Letters to Dead Authors

Letters to Dead Authors

Sixteen of these Letters, which were written at the suggestion of the Editor of the St. Jamess Gazette, appeared in that journal, from which they are now reprinted, by the Editors kind permission. They have been somewhat emended, and a few additions have been made. The Letters to Horace, Byron, Isaak Walton, Chapelain, Ronsard, and Theocritus have not been published before. The gem on the title-page, now engraved for the first time, is a red cornelian in the British Museum, probably Grco-Roman, and treated in an archaistic style. It represents Hermes Psychagogos, with a Soul, and has some likeness to the Baptism of Our Lord, as usually shown in art. Perhaps it may be post-Christian. The gem was selected by Mr. A. S. Murray. It is, perhaps, superfluous to add that some of the Letters are written rather to suit the Correspondent than to express the writers own taste or opinions. The Epistle to Lord Byron, especially, is writ in a manner which is my aversion. Sir,There are many things that stand in the way of the critic when he has a mind to praise the living. He may dread the charge of writing rather to vex a rival than to exalt the subject of his applause. He shuns the appearance of seeking the favour of the famous, and would not willingly be regarded as one of the many parasites who now advertise each movement and action of contemporary genius. Such and such men of letters are passing their summer holidays in the Val dAosta, or the Mountains of the Moon, or the Suliman Range, as it may happen. So reports our literary Court Circular, and all our Prcieuses read the tidings with enthusiasm. Lastly, if the critic be quite new to the world of letters, he may superfluously fear to vex a poet or a novelist by the abundance of his eulogy. No such doubts perplex us when, with all our hearts, we would commend the departed; for they have passed almost beyond the reach even of envy; and to those pale cheeks of theirs no commendation can bring the red. ......Buy Now (To Read More)

Product details

Ebook Number: 1491
Author: Lang, Andrew
Release Date: Oct 1, 1998
Format: eBook
Language: English