No More Learning

"We know not," say they all with one voice, "upon what
account they come hither, but we know they are a very wicked
and cruel people. " "I'll tell you then," replied the Cacique,
"that these Europeans worship a very covetous sort of god, so
that 'tis difficult to satisfy him; and to perform the worship they
render to this idol, they'll exact immense treasures of us, and
will use their utmost endeavor to reduce us to a miserable state
of slavery, or else to put us to death. " Upon which he took a
box full of gold and valuable jewels which he had with him; and
exposing it to their view,-"Here is,” says he, "the god of the
Spaniards, whom we must honor with our sports and dances, to
see if we can appease him, and render him propitious to us, that
so he may command the Spaniards not to offer us any injury. "
They all applauded this speech, and fell a-leaping and dancing
round the box, till they had quite tired and spent themselves.
After which the Cacique Hatbuey, resuming his discourse, con-
tinued to speak to them in these terms: "If we keep this God,"
says he, "till he's taken away from us, he'll certainly cause our
lives to be taken from us; and therefore I am of the opinion
'twill be the best way to cast him into the river. " They all
approved of this advice, and went all together with one accord to
throw this pretended god into the river.
The Spaniards were no sooner arrived in the Isle of Cuba but
this Cacique, who knew 'em too well, began to think of retreat-
ing to secure himself from their fury, and resolved to defend
himself by force of arms if he should happen to meet with them;
but he unfortunately fell into their hands; and because he had
taken all the precautions he could to avoid the persecutions of so
cruel and impious a people, and had taken arms to defend his
own life, as well as the lives of his subjects, this was made a
capital crime in him, for he was burned alive. While he was in
the midst of the flames, tied to a stake, a certain Franciscan
friar of great piety and virtue took upon him to speak to him of
God and our religion, and to explain to him some articles of the


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BARTOLOMEO DE LAS CASAS
3337
Catholic faith, of which he had never heard a word before; prom-
ising him eternal life if he would believe, and threatening him
with eternal torment if he continued obstinate in his infidelity.
Hatbuey, reflecting on the matter as much as the place and con-
dition in which he was would permit, asked the friar that in-
structed him whether the gate of heaven was opened to the
Spaniards; and being answered that such of them as were good
men might hope for entrance there, the Cacique without any
further deliberation told him he had no mind to go to heaven,
for fear of meeting with such cruel and wicked company as they
were; but would much rather choose to go to hell, where he
might be delivered from the troublesome sight of such kind of
people to so great a degree have the wicked actions and cruel-
ties of the Spaniards dishonored God and his religion in the
minds of the Americans.
One day there came to us a great number of the inhabitants
of a famous city, situate about ten leagues from the place where
we lodged, to compliment us and bring us all sort of provisions
and refreshments, which they presented us with great marks of
joy, caressing us after the most obliging manner they could.
But that evil spirit that possessed the Spaniards put 'em into
such a sudden fury against 'em, that they fell upon 'em and
massacred above three thousand of 'em, both men and women,
upon the spot, without having received the least offense and
provocation from 'em. I was an eye-witness of this barbarity:
and whatever endeavors were used to appease these inhuman
creatures, 'twas impossible to reduce 'em to reason; so resolutely
were they bent to satiate their brutal rage by this barbarous
action.
Soon after this I sent messengers to the most noted Indians
of the Province of Havane, to encourage and engage 'em to con-
tinue in their country, and not to trouble themselves to seek
remote places to hide in; and advised 'em to come to us with
assurance of our protection. They knew well enough what au-
thority I had over the Spaniards, and I gave 'em my word no
injury should be offered 'em: for the past cruelties and massacres
their countrymen had suffered, had spread fear and terror through
all the country; and this assurance I gave 'em was with the
consent and advice of the captains and the officers. When we
entered into this province, two-and-twenty of their chiefs came
to us, and the very next morning the commander of our troops,


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3338
BARTOLOMEO DE LAS CASAS
without any regard to the promise that had been made 'em,
would needs sentence 'em to be burnt, pretending 'twas best to
put these people to death, because they might one time or other
use some stratagem to surprise and destroy us: and I had all the
difficulty in the world to prevent 'em from throwing 'em into
the fire.
The Indians of Havane, seeing themselves reduced to a state
of severe slavery, and that there was no remedy left, but they
were irrecoverably undone, began to take refuge in the deserts
and mountains to secure themselves if possible from death;
some strangled themselves in despair. Parents hanged them-
selves together with their children, to put the speedier end to
their misery by death. Above two hundred Indians perished
here after this manner to avoid the cruelty of the Spaniards, and
abundance of them afterwards voluntarily condemned themselves
to this kind of death, hoping thus in a moment to put a period
to the miseries their persecutors inflicted on 'em.
A certain Spaniard, who had the title of Sovereign in this
island and had three hundred Indians in his service, destroyed a
hundred and sixty of them in less than three months by the
excessive labor he continually exacted of them. The recruits he
took to fill up their places were destroyed after the same man-
ner; and he would in a short time have unpeopled the whole
island if death, which took him out of the way, very happily for
those poor wretches, had not sheltered 'em from his cruelties. I
saw with my own eyes above six thousand children die in the
space of three or four months, their parents being forced to
abandon 'em, being condemned to the mines. After this the
Spaniards took up a resolution to pursue those Indians that were
retired into the mountains, and massacred multitudes of 'em;
so that this island was depopulated and laid waste in a very
little time. And it is a most lamentable spectacle to see so fine
a country thus miserably ruined and unpeopled.


## p. 3339 (#313) ###########################################

3339
BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE
(1478-1529)
HE interest to be found in the literary work of "il conte Bal-
dassare Castiglione "-in the one prose volume he wrote,
'Il Cortegiano' (The Courtier) - arises not only from the
historical value it now has, but from its representing the charming
character of a gentleman. And it does this not merely by inten-
tionally describing the ideal gentleman of the fifteenth century, but
by unconsciously revealing the character of its author. Castiglione
was himself distinctively a gentleman. Without eminent abilities or
position, his life unmarked by any remark-
able deeds or any striking events, he yet
deserves remembrance as making vivid to
us those admirable qualities and conditions
which are the result, in individuals, of the
long moral and intellectual cultivation of a
large group of men and women.
CASTIGLIONE
He was one of the group that made fa-
mous the court of Urbino, not at the time
of its greatest glory under Duke Frederic
II. , but just afterward, when the duchy
was ruled by Frederic's son Guidobaldo-
an estimable invalid-and the court was
presided over by Guidobaldo's wife, the
much beloved and admired Duchess Elisabetta, one of the great Gon-
zaga family. Castiglione's own sketch of this court (see translation
below) renders any other delineation of it supererogatory; but his
silence regarding himself personally makes it necessary to gather
knowledge of his life from other sources. His person is made known
to us by Raffael's interesting portrait of him, now in the Louvre,
painted in 1515. It is a portrait by a friend. Raffael was only five
years younger than Castiglione, and their affectionate relations were
of long standing.

Castiglione was the son of a valorous soldier who fought by the
side of the Marquis Francesco Gonzaga of Mantua, but his early youth
was spent not at Mantua but at Milan, where he received from famous
scholars - Demetrio Calcondile and his peers-a brilliant classical
education, rather than the training one would look for in his father's
son. His father's death in 1494 obliged him, in those troublous times,
-


## p. 3340 (#314) ###########################################

3340
BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE
to seek a protector. As his mother was distantly connected with his
father's friends, the rulers of Mantua, it was to them that his eyes
turned, and in 1499 he was one of the suite of the Marquis on the
occasion of the triumphal entrance of Louis XII. of France into Milan
after his conquest in three weeks of the duchy; a triumph followed
by the hideous ten-years' "caging" of Lodovico il Moro, Milan's duke.
Such spectacles as this triumph and this imprisonment, which the
boy of twenty-one now beheld, were to be familiar to him all his life.
The king-like pope Alexander VI. and his son Cæsar Borgia, the war-
rior Julius II. , the Medici Leo X. , the soon-dead Adrian VI. , and
the irresolute Clement VII. , successively ruled in Rome, or rather
dwelt in Rome, the Cloaca Maxima of Italy, whose pollution sapped
the strength of all the land. The sack of Rome in 1527 was among
the last of the long series of Italian woes Castiglione witnessed.
He was not in Italy at that moment. The last five years of his life
were spent at Madrid as papal nuncio at the court of Charles V.
He went thither on the eve of the battle of Pavia, and the imprison-
ment there of Francis I. soon followed; an imprisonment that seems
a terrible echo of that of the enemy of France a quarter of century
before.
'Il Cortegiano' was written in the intervals of military and diplo-
matic services, rendered first to Guidobaldo of Urbino and later to
Frederic of Mantua, the son of Francesco. The book was begun
probably about 1514; it received the last touches in 1524, but it was
not published until 1528.
The dialogues that compose the book are feigned to have occurred
in the winter of 1506-7. At that time the author was in England,
an envoy from the Duke of Urbino to Henry VII. , sent as the Duke's
proxy to be installed as Companion of the Garter. He carried with
him splendid gifts for the King, fine falcons, beautiful horses, and
a picture by Raffael-St. George and the Dragon, in which St.
George wears "the Garter. »
Castiglione's public labors had made him well known, when be-
tween him and his high-born friends there was talk of his marriage
with a daughter of the house of Medici; but political influences
caused her to be given by preference to a Strozzi. Had this alliance
been formed, Castiglione would have found himself, in later years,
the nephew of two popes and the uncle of a queen of France. But
better luck was in keeping for him. In 1516 he had the singular
good fortune to make a marriage of tender affection; but his wife
died only four years later: from that time his chief pleasure was
in the society of his friends.
They numbered all the most distinguished Italians of his day;
men whose intellectual powers found artistic expression alike in


## p. 3341 (#315) ###########################################

BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE
3341
words, or the painter's canvas, or the sculptor's marble, or the archi-
tect's stone: and it is the reflection of this wide and varied com-
panionship that gives charm and also weight to the pages of 'Il
Cortegiano. ' A more delicate delightfulness comes from the tone of
liberal refinement with which the impression is conveyed of singularly
ennobling intercourse with women.
Castiglione was the contemporary and the friend of the famous
Marchioness of Pescara, Vittoria Colonna; of the brilliant Isabella
d'Este, Marchioness of Mantua, whose daughter, the beautiful Duchess
of Urbino, is immortalized by Titian's many portraits of her, both as
she was in youth and in age, and also as in youth he saw her ideal-
ized. This Duchess of Urbino was the niece of Castiglione's own
Duchess Elisabetta; and by marriage with the nephew of Guidobaldo
she became the successor of Elisabetta. These great ladies were in-
volved by family ties in all the stirring events of their times. Isa-
bella d'Este was the aunt of Constable Bourbon and the sister-in-law
of Lucrezia Borgia. Vittoria Colonna's husband was the cousin of
the famous Alfonso d'Avalos (Marquis del Vasto) of Spain: and in
the entangled interests of these personages and of the rulers of
Urbino, Castiglione was constantly concerned and occupied.
His counsels were also sought by Giuliano de' Medici - styled,
like his father, "Il Magnifico"-sitting now, ever, in helpless dignity
on his San Lorenzo tomb, "mentre che il danno e la vergogna dura";
and by the unfortunate Doge of Genoa, Ottaviano Fregoso; or by the
participants in the learned discussions carried on by Cardinal Bembo,
with whom he made a gay excursion to Tivoli in 1516, in company
with Raffael and the illustrious Venetian Andrea Navigero and his
friend Agostino Beazzano, whose portraits on the same canvas are
one of Raffael's masterpieces. Another ecclesiastical friend was Car-
dinal Bibbiena, who appears nowhere to more advantage than in a
letter to the Marchioness of Mantua, describing Castiglione's grief,
and that of his friends, at the news that the Marchioness herself
had sent them of the death of Castiglione's wife. The same year the
Cardinal himself died. It was the year of Raffael's death also, and
Castiglione felt himself greatly bereft. The Italian Bishop of Bayeux,
Ludovico Canossa,-papal nuncio in France and French ambassador
at Venice, was a cousin of Castiglione's mother and in constant
relations with the son; and it is to him that in what may be called
the "drama" of 'Il Cortegiano' is gayly assigned the task of mak-
ing the first sketch of "the perfect courtier. "
From such social relations came Castiglione's wide familiarity and
sound judgment respecting the various worlds of men, of women,
and of art. The higher qualities his book gives evidence of - the
love of simplicity, purity, sincerity, serenity, kindness, courtesy,


## p. 3342 (#316) ###########################################

3342
BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE
moderation, modesty, the appreciation of what is graceful, gay, deli-
cate, these qualities were truly hi own: we know not whence he
derived them.
――――――
Something should be said of the style in which the book is writ-
ten. Its author tells us that one of the principal criticisms made
upon it while it circulated for many years in manuscript, was that
its language was not the language of Boccaccio, who was then ac-
cepted as the model for Italian prose-writers. Castiglione did not
bind himself to the manner of the Tuscan speech. He was of Lom-
bard birth and habit, and he chose-in the faith of which Montaigne
is the great defender- the words, the phrases, the constructions that
best fitted his thought, no matter whence he gathered them, if only
they were familiar and expressive. He thus gained the force of free-
dom and the grace of variety, while the customary elegance and the
habitual long-windedness of all Italian writers molds his sentences
and makes them difficult of translation.
There have been few translations made of his book; none (pub-
lished) as yet, of any literary value; and Castiglione has not been
much known out of Italy. One of the few mentions of him in Eng-
lish literature is to be found in Donne, Satire v. , and it touches on
a characteristic page of his book, for it notes:-
-
"He which did lay
Rules to make courtiers (he, being understood,
May make good courtiers, but who courtiers good? )
Frees from the sting of jests all who in extreme
Are wretched or wicked. "
In his own country Castiglione's fame has always been consider-
able. Ariosto-to whose brother Alfonso, "Messer Alfonso carissimo,"
the four books of 'Il Cortegiano' are dedicated and at whose desire
it was written-Ariosto in his great poem speaks of Castiglione
more than once; but a passage in Tasso's dialogue 'Della Corte' does
him fit honor:-"I do not deem that Castiglione wrote for the men
of his own day only:
the beauty of his writings deserves
that in all ages they should be read and praised; and as long as
courts shall endure, as long as princes, ladies, and noble gentlemen
shall meet together, as long as valor and courtesy shall abide in our
hearts, the name of Castiglione will be valued. "


## p. 3343 (#317) ###########################################

BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE
OF THE COURT OF URBINO
From I Cortegiano'
3343
N THE slopes of the Apennines, towards the Adriatic Sea,
ON almost in the centre of Italy, there lies (as every one
knows) the little city of Urbino. Although surrounded by
mountains, and rougher ones than perhaps some others that we
see in many places, it has yet enjoyed such favor of heaven that
the country round about is very fertile and rich in crops; so that
besides the salubrity of the air, there is great abundance of
everything needful for human life. But among the greatest
blessings that can be attributed to it, this I think to be the
chief, that for a long time it has ever been ruled by the best of
lords; insomuch that in the universal calamities of the wars of
Italy, it still for a space remained exempt. But without seeking
further, we can give good proof of this in the glorious memory
of the Duke Federigo, who in his day was the light of Italy;
nor is there lack of credible and abundant witnesses, who are
still living, to his prudence, humanity, justice, liberality, uncon-
quered courage, and military discipline; which are conspicuously
attested by his numerous victories, his capture of impregnable
places, the sudden swiftness of his expeditions, the frequency
with which he put to flight large and formidable armies by
means of a very small force, and by his loss of no single battle
whatever; so that we may not unreasonably compare him to
many famous ancients.
Among his other praiseworthy deeds, the Duke Federigo
built on the rugged site of Urbino a palace, regarded by many
as the most beautiful to be found in all Italy; and he so well
furnished it with every suitable thing, that it seemed not a palace
but a city in the form of a palace; and not merely with what is
ordinarily used, such as silver vases, hangings of richest cloth
of gold and silk, and other similar things,-but for ornament he
added an infinity of antique statues in marble and bronze, pictures
most choice, and musical instruments of every sort; nor would
he admit anything there that was not very rare and excellent.
Then at very large cost he collected a great number of most
excellent and rare books in Greek, Latin, and Hebrew, all of
which he adorned with gold and with silver, esteeming this to
be the supreme excellence of his great palace.


## p. 3344 (#318) ###########################################

3344
BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE
Following at last the course of nature, and already sixty-five
years old, he died as he had lived, gloriously; and he left as his
successor a little motherless boy of ten years, his only son Guido-
baldo. Heir to his father's state, he seemed to be heir also to
all his father's virtues, and soon his noble nature gave such
promise as seemed not to be hoped for from mortal man; SO
that men esteemed none among the extraordinary deeds of the
Duke Federigo to be greater than to have begotten such a son.
But envious of so much virtue, fortune thwarted this glorious.
beginning with all her might; so that before Duke Guido reached
the age of twenty years he fell ill of the gout, which grew upon
him with grievous pain, and in a short space of time so crippled
all his limbs that he could neither stand upon his feet nor
move; and thus one of the most beautiful and active forms in
the world was disfigured and spoiled in tender youth.
And not yet content with this, fortune was so adverse to him
in all his plans that he could seldom carry to a conclusion any-
thing that he desired; and although he was most wise of counsel
and unconquered in spirit, it seemed that what he undertook,
both in war and in everything else, whether small or great,
always ended ill for him: and proof of this is given in his many
and diverse calamities, which he ever bore with such strength of
mind that his spirit was never vanquished by fortune; nay,
scorning her assaults with unbroken courage, he lived in weak-
ness as though strong, and in adversity as though fortunate,
with perfect dignity and universal esteem, so that although he
was thus infirm of body, he fought with most honorable rank in
the service of their Serene Highnesses the Kings of Naples,
Alfonso and Fernando the Younger; later with Pope Alexander
VI. , and with the Venetian and Florentine nobles.
After the accession of Julius II. to the Pontificate, he was
made Captain of the Church; at which time, following his accus-
tomed style, above all else he took care to fill his household
with very noble and valiant gentlemen, with whom he lived most
familiarly, delighting in their conversation; wherein the pleasure
he gave to others was not less than that he received from others,
he being well versed in both the learned languages, and uniting
affability and agreeableness to a knowledge of things without
number; and besides this, the greatness of his spirit so animated
him that although he could not practice in person the exercises
of horsemanship, as he once had done, yet he took the utmost


## p. 3345 (#319) ###########################################

BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE
3345
pleasure in seeing them in others; and by his words, now cor-
recting, now praising each according to desert, he clearly showed
how much judgment he had in those matters; wherefore in
jousts and tournaments, in riding, in the handling of every sort
of weapon, as well as in pastimes, games, and music,-in short,
in all the exercises proper to noble gentlemen,- every one strove
so to carry himself as to merit being deemed worthy of such
noble fellowship.
All the hours of the day were assigned to honorable and
pleasant exercises, as well for the body as for the mind; but
since my lord Duke was always wont by reason of his infirmity
to retire to sleep very early after supper, every one usually
betook himself at that hour to the presence of my lady Duchess,
Elisabetta Gonzaga; where also was ever to be found my lady
Emilia Pia, who was endowed with such lively wit and sound
judgment that, as you know, she seemed the mistress of us all,
and that every one gained wisdom and worth from her. Here,
then, gentle discussions and innocent pleasantries were heard,
and on the face of every one a jocund gayety was seen depicted,
so that the house could truly be called the very abode of mirth:
nor ever elsewhere, I think, was so relished, as once was here,
how great may be the sweetness of dear and cherished compan-
ionship; for apart from the honor it was to each of us to serve
such a lord as he of whom I have just spoken, there was born
in the hearts of all a supreme contentment every time we came
into the presence of my lady Duchess; and it seemed as though
this contentment were a chain that held us all united in love, so
that never was concord of will or cordial love between brothers
greater than that which here was between us all.
The same was it among the ladies, with whom there was
intercourse most free and honorable; for every one was permitted
to talk, sit, jest, and laugh with whom he pleased; but such
was the reverence paid to the wish of my lady Duchess, that
this same liberty was a very great check; nor was there any one
who did not esteem it the utmost pleasure he could have in
the world to please her, and the utmost pain to displease her.
And thus most decorous manners were here joined with the
greatest liberty, and games and laughter in her presence were
seasoned not only with keenest wit, but with gracious and sober
dignity; for that purity and loftiness which governed all the
acts, words, and gestures of my lady Duchess, bantering and
VI-210


## p. 3346 (#320) ###########################################

3346
BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE
laughing, were such that she would have been known for a lady
of noblest rank by any one who saw her even but once. And
impressing herself thus upon those about her, she seemed to
attune us all to her own quality and pitch: accordingly each
strove to follow this example, taking as it were a pattern of
beautiful behavior from the bearing of so great and virtuous a
lady; whose highest qualities I do not now purpose to recount,
they not being my theme and being well known to all the
world, and far more because I could not express them with
either tongue or pen; and those that perhaps might have been
somewhat hid, fortune, as though wondering at such rare virtue,
chose to reveal through many adversities and stings of calamity;
SO as to give proof that in the tender breast of a woman, in
company with singular beauty, there may abide prudence and
strength of soul and all those virtues that even among stern
men are very rare.
But continuing, I say that the custom of all the gentlemen of
the household was to betake themselves straightway after supper
to my lady Duchess; where, among the other pleasant pastimes
and music and dancing that continually were practiced, sometimes
entertaining questions were proposed, sometimes ingenious games
were devised with one or another as arbiter, in which under
various disguises the company disclosed their thoughts figuratively
to whomsoever pleased them best. Sometimes other discussions
arose about different matters, or biting retorts passed lightly back
and forth; often imprese, as we now call them, were displayed.
And in these verbal contests there was wonderful diversion, the
household being (as I have said) full of very noble talents;
among whom (as you know) the most famous were my lord
Ottaviano Fregoso, his brother Messer Federigo, the Magnifico
Giuliano de' Medici, Messer Pietro Bembo, Messer Cesare Gon-
zaga, the Count Ludovico da Canossa, my lord Gaspar Pallavicino,
my lord Ludovico Pio, my lord Morello da Ortona, Pietro da
Napoli, Messer Roberto da Bari, and countless other very noble
gentlemen. Moreover there were many who, though usually they
did not remain there constantly, yet spent most of the time there;
like Messer Bernardo Bibbiena, the Unico Aretino, Joan Cristo-
foro Romano, Pietro Monte, Terpandro, Messer Nicolo Frisio; so
that there always flocked thither poets, musicians, and all kinds
of agreeable men, and the most eminent in ability that were to
be found in Italy.


## p. 3347 (#321) ###########################################

3347
CATO THE CENSOR
(234-149 B. C. )
OR many reasons, Cato "the Censor" can hardly be wholly
ignored in any adequate general view of literature. If
we look to the chance of survival as a test of vitality, his
practical and juiceless book on Agriculture is the oldest volume of
Latin prose extant; though we can hardly speak of it as still existing
in the form given it by Cato. It appears to have been cruelly
"modernized" in outward form about the time of Augustus. Again,
the sturdy old supporter of Roman simplicity was the first Italian to
publish a collection of orations. A hundred and fifty speeches were
known to Cicero. Fragments of eighty still survive; though in many
cases they are represented merely by citations given incidentally by
some late grammarian, to prove the existence of some rare word or
antiquated form. Again, the 'Origines' of Cato would not only have
afforded us, if preserved, welcome light upon the beginnings of Rome
and many other Italian cities, but a political and military history,
brought down to Cato's own day, and especially valuable for its fear-
less treatment of recent events. Indeed, his own actual speeches
were taken up into the history, and one of them, as partly preserved
by Aulus Gellius, furnishes the best example we have of the straight-
forward unadorned oratory of early Rome. There is reason to believe,
even, that Cato left what we may fairly call an encyclopædia, - dedi-
cated to, and compiled for, his son. At any rate, he wrote largely
not to mention works already alluded to- on eloquence, medicine,
the military art, etc.
Yet it must be confessed that Cato illustrates, as strikingly as any
figure that could be selected, how little at home the true literary
artist would have found himself in early Latium, if a perverse fate
had made it possible for him to be born there, or to stray thither,
at all. Even his figure and face were repellent enough to stand
between Socrates and Samuel Johnson, as the most familiar ugly old
men upon the stage of the world's life.
"Porcius, fiery-haired, gray-eyed, and snarling at all men,-»
says the unforgiving satirist, is unwelcome even when dead, to Per-
sephone in Hades! No authentic portrait-statue of him exists. Indeed
these Roman busts and figures, especially in the earlier time, were
the work of Greek artists, and the likelihood of his giving a sitting
to one of that race is exceedingly small.


## p. 3348 (#322) ###########################################

3348
CATO THE CENSOR
The only work of Cato's which from its title might seem to have
had a poetic form was the 'Carmen de Moribus. ' It seems to have
been a eulogy upon old Roman simplicity. Not only are the extant
fragments in prosaic prose, but the most famous of them declares,
with evident regret over his own gentler days of degeneracy: "Their
custom was to be dressed in public respectably, at home so much as
was needful. They paid more for horses than for cooks. The poet's
art was in no honor. If a man was devoted to it, or applied himself
to conviviality, he was called a vagabond! "
Indeed, Cato's activity in literature probably had for its chief
end and aim to resist the incoming tide of Greek philosophy and of
refinement generally; he is the very type of Horace's "laudator tem-
poris acti," "the eulogist of a bygone time": that crude heroic time
when Dentatus, hero of three triumphs, ate boiled turnips in his
chimney-corner, and had no use for Macedonian gold.
Whether there was any important mass of ballads or other purely
national Roman or Latin literature in that elder day has been much
debated. The general voice of scholars is against Niebuhr and Mac-
aulay. There is every indication that the practical, unimaginative
Latin plowmen and spearsmen received the very alphabet of every
art from vanquished Hellas. Much of this same debate has turned
on a fragment from Cato. Cicero reports: -"In his 'Origines' Cato
said that it had been a custom of the forefathers, for those who
reclined at banquet to sing to the flute the praises and merits of
illustrious heroes. " The combination of conviviality and song in this
passage tempts us to connect it with the scornful words from Cato's
own 'Carmen,' already cited! Cato was half right, no doubt. The
simple charm and vigor of rustic Latium were threatened; Greek
vice and Oriental luxury were dangerous gifts: but his resistance was
as hopeless as Canute's protest to the encroaching waves. That this
resistance was offered even to the great Greek literature itself, is
unquestionable.
"I will speak of those Greeks in a suitable place, son Marcus, telling what
I learned at Athens, and what benefit it is to look into their books,—not to
master them. I shall prove them a most worthless and unteachable (! ) race.
Believe that this is uttered by a prophet: whenever that folk imparts its
literature, it will corrupt everything. "
The harsh, narrow, intolerant nature of Cato is as remote as could
well be from the scholarly or literary temper. Even his respectful
biographer Plutarch bursts out with indignant protest against the
thrifty advice to sell off slaves who had grown old in service.
deed, most of Cato's sayings remind us of some canny old Scot, or
it may be politer to say-of a hard-headed Yankee farmer, living out
the precepts of Poor Richard's philosophy.
In-


## p. 3349 (#323) ###########################################

CATO THE CENSOR
3349
"Grip the subject: words will follow," is his chief contribution to
rhetoric. Another has, it must be confessed, more of Quintilian's
flavor: "An orator, son Marcus, is a good man skilled in speaking. "
He is most at home however upon his farm, preaching such famil-
iar economies as "Buy not what you need, but what you must have:
what you do not need is dear at a penny. " The nearest approach to
wit is but a sarcastic consciousness of human weakness, like the
maxim "Praise large farms, but till a small one"; the form of
which, by the way, is strikingly like the advice given long before by
a kindred spirit, the Ascræan farmer Hesiod:-
-:
"Praise thou a little vessel, and store thy freight in a large one! "
Even the kindness of Cato has a bitter flavor peculiarly Roman.
When the great Greek historian Polybius and his fellow exiles were
finally permitted to return to their native land, Cato turned the scale
toward mercy in the Senate with the haughty words, "As though
we had nothing to do, we sit here discussing whether some old
Greeks shall be carried to their graves here or in Achaia! " There
was a touch of real humor, and perhaps of real culture too, in his
retort when Polybius asked in addition for the restoration of civic
honors held in Greece seventeen years agone. "Polybius," he said,
with a smile, "wishes to venture again into the Cyclops's cave,
because he forgot his cap and belt. " A few touches like this permit
us to like, as well as to admire, this grim and harsh pattern of old
simplicity.
Whether "Cato learned Greek at eighty" as a grudging concession
to the spirit of the age, or to obtain weapons from the foe's own
armory wherewith to combat his influence, we
need not argue.
Indeed, it is nearly certain that any special study at that time could
have been only a revival of "what he learned at Athens" many
years earlier.
It is however a supreme touch of irony in Cato's fate, that he
rendered, doubtless unconsciously, a greater service to Hellenistic
culture in Rome than did even his illustrious younger contemporary
Scipio Emilianus, the patron of Terence and the generous friend of
Polybius; for it was our Cato who brought in his train from Sardinia
the gallant young soldier afterward known as the poet Ennius, - the
creator of the Latin hexameter, of the artistic Roman epic, and in
general the man who more than any other made Greek poetry, and
even Greek philosophy, well known and respected among all educated
Romans.
Cato is chiefly known to us through Plutarch, whose sketch shows
the tolerance of that beloved writer toward the savage enemy of
Hellenism. The charming central figure of Cicero's dialogue on 'Old


## p. 3350 (#324) ###########################################

3350
CATO THE CENSOR
I
Age' takes little save his name from the bitter, crabbed octogena-
rian, who was still adding to his vote on any and all subjects,
"Moreover, Senators, Carthage must be wiped out. " All the world
admires stubborn courage, especially in a hopeless cause. We, the
most radical and democratic of peoples, especially admire the despair-
ing stand of a belated conservative. The peculiar virtues of the
stock were repeated no less strikingly in the great-grandson, Cato of
Utica, and make their name a synonym forevermore of unbending
stoicism. The phrase applied by a later Roman poet to Cato of
Utica may perhaps be quoted no less fittingly as the epitaph of his
ancestor :
-
"The gods preferred the victor's cause, but Cato the vanquished;"
for in spite of him, the Latin literature which has come down to us
may be most truly characterized as "the bridge over which Hellenism
reaches the modern world. "
ON AGRICULTURE
From De Agricultura ›
[The following extract gives a vivid glimpse of the life on a Latian farm.
The Roman gentleman may be regarded as an "absentee landlord," giving
this advice to his agent. The "family" is, of course, made up of slaves. ]
HESE shall be the bailiff's duties. He shall keep up good
discipline. The holiday's must be observed. He shall keep
his hands from other people's property, and take good care
of his own. He shall act as umpire for disputes in the family.
If any one is guilty of mischief, he shall exact return in good
measure for the harm done. The family is not to suffer, to be
cold, to be hungry. He is to keep it busy, as thus he will more
easily restrain it from mischief and thieving. If the bailiff does
not consent to evil-doing there will be none. If he does allow
it, the master must not let it go unpunished. For kindness he
is to show gratitude, so that the same one may be glad to do
right in other matters. The bailiff must not be a saunterer; he
must always be sober; he mustn't go out to dinner. He must
keep the family busy; must see to it that the master's commands
are carried out. He mustn't think he knows more than the
master. The master's friends he must count as his own. He is
to pay no attention to any one, unless so bidden.
He is not to
act as priest except at the Compitalia or at the hearthside.
He


## p. 3351 (#325) ###########################################

CATO THE CENSOR
3351
is to give no one credit save at the master's orders. When the
master gives credit he must exact payment. Seed-corn, kitchen
utensils, barley, wine, oil, he must lend to no one.
He may
have two or three families from whom he borrows, and to whom
he lends, but no more. He must square
accounts with his
master often. The mechanic, the hireling, the sharpener of
tools, he must never keep more than a day. He mustn't buy
anything without the master's knowledge, nor hide anything
from the master, nor have any hanger-on. He should never
consult a soothsayer, prophet, priest, or Chaldean.
He
should know how to do every farm task and should do it often,
without exhausting himself. If he does this, he will know what
is in the minds of the family and they will work more con-
tentedly. Besides, if he works he will have less desire to stroll
about, and be healthier, and sleep better. He should be the
first to get up and the last to go to bed; should see that the
country house is locked up, that each one is sleeping where he
belongs, and that the cattle are fed.
FROM THE ATTIC NIGHTS' OF AULUS GELLIUS
[The extract given below, as will be seen, is quoted for the most part not
from Cato but from Aulus Gellius. However, the practice of Gellius on other
occasions where we are able to compare his text with the original, indicates
that he merely modernized Cato's phraseology. In many cases such changes
probably make no difference at all in the modern rendering. ]
M
ARCUS CATO, in his book of Origins,' has recorded an act
of Quintus Cædicius, a military tribune, really illustrious,
and worthy of being celebrated with the solemnity of
Grecian eloquence. It is nearly to this effect:- The Carthagin-
ian general in Sicily, in the first Punic war, advancing to meet
the Roman army, first occupied some hills and convenient situ-
ations. The Romans, as it happened, got into a spot open to
surprise, and very dangerous. The tribune came to the consul,
pointing out the danger from the inconvenience of the spot, and
the surrounding enemy. "I think," says he, "if you would save
us, you must immediately order certain four hundred to advance
to yonder wart" (for thus Cato indicated a rugged and elevated
place) "and command them to take possession of it; when the
enemy shall see this, every one among them that is brave and


## p. 3352 (#326) ###########################################

3352
CATO THE CENSOR
ardent will be intent on attacking and frightening them, and
will be occupied by this business alone, and these four hundred
men will doubtless all be slain;-you, whilst the enemy shall
be engaged in slaughter, will have an opportunity of withdraw-
ing the army from this place: there is no other possible method
of escape. "
The consul replied that the advice appeared wise and good.
"But whom," says he, "shall I find, that will lead these four
hundred men to that spot against the battalions of the enemy? »
"If," answered the tribune, "you find no one else, employ
me in this dangerous enterprise; I offer my life to you and
my country. "
The consul thanked and praised him. The tribune, with his
four hundred men, advanced to death. The enemy, astonished
at their boldness, waited to see where they were going; but
when it appeared that they were marching to take possession of
the hill, the Carthaginian general sent against them the ablest
men of his army, both horse and foot. The Roman soldiers
were surrounded, and being surrounded, fought; the contest was
long doubtful, but numbers at length prevailed; the four hun-
dred, to a man, were either slain with the sword or buried
under missile weapons. The consul, in the interval of the en-
gagement, withdrew his troops to a spot high and secure, but
the event which happened to this tribune who commanded the
four hundred, I shall subjoin, not in my own but Cato's words:
"The immortal gods gave the military tribune a fortune suit-
able to his valor: for thus it happened, when he was wounded
in every other part, his head alone was unhurt, and when they
distinguished him amongst the dead, exhausted with wounds, and
breathing with difficulty from loss of blood, they bore him off.
He recovered, and often afterwards performed bold and eminent
services to his country; and this exploit of his detaching these
troops preserved the remainder of the army. But the place
where the same deed is done, is of great importance. Leonidas
of Lacedæmon, whose conduct was the same at Thermopyla,
is extolled; on account of his virtues all Greece celebrated his
glory, and raised his name to the highest degree of eminence,
testifying their gratitude for his exploit by monuments, trophies,
statues, panegyrics, histories, and other similar means. But to
this tribune of the people, who did the same thing, and saved
his country, small praise has been assigned. "


## p. 3353 (#327) ###########################################

3353
JACOB CATS
(1577-1660)
HE life of Jacob Cats falls within the golden age of Dutch
literature, represented in the north by Hooft, Roemer Vis-
scher, and Joost van den Vondel, and in the south by the
Zeeland circle of poets, among whom Cats was undoubtedly the
greatest. There have been times when Cats's was the one name
among Dutch poets; in homes where no other books were found, one
might at least be sure of finding the Bible and "Father Cats. "
But
it is doubtful whether he would be con-
sidered great outside of Holland. He is
the most prosaic of poets, has limited power
of language and a still more limited choice
of versification; with these drawbacks he
is, however, most characteristically Dutch,
partly on account of his practical moral
teachings and partly on account of the
monotonous tic-tac of his verse. The erec-
tion of a monument in his honor in his
native city, and the painting of his portrait
by Rembrandt in 1635, were therefore well-
deserved tributes to a man strangely rep-
resentative of his nation. Yet, even in
Holland, voices have been raised against
his popularity. Busken Huet has called him "a miserable character,
a personified mediocrity, a vulgar and vulgarizing spirit. "
JACOB CATS
Jacob Cats, the youngest of four children, was born in Brouwers-
haven on the 10th of November, 1577. His mother died when he
was only a few years old, and his father, member of the council in
Brouwershaven, soon gave his children a stepmother. Cats praises
her "good deeds and good management" in his verses; but it would
seem as if her management were not in accordance with what
the family considered beneficial to the children. One of the uncles
adopted little Jacob, and sent him to the school of Master Dirk Kemp
in Zierikzee. Here he met a young boy from Brabant who was cul-
tivating poetry, and their daily comradeship awakened the same
tastes in Cats. Master Kemp was a man who, although of good
intentions, had not the power to carry them out; Jacob's uncle



## p. 3354 (#328) ###########################################

3354
JACOB CATS
accordingly took him out of school and sent him to the University
of Leyden to study law.
From Leyden he went to Orleans, where he took his degree, and
then to Paris. When he had been here for some time, his uncle
thought it wisest to call him back; and Cats's career dates from his
return to The Hague, where he settled as a lawyer. Very soon after
he had taken up his practice he succeeded in saving a woman
accused of witchcraft, and won the case of a young man who, in
defending his father from a murderous attack, had killed the assail-
ant. These cases called attention to Cats; he soon made a name for
himself. His activity was then suddenly interrupted by a severe
illness. He was forced to leave the damp climate of Holland, and
went to England to seek the counsel of Queen Elizabeth's famous
physician Butler. The treatment gave him no relief, however; and
he did not improve until after his return to Holland, where he met a
learned alchemist, to whose skill he ascribed his cure. In 1603 he
moved to Middelburg, and began life with new strength. He tells in
one of his poems of his meeting in the French church with a young
girl, with whom he fell in love at first sight; of his growing affection
for her and his intention to marry her; of the report that her father
had just lost all his money in a speculation; and he confesses with a
most naïve and rather cynic frankness:
"For her in very truth, with but the least of cause
And with a joyful heart, I'd given up the ghost. -
Look ye, this evil lot that to the father fell
Has in an instant's time my heart of love bereft! »
Immediately after this incident, Cats married Elizabeth van Val-
kenburg, a rich girl from Antwerpen. Her good sense, faithfulness,
and housewifely virtues found a warm expression in the following.
words: -
"She was a worthy woman,
A foundation for a home, a model of truth. "
This period of Cats's life, almost coincident with the twelve-years'
armistice ending in 1621, when the war with Spain was resumed, was
one of varied activity. Aside from the duties of his practice, he
gave much time to the diking of grounds neglected during the war,
now in great danger from the sea; and while at his country-place
Grijpskerke near Middelburg, where his "flock of children played
under the trees," he wrote the poems Emblemata of Sinnebeelden'
(Emblemata or Emblems); 'Maeghdeplicht' (Maiden Duty), in 1618;
'Selfstryt' (Inward Strife), 1620; Toonel der Mannelycke Achtbaer-
heyd' (Scene of Manly Respectability), and 'Houwelyck' (Marriage).


## p. 3355 (#329) ###########################################

JACOB CATS
3355
With the beginning of the war his own peace was at an end.
Several of the grounds reclaimed from the sea were once more
flooded to prevent the advance of the enemy. In 1621 he accepted
the office of pensionary of Middelburg, his first step toward official
statesmanship. In 1623 he was elected pensionary of Dordrecht, and
although he hesitated in leaving Zeeland, he finally decided to accept
the office. In 1625 he added to his duties those of Curator of Ley-
den University. His literary work was consequently laid aside.
In 1627 Cats accompanied Albert Joachimi as ambassador to Lon-
don to open negotiations for a navigation treaty. He was only partly
successful in his mission, but was met with much consideration by
Charles I. , who decorated him with the order of St. Jovis.
after his return he lost his wife after a brief illness.
Shortly
<
While he was writing Trouwring' (Wedding Ring), a collection.
of epic and lyric poems, he was elected Secretary of State in 1636,
and in 1645 Keeper of the Great Seal and Governor. But he had
the experience in his public life that a crown may often be a crown
of thorns; and in 1651 he begged to be released from his burden-
some office. His demand was granted, and on this occasion Cats fell
on his knees in the presence of the States-General and thanked God
for taking away his heavy burden He was once more persuaded to
join an embassy to England. Cromwell had meanwhile come to
power; Cats and his fellow-travelers returned with but little accom-
plished, and the old statesman and poet saw himself free to spend
the last years of his life on his place Zorgvliet, which he had built
outside of The Hague on the way to Scheveningen, in the midst of
the Dunes. Although he may not have been a great statesman, he
had felt the responsibility of his calling. He was never quite equal
to it, and often felt himself helpless and small against the encroach-
ment of the Powers. But honesty and patriotism were his to the
fullest extent.
The last eight years of his life he spent in Zorgvliet in undis-
turbed peace. He returned to his literary labors and wrote 'Onder-
dom en Buitenleven' (Age and Country Life), Hofgedachtess'
(Court Thoughts), and his rhymed autobiography Twee-entaghtig-
jarig Leven' (A Life of Eighty-two Years). He seems to have kept
his warm interest and joy in life to the very last.


## p. 3356 (#330) ###########################################

3356
JACOB CATS
FEAR AFTER THE TROUBLE
WHILE ago I read a tale methinks is curious.
A Perhaps to every one the story may be useful:
Therefore in timeliness unto the light I drag it,
In hope that all who read, in it will find a pleasure.
A lord once lived of old, whose joy it was to wander
In field and flowery mead, quite to his heart's contentment.
A horse he had withal, so sage that, slept the rider,
It home would wisely go, without the knight to waken.
And so it came to pass that one day forthward faring,
To dine, the cavalier by a good friend was bidden.
He met with welcome glad; good wine went freely flowing.
At last, for all such cheer, the guest must take his leave.
Himself then he prepared to climb into his saddle,
And turned his beast about, that home were soon attained.
The day was bleak and raw; the sun of light was chary;
Through clouds before its face, a pallid light descended.
The wise steed careful stepped onward along the highway,
Its sober rider borne, as custom was, unwearied.
Anon the usual drowse closed up the rider's eyelids:
His beast walked calmly on, in faithfulness of service;
The man, profoundly sleeping, traveled as he was wonted;
The time at last brought near when he should reach his dwell-
ing.
But lo! a friend is met, who questions him in wonder:-
:-
"How possible it was his steed had brought him thither ? »
The knight responded straight -"Why, I the way have ridden
That, during seven years, I constantly have come;
My beast on which I sit hath borne me duly houseward-
The midnight's dark itself makes not his foot unsteady. "
"How, friend? " his questioner cried, "even when the bridge is
broken?
The stream to cross at all, no other means I know:
This wondrous horse of thine old Perseus must have owned,
Who fought the dragon once, and cut its head to pieces.
Things sure are as they were! You came not flying hither!
It seems to me, belike, a ghost has been your cheater.
To take it otherwise, the joke to me seems pointless.
Not possible it is, this story that you tell me.
But that o'er such a thing no wrangling be between us,
Come to the bridge with me; I gladly will be escort.


## p. 3357 (#331) ###########################################

JACOB CATS
3357
The spot and fact themselves, in proof I straight will disclose,
That you may note how ill goes with your word the matter. "
Whereto so long a speech? The Knight was well persuaded;
The flood is reached again, the truth of things lies open!
Bridge is there none indeed-rests but a strip of planking,
Crossing the rushing wave, narrow and all unsteady.
The foot of man must needs with prudence o'er it tiptoe,
The nerve and will be firm to reach that further goal.
The foot that is not true, that left or right shall waver,
Drowns in the flood below the passenger unlucky.
When now the man of naps marks all at once the bridge,
Notes well the narrow path, marks the too slender footway,
His shock in truth is great; loud his poor heart goes beating.
In fear and shudders cold, the scene he stands and pictures;
Sees with a frightened eye just how his path has served him.
And more and more his soul sickens with tardy terror,
More to his heart the blood, driven away, goes rushing;-
That hour of fear to him brought him an endless illness.
Look now, how odd it seems! He well in peace had ridden,
Suffering no mishap, spared from the thing all mischief-
Utterly downcast is, whereas his danger's over!
Fear makes him sick at heart, deep in his being centred.
Questions now any one what be this tale's life-lesson?
Him shall I gladly give what in it lies, methinks;
Speak out as best I can what as a maxim's plainest:-
Friendly is never he sparing of bread and counsel.
The man who rode his way safely and lost in slumber,
He unto whom occurred just this strange bit of fortune,
Like is he (it meseems) unto the lustful mortal,
Evil in earthly course, given to sottish living,
Wandering on, shut-eyed, lost in the way of pleasure,
Taking no slightest notice of the abyss so open:
Never with heed made blessed, not with his conscience warned:
How at his side is Death, prompt to cut off the living!
But with our Lord God's grace, suddenly on him bestowed,
Opening wide his eye-then, not till then, he's awakened.
Terror absorbs his soul, holy the fear that takes it;
Now is the sinner roused, sees for the first his doings.
Wondering see him stand, uttering loud his outery:
"Awful has been my blindness, dreadful my soul's delusion.
How could I be so tricked? how could my sleep so grip me?
I who, in touch with death, careless my ease was taking! "
Happy in truth the man fallen in no such peril,


## p. 3358 (#332) ###########################################

3358
JACOB CATS
Since with a careful eye watches he every footstep,
Blessed in that God himself insight to him has granted
What was his danger to feel; how he has made escapement.
Translation through the German by E. Irenæus Stevenson.
"A RICH MAN LOSES HIS CHILD, A POOR MAN LOSES
HIS COW »
Co
OME hither, pray, O friends! Let me my sorrow tell you.
Wordless such loss to bear, my heart indeed endures not:
All that the soul downweighs seems to a man less bitter,
If to the friendly ear sorrow can be but uttered.
Dead is my neighbor's child: dead is my only cow.
Comfort has fled from him; fled from me every joying.
So do we sorrow, both, reft of our peace each bosom :
He that his child is dead-I that my cow is taken.
Look you now, friends! how strange ay, and how sad Fate's
dealings!
I well had spared a child - one cow he well had wanted.
Turn things about, thou Death! Less evil seem thy doings.
Full is my house too full surely is full his cow-house!
Death, take his stalls for prey, or choose from out my seven!
There have you, Death, full room; less to us too the trouble.
Certain the pain's forgot -ay, and forgotten quickly,
When, in the greater herd, one little wolf's a robber!
What do I murmur thus? Ever is Death one earless.
Lost on him good advice, argument on him wasted.
Onward he moves, this Death, pallid and wholly blindly.
Oftenest he a guest just where his call's least needed.
Ah, who can calm my grief; who, pray, shall still my neighbor's?
Just as we would not choose, so unto each it happens! —
He who is rich must lose all that means nearest heirship,
I, the poor man, O God! stripped of my one possession!
Translation through the German by E. Irenæus Stevenson.


## p. 3359 (#333) ###########################################

3359
CATULLUS
(84-54 B. C. ? )
BY J. W. MACKAIL
HE last thirty years of the Roman Republic are, alike in
thought and action, one of the high-water marks of the
world's history. This is the age of Cicero and of Julius
Cæsar. This brief period includes the conquest of Gaul, the invasion
of Britain, the annexation of the Asiatic monarchies founded by
Alexander's marshals; the final collapse of the Roman oligarchy
which had subdued the whole known world; the development of the
stateliest and most splendid prose that the world has ever seen or is
ever likely to see; and lastly, a social life
among the Roman upper classes so brill-
iant, so humane, so intimately known to us
from contemporary historians, poets, ora-
tors, letter-writers, that we can live in it
with as little stretch of imagination as we
can live in the England of Queen Anne.
Among the foremost figures of this won-
derful period is Valerius Catullus, the first
of Latin lyric poets, and perhaps the third,
alongside of Sappho and Shelley, in the
supreme rank of the lyric poets of the
world.

He represents in his life and his genius
the fine flower of his age and country. He
was born at Verona of a wealthy and distinguished family, while
Italy was convulsed by the civil wars of Marius and Sulla; he died
at the age of thirty, while Cæsar was completing the conquest of
Gaul, and the Republic, though within a few days of its extinction,
still seemed full of the pride of life. The rush and excitement of those
thrilling years is mirrored fully in the life and poetry of Catullus.
Fashion, travel, politics, criticism, all the thousandfold and ever-
changing events and interests of the age, come before us in their
most vivid form and at their highest pressure, in this brief volume
of lyrics. But all come involved with and overshadowed by a story
wholly personal to himself and immortal in its fascination: the story
of an immense and ill-fated love that "fed its life's flame with self-
substantial fuel," and mounted in the morning glories of sunrise only
to go down in thunder and tempest before noon.
VALERIUS CATULLUS


## p. 3360 (#334) ###########################################

3360
CATULLUS
There are perhaps no love poems in the world like these. Of
Sappho, seemingly the greatest poet of her sex, we can only dally
with surmise from mutilated fragments. No one else in the ancient
world comes into the account. The Middle Ages involved love inex-
tricably with mysticism. When Europe shook the Middle Ages off,
it had begun to think. Exquisite reflections on love, innocent pas-
torals, adorable imagery,- these it could produce; in the France of
the Pleiade for instance, or in the England of Greene and Campion:
but thought and passion keep ill company. Once only, a century
ago, a genius as fierce and flame-like as that of Catullus rose to the
height of this argument. An intractable language, sterilizing sur-
roundings, bad models, imperfect education, left Burns hopelessly
distanced; yet the quintessential flame that he shares with Catullus
has served to make him the idol of a nation, and a household word
among many millions of his race.
Clodia, the "Lady of the Sonnets» in Catullus, whom he calls
Lesbia by a transparent fiction, has no ambiguous or veiled person-
ality. She was one of the most famous and most scandalous women
of her time. By birth and marriage she belonged to the innermost
circle of that more than royal Roman aristocracy which had accu-
mulated the wealth of the world into its hands, and sent out its
younger sons carelessly to misgovern and pillage empires.
Catullus made her acquaintance, she was a married woman some six
or seven years older than himself. "Through a little arc of heaven"
the poems show his love running its sorrowful and splendid course.
Rapture of tenderness, infatuation, revolt, relapse, re-entanglement,
agonized stupor, the stinging pain of reviving life, fierce love pass-
ing into as fierce a hatred, all sweep before us in dazzling language
molded out of pure air and fire.
So far, Burns alone, and Burns only at his rarer heights, can give
a modern reader some idea of Catullus. But Burns had little educa-
tion and less taste; and so when he leaves the ground of direct per-
sonal emotion,- that is to say, in nineteen-twentieths of his poetry,—
he is constantly on the edge, and often over it, of tawdriness,
vulgarity, commonplace. Catullus was master of all the technical
skill then known to poetry. Without anything approaching the
immense learning of Virgil or Milton, he had, like Shelley among
English poets, the instincts and training of a scholar. It is this fine
scholarship- the eye and hand of the trained artist in language —
combined with his lucid and imperious simplicity, like that of some
gifted and terrible child, that makes him unique among poets.
When he leaves the golden fields of poetry and dashes into political
lampoons, or insolent and unquotable attacks on people (men or
women) who had the misfortune to displease him, he becomes like


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CATULLUS
3361
Burns again, Burns the satirist; yet even here nimbler witted, lighter
of touch, with the keenness of the rapier rather than of the Northern
axe-edge.