It is, perhaps, somewhat mortifying in our literary researches to
discover that our own literature has been only known to the other
nations of Europe comparatively within recent times. We have at length
triumphed over our continental rivals in the noble struggles of genius,
and our authors now see their works printed even at foreign presses,
while we are furnishing with our gratuitous labours nearly the whole
literature of a new empire; yet so late as in the reign of Anne, our
poets were only known by the Latin versifiers of the "Musae Anglicanae;"
and when Boileau was told of the public funeral of Dryden, he was
pleased with the national honours bestowed on genius, but he declared
that he never heard of his name before. This great legislator of
Parnassus has never alluded to one of our own poets, so insular then was
our literary glory! The most remarkable fact, or perhaps assertion, I
have met with, of the little knowledge which the Continent had of our
writers, is a French translation of Bishop Hall's "Characters of Virtues
and Vices." It is a duodecimo, printed at Paris, of 109 pages, 1610,
with this title _Characteres de Vertus et de Vices; tires de l'Anglois
de M. Josef Hall_. In a dedication to the Earl of Salisbury, the
translator informs his lordship that "_ce livre est la_ premiere
traduction de l'Anglois _jamais_ imprimee en aucun vulgaire"--the first
translation from the English ever printed in any modern language!
Whether the translator is a bold liar, or an ignorant blunderer, remains
to be ascertained; at all events it is a humiliating demonstration of
the small progress which our home literature had made abroad in 1610!
I come now to notice a contemporary writer, professedly writing the
history of our Poetry, of which his knowledge will open to us as we
proceed with our enlightened and amateur historian.
Father Quadrio's _Della Storia e dell' ragione d' ogni Poesia_,--is a
gigantic work, which could only have been projected and persevered in by
some hypochondriac monk, who, to get rid of the _ennui_ of life, could
discover no pleasanter way than to bury himself alive in seven monstrous
closely-printed quartos, and every day be compiling something on a
subject which he did not understand. Fortunately for Father Quadrio,
without taste to feel, and discernment to decide, nothing occurred in
this progress of literary history and criticism to abridge his volumes
and his amusements; and with diligence and erudition unparalleled, he
has here built up a receptacle for his immense, curious, and trifling
knowledge on the poetry of every nation. Quadrio is among that class of
authors whom we receive with more gratitude than pleasure, fly to
sometimes to quote, but never linger to read; and fix on our shelves,
but seldom have in our hands.
I have been much mortified, in looking over this voluminous compiler, to
discover, although he wrote so late as about 1750, how little the
history of English poetry was known to foreigners. It is assuredly our
own fault. We have too long neglected the bibliography and the literary
history of our own country. Italy, Spain, and France have enjoyed
eminent bibliographers--we have none to rival them. Italy may justly
glory in her Tiraboschi and her Mazzuchelli; Spain in the Bibliothecas
of Nicholas Antonio; and France, so rich in bibliographical treasures,
affords models to every literary nation of every species of literary
history. With us, the partial labour of the hermit Anthony for the
Oxford writers, compiled before philosophical criticism existed in the
nation; and Warton's History of Poetry, which was left unfinished at its
most critical period, when that delightful antiquary of taste had just
touched the threshold of his Paradise--these are the sole great labours
to which foreigners might resort, but these will not be found of much
use to them. The neglect of our own literary history has, therefore,
occasioned the errors, sometimes very ridiculous ones, of foreign
writers respecting our authors. Even the lively Chaudon, in his
"Dictionnaire Historique," gives the most extraordinary accounts of most
of the English writers. Without an English guide to attend such weary
travellers, they have too often been deceived by the _mirages_ of our
literature. They have given blundering accounts of works which do exist,
and chronicled others which never did exist; and have often made up the
personal history of our authors, by confounding two or three into one.
Chaudon, mentioning Dryden's tragedies, observes, that Atterbury
translated two into Latin verse, entitled _Achitophel_ and
_Absalom_![156]
Of all these foreign authors, none has more egregiously failed than this
good Father Quadrio. In this universal history of poetry, I was curious
to observe what sort of figure we made, and whether the fertile genius
of our original poets had struck the foreign critic with admiration or
with critical censure. But little was our English poetry known to its
universal historian. In the chapter on those who have cultivated "la
melica poesia in propria lingua tra, Tedeschi, Fiamminghi e
Inglesi,"[157] we find the following list of English poets.
"Of John Gower; whose rhymes and verses are preserved in manuscript in
the college of the most Holy Trinity, in Cambridge.
"Arthur Kelton, flourished in 1548, a skilful English poet: he composed
various poems in English; also he lauds the Cambrians and their
genealogy.
"The works of William Wycherly, in English prose and verse."
These were the only English poets whom Quadrio at first could muster
together! In his subsequent additions he caught the name of Sir Philip
Sidney with an adventurous criticism, "le sue poesie assai buone." He
then was lucky enough to pick up the title--not the volume,
surely--which was one of the rarest; "Fiori poetici de A. Cowley," which
he calls "poesie amorose:" this must mean that early volume of Cowley's,
published in his thirteenth year, under the title of "Poetical
Blossoms." Further he laid hold of "John Donne" by the skirt, and
"Thomas Creech," at whom he made a full pause, informing his Italians
that "his poems are reputed by his nation as 'assai buone.'" He has also
"Le opere di Guglielmo;" but to this Christian name, as it would
appear, he had not ventured to add the surname. At length, in his
progress of inquiry, in his fourth volume (for they were published at
different periods), he suddenly discovers a host of English poets--in
Waller, Duke of Buckingham, Lord Roscommon, and others, among whom is
Dr. Swift; but he acknowledges their works have not reached him.
Shakspeare at length appears on the scene; but Quadrio's notions are
derived from Voltaire, whom, perhaps, he boldly translates. Instead of
improving our drama, he conducted it _a totale rovina nelle sue farse
monstruose, che si chiaman tragedie; alcune scene vi abbia luminose e
belle e alcuni tratti si trovono terribili e grandi_. Otway is said to
have composed a tragic drama on the subject of "Venezia Salvata;" he
adds with surprise, "ma affatto regolare." Regularity is the essence of
genius with such critics as Quadrio. Dryden is also mentioned; but the
only drama specified is "King Arthur." Addison is the first Englishman
who produced a classical tragedy; but though Quadrio writes much about
the life of Addison, he never alludes to the Spectator.
We come now to a more curious point. Whether Quadrio had read our
_comedies_ may be doubtful; but he distinguishes them by very high
commendation. Our comedy, he says, represents human life, the manners of
citizens and the people, much better than the French and Spanish
comedies, in which all the business of life is mixed up with love
affairs. The Spaniards had their gallantry from the Moors, and their
manners from chivalry; to which they added their tumid African taste,
differing from that of other nations. I shall translate what he now adds
of English comedy.
"The English, more skilfully even than the French, have approximated to
the true idea of comic subjects, choosing for the argument of their
invention the customary and natural objects of the citizens and the
populace. And when religion and decorum were more respected in their
theatres, they were more advanced in this species of poetry, and merited
not a little praise, above their neighbouring nations. But more than the
English and the French (to speak according to pure and bare truth) have
the Italians signalised themselves." A sly, insinuating criticism! But,
as on the whole, for reasons which I cannot account for, Father Quadrio
seems to have relished our English comedy, we must value his candour.
He praises our comedy; "per il bello ed il buono;" but, as he is a
methodical Aristotelian, he will not allow us that liberty in the
theatre which we are supposed to possess in parliament--by delivering
whatever we conceive to the purpose. His criticism is a specimen of the
irrefragable. "We must not abandon legitimate rules _to give mere
pleasure thereby_; because pleasure is produced by, and flows from, the
_beautiful_; and the beautiful is chiefly drawn from the good order and
unity in which it consists!"
Quadrio succeeded in discovering the name of one of our greatest comic
geniuses; for, alluding to our diversity of action in comedy, he
mentions in his fifth volume, page 148,--"Il celebre _Benjanson_, nella
sua commedia intitolato _Bartolommeo Foicere_, e in quella altra
commedia intitolato _Ipsum Veetz_." The reader may decipher the poet's
name with his _Fair_; but it required the critical sagacity of Mr. Douce
to discover that by _Ipsum Veetz_ we are to understand Shadwell's comedy
of _Epsom Wells_. The Italian critic had transcribed what he and his
Italian printer could not spell. We have further discovered the source
of his intelligence in St. Evremond, who had classed Shadwell's comedy
with Ben Jonson's. To such shifts is the writer of an universal history
_d' ogni Poesia_ miserably reduced!
Towards the close of the fifth volume we at last find the sacred muse of
Milton,--but, unluckily, he was a man "di pochissima religione," and
spoke of Christ like an Arian. Quadrio quotes Ramsay for Milton's
vomiting forth abuse on the Roman Church. His figures are said to be
often mean, unworthy of the majesty of his subject; but in a later
place, excepting his religion, our poet, it is decided on, is worthy "di
molti laudi."
Thus much for the information the curious may obtain on English poetry
from its universal history. Quadrio unquestionably writes with more
ignorance than prejudice against us: he has not only highly
distinguished the comic genius of our writers, and raised it above that
of our neighbours, but he has also advanced another discovery, which
ranks us still higher for original invention, and which, I am confident,
will be as new as it is extraordinary to the English reader.
Quadrio, who, among other erudite accessories to his work, has exhausted
the most copious researches on the origin of Punch and Harlequin, has
also written, with equal curiosity and value, the history of
Puppet-shows. But whom has he lauded? whom has he placed paramount,
above all other people, for their genius of invention in improving this
art!--The English! and the glory which has hitherto been universally
conceded to the Italian nation themselves, appears to belong to us! For
we, it appears, while others were dandling and pulling their little
representatives of human nature into such awkward and unnatural motions,
first invented pulleys, or wires, and gave a fine and natural action to
the artificial life of these gesticulating machines!
We seem to know little of ourselves as connected with the history of
puppet-shows; but in an article in the curious Dictionary of Trevoux, I
find that John Brioche, to whom had been attributed the invention of
_Marionnettes_, is only to be considered as an improver; in his time
(but the learned writers supply no date) _an Englishman_ discovered the
secret of moving them by springs, and without strings; but the
Marionnettes of Brioche were preferred for the pleasantries which he
made them deliver. The erudite Quadrio appears to have more successfully
substantiated our claims to the pulleys or wires, or springs of the
puppets, than any of our own antiquaries; and perhaps the uncommemorated
name of this Englishman was that Powell, whose Solomon and Sheba were
celebrated in the days of Addison and Steele; the former of whom has
composed a classical and sportive Latin poem on this very subject. But
Quadrio might well rest satisfied that the nation which could boast of
its _Fantoccini_, surpassed, and must ever surpass the puny efforts of a
doll-loving people!