mlsiWKnH
HANDBOUND AT THE
UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO PRESS
MODERN
LANGUAGE NOTES.
A. MARSHALL ELLIOTT,
MANAGING EDITOR.
JAMES W. BRIGHT, JULIUS GOEBEL, HENRY ALFRED TODD,
ASSOCIATE EDITORS.
VOLUME III. 1888.
BALTIMORE : THE EDITORS.
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
ORIGINAL ARTICLES.
To Our leaders 1
Gerber, Adolph, Modern Languages In the
University of Prance, 1 1-10
Cook, A. 8., Notes on Old English Words
[ Cumbol. Mittan, Milting] 11-13
Wells, Benj. W., Strong Verbs in Aelfric's
Judith 13-15
Dodge, Daniel Kilham, On a Verse in the Old
Norse "HOfudlausn" 16-18
McElroy, Jno. G. 11., Matter and Manner in
Literary Composition 57-06
Gerber, Adolph, Modern Languages in the
University of France, II 66-73
Bright, James W., The Anglo-Saxon bdmlan
and wrasen 73
McCabe, T., Modern Languages at Cambridge
University, England 74-75
Schelling, Felix E., The Fifth Annual Con- vention of the Modern Language Asso- ciation of America 76-81
Wightman, Jno. R., Convention of the Mod- ern Language Association of Ontario. . . 81-82-
Bowen, B. L., Correction to Whitney's French Vocabularies
Dodge, Daniel Kilham, The Study of Old
Danish 113-115
Todd, H. A., Apropos of Les Trois Mors et
Trois Vis 115-118
Carpenter, Wm. H., A Fragment of Old Ice- landic 117-123
Wells, Benj. W., Sigf ried-Arminius 124-126
Schmidt, H., Cl, Gl > Tl, Dl in English Pro- nunciation 126-130
Egge, Albert E., Scandinavian Studies in the
United States 131-135
Bright, James W., Thraf-caik 138-139
Karsten, Gustaf , The/ in French Soif, Bief,
Moeuf, etc 169-178
Wells, Benj. W., Strong Verbs in Aelfric's
Saints,— 1 178-185
Garner, Samuel, The Gerundial Construction
in the Romanic Languages, III 185-192
Schmidt, H., Postscript to Cl, Gl > Tl, Dl in
English Pronunciation 192
Hart, J . M., Macaulay and Carlyle 225-237
Karsten, Gustaf, Dantesca.— Osservazioni su
alcuni pafaggi del la Divina Commedia. 237-245
Dodge, Daniel Kilham, The Personal Pro- noun in the Old Danish ' Tobiae Com- edie.'.. 245-247
Schneegans, Heinrich, Die Romanhafte
Itiuhtung dor Aluxlualegende In alt- fnmzoHlHchi-n und mlttHluM h.|<-utm-ln-n
Gedichten, 1 247 284
Dwells, Benj. W., Strong Verbs In Aclfrlc'i Saints, II
Garner, Samuel, The Gerundial Coi>8truction
in the Romanic Language r. ... 388-270
McCabe, T., The Use of the Feminine In the Romance Languages to express on in- definite neuter 270-874
White, Horatio 8., The Seminary System In
Teaching Foreign Literature 287-307
Schneegans, Heinrich, Die Komunhafte Richtung der Alexiuslegende in alt- franzosischen und mittelhochdeutech-
... enGedichten.il 307-327
/Elliott, A. Marshall, Origin of tin- minx-
^^' Canada.' 327-3t5
Schmidt, H., ' Sally fn our Alley' and a Ger- man Student Song 345-347
Todd, H. A., A traditionally mistranslated
passage in Don Quijote 347-848
Otto, Richard, Zwei altcatalanische Rechta-
formulare 349-350
. Kent, Charles W., The Anglo-Saxon bvrh and
byrig , 351353
Spencer, Frederic, Corrections in Uartech's Glossary (La Lanyut et la Littfrature Fran$ahes : Paris, 1887) 253-254
Sheldon — Grandgent, Phonetic Compensa- tions : 354-874
Cook, Albert S., Errata in the Sievers— Cook
Old English Grammar 374
Karsten, Gustaf, The origin of the suffix -re
in French ordre, coffre, pampre, etc.. . 374-378
Warren, F. M., D6sir6 Nisard and the History
of Literature 370-380
. Cook, Albert 8., English Rimes 417-439
Garner, Samuel, The Gerundial Construction
in the Romanic Languages, V 436-487
• Bright, James W., The Verb toftU 437-438
Dodge, Daniel Kilham, The pronouns in the
Old Danish ' Tobiae Komedie.' 438-441
Karsten, Gustaf, The Third Annual Neuphi-
lologentag 481-488
Spencer, Frederic, The Old French Manu- scripts of York Minster Library 488-496
Schneegans, Heinrich, Das Verhtlltniss der Franzosischen von Herz hcrausgege- benen Alexiuslegcnde zu ibren lau-ini. schen Quellen 406-500
Fruit, J. Phelps, The Evolution of Figures
of Speech 501-506
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
REVIEWS.
Colbeck, C., The Teaching of Modern Lan- guages in Theory and Practice. [Edw. S. Joynes]
Cledat, L., La Chanson de Roland. [J. A. Fontaine)
Schilling, Hugo, Noch Einmal Meissner- Joynes, I
Rajna, Pio, Osservazioni Sull'alba bilingue "| del Cod. Regina,1462 [F. M. Warren}. I
Rajna, Pio, Un'Iscrizione Nepesina, del | 1131. IF. M. Warren] J
Korting, Gustav, Neuphilologische Essays. [H. Scmidt]
Chauveau, Pierre, Frederic Ozanam, Sa Vie et Ses Oeuvres. [Chas. H. Grandgent}.
Schroer, M. M. Arnold, Wissenschaft und Schule in ihrem VerhBltnisse zur prakti- schen Spracherlernung. [A . Lodemari} .
Schilling, Hugo, Noch Einmal Meissner- Joynes, II
Joynes, Edw. S., Audi Alteram Partem
Fortier, Alcee, Quatre grands poetes du 19e Siecle. [A. Du Four]
Saintsbury, George, A History of Elizabethan Literature . [//. E. Shepherd]
Wrede, Ferdinand, Ueber die Sprache der Wandalen . [ Julius Goebel]
Lorentz, Alfred, Die erste Person Pluralis des Verbums im AltfranzBsischen. [H. Schmidt]
Hoemer, Jean, The Origin of the English Language. [H. C. G. von Jagemann]..
Becker — Mora, Spanish Idioms with their English Equivalents, embracing nearly ten thousand Phrases. [H. It. Lang] . . .
Seret, W. A., Grammar and Vocabularies"! of VolapUk I
Sprague, Charles E., Hand-Book of Vola- |" ptik . [ Wm. Hand Browne] J
Paris— Ulrich, Merlin, roman en prose du XHIe Siecle. [F. M. Warren]
Tobler, Adolf, Die Berliner Handschrift des Decameron. [P. E. Marcou]
Woodward, F. M. English in the Schools. [Edward 8. Joynes]
Becker — Mora, Spanish Idioms with their English Equivalents, embracing nearly ten thousand Phrases, II. [H. B. Lang] .
Balg, G. H., A Comparative Glossary of the Gothic Language. [Hans C. G. von Jagemann]
Treis, Dr. Karl, Die Formalitaten des Ritter schlags . [J. A. Fontaine]
Lange, Franz, Freytag's Die Journalisten, Lustpiel in vier Akten. [O. B. Super]
Skeat, Rev. Walter M., The Gospel according to Saint Matthew in Anglo-Saxon, Nor- thumbrian, and Old Mercian Versions. [Albert S. Cook.]
Ycld, Rev. Charles, Florian's Fables. [Ed- ward S. Joynes]
Socin, A., Schriftsprache und Dialekte im Deutschen nach Zeugnissen alter und neuer Zeit. [H. C. G. Brandt.]
Kluge, F., Von Luther bis Lessing. [H. U. G. £.]
v. Reinhardstoettner, C., Italian Literature in Bavaria. [F. M. Warren.}
18-33 23-34 25-38
29-32
41-42
84-88 88-94
94-96
96-99
99-102
102-104 139-143
143-150 150-153
154-158
159
194-195
196-203
203-207 207-209 209-212
274-277 277-579
279-281 281-282 282-384
Wunderlich, Dr. Hermann, Untersuchung- en ueber den Satzbau Luthers.
[Charles Bundy Wilson.] 284-285
Dodge, Daniel Kilham, Correspondence.... 285-287 Morley, Henry, English Writers. [James
M. Garnett.] 380-387
Karsten, Gustaf, The Study of Romance
Philology 387-393
Collar — Eysenbach, Graded German Lessons.
[ W. H. Uarruth.} 393-398
Diez, Friedr., Etymologisches WOrterbuch
der Romanischen Sprachen. [E. S.
Sheldon.] -399
Goedeke, Karl, Grundriss zur Geschichte der
deutschen Dichturig aus den Quellen.
[Julius Goebel.] 399-400
Sawyer, Wesley C., Complete German Man- ual for High Schools and Colleges. [M,
D. Learned.] 400-403
Skeat, Walter W. , Correspondence 404
Odin, A., Phonologic des patois du Canton de
Vaud. [J. Sturzinger.] 441-446
Joynes— Meissner, German Grammar. [H.
Schilling.] , 446-450
Xanthippus, Was ddnkt euch urn Heine ?
(Dr. E. Mahrenholtz.] 450-453
Hunt, Th. W., Caedmon's Exodus and Daniel.
[James W. Bright.} 453-456
Horning, Adolf, Die ostf ranzoesischen Grenz-
dialekte zwischen Metz und Belfort.
[A. M. Elliott.] 457-464
Sawyer's ' Complete German Manual ' again. 464-467 Vietor, Dr. Wilhelm, EinfUhrung in das
Studium der Englischen Philologie mit
RUcksicht auf die Anforderungen der
Praxis. [ W. E. Simonds.} . 505-508
Michaelis, H., Novo Diccioiiario da lingua
portugueza e allemS, enriquecido com
os termos technicos do Commercio e da
Industria, das Sciencias e das Artes, e
da Linguagem Familiar. [Henry Ji.
Lang.] 509-516
Novati, F., Un Nuovo ed un Vecchio Fram-
mento del Tristran di Tommaso. [F.
M. Warren.] 517-521
Preyer, W., Naturforschung und Schule.
[A. Lodeman.} 521-523
CORRESPONDENCE :
Payne, William Morton 83-84
Schele De Vere, M 135-136
Davidson, Thomas 137
-Corson, Hiram, A Passage of ' Beowulf ' 193-194
Otto, Richard, Modern Language Professor- .
ships in Germany
Lang, H. R., Spanish Atestar
B(rowne), W. H., Derides
Monk, Should a Poet be a Philologist ?
Ingraham, A., 'As She is Spoke '
BRIEF MENTION. 42-53, 104-109, 159-ia5, 212-230, 287-293, 404-414, 470-475,
523-532. PERSONAL.
53-54, 166, 220-333, 393-394, 475-478, 533-534.
OBITUARY.
333, 294, 534.
JOURNAL NOTICES.
55-56, 110-112, 167-168, 223-224, 395-296, 415,-416, 479-480, 535-536.
MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES.
Baltimore, January, 1888.
TO OUR READERS.
It is no less a privilege than a pleasure to talk to earnest, sympathizing friends about an enterprise for whose success they have practi- cally worked ; and the editors of MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES desire at the beginning of the third year to tender thanks to their col- laborators, and to all well-wishers who have so cheerfully aided them in passing the test- year of a journal's existence. So cordial and liberal has been the support of the undertak- ing, both on this and the other side of the Atlantic, that the editors feel encouraged to renew their pledge to the public for an ad- vance in the variety and quantity of material to be presented. Two years of experience in editorial matters have shown that the modern languages in America have a scholarly follow- ing and that their friends are able and, it is believed, willing to sustain a publication of more extended proportions than that which has hitherto been issued. To prepare the way for this, the price has been increased by one-third, and in the future the NOTES will be conducted on as liberal a scale as this change may warrant. The various publishers both here and in Europe have been prompt, as- a rule, in forwarding their recent publica- tions for notice in these columns. With their continued co-operation and that of individual contributors, it is hoped to make the NOTES more and more reflect the wishes, plans and doings of American scholars occupied with modern linguistics in whatever direction, and to bring to their notice all the chief home and foreign publications for the three depart- ments, those of the English, Germanic and Romance languages, especially represented here.
MODERN LANGUAGES IN THI
UNIVERSITY OF FRANCI..
I.
University de France is the name of the vast organization which comprises all establish- ments of public instruction from the facnltes of the capital down to the ecole maternelle or infant class of the primary school in the re- motest village of the provinces. At the head of this body is the minister of public instruc- tion, who has the title of grand-master of the university. He is assisted by the conseil su- p'erieur de Finstruction publique, a council of sixty members, and about twenty inspecteiirs ghieraux. To facilitate the administration the country is divided into sixteen educational dis- tricts, called academies. At the head of each of these, with the exception of that of Paris, is a recteur, who in his turn is aided by an aca- demical council and inspecteurs d'academic. These authorities watch over all branches of education, and together with the prefects, ap- point or dismiss all teachers ; the superior council deliberates and prescribes the methods and the plans of study for all schools.
By the side of the -university are the ecoles libres, and in consequence of the law of 1875 now also a few facultes libres. The ecoles libres, especially those directed by the clergy, enjoy still the patronage of a great portion of the nation. The state has excluded all priests and members of religious orders from the pub- lic schools, but it cannot interfere with their teaching in their own establishments, as long as they do not violate the laws or the constitu- tion. It has, however, reserved to itself, that is, to the university, the exclusive right of examin- ation for all certificates valuable in public life, and that of conferring all academic degrees.
An important aid for the study of the govern- ment schools is afforded by the publication through Delalain Freres of a great number of the plans of study and programs of the condi- tions of admission to schools and examinations. The publishers have made these particularly valuable by adding many official documents, such as the reports of committees of the Superior Council and regulations of the minis- ter of public instruction, which show both the
January. MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES, 1888. No. i.
motives that have led the council to determine the plans and programs, and the spirit in which the minister would have them applied.
From these documents we discover at once that the measures of the distinguished Council are dominated by a spirit of reform. They are making earnest efforts to have the educa- tion of France keep pace with that of other nations, and do not hesitate to adopt from the neighbouring countries, especially Germany, whatever is conformable to the national genius. Though they may not have avoided mistakes by their frequent, perhaps too fre- quent, changes of program, they certainly realize to the full the great value of the study of modern languages and give them an im- portant place in schools and examinations.
The instruction is either primary (Enseig- nement primaire}, or secondary (Enseigne- ment secondaire), or of university rank (Enseig- nement superieur).
We will consider the training schools for teachers along with that grade of schools for which they prepare.
I. — PRIMARY INSTRUCTION.
There are two grades of primary schools ; the ecoles priinaires elementaires and the ecoles priinaires superieures; in case there is need for instruction beyond the lower grade, u ithout the erection of a full ecole primaire superieure being expedient, a cours com- plemcntaire may be connected with the ele- mentary school. A complementary course has usually one year and at most two; an ecole primaire superieure must have two years, and is called de plein exercice in case it comprises three or more. In the lower grade modern lan- guages are excluded from the complementary courses. They are desirable but can be dis- pensed with ; in the higher grade one language is compulsory, and four hours a week through- out the school are devoted to it.
The course aims at the elements of a prac- tical knowledge of the language. Without neglecting grammar, parsing, oral and written composition, special stress is laid upon conversation on topics of every-day life, man- ual labor and travel, and on the writing of simple business letters. Candidates for the certificat deludes primaires superieures have
to pass an oral examination in a modern lan- guage.
I. — ECOLES NORMALES PRIMAIRES.
The primary normal schools are training schools instituted to supply the contingent of teachers necessary for, the primary schools. According to the law of 1879 every depart- ment must be provided with two normal schools, one for men and the other for women ; two departments may, however, unite in estab- lishing one or both of these schools. The course in these institutions comprises three years. At the close of the first year, the stu- dents must pass an examination for the brevet elementaire, which opens the way to a position in an e cole primaire elementaire ; at the end of the third year they can present themselves for the examinations of the brevet superieur, required of teachers of an ecole primaire superieure.
The plans of study promulgated Aug. 3d, 1881, assign for an optional study of modern languages two hours a week for three years in the normal schools for men, and two hours a week for two years in the normal schools for women.
While a special intimation appended to a circular of Oct. 18, of the same year, represents this study as exceedingly desirable though not required for the brevet superieur, an edict of Dec. 30, 1884, renders some knowledge of a modern language compulsory. The candi- dates for this brevet have to be able to trans- late at sight twenty lines of an easy text which they may choose from English, German, Italj ian, Spanish or Arabic.
2. — ECOLES NORMALES PRIMAIRES SUPERIEU- RES.
There are two training schools for professors of primary normal schools ; one for men and another for women. That for men is estab- lished at Saint Cloud, the one for women at Fontenay-aux-Roses near Paris. The course in each of these two schools extends over two years and is divided into the two sections of letters and sciences.
The candidates for a professorship of sciences are not examined in modern languages ; those for a professorship of letters, however, have to translate German or English texts at sight and
January. MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES, 1888. No.
answer grammatical questions; the list of authors from which the text may he taken is fixed every three years. After Jan. i, 1888, there wHl he added to the oral examination an English or German composition (thtme et version.}
In concluding these few statements on the primary school system of France we may re- mark that the study of modern languages naturally could not have a very large place in the primary schools themselves, but that it is constantly progressing among the teachers.
II. — SECONDARY INSTRUCTION. The secondary instruction of the boys is divided into the .Enseignement secondaire classique and the Ensignement secondaire special; to these has been added as a third division the Enseignement secondaire desjeu- nes.fi lies. All three branches of instruction are given in the lycees de r Etat and colleges connnunaux, but while the first and second are mostly united in the same establishment, they are always strictly separated from the third. According to the salaries of the professors the institutions may be arranged in five groups. The lyceums of Paris, Vanves and Versailles stand highest, then follow the first, second and third categories of lyceums in the depart- ments, and last the communal colleges. Being of the lowest grade, the colleges have many professors that, are only bacheliers, while the lyceums of the departments now require at least licencies, and those of Paris, Vanves and Versailles agreges. The lyceums for boys are directed by proviseurs and censeurs, the colleges for boys by principaux, the colleges and lyceums for girls by directrices.
I. — CLASSICAL INSTRUCTION.
The classical course of the lyceums has ten classes de lettres and two (or three*) classes superieures des sciences. The candidate for the baccalaureat es lettres goes through all the literary classes, that for the baccalaureat "es sciences can leave the literary classes to the end of the flasse de troisitme and, after an ex- amination in the studies of that class, passes through the classes of mathematiques prepa- ratoires and mathematiques elemcntaires ; the third scientific class, called mathematiques spe- ciales, is not necessary for the baccalaureate.
1 '.i -fon- ih. r.-furms of 1880 and 1884, the literary classes had eight years of Latin and six of Greek, and, therefore, might h. compared to the German Gymnasium with its nine years of Latin and seven years of Greek . Now the classical languages h.iv l« « n re- duced so much, in favor of a greater amount of French, sciences, history and modern lan- guages, that the literary classes stand betv the Gymnasium and the Realgymnasium, while the scientific course, but for its deficiency in modern languages and a plus in Greek, would resemble the Realgymnasium. The candidates for the baccalaureat h lettres are becoming so poor in Latin and Greek that the friends of classical culture ardently wish for a truly classical course.
The study of one modern language — for the classical students take up only one modern language — commences at once in the division elementaire, where four hours a week are assigned to it. The pupils are supposed to be from eight to ten years old, and the method is made to suit the age. The work centres in easy reading and conversation and training in pronunciation, while a systematic study of the elements of grammar begins only in the third year. In English they read stories from Miss Edgeworthand Day's 'Sandford and Merton,' in German, Krummacher's ' Parabeln ' and C. v. Schmid's ' Erzahlungen.'
In the division de grammaire the classical languages hold the first place and the modern language is reduced by two hours a week. The systematical study of grammatical forms and syntax is completed, and in English enlarged by some notions on word-formation. To this is added oral and written composition (theme oral et e"crit) and from the classe de cinquieme also written translation into French (version). In English are read among other works Walter Scott's ' Tales of a Grandfather,' B. Franklin's Autobiography, De Foe's 'Robin- son Crusoe,' Washington Irving's ' Voyages of Columbus ; ' in German, Herder and Liebes- kind, ' Palmbliitter ; ' Benedix, ' Der Proo and ' Eigensinn ; ' Niebuhr, ' Griechische He- roengeschichten ; ' Lessing, 'Minna von Barn- helm;' Musaeus, ' Volksmarchen,' Kotzebue and Hoffman.
In the division superieurc the modern Ian-
January. MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES, 1888. No. i.
guage keeps its two recitations except in Phi- losophic, where it has only one. The study of grammar is confined to reviews and a study of word-formation. Thtme oral et ecrit and version, as well as conversation, continue as heretofore. The English authors of this grade are Goldsmith, Lamb, Macaulay, Shakespeare (Julius Cesar), Walter Scott, Dickens, Irving, Byron, Tennyson, George Eliot, Pope, Stuart Mill and Adam Smith. In German we find: Goethe, ' Campagne in Frankreich ; ' Schiller, 'Tell' and 'Maria Stuart,' Chamisso, 'Peter Schlemihl,' Auerbach's ' Dorfgeschichten ; ' Goethe, ' Hermann und Dorothea ; ' Schiller, ' Wallenstein ' and extracts from historical works ; HaufT, ' Lichtenstein ;' Kleist, ' Michael Kohlhaas;' Lessing, 'Dramaturgic,' Schiller and Goethe, lyrical poems ; Schiller, ' Braut von Messina,' 'Jungfrau von Orleans;' Les- sing, ' Laokoon ; ' Goethe, 'Faust,' Part I, Correspondence between Schiller and Goethe. In connection with the reading some notions of literary history are given.
In the two scientific classes the reading mat- ter is of a similar character but more restricted. Of the whole literary course — 200 hours, if we count drawing in the lower division — 58, or 29$ are devoted to the classical languages, 44^ hours or 22$ to French, and 25 hours or 1-2% to a modern language. If we count only the two upper divisions, the classics have 44}^$, French 12% as above, German or English 9$. The scientific students get in these two divi- sions 35$, 10% and <)l/2%.
The candidate for the B.iccalaureat ~es let- tres has to pass two examinations, one after the Rhitorique, the other after the Philosophic ; the modern language comes in the first. He has to write an English or German composition (theTne), for which he is allowed the use of a simple le.riqne autorise, and to translate a passage from one of six English or German texts chosen by himself among the authors read in the upper division. The modern lan- guage counts for one-fifth of the first exami- nation and ahout f)l/2% of the whole.
The examination in the modern language for the bacalaiireat ts sciences is only oral. It consists of questions on the grammar, inter- pretation of a passage taken from one of the works prescribed by the program, and a con-
versational exercise. The English works are in this case Pope's 'Essay on Criticism,' Shakespeare's ' Macbeth,' Milton's ' Paradise Lost,' cantos i., ii. The modern language counts for 9$ of the whole.
|
DRAWING |
SUM TOTAL |
PHILOSOPHY |
SCIENCES |
a So H > d o rt C 0 |
MODERN LANG |
FRENCH |
GREEK |
LATIN |
SUBJECTS. (Average ag |
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to |
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Prdparatoire. |
£ |
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CO |
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GHuitifeme. |
s 5- |
||||
|
H |
-o |
OJ |
OJ |
*• |
* |
3 Septi&me. |
r |
3 |
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" |
8 |
., |
OJ |
n |
CO |
0 |
"^Sixieme. |
3 G |
M X |
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|
10 |
0 |
10 |
OJ |
to |
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& |
1 |
,2 Cinqui^me. |
3 rt £n* |
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to 0 |
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-1*. |
j; Secdnde. |
fs |
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8 |
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4- |
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"g^Rhdtorique. |
si- |
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Philosophic. |
||||
|
- |
1 |
VO |
CO £ |
to |
M cn |
4v |
to ^ |
O Vo\ |
D. P <' — . i-«. V — o S • e |
d 1 H |
|
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1 |
* |
10 OJ |
• |
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4 |
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a? a I'' ! !' |
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o c o* P —• "' '"- o 3 ° o S 2 n Er » g- " Jf |
"X n n |
2. — SPECIAL INSTRUCTION.
The so-called special instruction was estab- lished by Duruy in 1865 .and has since been improved upon in 1881, 1882 and 1886. Its aim is to enable French manufacturers, mer- chants and farmers to compete successfully with their neighbours; yet " in order to give a useful preparation for the most elevated phases of industrial, commercial and agricultural pursuits, this instruction must pay a great deal of attention to purely intellectual culture, and borrow from classical instruction as far as possible its procedures and methods." Though
January. MODKK' \ /..I .\'< , ' 'AGE NOTES, 1888. Afc. i.
10
two-fifths of all college studi-nts atti-nd tin- courses of special instruction, it lacks still, in most places, establishments of its own. Since it is injurious to a free and vigorous develop- ment of this instruction to 1>r considered as a m< re annex of a lower grade, (iol)let enconr- ;i-es coininnnities whose colleges have only a feu classical students, to transform their co/lt'ges cltissiqnes into colleges speciai<.\ . To every establishment of special instruction there is attached a coinitc dc patronage, con- sisting of UK- mayor, the president of the school and five members chosen among the engineers and merchants, manufacturers and fanners of note; they are expected to recom- mend students and to find places for them.
The cours normal of this instruction covers six years, corresponding somewhat to the mid- dle and upper division of the classical schools; it leads to the baccalaur£at de /' cnxci^neinent secondaire, a degree which offers several of the advantages of the baccalaureates sciences. If a lyceum or college has only four years of the course, it is de denii exercice.
In 1865 the curriculum was based on French history and sciences ; Latin and Greek were excluded, the modern languages only optional. At present the classics remain excluded, but modern languages have come to form one of the most essential studies. While the classical coarse requires no more than one modern language, the special makes the study of two compulsory. The first language, langue fon- damentale is studied for six years, the second langue contplemeittaire, for three. The fun- damental language must be either English or German, the complementary one German, Knglish, Spanish, Italian or Arabic. The minister of public instruction determines the two languages for every institution.
The reading matter in English and German is essentially the same with that of the classi- cal curriculum, from the classe de septi^me to l\hetorique, except that historical, geographi- .cal and scientific works receive more conside- ration. The study of the second language, though it is allowed hardly half the time of the first, yet covers the same ground. The teacher has to condense his instruction and the students are expected to learn so much the faster for their more mature mind and the training gained from the first. For the rest, the method and aim of modern language teach- ing in this instruction differ considerably from that of the classical.
There, the language was studied mainly from a philological and literary point of view, oral practice being not altogether neglected ; here, practical application stands foremost, grammar being considered only a valuable and necessary auxiliary. All directions given to the teacher are conceived in this spirit.
The first year is devoted to drill in proi. tioii ;ind to the ;K (|iiisition of th«- most : sary words and phrases. These ;ire first pro- nounced by the teacher, then repeated by the students, written on tin- black- copied and committed to memory. In the second year conversational ex--r< ises on ob- jects brought into class are added, and dic- tations extended. In the fourth and fifth year the students are accustomed to reproduce or to give accounts in the foreign language of pieces read in class or at home. In the last finally, the texts are explained in the foreign language.
While in the classical curriculum only from
12-9$ of all recitations were devoted to modern languages, here 22$ are given to them. If we wished to look for similar schools in other countries, the Lateinlose Kealschulen of Ger- many might be taken for comparison.
|
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CiKRHKR.
Earlham College.
January. MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES, 1888. No.i.
NOTES ON OLD ENGLISH WORDS.
Grimm characterizes cumbol (Andreas und Elene, pp. 92-3) as one of the most difficult words of Teutonic antiquity. He attempts to establish a connection with camb, but this, he owns, is a mere conjecture, like the suggestion that the French cimier is derived from cumbol. Apparently there are three distinct senses of the word in Germanic : a) 'cairn,' b) 'wound,' 'swelling,' 'tumor,' c) 'sign,' 'ensign.' Of these the first is found in Old Norse, the second in Old Norse and Old English, and the third in Old Norse, Old English, Old High German, and Old Saxon. Which of these is the primi- tive meaning? It has usually been assumed that the third underlies the others. The Cleas- by-Vigfusson Dictionary, after quoting the very few instances in which it is employed in the third sense, illustrates its passage to the first by a reference to the Greek 6ijua. The Bos- worth-Toller Dictionary supports the theoreti- cal evolution of the second meaning from the third by paraphrasing vulnus, of Gregory's Pastoral Care, as morbi signttm, thus introduc- ing the desired signum. My own opinion, as will be seen, is different,
Here it should be noted that the word occurs only once in O. H. G., and is there somewhat doubtful ; only twice in O. E. prose, so far as is known, and each time in the second sense ; and that the third sense is found chiefly in poetry, namely, three times in the O. S. He- liand, three times in O. N. (but twice besides in the Sagas), and frequently in O. E.
As to the form of the word, it occurs both with and without svarabhakti, O. S. cumbal and cumbl, O. E. cumbol*.\\<\ cumbl, O. H. G. cumpal, O. N. cunibl, and with and without b, O. E. prose cnmbl, P. C. 187, 7 (Cotton and Hat- ton texts), cuml, Otho text of P. C., and Saxon Leechdoms, Herb. 158,5(1 60), O. N. <:«;«£/ and cuml (cub I). The fall dissyllabic form is better adapted to metrical purposes, and consequent- ly no other is found in O. E. poetry, except- where inflectional endings are attached ; the form with syllabic /, on the contrary, is the usual one in Old Norse, which has almost none but prose senses, and in O. E. prose. But which of these is earlier? And which is orig-
inal, the form with or without b ? In later En- glish, a secondary, epenthetic b is quite fre- quently developed after ;;/, especially before r and /. But does this occur in the Old English period ? Decisive upon this point are the forms brlmelxnA brernbel, symle and symble (Goth. simlc), of which only the first are supported by the analogy of the cognate tongues. Another instance is O. E. scolimbos (Saxon Leechdoms, I 60) for Gr. tfxoAu/io?. Hence we may con- clude that cuml or cumol is the earlier form. But this corresponds, phonetically and in pur- port, to Lat. cumulus, if we take the Germanic word in the first meaning given above. Noth- ing forbids us to do this, except the difficulty of deriving the second and third senses from the first. But the second presents no difficulty; Sweet translates cumbl (cuml), by swelling (cf. O. N. kumla, to bruise) and Cockayne by ' lump,' ' glandular swelling ' (Gr. (Ixippcajiia), which may readily be evolved from the signi- fication of the Latin word. Only the third sense, therefore, is troublesome. But \i6ijna, from meaning 'sign,' may come to mean 'cairn, 'why may not cumbol from, meaning 'cairn, 'the permanent sign of what is ever memorable, come to mean sign in general, and that by which the sign or signal is given ? If it is objected that this is a broadening, rather than a specialization, of the sense, the fact may be conceded without admitting that the pro- cess is inconceivable. Thus O. N. horgr(O. E. hear.?), fro n signifying 'consecrated place,' ' temple,' arrives at the meaning of elevation,' 'cliff,' ' peak,' through the intermediate sense of 'high place,' regularly associated with horgr, because of the customary situation of the Scandinavian temple. A still better illustra- tion might be Welsh awgrym, which Professor Rhys informs us (Academy, Oct. i, 1887, p. 223) means sign in the widest sense of that term, though originally confined to the sense of numerical sign, or system of signs (cf. Phil. Soc. Diet. s. v. Algorism).
The double form is readily accounted for. Lat. cnmulum would yield Germ. *cumul, and under the historic tendency to strengthen the m in this position, would develop into *cumbul. On the other hand, *cii»nil in inflected forms actually passed into cuml-, as for instance, in the cumlu (for cumu/ii) of the Leechdoms, the
January. MOD/-RN LANGUAGE NOTES, 1888. No. i.
I ;
plural from the strengthened form taking no final vowel, i'mnhii/ (cuin/x>/):\\u\ cuinl would therefore be parallel forms; the ground of differentiation would be forgotten, and they would gradually be confounded as cinnbol, ciimb I, cum/, except as the full dissyllabic character of cumbol would recommend it for verse. In Middle Knglish, only cuinl survives (in Layamon), apparently in the sense of ' booth,' that is a pile, but of branches, we may sii|)pose, rather than of stones.
MITTAN, MITTING.
Parallel with (ge)>netan gemeting(gemetting}, O. E. poetry frequently has (ge)mittan, (gdr)- mitting. Hosworth-Toller's Dictionary quotes gemittunghom Aelfred's Orosius, but the text of Sweet's edition shows no trace. If found at all in prose, it is extremely rare. I shall not attempt to give a phonological explana- tion of these variants, but will confine myself to pointing out the fact, which seems to have escaped notice, that they are clearly Anglian. In the Northumbrian Gospels are the following forms : ind. pres. ist sing. mitto(\); ind. pret. 3d sing, initte (8), mittce (i); ind. pret. plur. mitton (i). Of eleven instances of this abnor- mal vowel in the poetry, it may be significant thac three are found in the Psalms, and four in Genesis A.
University of California.
ALBERT S. COOK.
STRONG VERBS IN AELFRICS JUDITH.
This rhythmical version of the story of Judith is contained in Anglia X, 87 ff., and is attri- buted by the editor to Aelfric. It seemed to me therefore that it might be of service, in con- nection with the study which Professor Cook promises us (Notes II., 117) of the verbs in Aelfric's ' Saints,' to gather together the strong forms in this piece. I have retained the ac- cents of the MS., though they are not used consistently and sometimes stand over vowels winch are certainly short.
Class I. Preterit singulars: adraf 12, beldf 109, astah 318. Participles : scinendan 245, gegripen 246.
Class II. Presents, infinitives and parti-
(iplcs: />nn an 270, abtigan 32, 181, 189 ain't gende 182, An Mean 360, leogaft 406, 436. I terit singulars: bead 51, behead 47, 232, 284, bcbtdd $$>, a/fat 247. Preterit plurals: bugon 122, abugon 62, gebugon 253, flugon 37.
Class 111. Infinitives and participles: gebiti- '/<"' '53. TA\,ftolitfndc 64, fintlirf 353, Wurman 147, foruntrftan 252. I'ntcrit singulars: gebealh 37, \^(>,furcearf^\6,feaht 119, a&prang 53> gfwan 65, bewand 306, wearO 77, 155, 158, J76, 197, 246, 289, 293, 343, awearp 228, 427, towearp 11. Preterits and stibium lives y«;/</c»w 90, affinde 364, gehulpe 212, gen'umion 118, wiirdon 116, 123, 222, 370, wtirdon 131, for:, don T2,forwArdon 61, wurde 328, \i\,forwurde
154. Past participles: abolgen 141, gebunden
155, gebundcnnt' 157, aftnden 158, gewordene 124.
Class IV. Infinitives and presents : bectunan 258, becyml 187, nimal 434. Preterits: bter 421, com 261, 287, cdin 86, 114, 316, 338, 386, becdni 73, 236, 327, ofercom 410, comon 315, cdmon 57, bccdmon 310, nam 307. Past parti- ciple :fornumene 58.
Class V. Infinitives, presents and parti- ciples : biddan 82, ii^gebiddan 256, gf bidden m- 276, bidde(ic} 137, 319, biddende 59, 72, cwfd- ende 162, 319, licgan 364, lift 368, forligft 432, forlicgon 430, forseon 164, geseoh (/>«) 163, asittan 171, gewrecan 39. Preterit singulars : bfed 280, abcrd 274, to brccc 51, cwteft 42, 83, 146, gec'wfeft 26,forgea/425, beseah i^geseah 301, gesprcec 209, wees 4. 22, etc., ntrs 117, 420. Preterit plurals and subjunctives: btedon 169, gebcrdon 234, civfedon 59, 174, wiftcit'crdon 34, logon si^csd won T,^,/orsdu'on 40, 81, gesdwe 388, sprtrce 44, wceron 2, 18, ware 33, 59, 80, 210, 311, 325, tiff re 263. Past participles : ge ewe den 2, 25.
Class VI. Infinitives, presents and partici- ples:/flrrtw 101 , «//</# 408, aha/en 409. ofsleanne 342, ofsleati 149, ofslagen 148, 197, o/slagene 131, s tent 404, 440, u'itfstandan 57, u-iffsttindan 78, witistandcnne 127, Preterits: ahdf 29, sl6h 304, forsloh 305, ofsloh 11, ofsl6h 28, 52, 324, stod 288, astdd 104, witistddon 52, .^-wr 38.
Class VII. Infinitives, presents and parti- ciples : tocn&wan \*p, flou'endttin 161. ,^aw 276, j^rf;/ 266, £ttft 350, gehaten 22, 46, gehdten 9, 194, 385, healdan 303, /<#/<• (/>//) \tf,for/<ft 320, geweaxen 93. Preterits : feollon 161, het 19.
'5
January. MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES, 1888. No. i.
16
153, 291, htt 155, 266, 268, 303, behet 418, 262, 292, 323, 420, 7/^te 341, beheton 437, heoldon 121, misheoldon 130, /W0« 180, forleton 156, fortiton 100, 372, sp£6w 362.
In this connection it will not be inappropriate to call attention to some peculiar forms in the life of St. Chad, Anglia X, 141 fif.
Class I. gezvitu 23, and also onginnu i, and bebeodu 146, of classes III. and II. retain the old ending. Elsewhere e is regular in the first person of the singular.
Class II. brtsc 243, for breac from britcan.
Classes III., V. gefalh 174, is the only case of a for £a in the preterit singular. In class V geseh 213, for geseah 254, etc., occurs. In bregdon 175, preterit plural of bregdan the verb has gone over to class V where e for ^ is here the rule. The final consonant in gealt 251, from gttldan deserves notice. The strong frignan has become fregnan 39 (fregn 140, fregnaden 178,) and is weak.
Class IV. her 257 from beran, is the only case of accent in this form. Napier suggests that genemad 233 is an error of the scribe for geneomaft, no uncommon form in Anglia and to be traced, though not with certainty till a later date, in Kent also. May not the forms which Bright attributes to «-umlaut (hneoton, scionon, riodun, griopun, geweotan, preterit plurals of I. .Notes II. 160) have a similar origin ? If they were due to w-umlaut would they not be more general and more frequent ?
Class VI. The editor suggests that slenne 193, is a blunder for sleane. Slcefi 194, is probably for sleft ; e is here the usual umlaut of ea. hlahendne 255, shows no trace of the -jan form.
Reduplicating verbs show two peculiar forms, gehelde 57, for geheolde and onfongon 136, for -feng-, cf. lines 23, 25, 55. The pre- terit of hdtan is heht 50, 150. The shortened form, het, does not occur.
BENJ. W. WELLS.
Jena, Germany.
ON A VERSE IN THE OLD NORSE " HOFUDLA USN. "
The Saga of Egil Skallagrimsson may with propriety be styled the skaldic Saga of Ice-
land : for its pages are strewn with short verses to the number of over fifty, and it contains, besides these, three long poems, of which the Hofudlausn is the first. The extreme difficul- ty of Icelandic poetry is caused mainly by the excessive use of obscure figures, and the Hofudlausn is no exception to this rule. The verse here selected for comment is the sixth, or rather the first half of it. The Icelandic reads as follows :
hue fir?! a fit vid fleina hnit.
This passage has been variously explained by different commentators. J6n Thorkelsson, in the Reykjavik edition of the Saga, 1856, page 256, offers the following explanation :
Fir'da (in Vigfusson's Die. spelled only fyrfta) from plural firftar, men, warriors [A. S.fyrda, troop].
fit, a connected row. According to this, fit must be derived from fitja, to knit, or tie together. This meaning is not given by Vig- fusson.
Fir'da fit would then mean, a connected row of men, battle-array. Fleina hnit he renders spear-thrusts.
In the Lexikon Poeticum, we find "fit.f., planta pedis, raped1-, TtoSoS." Our passage from the Hofudlausn is quoted and the first part is explained as follows: "succubuit vir- orum pes, i. e., explicante G. Magnes, viri, pedibus succisis, cecederunt, aut pedibus am- plius insistere non valentes prae lassitudine se dejecerunt."
Per Sorensson* follows closely the rendering of the Lexikon Poeticum : firtie, as in the first : fit, foot, or knee ; fleina hnit is translated spear-thrusts. Hn6 is, of course, the pret., 3d, sing, of hniga, to bend or recede, and can be translated in no other way..
The passage, then, according to the first ex- planation, reads in English :
The battle array receded before the spear- thrusts.
According to the second :
Men's feet (or knees) bent before the spear- thrusts.
It may be noted in this connection that tniiga
* " Egil Skallagrimssons Hiifudlausn,— ofersatt och for- klarad," Lund, 1868.
'7
January. MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES, 1888. No. i.
may be applied equally to the sinking or bend- ing of aliiios! any object, from the sun to a dying warrior or a tree (see Vigfusson's Die., page. 276). Hence, neither rendering does violence to the- meaning of the verb.
Unit is rendered, as we have already seen, by 'thrust.' Concerning this word, too, there is some difference of opinion. In Vigfusson we find Iniit rendered as "forging; poet., the clash of battle," with a reference to our poem. In this connection it would be more properly rendered simply by 'clash,' or perhaps better by ' din.'
If din be accepted as the meaning of hnit, it would seem to follow almost as a necessity that firfia fit be translated as battle-array, since to associate the bending of men's feet with the din of spears would form a very bold figure, founded on a very slight resemblance. With a modern poet this argument would certainly hold true, but in criticising Old Norse poetry we must not be governed at all by modern canons of art, remembering always that what would now be considered a blemish might in the tenth century have received unqualified approval. Again, if spear-din be regarded as a simple paraphrase for battle, the appropri- ateness of the figure becomes very much more apparent. (Th&tJleifKl hnit may mean battle, cf. the following figures: " v igelds-prym-rog- ;//;-," din of Swords or spears, battle. Kgil. chap. 58, i. ; " sverfi-dynr," sword-din, battle, Vigf.'s Die., p. 610).
The Lexikon Poeticnin renders hnit very much as Vigfusson does, but without explain- ing clearly the force of the figure employed ; the result of the figure, not its working, is shown in the rendering : collisio, conflictio, Jh'ina hnit, spiculorum collisio, pugna. From this we also derive additional authority for rendering Jicina hnit battle. The Latin trans- lation, contained in the A. M. edition of the Saga, Copenhagen, 1809, gives practically the same result as the above, namely :
Decidit virorum pes
Ad hastarum collisionem.
In the face of these three authorities I should have no hesitation in accepting the rendering of Jit by ' foot,' were it not for one circumstance. In stanza 4, the poet begins the description of Eirik's battles: he tells how "the din of
swords waxed hot against tin- inns of tin- shields; the battle waxed about the king." "The sword's river (blood) ran ;" and in st.ui/a 5, "the ship ran in blood; but the wound boiled." Stan/a 6 is very short, consisting of only four lines, and to my mind it ma\ regarded as a climax to what has gone be! It presents a picture of the battle as a whole : the result of the preceding statement-,. Therefore it would seem more appropriate for the poet to employ the general word battle- array than the specific words men's feet or knees. Again, fit is singular, the nominative plur. being fitjar; but this is perhaps of minor importance. What is to be specially dwelt upon is the poetical appropriateness of the first rendering. This rendering of Thor- kelsson's, further, does no violence to the derivation, since fit is frequently used meta- phorically for a plain or meadow, that which is stretched out (see Vigfusson, p. 155, and l.c.\i- kon Poeticum, page 173), and we often observe figures in Old Norse poetry formed by a com- parison between men and objects of nature, so that to apply the same word to a line <>i men and an extended meadow would be quke in accordance with the train of thought of the Icelandic skald (hr&s-lavar, 'haystacks of the slain,' 'heaps of,' Hofnd/ansn, II., a striking resemblance to meadow of men, battle-array ; a man is often called a tree, etc.).
The arguments in favor of Thorkelsson's rendering of fir 3ar Jit therefore are ; first, the artistic appropriateness, and secondly, the analogy with other figures. The rendering of the verse would then be :
" The battle-array receded at the spear-din (battle)."
DANIKI. KII.IIAM DODC.K.
Columbia College.
The Teaching of Modern Languages in Theory and Practice. Two Lectures, de- livered in the I'niversity of Cambridge in the Lent term, 1887. By C. Colbeck, M. A., Assistant Master in Harrow School, late Fellow of Trinity College, Cam- bridge.— From the I'niversity Press. 1887.
The appearance of a course of lectures, how- ever brief, on the Teaching of Modern Lan- guages, delivered iii the University of Cam-
January. MODERN LANG UA GE NO TES,
No. i.
bridge by a late Fellow of Trinity, now Assist- ant Master in one of the great Public Schools of England, is an encouraging sign of the "new era." The author says, in his modest preface, " There seems to be at last a disposi- tion to regard seriously the pretensions of Modern Languages to a larger place in edu- cation "; and these lectures are interesting to us chiefly as the outcome of this "disposition," and a vindication — surely modest enough — of these "pretensions." It is well known that thus far the progress of modern language study in higher education has in the mother country lagged behind what, almost within the last decade, has been achieved among our- selves. This is due, mainly doubtless, to the greater authority and persistence of the wooden traditions of an exclusive classicism, backed as they have been by every kind of prescrip- tive advantage ; but in part, doubtless, also to the greater proximity of the continent, and the larger demand, therefore, for such teaching only as should enable John Bull to inquire his way in Paris, or to browbeat the waiters along the Rhine. So the mulitudinous "methods" — "natural" and unnatural, and largely in the hands of untrained tutors — have had firmer hold there ; and the effort to place the modern languages upon a sound scientific, or at least pedagogical, basis has had to encounter, first, to a degree now happily unknown here, the blows inflicted in the house of its friends. And this not only in the lower ranks of the "native" teachers, who swarm in the. United Kingdom, but even within the sacred shadows of the University ; for we find Mr. Colbeck combat- ing manfully the views of the " Master of Baliol," who thinks (p.u) that " Modern Lan- guages can be [best] taught between the ages of six and ten, and not one language only but two, and even a third ! and that the linguistic faculty is strongest at ten, and extinct at twen- ty." This, too, in a speech of welcome to the "Professeurs -de Francais at Oxford" — God save the mark ! But under all these discour- agements from below and above, these Lec- tures give ample evidence that the battle for the modern languages has begun in earnest, under earnest and able leaders ; and one can- not doubt that victory, however delayed, will at last be certain and complete. It is as an in-
dication of the direction of this movement that this little book is specially interesting to us at home. We cannot follow its details; but shall only indicate its leading lines of argument.
In answer to the question — Why we teach Modern Languages ? the author replies at once : " Because they are so supremely use- ful." This consideration, now more justly understood, has raised, he says, the study of modern languages "from the status of an ac- compli Jiment, or of a commercial art, mi a level, let us say, with book-keeping, to rank as an integral portion of a liberal education" (p. 3) : and he proudly adds, in a spirit of pro- phetic if not of actual triumph, that "it is not one of the least of the honors of Cambridge that it has recognized that whatever study the world needs, a University should teach in all its breadth and fullness" — while, however, he confesses, "there is still (even in Cambridge) some trace of the old mistrust, I fear I must say, of the old contempt." The Modern Language Tripes, he tells us, "was dubbed a Courier Tripos," and the living languages were said to be "too trivial to be scholarly, too easy to be learned, too useful to be dignified'." But it is encouraging to see that, even in Cambridge, our lecturer is not afraid to strike back, and knows how to hit hard. "How gladly and profitably would nine tenths of our middle classes exchange their little Latin and less Greek for a passable knowledge of even one modern language!" (p. 5). Of the boys to whom we so laboriously teach Greek, he says (p. 6), "we own that nine-tenths of them learn little, forget that little soon, and never touch a Greek book when once they leave school." To the claim that thereby we "train faculty," he replies that we should seek subjects of study " in which we may combine some actual knowledge with the bare' power to know;" and he concludes (p. 8): "Teach a boy Greek, if you can; but give him also, because you can, the power to read in the original " the master- j pieces of modern literature that are found in i the French and German languages. We have happily here passed that stage of the conflict; but it is well to know that our colleagues abroad are not deficient in the "noble art of self-defense," which means giving as well as taking blows.
21
January. MO/)/.'A'.\' LANGUA (, /. NOTES, iSHK.
When he comes to enumerate the elements of the utility whirh he claims for the modern lan- guages, it is interesting to see that tlie lecturer places first the fact (p. 5) that "a knowledge i.t' I'Yench and German doubles and trebles the library whence knowledge may be drawn ; " and in his analysis of method (p.io): tf:e teaching of reading, he says, " I put that clearly first." He says (p. 26) "1 would always begin with a book" and claims (p. 13) "that for all, young or old, the eye is incomparably the swifter gate to knowledge", and "it is the only means of rapidly acquiring accuracy." He insists that elementary (oral) work on lan- guage should be confined to the mother tongue; and adds the important conclusion (p.i6), "that the power of conversing in a foreign lan- guage can be acquired at least as easily late as early ; that it is much less important than trans- lation, much less important than composition, and that in learning it, at whatever age, we waste power if we proceed by ear only." Yet he does not undervalue the office of the ear, and adds an interesting paragraph on Dictation and Audition — that is, writing and listening from oral repetition; — but all these he holds to be subordinate to the main purpose of reading, and to the linguistic training and literary cul- ture to be derived from the study of modern languages. Surely it is gratifying to see how closely the views which Mr. Colbeck repre- sents are in accord with those formally enun- ciated by the .Modern Language Association of America.*
Along the same line of thought the lecturer discusses frankly, yet very modestly, the question of native (English) or foreign teachers — a much more "burning" question in England, we may be sure, than (fortunately) it is now
*Since these lines were written the views of Mr. Colbeck — representing Cambridge — have received confirmation from another source, of still higher authority — representing Oxford. In a paper on Literature and Language^ in the Contem- porary Review reprinted in the Eclectic Magazine for De- cember, 1887, Prof. Edward A. Freeman, the historian, writes, with reference to the new Chair at Oxford : " We may fairly- lay down that it is the business of an (sic) University to teach men the scholarly knowledge of languages ; — that it is not its business to teach men their practical mastery." And again : "The gift of talking this or that language is not one which comes within the scope of an University : it is no part of the scientific study of the language." We wish we could quote more largely: but this suffices to show the consensus of opinion, in the highest quarters, as to the true direction of modern language study for higher education in England. It is of course superfluous to recommend the reading of the whole of Prof. Freeman's paper.
with us. He admits the obvious retort, "voiis <"tt s orfevre, M. Josse"; but yet with allow- ance for illustrious exceptions — so numerous, let us thankfully add, in our own country — he dot -s not hesitate to conclude: "I think that English teachers produce considerably the best results." In his careful and candid analy- sis of this question, he says (p. 30): "The Eng- lishman knows his boys' difficulties. He knows what not to teach, what to begin by teaching, and where to lay stress. He looks at the task from the same side as his pupils," etc. ; and as to the much vaunted use of the foreign tongue in the class room, he adds: "The round of remarks which it involves is very limited : Lisez, traduisez, asseyez-vous, continue/, rC- p£tez, a-t-il raison? vous aveztort; Aufgepasst, sprechen sie deutlich, kein dummes Zeug, soon degenerate into jargon". Can this be a true picture? If not, it is heresy of the worst kind ! Perhaps it were better it should be true; for, surely, it seems to us that in the brief hours assigned to class-room work, of which every minute should be precious, that language should be used which speaks quick- est and clearest to the most immediate intelli- gence of the pupil. But if Mr. Colbeck tells us the worst, there is not so much harm done after all.
In this notice, already too prolonged, we have confined our attention only to the leading points of the first lecture, of 31 pages. Besides what we have noted, there is much of interesting suggestion and criticism on ques- tions of method, with glances at some of the best-known systems. The second lecture, of 54 pages, is devoted mainly to details of in- struction, and contains many striking and in- genious suggestions. These, it may be re- marked, may be usefully compared with a paper by Miss Bracket, in the last number of the (Syracuse) Academy. Mr. Colbeck 's style is bright and breezy. The entire little book is eminently readable, with temptations to quote throughout, as we have already done beyond our proper limits. Without endorsing all of its arguments — as, for example, what is said of the Historical, or "Mediaeval," study of Modern Languages — we commend the book heartily to all teachers of Modern Languages, and we wish Mr. Colbeck and his colleagues ('•od-speed in their good work.
EDWARD S. JOYXKS.
South Carolina College.
II
January. MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES, 1888. No. \.
La Chanson de Roland. Traduction archa- i'que et rythme'e, accompagne'e de notes explicatives par L. CLKDAT. Paris, Ernest Leroux. 1887.
Mr. L. Cl£dat vient de publier une traduc- tion archaique et rythm£e de la Chanson de Roland. C'est une reproduction aussi fidele et aussi complete que possible de 1'original, accompagne'e d'excellentes et nombreuses notes. Nous ne saurions qu'approuver 1'id^e de conserver le rythme d'un poeme qu'on a 1 'intention non pas de traduire mais bien plutot de rajeunir. En pareil cas le rythme a pour but cle conserver plus fidelement 1'esprit, le caractere, le style et 1'harmonie du poeme. .C'est deja un immense avantage dont il faut tenir grand compte a 1'auteur. Mais que le rythme rende la lecture du poeme lourde, difficile et en beaucoup d'endroits obscure, c'est ce qu'on ne saurait nier. Mr. Cle"dat aurait pu se dispenser d'une foule d'inversions plus on moins heureuses qui nuisent a la' clart^ de la narration et ne pas s'attacher a reproduire aussi scrupuleusement qu'il 1'a fait 1'ordre des mots du Roland. La lecture en aurait e"te beaucoup plus courante et plus agre"able. D'un autre c6t^, si ce texte est destine1 au public de notre temps, des vers tels que :
Je t'en mourrai si grand deuil et contraire 311
Que j 'en eclaire cette mienne grande ire 322
Roland le conte ne 1'eut du se penser 355
Ne 1'dis pour ce des votres n'aura perte 591
Qui vint a Charles les galope et les sauts 731
Celui n'y a ne pleure de pitie^ 822
Sous son manteau en fuit la contenance 830
Celle ne 1'voit vers lui ne s'esclaircisse 958
Espanelis hors le va adextrant 2648
et nombre d'autres sont a peine admissibles. 11s sont par trop obscurs pour le public d'aujourd'hui. II est juste d'ajouter que des notes viennent au secours du lecteur, mais quand il s'agit d'offrir un poeme d'une lecture courante, il est preferable de lui £pargner les notes, surtout si, par quelques modifications insignifiantes, on pent lui presenter un vers d'un sens et d'une clart£ satisfaisante.
Pour ce qui est des mots anciens que Mr. Cle"dat a laisse's dans sa traduction, ils sont en
trop grand nombre et ne"cessitent trop de notes, trop de " c'est-a-dire." Par mots anciens nous devons ici entendre et ceux qui ont disparu completement de la langue etceux dont un changement radical de signification 6quivaut pour nous a une complete dispari- tion. Que cette ide"e conservatrice puisse con- tribuer a faire reparaitre et a imposer a la langue des mots depuis longtemps oublie's, c'est a souhaiter; mais c'est la une consideYa- tion secondaire pour le lecteur. Avant tout il lui faut comprendre ce qu'il lit. Ce que nous disons des mots peut s'appliquer a la syntaxe : Trop d'inversions et trop d'anciennes tour- nures. En suivant pareil systeme Mr. Cle"dat a re"ussi a conserver plus entier le caractere du poeme, et plus originale 1'expression de la pense"e, mais que le lecteur qui se sent incapa- ble d'aborder le texte primitifde notre vieille e'pope'e ne s'imagine pas avoir une tache facile et £gre"able ayec la pre"sente traduction.
Terminons par quelques retnarques qui sans 6tre d'importance me semblent cependant ne'cessaires. L'unitd de traduction, du moins dans le cas qui nous occupe, demande qu'un mot soit ou remplace" partout on conserve" partout.
Or, guerpir est tour a tour rendu par : .' guer- pir,' 'quitter,' ' abandonner,' 'laisser,' sans raison apparent, cf. vers 536; 1626; 2618; 2683; 3041; — adents par: 'adents,' 'surla face,' 'a terre,' cf. vers 1624; 2025; 2358; 3097 ;— isnel par: ' rapide ' isnel,' 'le"ger,' cf. vers 13^7; 1492 ; 2085 ; 3884 ; 3839 ; — au vers 717 aserie est rendu par attardee, mais attar der n'a jamais voulu dire que 'retarder,' 'se mettre en re- tard'ou ' mettre quelqu'un en retard ' ; — pour- quoi ne pas traduire aserie par 'assombrie,' com me au vers 3991 ?
Passe le jour, la nuit est assombrie.
Ces remarques ne tendent aucunement a diminuer ou a m^connaitre 1'habilet^ que Mr.. Cl^dat a montr^e dans sa traductiou de la Chanson de Roland, disons plutdt dans son rajeunissement, tout au contraire nous faisons un devoir de loner egalement et la fide'lite' de sa traduction et l'originalit£ de sa m^thode.
J. A. FONTAINK.
University of A*e/>msA<t.
January. MODERN LANGUAGE No s. No. i.
NOCII /•:/ A .)/. //. Mt-.lSSMER-JOr.\l:SJ.
Niirhdem Dr. Goebel in seiner Besprediung von Meissner-Joynes ( iranunatik (Decrmbt i nummer iSSji den Character der Kritik Pro- fessor I larrisons ge/eidmet niul das Yerh.'iltnis dt-r Ik-arbeitim?; von Prof. Joynes zu ihrem Ori- ginal iin Allgemeinen festgestellt hat, eriibrigt tins nur noch, das Werk in seiner amerika- nischen (ic-stalt an sich nnd fur sich einer ein- gehenden Untersuchung zu unterziehen. Wir warden dabci nurvoneinem Wunschegeleitet, denjeder Fachgenosse teilen muss, — namlich, nacli Kraften dazu beizutragen, dass ein in hohem Grade praktisches Lehrbuch in der folgenden Aufiage der Vollkommenheit naher geriickt werde.
An allgemeinen Bemerkungen sind die folgenden vorauszuschicken :
Den Grundsatzen der heutigen Padagogik /•i wider wird dem Schiller (vvie auch Dr. Goe- bel bemerkt hat) fast nie Gelegenheit zu selb- stiindigem Denken gegeben ; der Bearbeiter erkliirt die verschiedenen grammatischen Er- scheinungen mil iibermassiger Breite und for- dert das geisttotende mechanische Auswendig- lernen durch zahlreiche Abteilungen und Un- terabteilungen. So scheidet er z. B. in §96 die Hauptworter der schwachen Declination in nicht weniger alssechs Gruppen, woesdoch wirklich nur derenzvveigiebt ; jeder denkende Schiiler wird unschwer unterscheiden konnen, wo das e der Flexionsendung en auszulassen ist und wo nicht. Anderswo (§ 134) wird gar von dem Schiiler verlangt, dass er die Endung- en des Pronomens und des Adjectivs zusam- men " both horizontally and vertically " aus- wendig lerne ! Auch das beste Gedachtnis konnte soldi ein totes Schema nicht lange be- halten ; wenn dagegen der Schiiler das VVesen und die Ursache dieser Erscheinungen einmal verstanden hat, braucht er keirfe mechanische Formel mehr. Ahnliches gilt von den mne- monic words % 408, die sich in einer, wenn auch elementaren, Besprechung von Grimm's ver- schiebuugsgesetz ganz eigentiimlich ausneh- men.
Die grammatischen Definitionen lassen ofters an Klarheit viel zu wiinschen iibrig. So wer- den ^244, 245, Indefinite Pronouns nnd Inde- finite Adjectives unterschieclen ; unter den ersteren finden wir keiner, ehcas und nichts-
//Vuiid n'fuix \\<-rdtn /u den Adjt < tivrn ^cn-< hurt ! In £449 ist di<- nr- spriinglic IK- Kinu-ilimg nidit i-inmal i-ingi-lial- tt-n und di<- \'«-rwirning wird no< h ar^- sind allc, eini^f, i-fliclif, keine und nnimh,- plot/li( li /'nnioiiiiintla (cf. }5 245) nnd mehrtre, verschiedcne, vielc, weuigc sind Indefinites! Von eiiu-r plainniissi^cn. l«.^is- ht-n Unter- sclu-iilung kann da nicht die kedcs*-in. \\'.is ferner £481, 2 von der Bedeutung d. Perf. der intransitiven \\-rba gesagt wird, ist zum Mindesten schw«-r verstandlirh ; wanmi nicht einfach die iibliche Angabe, dass di«-,«-s Part. Perf. active Bedeutung hat ?
Ausserdem finden sich noch zahlreich< In genauigkeiten, sowie grammatische und philo- logische Fehler; unter den let/teren sind t-inige grobe Schnitzer, die uns urn so mehr befremden miissen, als sie durch Zuhulfe- nalime der elementarsten Nachschlagewerke, wie z. B. des Worterbuchs der ilauptsrhuie- rigkeiten, etc., von Sanders, oder dt Prof. Joynes selbst den Schiilent(f) empfohle- nen Etymologischen Worterbuchs von Kluge, leicht hatten vermieden werden konnen. \ < r altete Formen und Ausdriicke, \\: gegen das Idiom, etc., beweisen ferner, dass bei der Abfassung oder Bearbeitung i-iiu-r deutschen Grammatik durch t-iiu-n Auslander die Hinzuziehungeines mil dem besten Sprach- gebrauch vertrauten Eingebornen wenigstens zum Lesen der Correcturbogen unerlasslit h ist.
Wir bringen nun die einzelnen Punkte, die der Verbesst-rung bediirfen, einfach in der Reihenfolge zur Besprechung, in welrher wir ihnen bei der Durchsicht des Buches begegnen.
§ 28 ist doch etwas zuapodiktisch. In fast ganz Mittel- und Oberdeutschland wird s im Anlaut und zwischen X'ocalen tonlos ges- prochen. — SS. 17, 18. Die lu'er gegt-l)ene deutsche Schrift sieht aus, als <>b sie ziun 'IVil einer Fibel aus dem yorigen Jahrhuiukrt entnommen ware. Die Biichstabeii // haben eine ganzlich veraltete Form, a uiul o sind balb lateinisch, halb deutsrh, n ist gan/ lateinisch, C und >"sind \olleiuls falsch, uiul p. 18 unten sind fast keine zwei Buclistabeii von gleicher Lange. Die Schrittproben am Ende des Buches sind dagegen, einige kleiue Versehen abgererhiu-t, mustergiltig.—
' ^
January. MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES, 1888. No, i.
28
Was muss der Verfasser von den Geistesgaben der amerikanischen Jugend denken, wenn er fiir notig halt, derselben mitzuteilen, dass die Worter Jung-ling-, Heft, Pferd, Schiff, Zeug im Plural nicht umgelautet werden ! — § 86 sind hinzuzufiigen mancher und solcher. — § 88 sollte nach § 79 stehen ; ihr 'her' ist vergessen. — § lor gewohnlich des Schmerzes, dem Sch- merze. — § 105. Wo kbmmen jetzt noch die Plurale Bette und Hemder vor? Rohre ist sing. fern. — § 123. Der Augapfel ist the eye- ball.— § 132. Die Plurale Tiicher=^kerchiefs, — cloths und Tuche=cloths=verschiedene Ar- ten von Tuch sollten streng auseinandergehal- ten werden.— § 175. Wozu iin Imperativ die Formen habe er, haben sie, anstatt er habe, sie haben ? — § 202 ist unrichtig ; man sagt ent- weder es sick order sich's — § 235 besagt das- selbe wie 234. — § 242. Fichtst, flichtst, nicht fichst, flichst. Lbschen als starkes Verb wird wol nie transitiv gebraucht, heisst also nicht to put out sondern nur to go out; die transitive (factitive) Form ist regelmassig schwach. Schraiibeu wircl nur sehr selten stark conju- girt. Neben schwor kommt ebenso haufig, wenn nicht haufiger, schwur vor, im Conjunc- tiv fast immer- schwiire. Melken ist im Praeteritum oft schwach, auch vereinzelt im Part. Perf. Ebenso werdenfttmmen, schallen, schnauben nicht selten schwach flectirt, we- niger oft auch gdren und saugen — ^ 243. Man spricht stets und schreibt meistens du \sst, frisst, liest, misst, vergisst (ss fiir sz) anstatt der vollen aber etwas unbehiilflichen Formen du issest, liesest, etc. Dasselbe gilt § 248 von bldsest, lassest, stossest, wdchsest, ivdschest, wofiir man gewohnlich findet blast, Idsst, stosst, wdchst, wdsclist, letzteres sogar wie wascht ausgesprochen. Hierzu gehoren noch § 232 birst(est) und § 242 drisch(es)t, lisch(es)t, schmilz(es)t, — § 246. Keif en ist meist schwach. — § 274. Es fragt sich heisst it is doubtful, nicht it is asked. — § 277. Zu betrilgen ist nicht eigentlich Infinitiv, sondern Supinum, oder " Infinitiv mit zu," wenn man will. — § 278, Der Ausfall des ge- ist nur so nebenbei, sollte aber § 277 ausdriicklich betont werden. — § 313. Doch auch Jan'uar, Feb'ruar. — § 329, Note ist unrichtig ; auf nicht nur folgt stets das Wort zu welchem ' nnr logisch gehort, und das ist meist das Verbum, wahrend nach sondern
auch die Wortstellung normal bleibt. — § 357 Festhalten ist ein trennbares Compositum und gehort zu § 379, da/<?.y/hier (wie los in loslas- sen) Adjectiv, nicht Adverb ist. — § 358. Ver- halten soil vv.ol lieissen aufhalten. — £ 371. Ent- gegnen (entgegen) und entzweien (entzwei) sollen mit dem Praefix ent zusammengesetzt sein ! Dem Worte entzwei wenigstens sieht und hort doch jeder Laie sofort an, dass es mit dem englischen in two auch formell identisch ist. Die ahd. Formen sind in- gagan(i), in-zuvei, mhd. engegen, enzwei. — § 374. Zergliedern heisst to dissect, to divide into (natural) parts. — § 375. Begehen haufiger =to commit, perpetrate ; ergehen—to come out, to be issued, impers. to fare. — § 383. Der Tropf=the dropping, der Tropfen=the drop. Das Band (Plur. Bander) the ribbon, (Plur. Bande) the tie, bond', der Bund^=the union. — § 384. Der Bissen=-the morsel. Hier finden wir wieder eine neue Ableitung: Stopsel mit -sal zusammengetzt ! Das Wort gehort zu Abteilung 3 desselben Paragraphen. — § 386. Gottheit ist meist=G"0#. Das Christen turn heisst Christianity, nicht Christendom ; das Kcnigtum ist abstract=rcy/«//y, kingship; — §387. Die Gebnrt gehort in die Anmerkung zu Gebiet. — § 389. Meist Kurziveil, ohne e. — § 390, Anmerkung. Was fiir Tiiel sind das 1 — § 395- Von welchen compound nouns sind denn breitsclmltrig und vierfussig abgeleitet ? Bis- herig ist of hitherto ; dortig : of that place ; hiesig: of this place (town, city). Die Bemerk- ung iiber — lei ist dem Schiller dunkel -und ist auch sonst nicht am Platze. Schadlich und niitslich gehoren zu ioa. — § 396. Misstrauisch gehort zd 395,8. — § 399. Ruckweise, nicht riickweise. Mai als Adverb ist doch wol im- mer bewusste Kiirzung von einmal('nmal, mat) und als solche nur in familiiirer Umgangs- sprache zulassig ; es ist daher hier die voile Form einmal zu setzen. Der ganze Paragraph macht in seiner Anbrdming wie auch im Inhalt und Styl den Eindruck sehr fliichtiger Arbeit. — § 401. Hinzu ist nur ein zusanimengesetztes Verbalpraefix, kein selbstandiges Adverb.
HUGO SCHILLING.
Wittenberg College.
29
>;<!'•/
Jami-iry. . 1/r >/'/•: A'. V /..l.\'(,r.li, / .\V;//.S, ,sss \,>
sit//' ti/htt hi /illicit,- (ft-/ ('<nt.
.\(n. By I'lo UAINA. (De-print from til- Stii:ij (fi l-'il(>lu<jia Koinanza, Fuse. IV).
I'n' Ixcrizionc AV/V.v/;/</ del 1131. By I'm KA.I.NA. (De-print from the Archivio Storifo Italiaiio, XIX., la).
'1'lu- importance of the- Bilingual Alba of the Vatican ro<U-x Kcgina 1462, as the- earliest monument in which Provencal has been found, has led many Romance scholars to attempt a satisfactory interpretation of it.* Their efforts have hitherto met with but little decided result, owing in great part to the absence of MSS. which might be used for comparison, and also to the carelessness of the copyists; likewise, possibly, to the ignorance of the author himself. The latter was undoubtedly more versed in Latin than in the vernacular, and his imitations of the popular refrains he heard around him are vitiated by the Latin poetical mould into which he casts them. However, making the best of the single MS., Prof. Rajna proceeds boldly by means of text criticism to the desired end. Uniting the various lines of the Alba in which the refrain appears entire or in part, he gains as text for his point of departure:
L'alba part (or par) umet mar atrasol Poypas (orPoy pas) abigil miraclar tenebras.
As is seen, the MS. disregards the separa- tion of words, writing two now together, now apart. This leads the author to examine first the second line of the refrain to determine the meaning of pas abigit, which he resolves into pasa bigil and explains bigil as vigil, Latin r in South-west France sounding as b. The a is hence not a preposition, as Suchier and Stengel had interpreted, but apart of the verb. In the same way, atra sol is read by Prof. Rajna atras ol, the ol being an article and agreeing with ]\)\. Thus, from disregard of the MS. division of words, the author is led to ignore also the lines of the text, and construes the- re fra in : L'alba part ninct mar a Iras ol pny pasa bigil uiiraclar tciichras.
*See articles by Schmidt and Suchier in Ziitschrift fuf dcutsche Philologie, XII., 33355.: by Stengel in Zeitsckri/t fiir romanitche Philologie, IX, 403 ss., etc.
I'.nt here .1 difficulty arises whi< h seems to us more serious than the re< onstnn lion of tin- Prof. Kajna admits th.it <>/ mcurs in Provem.al only as a pronoun, < iting line K.I of Aigar f Mantni: Si <>/ t »n.\t-nf In / A/i-r<in\, where In is the form ol tin- artii le. He is, then-Ion-, obliged to suppos.- ili.r as article, existed in Provin ,• .,., n . \j,t, <| m certain Lombard dialects.— an hy|- which, in the absence of supporting !• somewhat ha/ardous. Tin- division of tin- being thus suggested, the author claims pi>y to be the noun and not the adverb, and gives two decasyllabic lines by the addition of/toy to the first verse, when- it must have originally belonged, until the scribe, intent on the Latin, had forced it fn.m its place. Tin- text of the original refrain would thus be :
I. 'alba part umet mar atras ol \x>y. I'asa bigil miraclar tenebrax ;
which Prof. Rajna would translate in Italian: L'alba, di ladall'umido mare, dietro il poggio, passa vigile a spiar per entro alle tern-lire. The Epic verse is therefore furnished with still another proof of its antiquity, in a monument some hundred years earlier than Jioithitis.
Proceeding from the refrain to the entire- poem, Prof. Kajna argues for a Latin original, composed by a ' poet who was perhaps an imitator of Vergil and < >vid. In his hands the vernacular\f. mutilated, though the Alba differs in no essential respect from the popular forms of the Albas of the XII. and XIII. centi:
The second article of Prof. Rajna leaves the strictly defined field of Pro\«-ncal poetry for the wider ground of C'arolingian legend. The treason of (ianelon at the gorge of Rom < s- valles had been sung as wide as the pi of Roland. The greater the glory of the hero, magnified by the grow ing tradition of succes- sive generations, the deeper the contempt for the traitor who had brought against him over powering forces. Judas alone was a fitting example to be placed by the side of (..melon, and thus the action of the epic on Scripture and of Scripture on the epic worked in the mind of the people until a race of traitors stood forth who, from father to s,.n and through the various lines of kindred opposed the valiant ami the loyal. Such a state of feeling is i-xpic ,srd by the Latin in-
January. MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES, 1888. No. i.
scription in the wall of the vestibule of the cathedral at Nepi. In the year 1131, the soldiers of Nepi and the rulers made oath together that should any one break the al- liance he should be deprived of honor and dignity, and moreover should have his portion "cum Juda et Caypha atque Pilato," for they would put him to death " ut Galelonem qui suos tradidit socios."
The historical import of the inscription is considered at length by Prof. Rajna, before turning to the relation it may have with the French epic. The treason of Ganelon, he affirms, must have been known solely through popular tradition. As proof of this, Sutri near Nepi is cited, the region of Italy most abounding in legendary traces of Roland. Now Sutri was a stopping place on the high- way to Rome, most frequented by pilgrims from the north-west. This highway is fre- quently called in the middle ages the Strata Francigena, and many towns in the vicinity bear in their names the marks of French in- fluence. Together with the pilgrims came the wandering minstrels, with their tales of wars against the infidels, and by them Italy was made acquainted with the story of the peers of Charlemagne. Italy in her turn reacted on the singers, who borrowed from her many scenes and who make especial reference to Sutri. (See ' Enfances ' and ' Chevalerie Ogier.')
For the particular mention of Ganelon in other than the French form, Prof. Rajna sur- mises that the word Galelonem is identical with the Spanish Galalon, and that it is due to pilgrims who had visited the shrine of St. James at Campostello and who had made a halt at Roncesvalles. An interesting citation in support of this view is made from Pulci :
E tutti i peregrin questa' novella Riportan di Galizia ancora espresso, D'aver veduto il sasso e'l corno fesso.
Morgante, XXVII., 108.
In connection with this early appearance of Ganelon in Italy, it is interesting to note that he was also celebrated in South France in 1170 (See Bartsch ' Chrest. Prov.' col. 85, 1. 25), and that the Troubadours frequently coupled him, as is suggested by the inscrip-
tion at Nepi, with the arch-traitor Judas. (Birch-Hirschfeld : ' Uber die den Troubadours bekannten epischen Stoffe,' p. 60). f
F. M. WARREN.
Johns Hopkins University.
Neuphilolugische Essays by GUSTAV KOR- TING. Heilbronn, Gebr. Henninger, 184 pp., 1887.
The indefatigable author of the ' Ency- klopadie und Methodologie der Romanischen Philologie,' whose similar work on English philology has recently appeared, puts before the public a series of essays on modern philology. A simple enumeration of the titles will show that the book is not written for the specialist in modern philology, but that the author addresses himself to a wider circle of readers, to all those that take an interest in higher education. These essays, eight in number, treat of the following subjects: — 1. Modern Philology, Romance Philology, Eng- lish Philology. — II. The Study of Modern Philology at the German Universities. — III. Suggestions as to the University Studies in Modern Philology. — IV. " Staatsexamen " of Modern Philologists. — V . The Examination of Modern Philologists for the Doctor's De- gree.— VI. Scientific Criticism in Modern Philology. — VII. Instruction in Modern Lan- guages at the "Gymnasium." — VIII. In- struction in Modern Languages at the Female High Schools (Hohere Tochterschule) — a variety of subjects that undoubtedly will not fail to awaken the interest of scholars and lay- men in Europe, and let us hope, in America also.
In his first article, which he modestly calls aphorism, Prof. Korting' discusses the question whether the academic study of Romance languages and English has a right to the name of philology, and how far we are entitled to speak of modern philology. For his defini- tion of philology he refers to the article in the
fFor the tradition of Ganelon in the French epic see Stengel's Ausg. und Abh., No. 50: Ganelon und sein Ge- schlecht im altfranziisischen Epos, by E. Sauerfeld. In Ro- mania XI., 410 traces are noted of contemporary legends in the d partement de la Somme, France.
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January. .V< >/>/•: A', \' LANGUAGE NOTES, 1888 No i
' Kncyklopadie uud Methodologie der Roina- nis< hen Sprachen ' which dctinitioii lias since been criticised by Prof. Kl/e in liis 'Grundriss :i;Jischen Philologic.' \Ve arc glad that Prof. Korting did not enter into polemics with 1'rof. Kl/e, as liis work shows well t In- difference between theory and praxis.
Philology considers only the " Cultur- sprachen," tlie languages that have produced a national literature, and it must consider them in their natural development. Lan- guages that are related to each other must be regarded as one group and cannot be separated in philology. Thus Latin and the Romance languages form a philological unity, and so long as the study of the derived tongues remains in close connection with their parent speech we can make use of the name of Romance philology. The case is different with Germanic philology, of which the study of Knglish is only a branch. Here the basis of scientific in- vestigation is the philology of prehistoric times — comparative philology — and since the Knglish scholar like the German scholar who makes the High German branch his special study must found his studies on Sanskrit, etc., to follow the development of the Germanic languages, his science can only be termed Germanic, not Knglish, philology. Romance and Germanic philology can be combined under the name of ' modern philology ' only for practical reasons. ' Modern philology,' like ' Knglish philology ' is merely a name, no science.
Prof. Korting devotes a whole article to this question, because it is the starting point for his ensuing deductions as to the academic study of modern languages. Some of the ideas in the following essays are old acquaintances that are familiar to us from his pamphlet ' Gedanken und Bemerkungen iiber das Studium cler neueren Sprachen auf den deu- tschen Hochschulen ' and occasional remarks in the " Kncyklopadie." When our young science was in its infancy, it was quite natural that the student chose the two modern langua- ges that he could make use of in teaching, and this became so much the fashion that it gave rise to the name of ' modern philology ' and ' modern philologists,' as distinguishing them from the scholars of classical philology. But
since that time modern philology lias \eloped int.. a M i.-i,. - of Midi vast .-\tent that it is beyond any on-- student's ubilit) In embrace it, at l.-.ist during lli<, that he spends at a university. Korting calls for a separation of Krench and Knglish. . of which subjects is to be studied IP its nat- ural connection with Latin or German. 'I lu.s the Romance student would be compelled to follow courses in Latin and attend the Latin urinary, and would be better prepared for his work in Romance philology, while the Knglish student, who formerly contented himself with Anglo-Saxon and Gothic, wmild ha\e to make himself acquainted with the elements of com- parative philology, ( )ld Norse, and the < ierman- ic dialects. The Prussian government, evident- ly pressed by certain universities has in the new " Priifungsordnung." going into effect this year, somewhat remedied this deficiency by combining Krench and the " facultas docendi " in Latin for lower classes. The one chief difficulty in Prof. Korting 's combination of subjects, natural and commendable as it h that the authorities can not reasonably insist on it since the combination of subjects in the "Prii- fungsordnung " is to a large extent dictated Im- practical considerations, and Knglish is not taught in the Gymnasium ; and the student, — who, whatever his enthusiasm tor his chosen science, has to keep in view what will become of him after the time of preparation, — will natu- rally take those subjects that give him tin- best chance to find some position, if necessary, outside of the Gymnasium and Kealsc hule. that is to say, the Krench and the Knglish It is indeed gratifying to see that the scientific spirit among the young generation of modern philologists in Germany, in their struggle for existence, has not abated, for it displays almost the steadfastness of a martyr to write a disserta- tion or some scholarly work with the feeling that one is the seventieth in the number of well qualified candidates who will compete for some obscure position with .1 salary just above the starvation point.
Kvery scholar knows that Germain is tin- seat of philology, classical .is well as modern. Since Grimm and Hie/ laid the foundation for the latter, their worthy su- .ided by
hundreds of enthusiastic co-workers, have built
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January. MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES, 1888. No. i.
up a science that can well compare with its more experienced and more consolidated parent philology. Yet there may, perhaps, be more Latin scholars than Prof. Korting sup- poses (though we are sure they are exceptions) who think it an intrusion that Romance philo- logy should go back to the classical age to dig out treasures that must otherwise be hidden. It is not so long since Prof. Sittl wrote his book : 'Die localen Verschiedenheiten des Latein,' but we feel some satisfaction that his ' vivat sequens ' was addressed to a scholar who has a closer feeling and more sympathy with Romance philology.
If these scholars are exceptions, the number is pretty large in Germany of educated people who feel that occupation with the language and literature of a foreign country is a lack of patriotism, and who wish to see the whole strength and ability of native scholars concen- trated on the study of their own language and history. To all these and others of the same opinion we recommend the reading of Prof. Korting's refutation, in his second essay ; the more intelligent would be convinced that occupation with foreign languages and litera- tures is one of the best, and often the only, means of understanding the national pro- ductions, and that, if other nations do not pay the same attention to German philology as German scholars do to theirs, "this is not the effect of a more highly developed national feel- ing but simply the oatcome of a deficient scien- tific insight." The following lines from the greatest philologist of France, which we read in the last volume of the Romania, would show them how much these studies are ap- preciated abroad: " Les Allemands s'em- parent de plus en plus du terrain des Etudes romanes et sp6cialement du domaine de 1'ancien francais. C'est en vain que nous essayons de marcher au moins de conserve avec eux ; nous sommes vaincus par le nombre d'abord et nous sommes loin de posse"der un outillage aussi commun. Ce que nous avons de mieux a faire est de profiler des travaux qu'ils accumulent et de les remercier quand les travaux sont vraiment utiles."
The fourth essay is full of suggestions as to the regulations of the "Staatsexamen." The author's experience as an examiner in the
" Pfufungskommission " is a guaranty for the possibility of carrying through the modifica- tions he proposes. The "Staatsexamen" really consists of four examinations : the scientific, in which the candidate has to show his acquaintance with the development and the results of Romance, etc., philology; a practical examination, on which the new " Prufungsordnung " puts more stress now than before, to show how far the candidate is able to speak and write the languages he desires to teach ; the examination in pedagogy and— last not least — the ' 'allgemeine Bildung, ' ' which, though restricted to certain branches — Philosophy, Latin, History and Religion — is in examination as in common life an idea capable of wide extension. The last, with the ex- ception of philosophy, has been regarded by many professors as entirely superfluous, and we fully agree with Prof. Korting that it is even injurious. The reason is so obvious and the feeling against it has been so universal among students, teachers and professors that we are surprised to find the same old-fashioned regulation in the new "Prufungsordnung," and fear accordingly that Prof. Korting's propositions will hardly be taken into con- sideration. The rest of the examination the author wishes to have divided into two parts. The first, strictly scientific, ought to "be taken after finishing the university studies, the second, covering the practical knowledge of French and English in speaking and writing, should follow an interval of two years, spent mostly in France and England. Theoretical studies in pedagogy should be left entirely un- til after a practical foundation has been laid during the probationary year. Does it not disgust the commissioners to hear candidates speaking about things that they cannot reason- ably be expected to knovy ? We hope that the candidate will no longer be obliged — as was the case in Alsace — to appear in the class- room, after an absence of about five years, confronted by the rather embarrassing ne- cessity of combining Gothic Grammar and Muspilli's or Lachmann's Theory with the somewhat less scholarly explanation of " Ich hatt' einen Kameraden " !
There is no question whatever that by divid- ing the examination the candidates will be
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January. MODERN I,Ab & No.i.
•
better prepared, scientifically and practically, and tlu- authorities, who do not hesitate to make use of tin- large number of philologists by offering them salaries that only necessity can compel them to accept, should not be too timid to require a little further preparation. Besides, the first " Staatsexamen " and the " 1 )octorexanien " could easily be combined, if the candidate for the former we^e allowed to devote all his time to one thesis, equal to that now required for the Dr. Phil., instead of preparing several papers in his different lines of studies. Something must be done to help teachers who have passed their Staatsexamen without taking the Dr. Phil., — and they are the majority — to some title that they can use in society. We know a teacher in a "Gymnasium" who took his degree in his sixtieth year, in order, after retir- ing from his position, to have some title that might distinguish him from the ordinary public school teacher. For titles are no mere chimera in a monarchial government, and putting the teacher in that respect on the same level with other learned professions is an honor that Ger- many owes to the promoters of her intellectual power, and the ordinance of last year, raising teachers with academical education to the rank of lawyers, etc., has not fully made amends for this fault of omission.
The article on criticism is mostly a plea for a more moderate and polite tone in criticising par- ticularly the works of beginners. Our readers are well acquainted with the often too harsh language seen especially in German journals, and, though this may find some explanation in the transient and even ephemeral character of a review, yet scholars on this side of the water cannot but hope that the time may never come when we shall find our learned periodicals filled with merely personal " Krwiderungen " and " Kntgegnuugen."
The last two essays occupy themselves with the instruction in modern languages. The Gymmasium, Prof. Korting says, is a prepara- tory school for the university, and has in \iew, as its sole object, to fit boys best for subsequent scientific study there. \Ve may admit this, but how about the author's con- tested "Kinheitsschule," the combined Real- gymnasieii and (iymnasium? The number of
students is decreasing in many departments, and we hope the "Kinheitsschule" uill not multiply their number. The remarkable im- personality of Prof. Korting, so a-ie. ably different from those outbursts of scorn « I. ether uttered by the minority striving for <-\ist. or flung with self-sufli( iem \ to tli<- public from the stronghold of a secured position, would have assured a candid hearing to any explana- tion he might have had to offer as to the n of blending (iymnasium and Kealschule, and we much regret that this question has found no treatment among his essays. Certainly the Kinheitsschule cannot be a preparatory school for the university in the same sense as the (iymnasium ; it must embody the whole higher education. We join Prof. Korting in his wish that in the German Gymnasium, Knglish may find a place that has hitherto been denied to it, as well as in his hope that the Classics will always remain the foundation of higher education. Whether a thorough train- ing in Latin and Greek can be obtained in less than sixteen hours a week, during a course of at least nine years, is a question that we lea\e for German scholars. Our experience tea us that the secondary subjects are too much neglected, and that the pupils, especially in the lower and intermediate classes, mostly look upon the weekly Latin exercise as the only essential in their promotion to a higher class.
The end of modern language teaching has been often discussed in this country by various scholars, and most of them, at least those who are free from one-sidedness, agree that the only purpose can be to enable the pupils to read a foreign language, to understand scientific books, and enjoy foreign literature. The abil- ity simply to speak a foreign tongue will hardly extend beyond the common-life phr. that without constant practice will soon be forgotten and this cannot be the aim of an in- struction that means something more than mere superficial knowledge of the subject. Prof. Korting emphasises the great difficulty of learning a foreign language, and denies even the possibility of acquiring in a limited number of hours, the ability to write compositions of any stylistic value, "for writing French ami Knglish is different from writing Latin."
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January. MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES, 1888. No. i.
40
Compared with other subjects the modern lan- guages have been until recently much neglect- ed in Germany. This is due to the fact, as the author remarks, that instruction was given partly by teachers who had no scientific train- ing and who therefore could not, in a body of men and in an institution of a higher character, take a position which entitled them to the necessary respect. Though much remains to be wished for, Germany is now beyond the stage of language masters, and no candidate, is ap- pointed who has not proved that he has suc- cessfully devoted several years to a scientific study of modern philology. Having these thoughts in mind the author, in his excellent article on instruction in modern languages at Girls' High Schools, could not be expected to give us more than a pleasant causerie upon the experiments of killing time by the study of languages from thoughtlessly compiled grammars and handbooks. We must thank the author for his consideration in not allow- ing the memory of Juvenal to betray him in this case into writing a biting satire.
The book contains so many new ideas and suggestions that it is impossible to give our readers a detailed account of its contents here. We highly recommend it to all those who are interested in the study of modern philology and desire information as to its present status in Germany. The essays are, besides, written in so attractive a style and the subject is dealt with in such a masterly manner that the reader will be tempted to finish the book without delay.
H. SCHMIDT.
Cornell University.
Frederic Ozanam, sa vie et ses ceuvres, a volume of 600 pages, published last year at Montreal, is the first important literary venture of M. Pierre Chauveau, son of the eminent Canadian author. It is an extended study of the labors of the enthusiastic scholar and de- vout and practical Christian who was chiefly instrumental in forming the Society of St. Vin- cent de Paul. The subject is, of course, treat- ed from a thoroughly Roman Catholic stand- point ; indeed, the avowed object of the book
is to place before young Canadians who may be tempted to abandon or slight their religion and give way to the skeptical tendency of the age, a model of saintliness free from all the repulsive elements of narrow-mindedness and intolerance.
Fr^deYic Ozanam was born in 1813, a time when the Roman Catholic religion had not yet recovered its forces after the Revolution. He inherited from his parents the best traits of a Christian character, and these traits were strengthened by his early training. As soon as he was old enough, he joined the ranks of the defenders of his faith. His powers as a controversialist were first shown in an attack on the doctrines of Saint-Simon, which he pub- lished while still a law student at Lyons. Con- tinuing his legal studies in Paris, Ozanam became a leader in the establishment of the conferences of St. Vincent de Paul, and some- what'later he helped found the conferences of Notre Dame. At this period of his life he wrote his second work, Les deux chanceliers d'Angleterre, which attracted some attention.
Having obtained the degree of doctor in both law and letters, he was appointed pro- fessor of commercial law at Lyons. So suc- cessful was his career, that before he was thirty years old he had become professor of foreign literature at the Sorbonne, where he lectured until his early death in 1853. The twelve years of his professorship were spent in almost incessant labor on his life-task, the history of Christian civilization from its beginning down to the i4th century, a task which was destined never to be completed. Fortunately, however, he published the various sections of this great work soon after he finished them, so 'that we have (besides his letters and his unpublished notes) nine volumes of Ozanam's writings, of which the most important are Dante etlaphilo- sophie catholique, Etudes ger»ia>iiqncs and La civilisation an ci nqui^tne siec le. This last pro- duction, which did not appear until after the author's death, was crowned by the French Academy.
It is to an analysis of these historical and literary works that the greater part of M. Chau- veau's book is devoted. Yet Ozanam himself is never forgotten ; the homely, sickly, nervous little man, whose awkward manner could not
January.
LANGUAGE NOTES,
long conceal his \ ast knowledge nor his splen- did talent, is constantly before our eyes ; while his lovable character and his life of patient sulfering and sell-denial an- shown to speak from every page he wrote. M. Chaiiveau's style is perfectly straightforward ; the large amount of information he has accumulated is presented tastefully and modestly, without any kind of pretence; much space is given to quo- tations from other critics and also from Fre'de'- ric Ozanam's own writings.
The book is rendered still more valuable by an introduction from the pen of M. Chauveau, ptre, who speaks briefly of the struggles of the French clerical party during the present cen- tury. In these struggles Ozanam played his part : not that of a political leader, nor that of a violent and one-sided debater, but rather that of man who, without neglecting his re- gular duties, quietly and conscientiously strives to make every action of his life tend toward the desired end. " Toute sa vie fut nne triple predication, par la parole, par Fe'criture, par Faction. Tout ce qu'il a fait, il Fa entrepris dans un seul but, faire du bien a ses semblables, et par-dessus tout, leur procurer le plus ne"ces- saire de tons les biens, la foi."
CHAS. H. GRANDGENT.
Harvard College.
Wissenschaft und Schule in ihrem Verhalt- nisse zur praktischen Spracherlernung. Von Dr. M. M. ARNOLD SCHROER, ao. Professor der Englischen Philologie an der Universitat Freiburg i. B. (Leipzig 1887).
This brochure has for its object the discus- sion of the following dilemma : On the one hand, the university belongs to science, and every science has ideal, not practical, ends in view ; hence, practice in speaking a language has no place in the University. On the other hand, a practical knowledge of the respective living language is absolutely indispensable (ein unumgangliches Erforderniss) to the philologian and, especially, to the future teacher; without it, work in the history of language cannot be carried on with success, nor can the teaching of a modern language
•me really l>.-nHi< ial if the instructor lacks the ability to speak it (praktisc he Spra< hf«-rtij{-
beit).
There are three ways out of this difficulty: The student may be left to j^el a practical knowledge of the ' language oiitsidi- o| tin- university, from private teachers; or In- may neglect the practical study entirely during his university course, in order to devote himself to it afterwards, in the country where the language is spoken ; or, finally, he may be referred to lectors, specially appointed for this purpose by the university authori1 The advantages of, and objections to, each of these methods are well set forth by S< lu On the whole, the third method, which has been adopted by several universities, is the most feasible; but, after all, the author con- siders a sojourn in the foreign country indis- pensable, and a dozen pages of the pamphlet are devoted to the consideration of the ques- tion, how such a sojourn abroad may be brought within the reach of the student and turned to best advantage.
It would seem that the author, while advo- cating the desirability of a practical acquisition of the language previous to admission to the. university, underrates the possibililits in this respect, as well as the importance of such early training to the student of philology.
There is added to the discussion of the main question an excursus on the instruction in English in (ierman schools and an ap- pendix on the foundation of an institute for German philologians for the study of English in London.
The little brochure of sixty pages is full of suggestions to the teacher.
A. LODKMAN.
Ypsilanti, Mich.
In order to prevent any possible misappre- hension, the editors take occasion to remark that the foot-note appended to Dr. Karsten's review of Paul's Principicn in the last number of the NOTES was simply intended to remind our readers, impartially, of the existing oppo- sition to the views presented by Paul.
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January. MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES, 1888. No. i.
44
In a note on Louise von Francois's ' Phos- phorus Hollunder ' (Boston: D. C. Heath and Co., 1887) innocent young Americans are in- formed by the editor that ' Urania ' and ' Die bezauberte Rose' are 'mediaeval poems.' Poor Tiedge ! Poor Schulze ! Surely there could be no bitterer comment on the words of the original : " Den Zeitgenossen Hollunders brauchen wir kaum zu sagen, dass 'Urania' und ' Die bezauberte Rose ' seine Vorbilder und Lieblingsdichtungen waren ; das jiingere Geschlecht wird sich derselben aus der Lite- raturgeschichte erinnern. "
An attractive title that must of late have more than once caught the eye of teachers of French who scan the lists of new publications is : Beispielsammlung zur Einfuhrung in das Stadium der Etymologie des Neufranzosi- schen, von Dr. Gustav Breddiu (Leipzig, Gus- tav Fock, 1886 ; 410, pp. 31). Unfortunately the collection is not only worthless, but calcu- lated to do positive harm in the hands of the unwary. The etymologically inclined com- piler, who signs himself Oberlehrer, is appar- ently unacquainted even with the difference between words of popular and of learned origin. In short, pretty much everything is grist that comes to his mill. The result can be more easily imagined than described.
Geo. O. Curme, Professor of French in Cornell College, Mount Vernon, Iowa, has in press an edition of Lamartine's 'Meditations.' Prof. Curme has taken special pains to throw as much light as possible on the sources of personal inspiration of each poem. The work will be preceded by an introductory study of the poet's life ; and the poems (those are selected that have the inspiration of "Elvire") are so grouped as to keep the student's inter- est centered on the interesting period from 1816-1820.
The publishers of the above work, (D. C. Heath & Co. Boston), also announce ' His- toriettes Modernes,' selected and annotated by C. Fontaine, Instructor in French in the Washington (D. C.) High School.
Messrs. Henry Holt & Co. have brought out, under the title of 'Whitney's Practical French,' the entire first part of the author's French Grammar, supplemented by a con-
siderable variety of conversational exercises, and by lists of phrases illustrating, in parallel columns, the idiomatic uses of a number of the commoner French and English verbs. This low-priced and handy edition of .the more practical part of the larger grammar will be welcome to many teachers, and will do much, it may be hoped, towards bringing a good book into successful competition with many less valuable rivals.
The attention of students of Italian is called to an Italian semi-weekly newspaper, publish- ed in Chicago, and already in its third year : L' Italia — giornale politico, artistico, dilette- vole. The value of general newspaper reading, for the purpose of becoming thoroughly imbued with the every-day spirit and vocabulary of a foreign language, is too well recognized to need emphasis. L* Italia is intended for the benefit of the better portion of the numerous Italian colonies scattered over the country, and is accordingly a genuine Italian newspaper in all its details. It is in folio form, printed on good paper, with clear type ; and is a high- class journal, treating with dignity the leading questions of American and foreign politics and affairs. The subscription price is $3 per an- num (six months, $1.75). O. Durante, Editore. 404 S. Clark St., Chicago, 111.
We have received from Dr. D. G. Brinton (115 S. 7th St., Philadelphia) his instructive address before the Anthropological Section of the American Association for the Advance- ment of Science, entitled : " A Review of the Data for the Study of the Prehistoric Chro- nology of America." It is a deprint from the Proceedings of the Association, vol. xxxvi. Together with this, comes the announcement that vol. vii. ('Ancient Nahuatl Poetry') of his important Library of Aboriginal American j Literature is now ready." It contains a number | of songs in the Nahuatl language, most of ; which were composed before the Spanish ! conquest. They are accompanied by transla- I tions and notes.
Mr. William R. Jenkins (Publisher, N. Y.) announces as the next number of his will known series ' Romans Choisis,' Ohnet's popu- lar romance, ' Le Maitre de Forges, ' which was to be ready in November. In Paris, this novel
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January. MO/>/-:/{N LANGUAGE NOTI-IS, 1888. No. \.
has reached its 249111 edition. The next No. of ' Contes Choisis ' will contain, among other things, Claretie's clever little story, ' Boum- Boum.' The new edition, in 1'rench, of Victor Hugo's 'Les Miserable*,' which Mr. Jenkins has been issuing volume by volume, has now reached its completion. It fulfills the pro- mises made by the publisher and is handsome in its appearance; the typography is clear and tasteful and the paper good, while the size is convenient both for reading and for the library shelf. Being the cheapest edition to be had in French, it is also the handiest, as the only Paris edition now published is in large octavo volumes, cumbersome and costly. These five volumes are the most important and extensive French work yet attempted in America and argue well for the -success of Mr. Jenkins' laudable enterprise. 5 vols., paper $4.50, cloth $6.50.
Under the title : Die Urbilder zu Hermann und Dorothea, Albert Bielshowsky publishes an interesting article on Goethe's personal relations to the characters of his classical idyl. While the latter has hitherto been considered a pure work of art, almost entirely free from the personal element which appears so fre- quently in most of Goethe's productions, Bielshowsky in this essay brings conclusive arguments to the contrary. He points to the similarity between Dorothea and Lili Schone- mann, not only in regard to their character, but above all in respect tp the latter's fate during the French revolution, her flight across the Rhine and the courageous self-defence of her virtue on that occasion. By adding to this the evidence of various traits of resemblance between Hermann and Goethe, as well as between the clergyman of the poem and Pfarrer Ewald, our idyl is made to appear not only in the light of a reminiscence of Goethe's beautiful " Brautigamszeit " in Frankfurt, but also as a touching and harmonious expiation of his guilt toward Lili.
The publisher, Andreas Deichert of Erlan- gen (Germany), announces the early publica- tion of a ' Ratoromanische Chrestomathie ' by Dr. C. Decurtins. The work is to be confined to the literature of the Canton des Griso.is, and will be divided into two volumes: vol. I.
comprehending Ob- and Nidwald, Ob«-r- and Unterlialbstdn ; vol. II. < overing IS.-rgiin, the Kngadine and Miinsterthal. The materials are to include the dim-rent p.-riods of the litera- ture, beginning with the s. \eut.-enth ( « ntiiry, to which will be added an introduction, a glossary, biographical not.-s of the individual authors and a description of the NUs. from which the texts are drawn.
1 Contes et Nouvel/es, suivis de conversa- tions; d'exercices de grammaire ; de notes facilitant la traduction (8vo, pp. 3071, is another recent publication of the same house, edited by Mme L. Alliot, lately teacher of French at the Bryn Mawr School, Baltimore. The selections are racy specimens of the work of several of the best modern contettrs, and are all suited to the taste and comprehension of young pupils. One of the stories, 'La Princesse verte,' by Andre" Theuriet, is borrowed from the Revue des Deux Mondes, and another, ' Le Bachelierde Nimes,' is the translation of a prose sketch from the Proven- cal of the celebrated poet, Mistral. ' Mon Professeur,' from ' La Bibliotheque de mon Oncle' by Topffer, is the same narrative, abridged and retouched (presumably by the author), which appears in the Clarendon Press 'French Classics,' vol. Y.. under the title 1 Me"saventures d'un Ecolier,' and elsewhere as ' Le Hanneton.' The retouching reminds one of the later polishing bestowed by Rous- seau on his 'Confessions.' and has been so thorough-going that a systematic comparison of the two redactions would bean instructive exercise in style for an advanced class. In this edition, proof-reading and press-work have been carefully attended to; yet in the table of contents Victor Hugo's ' La bonne puce et le me"chant roi ' is called a Conte a ses petits enfants (petits-enfants) ; on p. 147 grand* - nitre is printed grantl-m^rc; and in t he- conversational exercise on p. 99, ' New England's Memorial ' — from which quaint Colonial volume the pupil, by the way, is re- commended to commit to memory a liberal extract, done into French — is attributed t<> Nathaniel Norton instead of Morton.
The House of Hachette & Cie has under- taken a biographical series of leading French
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January. MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES, 1888. No. i.
authors (' Les Grands Ecrivains Francais '), with the view of placing before the public "studies of their life, works and influence." The separate volumes are assigned to compe- tent critics, who discuss their subject in a direct and comprehensive way, dwelling little on details but emphasizing salient features. Victor Cousin is thus presented by M. Jules Simon; Mme de Sdvigne" by M. Gaston Boissier; Montesquieu by M. Albert Sorel ; and 'George Sand,' the most recent of the series, is the posthumous work of Caro. Among the volumes announced for the future, are ' Voltaire ' by M. Bruneti^re ; ' Villon ' by M. Gaston Paris; 'Rousseau' by M. Cherbu- liez; 'Balzac' by M. Paul Bourget; 'Musset' by M. Jules Lemaitre and ' Sainte-Beuve ' by M. Taine. The appearance of the volumes is most pleasing, both as to print and neatness. Those already published are of moderate size (from 170 to 180 pages), and are accompanied by a portrait of the author, as frontispiece.
The patriotic school of Italian poets is the subject of a series of essays from a some- what unexpected quarter. (' Modern Italian Poets ' ; W. D. Howells. New York : Harper). In his introduction, Mr. Howells quite .apolo- gizes for giving to the world what is the product of his leisure moments ; he excuses himself on the ground that there is nothing in English which covers this particular field. It is the period that begins with Parini, enlarges with Alfieri and continues, through the various phases of the Romantic movement, down to the time when Italian unity became a fact and when the aspiration for it ceased to be an in- fluence in Italian literature. As patriotism is the link which connects the various authors of the period, so Mr. Howells is inclined, perhaps, to accentuate too strongly the patriotic to the detriment of the classic element. The studies on the individual authors vary in length accord- ing to their prominence, but the same clear style and system are maintained throughout : a short sketch of the poet, of his surroundings, is followed by criticisms and translations from his works. Alfieri, Manzoni, Niccolini, whose ' Arnaldo da Brescia ' is analyzed minutely (pp. 211-242), Leopardi, Giusti and Aleardi are naturally most favored. The translations are good and spirited, with especial care to be as
far as possible faithful to the original. Of especial excellence are ' II Cinque Maggio ' of Manzoni, and the chorus in his ' Conte di Carmagnola,' the ballads of Ongaro and a poem of Grossi. To the volume a short bibli- ography is appended.
Though Mr. Howells in all places expressly disclaims that he speaks ex cathedra, his work throws the burden of proof on him by bearing the stamp of accurate scholarship. It is therefore, perhaps, not invidious to call attention to the few errors of fact that are not due to the discrepancies of biographical dictionaries : the Sacred Hymns of Manzoni appear to have been published in 1810 instead of 1815 (p. 137) ; and the date of ' Arnaldo da Brescia ' is generally fixed in 1835 rather than 1843 (p. 203). The usual judgment of con- temporary critics on Leopardi (pp. 265 and 272) is not shared by so competent an authority as Bartoli, who places him "perhaps next to Dante." The tasteful make-up of the book is not enhanced by the poor wood-cuts which accompany many of the sketches.
Teachers of elementary classes in literature as well as private students, will be pleased with the new school-room edition of Scott's Mar- mion, published by Macmillan & Co. The editor, Prof. M. Macmillan (B. A., Oxon.) is a practical teacher at Elphinstone College, Bom- bay. In the Introduction will be found a brief, though well considered, characterization of Scott as a poet, and the Notes, covering many pages, supply an unusually full apparatus of historical allusions, parallels in literature, com- ments on popular customs and beliefs to which the poet makes reference, and of uses of words, constructions, and figures of speech to which the learner's attention is to be directed. The same press has also published for the same editor, as a companion volume to the Ufarniion, Books I and II of the Paradise Lost. This second volume, though not so much needed, is yet quite as efficiently prepared as the first.
The method of studying English Literature, which, several years ago, was set forth by Prof. Isaac N. Demmon (Univ. of Michigan) in a syllabus entitled a "Course in English Master- pieces: references for the use of students," may be found worked out in greater detail,
49
January. .VO/'J-A'N LANGUAGE NOTKS, iHKS. .\u. i.
and applied in a mop- systematic manner to a wider selection of " masteipiei es," ranging from Chaucer to Tennyson, in a new volume by Prof. Alfred H.Welsh (English Masterpiece
Course, Chicago, John C. Buckbee & ('D.I. There art- many teachers of English literature that have become petrified in the deadening prartio- of blindly following the narrow treat- ment of some text-book. Other teachers do practically the same thing, but with certain misgivings ; they would do better. To this latter (-lass Prof. Welsh's hook will be helpful. It will suggest means for making the study of literature a rational and manly performance, an invaluable training not only in feeling and sentiment, but also in the power of estimating opinions, in correlating truths, and in testing theories ; in short it will enforce the idea that literature is to be studied by each individual for himself, more or less independently of others, and will at once show how to make the novel experiment.
The publication is announced of the follow- ing work, important for scholars interested in Provencal literature : Origine et Etablisse- ment de I'Acade'mie des Jeux Floratix de Tou- • Lnise ; Biographic des Troubadours; Sur la langue romane ou le provencal. Par C. Chabaneau, Professeur a la Facult^des Lettres de Montpellier. En i vol. in 410 de 246 pages. Price 27 frs. To be had of H. Welter, 59 Rue Bonaparte, Paris.
A new series of French texts for the use of schools is that edited by Martin Hartmann (Leipzig, E. A. Seeman). The first number contains the comedy of Jules Sandeau, ' Mile. de la Seigliere.' Nothing but praise can be said of the care and the completeness of the text, the abundance of notes both grammatical and literary and the neatness of the volume both as to print and to shape. In a short ap- pendix are found a study on the relation of the comedy to the novel, and the two songs of Beranger alluded to in the text. So thorough lias been the work of the editor that little is left — and we think it a fault in class-work — to be developed by the instructor.
An important contribution to the text of the Breton Cycle is the publication of the Portu- guese Ms. 2594 of Vienna. (A Historia dos
Cavalleiros da M.-s.i Kedonda <• da I ><-manda do Santo Graall ; K. von Reiiihardsloettner, Berlin iSSy-S, Krster Band;. The Ms. belongs t<> the XV. century and is therefore of t cond period of the prose novels. In looking for the original, Prof. K. finds that the Ms. bearsthe most resemblance to the third volume of ' Lancelot du Lac,' published at Paris in J533- It gradually separates from the latter, in that the object of the Portuguese writer is to give a history of the Knights of the Round Table and of the quest of the Grail, while the French novel centers in the person of Lancelot and his deeds. Various points of comparison are made by the editor in an Introduction where clearness of style is not a characteristic quality and where there is an abuse of italic letters. The text printed in- cludes 70 out of 199 folios.
At the annual public session of the French Academy, a prize of 1500 frances was awarded to M. E. Cosquin for his ' Conies populaires de la Lorraine ; ' one of 1200 frs. to M. Brunot for his ' Grammaire historique de la langue francaise.' A prize of 1500 frs. was divided between M. J. F. Blade, for his ' Contes popu- laires de la Gascogne,' and M. J. Fleury, for his ' Litterature orale de la Basse Normandie.'
We have received the first number of the Zeitschrift fiir Vergleichende Litteraturge- schichte und Renaissance Litteratur, the pros- pectus of which was noticed in the November number of the NOTES. This journal is a com- bination of the Zeitschrift fiir I'crgl. Littcra- turgeschichte, edited by Professor Max Koch, and the Jahrcsschrift fiir Kultur etc. der Renaissance, edited by Professor Ludwig Geiger, the latter of which ceased last year to be issued in separate form. The new periodi- cal appears under the joint editorship of Koch and Geiger. The first number presents. <>n various subjects of German, English, Hun- garian and humanistic literature, a series ni essays which are all of peculiar interest and permanent value. The young science of the comparati\e history of literature, hitherto mainly in the hands of dilettanti, po-- in the new Zeitschrift an organ that will com- mand the respect of all scholars interested in this important subject. The names of the
January. MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES, 1888 No. i.
editors vouch for a strictly scientific and phil- ological treatment of the subjects presented, and we take pleasure in recommending the journal cordially to our readers.
Renewed proof of the activity of the Goethe Gesellschaft is given us in the appearance of two volumes of the long expected definitive edition of the poet's works, the " Ausgabe der Grossherzogin Sophie von Sachsen," to whom Walther O. Goethe, the last surviving grand- child of the poet, bequeathed the family.archi- ves. Vol. I, containing a portion of the " Ge- dichte," and Vol. XIV, containing the first part of " Faust," form the society's present contribution, handsome octavos in clear type, a delightful contrast to the stubby little vol- umes of the Cotta and Hempel editions. The material to be published is classified under four heads, which will also serve to suggest the scope of the proposed edition/ Goethe's works (in the narrower sense), his scientific writings, diaries and letters. Confidence in the editorial work is inspired by the list of editors and their associates — to the number of more than three-score — published in the intro- duction to the first volume ; v. Loeper, Erich Schmidt, Herman Grimm, Seuffert and Su- phan as editors-in-chief, while among the as- sistants one notices v. Biedermann, Geiger of the "Jahrbuch," Fielitz, the editor of the " Briefe an Frau v. Stein," Minor, Schroer and others of like scholarship and repute.
For its text and arrangement the present edition of Goethe's works holds closely to the last edition published by Cotta during Goethe's life, the so-called "Ausgabe letzter Hand," 1827-30, with supplementary volumes publish- ed after Goethe's death. The text is accom- panied by a complete critical apparatus, redu- ced however to surprisingly compact form, for which the manuscript treasures of the archives afforded abundant new material. The " Faust" in particular, is enriched by additional parali- pomena and especiallv by the readings of the Gochhausen manuscript, a copy of the origi- nal as brought by Goethe to Weimar in 1775, which E. Schmidt was fortunate enough to discover in January of the present year among the papers of Frl. v. Gochhausen, now in pos- session of her grand-nephew (cf. Nation, No.
1145, Jun. 9, 1887). This manuscript, it should be remarked, has also been published separate- ly by Schmidt, so that the new. material for Faust criticism is now accessible to every Goethe student. The present volumes of the new edition give promise that it will do its part to fulfill the prediction made by Grimm in his enthusiastic preface to the first volume ; " die neue Ausgabe vvird als das Merkmal eines geistigen Umschwunges gelten, von dem heute nur als etwas Zukunftigem die Rede sein kann, von dem die Zukunft aber als von Etwas Vollbrachtem sprechen wird."
The' Life of Dante,' by Miss Ward, published by Roberts Brothers, is an unpretentious little book, which accomplishes satisfactorily what it attempts to do. In a perfectly simple way it tells what is known about the life of the great poet, and gives a short analysis of his works, both prose and poetry. There is no attempt to show wide reading nor philosophic depth in exposition, but the author is both widely- enough read and has grasp enough of the sub- ject to avoid the pitfalls iiito which the pre- sumptuous or unwary are sure to plunge, when writing on such a subject. There is probably no book before the American public which gives so agreeably and in so brief a compass as does this excellent little work — with no valuable criticism, to be sure, but also with little or no vague speculation — the facts con- cerning Dante's life and work.
The same firm sends a reprint of Dante Ros- setti's ' Dante and His Circle,' a book which is almost indispensable to many students of Dante and his times, who have no access to the originals of nearly half of what is here trans- lated with a felicity of expression and- a depth of sympathy so rare as to excite admiration. The fact is that no man of letters in this century, if transported back to the Florence of Farinata or of Giotto, would have felt himself so little out of place as Dante Gabriel Rossetti. This is why his translations — that of the 'Vita Nuova.'in particular — are unsur- passed, and not likely soon to be surpassed, in general justness of tone; though Norton's or even Martin's Vita Nuova may be an improve- ment in single phrases or even passages. In spite of some misgivings on the subject of in-
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January. MOI>t'.k'.\ LANGUAGE NOTES, iS88. No. i.
54
ternationnl copyright, it must be said that Roberts Brothers liave done a real service, in putting within the. read) of all, at a moderate price, so good a work, the original editions of which are not easy to get and expensive be- sides. 1 1 is only to be regretted that they have not made it a handsomer book.
PERSONAL.
Prof. Fr. Kluge Qena, Germany) never flags in industry. He is at present seeing through the press a new edition of his Etymological Dictionary, also a new work on the influence of Luther on the German language, and an Anglo-Saxon Reader.
Prof, ten Brink (Strassburg, Germany), we are told, has in the Press a work on the B£o- wulf. We are unable to give any further char- acterization. His proposed edition of the poem is, however, still far off.
We are authorized to state that Prof. T. W. Hunt will publish the third edition of his Exo- dus and Daniel in March. The Glossary will be materially enlarged.
Dr. Benj. W. Wells, formerly of the Friends' School, Providence, R. I., is pursuing his stu- dies in Old English at Jena, Germany. He is just now specially interested in the writings of Aelfric and Wulfstan, and the Church docu- ments generally, and will in time, doubtless, make known to us his results.
Prof. A. S. Cook (University of California) is fapidly completing his treatise on the North- umbrian documents; Max Niemeyer, the well- know publisher of Halle has undertaken it. The most of the Glossary is now in the printer's hands, and the remaining parts will be ready in a few we'jks. The citations, except in the case of the commonest pronouns, articles, etc., will be practically exhaustive. The intention is to combine Grammar and Glossary in the same volume.
Prof. Cook is also publishing, with Ginn & Co., an Anglo-Saxon Primer, which may be expected to appear soon.
Dr. Francis H. Gnmmere's place at the Su.nn Free School (NYw Medford, Mass.) has Ixjen filled by the appointment of Andrew Ingra- ham, A. B., as Master of the School. It will be remembered that Dr. (iummere, who is at present pursuing his studies in English .it Berlin, was called to Haverford College |d. MOD. LANG. NOTES, Vol. II., p. iSz].
Dr. R. F. Weymouth, 33 Alfred Road, A< ton, London, W., has made a translation of Cyne- wulfs ' Elene,' which he desires to publish, and for which he will receive subscriptions at five shillings per copy. Dr. Weymouth is the editor of Grossetete's ' Castel of Love ' for the Philological Society, author of a work on Early English Pronunciation, and editor of the recently published ' Resultant Greek Testament.'
Rodes Massie, for some years professor of German and French in the University of Ten- nessee (Knoxville), resigned his position at the beginning of the present academic year and has settled temporarily at Charlottesville (Univ. of Virginia) Va. His former Assistant, Wm. I. Thomas, Ph. D., now occupies the place vacated by this resignation.
Professor L. A. Stager, for some time head of a School of languages in St. Louis and after- ward in Philada., has been called to the Col- legiate and Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn, with the title, Adjunct Professor of the Ger- man Language.
H. C. Penn has been appointed Assistant in English at the University of Missouri (Colum- bia). Mr. Penn was a graduate at Central College (Fayette, Mo.) in 1885, after which he taught in the Central Collegiate Institute of Altus (Ark.) until he entered upon his present position. He has contributed to the Missouri School Journal several articles, among uhich maybe noted: " When should Anglo-Saxon be begun in the average Western College"? and "Anglo-Saxon as a Substitute tor Latin and Greek."
Professor A. C. Dawson was called at the beginning of the present academic year from Beloit College, Wis., to the Chair of French
and German in Lake Forest I'niversity. Lake Forest, 111.
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55 January. MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES, 1888 No. i.
JOURNAL NOTICES.
ANQLIA. VOL. X. PART I |.-Kamann, P. Die quel- len der Yorkspiele. -Dieter, F. Die Walderefrag- mente und die ursprtingliche gestalt der Walthersage. — Carl, It. Ueber Thomas Lodge's leben und werke. — Soft'e, E. Eine nachricht tiber englische komo'dianten in Mahren.— Ellmer, W. Ueber die quellen der reim- chronik Roberts von Gloucester.— Horstmann, K. Orologlum Sapientiae or The Seven Poyntes of Trewe Wisdom.— Nuck, B. Zu Trautmann's deutung des ersten und neun und achtzigsten rBtsels.
BEITRAEGE (HRSG. v. PAUL UND BRAUNE) VOL.
XIII., PART II.— Helmburger, K. Grammatisehe dar- stellung der mundart des dorfes Ottenheim.— Leltz- mini n- A. Zur Kritik und erklBrung des Winsbeken und der Winsbekin.— Zimmermann, P. Heinrich GOding-a gedicht von Heinrich dem Lowen.— Bugge, 8. Etymologische studien tiber germanische lautver- schiebung.— Grimme, F. Bin neues bruchstiick der niederrheinischen Tundalusdichtung. — Falk, Hjalmar. Bemerkungen zu den lausavisur der Egilssage.— Holt- hausen, F. Miscellen. Ueber uo = 5 im Heliand.— (in I Ice, J. M. Graphische varianten im Heliand. — Bremer, 0. Ahd. leo Ho leuuo.— Lulck, K. Zur theorie der entstehung der schwell verse.— Kauffmann, Fr.— Geschlossenes e aus e vor i.
LlTERARISCHES CENRALBLATT. NO. 44.— Krel- ten, W. Molieres Leben und Werke. (H. K— ng). — Lange, 0. Die lateinischeii Osterfeiern.— Bartsrh, K. Die altdeutschen Handschriften der Universitttts- Bibliothek in Heidelberg. Die Schweizer Minne- sftnger.— Zarncke, Fr. Das Nibelungenlied.— Martin, E. AusgewShlte Dichtungen von Wolfhart Spangen- berg.— No. 45. Altdeutsche Textbibliothek.. Nos. 7, 8.— El/e, K. Grundriss der englischen Philologie. (R. W.). Beitrftge zur Landes-u. Volkeskunde von Elsass-Lothringen : I. This, C. Die deutsch-franzfisi- sche Sprachgrenze in Lothringen ; IT. Martin, E. Die Badent'ahrt von Thomas Murner.-Norton, (!h. E. 1 Cor- respondence between Goethe and Carlyle: 2. Carlyle, Thomas, Reminiscence, Garnett, B. Carlyle (Ew. Fl.) — Gietmann, G. Parzival, Faust, Job u. einige ver- vvandte Dichtungen.— Cludius, C. Ed. Der Plan von Goethe's Faust.— No. 46.— Devillard, Cr., Chresto- mathe de 1'aiicien f raneais. (H . K — ng). Edda Snorra Sturlusonar. Tomi III. pars 2.— Seemuller, Jos., Sei- fried Helbling.— Boethe, Gust., Die GedichteReinmar's von Loreter (H. P.).— Bleibtrcu, K. Geschichte der englishen Literaturim 19. Jahrhundert (R. W.).— Vet- ter, Th. Chronik der Gesellsch. d. Mahler 1721-1722.— No. 47.— Bramer, K. NationalitHt u. Sprache im Kfinigreiche Belgien.— Bolssler, Gaston, Mme. de Sevigne (H. K— ng).— Baechtold, Jak., Geschichte der deutschen Literaturin der Schweiz.— Porkelsson, Jon: Breytingar & mynduui. Holland, W. L. Zu Ludwig Uhland's Gedftehtiiiss.— Fischer, H., Ludwig Uhland. —Belling, Ed., Die Metrik Lessing's (C.).
DEUTSCHE LITTERATURZEITUNG, No. 44.— stahr,
A. G. E. Leasing, sein Leben und seine Werke (A. Sauer).— Kremer, J. Estienne von Fougi^res' Livre des Mani'.'res [Aus. und Abh. No. 39, Fr. Bischoff]. NO. 45.— Lemko, E. Volkstlimliches in Ostpreussen
(G. Kossinna).— Gaedertz, K. T. Goethes Minchen (E. Schmidt).— Vallat, G. Etude sur la vie et les ceuvres de Thomas Moore (A. Brandl).— No. 46.— Mueller, W. Mythologie der deutschen Heldensage (Max Rddiger). — Martlnetti, G. A. e Antona Traversl, 0. Ultime lettere di Jacopo Ortis.— No. 47.— Gletmann, G. Parzival, Faust, Job und einige verwandte Dichtungen (R. M. Werner).
LA NCUVELLE REVUE, ler Novtmbre.— Pejrot, M., Symbolistes et Decadents.— 15 November— HenntQuIn E., Charles Dickens, etude analytique.
REVUE CRITIQUE, No. 43.— Bitter, E. Recherches sur le poete Claude de Buttet et son Amalthee (T. de L.).— Godetroy. La lettre N. du Diction nai re (A. Jacques).— No. 46.— Furnivall, F. J., Some 300 fresh allusions to Shakspere, from 1594 to 1694.— M af ray, W. D., The Pilgrimage to Parnassus L1597-1601, J. J. Jus- serand].— Oharmasse, A. de, Francois Pen-in (A. Del- boulle).
REVUE POLITIQUE ET LITTERAIRE, NO. 2 1. -Paris, G., La legende du mari aux deuxfemmes.— No. 22.^ Larroumet, G. De Moliere a Marivaux.
NUOVA ANTOLOGIA, FASC. XX.— Dei Lungo, i.
Dante e gli Estensi.— Maz/onl, G. La vita di Moliere secondo gli ultimi studi (Fine).— FASC. XXI.— Fornl- onl, S. La Comedia del secolo XX.— Borgognoni, A. Poeti e Poesia.
REVUE DU MONDE LATIN, Nmembre.— Horatlus, La
Litterature espagnole contemporaine.
NEUPHILOLOGISCHES CENTRALBLATT, No. 6
(Dezember 1887)— RUckblick. — Zweiter allgemeiner deutscher Neuplilologentag zu Frankfurt a. M. (Schluss.)— Die Uberbllrdungsfrage in Frankreich.— Uber den Gebrauch der FremdwoYter im Deutschen. Besprechung der am 22. MHrz 1887 von Dr. Waag Jaut Jahresbericht der Realschule zu Freiburg i. Br. gehaltenen Festrede. — Berichte aus den Vereinen : Berlin, Cassel, Frankfurt, Hannover ( Hornc maun . Der Franz. Unterricht in Gymnasialquiiita ohne Lesebuch und Grammatik).— Kartellverband neu- philologischer Vereine deutscher Hochschulen (Sch- luss.).—Litteratur: Besprechungen (Gelst, Lehrbuch der italienischen Sprache; Life of Adam Smith; L'Ami MacDonald; The Saracens; Thackeray's Letters.) Neue Erscheinungen. Inhaltsangabe von Zeitschrif- ten. — Nachruf. — Anzeigen.
GlORNALE STORICO DELLA L.ETTERATURA ITAL- IANA, VOL. X. (FASC. 1-2).— Macrl-Leone, Francesco,
Ilribaldone Boccaccesco della Magliabechiana.-Kajna, Plo, Intorno al considdetto ' Dialogus Creaturarum ' ed al suo autore : II. L'autore, 2. Breve intermezzo. 3. Maestro Bergamino. 4. Mayno de' Mayneri (con- tinuazione e fine).— Solerti, Angelo, Torquato Tasso e Lucrezia Bendidio.— Santinl, Pletro, Frammenti di un libro di banchieri florentini scritto in volgare iiel 1211 . Paodi, E. G.— Illustrazioni linguistiuhe ai suddutti Frammenti.— Percopo, Krasmo, Dragpnetto Bonifacio, marchese d' Oria, rimatore del sccolo XVI. — Ferral, L. A., A. Medin, La resa di Treviso e la inorte di Can- grande I della Scala.— Pellegrini, F. (\, P. Vjllari, La storia di Qirolamo Savonarola, nuova ediz., vol. I.— Sciplonl, G. 8.. — Gir. Mancini. Nuovi documenti e notizie sullu vita e sugli scritti di L. B. Alberti.
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MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES.
r.ali iiiinrr. I'Vbriiur.v, 1 8S8.
MATTER AND MANNER IN LITER- AR Y COMPOSITION.
It is not without retk-ction that 1 put the con- junction (inti between the two principal words of the title of this paper. That conjunction strikes the key-note of what the paper will try to say, namely, that, since every literary pro- duct necessarily has manner as well as matter, as necessarily no literary product is worthy of unreserved commendation, unless in it not only matter, but manner also, is adequately attend- ed to. In no other form would the title have said this. "Manner as opposed to matter" would have implied to a greater or less extent an incompatibility between the terms ; while any other expression that readily suggests it- self would have involved a notion of at least the inferiority of one or the other element of the composition. In fact, however, the terms are interpenetrating and mutually dependent ; it being a truism that matter can not exist with- out form nor form without matter.
A discussion of style, then, that proceeds in forgetfulness of this mutual dependence of form and content, necessarily shoots wide of the mark. And yet it was exactly this depend- ence that a recent discussion seemed to me to forget. In the late Modern Language Conven- tion, a paper by President Shepherd, of Charleston College, on the English of Lord Macaulay, provoked a deal of caustic criticism, unfair, I believe, because one-sided. Never before, perhaps, was Macaulay assigned so hopelessly low a place on the roll of English prose authors. Professor Hart, of Cincinnati, who said that Macaulay always seemed to him to write as if some one were looking over his shoulder and saying, " Bravo ! Lord Macaulay; how well you have turned that sentence ; "" Professor Hunt, of Princeton, who declared that he had yet to receive from Macaulay the slightest intellectual stimulus ; — both ignored, as it seems to me, this fundamental principle of the inseparability, except in thought, o matter and form in literary composition, both
*Quoted from memory.
spoke as if the only nirrit in composition u • its expressing worthy thought. Professor Hi nt did, indeed, confess that about no other u riter had such widely different opinions been ex- pn-ssed, and that the nearly mil oumk-d popu- larity Macaulay had attained was certain!', sign of some power in him; but it was for another speaker to remind the Conven- tion of the indissoluble bond between form and content; while even he damned the illustrious Englishman with faint pra by saying (in effect) that his style was an excellent poison with which to innoculate beginners against the more dreadful forms of " fine writing."
Now Macaulay's case is, of course, but one instance under the principle ; and the discus- sion intended here is of the principle, not of any concrete instance of it. Let us grant, then, freely the many defects of Macaulay both in thought and in style. President Shep- herd undoubtedly praised him over much ; his weaknesses are patent, and need not even be specified. They lie on the very face of his style ; his brilliancy itself making them glare at us the more rudely and insist the more strongly on being observed. But has Macau- lay, therefore, no points of excellence ? Is only the novice, never the practised critic, impressed by him ? Or, to put the question more broadly, is there no merit in a fine style ? Is such a style necessarily bad ? Are we to attend only to the thought of a composition ? Is it not, rather, manifestly unfair to single out a writer's defects, however glaring they are, and dwell on them, holding them so close to our eyes the meanwhile that we can not se.e his excellences at all ? — can not see the woods for the trees, as the German proverb has it? Granted that we outgrow such a writer as Macaulay ; what is it that we out- grow ? Surely not his clearness, not his pow- er of calling for us spirits from the vasty deep, not his admirable choice of words, not any of the merits of his style. Why, then, should we not gratefully recognize these merits and con- fess them elements of a real and true success? On the other hand, we do tire of the inherent contradiction between these excellences of
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February. MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES, 1888. No. 2.
60
form and the writer's too evident failure to maintain his thought at a correspondingly high standard. Such brilliancy of style has a right to exist only as growing naturally out of a cor- respondingly briHiant body of thought ; and the critic is fairly entitled to say so. But he is manifestly unfair when he says this without conceding the other truth ; when he holds the writer up to ridicule as posing before a look- ing-glass and saying, "Ah, you handsome dog! " when , in fact, though the writer is a bit self-conscious, he really gives us something fine to look at. r
Suppose, for example, that Macaulay had thought as Carlyle thought. Would the bril- liancy of his style in that case have offended us? Nay, would not his many charms of man- ner, unimpaired as they would then have been, only have added to his legitimate effect upon us ? We were told in the Convention that Carlyle first wrdte as Macaulay did, but after- wards deliberately changed his style. But Why ? Was it not because he believed that, by intentionally adopting the peculiarities that characterize his later work, he would the more certainly secure an audience ? Surely, there was never a more conceited, self-consci- ous great man than Carlyle. Vice versa, sup- pose that Carlyle's style had remained more finished. Woufd his influence have been less ? Nay, is it not despite his crudities, his " Baby- lonian dialect," as Alexander Everett called it, that he influences us at all ? — despite thatbois- terousness and utter want of self-containment which have secured for him the epithet mega- losaurian ? Or, let us take some examples nearer home. Surely, thecharmof the Mosses from an Old Manse and the sustained interest of The House of the Seven Gables are no whit the less because of Hawthorne's almost match- less literary form? On the other hand, Mr. Marion Crawford is not at all a great novelist — great as Thackeray or Dickens or even Bulwer is great. Yet Mr. Crawford's style makes many a^passage in his works easy that would otherwise be the roughest sailing : nay, more, it furnishes us throughout his writ- ings with one legitimate object of admiration, even where the body of thought is of a texture too light to be valued for itself.
Not that I would champion mere manner.
When a man has nothing to 'say, by all means let him say it — as the familiar epigram warns us ; but when he has something to say, why shall he not say it as well as he can ? What do Professor McMaster's cross-section pictures of American life in 1789 lose by being painted in the brightest colors ? Or what does Carlyle gain by his eccentricities of style ? If a wri- ter's only true object is to influence his age or succeeding ages, if the man of letters should be (in Carlyle's own phrase) a prophet, what shall he gain by conciliating, as Carlyle has done, only a small audience ? Granted that Carlyle's audience is select, if small : he has offended multitudes whom he might have taught, and so has lost no small part of his proper influence. What a power his writings might have wielded, couched in a different style ! Or, to take another example, which ot the two famous passages in Milton's Areopa- gitica has exerted the greater force in human thinking, that in which a tradesman is describ- ed as committing his religion to his pastor for safe-keeping, while he himself is devoted to his trade, or that in which Truth is pictured as hewn, like Osiris, into a thousand pieces, while her sad friends, like Isis, make careful search for her members ? Both passages ex- press worthy thought, thought often dwelt up- on in our own times ; both rise above the plain style of ordinary prose ; each contains a figure of speech worked out to its utmost limits. But the style of the first passage is affected almost to awkwardness ; and the truth it con- tains is to-day re-expressed by our own writers in many different ways. The second passage, inimitable and almost unprose-like as it is, nevertheless impresses the most casual read- er, and is quoted daily from a score- of com- monplace-books. Its delicate style has kept it sweet through all the ages.
Once more, why is it that Milton's prose or the prose of Sir Thomas Browne is so little read to-day? To say that Milton's poetry- overshadows his prose, or that the topics on which he wrote are no longer " living " topics of thought, is no reason why the Urn Burial or the Religio Medici should not be known. Sir Thomas Browne wrote no verse ; and a more profitable book even for our study than the Urn Burial might be looked for in vain.
6i
February. MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES, 1888. No. 2.
Its inverted ;in<l otherwise un-modern style a'oiie seals it from all but a select lew readers.
The truth, then, would seem to he as stated in my opening paragraph, that holh a good style and a wortliy body of thought art: in sary to the ideally perfect composition. This certainly was (leorge Saintsbury's opinion when, in February 1876, lie printed in the Fortnightly Review his paper Modern English Prose, a paper in which, lamenting the pre- vailing neglect and consequent decay of Eng- lish prose style, he declares this decay not "a mere isolated fact," but " a change which has affected English Literature to a degree and in a manner worthy of the most serious consider- ation." The fine old English style, he hints, has gone out with the fine old English gentle- man, till, in this ultra democratic age, a certain coarseness of manner is as noticeable in liter- ary composition as it is in the conduct of peo- ple who profess themselves of the beau monde. Mr. Saintsbury actually describes the symp- toms of this change, details its causes, and lays down the duty of the critic in view of it ; showing by his earnestness and the minute at- tention he gives the subject, how real and how serious he considers the phenomenon to be.
The opposite opinion, however, has no little vogue. Buffon's doctrine that style is the man himself is interpreted by many teachers to mean that the individuality of a writer is ex- pressed only in his thought; that we are to know an author solely by the opinions he ex- presses. That the foot of Hercules, — or rather his hand, — shall also betray him, seems to these critics an incredible idea ; and their depreciation of form, of style in this its truest sense, grows in proportion. Less and less attention is paid to how an author writes, more and more to what he says. Worse than this, perhaps, the very springs of our literary supply are left unfilled ; until, in the mid-winter dearth that would seem to be threatening us, we shall have only to deplore our insensate folly in neglecting the precautions that might — doubtless would — have secured us springs filled to overflowing. The study of rhetoric and criticism is too much neglected by us. Language studies are too often only philo- logical ; or, at best, the student is left to acquire a good style by " absorption." Cer-
tain worthy writers are put I.efore him; th«-ir biography, the history of their times, th.- his- tory of literature in general, are taught him ; but the fundamental truths arrording to which the authors are good here and bad ther- mit taught him. Even questions of grammati- cal purity are treated as ol little value, ami. with the weightier matt, paragraph building, unity o| < ..nip.. jti,,n. ness, force, and other such topirs. are hiisth d out of court in quiet contempt.
Even professed English scholars give us some extraordinary examples of this neglect of manner in their hot pursuit of excellent matter. Thus, from a recently published book on English prose literature I extract the follow- ing curious fagots of crooked sticks :—
"Then follows, The Chronicle, compiled, partly, by Alfred, and partly, by I'legimund and other less known annalists. This collec- tion, unimportant as it is in itself or in its liter- ary character, is invaluable in its historical and civil bearings. Beginning long before the Conquest, // runs nearly a century beyond it and thus serves to cherish the First-English spirit and language. As the earliest history of any Teutonic people in a Teutonic language, and with the Laws the earliest form of En- glish Prose, it has an interest and [a] value quite aside from its contents. Alfred did for it [what ? the Chronicle or " the earliest form of English Prose " the Chronicle embodies?] what Chaucer did for English Poetry. He made it [?] national, so that from his time to the death of Stephen it [?] was the people's authority. Above all, it [?] was English clear and clean and lies back of all later English as a basis and guide."1
Could anything be more inartistic, unless, indeed, it is the same author's constant prac- tice of referring to headings on his page by mere demonstratives, and of thus making these headings part of his text ? For example, treating of Dr. Johnson's style, he writes,
" This * is one of the first features that im- press the reader as he studies this [?]3 prose structure and diction and it becomes more manifest as the perusal goes on."
i The italics, I need hardly say, are mine.
a " Its Anglo-Latin Element."
3 The context does not make this pronoun clear.
February. MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES, 1888 Ao. 2.
64
4 applies to subject matter as well as to method and external form."
" This s is a failure common to periodical writing." [Can the absence of impassioned energy be a. failure?]
All three examples are found within ten pages, and the whole volume is full of similar instances. Thus, among the merits of John- son's style is " (2) Literary Gravity," and we are informed about it that " the reference here is not to that excessive seriousness of manner which often ended in confirmed melancholy but to that sober habit of mind and expression which was based on his view of the writer's vocation."
The same writer, (who, let it be said in jus- tice to him, can write and has written not a little unimpeachable English), is fond of long series of those excessively short sentences which Coleridge condemned as "purposely invented for persons troubled with the asthma to read, and for those to comprehend who la- bour under the more pitiable asthma of a short - witted intellect." Thus, "The limits of his [Johnson's] life were too narrow to admit of much diversity. His style was affected by these circumstances and especially in the line of[\] want of adaptiveness to all classes and phases. His method was rigid and mechani- cal and the same to all. He would talk to Goldsmith and Savage and the artisan in the same manner. Whatever the topic might be, the treatment of it was the same. The nar- rative, [the] descriptive, [the] didactic and [the] critical were all run in the same mold and branded with the common mark. They are all in the phrase of Macaulay, 'Johnsonese.' His prose style, as his body, was very much opposed to change. Starting in one direction and at a certain pace he maintained it to the end. In all this he was true to his nationality. In that he was lethargic, he was English. The phlegmatic element in him was native to the realm. The Gallic verve and sprightliness was [sic] as foreign to him as it was to his country. He was constitutionally and mental- ly heavy and could not face about at will. There are few scenes in literary history so amusing as when this ponderous man attempts
4 " The Want of Flexibility and Adaptation."
5 " Absence of Impassioned Energy."
to be playful and unbend himself to passing changes. While he is unbending, the oppor- tunity passes. Here [!] as in the case of dic- tion, naturalness covers many sins. The very uniformity of his prose is natural. It is a fault and yet modified by the fact that it is purely individual and characteristic."
One is reminded of the criticism by Theseus of Quince's famous speech " for the Prologue," " This fellow doth not stand upon points."
So, Mr. Sweet, Anglo-Saxon Reader, p. xlv., finds it in his conscience to write, " Adjectives have the three genders of nouns, and the same cases, with the addition of the instrumental, ending in e, which only occurs in the masc. and neut. in the sing. : in the fern. sing, and in the plur. its place is taken by the dat.6 They also have a strong and [a] weak inflec- tion, the latter employed after the definite ar- ticle and demonstratives generally." Can con- tempt for form go further? Or is this utter want of style merely an unconscious imitation (as the abbreviations are a conscious following) of the great German philologist Dr. Wittern- sieaus ?
Even trained theologians and preachers are not free from such blunders. Thus, in a recent most important contribution to the history of Christianity, I find the following slips (with many more) in the work, the style of which is in general by no means bad :—
" The statesman or [the] ecclesiastical poli- tician whose object it was not to attain [=to attain not] martyrdom but triumph."
" The Greek fathers could not escape [have escaped], even had they been inclined to do so, from the influence of a philosophy like the Stoic."
" The truth of the incarnation as that which can alone \=alone can] meet the needs of spec- ulative enquiry."
Surely, if such things are possible in the writings of authors of no little repute, it is time that some one raised -his voice in behalf of a more careful, more conscientious cultiva- tion of style. Nor is any author to be judged without mercy, who, no matter what his short- comings in thought, has set us so illustrious an example of the importance and the effec-
6 The abbreviations are, of course, Sweet's.
February. MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES, 1888. No. 2.
66
tiveness of attention to points of style as Macaulay has set. Granting all that can he said as to Macaulay's mannerisms, — even con- ceding that he paid, perhaps, too much atten- tion to mere form, — he remains a model of diligence, of "curious care" in expression, that we dare not despise, and in reading whom the young writer makes a very judicious start.
Should a philosophic basis be demanded for the position taken in this paper, it is not far to seek. Composition is an art, and in every art-process three elements enter, — matter, or content ; form, or style ; and purpose, or end in view. Granting that of these three the first is chief, does it follow that the others or either of them is of no account ? How is it in music, in painting, or even in the technical arts, such as engineering? Shall a painter, because he has a noble picture in his mind, daub it on his canvass, so that we must strug- gle to discover his thought or his purpose? Is Wagner or Beethoven the greater musician ? Browning or Tennyson the greater poet? Which has most clearly set out to less gifted mortals the God-inspired blessings of sound or thought with which his own soul was enrich- ed and exalted ? It can not be that with regard to art in general two opinions can prevail on this subject : why should we be able to enter- tain them with regard to the particular art of composition ?
It is quite possible, then, to overstate the chief importance of having something worthy to say, — to state it, indeed, as if it were the only important element of composition. The truth is that success in all particulars is desira- ble ; that Macaulay (for example), whose de- fects are mainly in matter, is culpable only in another way from that in which Carlyle is to blame, whose defects are in style, and in still another way from that in which De Quincy is wrong, whose defects though in style, are not the same defects of style as Carlyle's. Indeed, if a strict inquiry be made, the pur- pose of discourse, its moral character, would seem to over-shadow even the having some- thing worthy to say. Many a writer has made shipwreck solely because his work has seemed to lack unity or definiteness of aim, so that his readers, like lost children or Spenser's travellers wandering in Error's den, have
i scarcely been able to find their way. OH the other hand, no writer is wholly useless ulio illustrates lor us one or another of the < I. in. nts of good composition. Nay, more; in our da\ . though a revival of the grand manner of the last century is not desirable, a protest is quite in place against the inditfen n« to manner, the undisguised contempt for it, that ft to be a prevailing affectation among us.
JNO. G. R.
University of Pennsylvania.
MODERN LANGUAGES /A THE UNIVERSITY OF FRANCE. II.
3- — L'ENSEIGNEMENT SECONDAIRE DES JEUNES FILLES.
Colleges for women are a rather new feature I in the University of France; they were only | created by the law of Dec. 21, 1880. While the president must be a woman, the teachers may be of either sex. The regular course of studies extends over five years and is divided into the premiere pMode, including the first, second and third year, and the deuxitme pf- riode or cours suptrieur, comprising the fourth and fifth. Outside of this course there may be organized a preparatory department, which would cover the instruction of the lower and middle course of primary schools required for entrance to the college course. The instruction of the first period is given in classes proper; that of the second, in courses uniting students of the same standing ; the modern languages, however, hold an exceptional position, and are taught in courses throughout. The studies are either part of the instruction proper, or ac- cessory exercises, or optional. The instruc- tion proper bears a distinctively literary char- acter ; it is based on the French language and literature with the elements of ancient litera- tures, the modern languages, and universal and national history and geography, which have 52 recitations out of 71 throughout the course ; the other 19 recitations are devoted to mathematics, natural science, physics, chem- istry, morality, physiology, domestic economy, hygiene, law, and psychology. The accessory
33
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February. MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES, 1888. No. 2.
68
exercises are drawing, penmanship, vocal music, needle work and gymnastics. Optional in the last two years are : drawing, vocal music, the ancient literatures, the elements of Latin, mathematics, economical geography, and ani- mal and vegetable physiology. Few students take all these optional studies; most decide either for a literary or for a scientific line.
One modern language is compulsory from first to last and gets 21$ of the recitations of the instruction proper ; students are moreover encouraged to take up two or more, but suc- cessively, not all at the same time. Italian and Spanish are to be taught, but German and English should be studied in the first place, in view of their incontestable superiority for mental drill (gymnastique intellectuelle). The reading matter in English and German equals in most respects that of the other colleges. Of works not given in the list of the classical col- leges I mention : J. Habberton, ' Helen's Babies,' Longfellow, ' Evangeline ' and other poems ; Tennyson, ' The Grandmother,' Ottilie Wildermuth, Ausgewahlte Novellen ; Goethe, ' Iphigenie of Tauris,' and lyrics of the i8th and i gth centuries. On the other hand, several works studied in the classical and special colleges are entirely omitted, others like Shakespeare and Milton are read in family editions, Byron in extracts. Along with the harder works that are examined thoroughly, easier ones are read rapidly ; some poetry is committed to memory. The method and end of study resemble more that of the special col- leges than that of the classical. While not only the study of grammar but also transla- tion from French into the foreign language is limited to what is indispensable, conversation and original composition receive the greatest attention. Conversation proceeds from simple object-lessons to an interpretation of the for- eign authors in their own language ; composi- tion, from simple letters to essays on topics from the various studies of the class. The course is completed by an outline of literary history and some remarks on the origin and principal epochs of the language.
The colleges for women deliver a certificat cT6tud.es secondaires after an examination at the close of the third year, and a dipldme de fin d' etudes after an examination at the end of the
whole course. The students are examined by their own teachers under the presidency of a delegate of the rector. If women wish to pre- sent themselves for one of the baccalaureats in the examination held by the facultes, they are free to do so.
|
SUM TOTAL.... |
B { SCIENCES.... |
(ELEMENTS 01 |
, /ANCIENT LIT. |
VOCAL MUSIC |
III.— OPTIONAL Si DRAWING |
C/) C |
II. — ACCESSORY EXERCISE |
i» CJ K |
MORALS, PHYSIOLOGY, |
SCIENCES |
= I d o I |
MODERN LANGUAGE.. |
I. — INSTRUCTION PROPER. FRENCH LANG. AND LIT .. |
SUBJECTS. (Age minimum) |
|
' LATIN' |
1 B Ul |
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s. (PENMANSHIP. VOCAL MUSIC, NEEDLE-WORK, ETC.) |
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Not organized in 1882. |
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01 |
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Sum total of weekly recita- tions during the entire course. |
III.— HIGHER INSTRUCTION.
The Enseignement suptrieur is not concen- trated in universities, as in .England and Ger- many, but scattered in ti\tfacult&s des tettres, des sciences, de droit, de medecine and de the- ologie, in various normal and preparatory- schools, in the College de France and other institutions. We consider here only the facili- ties afforded for students aiming at professor- ships in secondary schools, and the require- ments made of them in modern languages. First we examine the normal schools, then the study in the faculties, and finally such degrees
34
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February. MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES, 1888. No. 2.
and certificates as cannot be obtained without a modern language.
NORMAL SCHOOLS.
There are three principal normal schools : the renowned Ecole normale superieure at Paris, the Ecole normale speciale of Cluny, and the Ecole normale secondaire de Sevres. The first of these prepares professors for the classical colleges and the institutions of higher instruction; the second, professors for the spe- cial instruction ; the last, women professors for girls' colleges. The course of studies is three years in each, admission by a cone ours (compet- itive examination) ; board and tuition are free, in case the engagement of remaining for ten years in the service of the university is kept. Besides these three schools, there is establish- ed an Ecole normale secondaire at the lyceum of 'the chef-lieu of each academic \ it is formed by the reunion of the maitres repetiteurs aux- iliaires or ellves maitres boarding in the insti- tution.
The Ecole normale superieure does not re- quire any composition in a modern languag;e for admission, but the candidates of the scien- tific section have to pass an oral examination on the authors read in Mathematiques specia- les, those of the literary section on the works prescribed for Rhetorique and Philosophic. The Ecole normale speciale admits students to both the sections of letters and sciences without a special examination on a modern language ; only those who expect to enter the section of modern languages must write a t/ieme and version. The Ecole normale secon- daire of Sevres requires a written theme and version and an oral examination in a modern language of all candidates. The ecoles nor- males secondaires make no special require- ments.
THE FACULTIES.
Before the great reform of the last ten years the professors of Ihefacultes acted principally as examiners for degrees and lecturers to the general public, and had scarcely any regular students at all . Now the state, the departments and the communes have offered so many in- ducements to aspirants, that it has become a very important part of the professors' work to prepare students for the licence and agrega-
tion. The students are either resident or non- resident. The rt-sid. nts consist of boursiers, maitres auxiliaires, maitres d'etudes and auditeurs /tores, all of whom are bound to be regular in their attendance. The boursiers are either holders of a bourse de licence (scholarship) or of a bourse d'agrfgation (fi-l- lowship) ; the former are given after a con- coitrs, the latter according to the judgement of the professors of the faculty with whom the candidate has taken his licence; both bourses are awarded for one year, but can be prolong- ed for another, and require the ten years' engagement. The non-resident students are mostly teachers of the communal colleges of the academy who are working for a licence or agregation. At fixed intervals they send com- positions for correction to the professors or maitres de conferences, and on Thursday, the French weekly holiday, they themselves go to the seat of the faculty to attend certain courses, their travelling expenses being partly paid by the state. Not all faculties are pro- vided with a staff of professors numerous enough to prepare for all licences and agrega- tions.
LA LICENCE.
The licence is the next degree after the bac- calaureat and cannot be obtained till one year afterwards. There are three different licences scientifiques and four licences de lettres : the licence litteraire, the licence philosophique, the licence historique and the licence avec mention 'tongues vivantes.' In the examina- tions for the literary, philosophical and histori- cal degree the requirements in modern lan- guages are limited to the translation of an easy English or German work of literary , philosophi- cal or historical criticism ; for the last degree they are naturally of a more rigorous charac- ter. The candidate writes a thlme and version of four hours each, without a dictionary; inter- prets a text with questions on literature ; and translates at sight into the foreign language ; besides, he renders into French a passage from a prose author of a second foreign language. CERTIFICATS D'APTITUDE.
While the examinations for the baccalaureat and the licence may be taken at any faculty, those for the certificat f aptitude for the secon-
35
February. MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES, 1888.- N*. 2.
72
dary instruction, and for the agregation, must be completed at Paris. Nobody can obtain a certificate without possessing one of the bac- calaureats or an equivalent. A modern lan- guage is required for the certificate of a pro- fessor of the elementary classes of classical col- leges, for that of a professor in the literary sec- tion of special instruction, for that of a woman professor in girls colleges, and finally, as a mat- ter of course, for the certificate of a professor of modern languages. For the classical pro- fessor, German has been compulsory since 1884. A short and easy German text is dictated and translated into French, and vice versa a French text into German. Then a German piece is read and partly translated, and some elementary questions are asked and answered in German. The candidate for a literary pro- fessorship in the special instruction writes a theme, interprets an author and answers a few oral questions on the language and litera- ture. For the girls' colleges, a modern lan- guage did not become compulsory till 1886. The scientific section has some oral questions with a theme on the blackboard; the literary division, a four hours' theme and version, fol- lowed by some interrogations.
The certificate for the instruction in modern languages enlists our special attention. The candidates take a preparatory and a definitive examination. The former consists of a thtme, version and a French composition without any aid ; the latter comprises' an oral thlme and version, a le$on grammatical, and a conversa- tion in the foreign language, and two questions, one on the foreign and the other on French literature. The list of authors varies from year to year. In 1886 we find in German : Goethe,' Gotz ; ' Wieland, 'Oberon; ' Gervinus, 4 Litteraturgeschichte ; ' Hauff, ' Lichtenstein ;' Me'rime'e, ' Colomba ' and Racine, ' Phedre ' (Acts I. and V.); tin English: Miss Austen, ' Pride and Prejudice ;' Shakespeare, ' Hamlet ' Montesquieu, ' Grandeur et decadence des Remains.' The pronunciation of the French and the foreign language forms an important factor in the estimate of the jury.
L'AGREGATION.
Every candidate for an agregation must be licencie; an agrege. gets, the .title of professor
and receives a higher salary than a licencie in the same position ; the form of the examina- tion is the concours. Among the different agregations only that of modern languages, and that of instruction in girls' colleges de- serve our notice. The requirements for the agregation of girls' colleges closely resemble those for the, certificate of the same schools ; the examination for the agregation of modern languages is much harder than that for the corresponding certificate. '*"• <
The preparatory part contains a. theme, a version, a French composition and a com- position in the foreign language ; one of these compositions is on a question of literature and the other on a question of language. The first1 definitive examination is the interpretation of a passage drawn by lot among the German or English classics indicated by the Minister ; and an oral theme. The list of 1886 shows, for Ger- man, works of Lessing, Herder(Ideen), Goethe, Schiller (Balladen), A. W. v. Schlegel (Vorle- sungen iiber dramatische Kunst und Litteraitur) Platen, Simrqck (Das kleine Heldenbuch), La Fontaine, Moliere, Mv de Stael, Saint-Marc Girardin,; for English, among others, pieces from Chaucer, Sir Philip Sidney, Shakespeare, Milton, Pope, Gray, Sterne, Shelley, Ch. Bronte, Green, La Fontaine, Racine and J. j\ Rousseau. The second definitive examination comprises two one hour lemons, one in the foreign language and the other in French: The subject of the one is taken from one of the authors of the program, that of the other from literary history. The last examination is finally the translation of a prose author of the other modern language into French.
IV.T— BOURSES DE SKJOUR A L'ETRANGER.
In conclusion I should like to mention- that the French Government sends each year a number of young men abroad to study English and German in the countries where those lan- guages are spoken. The official plan cT etudes of the ecoles primaires superieures contains the announcement of an annual concours among graduates and pupils of that grade of schools for bourses- de sejour a VHranger. Much less known is the fact that normal school teachers also and college graduates are sent abroad. According to the Kblnische Zeitung, there were last year eighteen of such young
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February. MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES, 1888. No.
2.
74
men in Austria, Suit/erland and Germany, and twelve in England. In Germany the college graduates take hoard in German families and attend the Untcr- and Oberprima of a Realgymnasium ; they stay eighteen months, but they must spend that time at two different schools. Before they return to France they send a detailed report of their experi- ences and observations to the minister of public instruction. Some of these reports which were communicated to Germans show that the young men generally maintain the most amicable relations both with their Ger- man fellow students and with the families in which they board. Their progress, further- more, in learning the German language and in school exercises is very satisfactory.
MO/)/-A'.\ LANGUAGES AT CAM
fcarlham College.
ADOLPH GERBER.
THE ANGLO-SAXON bdsnian and wr&sen.
The Anglo-Saxon word bdsnian, ' to delay, tarry' etc., though rather odd in appearance, is not so obscure a formation as one might at first suppose. Whatever be the relation be- tween the suffixes of the feminine abstract nouns such as the Gothic sdkns (suffix -ni) and usbeisns (suffix -sni), it is sufficient for the pres- ent purpose to accept the suffix -sni (in all probability at first developed in association with dental bases) as an extension of the simple form -ni. In accordance with this view Kluge in his Nominale Stammbildungslehre § 147 has classed the Gothic usbeisns < *usbeid- sns, anabusns< *anabudsns etc., with sdkns, taikns, siuns etc. Kluge has also called atten- tion to the ablaut-variation which is exhibited, for example, in taikns and usbeisns. By the side, therefore, of *usbeidsni- we may also place, as formed from the same base-group of the verb bidan (A. S.), the stem *baidsni-. From this we should in Anglo-Saxon obtain *bdsn >*bdsen ' an abiding, a delay,' the nomi- nal base of the denominative verb bdsnian. In like manner do we find wrasen (inwit-wrd- sen, etc.) <*zvrai3sni- by the side of the verb wriftan. A verb *ivrdsnian could also have been formed.
JAMES W. BRIGHT.
LAM>.
Readers of MODERN LAM.I *oi Nous \\ill be interested to hear of a meeting of great im- portance which has lately taken place at Cam- bridge University, England. The'. . the National Society of French Professors residing in England was invited by the authori- ties to a session in the university at which the vice-chancellor and all the masters of colleges were present. The occasion was one of im- portance in a variety of respects. It was under distinguished patronage, the chairman being M. Waddington, the French ambassador to England, while among those who expressed their strong sympathy with the work of the Congress we meet the names of Lord Lytton (Minister to France), Lord Tennyson, MM. Jules Simon, de Lesseps, Arsene Houssaye, and Jules Ferry. M. Waddington delivered the inaugural address. He referred with pleasure to the recognition of the Congress by the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, and expressed the hope that modern languages would soon be placed upon an equal footing with classical and other subjects. Vice Chan- cellor Taylor emphasized the warm interest felt by the university in the study of French. The most important speech, however, was that made by Professor Seeley, the widely known occupant of the chair of modern history at Cambridge. Professor Seeley's long and varied experience and extensive knowledge make his remarks of special value. He believed that a crisis in education has arrived when it is necessary to accord to modern lan- guages their true and prominent place in modern culture. Recognizing most strongly the value of the classics, "himself a classicist of the classics," he still thought that the needs of modern life were peremptorily demanding very much more devotion to the study of modern languages than had ever yet been accorded them. So far from believing that Latin must be learned in order to teach French, "let us," he said, "teach French in order to learn Latin." He emphasized the immense value of French literature, "a litera- ture not less but more extensive and various than the Greek and Roman literatures them-
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selves." "It is absurd," he continued, "to claim the title of humanities exclusively for the classics, to consider that a youth cannot learn grace from Racine, austere purity from Pascal, eloquence from Rousseau, elevation and force from Victor Hugo, not to say from Dante and Goethe." Professor Seeley enumerated the various departments of activi- ty in which the modern languages are of para- mount importance, especially history ; and strongly objected to the statement that in all respects the classics are the preferable object of study. "The modern literatures cannot be introduced by the ancient, but the ancient literatures can be included in the modern by means of translation." The speaker continued in the same strain, and upon closing his ad- dress was greeted with enthusiastic applause not merely by members of the Congress but by some of the dons and by a large body of the students. A banquet at King's College and a conversazione at Trinity College supplied the social element of the occasion. A general feeling of unanimity seemed to reign, both as to the hopeful prospect in regard to the aca- demic study of modern languages, and as to the cessation of the all but monopoly which has so long obtained in favor of the classics, in the great English universities.
The gentlemen entertained by the universi- ty were simply teachers of the French lan- guage and not, in any sense, a body of scholars engaged in the advanced study of modern linguistics, in either their scientific or literary aspect. It may fairly be presumed, then, that had the latter important phases of modern language study been duly represented in the Congress, its reception on this occasion would have been all the more enthusiastic and honorable. The scientific attention which the philology of modern languages is now so widely claiming would certainly have secured for a body representing original research as well as practical instruction the especially hearty endorsement of Cambridge University.
It is gratifying to call attention to these signs of the times. The prospects are certain- ly hopeful when the men who stand guard over the strongholds of classicism are thus frankly outspoken in favor of reform.
T. McCABE. Johns Hopkins University.
THE FIFTH ANNUAL CONVENTION
OF THE
MODERN LANGUA GEASSOCIA TION OF AMERICA.
The Fifth Annual Convention of the Modern Language Association of America, held at Philadelphia on the 28, 29 and 30 of Decem- ber, may be considered memorable in the annals of the Association for several reasons : the large number of members attending and the increase in membership ; the practical nature of the majority of the subjects treated, and the uniform excellence of the papers ; and last, though by no means the least important, the increasing interest which its discussions created in the minds of the more general pub- lic, as witnessed in the fulness of the re- ports of the daily papers. Representing, as such a society does, the progressive rather than the radical spirit of modern education, the extension of its audience to this more gene- ral public can not but be attended with the best results, in forming a public opinion which we trust may in some measure correct the utilitarian tendencies so widely prevalent in both our school and college curricula.
Although the order of exercises did not begin, strictly speaking, until Wednesday evening, December 28, Dr. William Pepper, Provost of the University of Pennsylvania, received informally at his house, on Tuesday evening, such delegates as had already ar- rived. Quite a number availed themselves of Dr. and Mrs. Pepper's kind hospitality.
During Wednesday, in accordance with the provisions already made by the Local Com- mittee, the delegates were enabled to visit such places of interest in and about Phila- delphia as proved most attractive.
On Wednesday evening, the Association met at the University of Pennsylvania to listen to Provost Pepper's Address of Welcome, and to hear Professor James MacAlister in an address on "The Place of Modern Literature in the Education of Our Time." In the absence of James Russell Lowell, the president of the association, and of W. T. Hewett of Cornell University, the second Vice-president, Profes- sor James M. Garnett, of the University of Vir-
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ginia, presided. Provost Pepper, after stating that " the association's success was due to the strong personality of its membership as well as to the strong public interest in the subject they represented," went on to say that while the association must take the lead in an attack on classicism, such attack in its hands must be free from wanton and destructive measures ; for none could be more favorable advocates for the just claims of the Greek and Latin lan- guages than the members of the association. He held that the object of the association was to emphasize its belief " that the modern lan- guages have an equal claim with the classics," in modern education. Provost Pepper conclud- ed with appropriate words of welcome in be- half of the authorities of the University of Pennsylvania and of the local committee.
It must be confessed that, in the address which followed, Professor MacAlister material- ly departed from the very moderate views just expressed by the Provost. He claimed that the present system, in which the classics still maintained an ascendency in education, could not last ; that " the final outcome must be a distinctive system based on the foremost human achievements of modern times. Dante, Cervantes and Goethe, may be taken as the types of modern culture. They can teach us more than all the ancient writers." At the close of the exercises the University gave a reception to the members of the Convention.
The second session opened on Thursday morning with the reading of the annual report by Professor A. Marshall Elliott of Johns Hopkins University. This was followed by the appointment of various committees ; nota- bly one to consider the advisability of me- morializing Congress for an abolition of the tariff on imported books. The reading of pa- pers then began. Professor Albert H.Tolman of Ripon College, Wisconsin, read the first paper, which treated of the Style of Anglo- Saxon Poetry. After an intelligent consider- ation of the contending verse theories as now held by Heinzel, Rieger, ten Brink and others, the speaker devoted his attention to a minute consideration of style proper, laying particu- lar stress upon the vigor and strength of the metaphorical and disconnected style of the early Anglo-Saxon poets. In the discussion
that followed, in which Professors Hart,
Bright and Hunt took an active part, especial emphasis was laid upon the necessity of a com- plete renovation of the entire subje< t of Anglo- Saxon versification in the light of the later researches of Professor Sievers in this field.
Professor Tolman was followed by Pr«. H. S. White of Cornell University, on " Tin- Modern Language Seminary System." He spoke at length upon the needs of our colleges for intelligent work under the personal super- vision of competent instructors, and of the I equipment necessary to carry out these re- quirements. In closing, Professor White was particularly happy in calling attention to the words of James Russell Lowell in his address at Harvard last year, that " language should be made a ladder for literature, and not litera- ture a ladder for language."
The morning session was brought to a close with an elaborate essay on the " Face in the Spanish Metaphor and Proverb," by Pro- fessor Henry R. Lang of New Bedford, Mass. After luncheon, which was served in the j University, the reading of papers was resum- j ed. Professor Sylvester Primer's paper on j "Charleston's Provincialisms" elicited enthus- j iastic approval, and led to lengthy discussion | and comparison of various provincialisms which are still lurking among us. Prof. Joynes, of South Carolina College, gave especial weight to climatic influences in their effect upon pronunciation. However, from the number of parallel cases mentioned by those taking part in the discussion, we may affirm that per- haps not the least difficult part of Professor Primer's task for the future will be found in the discovery of what are and what are not provincialisms peculiar to Charleston.
Professor Henry Wood, of Johns Hopkins University, followed with a paper on "The Brief, or Pregnant, Metaphor in the Minor Elizabethan Dramatists." In the treatment of the brief metaphor he found the greatest origi- nality of the Elizabethan dramatic style, and showed that what we should now consider a mere " fancy " or conceit was to the dramatist of that age the appropriate expression of the highest imaginative thought.
The last paper of the session was that of Professor Alce"e Fortier of Tulane University.
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La., upon "Bits of Louisiana Folk-lore." This proved one of the most entertaining papers of the session, and it was a matter of regret that the limited time prevented anything ex- cept the more popular presentation of the subject.
In the evening the members of the associa- tion were tendered a reception by the Histori- cal Society at its rooms. The reception brought together a large and distinguished gathering, and conversation was general and animated. The last day's session was opened by Pro- fessor Charles F. Kroeh with a paper on the " Methods of Teaching Modern Languages," in which he advocated the "natural method." The Convention now proceeded to the more technical papers. The " Speech Unities and their R61e in Sound Change and Phonetic Laws " by Professor Gustaf Karsten and " Die Herkunft der sogenannten Schwachen Verba der germanischen Sprachen " by Professor Hermann Collitz were both delivered in Ger- man and led to considerable discussion. Pro- fessor E. S. Sheldon, of Harvard University, followed with an interesting paper on "Some Specimens of a Canadian French Dialect spoken in Maine," which elicited from Pro- fessor Elliott the identification of many of its peculiarities with those of the dialects of Northern France. The last paper of the morn- ing session, "On Paul's Principien der Sprach- geschichte," by Dr. Julius Goebel of Johns Hopkins University, dealt largely with meta- physical theories of the origin of language and brought out an extremely lively discussion between its author and Professor Karsten.
After midday luncheon, before the reading of papers was resumed, the reports of com- mittees were in order. Among them was that of the committee appointed to memorialize ' Congress for a removal of the tax upon foreign books. Resolutions also were received and approved embodying the thanks of the asso- ciation to the University of Pennsylvania and to the various organizations that had extended their courtesy to the members of the associa- tion.
The next paper, "A Study of Lord Macaulay's English" by President Henry E. Shepherd of the College of Charleston, called out the ex- pression of so much opinion adverse to the
reat English essayist, that it may well be doubted if anything short of Macaulay's own mpetuous eloquence could have stemmed the ide of disapproval. Professor Hart found no pleasure or profit in him; Professor Hunt had never received from him the least intellectual stimulus ; and finally another gentleman step- led in with the coup de grdce by stating that
owed much to Macaulay as an author who lad taught him the want of something better n the way of mental pabulum.
Professor Albert H. Smyth of Philadelphia then read an essay on "American Literature in the Class-room," putting in a strong plea for the more general recognition of our own au- thors in our school and college curricula. In reply to the position there taken, Professor Wood made an excellent point, by calling at- tention to the greater justice of the term ' En- glish Literature in America ' in comparison with the term 'American Literature.'
In his paper on "The English Curriculum in the University," Dr. James W. Bright of Johns Hopkins dwelt upon the true distinction be- tween the university and the college, and ex- cited much favorable discussion. The exer- cises were brought to a close with a paper on "The Earliest Works'on Italian Grammar and Lexicography published in England," by Prof. A. Marshall Elliott of Johns Hopkins Univer- sity.
In the evening, the members of the Associa- tion met many of their newly-made friends at the Penn Club's Reception, which conclud- ed the list of hospitalities.
The varied character of the papers read calls for some comment. The considerable number and excellence of the papers dealing more or less with pedagogics, can not but be regarded as the indication of an awakening upon a subject too long neglected among us ; while the liter- ary tendency of others indicates that we are not, at least not all of us, given over hopeless- ly to die neue Philologie. The philological depths were sounded in the purely technical papers, but the fact that philology is none the less concerned with living and growing organ- ism was recognized as perhaps it has never before been recognized here in America. In the excellent work of Professors Primer, Shel- don and Fortier, in their representation of the
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living speech phenomena around us — as was justly said during the convention — we must recognize what scorns to be tin- peculiar func- tion of this Association. It is to be hoped that such work may inspire renewed effort for the future in this interesting field of research.
KKLIX E. SCHKI.UNG. University of Pennsylvania.
CONVENTION OF THE
MODERN LANG UA GEASSOCIA TION
OF ONTARIO.
The Second Annual Meeting of the Modern Language Association of Ontario, Canada, was held in the Canadian Institute, Toronto, on Wednesday and Thursday, December 28th and 2gth.
The attendance of members was large and included the names of most of the best known and most successful teachers of French and German in the Province. Upon a survey of the topics treated, it will be seen that though the subjects had a wide range, they yet bore almost exclusively upon what the teacher might directly utilize in his work in the class- room. The seemingly practical bent thus given to the discussions of the Convention was due to the fact that its members were with few exceptions language teachers in Secondary Schools. We may remark that there are in Ontario over one hundred of these so-called High Schools ; that in each of them provision has to be made for the teaching not only of the classics but also of one at least of the modern languages ; and that in all the larger schools special masters are employed for this purpose. The opening address of the convention was given by its Hon. Prest., Dr. Daniel Wilson, the venerable President of Toronto University. The topic treated of was "The Influence of the French Revolution on English Literature." The great English poets who flourished in the brilliant literary epoch marked by the latter part of the reign of the Third George, were named and briefly characterized ; and it was shown what was the influence exerted by the political events in France on their lives and writings.
In the afternoon session o(. \V< dncsday, pa- pers were n ;K! on " English M«-tre," on "'I In- Natural Method of Teaching Language*," and
on " Language and Thought."
At the evening meeting, Mr. Yand<-rsmissi n. the President, opened with an address on " History and Literature," tin- speaker limit- ing himself to the field of Germany. A paper was then read on "The Study of English in Ontario." In the animated discussion which followed on this subject, the majority of tin- speakers held, with the writer of tin- arti that English is well taught in the < >ntario High Schools. Another subject treated of was that of Text-Books, of which it was pleaded that a periodical revision should be made, every five years, by a competent committee.
On the following morning, after the election of officers and of new members, a resolution was passed asking the Modern Language Mas- ters of the Province to send in the names of works in French and German suitable for University Matriculation examination.
The reading of papers was then resumed. The first subject discussed was that of "The Eye and the Ear in Modern Language Teach- ing." These two organs, it was held, should be cultivated simultaneously, as should also the ear and the voice. A plea was also ad- vanced for the application in teaching of the principles of phonetics. The Convention closed with a practical paper on "Translating French."
We heartily congratulate our fellow teachers across the border-line on the success of their recent meeting, and trust that their efforts in the direction of improved teaching of Modern Languages, and of a more thorough study of the same, may meet with even greater success in the future.
JOHN R. WIGHTMAN.
Johns Hopkins University.
CORRECTIONS TO WHITNEY'S FRENCH VOCABULARIES.
A careful perusal of the vocabularies at the close of Whitney's ' Practical French Gram- mar,' suggests the following corrections :
February. MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES, 1888. No. 2.
84
i. — FRENCH-ENGLISH VOCABULARY.
Aprts-midi is given as masc., — better fern. ; — auberge masc., should be fem. ; — chanson, masc., should be fem. ; — cdte, fem., should be masc. (As this mistake occurs also in the English-French vocabulary, and as the author derives the word from the form costa, ' rib,' it is probable that the error is not a typographi- cal one merely, but due perhaps to a confusion with cdte.} — Faim, masc., should be fem. ; — tortueux is marked as fem. (with no designa- tion as adj .). — Under head of omission, we may note that the word cerise, used on page 97 (sentence 19), is wanting in the vocabulary.
2. — ENGLISH-FRENCH VOCABULARY.
Under the word 'afternoon,' aprts-midi, masc., — better fem. ; — under the words ' many ' and ' too ' the author gives, as one meaning for 'too many," the expression trop beaucoup de (!) (This error is corrected in the abridged edition.) — Under the word 'March,' the gender of the French mars should be given, (same remark for peuple, under the word ' people"). — Under the word 'perhaps,' peutetre should be joined by a hyphen ; — under the word ' side,' cdte, fem., should be masc.
If the question of etymologies were to be touched upon, attention might be called to the inconsistency between examples like : laurier [fr. L. laurum\, orage [fr. L. aura, breeze], etc., on the one hand, and those more accurately given, such as : berger [LL. ber- bicarium, h.berbex, r&m\,fromage \formceti- cum, shaped], on the other.
B. L. BOWEN.
Johns Hopkins University.
CORRESPONDENCE.
To the Editors of Modern Language Notes :
I have had for some years an old dictionary which has afforded me considerable amuse- ment, and I think a few extracts from it may be of interest to your readers. The work is entitled :" A New and Complete American Dictionary of the English and German Lan- guages," By Wm. Odell Elwell (New York, 1852). The significance of the word " Ameri- can " in this title will appear in what follows.
Some time ago, in looking it over, I came upon the expression "catawamptiously chaw- ed up," which I found translated as "ganzlich zerstort, ganz und gar vernichtet." This dis- covery encouraged me to look further, and I append the result of my investigations in the following list of choice excerpts :
ABSQUATULATE. Weglaufen.
ARGUFY. Gewicht haben : beweisen.
BLACKSTRAP. Branntwein und Zucker : Grog.
BOGUS. Eine Art Grog.
BUSTER. Etwas Grosses, Colossales, Ungeheures.
CALIBOGUS, Ein Getrank von Rum und Bier.
DIGGINGS. DerBezirk.
DINGED. Sehr.
DRATTED. Sehr : ausserordentlich.
FARZINER (!). (Corrumpirt aus ' Far as I Know.').
So viel ich weiss. FLUMMUX. Verwirren. GAL-BOY. Ein wildes Madchen. KOOL-SLAA. Der Kohlsalat. LAM. Derb durchprligeln. PESKY. Gross: weit : ausserordentlich; in hohem
Grade : sehr.
RANTANKEROUS. Zankisch. SNOOZER. Der Dieb (in Gasthofen). SPOONEY. Der einf Itige Mensch.
This list might be extended indefinitely. The German's conception of" English as She is Spoke " in America is quite as mirth-provok- ing as that of the Portuguese .grammarian whose little book gave him fame of a sort al- together unexpected.
WILLIAM MORTON PAYNE. Chicago High School.
NOCH EIN MA L MEISSNER-JOYNES, II.
§ 403 ff. Das Capitel iiber die Verwandt- schaft der englischen Sprache mil der deut- schen hatte auf der Grundlage von Grimm's Verschiebungsgesetz zu einem recht fruchtba- ren gemacht werden konnen ; aber leider ist die Behandlung dieses Gegenstandes gerade in den Hauptpunkten unklar und fehlerhaft. Es wird nirgends angegeben INWIEFERN ein grosser Teil der Unterschiede zwischen den beiden Sprachen durch Grimm's Gesetz zu
February. MODERN LANG UA GE NOTES, 1888. No. 2.
M
erklaren ist ; imGegenteil, §§405 & 414 niiisscii in jedeni Uneingeweihteii die verkehrte Yor- stellung erwecken, als ob jenes Gesetz nur fiir die Zeit VOR der Lostrennung des Angelsachs- ischen von dem Stammlande in Betracht kame; ein Vergleich der einander entsprechenden deutschen und englischen Laute mit dem Schema S. 221 notigt ferner zu dem Schlusse, dass die englischen Consonanten durchweg einer spateren Entwickelungsstufeangehoren, als die deutschen. Sieht man vollends, wie die englischen Formen den deutschen iiberall nachgestellt sind, und wie §41 1 von Auslassung- en, Einfiigungen und Umstellungen handelt, so ergiebt sich als scheinbar zweifellos, dass der engl. Consonantismus sic haus dem hoch- deutschen entwickelt habe. So wird der arg- lose Neuling von vornherein in die Irre ge- fiihrt. Fast mochte es scheinen, als ob der Bearbeiter selbst nicht ganz im Klaren gewe- sen ware ; denn in dem erwahnten Schema S. 221 ist Grimm's Verschiebungsgesetz in ganz entstellter Form wiedergegeben. Die Reihen- folge sollte sein
Soft— Hard— Aspirate (—Soft), und S. 222 :
English — soft — hard — aspirate — German — hard — aspirate — soft. Es wu'rde sich empfehlen, wie hier, so iiber- all die englischen Formen den deutschen voranzustellen und den Grund dafiir — die Pri- oritat der englischen consonantischen Laut- stufe im Vergleich mit der weiter verschobe- nen hochdeutschen — ausdrucklich zu erklaren und hervorzuheben. — j5§ 409, 410. Die Eintei- lung der lautlichen Abweichungen ist manch- mal sogar fiir ein Elementarbuch zu unwissen- schaftlich. — § 414. Overset ein primitive? — §417. Zu Stande kommen — to be brought about, to be consummated. — § 422. Ehren- bezeigungen, nicht bezeichnungen. — §423. Die Hose, das Beinkleid sind ganz gewohnlich als Singulare ; auch das Ostern, das (die) Pfingsten, das (die) Weihnachten oder die Weihnacht, die Alp kommen haufig vor. — § 425. Die Bemerkung : but in the compound, die Fensterladen, onfy—ist unrichtig. — § 426. Der Chor=the chorus, the choir ; das Chor= the choir. — § 428. (or dem Herrn) ist zu strei- chen; die Frau Professor(in); meine Frau wird nie als Anrede gebraucht, man sagt Madam(e)
(vrraltet)oder hoflichcr gnddige Frau, oder :il)«-r Frau mit nachfolgcn<l< m Naim r. TitH <lrs ( ieinahls: Frau Miiller, Frau Doctor- (i'w)etc.— g 430*. Selten difs(ts) mein Herz.— § 432. Die tttichdruckerkunst wortli< h the art-of-the-printer-of -books. — £ 434C. Kiigehin- 7U : sich t-nlsinnen, to remember. — ^ 437.6. Sich anmassen, to arrogate; Note: d« • brauch des Artikels ware unhoflich, da - be vor Eigennamen oft Geringschatzung aus- driickt. — § 438. Ist favorable im Sinne des deutschen hold guter Sprachgebrauch ? Si« li« Ex. LI, Satz i.— § 450. Alter liebst ist kein absoluter, sondern ein relativer Superlativ (aller=von alien); aber es wird jetzt kaum mehr als Superlativ gefuhlt, das beweist seine praedicative Anwendungund derregelm:i-,sig<- Gebrauch des unbestimmten Artikels vor dem- selben. — § 452. In meinetwegen, seinetu'illen, euerthalben etc. haben wir nicht Genitive der Personalia, sondern Accusative resp. Dative der Possessiva, da wegen, willen, halben ur- spriinglich substantivische Casus sind. Also eigentlich (und friiher thatsachlich so ge- schrieben)rw/ meincn Wegen, umseinen Willfit, (von) eueren Halben imlnl. JiaJ6e=Se\te, Rich- tung). Wegen des / vergleiche man die For- men meinentwegen, derentwillen, allenthalben etc. Mit Ausnahme von halb(en), das schon ganz friih als blosse Praeposition auftritt, ist der gen. sing, der Personalia in Verbindung mit diesen Ausdriicken erst neuerdings, und nur in beschranktem Masse, gebrauchlich geworden.— § 457,3 sollte lauten : Regular- ly, as indefinite antecedent of a relative, he (who) is derjenige — or der — not er, etc. : he who is happy, derjenige welcher glilcklich ist, or wer gliicklich ist; but when the antecedent refers to a certain person before mentioned or understood, it must be translated by the person- al pronoun : auch er (sie, etc.), der (die, etc.) mir so viel verdankte, verliess mich in der Not. — § 459, Remark. Darin diirfte man mit dem Bearbeiter doch nicht ohne Weiteres iibereinstimmen. Dasselbegilt von der Bemer- kung § 462,2. — g 463, b. — continuing up to and during the present time. — §467. Mich bezah- len, nicht mir ; aber wenn das Ding, welches bezahlt wird, erwahnt ist, steht es im Accusa- tiv, die Person, der man etwas bezahlt, im Dativ. — § 468. Um dass ist veraltet. — §472.
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He might have forgotten it wiirde man zu- riickiibersetzen mit er hdtte es vergessen kon- nen, nicht er diirfte etc. Diirfen driickt eher eine Wahrscheinlichkeit, als eine blosse Mog- lichkeit aus ; dazu hat der Conj. Praet. diirfte fast immer Praesensbedeutung. Also das diirfte zu schwer sein : that is probably too hard; er ditrfte es vergessen haben : he has probably forgotten it, etc. — § 474,d. Nach Juhlen, hbren, sehen ist der active Infinitiv mindestens doppelsinnig ; man wird ihn stets eher activ als passiv auffassen. — § 477, Note. Den Fluss durchschwamm, nicht d. F. sch- wamm. c. Satze \vie der letzte (mit um dass) diirfen dem Schiiler nicht als Muster vorgelegt werden. — § 483. Erbittert heisst exasperated ; embittered=verbittert. — § 485. Ja, horen sie einmal kann je nach der Betonung auf ganz verschiedene Weise iibersetzt werden, aber keinesfalls mit just listen to what 1 say ; am nachsten kame wol, dem Sinne nach, ein Aus- druck wie : But, my dear Sir, etc. Ja als Ausrufungswort zu Anfang eines Satzes ent- spricht dem englischen Yes mitangehangtem that is (would be) all very well und driickt meist Ungeduld aus. Horen Sie (einmal) ! ist eine Anrufung wie das englische (/) say \ Kommt er noch nicht heisst is he not coming yet? Wohl bedeutet probably, nicht may-be, manchmal auch indeed: Das ist wol wahr, that is indeed true, oder that is true enough. — § 486,10. Wenn der Hauptsatzmit sobeginnt, heisst das wenn im Nebensatz stets if; so ist es auch in den letzten zwei Beispielen zu iiber- setzen. — § 487, Examples ia. Nach versteckte etc. lies who was ... and who received and con- cealed etc. —
Die Uebungsstiicke zum Uebersetzen ver- lieren dadurch sehr an Wert, dass die allzu reichlichen Anmerkungen dem Schiiler oft gar keine Gelegenheit zur selbstandigen Anwen- dung gelernter Regeln iibrig lassen. Wozu sollen denn solche Uebersetzungen dienen, wenn z. B. iiberall angegeben wird, wann der Conjunctiv ge.braucht werden muss und wie das Verbalnomen auf ing wiederzugeben ist ? Andersvvo wird in ganz leichten Dingen nach- geholfen, wahrend idiomatische Eigentiimlich- keiten, die sich keiner Regel fiigen (wie S. 303 a little way, S. 311 the snows of Lapland, etc.) unerklart bleiben. Auch sonst finden sich
einige Versehen. — p 303, Ex. IV. Wozu ist lying \\\ Klamrnern ? — p 304, Ex. VII. Tore- strain ist hier : in Schranken (im Zaume) hal- ten. — p 306, Ex. X. Anm. i ist fur den Schiiler zu unbestimmt. — p. 310 Ex. VIII. To redeem, hier : siihnen ; to disdain : verse hinahen ; Anm. 9 soil wol heissen anhdngen, aber auch dieses Wort passt hier nicht, vielmehr sollte die ganze, fur den Schiiler zu schwierige Stelle (he bis ignominy) in einer Anmerkung erklart sein. Ex. IX. Tend exceedingly : sind sehr dazu angethan ; gehen sehr weit ware hier un- deutsch. — § 311. To delight in : seine Freude (Lust) haben an.
Zur Liste der starken Verba : Fechten und jlechten sollen auch schwach vorkommen? Von beklemmen ist nur das Part. Perf. beklom- men stark. Klingen ist immer stark. Das Part. Perf. von stecken wird stets schwach ge- bildet.
Endlich sind die folgenden Drjckfehler zu verzeichnen :— § 134. (§ 87) statt (§ 86).— § 206. (§ 456,2.) st. (§ 455,2.).— § 427. Matthei st. Matthdi. — § 434,c. gedst. get. — § 437, 5. forbade st. forebode. — § 462. advatage st. advantage. — § 475, d. under (i) st. in § 474. — § 485,10. Das ist wahr st. Das ist wohl wahr. — §303, Ex. III. gone* si. gone. — §308, Ex. \ .mouth1 st. mouth. ^§ 317. 231 b (vor schinden} st. 2j/ a.
Nach so vielen Ausstellungen gereicht es dem Referenten zur Freude, auch der unter- schiedlichen Vorziige zu gedenken, welchedie amerikanische Bearbeitung vorihrem englisch- en Originale auszeichnen und die dazu beitra- gen werden, dem Buche in einer verbesserten Auflage einen Platz unter den besten vorhan- denen Schulgrammatiken zu sichern.
HUGO SCHILLING.
Wittenberg College.
A UDI AL TERAM PAR TEM.
After two such reviews of the Joynes-Meiss- ner German Grammar as have appeared in the NOTES — with more promised of like kind — surely even a book as limited in its scope and as modest in its pretensions as this declares itself to be, must have some right of defense. That I fully share Mr. Schilling's wish that the book in a future edition mav be made as free
44
February. MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES,
No.
as possible from error, is proved by the fact that he had been specially asked to communi- cate to the editor his suggestions to that end and, also, that at my request the publishers have since addressed a like printed invitation to all teachers known. to be using the book. I accept this as the avowed object of