The New York herald., 1879-03-17
VAN LAUN'S "MOLIERE."
Interesting Recollections Of a Re-
markable French Woman.
THE ENGLISH REFOR RMATION
Early English Literature
Roman History.

It Is sign of the growing taste os the American
public for the higher forms of dramatic art that r.
Warrington Co., of New York. have found statis-
tics their side in encouraging them to issue in
handsome form at low price Henri Van Laun's
translation of the dramatic works of Moliere at is
said,' the publishers remark "that 500 copies of
Moleres works have been sold in this country at $40
per copy during the past two years." On this they
base the reasonable belief that the public desires
Moliere at moderate price. OF course those who
want to taste the richness Moliere drink him
in the original French. His exquisite is the
despair OF translation. His types of humanity are.
however. indestructble; and although his epigrams.
his salted speech, must suffer in the transfer to
another language it would be difficult, short
OF absolute Grass ignorance or self-suficient
''improving' impudence in the translator,
to make him unacceptable. Heaven knows that
the English dramatists of the eighteenth century,
who were prone adapting stealing from
the French as their successors are to-day. tried
often enough to disguise his immortal comedies
that should suspect their paternity. But,
although their bungling powers tremendous in
their way, tho secret kept. Molieres
works were first translated into English in TIA,
forty-one years after his death. second, but in
complete translation appeared i'll 1882. The third
translation issued in 1889. Many subsequent
translatons of single comedies groups have been
made, so that Mr.. Van Laun was not without ample
Light to guide him to the English, while the
French commentaries upon the original text o
library in themselves. 1.-The experiments" says
Mr.. Van Laun. (which have been made to
represent some Of these in metre have not greatly
charmed me. and I have come to
the conclusion thatan imitation Of Molere's style
In any metre is next to i1npossibility. but that
faithful and literal translation in prose, even if Il
cannot the fire of the original. may still
No
rs clear perception-of Molieres characters as can
be obtained in fordgn tongue. I have. however,
endeavored not to be satisfied with o mere verbal
version. but to preserve and convey the genuine
spirit"
This is very fail, ,busness-like programme and If
Mr. Van Laun had shown the capacity to follow it
out We should feel under much greater obligations to
him than We CONFESS to after looking through
his book In the first place, it is his misfor-
tune than his faulthat he not born to the Eng
hsh language. and that consequently his English.
despite some thirty years Of practice and study.
shows that overconscientious wordiness when he
sits down to write which marks of tho foreigner
from the native When he desires to convey his
authors meaning he adds words and wordsuntil he
Is sure that he Eas filled out every fraction of
the sense. not having sufficient confidence
IN his knowledge of the language to be
certain that the meaning could be con-
veyed as fully with half the words It leads
70 labored redundancy. In translating philo-
eophical treatise this would not be serious de-
feat but it is terrible way to trest Moliere Mr..
Van Laun remarks how admirably Moliere suits the
phrase to the person. his translator saving occa-
sonal three-cornered attempts at initiating vulgar
turns OF speech for clowns and domestcs gives the
same languageto all. So much for his Lteraness
lis freedom is even more dangerous Where he
translates one idiom ~ proverb by another he is
very uncertain. We confess that we have not read
his work through. but going over one comedy and
glancng through the rest satisfied us that our i'm
pTessions from tao first page two not unjust
The title of the first comedy, .LEtourdi; on les
Contretemps" he not badly but yet not literally
translates The. Blunderer; tho Coun terplots
Lelio, the rattssbr.in, is blunderer and his i'll
timed nterfereaces are generally counterpIots but
etourds does not mean blunderer nor contretemps
counterp.ots OF his redundant literalness let Us
give sample that will indicate what we mean
When Mascaraile blames Lelio for picking up Ansel
mos purse, M oliere puts it thus:-
Out bourreau, cttoit pour la.captive
Que1attrM Jois fargeDt don't votre soin nous priya
1t iS thus given by Van Laun:--"Yes. ninny, it
was to release the captive that was getting the
money, whereof your ofdciousness took care to de-
prive u.s." To render Jouryetu by ''ninny" is alb
surdy incornct theremainder istiresomeness itself
In another place the epithet bouvedu is rendered
'barbarian.- In his bold attempts to render one
proverb by-another he is on dangerous ground To
translate 'ye sais git ie rre' by II love to strike
while the iron is hot" is not to understand the
phrase at all, which means. II am asharp fellow,
who knows-things that mystery to Others as
Mr.. Van La,In would be likely to have put II. but
which Mascarale of the present day would dispose
OF by saying. II am up to trap" We cannot see TO
what purpose Mr. Van Laun quotes the opinions of
divers commentators on the phrase, "vous ollons
eoT beau Jea 81 Ia corde ne rompi," to whether
that which is fguratively supposed to be snapped ia
arope dancers rope or the string OF bow. when
his translation gives hint of either IL rms SIM
ply:-"we shall SEQ some fine fun il they do not
give way" To translate 1t literally elf the rope
docs not break" would convey meaning under
Moliere's figure without further help, or n bo
wanted an English idiom he might have said ..if
tho scheme holds good" Again. VIC find the lines
of Trufaldin which remind one pcasurably of
Hamlet's rebuko TO the courtiers:-
~ vous, nlous ielTes, ou jc me trompe fort
Mottez, pour me jOuer, sos hutos mf0ux d'uccord.
rendered as to tho last line. EFF you wish TO de-
ceivc me again. Let your stories DO title more in
harmony" when the sense and the point could DO
no much better expressed by simply translatng
literally. "f you wish to play upon me- keep your
Autes In better tune"
Wchave no patience to pursue these errors and
pr lixities, but we can promise fine field for people
OF leisure and OF an inquiring turn of mind Il is
painful to speak of great work of this nature 40
severely. but if Mr. Van Laun with his industry for
collecting critical commentaries, had allowed man
to whom the tongue not foreign to do the trans
aation while he did the comment VIC might have had
I'm edition that would be Of tho highest importance
AS ~ is, Moere can be appreciated through Mr.. Van
Launs pages. bu they viii servo their best purpose
in stimulating those who read them 10 acquire the
language from which they have been so painfully
drawn.
There is part OF tho work which we can heartily
applaud the intelligent labor bestowed on
the biographical sketch of Molitrs the English bbl-
ography of the poet and the wen digestcd critical i'm
PRODUCTIONS 70 each OF his plays. Tho work is in
three handsome Volumes good paper. and the