Though small his kingdom as a spark or gem,

Of Alfred boasts remote Jerusalem,

And Christian India, through her widespread clime, In sacred converse gifts with Alfred shares.

WORDSWORTH.

CHAPTER XXVI.

THE ROYAL BOOK-LOVER.

IT is very difficult for us to appreciate the literary work of King Alfred, or to realise the difficulties he had to encounter in his endeavours to promote the education of his people. He was a great book-lover, and found a solace in the retirement of his library, where he could throw aside the cares of state. Having found out for himself the companionship of books, he was anxious to give his subjects similar advantages. Moreover, he saw that if his country was to be truly great, it must have the benefits of a national education. In the eyes of the king it was not enough that Wessex should advance in material prosperity or that it should be defended by a strong army and navy. These were all well in their way, and it had been his first business to attend to the defence and advancement of his country; but something more was wanting if his people were to continue to progress, and to take a high place as a wise and understanding people.

Accordingly, his great desire was that the people

of Wessex should be educated so that there should be moral, and spiritual, and intellectual development. He knew the value to him of his early education, and now, in the time of peace, he desired to give all his subjects the opportunity of reading the best books. If he had conquered by the sword, it was quite evident that his conquests must be protected by a higher state of civilisation, which he conceived could be brought about by the encouragement of learning.

Alfred's opinion as to the kind of learning needed by his people may be gathered from his choice of the books, which he wished to put before them in their own language. First of all it was his desire that his people should have a general knowledge of the history of the world, and also a particular knowledge of the history and geography of their own race and country. For this purpose, he chose the History of Orosius. Secondly, he determined to give them the best book on the philosophy of life, which at that time was the Consolations of Philosophy by Boethius. Thirdly, he thought all the clergy should understand the principles of the true work of religion, and to attain this end he translated the Pastoral Care of Pope Gregory. Lastly, he determined to give his countrymen the History of the English Church by the Venerable Bede.

All these works he translated from the Latin into the common English speech. His work was done with great ability, and he showed considerable skill in translating. Sometimes he translated word for word; sometimes he omitted passages; and often he added sentences and paragraphs of his own composition.

In the following chapters we shall consider these four works and give some idea of their contents. The first for our consideration is Alfred's translation from the Latin of Pope Gregory's Pastoral Care. This work is a treatise on the life and work of a bishop, and is not of so much value as the others; but, as it has a preface entirely written by Alfred, giving us much valuable information as to the state of learning in his time, it is worthy of careful consideration.

Alfred's preface begins with this salutation: King Alfred greets Bishop Werfrith with loving words and with friendship." It then refers to the happy time when there were wise men in England; when the kings ruled peacefully over a happy people; and when the clergy were zealous both in teaching and learning. In those days "foreigners came to this land in search of wisdom and instruction," whereas, "now," says Alfred, "we have to get teachers from abroad." In fact, so great was the decay in learning that, south of the Thames, Alfred could not remember, when he came to the throne, a single man who could translate Latin into English. Even north of the Humber, things were not much better.

However, the king is hopeful, and exclaims : "Thanks be to God Almighty that we have any teachers among us now." Further, he exhorts his bishops to leave worldly matters and apply themselves to the diffusion of knowledge. He then paints a picture of the state of education in his early days. Then he remembered the churches were filled with

treasures and books, and there were many teachers. But even then there was little knowledge of the books, because they were not written in their own language.

An explanation follows why the books had not been translated, and the reason is given for now undertaking the task. "Therefore," says the king, "it seems better to me, if ye think so, to translate some books which are most needful for all men to know into the language which we can all understand." Then follows the memorable resolve of the king, which we shall give in full: "And I would have you do as we very easily can if we have peace enough, that is, set all the youth now in England of free men, who are rich enough to be able to devote themselves to it, to learn, as long as they are not old enough for other occupations, until they are well able to read English writing."

In these wise words Alfred struck the true note, and thereby became the first great Education Minister of England. What nobler aspiration can any English ruler have than that the youth shall learn, until they are well able to read English writing. If it was important then, it is of even greater importance now. Then, there was little English writing to read, and that little was the result of the king's hard work; now the volume of English literature is so great that all have access to it, both rich and poor. Let us always remember that to Alfred we owe the inestimable privilege of possessing the greatest wealth of literature; and therefore he may justly be styled the Father of English Prose.