even a national fault of this people, "Quocunque in loco, quoscunque inter homines visum est, de rebus aut DIFFICILLIMIS aut non NECESSARIIS, ARGUTISSIME DISPUTARE." The natural liveliness of the Athenians, heightened by the free politics of a democracy, seems to have tinctured their conversation with this sort of declamatory disputation, which they frequently practised under an earnest pretence of discovering the truth, but in reality to indulge their native disposition to debate, to display their abundance of words, and their address of argument, to amuse, surprise, and perplex. Some of Plato's dialogues, professing a profundity of speculation, have much of this talkative humour. Beside these versions of the Greek and Roman poets, and of the antient writers in prose, incidentally mentioned in this review, it will be sufficient to observe here in general, that almost all the Greek and Roman classics appeared in English before the year 1600. The effect and influence of these translations on our poetry, will be considered in a future section. SECTION LX. BUT the ardour of translation was not now circumscribed within the bounds of the classics, whether poets, historians, orators, or critics, of Greece and Rome. I have before observed, that with our frequent tours through Italy, and our affectation of Italian manners, about the middle of the sixteenth century, the Italian poets became fashionable, and that this circumstance, for a time at least, gave a new turn to our poetry. The Italian poets, however, were butin few hands; and a practice of a more popular and general nature, yet still resulting from our communications with Italy, now began to prevail, which produced still greater revolutions. This was the translation of Italian books, chiefly on fictitious and narrative subjects, into English. The learned Ascham thought this novelty in our literature too important to be passed over without observation, in his reflections on the course of an ingenuous education. It will be much to our purpose to transcribe what he has said on this subject: although I think his arguments are more like the reasonings of a rigid puritan, than of a man of liberal views and true penetration; and that he endeavours to account for the origin, and to state the consequences, of these translations, more in the spirit of an early calvinistic preacher, than as a sensible critic or a polite scholar. "These be the inchauntments of Circe, brought out of Italie to marre mens manners in England: much, by example of ill life, but more by precepts of fonde bookes, of late translated oute of Italian into English, solde in euery shop in London, commended by honest titles, the sooner to corrupt honest manners, dedicated ouer boldly to vertuous and honorable personages, the easelyer to beguile simple and honest wittes. It is pitty, that those which haue authoritie and charge to allow and disallow works to be printed, be no more circumspect herein than they are. Ten Sermons at Paules Crosse doe not so much good for moouing men to true doctrine, as one of these bookes does harme with inticing men to ill living. Yea I say farther, these bookes tend not so much to corrupt honest liuing, as they doe to subuert true religion. More papists be made by your merry bookes of Italy, than by your earnest bookes of Louaina.-When the busie and open papists could not, by their contentious bookes, turne men in Englande faste inough from troth and right iudgemente in doctrine, then the suttle and secret papists at home procured bawdie bookes to be translated out of the Italian toong, whereby ouermany yong willes and witts, allured to wantonnes, doe now boldly contemne all seuere bookes that sound to honestie and godlines. In our forefathers time, when papistrie, as a standing poole, couered and ouerflowed all England, few bookes were red in our toong, sauyng certayne Bookes of Chiualrie, as they sayd for pastime and pleasure, which, as some say, were made in monasteries by idle monkes or wanton chanons: as one for example, MORTE ARTHUR, the whole pleasure of which booke standeth in two specyall poyntes, in open mans slaghter and bolde bawdrie: in which booke those be counted the noblest knights that doe kill most men without any quarrell, and commit fowlest aduoulteries by sutlest shifts: as, syr Launcelote with the wife of king Arthure his maister: syr Tristram with the wife of king Marke his vncle: syr Lamerocke with the wife of king Lote that was his own aunte. This is good stuffe for wise men to laughe at, or honest men to take pleasure at. Yet I knowe when God's Bible was banished the court, and MORTE ARTHUR receaued into the princes chamber. What toyes the dayly reading of such a booke may worke in the will of a yong ientleman, or a yong maide, that liueth welthely and idlely, wise men can iudge, and honest men doe Serious books in divinity, written by the papists. The study of controversial theology flourished at the university of Louvain. pittie. And yet ten MORTE ARTHURES doe not the tenth part so much harme, as one of these bookes made in Italie, and translated in England. They open, not fond and common ways to vice, but such suttle, cunning, new and diuerse shifts, to carry yong willes to vanitie and yong wittes to mischiefe, to teache old bawdes new schoole pointes, as the simple head of an Englishman is not hable to inuent, nor neuer was heard of in England before, yea when papistrie ouerflowed all. Suffer these bookes to be read, and they shall soon displace all bookes of godly learning. For they, carrying the will to vanitie, and marring good manners, shall easily corrupt the minde with ill opinions, and false judgement in doctrine: first to thinke ill of all true religion, and at last, to thinke nothing of God himselfe, one speciall poynt that is to be learned in Italie and Italian bookes. And that which is most to be lamented, and therefore more nedefull to be looked to, there be more of these vngracious bookes set out in print within these fewe moneths, than haue been seene in England many score yeares before. And because our Englishmen made Italians cannot hurt but certaine persons, and in certaine places, therefore these Italian bookes are made English, to bringe mischiefe inough openly and boldly to all states", great and meane, yong and old, euery where.--Our English men Italianated haue more in reuerence the TRIUMPHES of Petrarche, than the GENESIS of Moyses. They make more accompt of Tullies Offices, than saint Paules Epistles of a Tale in Boccace, than the Story of the Bible," &c.d Ascham talks here exactly in the style of Prynne's HisTRIOMASTIX. It must indeed be confessed, that by these books many pernicious obscenities were circulated, and perhaps the doctrine of intrigue more accurately taught and exemplified than before. But every advantage is attended with its incon b conditions of life. In such universal vogue were the TRIUMPHS of Petrarch, or his TRIONFI D' AMOUR, that they were made into a public pageant at the entrance, I think, of Charles the Fifth into Madrid. d Ascham's SCHOOLEMASTER, edit. 1589. fol. 25. a. seqq. This book was begun soon after the year 1563. PREFACE, p. 1. veniencies and abuses. That to procure translations of Italian tales was a plot of the papists, either for the purpose of facilitating the propagation of their opinions, of polluting the minds of our youth, or of diffusing a spirit of scepticism, I am by no means convinced. But I have nothing to do with the moral effects of these versions. I mean only to shew their influence on our literature, more particularly on our poetry, although I reserve the discussion of this point for a future section. At present, my design is to give the reader a full and uniform view of the chief of these translations from the Italian, which appeared in England before the year 1600. I will begin with Boccace. The reader recollects Boccace's THESEID and TROILUS, many of his Tales, and large passages from Petrarch and Dante, translated by Chaucer. But the golden mine of Italian fiction opened by Chaucer, was soon closed and forgotten. I must however premise, that the Italian language now began to grow so fashionable, that it was explained in lexicons and grammars, written in English, and with a view to the illustration of the three principal Italian poets. So early as 1550, were published, "Principal rules of the Italian grammar, with a dictionarie for the better vnderstanding of Boccase, Petrarche, and Dante, gathered into this tonge by William Thomas." It is dedicated to sir Thomas Chaloner, an accomplished scholar. The third edition of this book is dated in 1567. Scipio Lentulo's Italian grammar was translated into English in 1578, by Henry Grantham. Soon afterwards appeared, in 1583, "CAMPO DI FIOR, or The Flourie Field of four Languages of M. Claudius Desainliens, for the furtherance of the learners of the Latine, French, and English, but chieflie of the Italian tongue." In 1591, Thomas Woodcock printed "Florio's second frutes to be gathered of twelve trees of divers but delightfull tastes to the tongues of In quarto, for T. Berthelett. Again, 4to, 1561. For T. Powell. Again, 4to, 1567. For H. Wykes. It was written at Padua in 1548. Thomas, a bachelor in civil law at Oxford, and a clergyman, is said to have been rewarded by Edward f For T. Vautro.lier. Svo. |