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LATEST EXHIBITS, deeds, and chores:
(not including endless work on Froissart and fixing
stuff and learning more tech stuff and typing.
FEB. 28, 2006. Time for some humor. A Sonnet and Two excerpts from The Biography of
Benvenuto Cellini, Call Me Not John!, a poem by Giovanni Della Casa, and Diatribe Against
Water by Francesco Redi, an excerpt from his poem Bacchus In Tuscany. The translator
of these pieces is uncredited.
FEB. 27, 2006. Medieval Latin Students' Songs, translated by John Addington Symonds,
Number III of Vol. I of The Bibelot. College kids are all alike, whatever the century!
The Sonnet left by Petrarch in Laura's Tomb is up, translated by Lord Woodhouselee,
because my curiosity was aroused by Question 253 in Quizzism and Its Key.
FEB. 26, 2006. Volume I, Number II, of The Bibelot, The Ballades from Francois Villon,
translated by John Payne and one also translated by Algernon Charles Swinburne. Villon
was a 15th century Troubadour who didn't sing of the glories of high romance, courtly
love and chivalry, that's for sure!
"Popular History" -- The Fugitive King at Boscobel; Adventures of the Merry Monarch, by
Agnes Strickland, from Harper's New Monthly Magazine, Volume 2, December 1850. (not
proofed). It contained a phrase spoken by Charles II., that would have been inexplicable
if I hadn't put up Quizzism and It's Key. Since it wasn't explained in the article, I can only
assume that what was common knowledge in 1850 and in the 17th century has become
arcane today. But then public education in America is making monumental strides
backward every year.
Some ancient Egyptian matter -- A Hymn to the Nile.
FEB 24, 2006. What got the ball rolling for Thomas B. Mosher was strong belief. Here is
his Preface to the first Issue of his magazine, The Bibelot, which begins volume I of the 20
Volume Testimonial Edition of the series. Following this is his first pick of poets to lead off,
William Blake, to begin the enterprise. A good choice.
What else? Time for humor, an extract from Ludovico [aka Lodovico] Ariosto's work
"Raving Roland", from the 16th century. Ariosto's poem was a long satire, an epic spoof,
on the Roland Epic. The extract is called What Astolfo Saw in the Moon -- translated by
one of Lord Byron's friends, Leigh Hunt.
Also, by an uncredited translator, Of a Trick Played upon Some Monks by a Donkey,
another short story by Matteo Bandello, also a 16th century Italian.
Strangely enough, all this is actually proofed.
FEB. 23, 2006. The completed section from The Bibelot, Number IX, of Along the Trail:
Lyrics from The Poems of Richard Hovey, is up and ready to go.
More of these poems appealed to me than in the sections by Whitman or Johnson. My
favorite is Barney McGee, I think. Poetic appreciation, being highly individual, unless you
say "to-may-to" like me, instead of "to-mah-to", then it's likely that you won't agree with
me on this. That's okay.
There is plenty of variety in the selections picked by Thomas B. Mosher as
representative of his work, that you will like some of them.
FEB. 21, 2006. From Volume 1 of the Bibliophile Library, up and proofed, Ancient Indian
Hymns, with a brief essay and the translations by Sir Monier Monier-Williams. This is an
extract from his book "Indian Wisdom."
FEB. 20, 2006. From The Bibelot, Volume X, Number 8 -- Memories of Abraham Lincoln by
Walt Whitman. This includes the bibliographic history of the final collection of poems, by
Thomas B. Mosher, the editor of The Bibelot, and a prefatory poem by James Russell
Lowell. It also includes a short appreciation, by John Burroughs, of the first in the series,
When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd. To me, after reading both of these, it once
again makes me wonder whether the reviewer and I were reading the same thing!
Literary criticism is a wonderful job. There are few standards.
Other than that, the best poems are these two: O Captain! My Captain! and The
Wound-Dresser. The rest may appeal to somebody, but 2 out of a dozen or so is still
pretty good --for poetry.
These pages are proofed but the picture is pending.
From Volume I of the Bibliophile Library of Literature, Art, and Rare Manuscripts -- The
Adventures of Istar, from the Chaldean Account of Genesis, translated by George Smith,
one of the oldest stories -- and the first account of a famous plot used endlessly since. It
is sort of nice to see that the first person to descend into Hades -- Before Orpheus, before
Aeneas, before Dante, Milton, etc.-- was a woman!
FEB. 19, 2006. Two short short stories from the 16th century Italian, Girolamo Parabosco.
The second one is quite funny, and the first one isn't bad either. Translated by Thomas
Roscoe.
From The Bibelot, Volume X, Number 3: The pages of The Poems of Lionel Johnson, with
an introduction by Thomas Mosher and an Appreciation of the poet by Katherine
Tynan-Hinkson. It was a surprise to me after reading the poetry to then read the
Appreciation, even though this piece preceded the poems. I would recommend this
course, too. Skip over it and finish reading the poems and then come back and read what
a friend of his said about him.
FEB. 18, 2006. Rare early work of Algernon Charles Swinburne from the The Bibelot,
Volume VII: Dead Love and Other Inedited Pieces. The Short Story, Dead Love, certainly
reads as if it was written in the 14th century, as does Stanzas from Queen Yseult.
A Toast, by Richard Hovey; The Bibelot, Volume 10.
FEB. 17, 2006. Up and proofed : The Underworld As Viewed by Aeneas, a passage from
the epic Latin poem Aeneid and The Messianic Eclogue, The Return of the Golden Age, by
Virgil, translated by Sir Charles Bowen. A translator whose ability was approved of by
Oscar Wilde. Then, A Sacred Eclogue in Imitation of Virgil's "Pollio," by Alexander Pope.
The other translation -- from Pagan to Christian in the best tradition of the Christian era.
At least now the source is credited ! A definite ethical improvement.
In the same vein, Dante and Virgil in the Shades, a scene from "The Inferno," in a prose
translation by John Carlyle.
A short essay on The Savagery of Classic Times, Anthony Trollope is known today for his
novels, but he also did scholarly work, including "The Commentaries of Caesar." His
conclusion here is questionable. See Froissart, any history of Henry VIII., or the modern
media for evidence of this. The difference today is that the leaders, the ones who order
the murder, wars, slaughter, do not die or even risk death amidst the soldiers they send
to commit similar savage acts.
I got a present! A Book called "Twice 55 Community Songs, The Brown Book" from Peter
Tafuri, Frost Pocket Farm. There is a cute song in it that I have never heard of -- Here it
is - The Mosquito's Serenade.
FEB. 16, 2006. Two stories by Giovanni Brevio, 16th century, translated by Thomas Rosco
are up and proofed.
A short piece by noted Elizabethan Literary Scholar, Thomas Keightley, on Allegory in
"The Faerie Queen" by Spenser from the magazine Notes and Queries: A Medium of
Intercommunication for Literary Men, General Readers, Etc., from the issue of January
1871.
FEB. 15, 2006. A short extract from the Gesta Romanurum, from the Middle Ages. This is
another good example of borrowing someone else's good story.
Quizzism is done. (Except for the Greek text, and the Index -yuck !) Proofed, even ! For
a sixth edition, it still has several typos, not caught in the other five and now fixed. This is
another proof of the pain of proofreading. On the whole, it was better done in the 1800's
and early 1900's than it is now, despite Spellcheck!
FEB 14, 2006. More Quizzism.
Some of the Novels of Gentile Sermini (fifteenth century), and of Pietro Fortini (sixteenth
century), translated by Thomas Roscoe are up. (not proofed).
FEB 13, 2006. Henry B. Mosher was an interesting literary maverick. Living in Maine, he
decided to publish rare poetry and prose that he valued. His goal was to make what he
thought was wonderful and forgotten by the media moguls who determine what 'the
best' writing is. He often disagreed and picked scarce works and reprinted them so that
they would not be forgotten. My kind of man.
His introductions to the selections are interesting as well.
I have used the colors of the binding of these little books, which is part of their charm in
the Testimonial Edition, in 20 volumes, of The Bibelot.
First up is a piece by Lionel Johnson, To Weep Irish.
Also, more Quizzism is up and proofed (except for Greek text).
FEB. 13, 2006. More Quizzism. What's up is proofed ! Some site revamping.
FEB. 10, 2006. A lot more fascinating trivia, is up, from Quizzism: and Its Key. Quirks and
Quibbles from Queer Quarters. A Melange of Questions in Literature, Science, History,
Biography, Mythology, Philology, Geography, etc. etc. By Albert P. Southwick.
In Appalachia, there is no cable of DSL in many parts, despite promises and vows and such
that this will change soon (supposed to have been done by December, 2005). Of course,
I live in one of them thar' parts. The result is that this page is taking to long too load
now. The solution was to make an archive of the earlier entries. Did it.
If you want so see the archive page, go here.
FEB. 8, 2006. The Haunted Ships by Allen Cunningham, 19th century eerie. And a note
about this text: this story is published in a pirated text printed by the Chicago Publishing
Company. It was stolen and the title-page re-named. This was a very common practice
in the United States for many years. Also, the text if full of typographical and spelling
errors, which have been emended. Whether this is true of the original text or not, is
unknown right now.
Some site-revamping done as well.
The Goldenrod Fairy Book by Esther Singleton is now proofed. Just pictures pending,
(sigh).
On Wardour Castle, by John Timbs, is up, with a then-famous (but now-suppressed by
the modern bias against historical brave women) history of Lady Blanche Arundel.
FEB. 6, 2006. Fables & Folk-Tales from an Eastern Forest, collected and translated by
Walter Skeat, is up. He gathered these stories on a trip to the Malay Peninsula in the early
1900's. The text is up, but the pictures are pending and the notes at the end will be
incorporated into the body of the test soon. Also pending is proofreading, of course, and
the title page, table of contexts and the index.
FEB. 4, 2006. The History of Whist, by Henry 'Cavendish' Jones, a chapter from Cavendish
on Whist. How to play it on the other hand (the rest of the book), can be put up, if
requested.
FEB. 3, 2006. Two stories by Agnolo Firenzuola, translated by Thomas Roscoe.
FEB. 2, 2006. More stories from the Italian Novelists, the 16th century, now translated by
Thomas Roscoe:
Bernardo Illicini ( aka Ollicino or Licinio),
Alessandro Girolamo Sozzini, (showcasing some arrant rascals!)
Machiavelli's Belphagor, the original version by Roscoe, his pirated version with more
paragraphs, and Americanization of the spelling is here. It is a little easier reading with the
paragraph breaks. The lack of them in the translation I'm using was probably to save
paper and space. Later editions were in multiple volumes and this is complete in one
volume, and a massive one to boot. The critical notes show that Roscoe and Dunlop did
not get the story at all, and totally missed the humor of it. And it is very funny.
FEB.. 1, 2006. How interesting it is to discover the source of Shakespeare's plays!
Rome and Juliet came it seems from a tale told by Massuccio, who borrowed it from the
East. See the story of Mariotto and Giannozza, Novella XXXII.
Even more interesting, is the opinion that it was told even better by Luigi da Porto in La
Giulietta (Juliet). So much better that later portrayals of Shakespeare"s play were
modified to use the ending written by da Porto. Shakespeare hadn't read this version
himself, it is felt, or he would have certainly used this ending in the first place. Here is the
story with the notes and translation (semi-proofed), by Thomas Roscoe, so you can see
for yourself.
Although the style looks a little antiquated to us now, It is certainly easier reading than
Shakespeare who, unfortunately, is not modernized enough so that he can be
appreciated more by those who don't to wish to have to learn a new dialect (Elizabethan
English) in order to read a good story.
JAN. 31, 2006. A few 'novels', really short tales, of two fifteenth century Italian Novelists,
translated by Thomas Roscoe are up (not proofed):
Massuccio Salernitano (Masuccio di Salerno), and
Sabadino degli Arienti (Giovanni Sabbadino).
Several anthologies pirate Roscoe's work, and use his translations with out giving him
any credit. When we find this out, we add it to the work, if we have that in another
online text.
JAN. 30, 2006. Re-formatted a little.
More from the The World's Wit and Humor, all the translators they have used are not
credited (until they get to the times of living authors with living lawyers). These are
'anonymous':
Up: The Making of Master Messerin by Rustico di Filippo (13th century),
What i Should Like to Do by Cecco Angolieri (14th century),
The Ridiculous End of Morgante and Margutte by Luigi Pulci (1432-1484): ,
Some more Masuccio (Massucio) (15th century):
The Inheritance of a Library, and
The Silver Cup and the Lamprey, and
Lying in Bed by Francesco Berni (c. 1497-1535 A. D.) .
JAN. 25, 2006. Three Poor Mariners, a catchy song from the 1700's by Thomas
Ravenscroft is up.
JAN. 22, 2006. The White Wolf of Kostopchin by Sir Gilbert Campbell is up, if you are in the
mood for a spooky tale.
Also, a very interesting look at the life and literature of Persia seen by the British
Ambassador Sir Robert Malcolm in Persian Forms and Fables. Another traveler to Persia,
Arnold Arthur is a less charming writer but his visit to Koom is interesting nonetheless,
here in A Persian Governor.
A few poems are up, The Story of 'Lorn Light by Thomas Hood is a ballad of romantic
pathos with positive results like the origin of the course called Advanced Trauma Life
Support which was the outgrowth of a doctor's personal tragedy. And The Launching of
the Ship by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, the first part of which has a powerful
metaphor. Thomas Tilton's poem, All Things Shall Pass Away, is up, too. This title is a
common quote and now you know where it came from.
The History of Football in England by Montague Shearman is fitting for Superbowl Month
(is it over yet?)
Some Celebrated English Letter Writers of the 18th and 19th century are here: Pope,
Byron, Shelley, Gray, Lamb, Walpole and Cowper.
Distinguishing Characteristics of European Civilization is an Extract from the French
historian and statesman F. Guizot's General History of Civilization in Europe.
Some of Ser Giovanni Fiorentino's stories from Il Pecorone from The Italian Novelists,
translated by Thomas Roscoe. A few are fiction, some are based on Giovanni Villani's
Chronicle of Florence (which is also here, in part).
Lastly, some more 19th century humor from England-- An Undergraduate's Aunt by
Francis Anstey (Thomas Anstey Guthrie), and The Gridiron by Samuel Lover.
JAN. 16, 2006. Having been charmed by Thomas Roscoe's selection of Don Juan Manuel's
works, I was thrilled to find that the whole book has been translated. Here it is , complete
(though not proofed)--Count Lucanor, The Fifty Pleasant Stories of Patronio, translated
by R. York, MD.
Also, some fables by Pilpay and the first chapter by John Timbs on Sarum Castle from
Abbeys, Castles and Ancient Halls of England and Wales, revised and enlarged by
Alexander Gunn.
JAN. 7, 2006. A treat! A Sublime Elopement by Benjamin Disraeli, Lord Beaconsfield. The
perfect parody.
JAN. 7, 2006. A Legend from Korea, called The Rabbit's Eye, is up (and proofed). Plus a
funny poem, The Logical Vegetarian by G. K. Chesterton, and a startling poem by Thomas
Gordon Hake, The Infant Medusa.
JAN. 2, 2006. Happy New Year! Happy? Well, not if you agree with Juno Wye here in
Happy December, Sad January?
Also up, the only complete English translation of the Mimes of Herondas (aka Herodas),
translated and with notes + intro by M. S. Buck.
Go to the Archives, for the last year and a half of stuff. Now this page will load faster!