between the time when Mr. Gladstone wrote on Homer, and the time when he published his translation of the Odes, is one of the most important periods of English history. Certainly it has been more productive of important political changes than any period of equal length. It will largely occupy the historians of the future. We are only thinking of it at present as being the epoch during which the literary character of the House of Commons underwent a momentous change. When Mr. Gladstone first entered the House of Commons, far more than half its members were scholars. Not so now. The time is coming, and indeed has already come, when the possession of great literary powers and high classical culture, so far from being a recommendation to success in the Lower House, will be a positive bar to it. We may not yet have quite reached the time when the candidate for the votes of a constituency will meet with the repartee recorded by the Greek comedian: "No scholar I: letters I know but poorly." but we are fast approaching it. Quotation of Latin poets like Virgil and Horace in the House is a thing of the past. Mr. Gladstone is of all men the most responsible for this change, a change which of course is altogether due to the fact that our representatives are to a large extent taken from a lower stratum of society than formerly. The same cause tells, and will tell more, against translating the classics, as the welcome pastime of a politician's leisure. And it is a noteworthy circumstance that this book, which may be the euthanasia of scholarship in public men, should be the work of him to whom the extinction of that scholarship is mainly due. Mr. Gladstone is not the first man who has both been Prime Minister and published translations from Horace : he may be the last. Another thing which makes this book memorable is the indomitable courage of the author, and the extraordinary difficulties under which the greater part of the book has been written. No more courageous deed in literary history has ever been recorded than that Mr. Gladstone, at his age and with his physical infirmity, should enter the lists and challenge translators like Martin and Lytton and Conington and De Vere and Ravensworth, to say nothing of even greater names among the writers of former centuries; should voluntarily gratify the proverbial wish of an enemy; should face the inevitable 'Atque utinam his potius nugis tota illa dedisset Tempora': an aspiration in which we will not, on the present occasion, say how far we share. Vol. 180.-No. 359. It is commonly supposed, we believe, that the work was all written since Mr. Gladstone resigned office in the spring of last year, or since he contemplated resignation. This is not likely with respect to the Ode to Pyrrha and the Amœbæan Ode, it certainly is not the case; probably several other odes were translated many years ago. In the year 1861 Mr. Gladstone published in conjunction with the late Lord Lyttelton a volume of translations with the dedication: Ex voto communi in Memoriam Duplicum Nuptiarum viii. kal. Aug. 1839.' To that volume Mr. Gladstone contributed just a score of translations, and among them were the Ode to Pyrrha and the Amobæan: these had been translated in 1859 and 1858 respectively. These versions were much praised at the time, and, in our judgment, merited the praise which they received; and we shall think it likely, until we are corrected, that Mr. Gladstone, encouraged by the praise he won, from time to time in his leisure moments translated an ode here and an ode there. These would naturally be the best odes; and to this we may ascribe the inequality which exists between the versions—namely, that Mr. Gladstone translated several of the best odes at times when he was able to concentrate his powers, while in their prime, on specially selected poems. Take for instance the 'O navis,' i. 14: 'O ship, new billows sweep thee out Seaward. What wilt thou? hold the port, be stout. How rent by stiff south-western blast, 'Thy side of rowers how forlorn? Thine hull, with groaning yards, with rigging torn, Can ill sustain The fierce, and ever fiercer, main; 'Thy gods, no more than sails entire, From whom yet once thy need might aid require. O Pontic pine, The first of woodland stocks is thine, 'Yet race and name are but as dust. Not painted sterns give storm-tost seamen trust. To be the sport of storms, beware. 'Of old at best a weary weight, A yearning care and constant strain of late, O shun the seas That gird those glittering Cyclades.' This is one of the best of Mr. Gladstone's translations, and gives us more pleasure than any other version of the ode with which we are acquainted. The first, second, and last stanzas are admirable. How good is 'weary weight' for 'sollicitum tædium,' and 'yearning care' for desiderium.' There are one or two expressions which might, perhaps, be improved. Mr. Deazeley renders 'fortiter occupa portum'' bravely make the harbour,' and we suppose make the port' is sufficiently nautical; if so, we should prefer 'make' to 'hold.' 'Rent' is rather strong for 'saucius': we should prefer 'cracked' or 'strained.' We cannot commend thou dare,' nor do we much care for those glittering Cyclades.' Though Mr. Gladstone affects this usage, we should substitute 'the' for those' wherever it occurs thus. The demonstrative expresses either familiarity or contempt. Now we should very much like to know the date when this fine translation was made. Was it when Mr. Gladstone had finally laid aside the 'weary weight' of office in 1894, and was looking forward with 'yearning care' to the career of the new Palinurus to whom he had resigned the helm? That would indeed be an apt date to assign; but there is a maturity and finish about this translation which make us inclined to ascribe it to an earlier epoch. We are very much mistaken if it was made within the last two years. Next to this the Ode to Pyrrha, the Amœbæan Ode, and the 'Exegi monumentum' please us best. The second stanza of the first is as good as any we know, not excluding Milton's: 'Full oft shall he thine altered faith bewail, His altered gods: and his unwonted gaze Nor are the last two stanzas of the Amoebæan capable of much improvement : 'HORACE. 'What, if our ancient love awoke, And bound us with its golden yoke; If auburn Chloë I resign And Lydia once again be mine? LYDIA. "Though fairer than the stars is he, Thou rougher than the Adrian sea, And fickle as light cork, yet I With thee would live, with thee would die.' Very trifling objection can be taken to this. What if' with a past tense when a future is intended is quite justifiable, and 6 so is the change of construction in the third verse. There is, however, no necessity to substitute golden' for brazen (aëneo): a brazen yoke' would mean a love which would know no end, and that was what Horace intended. The fourth verse is not so strong as the original rejectæque patet janua Lydiæ,' but the Latin is unnecessarily rude. A star' would be better than the stars,' and 'a star' is the reading of 1861. The main difficulty in the ode is presented by levior cortice,' which is very hard to translate, owing to the double meaning of 'levis' in Latin, 'light' and 'fickle': cork, though light, is not fickle. Perhaps it may interest the reader to see how these stanzas are turned by other hands, and how they get over the difficulties: 'HOR. 'LYD. 'HE. 'SHE. 'HORACE. LORD DERBY. What if the former chain, And bow once more beneath the accustomed yoke? And Lydia fill the vacant throne? Though bright as Morning Star Though more inconstant far And easier chafed than Adria's billows thou, LORD LYTTON. What if Venus fled-returning, Forced us two, dissevered now, back into her brazen yoke ; And to Lydia, now shut out, opened once again the Than a star though he be fairer, Lighter thou than drifted cork-rougher thou than Hadrian wave Yet how willingly I answer, "Tis with thee that I would live-gladly I with thee would die.' SIR THEODORE MARTIN. 'LYDIA. < LYDIA. H. * L. HE. SHE. Though lovelier than yon star is he, CONINGTON. What now, if Love returning Should pair us 'neath his brazen yoke once more, And, bright-hair'd Chloë spurning, Horace to off-cast Lydia ope his door? Though he is fairer, milder, Than starlight, you lighter than bark of tree, With you to live, to die, were bliss for me.' RUTHERFURD CLARK. What if the old love now desired To yoke our sundered spirits come? And outcast Lydia welcomed home? He shames the stars, and thou art light WALKER. HORACE. What! if old love return and bring once more < LYDIA. Though fairer he than radiant star, and thou, Well pleased to live, with thee not loth to die.' To these we will add the rendering of Bishop Atterbury, whose version of this ode was once much admired. 'HORACE. What if sweet love, whose bands we broke, < LYDIA. Again should tame us to the yoke; Should banished Chloë cease to reign, And Lydia her lost power regain? Though Hesper be less fair than he, Lighter than down; yet gladly I With thee would live, with thee would die.' We |