After thet Rolland had wepte ynough, he had fere that some paynim myght fynde it after hys deth, wherefor he concluded in hymself to breke it, and toke it and smote it upon a rocke wyth alle hys myght iii tymes withoute hurtynge onythynge the swerde, and clefte the rocke to the erthe, and colde in no wise breke the swerde. Whan he saw the facyon, and coude do no more thereto, he took his horn whych was of yvorye, moche rychely made, and sowned and blewe it moche strongly, to the ende that yf there were ony Crysten men hydde in the wodes or in the waye of theyr retournynge, thet they shuld come to hym to fore they went ony ferther, and to fore he rendred his soule. Then seyinge that none came he sowned it ageyn, by soo grete force and vertu and so impetuously, thet the horn roof a sondre in the myddle, and the vaynes of hys necke braken a sondre, and the synewes of hys body stratched. And that noyse, by the grace of God, came to the ear of Charles, whych was eyght mile fro hin." 33. STANZA CCVI. "Mult ad "Much hath he learned who hath sorrow known,' apris ki bien conoist ahan." Is not this the same thought as Goethe's? "Wer nie sein Brod mit Thränen ass, Wer nie die kummervollen Nächte, Auf seinem Bette weinend sass, Der kennt euch nicht, ihr himmlishen Mächte." THE END. PRINTED BY WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS, LIMITED, LONDON AND BECCLES. THE SONG OF ROLAND. OPINIONS OF THE PRESS. "Mr. O'Hagan's is the first English translation of the Chanson;' nor can we doubt that by its aid that poem, so long unknown among us, will be permanently made familiar to English readers. The metre he has used is well suited to the subject, and he has used it for the most part with grace and spirit. His diction resembles that of Scott. He has supplied something which was wanting to English literature in enriching it with this epic of the Middle Ages."-Edinburgh Review. "Mr. O'Hagan's translation is firmly and skilfully executed. His introduction is full of valuable matter. English readers are to be congratulated on having now ready access to this remarkable poem."-The Guardian. "In spite of the difficulties that stood in his way, Mr. O'Hagan on the whole gives the spirit of the original so happily that we can now study the 'Song of Roland' in our own language, and gain a clear apprehension of the nature and influence of the school of French epic poetry which presided at the birth of European letters. One cannot praise Mr. O'Hagan too much for his rendering of some passages."-The Nineteenth Century. "To our thinking Mr. O'Hagan has succeeded well. It would be no easy matter to give better in another metre the spirit of the original. . . . Mr. O'Hagan's book is a very enjoyable one. It is a tale of chivalry worthily told; and we must add-even though it sound like bathos-worthily printed and bound, as old romance should be."-St. James's Gazette. "To a generation which has sorrowful knowledge of the poetry of dyspepsia, this strong and virile piece of work should come like an unexpected joy. Mr. O'Hagan has taken the old 'Chanson de Roland' and has translated it into sturdy English, which almost catches the very tone and savour of the original. He has really added a poem to our language. With all its extravagances, with all its naive credulities, the 'Chanson' comes out from under his hands a manly, stirring, fascinating work."-Vanity Fair. "We have first of all to acknowledge Mr. O'Hagan's great merit in having introduced so important a work to the English public. His rendering is in the main accurate, and the spirit of the old epic is, in more than one instance, caught in a truly admirable manner."-Pall Mall Gazette. "We warmly welcome Mr. O'Hagan's effort to introduce the most important of early old French works to the general English public. His book will give the English reader a very fair idea of the spirit and story of the French epic; in some cases, as in the stanza describing the death of Aude, we think he has been remarkably successful."-The Academy. "When we read Mr. O'Hagan's excellent version of the 'Song of Roland,' we may well ask why has that noble poem, the Iliad of the Franks, and the delight of our Norman forefathers, never before been translated? . . We cordially thank Mr. O'Hagan for his translation, and for the spirit in which he has nearly, if not quite, rendered the best qualities of the original." -The Spectator. "We have no hesitation in saying that this version offers to the English reader an adequate rendering of the 'Chanson;' that it sets before him in a perfectly lucid way the characters of the old poem, the fierce temper, the courage, the courtesy, the loyalty and the treason, the strange heroic readiness to weep, the delight in the joy of battle, the weariness of laborious life, the imperial stateliness, which mark Roland, Olivier, Ganelon, and Charles." -Athenæum. "We have here, for the first time, an English version of this noble poem. It preserves the spirit of the original, and carries us away to the strange old time when the Middle Ages were as yet only beginning."-Saturday Review. "Taking the poem altogether, Mr. O'Hagan must be said to have succeeded. In the best parts he is thoroughly spirited and effective. Though in a work of this kind we share Mr. Arnold's preference for prose versions, we admit that these pages will be far more effective with the general reader, and are not likely at any time to be wholly superseded."-Notes and Queries. "Mr. O'Hagan's magnificent version of 'The Song of Roland' is as perfect in its kind as Carey's 'Dante' or M'Carthy's 'Calderon.' A master of style has pronounced the Introduction to be 'one of the most delightful pieces of prose-writing in the English language.'"-Irish Monthly. "Rendered into chaste and spirited English verse. He has done his work so admirably that his book will probably become a classic in the language. English readers owe many thanks to the translator, whose scholarship and literary training have produced a version worthy of the noble original." -The Victorian Review (Melbourne). LONDON: KEGAN PAUL, TRENCH & Co., 1, PATERNOSTER Square. GENERAL LITERATURE. ADAMS, F. O., F.R.G.S.-The History of Japan. From the 2 New Edition, revised. vols. With Maps and Plans. Demy 8vo, 21s. each. ADAMSON, H. T., B.D.-The Truth as it is in Jesus. Crown 8vo, 8s. 6d. The Three Sevens. Crown 8vo, 5s. 6d. The Millennium; or, the Mystery of God Finished. Crown 8vo, cloth, 6s. A. K. H. B.--From a Quiet Place. A New Volume of Sermons. Crown 8vo, 5s. ALLEN, Rev. R., M.A.-Abraham: his Life, Times, and Travels, 3800 years ago. With Map. Second Edition. Post 8vo, 6s. ALLEN, Grant, B.A.-Physiological Esthetics. 8vo, 9s. Large post ALLIES, T. W., M.A.-Per Crucem ad Lucem. The Result of a Life. 2 vols. Demy 8vo, 25s. A Life's Decision. Crown 8vo, 7s. 6d. ANDERDON, Rev. W. H.-Fasti Apostolici; a Chronology of the years between the Ascension of our Lord and the Martyrdom of SS. Peter and Paul. Crown 8vo, cloth, 2s. 6d. |