Daily national Republican. (Washington City [D.C.]) 1870-1872, 1872-08-05
EMINENT PLAgIARIsrS.
UHISrSSI Prevalence OF Literary Highway Rob

UHiwrsal Prevalence OF Literary Highway Rob
berg.
1le British Quarterly ReuieLb, In noticing
the charge Of plagiarism which Is brought
against Dumas, pleasantly illustrates The
various shades anddegrces OF what commonly
PAGES by that name. The most Inventive
mids have not disdalned to borrow from
their predecessors. Virgil borrowed from
Homer; Racine from EuTipides, COrnellle On
his Cid) from a Spanish drumatist. "Eyll
bethe those who hayO said or written our
good things before us, was the half comic,
halfSorious exclamation OF truly original
WI. Shakespeare drew largely on chronicles,
popular histories and story books for hls
characters and plots; his Greeks and Romans
frequently speak the very words placed In
their mouths by Plutarch. Julius Caesar
was preceded by Latin play on the same
subject and among other things the famous
III h Brute" which rests on no classical
authority, was taken from II. Yolt,drc
sedulously rau down Shakespeare 70 throw
dust In the eyes of the French public and
prevent their discovering his obligations 20
the barbarian, as he designated the author
OF Hamlet" "LErmlte" In "Zadlgn il a
mere paraphrasO Of Parnclrs poem-'rThe
Hermit and the fable Of YOllalres Of SIC
Lion 1t le Marseillaiso' IL borrowed from
Maudcvillc.
The framework Of all the solid portions of
uthN tUbGNut5 were nOtOF1OuAlV
supplied by DumonL little belng left for lie
orator but to infusc the Promethean fire and
willy the mass. 4 note In the handwriting
se tha TIC oil TAaSFSSnaa ,e Gft', IA 4 ne
bthOp was "LTmproylsateur FrancaIs a
yoluminous collection Of anecdotes aud iests-
the lraternal Inference being that his CONVEX
Sntonal brilllancy was partly owing TO This
repository. Pascal copies whole pages from
Muntalgne without quoting him. Sheridan
Vas indebted to FarquhaT for the "Trip 10
scarborough the most admired bit OF a
dialogue between Joseph Surface and Lady
Tea1le Is the re-cast Of fine reflection in
.'Laalgs" aud consciously or msonsciously
Tom Jones and Bllhl must have Influenced
tle conception Of Charles and Joseph Sur
lace. with regard 10 the charges about
salPNTeck, wrote Lord Byron 70 Murray.
- think told you and Mr.. HobhOuso years
ago that there was not a single circumstance
o. u not taken from fact; not, Indeed, from
auy single shipwrecks." SO little was Tasso
ashamed Of occasional limitations Of other
poets or incorporated details from history,
that In his commentary on his Rome" he
takes pains TO point out all condolences Of
tho kiud In his own poems.
Scott lays particular stress In his preface
on the fidelity with which he has followed
the narratives and traditions on which his
rOmances arc almost uniformly based, but he
worth where Amy Is kneoling before Lei
Gester and asking him about his orders Of
kulghthoOd, was copied from the EgmODt of
Goo,he. Balzac has appropriated for one Of
MS noYels an entire chapter Of The Dis
OWNED. LamaTtlno has been tracked 10
cleaning grounds, which he had hoped 20 visit
htouBalto, by Sainte ,Beuve. DR.. Ferrlor has
unsparingly reprOached tho pOachlng pro-
peuAtles Of Sterne, who, besides making free
with Radicals and Burton, has been Indirectly
no means OF bringing more than Que author
irow obscurity by stealing from him. Lord
broagham left translation OF Voltalre's
. Mgnnon, gu Ia Sagesse Humane" 10 be pub
hShed rs an original composition Of his own,
and ms executor, entering fully into the spirit
OF the testator, has published II as he left II,
wluqont hint happily without a suspicion,
OF 10. quality. One OF the fine images with
which Canning wound up his peroration on
the indemnity bill of 1913 was certainly an
tlcinAted by Madame dc Stael The embTyo
OF hacaulays New Lealander" has been
discovered In Horace WalpOle's 'tCurIOus
Traveller from Lima" and tho Theodore OF
Lolhnir, bears so strong q resemblance 10
the olympia of "Half a Million of Money"
~ % raising compromising conviction Of
Identity. but these are tTlhes," continues
the Quarterly heuisIp. ION one OF the most
solemn and memorable OcCaSlons within lly-
ing memory, In expressing Us leader Of the
House OF Commons, tho natural feeling of
gratitude and admiration Of the hero Of a
hundred lights, Mr.. DlsTaell took bodily and
boldly without the change OF a word, rather
more than third Of his prepared oratlon
inop tbe Translation Of an GTtiolOin French
review on French marshal by NJ. Thlers."