_THE GREEK AND LATIN CLASSICS_
[Illustration: BLACK LETTER VIRGIL]
The collections of first and early editions of the Greek and Latin
classics in the original which, a century or two ago, formed the backbone
of nearly all collections of note, have since, as mentioned elsewhere,
lost much of their interest for the bibliophile. A rare, uncut editio
princeps of Homer may still produce from its sale, as in Dibdin's day, "a
little annuity," and perhaps an annuity which would have made Dibdin gasp;
but this volume may possibly be considered an exception.
The present practical neglect of the Greek and Latin languages, except as
college exercises, may in a certain measure be responsible for the modern
lack of interest in the original classics, since the bibliophile may be
pardoned, in a sense, for not buying books in which his interest is
limited to possession and which he is unable to read with any degree of
satisfaction.
The past three hundred years of English literature, however, have produced
a great number of translations from these classics, the best, no doubt,
being made by men of independent income with the ability and leisure to
turn their hands toward such work. A careful sifting of these
translations, therefore, might very well furnish the bibliophile who is
inclined toward such reading with a library of classics easily readable in
good, accurate translation. The cost of such a collection would be
comparatively moderate, and if care were taken in the selection to obtain
first or early editions of the translations recognized as having the best
literary qualities, there is little reason to doubt that the collection
would have a very positive value. The subject is, perhaps, interesting
enough to justify a few details.
The principal stumbling block, and that which renders the ordinary
published "classic" libraries of doubtful value, is the delicate question
of expurgation and that of abridgment. Any translation is, at best, a
substitute; but an incomplete one is worse than none at all. There are,
however, a few volumes in which the collector will be interested, which
will be obtained, in all their original naÔvete, only with difficulty.
Suppose a nucleus for such a collection were to be assembled. One would,
of course, begin with Homer. The best translation in prose is by Andrew
Lang and others; the Iliad, 1883; the Odyssey, 1879. The most readable
verse translation is that by William Cullen Bryant, in four volumes,
Boston, 1870-1871. This version, unfortunately, gives the Roman form of
the names of the Greek gods--a concession to unnecessary corruption--but
is otherwise very faithful.
After Homer, perhaps Plato's Dialogues, of which the best translation is
that by B. Jowett, in five volumes, Oxford, 1875, third edition, revised,
1892. And of Plutarch's Lives, which follows naturally, the translation
called Dryden's, revised by Clough, five volumes, Boston and London, 1859.
Virgil, from the Latins, would accompany these, and of this, a good
translation is Dryden's also, revised this time by John Carey, in three
volumes, London, 1803. A much rarer edition is the "Aeneidos" of Thomas
Phaer, London, 1584, with several reprints, in small black letter.
As a souvenir of lovely Sicily, we would require, of course, the pastorals
of Theocritus, of which the best translation is that in prose by Andrew
Lang, London, 1880. In this rendering two passages of about two lines each
are left untranslated, but the omission is too slight to be serious. The
same volume also contains the poems of Bion and Moschus. A good verse
translation is that by C. S. Calverley, Cambridge (England), 1869. With
Theocritus we must read Sappho, "the poetess," the ancients called her, as
they called Homer "the poet." Meleager, in the poem of his "Garland" of
verse, says that he includes "of Sappho's only a few but all roses." And
so, indeed, are the few precious fragments which have come down to us.
All the known fragments of this poetess, even mere references or
quotations of a word or a phrase from ancient writers, which have
survived, have been gathered by H. T. Wharton, who gives in his little
volume called Sappho, the Greek text and a literal translation of each
fragment, together with various verse translations of interest. The first
edition of this book appeared in 1885, the third and definite edition in
1895. Both were published in London; the former by David Stott, the latter
by John Lane.
Of Anacreon's lyrics, only a few fragments remain. The Anacreontea were
translated by Thomas Stanley, London, 1651; reprinted by Lawrence and
Bullen, London, 1893. The reprint may be had on Japan vellum and on
vellum.
Of the Greek Anthology, the famous collection of Greek epigrams composed
between about B. C. 450 and A. D. 550, there are many volumes of
translated "selections." The best and most poetic, although the rendering
is in prose, is that by J. W. Mackail, London, 1890, revised 1906 and
1911. The greater part of the Anthology, which contains over three
thousand five hundred epigrams, was translated into readable verse by
Major Robert McGregor, London, 1864, but the spirit of this rendering is
indifferent. A complete translation into prose of the entire Anthology,
omitting only the ultra-erotic and paederastic epigrams, is now in process
of publication in five volumes by Heinemann, London. This would be, when
complete, the most desirable all-around translation were it not for the
bald and unpoetic literalness of the rendering; of which, as an instance,
one could note the passage in the two hundred and twenty-fifth Amatory
epigram, which might be translated, "I have a wound of love which never
heals * * *"; but which is rendered, "My love is a running sore * * *"
With the poets, Catullus must be included; the best and only complete
translation is that by Richard F. Burton and Leonard Smithers, London,
privately printed, 1894. This volume gives the Latin text, a complete
prose rendering by Smithers, and a characteristic verse rendering by
Burton. In the latter, some erotic passages are missing, due, according to
Lady Burton's statement, to an incomplete manuscript.
Among the dramatists there are Aeschylus, whose tragedies were translated
in verse by R. Potter, London, 1777, and Sophocles, whose tragedies were
translated by the same hand, London, 1788. Edward FitzGerald's rendering
of the Agamemnon of Aeschylus, London, 1876, which does not, however,
pretend to be a close translation, may well be included for the unusual
beauty of its verse. The comedies of Terence have had several translators.
The best close rendering is that in prose, privately printed by the "Roman
Society," in two volumes, 1900-1901. Copies of this translation are
scarce, as the edition was limited to two hundred and sixty copies.
Aristophanes is, of course, essential, but of the eleven comedies of his
which are extant, there is only one complete translation, that privately
printed under the imprint of the "Athenian Society," in two volumes,
London, 1912, and limited to six hundred and twenty-five copies. These
comedies have, perhaps, no equal in all literature, except in Rabelais,
and the translation mentioned not only does them full justice, although in
prose, but also furnishes exhaustive and illuminating notes necessary for
the full understanding of all the humor. Four of the comedies were
translated into admirable verse by J. H. Frere, Malta, 1839, and are well
worth having, although, of course, Aristophanes' frequent and
characteristic "obsceneties" are omitted.
Among the satirists we have the Latins, Martial and Juvenal, and the Greek
Lucian. The best Martial in English is the "Ex Otio Negotium" of R.
Fletcher, London, 1656, reprinted in an edition of one hundred and five
copies in 1893. Only selected epigrams are given, those selected being
rendered rather freely, but there is no semblance of emasculation and the
essential genius of translation is present. A good Juvenal is the verse
translation by Robert Stapylton, London, 1647. A fair prose rendering,
with the Latin text, is found in an anonymous translation issued, with
Sheridan's translation of Persius, in 1777. Of Lucian's many works, there
are almost innumerable translations, nearly all of which are expurgated. A
good rendering of Selected Dialogues is that by Howard Williams, London,
Bell. The "True History," which contains, as might be expected, the
wildest flights of imagination, was translated by Francis Hickes, London,
1634; privately reprinted in a limited edition, with the Greek text, in
1896.
The immortal "Golden Ass" of Lucius Apuleius is attractive in the quaint
Elizabethan version of William Adlington, of which five editions in small
black letter were printed between 1566 and 1639. A modern reprint was
issued by David Nutt, London, in 1893. The translation is not always
accurate, but it is sufficiently so and it is particularly treasured as a
fine specimen of the prose of that period. Apuleius exists in complete
translation in the rendering by F. D. Byrne, printed in Paris in 1904, in
a limited and private edition. The edition has numerous indifferent
plates, and was reprinted, in incomplete translation, with several plates
omitted, under a London imprint, of the same date. The translation reads
rather more easily than the rendering by Thomas Taylor, London, 1822, and
includes the erotic passages which, like all similar passages in the
classics, are incorporated with ingenuous shamelessness and are, as might
be expected, quite harmless. For Taylor's translation, these "passages
suppressed" were supplied on separate sheets.
Among the "impudiques et charmants," as Pierre Louys calls them, must be
mentioned the famous Satyricon of Petronius, of which Charles Carrington
has printed the only complete translation, with his own imprint, Paris
1902, in an edition of five hundred and fifteen copies, since reprinted.
The first edition bears a slip attributing the translation to Oscar Wilde,
but the work has not the slightest internal evidence to support this. Also
the "Priapeia" a collection of Latin epigrams of the best period, all
bearing on the god Priapus. Two hundred and fifty copies of a translation
of this small anthology were issued by the Erotika Biblion Society,
"Athens" 1888. Notes on various subjects occupy more than half the volume.
Of the early romances, the most desirable is doubtless the "Daphnis and
Chloe" of Longus who wrote early in the Christian era. This work has been
said to belong more to French than to Greek literature, so
enthusiastically was it adopted in France; and, in fact, the first printed
edition of the work, translated by Bishop Amyot in 1559, preceded the
editio princeps of the Greek text by forty years. A great many French
editions have been printed, some with charming illustrations. The edition
with notes by A. Pons and vignettes by Scott, Paris, Quantin 1878, gives a
full French translation of the Greek text and an exhaustive bibliography
in an attractive format. The only complete translation in English is that
issued to subscribers by the Athenian Society in 1896.
This Athenian Society issued to two hundred and fifty legitimate
subscribers, between the years 1895 and 1898, seven volumes of complete
translations from the Greek, of which several volumes, like the Longus,
were the first complete translations into English. On account of the very
limited issue, the volumes are very scarce, especially in sets. The
complete issue was as follows: Lucian: The Ass. Dialogues of Courtesans.
Amores.--Procopius: Anecdota.--Alciphron: Letters.--Longus: Daphnis and
Chloe.--Heliodorus: Three books of the ∆thiopica.--Achilles Tatius: Four
Books of The Loves of Cleitophon and Leucippe.--Aristophanes: The
Acharnians. The Knights. The Clouds. The volumes also included the Greek
text.
The general subject of classic translations is an interesting one and
capable of almost infinite expansion. One might form a very imposing
collection of books by merely gathering editions of Daphnis and Chloe, for
instance. But the bibliophile, whether he collects Greek and Latin
translations, or books on angling, can perhaps best follow his own taste
and judgment, when once he has secured a nucleus from which to start, and
fairly understands the possibilities--and limitations--of his subject.
These books--thin boards and sheets of fragile paper--have lived while
countless men have died; through the rise and fall of princes; through
wars and ruin and tempests.
Other hands, long since forgotten, have cared for them and kept them
safely. Now they are here in trust with me; and I, in my turn, linger over
them, hoping that other Owners, yet unborn, may treat them gently as I,
and those before, have done.
INDEX
Association Books, 107
Auctions, 102
Autographs in books, 16, 25, 107
Autograph Letters in books, 108
Back, Lining up, 20, 48
Back, Shaken or broken, 19
Binding, Cheap, 78
Elaborate, 103
Original, 73, 83, 92
Bleaching, 33, 35
Book-worms, 93
Books as an investment, 101
Book sizes, 94
Catalogues, 102
Cataloguing, 94
Collating, 15
Corners, Repairing, 22, 63
Covers (leather), Cleaning, 51
Patching, 55
Polishing, 56, 90
Restoring, 55
Transferring, 72
Dealers, 99
Dusting, 15, 91
Edges, Cleaning, 65
Gilt or Uncut, 81
Finishing new back, 46
Gilt, Removing, 71
Restoring, 67
Glaire, 59
Hinges, Repairing, 62
Ink, Brightening autographs in, 26
Removing, 33, 54, 66
Inlaying covers, 60
Inlaying pages, 18
Inlays, Tinting, 18
Kama Shastra Society, 106
Leather for bindings, 39, 84
Leather Paste for inlays, 61
Light, Effect on books of, 90
Limited Editions, 106
Lining up backs, 20
Marginal MS Notes, 16
Margins, Trimming, 78
Modern Editions, 105
Niger Morocco, 85
Old Paper imitated, 18
Pages, Repairing torn, 17
Paste for repairs, 20
Presentation copies, 16, 84, 107
Preservative for leather, 40
Preservative Polish, 90
Privately Printed books, 106
Rarity of books, 104
Rebacking, Tools for, 47
Rebinding, Best leather for, 84
Directions for, 80
For Amateurs, 79
Price of, 77, 82
When advisable, 55
Report of the Committee on Leather for Bookbinding, 85, 90
Re-tinting, 31
Sewing, 82
Shelves, Lining for, 64, 91
Sizing, 22, 30
Slip-cases, 84
Slip-covers, 92
Spots, Small, 30, 54
Stains, 31
Stains of Blood, 34
Egg Yellow, 33
Fecal Matters or Urine, 34
Fruit Juice, 34
Grease, 31, 54
Ink, 33, 54, 66
Mud, 33
Sealing-wax or Resin, 32
Stearine, 32
Tar and Pitch, 32
Unknown Origin, 30
White or Yellow Wax, 32
Tools, Making, 68
Tooling, 46, 67
Tooling, Restoring old, 67
Transferred Impressions, 34
Varnish for bindings, 57
Vellum Bindings, Cleaning, 59
Velvet for shelves, 64, 91
Washing, 33, 35
Footnotes:
[1] M. R. Yve-Plessis in his "Petit Essai de Biblio-Therapeutique"
suggests an excellent way of preparing a paper patch for an inlay. Which
is, to lay the paper from which the patch is to be taken under the torn
page and trace the outlines of the tear on the new paper with a clean pen
filled with water. By tracing over several times, the water will saturate
the new paper on the line made by the pen, so that the paper may be pulled
apart, providing a patch having more exact outlines than could be secured
by cutting with scissors.
[2] In 1809 Paul Louis Courier discovered at Florence a complete
manuscript of Daphnis and Chloe, containing a long passage in Part I which
was missing in all texts known until that time, and the existence of
which, as a connecting passage, had long been a subject of speculation
among scholars. Unfortunately, he had hardly more than completed a
transcript of his discovery when he accidentally upset a bottle of ink
over the original manuscript, partly obliterating the passage. The
incident caused a bitter controversy among scholars. Courier was violently
attacked and, although he had fifty copies of his text printed for special
distribution, was even accused of purposely spilling the ink in order to
render his transcript unique. M. S. B.
[3] M. R. Yve-Plessis, elsewhere quoted, suggests that it may sometimes be
desirable to strengthen the ink of some valuable and desirable signature,
instead of removing it, and for this purpose recommends a mixture of:
Tannin, six grammes; alcohol, thirty-five grammes; distilled water, one
hundred grammes; applied with a small brush and the part afterwards
brushed over several times with clear water. This operation, however,
should certainly not be undertaken except in extreme cases where the
signature appeared ready to entirely fade out. M. S. B.
[4] In a note on this subject, Bonnardot warns the amateur against
careless or unskilful use of the various chemicals mentioned, as many of
them, improperly handled, not only irreparably damage the page or print,
but also inflict serious injury on the operator himself. M. S. B.
[5] After sheets have been cleaned by soaking or washing, they should be
re-sized. Sizing is made by dissolving half an ounce of isinglass in a
pint of water. The mixture is used at a temperature of about one hundred
and twenty-five degrees Fahrenheit and in a shallow pan. Sheets are left
in for a few seconds only and then dried between sheets of blotting paper.
Sizing will often restore old paper which has become soft. M. S. B.
[6] Potassium permanganate, described in the chapter on _General
Restoration_, is applicable for this operation. In operating on a spot on
the page of a bound book, care should be taken always to place two or
three sheets of clean blotting paper under the page to prevent any liquid
from soaking through to the next page. M. S. B.
[7] Applied with a brush, first around the outside of the spot, then in
narrowing circles until the centre is reached. Blotting paper is then
placed on both sides of the sheet, over the spot, and a hot flat-iron
applied. The absorbent powder ("French Chalk" answers very well) will
operate better if the powdered sheet is enclosed simply between two
pieces of paper, and a hot flat-iron applied. Plenty of powder should be
used. M. S. B.
[8] Before and after using oxalic acid on ink stains, it is best to wash
the spot or page with hydrochloric acid mixed with about seven times its
volume of water. In bleaching ink from a page, a white mark almost always
remains, especially noticeable if the paper is tinted with age. It is far
better to soak the whole page, to secure uniform bleaching, and then, if
necessary, retint the page to its former color, than to attempt to operate
on part of a page only. Sometimes, when a book is loosely bound, the page
can be carefully cut out, close to the sewing, and pasted in again when it
has been washed and dried as desired. This is, however, a questionable
practice, and may seriously injure the value of the book, and on a
valuable book it is better to cut the sewing and remove the entire
signature, then have the book rebound, or resewn and returned to the old
covers, as may be most advisable. M. S. B.
[9] Bonnardot mentions several processes for bleaching a print, equally
applicable to the same operation on the pages of a book. I translate the
process which seems to be the simplest and most effective. It will be
noted that he does not mention the size of the bottle in which the amount
of chemical he advises is to be dissolved. I would suggest a full quart
bottle, and also that the amateur operator thoroughly try the effect of
his solution on some old pieces of paper to make sure it is too weak to
injure the body of the paper. M. S. B.
[10] Bonnardot, at this point, discusses in considerable detail various
opinions as to the removal of these iron oxide stains, but without coming
to any definite conclusion except that they are "of all stains, the most
tenacious." Experiments in chemistry, especially upon any binding of
value, should not be lightly undertaken. The use of water-colors for
retinting the spot of yellowish bleach might be tried with more safety and
a greater possibility of success. M. S. B.
[11] Certain bindings of the sixteenth century have on their covers
designs in tint formed simply of water colors. In such cases, the flour
paste should not be used, or else the designs should first be accurately
traced so that they can be restored, if necessary, after the operation.
[12] Centigrade, i. e. ninety-seven to one hundred and four degrees
Fahrenheit. M. S. B.
[13] At the beginning. M. S. B.
[14] The best modern practice in making glaire is to beat up the white of
an egg with about half its quantity of vinegar, allowing the mixture to
stand over night. This mixture, covered, will keep for several days, or
until it gets thick and cloudy. M. S. B.
[15] Unbroken surfaces of white vellum can easily be cleaned with a soft
pencil-eraser. A vellum binding which is "tacky" may be rubbed over with
powdered soapstone after cleaning. M. S. B.
[16] Whiting (chalk) used as a pigment. M. S. B.
[17] One hundred and fifty-eight degrees Fahrenheit. M. S. B.
[18] This operation does not seem entirely clear, but the idea is
evidently to fold a thin strip of the skin into a "V" shape, inserting the
strip, folded edge up or down, as the condition of the hinge may require,
into the broken hinge all along its length, gluing the arms of the "V,"
one to the back and one to the cover to form a new, folded hinge. The
operator will probably find, however, that when the hinges of a book are
broken through a better and more lasting procedure is to reback the book.
Gold-beaters skin is the outside membrane of the large intestine of the
ox, properly prepared. Where the hinges of a book are broken, it is better
to provide new leather hinges, using strips about half an inch wide
slipped in under the broken edges and carried over the edge of the boards
at top and bottom. Raise the broken edges, for the proper distance, from
back and boards, and paste down again over the new hinge. M. S. B.
[19] To prevent wear on the lower corners and edges of books in the
library, strips of velvet may be laid along the shelves under the books.
If this is done, the little extra care required in removing and replacing
the books without wrinkling up the velvet will be more than offset by the
protection which the velvet gives. M. S. B.
[20] Gilding, especially if modern, is apt to soften and come off if
rubbed with water. M. S. B.
[21] See my remarks on lining up with Japan vellum in the chapter on
_General Restoration_. M. S. B.
[22] In this place, Bonnardot gives a few simple suggestions for repairing
broken fragments of the gold tooling. The amateur is cautioned not to
attempt the application of hot gilding tools and gold leaf to any binding
for which he has any regard unless he has carefully prepared himself by
thoroughly studying the detailed directions for this work which may be
found in text-books on binding, and by extensive practice on odd pieces of
various leathers. M. S. B.
[23] All set, of course, in wooden or pottery handles. Wooden handles for
such tools, or the tools themselves, may be procured at moderate prices
from dealers in bookbinders' materials. M. S. B.
[24] The impression should first be made on the leather by the hot tool,
without gold, and painted with glaire. When the glaire is nearly dry, a
fragment of gold-leaf is picked up on a pad of cotton wool slightly
touched with cocoanut oil and pressed down on the blind impression of the
tool. The tool is then pressed into its former impression, setting the
gold. The process is very delicate; the tool must be perfectly clean and
the gold-leaf, which is very difficult to handle, worked from a padded
cloth dusted with brick-dust, or a similar substance, to prevent the leaf
from adhering there while it is being cut to the proper size. M. S. B.
[25] Wax would, of course, be used hot. M. S. B.
[26] As mentioned in a note above, gold may often be loosened by merely
removing the varnish and thoroughly moistening with water, after which the
metal may be coaxed out with a thin, smooth, wooden splinter, preferably
wound on the end with a bit of cotton wool. M. S. B.
[27] Or: Gilt edges. (This requires, in many cases, considerable trimming
all around.) Or: Bottom and fore edges gilt on uncut edges. (This is a
more expensive process and a rather delicate one. It is not in general
use.)
[28] It is often difficult to persuade a binder to sew on flat bands or
outside cords. The usual, and easiest method is to saw into the backs of
the signatures and lay the cords in the "V" shaped cut thus made. This
method of sewing should be protested against unless the book has already
been so treated in a former binding and no additional cutting is required.
Most of the raised bands found on modern bindings are "false," being in no
way an essential part of the binding and serving no practical purpose.
Even their use as guides for decoration is doubtful, as they tend to
unnecessary convention.
[29] On a valuable book in an expensive binding, the end papers should be
sewn in. This means extra trouble for the binder and calls for a little
extra charge. End papers are very seldom sewn in on modern bindings,
although often so secured in bindings of a century or two ago.
[30] This Society has been credited--or otherwise--with so many volumes,
chiefly of an erotic nature, which it never issued, that a list of the
genuine volumes, issued with the authority and consent of Sir Richard
Burton, may be of interest. These are: Kama Sutra, of Vatsyayana, 1883;
Amanga Ranga, of Kalyana Mall, 1885; The Beharistan, of Jami, 1887; The
Gulistan, of Sa'di, 1888; Alf Laylah wa Laylah (The Book of the Thousand
Nights and a Night), ten volumes, 1885; Supplemental Nights to The Book of
the Thousand Nights and a Night, six volumes, 1886-1888. These volumes are
all listed in a four page folder, which accompanied Vol. 5, of the
Supplemental Nights. The folder mentions two other volumes in preparation;
The Nigaristan of Jawini, and The Scented Garden, of the Shaykh
al-Nafzawi. The former translation was never issued; the latter
translation, made by Sir Richard himself, was burned in MS by his wife,
shortly after his death. The only translation of al-Nafzawi bearing the
Kama Shastra Society imprint, was issued in 1886, in white vellum, uniform
with the other single volumes listed above with the title of The Perfumed
Garden. This translation, which was made through a French version, is
described, and practically acknowledged as a book of the Society, in a
foot-note on page 133, Vol. 10, of the Nights.
Transcriber's Notes:
Passages in italics are indicated by _underscore_.
The following misprints have been corrected:
"is" corrected to "it" (page 29)
"or" corrected to "of" (page 33)
"prefessional" corrected to "professional" (page 67)
"effact" corrected to "effect" (page 68)
"tranlsated" corrected to "translated" (page 114)