New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1892-02-21

= BR0rIFRS Translated by Clara Bell and Henry
W. Fischer With Illustrations. $40, PIP. vni'
81 Harper Brotleis
This volume contains selections from the
correspondence of Count Won Moltke with MS
mother and his brothers, Adolf and Ludwig
Those to the former extend from 1923 TO 1881;
those to Adolf from $50 to 1871; and those TO
Ludwig from 1928 to 1888. If Moltke was py no
means a regular correspondent lie was assuredly
q very lively and interesting one, and clearly
also a man whose family affections were particu-
larly warm and constant. The correspondence
throws great deal of light upon the character
of the writer. 1t is well known that he bore
reputation for tacturnity in society, being spoken
of as 1.-THE man who could be silent in seven
languages" But it is evident that when he sat
down pen in hand his ideas flowed freely, .and
that he possessed fund of humor ana ooeerNa-
ton which made him really admrape ie"er
writer. The perfect modesty ana smphcnS Oh
the great strategst must impress every reader OF
his epistles As much as possible he eilaces him.
SELF When hard-carned promotion comes TO him
he of course announces it TO his relatives, but in
the briefest manner, and without the least trace
of self-gratuation or pride. Even when he has
reached the high honor of being appointed Chef
of the General Staff which gives him the position
of Lieutenant-General he merely expresses MILD
At the opening of his military career he was
very poor, and his letters to his mother often
treat of the shifts to which he was driven TO make
both ends meet While he was expecting his APP
pointment on the General Staff he was wondering
how he should procure the horses which stall
officers must have He says in one letter that he
will require five horses, and that so far he has
only bcen able 10 raise the purchase money for
half q horse Much of his work at this period
was surveying and road-naking, and 1t involved
much travel lie seems to have had special good
fortune in his quarters, always being welcomed
by some charming family in some delightful
castle or country house. OF these experiences MS
letters contain lively and graphic descriptions
At Briese for instance he became as intimate as
though lie had been an old friend of the family
and the friendship evidently endured Motke
never saws anything which might help TO snow
what others thought of him, but the inference Is
unavoidable that in his young manhood he was
not the silent man he afterward became, put that
he was gifted with social attractions ana
accomplishments which commended MN 10
strangers and made him welcome wherever ne
went lie remarks naively in one OF these letters
his surprise at finding. when he reloined his com
rades Of the junior STAFF after seasons surveying
that none of the others had anything pleasant to
been so fortunaYe throughout. Doabtless his
personality counted for very much in what his
modesty made him think mere luck.
His pay being mearre, he cast about for some
means of charging his income, and at one time
wrote good deal for various periodicals. anony.
mously Besides this he was induced by pub
Usher to undertake the monumental task of trans
lating Gibbons Decline and Fall Of the Roman
Empire into German, and for the preposerously
inadequate sum of 500 thalers After he had done
good part Of the work he sought'the cooperation
of his brother Ludwig. who was learned though
not very prosperous lawyer; and in the letters
referring to this undertaking appear some original
views on translation and the relative merits OF the
English and German languages. lie is telling his
brother how best TO secure uniformity of style, and
writes: FOR instance, Gibbon employs an over
flow of adiectivcs, the outcome, as l take it, Of a
profound knowledge of his sources. From these
he derives the characters Of the persons he refers
TO- but this is not evident in his text, and as all
the readers of Gbbon have not Gibbons learning,
the epthets are often unfamiliar, and seem contra
dictory and rather weaken the effect than other
wise Now observe Moltke's plan for getting rid
of This dfculty--whch of course really originated
in his own defective knowledge Of English. He
proceeds Such adiectivcS havctiakcn the lib
erty Of emitting altogether, and, in fact have
made it a general rule not TO translate anything
which appears obscure or doubtful" Fancy Glib
bon shorn thus ruthlessly of his adiectives !
MOltlSe's version Of the great history must have
been transformation rather than translation.
In another letter on the same subject he expresses
the singular opinion that in translation all that
is necessary is knowledge of ones 'own language.
Perhaps such view was Necessary 10 his own jus
LITIGATION, as he frankly declares my whole ac-
quaintance with the English language gained
by four months course of lessons and the read
ing of few novels" Then again hc holds English
in low estimation, observing that the technical
difficulties in the way of translating from English
into German are great and in the case of Byron
often insurmountable. This lies in certain
deficiency Of beauty in the Englshl Language. which
however becomes of advantage to IL in its predom-
nance Of monoSyllabic words some Frenchmau has
called English 'le Chinois EuropeanD.' The
translation Of Gibbon was never finished. Whether
Moltke grew tired of the heavy drudgery, or
whether the sale of the first volumes did not war
rant the continuance Of the enterprise, does not APP
pear. Very probably the increasing responsibility
and official work of the translator compelled him
to give it up.
There is one circumstance about this collection
Of letters which is Disappointing If Moltke wrote
anything to his brothers during the progress OF
the great wars in which he successfully Ell
gagged, such letters have been withheld. Nothing
appears here concerning the war with Austria, and
next to nothing of the great Franco-German war o
1901. There are indeed COMMUNICATIONS from
Ferrieres and Versailles, but between the beginning
of the invasion Of France and the investment OF
Paris Moltke makes no sign. 1t is Of course quite
possible that during the period his hands were toe
full to permit him to keep up any private GORE
spondence; but il he did find time to write to Iii
brothers, or either of them, nothing could have
been more interesting than such letters. He hat
moreover special reasons for keeping Ludwig wei
informed, for this brother had two sons in thu
T.w,,o,, orc,, and Malta had avidentl,- oe.,,oo