystic terror preventing love
and comprehension. His dreams disappear into
the cold darkness, their rainbow light fading
into grey mists; having first flooded his soul
with ardent longings they leave behind a heavy,
dull melancholy, an inert sadness. Yet Arte-
mis's influence is not without good, as it spir-
itualizes his wishes, subduing the violence of
his temper; and now he is seeking untrodden
paths, his lonely heart burning with a strange,
unearthly love, while his friends lie weltering
in muddy pleasures. Merope then bestows upon
him a wonderful, though fallacious, strength,
and drags him to terrible ordeals; we see the
daring hero rushing down the terraced hillside,
waving blazing pines as torches, driving to the
surging sea the herds of wild beasts, breaking,
mad with terror, from bush and thicket, the
trees snapping under their struggling bulks.
Blindness falls upon him as a dark crowd of
shapeless ghosts; the grasp of Sorrow is tight-
ening around his heart; he sinks in despair, his
giant brothers mocking, despising him ; but, at
last, through the eager, earnest aspirations of
his soul, craving for light and love and peace,
the sinister vapors arise; the dawn unfolds a
glittering flower in the environing gloom, and
he again desires the reed-shadowed pools of the
forest, looking like mirrors of burnished cop-
per set in green frames of twisted creepers.
Eos opens a new world to his soul still trembling
with pain and dismay ; she admits him into her
palace of gold, the Temple of Mercy and Good-
ness; the eternal splendor pervades his heart;
he sees the crown of pale roses and pearls gleam
on the forehead of Eos, among the fading stars ;
Artemis and the goddess of Dawn join in an
ardent prayer to Jove, and Orion is endowed
with immortal life.
Home's feeling of natural beauty is sincere
and deep ; it is in descriptions of landscapes that
his glorious imagination is seen at its best;
in painting his ideal scenery he lavishes in
sumptuous accords the brilliant tints, the trans-
lucent shades, the striking effects of light and
shadow which haunt his fervid fantasy. He is
particularly fond of contrasts; in his pictures
the silvery grace of lilies blooms near the
gloomy marsh, the peace of cornfields, streaked
with the pale gold of the April sun and violet,
thin shadows, ends into the weird darkness of
a rocky valley ; strange, uncouth forms are lurk-
ing in the thickets, ruddy with the autumnal
bronze, loud with the songs of fairy birds. To
him Nature is at once magnificent and tremen-
dous ; his emotion is alike that of the first men
when they beheld an island, blue with the dawn
mists, arise from the sea, a land of wonders,
a dwelling of monsters and creatures divine.
His mind is haunted by visions of primeval
woods, by the aspect of a forest (pp. 71-72),
old as the earth,
. . . lofty in its glooms,
When the sun hung o'erhead, and, in its darkness,
Like Night, . . .
. . . where the nigh^black spires
Of pines begin to swing, and breathe a dirge,
by visions of huge stems, looming ghostly, as
gigantic snakes entangled in a deadly struggle,
their dishevelled branches yelling in the blast,
by the appearance of dark floods rushing from
the mouths of caves, an uprooted tree emerging
as a black octopus from the foaming whirlpool.
And he likes to see the forces of nature set free
from the veil which darkens them to our eyes;
his giants are the personifications of such pow-
erful agencies as we find in a tempest, in the
driving clouds of a hurricane, in the fires of
lightnings. No passage of the poem can better
convey the idea of awe and grandeur, of beauty
and terror conceived by Home than the picture
of dragons dying in the waves (pp. 71-72) :
through dark fens,
Marshes, green rushy swamps, and margins reedy,
Orion held his way, — and rolling shapes
Of serpent and of dragon moved before him
With high-reared crests, sican-like yet terrible,
And often looking back toith gem-like eyes.
. . . The living mass,
Dark heaving o'er the waves resistlessly,
At length, in distance, seemed a circle small,
Midst which one creature in the centre rose,
Conspicuous in the long red quivering gleams
That from the dying brands streamed o'er the waves.
February, 1915.]
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
35
It was the oldest dragon of the fens, . . .
And note he rose up, like an embodied curse
From all the doomed, fast sinking.
While Keats and Shelley aimed rather at
depicting the glorious smile of the Ocean, its
blue and green grottos of lapislazuli and
malachite, its purple shadows broken by glanc-
ing reflections, Home tried to convey its stern
grandeur, its sullen sleep (p. 95) :
And passing round between two swelling slopes
Of green and golden light, beheld afar
The broad grey horizontal wall o' the dead-calm sea.
The eternal Sea
Before him passively at full length lay,
As in a dream of the uranian Heavens.
He paints with phosphoric tints the moon-
light effects, the landscape spell-bound under
the radiance of the moon, as of a fairy lamp
hanging from a purple dome ; the opal paleness
of the moon draws a visionary veil over the
world; its pearly light, blurring reality, fills
him with a mystic spleen, with inexplicable
sadness (pp. 116, 15).
Fast through the clouds retiring, the pale orb
Of Artemis a moment seemed to hang
Suspended in a halo, phantom-like,
Over a restless sea of jasper fire.
. . . Above the isle of Chios
The clear moon lingered . . . but chiefly sought
With melancholy splendour to illume
The dark-mouthed caverns where Orion lay
Dreaming. . . .
There seems to be apparently a striking af-
finity between Keats and Home ; yet this simi-
larity is rather a shallow one, and looking
deeper into their artistic tempers we descry
wide differences both in their ground ideas and
in their tendencies. We never find in Home's
poem the dejection and the despair of the Ode
to a Nightingale, the bitter smile of Hyperion;
though his sense of beauty is far less keen than
Keats's, Home is endowed with a healthier view
of life and with a strong faith as to the results
of the struggle for the triumph of a noble ideal ;
we can trace in Orion a more profound concep-
tion of existence than in Endymion, and
consequently we are impressed by a deeper
meaning in the allegories. While Keats likes
to while away the dreamy hours lying under a
bower of crimson roses, — stirred now and then
into a soft rustle by a spicy breeze, — rapt in a
melancholy trance, Home is fond of active
life, of movement and fighting. While read-
ing Lamia and the Ode to Melancholy we seem
to wander in an autumnal wood, all red and
gold, looking at bright pageants passing in the
blue hazy distance, a strange languor stealing
into our soul; we enjoy in Orion the rousing
feeling of heroic bravery, of undaunted valor.
Keats's poetical vision of the universe is
dimmed by the dazzling radiance of exterior
beauty; Home endeavors at least to pierce
through the glistening veil and perceive the
inmost essence of things ; at any rate, and what-
ever his attainments, he likes better to convey
the feeling of a landscape, rather than the sen-
sation produced by lines and colors, as Keats
would do. This statement might be supported
by many instances, among which I shall choose
the most characteristic.
From the great repose
What echoes now float on the listening air? . . .
. . . Tis Artemis come
With all her buskined Nymphs and sylvan rout,
To scare the silence and the sacred shades,
And with dim music break their rapturous trance.
(p. 4.)
. . . with averted face —
As gazing down the woodland vista slopes,
Which oft her bright orb silvered through black shades
When midnight throbbed to silence — Artemis asked,
(p. 11.)
Keats's poetry reflects as a magic sphere the
shifting hues of his fantasies; Home's poem
mirrors in its dark waters the mystery and
passion, the beauty and sorrow of human life.
It must be owned, however, that in Home's
treatment of landscape we have unmistakable
traces of Keats's influence; we meet with that
dewy freshness, with that summer luxuriance,
with that sad glitter of nostalgic visions, which
are peculiar features of Keats's art. We have
in the following passage the queer invention,
the quaint fancy which so often strike us in
Endymion (pp. 68-69) :
36
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
[Vol. xxx, No. 2.
He approached
And found the spot . . . was now arrayed
With many-headed poppies, like a crowd
Of dusky Ethiops in a magic cirque,
Which had sprung up ... in the night
And all entranced the air.
And here we have the mellow radiance of
Keats's palette (p. 131) :
Morn comes at first with white uncertain light;
Then takes a faint red, like an opening hud
Seen through grey mist; . . .
the sky . . . takes a crimson flush,
Puts forth bright sprigs of gold, which soon expanding
In saffron, then pure golden shines the morn;
Uplifts its clear bright fabric of white clouds,
All tinted, like a shell of polished pearl,
With varied glancings, violet gleam and blush.
To find passages fit to compare with the
following lines in glorious refulgence of trans-
iucid hues we must turn to Shelley (p. 119) :
Against a sky
Of delicate purple, snow-bright courts and halls,
Touched with light silvery green, gleaming across,
Fronted by pillars vast, cloud- capitalled,
With shafts of changeful pearl, all reared upon
An isle of clear aerial gold, came floating;
And in the centre, clad in fleecy white,
With lucid lilies in her golden hair,
Eos, sweet goddess of the Morning, stood.
Following the example of Keats and Shelley,
he adopted a Greek myth as argument to his
song ; the sunlit beach of the Hellenic land had
an irresistible glamour for these souls yearning
towards a luminous scenery and an heroic
people ; side by side with the somber Druid oak
of Gothic art there grew in England the fra-
grant, blossoming laurel of Greek inspiration;
yet both were thriving in the garden of Koman-
ticism. Therefore the Hellenic fables assumed
a new coloring, acquired a strange, intense life
in these Northern minds; it was not till later
on that William Morris and Charles Algernon
Swinburne dealt with Hellenic arguments in
the true Hellenic spirit. We find in Orion a
morbid pathos unknown to the Dorian play-
wrights; we observe in Artemis, in Eos, a ro-
mantic melancholy more akin to the dreamy
ecstasy pervading Wordsworth's poetry than to
the tragic grandeur of Aeschylus's sadness.
Likewise the personifications of natural forces
in Orion look rather similar to the weird, wild
figures of the Edda, than to the serene and
stately forms engendered by a classical im-
agination. We must remark that while the
poet of Endymion is inclined to graceful repre-
sentations of nature, to paint fantastic figures
seen in emerald and violet lights, playing with
gems in the caves of Cybeles, or dancing under
the rainbow arch in Neptune's halls, Home
derives peculiar effects of gloomy grandeur
from a rugged scenery, rather dwelling on the
mystery of a black tarn, lying motionless and
dismal between the beetling walls of rock, than
on the orange and blue flowers enamelling the
patches of grass in the mountain landscape.
The diction, though far from the vividness
and elegance of Keats, is forcible ; the rich and
flowing language is vigorously handled; the
passions of mankind and the struggling forces
of nature mingle and blend in this poem, so
that we feel, pulsing through the lines, the
throbbing of intense life. Notwithstanding the
variety of his expressions, by which he tries to
adapt his utterance to the different moods of
his personages and to the divers aspects of the
ambiance, — the terror of storm, the gladness
of the green wood, the tragedy of clouds rent
by lightnings, the sadness of the leafless bough,
— there is a remarkable unity of tone in his
style, all the different rhythms merging into a
solemn, impressive song, as the themes join
and develop in beautiful accord in a symphony.
His workmanship is always refined and effec-
tive, either in rendering the sombre pageant of
the clouds, or in portraying the most peaceful
and serene moods of nature, as the noon still-
ness.2 Endowed with a fierce energy of con-
a Now came the snorting and intolerant steeds
Of the Sun's chariot tow'ds the summer signs;
And cleared the heavens, but held the vapours
there,
In cloudy architecture of all hues.
The stately fabrics and the Eastern pomps,
Tents, tombs, processions veiled, and temples vast,
Remained not long in their august repose,
But sank to ruins, and re-formed in likeness
Of monstrous beasts in lands and seas unknown.
(Book II, Canto III, p. 83.)
February, 1915.]
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
37
ception, he was naturally fond of broad out-
lines, of vivid colors; and yet — his classical
taste teaching him a careful self-restraint, a
forcible concentration, — we find in his verse a
Greek subtlety of epithets, conveying the genu-
ine perception through the refracting medium
of an exquisite, quickening, truly poetical im-
agination.3 In considering whether the poet
has bestowed upon his fantastic scenes that
sense of reality which is the best test of the
power of representation, we should turn to
details, since they afford the easiest way of
analyzing the artist's technique. In Home we
meet with a striking realism in the particulars
of his descriptions, a realism which reveals in
him a rare, keen faculty of observation ; he pos-
sesses that sharpness of aesthetic insight and
that delicacy of perception which find out im-
mediately the most characteristic features of
the landscape or figure looked at; and his re-
markable mastery over the language enables
him to alight at once on the right word, or
turn of phrase, to express an attitude, a move-
ment, a peculiar sound, a shade of color. Let
us observe for example the life-like posture of
the Sylvans in Artemis's train, waiting for the
dance :
And Sylvans, who, half Faun, half shepherd, lead
A grassy life, -with cymbals in each hand
Pressed cross-wise on the breast, waiting the sign;
Not a breeze came o'er the edge
Of the high-heaving fields and fallow lands;
Only the zephyrs at long intervals
Drew a deep sigh, as of some blissful thought,
Then swooned to silence. Not a bird was seen
Nor heard : all marble gleamed the steadfast sky.
(p. 95.)
See Foe's remarks on Home's technique: "Home
has a very peculiar and very delightful faculty of
enforcing, or giving vitality to a picture, by some
over vivid and intensely characteristic point or touch.
He seizes the most salient feature of his theme, and
makes this feature convey the whole." — Works. The
Fordham Edition, Vol. V, p. 494.
. . . ye mountains waving brown
With thicTc-winyed woods, . . .
. . . what odours and what sighs
Tend your sweet silence through the star-showered
night, . . . (Book I, Canto I.)
or the stag bounding away, released from
Orion's grasp :
The Giant lowered his arm — away the stag
Breast forward plunged into a thicket near;
the loud crackling of trees a-fire :
Orion grasped
Two blazing boughs; one high in air he raised,
The other with its roaring foliage trailed
Behind him as he sped;
and the hues of dawn :
Oft when dawn
With a grave red looked through the ash-pale
woods, . . . (pp. 24, 8, 72, 23.)
Home has a fine sense of color, both for
shifting, delusive nuances and bold, glaring
hues; we can contrast the notations of the
changing purple of snows at sunrise, of green
shadows becoming suffused with golden light,
of the violet rift in the clouds where appears
the high moon, with the glittering image of the
woods " all with golden fires alive " at noon,
or the opal radiance of Eos's apparition.
Far in the distance, gleaming like the bloom
Of almond-trees seen through long floating halls
Of pale ethereal blue and virgin gold,
A Goddess, smiling like a new-blown flower,
Orion saw. (pp. 3, 57, 68, 27, 117.)
Sometimes he makes the colors stand out
with a strange elegance from the background,
as in the hunting scene in Book II, adorned
with the crude, brilliant dyes of a Flemish tap-
estry of the fifteenth century.
The hounds with tongues
Crimson, and lolling hot upon the green,
And outstretched noses, flatly crouched; their skins
Clouded or spotted, like the field-bean's flower,
Or tiger-lily, painted the wide lawns, (p. 27.)
His fantasy is at the same time subtle and
daring; Hephaistos's hall [Book I, C. I.] and
Orion's dream [Book III, C. I.] show a super-
refinement and an audacity of imagination
which are only to be found in Robert Browning
and Meredith ; while he reveals a perfect con-
38
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
[Vol. xxx, No. 2.
trol over his imaginative faculty by his capacity
of checking the impulse, which would at last
substitute the bizarre to the beautiful. More-
over the lucidity of his descriptions is the best
test of his creative power, which, combined with
a vigorous and suggestive form, succeeds in
bringing before the inward eye the ideal vision
as sharply defined as reality itself. The vivid-
ness of the following passage will suffice to
support our statement.
They loitered near the founts that sprang elate
Into the dazzled air, or pouring rolled
A crystal torrent into oval shapes
Of blood-veined marble; and oft gazed within
Profoundly tranquil and secluded pools,
Whose lovely depths of mirrored blackness clear —
Oblivion's lucid-surfaced mystery —
Their earnest eyes revealed.*
In a passage of the Book II [Canto I, p.
57] 5 we have a curious instance of that blend-
ing of the soul's visions with the real scene, of
that intimate union of feeling and sensation,
which the French symbolists were, and are, so
fond of. Yet a sense of obscurity would very
often arise from this emblematic writing, so
subjective and personal; therefore Home
turned to mythology as the only way to con-
ciliate his tendency for allegory and the per-
spicuity of his verse. He was well aware that
mythology was a forest of symbols through
which any reader could wander at will with-
* P. 55. — See also, p. 5, the picture of the morning
landscape:
The scene in front two sloping mountain sides
Displayed; in shadow one, and one in light.
The loftiest on its summit now sustained
The sun-beams, raying like a mighty wheel
Half seen, which left the front-ward surface dark
In its full breadth of shade; the coming sun
Hidden as yet behind : the other mount,
Slanting opposed, swept with an eastward face,
Catching the golden light.
Old memories
Blumbrously hung above the purple line
Of distance, to the east, while odorously
Glistened the tear-drops of a new-fallen shower;
And sunset forced its beams through strangling
shadows
Gilding green boughs; . . .
out fear of losing his way ; the classical fables
afforded him the opportunity of using alle-
gories already endowed with a definite mean-
ing, and shaped with an exquisite sense of
beauty. Nevertheless he was not satisfied with
adopting the Greek myths without any change,
and thus we find in his poem original symbols
and mythologic figures strangely alive with a
new fervor of life, as in Chapman and Keats, —
enriched with a depth of meaning and a mystic
radiance, of which the ancient artists never had
the remotest idea.6 What gives Home's lines
their suggestive power is a vivid sense of the
enigmatic, impassioned beauty of life; there is,
for instance, in Merope's figure a strange, in-
tense sadness, and in her eyes a deep vision of
Sorrow and Fate, as in one of those sinister
and beautiful faces painted by Eossetti, as in
those visages evoked by Swinburne with rimes
haunting and mournful as an incantation.
Dark were her eyes, and beautiful as Death's
With a mysterious meaning, such as lurks
In that pale ecstasy, the Queen of Shades.
All his artistic faculties converge to produce
this effect of life, so that even its most meta-
6 See the lines at p. 6 :
Hunter of Shadows, thou thyself a shade, . . .
and the development of this conception at p. 23:
. . . a restless dream
Dawned on his soul which he desired to shape;
beside, the mystic mood due to Artemis's influence
[Book I, Canto III]. The same conception of myth-
ology we find .in Maurice de Gufirin, though in
the author of Le Centaurs, as Matthew Arnold says:
"the natural magic is perfect. ... He has a
truly interpretative faculty; the most profound and
delicate sense of the life of Nature, and the most
exquisite felicity in finding expressions to render
that sense " [Essays in Criticism, I Series. Macmil-
lan, 1905, p. 85], But the same close correspondence
between the poetry of nature and the old myths is
to be found in both poets, the idea of the hero being
the logic result of their enthusiastic feeling of won-
der before the majesty and awful stateliness of
Nature; in this mood the conception of ideal figures
arises spontaneously, and, as Holderlin sings,
Wie Flammen aus der Wolke Schoess,
Wie Sonnen aus dem Chaos, wanden
Aus Stiirmen sich Heroen los.
February, 1915.]
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
39
physic passages are not without a grave, allur-
ing charm; even its most ethereal images,
dressed in the sumptuous garments of dreams,
are instinct with this prominent and predomi-
nant sense of reality; thus, in the representa-
tion of Orion re-born, ascending among the
glittering stars:
Mute they [Eos and Artemis] rose
With tender consciousness; and, hand in hand,
Turning, they saw, slow rising from the sea,
The luminous Giant clad in blazing stars,
Neic-born and trembling from their Maker's breath, —
Divine, refulgent effluence of Love.'
Thus his realism as well as his creative, im-
aginative power, his careful observation of na-
ture as well as his wild fantasy go together to
shape a poetic world deeply alive with passion,
mystery and beauty; we can see the results of
his genial effort and his highest attainments in
such an inspired passage as the following:
Bright comes the Dawn, and Eos hides her face,
Glowing with tears divine, within the bosom
Of great Poseidon, in his rocking car
Standing erect to gaze upon his son,
Installed midst golden fires, which ever melt
In Eos' breath and beauty; rising still
With nightly brilliance, merging in the dawn, —
And circling onward in eternal youth.
FEDERICO OLIVERO.
Torino.
THE LOSS OF UNACCENTED E IN THE
'TRANSITION PERIOD'
.
It is a generally accepted philological law
that in the Middle High German period (1100-
1250), Old High German words having short
stem syllables followed by I or r lost the un-
accented e of the following syllable, e. g.,
iverelt>werlt; dere>der; feret>fert. Under
the same conditions unaccented e was usually
lost after m and n, but these combinations are
treated differently by the different writers. In
the early Old High German period (750-850)
'Book III, Canto III, p. 163.
scarcely a trace of this loss of e is to be found.
A vowel is frequently dropped by Otfried (ca.
870) when it comes before a vowel of a follow-
ing word (elision), but seldom does he drop a
vowel before a consonant of a following word
(apocope) or before a consonant of the same
word (syncope). But in the language of the
transition period from Old High German to
Middle High German many examples of apo-
cope and syncope are to be found.
The cause of the loss of e after liquids and
nasals has not been sufficiently explained. It
was doubtless connected with the process of
the lengthening of short vowels in open sylla-
bles. Michels, Mittelhochdeutsches Elementar-
buch, p. 52, assumes a more intensive pronun-
ciation of the consonants and a consequent
weakening and loss of the vowels. The loss
was doubtless due to the word- and sentence-
accent and to the fact that the semi-vocalic
liquids and nasals can stand at the end of a
word without changing their nature as conso-
nants. In Williram's Obersetzung und Aus-
legung des Hohenliedes (Breslauer Hs. hrsg.
von H. Hoffmann, Breslau, 1827), the forms
an and ana, der and dero, etc., are found. As
a rule, the longer form is provided with the
accent-mark, while the shorter remains unac-
cented. There are exceptions to this especially
in the latter part of the text. Otfried uses the
form thar in an unaccented position (I, 4, 80;
II, 6, 1), and fhara when accented (I, 1, 71).
Braune in the Glossary of his Lesebuch makes
a rather doubtful distinction in meaning be-
tween the two forms, thar=^da, thdra=dahin.
It seems quite evident that the accent played
a very important part in the loss of the unac-
cented vowel.
The extent of the working of this sound-law
in the early language is not known. Nor is it
definitely known when it first made its appear-
ance to any considerable extent in the different
dialects. No investigation to determine this
has ever been made. Philologists have made
statements without adducing the necessary evi-
dence in support. Paul, Mittelhochdeutsche
Qrammatik, § 60, Anm., has the following
upon the loss of the vowel : " Die meisten
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
[Vol. xxx, No. 2.
dieser ausstossungen sind erst nach der mitte
des 12. jahrh. eingetreten." Behaghel, Ge-
schichte der deutschen Sprache, § 200, 4, says :
" Die f riihesten Beispiele der e-Ausstossungen
gehoren dem 12. Jh. an, vgl. MSD. II. 271,"
notwithstanding the fact that Braune, Althoch-
deutsche Grammatik, § 66, Anm. 2, has the
following upon the subject : " Wahrend im
alteren ahd. synkope alter mittelvocale sich
nur in den eben besprochenen fallen zeigt,
wird im spatahd. bei N die synkope haufig nach
den consonanten r und I (vgl. Beitr. 5, 98).
Besonders nach kurzer stammsilbe, z. b. ge-
malnemo, verlornez, ervarner." Wilmanns,
Deutsche Grammatik, § 271, says : " Etwas
weiter geht schon Notker. . . . Aber die
cigentliche Periode der Apokope und Synkope
bcginnt spater; erst wurden die Unterschiede
zwischen den unbetonten Vocalen aufgehoben,
dann kam die Zeit, wo sie ganz unterdriickt
wurden."
In the first 100 pages of Notker's Boethius
(Piper, vol. I, Freiburg, 1882-83) the follow-
ing words are found which show a loss of the
unaccented vowel:
5, 7 werlte; 5, 15 unz; 6, 11 an; 7, 16 an-
derro; 9, 20 unsermo; 10, 16 bilde; 10, 20 wirt;
12, 24 verlornisseda; 14, 17 widerfert; 14, 17
andermo; 14, 31 westert; 16, 26 echert; 18, 1
seldon; 21, 9 herzogen; 24, 7 bildotost; 24, 12
gemalnemo; 29, 27 erwarner; 31, 19 welero;
32, 16 birn; 36, 9 solchero; 37, 25 verlornon;
73, 25 gechorner; 78, 14 kebornes; 81, 12 un-
serro; 90, 17 iwerro; 94, 16 iwermo; 95, 2
birnt; 97, 6 ostert.
The following words occur in the first 75
pages of the Bavarian version of Notker's
Psalms (Piper, vol. Ill) :
3, 5 an; 4, 2 newirt; 20, 9 flora; 5, 2 fursten;
5, 31 fewarnez; 6, 2 geborn; 9, 5 scult; 9, 31
pildi; 11, 4 werlt; 17, 19 birt; 32, 1 zewelften;
67, 20 unz; 74, 13 ferholno.
It is seen from the above lists that even at
the beginning of the eleventh century the un-
accented vowel had disappeared to a consider-
able extent in the Alemannian and the Ba-
varian dialects. Not only in these dialects but
also in the East Franconian of Williram, a
large number of the unaccented vowels are lost.
Following is a list of the shortened forms found
in Williram's Hohelied from the text of H.
Hoffmann. Only MS. B has been considered
in the selection of the words. Hoffmann's text
is a diplomatic reprint of the original MS.,
which dates from the middle of the eleventh
century.
APOCOPE
aller 22 ; 1 an 48 ; antwort 1 ; deheiner 1 ;
der 26 ; diner 5 ; einer 1 ; eteswanne 1 ; eteswa 1 ;
von 27; vor 3; vor (adv.) 2; glich 17; gnadon
8; gnada 11; gnote 1; gnuoge 1; guoter 3;
gwan 3 ; ir 1 ; maniger 2 ; manlicher 1 ;
micheler 1; minir 9; siner 9; swanne 4; swas
Z ; sweder 1 ; swer 3 ; swie 8 ; unser 2 ; wil 9.
SYNCOPE
andero 2; andremo 1; bildoton 1; birt 2;
dirro 9 ; vurston 2 ; garota 1 ; nals 1 ; unsermo
1 ; werlte 23 ; werltlich 9 ; wirt 3.
ELISION
aller 13; als 19; an 11; cuss 1; der 7;
diner 1; von 10; vor 1; vur 2; gantfristet 1;
hab 1 ; ir 2 ; lang 1 ; mocht 3 ; nals 1 ; nist 2 ;
nobe 3 ; riht 1 ; roter 1 ; scunt 1 ; tet 1 ;
unser 1 ; unt 7 ; unz 1 ; want 9 ; war 1 ; wil 19 ;
wolt 1; zerist 4; zaller 3; zeiner 1.
A summary of the above shows a total of
420 forms which have lost an unaccented vowel.
Of these forms there are 235 cases of apocope,
55 of syncope and 130 of elision. Those of
elision are in themselves not of especial im-
portance since they are also found in the
earliest Germanic monuments. They do, how-
ever, serve to show the proportion between
elision on the one hand and apocope and syn-
cope on the other. A further consideration
of the word-lists shows that 15 endings of ad-
jectives have been syncopated, or 27.3% of
the total number of syncopated forms ; 2 stems
of verbs, or 3.6%; 23 stems of nouns, or
41.8%; 10 stems of adjectives, or 18.2%; 5
endings of verbs, or 9%. There are 84 apoco-
1The numeral after the word is the number of
times the form occurs in the text.
February, 1915.]
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
41
pated endings of nouns and adjectives, or
35.8%'~, 78 apocopated endings of prepositions,
or 33.2%; 64 endings of adverbial prefixes, or
27.2%.; and 9 endings of verbs, or 3.8%.
Further, in the first 10 pages of the text there
are 302 words retaining an unaccented vowel.
These include all the words in which later an
unaccented e might be expected to disappear.
To be compared with these are 50 shortened
forms, or 14.2%. From page 34 to 43 there are
found 300 long forms, to be compared with 41
shortened, or 12%; and in the last 10 pages,
266 long and 58 shortened, or 17.9%. The
average of the three passages is 14.7%.
From the above word-lists and percentages
it can be seen that, contrary to the statements
of Paul and Behaghel, apocope and syncope
appear in the language to a considerable extent
at the beginning of the eleventh century and
that by the middle of the century, even before
the weakening of the vowels to short e was
general, apocope and syncope were quite com-
mon. Especially is this true of the inflectional
endings of nouns and adjectives.
A. L. McCoBB.
Clark College.
AN INSTANCE OF THE FIFTEEN SIGNS
OF JUDGMENT IN SHAKESPEARE
Mr. A. W. Verity, in his edition of Hamlet,
has again called attention to Hunter's sugges-
tion that the portents in Julius Caesar, II, ii,
17-24, and Hamlet, I, i, 115-20, were derived
from a passage in Lucan's Pharsalia (I, 526—
85), of which the first book was translated by
Christopher Marlowe and published in 1600
and 1601. Yet the passage referred to by
Hunter, even when supplemented with omens
from Plutarch's account of Caesar's death, does
not furnish satisfactory parallels for several
important details in Shakespeare's list of por-
tents,— namely, those of men groaning in mor-
tal anguish, of yawning graves,1 of warriors
in the clouds, and of dews or rains of blood.
Holinshed, on the other hand, records as
many of the Shakespearean portents as Lucan
does. For besides the frequent mention of
wonders in sun, moon, and stars, the Chron-
icles 2 contain repeated descriptions of bloody
dews (5:134, 162, 480) and of warriors in the
clouds (2:35; 3:535; 5:117, 205)— both of
which, as has been noted above, are omitted by
Lucan. They tell also of mysterious resound-
ings of arms (3:535; 3:178, 205) and of an
inexplicable outcry and sudden death of cattle
in the fields (5:212), which resemble pretty
closely the portents in Julius Caesar, II, ii,
22-23. But the writer of this note does not
find in the Chronicles anything which corres-
ponds to Shakespeare's yawning graves, whelp-
ing lion, groaning, dying men, or wandering,
wailing ghosts.
Now the character of these omissions in
both instances and the dramatist's specific
mention of Doomsday suggest that possibly
some writing in doomsday literature may con-
tain all the portents employed here by Shakes-
peare. In that case the similar phenomena in
Holinshed are doubtless to be ascribed to the
same source. The analysis which follows is in-
tended to show that the Anglo-Norman version
of the Fifteen Signs of Judgment,3 beginning
Oiez, seignor, communement
Dunt Nostre-Seignor mis reprent,
which the author of Cursor Mundi has trans-
lated into Middle English (11. 22461-710), un-
like any source previously suggested, affords a
1 Although Hunter says that a portent of yawning
graves occurs in the passage cited from Lucan, it is
difficult to determine exactly to what he refers.
Nothing more significant is to be found there than
common-place earthquake phenomena and the misty
appearing out of the ground of the shades of Marius
and Sulla. It should be noticed also that the signs
in Lucan portend Caesar's entrance upon the dic-
tatorship and not, as Hunter states, Caesar's death.
'Citations are to Holinshed's Chronicles of Eng-
land, Scotland, and Ireland, London, 1807 and 1808.
"Text to be found printed with Victor Luzarche's
Adam, Tours, 1854.
42
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
[Vol. xxx, No. 2.
single origin for all, or certainly all but one,
of Shakespeare's portents and, conversely, that
the Shakespearean passages show traces of ten
of the fifteen signs.
This twelfth century poem Nolle 4 has se-
lected as typical of the last of the five classes
into which he divides the many versions of
the Fifteen Signs — a tradition which in vari-
ous forms had, as Nolle shows, a long-con-
tinued and widespread currency, developing
and holding vogue contemporaneously with the
old theology. That this tradition was partially
incorporated by Holinshed in the Chronicles is
corroborative evidence of its survival in Shake-
speare's day. Though Shakespeare may have
been unacquainted with this particular poem,
he must have come in contact with some version
of the Fifteen Signs belonging to the class of
which this poem is the type.
The bloody rain in Sign 1 of the French
poem,
Del ciel cherra pluie sanglante,
Ne quidez pas que jo vos mente;
Tote terre en iert colored,
Mult avra ci aspre rosfie. (11. 68-71.)
appears in Hamlet I, i, 117, where mention is
made of " dews of blood," and in Julius Caesar
II, ii, 19-21,
Fierce fiery warriors fought upon the clouds,
In ranks and squadrons and right form of war,
Which drizzl'd blood upon the Capitol.
To Sign 2, which in part reads
Car del ciel cherront les estoilles:
Qo iert une de ses merveilles.
Nule n'iert tant bien fichie
Qui a eel jor del ciel ne chie
E corront si tost desor terre,
Come foldre, quant ele deserre.
Dessus ces monz irront corant,
Come grant lermes espendant,
E nequedont mot ne dirront. (11. 84-92.)
the first part of the same line 117 in Hamlet
corresponds,
As stars with trains of fire.
•P. B. B., VI, 413-76.
Similarly the phenomenon described in
Sign 3,
Que le soleiel que vos veez,
Serra plus nair que nole haire,
Igo ne vos fet pas atraire;
Car le soleil, en droit middi,
Verra le pople tant merci
E que ja gote ne verront
leil qui a eel jor serront. (11. 102, 108-113.)
is represented in the nest line in Hamlet (118)
in the phrase,
Disasters in the sun,
and Sign 4,
Car la lune, que tant est bele
Al cheif del mois, quant est novele,
Serra mud en vermeil sane
E en color semblable a fane.
Mult prfcs de terre descendra,
Mes mult poi i demorera;
Corant vendra droit ft la mer. (11. 128-134.)
has a parallel in the two lines and a half im-
mediately following the remark about the sun,
And the moist star
Upon whose influence Neptune's empire stands
Was sick almost to doomsday with eclipse.
(Bamlet, I, i, 118-120.)
Sign 5 tells of the fear which is to seize all
beasts,
Car trestotes les mues bestes
Vers le ciel torneront lor testes.
A Deu voldront merci crier,
Mes eles ne porront parler. (11. 146-149.)
In Julius Caesar II, ii, 23, Shakespeare has
represented limited disturbances in the brute
creation,
Horses did neigh.
To Signs 6, 7, 8, and 9, which describe a
leveling of the hills, a rising and falling of
trees, an upheaval of the sea, and a volubility
of the rivers, Shakespeare has nothing to cor-
respond; but Sign 10 describes the opening of
the earth and the issuing forth of the inhabi-
February, 1915.]
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
43
tants of hell, who in a long lament of ten lines
cry piteously to be reinstated in their first
abode,
Car il verra le ciel partir
E si porra la terre oir
Braire molt anguisosement,
E criera : ' Eois Dex, jo fent '
Lors avront cil d'emfer clarte,
E serront toit espont6.
Toit s'en istrunt fors li diable;
Saint Pol le dist, n'est pas fable.
Or escutez qu'il avront. (11. 230-238.)
and closely resembles
And ghosts did shriek and squeal about the streets.
(J. 0., II, ii, 24.)
And the sheeted dead
Did squeak and gibber in the Roman streets.
(Hamlet, I, i, 115-116.)
Sign 11,
Li venz vendront de totes pars,
E snffleront tant dorement,
L'un centre 1'autre fierement,
Que de la terre depeccherunt;
De son siege la giteront;
Les novels morz giteront fors,
Par 1'eir emporteront les cors
Tot les ferront ferir ensemble. (11. 251-258.)
becomes in Julius Caesar, II, ii, 18
And graves have yawn'd, and yielded up their dead.
and in Hamlet, I, i, 115
The graves stood tenantless.
Sign 12, which gives a description of the
woful state of men in the Last Day, when they
shall cry to God in their final terrible moments,
Le ciel serra reclos ariere,
Done n'i avra nuls qui ne quiere
L'un vers 1'autre sovent conseil.
Chescons dirra: 'Mult me merveil
Com nos poiira ici ester
Qant tote rien venra finer.'
E crierunt merci au Roi
Qui tote mesure ad en soi;
Quant li angle pollr avront,
Li peccheor, las! que frunt? (11. 284-293.)
is duplicated in Shakespeare's terse expression,
And dying men did groan. (J. 0., II, ii, 23.)
Sign 13, which describes the battle of stones
with its great detonations,
Car totes les pieres qui sunt
E desos terre par tot le mond
E desus terre e desuz
Ede ci qu'a abisme es fonz,
Commenceront une bataille
(Ne quidez pas que jo vos faille,)
E s'entre-ferront mult forment,
Come foldre quant ele descent.
Mult se ferront a grant proeche. (11. 302-310.)
yields in Shakespeare
The noise of battle hurtled in the air.
(J. O., II, ii, 22.)
Sign 14, the last sign of which there is a
trace in Shakespeare's list of portents, gives us
the picture of great armies of clouds — a favorite
portent, as we discovered, with Holinshed.
Li XIIII iert mult mals
A tot le mond comonals
De nois, de gresliz e d'orez,
De merveillos tempestez
Lors vendront foldres e esclairs,
Trestot en troublera li eirs
Les muea, qui corent si tost;
D'eles ferront un grant host;
Droit a la mer irront fuiant
E mult fort tempeste demenant. (11. 314-323.)
This is paralleled in Shakespeare by
Fierce fiery warriors fought upon the clouds,
In ranks and squadrons and right form of war.
(J. C., II, ii, 19-20.)
There is now left without a parallel in the
Shakespeare passages, only the item
A lioness hath whelped in the streets.
(J. C., II, ii, 17.)
and there is in the French poem nothing ex-
actly like it. But in Sign 1, there follows im-
mediately after the lines which describe the
bloody dews, a weird phenomenon that pertains
to pregnancy among humans, which is of in-
terest in this connection,
44
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
[Vol. xxx, No. 2.
Li enfant qui nez ne serront,
Dedenz les ventres crieront
Od clere voiz mult haltement:
'Merci, Rois-Deu omnipotent!
Ja, Sire, ne querrom nestre
Mielz voldrium-nos nient estre,
Que nasquisum a icel jor
Que tote rien soeffre dolor.' (11. 72-79.)
That this part of the tradition may in time
have become altered so as to refer to beasts,
seems not impossible, since as early as Geoffrey
of Monmouth (Prophecies of Merlin, Chapter
3) a prophecy that beasts will infest cities is
found associated with Sign 1.
There are, then, good grounds for attribut-
ing the portents in Hamlet I, i, 115-20 and
Julius Caesar II, ii, 17-24 to a mediaeval
Christian source instead of to Lucan; for the
foregoing list of parallels and Shakespeare's
mention of Doomsday, present sufficient evi-
dence that these two passages, regardless of
any relationship they may bear to the portents
in Holinshed, constitute an instance of the
Fifteen Signs of Judgment belonging to Nolle's
fifth class. Doubtless those who attended the
theatre in Shakespeare's day understood these
allusions and were duly impressed by them be-
cause of the continued popular reverence for
the doomsday tradition.
C. H. CONLEY.
Wesleyan University.
THE IMPEEFECT SUBJUNCTIVE IN
PEG-VENIAL
That the imperfect subjunctive was one of
the earliest verb-forms to disappear in Vulgar
Latin has long been among the most gener-
ally accepted doctrines of Eomance linguistics.
Diez 1 characterized it as " iiberall erloschen ".
Foth, however, in his article " Die Verschie-
bung lateinischer Tempora in den romanischen
Sprachen," 2 showed that it has been preserved
to this day in the Logudorian dialect of Sar-
dinia, in forms like Icantare, kantere. Foth's
1 Rom. Gram., II, 117.
'Rom. Studien, II, 243 ff.
conclusions were accepted, but the Sardinian
forms were looked upon as isolated exceptions.
The early disappearance of the imperfect sub-
junctive continued to be regarded as an in-
dubitable fact. Such is the teaching, for in-
stance, of Meyer-Liibke" and Grandgent.*
Bourciez 5 is less affirmative. He insists on the
gradual character of its disappearance and
hints that traces of the form may still be found
in the Eoumanian conditional ar cinta.
Lately a sharp attack on the prevailing doc-
trine has been made by Gamillscheg in his
" Studien zur Vorgeschichte einer romanischen
Tempuslehre "," who adduces substantial rea-
sons for believing that the imperfect subjunc-
tive was preserved much longer than is gener-
ally supposed. According to him, the form
appears in Low Latin texts and documents
from all parts of " Eomania ", though its func-
tions were often usurped by the pluperfect,
which became in time the general Eomance
equivalent. These Low Latin forms may be
possibly interpreted as due to classical influ-
ence, as the tense of course was never forgotten
in the schools. But Gamillscheg 7 shows that,
especially in Italy and the Iberian peninsula,
its use is so abundant and so wide-spread and
is found in documents of such a "vulgar"
character that this explanation is hardly ad-
missible. Furthermore, there are found in
many early Italian texts a variety of forms in
-are, -ere, -iere, -ire, which in usage correspond
quite closely to the imperfect subjunctive.
Gamillscheg thinks that they are, in fact, sur-
vivals of this tense. This view has been dis-
puted,8 and it is possible to interpret many of
these forms as infinitives; but I do not believe
that the syntax permits such an interpretation
for all. Gamillscheg likewise proves * that the
imperfect subjunctive was constantly used in
Low Latin texts of Spain and Portugal, and
this enables him to give a new and convincing
'Rom. Gram., II, 297.
4 Introduction to Vulgar Latin, 53.
'Elements de linguistique romane, 79.
• Sitzutigsoerichte der K. A. W., Bd. 172, Vienna,
1913.
7 Op. tit., p. 204 ff.
"See ASS'S., 1913, p. 474.
• Op. tit., p. 263 ff.
February, 1915.]
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
45
explanation 10 of the so-called inflected infini-
tive in Portuguese.
It is my purpose in this article to call atten-
tion to two examples in Proven§al which seem
to me to be true imperfect subjunctives, both
in form and function. They are found in one
of the earliest troubadours, Marcabru, and pre-
sent a remarkable likeness to the Italian ex-
amples cited by Gamillscheg. The first is
found at the beginning of song 15 in the latest
edition " of Marcabru and reads as follows :
Cortesamen vuoill comenssar
Un vers si es qui 1'escoutar.
The variants are numerous,12 but all show the
form in -ar. Dejeanne reads: si es qui escout'
ar, which seems to me a counsel of desperation.
In reality, the adverb ar, er, is almost invariably
placed at the beginning of the clause, before
the verb, and I have been unable to find a single
example where it is found at the end.13 Its
essentially unemphatic character would prohibit
its being used as the rime-word in a verse.
Nor do I see how the syntax permits the form
to be explained as an infinitive. On the other
hand, this escoutar corresponds perfectly in
form to a Latin auscultaret and in function 14
resembles quite closely the example from Fol-
cacchiero de' Folcacchieri 10 quoted by Gamill-
scheg :
Dolce madonna, poi ch'eo mi moragio
Non troverai chi si bene a te servire.
The second example is found in Marcabru,
32, 40.
Lo cors m'esglaia,
Ja non o celerai,
Amors veraia
Trobar greu flna sai,
Qu'en lieis non aia
C'a falsedat retrai.
" Op. tit., p. 278.
u Patsies completes du troubadour Marcabru, p. p.
J. M. L. Dejeanne, Toulouse, 1909.
"Mas. C. : sil es qui escotar; G. : 8i es qui coutar;
E. : si es qi les eotar.
"The longer forms, ara, era, do occasionally stand
at the end of the clause, at least in prose; see Appel,
Chrestomathie, p. 192, 23.
14 Potential in a relative clause of characteristic.
"Monaci, Crestomazia, No. 40, 38.
In my opinion C has the correct reading18 in
the third line (qu'amor veraia), and I would
correct Dejeanne's translation thus : " J'ai le
coeur plein d'effroi et je ne le cacherai pas, car
je trouverais difficilement un amour vrai et fin,
sans qu'il y ait en lui (en cet amour) quelque
chose se rapportant a faussete." Adopting this
interpretation, we have here an example of the
imperfect subjunctive «Lat. *troparem or
turbarem) in a conditional function, almost
exactly similar to its use in classical Latin. I
do not see how it is possible to consider this
form trobar an infinitive, and the interpreta-
tions proposed by Dejeanne (trob'ar) and Jean-
roy (trob ar) are faulty in that they put one
of the main accents of the line on the word ar,
which is usually an unemphatic proclitic.
Such isolated survivals in early texts are by
no means unexampled. The rare instances of
the form derived from the Latin pluperfect
indicative in the oldest French texts present a
close parallel. It is quite possible that a more
careful scrutiny of the MSS. of the earlier trou-
badours would reveal other examples of this
form, which have been overlooked or changed
by scribes or modern editors. As the variants
in the Marcabru MSS. show, it must have per-
plexed the copyists considerably.
WILLIAM PIERCE SHEPARD.
Hamilton College.
INTRUSIVE NASALS IN ENGLISH
A few years ago the present writer directed
attention to some instances of intrusive nasals
in contemporary speech, American and Eng-
lish, and suggested that in the greater part of
these instances associative interference was re-
sponsible for the added consonants.1 The bear-
ing of the material presented on the much dis-
cussed topic of Middle English added n, for
"Variants: C. Quamor ueraya Trobar greu flna
essai ; R. Trobar greu flna say; I. Troba argreu f. a.
lEnglische Studien, XLV (1912).
46
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
[Vol. xxx, No. 2.
which many varying explanations have been
offered,2 was also treated. Some further in-
stances, heterogeneous in character, of infixed
n, noted since the article cited was printed but
reinforcing, it is believed, the position taken
there, are these:
Anthens, Athens. " The city of Anthens."
Used persistently by a pupil in a second-
ary school. The inserted n might have
been carried over from the second syllable ;
but, in this pupil's usage, there seemed to
be confusion of the name with the word
anthem.
ballant, ballad, a Scotch form. " A beuk of
old ballants as yellow as the cowslips."
J. Wilson, Nodes Ambrosianae (1825),
Works, I, 2. Cited in N. E. D. See also
the ballad Geordie's Wife (Child, 209,
Text C).
' Gar print me ballants weel,' she said,
' Gar print me ballants many,
Gar print me ballants weel,' she said,
' That I am a worthy ladie.'
The intrusive n in ballant probably arises
from association with the common -ant,
-ent suffixes of nouns and adjectives, as
in talent, element, gallant, pedant, peasant,
current.
cementary, cemetery. " I made a trip to the
cementary." Same usage as Athens. The
added consonant is due to momentary,
commentary, sedentary, etc.
comontie, comedy. " Is not a comontie a
Christmas gambold?" Sly's word in
Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew, Ind.
ii, 140. A mongrel form arising from the
fusing with comedy of common.
daintive, dative. " The daintive case." Used
by a pupil in a secondary school; not a
nonce-formation, but spoken under the
impression that it was the proper form.
'See especially O. Jespersen Englische Btudien,
XXXI (1902), also Modern English Grammar, I
(1910); H. Logeman, Englische Studien, XXXIV
(1904); Otto Ritter, Archiv, CXIII (1904); Karl
Luick, ibid., CXTV (1905).
The speaker was influenced by the words
dainty, plaintive, etc.
denont, denote. " The place ' from which ' is
denonted in Latin by the ablative." Same
usage as daintive.
incindent, incident. " That was an interesting
incindent." Same usage as daintive. This
form has the added n of unaccented middle
syllables earliest to receive attention.
marcantant, merchant. " A marcantant or a
pedant." Shakespeare's Taming of the
Shrew, IV, ii, 63. From Italian merca-
tante and merchant (marchant).
rumfle, to ruffle, rumple. See Wright's Eng-
lish Dialect Dictionary. A crossing of
ruffle and rumple.
sumple, supple, pliant. " Her skin is as
sumple as a Duchess's." Hardy, Tess
(1891). Wright. From supple influenced
by limber or pliant.
trinkling, trickling. Form used invariably in
a version repeated in Nebraska of the Old-
World ballad " Lord Lovel." Obviously a
crossing of trickling and twinkling.
He ordered her grave to be opened wide,
Her shroud to be folded down,
And there he kissed her pale cold cheeks
Till the tears came trinkling down.
Trinkling has been heard also in children's
usage in the phrase " trinkling tears."
Among nonce-formations showing intrusive
n were noted dinky for dickey, said under the
influence of the slang epithet " dinky " used
just before, slienkel for shekel, and coumplet
spoken for couplet.
To Professor Jespersen's instances of names
with unstable medial n, as Robinson, Robison,
Edmundstone, Edmiston, Hutchinson, Hutchi-
son, and the like,8 giving rise, he suggests, to
analogous unstable medial n (afterward be-
coming permanent) in nightingale, messenger,
etc., may be added the name Higginson, or
Higgeson, of the American colonist :
" At this meeting information was given by
Mr. Nowell by letters ffrom Izake Johnson,
' Modern English Grammar, I, p. 35.
February, 1915.]
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
47
that one Mr. Higgeson of Lester, an able
minister" . . . "and if Mr. Higgeson
may conveniently be had to goe this present
voiage." *
" Mr. ffrancis Higgeson & Mr. Samuell Ske-
ton intended ministers of the plantagon ", etc.5
The word flounder has been explained as a
nasalized form of the Dutch flodderen, through
the influence of flounce, or of flounder, the
fish.* Galantine, from French galatine, a spe-
cial sauce for fish, has an added n, through
association with gallant; but the added n is
brought from French, which has the nasalized
form alongside the unnasalized. Blending is
probably responsible also for the n's in the two
words of doubtful etymology, chump and
jumper, the garment. The former, i. e., a man
as unintelligent as a block or chump (i. e.,
short thick lump) of wood is perhaps an amal-
gamation of chop and lump.'' A derivation
from chub has also been suggested,8 in which
case the term would still be a blend, gaining its
n from lump, bump, etc. If chump is a by-
form of chunk, the nasal is accounted for with-
out the assumption of intrusion. Probably,
however, none of these derivations is sufficient
in itself, but the word is rather to be classed
as an "echoic composite" or "indefinite
blend." ' A plausible etymology for jumper,
from the obsolete jump, blouse, short coat, con-
nects it with the French juppe, associated with
jump, the verb and substantive, i. e., the gar-
ment is one which may be " jumped on " in a
hurry.10 Compare a "slip." If this be the
case, blending is again responsible for the added
nasal.
i
4 Records of the Governor and Company of Massa-
chusetts Bay, J, 37, 38. Cited in T. W. Higginson's
Life of Francis Higginson, N. Y., 1891, p. 32.
• From Young's Chronicle of Massachusetts, p. 316.
Cited in T. W. Higginson's Life, p. 36.
' The Century Dictionary.
'The New English Dictionary.
' The Century Dictionary.
' See " Indefinite Composites and Word-Coinage,"
The Modern Language Review, July, 1913.
"The New English Dictionary, also The Century
Dictionary.
The etymology of most of the words cited in
the last paragraph is too uncertain for much
weight to be given to their testimony.
LOUISE POUND.
University of Nebraska.
RECENT WORKS ON THE THEOEY OF
THE NOVELLE
\
Die Rolle des Erzdhlers in der Epik, von Dr.
KATE FRIEDEMANN. (Untersuchungen zur
neueren Sprach- und Literaturgeschichte
hrsg. von 0. F. Walzel, 7. Heft.) Leipzig,
1910. 246 pp.
|
Die EntwicUung der novellistischen Komposi-
tionstechnik Rleists bis zur Meisterschaft.
(Der Findling, Die Verlobung in San Do-
mingo, Das Erdbeben in Chili. Die Marquise
von 0. . . . Unter Ausschlusz des Kohl-
haas-Fragmentes) , von KURT GUNTHER.
Leipzig Dissertation, 1911. 88 pp.
Die novellistische Kunst Heinrichs von Kleist,
von HERMANN DAVIDTS. (Bonner For-
schungen, Neue Folge V.) Berlin, 1913.
151 pp.
These three works, appearing within the last
four years, represent a new departure in the
critical study of narrative art in general and of
the Novellen of Kleist in particular. They
agree in marking a reaction from the Spiel-
hagen definition of the Novelle. While Friede-
mann lays down the general laws underlying
this departure, Giinther and Davidts apply these
laws to the investigation of Kleist's technique
and throw new light upon his development as
a writer of prose fiction. They upset some
long-cherished theories concerning both the
date of composition of some of the Novellen
and their relative importance in the develop-
ment of the artist Kleist.
Much has been written since the days of
Spielhagen upon the points of resemblance be-
48
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
[Vol. xxx, No. 2.
tween the drama and the Novelle, and at-
tempts have been made — especially by natural-
ists like Holz and Schhf — to produce Novellen
that should be almost nothing but dialogue.
Friedemann proceeds from the opposite point
of departure and furnishes us with /aluable
points of distinction between the two phases • f
literature. To her the essence of all epic writ-
ing, including the Novelle, lies in the open and
undisguised narration of a series of events by
a third person — the author himself, or some
one to whom he delegates the task. Through
the eyes of this third person we see and judge
the characters. The essence of the dramatic
form of literature lies in the illusion which the
drama creates that we are ourselves present at
the action and get our information concerning
the characters only from themselves. The
novel and Novelle, then, represent Kant's
world, in which not " das Ding an sich " is
experienced, but only its reflex in the mind of
the one who tells the tale. Spielhagen's in-
sistence on the elimination of the narrator,
which, according to Friedemann, resulted in a
lamentable impoverishment of the Novelle,
she explains as a natural reaction against the
exaggerated verbosity of his time. The ten-
dency to make of the prose tale a repository
for the author's sentiments or views on all sorts
of questions entirely extraneous to his plot (a
tendency which, she might have added, goes
back to no less a person than Tieck and his
powerful influence) is responsible for this al-
most superstitious fear of the innocent narra-
tor. She aptly calls it a " Kampf gegen die
Willkiir im Namen des Gesetzes" (p. 28). It
led Spielhagen to confuse " dramatic illusion "
with "intellectual objectivity." This latter is
not a matter of form so much as an attitude of
mind on the author's part. Schiller, who cer-
tainly preserved dramatic illusion, was accused
by Grillparzer of making Maria Stuart only
his mouthpiece (p. 4). We might add that
good narrators from Homer to Schnitzler have
combined a high degree of objectivity with the
frankest narration of the story by the author.
Upon the principle of epic art outlined ahove,
the author bases her theory of the epic " Blick-
punkt," the matrix of her entire study. This
is the telling designation which she gives to the
method in which the reader is made to partici-
pate in the events related in the tale. In the
drama, the " Blickpunkt " may be in one or
more of the characters; the author disappears
altogether, and the reader views events always
through the eyes of the participants; in the
: arrative, however, the narrator frankly takes
the leader with him, and all that happens is
witnessed by the reader through the medium of
this person, to whom all these events are past
history, and who can at will lead the reader
forward or backward, tell him secrets which the
characters of the fiction do not know, and place
him at any point of vantage he chooses. In
the so-called dramatic Novellen, the " Blick-
punkt " is often placed, for a time at least, in
the characters themselves, but sooner or later
it must needs shift to the narrator. (We shall
see later, that, according to Davidts, Kleist
passes in his Novellen from the employment
of the dramatic to the epic " Blickpunkt."
Davidts uses this fact as one of the criteria by
which he distinguishes the earlier from the
later Novellen.} From this fundamental law
of epic " Blickpunkt," the author derives as
necessary corollaries the various details of tech-
nique, i. e., direct and indirect characterization,
setting of the scene, use of direct and indirect
speech, use of metaphors and similes, etc.
Friedemann maintains that the attempt to
make the narrative " dramatic " by insisting on
the dramatic " Blickpunkt " and the almost
complete elimination of the narrator as in Holz
and Schlaf's Neue Gleise and other tales of the
naturalistic school deprives the narrator of
many natural advantages and tends greatly to
impoverish the Novelle (p. 126). This is well
illustrated by a comparison of Zola's Therese
Raquin in its original narrative form, with the
later dramatization of the story. In the novel,
habitual actions which, while not dramatically
important, were characteristically significant
and illuminating, were frequently briefly sum-
marized. This advantage the dramatization
lost, since the drama has no recourse except to
have such actions repeated on the stage, which
would give them undue emphasis in the
economy of the plot. From this fact the author
February, 1915.]
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
49
deduces with acumen : " Vielleicht 1st hier der
tiefste Grund dafiir zu suchen, dasz ini allge-
meinen das Drama mehr Handlung, der Eoman
mehr Zustandliches bietet" (p. 127).
The epic " Blick-punkt " must needs exercise
a controlling influence over all details of tech-
nique. Thus, by the frequent use of indirect
speech, an author is enabled to summarize
briefly what is less important, throwing the
important communications into high relief by
employing direct quotation. By direct charac-
terization the narrator can put his readers im-
mediately in possession of the essential facts
concerning the characters, and from the point
of vantage of one who knows the outcome as
well as the genesis can throw light on signifi-
cant passages which might otherwise escape the
reader. From the same point of vantage also,
the narrator can take liberties with time, be-
ginning (like Otto Ludwig in Zwischen Him-
mel und Erde) with the end, only afterwards
taking the reader back to the beginning of the
story (p. 109).
There is perhaps a tendency on the part of
Friedemann to overrate the advantages of the
epic technique over the dramatic. Though the
dramatist is more bound to representation of
the action in chronological order and lacks the
epic writer's opportunities of referring easily
and naturally to the future and the past, yet
we have but to consider Ibsen's analytical
dramas (I need but mention Rosmersholm as
one out of several) to become aware, that the
consummate dramatic artist has ways and
means at his command of drawing the past and
the future into the action of the present, not
as dead narratives, nor as a " prologue cut off
from the play itself" (p. 108), but as living
forces and most telling influences. A more de-
tailed comparison here between the dramatic
and the epic method of producing these results
would have been desirable. This criticism, how-
ever, seems cavil when applied to a work that
adds so much to our insight of narrative tech-
nique. The chapters under "Der Blickpunkt
des Erzahlers " and " Die Komposition " are
especially clarifying and will form the basis
for entirely new criticisms of individual writers
of fiction, as they have already done for the
evaluation of Kleist.
Quite in accord with the principles laid down
by Friedemann, both Giinther and Davidts trace
in Kleist's Novellen a steady progress from the
dramatic to the purely epic -technique. Davidts,
especially, demonstrates that the so-called later
Novellen are by no means proof of decaying
powers, but show rather a gradually strength-
ening grasp upon the fundamental principles
of epic form and a daring advance into original
paths of composition, so that we have every
reason to believe that Kleist was on the way to
become the creator of the modern German
novel, as well as of the modern German drama.
This theory led Giinther and Davidts to con-
sider the Novellen from a new point of view:
as exponents, complementary to the dramas, of
Kleist's development as an artist. Basing upon
salient points of content and of form, they both
essay a redating of the Novellen, which yields
original results. Though differing in some im-
portant details, they agree in the daring inno-
vation of placing the three Novellen: Verio-
bung, Erdbebcn, and Findling very much
earlier in Kleist's productive period than had
ever before been done. Giinther, in an earlier
study (Euphorion VIII, Erganzungsheft), had
tried to prove that, so far from being a product
of Kleist's last and decadent years, Findling
was by content, mood, and many details of
form, closely related to the earliest period
of productivity — to the Schroffenstevn-period.
Verlobung and Erdbeben he places very soon
after, and forms of them, together with the
" Kohlhaas-Fragmcnt," a group that he calls
"Werke der realistisch-tragischen Periode," and
which occupies the period between 1801 and
1807 (p. 14). Davidts agrees with Giinther in
the dating of the group as a whole, but he places
Erdbeben and Verlobung before Findling and
relates the latter rather with the Guiskard than
with the Schroffenstein mood. Both agree that
Findling is a novel in mice, "ein Romanvor-
wurf auf achtzehn Seiten gezwangt " (Giinther,
p. 35) rather than a dramatic Novelle, like
the other two. Davidts shows through a large
number of instances that, as regards inner
form, Erdbeben an'1 Verlobung are more
50
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
[Vol. xxx, No. 2.
closely related to the Schroffenstein-period, the
very names of the characters of Erdbeben be-
ing almost in every instance identical with
those of Schroffenstein (Davidts, p. 23). The
prevailing idea of human puppets in the hand
of an inexorable fate, which animates espe-
cially Erdbeben, but also Verlobung, is iden-
tical with the mood of Die Familie Schroffen-
stein, and Davidts adduces many points of re-
lation, especially the mood of almost morbid
depression and pessimism in Findling, with the
period of Kleist's despair over the failure of
Guiskard (Davidts, p. 49). Furthermore,
Davidts points out that while Erdbeben and
Verlobung evidently arose from the visualiza-
tion of a single dramatic scene, the Findling is
a study of character. In this respect it is to be
classed with Penthesilea and Kohlhaas (pp. 45
and 10). The loose construction of Findling,
the evident groping for an untried method of
expression, which causes Giinther to place the
Findling first in Kleist's Novellen, Davidts ex-
plains in part by the belief that Kleist evi-
dently gave this early attempt only the most
casual revision before its publication in 1811,
in part by the belief that here Kleist for the
first time tried a purely epic style, the previous
Novellen having been, both in respect to
"Blickpunkt" and all the details of style, al-
most completely dramatic. " Mit dem Find-
ling beginnt die Eeihe der epischen Novellen "
(p. 91).
Both Giinther and Davidts see in these three
Novellen Kleist's period of preparation and ex-
periment in epic technique, of which the artistic
fruition is to be found in Kohlhaas. They ac-
cept Meyer-Benfey's analysis of the triple divi-
sion of the Kohlhaas material (Euphorion XV).
Giinther does not carry his study further, as he
considers this the culmination of Kleist's de-
velopment into a master of narrative. Davidts
makes a minute study of all the Novellen and
obtains some very interesting results. The evi-
dence of the architectural arrangement of ma-
terial in all the tales, which seems to point to
a much more conscious art than is usually at-
tributed to Kleist, the careful analysis of
Kleist's method of placing the "Blickpunkt,"
almost completely dramatic in Erdbeben and
Verlobung, epic for the first time in Findling
(p. 128) ; these are valuable results and throw
much light on Kleist's method and on his
development.
A most original bit of criticism is that of
Die Marquise von 0. Davidts here quotes at
length an article published by Giinther in the
Vossische Zeitung (Sonntagsbeilage) for No-
vember 19, 1911. This Novelle was there dis-
sected as a comedy of situation, with a serious
background of almost tragic character-struggle
on the part of the heroine — a Shakespearean
mixture of the tragic and the farcical. Davidts,
who agrees on the whole with Giinther's opin-
ion, sees in the mood of the story a new element
in Kleist's attitude towards society : " Er
sb'hnt sich aus mit der gebrechlichen Einrich-
tung der Welt, und lernt weltbiirgerlich
denken" (p. 69).
Equally new and suggestive is Davidt's in-
terpretation of Bettelweib and Cdcilie. Both
tales bear the same burden: madness induced
by mysterious sound. The author sees in them
" Produkte des kleistischen Lebensringens,
seines dichterischen Ideals, Dichtkunst und
Musik durch Wort- und Tonkunst zu vereinen."
He calls them " wortmusikalische Komposi-
tionen," renewed attempts at reaching the
Guiskard ideal (pp. 85 ff.). He compares the
compositions to Bach fugues and carries out
the parallel in minute and convincing fashion.
Thus the very Novellen which have usually
been considered indubitable signs of the poet's
decaying powers are made to appear as the
promising first-fruits of a newly discovered
section of the terra incognita of narrative art.
All three works here discussed undoubtedly
lead us to higher levels in criticism and open
vistas which will modify all future views of
Kleist's Novellen. Giinther and Davidts also
augment the poignancy of our regret that so
much promise on Kleist's part should have been
left unfulfilled.
HENRIETTA BECKER VON KLENZE.
Providence, R. I.
February, 1915.]
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
51
Les Comedies-Ballets de Moliere par MAURICE
PELLISSON. Paris, Hachette, 1914. x +
234 pp.
The lover of Moliere ordinarily regards the
comedies-ballets with an unmixed sentiment.
It is one of resentment that the man of genius,
overworked in his theater and harried in his
home, should have been obliged to waste his
time in writing them and in producing them.
In the best of these spectacles he can see only
the material for pure comedy tricked out with
song and dance to meet the exacting taste of
the king.
It is precisely this attitude on the part of
the lover of Moliere that Mr. Pellisson sets
himself to correct in his book, and the result
is a thesis rather than a dissertation. The
chief defect is one inseparable perhaps from
books dealing with the minor works of an au-
thor: a loss of perspective and the disappear-
ance of the greater behind the less, so that the
reader is apt to close the book with a bewildered
sense that the real Moliere is to be sought in
the author of La Princesse d'Elide and Mon-
sieur de Pourceaugnac. And he carries away
this feeling in spite of the numerous protests
of the author.
Mr. Pellisson in the beginning states certain
prejudices current against the comedies-ballets.
These prejudices are chiefly: first, that the
pieces are in themselves negligible, being has-
tily scrambled together at royal command; and
second, that they took time and energy which
Moliere would rather, and should rather, have
devoted to greater works. These prejudices he
sets out to overcome, and let it be said at once
that he succeeds in the first instance, but not
altogether in the second.
A certain obliquity of reasoning, as well as
a confusion of impression, results from the
author's neglecting to divide the comedies-bal-
lets into classes, and from his habit of drawing
on one or the other of them for illustration as
the point in question demands. Now there
are thirteen of the pieces considered, and they
range all the way from Georges Dandin, which
belongs in the category only by virtue of its
having been inserted in a spectacle, and Les
Facheux, which was written first as a comedy
and then furnished with ballets, to Les Amants
magnifiques and La Princesse d'Elide and
Melicerte, which have no possible excuse for
being except as the frame for court pageants.
Between these extremes we have Le Malade
imaginaire and La Comtesse d'Escarbagnas,
which may stand alone as finished comedies
without the need of any ballet, the Pastorale
comique, virtually the libretto of a comic ope-
retta, Le Mariage force, which was a ballet at
the court but a farce in the city, L' Amour
medecin and Le Sicilien, which are true operas
comiques, and Le Bourgeois gentilhomme and
Monsieur de Pourceaugnac, true types of the
comedie-ballet, but rising far above the genre
by virtue of their brilliant characterization. If
the author had made some such division, it
would have been to the advantage not only of
a clearer exposition, but of his own thesis as
well. The most reverential worshipper of
Moliere is willing to grant favors to Monsieur
Jourdain that he will not extend to Melicerte.
Mr. Pellisson is so preoccupied with the two
points that he is aiming to establish — that the
comedies-ballets are in themselves valuable and
that they do not exist to the prejudice of greater
•works — that it is impossible in a review of his
book to separate the thesis from the data he
brings forward. And this is a pity, for the
data in themselves are comprehensive, many
of them new or viewed from an original angle,
and they are marshalled in orderly arrange-
ment except for the confusion above mentioned.
In his first chapter he reviews briefly the
prejudices existing against this genre; in the
second he sets himself to prove that Moliere
liked it and did not judge it inferior. It is in
this chapter that he endeavors to prove the
most, and here that he stretches argument to
the breaking point. He quotes for the opposi-
tion the famous passage from L'Impromptu de
Versailles (scene 3) in which Moliere gave
from the stage with his own mouth his theory
of comedy. This is his poetica, and sketches
the material for five or six comedies of char-
acter and of custom drawn from the court
alone. Mr. Pellisscn responds that in this
MODEBN LANGUAGE NOTES
[Vol.
No. 2.
passage Moliere says nothing to warrant our
believing that this form of the comic art was
the only one legitimate in his eyes (p. 14).
Perhaps not; but it does show that at the end
of the year 1663 his mind was running over
with material for comedies of character and of
custom, and that he was laying out for himself
a program that allowed no leisure for court
spectacles. And in January of 1664 he pro-
duced the ballet of Le Mariage force at the
king's command, and four months later La
Princesse d'Elide for the huge pageant of Les
Plaisirs de I'lle enchantee. Much leisure these
productions left him for writing comedies of
character. Some of the material sketched in
L'Impromptu appears in Le Misanthrope in
1666; but Le Misanthrope itself is buried be-
tween L' Amour medecin, which precedes it,
and the farce Le Medecin malgre lui with the
ballets Melicerte, Pastorale comique, and Le
Sicilien, which immediately follow it. Was
this the sort of thing Moliere had in mind
when he spoke from the stage in his own per-
son in L'Impromptu?
Mr. Pellisson's argument on this point
amounts to this : Moliere does not say he will
not produce comedies-ballets., therefore he took
pleasure in producing them. He has some
other arguments that may be reduced to some
such syllogistic form as this : ballets were popu-
lar with the people at this time ; Moliere loved
to please the people; therefore Moliere loved
to produce ballets (p. 21). He argues further
that these pieces gave Moliere the opportunity
to show the various sides of his talent as an
actor, notably his ability as a singer and dancer.
He mentions the fact that Moliere introduced
singing into his own roles of Mascarille, of
Lysandre (Les Facheux), of Moron (Princesse
d'Elide), of Sganarelle (Medecin malgre lui),
of Lycas (Pastorale comique), and of Don
Pedre (Sicilien) (p. 24). The difficulty with
this argument is that Les Precieuses ridicules
and Le Medecin malgre lui are not comedies-
ballets, and that in all of the roles the singing
is burlesque. Moliere did not apparently pique
himself on the possession of a superior voice
and method ; and when he wanted to introduce
singing into a role he did not hesitate to do so
in farce and comedy as well as in the ballets.
A more convincing argument is that by pro-
ducing these entertainments Moliere gained
the favor of the king, brought his company
into prominence, and got the money that he
needed for himself and them. This may read-
ily be granted, but it can hardly be taken as
proof of Moliere's artistic preference for the
genre.
That Moliere begrudged the time and labor
spent on these ballets, and regretted that he
had not the leisure to write great comedies,
Mr. Pellisson says can not be proved by any
word or allusion of the dramatist (p. 26) . Cer-
tainly Moliere did not refer in so many words
to his own " hautes comedies " ; Mr. Pellisson
himself calls attention (p. 29) to his consistent
modesty in referring to his own works. But
that he was rushed in their production, that
the king in his commands displayed a royal in-
difference to his purveyor's time and strength,
we have ample proof. One has only to read
Moliere's speech in his own person to Made-
leine Bejart in L'Impromptu (scene 1), his
foreword to L'Amour medecin, which ballet,
he says, was " conceived, written, learned and
played in five days " ; and that to Les Facheux,
for which a fortnight was allowed; one has
only to consider Melicerte, left uncompleted at
the second act, and La Princesse d'Elide, com-
menced in verse and finished in prose, to under-
stand how little consideration the king showed
Moliere. And that is the main point; no mat-
ter if these spectacles did not literally sup-
plant some great comedy, they imposed on time
already filled to overflowing, and sapped
strength already near to the breaking point.
We must remember, too, that any considera-
tion of Moliere's activity must take account of
the fact that he was actor and producer, as
well as author. That he should have been
obliged to waste himself on these vanities in
his triple capacity must seem to us monstrous.
In the chapters on the antecedents of the
comedie-ballet and Moliere's method of con-
structing them, there is little room for the
thesis, and in them Mr. Pellisson gives much
February, 1915.]
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
53
that is new and illuminating. The court ballet
before Moliere was a conventional affair, with
dances, songs, and recits, spoken or sung, with
so little connection that programs were neces-
sary to tell the spectators what it was about.
The entrees, or dances, were the main consid-
eration, and the songs and recitations helped
to explain them. Moliere's originality con-
sists in joining these elements to form a dra-
matic unity, and that it was a conscious inno-
vation we know from the avertissement to Les
Facheux, the first of his comedies-ballets:
" Pour ne point rompre le fil de la piece par
ces manieres d'intermedes, on s'avisa de les
coudre au sujet du mieux que 1'on put, et de
ne faire qu'une seule chose du ballet et de la
comedie. . . . Quoi qu'il en soit, c'est un
melange qui est nouveau pour nos theatres."
Les Facheux, to be sure, was written as a
comedy, and the ballets were inserted after-
ward ; but even so they come on a propos of the
action. And as Moliere went on he developed
the genre, till in Monsieur de Pourceaugnac and
Le Bourgeois gentilhomme we have the ante-
cedents of true opera comique, with the singing
and dancing so intimately bound up with the
text that either part would be incomplete of
itself. It is interesting to note that in this
present year Wolf -Ferrari, perhaps the most
promising of the younger Italian composers,
has produced successfully his opera L'Amore
medico, with the libretto but little changed
from Moliere's text.
In the chapters on poetry and fancy in the
comedies-ballets Mr. Pellisson brings forward
some of his most original observations. He
very justly remarks that in this genre Moliere's
poetic fancy has freer rein than in his greater
comedies, and in it we are treated to an aspect
of the poet's genius too often ignored. If this
fancy is not that of Shakespeare or of Aris-
tophanes, if Le Bourgeois gentilhomme and Le
Malade imaginaire stand more solidly on the
earth than The Tempest or The Clouds, still
they are pure fantasies, no less ample in their
scope than these. The charming little saynete
of Le Sicilien is pure poetry, and even in the
pastorals there comes a breath from the forest
of Arden.
The author brings out some interesting facts
as to the medium in which the comedies-ballets
are written. Save for the first act and part of
the second of La Princesse d'Elide they are all
printed in prose. But Mr. Pellisson shows
that much of this is rhythmical prose, and not
a little of it blank verse. This fact did not
altogether escape Moliere's contemporaries, and
Menage had noticed that Le Sicilien was " a
little comedy all woven of unrhymed verses of
six, five, or four feet." Our present critic goes
much further, and finds verses scattered freely
through all the comedies-ballets, detecting them
in many places where they are not, perhaps,
to be distinguished by any but a French ear.
But the whole field of rhythmical prose is too
uncertain for a foreigner to venture upon it,
and we can only say that Mr. Pellisson proves
that Moliere used a different medium for these
pieces, a prose that slipped often into verse,
and was admirably adapted to the matter in
hand.
Possibly the most important and most orig-
inal points made in the book are in connection
with the question of social satire in the come-
dies. The author calls attention to the fact
that after 1666, after Tartuffe and Don Juan
and Le Misanthrope, Moliere wrote no more
social satires. His two remaining great come-
dies, L'Avare and Les Femmes savantes belong
to the field of moral and literary satire. Why
was this? Brunetiere * offers a literary rea-
son : that Moliere felt that he was getting away
from true comedy and was tending to drame;
that he felt that he had come face to face with
the impassable barriers of the genre, and turned
back to the field of lighter comedy. Mr. Pel-
lisson has a different reason, and a convincing
one. He holds that after the attacks delivered
by the marquises on account of the Critique de
I' E cole des femmes, and the assaults of the
church provoked by Tartuffe and Don Juan,
Moliere felt that the ground of social comedy
was no longer a safe one for him to tread, and
abandoned it; and that after 1666 he confined
this social satire to the comedies-ballets. At
first glance this seems like more of Mr. Pel-
1 Revue des Deux Monies, Jan. 1, 1900.
54
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
[Vol. xxx, No. 2.
lisson's predilection for the genre, but the facts
bear him out; let it be remembered that the
great attacks on the doctors are delivered in
L' Amour medecin, Monsieur de Pourceaugnac,
and Le Malade imaginaire; that M. Jourdain
and the masters that surround him, as well as
the parasitic nobles, figure in a comedie-ballet ;
that the philosophers Pancrace and Marphurius
appear in Le Mariage force; and that in Georges
Dandin one of the most searching questions of
any society and any time is propounded. Mr.
Pellisson does not claim that Moliere did this
consciously; but he did it, and the presence of
this social satire in these pieces does more than
any other one thing to bring them near the
level of the greater works.
This book is not one that the student of
Moliere can afford to neglect. If the author
does not succeed in reconciling us to the pas-
torals, if we must still regret that the great-
ness of a man was subjected to the littleness
of a king, yet for the best of the comedies-
ballets he performs a service well worth the
doing. He analyzes them with a scholarly
thoroughness, he brings to bear on the sub-
ject many points of internal and external evi-
dence hitherto unknown or ignored, and, fin-
ally, raises them to the dignity of a place of
their own in the petit theatre of Moliere.
WALTER PEIRCE.
Ohio State University.
Les Chants des Grecs et le philhellenisme de
Wilhelm Mutter par GASTON CAMINADE.
Paris: Librairie Felix Alcan, 1913. 8vo.,
198 pp. (Bibliotheque de Philologie et de
Litterature modernes.)
This intelligent, thoroughgoing work of
French scholarship shows a fresh and vital in-
terest in German culture, and offers a happy
token of the social and friendly influence of
humane studies. The author treats the German
War of Liberation objectively and sympathetic-
ally (Napoleon's rule is termed "une oppres-
sion humiliante et brutale"). The order of
presentation is clear, and there is every evi-
dence of wide and deep research. Good use is
made of E. F. Arnold's important study, Der
deutsche Philhellenismus (Euphorion, 1896) ;
although the author does not rise to Arnold's
distinction of style, he shows himself well able
to continue Arnold's investigations in an inde-
pendent spirit. Like the latter, he views the
German enthusiasm for the independence of
the Greeks under three heads: the passion for
political freedom ; religious faith ; * love of
ancient Greek culture.
All of these elements are accounted for, and
studied exhaustively from their beginnings.
The author is among the first to exploit the
materials contained in Miiller's singularly in-
timate diary (Chicago, 1903), but one gains
the impression that he is not familiar with the
very rare Bundesbliithen as a factor in account-
ing for the doings of Miiller's Muse, " cette
modeste et paisible fille des champs," after
1821, — a suspicion which is strengthened by
the fact that no mention is made in the bib-
liography of the easily accessible reprint of
Miiller's contributions in the Publications of
the Modern Language Association of America,
Vol. XIII.
Beginning with a general survey of German
enthusiasm for Greek liberation, the work con-
siders in turn the evolution of the Griechen-
lieder, their historical background, literary in-
fluences, their literary value, the significance
of Miiller's translations of Fauriel's Greek
Volkslieder*
Miiller's poems are justly held to be the
most interesting products of the whole move-
ment, because they give the most faithful pre-
sentation, in their entirety and in their details,
of the vibrant enthusiasm which stirred all
1 In paying tribute to Mfiller's dream of devoting
himself to studying theology, and living " ganz fur
Gott und sein Wort," Caminade omits mention of
Mtlller's touching preliminary, that he should first
draw the grand prize in the lottery.
* It is not generally known that the MS. of Daniel
Sanders' important collection of modern Greek folk-
songs has been acquired by the library of North-
western University.
February, 1915.]
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
55
Europe in witnessing the regeneration of
Greece.
Caminade agrees with the editor of the crit-
ical edition of Miiller's poems (Berlin, 1906)
in the reconstruction of the third fascicule of
the Neue Lieder der Griechen, which was sup-
pressed by the Leipzig censorship in 1823. The
missing eighth song, which Miiller sent Brock-
haus on July 17, 1823, is still unaccounted for.
It may be mentioned that Mrs. N. C. Terrill
of the University of Kansas has elaborated a
plausible argument for including the Hymne
auf den Tod Raphael Riegos in this group, in
spite of intrinsic chronological obstacles. The
reasoning is based upon the following facts:
(1) In an unpublished letter to F. A. Brock-
haus, written as early as January 29, 1823,
Muller wrote : " Vielleicht singe ich bald
Lieder der Hispomier. Die Antwort des Kortes
pn den heiligen Bund ist grossartig und wiirde
sich leicht einer poetischen Behandlung fiigen."
(2) Muller had a remarkable habit of celebrat-
ing the death of his heroes long before the
event, as in the case of Canaris (Konsiantin
Kanari), Botzaris (Bozzari), and Odysseus
(Odysseus' Tod), a poem sent to Brockhaus on
September 12, 1822, but withdrawn by its
author on September 29, on the convincing
ground, " da dieser entweder lebt, oder ein
Verrather ist." The details of Riego's execu-
tion (November 7, 1823) reflected in the poem
seem to me, however, to go beyond the powers
of any poet, be he never so prophetic.
Another problem lies in Mailer's relation to
the modern Greek " political verse " of fifteen
syllables, which he employed so largely in
translating Fauriel (the original French vol-
umes published in 1824 and 1825). Arnold
and Caminade count eleven Griechenlieder in
this form, but there are, strictly speaking, but
four, all of them in the suppressed Drittes
Heft, and all written toward the end of 1822
or in the earlier part of 1823. No satisfactory
reason has yet been shown for Miiller's sudden
adoption of this most characteristic meter be-
fore the appearance of FauriePs collection.
The task of distinguishing between the two
editions of the Missolunghi-brochuTe (p. 33)
is reduced to zero if one bears in mind that the
Dessau copy is printed in Latin letters, while
that of Dresden is in German text.
Caminade's singular accuracy in regard to
obscure and scattered German sources is espe-
cially praiseworthy. On p. 32, 1. 2, for Kana-
ris should be read Kanari; for von der Rechte
(p. 33), von der RecTce; for Griechischer Feuer
(p. 142), Griechisches Feuer; for Vester (p.
113), Veste. Before the mention of Max
Miiller's untrustworthy sketch of his father's
life in the Allg. Deutsche Biographic some
danger-signal should have been displayed. On
p. 24 the name of a professor who has worked
in this field undergoes a painful mutilation.
The poem Gegen die Pharisaer (p. 29) ap-
peared later as Griechisches Feuer, and not as
Die verpestete Freiheit; similarly on page 30,
after Griechisches Feuer should occur, in
parenthesis, " deja paru."
To the biographical sources on p. 194 should
be added an article on Miiller's Diary and Cor-
respondence in the Deutsche Rundschau for
March, 1902; among "German periodicals"
(p. 198) might well be mentioned the Deutsche
Blatter fur Poesie, Litteratur, Kunst und
Theater, Breslau, 1823, as being the only
source for Miiller's dramatic fragment, Leo,
Admiral von Cypern, a production which has
a real bearing upon the matter of the book.
There is, unfortunately, no index to this other-
wise well-elaborated publication.
I cannot forbear to plead here for a full edi-
tion of Miiller's letters to F. A. Brockhaus and
his son Heinrich, extending from 1819 to the
last day of the poet's life. One hundred and
twenty-nine in number, they shed an incom-
parable light upon his entire literary activity,
but they remain locked away in the inaccessible
archives of the Brockhaus-firm in Leipzig.
Surely there can no longer be any good reason
for withholding them from publication!
JAMES TAFT HATFIELD.
Northwestern University.
56
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
[Vol. xxx, No. 2.
i
Frangois Villon: sa Vie et son Temps. Par
PIERRE CHAMPION. Paris, Champion, 1913.
Two vols. viii + 332 pp. with 24 plates, and
450 pp. with 25 plates.
In recent years no fresh external evidence
explicitly concerning Frangois Villon has come
to light, so that a " life " of Villon, if written
without reference to the internal evidence or to
the external evidence which without naming
Villon is applicable to him, might still be nar-
rated in a page or two. But Villon's 3161 ex-
tant verses are so personal, so well packed with
autobiography, and contain so many passages
which allude to other men and women, or to
the physical and moral environment in which
he lived, that it is possible to combine the in-
formation derived from both sources in a rich
narrative the essential truthfulness of which
the most skeptical critic need have no frequent
reasons to doubt. If Mr. Pierre Champion
occasionally ratifies uncertainty with a sans
douie, we may calmly substitute a ?, lay the
peccadillo to a momentary weakness, and con-
tinue to follow him with a conviction that, if
not ten times out of ten, at least nine, the hun-
dreds of archives which he has examined with
his own eyes or has quoted indirectly say what
he says they do and warrant the conclusions
which he has drawn. If Mr. Champion has
not enabled us to see even " the tip of Villon's
little finger," he has made him tangible in the
psychological sense, and this Villon, more im-
portant to us than the most accurate physical
presentment, he has caused to move amid his
original surroundings, making these as visible
as word-pictures allow when they are rein-
forced by many reproductions of original minia-
tures, -woodcuts of things and persons, maps of
Villon's Paris, etc.
"II fauldroit avoir este de son temps a
Paris "—so wrote Villon's first critical editor,
Clement Marot, about 1532, and Mr. Cham-
pion has taken this saying as a motto to be
followed with all possible diligence. "J'ai
done tente de promener le lecteur & travers ce
Paris oii Villon a beaucoup err6, en lui nom-
mant au passage les maisons des legataires, les
particularites de la rue et de la vie parisienne
que mentionna le poete, ce qu'un ecolier de son
temps aurait apergu dans la grand'ville. Ce
sera, si 1'on veut, un voyage d'imagination,
mais tout entier justifie par des documents."
This desire has produced an entertaining
book of great value to those who wish to know
as intimately as is possible at present how
Paris looked about 1450 and to study the life
of " la grand'ville " — the manners, thoughts,
and acts, and chiefly in these all that helps a
careful reader of Villon to realize most vividly
and accurately what Villon means in truth by
the scores of otherwise obscure passages in his
extremely personal and extremely local de-
scriptions, mentions, and allusions. To at-
tempt to read Villon without Champion to
guide would be in most cases to rely on meagre
or colourless information and, in many cases, to
wander in the dark. His two volumes consti-
tute in fact a rich commentary on all Villon's
extant poems. Open Champion and you will
find, for example, not merely a satisfying word-
picture of Saint-Benoit le Betourne, where
Villon lived with his " plus que pere," but the
church and its cloister are put before your eyes
in two excellent plates ; so that cemetery of the
Holy Innocents where Villon and his contem-
poraries met so often to gossip or ponder
among the graves and heaps of bones; you can
go down to the Abrouvouer Popin among the
washerwomen, or contemplate the palace of
Robert d'Estouteville or inspect either of the
two thick-walled buildings where Villon was
legally detained; the very stained-glass win-
dow in which Villon's mother, povrelte et an-
cienne, who didn't know A from B, saw with
fear
Paradis paint, ou sent harpes et lus,
Et ung enfer ou dampnez sent boullus: —
i? identified. If you really are inquisitive as
to that queen who had Buridan put in a bag
and dumped, not into the Seine but onto a
shock-absorbing heap of hay that this last of
her lovers had caused to be strewn in the in-
visible barge that lay waiting under her win-
dow to receive him, you will find the whole
February, 1915.]
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
57
legend — all that any one need know of it — in
Champion. Villon's Eommant du Pet au
Deable has disappeared not less irretrievably
than Echo or Hellois, but Mr. Champion does
his best to compensate posterity for the loss by
reproducing in its entirety a detailed program
of a student revelry like that which must have
been held, with acts of violence, arrests, and
trials when Villon and others triumphantly
removed Mile de Bruyeres's precious meteorite,
or whatever it may have been. To the Pet au
Deable Gaston Paris could devote only three
pages of his Villon (1901); Mr. Champion
could afford eleven and they are twice as capa-
cious. Mr. Champion's two volumes contain
no evidence that he felt cramped at any point;
occasionally, it must be said, this agreeable
guide slackens his pace unduly (considering
the lively interest which he has maintained till
that moment), and we often find ourselves back
at some tavern — le Mouton, for example — or
other " sight " whose history is repeated, at
least in part, as if there had been no previous
presentation. So it is with the men and women
who had, or may have had, some connection
with Villon; and so it is also with numerous
psychological estimates, moral or artistic ap-
praisals, etc. Had Mr. Champion made his
admirable index not merely to help his readers,
but to use for his own benefit before sending
his book to press, he would have been able to
check up his numerous repetitions and to cut
them all out. Such a trimming would have en-
abled him to deal rather minutely with various
important matters which he has hardly even
touched. For example —
Mr. Champion often quotes from unex-
ploited sources of many kinds passages which
show clearly how a given word or phrase em-
ployed obscurely by Villon is to be understood,
but to Villon's language as a whole he grants
only a few scattered remarks, based, not upon
systematic study, but upon such impressions
as an intelligent reader may gather en route.
At the present writing, we have no ready means
of knowing to what degree Villon's French
differs from that of other verse-makers of his
time; worse still, although Villon is considered,
in France and elsewhere, to be the most gifted
lyric poet of his time in all Europe, and though
he is read by many persons (including special-
ists) who find his language difficult or mis-
understand it, nobody has published even a
good glossary to his 3161 verses. What they
deserve and must have, if we are to read Villon
comfortably, accurately, what we must have
before any competent judge can venture a re-
spectable estimate of Villon's style (whatever
that may be), is a complete lexicon, accom-
panied by a purely linguistic commentary
packed with relevant quotations from many
other writers of his time, including the anony-
mous authors of legal documents, etc. Such a
commentary and such a lexicon might enable
us to judge discreetly whether a given word or
locution was living or archaic, prosaic or poet-
ical, plebeian or refined, technical or universal,
normal or freakish, etc.
Again (I, 201), Mr. Champion seems to
think that certain rimes of Villon's belong to
" the street," though they may be duplicated
easily in various poets of that time and earlier
who were not trying for " realistic " or comic
effects. Whatever may be its intrinsic interest,
the quotation from Henry Estienne is mislead-
ing : that this Hellenist, writing a century after
Villon, considered it ridiculous to say " mon
frere Piarre," etc., proves nothing except that
he thought so; if Mr. Champion, or any one
else, will reread Villon he will find that in the
poet's most solemn verses, where he is certainly
not putting in " local colour," we meet rimes
which would have been thought equally charac-
teristic of the street fifty or a hundred years
later. Villon's versification has not yet been
made the subject of methodical study, so far
as I am aware.
Before any such linguistic investigation of
Villon is undertaken we should know where
we stand as to the oldest texts. " Les sources
principales du texte de Villon," say Messrs.
Longnon and Foulet (1914), "sont au nombre
de cinq " — to wit, four MSS. and Pierre Levet's
edition (1489). They add: " II parait impos-
sible d'etablir la filiation de ces sources prin-
cipales. On ne peut cependant meconnaitre
d'une part la communaute d'origine de A, B
et F, et de 1'autre la parente de C et I [7 =
58
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
[Vol. xxx, No. 2.
Levet]." All that Mr. Champion can say on
this head is that "Autant que le permettent
les manuscrits de Villon, qui ne sont pas ex-
cellents et ne se classent pas tres bien, on pent
dire que la recente edition d'Auguste Longnon
[1912] nous donne un texte aussi parfaitement
etabli que possible: les quelques vers douteux
[more than that !] de notre poete ne paraissent
pas devoir etre corriges de sitot, et sans 1'aide
de sources nouvelles." Unfortunately, neither
this little edition of 1912 and 1914, notwith-
standing its obvious merits, nor any other, en-
ables us to know precisely how any of the old
texts reads at every point; so that the best we
can do is to accept the 1914 edition, complet-
ing it and checking it up with that of the
elder Longnon (1892), or refer to the facsimile
of the Stockholm MS. (F). Although the edi-
tion by Messrs. Longnon and Foulet exhibits
throughout that familiarity with fifteenth-cen-
tury usage which we should expect from its
editors, in many cases its text arouses doubt.
For example, does any of the five principal
sources contain the form si (=if) printed in
vss. 583 and 784 of Le Testament? Nowhere
else in Villon, as Messrs. L. and F. give him
to us, docs this si occur. Again, i for il or ilz
is frequent in nearly all the fifteenth-century
MSS. and printed books that I have examined,
yet this edition does not contain even one
example.
So limited is my space that Mr. Champion's
estimates of Villon's character, of the signifi-
cance of his work, etc., cannot be considered;
they will probably impress most of Mr. Cham-
pion's competent readers as judicious and as
interesting. (See, e. g., I, vi-viii, I, 194 and
II, 284-7.) The declaration that "Villon
demeure le seul poete du moyen age qu'on lise
aujourd'hui " (I, viii) is easy to disprove:
Dante is read by thousands, outside the school-
rooms, the same is true of our own Geoffrey
Chaucer, and Suchier's critical edition of Au-
cassin et Nicolete is widely read, as well as
the two admirable translations by Bourdillon
and Andrew Lang in English, and the delight-
ful German translation by Wilhelm Herz. In
such a work as Mr. Champion's, all purely
rhetorical, or too personal, or too national (I
mean, provincial!) statements are conspicu-
ously out of place.
DETAILS.
I, 24. Mr. C. modernizes Sur le Noel (L.
vs. 10) to " Sur la Noel."
I, 47. For " Coula " read coule (P. D.,
vs. 24).
. I, 49. Mr. C. translates lubres, in Travail
mes lubres sentemens (T., vs. 93) by " In-
stables." (L. & F. : glissant, instable.) Is
this so certain? Does lubres come from lubri-
cus or from lugubris? — Again, can we be so
sure as is Mr. C. that Esguisez comme une
pelote (other texts, not quoted by L. & F., but
by Longnon 1892, read Agusez ronds, Agusez
rons) means " Arrondis comme une boule"?
Is not Esguisez very dubious? and may not
pelote designate a refreshing game called pelote
(Spanish: pelota) ?
I, 54 n. 2, 72 n. 3, 88 n. 1, 216 n. 3, we read
•' Recueil general de fabliaux."
I, 107. For suit, in T. vs. 1622, Je suis
paillart, la paillarde me suit, Mr. C. substitutes
"duit" and translates: "Me convient." By
what authority?
I, 153. In vs. 1573 (T) Mr. C. adopts the
" easier reading " filles advenantes. Why not
keep the lectio difficilior (hence more probable
reading) filles ennementes, adopted and ex-
plained by L. & F.?
I, 155. Commenting on Les mendians ont
eu mon oye (T. vs. 1649), Mr. C. concludes
that either this was a proverbial way of speak-
ing or Villon must have seen Pathelin per-
formed as early as 1460, " ce qui n'est guere
vraisemblable." Again commenting on this
verse (II, 165), Mr. C. says (note 2) : " G.
Paris (Romania, XXX, 392) a adopte le point
de vue de Marcel Schwob qui trouvait dans ce
legs un souvenir du trait bien connu de Pathelin
(anterieur dans ce cas a 1461) : Et si man-
ger ez de mon oye (v. 300). J'avoue ne pas
partager cette opinion. Faire manger de I'oe
est ailleurs employe par 1'auteur de Pathelin,
comme une fac,on proverbiale de dire : berner
quelqu'un (Ed. Schneegans, v. 1577. Cf. Les
oisons mainent les oes paistre, v. 1587). Et il
y a par centre dans le Pathelin des souvenirs
du Testament (v. 367, 747). L'admirable
farce parait bien dater de la seconde partie du
regne de Louis XI et n'a rien a voir avec
Villon."
In a monograph to be published in the
Elliott Monographs, I expect to be able to show
that Pathelin was composed and probably per-
formed for the first time in the spring or sum-
February, 1915.]
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
59
mer of 1464. With Mr. C.'s refusal to believe
that Villon had seen P. performed as early as
1460, or thereabout, I therefore agree. Fur-
thermore, it seems extremely probable that vs.
367 of P. (sil nest blanc comme ung sac de
piastre) may echo Villon's Plus qu'un sac de
piastre nest blanc (J. et J., vs. 12) ; but that
oncq lart es pois ne client si Men can be like-
wise connected with Villon's pois au lart (L.
vs. 191), I do not believe, for this is merely
the name of a commonplace dish and is not
used by Villon to express fitness, as it is used
Li P. Almost needless to add, P. cannot date
from the " second part of the reign of Louis
XI" (1461-83), for it is unmistakably alluded
to in a legal document of 1469.
I, 196. Why a comma after pesante? (T.
vs. 1134; same error in L. & F.). And in vs.
1138 why prins en un piege? Is not the only
original reading prins a un piege? Further-
more, in vs. 1140, does not miege (may qui
suis son miege) contain a pun, and mean not
only " Son medecin (qualificatif amene par
j'ordonne)," but signify also "tawer, dresser of
white leather " (a definition which I have read
in some old work but can no longer find) ?
Again, I would suggest that by his Que ces
mastins ne sceussent courre (T. vs. 1139) Vil-
lon means, in effect: (And) provided the big
dogs couldn't run down the wolves and tear
their hides so as to make them impossible to
wear. What Mr. C. understands is merely that
furriers are not accustomed to use wolfskins,
though he adds that the fourrure or peau " des
loups avait la precieuse vertu de vous preserver
des poux, des punaises et d'autre vermine en-
core ; " and he adds : " on avait observe que les
chiens se gardaient de pisser dessus."
I, 212. In quoting, Mr. C. usually translates
obscure words or obscure locutions, but he has
no comment for oefs . . . perdus (T. vss.
251-2). and all that Longnon 1892 has to say
is : " On connait encore aujourd'hui, & sous
les memes noms. ces trois manieres d'accom-
moder les oaufs." What are, or what were,
oefs perdus?
I, 241. Mr. C. misquotes thus:
Parler n'en oit qu'il ne s'en rie (Read: qui ne)
Comme enraige, a plaine gorge.
I, 266, note 2. Instead of "L., v. 165"
read : L., v. 175.
I, 273. The qui pourra prendre of L. vs.
165, meaning " if anyone," etc., is not well ex-
plained by " Sous-entendu J. Trouve." The
correct interpretation of this qui upsets part of
the conclusion drawn by Mr. C.
I, 274. What does Villon mean (literally)
by franc in le Mouton franc et tendre (T. vs.
162) ? Mr. C. remarks: " Que le mouton soit
' franc et tendre,' c'est la encore ce que les
chambrieres devaient recommander tous les
jours a 1'irascible boucher." In a footnote
Mr. C. quotes a passage containing Esse cy
d'ung bien franc mouton ? but does not explain.
(L. & F. likewise seem to take the interpreta-
bility of this franc for granted.)
I, 290, note 2. Mr. C. says reau (T. vs.
1026) was pronounced " rot " (Why not simply
ro?), but in Villon's verse it must be dis-
syllabic.
Vss. 1022-9 contain a puzzle : Shall we read
Quay que marchande ou ait estat (with L. &
F.) ? or Quoyque [sic] Marchant I'ot pour
estat (with Mr. C.) ? or otherwise? Mr. C.
says : " II faut corriger vraisemblablement
comme je 1'ai fait ce vers: Ythier Marchand,
en effet, a d6ja rec.u en legs I'epee de Villon
(L., v. 83. Of. T., v. 971)." This is true; it
is true also that in Villon and other fifteenth-
century writers quay que is often followed by
sn indicative. But, how or why should Mar-
chand have got Villon's bmnc " pour estat " ?
II, 139. " Lui, pauvre mercier de Eennes,"
— in reality, May, povre mercerot de Renes,
(T., vs. 417). L. & F. translate: colporteur.
II, 140, note 1. For "ai" read: aie. (Let
me remark, parenthetically, that Mr. C.'s two
volumes, notwithstanding their length, contain
very few misprints and almost no inaccurate
quotations or erroneous references.)
II, 212. Mr. C. regards as realistic Villon's
detailed description of death (T. vss. 313-24).
That the various horrors enumerated by Villon
are, in most respects, anything but the result
of his own terrified imaginings, or, to be on the
safe side, that they correspond in their most
striking features to genuine physical phe-
nomena, is more than dubious. The truth is,
I think, that the whole passage in question is
fantastic and that it must be connected with
many other purely fantastic medieval descrip-
tions of death, in paintings, etc., and in books.
Maeterlinck has allowed himself to indulge in
the same sort of thing (see La mort). Per-
sons desirous of finding out the truth will do
well to consult credible authorities, as physi-
cians, hospital attendnnts, etc. I will refer the
readers of this review to Dr. Osier's letter in
The Spectator, Nov. 4, 1911. Tn a word, this
passage in Villon is not at all what Mr. C.
takes it for.
II, 246. In a footnote on the verse Prince,
trois jours ne vueillez m'escondire (P. D., vs.
31), Mr. C. writes: "Refuser d'entendre ma
60
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
[Vol. xxx, No. 2.
requete. Le mot est de style." First, m'es-
condire means simply " refuse me " ; second,
I doubt that " le mot est de style " ; this is pre-
cisely one of those assertions which are always
rash when no evidence is offered to prove them.
II, 275. " Villon devint aussi rapidement le
type populaire de 1'escroc, comme Pathelin. II
est remarquable de voir que 1'imprimerie re-
pandit dans le meme temps 1'admirable farce
et le Testament. On ecrira bientot le Testa-
ment de Pathelin: ces deux oeuvres seront con-
fondues dans une meme personnalite. On dira
les hoirs Villon, les hoirs Pathelin." Le Hoy's
Pathelin was printed in 1485 or 1486. Pierre
Levet's Villon appeared in 1489 (the first
known edition) ; his Pathelin followed it within
a few months. Mr. C. is right in coupling the
two characters; both of them (Villon and
Pathelin) had become fictitious types before
1500. What Mr. C. does not suspect is that
Guillaume Alecis, whose familiarity with Vil-
lon's writings he indicates in a note, was prob-
ably the author of that " admirable farce "
wherein Villon (the Villon of legend) is more
or less present, with his jargon.
The pleasant chapter on "La legende de
Frangois Villon" (II, 260-93) could easily
have brought Mr. C. down to the year 1914
and have taken him to England, America, and
perhaps elsewhere; let us be grateful to him
for giving us go much for an earlier period.
Mr. C.'s biographical appendix (II, 295-
398) should become part of a Dictionary of
Proper Names and Notable Matters in the
Works of Francois Villon, and this should fol-
low the complete Commentary and complete
Lexicon to a generously constructed Critical
Edition. How long shall we have to wait?
E. T. HOLBEOOK.
Bryn Uwcr College.
Milton and Jakob Boehme. A Study of Ger-
man Mysticism in Seventeenth-Century Eng-
land. By MARGARET LEWIS BAILEY. In
Germanic Literature and Culture, A Series
of Monographs, edited by JULIUS GOEBEL.
New York, Oxford University Press, 1914.
8vo., vii + 200 pp.
In recent years considerable interest has been
manifested in the German mystics of the Mid-
dle Age* from the view-point of theology and
philosophy. In Germany attempts have been
made to popularize, by the publication of in-
expensive editions, some of the works of Seuse,
Boehme, Mechtild von Magdeburg, and Ecke-
hart (vide Sammlung Kosel and Die Frucht-
schale). However, little enough has been done
to trace out in how far this mysticism has been
a leaven in literature. The above work, the
first of a series of monographs on Germanic
literature and culture, edited by Professor
Goebel of the University of Illinois, is there-
fore of vital interest. The writer purposes to
show a relation between Milton and Boehme,
not by the usual method of comparison for re-
semblances, but rather, as she says in her Pre-
face, by attempting "to lay hold of the spirit
of the time that produced natures so sympa-
thetic and complementary as those of the
simple, uneducated Gorlitz shoemaker and the
cultured man of the world, friend of a rising
republic." Delightful as such laying hold of
the spirit of the time may be, it after all offers
but an insecure basis upon which to draw scien-
tific conclusions about the actual relationship
between Milton and Boehme.
In Chapter I (Introduction) is presented
briefly the rise of mysticism from its Neopla-
tonic beginnings to Jakob Boehme. Chapter
II, "English Mysticism Before Boehme," sets
forth how a mystical atmosphere had been
created in England by Anabaptists, Brownists,
Familists, and other sects, thus preparing the
way for the reception of Boehme. We learn,
too, that other mystics, Tauler, Seuse, and
Euysbroeck, were not unknown in England.
Is it not just as likely then that Milton may
have come in touch with the mystical ideas of
these sects and these men? By far the most
illuminating part of the work is Chapter III,
" Boehme in England," in which the introduc-
tion of Boehme's works into England, the
spread of Boehmenistic teachings there, and
their similarity to those of the Quakers in re-
gard to the " inner light," are adequately pre-
sented. Having become liberally acquainted
with the introduction and spread of German
mysticism in England, the reader now passes
to Chapter IV, " Milton and Boehme," in the
joyful anticipation of an intimate relationship,
February, 1915.]
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
61
and then suffers his first keen disappointment.
The purpose of this chapter appears to be to
show Milton's connections with Hartlib, Co-
menius, Haak, and other Germans then active
in England, men from whom Milton might
have learned about Boehme. It is hardly cor-
rect to assume that it was always Boehme who
molded the mystical tendencies of these men.
It would be interesting to know to what extent
Comenius, who, it will be remembered, was a
member of the TJnitas Fratrum, and later one
of its bishops, had disseminated the pietistic
doctrines of the Moravian Church during his
stay in England. The chapter closes with the
rather indefinite conclusions that Milton might
have seen German copies of Boehme's works
brought to England by fugitives from the
Thirty Years' War, that he might have read
them in English after 1644, and that it is very
unlikely that Milton heard no mention of
Boehme among his German friends. On this
basis the writer then proceeds in Chapter V to
show a similarity between Milton and Boehme
in religious, philosophical and political ideas.
The writer points out Milton's acceptance of
the belief in the " inner light " (a favorite idea
in Boehme) as marking a change in Milton's
earlier and later poetry and quotes
So much the rather thou, Celestial Light,
Shine inward, and the mind through all her powers
Irradiate.
(Paradise Lost, III, 51 ff.)
It is interesting to note here that Mr. Sampson,
in Studies in Milton and an Essay on Poetry
(New York, 1913), in illustrating this doc-
trine of the "inner light," quotes this very
passage as one Milton had in common with
George Fox and his followers.
The writer points out as first evidence of
Milton's interest in Boehme his choice of the
origin of evil as the full subject of his Paradise
Lost and Paradise Regained. Milton's views
are then compared with Boehme's on (1) God
— prima materia; (2) God — Father, Son, and
Holy Spirit; (3) creation of angels ; (4) origin
of evil; (5) creation and fall of man; and (6)
place of punishment. It is pointed out that
Boehme has taught most impressively Christ's
salvation of man by overcoming temptation,
that it was Christ's resistance to temptation
which was the determining factor in the salva-
tion of mankind and not the atonement upon
the cross. This idea of the regeneration of
mankind through Christ's resistance to temp-
tation is given a prominent place in Paradise
Regained, but it is hardly correct to say that
" there is no other source than Boehme from
which he could have obtained this idea of the
temptation." Christ's sinlessness as an atone-
ment for the sins of mankind, known in the-
ology as the Active Obedience of Christ, over
against the Passive Obedience — His passion on
the cross, is not at all new, but can be traced
back to Pauline theology : " For as through the
one man's disobedience the many were made
sinners, even so through the obedience of the
one shall the many be made righteous" (Ro-
mans, 5:19). This has become a part of the
Lutheran doctrine, with which Milton could
easily have been familiar. It may be well to
recall that Boehme himself was an orthodox
Lutheran all his days !
Architecturally the work is not happily
planned. The longest chapter, the richest in
content, and the one for which the book should
have been named, is the third, "Boehme in
England," whereas the fourth, which bears the
title of the book, is next to the shortest and the
least satisfying. As a study of the extensive
spread of Boehmenism in England the work
deserves commendation; as a specific study of
Milton's relations to Boehme the evidence it
brings carries little conviction.
PRESTON A. BARBA.
Indiana University.
COBEESPONDENCE
GREENE AND GASCOIGNE
The numerous indebtednesses of Eobert
Greene have been the subject of much com-
ment. Permit me to call attention to another
of Greene's sources. His "pleasant discourse,
how a wife wanton by her husbands gentle
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
[Vol. xxx, No. 2.
warning, became a modest Matron" (Works,
ed. Grosart, Vol. X, p. 256, A Disputation
Betweene a Hee and a Shee Conny-Catcher,
1590) is taken from a tale in Gascoigne's " The
Adventures of Master F. J." 1573 (ed. W. C.
Hazlitt, Vol. I, p. 473).
JOHN CLARK JORDAN.
The University of Illinois.
ham Cupid as meaning naked Cupid,2 espe-
cially when one considers that it is customary
to represent Cupid as being nearly naked.
ABRAHAM CUPID
Referring to Shakespeare's Romeo and Ju-
liet, Act II, Sc. 1, line 13, one finds the ex-
pression Abraham Cupid — a reading frequently
altered by editors to read Adam Cupid in or-
der to make sense out of a reading that seems
to be devoid of real meaning. On the basis of
the following evidence (although it is not six-
teenth-century evidence), I prefer to keep the
original reading and to 'interpret the expres-
sion as meaning simply naked Cupid.
According to the New Eng. Diet., Abraham-
man was in 1561 a cant term for beggar — a
" bare-armed and bare-legged " vagabond —
and possibly had its origin in the parable of
the beggar in Luke XVI. It was the custom
of such vagabonds to attract attention by say-
ing Tom's a-cold ( as Edgar does in Lear) with
obvious reference to their nakedness. This
connotation seems to have survived as late as
the middle of the eighteenth century, for in
the beggar's vernacular of that period I find
Abram denoting nakedness. My authority for
this statement is a dictionary of the cant
language found in the sixth edition of the
Apology for the Life of Bampfylde Moore
Carew, King of the Beggars? in which Alram
is defined as meaning, " naked, without clothes,
or scarce enough to cover the nakedness."
Without overlooking the necessity for dis-
covering sixteenth-century substantiation of
this assumption, I am inclined to believe that
it is reasonable to accept the expression Abra-
1 London, Goadby and Owen, 1765.
GEEARD E. JENSEN.
Cornell University.
WlNTHROP AND CURTIS
In the introduction to a new edition of Theo-
dore Winthrop's The Canoe and the Saddle
(1913), edited and published by Mr. John H.
Williams of Tacoma, Washington, I find the
amazing statement that " Curtis did not know
Winthrop as an author " when he wrote the
biographical sketch of Winthrop which ap-
peared in the Atlantic Monthly for August,
1861. The two men were near neighbors and
intimate friends for several years, Curtis had
already made some success as an author and
some reputation as an editor, and it would
have been very strange if, after Winthrop
had fallen in battle, he had not looked into
Winthrop's manuscripts before writing the
sketch. He certainly knew Our March to
Washington and The Heart of the Andes, both
already published, and as we see from the fol-
lowing letter, Love and Skates, the best
seller of any of Winthrop's books — a charming
novelette. The above-mentioned Mr. Williams,
in a most astonishing pamphlet (cf. N. Y. Na~
tion, 26 February, 1914, Notes), assumes that
Curtis did not know Cecil Dreeme, John Brent,
and Edwin Brothertoft simply because he did
not quote them. He referred to them, though
not by name — for the names were all altered
before publication, — and quoted only a few ap-
posite sections of Winthrop's correspondence
from the front, and some uncompleted notes
for a military article for the Atlantic. A critic
rarely quotes from unpublished writings for
illustrative purposes — he quotes from material
with which his readers are presumably familiar
— because he is a critic, not a propagandist or
advertiser; and it was perhaps for this reason
•The editors of The 'First Folio' Shakespeare (T.
Y. Crowell & Co., New 'iork) arrive at the same
conclusion.
February, 1915.]
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
63
that he did not quote from manuscript, not
even from Love and Skates, which he had
certainly seen and which is the most clearly
achieved of Winthrop's work. The following
letter is of interest, concerning Love and Skates
and also concerning Mr. Curtis's attitude and
character : *
NOBTH SHORE, S. I., Jan. 30th, 63.
Dear Mr. FIELDS.
Now that the last of Theodore's works is soon to
appear, I take the liberty of expressing to you a
wish which has been gaining ground with me and
with all of us for a long time. It is that a proper
and dignified review of his writings should be pre-
pared for the " Atlantic " by some loving and capable
hand. The newspaper and magazine notices, though
laudatory enough to suit the most eager desire for
praise are shallow and undiscriminating, partly from
their necessary limits, partly from the kind of critic,
that " the bookman " must be of course. Neither is
it possible that any of them should have the knowl-
edge that would enable them to speak of the indus-
try and patience with which my brother wrought out
his style, or the care with which he studied the ac-
cessories of his pictures! I would also suggest that,
if you approve, Curtis be the person asked to do it —
not only that his power as a critic and gracefulness
as a writer would enable him to do ample justice to
the subject — not only because he has made himself
familiar with nearly every thing Theodore has writ-
ten, unpublished as well as published, but also that
he may have the opportunity to do justice to him-
self. For I find to my surprise that there are
people mean enough to say that Curtis might have
assisted to bring him forward as an author, and
that he did not was a proof of jealousy lest he be
eclipsed! And I should add that the expression
" not great genius which is ever salient " in his bio-
graphical sketch has been quoted as indicating an
unwillingness to give him due credit. To us who
know his noble nature, his genuine admiration of
Theodore's books and his joy in their success, as
well as the helping hand he always holds forth to his
literary brethren, this is simply absurd and ridicu-
lous, and the mention of the fact that Theodore never
showed him any of his writings but 'Love and
Skates ' which he immediately recommended his send-
ing to the Atlantic, and gave him a note of intro-
duction to Lowell to facilitate its acceptance, is
sufficient answer so far as it is known, but for his
own dear sake I would like it more widely known,
and it might come in very properly in such an
1 Published through the kindness of Mrs. James T.
Fields, who states that the letter is " From Eliza-
beth Winthrop, Theodore's sister."
article. Of course this is a mere suggestion; you
will do as you please, and gratified as I should be
by such a notice of my brother, I shall be satisfied
with your decision either way.
I remain, Truly your friend,
E. W. WINTHBOP.
The "proper and dignified review" which
did appear was written by G. P. Lathrop. I
have elsewhere discussed the editorship of the
Winthrop books.
ELBEIDGE COLBY.
Columbia University.
ANENT JEKOME AND THE SUMMONER'S FRIAR
" Ye need not stop work to inform us ; we
knew it ten seasons before." Kipling's moni-
tory line is directly applicable to several of the
present writer's parallels between the Second
Book of Jerome's Jovinian treatise and sundry
utterances of the Summoner's Friar (Modern
Language Notes, January, 1915). My friend,
Professor Tatlock, kindly draws my attention
to Koeppel's exposition of the chief of these
resemblances (Anglia, XIII, 178-179) and to
his own mention of these in his Development
and Chronology, pp. 101, 202. My oversight
finds its only palliation in the prevailing dis-
regard of Koeppel's evidence on this point
(1891). This has been ignored by Lounsbury
(1892) in his discussion of Chaucer's relation
to Jerome (Studies, II, 292-297), by Skeat
(1894) in his Notes upon Chaucer's Summon-
er's Tale, by Pollard (1899) in the footnotes
cf the Globe edition, and by Miss Hammond
(1908) in her statement in Chaucer, p. 93.
Mea culpa ! Mea culpa ! But the infection
was abroad and I sinned in much company.
And now another amende! One passage in
my article, " The Shaksperean Mob " (Publi-
cations of the Modern Language Association,
December, 1912), which I thought all my own
was the concluding comparison between Shak-
spere's Coriolanus and Ibsen's Enemy of the
People. Seemingly a trouvaille! But the
striking likeness between the mob-dramas of
the two authors had been pointed out years be-
64
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
[Vol. xxx, No. 2.
fore by my scholarly neighbor, Professor C. B.
Wright of Middlebury College, in a paper pub-
lished in synopsis in the Proceedings of the
Modern Language Association, 1895, pp. xxxi-
xxxiii.
Everyone of us has many such tales to tell.
Blessed be those — and their name is legion —
who say our good things before us !
FREDERICK TUPPER.
University of Vermont.
BRIEF MENTION
The American-Scandinavian Foundation,
which in 1913 established the American-Scan-
dinavian Eeview, has again widened the sphere
of its activity by embarking upon two new en-
terprises. The first of these is a series of Scan-
dinavian Classics in translation, the second a
series of Monographs. The initial monograph,
The Voyages of the Norsemen to America, a
copiously illustrated volume from the pen of
William Hovgaard (xxi + 304 pp., with 83 il-
lustrations and 7 maps), primarily concerns the
historian. Of the Classics two numbers have
thus far been issued, the first a volume of
Comedies by Holberg translated by 0. J. Camp-
bell and F. Schenck (xv + 178 pp.), the second
Poems ly Tegner: The Children of the Lord's
Supper translated by Longfellow; Frithiof's
Saga translated by W. L. Blackley (xxvii +
207 pp.). The three volumes are the product
of the Merrymount Press and are excellent
specimens of the book-maker's art.
For their intrinsic worth as well as for their
importance to literary history the three come-
dies of Holberg well deserved a rendering into
English. The translation is spirited and thor-
oughly idiomatic. The Introduction, giving a
brief sketch of Holberg's career, is by Professor
Campbell, who has recently published a volume
on Holberg's relations to foreign literature in
the Harvard Studies in Comparative Litera-
ture. It is to be hoped that further transla-
tions from Holberg will follow.
The contents of the volume dealing with
Tegner are not new, Longfellow's rendering of
The Children of the Lord's Supper being, in
fact, accessible in any one of the more complete
editions of his works. The editor, Mr. P. E.
Lieder, has followed the wording of the first
edition. This may be doing a service to the
student of Longfellow, but it was ill-advised if
the worthiest rendering of the original was
sought. Even a casual glance at the more than
forty alterations made in the received text
shows that these represent, in nearly every case,
corrections of metrically faulty lines. A spe-
cial effort is made in the later form to elimin-
ate the more flagrant instances of the spurious
dactyl. Two examples must suffice. Compare
" On the right hand the boys had their places "
with " The boys on the right had their places " ;
" Which the Godlike delivered, and on the
cross suffered and died for " with " Which the
Divine One taught, and suffered and died on
the cross for." The Introduction draws an in-
teresting parallel between Longfellow's impres-
sions of Sweden and the Arcadian setting of
Evangeline. — Blackley's rendering of Frithiof's
Saga compares favorably with the passages at-
tempted by Longfellow.
Professor W. P. Mustard follows up his col-
lection of the Mantuan's eclogues (noticed here
in the number for January, 1912, p. 32) with
an equally attractive edition of The Piscatory
Eclogues of Jacopo Sannazaro (Baltimore, The
Johns Hopkins Press, 1914, 12mo., 94 pp.).
Unless we are mistaken, this is the first ap-
pearance of these poems since the early part
of the eighteenth century, and their first pub-
lication by themselves since a few years after
their author's death. Yet, in spite of this ap-
parent neglect, they have always appealed to
students of Renaissance literature (see particu-
larly Gaspary's keen appreciation of their
qualities in his Oeschichte der italienischen
Litteratur) through their skillful blending of
realistic description with the traditional con-
ventions of the Virgilian pastoral, as well as
by their own charms of verse and style. And
now they meet with unusually happy treatment
•at Professor Mustard's hands. Their text has
been carefully established on the basis of the
sixteenth century editions, and the notes which
explain the text particularly emphasize the ob-
ligations of their author to the poets of classical
antiquity. Of wider interest, however, is the
chapter of the Introduction where the influence
of the eclogues on other writers is traced. One
who has had only the three or four indications
given by Torraca will be quite surprised to dis-
cover so many evidences of Sannazaro's pres-
ence in both Latin humanistic poetry and the
vernacular literature of Italy, the Spanish
peninsula, France and even England, a pres-
ence which made itself felt down even into the
eighteenth century.
F. M. W.
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
VOL. XXX.
BALTIMORE, MARCH, 1915.
No. 3.
THE COMPLETENESS OF CHAUCER'S
HOUS OF FAME
Most students of Chaucer doubtless feel with
Professor Manly 1 that forty years of strenuous
activity on the part of scholars should cer-
tainly not have left unsolved the meaning of
the poet's seemingly most personal work, the
Hous of Fame. They also assuredly have an
a priori satisfaction in Professor Manly's
tempting simple solution of this vexing prob-
lem in Chaucer scholarship. For, those of us
who are not unalterably wedded to the " auto-
biography" theory have long felt — as did M.
Dupin toward the mystery of " The Purloined
Letter" — that the solution of the meaning of
the Hous of Fame is probably " too plain," a
" little too self-evident," and that the meaning
of the poem is to be discerned, if at all, not by
our reading between the lines, but by our in-
terpreting simply and literally the lines them-
selves. It could hardly be expected, however,
that we medievalists, five centuries late, should
be in entire accord even on the literal meaning
of the lines. To be specific, I find no evidence
either in the poem itself or in the probabilities
of the case, that the work "was intended to
herald or announce a group of love stories and
to serve as a sort of prologue to them." 2 On
the contrary, I believe that the poem is, save
the necessarily brief missing conclusion which
it seems to demand, absolutely complete in it-
self and that it has no other meaning or pur-
pose than that which is more than once defin-
itely expressed in the words of the eagle and
of Chaucer himself.
For the sake of having a clear understanding
of the situation as Chaucer presents it to us,
I ask the reader to follow with me the signifi-
cant lines in the poem referring to the purpose
of the journey which the poet is making and the
nature of the reward which will meet him at
the end.
'"What Is Chaucer's Hous of Fame?" Kittredge
Anniversary Papers, p. 73.
•Manly, p. 81.
In Book II, 70, 71, the eagle tells Chaucer —
this case that betid thee is,
Is for thy lore and thy prow,
Jupiter pities you, continues the eagle, because
you have so long served Cupid and Venus and
have made books, songs, and ditties in honor
of Love; and he considers it a virtue that you
make your head ache many a night in writing
about love. Furthermore, he considers (11.
136-143) :
that thou hast no tydinges
Of Loves folk, if they be glade,
Ne of nothing elles that God made;
And noght only fro fer contree,
That there no tyding cometh to thee,
But of thy verray neighebores
That dwellen almost at thy dores,
Thou herest neither that ne this;
And therefor Joves, through his grace,
Wol that 1 bere thee to a place,
Which that hight the Hous of Fame
To do thee some disport and game, (153-156)
For truste wel that thou shalt here
Of Loves folke mo tydynges,
Bothe sothe sawes and lesynges;
Mo discords, and mo jelousyes,
Mo murmurs, and mo novelryes,
And mo dissymulaciouns,
And feigned reparaciouns ; (164-180)
In 517-521, the eagle speaks of
the grete soun,
that rumbleth up and down
In Fames Hous, ful of tydynges,
Bothe of fair speche and chidynges,
And of fals and soth compound.
And in 579-586, the eagle exclaims,
And God of hevene sende thee grace,
Som good to lernen in this place,
In the third book, 794-79^ and 866-886,
Chaucer tells his friend why he has come to
the Hous of Fame, and then refers to the
nature of the tidings in this house :
66
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
[Vol. xxx, No. 3.
That wol I tellen thee,
The cause why I stonde here.
Som newe tydynges for to lere,
Som newe thynges, I not what,
Tydynges other this or that,
Of love, or swich thinges glade.
Ne never reste is in that place,
That hit nys fild ful of tydynges,
Other loude, or in whisprynges.
And over all the houses angles,
Is ful of rounynges and of jangles,
Of werres, of pees, of mariages,
Of reste, of labour of viages,
In 917-936, the eagle resumes his address
to the poet:
But sith that Joves, of his grace,
As I have seyd, wol thee solace
Finally with thise thynges,
Unkouthe syghtes and tydynges,
To passe with thyn hevynesse,
Swiche routhe hath he of thy distresse, —
That thou suffrest debonairly,
And wost thyselven utterly,
Desperat of all raaner blis,
Sith that Fortune hath mad a-mys
The swote of al thyn hertes reste
Languisshe and eek in point to breste, —
That he through his myghty merite,
Wol do thee an ese, al be hit lyte,
And yaf expresse commaundement,
To which I am obedient,
To furthre thee with al my might,
And wysse and teche thee aright,
Wher thou maist most tydynges here;
Thou shalt anoon heer many oon here.
And in 1041-1054, Chaucer relates the story
of his experience in the house of tidings :
And as I alther-fastest wente
Aboute, and dide al myn entente,
Me for to playe and for to lere,
And eek a tydynge for to here,
That I hadde herd of som contree
That shall not now be told for me;
For hit no need is, redely;
Folk can synge hit bet than I.
For al mot out, other late or rathe,
Alle the sheves in the lathe.
I herde a grete noise withalle
In a corner of the halle,
Ther men of love tydynges tolde,
And I gan thiderwarde beholde:
If we disregard, for the moment, the proba-
bilities in the case, and limit our immediate
consideration to the actual meaning of the lines
themselves, we shall find that the poet gives
us an explicit account of the purpose of his
journey. As a reward for his labors in the
service of Love, Jupiter has made it possible
for him to throw off for a brief period the bur-
den of authorship, and, carefree, to see and
hear many wonderful things on his journey
through the air to the house of Fame, and
particularly to observe intimately the varied
experiences of " Loves folk," whom (we must
infer) he has hitherto known about only
through his books. The tidings which he
hears are not stories or tales such as Chaucer
would have in mind if he had used the word
" tydyngs " as a synonym for " stories." These
tidings constitute what I may call the flotsam
and jetsam of the daily life of lovers. They
are the current news of the servants of Love.
I find in the foregoing lines no support for
the argument that the author is referring to
anything so formal or articulate or unified as
" love stories." Furthermore, even if we grant
that Chaucer uses " tydynges " in the sense of
stories, we have no positive evidence in the
lines themselves implying that the poet will
tell these stories which he hears in Fame's
house. In Chaucer's account of the tidings of
the house of Fame, there is no stronger impli-
cation that he will tell these stories than there
is in the Troilus where Pandarus speaks of the
story which a maiden was reading to Criseyde
and her ladies (Troilus, II, 81-84) :
And fond two other ladies sete and she
Within a paved parlour; and they three
Herden a mayden reden hem the geste
Of al the sege of Thebes, while hem leste.
If we may now consider in the light of
probabilities the passages in the poem which,
as I have said before, seem to be most signifi-
cant, we shall find little confirmatory proof
for the theory that Chaucer hears love stories
(in the Hous of Fame) which he is afterwards
to tell to others. The probabilities I shall ask
to be considered under two main heads: (1) the
March, 1915.]
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
67
nature of the tidings; and (2) the use which
the poet is to make of them.
(1) If Chaucer meant to use tydyngs in the
sense of stories, is it not strange that he was
so careful not to use the synonyms " stories "
or " tales " at one or more of the many places
where we find the word " tydyngs " ? 3 If he
had had in mind love stories, the kind of
stories that he might tell, would he not have
used the word " story " or " tale," as he does
in so many other poems? The kind of story
which Chaucer was interested in at the time
of the composition of the Rons of Fame
(whether in 1379 or 1384) was the story which
he found in his books, such a story as that of
Dido and Eneas, which he tells at length in
this very poem, or such a story as he refers to
in the following lines :
This olde storie, in Latin which I fynde,
Of queue Anelyda and false Arcite.
i
Therefore, if we interpret the word " tydyngs "
as stories, we must assume that these tidings
which come up to Fame's house are book stories,
an extremely unlikely possibility.
r These tidings of love's folk are the happen-
ings of the day, interesting bits of gossip,4
scraps of information — just such things as
Chaucer, the comptroller by day and the poet
by night, would have no means of knowing;
,jiot love stories, for these he had in his books.
There would be no need for Chaucer to take
this journey for the sake of hearing new love
stories. He doubtless had plenty of them al-
ready lying in his chest. What he desired was
chatty news and strange sights ; and such " un-
couthe sightes and tydynges " he found at the
end of his journey.
(2) As to the use which Chaucer intended
to make of the tidings, the assumption that
these tidings which the poet mentions so often
' For Chaucer's use of the word " tydyngs " or
"tydyng" in other poems, see Troilus, II, 951, 1113;
Tale of the Man of Lawe, 726, 727 ; Prologue of Man
of Lawe's Tale, 129; The Clerkes Tale, 752.
4 Other things agreeing, one of these tidings may
have been the rumor of the wedding of Eichard and
Anne, a tiding from a far country.
in his poem are not love stories will be strength-
ened if we can show that Chaucer did not in-
tend to use this material for a series of stories,5
or, in other words, that the purpose of the jour- ,/'
ney, which is the purpose of the poem, is not
to provide Chaucer with new poetic material.
The purpose and nature of the reward, as stated
in the poem, do not suggest a group of love
stories to follow. Is it possible that Chaucer
is to be rewarded for his writing of love stories,
and to be relieved of his great distress by being
taken to a place where he shall find material
for another batch of love stories? An oppor-
tunity for further labor in writing love stories
seems to me to be a strange sort of solace for
the poet, who, as the poem suggests, needs a
rest from such labor. Should not this journey
to the house of Fame be considered rather as a
delightful, unusual experience which Jupiter
wishes to grant to the poet for his long service
to Cupid and Venus? As we learn from the
poem, the poet has lived the life of a recluse.
Here is an opportunity for him to hear and
see strange things. And the pleasure which
Chaucer takes in this journey, and in the won-
derful things which he experiences on the way
and at the end, justifies completely the pur-
pose of this reward from the great ruler of
the universe (Book II, 153-156) :
And therfor Joves, through hia grace,
Wol that I bere thee to a place,
Which that hight the Hous of Fame,
To do thee som disport and game,
As the last and best part of the poet's experi-
ences, come the sights and sounds of the house
of tidings, the legitimate goal of his journey
and the logical end of the poem.6 The pur-
pose of the journey and the complete reward
6 The possibility of a single story to conclude the
Hous of Fame, I do not consider, as Professor Manly
has already shown the unlikelihood of such a plan.
'Only on the assumption that the Hous of Fame
is a prologue to something else, fan the house of
tidings be regarded as a decorative element. On
other grounds, the whirling house must be looked
at as constituting an essential part of the poet's
experiences on his jou.ney.
68
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
[Vol. xxx, No. 3.
are satisfied in the experiences which the poet
has on the way and at the end.
Additional evidence against the theory that
the poem suggests a group of love stories to
follow is the unified nature of the poem itself.
Chaucer's logical division of the material into
three books, together constituting a unified
whole, indicates to my mind that the poet con-
ceived of the poem as a thing complete in itself.
It is consistent throughout. Looked at as a
love- vision journey poem, a poem in which the
hero is to hear and see wonderful things, as a
reward for certain services, it is, with the ex-
ception of the brief missing part of the third
book, as complete a poem as Chaucer's own
Parlement of Foules or Dante's Divine Comedy.
In the Parlement, African says to the poet
(109-112),
. . . ' Thou hast thee so wel born
In lokyng of myn olde book to-torn,
Of which Macrobie roghte not a lyte,
That somdel of thy labour wolde I quyte,"
Chaucer is rewarded for his labor by this
journey to the court of the Goddess Nature.
In the Inferno, I, 82-84, Dante addresses
Virgil thus:
O degli altri poeti onore e lume,
Vagliami il lungo studio e il grande amore,
Che m'ha fatto cercar lo tuo volume.
And Virgil replies, I, 112-114 :
Ond' io per lo tuo me' penso e discerno,
Che tu mi segui, ed io sar6 tua guida,
E trarrotti di qui per loco eterno,
Through the aid of his master, Virgil, Dante
is enabled to take this journey through the
doleful place to the gate of St. Peter. Simi-
larly, through the grace of Jupiter, Chaucer,
the recluse, is enabled, like Dante, to experi-
ence things strange and wonderful. In each
case, the poet is interested not only in the ulti-
mate goal of his journey, but also in the mar-
velous things that he sees by the way. The
Hous of Fame shows consistency of plan and
execution. For a medieval love- vision, it is
reasonably well proportioned. Chaucer's re- /
cital of the love story of Dido and Eneas, I
admit, may be a trifle drawn out; but the dis-
course on sound and the journey through the
air, the description of the outer walls and the
great hall of the castle and the ice-cap, the
picture of the goddess and the throngs of sup-
pliants, the explanation of the turning house
of tidings, are features which one might natur-
ally expect to find in a poem of this sort. In
all of these things, as parts of his unusual ex-
periences, Chaucer is thoroughly interested.
And so far as we can see, the poem exists forx /
the sake of these wonderful experiences, cul-
minating in the house of tidings, and not for
the sake of a story or of stories to follow. Ee-
garded as a prologue to a group of love stories,
it becomes the only inartistic poem which
Chaucer ever wrote. As a means to an end, it
is inconceivable.
The simple explanation which I have just
given for the meaning of the Hous of Fame has
at least one merit — it takes the poem at its
obvious face value. The burden of proof rests
on those who consider it as an allegory with
autobiographical significance, or as a prologue
to a story or group of stories. Until stronger
evidence shall appear to support such conten-
tions, I shall be satisfied to regard it as a love-
vision poem, in which the poet realizes to the
fullest extent the possibilities of the device of
a journey as a reward for his services in the
cause of Love. Employing such rich poetic
material as the combined classical conception
of the goddess Fama and the abstract idea of
worldly reputation, the journey of the "grete
poete of Itaile " through the lower world and
to the abode of the blessed, and the conven-
tional device of the love-vision, Chaucer has
given us the Hous of Fame, a complete poem,
rich in thought and fancy, in story and signifi-
cance— a poem in which are shown at their
very best the poet's fertility of invention and
skill of artistic presentation.
W. 0. SYPHERD.
Delaware College.
March, 1915.]
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
69
CHAUCER'S TROILUS AND GUIL-
LAUME DE MACHAUT
The lecture delivered by Pandarus to his
friend in the First Book of Chaucer's Troilus
contains a few reminiscences of Guillaume de
Machaut's Remede de Fortune*
What? shulde he therfor fallen in despeyr,
Or be recreaunt for his owene tene,
Or sleen him-self, al be his lady fayr?
Nay, nay, but ever in oon be fresh and grene
To serve and love his dere hertes quene,
And thenke it is a guerdoun hir to serve
A thousand-fold more than he can deserve.
(i, 813-819)
Tu ne te dois pas desperer.
(1662)
Tu ne te dois pas las clamer,
Se tu 1'aimmes bien, n'esmaier
Qu'elle ne te doie paier
Plus mille fois que ne dessers
En ce que tu I'aimmes et sers.
Et auasi c'est une chose petite
A li de rendre a toy merite.
Car tout le menre guerredon
De qu'elle te puist faire don,
Dont celle a sans fin et sans nombre,
Vaut cine cens fois, s'a droit le nombre,
Plus que desservir ne porroies,
Se tu I'amoies et servoies,
Norn pas tous les jours de ta vie,
Mais autant com la monarchic
De ce monde porra durer. (1636-1651).
For if hir wheel stinte any-thing to torne,
Than ceased she Fortune anoon to be:
Now, sith hir wheel by no wey may sojorne,
What wostow if hir mutabilitee
Eight as thy-selven list, wol doon by thee?
(i, 848-852)'
S'elle estoit toudis en un point
Et de raison usoit a point,
Si qu'envers tous fust juste et une,
Elle ne seroit pas Fortune.
Mais pour ce qu'elle ne sejourne,
Eins se change, mue et bestourne
En fait, en dit, en renomme'e,
Eat elle Fortune nominee. (2531-2538)
And also thenk, and therwith glade thee,
That sith thy lady vertuous is al,
1 A poem well known to be a prime source of the
Book of the Duchess.
' This may come directly from Boethius, as Skeat
thinks.
So folweth it that ther is som pitee
Amonges alle thise othere in general.
(i, 897-900)
Encor dois tu penser anssi,
Pour toy mettre hors de soussi,
Non mie penser, mais savoir,
8e tu vues joie et pais savoir,
Que puts qu'elle a parfaitement
Tous les biens qu'on puet bonnement
Ymaginer, dire, ou penser,
Qui croissent en li sans cesser,
Et qu'elle est des vertus paree.
Et de tous vices separfie,
Qu'il couvient de necessity
Qu'en li soit Franchise et Pite,
Humblesse et Charity s'amie.
(1671-1683)'
In the Fourth Book there is also at least one
passage which reminds one of the Remede.
But al to litel, weylawey the whyle,
Lasteth swich ioye, y-thonked be Fortune!
That semeth trewest, whan she wol bygyle,
And can to foles so hir song entune,
That she hem hent and blent, traytour commune!
And when a icight is from hir wheel ythrowe,
Than laugheth she, and maketh him the mowe.
From Troilus she gan hir brighte face
Awey to writhe, and took of him non hede,
And on her wheel she sette up Diomede.
(iv, 1-11)
Les bras et le pis a d'argent,
Mais ce n'est que decevement,
Car ce qu'il luisent clerement,
Les yeux esbloe
Et aveugle de mainte gent,
Cui elle promet largement,
Et en son pis couvertement
Traison noe.
D'un des bras les met sus sa roe
Plus legierement qu'une aloe;
De 1'autre les flert en la joe
Si Cerement
Qu'elle les trebuche en la boe,
Et puis elle leur fait la moe.
(1049-1062)
G. L. KlTTREDGE.
Harvard University.
'Cf. Machaut's Jugement dou Roy de Behaingne,
w. 458-462:
Son Dous Regart riant m'assedroit,
Et Dous Espoirs doucement me disoit
En louiautC
Et m'affermoit qu'onques si grant Haute1
Ne pot estre qu'il n'i elist pits,
with Troilus, i, 895-896, cf. Remede, 1790-1796.
70
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
[Vol. m, No. 3.
HAMLET'S " BRAVE O'ERHANGING
FIRMAMENT "
Hamlet's famous lines on "this brave o'er-
hanging firmament, this majestical roof fretted
with golden fire" have often been quoted as
one of the finest passages in Shakespeare. For
example, Churton Collins 1] uses them to illus-
trate "the style where Shakespeare has raised
prose to the sublimest pitch of verse"; and
Professor Albert S. Cook2 uses them— to the
disadvantage of the dramatist — in comparing
Shakespeare's prose and the Bible. I have long
suspected that these lines were not without an
undercurrent of humor — that in writing them
the poet was slyly laughing in his sleeve; and
recently I have come upon evidence that
strengthens this suspicion. On the basis of
this may I offer an interpretation of the lines
which, if it be correct, gives us an interesting
glimpse of Shakespeare in a playful mood?
Professor Thornton S. Graves, in his excel-
lent study, The Court and the London Theatres
during the Reign of Elizabeth, pp. 22-26,
makes it reasonably certain that the " heavens "
of the Elizabethan playhouse covered not
merely a part, but all, or nearly all, of the
stage proper. Furthermore, he gives proof that
the "heavens" was "fitted up, perhaps very
elaborately, to represent the firmament." This
effect was gained, it seems, by " painted can-
vas stretched overhead," on which were dis-
played the stars, and possibly other celestial
objects. As Professor Graves remarks, such
an elaborate adornment of the stage was
"obviously intended to be seen by the entire
audience."
Some of the actors must have felt a nai've
pride in this "brave" firmament; R. M., in
his "Character" of a Player (1629), says:
"If his action prefigure passion, he raves,
rages, and protests much by his Painted
heavens." But did Shakespeare feel any pride
in it? That he, as well as Jonson, did not
approve of the use of the " heavens " for lower-
1 Studies in Shakespeare, 1904, p. 197.
1 The Authorized Version of the Bible and its In-
fluence, 1910, pp. 55-59.
ing persons to the stage we know, for in his
plays he avoids this sensationalism; and we
may well believe that the "painted" firma-
ment with its gilded stars seemed to him
tawdry. If so, he might laugh slyly and good-
naturedly at the "majestical roof." Hamlet
in speaking the lines must have pointed to-
wards this crude representation of the firma-
ment, and his words, therefore, may have a
double meaning.
Again, the reference to the air as a " foul
and pestilent congregation of vapors" may
very well be a half-humorous satire on the
heavy atmosphere of the theatre, laden with
the " foul " breath of the " stinkards " in the
pit, and the " pestilent " smoke of the tobacco-
takers, who sat on the stage as well as in the
galleries. Tobacco, we know, was vended in
the theatres, and a large part of the audience
smoked :
"At these spectacles ... the English
are constantly smoking." — Hentzner, A Jour-
ney into England, 1598 (tr. by Walpole).
"He looks like a fellow that I have seen
accommodate gentlemen with tobacco in our
theatres." — The Queen of Corinth, III, i.
" The Tobacco-men, that used to walk up
and downe the playhouses, selling for a penny-
pipe, that which was not worth twelve-pence an
horse-load." — The Actors Remonstrance.
Thomas Dekker in several places gives us an
excellent conception of the " vapor " that arose
from the groundlings who were herded together
in the pit:
" Their playhouses smoakt euerye after noone
with Stinkards, who were so glewed together
in crowdes with the Steames of strong breath,
that when they came forth, their faces lookt
as if they had beene perboyled." — The Seuen
Deadly Sinnes of London.
"The basest stinkards in London, whose
breath is stronger than garlicke and able to
poison all the twelve-penny roomes." — The
Raven's Almanacke.
If the "brave" firmament was "o'erhang-
ing " the stage, and if Hamlet pointed up, and
if the atmosphere was foul with tobacco smoke,
March, 1915.]
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
71
could an Elizabethan spectator with his nimble
wits fail to see the humor of these lines ? And,
as addressed to the stupid Rosencrantz and
Guildenstern, are they not in keeping with
Hamlet's humorous jibes at the stupid Polo-
nius? And does not humor explain what Pro-
fessor Cook found objectionable in the passage :
" How repetitious ! ' Canopy ' — ' firmament '
— ' roof ' — thus it is amplified " ?
I may call attention to another case in which
an Elizabethan playwright refers humorously
1o the interior structure of the theatre. Thomas
Heywood, in The English Traveller (ed. Pear-
son, vol. IV, pp. 63-64), while pretending to
describe a dwelling bought by young Lionell,
really describes the stage about the actors :
Reig. What brave carv'd posts! Who knows but
here
In time, sir, you may keep your shrevaltie.
And I be one oth' Serjants.
Old Lio. They are well carv'd.
Reig. . . . Look that way, sir.
What goodly fair bay windows!
Old Lio. Wondrous stately.
Reig. And what a gallerie! How costly ceiled!
What painting round about!
Professor M. W. Sampson has pointed out a
far more interesting case in The Roaring Girl,
I, i, 131-153 (Bullen's ed. Middleton, vol. IV,
pp. 19-20) ; and doubtless other examples
could be noted.
Bearing these facts in mind, and remember-
ing that Hamlet is addressing Rosencrantz and
Guildenstern, that noble pair of fops, and at
a time when he wished to make them think
him cracked in his wits, we might readily con-
ceive of the lines as half-humorous. We might
then interpret the passage thus:
This goodly frame,8 the earth [with a sweep
of the arm, taking in the " frame " of the
Globe'] seems to me a sterile promontory; this
1 The word " frame " is regularly used of the body
of the playhouse. In the contract for building the
Fortune we read: "With a stadge and tyreing-
howse, to be made and sett upp within the said
frame"; "and also all the saide frame and the
stearcases therof to be sufficiently enclosed without
with lathe, lyme, and haire ... all the princy-
pall and maine poastes of the said frame," etc.
most excellent canopy, the air [pointing over-
head to the blue painted canvas], look you
[again directing attention to the "painted
heavens"'], this brave* o'erhanging6 firma-
ment, this majestical roof fretted with golden
fire, why it appears no other thing to me than
— a foul and pestilent congregation of va-
pours.'
I am well aware that to many this interpre-
tation of the passage will seem sacrilegious;
probably Dr. Samuel Johnson, could he speak
from the other world, would apply to it his
favorite epithet " obscene." And I realize that
we must consider the passage in connection
with what immediately follows. Here I find
serious objection to reading any humor into
the apostrophe. Yet it may be that Shake-
speare, in spite of the lofty character of the
passage as a whole, introduced for a moment
an undercurrent of humor; he is given to this.
Or it may even be — although this seems un-
likely— that the lines which follow were irou-
iral. Hamlet has just had an example of what
" man is " in the case of his supposed friends,
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern; and now as he
looks straight at them he speaks with a mean-
ing that is clear to the audience and puzzling
to the two fops he is addressing:
" What a piece of work is a man ! how noble
in reason ! how infinite in faculty ! in form and
4 " Brave " in the sense of " showy," used dis-
paragingly.
• The word " o'erhang " has given at least one
commentator trouble. Knight says : " Using ' o'er-
hanging ' as a substantive, and omitting ' firma-
ment ', the sentence is, perhaps, less eloquent, hut
more coherent. ... If this interpretation be
correct, the word ' firmament ', which is applied to
the heavens generally, was rejected by Shakespeare
[it is omitted, doubtless by accident, in the First
Folio] as conveying an image unsuited to that idea
of a part which is conveyed by the substantive,
' o'erhanging.' " The adjective " o'erhanging " very
nicely describes the " heavens " in its relation to the
stage. The contract for the building of the Hope
reads : " And shall also builde the heavens over the
said stadge, to be borne or carried without any
postes or supporters."
•Compare Antony and Cleopatra, V, ii, 213: " In
their thick breaths, Rank of gross diet, shall we be
enclouded, And forced to drink their vapours " ; and
Julius Caesar, I, ii, 2J8.
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
[Vol. xxx, No. 3.
moving how express and admirable ! in action
how like an angel! in apprehension how like
a god ! the beauty of the world ! the paragon
of animals ! "
I do not maintain that these interpretations
of the passage are correct ; I merely offer them
as interesting and possible. Perhaps the reader
will find some pleasure in observing his re-
action to the lines considered in this light.
JOSEPH QUINCY ADAMS, JR.
Cornell University.
Geschichte der Deutschen Literatur. Von Dr.
LILIAN L. STKOEBE und Dr. MARIAN P.
WHITNEY. New York, Henry Holt and
Company, 1913. 8vo., ix + 273 pp.
According to the Preface, " This little book
is intended to meet the special needs of Ameri-
can students as a background for all courses in
German Literature." A book of this kind, es-
pecially for "those teachers who believe that
the foreign tongue should be the language of
the class-room," has long been a want. Whether
or not such a book should be a schematic out-
line rather than a history of literature " treated
as an organic whole," depends upon the prefer-
ence or needs of the individual teacher. The
book under review aims to represent German
literature as an organic whole and includes
chapters on historical, social and economic con-
ditions reflected in the literature, besides chro-
nological tables, brief chapters on dramaturgy
and the history of the language, and a bibli-
ography. The book can undoubtedly be made
useful in the class-room, especially as a com-
panion volume to such anthologies as those of
Calvin Thomas and Dr. K. H. Collitz. Some
of the chapters, especially the " Einleitungen,"
are well written. The whole book has continu-
ity and it is generally accurate. But a book so
limited in size implies limitations also in scope.
The ambition "to serve as a background for
all courses in German literature" exceeds its
attainment.
The Preface criticizes other books of similar
intent because those books if " published in this
country have sacrificed everything to simplicity
of style and vocabulary " while " those issued
in Germany for Germans are written in very
difficult and condensed language." In both
cases the authors fail to specify the books
they have in mind. Carla Wenckebach's well-
known Deutsche Literatur geschichte, written
for American students, surely does not " sacri-
fice everything to simplicity of style and vo-
cabulary." The arraignment of German books
could not well include books like that of Kluge,
and only books of the Kluge type could be
brought into comparison with the book under
review. I grant that the language of the latter
is often simple and, as in the synopsis of the
Nibelungenlied, diffuse rather than condensed.
On the other hand, students who have arrived
at the point where the study of the history of
literature becomes properly part of their work,
should be able to read Kluge, and even refer-
ences to standard works like Scherer, Vogt und
Koch, etc., without much difficulty. If literary
history is studied before that point has been
reached, the study of a German book involves
an investment of time which could be more
profitably spent in reading literary master-
pieces.
The reviewer has his doubts as regards the
availability of one and the same book for the
use of both High School pupils and College
students. There is a vast difference between
the mental status and trained ability of a
fourth year High School pupil and a Junior at
College, even if the latter has had but limited
training in German. As a matter of fact, the
last part of this Literaturgeschichte, treating
of the nineteenth century literature that is
chiefly read by beginners in the High School
and College, i. e., the modern short story
(Storm, Gottfried Keller, C. F. Meyer, Hauff,
etc.) is so condensed as not to be of any value
for this class of students. The synopsis of the
Nibelungenlied again, which is simple enough
in style for beginners, does not come within
the scope of beginners, while it is too simple to
test the ability of more mature students. As-
suredly books should be graded with reference
to the stage of advancement of the student.
March, 1915.]
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
73
In the allotment of space to periods and
authors the judgment of the authors is on the
whole to he commended, except in the case of
" Moderne Dichtung." A fuller treatment of
" modern and contemporary literature " than
is found " in most short manuals " is claimed
for this volume. Some eighty names are passed
in review on about thirty-five pages. Such
names as Baumbach, Bodenstedt, Dranmor,
Greif, Groth, Halm, Hamerling, Hebel, Her-
wegh, Hb'lty, Kinkel, Leuthold, Lingg, Bo-
quette, Stifter, and others are passed over in
silence, while new immortals, such as Lily
Braun, Dreyer, Beyerlein, Wittenbauer, are in-
troduced. No book of this size can do justice
to the nineteenth century post-classic authors.
They require a separate volume.
The material is arranged as usual under the
three periods, " Neuhochcleutsch " having three
subdivisions, " Klassische Dichtung," " die Bo-
mantik," and " die Moderne Dichtung." " Alt-
hochdeutsch " is made to include Ulfilas, and no
clear distinction is made between " Althoch- "
and " Altniederdeutsch." Under " Neuhoch-
deutsch " there is no subtitle for the literature
of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.
The translation of the outline, pp. 2-11, is
convenient but unnecessary. It also detracts
from the appearance of the book. Especially
on pp. 10-11 the crowding in of matter is detri-
mental to both clearness and attractiveness.
The reviewer fails to find any emphasis on
the national and anti-national struggle in Ger-
many in the Middle Ages, and also misses illus-
trations of the influence of Kant and Nietzsche
on specific literary works. In the chapter on
Parzival, the Gawan part is passed over almost
without mention, although it is very essential
from the esthetic, as well as from the psy-
chological and social points of view. With an
"Umwertung aller Werte" Geibel is classed
with the weak " Salonliteratur," Keller is dis-
missed with six lines, mostly titles, and Spiel-
hagen is mentioned only in passing. In their
effort to cover ground within the confined limits
of the book, the authors occasionally introduce
meaningless comment, e. g.: P. 197, 1. 2,
" Heines Eeisebilder haben auch viel zu seinem
Euhme beigetragen."— P. 231, 1. 24 f., " Auch
ein heiteres Epos aus deutscher Vergangenheit
hat Scheffel geschrieben: Der Trompeter von
Sakkingen."— P. 232, 11. 19 ff., " Georg Ebers
zeigt die Zeit der Pharaonen in
Egypten."— P. 239, 1. 1 f., " Sein Eoman Jorn
Uhl war einer der grossten Erfolge." Similarly
on Hauff, p. 231, 11. 14 ff., Hauptmann, p. 223,
11. 18 ff., Handel-Mazzetti, p. 238, 11. 6 ff.
Contrary to good usage, some names and
titles, both in the text and in the bibliography,
have been altered in substance and in spelling.
The correct title of Hans Sachs' poem (p. 87)
is Die wittenbergisch Nachtigall, not the gram-
matically incorrect Lied von der wittenbergisch
Nachtigall. Klopstock's drama (p. 109) is
Hermanns Schlacht, not Die Hermannschlacht.
Goethe wrote Die Leiden des jungen Werthers,
not (p. 142) des jungen Werther; Die Laune
des Verliebten, not Die Launen der Verliebten;
Gotz, not Goetzj and he spelled his name
" Goethe," not " GSthe." The title of Francke's
book is now History of German Literature as
determined by Social Forces. Bishop Percy's
work is Reliques of Ancient English Poetry,
not of Ancient Poetry.
The statement, p. 2, footnote, ''die nieder-
deutschen Dialekte . . . haben dieselben
Konsonanten wie das Englische " is incorrect. —
"Verona" (p. 16) is in German not "Bern"
but " Verona," except in medieval poetry. —
The definition of alliteration on p. 19 should
be changed to read " besteht in dem Gleichklang
des Anlauts derjenigen Worter der epischen
Langzeile, welche . . ." — Does " Politik,"
p. 10, 1. 37, translate "the state" ?
A number of expressions, such as " Kunst-
miirchen" (p. 179), " Gelegenheitsgedicht "
(p. 93), " Matratzengruft " (p. 196), "Salon-
literatur" (p. 241), "Auch bei ihm wird alles
Lebendige zum Ornament stilisiert" (p. 244),
" Impressionistische Schilderungskunst " (p.
239), might not be intelligible to High School
pupils without interpretation. — The authors oc-
casionally use foreign words where good and
forceful German expressions exist. Examples
are : p. 24, 1. 9, absolut = durchaus; p. 52, 1. 19,
direJct = unmittelbar ; p. 94, 1. 1, Demoralisa-
tion = sittlicher Verfall; p. 136, 1. 19, Faktor
74
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
[Vol. xxx, No. 3.
= Einfluss, wirlcende Kraft; p. 142, 1. 12, Pro-
dulct = Erzeugnis; p. 190, 1. 5, liberate Konsti-
tution — freisinnige Verfassung. — There is, fur-
thermore, too great a tendency to use such su-
perlatives as " der erste," " der grossartigste "
in characterizing poets. — The statement in con-
nection with Hauptmann's Vor Sonnenawfgang
(p. 220, 1. 26), "Ein edler junger Sozialdemo-
krat verliebt sich in die eine edle und reine
Tochter des Hauses," does honor to the heart
of the authors if not to their judgment.
The authors not infrequently do violence to
German grammatical usage, especially in the
use of moods and tenses. Examples are : p. 24,
I. 22, auszieht (—ausziehe) ; p. 25, 1. 11, ist
(= sei) ; p. 32, 11. 15-17, trill . . . auf und
war; p. 54, 1. 17, hatte gehort
horte; p. 72, 1. 13, So hat (= So hatte); p. 84,
II. 12-29; p. 100, 1. 8, gab . . . gegeben
hatte; p. 100, 11. 23 f., bewdhrte . . . gab
(mood); p. 116, 11. 27-28; p. 122, 11. 12-18;
p. 130, 1. 1, lelt (= lebe) ; p. 155 ; pp. 123-
124, tenses; p. 193, 11. 20-23, hatten gesclilossen
(= schlossen) ; p. 251, 1. 30, war = ist. — The
style at times seems forced and heavy. The in-
troductory paragraph of the chapter on Goethe,
for instance, might be recast to advantage.
I add some observations on details: P. 5,
1. 13, animal poems. Better beast epic. — P. 8,
1. 13, Pulver-Schiesspulver.—P. 21, 1. 20.
Read Treue zu or gegen instead of Treue fur. —
P. 24, 1. 18, und is the wrong connective. —
P. 24, 1. 24, Fliehenden = Fluchtlinge. — P. 25,
1. 6, zur selben Zeit (at the same time) = auf
einmal. — P. 25, 11. 10 and 14, hinaus = heraus.
— P. 25, 1. 11, verstecken = verbergen. — P. 28,
1. 1, der Bucher = von Buchern. — P. 29, 1. 9,
stand auf dem Boden — war begriindet in. —
P. 32, 1. 17, fur mehr als ein Jahrhundert =
mehr als ein J. lang. — P. 33, 1. 1, der Kaiser =
er. — P. 33, 11. 7-10. The relative importance
to Germany of Friedrich II. and Barbarossa?
—P. 35, 11. 10-13, knupft sich ... an =
Tcnupft . . . an. — P. 37, 1. 26, von ihm =
ihm. — P. 41, 1. 16, Als Siegfried in den Krieg
ziehen musste (Er musste nicht, er wollte). —
P. 41, 1. 23, Hagen gab ihr den guten(?) Rat.
—P. 42, 1. 8, Brunnen = Quell— P. 42, 1. 9,
Alle = Beide. — P. 43, 1. 15, niemals is incor-
rect.— P. 51, 1. 19, leben mit ihm (with him) =
an seinem Hofe. — P. 56, 1. 25, des Kdnig — des
Konigs.—P. 59, 1. 7. Are Wolfram's French
sources "ein planloses Gewirre von Namen und
Abenteuern"? — P. 63, 1. 5. Katholische Kirche
should be Kirche.— P. 64, 1. 14. The Zeit des
Verfalls begins before dem Anfang des vier-
zehnten Jahrhunderts. — P. 65, 1. 6, zu den =
auf die. — P. 76, 11. 6-7. It is not true for
South Germany or Switzerland that the lan-
guage of Luther's Bible " sehr bald allgemein
giiltig wurde." — Pp. 81-82 convey the impres-
sion, typographically, that the verses quoted
are continuous. — P. 88, 1. 10. Position of
wieder. — P. 88, 1. 13, das vorige = das fiinf-
zehnte or vorhergehende. — P. 92, 1. 25, ATczent
und Betonung. Tautology. — P. 94, 1. 12. Er.
Who?— P. 98, 11. 6-7, "erhebt sich die Bliite-
zeit der deutschen Literatur auf dem Hinter-
grunde." — P. 100, 1. 13, eine Auflehnung er-
hoben. — P. 101, 1. 1. Age de la raison.
Whence quoted? Rather I'eclaircissement. —
P. 101, 1. 17. Omit die in the title of Winckel-
mann's work. — P. 104, 1. 13. verband er sich
= trat er in Verbindung. — P. 108, 1. 6, erhohet
= erhdht. — P. 108, 1. 23. Is it really true
that Klopstock " den Stoff des Messias rein
lyrisch aufgefasst hat"?— P. 110, 11. 7-9 are
contradicted by p. 106, 11. 10 ff., and are gener-
ally inaccurate. — P. 110, 1. 18. The plural
form is Bardiete. — P. 114, 11. 1-2, nicht eher
bis — nicht eher als bis. — P. 117, 1. 13. The
Brief e cannot be called eine Abhandlung. — The
statements, p. 118, 11. 15 f., and p. 119, 11. 23 ff.,
do not in any sense describe Lessing's influence.
—P. 119, 1. 10, lefahl, Iceine = verbot.—F. 119,
1. 25, war er ausgezeichnet = zeichnete er sich
aus. — P. 121. The synopsis of LaoTcoon is in-
adequate.— P. 123, 1. 12, nichts = nicht. — P.
126, 1. 13, Schande und Unehre. Tautology. —
P. 127, 1. 12, zu einem Vater = auf einen
Vater. — P. 128, 1. 18. Herders Urteil hangt
gam ( ?) von seinem dsthetischen Gefilhl ab. —
P. 129, 1. 31, betonte; rather behauptete. —
P. 132, 11. 2-3, bezeiehnet er einen = bezeichnet
er als einen. — P. 133, 11. 21-22. Er war das
Muster . . . der. — P. 134, 1. 6, Seither is
now uncommon for bisher. Similarly p. 141,
1. 10. — P. 135, 1. 7, bemerlfbar machte is a mild
March, 1915.]
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
75
expression for the effect of " Sturm und
Drang."— P. 135, 1. 17. The statement " lehnte
man sich gegen jede Autoritat und jedes Gesetz
auf " is, of course, too sweeping. — P. 136, 1. 25,
schopfen — schaffen, erschaffen. — P. 138, 1. 17,
fesselte — fesselten. — P. 138, 1. 24, ergreifen
sollte = ergreife. — P. 139, 1. 28, ernstlich, i. e.,
vorubergehend. — P. 142, L 22, position of
selbst.— P. 143, 1. 14, Besucher = Fremde. —
P. 150, 11. 23 f. Schiller "der erste und
grosste Tragiker des deutschen Volkes " ?
What then of Lessing and Goethe? — P. 151,
I. 7. Mdnnerstolz, i. e., vor Konigsthronen. —
P. 152, 1. 29, seiner (zweiten) Schweizerreise.
— P. 153, 1. 4. dem grossten Mann (—Dichter)
seiner Zeit. It was " das Zeitalter Friedrichs
des Grossen."— P. 154, 11. 17 ff. " er (der Her-
zog) hatte einen anderen Dichter, Schubart,
. . . lebenslanglich . . . gefangen ge-
halten." Schubart was imprisoned in 1777,
pardoned in 1788, and died in 1791. The sen-
tence implies that the imprisonment had at
this time already ended in death. He was only
"lebenslanglich verurteilt."— P. 154, 1. 22.
Schiller bade farewell to his mother, though, for
obvious reasons, not to his father. — P. 157, 1. 6,
seinem; whose? — P. 158, 1. 4, in ihrem Hause.
Schiller and Goethe first met at the house of
Charlotte's sister, Frau von Beulwitz. — P. 159,
II. 3-4, The " Ehrengehalt " was offered by the
Prince of Augustenburg and Count Schimmel-
mann. — P. 160, 11. 28-29, ausser den Horen
gaben sie auch den Musenalmanach heraus, in
denen (!).— P. 164, 11. 17-18. The correct
form of the quotation is :
Lind hinter ihm, in wesenlosem Scheine,
Lag, waa uns alle bandigt, das Gemeine.
P. 176, 1. 28 f. Brentano's Geschichte vom
braven Kasperl und vom schonen Annerl is
called " die erste kiinstlerische Dorfgeschichte
in der deutschen Literatur," while on p. 66,
1. 27, Meier Helmbrecht is called " die erste
Dorfnovelle unserer Literatur." — P. 179, 1. 6.
" Auch von Chamissos Erzahlungen hat sich
eine Novelle bis heute erhalten, es erzahlt
. . . "—P.187,l.26,freiwittigeKampfer =
Freiwillige. — P. 190, 1. 19. As konstitutionell
means verfassungsgemass, konstitutionelle Ter-
fassung = verfassungsgemasse Verfasssung. —
P. 193, 1. 30, Preussen; rather die Deutschen.
— P. 194, 1. 10. Aufwuhlung des offentlichen
Geistes would imply that the Young German
writers were Wiihler. — P. 196, 11. 25 f. " Heine
bringt in den Nordseebildern das Meer zum
ersten Mai in die deutsche Literatur." But the
Old and Middle High German epics? Seven-
teenth Century literature? Goethe's Seefahrtf
-P. 196, 11. 17-18. " Der Lyriker Heine war
ein grosser Dichter und ihm war die Poesie
Selbstzweck. Den Jungdeutschen aber war sie
ein Mittel . . . zur Politik." A curious
distinction in view of Heine's Zeitgedichte,
Wintermarchen, Atta Troll, etc. — P. 200, 11.
13 f., das Publikum hat wie immer das Bedurf-
nis, ihre (seine). — P. 200, 1. 16. The state-
ment that " Theaterdichter," such as Iffland
and Kotzebue, " weder auf die kiinstlerische
Darstellung noch auf die Wahrheit irgend-
welche Riieksicht nahmen " cannot be justified.
-P. 201, 11. 14, 16, Mal= mal.— P. 201,
1. 28. "Zacharias Werner hat das erste
Schicksalsdrama geschrieben." Compare p. 204,
1. 20, where it is correctly stated that Schiller's
Braut von Messina was the first fate drama of
the period. — P. 204, 1. 26, Kind der Siinde =
unrechtmdssiger Sohn.—P. 208, 11. 20 f. " Im
allgemeinen ist die Mitte des neunzehnten
Jahrhunderts dramatisch sehr arm." But Heb-
bel, Wagner, not to mention Laube, Freytag,
Halm, etc.? — P. 210, 1. 12, Auch war er —
Auch er war.— P. 211, 1. 7. " Fiir Hebbel ist
nicht die Handlung, sondern (i. e., ist?) die
Charaktere und ihre Probleme das Hochste." —
P. 212, 1. 8. Dieses (Mangel an Anerkennung
und Verkehr?). — P. 214, 1. 9, So verletzi er.
Why " so " ? — P. 217, 1. 17, " ein unabhangiges
Wesen, der."— P. 225, 1. 30, "der Tatsache,
wie."— P. 233, 11. 17 ff. Jeremias Gotthelf
(1841) precedes Auerbach (1843) as to time.
—P. 233, 1. 22. Why "Auch " im DialeJctf—
P. 233, 1. 26. The Eosegger sentence belongs
to the preceding paragraph. — P. 234, 1. 19,
Dichter = Schrifisteller.— P. 237, 1. 8. " Neben
Konrad Ferdinand Meyer ist Gottfried Keller
der hervorragendste." Is not the reverse the
case?— P. 243, 1. 14. Dehmel " Liliencron's
76
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
[Vol. xxx, No. 3.
absoluter Gegensatz " ?— P. 253, 1. 6, wandelten
-wanderten.—P. 254, 1. 25, salbpotumes.-
P. 257, X, and elsewhere. Eead Biographieen
instead of Biographic.
HANS PROELICHER.
Qoucher College.
Etudes de grammaire frangaise logique. Le
lieu du mode dans le temps, dans 1'espace.
Par F. G. GUILLADME. Fascicule II: Les
temps. Paris, Fischbacher, 1913. 136 pp.
We are indebted to Mr. Guillaume for a
study of the tenses from an entirely new stand-
point. Whereas hitherto the position of the
verb in time has been the basis of investigation,
this author considers the question primarily in
terms of space. His study is a philosophical
one, and gives a new point of vantage from
which to control the field. This analysis will
confine itself to his general theories and their
application to the past tenses.
Guillaume finds in the human mind a con-
stant tendency to express the present or actual
in terms of its cause; the mind displaces itself
and seeks to give what happened afterward by
what occurred before. This "virtual" con-
sciousness is seen in the historian who loses
himself in another age; in the author who
throws his personality into that of his creation.
J'avais mis mon chapeau is the virtual expres-
sion of mon chapeau etait sur ma tete.
Space is the field in which intention is car-
ried out; the two are closely united; infinite
space represents an infinite intention. Every
verb has its own intention, which grows as the
actual interest is reduced and the virtual in-
terest increases. The following examples show
a steady growth from the actual interest "to
cause flight" to the virtual interest "to pro-
long flight."
(1). An expressive cry.
(2). Va-t'en.
(3). Rentre chez toi.
(4). Pars pour I'Amerique.
The limit of the virtual is infinity, and the
field of intention is therefore the possible. A
cause must have an effect in time not occupied
by the cause; therefore we have relative time,
which can necessarily be converted into space.
It is the position of the act in space, not the
time of the act, that determines tense. That
is to say, we must know what phase of the act
is being used by thought to change the actual
into the virtual, and, in order to study the
verb to advantage, we must first translate the
verb into terms of its intention. Special con-
sideration is given to the process of finding the
true intention of a given verb.
To be concrete, let us take the verb prendre,
the intention of which is " to have," " to pos-
sess." If we think of this activity as passing
back and forth from existence to non-existence,
its field will be a plane. Of this space we shall
consider only that portion which represents past
time, and which we shall suppose to open at
A and close at B. At A the intention has not
yet been realized ; avoir exists only as a limit ;
the entrance into past space is therefore at the
past definite. Upon passing A we enter a field
where action is in process; some possession ex-
ists, and a part is to follow. This is the im-
perfect. At B, intention is complete but the
interval since completion is nil; here we have
the past anterior, a highly imaginary tense.
Finally upon leaving B we enter upon a " post-
verbal " space ; the action is completed and the
pluperfect exists. Having gone beyond its in-
tention, the act is post-verbal.
From this illustration it will be possible to
understand Guillaume's table of possibilities
for a verb in the past. Une actualite passee se
deroule en espace a partir:
(1). d'une intention non sommee — passe
defini.
(2). d'une intention sommee — passe ante-
rieur.
(3). d'un dessin* non somme ou se dessi-
nant — imparfait.
(4). d'un dessin somme ou dessine — plus-
queparfait.
1 This expression is better understood in connection
with Guillaume's phrase: " un verbe est le dessin
d'une intention."
March, 1915.]
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
77
There remains the past indefinite. Here all
stopping-points in the past space are obliter-
ated, and from some point in post-verbal space
all the preceding act is summed up. The past
indefinite is a tense very high in the intellec-
tual order, if we are to measure intelligence by
this power to transform the actual into the
virtual.
As will be seen from this analysis, such a
theory implies a very great unconscious power
of logical correlation. Guillaume has consid-
ered this question at length and holds that there
is nothing improbable in such a view. His
argument can only be indicated. It proceeds
upon the assumption that in the " real " there
is no logic; all is absurd, i. e., we see no rela-
tions. As the real is transformed into the vir-
tual, the absurd yields to the unforeseen and
finally to the logical. " On fait de I'incon-
science avec de la conscience."
The obscurity of certain portions of this
work are due largely to the nature of the sub-
ject discussed, and such sibylline phrases as:
par trap discerner les causes la causalite s'eva-
nouit will be found most suggestive upon 'fur-
ther study. In fact, this treatment of the
tenses is a rich field of ideas in many lines, and
curious points of view, even upon such subjects
as history and philosophy, are given in a form
that holds the attention and demands the closest
thought. Those interested in linguistic theory
will find profit in following Guillaume's dis-
cussion, whether they accept all his views or
not.
There has often been a tendency in syntac-
tical matters to catalog phenomena without a
due consideration of the subjective side. In
this work, the author seems to have erred in
the other direction; the theoretical and philo-
sophical aspects have been worked out more
carefully than the historical development or
practical application. A considerable study
from the historical standpoint would be neces-
sary to establish some of the statements made.
It might not be difficult to uphold them in cer-
tain cases, as in the comparison of the German
and French, in which discussion Guillaume
shows that the French have a stronger feeling
for the virtual side; a study of the Romance
future and past compound tenses would prob-
ably bear this out, though the difference might
be less marked than is supposed. But there is
nothing to justify historically the statement
that the past anterior occurs only after certain
expressions (p. 74), nor will the development
of the tenses allow so marked a line of division,
at least in their origin, between the imperfect
and pluperfect.
The chief practical value of Guillaume's work
is as corroborative material. The best illustra-
tion of this point is the following: For some
years there has been an attempt, notably among
German writers, to deny that repetition is in-
timately connected with the nature of the im-
perfect. The last instance of this at hand is
found in a recent publication of Lorck,2 who
goes so far as to deny also that duration is es-
sential to the tense, and argues for a " momen-
tary imperfect" (L'enfant jouait quand sa
mere entra) as distinct from one like the fol-
lowing: L'enfant jouait tandis que sa sceur
travaillait. In reality there is no difference in
the subjective attitude. No indication is given
that the action ceased in the first case, nor is
there justification for the statement that defi-
nite duration is given in the following : II ne
sortait pas tant que durait I'hiver. Lorck's
position is untenable upon a logical application
of his own theory that the essential in the im-
perfect is non-completion. According to Guil-
laume's results, repetition demands a special
tense. We have here an attempt to give the
actual without positive actuality. The mind
sees not a series of facts but their frequency,
'Lorck, E., Pass6 dtfini, Imparfait, Passt indtfini
I, II, III. Germanisch-Romanische Monatsschrift, VI,
1, 2, 3, pp. 43-57; 100-113; 177-191. Reprinted
separately and with addition of 27 pages, Heidel-
berg, Carl Winter, 1914. 73 pp. Lorck and
Guillaume discuss a number of points in common
and it is interesting to compare their results. In
general, Lorck tries to simplify too much, to explain
all phenomena in the same way. His premises are
essentially right, though not new. He follows his
theory to the extent of contradicting Brunetifire in a
case of interpretation (p. 108). Lorck's explana-
tion is not particularly good in a number of cases,
as for the elle fcrivait type (p. 180) and for discours
indirect libre (pp. 182-183).
78
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
[Vol. xxx, No. 3.
rhythm, tendency. No positive instant is given.
This lack of positive elements keeps us from
seeing the action in terms of space, and we
therefore have what the author calls " extra-
spatial " time. The imperfect for repetition is
mentioned (p. 58) as un depassement du sys-
teme verbal par I' esprit, c'est-d-dire, le resultat
d'une interpretation. Nevertheless, as extra-
spatial time gives no positive instant, tout ce
qui s'y pose vient a I'imparfait; aucune outre
forme n'est possible. This statement is, how-
ever, too broad. Historically the pluperfect
should possess this power. The present also
must have it.
Among other points brought out by Guil-
laume we may mention as important the fol-
lowing: (a) The meaning of the particular
verb is essential and must be considered to-
gether with the tense, (b) The relations be-
tween the conditional mood and tense are well
discussed, (c) The analysis of the difference
between the past definite and the past indefinite
is good, also the treatment of the imperfect in
narration. The latter is said to be sometimes
more satisfactory, since it is cause qui se none,
as distinct from the past definite which is
closely related to time and gives merely facts —
cause qui se denoue. (d) Linguistic study
should occupy itself with flexion, which is a
measure of intellectual power, rather than with
vocabulary, a sum of ignorance. Le mot ne
definit pas I'objet, il nous dispense de le definir.
GUSTAV G. LAUBSCHER.
Randolph- M aeon "Woman's College.
Die Braut von Messina, oder die feindlichen
Brilder, ein Trauerspiel mit Chb'ren, von
Schiller. Edited by KARL BKEUL. Cam-
bridge, University Press, 1913.
Professor Breul's scholarship is too minute
and too well grounded to warrant the expecta-
tion of finding positive errors in his editorial
work. Such criticism as may seem due to his
edition of Die Braut von Messina arises chiefly
from the fact that he has not discriminated in
method and completeness of treatment between
Wilhelm Tell and the present play. Wilhelm
Tell will be read by high school students and
college Freshmen; Die Braut von Messina will
be read chiefly by Juniors or Seniors. Accord-
ingly it seems obvious that the critical appar-
atus for the latter play need not be so com-
plete, so primary as for the former. Yet the
editor has pursued here the same method as
there: he has followed the undisciplined peda-
gogical instinct for telling all he knows. Ac-
companying a text of 121 pages he has pub-
lished a critical apparatus of 250 pages, of
which 115 are purely textual notes.
To cite many instances of quite primary and
superfluous notes would be to reflect the same
error of method in this review. A few in-
stances will suffice to justify the criticism. P.
123 : " The word Aufzug m. is derived from
aufziehen, ' to draw up ', ' to raise '. When
the curtain is lifted up in the theatre an act
begins, hence Aufzug comes to mean ' act.'
Another meaning is ' parade ', ' procession ', and
another is 'lift', 'hoist.' The word often de-
notes a somewhat comical appearance. The
term Akt, m. (fr. the French acte, Lat. actus)
is also much used in German." Aside from the
elementary nature of these notes, it must be
observed that the one on the ' comical appear-
ance' is not at all clear, certainly not to a
student who needs a synonym for ' draw up.' —
P. 126 : " L. 26. Der Kindheit frohe Einig-
Teeit, viz., that happy union which is natural
and usual with children. It does not mean
that these brothers were ever happily united
during their childhood. See 1. 28."— P. 127 :
" L. 36. This line has six accented syllables.
See the Introduction, p. Ixxxiii." Cannot Eng-
lish students count for themselves? — P. 128:
" L. 55. Losung, f. ' watchword ', ' signal.' "
In general there is a superfluity of lexicograph-
ical and mythological notes, made more heavy
by repetition. Since a complete vocabulary is
not attached, the student is supposed to have a
dictionary and ought to be allowed to use it.
The same observation applies to the dictionary
of antiquities.
The note on 1. 95 (p. 129) is misleading and
March, 1915.]
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
79
erroneous. It is on the phrase Lasst uns an-
dere gewdhren; while the meaning of gewdhren
in the case is correctly given, the note proceeds
to say : " The usual meaning of einen ge-
wdhren lassen is ' to leave a person alone ', ' to
leave a person undisturbed'." This gives the
student the impression that he has here to deal
with an unusual meaning of the idiom ge-
wdhren lassen, which is not present in the text
passage at all. Moreover, einen gewdhren
lassen means rather ' to let one have his way ',
not 'to leave him alone'. Probably several
more such imperfect renderings may be found,
but, probably also, no more than in almost
every college text-book.
The Introduction also suffers from the same
superserviceableness. Seven pages are devoted
to outlining the action, scene by scene. Nine-
teen pages are given to comments on the meter.
Here, as in some other matters, it would have
been better to raise questions and leave the
working out of the answers to the students.
In the treatment of meter, notably of the
so-called trimeters, as well as of the use of
Chorus, Professor Breul, like so many com-
mentators, seems to assume that a modern poet,
if he derives a suggestion from a classic source,
is somehow under obligation to use it without
modification. This assumption occasions some
unnecessary weighing and balancing of ques-
tions such as that of the precise place of the
caesura in Schiller's six-stressed iambics, or
whether the Chorus in Die Braut behaves ex-
actly as in the dramas of Aeschylus or Euri-
pides. Professor Breul does, indeed, defend
Schiller's right, as a modern poet writing for
modern readers, to use the Chorus as he sees
fit, but he makes this defence only after devot-
ing several pages to anxious questioning re-
garding the facts. On page Ixxxiii, line 7,
'syllables' should be 'feet'.
The much discussed question of " Fate and
Guilt" receives full and intelligent treatment.
Perhaps the fact that at least four different
varieties of " tragic guilt " are recognized in
Die Braut is not clearly enough set forth: A
' guilt ' of secretiveness, a ' guilt ' of lack of
self-control, a ' guilt ' of an inherited curse, a
' guilt ' of actual sin, as well as a fate due to
envious gods. True, all these are mentioned
and discussed. Perhaps an editor may be ex-
cused from declaring himself as to which con-
ception is dominant in this drama. — On page
xxxii, near the bottom, the reference to a " note
on 1. 842 " is erroneous. The passage involved
may be 1. 1010, but there is no note of the
nature called for even to this line.
The section " Schiller's Braut von Messina
in Art," and the appendix of parallel passages
from Aeschylus, Schiller, and Goethe, are help-
ful features. The Bibliography is thorough;
but it would have been better if the three pages
of titles of special studies had been grouped
according to subject rather than alphabetically
by authors.
The publication of this excellent and attrac-
tive school edition of Die Braut von Messina,
when already two good editions were available
for English students, is evidence that the drama
is receiving more attention than was once
thought probable.
W. H. CABRUTH.
Stanford University.
Les Poetes Frangais du XIXe Siecle, 1800-
1885. £tude prosodique et litteraire. Par
AUGUSTE AUZAS. Oxford, Imprimerie de
1'Universite, 1914. 12mo., 315 pp.
This book, being prepared on the "methode
directe," is entirely in French. It is meant
for use, we are told in a highly eulogistic pref-
ace by the general editor of the series, by the
"eleves des classes superieures de nos grandes
ecoles secondaires et pourra etre egalement mis
avec fruit dans les mains des etudiants de
PTTniversite." Its field is indicated approxi-
mately, but not quite accurately, by its title.
Twenty-two poets are represented. No really
important poets of the century are neglected,
and, indeed, some half-dozen of those included
might well have been omitted and the space
devoted to their greater brothers.
Mr. Auzas does not arrange his poets in
simple chronological order, but, with true Gallic
80
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
[Vol. xxx, No. 3.
fondness for classification, divides them into
" Attardes et precurseurs," " les Romantiques,"
and "les Parnassiens." In the first group
are found, among others, Delille and Andre
Chenier, both purely eighteenth-century poets,
and Delavigne, rather trimmer than either
" attarde " or " precurseur." The Procrustean
character of such arbitrary classifications be-
comes further evident when we find Baudelaire,
Romantic to the core, and — even more start-
ling— Verlaine himself, under "les Parnas-
siens." The poems included do not professedly
go beyond 1885, but the editor has stretched
his limits at this end as at the beginning.
By an unexplained and unsatisfactory change
of plan, Sully Prudhomme, Coppee and
Heredia (everywhere misspelled " Heredia ")
are sparsely represented, a stanza here and a
fraction of a sonnet there, in the midst of
a running commentary. They were better
frankly omitted or else treated on the same
footing as the other poets.
The choice of poems may be said on the
whole to be good, though there are striking
omissions. In the case of Hugo, not a line is
given from " la Legende des siecles," his mas-
terpiece. The selection from Leconte de Lisle
is very one-sided, all the poems but one being
taken from the " Poemes barbares." The lyric
reminiscences of his native Bourbon, the fine
poems of Greek inspiration, those on religious
themes, are all unrepresented. None of Ver-
laine's religious poems are included. Excision
of parts of poems is not always indicated, and
in at least one instance, " la Nuit de decembre,"
the part excised is the finest. But such cases
are the exception ; the poets are generally fairly
represented. The relative space granted to the
various authors is also well apportioned.
In the critical appreciations prefixed to the
selections from each poet, one may easily dis-
agree with some of the editor's statements, as,
for instance, that love is " le theme unique "
of Musset (p. 173) ; that when Banville began
to write, " les poetes, meme les plus grands,
dedaignaient d'etre des artistes " (p. 236) ; that
Sully Prudhomme, better than any of his con-
temporaries, " a atteint cette precision de style
a laquelle tous s'efforc,aient " (p. 290). Omis-
sions are also noticeable: nothing is said of
Baudelaire's Romantic origins, nor of the utter
worthlessness of Verlaine's latest poems, nor of
Coppee's shallowness, artificiality and sensual-
ity. Then, too, if space allowed, one could wish
to see more about the interrelations and mutual
influence of the poets studied. But the chief
fault of these little critiques is their excessive
brevity. The critical judgment of Mr. Auzas
is usually sound, but it is humanly impossible
to treat such a poet as Vigny or Musset ade-
quately in two pages. Even Hugo gets but four
pages. — At the end of each critique is a useful
and well-selected list of works " a consulter."
The notes are given at the foot of the pages.
Notes of critical and interpretative nature are
perhaps too few in number. While generally
apposite and helpful, the editor's remarks do
not strike the present reviewer as correct in
every case. Thus the phrase : " que dites-vous
aux vers?", in Gautier's "A Zurbaran" (p.
194), is condemned as being "d'assez mauvais
gout," while the unfortunate " nous 1'avons
tous vu," in Hugo's "Napoleon II" (p. 129),
which spoils an otherwise felicitous image, is
not noticed. Some genuine difficulties, like
"Mob" (p. 196), are passed over, while we
are told that " averses " means " fortes pluies
de peu de duree" (p. 194), and that an
"ortie" is a "plante a tige et feuilles pi-
quantes " (p. 119). It is difficult to see of
what value notes of this sort, which are fairly
numerous, can be to any student mature enough
to utilize the somewhat elaborate bibliographies
and treatise on versification.
The subject of versification is given great
importance, possibly too much so for a work
of this sort. The " Elements de versification,"
and the "Exercices de versification" appended
to each of the three main divisions of the selec-
tions, occupy together more than one-sixth of
the total number of pages of the book. It
might have been preferable to devote a part of
this space to a more extended literary appre-
ciation of the poets. There are some observa-
tions to be made on the " Elements." Thus
the statement that " 1'accent rythmique se
superpose toujours a un accent tonique" (p.
11) is hardly in accord with the usual theory.
March, 1915.]
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
81
The author, however, qualifies his statement in
a footnote. The principle : " Les voyelles ac-
centuees de la rime doivent etre toutes les deux
de la meme nature" (p. 29), however desir-
able in theory, is constantly disregarded in
modern French by even the greatest masters.
The distinction of the rime riche, rime suffi-
sante and rime faible (pp. 28—29), is not en-
tirely clear nor sufficiently developed. The
" Exercices de versification " constitute a use-
ful feature, but the author's practice (pp. 95,
97 and passim) of giving passages of poetry
mutilated, inverted or in prose, for the student
to correct, is of dubious propriety. With these
slight reservations, the treatment of the versifi-
cation is praiseworthy and constitutes the most
novel and valuable part of the editorial work
in this volume. There is an up-to-date bibli-
ography of works on versification.
The " Exercices de litterature " are unusual
in anthologies. Some of the themes here sug-
gested for discussion are too general to be of
any value to the student, for instance: "Le
Eomantisme. En exposer les origines," etc. (p.
225). Apart from this, the "Exercices" con-
stitute a useful innovation. — It is to be re-
gretted that the lines of the poems are not num-
bered, for the lack of numbers causes much
waste of time in the classroom. — The editor
does not tell us what editions he has followed
in his text. — The book is attractively gotten
up and carefully printed on good paper. Mis-
prints seem very few. On p. 117 and on p. 167
the last line lacks a final period ; on p. 209 the
next to the last line should have a final semi-
colon.
Mr. Auzas's book, in short, gives evidence of
careful work ; somewhat deficient on the side of
literary appreciation, it is unusually full in its
treatment of the important subject of versifi-
cation; finally, the most important thing after
all in an anthology, it contains a considerable
amount of fine verse, some of it not available
in other text-books. It is a useful addition to
existing collections of lyrics.
GEO. N. HKNNINO.
The George Washington University.
Lessing's Nathan der Weise. Edited with In-
troduction, Notes, and Vocabulary by SAM-
UEL P. CAPEN. Boston, Ginn & Company,
xcviii + 336 pp.
Amid the wide diversity of aims and methods
existing at the present time among teachers of
the German language and literature it is a
somewhat delicate, not to say odious, task to
criticize justly a text-book like this latest edi-
tion of Lessing's Nathan der Weise. But if we
were to begin by expressing, from the view-
point and experience of a college instructor, a
general judgment on the American output of
German works for pedagogical purposes, we
should be inclined to say that the work of edit-
ing at the present time is greatly overdone.
Most of our text-books in German defeat the
end of good teaching by furnishing the student
too much ready-made information, some of
which is not relevant to the subject in hand.
How much of all that such text-books contain
should be laid to the editor's lack of discrimi-
nation and how much to the publisher's de-
mand for a text with an appeal wide enough,
financially to warrant publication, cannot be
discussed here. But the conflict between the
editor's ideal of what such a book should be
and the practical requirements of the publisher
seems to end not infrequently in a compromise.
The outcome is a sort of hybrid in which the
simple guiding principles upon which such a
text should be edited are either obscured or
entirely lost from view.
It would seem to be a self-evident proposi-
tion that a text should aim to meet the needs
of the particular class of students for whose
use it is intended. And it seems equally self-
evident to us that the work of the editor, in
the form of introduction, comments, notes, etc.,
should be strictly confined to the interpreta-
tion of the particular text in hand. In other
words, grammatical notes, explanations of con-
tents, as well as helps to a technical and liter-
ary appreciation, should all be made to focus
on the work itself and not be made the vehicle
for a mass of irrelevant information, how-
ever valuable and interesting this information
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
[Vol. xxx, No. 3.
may be in and for itself. In the application of
this second principle there is doubtless need
of fine discrimination on the part of the editor.
A wide leeway must be allowed for personal
differences of opinion as well as for differences
in the goal sought. It is likewise clear that
what should and what should not be included
will differ widely in different texts.
In attempting to apply these two principles
to Capen's edition of Nathan der Weise, let us
forestall misunderstanding by frankly stating
that, after a decade and a half's experience with/
different text-books in attempting to interpret
Lessing's Nathan to college classes, we consider
this edition on the whole the best that has yet
appeared. Prof. Capen's warm sympathy for
the author has automatically, so to speak, led
him to assume the correct point of view for the
successful interpretation of Nathan as a piece
of literature. For in the main the editor's atti-
tude is that of an appreciative interpreter and
not that of a critic or investigator. What Prof.
Capen has to say of Lessing's personality, of
his relation to the philosophy of Enlightenment
and of his place in German literature is wholly
to the point and illuminating to the student.
The account of the genesis and composition of
the play is clear, concise and adequate. The
explanation of Lessing's attitude toward Chris-
tianity and the exposition of the ethical and
religious teachings embodied in the "Eing
Parable " are the best that we have found in
any text-book. The interpretation of the char-
acters from the viewpoint of the " Parable,"
while not new, is entirely satisfactory and the
remarks on the dramatic characteristics of the
play contain the gist of the best criticism on
this stibject, without going deeply into techni-
calities. While these are undoubtedly the chief
points to consider in a play as difficult to edit
as Nathan, — points which entitle this edition
to great praise — , nevertheless the editor has
included some things that we should prefer to
see omitted and in some statements has not
shown all the accuracy and discrimination that
could be desired. His style, too, where the
effort to be facetious is too apparent, falls in
one or two places below the dignity of the
theme.
In his Preface Prof. Capen remarks :
" Probably nobody would defend the use of
such a text as Nathan der Weise for the mere
purpose of exercising English-speaking stu-
dents in the German tongue. It is included
in collegiate courses in German because of its
literary value and its significance in the his-
tory of German culture." But if this text is
intended for use in collegiate courses, in which
students may be assumed to be mature enough
to comprehend its meaning, why add a vocabu-
lary to the book ? By the time they are able to
read Nathan with appreciation students will
have already attained a working vocabulary of
common German words. Peculiar linguistic
forms and unusual grammatical constructions
should be explained in the notes. The inclu-
sion of a vocabulary in a text like this relieves
the student from the necessity of consulting a
dictionary, and the use of a dictionary is one
of the very practices that should be encouraged
at this time. In an elementary text-book there
is no objection to a vocabulary, for it saves the
beginner both time and labor at a stage when
his acquisition of German words is small. But
in a collegiate course the constant use of dic-
tionaries and other works of reference is the
very thing at which most teachers are aiming.
The objection that dictionaries are inaccessible
to the student, cannot be raised here. In fact,
the editor himself in his "Bibliography" has
referred to three German dictionaries including
an orthographic and an etymological one, as
books " easily accessible." Is the student likely
to make any use of these when he has a com-
plete vocabulary in the back of his text-book?
If Prof. Capen has here lost sight of the
particular class of students which is likely to
use his text, we think he has likewise offended
against the second principle laid down by in-
cluding too much extraneous matter in his in-
troduction. There is much more here than
bears directly on the linguistic, ethical and
dramatical interpretation of the play. In a
college course Lessing's Nathan der Weise is not
likely to be read as an isolated text. It will
most probably be one of several texts chosen to
illustrate a literary period, or it will be read
as one of the texts in a study confined to the
March, 1915.]
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
83
author and his works. In neither case is the
devotion of twenty-five pages of the Introduc-
tion to a sketch of the author's life to be com-
mended. Only that portion of Lessing's life
which was engrossed in the controversy with
Goeze and a brief account of the origin and de-
velopment of Lessing's philosophic and religious
ideas, such as the editor has included under the
heads, " The Enlightenment and Lessing's
Nathan der Weise," " Lessing's Attitude toward
Christianity " and " The Genesis and Sources
of Nathan " really throw light on the contents
and import of the play and are to the point
here. A biographical sketch of an author, as
part of the Introduction to a text, seems to us
justifiable only in cases where the author is
little known and information about him in-
accessible or where schools may be assumed to
have no general works of reference accessible
to the student. But in colleges, where ency-
clopedias, biographical dictionaries, histories of
literature and biographies are among the com-
mon equipments of the library, the reason for
including the life of an author, as well known
as Lessing, is not quite clear. It serves no
direct purpose in interpreting the text and it
tends again to keep the student from finding
out certain things for himself and from doing
collateral reading outside the class-room, a prac-
tice which college instruction should aim to
encourage.
Again, why should the oldest version of the
Eing Parable which is found in the Schebet
Jehuda of Rabbi Salamo ben Verga be trans-
lated and included in the Introduction as one
of the literary sources of the play? It serves
no good purpose as a means of interpretation.
So far as the " Story of the Three Rings " is
concerned, Lessing based his own version on
that found in Boccaccio with some modifica-
tions drawn from the version found in the
Gesta Romanorum. These, so far as is known,
were the only sources with which Lessing was
acquainted. In a text-book of Nathan the
student is not concerned with the history of
this story in the different literatures of Europe,
but only with the versions Lessing knew and
made use of. In his life of Lessing, it is true,
Erich Schmidt, as the foremost representative
of the Scherer school of philology, has devoted
some dozen pages to tracing through the litera-
tures of Europe this " Story of the Rings "
and the idea of religious tolerance which it
symbolizes. But even in this biography, inter-
esting as the chapter is for its own sake, the
question arises whether it is not more valuable
as a proof of the author's erudition than as a
means of throwing light on Lessing's religious
views and their dramatization in Nathan der
Weise. An account of the sources Lessing used
for his parable and a monograph in compara-
tive literature on the " Ring Story " are two
entirely different things and there seems to be
no more reason to include the version of the
Schebet Jehuda in the Introduction to this
text than there is to include the Provengal Li
dis dou vrai aniel, for example. As a means of
interpretation, the one has no more relation to
Lessing's parable than the other.
Lastly, the wisdom of giving the plot of the
play in such detail must be questioned. Is it
not better to let the student exercise his own
powers of observation and combination and
learn this from the play itself, particularly in
cases like Nathan, where the plot is the inven-
tion of the poet? Where a plot has been bor-
rowed from some other source it may be neces-
sary to give a brief outline of it in order to
point out the author's deviations from the orig-
inal or to explain what may be the difference
between dramatic and other treatment of the
same story. But where no such points are in-
volved, the narration of the plot in detail seems
to us to be positively objectionable. It tends
again to relieve the student of doing his own
thinking.
Doubtless the " Story of the Rings " as a
parable does need much interpretation. And
just at this point it seems to us that the editor
might have gone into more detail in his account
of Lessing's version. The exposition of the
ethical and religious significance of the parable
are all that could be desired, but the historical
application of this parable to the 18th century
rationalists, and to their explanation of the
religion of reason, as symbolized in the original
ring, and of the origins of the so-called histor-
ical religions could h.ive been made more pre-
84
MODERN. LANGUAGE NOTES
[Vol. xxx, No. 3.
cise for pedagogical purposes. We miss in this
section the use of such a commentator as the
late Gustav Kettner and we are a little sur-
prised to find that his work on Lessing's
Dramen is not included in the editor's biblio-
graphy, as one of the sources bearing directly
on the work in hand. A more technical treat-
ment of the plot also in the last section of the
Introduction would not, in our opinion, have
injured the book pedagogically.
In conclusion we must call attention to cer-
tain minor points where the statement of the
editor is open to objection. On page xxi it is
stated that Gottsched translated " the best plays
of Corneille, Eacine. Eegnard, Destoucb.es, and
other leading French dramatists." Is this
statement accurate? According to Goedeke,
Gottsched himself translated only Eacine's
Iphigenie. Frau Gottsched translated several
others and, of course, her husband encouraged
his followers to translate French originals
wholesale.
On page xlii again we find the assertion that
Emilia Galotti is still generally regarded as the
finest German tragedy. Few critics or scholars
will agree with this statement.
In his account of Lessing's dispute with
Goeze, page xliii, the editor, in our opinion, is
entirely too partial to Lessing. There is need
of more discrimination here. Goeze was no
mean antagonist and in his controversial papers
Lessing was anything but ingenuous. He en-
trenched himself behind every dialectic techni-
cality he could. Few of Lessing's own posi-
tive religious and theological views, therefore,
can be gleaned from this controversy. For
these the student must have recourse to such
works as his Nathan, Das Testament Johannis,
and Die Erziehung des Menschengeschlechts.
Again, on page Ixxviii and in his notes to
11. 2454 and 2571 the editor's language gives
us the impression that the Patriarch was only
a caricature of Goeze. While the controversy
undoubtedly served to sharpen Lessing's de-
lineation of this ecclesiastical worthy, it must
not be forgotten that the historical original of
Lessing's figure was Heraclius, Patriarch of
Jerusalem, whom the editor describes on page
Ix. All of the offensive characteristics in Les-
sing's Patriarch need not therefore be attributed
directly to the Hamburg Pastor. The editor's
warm sympathy for Lessing has carried him a
little too far here.
On page Ixxvi the editor calls Nathan der
Weise preeminently a drama of character. Is
it not preeminently a drama with a very de-
cided theme, in which the characters are created
to embody that theme? One of Lessing's own
principles laid down in his Hamburgische
Dramaturgic was that the action should flow
naturally from the characters as portrayed. On
page xciii the editor has frankly admitted that
this is not the case in Nathan, and on page
xciv he states : " It must be remembered that
the main purpose of Nathan der Weise was,
after all, pedagogical." Is the main purpose of
the "drama of character" pedagogical?
On page Ixxxviii we find the sentence : " Les-
sing was an adept in portraying the fresh en-
thusiasm and feminine charm of young girls.
His Minna, his Franziska, and his Emilia dif-
fering as they do from one another and from
Eecha, give ample proof of this power." Doesn't
this statement need some modification and are
all the examples cited here well chosen? Our
impression has always been that Lessing's por-
trayal of women was rather his weaker side.
Minna and Franziska may indeed be regarded
as successful portrayals of the type Prof. Capen
describes, but hardly Emilia and Eecha. Emilia
represents the mistrustfully self-conscious, in-
trospective type of the 18th century senti-
mental novel, and the scenes in which she ap-
pears, almost always under some great excite-
ment, make upon us almost any other impres-
sion than that of fresh enthusiasm. Like
Emilia, Eecha too has always been a crux for
the critics. Her character shows internal con-
tradictions which rob it of verisimilitude. The
editor himself seems to feel this, for in his
note to line 1556 he observes : " Incidentally
it might be remarked that Eecha's reasoning is
eminently unmedieval and even un-Hebraic, to
say nothing of its being rather a profound sen-
timent for a maiden of Eecha's years in any
clime and time. As a matter of fact, the idea
was advanced enough for a mature eighteenth-
century thinker." In our opinion this scene
March, 1915.]
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
85
completely cuts the ground from under the pre-
sumption that Recha, in spite of her own eye-
sight, could ever have believed, as the play
represents in the opening scene, that she was
rescued by an angel.
JOHN PBESTON HOSKINS.
Princeton University.
LAZAEILLO DE TOEMES
Restitution del texto primitiuo d'la Uida
de Lazarillo de Tormes e de sus fortunas
e aduersidades, impresso al estilo de la epoca.
Seguido d'la segunda parte escrita por Luna
interprete d'lengua espanola en Paris. Edi-
cion dirigida e reuisada por EUDALDO CANI-
BELL. Barcelona, Tipografia La Academica,
1906. 8vo., vi, Ixxiv fols.
La Vida de Lazarillo de Tormes. Strasburgo,
Heitz [1913]. 16mo., 70 pp. (Bibliotheca
Eomanica 177.)
La Vida de Lazarillo de Tormes. . . . Edi-
tion y notas de JULIO CEJADOE Y FRAUCA.
Madrid, Ediciones de " La Lectura," 1914.
12mo., 280 pp.
These three editions of a classic come to us,
each with its distinct claim to notice. The
first because of the promise of its title, the
second because of the general excellence of the
series in which it is included, and the third
because of its scholarly editor. They invite
comparison.
After the admirable Restitution de la edi-
tion principe of the Lazarillo given us by
Foulche-Delbosc in 1900, an editor would
scarcely be expected to advertise his text by
calling it a Restitution del texto primitivo,
unless he had found the long-lost princepe, or
had evidence to justify him in utilizing in a
new way the variants of the early editions al-
ready known to us. Sr. Canibell uses the
edition of 1900 as the " medula " of his own,
" con algunas variantes de importancia exigua,"
and inserts in their respective places in the
body of the text, the additions of Alcala 1554
which Foulche-Delbosc has seen fit to relegate
to an appendix. Sr. Canibell gives no hint
as to the source of the readings of his text
which are not found in the edition of 1900.
Let us examine a few of them, bearing in mind
that the readings of FD are constant in all
three texts of 1554.
FD 4, 11, leiios a que; C lena con que. — FD
3, 14, justicia; C justizia. — FD 3, 22, metiose;
C metiosse. — FD 4, 26, sauanas; C sabanas. —
FD 5, 21, yo seria para adestralle; C seria a
proposito para adestralle. — FD 5, 23, por en-
salgar la fe auia muerto en la de los Gelves;
C por ensalzar la fe hauia muerto en la batalla
de los Gelues. — FD 9, 5, por cabo; C por el
cabo. — FD 9, 10, turome; C durome. — FD 9,
12, lo tenia; C le tenia. — FD 9, 13, a si como;
C a si el hierro como. — FD 11, 22, estendia;
C extendia.—FD 12, 1, Sant Juan; C San
Juan.—FD 12, 28, note mucho; C [mucho].
— FD 13, 4, en vn meson; C [ ]. — FD 13, 20,
bueltas; C vueltas— FD 13, 24, al qual; C el
qual.—FD 14, I, ay; C ahy.—FD 71, 2, ros-
triquemados; C rostrillos quemados.
Since in all these cases the reading of FD
needs no emendation and probably represents
the princeps, it is impossible to condone the
capricious readings of C. The text is appar-
ently quite unauthoritative throughout, and
less admirable indeed than the current unpre-
tentious modernizations.
While the brief introduction presents no new
facts, it offers for consideration a new theory
of authorship. Sr. Canibell inclines to the be-
lief that Fray Juan de Ortega was the author,
and that the work is at the same time an
autobiography. This blend of two hypotheses
would be more difficult of proof than either of
its parts, neither of which has much to recom-
mend it. If we consider the Lazarillo an auto-
biography it is hard to explain away its folk-
loristic elements, and the ascription to Ortega
rests on the flimsiest of hearsay evidence.
Moreover, the editor is inconsistent in attribut-
ing to Ortega, a cleric esteemed for his learn-
ing, a work which he elsewhere declares to be
written " con sobriedad y llaneza muy propias
de quien poco 6 nada ha frecuentado el aula
de ret6rica, pero inusitada (sic!) en un escritor
86
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
[Vol. xxx, No. 3.
castellano familiarizado con el trato de las
musas." (Fol. 4, recto.)
It is a pleasure to record that from a me-
chanical and artistic standpoint the Barcelona
edition leaves nothing to be desired. It is
beautifully printed in black-letter on antique
paper, rubricated, signatured and foliated, and
is a credit to the editor and printer, who have
spared no pains to give a worthy setting to a
literary jewel.1
It is difficult to know how to treat the
edition of the Bibliotheca Romanica. On the
one hand to criticize an edition which costs
only ten cents is to look a gift horse in the
mouth. On the other, it would have been as
easy to print a good text as the one given
us. The fact is this text is not just what it
claims to be. The editor, Sr. L. Sorrento,
writes : " La medula de nuestro texto es la
edici6n que ha sido publicada por R. Foulche-
Delbosc . . . con algunas variantes. Hemos
insertado las adiciones de la edicion de Alcala
1554 . . . y tenido cuenta de la edicion
de Burgos 1554." 2 Sr. Canibell's edition is
not mentioned, even in the bibliography (p.
12), but there can be no doubt that it has been
followed closely. All the capricious readings
given above are found also in Sr. Sorrento's
text, and such cases as the following point in
the same direction:
FD 5, 12, esforQo; C ef forgo; S efforgo. —
FD 4, 8, auiale miedo; C hauiale miedo; S
haviale miedo (S regularly uses v for u). —
FD 13, 10, cdbe el fitego; C caue el fuego; S
cave el fuego.
While the text is a contradiction and a
mosaic, the introduction is so well done as to
cause one to wonder how the two parts can be
by the same hand. The editor's non-committal
attitude regarding the moot question of author-
ship is the only reasonable one in the present
1 In his list of artistic editions of Lazarillo, Sr.
Canibell does not mention that of Madrid 1844-45,
printed by Omar y Soler, containing all three parts
and admirably illustrated with woodcuts.
'This last phrase is obscure considering that the
edition of Foulche'-Delbosc gives the variants of
Burgos. There is no intimation that one of the two
copies of Burgos 1554, long in private possession in
England, has been used to correct Foulche'-Delbosc.
state of our knowledge. The bibliography is
unsatisfactory not so much for its incomplete-
ness, as for the failure to distinguish between
editions of the first part, the expurgated text
and the revision of Luna.3
Turning now to the latest Lazarillo, let it be
stated once for all that Sr. Cejador, to whom
we already owed our only Cervantes dictionary
and most valuable annotated editions of the
Celestina and the Libra de buen amor, has
placed us further in his debt by his admirable
contribution to the literature of the first picar-
esque novel. An annotated edition has long
been imperatively needed, and we now have one
which it will be difficult to improve upon. Not
only has the editor provided a commentary
valuable to the lay reader, but he has cleared
up some passages which, to judge by the
stumbling of the translators, have presented
difficulty to the competent.
The text is a fairly accurate reproduction
of Burgos 1554, based apparently upon
Foulche-Delbosc's edition. The editor gives as
his reason for following Burgos, that he con-
siders it in lieu of the princeps. He disre-
gards, consequently, without disproving, the
arguments of the scholar who must be con-
sidered our highest authority in the matter.*
The additions of Alcala are inserted where they
belong.
The introduction is chiefly interesting for
the discussion of authorship. One by one the
suggested hypotheses are gone over, and their
points fairly presented. Sr. Cejador is not
afraid of them, so confident is he in the merit
of his own candidate. At length, and with
abundance of detail, he puts forward the claims
of Sebastian de Horozco, founding his belief
on parallels of subject-matter, spirit and lan-
guage, between the Toledau writer's works
(chiefly the Cancionero) and the Lazarillo. It
"The edition of Madrid 1563 surely never existed.
Paris 1838 is in Portuguese. The editor describes
for the first time the edition of Lerida 1612.
* Foulche'-Delbosc, Kemarqv.es sur Lazarille de
Tormes. Revue Hispanique, VII (1900), 81-97. Sr.
Cejador assumes that the oldest edition is the best.
Tn the case of a lost princeps this is not necessarily
true.
March, 1915.]
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
87
is only fair to an earlier critic to mention that
Sr. Asensi had already suggested Horozco,
though timidly, perhaps, in his introduction to
the Cancionero. In his words : " Cierta analojia
encontramos entre el dialogo y frases de Se-
bastian de Horozco y los del Lazarillo de
Tonnes, que nos hacen sospechar pudiera ser
la novela obra de aquel. . . ." (p. 158.)
This is not the place to take up Sr. Cejador's
arguments in detail. One may hesitate about
accepting them so long as there is any other
way of explaining the analogies, and there are
at least three possibilities. Lazarillo may have
imitated Horozco, Horozco may have imitated
the Lazarillo? or it may be a case of two Tole-
dan authors who are handling independently
but in more or less the same spirit and lan-
guage, the same traditional material. Before
choosing between four possibilities we should
know when the Lazarillo was written, and more
about Horozco than we do at present. Withal,
and despite certain inconsistencies, Sr. Ceja-
dor's candidate is the ablest presented so far.
As intimated above, it is in the notes that
Sr. Cejador is seen at his best. He is discrimin-
ating and scholarly, and the task of commenta-
tor is one for which his wide reading and lin-
guistic knowledge peculiarly fit him. May he
continue to illumine the dark places of the
older classics!
It is the writer's opinion that a text as im-
portant as the Lazarillo is deserving of the full-
est possible illustration, and from this belief,
and from no spirit of meticulous criticism,
spring the following observations.
Page 69, note. Here as elsewhere, often, the
titles of little-known books are too concisely
given. A matter of great importance to us
working in America. — 71, 2. The quotation
from Pliny is also in F. de Valles, Carlos
familiar es, Madr. 1603 (Gallardo. Ensayo, IV,
col. 90) and Kojas, Viaje, ed. Canete, I, p. 36.
—72, 10. Cf. Silva, Seg. Celest., Madr., 1874,
p. 277 : " Porque creeme, Poncia, que pocos
habria que con fuerza aventurasen las vidas, si
pensasen que solos ellos habian de ser testigos
de la gloria de sus hazanas." — 74, 1. " no mire
'Morel-Fatio et Rouanet, Le thtdtre espagnol,
Paris, 1900, p. 11.
Vuestra Magestad el ruin estilo con que va
escrito," Villalon, Viaje de Twquia, p. 2a;
" sola la voluntad de mi baxo estilo . . .
resciua Vuestra Magestad," id., p. 3a ; " cortar
con el mal amolado cuchillo la neuma de mi
torpe pluma para dirigirle," Timoneda's Epis-
tola to Eueda's Comedias, ed. Acad., p. 2. —
86, 4. The explanation given for pringar does
not apply here, as the negro is evidently not
executed. See the word in Covarrubias and
connect his comment with pobre esclauo, p.
85, 7. — 88, 2. "para ser en tierna edad Otra
nina de Gelves," Castillo, Nina de los embustes,
Madr., 1906, p. 232. — 89, 14. Covarrubias, p.
19 la, has a good note on the Toro de la puente
de Salamanca.— 90, 4. (Cf. 164, 8). Sr. Ceja-
dor does not discuss the traditional character
given the mozo de ciego in these passages. Yet
it is important for the question of sources. —
98, 1. So the blind beggar in Timoneda's Paso
de los ciegos: " Devotos cristianos, ^quien
Manda rezar Una oracion singular Nueva de
nuestra Senora ? " and " Mandadme rezar, pues
que es Noche santa," etc. Moratin, Origenes,
p. 289 (Bib. de Aut. Esp., t. II).— 104, 6. An
allusion to one of the best-known exempla. —
108, 18. " Mas me precio, hija . . . de
una oracion del Conde 6 de la Emparedada:
esto te podre amostrar, mi amor, si lo quieres
aprender." Seg. Celest., p. 218.— Ill, 2.
" Entre estos dos cortezones pringada estaba
mi bien, como torrezno en mendrugos que no
se pueden morder." Quevedo, Obras, Madr.,
1794, VIII, 345.— 118, 4. This passage should
not be connected with the additions of Alcala,
but with the passage in the last Tratado, p.
256, 12, "tengo cargo de pregonar los vinos,"
etc., and p. 258, 1 ff. — 121, 14. There are sev-
eral more versions than those noted here. A
detailed study of them will appear soon. — 123,
2. Another possibility is die imperative from
oler, which has better sense here. This is the
suggestion of M. Foulche-Delbosc in a letter to
my friend Louis How, whose translation of the
Lazarillo will shortly appear. — 127, 11. 2, 3, 4.
It would have been interesting to note such
passages as this, which the Inquisition cut out
of the Laz. Castigado. The same idea was ex-
pressed by Alcala Yanez in a way which causes
88
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
[Vol. xxx, No. 3.
us to suspect a tradition regarding clergymen.
" Era mi buen clerigo algo allegador y amigo
de andar por el mode ahorrativo, natural con-
dition de clerigos, y mas si son viejos . . ."
Donado Hablador, Cap. I. — 130, 4. Neither of
the examples is as close a parallel as that from
Delicado, Lozana Andaluza, Mam., XXXIV:
'' ,; por dineros venis ? pues ; tan bianco el o jo !
jcamina!" — 130, 7. An excellent note on
duelos y quebrantos, when Eodriguez Marin
had apparently said the last word (D. Q. t. I,
p. 50). It should be noted that there is a
connection between the eating of menudos on
Saturday and the fact that this was the regular
day for slaughtering. Cf. the poem addressed
to a tripera (!) in Paz, Sales esp., II, 257:
" Oy es sabado y terneis, mi alma, mucho en
que entender." — 133, 3. "assi como llamamos
tan bien triumphar, por via de burla el beuer y
comer y regosijarse," Gracian, Galateo, Cap.
nono. " Al compas que lo pasaban mal los
soldados triumfabamos nosotros," Esiebanillo,
Cap. V. — 135, 10, cofadrias y mortuorios. Sr.
Cejador includes these words among the rare
expressions common to Laz. and Horozco.
They are in the Celestina, ed. Cejador, I, 68.
Cf. also " aquellas comidas . . . que se dan
en los mortuorios," Crotalon, p. 143 (Menen-
dez, Origenes, t. II). — 136, 2. The editor
questions whether the phrase beber mas que un
saludador refers to the drunkenness of these
characters. See this from Esiebanillo, Cap. VI :
" se persuadiese a que no habia cocinero que
no fuese ladron, saludador que no fuese bo-
rracho, ni musico que no fuese gallina." Que-
vedo has much to say about them in the Sueno
de las Calaveras (Obras, Madr., 1791, t. I, 86
ff). — 137, 7. le lleuasse and the whole context
argue that the reading of Alcala, le echasse,
is the correct one. — 140, 14. Eead arcaz. Arte
in the sense of hechura hardly fits the context.
Laz. Castigado reads de esta area, which indi-
cates that its editors did not have Alcala before
them and were probably correcting Burgos or
Antwerp. — 141, 5. " pesandole y poniendole
sobre su cabeza . . . Lo mismo hazen si
topan vn bocado de pan, digiendo que es la cara
de Dios," Villalon, Viaje de Turquia, 106b.
There is a close parallel in Picara Justina, ed.
Puyol, p. 102 and note in t. Ill, 136. The
Santo Oficio changed this passage to " veo can-
tidad de panes dentro," and inconsistently let
stand the similar references on pp. 145 and
146. — 143, 5. The note does not explain the
passage. Cf. " tenemos algunas frasis, aunque
de la gente comun, y vulgar, como ciegale Sant-
anton, al que va a hazer alguna cosa mala,
deseando que aunque tope con lo que va a bus-
car no lo vea." Covarrubias, s.v. cegar. — 147,
10. "Si teneis criados, ^para que os sirven?
Para que no os dejen cosa a vida. . . ."
Col. de Entremeses, ed. Cotarelo, t. I, 148a. —
149, 3. B reads cierrasse according to FD 25,
8, and Butler Clarke's reprint, Lond., 1897.
p. 36. — 151, 18. los cuydados del rey de Fran-
da may be another form of the locution Esos
cuidados matan al rey, Correas, 134b. Might
not there be an allusion to the trouble of Fran-
cis I in 1525? — 154, 2. "Armamos a los
paxaros, a los conejos, a las c,orras . . . ,"
Covarrubias, s.v. armar. Apparently not as
rare as the editor thinks. — 169, 10. The de-
scription of the entrance is deliberate prepara-
tion for the folk tale used later, and evidence
of the artistic character of the work. — 170, 10,
para en camara. " No sois vos para en camara
Pedro. No sois vos para en camara non, Sino
para en camaranchon," Covarrubias, s.v. ca-
mara.— 171, 5. B reads aunque (Clarke and
FD). — 176, 1. One difficulty with this passage
is that editors, old and new, have felt that it
was the ropa and not the colchon that was
dirty. If we assume a misprint continuada for
continuado in the princeps, and emend, the
whole passage becomes clear. — 179, 1. The
translators have had trouble with this place.
Morel-Fatio reads " et moi-meme qui lui ser-
vait de portemanteau " ; Lauser, " und ich be-
diente ihn dabei aufmerksam " ; Markham finds
it easier to omit. The following is confirma-
tory of Sr. Cejador's explanation : " Tambien
los confesores servis algunas vezes de pelillo y
andais a sabor de paladar con ellos, por no los
desabrir ", Villalon, Viaje de Turquia, 26b. —
181, 5. The editor accepts Morel-Fatio's con-
tention that there was no Conde de Arcos be-
tween 1483 and 1617, and that the allusion is
to the Conde Glares of the ballads. How then
March, 1915.]
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
89
shall we explain the following ? " Trevinos,
Ciudad-Beal, Eota, del conde de Arcos, Adonde
bate el mar." Rom. gen., no. 1150, Convoca-
toria a la cristianadad para la guerra contra
los Turcos. This ballad is from the Cane, de
Romances and written after 1534. Agustin
de Eojas in the Viaje entret. I, 297 (Madr.
1901, reprint of 1604), speaking of the Toledo
of his day, says : " Pues sin esto, tiene esta
ciudad otra grandeza, no menor que las que
hemos dicho, y es que en el reino de Toledo
tienen sus estados muchos senores de las casas
mas antiguas y mas calificadas de Espana,
como son: el marques de Villena y duque de
Escalona; el duque de Maqueda, marques de
Montemayor, conde de Orgaz, conde de Fuen-
salida, conde de Casarrubios, conde de Arcos 6
. . . The writer is inclined to believe that
the author of the Lazarillo made a natural
allusion to a local magnate, and whimsically
added the line from the ballad of Conde Claros,
which may have been suggested to his mind
by the similarity of the names. The Alcala
reading would be a correction. — 184, 5. " Y
tiene un campo llano, que se llama la Vega,
la cual es muy apacible, y donde salen a re-
crearse las ninfas deste lugar en todos tiempos,
porque en inviemo tiene sol y en verano fres-
cura", Eojas, Viaje, ed. cit. I, 296. — 195, 2.
" Cabega de lobo, 1'occasion que quelqu'vn
prend pour faire son profit, comme celuy qui
ay ant tue vn loup, en porte la teste par les
villages, afin qu'on luy donne quelque chose,
pour auoir deliure la contree d'vn animal per-
nicieux et dommageable ", Oudin, Tesoro de
las dos lengvas, Paris, 1621 ; " creo que en son
de hazer cabegas de virgenes, podran hazer otras
tantas de lobo ", Picara Justina, ed. Puyol, II,
143; Puyol's note (III, 133) gives the explana-
tion from Correas, and adds an example from
Comedia Evfrosina. Cf. " agredezcalo, hij'o,
el a ti, que por mi vida que gano contigo anoche
" Nuestro ingenio 6 casa de moneda estuvo en la
jtirisdiccifin de San Nicolas, en un ediflcio propio del
Conde de Arcos, quien cuidaba de la direccidn de la
fabrica y nombraba sug oflciales." I/5pez de Ayala,
Toledo en el siglo XVI, Madrid, 1901. (Discursos
leidos ante la. Real Aead. de la Hist.) The au-
thor is speaking of the time of Charles the Fifth.
como con cabeza de lobo ", Seg. Celest. 207 ;
" con su perigrinaje ganaba como con cabeza
de lobo," Villalon, Viaje de Turquia 13a.
" No hera mala cabeza de lobo la gera pliega,
que no costaria toda vn escudo," id., 44a. " ca-
begas de lobos, con que piden," Commedia Eu-
fros., 90a. — 199, 2. B reads cornada.—2Q5, 11.
" Vive en casa lobrega, de Lazarillo de Tormes.
(Para decir desalinada.)," Correas, 587a; "lo-
brego y lobregura por triste y tristeza son vo-
cablos muy vulgares, no se usan entre gente de
corte ", Valdes, Dial, leng., ed. Boehmer, p.
387, 19. These citations prove sufficiently the
popular character of the episode. — 211, 13.
Bead bien criado. The following is copied by
Gallardo (t. Ill, col. 83) from a text of 1532:
" Hablarlas has, segun el merecimiento de cada
uno, quitandole el bonete, y haciendole reve-
rencia, si tal fuere la persona: y dirasle: Beso
las manos de Vuestra Merced, 6 mantenga Dios
a Vuestra Merced, 6 mantengaos Dios, si tanto
no fuere." — 244, 6. The reading of B is prob-
ably the correct one, and offers no difficulty if
we take las mas to refer to vezes. — 214, 9.
librar is a common synonym of pagar. — 219,
13. Morel-Fatio, Etudes, Prem. ser., 2me ed.,
p. 122, makes this line refer to a different bal-
lad, no 858 of the Rom. gen. It is hardly exact
enough to be necessarily an allusion to either.
— 220, 11. The same suggestion has been made
by Morel-Fatio, op. cit., p. 122. — 226, 5. A
pun on romper, ' to wear,' and romper, ' to
wear out.' — 228, 6. A note is desired to peras
verdiniales. — 229, 1. B reads sabian. — 229,
]9. B reads el pueblo. — 254, 9. Note desired
for puerta. — 254, 11. Cuellar is not here the
name of an espadero. The town was famed
for its swords. See Eiafio, Industrial Arts in
Spain, Lond., 1890, p. 90. — 256, 4. Punctu-
ate prouechosa; y con favor que. — 256, 16. No
one seems to have remarked that the pregonero
is the basest of all officials, after the verdugo;
an observation essential to the understanding
of the crowning irony of the last chapter. —
259, 7. One of the most difficult lines in the
whole text. Does it mean de vez en cuando
un par de perdices? This use of cuando, and
the article after par de is not unknown. Cf . " la
docena de las perdices, el par de los carneros,
90
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
[Vol. xxx, No. 3.
la media docena de los cabritos", Menendez,
Origenes, t. Ill, p. clxxxii, quoting Comedia
Seraphina; " Que no verna hombre aqui que no
saque del cuando de la lefia, otro el carb6n, y
otro el vino ", Delicado, Loz. And., Mam. XLI.
CHARLES PHILIP WAGNER.
Univertity of Michigan.
La Part de Charles Nodier dans la formation
des idees romantiques de Victor Hugo jusqu'a
la preface de Cromwell, by EUNICE M.
SCHENCK. Paris, Champion, 1914. 8vo.,
xi + 149 pp. (Bryn Mawr College Mono-
graphs, XVI.)
Of Hugo's gift for assimilating the ideas of
others, Edouard Rod has said, not too deli-
cately perhaps,1 but with a degree of truth:
" Comme une eponge dans un baquet, Victor
Hugo a absorbe tout ce qui 1'entourait. . . ." :
This judgment, tempered with a recognition of
the poet's supreme achievements in the realm
of the imagination,3 represents a view of his
intellectual dependence which promises to be-
come definitive. The problem has remained,
however, to determine the exact nature of cer-
tain of the borrowings, and particular interest
has attached to the Preface de Cromwell.
Sonriau, in his excellent critical edition, ex-
amined the influences which appear in this
document, but failed to deal adequately with
the contribution of Nodier. Miss Schenck's
chief aim is evidently to fill this gap ; while she
does not limit herself to the one problem, and
treats fully and conclusively of the influence
of Nodier upon Hugo's early poetry and fiction,
she puts the stress on the connection of their
critical writings, and focuses attention on the
Preface.
After assembling the specific remarks in the
Preface which recall, and in a few cases abso-
lutely match, declarations of Nodier, supple-
JCf. Souriau, la Preface de Cromwell, Paris, 1897,
p. 147, note 1.
'Etudes sur le XIXe siecle, Paris, 1888, p. 125.
•As Rod himself tempers it, especially in his ar-
ticle on Hugo in youvelles etudes sur le XIXe
siecle, Paris, 1899.
menting and correcting Souriau's investigation
of these, Miss Schenck offers an imposing array
of quotations from Nodier which, antedating
the manifesto, foreshadow its basic ideas
(Chapter III). Hugo's indebtedness is clearly
demonstrated. Whether Nodier may have ac-
tively assisted in drawing up the document is
discussed by the writer, and while she refrains,
with admirable discretion, from insisting upon
this possibility, she disposes effectively of
Souriau's hypothesis of the collaboration of
Sainte-Beuve.
The results reached in a consideration of
" les trois essais de Nodier posterieurs a la Pre-
face" (Chapter IV) are less acceptable. The
reference is to three articles published in the
Revue de Paris, in 1829-30, entitled : " Quel-
ques observations pour servir a 1'histoire de la
nouvelle teole litte"raire " ; " Des types en litte-
rature"; "Du fantastique en litterature ".
Miss Schenck, maintaining that these are
merely a recapitulation of the ideas of the Pre-
face,4 furnishes abundant evidence of the some-
what strained relations between Nodier and
Hugo, beginning at a period not long after the
latter's proclamation was published, and draws
the conclusion that Nodier, weary of being ex-
ploited, even slightly irritated, had determined
to claim his own. The whole argument crum-
bles unless it can be proved that Hugo is re-
peated in the three Essais. Let us examine
Miss Schenck's characterization of these.
They are accessible, she writes, and need not
be described at length. Of the first we are
asked to recall (p. 113) that "c'est surtout
1'idee du dualisme des personnages de Shake-
speare que releve 1'auteur: melanges, dit-il, du
fantastique et du grotesque". This is a mis-
statement. While Nodier's article is somewhat
discursive, as the title suggests, his initial sen-
tence indicates clearly the main theme : " cet
amour passionn6 qui est le principal element
des compositions de la nouvelle ecole".6 In
the body of the article he stresses the signifi-
cance of Werther, and adds approving comment
4 Cf. p. ix : " Pourquoi Nodier aura-t-il senti la
necessite d'affirmer ses idees— les idees de la Pri-
foce—apres coup?" Cf. pp. viii, 113.
• Revue de Paris, VII, 141.
March, 1915.]
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
91
on the new freedom of his contemporaries ; the
paragraph on Shakespeare consists of a tribute
to his independence of classical tradition, with
no emphasis upon the dualism (sic) to which
Miss Schenck alludes.6 The following essay
she describes thus (p. 113) :
" Dans le second, il parle des types nouveaux
de la litterature moderne par opposition au type
abstrait de la beaute que connait le classicisme,
et pour lui les grands types modernes par ex-
cellence sont ceux de Dante, de Shakespeare,
ceux qui ont tous un element du grotesque,
c'est-a-dire ou le concret (qui mele les ele-
ments superieurs et inferieurs) se substitue a
1'abstrait ".
As a matter of fact, the contrast upon which
Nodier remarks is between two processes of ar-
tistic expression, one of which consisted in " la
reproduction perpetuelle des beaux types an-
tiques",7 while in the other "il s'agissait de
saisir sur le fait le caractere et la physionomie
des types modernes ".7 That the difference be-
tween these is essentially a difference between
abstract and concrete, Nodier does not say or
imply, and, although he lauds Dante and Shake-
speare, he neither singles them out in the way
Miss Schenck's statement intimates, nor em-
phasizes their handling of the grotesque. In
the third essay, Nodier, says Miss Schenck (p.
114), "esquisse le progres du fantastique £
travers les ages, comme Hugo 1'a fait pour le
grotesque ". True. Then she adds : " Or ce
' fantastique ' de Nodier est en somme le gro-
tesque de Victor Hugo; quoique Nodier en
souligne plutot le cote pittoresque et feerique,
tandis que Victor Hugo s'occupe davantage
du difforme et du moral ". The distinction
should be sharper. The relation between No-
dier's fantastique and Hugo's grotesque is occa-
sionally close, as Miss Schenck has sufficiently
proved in the preceding chapter, but it is not
constant; sometimes the conceptions approach
each other and sometimes they are wide apart,
and the latter situation is exemplified in the
present case. The precise attitude of Nodier
•Nodier writes of certain of Shakespeare's char-
acters (p. 145): "Ces esprits de sortilege et de
malice, melange inoui du fantastique et du gro-
tesque ". Is this dualism ?
' Revue de Paris, XVIII, 188.
in this essay is revealed by three quotations.
He refers to the fantastique as " cette muse de
1'ideal, fille elegante et fastueuse de 1'Asie " ; 8
of its development in Germany he says:
"L'Allemagne . . . porte dans ses croy-
ances une ferveur d'imagination, une vivacite
de sentimens, une mysticitS de doctrines, un
penchant universel a 1'idealisme, qui sont essen-
tiellement propres a la poetique fantastique " ; 8
and he concludes the article with the remark:
" II faudrait bien, apres tout, que le fantas-
tique nous revint, quelques efforts qu'on fasse
pour le proscrire. Ce qu'on deracine le plus
difficilement chez un peuple, ce ne sont pas les
fictions qui le conservent : ce sont les mensonges
qui 1'amusent ".10 The grotesque of the Pre-
face, which Hugo does not himself succinctly
define, is discussed by Souriau, whose word car-
ries authority, as follows : " En general, dans
Part, c'est le laid rapproche du beau, et place
14 intentionnellement pour faire contraste,
paraissant d'autant plus laid, et mettant en
valeur le beau. En particulier, dans la littSra-
ture, le grotesque est d'abord tout cela, mais de
plus c'est le laid comique, et c'est aussi le laid
exaspere: le grotesque est au laid ce que le
sublime est au beau: c'est le laid ayant con-
science de lui-meme, content de sa laideur, le
laid lyrique, s'epanouissant dans la fierte' de
1'horreur qu'il inspire, disant : riez de moi, tant
;je suis ridicule a cote du sublime; tremblez
devant moi, tant je suis monstrueux".11 Surely,
Nodier's and Hugo's conceptions may not in
this case be considered nearly identical.12 In-
• Revue de Paris, XX, 216.
•Ibid., 221-22.
10 Ibid., 226. In an article by Breuillac on Hoff-
mann in France (Revue d'histoire litteraire, XIII,
427 ff. ), which Miss Schenck scores roundly and de-
servedly in other details, is a definition of the fan-
tastique of Nodier's essay, corresponding approxi-
mately to the impression given by the above quota-
tions, to which she registers no objection.
UP. 136.
"That the kind of imagination Nodier describes
may create grotesque figures, he points out in this
article (pp. 208-209), but this establishes a relation,
not identity. Breuillac (op. cit., p. 456) states that
the grotesque of Hugo is not far from that of Hoff-
mann, which he has likened to Nodier's, and cites
Han d'Islande, Quasimodo and Triboulet, but finally
admits a fundamental difference.
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
[Vol. xxx, No. 3.
deed, Miss Schenck's contention, in the light
of her previous reference to a mingling of the
fantastic and the grotesque as dualism, is some-
what extraordinary. And surely it may not be
affirmed that this essay is hardly more than a
recapitulation of the Preface.
In fine, these three articles deal with aspects
of romanticism distinct from those treated in
the Preface; each one has its individual right
to existence quite apart from any relation to
Hugo; and to assume that Nodier wrote them
merely to claim the credit for the fundamental
ideas of the celebrated manifesto is impossible.
They do indeed contain many reminiscences of
the earlier document. Nodier pleads for local
color, for unfettered diction, demands freedom
for French genius with burning eloquence,
points out the influence of the social organiza-
tion of a period upon its literature, insists
upon the significance of Christianity in the his-
tory of literature, and states — a striking like-
ness— " les anciens ne paraissent pas avoir
connu la melancolie ",13 The majority of these
ideas were current in 1829-30, and for Nodier
to embody them in his articles does not in it-
self demonstrate a desire to stamp them as his
own; in fact, such a method of establishing a
claim, by tardy repetition, might seem ineffec-
tive. Yet, had Miss Schenck contented herself
with suggesting the possibility of such a pur-
pose, secondary to the chief object of the essays,
she might have been credited with an interest-
ing hypothesis. As it is, a tendency to over-
state discredits the conclusion.
In fact, respect for the author's scholarship,
and wonder at the occasional lapses, alternate.
Her careful documentation is frequently im-
pressive: she studies manuscripts edited and
unedited, is familiar with the earliest and with
the most recent Hugo literature, controls a quo-
tation and points out a significant mistake,
searches diligently in order to fix a date of pub-
lication. In an appendix she groups in chro-
nological order the titles of more than three
hundred articles published by Nodier in news-
papers and reviews between 1813 and 1827, of
which less than one hundred are reproduced in
"Revue de Paris, VII, 145.
Melanges de litterature et de critique™ thus
listing for the use of investigators a large num-
ber of articles hitherto practically unknown.
On the other hand, Hugo's prefaces and peri-
odical articles prior to 1827, which constitute
a respectable body of critical writing, are hardly
given casual notice; indeed, to judge by Miss
Schenck's remark (p. 44) that " Hugo . . .
a et6 romantique en action avant de 1'etre dans
sa critique, c'est-a-dire avant sa Preface de
Cromwell " , she is inclined completely to ignore
them. Yet, to point an example, Nodier's idea
that literature is an expression of society is
clearly formulated by Hugo in the 1824 pre-
face to Odes et Ballades, and such a compari-
son, in the interests of completeness, should be
made. Moreover, the inaccuracies in the dis-
sertation are manifold. Characterizing the
Preface, the writer affirms (p. 1) that "Arioste,
Cervantes, Dante, Eabelais, Milton, Ossian sont
des noms qui reviennent sans cesse ", when, as
a matter of fact, although Milton and Dante
are mentioned frequently, Eabelais is named
only twice, Cervantes and Ariosto only once,
and Ossian not at all.15 In a description of
the denoument of Jean Sbogar, Miss Schenck
says (p. 49) : " En traversant les montagnes
la voiture des deux femmes est attaquee par
des brigands ", whereas the truth is that the
ladies are traveling, to Trieste, by boat, and it
is only after the attack that Antonia, a cap-
tive, is landed and put into a carriage.18 Mis-
prints are few,17 but failure to give complete
references is frequent,18 and the misquotations
are legion, which seems peculiarly unfortunate
because so much of Miss Schenck's work con-
sists of a judicial reproduction and alignment
of Nodier's and Hugo's remarks. In many in-
stances the inaccuracy is merely improper
punctuation,18 but occasionally the misrepre-
11 Paris, 1820.
"The names of Eabelais, Cervantes and Ariosto
are repeated in the notes (p. 394, Edition Hetzel),
apropos of the mention of them in the text.
18 Cf. Jean Sbogar, edition Charpentier, p. 197 ff.
"Cf. p. 12, fUr; p. 41, s'eflorcat; p. 50, two notes
labelled 1 ; p. 77, 1810 should be 1820.
18 Cf. pp. 63, 80, 93, 96, etc.
"Cf. pp. 61-65, 76, 79-80, 89, 116, etc.
March, 1915.]
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
93
sentation, clearly unintentional, amounts to a
gross error.20
A good piece of work, disfigured by careless-
ness; this sums up the dissertation. Miss
Schenck's method, if it may not seem a para-
dox to say so, is admirable; Chapter III, which
is the best, is the product of a thorough, objec-
tive, scientific investigator. It may be charged
that the plan whereby nearly the first half of
the book is devoted to a consideration of No-
dier's writings up to 1827 apart from Hugo,
results in a dissipation of energy. That is,
since the interest is wholly in the relations of
the two men, and not in Nodier's individual
accomplishment, a more compact presentation,
with Chapter I fused with what follows and
certain repetitions avoided, would have been
better. And Miss Schenck's explanation (p.
ix) : " Evidemment il ne fallait aborder le
probleme de 1'action d'un auteur sur un autre
qu'apres un consciencieux travail prelimi-
naire ", does not in itself establish the need of
putting this preliminary study into the printed
result. But very likely her plan is right.
Amalgamation involves the personal element;
a careful blending of the material might give
the literary quality which is manifestly absent,
but perhaps with a loss of scientific value. The
author's tabular arrangement proves conclu-
sively Nodier's influence on Hugo, and that
was her purpose.
HORATIO E. SMITH.
Tale University.
COEEESPONDENCE
THE DATE OF JONSON'S Tale of a Tut
The date of Tale of a Tub has been much
discussed. Collier first placed it in Elizabeth's
reign on account of allusions. Fleay, and the
more recent supporters of this theory, think it
was written and possibly acted in an earlier
M Cf. p. 64, " jeune moisson " should read " jaune
tnoisBon"; p. 96, the misquotation from Souriau
(p. 310); p. 115, " le monde du cartonnier " should
read " les moules du cartonnier " ; etc.
form during Elizabeth's reign, and then re-
vised and presented in 1633 for the purpose of
satirizing Inigo Jones. The chief arguments
for the revision are the presence of The Scene
Interloping between scenes labelled one and
two in Act IV; and the fact that the satire on
Inigo Jones is chiefly found in two specific
places in Act V; the first beginning, V, ii, 28,
Can any man make a Masque here i'this company;
and the second, V, ii, 22,
I must conferre with Mr. In-and In,
About some alterations in my Masque.
My investigations lead me to believe that the
play was all written at one time, and that about
the time of its presentation in 1633. My chief
reasons are as follows:
(1) The presence of The Scene Interloping,
taken by itself, cannot be held to prove more
than that Jonson did not decide on the satire
until after beginning Act V. (2) The so-
called ' revised ' portions form an integral part
of the plot. Tub has perfected all his plans for
marrying Awdrey, and is seeking some one to
make a Masque to complete the wedding fes-
tivities when he asks the question noted above.
All his plans go awry, and Awdrey is married
to another. He then has, of necessity, to con-
fer with In-and In about alterations, since he
cannot, of course, have the thing carried out
according to his earlier plan. (3) Internal evi-
dence shows that the scene was laid in the early
years of Elizabeth's reign. Miles Metaphor,
who is represented as quite young, remembers
"King Edward our late Leige" (d. 1553),
and " has set down the pompe " with which he
rode forth. Canon Hugh and Hilts, repre-
sented as strong and lusty in their disguise, as
Captain Plums and his companion both fought
at St. Quentin's (1557). Other facts give the
same idea. If the scene was laid in the early
years of Elizabeth's reign, there is no more
reason why the play should have been written
in 1598-1604, than in 1633. If the play was
all written at one time, it must have been writ-
ten at about 1633 on account of the satire on
Inigo Jones.
94
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
[Vol. xxx, No. 3.
A study of Ben Jonson's verse settles the
question from another method of approach.
Saintsbury throws out a hint that Jonson took
much more liberty with the number of his
syllables in his later than in his earlier plays.
No one has ever gone into the matter. Having
made a count of the syllables within the un-
rimed lines of the so-called 'early,' and so-
called ' revised ' portions of A Tale of a Tub,
I find the average for one hundred lines to be
as follows : ' early,' 24. 7 ; ' revised,' 24. 3. This
result shows that if Ben Jonson's practice did
vary, these parts were written at the same time.
My count of the syllables within the unrimed
lines of the first five and last two plays, and
A Tale of a Tub, entire, and of a hundred lines
of each of the intervening plays gives the fol-
lowing result, in an average for a hundred
lines : Every Man In, 5 ; Every Man Out, 4. 5 ;
Case is Altered, 2. 5; Cynthia's Bevels, 4;
Poetaster, 5; Sejanus, 3; Volpone, 9. 1; Al-
chemist, 15; Cataline, 3; Devil is an Ass, 12;
Staple of News, 24 ; New Inn, 16. 6 ; Magnec-
tic Lady, 24. 8; Tale of a Tub (entire), 24. 6.
This proves two things. Both portions of A
Tale of a Tub were written at the same time,
and it was a late play.
In my edition of the play, which I hope to
bring out in the Yale Series, in April, 1915,
I have gone into the matter in greater detail.
It seemed, however, worthy of notice at this
time.
FLORENCE M. SNELL.
Tale University.
A NOTE ON As You Like It, II, vii, 139 f.
Among all the numerous comments on
Jaques' famous summary of the seven ages of
man that have suggested parallels or sources
for the speech, I do not remember to have seen
remarked one analogous list that illustrates
more forcibly than any other I know Shake-
speare's striking criticism of traditional con-
cepts by the light of experience and common
sense. In the Piazza Universale di tutte le
Professioni del Mondo (Venetia, MDCLXV,
p. 273), a wonderfully rich collection of six-
teenth century pictures and ideas, Tommaso
Garzoni discusses briefly the seven periods of
human life, naming them abstractly, explaining
the reason for their differing characters and
adding a table of the seven ages of the world,
the " stage " on which we play our parts.
The first age, " Inf antia," lasts, says Gar-
zoni, till the fourth year, the second, Child-
hood, to the fourteenth ; " Adolescentia " takes
the lad to his twentieth year, Youth to his
fortieth, Maturity to his fifty-sixth; Age
endures until the close of the sixty-eighth year,
and from then till death, Decrepitude.
" And astrologers say," Garzoni goes on to ex-
plain, "that the seven ages are dominated re-
spectively by the planets Moon, Mercury,
Venus, Sun, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn." If
the medieval association of certain tempera-
ments with certain planets be applied, an
association which has left its trace in our vo-
cabulary, the seven ages would exhibit charac-
ters unreasonable (lunatic), mercurial, loving,
sunny, martial, jovial and saturnine, for each
planet was believed to have in its composition
a metal that actually influenced the bodily
" humours " of the persons under its power.1
In Ben Jonson's treatment of this problem
there is a simplification of it into a more scien-
tific form; the stars and their influences are
discarded and the four "humours," "the
choler, melancholy, phlegm and blood," com-
pounded of the four elements of earth, air,
water and fire in varying proportions,2 are in-
terpreted "by metaphor" as conditioning hu-
man temperament; again common usage has
preserved the ghost of the concept in our ad-
jectives, choleric, melancholic, phlegmatic, and
sanguine.
Now Shakespeare, although he uses the an-
cient seven-fold division of man's life, rear-
ranges it in such a way as to show that his
classifications when he made them, depended
1 This seems to have been medieval commonplace.
Cf. Chaucer's Chanoun Yemannes Tale, 272 f., and,
for further light on the character of the various
planetary influences, The Book of Quinte Essence
(1460-70), Early English Text Society.
! Jonson, Every Man out of his Humour, Induction.
March, 1915.]
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
95
on more than academic theories, whether of
planetary interference in the world's affairs or
of modern scientific analysis, — the theory of
" humours " he more than once ridiculed. In
place of Garzoni's abstractions stand Jaques'
living figures; "the infant, mewling and puk-
ing in his nurse's arms " and " the whining
schoolboy . . . creeping like snail, Unwill-
ingly to school," are both drawn from life and
have only enough of unreason and contradic-
toriness about them to justify by a far stretch
their association respectively with " the incon-
stant moon " and Mercury, whose special metal,
the astrological chemists of the Middle Ages
decided, was the variable quicksilver. No
planet but Venus could, of course, possibly
regulate the Lover, " sighing like a furnace,"
but the Soldier should have been, according to
orthodox tradition, governed in his jealousy of
honor by Mars, the iron planet, " an enemy to
alle thyngis " 3 except soldiers. Again, the
Sun, the fourth influence according to Gar-
zoni's list, should have been the fifth in Jaques',
for Sol was conceived as the fullest in energy-
giving power, " the worthiest planete " 3 of
them all, whose metal, gold, is the one most
sought after during man's maturity and also
the one which might satirically be thought of
as the object of the Justice's activities. In
these two types evidently common sense far
more than tradition determined selection, for
if Jaques had been faithful to convention he
would have reversed the places of his soldier
and his man of law, — an inconceivable change
if criticized by a standard based on probability
or suitability of profession to age.
Another departure from convention is ap-
parent in the realistic picture of the shrunken,
hollow look of the "lean and slipper'd panta-
loon," whose type is not at all that of the
" frosty but kindly " age which might have
been ruled by Jupiter, " the planete wele-will-
ing to alle thingis . . . plentiful and
plesyng," 8 whose bright metal was tin. On
the other hand the concluding misery, Decrepi-
tude, suggests vividly the baleful ascendance of
Saturn, the leaden star, " evel-willid and ful of
' Brink of Quinte Essence, p. 26.
sekeness," 3 who rises over and sets upon the
"last scene of all."
The greater fitness of the medieval associa-
tion of planet and temperament in youth and
extreme age than in middle life might be made
the basis of deductions that would lead far into
the psychological habit which determines such
classifications. The attention of the theorists
who first attempted to bring order into the
study of man's life was evidently caught by the
more striking moments of the human career,
just as the poets of nature earliest sang the
brilliancies of spring; with the growth of ra-
tional observation and analysis the dead level
of maturity was more closely studied, as well
as the duller seasons of the year. But I have
no wish here to push such suggestions, for my
main object is only to call attention once more,
by means of an as yet unnoted example, to
Shakespeare's power of vivifying an old con-
ooption through bringing into it his own fresh
and true analysis.
WINIFRED SMITH.
Vassar College.
BEIEF MENTION
Beatrijs, that pearl of medieval Dutch poetry,
for many years very difficult of access, has at
length appeared in a new and worthy dress as
No. Ill of the Publications of the Philological
Society (Beatrijs, a Middle Dutch Legend,
edited by A. J. Barnouw, Oxford University
Press, 1914). The editor, who is Lecturer in
English in the University of Leyden, has on
the whole acquitted himself admirably of his
task. The text is meant to serve — somewhat
like Der arme Heinrich in the case of Middle
High German — as an introduction to the study
of Middle Dutch, and hence sets out with a
Grammar of Middle Dutch (pp. 1-46), which
gives an outline of the Phonology and Acci-
dence but no Syntax. While not taking the
place of Franck's Mittelniederldndische Gmm-
matik, this summary will be found entirely
adequate for the purpose it is meant to sub-
serve. Its examples are all taken from the text
of Beatrijs. The effort at condensation that is
in evidence everywhere has perhaps not alto-
gether made for clearness. Unscientific nomen-
clature also crops out here and there. Thus
the monophthongization of ai and au is styled
"smoothing" (§ 23) and the same e and 6
that resulted from this process are referred to
96
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
[Vol. xxx, No. 3.
as "the originally long e and o" (§ 7). The
text is virtually a reproduction of the manu-
script. While the Notes cover barely four
pages, they furnish all necessary information
not contained in the Glossary. In keeping with
the auspices under which the volume appears,
the Glossary emphasizes the correspondences
between Middle Dutch and Old English, pass-
ing by the German material even where no
English cognates exist, a narrowness of point
of view that both in Glossary and Notes leads
to the neglect of illuminating parallels. The
Glossary does duty also as an accurate and com-
plete index to the Grammar. That the editor
has kept well abreast of current bibliography
is shown, among other things, by his mention,
in terms of high praise, of the version of an
American scholar, Harold de Wolf Fuller
(1909).
Dr. Henry Marion Hall has published a
revised edition of his Idylls of Fishermen, a
monograph which was first printed in 1912,
and reviewed in this journal in January, 1913.
About three-fourths of the book has been re-
written, and its most serious faults have been
corrected. It still contains a number of minor
inaccuracies, but in spite of these it may now
be heartily commended to all students of the
pastoral. It gives a good account of the
" fisher idyll ", from its rise in ancient Greece
to its decline in eighteenth-century England.
One little slip should be corrected here, be-
cause it concerns the history of the literary
species. On p. 74 it is implied that an ' ecloga
nautica ' of Franciscus Modius is an imitation
of Grotius' Myrtilus. But Modius' poem is the
earlier of the two. It was printed in his col-
lected works, " Wirtzeburgi, 1583", when Gro-
tius was only three years old.
W. P. M.
Volume III of the Diccionario de chilenis-
mos y de otras voces y locuciones viciosas, por
Manuel Antonio Roman (Santiago de Chile,
Imp. de San Jose, 1913, 8vo., 621 pp.) treats
the letters G-M, and is no less interesting and
valuable than the two previous volumes. This
dictionary is not merely lexicographical; it is
replete with information on Spanish syntax
and phonetics, as illustrated by the treatment
of such subjects as the gerundive, verbs in
-tar, the pronoun-article lo, the local pronun-
ciation and use of the letters g, h, I, m, etc.
The number of American words continues as
large as in the two preceding volumes; for
example, Jersey, Jockey, jol (hall), jury, lause
(louse), leader, lunch, gdsfiter, gasfiteria,
micliicumdn (midshipman), moni. The illus-
trative material includes citations from Chilean
popular poetry, and from the standard treatises
on other Spanish-American dialects. It may
be noted in passing that the verbal suffix le,
as in dndale, is not " exclusivamente chileno " ;
the usage is common in Mexico. The interest
of the Diccionario de chilenismos is not con-
fined, however, to American Spanish, since the
author has included numerous citations from
the various periods of Castilian literature. The
book is especially valuable for the language of
Spain in the sixteenth and seventeenth cen-
turies.
The Copyright of the Dictionary of German
and English, English and German by Max
Bellows (New York, Holt, 1912) includes,
among others, these ' strictly original points ' :
1. The distinguishing of masculine, feminine
and neuter genders by different types. 2. The
arrangement of both the German-English and
English-German divisions concurrently on the
same page. The second of these features un-
doubtedly possesses some merit. As to the first,
it seems more than doubtful whether differen-
tiation by means of typography carries any
advantage, other than the saving of space, over
against the affixing of the forms of the definite
article.
In the case of any German-English and
English-German dictionary the question pre-
sents itself whether the book is intended pri-
marily for an English or German public. If
one may judge from the care with which Bel-
lows indicates the pronunciation of English
words, while of German words not even the
accent is given (Bagage, Bagatelle, Bajonett,
Bdkterien), the answer in the present instance
cannot remain doubtful. Whatever may be
the merits of the work as an aid to the study
of English by Germans, for the English-speak-
ing student of German it cannot with respect
to general utility bear comparison with the
school dictionaries of Breul or James. Fur-
thermore, it is somewhat disconcerting to en-
counter, under the head of General Rules (p.
24) , such German as " In beilaufigen Satzen.
' Shall ' in der zweiten und dritten Person,
nicht nur die Zukunft sondern auch den
Wunsch der sprechenden Person anzeigt," and
" Der Schiiler welcher das Englische am besten
sprechen wird (or spricht), den Preis bekom-
men soil." and " TJnsere Meinung lasst uns
glauben dass. . . ." It is perhaps only fair
to add that, both as to aiithor and original
publisher, the book is a product of the English
market.
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
VOL. XXX.
BALTIMORE, APRIL, 1915.
No. 4.
CHAUCEE AND THE LITURGY
Chaucer appropriately concludes his charac-
terization of the gentle Pardoner with certain
observations concerning his liturgical accom-
plishments :
But trewely to tellen atte laste,
He was in chirche a noble ecclesiaste;
Wei koude he rede a lessoun or a storie,1
But alderbest he song an offertorie."
It is obvious that these lines contain, in ver-
nacular form, two technical terms from the
Eoman liturgy : lessoun, for the lectio of the
Canonical Office; and offertorie, for the offer-
torium of the Mass. Students of Chaucer,
however, appear not to have observed in this
passage a third term from liturgiology in the
word storie.
Many editors omit the word storie from notes
and glossary, on the assumption, we may fairly
infer, that the word is to be interpreted in its
general modern sense.3 Other editors provide
such glosses as the following : " history, legend
of a saint (or the like)";* "a saint's life or
exemplum, a moral anecdote " ; 5 " the ' gospel '
for a given day in the Church service; or per-
haps the ' legend of a saint ' " ; 6 " legende "; 7
'Mss. Cambridge, Corpus, Lansdowne: story.
'Canterbury Tales, 11. 707-710 (MS. Ellesmere).
•T. Speght, The Works of . . . Chaucer, Lon-
don, 1587; T. Tyrwhitt, The Canterbury Tales of
Chaucer, 2 Vols., Oxford, 1798; A. W. Pollard,
Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, 2 Vols., London, 1894;
The Works of Geoffrey Chaucer (Globe Edition),
London, 1906; M. H. Liddell, Chaucer: The Pro-
logue, etc., New York, 1907; H. N. MacCracken, The
College Chaucer, New Haven, 1913; E. A. Greenlaw,
Selections from Chaucer (Lake English Classics).
•W. W. Skeat, The Complete Works of Geoffrey
Chaucer, Vol. VI, Oxford, 1894, p. 248.
"F. J. Mather, The Prologue, etc. (Riverside
Literature Series), Boston, 1899, Glossary, p. 22.
•H. B. Hinckley, Votes on Chaucer, Northamp-
ton, 1907, p. 46.
7 French translation by M. Cazamian in Les Contes
de Canterbury, Paris, 1908, p. 22.
" history, story " ; 8 " legend." 9 No editor, so
far as I know, has explicitly identified storie
with the technical term historia of liturgiology.
The exact sense of the term may be most
readily understood if we consider first the pre-
cise meaning and liturgical associations of the
word lessoun (lectio). The liturgical lectiones
are found in Matins, the first of the eight ec-
clesiastical offices that constitute collectively the
Canonical Office. The chief content of Matins
is a series of psalms, each provided with an
antiphon, and a series of lectiones, each fol-
lowed by a responsory (responsorium) . These
liturgical elements are grouped in units called
Nocturns (Nocturni), Matins containing one
Nocturn or three according to the ferial or
festal nature of the day. The structure of the
Nocturn may be outlined thus : 10
NOCTURNUS
Antiphona
Psalmus
Antiphona
Psalmus
Antiphona
Psalmus
Lectio
Responsorium
Lectio
Responsorium
Lectio
Responsorium
With this scheme before us we may readily
appraise the following precise meanings given
in liturgiology to the term historia:
(1) A series of lectiones covering a book of
the Bible, or a story in the Bible, or the vita
(passio, legenda) of a saint, the series of lec-
"O. F. Emerson, Poems of Chaucer, New York,
1911, p. 245.
•Translation into modern English by J. S. P. Tat-
lock and P. MacKaye in The Modern Reader's Chau-
cer, New York, 1912, p. 12.
10 In regard to the structure of Matins see, for ex-
ample, V. Thalhofer and L. Eisenhofer, Bandbuch
der katholischen Liturgik, Vol. II, Freiburg, 1912,
pp. 574-587; S. Baumer, flistoire du Breviaire, Vol.
I, Paris, 1905, pp. 354-397.
98
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
[Vol. xxx, No. 4.
Hones being accompanied by appropriate mus-
ical pieces. The historia was usually referred
to by the opening words of the responsorium
attached to the first section of Scripture.11
In Septembre xv primis diebus de historia Job
legitur, et cantatur responsorium Si bona. Reliquis
xv diebus de historia Thobie, Judith, et Hester legi-
tur, et canuntur de eisdem historiis, scilicet Peto
domine, Adonai, et Dominator domine"
Sequitur de temporal! quod aecidit ab octavis
Trinitatis usque ad Adventuni Domini, et continet in
se multas hysterias, primo hystoriam Librorum
Regum cum hoc responsorio Deus omnium.™
Dominica Ilia post Pascha et per totam septi-
manam legitur et cantatur sicut dictum est in pre-
cedent! doininica, scilicet de eisdem hystoriis."
(2) A series of lediones, without musical
pieces, covering a book of the Bible, or a story
in the Bible, or the vita (passio, legenda) of
a saint.15
Septuagesima, sepcies decem, et representat tempus
deviacionis, sive tempus culpe et pene; verum statim
in prima dominica legitur historia libri Genesis, eo
quod in eadem historia agitur de deviacione et er-
rore primorum parentum.1"
Sabbato proximo ante LXX ... In 1° et 11°
et III0 nocturno, super psalmos solito more ex-
"• C. Wordsworth and H. Littlehales, The Old
Service-Books of the English Church, London, 1904,
pp. 81, 132.
"Ordinarium Remense saec. xiii (BibliotMque
Liturgique, ed. Chevalier, Vol. VII, Paris, 1900, p.
155).
"Id., p. 235.
"Id., p. 234.
16 Wordsworth and Littlehales, pp. 81, 132. The
word history is probably used in this technical sense
in the following passages in The Golden Legend
(The Temple Classics, ed. F. S. Ellis) :
Here beginneth the history of Joseph and hia
brethren, which is read the third Sunday in Lent.
(Ellis, Vol. I, p. 228.)
Here next followeth the history of Moses, which
is read in the Church on Mid-lent Sunday.
(Ellis, Vol. I, p. 256.)
I am not able to quote these passages from a
manuscript or an early printed edition of the Golden
Legend in English. These passages are not found
in the Wynkyn de Worde edition (1512?) in the
Harvard College Library.
" Ordinarium Eemense saec. xiii (Bibliotheque
Liturgique, ed. Chevalier, Vol. VII, Paris, 1900,
p. 109).
penduntur Alleluia. Historia mutatur et incipit
liber Genesis; responsoria vero nequaquam mutan-
tur.1'
In octabis beati Johannis . . . responsoria de
hysteria propria, scilicet primum, secundum, at
nonum; lectiones ex hysteria eeclesiastica que in-
cipiunt Audi fabulam.1*
In numerous references it is impossible to tell
whether the word belongs in the first class or
the second :
[In natali Sancti Urbani]
Lectiones leguntur de historia; responsoria can-
tantur de responsorio Iste sanctus.1'
Historiae et caetera, quae in Ecclesia leguntur,
non debent legi in Refectorio, donee in Ecclesia
incipiantur.20
Lectiones leguntur in hysteria de epistolis beati
Pauli; responsoria de responsorio Absterget.^
(3) A series of responsoria taken from one
book of the Bible.22
Concinit chorus in sedendo hystoriam In monte
Oliveto, donee omnia altaris laventur.23
Nota quod in ista Dominica cantatur Istoria Dig-
nus es Domine, etc., quae Istoria cantatur per duas
Dominicas.2*
Prima die octabarum legitur sermo beati Maximi
"Id., p. 110.
"Ordinarium Baiocense saec. £iii (Bibliotheque
Liturgique, Vol. VIII, Paris, 1902, p. 77).
"Ordinarium Laudunense ann. 1173-1228 (Bib-
liotMque Liturgique, ed. Chevalier, Vol. VI, Paris,
1897, p. 281).
20 Du Cange, Glossarium, voc. Historia.
21 Ordinarium Laudunense ann. 1173—1228 (ed.
cit., p. 230).
^Baumer, Vol. II, p. 77; P. Batiffol, History of
the Roman Breviary, London, 1912, p. 81; W. Mas-
kell, Monumenta Ritualia Ecclesiae Anglicanae, Vol.
I, Oxford, 1882, p. xxvii; Amalarius Metensis, Liber
de Ordine Antiphonarii, cap. Ixii et seq. (Migne,
Patrologia Latina, Vol. CV, col. 1309-1311) ; Ho-
norius Augustodunensis, Gemma Animae, Libr. Ill,
cap. xxix (Migne, Pat. Lot., Vol. CLXXII, col. 650) ;
Ordinale Sarum (Henry Bradshaw Society, Vol. XX,
London, 1901), pp. 29, 31, 33, 116, 130, 154, 157;
Fragmenta Liturgica (Henry Bradshaw Society,
Vol. VII, London, 1894), pp. 119-156 passim.
23 Consuetudinarium Baiocense saec. xv (Bib-
liotheque Liturgique, ed. Chevalier, Vol. VIII, Paris,
1902, p. 388).
21 Du Cange, Glossarium, voc. Historice.
April, 1915.]
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
99
episcopi qui incipit Audistis fratres; responsoria de
hysteria diei sicut predictum est.25
(4) A rimed office for a feast, in which all,
or some, of the musical pieces of the Canonical
Office are versified.28
Of the four definitions given above, it ap-
pears that either the first or the second (and
the two are essentially alike) is apt in the
Chaucerian line before us, which may now be
interpreted in some such sense as the follow-
ing: "He well knew how to read a lectio (a
single lesson) or a historia (an entire series of
lessons)." In the irreverent spirit of the con-
text one is even tempted to lapse into the fol-
lowing: "He well knew how to read either a
single lesson or the whole string of lessons."
Whether or not the interpretation of storie
as historia suggests a fresh gleam of Chaucer-
ian humor, it appears to provide an additional
indication of Chaucer's accurate acquaintance
with the liturgiology of the Church of Eome.
University of 'Wisconsin.
KARL YOUNG.
CONCERNING CHRISTOPHER SMART
It is definitely known that Smart employed
the pseudonym " Mary Midnight " as early as
1751, and it is assumed that he derived the
name from Henry Fielding's Miss Lucy in
Town; but it is hard to determine precisely
how much of what appeared over this signa-
ture is really Smart's. G. J. Gray, in his
article in the Transactions of the Bibliograph-
ical Society (London, Vol. VI, pp. 269 ff.),
takes up in detail the various pen-names which
Smart used. In a note at the foot of page 281,
* Ordinarium Baiocense saec. xiii (Bibliothtque
Liturgique, ed. Chevalier, Vol. VIII, Paris, 1902
p. 81).
"Baumer, Vol. II, p. 77, y. Thalhofer and L.
Eisenhofer, Handbuch der katholischen Liturgik,
Vol. I, Freiburg, 1912, p. 77; Analecta Hymnica,
Medii Aevi, Vol. V, Leipzig, 1886, p. 6; Wetzer and
Velte, Kirchenlexikon, Vol. X, Freiburg, 1897, col.
968.
the writer asks for further information about
Mother Midnight's Miscellany, 1751; Mary
Midnight's Old Woman's Dunciad, 1751 ; and
Mrs. Midnight's Orations, 1763.
As far as I can judge, the first two works are
not Smart's, but the last is. In the Midwife,
I, 144, Mary Midnight (definitely Smart in
this case) denies that she is the author of " that
poor paultry pamphlet " lately published in her
name, and further advertises that the Old
Woman's Dunciad is not hers. This last
pamphlet came out early in 1751 (see White-
hall Evening Post, Jan. 3-5, 1751) shortly
before Mary Midnight's warning in her Mid-
wife, and is a work directed in satire against
Smart, Fielding, and Hill. Obviously this can
not be Smart's production. But my informa-
tion concerning the " paultry pamphlet " is less
conclusive. The British Museum Catalogue,
which definitely attributes the Old Woman's
Dunciad to William Kenrick, is nearly certain
that Mother Midnight's Miscellany is the above
" paultry pamphlet " repudiated by Mary Mid-
night; yet I found that this and another
pamphlet bearing the title Mother Midnight's
Comical Pocket Book are both advertised in
the cover of volume one of the Bodleian copy
of the Midwife. Both are pamphlets approxi-
mately the same in size, but the latter has
nearly three times the number of pages that the
former has. Of their contents I know nothing;
but I judge from the title-page of the Miscel-
lany that this one, at least, is hostile to Mary
Midnight. It is for these reasons that I believe
that this is the " paultry pamphlet " referred
to in the Midwife.
^ Mrs. Midnight's Orations, however, is
Smart's work, or at least, is representative of
his work. About November 15th, 1751, the
publication of the Midwife seems to have been
suspended for a long period; for between num-
ber 2 of volume 3 and number 4 of the same
volume there is an interval of over a year.
This fact is commented upon by John Hill in
his Inspector of Dec. 7, 1752, in a passage
which I quote below. Just at the time when
Smart was about to abandon his work in the
Midwife, the second number of the third vol-
100
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
[Vol. xxx, No. 4.
ume (above mentioned) records the opening of
Mrs. Mary Midnight's Oratory and prints her
" Inaugural Speech." Smart had evidently
taken up the giving of public entertainments
in order to gain a living; and of this fact con-
temporary evidence is not lacking. Hill writes
in his Inspector, No. 544, Dec. 7, 1752, in a
scurrilous attack on Smart :
" When the Midwife died, and from Author
he commenced Orator; when he produced, un-
der the Name of the Old Woman's Oratory,
what all have declared the meanest, the most
absurd, and most contemptible of all Perform-
ances that have disgraced a Theatre . . .
And very lately, when he had got into the Di-
rection of a Company of Dogs and Monkeys,
I (altho' from the Accounts I have since re-
ceived I heartily beg Pardon of the Publick for
it) spoke of them as capable to afford Enter-
tainment."
Simon Partridge (pseudonym) in his Letter
to Henry Woodward (Dec., 1752) mentions on
page eight " my good Master Smart, who makes
me laugh *so lustily, with his Spoons and his
Salt-box, and his Eegiment of Italian Dogs."
The precise nature of these performances,
the scene of their presentation, and the period
during which Smart continued to direct them,
are fairly easy to determine. The Gentleman's
Magazine, Jan., 1752, p. 43, reviews the per-
formance as a " Banter " on Henley's Oratory
and a " Puff " for the Old Woman's Magazine.
Smart, himself, in his Midwife of Nov., 1751,
states that the purpose of the establishment is
simply "to raise a Fund of rational Mirth"
without blasphemy or treason, and not in oppo-
sition to the Clare-Market Orator (Henley) ;
but I notice that some space is devoted to a
take-off on Henley in Mary Midnight's review
of her first performance. Among the early per-
formers were " Signior Antonio Ambrosiano "
on the violin " Cremona Staccato," and " Sig-
nior Claudio Molipitano " as a " Candle-Snuf-
fer," who seem to have assisted Mary Midnight
in her " Orations " ; but who these persons were
I have not been able to discover, and I am not
at all sure that Smart took the part of Mary
Midnight in delivering her declamations. Some
further idea of the nature of these perform-
ances may be gained by perusing an advertise-
ment in the London Daily Advertiser of Dec.
8, 1752, which records that on the evening of
that day Mrs. Midnight was to give a concert
and a performance called The Old Woman's
Oratory, at which there was to be an " Oration
on the Salt-Box, by a Rationalist; the Disser-
tation on the Jews Harp, by a Casuist, . . .
with several New Performances of a very ex-
traordinary Nature, particularly a Piece by
Sig. Spoonatissimo, on an Instrument dug out
of the Ruins of Herculaneum ... to con-
clude with a grand Dance in the ancient British
Taste." The public evidently liked to be
hoaxed in an amusing fashion, for Sig.
Spoonatissimo seems to have used ordinary
household spoons (see Simon Partridge's Let-
ter quoted above) to amuse his audience.
These performances were held intermittently
throughout the year 1752 at the New-Theatre,
Haymarket, and occasionally at the Castle-
Tavern, Paternoster Row. Smart advertised
often in such a way as to gain notoriety, and
drew down on his head several adversaries who
attacked him more often anonymously. The
performances began at six p. M. and must have
lasted way into the wee sma' hours; the prices
of admission were from five to two shillings.
Of the popularity of these performances I know
nothing except that they had a long run, and
were repeated as late as the year 1754 (see
Douce Prints, a. 49, no. 142). To vary the
programme, Smart gave, in May, 1752, a per-
formance called Caudle in which Mons. Tim-
bertoe (a peg-legged dancer) was the chief at-
traction. The details of this can be found in
the General Advertiser of May 22, 1752. An-
other special performance at the Oratory in
Dec., 1752, was that of Mrs. Midnight's Ani-
mal Comedians — Italian dogs and monkeys,
referred to above in quotations from Hill's In-
spector and Partridge's Letter to Henry Wood-
ward. Among the Douce Prints (a. 49) one
finds a picture of these performing animals;
and in the Adventurer, No. 19, I, 109 if., one
can read a satire on the performance.
Dibdin. in his Complete History, V, 190
(1800), states that Rolt and Smart ran this
"famous amusement," and calls Smart "an-
April 1915.]
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
101
other dissipated promoter of midnight orgies."
Whether the book, Mrs. Midnight's Orations,
London, 1763, does faithfully record the ora-
tions " as they were spoken at the Oratory in
the Haymarket" I do not know; but it seems
likely that Smart, who was then living, was re-
sponsible for the publication of these Orations.
GERARD E. JENSEN.
Cornell University.
LONGFELLOW'S POEMS ON SLAVERY
IN THEIR RELATIONSHIP TO
FREILIGRATH
When Longfellow went to Europe for the
third time, he went, in the first place, to regain
his failing health at the baths in the Schmitz
Institution at Marienberg, near Boppart, on
the Rhine. He met a poet friend and Maecenas,
the Landrat Karl Heuberger, from St. Goar,
who introduced him to Ferdinand Freiligrath,
which led to an intimate and lifelong friend-
ship. Both poets, already well known in their
native lands, had heard of one another and
each admired the other. After the introduc-
tion, active intercourse, oral and written, be-
gan and in a lively exchange of ideas the two
poets influenced each other. On the twenty-
second of June, 1842, Freiligrath sent his
works to Longfellow, who was delighted with
them. On July 2, 1842, the latter answered:
" Meanwhile I have been reading your own,
original poems ever and ever with new delight.
They are fresh, vigorous and striking in the
highest degree." This delving into Freilig-
rath's works, at that time as well as later,
must have had a great influence on Longfellow,
an influence that criticism has always sus-
pected but never proved in detail. From the
unpublished letters which were kindly put at
my disposal by the descendants of Longfellow
and Freiligrath, my long held presumption that
Longfellow's " Poems on Slavery " show to a
great extent the influence of Freiligrath can,
I think, now be proved. Longfellow wrote
these poems on the open sea during the latter
part of October, 1842, when, after having
sealed his friendship with Freiligrath, he was
on his way back to America.
Throughout these seven poems, one is im-
pressed with Freiligrath's personality, his pecu-
liar, characteristic style, and his strange, far-
fetched rimes. The hot sun of Africa lies
brooding on these creations, and a fragant at-
mosphere permeates them, as with analogous
productions of Freiligrath's Muse. For com-
parison, one may read these " Poems on Slav-
ery " along with Freiligrath's " Alexandriner "
poems, of 1838.1 Without tracing the 'simi-
larities ' in detail, the Quadroon Girl may be
compared with Scipio, p. 77; The Witnesses
perhaps with Die Toten im Meere, p. 90; The
Slave in the Dismal Swamp with Der Mohren-
furst, or with Der Lowenritt, and especially
with Leben des Negers, where the borrowing in
certain places extends even to words. This
last-mentioned poem of Freiligrath must, as
regards both content and form, have been most
welcome to Longfellow as material for his
poems on slavery. Here, as in Freiligrath's
poem, a poor negro in the yoke of slavery, is
forced to labor in a foreign land, far away
from his beloved home, with its natural beauty
and charms, its gold and its wealth. The fol-
lowing lines may serve as examples for com-
parison. Longfellow : 2
Wide through the landscape of his dreams
The lordly Niger flowed ;
Beneath the palm-trees on the plain
Once more a king he strode;
And heard the tinkling caravans
Descend the mountain-road.
Freiligrath : 3
Da! — Palmenwalder dunkeln;
Hyan' und Lowe draun;
Auf Konigahauptern funkeln
Gold, Perl' und Edelstein!
Aus unerforschten Quellen
Rauscht stolz der Niger her;
Mit hunderttiusend Wellen
Braust auf das heil'ge Meer.
1 Freiligrath* Werke, Goldene Klassiker-Bibliothek,
I, 68, ff.
* The Slave's Dream, second stanza.
1 Leben des Negers, seventh and eighth stanzas.
102
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
[Vol. xxx, No. 4.
Could "the lordly Niger flowed" and
"Eauscht stolz der Niger her" be a chance
congruence? Longfellow himself knew and
felt that in The Slave's Dream much from
Freiligrath had crept in, and he openly ad-
mitted it, as one of his unpublished letters
shows. He writes on the sixth of January,
1843, from Cambridge : " We had a very boister-
ous passage. I was not out of my berth more
than twelve hours for the first twelve days.
. . . thus ... I passed fifteen days.
During this time I wrote seven poems on slav-
ery. ... A small window in the side of
the vessel admitted light into my berth; and
there I lay on my back, and soothed my soul
with songs. I send some copies. In " The
Slave's Dream" I have borrowed one or two
wild animals from your menagery."
This casual hint establishes Longfellow's at-
titude in this matter. A borrowing is evident,
yet seldom can a literal borrowing be proved.
The American poet was great enough to ac-
knowledge independently a thought or expres-
sion that had pleased him and remained fixed
in his memory. And if he later made use of
the one or the other, he put an individual stamp
upon it which states clearly and distinctly:
Now I am American, now I am Longfellow.
A. H. APPELMANN.
University of Vermont.
THE TEXT OF SIR GAWAYNE AND
THE GREEN KNIGHT
8yr Gawayne; A Collection of Ancient Ro-
mance-Poems, by Scottish and English Au-
thors, relating to that celebrated Knight of
the Round Table. By Sir FREDERIC MAD-
DEN, 1839. [B]
Sir Gawayne and the Green Knight, E. E. T.
S., Original Series 4, 1864, revised edition
1869; reprinted 1893. [M]
Sir Gawayne and the Green Knight. E. E. T.
S. 4, fourth edition, revised, 1897 [by I.
GOLLANCZ]; reprinted 1905, 1908, 1910.
[G]— Revised in 1912. [G2]
The number of errata in a text so repeatedly
and carefully collated with the MS. must of
necessity be very small. And yet a re-examina-
tion of the MS. last summer has proved fruit-
ful, resulting in the correction of a few very
minor errors, of one curious misreading, and,
above all, in the discovery of several readings
where the MS. has been taken to be illegible,
and which it had been regarded as necessary to
supply conjecturally. The following are unin-
dicated disagreements between the us. and G2 :
51 krystes BM, MS, kryste M2 (revised ed.,
1869), G. (The same contraction is expanded
by G into -es in 62, 621, 877, 1111.)— 137 on
J?e molde BMG, in J?e molde MS. There is a
trace of some partly erased or faded character
on the upper left hand corner of the i, but the
combination is not anything like an o. — 461
fram G. fr°m MS. This should be expanded
into from. — 518 woxes G, waxes MS. — 646 ioyeg
G, loyes MS.— 663 }>us alle BMG, ryally MS.
The word is a trifle rubbed, but is perfectly
dear.— 718 So G, fo MS.— 815 \>ai G, }>e MS.
—910 joye G, loye MS.— 1063 if G, If MS —
1230 iwysse G, Iwysse MS.— 1369 lord G, lorde
MS. Part of the e is rubbed away, but so much
remains as to make its presence certain. — 1447
myry BMG, nnyry (or miyry) MS. — 1719 lift
G, and in fn. lift. As ft and ft are indistin-
guishable in the MS., this may be ft. The fn.
is therefore unnecessary. — 1720 mute BM,
muete G, mute MS.— 2027 vertuuzw BM, ver-
tuus G, vertuuws MS. (As u and o sometimes
are similar, the second u may be an o unclosed
at the top.) — 2523 bokees G, bokej MS.
The most interesting group of restorations
of original readings occurs in 1442-45. These
are the last four lines on fol. llOa (new num-
ber 114a). The first words in these lines are
absolutely undecipherable, the ink having been
almost or quite removed from the whole lower
left-hand corner of the page. On the opposite
page, however, in the lower right-hand corner,
there seem to be a group of random pen
scratches, fortunately on a space left blank
because the lines of the poem are not long
enough to extend clear across the page. The
connection between the denuded spot on fol.
llOa and these scratchings on fol. 109b is not
immediately apparent because the MS. has been
rebound, and to preserve it more effectually,
the binder introduced a sheet of blank paper
between every two pages. The undecipherable
marks, however, are to be connected with the
damaged spot on the opposite page. And when
held up to a mirror their significance becomes
clear. The MS. had at some time become damp,
so damp, in fact, that the ink was softened in
this lower inner corner of fol. llOa, and then
stuck to the opposite page. When the MS.,
meanwhile dried out. was next opened at this
place, the ink had become so firmly attached to
April, 1915.]
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
103
the opposite page that it was almost completely
pulled off from its original page, leaving little
or nothing there. The lost words, hitherto con-
jecturally supplied, and printed in brackets,
may therefore now. be restored with certainty
from this " offset," as printers call a similar
phenomenon.
On fol. llOa lines 1443-5 read :
. re quen he gronyed t>enne greued mony
For . t J>e fyrst J>rast he JJrySt to J>e er)>e
& . . forth good sped boute spyt more
. halowed hyghe ful hyje & hay hay cryed
The lacunae are thus supplied in M and G:
[And eue]re
For [J>re a]t
& [sped hym]
[Ande }>ay]
The lines, with the readings from the " off-
set," are:
[hise ( t) ] gryndre quen he gronyed t>e»tne greued mony
For )>re at J)e fyrst Jjrast he Jryst to }>e erj>e
& spede rad forth good sped boute spyt more
J>ise o)>er halowed hyghe ful hyje & hay hay cryed.
The first word of line 1442, hise(?), is ex-
tremely uncertain, as part of it is still on the
original page and part on the opposite, and the
two parts do not seem to fit together. The
word rad in 1444 is also not quite so certain
as the rest. But the other readings are abso-
lutely certain.
It seems rather curious that the conjectural
readings in 1443-44 should agree so closely
with the restorations. These readings, accord-
ing to Madden, in his Corrections and Addi-
tions, were suggested to him by Eev. R. Gar-
nett. Madden says, " The hiatus may be re-
stored with certainty." It seems almost as if
Garnett must have noticed the "offset," and
read it, except for the fact that he did not
read line 1445 also, which is as clear as the
others. (I ought to add that Madden prints
1445 as "Ande J»ay" without brackets.)
There are on other pages several other
lacunae, of no special importance, however,
which are legible in similar " offsets," and
which therefore need no longer be conjecturally
restored.
1433 |>ay]. "J>a" is perfectly legible in
the offset, and " ay " is fairly clear on the
original page.
1706 [wjeterly. w is clear in the offset.
(w is unbracketed in BM, though it is brack-
eted in M2, revised ed. of 1869.)
1745 reads w1 chere. BMG have a note to
"viiih," saying, "hi, a sec. manu." What is
here taken for " bi, & sec. manu," is apparently
written immediately below the w*. As a matter
of fact, it does look like bi, but, read in a mir-
ror, it turns out to be part of the word ful,
from 1706 on the opposite page.
In 2178-79 the first words are }>en[n]e and
D[e]batande. Here again the offset takes the
letters n and e out of the realm of conjecture.
In 2187-88 the first words are He [re] and
[f>]e. In the offset the whole word here is
clear, as is also the J».
In 2329 the word [schaped] is supplied, with
the fn. " Illegible." Madden had simply left
a blank space for the word, and Morris had sup-
plied [sikered], both with the fn. "Illegible."
Part of the word is clear on the original page,
and most of the rest may be made out in the
offset. The word is schapen. G.'s conjecture
thus turns out to be nearly correct.
Gollancz deserves great credit for discarding
some of the old but unnecessary emendations
(however enticing they may appear) that were
inherited from Madden and Morris, and for re-
jecting two in 1912 that he had himself intro-
duced in 1897. Those which B, M, and some-
times G1 had adopted into the text, but which
G2 (and sometimes G1) abandoned, are: 11
[turnes]; 651 fyrst M, fyft MS., G; 1161
[>at]; 1440 [seuered] M, [woned] G1'; 1510
[ar] ; 1808 [on] ; 2111 [I] ; 86 Io[l]yfnes G1.
Besides these, B and M had suggested in foot-
notes twenty-four others, which G has not
adopted : 334, 440, 558, 893, 988, 1114, 1188,
1281, 1304, 1355, 1480, 1513, 1572, 1578,
1671, 1700, 1878, 1962, 1995, 2002, 2018,
2167, 2422, 2447.
A rather striking restoration by G occurs in
1497. The MS. reads : " $if any were so
vilanows }>at yow de vaye wolde." B and M,
probably on the basis of denayed in 1493, and
because devayen is elsewhere unknown in Eng-
lish, had changed the MS. in 1497 to denaye,
recording the MS. reading in a footnote. Su-
perficially, the change seems necessary. G,
however, restores the MS. because the allitera-
tion requires it. devaye is imquestionably the
Anglo-French word deve(y)er, Old French
deveer (Latin deveto), 'refuse.' The y was
probably introduced through confusion with
deniier (Latin denego), because of the prac-
tical identity of meaning. The past participle
occurs in the form deveye in the Anglo-French
Boeve de Haumtone, line 1315. G is therefore
right in rejecting denaye.
Textually, all this elimination marks a great
editorial advancement, for in spite of the one
hundred and twenty-five emendations that re-
main, every attempt to read and restore the
MS. is a gain.
104
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
[Vol. xxx, No. 4.
In dealing with texts, and especially with
one-manuscript texts, there is still too much
editorial inclination to make use of the " direct
method " whenever an apparently unreadable
passage is met — namely, to rewrite it into in-
telligibility. The only alternative is time-con-
suming and laborious, and is only too likely
not to be very fruitful. Exhaustive search
through dictionaries and glossaries, and exten-
sive reading in works of the period for other
cases of obscure words, parallel passages, and
constructions that will throw light on the diffi-
culties of the text at hand, do not offer an in-
viting prospect to the ordinary editor. Conse-
quently our Middle English texts are too full
of emendations, many of them, it is true, super-
ficially convincing, many of them on close ob-
servation and study absolutely unnecessary or
evidently unsatisfactory, and many others
doomed as soon as some student points out the
parallel passages that we need to prove the MS.
text to be readable and significant. It is per-
haps too much to hope that all editors will ab-
stain as rigorously as possible from introducing
these " editorially re-written " passages into
their texts, but it is not too much to hope that
gradually students may add to the small but
important body of contributions furnishing us
commentaries on obscure and supposedly un-
readable passages in Middle English.
Fortunately the text of Gawayne and the
Green Knight has been from the beginning in
the hands of conservative scholars who have
rarely permitted their mere ingenuity to exer-
cise itself on the MS. readings. The abandon-
ment by Gollancz of these old emendations, and
the very sparing introduction of new ones, is
extremely commendable, and sets a high mark
for other scholars to aim at.
That the scribe of this MS. did make mis-
takes, however, is abundantly demonstrable.
Omitting actual lacunae in the MS., where let-
ters or words have been rubbed away or pulled
off in the offset, there are over one hundred
and twenty-five cases of changed or omitted
words, or of bracketed parts of words or whole
words in G2. Of these rather more than half
are transparently justifiable. To begin with,
there are ten clear cases of dittography where
a whole word is repeated : 95 of of ; 182 as as ;
1255 }>at Jwt; 1712 to to; 1830 }>at >at; 1919
her her; 2137 & &; 2247 J?y )>y; 2305 he he;
2426 with wyth. (Moreover, the number of
similar errors in the other poems in the same
MS. is large.) There are three cases consisting
of the repetition of a syllable at the end of a
word: 58 werere; 1693 bi forere; 2390 hard-
ilyly. Cf. with these Cleanness 1460 ferlyle.
With these undoubtedly should be classed Gaw.
1962 sellyly. The change of this to selly, sug-
gested in the BM fns., may consequently be
justified. There is another case of what
amounts to the same sort of dittography as in
werere in 634 verertueg. (A somewhat similar
error occurs in 219 in noghee. Here the h is
crossed with the usual abbreviation for final -e,
then the -e is also written.)
Another group of scribal slips is to be found
in 705 clapel; 850 clesly; 930 claplaynej;
1286 sclulde. In all these the second stroke of
an h has been carelessly omitted in the writing.
In another group f has been miswritten for
/: 282, 384, 718, 1304 fo for fo; in 1583 f for
/: luflych; in 850 clefly for chefly. In another
group n occurs instead of m, or vice versa, or
nn (four vertical strokes instead of three) for
TO. 629 emdeleg; 865 hyn; 1037 nerci; 1810
tyne; 2240 welcon; 2131 mot; 1447 nnyry;
1690 nnorsel. (For an interesting parallel see
Pearl 557, where om is altered to on by the
scribe, according to Osgood.)
In another group the nasal contraction has
been omitted: 432 ru[n]yschly; 774 say[»]
(though M, G read say[nt] ) ; 1262 a[n]swared ;
1376 gaway[n] ; 1981 asay[n] ; 2010 lau[m]pe.
In two cases for seems to have been mis-
written for fro: 1440, 1863. In one case,
1389 ho occurs where the context requires he;
in one case, 1872 he where it requires ho. (MS.
c i.s very different from o.)
In three cases final -ee has been emended to
-e: 844 eldee; 1565 madee; 2241 trwee. But
in three other cases the -ee has not been
changed: 1274 trwee; 1378 schyree; 1707
tornayeej;. This seems to be an editorial in-
consistency.
In 22 cases one or two letters are omitted by
the scribe : 203 hawb[e]rgh ; 751 seruyfse] ; 803
i«-n[o]ghe; 877 J>a[t] ; 883 c[h]efly; 1030
Ke"l : 10(>9 M*! ; 1092 5<w[r]e; 1139 hefr] ;
1357 a[y]J>er; 1479 »f[t]ly; 1611 [s]cheldej;;
1815 [n]oKt; 1825 swere[s] ; 1825 swyftelfy] ;
1858 mysft"]: 1973 f[e~|rk; 2223 [t]o; 2291
h[i]s; 2296 bihou[e]s; 2337 r[a]ykande; 2461
gHlopnyng.
There are some other errors, unclassifiable,
but none the less certainly errors : 1799 of for
if; 2343 uf for if; 686 j>ad for )>at (the fol-
lowing word begins with d) ; 813 trowoe for
trowee, trowe; and the misplaced abbreviation
for er in 124 syluener for sylueren. (Cf. 886
syluer-in, and Cleanness 1406 sylueren; and
especially the similar error in Cleanness 127,
where the MS. has pouener instead of poueren.)
There remain over fifty emendations, many
of which seem to be more or less unacceptable
April, 1915.]
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
105
for one reason or another. Some of these fall
into classes, but many must be discussed in-
dividually.
822 quil, us. quel. If the editor were gov-
erned by consistency, this change would involve
normalizing the spellings of the whole MS., a
process the wisdom of which would certainly
be questionable.
825 burne, MS. buurne. The MS. here might
just as well be left unchanged.
2205 as, MS. at, is simply a change in the
direction of making the MS. " readable," though
perhaps this is a case of scribal error.
591 ou[j>]er. MS.: }>e lest lachet ouer loupe
lemed of golde. On Gawayn's armor we might
as well have " latchets over, above loops " as
" latchets or loops." ( Some support for the
change, however, may be found in Pearl 138,
where o]>er may be an error for ouer. See Os-
good, fn.)
660 [a]i quere, MS. I quere. This may be a
case of merely the careless omission of one
letter. But the capital / seems to argue against
the supposition.
There are also a very considerable number of
words inserted by the editors for one reason or
another, mostly, however, obviously " to make
the sense smoother." Those which do not seem
to be vital are: 100 |>e] ; 1413 [&] ; 1580
[&]; 1639 [bent]; 1648 [on]; 1752 [dygt
hym]; 1861 [ho]; 2344 [&] ; 2448 [hatj] ;
2472 [bikennen]; 2506 [in]; perhaps 1936
[}>e] is needed.
1386 reads: & I haf worthyly J'is woneg
wythinne. G rewrites this as follows: [)?at]
I haf worthyly [wonnen] j?is woneg wythinne.
Evidently he takes }>is to be a demonstrative
modifying woneg. It may, however, be a for-
ward referring pronoun signifying the kiss
which Gawayn, the speaker, delivers in the next
few lines. The emendation is unnecessary.
1441 reads, as far as it is to be read with
certainty : for he watg ... or alf>er grat-
test. G makes this: For he watj b[este bale-
ful &] bor alj?er grattest. His fn. is: MS.
bfeste &] ; illegible; baleful, conjectural.
The " illegible " part of this line is extremely
hard to read. Here, as in several other places,
the scribe obliterated the word he first wrote
by rubbing it with his finger while the ink was
still wet. The " correct " word was then writ-
ten upon the blot, in a second hand and ink,
like some other words in 43, 81, and 1214; the
ink is a darker brown than the original (see
below). There are four letters upon the blot.
The first might be either & or h. The tails of
both strokes are gone, but evidently the char-
acter was not closed at the bottom, and I there-
fore take it to be h. The last letter when read
in sunlight is plainly e. The second and third
are uncertain. The second looks like o, the
third like g. I take the word therefore to be
hoge, a common enough spelling in this MS.
for huge. There is no &; the final e has been
mistaken for &. The first letter of the next
word is also doubtful. It may be b or h. The
second stroke has not so long a tail as is usual
in h, but on the other hand the character is
not closed at the bottom, and seems therefore
likely to be h. The line then reads : for he
watg hoge, hor alj»er grattest, perfectly good
Middle English for ' For he was huge, greatest
of them all.'
An old emendation, first introduced by Mad-
den, is in 427 : )?e fayre hede fro }>e halce hit
[felle] to }>e erj?e. As Napier showed with
illustrations in Mod. Lang. Quarterly I (1897),
p. 52, the word hit is a verb meaning ' came,
fell and struck ; ' see also Napier, Mod. Lang.
Notes 17, col. 170, and Kolbing, Eng. Stud. 26,
402. The conjectural word is therefore super-
fluous.
286 reads: Be so bolde in his blod, brayn-
[-wod] in hys hede. The emendation was sug-
gested by Matzner, but was not put into the
text by Morris. At first it seems a good sug-
gestion, but it turns out to be unnecessary. In
Gawain Douglas's /Eneis, cited in the N.E.D.
s. v. brain, we find the line, " He walxis brayne
in furour bellicall," the meaning of " brayne "
quite evidently being ' mad.' Cf. also the
N.E.D. e. v. brainish : Palsgrave, " Braynisshe,
hedy, folisshe, selfe wylled ; " Shakspere, Ham-
let 4, 1, 11; and Drayton, Heroic Ep. Pref.,
" The Worke might in truth be judged Brayn-
ish."
A considerable number of emendations in-
volving the change, omission, or reinterpreta-
tion of a letter, suggested or introduced by B
or M, are in G's text. Among those which
are probably admissible are: 1032 J>4, MS. &;
1124 lede, MS. leude (rime '^ede'); 1412
crowe, MS. crowe^; 1588 freke, MS. frekeg, 1906
hym, MS. by; 1909 bra}>, MS. bray; and a group
in which G reads u where M read n; 1047
derue; 985 meue; 1157 meue; 1743 wayuej.
The word wayueg, wayued occurs in the
poem seven times : 264, 306, 984, 1032, 1743,
2456, 2459. M printed it wayned everywhere
except in 306, where he had wayuej;. Skeat,
however, pointed out in Trans, of the Philol.
Socy. 27 (1885-87), p. 365, that the word
wayne is a ghost-word originating in Steven-
son's edition of Alexander. The Dublin MS.
of that poem, however, by spelling the word
v/ayfeg, identifies it with "waff, waif, wauff,"
106
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
[Vol. xxx, No. 4.
in Jamieson. Chaucer has weyven in rime. It
must be observed, on the other hand, that the
word occurs twice in Pearl in rime, wayne% 131,
vayned 249. It surely looks as if we have to
deal with two words in ME.; see Bradley-
Stratmann s. v. waiven, and also wceven.
Wayven, waynen, and w'gven seem to have been
thoroughly confused. At any rate, we should
print wayued in Gaw. 984.
In 2290 ryueg M, ryneg G, the word, so far
as the context is concerned, might mean either
'rive, split/ or 'touch,' going back to ON.
rifan or OE. hrinan. But undoubtedly the
sense ' touch ' is better. The green knight
' strikes at him mightily, but does not touch
him.'
One cannot feel quite certain about the
change in 1315 watg G, w* MS. In 1696
castes G, costeg MS., the MS. reading is per-
fectly satisfactory. In 1921 tyruen, and 1514
teuelyng, G improves by reading u for n M.
An interesting reading occurs in 956, where
BMG read the MS. scheder, and M suggested,
and G adopts schedes. Light on this reading
i* to be found in Pearl 1068, where Morris and
Osgood read the MS. as anvndeg, and change it
to an-vnder. £ and one kind of r look very
much alike in this MS., and the MS. in 956 is
undoubtedly to be interpreted as schedes, and
in Pearl 1068 as an-vnder. Note, in the fac-
simile in Osgood, the r of by-fore, 1. 6, and the
S of louej; and of syge, 1. 20.
438 reads: As non vnhap had hym ayled,
J?ag hedleg no we (or ho we). For no we (or
ho we) B prints ho we, with the fn. he were?
M prints the text as B, with the fn. he were( ?)
or nowe(?), but M2 puts he we [re] into the
text. I am inclined to believe that the MS.
should be read no we, i. e., nowe, even though
the first stroke of the n is a trifle higher than
is usual in this character, and the second stroke
runs a trifle lower than usual.
It remains to speak of the sixteen absolutely
new emendations which G1 or G2 has intro-
duced. The most striking are as follows: 884
reads: Sone wat$ telded vp a tapit on tresteg
f ul fayre. For tapit G substitutes tabil. Other
instances where tables and trestles are men-
tioned together are in 1648, Cleanness 832,
Babees Boole p. 311, 1. 389. and p. 326, 1. 822,
and Sir Degrevant 1381-2. The emendation
seems convincing.
881 reads: [A mantle] Alle of ermyn in
erde, his hode of Tpe same. For in erde G sub-
stitutes enurnde. This seems to be supported
by 634 and 2027. There, however, and else-
where where the word enourned occurs, it is
used of precious stones, jewelry, or figuratively.
Furthermore, though the phrase in erde does
not seem to have much force here, it must be
remembered that elsewhere in the poem the
same phrase is used in the same colorless fash-
ion, as a sort of tag for alliterative purposes.
See 27, 140, 2416, and 1070 vpon grounde,
486 in londe, 614 in toune, in all of which ' in
the world ' seems to have a vague meaning not
especially suitable to the context. The emen-
dation is a gratuitous " improvement."
In 1729 bi lag mon MS., bi-lag[gid] mon G,
the emendation is convincing. See Bradley-
Stratmann, s. v. Bilaggen, and Way's Promp-
torium Parvulorum, s. v. Laggyd, p. 283, and
Be-laggyd, p. 29, and note 5.
In 992 MS., BMG1 read kyng. But the per-
son referred to, the lord of the castle, is not
regarded as a king in this poem (though he
may have been in the sources). The rejection
of kyng, therefore, seems imperative, and G2
substitutes ' lord.' My colleague, Dr. J. R.
Hulbert, however, suggests knygt as a far less
violent change. It is far easier to understand
how the scribe should write ' kyng ' for ' knygt '
than 'kyng' for 'lord.' In Sir Perceval of
Galles, 83, we find MS. 'kynghte' for
'knyghte,' and the same error frequently in
Sir Degrevant. (See Thornton Roms., p. 259.)
'kynghte' might readily become the still more
erroneous form 'kyng.'
In 683 the change of caueloung to cauel-
[acijoung appears advisable. The latter read-
ing is supported by 2275. In 88 lenge MS. has
been changed to longe, probably an advisable
change.
A series of changes in the direction of mak-
ing the text read more grammatically, or more
nearly in conformity with the context, is : In
795 towre MS., Towre[s] G, because in this
sentence the various other parts of the castle
are spoken of in the plural. But may there
not have been only one tower? In 727 schad-
den MS., schadde G, to make this verb agree
with the subject water. In 987 wedeg MS.,
wede G, the singular is adopted because the
reference is to the hode of 983. In 1141 mote
MS., motes G, the plural is adopted because the
adjective is Jre. In 1836 nay MS., nay[ed] G,
the preterite is adopted to conform with the
context. In 734 caryeg MS., cayreg G, because
elsewhere in this MS. the word is regularly
spelled cayre, kayre (see glossary). There is
of course no question that etymologically the
word is cayren, ON. keyra, ' to drive.' But the
word became practically fused in meaning and
form in ME. with carien. so that carien might
be used with the original meaning of cayren.
This is best illustrated in Piers Plowman,
April, 1915.]
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
107
A-text, prol. 29 ; of twelve MSS., four have some
form ef cairen, while eight have carien; in
4.22 three have cairij>, while ten have cariej'.
The word in both cases means ' go,' and should
etymologically be cairen. Therefore, in Go-
wain, in spite of the other spelling in 2120,
1048, 1670, the temptation to " regularize " the
reading of 734 ought to be resisted.
1467 reads : Suande J»is wylde swyn til ]>e
sunne schafted. For schafted G reads schifted.
1 am unable to cite any other instance of the
verb shaften referring to the sun's beams, but
there are so many cases in M. E. of the noun
shaft, meaning figuratively the rays of the sun,
that I feel the MS. should not be disturbed. In
the Wars of Alexander, 1544 and 4816, we
have the phrase " shaf tis of \>e shire son."
Pearl 982 reads: "j?e brok . . . J?at
schyrrer f>en sunne with schafteg schon." Pa-
tience 455 has : " j?e schyre sunne hit vmbe-
schon, J?as no schafte myjt )>e mountaunce of
a lyttel mote vpon J?at man schyne."
Three absolutely unnecessary changes have
been made in 2053 J»ay MS., he G; 1112 J>is MS.,
J?e G; 1514 }>is MS., J?e G.
In 1769 G2 has capitalized MS. mare, mak-
ing it signify the Virgin Mary (i. e., ' If Mary
should not think of her knight, Great peril
would exist between them ' — Gawain and the
lady). As Dr. Hulbert points out, however,
the next stanza makes this appear not to be the
meaning. Gawain was in danger of yielding
to the gentle seductiveness of the lady, and
might have done so had he not thought more
of her (i. e., the lady's) knight, lest he ' should
be traitor to that man who owned that man-
sion' (1775). As Gawain is here being sub-
jected to a severe test of his loyalty (loyalty,
generosity, and curtesy were the three qualities
especially demanded of the knight), the inter-
ference of the Virgin would spoil the whole
crucial part of the test, and seems inconceivable
from such an artist as our poet.1 If it be ob-
jected that mynnen is not used in M. E. in
the sense ' come to mind,' it may be answered
that mare may be a fusion of mare he, a sug-
gestion of Dr. Hulbert's. Furthermore, that
the scribe did not understand the reference
here to be to the Virgin appears from his
regular spelling of her name elsewhere: 754,
1268, 1942, 2140, mary.
Putting 1283-87 into quotation marks
greatly improves the sense. The punctuation
of 2208, making it clear that wee loo is an ex-
clamation, is another improvement.
1 The ordeal of Gawain is not a " chastity test," as
is commonly asserted. This will appear in Dr. Hul-
bert'a forthcoming paper on the poem.
One set of facts about the MS. has been ob-
scured by the E. E. T. S. editions. It has to
do with the first lines — the short ones — of the
rimed five-line bits at the end of the stanzas.
These are correctly printed by B where they
occur in the MS. They never occur in the posi-
tions that they have been put into in the E. E.
T. S. edition. They always, on the contrary,
occur in the right hand margin, opposite some
other line, sometimes the preceding, sometimes
the following, and frequently some lines before
the preceding line, where they often fit the
sense. much better. For example, 15 is oppo-
site 12; 32 opp. 30 (it must, of course, refer
forwards to 31) ; 55 opp. 53 (where it fits
better) ; 80 opp. 77 ; 102 opp. 103 ; 125 opp.
123; 146 opp. 144; 174 opp. 172; 198 opp.
196 (with forward reference) ; 227 opp. 225 ;
274 opp. 273; 296 opp. 294; 318 opp. 317;
338 opp. 336 (does not fit); 361 opp. 360;
385 opp. 384; 412 opp. 411; 439 opp. 437;
462 opp. 460; 486 opp. 484; 511 opp. 509
(fits better); 531 opp. 529; 561 opp. 560;
585 opp. 583; 614 opp. 612; 635 opp. 634;
other especially notable cases are: 1258 opp.
1254; 1397 opp. 1395; 1714 opp. 1712; 1865
opp. 1862; 1888 opp. 1886; 1947 opp. 1944;
2020 opp. 2017.
The student might well wish that the exact
condition of the MS. in doubtful, "illegible,"
and other emended passages had been more
explicitly described. I may, therefore, per-
haps be pardoned for giving some additional
information. The editor is not consistent in
telling in his footnotes when letters and parts
of words have been conjecturally supplied in
blank or defaced spaces, and when they have
been inserted where there is no space. In 312
gry[n]del-layk there is room for one letter
where n has been inserted. In 659 nouj>[er],
the last part of the word has been badly
rubbed; J> is barely legible; as the word is at
the end of the line, either -er or the abbrevia-
tion for -er has been undoubtedly defaced. In
1199 [in], there is an erasure of two letters.
In 1514 F[or], the MS. has been badly smudged
over the -or; the o is faint but legible. In
1516 le[des], the MS. is defaced; B prints
le . . . ; only the I- is now really legible;
there is room for -edes. In 1706 h[yra], BM
print hym without brackets ; M2 prints h [ym] ;
there is now absolutely no trace of the y or
the nasal stroke above it, but there is room
for the y plus the regular space between words.
In 2171 we [re], at the end of the line, there
is no trace of -re. Of course in all cases of
the offset mentioned above, there are blank
spaces on the original page.
In the following cases there is no space in
108
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
[Vol. xxx, No. 4.
the MS., and that fact is clearly stated in the
footnotes: 286, 683, 751, 795, 1729, 1752,
1815, 1825 (swere[s]), 1836, 1858, 2448 (the
fn. is slightly misleading; the word hatg has
been inserted), 2461.
In the following cases there is no space or
erasure, but no indication is so given in the
footnotes: 100, 203, 591, 660, 803, 877, 1030,
1069, 1092, 1129, 1357, 1413, 1479, 1580, 1611,
1639, 1648, 1825 (swyftel[y]), 1861, 1936,
1973, 2223, 2291, 2296, 2337, 2344, 2472,
2506.
In 1466 r[od]e, and 1467 wy[ld]e, a drop
of water on the page has dimmed the ink, but
the bracketed letters are perfectly legible ex-
cept the o of rode, which looks to me more
like y, though it may be o.
In 1213 g[aye], the scribe's pen seems to
have been going badly, and it is impossible to
make out what he intended the word to be.
The g is very light and small, and the rest of
the word trails off into a mere shriveled scrawl.
In 43 make is written in a dark brown ink,
very different from the regular ink, and in an
entirely different hand from the rest, over a
smudged erasure (cf. "hoge," 1441). In 81
discrye, discry- is again in the dark ink and
the second hand over a smudged spot; the -e
is in the original ink and hand. In 1214 wel
is in the dark ink and second hand above the
line; a caret below the space between me and
lykej; seems in the original ink and hand.
In 1591 wy[j;]test, the 5 is legible enough
not to require brackets.
In 1256 the MS. is perfectly clear in reading
louue; there is no doubt about the reading.
The footnote is misleading.
In 2344 anger, the ang- is rubbed and faint,
but legible, and there is a trace of the abbre-
viation for -er. In 2440 gondefr], the r is a
trifle defaced but perfectly clear (G2 reads
gonde).
1540 toruayle. T. G. Foster, in Mod. Lang.
Quarterly I (1897), p. 54, says: "I have
looked at the MS. carefully, and read trauayle,
not toruayle ; this reading suits the context ex-
actly." I have examined this word with great
care, and while I cannot speak with quite such
assurance as Foster, I believe that the MS.,
while superficially looking like tor- rather
than tra-, nevertheless probably ought to be
read tra- ; the third letter almost certainly is a.
There are a very few minor misprints. In
345 }>is, the > is broken. In 1303 knygt, the
y is broken. In 1486 bi had better be printed
with a capital B. In 1729 mon should be fol-
lowed in the text by s. In 850 chefly should
read chefly2. On p. 30, f n. 1, why the brackets ?
On p. 32, fn. 1 should read kywg. Why are two
kinds of type — boldface and Roman — used in
the motto at the close of the poem? Nothing
in the MS. justifies them.
THOMAS A. KNOTT.
University of Chicago.
On Vowel Alliteration in the Old Germanic
Languages, by E. CLASSEN. University of
Manchester Publications, Germanic Series,
No. 1. Manchester University Press, 1913.
xi -f 91 pp., 3 sh. 6 d.
The extremely perplexing question of vowel
alliteration in the Old Germanic languages has
never been satisfactorily solved. The glottal-
catch theory and the sonority or acoustic theory
are both extremely doubtful. The above mono-
graph seeks, by historical evidence, to throw
light upon the theory of vowel identity as the
original principle controlling vowel allitera-
tkn The work is divided into an Introduction
and two Parts. The Introduction contains a
concise history of the controversy. Part I con-
tains an analysis of the three theories advanced,
and Part II the author's investigation of
minor monuments, and a comparison with
Celtic, Finnish and Latin alliteration. The
minor monuments of Germanic literature in-
vestigated are confined to Beowulf, the Heliand
and the Old Norse Eddie lays, V0'lundarkvi8a
Hyndluljoft, prymskvifta and Hymiskvifta. The
work is arranged in logical order, preparing the
reader for the analysis and application of the
vowel-identity theory by setting forth the diffi-
culties involved in the glottal-catch theory and
the sonority theory. The monograph as a whole
affords a convenient survey as regards the thesis
involved, but the author's efforts to make his
work compact often leave much open to con-
jecture and render his methods unclear.
The principal objections to the glottal-catch
theory advanced by the author are, (1) that
it is not at all certain that the glottal catch
ever existed in the Old Germanic languages;
(2) that even if its existence be assumed, the
sound could not have acquired such promi-
April, 1915.]
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
109
nence as the conditions of alliteration demand,
inasmuch as it never received an orthographical
symbol; (3) the glottal-catch theory fails to
account for the alliteration of a consonant (v
in Old Norse, h in Anglo-Saxon and in Old
Saxon) with a vowel. The glottal-catch
theory is further elaborated by K. Hildebrand
(Z.f.d.d.Unt., V, 577), who compares it with
the technique of rime. He starts from the
thesis that the best rime is that which con-
tains one element of identity and one element
of difference. In the alliterative technique
Hildebrand finds these necessary conditions of
artistic perfection in the alliteration of the
glottal catch as the identical element, com-
bined with different vowels. This argument
is well met by the author, who points out the
simple fact that there is no analogy at all be-
tween a rime and a pair of alliterating vowels,
so that no inference can be drawn from the
technique of rime for that of alliteration.
The sonority or acoustic theory (Klang-
fulle) is more favorably viewed by the author.
Here we are at least sure of the existence of
vowel sonority, while we are not sure that there
ever was a glottal catch. The sonority theory
is based upon the assumption that, quite apart
from any phonetic analysis, vowels as a group
strike the hearer as having something in com-
mon, in spite of their difference in quality,
whereas consonants do not. This theory, how-
ever, falls to the ground when we consider the
fact that phonetic identity may be closer be-
tween certain consonants (e. g., the labial ex-
plosives b and p) than between vowels of dif-
ferent quality (such as a palatal i and gut-
tural o). The main point is the resemblance
and not whether the resemblance consists of
pure voice or any other peculiarity of articu-
lation. The author's statement (p. 21) that
" the sonority theory fails to account for the
alliteration in 0. Norse of v- with a vowel
or of /- if we assume the latter to be conso-
nantic," does not invalidate the sonority theory.
It may well be that at the time of composition,
P.G. M- remained a semi-vowel (consonantal
u) hTo. N., as Gering (Z.f.d.Ph., XLII,
233) suggests, but at the time of the manu-
scripts « had become a bilabial or a labio-
dental spirant (v) ; so that when the time came
for committing the poems of the Edda to
writing, there would be a number of lines with
the alliteration v : vowel, that is, lines with no
text alliteration at all, which when traced
back would be found to have vowel alliteration.
The sonority theory might hold in such a case,
inasmuch as the v of the text was originally
a semi-vowel. The history of initial P. G. u
in 0. N., as Gering assumes it, is supported
by Noreen (Altisldndische Grammatik3, § 242).
The vowel-identity theory was first advanced
by the celebrated Swedish philologian, Axel
Kock (Ostnordiska och Latinska Medeltidsord-
sprdk, Kj0benhavn, 1889-94), and supported
further by the Danish phonetician, Otto Jes-
persen (Fonetik, § 76, Amm. 2. Kj0benhavn,
1899). The author seeks to produce evidence
in favor of this theory, which never yet has
been subjected to a historical test, by tracing
back to their Old Germanic forms the actually
existing alliterative lines. This procedure, as
the author admits, can be nothing more than
an experiment, inasmuch as even the oldest of
the monuments examined (Beowulf) is no
model of the original system, for almost all
sound laws affecting vowels took effect prior to
the composition of the poem. The system of
vowel alliteration with identical vowels must
have already broken down a considerable time
before Beowulf was written. But the experi-
ment is of value insofar as it may establish
the fact that the frequency of identical alliter-
ation considerably increases when older forms
are substituted.
The hypothesis upon which the author's in-
vestigation proceeds is that originally in Old
Germanic poetry only identical vowels could
alliterate, just in the same way as only iden-
tical consonants could alliterate. The forces
tending to disrupt this system must have been
many and active. The poverty of the Old
Germanic languages in initial vowels and the
necessity of finding in a single line two words
or more with such vowels must have imposed
very severe restrictions on the liberty of ex-
pression of the poet. Added to the inherent
germs of decay was the sensitiveness of vowels,
as compared with consonants, to phonetic
110
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
[Vol. xxx, No. 4.
change. These technical difficulties of vowel
alliteration may account for the comparative
rarity of double vowel alliteration, as well as
for the rarity of words alliterating in initial
i, u, and o in Anglo-Saxon and Old Saxon.
But the author's suggestion (p. 25 f.) regard-
ing the process of decay of this system of
identical vowel alliteration is not at all con-
vincing. The author contends that as soon as
the type v, different v \ vx = a o \ ax was
reached, then gradually and without shock to
the ear would arise the type vv \ different v x
= a a | o x, which represents a complete break-
down of the system, inasmuch as the Haupt-
stab in this case no longer controls the allitera-
tion. But why should this transition take
place? If the alliteration originally existed
between the Hauptstab and one identical initial
vowel in the first half-line, then it is difficult
to see how two identical vowels in the first
half-line could alone constitute the alliteration
unless one of these vowels alliterated with the
Hauptstab. How does the identity of two
alliterating vowels in the first half-line do away
with the necessity of alliteration with the
Hauptstab, when the Hauptstab must have
originally controlled the alliteration? It is
possible that the poverty of identical initial
vowels would justify the expedient of dispens-
ing with the Hauptstab as the controlling ele-
ment of alliteration, but this assumption is at
best forced and not at all " easy," as the author
avers. If we assume that the Hauptstab no
longer controlled the alliteration, then it is
" easy " to conceive how all three stressed syl-
lables might contain non-identical alliterating
initial vowels, since this assumption no longer
involves vowel identity at all, for identity of
initial vowels in the first half-line without
reference to the Hauptstab does not constitute
alliteration. Therefore, all three alliterating
vowels might become non-identical as soon as
the Hauptstab was no longer the controlling
element in the alliteration. Why then should
the Hauptstab be taken into consideration if it
was no longer involved in the alliteration?
Excluding the question of the Hauptstab alto-
gether, the author is forced to explain why the
identity of two initial vowels was not necessary
for alliteration. To do this, he has resorted
to the expedient of the Hauptstab (with non-
identical initial vowel) which, according to his
argument, no longer controlled the alliteration.
The author's contention assumes the Hauptstab
at the same time as both a non-controlling and
a controlling element in the alliteration.
One may also take serious objection to the
author's method (p. 35) of tracing the vowels
back to their Old Germanic forms. He has
traced all the vowels back to their Primitive
Germanic forms except in the case of P.G. ce
and u, where he has represented the original
P.G. vowels by what he considers as their
equivalents in W.G. and P. Norse; in the
former case (P.G. #) by the W.G. =P. Norse
a and in the latter case (P.G. u) by 6 wherever
o would occur in W.G. The author's treatment
of the P.G. u in Old Norse, however, does not
accord with his marginal reductions in the
text. He says (p. 35): "In O.N., on the
other hand, where the change «>o is known
to have taken place late, the u has been pre-
ferred." Selecting a single example from the
Hymiskvifta (23, 2) :
arms einbani oxa hgfyi (o<.wo<wu ei<ai
o<o)
we see that the Old Norse o, occurring as
the initial vowel respectively in orms and oxa,
has been reduced by the author, not in each
case to u, but in the former case to u and in
the latter to o, which contradicts his statement
that " in O.N. the P.G. u has been preferred."
If, with his statement, the author meant to
say: "Wherever in O.N. the change w>o is
known to have taken place late, the u has been
preferred," one might be able to account for
this contradiction, but even then one is left in
ignorance as to the conditions under which this
change took place "late" in 0. N. There is
no evidence that such a phonetic change took
place late in 0. N. Even the old Eunic in-
scriptions show evidence of the breaking of the
P.G. u to 8 [Cf. Noreen, Altislandische Gram-
matiJc3, § 154, 2. worahto (Tune, 5th. cen.),
horna (Gallehus, 4th. cen.)]. Besides, the
a-umlaut (which most often caused this break-
ing) was undoubtedly older than either the i-
April, 1915.]
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
111
or the w-umlaut.1 In the example quoted
above, ormr is the Gothic waurms pure and
simple. There can .be no question of an
a-umlaut here, since the a-ending had already
disappeared in P.G. In oxa (nom. oxi =
Gothic auhsa), on the other hand, where the
a-ending was retained in P.G., the breaking of
u to o must have occurred. The o in ormr is,
therefore, of P.G., and not of specifically O.N.
origin. The breaking of I.E. u to o in P.G.
seems to have taken place uniformly before r
or h, just as in Gothic. Wherever, under such
circumstances, u occurs in the Germanic dia-
lects, as in the O.H.G. wurm (i), m., such an
u must be considered of later origin, due either
to the *i (*wormi<iwurmi, nom. pi.) of the
inflectional ending or to the " inserted " *u
(*wor"m<*M;M»^m wurm) which was gener-
ated between the r and m of the stem. The
initial P.G. vowels for these two words (orms,
oxa) are rather the reverse of that which the
author maintains, i. e. orms — oxa, o<_wo —
o<« instead of o<.wo<wu — o<o. The con-
tention that P.G. u, whatever the nature of the
vowel in the following syllable, did not main-
tain itself before r or h, but was broken to o
is brilliantly defended by L. F. Leffler, Bidrag
till Varan om i-omljudet, Nord. Tidskr. for
filol. og. peed., Ny raekke, II.
Furthermore, it may be questioned whether
the short I, which the author has postulated
for the W.G. and O.N. forms, can in all cases
be reduced to a P.G. e. It is more likely that
I.E. e was retained in P.G. only before r or Ji,
and, in all other cases, was, just as in Gothic,
not e but i?
The author's method of tracing back some
of the alliterative vowels to their P.G. forms
and others to their W.G. or to their Primitive
O.N. forms is confusing. If it was the author's
intention to examine the status of P.G. poetry,
why not trace back all the vowels in question
to their P.G. forms?
1 Cf. Adolf Holtzmann, Altdeutsche Grammatik,
I. Bd., 2. Abteilung, p. 12 ff.
*Cf. Collitz, Segimer oder:Keltische Wamen in
Germanischem Gewande, J.E.G.Phil. VI, 253-306,
who in this article entirely discards the theory of
the P.G. e.
The categories according to which the author
has carried on his investigation are as follows:
I. Text Identical Vowels, (a) in all members ;
(b) in two members including the Hauptstab;
(c) neither identical nor approximately iden-
tical when traced back. — II. Text Vowels Ap-
proximately Identical, (a) in all members;
(b) in two members including the Hauptstab;
(c) neither identical nor approximately iden-
tical when traced back. — III. Historically
Identical Vowels, (a) in all members; (b) in
two members including the Hauptstab. — IV.
Vowels Neither Historically Identical nor Text
Identical.
The investigation shows that in every poem
examined not only do lines with text identical,
text approximately identical and historically
identical vowels (I, II and III), represent a
higher percentage than do lines with different
alliterating vowels (i. e., different both in the
text and when traced back, IV), but that the
same is also true of those lines which, accord-
ing to the author (p. 64) , possess " actual
identity " of vowel alliteration. This evidence
is strongly in favor of the vowel-identity theory.
The author's use of the term " actual identity "
(p. 64) is, however, misleading. To arrive at
" actual identity " of vowel alliteration, he has
subtracted sub-category c (I and II) from the
remaining sub-categories (a, b) in I and II.
Under the head of " actual identity " he has,
therefore, included category II (a, b), contain-
ing text vowels approximately identical, which,
even if they are found to be identical when
traced back, can hardly be termed " actually
identical," inasmuch as they are not identical
in the text as well as when traced back. The
fact that such vowels are approximately iden-
tical in the text excludes the possibility of their
being " actually identical " ; which term would
imply a vowel identity both in the text and
when traced back. Actual identity in this lat-
ter sense can be possible only with reference to
category I, which contains only text identical
vowels, and the author would have spared the
reader much confusion if he had confined the
term to this sense.
Again on page 86, the terms which the
author uses are very inexact and misleading.
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
[Vol. xxx, No. 4.
He says, for instance, that " those monuments
which are the oldest should show the highest
percentage of identical vowels, and this is the
case, for Beowulf has 75.2 per cent., Heliand
74 per cent., and the V0'lundarkvi8a 82.6 per
cent." He gives no intimation as to whether
he means by "identical vowels," 'text identical'
'text approximately identical/ or 'historically
identical' vowels. In his tables (p. 84) he
carefully distinguishes these three categories
but here he makes absolutely no distinction be-
tween them, leaving it to the reader to discover
exactly what meaning he attaches to the term
" identical vowels." Only by a comparison with
his table of statistics is one able to determine
which category is intended. Such a compari-
son shows that under this term the author has
included all three categories of identical vowels.
Again, he says (p. 86) : " From the sta-
tistical table it also appears that the Heliand
has the largest percentage of text identical vow-
els (21 per cent.)." But a comparison with the
statistical table shows us that the percentage
stated by the author must have reference only
to text identical vowels in all members (la).
The percentage for text identical vowels should
include those which are identical not only in
all members (la) but also in two members in-
cluding the Hauptstab (Ib) ; i. e., la -fib.
Directly following his enumeration of the
percentages of " text identical vowels " the au-
thor says (p. 86) : " If one includes approxi-
mately identical vowels, Beowulf then shows
the highest percentage of 36 as against 23 per
cent, in the Heliand." A comparison with his
table of statistics shows us that the percentages
stated have reference only to text identical vow-
els in all members (Ia)+ approximately iden-
tical vowels in all members (Ha). Here, too,
under the head of approximately identical, as
well as under that of text identical vowels (see
above), the author has excluded those vowels
which are found in two members including the
Hauptstab (Ib + lib). If we include this sub-
category b, we find the percentage of text iden-
tical vowels (la and Ib) to be: Beowulf 24,
Heliand 36 and the Edda 21. This does not,
however, refute the author's conclusion (p. 86)
that " the Heliand has the largest percentage of
text identical vowels," although the percentages
recorded by the author (p. 86) are: Beowulf
16, Heliand 21, and the Edda 11, which, how-
ever, take no account of text identical vowels
in two members including the Hauptstab, Ib.
Similarly, if in the category of approximately
identical vowels we include those which are
found in two members including the Hauptstab
(Ila + IIb), we find the percentage to be:
Beowulf 31, Heliand 7, and the Edda 28. If
this percentage be added to the percentage
found in the category of text identical vowels
(i. e., IIa,b + Ia,b), we have: Beowulf (24 +
31) 55, Heliand (36+7) 43, and the Edda
(21 + 28) 49, which supports the author's as-
sertion that Beowulf shows the highest per-
centage (i. e. of text identical + approximately
identical vowels). The percentages recorded
by the author (who has excluded text identical
and approximately identical vowels in two
members including the Hauptstab, t. e., Ib +
lib) are: Beowulf 36, Heliand 23.
According to the percentages recorded by the
author, one must necessarily infer that he con-
siders the Vft'lundarkvifta to be of earlier origin
than either Beowulf or the Heliand. He says
(p. 86) : " Finally those monuments which are
the oldest should show the highest percentage
of identical vowels, and this is the case, for
Beowulf has 75.2 per cent., Heliand 74 per
cent., and the V0'lundarkvtt>a 82.6 per cent."
That the Vfi'lundarkvifta could be of earlier
origin than either of the other two poems
mentioned is extremely doubtful. It is un-
doubtedly one of the oldest of all the Old
Norse heroic lays,3 but there is no evidence to
the effect that it is of as early an origin even
as the ninth century. It is probably not so old
as the prymskviSa, which is a purely mytholog-
ical lay. The heroic lays are in general of later
origin than the purely mythological lays, yet
the author, in seeking to determine by a system
of percentage the antiquity of the monuments
examined, entirely discards whatever evidence
the prymskvifia might offer to this effect.
The retention of stereotyped traditional epic
* Cf . Finnur Jonson, Den Islanske Litteraturs His-
torie, 1907, p. 61.
April, 1915.]
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
113
formulas which had undergone phonetic change
would hasten the decay of the original system
of vowel identity. Likewise the development
of originally identical vowels into vowels heard
to be different but yet phonetically and acous-
tically very closely related would lead to the
alliteration in new poems of similar, phonetic-
ally related, vowels which yet did not originate
from identical vowels. The author's argument
here (p. 31) is quite clear and convincing, pro-
vided we assume the alliteration still to be con-
trolled by the Hauptstab. One would, there-
fore, naturally expect, as the author asserts,
the percentage of text identical vowels in poems
orally transmitted (Edda) to be less than in
first-hand compositions, such as Beowulf and
the Heliand. Such is the case according to the
author's statement (p. 31) : Beowulf 36 per
cent., Heliand 31.5 per cent., Vp'lundarkvifta,
17 per cent., Hyndluljoft 24 per cent., and
Hymiskvifta 12 per cent. A glance at his table
of statistics (p. 84) shows us, however, that the
author's figures represent both text identical
and approximately identical vowels in all mem-
bers (la + Ha). It is evident that the author
here (p. 31) has not only omitted text identical
vowels in two members including the Haupt-
stab (Ib) but has also included approximately
identical vowels under the head of " identical "
vowels. On page 86 (as shown before) the
term " identical " vowel includes not only these
two categories but also " historically identical
vowels." The loose use which the author makes
of the term " identical " is extremely confus-
ing. According to the author's statistics (p.
84) the percentages of text identical vowels
should be : Beowulf 24.1 (text identical vowels
la + Ib = 80 + 42 = 122 ; whole number of lines
with vowel alliteration, 506; per cent., 24.1).
Heliand 36 (la + Ib = 21-f 15 = 36; whole
number of lines with vowel alliteration, 100;
per cent., 36). Proceeding in the same way
with the Eddie lays we find the percentage of
text identical vowels to be: Vft'lundarkvifia
30.4; Hyndluljoti 13, and Hymiskvifta 14.7.
But here the author has omitted the percentage
for the prymsfctn'Ca, which should be 29.2.
Why should the evidence which the prymskvitia
might offer be rejected, especially when, being
undoubtedly the oldest of the four Old Norse
lays in question, it would more than any other
of the lays tend to reveal the older status of
vowel alliteration in North Germanic? If we
average the correct percentages in the four
Eddie lays we find the result to be 21.8 per cent.
The correct percentages for text identical vowels
are, therefore: Beowulf 24; Heliand 36 and
the Edda 22, which does not, however, contra-
dict the author's assumption that the percent-
age of text identical vowels should be lower in
poems orally transmitted (Edda) than in first-
hand compositions such as Beowulf or the
Heliand. But there are many things to be
taken into consideration which may invalidate
this assumption. Oral transmission may not
be the only factor tending to lower the per-
centage of text identical vowels. First, the age
of the poem in question must be taken into
consideration, for the younger the poem the
greater would be the tendency to deviate from
the original system of vowel alliteration by vir-
tue of the greater tendency to phonetic change
on the part of the vowels. The four Old Norse
lays in question represent a fairly synchronous
phonetic state of affairs. The Vfl'lundarkvifta
Hyndluljoft and Hymiskvifta may all safely be
put in the tenth century, while only the
prymskvi&a could possibly be as old as either
the Heliand or Beowulf. The phonetic changes
in O.N. would, therefore, tend to become greater
than in Beowulf or the Heliand by mere virtue
of time, and oral transmission is not the only
factor tending to reduce the percentage of text
identical vowels. Furthermore, not only the
question of time but also that of the phonetic
peculiarity of the individual dialects must be
taken into account. Phonetic changes take
place much more rapidly and extensively in one
language than in another. This is particularly
true of Old Saxon on the one hand, and Anglo-
Saxon and Old Norse on the other. Old Saxon
vowels stand in phonetic identity much nearer
to their primitive status in West Germanic than
do the Anglo-Saxon vowels. In Anglo-Saxon,
vowel-breaking, palatalization, etc., show a
vowel sensitiveness which would naturally pro-
duce a much wider gap between the text vowel
and its historical derivative (either the P.G.
114
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
[Vol. xxx, No. 4.
or the W.G.) than is the case in Anglo-Saxon,
and the same is true of Old Norse with refer-
ence to Old Saxon. A glance at the percent-
ages for text identical vowels shows us that
the Heliand (36 per cent.) actually has a higher
percentage than either Beowulf (24 per cent.)
or the Edda (22 per cent.). We might, there-
fore, assume this to be due to the fact that the
Old Saxon vowels were less liable to phonetic
change than either the Anglo-Saxon or Old
Norse vowels. At any rate, this is a very im-
portant factor in connection with the per-
centage of text identical vowels. The author's
assumption with regard to oral transmission
may be entirely invalidated by these two other
factors; namely, that of time and that of the
phonetic peculiarities of the individual dialects.
It is to be regretted that the author's inves-
tigations in Old Norse were not more extensive,
since the paucity of material examined in that
dialect would hardly justify a comparison with
either Beowulf or the Heliand. The total num-
ber of lines examined in Old Norse is only 635,
as compared with 1,379 in the Heliand, and
the whole (3,182 lines) of Beowulf.
Omissions of lines which should occur under
two heads are quite frequent. If a line should
occur under two heads, the omission of this line
under one head will not affect the percentage
in question, inasmuch as the line must then be
both added and subtracted from the total num-
ber of lines. But such an omission mars the
form of the author's work and lessens the con-
fidence in his general exactness. The following
omissions have been noted :
Lines occurring under two heads, recorded
under one head but omitted under another
head:
Beowulf. I. Eecorded in Ib but omitted in
Illb : 11. 2248, 2498, 3049, 3135.
Heliand. I. Eecorded in Ib but omitted in
Illb : 1. 297.
])rymsltvti$a. I. Eecorded in la but omitted
in Ilia: 11. 6,1; 6,3; 9,1; 10,1; 13,2; 20,2;
26,1 ; 26,3 ; 29,5.
Misprints are very rare throughout the work.
Only the following has been noted : Heliand
(p. 68), 1. 261, i<i a<a a<a should read
i<i e<a a<a. — On page 75 the author has
classified 1. 15,4 of the Hyndluljoft under Ilia.
This line reads as follows:
olu ok g'ttu dtjdn sunu (o<o Q ' <,ai d<a),
which obviously does not show identical vowels
in all members when traced back but only in
two members (including the Hauptstab) and
should, therefore, be classified under Illb.
The results of the author's investigations
tend to strengthen considerably the vowel-iden-
tity theory. In all texts examined the high
percentage of vowels both identical in the text
and when traced back, as well as the high per-
centage of approximately identical vowels, could
hardly be the result of mere accident. It is
to be regretted that the author's use of terms
has been so inexact and loose. His methods of
deriving percentages could also have been made
clearer. But the work has involved an enor-
mous amount of labor and we may feel grate-
ful to the author for having undertaken such a
laborious task. Keek's theory of vowel iden-
tity has not been established, but it has at least
been tried and in so far as it has been applied
it has done all that was expected of it.
ALBERT MOREY STURTEVANT.
Kansas University.
FEENCH TEXT BOOKS
Eugenie Grandet by Honore de Balzac, abridged
and edited with introduction, notes, and vo-
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Heath, 1914. xv + 236 pp.
Tartarin de Tarascon par Alphonse Daudet,
with introduction, notes, and vocabulary, by
BARRY CERF. Boston, Ginn, 1914. xxx +
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Chez Nous, A French First Eeader, with prac-
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Our enterprising publishers and editors con-
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April, 1915.]
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
115
commendable, since the quantity does not seem
to interfere with the quality of the output. It
is even a matter for congratulation that the
editions of late years show a marked improve-
ment over their predecessors of pioneer days.
In his introduction, Mr. Spiers gives the
main facts of the author's career together with
an estimate of his character and talent which
is on the whole fair. One or two statements
might, however, be challenged on the score of
accuracy or completeness. Thus, when Faguet
is quoted to the effect that Balzac's men and
women "have the characters that suit their
stations and their temperaments, the habits of
their characters, the ideas of their habits, the
speech of their ideas, and the acts of their
speech," we have only part of the critic's judg-
ment, and an exaggerated idea of the perfection
of the novelist's art. Not all the character
studies of the Comedie humaine attain the de-
gree of excellence possessed by the outstanding
creations. Balzac was unsurpassedly great in
depicting elemental natures, overwhelming pas-
sions, commonplace people, and their surround-
ings. For this reason, the protagonists of his
stories, chosen because of some dominant trait
or passion, are as a rule superior to his subor-
dinate personages. Where surroundings, edu-
cation, occupation or necessity give the initial
impulse a chance to exercise its activities to
the fullest extent (Grandet, Goriot, Pons), the
author is in his element, and the picture as-
sumes grandiose proportions in its terrible real-
ity. Where, on the other hand, circumstances
are less favorable for the complete development
of the innate forces, where angles have to be
softened, and tones subdued, the result is far
less satisfactory. The flower of society, male
or female, he has not well portrayed. To quote
the editor's authority, " les personnages de pure
fantaisie et de la fantaisie la plus puerile heur-
tent dans ses ouvrages les personnages d'une
verite absolue." (Faguet, Balzac, in Etudes
sur le dix-neuvieme siecle, p. 438.) The con-
versations of refined people are characterized as
stupid, and Parisians behave as "charretiers en
liesse" (Ibid., p. 414). His grandes dames,
his young ladies of good society, his great ar-
tists are often falsely drawn. He is true to
life in delineating " les gens de basse ou de
moyenne classe ", but " pour les hommes des
classes superieures . . . son information est
trop restreinte, sa vue trop courte ou son in-
duction trop hasardeuse" (Hid., p. 426). In
the novel under consideration, the least well-
drawn personages are Charles, the aristocratic
Madame d'Aubrion and her daughter, who all
are in some respects shockingly unreal, at any
rate untypical of the better French society.
Further, can it be truly said that Moliere be-
comes often tragical? In Georges Dandin, le
Misanthrope, Don Juan, le Malade imaginaire,
there is no doubt an undercurrent of serious-
ness, or even sadness and pessimism, but they
remain comedies nevertheless, and the element
of fun is predominant. The most one can say
is que ce serait a faire pleurer si ce n'etait si
drole. Satirical comedy feeds on vice and
foible, and in as far as these can be considered
as life's tragedies, in just so far may we speak
of tragedy where Moliere is concerned. Viewed
philosophically, they lend to laughter rather
than to tears.
The notes and vocabulary are accurate and
to the point. Irrelevant matters have been gen-
erally avoided, the editor's object being to elu-
cidate the text with the fewest possible words.
This desire for brevity has led him occasionally
to resort to the use of American slang of a
questionable kind. Besides being open to ob-
jections on the part of Englishmen who might
wish to use an otherwise good edition, the prac-
tice is of doubtful propriety also for the reason
that American students are only too partial to
such unliterary short cuts. Faisons les mises
(23.6) is correctly translated by ' let us put up
the stakes '. There was hardly need to add
' ante up ' which is poker slang, the ante being
different from the general mise. If a familiar
term were thought useful, why not say ' let us
come in ', which is generally understood and
is the exact equivalent of the French expres-
sion. Votre serviteur (33.3), implying refusal
of a request or proposal, is adequately rendered ;
but the editor addiices the Americanisms ' noth-
ing doing' (why not nothin' doin'?) and 'good
116
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
[Vol. xxx, #o. 4.
night '. Would it not have been more appro-
priate simply to instance the perfectly good
' excuse me ', or ' I beg to be excused ', which
stand a better chance of being of a less ephem-
eral character? This objectionable 'nothing
doing ' is used again, together with 'no go ' to
translate bernique (105.6) which means ' it's
all off ' or ' all up ' as the case may be. On
page 111, note 3, fichtre! is rendered by 'gosh
hang it ! ', as choice as the other specimens
quoted. Fichtre! ('the deuce', 'the dickens',
' upon my word ') is used by cultured French-
men with about the same force as diable or ma
parole d'honneur, but ' gosh hang it ! ' can
hardly claim the same social privilege either in
America or in England. Even ' gee ! ' is called
in for illustration (103.4), regardless of the
probability that ten years hence such expletives
will appear quite puzzling to the studious
youths. In view of the above, one wonders
why the editor did not translate je les ai tons
attrapes (64.4) by 'I fooled them all', which
seems, despite its triviality, to strike the right
shade more exactly than ' I've got ahead of
them all.'
The following further suggestions are offered
for what they may be worth:
6, 1. 21. Attention should be called to the
fact that pour qu'Us le fournissent de legumes
means habitual providing, not implied in the
otherwise synonymous pour qu'ils lui fournis-
sent des legumes. — About chaises, 6.5, it is
stated that there are no pews in Catholic
churches, a rule to which there are many ex-
ceptions. But notables like the Grandets have
their own upholstered chairs for the care and
placing of which they pay a yearly rental in-
stead of the weekly two sous. — 7, 1. 16. A note
should certainly explain that cinq pieds, Gran-
det's height, means in reality ten centimeters
more than five feet, the French foot measuring
O.m 324, the English only O.m 304. This makes
him a man of medium height. — 23.2. neuffe-
s-heures is not, I imagine, meant as " an imi-
tation of the uneducated speech which inserts
an s by analogy with the voiced spirant in deux,
trois, six, dix, and onze heures " , for in that case
Balzac would have written neuve-z-heures, or
something to that effect. It is, I believe, rather
intended as a wretched pun, still occasionally
heard, namely, neuf sceurs. — 37, 1. 18. Elle
avait une tete enorme. The vocabulary renders
enorme by ' enormous ', which is not quite the
same here. Eugenie could not have resembled
the Venus of Milo with an enormous head. —
37.6. le lointain des lacs tranquilles is too
freely translated by 'the calm distant lakes'.
The French means that the horizon is distant,
while the lakes may be lying at the beholder's
feet. — 60.1. litanies might well be rendered
here by ' rigmarole '. — 62.4. pleure comme une
Madeleine, que c'est une vraie benediction. Two
points may be noted here. Mr. Spiers trans-
lates que c'est une vraie benediction by ' it does
one good to see it '. But that idea is not con-
tained in benediction as used in the present
instance, the notion of blessing being far from
the maid's mind. The expression means sim-
ply ' abundantly ', ' to overflowing '. A man
who is beaten mercilessly might say les coups
tombaient dru que c'etait une vraie benediction.
As to the connective que said to be loose and
" used thus only in slovenly speech ", I feel in-
clined to think that the condemnation is un-
duly harsh. To be sure, it is not considered
exactly elegant to omit tellement, d, telles en-
seignes, etc., in such a phrase, yet, in every-
day conversation, this omission is tolerated;
e. g., Us se disputaient que c'etait une honte, a
perfectly acceptable sentence. — 82.7. I'insu-
laire, 'the islander'. The note suggests: per-
haps a Britisher. It is really hard to know
what Balzac did mean. Insulaire is also a
slang term for concierge, and it is as conceiv-
able that the elegant Charles had borrowed a
sum of money from his janitor to pay a gam-
bling debt as that he should have left the city
without first settling what is generally consid-
ered une dette d'honneur. — 91, 1. 6. le prime-
vere. It might be noted that this masculine is
archaic and now rarely used, while la primevere,
' primrose ', is, of course, common. — 92, 1. 16.
fuyardes journees is rather unusual for fuyantes
or fugitives journees. — 103, 11. 6-7. Tu n'as
jamais tant parle. Cependant tu n'as pas
mange de pain trempe dans du vin, je pense.
In none of the editions (Berthon, Bergeron,
Spiers) have I found mention of the evident
April, 1915.]
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
117
reference to Moliere's Medecin malgre lui where
Sganarelle prescribes bread soaked in wine as
a cure for the pretended muteness of his pa-
tient. At the same time it is doubtful that the
idea was original with the dramatist and it is
probable that long before his day the French
had discovered que le vin delie la langue. —
107, 11. 23-27. Either Grandet or Balzac is
off on his figures, for it is hard to see how 6,000
francs could bring in annually 400 francs even
if the government 3 per cent could be bought
at 60. — Grouillent, 108, 1. 5, is translated in
the vocabulary by ' stir ', ' bestir.' Is not the
English ' grub ' the exact equivalent etymolo-
gically and semasiologically ? — 127.1. The
form timere is explained as " perhaps due to
the analogy of petit pere " ; the explanation is
correct, and children pronounce tipere and
timere. There is, however, no need of looking
for a possible connection with man petit, a
masculine term of endearment which, the edi-
tor states, the French frequently apply to an
essentially feminine being; for it should be
stated that this is about as elegant as the Eng-
lish " old sport " applied to a girl. Historic-
ally, timere antedates by far the objectionable
man petit. — 131, 1. 24. C'est dit, c'est dit,
s'ecria Grandet en prenant la main de sa fille
et y frappant avec la sienne. It should be
stated that this striking in the hand signifies
the sealing of a bargain. — 142.4. The Dreux-
Breze family was well known to the public
about the first quarter of the nineteenth cen-
tury, but the story of how they came by the
second part of their name is surely of less in-
terest than the circumstance that one of them
who, as master of ceremonies under Louis XVI,
conveyed to the Third Estate the King's order
to disband, drew from Mirabeau the ringing
reply : " Allez dire a votre maitre que nous
sommes ici par la volonte du peuple et que
nous n'en sortirons que par la force des ba'ion-
nettes ". — 147.1. manage de convenance is
made sufficiently clear by ' marriage of con-
venience ' : the additional explanation ' of suit-
ability ' may be confusing, for such matches
are frequently very unsuitable. — 157, 1. 21.
Nous nous poussons deja. Se pousser is cor-
rectly translated in 156.1 by 'help one an-
other '. Here, however, it is used by Bonfons
ironically with the meaning ' push out '.
Vocabulary and notes lack fortune liquide
(4, 1. 1), cheveux-de-Venus (119, 1. 32), and
cerner (138, 1. 13). Metairie (4, 1. 7) trans-
lated by ' farm ', and often loosely so used, is,
strictly speaking, a farm worked on shares.1
Tartarin de Tarascon is firstly the foremost
French specimen of sustained humor in the
nineteenth century, secondly an admirable sam-
ple of what might be termed an aimable
causerie, and thirdly, together with the Lettres
de man moulin, the best product of one of
Daudet's characteristic moods.
The editor has brought all this out in his
introduction, which is a sympathetic and, for
the purpose, sufficiently comprehensive study
of the author and his writings. It is therefore
all the more astonishing that precisely in a
book of the nature of Tartarin, Mr. Cerf should
make the statement : " Sadness is the prevail-
ing tone of his work, the sort of sadness that
proceeds from pity. Where sadness does not
dominate Daudet, irony takes its place." And
yet Daudet has been so often compared to
Dickens that to do so again would be common-
place. If Mr. Cerf tactfully and wisely re-
frains from making that comparison, he should
not, however, overlook the literary kinship, and
call Daudet an out-and-out pessimist. In his
works tears and smiles mingle as they do in
life itself, wherefore he is the true realist and
one of the most satisfying of all modern fiction
writers. It is true that there is tragedy in
many of his stories, as there is in those of Dick-
ens, but in spite of this one cannot help feel-
ing that beneath it all there is the kindly
optimism of the man, perhaps sobered by age
or suffering, but real nevertheless.
The vocabulary is complete and accurate.
The explanatory apparatus looks somewhat
'Misprints: 4, 1. 29. menaient. — 29, 1. 7. tiendras.
—135, 1. 31. fut.— 138, 1. 32. veut.— 154. 1. 21. galant.
The following pages contain each, one or more words
with dropped or broken *vpe: 67, 79, 88, 90, 94, 118,
131, 137, 139, 193.
118
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
[Vol. xxx, No. 4.
formidable, and one wonders whether the class
of readers for whom the edition is intended
will have the time or the inclination to consult
it all, for to do so would inevitably interfere
with the enjoyment of the story. Some pages
of thirty-two and thirty-three lines contain as
many as eighteen notes. One might well ques-
tion the propriety of putting a masterpiece of
the worth of Tartarin in the hands of students
who are in need of all this help. Whatever
opinion one may hold on that point, certain it
is that much of what appears as notes might
have been relegated to the vocabulary, where
it could be consulted more conveniently if
needed. Some might well have been omitted
altogether. Items like 5.3 me direz-vous, ' you
(reader) will say to me (author)'. 5.7 en pleine
campagne, ' into the open country ', 3.19 midi,
' midday ', ' noon ', ' South ', ' Latin media
dies ' , 7.18 les lui faire chanter, ' to make him
sing them ', faire chanter a Tartarin, ' to make
T. sing', 'to make him sing', 51.14 en se le-
vant, ' as she rose ', 91.16 monta encore,
' ascended still higher ' — to quote only a few —
are of doubtful usefulness among the notes,
which they make unnecessarily bulky. The
chief concern of the editor has evidently been,
not merely to solve difficulties, but to leave
nothing unexplained. The foregoing remark is
intended less as a criticism for Mr. Cerf, who
has done his work with the most painstaking
care, than as an advice to young colleagues who
contemplate editing texts, and who should re-
member that an annotated edition is not a
poney. How well the present editor has ac-
quitted himself of his task is proven by the
careful way he has cleared up geographic, eth-
nographic, and dialectic matters, all of which
means a considerable amount of labor. And
all of it is good. Since, however, the average
American student does not know what a league
is, it might have been well to state that the
word lieue, 4.8, is now generally used to desig-
nate an hour's walk (in France four kilo-
meters, in Belgium five) ; that a receveur de
I'enregistr'ement also collects certain taxes, and
not merely registers deeds; that the French
word club, 7.21, was used in revolutionary
times to designate a society which was by no
means interested in sport, and that the un-
grammatical t in si j'etais-t-invisible, 6.24, is
not inserted to avoid hiatus, but merely
through analogy with the third person. The
populace is not necessarily averse to hiatus, and
will say unhesitatingly: J't'ai pa encore vu
aujourd'hui. Incidentally such a mistake is
called a pataques. A warren rabbit, 10.13, is
rather known in English-speaking countries by
the name of wild rabbit. A salade russe, 56.22,
served with a twenty-five-cent dinner in the
Latin Quarter, contains no fish, but merely
beans, carrots, cauliflower and perhaps some
other vegetable. The word rentier, translated
in the vocabulary by ' capitalist ', ' gentleman ',
is indeed difficult to render. The English use
the term ' gentleman of leisure ' ; the Ameri-
cans, ' man living on his income ', ' retired ', etc.
Printing and proof-reading have been done
most carefully: only one misprint has been
noted : 2, 1. 5, arbos for arbor; the same in the
note.
Mr. David's Reader was inspired by Mr.
Allen's German Headers Herein and Daheim,
but these were, as the author tells us in his
preface, "the starting-point rather than the
models " of Chez Nous. A casual perusal soon
convinces us that such must indeed have been
the case, for Chez Nous is French to the core,
and good French at that. It is made up of a
number of sketches, stories, songs, fables, dia-
logues, and even a " Piece a grand spectacle en
2 actes et 6 tableaux avec un prologue." A
considerable amount of it is autobiographical,
the author having drawn extensively on his
reminiscences of Paris school days. This lends
a remarkable freshness and life to this very
original reader. A number of childish songs,
popular all over France, " Au clair de la lune ",
" Nous n'irons plus au bois ", " Fais dodo
Nicolas ", " Frere Jacques ", etc., are included,
together with their melodies, and piano accom-
paniments. The Reader is also supplied with
copious helps for learner and teacher. Besides
a complete vocabulary, there is a chapter en-
titled " Expressions ", in which the idiomatic
April, 1915.]
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
119
phrases contained in each piece are noted and
arranged for study or review, a chapter of ques-
tions, a considerable body of notes, a section on
conditional sentences, one on the use of the
subjunctive, three pages on the use of the in-
definite pronoun on, thirty-seven pages on the
use of the various prepositions, and eight on
the infinitive after the verb. The parts dealing
with grammar and idiom are all based on the
text, which furnishes the necessary illustra-
tive examples. In other words, the text is used
to give what amounts to a complete course in
grammar and syntax, scattered in notes and
appendices. The foregoing is sufficient to show
that the author's claim to produce " not only
a reader, but at the same time a drill-book and
a reference book " is well substantiated. From
the nature of the reading material it is evi-
dently intended for very young pupils, but it
could equally well serve the needs of students
who prepare for the teaching profession. They
alone could make profitable use of the very ex-
tensive pedagogical apparatus that accompanies
the reading matter. The grammatical part is
often worded in a far too scientific and some-
times vague manner to be within the grasp of
the childish mind. Even more mature students
and teachers will need to consult a grammar in
order to complete the general and partial state-
ments of the author. Space forbids going into
a detailed discussion; but, to mention only the
treatment of the subjunctive, it seems to me to
be lacking in clearness and simplicity. Begin-
ners, even of a more advanced age, need three
or four definite rules : First, subjunctive after
verbs of volition and emotion; second, after
impersonal expressions not implying truth, cer-
tainty or probability; third, after conjunctive
expressions; fourth, in relative, so-called char-
acteristic clauses, where there is doubt, and
after le premier, le seul, etc. Such rules stick
in the learner's mind. The most important ex-
ceptions should of course be indicated with the
rules, which can be completed at a later stage.
By making the numerous divisions Mr. David
adopts, noun clauses, adjective clauses, adverb
clauses, each with three, four, or even seven
subdivisions, the matter becomes a bugbear to
young pupils, and the result is apt to be dis-
appointing. In all other respects the book is
first-rate, and may be safely recommended.
The material execution, printing, proof-read-
ing, binding, is of the best.
J. L. BOBGEEHOFF.
Western Reserve University.
Selections from Mesonero Romanes. Edited
with Introduction, Notes, and Vocabulary, by
GEOKGE TYLER NOETHUP. Henry Holt and
Company, New York, 1913. 12mo., pp.
xxiv + 188 (Text 1-81). Portrait.
\
The Spanish essay of manners is a distinctive
product. However much it may owe to De
Jouy or Les Frangais peints par eux-memes, it
has a flavor of the soil when it gets into the
hands of the genial Mesonero, the sarcastic
Larra, or the Andalusian Estebanez Calderon.
Professor Northup has taken the first step to-
ward opening this field to the American student
in his selections from Mesonero Romanos. The
work is scholarly, — satisfactory in every par-
ticular. While the reviewer cannot speak from
the view-point of one who has put his victim to
the supreme test of class-room use, he may
essay the welcome task of giving an account of
impressions gained from reading the book be-
fore us.
Larra's style may be more vigorous, and Este-
banez, in a sense, more " Spanish," but we
feel readier sympathy for Mr. Northup's task
as editor of Mesonero than we should have felt
if he had limited himself to either of the other
costumbristas. Genial, wholesome, patriotic,
broad of view, hopeful, — these characteristics
come spontaneously to the mind of one who has
read the Recollections of a Septuagenarian, of
whom our editor has given his readers a pleas-
ing and accurate account in hii introduction,
accompanied by a well-known portrait. We see
him as boy, soldier, author, patriot, reformer,
doing "more for the material and intellectual
development of Madrid than any other Span-
120
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
[Vol. xxx, No. 4.
iard of the nineteenth century " (p. xvii). Any
man could wish to merit the verdict : " Sanity
is his dominant characteristic" (p. xxi). The
introduction is followed by a useful " Biblio-
graphical Note."
No two critics would agree in the selection of
a limited number of essays from so vast a field.
One would guess that Mr. Northup's edition —
by the way the book has no table of contents —
includes La casa de Cervantes and El retrato
for literary reasons rather than for interest;
La empleo-mania, El alquiler de un cuarto and
Tengo lo que me basta would be ascribed to the
" Spanish atmosphere " ; one might also won-
der if there were not more interesting articles
than El barbero de Madrid. As possible sub-
stitutes for some of these the reviewer would
suggest Un viaje al sitio or El dia treinta del
mes (from the Panorama matritense) , or per-
haps Una noche de vela (from the Escenas
matritenses) . Nobody would wish that Mr.
Northup had omitted El amante corto de vista,
nor the choice skit on Romantics and Romanti-
cism which shows Mesonero at his best and
gives us a breath of contemporaneous literary
atmosphere as well. From this last the editor
has omitted a scabrous episode. Another
omission, which he has failed to record, is
that of the verse headings to the various es-
says,— an interesting little mannerism of the
day which may have been due to Sir Walter
Scott. The reviewer's tolerant eye has observed
no misprints in the text.
The notes are illuminating and sagacious,
though perhaps none too numerous. The in-
sight evidenced in clearing up the author's mis-
take about Orbaneja de tibeda (6 :15) is typical
of the excellent comment found here. One
might make a few suggestions:
The translation of duodecimo (9 :3) as
"trumpery" (i. e., "miserable little") might
not be clear to any but quick-witted students.
The word appears only as " twelfth " in the
vocabulary.
Dulcinea de Toboso (30:20) should read del
Toboso (Quixote, I., xxvi).
On page 97 (note to p. 33, line 20) we find
others " claim that it did not fall," an unde-
sirable use of the Americanism claim for main-
tain. The use of apogee on the same page (note
34:1) for the more usual zenith is striking.
The note on Isla (40:7) is awkwardly
worded.
Some may criticize the note on romanticism
(51:3) because of its length, but it is really
necessary to a complete understanding of the
important essay in which the word occurs, and
it is very well done. It hardly seems wise,
however, to explain any of Byron's influence by
the "glowing descriptions of Spain in Childe
Harold " : Byron was much more influential
in France (without any such special cause),
much of Childe Harold is insulting to Span-
iards, and the poem was not at all conspicuous
among the early versions of Byron's works. It
would have added literary interest to point out
how Mesonero's burlesque romantic tragedy
satirizes the novelties of the genre, such
as violation of the classical unities and rejec-
tion of fixed verse forms. Possibly some paral-
lels to Hernani or Don Alvaro might have been
established.
Further minor suggestions follow: Maldita
la gana tengo de ello (26:15) is well worth a
note. — The same might be said of the position
of the adjective in las civiles guerras (33:24).
—In speaking of Felipe II (34:12) it would
have been well to add a word about sus dos
sucesores. Has not the editor also failed to
explain Carlos III and the sinister Fernando
VII (35 :17) ? — In connection with Cervantes,
something might have been said about the
" sangre derramada en los combates " and the
"dnimo esforzado en las prisiones" (page 37).
—Habia de llevar (42:11) is worth mention
as a peculiar construction, infinitive with con-
ditional flavor. — To call Balzac "one of the
most famous of French novelists " (56 :30) is
almost too mild a statement. — On page 71, line
20, occurs the expression en toda su vida, for
which we find in the notes the correct negative
translation and nothing more. Unless ex-
plained, this is likely to puzzle the reader.
The vocabulary is strikingly apt and com-
plete, so far as a few test pages can indicate.
Possibly a class might root out an omission or
April, 1915.]
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
121
two for the delight of a more microscopic re-
viewer. The following words seem deserving
of fuller treatment, or else of a special note :
Hallarse con: cf. p. 18, 1. 9, " se hallaba con
que se habia ofrecido."
Llevar should be translated " bring," in or-
der to fit the use on p. 23, 1. 25.
Contigo (24:10) seems meaningless if trans-
lated " with you " (sic vocab.).
Pundonor (25 :3) is hardly " point of honor "
so much as " sense of honor."
El de mas alia (42 :17) does not seem clear
from the vocabulary meanings of mas alia
("farther on," "beyond").
Arreglar el pozo (43 :28) will be translated
as " arrange the well," if the vocabulary be
followed. One suspects another meaning.
Convenir is given only as an active verb with
the conventional meanings. This hardly seems
to fit la senora que se convenia a todo (50:6).
The reviewer takes the liberty of adding one
or two suggestions, without any insinuation
that the implied omissions are culpable. (1)
The reference to Maiquez (page 40, line 12)
would not have been damaged by mentioning
Cotarelo y Mori's interesting book, Isidoro Mai-
quez y el teatro de su tiempo (Madrid, 1902).
(2) It may add interest to the mention of
Utrilla y Eouget, " leading tailors of the day "
(54:27), to inform the reader that the former
is mentioned by Mesonero himself in his Ma-
nual, while Eouget's name appears in the cele-
brated Handbook of Richard Ford. (3) The
figuras de capuz and siniestros bultos of page
57, line 13. may take on particular significance
from the fact that, two or three years before the
date of the essay in which the expressions occur,
Escosura had published in El Artista a semi-
romantic legend entitled El bulto vestido del
negro capuz (Cf. also Espronceda, Obras 1884,
page 55). (4) Perfectibilidad social (77:29)
evidently refers to ideas prevailing in France in
the eighteenth century, with which Mesonero
would have had scant sympathy.
PHILIP H. CHURCHMAN.
Clark College.
URBAN CRONAN, Teatro espanol del siglo XVI.
Tomo primero. (Sociedad de bibliofilos ma-
drilenos, X.) Madrid, 1913. 8vo., x + 547 pp.
In the past students of the early Spanish
drama have been hampered seriously by the
lack of available texts of the minor dramatists,
but recent publications have now made acces-
sible nearly all the dramatic material of the
first half of the sixteenth century. Of the late
collections, the above-mentioned volume is the
most important, not only for the large amount
of material it contains, but also for the im-
portance of the texts it reproduces. The list
is as follows:
Comedia Tidea, by Francisco de las Natas.
— Comedia Tesorina and Comedia Vidriana,1
by Jayme de Guete. — Tragicomedia alegorica
del parayso y del infierno. — Farsa, by Fernando
Diaz. — Egloga pastoril. — Egloga nueua. — Eg-
loga, by Juan de Paris. — Farsa del mundo and
Farsa sobre la felice nueua de la concordia y paz,
by Fernan Lopez de Yanguas. — Farsa, Rosiela.
These plays, the originals of which are to be
found either in the National Library at Madrid
or in the Royal Library in Munich, are well
known to bibliographers, but they offer an al-
most untouched mine for linguistic and literary
study.
In praiseworthy contrast to those editors who
have been content to publish works from the
editions nearest at hand when older ones were
known to exist, Cronan has spared no pains to
give a text based on a comparison of all the
extant editions of the older period. He has
aimed to reproduce these with the least possible
change. " Hemos conservado la ortografia de
los textos originales, limitandonos a extender
las abreviaturas 2 y subsanar las erratas evi-
dentes." When but one old text is extant,
'In the Romanic Review, Vol. I (1910), p. 459,
I announced that I was preparing an edition of the
Comedia Vidriana. Although everything that per-
tains to the study of the text remains to be done,
the play is not important enough to justify a second
edition at this time.
'Abbreviations rarely give trouble in these texts.
However, p. 503, line 2?*, should read, " Porque
poneys (not podeys) los dos juntos."
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
[Vol. xxx, No. 4.
there are, under these principles, but two seri-
ous sources of error, mistakes in copying and
erroneous emendation. In order to show the
condition of the original texts, and to test the
accuracy of the present edition, all the vari-
ants 3 (with the exception of abbreviations) of
the original print of the Comedia Vidriana to
the end of the second act (1216 lines) are here
given :
On the title-page the name of the author is
given as Gueta, line 49 aqustas, 59 diabra, 186
toda, 187 vexa, 222 may, 278 majedero, 281
iamas, 290 mia, 361 escuas, 501 desseal, 606 en-
lestabro, 619 aquin, 620 desgarre, 660 atorga-
dos, 732 aguda, 770 momoria, 772 escaria, 820
sufrimiente, 853 entiendo vs, 854 dientos, 883
trista, 905 bios, 1073 essarga, 1101 dexillo,
1157 ciertamiente, 1165 contingo, 1184 vezas.
It is at once apparent that extraordinary
liberties have been taken in emending the text
without accounting for the original readings in
the notes. Enlestabro is supported by line 302
and is probably the correct reading for 271,
aquin is accepted in the text in line 855, the
orthography of entiendo vs is supported by
1451 yo vs and the Tesorina 1509 no vs, bios
seems to be a euphemistic form here as also in
the Tesorina 1049, trista is a good Aragonese
form, mia and ciertamiente are found fre-
quently, a garbled form like momoria in the
mouth of Cetina is not surprising, and it is not
at all certain that majedero, escuas and ator-
gados are misprints. The faulty readings of
lines 187 and 620 are simply slips on the part
of the modern editor or printer.
For the rest of this text the rejected read-
ings of the original are given when they seem
to be correct, and also within parentheses when
doubtful :
1384 no son, 1399 a esta, (1408 cayga), (1411
entendio), 1451 vs, 1466 Sam, (1785 esso),
(1928 seguedad), (1981 llabas), (2018 pan-
sar), (2040 damanda), (it is safer not to cor-
rect the speech of Perucho even though it reads
2083 tado, 2084 espanto, 2088 las, 2154 vas),
2165 vltraje, (2219 enxabonarras) , 2286 dessa,
2368 rinna (if linnaje is to stand in 2168),
'The variants cited have been taken from my own
copies, but to insure reasonable accuracy, they have
been compared anew with the original texts.
(2445 pesera), (2460 offenderora), 2780 (y)
ya, 2874 o que afan.
In the case of the Tesorina there are two
existing texts. Cronan evidently chose the
Madrid print as the basis for his edition, but
he did not follow it as rigidly as he should.
This text has several points in its favor: It
is apparently about fifteen years older than the
Munich print, and comes from the same press
as the Comedia Vidriana; it also contains more
rare dialect forms. The Munich print shows
no emendations that indicate corrections of the
author, but popular forms have frequently been
rejected in favor of the more current literary
ones. It is almost certain that these changes
are due to the misguided efforts of a well-
meaning printer. The readings of the 1551
text can scarcely have other value than that
they represent the opinion of a Spaniard who
was practically contemporary with the author.
It is a serious error on Cronan's part to accept
readings from the reprint when the earlier text
could be shown to be correct.
In the following list the forms of the Madrid
print are given that should, in the opinion of
the reviewer, be restored to the text. The forms
in parentheses are doubtful, and perhaps not
always worth noting, but as they frequently
show tendencies in similar directions, it seems
rather unsafe to classify them as misprints:
Line 27 amostro, 53 parecen, 58 ellotro (simi-
lar emendation in 232, but compare 947 enell
ayre, 1191 and 2373 ell ombre), 77 terciopedo
(intentional blunder), 116 aga, 127 desfregada,
141 vng rnogo con vng galan, 206 scuchara, 232
ellaltura, 241 quijeres (see below, 950 and
2278), 245 fundamiento, 339 ven, 417 qual-
quiere (cf. 2236), 448 mal, 451 otro, (495
the emendation is not convincing), 501 has,
521 mulata, 619 adiutoriz?. 692 vez (cf. 963),
709 vna, 723 ahos (cf. 132, 144, etc.), 742
Amnon, 747 v Orpheo (=u, cf. 2165), (748
y phio), 794 en. 805 pues que Dios te, 832
calor, 845 lignage. 888 sentemiento, 907 trista,
913 cocez, 917 aguardas. 919 entra, 950 qui-
gesse, 963 vezte, 979 trizte, 989 drento (cf.
Vidriana 818), (997 paraceiz). 1031 huays,
1033 en layre. 1049 bios, 1059 echeis (the
emended form is of course what one would ex-
pect here), (1104 embidio. but cf. 1378). 1192
hablabais, (1221 mosorrabes), 1245 las bispas.
(1257 sabacos), 1280 virgam (Gilyracho's
Apnl, 1915.]
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
123
Latin may not be above reproach), (1309 en-
toces . . . quion), 1342 ni, 1437 hablaredes,
(1449 eendero), 1454 vees, (1458 que lo que),
1509 no vs, 1543 en llespital, 1576 allega, (1762
guerta), (1797 Salamon), 1848 reprhende,
1876 desta, 1881 callademente, 1887 azia a,
1896 hartaua, (1905 tenos), 1920 sallida, 1988
jodio (cf. 2440), 2031 Palblo (intentional?),
(2037 rason), 2039 andemos, 2054 arafia, 2165
v otra, 2230 xallia, 2231 xtar, 2236 qualquiere,
2243 pidiras, 2250 a dalguna . . . phro,
2267 vex, 2269 xinora, 2278 quigeras, 2440
jodio, 2484 vubon?, 2513 sallia, 2519 sallir,
2635 sallid, 2652 Fin.
The variants of the Vidriana and the Teso-
rina are sufficient to show the merits as well as
the defects of Cronan's work. The care with
which he has performed the heavy task of copy-
ing, preparing for the printer, and reading the
proof of eleven plays, four of them in two edi-
tions, deserves only the highest praise. If the
amount of material that he handled were not
so great, he might be criticised more severely
for rejecting so many forms that are capable
of justification. However, it would take years
to make a critical text, and to explain the diffi-
cult passages of the plays that are found in
this volume alone. Such a critical text being
out of the question, the all-important thing is
to have an accurate reproduction of the orig-
inal. One might even admit that it is permis-
sible to correct without mention certain classes
of misprints. In the Gothic type it was easy
to confuse such letters as the long s with / or
n with u, and it does seem pedantic to crowd
the variants with such forms as pnes for pues
and foy for soy. But when, in his effort to
make a readable text, the editor emends with-
out mention in the notes dialect forms that
can be proven to be correct, or even those that
have the slightest chance of justification, the
result is that his work is robbed of much of
its value for linguistic study. Until more is
known of the popular language of the sixteenth
century, the safer way will be to give all the
readings of the principal edition at least, even
at the risk of appearing pedantic.
Two other plays of the volume under review
have been compared with the originals without
finding material that would modify the opin-
ions expressed above. It is important to note,
however, that the earliest edition of Fernan
Lopez de Yauguas' Farsa del mundo was over-
looked. This text, which dates from 1524, has
been described in the catalogues of the libraries
of Salva (No. 1300) and Heredia (No. 2312),
and attention has been called to it more re-
cently by Kohler, Sieben spaniscke drama-
tische Eklogen, 1911, p. 150. Both the 1528
and the 1551-editions appear to be copies of
the earlier edition. Cronan's text, although
based on the later prints, is not at all unsatis-
factory.
Of the remaining texts four had already ap-
peared in the above-mentioned volume of Koh-
ler. Cronan's text of the Egloga of Juan de
Paris is the better, in that it is based on the
1536 edition with variants of that of 1551,
while Kohler used only the later text. The
Farsa of Fernando Diaz, the Egloga pastoril,
and the Egloga nueua were reprinted by both
editors from the old editions now found in the
Royal Library at Munich. While both editions
are undoubtedly excellent, those who are en-
gaged in linguistic study will prefer Kohler,
because he gives in the foot-notes the original
readings corresponding to his emendations.
EALPH E. HOUSE.
University of Chicago.
The Poetical Works of Edmund Spenser.
Edited with critical notes by J. C. SMITH
and E. DE S^LINCOURT, with an introduction
by E. DE SELINCOURT and a glossary. Henry
Frowde, Oxford University Press, 1912.
Small 8vo. Pp. Ixvii + 736.
The student of Spenser has still to await a
single-volume edition which quite supersedes
others. Though this Oxford concise Spenser,
in view of its tasteful critical introduction, its
inclusion of the Spenser-Harvey letters,1 its
facsimile title-pages, and its woodcuts from
The Shepheardes Calendar, offers the greatest
inducements for the least money, yet the Globe
"Apparently by nftert' ought, since the editor (p.
xxi, n. 2) refers to them as quoted in Grosart.
124
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
[Vol. xxx, No. 4.
edition remains unique in offering the View
of Ireland and best in biography (by the late
J. W. Hales), while E. E. Neil Dodge's edition
must be had for the 1590 text of the Faerie
Queene and the list of characters therein. No
edition since Todd (1805) contains an adequate
body of notes.
The present text leaves little to be desired in
accurate reproduction of words and spelling,
following as it does the larger Oxford edition
with partial correction of errors noted (see
Anglia Beiblatt, XXII, 41 f. ; Englische Stu-
dien, 44, 260 f.). In Daphnaida the prefatory
letter is still needlessly that of 1596, because
the British Museum copy of 1591 chances to
lack the letter. There is also considerable laxity
in punctuation. Thus the sonnet to Harvey
contains thirteen unnoted deviations and five
tacit omissions of capitals (out of eight), accord-
ing to the copy B. M. c. 40, d. 14, p. 75. Salu-
tation and signature offer three more. Less
excuse appears in Astrophel, 11. 14, 116, 170,
182, 194, 200,— all of which have a colon in
B. M. 11536, and should have, because Spenser
regularly so punctuates the second line of his
six-line stanzas, as usually also the second line
of the Amoretti.
The critical appendix singularly omits (p.
656) a note on M. H. T. 629, where the 1609
folio reads lie, paralleling R. T. 447 and mak-
ing it clear that the reigning sovereign is in-
tended. The editor's experience with regard to
Mother Hubberds Tale, of encountering folios
dated only 1611 or 1612, is peculiar. The copy
B. M. 78 h. 23 (like most I have seen) is dated
1613, though as usual bound in the 1611 folio
of The Faerie Queene. A similar insouciance
is encountered in the assistant's glossary, where
William Alabaster, secretary of the Earl of
Essex, figures as a pseudonym. So Amaryllis
is ' a shepherdess,' though her sister Phyllis
is rightly a pseudonym. Colin and Hobbinoll
are omitted. Astrophel, despite warning (N.
Y. Nation, 1910, Index, Astrophel) is entered
as a botanical term. In fact the pseudonyms
appear to be confined to those which occur in
Colin Clout. Thus Meliboeus and Pastorella
are omitted, and Alcyon and Daphne not re-
ferred to Daphnaida. Yet from the Calendar
Algrind is included, and not Dido. Equally the
general principle of the glossary is not clear :
it includes words referred only to Harvey
(agent), and words obvious to the reader (am-
bushment, dromedare). It is, nevertheless,
clear and full.
The hand of Selincourt in this volume ap-
pears mainly in the introduction, which consists
of two very unequal parts, — an inaccurate and
ill-informed biography to which that by Hales
remains superior, and a tasteful, timely ap-
preciation of Spenser's poetry. For example,
it ignores Gollancz's discovery that Spenser was
secretary of Bishop Young; it repeats without
reserve the discredited theory of Spenser's be-
ing associated with Lancashire. To make a
test case of the first page : the lines quoted from
the Prothalamion indicate that Spenser's an-
cestors, not necessarily his parents, were not
Londoners. The identification of his father as
John Spenser, here advanced without question,
was never widely received and was withdrawn
by its proposer, Grosart (see The Spending of
the Money of Robert Nowell, p. xx). That
Spenser was born in East Smithfield is a late
and tenuous tradition; but Selincourt's avowal
that John Spenser lived there is an undocu-
mented inference from it. With easy credence
he furnishes the poet with a brother John and
sister Elizabeth, sending the brother to the
poet's school and college. This offering as fact
a tissue of conjecture is so typical that no seri-
ous student of Spenser will look to this account
except for suggestive flashes of insight. There
Selincourt is happy, as in the hazard that
Spenser appeared before the Queen as a boy
actor. It is apparent throughout that the
writer relies on second-hand sources even when
ostensibly quoting the original. He reproduces
(p. xxxviii, top) Grosart's misreadings of the
manuscript, printing ' you ' for ' your lord-
ships,' inserting ' all,' and omitting ' the ser-
vice of ' where he reads ' in the wars.'
The pages (xl-lxvii) in explanation and
appreciation of the poetry of Spenser may be
commended to students as both lucid and sen-
sible. Selincourt is not led astray by the heresy
that Spenser lacked humor — an example of the
oral tradition not uncommon in modern critical
April 1915.]
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
125
scholarship. His faults are too exclusive pre-
occupation with The Faerie Queene, a habit of
universal statement, and a failure to recognize
Spenser's following of precedent. The last ap-
pears in his implying (p. Iv) that the idea of
a fourth grace is original, whereas it dates from
Homer (Shep. Gal., April, Gloss, The Graces,
June, Gloss, Many Graces). Nor does he indi-
cate that Spenser's archaism is in reality a most
conservative following of classical precedent:
" unde pictae vestis, et aulai, Virgilius amantis-
simus vetustatis, carminibus inseruit." Quinc-
tiliani, Instil. Orator, lib. 1. 7.
Before concluding, a challenge (p. liii) as
to the identity of Calidore must be met. J. C.
Smith urges that he is, like Sidney, distin-
guished as a runner and a wrestler. Only one
reference indicates the latter (F. Q. 6. 9. 43-
44). But there, to the contrary, we find an
expert wrestler expecting in that sport "sure
t'auenge his grudge" against Calidore. The
latter wins by strength. It is not stated that he
was apt in the art. That Calidore is a runner,
I grant. But such an accomplishment would
be unseemly haste in the knights of Holiness,
Temperance, and Justice. The force of the
comparison is further vitiated by comparison
with 'the brave courtier' (If. H. T. 744-6)
which merely declares that an ideal courtier
will, among other forms of exercise, learn to
wrestle. The advice was a commonplace of
courtly instruction, familiar to any reader of
Castiglione. In saying that the portrait of
the courtier was 'drawn from Sidney,' the
writer not only flatly contradicts his general
view of Spenser's character portrayal (p. li),
but misconceives the obvious method of com-
position. The portrayal of an ideal type — of
poet, orator, courtier — was in ordinary course.
Writers worked from the general to the particu-
lar, from the abstract to the concrete. This is
especially obvious in a devotee to Platonic ideas.
Waiving judgment of details, the present vol-
ume is clearly the most serviceable one now
available.
PERCY W. LONG.
Harvard University.
COBEESPONDENCE
WELLS' Passionate Friends AND FBOMENTIN'S
Dominique
From the outset let it be understood that
I am not accusing Mr. Wells of plagiarism.
My reading of Passionate Friends conjured up
memories of a French novel of the latter half
of the nineteenth century, Fromentin's Domi-
nique, and upon analysing the two books I dis-
covered that they had very much in common.
I do not know whether Mr. Wells ever read the
French novel. I sincerely hope he did, and if
he did not, there is a fund of pleasure still in
store for him.
Both novels depict the life of a man from
his very earliest childhood until after he had
passed through the greatest crisis of his exist-
ence and had reached the state of calm yet sad
resignation. Passionate Friends is a document
dedicated by a father to his son that he might
be spared much sorrow and profit by the fath-
er's experience. The story of Fromentin is
told by the man whose name the book bears to
his friend, as an apology or an explanation of
his present life. In detail the resemblance be-
tween the two novels is not very great, in spirit
the resemblance becomes almost striking.
Dominique was introduced to the world of
• books and of careers by his tutor. Stephen, in
Passionate Friends, was also under the spell of
a tutor, but not so completely as Dominique,
because after ooyhood the tutor passed out of
his life, while in the French novel the tutor
acts as a father confessor to his pupil and is
his friend for life. Dominique and Stephen
meet the women who were to work such havoc
in their lives when they are still youths at
school. They are both extremely susceptible
to the beauties of Nature. In Dominique the
young woman marries a man she apparently
does not love, but who is the choice of her
family on account of his wealth. She does not
allow him to guess her secret until all is over
between them. Mary, in Passionate Friends,
voluntarily and with s very clear purpose in
mind, contracts a marriage with a man she
126
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
[Vol. xxx, IVo. 4.
avowedly does not love, who is likewise wealthy,
after having very frankly set forth the whole
situation to her lover. The descriptions of the
moods of the two men immediately after the
wedding are almost identical. In Passionate
Friends Stephen meets Mary for the first time
after her marriage at a ball. There is a simi-
lar incident in Dominique, and a great re-
semblance in the portrayal of the conflicting
emotions of the two men, with even such minor
details as the admiration of the gowns worn by
the two women, and the difficulty in realizing
that these are the same young women they
loved, so dazzled are they by the splendor about
them.
Mary and Madeleine are two different types
of women. Mary is brilliant and headstrong.
Intellectually she is even the superior of
Stephen. Madeleine also possesses a very strong
will but she is much gentler than Mary. Both
women have in common their overpowering pas-
sion mingled with a deep sensibility for the
beauty of Nature. Nature in both books plays
somewhat the same role as in Goethe's Werther.
In Dominique we have no serious expose of
social theories as in the novel of Wells, and yet
Dominique chooses a life in which he would be
of greatest service to the community of which
he is a member. Deeds are often better than
words! Stephen marries partly at the in-
stigation of Mary. After several years of
anguish Mary puts the only possible obstacle
between her and Stephen, death by suicide.
Madeleine, after at last having confessed her
love for Dominique (she never allowed him to
learn it until now), once her secret is known,
forbids Dominique to see her again and advises
him to marry, saying that when he shall have
forgotten her she will be either dead or happy.
In Dominique we have a pure idyl. Passion-
ate Friends, on the contrary, is an exceedingly
modern book, full of intrigues and scandal ; yet
in spite of it all the reader is left in very much
the same mood as after reading Dominique.
That is the basis of my comparison. Both
novels have a peculiarly quieting and purifying
effect on the emotions. The aesthetic quality
of the two novels is the same. It is this artis-
tic, aesthetic treatment of the turbulent and
passionate theme that produces the effect just
described. In music it might be compared to
the Adagio of Beethoven's Sonate pathetique —
sad yet sweet resignation with an occasional out-
burst of revolt.
HELEN J. HARVITT.
Brooklyn, N. Y.
A NOTE ON THE BUckling Homilies
M[ar]]>on, as printed by E. Morris in his
edition of the BlicMing Homilies, p. 19, 1. 23,
has drawn the attention of several commen-
tators. Zupitza, in his paper in the Anzeiger
fur Deutsches Alterthum und Deutsche Lit-
teratur I, 119 ff., simply says: "19, 22 (read
23!). mar ]>on entschieden unrichtig aber wie
zu bessern ? " Holthausen, in Englische Stu-
dien XIV, 393 ff., says "ponne m[ar]]>on . . .
miht. Ich schlage vor, ]>onne zu streichen und
fur m — ]>on das auch S. 89, 32 vorkommende
mid]>on \e 'wahrend' einzusetzen. Davor ge-
hort aber dann auch ein komma, nicht ein
scmikolon, wie bei M., und hinter miht ein
fragezeichen, denn das ganze, von Hwcet (z.
20) an, ist ein fragesatz." Max Fb'rster, in a
paper in Archiv fiir das Studium der neueren
Sprachen XCI, 179 ff., says: ". . . .
faran . . . ondweard = . . . de loco
ad locum venire. Quia ergo in divinitate
mutalilitas non est atque hoc ipsum mutari
transire est, profecto ille transitus (d. h. vor
dem Blinden voriiber) ex carne est, non ex
divinitate. Per divinitatem vero ei semper
stare est, quia ubique prcesens. . . . Ein
Wort marlpon kennen iiberdies die Worter-
biicher nicht. Wahrscheinlich ist zu schreiben
ne bi\> on. Das folgende ist jedenf alls verderbt :
wer nicht den Ausfall einer Zeile annehmen
will, konnte nach omwendnesse eine starkere
Interpunktion machen und statt on carcerne
einen dem transitus entsprechenden Ausdruck,
etwa nochmals ondwendnesse vermuten. Auch
mit dem folgenden miht, welches Morris in
der Ubersetzung einfach ignoriert, ist so nichts
anzufangen. Hiess es of Tpcere godcundan
mihte?" Neither of these conjectures is plaus-
April 1915.]
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
127
ible, but Holthausen's proposal has this ad-
vantage over Fb'rster's that it preserves the m
of the MS., which there is no reason to reject.
I believe that the mysterious maroon should
be read mcertyon, and is another instance of
mcerlpum 'miraculously, wondrously, glori-
ously.' This adverbial use of the dative plural
of mcer}>(u) is exemplified in Bosworth-Toller
by two instances, taken from Elene and Beo-
wulf. Morris translates the passage from
]>oune to gedcundan (miht) : ' but, moreover,
there was no change either of the divine nature
or of the divine power in its imprisonment in
the human nature.' ' Moreover ' has no sense
whatever in this clause ; if we substitute ' mi-
raculously ' the sense is suited. If it should
be objected that there is no corresponding
word in the Latin text, I refer to the universal
habit of the Old English translators to drop
or insert words as appeared convenient to them.
I agree with Holthausen that the sentence ends
with mihi, but I prefer to place a mark of
interrogation after olperre, and a period after
miht. As regards the form mcer]>on, datives
in -on are not rare in the Blickling Homilies:
ea%on 121, 1; earon 121, 2; hceton 59, 4; lufon
23, 24; dcelon 53, 12.
A. E. H. SWAEN.
Amsterdam, Holland.
find the rubrics ' Abhandlungen ' and ' Mittei-
lungen aus dem Goethe- und Schiller- Archiv '
retained, with the difference, however, that the
Abhandlungen in the new organ are fewer in
number and are all contributed by men of note
( Walzel, Seuffert, Pniower) . The rubric ' Neue
und alte Quellen' is practically identical in
scope with the heading ' Verschiedene Mittei-
lungen' of the old Year-book. Added is the
category ' Mitteilungen aus dem Goethe-Na-
tional-Museum,' represented in the initial vol-
ume solely by an exquisite reproduction of the
painting of Goethe by George Dawe, accom-
panied by some two pages of explanatory text,
which have evidently not found the place in-
tended for them in the volume. The old rubric
' Miscellen,' always rather scrappy in character,
is dropped altogether, as is also the Bibliog-
raphy, whether wisely or not is open to ques-
tion. Outwardly and inwardly the distinguish-
ing character of the new as compared with the
old Annual is a certain Vornehmheit that ac-
cords well with Weimar traditions. Perhaps
in line with this is the change from a Latin to
a Fraktur type, a change which will otherwise
be regretted by many foreign readers.
BEIEF MENTION
For some years it has been evident that the
relations between the Goethe-Jahrbuch and the
Goethe-Gesellschaft were becoming more or less
strained. Thus no ' communication ' from the
Archiv was printed in either 1912 or 1913, and
1911 was also the last year that the Festvortrag
of the Generalversammlung of the Society was
published in the Jahrbuch. In 1912 the estab-
lishment of a separate official organ of the
Society was resolved upon and the first volume
has now appeared under the title Jahrbuch der
Goethe-Gesellschaft. Im Auftrage des Vor-
standes herausgegeben von H. G. Graf, Weimar,
Verlag der Goethe-Gesellschaft, 1914 (8vo.,
225 pp.).
Comparing the new organ with the older
issues of Professor Geiger's Goethe-Jahrbuch —
the publication of which has now ceased — we
Les Aires morphologiques dans les parlers
populaires du nord-ouest de I'Angoumois, par
A.-L. Terracher (Champion, 1914. xiv + 248
+ 452 pp., and Atlas). While listing and
classifying certain of the speech phenomena of
a limited locality with a thoroughness and, to
judge from equipment and method, a sureness
difficult to excel, the author has not written a
local dialect treatise in the ordinary sense. In-
stead, this is a fundamentad study of the proc-
esses and possible causes of speech substitu-
tion, as tested in a small group of parlers popu-
laires. The territory is northwest Angoumois,
and the phenomena selected for observation are
the inflexion systems there in use — a choice
that needs no justification beyond the superior
fashion in which morphological systems lend
themselves to accurate observation. The geo-
graphical distribution of these phenomena is
established with care, and shows for the terri-
tory covered no correspondence with physical
or ecclesiastical boundaries sufficient to justify
the assumption of a causal nexus. Mr. Ter-
racher then proceeds to test the influence of
speech-mixture upon the speech forms. This
he does, not by means of assumptions or of
specimen cases, but by positive data, and he
has not hesitated before the colossal task of
analyzing, for a period of one hundred years,
128
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
[Vol. xxx, No. 4.
the individual marriage statistics of fifty com-
munes with a population of some 40,000. The
remarkably detailed and systematic study of
these statistics leads to the establishment of a
direct relation between the disintegration of
the local speeches and the introduction of non-
local elements into the community, by reason
of the marriages which residents contract with
oiitsiders. For a single village a minute ex-
amination is further made of the speech of
every family and of the nature and extent of
the changes wrought in families where extra-
neous members have been introduced. As a
result of such a thoroughgoing and specific
piece of work light can hardly fail to be
thrown on many important questions of detail.
It is definitely shown that the break-up of the
old local patois is to a less extent due to the
direct influence of French than to its indirect
influence working through neighboring patois
nearer to French than the one in process of dis-
integration. Of equal interest is the evidence
adduced to show that the geographical distribu-
tion of extra-local marriages and of kinship in
fiexional forms is directly connected with the
boundaries of the medieval fiefs. In all of the
discussion, there is an admirable freedom from
exaggeration of the element under consideration
and from forgetfulness of the existence of other
possible factors. It is striking that in this as
in two other recent works bearing upon en-
tirely different domains and problems — Bedier's
Legendes epiques and Foulet's Roman de Re-
nard — each author has independently of the
other chosen the same path : the concentration
of attention on a concrete, correlated, and ac-
cessible group of phenomena interpreted in
the light of their milieu and moment. The
coincidence is of no small import for the future
of linguistic and literary study.
M. Menendez y Pelayo, Origenes de la novela,
Tomo IV, con una introduction de A. Bonilla
y San Martin (Nueva Biblioteca de Autores
Espanoles, 21. Madrid, Bailly-Bailliere, 1915,
8vo., 620 pp.) contains the following texts:
" El Asno de Oro," de Lucio Apuleyo ; —
" Eurialo e Lucrecia ; " — " Fabulario," de Se-
bastian Mey ; — " Coloquios," de Erasmo ; —
" Coloquio de las Damas," de Pedro Aretino ;
" Dialogos de Amor," de Leon Hebreo ; — " El
Viaje Entretenido," de Agustin de Kojas. This
choice of texts is in conformity with an inten-
tion, previously expressed, of treating " espe-
cialmente del genero picaresco, y tambien de
otras formas novelisticas 6 analogas a la novela,
como los coloquios y dialogos satiricos." The
death of Menendez Pelayo left the volume
scarcely begun and the present publication is
due to the devoted friend and pupil who knew
of the plans of the Maestro. Bonilla has col-
lated the texts on the original versions; he has
supplied an authenticated critical commentary
by listing such passages in Menendez Pelayo's
previous works as deal with the texts in ques-
tion. Furthermore, he has added not a few
notes of historical, literary, and bibliographical
character, especially in connection with the
Viaje Entretenido. In addition to the strictly
editorial work, Bonilla has prefaced the volume
with a biographical study (pp. 1-90) in which
he presents a worthy treatment of the life,
aims, method and work of Menendez Pelayo, —
a treatment based on an intimate acquaintance
with both the man and his writings. Among
the interesting biographical items may be men-
tioned the list of studies on Menendez Pelayo
himself (pp. 93-5) ; a plan of the unwritten
volumes of the Ideas esteticas (pp. 47-49) ;
reference to the unpublished correspondence be-
tween Mila and Ferdinand Wolf (p. 50) ; the
fees received for various publications (p. 56) ;
terms of the bequest of his library to the city
of Santander (pp. 58-60). Finally, we have
a descriptive and analytical bibliography (pp.
91-148) which is the culmination of several
previous studies on the same subject and which
may be regarded as final.. An excellent por-
trait forms the frontispiece of the volume.
In his Syntax der Modi im modernen Franzo-
sisch (Halle, Niemeyer, 1914, 266 pp.), Her-
mann Soltmann has collected material from
contemporary sources and has grouped it ac-
cording to kinship in thought categories rather
than after the traditional schemes. Drawing
upon works of the most unequal value, includ-
ing authors notoriously careless of style, fad-
dists, and no little trivial or ephemeral litera-
ture, the book is not one to be placed as a
guide in the hands of the learner, but to the
syntactical piocheur it is a delight. The au-
thor, whose eye is keen and whose reading is as
extensive as it is catholic — or shall we say
heretical — , has dug out a number of rare and
interesting specimens among which hardly a
reader but can find curiosities that will fill
long vacant spots in his cabinet. The book is
not speech history, but an interesting compila-
tion of the kind of material from which speech
history is made, for out of it and its like are
culled those bits which, attaining a permanent
hold, keep even the official syntax of a language
'from ever becoming a completed story.
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
VOL. XXX.
BALTIMORE, MAY, 1915.
No. 5.
RHETORICAL CONTRASTS IN
SCHILLER'S DRAMAS
Will and purpose have possibly never carried
on a more truceless war with accident and
chance than they did in the case of Schiller.
From the time he entered the Karlsschule
until irremediable affliction obliged him to
dictate Demeirius, he experienced an almost
perfect series of victories and defeats. His life
was not like that of Kleist who lost, as time
went on, health and money, love, friendship,
and fame. Schiller won some of these, which
only made the loss of the others more pro-
nounced. Yet he fought on for the reconcilia-
tion of the ideal and the real. He tried with-
out abatement and with success to make life,
his life, a work of art, and to portray all life
as he felt a real artist should. He felt, as did
Nietzsche later, that the existence of the world
is justified only as an aesthetic phenomenon.
And, seeing that the world contains a super-
abundance of sweat and dirt, he consciously
bowed before the idealistic imperative which
bade him never cease poetizing sweetness and
light. Throughout all of his works we find
him emphasizing the fact that the tawdry and
the low are depressingly common, and insisting
that art can, and consequently should, memo-
rialize the beautiful and elevate the vulgar.
And his rare ability as a rhetorician in the best
sense of the word aided him greatly in the
accomplishment of his task, for he was a
master at linguistic Helldunkel.
Though Schiller's style abounds in conceits
peculiar only to himself, one of the most pecu-
liar and most effective of these, by way of
introductory explanation, is seen in Semele,
11. 354-356:
. . . denn Wollust ist's
Den Gottern, Menschen zu beglllcken; zu verderben
Die Menschen, ist den Gottern Schmerz. . . .
First we notice the pairs of contrasts: "Go'tter-
Menschen," " begliicken-verderben," " Wollust-
Schmerz." And then we note the force of what
amounts to emphasis by repetition: naturally,
if it gives the gods an enrapturing sort of
pleasure to make mortals happy, it must pain
them greatly to destroy mortals entirely. Since
Schiller's style has been studied but little, and
this phase of it not at all, simply to allow this
matter to pass in review shows that it is a rich
field, the exhaustion of which would result in
a contribution of uncommon value.
To begin at the beginning, Der Abend
(1776) is the earliest1 poem by Schiller that
has been preserved. The first four verses run
as follows :
Die Sonne zeigt, vollendend gleich dem Helden,
Dem fief en Thai ihr Abendangesicht.
(Filr andre, ach! glticksel'gre Welten
1st das ein Morgenangesicht).
That is to say, the setting sun in one hemis-
phere means the rising sun in another — a con-
trast and a parallel. Schiller's last poetic work
was Die Huldigung der Eiinste. Even the
casual reader can hardly fail to appreciate the
use made of contrasts in this poem, despite the
fact that it deals with the seven closely related
major arts. In the ballads alone there is no
conspicuous use of contrasts. In Der Ring
des Polykrates we have one strophe that con-
tains Schiller's most fundamental tenet, in con-
trast form, on the value of adversity:
Drum, willst du dich vor Leid bewahren,
So flehe zu den Unsichtbaren,
Dass sie zum GlUck den Schmerz verleihen.
Noch keinen sah ich frohlich enden,
Auf den mit immer vollen Handen
Die Cotter ihre Gaben streuen.
It is of interest, however, in this connection
to see how, in his essay Ober Burgers Gedichte,
1 Cf. Gustav Schwab's Schillers Leben, p. ix, which
refers to a still earlier poem of 1775. This, too, con-
tains a contrast. In it Schiller has " die Jugend "
offering us " Rosenhande," while " das Alter " brings
us " Homer oder die Pistolen gar."
130
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
[Vol. xxx, No. 6.
he praises Biirger's Balladen as being incom-
parable, but the burden of his whole discourse
concerning Burger's Gedichte is that one misses
"die Idealisierkunst." When quoting from
Burger he in two instances selects a passage
that contains a contrast. For example, in
Bliimchen Wunderhold, these verses interested
Schiller:
Du theilst der Flote weichen Klang
Des Schreiers Kehle mit
Und wandelst in Zephyrengang
Deg StUrmers Poltertritt.
And so these contrasts occur throughout Schil-
ler's works. In the distichs written in col-
laboration with Goethe, those by Schiller can
almost invariably be determined by the con-
trasts. It is hardly necessary to refer to the
use made of them in Wilrde der Frauen, ac-
cording to which woman is chaste, vigilant,
graceful, modest, and pious, while man is pas-
sionate, careless, rough, impetuous, impious,
and so on. Das Ideal und das Lelen (1795)
is built on the same plan. Die Worte des
Glaubens (1797) begins: "Drei Worte nenn'
ich euch." Die 'Worte des Wahns (1799) be-
gins : " Drei Worte hort man." The expres-
sions referred to in the first poem are " Frei-
heit," "Tugend," and " Gott," those in the
second, " die goldene Zeit," " das buhlende
Gliick," " irdischer Verstand." That Schiller
thought of these two poems as the counterpart
the one of the other is self-evident. The fourth
book of his Geschichte des dreissigjahrigen
Kriegs closes as follows:
"So flel Wallenstein, nicht weil er Rebell war,
sondern er rebellierte, weil er flel. Ein UnglUck filr
den Lebenden, daas er eine siegende Partei sich zum
Feinde gemacht hatte — ein Unglttck fttr den Toten,
dass ihn dieser Feind Uberlebte und seine Geschichte
schrieb."
Concerning his works on the various phases of
aesthetics, we can lay aside all reserve and
assert that they constitute an unending round
of contrasts and parallels.2 And even in his
* In the first of the Brief e uber die asthetische
Erziehung des Menschen, Schiller writes : " Wie der
Scheidekflnstler, so flndet auch der Philosoph nur
durch AuflOsung die Verbindung und nur durch die
Marter der Kunst das Werk der freiwilligen Natur."
letters Schiller frequently employed this de-
vice. He wrote (July 21, 1797) to Korner
concerning the Humboldts as follows:
"Alexander Humboldt ist mir ehrwiirdig durch
den Eifer und Geist, mit dem er sein Fach betreibt.
Fur den Umgang ist Wilhelm geniessbarer. Alex-
ander hat etwas Hastiges und Bitteres, das man bei
Mannern von grosser Thatigkeit hiiufig findet. Wil-
helm ist mir sehr lieb geworden, und ich habe mit
ihm viele Beriihrungspunkte."
Those who look upon this as a mere incident
of fact will find numerous other passages in
Schiller's correspondence where he went out of
his way to bring in this sort of construction.
And, finally, we do not find contrasts and
parallels in the works of other writers trans-
lated by Schiller.3 On reading these we feel
at once that this is not Schiller, this is Shake-
speare, or Eacine, or Euripides, and so on.
Now, had Schiller not employed contrasts
before becoming acquainted with the thesis-
antithesis-synthesis formula (Kant-Hegel) of
his day, one might be led to believe that it was
a matter of acquired rather than of innate
technique. But this would not cover the case.
It came natural to Schiller to use contrasts at
first, and later he consciously developed the
conceit. He knew he was doing it, just as
Heine knew he was making frequent use of
the verb " lachen " in his creative works, or as
Eichard Wagner knew he was using " lachen "
and " Wahn " very frequently. Schiller's in-
stinctively dramatic mind impelled him to
spend the major part of his life poetizing the
ever-recurring conflict between the good and
* If we could find many strong contrasts in Ra-
cine's Phadra as Schiller has translated it, that
would suggest a number of things. But in the en-
tire drama there are only three that remind of
Schiller, and the most striking of these is the exact
opposite of Schiller. Hippolyt says (IV, 2) to
Theseus :
Wie die Tugend, hat das Laster seine Grade;
Nie sah man noch unschuldige Schtichternheit
Zu wilder Frechheit plotzlich iibergehen.
We do not, to be sure, find sudden transitions in
Schiller from positive to negative, but he does ac-
centuate the two by juxtaposition. As to transi-
tions, Johanna's " Der schwere Panzer wird zum
FlUgelkleide " is only a romantic trope.
Nay, 1915.]
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
131
the bad. The contrast construction lends itself
best to dramatic compositions, and it is in his
dramas that we find it most conspicuously ap-
plied. But as to the application of this device,
it is safe to become wholly dogmatic and say
that it is always a matter of rhetoric, never of
psychology.
There are about seventy-five such construc-
tions in Die Eauber (1780). At the very be-
ginning, Franz Moor draws a contrast between
himself and Karl Moor. Karl, in turn, con-
trasts the present with the past in the familiar
words (I, 2) : "Mir ekelt vor diesem tinten-
klecksenden Sakulum, wenn ich in meinem
Plutarch lese von grossen Menschen." And in
Karl's fight against convention he says (I, 2) :
" Das Gesetz hat zum Schneckengang verdor-
ben, was Adlerflug geworden ware." Even in
the Latin spoken by Grimm (I, 2) we have a
contrast. But the real Schiller in this regard
is seen in Moor's remarks to Schwarz (III, 2) :
" Ich habe die Menschen gesehen, ihre Bienensorgen
und ihre Riesenprojekte — ihre Gotterplane und ihre
Mausegeschafte, das wunderseltsame Rennen nach
GlUckseligkeit; — dieser dem Schwung seines Rosses
anvertraut — ein anderer der Nase seines Esels," etc.
i
I
There is no point in quoting all of it, or
in tabulating all similar instances. Schiller
clearly delighted in emphasizing the virtuous
by setting it face to face with the vicious. And
to say that he was fond of contrasts in scenes *
neither explains nor weakens the significance
of his linguistic contrasts. To say, however,
that the contrasts of this drama smack of Rous-
seau 5 is to throw light on Schiller's language.
'Cf. Schiller-Lexikon, by Karl Goldbeck and Lud-
wig Rudolph, Berlin, 1890, Vol. 2, p. 261: "In
Spiegelberg sehen wir Schillers Neigung zur Zu-
sammenstellung wirksamer Kontraste in hSchst
glUcklicher Weise in Erscheinung treten; denn
wahrend Karls rein tragischer Charakter uns zu
tief ernstem Nachsinnen Veranlassung gibt, ist
Spiegelberg eine grotesk-komische Figur; er ist eine
vollendete Parodie des Helden unserer TragSdie."
•Such contrasts as the following are common:
" Ein Holzapfel, weisst du wohl, wird im Paradies-
gartlein selber ewig keine Ananas" (II, 3). And
such parallels as these are also common : " Aber
was hier zeitliches Leiden war, wird dort ewiger
In his next and weakest drama, Fiesco
(1782), sharp contrasts are again numerous6
and similar to those in Die Rduber. A number
are taken from the animal and plant world.
Gianettino says to Julia : " Schwester, bist du
doch stets von Schmetterlingen umschwarmt
und ich von Wespen" (III, 8). Fiesco says
to Zenturione : " Binsen mogen vom Atem
knicken. Eichen wollen den Sturm" (II, 5).
The figure reminds one of Kleist,7 while the
entire scene argues that Schiller was just then
reading either Aesop or Eousseau, or both.
Some of the contrasts in this drama are finely
shaded. Verrina, for example, shows why
purple is the royal color : " Der erste Fiirst
war ein Morder und fuhrte den Purpur ein,
die Flecken seiner That in dieser Blutfarbe zu
verstecken" (V, 16). Antitheses also occur.
Leonore says to Fiesco (IV, 14) :
" Liebe hat Thranen und kann Thranen verstehen ;
Herrschsucht hat eherne Augen, worin ewig nie die
Empfindung perlt — Liebe hat nur ein Gut, thut Ver-
zicht auf die ganze ttbrige Schopfung: Herrschsucht
hungert beim Raube der ganzen Natur. — Herrsch-
sucht zertrttmmert die Welt in ein rasselndes Karten-
haus, Liebe trSumt sich in jede WUste Elysium."
One can, to be sure, feel the naturalness of
contrasts — in scenes — in this drama, written
as it was to portray the relative roles of plan
and chance 8 in human life, and written when
Triumph; was hier endlicher Triumph war, wird
dort ewige unendliche Verzweiflung" (V, 1). The
expression, finally, that caused Schiller some em-
barrassment is only a strong contrast : " Reis' du
ins Graubiindner Land, das ist das Athen der heuti-
gen Gauner" (II, 3).
" One is almost too ready to cry bombast on study-
ing the contrasts in this drama. For example, " Dass
du den Galgen fUr einen Zahnstocher ansehen sollst "
(I, 9 ) , or, " Ist wohl f euerfester als Eurer ehrlichen
Leute: sie brechen ihre SchwOre dem lieben Herr-
gott; wir halten sie ptinktlich dem Teufel " (I, 9).
7 Cf. Kleist's " ein Frilhlingssonnenstrahl reift die
Orangenbltlthe, aber ein Jahrhundert die Eiche."
•Cf. A. Schoell: Uber ScHllers Fiesco, Weimari-
sches Jahrbuch, I, 132: "Die Verschworung des
Fiesco zu Genua im Jahre 1547 hat zu ihrer Zeit viel
Aufsehen gemacht und ist ein beliebter Gegenstand
fdr die Darstellung geblieben wegen des Contrastes
von Plan und Zufall, mit dem sie uns erschilttert."
132
MODERN. LANGUAGE NOTES
[Vol. xxx, No. 5.
Schiller ' himself was now jubilant over bright
prospects and now cast down by the misfor-
tunes that had befallen him.
As to contrasts, Kabale und Liebe (1784)
differs but slightly from the preceding dramas.
Sharp contrasts in individual word-pairs are
not so numerous, references to nature are rarer,
well-balanced sentences are again introduced,
and the oxymoron is used for the first time.
General contrasts are abundant ; 10 there are,
however, none in Gemmingen's Der deutsche
Hausvater (1780), the play that suggested a
number of things to Schiller. One example
of each of these phases of the matter must
suffice. Ferdinand says to Lady Milford:
" Wenn auch Klugheit die Leidenschaft
schweigen heisst, so redet die P f 1 i c h t desto
lauter" (II, 3). Passages in which duty is
set over against love are frequent, as are also
such pairs as " Herz-Geschlecht," " kalte Liebe-
feurige Pflicht," "britische Fiirstin-deutsches
Volk," — one of Schiller's first contrasts be-
tween nations. As to nature, Luise says:
As to the oxymoron,11 Luise says to Lady Mil-
ford : " Warum wollen alle Menschen so
grausam-barmherzig sein?" (IV, 7). There
are, of course, in this drama strong contrasts
in scenes; but these did not make linguistic
contrasts indispensable.12
Though contrasts in scenes and characters
follow each other in rapid succession in Don
Carlos (1787),13 rhetorical contrasts are, in
proportion to the length of the drama, not
so numerous ; J* there are about sixty in all.
This is undoubtedly due to no mere accident.
Schiller, tired of Storm and Stress, decided to
break away from the naturalism of his more
juvenile period of prose, and in so doing he
chose, for the first time, the restraint imposed
by the iambic pentameter. This verse form,
coupled with the complicated and refractory
theme, gave the young dramatist — he was still
in his twenties — a good deal to think about.
We find, however, what would be, for other
dramatists, frequent employment of contrasts
even here. Some of the more conspicuous ones
" Ffib.lt sich doch das Insekt in einem Tropfen
Wassers so selig, als war' es ein Himmelreich, so
froh und so selig, bis man ihm von einem Weltmeer
erzahlt, worin Flotten und Walfische spielen."
Concerning well-balanced sentences, Ferdinand
says to von Kalb (IV, 3) :
" Wenn du genossest, wo ich anbetete ?
Schwelgtest, wo ich einen Gott mich ftihlte!
Dir ware besser, Bube, du flohest der Holle zu, als
dass dir mein Zorn im Himmel begegnete."
• In the preface to Fiesco Schiller writes : " Ich
habe in meinen Raubern das Opfer einer aus-
schweifenden Empfindung zum Vorwurf genommen.
Hier versuche ich das Gegenteil, ein Opfer der Kunst
und Kabale."
"One of the striking features of the contrasts in
this drama is their intensity, their association with
the great human passions, and their occasional coarse-
ness. Frau Miller, for example, suggests that her
husband may secure a position in the Ducal Orches-
tra; to which Miller replies: "Orchester! — Ja, wo
du IZupplerin den Diskant wirst heulen und mein
blauer Hinterer den Konterbass vorstellen ! " ( II, 4 ) .
" Schiller used tho oxymoron rarely. In Die Jung-
frau, 1. 2869, occurs " menscheureiche-Ode," and in
Tell we have " Bauernadel," I. 824. It seems that
the oxymoron was :iot strong enough for his pur;x>se,
that it was too unreal, too cryptic. The expression
" asphaltischer Sumpf " in the 35th Xenium is
hardly an oxymoron.
"Cf. Ernst Miiller, Schillers Kalale und Liebe,
Tubingen, 1892, p. 71: "Auch hier (Luise— Lady
Milford) tritt Schillers Neigung hervor, seine
Frauencharaktere in scharfem Kontrast einander
gegeniibertreten zu lassen, wie schon vorher in Fiesco
und spater in Maria Stuart." But this has nothing
to do with linguistic contrasts.
"Cf. Schiller-Lexikon, I, 217: " Wer Schillers
vorwiegende Neigung zur Uberraschenden Zusammen-
stellung von Gegensatzen kennt, wird dieses hochst
werthvolle Kunstmittel auch in dem Scenenwechsel
angewendet finden, wo ja fortdauernd zwei Hand-
lungen, die Intrigue und die Bekampfung derselben,
neben einander herlaufen milssen." But this does
not cover the matter of linguistic contrasts.
14 One cannot, however, read this drama without
noticing how Schiller returns again and again to
this scheme. For example, the Konig says (11. 2522-
2523) : "Euer Haar ist silbergrau, und Ihr err6tet
nicht." The oddness of his not becoming red in the
face could have been emphasized without referring
to the fact that his hair was silvery gray.
May, 1915.]
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
133
are in the scenes between Carlos and the
Konigin, and have to do with mental states.
Carlos says (11. 750-752) :
Sie sind fttr mich verloren — 0, in diesem
Gefiihl liegt Holle — Holle liegt im andern,
Sie zu besitzen. "
Others concern differences in dignity. Philipp
says (11. 1176-1177) to Carlos:
Du redest, wie em Traumender. Dies Amt
Will einen Mann und keinen Jiingling.
And the counterpart to this is found in Car-
los's remark (11. 1660-1662) to the Prinzessin:
Der gute Vater
Besorgt, wenn ich Armeen kommandierte —
Mein Singen konnte drunter leiden.
Occasionally a contrast is based on a situation
in nature,15 as in Marquis Posa's famous speech
on freedom in nature (11. 3217-3235). Two
of the most important contrasts in the last two
acts are in the reply of the Grossinquisitor to
the Kb'nig (11. 5194-5208) and in Carlos's re-
marks (11. 5294-5297) to the Konigin. Taken
as a whole, this drama on civic freedom of
thought does not show a striking use of Schil-
ler's favorite conceit. Posa-Schiller's over-
weening idealism left but little room for a
discussion of life's realities.
From 1787 to the completion of Wallensteins
Lager (October, 1798), Schiller studied his-
tory, philosophy, art, and poetry, and wrote
some of his best-known poems. His mind was
consequently mature when he began final work
on his fifth drama. The Lager shows, how-
ever, no important development in the use of
contrasts, aside from their increased frequency.
We have the last line of the prologue, " Ernst
ist das Leben, heiter ist die Kunst," the long
list of antithetic puns in the speech of the
Kapuziner, " Eheinstrom-Peinstrom," " Bis-
tumer-Wusttumer " (11. 500-623), the Kiiras-
sier's observation on Heaven's inability to please
everybody at the same time, one man wanting
"Cf. also II. 2515-2518, where "gldhend Gold" is
sharply contrasted with " Wasser," which the Konig
needed to quench his feverish thirst.
rain while the other wants sunshine (11. 970-
975), and the sharp contrasts in the soldiers'
song at the end, in which the free and fascinat-
ing life of the " Wehrstand " is set over against
the slavish, unattractive life of the " Nahr-
stand." These are all that stand out, but there
are many minor ones.16 And it is indeed just
these minor ones that first show conclusively
that the conceit became with time, if it was
not at first, almost a linguistic obsession with
Schiller. That they cannot be classified is proof
of their general attraction for him. They range
from purely practical ones to others on states
of mind.
In Die Piccolomini (December, 1798), Schil-
ler made, as is well known, most consistent use
of contrasts in scenes.17 The public and the
domestic, the loyal and the treacherous, the
military and the civil, the ideal and the real
follow each other with the uniformity of stripes
in a plaid. One sees that Schiller is making
broader use of contrasts; it is no longer a
matter of mere rhetoric but of dramaturgy.
Well-balanced sentences occur. Buttler says
to Questenberg (11. 251-256) :
Noch gar nicht war das Heer. Erschaffen erst
Musst" es der Friedland, er empfing es nicht,
Er gab's dem Kaiser ! Von dem Kaiser nicht
Erhielten wir den Wallenstein zum Feldherrn.
So ist es nicht, so nicht! Vom Wallenstein
Erhielten wir den Kaiser erst zum Herrn.
Such sentences lead one to believe that Schiller
now employs the scheme consciously. One new
phase is introduced by reason of the astrological
references. Thekla explains to Max the stars
(11. 1594-1618) ; melancholy Saturn, warlike
Mars, joyful Venus, cheerful Jupiter, the Moon,
the Sun, each plays a definite role. Indeed, all
the stellar matter is an affair of contrasts.
And as to general contrasts such as are found
"In the 1106 lines there are over 100 contrasts.
11 Cf. The Life and Works of Friedrich Schiller, by
Calvin Thomas, 1901, p. 349: "Schiller was a lover
of contrast, and in his skillful use of it lies a large
part of his effectiveness as a playwright. To a large
extent his contrasts are made to order; that is, they
proceed from the vision of the artist calculating an
effect, rather than from the observation of life as
it is."
134
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
[Vol. xxx, No. 5.
in the earlier dramas, they are uncommonly
numerous.18
In Wallensteins Tod (March, 1799), Schiller
plays battledore and shuttlecock with contrasts.
They occur on every page. Wallenstein's mono-
logue (11. 139-222) is a poetic dramatization
of the "Doppelsinn des Lebens." The dia-
logue between Wallenstein and Wrangel (11.
223-410) is an unending round of comments
on things as they are in contrast with things
as they were; on what is and what should be.
The Grafin says to Wallenstein (11. 614-617) :
Was damals
Gerecht war, weil du's fiir ihn thatst, ist's heute
Auf einmal schandlich, weil es gegen ihn
Gerichtet wird?
The Gefreiter says to Wallenstein (11. 1941-
1943) :
Du ftthrtest uns heraus ins blut'ge Feld
Des Todes, du, kein andrer, sollst uns frohlich
Heimfiihren in des Friedens schone Fluren.
Wallenstein sounds the keynote of the drama
in his remark to Max (11. 2126-2127) :
Denn Krieg ist ewig zwischen List und Argwohn,
Nur zwischen Glauben und Vertraun ist Friede.
In Max's heart, two voices are fighting for su-
premacy (1. 2280). Gordon assures Wallen-
stein of victory (11. 3649-3651) :
Und Friedland, der bereuend wiederkehrt,
Wird hoher stehn in seines Kaisers Gnade,
Als je der Niegefallne hat gestanden.
" In order to determine the exact number of con-
trasts in this drama from a disinterested point of
view, the writer assigned to one of his students, Miss
Lucy G. Cogan, the task of collecting them. Miss
Cogan found 176 contrast constructions. A careful
reading of the drama, however, by way of checking
up the account forced the writer to reject about 50
of these on the ground that the contrast idea was
not sufficiently pronounced to justify separate com-
ment. Such lines (444-445), for example, as:
Der seltne Mann will seltenes Vertrauen.
Gebt ihm den Raum, das Ziel wird er sich setzen.
imply a contrast but do not of themselves contain it.
And finally Schiller rises to an even higher
ironical, that is, implied, contrast in Wallen-
stein's last words (11. 3677-3679) :
Ich denke einen langen Schlaf zu thun,
Denn dieser letzten Tage Qual war gross,
Sorgt, dass sie nicht zu zeitig mich erwecken.
It is, of course, not surprising to find in Schil-
ler's greatest drama an intense conflict between
two parties. This is merely good dramaturgy;
but it is only the beginning of the matter. All
sorts of conflicts surge to and fro with the
regularity of the tide of the sea. " Liebe-Hass,"
" Treue-Verrat," " Wahrheit-Liige," " Freund-
schaft-Feindschaft," " Sieg-Niederlage," "Hoft-
nung-Verzweiflung," " Zusammenkommen-Aus-
einandergehen," " Leben-Tod," — these are the
pairs that help to make the drama so effective.
And it is their constant use that argues that
the scheme was Schiller's own. Kleist's Prinz
von Hamburg is also effective, while it is much
more poetic; and it is based on the immediate
results of the same war. But one searches
Kleist's drama in vain for rhetorical and lin-
guistic contrasts.18 And one reads Schiller's
other dramas in vain for more persistent and
effective use of contrasts.
And yet, one almost tires of marking lines
in Maria Stuart (June, 1800) in which rhetor-
ical contrasts occur.20 Society occupied Schil-
ler's attention in his first three dramas, cosmo-
politanism in his fourth, fatalism in his fifth,
the distinct personality of just one person,
Maria Stuart, in his sixth. We find, there-
fore, the greater part of the contrasts centered
" We do, to be sure, find an approach to linguis-
tic contrasts in the various speeches of the Prinz
(11. 354-364, 831-840, 1000-1003, 1829-1838), but
they do not have Schiller's clarity, directness, and
forcefulness.
M Even by adopting a rigid standard, there are
about 110 instances of strong contrast in Maria,
Stuart. One cannot help but notice Schiller's scheme
in lines 3840-3843. Leicester says:
Stiirzt dieses Dach nicht sein Gewicht auf mich!
Thut sich kein Schlund auf, das elendste
Der Wesen zu verschlingen !
In other words, if he is not crushed from above, he
will be engulfed from belovr.
May, 1915.]
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
135
around this illustrious woman, who had done
great wrong and to whom, from Schiller's
point of view, even greater wrong had been
done. This explains the frequent recurrence of
such pairs as the following : " Gatte-Buhle,"
" iippiges Leben-Mangel," " Schmach-gekrb'ntes
Haupt," " Flattersinn-Schwermut," " dumpfe
Predigtstuben-leuchtende Verklarung," " euer
gutes Recht-euer ganzes Unrecht," " Personen-
Amt," "ein englisches Gefangnis-die Wohlthat
der Gesetze," "der konigliche Gast-der Bett-
ler," " sein-scheinen," " Brautgemach-Tode,"
" Ehen-Ketten," " Freund-Feind," "Ihr Le-
ben ist dein Tod-Ihr Tod dein Leben,"
"armste Hirtin-grosster Fiirst," " Gunst-
Strafe," " Teppich der Wiesen-die traurige
Graft," " Konigin-Gefangene," " Liebe-Eache,"
" handeln-schwatzen," " das Zeitliche-das
Ewige," " schwarzer Block-blankgeschliffnes
Beil," "das Wort-der Wille," " Sie trug auf
ihren Armen mich ins Leben-sie leite mich mit
sanfter Hand zum Tod," and so on. Now, it
would be difficult to find another drama in
which the two conflicting parties are so sharply
set over against each other as in this drama
with Elizabeth's Protestant England at war
against France's Catholic Mary. While this
does not mean that Schiller was obliged to use
so many rhetorical contrasts, it is nevertheless
his use of contrasts that makes us feel so keenly
the division between the two parties. In Swin-
burne's Mary Stuart, for example, we do not
find so many antithetical expressions. Swin-
burne impresses us poetically, Schiller rhetor-
ically. Swinburne's English is elegant and
pleasing; Schiller's German is logical and
effective.
England and France are also the conflicting
parties in Die Jungfrau von Orleans (April,
1801), but here the situation is totally differ-
ent, owing to the long leap which Schiller took
into the realm of romanticism. The heroine
and the time treated, the variety of verse and
strophe forms, the splendor and operatic pomp,
the tendency to the heroic-epic, the supernatural
in its various manifestations, — all of these are
Schiller's tribute to the romantic trend of his
time. When one reads the Jungfrau, one moves
in the atmosphere of Tieck's Genoveva (1799),
and such an atmosphere does not lend itself
well to the use of sharp, direct contrasts. Nor
do we find a large number of this type. The
drama closes with the oft-quoted line,
Kurz ist der Schmerz, und ewig ist die Freude,
Sorel describes Dunois (11. 862-863) as a
soldier who speaks crudely and sternly but acts
civilly and gently, Burgund says (11. 2028-
2029) of Johanna,
Wie schrec'dich war die Jungfrau in der Schlacht,
Und wie umstrahlt mit Anmut sie der Friede,
Johanna addresses (11. 3466-3469) the Deity
with
Du kannst die Faden eines Spinngewebs
Stark machen wie die Taue eines Schiffes;
Leicht ist es deiner Allmacht, ehr'ne Bande
In diinnes Spinngewebe zu verwandeln.
And in other places we find such contrasts,
where, as becomes evident on careful reading,
they were not indispensable. That is, it was
not a question of reporting on an actual situa-
tion ; it was a question of heightening the effect
by setting the very strong over against the very
weak. Shakspeare's Henry VI, Part I, treats
the same theme, but it is wholly without such
linguistic contrasts. And in this drama Shak-
speare is very inferior to Schiller from the
standpoint of dramatic effectiveness.21'
The most significant feature of the contrasts
in this drama is their romanticism; they are
more detailed, more poetic. And of this type
there are many. Karl explains (11. 476-485)
to Du Chatel the beneficent influence of min-
strels on an otherwise dull court in this way.
The entire reconciliation scene (II, 9) with
Burgund — a scene which resembles those in
Goethe's IpMgenie in which Iphigenie heals
31 Cf. Act IV, Scene 3. York says:
He dies, we lose; I break my warlike word.
We mourn, France smiles; we lose, they daily get.
This is a mere matter of fact; Shakspeare was
neither consciously nor unconsciously trying to
heighten the dramatic effect by the use of contrasts.
And the same is true of the other cases in which
Shakspeare faintly resembles Schiller.
136
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
[Vol. xxx, No. 5.
Orest, and in which strong contrasts are not
used — is developed on the same plan. The Erz-
bischof's comparison between the letting loose
of war by the powerful and the letting loose of
the falcon by the hunter is all a matter of ro-
mantic contrasts. And no one can read Tal-
bot's death scene (11. 2318-2356) without feel-
ing the effect of the contrasts that centre
around such word-pairs as " Gotter-Dumm-
heit," " Vernunft-Aberwitz," "ernstes Leben-
grobes Gaukelspiel," " Kriegsruhm-Staub,"
" lange Freundschaft-kurzer Abschied." In
short, we find Schiller's most poetic contrasts
thus far in this romantic tragedy; just as we
find in the Maid 22 herself the greatest of con-
trasts as compared with the other characters.
She was for Schiller the symbol of the poetic
will.
ALLEN WILSON POBTERFIELD.
Barnard College.
BIOGEAPHICAL NOTES ON GATIEN DE
COUETILZ, SIEUE DU VEEGEE
All readers of Dumas' Trots Mousquetaires
know the name of at least one of Courtilz'
novels, but little precise information concern-
ing the author has been available. The bio-
graphical dictionaries and encyclopaedias, which
uniformly follow Lelong and Niceron, are full
of inaccuracies and errors. Some interest in
Courtilz has been shown recently, and it may
be worth while to collect all available data.
The man took such pains to conceal his identity
that contemporaries were not sure of his name
and knew little of his life. What is here added
to their accounts comes from Jal's Dictionnaire
"Cf. 11. 3189-3192, in which Johanna says:
Du siehst nur das Naturliche der Dinge,
Denn deinen Blick umhullt das ird'sche Band.
Ich habe das Unsterbliche mit Augen
Gesehen.
Throughout the entire drama, it is not only a mat-
ter of allowing art to portray faithfully the Maid's
character; it is also a question of elevating the other
characters through her influence.
critique, Eavaisson's Archives de la Bastille,
and from manuscripts preserved at Paris.1
The family of Courtilz seems to have been
originally of Liege.2 The first known of the
name was Conrad Walgraphe de Courtilz, men-
tioned in documents coming from the archives
of Liege. He was present at the marriage of
his son, Gerard, in 1373. The first who came
to France was Hermand de Courtilz, who emi-
grated about 1455, and married Jeanne de
Canny, of a noble Picard family. By various
advantageous marriages the Courtilz rapidly
gained wealth, and several large branches can
be traced. Gatien declares himself, in the con-
tract of his second marriage 3 and in an in-
ventory of his titles to nobility,4 son of Jean
de Courtilz, seigneur de Tourly, and of Marie
de Sandras. The estate of Tourly 5 had come
into the possession of the family toward the
end of the fifteenth century by the marriage
of one Jean de Courtilz with Isabeau de St.
Pierre aux Champs. The mother of Gatien
seems to have belonged to a family of Cham-
pagne.6 Several signatures of Gatien have been
preserved. He wrote " Gatien de Courtilz," to
which he sometimes added " Seigneur de San-
dras." Hence the name by which he has gener-
ally been known. Niceron says that the widow
of Gatien (his third wife) could give no explan-
ation of this title. It is likely that Marie de
Sandras had brought some land in her dowry,
and that her son, always eager for the insignia
1 It is a pleasure to thank Professor C. H. Grand-
gent for kindly criticism of this article. A complete
study of the life and writinga of Courtilz is to ap-
pear shortly. A resume, containing the relation of
Courtilz to Lesage, has recently been published in
the Modern Language Review, Vol. IX, pp. 475-492.
2 The documents on which the following conclu-
sions are founded will be quoted at length in my
forthcoming study.
8 Cited by Jal.
4 Preserved at the Bibliotheque de 1' Arsenal.
5 The little village of Tourly (Oise, cant, de Chau-
mont, arr. de Beauvais), possesses a church and a
chateau of the fourteenth century.
' I have not found the name of Gatien or of his
parents in the manuscript genealogies at the Bibl.
Nat., but a careful study of all the evidence leads to
the conclusion that he was descended from a younger
son of the branch of the Courtilz who were lords of
Tourly and other estates.
May, 1915.]
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
137
of nobility, assumed this title for lack of better.
Why did he not call himself seigneur de
Tourly? Among the documents regarding
Gatien which are preserved in the Arsenal
Library is an inventory of papers presented
by him to prove his nobility. In them is men-
tioned an act dated the tenth of January, 1670,
" par lequel Mre Gatien de Courtilz, chevalier,
fils de Mre Jean de Courtilz, aussi cher, sei-
gneur de Tourly, et de dame Marie de Sandras,
renonce a la succession de son pere, et s'en tient
au douaire de la dame sa mere et au legs fait
a son profit par dame Helene de Billy, son
aieule maternelle." 7
Another item mentions a document " par
lequel led1 Sr de Courtilz [i. e. Gatien], en
qualite d'heritier de dame Marie de Sandras,
sa mere, veuve de Mre Jean de Courtilz, cheva-
lier, etc., vend a Guillaume Henne les heritages
y mentionnes, moyennant 30 livres de rente."
The document is lost and there is no identify-
ing the heritages. In any case, Gatien had the
title of Seigr de Sandras in 1684, as is shown
' There is at least one error here. H6l6ne de Billy,
according to the same inventory, was the mother of
the father of Gatien, hence his paternal grandmother.
She had married a Jean de Courtilz (see d'Hozier,
Armorial general, II, 240). But, according to the
manuscript genealogies, Jean had only two sons,
Jf. . . de Courtilz, seigneur de Tourly, who died
without contracting marriage, and Jacques de Cour-
tilz, seigneur de Tourly aprea son frere, also deceased
unmarried. The only remaining child, a daughter
named Louise, married one Louis de Clere, baron de
Beaumetz, Dec. 22, 1615. There is no mention of
the Jean, seigneur de Tourly, whom Gatien claims
as his father. It seems more likely that he was the
grandson of a Charles, mentioned as the brother of
Joan and brother-in-law of H£lene. The descendants
of younger members of the family are not named.
Then, after the death of the sons of Helene, the
estate of Tourly passed in total or partial title to
Jean, son of the aforesaid Charles and father of
Gatien. After the death of this Jean, the estate re-
ti'rned to the older branch, descendants of Louise de
Courtilz and Louis de Clere. This hypothesis is sup-
ported by the following mention in the inventory:
" Transaction entre Mre. Louis de Clere, chevalier,
seigr de Tourly, et ledit Sr Gatien de Courtilz, parde-
•vant notaires ft Paris, en date du 3 mars 1672 pour
raison dudit legs." Gatien may well have claimed
descent from H£lene de Billy as being the greatest
dame of the family.
by Jal. In the contract of his third marriage,
also cited by Jal, he writes, Seigr du Verger.
Documents at the Arsenal Library prove that
he acquired this estate the 4th of June, 1689.
The above-cited inventory seems to belong to
a claim to exemption from taxes, as a noble, on
this estate.8 I have given the foregoing evi-
dence in detail in order to justify my suppo-
sition as to the correct name of our writer.
The date and place of birth of Gatien are
doubtful. Sallengre says he was a native of
Champagne, apparently because his mother was
a Champenoise. Lelong, correcting Sallengre,
says he was born at Montargis,8 and this state-
ment, repeated by Niceron, appears in a num-
ber of biographical dictionaries. But Lelong,
in his essay on Courtilz, and Niceron, correct-
ing his earlier article, declare that he was born
at Paris. Niceron adds " rue de 1'Universite."
A register of marriage contracts of the parish
of St. Germain 1'Auxerrois for the year 1640
proves that there was a family of Courtilz at
Paris at this time. The date of the birth of
Gatien is usually put at about 1644.
Nothing is known of the youth and educa-
tion of Gatien. Lelong says he was a soldier 10
and captain in the regiment of Champagne.
The contract of his second marriage states
that he was " capitaine dans le regiment de
Beaupre" in 1678. Ravaisson, without citing
his authority, says he was " d'abord mousque-
taire, ensuite cornette dans le regiment Royal-
Etranger, puis lieutenant et capitaine dans
le regiment de Beaupre Choiseul, ou il fut
casse." "
8 For the coat of arms of Gatien see J. B. Eielstap,
Armorial general, Gouda, 1887, 2 vols. in 8vo.
'See the Bibl. Hist., 1st ed., Paris, 1719, under
No. 9745. This is changed in the revised edition.
The earlier statement seems based on the fact that
Lc Verger is near Montargis.
"This is confirmed by a police report drawn up
during his imprisonment: "II a 6tG officier dans les
troupes, depuis ftabli en Hollande en quality d'au-
teur, etc." Ravaisson cites part of this document,
op. dt., X, p. 7. The complete text is in the Bibl.
Nat, Coll. Clair., no. 283, fol. 353.
" I have not been able to get any further evidence
as to his military career. The archives of the war
office have no record of him, and his name is not in
the Gazette, nor in the Chron. Hist. Mil. of Pinard.
138
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
[Vol. xxx, No.
From the few existing documents some evi-
dence can be gleaned regarding the movements
of Gatien from 1682 until his arrest. He was
at Paris in 1682, and signed a paper by which
his wife bound herself to pay his debts. These
seem to have been numerous enough to justify
Bayle's assertion that his first pamphlets were
pot-boilers. Lelong says he moved to Holland
in 1683 to have these books printed. They were
contraband goods which finally landed their
author in the Bastille. He was at Paris the
23rd of March, 1684, and signed the certificate
of baptism of his son at St. Sulpice.12 In Hol-
land, says Lelong, he was known under the
name of de Montfort,13 and in fact, among the
papers seized upon him at the time of his arrest
is the record of transactions of a M. de Mont-
fort with a M. Canto of Liege during the years
1688-89. Lelong adds that he thought proper
to change his residence after the publication of
the Histoire de la guerre en Hollande (1689),
which had offended his hosts, and that he re-
turned to Paris. From there we have a few
letters " written to his wife, who was at Le
M. Funck-Brentano (Cat. des Mss. de la Bibl. de
I'Ars., T. IX, pp. 81-82), repeats the notice of
Ravaisson, and adds that Courtilz was cashiered
after the peace of NimSgue. There are in the works
of Courtilz scattered references which may be cited
for what they are worth. L'Bistoire de la guerre
en Hollande claims to be the work of an eye-witness
who had fought through the whole war. In the
Mercure historique et politique (T. V, p. 789), the
writer claims to have been present at the death of
Turenne, which is vividly described in the Histoire
(Livre IV, p. 297). A " Sr de Courtilz, Lieutenant
Colonel de Cavalerie, Francois de nation " in the
service of Denmark, is mentioned in the Mercure
(T. IV, p. 442). Again in the Histoire (Vol. I, pp.
335-336) a " Courtils (sic), capitaine de cavalerie,"
is named as in command of the rear-guard of the
French army at le Col de Bagnols in Spain. The
preface of I'Histoire des prowesses illusoires states
that the work is written by a Frenchman, who had
been for some time in Cologne, vainly seeking ad-
vancement in the army which " S. A. Electorate veut
mettre sur pied pour la defense de 1'Empire." This
work was published in 1684.
" Cited by Jal.
"Sallengre calls him Montfort de Courtilz, and
police records, cited by Ravaisson, call him Montfort
|l? Courtils (sic).
'• Preserved at the Bibl. de 1' Arsenal.
Verger. In these letters he shows a warm af-
fection for her, and a lively interest in the
affairs of his provincial neighbors. In one he
expresses his regret at the death of the village
cure, and declares that he shall not feel at home
with a new one. In another, much worried
about his wife's health, he writes naively
enough : " Mande-moi si tu es grosse absolu-
ment." It is good to recall such incidents,
which throw a more sympathetic light on this
licentious pamphleteer, who delights in de-
scribing with no little vivacity the amorous
intrigues of the great.
There is good evidence that Gatien kept an
interest in the army and that he recruited
soldiers for his military friends. Among the
Arsenal Library documents is a letter signed
" de Courtilz Sandras " with a certificate of
the death of one recruit and asking for five or
six new ones.
More interesting is the proof that Gatien was
active in aiding his associates, venders of con-
traband books, etc., to escape the consequences
of their misdeeds. One of these fellows,
Godard de Reims, was the cause of his im-
prisonment.15
On the 20th of April, 1693, he was incar-
cerated in the Bastille as a " faiseur de libelles
dangereux, remplis d'injures atroces contre la
France, le gouvernement et les ministres." And
the report adds: "Doit etre bien garde."
However, his wife secured permission to visit
him frequently and in June, 1696, he obtained
"la liberte de la cour." So, although Bes-
maus was charged to take care that the prisoner
should not write or receive any papers other
than family documents brought by his wife,
and though his meeting with her was under the
supervision of an officer, there is no reason to
cancel from the list of his works a book which
appeared during his imprisonment. He profited
by this experience when describing the suffer-
ings of some of his heroes in the Bastille, no-
tably in the Memoires de M. de la Fontaine
15 Ravaisson, op. cit., X, p. 7, quotes a part of this
document. Thus printed it has been misinterpreted.
Tt is a police report on certain prisoners then at the
Bastille (dated 13 octobre 1697). See Coll. Glair.,
n. 283, fol. 353, at the Bibl. Nat.
May, 1915.]
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES-
139
(1698), whose history seems to have been based
on that of a fellow-prisoner.16 One cannot help
wondering whether the first idea of the Me-
moires de M. d'Artagnan (the famous captain
was a fellow-countryman and comrade of Bes-
maus in their early days) did not come from
this contact with the superintendent of the
Bastille, or from stories told about him by
other prisoners. Gatien seems to have kept a
grudge against Besmaus.
The Archives at Paris possess an anonymous
letter 17 addressed to d'Argenson. It is dated
the 18th of January, 1699. The chief of po-
lice is directed to see Courtils (sic) and learn
from him whether, if released, he has means
to earn an honest living. The prisoner appar-
ently gave satisfaction, for, six weeks later, on
the 2nd of March, 1699, he was released. He
received the order, however, to quit Paris and
"de n'en approcher de sa vie de vingt lieues
aux environs."
Deprived of Paris, Gatien was discontented,
and three months later he obtained permission
to return for three months to receive medical
treatment. He managed to remain a longer
time — the documents cited by Eavaisson indi-
cate some connivance on the part of the police
— and he soon drew upon himself the suspicion
of the authorities. Police records, cited by
Eavaisson, give an interesting picture of this
period of his life. He seems to have plied his
trade right under the nose of the officials. " II
a le secret de les [ses ouvrages imprimes en
Hollande] faire entrer dans Paris comme il veut
par des correspondances secretes. II en fait
des debits extraordinaires ; il les vend en blanc ;
il a un relieur attitre pour les relier," etc.
However, on the 12th of September, 1701,
an anonymous letter from Eotterdam addressed
to d'Argenson denounced the just published
Armales de la Cour et de Parts,18 and on the
28th of December Pontchartrain wrote from
"The reasons for this statement will be fully set
forth in my complete study.
" Archives, cote O1 43, fol. 29.
"This letter, cited as anonymous by Ravaisson,
was written by Bayle. See Hermann Runge, Gatien
de Courtilz de Sandras und die Anfange des Mercure
Historirjue et Politigue, Halle, 1387, pp. 20-21.
Versailles to d'Argenson : " II ne faut pas
differer d'arreter du Eollet et Courtils (sic),
s'ils se trouvent coupables, et les mettre a la
B." 19
No other documents have been discovered in
regard to the second imprisonment, and noth-
ing is known beyond Lelong's statement that
he was imprisoned in 1702, and passed nine
years in the Bastille. During the first three,
adds Lelong, he was gaoled in a small cell.20
Gatien de Courtilz married three times, if
we may trust Jal. Nothing is known of his
first wife. His second was Louise Pannetier,
whom he married the 14th of March, 1678.
Her father, according to Jal, was " Maistre
Jacques Pannetier, secretaire de Me Ladvocat,
maistre des requestes." He had stipulated that
she should be " separee de biens d'avec lui."
I have referred to the document of 1682 21 by
which she bound herself to pay her husband's
debts; the few letters preserved of Gatien's are
addressed to her, and she is mentioned in the
above-cited police reports. The date of her
death is unknown. Immediately after his sec-
ond exit from the Bastille, if we accept Le-
long's dates, Gatien married, on the 4th of
February, 1711, Marguerite Maurice, widow of
the bookseller Amable Auroy.
He died the 8th of May, 1712, "rue du
Hurepois," and was buried in the cemetery of
St. Andre des Arcs the following day.22
BENJAMIN M. WOODBRIDGE.
University of Texas.
"Cited by Ravaisson, X, p. 407.
20 Ravaisson observes in a note : " Beuchot in-
sinua dans la Biographic universelle, que cet ouvrage
(Lea Annalea) avait fait mettre de Courtils (sic)
ft la Bastille. On voit que les Annales ont paru
longtemps apres la sortie du prisonnier." But it
should be noticed that Beuchot is only repeating
Lelong. Both refer to the second imprisonment, for
they were ignorant of the first. Beuchot says, with
Lelong and Niceron, that Gatien returned to Holland
in 1694.
21 See Dossiers Bleus, no. 218, fol. 395, at the Bibl.
Nat.
" Marriage contracts and date of death are taken
from Jal.
140
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
[Vol. xxx, No. 5.
SPEKE, PARROT. AN INTERPRETA-
TION OF SKELTON'S SATIRE
Certain poems, though familiar to the stu-
dents of English, are yet nearly devoid of
meaning. Chief in this unenviable class must
be placed Skelton's Speke, Parrot. The "in-
comparable " Dyce calls it a " very obscure
production." Of recent commentators Brie
scarcely touches it; and Koelbing characterizes
it as * " preserved in a greatly mutilated con-
dition, it is the most incoherent of all his
poems, and, in parts, absolutely unintelligible "
— an opinion after a previous careful analysis.2
For this criticism there are three excellent rea-
sons. The earliest edition we have dates from
the mid-century, and the composition is un-
dated. Therefore we have no external guide
to the time of the allusions. The sole indica-
tion is that in the list of works given in the
Garland of Laurel (printed 1523) is mentioned
Item the Popingay, that hath in commendacyoun
ladyes and gentylwomen suche as deseruyd,
And suche as be counterfettis they be reseruyd.
And the poem Speke, Parrot, whatever may be
the interpretation, has nothing to do with ladies
and gentlewomen! Consequently it may have
been written at any time between 1490 and
1529, when he died. It is unnecessary to re-
mark how much this complicates the problem.
Political satire is forceful as an acute criticism
of events already known to the reader. And
without dating how can we know the events?
Imagine the fog that would inclose Absalom
and Achitophel, if we knew only that it had
been written between 1660 and 1700 and might
apply to any circumstance in the reigns of
Charles II, James II, or William and Mary.
A certain measure of possible obscurity is,
therefore, inherent in the type.
For the other reason, however, the poetic
conceptions of the age are responsible. The
avowed aim of the poet was to write so that
'Arthur Koelbing, Cambridge Hist, of Eng. Lit.,
iii, 85.
' Zur Charakteristik John Skelton's, 123-127.
there were two quite distinct meanings, the ob-
vious and the hidden allegorical meaning.
Thus Hawes s commends the ancient poets
because
They were so wyse and so inventife
Theyr obscure reason, fayre and sugratife,
Pronounced trouthe under cloudy figures,
By the inventyon of theyr fatall scriptures.
And Skelton in the Bowge of Courte feels
doubtful as to his ability to use sufficiently
"couerte termes." In this type of work the
pleasure of reading a poem was doubled with
that arising from guessing a riddle. Obscurity
was prized for its own sake. Wilson (1560)
summarizes the condition as follows : " The
misticall wiseman and Poeticall Clerkes, will
speake nothing but quaint Proverbs, and
blinde allegories, delighting much in their
owne Darkenesse, especially, when none can
tell what they doe say." In the particular
poem in question Skelton may also have not
desired to be too plain for political reasons.
In any case he amuses himself, if not the
reader, by putting all possible hurdles be-
fore his meaning. The poem purports to be
a dialogue between a parrot and its mistress.
But as a parrot is not logical, this device en-
ables him to bring in any amount of casual
gibberish, to break the connection whenever he
chooses, to employ tags of Latin, or any lan-
guage, to change allusions, etc. And when the
abused reader objects, Skelton grins the reply
that it is only parroting.
The third and last reason is that apparently
it was composed at different dates. Conse-
quently the poem Speke, Parrot is not one
poem, but several. These are indicated by defi-
nite breaks, sometimes even by apparent dat-
ing. Thus after the Lenuoy primere comes
"Penultimo die Octobris, 33°"; after the
Secunde Lenuoy, " In diebus Novembris, 34,"
etc. The apparent conclusion is that between
the first and second Envoy a year has elapsed.
The result is inevitable confusion.
On the other hand, the poem has a definite
* Hawes, Pastime of Pleasure, Percy Society, Chap.
VIII.
May, 1915.]
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
141
hidden meaning. We are told (1. 207) that
metaphor and allegory are the protection of the
Parrot; that while ignorant fools may not see
the meaning (11. 298-9),
For whoo loky the wyselye in your warkys may fynde
Muche frutefull mater . . .
that (1. 319) those who cannot see it, have
small intelligence; and that (11. 363-5)
For trowthe in parabyll ye wantonlye pronounce,
Langagys diuers, yet undyr that dothe reste
Maters more precious then the ryche jaeounce. .
This continued iteration upon the hidden mean-
ing implies not only that many at the time
found it difficult, but also that there is a
definite meaning to be found.
It seems to the present writer that the as-
sumption that the text is greatly mutilated is
unnecessary. At least a possible interpreta-
tion may be given for the mass of the poem.
The first question is that of the date. This is,
I think, indicated by the figures given after
the months. Dyce's note to 1. 280 reads:
"With respect to the dates . . . if '33'
and '34' stand for 1533 and 1534 (when
both Skelton and the Cardinal were dead),
they must have been added by the transcriber ;
and yet in the volume from which these por-
tions of Speke, Parrot are now printed (MS.
Harl. 2252) we find, only a few pages before,
the name of 'John Colyn mercer of London/
with the date '1517.'" The explanation of
these figures is both obvious and unusual. Skel-
ton, who was a Lancastrian and had been con-
nected with the court of Henry VII, during his
tutorship to the young Prince Henry must have
dated his formal papers from the accession of
that king. For sentimental reasons, or from a
desire to be half intelligible, he continued to do
so during the new reign of Henry VIII. This
is of course without precedent and was probably
a guide only for himself. As Henry VII began
his reign on Bosworth Field, Aug. 22nd, 1485,
"October 33°" and "November, 34" are
translated into October, 1517, and November,
1518. If this be true, the various portions of
SpeTce, Parrot form a running commentary
upon the events of those two years.
To explain the situation it is necessary to go
back a few years. From the Middle Ages
Tudor England had inherited two different sys-
tems of courts: (a) the Convocation of the
bishops and the ecclesiastical courts which
claimed jurisdiction over all members of the
clergy, and (b) Parliament and the state courts
which claimed jurisdiction over the rest of the
nation. That there should be conflict between
these two systems to the modern mind seems
almost inevitable, particularly as the ecclesias-
tical courts claimed the "benefit of the clergy"
and the right of " sanctuary." That there was
such conflict is shown by the fact that in 1513
Parliament decreed that the right of sanctuary
should be denied to murderers and robbers. In
1515, Eobert Kederminster, Abbot of Winch-
combe, preached at St. Paul's Cross a sermon
in which he denounced this act. As three mem-
bers of the clergy had been accused of murder
by a jury of London citizens, this sermon was
regarded as a gauntlet of defiance thrown down
by the Church. Henry Standish of the Grey
Friars replied, asserting the superior right of
the King's prerogative. The Convocation sup-
ported Kederminster and the Parliament Stan-
dish. Whereupon the King, upon the advice
of Dr. Voysey, his chaplain, heard the case,
and naturally decided in favor of the State.
" I will never consent to your desire, any more
than my progenitors have done." * Warham,
Archbishop of Canterbury, and Fox, Bishop of
Winchester, apparently felt strongly that the
right of the Church had been impinged upon.
Standish and Voysey were regarded as having
betrayed the Church by the church party, and
equally by their opponents as having defended
the rights of the people. The result was that
the clergy were disliked in London. Wolsey's
attitude was apparently trimming; he argued
for the Church at the same time protesting his
attachment to the Crown. Then, toward the
end of the same year, both Warham and Fox
withdrew from active participation in the gov-
ernment, the one resigning the great seal and
the other the privy seal, and Wolsey and Euthal,
•Keilwey's report of the argument, quoted by
Gairdner, Church Hist., p. 47.
142
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
[Vol. xxx, No. 5.
Bishop of Durham, took the places made vacant
by them. By the City Standish was regarded
as a hero. Consequently he was urged to de-
fend them also from the foreigners who, they
believed, were absorbing English business.
John Lincoln, a broker, appealed to him. Upon
his wise refusal, however, a Dr. Beale preached
an incendiary sermon on the general thought
of England for Englishmen. On this followed,
1517, the celebrated riot called "Evil May
Day." The City rose in rebellion, which was
put down by calling in the troops. Lincoln
himself was hanged, with some others, but the
majority were pardoned. Such is a very brief
outline of events presupposed to be known to
the reader.
The poem purports to be the rambling ejacu-
lations of a parrot, with occasional reminders
that more is intended than is obvious, and that
the explanation is to be found in the use of
metaphor and allegory (11. 208-9). The parrot
was created by God (1. 217), and is incorrupt-
ible (1. 218) ; it then represents the Church. As
such it has the Pentecostal gift of tongues. But
Skelton identifies the Church with his own par-
ticular party. The parrot consequently favors
neither the new element of Wolsey nor the popu-
lar variety of Standish. It is the old conserva-
tive Church of Warham and Fox — a fact that
would partly explain Barclay's possible enmity.
That Church has fallen upon evil days. The
suggestion for this curious personification may
be due to the fact that a " popinjay " was af-
fixed to a pole as a target for archery practice.
And the present parrot has been instructed by
Melpomene (1. 213). As by the latest possible
date given for his birth Skelton, in 1517, must
have been past middle age, the Parrot is con-
servative. It preaches discretion (1. 53) and
cites biblical examples of patience under trials,
Abraham, Job, etc. It is loyal to " King
Henry the VIII, our royal king " (1. 36) and
to "Kateryne incomparable" (1. 38). So with
the gibbet of Baldock made for Jack Leg (John
Lincoln?) (1. 75) in mind, of all things be-
ware of riot (1. 103). In that Parrot is on the
side of the King (1. 112) and "hath no favor
to Esebon " (London) (1. 113). For the leaders
of Israel (Warham and Fox) have abandoned
it, and Seon, the regent Amorraeorum (Stand-
ish of the Grey Friars) and Og (Voysey or
Beale) have taken possession (11. 115-126).
Now the right of sanctuary " standyth in lyttyll
sted " (11. 127-8). The real traitor is not the
preacher (Beale or Standish) but he that ad-
vised the King (Voysey) (11. 132-135). This
ends the first part.
The second section takes up the discussion
of Greek. Here again Skelton is conservative.
He does not object to Greek (1. 146),
For aurea lingua Graeca ought to be magnyfyed,
but to the fact that it is not practical (11. 150—
153). Yet with this limited knowledge they
scrape out good scrypture, and set in a gall,
Ye go about to amende, and ye mar all. (11. 158-9.)
This seems like a reference to Erasmus's New
Testament. The result of it all is that the
clergy neglect their Latin that is necessary and
fail to acquire Greek that at best is merely an
adornment.
The third section consists of a curious love
lyric. Galathea, a lady who appears for the
first time, invites the parrot to tell the moan
Pamphylus made for his mate. The allusion
is to a medieval poem De arte amandi. The
meaning apparently is that the clergy should
return to Latin, that spurious Greek is worth-
less, and that amen with a d should be the
order of the day.
The fourth section (11. 280-300), Lenuoy
primere, ends with the phrase " Penultimo die
Octobris, 33°." If the present theory be cor-
rect, it is dated definitely October 30th, 1517.
The book called the "Popagay" is told to
persuade Jerebesethe " home to resorte " be-
cause Tytus is now at Dover, the tonsan de
Jason is in the shrouds of the vessels, and Lya-
con of Lybyk and Lydy has his prey. This
obviously has no apparent connection with what
has preceded. It must deal with some foreign
policy. The sequence of thought, — if such a
term may be used in treating a poem whose
chief characteristic is lack of consecutiveness —
seems to be that not only are the troubles of
the Church due to diffusion of energy and a
May, 1915.]
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
143
questioning spirit on account of the study of
Greek, but also to the new heads of the Church,
Wolsey with the great seal and Euthal with the
privy seal are too much concerned with other
than churchly affairs. In this connection two
facts should be remembered. First, that as
shown by the notes appended to the poems
against Garnessche during these years Skelton
was in relations with the Court.5 Secondly
that Lord Thomas Howard, Earl of Surrey,
who in 1524 became Duke of Norfolk, was the
strenuous opponent of Wolsey's policy.8 He
was a patron of Skelton, at his house, Sheriff-
Hutton, the Garland of Laurel was written,
and his son, the poet Surrey, was Skelton's
pupil. It is not surprising, therefore, to find
Skelton unsympathetic with the foreign policy
of Wolsey. The key to the interpretation of
the passage is given by the line,
For Tytus at Dover abydythe in the rode.
The passage will be clearer if certain historical
facts are borne in mind. Almost the sole re-
sult of Henry's invasion of France in 1513 had
been the capture of Tournay. But the perfidy
of Maxmilian in the Treaty of Noyon caused
a rapprochement between France and England.
Humors of an agreememt between the two
powers were imminent. " At Henry's wish the
French commissioners crossed over to England
in October," 7 and by November llth they had
reached London. They came to purchase Tour-
nay for 400,000 crowns. The tonsan de Jason
is explained. Lyacon is of course Lycaon, as
Dyce suggests. Lycaon, in the Third Meta-
morphosis of Ovid, by his impiety toward Jup-
piter, is the immediate cause of the deluge.
That this was in Skelton's mind is shown by
the fact that the last line of each of the last ten
stanzas of the poem begins with the phrase
" Syns Dewcalyon's flode." The contrast be-
tween Juppiter, Henry VIII, and the over-
1 Brie, " Skelton-Studien," Englische Btudien,
XXXVII, 59.
'Dictionary of National Biography, article by the
late Mandel Creighton, Bishop of London.
'Brewer, Reign of Henry VIII, i, 189.
proud subject, Wolsey, is given in 11. 399-404 :
Jupiter ut nitido deus est veneratus Olympo;
Hie coliturque deus.
Sunt data thura Jovi, rutilo solio resident!;
Cum Jovi thura capit.
Jupiter astrorum rector dominusque polorum;
Anglica sceptra regit.
Nor does he omit the pun on \VKOUV, wolf;
(1. 428)
Hys woluys hede, wanne, bloo as lede, gapythe ouer
the crowne.
The phrase " of Lybia and Lydia " (Jeremiah
46, 9) suggests that Wolsey has not yet de-
spoiled the Egyptians. Jereboseth probably re-
fers to Wingfield then holding Calais. He was
appointed commissioner to sit at Calais to ad-
judicate the disputes between the English and
the French merchants,8
For replieacion restles that he of late ther made
(1. 284)
all of which was now rendered unnecessary.
The lines, 282-3,
For the cliffes of Scaloppe they rore wellaway,
And the sandes of Cefas begyn to waste and fade
allude first to the passage of the Channel.
The names are taken from the Greek <r/cd\o-^r,
a mole, and Kr)(f>ijv, a drone-bee, perhaps with
a side hit at the policy of Wolsey and of
Francis.
The fifth section, Secunde Lenuoy, according
to this reckoning is dated "In diebus Novem-
bris, 1518." The parrot is to be sent over the
salt foam to urge " ower soleyne seigneour Sa-
doke," to come home. Though he has not the
great seal, as president and regent he rules
everything. Dyce's note on this passage reads :
"In applying the name of Sadoke to Wolsey,
Skelton alludes to the high-priest of Scripture,
not to the knight of the Bound Table." This is
followed by Koelbing : * " Im zweiten (en-
*I. S. Leadara, Dictionary of National Biography,
article Wingfield.
'Arthur Koelbing, Zur OharaJcteristik John Skel-
ton's, p. 126.
144
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
[Vol. xxx, No. 5.
voy) wird der Kardinal als soleyne seigneour
Sadoke (1. 304) verspottet, der Dinge unter-
nehme, die eben unausfiihrbar seien." The
first obvious objection to this attribution is in
the lines 309-10,
With purpose and graundepose he may fede hym
fatte,
Thowghe lie pampyr not hys paunche with the
grete seall.
This can scarcely refer to Wolsey as he had the
great seal! Actually it is again a question of
the French alliance. Charles Somerset, Earl
of Worcester, had been largely instrumental in
negotiating it,10 and in November, 1518, had
the reward. He headed the elaborate embassy
sent to the French court. The name, taken
from the Tenth Book of the Morte D' Arthur,
is applied because just as Sadoke was a friend
to the young Alisander, so Somerset was enough
older than Henry to guide him. It is he, pre-
sumably, that is the Sydrake of the sixth sec-
tion, in which it is prophesied that he will
lose all his effort. Sidrach is the guide, phil-
osopher and friend to the King Boclms in the
medieval romance. This section is dated the
fifteenth of December, actually only three days
later than the formal reception of the embassy
at the French court.
The seventh and eighth sections are both
very short, with much abused Latin, and are
both a rather vague attack upon Wolsey. This
brings us to the last section where the attack
is clearly upon the conditions of the times and
upon Wolsey as author of those conditions.
As these accusations are much the same as
those repeated later in Why Come Ye Not to
Court they need here no comment or illustra-
tion.11 Only one line presents any real diffi-
culty, line 425,
Of Pope Julius cardys he ys chefe dardynall.
The explanation adopted by Koelbing is that
the reference is to Clement VII whose first
"Brewer, op. tit., 189.
11 "The Dating of Skelton's Satires," Pub. of the
t/Lod. Lang. Association of America, XXIX, 499 f.
name before the pontificate was Giulio. Aside
from any question of date it seems improbable
that an Englishman would mention the Pope
in so unnecessarily familiar a manner, or be
understood if he did. On the other hand,
Julius II, il Papa Terribile, had left such a
reputation for intrigue, that here his name is
used for condemnation. If this interpretation
be correct, there is no reason for dating the
poem later than 1518.
It is quite obvious that this article cannot
aim to be an annotated edition of Speke, Par-
rot. Many of the locutions are vague and
many of the references unexplained. Some of
them probably never can be, since so detailed
a history of the two years as is required has not
come down to us. Nor can we be certain that
we have guessed the motive for the choice of
the names. For example, the only reason for
his calling the French commissioners " Tytus "
that I know is that Titus Tatius, the king of
the Sabines, was the neighbor to Eome. And
that seems very far-fetched! Partly, also,
this obscurity was due to the deliberate inten-
tion of the poet. As yet, and while still con-
nected with the Court, he did not dare to be
more plain. Also, I think, he took a certain
amount of amusement in veiling his meaning.
That the present interpretation in general is
correct is shown by the fact that it applies in
so many particulars. The previous difficulty
in arriving at a solution was due to the ten-
dency to read Wolsey into all the varying
passages. And in some places, such as those
dealing with Somerset, where the attack applies
equally to any leader of any group, it was very
plausible. The difficulty is that it explained
only in spots. The interest of the present solu-
tion is that it shows Skelton. not as a reformer,
and not as a radical, but a laudator temporis
acti. And this is the Skelton chosen to edu-
cate a prince of the blood royal and the heir
of the house of Howard. Perhaps from this
point of view so detailed an analysis as this
may not be lacking in interest.
JOHN M. BERDAN.
Tale University.
May, 1915.]
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
145
Le Roman de Renard, par LUCIEN FOULET.
Paris, Champion, 1914. 574 pp. (BiUio-
theque de l'£cole des hautes etudes, fascicule
211.)
In a remarkable review 1 of Leopold Sudre's
Sources du roman de Renart, written over
twenty years ago, Gaston Paris said : " II [M.
Sudre] a ecrit tout son livre sous 1'inspiration
d'une idee constamment suivie. . . . Cette
idee . . . c'est que les recits du Roman de
Renard ont pour base principale des ' contes
d'animaux' empruntes au folk-lore et arrives
aux poetes frangais par transmission orale, et
non des fables proprement dites greco-orientales,
puy z £<l-iBd inaj ISSUE ;TOIB £. lo-sajjao anb U9tq
as was so often the case with the great scholar,
while recognizing the essential truth, as it
seemed to him, of the thesis so ably maintained,
he also saw its limitations. More than one of
these he himself undertook to correct. For
instance, he realized clearly that Branch I — the
Plaid de Renard — was too obviously a satire of
mediaeval society to be hastily judged a reflec-
tion of the folk-mind, above all it was too ar-
tistically composed, and he gently remonstrated
with M. Sudre by saying : 3 " le poete . . .
a, cette fois, veritablement 'trouve' et son
ceuvre a merite, comme le dit M. Martin, de
' passer dans le f onds commun des poesies
classiques.' " It would be interesting to know
what Paris would have thought of this new
study of the animal epic. For, it may be said
at once, the result of M. Foulet's work is to sea
white where M. Sudre saw black and to give
us a Renard which, instead of being an agglom-
erate of folk-tales, composed by no one in par-
ticular and having as even G. Paris thought
" no sources in the real sense of the word," is
in the main the product of one or two men of
genius drawing freely on Latin mediaeval lit-
erature, and possibly on Marie de France and
1 Journal des Savants, 1895. I quote from the ex-
traits, Paris, 1895, 72 pp.
JP. 3.
•P. 8.
some of her contemporaries. In short, to quote
Foulet himself : 4 " influence litteraire, art con-
scient d'un but et d'une methode, voila ce qui
sans cesse nous a apparu. Partout ou on a
tente de rendre raison de 1'ceuvre de nos trou-
veres par un obscur travail preliminaire, dont
ils n'auraient fait qu'enregistrer docilement les
resultats, il nous a semble qu'on avait fait
fausse route." Extreme as this view seems at
first blush, it is in line with the results arrived
at latterly in the domain of the national epic
and of lyric song. One needs but to recall the
epoch-making studies of Bedier in his Legendes
epiques. Foulet's study is dedicated to Bedier,
and the premise upon which it rests is also
Bedier's ; namely, that the poems of the twelfth
century must be considered primarily as the
products of the twelfth century, and not with
the a priori assumption that they are the last
links in a chain, the first links of which have
thus far passed unnoticed. As in all such
reactions from an established point of view,
there will doubtless be much in Foulet's work
which further study will modify and correct,
but his main thesis seems none the less sound
and secure. The proofs of this abound in his
extremely well-ordered and well-written trea-
tise. Since Bedier's Legendes epiques there
has not been a more important contribution to
the history of Old French literature.
The book has twenty-one chapters and a
" conclusion." The first chapter, entitled
theories actuelles, deals with the present status
of the problem. The beast-epic of Reynard the
Fox survives in three well-known poetic forms:
the Old French Renart (Foulet follows G.
Paris in using Renard), the earliest branches
of which probably go back to 1175, the Ysen-
grimus of maitre Nivard of Ghent, a Latin
poem of about 1152, and the M. H. G. work
by Heinrich der Glichezare of 1180, known as
ReinJiart Fuchs. Under the influence of Jacob
Grimm, whose theory it was that the animal
tale originates and survives among the folk at
almost any epoch, scholars have been loath to
attribute to these written documents any first-
4 P. 536.
146
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
[Vol. xxx, No. 5.
hand value. And yet the prologue to Branch II
of the Renard says 5 distinctly :
Seigneurs, 01 avez inaint conte
Mais onques n'oistes la guerre,
Qui tant fu dure de grant fin,
Entre Renart et Ysengrin.
which is curious, to say the least, if a folk-tale
to this effect was widely current in the twelfth
century, but which is intelligible if we assume
that the poet composed his work on the basis
of written sources not accessible to the crowd.
Even G. Paris, who was most prone to admit
originality where it could be found, resolutely
clung to the view of Sudre that the Renard is
to be explained in the main as a product of
the folk-mind, and that the extant written
documents did not interact on one another but
are themselves survivals of early folkloristic
forms. Thus it is not strange to find Voretzsch
in 1895 reject the strictures on Sudre's work
made by Paris, and return almost in toto to the
folk theory of Grimm. Witness what he says
in the second edition of the Einfilhrung 6 un-
der the date of 1913: "Der urn 1150-51
. verfasste lat. Ysengrimus vereinigt
geistlich-gelehrte dichtung mit echt volksthiim-
licher tradition: aus dieser stammt der grosste
theil der stoffe wie die hier zum erstenmal be-
gegnende individualisierung der tiere durch
namen. . . . Nicht viel jiinger als dieses
werden die altesten franzosischen fuchsdich-
tungen gewesen sein, die augenscheinlich vom
Ysengrimus unabhangig waren, aber nur in
jiingeren bearbeitungen fortleben." In other
words, to quote Foulet : 7 " Nous pourrions
supprimer par la pensee tout ce qui, entre
1150 et 1250, a ete ecrit en dehors du Roman
de Renart que nous n'obligerions pas MM. Sudre
et Voretzsch a changer un iota a leurs theories."
This, then, gives Foulet his point of departure :
to investigate the actual extant branches of the
Renard, their possible relation to the other
written documents, notably Nivard's Ysengri-
* Ed. Martin, p. 91.
• P. 402.
'P. 17.
inus and the clerical fable literature of the
Middle Ages, and finally the authorship of the
branches.
The second chapter takes up the archetype
of the MSS. in which the branches occur. There
are over twenty such MSS., which are far from
agreeing in either the number or the order of
the branches represented. Martin, who edited 8
the entire poem — or poems — of 30,000 lines, on
the whole followed MS. 20043 of the Biblio-
theque Nationale, but attempted no rigorous
classification. This has since been done by
Biittner, a pupil of Martin's. Biittner ' saw
that they fall into two general groups: A and
B respectively. In A, branch I is separated
from branch Va by III (VI), IV and V;
whereas in B the last two verses of II are
omitted, and Va follows at once after II. It
is obvious, however, from a glance at the text,
that, although B represents the more logical
sequence, which is thus important for the
chronology of the various tales, the order of A
is closer to the archetype. This, as Foulet
shows, comprised 16 branches out of a total
of 27, and is at best a heterogeneous collection
made by someone who was anxious to give the
beast epic cyclic form, much as in a part of
the Grail-Lancelot cycle10 — to quote an anal-
ogy Foulet does not mention — the various
" branches " originated in response to a similar
attempt, and as in the national epic the various
gestes or families came into being. In any
case, the archetype cannot be considered as the
original MS. of any one tale, and the road is
thus open to consider the respective branches
in their logical relationship. It is to be hoped
that some day Foulet will re-edit the Renard
according to the latter principle.
The most important of the various tales is
undoubtedly branch II. Here the enmity be-
tween the fox and the wolf is explained, and
this is the main issue of the beast epic. But
is branch II necessarily the earliest? And if
so, is it an original version or a reworking (un
8 Strasbourg-Paris, 1882.
'Die Ueberlieferung des Roman de Renard, etc.,
Strassburg, 1891.
10 The Perlesvaus,
May, 1915.]
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
147
remaniement) ? To these two questions Foulet
devotes the next three chapters.
Sixteen branches " are obviously earlier than
the rest — on this all scholars are agreed. Of
the sixteen, only two do not refer to preceding
branches. These, are branches II and III.
These two again diifer in that branch III starts
in mediae res, whereas II, which like III is one
of the longest branches, is preceded by a pro-
logue of some 1396 vv. Here the author (or
remanieur) cites such works as the Roman de
Troie, the lost Tristan by La Chevre, and re-
fers in general to the chansons de geste and
fabliaux; then follow the above-quoted verses
on the newness of his theme.12 It is evident
thus that his poem was written subsequently to
the works mentioned, or approximately in
1175-1177, if, as Foulet argues, La Chevre's
Tristan was composed a short time after that
of Thomas.18 But what may be the terminus
ad quern of the entire group of sixteen
branches ? To this question branch XVII alone
can give us the answer, for XVII is possible
only after the preceding fifteen branches. It
consists of the so-called processio or would-be
burial of Renard. That is, Eenard feigning
death is carried forth in funeral procession by
the entire court of Noble, the lion. Before the
conclusion of the ceremony, however, the fox
is in full flight to the amazement and terror of
the whole company. The branch was popular,
as is attested by the number of its MSS. and
by the references to its theme in mediaeval
literature and art. Fortunately, a passage from
Odo of Sheriton " enables Foulet to clench the
matter. In one of his sermons (ab. 1219) Odo
remarks: Cum dives moritur, tune processio
"besiiarum, que [sic] in parietibus depingitur
figuraliter, adimpletur. If Odo, writing in
1219, could refer to the scene of the processio
as " painted on the walls " of some chateau, it
is obvious that the poem in which this event
was first narrated was composed before that
11 See p. 31, note, branch xvii is the last in the
group.
» Cf. Martin, I. c.
a See pp. 40 ff., 219 ft*.
"Hervieux, Lea fabulistes latins, TV, 319; cf.
Foulet, p. 103.
date. Hence the Roman de Renard, at least
the sixteen branches in question, was written
between 1175 and 1219, provided always that
the processio was not known (as of course the
folklorists would affirm it was) from some
earlier French source.15
The idea that the Renard cannot be an
original is largely an inheritance of the Roman-
tic past. To the Grimms, of course, most
mediaeval literature is the detritus of earlier,
more perfect works that have not survived. In
the case of the Renard, the erroneous notion
has obtained that the date of the MSS. is ap-
proximately the date of the cycle — an idea first
expressed by Legrand d'Aussy in the year VII
of the First Republic, and still current to-day ;
as though we should argue that Crestien de
Troyes is an author of the thirteenth century
because the MSS. of his works are all later than
1200. But there are two pieces of external evi-
dence which have been adduced as definite proof
of a pre-existing lost version, written, according
to Paris, or oral, according to Voretzsch.
These are: (a) a passage from Guibert de
Nogent stating that in 1112 the bishop of Laon,
a certain Galdricus, on the point of being mur-
dered called his assassin ' Ysengrimus ' ; and
(b) the fact that the fabliau Richeut, dated
about 1159,16 bears the name which in a certain
part of our cycle is given to Renard's wife.
As regards (b), Foulet shows readily that the
date of the Richeut may just as well be 1188;
that is, after the appearance of branch II, and
that since the name Richeut occurs only in MS.
B of our cycle, and then in one of the late
branches, namely XXIV, no inference can be
drawn from it as to the other branches. As
for (a), upon close examination the rather in-
volved passage in Nogent resolves itself into
15 On the chronology of the other branches of the
group, see Ch. VI.
" See Suchier and Birch-Hirschfeld, Geschichte der
franz. Litteratur,* 1913, p. 197. The date depends
on the statement: Tolose Que li rois Henris tant
golose. Foulet (pp. 92 ff. ) shows that this was still
true in 1188. Lecompte, ed. Richeut in the Romanic
Revieic IV, 262, gives the earlier date, though he ob-
serves, in agreement with Ebeling, that Richeut as the
name of the Fox's wife is peculiar to branch XXFV.
148
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
[Vol. xxx, No. 5.
the remark : " Solebat autem episcopus eum
(the assassin) Isengrinum irridendo vocare,
propter lupinam scilicet speciem : sic enim
aliqui solent appelare lupos." And interesting
as this reference is, it would hardly justify us
in assuming with Paris 1T that the names of
" les principaux heros " of our epic were known
at the beginning of the twelfth century. What
it does prove is that some people, and they ac-
cording to Foulet were clerks, called the wolf
Ysengrimus as early as 1112, and further in-
ferences Foulet would hesitate to make. So
that here again we are thrown back on the tes-
timony of the extant texts for a consideration
of the source of our work.
Turning now to the main problem, so long
deferred, Foulet finds this source largely in the
Latin text of 1152. He establishes this fact
by a comparison of the episodes of branch II
and the parallel arrangement in book IV of
the Ysengrimus. The prologue to branch II,
we remember, mentions the chansons de geste,
the fabliaux, the Troie and the Tristan. Thus
its author would be an adept in. the technique
of narrative composition, the adaptation
through elaboration of the materials of clerical
Latin literature. That these lay in the domain
of the fable, or rather animal tale, would not
affect the question adversely. The climax of
branch II is the rape of Hersent, wife of Ysen-
grin, by maitre Eenard himself. The branch
begins with an account of how Eenard succes-
sively but unsuccessfully tries his wiles on
Chantecler, the cock, the titmouse or "me-
sange " — who has no nomen proprium — and
Tibert, the cat. In each case he goes off hun-
gry, largely through his own stupidity. Now,
however, he encounters Tiecelin, the crow, and
in an adventure which we all know he swindles
the crow out of a savory, yellow cheese. Thus
assuaged, he happens upon the lair of the
wolf during Ysengrin's absence. Hersent, the
wolf's wife, does the honors in true courtois
"In the Melanges de lift. fr. 361; see also Esquisse
(1907), p. 79. The .text given by Grimm also men-
tions a Renulfus, interpreted by scholars as Re-
nardus. Hence Paris' error. Novati first showed
that the reading is revulsus, which Foulet corrobor-
ates. For bibliography, see Foulet, pp. 78 ff.
style, to such an extent that Eenard profits by
the occasion to betray Ysengrin in her lady-
ship's embraces. He also insults the brood of
young wolves, indignant at his action. When
Ysengrin returns, Hersent of course denies
everything and even promises to bring Eenard
to justice. But — and this is the sixth and last
episode of the branch — Hersent is no match
for the wily fox, who this time profits by an
impasse in which she is caught to violate her
before the eyes of her belated husband. The
branch closes with Ysengrin desiring but un-
able to obtain vengeance.
With the exception of certain differences of
detail (Nivard omits episodes 3 and 4 — and
the piquant circumstance that lady Hersent is
a party to the crime) the narrative is that of
the Latin text. " L'auteur de la branche II,"
says 13 Foulet, " a trouve plus naturel que
Eenard ne cherche pas a tenter une seconde
fois un coq qui a toutes les raisons du monde
de se defier de lui, et c'est pourquoi, passant de
Chantecler a la mesange, la narration doit re-
commencer sur nouveaux frais. Mais sur le
point le plus important, le latin et le franc,ais
s'accordent curieusement a grouper des recits
qui ne semblent pas s'appeler ou se completer."
But the same series — if we omit episode 5 —
occurs in Marie de France ; that is, De vulpe et
gallo, De vulpe et columba and De vulpe et
ursa, where to be sure the bear's wife and not
the wolf's is the outraged lady. So that Sudre,
who knows the latter episode (with the substi-
tution of the bear's wife) also from modern
folklore, argues that Marie, Nivard and Renard
all came from the same source. On the face
of it, however, such a conclusion is false : Marie
lacks episode 5 on which so much depends in
the other two versions, she knows nothing of
the names of Ysengrin and Eenard, and her
tale of the fox and the wolf's wife contains the
same motif but not the same plot as the other
two versions. Since the problem then is
whether Nivard and our romance represent
parallel or derivative versions, the answer can
only be that the Renard is here based on the
Ysengrimus. As for the remainder of branch
"P. 125.
May, 1915.]
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
149
II, Foulet may be right in arguing, as he does
in great detail, that the episode with Tibert is
an invention of our author's, and that since
Marie's version of episode 4 (the crow and the
wolf) agrees with our text : 1, in motivating the
theft of the cheese, 2, in not mentioning the
beauty of the crow, 3, in leaving the last word
to the fox, as against Phaedrus and the me-
diaeval Eomulus collections, hence our author
also drew on Marie,19 — this conclusion is sec-
ondary to the main issue and should not be
allowed to obscure it. For the important thing
is that having once established the literary pro-
venience of branch II, the other branches of
the cycle take their places accordingly, as grad-
ual additions — one is tempted to say ' accre-
tions ' — to the central episode of the story.
Thus Va is the natural continuation of II.
The insult to Hersent cries for a settlement,
and the well-known scene at Noble's court,
where the animals with their amusing pseudo-
nyms gather about the lion, like the knights
about King Arthur, is a move in that direction.
The redactor of MS. group B was correct in
placing Va next to II : the two branches once
constituted an entity and are, as language and
style show, certainly by the same author. One
of Foulet's most convincing chapters (X) is
devoted to the latter's method of composition.
We see there how under the influence of the
epic and more especially of the roman courtois,
together with a knowledge of legal procedure
equal to that shown in the Coutumes de Beau-
voisis, the trouvere transformed the clerical
satiric episodes of Nivard into the more com-
prehensive beast epic, full of bonhomie and
verve, a true reflection of mediaeval baronial
society, destined to live on into modern times,
long after its prototype the Ysengrimus was
forgotten.
The rest of Foulet's treatise is devoted to
the incidents of this growth. The various
branches are considered with reference to their
chronology and possible sources; the author-
"Thig hag also been argued for episode 1, see for
latest and most elaborate discussion, E. P. Dargan,
Cock and Fox, in MP IV (1906), 57 ff. The fable
occurs several times in the figures surrounding the
Bayeux tapestry.
ship of branches II and Va is considered, the
relationship of the Eeinhart Fuchs to our cycle
is given a plausible explanation, and finally
there is a chapter on the Benard and " folk-
lore," in which the thesis is defended that " all
of the passages from works of the thirteenth
century in which scholars have sought to find
echoes of contemporary folklore hail directly
or indirectly from our widely-known romance."
A consideration of these problems will be
taken up in the following number of this
journal.
WM. A. NITZE.
University of Chicago.
FREDERICK S. BOAS, University Drama in the
Tudor Age, Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1914.
Dr. Boas's book has been long awaited. First
compiled in the form of a series of Clark Lec-
tures, delivered at Cambridge in 1904-05, it
was definitely announced as ' in preparation for
publication in enlarged form ' at the head of
the bibliography of University Plays contrib-
uted by its author to the sixth volume of the
Cambridge History of English Literature
(1910). Let it be said at once that, in its
characteristic excellence of style and judgment,
in accuracy of detail, and in format, the vol-
ume can hardly fail to satisfy the expectations
of the many students who for a decade have
been looking to its publication.
There is, however, an important difference
between the scope of the book as it now ap-
pears and that suggested in the earlier an-
nouncements that is likely to cause chagrin to
Americans and other readers far removed from
the English libraries, in which alone the ma-
jority of the academic Latin plays of the six-
teenth and seventeenth centuries are accessible.
The original title, The English Academic
Drama, seemed to promise a comprehensive
treatment of the entire extant output of the
English scholastic stage till at least the period
of the closing of the theatres in 1642 ; and Dr.
Boas's summary of University Plays in Chap-
ter XII of the sixth volume of the Cambridge
150
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
[Vol. xxx, No. 5.
History, though restricting itself to plays acted
at Oxford or Cambridge, did cover both the
Tudor and the early Stuart age. It is there-
fore a disappointment to find that both in its
actual practice and by its new title his defini-
tive work refuses to treat any dramas not known
to have been acted at one of the two universi-
ties before 1603. The particular reasons for
this narrowing of range Dr. Boas does not ex-
plain, contenting himself with the categorical
statement in his Preface : " I have dealt only
with plays which were certainly written and,
with one or two possible exceptions, performed
at Oxford or Cambridge in the Tudor period.
School and Inns of Court plays, though aca-
demic in the wider sense of the phrase, fall
outside the limits of this volume."
So rigidly does the author hold himself to
the newly imposed limits of his work that he
allows formal discussion to no more than fifteen
of the twenty-eight academic dramas summar-
ized in the article of Professors Churchill and
Keller ('Die lateinischen Universitats-Dramen
in der Zeit der Konigin Elisabeth,' Jalirbuch
der dtsch. Shakespeare-Gesellschaft, 1898).
Not less than thirty-five other Latin plays in-
cluded in Dr. Boas's own bibliography are simi-
larly neglected. There is no doubt that the
practice is consistent : the plays passed over are
not definitely known to have been acted either
at Oxford or at Cambridge before the death of
Queen Elizabeth. When one considers, how-
ever, the haphazard nature of the records of
university performances and the accidental
preservation of such texts as survive, one doubts
whether the scope of even the special Oxford
and Cambridge stages can be properly gauged
from so small a percentage of the total product.
The great majority of the Latin dramas acted
in England before the Restoration must have
been the work of university men and, in the
absence of evidence to the contrary, may be
fairly taken to represent university taste and
practice, even where documentary proof does
not set them within the limits of place and time
established by Dr. Boas. A reader desirous of
acquainting himself with the general nature of
academic drama in Shakespeare's time can ill
afford, for example, to ignore William Gold-
ingham's Herodes, written by a Cambridge
scholar about 1570-80, merely because its per-
formance happens not to be recorded; nor can
he easily rest satisfied with the purely casual
mention of the most famous of all Anglo-Latin
comedies, Euggle's Ignoramus, first acted at
Cambridge in 1614-15.
Dr. Boas's book fails indeed to offer the
definitive study of Anglo-Latin academic drama
from the time of George Buchanan to that of
Laud, which has long been recognized as an
urgent necessity and which the admirable bibli-
ography contributed to the Cambridge History
persuaded many students that he had in hand.
A very large number of the most interesting
plays of this type can still be studied only in
the German plot-synopses given in the pioneer
work of Churchill and Keller, now nearly
twenty years old, or in the necessarily very cur-
sory references of Professor G. C. Moore Smith
(cf. especially " Notes on Some English Uni-
versity Plays," Modern Language Review, Vol.
III).
By thus limiting his discussion of the Latin
academic plays, Dr. Boas gains space in his
volume for the treatment of two other subjects,
closely but not indissolubly associated with the
former. The external history of the Oxford
and Cambridge college stages during the Tudor
era is treated extensively in Chapters I, V, and
X, and in parts of VI and VIII. Very minute
attention is given also to the small number of
extant university plays in English. To the
discussion of the Cambridge Gammer Gurton's
Needle, the Oxford Caesar and Pompey and
Narcissus, and the Cambridge Club Law and
Parnassus trilogy nearly sixty pages are de-
voted. The criticism of these plays is in all
respects excellent, but it may be doubted
whether they do not find their most illuminat-
ing treatment in connection with the general
progress of English vernacular drama — a con-
nection in which most of them have already
been copiously discussed. Of the Latin plays
which receive detailed attention four — Hymen-
aeus, Victoria, Pedantius, and Laelia, besides
the later Fucus Histriomastix and the English
Club Law — have recently been edited by Pro-
fessor Moore Smith with a thoroughness which,
May, 1915.]
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES,
151
as Dr. Boas generously recognizes, leaves no
great opportunity for fresh elucidation. Prac-
tically new ground, however, is broken in the
author's discussion of Grimald's Christus Re-
divivus and Archipropheta, Christopherson's
Greek lephthae, the. manuscript Absalon of un-
certain authorship, Worsley's Synedrium Ani-
malium, Gager's Oxford plays, and the Cam-
bridge comedies of Silvanus, Hispanus, and
Machiavellus. It is the excellence and unique
importance of the pages given to these plays
which may perhaps excuse the expression of
the otherwise presumptuous wish that the
author might have seen fit to devote a larger
proportion of his book to the little known de-
partment of literature they represent.
The present book is by no means a simple
amplification of the forty-page essay on ' Uni-
versity Plays ' written five years ago for the
Cambridge History of English Literature. In
addition to the change of scope already alluded
to, there are not infrequent alterations of judg-
ment, based on new information or maturer
reflection. The interesting evidence proving
that the English interlude of Thersites is an
Oxford play (p. 20 f.) apparently came to the
author's attention after the preparation of the
earlier article, which makes no mention of this
play. That the British Museum Stowe MS. play
of Absalom is probably identical with the play
of the same name known to have been written
by Thomas Watson of Cambridge ; that Gammer
Gurton's Needle was composed by William
Stevenson ; that HalliwelPs lost Dido was writ-
ten in hexameter verse; that Byrsa Basilica
(by J. Ricketts?) was roughly contemporary
with the opening of the Royal Exchange in
1570; that Anthony Munday wrote the English
counterpart to Victoria, called The Two Italian
Gentlemen; and that the notorious Francis
Brackyn, Recorder of Cambridge, is satirized
in the Recorder of The Return from Parnassus
are all current assumptions which Dr. Boas ac-
cepted with little question in the Cambridge
History, but which he sees reason to dispute in
his later treatment.
In a volume obviously prepared with the ut-
most care by the author and printed by the
nearly infallible Oxford Press it is surprising
to find even the short list of apparent errata
which follows:
Preface, p. v, 1. 13, 'T e' for 'The.'—
P. 18, 1. 1, ' eo-Hellenicn ' for ' neo-Hellenic.'—
P. 18, 1. 18, ' tragedie ' presumably for ' trage-
dies.'—P. 114, 1. 18, 'Richard,' apparently a
slip of the pen for 'Richmond' (i. e., Henry
VII) : 'Bernard Andre, who had accompanied
Richard on his invasion of England.' — P. 227,
1. 14, 'ther' for 'other.'— P. 413, Index. The
page reference after ' Thersites (the English
play) ' should be ' 20, 21 ' rather than ' 21-2 '
as given. On page 254, 11. 18 ff., occurs the only
serious error the present reviewer has noted. In
a quotation from Stringer's account of Queen
Elizabeth's second visit to Oxford as printed
in Nichols, Progresses of Elizabeth, occurs the
following gibberish : " ' a long tedious oration
made unto hir by the Junior Proctor of the
University, about a mile from the in the very
edge of their bounds or liberties towards city,
Shotover.'" The italics are, of course, mine.
In the second edition of the Progresses of Eliza-
beth (1823, Vol. Ill, p. 160) the passage itali-
cized is given in the following obviously cor-
rect form : ' about a mile from the City, in the
very edge of their bounds or liberties towards
Shotover.' Reference to the printed page will
show that the nonsense is chargeable not to
Dr. Boas but to the compositor's accidental mis-
placing of the word ' city,' in altering the align-
ment after proof had been corrected.
TUCKER BROOKE.
7ale University.
THE RELIGIOUS DRAMA OF THE
GERMAN MIDDLE AGES
La theologie dans le drame religieux en Alle-
magne au moyen age, par GEORGES DURIEZ.
Lille, Rene Giard, 1914. 8vo., 645 pp.
Les apocryphes dans le drame religieux en
Allemagne au moyen age, par GEORGES
DUKIEZ. Lille, Rene Giard, 1914. 8vo.,
112 pp.
Taking the words of Creizenach : " Le
dramaturge n'invente Tien, il emprunte tout
152
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
[Vol. xxx, No. 5.
au theologien " as basis, Duriez sets out in his
book La theologie to search for the sources of
the theological accretions with which the me-
dieval dramatists have adorned the simple
Christian story as told by the Gospels. These
sources, according to Duriez, are "bibliques
(Ancien et Nouveau Testament) et extra-
bibliques, mais encore theologiques (tradition,
apocryphes, Liturgie, Peres, docteurs, exegetes,
commentateurs, mystiques" (p. 18). * The
sermon, which likewise influenced the drama,
he leaves out of consideration for the present.
"M. 1'abbe Petit de Julleville preparant en
ce moment un travail sur le sermon au moyen-
age en Allemagne, la comparaison sera par la
suite plus aisee" (ibid., Note 27).
The task Duriez sets out to accomplish in
this bulky volume is in his own words :
" Partir des mysteres insondables de la Trinite,
de 1'Incarnation et de la Redemption, clenom-
brer les habitants du ciel et ceux des enfers,
raconter la creation de 1'homme et son exil du
Paradis terrestre, passer en revue les Patri-
arches et les Prophetes, suivre Jesus dans sa
vie cachee et dans sa vie publique, decrire sa
Passion, sa mort, sa resurrection et son Ascen-
sion, retracer la vie de sa Mere et celle de son
negateur, 1'Antechrist, pour conduire mes lec-
teurs, apres les horreurs du jugement dernier,
a la beatitude eternelle du ciel" (p. 637).
For his book Les apocryphes, for which he
has reserved the scenes based exclusively, di-
rectly or indirectly, on the Apocryphal books,
viz., " 1'Interrogatoire de Jesus devant Pilate,
avec : 1° la scene du Cursor, 2° des fitendards,
3° des Defenseurs de Jesus, 1'Incarceration et
raise en liberte de Joseph d'Arimathie, la Des-
cente aux Enfers, 1'Assomption de Marie," he
takes the keynote from Wulcker. In his schol-
arly dissertation on the Evangelium Nicodemi
in Occidental literature2 Wulcker (pp. 68-71)
states that the Gospel of Nicodemus consti-
tutes one of the sources of the religious drama,
and the book under review tries to show to
what degree the Apocrypha, especially the
Gesta Pilati and the Transitits Beatae Mariae
1 Wherever the page number alone is given the
larger book is meant.
1 Das Evangelium Xicodemi in der abendliindischen
Literatur. Paderborn, 1872.
Virginis, have inspired the medieval dramatists
(Les apocryphes, p. 8).
To trace the drama back to its theological
source is a great task, and but few are able to
handle it.3 Theology is in this modern age a
terra incognita for most of us.
" La theologie, qui occupait une si grande place
dans les etudes au moyen age, n'est plus guere
en honneur de nos jours que dans les semi-
naires" (p. 26).
Where will you find in our day and generation
a literary critic who is also a theologian? And
the impression one gets of these monographs
is that the author is indeed at home in the
dramatic literature of medieval Germany as
well as in the teachings of the Church. One
is almost inclined to say that the key-note of
these treatises on the medieval religious plays
is not only theological, but dogmatical and
apologetical, if not homiletical. This is evi-
dent from the author's " Discussions sur 1'Eu-
charistie" and "la veritable figlise" (pp.
332-348) and " Puissance de Marie " (pp. 571-
577), not to mention his "Conclusion," which
is a fervent defense of the Church of Rome.
Great as is the task of tracing back the
drama to its theological source — " la theologie
et le drame sont des domaines si etendus"
(p. 637) — , Duriez has acquitted himself of it
to the satisfaction of the literary critic as well
as of the theologian. Now and then, however,
the reader wishes that he had treated the dra-
matical texts more critically. One gets the
impression that the author did not always sub-
ject his material to the searching light of
textual criticism. Two instances may suffice
in illustration. Duriez takes at its face value
a stage direction in the Eger Play, which
ascribes to Satan a long-winded lamentation
over his fall from heaven (p. 67), while a
critical study of the characters of Lvicifer and
Satan in this and the other scenes of the Fall
of Angels brings one to the conclusion that it
3 Some of the traditions upon which the English
miracle plays were founded are very ably traced to
their sources by Prof. Gayley in his illuminating
book, Plays of our Forefathers, pp. 224-278 and Ap-
pendix. Miss Bates treats this subject very super-
ficially in The English Religious Drama, pp. 160 ff.
May, 1915.]
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
153
could not have been Satan who bemoaned his
fall in words of remorse and anguish of soul.
Satan was far manlier than Lucifer and sub-
mitted to his fate without a single murmur.4
It is he who after the fall from heaven sum-
mons up all his powers of oratory to cheer and
console his crest-fallen and despairing lord and
master. The superscription in the Eger Play,
which credits Satan with this heart-rending
tale of woe is as erroneous B as the stage direc-
tion of the Vienna Easter play, which, strangely
enough, ascribes the lamentations of the hell
lord after his defeat at the hands of Christ
(Hoffmann von Fallersleben, Fundgruben II,
307, 11. 13-22) to Caiphas and Annas.6 Duriez
also considers Seltenfrum as a separate indi-
vidual (p. 104), while this is only another
name for the devil Tutevillus.7
The reader will hardly find fault with Duriez
for not confining himself to the period men-
tioned in the title of his books, and including
later texts even down to the Oberammergau
Passion play of our own day. What consti-
tutes, however, a great defect in these treatises
on the medieval religious drama is the omis-
sion of a few valuable medieval texts. One
certainly cannot reproach Duriez for confining
himself to printed texts and leaving out of
account the manuscripts, which have so far not
appeared in print. An author living in a for-
eign country has good cause to congratulate
himself if he can get hold of all printed texts,
and should be reasonable enough not to expect
German libraries and museums to send him
manuscripts for examination. We should, how-
ever, expect M. Duriez to know of the publica-
tion of the Klosterneuburger Easter play by
Pfeiffer.8 He knows only of " quelques frag-
4Cf. p. 119 of my monograph Der Teufel in den
deutschen geistlichen Spielen des Mittelalters und
der Reformationszeit. Hesperia, Heft 6. Gottingen
und Baltimore, Johns Hopkins Press, 1915.
•Cf. ibid., p. 109, footnote.
* Cf. HSpfner, Untersuchungen zu dem InnsbrucTcer,
Berliner und Wiener Osterspiel. Germ. Abhand-
lungen, 45. Heft, p. 124.
* Cf. Der Teufel, etc., p. 98, note 3.
* Klosterneuburger Osterfeier und Osterspiel.
Jahrbuch des Stiftes Klosterneuburg I (Wien,
1908). Text pp. 27-40.
ments publics au XIXe siecle par Bernard Pez
dans son Thesaurus Anecdotorum d'apres un
ms. du Xlle siecle de Klosterneuburg, qui, de-
puis lors, a disparu" (p. 479 ).9 This Latin
text from the beginning of the thirteenth cen-
tury, which has recently been found again, is
of great importance to the student of the reli-
gious drama. To our knowledge it contains the
first and only scene of Descensus Christi ad
Inferos in the Latin language. But this is not
the only medieval text lacking in Duriez's
works. We miss also the Sterzing Christmas
play of the year 1511. Next to the Hessian
play, to which it shows great similarity,10 this
text is the most interesting Christmas drama
of which we so far have any record. It marks
the point of decay of the religious drama, for
some of its scenes might as well have formed
a part of a Shrovetide farce. Strange to say,
Duriez mentions this play in his list of works
consulted, and yet ignores it in his text. Did
it perhaps reach him too late to be incorporated
in his work? If so, why not a note to this
effect in the Conclusion?
But M. Duriez states that he has consulted
many other books, though we look in vain in
his text for any mention of them. My essay on
the prophet and disputation scenes in the re-
ligious drama of medieval Germany " is men-
tioned in his bibliographical list, but he seems
to have profited very little by the reading of this
little work. He would otherwise have found
there the biblical source for many a prophetical
quotation in the dramatic texts, a point on
which he repeatedly confesses ignorance. And
yet I almost feel inclined to say that Duriez
has read my essay. We find in his book (pp.
239-241) the same explanation of the pseudo-
Habakkuk prophecy " in medio duorum ani-
* The date Duriez gives for the publication of the
Thesaurus is erroneous. The work Thesaurus anec-
dotorum novissimus (Dissert, isagog.) in twelve vol-
umes appeared 1721-1729. The fragment of the Klos-
terneuburg Easter Play is to be found in vol. II, p.
liii.
10 Cf. R. Jordan, Das Sterzinger Weihnachtsspiel
vom Jahre 1511 und das hessische Weihnachtsspiel.
Schulprogramm. Krumau 1902, p. 1.
11 Die Prophetenspriiche und -zitate im religiosen
Drama des deutschen Mittelalters. Leipzig, 1913.
154
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
[Vol. xxx, No. 5.
malium " that I have given in footnote 2 on
the last page of my pamphlet and afterwards
elaborated in Modern Language Notes.12 If
M. Duriez consulted my essay, but had already
independently come to this conclusion, why did
he not insert a footnote to this effect?
The chapter " Les demons et 1'enfer " covers
the same ground as the first part of my mono-
graph on the Devil, with the distinction, how-
ever, that M. Duriez confines himself to the
tracing of the theological soxirces of Devil
and Hell in the medieval religious drama of
Germany.
In regard to the prophet scenes the author
and I seem to be at issue. According to his
Introduction M. Duriez hopes to succeed
" & convaincre le lecteur que le moyen age a
connu la Bible, ce dont certains critiques et
non des moindres ont paru douter" (p. 19),
" du moins en ce qui concerne les auteurs de
mysteres allemands, car," he goes on to say,
"il est impossible de lire un drame religieux
comme celui d'Eger, d'Alsfeld ou de Heidel-
berg, sans etre frappe de la connaissance ap-
profondie que les auteurs avaient de la Bible et
en particulier des evangiles" (p. 20).
But a familiarity with the Christian story by
no means presupposes a profound knowledge of
the Gospels, as Duriez would have us believe.
If the common people in the Middle Ages were
well familiar with the life-history of their
Savior, how much more must we expect this
from the clergy? And even granted that the
German medieval dramatists knew the Gospels,
their ignorance of the Old Testament, a fact
which many critics maintain, is not yet refuted.
Old Testament prefigurations in a play like the
Heidelberg drama do not prove that the author
knew the Old Testament. He may have known
the Old Testament stories, but the text may
have been a book with seven seals for him.
Duriez acknowledges that the medieval drama-
tists did not know the patristic and apocryphic
writings (Les apocryphes, pp. 44, 72). He
12 Zum Verhaltnis des religiosen Dramas zur Li-
turgie der Kirche. Modern Language Notes. XXIX,
108-109. See also my papers "The Origin of the
Legend of Bos et Asinus " and " Bos et Asinus Again,"
in The Open Court, XXIX, pp. 57, 191-192;
agrees with M. Male that " toute la litterature
connue des Chretiens du moyen age se reduisait
a quelques ouvrages qui formaient un resume
de tout ce qui avait ete dit dans les ages pre-
cedents (including the Bible?)" (pp. 21-22).
I fully agree with Duriez that
" les auteurs de ces drames etaient des ecclesi-
astiques, seculiers ou reguliers, sans cesse en
contact avec la Sainte ficriture par la recitation
de leur breviaire, la celebration du saint sacri-
fice et 1'administration des sacrements, aussi
bien que par leurs lectures des quelques ou-
vrages qui formaient un resume de tout ce qui
avait ete dit dans les ages precedents" (p. 20),
but believe that all their biblical knowledge
came only through these channels. Of course,
one must guard himself against generalizations
and admit that now and then an author may
have directly drawn on the Vulgate. For my
part, I am willing to admit this for Arnoldus
Immessen.13 If the dramatists were familiar
with the biblical texts, the prophetical quota-
tions in the dramas would have corresponded
perfectly to their biblical sources, but this is
far from being the case, as I have shown in my
essay on the prophet scenes. Duriez acknowl-
edges this contention to be true of the Bene-
diktbeuren Christmas play (p. 157) and the
Tegernsee Antichrist play (p. 588). He ad-
mits that he cannot find the corresponding
biblical passage for Daniel's Messianic prophecy
in the Frankfort Passion play, 11. 133-160 (p.
206), 14 and of the testimony of Ezekiel, on
which the prophet Isaiah bases his famous
oracle " Ecce virgo concipiet" (Innsbr. Easter
play, 11. 136; 173-176). 15 In this case, as in
many others, the dramatist credits one prophet
with the words of another. Did he do this con-
sciously? Was it not rather ignorance of the
real authorship of Messianic prophecies which
he knew from the liturgy and the liturgy only ?
Duriez admits " ne pas avoir retrouve cette
harmonic entre le prophete et le drame " (p.
13 Cf. F. Krage, Vorarbeiten zu einer Tfeu-Ausgaoe
von Arnold Immessen, Der Siindenfall. Rostock
Diss., Heidelberg, 1912, p. 58. (This dissertation
forms the first part of Krage's edition of this play,
Germ. BibliotJiek, II. Abt., 8. Bd., Heidelberg, 1913.)
" The biblical passage is Dan. 9 : 26.
a The corresponding biblical passage is Jer. 7 : 14.
May, 1915.]
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
155
614), and he emphasizes in many places the
influence of the liturgy rather than the Bible
on the drama (cf. pp. 158-160, 369, 374, 495,
531, 577). The best proof, however, that it
was the liturgy and not the Bible which fur-
nished the prophecies for the drama is fur-
nished by the pseudo-Habbakuk prophecy "in
media duorum animalium." For this passage
is not to be found in the Vulgate, and it could
have been known to the dramatists only through
the liturgy. It is true that the Septuagint con-
tains this erroneous passage, but even Duriez
will not claim an acquaintance with the Greek
text for the medieval dramatists. It is some-
what unfair on the part of Duriez to accuse
those who doubt the familiarity of the medieval
dramatists with the Bible of "mal connaitre
1'esprit du catholicisme " (p. 19). In our ap-
preciation of the church of the Middle Ages we
are not behind those who claim a knowledge of
the Bible for the medieval clergy.
I do not, however, wish to detract from the
merits of this book. Duriez has made a notable
contribution to the study of the German reli-
gious drama, and while Wilmotte's purpose in
his studies always was to prove the dependence
of the German religious plays on the French,
Duriez claims a common source for both,
namely, the common teachings of the Church.
The task of tracing the drama to its theological
source was gigantic and tedious, for — in the
author's own words — "les longs drames du
moyen age finissent par etre fastidieux, et qui
en a lu un, en a lu vingt," but Duriez has
done it well and gladly. The closing words of
his Introduction (p. 27) will — possibly with a
few slight modifications for some of us — find
an echo in the hearts of all who have made a
study of the medieval religious drama :
" J'ai pourtant fini par les aimer, malgre leur
dure ecorce; car ils envisagent au fond des ques-
tions pour moi capitales: Dieu, Jesus-Christ,
la Sainte Vierge, 1'figlise; et sous leur forme
fruste ils sont les surs temoins de 1'amour des
siecles de foi pour tout ce qu'il y a de beau,
pour tout ce qu'il y a de grand."
MAXIMILIAN JOSEF RUDWIN.
Purdue University.
RECENT LEOPAEDI LITERATURE
Leopardi sentimental. Essai de psychologie leo-
pardienne suivi du Journal d'amour, inedit
en francais, par N. SERBAN. Paris, Cham-
pion, 1913. 8vo., 247 pp.
Leopardi et la France. Essai de litterature
comparee, par N. SERBAN. Paris, Champion,
1913. 8vo., xix + 551 pp.
Lettres inedites relatives a Giacomo Leopardi,
publiees avec introduction, notes et appen-
dices par N. SERBAN. Paris, Champion,
1913. 8vo., xxiv + 260 pp.
Dr. Serban, a Roumanian who has taken a
real French doctorate, has in these three books
made substantial contributions to three differ-
ent fields of Leopardi literature. The first of
these, Leopardi sentimental, shows more fully
than has before been done the subjective causes
of the poet's pessimism. A poet, particularly
a lyric poet, is ipso facto an egoist, and all his
environment, all his experience of life were such
as only to emphasize this tendency in the Ital-
ian poet. Dr. Serban has shown how Leo-
pardi's philosophy of life, of religion, and of
the world were the results of the contact of a
sensitive nature with actual life, the intellect-
ual reaction of his unhappy loves on himself.
Nowhere can a critic find a better opportunity
for approaching the understanding of a genius
by a study of his near relatives than in the case
of Leopardi. His father's latent sentimental-
ism was revealed in an erotic form in the two
brothers and one sister of the poet, while in
the last its thwarted aims found literary ex-
pression in a philosophy of pessimism. From
the date of his sentimental conversion, the day
he met his first love, Leopardi felt the shock
of the difference between his inner life and the
outer world, and this feeling was only intensi-
fied by ill-success in his subsequent love affairs,
due to the lack of physical charms and of
health. Even his scholarly industry was the
result of a reaction, a nepenthe to
drown the wakeful anguish of the soul.
The spasms and convulsions of a wounded heart
were his measure for the universe. On account
156
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
[Vol. xxx, No. 5.
of the important part his sentimental conver-
sion played in the poet's life, Dr. Serban has
republished, with a French translation, the
Diario d'Amore, which is a remarkable bit of
self-analysis to be written at nineteen, even by
a great genius.
Leopardi et la France is a logical continua-
tion of Leopardi sentimental ; it is the history
of the poet's intellectual progress, as the latter
is a study of his emotional history. It is at
once the satire of fate, and yet a natural thing,
that Leopardi should find the material for his
sceptical philosophy in French books in the
library of his bigoted Gallophobe father, who,
if we are to believe his own statement, had se-
lected the books for the sake of his son's edu-
cation. In doing so he had not included in the
collection of 20,000 volumes such partisan writ-
ers as Moliere and Eacine, and yet had not de-
nied admittance to the works of Voltaire and
the Encyclopedic. In tracing Leopardi's read-
ings, Dr. Serban was fortunate in having two
guides, the library of Monaldo Leopardi at
Becanati, where he worked among the French
books — the list of which he has published in an
appendix — , and the seven volumes of the poet's
note-books, known as the Zibaldone. He has
shown how French literary influence first ap-
pears in the juvenilia of the poet, in liberal
textual borrowings. Thus, the Pompeo in
Egitto (1811) has its chief source in Eollin,
and the Dissertazione sopra I'origine e i primi
progressi dell'Astronomia (1814) was based
largely on Goguet's De I'origine des loix and
Pluche's Histoire du del. The Raggio sopra
gli Errori popolari (1815) was suggested by the
preface to Pluche's work, and one of its chief,
if unacknowledged, sources was the Encyclo-
pedie. If it professedly makes a plea for
Catholic orthodoxy, there is evidence of an in-
dependent spirit of doubt, which was first
stimulated by the logical methods of his French
authorities, and not spontaneously, or through
the influence of Giordani, as has been con-
jectured.
But it is in his later French readings com-
mencing with 1818 that Leopardi found the
material for his philosophy. As he states, it
was only after reading several of the works of
Madame de Stael that he believed himself to
be a philosopher. His Discorso sullo stato pre-
sente del costumi degl'Italiani (1824) and the
first years of the Zibaldone show how he tried
to make his own her views on racial affinities
and distinctions. To her he is indebted for
both his information and his opinions in regard
to the English and Germans, while he glazes
her romantic presentation of his own country-
men with the tone of his own sombre spirit.
For the French he had at first an antipathy,
due at once to his home breeding and to the
evils the Napoleonic conquest had brought his
native country. Then, too, he found in their
individual attitude to Italians that condescen-
sion of foreigners which was to impress our
Lowell. If they were emphatically a social
nation, they were conventional, and lacked
charm and simplicity. But with a more ex>
tended reading, he acknowledged what modern
literatures owed to French models, and Italy's
debt was only increased by French political
domination. In Madame de Stael's theories in
regard to the difference between the expression
of grief in ancient and modern art, and its
causes, he found reason to discard his earlier
belief in the existence of an unchanging canon
of beauty. But he had been prepared for a
change of opinion by an earlier reading of
Montesquieu's Essai sur le gout, which in-
sisted on the influence of the character, man-
ners, and conventions of different peoples upon
their tastes in art and literature. Again, if
the French authoress furnished him with the
quintessence of romanticism — the emphasis laid
on sentiment, the supreme position of lyric
poetry, the enhancement of the imagination
and enthusiasm, the taste for the indeterminate
and vague, the anguish of the infinite — , the
distinctively eighteenth-century aesthetic trea-
tise had already revealed to him the importance
of the sensation of the infinite and vague in art,
one of a number of Montesquieu's aesthetic
principles of which Leopardi only enlarged the
scope to make them basic principles of his own
pessimistic philosophy. Montesquieu declared
that the infinity of man's desires for pleasure
led him to love the infinite, the indeterminate
and the vague, and that even the most varied
May, 1915.]
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
157
real pleasures being incapable of satisfying his
desires, he must find a compensation in the
pleasures of the imagination. From these dicta
the Italian poet deduced the impossibility for
man to be ever fully satisfied, which, joined to
Eousseau's theories on the fatal consequences
of human progress and the conceptions of Fred-
erick II in regard to the indifference of nature
to man, completed his own system of negation.
Dr. Serban has done a great service in point-
ing out the literary sources of Leopardi's phil-
osophy of life. The source of Leopardi's re-
marks on the causes of France's taking the
initiative in literary and social life has escaped
him, and led him to make a statement beside
the mark (166-167) : " C'est en vain qu'on
chercherait trace de ces opinions dans les au-
teurs frangais. Elles ne peuvent venir que d'un
esprit ignorant de la societe franchise." Montes-
quieu not only emphasizes the social character-
istics of the French in the phrase cited from
the Lettres persanes; a general statement in a
chapter of the Esprit des Lois (XIX, 8) on
the " Effet de 1'humeur sociable " has been
made more specific and its scope enlarged by
Leopardi (Zibaldone, IV, 1-2), even if the
second work was " prohibito " in Monaldo Leo-
pardi's library (Serban, 137-138). One is sur-
prised to find La Eochefoucauld, whose work
was accessible to the poet (22, 124, 126, 476),
not even mentioned as a possible source of Leo-
pardi's philosophy, even if he is not referred to
in the Zibaldone; for the poet notes, among the
works he thinks of composing, "Massime
morali sull'andare di Epitt. Rochefoucauld ec."
(Scritti vari inediti di G. Leopardi dalle carte
Napoletane, 395).
The second part of the book, on the inter-
pretation and influence of Leopardi in French,
is not so original in its results as the first part,
but presents much that is of interest. A chap-
ter is devoted to a well-justified rehabilitation
of the poet's Swiss friend Louis de Sinner,
whose services in promoting the reputation of
Leopardi were as important in their way as
were those of Banieri and Giordani. He edited
the philological works for the press, he trans-
lated into French three of the Dialoghi, and,
most important, he supplied Sainte-Beuve with
the information and documents on which the
supreme critic based his article which made the
Italian poet a cosmopolitan figure. From the
evidence afforded by his chapters on French
editions, translations and biographical and crit-
ical articles, Dr. Serban considers that Leo-
pardi is the one Italian author of the nine-
teenth century who has had a certain continu-
ous popularity in France. A chapter on the
literary influence is even more negative in its
results for the reader than for the author.
Different in temperament as were Musset and
Leopardi, the French poet knew, and showed
he could appreciate, the latter^ work, but came
to know it too late in life to be influenced by
it. If the thought of Alfred de Vigny's late
poetry can be paralleled with Leopardi's> if in
la Maison du berger one finds that the soli-
darity of mankind is the only remedy against
the indifference of nature as in la Ginestra, it
is not a case of borrowing, a chronological
possibility, as Dr. Serban points out; it is be-
cause the two poets might have addressed each
other most appropriately with Verlaine's verse :
Ames soeurs que nous sommes.
The Lettres inedites relatives a Giacomo
Leopardi, might have as a sub-title Contribu-
tions a la censure de la presse, as the greater
part is devoted to the letters written by the
poet's friend Eanieri to the publisher Le Mon-
nier, in regard to the edition of the works of
the poet, published at Florence in 1845. The
writer's character appears in a most amiable
light. Without any pecuniary advantage to
himself, he shows himself the faithful trustee
of the poet's literary remains, insisting that
they be printed in their complete and un-
changed text. He had wished, and even pre-
pared (cf. 97, n.), to print them in a country
free of ecclesiastical censorship, but on the
assurance of the publisher that an accommodat-
ing censor could be found to read the manu-
scripts, he consented to their publication in
Florence. The censor did not prove to be ac-
commodating, but Le Monnier was ready to
incorporate his foot-notes with Lcopardi's own,
and to print another censor's Avvertenze, " pre-
diche sulla fede cattolica, sulla individuality
158
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
[Vol. xxx, No. 5.
di Leopardi, etc.," as prefaces to the poems
or essays, of which the orthodoxy was dubious.
Eanieri had to remind the publisher that they
were publishing "Leopardi, non LEOPAEDI
CONFTJTATO" (96), and Le Monnier com-
promised by printing the censor's notes at the
end of the Canti and of the Operette morali,
in the first volume, and by putting the Avver-
tenze at the end of the volumes, for the con-
tents of which they were to serve as an anti-
dote. The latter have been reprinted by Dr.
Serban (245-250), and their every inane
phrase is an excellent argument for the founda-
tion of a United Italy.
Le Monnier played Ranieri false another
time (163-183), out of fear of a loss in the
sale of his publications in " qualche contrada
d'ltalia, dominata da' Gesuiti" (175), by not
wishing to reprint his refutation of the Jesuit
slander that Leopardi had died converted in
the arms of a member of the order. It is
worthy of noting in the same connection that
Montanari's own copy of his Elogio biografico
of Leopardi was incomplete, having suffered at
the hands of the censor of the Roman States
(220), and that Ranieri warned Le Monnier
not to write to him by post in regard to Leo-
pardi (118); for "nna troppo maggiore si-
curezza" (169), mail was sent in an unofficial
way by steamers, going from Naples to Pisa,
so as to escape the postal censors. A number
of evident mistakes made in transcribing the
letters could be pointed out. It is enough to
note that the book of Leopardi which Creuzer
considered not worth publishing in German,
even in extracts (13; cf. Leopardi et la France,
271), was the Saggio sopra gli Errori popolari
degli antichi. As he states, this juvenile work
of the poet contained only material generally
known to the learned world since the publica-
tion of the De origine et progressu idolatriae,
sine de tlieologia gentili of Gerard John Vos-
sius, for it is to this latter work that Creuzer
refers in the phrase "Lib. Gyraldus. Germ.
Vossini," which Dr. Serban found " presque
indechiffrable," and which he does not under-
take to interpret.
GEORGE L. HAMILTON.
Cornell University.
CORRESPONDENCE
A NOTE ON VOLUME Two OF THE 1640 FOLIO
OF BEN JONSON'S PLAYS
The paging of the first three plays in this
volume of the folio is as follows : Bartholomew
Fair, pages 1-88 ; Staple of News, pages 1-75 ;
Devil is an Ass, pages 93-170. The question
has been as to what occupied the pages between
page 75 of Staple of News, and page 93 of
Devil is an Ass.
The Elizabethan Club of Yale has separate
folio copies of Bartholomew Fair and Devil is
an Ass. A study of these brought to light the
fact that the numbering of the pages of these
two plays is, allowing for one blank leaf be-
tween them, consecutive. This fact points to
these two plays having appeared in one volume,
and Staple of News in a separate volume, be-
fore the folio was made up. The Elizabethan
Club copies are of slightly different size, and
have different markings in the binding left on
their backs. This shows them to have come
from different copies.
FLORENCE M. SNELL.
Tale University.
0 PROPER STUFF! — Macbeth, III, iv, 60
These words seem, so far, to have baffled all
the commentators. No real definition of either
the separate words or of the phrase as a whole
has been offered, and the explanations given
are but the purest guesses. The phrase is not,
perhaps, of vital importance to an understand-
ing of the play, but correctly interpreted it
throws some light upon one of the most impor-
tant aspects of the play, and helps to make clear
the relations of Lady Macbeth to her lord and
to his crimes.
None of the comments that I can find shows
any appreciation of the words of the phrase,
but all alike content themselves with an at-
tempt to define the subjective mood of the
speaker. Clark and Wright, in the Clarendon
May, 1915.]
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
159
Press edition of the play, give this explanation :
" Mere or absolute nonsense, rubbish. We have
' proper ' used in a contemptuous exclamation
in Much Ado about Nothing, i, 3, 54, and iv,
1, 312. For ' stuff ' see Measure for Measure,
iii, 2, 5, and I Henry IV, iii, I, 154." Fur-
ness gives only the Clarendon note, and Editor
II adds a quotation from Scott. Eolfe's note
is obviously a restatement of the same concep-
tion : " Ironical and contemptuous. Proper
(=fine, pretty, etc.) is often so used." These
citations will suffice, for most other editors
simply follow the Clarendon note without com-
ment of their own.
Nor do the Shakespearean lexicons take us
any nearer the true meaning. Schmidt's Lexi-
kon gives two uses of " stuff," the second of
which is : " Especially things spoken or re-
cited : Usually in contempt," and for which
our passage is cited as an instance. Cunliffe's
New Shakespearean Dictionary does not give
any definition of " stuff," and under the defi-
nition of " proper " does not cite this passage.
Neither the commentaries nor the dictionaries,
then, have given us the true meaning.
The words are spoken by Lady Macbeth to
her lord just after their company have sat down
to the Banquet. Macbeth has declined to be
seated, for, as he says, " The table's full." He
sees the ghost of Banquo in his place, but as
no one else seems to see it his words are not
understood. The guests are about to rise be-
cause of Macbeth's strange actions and words,
when Lady Macbeth urges them to keep their
seats, assuring them that " The fit is momen-
tary." When chided for his behavior, Macbeth
excuses himself by referring to the sight as that
" Which might appal the devil." Then Lady
Macbeth says to him
0 proper stuff!
This is the very painting of your fear:
This is the air-drawn dagger which, you said,
Led you to Duncan.
That is, she is telling him that what he now
sees is but the projection of his own inner fear,
and is but another vision of "the air-drawn
dagger," which came entirely from his own
mind, or as she puts it is his own (proper)
stuff.
The use of " stuff," in a subjective sense, for
the things of the mind or spirit, is common
enough in Shakespeare. It is used again in
this sense in the last act of the play where
Macbeth asks the Doctor if he cannot
Cleanse the stuff'd bosom of that perilous stuff
Which weighs upon the heart? (V, iii, 44—5.)
It is also used in a similar sense in several
other plays, of which the following are the
two most important :
My lord, there was no such stuff in my thoughts.
Hamlet, II, ii, 324.
Yet do I hold it very stuff o' the conscience
To do no contrived murder. Othello, I, ii, 2-3.
In two passages the word " stuff " is associated
with " dream," and has a somewhat similar
connotation :
'Tis still a dream, or else such stuff as madmen
Tongue and brain not. Cymbeline, V, iv, 146-7.
We are such stuff
As dreams are made on. Tempest, IV, i, 15ft-7.
There need be no difficulty with " proper,"
the other word in the phrase.1 It is very fre-
quently used, as here, in the etymological
sense of " one's own " (Latin, proprius — ' one's
own'). Two examples of this use will suffice:
" My proper life," Hamlet, V, ii, 66 ; and " Our
own proper son," Othello, I, ii, 97.
This interpretation makes it clear that Lady
Macbeth does not at any time see the ghost of
Banquo, and that Macbeth's vision is but the
fear that arises from his guilty conscience.
Lady Macbeth has apparently had no part in
the murder, for it is not on her conscience, but
only on her lord's. With the murder of Dun-
can her superior moral nature had all but col-
'C. T. Onions (A Shakespeare Glossary, Oxford,
1911) recognizes the required meaning of stuff,
" matter, in a fig. sense," though he does not cite the
passage here discussed. He also reads proper in a
number of passages with the meaning ' one's own,'
but cites the passage here discussed as illustrating
the meaning "excellent, capital, fine (ironically)."
—J. W. B.
160
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
[Vol. xxx, No. 5.
lapsed, and Macbeth had to commit all the
other crimes himself. The play is therefore
primarily the story of Macbeth and his crimes,
for not only the visions of daggers before the
deeds, but the visions of ghosts afterward, are
all his " proper stuff," or the projection of his
mind alone.
A. W. CRAWFORD.
University of Manitoba.
BUT ME No BUTS
Bartlett, in his Familiar Quotations (ninth
edition, pp. 861-2), gives nineteen examples
of the use by English writers of phrases formed
on the analogy of " But me no buts." Chrono-
logically they run from Shakespeare and Peele
to Tennyson and Bulwer-Lytton ; alphabetically
from " But me no buts " and " Cause me no
causes " to " Virgin me no virgins " and " Vow
me no vows." I have from time to time noted
other uses of this form of speech in various
English plays, and they may be worth recording.
"Blurt me no blurts." Middleton: Blurt,
Master Constable, iv, 3.
" Confer me no conferrings." Shirley : The
Wedding, iv, 3.
" Good me no goods." Beaumont and
Fletcher : The Chances, i, 8.
"Hear me no hears." Porter: Two Angry
Women, i, 2.
" Heart me no hearts." The same, ii, 4.
" Leave me no leaving." Ford : 'Tis Pity
She's a Whore, i, 2.
" Lord me no lords." Shirley : Hyde Park,
v, 1.
" Star me no stars." Shirley : The Wedding,
v,2.
" Take me no takes." Shirley : Hyde Park,
ii, 2.
" Treat me no treatings." Wycherley : Love
in a Wood, iii, 2.
"But me no buts," which Bartlett quotes
from Fielding and Aaron Hill, has been used
in the anonymous play Wine, Beere, Ale and
Tobacco in 1630. " Madam me no madams,"
which he refers to Dryden's Wild Gallant, the
same writer had used in his Evening's Love,
act iii, sc. 1. While it would be interesting to
know of any earlier use of this locution, it is
worth noting that it crops up in contemporary
writers. The Baroness Von Hutten, in the
Green Patch (1910, p. 330), has " Only me no
onlies." An English critic, in a notice of
Strauss's Fledermaus in 1910, indignantly ex-
claimed " Fleder me no fledermice ! " and fin-
ally, I noticed in the Woman's Home Compan-
ion for October, 1911, the phrase "Jest me no
jests."
ALFRED CLAGHORN POTTER.
Harvard College Library.
BELLS EINGING WITHOUT HANDS
Eeviving the subject of bells ringing without
hands, in the Mod. Lang. Notes, XXX, p. 28,
Mr. Phillips Barry has given an admirable col-
lection of the earliest cases of the belief. May
I round it off by giving the latest? One of
the present warring monarchs is said to have
issued a proclamation to the Poles last fall,
reminding them that, it would seem very re-
cently, the bell of the Holy Swiatogorsky mon-
astery began to ring at night without human
aid, and that the pious recognized this as sig-
nalizing a great event; to wit, according to the
monarch, the present war and all the beneficent
results sure to follow. This was quoted in the
Chicago Tribune (31 Oct., 1914) from the
Gazetta of Czenstochowa, in Eussian Poland
near the German border, by way of Petrograd.
The monastery in question is undoubtedly the
ancient and celebrated Jasnagora monastery in
Czenstochowa, its name (Bright Mountain)
being translated into Eussian as Swiatogorsky.
The rest of the proclamation is also interest-
ing to students of the past. Whatever the au-
thenticity of the report, it shows the belief is
still living in eastern Europe.
JOHN S. P. TATLOCK.
University of Michigan.
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
VOL. XXX.
BALTIMORE, JUNE, 1915.
No. 6.
THE SWINISH MULTITUDE
Admirers of Shelley as well as students of
general literature have agreed in relegating to
oblivion Shelley's unfortunate attempt at po-
litical satire, (Edipus Tyrannus or Swellfoot
the Tyrant. From the artistic point of view,
they are quite justified ; the allegory is clumsy,
the characterization crude, the humor forced
and heavy, the incidents needlessly distressing;
in short, (Edipus is everything that a political
satire should not be, and neither adds to
Shelley's fame nor marks an important stage
in literary development. Nevertheless, it is a
link in a very curious chain of literary borrow-
ing that runs back to Burke and forward to
Carlyle ; and as such it may claim a considera-
tion beyond its intrinsic merit.
The chorus of the (Edipus, it will be remem-
bered, consists of a starveling " Swinish Mul-
titude" (otherwise the British Public), which
is oppressed in unmentionable ways by the
king and his ministers, cheated by the priests,
and completely befooled by the wronged but
unadmirable Queen Consort. Concerning this
Swinish Multitude, Mrs. Shelley's explanation
has been considered sufficient:
" In the brief journal I kept in those days,
I find recorded, in August, 1820, Shelley ' be-
gins Swellfoot the Tyrant, suggested by the
pigs at the fair of San Giuliano.' ... A
friend came to visit us on the day when a fair
was held in the square, beneath our windows:
Shelley read to us his Ode to Liberty; and was
riotously accompanied by the grunting of a
quantity of pigs brought for sale to the fair.
He compared it to the ' chorus of frogs ' in the
satiric drama of Aristophanes; and, it being
an hour of merriment, and one ludicrous asso-
ciation suggesting another, he imagined a po-
litical-satirical drama on the circumstances
of the day, to which the pigs would serve as
chorus — and Swellfoot was begun." *
The pigs of San Giuliano may have sug-
gested the use of the Swinish Multitude as
1 Shelley's Complete Poetical Works, ed. T. Hutch-
inson, Oxford, 1904, p. 452.
chorus for a drama; but the personification of
the British public as down-trodden swine must
already have been in Shelley's mind, and comes
from another source. Shelley was, as we know,
a faithful reader of Leigh Hunt's Examiner,
which was sent to him regularly during his
residence in Italy.2 In the Examiner for Sun-
day, August 30, 1818 (No. 557, p. 548), is
printed an article of which the title and an
abstract follow:
A NEW CATECHISM for the use of the
NATIVES OF HAMPSHIRE; necessary to
be had in all sties. " Grundibat graviter pecus
suillum." Claudias, Annalium 15, apud Dio-
medem. By the late Professor Porson.
Q. What is your name? — A. Hog or Swine.
Did God make you a hog ? — No ! God made
me man in his own image; the Right Honour-
able SUBLIME and BEAUTIFUL made me
a swine. (Reflections.— P. 117, Ed. 1.)
How did he make you a swine?— By mutter-
ing uncouth words and dark spells; he is a
dealer in the black art.
Who feeds you ? — Our drivers, the only real
men in the COUNTY.
How many hogs are you in all? — Seven or
eight millions.
How many drivers? — Two or three hundred
thousand.
With what do they feed you? — Generally
with husks, swill, draft, malt-grains; now and
then with a few potatoes; and when they have
too much buttermilk for themselves, they spare
us some.
What are your occupations? — To be yoked to
the plough ; to do all hard work ; for which pur-
pose we still, as you see, retain enough of our
original form, speech, and reason, to carry our
drivers on our shoulders, or draw them in
carriages.
Are your drivers independent on each other?
—No ; our immediate drivers are driven by a
smaller number : and that number by a still
smaller ; and so on, till at last you come to the
CHIEF HOG DRIVER.
Has your chief driver any marks of his of-
2 See Shelley's directions to Peacock on this point,
in a letter of June 8, 1818, from Livorno, Letters,
cd. Ingpen, p. 602; also references to more or leas
delayed arrival of Examiners, ibid., pp. 694, 710, 720,
761.
162
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
[Vol. xxx, No. 6.
fice ? — A brass helmet on his head, and an iron
poker in his hand.
By what title does he wear his helmet? — In
contempt of the choice of the hogs. (Reflec-
tions.—P. 17, Ed. 1.)
Then follows a satirical account of Parlia-
mentary procedure under the figure of trans-
actions of the hog-drivers' association, at which
the interests of the hogs are represented by
unfaithful agents who are forced upon their
constituents by a semblance of free election.
What is the advantage of being an agent?—
Some court the office merely for the honour,
but all the knowing ones are hired by the gov-
ernors to say that none of them are hired, and
that they are all chosen by the free sense of the
swinish multitude.
The Bench is briefly but stingingly charac-
terized as the Black Letter Sisterhood, a body
of scolding old women in gowns and false hair.
What is their general business? — To discuss
the mutual quarrels of the hogs, and to punish
affronts to any or all of the drivers.
How can one hog affront all the drivers? —
By speaking the truth.
What is the truth?— What is that to you?
Do none of the drivers take compassion on
you, when they see you thus " grunt " * and
sweat under a weary life ? ( * Instead of groan,
Mr. Malone has restored grunt from the old
copies.) — Several agents in the sub-meeting
have proposed schemes for our relief, but have
always been overpowered by a great majority.
Could that majority give any reasons for
their behaviour? — Nine.
Name the first. — They said for their parts
they were very well contented as they were.
The second? — They believed the present sys-
tem of hog-driving would last out their time.
The third? — The chief hog-driver had pub-
lished an advertisement against giving the hogs
any relief.
The fourth? — The hogs were very desirous
to have some relief.
The fifth? — The hogs were in perfect tran-
quillity at present.
The sixth ? — -The hogs were in a violent fer-
ment at present.
The seventh? — The hogs were too good to
need relief.
The eighth? — The hogs were too bad to de-
serve relief.
The ninth ?— If they gave us what was right,
they could not help giving us what was wrong.
How do you look when you hear such a mass
of lies and nonsense ? — We stare like stuck pigs.
The pigs, it is explained, are kept in order
by a force " of twenty thousand hogs in
armour," under the direction of the " minis-
ters of peace " ; these latter are also employed
in preaching a doctrine of non-resistance with
the alternative of hell-fire.
You talk very sensibly for a hog ; whence had
you your information? — From a learned pig.
Are there many learned pigs in Hampshire?
— Many, and the number daily increases.
What say they of the treatment which you
suffer? — That it is shameful, and ought in-
stantly to be redressed.
What do the drivers say to these pigs ? — That
the devil is in them.
It is a devil of their own conjuring: but what
do the drivers do to these pigs? — They knock
them down.
Do all the learned pigs make the same com-
plaint ?• — All ; for the instant a pig defends the
contrary opinion, he resumes his old form, and
becomes a real man master and tormentor gen-
eral of innocent animals,
Are there any other methods of recovering
the human shape? — None, but a promise to
treat the herd we have left with exemplary
severity.
Who disenchants you ? — The governor of the
sub-meeting must always consent, but the cere-
monies of transformation vary.
Give me an instance of a ceremony. — The
hog that is going to be disenchanted grovels
before the chief driver, who holds an iron
skewer over him, and gives him a smart blow
on the shoulder, in token of former subjection
and future submission. Immediately he starts
up, like the devil from Ithuriel's spear, in his
proper shape, and ever after goes about with a
nick name. He then beats his hogs without
mercy ; and when they implore his compassion,
and beg him to recollect that he was once their
fellow-swine, he denies that ever he was a hog.
What are the rights of a hog? — To be whipt
and bled by men.
What are the duties of a man? — To whip and
bleed hogs.
Do they ever whip and bleed you to death ? —
Not always ; the common method is to bleed us
by intervals.
How many ounces do they take at a time ? —
That depends upon the state of the patient.
As soon as he faints, they bind up the wound;
June, 1915.]
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
163
but they open his veins afresh when he has
a little recovered his loss : hence comes the
proverb to bleed like a pig.
What is the liberty of a hog? — To choose
between half starving and whole starving.
What is the property of a hog? — A wooden
trough, food and drink just enough to keep in
life; and a truss of musty straw, on which ten
or a dozen of us pig together.
What dish is most delicious to a driver's
palate? — A hog's pudding.
What music is sweetest to a driver's ear? —
Our shrieks in bleeding.
What is a driver's favourite diversion? — To
set his dogs upon us.
What is the general wish of the hogs at
present? — To save their bacon.
CHORUS OF HOGS.— AMEN.
The similarity of this to the (Edipus is
obvious, and occasionally the parallel extends
even to details of phrasing.
CATECHISM.
How do these hogs [in armor] treat the ob-
noxious swine? — They burn down their sties
and eat up their meal and potatoes.
(Cf. also passage on hunting swine with
dogs.)
But now our sties are fallen in, we catch
The murrain and the mange, the scab and
itch;
Sometimes your royal dogs tear down our thatch,
And then we seek the shelter of a ditch. . .
Act 1, sc. 1, 11. 43-46.
CATECHISM.
. . . But how do they manage you when
you are numerous? — They praise our beauty,
good sense, good-nature, gentleness, and great
superiority to all other hogs; they kiss the old
sows and the young pigs ; they give us our belly
full of new beer, till we are as drunk as David's
sow, and wallow in the mire. . . .
Do the drivers wear badges of distinction? —
Many; some have particular frocks and slops;
others garter below the knee; some have a red
rag across their jacket, and some carry sticks
and poles.
03mpus.
Or fattening some few in two separate sties,
And giving them clean straw, tying some bits
Of ribbon round their legs — giving their Sows
Some tawdry lace, and bits of lustre glass,
And their young Boars white and red rags,
and tails
Of cows, and jay feathers, and sticking cauli-
flowers
Between the ears of the old ones ; and when
They are persuaded, that by the inherent virtue
Of these things, they are all imperial Pigs,
Good Lord ! they'd rip each other's bellies up,
Not to say, help us in destroying her.
Act 1, sc. 1, 11. 296-306.
It must be admitted that Shelley has not
improved upon his original ; the mordant satire
of the Catechism is vastly superior to the
(Edipus in good taste, restraint, and technique.
The circumstances leading to the appearance of
the Catechism in the Examiner are somewhat
mysterious. Porson, the great Greek scholar,
had died in 1808, ten years before; and while
he had written indiscreet political articles for
the Morning Chronicle during the latter years
of his life, there is no record that they were
ever widely diffused or reprinted, or that any
papers of this sort were posthumously pub-
lished. Nevertheless, the article bears the
stamp of genuineness, even to the scholarly
accuracy of the note on Malone's correction.
Is it possible that Leigh Hunt pilfered from
back numbers of the Morning Chronicle ? The
question, however, is not of importance in the
present investigation.
The animus of the article is betrayed in the
bitter allusion to the Right Honorable Sublime
and Beautiful; and the passages from Burke's
Reflections on the Revolution in France cited
in the foot-notes leave no doubt as to the ob-
ject of the satire.
In contempt of the choice of the hogs. (Re-
flections.— P. 17, ed. 1.) — So far is it from
being true, that we acquired a right by the
Revolution to elect our kings, that if we had
possessed it before, the English nation did at
that time most solemnly renounce and abdicate
it, for themselves, and for all their posterity
for ever.
The Right Honourable Sublime and Beauti-
ful made me a swine. (Reflections. — P. 117,
cd. 1.) — Nothing is more certain, than that
our manners, our civilization, and all the good
things which are connected with manners and
with civilization, have, in this European world
of ours, depended for ages upon two principles ;
164
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
[Vol. xxx, No. 6.
and were indeed the result of both combined;
I mean the spirit of a gentleman, and the
spirit of religion . . . Happy if learning,
not debauched by ambition, had been satisfied
to continue the instructor, and not aspired to
be the master! Along with its natural pro-
tectors and guardians, learning will be cast into
the mire, and trodden down under the hoofs
of a swinish multitude.
To a reader with any respect for democracy,
the whole passage is like a red rag to a bull;
and the insult of the last phrase is all the more
galling in that it is so utterly unconscious. It
rankled in the breast of at least one other be-
sides the author of the New Catechism. A
periodical edited by a certain Thomas Spence,
Land Nationalizer and crank preacher, in the
years 1793-1795, bears the title Pigs' Meat;
or, Lessons for the Swinish Multitude.3 And
doubtless other echoes of the phrase could be
found in the ephemeral literature of the time;
it is unlikely that the arrogance of Burke
should have aroused so much resentment in
these few quarters and have passed unchal-
lenged elsewhere.
This was the history of the phrase when
Shelley adopted it; and it might appear un-
likely that it could ever again be used as a
satirical characterization of the proletariat. The
attitude of mind which coins a phrase like this
is distinctly aristocratic, and the triumph of
democracy was making the expression, at least,
of that attitude impossible. Nevertheless, the
idea, if not the exact phrase, was used once
again, by one who hated democracy almost as
bitterly as he hated the smug and self-sufficient
aristocracy of such as Burke. Carlyle, who in
Sartor Resartvs had written, as his message to
the new generation, " The Universe is not dead
and demoniacal, a charnel-house with specters;
but god-like, and my Father's ! " — this same
Carlyle, in his old age, utters for the last time
the unseemly allegory of the Swinish Multitude :
" The Universe, so far as sane conjecture
8 See British Museum Cat., Periodicals. One
Pennyworth of Pig's Meat; or, Lessons for the Sfictn-
ixh Multitude. Collected by the poor man's advocate
in the course of his reading, for more than twenty
years, etc. Edited by T. Spence. 3 vols. Vols. 2 and
3 have the title Pig's Meat; etc.
can go, is an immeasurable Swine's-trough,
consisting of solid and liquid, and of other
contrasts and kinds. . . ." 4
GERTRUDE H. CAMPBELL.
Bryn Mawr College.
RHETORICAL CONTRASTS IN SCHIL-
LER'S DRAMAS
II
Romanticism plays also a large role in Die
Braut von Messina (February, 1803), and con-
trasts play an interesting, because peculiar,
role.23 This is Schiller's unique dramatic pro-
duction. It is wholly unhistorical, loosely con-
structed, vaguely elaborated, supplied with a
chorus, and suspected, as to its dramatic feasi-
bility, by Schiller himself. In his preface,24
" Uber den Gebrauch des Chors in der Trago-
die," he apologized, indirectly, for his general
dramatic scheme. And though the drama be-
gins with the distinction between " Trieb " and
" Not," and though it closes with the unusual
parallel,
Das Leben ist der Outer hochstes nicht,
Der Ubel grosstes aber ist die Schuld,
we do not find within the drama the same kind
of contrasts that constitute an important fea-
ture of his other dramas, Die Jungfrau and
' Latter-day Pamphlets; " Pig Philosophy," in
Jesuitism, August, 1850.
** Such contrasts as these run all through the
drama :
Laune lost, was Laune kniipfte (1. 359).
Ihr seid der Herrscher, und ich bin der Knecht
(1. 437).
* In this preface we find a number of antithetic
parallels, such as : " Es ist nicht wahr, was man
gewohnlich behnupten hort, dass das Publikum die
Kunst herabzieht; der Kttnstler zieht das Publikum
herab." Also : " Das Publikum erf reut sich an dem
Verstundigen und Rechten, und wenn es damit an-
gefangen hat, sich mit dem Schlechten zu begnflgen,
so wird es zuverlassig damit aufhiiren, das Vortreff-
liehe zu fordern."
June, 1915.]
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
165
Don Carlos not excepted. There are, to be
sure, contrasts in the choruses and in the dream
of the father as over against that of the mother.
But one has the feeling that Schiller was here
consciously striving .to be poetic rather than
realistically effective; he was successfully try-
ing to be romantic. Manfred, for example,
compares peace with war. We would expect
here a sharp contrast, such as we find in Wal-
lenstein and Tell, but a change is introduced:
both peace and war have their good sides.
There is also a contrast between life and nature
(11. 228-230) : "
Ungleich verteilt sind des Lebens Gttter
Unter der Menschen flilcht'gem Geschlecht;
Aber die Natur, sie ist ewig gerecht.
One of the most poetic antithetic parallels is
found in the words of Eoger (11. 283-293) in
which the contrast is brought out between the
evanescence of nations as a whole, and the in-
destructibility of the good name and great fame
of the individual hero. Some of the more im-
portant pairs are : " Die Traurigen-Die Gliick-
lichen," " Herrscher-Knecht," " Die Hohen-Die
Niedern," " Liebe-Hass," "Die zarte Jugend-
Des Lebens Grab," " Gewinn-Verlust," "Das
Gute-Das Bose," " Wahrheit-Liige," " Mensch-
Himmel," " Geradsinn-Liige," "Der Hblle
Flusse-Des Lichtes Quell," " rein-schuldig,"
etc. A number of these are used in connection
with the elaboration of a favorite idea with
Schiller, — the difference between then and now
(11. 1961-1972), and the inevitability of
change : Cajetan says (11. 2307-2309) :
Wer besitzt, der lerne verlieren,
Wer im GlUck ist, der lerne den Schmerz.
And a contrast that reminds somewhat of the
25 There are a number of contrasts between "Die
Welt" and "Die Natur," such as (11. 355-360):
" O meine SShne ! Feindlich ist die Welt. Nur die
Natur ist redlich." See also 11. 2586-2590:
Auf den Bergen ist Freiheit. Der Hauch der GrUfte
Steigt nicht hinauf in die reinen LUfte;
Die Welt ist vollkommen liberal!.
Wo der Mensch nicht hinkommt mit seiner Qual.
other dramas is found in Don Cesar's words
(11. 2687-2690) :
Ja, konntest du
Des Morders gottverhassten Anblick auch
Ertragen, Mutter, ich ertrilge nicht
Den stummen Vorwurf deines ew'gen Grams.
Though the contrast is not quite complete, it
is realistic; the others are more poetic, and it
is this that differentiates Die Braut von Mes-
sina from Schiller's other dramas. Also, we
find the most elaborate contrast thus far in
the two dreams. The father saw the lily con-
sume by fire the two laurel trees, and the Ara-
bian astrologer said that the child to be born,
if a daughter, would likewise destroy the two
sons and eventually the entire house. The
mother saw the lion and the eagle lay their
prey in the lap of the child and then lie down
together pacified, and the God-fearing monk
said that the child to be born, if a daughter,
would likewise reconcile the two sons and even-
tually the entire house. Such a contrast is far
removed from the simple antitheses of Die
Rauber. Schiller had at last become an efficient
romanticist. In Die Rauber he was predomi-
nantly a realist, in Don Carlos a rationalist, in
Die Braut von Messina a romanticist.
Simple rhetorical contrasts are abundant also
in Wilhelm Tell (February, 1804). Stauf-
facher says (11. 214-215) to Gertrud:
Wohl steht das Haus gezimmert und gefUgt,
Doch, ach ! es wankt der Grund, auf den wir bauten.
Later (11. 301-327) he contrasts the curse of
war with the blessings of peace. Tell's concise
statements frequently consist of a rhetorical
contrast. Melchthal's outburst on the awful-
ness of his blind father's plight centers around
the idea that he, with two good eyes, can give
from his sea of light not one ray to his eyeless
father. Eudenz uses a well-balanced antithesis
(11. 784-785) :
Die Ehr', die ihm gebilhrt, geb' ich ihm gern;
Das Recht, das er sich nimmt, verweigr' ich ihm.
Stauffacher (1. 1118) rings a change on Wallen-
166
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
[Vol. xxx, No. 6.
stein's " Naeht muss es sein, wo Friedlands
Sterne strahlen" in his
1st es gleich Nacht, so leuchtet unser Recht.
And at the close of the second act (11. 1462-
1465) Stauffacher indulges in a well-balanced
antithesis in his remark on the relation of pri-
vate gain to public good.
But it is not the individual contrasts that
constitute the most instructive phase of this
drama; it is the development Schiller has made,
in this respect, over his practice in his earlier
dramas. It is his use of dramaturgic con-
trasts. The very best men are placed face to
face with the very worst, youth confers with
old age, scenes of calm in nature follow those
of storm, scenes of tranquillity in life follow
those of turmoil, the old gives way to the new,28
presumption and pretense are struck down
when most arrogant,27 death comes in the mid-
dle of life. In short, Tell is a drama not only
of rhetorical contrasts but also of dramaturgic
contrasts, and the latter are made more effec-
tive by the persistent application of the former.
The most elaborate contrast is found in the
fifth act, in the Johannes Parricida scenes.
Tell, an impetuous peasant, assassinates, on just
grounds and for the good of his countrymen,
Gessler, the worst of tyrants, and is set free.
The Duke of Austria, an instinctively calm
nobleman, assassinates on unjust grounds and
for his personal benefit, the best of emperors,
and is outlawed. It is as useless to attempt to
defend this long-drawn-out contrast from the
dramatic point of view as it is to state that
Schiller introduced it simply for the purpose
of contrast. Everyone reads it, for the first
time, with interest; no one likes to see it on
the stage at any time. And if this most elab-
* Schiller uses a most peculiar figure, in this con-
nection, in 11. 2423-2426, where Attinghausen speaks
of the new freedom that will sprout from the head of
Walther Tell!
21 Just before Tell shoots Gessler, the latter tells
of the things he will do, and with still another " Ich
will " on his lips, Tell's arrow strikes him down.
The melodramatic element, the moving-picture-show
element, is pronounced in this drama because of
rhetorical and dramaturgic contrasts.
orate contrast in his last completed drama is
a failure, it is owing to the fact that Schil-
ler sinned against the laws of moderation 28
preached in this very drama frequently and
effectively.
As to Schiller's dramatic fragments, it ia
necessary to consider at least Demetrius 2*
(April, 1805), in which there are about sev-
enty sharp rhetorical contrasts; they bear the
strongest resemblance to those in Wallensteins
Tod, being more realistic than poetic. From
pairs in juxtaposition alone one could, if not
entirely reconstruct the fragment, at least de-
termine its general nature. For example:
"Sturmvoller Eeichstag-gutes Ende," "Ihn
horen heisst ihn anerkennen-ihn nicht horen
heisst ihn ungehort verwerfen," " Hass-Friede,"
"edler Feind-gefalliger Freund," "dunkle
Nacht-lohe Flamme," " Wo alles eines, eines
alles halt," " Stimmen wagen-Stimmen zahlen,"
" das Kleid-das Herz," " der Sklave-der Herr,"
" Thaten-Ahnen," " Russe-Pole," " Verstor-
bene-Lebende," and so on. Even in the un-
elaborated sketches we see Schiller following
his old scheme. He writes of the generals :
Zusky eifersttchtig, dem Boris ergeben.
Soltikow gewissenhaft, dem Demetrius zugethan.
Dolgoruki ehrlich, aber schwach.
Basmanow verratherisch.
Mazeppa zuverlassig.
The fragment offers, then, nothing really new
a It is as unnecessary to point out instances in
which the idea of " sich massigen " occur as it is to
tabulate the list of strong contrasts. After all,
Melchthal is about the only hot-headed character in
the drama, and of contrasts there are many more
than a hundred. He who looks for them will find
them.
" Cf. Gotta, volume 16, p. 8. Gustav Kettner says
of this drama: "In den personlichen Konftikt
greif en die Gegensatze im Leben der Volker gewaltiger
ein als in irgend einem anderen historischen Drama
Schillers. . . . Und ahnlich wie im ' Tell ' sollte
auch die Natur Russlands in ihrer wilden Ode wie
in ihrer unerschopflichen Fitlle sich abspiegeln."
The similarity of Warbeck to Demetrius is well
known. A study of the fragmentary sketches of the
former reveals the same principle in, if possible, an
even larger degree.
June, 1915.]
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
167
from this standpoint, it only corroborates what
we have seen from the beginning.30
And now, to quote Questenberg, " Was ist
der langen Eede kurzer Sinn ? " That verbal
contrasts are natural in a drama,31 that there
is something not only attractive but effective
about well balanced, antithetical sentences, that
writers other than Schiller have frequently em-
ployed such sentences, that all poets have cer-
tain peculiarities 32 of style, that contrasts aid
in dramatic motivation, that Schiller, neverthe-
less, could have written 33 his dramas without
the use of linguistic contrasts, — all of these
"It is not without significance that Hebbel also
uses strong contrasts in his " Demetrius " fragment
(1863). There is one in particular that resembles
Schiller. Mniczek says to Demetrius, 11. 2350-2357:
Der Mensch ist in der Welt,
Was Belladonna oder Eisenhut
Im Pflanzenbeet. Sie kriechen bei der Rose,
In ihrer nachsten A'achbarschaft, hervor,
Und hauchen schwfiles Gift, wie diese Duft,
Obglcich derselbe Boden sie erzeugt.
Der Gartner reisst sie aus, doch fflr den Arzt
Sind sie unschatzbar !
11 In Kabale und Liebe, Ferdinand says to Luise:
" Deine Fusstapfe in wilden, sandigen Wiisten [ist]
mir interessanter, als das MUnster in meiner
Heimat" (III, 4). That is to say, a slight depres-
sion in a level, sandy, uninhabited desert is set
over against a great elevation in an irregular, in-
habited, town. The figure is in itself dramatic. In
Schiller's own review of Die Riiuber, he worded this
same figure as follows : " Eine Rose in der sand-
igen Wiiste entziiekt uns mehr als deren ein ganzer
Hain in den hesperischen Garten."
a Schiller, by way of illustration, made more use
of the word " ein " and its various derivatives than
any other German writer. He believed in unity,
though, indeed because, he lived in an age of dis-
cord; hence his use of the word. Another peculiar-
ity of Schiller's style is his perpetual use of the
expression "ewig nie."
33 In Die Riiuber, Moor says : " Menschen — Men-
schen! falsche, heuchlerische Krokodilbrut ! Ihre
Augen gind Wasser! Ihre Herzen sind Erzt! KUsse
auf den Lippen! Schwerter im Busen! . . . o, so
fange Feuer, miinnliche Gelassenheit! verwilde zum
Tiger, sanftmtitiges Lamm! " (I, 2). It is easy to
see that Schiller could have portrayed Moor's state
of mind without reference to such contrasts, by
simply pronouncing a curse on insincerity in all its
forms; he made it very effective, however, by using
contrasts.
things are self-evident. That Schiller always
had a strong tendency to become rhetorical,
sometimes at the expense of dramatic economy,
that his style is highly individualistic, that he
used rhetorical contrasts much more frequently
than did, say, Lessing or Goethe, that it is
possible to trace the evolutionary development
of his use of contrasts from the brief and sharp
to the elaborate and poetic, that his ability as
a dramatist was preeminent, — all of these state-
ments are irrefutable. There are, consequently,
only two phases of the matter the discussion
of which would result in enduring good: (1)
To what extent is the use of rhetorical con-
trasts the mark of a great dramatist? If, for
example, it could be shown that Tieck, Immer-
mann, and Heyse rarely employed them in their
many dramas, while Kleist, Grillparzer, and
Hebbel did, that would be strong argument in
support of an important thesis. To answer
this question, however, would necessitate a
broad, comparative 'study which cannot here be
undertaken. (2) Was there anything, esoteric
or exoteric, about Schiller's life that explains
his frequent use of contrasts? Just a few
words by way of attempting to answer this
question must suffice.
The first question, however, to be settled, is,
did Schiller borrow the device from his prede-
cessors? That he did not is argued, if not
proved, by the fact that he used it when he was
sixteen years old, when, in view of the sort of
life he had lived, he could have had but little
opportunity to become familiar with the works
of other writers. To be more specific, Die
Rduber was begun in 1775 and finished when
he was just twenty-one years old. The three
works that influenced him most in the compo-
sition of his first completed drama are, ac-
cording to Erich Schmidt,3* Schubart's Zur
Geschichte des menschliclien Herzens (1775),
in which there are no contrasts, Shakspeare's
Eichard III, which contains a few,35 especially
" Cf. Schillers siimtliche Werke, Sakular Ausgabe,
Bd. 3, pp. v-xxii.
*" Gloster's opening lines resemble Schiller :
Our stern alarums changed to merry meetings,
Our dreadful marches to delightful measures.
But after the first act, there are very few such con-
structions.
168
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
[Vol. xxx, No. 6.
in the first act, and Leisewitz's Julius von
Tarent (1776), in which there are none3' at
all. It is therefore safe to assume that the
conceit is Schiller's own.8'
And then as to generalities. Schiller took
himself seriously. Only once, in Wallensteins
Lager, did he become witty, and this was imi-
tative ; only once, in Bittschrift, did he become
actually humorous, and this poem is humorous
because Schiller wrote it. There is, to be sure,
tragic humor in his dramas, just as there is
some real humor in Pegasus im Joch, but there
is more contrast than humor in this poem.
And such a verse (77) as " Der Vogel und der
Ochs an e i n e m Seile " is doubly typical of
Schiller. According to Madame de Stael, his
conscience was his muse. His genius was in-
explicable. His information, his cultural back-
ground, was acquired by hard and prolonged
study of history and philosophy, art and aes-
thetics. That he was an idealist was not so
much a matter of merit as of instinct, and, in-
stinctive idealist that he was, he waged a sort
of reconciliatory war with gross and inevitable
realities. He had most definite ideas, at least
after he had written his first three dramas, as
to how things should be; he always realized,
to his poetic sorrow, how things really were.
His body and his country were poles removed
from what he desired; his mind and his soul
were, on this account, always worried, but
"There are sentences in Julius von Tarent that
are just the reverse of what Schiller would have
written. For example, the Fflrst says (V, 7) to
Guide : " Wer fiber ein Unglttck verrttckt ist, sieht
ja immer das entgegengesetzte Glttck." This is only
talking about a contrast; Schiller drew contrasts.
"That Schiller was influenced in this matter by
Rousseau is highly improbable. Josef Fusseder's dis-
sertation, Beitrdge zur Kenntnis der Sprache Rous-
seaus, Leipzig, 1909, does not touch upon Rousseau's
use of contrasts, and Ernst Schtttte's dissertation,
Studien zum Stil von Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Mar-
burg, 1910, has a section entitled: I. Der Kontrast:
1. In der Komposition (z.B. der Nouvelle Helotse).
2. Die Antithese innerhalb des einzelnen Satzes.
Only the " Teildruck " of this study was accessible
to the writer and the part dealing with contrasts is
not included. But to judge from the space allotted
to other phases of the matter, Schtitte has very little
to say about Rousseau's use of contrasts.
rarely disconcerted, rarely perturbed beyond
the point of creating. Though his troubles
would have overwhelmed an ordinary individ-
ual, there were but few times when he was
forced to say with Wagner's Hans Sachs:
"'s will halt nicht gehen." His life was one
of storm and sunshine. A keen observer, he
lived in a world of contrasts. He was speak-
ing for himself and to Fate when he made
Eudenz say to Bertha:
Ihr zeiget mir das hochste Himmelsgliick
Und stilrzt mich tief in e i n e m Augenblick.
Ehetorical contrasts came, therefore, natural to
him; and he liked them. In a long letter to
Korner (August 29, 1787), he wrote of a cer-
tain Frau Bohlin as follows : "Ein vortreffliches
Gedicht 'Wind und Manner' (als Gegen-
satz zu dem englischen ' Wolken und Weiber ')
das im D. Mercur steht ist von ihr." That is
to say, Schiller found this poem " vortrefflich "
because of its contrast. And in another letter
to Korner (April 15, 1786), he said of him-
self : " Eine Mischung ohngef ahr von Specu-
lation und Feuer, Phantasie und Ingenium,
Kalte und Warme, meine ich zuweilen an mir
zu beobachten." In other words, he detected,
at least he thought he did, unusual contrasts in
his own nature; but this is a very common
observation.
To conclude, however, that Schiller used
rhetorical contrasts because he liked them, or
because he felt now one way now another,
throws light on nothing; the same might be
said of Macaulay and his style. But if we con-
tend that Schiller voluntarily used about twelve
hundred contrasts in his twelve main dramas
because, as has been suggested above, of his dis-
satisfaction with things as they were, and be-
cause of his consequent desire to idealize the
worthy by bringing it face to face with the un-
worthy,38 and thereby show how beautiful the
MCf. Schiller's Gedanken iiber den G-ebrauch des
Gemeinen und 'Niedrigen in der Kunst, Siikular Aus-
gabe, Bd. 12, S. 283 : " Ein gemeiner Kopf wird den
edelsten Stoff durch eine gemeine Behandlung ver-
unehren; ein grosser Kopf und ein edler Geist hin-
gegen wird selbst das Gemeine zu adeln wissen." And
June, 1915.]
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
169
one was and how detestable the other, and in-
cidentally heighten the effect of the theme
treated, we indubitably approach the truth.
One of his most significant poems in this con-
nection is Das Ideal und das Leben (1795).
And if we substitute " Der Idealismus " as the
antecedent of " Er " in the place of Max in
Wallensteins Tod (1. 3445), to which no
one can object, and change " denn " (1. 3445)
to "doch," "seh" (1. 3444) to "sah," and
"liebenden" (1. 3449) to "lauternden," we
allow Schiller (Wallenstein) not only to ex-
plain but also to appraise his many contrasts
as follows :
Und kalt und farblos sah ich's (das Leben) vor mir
liegen.
Doch er stand neben mir wie meine Jugend,
Er machte mir das Wirkliche zum Traum,
Um die gemeine Deutlichkeit der Dinge
Den goldnen Duft der MorgenrSte webend —
Im Feuer seines lauternden GefUhls
Erhoben sich, mir selber zum Erstaunen,
Des Lebens flach alltagliche Gestalten.
It would be, then, a grievous error to believe
that Schiller did not fully appreciate the ulti-
mate value of the imperfect. In his Brief 'e
uber die asthetische Erziehung des Menschen
(1795), he formulated his doctrine in this re-
gard. After showing how art did not nourish
in the various nations so long as they were
politically independent and economically pros-
perous, and how art did flourish with the de-
cline of tlie State, he sums up the whole matter
in this statement : " Wohin wir immer in der
vergangenen Zeit unsere Augen richten, da
finden wir, dass Geschmack und Freiheit ein-
precisely the same idea is expressed in Das M&dchen
von Orleans, the prefatory poem to Die Jungfrau, an
idea that accompanied Schiller throughout his en-
tire life. The first four verses of the last stanza
contain the key to the whole situation:
Es liebt die Welt, das Strahlende zu schwarzen
Und das Erhabene in den Staub zu ziehen;
Doch fttrchte nicht! Es giebt noch schone Herzen,
Die fttr das Hohe, Herrliche erglUhen.
And in a practical way, we have the same idea in
Tell (11. 2921-2922) where it is a question of dispos-
ing of the hat:
Der Tyrannei musst' er zum Werkzeug dienen;
Er soli der Freiheit ewig Zeichen sein.
ander fliehen und dass die Schonheit nur auf
den Untergang heroischer Tugenden ihre Herr-
schaft griindet." 39 He poetized this same idea,
among other places, in Die Jungfrau (11. 3165-
3179). It was necessary for Johanna to have
her adventure with Lionel, to break her oath,
to become weak, before she could really become
strong. It was therefore the very colorlessness
and coldness of life that gave Schiller his ar-
tistic energy; it was his country's lack of free-
dom that inspired him with good taste. He
was an unbending idealist surrounded by the
crassest of realities. And in him the statement,
le style c'est I'homme, received a brilliant ex-
emplification, for his life and his ideals are
memorialized in the form, the style, the gram-
mar of his works just as clearly as they are in
their content.
ALLEK WILSON PORTERFIELD.
Barnard College.
THE BOOKS OF SIE SIMON DE BUELEY,
1387
The inventory of the books of Sir Simon de
Burley, which is given below, has been noted
by various scholars, but so far seems to have
escaped printing.1 The list is interesting be-
" It is hardly necessary to state that this work
abounds in contrasts; but such occur rarely in Les-
sing's Erziehung des Menschengeschleohts. Even in
a foot-note, Sdkular-Ausgabe, Bd. 13, S. 43, twelfth
letter', Schiller could not help but step aside and
comment OB two expressions that were of great in-
terest to him : " ausser sich sein " and " in sich
gehen." And in Andreas Streicher's Schillers
Flucht von Stuttgart, Hans Hoffmann edition, 1905,
p. 58, we are told that Schiller on reading Klop-
stock's odes found one that interested him so that,
though pressed for time, he immediately wrote " ein
GegenstUck dazu." This has not been preserved, but
we may be certain that it contrasted strongly with
Klopstock, and that he wrote it in order to make
a contrast.
*J. H. Round, Dictionary of National Biography:
T. Gottlieb, Ueber MittelalterUche Bibliotheken,
Leipzig, 1890, (Number 441, Great Britain) : E.
Savage, Old English Libraries, London, 1911, p. 272.
Reference is also made to the catalogue in B. Bot-
field's MS. book, Private Libraries of the Middle
Ages.
170
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
[Vol. xxx, No. 6.
cause it serves as one of the comparatively few
fourteenth century catalogues of private Eng-
lish libraries; because it offers evidence of a
somewhat unique sort as to the presence in
England of certain romance manuscripts, and
finally because it is an index to the literary
taste of one of the most prominent men of his
day. Burley's rise to fortune began in the
reign of Edward III ; it was brilliant and
rapid.2 As the tutor of young Prince Eichard
he seems to have won a confidence which later
deepened into enviable royal favor. It was
Burley who helped to promote and bring about
the happy marriage of Eichard II with Anne
of Bohemia, and his was a lasting place of
honor at their court. He held many high
offices, among them the Wardenship of the
Cinque ports. Indeed he seems to have kept
his dignity and wealth to within a few months
of that tragic crisis when the Earl of Arundel
dared refuse even the Queen begging on her
knees, so the story goes, for Burley's life.8
The literary interests and associates of a man
like Burley are significant. It is possible, as
Mr. Bound thinks, that Burley's taste for ro-
mances which is so amply evidenced by the
large number of them in his library, goes back
to his early friendship with Froissart, who
found him " a gentle knight and according to
my understanding of great good sense." * If
we pass into the realm of conjecture it is not
impossible to fancy that Burley may have
known another famous lover of romance, the
poet Chaucer. Their paths seem narrowly to
have crossed on several occasions; in 1376
Chaucer was sent with John de Burley, Simon's
brother, on a diplomatic mission — " in secretis
negociis Domini Eegis"; in October, 1386,5
Chaucer was a witness at the Scrope-Grosvenor
2 For details concerning Burley see Round's brief
but excellent life; see also J. R. Hulburt, Chaucer's
Official Life, Menasha, U. S. A., 1912, pp. 38-9. Cf.
the Life Records of Chaucer, Chaucer Society, 1900,
•with the Index by E. P. Kuhl, Modern Philology, X,
p. 531.
* Chronigue de la Traison et Mart de Richart,
Deux Roy Dengleterre, ed. B. Williams, London, 1846,
Eng. Hist. Soc., p. 9.
'Froissart, tr. Lord Berners, Bk. VIII, Ch. 51.
' Life Records, p. 201 ; no. 98.
controversy ; ' Burley in December. Both men
were Justices of the Peace in Kent in 1385-6,7
though no record of their joint sitting has yet
been found. The probabilities, one cannot call
them more, seem to point to the meeting of the
two men, and it is not beyond possibility that
Chaucer may even have seen these twenty-one
"bokes, clad in blak or rede," like the twenty
of his pilgrim clerk.
The little library, which was nevertheless
large for those days, was of notable variety. It
was in " diverges langages," chiefly French and
Latin. It included romances, chansons de geste,
philosophy, didactic instruction, religious and
historical writings. The manuscripts were
handsomely bound, and one or two seem to have
been illuminated. On the whole it was a hand-
some addition to the royal library which was, if
extant records can be trusted, of very meager
sort.8
Extract from an Inventory of the goods of Simon
Burley at the Mews and at Baynard's Castle, 8 Nov.
11 Ric. II. (Brit. Mus. Add. Ms. 25459, f. 206,
Copy.)
Les livres.
Primerement j. livre de Romans et de Ymagery de
Buys et de Aigrement.1
It. j. graunt livre de la Bible cue les histoire
Escolastre.
'laid., p. 264, no. 193.
'/fctd., p. 254, no. 183, Writ of Association of
Chaucer with the warden of the Cinque Ports and
others, Oct. 12, 1385; Commission of the Peace to —
Burley and others, including Chaucer, June 28, 1386,
Life Records, p. 259, No. 188. My colleague, Dr. B.
H. Putnam, informs me that an examination of the
Payments of Salary to the Justices of the Peace
which are enrolled on the Pipe Rolls would give con-
clusive evidence as to whether Burley actually served.
In many cases great officials did not.
8 E. Edwards, Libraries and their Founders, Lond.,
1865, p. 390 ff.
1 Romance of Bueve (Buef, Bues, Bue) d'Aigremont,
the story of the death of Bueve. Gautier, Bibliographie
des Chansons de Geste, 1897, p. 68: "On a donng
ce nom a un Episode considerable des Quatre Fils
Aimon qui forme 1'introduction de la grande guerre
entre Charlemagne et les fils d'Aymon." Gaston
Paris thought it probable that this episode originally
existed as a separate poem (Histoire Poetique de
Charlemagne, 1905, pp. 300-1).
June, 1915.]
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
171
It. j. autre livre de Romans en prose covere de
blanc cuer.
It. j. livre de Sidrak."
It. j. livre de Romans oue ymagery covere au peel
de veel.
It. j. livre novelle de X comandementz covere de
cuer rouge.
It. j. livre de govrement de Roys et du Prynces.
It. j. livre de Romans de William Bastard * covere
de blanc.
' Sidrac and Boctus, a summary of medieval sci-
ence in the form of a catechism in which King Boctus
questions the wise clerk Sidrac (Shadrack, Daniel
III). A semi-romantic character is given to the
whole by the various adventures of Sidrac who comes
first of all to tell Boctus why the fortress which he
is building falls every night (cf. story of Vorti-
gern's tower). See Ward, Catalogue of Romances I,
903-22; K. Biilbring (Sidrac in England, Beitrage
z. rom. u. engl. Phil., Festgabe f. W. Foerster, Halle,
1902, p. 451) finds the earliest English reference to
Sidrac in PricTce of Conscience. Cf. A. Hahn, Quel-
lenuntersuchungen zu Richard Rolles Englischen
Schriften, Halle, 1900, pp. 19, 34 and 36-7. For a
full and interesting discussion of Sidrac, see K
Langlois, La Connaissance de la Nature et du Monde
au Moyen-Age, Paris, 1911, pp. 180-264.
* Probably a French version of the famous mediae-
val treatise De Regimine Principum by Guido de
Colonna (.-Egidius Romanus, d. 1316). An English
version made presumably about 1387 is ascribed by
Warton to Trevisa (Hist. Eng. Poetry II, 128). A
well-known instance of the use of De Reg. Princ. is
in Hoccleve's Regement of Princes (Booke of Gov-
ernance) written about 1412. Cf. A. Aster, Das Ver-
hdltnis des altenglischen gedichtes von Hoccleve zu
seinen quellen, Leip., 1888. The "Liber de Regi-
mine Principum " is mentioned — to give one instance
out of many — in the catalogue of Dover Priory, made
in 1389; cf. M. R. James, Ancient Libraries of Can-
terbury and Dover, p. 463.
* In the list of books given by Guy de Beauchamp
to Bardesley Abbey in the early part of the four-
teenth century reference is made to " Le Romance
de Willame de Loungspfi " which I should be inclined
to identify with this Romans de William Bastard.
William Longsword was the illegitimate son of
Henry II and Fair Rosamond, and the stories of his
romantic birth as well as of his lively adventures
would no doubt give rise to many tales which might
well, long before the fourteenth century, have
reached the dignity of a roman. His association
with Ranulf, Earl of Chester, of whom, on the evi-
dence of Piers Plowman (Passus VII, 11) we know
" rymes " were made, would further strengthen this
conjecture. Of quaint antiquarian interest is John
Leland's " historical romance," Longsword, Earl of
It. j
rouge.
It. j
blanc.
It. j
It. j
rouge
It. j
verse [ s
It. j.
It. j.
ment.
It. j.
It. j.
It. j.
It. j.
cure.8
. livre de philosophic rumpue covere de cuer
livre du Romans du Roy Arthur covere de
. livret q[ue] commence misere mei deus.
. autre livre de X comandementz covere de
. livre de papier oue diverses paroles de di-
] langages.
livre de les prophecies de Merlyn."
livret de Romans oue un ymage al comence-
livre de Romans de Meis covere de blanc.'
livre de Englys del Forster et del Sangler.1
livret de bruyt.
livret de Romans de Maugis covere de Rouge
LAURA A. HIBBARD.
Mount Holyoke College.
Salisbury, Lond. 1762. For an extant mediaeval
poem on William Longsword see A. Jubinal, Nouveau
Recueil de Conies, Dits, Fabliaux des XIHe, XlVe
et XV e Siecles, Du bon William Longespee (MS.
Bibl. Cotonn. Julius AV).
" Ky vodra de duel et de piKi tres-grant
De bon William Longespe'e ly hardy combatant."
Burley's book might, however, be a chronicle of Wil-
liam the Conqueror who was commonly called the
Bastard. Cf. for instance, the Cronica Bastardi in
the catalogue of the books of the Austin friars,
York, ed. M. R. James.
6 Cf. L. A. Paton, Notes on Manuscripts of the
Prophecies de Merlin, Publ. Modern Lang. Assoc.,
XXVIII, 121-139 (1913) : Ward, Catalogue of Ro-
mances I, 371-374. Whether Burley's book was a
version of the thirteenth century prose romance Les
Prophecies, or whether it was merely one of the
many of the " pseudo- Joachimite Prophesies of Mer-
lin current in the thirteenth and fourteenth cen-
tury," it is impossible, from the mere title, to
determine.
* Romans de Meis. I do not identify this reference.
'Probably an exemplum tale. Cf. Ward, Cata-
logue of Romances, II.
"Romance of Maugis d'Aigremont, son of Buef
J 'Aigremont. Cf. Langlois, Les Epoptes francaises,
1878, I, 241, for MSS. This chanson de geste has
been edited by F. Castets, Revue des languea ro-
mones XXXVI, 5-259, 1892. It should be noted that
of the three extant manuscripts of Maugis earlier
than the fifteenth century that now in Peterhouse
College, Cambridge, 2.05, was given by Dr. John
172
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
[Vol. xxx, No. 6.
ORPHIC ECHOES IN MODERN LYRIC
POETRY: ERNST LISSAUER'S
DER STROM1
Most potent, perhaps, of all the influences
that have left an impress upon later dreams
concerning the essence and meaning of life, is
the influence exerted down the long ages by the
thought and symbolism of the Orphic Mystery.
The Orphic Mystery was the crystallization in
ritual of man's mystic realization of the iden-
tity of his turbulent transitory Self with the
divine eternal All; and later Greek philosophy
is only a farther development of early Orphic
speculations. Recent appreciative reinterpre-
tation of Pre-Socratic philosophy has shown
that the mood of passionate subjective panthe-
ism— or rather panentheism — which character-
ized those early philosophers, and which is
always contemporaneous with fervid lyric ex-
pression, is allied in spirit to the mood domi-
nant in the days of the Renaissance, and again
in the days of German Romanticism. It is
likewise the mood — growing in the world to-
day— which forms the basis of our modern
vitalistic monism, with its buoyant affirmation
of the world-will's tireless creative energy, and
its strong sense of the kinship, change, and
re-embodiment of all phenomenal things. And
so this world-old thought, this world-old sym-
bolism, is finding in present-day poetry renewed
expression and reinterpretation.
In most of the poets the motives appear more
or less fugitively, and, except, perhaps, in
Wille and Stephan George, are not organized
into a definite scheme; but in Lissauer's Der
Strom we find a definite framework of philo-
sophic thought underlying and organizing the
collection of poems. The volume gives typical,
clear, and systematized expression to these
Warkeworth, master of Peterhouse, in 1481. Cf. M.
E, James, Catalogue of Manuscripts of Peterhouse,
p. 236, No. 201.
Details concerning the various extant MSS. of
the romances in Barley's library are for the most
part omitted, as the writer hopes shortly to publish
a study of the romances named in medieval cata-
logues of English libraries.
1 Ernst Lissauer, Der Strom. Jena, 1912.
world-old themes, and it is one of the most
beautiful and significant volumes of lyric poetry
published in late years. It is the work of a
mature and poised, yet passionate poet, whose
peculiar temper and philosophy of life and
things — suffusing and at the same time focal-
izing the collection — gives significance and pur-
pose to all the poems in their relation to one
another and to the thought and mood of the
whole. While a definite plan holds them to-
gether, each is also effective in itself.
Lissauer's work shows that harmony between
the centrifugal and centripetal tendencies, be-
tween the dynamic and the static, which is the
ideal alike of life and of art. While abandon-
ing himself to Dionysiac enthusiasm and to a
consciousness of the abounding fulness of life
which pours itself out unwearyingly into end-
less manifoldness, he is no less a votary of
Apolline unity, concentration, and control. His
boundless ' one-and-all ' feeling is caught and
fixed in definite sensuous images, as well as in
the definite plot which organizes the collection ;
yet the constant struggle of his passionate pan-
theism for escape from the limiting form gives
to his work suggestiveness and a subtle, live
fluidity of line free from all rigidity.
This poetry is in the finest sense symbolic:
fugitively symbolic in a way, yet nevertheless
quite definite and unmistakable in mood and
meaning. Perfectly clear is the central symbol,
that of the stream, the image with which the
book opens and closes. The choice and the
interpretation of this symbol illustrates Lis-
sauer's ego-centric and yet cosmic starting-
point. " Die Welt und mich, mich und die
Welt" is written on his banner. The stream
it is which binds to one another all parts of
the earth : the water-stream on the one hand,
thought of chiefly as the far-wandering •warm-
ing Gulf Stream and as the fertilizing Nile;
and the earth-stream on the other hand, the
'open road' which flows loudly and far out
into the land. But the stream is the symbol,
also, of the typical poet, all-embracive and
blithe; it is the symbol, indeed, of Lissauer
himself, the poet-priest; as — having sent his
soul abroad hungry for experience, caught now
and again in the turmoil of passion, of sorrow ;
June, 1915.]
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
173
having found lasting joy, finally, in the pos-
session of wife and child while remaining
attuned none the less to the struggle and hun-
ger of humanity — he thus grows gradually
from youth to manhood, dedicating himself
ever more consciously and joyously to his life-
work, and traveling steadily ' oceanward ' con-
fident and unafraid. So he sings 2 of the
stream and of his art :
Wie er wandernd Meere an Meere, Lander an
Lander bindet,
Also treibe ich
Umarmend Ufer, Inseln, Lander, Meere, viele,
viele.
Vertrauen
Und eins ist not: sei glaubig! Spende
Dich dem Geschick wie ein Segel dem Eeisewind !
Fiirchte nicht fremde Gelande!
Sei deiner Zukunft glaubig, wie ein Strom dem
Meer, in das er rinnt!
This theme — the story of an artist's develop-
ment and of his world-saving mission — is the
old theme of the Romanticists; and it is also
a flitting tradition which has haunted the ages
and which harks back finally to the Orphic
Mystery with its tale of Orpheus, prototype of
all singers. But not only does the central
theme of the book reflect world-old mystic
thought; Lissauer reinterprets all the chief
dreams and symbols found by man in his
earliest gropings for an explanation of life and
things, and he makes them vital and valid for
us to-day.
Most pervasive of them all is the dream —
the more than dream — of the intimate oneness
of all things with one another and with the
great all, now, and in the past, and in the
future. Closely related to this, the most funda-
mental of all dreams, is the weird dream of the
never-ending round of restless phenomenal
transformation that takes place as the eternal
' soul ' enters body after body, changing, de-
veloping, finding release at last from the wheel
of sense-birth; and this dream of birth and
* " Wie der Golfstrom." Compare further " An
den Nil," " Lobgesang," " Zuversicht," " Grabschrift
f«r einen Dichter."
re-birth, and final release is in its turn hardly
to be separated from that other weird, wistful
dream of the soul's outgo from a golden home-
land; of the doom laid upon it to wander un-
told ages long, down the abyss of time, over
the field of shows, vaguely reminiscent, ever
and anon, of the primal glory to which it will
find a late golden return.
Nachgefiihl
Oft ist ea mir, ich war vormals ein Stern untej
Sternen,
In das Gesetz der Himmel eingeschlossen von
bannender Kraft,
Aber gelost aus der seligen Haft,
In Fall
Durch das All,
Reise ich rastlos von Fernen zu Fernen.
Irr auf die Erde verschlagen,
Mensch unter Menschen, leb' ich nun meine Zeit.
Durch wiramelnde Mengen, von Taumel getragen,
Schimmernd,
Zertrilmmernd,
Stilrz' ich in jiihe Unendlichkeit.
Yet Lissauer does not dwell overmuch on
this more troubled mood; he is too healthy an
optimist, and too thoroughly a monist, not to
affirm buoyantly the ' here and now ' which,
after all, seems intimately identical with the
eternal. " Mitten im Tag wittre ich Ewig-
keit," he says. In music — the great ' magical '
panacea of the Mystery — he finds release from
the disturbing problem of the finite, and in his
poems on music and musicians he dreams
ecstatically of spheral music and the basic
harmony of things.
Heiligend fliesst Musik mir im begliickten Blut.
Es rilhrt mir an die Sterne eine weite Kiihle. . .
Durch meine klingenden HSnde
Jubilierend braust Musik der Welt.
Tn this connection the motive of ' initiation ' —
of the granting of final ' knowledge ' — is sug-
gested. For when, troubled, he climbs high up
into a belfry, the solemn sounding of the bell
reveals to him the great Mystery.
Mein Haupt lauscht
Und ftillt sich schwer mit dem bebenden Klange,
Und ehern berauscht
Wird es aufgetan von der hammernden Kunde
Und vernimmt alles Geschehn in der tonenden
einen Sekunde.
174
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
[Vol. xxx, No. 6.
Ausaummt
Die Glocke und iat verstummt, —
Erwacht aus dem Schlag,
Wissend schau' ich erstaunt auf den verworrenen
Tag.
Earth, water, fire, air — these four ' elements '
that have played so conspicuous a part in
religious and philosophic tradition — are funda-
mental notes, also, in Lissauer's thought and
symbolism.
The significance of water has already been
noted. The earth he pictures as the great solid
stage over which life's varied never-ending
show passes; and he bids his soul travel forth
over it tirelessly.
Even more important than water and earth
in his scheme of symbolism, are fire and air,
or light and wind. These two he calls his pro-
genitors. They are symbols of the dualistic
principles of life, of that polarity which is life's
fundamental phenomenon.
Herkunft
Wer hat mich gezeugt,
Dass ich bin voll Gewalt und Flamme?
Welche Amme
Hat mich mit Atem und Glut gesaugt?
Auf einer Pappel schwankendem Stamme,
Diinkt mich, wohnt' ich als Kind,
Ob mir fuhr Wolke und Blitz,
Oft rauschte ein Wehen gelind
Und wiegte den wiegenden Sitz.
Der ich bin, wie ich ward in Stunde und Jahr,
Licht
Breit auf dem Angesicht,
Von Wind durchstreift Stirne und Haar,
Von geschauter, gespurter Welt zu strahlender
Lohe entfacht,
Von Sturm die vollstromenden Adern durchwiihlt,
Das selige Blut brausend in Taumel und Ton,
Von Flammen durchzuckt, doch von scharf auf-
springenden Winden gekiihlt, —
Ich bin des Feuers und des Windes eingeborner
Sohn.
Fire, with which he feels himself to have
formerly been more directly one, is the vital
power which quickens and impels his exuberant
blood. Yet the fire in the blood seems less last-
ing to him, after all, than the wind-soul which
he feels to be the inmost essence of himself as
of all things, subtly, closely one, as it is, with
the great universal world-breath. This great
universal world-breath, all-embracing air, never-
dying, wander-hungry wind, he celebrates un-
wearyingly. More than any poet before him he
sings of the wind and its wanderings; and the
group of poems on the wind is one of the most
striking and beautiful parts of the book.
Beautiful, too, and well carried out, is the
conception of his individual wind-soul. He
sends it forth to travel everywhither and to
make all things its own even as does the world-
soul.
O du meine Seele, die du begliickst mein Blut,
meinen Leib, all mein atmendes Sein,
Du fliegst auf in die Welt, und die Welt wird mein,
Menschen und Fluten und Felsen und Sterne, —
0 du meine Seele, wie ftihl" icli dich reisen!
O du meine Seele, du sollst mirniemala wieder
kehren !
Du sollst wandernd wie Wind dich mit Samen von
Welt beschweren.
But when, grief-stricken, he sits alone, suddenly
he feels his far-traveling wind-soul close by
him, his best and truest friend.
Atem weht mich an, ich bin nicht allein,
Weiter wird die Stube, heller wird der Schein.
Leise um mich schattet ein betreuend Du,
Meine Seele, ich hore, du sprichst mir zu.
And for a while they nestle closely to one an-
other, keeping the wind from the restless world
without shut away.
O du meine Seele wie sind wir selig zu zwein!
Beschlossen ist das Haus, verloschen ist das Licht,
Selig im Dunkeln liegen und lauschen wir, —
Wind aus der Welt will herein zu mir und dir.
Such, then, are the fundamental notes struck
by Lissauer in this volume. One is reminded
of Orphic and Stoic and Romantic thought, of
Nietzsche, of Whitman. But who can wish to
emphasize influences where every word, every
image, every thought, bears on it the seal of a
personal temper and a personal vision of life
and living? And yet, although so personal in
his vision, Lissauer is at the same time an
June, 1915.]
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
175
embodiment — as indeed every real poet should
be — of the dominant mood of his age: that
mood of buoyant affirmation which character-
izes our modern ' monism.'
And the outer form in which these thoughts
and moods and experiences have found expres-
sion is equally individual. Rime is retained;
but the rhythm manifests a vibrant life and
variety which can be gained only by utmost
freedom from conventional standards of verse.
The metre is at one time pulsatingly expres-
sive of ecstatic abandon ; is at other times deli-
cately sensitive; again, it is permeated by a
sense of restraint, or rolls along, ample, sus-
tained, majestic.
Thus Lissauer's Der Strom is in thought as
in form one of the finest achievements of mod-
ern lyric poetry; and it is rich in emotional
suggestion just because the fundamental mo-
tives and symbols are the world-old themes
which have ever been dear to men: symbols
which have haunted dreamers as prefiguring,
in myth, the final 'knowledge' manifest to
man at the end of his mystic quest.
LOITISE MALLINCKRODT KUEFFNER.
Vassar College.
THE ORDER OF MONOSYLLABLES AND
DISSYLLABLES IN ALLITERATION
/
Jespersen in his second edition of Growth
and Structure of the English Language (p.
232 f.) says: "In combinations of a mono-
syllable and a dissyllable by means of and, the
usual practice is to place the short word first.
. . . Thus we say 'bread and butter,' not
' butter and bread ' ; further : bread and water,
milk and water, cup and saucer, wind and
weather, head and shoulders, by fits and
snatches, from top to bottom, rough and ready,
rough and tumble, free and easy, dark and
dreary, high and mighty, up and doing."
Professor Scott, in an article in Modern
Language Notes, XXVIII, 237 f., contends
that this statement does not give a true impres-
sion of English usage. He says : " It implies,
if it does not say outright, that rhythm groups
of the type 'butter and bread' occur in Eng-
lish but rarely. It also suggests that such
phrases lack idiomatic force. I submit that
just the contrary is true; phrases of this type
occur frequently, and they are strongly idio-
matic." Professor Scott appends a list of 262
phrases taken at random, and finds that 42
per cent, are of the " unusual," that is, of the
" butter and bread " type.
I have classified alliterating monosyllabic-
dissyllabic and dissyllabic-monosyllabic combi-
nations. My material I have found in Hans
Willert's Die alliterierenden Formeln der eng-
lischen Sprache (Halle, 1911). Willert has
gathered under various headings over 600 pages
of alliterating phrases from the works of over
one hundred authors. Such a stupendous Opus
does not of course exhaust the alliterating
groups in English, and some even of the fairly
common groups are lacking, as one reviewer has
shown. However, his lists seem to me to be
inclusive and representative enough to permit
of their statistical use for or against Jespersen.
I shall follow Willert's classification, cite a few
phrases of each class, and then give the numer-
ical relation of the two rhythmic types: (1)
Words of the same Root; (2) Nouns; (3) Ad-
jectives; (4) Verbs. I shall give them in al-
phabetic order, treating the vowel-alliterations
together.
(1) WORDS OF THE SAME ROOT
Bread and
arms and armour
beds and bedding
climb and clamber
duke and duchess
faults and failings
feed and foster
float and flutter
butter type
foul and filthy
gleam and glimmer
god and goddess
goose and gander
host and hostess
judge and jury
just and unjust
Butter and bread type
blossom and bloom
Total in Willert 17 in first type; 4 in second
type.
176
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
[Vol. xxx, No. 6.
(2) NOUNS
Bread and butter type
aim and object blood and breeding
arms and ensigns blot and blunder
end and object blows and buffets
back and belly bone and breeding
back and body boon and blessing
bag and baggage boughs and branches
bags and boxes box and barrel
bags and bundles box and bottle
balls and banquets brain and bosom
bands and banners brake and brier
bed and bolster broil and battle
beds and boxes brooch and bracelet
bed and breakfast broom and bracken
beef and biscuit bumps and bruises
bit and bridle bush and bramble
blight and blackness bush and brier
blood and body
Butter and bread type
adder and eel body and brain
uncles and aunts body and breast
banner and brand bower and bed
blemish and blot breeches and boots
body and bones bullocks and beeves
Total in Willert 215 in first type; 48 in sec-
ond type.
(3) ADJECTIVES
Bread and butter type
old and ugly cold and quiet
base and bloody cool and cunning
base and brutal cracked and crumpled
best and boldest crisp and curly
best and bravest damp and dirty
best and brightest damp and dreary
big and burly dark and deadly
bleak and barren dark and dingy
bleak and bitter dark and dirty
blithe and bonny dark and dJsmal
blue and brilliant dark and doubtful
bold and brilliant dark an;! dreadful
brave and brilliant dark and dreary
bright and balmy dark and drizzly
bright and blooming deep and dreamless
bright and busy dim and dirty
brisk and busy dim and dismal
calm and careless dry and deadened
calm and cloudless dry and dusty
clean and quiet dull and dismal
clear and quiet dull and dreamy
coarse and common dull and dreary
coarse and cruel dull and drowsy
cold and callous faint and faded
cold and careless faint and footsore
cold and clammy fair and favoured
cold and cruel fair ajid fertile
Butler and bread type
favoured and fat feeble and faint
fearful and faint feeble and few
Total in Willert 158 in first type; 15 in sec-
ond type.
(4) VERBS
Bread
bark and bellow
beat and batter
beg and borrow
bite and blister
bleed and blister
blush and blunder
boil and bubble
brag and bluster
bruised and bleeding
buy and borrow
catch and carry
and butter type
clothe and comfort
come and carry
crouch and cower
fall and nutter
fawn and flatter
feast and fatten
fit and furnish
fix and fasten
flash and flicker
flush and fluster
flush and frighten
Butter and bread type
baffle and beat nicker and fade
blossom and bear nutter and flap
Total in Willert 64 in first type ; 17 in second
type.
Summary: Willert has a total of 538 of
these phrases. In 454 of them the monosyllable
precedes the dissyllable. We have then over
84 per cent, of the " bread and butter " type,
and less than 16 per cent, of the "butter and
bread " type. These percentages, it seems to
me, justify Jespersen's statement, "the usual
practice is to place the short word first," as far,
at least, as the alliterating combinations are
concerned.
JOHN WHTTE.
Jfew York University.
GINfiS PfiREZ DE HITA
Guerras civiles de Granada, Primera Parte.
Eeproduccion de la edicion principe del afio
1595, publicada por PAULA BLANCHARD-
DEMOUGE. Madrid, Bailly-Bailliere, 1913.
8vo., cxviii + a-^n + 337 pp. Facsimile title-
page. (Junta, para ampliacion de estudios
e investigaciones cientificas and Centro de
estudios historicos.)
Here is a splendidly printed reproduction of
the first edition of Hita's Historia de los
June, 1915.]
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTE®
177
Bandos de los Zegries y Abencerrajes, edited
by a former student of the Universities of
Toulouse and Paris. It is provided with a long
and important introduction, a bibliography of
the early editions, comments on the style and
syntax of Hita, a few variant readings, some
historical notes, and a list of Documentos re-
lativos a los moros y a los reyes catolicos en la
epoca de sus conquistas en Andalucia y toma
de Granada. In importance the work tran-
scends that of many reprints of first editions,
and I shall try, in the limited space at my dis-
posal, to set forth the points which require
comment.
Let it be said at once that we have not here
a critical text, but only a reprint, and with
punctuation and accent modernized. For rea-
sons soon to be stated, a complete list of vari-
ant readings from later editions is a physical
impossibility. Just how perfect the reproduc-
tion is, one cannot say, without a comparison
with the rare original ; there is no Fe de erratas
to betray a guilty conscience. But certain ob-
vious mistakes suggest that the work of colla-
tion might have been better done, or, at least,
that an attempt should have been made to cor-
rect the misprints of the original.1
It appears from the facts set forth in the
Bibliography that the need of a reproduction
of the first edition was greater than anyone
suspected. The book was first printed at Sara-
gossa, 1595,2 and editions succeeded one an-
*For example: p. 200, line 3, brolle for brote; p.
253, 1. 26, este for esta; 1. 29, desdicha for desdichada;
I. 36, emplea for empleara; p. 290, 1. 12, casa for
coaa; p. 291, 1. 32, al enojada, (?), unintelligible.
In the well-known romance on pages 252-3 (Wolf,
Primavera y flor, no. 85o), the refrain is printed in
the way that Byron took it : " ; Ay de ml, Alhama ! "
I don't know that this reading is quite impossible,
but the " ,Ay de mi Alhama! " of most recent edi-
tors is more plausible. — The number of misprints in
the Introduction does not increase one's faith in the
accuracy of the text.
* A report that there was an edition of Alcalfl
1588 found credence with some, in particular Durfin,
in the Bibliography of the Komancero general (vol.
II, p. 688). It arose from a misprint, 1588 for
1598, in the Catalogue de Soubise, Paris, 1789. The
mistake was pointed out as far back as Brunei's
other rapidly, there being at least nine more
within twenty years. But an edition published
at Seville in 1613, and bearing upon the title-
page " en esta ultima impression corregida y
emendada " presented a version completely
altered. According to the editress (p. xciii),
no edition later than 1619 has followed that
of Saragossa 1595 ; all the innumerable editions
later than 1619 adopted the text of Seville
1613. Hence the prime importance of the
present reprint.
The changes made in 1613 were not limited
to a few word substitutions; they constituted
a virtual rewriting of the whole book. The
editress presents for comparison (pp. 317-320)
nineteen variant passages from the edition of Se-
ville 1613, but these convey only a feeble notion
of the changes involved. Not only is syntax mod-
ernized, archaic words suppressed, adjectives
and epic formulae excised,3 whole sentences re-
moved, but it is hardly an exaggeration to say
that not a single sentence is left in its original
form. It follows that those of us — practically
all, I suppose, — who have read Hita only in a
modern edition, such, for instance, as that
edited by Aribau in vol. Ill of the Rivadeneyra
collection of Bibl. de Aut. esp. (1847), have
read something removed a thousand leagues
from the original thought of the author. As
a single example take this sentence (Rivad., p.
527a, lines 5 and 4 from below) : " La hermosa
Galiana vivia libre de amor, y fue herida de
amores de Hamete Sarracino, y con grande
exceso." But in the text of Saragossa 1595 we
read (p. 63, 11. 9-12) : " La hermosa Galiana,
qne hasta aquella hora siempre avia sido libre
de passion de amor, se hallo tan presa de
Hamete Sarrazino, y de su buena disposicion
Manuel du libraire, and the point would hardly be
worth mentioning, were it not that Fitzmauriee-
Kelly, after giving the date of the first edition as
1595 in the first three editions of his History of
Spanish Literature (English, Spanish, French), has,
through a mere clerical error, returned to 1588 in
the two recent ones (Paris and Madrid, 1913).
* Some brief notes are given on this matter, pp.
xcv, xcvi. The most important single change in syn-
tax is in the position of object pronouns, as, para le
matar, sin se lo merecer, changed to para matarle,
sin merecfrselo, etc.
178
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
[Vol. xxx, No. 6.
y talle, que no sabia que se hazer." This is a
fair example of the alterations introduced, and
of the way in which the reviser carried con-
densation to a point where the meaning became
obscure, and the color lost. A poem of sixty-
one lines in blank verse (cap. XVI, pp. 258-9)
is omitted in Kivad., with little loss, it must
be said. On the other hand, three moralizing
digressions, obviously out of tune with the con-
text, appear in Kivad. that are not to be found
in the 1595 text.4 The reader will have no
difficulty in understanding that whatever critics
have had to say regarding Hita's style6 must be
'Cap. IX, p. 533b; cap. X, p. 539a; cap. XVII,
p. 587a. I do not know whether all of these are also
in the 1613 text. Only the first is among the vari-
ant passages quoted by Blanchard-Demouge, but it
is evident that her selection is limited. This brings
me to an important question which the editress has
done nothing to clear up. Did all the changes appear
in the edition of Seville, 1613, or were some made
prior to it, or were many introduced in the nine-
teenth century? Not being able to consult any edi-
tions earlier than that of 1847, 1 can do no more than
point out certain details that demand investigation.
Thus, the second edition, Valencia, 1597, is declared
in the title-page to be " corregida y enmendada en
esta segunda impression," and one ought to know
what changes were actually made then. The varia-
tions in the early editions escaped the notice of
Menendez y Pelayo, who laid them all to the account
of a modernized text published by Leon Amarita
(Madrid, 1833, 2 vols. 8vo.), for which, according to
him, S. Estebanez Calderon was responsible. (See
Orlgenes de la novela, I, ccclxxxviii and ccclxxxix,
note 1.) This text was copied by Aribau for the
Rivadeneyra edition, if this last can be called an
edition of anything, for it is full of the rankest
blunders. Mile. Blanchard-Demouge takes no cog-
nizance whatever of any changes introduced in the
1833 edition, so that we are left to infer that all
date back to 1613. This much is certain, that the
nineteen extracts she presents from the text of 1613
are almost identical with the readings of Rivad.
There are a few verbal variations, and one or two
sentences appear in Rivad. which are found in 1595,
but not in 1613. It will be seen that a critical text
and a study of the different editions are badly
needed. In my remarks about the disfiguration
which the original underwent in 1613, I have as-
sumed that the latter text is practically that of
Rivad.
'Aribau, B.A.E., vol. Ill, p. xxxvi, made some
often-quoted remarks concerning the modernity of
Hita's style.
fundamentally revised. In reality, the Cas-
tilian of the first edition is quite of its time,
easy-going, loose in structure, full of unvarying
epic formulae and enthusiastic adjectives; in
short, unliterary and altogether charming. A
certain sententious compression that one notes
in the modernized text, disappears entirely.
Words which are incomprehensible in Kivad.
are found to be explained by a phrase which
the reviser omitted. Acquaintance with the
first version will increase Hita's fame, rather
than diminish it; the book, as he first wrote
it, is more naive, more logical, and more
picturesque.
Who was responsible for the rewritten ver-
sion of 1613? Mile. Blanchard-Demouge does
not touch upon this problem. Would any edi-
tor make so free with so recent a book? It
seems unlikely, especially if Hita was still liv-
ing at that time, as is probable. Was it, like
Tasso's Gerusalemme conquistata, an unhappy
second-thought of the author's failing powers?
Only a close comparison of all the early edi-
tions will bring light.
The editress, not content with having re-
stored her author to his pristine charm, en-
deavors to prove that he is guilty of none of the
faults ascribed to him. Thus she quotes (p.
xciv) an incomplete sentence from Menendez
y Pelayo (Origenes de la novela, I, ccclxxx),
who said : " su misma novela indica que no
estaba muy versado en la lengua ni en las
costumbres de los mahometanos, puesto que
acepta etimologias ridiculas, comete estupendos
anacronismos, y llega a atribuir a sus heroes
el culto de los idolos ('un Mahoma de oro ')
y a poner en su boca reminiscencias de la mito-
logia cldsica." Menendez y Pelayo was not
fooled by the revised text, which he laid, as I
have said (cf. supra, note 4), to the edition of
Madrid, 1833. Not being able to deny the
charge of anachronism (which she omits in
her quotation), the editress concentrates upon
the other points, and declares that " mitologia.
idolos de oro y etimologias ridiculas, todo eso
no se encuentra en la edicion de Zaragoza 1595 ;
todo eso fue introducido mas tarde en la edi-
ci6n de Sevilla, 1613." She is surprisingly
mistaken in her statement; anyone who had
June, 1915.]
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
179
read the proof of her reprint must have known
that the " Mahoma de oro " is mentioned on
p. 89, 1. 28, as well as p. 104, 1. 18. The phrase
"etimologias ridiculas" refers, I suppose, to
the origin which Hita offers in his first chapter
for the names Elvira and Granada, and these
are in the first edition as well as any other.
Lastly, the " reminiscencias de la mitologia
clasica " abound, on the lips of the Moors, and
in their fiestas. As examples I may cite: the
entire song of Abenamar, on p. 65; "el dios
de amor," p. 84, 1. 19; "el dios Marte," p. 99,
11. 13 and 25; and "Polyphemo" on the same
page; " Diana," " Venus," " Troya," " Achiles,"
p. 159, 11. 13-15 (this passage is not in Biva-
deneyra!); etc. So it is clear that Mile.
Blanchard-Demouge has spoken inadvisedly on
this matter.
I come now to the two important points in
the Introduction:9 if the contentions of the
editress be regarded as proved, the theories
hitherto accepted are overthrown. The first
deals with the identity of the " Moro coronista "
from whom Hita claimed to obtain much of his
material ; the second, with the accuracy of the
descriptions of fiestas and tourneys which lend
brilliance to his narrative. Blanchard-De-
mouge goes counter to all former opinions by
asserting that the clement of truth is much
greater than had been supposed.
The title-page of all the editions reads:
" agora nuevamente sacado de un libro Arauigo,
cuyo autor de vista (whatever that may mean)
fue un Moro llamado Aben Hamin, natural de
Granada." Hita, in the body of his work, men-
tions this Moor only once by name, in the third
•The Introducci6n is divided into the following
sections: I, Interns de la obra; II, Biografia de
(tines Perez de Hita; III, El poema epico de Lorca,
primer borrador de las " Ouerras civiles; " IV,
Fuentes Jiist6ricas; V, Romances de las Ouerras; VI,
Ficciin. Incidentes novelescos. Relaciones de fiestas.
There follows the Bibliografia, including an account
of Hita's sale of his MS., remarks on his language
and style, and a list of the editions of the Primera
Parte, both in Spain and outside, giving in many
cases the text of the title-page, the Aprobaciin,
Lieencia and Tassa. Two French translations are
described at length; and two more French ones, one
English and one German, are mentioned summarily.
chapter (p. 24, 11. 7 and 9) : "el Moro Aben-
hamin, historiador de todos aquellos tiempos,
dende la entrada de los Moros en Espana." But
he speaks several times of the "Moro coronista ;'
as his authority, and in chap. XVII (p. 291)
gives an account of how he obtained the Arabic
history : the Moorish writer lived at the time
of the fall of Granada, and passed to Africa,
where he died; a grandson of his found the
history of Granada among his papers, and gave
it to a Jew, Eabbi Santo [Sem Tob?], who,
at the request of Eodrigo Ponce de Leon, trans-
lated it into Castilian ; it was presented to Hita
by this same Ponce de Leon (whose friend he
really was).
Every critic who has discussed Hita has
taken for granted that this supposed Moorish
source was a literary fiction, in the same cate-
gory with Cervantes' Cide Hamete Benengeli.T
But Mile. Blanchard-Demouge declares (pp.
xxx-xl) that such a Moor existed, that his
name was Aben Aljatib, and that Hita obtained
material from him, although the story of the
passage of the manuscript from Africa to Spain
is probably made up. Let us examine her
proof.
In the Second Part of his Guerras civiles
(chap. X, Eivad. p. 616b) Hita speaks of the
capture of Ohanez having been prophesied by
"aquel moro viejo, celebre sabio de Granada,
llamado Aben Hamin, el mismo que por el
ruego del Eey don Pedro de Castilla declare
los pronosticos de Merlin." This Moor was a
well-known personage, called in the Castilian
chronicles Aben Hatin; he lived 1313-1372,
and wrote a famous series of letters to princes,
and a history of Granada and its principal men,
" conocida bajo el nombre de Jhata." 8 This
history was continued by successors of Ibn
al-Khatib, and brought down to 1489. Hita's
TFor example, Fitzmaurice-Kelly, Hist, de la litt.
esp., Paris, 1913, p. 322; Menfindez y Pelayo,
Orfgenes de la novela, I, ccclxsx : " Nadie puede
tomar por lo serio el cuento del original arabigo de
su obra."
• In the conventional Arabic notation for English,
his name was Ibn al-Khatlb, and the full title of
his work "Al-ihata ft tarlkhi Gharnata," that is
" the circle about the history of Granada."
180
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
[Vol. xxx, No. 6.
information about the cities in the kingdom of
Granada and the chief Moorish families differs
from that of the Christian chroniclers he used ;
" mas bien parece proceder de . . . el pro-
logo de la Jhata" (p. xxxiv).
What is to be said of this important (if
true) identification of the " Moro coronista"?
Simply that it is very interesting, but very far
from proven. We may pass over the phonetic
changes involved in the passage from Ibn al-
Khatib to Aben Hamin, which do not seem
impossible; we might refrain from pointing
out that Hita himself does not claim that the
Aben Hamin of the Second Part who prophe-
sied the fall of Ohanez and lived in the days
of Pedro el cruel, is the same as the Aben
Hamin of the first part, who fled to Africa
after the fall of Granada (since this last story
is probably pure fiction). But there is no over-
looking the fact that Mile. Blanchard-Demouge
has not presented an atom of positive proof
that Hita derived information from the preface
to the Jhata. The obvious and valuable thing
to do was to include copious citations from Ibn
al-Khatib in support of her argument, with a
translation for the benefit of the lay reader.
But she has done nothing of the kind; indeed
one may infer from the vagueness of her re-
marks concerning this Moorish author that she
lacks first-hand acquaintance with him. She
does not even tell us where we could consult
him, if we were able ; 9 we must turn to Pons
Boigues' Ensayo biobibliogrdfico sobre los his-
toriadores y geografos ardbigos espanoles,
Madrid, 1898, no. 294, or, more recent, to
Dozy's Spanish Islam,, translated by Stokes,
London, 1913, p. 744, to learn that al-ihata
exists in MSS. of the Escurial, Paris, the Gayan-
gos collection, and Tunis, and that it has never
yet been printed, let alone translated.10 Such
being the case, is it in irony that the editress
remarks (p. 321, 1. 19) "Sobre la fundicion
de Granada, vease IBU (sic) ALJATIB : pro-
" Merely by chance, when on another subject, she
refers to a MS. of the Jhata at the Escurial, no. 357
(p. Ixxv, note 4).
10 For further information see the third edition of
Dozy's Recherches I, 282-284, and the same writer's
Script. Arab, loci de Alladidis, 11, 169-172.
logo a la Jatha" (sic) ? Why, if Hita had a
contemporary Moorish source at hand, did he
invent the strange anachronism of the slaughter
of the Abencerrages by Boabdil, when it was
the father of the Eey Chico who killed them?
Menendez y Pelayo's explanation of the origin
of this legend is all-sufficient (Origenes de la
novela, I, ccclxxxiii ff.). Moreover, Blanchard-
Demouge herself points out that Hita cites the
Moor as his authority for one passage which he
borrowed directly from Pulgar (cf. p. xxxvii),
which proves well enough that his statements
have no intrinsic claim to belief. All in all, it
will require direct comparison with the text of
Ibn al-Khatib to prove that Hita owes him any-
thing at all.
The other new point which Mile. Blanchard-
Demouge attempts to make is that the descrip-
tions of fiestas at Granada, with their tourneys,
emblems, devices and elaborate apparatus, is
not so fantastic as has generally been assumed
(see Introduction, chap. VI). Menendez y
Pelayo, although declaring that these gallant
Moors were largely conventional, and lent them-
selves to caricature, qualified his remark by not-
ing that Christian customs had penetrated the
Moorish kingdoms toward their close, and that
Hita's descriptions might not be true in detail,
but they were faithful to the spirit of the de-
cadent capital, torn by tribal feuds (Origenes
de la novela, I, ccclxxxvi and ccclxxxi). Mile.
Blanchard-Demouge attempts to show that
even the details can be verified ; that the " mar-
lotas, alquiceles, zambras y saraos " were not
catchwords, but were actually used in contem-
porary accounts.
What she really proves are the following
points: (1) that tournaments and pasos hon-
rosos were common among the Christians in
the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries; (2) that
elaborate fiestas, with allegorical " floats " built
to represent serpents, etc., after the fashion de-
scribed by Hita, were often held in the second
half of the sixteenth century; (3) that the
triple tunic (marloia, albornoz, alquicel), of
which de Circourt made sport, declaring any
Moor would suffocate who wore so many clothes
under a Southern sun, and the adarga, plumes
June, 1915.]
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
181
and bright colors, were the fashion and in cur-
rent use for Christian tourneys toward 1600
(1570, 1605, 1559, etc.); (4) that Moors,
dressed in native costume, took part in Chris-
tian fiestas and juegos de canas in 1570 and
1571 (though the quotation leaves a doubt
whether they were not Spaniards playing the
part) ; (5) that there were duels and tourna-
ments in Granada in the last days of the king-
dom (this is the point least well supported by
documents) ; (6) that the Moors used coats of
arms with mottoes and devices, and knew the
symbolism of colors; (7) that the chivalric
spirit of the Moors and their respect for women
were much the same as that known among the
Christian warriors.
If the documents cited, of the authority of
some of which one would like to know more,
do not prove, rigorously speaking, anything ex-
cept that Hita described the gallants and fiestas
of his own time, at least they make it appear
probable that similar gallants lived and similar
splendid pageants were staged in the Granada
of Muley-Hassan and Boabdil. But Hita's
alleged accuracy was fortuitous; there is no
likelihood that he knew or desired correct local
color.
Of the remainder of the Introduction there
is not space to say much, — nor is it necessary.
Chap. II brings no new facts of importance to
our knowledge of Hita's life, although it seems
more thorough than any previous treatment.
The date and place of his birth, the date of his
death, are still unknown. Chap. Ill analyzes
at some length Hita's extensive narrative poem
in octava rima, Libra de la pobladon y hazanas
de la M. N. y M. L. ciudad de Lorca, which was
freely used by Father Morote for his Antigiie-
dad y blasones de la ciudad de Lorca (1741).
The editress speaks of "el unico manuscrito
que se conoce " of this poem, but does not tell
us, what is nevertheless the case, that it was
published entire by Acero y Abad in his Gines
Perez de Hita, Madrid, 1889. She lays stress
upon the fact that in many ways this epic fore-
casts the methods used by Hita in the Guerras
civiles; it contains detailed descriptions of fies-
tas, and even a romance, of which so many were
inserted in the novel. In Chap. IV are dis-
cussed, beside the supposed Arabic sources that
I have already mentioned, Hita's debts to Span-
ish chroniclers and to some other less certain
helpers. The books that he used most, and re-
ferred to plainly, were Hernando del Pulgar's
Cronica de los reyes catolicos (1565) and Gari-
bay y Zamalloa's Compendia historico de las
cronicas, etc. (1571) (see pp. xl-1). Chap. V
takes up seriatim the 34 romances which Hita
weaves into his narrative, and their sources. 20
of them are not found in exactly the same form
anywhere else, and of the 20 most do not exist
at all in any of the other old collections. In
this class are such important poems as the
Battle of the Alporchones (Wolf, Primavera y
flor, no. 81), the famous ballad on the loss of
Alhama (ibid., no. 85a), the exploit of Gar-
cilaso de la Vega with the Moor who had tied
the Ave Maria to his horse's tail (ibid., no.
93) J1 and " Mira, Zaide, que te aviso," the
best-known of all romances moriscos (Duran,
Bom. gen., no. 56). Merely as a collector and
preserver of good ballads, Hita deserves our
gratitude. Did Hita compose any of these him-
self? We do not know, but it seems most
probable that he received many, the ones he
calls " antiguos," at least, directly from tra-
dition, which he had excellent opportunity to
know. Of those found in previous collections,
only four come from the early ones, the Can-
cionero de romances ' sin ano,' the Silv a of
1550, Timoneda's Rosa espanola (1573); the
rest are all taken from Pedro de Moncayo's
Flor de varios romances nuevos (1589). These
last are the rs. moriscos artisticos which Hita
expanded into the romantic episodes of Zaide
and Zaida, of Gazul and Lindaraja, etc.; he
then quotes the poems as evidence in support
of his fables ! Menendez y Pelayo had already
pointed out this ingenious system (Origenes de
la novela, I, ccclxxxi).12
The Bibliography proper (pp. xcvii-cxviii)
11 The editress states that this poem is found in
Moncayo's collection, mentioned below, but neither
Wolf nor Menendez y Pelayo mention the fact, if it
be true.
"The only romantic digression not found in ro-
mances published before the O-uerras civiles is that
of the Sultana accused of adultery, and defended by
four Christian knights. Hita probably composed the
182
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
[Vol. xxx, No. 6.
is intended to be complete for editions of the
Primera Parte, or at least down to the nine-
teenth century, and includes foreign editions
as well as those of Spain. I may point out that
the following editions given by Salva in his
Catdlogo (II, 172) are not included in Blan-
chard-Demouge's list: Lisbon, 1616; Barce-
lona, 1619; Gotha, 1805. Yet the edition of
Barcelona 1619 is mentioned on p. xciii in an-
other connection.
On the same page (xciii) the editress speaks
of a particular edition of the Segunda Parte,
Barcelona, 1619, which Wolf (Studien, 1859,
p. 334, note 3) describes, but which she has
sought in vain to discover, although she has had
the librarians at Vienna and Munich hunting
for it. If she scrutinized the words of Wolf
with more care, she might have spared herself
and the librarians some trouble. It is the edi-
tion of Cuenca 1619, not Barcelona, that he is
describing the while, and it corresponds exactly
to the edition of that place and date known to
the editress.
The concluding list of Documentos (pp.
329-337) gives evidence of wide reading. It
is to be regretted that here, as elsewhere, a
lack of precision in reference is evidenced which
would render it difficult to run down some of
the works mentioned.13
story and the poems that accompany it. While
speaking of romances, I ought not to pass entirely
over that beginning " Ya te veo, Lorca mla, — la por
ml tan deseada," which is inserted, not in the
Guerras civiles, but in Canto XI of the epic on the
city of Lorca (cf. p. xxiii). It has never been
printed in any of the modern collections of romances,
and offers interesting resemblances to some of the
old ballads. Thus : " O Lorca, cuanto le cuestas — a
este Reyno de Granada;" cf. no. 101 of Wolf's
Prim, y flor: " jO ciudad, cuanto me cuestas — por
la gran desdicha mla! " One should compare also
nos. 55 and 129 in the same collection. It is likely
that Hita composed it himself, in spite of its ap-
parent traditional ring.
11 Many such inaccuracies have been noted in the
course of this article. I must not fail to correct the
statement (p. liv, 1. 8) that the Cancionero de ro-
mances ' sin aSo ' was later than 1550. It was, of
course, earlier than 1550. — The quotations which the
editress makes from the text of the Guerras civiles,
on p. xxx, 1. 25, xxxi, 1. 3, and xxxi, 1. 14, follow
the Rivadeneyra version instead of her own!
To sum up, the inspiration of this reprint
is most happy, and scholars have every reason
to be grateful for a reproduction of the primi-
tive text of the Bandos de los Zegries y Aben-
cerrages. The editress shows an original turn
of thought, and acquaintance with many an.
unusual book. It is a pity that these qualities
were not accompanied by greater accuracy and
a more critical judgment. A scholarly account
of the different versions of Ibn al-Khatib's
al-ihata, and generous translations from it,
would have been invaluable. As it is, even the
text cannot be called definitive, and the con-
clusions arrived at in the Introduction will
have to be sifted well before they can be
accepted.
Nothing is said which would lead one to sup-
pose that the editress contemplates reprinting
also the Segunda Parte of Hita's Guerras ci-
viles. It is greatly to be hoped that she will do
so. The text of the Second Part has suffered,
according to Menendez y Pelayo (Origenes, I,
ccclxxxviii) even more than that of the First
Part, in modern editions. The Second Part
has never hit the popular fancy, like the first,
and has been, in fact, unduly neglected. The
present generation, with its fondness for the
actual and its aversion to works of the imagina-
tion, ought to revel in Hita's vivid descriptions
of the Moriscos at bay, and ought to esteem his
sympathy, extraordinary at that date, for the
defeated enemies of his race.
S. GRISWOLD MOELEY.
University of California.
The Cambridge History of English Literature.
Vol. XI : The Period of the French Revolu-
tion. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons,
1914.
The characteristics of earlier volumes of this
work reappear in the latest instalment. There
is the same lack of complete co-ordination and
proportion that one has been led to expect and
that is, perhaps, the inevitable result of works
June, 1915.]
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
183
of joint authorship. In the past volumes single
chapters have stood out as conspicuously good
— " The Arthurian Legend " by Lewis Jones
in Vol. I, " Spenser " by Mr. Courthope in Vol.
Ill, "Dryden" by Dr. Ward in Vol. VIII,
and the like. But too often the impression has
been made that the assignment was given to
him who was willing to undertake it. Espe-
cially is it to be regretted that one such person
undertook the treatment of Chaucer, Shake-
speare, and Milton, besides a host of minor
subjects. These qualities are conspicuous in
the new volume. That it should include works
ranging in date and subject from Burke's Philo-
sophic Inquiry into the Origin of our Ideas of
the Sublime and Beautiful to Lewis Carroll's
Sylvie and Bruno, and should group them
under the general title, " The Period of the
French Revolution," is an example of the diffi-
culties which beset the editors. Moreover, the
lack of editorial synthesis results in there being
no discussion of the general influence of revo-
lutionary thought upon English literature nor
is there discoverable any reference to the vol-
umes by Dowden and Hancock on that subject.
It is hard to accept an arrangement that di-
vorces Wordsworth and Coleridge from Byron,
Shelley, and Keats. William Cobbett, though
he finds place here, belongs to a later age; Mr.
Chesterton in his clever erratic little book on
The Victorian Age in Literature begins with
Cobbett. This sounds like a Chestertonian
paradox since he died in 1835, but it is funda-
mentally sound, for Cobbett is essentially Vic-
torian.
The merits of this volume, as of its fellows,
lie in certain individual chapters, especially H.
J. C. Grierson on Burke, H. V. Routh on the
Georgian drama, and H. G. Aldis on "Book Pro-
duction and Distribution 1625-1800." Equal-
ity of merit is not to be expected, but the vari-
ous contributions should have been constructed
along definite and similar lines. A compari-
son of Schilling's and Whibley's chapters on
the Restoration Drama in Vol. VIII — the one
labored, scientific, " documented," the other ap-
preciative and stylistically of course preferable
— illustrates this defect. So here, side by side
with Routh's exact and elaborate study of the
drama, is Saintsbury's invertebrate (the word
is his own criticism of his method ; see Vol. V,
p. 238) discussion of the parallel period of the
novel.
Several chapters are in the nature of serials,
further instalments on subjects connected with
earlier matters already treated of by the same
writers. Thus Previte-Orton continues from
Vols. VIII and X his study of political satire
and other literature connected with public af-
fairs— a theme for the handling of which he
proved his competence in his prize essay of
1908. He writes with wit and learning, and
makes the dry bones of the most ephemeral
branch of literature take on at least a semblance
of life. He does not make plain the debt of
Godwin to Rousseau, Condorcet, and Helvetius.
Paul Eisner's monograph, Shelley's Abhdngig-
Jceit von William Godwin's "Political Justice,"
though of interest primarily to the student of
Shelley, contains much of value for the study
of Godwin and should have found place in the
bibliography. It is noteworthy that an edition
of The Rolliad for which Courthope asked ten
years ago (Hist. Eng. Poetry, V, 244) is still
wanting.
Professor Sorley, continuing his account of
English philosophy, is clear and reasonably con-
cise in his treatment of Bentham and his school,
but it is at least open to question whether such
writers as Bentham should appear at all in a
history of literature. " One fault of this his-
tory of literature," The Contemporary Re-
view wisely remarks in a recent notice, " is that
it has striven to be the history of English
intellectualism."
T. F. Henderson's chapter on " Scottish
Popular Poetry before Burns " in Vol. IX is
now followed by his study of Burns and lesser
Scottish verse. One turns with interest to
this chapter by the co-editor of the edition of
Burns memorable for the essay by W. E. Hen-
ley. Mr. Henderson was then a sort of " silent
partner." He has now the opportunity to
match his critical acumen with that of Mr.
Henley. The fault of the latter's brilliant
essay, Robert Burns: Life, Genius, Achieve-
ment, was, as every one knows, that going to
the opposite extreme from Carlyle (who does
184
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
[Vol. xxx, No. 6.
not mention even Jean Armour), Henley laid
too much stress upon the sensual side of
Burns. Carlyle and Henley read together
are mutually corrective and the composite
picture, when allowance has been made for
contradictions, is fairly accurate. Mr. Hen-
derson, without the genius of his predecessors,
but equally without Carlyle's transcendental
bias and Henley's unhappily boisterous manner,
has from the fulness of his knowledge of the
subject written a charming essay. I note only
one fault, but that is a grave one. Of Burns'
life knowledge is assumed on the part of the
reader; no biographical outline whatever is fur-
nished. This is a great inconvenience in a
work of reference and is another illustration of
the lack of complete editorial supervision. To
the bibliography should be added the convenient
Cambridge Burns (Houghton, Mifflin), " drawn
from Henley and Henderson." It is not usual
to include poems on poets, but as Swinburne's
Burns: An Ode (here styled "Poem on
Burns ") is mentioned, Mr. Watson's far finer
poem The Tomb of Burns should not have been
omitted. The three important poems in Words-
worth's Memorials of a Tour in Scotland are
not mentioned.
A fourth " serial " is Saintsbury's account of
English prosody, of which the present section
deals with the eighteenth century and chiefly
with theorists. Logically one would have ex-
pected some study of romantic innovations since
the chief innovators, Coleridge and Blake, are
discussed in this volume. But the subject is
silently postponed for later treatment. The
bibliography to this chapter unaccountably
omits any list whatever of the eighteenth-cen-
tury treatises referred to in the text, and as
such titles are seldom given, and then not fully,
in the text itself, the value of the chapter for
purposes of reference is small.
In a chapter already mentioned Mr. Alclis
continues from Vol. IV his account of the
Book-trade. His study of a relatively unworked
field forms one of the most interesting portions
of the book.
For Grierson's chapter on Burke there can
be nothing but praise ; it is the ablest piece of
work in the volume. In his bibliography it
would have been well to include one or two of
the numerous school editions of the speech On
Conciliation, especially the excellent one by
Professor Cook (Longmans).
One cannot but regret that the treatment of
Wordsworth was assigned to a foreigner and
not to such fellow-countrymen of the poet's as
Bradley or Ealeigh — men who have seen into
the very heart of Wordsworth. But Professor
Legouis' work on Wordsworth's youth is well
known and proves his qualifications for his task.
He is altogether admirable when discussing such
matters as the contrast between the poet's ac-
tual childhood and his later doctrine of happi-
ness as expressed in The Prelude, or in tracing
after 1805, with the waning of Wordsworth's
enthusiasms, the growth of his belief in the
importance of the moral law. Legouis is less
good on other topics. Especially to be depre-
cated is the opening statement that Wordsworth
is to be classed among the sons of Eousseau.
Eousseau was but one of many influences upon
the poet. The true relationship between them
is rather one of common descent. Legouis fails
to make clear Wordsworth's debt to predeces-
sors, especially Cowper, Thomson, Akenside,
and Collins. There is no attempt to trace the
fluctuations of Wordsworth's fame; nor to in-
dicate the main current of his influence, as
seen in Taylor, Aubrey de Vere, Arnold, and
Mr. Watson; nor to describe his somewhat
pallid but quite perceptible vogue upon the con-
tinent, particularly in France. The connection
of his work with the Eomantic philosophy of
Germany is not considered. The following
points are noteworthy in the bibliography:
Page 450. The variant title-pages (London and
Bristol) of the Lyrical Ballads, 1798, should
have been noted. P. 452 — Arnold's essay on
Wordsworth dates from 1879 ; Bradley's essay
is reprinted in his Oxford Lectures on Poetry;
there is an English translation, 1887, by Lady
Eastlake of Brandl's Coleridge; Alfred Austin's
essay in The Bridling of Pegasus should be
added. — P. 453. Add reference to Courthope,
Hist. Eng. Poetry VI, chap. vii. In this list
is the best place (since the volume has no pre-
liminary general bibliography) for the rectifi-
cation of the notable omission of Dowden's
June, 1915.]
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
185
French Revolution and English Literature and
Hancock's French Revolution and English
Poets. Knight is merely the editor of the
Wordsworthiana of 1889, which is a selection
from the Transactions of the Wordsworth So-
ciety and should have been classified there-
under.— P. 455. Add William Watson's Words-
worth's Grave, perhaps the best of all criticisms
in verse.
Of the many excellent things that Professor
Vaughan says in his chapter on Coleridge I
shall note only his remarks on the subtlety of
Coleridge's observation of natural phenomena.
To an interesting instance of this attention has
not, I think, been called. In the Memoir of
Tennyson by his son it is recorded that about
1831 Tennyson "saw the moonlight reflected
in a nightingale's eye, as she was singing in
the hedgerow " (I, 79). With this compare the
lines in The Nightingale (11. 64-69) :
On moonlight bushes,
Whose dewy leaflets are but half-disclosed,
You may perchance behold them on the twigs,
Their bright, bright eyes, their eyes both bright
and full
Glistening.
Strangely enough, Vaughan does not so much
as hint that Coleridge ever wrote any dramas;
yet Revenge and the translations from Schiller
are not to be ignored. This omission, which
might have been remedied by Professor Routh
in the chapter on the drama, is, instead, awk-
wardly patched up by Routh in some notes in-
serted in the bibliography of Coleridge under
the titles of the plays. No cross-reference in
the text guides us to these perfunctory remarks.
Several minor points may be noted. Where did
Byron " avow " that the rhythm of Christabel
served as the model for "the cancelled intro-
duction of The Siege of Corinth"? (p. 141).
The lines which Byron feared might be thought
to be plagiarised from Christabel are 522-32,
and Byron expressly told Coleridge that these
were written before he had read Christabel.
See Letters and Journals, ed. Prothero, III,
288 f. An unaccountable omission from the
bibliography is J. L. Haney's Bibliography of
S. I1. Coleridge, 1903. Note also the serious
printer's error of " William Wordsworth " for
" Coleridge " as the running title of pages 457
and 459 — a mistake that has caused confusion
in the entries in the index.
Mr. Saintsbury is at his delightful best in
his discussion of Southey. In his anxiety to be
just to a great fame now somewhat faded he
perhaps overpraises some of his work, notably
Wat Tyler. He even hints at a desire to
break a lance for the unhappy Vision of Judg-
ment. There should have been some reference
to The Fall of Robespierre, of which, though it
is usually included among Coleridge's works,
more than half is by Southey. A pleasant topic
for investigation is suggested: the change in
Southey's political and philosophical opinions
as recorded in his writings — a matter of some
moment, especially for the light it might cast
on the parallel development in Wordsworth.
Mr. Routh takes up the subject of the drama
about the point where Nettleton left it in Vol.
X and has accomplished a careful piece of
work. The treatment afforded Joanna Baillie
is surely inadequate unless (what does not ap-
pear) her plays are to be considered further in
the next volume. De Montfort is misdated (p.
303). The Kotzebue-craze is almost ignored.
This, too, has perhaps been left for the next
volume, but its place is here since The Rovers,
which is a parody of the genre, and the novel
of the school of terror, which is a closely re-
lated type, are discussed. The influence of
Kotzebue upon Sheridan, though referred to in
the bibliography, is overlooked in the text. Mr.
Routh speaks of Jeremy Collier shaming "the
theatre out of its chief source of amusement "
(p. 312) ; but Collier's pamphlet was in fact
only one sign, of which the change in the tone
of plays was another, of a rise in the standard
of public morals. To the bibliography under
Holcroft (p. 502 or p. 506) should be added
a reference to the series of contributions to-
wards his bibliography that have been appear-
ing lately in Notes and Queries. Under sec-
tion iii (p. 494 f.) add a reference to the curi-
ous tract by John Styles: Essay on the Char-
acter and Influence of the Stage on Morals and
Happiness, 1802. It is hard to see why Gay-
186
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
[Vol. xxx, No. 6.
ley's Plays of our Forefathers should find place
in a list of works on the Georgian Drama.
Writing on the novel from Amory to Pea-
cock Mr. Saintsbury merely covers again part
of the ground of his recent English Novel.
Some of his readers will remember that at the
end of his Short History of French Literature
he employed again the closing passage of his
article on the same subject in the Encyclopaedia
Britannica with the excuse that " a man can-
not say exactly the same thing in two different
sets of words so as to please himself or perhaps
others." This is sound doctrine, and the edi-
tors might well have obtained from another
hand an essay on the growth of the later novel.
In Mrs. Aldis' sprightly and interesting
chapter on " The Bluestockings " a reference
to Byron's The Blues, a literary Eclogue and
Moore's The M. P. or the Blue Stocking would
have been to the point. Mr. Harold Child's
excellent chapters on Cowper and on Crabbe
call for no comment beyond the adjective I
have just used, except to say that to the books
by Thomas Wright on Cowper should be added
the Life, 1903. William Blake has become so
highly specialized a subject that I do not feel
qualified to speak of the chapter on him by
J. P. R. Wallis except to say that I have found
the analysis of the nrophetic books of much
value.
SAMUEL C. CHEW, JR.
Bryn Mawr College.
Dai Narrenschyp von HANS VAN GHETELEN.
Herausgegeben von HERMAN BRANDES.
Halle, Max Niemeyer, 1914. Ixxix u. 576 S.
Der Bericht iiber die neunte Jahresversamm-
lung des Vereins fur niederdeutsche Sprachfor-
schung im Mai 1883 enthalt die Mitteilung, dass
H. Brandes die Herausgabe des nd. Narren-
schiffes vorbereite. Nun liegt diese Frucht
30jahriger Beschaftigung mit dem Gegenstande
vor uns, ein stattlicher Band, der des Interesses
sicher sein darf , und dem es zu gute gekommen
ist, dass Brandes' Arbeiten in der Zwischenzeit
z.T. einschlagige Fragen behandelten und so
gleichsam als Vorarbeiten des vorliegenden
Buches angesprochen werden konnen.
Das Ergebnis der Untersuchungen in Kap.
II der Einleitung vorausnehmend, setzt B. auf
den Titel den Namen Hans van Ghetelens, in
dem er den nd. Bearbeiter gefunden zu haben
glaubt. Hans van Ghetelen gab 1488 in der
Liibecker Mohnkopfdruckerei die " Ewangelia "
heraus. B. halt ihn fiir den Bearbeiter aller
Veroffentlichungen dieser bedeutenden Werk-
statt, verkniipft also seinen Namen mit den
besten spatmittelniederdeutschen Erzeugnissen,
wie " Reinke de Vos " und " Narrenschip "
(NS.). Es ist moglich, dass B. Recht hat, aber
zur vollen Gewissheit dariiber, ob der Heraus-
geber der " Ewangelia " (und wohl der iibrigen
Erbauungsschriften der Mohnkopfoffizin) auch
die nicht-theologischen Biicher des Verlags fiir
den nd. Leser bearbeitete, bedarf es noch einer
umfassenderen Untersuchung, als B. in der
Einleitung geben konnte.
Das entscheidende Gewicht legt B. auf einige
sprachliche Eigenheiten, die in alien Mohn-
kopfdrucken neben den gewohnlichen nordnd.
Formen auftauchen, freilich in verschiedenem
TJmfange (NS. hat z.B. jo ne erne, nicht ju nu
ome). Es sind keineswegs in die Dichtung
einschneidende, nicht einmal dialektisch ganz
einheitliche Sprachmerkmale. Einzeln begeg-
net ein Teil auch in anderen Liibecker Texten.
Der Rostocker Druck des NS. kann ohne
Schwierigkeit einige derselben, z.B. soven:
seven, umsetzen. Ihre Bedeutung darf nicht
iiberschatzt werden. Solange nicht erwiesen
ist, dass Bearbeiter und Drucker eine Person
ist, konnen sie fiir die Verfasserfrage nicht in
Betracht kommen, sie konnen durchaus auf die
Druckerei zuriickgehen. Man vergleiche, was
B. selbst S. LXXIV zum Rostocker Druck aus-
fiihrt. Auch sind diese Formen in dem ersten
Buche (1487), das B. der neuen Werkstatt
zuweist, einer Neuauflage (keiner Bearbei-
tung!) des Ghotanschen Gebetbuches von 1485
fiir Ghotans Schreibweise eingesetzt, woraus
m.E. der Anteil der Druckerei an der charak-
teristischen Schreibung ziemlich deutlich her-
vorgeht. Ferner zeigen die bei Geffcken
(Bildercatechismus I, 140 ff.) abgedruckten
Stiicke aus " Speygel der Dogede" (Gothan
June, 1915.]
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
187
1485), soweit die Probe erkennen lasst, die
gleichen sprachlichen Eigenheiten wie die
Mohnkopfdrucke, z.B. boven, godes mit o;
benedden, reddelik mit dd; sesse, sevede,
dridde; doit (tut), desse, men (als). Zum Teil,
wenigstens desse, o fur zerdehntes o, Doppel-
konsonant in pleggen, hemmel, nedder usw.,
finden sie sich aueh im " Lycht der Selen "
(Ghotan 1484). War etwa der spatere Inhaber
oder Mitinhaber der Mohnkopfdnickerei zeit-
weise bei G. tatig ? * Und erklart es sich viel-
leicht aus solchen Beziehungen, dass der mit
Arbeit uberhaufte G. die Neuauflage des Ge-
betbuches dem jungen Unternehmen iiberliess?
Nun identifiziert allerdings B. den Mobn-
kopfdrucker mit dem Bearbeiter, indem er eine
neue Losung der Frage nach dem Inhaber
dieser wichtigen Druckerei versucht, deren Ge-
heimnis so schwer zu liiften ist, weil sowohl
ihre Lettern wie Holzschnitte ihres Zeichners
auch in andern Betrieben begegnen,wie sie selbst
auch Stocks beniitzt, die fiir andere Firmen
geschnitten waren. Seit Seelmanns Untersu-
chungen (Centralbl. f. Bibliothekswesen I, 19
ff.) gait den meisten Mathaus Brandis als
Mohnkopfdrucker. B. halt Ghotan und den
erwahnten Hans v. Ghetelen fur seine Mitar-
beiter. Ghotans Teilhaberschaft scheint mir
sehr unwahrscheinlich, Brandes' Begriindung
kaum stichhaltig. Wie er selbst betont, druckt
G. unabhangig von der Mohnkopfdruckerei in
bedeutsamer Tatigkeit bis 1492 weiter. Danach
ist er nicht mehr nachweisbar. Wenn dem Be-
richt Reimarus Kocks zu glauben ist, ware G.
ca. 1493 nach Eussland gegangen und hiitte
dort den Tod gefunden. Jedenfalls sind Be-
ziehungen der russischen Gesandtschaft in
Liibeck 1492 zu G. urkundlich festgestellt.
Wichtiger ist in diesem Zusammenhang die
Frage, ob der genannte Bearbeiter der " Ewan-
gelia " Drucker und Mitinhaber der Offizin war.
1 Dem bei Bruun I, 18 ff. beschriebenen jiitischen
Osetzbuch, 1846, a. 1. et typ. n. (Typen von M.
Brandis; die Illustration zeigt die charakteristiachen
Formen der Mohnkopfdrucke nicht) entnehme ich
die Beispiele: nye, neu; wu, wie; ambegynne; gode,
boven; icetten, noggen, weddewen, nedder, wedder.
Einen naheliegenden Schluss zu ziehen, hindert die
K«rze der Textprobe.
Das Zitat aus " Ewangelia " (S. XXVI) " desse
sulve de dyt ewangelienboek leet maken, heft
ok vele unde mannigerleie art van bedeboeken
maken laten " scheint gegen die Identitat von
Herausgeber und Drucker zu sprechen. Vgl.
"Salter" und " Speighel der Leien:" "De
dyt boek leet maken" (S. LVIII bezw. LX).
Ahnlich schloss B. selbst friiher (ZfdA.
XXXII, 40) mit bezug auf den Totentanz aus
V. 1681 " de dit heft gedicht vnde laten setten."
Damals (S. 35) hatte er den Verfasser der
dort besprochenen Drucke fur einen Geistlichen
gehalten. Wenn er ihn nun unter Nicht-
beachtung dieser Stellen zum Drucker macht,
so leiten ihn zwei Beobachtungen, 1) die Ver-
trautheit mit dem Druckbetrief, die in NS.
bemerkbar ist, 2) der mehrfache Hinweis auf
Biicher desselben Verlages, der des Bearbeiters
Interesse am Absatz derselben bezeuge. In den
" Ewangelia " und fast wortlich wiederholt in
"S. Birgitten Openbaringe" 1496, ein Jahr
vor Erscheinen des NS., werden diejenigen ge-
scholten, die geistliche Biicher nicht kaufen,
von weltlichen wird ausdriicklich Abstand ge-
nommen. Priift man die zu 2) gegebenen
Beispiele, so zeigt sich, dass iil)erall (" Ewang.,"
"Speyghel der Leyen," mehrmals im "Salter")
nur "bedeboke" des Mohnkopfverlags ange-
priesen werden, nur um diese ist es ihm zu
tun. Der Zusammenhang der Erbauungs-
schriften ist ohnehin wahrscheinlich. Kann
nicht auch ein Verfasser auf seine friiheren
Werke weisen, die er in der Mohnkopfdruckerei
" leet maken," iiber manches kurz hinweggehen
(S. XXVIIf.), weil er es schon friiher be-
handelt hat? Keinesfalls muss ein Drucker
diese Stellen geschrieben haben, und vollends
geben sie keinen Aufschluss iiber die Verfasser-
schaft der spateren weltlichen Drucke, wie
anderseits der erste Punkt nur iiber NS. (und
dessen Kreis) aussagt. Doch scheint mir dieser
ebenso wenig zwingend. Freilich hielt schon
Zarncke auf Grund von NS. 1, 98ff. ; 48, 64ff. ;
65, 45ff.; 103, lOlff. den nd. Bearbeiter fiir
einen Drucker. Doch sind diese Stellen nicht
etwa ganz selbstandige Zutaten, sondern freie
Erweiterungen der Vorlage ; die wichtige Stelle
188
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
[Vol. xxx, No. 6.
NS. 48, 64ff., die genaue Kenntnis des Be-
triebes voraussetzt, beruht in den Grundlagen
auf S. Brant. Klagen iiber Nachdruck (1,
98ff.; 103, lOlff.) wurden zu alien Zeiten auch
von Schriftstellern ausgesprochen. Jedenfalls
geniigt das Gegebene noch nicht zur einwand-
freien Beantwortung der Frage, ob alle Mohn-
kopfdrucke, Erbauungs- und nicht-theologische
Schriften, demselben Verfasser, dem Bearbeiter
der " Ewangelia," angehoren, und ob dieser mit
dem Inhaber der Offizin identisch ist. — Auch
Brandes' weitere Griinde reichen, wie mir
scheint, zur Entscheidung nicht aus, wie der
Hinweis, dass alle Verlagswerke gelegentlich
Anklange an andere Mohnkopfdrucke zeigen.
Sie beniitzen ebenso Werke anderer Verleger,
vgl. fur NS. S. LXIV. Auch handelt es sich
meist nicht um wortliche Ubereinstimmung,
nur um ein gleiches Bild, einen gleichen Ge-
danken, wenn auch in anderer Einkleidung, ein
Zitat, das hier wie dort im gleichen Zusammen-
hang steht. Vielfach ist es wohl iiberhaupt all-
gemeines Gut der Zeit, nur sind die Liibecker
Drucke fur Vergleichungen leicht zur Ver-
fiigung. Sie werden auch in Drucken anderer
Verleger ausgeschopft (z.B. Eostocker j. Glosse
z. Eeinke, 1539). B. weist ferner auf die Nei-
gung der Mohnkopfdrucke zu eingestreuten
Versen, die wieder hochstens ein Charakteristi-
kum der Erbauungsbiicher unter sich ware, da
der andere Kreis ganz in Versen abgefasst ist.
Die aus den " Ewangelia " S. XLVI angefiihrte
Probe unterscheidet sich stark von alien iibri-
gen. Wenn auch NS. einige hd. Formen iiber-
nimmt, solche TJngeschicklichkeit, solche Hilf-
losigkeit der Umsetzung wie hier findet sich
nirgend sonst. Es scheint kaum glaublich, dass
der Mann, der dies Gereimsel anfertigte, in dem
er sich nicht von der Vorlage loszureissen ver-
mag, neun Jahre spater eine so hervorragende
Bearbeitung wie NS. liefern soil.
Kb'nnen wir hiernach Brandes' Folgerungen
noch nicht als vollig gesichert ansehen, so blei-
ben die anregenden Beobachtungen und Aus-
fiihrungen der Einleitung doch ausserordent-
lich dankenswert. Weitere Forschung wird
hierauf aufbauen, um Hans v. Ghetelen seinen
Platz zuzuweisen, und es steht, wie mir scheint,
noch mancher Weg often. Darin dass Henning
Ghetelen der Bearbeitung des NS. fern steht,
stimme ich (schon aus grammatischen Erwa-
gungen) mit B. uberein.
Ausser diesen naher charakterisierten Kapi-
teln enthalt die Einleitung die bibliographi-
schen Angaben; sie bespricht das Verhaltnis
des Rostocker Druckes (1519) zum Liibecker,
und dies Kapitel wird erganzt durch Anfiih-
ruug der Eostocker Abweichungen am Fusse
jeder Seite des Textabdruckes. Ein Vergleich,
den B. auf diese Weise leicht gemacht hat,
zeigt, dass die Bostocker Anderungen meist
starker schriftsprachlichen Charakter tragen,
namentlich in der in meiner Mnd. Grin. § 18
erwahnten etymologisierenden Richtung (Liib.
wattu, yd nice; gelaclit; bracht, bunden = Eo.
wat du, dat rtke; gelecht; gebrocht, gebunden
u. dgl.), wie auch darin, dass die hd. Spuren
des Liib. Drucks, ausser im Eeim, umgesetzt
werden (z.B. Liib. uff myn eyd, ist, beschytz =
"Ro.up . . . is, beschytery),mit der Einschran-
kung, dass ungefiihr in Brandes' "zweitem man-
nich-Gebiet " die Formen der Vorlage haufiger
beibehalten sind. Die Rostocker Zusatzkapitel
stimmen im sprachlich-orthographischen Cha-
rakter vollig zum iibrigen. Standen sie viel-
leicht schon in einer (bisher durch kein er-
haltenes Exemplar belegten) Liib. 2. Auflage?
Die Beliebtheit und Verbreitung von NS. lehrt
ja die in meiner Gesch. d. Schriftsprache in
Berlin, S. 117, A. 2 angefiihrte Notiz. Zu
dieser Annahme stimmt der hier vorkommende
liibeckische Ortsname Slukup (vgl. R. V. 6168),
wahrend freilich die Holzschnitte der Ro. Aus-
gabe, die an A, nicht wie die der Liib. an N
anschliessen, dafu'r zeugen, dass man ihr Selb-
standigkeit zusprechen darf. Eine Probe der
Liibecker Illustrationen mit ihrem Strassburger
Vorbild beschliesst die Einleitung.
Dem sorgfiiltigen Textabdruck folgen aus-
fiihrliche Anmerkungen. Uberall wird an
erster Stelle das Verhaltnis zur Vorlage darge-
legt, der Anteil des Liibecker wie des zweiten
nd. Bearbeiters herausgearbeitet. Hatten auch
Zarncke und Schroder im allgemeinen fiir
diese Anmerkungen trefflich vorgearbeitet, so
enthalten dieselben such viele eigene Beobach-
tungen. Hieran schliesst sich ein ausfiihr-
liches, sehr gewissenhaft zusammengestelltes
June, 1915.]
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
189
Glossar. Man kann iiber die Anlage eines
solchen verschieden denken: die Stichworte
konnen in der Schreibung des Druckes oder
auch in normalisierter Form gegeben werden.
Brandes folgt im allgemeinen der ersten Auf-
fassung. Die Inkonsequenzen, die dabei zahl-
reich begegnen, zeigen deutlich die Berechti-
gung der zweiten Ansicht, namentlich fur einen
Text wie den vorliegenden, der, von Anfangern
kaum gelesen, in seinem Glossar weniger eine
Briicke fiir diese als vielmehr eine Zusammen-
stellung des Wortschatzes und Wortgebrauchs
bieten sollte. Einige Beispiele werden dies er-
harten: Fiir stimmloses s (nd. s, mhd. s, tz)
braucht der Setzer die Zeichen s, (s, tz, Dement-
sprecbend trennt B. boselen (-ose-) von botzel-
spyl (-otze-) ; sucker steht unter s, tzege unter t ;
Rutze, Russe, ist hinter Ruter auf gefuhrt, spytz,
spitz, unter -it-, aber spyss, Spitze, unter -is-.
Die tlbersichtlichkeit leidet hierunter, da zahl-
reiche Falle ahnlicher Art begegnen, von denen
ich bier nur wenige Beispiele anfiihren kann,
wie ummylde :unmyldicheyt (-mm- S. 539 :
-nm- S. 540), ambegyn:anbeghynnen (unter
-mb- und -rib-) ; seyl, meyst, meysterschop
(-ei-) : mene, menen, mester (-en-, bezw. -es-) ;
prediker folgt hinter predekye, seggelen hinter
segen. Leichter sind die Falle, in denen die
zufallige Schreibung die Einordnung nicht
beeinflusst, wie z. B. anvangen:anfanck; oghe:
ogenblickj afftheen, antheen:aftoch; buthe:
buten; affghaen, afflaten:afganck, aflaetj lychte :
lichtlyck; berichten:berycht. Ahnlich im Na-
mensverzeichnis am Schluss : Ryge, Riga, hinter
Rutzen; Yrlant steht nach W; Lyps, Leipzig,
nach Lupke, Liibeck ; Nydhard nach Norwegen.
Es Hesse sich wohl auch an einen oder den
andern Artikel eine Bemerkung kniipfen, z.B.
zu S. 478 gheystlicheyt 26, 17 (das fiir hd.
getzlicheyt steht; Ro. : vele fr'^ude vnde lust de
j'0get hat), entfrommen S. 475; ghensen (glians
S. 477) durfte unter goes (S. 483) mitbe-
handelt werden (Mnd. Grin. § 261). Nicht
gerechtfertigt ist die Zusammenziehung von
Adverb und Verb in ein Kompositum in Fallen
wie entjeghenlegen, mit Liigen entgegen wirken,
u.a. unter e! Vgl. sogar tovele unter t. Ro.
schreibt alle diese getrennt, wie Liib. sich ver-
halt, liisst der Abdruck nicht erkennen. Ebenso
unberechtigt ist die Trennung des Part. Prt.
vom Verb, wo die verbale Bedeutung in der
adjektivischen Funktion nicht verandert ist
(kopen S. 496, schryven S. 521 unter k, s:
ghekoft S. 479, gheschreven S. 481 unter g).
Auch ware im Interesse der Ubersichtlichkeit
zu wiinschen, dass hd. Worter als solche gekenn-
zeichnet waren. Im Bestreben, Stelle fiir Stelle
genau zu iibersetzen und doch rein lautliche
Umsetzung moglichst zu vermeiden, scheint in
einigen Artikeln die spezielle Anpassung mit
Hintansetzung der Grundbedeutung etwas weit-
gehend, z.B. medemken, nicht unerwahnt
lassen; eynem eyn oor ansetten (i. e. an die
Narrenkappe), einem seine Torheit vorhalten,
hintergehen, usw.
Aber dies sind kleine Einzelheiten, Wiinsche,
die der sorgfaltigen Arbeit im ganzen kaum
Abbruch tun. Ein Namensverzeichnis bildet
den Schluss des Buches. Die niederdeutsche
Sprachforschung ist dem Herausgeber dankbar
fiir diese Gabe, die fur die Literatur- wie die
Buchdruckergeschiehte Norddeutschlands wert-
voll ist.
AGATHE LASCH.
Bryn liawr College.
Le Roman de Renard, par LUCIEN FOULET.
Paris, Champion, 1914. 574 pp. (Biblio-
theque de l'£cole des hautes etudes, fascicule
211.)
II
We can readily agree with Foulet that
branches I (the so-called "plaid de Renard"),
III (Renard's theft of the fish — Ysengrin's
tonsure and the loss of his tail), IV (the story
of how Renard tries to drown Ysengrin in a
well), V (the division of the 'bacon' and the
tale of the cricket), X ("Renard medecin ")
and XIV (Renard's fight with Tibert and with
Primaut, the wolf's brother), all appeared
shortly after the publication of the central
branch, the existence of which they either ad-
mit or assume. For example, I, which opens
190
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
[Vol. xxx, No. 6.
the cycle in ten out of fifteen MSS., and which
is undoubtedly one of the gems of the collec-
tion, begins by saying:
Perrot, qui son engin et s'art
Mist en vers fere de Renard,
Lessa le meus de sa matere.
It then proceeds to relate the judgment, or to
use the technical term, the plaid de Renard.
It will be recalled, a similar scene was enacted
in Va, which Foulet regards as the continuation
of II. Only there the wheels of justice had
failed to move because Noble, with his charac-
teristic weakness for Renard, had himself im-
pugned the reliability of Hersent — an inter-
ested party — and it seemed doubtful that
Ysengrin had witnessed her disgrace. What
sensible man, implied Brichemer, wouldn't?
Moreover, the trick so cleverly planned in II,
to catch Eenard by making him swear (escon-
dire) on the body of Roonel, the hound, who
feigns death, had failed, and the court of jus-
tice had resolved itself into a mad but futile
chase after the fox. Thus, according to Fou-
let, branch I comes a propos. Perrot would
be the author of II, and the meus de la matere
which he neglected, would be the new judgment
or plaid related in branch I. Here Renard is
accused by all the animals in unison — a situa-
tion from which his ingenuity again saves him,
for he pretends to have a contrite heart and
is planning, he says, a pilgrimage outre mer.
Doubtless the tale is told well; the symbolism
of mediaeval life is maintained better than
elsewhere; the author has a high sense of his
art; Ste. Beuve who knew branch I asked him-
self : " si le hasard seul a pu produire une
parodie si fine, qu'elle ressemble a 1'art
meme."50 Yet Foulet is, I believe, right in
his opposition to Sudre, that Va is the earlier
tale and I a secondary version. The identifi-
cation, so admirably worked out in I, of the
animal epic with the real world of seigneurs
and their unruly retainers, is prepared by
branches II and Va, and in I reaches its fru-
"Lundis, VIII, 287; cf. Foulet, pp. 332 ff.
ition, both in idea and style — and hence I is
subsequent to II and Va. Unlike the fables
of La Fontaine, the Renard still lacks a critic
like Taine to interpret its social significance,
but Foulet comes close to rendering that ser-
vice. The excellent pages in which he charac-
terizes branch I are not only the best in his
book, but among the best ever written on me-
diaeval French literature.
So, too, we may agree that III, IV and XIV
are among the earliest branches, while V and
XV (the "compagnonnage" — I should call it —
of Renart and Tibert), whatever their date,
were written with direct reference to II, with
which in fact they could be incorporated. Thus
V not only imitates Ysengrimus, but in some
places translates it (on this point Martin,
Voretzsch, Sudre, and Foulet agree) ; at the
same time the opening lines 21 fit in with the
closing episode of II; and XV refers in so
many words to episode 3 (the so-called
"steeple-chase") of branch II. As for III,
Foulet concludes that though independent of
II in matter, it yet owes its substance to Ysen-
grimus, and is influenced by II : thus the wolf
is called monseigneur, the fox lives in chastel
Renard, and the two animals are officially
known as comperes, while certain verses dis-
tinctly recall well-known verses of II. On the
other hand, IV is an epic fable from the
Discipline Clericalis. The story does not oc-
cur in Ysengrimus, Marie " or any Romulus.
Phaedrus in the fable Vulpes et Caper employs
the same motif but lacks the characteristic
traits of our version (the incident of the two
pails). These occur first in a commentary on
the Talmud by the rabbi Rashi, who was born
at Troyes in 1040. From his work the story
might naturally pass to the Disciplina, since
Petrus Alphonsus had access to Hebrew sources ;
and from the Disciplina — whose popularity is
attested by the Lai de I'oiselet, an adaptation —
the story became known to the author of IV,
n Vv. 8-9.
a Marie de France has only the story of De vulpe
et umbra lunae; cf. Fables, ed. Warnke.
June, 1915.]
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
191
assuming as we have every reason to assume
that he was at least half as well read as the
author of II.23
A similar case of clerical provenience is fur-
nished by X, only here the ultimate source is
^Esop's fable of the Sick Lion. In the eighth
century Paulus Diaconus gave an epic version
of this story, replacing the wolf by the bear, as
the victim of the fox's cunning. The Ecbasis
Captivi of the tenth century then enlarged the
framework of the tale by transporting the scene
into a humanized animal-world: the lion now
suifers from a kidney-trouble; the wolf re-
appears, this time as camerarius to his tawny
majesty; and when the fox, whom the court
has previously sentenced, appears, he brings
" ointments," but he also demands the skin of
his patrinus, the wolf. In this version the
wolf's life is temporarily spared since his exe-
cutioners, the lynx and the bear, do not skin
his head and feet — although he does die in the
end. This tale as we have it in the somewhat
legalized form of the Ysengrimus, Foulet con-
siders the source of our version. Yet, again,
the author of X knew the preceding branches,
for the prologue of X obviously seeks to rival
that of I, and the two branches are thus akin.
The same is true also of the very late branches,
XXIII and XXVII, which in turn indicate
the popularity of I, an influence which Foulet
discovers as well in the Franco-Italian poem
Rainardo.
But what of the Reinhart Fuchs, written in
1180? All the critics, with the sole exception
of Paulin Paris, have derived the German poem
from a lost French Renard, itself the prototype
of our stories. And how explain the other seven
branches (VII, VIII, IX, XI, XII, XVI and
XVII) of the original group of sixteen? Did
they, too, have Latin sources? Or are they,
like I, literary originals, dependent — if depend-
ent at all — on the group we have been consid-
fflVoretzseh argued from a sudden drop in the per-
centage of rimes riches that IV is by two different
authors. This Foulet contests by adducing branch
XVII which shows a similar variation but which is
obviously by one hand.
ering? Here it seems would lie the crux of
Foulet's contention that not only is the Renard
literary in its principal source and inspiration,
but that it is literary throughout, a work of
genial monks in which the folk, as such, had
little or no share. Whatever may be our ver-
dict on the latter question, we must at least
grant that the evidence from the German poem
of Glichezare is strongly in Foulet's favor.
In the first place, the branches we have con-
sidered comprise all of the subjects found in
the Reinhart Fuchs. It is universally admitted
that Glichezare's poem is the only poem on the
Eenard which has a consistent plot ; those least
favorable to Glichezare's originality admit that
342 verses or at least V7 of his work is of his
own invention, and that he was an author of
marked distinction, capable, if need be, of con-
siderable independence. In the second place,
Voretzsch, who gave final form (in Zeitschrift
XV, 124 and following numbers) to the cur-
rent theory, views the Renard as practically a
continuous work like the Ivain or the Troie.
This it is manifestly not. So that, neglecting
the disparity, chronological and other, of the
various branches, which he thus views on about
the same level, he wrongly concludes that the
illogical and heterogeneous Renard could not
have inspired the consecutive and homogeneous
Reinhart Fuchs. And granting even that his
premise were correct, it does not follow that a
logical composition cannot have been taken
from an illogical one. Besides, as Foulet
demonstrates, Glichezare is not as consistent as
Voretzsch maintains.
An example of Voretzsch's method is fur-
nished by the story of Tiecelin and the cheese "
(see above). In the Renard, the fox, who was
wounded in his preceding encounter with the
cat, complains to the crow that the odor of the
cheese is harmful to his wound. Glichezare,
who does not relate the adventure with Tibert,
nevertheless retains this feature. Yet accord-
ing to Sudre, whose argument Voretzsch re-
peats, it was not Glichezare who here reversed
the sequence of his original, but rather the re-
14 Foulet, pp. 420 ff.
192
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
[Vol. xxx, No. 6.
manieur of the lost French version. He re-
membered that the fox was once wounded in
an encounter with Tibert, consequently he made
this tale the introduction to the one in which
Eenard — according to Sudre — beguiled Tiecelin
about an imaginary wound ("une blessure
imaginaire").
In short, the evidence of the German poem
would not in itself justify us in assuming a
lost French version. And such a step becomes
quite unnecessary when we consider Glichezare's
object. Obviously this was to write a connected
story of Eenard and Ysengrin; further, that
story was to be short and condensed. Gliche-
zare's eye was therefore fixed on the various
episodes of his original rather than on its di-
vision into branches. So considered, the tales
fall into three groups : (a) the conflict between
Eenard and an animal weaker than himself;
(b) his conflict with Ysengrin in open war-
fare; (c) his conflict with him while professing
to be his friend. In Glichezare, group (b)
naturally had to follow group (c) — but the
French branches gave at least three accounts
of Eenard's forced appearance at Noble's court.
Glichezare could not use all of these, so he hit
upon the following sequence : the escondit, now
explained by a suspicion of Ysengrin's that his
wife is not all that she should be; the sudden
flight of Eenard; the rape of Hersent; the
judgment at Noble's court and Eenard's ven-
geance as physician to the king. A similar
attempt at unification, says Foulet, was made
in 1350 by the Flemish poet who took branch
VI as his framework, yet one has only to com-
pare in order to see that Glichezare succeeded
where the former failed. Thus it was Gliche-
zare who first put our discursive collection of
branches — at least that section of it current
before 1180 — into a consistent form.
In treating the other problem of the omitted
branches, Foulet, it seems to me, is less suc-
cessful, and the weakness of his too great in-
sistence on literary provenience makes itself
felt. Thus branch VIII which relates the pil-
grimage at loca sancta of Eenard, certainly a
clerical idea, is motivated by the widespread
theme of the league of the weak — " la ligue des
faibles," as Sudre calls it.25 The weaker ani-
mals, each of whom is threatened by some
imminent danger, meet — more or less casually
— and band together in their common misfor-
tune. In several versions of this tale, the fox
does not figure at all or, if so, he plays a subor-
dinate role. Thus in a Eussian variant a cat
is the protagonist, in a Norwegian it is a sheep,
in a Westphalian it is a dog (cf. the Bremer-
stadtmusikanten, where we have an ass), in
certain others a man joins the animals, etc.
Yet in all these cases the animals escape the
first danger in order to fall into a second and
greater one. So that assuming — for the mo-
ment— that some such narrative underlay our
story, the animals in league with the fox would
naturally be attacked by wolves. In some cases
the attack on them occurs as they are gathered
about a fire in the woods; in others it takes
place in a house where they have sought shelter
— this, strange to say, is the case in our ver-
sion. Now the story is already told in the
Latin Ysengrimus with the additional motif of
the pilgrimage. We entirely agree with Foulet
that branch VIII took the story from the Latin
poem, since it is more natural to ascribe its
variation from the Latin to the more popular,
epic tone of the French trouvere than to seek
it in a hypothetical common source. But
whether we side with Foulet or with Sudre in
this respect, in either case the ultimate deriva-
tion seems to us folkloristic, and the clerk or
trouvere would simply have adapted the folk-
tale to his social setting by linking it to the
contemporary motive of a pilgrimage. While
Foulet would object — as indeed he practically
does in his last chapter — that it is unjustifiable
to take a modern folktale, no matter how ex-
tensive its diffusion, as a proof of what occurred
in the twelfth century, the fact that such a
twelfth-century folktale is not recorded does
not disprove its existence, and the modern ver-
sions, in this case quite independent of the
Renard, argue that it may have existed — and
that possibility once admitted, Foulet's extreme
position seems to us untenable.
Or let us take another of the " omitted "
* Op. tit., pp. 212 ff.
June, 1915.]
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
193
branches, no. IX. Here we have the story of
the rich vilain or serf who, while plowing his
field, grows so disgusted with one of his oxen
that he invokes the bear against him. No
sooner said than the bear claims his victim.
The fox now acts as intermediary between the
serf and the bear, much to the former's ulti-
mate harm. The author of IX asserts that he
has the tale from a story-teller,
Qui tos lea conteors surmonte
Qui soient de ci jusqu'en Puille.
And Krohn26 and Sudre27 have no difficulty
in unearthing the story in popular modern ver-
sions. Foulet28 grants that "il est possible
qu'il faille en effet voir dans un recit de ce
genre la source de 1'auteur de IX." Yet in
the end he concludes for a less similar version
contained in the Disciplina clericalis. Why?
Because the Latin text, "litteraire celle-la,
. . . a 1'avantage tres sensible a nos yeux
d'etre chronologiquement anterieure au Roman
de Eenard."
In other words, although the " omitted "
branches doubtless were all written with refer-
ence to those already in existence, and XVII,
containing the processio, probably formed — to
use Foulet's expression — la conclusion joyeuse
of the entire original group,28 still clerical
sources need not necessarily have been exclu-
sively used. We can admit, as we certainly
must, that the Roman de Renard is a literary
work of the twelfth century, in the main the
product of clerics employing written Latin ma-
terial, without asserting that the Ysengrimus
of 1152 was wholly literary in its origin, or that
the accessible sources after that date were en-
tirely such. The sobriquets ' Ysengrin ' and
'Renard' are obviously not classical. To re-
ject the theory of Grimm that the tales in
which these names occur came into being con-
temporaneously with them, i. e., at a time
when ' Ysengrin ' and ' Renard ' were ety-
* Mann und Fuchs, Drei vergteichende M&rchen-
studien, Helsingfors, 1891, pp. 11-37.
"Ch. IV.
» P. 446.
» Ch. XVIII.
mologically significant, does not compel us to
disagree with G. Paris that "tous ces noms
sont incontestablement germaniques." " Com-
ment admettre," continues Paris (p. 25),
" qu'un poete (ou un simple conteur) soit alle
chercher pour le donner a son loup un nom
qui aurait etc inconnu dans son pays ? " No-
gent, writing in 1112, could have easily meant
" some people in general (aliqui) " and not
only clerks. In another place30 he carefully
distinguishes hearsay from authenticated tra-
dition (scriptorum veracium traditio), and he
apparently knew the talk of the people. One
of Foulet's strongest points (p. 566) is his
observation that the clergy were the inter-
mediaries between the other social groups in
the Middle Ages. Hence they were respon-
sible, he argues, for the diffusion of the Renard
among the people. But doubtless also the
clergy and the folk interacted. This he ap-
pears to forget, for if the clergy enriched the
folk-mind, the clerics may well have drawn on
the store-house of popular lore. " II est bien
digne de remarque," to quote again Paris,*1
"que des fables de Phedre . . . qui, par
1'intermediaire des mises en prose, ont etc con-
nues au moyen age, il en est pea qui aient
trouve acces dans le Roman de Renard." It is
one thing to reduce the evidence of folklore to
its proper sphere, especially when that evidence
is modern and collected in a very unscientific
manner by word of mouth. On this every
sensible person must agree with Foulet. But
it is another matter to deny it any value, not
as an absolute proof of what did exist, but as
an indication of what might have existed.
Mediaeval France had its professional "con-
teurs," and their stock in trade was hardly de-
rived wholly from antecedent literary works.
On the contrary, if popular tales for which we
cannot find a literary source are still current
to-day, to how much greater an extent this
must have been the case in the twelfth century.
And to this fact the animal tale could not
have been an exception. For these reasons,
" See, e. g., Patrologia latina, CLVI, § 330, p. 613.
«P. 51.
194
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
[Vol. xxx, No. 6.
I believe, the last chapters of Foulet's treatise
are the least valuable part of his contribution.
One further point, and we may conclude.
Early 32 in his work Foulet sets up the theory
that the author of branch II was a certain
Pierre de St. Cloud. The writer of branch
XVI calls himself by this name, and branch
XXV refers to the aventures et conte
which Pieres de Saint Cloot related, ans et
jors a ja passes. We recall 33 that the prologue
of I had said that Perrot . . . lessa le meus
de sa matere. Since Foulet interprets this as
a reference to branch II, Perrot, whom he iden-
tifies with Pierre de St. Cloud, would be the
author of II and thus the person most con-
cerned in the composition of the romance.
On the surface the theory is inviting. It is,
however, beset with various difficulties. The
chief authority for the name is a branch which
is a mediocre work of art : a later and unsuccess-
ful part of the cycle. Sudre,34 who was deeply
impressed with the fact, concluded that Pierre
de St. Cloud is a pseudonym chosen by the
remanieur of XVI, and dismissed the theory
that the name has any bearing on the author-
ship of the cycle. G. Paris was of practically
the same opinion.35 Voretzsch, to quote his
most recent statement,36 says : " Pierre von
St. Cloud wird an verschiedenen stellen als ver-
fasser von Eenart branchen genannt, ohne dass
man ihm eine der vorhandenen mit bestimmt-
heit zuschreiben konnte." And, indeed, Foulet
himself remarks: "il est peu probable que le
trouvere qui vers 1177 cut 1'idee tres neuve
de composer un poeme heroi-comique de Eenart
et d'Isengrin, se soit avise, plus de vingt ans
apres, d'y ajouter un assez mediocre supple-
ment." But if Pierre de St. Cloud is not the
author of XVI, how can we argue that he was
the author of II ? Pierre 3r is a common Chris-
tian name ; branch XXV is posterior to branch
82 Pp. 22 ff.
K See above.
" P. 22.
*P. 14.
" Einfiihrung1, p. 404.
" See, however, G. Paris, p. 10, who says : " Ce
Perrot . . . est eertainement le Pierre de Saint-
Cloud que la branche XVI se donne pour auteur."
XVI and may well have derived its reference
from it; the author of II, so explicit about his
literary equipment, is silent about himself.
Moreover, the name does occur elsewhere. The
Roman d'Alexandre, in part IV, the earliest
dating of which is 1180, mentions a Pieres de
St. Cloot, but in an entirely different and
rather obscure connection; and in 1209 Caesar-
ius of Heisterbach speaks of afetrus de Sancto
Clodovaldo who became a monk to escape perse-
cution. Neither of these references is to a per-
son of the character of our trouvere, and the
attempt 38 to connect them with each other
has, as Foulet admits, failed. Consequently,
the only safe conclusion, it seems to us, is to
grant that the author of branch II is still
unknown.
Except for the limitations mentioned, how-
ever, the new treatise on the Renard is bound
to stand. The admission of some popular in-
fluence does not militate against the important
fact that the poets of the twelfth century drew
chiefly on mediaeval monastic sources. On this
essential point Foulet requires no vindication.
We can subscribe to the statement that their
point of departure was the "Romulus en
prose,39 peut-etre YEcbasis, eertainement et
surtout I'Ysengrimus." As for their origin-
ality : " lisons," says Foulet, " les poemes de
Renard.40 Nous y trouverons des inventions
88 Jonekbloet, Etude sur le roman de Renart, 1863,
pp. 290 ff.
» Pp. 548 ff.
40 Foulet makes no independent attempt to estab-
lish the locality in which the Renard originated.
See p. 14. G. Paris thinks Pierre de St. Cloud was
a Parisian (Ext. p. 10), "a moins qu'il ne s'agisse
de Saint-Cloud-sur-Touque (Calvados)." He places
II and Va in Normandy; I (on account of welcomme,
v. 777) in Artois, so too X and XIV; XI and XV in
Picardy, likewise VIII; while VII refers to Com-
pidgne and would thus belong to the Ile-de-France.
On the whole, the north-east would thus be the dis-
trict in which the story was composed. Cf. Tsen-
grimus written by Nivard of Ghent, and also the
reference of Guibert de JCogent concerning Laon.
It is to be regretted that the volume has no index.
From misprints it is singularly free. We noted only
one of importance: p. 372, 1. 7, " 1'ours, son po-
trinus " should read " le loup, son patnnus."
June, 1915.]
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
195
antiques, des mceurs medievales, un souffle de
large humanite. Et notre etonnement sera que,
pendant si longtemps, on ait pu faire passer
pour un ramassis incoherent de teztes remanies
et rapetasses une • des productions les plus
achevees et les plus originales de 1'ancienne
Prance."
WM. A. NITZE.
University of Chicago.
COEKESPONDENCE
THE INTERIOR OF THE FORTUNE
In view of the comparatively small amount
of direct information regarding the Eliza-
bethan theatre, it is surprising that the fol-
lowing vivid description of the interior of the
Fortune has hitherto escaped notice.
The Fortune, it will be remembered, was
not round, but square. The passage, which has
previously been regarded as fanciful, is ob-
viously a description of theatre and audience
as if they constituted the fourth wall of the
apartment in which the scene is laid. In Act I,
scene i of The Roaring Girl, " As it hath lately
beene Acted on the Fortune-stage," Sir Alex-
ander Wengrave ushers his friends into a room
in his house:
8ir Alex. . . . TV inner room was too close:
how do you like
This parlour, gentlemen?
All. O, passing well!
Sir Adam. What a sweet breath the air casts here,
so cool!
Goshawk. I like the prospect best.
Laxton. See how 'tis furnish 'd!
Sir Davy. A very fair sweet room.
Sir Alex. Sir Davy Dapper,
The furniture that doth adorn this room
Cost many a fair grey groat ere it came here;
But good things are most cheap when they're most
dear.
Nay, when you look into my galleries,
How bravely they're trimm'd up, you all shall
swear
You're highly pleas'd to see what's set down there :
Stories of men and women, mix'd together,
Fair ones with foul, like sunshine in wet weather;
Within one square a thousand heads are laid,
So close that all of heads the room seems made;
As many faces there, fill'd with blithe looks,
Shew like the promising titles of new books
Writ merrily, the readers being their own eyes,
Which seem to move and to give plaudities;
And here and there, whilst with obsequious ears
Throng'd heaps do listen, a cut-purse thrusts and
leers
With hawk's eyes for his prey; I need not shew
him;
By a hanging, villainous look yourselves may know
him,
The face is drawn so rarely: then, sir, below,
The very floor, as 'twere, waves to and fro,
And, like a floating island, seems to move
Upon a sea bound in with shores above.
All. These sights are excellent!
Mr. Bullen (Middleton, Vol I, Introd. p.
xxx vi) attributes the lines to Dekker. The
attribution is doubtless correct; not, however,
on the ground that the passage is only an
" airy extravagance."
MARTIN W. SAMPSON.
Cornell University.
Noires Saies
In his edition of Berte aus grans pies (Bru-
xelles, 1874), Scheler remarks in his note to
line 221 (Berte cha'i pasmee sor un drap noir
com saie) : " Je ne sais pas comment justifier
1'expression noir com saie; le mot aurait-il
peut-etre pris 1'acception speciale de drap mor-
tuaire ? "
In a note on the word " saie," in the ZRPh.,
XXV, 354 f., Meyer-Liibke comments on the
same passage : " Das Wesentliche, Eigenartige
der saie ist im Mittelalter die schwarze Farbe
gewesen, und zwar in solchem Grade, dasz
Adenet geradezu den Vergleich wagen konnte
un drap noir com saie (Berte 37), ein Vergleich
der Scheler (Anm. zu der Stelle) und gewiss
vielen andern nicht ganz verstandlieh war, da
man daraus allein doch nicht wohl schlieszen
durfte, dasz die saie iiberhaupt ' schwarz ' ge-
wesen sei, der aber sofort das Befremdliche ver-
liert, wenn man damit Barb. u. M. I 345, 2298
zusammenhalt, wo ein Geistlicher sagt Mais por
196
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
[Vol. xxx, No. 6.
ce, se vest noires saies Et il vestent les robes
vaires, Ne lor desplaise mes affaires, welche
Stelle mir A. Tobler auf meine Frage nach der
genauen Bedeutung jenes Vergleiches freund-
lichst nachwies. Der Stoff sate aber kann zwar
schwarz sein, ist es aber nur ausnahmsweise,
so dasz also auch nicht Gleichheit der Farbe
die Bedeutungsverschiebung erklaren konnte."
Perhaps the above passage (it comes from
Gautier de Coinsi's Seinte Leocade) is partly
responsible for the utterly inadequate definition
of saie in the Grand Larousse : " Serge dont
les moines se faisaient des chemises." The
records of the Flanders cloth industry in the
thirteenth century show that saie was very gen-
erally used for " cauches," a sort of long stock-
ing, almost drawers, which came well up on
the thigh, and which, at least in the city of
Saint-Omer, were always dyed black.1 In the
anonymous poem entitled I'Ordene de Cheva-
lerie these lines occur, in an account of the
knighting of Saladin by Hugues de Tabarie
(I copy from MS. B. N. Fr. 837) :
Apres li a chauces ch(auc)ies
De saie noires deliees.2
Another manuscript of the same poem (Brit.
Mus. Harl. 4333) gives for the second of these
lines De saie de b(ru)ges deliees, but informs
us later that the chauces were black. If we
should accept the reading of the latter manu-
script, which I am afraid, for various reasons,
we dare not depend on, we might infer that
Bruges, as well as Saint-Omer, dealt_ in
"chauces . . . de saie noires," and that
thirteenth century chausses, when made of
" saie," were commonly black ; but as matters
stand, there is only a probability in this
direction.
EOT TEMPLE HOUSE.
University of Oklahoma.
'See A. Giry, Bistoire de la Ville de Saint-Omer
et de ses institutions jusqu'au XlVe siecle, Paris,
1877, pp. 360 and 564.
'In the version as printed in the Barbazan-Mgon,
I, 59 ff., which follows B. N. Fr. 25462, the linea
read: Apres li a couches cauchies De saie brune et
delijes (11. 165-66) ; and in MS. Cambridge Gg. 6. 38,
the couplet runs: Apres ly ad chauces chaucez De
brune saye delyes; but all the versions refer to the
chauces later, in rhyme, as black.
CONCERNING THEODORE WINTHROP
As the only member of Theodore Winthrop's
family now living who knew him, I trust I may
be permitted to answer Mr. Elbridge Colby's
note in Mod. Lang. Notes for February, on the
reprint of The Canoe and the Saddle, which
Mr. John H. Williams of Tacoma published in
1913, greatly increasing its scope and interest
by adding Winthrop's complete Western jour-
nals and letters, furnished by me.
Mr. Colby, who had been seeking materials
from Winthrop's representatives for publica-
tion, was easily identified by them as the author
of a review (unsigned) of this new edition in
The Nation of December 18, 1913. This re-
view attacked the statement of Mr. Williams's
Introduction that George William Curtis " did
not know Winthrop as an author" when he
wrote his well-known sketch of the young sol-
dier for the Atlantic Monthly shortly after
Winthrop's death at Great Bethel. In the
pamphlet to which Mr. Colby refers in your
columns,1 Mr. Williams amplified this brief
statement by showing that while Curtis's essay
mentioned the existence of " several novels,
tales, sketches of travel, and journals" which
Winthrop had left, it said no more of them
because Curtis had not yet become acquainted
with them. As authority for this assertion, he
quoted information received from me, but he
was further justified by Curtis's own words to
him, which he cited, and still more by the
Atlantic sketch.
In that appreciation of Winthrop, Curtis
wrote not as a critic but simply as a friend and
biographer. Had he known the MSS., and not
merely known of them, he could not have over-
looked the fact that they were the real achieve-
ment— the only important literary achievement
— of his hero's life. He must have given his
readers some information about these vital
books, and perhaps a taste of their quality, in-
stead of praising and quoting Winthrop's frag-
mentary papers merely. In the pamphlet men-
tioned, Mr. Williams says in part :
1 Winthrop and Curtis; A Revieicer Reviewed. By
John H. Williams. Tacoma, 1914.
June, 1915.]
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
197
" Curtis naturally made his biographical
sketch as complete as possible. . . . The
essay is in fact a defense of its subject from
the possible charge that his life had been lack-
ing in purpose or product. Are we to believe
that its writer deliberately concealed the fact
that Winthrop's brief career had really been
rich in output, although that output had not
yet been given to the world? ... In all
American literature there has been no other
find of unsuspected gold equal to the posthum-
ous discovery of Winthrop's manuscripts. Of
all men and journals, Curtis was the man to
have proclaimed this treasure, and the Atlantic
Monthly, under Lowell, the forum for this
proclamation."
Mr. Colby, apparently still trying to show
that Curtis had become acquainted with Win-
throp's books before he wrote his sketch, and
yet deliberately ignored them, quotes a letter
from my aunt, Elizabeth Winthrop, to Mr.
James T. Fields. This letter alone is ample
proof of the truth of Mr. Williams's assertion,
for it was written to set at rest the insinuation
that Curtis's failure to do justice to Winthrop's
unpublished books, and so to " bring him for-
ward as an author," was due to " jealousy lest
he be eclipsed " ! I quote her own sentence
from this letter, which Mr. Colby has obliged
Winthrop's kindred by discovering and pub-
lishing :
" To us who know his noble nature, his genu-
ine admiration of Theodore's books, and his joy
in their success, as well as the helping hand he
always holds out to his literary brethren, this
is simply absurd and ridiculous; and the men-
tion of the fact that Theodore never showed
him any of his writings but ' Love and Skates,'
which he immediately recommended his send-
ing to the Atlantic, ... is sufficient
answer," etc.
It will be clear that Elizabeth Winthrop
could not have written these words if Curtis
had read her brother's MSS. in the short time
available for preparing his Atlantic essay, nor
have asked in her letter that he be requested to
write a second Winthrop paper. Her meaning
is unmistakable; Curtis's seeming injustice to
his dead friend was known to her and her
family to have been wholly unintentional, be-
cause he did not then " know Winthrop as an
author."
Mr. Colby is again inaccurate in saying that
the "proper and dignified review" of Win-
throp's writings published later was " written
by G. P. Lathrop." This interesting article
may be found in the Atlantic for August, 1863.
The Atlantic Index shows that it was the work
of Charles Nordhoff.
ELIZABETH WINTHROP JOHNSON.
Pasadena, California.
A HOMILETICAL DEBATE BETWEEN HEART
AND EYE
- --
•'-' r '
l_
In his discussion of the medieval Debate
between the Heart and Eye, Dr. J. H. Han-
ford 1 recognizes two distinct types : the courtly
debate, in which the question is the relative
lesponsibility of eye and heart for the pain
which the lover suffers, and the theological
debate, in which sin rather than love forms the
subject of the discussion. Of the latter type
the only examples which he cites are the well-
known Disputatio inter Cor et Oculum 2 and
a passage in da Eiva's Debate between the
Body and the Soul.3 Further evidence of the
currency of this theological discussion appears
in two texts, hitherto unprinted, in which the
contention between heart and eye is condensed
into a form closely resembling the exemplum.
The first of these occurs in a manuscript of
the late fourteenth century, in the Library of
Merton College (MS. 248, fol. 132a, col. 2) :
Nota hie disputacionem inter cor & oculum.
Cor accusat ocwlwm: tu violas animam solo
visu. & ocwlws: non ego set tu praua cogita-
cione. & cor : tu ha&es portas per quas omnia
proueniunt. & [oculus:] in tua potestate est
eas claudere. cui cor : tu nimis stulte respicis
qwod delecta&tle est. & ocwlws: nee est pec-
catum sine consensu tuo quia tui est conuertere
me ad dewm sine cowsensu cuius ne possum
Buperare. & &utem veniunt racio & iniellectus
1 Mod. Lang. Notes, XXVI, 161-165.
'Ed. T. Wright, Latin Poems of Walter Mapes,
pp. 93-95.
• Monatsterichte der Berlirter Akad., 1851, pp. 132-
142.
198
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
[Vol. xxx, No. 6.
dantes rectum indicium : volo quod ocwlws lac-
rimet propter malum visum & cor doleat
propter malam cogitaeionem. & sic fit expo-
sicio in gallico & post earn in angZico.
Cor. Tu mas hony de ton mau' regarder.
Oculus. Mes tu mas hony pur mau penser.
Cor. Nestu la porte ou entre peche.
Oculus. Tu la puys clore a ta volunte.
Cor. Vous regardez trop folement.
Oculus. Ceo nest peche pur ton assent.
Donk vijnt reson & iugement & dist ensi:
leo voil que le oil plure & waymente
& le coer de maus ceo repente.
Istwd facilitei dici potest in anglico : pe herte
seib to be eie bus:
)>ou vs ast shend J>oru bi fol loking.
[Eye] but J>ou vs ast shent )?ouru )>i fol Benching.
[Heart] nartou )>e Sate J>oru warn come)) sinne &
Routes ille.
[Eye] )>ou maist it shette at )>inc> wille.
[Heart] folies biholden niltou bilinne
[Eye] Wijj outen J>e it is no synne.
J>an come}? reson & vnderstanding
& herof sifus a ristful demyng & seij) J)us :
Ich wil ))at )>e eie wepe ful sore
& J>at ))e herte sorwe & synne no more.
The second text, consisting of an English
version only, is found in the Commonplace
book compiled by Johannis de Grimestone in
the year 1372, which is now preserved in the
Advocates' Library at Edinburgh (MS. 18. 7.
21, fol. 99b).
tfota. Disputacio inter cor d ocuZum.
Dicit Cor oculo.
Respondit Oculua.
Dicit Cor.
Respondit Oculus.
Dicit Cor.
Dicit Oculus.
Tune Eacio dat
Indicium.
))u schendest me sore witft )>i
loking
J>u schendest J)e more wtUi )>i
benghking
J)u art ]>e sate of bouthtes hille
]>e gate mauthtu scitten at J)i wille
l>u lokest to lithlicheon fairejnng
}>ot is no senne but boru ))i
suffring.
Lat eySe wepin for his loking
& lat herte repenten for wikke
]>enki[n]g.
The similar phrases in the two English texts,
especially in the first two or three lines, are
not sufficient to establish any direct connection,
as the likeness may be explained on the sup-
position of a common Latin original. This
Latin prose text, as represented by the Merton
MS., when compared with the metrical Dispu-
tatio shows noteworthy differences. In the first
place, whereas in the latter the Heart speaks
only once and the Eye makes only a single
reply, in the prose text Cor and Oculus each
speak three times. Again, though in both
pieces Eatio comes forward as the arbiter of
the dispute and renders a verdict which affirms
the guilt of both parties, yet the judgment ren-
dered is not the same. According to the prose
text, instead of drawing a philosophical dis-
tinction between the cause and the occasion of
sin, Eatio assigns to both Heart and Eye ap-
propriate penance. Indeed, the resemblance
between the Latin poem and the prose Dispu-
tatio hardly extends beyond the essential idea
which lies at the basis of both. Standing side
by side, they illustrate the difference of form
resulting from the employment of the same
idea for widely different ends. The purpose
of the poem is literary and philosophical,
while that of the prose text is definitely
homiletical.
It would be idle, in the present state of our
knowledge, to attempt to define the relation-
ship existing between the prose Disputatio and
the other versions of the theme. One sees,
however, that its concise form and its direct
and simple statement of the moral issue fitted
it for wide circulation. And in some such
form as this, we may easily believe, the conflict
between Heart and Eye was impressed upon
laymen in many a medieval congregation.
To the list of courtly debates given by Dr.
Hanford still another instance may be added.
In the Old French Guillaume de Palerne the
love-wounded Melior debates for some seventy
lines (vv. 828-898) the relative responsibility
of heart and eye, in a fashion which easily re-
calls the corresponding passage in. Cliges.
CARLETON BROWN.
Bryn Mawr College.
A NOTE ON COMU8
There are five lines in Comus which have
provoked from commentators some discussion,
the simplest explanation and true meaning of
which, however, I believe have not yet been
suggested. The passage occurs at the end of
one of Milton's long sentences (11. 720-736).
Comus, in his efforts to seduce the lady, ad-
June, 1915.]
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
199
vances the argument that she should make use
of her beauty, replenish the earth, and thus
show due appreciation of the gifts of the Al-
mighty. Moreover, if we should not avail our-
selves of temporal blessings, we should not only
become surfeited with them, but evil would
result.
It is the expression they below, in line 734,
to which I have reference particularly. Three
interpretations of this have been suggested, dif-
fering according to the meaning attached to
the deep, in the preceding line. These are
succinctly stated by Professor Neilson: " (1)
If ' the deep '=' the sea,' then ' they below '=
'sea-monsters,' or (2) 'men.' If 'the deep'
=' the centre of the earth,' then ' they below '=
' gnomes.' " 1
The late William Vaughan Moody accepts
the first of these, taking ' the deep ' to mean
' the sea.' He says : " Can it be that Milton
believed that diamonds were found, like pearls,
in the sea, or does he refer to diamonds which
have been cast there from shipwrecks? Or is
'diamonds' used in a general sense for 'precious
stones ' ? " 2 Verity thinks that the reference is
to men beneath the sea. Mr. C. W. Thomas,
referring to an early manuscript, in which the
line reads
Would so bestud the centre with their starlight,
claims that this " makes it fairly clear that
' deep ' here means depths of the earth," and
that " ' they below,' therefore, would refer to
the gnomes and other supernatural creatures
who were supposed to dwell within the earth." 8
Professor Trent, in his edition of the minor
poems, is inclined to agree with this interpre-
tation. Masson makes no comment on the
passage.
It is certainly "fairly clear" that 'the
deep' refers here not to the sea, but to the
depths of the earth; for the sea could hardly
be said to have a forehead. The explanation
of they below, however, I believe is that it re-
1 Milton's Minor Poems, Lake English Classics, p.
142.
1 Cambridge edition of Milton, p. 388.
• Riverside Literature Series ed. of Minor Poems,
p. 88.
fers not to gnomes, but to men. That is,
' below ' does not mean below the surface of
the earth, but below the heavens, and is to be
taken in a general sense as referring to the
inhabitants of earth. This word is often used
to designate men, as distinguished from the
heavenly hosts; as for instance in the line of
the Doxology,
Praise him, all creatures here below.
And Milton himself, in the second book of
Paradise Lost (1. 172), uses above in the same
manner.
A paraphrase of these five lines, then, I be-
lieve would be something like this: The sea
o'erfraught — overladen with its treasures —
would swell — overflow; and the unsought dia-
monds, bulging out from their beds under the
ground, would so emblaze, or illuminate, the
forehead of the deep — the surface of the earth
— and so bestud with stars, that they below,
the inhabitants of earth, would become so
inured to light from gazing on the brilliancy
of the precious stones that they could soon
look with impunity upon the sun itself.
W. H. VANN.
Howard Payne College.
BRIEF MENTION
Prince de Ligne: Lettres a la Marquise de
Coigny. Edition du Centenaire par Henri Le-
basteur. Paris. Champion. 1914. xxix -f- 96 pp.
The centenary of the Prince de Ligne, probably
the most accomplished Gallicized foreigner of
the old regime, is being celebrated by the re-
publication from his extensive memorials (Me-
langes litteraires, militaires et sentimentaires,
1795-1811, 34 vols. Memoires et melanges
historiques, 1827-29, 5 vols. Also Lettres et
pensees, ed. Mme de Stael, 1809. Cf. Sainte-
Beuve, Causeries du lundi, VIII, 234-72) of
several selections which best illustrate his vari-
ous phases: his military experience, his taste
for gardening, and the above small volume of
letters. This last is the lively record of an eye-
witness concerning the travels of Catherine the
Great in the Crimea, January to July, 1787.
200
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
[Vol. xxx, No. 6.
It has heretofore appeared only in the var-
nished version of Mme de Stael and in that of
De Lescure (1886). It seems worth while that
these nine letters, originally appretees for pub-
lication by the author, forming a complete and,
as Sainte-Beuve emphasized, a most interesting
episode, should now emerge in a critical edition.
In restoring the text, M. Lebasteur has recorded
the variants and added enlightening historical
notes. He has also provided a " Causerie pre-
liminaire " in which are exhibited the chief
traits of the Prince de Ldgne and of his lady
correspondent. Among the former these are
stressed : the Austrian's preoccupation with
esprit; his gaiety, adaptability and skill in flat-
tery— apparently compatible with a sincere ad-
miration for his imperial hostess; his aristo-
cratic Neo-Classicism combined with a dawning
Eomanticism. It is particularly in marking
this transition that the Lettres themselves are
valuable, and here it seems that the editor has
rather skimped the part of Rousseau and the
suggestion of Chateaubriand. The remarkable
fifth letter, "De Parthenizza," full of sou-
venirs of Iphigenia and of other classical allu-
sions, is partly no doubt a morceau de bravoure,
but the sentence on " melancolie vague " as
anticipating passion, the sensiblerie in connec-
tion with nature, and much self-analysis shown
by the writer in reviewing his own career in
camp and court, are surely significant. Other
perhaps the most interesting, the writer draws
conclusions concerning Sealsfield's character
and temperament from his realistic descriptions
of nature. A question of some interest, not
treated by the writer, is to what extent Seals-
field was influenced in his treatment of nature
by the descriptions of such scientific travelers
as Humboldt and Forster. Also a comparison
of Sealsfield's descriptions of nature with those
of such " Amerika " writers as Gerstacker,
Strubberg, and Mollhausen might produce in-
teresting results. While Sealsfield's descrip-
tions exhibit greater artistic skill and origin-
ality, they are on the other hand often very
grotesque, exaggerated, and even inexact, and
certainly never as far-reaching as those of the
above exotic writers, whose works, though less
praised, were far more extensively read by
those Germans who were to seek new homes in
America. P. A. B.
The question is sometimes asked " What is
a New Edition ? " In the case of Die Harz-
reise, edited by L. R. Gregor, Revised Edition,
Ginn and Company, 1915, one is moved to in-
quire " What constitutes a Revised Edition ? "
and the answer would apparently have to be
" The addition of a Vocabulary." A spelling
has, to be sure, been modernized here and there,
vcmij, uuu v^ni,,, «,i^ DUI^J o^g^iiivui.^. wm^,_but otherwise there is not the least sign that
engaging features of the letters are the descrip- 3$ the editor has profited from an examination of
tions of luxurious travelling and barbaric em- ' the various editions of the Harzreise (Vos,
Kolbe. Fife) that have appeared since his own
bassies, the characteristics of Oriental Europe,
the Prince's clinging to his submerged career
as a warrior, his gallant and precieux tone to-
ward his correspondent, his candid royalism,
and the fact that all his wit does not impede a
certain shrewd wisdom. Taken together with
Sainte-Beuve's study this volume affords a
striking portrait of an individual who was also
a type. E. P. D.
Max Diez's Ober die Naturschilderung in
den Romanen Sealsfields in the Washington
University Studies, April, 1914, is a very satis-
factory study of Sealsfield's (Carl Postl) treat-
ment of nature in his novels. Chapter I gives
a survey of the parts of America described and
of what in their scenery most attracted the au-
thor. In chapter II the writer discusses three
distinct kinds of descriptions employed in
Sealsfield's novels: (1) general descriptions
which serve as backgrounds for the actors; (2)
panoramic views described by the actors; (3)
descriptions closely interwoven with the experi-
ences of the actors themselves. In chapter III,
(1903). To mention only some of the more
conspicuous lapses that remain undisturbed:
die Nordsee (p. 22, 1. 7) is still the Baltic,
verf alien und dumpfig are etill referred to the
Gose instead of to Goslar (p. 29, 1. 7), the
Kaiserworth and the Katserhaus are still con-
fused (p. 29, 11. 23-24). Greifswald is located
' in Stralsund, Prussia '" — a statement that
seems to owe its origin to a note in Colbeck's
Prose Selections from Heine. The editor also
continues ignorant of the fact that the passage,
p. 67, 1. 28 — p. 68, 1. 19, is a literal transla-
tion from Ossian's Darthula, and hence still
insists that deine Halle (Ossian's thy hall)
contains a play on the name Halle, and that
p. 68, 1. 17, is " perhaps meant to be a parody
on Denis's translation into hexameters." The
most characteristic feature of the edition is
the renderings of numerous passages of con-
siderable length into English, renderings that
are meant to serve as models for the student.
Almost invariably these are brilliantly done.
It is to be regretted all the more that a book
setting so high a literary standard should show
so little regard for the demands of scholarship.
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
1.0
VOL. XXX.
BALTIMORE, NOVEMBER, 1915.
No. 7.
EATING A CITATION
Some editors of Nashe and Greene have sup-
ported the theory of Greene's authorship of
George a Greene, the Pinner of Wakefield, by
pointing to the similarity between the incident
(Act 1, Sc. 2) where George a Greene forces
the insolent Mannering, who comes with a com-
mission from the rebel Earl of Kendall for sup-
plies for his army from the town of Wakefield,
to eat the three wax seals of his commission and
see the commission itself torn into shreds, and
an incident which is supposed to have been true
of Greene himself. The yarn is briefly told by
Nashe, in a defense of Greene:
" Had he liu'd, Gabriel, and thou shouldst so
unarteficially and odiously libeld against him
as thou hast done, he would haue made thee an
example of ignominy to all ages that are to
come, and driuen thee to eate thy owne booke
butterd, as I sawe him make an Apparriter once
in a Tauern eate his Citation, waxe and all,
very handsomely seru'd twixt two dishes." 1
This anecdote is taken not as the jest of a
satirical writer, but rather seriously, by Mc-
Kerrow, in a suggestion which he contributes
for the " Notes on Publications " in the Malone
Collections, Parts IV and V, 1911, pp. 289-90.
As a possible explanation of the manuscript
note on the title-page of the Duke of Devon-
shire's copy of the 1599 quarto of George a
Greene to the effect that " Ed. Juby saith that
ye play was made by Ro. Greene," Mr. McKer-
row proposes to construe the by as for, and
hence, in this instance, virtually about Greene.
After illustrating the usage, he goes on to say :
" Robert Greene was a well-known figure in
his day, and was undoubtedly much talked of
after his death. Is it not possible that Juby
fancied that the incident of George a Greene
and Mannering in the play had been suggested
by Robert Greene's treatment of the apparitor;
and that the true meaning of the note is not
that the play was written by Greene, but that
'Strange Newen, 1592. O,, McKerrow, I, 271,
line 25.
it was aimed at him or made use of incidents
of his life?"
The incident occurs in several places. It is
found in full in the prose romance on which
George a Greene is based, the manuscript of
which has been supposed to belong to the late
sixteenth or early seventeenth century (the
earliest extant printed copy being dated 1706).
It is not known whether this prose version is
later or earlier than the play, but it has been
pretty generally assumed that the play is
founded on the prose version in one form or
another. The action is substantially the same
in play and romance, the romance having an
added touch of realism in Mannering' s choking
on the seals and being given a bowl of ale to
wash them down, a detail which appears,
doubled, in a similar incident in Sir John Old-
castle (1600).
The whole scene in Sir John Oldcastle (Act
2, Sc. 1) is on a larger scale. The Summoner
here is a sort of stock character, whose traits,
dramatically suggested by soliloquy and dia-
logue, carry with them a faint suggestion of
the kind of wickedness so earnestly inveighed
against in church councils in the Middle Ages,
and so humorously hit off by Chaucer in the
character of his summoner to ecclesiastical
courts. One may imagine the " taking down "
of such a character as furnishing great enjoy-
ment to the audience even as late as the seven-
teenth century, the summoner being so gener-
ally unpopular.2 The Sumner appears at Sir
'Special abuses of the office of summoner, or pur-
suivant, of the ecclesiastical courts during the
period 1580-96 may have led to the revival of good
old stories about wicked summoners and also en-
couraged the summoned to acts of violence against
the messengers. In the Acts of the Privy Council
for 1580 (Eliz., Vol. iv, p. 820) there is a letter
to the Lord Bishop of London " with a supplicacion
enclosed complaining of the attaching and sending
for by his seruantes (to the abuse of the Commis-
sion Ecclesiastical!) for poore men to their great
charges and hinderance, nothing at their coming
being laid unto their cliarg, but offered to be ex-
cused for a little money." In spite of whatever
action the Council may have taken, the abuse con-
202
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
[Vol. xxx, No. 7.
John Oldcastle's place and attempts to serve
a citation for him to appear at court before the
Lord of Eochester. He is received by Har-
poole, a member of Oldcastle's household, who
tinued. There are reprinted by the Historical MSS.
Commission (Report 10, App. 2, p. 37) two letters
to Bassingbourn Gawdy, of Norfolk, one under date
of 28 June, 1593, from Sir Edward Stanhope and
Dr. B. Swale, and one under date of 3 July, 1593,
from the Archbishop of Canterbury, concerning the
serving of a forged summons upon Gawdy by a
" bad fellow," Thompson, the warrant being signed
apparently by Drs. Cosin, Swale, and Drury. The
Archbishop hopes that Gawdy " will yet further dis-
cover the knot of these cozeners . . . and disbur-
den the poor people of such filthy cormorants."
Matters had evidently reached a crisis by 1596,
for at that date, according to Strype (Annals, Vol.
iv, no. ccvii ) , there was published a " proclamation
against sundry abuses practised by divers lewd and
audacious persons falsely naming themselves mes-
sengers of her majesty's chamber; travelling from
place to place, with writings counterfeited in form
of warrants." Associated with these false messen-
gers were those from the ecclesiastical courts.
" Deceitful persons, falsely taking upon them to
be messengers of her chamber; and for that pur-
pose undutifully wearing boxes, or escutcheons of
arms, as the messengers do; being associated with
others of like bad disposition; have, and still do
go up and down the country, with writings in form
of warrants, whereunto the names of the lords and
others of her majesty's privy council, and other
ecclesiastical commissioners, are by them counter-
feited." The abuse has continued, according to the
proclamation, in spite of the pillorying and brand-
ing of offenders after prosecution in Star Chamber.
Fees have been taken for the messengers' services;
and, to cover up their trickery, these false mes-
sengers have compounded with those living at a
distance from the courts " to dispense with them
for a sum of money, and to make their appearance
before the said lords." To correct the abuse, mes-
sengers are forbidden in future to receive their
fees until those summoned appear with them in
court; and all compounding for a sum of money
forbidden, under heavy penalties.
The " knot of cozeners," the " filthy cormorants "
which the Archbishop of Canterbury refers to so
feelingly in the summer of 1593 give a contempo-
rary significance to the treatment of the character
of the summoner in George a Greene, which is noted
by Henslowe as an " old " play in December of the
same year.
I am indebted for the references to these three
items to a foot-note in Usher's The Rise and Fall
of the High Commission (pp. 62-3).
not only denies him audience, but beats him
severely, and obliges him to eat the one wax
seal, though it were " as broad as the lead that
couers Eochester Church," exhorting him, " Be
champping, be chawing, sir." Harpoole gives
him a draught of beer, and then continues the
punishment by requiring him to eat the parch-
ment commission itself, washing it down with
a cup of sack. A reminder of this closing inci-
dent occurs in 2 Henry IV, II, ii, 148, where
Poins, after reading Falstaffs letter to the
Prince, says, " My Lord, I will steepe this
Letter in Sack and make him eate it."
Mr. McKerrow. in his note on Nashe's anec-
dote,3 cites two allusions to similar scenes in
real life. One is in Scott's Abbot, Note F,
' Abbot of Unreason,' where " a similar inci-
dent is described as taking place at the castle
of Borthwick in 1547." The other is a case
reported in Pitcairn's Criminal Trials in Scot-
land, II, 346.
The case in Pitcairn is in part 2 of volume I
of the Edinburgh 1833 edition (p. 346), and
it is dated February 3, 1595, though the root
of the whole trouble goes back to December,
1594. James Hamilton and his wife, Agnes
Cockburn, and their four sons were " de-
nounced rebels" for not answering to a com-
plaint of James, Lord Lindsay, David Dundas,
and John Yallowleis, Messenger (at arms).
Yallowleis had been sent with two companions
to carry four letters, among them a citation
for the Hamiltons to appear at court to answer
for certain misdemeanors. Hamilton and his
sons had been having a hilarious time in the
country round about, slaying cows and oxen,
breaking up mills, and driving the millers from
their work. Lord Lindsay and Dundas ap-
peared personally to pursue the Hamiltons be-
fore the King and the Council; but the de-
fendants absented themselves (Dec. 19, 1594).
The Messenger went to the Place of the Peill,
"and at the yett thairof, the said Agnes &c.
cuming furth at the said yett, tuke the said
messinger be the craig, struck him upone the
heid, armes, and shoulderis, and gaif him mony
bauch strikis with pistollettis ; held bendit pis-
tollettis to his breist, causit thame to sweir
'Works of Tfashe, TV, 163.
November, 1915.]
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
203
neuir to use ony Letteris agains thame ; and in
end, with mony threatningis and minassingis,
in ane verie barbarous and uncouth maner,
forceit the said Messinger to eit and swallie the
haill copyis of the saidis Letteris, and tuke the
principall Letteris frome him; and thaireftir,
shamefullie and cruellie dang the said Witnessis
with bendit pistollettis and quhinzearis, and
left thame for deid: The lyke of quhilkis
shamefull and presumptuus insolencies hes
sendle bene hard of in the In-cuntrey."
The dates preclude the possibility of influ-
ence of this case upon the play George a Greene,
as the play is noted in Henslowe's Diary as old
29 December, 1593. If there is any connec-
tion, this is a case of a popular play influencing
history, rather than history influencing the
play. It is not necessary, however, to assume
that the Hamiltons got their notion of how to
treat the unwelcome messenger from this or
any other play.
As early as 1290 a similar incident occurred
in real life. In the Rolls of Parliament, I, p.
24, col. 2, no. 15, is recorded a case brought
against Bogo de Clare by Johannes le Waleys,
clerk, who carried letters of citation from the
Archbishop of Canterbury to the home of Bogo.
He was received by members of Bogo's house-
hold, who beat and otherwise maltreated him,
and compelled him to eat the letters and even
the seals appended:
"Bogo de Clare attachiatus fuit ad respon-
dend' Johanni le Waleys, Clerico, de hoc, quod
cum idem Johannes, die Dominica in Festo
Sance Trinitatis proximo perterito, in pace
Domini Eegis, et ex parte Archiepiscopi Can-
tuar' intrasset domum predicti Bogonis in
Civitate London et ibidem detulisset quasdam
Litteras de Citatione quadam facienda, quidam
de Familia predicti Bogonis ipsum Johannem
Litteras illas et etiam sigilla appensa, vi et
contra voluntatem suam, manducare fecerunt,
et ipsum ibidem imprisonaverunt, verberave-
runt, et male tractaverunt, contra Pacem Do-
mini Eegis, et ad Dampnum ipsius Johannis
viginti Libr5 et etiam in contemptum Domini
Eegis mille Libr3. Et inde producit sectam "
&c.
Bogo put up as defence the fact that the
injury had been inflicted without his knowledge
or his orders, by members of his household.
The King regarded the offence as enormous
because of the contempt of church and throne;
but Bogo was allowed to go on condition that
he would appear later, bringing some suspected
members of his household to answer for the
crime. He came with all his household except
these particular men, " qui incontinent! post
praedictum factum recesserunt et abierunt."
Bogo was then dismissed and Johannes le
Waleys advised to pursue the principal agents.
On reading Note F to Scott's Abbot, I was
first inclined to view the story with suspicion
as a possible combination of a good old anec-
dote, about how to treat a summoner, with a
stock character, the Abbot of Unreason, or lord
of misrule. But it seems to be founded on fact.
In his Essay on Provincial Antiquities of Scot-
land, under the heading "Borthwick Castle,"
Scott quotes in full the record of the case as
it was extracted for him from the Consistory
Begister of St. Andrews by the Scottish an-
tiquary, J. Biddell, Esq., Advocate. It is dated
16 May, 1547.
" HAT, DOMINUS BORTHWICK.
"Eodem die (die luna?) Willielmus Lang-
landis baculus literarum cititarum Domini Offi-
cialis emanatarum super Johannem Dominum
Borthwik ad instantiam Magistri Georgii Hay
de Nynzeane et literarum excommunicandum
pro nonnullis testibus contumacibus, juravitque
quod Idem Willielmus baculus presentavit
literas hujusmodi Curato dicte ecclesie pro
earundem executione facienda die dominico
decimo quinto die mensis instantis Maii ante
initium summe misse. Qui Curatus easdem ante
summam missam deponenti redeliberavit, et
dixit, se velle easdem exequi post summam
missam. Et supervenit quidem vulgariter nun-
cupatus ye Abbot of Unressone of Borthwick,
cum suis complicibus, and causit him passe wyt
yam quhill he come to ye mylne-dam, at ye
south syde of ye castell, and compellit him to
lope in ye wattir, and quhan he had loppin
in ye wattir, ye said Abbot of Unressone, saide
ye deponent was not weite aneuche nor deip
aneuche, and wyt yat keist him doune in ye
watter by ye shulderis. And yerefter ye de-
ponent past agane to ye kirk, and deliverit
yaim to ye curate for executione of ye samyn.
And you, ye said Abbot of Unressone, came,
and tuke ye letters furt of ye Curate's hand,
and gaif ye deponent ane glasse full of wyne,
and raif ye letters, and mulit ye samyn amangis
ye wyne, and causit ye deponent drynk ye wyne
204
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
[Vol. xxx, No. 7.
ande eit ye letters, and saide, gif ony maa
lettres came yair, salang as he war lord, yai
sulde gang ye said gait: propterea judex de-
crevit Curatum citandum ad deponendum super
nomine et cognomine dicti Abbatis de Unres-
sone et suorum Complicium et literas in fu-
turum exequendas in vicinioribus ecclesiis. Et
dictus Abbas et complices excommunicandus
quam primo constare poterit de eorundem
nominibus." 4
The details of this situation are so dissimilar
to those of George a Greene that it is quite
unnecessary to assume any relationship between
the historical case and the play; for there is
nothing in the incident narrated that accounts
for anything lacking in the prose romance of
George a Greene. There are a few details in
which the situation at Borthwick castle re-
sembles that in Sir John Oldcastle. A sum-
moner is sent from an ecclesiastical court bear-
ing unwelcome letters of an official nature. He
is forced to eat the letters steeped in wine. The
whole affair of the Abbot of Unreason, the
setting of the church service, the ducking in
the mill-dam — these are all irrelevant to our
purpose. The only distinctive feature of the
story that reappears in Oldcastle and is not
sufficiently accounted for otherwise is the use
of the wine.
Mr. J. E. MacArthur seems to feel that this
item needs accounting for. In his dissertation
on The First Part of Sir John Oldcastle he
discusses the relation of the Oldcastle incident
to that of George a Greene. He notes the close
parallelism between the play and the prose ro-
mance of George a Greene up to the point
where the pindar forces Mannering to swallow
the seals.
" Here the scene in the play closes. In the
romance the treatment of the unfortunate
messenger is somewhat more humane, for
George a Greene, seeing the Stunner almost
choked, sends for a cup of sack, which the
poor wretch drinks. This proves that, although
the authors of Sir John Oldcastle may have
known Greene's play, of which an edition was
published in 1599, they could not have derived
from it this incident, which seems to have ex-
isted elsewhere. There was, moreover, a ballad
on the subject of the Pindar of Wakefield, a
'Cadell, Edinburgh, edition of 1834, p. 205.
few lines of which are quoted in the two plays
of ' The Downfall ' and ' The Death of Robert,
Earl of Huntingdon.' We shall see a little
later that Munday, one of the authors of Sir
John Oldcastle, was concerned in the composi-
tion of these plays. Hence it is probable that
some version of the story was accessible to the
writers of Oldcastle other than that given in
Greene's play. From the latter they could not
have derived the last incident of the story, the
drinking of the ale." B
Of course, if the prose version of George a
Greene were accessible to the authors of Old-
castle, the use of the wine might be traced to
that as a source. Or, perhaps some may choose
to suppose a familiarity on the part of the play-
wrights with the 1547 case at Borthwick Castle.
That the wine figured in an early version of
George a Greene and was omitted purposely
from the play is not inconceivable. It would
not indicate less humanity in the treatment of
the messenger so much as it would indicate a
greater dignity, as well as brevity, in the
handling of the scene. In the play of George
a Greene, the action moves very rapidly at this
point, with a minimum of talk between the
pindar and the messenger, and a minimum of
stage business. The choking over the seals and
washing them down with wine (it will be re-
membered that in neither version of George a
Greene is the letter eaten) would have exag-
gerated the farcical nature of the incident be-
yond the apparent intentions of the author.
In spite of the essentially comic character of
the incident, we get the impression of a certain
strength and dignity of character in the hero.
In Oldcastle, on the other hand, the comic fea-
tures are expanded till the result is broad farce.
The situation is visualized by the playwrights
down to the slightest detail. To a writer who
is dallying with the situation, expanding it
with much talk, prolonging the agony of mas-
tication and of swallowing, what more natural
than to hit upon the idea of washing down the
choking stuff with wine, — and then, of multi-
plying the incident by two ? The wine may be
traced to two possible sources, provided we as-
sume a sufficiently early date for the prose
'University of Chicago, Scott, Foresman & Co.,
190", p. 49.
November, 1915.]
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
205
romance underlying George a Greene; but is
it, after all, really necessary to assume that the
authors of Oldcastle were incapable of invent-
ing this bit of business? It seems to me en-
tirely possible that several writers handling
this situation might invent this independently,
because it occurs so naturally the moment one
begins to visualize the process of chewing wax
seals and parchment and trying to swallow
them. It is only a question of how many
sources it is desirable to assume for the treat-
ment in Sir John Oldcastle.
George a, Greene is practically rejected as a
source of Oldcastle by E. S. Forsythe who says,
in commenting on Schelling's derivation, that
"a careful comparison of the three scenes in
question will show only the germ of both the
later ones in that in George a Greene, while
there is, on the other hand, a close correspond-
ence between that in Henry V and that in
Oldcastle." Mr. Forsythe draws up an ex-
tremely careful parallel between the Oldcastle
incident and that in Henry V, Act V, Sc. 1, to
which one cannot do justice without quotation :
" Fluellen and Gower enter, the former with
a leek in his hat; and in response to a question
from Gower he says that he will force Pistol
to eat it. Pistol enters swaggering, and is
accosted by Fluellen. The latter comes to the
point and bids Pistol eat the leek. He refuses
contemptuously. Then Fluellen beats him and
continues at short intervals to do so, all the
time discoursing upon the virtues of the leek
until it, and even its skin, is eaten. Then
Fluellen gives Pistol a groat to mend his
broken pate, while Gower reproves him for his
previous actions. In Oldcastle a summoner
(corresponding to Pistol) enters before Lord
Cobham's (Sir John Oldcastle's) house, with
a process from the Bishop of Eochester's Court
to serve upon Oldcastle. Harpoole, the faith-
ful servant of Oldcastle, appears and learns
the summoner's business. He examines the
parchment which the officer has, and then
comes to his point — the forcing of its bearer to
eat it. The officer, who is, at his entrance,
quite assured in bearing, attempts to brave it
out. Harpoole beats him, however, until, pro-
testing very vigorously — as does Pistol, — he
eats the summons. While he does so, Harpoole
ironically praises its wholesomeness. As Flu-
ellen makes Pistol eat the skin of the leek, so
does Harpoole force the summoner to eat the
waxen seal on the parchment. After the docu-
ment has been disposed of, Harpoole calls the
butler and orders a pot of beer for the sum-
moner, with which to wash down his lunch.
The beer having been drunk, the officer is
dismissed, Harpoole in the meantime giving
him certain directions concerning his future
conduct." 6
Mr. Forsythe is evidently assuming the stage
performance of a version similar to that of the
Folio of Henry V to have been the source of
the scene in Sir John Oldcastle. It were a pity
to attempt to mar the exquisite symmetry of
the parallel by attacking it in any one part.
Fortunately that is not necessary. For the
average person's common sense will rebound to
the conclusion that, while the situations re-
quiring the sending of the message are by no
means identical in George a Greene and Sir
John Oldcastle, they are much more similar to
each other than is either to that in Henry V;
for the serving of a disagreeable official message
is considerably more like itself than it is like
the serving of even the most fragrant leek upon
an unwilling man; for eating purposes three
wax seals are rather more like one wax seal
than they are like an onion skin; and the de-
struction of a commission, whether by tearing
it to pieces only or by eating it, has no essen-
tial similarity to the heroic demolition of an
onion. How natural it is to close such a scene
as that in Oldcastle with good advice to top off
the maltreatment may be seen by referring to
the incident at Borthwick Castle, 1547, and
the Scotch law case in Pitcairn (1594-5). One
needs no special source for so natural a detail
as this.
Confronted with a choice between George a
Greene and Henry V as sources for Sir John
Oldcastle, one would without hesitation accept
George a Greene. But it is very clear that the
general framework of Sir John Oldcastle is not
at all accounted for by that of George a Greene,
romance or play. A very substantial resem-
blance will be found between the earliest histor-
ical case that I have found, that of Bogo de
Clare in 1290, and the treatment in Sir John
Oldcastle. In both the messenger sent is a sum-
moner from an ecclesiastical court, who carries
'Mod. Lang. Notes, 26, 104-7.
206
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
[Vol. xxx, No. 7.
an unwelcome citation to a lord of a household.
The summoner is received by one or more mem-
bers of the lord's household, and, with a beat-
ing in one case and threats of a beating in the
other, is forced to eat not only the letters but
the seals. These are the only two versions here
discussed in which both letter and seals are
swallowed. There is still another respect in
which these versions correspond and in which
they differ from the others. There is a sequel
to the incident. Bogo de Clare later answers
at the King's Court for the offense, but is al-
lowed to go free because the defense pleads that
not Bogo himself, but a member of the house-
hold, without his master's knowledge or con-
sent, committed the offense. Similarly there is
a later scene in Sir John Oldcastle (Act II,
Sc. iii) where the hero appears before the
King's court to answer for his conduct. Here
the King takes Oldcastle's part and not the
Bishop's, and assists him in establishing the
defense that, as he was absent when the offense
occurred, he is not responsible for the actions
of the members of his household. Like Bogo,
Oldcastle goes free on the ground that suit
must be brought against the principal agent,
and the lord is not responsible for his servant's
actions if they are without his knowledge.
I should not care to insist that the Eolls of
Parliament were inspected by the authors of
Sir John Oldcastle, and that the law case here
cited was the direct source of the two scenes in
Sir John Oldcastle. But it is worth while not-
ing that there is a substantial similarity in
narrative detail. Forcing a messenger to eat
unwelcome letters seems to have been a favorite
diversion in England and Scotland for several
centuries, judging from the number of allu-
sions that survive. A slight resemblance to the
situation may be found in another case in
Scotland, noted in Bannatyne's Journal, p. 243.
In the reign of Mary, one of the Queen's pur-
suivants, sent out to proclaim everything null
which had been done against her in her im-
prisonment, was forced to eat his letters, was
beaten, and warned not to come that way
again.7 We have, in addition to this inexactly
' See Scott's Essay on Border Antiquities, p. 71,
note.
dated occurrence, three law cases, 1290, 1547,
1594-5; the prose romance of George a Greene,
of uncertain date but probably existent before
1593; the play of the same name, played as
old, 29 Dec. 1593, and the play of Sir John
Oldcastle, first performed in 1599. In view of
the evident popularity of the custom of forcing
a messenger to eat unwelcome letters, whether
in real life or on the stage, need we attach any
weight to Nashe's little anecdote about Greene's
treatment of the apparitor in the tavern ? The
personal anecdote was as popular in the times of
Elizabeth and James as it is to-day. The jest-
books show the habit of attaching good old
stories to new characters that they seem to fit.
How universal such a habit is will be under-
stood by anyone who ever undertook to collect
the stories told as true of any public man who
got a real hold upon the popular imagination —
say Abraham Lincoln, for example. Greene
was certainly one type of man that could be
expected to accrete anecdotes; and in the inci-
dent there is some artistic fitness to the popular
conception of Greene's conduct. Greene may,
of course, have done exactly the thing attrib-
uted to him by Nashe; but in view of the his-
torical incidents above related, it seems entirely
possible that Nashe's little anecdote was but a
jesting allusion to what he expected every
reader to recognize as a well-known good old
story. Certainly we should be cautious about
concluding that Greene wrote George a Greene
because of a parallel between the facts of the
play and the facts of Greene's own life, or even
that Juby fancied that the play was written
either by or about Greene merely for this
reason.8
EVELTX MAY AIBRIGHT.
The University of Chicago.
8 Brief notes on " Eating of Seals " (most of which
are indexed under "Oldcastle") were contributed to
Notes and Queries, 1893-8. The most important are
those by Edward Peacock, 8th S. iii, 124 and 9th S.
i, 305, in one of which he raises the query whether
the compulsory seal-eating ever occurred or whether
the anecdotes he reprints from various sources are
to be regarded only as jests.
November, 1915.]
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
207
THE INFLUENCE OF COOPER'S THE
SPY ON HAUFF'S LICHTENSTEIN
In recent years there has appeared a number
of critical essays showing the influence of vari-
ous works in English literature upon the writ-
ings of Wilhelm Hauff. The German novelist's
indebtedness to Walter Scott l and Washington
Irving2 have been satisfactorily demonstrated.
Upon investigation it has been found that with
the above-mentioned authors there must be in-
cluded a writer whose influence upon Hauff
seems to have hitherto passed unnoticed;
namely, the American novelist, James Feni-
more Cooper. This paper proposes to show that
Cooper's The Spy is a source for Hauff s novel
Lichtenstein.
The Spy was first published in 1821, and two
translated editions of it appeared in Germany
in 1824, two years before the publication of
Lichtenstein. It at once became popular in
Germany and, as Dr. Barba says,3 "assured
Cooper's success on the Continent." The Ger-
man critics hailed Cooper as the "American
Scott." Hauff's admiration for Scott is well
known, and it is scarcely probable that he should
have remained unacquainted with the works of
a man who was being so favorably compared
with the great English novelist. As a matter
of fact, Hauff really was familiar with Cooper,
as statements from his sketch Die Eucher und
die Lesewelt show. In this sketch the book-
seller is made to say, " Ich streite Scott und den
beiden Amerikanern (Cooper, Irving) ihr Ver-
dienst nicht ab ; sie sind im Gegenteil leider zu
gut." Further he adds, in giving an example
of how the philistine is wont to criticize an
author, "Er (indefinite; author criticized by
the philistine) ist doch nicht so schon als Walter
Scott und Cooper, und nicht so tief und witzig
als Washington Irving. Und welcher Segen
fiir unsere Literatur und den Buchhandel wird
'Cf. G. W. Thompson, Wilhelm Hauff's Specific
Relation to Walter Scott, Pub. Hod. Lang. Assn
XXVI (1911), 549-91.
2Cf. Otto Plath, Washington Ircings Einfluss auf
Wilhelm Hauff, Euphorion XX, 459-71.
'P. A. Barba, Cooper in Germany, Indiana Uni-
versity Studies, No. 21.
aus diesem Samen (Scott, Cooper, Irving) her-
vorgehen, den man so reichlich ausstreut ? "
These quotations have been used as concrete
proofs of Hauff's acquaintance with Irving and
to some extent also with Scott, so there is no
reason why they should not perform the same ,
function in the case of Cooper.
Hauff's chief indebtedness to The Spy is for
the character of the Piper of Hardt. Most com-
mentators on Lichtenstein are somewhat at
variance in their explanation of this character;
in fact, it has seemed to be one of the few
cruxes which the book furnishes. Three papers
dealing with Hauff's relations to Scott have
been read before the Modern Language Asso-
ciation. In 1900 C. W. Eastman in his paper,
in which he maintained that Ivanhoe was
Hauff's chief Scottian source for Lichtenstein,
said, "The most original character in Lichten-
stein is without question the Pfeifer von Hardt,
and there seems to be no one person in Ivanhoe
to whom he seems to exactly correspond." *
Three years later (1903), W. H. Carruth
showed that Lichtenstein bore more resem-
blances to Waverley than to Ivanhoe. In regard
to the character of the Piper he said, " Hauff's
materials are if anything more attractive than
those of Scott, and, as they were indigenous, he
was forced to treat them in his own manner." B
The most comprehensive of these papers was
that read by G. W. Thompson in 1911. In it
is found the following concerning the Piper:
" On the other hand, the Pfeifer von Hardt is
a strange composite of Scottian functions. In
him we find a guide, spy, messenger, soldier,
friend, musician, and general utility man for
the hero-heroine-prince interest." " A German
critic, Max Drescher, in dealing with Hauff's
sources 7 considers the character of the Piper
as purely the invention of the author and states,
" Alle drei Elemente nun, sowohl das der Treue
gegen den Herrn als das plotzliche Auftreten
' Americana Ocrmanica III (1900), 388. See also
Pub. Mod. Lang. Assn. XV (1900), Append., p.
Ixxv.
"Pub. Mod. Lang. Assn. XVIII (1903), 525.
'Ptib. Mod. Lang. Assn. XXVI (1911), 570.
''Die Quellen zu Hawffs Lichtenstein, Leipzig,
1905, p. 145.
208
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
[Vol. xxx, No. 7.
und das Geheimnisvolle, das erst am Schlusse
seine Aufkliirung findet, hat Hauff in seinem
Pfeifer von Hardt vereinigt und ihm daniit
jene Eigenart und Wirkung verliehen, die ihn
zu einer der interessantesten Gestalten unseres
Romans machen."
In addition to the fact that a few of the
critics seem to consider the Piper to be a char-
acter original with Hauff, the majority of them
agree on one point at least, that he is a complex
character, whatever be his source. Several men
have tried to show that the character of the
Piper is a kind of synthesis of elements taken
from a considerable number of Scottian char-
acters. There does not appear to be any single
character in Scott's works which is endowed
with more than a very few of the distinctive
traits belonging to the Piper. There is one
Cooperian character, however, which in compo-
sition and function is nearly identical with the
Piper. That character is Harvey Birch, the
hero of The Spy.
Considering the Piper and Birch in detail,
we find in the first place that both authors,
Cooper and Hauff, have endowed their respec-
tive characters with almost the same physical
characteristics. Both Birch and the Piper pos-
sess extraordinary bodily strength, and remark-
able endurance and dexterity, qualities which
the ordinary observer would scarcely attribute
to the men from their appearance. Their eyes
are of the same cold gray color and are espe-
cially commented upon in both cases. The re-
markable control which both of these men have
over themselves is emphasized repeatedly. They
are able to change their manner and bearing at
will. An excellent example of this power in
the Piper is the difference in his bearing on the
first and second days in Ulm (Lichtenstein, Pt.
I ; Chs. VIII, IX) > Hauff says of him in this
connection, " Welche Gewalt musste dieser
Mensch iiber sich haben ! Es war derselbe, und
doch schien er ein ganz anderer." Several in-
stances of the same ability on the part of Birch
are to be found in Bk. I, Ch. Ill, of The Spy.9
* References to Lichtenstein are to the KUrschner
Edition of Hauff's Works, Vol. I.
•References to The Spy are to the 2nd Edition,
2 vols., New York, 1822.
There we have him characterized by such re-
marks as " his whole system seemed altered ; "
and " the whole manner of Birch was altered."
This extraordinary power of self-control is also
shown in another manner, in the cleverness,
namely, with which both men wear disguises
and actually seem to assume the character of
the people they are feigning to be. In one in-
stance Birch disguises himself as a sutler-
woman and in another as a country parson, and
in both cases he plays his part so skillfully that
he is able to deceive the shrewd American sol-
diers. In a like manner the Piper disguises
himself as a peddler to gain information in
Tubingen.
The narrative of the trip through the moun-
tains on which the Piper acts as guide to Georg
Sturmfeder contains many striking parallels
to the account of a similar trip in The Spy 10
on which Birch acts as guide for Capt. Whar-
ton. The chief points of similarity in the
stories of these trips are noted as follows :
1. The unusual familiarity of both the Piper
and Birch with the mountains is commented
upon. These two guides know every path and
by-way, and the situation of all the farms,
villages, etc.
2. Both parties stop beside a brook to enjoy
a lunch which the guide has brought along in a
"wallet." Compare the following parallel
passages :
" Am Rande eines schattigen Buchenwaldohens,
wo eine klare Quelle und frische Rosen zur Ruhe
einlud, machten sie halt. Georg stieg ab, und sein
Ftlhrer zog aus seinem Sack ein gutes Mittags-
mahl." u
" After reaching the summit of a hill, Harvey
seated himself by the side of a little run and open-
ing the wallet that he had slung where his pack was
commonly suspended, lie invited his comrade to par-
take of the coarse fare that it contained.""
3. Both guides make a sudden deviation in
their course and lead away at almost right
angles from the path they have been following
in order to avoid parties of the enemy.
4. Troups of the enemy's horsemen pass
close by.
10 Bk. II, Ch. XVI.
" Lichtenstein, p. 104.
12 The Spj, II, '240.
November, 1915.]
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
209
5. In certain vicinities the guides take un-
usual precautions to escape falling into the
hands of the enemy.
6. The descent from the hills to the lowlands
is particularly mentioned in both accounts.
The similarity of the relations between the
Piper and Duke Ulrich of Wiirttemberg and
those between Birch and Washington is also
worthy of consideration. In Lichtenstein the
Duke does not enter into the action until late
in the story and then for a time he remains
incognito. For a period of some weeks his chief
place of shelter is a cave where the Piper is
his only attendant and chief informer. The
remarkable devotion of the Piper to the Duke
is repeatedly shown. In The Spy we catch a
glimpse of Washington, incognito, in the first
chapter of the book and then he does not enter
into the story again until near the end. Even
then he remains incognito and it is only in the
next to last chapter (Bk. II, Ch. XVIII) that
his identity is revealed. He frequently meets
Birch, the spy, in a lonely rendezvous which is
half cave, half hut. Birch is his chief informer
as to the movements of the enemy. The splen-
did loyalty of Birch to his country and his de-
votion to Washington are shown in the scene
of the last meeting of the two men (Bk. II.
Ch. XVIII).
In addition to the similarities in the charac-
ters of the Piper and Harvey Birch mentioned
above, the following close resemblances should
also be noted :
1. Both characters belong to relatively the
same class of society. Birch cannot be called a
peasant, for no such class has ever been recog-
nized in America, but he belonged to the class
which most nearly corresponded to that which
in Europe was designated by the term peasant.
2. The Piper, like Birch, is known among the
enemy as a spy. The enemy are continually
trying to capture him and his life is constantly
in jeopardy, as is the case with Birch.
3. The fact that both these men are away
from home for weeks and months at a time is
commented upon by those whom they have left
behind them at home.18
"Cf. especially Lichtenstein, p. 127; and The Spy,
1, 149.
4. Birch brings a warning to Capt. Wharton
which is unheeded until it is too late to avoid
capture (The Spy, Bk. I, Ch. IV). The same
is true of the warning which the Piper brings
to Georg (Lichtenstein, Pt. I, Chs. VIII, IX).
5. Both men aid considerably in furthering
the development of the principal love interest.
Birch's part in the love affair of Major Dun-
woodie and Frances Wharton may not seem very
evident, but upon close observation it will be
found to be fully equal to the Piper's part in
the love affair of Georg and Marie.
6. Both men die fighting for the cause which
they have loved and long served so well.
In his statement quoted above, Dr. Thompson
describes the Piper of Hardt as a " composite
of Scottian functions " which he designates as
"guide, spy, messenger, soldier, friend, musi-
cian, and general utility man for the hero-hero-
ine-prince interest." It will be found to be
true that the character of Harvey Birch per-
forms all these functions with the exception of
one. We do not find mention of Birch possess-
ing any musical talent; but it must be remem-
bered that the Piper's profession of musician
serves the same purpose as Birch's peddling,
namely, to conceal his actions as spy and in-
former for the cause which he served.
There are other interesting analogies in the
plot, structure, and content of the two works
under consideration, but as in most cases paral-
lel analogies with one or more of Scott's novels
are also found, one is more prone to give credit
for these similarities to Scottian sources. Yet
it is not possible to deny absolutely that Cooper
also had some share in influencing Hauff in
these respects. For the sake of illustration, a
few of the analogies (between The Spy and
Lichtenstein) referred to above are here given :
1. A strong friendship between men fighting
on opposite sides — Sturmfeder and Frondsberg
in Lichtenstein; Capt. Wharton and Major
Dunwoodie in The Spy.
2. The two chief female characters are in
love with men of opposite parties.
3. The hero of Lichtenstein and the character
most nearly corresponding to h.'ra in The Spy,
Major Dunwoodie, both save and befriend per-
sons of the other side.
210
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
[Vol. xxx, No. 7.
4. The two principal female characters are
closely related.
5. The parties in the principal love affair are
engaged before the commencement of the action.
6. A mysterious stranger visits the home of
the heroine. This stranger proves to be the
leader in the political interest and plays an
analogous part in the action of both novels.
The facts presented show quite conclusively,
it is believed, that Cooper's The Spy, as a
source for Hauff's Lichtenstein, must be reck-
oned along with the number of other influences
which have been shown to have had their effect
on this novel. It is not contended that Cooper's
influence has been more than a minor one, but,
nevertheless, the pointing out of it will, it is
hoped, clear up what has hitherto been a matter
of some uncertainty and conjecture.
C. D. BRENNER.
Princeton University.
EC-STAND, MAGNE, AND BAKO
If a lover of Cyrano chances to read les Er-
reurs de documentation de Cyrano de Bergerac,1
his appreciation of the play will not be lessened
by reason of the anachronisms that M. Magne
discovers in it. He will, however, be led into
error if he believes that the critic's documenta-
tion is everywhere superior to the poet's. This
fact can be readily established if we read what
Magne has to say in regard to Rostand's use of
Baro's Clorise.
It will be remembered that this is the play
in which Montfleury is acting when he is cruelly
interrupted by Cyrano, and that Rostand in his
stage directions dates the scene 1640. Here lies
what Magne considers " 1'erreur principale " 2
of the first act, for, as la, Clorise first appeared
in 1631,3 possessed little merit, and encountered
lBy Emile Magne, Paris, 1898.
2 P. 15.
'Ibid. This date is correct, but Magne makes the
further remark that the play was printed in 1632,
although the edition which he has had in his hands
has the date 1631 in its aclieve' d'impritner
the rivalry of a number of better plays,* he
believes that it could not have been acted later
than 1631. He then criticizes Rostand as if
he had laid the scene in that year and points
out the facts that at that time high society,
and especially Richelieu, would not have come
to the disreputable Hotel de Bourgogne, that
there could then be no reference to the Cid,
that L'Epy, Jodelet, and other actors mentioned
by Rostand were not then playing at the Hotel
de Bourgogne, that Montfleury was not in Paris,
and that Cyrano himself was an eleven-year-old
boy at school in the country.5
A portion of this criticism, clipped from the
Revue de France and sent to Rostand, drew
from the poet a letter in which with charming
irony he pointed out that local color does not
depend on historical minutiae, that he was
aware of his anachronisms when he wrote the
play, and that Magne's objections are of no
value, as he refuses to accept 1640, which Ro-
stand believes to be a reasonable date for a
revival of la Clorise.* Let me quote from
Magne's emphatic reply to these wise words:
" Vous posez comme des axiomes indiscuta-
bles les erreurs qui ont provoque ma critique.
1640 fait tomber, dites-vous, une partie de mes
observations. — Mais justement, 1640 est une
date fausse et mes observations ne tomberont
quo devant la preuve d'une reprise de la Clorise.
Et je doute que vous me la donnicz jamais, car
on se[ne] songe guere a reprendre la piece
'Numerous mistakes occur in this connection on
pages 17 and 18, which would be of no importance
in Cyrano, but which amaze us in one who professes
devotion to accuracy. Rotrou did not bring out
Cttagtnor et Doristee, Diane, Occasions perdues, and
Heureuse Constance in 1630 and 1631, but three
years later; cf. Stiefel, ZFSL., XVI, 1-49. Rotrou'a
best plays were not written between 1631 and 1640,
for la Sasur, Venceslas, and Cosroes appeared after
the latter date. " Chauvreau " is a misprint for
Chevreau. Gilbert's best plays were not written
between 1631 and 1640, for his first piece came out
in the latter year (cf. Chapelain, Lettres, I, 656,
657) and his others were subsequent to it.
5 Pp. 19 seq. Magne appears to be ignorant of the
fact that the first representation of the Cid was at
the Theatre du Marais.
'This autograph letter is published by Magne in
his preface, pp. xviii, xix.
November, 1915.]
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
211
ancienne d'un auteur a 1'instant ou il en donne
une nouvelle — surtout quand cet auteur est
Bare." 7 I, too, doubt whether Kostand has
furnished this proof, but the following remarks
may serve as a substitute.
" Qui songeait a la Clorise six mois apres son
apparition ? " asks Magne.8 In the first place,
the publishers probably did, as it was customary
to wait six months after the appearance of a
play before printing it.9 There were also a
number of readers who thought of it, so many,
indeed, that a second edition appeared in 1634.
It was also thought of by the actors of the
Hotel de Bourgogne as late as the spring of
1633, at which time, if not later, a description
of its mise en scene was incorporated in the
Memoire of Mahelot, a fact that furnishes good
evidence of its being played after that date.
Furthermore, the Gazette of February 2, 1636,
declares that on January 27 of that year the
Cleoreste of Baro was played before the queen
at the Hotel de Richelieu, and, on account of
the similarity of name and the fact that we
have no other evidence of the existence of a
play called Cleoreste, the freres Parfaict 10 have
concluded that this was la Clorise. If we ac-
cept this opinion, which seems to me worthy
of credence, the supposition that the play held
the boards nine years and that it attracted the
attention of Richelieu ceases to astonish us. In
consideration of all these facts, Rostand ought
not to be criticized for assuming a revival of
the play in 1640.
But Magne does not stop here. He suggests
that Rostand would have done better to select
instead of la Clorise Baro's Clarimonde, which
he declares to have been acted in 1640.11 Un-
fortunately, he gives no authority for the latter
statement and probably has none better than
the marginal date given by the freres Parfaict.
He should know that when these authors do not
give their authority, this marginal date is merely
'P. xxi.
»P. 18.
•Cf. Chapclain'3 letter of March 9, 1640.
10 V, 167-169.
"P. 18. As I have shown above, he uses the
appearance of this new play as an argument against
the revival of la Clorise.
their best guess. The play was printed in 1643.
It may have been first acted in 1640, but cer-
tainly Rostand had no proof of it. If he had
assumed such a date, he would have laid him-
self open to the same charge that Magne has
brought against him. It is quite as probable
that la Clorise was acted in 1640 as that la
Clarimonde was.12
Rostand is right, then, in insisting that
Magne's attack upon his use of la Clorise is as
unwarranted from an historic as from an aes-
thetic point of view. It is hard to see how any
one can so misunderstand the nature of art as
to disparage Cyrano because of errors in his-
torical detail. It is also remarkable that one
who does so should lay himself open to attack
with his own weapons. I would not, however,
deal so harshly with Magne as he does with
Rostand, for, despite his errors in documenta-
tion, Magne gives an interesting appreciation
of Cyrano the man, however little sympathy he
may feel for the inimitable Cyrano of the play.
H. CARRINGTON LANCASTER.
Amherst College.
NOTES ON" ALL'S WELL THAT ENDS
WELL
Parolles: He has everything that an honest man
should not have; what an honest
man should have, he has nothing.
First Lord: I begin to love him for this.
Bertram: For this description of thine honesty f
A pox upon him for me! He is more
and more a eat. (IV, III, 289 f.)
Bertram's question is an added stroke in the
characterization of this spineless youth. Both
his sense of moral values and his intelligence
suffer in his inability to follow the First Lord's
thought. Bertram would not have asked this
question if he had understood why the First
"An additional error lies in Magne's assertion on
p. 18 that none of Baro's plays were printed ex-
cept la Clorise, in refutation of which statement I
refer him to La Valli&re, Soleinne, Brunet and the
catalogue of the Bibliotheque Nationale.
212
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
[Vol. xxx, No. 7.
Lord had expressed his love for Parolles only
after he had heard the rascal slander him.
However, what Bertram failed to perceive was
evident, to the seventeenth century hearers of
the play, although not evident to our day.
The thought in the mind of the First Lord
when he uttered these words was that "the
slanders of the wicked are the commendations
of the godly," as it is phrased in Nathan
Field's Remonstrance, 1616 (Shakespeariana,
1889, p. 218) ; and since Parolles was a great
knave, slander from his mouth was an unusual
commendation.
The occurrence of this thought is frequent
in the dramatic literature of this period;
and required at that time no interpretation.
Shakespeare uses it again in Timon (IV, III,
173):
Alcib. I never did thee harm.
Tim. Yes, thou spok'st well of me.
Alcib. Call'st thou that harm?
Ben Jonson knew the thought and made use
of it in two of his plays.
Cynthia's Revels, Everyman's Ed., p. 177 :
Crites. . . . 80 they be ill men,
If they spake worse, 'twere better; for
of such
To be dispraised is the most perfect
praise.
The Devil is an Ass, Everyman's Ed., p. 330 :
i
Ever. You have made election
Of a most worthy gentleman!
Man. Would one of worth
Had spoke it! but now whence it comes,
it is
Rather a shame unto me than a praise.
Ever. Sir, I will give you any satisfaction.
Man. Be silent then: Falsehood commends
not Truth.
The Devil is an Ass, p. 344:
Fife, (possessed of the Devil) :
I'll feast them and their trains, a jus-
tice head and brains
Shall be the first—
Sir P. Eith. The devil loves not justice,
There you may see.
Be not you troubled, sir, the devil
speaks it.
Gossan's Pleasant Quippes for Upstart Gen-
tlewomen (Percy Society, 31), p. 14:
This lesson old was taught in schooles;
It's praise to be dispraisde of fooles.
Scourge of Drunkenness (Halliwell Edition,
1859), p. 18:
Though scoffingly they [drunkards] say he is pre-
cise,
Yet drunkards tongues his credit cannot staine:
For blest are they which have an evill report
By them which are right of the devils consort.
II
Within ten years it [virginity] will make itself
two, which is a goodly increase, and the principal
itself not much the worse for wear. (I, 1, 158.)
The difficulty in this passage consists in dis-
posing satisfactorily of the two-in-ten-year idea.
From Hanmer to the present day the text has
been violently changed to make it lie upon a
Procrustean bed of critical misconception. It
is, however, not to child-bearing, as the emen-
dators have assumed in making their changes
in the text, that " ten " and " two " refer.
Parolles is arguing against virginity in terms
of interest upon money invested. " If you do
not put it out to interest, ' you can not choose
but lose by't.' Therefore, ' out with't.' If the
law allows ten per cent, interest upon money
invested (which in ten years will double itself)
how much more profitable to you would be a
venture in marriage? Your original invest-
ment, yourself, would double itself, by the birth
of a child, in a much shorter time than would
be necessary for your money to double. ' A
goodly increase, and the principal not much
the worse for wear.' "
In other words, that which makes itself
" two " in " ten years " is not " virginity," but
money put out to interest according to the legal
Elizabethan rate of ten per cent.
November, 1915.]
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
213
Phillip Stubbes, in The Anatomie of Abuses,
gives us evidence that ten per cent, was the
legal rate. [New Shakespeare Society, Series
VI, p. 124.] In reproving usury he quotes the
law of his day to the effect that "thou shalt
not take above ii.s. in the pound; x.li. in the
hundred, and so forth." Another reference to
the same legal rate is found in the moral play,
The Three Lords and the Three Ladies of
London [Tudor Facsimile Edition, H3.] :
Policy (Branding Usury) :
Sirrah, pollicy gives you this marke, doo you
see,
A little x. standing in the midd'st of a great
C.,
Meaning thereby to let all men understand,
That you must not take above bare x. pound
in the hundred,
And that too much too, and so be packing
quietly.
Shakespeare associates in other places the
general ideas of usury and of procreation.
" 'Twas never merry world," Pompey says
(All's Well, III, ii, 6), "since of two usuries,
the merriest was put down, and the worser
allowed by order of the law a furred gown to
keep him warm." Again in Twelfth Night
(III, i, 43), Feste, pointing to the coin that he
has just received, inquires, " Would not a pair
of these have bred ? " Viola's reply is, " Yes,
being kept together and put to use."
In two other passages Shakespeare recurs, in
figurative speech, to the idea of interest doub-
ling the principal in ten years. In one of them
(Sonnet VI) he makes use of this idea in way
of argument to persuade to marriage:
Sonnet VI.
That use is not forbidden usury,
Which happies those that pay the willing loan;
That's for thyself to breed another thee,
Or ten times happier, be it ten for one;
Ten times thyself were happier than thou art,
If ten of thine ten times refigu'd thee;
Richard HI (IV, iv, 324) :
The liquid drops of tears that you have shed
Shall come again, transform'd to orient pearls,
Advantaging their loan with interest
Of ten times double gain of happiness.
Another example of the idea of ten years' in-
terest doubling the principal is found in the
allegorical play The Three Lords and the Three
Ladies of London (Tudor Facsimile Edition,
H2):
Ne(mo) (of Lucre when giving her in marriage to
Pompe) :
Take her Lord pomp, I give her unto thee,
Wishing your good may ten times doubled
be.
Pom(pe) : The wished good this world could give
to me.
Ill
Here is a pur of fortune's, sir, or of fortune's cat, —
(V, II, 19.)
An examination of the scene in which " pur "
occurs, reveals a striking unity of thought em-
phasizing Parolles' decline in fortune. Parolles,
in introducing himself to the Clown after his
disgrace in camp, is the first to announce his
changed condition : " I have ere now, sir, been
better known to you, when I have held familiar-
ity with fresher clothes; but I am now, sir,
muddied in fortune's mood and smell some-
what strong of her strong displeasure." The
Clown in reply emphasizes Parolles' misfortune,
and introduces him to Lafeu as " a pur of for-
tune's," or as one entirely changed from the
one time gallantly attired soldier. Afterwards
Parolles describes himself to Lafeu as " a man
whom fortune hath cruelly scratched." The
emphasis of the scene is placed entirely upon
Parolles' decline from prosperity to poverty.
The Oxford Dictionary does not record two
examples of " pur " that are found in Marston's
What You Will (1607), in a passage descrip-
tive of the game of battledore and shuttlecock.
In this passage young women are banteringly
speaking to one another in terms of the game,
while engaged in tossing the shuttlecock back
and forth. Suddenly the banter is interrupted,
presumably by the missing of a stroke by one
of the players. Hereupon her opponent, in
sudden interruption of what she was saying,
exclaims-, "(pur) ; 'tis downe, serve again,
good wench." The game is then resumed, until
214
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
[Vol. xxx, No. 7.
amidst the gaiety of the conversation it is in-
terrupted by the second parenthetical " pur,"
with the speaker's laughing comparison of her
lovers to shuttlecocks that she plays with " till
they be downe."
The passage itself will make what I have said
clearer (Halliwell's Ed. of Marston's Dramatic
Works, 1856, Vol. I, p. 272 ff.) :
Luc(ia). Madam, here is your shuttlecock.
Mel(etza). . . . Come, you, You prate: yfaith,
lie tosse you from post to piller!
Cel(ia). You post and I piller.
Mel. No, no, you are the onely post; you
must support, prove a wench, and
beare; or else all the building of your
delight will fall —
Gel. Downe.
Lyz. What, must I stand out?
Mel. I, by my faith, til you be married.
Lyz. Why do you tosse then?
Mel. Why, I am wed, wench.
Gel. Free thee to whome?
Mel. To the true husband, right head of a
woman — my wit, which vowes never
to marry till I meane to be a fool, a
slave, starch cambrick ruffs, and make
candells (pur) ; tis downe, serve again,
good wench.
Luc. By your pleasing cheeke, you play well.
Mel. Nay, good creature, pree thee doe not
flatter me. ... I have a plaine
waighting wench . . . she shall
never have above two smockes to her
back, for thats the fortune of desert,
and the maine in fashion or reward of
merit (pur) ; just thus do I use my
servants. I strive to catch them in
my racket, and no sooner caught, but
I tosse them away; if he flie wel, and
have good feathers, I play with them
til he be downe, and then my maide
serves him to me againe; if a slug,
and weake-wingM, if hee bee downe,
there let him lie."
A detailed account of battledore and shuttle-
cock would doubtless give further information
about the exact use of " pur " in the game. It
seems clear, however, from this passage that it
signals the falling of the shuttlecock to the
ground and consequently the temporary dis-
continuance of the game. Shakespeare bor-
rows this technical term from the game, and
with transferred meaning applies it to Parolles
who has been struck down by the force of for-
tune's blows. In this connection it is of interest
to recall that we have in our common " tossed
from pillar to post" a phrase that preserves
the technical terms of battledore and shuttle-
cock to describe the buffetings of fortune. In
calling Parolles " a pur of fortune's," the
comparison of man to a shuttlecock tossed from
pillar to post is carried a step further. In the
Clown's words, Parolles has been more than
merely " tossed from pillar to post " ; he has
suffered so much that he can no longer sustain
himself amidst the blows of fortune ; and, fall-
ing to the ground, has become a " pur of
fortune's."
M. P. TlLLEY.
University of Michigan.
SOUECES OF AN ECLOGUE OF FRAN-
CISCO DE LA TORRE
The little volume of poems of Francisco de
la Torre, published by Quevedo at Madrid in
1631,1 contains eight eclogues which in beauty
of form and language are entitled to be ranked
with the best pastoral poetry in the Spanish
language. His third eclogue, entitled Eco, is
exquisite in its charming simplicity. The shep-
herd Amintas, after bidding his dog Melampo
guard his sheep from the wolf, lies down to
lament the indifference of Amarilis. He calls
upon Echo whose voice still fills the woods,
as she mourns eternally the loss of her Nar-
cissus. Then he asks Mother Nature to receive
his weary body, and begs unhappy Echo to join
him in his grief.
The introduction, consisting of fourteen
lines, is a translation of the opening verses of
the eclogue entitled Tolas of Andrea Navagero,
who, it will be remembered, suggested to Boscan
1 This volume was reprinted at Madrid in 1753
and Mr. Archer M. Huntington published a facsimile
of the rare first edition at New York in 1903. The
eight eclogues may also be read in Vol. VII of Se-
dano's Parnaso espanol, Madrid, 1773.
November, 1915.]
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
215
in the year 1526 the advisability of attempting
to employ Italian measures in Spanish poetry.
A comparison of the following lines with the
introduction to Francisco de la Torre's third
eclogue will show the extent of the Spanish
poet's indebtedness.2
Pascite, oves, teneras herbas per pabula beta,
Pascite, nee plenis ignavse parcite campis:
Quantum vos tota minuetis luce, refectum
Fecundo tantum per noctem rore resurget.
Hine dulci distenta tumescent ubera lacte,
Sufficientque simul fiscellse, et mollibus agnis.
Tu vero vigil, atque canum fortissime, Teucon,
Dum paacent illse late per prata, luporum
Incursus subitos, ssevasque averte rapinas.
Interea hie ego muscoso prostratus in antro
Ipse meos solus mecum meditabor amores:
Atque animi curas dulci solabor avena.3
The remaining ninety-four lines of Fran-
cisco de la Torre's third eclogue are almost a
literal translation of Navagero's Latin eclogue
entitled Aeon, in which the poet begs Echo to
share his grief at the cruelty of the nymph
Telayra. The last eight lines of the Latin
version were not translated by Francisco de la
Torre, but with this exception, the two versions
are practically identical.
In addition to the fact that many of the
poets of the Eenaissance interpreted the clas-
sical doctrine of imitatio as justification for bor-
rowing the ideas of another author, and that
translations from a foreign tongue were re-
garded as a legitimate form of scholarship, we
can in no wise bring the charge of plagiarism
against Francisco de la Torre since he did not
publish his own verse.4 I have indicated the
sources of his third eclogue merely in order to
"Andreae Naugerii, Opera Omnia, Venetiis, 1754,
pp. 180-81.
' For the indebtedness of Ronsard in his second
eclogue to Navagero's lolas, see an article by Paul
Kuhn entitled L'Influence neo-latine dans les tglogues
de Ronsard, published in the Revue d'histoire litte-
raire de la France, Vol. XXI, 1914, pp. 317-25.
'For the indebtedness of Francisco de la Torre to
sonnets of Torquato Tasso, Giambattista Amalteo
and Benedetto Varchi, see James Fitzmaurice-Kelly,
Bistoria de la literatura egpanola, Madrid, 1913, pp.
242-43.
furnish additional evidence of the influence of
Navagero's poetry on Spanish literature.6
J. P. WlCKERSHAM CKAWFOED.
University of Pennsylvania.
P. SIPMA, Phonology and Grammar of Modern
West Frisian with phonetic texts and glos-
sary. (Publications of the Philological So-
ciety, II.) London, Oxford University Press,
1914. vii + 175 pp.
No other Germanic language is so closely
related to Anglo-Saxon and English as the Old
Frisian. The similarity when looked at from
the point of view of historical phonetics, is so
perfect that Anglo-Saxon may be regarded as
one of the Early Frisian dialects. Its separa-
tion from the other Frisian dialects in the
course of the fifth century meant for Anglo-
Saxon a separate history and accordingly the
development of many individual peculiarities.
In spite of these peculiar Anglo-Saxon traits,
however, the comparison of the Frisian dialects
remains most instructive and one of the most
important aids for the study of Anglo-Saxon.
Unfortunately our records of the Old Frisian
language are rather scant. With the exception
of a few not very important Runic inscriptions,
there are hardly any records left of the period
contemporary with Anglo-Saxon. The sources
generally called ' Old Frisian ' should, strictly
speaking, be termed Middle Frisian, inasmuch
as they are contemporary with Middle High
German, Middle Low German, Middle English,
etc. These sources, moreover, consist almost ex-
clusively of collections of Frisian laws. If we
apply to these the term 'literature,' we might
"Menendez y Pelayo mentioned the fact that the
delightful coplas of Castillejo entitled Al Amor preso
is a paraphrase of Navagero's epigram, De Cupidine
et Hyella, and that the last lines of Fernando's can-
ci6n A I Sueno, are derived from a sonnet by the same
poet. See Antologia de poetas Uricos castellanos,
Madrid, 1908, Vol. XIII, p. 79. Estevan Manuel de
Villegas also translated Navagero's epigram, De
Cupidine et Byella.
316
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
[Vol. xxx, No. 7.
just as well regard the term ' French litera-
ture ' as identical with the Code Napoleon.
Nevertheless this so-called literature, together
with what is left to-day of Frisian dialects and
of Modern Frisian literature, enables us to trace
the history of the Frisian language from the
middle of the thirteenth century to the present
time, and to arrive at certain conclusions as to
its condition at an earlier period.
The Frisian language, in any case, would
seem important enough to call for a widespread
interest and a thorough study at least in the
two foremost English-speaking countries. Ac-
tually, however, the study of Frisian has been
utterly neglected both in England and in the
United States. It is very characteristic that,
e. g., Henry Sweet's admirable Handbook of
Phonetics (Oxford, 1877) contains specimens
— in phonetic transcription — of English, Ger-
man, Dutch, Icelandic, Swedish, Danish, but
none of Frisian.1 To be sure, there appeared
in 1879 W. T. Hewett's The Frisian Language
and its Literature (Ithaca, N. Y.), and in
1881 J. A. Cummins's A Grammar of the Old
Frisian Language (London, 2d ed., 1877).
But the latter is hardly more than an adapta-
tion of the corresponding sections in Heyne's
Laut- und Flexionslehre der altgermanischen
Dialekte, while Hewett's treatise was apparently
intended as a popular account rather than as
an original contribution to the study of Frisian.
With these few exceptions, the English-speaking
world has been satisfied to leave the linguistic
work in Frisian to the Frisians and to German,
Danish, and Dutch scholars. Under these cir-
cumstances it is gratifying to meet with the
present contribution to the grammar of Modern
West Frisian in the Publications of the Philo-
logical Society. This the more so as we learn
from the preface that the President of that
Society, Dr. Craigie, has personally interested
himself in the publication and the revision of
this work.
1 In justice to the late philologist, however, it
ought to be stated that in his treatise on " Dialects
and prehistoric forms of Old English " in the Trans-
actions of the Philological Society, London, 1877,
p. 543 seq., he emphasized the importance of the
study of Frisian in view of its relation to Anglo-
Saxon.
There is every prospect that Mr. Sipma's
grammar may become the standard grammar
of Modern West Frisian, or that it will serve
at least to prepare the way for a future more
comprehensive grammatical work on Modern
Frisian. A comparison with the current gram-
mars of this language, especially with G.
Colmjon's Beknopte Friesche Spraakkunst voor
den tegenwoordigen tijd (Leeuwarden, 1863),
which in a second edition appeared under the
name of Ph. van Blom (Joure, 1889), will
easily convince us how much a work like the
present one was needed. Mr. Sipma above all,
by giving an exact phonetic transcription of
the West Frisian sounds, enables his readers to
find out how the language is actually pro-
nounced : a very essential matter in gram-
matical study, yet a matter which remains
rather obscure in grammars like the Beknopte
Friesche Spraakkunst, where the Frisian pecu-
liarities are disguised under the current spell-
ing, a spelling chiefly modelled after that of
the Dutch language.
The necessity of using a phonetic spelling
for the modern Frisian dialects was urged
many years ago by Theodor Siebs, not only in
his Frisian Grammar in Paul's Grundriss (to
which Mr. Sipma refers in his Introduction,
p. 5), but somewhat earlier in his work Zur
Geschichte der engliscli-friesisclien Sprache
(Halle, 1889). West Frisian words here are
quoted by Siebs, not in the common spelling,
but in a phonetic transcription. It stands to
reason that in works concerned with Frisian
in all of its various periods and all of its mod-
ern dialects, Professor Siebs could grant com-
paratively little space to Modern West Frisian.
Yet there are instances in which Siebs is more
complete than Sipma. The latter, e. g., quotes
p. 74 (§ 249) the preterits koe and scoe with-
out adding a phonetic transcription, while Siebs
in Paul's Grundriss I2, pp. 1328 and 1330,
states that these forms are pronounced kus and
su<3. In general Mr. Sipma has followed too
little the example set by Grimm's Grammar of
illustrating sounds and forms by an ample
number of examples. His grammar, therefore,
would seem to need as a supplement a West
Frisian dictionary (much more complete than
November, 1915.]
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
217
the glossary found at the end of the present
grammar) in phonetic transcription.
In transcribing the modern Frisian dialects
Professor Siebs used more or less his own pho-
netic system, while. Mr. Sipma has throughout
employed the symbols of the International Pho-
netic Association. The advantage here, it
seems to me, is not altogether on the side of
the latter. The system of the International
Phonetic Association has, to be sure, been
widely spread by the works of P. Passy, W.
Vietor, and others. It is very doubtful, how-
ever, whether its general adoption, though
recommended by many authorities, would be
desirable. Perhaps this would mean a step
backward in matters of phonetics : not only for
the general reason that the adoption of a final,
obligatory system precludes, or at least reduces,
the possibility of additional improvements (a
fact illustrated by most of the current systems
of spelling), but especially because the system
of the Internal Phon. Ass. has several fea-
tures in distinction from other phonetic sys-
tems which cannot be regarded as improve-
ments. Among these I would reckon the fact
that the stress is marked by an accent, not on
the sonant element of the syllable (the " Sil-
bentriiger ") which invariably bears the stress,
but by an accent in front of the whole syllable.
If this system were applied to Greek, we should
have to spell, e. g., 'Sa/cTuXo<> and /ra'Xo? in-
stead of SH'KTV\O<; and «a\o'<?. Our author
accordingly, in his specimens of West Frisian,
writes, e. g., 'na%t and om'Tclamdt instead of
na'xt and omkla'mat.
There is another objection to using the In-
ternational Alphabet for the ordinary phonetic
transcription of individual languages like Fri-
sian and, I would add, like German, French,
or English. While it is not difficult to devise
an exact phonetic alphabet and at the same
time a simple alphabet, not very different from
the current Latin or German alphabets, for an
individual language, the attempt to use one
and the same phonetic alphabet for several dif-
ferent languages, especially languages as differ-
ent in their sounds as French, German, and
Endish, will necessarily make such an alphabet
clumsy and complicated. While for a single
language it is generally possible to get along
with an alphabet consisting of simple signs, an
international alphabet needs numerous dia-
critical marks, letters turned upside down, de-
faced letters (e. g., an i deprived of its dot),
and similar means which necessarily must in-
terfere with the ready understanding of the
alphabet. The International Alphabet in this
respect shares the disadvantages of a general
phonetic alphabet. I am by no means hostile
to the attempts to devise such an alphabet in
the interest of phonetics and general linguis-
tics. I believe, on the contrary, that the con-
struction of a general phonetic alphabet — be it
after the plan, e. g., of Lepsius' standard alpha-
bet or in the entirely different manner sug-
gested by Professor Jespersen — belongs to the
fundamental tasks of phonetic science. Nor
do I object, from a phonetic point of view, to
the International Alphabet. But it is neces-
sary to distinguish here between the aim of the
phonetician and that of the grammarian, or, in
other words, between general and special, or
historical, phonetics. To substitute a general
or an international alphabet (in the sense of a
general alphabet of limited scope) for an indi-
vidual phonetic alphabet of a single language
(e. g., in the transcription of texts, of specimens
of dialects, etc.) means confusing the methods
and aims of general linguistics with those of
historical grammar. I must add, however, in
justice to Mr. Sipma, that the misunderstand-
ing to which he has fallen a victim is shared
by many authorities on Phonetics and Modern
Languages. His grammar, in spite of this de-
ficiency, remains a work for which we have
every reason to be grateful.
HERMANN COLLITZ.
Johns Hopkins University.
KARL VOSSLER, Italienische Literatur der Ge-
genwart, von der Romantik zum Futurismus.
Heidelberg, Winter, 1914. 8vo., 145 pp.
Some years ago Professor Vossler asked and
answered the question : " Wie erklart sich der
spate Beginn der Vulgarliteratur in Italien ? "
218
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
[Vol. xxx, No. 7.
Now, at the other and ever moving limit of his
field, he traces the course of Italian eloquence
even unto Cabiria and the gorgogliatore.
His new book consists of a series of essays
first given as lectures before the Freie Deutsche
Hochstift in Frankfort. The authors studied
at some length are Manzoni, Leopardi, Car-
ducci, Fogazzaro, Verga, Ada Negri, De Amicis,
Pascoli, d'Annunzio, and Croce. Briefer com-
ment is accorded Guerrini, Gnoli, Serao, Di
Giacomo, Belli, and Pascarella ; others still are
mentioned and dismissed with one or two epi-
thets apiece.
Ada Negri, one would think, should hardly
be classed with the writers of the first rank;
and Gnoli and Pascarella might well have been
consigned to the outer adjectival twilight.
Some other men deserve more recognition
than they receive, — notably Zanella, Nievo, De
Sanctis, and Giacosa. Zanella is mentioned, to
be sure, as the author of " feine, schwachliche
Lyrik," but that is by no means the whole truth.
Better than the Conchiglia fossile and the rest
of his humanitarian verse are the late descrip-
tive sonnets, Horatian again and again in their
clear perfection; better yet the ringing patrio-
tism of the ode to Cavour. And there are
passages in Milton e Galileo that are worthy
of Dante himself in their combination of pro-
found thought and superb beauty.
Vossler's criticism is illuminating and judi-
cious. It is the product of careful independent
thinking, it is resolute, it is rich in verbal and
figurative resource. Many qualities in books
and men become the clearer for his delineation.
His intellectual and moral standards are ad-
mirably high. He, like Fogazzaro,
sdegna il verso che suona e che non crea;
and the thing created, however vigorous, finds
with him no mercy if its vigor is evil.
His moral severity is most welcome, particu-
larly in its shattering of the commercialized
aestheticism of d'Annunzio. One can but feel,
however, that his intellectual severity leads
him, at times, into some injustice. He de-
mands from poet or novelist a much more com-
plete philosophy than poet or novelist is, in the
general critical conception, required to possess;
and his verdict, for those who do not measure
to his rule, is tinged with a certain disdain. It
is indeed far better to demand substantial
thought than to consider form as paramount —
far better to demand wealth of the Indies than
to be content with the argosy's swift lines and
flowing sail — but surely the poet's task is less
the scientific organization of a rotund Weltan-
schauung than the moving, vital utterance of
single truths. Leopardi did not attain to the
logical system of Schopenhauer, but his Canti
are none the less the supreme specific for the
katharsis of pessimism. It may be granted
that, in Vossler's sense, Carducci " kein Denker,
sondern ein Dichter war"; but past speaks to
present, through his verse, with the power that
is born of wisdom. Fogazzaro never quite
reconciled Darwin and Augustine; but he gave
the best of his life to the prophecy of two
eternal verities that would suffice, could they
but strike home in the hearts of men, to make
this earth a very different dwelling-place. The
first is that religion, being conditioned by hu-
man intellect, is necessarily a changing thing;
that beside its inmost, permanent truth it has
at any time temporary habits of form and creed
that are subject to renewal or rejection. The
second is that Christianity should be an affair
for laymen as well as priests, should be demo-
cratic and pervading, the inspiration and the
prime motive of all social and political life.
Nor is Vossler quite fair in his account of
the famous colloquy in II santo. After men-
tioning Benedetto's four protests — against the
spirito di menzogna, the spirito di dominazione
del cle.ro, the spirito di avarizia and the spirito
d'immobilta — he continues : " Und welche Ee-
formen schlagt er vor? Dass der Papst einen
wahrheitsliebenden Mann zum Bischof machen
und die Biicher eines modernistischen Religions-
philosophen nicht auf den Index setzen soil."
Vossler implies that the four protests are subor-
dinate and preliminary to the two petitions.
In reality, each of the protests is in itself an
eloquent plea for a great reform ; the petitions
are illustrative and incidental.
The essay on Fogazzaro, deficient, to my
thinking, in these respects, is otherwise remark-
November, 1915.]
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
219
ably fine in its keen analysis and sure inference.
It is the most detailed study in the book. Each
of the seven novels is reviewed in content and
in quality; the author's development is exactly
traced from stage to stage ; and his abilities and
shortcomings are set forth in full light. Par-
ticularly good is the treatment of Fogazzaro's
interacting lyricism and realism : the lyricism,
more native and more essential, appears chiefly
in the protagonists of his novels, creatures of
his own mind and heart; realism determines
the unsurpassed portraiture of the minor fig-
ures, drawn with humorous sympathy and won-
derful deftness from the " little worlds " that
Fogazzaro knew. As serious blemishes in his
work there are noted, rightly, a certain mystic
vagueness, and a " religib's parfumierte Lus-
ternheit."
Carducci, Latin of the Latins, remains, to
the northern critic, a foreigner. Excellent as
it is in many passages — notably in the discus-
sion of Carducci's scholarship — Vossler's essay
on Carducci reveals an incomplete understand-
ing of the poet's inspiration and achievement.
Vossler regards patriotism as the essential im-
pulse of Carducci's verse. Even deeper, I
think, is a motive which Vossler does not men-
tion : the celebration of normal life, the life of
man bound by the moral bond to fellow man,
a life healthy with labor and joyous with love.
This motive clearly dominates several of the
finest poems, as La madre and II canto del-
I'amore, and it underlies many of the others.
Vossler's insensitiveness in this regard nar-
rows his service as interpreter. His treatment
of II bove is a case in point : " In dem wunder-
baren, formvollendeten Sonett . . . ist
kaum eine Regung des Gemiites mehr und fast
nur noch Zeichnung, Farbe, Plastik zu spiiren.
Man fiihlt sich in der Nahe der Eisgrenze, wo
die Dichtung als darstellende Kunst zu sinn-
lichen Formen erstarrt." But II bove is not
merely an objective picture. Its true meaning
is revealed in that first adjective, equally fa-
mous and misunderstood : " T' amo, o pio
bove." Carducci employs pio again and again,
throughout his work, to denote a willing con-
sciousness of the moral bond between man and
man, — as when he bids the sun illumine
non ozi e guerre a i tiranni,
ma la giustizia pia del lavoro.
With the significance of the word thus affirmed
in his own mind, he uses it freely to denote
relationships similar, in poetic fancy, to the
human tie. So, in the sonnet to Virgil, the
moon, as giver of consolation, becomes " la pia
luna." And just so, in II bove, the ox is called
pio as a willing sharer in the normal life of
man. That justifies the requiting " T' amo,"
and informs the lines
and
mite un sentimento
Di vigore e di pace al cor m' infondi
al giogo inchinandoti contento
L' agil opra de 1' uom grave secondi:
Ei t' esorta e ti punge, e tu co '1 lento
Giro de' pazienti occhi rispondi.
That too is why the fields are called " free and
fertile," why the lowing rises " like a happy
hymn," and why the green silence of the plain
is " divine." The Eisgrenze is very far away.
Carducci, we are told, devoted himself to the
past primarily for the sake of escaping the pres-
ent. But Carducci's avowed reason is very dif-
ferent : " The spaces of time under the Tri-
umph of Death are infinitely more immense
and more tranquil than the brief moment agi-
tated by the phenomenon of life. Hence the
imagination of the poet can there freely take
its flight, while the appearances of the present,
in their continual flux, do not allow the artistic
faculty so to fix them as to be able to transform
them into the ideal." Moreover, the past, for
Carducci, lived in vital and serviceable relation
to the present : witness the climax of the Canto
deU'amore, wherein the historic elements of
a wonderfully visualized Umbrian landscape
unite in the cry: —
Salute, o genti umane affaticate!
Tutto trapassa e nulla pufl morir.
Noi troppo odiammo e sofferimmo. Amate.
II mondo 6 bello e santo S 1' avvenir.
The poems of the past are for the most part
poems of heroism, and their light is the eternal
glow of heroic fire, not the sunset glamor of a
day bygone. To Vossler, however, even Car-
ducci's heroism is suspect. It is necessarily
meaningless and ineffective, he argues, because
220
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
[Vol. xxx, No. 7.
there underlies it a " Naturreligion gemischt
aus modernem Materialismus und Positivismus
und antikem Epikureismus und Stoizismus."
But heroes do not always stop to reason why.
Vossler finds it odd that in 1866 and 1870
Carducci did not celebrate Napoleon III or
the King of Prussia; rather is it odd that he
finds it odd. He asks why Jesus, Paul, and
Augustine are not classed in the Satana with
Savonarola and Luther. The answer is that
Carducci's daimon, bent on the assertion of
self, abhors self-sacrifice. Too much is made
of the influence of German romanticism on Car-
ducci. That influence is clear in such inferior
work as the Anacreontica romantica, but it is
hardly to be discerned in any of the later and
finer verse. One must dissent, moreover, from
the parting verdict that the poetry of Carducci
may be " in aller Welt geachtet und bewundert,
aber doch nur in Italien erlebt und geliebt."
It has already won love and entered into life
far beyond the Alpine barrier.
There are several minor misstatements in the
pages on Carducci. He translated not " manche
Perlen altfranzosischer und spanischer Lieder-
kunst," but just one Old French and just two
Spanish poems. It was not an actual beef-
steak but an imaginary pork chop that got him
into trouble at San Miniato. His appointment
at Bologna did not follow immediately upon his
private teaching in Florence: there intervened
a period of service at the Liceo of Pistoia. His
university work did not continue until his
death, but ended with his resignation in 1904.
The treatment of Leopardi, so far as it goes,
is sound ; the causes and character of his pessi-
mism are set forth as clearly as one could de-
sire. But the half, and the better half, is left
untold : the passionate striving of Leopardi's
poet-heart to withstand the arguments of his
relentless mind; the passionate clinging to the
old ideals of beauty and love. Nor is the qual-
ity of his verse, essentially classic in its resolute
finality, adequately characterized in such terms
as these : " die sanften, innigen, miiden Har-
monien; siisser schmelzender Gesang, so weich
und doch nicht siisslich, so schmachtend und
keusch; voll hingebender Stimmung; schmieg-
samer wiegender Traum."
The quotation and the rendering of the first
lines of Amore e morte are slightly incorrect:
the punctuation is so altered as to injure sense
and syntax, and the translation is faithful to
the fault. The title Pensieri belongs to the
selection of a hundred pensees published by
Eanieri : Vossler uses it with reference to the
seven-volume mass of notes called officially
Pensieri di varia filosofia e di bella lettcratura,
and properly referred to, when brevity is de-
sired, as the Zibaldone.
The other essays are uniformly excellent.
They contain many fine statements of com-
monly accepted opinion, and many judgments
that bring initial challenge and ultimate acqui-
escence. This passage, from the essay on Pa-
scoli, is quite typical in thought and expression :
Und so ist ihm die ganze Welt : ein Irrgarten
von Geheimnis und eine Blumenwiese von Kost-
barkeiten, eine grosse dunkle Allegoric und eine
niedliche Kleinwelt. Und im Grossten liegt
das Kleinste, im Kleinsten das Unendliche be-
schlossen. Aber keine Stufenfolge, keine Ord-
nung fiihrt vom einen zum andern. Traumhaft
ist alles durcheinandergeschlungen. Niemand
kommt der Wirklichkeit naher als der Trau-
mende. Wer im Traum zu weinen weiss, hat die
Vollendung erreicht:
Chi piange in sogno, 6 giunto a ciO che vuole.
Very notable, too, are the pages on Verga and
Italian realism, the demolition of d'Annunzio,
and the careful report of the critical doctrine
of Croce.
To Croce's admirable essays on modern
Italian literature (just now reissued in book
form) Vossler gladly acknowledges his indebt-
edness. But Vossler's borrowing, in its judicial
independence and its re-creative power, reveals
a critical faculty not inferior to that of Croce.
Vossler builds, moreover, on the surer basis;
for whereas Croce holds to a theory of expres-
sional satisfaction, Vossler proceeds from the
belief that literature is of and is for the whole
inner man — heart, mind, and will. Croce's
actual criticism, broader than his theory, dis-
plays and applies a varied wealth of human in-
terest ; Vossler's criticism is worthy both of his
Italian model and his own creed.
ERNEST H. WILKINS.
The University of Chicago.
November, 1915.]
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
221
Three Plays by Friedrich H ebb el. Introduc-
tion by L. H. ALLEN. Everyman's Library,
1914.
This translation is one of the various signs
that the indifference of the English-reading
public to Hebbel is at last giving way, and as
such, as well as for its own sake, should be
heartily welcome. It contains three plays, two
translated by Mr. Allen of Sidney, N. S. W.,
the third, Maria Magdalena, by Barber Fairley.
Mr. Allen, with whom I am chiefly concerned
here, chose Herodes und Mariamne and Gyges
und sein Ring, which may be considered for-
tunate selections. He has attempted the diffi-
cult task of turning them into English blank
verse, being guided, as he himself tells us in his
Introduction, by the distinctive rhythm of the
original, as far as he was able to attain this.
Without going further into this feature of the
translation, I will merely say that he seems to
me to have succeeded well in his effort. It must
be particularly difficult to translate Hebbel,
both on account of the individuality of his
single expressions, and the general complex
movement of his larger groups. The peculiar
inflexibility, expressed in his language no less
than in his characters, the presence of beauty
won from a conflict, the sense of depth, passion,
and force, restrained but always there — such
things belong to the atmosphere of his lan-
guage, and can be found in no dictionary. It
is in this phase of translating that Mr. Allen
is well equipped. His work has little of mere
routine about it. The amount of energy he has
expended in finding adequate renderings is as-
tonishing. His translation might pass for an
original production in English. Conscientious
interpretation of the text, according to the
spirit, seems to have been his principle through-
out. A few examples follow.
In the well-known lines where Kandaules,
comparing skilful Greek with rough Lydian,
speaks of the Greek influence as a net, cun-
ningly woven but easy to break, he adds :
Und geh'n zu uns'rem eignen Spaas hinein:
Bin kleiner Ruck macht uns ja wieder frei.
(H. 111-12.)
The translation has:
And with a covert laugh we bungle in
Because a tiny fin-flick sets us free.
And these lines, all from Gyges, with transla-
tions immediately succeeding:
Dich httten will ieh, wie die treue Wimper
Dein Auge hiitet. (11. 1002-3.)
I will watch o'er you as the trusty lashes
Watch o'er your eye.
Und in dem falben Strahl der Abendsonne,
Der durch die Ritzen des Gemttuers drang,
Sah ich ein Wolkchen blassen Staubes schweben.
(11. 168-70.)
And in the sickly shaft of westering sunlight
That pierced a passage through the chinked wall
I saw a wisp of pallid dust was swaying.
That fine line where Gyges explains his deter-
mination not to become visible in the Queen's
chamber as coming from his desire to spare her
Die ewige Umschattung ihres Seins,
is translated by
The eternal crypt of shadow round her being.
And these lines from Herod and Mariamne:
Ein Sklav' stand hinter ihm, das Ohr gespitzt,
Die Tafel und den Griffel in der Hand,
Und zeichnete mit lacherlichem Ernst
Das auf, was ihm in trunk'nem Mut entfiel.
(11. 163-66.)
A slave behind him with his ear acock,
A tablet and a stylus in his hand,
Was setting down — absurdly solemn owl!
Whatever crank escaped his tippler mood.
Not only is it difficult to translate Hebbel, it
is not always easy to understand him. In re-
spect of accuracy the translation deserves praise.
Of Mr. Allen's work the Gyges seems to be bet-
ter in this quality than the Herod. Only two
or three errors came to my attention in the
former, but more in the latter. Some of them
follow.
Mariami>r- in explaining the envy of the weak
for the strong (p. 103) says:
222
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
[Vol. xxx, #o. 7.
What has the slave for solace when the king
In gorgeousness and glory sweeps him by
Than this — to say, " He gets his turn like me !
I grudge it not! And when he mounts his throne
Fresh from a field o'erstrewn with graves in
thousands
I'll praise him for't: it chokes his covetous
mood! "
Here the quotation marks, lacking in Hebbel,
should end with " He gets his turn like me ! "
The next words are Mariamne's own, and " he "
refers not to " king " but to " slave." The word
translated " mount " is " riicken an," which
could not mean that. It here means to " put "
or " place," and the whole passage means : " If
he (the slave) places the battle-field with its
thousands of graves right next to the throne,
I approve it, for that chokes his envy." (Cf.
11. 1095 ff.)
The deed I must accomplish,
And that on both, or else endure them both.
(p. 106.)
This should read : " The deed I must accom-
plish, and that on both, or else suffer it." The
word rendered by " them " is " sie," and it re-
fers to Tat of the line before. The speaker,
Joseph, must either kill both Mariamne and
Alexandra or be killed by them. (Cf. 11. 1183
ff.)
A somewhat difficult passage (p. 110), in
which Mariamne reads the thoughts of Joseph
from the expression of his face, seems to have
been misunderstood, at least if we are to judge
from one of its crucial lines :
Dann hiitte ich an einen kalten Gruss
Mich nie gekehrt —
I had not turned me with a cold good-bye.
It is not quite clear what the English means.
The German is plain. Mariamne says that
Joseph is thinking : " I should not have wor-
ried about a cold greeting." That is, if Joseph
had known that Mariamne would take her own
life anyway, granting Herod's death, he would
not have feared her and worried about her
unkind treatment of him. (Cf. 11. 1289 ff.)
In her final conversation with Titus, Ma-
riamne explains the necessity of her action in
these words :
Wenn nichts als Trotz mich triebe, wie er meint,
Der Schmerz der Unschuld hatt' den Trotz ge-
brochen :
Jetzt machte er nur bittrer mir den Tod.
Mr. Allen translates :
Naught but defiance drives me as he thinks;
If so my guiltless smart had broke defiance
And now 'twould mean a bitterer death.
The last two lines have been misunderstood.
" Der Schmerz der Unschuld " — " the pain of
innocence " — refers to the pain of her children
in the everlasting farewell mentioned in the line
before. The context shows that, and if there
were any doubt at all, the variant reading given
by Werner would dispel it. The line first read :
" Der Kinder Unschuld hatt' ihn schnell ge-
brochen." The last line quoted from the trans-
lation should accordingly be : " Now it only
made my death more bitter." (Cf. 11. 3090 ff.)
Herod, speaking to Joab, says :
Was Moses bloss gebot, um vor dem Riickfall
In seinen Killberdienst dies Volk zu schiitzen,
Wenn er kein Narr war, das befolgt dies Volk,
Als hatt' es einen Zweck an sich —
The translation is correct here except for the
rendering of the words, very characteristic of
Herod, " wenn er kein Narr war." Mr. Allen
says, " though he was no fool." He gave him-
self unnecessary trouble with the conjunction,
for the expression simply means, " if he was no
fool." The sense of the passage is, that Moses,
unless he was a fool, gave the Jews his precepts
not as an end in themselves, but to protect them
from idolatry. (Cf. 11. 149 ff.)
I will mention only one other passage in full.
This consists of two lines from the Appendix,
where certain passages from earlier versions are
given. The lines formerly came after 1. 828 :
Es war' genug den Cilsar zu bezahlen
Und schiltzt er selbst sich ab vorm Tode.
The " scliatzt " here is an error of the trans-
lator for " schdtzt'" though this does not seem
to have influenced his interpretation of the
lines. Mr. Allen says in his note : " The
words seem to mean ' The tribute would be
enough to pay Caesar if he (Herod) were as-
senting to his own value to save himself from
death.' The passage proved too much for me,
November. 1915.]
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
223
and I owe this explanation to Mr. Nicholson.
I translate :
It were enough to quit his debt to Caesar
Were he himself to rate his worth 'gainst death."
This translation is plainly not correct. It is
neither very plausible in itself nor does it square
with the German. Again Werner gives a sug-
gestion, showing a variant reading of the second
line to have been : " Und schatzt' ihn seine
eigne Waffe ab ! " Werner conjectures that
Waffe may have been Wage. That conjecture
fits what seems to be the natural meaning of
the two lines under discussion. Sameas, who
is trying to give a vivid picture of the richness
of Herod's tribute to Rome, says : " It would
be enough to pay for Caesar, at Caesar's own
valuation before his death." " Before his
death " is added as a further, too fine, pointing
of a not particularly happy thought.
Besides the passages mentioned, I have, with-
out making a line-for-line comparison, noticed
slight errors in the following places: 11. 509,
740, 925, 1518, 1630-32, 1910, 2998, and, I
believe, 2256. There are not enough inaccu-
racies seriously to impair the value of the work.
All in all, the English reader may approach
these translations with confidence, sure of find-
ing not only the words and thought, but the
atmosphere and character of the original.
The translation of Maria Magdalena is done
in vigorous and idiomatic prose, and, so far as
I observed, with a very high degree of accuracy.
Mr. Allen's Introduction to the volume fur-
nishes a brief but admirable survey of Hebbel's
personality and work.
T. M. CAMPBELL.
Randolph- M aeon Woman's College.
Elementary French Grammar (Grammaire
Frangaise Elementaire) . By EVERETT WARD
OLMSTED. New York, Holt and Company
[1915]. Pp. iii-v, Preface ; pp. 1-217, forty-
three "Lessons" ; pp. 219-338, tables of
verbs, four pp. of phonetic transcriptions, two
vocabularies, and an index.
From Mr. Olmsted's Preface: [1] "The aim
of this book is to offer a thorough and practical
course in French that shall combine the best
features of both the so-called 'grammatical'
and ' direct ' methods of instruction." . . .
[2] " Every lesson contains a reading exercise
of connected prose. These exercises present
topics of general, practical interest in the early
part of the book, and in the latter part are de-
voted more particularly to French life and cul-
ture [a distinction which this reviewer fails to
grasp]. The aim has been to introduce a thor-
oughly French atmosphere, and such subjects
as the arrival in Paris, the choice of an apart-
ment, sight-seeing in Paris, the history of the
city, French education, Parisian theaters and
cafes, etc. [cf. Le Petit Parisieri], have been
chosen with that end in view. Some of the in-
formation given may be of value to future trav-
elers." (Here attention is called to "an ex-
ceedingly brief, but useful resume of French
literature" in lessons XXXVIII-XL.) [3]
" If used with judgment, this grammar is ap-
propriate to all sorts of beginners, those in the
high-schools as well as those in the colleges.
However, in those preparatory schools where
the teacher may prefer to begin with a very ele-
mentary method, this grammar will be found
ideal for the review work of the second year."
Then [4] : " The introduction contains the
most complete presentation of the phonetic sym-
bols to be found in any similar text-book, and
many teachers will welcome this aid." (Mr.
0. explicitly acknowledges indebtedness to
Brachet and Dussouchet, and to Fraser and
Squair's larger French Grammar.)
GENERALITIES
To consider a typical " lesson," Mr. 0. gives
a Vocabulary, states a few principles of syntax,
inserts a Reading Exercise (usually of his own
composing), a Grammatical Drill, a Conversa-
tion, Composition (English to French), and an
Oral Exercise (in English). The sentences to
be translated are brief, for the most part simple,
generally relevant, and seldom of the Ollen-
dorffian sort or otherwise too characteristic of
" grammars." I say " seldom " because occa-
sionally (perhaps purposely) Mr. 0. writes very
French-like English and sometimes he inserts
sentences which leave a good deal to be desired
from various points of view.
For example: P. 51 : ". . . qui com-
mence par ('by ') une voyelle" . . . P. 74:
" le pan talon . . . the pantaloons." P. 87 :
" The interesting little blue book on his desk
224
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
[Vol. xxx, No. 7.
is our French grammar." P. 108 (grammatical
note) : " Le is often used pleonastically [an
error] in the predicate," etc. ; then : " £tes-
vous heureuse? — Je le suis. Etes-vous mere?
— Je le suis." Such examples of " pleonastic "
le occur only in grammars. § 251 : " There
are only two irregular verbs in -er, oiler and
envoyer." Mr. 0. does not define " regular "
and " irregular " ; but, if by " irregular verb "
we understand any verb showing non-negligible
variations in its stem, and having all the inflec-
tional endings of, say, parler, there are hun-
dreds of irregular verbs in -er, some of which
raise serious difficulties. P. 137 : " Dites-moi de
deux fagons differentes ' French is an easy sub-
ject.' " Of course one is free to say almost
anything in the " exercises " of a grammar ;
but is not this precisely one of those things
that should not be said ? The average student
thinks this in many different ways, whether
after two or three years of study he is still un-
able to express any independent series of
thoughts in passably correct French or not.
Why should any class be thus tempted to per-
petuate this harmful delusion? Why not take,
instead, the point of view of Philip Gilbert
Hamerton, who, to this very statement would
have us reply : " Sir, can you write and speak
French correctly?" Limited though it be in
its scope, and lightly though it deals with every-
day difficulties, Mr. O.'s book itself abundantly
indicates that French is not " an easy subject."
On page 114 we meet " eclair er, to lighten; "
p. 116, " I am afraid when it lightens," and in
both Mr. O.'s final vocabularies eclairer and
" to lighten " are thus defined. P. 124 : " Dans
quel bateau est-ce que j'ai fait mon premier
voyage en Europe?" Of large craft, sur is
the correct preposition, and is in fact used by
Mr. 0. in this connection on p. 123. P. 153 :
" Qu'y a-t-il que vous n'avez pas encore vu a
Paris?" Very dubious; likewise: "Donnez-
moi un verbe en -ter qui est une exception a
la regie" (p. 118). P. 204: "J'y irai, a
moins qu'il n'y aille," etc. From these exam-
ples I pass to another kind :
Page 159 : " The Parisians are always in
search of pleasure [think of them now], while
the people of New York think of nothing but
their business." Why avail oneself of gram-
matical license, if I may so alter the usual
phrase, to perpetuate this hackneyed misobser-
vation, never true and so conspicuously, so sadly
untrue at the present time ? In " an exceed-
ingly brief, but useful resume of French litera-
ture " (pp. 190-201, passim) Mr. 0. twice calls
the Roman de Eenart, " qui date du XIII6
siecle," " le Roman du Renart," and translates
in a footnote " Romance of the Fox." ( See also
p. 191.) We are told, furthermore, that " les
mysteres, les moralites, les farces, [Fr. usage
forbids this comma] et les soties [datent] du
XVe siecle" — also largely an error — and in a
footnote the masterpiece of the farces is referred
to as " La Farce de I'avocat Pathelin." Maistre
Pierre Pathelin is the oldest known, therefore,
presumably, the correct title ; what Mr. 0. gives
can refer properly only to the so-called comedy
by Brueys and Palaprat (1706). Me judice,
this summary not only requires correction, but
would require more length and more depth to
make it really " useful."
As to general method. Let us be glad that
Mr. 0. presents principles systematically, for
the so-called " natural method " does not cor-
respond to nature and, if used exclusively in our
ordinary class-rooms, remains a chaos and pro-
duces chaotic results. To set over each lesson
a formal Vocabulary, a practice generally fol-
lowed, seems to me a mistake ; for this process
isolates words that might easily be given (or
others just as useful) in a continuous pa=.=age,
and with some assured meaning. In either case
translation is required, and continuity not only
gives each word a natural existence but allows
its sound to be more accurately transcribed.
The passages for translation (already men-
tioned) are for the most part interesting and
will enable competent teachers to develop a
great many points that Mr. 0. has probably
felt obliged to pass rapidly or in silence. The
material for translation into French seems to
me particularly good, and let me mention as
one of the most felicitous the exercise bearing
on reflexive constructions, pp. 105-106.
PHONETICS
Mr. O.'s prefatory claim is correct, so far as
I am aware, but several features demand atten-
November, 1915.]
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
225
tion. P. 4 : " The phonetic symbols employed
in this grammar are those of the International
Phonetic Association." Throughout his book,
Mr. 0. uses g to symbolize the voiced ex-
plosive of words such as gant (instead of
the modified form' of the letter g which con-
stitutes the regular phonetic symbol), and he
appears to let r represent a uvular r [R] . His
transcriptions, with the exception of those on
pp. 241-244, seldom represent anything but
isolated words, including the infinitives of ex-
tremely variable verbs. And why, upon arriv-
ing at "Orthographical Changes" (p. 117),
does Mr. 0. return to the old chaos ? — " Verbs
in -cer, to preserve the soft c of the infinitive
throughout their conjugation, add a cedilla
whenever c precedes a or o." And " Verbs in
-ger, to preserve the soft g of the infinitive, in-
sert an e after g before a or o."
What Mr. 0. calls a " soft c " (i. e., a voice-
less s) is regarded by most musicians as a very
hard and disagreeable noise, and is not de-
scribed as a " soft c " by any recognized pho-
netician. On p. 118 the student is asked :
" Que fait-on pour conserver au c et au g le
son doux qu'ils ont dans placer, manger ? "
Let our author consult the Dictionnaire Gene-
ral, under Cedille, and he will find : " Petit
signe . . . qui, place sous un c suivi des
voyelles a, o, ou u, indique qu'il doit etre pro-
nonce avec le son de I's forte." Add to this that
[s] is popularly known in France as " I's dure."
MORPHOLOGY, SYNTAX, AND THE EDLES
BEARING THEREON
Many of the "essentials" of French mor-
phology and syntax can be stated with brevity,
simplicity, and accuracy. Most of Mr. O.'s
table?, lists, rules, etc., prove this; but when
Mr. 0. avers that " Enough grammar is given
to enable the student to understand thoroughly
[italics mine], upon the completion of the book,
ordinary French construction " (Preface, p. iii)
he is either very much in error or " ordinary "
does not mean to him what it means to me, for
example. There are hundreds of constructions
in everyday use, both in normal speech and in
normal books, many of them quite as " ordi-
nary " as what Mr. 0. has happened to deal
with, some of them still more "ordinary,"
which Mr. 0. has not even mentioned, and his
" thoroughly " is something to make one pen-
sive. I venture to say that it is perhaps a
greater mistake to imbue students with the no-
tion that "French is an easy subject," something
of which the essentials can be learned " thor-
oughly " in forty or fifty lessons, no matter how
good, than to dwell too often on its innumerable
difficulties, demonstrated to exist by almost
every batch of examination papers turned in
by almost any high-school or undergraduate
class. The unavoidable necessity of being brief
prevents me from dealing, save as I do, with
what Mr. 0. has left out; I can touch upon
some of the things he has put in.
P. 42 : " des petits pains " and " des jeunes
gens" are classed with " Je lois du Ion vin,"
with the statement that " This usage is not
considered incorrect." Thus " du ban vin " is
made to figure as " a sort of compound noun."
P. 53 : " II m'a dechire le gilet." See Cledat,
Gram, mis,, p. 141, note 1. Pp. 54 ff. : Through-
out, Mr. 0. uses the conventional names Pres-
ent, Imperfect, Past Definite, Past Anterior,
etc., and in so doing he agrees with almost all
grammarians. In my opinion, most of these
names are so frequently misnomers that it is a
pity to use any of them, except when they apply
accurately to a given case. If a given group of
verb forms (say, je parle, etc.) can have two or
more tense-values, obviously no supposedly de-
fining name for such a group can be universally
correct. That it is possible to avoid this con-
fusing of forms and functions I shall show else-
where (in my own glass house!, if such it is to
be) ; let me say now that it seems to me obvi-
ously infelicitous to state that " The Past In-
definite or Perfect [see report of Committee on
Nomenclature] ... is the regular tense
[italics mine] used in conversation to express
definite past action" (§94). To call the
" j'ai vu " of " J'ai vu votre frere ce matin "
(§ 140) "the past indefinite" is like speaking
of wooden tombstones and of glass corks.
Again (§ 140), "The past definite, or preterit,
is used to express a definite pai,;, action (not a
state or condition) [italics mine] of long or
short duration, provided the idea of action and
236
. v<;r. K;/-:
-
[Vol. \\\. ^
not of duration is emphasized." V < •
inouvut
11 exijjo* qn'on lo oiiV.r
Kt MIV son HVHO \m symbolist o
BM mots: " 11 tut ti
uvi.v IVMi'.iuv. .ArfoJpfceoM /< ;<•«»<• /ion. IM' <ns/'.\
1-Aooptioual. tins: Not in tho least. in lilcra-
lurr: and it is worth noting that Mr. 0. dis-
obeys his own rule, quite properly ! See, e
§ 13:; ^on tho "imperfect indicative." also
falls far short of de-
fining tho simpler or most usual functions of
the forms in -<»»>. which often refer to the
present or the future. M
past conditional, and often expr- nta-
nooxis action, etc.
§ It; ;. Note 5 : " Most adjectives ( other than
proper adjectives or past participial adjectives)
ii in ft (italics mine] be brought before
noun for the sake of emphasis, especially
>n following the definite article." Is this
hie information? § ISA: " The use of the
imperfect subjunctive [frequently a misnomer"].
.vially of the forms in -*w. is deceasing.
| In literature, or in normal speech: Here.
and generally elsewhere, Mr. 0. does not dis-
tinguish between archaic and living French.]
tense in the principal clause regularly
uires it 1'by no means !]. but the present sub-
jx-r - generally used in all other ca-
(Here a reference to § 345.) The fact, pain-
ful thoxigh it may be. is that aU forms o.
" l^ast subjunctive " at* de«ti in conversational
xisage, thoxxgh in Ma and other equally
observers of nature very simple untutored folk
ndulge in an -««#, *n -*sw. or an -is*
ilendid doeunwntary evidence for philolo-
\ 340: "While the Indicative
presses certainty or fact, the Subjunct.
presst>s doxibt, desirability, requirement, emo-
•n. purpose, concession, etc ." >: >"etait vrai!
and is it •wist\ snyhonr. to put so many different
things un«< .-..'.ing: If / were to be one
of the many students who will use this 1
and mr teacher asked me : " Tx>qxiel des d«K
nodes, Tindicatif oxx le snbjor. :-me le
(p. IS?), my answer. Jwssr-
obligf (cf. p. 507. bottom) <7c fitbir h peine
would be: " Tons Ics deu\ ": ami if
he had taught me to sa\. e. g.. " .lo suis hexmnix
quo vous fussioz la " ^ 310). and if some day
1 should inn, ;Ting this on some unof-
fending Vronchman. and he looked " edified,"
or disturbed. I should wish— what should 1
wish ?
The rather large number of points on which
it has Ixvn necessary to disagree with Mr. Olm-
sted does not include all that unquestionably
for correction. (See " Additional De-
tails.") On the other hand. 1 think the ver-
dict of many examiners of Mr. Olmsted's
lxv>k may be that it is the best book of its scope
'able, well proportioned, orderly, simple.
and interesting: and perhaps many persons
will agree with me in my belief that this edi-
tion can be greatly improved when numerous
hers. inchuV- Author, have had a
chance to see how it vorl - \ e all thiv
let the study of French he treated as something
that cannot lv done well ;*f <M>nn.< la jambe*
DKTAIU
F.vorywhoro " A." \Vhat authority ?— P. 41 :
"The I'nite.1 States are . . ."—I1. 43:
" There were nothing but . . ."—P. 0? : For
-vad " aw-aitin-r."— P. 96 and
sim: "la synor— " .— P- 105: " In the
plural. - Jailer] ofter
nviprocal foree." It is the pronoun, not the
'-.is foree. or it is th.
in. p. r nd avoir that are
impersonal, but the »7 that goes with them.
There are almos: - rl^s in iT. F.
7W/ rotr.)— § 534 is really an
inadoqxiato note. — § 544 < f. n.). What is " this
oase"?—:? , -.sed."—
Xdd INW-I/.— ?§ 5:>«>-5^7. Mr. 0. for-
gets, e, g.. <VKJS?<J mtmf qui. — § 55;V " Ctci and
ctla may be used in all cons-
without reference to a definite antecedent."
Then CY?<J A*/ won ami. and wo~- be
cotwct. — § 56 0. 0' P^e trori is not well trans-
lated.—P. 1 number,
isn't it : " How to be translate.'. :— § 5
: has no xtfi"
makes a n. of what is an important
-ainarv " fact,— P ^*«w* a bascde."
Vwmber, 1915,]
MOVERS
XOTE8
-. '.".
The expression i* *r«n rarer than the
waaily called vn rooting— P. 143: '
•orte dfaprt»-midi ares-row en . . .?"(?).
— Also: " Quelk arenue ron* a-t-il falln ntirre
. . .?" (?)x— F, 147 pfote): "The condi-
tional saurou, etc., 'at often wed to translate
the English ' can ' (m tke tettte of < would know
bow')/' Better 'should' (ef, eommente on
H 350 and 360), and anyhow, rather: 'Ireally
couldn't , , ,' (Alway*«**a«r«Mr.) Cf, (p,
149): "In fact, I cannot Ibmu. 'would not
know bow to ')," Again, " would " for ' should,'
— P, 149. " (»M!n«*B«, «t, »/,)."— | 288. In-
adequate/— f 291. 3fo fern, for sereral form*. —
ff 291-299, Important subject, rery inade-
qoate treatment— ~{ 311, Pronunciation of
rariow cardinal numerals inadequately repre-
sented, and " [r?t d#] " i* incorrect — f 312,
For "word*" read 'nouns,' and insert cent
hommet to exemplify that t " is silent also in
e»i<" (!)/— j 315. "The form mil i* often
wed in date*," Then, a* an example: "en mil
kuit cent qvatone" — not tiring French, On
fan mitle, tee CUdat, 0, r., f 261.— | 321,
Kote 2, on deuacieme and teamd, not justified
by usage/ — i 323, fe$o» un would hare been
more instructive than Mr, O.'s " ler/>n trots."
— f 331: "'To' before an innnitire i* often
omitted in French, It is sometime* expressed
by de, k, or //oar." Is this either fdicitow or
useful?— 5 334, otmir require* comment — f
336, "purpose" i* inadequate; see | 335.— |
337 : "All prepositionii gorern the infinitire,
except em, which require* the present parti-
ciple," Bead 'gerund'; but when do opr&,
aeon*, atw, wntre, derribre, demnt, «ntre,var,
etc., etc., gorern an infinitire? Further:
"Apret govern* the perfect innnitire." Insert
'only'; but note (?) */»** tow*— $ 343,
craindre, perhaps rightly, figures a* an "ir-
regular rerb." Then why vatvendref (§ 116).
—P. 191, line " 11 " : " were they miracle-plays
or mysteries," ... I* this English? or
merely intended to call for a Fr. subjunctive?
-P. 195, line "17." Omit "«n."— P. 198.
Why "quant (£)"? — § 350. Bead 'I should
like* a dog, to guard the house.'— f 351:
" C'ett la premiere chote qvCette a dite." Not
a clear example.— { 352 (Note 1). Add
'when there is no adverbial complement and
when the infinitive i* not stressed.'— P. 201,
lines 10-11. Xot the more natural construc-
tion, and tiennent is a concealed subjunctive.
Concealed eubjnnctires should be avoided in
exemplifying the subjunctive. In line 14
" Qnelqne scientifique qne wit . . ," exempli-
fies purely literary usage. Let living French be
learned first! In line 24 Zola figures a* a
ralkte,"?— F. 205, "Speak louder, that I
may bear you," Xot living EngJish^-P, 20$
(1 n,) : <fc mettn^'to pot on'" (Ct my
eonment on F, 20$, top). Why and when?—
P, ZOT (Conremtion), An «xtren>dy onlikdy
aehttrement, unkw the wbote daw attempt* to
learn the passage from M«liere by heart— P.
2Cr7 (near bottom), I* the student expeeted to
*j'*Dusse-jeetr*<Mi9efo , , ." ?— P. 208
I* the student expected to cay Je me
MU «k* pontoujUf or the like? See eon-
meat on p, 205, L BS—% 359, Hacfy^-|
360, Of eoone, but tftwir fc«*»w» <fc i* not a
"rerb," For "will" read 'Aafl,'— | 363. For
"Some" read 'Hundred*'; then read 'fake
preposition* different from , , ,'— P, 211
(top). For "example "read 'exempt' Sen-
tence! 9, Apparently, the student is expected to
translate "Depend upon me" with a Depended
fa mm. The Voeab, indicate* dtpendre de tor
flriax— P, 211, line " 10," For " i" read ' a.'—
{ 366: "A coU«ctir« noun regularly take* a
cingular rerb," How about fa /*«/*, £? *s**bre,
te?lupart,t*e.?—%M8. For " [reraidr] " read
'[rezn:dr]/ A* wual, no pronunciation is in-
dicated except for the infinitirev— P, 219 ( Part
II): "The* of th« ending fr^/f] is mising,
, , ," What ha* become of it?— f 400, ;"o»
out <fc'r« correcpondc to ' I're bieard say (tell)'
rather than to "I bare beard said."
BlCHAKO T, HOUSBOOK.
Brjw
CtMege.
The OH Hone Element in Swe&sk R*/man-
ticism. By ABOLPH BCBMTT BEJTSOX. if Co-
lombia Unfrersity Germanic Studiet.) Xew
York, Columbia' tTmrersity Pra», 1914.
8ro., xii HI- 192 pp., $1.
Of recent contributions to the history of
Swedish literature, by far the most important
is tins admirably clear and lucid exposition of
the co-called Gothic elements in Swedish Bo-
manticism. The work i*. on the whole, remark-
ably clear, succinct and interest-holding. The
thesis inrolTed is well dereloped, the argument
advances step by step with increasing comic-
228
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
[Vol. xxx, No. 7.
tion, so that one is impressed by the fact that
Dr. Benson not only has driven home his point
but has done it in a delightful way.
The chief merit of the work consists in the
exposition of the Gothic tendencies of the Fos-
forists themselves. The close connection of
the Fosforists with the German Eomantic
School has led to the misconceived notion that
there was, upon their part, no independent
activity (as was the case with the Goths) in
connection with their ideals of Scandinavian
antiquity, and that this element did not con-
stitute any important phase of their literary
propaganda. Dr. Benson clearly shows that,
in spite of the hostile attitude of these two
Schools toward each other, this distinction is
chiefly traditional and without intrinsic value.
In fact, the Fosforists' interest in Gothic ma-
terial has been heretofore either ignored, treated
superficially, or actually misrepresented.
The author prepares the way for his argu-
ment by reviewing the beginnings of interest
in Old Norse subjects during the seventeenth
and eighteenth centuries in Sweden. This in-
troduction is based upon the most recent and
thorough investigation of the Gothic movement
in the North which we possess : Anton Blanck,
Den nordiska Renassansen i Sjuttonhundras-
talets Litteratur, Stockholm, 1911. The fol-
lowing chapters, in which Dr. Benson develops
the Gothic tendencies upon the part of the Fos-
forists and traces the interest in Old Norse
themes through every phase of the Eomantic
Movement in Sweden, constitute a worthy sup-
plement to Blanck's scholarly work.
The author's exposition of the attitude to-
wards Scandinavian antiquity upon the part of
the celebrated Fosforists, Atterbom, Hammar-
skjold and Livijn is very convincing, and the
exceptionally clear analysis of their principal
works lends much to his argument. The in-
terest of the Fosforists in Gothic material can-
not be denied. For instance, the activity and
erudition of Atterbom in Old Norse subjects
was truly amazing ; in fact, he knew more about
the sagas than most Goths. Yet the founda-
tion of all this was laid while he was still a
militant Fosforist. Dr. Benson proves here the
falsity of the unqualified statement that the
historical " revival in Swedish culture was
given by the Gothic Forbund " (Vedel, Svensk
Romantik, p. 251). Not only this, but the con-
tribution of the Fosforists to Swedish literature
in general is of much higher merit than critics
have been wont to concede. So Atterbom was
a poet of really high rank and, though he was
not a creative artist, hardly any Goth surpassed
him in the appreciation and interpretation of
Old Norse subjects.
Even outside of strictly Eomantic circles the
spirit of the age was pro-Gothic. The Swedish
Academy itself was not opposed to literary cre-
ations with Old Norse content, provided they
measured up to the traditional standards of
form and style. Granberg's Jorund and Char-
lotta d'Albedyhll's Gefion (especially the lat-
ter) illustrate exceedingly well how deeply the
Gothic tendency had become rooted outside
Gothic circles; in fact Gefion was probably
written before the Gothic Society was founded.
The authoress' conception of the viking age is
typically Gothic in that she implies that the
modern era is corrupt by stating that the
mythological age was incorrupt, which is the
same Bousseauish spirit that permeated the
minds of all the Goths.
The question, agitated by the Swedish Bo-
manticists, as to the introduction of Northern
mythology into art is the subject of one of the
most interesting chapters in Dr. Benson's work.
He shows clearly that in art, as well as in
literature, the difference between Goth and
Fosforist was merely relative. Even the Goths
(cf. especially Geijer) recognized the tendency
towards exaggeration in the representation of
Old Norse divinities in the plastic arts and ex-
pressed apprehension concerning it. But the
satires leveled against the Goths in this regard
included the Fosforists as well, and were often
in reality satires on the whole Eomantic group.
In fact, the Academician chief, Leopold, at-
tacked this tendency in a poem and the anti-
Fosforistic Malmstrb'm admits that it was com-
mon to both Fosforist and Goth. Further-
more, Dr. Benson shows that the exaggeration
and crudity, of which the Gothic Ling, for
instance, was accused (cf. Geijer, Iduna, 1817),
were much overdrawn. Ling's views upon art
November, 1915.]
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
229
agreed essentially with those of Tegner, who
certainly offered the best solution of the
problem.
The position of the young poet Stagnelius
with reference to the Eomantic Movement is
attractively presented in the next chapter. In
Stagnelius the Gothic element is beautifully
blended with the grace of Hellenic culture.
The myths of Odin, the BragarceSur, etc., form
a background that is harmoniously blended
with the poet's modern reflections and feelings.
Yet Stagnelius was not formally allied with
any literary school. It is to be regretted that
the author has not laid more emphasis upon
Tegner's poetic activity in Gothic themes, for
it is worthy of note that these two poets, one
in dramatic, the other in lyrical productions,
showed a marked similarity to each other, both
in their general attitude towards Gothic themes
and in the peculiar temper of their poetic
genius. Both were steeped in the spirit of
Hellenic culture, both were distinctly individ-
ual and independent, both were by nature
hypochondriacal and given to ' Weltschmerz,'
and both infused into their creations the larg-
est significance of art and life. The deeper
meaning of myth and religion, the constant
strife between spirit and matter, sensuous col-
oring, and love of the beaiitiful were marked
characteristics of Tegner as well as of Stag-
nelius. The divinity of man was a theme
which the priest Tegner (Stagnelius' father
was also a priest) constantly emphasized (cf.
Forsoningen in the Frithiofssaga, Fridsroster,
Nattvardsbarnen, etc.), and it is particularly
this theme which elevates the Old Norse myth
in Stagnelius' Gunlog to a universal signifi-
cance, for beneath its external crudeness it is
the divine ownership of poetry which consti-
tutes the inner meaning of the work ; a theme
which was especially suited to the Eomantic
temperament. Tegner, too, held the idealized
conception of poetry ; that poetry was the high-
est type of religion and synonymous with life
itself. "I really lived only when I sang," he
said in his touching poem Afsked till min lyra.
It is exactly this exalted concept which Stag-
nelius infused into the primitive myth of Sut-
tunpr's mead. Furthermore, in Stagnelius'
fragment Svegder we have really nothing
but Christian ideals in the garb of Norse
mythology, the personification of which is the
Christ-Odin himself, much as was the priest
of Balder in Tegner's Frithiofssaga.
The transition from Norse heathendom to
Christianity is the theme of the concluding
chapter. Oehlenschlager's influence is, of
course, predominant, but the author shows
that Fouque, too, may have influenced the
Gothic background. Nicander's Runesvardet,
for instance, shows a marked similarity with
Oehlenschlager's viking dramas. The saga ele-
ment is the most successful feature of the
play, in which the author's sympathy (as was
the case with Oehlenschlager) is evidently on
the side of the pagan viking. Though dramatic
in form, the work is essentially poetical and
lyrical, which points towards the neo-Eomantic
relationship.
Dr. Benson's work concludes with an admir-
able summary of his thesis and with a very
useful Appendix, containing biographical and
critical notes.
The work will be welcomed by all students
of Scandinavian literature as a most enlighten-
ing exposition of the Gothic elements in Swed-
ish Eomanticism, a subject which heretofore
had received neither full nor sound treatment.
ALBERT MOREY SlURTEVANT.
Kansas University.
COEEESPONDENCE
ADAM'S MOTIVE
The verse of Genesis upon which Milton
based his account of the "first disobedience"
is this : " And when the woman saw that the
tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant
to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make
one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did
eat, and gave also to her husland; and Tie did
eat." Here the motive for Adam's eating the
forbidden fruit is not clear, unless we suppose
that he did it unthinkingly, for Adam replied
to God's question merely, " The woman whom
thou gavest co be with me, she gave me of the
tree, and I did eat," — the same question to
230
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
[Vol. xxx, No. 7.
which Eve replied, " The serpent beguiled me,
and I did eat." The reasons why Eve trans-
gressed seem clear enough: the attractiveness
of the fruit, feminine curiosity to find out what
" the knowledge of good and evil " was, and
perhaps a little feminine wilfulness and per-
versity to do what she had been told not to.
We may suppose, and indeed the reader usually
does suppose, that Adam's motive was no more
than the same sort of curiosity and wilfulness,
to which we may add the winning manner in
which the beautiful woman probably begged
him to partake. At any rate, Adam laid the
blame upon Eve, and she in turn laid it upon
the serpent, with no hint of any romance in
the whole transaction.
Now, as a matter of fact, Milton followed his
Old Testament rather closely, but he added to
the story a background and framework of
ethical, spiritual, philosophical, and human sig-
nificance which made it impossible for him to
handle the transgression in any such simple
and noncommittal way as it is handled in the
third chapter of Genesis. He had to dramatize,
rationalize, humanize. In order to make his
characters more full, more individual, and more
interesting he had to imagine motives where
there were none, expanding into twelve books
a simple narrative of a few hundred words.
Thus even the casual reader sees that he must
expect to find in Paradise Lost many things
lacking in the Bible story ; yet I think he fails
to appreciate the fact that Milton gave the tale
a wholly romantic turn, in making Adam's
motive in yielding that of — love. Four pas-
sages, serving as prelude, note, and comment
of the action itself, prove that Milton intended
that love should be taken as the spring of
Adam's act. Many other lines might be cited,
but these are particularly significant:
(1) ... some cursed fraud
Of enemy hath beguil'd thee, yet unknown,
And me with thee hath ruin'd, for with thee
Certain my resolution is to die;
(P. L., ix, 904.)
(2)1 with thee have flxt my lot,
Certain to undergo like doom; if death
Consort with thee, death is to me as life;
So forcible within my breast I feel
The bond of nature draw me to my own,
My own in thee, for what thou art is mine;
Our state cannot be sever'd ; we are one,
One flesh; to lose thee were to lose myself;
(P. L., ix, 952.)
(3) ... he scrupled not to eat
Against his better knowledge, not deceiv'd,
But fondly overcome by female charm;
(P. L., ix, 997.)
(4) I, who might have liv'd and joy'd immortal bliss,
Yet willingly chose rather death with thee.
(P. L., ix, 1165.)
From these passages it becomes evident that
it was no mere temptation of curiosity idly
yielded to, but the deliberate and significant
decision of a thinking man. That the third
passage means only this, and not that Adam
was superficially seduced by Eve's charms, we
learn from the second passage quoted, as well
as from other parts of the poem. Professor
Dowden, in Puritan and Anglican, examines
the subject at length, yet lays too little stress
on the definiteness of Milton's ideas about the
transgression itself; for close study of the text
of Paradise Lost, Paradise Regained, Samson
Agonistes, and the Christian Doctrine reveals
Milton's clear and coherent philosophy, a part
of which he incorporated in the story of the
Garden; so that these remarks are not critical
conjecture, but citation of Milton himself.
There has always been something heroic in
the nobility of a sacrifice for love, whether the
love be always worthy or not, yet in this case
Milton would have us believe that Adam's
affection was admirable and sincere, so far as
it went. The man's mistake, according to Mil-
ton (compare, for example, the third passage
above), was in letting his feelings overmaster
him to the point of making him do that sin
which God had expressly forbidden. Since the
Tree of Knowledge was the sole symbol and
pledge of human obedience to God, the eating
of the fruit meant more than mere disobedience,
in all that disobedience to God implied (cf.
P. L. i, 33 ; iii, 204-211 ; P. R. iii, 137 ; Ch. D.
in Bohn ed. IV, 254; Dowden, Puritan and
Anglican, 186), and humanity has suffered for
it ever since, Milton believed. The magnitude
of the evil, however, has nothing to do with
the act itself, and Adam knew what his sacri-
November, 1915.]
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
231
fice meant, having been adequately warned.
He knew, says Milton, that Eve was lost by
her sin, so that with noble chivalry and devo-
tion he decided to die with her. Milton's point,
many times emphasized in his works, was that
a man may well love a beautiful woman, but
that he should not let his passion obscure his
judgment, and should follow his conscience and
his intelligence in spite of the lovely but capri-
cious sex, lest " wommen shal him bringen to
mischaunce." The statement, however, remains
true and worthy of note, that Milton gave his
epic the romantic motive of love.
ELLIOTT A. WHITE.
University of Missouri.
CHAUCER AND THE HOURS OF THE BLESSED
VIRGIN
Professor F. Tupper 1 has recently demon-
strated beyond doubt that Chaucer, in compos-
ing the Invocatio ad Mariam which stands in
the Prologue of the Lyf of St. Cecile, made
direct use of the Hours of the B. V. M. A year
and a half ago, while turning the pages of an
English text of the Mateyns of Oure Lady in
the Bodleian Library (MS. Ashmole 1288), I
was so forcibly impressed by the similarity to
Chaucer's phrases that I transcribed from it
the passage which follows. Tt supplies, as will
be seen, a somewhat closer parallel than the
extract which Tupper reprints from Littlehales :
[fol. 49b] Antym of oure lady : Salue regina
mater.
Heil qweene modir of merci. heil lijf swet-
nesse & oure hope : to )>ee we crien outlawid
sones of eue. to }>ee we sigen weymentynge and
wepirsge in ]?is valey of teeris : hige f>ou ]?erfore
oure aduocat turne to us ]?ou [fol. 50] Tpi merci-
ful igen. and schewe J?ou to us ihesu J?e blessid
fruyt of Y\ wombe aftir J>is exilyng.
Versus, virgyne modir of J>e chirche. Euer-
lastinge gate of glorie. geue }>ou to us refuyt
Anentis )?e fadir & f>e 2 sone.
Responsio. 0 merciful.
Versus: Virgyne merciful, virgyne piteuous.
0 marie swete virgyne. Heere ]>e preiers of
meke men: to f>ee piteuously criynge.
Responsio: 0 piteuous.
Versus. £ete out preiers to )?i sone ficchid to
1 Mod. Lang. Votes, Jan., 1915.
* Ms. )>e repeated.
J?e cros ful of woundis : and for us al for-
scourgid wit/i ^ornes prickid gouen galle to
drynke.
Responsio. 0 swete.
Versus. Glorious modir of god Of whom f>e
sone was fadir. Preie for us all }>at of Ipee
maken mynde.
Responsio. 0 meke.
Versus. Do awey blamys of wrecchidnesse
Clense }>e fitye of synners: geue [fol. 50b] to
us J>oru Y1 preiers lijf of blessid men.
Responsio. 0 sely.
Versus. Eeisid aboue heuenes And crowned
of Y\ child. In )?is wrecchid valey To gilti be
lady of forgeuenesse.
Responsio. 0 holy.
Versus, pat he lose us fro synnes for }>c loue
of his modir & to f>e kyngdom of clernesse lede
us j?e kyng of pitee.
Responsio. 0 merciful. 0 piteuous. 0 holy
0 meke 0 sely 0 swete marie heil.
Versus. Heil ful of grace ]>e lord is wij? J>ee.
Responsio. Blessid be j?ou among alle wom-
men and blessid be J?e frnyt of }n wombe.
Preie we, &c.
Professor Tupper's further observation — it
can hardly be termed a discovery — that saints'
lives and Miracles of the Virgin (and, one
may add, even romances) are frequently pref-
aced by Invocations, somewhat diminishes the
force of his previous suggestion, that in the
present instance Chaucer intended his Invoca-
tion as a " protest against Sloth in its phase
of Undevotion." 3 At least it may be doubted
whether the " fine fitness " which he perceives
here, in his attempt to arrange certain of the
Canterbury Tales according to a scheme of the
Seven Deadly Sins, was sufficiently obvious to
be perceptible to a reader not already in the
secret.
" The time-honored function of such a pre-
lude as Chaucer's ' Invocacio ad Mariam,' "
Professor Tupper concludes, "constitutes good
ground for believing that it was composed at
the same time as the Life of Saint Cecilia."
But in one important respect Chaucer's Hymn
to Mary differs from all the Invocations cited
by Professor Tupper, and from all others with
which I am acquainted. It does not stand at
the beginning of the piece — as an Invocation
should — but is introduced in the midst of the
prologue, in such fashion that it can be re-
' Pubs. Mod. Lang. Ai n. XXIX, 107.
232
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
[Vol. xxx, No. 7.
moved, not only without detriment, but with
positive improvement, to the context. There is
no need to repeat the considerations which I
have elsewhere presented on this point,4 but
the real problem is not affected by the fact
that religious poems are frequently introduced
by Invocations.
CARLETON BROWN.
Bryn Ma/wr College.
THOMAS EDWAEDS'S SONNETS
In Modern Language Notes for April, 1905,
Prof. E. P. Morton includes in a list of fifty
sonnets written between 1658 and 1750 only
the two sonnets of Thomas Edwards, 1746 and
1747, " discovered by Prof. Phelps." Neither
Prof. Morton nor Prof. Phelps has indicated
which of Edwards's sonnets these two were.
However, at least thirteen of Edwards's son-
nets were published before 1750 and two others
in that year. The thirteen sonnets referred to
were published in A Collection of Poems by
Several Hands, edited by and printed for R.
Dodsley, second edition, London, 1748, 8°,
volume II, p. 323 ff. The thirteenth is in-
scribed, "To the Rt. Hon. Mr. — — , with
the foregoing Sonnets." These sonnets do not
appear in the duodecimo edition of Dodsley's
Collection in the same year; they do appear in
the later editions, 1755 and 1758, and in the
seventh edition of the Canons of Criticism,
1765. The other two were printed in the fourth
edition of Edwards's Canons of Criticism, 1750,
and both are in ridicule of Warburton. The
sonnet beginning " Tongue-doughty Pedant "
is on page (14), and the one beginning "Rest,
rest perturbed Spirit" is in the Appendix,
p. 176.
CLARISSA RINAKER.
The University of Illinois.
Altfranzosisches Worterbuch has now appeared
(Berlin, Weidmannsche Buchhandlung. 25 lie-
ferungen). The editor, Erhard Lommatsch,
did not have a light task, for the cards on
which the entries had been made were by no
means in order for printing. The initial liefe-
rung is largely given over to introductory mat-
ter, so that the dictionary text occupies only
twenty-four out of the ninety-four pages.
These bring us as far as the word abevrer, half
of the forty-eight closely printed columns be-
ing devoted to the preposition a. In contrast
with Godefroy, Tobler did not draw on un-
published documents, but hardly a printed text
of the Old French literature escaped his analy-
sis, as may be seen from an examination of the
twenty-seven page list of works from which
citations have been made. A test count of
words in the two dictionaries indicates that in
spite of the more compact typography of the
Tobler the amount of material per column is
approximately the same. About 4800 columns
are promised for the Tobler as against some
24000 in the Godefroy. Yet Tobler's excep-
tionally full treatment of the preposition a is
half as long again as Godefroy's, and the whole
section so far covered in Tobler occupies nearly
sixty per cent, of the corresponding words in
Godefroy (even including the complement),
so that it is difficult to see how the indicated
limit can be maintained. In the descriptive
and explanatory introduction, the editor has
illustrated some of the manifold ways in which
this mine of lexicographical material can be
utilized to enrich our knowledge of French
linguistics. It is a tragic coincidence that the
publication of this work, the longest and most
eagerly awaited of all that have been promised
in Romance philology, begins at a time when
few of the younger generation of those who
watched for its coming will so much as learn
of its appearance.
BRIEF MENTION
Five years after the death of Adolf Tobler,
and more than forty since he announced the
work as forthcoming, the first lieferung of his
1 Mod. Philol. IX, 1-16.
The Modern Language Notes is scarcely the
appropriate place for an extended review of
Die Erste Deutsche Bibel (Stuttgarter Litera-
rischer Verein, 1904-15), nor, if it were, would
it be an easy task to find the competent re-
viewer. With the appearance of the tenth and
final volume, it seems fitting, however, to call
at least passing attention to the completion of
so monumental a work on the part of the
American scholar, William Kurrelmeyer. The
ten stately volumes now before us embody the
results of twelve years of unwearied labor.
Critical acumen, broad and sound learning,
perseverance in the face of enormous obstacles,
all these were needed to bring such a task to
a successful conclusion.
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
VOL. XXX.
BALTIMORE, DECEMBER, 1915.
No. 8.
VOWEL ALLITERATION IN MODERN
POETRY
Modern vowel alliteration seems as yet not to
have received the attention it deserves. Some
prosodists take so narrow a view of it as vir-
tually to exclude the most effective examples;
others look upon it askance as of doubtful pro-
sodic value; and still others deny its very ex-
istence. I shall cite a few opinions. E. S.
Dallas, in a much-quoted article on alliteration
contributed to the ninth edition of the Ency-
clopaedia Britannica (reprinted unre vised, un-
corrected, and inconsiderably augmented in the
eleventh edition), asserts that "alliteration is
never effective unless it runs upon consonants."
Schipper (History of English Versification, p.
14) says that the " harmony or consonance of
the unlike vowels is hardly perceptible in mod-
ern English and does not count as an allitera-
tion." Classen, in his recent work, Vowel
Alliteration in the Old Germanic Languages
(p. 41), says that "in modern English, vowel
alliteration appears to have reached the stage
of alliteration for the eye, as in such a phrase
as ' Apt alliteration's artful aid.' " I add to
these opinions a characteristic passage from
Professor Saintsbury's History of English
Prosody (pp. 396-397) :
" Alliteration, to be genuine and effective,
must, as it seems to me, rest upon consonants,
just as rhyme must (again as it seems to me)
rest upon vowels. The old vowel alliteration
was an obvious ' easement ' when the thing had
to be done at any cost, and it may have had
attractions in Anglo-Saxon which we do not
appreciate now. But the rapid desertion of it
in Middle English, and its almost total failure
to appear in Modern, would seem to show that
it has no real reason of being now. Before
writing this, and in order not to trust too much
to a general memory, I have looked over many
pages of Chaucer, Spenser, Milton, and Tenny-
son, the four poets most likely to have used the
effect consciously or unconsciously, if it exists.
I find few traces of it at all, and none that
seem to have any particular lesson for us. Even
so strong an instance of identical vowel allitera-
tion (and it need not, as most people know, be
identical) as
Of old Olympus (P. L., vii, 7),
does not, to my ear at least, produce any special
effect, good or bad : one neither welcomes it nor
wishes it away. In the great line of Oenone —
Idalian Aphrodite beautiful —
there may seem, at first hearing, to be some-
thing gained by the vowel alliteration; but a
very little reflection will, I think, show that the
harmony in contrast of the two initial syllables
is quite independent of their having no conso-
nant before them, that it is, in fact, a case of
'Vowel Music' (as I call it below), not of
alliteration at all."
I have quoted Professor Saintsbury at this
length not only because he illustrates in one
way the comment I have made upon students
of prosody, but also because the passage fur-
nishes me by opposition the theses of my paper.
I wish, that is, to show (1) that alliteration
may be as genuine and effective when it rests
upon vowels as when it rests upon consonants;
(2) that it is a phenomenon distinct from
vowel music, or vowel melody, though like con-
sonant alliteration always conjoined with it;
(3) that it is fairly common in modern poetry,
particularly in Milton and Tennyson. And in-
cidentally I wish to ascertain what it is in
modern vowel alliteration that constitutes the
alliterating element.
I shall begin with some simple instances. It
may first be noted that many familiar phrases
derive their idiomatic force from what seems
to be vowel alliteration; thus, "ins and outs,"
" upward and onward," " odds and ends," " odd
and even," "andy over," "off and on," "up
and at 'em," " ifs and ans," " give an inch and
take an ell," " from Alfred to Omaha " (a popu-
lar perversion of "from Alpha to Omega").
The title of Poe's story "The Angel of the
Odd " derives a part of its oddity from the
alliteration of the vowels. Allen Tpward seems
as alliterative as Simple Simon. Nine persons
out of ten, asked abruptly for an instance of
alliteration of any kind, will respond by quot-
234
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
[Vol. xxx, No. 8.
ing Churchill's line, " Apt alliteration's artful
aid," and perhaps the tenth will recall " An
Austrian army awfully arrayed." In all of
these cases the curious and significant thing is
that the words with initial vowels seem (at
any rate to my ear) actually to alliterate.
When I say to myself, " Apt alliteration's art-
ful aid," I am sensible not only of changes in
the quality of the vowels, but also of the repe-
tition of an initial effect quite as characteristic
as that of the initial consonants in " Boldly by
battery besieged Belgrade," or " Peter Piper
picked a peck of pickled peppers." The allitera-
tion, in other words, even in this rather cheap
form, seems to be both genuine and effective.1
Nor when we pass to higher forms of expres-
sion does vowel alliteration seem to lose its
value. Of the four poets mentioned by Pro-
fessor Saintsbury I have examined for the pur-
poses of this paper only Milton and Tennyson.
These poets, whose fondness for consonantal
alliteration is at all times marked and fre-
quently is excessive, seem to me to be equally,
or proportionately, fond of alliteration by vow-
els. Of the 10,565 lines of Paradise Lost, 670,
or 6.2%, contain each two or more accented
alliterating vowels. Of lines which show vowel
alliteration, but in which one of the initial
vowels is unaccented, there are in the whole
poem 517. The total number of internally
alliterating lines is, therefore, 1187, or 11.2%
of the whole. The following are examples, the
alliterating vowels in a single line varying from
two to five:
(2 vowels) Of warriors old with order'd spear and
shield, (i, 565.)
(3 vowels) Author and end of all things, and from
work, (vii, 591.)
Me, me only, just object of his ire.
(x, 936.)
(4 vowels) Where entrance «p from Eden easiest
climbs, (xi, 119.)
I also erred in overmuch admiring,
(ix, 1078.)
1 It is, of course, impossible to compel any one,
except by process of torture, and not always then,
to say that he recognizes a mooted prosodic force
or element if he wishes to withhold his assent. All
that can be done in any case is to set forth one's
own reactions and see to what extent they agree with
the experiences of others.
(5 vowels) 0 Eve, in evil hour thou did'st give ear.
(ix, 1067.)
The angel ended, and in Adam's ear.
(viii, 1.)
Cases in which the alliterating words are in
successive lines instead of in the same line are
naturally much more numerous. Thus in Book
I, the number of lines that contain an effective
initial vowel that alliterates with an effective
vowel in a preceding or following line, is 223
in a total of 798 lines. I quote a few examples
at random:
Hung on his shoulders like the moon, whose orb
Through optic glass the Tuscan artist views
At evening, (i, 287-8.)
And gentle airs due at this hour
To fan the earth, now waked, and usher in
The evening cool.
Will he so wise let loose at once his ire,
Belike through impotence or unaware,
To give his enemies their wish, and end
Them in his anger whom his anger saves
To punish endless, (ii, 156.)
The following table shows the number of
lines in Paradise Lost that have vowel allitera-
tion within the line. Under A is given the
number of lines that have two or more accented
alliterations, under B the number of lines that
have one accented alliteration and one or more
unaccented.2
Number of
Percent.
Percent.
Book
Lines
A
B
A
B
I
798
52
38
6.5
4.7
II
1055
58
55
5.4
5.2
III
742
42
43
5.6
5.7
IV
1015
72
38
7.0
3.7
V
907
55
46
6.0
4.9
VI
912
50
55
5.4
6.0
VII
640
34
32
5.3
5.0
VIII
653
47
32
7.1
4.9
IX
1189
95
58
7.9
4.8
X
1104
65
54
5.8
4.9
XI
901
65
38
7.2
4.2
XII
649
35
28
5.4
4.3
10565
670
517
6.2
4.8
2 Of consonantal alliterations, the number in Book
1, reckoned in the same way, is as follows: A, 161;
B, 22; percentage of A-alliterations, 20; percentage
of B-alliterations, 2.7.
December, 1915.]
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
235
Tennyson, although he employs vowel alliter-
ation more conservatively than Milton, has still
an evident fondness for it. An examination of
certain of Tennyson's poems gives the following
results: In Memoriam — Number of stanzas,
750; stanzas showing vowel alliteration, 80;
percentage, 10.6. Locksley Hall — Number of
couplets, 97; couplets showing vowel allitera-
tion, 13; percentage, 13.4. Palace of Art —
Number of stanzas, 74; stanzas showing vowel
alliteration, 15; percentage, 20.2. The Two
Voices — Number of stanzas, 154; stanzas show-
ing vowel alliteration, 27 ; percentage, 17.5. In
the Battle of Brunanburh, where Tennyson
aims to reproduce the alliterative effect of the
original, there are 15 vowel-alliterating lines
out of a total of 125. The longer poems, as the
Princess and the Idyls of the King, as far as
I have examined them, show a smaller per-
centage.
Many of Tennyson's most characteristic ef-
fects are secured by means of this kind of
alliteration, as
The warrior .Earl of Allendale
He loved the Lady Anne.
(The Foresters, Act I.)
I never ate with angrier appetite.
(Geraint and Enid.)
To dying ears when unto dying eyes,
(The Princess.)
And all the phantom, Nature, stands —
With all the music in her tone,
A hollow echo of my own,—
A hollow form with empty hands.
That oil, as in some piec'? of art
Is toil co-operant to an end.
(In Memoriam.)
That these collocations of initial vowel sounds
are the result not of chance but of design is
apparent from the instances in which they are
artfully conjoined in the same line or group of
lines with alliterating consonants. Consider
Tennyson's line, " 7 the heir of all the ages in
the foremost files of time " (Locksley Hall), or
" Author, essayist, atheist, novelist, realist,
rhymester, play your part" (Locksley Hall Sixty
Years After), or "Is there evil but on earth?
or pain in every peopled sphere?" (Ibid.), or
"Bound as the red eye of an eagle-owl"
(Gareth and Lynette). It seems clear that in
each of these cases the vowel alliteration in one
half of the line is intended to balance the con-
sonant alliteration in the other half.3 Nor are
there lacking examples of crossed alliteration,
as in
Ancient founts of inspiration well through all my
fancy yet. (Locksley Hall.)
From these instances we may fairly conclude
that the poet has treated alliterating vowels pre-
cisely as he has treated alliterating consonants.
There is the possibility, however, that those
who think these lines are genuinely and effect-
ively alliterative deceive themselves, and that
the effects are really due to what Professor
Saintsbury calls vowel music. We must there-
fore examine the latter term for a moment and
distinguish it from vowel alliteration.
Vowel music (or, better, vowel melody) is
a quasi-tune resulting from an artful sequence
of vowel sounds. It is composed of several
factors, of which may be mentioned (1) the
natural difference of pitch of the vowels, which
enables one to arrange them in a sort of scale;
(2) the differences in vowel quality due to over-
tones; (3) the association of certain vowel
sounds and sequences of vowel sounds with cor-
responding emotional states; (4) the kines-
thetic effect due to the muscular action involved
in shifting from one position of the vocal organs
to another.
The presence of these factors gives a dis-
tinctly melodic effect that is often pleasing to
the ear. Moreover, this melody usually cor-
responds in a delicate and subtle fashion to the
sequence of moods and images that the poem is
intended to arouse. Thus, to take a simple
instance, the sequence ee-aw frequently has a
suggestion of humor, as in " see-saw," " fee-
* Compare Browning's
Armies of angels that soar, 2egions of demons that
Zurk. (Abt Vogler.)
The same device on a larger scale is seen in Milton's
lines (Paradise Lost, i, 371-373) :
Oft to tlie image of a brute, odorned
With gay religions full of pomp and gold,
And cievils to adore for deities.
236
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
[Vol. xxx, No. 8.
f aw-f urn," " Jimmie McGee McGaw," and the
like. Here the effect may be traced to the sud-
den shifting from the high-front-unrounded to
the low-back-rounded position, together with
the lowering in pitch; though association with
the " hee-haw " of the ass's horrible bray doubt-
less plays a part. At all events, through the
operation of such factors as these the poet, by
deftly arranging the vowel sequences, may con-
sciously or unconsciously compose an elaborate
vowel melody. To the examples cited by Pro-
fessor Saintsbury may be added Tennyson's " I
alone awake," with its lovely minor cadence,
and Milton's
Death
Grinned horrible a ghastly smile,
where the vowels seem to execute a kind of
danse macabre as an accompaniment to the
hideous imagery.
None of these factors, however, resemble, ex-
cept remotely, the factors of alliteration, con-
sonantal or vocalic. While vowel melody is in
general a series of disparates, alliteration, like
rhyme, is essentially repetitive. Its character-
istic and indispensable feature appears to be
the repetition of an identical sound at the be-
ginning of a word or syllable.
But if all alliteration is a repetition of an
initial sound, what can it be in such a phrase as
" Apt alliteration's artful aid " that actually
alliterates? Clearly, it is not the quality of
the vowel, for that shifts with each word in the
sequence. What common element then is left?
To answer this question we may bring forward
two alternative theories: (1) that the recurrent
element is simply the sonority of the initial
vowel; (2) that the recurrent element is a
pound that is not represented in the spelling of
the word, but is nevertheless always present at
the beginning of it, namely, the glottal catch.4
*The theory of Axel Kock, that all vowel allitera-
tion in old English poetry was originally a repeti-
tion of the same vowel, need not concern us here,
for identical vowel alliteration in modern English
poetry is so rare as to be almost negligible. In the
10,565 lines of Paradise Lost there are but 10 cases
of identical alliteration within the line, barring
repetitions of the same word.
The sonority theory assumes that, in spite of
the great difference in the position of the vocal
organs in pronouncing the different vowel
sounds, there is a common element in these
sounds which so powerfully impresses the ear
that any vowel or diphthong appears to be a
repetition of any other vowel or diphthong.
When we ask what this element is, some diffi-
culty is found in framing a satisfactory reply.
Sonority, as Classen has pointed out, is only a
phonetic abstraction. It is present in conso-
nants as well as vowels, and, unfortunately for
the theory, sonorous consonants do not alliterate
with vowel sounds in the slightest degree. The
embarrassing question may also be asked. Why,
if all vowels alliterate with one another because
of their vocality, should not all consonants
alliterate with one another by virtue of their
consonantality ? — and to this question there is
as yet no answer.
The second theory, that of the glottal catch,
though it has not before been applied, so far as
I am aware, to modern poetry, seems a happy
solution of the difficulty. The glottal catch is
simply the pressing together or overlapping of
the vocal cords in such a way as to effect a com-
plete stoppage of the breath. It is heard in an
extreme form in coughing or clearing the throat
or in pronouncing that expletive which we spell
awkwardly ahem, but in its simplest form it is
the starting point of every initial vowel that is
uttered with emphasis. In order to secure what
the singer calls " attack," that is, the launching
of the vowel with full force, it is necessary, in
all highly emotional expression, to pen up the
breath behind the glottis and then force the
glottis open with a kind of explosion. As Jes-
persen says (Lehrbuch der Phonetik, p. 78),
the glottal catch is " the way in which every-
body naturally begins a vowel when he speaks
with a certain effort, as, for example, when he
takes especial pains to imitate the vowel sounds
of a foreign language." In some languages the
glottal catch is an essential element of speech.
Among the North Germans all accented initial
(and many accented internal) vowels are nor-
mally preceded by it.
In England the initial glottal catch is said
by Jespersen to be wholly unknown, and Sweet
December, 1915.]
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
237
regards it as a significant mark of difference
between English as spoken in England and
the German of North Germany. Although I
hesitate to set my poor observations against
those of two so eminent phoneticians, I shall
venture the assertion that a quite unmistakable
glottal catch may be heard in the speech of al-
most every Englishman when he speaks with
energy or abruptness.5 There is a well-known
story which I may use to illustrate the con-
tention. An American and an Englishman are
traveling in a third-class carriage in England
together with a woman and her child. It is
lunch time, and the boy says to his mother,
" Maw, give me some 'am." " 'Am," replies
the mother, scornfully, "you mustn't say 'am,
you must say 'am." When they get out at the
next station, the Englishman, who has been
holding himself in with difficulty, bursts into
a guffaw. " She thought she was a-sayin' 'am
and she was only a-sayin' 'am." I have heard
several Englishmen tell that story and in each
case, if my ears did not deceive me, the sup-
posedly more refined pronunciation was distin-
guished by a glottal catch.
Throughout America the glottal catch is
fairly common in ordinary speech. It is used
by every American when he is tired, and in the
Middle West it is an almost invariable accom-
paniment of stressed initial vowels. In my
classes in the University this year there is no
student who does not use it freely and notice-
ably in forcible or excited speech. One student
from Detroit, with no foreign influence in the
family life, uses it at the beginning of every
initial vowel, and of many internal vowels, pre-
cisely as does a North German.
If we grant the presence of the glottal catch
in sufficient measure to gratify the ear of poet
and hearer, and its use consciously or uncon-
sciously as prosodic material, the problem of
vowel alliteration is greatly simplified. Vowel
alliteration in the strict sense of the term
simply disappears and in its place there is a
sort of consonant alliteration. However the
vowel may be varied, the glottal catch remains
virtually the same and supplies the common ele-
ment essential to all alliterative repetition.
My conclusions are then: (1) that vowel
alliteration in the sense of the significant repe-
tition of the same initial vowel sound occurs
so rarely in modern English poetry that it may
for our present purpose be disregarded; (2)
that sonority is too vague and abstract to serve
as alliterative material, though it may act as a
reinforcement; (3) that vowel melody, although
it is an important prosodic phenomenon, is
wholly distinct in its means and effects from
alliteration; and, finally (4) that the allitera-
tive effect of initial vowels may be due to the
repetition of the glottal catch, which, either as
a sound or as an innervation of the muscles
contracting the glottis, is probably present in
some degree before all vowels that are pro-
nounced with feeling or energy.
FRED NEWTON SCOTT.
University of Michigan.
5 Cf. L. P. H. Eijkman's " Notes on English Pro-
nunciation " in Die Neueren Sprachen, xvii, 443, and
Daniel Jones's comment, Ibid., p. 571. Eijkman and
Jones agree that the glottal catch is not uncommon
in normal English speech, and the former quotes the
letter written by Lloyd to Vigtor in 1894 (Vie'tor,
Elemente d. Phonetik, § 30, Anm. 5) : "1 have not
noticed any specific substitution of ' glottal catch '
for a dropt h; but I do notice that ' clear beginning,'
sometimes forcible enough to be called ' glottal
catch.' exists largely in England in certain positions,
e. g. (a) when another vowel, especially a very simi-
lar vowel, precedes — (b) when a strong emphasis is
intended. A speaker laboring under suppressed pas-
sion uses unconsciously the ' clear beginning.' "
NOTES ON MfiRfi
Seldom has the identity of a writer been so
difficult to establish as has that of Antoine
Gombaud, chevalier de Mere. Confused even
during his own lifetime with a contemporary,
the marquis de Mere, chevalier de Saint-Michel,
the writer Mere was in the eighteenth century
adorned with the tatter's patronymic appella-
tion and enshrined as George (s) Brossin in his-
torical and bibliographical dictionaries, cyclo-
pedias, general biographies, and histories of
238
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
[Vol. xxx, No. 8.
literature. As such he often persists even to-
day. Georges Brossin had distinguished him-
self by his brilliant conduct at the battle of
Gigeri, in Barbary, and had had his name in
the Gazette extraordinaire (August 28, 1664).
So the chevalier de Mere is represented as fight-
ing pirates in the East.1 He has also been con-
fused sometimes with one of his own brothers,
Plassac. The story of the efforts made by
Laine, Paulin Paris, and Philippe Tamizey de
Larroque to enlighten the literary public, as
well as of the mistakes regarding Mere's iden-
tity committed by Sainte-Beuve, Frangois Col-
let, etc., is told by Ch. Eevillout in his work
Antoine Gombault, chevalier de Mere, sa fa-
mille, son frere et ses amis illustres, published
in 1877.2 Ten years before this time Mere's
full identity had begun to be a rich subject for
conjecture and investigation among the scholars
of southwestern France. Those interested rep-
resented different classes of society, some of
them being the marquis de Rochave, Beauchet-
Filleau, author of the Dictionnaire du Poitou,
Theophile de Bremond d'Ars, of Saintonge (us-
ing the pseudonym "Maltouche"), and Dr. C.
Sauze, of Poitou. Articles by these men were
published in the Revue de I'Aunis, 'de la Sain-
tonge et du Poitou — the dates being respectively
December 25, 1867; March 25 and July 25,
1868; and January 25, 1869 — and were gath-
ered together into one collection by the comte
Anatole de Bremond d'Ars. It is interesting to
note that a reprint of Sauze's article, sent by
the author to Sainte-Beuve, is in the Boston
Public Library : Le nom du chevalier de Mere,
etc., in-8, 14 pp.
With the first number of the Bulletin de la
Societe des archives historiques de la Saintonge
et de I'Aunis, in 1879, the discussion regarding
the chevalier de Mere's family was resumed.
M. Lanson's Manuel bibliographique for the
seventeenth century names as a source of in-
1 La Grande Encyclopedic says : " en 1664, on le
trouve faisant partie de Pexpeclition navale du due
de Beaufort centre les pirates de Gigeri; " Larousse:
" . . . il accompagna le due de Beaufort dans son
expedition centre les pirates de Gigeri; puis il
quitta le service vers 1645 et vint ft Paris," etc.
1 In-4, 56 pp.
formation regarding Mere the above-mentioned
Bulletin for 1883-1884. To that reference
should be added the same Bulletin for 1876-
1879 (Vol. I), 1880 (Vol. II), 1894 (Vol.
XIV), and 1895 (Vol. XV). Various scholars
contributed from time to time during several
years questions or information and all empha-
sized the fact that the writer Mere was Antoine
Gombaud. Notwithstanding this, much ignor-
ance concerning his true identity persisted
among students of seventeenth-century litera-
ture. In 1882 Nourrisson confused him with
Georges Brossin, as we may see from Le Cor-
respondent for April-June, 1882, " Pascal et le
chevalier de Mere." This mistake on the part
of so prominent a person as a professor at
the College de France and a member of the
Institute, quite wounded the feelings of the
scholars of southwestern France.8 Fabre also
was one to sin (Les Ennemis de Chapelain,
1888, p. 329), and again the writer Mere's
real name was announced.4 A groan was ut-
tered by our zealous genealogists in 1895, 5 when
it was seen that Gabriel Compayre, rector
of the Academy of Poitiers, in his work Galerie
franc.aise 6 had consecrated an article to " Mere,
Georges Brossin"!
After so much discussion of the chevalier de
Mere's identity, it was a little surprising to
find a modern scholar like M. Faguet confus-
ing him with Georges Brossin (see Revue hel-
domadaire des cours et conferences, March 26.
1896, " Le chevalier de Mere ") . His informa-
tion was evidently taken from Sainte-Beuve.
M. Fortunat Strowski in his comparatively
recent work Pascal et son temps repeats the old
mistake about Mere's going to Barbary, being
wounded there, and having his name in the
Gazette.7 M. Strowski states also that Mere
visited America.8 This cannot be proved. The
letter of Mere's brother Plassac written in 1626
"See Bull 8. Arch. H. 8. et Aunis, 1880-1882
(Vol. Ill), p. 360. Having been set right, Nourris-
son replied thanking his critics [iftid., Janvier 1883-
avril 1884 (Vol. IV), pp. 57-58].
4 Ibid., 1888 (Vol. VIII), p. 355.
'Ibid., 1895, p. 12.
• Vienne-Paris, 1894.
1 See 2<> Partie, 3* ed., 1910, p. 253.
•Ibid., p. 252.
December, 1915.]
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
239
to a chevalier de Malte who had gone on a trip
to the antipodes " might be written to a brother,
and this brother might be the chevalier, as
M. Eevillout suggests.10 It seems, however,
more probable that it is written to a friend,
for whom the protestations of friendship are
most exaggerated. And it is probably a ficti-
tious friend. For in another letter,11 published
in the same collection in which this one ap-
pears, M. de Plassac says to the editor of the
Recueil, regarding the letters which " a friend "
of his has sent this editor : " Quoy qu'il en
soit, il peut bien se consoler d'avoir fait de
mauvais songes, puis que le jour ne les a jamais
veus, et que vous estes le seul tesmoin devant
lequel il ait encor failli." M. Morillot states
that Mere had seen Franchise d'Aubigne in
America.12 But this assertion is based upon
the assumption that Mere was the author of
the note anonyme,13 when this was probably
Cabart de Villermont.14 False hypotheses
lead M. Strowski to the conclusion 15 that
Mere's life was " une vie de tempete," and that
Pascal in declaring the life "la plus agreable
aux grands esprits " to be " la vie tumultuaire "
was faithful perhaps to the spirit of his " mas-
ter" (Mere).
Saintonge, Poitou, and Angoumois have all
claimed the honor of giving birth to Antoine
Gombaud. In his fine study of this writer
published in the Revue d'histoire litteraire,™
entitled Pascal et Mere a propos d'un manu-
scrit inedit, M. Ch.-H. Boudhors infers from
the fact that Mere was baptized in the Bouex
(Angoumois) church that he was probably born
at his father's old home, the castle of Mer6 in
Bouex.17 But the oldest of the Gombaud chil-
dren, the sister Frangoise, was married in this
same church seven years later (December 17,
' See Recueil de lettres nouvelles par Faret, Paris,
1634, p. 442.
10 Op. tit., p. 13.
"Lettre IV.
1J See Bcarron et le genre burlesque, 1888, p. 71.
0 Ibid., pp. 403 ff.
"See Revue des questions historiques, 28" annfie,
T. X, 1893, pp. 124 ff., article by A. de Boisliale.
"Op. tit., pp. 276-277.
»2(V annge, 1913, pp. 24-50 and 379-405.
" P. 35, note 2.
1621). ™ So by the same method of reasoning
we must conclude that the Gombauds did not
live in Poitou at Baussay before the father's
death, March 29, 1620. Might we not as rea-
sonably infer that it was the family custom to
return to the old castle of Mere for such events
as christenings and marriages, and would not
the fact that Antoine was christened at the
rather advanced age of seven years and seven
months go to show that the family lived at a
distance ?
His godmother, Gabrielle-Jehanne d'Ages,
wife of " messire " Charles de Courbon, was
a family connection.19 There was probably
some tie of relationship, too, between Mere
and his godfather, Antoine de La Rochefou-
cauld, bishop of Angouleme. M. Boudhors
is impressed with the fact that the MS. in
the Bibliotheque Mazarine represents Mere
as enjoying the patronage of the La Roche-
foucaulds.20 And Tallemant would lead us
to believe that Mere's mother, owning an
estate in Poitou, could hardly escape being
related by some tie of kinship to the La Roche-
foucauld clan. " Au siege de la Rochelle,"
says this chronicler, " M. de la Rochefoucault,
alors gouverneur de Poitou, eut ordre d'assem-
bler la noblesse de son gouvernement. En
quatre jours, il assemble quinze cents gentils-
hommes, et dit au Roy : ' Sire, il n'y en a pas
un qui ne soit mon parent.' " 21 Let us feel
sure that there will be found some day an acte,
procuration, inventaire or other piece which
will prove that Mere belonged to this army of
the La Rochefoucauld connections.
A propos of family relationships, Mme de
la Baziniere, the clever wife of the tresorier de
I'Epargne, was connected to Mere, distantly but
surely. When Mere's parents were married,
in 1597, his mother's father, Paul de Maille de
La Tour-Landry, was dead, and the widow,
Frangoise de Constance, was married to a Fran-
M See Bull. 8. Arch. H. 8. et Aunis, XIV, p. 36.
19 Cf. ibid., XIV, p. 349; XV, p. 4; the genealogy
given by Rochftve in Coll. Brfimond d'Ars, p. 22; and
C. Sauz6, ibid., p. 37.
10 Revue cited, note 2, pp. 40-41.
*Les Hist -1-iettes, 3« 6d., par Monmerqu6 et Paulin
Paris, II, p. 20.
240
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
[Vol. xxx, #0. 8.
gois de Barbezieres, seigneur de Chemerauld.22
And Mme de la Baziniere was, as we know,
FranQoise de Barbeziere, " demoiselle de Che-
merault," her father being Geoffrey de Barbe-
ziere, " sieur de la Roche-Chemerault," a
younger son. The picture of this " demoiselle
de Chemerault " painted for us by contempora-
ries is not altogether pleasing; but the Barbe-
zieres were a good old family of Poitou, this
young woman was maid-in-waiting to the queen,
and it may have been through the Chemerault
connection that Mere obtained his early intro-
duction to court society.23 Franchise de Barbe-
ziere was married in 1645. M. Boudhors does
not seem to notice the family connection, and
he makes of Mme de la Baziniere Mere's mis-
tress.24 He does not tell us his authority for
this, but I can find in Mere's words to this lady
in his Lettre 145 — " Fhonneur de vous etre
quelque chose me semble precieux " — only an
allusion to the family relationship. With Mme
de la Baziniere's husband Mere was " sans r6-
serve," 25 and he divided his homage between
the two daughters, Mme de Mesme(s) (Mar-
guerite Bertrand; married in 1660 to Jean-
Jacques de Mesmes, comte d'Avaux) and her
younger sister, the Mile de la Baziniere to
whom Mme de Sevigne alludes October 28,
1671, as a "jeune nymphe de quinze ans,
. . . fagonniere et coquette en perfection."
Mere counsels the young girl regarding her
manners and morals, and wishes to cultivate
her older sister, that the somewhat too natural
lady may become through his science " la Dame
la plus parfaite, et 1'enchanteresse la plus agre-
able que le monde ait jamais veue." In short,
he is the family friend. Five of his letters
we know to have been written to Mme de
Mesme(s), while but three are addressed to
the mother.
Speaking of Mere's relations to women M.
Boudhors says : " II est bien certain, defaut
n See the procuration quoted in the Bull. 8. Arch.
H. 8. et Aunis, XIV, p. 36.
23 " J'ay este a la cour des mon enfance," he is
represented as saying in the MS. (4556, 3e Hasse,
Bibl. Maz.), p. 57.
" Revue cited, p. 405.
25 See his Lettre 7, A Mademoiselle de la Baziniere.
ou qualite, qu'il y a chez lui un observateur
delie, curieux, attendri, de 1'esprit et du coeur
feminins."26 The reason for this is that in
women Mere found a delicacy of mind which
did not seem to him so common among men;
and women too, he thought, show more grace
in what they do and have a finer understanding
of the art of doing things well than men.27
They were, therefore, more amenable to the
principles of honnetete and proved readier pu-
pils in acquiring the art or science of which
he was master, that of the bienseances. Once
in writing about women he remarks : " . . .
je n'en ay jamais pratique une seule qui ne soit
devenue plus honneste et plus agreable qu' elle
n'estoit avant que je 1'eusse vue." 28 Notwith-
standing this by no means modest assertion,
his views about women are liberal and his rea-
soning in regard to the attitude of his day to-
wards the " woman question " is interesting.
" On ne veut pas que les femmes soient habiles,
dit le Chevalier, et je ne sgai pourquoi; si ce
n'est peut-estre a cause qu'on les loue assez
d'ailleurs, et qu'elles sont belles." 29
This idea that the world is sparing of its
praise and that superiority in many respects
will not be accorded to the same person, is a
favorite one of Mere. He continues the above
remark by saying : " Car le monde se plaist
a retrancher d'un coste ce qu'il ne peut refuser
de 1'autre, et s'il est contraint d'avouer qu'un
homme est fort brave, il ne sera pas d'accord
que ce soit un fort honneste homme, quand il
seroit encore plus honneste que brave." Com-
pare also the Preface of the Conversations, etc.,
where he says : " J'eleve mon sujet d'un coste
apres 1'avoir abaisse d'un autre, etc."; De I'Es-
prit, p. 6 : " Je remarque aussi que le monde
est un grand mesnager de loiianges, et cela vient
de ce qu'on ne s'arreste guere a regarder qu'une
seule chose en un sujet, et que d'ailleurs on ne
veut pas qu'une mesme personne se puisse
vanter d'avoir tous les avantages ; " ibid., p. 7 :
" Cesar estoit plus eloquent que Ciceron, . . .
"Revue cited, p. 405, note 1.
"See the Conversations D.M.D.C.E.D.C.D.M., Pre-
miere Conversation.
** Lettre 146, A Madame *xx.
" Conversations, etc., loc. cit.
December, 1915.]
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
241
Mais parce qu'il excellent dans la guerre, peu
de gens s'entretiennent de son eloquence, et
1'on admire celle de Ciceron, a cause qu'il
n'avoit rien que cela de fort recommandable ; "
and elsewhere in his writings. La Bochefou-
cauld reasons in a manner somewhat similar:
" Xous elevons la gloire des uns pour abaisser
celle des autres, et quelquefois on loueroit
moins Monsieur le Prince et M. de Turenne,
si on ne les vouloit point blamer tous deux." 80
Eegarding Mere's works, the third edition of
the Conversations, etc. (mentioned by M.
Strowski as the first) ,31 " augmented d'un Dis-
cours de la Justesse," is to be found in the
Bibliotheque Nationale in two forms, both num-
bered Z, 20138. These two volumes are iden-
tical, except that one has 291 pp. numbered,
of which the Conversations, etc., occupy 187,
and the other 345 pp., the Conversations, etc.,
occupying 289. The 1689 edition of the
Lettres was not the first,32 these letters having
been published in 1682 ; but the second edition
is an exact copy of the first.
A little work which I have seen but once
attributed to Mere is Les Avantures de Eenaud
et d'Armide.*3 There is no name in the privi-
lege, but we may be sure the volume is from
Mere's pen for the following reasons : he alludes
to Eenaud and Armide in Lettres 14 (A Mon-
sieur de "") and 110 (A Monsieur, where he
relates his adventure with Armide) ; to Ee-
naud, in Lettre 24 (A Monsieur de X3IX) and to
Armide in Lettre 90 (A Madame de Mesmes).
In the Au lecteur of this book, too, the writer
states that in composing a small volume of these
adventures, taken from Tasso's G. I., he has
translated little but has followed exactly Tasso's
plan. This is the same sentiment regarding
translation which we find in Mere's Lettre 34,
where he sends to the duchesse de Lesdigui&res
"See (Euvres, T. 1, 1868 (Les Grands ficrivaina de
la France), p. 109, and note 5.
11 Op. cit., pp. 248-249.
* See again M. Strowski, loo. cit.
* Par U. L. C. D. M. A Paris, chez Claude Barbin,
1687, in-12". (Bib. Nat., Y, 75041). The book has
205 pp. The privilege was given August 12, 1677,
and the acher>6 d'imprimer bears the date October 4,
1677.
an adventure taken from Petronius (Lettre:
" non pas tou jours comme il est dans 1'ori-
ginal ; " here, " sans traduire que fort peu de
chose "). In the Lettre, too, he says: " si celui
qui traduit a plus d'esprit et de gout, et plus
d'adresse a s'expliquer que 1'Autheur qu'il a
pris a traduire, je ne voy pas que rien puisse
empecher que la traduction ne 1'emporte ; "
here, we read : " il faudroit leur disputer tout
Favantage de bien ecrire, et tacher d'aller du
pair avec eux, et mesme de les preceder."
ISABELLE BRONK.
Swarthmore College.
ZU MINNESANGS FBUHLING
7, 1. Sievers Herstellung vil Helen friunt
verliesen ist wohl der Vorzug zu geben, einmal
weil diese dem friunt der Hs. naher steht und
dann weil verliesen am besten zu passen scheint,
da es hier doch hauptsachlich auf die Antithese
ankommt: verliesen — schedelich, behalten — lo-
belich, ahnlich wie Erek 5071 f. :
jft ist ein friunt bezzer vlorn
bescheidenltchen unde wol
dan behalten anders danne er sol.
Vgl. W. Weise, Die Sentenz bei Hartmann von
Aue, Marburg, 1910, S. 69.
12, 2. " Swer werden wiben dienen sol, der
sol semelichen varn." So liest Vogt nach der
Hs. B, obwohl er den Ausdruck semelichen
varn als ' ziemlich hb'lzern ' charakterisiert.
Mit dem seliclichen der Hs. C ist gar nichts
anzufangen, auch befriedigt weder Pfeiffers
schemelichen noch Pauls senelichen. Das von
E. Schroder ZfdA. 33, 100 vorgeschlagene
seinelichen hat dieser mit Eecht nachtraglich
zuriickgenommen, trotzdem hat es bei Bartsch-
Golther, Liederdichter* Aufnahme gefunden;
vgl. AfdA. 27, 227. Als eine sich fast von
selbst ergebende Besserung, schlage ich vor
gemellichen zu lesen : ' . . . der sol guter
Laune sein.' Dieser Satz wird durch die sich
anschliessenden Zeilen dieser spruchartigen
242
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
[Vol. xxx, No. 8.
Strophe folgendermassen begriindet: er muss
" seneliche swaere tragen verholne in dem her-
zen; er sol ez niemanne sagen," d. h. wer den
Frauen gefallen will, darf kein saures Gesicht
machen, sondern muss sich ihnen gegeniiber
stets munter zeigen, mag er auch mitunter
schweres Leid zu tragen haben; er soil nichts
davon verspiiren lassen. In einem Eeinmax
zugeschriebenen Lied (MF. 199, 25) wird ge-
rade die Heiterkeit des Geliebten gepriesen:
man a6 guoten,
baz gemuoten,
hfln ich selten m8 gesehen,
im geltchen,
noch s6 gemelltchen,
bl dem ffir die swaere
bezzer froide weere.
18, 28. Hauptsachlich weil sie 'eine sonst
nicht belegbare auffallige Wendung' voraus-
setzt, hat Vogt Haupts Besserung dieser Stelle
verworfen und aus dem vn anherschat von B
des andern schaden in den Text gesetzt. Was
das eigentlich heissen soil, weiss ich nicht.
Unter Streichung des vn ware man versucht zu
lesen " . . . waere, an der man schaden nie
erkos," aber hiegegen sprechen solche Verse
wie z. B. Moriz von Craon 295 f. " swer staetec-
lichen minnet, wie vil der gewinnet beide
schaden und arebeit." Vogts Bedenken gegen
Haupts hamschar kann ich nicht teilen, denn,
wie mir scheint, passt gerade hier der starkere
Ausdruck. Wiewohl man von der Minne nicht
pradizieren konnte, dass sie schaden nie erTcos,
geht dies in Bezug auf harnschar doch sehr
wohl an: Minne bringt Leid (Schaden), aber
nie Entehrung. Zudem lasst sich der Ausdruck
harnschar erkiesen wenigstens einmal belegen,
namlich in Ulrichs Lanzelet 1012 f. : " torst
ich an iuch erbalden, daz ich iuwern vater nicht
verliir, ein harnschar ich dar umbe erkiir, daz
ich gevangen waer ein jar." Also ist die alte
Haupfsche Lesung wieder herzustellen. — 18,
25 braucht man nicht mit Schb'nbach, Die al-
teren Minnesanger, Wien, 1899, S. 9 moere =
Predigt zu fassen, sondern es kann sich, wie
Scherer, DSt. II, S. 36 annimmt, um Anleh-
nung an die Epik handeln; vgl. MF. 14, 26:
" Ich han vernomen ein msere."
127, 34 f. "Ez ist site der nahtegal, swan
si ir Met volendet, s6 geswiget sie." So lautet
in den alteren Ausgaben im Anschluss an die
Hss. CCa die bekannte Stelle bei Heinrich von
Morungen. Dass hier die Uberlieferung nicht
in Ordnung sein kann, wurde von verschiedener
Seite erkannt und so ist die Stelle bereits viel-
fach Gegenstand der Erorterung gewesen. Ein
Dichter wie der Morunger wird sich kaum
einer so sinnlosen Tautologie schuldig gemacht
haben.
Einem Lese- oder Druckfehler von Bodmer
folgend, setzte Bartsch, Liederdichter, leit statt
liet ein. Ein andrer Heilungsversuch ist der
von E. Schroder, der ZfdA, 33, 105 zit zu lesen
vorschlug, was einen ertraglichen Sinn ergibt,
aber sich anderseits doch zu weit von der Uber-
lieferung entfernt. Dass die Korruptel nicht
im Nomen, sondern im Verbum stecke, suchte
Schonbach S. 123 f. zu beweisen. Hierbei
stiitzt er seine Ausfuhrungen auf den volkstiim-
lichen Glauben, dass die Nachtigall sich zu
Tode singe, wofiir er Belege aus Plinius Hist,
nat. sowie Konrad von Megenberg's Buck der
Natur anfuhrt, und schlagt demnach vor ge-
swinet statt geswiget zu lesen; so auch Golther
in den neuen Auflagen von Bartsch. Gegen
diese Besserung hat man den berechtigten Ein-
wand gemacht, dass das Wort liet niemals vom
Gesang der Vb'gel gebraucht wurde (ausser
vielleicht bei dem epaten Wildonie, wo aber
das Lied des Dichters, wie Schroder bemerkt,
dem Vogel in den Schnabel gesteckt wird;
vgl. Lexer I, 1914), sondern vorwiegend ein
strophisches, oder auch episches Gedicht be-
zeichnete.
Das Richtige hat ohne Zweifel schon Hilde-
brand ZfdPh. 2, 257 getroffen, da er fiir das
liet der Hss. Hep einsetzte, eine Emendation, die
Burdach, Reinmar und Walther S. 50 billigte,
und welche auch von Vogt mit Eecht aufge-
nommen worden ist. Hier ist Hep mit ' Minne-
freude, Liebeslust' zu iibersetzen, wie aus den
ven Vogt beigebrachten Parallelen klar her-
vorgeht, und die Stelle steht in schbnstem Ein-
klang mit der weitverbreiteten Ansicht, dass
nach der Brutzeit der Gesang der Nachtigall
verstumme; vgl. die Stelle aus Vincentius
Bellovacensis bei Schonbach S. 124 sowie Vogts
Anmerkung.
December, 1915.]
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
H43
Zur weiteren Bestatigung der Eichtigkeit
dieser Lesart, mochte ich auf eine etwas abseits
vom Wege liegende Parallele, namlich eine
Stelle des fruhmittelenglischen Streitgedichts
The Owl and the Nightingale (ed. Wells, Bos-
ton, 1907), verweisen. Unter den TJnarten,
welche die Eule der Nachtigall vorwirft, heisst
es nach der alteren Hs. V. 507 f.
wane )>i lust is a-go,
forme is }>i song a-go also.
A sumere chorles a-wede}>
& uor-crempej? & uor-bredef:
his nis for luue nofeles,
ac is )>e chorles wode res;
vor wane he hauej> i-do his dede,
i-fallen is al his bold-hede,
habbe he is tunge under gore,
ne last his luue no leng more.
AI so his is on fine mode:
so sone so f u sittest abrode,
fu for-lost al fine wise.
al so fu farest on fine rise:
wane fu hauest i-do fi gome,
f i steune gof anon to shome.
Bemerkenswert ist dabei auch die Uberein-
stimmung von me. lust = mhd. Hep in der hier
angenommenen Bedeutung.
JOHN L. CAMPION.
Johns Hopkins University.
DEPUIS WITH THE COMPOUND
TENSES
In grammars intended for English-speaking
students it is rightly considered necessary to
devote special attention to the use of the simple
tenses with depuis. A typical statement of the
case for the present tense is the following:
" In referring to an action beginning in the
past and still unfinished in the present, the
present tense is used in French after depuis,
il y a, etc." (Thieme and Effinger, Macmillan,
1908.) There is no serious objection to the
use of such a rule in the class room, provided
the teacher is not led astray by this simplified
generalization. A warning must be sounded,
however, against the wording found in a recent
textbook : " Since the compound tenses all
express completed action, action continuing at
the time in mind must be expressed by a simple
tense " ( Snow, Fundamentals of French Gram-
mar, Holt, 1912, p. 72, § 103). This remark
leads to a misunderstanding of the real tense
values, and a short discussion of the usage may
not be out of place.
The French language has never confined
itself to a simple tense in expressing an action
which continues from the past into the present
of the speaker. The following examples, from
different periods, will illustrate the point. Ci
ai estet grant e lunc tens, etc. Brandan
(Michel), 1540 (He is still there) .— Entre
vous tous qui estes la Et aves actendu pie-
c/a, etc. Deguileville, Pelerinage de I'ame
(Stiirzinger) 22828. — J' oubliais . . . que
j' ai go iite des 1'enfance . . . L'enchante-
ment du ciel de France. Sully-Prudhomme,
Eepentir (from Henning, French Lyrics of the
Nineteenth Century, p. 292).
As regards the depuis construction, the past
indefinite is not infrequently found where the
present might be expected. The following are
illustrative examples : Les rois d'Angleterre,
qui ont regnd depuis tant de siecles, etc.
Bossuet (Warren, French Prose of the Seven-
teenth Century, Heath, p. 135, 1-2). — Vers
1'eglise, Dont depuis deux cents ans a tous ces
pieds humains Le bapteme et la rnort ont
fraye les chemins. Lamartine, Jocelyn (Ox-
ford Press), p. 134, 1. 393. — Savez-vous qui j'ai
attendu toute la semaine ? Lahorie . . . Je
1'ai attendu tous les jours depuis notre con-
versation. Allons, dites-lui done . . . que
je 1'attends. V. Hugo raconte, I, pp. 70-71. —
Nous voudrions que les abounds . . . regussent
. . . un petit souvenir de tous ceux . . .
qui, depuis si longtemps, les ont instruits
ou charmds. Annales pol. et lit., No. 1584,
p. 390.
It seems clear, therefore, that the French can
neglect present continuance, if they so desire,
and stress the pastness of the action. This is
what Cledai refers to in RPhF., XVII, p. 28 :
" Notez qu'avec un verbe exprimant un etat ou
244
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
[Vol. xxx, No. 8.
une action de duree indefinie, depuis marque
le commencement et non la fin de Faction par-
f aite : II a dormi depuis ce matin."
There is the same relation between the plu-
perfect and the imperfect, as is shown in the
few examples below given : La hate de realiser
ce qui avaitete son desir unique depuis quatre
ans, etc. Oeuvres de Pascal, I. p. xiv (Grands
Ecrivains ed.). — D'autre part les principes of-
fensifs qui avaient toujours e"te en honneur
chez nous depuis 1870 devaient nous faire
rechercher 1'initiative de 1'attaque sur les Alle-
mands. L' Illustration, No. 3749 (January 9,
1915), col. 27. — Et il me conta son histoire:
il avait vecu depuis soixante-cinq ans, tou-
jours malheureux, toujours hattu,
assomme par les Turcs qui le defendaient
contre les Chretiens. Ibid., No. 3767 (May 15,
1915), in "Le Vieux Turc," last page, inside
cover.
This usage of the pluperfect is especially
interesting as it throws light upon a moot ques-
tion, namely, whether the relation between the
pluperfect and past anterior is identical with
that between the imperfect and past definite.
This is not the place for a discussion of the
subject at length, nor historically. Miss C. J.
Cipriani, in Modern Philology, X, p. 495, holds
such a view to be " certainly erroneous." In
the present usage, at any rate, the pluperfect is
strikingly parallel to the imperfect. They
both give the past action without any indication
per se of the subsequent continuance. Depuis
la decadence de la famille de Charlemagne, la
France avait langui plus ou moins, etc.
Voltaire, Siecle de Louis XIV, p. 6 (Hachette) .
Voltaire does not necessarily think of this de-
cline as ended at the time under discussion.
Cf. Us venaient tous les jours. There is
nothing to show that the action ceased. Neither
the past definite nor the past anterior leave the
question of completion open in this way, and
the use of the pluperfect with depuis seems to
be dependent upon this very quality in the
tense as distinct from the past anterior.
GUSTAV G. LAUBSCHEE.
Randolph- M aeon Woman's College.
GEEENE AS A COLLABORATOR
Robert Greene has been proposed as part
author of so many plays that it may be of in-
terest and value to discover just what his
method of procedure was in the one play which
we know to have been written by him in col-
laboration with a fellow dramatist. In his in-
troductory note to A Looking-Glass for Lon-
don and England by Greene and Lodge, Mr.
Thomas H. Dickinson says, " The assignment
of authorship of different portions of the play
is difficult and not entirely profitable." 1 In
and of itself the task is certainly not particu-
larly profitable, but I do not see how anyone
can consider it difficult, for with a little con-
sideration one will find the play falling of its
own weight into its component parts. It is
true that Fleay assigns " most and best " of it
to Lodge, whereas the "most and best" of it
is Greene's; but the main line of cleavage
was noted by the late Churton Collins,2 and
Professor Gayley had already indicated Lodge's
scenes in detail.3 On a recent reading I noted
what I thought must be the share of each of
the authors, and upon finding myself in accord
with Professor Gayley except with regard to
the two scenes which I think are of particular
significance for determining Greene's method
of work, I determined to see if I could not ar-
rive at some definite conclusions regarding
them.
The play was Greene's at the start. To him
may confidently be assigned the opening scene,
in which Rasni, King of Nineveh, takes his
sister to wife, abetted in his crime by Radagon,
whom he thereupon advances.4 To Greene like-
wise belongs the second scene, wherein the
prophet Oseas is "let down over the stage in
a throne," and Adam, a smith's man, goes to
1 Mermaid Greene, p. 78.
2 In his edition of Greene, Vol. I, pp. 140, 141.
'Rep. Eng. Com., Vol. I, p. 405, foot-note.
"The verse is for all the world in the staccato
manner of Alpnonsus, King of Arragon, and dis-
tinctly less free than that of Orlando Furioso and
the plays following. Lodge's verse is not of an es-
sentially different type from Greene's, but on the
whole is less crisp and more flowing.
December, 1915.]
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTEtS
245
drink with two ruffians. This is the first of
Greene's series of prose comedy scenes in which
this character appears. The scene ends with
the moralizing heroic couplets of Oseas.
In act III Lodge's hand appears for the first
time. Alcon and Thrasybulus are being op-
pressed by a usurer ; and Lodge's liking for this
unpleasant topic is no clearer sign of his au-
thorship than is the obvious dissimilarity which
the scene shows to those before it. Oseas con-
cludes the act with some irregular couplets later
capped with half a dozen of Greene's.
Not to go into too great detail, Greene tells
how Easni's sister-wife is " strucken black with
thunder," as we see when the curtains are
drawn; how Easni thereupon, at Radagon's in-
stigation, takes to wife Alvida, who compliantly
poisons her husband; how he visits the priests
of the sun 5 and is threatened by a burning
sword; and how at last he and all the others
are driven to repentance by the prophet Jonas.
In the prose sub-plot, Adam kills one of the
ruffians ; seduces the smith's wife and beats her
husband for interfering; encounters and beats
a devil ; 6 receives plentiful drink for amusing
Alvida ; and finally is caught eating and drink-
ing during the penitential fast.
Lodge follows his own lead with his usurer
in another scene ; and then, because of Greene's
sudden confiscation of this material, which is
my main point of interest in this drama, he de-
velops through a series of poetic scenes the ar-
rival of Jonas, whom Greene is now prepared
to use for his repentance motif with which the
play ends.
Throughout all this, the work of the two
authors is kept wholly distinct, and the only
collaboration consisted in the agreement that
Lodge was to prepare Jonas for Greene's con-
* In his " Address to the Gentlemen Readers " pre-
fixed to his Peremides the Blacksmith (1588), Greene
says he cannot " blaspheme with the mad priest of
the sun." In default of other priests of the sun, it
hag been supposed that he referred to Lodge's work
in this scene. But these priests do not blaspheme
and are not mad. It is possible that an extension
of this scene was written in for the stage production
by another hand.
•In a scene strongly reminding us of the ending
of Friar Bacon and Friar Bungay.
sumption (who seems to have swallowed him
whole, without digesting, as the whale had done
before him) and the mere fitting of the scenes
into their places. But now I come to the cru-
cial matter, — the one point of genuine difficulty
and of peculiar interest.
In act III, scene ii, we have Lodge's Alcon
and Thrasybulus together with Greene's Rasni
and Eadagon; and Professor Gayley accord-
ingly divides the scene, saying that the first
part of it "shows signs of Lodge principally,
but some of the lines are Greene's." In Lodge's
previous scenes, Alcon has appeared as a
simple-minded, boorish, vulgar, and pitiful old
man, who dreaded going home to his wife after
he had lost his cow to the usurer; but he says
he has a son at court (Greene's Eadagon) to
whom he will appeal for aid. In the present
scene we find Alcon at his home with his wife
and younger son. Eadagon enters and utterly
spurns his parents; but "a flame of fire ap-
pears from beneath, and Eadagon is swal-
lowed." We are sure this trap-door business is
Greene's doing; and on closer examination we
may note that a distinct change has come over
Lodge's characters. Alcon continues to speak
prose, because he has been created such a char-
acter that he must, but all the rest speak in
verse. In short, the scene soon yields itself up
as wholly Greene's.7
The reason for the existence of this scene is
most interesting. Greene's Eadagon has given
no sign of humble extraction, but Lodge fath-
ered him with the boorish peasant Alcon.
Greene forthwith brings his Eadagon home and
has him utterly deny and disclaim his origin.
He gives him a mother and brother who speak
in verse, and to Alcon himself Greene gives a
certain dignity and reserve wholly different
from anything he had shown in Lodge's scenes.
He does not appeal to his son, as Lodge's Alcon
was to have done; but when Eadagon says he
cannot stay, this new Alcon responds, " Tut,
son, I'll help you of that disease quickly, for
'That the scene is Greene's is made more probable
by the fact that Alcon and Thrasyuulus now for the
first time receive names. In the scenes by Lodge
they appear in the quartos merely as a poor Man
and a young Gentleman.
246
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
[Vol. xxx, No. 8.
I can hold thee." He is even capable of saying
to Rasni, " Hence, proud king ! " and of a slight
indulgence in the Latin. And to make a com-
plete finish of his villain-hero, Greene has him
swallowed up in flames. There shall be no
more Radagon in this play now ! In the open-
ing scenes he had given promise of a longer
life.
Yet the essentially imitative genius of Greene
shows in this that having become acquainted
with Lodge's Alcon one must look sharply to
see the difference. Having once discovered the
difference, however, we should have little hesi-
tation in assigning to Greene act IV, scene v,
where these characters of Lodge's creation ap-
pear once more, though Professor Gayley di-
vides the scene and gives the first part of it to
Lodge. Here Alcon, having become a light-
hearted pickpocket and drinker, borrows again
glibly of the usurer, and upon the call of Jonas
repents with the rest in a line of blank verse.
He is no longer simple-minded, nor vulgar,8
nor pitiful, nor boorish.
It would appear, therefore, that so far as
this one play is concerned, Greene was disposed
to take the lead, to make full use of his friend's
invention, but even in his intentional imitation
to introduce elements of character of a new and
contradictory sort.
HENRY DAVID GRAY.
Stanford University.
NOTES ON EAELY ENGLISH PROSE
FICTION
Mr. Esdaile's List of English Tales and Prose
Romances printed before 1740, reviewed in
Mod. Lang. Notes, Feb., 1914, stands \\p under
more extended investigation as one of the most
thorough and valuable contributions of recent
years to the history of English prose fiction.
Still, as practically a pioneer in its field, it is
of course subject to a continually increasing
•Not that Greene wouldn't, but that he didn't
make him so, as Lodge had done.
number of additions and corrections, which will
in time necessitate a new and revised edition.
Mr. Augustus H. Shearer, of the Newberry
Library, Chicago, in an unprinted communica-
tion put at my disposal, adds to Mr. Esdaile's
list an interesting group of titles from a collec-
tion of books in this field presented to the
Library in 1913 by Mr. Frederic Ives Carpen-
ter. Entirely unrecorded by Mr. Esdaile are:
Marianns, or Love's Heroick Champion, B. Al-
sop and T. Fawcet for James Becket, 1641;
Mathieu, P., Unhappy Prosperitie, Translated
into English by Sir Thomas Hawkins, I. Havi-
land for G. Emondson, 1632; [Pix, Mary],
The Inhumane Cardinal, For J. Harding and
R. Wilkins, 1696. Other works, noted by Mr.
Esdaile, appear in other editions : Forde, E.,
Montelyon, T. Haly for W. Thackeray and T.
Passenger, 1680; Costes, Cassandra, For H.
Moseley, 1661; Reynolds, The Flower of Fi-
delity, T. Mabb for G. Badger, 1655; and
Lisarda, or the Travels of Love and Jealousy,
For Jos. Knight, 1690.
It is possible also to add various bits of in-
formation to the data supplied by Mr. Esdaile.
From copies in the Newberry Library Mr.
Shearer notes the following: the 1724 edition
of Forde's Parismus is indicated as the seventh
edition, with T. Norris as publisher (Esdaile,
p. 54) ; the 1682 edition of Fortunatus has in
the title the correct wording Tragical, not
Trachical (Esdaile, p. 55) ; the second part of
the 1681 edition of Bremond's The Pilgrim is
bound with the first part of the edition of 1684,
thus disposing of the question of one or two
volumes in the later edition (Esdaile, p. 169).
To this material I wish to add certain details
that have come under my personal observation.
In his list of novels written by Mrs. Penelope
Aubin, Mr. Esdaile does not include The Life
of Charlotta Du Pont, an English Lady. Yet
this seems to have appeared originally with the
dedication — to Mrs. Rowe — and the preface
both signed " Penelope Aubin," and was repub-
lished with these in that author's collected
works in 1739.
Of The Inconstant Lover: An Excellent Ro-
mance (1671) Mr. Esdaile says: "Perhaps a
translation of Chavigny's L'Amant parjure, ou
December, 1915.]
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
247
la fidelite & 1'epreuve." But an inspection of
the " romance " shows it to have heen nothing
but a reissue of the first three of the four books
of The Famous Chinois: or the Loves of Sev-
eral of the French Nobility,, under borrowed
names, published in 1669 as the English ren-
dering of Le fameux Chinois by M. Du Bail.
The ingenious publisher, Thomas Bring, whose
name is attached to both English productions,
seems merely to have remarketed his first — and
apparently unsuccessful — venture by substitut-
ing eight fresh pages at the beginning and as
many more at the end of Book III, the former
containing a new title-page and preface, and
the latter a more abrupt conclusion. Other
pages tally in every particular.
For The Amours of the Count de Dunois in
1675 (French original in 1671) Mr. Esdaile
follows the British Museum Catalogue in sug-
gesting Henriette Julie, Comtesse de Murat, as
the possible author; but he makes no mention
of her in connection with the so-called Memoirs
of the Countess of Dunois, written by herself,
1699, which he lists only as a part of the
Countess D'Aulnoy's Diverting Works, pub-
lished in English in 1707. In fact this truly
diverting work is neither the biography of the
Countess D'Aulnoy nor the product of her pen ;
and the British Museum cataloguer was on
much safer ground in identifying the Countess
de Murat as the author of this, than of Le
Comte de Dunois, an account written when
Henriette Julie was approximately one year old
(cf. Nouv. Biographie Generate) .
At any rate it is interesting to see how the
confusion arose. In 1696 appeared Saint-
IJvremond's Memoir es du Comte de ****,
promptly rendered into English as Female
Falsehood, or the Unfortunate Beau. This
English title suggests the part played by the
book in both countries — a vigorous satirizing
of feminine weakness and duplicity, and thus a
contribution to the sex-war then in progress.
In France there was an immediate rejoinder,
probably by the Countess de Murat, modelled
closely on the form of Saint-fivremond's book
and bearing the title Memoires de Madame la
Comtesse D ****. By this time various speci-
mens of romantic memoirs by the Countess
D'Aulnoy were well known in England, some
of them signed with this same asterisk device.
Naturally enough the English translator, J. H.,
apparently in the best of faith, entitled his
version "Memoirs of the Countess of Dunois,
written by herself ... by way of answer
to Monsieur St. Evremont." The English pub-
lic accepted this theory of authorship, and the
editor of the Diverting Works, nearly ten years
later, perpetuated it by including the Memoirs
in his collection.
A. H. UPHAM.
Miami University.
LUCIEK FALCONNET, Un Essai de
Renovation theatrale: "Die Makkabder"
d'Otto Ludwig. Paris: Champion, 1913.
8vo., 121 pp.
Eecent years have witnessed a more careful
study and a more just appreciation of the great
German poets of the nineteenth century. Nor
has this interest been confined to Germany.
The best Life and Works of Grillparzer that we
possess is by Professor Ehrhard of the Uni-
versity of Lyon, and the present detailed study
of Ludwig's Makkabaer is, as the title indicates,
by a French abbe.
After Otto Ludwig's premature death in
1865, following as it did years of suffering,
during which he had been practically cut off
from the world, he soon became a mere name to
all but a few understanding and admiring
friends. Even Freytag's fine essay,1 published
first in the Grenzboten in 1866, with its appre-
ciative analysis of Ludwig's chief works, seems
to have attracted little attention. It was not
until the appearance, in 1891, of the epoch-
making edition of Ludwig's complete works by
Adolf Stern and Erich Schmidt, with the ex-
cellent biography by Adolf Stern, that the
study of the poet was put upon a firm basis.
1 Gustav Freytag, Gesammeltc Aufsdtze, II. Bd.,
Aufsatze zur Geschichte, Literatur und Kunst, Leip-
zig, 1888.
248
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
[Vol. xxx, No. 8.
Since then, several complete editions have ap-
peared, as well as special treatises on particular
works.
Both Sauer and Stern have pronounced Die
Makkabaer the poet's most abiding masterpiece,
and Robert Petsch 2 has given us a very sym-
pathetic study of this great tragedy. What
makes Falconnet's essay especially valuable, is
its lucid arrangement and a completeness of
detail not found in any other treatment of this
play. The title " un essai de renovation thea-
trale " leads one to expect that Ludwig's part
in reforming the German stage would occupy
a large part of the treatment. Such is, how-
ever, not the case. The theme is merely men-
tioned in the Introduction and is scarcely re-
ferred to again until the very end of the work.
Falconnet's study comprises seven chapters:
Histoire de la Composition de la Piece; Le
Sujet; Sources autres que la Bible; L'Esprit
du Drame; Elements personnels; I/Execution;
Accueil fait aux ' Makkabaer.'
The first chapter describes the three stages
of the play : Die Makkabaerin, Die Mutter der
Makkabaer, and the final version, and shows
how each version was evolved out of the preced-
ing one. In the second chapter the reasons are
enumerated which led Ludwig to choose this
biblical theme, just after his Erbforster had
scored such a marked success. Chief among
these are: the critical interest in the Bible at
this time, Ludwig's own pious devotion to the
Bible, and his eagerness to surpass the author
of Herodes und Mariamne in his own special
field. Then follows a brief resume1 of the
salient events in the two apocryphal books of
the Maccabees, Ludwig's method of employing
them, together with a detailed synopsis of the
final version of the tragedy.
In the third chapter, Sources other than the
Bible, Falconnet shows the most originality and
also the greatest daring. The chapter begins
with a discussion of the sort of imitation we
may expect in the case of Ludwig, who, as re-
former, did not hesitate to take already exist-
ing themes, to which to apply what he regarded
1 Robert Petsch, Otto Ludwig's Makkabaer. Leip-
zig und Berlin, 1902.
as a more perfect method of treatment, follow-
ing the adage " non nova, sed nove." Falcon-
net then proceeds to prove, with some measure
of success, that, apart from the Bible, Ludwig
was influenced most by Zacharias Werner's
Mutter der Makkabaer, written in 1820. He
has no evidence that Ludwig was acquainted
with the work of Werner but bases his claims on
the internal grounds, some of which seem valid,
others specious.
That the Makkabaerin, the first draft of
Ludwig's tragedy, is not an original work, is,
he asserts, shown by the fact that the two con-
trasted female figures are not portrayed in as
masterly fashion as those in the earlier Novelle
Maria, — certainly a wholly specious argument.
He then advances two arguments to show the
influence of Werner's tragedy on the Makka-
baerin :
1. " La ' Makkabaerin,' comme le drame de
Werner, nous parle d'une grotte ou etaient
caches tous les petits Macchabees, et qui fut
decouverte par suite d'une trahison. Ce motif
ne se trouve pas dans la Bible." To be sure,
the Apocrypha do not state that the seven were
thus concealed, but it is evident from I Macca-
bees 1, 56, that the Israelites commonly hid in
this manner.
2. " La paix est due non aux exploits de
Judas, mais a une femme. . . . Les deux femmes
indiquent en meme temps ce qu'il reste a f aire :
il faut aller & Jerusalem, purifier le Temple et
le consacrer a nouveau."
Falconnet finds that Ludwig's second draft,
Die Mutter der Makkabaer, besides bearing the
same name as Werner's drama, betrays its in-
fluence in the following particulars. In each
play the heroine is represented as being, at the
outset, a widow. At the beginning of each play
garlands are being prepared for a festival.
When Ludwig's Lea enters the tent of Anti-
ochus, she seems wholly cured of human ambi-
tion, a too sudden conversion, diie to the influ-
ence of Werner's Salome. The sudden and
unnatural cruelty of Antiochus seems also to
reflect Werner's influence.
In the final version of Ludwig's tragedy the
French critic finds the points of contact with
December, 1915.]
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
249
Werner's work even more numerous. I shall
take these up in order.
1. " Le personnage de Lea . . . n'est pas
tire de la Bible. Dans les Livres Saints il est
parle d'une femme- juive qui encourage ses sept
enfants a mourir pour la religion juive, mais
on n'indique pas son nom et il ne nous est pas
dit qu'elle appartint a la famille des Maccha-
bees comme 1'ont voulu et Werner et Ludwig." 3
A quotation from Schweizer's edition of Lud-
wig's Works would seem to dispose of this ar-
gument : " Auch das Heldentum der Mutter
und der Opfertod ihrer sieben Kinder hat ur-
spriinglich nichts mit den Makkabaern zu tun,
sondern ist eine Geschichte fur sich, die im
zweiten Buch der Makkabaer, Kapitel 7 erzahlt
wird. Aber schon in sehr friiher Zeit wurden
die Makkabaer mit den Martyrern identifiziert,
und seit dem vierten Jahrhundert feierte man
ein Makkabaerfest znm Andenken an jene
Mutter mit ihren sieben Sohnen." *
2. " Les enfants, en subissant le martyre,
maudissent bien le tyran, d'apres la Bible, mais
ils n'entonnent pas un psaume, comme le veu-
lent et Werner et Ludwig." B This is quite true,
but it is also true that their curses abound in
biblical phraseology taken from the Psalms and
other books of the Old Testament. What more
natural, therefore, than that Ludwig, even
though he had never seen Werner's drama,
should, in order to heighten the poetic effect,
have the martyrs sing Psalms?
3. " Dans les deux drames nous trouvons
deux caracteres feminins opposes 1'un a 1'autre.
Salome contraste par son caractere viril avec la
delicate Cidli sa belle-fille contre laquelle elle
a des prejuges; avant d'avoir pu 1'apprecier
elle la trouve indigne d'etre 1'epouse de Judas.
. . . Cette opposition entre deux femmes se
retrouve, quoique moins justified, chez Ludwig.
Quels sentiments entretient Lea a 1'egard de
Naemi, nous le voyons surabondamment. . . .
Ce caractere d'orgueil viril dans une femme est
peint avec une telle intensite chez nos deux
poetes, que si on peut lui trouver en Cidli et
•P. 53.
•Viktor Schweizer, Ludwig's Werke (Leipzig,
1898), I, 259.
.•P. 53.
Naemi des contrastes qui le fassent mieux res-
sortir encore, il n'est dans les deux pieces aucun
personnage qui puisse lui faire contrepoids.
. . . En outre les deux femmes se ressemblent
tellement que toutes deux, en voyant mourir
leurs enfants, insultent encore le tyran." ° Even
this argument is not entirely convincing. The
employment of marked contrasts is a favorite
device with great poets. Ludwig had already
made use of these in his charming Novelle
Maria, where the sweet gentle virtuous Marie
is contrasted with the warm-blooded, passionate
Julie. Moreover, we know that Ludwig, when
he chose this biblical theme, intended to lay
the chief emphasis upon the double marriage
of Judas by pitting two exactly opposite types
of women against each other. Upon the advice
of Devrient he abandoned this plan, but the
contrast between two women, although some-
what unmotivated, was nevertheless retained in
the final version.
That in both dramas the mother should insult
the tyrant and admonish her sons to fortitude
in the face of death, and that Antiochus should
try to save the life of her youngest son, is not
surprising; for both elements are contained in
the biblical account as found in II Maccabees 7.
The surprising thing is that the abbe should
have overlooked it.
Falconnet also finds it remarkable that both
poets should have imbued their dramas with the
same Old Testament ideas of omnipotence, the
vengeance of God, the solidarity of the people.
On the contrary, it would be remarkable, if
Ludwig, or any other genuine poet, could have
written a tragedy on the Maccabees with proper
local color, without incorporating these ideas,
that lie at the very heart of the Jewish religion
and the Jewish people.
It will be seen, therefore, that no single
reason advanced by Palconnet to show that Lud-
wig was influenced by Werner is convincing. It
is rather the cumulative effect of all these argu-
ments which inclines us to the belief that Lud-
wig was acquainted with Werner's Mutter der
Makl-dbaer. The Stern-Schmidt edition makes,
to be snre, DO mention of this work, and
•Pp. 54 and 55.
250
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
[Vol. xxx, No. 8.
Schweizer in his prefatory remarks to Ludwig's
Makkabaer most emphatically denies any such
influence.
Assuming that Ludwig, as a conscious rival
of Hebbel, wished to compete with him on a
theme already tried by his adversary, Falconnet
is of the opinion that Ludwig was influenced in
his choice and treatment of the Maccabee-
theme by Hebbel's Herodes und Mariamne. He
gets his cue for this assertion from the fact that
in Ludwig's first draft Judas is loved by two
wives, Lea and Thirza, wholly different in
character, just as Herodes stands between his
jealous sister Salome and his wife Mariamne;
and from the further fact that when Hebbel's
play and Ludwig's final version are compared,
we see that " Alexandra est comme Lea fiere de
ses ancetres, orgueilleuse et ambitieuse; et elle
espere aussi qu'un de ses fils, le jeune Aristo-
bule, rendra a la race des Macchabees son an-
cienne splendeur. Elle le pousse a diriger tous
ses efforts vers ce but supreme : exercer la roy-
aute sur Israel. Elle le voit dej& au sommet de
la hierarchic sacerdotale, comme Lea le reve
pour son Eleazar. Elle espere aussi que sa fille
Mariamne fera un mariage digne de sa famille
et accroitra par la la puissance de sa maison." T
The first reason assigned is very flimsy, for
one man between two women is one of the most
common of motifs. The second argument is
considerably stronger. The reading of Hebbel's
play may well have inspired Ludwig to write a
rival tragedy glorifying the Maccabee family.
Lea may also have some traits from Alexandra,
but the unprejudiced reader will probably find
few points of resemblance between the two
plays.
Especially unfortunate and unwarranted are
the author's assumptions, when he attempts to
establish points of resemblance between Lud-
wig's Makkabaer and certain tragedies of Schil-
ler. For instance, when Lea, learning of the
apostasy of her son Eleazar, cries to heaven
" Ich hab' noch Kinder," we are supposed to be
reminded of Isabella's defiance of heaven in
Die Braut von Messina, when she beholds her
murdered son Don Manuel. Judah is styled
'P. 60.
the Hebrew Tell and Eleazar the Hebrew
Rudenz. Especially fantastic are the author's
parallels Lea : Armgard and Lea : Gertrud.
The whole treatment of Schiller's influence
upon Ludwig's Makkabaer is, in fact, more in-
genious than convincing. There is no likeli-
hood of conscious imitation. What resemblances
there are may be unconscious ' Anklange.'
The remaining chapters of the study offer
very little occasion for criticism. In the fourth
chapter, The Spirit of the Drama, the question
is raised whether there is any moral idea in the
Makkabaer. After discussing Ludwig's strong
aversion to all ' Tendenzliteratur,' his opposi-
tion to the embodiment of any philosophic idea
in the drama, his passion to portray nature and
to attain the objectivity of Shakespeare, Fal-
connet expresses the opinion that there is a
tendency in the Makkabaer; that even the real-
istic poet cannot escape all tendency, for he
represents men in action, and such men have
goals and are guided by certain principles. In
the Erbforster the moral question involved was
the " conflict between the rights of the indi-
vidual and the established order"; in the
Makkabaer it is the " right of society to defend
its beliefs"; so that in a way the two plays
supplement each other in the treatment of the
problem of liberty. The chapter closes with a
discussion of certain psychological and theo-
logical problems of the play.
In Chapter V we are made acquainted with
the personal elements in the play. Without
maintaining that Ludwig incorporated directly
experiences of his youth, Falconnet shows with
considerable skill how reminiscences of child-
hood days have left an unmistakable impress.
In the chapter entitled " L'Execution," Fal-
connet agrees with Bulthaupt, Myer, and other
critics that Ludwig did not succeed in attaining
perfect unity of action. In fact, he sees several
heroes and threads of action and suggests the
following very adequate reasons why Ludwig
failed to attain this unity. In the first place,
the temperament of the poet was such that he
saw individual scenes in cinematographic fash-
ion without closely connecting links. A second
cause was the peculiar character of the Oriental
literature from which Ludwig drew his theme.
December, 1915.]
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
251
" I/Orient a compris tout autrement 1'ecrivain
et son ceuvre. II ne lui a demande ni 1'unite de
plan, ni 1'unite de composition, ni 1'unite
d'effet. ..." A third cause was his model,
Shakespeare, who is also lax in this regard.
Finally, there was the desire to make Lea a
star role for Frau Stich-Crelinger, the charac-
ter of Lea thus assuming undue proportions.
Notwithstanding this lack of unity, Falconnet
finds the tragedy interesting on account of the
wealth of detail and the powerful individual
scenes.
The most serious objection to Ludwig's treat-
ment of the theme the French critic finds in
the fact that he has put under our eyes mod-
ern Jews and not those of the time of the Mac-
cahees. They have the passive virtues of suffer-
ing and martyrdom, but not the heroic grandeur
of Jews in the most glorious period of their
history. The chapter closes with a detailed ac-
count of Ludwig's style, showing how it was
influenced by biblical imagery and parallelism.
The final chapter offers an interesting and
instructive array of material. After mention-
ing the difficulties which beset the staging of
the Makkabaer, especially the Third Act, Fal-
connet gives brief accounts of theatrical per-
formances of the play on leading German
stages, duly noticing also the preference of lead-
ing actresses for the role of Lea. In conclu-
sion, he cites the estimates of the literary value
of the Makkabaer of several German literary
critics, adding his own verdict in the follow-
ing terms: "Nous estimons que Ludwig n'a
pas atteint ce qu'il cherchait en ecrivant son
drame. II voulait ' combattre 1'opera avec ses
propres armes ' (ce qui etait vraiment s'exposer
a un echec), et son ceuvre renferme des scenes
theatrales et melodramatiques d'un gout dou-
teux ; il combattit Schiller et ne sut pas eviter
les defauts qu'il lui reprochait; il voulut faire
mieux que Shakespeare et poussa trop loin le
culte du detail; il rechercha la simplicite sans
pouvoir renoncer & 1'effet ; il visait a 1'unite et
il ne put la realiser malgre ses pretentious.
. Quelle est 1'importance historique des
' Makkabaer ?' Pouvaient-ils aiguiller la lite-
rature allemande, comme 1'avait fait 1' ' Erb-
forster' vers le naturalisme? Non; mais
d'autre part 1'ceuvre n'a pas un earactere tres
net, elle n'appartient pas au classicisme, le ro-
mantisme ne s'y fait remarquer que c.a et la;
ce qu'elle fait entrevoir le mieux c'est le
realisme, mais elle n'est elle-meme qu'un prc-
duit mitige du realisme, elle est dans son en-
semble une manifestation du realisme poetique.
En definitive, elle n'est qu'une ceuvre de tran-
sition." 8
JOHN A. HESS.
Indiana University.
Nouveau Cours Frangais, by ANDEE C. FON-
TAINE. Boston, Ginn and Company, 1914.
ix + 272 pp.
Very noticeable at present is the increased
emphasis placed upon the feature of illustra-
tions by the authors of certain types of gram-
mars for the study of modern languages. Pic-
torial material is provided in such generous
quantities that the authors find it advisable
in some cases to insert at the beginning of the
book complete lists of their pictures with ref-
erences to the pages which they face. One
very recent First Book in French offers nine-
teen illustrations, with a map of France as a
frontispiece. Another new book (Le Premier
livre), "a grammar and reader combined, in-
tended to cover all the work of the first half
year " for students of French, is furnished with
some twenty-seven views of various sorts, sizes,
and degrees of attractiveness, plus the usual
map of France. And A Spanish Grammar for
Beginners, just before the public as these lines
are being written, is adorned with twenty-three
really artistic illustrations, starting with the
famous Court of the Lions at the Alhambra
(with a second view of the same later in the
book) and coming on through Spain, South
America, and Mexico City, until Morro Castle
at Havana is ultimately reached. The volume
under special consideration has likewise its
quota of illustrative material, tVat is to say,
eleven full-page pictures, with maps of France
•P. 120.
252
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
[Vol. xxx, No. 8.
and Paris. If one dares to question the utility
of so much of this sort of material, the reply
is ready that such pictorial features are of very
practical interest and are in most cases imme-
diately illustrative of the foreign text on the
pages which they face or to which they refer.
If this is true, then they should certainly be
so well done as reproductions and so appro-
priate as to be sure to stimulate the interest
of the learner. In the judgment of the re-
viewer most of the illustrations in the present
volume are either inappropriate in themselves,
or as art are crude and pale, or else are inade-
quately illustrative. One view of a street scene
in Paris presents prominently the old out-of-
date three-horse omnibus instead of the auto-
bus of more recent days. Another illustration,
which is the surprise of the collection, is given
over to Pere Grandet installed in his armchair
at the period of his approaching death. This
dismal picture is evidently introduced to give
pertinence to a passage from Balzac's novel in-
serted in a lesson on the past descriptive tense.
Both picture and passage seem entirely out of
place in the twenty-second lesson of a French
grammar intended for beginners. The author's
views of Versailles and the Chambre des
Deputes are also especially unsatisfactory.
A second peculiarity which is very marked
in some of the newest grammars is the effort
of the authors to combine the salient features
of the " grammatical " and the " direct "
methods of instruction. The result is that too
much material, too many things, too many new
facts, are often crowded into a given space.
The present book is less open to this criticism
than others which might be mentioned. Some
of the lessons appear overcrowded, but of course
they can be divided. One set of material is,
however, brought in which seems wholly un-
justified. In the lessons of the second half of
the volume considerable space is devoted to
explanations of the source and modern appli-
cation of such quotations as : " Eevenons a
nos moutons ! " " Mais ou sont les neiges
d'antan?" "Rodrigue, as-tu du crcur?"
" Qu'allait-il faire dans cette galere ? " and
many others (some twenty-five in all) of still
more doubtful utility, even should the college
student spend a year or a year and a half on
the Course as the author suggests in his pref-
ace. This feature is certainly a novel one;
it may help to justify the author's title Nou-
veau Cours. But it does seem very inadvisable
in an elementary grammar to use half a page
in explaining, for example, just why and how
Eacine happened to insert in les Plaideurs such
a replique as : " Avocat, ah ! passons au de-
luge." Quotations of this character should be
reserved for more advanced study.
The author states in his preface that the
volume " aims merely to be a live, practical
book for a practical purpose, and its purpose
is to give a working knowledge of the French
language." This may possibly account for the
fact that some of the elucidation is unscientific
and characterized by looseness or inaccuracy of
statement. The treatment of pronunciation is
popular and incomplete. Phonetic symbols
are ignored and exceptions are not to any ex-
tent recognized (for example, eu in the verb
avoir). Probably few teachers of French will
agree with the author that the sound of o in
French mode, role is the same as that of u
in English "mud," or that the e in mere is
the same as the a in English " mare." There
are said to be three definite articles, after
which the form I' is explained, which might
well then be classed as a fourth. We are also
told that there are three indefinite articles,
des being classed as the third. The author's
desire to use French, when feasible, rather than
English in his grammatical elucidation leads
often to a queer mingling of the two languages
in the same paragraph and even in the same
sentence. The traditional French names for
the tenses are retained. The author has not
seen fit to give any recognition in this matter
to the recommendations of the Joint Commit-
tee on Grammatical Nomenclature, nor has he
been influenced by the " Rapport " of the
French Commission on the same subject. Such
statements as the following need revision:
"In French all prepositions except en and
apres govern the infinitive" (p. 83) ; and "Le
Futur est forme par 1'addition des terminaisons
du present du verbe avoir & 1'infinitif du verbf .
Ces terminaisons sont : ai, as, a, ons, ez, ont "
December, 1915.]
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
253
(p. 151). Under the discussion of adjectives
(p. 14) we find : " Note that in the body of
a sentence adjectives are never written with
capitals. Ex. Le garqon francais est agreable."
According to this the student would presum-
ably use a capital in a sentence like : J'ai un
livre frangais, especially a* nothing has been
offered in the way of specific treatment of the
use of capitals in French. The author's ad-
herence to the old classification of verbs into
four conjugations will impress many teachers
unfavorably. The uses of vingt and cent, with
or without plural mark, are discussed twice
(pp. 30 and 79). On page 45, " ma mere joue
le piano, ma sceur joue le violon" needs cor-
rection; same remark for "je vais jouer le
piano" (p. 46). On page 53, the author im-
plies that the w in French tramway has the
same sound as in French wagon. The general
vocabularies make no claim to be complete, and
the author attempts to justify their incom-
pleteness. It is to be feared, however, that
they will frequently be found inadequate to the
needs of the average student.
Excellent characteristics of the book are : the
arrangement of the lesson vocabularies and
their position at the beginning of the lesson
(though some teachers will doubtless think
them too long) ; sets of review questions and
exercises ; and a series of very interesting read-
ing selections on the climate, aspect, govern-
ment, history, and other features of France.
These latter are especially well chosen and
simply phrased. There appears also a quite
sufficient amount of material about getting to
Paris and doing and seeing things at Paris,
but the author's restraint in this direction is
apparent, and is refreshing when one thinks
of the excessive quantity of matter of this kind
found in some grammars and composition
books. The statements concerning the uses of
the French past participle are particularly
lucid. And it is a pleasure to add that the
volume is splendidly printed and gives evi-
dence of careful proof-reading.
B. L. BOWEN.
Ohio State University.
RECENT PUBLICATIONS CONCERNING
MONTESQUIEU
Montesquieu, par J. DEDIEU. (Les Grands
Philosophes.) Paris, Alcan, 1913. viii-i-
358 pp.
Correspondance de Montesquieu, edited by F.
GEBELIN and A. MORIZE. (Collection borde-
laise.) 2 vols. Paris, Champion, 1914.
Lettres persanes by Montesquieu, edited by R.
L. CRU. New York, Oxford Press, 1914.
xxvii + 312 pp.
Our knowledge of Montesquieu has nearly
doubled in the last generation. Since the bi-
ography of Vian (1878) and the excellent gen-
eral criticism of Sorel (1887), there has been
gathered a mass of material that renders neces-
sary, in each direction, a freshly munitioned
attack. The biography is still lacking, but M.
Dedieu has furnished the new criticism, and
both fields are now greatly illumined by the
publication of the long-desired full Correspond-
ence.
Before these, the Montesquiviana made avail-
able since 1891 included first of all the Col-
lection bordelaise. This valuable store of ine-
dits comprises several of Montesquieu's minor
works, as well as his Voyages and his Pensees
et fragments. Also, M. Barckhausen had drawn
from the archives of La Brede material for a
volume illustrating anew Montesquieu's main
ideas and his masterpieces. Critical editions
of the latter, excluding the Esprit des lois, had
been published with full apparatus obtained
from the archives. Furthermore, a quantity
of monographs, dissertations, articles, attest the
interest of our age in the philosopher whose
light had rather waned since the epoch of the
Restoration.
I
The way was surely open for a synthetic
study which would press into service both the
monuments themselves and the labors of the
later devotees. This study M. Dedieu has at-
tempted, so far as regards the Jiief divisions
of Montesquieu's thought. That, indeed, is
the chief object and value of his volume: to
254
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
[Vol. xxx, No. 8.
make a progressive analysis of Montesquieu's
mind, as it developed amid contemporary
opinion.
The chapters treat : the formation of Montes-
quieu's intelligence; the origins of his soci-
ological method; his political and moral ideas;
his social, his economic, and finally his relig-
ious ideas. There are added a conclusion, ap-
pendices, a chronological table of the works,
and the best bibliography since Vian.
The analysis is progressive — and this is a
distinct feature — in that a constant effort is
made to mark the stages of Montesquieu's
pensee evolutive, not only through the chief
works and here and there in the pages of the
Collection bordelaise, but also, for example, in
additions made to the Lettres persanes or in a
later book of the Esprit des lois as offsetting
an earlier. The disjecta membra of Montes-
quieu's body politic are articulated and, as far
as possible, dated. This frequently needs deli-
cate construction and interpretation. Fortu-
natety, the way has been partially cleared by
previous researches.
Previous researches, again, largely M. De-
dieu's own, have prepared for the second fea-
ture of this enquete — to wit, Montesquieu is
not viewed as a solitary star, but is set firmly
in his proper galaxy. He is seen as adopting
the interests of his time, as approving, or more
often reacting against the theories and solu-
tions then favored; in either case, this great
relativist always relates, this strong believer in
rapports is usually en rapport himself.
The advantages of such a sociological ap-
proach, with emphasis on vogue as the soil of
thought, are coming to be more and more ap-
preciated. They are conspicuous in the treat-
ment of M. Dedieu, who in his previous work
on a similar subject1 had drawn largely from
the French and English political speculations
of the time. These now reappear — Melon,
Mandeville, Locke, Warburton— as the probable
sources of much in the Esprit des lois. Aside
from that, the writer uses names and docu-
ments less well-known, contemporary discus-
1 Montesquieu et la tradition politique anglaise en
France. Les sources anglaises de I'Esprit des lois.
Paris, Lecoffre, 1909.
sions and events, a nexus capably controlled
and displayed on the threshold of each serious
topic, as providing the " mental hinterland "
of Montesquieu. The main objection here is
simply in the matter of arrangement; repeti-
tions of certain passages and of undoubted in-
fluences such as those of Aristotle and Locke,
might well have been avoided by a more com-
pact array.
Finally, as regards the general features, M.
Dedieu, in reviewing Montesquieu's religious
development, finds a growing conservatism and
a respect for faith — a truth slightly tinged by
the apparent orthodoxy of the critic.
Among the individual points which M. De-
dieu emphasizes, the following are of especial
interest. Montesquieu's taste for positive reali-
ties was strikingly encouraged by his scientific
studies, which combined with his travels to
modify what was too livresque or ideal in his
first conceptions of government. England,
though bringing the final light, left neverthe-
less the French parliamentarian and aristocrat
to construct an amalgamated constitutional
monarchy : " le chef-d'oeuvre de legislation qui
demeure la supreme pensee politique de Mon-
tesquieu." Further, it appears that in the
Esprit des lois we have for ten books relics of
the absolutist, holding by " eternal justice "
and equity, and of the Cartesian, who ex-
hausts by abstract definition and analysis. The
method of these books is then mainly anterior
to the visit to England, and the persistence of
such systematizing is seen throughout in the
forcible relating of many phenomena to the
kinds of government and their principles.
Still, in the subsequent books, we are nearer
the scientific spirit which takes facts as it finds
them and forswears all but true causal rela-
tionships. When Montesquieu found a new
rapport he added a new book, and towards
the end of the monument illustrative books
are appended without much regard for inner
necessity.
M. Dedieu practically admits then the piece-
meal character which remains, pace M. Barck-
hausen, the artistic fault as it is, perhaps, the
jurisprudential merit of the Esprit des lois.
Its lack of unity does not prevent its taking
December, 1915.]
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
255
rank as mainly a series of truths, elaborated
at different times, under different inspirations.
Montesquieu's " sociological method " con-
sists in his inauguration of the comparative
study of nations and laws, exoticism and eth-
nography; the endeavor to establish facts first
(though here he sometimes failed), and then
to derive their moral and physical causes. The
latter yield to the former, it is the plausible
view of M. Dedieu, in spite of the importance
given to climate and terrain. This overthrows
the conventional pigeonholing of Montesquieu,
and yet it seems supported, not only by the
supereminent role given to mcsurs (which are
placed even above laws), but by various pas-
sages in the Correspondence. Physical causes
predominate in the first part of the Lois, moral
in the last, whether or not this is a conscious
division of Montesquieu's. The conclusion is
that here, as in religion, we have a growing
idealism and conservatism in the author's
standards.
That this marked traditionalism turned Mon-
tesquieu's face away from the idea of progress,
making him rather a partisan of stability in
most things, is a favorite thesis of M. Dedieu's,
to which we shall return. The philosopher's
social ideas, at any rate, in matters concerning
slavery, war, and penal laws, are of the humani-
tarian and forward-looking cast. The valuable
part of his political economy is the theory of
cosmopolitan interchange and concurrence as
tending towards general happiness. One of his
most notable moral ideas, indeed, is that indi-
vidual satisfaction can rarely be purchased at
the expense of "Pesprit general."
This is an imperfect telescoping of M. De-
dieu's analysis, and similar lacunae must occur
in an attempt to point out what seem his more
debatable propositions.
P. 3. — The statement that Montesquieu
touched only with precaution on dangerous
problems in government scarcely applies to the
Lettres persanes; their frondeur tone is amply
admitted by M. Dedieu himself (pp. 14 f.).
Pp. 5, 10, 22, 26, 74, etc. — The opposition
between " scientific " and " bookish " notions,
while sound in the main, seems, when elabo-
rately applied, a forced extension of latter-day
academic antinomies. Without denying the im-
portance of Montesquieu's travels, I think his
" contact with realities " via Holland is over-
done. Certain such contacts can also be found
in his early experiences at home (see pp. 21-
23).
P. 16. — The (psychological) " puissance
d'observation " and the " regard de moraliste "
credited to the Lettres persanes may be too
highly praised.
P. 21. — The objection to viewing Montes-
quieu as a constant spirit and the insistence
on his evolution are good points. But need
they overthrow the verite acquise that the
germs of the political thought of the Esprit
des lots are discernible in the Lettres persanes?
P. 42. — It is a far cry from the passage in
the Republic on the stability of games to Mon-
tesquieu's cautions regarding the spirit of the
French nation.
P. 52. — The suggestion that the Italian
political thinkers do not figure among Montes-
quieu's masters is negatived — to say nothing
of Vico — by the influences of Machiavelli,
Doria, and Gravina, whom M. Dedieu had just
analyzed.
Pp. 94, 196, 285, 321-22.— The most seri-
ous objection should be made to M. Dedieu's
excessive statement: "L'idee devolution, de
progres, est totalement absente de la pensee
de Montesquieu." In a conscious modern sense,
this is almost true. But there are various
passages which indicate that the struggling con-
cept of progress, that prince of eighteenth-cen-
tury ideas, informs the farther reaches of Mon-
tesquieu's thought. E. g., No. 106 of the Lei-
ires persanes, concerning the advance in ' arts '
and inventions.2 The critic partially restores
this concept to Montesquieu near the end of his
discussion.
P. 120. — How, historically, did Montes-
quieu's political idealism " inaugurate the
spiritualistic reaction " ?
P. 180. — The notion of eensorship applies
only to republics, but it is quoted in connec-
tion with the monarchical scheme. (Smaller
'See also B. L., Bk. X, Hi; XII, ii; X and XV,
passim; Correap., II, 356, etc.
256
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
[Vol. xxx, No. 8.
contradictions are found on pp. 206 f., 245 f.,
309 and 315, etc.)
P. 251. — The President's insistence on in-
ternational commerce was probably stimulated
by the sale of his wine in England.
P. 284. — Overstatement : " Ce farouche en-
nemi de 1'idee religieuse est neanmoins le plus
ardent apologiste de 1'idee de progres." Both
clauses seem too emphatic, even though apply-
ing to the author of the Lettres persanes, and
the use of neanmoins is decidedly curious.
Throughout the eighteenth century enemies
of Catholicism were also defenders of tolerance.
II y avait de quoi.
P. 285. — " Kien aujourd'hui ne demeure des
objections que ce philosophe dressait centre la
foi." The objections, which are of the same
character as those of Voltaire, have of course
just as much or as little validity as the reader's
mind and temperament are inclined to accord
them.
P. 311. — The letter to the parliamentarian 3
is hardly as favorable to the clerical cause as
here suggested.
P. 331. — French Anglomania had slackened
before 1750; and it revived again, in certain
directions, during the two decades preceding
the Revolution.
P. 331. — Did Montesquieu's authority lose
all value in 1789 ? There is a general impres-
sion that the milder Revolutionaries were still
under his influence, which waned with the ad-
vent of the Terror.
P. 342. — The Essai sur le gout must have
been written at least by 1753, since the Cor-
respondence * then mentions it.
The bibliography, which does not aim at
fulness, is selected with discrimination, and
contains, as regards French works, most of the
titles that one would expect. The chief omis-
sions concern Montesquieu's travels, his rela-
tions, and the Grandeur et decadence des Ro-
mains. Since M. Dedieu regrets the lack of
material on these matters, one may add certain
titles of that nature, together with a few others,
out of a large store, which seem to deserve in-
clusion. The following list contains little or
8 Corresp., II, 472-78.
1 Ibid., II, 492; also in Laboulaye, VII, 422.
nothing already found in Vian's or in Lanson's
bibliography.
Brunet, G. — " On the Library of Montes-
quieu," Bulletin de I'aUiance des arts. Vol. IV
(1845), pp. 33-36.
Cantu, C. — " Montesquieu in Italia," Nuova
Antologia, 3rd series, LIV, 561-72.
Doumic, R. — " Voyages de Montesquieu,"
Revue des deux monies, CXLII (1897), 924-
35.
Fournier de Flaix. — Les Voyages de Montes-
quieu, Paris, 1897.
Hardy, F. — Memoirs of the Earl of Charle-
mont, London(?), 1812, I, 160-73.
Hadamczik. — Wodurch unterscheidet sich
Montesquieu und seine ' Considerations ' von
den dlteren franzosischen Historikern ? Progr.,
Crotoschin, 1878.
Ilbert, Sir Courtenay. — Montesquieu, Oxford,
1904. (Romanes Lecture.)
Malet. — " Discours de reception a Montes-
quieu," (Euvres, London, 1740, Vol. VII.
Sakmann. — " Voltaire als Kritiker Montes-
quieus," Archiv fur das Studium der Neueren
Sprachen, CXIII, 374 f.
Scherer, E. — " Comment il faut lire Montes-
quieu," Etudes sur la litterature contempo-
raine, Paris, 1889, IX, 238-54.
Seidel, E. — Montesquieus Verdienst um die
romische Geschichte, Annaberg, 1887.
II
M. Dedieu did not have the good fortune to
write after the publication of the Correspon-
dance. This enterprise, begun by M. Raymond
Celeste, has been carried through by M. Fran-
gois Gebelin, with the collaboration of M.
Andre Morize. The value of the undertaking
is apparent: the last (Laboulaye's) collection
of Montesquieu's letters contained about 150
by his own hand, while here we have three
times that number. Over 200 more are added
from friends to Montesquieu, making a total
of 679 letters, illuminating the man and his
period far more satisfactorily than anything
hitherto. A thorough index helps greatly in
referring to these volumes.
The editors have used principally the ar-
chives of La Brede. Many of Montesquieu's
letters are there preserved in his manuscript
copies, and the letters of his correspondents are
likewise found plentifully. Others have been
added from various quarters; their respectable
quantity implies much industry on the part
December, 1915.]
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
257
of the editors, who have also republished cor-
respondence heretofore scattered in various
volumes.
Towards the end of Vol. II those letters
thicken which have already appeared in La-
boulaye, and indeed half of the whole Corre-
spondence belongs to the last five years of Mon-
tesquieu's life. There are many short notes,
showing the President's secheresse; his leaning
to maxims and epigrams is also illustrated.
There is a good deal of waste matter, espe-
cially in the letters of others. Montesquieu
himself is generally interesting, save when deal-
ing with technical affairs and barring the
natural repetition of sentiments and phrases.
The editorial work has been done discreetly,
with sensible reconstructing and altering when
necessary. Otherwise, the editors scarcely ap-
pear, save in the brief Introduction, where a
history of the Correspondence is given. Here,
by the way, the Abbe Guasco is let off rather
easily, since his marauding hand is surely
visible more than once in Montesquieu's epis-
tles. The President's brouillons are carefully
described; it is pointed out how his numerous
corrections and erasures (conspicuous, we may
say, in love-letters) reveal his " conscience
d'ecrivain"; cautions are given concerning
annotations and datings by another hand;
finally, the wide range and interest of the
Correspondence are emphasized.
This is certainly the first point that im-
presses one in the letters. Eestricted, of course,
as compared to the circle of Voltaire, Montes-
quieu's better selected correspondents yet rep-
resent rather completely the more intellectual
phases of eighteenth-century society. The
world of the philosophes and of the salon
women is thoroughly displayed. Not so repre-
sentative is the time-distribution of the letters,
which leaves several periods almost voiceless,
among them the period of Montesquieu's siege
of the Academy, as well as his sojourn in Eng-
land. Between 1734 and 1742, again, the Cor-
respondence covers only forty pages.
What we newly learn, or the matters con-
cerning which our knowledge is much re-en-
forced, may fall under these headings : " Mon-
• I do not dwell on material already in Laboulaye.
tesquieu's character, his business, his domestic
relations, his love-affairs, his friendships, his
Anglomania, his interest in the Academies and
the physical sciences, and his own works. One
may add to these certain information about the
period.
In character, Montesquieu stands out much
as he has hitherto been known. His stoicism
is manifested in connection with various
troubles, particularly the partial loss of his
eyesight. He gives some expression of this
doctrine, while defending his admiration for
Marcus Antoninus.6 He appears as tranquil
even when some of his feminine friends think
he ought to be moved. He relishes the stu-
dious quiet of the country, frequently opposing
it to the hollowness of Paris.
The word moderation occurs often in his
later letters and is associated with that toler-
ant spirit which his friends appreciated. The
flatterer Castel praises Montesquieu's adapta-
bility. His contempt for war is conspicuous;
his bienfaisance is exhibited in his dealings
with his laborers, his succoring of La Beau-
melle, Piron, etc.
His aristocratic leanings are evident. He is
bitter against the traitants and financiers, he
distrusts authorship and whatever smacks of
specialism, while his personal pride is manifest.
He has a poor opinion of princes and of petiis-
mattres, and a rather better opinion of himself.
He likes etiquette and dignity. His qualities
of leadership are evidenced in connection with
the Bordeaux Academy and with the affairs of
his family.
He is absent-minded, and is occasionally
rallied on that account by fair correspondents.
He forgets engagements, arrives late, and needs
directing. He seems a little sauvage and rustic
after a long stay in the country.
In business matters, he shows interest in his
farms and tenants. He is not keen concerning
legal details and does not bother about trifling
impositions. His island, his trees and garden,
and especially his wine, are often mentioned.
He is occupied with removing tln tax on the
vin du pays, he receives and fills orders, exports
to England, and generally takes pride in his
•II, 304-05.
358
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
[Vol. xxx, No. 8.
vineyard, which must have been quite a lucra-
tive enterprise.
He sells his charge as President of the
Bordeaux Parlement, cleverly arranging to keep
the reversion for his son. In putting through
the marriage of his daughter, he declares, in
reasonable self-appraisal: " Je suis un bon
homme d'affaires." T
This marriage offers a good illustration of
his role as the head of a family. He master-
fully arranges a match between his daughter
and a cousin, for the purpose of keeping up the
family estates. He shows generosity as regards
the dower, dispenses with the corbeille, and
lets the bridegroom know his pleasure as to
the place and style of the wedding. After
their marriage, he looks out for the business
interests of the young people. This daughter,
Denise, was his favorite, and his letters to her
evince much affection, together always with a
masterful superiority. The same quality shines
in dealings with and for his rather helpless
brother, as well as with his son, his son-in-law,
etc. As for Montesquieu's wife, she scarcely
appears. We have no letter bearing that ad-
dress, though she once writes to her husband
in a somewhat pathetic, cajoling manner.8
Montesquieu repeatedly states his view that
marriage ruins love.
That he sought elsewhere. To affairs of the
heart he gives usually a conventionally gallant
expression, compact of sensuality, sighs, and
compliments. He has no great opinion of
women in general; he uses a blunt tone with
several and brusquely breaks off with several
more. " II y a un sexe entier sur lequel on ne
peut pas compter." 9 However, he attains to a
more passionate tone in writing to the inno-
minata of Letter 57 and to the Princesse Tri-
vulce in Italy.
His general relations, especially with friends
and the ladies of the salons, show a warmer
heart. To the former he is all helpfulness and
affection. He holds that Us honnetes gens
think first of other people,10 and he thinks of
'I, 409.
8 1, 386-87.
' I, 74.
10 II, 200.
his friends very often. These would include
Henault, Fontenelle, Maupertuis, as well as
the Duchesse d'Aiguillon and Mme. de Mire-
poix.
He was on good terms with the four chief
leaders of the salons. He showers compliments
on all and writes admiringly to each of her
special reception-days — the mardis of Mme.
de Lambert, the mercredis of Mme. du Def-
fand. The former's services are required in
securing Morville as protector of the Bordeaux
Academy; her psychological keenness is in-
stanced by her analysis of Montesquieu's rest-
lessness abroad.11 Mme. de Tencin, more inti-
mate with the President than any of the others,
scolds him for his distractions, calls him " mon
petit Eomain," and gives a capable criticism
of the Esprit des lois. Mme. de Geoffrin also
adopts a rallying tone, though her friendship
with Montesquieu was of later and perhaps of
shallower growth.12 Mme. du Deffand like-
wise knows the President late, but is none the
less familiar. All of them raffolent concern-
ing the Esprit des lois, and generally they write
in a tone of sprightliness, with occasional pene-
tration. Their letters to Montesquieu are more
revealing than his to them.
He is associated with English people at two
epochs of his life: just after his return from
that country and after the publication of the
Esprit des lois. It was a relationship of mu-
tual esteem. We find him communicating with
Bulkeley, Martin Ffolkes, Domville, exchang-
ing a literary correspondence with Hume and
Warburton, and polite attentions with several
others. His Anglomania is conceived in a
spirit of true cosmopolitanism; he insists on
the advantages of exchanging lumieres, of
mutually translating works and abolishing
prejudices.13 He is preoccupied, from 1730 on,
with the English character and mind, and
makes frequent allusions to their ways of doing
things. For him, England is the "great tri-
bunal of Europe " in matters of the intellect,
11 1, 263.
"On the question of Guasco, and Montesquieu's
possible rupture with Mme. de Geoffrin, see the In-
troduction.
"II, 356.
December, 1915.]
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
259
as she will be the last defender of Europe in
matters of liberty.14
The attention given to provincial academies
supports Brunetiere's belief as to their general
importance in the century. Montesquieu takes
much more interest in the Academy of Bor-
deaux than in that of Paris. He is concerned
with seeking for it successive protectors, with
its buildings, its library, its scientific. apparatus
and productiveness — especially as encouraging
the natural sciences. He is also pleased to be-
long to the Academy of Nancy and to the
English Eoyal Society.
His taste for physics and mathematics ap-
pears in this connection and in his correspond-
ence with Castel and Barbot. Particularly
entertaining is the series of long, nai'f, self-
centered letters of the former cleric, who hav-
ing doubtless afforded Montesquieu much
amusement in this world, was selected by fate
to convoy him comfortably out of it. Mon-
tesquieu often writes about mathematics and
astronomy, microscopes and apparatus for ex-
perimentation. His zeal in this respect de-
clined in his later years, but he evidently took
no small share in its first vogue.
As regards the works, Henault furnishes a
good criticism of the Grandeur et decadence
des Romains,™ and Montesquieu categorically
denies the authorship of the Temple de Gnide.™
We learn the exact date of the composition of
Sylla et Eucrate, concerning which the editors
have an interesting note.17 There is a great
deal about the Esprit des lois. Montesquieu's
statement that he discovered his principles c.
1730 corresponds with M. Dedieu's reasoning,
as does the repeated antithesis between moral
and physical causes. There are many details
as to the composition of the Lois, the author's
stake in it, his troubles about publication and
with the Index. Much of this is parallel to
what Voltaire experienced with the Lettres
philosophigues. Montesquieu evinces an ap-
parent willingness to change expressions and
the divisions of the work. Its general recep-
"II, 140, 208.
a II, 49.
» I, 87.
" I, 65.
tion, the chorus of praise, its cosmopolitan in-
fluence, are all well marked in the letters.
There are penetrating bits of criticism, insist-
ence, for example, on the author's bienveil-
lance and " laconic eloquence," and occasionally
the dissentient voice of a more advanced phi-
losophe — Helvetius, Voltaire, Hume — is heard.
The interesting picture of the times here
presented scarcely falls within the scope of this
paper. The chief topics discussed are such
events as changes of ministry and the king's
illness; gossip about court affairs, which fre-
quently resembles Cyrano's budget, in that it
is always a question of the news of the day;
financial stress, famine and plague, are seen
as dimming the splendor of the old regime;
notably, there is a growing emphasis on la
philosophic — the word and the idea become gen-
erally more popular as the Correspondence ad-
vances. There is less about litterateurs proper
than one might expect; few are conspicuously
mentioned besides Lamotte and Voltaire, with
regard to whom there are some excellent side-
lights.
The tone of the Correspondence is that of
gentility. Occasional bluntness scarcely mars
the effect of choice style, particularly in the
letters of the women. There are elaborate
compliments, not necessarily insincere. There
are bits of preciosity and the atmosphere of
the salon, but little that is too free and nothing
that is common.
Ill
The school-edition of the Lettres persanes,
prepared by Mr. R. L. Cru for the Oxford
French Series, is a capable piece of work, pro-
vided with a good full introduction and notes.
The text used is that of Barckhausen, which
does not differ essentially from the text hith-
erto received. In his annotations, Dr. Cru
shows much dependence, generally justified, on
those of Barckhausen and Laboulaye. For
school purposes, of course, the harem portion
of the Lettres persanes has to go, and the loss
is regrettable only in that the monument thus
purified loses a part of its Oriental cadre which
is character! sac of the century. A few omis-
sions that might have remained will be noted
260
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
[Vol. xxx, No. 8.
in the last paragraph of this paper, with which
exceptions the editor has shown judgment in
his choice of letters. Other features of the edi-
tion are several interesting illustrations, occa-
sional slips in English, a good account of the
sources, especially of the borrowings from
Chardin, an emphasis on the importance of the
book as a document, the wise retention of the
regular numerotation of the letters, a well-
proportioned, adequate view of Montesquieu in
the Introduction, and notes that for once are*
really satisfactory and full — whether for Per-
sian references, affairs of the Regency, or mat-
ters bearing on the author.
Some errors of detail and some debatable
differences of opinion may be listed in view of
a possible second edition.
A. INTRODUCTION. — P. vii. It would be
better to emphasize rather the noblesse de robe
side of Montesquieu's family, since this counted
most on his mind and character. — P. viii. The
general vogue and cause of the contemporary
scientific interest might well be stated. — P. x.
The " high hopes of the Regency " seems too
idealistic a phrase — witness the Lettres per-
sanes themselves. — P. xii. Mme. du Deffand's
salon was not organized in the early 'twen-
ties.— P. xiii. Was Montesquieu excitable? —
P. xvi. In a text-book for American students,
more should be made of his influence on our
constitution and early statesmen. — P. xviii.
The esprit philosophique, under whatever name,
had hardly been so notable in France " for half
a century" before 1721. Also it is doubtful
if Montesquieu had La Bruyere's power of ob-
servation, if this is meant psychologically. —
P. xx. The " artfulness " of the mixture in
the Lettres may be questioned. Dr. Cru him-
self speaks of Montesquieu's desultoriness, and
the word " jumbled " seems a more appropriate
ch aracterization.
B. NOTES. — P. 252. Voltaire is not con-
stant as to the natural virtue of man. — P. 257.
The origin of the modern "sick man of Eu-
rope " phrase, anticipated by Montesquieu,
might well have been assigned to the C/ar
Nicholas I.— P. 258. The device of making a
foreigner fall from the skies is also employed
by Voltaire (Traite de Metaphysique). — P. 263.
Locating the " Marais " in terms of the Arron-
dissements would not be helpful to the Ameri-
can students. — P. 273. The family relation-
ship of the religions finds a parallel and a pos-
sible source in Swift's Tale of a Tub. The con-
nection between Swift and Montesquieu will,
when carefully worked out, probably reveal sev-
eral curious similarities. — P. 276. Fontenelle's
Eloges are concerned rather with members of
the Academy of Sciences. — P. 283. Here, the
word vertu has not altogether the narrower
sense of civic virtue characteristic of the Esprit
des lois — see the letters on the Troglodytes.
An allusion to Montesquieu's own court-dis-
appointment and temporary retirement would
seem appropriate. — P. 287. Also an allu-
sion to Turcaret in connection with the irai-
tants. — P. 296. Since the Marechal de Berwick
is mentioned, why not recall his friendship
with Montesquieu? — P. 303. Are there any
other explanations of the C. de <?.f— P. 304.
The Appendix (ranked as Lettre 145 previous
to Barckhausen) speaks for Montesquieu not
only impersonally in the last part, but ficti-
tiously (through Usbek) in the first part.
C. OMITTED LETTERS. — The majority of the
following passages should, in my opinion, have
been retained. The questionable sentences
could have been deleted, and much that is sig-
nificant would have been thus preserved.
Letter 6 (to give the milder harem back-
ground and some self-analysis). — Letter 55:
the portions referring to European marriages
and the situation of women in the eighteenth
century. — Letter 67: the first few paragraphs,
containing much of Montesquieu's character
and outlook — his cosmopolitanism and old Ro-
man spirit. — Letter 107 (the greater part of
this concerns monarchy and the rule of wom-
en).— Letters 112-116: the more character-
istic portions.
The edition is nevertheless satisfactory in
the main. It should render distinct service in
any presentation of eighteenth-century ideas to
the class-room.
E. PRESTON DAROAN.
The University of Chicago.
December, 1915.]
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
261
SHAFTESBURY UND WIELAND
Wieland and Shaftesbury, by CHARLES ELSON.
New York, Columbia University Press, 1913.
8vo., xii + 144 pp.
Shaftesburys Einfluss auf Chr. M. Wieland.
Mit einer Einleitung uber den Einfluss
Shaftesburys auf die deutsche Literatur bis
1760, von H. GEUDZINSKI. Stuttgart, Metz-
ler, 1913. 8vo., vii + 104 S.
Diese beiden Arbeiten sind fast gleichzeitig
erschienen. Sie erganzen sich, eben weil beide
einseitig geraten sind. Elson ist viel griind-
licher als Grudzinski, aber er arbeitet den wirk-
lichen " Einfluss " Shaftesburys auf Wieland
nicht geniigend klar heraus, und zwar haupt-
sachlich deshalb, weil er seinen Stoff nicht
chronologisch wie Grudzinski einteilt. Die Ein-
teilung nach philosophischen Problemen ist
sicher tiefer und schwerer als das Rechnen von
Werk zu Werk, aber sie muss Daten zur An-
schauungshilfe gebrauchen, sonst verwirrt sie.
Und an einer gewissen Verschwommenheit
der Darstellung leidet Elson im Gegensatz zu
Grudzinski, der dafiir freilich oberflachlicher
iiber die eigentlichen Probleme hingeht. Beide
haben leider ihre Einzeluntersuchung nicht
genug in das Licht einer Gesamtbetrachtung
Wielands geriickt. Deshalb kommen wir zu
keiner wirklichen Anschauung der grossen
Linien seines Wesens und Wirkens.
Elson ist auf der rechten Spur, wenn er (S.
80 u. a.) an Goethes tiefe Worte iiber Wieland
erinnert: in der Gedenkrede von 1813 und im
Maskenzug von 1818. Goethe sagt in der Rede
ausdriicklich : " An einem solchen Mann wie
Shaftesbury fand nun unser Wieland nicht
einen Vorganger, dem er folgen, nicht einen
Genossen, mit dem er arbeiten sollte, sondern
einen wahrhaften alteren Zwillingsbruder im
Geiste, dem er vollkommen glich, ohne nach
ihm gebildet zu sein." Und das trifft den Kern-
punkt des Verhaltnisses der beiden Geister.
Wielands Bildungsideal, das eine Verschmel-
zung mannigfacher Zeitstromungen zeigt, wie
Emil Hamann ( Wielands Bildungsideal, Chem-
nitz 1907) nachweist, erwachst auf dem Boden
der Aufklarung, aber seine Wurzeln reichen
tiefer zuriick : in den deutschen Pietismus. In-
nerste Selbstachtung und Selbstbetrachtung,
" das Herz " und die " schone Seele," der Sinn
fur das eigne Seelenleben und also auch die
Einsamkeit und demgegenuber der Sinn fur
innige Gemeinsamkeit, der sich notwendig aus
dem iiberfliessenden Subjektivismus ergibt,
alles das verdankt das 18. Jahrhundert in
Deutschland dem bodenstandigen Pietismus,
dem schliesslich auch der deutsche Humani-
tatsgedanke entwachsen ist. Geselligkeitstriebe
und Freundschaftskult brauchten die Deutschen
des 18. Jahrhunderts deshalb nicht erst aus
Shaftesbury zu lernen. Der englische Schon-
geist hat hier meist nur verstarkend und gar
nicht wirklich erneuernd gewirkt. Und was so
fur die Gesamthaltung der ganzen Zeit zu sagen
ist, gilt auch fur Wieland. Man denke z.B.
nur an seinen Optimismus. Ganz natiirlich war
das hochgespannte Gefiihl des Pietisten hell,
optimistisch getont. Und zu diesem gefiihls-
miissigen hat Wieland sehr friih in seinem
Leben den gedanklichen Optimismus eines
Leibniz kennen gelernt, der sich ja bekanntlich
ganzlich unabhangig von Shaftesbury entwik-
kelte. Das haben Elson (S. 45; 115 ff.) und
Grudzinski (S. 16; 73 ff.) nicht gehb'rig er-
kannt. Und wenn unseres Dichters sanguini-
sche Natur schon vom Pietismus und von Leib-
niz her tief beeinflusst wurde, dann bleibt fur
Shaftesbury oder spater Rousseau keine wirk-
liche " Umgestaltung " mehr iibrig.
Und ahnlich verhalt es sich mit der astheti-
schen Beeinflussung Wielands durch Shaftes-
bury. Auch hier diirfen blosse Parallelen in
der Auffassung des Schonen usw. nicht zu ur-
sachlicher Verbindung verleiten. Die deutsche
Aesthetik ist durch Baumgarten, einen bewuss-
ten Leibnizianer, und mit ihm von Georg Fried-
rich Meier begriindet worden, und Meier z.B.
lasst Shaftesbury ganzlich gleichgiiltig (vergl.
Ernst Bergmann, Die Begrundung der deut-
schen Aesthetik, Leipzig 1911, besonders S. 144
f.). Grudzinski erwahnt das S. 101, Anm. 50,
ohne sich der Folgerungen fur seme Schrift be-
wusst zu werden. Dagegen ist beispielsweise
Shaftesburys Einfluss auf Kants Aesthetik und
die Sulzers und Mendelssohns nicht zu leugnen,
262
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
[Vol. xxx, No. 8.
obschon gerade Kant und Mendelssohn schnell
iiber Shaftesbury hinausgegangen sind. — Wie-
land nun hat friihe Beziehungen zu Meier
(vergl. Emil Ermatinger, Die Weltanschauung
des jungen Wieland, Frauenfeld 1907), und
Meier zu den Schweizern, und da die kritischen
Hauptwerke der Schweizer keinerlei Spuren
Shaftesburyschen Einflusses aufweisen, wie
Grudzinski richtig betont, so kann auch Bodmer
nicht gut unserm Wieland tiefe Anregungen
aus Shaftesbury iibennittelt haben, wie Grud-
zinski (S. 48) meint, Elson jedoch nicht. Doch
das ist nebensachlich gegeniiber der Hauptfrage.
Shaftesbury (1671-1713) vertritt die en-
glische Moralphilosophie, die nach Deutschland
(Herder, Schiller!) als " Popularphilosophie "
hiniiberwirkt. Es ist eine auf gesunden Men-
schenverstand und Geschmack aufgebaute
" Hausphilosophie," die manchmal nur einen
bequemen asthetischen Pragmatismus fiir feine
Leute darstellt, den Deutschen des 18. Jahr-
hunderts aber durchweg als " Lebenskunst "
erschien. Und so hat Shaftesburys Gedanke,
dass Philosophic eine Kunst zu leben sei, auf
jene Deutschen und auch auf Wieland wirk-
lich einen Eindruck gemacht. Shaftesburys
asthetische Lebensanschauung, die Deutschen
wie Kant und Lessing, Schiller und Schleier-
macher auf die Dauer nicht geniigte, hat zum
Ziel den " fine gentleman and man of sense,"
den virtuoso. Damit hangt der asthetische Be-
griff der Harmonic zusammen, der Harmonic
als Naturprinzip und Lebensideal. Erreichte
Harmonie ist Gliick, und Gliick ist Anfang und
Ende menschlichen Strebens. Philosophic ist
demnach " das Studium der Gliickseligkeit."
Der Begriff der Harmonie enthalt und be-
dingt den der Schonheit, und wie schon seit der
Renaissance schon auch fiir naturlich und also
erlaubt und deshalb sittlich gait, so ist auch
bei Shaftesbury schon gleich gut.
Neu war alles das nicht, aber es wurde von
Shaftesbury mit dem Ernst und dem Optimis-
mus und vor allem dem praktischen Sinn des
englischen Aufklarers vorgetragen, xind noch
dazu im Stil eines echten Kiinstlers der Prosa.
Wo er als Kiinstler zu Kunstlern spricht, wie
im "Advice to an Author," da liegen mir seine
tiefsten Wirkungen auf die deutschen Klassikcr
und Manner wie Mendelssohn und Justus Mb'ser
u.a. (vergl. Grudzinski, S. 76 f., und Elson,
S. 119 ft.).
Unter den verschiedenen Schriften, die
Shaftesburys Characteristics (1711) enthalten,
haben einmal die Briefe iiber den Enthusiasmus
und iiber die Freiheit von Witz und Humor
und sodann die philosophische Ehapsodie " Die
Moralisten " auf die deutschen Poeten, Aes-
thetiker und Aestheten am meisten gewirkt.
Um Shaftesburys Ansichten iiber den En-
thusiasmus zu verstehen, muss man sie im Eah-
men der englischen Geistesgeschichte des 18.
Jahrhunderts betrachten, was weder Elson noch
Grudzinski getan hat (vergl. u.a. J. E. V.
Crofts' Aufsatz iiber Enthusiasm in Eighteenth
Century Literature. An Oxford Miscellany,
1909, S. 127-150). Shaftesbury als echter
Aufklarer lehnt alien Enthusiasmus im tech-
nischen Sinn ab als religiose Schwarmerei,
Fanatismus, Aberglauben und auch allgemeinen
Uberschwang. Und zwar empfiehlt er zur Ab-
wehr alldessen good humour (test of ridicule),
etwa wie spater George Meredith comic spirit
im " Essay on Comedy " in ein ganzes System
bringt. Shaftesbury meint mit good humour
manchmal unbeschrankte Vernunft, Witz, selbst
Spott a la Bernard Shaw und besten Falls —
seelisches Gleichmass. Wichmann(1768) iiber-
setzt es mit " gute Laune," wahrend Goethe in
jener Gedenkrede die Worte Frohsinn und
Heiterkeit ( !) gebraucht. An den blossen
Worten sieht man, wie der Deutsche die engli-
schen Begriffe umformt : eindeutscht.
In Shaftesburys " Moralisten " u.a. hat dann
enthusiasm, wofiir auch inspiration usw. steht,
ungefahr die Bedeutung des deutschen En-
thusiasmus. Ungefahr nur, denn sowie deutsche
Uberschwenglichkeit im Wort ist, hat es schon
mit der " verniinftigen Ekstase " Shaftesburys
nichts mehr zu tun. Schliesslich haben die
Deutschen auch in Shaftesburys " Enthusias-
mus " ihren eigensten Sinn hineingelegt, wie
sie auch das Prometheussymbol von Shaftes-
bury entlehnt, aber mit ihrem Geist gefiillt
haben (vergl. Oskar Walzels Schrift Das Pro-
metheussymbol von Shaftesbury zu Goethe,
Leipzig und Berlin 1910).
Das eigentliche " Erlebnis des Enthusias-
mus." das fur das ganze deutsche 18. Jahr-
hundert eine grosse Eolle spielt, ist durchaus
December, 1915.]
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
263
deutsch und aus der deutschen Mystik, dem
Pietismus und dem Pathos der deutschen Auf-
klarung geniigend zu erklaren. Mehr als hier
und da eine asthetische Begriindung der Zeit-
stimmung hat Shaftesbury nicht gegeben.
Ubrigens hat auch England Shaftesbury schnell
iiberwunden. Dort hat Berkeley dem echten
Enthusiasmus in der Philosophie und Poesie
zum Sieg verholfen — und zwar gegen den soge-
nannten common sense, fur den gerade Shaftes-
bury stets eintrat.
Fur Wieland ist es nun hochst kennzeichnend,
dass er von Shaftesbury hauptsachlich zum
Kampf gegen jenen falschen Enthusiasmus an-
geregt wurde (Elson, S. 41; 107 1; Grud-
zinski, S. 78; 87). Selbst der Oberon dient
diesem Kampf. Das Undeutsche in Shaftes-
burys Gedanken hat Wieland nicht gespurt.
Das bringt ein fremdes Element in sein Geistes-
bild — zu seiner sonstigen " franzosischen Be-
handlungsweise " (Naturphilosophie, politische
Anschauungen, Witz, Stil u.a.m.).
Durch und durch Aufkliirer wie Shaftesbury
ist nun auch Wieland. Uber die Tugend ist
sein Denken nicht hinausgekommen. Das Pro-
blem der faustischen Natur (vergl. Oskar Wal-
zel, Vom Geistesleben des 18. und 19. Jahr-
hunderts, Leipzig 1911, S. 134 ff.) bedeutet
ihm nichts, weil er kein Prometheus, d.h. im
innersten Wesen doch nicht enthusiastisch war.
Wie hat er nun das Gedankengut Shaftes-
burys aufgenommen und verarbeitet? Er hat
grosses Gefallen am Virtuosenideal gefunden
und damit zugleich ein naheres Verhaltnis zu
Xenophon und Horaz gewonnen. Aber kennen
gelernt hat er beide nicht erst durch den engli-
schen Schongeist (Elson, S. 13 f. ; Grudzinski,
S. 71). Es ware nun noch notig festzustellen,
worin sich Wieland und Shaftesbury in ihren
Auffassungen der antiken Denker unterschei-
den. Sah Wieland z.B. in Horaz wie Shaftes-
bury den Virtuoso? (Grudzinski, S. 79; 90 ff.).
Und wieweit eignete er sich iiberhaupt jenes
Virtuosenideal an? Schon Ermatinger (S. 138
ff.) hat diese Frage aufgeworfen, und Elson
(S. 94 ff.) hat sie wohl verstanden, aber nicht
recht beantwortet.
So ist nur zu sagen, dass Shaftesbury einen
gewissen Einfluss auf Wielands " Gesundung "
urn 1760 gehabt hat, wie das besonders Elson
(S. 14; 17) hervorhebt. Gemeint ist namlich
die Abkehr vom einseitigen Pietistentum und
von einer nebligen Mystik der ersten Periode.
Und Grudzinski betont mit Recht die Lebens-
philosophie Shaftesburys vor der Schonheits-
philosophie, deren Wirkung er z.T. ungiinstig
nennt (S. 58 f.; 62). Das fiihrt zur letzten
Frage nach der Bedeutung der Shaftesbury-
schen asthetischen Lebensanschauung fiir Wie-
lands Leben. Elson gibt dazu nur einige ver-
streute Bemerkungen (S. 80; 97; 114). Und
so bleibt auch die Frage nach dem Erlebnis in
Wielands Dichtung noch ungelost.
Da der Einfluss der Volksart auf die Lebens-
anschauung feststeht (vgl. Eudolf Eucken, Die
Lebensanschauungen der grossen Denker, 9.
Auflage, Leipzig 1911), so sei auch hier zum
Schluss obigen Bemerkungen noch hinzugefiigt,
dass schon Goethe auf Wielands Grundkonflikt
hingewiesen hat, namlich die " Klemme zwi-
schen dem Denkbaren und dem Wirklichen,"
und eben dieses scheidet Wieland grundsatzlich
von Shaftesbury. Denn Shaftesburys lachelnd
selbstgewisse, weltmannische Kultur kennt
Kompromisse, die gelegentlich an Bolingbrokes
Gewissenlosigkeit erinnern, was einen allein
schon davon abhalten sollte, kiihn eine Linie
von Shaftesbury zum deutschen Humanismus
der Herder, Schiller, Goethe, Humboldt zu
ziehen.
F. SCHOENEMANN.
Harvard University.
CORRESPONDENCE
LESSING AND WACKENRODER AS ANTICIPATORS
OF WILLIAM JAMES
All advanced students of psychology are
familiar with the late Professor William
James's hypothesis according to which " we
feel sorry because we cry, angry because we
strike, afraid because we tremble," and do not
" cry, strike, or tremble, because we are sorry,
angry, or fearful." There are at least two in-
stances in German literature where James was
anticipated in this theory. Lessing says in his
Hamburgische Dramaturgic, third piece, that
if the actor, who has to play the role of an angry
character, goes through the motions of being
264
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES
[Vol. xxx, No. 8.
angry, he will in course of time become angry
because he acted this way : " Wenn er nur
diese Dinge, die sich nachmachen lassen, sobald
man will, gut nachmacht, so wird dadurch un-
ifehlbar seine Seele ein dunkles Gefiihl von Zorn
befallen, welches wiederum in den Korper zu-
riickwirkt." And in Wackenroder's Phanta-
sien uber die Kunst fur Freunde der Kunst we
find this statement : " Der Mensch ist ur-
spriinglich ein gar unschuldiges Wesen. Wenn
wir noch in der Wiege liegen, wird unser kleines
Gemiit von hundert unsichtbaren kleinen Gei-
stern genahrt und erzogen und in alien artigen
Kiinsten geiibt. So lernen wir durchs Lacheln
nach und nach frb'hlich sein, durchs Women
lernen wir traurig sein, durchs Angaffen mit
grossen Augen lernen wir, was erhaben ist, an-
beten," and so on. Neither Lessing nor Wack-
enroder had in mind precisely what is con-
noted by the James-Lange theory of emotions.
And yet, since James applies his hypothesis, in
his discussion of the " coarser " emotions, to
actors, Lessing's statement sounds peculiarly
like that of James, while Wackenroder's fits
in equally well in James's discussion of the
" subtler " emotions.
For the entire matter, see The Principles af
Psychology by William James, New York, 1905,
Vol. II, pp. 442-485; Lessing's Hamburgische
Dramaturgic, first edition, Vol. I, pp. 17-24;
and Wackenroder's Phantasien iiber die Kunst
fur Freunde der Kunst, edition of Heinrich
Spiess, Leipzig, 1903, pp. 164-165. Neither
Lessing nor Wackenroder was especially inter-
ested in psychology, and hence the elaboration
of the theory in question did not concern them ;
but a careful study of the whole text in which
the passages are found shows that they had, on
the whole, the same idea that Professor James
later worked out in detail. That he did not
know Lessing and Wackenroder in this con-
nection is proved by the fact that he states
(ibid., p. 450) that his hypothesis will doubt-
less be attacked, though unsuccessfully, and
that he does not mention either Lessing or
Wackenroder.
ALLEN WILSON PORTERFIELD.
BEIEP MENTION
Palmer's edition of Wilhelm Tell (Holt and
Company, 1915) has just received a new dress,
one that is in every way a marked improvement
upon the old. Although a set of Fragen by
Professor Purin has been added, the bulk of
the volume has, through a recasting of the
Vocabulary and various excisions — among
which that of the Bibliography is perhaps alone
to be regretted, — actually been reduced by some
ten pages. One feels willing to sacrifice some
of the ballast of learning for such an inspiring
passage as that from Bryant facing the fac-
simile of the original title-page. Nor has the
Vocabulary lost through a reduction to a mini-
mum of the references to lines, which in the
older form were a veritable pans asinorum.
Some old errors in both Notes and Vocabulary
have, to be sure, stuck. The following may
perhaps deserve correction:
(NOTES). It is not correct (p. 178) to say,
in general, that a new Szene implies a change
of place and stage-setting. — 1. 505 : hatten is,
of course, dependent upon tat es not. — 1. 1127:
dreie is anything but a rare form. — 1. 1343 :
not zuruckhalt but halt . . . zurilck. —
1. 2152 : doss (es) gebetet tverde is impossible
German. — 1. 2242 : wenn du dir's getrautest
is not ' if you were confident ' but ' if you
would undertake, would venture.' — 1. 2433 :
Stadt is distinctly not understood. — 1. 2780 :
The note confuses soil and sollte.
(VOCABULARY). Flug: im Flug not im
Fluge (1. 1949). — gerade: The form grade
is so common in the play that it should have
received recognition in the Vocabulary. — Ger-
sau is hardly a 'hamlet.' — Kriegs'drommete,
not Kriegsdrommete. — Runs : That Schiller's
form is der Runs is shown by the passage
printed in Euphorion, xix, 589. — Sim,ons und
Judd not Simon u. J. — Plural form of Wohn-
stdtte.
ERRATUM
On p. 225, col. 1, 1. 4 of Professor Holbrook's
review of Olmsted's grammar, the printer's er-
ror should be corrected so that the passage will
read : " Mr. 0. uses g to symbolize the voiced
explosive of words such as gant (instead of
g), and he," etc.
Barnard College.
INDEX TO VOLUME XXX, 1915.
Abraham Cupid 62
Adam's Motive 229-231
Adams, Jr., Joseph Quiney, Hamlet's
" Brave o'erhanging Firmament " . . . . 70—72
Aires morphologiques dans les parlers popu-
laires du nord-ouest de I'Angoumois,
Les — (see Terracher and Armstrong) 127-128
Albright, Evelyn May, Eating a Citation. . 201-206
All's Well that Ends Well, Notes on — 211-214
Allemagne, La Theologie dans le drame re-
ligieux en — au moyen age ( see Duriez
and Rudwin) 151-155
Allen, L. H., Three Plays by Friedrich
Hebbel. Introduction by — (see Heb-
bel and Campbell) '. 221-223
Alliteration, On Vowel — in the Old Ger-
manic Languages (see Classen and
Sturtevant) 108-114
— The Order of Monosyllables and Dissyl-
lables in — 175-176
— Vowel — in Modern Poetry 233-237
Alliterationspoesie, Die Variation in der
altgermanischen — (see Paetzel and
Kolbe) 20-23
AltfranzGsisches WSrterbuch, hrsg. von Er-
hard Lommatzsch (see Tobler and
Armstrong ) 232
Altgermanisch, Die Variation in der — en
Alliterationspoesie (see Paetzel and
Kolbe) 20-23
American-Scandinavian Foundation (see
Vos) 64
Anent Jerome and the Summoner's Friar . . 63-64
Angoumois, Les Aires morphologiques dans
les parlers populaires du nord-ouest
de 1' — (see Terracher and Armstrong) 127-128
Apocryphes dans le drame religieux en
Allemagne au moyen age, Les — (see
Duriez and Rudwin) 151-155
Appelmann, A. H., Longfellow's Poems on
Slavery in their Relationship to Freilig-
rath 101-102
Arcadia, The Seven Liberal Arts in Lope
de Vega's — 13-14
Armstrong, E. C.: Soltmann, H., Syntax
der Modi im modernen Franzosisch . . 128
— Terracher, A.-L., Les Aires morpholo-
giques dans les parlers populaires du
nord-ouest de I'Angoumois 127-128
— Tobler, Adolf, Altfranzosisches Worter-
buch, hrsg. von Erhard Lommatzsch . . 232
Arts, The Seven Liberal — in Lope de
Vega's Arcadia 13-14
As You Like It, II, vii, 139 f., A Note on — 94-95
Auguste, Les Poetes francais du
XIXe Siecle (see Henning) 79-81
Bailey, Margaret Lewis, Milton and Jakob
Boehme (see Barba) 60-61
Baker, George Merrick, Kleist, Heinrich
von, Prinz Friedrieh von Homburg.
Edited by — (see Kleist and Scholl) . . 26-28
Ballard, Anna Woods, Walter, Max, and
— , Beginners' French ( see Brush ) . . . 25-26
Balzac, Honore de, Eugenie Grandet. Ed-
ited by A. G. H. Spiers (see Borger-
hoff) * . 114-119
Barba, Preston A.: Bailey, Margaret
Lewis, Milton and Jakob Boehme.... 60-61
— Diez, Max, Ueber die Naturschilderung
in den Romanen Sealsfields 200
Barnouw, A. J., Beatrijs, a Middle Dutch
Legend ( see Vos ) 95-96
Baro, Rostand, Magne, and — 210-211
Barry, Phillips, Bells Ringing without
Hands 28-29
Beatrijs, a Middle Dutch Legend (see Bar-
nouw and Vos) 95-96
Becker von Klenze, Henrietta: Davidts,
Hermann, Die novellistische Kunst
Heinrichs von Kleist 47-50
— Friedemann, Kate, Die Rolle des Er-
zahlers in der Epik 47-50
— Gtinther, Kurt, Die Entwicklung der
novellistischen Kompositionstechnik
Kleists bis zur Meisterschaft 47-50
Bed's Head, Chaucer's — 5-12
Bede's Death Song 31
Beginners' French (see Walter, Ballard,
and Brush) 25-26
Bellows, Max, German-English and Eng-
lish-German Dictionary (see Vos)... 96
Bells Ringing without Hands 28-29, 160
Ben Jonson, A Note on Volume Two of
the 1640 Folio of — 's Plays 158
Benson, Adolph Burnett, The Old Norse
Element in Swedish Romanticism (see
Sturtevant) 227-229
Berdan, John M., Speke, Parrot. An In-
terpretation of Skelton's Satire 140-144
Bibel, Die erste deutsche — (see Kurrel-
meyer and Vos) 232
Biographical Notes on Gatien de Courtilz,
Sieur du Verger 136-139
Blanchard-Demouge, Paula, Guerras civiles
de Granada, Primera Parte. Ed. by —
(see P6rez de Hita and Morley) 176-182
Blessed Virgin, Chaucer and the Ho :rs of
the — 231-232
Blickling Homilies, A Note on the — 126-127
Boas, Frederick S., University Drama in
the Tudor Age (see Brooke) 149-151
11
INDEX TO VOLUME XXX, 1915.
Boehme, Milton and Jakob — (see Bailey
and Barba)
Books of Sir Simon de Burley, 1387, The —
Borgerhoff, J. L.: Balzac, Honorg de,
Eugfinie Grandet. Edited by A. G. H.
Spiers
— Daudet, Alplionse, Tartarin de Tarascon.
Edited by Barry Cerf
— David, H. C.-E., Chez nous
Bowen, B. L. : Fontaine, Andre C., Nou-
veau cours f rancais
Brandes, Herman, Dat Narrenschyp. Hrsg.
von — (see Ghetelen and Lasch) ....
Braut von Messina, Schiller, Die — (see
Breul and Carruth)
" Brave o'erhanging Firmament," Hamlet's
Brenner, C. D., The Influence of Cooper's
The Spy on Hauff's Liechtenstein
Breul, Karl, Schiller, Die Braut von Mes-
sina ( see Carruth )
Bronk, Isabelle, Notes on Mere
Brooke, Tucker: Boas, Frederick S., Uni-
versity Drama in the Tudor Age
Brown, Carleton, A Homiletical Debate be-
tween Heart and Eye
— Chaucer and the Hours of the Blessed
Virgin
Brush, M. P. : Gauss, Christian, Selections
from the Works of Jean-Jacques Rous-
seau
— Walter, Max, and Anna Woods Ballard,
Beginners' French
Burley, The Books of Sir Simon de — , 1387
Business English (see Lewis and French) .
But me no Buts
Buts, But me no —
Calvet, J., Saint Vincent de Paul, Textes
choisis et comments par — (see Saint
Vincent de Paul and Fischer)
Cambridge History of English Literature,
The — , Vol. XI (see Chew, Jr.)
Caminade, Gaston, Les Chants des Grecs et
le philhellenisme de Wilhelm Mliller
(see Hatfield)
Campion, John L., Zu Minnesangs Friih-
ling
Campbell, Gertrude H., The Swinish Mul-
titude
Campbell, T. M., Two Lines of Grillparzer
— Three Plays by Friedrich Hebbel. In-
troduction by L. H. Allen
Canibell, Eudaldo, Restitution del texto
primitiuo d'la Uida de Lazarillo de
Tormes (see Wagner)
Capen, Samuel P., Lessing's Nathan der
Weise (see Hoskins)
Carruth, W. H.: Breul, Karl, Schiller,
Die Braut von Messina
60-61
169-171
114-119
114-119
114-119
251-253
186-189
78-79
70-72
207-210
78-79
237-241
149-151
197-198
231-232
32
25-26
169-171
20
160
160
18-20
182-186
54-55
241-243
161-164
30-31
221-223
85-90
81-85
78-79
Castro, Amerieo, Introducci6n al estudio
de la Lingtilstica Romance, traduc-
ci6n por — (see Meyer-Liibke and
Marden) 32
Catalogue of the Icelandic Collection Be-
queathed by Willard Fiske (see Her-
mannsson and Hollander) 23—24
Cejador y Frauca, Julio, La Vida de Laza-
rillo de Tormes (see Wagner) 85-90
Cerf, Barry, Daudet, Alphonse, Tartarin de
Tarascon. Edited by — (see Daudet
and Borgerhoff) 114-119
Champion, Pierre, Francois Villon: sa Vie
et son Temps (see Holbrook) 56-60
Chants des Grecs et le philhelle'nisme de
Wilhelm Miiller, Les — (see Caminade
and Hatfield) 54-55
Chaucer and the Hours of the Blessed
Virgin 231-232
— and the Liturgy 97-99
— 's Bed's Head 5-12
— The Completeness of — 's Houa of Fame 65-68
— 's Troilus and Guillaume de Machaut. . 69
Chew, Jr., Samuel C.: The Cambridge
History of English Literature, Vol. XI 182-186
Chez nous (see David and Borgerhoff) . . . 114-119
Chilenismos, Diccionario de — (see Ro-
man and Marden ) 96
Chorus, The History of the — in the Ger-
man Drama (see Helmrich and Gillet) 16-18
Chretien de Troyes, Comfort's Translations
of — 29-30
Churchman, Philip H. : Mesonero Ro-
manos, Selections. Edited by G. T.
Northup 119-121
Citation, Eating a — 201-206
Classen, E., On Vowel Alliteration in the
Old Germanic Languages (see Sturte-
vant) 108-114
Coigny, Lettres a la Marquise de — (see
Ligne, Prince de, and Dargan) 199-200
Colby, Elbridge, Wintlirop and Curtis 62-63
Collitz, Hermann: Siprna, P., Phonology
and Grammar of Modern West Frisian 215-217
Comedies-Ballets de Moliere, Les — (see
Pellisson and Peirce) 51-54
Comfort's Translations of Chretien de
Troyes 29-30
Completeness of Chaucer's Hous of Fame,
The — 65-68
Comus, A Note on — 198-199
Concerning Theodore Winthrop 196-197
Concerning Christopher Smart 99-101
Conley, C. H., An Instance of the Fifteen
Signs of Judgment in Shakespeare. . . 41-44
Contrasts, Rhetorical — in Schiller's
Dramas— I. 129-136. —II 164-169
Cooper, The Influence of — 's The Spy on
Hauff's Lichtenstein 207-210
Corneille, The Dates of — 's Early Plays. . 1-5
INDEX TO VOLUME XXX, 1915.
in
Courtilz, Biographical Notes on Gatien de
— , Sieur du Verger 136-139
Crawford, A. W., O Proper Stuff!— Mac-
beth, III, iv, 60 158-160
Crawford, J. P. Wickersham, Sources of an
Eclogue of Francisco de la Torre.... 214-215
— The Seven Liberal Arts in Lope de
Vega's Arcadia 13-14
Cronan, Urban, Teatro espafiol del siglo
XVI. Tomo primero (see House)... 121-123
Cru, R. L., Lettres persanes by Montes-
quieu (see Dargan) 253-260
Cupid, Abraham — 62
Curtis, Winthrop and — 62-63
Dargan, E. Preston: Cru, R. L., Lettres
persanes by Montesquieu 253-260
— Dedieu, J., Montesquieu 253-260
— Gebelin, F., and Morize, A., Correspon-
dance de Montesquieu. 253-260
— Ligne, Prince de, Lettres a la Marquise
de Coigny 199-200
Date of Jonson's Tale of a Tub, The — . . . 93-94
Dates, The — of Corneille's Early Plays . . 1-5
Daudet, Alphonse, Tartarin de Tarascon.
Edited by Barry Cerf (see Borgerhoff) 114-119
David, H. C.-E., Chez nous (see Borgerhoff) 114-119
Davidts, Hermann, Die novellistische Kunst
Heinrichs von Kleist (see Becker von
Klenze) 47-50
Death Song, Bede's — 31
Debate, A Homiletical — between Heart
and Eye 197-198
Dedieu, J., Montesquieu (see Dargan) 253-260
Demouge, Guerras civiles de Granada, Pri-
mera Parte. Ed. by Paula Blanchard-
— (see Perez de Hita and Morley) . . . 176-182
Depuis with the Compound Tenses 243-244
Deutsch, Geschichte der — en Literatur
(see Stroebe, Whitney, and Froelicher) 72-76
Deutsches Lese- und Ubungsbuch (see Pro-
kosch and Vos )
D'Evelyn, Charlotte, Bede's Death Song. . . 31
Diccionario de Chilenismos (see Roman
and Marden ) 96
Diez, Max, Ueber die Naturschilderung in
den Romanen Sealsfields (see Barba) . 200
Dissyllables, The Order of Monosyllables
and — in Alliteration 175-176
Dominique, Wells' Passionate Friends and
Fromentin's — 125-126
Drama, The History of the Chorus in the
German — (see Helmrich and Gillet) 16-18
— University — in the Tudor Age (see
Boas and Brooke) 149-151
Dramas, Rhetorical Contrasts in Schiller's
—.—I. 129-136. —II 164-169
Drame, La Theologie dans le — religieux
en Allemagne au moyen age (see
Duriez and Rudwin) 151-155
Duriez, Georges, La ThCologie dans le
drame religieux en Allemagne au
moyen age (see Rudwin) 151-155
— Les Apocryphes dans le drame religieux
en Allemagne au moyen age (see Rud-
win) 151-155
Eating a Citation 201-206
Eclogue, Sources of an • — of Francisco de
la Torre 214-215
Edwards, Thomas — 's Sonnets 232
Elementary French Grammar (see Olmsted
and Holbrook) 223-227
Elson, Charles, Wieland and Shaftesbury
(see Schoenemann) 261-263
English, Business — (see Lewis and
French) 20
— German — and — German Dictionary
(see Bellows and Vos) 96
— Intrusive Nasals in — 45-47
— Literature, The Cambridge History of
— , Vol. XI (see Chew, Jr.) 182-186
— Prose Fiction, Notes on Early — 246-247
Entwicklung der novellistischen Komposi-
tionstechnik Kleists bis zur Meister-
shaft, Die — (see Gilnther and Becker
von Klenze) 47-50
Epik, Die Rolle des Erziihlers in der —
(see Friedemann and Becker von
Klenze) 47-50
Erratum 264
Erste deutsche Bibel, Die — (see Kurrel-
meyer and Vos) 232
Espanol, Teatro — del siglo XVI. Tomo
primero (see Cronan and House).... 121-123
Essai de renovation thCatrale: "Die Mak-
kabaer " d'Otto Ludwig, Un — ( see
Falconnet and Hess) 247-251
E, The Loss of Unaccented — in the
" Transition Period " 39-41
Etudes de grammaire franchise logique (see
Guillaume and Laubscher) 76-78
Eugenie Grandet, Balzac, Honorg de, — .
Edited by A. G. H. Spiers (see Balzac
and Borgerhoff) 114-119
Evans, M. Blakemore, Schiller's Attitude
toward German and Roman Type as
Indicated in his Letters 12-13
Eye, A Homiletical Debate between Heart
and — . 197-198
Falconnet, Lucien, Un Essai de renovation
thCfttrale: "Die Makkabaer " d'Otto
Ludwig (see Hess) 247-251
Fiction, Notes on Early English Prose — . 246-247
Fifteen Signs of Judgment, An Instance
of the — in Shakespeare 41-44
Fischer, Walther: Saint Vincent de Paul,
Textes choisis et commented par J.
Calvet. . 18-20
IV
INDEX TO VOLUME XXX, 1915.
Fishermen, Idylls of — (see Hall and Mus-
tard) 96
Fiske, Willard, Catalogue of the Icelandic
Collection Bequeathed by — (see Her-
mannsson and Hollander ) 23-24
Fontaine, Andre C., Nouveau cours fran-
cais (see Bowen) 251-253
Fortune, The Interior of the — 195
Foulet, Lucien, Le Roman de Renard (see
Nitze) —I. 145-149. —II 189-195
France, Leopard! et la — (see Serban and
Hamilton) 155-158
Francais, Etudes de grammaire — e logique
(see Guillaume and Laubscher) 76-78
— Les Poetes — du XIXe Siecle (see Au-
zas and Henning) 79-81
— Nouveau cours — (see Fontaine and
Bowen) 251-253
Franzosisch, Syntax der Modi im modernen
— (see Soltmann and Armstrong)... 128
Frauca, Cejador y — , Julio, La Vida de
Lazarillo de Tonnes (see Wagner) .. . 85-90
Freiligrath, Longfellow's Poems on Slavery
in their Relationship to — 101-102
French, Beginners' — (see Walter, Bal-
lard, and Brush) 25-26
— Grammar, Elementary — (see Olmsted
and Holbrook) 223-227
French, John C.: Lewis, Edwin Herbert,
Business English 20
Friedemann, Kate, Die Rolle des Erzahlers
in der Epik (see Becker von Klenze) . 47-50
Frisian, Phonology and Grammar of Mod-
ern West — (see Sipma and Collitz) . 215-217
Froelicher, Hans: Stroebe, Lilian L., and
Marian P. Whitney, Geschichte der
deutschen Literatur 72-76
Fromentin, Wells' Passionate Friends and
— 's Dominique 125—126
Futurismus, Italienische Literatur der Ge-
genwart, von der Romantik zum —
(see Vossler and Wilkins) 217-220
Gascoigne, Greene and — 61-62
Gatien de Courtilz, Biographical Notes on
— , Sieur du Verger 136-139
Gauss, Christian, Selections from the
Works of Jean- Jacques Rousseau (see
Brush) 32
Gawayne, Sir — and the Green Knight.
E. E. T. S., 4 (see Knott) 102-108
— and the Green Knight. E. E. T. S., 4,
fourth edition. By I. Gollancz (see
Knott) 102-108
Gawayne, Syr — : A Collection of An-
cient Romance-Poems. By Sir Fred-
eric Madden (see Knott) 102-108
Gebelin, F., and Morize, A., Correspondance
de Montesquieu (see Dargan) 253-260
German Drama, The History of the Chorus
in the — (see Helmrich and Gillet) . . 16-18
English and English-German Dictionary
(see Bellows and Vos) 96
— Schiller's Attitude toward — and Ro-
man Type as Indicated in his Letters. 12-13
Germanic Languages, On Vowel Allitera-
tion in the Old — (see Classen and
Sturtevant) 108-114
Geschichte der deutschen Literatur (see
Stroebe, Whitney, and Froelicher) 72-76
Ghetelen, Hans van, Dat Narrenschyp.
Hrsg. von Herman Brandes (seeLasch) 186-189
Gillet, Jos. E.: Helmrich, Elsie Wini-
fred, The History of the Chorus in the
German Drama 16-18
Goethe, Jahrbuch der — -Gesellschaft (see
Vos) 127
Gollancz, Sir Gawayne and the Green
Knight. E. E. T. S., 4, fourth edition.
By I. — (see Knott) 102-108
Graham, Walter, Notes on Sir Walter Scott 14-16
Grammaire, Etudes de — franchise logique
(see Guillaume and Laubscher) 76-78
Grammar, Elementary French — (see Olm-
sted and Holbrook) 223-227
— Phonology and — of Modern West Fris-
ian (see Sipma and Collitz) 215-217
Granada, Guerras civiles de — , Primera
Parte. Ed. by Paula Blanchard-De-
mouge (see P6rez de Hita and Morley) 176-182
Grandet, Balzac, Honors de, Eugenie — .
Edited by A. G. H. Spiers (see Balzac
and Borgerhoff) 114-119
Gray, Henry David, Greene as a Collabora-
tor 244-246
Green Knight, Sir Gawayne and the — .
E. E. T. S., 4 (see Knott) 102-108
— Sir Gawayne and the — . E. E. T. S.,
4, fourth edition. By I. Gollancz (see
Knott) 102-108
Greene and Gascoigne 61-62
— as a Collaborator 244-246
Gregor, L. R., Die Harzreise, ed. by —
(see Heine and Vos) 200
Grillparzer, Two Lines of — 30-31
Grudzinski, H., Shaftesburys Einfluss auf
Chr. M. Wieland (see Schoenemann) . 261-263
Guerras civiles de Granada, Primera Parte.
Ed. by Paula Blanchard-Demouge (see
Perez de Hita and Morley) 176-182
Guillaume, F. G., Etudes de grammaire
frangaise logique (see Laubscher) .... 76-78
Guillaume de Maehaut, Chaucer's Troilus
and — 69
Gunther, Kurt, Die Entwicklung der novel-
listischen Kompositionstechnik Kleists
bis zur Meisterschaft (see Becker von
Klenze) 47-50
INDEX TO VOLUME XXX, 1915.
Hall, Henry Marion, Idylls of Fishermen
(see Mustard) gg
Hamilton, George L.: Serban, N., Leo-
pardi et la France 155-158
— Serban, N., Leopardi sentimental 155-158
— Serban, N., Lettres infidites relatives ft
Giacomo Leopardi 155-158
Hamlet's ".Brave o'erhanging Firmament" 70-72
Harvitt, Helen J., Wells' Passionate Friends
and Fromentin's Dominique 125-126
Harzreise, Die — , ed. by L. R. Gregor
(see Heine and Vos) 200
Hatfield, James Taft: Caminade, Gaston,
Les Chants des Grecs et le philhelle'-
nisme de Wilhelm MUller 54-55
Hauff, The Influence of Cooper's The Spy
on — 's Lichtenstein 207-210
Heart, A Homiletical Debate between —
and Eye 197-198
Hebbel, Friedrich, Three Plays by — . In-
troduction by L. H. Allen (see Camp-
bell) 221-223
Heine, Heinrich, Die Harzreise, ed. by L. R.
Gregor ( see Vos) 200
Helmrich, Elsie Winifred, The History of
the Chorus in the German Drama
(see Gillet) 16-18
Henning, Geo. N. : Auzas, Auguste, Les
Poetes francais du XIXe SiScle 79-81
Hermannsson, Halldor, Catalogue of the
Icelandic Collection Bequeathed by
Willard Fiske (see Hollander) 23-24
Hess, John A. : Falconnet, Lucien, Un Essai
de renovation theatrale: "Die Mak-
kabaer" d'Otto Ludwig 247-251
Ilibbard, Laura A., The Books of Sir
Simon de Hurley, 1387 169-171
History of the Chorus in the German
Drama, The - • (see Helmrich and
Gillet) ie-18
— of English Literature, The Cambridge
— , Vol. XI (see Chew, Jr.) 182-186
Holbrook, R. T.: Champion, Pierre, Fran-
cois Villon: sa Vie et son Temps 56-60
— Olmsted, Everett Ward, Elementary
French Grammar 223-227
Hollander, L. M. : Hermannsson, Halldor,
Catalogue of the Icelandic Collection
Bequeathed by William Fiske 23-24
Homiletical Debate between Heart and Eye,
A -- 197-198
Homilies, A Note on the Blickling — 126-127
Home, R. H., On — 's Orion 33-39
Hoskins, John Preston: Capen, Samuel
P., Lessing's Nathan der Weise 81-85
Hours of the Blessed Virgin, Chaucer and
the — 231-232
Hous of Fame, The Completeness of Chau-
cer's — 65-68
House, Ralph E. : Cronan, Urban, Teatro
espafiol del siglo XVI. Tomo primero 121-123
House, Roy Temple, ffoires Saiea 195-196
Hugo, La Part de Charles Nodier dans la
Formation des Idees Romantiques de
Victor — (see Schcnck and Smith) .. 90-93
Icelandic Collection, Catalogue of the —
Bequeathed by William Fiske (see Her-
mannsson and Hollander) 23-24
Idylls of Fishermen (see Hall and Mustard) 96
Imperfect Subjunctive, The — in Provencal 44-45
Influence of Cooper's The Spy on Hauff's
Lichtenstein, The — 207-210
Interior of the Fortune, The — 195
Introduccifin al estudio de la LingUIstica
Romance (see Meyer-LUbke, Castro
and Marden) 33
Intrusive Nasals in English 45-47
Italienische Literatur der Gegenwart, von
der Romantik zum Futurismus (see
Vossler and Wilkins) 217-220
Jahrbuch der Goethe-Gesellschaft (see Vos) 127
James, William, Lessing and Wackenroder
as Anticipators of — 263-264
Jensen, Gerard E., Abraham Cupid 62
— Concerning Christopher Smart 99-100
Jerome, Anent - - and the Summoner's
Friar 63-64
Johnson, Elizabeth Winthrop, Concerning
Theodore Winthrop 196-197
Jonson, A Note on Volume Two of the 1640
Folio of Ben — 's Plays 158
— The Date of — 's Tale of a Tub 93-94
Jordan, John Clark, Greene and Gascoigne 61-62
Judgment, An Instance of the Fifteen
Signs of — in Shakespeare 41-44
Kelly, Edythe Grace, Comfort's Transla-
tions of Chretien de Troyes 29-30
Kittredge, G. L., Chaucer's Troilue and
Guillaume de Machaut 69
Kleist, Heinrich von, Prinz Friedrich von
Homburg. Edited by George Merrick
Baker ( see Scholl ) 26-28
— Die Entwicklung der novellistischen
Kompositionstechnik — s bis zur Meis-
terschaft (see GUnther and Becker von
Klenze) 47-50
— Die novellistische Kunst Heinrichs von
— (see Davidts and Becker von
Klenze) 47_50
Knott, Thomas A.: Sir Gawayne and the
Green Kji^ht. E. E. T. S., 4 102-108
— Sir Gawayne and the Green Knight. E.
E. T. S., 4, fourth edition. By I. Gol-
lancz 102-108
VI
INDEX TO VOLUME XXX, 1915.
Knott, Thomas A. : Syr Gawayne : A Col-
lection of Ancient Romance-Poems,
liy Sir Frederic Madden 102-108
Kolbe, P. R. : Paetzel, Walther, Die Varia-
tion in der altgermaniachen Allitera-
tionspoesie 20-23
Kueffner, Louise Mallinckrodt, Orphic
Echoes in Modern Lyric Poetry : Ernst
Lissauer's Der Strom 172-175
Kurrelmeyer, William, Die erste deutsche
Bibel (see Vos) 232
Lancaster, H. Cariington, Rostand, Magne,
and Baro 210-211
— The Dates of Corneille's Early Plays. . . 1-5
Lasch, Agathe: Ghetelen, Hans van, Dat
Narrenschyp. Hrsg. von Herman
Brandes 180-189
Laubscher, Gustav G., Depuis with the
Compound Tenses 243-244
— Guillaume, F. G., Etudes de grammaire
franchise logique 76-78
Lazarillo de Tormes, La Vida de — (see
Cejador y Frauca and Wagner) 85-90
— La Vida de — (see Sorrento and Wag-
ner) 85-90
— Restitucion del texto primitiuo d'la
Uida de — (see Canibell and Wagner) 85-90
Leopardi et la France (see Serban and
Hamilton) 155-158
— sentimental (see Serban and Hamilton) 155-158
— Lettres inedites relatives ft Giacomo —
(see Serban and Hamilton) 155-158
Lessing and Wackenroder as Anticipators
of William James 263-264
— 's Nathan der Weise (see Capen and
Hoskins) 81-85
Lettres ft la Marquise de Coigny ( see Ligne,
Prince de, and Dargan) 199-200
— inedites relatives ft Giacomo Leopardi
(see Serban and Hamilton) 155-158
— persancs by Montesquieu (see Cru and
Dargan) 253-260
Lewis, Edwin Herbert, Business English
( see French ) 20
Liberal Arts, The Seven — in Lope de
Vega's Arcadia 13-14
Lichtenstein, The Influence of Cooper's
The Spy on Hauff's — 207-210
Ligne, Prince de, Lettres ft la Marquise de
Coigny (see Dargan) 199-200
Lissauer, Ernst, Orphic Echoes in Modern
Lyric Poetry: — 's Der Strom 172-175
Literature, The Cambridge History of Eng-
lish — , Vol XI (see Chew, Jr.) 182-186
Liturgy, Chaucer and the — 97-99
Lommatzsch, Erhard, Tobler, Adolf, Alt-
franziisisches Wcirterbuch, hrsg. von
— (see Tobler and Armstrong) 232
Long, Percy W. : Spenser, Edmund, The
Poetical Works. Edited by J. C.
Smith and E. de Selincourt 123-125
Longfellow's Poems on Slavery in their
Relationship to Freiligrath 101-102
Lope de Vega, The Seven Liberal Arts in
— 's Arcadia 13-14
Loss of Unaccented JH in the " Transition
Period," The — 39-41
Ludwig, Otto, Un Essai de renovation theH-
trale: "Die Makkabiicr " d' — (see
Falconnet and Hess) 247-251
Lyric Poetry, Orphic Echoes in Modern
— : Ernst Lissauer's Der Strom 172-175
Macbeth, III, iv, 60, O Proper Stuff1! 158-160
McCobb, A. L., The Loss of Unaccented E
in the " Transition Period " 39-41
Machaut, Chaucer's Troilus and Guil-
laume de — 69
Madden, Syr Gawayne: A Collection of
Ancient Romance-Poems. By Sir
Frederic — (see Knott) 102-108
Magne, Rostand, — , and Baro 210-211
Makkabiier, Un Essai de renovation thfia-
trale: "Die — " d'Otto Ludwig (see
Falconnet and Hess) 247-251
Marden, C. C. : Menfindez y Pelayo, Orf-
genes de la novela, IV 128
— Meyer-LUbke, IntroducciSn al estudio de
la Lingiilstica Romance 32
— Roman, Manuel Antonio, Diccionario de
Chilenismos 96
Menendez y Pelayo, M., Orfgenes de la no-
vela, IV (see Marden) 128
M6r£, Notes on — 237-241
Mesonero Romanes, Selections edited by
G. T. Northup (see Churchman) 119-121
Messina, Schiller, Die Braut von — (see
Breul and Carruth) 78-79
Meyer-Liibke, Introduccion al estudio de la
Lingiifstica Romance (see Marden).. 32
Middle Dutch, Beatrijs, a — Legend (see
Barnouw and Vos) 95-96
Milton and Jakob Boehme (see Bailey and
Barba ) 00-61
Minnesangs Fruhling, Zu — 241-243
Modern West Frisian, Phonology and
Grammar of — (see Sipma and Col-
Htz) 215-217
Modi, Syntax der — im modernen FranzS-
sisch (see Soltmann and Armstrong) . 128
Moliere, Les Comedies-Ballets de — (see
Pellisson and Peirce) 51-54
Monosyllables, The Order of — and Dis-
syllables in Alliteration 175-176
Montesquieu (see Dedieu and Dargan)... 253-260
— Correspondance de — (see Gebelin,
Morize, and Dargan) 253-260
INDEX TO VOLUME XXX, 1915.
vn
Montesquieu, Lettres persanes by — (see
Cru and Dargan) 253-200
Morize, A., Gebelin, F., and — , Correspon-
dance de Montesquieu (see Dargan) . . 253-200
Morley, S. Griswold: Perez de Hita, Gue-
rras civiles de uranada, Primera Parte.
Ed. by Paula Blanchard-Demouge 170-182
Miiller, Wilhelm, Les Chants des Grecs et
le philhellenisme de — (see Caminade
and Hatfield) 54-55
Multitude, The Swinish — 161-164
Mustard, W. P.: Hall, Henry Marion,
Idylls of Fishermen 96
— The Piscatory Eclogues of Jacopo San-
nazaro (see Warren) 64
Narrenschyp, Dat — . Hrsg. von Herman
Brandes ( see Ghetelen and Lasch ) . . . 186-189
Nasals, Intrusive — in English 45-47
Nathan der Weise, Lessing's — (see Capen
and Hoskins ) 81-85
Naturschilderung in den Romanen Seals-
fields, Ueber die — (see Diez and
Barba) 200
Nitze, Wm. A.: Foulet, Lucien, Le Roman
de Renard. — I. 145-149. — II 189-195
Nodier, La Part de Charles — dans la For-
mation des Idfies Romantiques de Vic-
tor Hugo (see Schenck and Smith) .. 90-93
TVoires Kaies 195-196
Norse, The Old — Element in Swedish
Romanticism (see Benson and Stur-
tevant) 227-229
North up, G. T., Mesonero Romanes, Selec-
tions. Edited by — (see Churchman) 119-121
Note on As You Like It, II, vii, 139 f.,
A -- 94-95
— on Comus, A — 198-199
— on the BUclcling Homilies, A — 126-127
— on Volume Two of the 1040 Folio of
Ben Jonson's Plays, A — 158
Notes on All's Well that Ends Well 211-214
— on Early English Prose Fiction 246-247
— on Mer6 237-241
— on Sir Walter Scott 14-16
Nouveau cours francais (see Fontaine and
Bowen) 251-253
Novela, Orlgenes de la — , IV (see Mengn-
dez y Pelayo and Marden) 128
Novellistische Kunst Heinrichs von Kleist,
Die — (see Davidts and Becker von
Klenze) 47-50
0 Proper Stuff!— Macbeth, III, iv, 60 158-160
Old Germanic Languages, On Vowel Allit-
eration in the — (see Classen and
Sturtevant) 108-114
— Norse Element in Swedish Romanticism,
The — (see Benson and Sturtevant) . 227-229
Olivero, Federico, On R. H. Home's Orion 33-39
Olmsted, Everett Ward, Elementary French
Grammar (see Holbrook) 223-227
Order of Monosyllables and Dissyllables in
Alliteration, The — 175-176
Orlgenes de la novela, IV (see Menendez
y Pelayo and Marden) 128
Orion, On R. H. Home's — 33-39
Orphic Echoes in Modern Lyric Poetry:
Ernst Lissauer's Der Strom 172-175
Paetzel, Walther, Die Variation in der alt-
germanischen Alliterationspoesie (see
Kolbe) 20-23
Palmer, Wilhelm Tell, ed. by — , new edi-
tion (see Schiller and Vos) 264
Parrot, Speke, — . An Interpretation of
Skelton's Satire 140-144
Part de Charles Nodier dans la Formation
des Idees Romantiques de Victor Hugo,
La — (see Schenck and Smith) 90-93
Passionate friends, Wells' — and Fromen-
tin's Dominique 125-126
Paul, Saint Vincent de — , Textes choisis
et commentes par J. Calvet (see Saint
Vincent de Paul and Fischer) 18-20
Peirce, Walter: Pellisson, Maurice, Les
Comedies-Ballets de MoliSre 51-54
Pelayo, MenSndez y — , Orfgenes de la no-
vela, IV (see Men6ndez y Pelayo and
Marden ) j2g
Pellisson, Maurice, Les Comedies-Ballets
de Moliere (see Peirce) 51-54
Perez de Hita, Guerras civiles de Granada,
Primera Parte. Ed. by Paula Blan-
chard-Demouge (see Morley) 176-182
Phonology and Grammar of Modern West
Frisian (see Sipma and Collitz) 215-2U
Piscatory Eclogues of Jacopo Sannazaro,
The — (see Mustard and Warren) . . 64
Poems on Slavery, Longfellow's — in their
Relationship to Freiligrath 101-102
Poetes francais du XIXe Siecle, Les —
(see Auzas and Henning) 79-81
Poetry, Vowel Alliteration in Modern — . . 233-237
Porterfield, Allen Wilson, Lessing and
Wackenroder as Anticipators of Will-
iam James 263-264
— Rhetorical Contrasts in Schiller's Dra-
mas.—I. 129-136. — II 164-169
Potter, Alfred Claghorn, But me no Buts. 160
Pound, Louise, Intrusive Nasals in English 45-17
Prinz Friedrich von Homburg. Edited by
George Merrick Baker (see Kleist and
Scholl ) 26-28
Prokosch, Deutsches Lese- und Ubungs-
buch (see Vos) 32
Proper Stuff, 0 — ! —Macbeth, III, iv, 60 158-160
Provencal, The Imper^ct Subjunctive in — 44-45
Vlll
INDEX TO VOLUME XXX, 1915.
Renard, Le Roman de — (see Foulet and
Nitze) .—I. 145-149. —II 189-195
Restitucion del texto primitiuo d'la Uida
de Lazarillo de Tormes (see Canibell
and Wagner) 85-90
Rhetorical Contrasts in Schiller's Dramas.
—I. 129-136. —II 164-109
llinaker, Clarissa, Thomas Edwards's Son-
nets 232
Rolle des Erzilhlers in der Epik, Die -
(see Friedemann and Becker von
Klenze) 47-50
Roman, Manuel Antonio, Diccionario de
Chilenismos (see Harden) 96
Roman de Renard, Le — • (see Foulet and
Nitze).— I. 145-149. —II 189-195
Roman Type, Schiller's Attitude toward
German and — as Indicated in his
Letters 12-13
Romance, Introduccion al estudio de la
Lingiilstica — (see Meyer-Liibke and
Harden) 32
Romanes, Mesonero — , Selections. Edited
by G. T. Northup (see Churchman) .. 119-121
Romanticism, The Old Norse Element in
Swedish — (see Benson and Sturte-
vant) 227-229
Romantik, Italienische Literatur der Ge-
genwart, von der — zum Futurismus
(see Vossler and Wilkins) 217-220
Rostand, Magne, and Baro 210-211
Rousseau, Jean-Jacques, Selections from
the Works of — (see Gauss and Brush) 32
Rudwin, Haximilian Josef: Duriez,
Georges, La i'heologie dans le drame
religieux en Allemagne au moyen age. 151-155
— Duriez, Georges, Les Apocryphes dans
le drame religieux en Allemagne au
moyen age 151-155
Saies, Noires — 195-196
Saint Vincent de Paul, Textes choisis et
commented par J. Calvet (see Fischer) 18-20
Sampson, Martin W., The Interior of the
Fortune 195
Sannazaro, The Piscatory Eclogues of
Jacopo — (see Mustard and Warren) 64
Scandinavian, American-— Foundation
(see Vos) 64
Schenck, Eunice M., La Part de Charles
Nodier dans la Formation des Id^es
Romantiques de Victor Hugo (see
Smith) 90-93
Schiller, Die Braut von Messina (see Breul
and Carruth) 78-79
— Rhetorical Contrasts in — 's Dramas. — I.
128-136. —II 164-169
— Wilhelm Tell, ed. by Palmer, new edi-
tion (see Vos) 264
Schiller's Attitude toward German and Ro-
man Type as Indicated in his Letters. 12-13
Schoenemann, F. : Elson, Charles, Wieland
and Shaftesbury 261-263
— Grudzinski, H., Shaftesburys Einfluss
auf Chr. M. Wieland 261-263
Scholl, John William: Kleist, Heinrich
von, Prinz Friedrich von Homburg.
Edited by George Merrick Baker 26-28
Scott, Fred Newton, Vowel Alliteration in
Modern Poetry 233-237
Scott, Notes on Sir Walter — 14-16
Sealsfleld, Ueber die Naturschilderung in
den Romanen — s (see Diez and Barba) 200
Selections from the Works of Jean-Jacques
Rousseau ( see Gauss and Brush ) . . . . 32
Solincourt, E. de, Spenser, Edmund, The
Poetical Works. Edited by J. C. Smith
and — (see Spenser and Long) 123-125
Serban, N., Leopardi et la France (see
Hamilton) 155-158
— Leopardi sentimental (see Hamilton).. 155—158
— Lettres incites relatives a Giacomo
Leopardi (see Hamilton) 155-158
Seven Liberal Arts in Lope de Vega's Ar-
cadia, The — 13-14
Shaftesbury, Wieland and — (see Elson
and Schoenemann) 261-263
— 's Einfluss auf Chr. M. Wieland (see
Grudzinski and Schoenemann) 261-263
Shakespeare, An Instance of the Fifteen
Signs of Judgment in — - 41-44
Sliepard, William Pierce, The Imperfect
Subjunctive in Provengal 44-45
Signs of Judgment, An Instance of the Fif-
teen — in Shakespeare 41—44
Simon de Burley, The Books of Sir — , 1387 169-171
Sipma, P., Phonology and Grammar of
Modern West Frisian (see Collitz) .. . 215-217
Sir Gawayne and the Green Knight. E. E.
T. S., 4 (see Knott) 102-108
— and the Green Knight. E. E. T. S., 4,
fourth edition. By I. Gollancz (see
Knott) 102-108
Skelton, Speke, Parrot. An Interpretation
of — 's Satire 140-144
Slavery, Longfellow's Poems on — in their
Relationship to Freiligrath 101-102
Smart, Concerning Christopher — 99-101
Smith, Horatio E. : Sehenck, Eunice M.,
La Part de Charles Nodier dans la
Formation des Idfies Romantiques de
Victor Hugo 90-93
Smith, J. C., Spenser, Edmund, The Poet-
ical Works. Edited by — and E. de
Selincourt (see Spenser and Long) . . . 123-125
Smith, Winifred, A Note on As You Like
It, II, vii, 139 f 94-95
Snell, Florence M., A Note on Volume Two
of the 1640 Folio of Ben Jonson's Plays 158
— The Date of Jonson's Tale of a Tub 93-94
INDEX TO VOLUME XXX, 1915.
Soltmann, H., Syntax der Modi im mo-
dernen Franzcisisch (see Armstrong) . 128
Sorrento, L., La Vida de Lazarillo de
Tormes (see Wagner) 85-90
Sources of an Eclogue of Francisco de la
Torre 214-215
Speke, Parrot. An Interpretation of Skel-
ton's Satire 140-144
Spenser, Edmund, The Poetical Works.
Edited by J. C. Smith and E. de S61in-
court (see Long) 123-125
Spiers, A. G. H., Balzac, Honor6 de, Eu-
ggnie Grandet. Edited by — (see Bal-
zac and Borgerhoff) 114-119
Spy, The Influence of Cooper's The — on
Hauff's Lichtenstem 207-210
Stroebe, Lilian L., und Marian P. Whitney,
Geschichte der deutschen Literatur
( see Froelicher) 72-76
Strom, Orphic Echoes in Modern Lyric
Poetry: Ernst Lissauer's Der — 172-175
Sturtevant, Albert Morey: Benson, Adolph
Burnett, The Old Norse Element in
Swedish Romanticism 227-229
— Classen, E., On Vowel Alliteration in the
Old Germanic Languages 108—114
Subjunctive, The Imperfect — in Provencal 44-45
Summoner's Friar, Anent Jerome and the — 63—64
Swaen, A. E. H., A Note on the Blickling
Homilies 126-127
Swedish Romanticism, The Old Norse Ele-
ment in — (see Benson and Sturte-
vant) 227-229
Swinish Multitude, The — 161-164
Syntax der Modi im modernen Franzosisch
(see Soltmann and Armstrong) 128
Sypherd, W. 0., The Completeness of Chau-
cer's Bous of Fame 65-68
Syr Gawayne: A Collection of Ancient Ro-
mance-Poems. By Sir Frederic Mad-
den (see Knott) 102-108
Tale of a Tub, The Date of Jonson's — . . 93-94
Tarascon, Daudet, Alphonse, Tartarin de
— . Edited by Barry Cerf (see Daudet
and Borgerhoff) 114-119
Tartarin de Tarascon, Daudet, Alphonse,
— . Edited by Barry Cerf (see Daudet
and Borgerhoff) 114-119
Tatloek, John S. P., Bells Ringing without
Hands 160
Teatro espanol del siglo XVI. Tomo pri-
mero (see Cronan and House) 121-123
Tenses, Depuis with the Compound — . . . . 243-244
Terraeher, A.-L., Lea Aires morphologiques
dans les parlers populaires du nord-
ouest de 1'Angoumois (see Armstrong) 127-128
The'ologie dans le drame religieux en Alle-
magne au moyen age, La — (see Du-
riez and Rudwin) 151-155
Tilley, M. P., Notes on All's Well that
Ends Well 211-214
Tobler, Adolf, Altfranziisisches Worterbuch,
hrsg. von Erliard Lommatzsch (see
Armstrong) 232
Tormes, La Vida de Lazarillo de — (see
Cejador y Frauca and Wagner) 85-90
— La Vida de Lazarillo de — (see So-
rrento and Wagner) 85-90
— Restitucion del texto primitiuo d'la Uida
de Lazarillo de — (see Canibell and
Wagner) 85-90
Torre, Sources of an Eclogue of Francisco
de la — 214-215
" Transition Period," The Loss of Unac-
cented E in the — 39-41
Troilus, Chaucer's — and Guillaume de
Machaut 69
Troyes, Comfort's Translations of Chretien
de — 29-30
Tudor, University Drama in the — Age
(see Boas and Brooke) 149-151
Tupper, Frederick, Anent Jerome and the
Summoner's Friar 63-64
— Chaucer's Bed's Head 5-12
Two Lines of Grillparzer 30-31
Uida de Lazarillo de Tormes, Restitucion
del texto primitiuo d'la — (see Cani-
bell and Wagner) 85-90
Unaccented E, The Loss of — in the
" Transition Period " 39-41
University Drama in the Tudor Age (see
Boas and Brooke) 149-151
Upham, A. H., Notes on Early English
Prose Fiction 246-247
Van Ghetelen, Hans, Dat Narrenschyp.
Hrsg. von Herman Brandes (seeLasch) 186-189
Vann, W. H., A Note on Comas 198-199
Variation in der altgermanischen Allitera-
tionspoesie, Die — (see Paetzel and
Kolbe) 20-23
Vega, The Seven Liberal Arts in Lope de
— 'a Arcadia 13-14
Verger, Biographical Notes on Gatien de
Courtilz, Sieur du — 136-139
Vida de Lazarillo de Tormes, La — (see
Cejador y Frauca and Wagner) 85-90
— de Lazarillo de Tormes, La — (see So-
rrento and Wagner ) 85-90
Villon, Francois — : sa Vie et son Temps
(see Champion and Holbroolr* 56-60
Vincent de Paul, Saint — , Textes choisis
et commentes par J. Calvet (see
Fischer) 18-20
Virgin, Chaucer anc" the Hours of the
Blessed — . . 231-232
INDEX TO VOLUME XXX, 1915.
Vos, B. J. : American-Scandinavian Foun-
dation 64
— Barnouw, A. J., Beatrijs, a Middle Dutch
Legend 95-96
— Bellows, Max, German-English and Eng-
lish-German Dictionary 96
— Heine, Heinrich, Die Harzreise, ed. by
L. R. Gregor 200
— Jahrbuch der Goethe-G«sellschaft 127
— Kurrelmeyer, William, Die erste deutsche
Bibel 232
— Prokosch, Deutsches Lese- und Ubungs-
buch 32
— Schiller, Fr., Wilhelm Tell, ed. by
Palmer, new edition 264
Vossler, Karl, Italienische Literatur der
Gegenwart, von der Romantik zum
Futurismus (see Wilkins) 217-220
Vowel Alliteration in Modern Poetry 233-237
— Alliteration in the Old Germanic Lan-
guages, On — (see Classen and Stur-
tevant) 108-114
Wackenroder, Leasing and — as Anticipa-
tors of William James 263-264
Wagner, Charles Philip: Canibell, Eu-
daldo, Restitucion del texto primitiuo
d'la Uida de Lazarillo de Tormes 85-90
— Cejador y Frauca, Julio, La Vida de
Lazarillo de Tormes 85-90
Wagner, Charles Philip: Sorrento, L., La
Vida de Lazarillo de Tormes 85-90
Walter, Max, and Anna Woods Ballard,
Beginners' French ( see Brush ) 25-26
Warren, F. M.: Mustard, W. P., The Pis-
catory Eclogues of Jacopo Sannazaro. 64
Wells' Passionate Friends and Fromen-
tin's Dominique 125-126
West Frisian, Phonology and Grammar of
Modern — (see Sipma and Collitz) . . 215-217
White, Elliott A., Adam's Motive 229-231
Whitney, Stroebe, Lilian L., and Marian
P. — , Geschichte der deutschen Li-
teratur (see JTroelicher) 72-76
Whyte, John, The Order of Monosyllables
and Dissyllables in Alliteration 175-176
Wieland and Shaftesbury (see Elson and
Schoenemann) 261-263
— Shaftesburys Einfluss auf Chr. M. —
(see Grudzinski and Schoenemann) . . 261-263
Wilhelm Tell, ed. by Palmer, new edition
(see Schiller and Vos) 264
Wilkins, Ernest H. : Vossler, Karl, Italieni-
sche Literatur der Gegenwart, von der
Romantik zum Futurismus 217-220
Winthrop and Curtis 62-63
— Concerning Theodore — 196-197
VVoodbridge, Benjamin M., Biographical
Notes on Gatien de Courtilz, Sieur du
Verger 136-139
Young, Karl, Chaucer and the Liturgy 97-99
PB Modern langu&ge notes
1
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