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June,1903.]

MODERN LANGUAGE NOTES.

189

theyweresuccessful
whether
it maybe questioned
in answeringthe attacksof Wright and of
Howorth. Mr. Plummerexaminesthe question
The Life and T7imeof Alfredthe Great,Being in a far morethoroughmannerthan has been
the Ford Lecturesfor 1901. By CHARLES attempted
investigators.
by any of the preceding
PLUMMER, M. A., Fellow and Chaplain of Manyof theirarguments
are,of course,adopted,
Corpus ChristiCollege, Oxford. With an butin additionto theseare someimportant
conAppendix. Oxford: ClarendonPress, 1902. tributions
originalwiththe presentauthor. Of
8vo,pp. xi + 232.
thatin the
is thesuggestion
importance
particular
the shrine
to
Alfred's
visit
tells
of
which
passage
Pauli
When
publishedhis K6nig Aelfredin
words"suble1851,he commented
withsomeseverity
uponthe of St. Neot the whollyirrelevant
intothe
lack at so late a date of a satisfactory
biography vatusest" are theresultof incorporation
of Alfred. Justfifty
yearselapsedbetweenthe textof theglossof a laterscribe,and thatthese
to the removalof the saints'body
appearanceof Pauli's workand the presentationwordsreferred
If thissupof the lectures
whichare collectedin Mr.Plum- fromCornwallto Huntingdonshire.
musthave
the
is
Life
original
correct,
mer'svolume,and althougha numberof works position
of the
to
the
translation
previous
been
written
have treatedAlfred'slife duringthat time,the
about
taken
to
is
have
known
place
saint
which
popularcharacter
of the majority
of thesemakes
for
is
strong
evidence
date
an
Such
early
975.
the laterstudyscarcelyless important
thanthe
Asser's
authenticity.
earlier.
oftheauthor's
Fromtheinvestigation
language,
Mr.Plummer
beginswiththewarning
thatit is
Mr.Plumof Welsh affairs
unlikelythathe will be able "to offer
anything style,and knowledge
thattheLifemusthavebeenwritten
" in sucha well-worked
verynewor original
field, merconcludes
butaddsthathe hopesat leastto tellonlywhatis by a nativeof thatcountry.The contradictory
whichhas arousedmuch
" approximately
true." That as muchcannotbe storyofAlfred'ssickness,
the resultof
he thinks,
is,
explanation,
ingenious
claimedformostoftherecentworksuponAlfred,
Mr.
versions.
different
two
of
the
combination
the authorshowsby a fewcitationsfromthese
inthefollowing
is expressed
conclusion
products
of whathe namesthe recent" boomin Plummer's
words:
thingsAlfredian."
The present
workmaybe considered
as falling " On thewhole,then,Asseris an authority
to be
intothreeparts: the treatment
of the sourcesof used withcriticism
and caution;partlybecause
of
Alfred'slife; the accountof his reign;and the we have alwaysto be alive to the possibility
partlybecause the writer'sCeltic
discussion
ofhisliterary
works. Ofthesethefirst interpolation,
is apt to run away withhim. But
imagination
gives the author the greatestopportunity
for thatthereis a nucleuswhichis the genuinework
originaltreatment,
and formsperhapsthe most of a singlewriter,
a SouthWalian contemporary
interesting
portionof thewholework. Here the of Alfred,I feeltolerablysure,and I knowno
should
long-fought
battlewhich,sincetheprimary
attack reasonwhythatSouthWaliancontemporary
Menevia."
be
Asser
of
not
of ThomasWright,has been waged over the
authenticity
ofAsser'sLifeofAlfredwilldoubtless Sucha judgment,
as it is by thesimilar
reinforced
be considerably
affected
by Mr.Plummer'sbelief opinionof Mr. W. H. Stevenson,
whoseeditionof
in thebiographer's
integrity.
for the Clarendon
Asseris now in preparation
ofAsserhad notbefore
The defenders
thisbeen Press,maybe regarded
as thefinalone upon this
in theirreasoning.Pauli's replyto difficult
convincing
question.
In thatpart of the presentworkwhichdeals
Wrightwas very inadequate,and withhis too
greatrespectforthetextof Asserconstitutes
one withAlfred'slifeand reignthe usual factsare
ofthechieffaultsof hiswork. Lappenberg,
manner. The
Lin- presented
in a clearand interesting
andSir FrederickPollardhavealso explanation
gard,Clifford,
of thefamouscruxby whichtheLife
at different
timesarguedforAsser'sintegrity,
but declaresAlfredto have been "illiteratus" at
OLD ENGLISH LITERATURE.

190

MODERN LANG UAGE NOTES.

[ VoLxvii, No.6

to Profesor
twelve years of age is doubtlesscorrect. This lishedin thecollectivevolumeoffered
certainlyrefers
to his ignoranceof Latin. Much D'Ancona in 1901. I am fullyconvincedthatin
less certainis the author'sconvictionthat the Americaas well as in Europe festivalcollective
viewthatAthelwoldput aside Osburghato marry publicationsare not always placed withinreach
reviews. Any
Judithshould be dismissedas "an abominable of thevariousreadersof scientific
theory." The eulogyofAlfred'sfameis,however, one who wishes,in perusingProfessorRajna's
studyin theRomania,to inquire
bynomeansindiscriminate.
Thustheoften-vauntedrecentmasterly
into the intrinsicdetailswhich
claim that Alfredfoundedthe English navy is more profoundly
very properlyregardedas doubtful. Another weresummedup therein orderto tracetheorigin
contained
love-questions
point which arouses the author'sincredulityis ofthefirstof thethirteen
Asser'saccountof Alfred'sthree-fold
divisionof in Boccaccio'sFilocolo,mightbe deprivedof a
believe
to do so. I therefore
time,in regardto which he concludesthat the fittingopportunity
was here " attackedby an acute fitof that I shall rendera not wholly superfluous,
biographer
thoughmodestserviceto Americanreadersof the
imagination."
The latterpartof the workis given to a con- Romania if I here attemptto disentangleonce
siderationof Alfred'sliteraryproductions.Mr. morethevariousthreadsof thosecobwebresults,
Plummerregardsthe Orosius as earlierthan the due to the marveloushandlingof the genetical
Bede, and the latteras certainly
Alfredian. He method,which representsperhapsthe principal
of thegeniusof theeminentItalian
is doubtfulas to the relationof Alfredto the characteristic
Paris Psalter,but seemsinclinedto supposehim scholar.
The firstlove-debateof the Filocolotreatsof a
unconnected
withit.
Mr. Plummerhas notchangedtheeasystyleof youngwomanwho,being entreatedto mark her
forone of her two lovers,crownsthe
personaladdressin whichtheselectureswerefirst preference
and whichwillmakethepresent
delivered,
volume head of the one withher own wreathof flowers,
acceptableto a large circle of readers. At the whilsthurryingto adorn herselfafreshwiththe
Rajna
same timehis numerousfoot-notes
testifyto the garlandsnatchedfromtheother. Professor
totheBafiVXwvLaKdof
exact and carefulmannerin whichthis excellent choosesto turnour attention
Giamblicoand to the episode relatedby Chirio
studyis prepared.
bookofhisArteRettorica.
Fortunazianoin thefirst
L. WARDLAW MILES.
In Giamblicothelove tokensamountto the numJohnsHopkinsUniversity.
ber of threebecause thereare threerivals to be
takenintoconsideration.The firstreceivesthecup
fromwhichhis love had beendrinking,
thesecond
her wreathof flowers,
the thirda kiss. Fortunazianobut reversestheorderof thelove tokens:
ITALIAN LITERATURE.
the firstlover is embraced,the second receives
Una Quedtione
d'Amore,
byP1o RAJaTA. (Estratto remiduum
poculum,the thirdis crowned. With
della " Raccolta di Studii Critici dedicata Savaricde Mauleon we encounterquite different
ad AlessandroD'Ancona festeggiandosi
il XL marks of affection:1. an amorouslook. 2. a
Anniversariodel suo Insegnamento,"
pp. 553- tenderpressureofthehand. 3. ofthefoot. Must
568.) Firenze,Barbara,1901.
this substitution
needs be ascribedto the obserThe pages36-37 of Vol. xxxi of theRomania vance of reality? Profesor Rajna thinks not.
of love tokensenumeratedby
(Pio Rajna: Le Qumationi
d'Amorenel Filocolo) The multiplicity
(i 25, 26) compris twowhich
Isidorus,
Originea
containbut a briefr6sum6lof the treatment
of
has
in
withSavaric: the tender
Nevio
common
the detachedepisodewhichwas previouslypubpressureof the footand the amorouswinking.
1 Io nonho qui se non da ripresentare
in formasuc- Besides,Isidorus in the same place quotesSol.,
cintae condiversocongegnooseegibda medette."
ProV. (vi 13): "annuit ocolo, teritpede, digito