Atlantic Monthly, Volume 12, No. 73, November, 1863 by Various

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"Le Cardinal, oracle de la France,
Reunissaut Virgile avec Platon,
_Vengeur du ciel et vainqueur de Lucrece_."

The last line of this remarkable eulogy has a movement and balance not
unlike the Latin verse of Turgot, or that which suggested it in the poem
of Polignac; but the praise which it so pointedly offers attests the
fame of the author; nor was this praise confined to the "fine frenzy" of
verse. The "Anti-Lucretius" was gravely pronounced the "rival of the
poem which it answered,"--"with verses as flowing as Ovid, sometimes
approaching the elegant simplicity of Horace and sometimes the nobleness
of Virgil,"--and then again, with a philosophy and a poetry combined
"which would not be disavowed either by Descartes or by Virgil."[48]

Turning now to the poem itself, we shall see how completely the verse of
Turgot finds its prototype there. Epicurus is indignantly described as
denying to the gods all power, and declaring man independent, so as to
act for himself; and here the poet says, "Braving the thunderous
recesses of heaven, _he snatched the lightning from Jove and the arrows
from Apollo_, and, liberating the mortal race, ordered it to dare all
things,"--

"Coeli et tonitralia templa lacessens,
_Eripuit fulmenque Jovi, Phoeboque sagittas_;
Et mortale manumittens genus, omnia jussit
Audere."[49]

To deny the power of God and to declare independence of His commands,
which the poet here holds up to judgment, is very unlike the life of
Franklin, all whose service was in obedience to God's laws, whether in
snatching the lightning from the skies or the sceptre from tyrants; and
yet it is evident that the verse which pictured Epicurus in his impiety
suggested the picture of the American plenipotentiary in his double
labors of science and statesmanship.

But the present story will not be complete without an allusion to that
poem of antiquity which was supposed to have suggested the verse of
Turgot, and which doubtless did suggest the verse of the
"Anti-Lucretius." Manilius is a poet little known. It is difficult to
say when he lived or what he was. He is sometimes supposed to have lived
under Augustus, and sometimes under Theodosius. He is sometimes supposed
to have been a Roman slave, and sometimes a Roman senator. His poem,
under the name of "Astronomicon," is a treatise on astronomy in verse,
which recounts the origin of the material universe, exhibits the
relations of the heavenly bodies, and vindicates this ancient science.
It is while describing the growth of knowledge, which gradually mastered
Nature, that the poet says,--

"Eriputque Jovi fulmen, viresque tonandi."[50]

The meaning of this line will be seen in the context, which, for
plainness as well as curiosity, I quote from a metrical version of the
first book of the poem,[51] entitled, "The Sphere of Marcus Manilius
made an English Poem, by Edward Sherburne," which was dedicated to
Charles II.:--

"Nor put they to their curious search an end
Till reason had scaled heaven, thence viewed this round
And Nature latent in its causes found:
Why thunder does the suffering clouds assail;
Why winter's snow more soft than summer's hail;
Whence earthquakes come and subterranean fires;
Why showers descend, what force the wind inspires:
From error thus the wondering minds uncharmed,
_Unsceptred Jove, the Thunderer disarmed_."

Enough has been said on the question of origin; but there is yet one
other aspect of the story.

The verse was hardly divulged when it became the occasion of various
efforts in the way of translation. Turgot had already done it into
French; so had D'Alembert. M. Nogaret wrote to Franklin, inclosing an
attempted translation, and says in his letter,--"The French have done
their best to translate the Latin verse, where justice is done you in so
few words. They have appeared as jealous of transporting this eulogy
into their language as they are of possessing you. But nobody has
succeeded, and I think nobody will succeed."[52] He then quotes a
translation which he thinks defective, although it appeared in the
"Almanach des Muses" as the best:--

"Cet homme que tu vois, sublime en tous les tems,
Derobe aux dieux la foudre et le sceptre aux tyrans."

To this letter Dr. Franklin made the following reply:[53]--

"_Passy, 8 March, 1781_.

"SIR,--I received the letter you have done me the honor of writing
to me the 2d instant, wherein, after overwhelming me with a flood
of compliments, which I can never hope to merit, you request my
opinion of your translation of a Latin verse that has been applied
to me. If I were, which I really am not, sufficiently skilled in
your excellent language to be a proper judge of its poesy, the
supposition of my being the subject must restrain me from giving
any opinion on that line, except that it ascribes too much to me,
especially in what relates to the tyrant, the Revolution having
been the work of many able and brave men, wherein it is sufficient
honor for me, if I am allowed a small share. I am much obliged by
the favorable sentiments you are pleased to entertain of me.

"With regard, I have the honor to be, Sir, etc.,

"B. FRANKLIN."

In his acknowledgment of this letter M. Nogaret says,--"Paris is pleased
with the translation of your '_Eripuit_,' and your portrait, as I had
foreseen, makes the fortune of the engraver."[54] But it does not appear
to which translation he refers.

Here is another attempt:--

"Il a par ses travaux, toujours plus etonnans,
Ravi la foudre aux Dieux et le sceptre aux tyrans."

There are other verses which adopt the idea of Turgot. Here, for
instance, is a part of a song by the Abbe Morellet, written for one of
the dinners of Madame Helvetius:[55]--

"Comme un aigle audacieux,
Il a vole jusqu'aux cieux,
_Et derobe le tonnerre_
Dont ils effrayaient la terre,
Heureux larcin
De l'habile Benjamin.

"L'Americain indompte
_Recouvre sa liberte_;
Et ce genereux ouvrage,
Autre exploit de notre sage,
Est mis a fin
Par Louis et Benjamin."

Mr. Sparks found among Franklin's papers the following paraphrastic
version:[56]--

"Franklin sut arreter la foudre dans les airs,
Et c'est le moindre bien qu'il fit a sa patrie;
Au milieu de climats divers,
Ou dominait la tyrannie,
Il fit regner les arts, les moeurs, et le genie;
Et voila le heros que j'offre a l'univers."

Nor should I omit a translation into English by Mr. Elphinstone:--

"He snatched the bolt from Heaven's avenging hand,
Disarmed and drove the tyrant from the land."

In concluding this sketch, I wish to say that the literary associations
of the subject did not tempt me; but I could not resist the inducement
to present in its proper character an interesting incident which can be
truly comprehended only when it is recognized in its political
relations. To this end it was important to exhibit its history, even in
details, so that the verse which has occupied so much attention should
be seen not only in its scholarly fascination, but in its wide-spread
influence in the circles of the learned and the circles even of the
fashionable in Paris and throughout France, binding this great nation by
an unchangeable vow to the support of American liberty. Words are
sometimes things; but never were words so completely things as those
with which Turgot welcomed Franklin. The memory of that welcome cannot
be forgotten in America. Can it ever be forgotten in France?

POSTSCRIPT.

And now the country is amazed by the report that the original welcome of
France to America and the inspired welcome of Turgot to Franklin are
forgotten by the France of this day, or, rather let me say, forgotten by
the Emperor, whose memory for the time is the memory of France. It is
said that Louis Napoleon is concerting an alliance with the Rebel
slavemongers of our country, founded on the recognition of their
independence, so that they may take their place as a new power in the
family of nations. Indeed, we have been told, through the columns of the
official organ, the "Moniteur," that he wishes to do this thing. Perhaps
he imagines that he follows the great example of the last century.

What madness!

The two cases are in perfect contrast,--as opposite as the poles, as
unlike as Liberty and Slavery.

The struggle for American Independence was a struggle for Liberty, and
was elevated throughout by this holy cause. But the struggle for
Slavemonger Independence is necessarily and plainly a struggle for
Slavery, and is degraded throughout by the unutterable vileness of all
its barefaced pretensions.

The earlier struggle, adopted by the enlightened genius of France, was
solemnly placed under the benediction of "God and Liberty." The present
struggle, happily thus far discarded by that same enlightened genius,
can have no other benediction than "Satan and Slavery."

The earlier struggle was to snatch the sceptre from a kingly tyrant. The
present struggle is to put whips into the hands of Rebel slavemongers
with which _to compel work without wages_, and thus give wicked power to
vulgar tyrants without number.

The earlier struggle was fitly pictured by the welcome of Turgot to
Franklin. But another spirit must be found, and other words must be
invented, to picture the struggle which it is now proposed to place
under the protection of France.

The earlier struggle was grandly represented by Benjamin Franklin, who
was already known by a sublime discovery in science. The present
struggle is characteristically represented by John Slidell, whose great
fame is from the electioneering frauds by which he sought to control a
Presidential election; so that his whole life is fitly pictured, when it
is said, that he thrust fraudulent votes into the ballot-box, and whips
into the hands of task-masters.

The earlier struggle was predicted by Turgot, who said, that, in the
course of Nature, colonies must drop from the parent stem, like ripe
fruit. But where is the Turgot who has predicted, that, in the course of
Nature, the great Republic must be broken, in order to found a new power
on the corner-stone of Slavery?

The earlier struggle gathered about it the sympathy of the learned, the
good, and the wise, while the people of France rose up to call it
blessed. The present struggle can expect nothing but detestation from
all who are not lost to duty and honor, while the people of France must
cover it with curses.

The earlier struggle enjoyed the favor of France, whether in assemblies
of learning or of fashion, in spite of its King. It remains to be seen
if the present struggle must not ignobly fail in France, still mindful
of its early vows, in spite of its Emperor.

Where duty and honor are so plain, it is painful to think that even for
a moment there can be any hesitation.

Alas for France!

* * * * *

REVIEWS AND LITERARY NOTICES.

_History of Spanish Literature._ By GEORGE TICKNOR. In Three Volumes.
Third American Edition, corrected and enlarged. Boston: Ticknor &
Fields.

The first edition of this work was published in 1849, in three volumes
octavo, and it is hardly necessary for us to add, that it was received
with very great favor both at home and abroad. Indeed, we may go
farther, and say that it was received with the highest favor by those
who were best qualified to pronounce upon its merits. The audience which
it addressed was small at home, and not numerous anywhere; for the
literature of Spain, in general, does not present strong attractions to
those who are not natives of the Peninsula. In our country, at the time
of its publication, there was hardly a man competent to examine and
criticize it; and in Europe, outside of Spain itself, the number of
thorough Spanish scholars was and is but small, and of these a large
proportion is found in Germany. But by these, whether in Germany,
France, or England, Mr. Ticknor's History was received with a generous
and hearty admiration which must have been to him as authentic a token
of the worth of his book as the voice of posterity itself. But, of
course, it was exposed to the severest trial in Spain, the people of
which are intensely national, loving their literature, like everything
else which belongs to them, with a passionate and exclusive love, and
not disposed to treat with any tenderness a foreign writer who should
lay an incompetent hand upon any of their great writers, though in a
friendly and liberal spirit. But by the scholars and men of letters in
Spain it was greeted with a kindliness of welcome which nothing but the
most substantial excellence could have assured. Universal assent to the
views of a foreigner and a Protestant was not to be expected: this or
that particular judgment was questioned; but no one said, or could say,
that Mr. Ticknor's History was superficial, or hastily prepared, or
prejudiced, or wanting in due proportions. On the other hand, a most
hearty tribute of admiration was paid to its thorough learning, its
minute and patient research, its accurate judgments, its candid temper
and generous spirit. Cultivated Spaniards were amazed that a foreigner
had so thoroughly traced the stream of their literature from its
fountain-heads, omitting nothing, overlooking nothing, and doing justice
to all.

Such a work could never attain any very wide popularity, and this from
the nature of its subject. To the general reader books about books are
never so attractive as histories and biographies, which deal with the
doings of men, and glow with the warmth of human interests. But every
man of literary taste, though but superficially acquainted with Spanish
literature, could recognize the merits of Mr. Ticknor's work, its
philosophical spirit, its lucid arrangement, its elegant and judicious
criticisms, and its neat, correct, and accurate style. He could not fail
to see that the works of Bouterwek and Sismondi were, by comparison,
merely a series of graceful sketches, with no claim to be called a
complete and thorough history. It took its place at once as the highest
authority in any language upon the subject of which it treated, as the
very first book which everybody would consult who wanted any information
upon that subject.

The present edition of the "History of Spanish Literature" is by no
means identical with those which have preceded it. It omits nearly the
whole of the inedited, primitive Castilian poems which have heretofore
filled about seventy pages at the end of the last volume; and in other
parts of the work a corresponding, and even more than a corresponding,
amount of new matter has been introduced, which will, it is believed, be
accounted of greater interest than the early poetry it displaces. These
additions and changes have been derived from very various sources. In
the first place, Mr. Ticknor was in Europe himself in 1856 and 1857, and
visited the principal libraries, public and private, in England, France,
Germany, and Italy, in which any considerable collection of Spanish
books was to be found, and by examination of these supplied any wants
there might be in his own very ample stores. In the second place, his
History has been translated into German and Spanish, the former version
being illustrated with notes by Dr. Ferdinand Wolf, perhaps the best
Spanish scholar in Germany, and the latter by Don Pascual de Gayangos,
one of the best scholars in Spain. From the results of the labors of
these distinguished annotators Mr. Ticknor has taken--with generous
acknowledgment--everything which, in his judgment, could add value,
interest, or completeness to the present revised edition. And lastly, in
the period between the publication of the first edition and the present
time much has been done for the illustration of Spanish literature, both
in the Peninsula and out of it. This is due in part to the interest in
the subject which Mr. Ticknor himself awakened; and in Spain it is one
of the consequences of the rapid progress in material development and
vital energy which that country has been making during the last fifteen
years. New lives of some of its principal writers have been published,
and new editions of their works have been prepared. From all these
sources a very ample supply of new materials has been derived, so that,
while the work remains substantially the same in plan, outline, and
spirit, there are hardly three consecutive pages in it which do not
contain additions and improvements. We will briefly mention a few of the
more prominent of these.

In the first volume, pages 446-455, the life of Garcilasso de la Vega is
almost entirely rewritten from materials found in a recent biography by
Don Eustaquio Navarrete, which Mr. Ticknor pronounces "an important
contribution to Spanish literary history." The writer is the son of the
learned Don Martin Navarrete.

In the second volume, pages 75-81, many new and interesting facts are
stated in regard to the life of Luis de Leon, derived from a recently
published report of the entire official record of his trial before the
Inquisition, of which Mr. Ticknor says that it is "by far the most
important authentic statement known to me respecting the treatment of
men of letters who were accused before that formidable tribunal, and
probably the most curious and important one in existence, whether in
manuscript or in print. Its multitudinous documents fill more than nine
hundred pages, everywhere teeming with instruction and warning on the
subject of ecclesiastical usurpations, and the noiseless, cold, subtle
means by which they crush the intellectual freedom and manly culture of
a people."

In the same volume, pages 118-119, some new and interesting facts are
stated which prove beyond a doubt, that Lope de Vega was actuated by
ungenerous feelings towards his great contemporary, Cervantes. The
evidence is found in some autograph letters of Lope, extracts from which
were made by Duran, and are now published by Von Schack, an excellent
Spanish scholar.

In the same volume, page 191, is a copy of the will of Lope de Vega,
recently discovered, and obtained from the late Lord Holland.

In the same volume, pages 354-357, is a learned bibliographical note
upon the publication and various editions of the plays of Calderon.

In the third volume, Appendix B., pages 408-414, is a learned
bibliographical note on the Romanceros.

In the same volume, Appendix C., pages 419-422, is an elaborate note on
the Centon Epistolario, in reply to an article by the Marques de Pidal.

In the same volume, Appendix D., pages 432-434, is a new postscript on
the clever literary forgery, _El Buscapie_.

At the close of the third volume there are seven pages giving a brief
and condensed account of the several works connected with Spanish
literature which have been published within two or three years past, and
since the stereotype plates for the present work were cast.

The present edition is in a duodecimo, instead of an octavo form, and is
sold at a less price than the previous ones.

In the closing sentences of the preface to this edition, Mr. Ticknor
says: "Its preparation has been a pleasant task, scattered lightly over
the years that have elapsed since the first edition of this work was
published, and that have been passed, like the rest of my life, almost
entirely among my own books. That I shall ever recur to this task again,
for the purpose of further changes or additions, is not at all probable.
My accumulated years forbid any such anticipation; and therefore, with
whatever of regret I may part from what has entered into the happiness
of so considerable a portion of my life, I feel that now I part from it
for the last time. _Extremum hoc munus habeto_." This is a very natural
feeling, and gracefully expressed; but whatever of sadness there may be
in parting from a book which has so long been a constant resource, a
daily companion, may in this case be tempered by the thought that the
work, as now dismissed, is so well founded, so symmetrically
proportioned, so firmly built, as to defy the sharpest criticism--that
of Time itself.

* * * * *

RECENT AMERICAN PUBLICATIONS RECEIVED BY THE EDITORS OF THE ATLANTIC
MONTHLY.

The History, Civil, Political, and Military, of the Southern Rebellion,
from its Incipient Stages to its Close. Comprehending, also, all
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Orville J. Victor. New York. James D. Torrey. Vols. I. and II. 8vo. pp.
viii., 531; viii., 537. per vol. $2.50.

Biographical Sketches of Illinois Officers engaged in the War against
the Rebellion of 1861. By James Grant Wilson, Major commanding Fifteenth
Illinois Cavalry. Enlarged Edition. Illustrated with Portraits. Chicago,
James Barnet. 8vo. paper. pp. 120. 50 cts.

Leaves from the Diary of an Army-Surgeon; or, Incidents of Field, Camp,
and Hospital Life. By Thomas T. Ellis, M.D., late Post-Surgeon at New
York, and Acting Medical Director at Whitehouse, Va. New York. John
Bradburn. 12mo. pp. 312. $1.00.

The Actress in High Life: An Episode in Winter Quarters. New York. John
Bradburn. 12mo. pp. 416. $1.25.

Americans in Rome. By Henry P. Leland. New York. Charles T. Evans. 12mo.
pp. 311. $1.25.

The Castle's Heir: A Novel in Real Life. By Mrs. Henry Wood. In Two
Volumes. Philadelphia. T.B. Peterson & Brothers. 8vo. paper. pp. 144,
260. $1.00.

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 1: The circumstances connected with the introduction of the
British troops into Boston will be found related in the "Atlantic
Monthly" for June, 1862; and the number for the following August
contains a view of the relation of the question of removal to the
arbitrary policy contemplated for the Colonies.]

[Footnote 2: Boston, printed in the "Gazette" of February 12, 1770. A
letter printed in the "Boston Evening Post," October 9, 1789, from
London, received by the last ship, after eulogizing "the noble stand of
the colonists," says, "I am charmed with the prudent conduct of the
Bostonians in particular, and that you have been able lo preserve so
much tranquillity among you, while the spirits of the people must have
been so soured and agitated by oppression. You have certainly very wise
and prudent men concerned in the conduct of your affairs." A Tory view
of Boston in these times, (by "Sagittarius,") is as follows:--"The
Town-Meeting at Boston is the hot-bed of sedition. It is there that all
their dangerous insurrections are engendered; it is there that the flame
of discord and rebellion was first lighted up and disseminated over the
Provinces; it is therefore greatly to be wished that Parliament may
rescue the loyal inhabitants of that town and Province from the
merciless hand of an ignorant mob, led on and inflamed by
self-interested and profligate men."]

[Footnote 3: _Reliq. Wotton._, p. 317, et seq.]

[Footnote 4: Of clay he says, "It is a cursed step-dame to almost all
vegetation, as having few or no meatuses for the percolation of
alimental showers."]

[Footnote 5: Sir William Temple gives this list of his pears:--Blanquet,
Robin, Rousselet, Pepin, Jargonel; and for autumn: Buree, Vertlongue,
and Bergamot.]

[Footnote 6: Brougham's _Speeches_, Vol. II. p. 233.]

[Footnote 7: Vol. IV. p. 443, First Series.]

[Footnote 8: _Notes and Queries_, Vol. V. p. 17.]

[Footnote 9: _Ibid._]

[Footnote 10: Lib. I. v. 104.]

[Footnote 11: Sparks's _Works of Franklin_, Vol. VIII. p. 538.]

[Footnote 12: _Notes and Queries_, Vol. V. p. 549, First Series.]

[Footnote 13: _Ibid_. Vol. V. p. 140. See, also, _Ibid._ Vol. V. p. 571;
Vol. VI. p. 88; _Dublin Review_ for March, 1847, p. 212; _Quarterly
Review_ for June, 1850.]

[Footnote 14: _Oevres de Turgot_, Tom. IX. p. 140.]

[Footnote 15: _Oeuvres de Condorcet_, par O'Connor, Tom. V. p. 162.]

[Footnote 16: Sparks's _Works of Franklin_, Vol. VIII. p. 537; Mignet,
_Notices et Portraits_, Tom. II. p. 480.]

[Footnote 17: Cabania, _Oeuvres_, Tom. V. p. 251.]

[Footnote 18: _Lettres de Madame Du Deffant_, Tom. III. p. 367.]

[Footnote 19: _Ibid_. Tom. IV. p. 35.]

[Footnote 20: Lacretelle, _Histoire de France_, Tom. V. p. 90.]

[Footnote 21: _Oeuvres de Condorcet_, par O'Connor, Tom. V. pp. 406,
407.]

[Footnote 22: Capefigue, _Louis XVI_, Tom. II. pp. 12, 13, 42, 49, 50.
The rose-water biographer of Diane de Poitiers, Madame de Pompadour, and
Madame du Barry would naturally disparage Franklin.]

[Footnote 23: Mignet, _Notices at Portraits_, Tom. II. p. 427.]

[Footnote 24: _La Gazette Secrete_, 15 Jan. 1777; Capefigue, _Louis
XVI._, Tom. II. p. 15.]

[Footnote 25: _Oeuvres de Turgot_, Tom. II. p. 66.]

[Footnote 26: _Oeuvres de Turgot_, Tom. VIII. p. 496.]

[Footnote 27: Vol. X. p. 107.]

[Footnote 28: _Memoires de Madame D'Epinay_, Tom. III. p. 431.]

[Footnote 29: Galiani, _Correspondance_, Tom. II. p. 275, _Lettre de 25
Juillet_, 1778. Nobody saw America with a more prophetic eye than this
inspired Pulcinello of Naples. As far back as the eighteenth of May,
1776, several weeks before the Declaration of Independence, he
wrote,--"The epoch is come for the total fall of Europe and its
transmigration to America. Do not buy your house in the Chaussee
d'Antin, but at Philadelphia. The misfortune for me is that there are no
abbeys in America." Tom. II. p. 203. See also Grimm, _Correspondence_,
Tom. IX. p. 285 (1776).]

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