"Precious limbs," was at first an expression of great feeling, till vagabonds, draymen, &c., brought upon it the character of coarseness and ridicule. It would run to great length, if I were to go through this one speech thus-this is enough for an example of my idea, and to prove the necessity of farther deviation; which still is departing from the author, and justifiable only by strong necessity, such as should not be admitted, till the sense of the original had been labored to the utmost and been found irreducible. opinion, neither Dryden nor Pope would have dared to do. On the contrary, I see notl # I could have escaped that imputation, had I followed Pope in his own way. A closer translation was called for. I verily believed that rhyme had betrayed Pope into his deviations. For me, therefore, to have used his mode of versifying, would have been to expose myself to the same miscarriage, at the same time that I had not his talents to atone for it. I agree with your lordship that a translation perfectly close is impossible, because time I will end this by giving you the strictest has sunk the original strict import of a thoutranslation I can invent, leaving you the dou-sand phrases, and we have no means of re ble task of bringing it closer, and of polishing it into the style of poetry. Ah Phoenix, aged father, guest of Jove! I have thought that hero has contracted a different sense than it had in Homer's time, and is better rendered great man; but I am aware that the enclitics and other little words, falsely called expletives, are not introduced even so much as the genius of our language would admit. The euphony I leave entirely to you. Adieu! TO THE LORD THURLOW. My Lord,-We are of one mind as to the agreeable effect of rhyme, or euphony, in the lighter kinds of poetry. The pieces which your lordship mentions would certainly be spoiled by the loss of it, and so would all such. The "Alma" would lose all its neatness and smartness, and "Hudibras" all its humor. But in grave poems of extreme length, I apprehend that the case is different. Long before I thought of commencing poet myself, have complained, and heard others complain, of the wearisomeness of such poems. Not that I suppose that tedium the effect of rhyme itself, but rather of the perpetual recurrence of the same pause and cadence, unavoidable in the English couplet. I hope, I may say truly, it was not in a spirit of presumption that I undertook to do what, in your lordship's I covering it. But if we cannot be unimpeachably faithful, that is no reason why we should not be as faithful as we can; and if blank verse affords the fairest chance, then it claims the preference. Your lordship, I will venture to say, can command me nothing in which I will not obey with the greatest alacrity. Ει δύναμαι τέλεσαι γε, και ει τετελεσμένου εστε. But when, having made as close a translation ias even you can invent, you enjoin me to make it still closer, and in rhyme too, I can only reply, as Horace to Agustus, Deficiunt cupidum, pater optime, vires I have not treacherously departed from my pattern that I might seem to give some proof of the justness of my own opinion, but have fairly and honestly adhered as closely to it as I could. Yet your lordship will not have to compliment me on my success, either in respect of the poetical merit of my lines, or of their fidelity. They have just enough of each to make them deficient in the other. [sense Oh Phoenix, father, friend, guest sent from Jove, Since I wrote these I have looked at Pope's. I am certainly somewhat closer to the original than he, but farther I say not. I shall wait with impatience for your lordship's conclasions from these premises, and remain, in the meantime, with great truth, my lord, &c. W. C. TO WILLIAM COWPER, ESQ. Dear Cowper, I have received your letter on my journey through London, and as the chaise waits I shall be short. I did not mean it as a sign of any presumption that you have attempted what neither Dryden nor Pope would have dared; but merely as a proof of their addiction to rhyme; for I am clearly convinced that Homer may be better translated than into rhyme, and that you have succeeded in the places I have looked into. But I have fancied that it might have been still more literal, preserving the ease of genuine English and melody, and some degree of that elevation which Homer derives from simplicity. But I could not do it, or even near enough to form a judgment, or more than a fancy about it. Nor do I fancy it could be done "stans pede in uno." But when the mind has been fully impregnated with the original passage, often revolving it, and waiting for a happy moment, may still be necessary to the best trained mind. Adieu. THURLOW. TO THE LORD THURLOW. And might in arms, as ye have giv'n to me, He spake, and to his lovely spouse consign'd Book vi. line 524. The fatal conflict between Hector and Achilles : So saying, his keen falchion from his side He drew, well tempered, ponderous, and rush'd At once to combat. As the eagle darts Right downward through a sullen cloud to seize Weak lamb or tim'rous hare, so he to fight Impetuous sprang, and shook his glittering blade. Achilles opposite, with fellest ire Full-fraught came on; his shield with various art Divine portray'd, o'erspread his ample chest ; And on his radiant casque terrific wav'd, By Vulcan spun, his crest of bushy gold. Bright as among the stars. the star of all Most splendid, Hesperus, at midnight moves; So in the right hand of Achilles beam'd To Hector, he explor'd his noble form, His brandish'd spear, while, meditating woe Seeking where he was vulnerable most. But every part. his dazzling armor, torn From brave Patroclus' body, well-secur'd, These letters cannot fail to be read with Disjoins the shoulder; there his throat appear'd, Save where the circling key-bone from the neck great interest. Whence injur'd life with swiftest flight escapes. Achilles plunging in that part his spear, Impell'd it through the yielding flesh beyond. Still unimpair'd, but in the dust he fell. The ashen beam his power of utt'rance left My Lord, I haunt you with letters, but will trouble you now with a short line, only to tell your lordship how happy I am that any part of my work has pleased you. I have a comfortable consciousness that the whole has been executed with equal industry and attention; and am, my lord, with many thanks to you for snatching such a hasty moment to write to me, your lordship's obliged and affectionate humble servant. W. COWPER. Having in a former part of this work contrasted the two versions of Cowper and Pope, we shall now close the subject, by quoting Cowper's translation of some well-known and admired passages in the original poem. The classical reader will thus be enabled to determine how far the poet has succeeded in the application of his own principle, and retained the bold and lofty spirit of Homer, while he aims at transfusing his noble simplicity, and adhering strictly to his genuine meaning. We have selected the following specimens. Hector extending his arms to caress his son The indingant answer of Achilles to the prayer of Hector: Dog! neither knees nor parents name to me. *For two other versions of this passage, see Letters, dated Dec. 17, 1793, and Jan. 5, 1794. Not even then should she who bare thee weep Upon thy bier; for dogs and rav'ning fowls Shall rend thy flesh, till ev'ry bone be bare. Hector's last dying words: I knew thee; knew that I should sue in vain; The interview between Achilles and Priam, who comes to ransom the body of Hector: One I had, One, more than all my sons the strength of Troy, O, fear the gods! and for remembrance' sake Without entering upon any minute analysis of the above passages, we consider them as exhibiting a happy specimen of poetic talent; and that Cowper has been successful in exemplifying the rules and principles which, in his preface, he declares to be indispensable in a version of Homer. It may be interesting to literary curiosity to be presented with a summary of facts, respecting Cowper's two versions of Homer. This important undertaking commenced Nov. 21st, 1784, and was completed August 25th, 1790. During eight months of this intervening time, he was hindered by indisposition, so that he was occupied in the work, on the whole, five years and one month. On the 8th of September, 1790, his kinsman, the Rev. John Johnson, conveyed the translation to Johnson, the bookseller in St. Paul's Churchyard, with a view to its consignment to the press. During this period Cowper gave the work a second revisal, which he concluded March 4th, 1791. On July 1st of the same year the publication issued from the press. In 1793 there was a further revision, with the addition of explanatory notes, a second edition having been called for. In 1796 he engaged in a revisal of the whole work, which, owing to his state of mind and declining health, was not finished till March 8th, 1799. In January, 1800, he newmodwhere mention is made of the very ancient elled a passage in his translation of the Iliad, sculpture, in which Daedalus had represented the Cretan dance for Ariadne. This proved to be the last effort of his pen.* We have thought it due to Cowper's version to enter thus largely into an examination of its merits, from a persuasion that an undertaking of this magnitude, executed by the author of "The Task," claims to be consid ered as a part of our national literature. It remains only to be observed that the foreigner whom he mentions with so much esti mation, as having aided him with his critical taste and erudition, was Fuseli the painter. He gratefully acknowledges his obligations in the following letters to Johnson the book seller. Weston, Feb. 11, 1790, Dear Sir, I am very sensibly obliged by the remarks of Mr. Fuseli, and beg that you will tell him so; they afford me opportunities of improvement which I shall not neglect. When he shall see the press-copy, he will be convinced of this, and will be convinced likewise, that, smart as he sometimes is, he spares me often, when I have no mercy on myself. He will see almost a new transla tion. . . . I assure you faithfully, that whatever my faults may be, to be easily or hastily satisfied with what I have written is not one of them. Sept. 7, 1790. It grieves me that, after all, I am obliged to go into public without the whole advantage of Mr. Fuseli's judicious strictures. The only consolation is, that I have not forfeited them by my own impatience. Five years are no small portion of a man's life, especially at the latter end of it, and in those five years, being a man of almost no engagements, I have done more in the way of hard work, than most could have done in twice the number. I beg you to present my compliments to Mr. Fuseli, with many and sincere thanks for the services that his own more important occupations would allow him to render me. We add one more letter in this place, addressed to his bookseller, to show with what becoming resolution he could defend his poetical opinions when he considered them to be just. Some accidental reviser of the manuscript had taken the liberty to alter a line in a poem * See Dr. Johnson's sketch of the Life of Cowper. of Cowper's: this liberty drew from the offended poet the following very just and animated remonstrance, which we are anxious to preserve, because it elucidates with great felicity of expression his deliberate ideas on English versification. "I did not write the line that has been tampered with, hastily, or without due attention to the construction of it; and what appeared to me its only merit is, in its present state, entirely annihilated. "I know that ears of modern verse-writers are delicate to an excess, and their readers are troubled with the same squeamishness as themselves. So that if a line do not run as smooth as quicksilver, they are offended. A critic of the present day serves a poem as a cook serves a dead turkey, when she fastens the legs of it to a post, and draws out all the sinews. For this we may thank Pope; but unless we could imitate him in the closeness and compactness of his expression, as well as in the smoothness of his numbers, we had better drop the imitation, which serves no other purpose than to emasculate and weaken all we write. Give me a manly rough line, with a deal of meaning in it, rather than a whole poem full of musical periods, that have nothing but their oily smoothness to recommend them! "I have said thus much, as I hinted in the beginning, because I have just finished a much longer poem than the last, which our common friend will receive by the same messenger that has the charge of this letter. In that poem there are many lines which an ear so nice as the gentleman's who made the abovementioned alteration would undoubtedly condemn, and yet (if I may be permitted to say it) they cannot be made smoother without being the worse for it. There is a roughness on a plum, which nobody that understands fruit would rub off, though the plum would be much more polished without it. But, lest I tire you, I will only add, that I wish you to guard me from all such meddling, assuring you, that I always write as smoothly as I can, but that I never did, never will, sacrifice the spirit or sense of a passage to the sound of it." Cowper was much affected at this time by a severe indisposition, to which he alludes in the following letter. TO THOMAS PARK, ESQ. Elegy on Seduction,* but have not as yet been able to proceed farther. The best way of returning these which I have now in hand, will be to return them with those which you propose to send hereafter. I will make no more apologies for any liberties that it may seem necessary to me to take with your copies. Why do you send them, but that I may exercise that freedom, of which the very act of sending them implies your permission? I will only say, therefore, that you must neither be impatient nor even allow yourself to think me tardy, since assuredly I will not be more so than I needs must be. My hands are pretty full. Milton must be forwarded, and is at present hardly begun; and I have beside a numerous correspondence, which engrosses more of my time than I can at present well afford to it. I cannot decide with myself whether the lines in which the reviewers are so smartly noticed had better be expunged or not. These lines are gracefully introduced and well written; for which reasons I should be loath to part with them. On the other hand, how far it may be prudent to irritate a body of critics, who certainly much influence the public opinion, may deserve consideration. It may be added too, that they are not equally worthy of the lash: there are among them men of real learning, judgment, and candor. I must leave it, therefore, to your own determination. I thank you for Thomson's Epitaph, on which I have only to remark (and I am sure that I do it not in a captious spirit) that, since the poet is himself the speaker, I cannot but question a little the propriety of the quotation subjoined. It is a prayer, and when the man is buried, the time of prayer is over. I know it may be answered, that it is placed there merely for the benefit of the reader; but all readers of tombstones are not wise enough to be trusted for such an interpretation. I was well pleased with your poem on * * and equally well pleased with your intention not to publish it. It proves two points of consequence to an author:-both that you have an exuberant fancy, and discretion enough to know how to deal with it. The man is as formidable for his ludicrous talent, as he has made himself contemptible by his use of it. To despise him therefore is natural, but it is wise to do it in secret. Since the juvenile poems of Milton were edited by Warton, you need not trouble yourself to send them. I have them of his edition already. I am, dear sir, Affectionately yours, Weston Underwood, April 27, 1792. Dear Sir, I write now merely to prevent any suspicion in your mind that I neglect you. I have been very ill, and for more than a fortnight unable to use the pen, or you should have heard long ere now of the safe arrival of your packet. I have revised the nets and miscellaneous poems. W. C. The marriage of Miss Stapleton, the Cath*This Elegy is inserted in Mr. Park's volume of son arina of Cowper, to Sir John Throckmorton's brother, (now Mr. Courtenay,) was one of those events which the muse of Cowper had ventured to anticipate; and he had now the happiness of finding his cherished wish amply fulfilled, and of thereby securing them as neighbors at the Hall.* TO LADY HESKETH. Weston, May 20, 1792. My dearest Coz,-I rejoice as thou reason ably supposest me to do, in the matrimonial news communicated in your last. Not that it was altogether news to me, for twice I had received broad hints of it from Lady Frog, by letter, and several times viva voce while she was here. But she enjoined me secrecy as well as you, and you know that all secrets are safe with me; safer far than the winds in the bags of Eolus. I know not, in fact, the lady whom it would give me more pleasure to call Mrs. Courtenay, than the lady in question; partly because I know her, but especially because I know her to be all that I can wish in a neighbor. I have often observed, that there is a regular alternation of good and evil in the lot of men, so that a favorable incident may be considered as the harbinger of an unfavorable one, and vice versa. Dr. Madan's experience witnesses to the truth of this observation. One day he gets a broken head, and the next a mitre to heal it. I rejoice that he has met with so effectual a cure, though my joy is not unmingled with concern; for till now I had some hopes of seeing him, but since I live in the north, and his episcopal call is in the west, that is a gratification, I suppose, which I must no longer look for. My sonnet, which I sent you, was printed in the Northampton paper, last week, and this week it produced me a complimentary one in the same paper, which served to convince me, at least by the matter of it, that my own was not published without occasion, and that it had answered its purpose.† *This wish is expressed in the following lines:-- She will have just the life she prefers, With little to hope or to fear, And ours would be pleasant as hers, See Verses addressed to Miss Stapleton, p. 343. We have succeeded in obtaining these verses, and think them worthy of insertion: TO WILLIAM COWPER, ESQ., ON READING HIS SONNET OF THE SIXTEENTH INSTANT Desert the cause of liberty!-the cause My correspondence with Hayley proceeds briskly, and is very affectionate on both sides. I expect him here in about a fortnight, and wish heartily, with Mrs. Unwin, that you would give him a meeting. Iave promised him, indeed, that he shall find us alone, but you are one of the family. I wish much to print the following lines in one of the daily papers. Lord S.'s vindication of the poor culprit in the affair of Cheit Sing, has confirmed me in the belief that he has been injuriously treated, and I think it an act merely of justice to take a little notice of him. TO WARREN HASTINGS, ESQ Weston, May, 20, 1722. My dearest of all Johnnies,-I am not sorry that your ordination is postponed. A year's learning and wisdom, added to your present stock, will not be more than enough to satisfy the demands of your function. Neither am I sorry that you find it difficult to fix your thoughts to the serious point at all times. It proves, at least, that you at tempt, and wish to do it, and these are good symptoms. Woe to those who enter on the ministry of the gospel without having previously asked, at least from God, a mind and spirit suited to their occupation, and whose experience never differs from itself, because they are always alike vain, light, and inconsiderate. It is, therefore, matter of great joy to me to hear you complain of levity, and such it is to Mrs. Unwin. She is, I thank God, tolerably well, and loves you. As to the time of your journey hither, the sooner after June the better; till then we shall have company. As soon the foes of Afric might expect April 25, 1792. * Warren Hastings, at that time under impeachment, as Governor-general of India. |