looked upon as one of the ornaments which all poetry, in modern tongue, requires, but a rhyme, irregularly recurring, at very uncertain intervals, and as often at the beginnings as at the ends of the verses, nay even sometimes limited to a single letter, generally an aspirate or sibilant, occurring at the beginning of two following words. Of this peculiarity, very numerous instances will be found in the following version of king Alfred's poems, to which the reader's attention is now invited. J. A. G. THE TRANSLATOR'S PREFACE. The "Poems of king Alfred" are here for the first time given to the English reader in a rhythmical dress: and that, without any known or meant sacrifice of faithfulness, any ill-judged attempt at "improvements" or additions, any other wish than the simple one of making Alfred's mind known to us his distant children, as much as possible in his own words. The writer has aimed everywhere at these five points: 1. To be literal. 2. To keep the still used words of our ancient Anglo-Saxon tongue wherever he could, and to throw aside all Latinized and other mixed forms of expression. 3. To vary the metres at least as often as Boethius, never admitting a false or doubtful rhyme. 4. To keep constantly in view the alliterations, the parallelisms, the frequently recurring echoes both in sense and in sound, which are principal features of the Anglo-Saxon poetry. 5. To catch the spirit, and not the notes alone, of Alfred's harp, and to be at once easy and exact, rhymed (often doubly and trebly) and yet, as a first rule, representing what Alfred really said, and not what a modern may put into his mouth for rhyme's sake. It will readily be believed, that, if these five rules have been at all regarded, the work here done has been one of no small difficulty: to use the neat phrase Essays 21 of Peter Bertius in his preface to Boethius, it may seem "Exiguum mole munus," but it is "ingens pondere." And now let the present writer give praise where it is due to those riper scholars in this ancient field of literature, whose labours have principally helped him. Mr Fox's prose version of the Metres of Boethius, as paraphrased by King Alfred, has been one mainstay in the matter; and Dr Bosworth's admirable dictionary another. At the same time, laborious study, a not infrequent independence as to the rendering of certain passages, and an earnest obedience to the five good rules above, leave (it is hoped) some balance of account to the writer's credit. Nothing is easier than to find fault; but in many cases nothing is more difficult than to propose a remedy. Let then the critical scholar, who may possibly see much to blame in this version, attempt the matter for himself; and then he will estimate the difficulty of such conditions as these; at once to avoid Latinisms, and to speak in modern flowing English,-to render Alfred faithfully, and yet to preserye rhyme and rhythm in a multitude of metres. XXII. OF THE INNER MIND, AND THE Outer sin. XXIII. TRUE HAPPINESS. Felix qui potuit boni Sie that la on eorthan XXIV. THE SOUL'S HERITAGE. Sunt etenim pennæ volucres mihi Ic hæbbe fithru XXV. OF EVIL KINGS. Quos vides sedere celso Geher nu an spell XXVI. OF CIRCE AND HER COMPANY. Vela Neritii ducis Ic the mæg eathe XXVII. OF TOLERANCE. Quid tantos juvat excitare motus XXVIII. OF HEAVENLY WONDERS. Si quis Arcturi sidera nescit Hwa is on eorthan nu XXIX. OF THE STARS AND SEASONS. Si vis celsi jura tonantis Gif thu nu wilnige XXX. OF THE TRUE SUN. Puro clarum lumine Phoebum Omerus wæs XXXI. OF MAN'S UPRIGHTtness. Quam variis terras animalia permeant figuris ! PROVERBS, OR THE PARLIAMENT AT SHIFFORD A short metre, and one full of echoes, is that which is best fitted to the genius of Anglo-Saxon verse, so as to represent it fairly. The writer in the first instance wrote another version of this opening rhyme; but saw cause to reject it, as not being literal enough, and because for the metre's sake he was obliged to interpolate two lines. The reason why it is here below inserted is, (not by way of proof of extraordinary pains-taking, for the same sort of labour has occurred in other portions of this version, but) because it is considered by a learned friend as worthy of preservation. To the writer's mind, a sin against faithful rendering was fatal, and he prefers the more literal rhyme just already given to the reader. Here then is the rejected one: Ælfred told to us A tale of olden time; The King of the West-Saxons thus For long he longed to teach His people pleasant things, In mingled changes of sweet speech, And many counsellings, The dear delight of men ; Lest weariness forsooth Should drive away unfairly then The selfsame word of truth. He thereby little sought For any selfish praise; [But of these people only thought To give them good always.] |