The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1889-02-28
ORAL TRADITION.

Many Centuries.
1t is said that the invention of writ
ing injured the power of memory, and
years ago, before the schoolmaster
was abroad as he is nowadays, it was
possible to meet with many instances
OF strong memorizing capacity among
persons who could neither read nor
write. Complicated accounts could be
kept by the aid of a ''tally'' only, and
the memory of many a small farmer OF
petty shopkeeper was his only ledge,
and order book, 1t is certain tina,
since the art of writing has become ar
almost universal accomplishment, the
faculty of memory, being less needed
is less cultivated. Long after the in.
vention of letters our forefathers restec
much upon oral tradition. Antiquari.
ans assert that one Of the ancien:
races of Italy possessed no writer
language, and even where writer
characters were in use, oral tradition
formed an important supplement tt
them. ''Folk lore'' tales and ballads
have been handed down from lip tt
lip for centuries with curious fidelity
A writer of some thirty years ago
mentions that one of Herrick's fines
devotional pieces, his ''Litany,'' wa.
repeated verJatim by a poor old woman
one of whose ancestresses had beer
servant to Herrick's at Dean Prior
The old woman had never seen the
poem in print; and neither she nor hel
predecessors could read. These might
prayers as the old dame described
them, had come down on the lips O.
these unlettered women for nearly
two centuries, and the ten verses
OF the hymn were as accurately
recorded in the memory of the last
reciter as in the printed pages of Her.
rick's ''Noble Numbers" When oral
tradition was recognized as vehicle
for actual Information more care was
taken regarding it's accuracy thar
would be the case in these days. The
old rectors jealousy guarded a time
honored form of words even in thei1
prose narratives. Breton PEASANTS
nowadays, notably those who possess
talent us raconteurs, will repeat leg
end or a story with scrupulous fidelity
to the established form in which they
have always heard the incidents rela.
ted. and will check traveller who at.
tempts to deviate from the orthodox
version with NAY, monsieur, the story
should begin thus" repeating the reg.
ular formula of the tale. During the
persecution of the Waldenses, in the
thirteenth century, when their version
of tho Scriptures was prohibited anc
destroyed wherever found, their min.
listers committed whole books of the
sacred volume to memory, and repeated
chapters at their religious meetings
Even the lay members of their body
adopted the same means of preserving
their beloved provencal version. Reinel
mentions knowing one rustic, unable
to read or write, who could yet repeat
the entire book of Job, according
to the translation Condemned b,
the council of Toulouse, in 1929.
'They have taken away my deal
tutor, but they can not take away
my 'Telemachus,' for l have it safe il
my heart" said the little Duke of Bur.
gundy, when deprived of the inst1uc.
tions of Fenelon, whose ''Telemachus'
was represented to Louis XIV. as
covert attack on his mode of govern.
ment. It would be tedious to enumer
ate the riany instances in which tradi.
ton has preserved what written histO,
ries were forbidden to chronicle Ira,
ditions may claim to be as accurate as
written history; though this, perhaps
is faint praise. Oral tradition is usu,
ally free from conscious party bias
The repeaters of traditional lore carr,
on the tale as they heard it; but how
many an eloquent historian appears tt
assn me brief for one side or anothe,
in every party contest. and to write hi.
history with view, not of calculating
facts, but of representing certain his.
torical characters as angels or the re
verse. That ugly popular adjective
will adhere to Queen Mary's name in
spite of the efforts of her best apollo
gists; and even Lingard's eloquence
fails to shake popular belief.in the ex.
cellencies of Good Queen Bess," and
the golden days. of her reign. Some.
times local tradition dares to array it.
self in open opposition to received
history. Folk lore, if not an altogether
reliable guide, is seldom totally al
fault in its statement of facts, and ira.
dition has frequently kept alive memo
ries which might otherwise have per.
ished altogether. Books may be de.
stroyed and history wi!lfal'y CARRIED,
but it is less easy t. ex*inguish local