Chapter VIII: The Greek and Latin Classics

The collections of first and early editions of the Greek and Latin classics in the original which, a century or two ago, formed the backbone of nearly all collections of note, have since, as mentioned elsewhere, lost much of their interest for the bibliophile. A rare, uncut editio princeps of Homer may still produce from its sale, as in Dibdin's day, "a little annuity," and perhaps an annuity which would have made Dibdin gasp; but this volume may possibly be considered an exception.

The present practical neglect of the Greek and Latin languages, except as college exercises, may in a certain measure be responsible for the modern lack of interest in the original classics, since the bibliophile may be pardoned, in a sense, for not buying books in which his interest is limited to possession and which he is unable to read with any degree of satisfaction.

The past three hundred years of English literature, however, have produced a great number of translations from these classics, the best, no doubt, being made by men of independent income with the ability and leisure to turn their hands toward such work. A careful sifting of these translations, therefore, might very well furnish the bibliophile who is inclined toward such reading with a library of classics easily readable in good, accurate translation. The cost of such a collection would be comparatively moderate, and if care were taken in the selection to obtain first or early editions of the translations recognized as having the best literary qualities, there is little reason to doubt that the collection would have a very positive value. The subject is, perhaps, interesting enough to justify a few details.

The principal stumbling block, and that which renders the ordinary published "classic" libraries of doubtful value, is the delicate question of expurgation and that of abridgment. Any translation is, at best, a substitute; but an incomplete one is worse than none at all. There are, however, a few volumes in which the collector will be interested, which will be obtained, in all their original naÔvete, only with difficulty.

Suppose a nucleus for such a collection were to be assembled. One would, of course, begin with Homer. The best translation in prose is by Andrew Lang and others; the Iliad, 1883; the Odyssey, 1879. The most readable verse translation is that by William Cullen Bryant, in four volumes, Boston, 1870-1871. This version, unfortunately, gives the Roman form of the names of the Greek gods--a concession to unnecessary corruption--but is otherwise very faithful.

After Homer, perhaps Plato's Dialogues, of which the best translation is that by B. Jowett, in five volumes, Oxford, 1875, third edition, revised, 1892. And of Plutarch's Lives, which follows naturally, the translation called Dryden's, revised by Clough, five volumes, Boston and London, 1859. Virgil, from the Latins, would accompany these, and of this, a good translation is Dryden's also, revised this time by John Carey, in three volumes, London, 1803. A much rarer edition is the "Aeneidos" of Thomas Phaer, London, 1584, with several reprints, in small black letter.

As a souvenir of lovely Sicily, we would require, of course, the pastorals of Theocritus, of which the best translation is that in prose by Andrew Lang, London, 1880. In this rendering two passages of about two lines each are left untranslated, but the omission is too slight to be serious. The same volume also contains the poems of Bion and Moschus. A good verse translation is that by C. S. Calverley, Cambridge (England), 1869. With Theocritus we must read Sappho, "the poetess," the ancients called her, as they called Homer "the poet." Meleager, in the poem of his "Garland" of verse, says that he includes "of Sappho's only a few but all roses." And so, indeed, are the few precious fragments which have come down to us. All the known fragments of this poetess, even mere references or quotations of a word or a phrase from ancient writers, which have survived, have been gathered by H. T. Wharton, who gives in his little volume called Sappho, the Greek text and a literal translation of each fragment, together with various verse translations of interest. The first edition of this book appeared in 1885, the third and definite edition in 1895. Both were published in London; the former by David Stott, the latter by John Lane.

Of Anacreon's lyrics, only a few fragments remain. The Anacreontea were translated by Thomas Stanley, London, 1651; reprinted by Lawrence and Bullen, London, 1893. The reprint may be had on Japan vellum and on vellum.

Of the Greek Anthology, the famous collection of Greek epigrams composed between about B. C. 450 and A. D. 550, there are many volumes of translated "selections." The best and most poetic, although the rendering is in prose, is that by J. W. Mackail, London, 1890, revised 1906 and 1911. The greater part of the Anthology, which contains over three thousand five hundred epigrams, was translated into readable verse by Major Robert McGregor, London, 1864, but the spirit of this rendering is indifferent. A complete translation into prose of the entire Anthology, omitting only the ultra-erotic and paederastic epigrams, is now in process of publication in five volumes by Heinemann, London. This would be, when complete, the most desirable all-around translation were it not for the bald and unpoetic literalness of the rendering; of which, as an instance, one could note the passage in the two hundred and twenty-fifth Amatory epigram, which might be translated, "I have a wound of love which never heals * * *"; but which is rendered, "My love is a running sore * * *"

With the poets, Catullus must be included; the best and only complete translation is that by Richard F. Burton and Leonard Smithers, London, privately printed, 1894. This volume gives the Latin text, a complete prose rendering by Smithers, and a characteristic verse rendering by Burton. In the latter, some erotic passages are missing, due, according to Lady Burton's statement, to an incomplete manuscript.

Among the dramatists there are Aeschylus, whose tragedies were translated in verse by R. Potter, London, 1777, and Sophocles, whose tragedies were translated by the same hand, London, 1788. Edward FitzGerald's rendering of the Agamemnon of Aeschylus, London, 1876, which does not, however, pretend to be a close translation, may well be included for the unusual beauty of its verse. The comedies of Terence have had several translators. The best close rendering is that in prose, privately printed by the "Roman Society," in two volumes, 1900-1901. Copies of this translation are scarce, as the edition was limited to two hundred and sixty copies.

Aristophanes is, of course, essential, but of the eleven comedies of his which are extant, there is only one complete translation, that privately printed under the imprint of the "Athenian Society," in two volumes, London, 1912, and limited to six hundred and twenty-five copies. These comedies have, perhaps, no equal in all literature, except in Rabelais, and the translation mentioned not only does them full justice, although in prose, but also furnishes exhaustive and illuminating notes necessary for the full understanding of all the humor. Four of the comedies were translated into admirable verse by J. H. Frere, Malta, 1839, and are well worth having, although, of course, Aristophanes' frequent and characteristic "obsceneties" are omitted.

Among the satirists we have the Latins, Martial and Juvenal, and the Greek Lucian. The best Martial in English is the "Ex Otio Negotium" of R. Fletcher, London, 1656, reprinted in an edition of one hundred and five copies in 1893. Only selected epigrams are given, those selected being rendered rather freely, but there is no semblance of emasculation and the essential genius of translation is present. A good Juvenal is the verse translation by Robert Stapylton, London, 1647. A fair prose rendering, with the Latin text, is found in an anonymous translation issued, with Sheridan's translation of Persius, in 1777. Of Lucian's many works, there are almost innumerable translations, nearly all of which are expurgated. A good rendering of Selected Dialogues is that by Howard Williams, London, Bell. The "True History," which contains, as might be expected, the wildest flights of imagination, was translated by Francis Hickes, London, 1634; privately reprinted in a limited edition, with the Greek text, in 1896.

The immortal "Golden Ass" of Lucius Apuleius is attractive in the quaint Elizabethan version of William Adlington, of which five editions in small black letter were printed between 1566 and 1639. A modern reprint was issued by David Nutt, London, in 1893. The translation is not always accurate, but it is sufficiently so and it is particularly treasured as a fine specimen of the prose of that period. Apuleius exists in complete translation in the rendering by F. D. Byrne, printed in Paris in 1904, in a limited and private edition. The edition has numerous indifferent plates, and was reprinted, in incomplete translation, with several plates omitted, under a London imprint, of the same date. The translation reads rather more easily than the rendering by Thomas Taylor, London, 1822, and includes the erotic passages which, like all similar passages in the classics, are incorporated with ingenuous shamelessness and are, as might be expected, quite harmless. For Taylor's translation, these "passages suppressed" were supplied on separate sheets.

Among the "impudiques et charmants," as Pierre Louys calls them, must be mentioned the famous Satyricon of Petronius, of which Charles Carrington has printed the only complete translation, with his own imprint, Paris 1902, in an edition of five hundred and fifteen copies, since reprinted. The first edition bears a slip attributing the translation to Oscar Wilde, but the work has not the slightest internal evidence to support this. Also the "Priapeia" a collection of Latin epigrams of the best period, all bearing on the god Priapus. Two hundred and fifty copies of a translation of this small anthology were issued by the Erotika Biblion Society, "Athens" 1888. Notes on various subjects occupy more than half the volume.

Of the early romances, the most desirable is doubtless the "Daphnis and Chloe" of Longus who wrote early in the Christian era. This work has been said to belong more to French than to Greek literature, so enthusiastically was it adopted in France; and, in fact, the first printed edition of the work, translated by Bishop Amyot in 1559, preceded the editio princeps of the Greek text by forty years. A great many French editions have been printed, some with charming illustrations. The edition with notes by A. Pons and vignettes by Scott, Paris, Quantin 1878, gives a full French translation of the Greek text and an exhaustive bibliography in an attractive format. The only complete translation in English is that issued to subscribers by the Athenian Society in 1896.

This Athenian Society issued to two hundred and fifty legitimate subscribers, between the years 1895 and 1898, seven volumes of complete translations from the Greek, of which several volumes, like the Longus, were the first complete translations into English. On account of the very limited issue, the volumes are very scarce, especially in sets. The complete issue was as follows: Lucian: The Ass. Dialogues of Courtesans. Amores.--Procopius: Anecdota.--Alciphron: Letters.--Longus: Daphnis and Chloe.--Heliodorus: Three books of the ∆thiopica.--Achilles Tatius: Four Books of The Loves of Cleitophon and Leucippe.--Aristophanes: The Acharnians. The Knights. The Clouds. The volumes also included the Greek text.

The general subject of classic translations is an interesting one and capable of almost infinite expansion. One might form a very imposing collection of books by merely gathering editions of Daphnis and Chloe, for instance. But the bibliophile, whether he collects Greek and Latin translations, or books on angling, can perhaps best follow his own taste and judgment, when once he has secured a nucleus from which to start, and fairly understands the possibilities--and limitations--of his subject.

These books--thin boards and sheets of fragile paper--have lived while countless men have died; through the rise and fall of princes; through wars and ruin and tempests.

Other hands, long since forgotten, have cared for them and kept them safely. Now they are here in trust with me; and I, in my turn, linger over them, hoping that other Owners, yet unborn, may treat them gently as I, and those before, have done.

INDEX

Association Books, 107

Auctions, 102

Autographs in books, 16, 25, 107

Autograph Letters in books, 108

Back, Lining up, 20, 48

Back, Shaken or broken, 19

Binding, Cheap, 78
Elaborate, 103
Original, 73, 83, 92

Bleaching, 33, 35

Book-worms, 93

Books as an investment, 101

Book sizes, 94

Catalogues, 102

Cataloguing, 94

Collating, 15

Corners, Repairing, 22, 63

Covers (leather), Cleaning, 51
Patching, 55
Polishing, 56, 90
Restoring, 55
Transferring, 72

Dealers, 99

Dusting, 15, 91

Edges, Cleaning, 65
Gilt or Uncut, 81

Finishing new back, 46

Gilt, Removing, 71
Restoring, 67

Glaire, 59

Hinges, Repairing, 62

Ink, Brightening autographs in, 26
Removing, 33, 54, 66

Inlaying covers, 60

Inlaying pages, 18

Inlays, Tinting, 18

Kama Shastra Society, 106

Leather for bindings, 39, 84

Leather Paste for inlays, 61

Light, Effect on books of, 90

Limited Editions, 106

Lining up backs, 20

Marginal MS Notes, 16

Margins, Trimming, 78

Modern Editions, 105

Niger Morocco, 85

Old Paper imitated, 18

Pages, Repairing torn, 17

Paste for repairs, 20

Presentation copies, 16, 84, 107

Preservative for leather, 40

Preservative Polish, 90

Privately Printed books, 106

Rarity of books, 104

Rebacking, Tools for, 47

Rebinding, Best leather for, 84
Directions for, 80
For Amateurs, 79
Price of, 77, 82
When advisable, 55

Report of the Committee on Leather for Bookbinding, 85, 90

Re-tinting, 31

Sewing, 82

Shelves, Lining for, 64, 91

Sizing, 22, 30

Slip-cases, 84

Slip-covers, 92

Spots, Small, 30, 54

Stains, 31

Stains of Blood, 34
Egg Yellow, 33
Fecal Matters or Urine, 34
Fruit Juice, 34
Grease, 31, 54
Ink, 33, 54, 66
Mud, 33
Sealing-wax or Resin, 32
Stearine, 32
Tar and Pitch, 32
Unknown Origin, 30
White or Yellow Wax, 32

Tools, Making, 68

Tooling, 46, 67

Tooling, Restoring old, 67

Transferred Impressions, 34

Varnish for bindings, 57

Vellum Bindings, Cleaning, 59

Velvet for shelves, 64, 91

Washing, 33, 35

Footnotes:

[1] M. R. Yve-Plessis in his "Petit Essai de Biblio-Therapeutique" suggests an excellent way of preparing a paper patch for an inlay. Which is, to lay the paper from which the patch is to be taken under the torn page and trace the outlines of the tear on the new paper with a clean pen filled with water. By tracing over several times, the water will saturate the new paper on the line made by the pen, so that the paper may be pulled apart, providing a patch having more exact outlines than could be secured by cutting with scissors.

[2] In 1809 Paul Louis Courier discovered at Florence a complete manuscript of Daphnis and Chloe, containing a long passage in Part I which was missing in all texts known until that time, and the existence of which, as a connecting passage, had long been a subject of speculation among scholars. Unfortunately, he had hardly more than completed a transcript of his discovery when he accidentally upset a bottle of ink over the original manuscript, partly obliterating the passage. The incident caused a bitter controversy among scholars. Courier was violently attacked and, although he had fifty copies of his text printed for special distribution, was even accused of purposely spilling the ink in order to render his transcript unique. M. S. B.

[3] M. R. Yve-Plessis, elsewhere quoted, suggests that it may sometimes be desirable to strengthen the ink of some valuable and desirable signature, instead of removing it, and for this purpose recommends a mixture of: Tannin, six grammes; alcohol, thirty-five grammes; distilled water, one hundred grammes; applied with a small brush and the part afterwards brushed over several times with clear water. This operation, however, should certainly not be undertaken except in extreme cases where the signature appeared ready to entirely fade out. M. S. B.

[4] In a note on this subject, Bonnardot warns the amateur against careless or unskilful use of the various chemicals mentioned, as many of them, improperly handled, not only irreparably damage the page or print, but also inflict serious injury on the operator himself. M. S. B.

[5] After sheets have been cleaned by soaking or washing, they should be re-sized. Sizing is made by dissolving half an ounce of isinglass in a pint of water. The mixture is used at a temperature of about one hundred and twenty-five degrees Fahrenheit and in a shallow pan. Sheets are left in for a few seconds only and then dried between sheets of blotting paper. Sizing will often restore old paper which has become soft. M. S. B.

[6] Potassium permanganate, described in the chapter on _General Restoration_, is applicable for this operation. In operating on a spot on the page of a bound book, care should be taken always to place two or three sheets of clean blotting paper under the page to prevent any liquid from soaking through to the next page. M. S. B.

[7] Applied with a brush, first around the outside of the spot, then in narrowing circles until the centre is reached. Blotting paper is then placed on both sides of the sheet, over the spot, and a hot flat-iron applied. The absorbent powder ("French Chalk" answers very well) will operate better if the powdered sheet is enclosed simply between two pieces of paper, and a hot flat-iron applied. Plenty of powder should be used. M. S. B.

[8] Before and after using oxalic acid on ink stains, it is best to wash the spot or page with hydrochloric acid mixed with about seven times its volume of water. In bleaching ink from a page, a white mark almost always remains, especially noticeable if the paper is tinted with age. It is far better to soak the whole page, to secure uniform bleaching, and then, if necessary, retint the page to its former color, than to attempt to operate on part of a page only. Sometimes, when a book is loosely bound, the page can be carefully cut out, close to the sewing, and pasted in again when it has been washed and dried as desired. This is, however, a questionable practice, and may seriously injure the value of the book, and on a valuable book it is better to cut the sewing and remove the entire signature, then have the book rebound, or resewn and returned to the old covers, as may be most advisable. M. S. B.

[9] Bonnardot mentions several processes for bleaching a print, equally applicable to the same operation on the pages of a book. I translate the process which seems to be the simplest and most effective. It will be noted that he does not mention the size of the bottle in which the amount of chemical he advises is to be dissolved. I would suggest a full quart bottle, and also that the amateur operator thoroughly try the effect of his solution on some old pieces of paper to make sure it is too weak to injure the body of the paper. M. S. B.

[10] Bonnardot, at this point, discusses in considerable detail various opinions as to the removal of these iron oxide stains, but without coming to any definite conclusion except that they are "of all stains, the most tenacious." Experiments in chemistry, especially upon any binding of value, should not be lightly undertaken. The use of water-colors for retinting the spot of yellowish bleach might be tried with more safety and a greater possibility of success. M. S. B.

[11] Certain bindings of the sixteenth century have on their covers designs in tint formed simply of water colors. In such cases, the flour paste should not be used, or else the designs should first be accurately traced so that they can be restored, if necessary, after the operation.

[12] Centigrade, i. e. ninety-seven to one hundred and four degrees Fahrenheit. M. S. B.

[13] At the beginning. M. S. B.

[14] The best modern practice in making glaire is to beat up the white of an egg with about half its quantity of vinegar, allowing the mixture to stand over night. This mixture, covered, will keep for several days, or until it gets thick and cloudy. M. S. B.

[15] Unbroken surfaces of white vellum can easily be cleaned with a soft pencil-eraser. A vellum binding which is "tacky" may be rubbed over with powdered soapstone after cleaning. M. S. B.

[16] Whiting (chalk) used as a pigment. M. S. B.

[17] One hundred and fifty-eight degrees Fahrenheit. M. S. B.

[18] This operation does not seem entirely clear, but the idea is evidently to fold a thin strip of the skin into a "V" shape, inserting the strip, folded edge up or down, as the condition of the hinge may require, into the broken hinge all along its length, gluing the arms of the "V," one to the back and one to the cover to form a new, folded hinge. The operator will probably find, however, that when the hinges of a book are broken through a better and more lasting procedure is to reback the book. Gold-beaters skin is the outside membrane of the large intestine of the ox, properly prepared. Where the hinges of a book are broken, it is better to provide new leather hinges, using strips about half an inch wide slipped in under the broken edges and carried over the edge of the boards at top and bottom. Raise the broken edges, for the proper distance, from back and boards, and paste down again over the new hinge. M. S. B.

[19] To prevent wear on the lower corners and edges of books in the library, strips of velvet may be laid along the shelves under the books. If this is done, the little extra care required in removing and replacing the books without wrinkling up the velvet will be more than offset by the protection which the velvet gives. M. S. B.

[20] Gilding, especially if modern, is apt to soften and come off if rubbed with water. M. S. B.

[21] See my remarks on lining up with Japan vellum in the chapter on _General Restoration_. M. S. B.

[22] In this place, Bonnardot gives a few simple suggestions for repairing broken fragments of the gold tooling. The amateur is cautioned not to attempt the application of hot gilding tools and gold leaf to any binding for which he has any regard unless he has carefully prepared himself by thoroughly studying the detailed directions for this work which may be found in text-books on binding, and by extensive practice on odd pieces of various leathers. M. S. B.

[23] All set, of course, in wooden or pottery handles. Wooden handles for such tools, or the tools themselves, may be procured at moderate prices from dealers in bookbinders' materials. M. S. B.

[24] The impression should first be made on the leather by the hot tool, without gold, and painted with glaire. When the glaire is nearly dry, a fragment of gold-leaf is picked up on a pad of cotton wool slightly touched with cocoanut oil and pressed down on the blind impression of the tool. The tool is then pressed into its former impression, setting the gold. The process is very delicate; the tool must be perfectly clean and the gold-leaf, which is very difficult to handle, worked from a padded cloth dusted with brick-dust, or a similar substance, to prevent the leaf from adhering there while it is being cut to the proper size. M. S. B.

[25] Wax would, of course, be used hot. M. S. B.

[26] As mentioned in a note above, gold may often be loosened by merely removing the varnish and thoroughly moistening with water, after which the metal may be coaxed out with a thin, smooth, wooden splinter, preferably wound on the end with a bit of cotton wool. M. S. B.

[27] Or: Gilt edges. (This requires, in many cases, considerable trimming all around.) Or: Bottom and fore edges gilt on uncut edges. (This is a more expensive process and a rather delicate one. It is not in general use.)

[28] It is often difficult to persuade a binder to sew on flat bands or outside cords. The usual, and easiest method is to saw into the backs of the signatures and lay the cords in the "V" shaped cut thus made. This method of sewing should be protested against unless the book has already been so treated in a former binding and no additional cutting is required. Most of the raised bands found on modern bindings are "false," being in no way an essential part of the binding and serving no practical purpose. Even their use as guides for decoration is doubtful, as they tend to unnecessary convention.

[29] On a valuable book in an expensive binding, the end papers should be sewn in. This means extra trouble for the binder and calls for a little extra charge. End papers are very seldom sewn in on modern bindings, although often so secured in bindings of a century or two ago.

[30] This Society has been credited--or otherwise--with so many volumes, chiefly of an erotic nature, which it never issued, that a list of the genuine volumes, issued with the authority and consent of Sir Richard Burton, may be of interest. These are: Kama Sutra, of Vatsyayana, 1883; Amanga Ranga, of Kalyana Mall, 1885; The Beharistan, of Jami, 1887; The Gulistan, of Sa'di, 1888; Alf Laylah wa Laylah (The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night), ten volumes, 1885; Supplemental Nights to The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night, six volumes, 1886-1888. These volumes are all listed in a four page folder, which accompanied Vol. 5, of the Supplemental Nights. The folder mentions two other volumes in preparation; The Nigaristan of Jawini, and The Scented Garden, of the Shaykh al-Nafzawi. The former translation was never issued; the latter translation, made by Sir Richard himself, was burned in MS by his wife, shortly after his death. The only translation of al-Nafzawi bearing the Kama Shastra Society imprint, was issued in 1886, in white vellum, uniform with the other single volumes listed above with the title of The Perfumed Garden. This translation, which was made through a French version, is described, and practically acknowledged as a book of the Society, in a foot-note on page 133, Vol. 10, of the Nights.

Transcriber's Notes:

Passages in italics are indicated by _underscore_.

The following misprints have been corrected:
"is" corrected to "it" (page 29)
"or" corrected to "of" (page 33)
"prefessional" corrected to "professional" (page 67)
"effact" corrected to "effect" (page 68)
"tranlsated" corrected to "translated" (page 114)