Chapter XXII: Front Matter (22)

In the text of the present volume are printed all Hazlitt’s contributions to _The Edinburgh Review_ as to the authorship of which there is no reasonable doubt. In the following notes two articles are included, Hazlitt’s authorship of which, though probable, cannot be regarded as certain. In addition to these, the following have been attributed to him: (1) Wat Tyler and Mr. Southey (1817, vol. XXVIII. p. 151); (2) The History of Painting in Italy (1819, vol. XXXII. p. 320); (3) Byron’s _Sardanapalus_ (1822, vol. XXXVI. p. 413); and (4) an article or articles on the Scotch Novels. See Ireland’s _List of the Writings of William Hazlitt and Leigh Hunt_, p. 75, a letter from Mr. Ireland in _Notes and Queries_, 5th Series, XI. 165, and Mr. W. C. Hazlitt’s ‘Chronological Catalogue’ of Hazlitt’s writings published in the _Memoirs of William Hazlitt_, vol. I. pp. xxiv-xxx. It is almost certain that Hazlitt wrote none of these reviews, and they have therefore been excluded from the present edition. The first (Wat Tyler and Mr. Southey) is included in Lord Cockburn’s list of Jeffrey’s contributions to the _Edinburgh_ (_Life of Francis Jeffrey_, 1874 ed. p. 407). This list, it must be admitted, is not thoroughly trustworthy, but the internal evidence against Hazlitt’s authorship is very strong. It is incredible that Hazlitt could have written a long article like this on such a subject (cf. _Political Essays_, vol. III. pp. 192 _et seq._) without betraying his identity by a single phrase. The second of these articles, a review of Stendhal’s _History of Painting in Italy_, Mr. Ireland attributes to Hazlitt on merely internal evidence. Mr. W. C. Hazlitt does not include it in his Catalogue. That Hazlitt was acquainted with Stendhal and was fond of writing on Art are reasons why he might have _wished_ to review the book, but they tell strongly against his having written this particular article, which is very dull indeed, and shows not a single trace of Hazlitt’s manner from beginning to end. The review of Byron’s _Sardanapalus_ has been attributed to Hazlitt on the strength, no doubt, of a letter which he himself wrote to P. G. Patmore on March 30, 1822. In this letter he says, ‘My Sardanapalus is to be in [_i.e._ in the _Edinburgh_]. In my judgment Myrrha is most like S. W. [Sarah Walker], only I am not like Sardanapalus.’ See Mr. Le Gallienne’s edition of _Liber Amoris_ (1894) p. 212. Whatever the explanation may be, the review of _Sardanapalus_ which _did_ appear in the _Edinburgh_ was written by Jeffrey himself and is included in his _Contributions to the Edinburgh Review_ (1844), vol. II. p. 333. There is no evidence that Hazlitt wrote any of the numerous reviews of the Scotch Novels. According to Patmore (_My Friends and Acquaintance_, III. 155–157), Hazlitt was anxious to review Bulwer in _The Edinburgh Review_, and proposed the matter, first to Jeffrey, and, on his retirement, to Napier, personally in London. The subject, however, was, in Patmore’s phrase, ‘interdicted.’

DUNLOP’S HISTORY OF FICTION

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5. _Dunlop’s History of Fiction._ John Colin Dunlop’s (d. 1842) _The
History of Fiction: being a Critical Account of the most
celebrated Prose Fictions, from the earliest Greek Romances to
the novels of the Present Age_, was published in 3 vols., 1814.

7. Νείατον ἐς κενεῶνα. _Iliad_, V. 857.

‘_Romulus_,’ _etc._ Horace, _Epistles_, II. i. 5–6.

8. _Bossu._ René Le Bossu (1631–1680), author of a _Traité du poème
épique_ (1675), referred to in _Tristram Shandy_, III. 12.
Dryden calls him ‘the best of modern critics’ (Preface to
_Troilus and Cressida_).

9. _Bandello._ Matteo Bandello (1480–1562), whose _Tales_ appeared in
four volumes, 1554–1573.

_Ariosto._ Ludovico Ariosto (1474–1533), whose _Orlando Furioso_
(from which the ‘contrivance’ referred to by Hazlitt was
borrowed) was published in 1516–1532.

11. _Middleton._ Conyers Middleton (1683–1750). See his _Letter from
Rome_, 1729.

_Bayes_. See the Duke of Buckingham’s _The Rehearsal_, Act I. Sc.
1.

13. _Quidlibet audendi, etc._ Horace, _Ars Poetica_, 10.

15. _Bell of Antermony._ John Bell (1691–1780), whose _Travels from
St. Petersburg in Russia to various parts of Asia_ was published
in 1763.

16. _Mr. Cumberland’s novels._ Richard Cumberland (1732–1811), author
of _The West Indian_ (1771), published two novels, _Arundel_
(1789) and _Henry_ (1795).

_Marianne_. By Claude Prosper Jolyot de Marivaux (1688–1763),
published between 1731 and 1741.

18. _Warburton._ Warburton’s argument is summarised by Dunlop (chap.
ii.) from _The Divine Legation of Moses_.

19. _Bayes’s most expeditious recipe, etc._ _The Rehearsal_, Act I.
Sc. 1.

20. _Mr. Southey’s translation._ Southey’s translation of _Amadis of
Gaul_ was published in four vols. 1803.

_M. de St. Palaye._ Jean-Baptiste de la Curne de Sainte-Palaye
(1697–1781), author of _Mémoires sur l’Ancienne Chevalerie_,
1759–1781.

24. _Mr. Ellis._ Scott’s friend, George Ellis (1753–1815) published
his _Specimens of early English Metrical Romances_ in three
vols. in 1805.

_D’Urfé._ Thomas D’Urfey (1653–1723), the dramatist and
song-writer.

_Betsy Thoughtless._ Eliza Haywood’s (1693?–1756) _The History of
Miss Betsy Thoughtless_, published in 1751. See Dunlop’s
_History of Fiction_, chap. xiv.

STANDARD NOVELS AND ROMANCES

This is ostensibly a review of Madame D’Arblay’s _The Wanderer_, published in 1814. Nearly the whole of it was incorporated by Hazlitt in his Lecture on the English Novelists. Cf. vol. VIII. pp. 106 _et seq._ and notes. In his Essay ‘A Farewell to Essay-Writing,’ Hazlitt says that this review was the result of a discussion at Lamb’s, ‘sharply seasoned and well sustained till midnight.’ Though the review cannot be considered as harsh towards Madame D’Arblay, it led to Hazlitt being dropped out of Admiral Burney’s whist parties. See Crabb Robinson’s _Diary_, chap. xiii. This fact perhaps partly accounts for Hazlitt’s contemptuous reference to the Burneys in his Essay ‘On the Aristocracy of Letters,’ where, after praising Madame D’Arblay, he says, ‘The rest have done nothing, that I know of, but keep up the name.’ See vol. VI. (_Table Talk_), p. 209.

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25. _Crebillon._ Claude Prosper Jolyot de Crébillon (1707–1777), son
of the dramatist.

_The celebrated French philosopher._ Hazlitt was perhaps thinking
of Diderot’s well-known eulogy of Richardson (_Œuvres_, V.
212–227).

39. _The Story of Le Febre._ See _Tristram Shandy_, Book VI. chap. vi.
_et seq._

SISMONDI’S LITERATURE OF THE SOUTH.

Jean Charles Léonard Simonde de Sismondi (1773–1842) published his _Histoire des Républiques Italiennes du Moyen-Age_ in 16 vols, between 1807 and 1818; his _Littérature du midi de l’Europe_ (here reviewed and afterwards—in 1823—translated by Thomas Roscoe) in 4 vols. in 1813; and his _Histoire des Français_ in 31 vols., 1821–1844. Roscoe’s translation forms two volumes of Bohn’s Standard Library. The translations in the present review are presumably by Hazlitt himself.

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45. _Metastasio._ Pietro Antonio Bonaventura Trapassi (1698–1782),
poet and librettist.

_Alfieri._ Vittorio, Count Alfieri (1749–1803), the dramatist and
poet.

_Goldoni._ Carlo Goldoni (1707–1793), the comic dramatist.

46. _Professor Boutterwek._ Friedrich Bouterwek (1765–1828), author of
_Geschichte der neuern Poesie und Beredsamkeit_ (1801–1819).

_Millot’s History of the Troubadours._ _Histoire Littéraire des
Troubadours_ (1774), by Claude François Xavier Millot
(1726–1785).

_Tiraboschi._ Girolamo Tiraboschi (1731–1794), author of _Storia
della Letteratura Italiana_ (1772–1782).

_Velasquez._ Louis Joseph Velasquez de Velasco (1722–1772), author
of several works on Spanish poetry and antiquities.

‘_Rose like an exhalation._’ _Paradise Lost_, I. 711.

56. _Preserved by Cervantes, etc._ _Don Quixote_, Part I., Book I.,
chap. vi.

61. _Dante._ Cf. _Lectures on the English Poets_, vol. V. pp. 17, 18,
and notes.

62. _That withering inscription._ At the beginning of Canto III. of
the _Inferno_.

_The Story of Geneura._ It is clear from the note that Hazlitt is
referring to the story of Francesca of Rimini in Canto V. of the
_Inferno_. Paolo and Francesca read together the story of
Lancelot and Guinevere.

Note. ‘_And all that day we read no more!_’ _Inferno_, Canto V.

63. ‘_Because on earth_,’ _etc._ Hazlitt is fond of quoting these
lines, which, however, do not appear to be Dante’s. Possibly the
explanation is to be found in a letter from Lamb to Bernard
Barton (Feb. 17, 1823), where he says: ‘I once quoted two lines
from a translation of Dante, which Hazlitt very greatly admired,
and quoted in a book, as proof of the stupendous power of that
poet; but no such lines are to be found in the translation,
which has been searched for the purpose. I must have dreamed
them, for I am quite certain I did not forge them knowingly.
What a misfortune to have a lying memory!’

‘_I am the tomb_,’ _etc._ _Inferno_, Canto XI.

_As when Satan is compared, etc._ Hazlitt seems to be confusing
Dante with Milton. See _Paradise Lost_, IV. 196.

‘_Instinct with life._’ Cf. ‘Instinct with spirit.’ _Paradise
Lost_, vi. 752.

_Count Ugolino._ _Inferno_, Canto XXXIII. Lamb shared Hazlitt’s
dislike of Reynolds’s picture. See _Works_ (ed. E. V. Lucas), I.
75 and 149. Patmore (_My Friends and Acquaintance_, II. 252)
compares Hazlitt with Ugolino.

‘_By the sole strength_,’ _etc._ See _Paradiso_, Canto I.

65. _The Sonnet of Petrarch._ No. CCLI. See _Sismondi_, chap. X.

68. _The story of the two holiday lovers._ _The Decameron_, 4th Day,
Novel VII.

69. _Pulci._ Luigi Pulci (1432–?1484), author of _Il Morgante
Maggiore_ (1481).

_Boyardo._ Matteo Maria Boiardo (1434–1494), whose _Orlando
Innamorato_ was published in 1486. Francesco Berni’s
(1490?–1536) version appeared in 1541.

71. ‘_Giace l’alta Cartago._’ _Jerusalem Delivered_, Canto XV. St. 20.

_The speech of Satan._ _Ibid._ Canto IV.

72. ‘_I rather envied_,’ _etc._ Montaigne, _Essays_, Book II., chap.
xii.

73. ‘_Like the swift Alpine torrent_,’ _etc._ From the final chorus of
_Il Torrismondo_.

74. _Chaucer and Spenser._ Much of what follows was repeated by
Hazlitt in his lecture on Chaucer and Spenser. See vol. V., pp.
19–44, and notes.

75. _Rousseau’s description of the Elisée._ _La Nouvelle Héloïse_,
Partie IV., Lettre XI.

76. _In looking back, etc._ These two concluding paragraphs were
lifted into Hazlitt’s lecture on Shakspeare and Milton. See vol.
V. pp. 44–46, and notes.

SCHLEGEL ON THE DRAMA.

August Wilhelm von Schlegel’s (1767–1845) ‘Lectures on Dramatic Art and Literature’ were delivered in Vienna in 1808. Hazlitt reviews the English translation, published in 1815, by John Black (1783–1855), who afterwards became editor of _The Morning Chronicle_.

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79. _The admirable translator._ Schlegel had translated Shakespeare (9
vols. 1797–1810), and Calderon (_Spanish Theatre_, 2 vols.,
1803–1809).

_Madame de Staël._ Schlegel lived for many years at Madame de
Staël’s house at Coppet.

81. _Florimel._ _The Faerie Queene_, Book III., Canto VII.

82. ‘_There was magic in the web._’ _Othello_, Act III. Sc. 4.

_Schlegel somewhere compares, etc._ Lectures XXV.

‘_So withered_,’ _etc._ _Macbeth_, Act I. Sc. 3.

‘_Metaphysical aid._’ _Ibid._, Act I. Sc. 5.

83. ‘_That she moved with grace_,’ _etc._ Possibly Hazlitt was
thinking of the scene in the _Iliad_ (III. 150, _et seq._),
where at the Scaean Gate the Trojan elders see Helen for the
first time.

‘_Upon her eyelids_,’ _etc._ _The Faerie Queene_, Book II., Canto
III., St. 25.

‘_All plumed_,’ _etc._ _Henry IV._, Part I., Act IV. Sc. 1.

‘_For they are old_,’ _etc._ _King Lear_, Act II. Sc. 4.

85. ‘_Antres vast_,’ _etc._ Othello, Act I. Sc. 3.

_Orlando’s enchanted sword, etc._ In Ariosto’s _Orlando Furioso_.

86. ‘_New-lighted_,’ _etc._ _Hamlet_, Act III. Sc. 4.

‘_The evidence of things seen._’ _Hebrews_, xi. 1.

86. ‘_Broods_,’ _etc._ _Paradise Lost_, I. 21–22.

‘_The ignorant present time._’ _Macbeth_, Act. I. Sc. 5.

88. _Jones._ Sir William Jones (1746–1794), the Orientalist.

98. ‘_Tu y seras, ma fille._’ Racine, _Iphigénie_, Act II. Sc. 3.

‘_The dry chips_,’ _etc._ Cowley, Ode, _Of Wit_.

100. ‘_Tries conclusions infinite._’

Cf. ‘She hath pursued conclusions infinite
Of easy ways to die.’
_Antony and Cleopatra_, Act V. Sc. 2.

106. _The infant Joaz._ _Athalie_, Act II. Sc. 9.

_The speech of Phædra._ _Phèdre_, Act IV. Sc. 6.

107. _Mr. Schlegel speaks highly, etc._ See Lecture XXI. For Hazlitt on
Molière cf. vol. VIII. pp. 28–9 (_English Comic Writers_), where
much of this passage is repeated.

108. _Extremes meet, etc._ Hazlitt quoted this paragraph in _The Round
Table_ (vol. I. pp. 97–8).

111. ‘_Not a jot_,’ _etc._ _Othello_, Act III. Sc. 3.

‘_Light thickens._’ _Macbeth_, Act III. Sc. 2.

‘_Why stands Macbeth_,’ _etc._ _Ibid._, Act IV. Sc. 1.

116. ‘_Ethereal mould_,’ _etc._ Cf. _Paradise Lost_, II. 139 and V.
285.

‘_Stronger Shakespear_,’ _etc._ Collins, _Epistle to Sir Thomas
Hanmer_, 64.

117. _The scene between Surly and Sir Epicure Mammon._ _The Alchemist_,