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folely of the legends of the faints, but is interspersed with multis aliis pulcherrimis et peregrinis biftoriis, with many other most beautiful and strange histories *.

CHAP. XVI. A Roman emperor in digging for the foundation of a new palace, finds a golden farcophagus, or coffin, inscribed with mysterious words and fentences. Which being explained, prove to be fo many moral lessons of instruction for the emperor's future conduct.

CHAP. xvii. A poor man named Guido, engages to serve an emperor of Rome in fix feveral capacities, or employments. One of these fervices is, to fhew the best way to the holy land. Acquitting himself in all with fingular addrefs and fidelity, he is made a knight, and loaded with riches.

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CHAP. Xviii. A knight named Julian is hunting a stag, who turns and fays, you will kill your father and mother." On this he went into a diftant country, where he married a rich Lady of a castle. Julian's father and mother travelled into various lands to find their fon, and at length accidentally came to this castle, in his absence; where telling their story to the lady, who had heard it from her husband, fhe discovered who they were, and gave them her own bed to fleep in. Early in the morning, while she was at mass in the chapel, her husband Julian unexpectedly returned; and entering his wife's chamber, perceived two persons in the bed, whom he immediately flew with his fword, hastily fuppofing them to be his wife and her adulterer. At leaving the chamber, he met his wife coming from the chapel; and with great astonishment afked her, who the perfons were fleeping in her bed? She anfwered, "They are your "parents, who have been seeking you fo long, and whom I "have honoured with a place in our own bed." Afterwards they founded a sumptuous hospital for the accommodation of travellers, on the banks of a dangerous river.

This story is told in Caxton's GOLDEN LEGENDE ", and in

• In the Colophon.

Fol. 9o. edit. 1493.

the

the metrical Lives of the Saints ". Hence Julian, or Saint Julian, was called hofpitator, or the gode herberjour; and the Pater Nofter became famous, which he used to say for the fouls of his father and mother whom he had thus unfortunately killed *. The peculiar excellencies of this prayer are displayed by Boccace. Chaucer speaking of the hofpitable difpofition of his FRANKELEIN, fays,

Saint Julian he was in his own countre 2.

This history is, like the last, related by our compiler, in the words of Julian's Legend, as it ftands in Jacobus de Voragine *. Bollandus has inferted Antoninus's account of this faint, which appears alfo to be literally the fame. It is told, yet not exactly in the fame words, by Vincent of Beauvais *.

I take this opportunity of observing, that the Legends of the the Saints, fo frequently referred to in the GESTA ROMANORUM, often contain high ftrokes of fancy, both in the ftructure and decorations of the ftory. That they should abound in extravagant conceptions, may be partly accounted for, from the fuperftitious and vifionary caft of the writer: but the truth is, they derive this complexion from the east. Some were originally forged by monks of the Greek church, to whom the oriental fictions and mode of fabling were familiar. The more early of

the Latin lives were carried over to Conftantinople, where they were tranflated into Greek with new embellishments of eaftern imagination. These being returned into Europe, were translated into Latin, where they naturally fuperfeded the old Latin archetypes. Others of the Latin lives contracted this tincture, from being written after the Arabian literature became common in Europe. The following ideas in the Life of Saint Pelagian

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evidently betray their original." As the byshop fange maffe "in the cyte of Ufanance, he faw thre dropes ryghte clere all "of one grateneffe whiche were upon the aulter, and al thre ranne to gyder in to a precyous gemme: and whan they had "fet thys gemme in a croffe of golde, al the other precyous "stones that were there, fyllen out, and thys gemme was clere "to them that were clene out of fynne, and it was obscure and "darke to fynners, &c." The peculiar caft of romantic invention was admirably fuited to ferve the purposes of fuperftition.

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Poffevin, a learned Jefuit, who wrote about the close of the fixteenth century, complains, that for the last five hundred years the courts of all the princes in Europe had been infatuated by reading romances: and that, in his time, it was a mark of inelegance, not to be familiarly acquainted with Lancelot du Lake, Perceforeft, Tristan, Giron the Courteous, Amadis de Gaul, Primaleon, Boccace's Decameron, and Ariofto. He even goes fo far as to fay, that the devil inftigated Luther to procure a translation of Amadis from Spanish into French, for the purpose of facilitating his grand scheme of overthrowing the catholic religion. The popularity of this book, he adds, warped the minds of the French nation from their antient notions and studies ; introduced a neglect of the scriptures, and propagated a love for astrology, and other fantastic arts. But with the leave of this zealous catholic I would obferve, that this fort of reading was likely to produce, if any, an effect quite contrary. The genius of romance and of popery was the fame; and both were ftrengthened by the reciprocation of a fimilar fpirit of credulity. The dragons and the caftles of the one, were of a piece with the vifions and pretended miracles of the other. The ridiculous theories of falfe and unfolid fcience, which, by the way, had been familiarifed to the French by other romances, long before the tranflation of Amadis, were surely more likely to be advanced under the influence of a religion founded on

* Fell out.

• Caxton's GOLD. LEG, f. ccclxxxxviii.

f BIBLIOTH. SELECT. Lib. i. cap. 25. p. 113. edit. 1593.

deception,

deception, than in confequence of Luther's reformed fyftem, which aimed at purity and truth, and which was to gain its end by the fuppreffion of antient prejudices.

Many of the abfurdities of the catholic worship were perhaps, as I have hinted, in fome degree neceffary in the early ages of the church, on account of the ignorance of the people; at least, under such circumstances they were natural, and therefore excufable. But when the world became wifer, thofe mummeries should have been abolished, for the fame reason that the preachers left off quoting Efop's fables in their fermons, and the stage ceased to instruct the people in the scripture-history by the representation of the MYSTERIES. The advocates of the papal communion do not confider, that in a cultivated age, abounding with every species of knowledge, they continue to retain those fooleries which were calculated only for christians in a condition of barbarism, and of which the use now no longer fubfifts.

CHAP. XIX. When Julius Cefar was preparing to pass the Rubicon, a gigantic spectre appeared from the middle of the river, threatening to interrupt his paffage, if he came not to establish the peace of Rome. Our author cites the GESTA ROMANORUM for this ftory.

It was impoffible that the Roman history could pass through the dark ages, without being infected with many romantic corruptions. Indeed, the Roman was almost the only antient history, which the readers of those ages knew: and what related even to pagan Rome, the parent of the more modern papal metropolis of christianity, was regarded with a superstitious veneration, and often magnified with miraculous additions.

CHAP. XX. The birth of the emperor Henry, fon of earl Leopold, and his wonderful preservation from the stratagems of the emperor Conrade, till his acceffion to the imperial throne.

This story is told by Caxton in the GOLDEN LEGENDE, under the life of Pelagian the pope, entitled, Here foloweth the lyf of Saynt Pelagyen the pope, with many other hyfloryes and

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geftys

geftys of the Lombardes, and of Machomete, with other cronycles. The GESTA LONGOBARDORUM are fertile in legendary matter, and furnished Jacobus de Voragine, Caxton's original, with many marvellous hiftories". Caxton, from the geftes of the Lombardis, gives a wonderful account of a peftilence in Italy, under the reign of king Gilbert'.

There is a LEGENDA SANCTORUM, five HISTORIA LOMBARDICA, printed in 1483. This very uncommon book is not mentioned by Maittaire. It has this colophon. Expli"ciunt quorundam Sanctorum Legende adjuncte post Lom"bardicam historiam. Impreffa Argentine, M.CCCC.LXXXIII*.” That is, the latter part of the book contains a few Saints not in the history of the Lombards, which forms the first part. I have neither time nor inclination to examine whether this is Jacobus's LEGENDA: but I believe it to be the fame. I think I have seen an older edition of the work, at Cologne 1470 '.

I have obferved that Caxton's GOLDEN LEGENDE is taken from Jacobus de Voragine. This perhaps is not precisely true. Caxton informs us in his first preface to the first edition of 1483, that he had in his poffeffion a Legend in French, another in Latin, and a third in English, which varied from the other two in many places: and that MANY HISTORIES were contained in the English collection, which did not occur in the French and Latin. Therefore, fays he, "I have wryton ONE "OUTE of the fayd three bookes: which I have orderyd other"wyfe than in the fayd Englysfhe Legende, which was so to fo "fore made." Caxton's English original might have been the old METRICAL LIVES OF THE SAINTS.

CHAP. XXI. A story from Justin, concerning a confpiracy of the Spartans against their king.

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