Anglo-Saxon Literature Part 18

Gregory's "Dialogues," on the contrary, were translated, not by the king, but by Werferth, bishop of Worcester, as we are informed by a.s.ser.[111] This translation is extant in ma.n.u.scripts, but it has not yet been edited. It is, perhaps, the most considerable piece of Anglo-Saxon literature that yet remains to be made public. And it is striking, though not unaccountable, that a book which was one of the most popular ever written,[112] which retained its popularity for centuries, and which has left behind it in literature and in popular Christian ethics bold traces of its influence, should, in the modern revival of Anglo-Saxon, have been so long neglected. As this book is practically inaccessible, and as it was moreover a book peculiarly germane and congenial to the average intelligence of these times, it seems to claim a somewhat fuller notice.

Here, as in other translations, the king wrote a few words of preface.

Ic aelfred gyfendum Criste mid cynehades maernesse geweorthad haebbe cuthlice ongiten, and thurh haligra boca raedunge oft gehyred . thaet us tham G.o.d swa micele healicnysse woruld gethingtha forgifen haefth . is seo maeste thearf thaet we hwilon ure mod gelithian and gebigian to tham G.o.dcundum and gastlic.u.m rihte . betweoh thas eorthlican carfulnysse . and ic fortham sohte and wilnode to minum getrywum freondum thaet hy me of G.o.des boc.u.m be haligra manna theawum and wundrum awriton thas aefterfyligendan lare . thaet ic thurh tha mynegunge and lufe getrymmed on minum mode hwilum gehicge tha heofenlican thing betweoh thas eorthlican gedrefednyssa . Cuthlice we magan nu aet aerestan gehyran hu se eadiga and se apostolica wer Scs Gregorius spraec to his diacone tham waes nama Petrus . be haligra manna thaeawum and life, to lare and to bysne eallum tham the G.o.des willan wyrceath . and he be him silfum thisum wordum and thus cwaeth:--

I, Alfred, by the grace of Christ, dignified with the honour of royalty, have distinctly understood, and through the reading of holy books have often heard, that of us to whom G.o.d hath given so much eminence of worldly distinction, it is specially required that we from time to time should subdue and bend our minds to the divine and spiritual law, in the midst of this earthly anxiety; and I accordingly sought and requested of my trusty friends that they for me out of pious books about the conversation and miracles of holy men would transcribe the instruction that hereinafter followeth; that I, through the admonition and love being strengthened in my mind, may now and then contemplate the heavenly things in the midst of these earthly troubles. Plainly we can now at first hear how the blessed and apostolic man St. Gregory spake to his deacon whose name was Peter, about the manners and life of holy men for instruction and for example to all those who are working the will of G.o.d; and he spake about himself with these words and in this manner:--

Sumon[113] daege hit gelamp thaet ic waes swythe geswenced mid tham geruxlum and uneathnessum sumra woruldlicra ymbhegena . for tham underfenge thyses bisceoplican folgothes . On tham woruld scirum we beoth full oft geneadode thaet we doth tha thing the us is genoh cuth thaet we na ne sceoldon . Tha gelyste me thaere diglan stowe the ic aer on waes on mynstre .

seo is thaere gnornunge freond . fortham man simle maeg his sares and his unrihtes maest gethencean gif he ana bith on digolnysse . Thaer me openlice aet ywde hit sylf eall swa hwaet swa me mislicode be minre agenre wisan . and thaer beforan minre heortan eagan swutollice comon ealle tha gedonan unriht the gewunedon thaet hi me sar and sorge ongebrohton. Witodlice tha tha ic thaer saet swithe geswenced and lange sorgende . tha com me to min se leofesta sunu Petrus diacon se fram frymthe his iugothhades mid freondlicre lufe waes hiwcuthlice to me getheoded and getogen . and he simle waes min gefera to smeaunge haligre lare . and he tha lociende on me geseah thaet ic waes geswenced mid hefigum sare minre heortan . and he thus cwaeth to me, "La leof gelamp the aenig thing niwes . for hwan hafast thu maran gnornunge thonne hit aer gewunelic waere?" Tha cwaeth ic to him, "Eala Petrus seo gnornung the ic daeghwamlice tholie symle heo is me eald for gewunan .

and simle heo is me niwe thurh eacan."

On a certain day it happened that I was very much hara.s.sed with the contentions and worries of certain secular cares, in the discharge of this episcopal function. In secular offices we are very often compelled to do the things that we well enough know we ought not to do. Then my desire turned towards that retired place where I formerly was in the monastery. That is the friend of sorrow, because a man can always best think over his grief and his wrong, if he is alone in retirement. There everything plainly showed itself to me, whatever disquieted me about my own occupation; and there, before the eyes of my heart distinctly came all the practical wrongs which were wont to bring upon me grief and sorrow. Accordingly, while I was there sitting in great oppression and long silence, there came to me my beloved son Peter the deacon, who, from his early youth, with friendly love was intimately attached and bound to me; and he was ever my companion in the study of sacred lore. And he then looking on me saw that I was oppressed with the heavy grief of my heart, and he thus said to me, "Ah, sire, hath anything new happened to thee, by reason of which thou hast more grief than was formerly thy wont?" Then said I to him, "Alas, Peter, the grief which I daily endure it is to me always old for use and wont; and it is to me always new through the increase of it."

The edifying stories are sometimes as grotesque as the strangest carvings about a mediaeval edifice:--

A nun,[114] walking in the convent garden, took a fancy to eat a leaf of lettuce, and she ate, without first making the sign of the cross over it. Presently she was found to be possessed. At the approach of the abbot, the fiend protested it was not his fault; that he had been innocently sitting on a lettuce, and she ate him.[115]

In the Dialogues we recognise that peculiar ideal of sanct.i.ty which we identify not so much with Christianity as with mediaeval Christianity.

The bright samples of Christian virtues are too like those types which have afforded material to caricature. For example, aequitius, the good abbot, whose virtues adorn a series of narratives, practises in the following manner the virtue of humility:--

Sothlice he waes swithe waclic on his gewaedum and swa forsewenlic thaet, theah hwilc man him ongean come the hine ne cuthon, and he thone mid wordum gegrette, he waes forsewen thaet he naes ongean gegreted; and swa oft swa he to othrum stowum faran wolde, thonne waes his theaw thaet he wolde sittan on tham horse the he on tham mynstre forcuthost findan mihte, on tham eac he breac haelftre for bridele, and wethera fella for sadele.

Moreover, he was very mean in his clothing, and so abject, that though any one met him (of those who knew him not), and he greeted him with words, he was so despised that he was not greeted in return; and as often as he would travel to other places, then was it his custom to sit on the horse that he could find the most despicable in the abbey, on which, moreover, he used a halter for a bridle, and sheepskins for saddle.

Constantius was the name of a sacristan who completely despised all worldly goods, and his fame was spread abroad. On one occasion, when there was no oil for the lamps, he filled them with water, and they gave light just as if it had been oil. Visitors were attracted by the report of his sanct.i.ty. Once a countryman came from a distance (com feorran sum ceorl) to see a man of whom so much was said. When he came into the church, Constantius was on a ladder tr.i.m.m.i.n.g the lamps. He was an under-grown, slight-built, shabby figure. The countryman inquired which was Constantius; and, being told, was so shocked and disappointed, that he spoke sneeringly, "I expected to see a fine man, and this is not a man at all!"

Mid tham the se G.o.des wer Constantius tha this gehyrde, he sona swithe blithe forlet tha leoht fatu the he behwearf, and hraedlice nyther astah and thone ceorl beclypte and mid swithlicre lufe ongann mid his earmum hinc clyppan and cyssan and him swithe thancian, thaet he swa be him gedemde, and thus cwaeth: "Thu ana haefdest ontynde eagan on me and me mid rihte oncneowe."

When Constantius the man of G.o.d heard this, he forthwith in great joy left the lamps he was attending to, and nimbly descended and embraced the countryman, and with exceeding love began to hold him in his arms, and kiss him, and heartily thank him, that he had so judged of him; and thus he quoth:--"Thou alone hadst opened eyes upon me, and thou didst rightly know me."

Our next and last example is a story of a well-known type, and perhaps the oldest extant instance of it:--

Eac on othrum timan hit gelamp thaet him to becom for geneosunge thingon swa swa his theaw waes Servandus se diacon and abbod thaes mynstres the Liberius se ealdormann in getimbrode on suth Langbeardena landes daelum. Witodlice he geneosode Benedictes mynster gelomlice . to tham thaet hi him betwynon gemaenelice him on aguton tha swetan lifes word . and thone wynsuman mete thaes heofonlican etheles .

thone hi tha gyta fullfremedlice geblissiende thicgean ne mihton . huru thinga hi hine geomriende onbyrigdon . for tham the se ylca wer Servandus eac fleow on lare heofonlicre gife. Sothlice tha tha eallunga becom se tima hyra reste and stillnysse . tha geloG.o.de se arwurtha Benedictus hine sylfne on sumes stypeles upflora . and Servandus se diacon gereste hine on thaere nyther flore thaes ylcan stypeles . and waes on thaere ylcan stowe trumstaeger mid gewissum stapum fram thaere nyther flora to thaere up flora. Waes eac aet foran tham ylcan stypele sum rum hus . on tham hyra begra gingran hi gereston . Tha tha se drihtnes wer Benedictus behoG.o.de thone timan his nihtlican gebedes tham brothrum restendum . tha gestod he thurhwacol aet anum eahthyrle biddende thone aelmihtigan drihten . and tha faeringa on tham timan thaere nihte stillnysse him ut lociendum geseah he ufan onsended leoht afligean ealle tha nihtlican thystru . and mid swa micelre beorhtnesse scinan thaet thaet leoht the thaer lymde betweoh tham thystrum waes beorhtre thonne daeges leoht. Hwaet tha on thysre sceawunge swythe wundorlic thing aefter fyligde . swa swa he sylf syththan rehte . thaet eac eall middaneard swylce under anum sunnan leoman geloG.o.d . waere be foran his eagan gelaeded .

Tha tha se arwurtha faeder his eagena atihtan scearpnysse gefaestnode on thaere beorhtnesse thaes scinendan leohtes .

tha geseah he englas ferian on fyrenum cliwene in to heofenum Germanes sawle . se waes bisceop Capuane thaere ceastre . He wolde tha gelangian him sylfum sumne gewitan swa miceles wundres. and Servandum thone diacon clypode tuwa and thriwa . and ofthraedlice his naman nemde mid hreames micelnysse. Servandus tha wearth gedrefed for tham ungewunelican hreame swa maeres weres . and he up astah and thider locode . and geseah eallunga lytelne dael thaes leohtes. Tham diacone tha wafiendum for thus mycelum wundre . se G.o.des wer be endebyrdnysse gerehte tha thing the thaer gewordene waeron . and on Casino tham stoc wic tham eawfaestan were Theoprobo thaer rihte bebead . thaet he on thaere ylcan nihte asende sumne mann to Capuanan thaere byri . and gewiste and him eft gecythde hwaet waere geworden be Germane tham bisceope. Tha waes geworden thaet se the thyder asended waes gemette eallunga forthferedne thone arwurthan wer Germanum bisceop . and he tha smeathancollice axiende on cneow thaet his forsith waes on tham ylcan tyman the se drihtnes wer oncneow his upstige to heofenum.

Also at another time it happened that there came to him for a visit, as his custom was, Servandus, the deacon and abbot of the monastery that Liberius the patrician had formerly built in South Lombardy (_in Campaniae partibus_). In fact, he used to visit Benedict's monastery frequently, to the end that in each other's company they might be mutually refreshed with the sweet words of life, and the delectable food of the heavenly country, which they could not, as yet, with perfect bliss enjoy, but at least they did in aspiration taste it, inasmuch as the said Servandus was likewise abounding in the lore of heavenly grace. When, however, at length the time was come for their rest and repose, the venerable Benedict was lodged in the upper floor of a tower, and Servandus the deacon rested in the nether floor of the same tower; and there was in the same place a solid staircase with plain steps, from the nether floor to the upper floor. There was, moreover, in front of the same tower a s.p.a.cious house, in which slept the disciples of them both. When, now, Benedict, the man of G.o.d, was keeping the time of his nightly prayer during the brethren's rest, then stood he all vigilant at a window praying to the Almighty Lord; and then suddenly, in that time of the nocturnal stillness, as he looked out, he saw a light sent from on high disperse all the darkness of the night, and shine with a brightness so great that the light which then gleamed in the midst of the darkness was brighter than the light of day. Lo then, in this sight a very wonderful thing followed next, as he himself afterwards related; that even all the world, as if placed under one ray of the sun, was displayed before his eyes.

When, now, the venerable father had fastened the intent observation of his eyes on the brightness of that shining light, then saw he angels conveying in a fiery group into heaven the soul of Germa.n.u.s, who was bishop of the city Capua. He desired then to secure to himself a witness of so great a wonder, and he called Servandus the deacon twice and thrice; and repeatedly he named his name with a loud exclamation. Servandus then was disturbed at the unusual outcry of the honoured man, and he mounted the stairs and looked as directed, and he saw verily a small portion of that light. And, as the deacon was then amazed for so great a wonder, the man of G.o.d related to him in order the things that had there happened; and forthwith he sent orders to the faithful man Theoprobus in Casinum the chief house, that he in the self-same night should send a man to the city of Capua, and should ascertain and report to him what had happened about Germa.n.u.s the bishop. Then it came to pa.s.s that he who was thither sent found that the venerable man, Germa.n.u.s the bishop had indeed died; and he then cautiously enquiring, discovered that his departure was at that very time that the man of G.o.d had witnessed his ascent to heaven.

Petrus cwaeth: "This is swithe wundorlic thing and thearle to wafienne." Book ii., c. 35.

Peter said: "This is a very wonderful thing, and greatly to be marvelled at."

In the translation of the "Comfort of Philosophy," the translator makes his greatest effort and exerts the utmost capabilities of his language.

He is not bound by any verbal fidelity to his author; he rather adapts the book to his own use and mental exercitation. In the original the author is visited in affliction by Philosophy, and with this heavenly visitant a dialogue ensues, interspersed with choral odes. Alfred sinks the First Person of the author, and makes the dialogue run between Heavenly Wisdom and the Mind (thaet Mod).

The choral odes (generally called the Metres of Boethius) must have been very hard for Alfred to translate, and they are done somewhat vaguely.

We have them in two translations, one in prose and the other in verse.

There is no doubt that the poetical version was made from the prose version, without any fresh reference to the Latin. The two are often verbally identical, with a little change in the order of words, and some necessary additions to satisfy the alliteration, or fill out the poetic rhythm. It was long ago observed by Hickes that the style of these poems differed little from prose; but it was Mr. Thomas Wright who first noticed that they were, in fact, merely a versified arrangement of the prose translation.

The same critic gave reasons for thinking that the versified metres were by some later hand, and not by King Alfred. This has been recently the subject of a very interesting discussion in the German periodical "Anglia," it being maintained by Dr. M. Hartmann that they are by Alfred, and the opposite view (that of Mr. T. Wright) being advocated by Dr. A. Leicht.

When the Boethian metres make their appearance in Anglo-Saxon poetic dress, they are considerably expanded. The original prose translation is itself expansive, because the poetry of Boethius is exceedingly terse, and cannot be rendered into readable prose without enlargement. The work of the Saxon versifier is attended with further expansion, because of the mechanical exigencies of the poetic form.

The twentieth metre (iii. 9) offers an extreme case of this kind. Here the original consists of twenty-six hexameters, and the Anglo-Saxon poem has 281 long lines. In this case, however, the poetic expansion is not wholly mechanical; the poet has made some real additions to the thought.

The chief of these is a new simile, in which the poising of the Earth in s.p.a.ce is ill.u.s.trated by the yolk of an egg. The prose translation runs thus:--

Thu gestatholadest eorthan swithe wundorlice and faestlice thaet he ne helt on nane healfe . ne on nanum eorthlic thinge ne stent ne nanwuht eorthlices hi ne healt . thaet hio ne sige . and nis hire thonne ethre to feallanne of dune thonne up.

Thou hast established the earth very wondrously and firmly that it does not heel[116] over on any side: and yet it stands not on any earthly thing, nor does anything earthly hold it up that it sink not; and yet it is no easier for it to fall down than up.

The poetic version enlarges as follows:--

Thu gestatholadest thurh tha strongan meaht weroda wuldor cyning wunderlice eorthan swa faeste thaet hio on aenige healfe ne heldeth ne maeg hio hider ne thider sigan the swithor the hio symle dyde.

Hwaet hi theah eorthlices auht ne haldeth is theah efn ethe up and of dune to feallanne foldan thisse: thaem anlicost the on aege bith geoleca on middan glideth hwaethre aeg ymbutan .

Swa stent eall weoruld still on tille streamas ymbutan lagufloda gelac lyfte and tungla and sio scire scell scritheth ymbutan dogora gehwilce.

dyde lange swa.

Thou didst establish through strong might glorious king of hosts wonderfully the earth so fast that she on any side heeleth not nor can hither or thither any more decline than she ever did.

Lo nothing earthly though at all sustains her, it is equally easy upwards and downwards that there should be a fall of this earth: likest to that which we see in an egg; the yolk in the midst and yet gliding free the egg round about.

So standeth the world still in its place, while streaming around, water-floods play, welkin and stars, and the shining sh.e.l.l circleth about day by day now as it did long ago.

The translation of Orosius embodies a considerable piece of original matter. Orosius had given, in the opening of his work, a geographical sketch of Europe and Asia. In the translation a large addition is made to the geography of Europe, and it was an addition not merely to this book, but (so far as appears) to the stock of existing geographical knowledge. This insertion consists of three parts, 1. A map-like description of Central Europe; 2. Narrative of Ohthere, who had voyaged round the North Cape; 3. Voyage of Wulfstan from Denmark along the southern and eastern coasts of the Baltic. Ohthere's Narrative is connected with King Alfred by name:--"Ohthere saede his hlaforde aelfrede kynincge thaet he ealra Northmanna northmest bude," _i.e._, Ohthere said to his lord, King Alfred, that he of all Northmen had the most northerly home.

The translation of Beda skips lightly over much of the twenty-two preliminary chapters, giving good measure, however, to the description of Britain and to the martyrdom of St. Alban. All about Gregory and Augustine is full. So also about Eadwine, Oswald, Aidan, Oswy, and St.

Chad. (But all that famous section (iii. 25, 26) which describes the crisis between the churches, the synod of Whitby, and the Scotian departure, is omitted altogether). Full measure is given to Theodore, the synod of Hertford, Wilfrid, Queen aetheldrith, Hilda, and Caedmon. So also Cuthbert and John of Hexham. Fully rendered are the failure of the Irish and the success of the Anglian missions to Germany; also the visions which we may call Dantesque. (The whole section about Ad.a.m.nan's influence and writings (v. 15, 16, 17) is omitted.) But about Aldhelm and his writings; also Daniel, bishop of Winchester; the end of Wilfrid; and about Albinus, the successor of Adrian, is fully rendered.

The Anglo-Saxon Gospels must be mentioned here. This is a book about which we have no external information, and the ma.n.u.scripts are comparatively late. But the diction leads us to place it in or about the times of Alfred.

It is probable that the "Beowulf" is the product of the same reign; while the volume of sacred poetry that is designated by the name of "Caedmon" appears (at least the first part of it) to be either of this time or possibly older.

If with the above we embrace in our view the Laws of this reign and the evidence of contemporary work in the Chronicles, we must be struck with the extent of this great muster of native literature. But we shall hardly do it justice unless we remember that this is the first national display of the kind in the progress of modern Europe. Native poetry had been cultivated in the Anglian period, and there had been a vernacular apparatus to a.s.sist the study of Latin, but of a varied and comprehensive literature in English or any other European vernacular, we find no trace until now. We must not look upon Alfred's translations as mere helps to the Latin. What with the freedom and independence of treatment, and what with the original additions, they have a large claim to the character of domestic products. The very scheme itself, that of using translation as a medium of culture, which is now so familiar to us, was then quite a novel idea. In his preface to the "Pastoral," the king casts about for precedents, and he finds none but the translations of Scripture into Greek and into Latin, and these do not, in fact, make a true parallel. But he could hardly have used this argument without a conscious pride that he had in his mother tongue an instrument not unpractised, and not altogether unworthy to be the first of barbarian languages to tread in the footsteps of the Greek and Latin.

This, then (I comprise the matter of three previous chapters and of three that are to follow) is the "Anglo-Saxon"[117] literature, properly so called; for that expression, if used with technical exactness, affords a term of distinction for the later literature of the south as against the earlier literature of the north, which has been called the Anglian period.

FOOTNOTES:

[108] a.s.ser's "Life of Alfred," in "Monumenta Historica Britannica,"

487A.

[109] It was published for the first time in 1871, being edited by Mr.

Sweet for the Early English Text Society.

[110] Wanley's "Catalogue," p. 217.

[111] "Monumenta Historica Britannica," 486 E.