ALFRED'S TRANSLATIONS.
Around the great name of Alfred many attributes have gathered and
clustered, some of which are true, some exaggerated, some impossible. It
is quite unhistorical that Alfred divided the country into shires and
hundreds, or that he instituted trial by jury, or that he founded the
University of Oxford. Under the shadow of great names myths are apt to
spring, that is to say, unconscious authorless inventions, growing up of
themselves round any person or thing which happens to be the subject of
much talk and little knowledge. Had the conditions been favourable in
England as they were in France, the myths about Alfred might have
grouped into an epic cycle, as those about Charlemagne did; and, had the
eleventh century produced a great heroic poem analogous to the "Chanson
de Roland," it would have formed a graceful and much-needed coping to
the now too disjointed pile of Anglo-Saxon literature.
But, when we come to Alfred's literary achievements, we find no tendency
to exaggerate or embellish the sober truth. His hand is manifest in the
Laws, and strongly surmised in the Chronicles. In both these vernacular
products we find a new start, a fresh impulse, under Alfred. But that
which stamps a peculiar character on his Translations is that here we
discern a new stride in the elevation of the native language to
literary rank. Latin was no longer to be the sole medium of learning and
education.
The learned language had almost perished out of the island where it had
once so eminently flourished. In the north the seats of learning had
been demolished; and the monasteries of Wessex, their first use as
mission-stations having been discharged, had become secularised in their
habits, and had not become seats or seminaries of learning. Alfred found
no one in his ancestral kingdom who could aid him in the work of
revival. Like Charles the Great, he looked everywhere for scholars, and
drew them to his court. In Mercia, the land adjoining scholastic Anglia,
he found a few learned men--Werferth, bishop of Worcester; Plegmund, who
was elected (A.D. 890) archbishop of Canterbury, and two of
obscurer name;[108] he drew Grimbald from Gaul, and John from Old
Saxony; Asser, from whose pen we know about these scholars, came to him
from South Wales. With the help of such men Alfred gave a new impulse to
literature, not as Charles had done, in Latin merely, but as much, or
even more, in his own vernacular.
We must not look upon his translations as if they were only makeshifts
to convey the matter of famous books to those who could not read the
originals. Alfred deplored the low state of Latin,--but then he could
substitute his own language for it, and that not merely because he must,
but also because the very scarcity of Latin had favoured the culture of
English. For it was in no dull or stagnant time that Wessex had let
Latin wane; it was in that vigorous stage of youth and growth when
Wessex was fitting herself to take an imperial place at home and raise
her head among the nations. In almost all the transactions of life,
public and private, where Latin was used in other countries, the West
Saxons had for a long time used their own tongue, and hence it came to
pass that, when Alfred sought to restore education and literature, he
found a language nearer to him than the Latin, and one which was fit, if
not to supersede the Latin, yet to be coupled along with it in the work
of national instruction.
Of all Alfred's translations, the foremost place is due to that of
Gregory's "Pastoral Care."[109] Both internally and externally it is
honoured with marks of distinction. The translation is executed with a
peculiar care, and a copy was to be sent to every See in the kingdom.
The very copy that was destined for Worcester is preserved in the
Bodleian; and there it may be seen by any passing visitor, lying open
(under glass) at the page with the Worcester address, and the bishop's
name (Wærferth) inserted in the salutation. The copy that was addressed
to Hehstan, bishop of London, is not extant; but a transcript of it,
written (in Wanley's opinion) before the Conquest, is in the Cotton
Library, or so much of it as the fire has left. The Public Library at
Cambridge has a representative of the copy which was addressed to
Wulfsige, bishop of Sherborne. Another Cotton manuscript, which was
almost consumed (Tiberius, B. xi.), had happily been described by Wanley
before the fire. In this book the place for the bishop's name was blank;
and there was this marginal note on the first leaf: ✠ Plegmunde
arcebisc'. is agifen his boc. and Swiðulfe bisc'. ⁊ Werferðe bisc'.,
_i.e._, Plegmund, archbishop, has received his book, and Swithulf,
bishop, and Werferth, bishop.[110] This book, therefore, of which only
fragments now remain, was like the Hatton manuscript in the Bodleian,
one of Alfred's originals.
Thus the Bodleian book (Hatton 20, formerly 88), for originality and
integrity remains unique; and from it we quote the opening part of
Alfred's prefatory epistle:--
DEOS BOC SCEAL TO WIOGORA CEASTRE.
Ælfred Kyning hateth gretan Wærferth biscep his wordum
luflice and freondlice; and the cythan hate thæt me com
swithe oft on gemynd, hwelce wiotan iu wæron gyond
Angelcynn, ægther ge godcundra hada ge woruldcundra; and hu
gesæliglica tida tha wæron giond Angelcynn; and hu tha
kyningas gas the thone ónwald hæfdon thæs folces on tham
dagum Gode and his ærendwrecum hersumedon; and hie ægther ge
hiora sibbe ge hiora siodo ge hiora ónweald innanbordes
gehioldon, and eac út hiora ethel gerymdon; and hu him tha
speow ægther ge mid wige ge mid wisdome; and eac tha
godcundan hadas hu giorne hie wæron ægther ge ymb lare ge
ymb liornunga, ge ymb ealle tha thiowotdomas the hie Gode
scoldon; and hu man utanbordes wisdom and lare hieder ón
londe sohte, and hu we hie nu sceoldon ute begietan gif we
hie habban sceoldon. Swæ clæne hio wæs othfeallenu ón
Angelcynne thæt swithe feawa wæron behionan Humbre the hiora
theninga cuthen understondan on Englisc, oththe furthum án
ærendgewrit of Lædene on Englisc areccean; and ic wene thæt
noht monige begiondan Humbre næren. Swæ feawa hiora wæron
thæt ic furthum anne ánlepne ne mæg gethencean besuthan
Temese tha tha ic to rice feng. Gode ælmihtegum sie thonc
thæt we nu ænigne ón stal habbath lareowa.
THIS BOOK IS TO GO TO WORCESTER.
Alfred, king, commandeth to greet Wærferth, bishop, with his
words in loving and friendly wise: and I would have you
informed that it has often come into my remembrance, what
wise men there formerly were among the Angle race, both of
the sacred orders and the secular: and how happy times those
were throughout the Angle race; and how the kings who had
the government of the folk in those days obeyed God and his
messengers; and they, on the one hand, maintained their
peace, and their customs and their authority within their
borders, while at the same time they spread their territory
outwards; and how it then went well with them both in war
and in wisdom; and likewise the sacred orders, how earnest
they were, as well as teaching us about learning, and about
all the services that they owed to God; and how people from
abroad came to this land for wisdom and instruction; and how
we now should have to get them abroad if we were going to
have them. So clean was it fallen away in the Angle race,
that there were very few on this side Humber who would know
how to render their services into English; and I ween that
not many would be on the other side Humber. So few of them
were there that I cannot think of so much as a single one
south of Thames when I took to the realm. God Almighty be
thanked that we have now any teachers in office.
The king goes on to say that he remembered how, before the general
devastation, the churches were well stocked with books, and how there
were plenty, too, of clergy, but they were not able to make much use of
the books, because the culture of learning had been neglected. Their
predecessors of a former generation had been learned, but now the
clergy had fallen into ignorance. Wherefore, it seemed that there was no
remedy but to have the books translated into the language they
understood. And this (the king reflected) was according to precedent;
for the Old Testament was first written in Hebrew, and then the Greeks
in their time translated it into their speech, and subsequently the
Romans did the like for themselves. And all other Christian nations had
translated some Scriptures into their own language.
Forthy me thincth betre, gif iow swæ thincth, thæt we eac
sumæ bec, tha the niedbethearfostæ sien eallum monnum to
wiotonne, thæt we tha on thæt gethiode wenden the we ealle
gecnawan mægen, and ge don swæ we swithe eathe magon mid
Godes fultume, gif we tha stilnesse habbath, thæt eal sio
gioguth the nu is on Angelcynne friora monna, thara the tha
speda hæbben thæt hie thæm befeolan mægen, sien to
liornunga othfæste, tha hwile the hie to nanre otherre note
ne mægen, oth thone first the hie wel cunnen Englisc gewrit
arædan: lære mon siththan furthur on Læden gethiode tha the
mon furthor læran wille and to hieran hade don wille. Tha
ic tha gemunde hu sio lar Læden gethiodes ær thissum
afeallen wæs giond Angelcynn, and theah monige cuthon
Englisc gewrit arædan, tha ongan ic on gemang othrum
mislicum and manigfealdum bisgum thisses kynerices tha boc
wendan on Englisc the is genemned on Læden Pastoralis, and
on Englisc Hierde boc, hwilum word be worde, hwilum andgit
of andgite, swæ swæ ic hie geliornode æt Plegmunde minum
ærcebiscepe and æt Assere minum biscepe and æt Grimbolde
minum mæsse prioste and æt Johanne minum mæsse prioste.
Siththan ic hie tha gelornod hæfde swæ swæ ic hie forstod,
and swæ ic hie andgitfullicost areccean meahte, ic hie on
Englisc awende; and to ælcum biscepstole on minum rice
wille ane onsendan; and on ælcre bith an æstel, se bith on
fiftegum mancessa. Ond ic bebiode on Godes naman thæt nan
mon thone æstel from thære bec ne do, ne tha boc from thæm
mynstre. Uncuth hu longe thær swæ gelærede biscepas sien,
swæ swæ nu Gode thonc wel hwær siendon; forthy ic wolde
thæt hie ealneg æt thære stowe wæren, buton se biscep hie
mid him habban wille oththe hio hwær to læne sie, oththe
hwa othre biwrite.
Therefore to me it seemeth better, if it seemeth so to you,
that we also some books, those that most needful are for
all men to be acquainted with, that we turn those into the
speech which we all can understand, and that ye do as we
very easily may with God's help, if we have the requisite
peace, that all the youth which now is in England of free
men, of those who have the means to be able to go in for
it, be set to learning, while they are fit for no other
business, until such time as they can thoroughly read
English writing: afterwards further instruction may be
given in the Latin language to such as are intended for a
more advanced education, and to be prepared for higher
office. As I then reflected how the teaching of the Latin
language had recently decayed throughout this people of the
Angles, and yet many could read English writing, then began
I among other various and manifold businesses of this
kingdom to turn into English the book that is called
"Pastoralis" in Latin, and "Shepherding Book" in English,
sometimes word for word, sometimes sense for sense, just as
I learned it of Plegmund, my archbishop, and of Asser, my
bishop, and of Grimbald, my priest, and of John, my priest.
After that I had learned it, so as I understood it, and as
I it with fullest meaning could render, I translated it
into English; and to each see in my kingdom I will send
one; and in each there is an "æstel," which is of the value
of 50 mancusses. And I command in the name of God that no
man remove the "æstel" from the book, nor the book from the
minster. No one knows how long such learned bishops may be
there, as now, thank God! there are in several places; and
therefore I would that they (the books) should always be at
the place; unless the bishop should wish to have it with
him, or it should be anywhere on loan, or any one should be
writing another copy.
Here we have a direct statement that the "Pastoral" was translated by
King Alfred himself, after a course of study in which he had been
assisted by Plegmund, Asser, Grimbald, and John. His interest in this
book seems to show that his estimate of it was something like that of
Ozanam, who said that Gregory's "Pastoral Care" determined the character
of the Christian hierarchy, and formed the bishops who formed the
nations.
Gregory's "Dialogues," on the contrary, were translated, not by the
king, but by Werferth, bishop of Worcester, as we are informed by
Asser.[111] This translation is extant in manuscripts, but it has not
yet been edited. It is, perhaps, the most considerable piece of
Anglo-Saxon literature that yet remains to be made public. And it is
striking, though not unaccountable, that a book which was one of the
most popular ever written,[112] which retained its popularity for
centuries, and which has left behind it in literature and in popular
Christian ethics bold traces of its influence, should, in the modern
revival of Anglo-Saxon, have been so long neglected. As this book is
practically inaccessible, and as it was moreover a book peculiarly
germane and congenial to the average intelligence of these times, it
seems to claim a somewhat fuller notice.
Here, as in other translations, the king wrote a few words of preface.
Ic Ælfred gyfendum Criste mid cynehades mærnesse geweorthad
hæbbe cuthlice ongiten, and thurh haligra boca rædunge oft
gehyred . thæt us tham God swa micele healicnysse woruld
gethingtha forgifen hæfth . is seo mæste thearf thæt we
hwilon ure mod gelithian and gebigian to tham godcundum and
gastlicum rihte . betweoh thas eorthlican carfulnysse . and
ic fortham sohte and wilnode to minum getrywum freondum
thæt hy me of Godes bocum be haligra manna theawum and
wundrum awriton thas æfterfyligendan lare . thæt ic thurh
tha mynegunge and lufe getrymmed on minum mode hwilum
gehicge tha heofenlican thing betweoh thas eorthlican
gedrefednyssa . Cuthlice we magan nu æt ærestan gehyran hu
se eadiga and se apostolica wer Scs Gregorius spræc to his
diacone tham wæs nama Petrus . be haligra manna thæawum and
life, to lare and to bysne eallum tham the Godes willan
wyrceath . and he be him silfum thisum wordum and thus cwæth:--
I, Alfred, by the grace of Christ, dignified with the
honour of royalty, have distinctly understood, and through
the reading of holy books have often heard, that of us to
whom God hath given so much eminence of worldly
distinction, it is specially required that we from time to
time should subdue and bend our minds to the divine and
spiritual law, in the midst of this earthly anxiety; and I
accordingly sought and requested of my trusty friends that
they for me out of pious books about the conversation and
miracles of holy men would transcribe the instruction that
hereinafter followeth; that I, through the admonition and
love being strengthened in my mind, may now and then
contemplate the heavenly things in the midst of these
earthly troubles. Plainly we can now at first hear how the
blessed and apostolic man St. Gregory spake to his deacon
whose name was Peter, about the manners and life of holy
men for instruction and for example to all those who are
working the will of God; and he spake about himself with
these words and in this manner:--
Sumon[113] dæge hit gelamp thæt ic wæs swythe geswenced mid
tham geruxlum and uneathnessum sumra woruldlicra ymbhegena
. for tham underfenge thyses bisceoplican folgothes . On
tham woruld scirum we beoth full oft geneadode thæt we doth
tha thing the us is genoh cuth thæt we na ne sceoldon . Tha
gelyste me thære diglan stowe the ic ær on wæs on mynstre .
seo is thære gnornunge freond . fortham man simle mæg his
sares and his unrihtes mæst gethencean gif he ana bith on
digolnysse . Thær me openlice æt ywde hit sylf eall swa
hwæt swa me mislicode be minre agenre wisan . and thær
beforan minre heortan eagan swutollice comon ealle tha
gedonan unriht the gewunedon thæt hi me sar and sorge
ongebrohton. Witodlice tha tha ic thær sæt swithe geswenced
and lange sorgende . tha com me to min se leofesta sunu
Petrus diacon se fram frymthe his iugothhades mid
freondlicre lufe wæs hiwcuthlice to me getheoded and
getogen . and he simle wæs min gefera to smeaunge haligre
lare . and he tha lociende on me geseah thæt ic wæs
geswenced mid hefigum sare minre heortan . and he thus
cwæth to me, "La leof gelamp the ænig thing niwes . for
hwan hafast thu maran gnornunge thonne hit ær gewunelic
wære?" Tha cwæth ic to him, "Eala Petrus seo gnornung the
ic dæghwamlice tholie symle heo is me eald for gewunan .
and simle heo is me niwe thurh eacan."
On a certain day it happened that I was very much harassed
with the contentions and worries of certain secular cares,
in the discharge of this episcopal function. In secular
offices we are very often compelled to do the things that
we well enough know we ought not to do. Then my desire
turned towards that retired place where I formerly was in
the monastery. That is the friend of sorrow, because a man
can always best think over his grief and his wrong, if he
is alone in retirement. There everything plainly showed
itself to me, whatever disquieted me about my own
occupation; and there, before the eyes of my heart
distinctly came all the practical wrongs which were wont to
bring upon me grief and sorrow. Accordingly, while I was
there sitting in great oppression and long silence, there
came to me my beloved son Peter the deacon, who, from his
early youth, with friendly love was intimately attached and
bound to me; and he was ever my companion in the study of
sacred lore. And he then looking on me saw that I was
oppressed with the heavy grief of my heart, and he thus
said to me, "Ah, sire, hath anything new happened to thee,
by reason of which thou hast more grief than was formerly
thy wont?" Then said I to him, "Alas, Peter, the grief
which I daily endure it is to me always old for use and
wont; and it is to me always new through the increase of
it."
The edifying stories are sometimes as grotesque as the strangest
carvings about a mediæval edifice:--
A nun,[114] walking in the convent garden, took a fancy to eat a leaf of
lettuce, and she ate, without first making the sign of the cross over
it. Presently she was found to be possessed. At the approach of the
abbot, the fiend protested it was not his fault; that he had been
innocently sitting on a lettuce, and she ate him.[115]
In the Dialogues we recognise that peculiar ideal of sanctity which we
identify not so much with Christianity as with mediæval Christianity.
The bright samples of Christian virtues are too like those types which
have afforded material to caricature. For example, Æquitius, the good
abbot, whose virtues adorn a series of narratives, practises in the
following manner the virtue of humility:--
Sothlice he wæs swithe waclic on his gewædum and swa
forsewenlic thæt, theah hwilc man him ongean come the hine
ne cuthon, and he thone mid wordum gegrette, he wæs
forsewen thæt he næs ongean gegreted; and swa oft swa he to
othrum stowum faran wolde, thonne wæs his theaw thæt he
wolde sittan on tham horse the he on tham mynstre
forcuthost findan mihte, on tham eac he breac hælftre for
bridele, and wethera fella for sadele.
Moreover, he was very mean in his clothing, and so abject,
that though any one met him (of those who knew him not),
and he greeted him with words, he was so despised that he
was not greeted in return; and as often as he would travel
to other places, then was it his custom to sit on the horse
that he could find the most despicable in the abbey, on
which, moreover, he used a halter for a bridle, and
sheepskins for saddle.
Constantius was the name of a sacristan who completely despised all
worldly goods, and his fame was spread abroad. On one occasion, when
there was no oil for the lamps, he filled them with water, and they gave
light just as if it had been oil. Visitors were attracted by the report
of his sanctity. Once a countryman came from a distance (com feorran sum
ceorl) to see a man of whom so much was said. When he came into the
church, Constantius was on a ladder trimming the lamps. He was an
under-grown, slight-built, shabby figure. The countryman inquired which
was Constantius; and, being told, was so shocked and disappointed, that
he spoke sneeringly, "I expected to see a fine man, and this is not a
man at all!"
Mid tham the se Godes wer Constantius tha this gehyrde, he
sona swithe blithe forlet tha leoht fatu the he behwearf,
and hrædlice nyther astah and thone ceorl beclypte and mid
swithlicre lufe ongann mid his earmum hinc clyppan and
cyssan and him swithe thancian, thæt he swa be him gedemde,
and thus cwæth: "Thu ana hæfdest ontynde eagan on me and me
mid rihte oncneowe."
When Constantius the man of God heard this, he forthwith in
great joy left the lamps he was attending to, and nimbly
descended and embraced the countryman, and with exceeding
love began to hold him in his arms, and kiss him, and
heartily thank him, that he had so judged of him; and thus
he quoth:--"Thou alone hadst opened eyes upon me, and thou
didst rightly know me."
Our next and last example is a story of a well-known type, and perhaps
the oldest extant instance of it:--
Eac on othrum timan hit gelamp thæt him to becom for
geneosunge thingon swa swa his theaw wæs Servandus se
diacon and abbod thæs mynstres the Liberius se ealdormann
in getimbrode on suth Langbeardena landes dælum. Witodlice
he geneosode Benedictes mynster gelomlice . to tham thæt hi
him betwynon gemænelice him on aguton tha swetan lifes
word . and thone wynsuman mete thæs heofonlican etheles .
thone hi tha gyta fullfremedlice geblissiende thicgean ne
mihton . huru thinga hi hine geomriende onbyrigdon . for
tham the se ylca wer Servandus eac fleow on lare
heofonlicre gife. Sothlice tha tha eallunga becom se tima
hyra reste and stillnysse . tha gelogode se arwurtha
Benedictus hine sylfne on sumes stypeles upflora . and
Servandus se diacon gereste hine on thære nyther flore thæs
ylcan stypeles . and wæs on thære ylcan stowe trumstæger
mid gewissum stapum fram thære nyther flora to thære up
flora. Wæs eac æt foran tham ylcan stypele sum rum hus . on
tham hyra begra gingran hi gereston . Tha tha se drihtnes
wer Benedictus behogode thone timan his nihtlican gebedes
tham brothrum restendum . tha gestod he thurhwacol æt anum
eahthyrle biddende thone ælmihtigan drihten . and tha
færinga on tham timan thære nihte stillnysse him ut
lociendum geseah he ufan onsended leoht afligean ealle tha
nihtlican thystru . and mid swa micelre beorhtnesse scinan
thæt thæt leoht the thær lymde betweoh tham thystrum wæs
beorhtre thonne dæges leoht. Hwæt tha on thysre sceawunge
swythe wundorlic thing æfter fyligde . swa swa he sylf
syththan rehte . thæt eac eall middaneard swylce under anum
sunnan leoman gelogod . wære be foran his eagan gelæded .
Tha tha se arwurtha fæder his eagena atihtan scearpnysse
gefæstnode on thære beorhtnesse thæs scinendan leohtes .
tha geseah he englas ferian on fyrenum cliwene in to
heofenum Gérmanes sawle . se wæs bisceop Capuane thære
ceastre . He wolde tha gelangian him sylfum sumne gewitan
swa miceles wundres. and Servandum thone diacon clypode
tuwa and thriwa . and ofthrædlice his naman nemde mid
hreames micelnysse. Servandus tha wearth gedrefed for tham
ungewunelican hreame swa mæres weres . and he up astah and
thider locode . and geseah eallunga lytelne dæl thæs
leohtes. Tham diacone tha wafiendum for thus mycelum wundre
. se Godes wer be endebyrdnysse gerehte tha thing the thær
gewordene wæron . and on Casino tham stoc wic tham
eawfæstan were Theoprobo thær rihte bebead . thæt he on
thære ylcan nihte asende sumne mann to Capuanan thære byri
. and gewiste and him eft gecythde hwæt wære geworden be
Germane tham bisceope. Tha wæs geworden thæt se the thyder
asended wæs gemette eallunga forthferedne thone arwurthan
wer Germanum bisceop . and he tha smeathancollice axiende
on cneow thæt his forsith wæs on tham ylcan tyman the se
drihtnes wer oncneow his upstige to heofenum.
Also at another time it happened that there came to him for
a visit, as his custom was, Servandus, the deacon and abbot
of the monastery that Liberius the patrician had formerly
built in South Lombardy (_in Campaniæ partibus_). In fact,
he used to visit Benedict's monastery frequently, to the
end that in each other's company they might be mutually
refreshed with the sweet words of life, and the delectable
food of the heavenly country, which they could not, as yet,
with perfect bliss enjoy, but at least they did in
aspiration taste it, inasmuch as the said Servandus was
likewise abounding in the lore of heavenly grace. When,
however, at length the time was come for their rest and
repose, the venerable Benedict was lodged in the upper
floor of a tower, and Servandus the deacon rested in the
nether floor of the same tower; and there was in the same
place a solid staircase with plain steps, from the nether
floor to the upper floor. There was, moreover, in front of
the same tower a spacious house, in which slept the
disciples of them both. When, now, Benedict, the man of
God, was keeping the time of his nightly prayer during the
brethren's rest, then stood he all vigilant at a window
praying to the Almighty Lord; and then suddenly, in that
time of the nocturnal stillness, as he looked out, he saw a
light sent from on high disperse all the darkness of the
night, and shine with a brightness so great that the light
which then gleamed in the midst of the darkness was
brighter than the light of day. Lo then, in this sight a
very wonderful thing followed next, as he himself
afterwards related; that even all the world, as if placed
under one ray of the sun, was displayed before his eyes.
When, now, the venerable father had fastened the intent
observation of his eyes on the brightness of that shining
light, then saw he angels conveying in a fiery group into
heaven the soul of Germanus, who was bishop of the city
Capua. He desired then to secure to himself a witness of so
great a wonder, and he called Servandus the deacon twice
and thrice; and repeatedly he named his name with a loud
exclamation. Servandus then was disturbed at the unusual
outcry of the honoured man, and he mounted the stairs and
looked as directed, and he saw verily a small portion of
that light. And, as the deacon was then amazed for so great
a wonder, the man of God related to him in order the things
that had there happened; and forthwith he sent orders to
the faithful man Theoprobus in Casinum the chief house,
that he in the self-same night should send a man to the
city of Capua, and should ascertain and report to him what
had happened about Germanus the bishop. Then it came to
pass that he who was thither sent found that the venerable
man, Germanus the bishop had indeed died; and he then
cautiously enquiring, discovered that his departure was at
that very time that the man of God had witnessed his ascent
to heaven.
Petrus cwæth: "This is swithe wundorlic thing and thearle
to wafienne." Book ii., c. 35.
Peter said: "This is a very wonderful thing, and greatly to
be marvelled at."
In the translation of the "Comfort of Philosophy," the translator makes
his greatest effort and exerts the utmost capabilities of his language.
He is not bound by any verbal fidelity to his author; he rather adapts
the book to his own use and mental exercitation. In the original the
author is visited in affliction by Philosophy, and with this heavenly
visitant a dialogue ensues, interspersed with choral odes. Alfred sinks
the First Person of the author, and makes the dialogue run between
Heavenly Wisdom and the Mind (thæt Môd).
The choral odes (generally called the Metres of Boethius) must have been
very hard for Alfred to translate, and they are done somewhat vaguely.
We have them in two translations, one in prose and the other in verse.
There is no doubt that the poetical version was made from the prose
version, without any fresh reference to the Latin. The two are often
verbally identical, with a little change in the order of words, and some
necessary additions to satisfy the alliteration, or fill out the poetic
rhythm. It was long ago observed by Hickes that the style of these poems
differed little from prose; but it was Mr. Thomas Wright who first
noticed that they were, in fact, merely a versified arrangement of the
prose translation.
The same critic gave reasons for thinking that the versified metres were
by some later hand, and not by King Alfred. This has been recently the
subject of a very interesting discussion in the German periodical
"Anglia," it being maintained by Dr. M. Hartmann that they are by
Alfred, and the opposite view (that of Mr. T. Wright) being advocated by
Dr. A. Leicht.
When the Boethian metres make their appearance in Anglo-Saxon poetic
dress, they are considerably expanded. The original prose translation is
itself expansive, because the poetry of Boethius is exceedingly terse,
and cannot be rendered into readable prose without enlargement. The work
of the Saxon versifier is attended with further expansion, because of
the mechanical exigencies of the poetic form.
The twentieth metre (iii. 9) offers an extreme case of this kind. Here
the original consists of twenty-six hexameters, and the Anglo-Saxon poem
has 281 long lines. In this case, however, the poetic expansion is not
wholly mechanical; the poet has made some real additions to the thought.
The chief of these is a new simile, in which the poising of the Earth in
space is illustrated by the yolk of an egg. The prose translation runs
thus:--
Thu gestatholadest eorthan swithe wundorlice and fæstlice
thæt he ne helt on nane healfe . ne on nanum eorthlic
thinge ne stent ne nanwuht eorthlices hi ne healt . thæt
hio ne sige . and nis hire thonne ethre to feallanne of
dune thonne up.
Thou hast established the earth very wondrously and firmly
that it does not heel[116] over on any side: and yet it
stands not on any earthly thing, nor does anything earthly
hold it up that it sink not; and yet it is no easier for it
to fall down than up.
The poetic version enlarges as follows:--
Thu gestatholadest
thurh tha strongan meaht
weroda wuldor cyning
wunderlice
eorthan swa fæste
thæt hio on ænige
healfe ne heldeth
ne mæg hio hider ne thider
sigan the swithor
the hio symle dyde.
Hwæt hi theah eorthlices
auht ne haldeth
is theah efn ethe
up and of dune
to feallanne
foldan thisse:
thæm anlicost
the on æge bith
geoleca on middan
glideth hwæthre
æg ymbutan .
Swa stent eall weoruld
still on tille
streamas ymbutan
lagufloda gelac
lyfte and tungla
and sio scire scell
scritheth ymbutan
dogora gehwilce.
dyde lange swa.
Thou didst establish
through strong might
glorious king of hosts
wonderfully
the earth so fast
that she on any
side heeleth not
nor can hither or thither
any more decline
than she ever did.
Lo nothing earthly though
at all sustains her,
it is equally easy
upwards and downwards
that there should be a fall
of this earth:
likest to that
which we see in an egg;
the yolk in the midst
and yet gliding free
the egg round about.
So standeth the world
still in its place,
while streaming around,
water-floods play,
welkin and stars,
and the shining shell
circleth about
day by day now
as it did long ago.
The translation of Orosius embodies a considerable piece of original
matter. Orosius had given, in the opening of his work, a geographical
sketch of Europe and Asia. In the translation a large addition is made
to the geography of Europe, and it was an addition not merely to this
book, but (so far as appears) to the stock of existing geographical
knowledge. This insertion consists of three parts, 1. A map-like
description of Central Europe; 2. Narrative of Ohthere, who had voyaged
round the North Cape; 3. Voyage of Wulfstan from Denmark along the
southern and eastern coasts of the Baltic. Ohthere's Narrative is
connected with King Alfred by name:--"Ohthere sæde his hlaforde Ælfrede
kynincge thæt he ealra Northmanna northmest bude," _i.e._, Ohthere said
to his lord, King Alfred, that he of all Northmen had the most northerly
home.
The translation of Beda skips lightly over much of the twenty-two
preliminary chapters, giving good measure, however, to the description
of Britain and to the martyrdom of St. Alban. All about Gregory and
Augustine is full. So also about Eadwine, Oswald, Aidan, Oswy, and St.
Chad. (But all that famous section (iii. 25, 26) which describes the
crisis between the churches, the synod of Whitby, and the Scotian
departure, is omitted altogether). Full measure is given to Theodore,
the synod of Hertford, Wilfrid, Queen Ætheldrith, Hilda, and Cædmon. So
also Cuthbert and John of Hexham. Fully rendered are the failure of the
Irish and the success of the Anglian missions to Germany; also the
visions which we may call Dantesque. (The whole section about Adamnan's
influence and writings (v. 15, 16, 17) is omitted.) But about Aldhelm
and his writings; also Daniel, bishop of Winchester; the end of Wilfrid;
and about Albinus, the successor of Adrian, is fully rendered.
The Anglo-Saxon Gospels must be mentioned here. This is a book about
which we have no external information, and the manuscripts are
comparatively late. But the diction leads us to place it in or about the
times of Alfred.
It is probable that the "Beowulf" is the product of the same reign;
while the volume of sacred poetry that is designated by the name of
"Cædmon" appears (at least the first part of it) to be either of this
time or possibly older.
If with the above we embrace in our view the Laws of this reign and the
evidence of contemporary work in the Chronicles, we must be struck with
the extent of this great muster of native literature. But we shall
hardly do it justice unless we remember that this is the first national
display of the kind in the progress of modern Europe. Native poetry had
been cultivated in the Anglian period, and there had been a vernacular
apparatus to assist the study of Latin, but of a varied and
comprehensive literature in English or any other European vernacular,
we find no trace until now. We must not look upon Alfred's translations
as mere helps to the Latin. What with the freedom and independence of
treatment, and what with the original additions, they have a large claim
to the character of domestic products. The very scheme itself, that of
using translation as a medium of culture, which is now so familiar to
us, was then quite a novel idea. In his preface to the "Pastoral," the
king casts about for precedents, and he finds none but the translations
of Scripture into Greek and into Latin, and these do not, in fact, make
a true parallel. But he could hardly have used this argument without a
conscious pride that he had in his mother tongue an instrument not
unpractised, and not altogether unworthy to be the first of barbarian
languages to tread in the footsteps of the Greek and Latin.
This, then (I comprise the matter of three previous chapters and of
three that are to follow) is the "Anglo-Saxon"[117] literature, properly
so called; for that expression, if used with technical exactness,
affords a term of distinction for the later literature of the south as
against the earlier literature of the north, which has been called the
Anglian period.
FOOTNOTES:
[108] Asser's "Life of Alfred," in "Monumenta Historica Britannica,"
487A.
[109] It was published for the first time in 1871, being edited by Mr.
Sweet for the Early English Text Society.
[110] Wanley's "Catalogue," p. 217.
[111] "Monumenta Historica Britannica," 486 E.
[112] "The 'Dialogues' were printed as early as the year 1458."--T.D.
Hardy in Willelmi Malm. "Gesta Regum," i., 189.
[113] Here Gregory begins. The translation sometimes deviates from the
text:--"Quadam die nimis quorundam sæcularium tumultibus depressus,
quibus in suis negotiis plerumque cogimur solvere etiam quod nos certum
est non debere, secretum locum petii amicum mæroris, ubi omne quod de
mea mihi occupatione displicebat, se patenter ostenderet, et cuncta quæ
infligere dolorem consueverant, congesta ante oculos licenter venirent.
Ibi itaque cum afflictus valde et diu tacitus sederem, dilectissimus
filius meus Petrus diaconus adfuit, mihi a primævo juventutis flore
amicitiis familiariter obstrictus, atque ad sacri verbi indagationem
socius. Qui gravi excoqui cordis languore me intuens, ait: Num quidnam
tibi aliquid accidit, quod plus te solito mæror tenet? Cui inquam:
Mæror, Petre, quem quotidie patior, et semper mihi per usum vetus est,
et semper per augmentum novus."
[114] An nunne. This word is of two syllables; there is no silent e
final in Anglo-Saxon.
[115] Ic sæt me on anum leahtrice, tha com heo and bát me!
[116] See Skeat, "Etym. Dict.," _v._ "heel" (2).
[117] This term appears in charters of the tenth century; also Asser
styles the king "Ælfred Angulsaxonum rex," "Mon. Hist. Brit.," 483 C.
See Freeman, "Norman Conquest," vol. i., Appendix A.