The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-04-26

! on IN her frontisn, Literary knowledge
| or ignorance. however, had % little TO do
With national animostiss that Spanish was
| q familiariy known In Paris during the
! sixteenth century a. English was generally
IGNORED. epanish GRAMMAR ed vocabu-
? laries swaru,ed on Frsnch coll; nay. trans
latins from, tho Spanish had become .
F., REGULAR trade. n. Jusssrand con 80 but
one explanation for the singular contrast
presented between the continual relations
Of France with England on the one hand.
and tho absolute ignorance OF the lattor's
lan6vsee and literature In the former
country. According TO . tradition which
had established itself in the dsys Of the
Norman Conquest, and remained opcr-
alive for Centuries, al people OF any
social standing In England spoke French,
all thinkers and philosophers spoke Latin;
the rest wers Of no account. Thefgnorance
observed In France Was strictly limited
TO works In the English tongue; the thinkers,
philosophers and historians OF Great
britain who wrpte IN Latin were familiar
to everybody In PART and had ~ many
admirers there - they had IN their own
country. Those writers were known 70
Frenchmen, however, only by their names
ending In ss-Moras, camdenus, Seldenus.
A Paris edition Of Mors's utopia APP
peared long before there was London
ona, and the work vas translated into
Frsnoh before II was turned from Latin
into English. Bacon was renowned alike
on both sldsa Of the Channel. but all that
he had written In English was practically
non-existeat for the French public. N.
Jusserand rscslls that even two centuries
later. In the days OF lnoipient Anglomsnla
In Franos. something Of the old tradition
that French Wa spoken BY al decent
English people still survived. 'Tens. says
Q Marquis In one of Boissy's Comedies,
performed In I'M. what Ii best In tho
English u that they speak French. even
though they murder It,
Thus h came TO pass that In Shake
spsarss tims The Frenoh stage could Be In
flueneed BY the sndents. the Italians. and
the Spaniards. but not 1t all by the English.
In both oountrese the starting points
stood veryciose together, The dramatic
'unities' were eloqusntly defended In Eng
land, a. In France. On the other hand in
both countries certain people protested
and rebelled Against Aristotle and his pro.
fessed expouBdsrs. We are reminded that
Ben Jonson, who accused Shakespeare Of
before his eyes. Net only does he strive TO
observe the unities. but be withdraws from
sight the death Of Sejanus. and sends forth
Q messenger to rotate the event. Nor 10
this all. French dramatists were treating
u the same period the same SUBJECTS -
were English posts. sometimes the Same
- thoss which Shakespeare treated. A.
early a. 1880 0r4vin produced his death Of
-
tho Enslish Antony. shook the hlood-stained
gown Of the great JULIUS befors the assem-
bled Romans. France had her Romeo
and Juliet (isSo). her Antony and Cleo.
pAtra,' her Comedy Of Enop.' and her
winters Tale Both Of the winters
Tales vere based on Greene's novel, one
Of the Arst literary works translated from
EnGllsh Into French. Like the English,
again. tbs Frennh during the same period
put their national history into drama. or
rather It was England that In this respect
followed the example Of France. Nor In
the first half Of the seventeenth century
was thers any lack Of Shakespearssn ex-
trsvasances and audacities on the French
seags. only thsy were not known TO b
EAaksspsarsan; thsy wsss Of Spanish origin
Not until long after the Restoration.
whsu In England itself Shakespeare had
como to Be. looked upon - barbArous. and
70 nssA pruning and remodeilins. do We
catch tho Arst mention OF his name by
q French writer. Nurnlt. whose L.xttres
sss lss Anglois appeared in IT'S. remarks
casually that England u land Of passions
and catastrophe, 20 much % that Shake
spsars, one Of their best ancient poets
has turned Q great part OF their history
into trassdiss': about . dozen years earlier
Morsau Do Brassy also praised Shake
epeare's historical dramas In the follow.
ins ternas sOns Shakespear (Sn Ger.
tsia SAsksApsey), who lived Ia the last Gen.
tury, has left the reputation OF master
owing 70 his excellent historical plays,
and n. Addison has perfected this taste in
his admirable Cato Are We to infer
that 6haksapears's works had never ofosssd
the English 6annel before the Close OF
The ssventssnth oeuturyf n. Jusserand
has learned OF two copies. the one book
described a. shaksspeare's English come
dies, mentioned In the inventory taken
OF The library Of the Superintendent OF
| Finances, FouquS, AFTER the latter's fall
| Il was valued by the appraiser at one franc.
| The othar b an example OF the second folio
edition, which ID now In the Paris National
Library, and formerly figured In the
library Of Louis XIV. Tho librarians
comment on the work b: This English
poet has Q rather 6ne imagination; he
thinks naturally. and expresses himself
/ neatly. but his hns qualities are obscured
! By the filth he introduces into his comedies.
4 This y the oldest appreciation Of Shake
| spsars In the French language. The next
mention Of Shakespeare name In French
oocurv In the yusswssnf des Sdronf'
BY Bailst. which was printed at Paris In
| iBs-so. Hare list 10 given Of the principal
/ poets Of the British hlands In the vulgar
tongue, and Shakespeare 10 sandwiched
between Bacon and Fletcher. N. Jusser.
and has collsctsd oil the references to
shaksspsarv In French which he has been
able TO discover In the whole century suo'
ceeding the poet's death. They oompriss
two or three brief and vague comments
the fortuitous printing Of Shakespeare,
name In two or three books. nothing more
| French dramatic Art, meanwhile, AFTER at
| tanning tn acms In Cornslle, Racine and
| Aoaisrs vss hastenins 10 It's decline.
For ths rsvslation OF Shakespeare u
| rrspohmsn they Are mainly indsbtsd Il
| Nootseouisu nd the abb Prevost. II