Corneille and Racine in England Author:Dorothy Canfield Fisher Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: XIV. MISCELLANEOUS TRANSLATIONS The next translation, presented in 1717 by the mild and pacific Mr. Johnson (author of the Victim, which was so attacked by Bo... more »yer in 1714), was again the centre of a lively literary skirmish. A short time before the appearance of The Sultaness, as Johnson's adaptation of Bajazet was called, a comedy named Three Hours after Marriage was played with little success. Pope was one of the authors of this piece, although his name did not appear in the matter, and it is the popular theory that his dislike of actors dates from the cool reception of this comedy. Johnson was injudicious enough to insert in the prologue to his new tragedy, The Sultaness, a hit at the three authors of the unsuccessful Three Hours after Marriage, which Pope never forgave and which immortalized Johnson by securing for him a place in the Dunciad. The whole prologue is singularly ungracious and tactless, and will perhaps be interesting on account of the stir made about it. After about eighteen lines of the usual hackneyed prologue verse: Our honest Author frankly bade me say 'Tis to the great Racine he owes his Play. When Rome in Arms had gained immortal Fame And proudly triumphed o'er the Grecian name, Her Poets copied what Athenians writ, And boasted in the Spoils of foreign wit. Why then should Britons, who so oft have broke The Pride of Gaul, and bow'd her to the Yoke, Be blamed if they enrich their native tongue With what the Gallick Muse has greatly sung. At least 'tis hoped he'll meet a kinder Fate Who strives some standard Author to translate, Than they who give you, without once repenting, Long laboured Nonsense of their own inventing. Such Wags have been who boldly did adventure To club a Farce by Tripartite Indenture. But, let 'em share the Dividend of Praise And...« less