INDEX OF AUTHORS. Addison, Joseph. Bentham, Jeremy. Buckhurst, Lord. Herrick, Robert. Hobbes, Thomas. Hood, Thomas. Keats, John. Massinger, Philip. • CHOICE SPECIMENS OF ENGLISH LITERATURE. ANGLO-SAXON, SEMI-SAXON, AND OLD ENGLISH LITERATURE CHAPTER I. A.-ANGLO-SAXON. 1.- CAEDMON, A. D. 650. The Creation. (Manual, p. 26.) (From Guest's English Rhythms, vol. ii. p. 32.) Ne was her tha giet, nymthe heol- | Ne had there here as yet, save the ster-sceado, vault-shadow, Wiht geworden; ác thes wida Aught existed; but this wide grund Stod deop and dim fremde,' drihtne abyss strange to On it with eyes glanc'd weorc Idel 2 and unnyt. On thone eagum wlat Stith-frihth cining, and tha stowe beheold Dreama lease. Geseah deorc ges Semian sinnihte, sweart under roderum, Wonn and weste; oth that theos woruld-gesceaft Thurh word gewearth wuldor- Her ærest gesceop éce drihten eorthan; Rodor ararde, and this rume land Fra ælmihtig! He saw dark cloud Lour with lasting night, swart under heaven, Wan and waste; till this world's creation Rose_through the word of the glory-King. Here first shap'd the eternai Lord Sky he rear'd, and this wide land Earth was not as yet 1 Fremde has a double ending in the nominative -- one vowel, the other consonantal. Min is the drenching in the sea so wan. - Chaucer, Knightes Tale. Sweart synnihte, ɛide and wide, Wonne wægas. Metod engla heht, Rathe was Ofer rumne grund. has him was 2. KING ALFRED. Ohther's Narrative, in Translation of (From Marsh's Origin and History of the English Language, pp. 125–128.) Fela spella him sædon tha Beor- Many things him told the Beor. mas, ægther ge of hyra agenum mas, both of their own land and of lande ge of thæm lande the ymb the land that around them about hy utan wæron; ac he nyste hwat were; but he wist-not what (of-) thæs sothes wær, forthem he hit the sooth was, for-that he it self sylf ne geseah. Tha Finnas him not saw. The Finns him thought, thuhte, and tha Beormas spræcon and the Beormas spoke nigh one neah an getheode. Swithost he language. Chiefliest he fared thifor thyder, to-eacan thæs landes ther, besides the land's seeing, for sceawunge, for them hors-hwæl- the horse-whales, for-that they um, forthæm hi habbath swythe have very noble bones in their æthele ban on hyra tothum, tha teeth, these teeth they brought teth hy brohton sume thæm cy-some (to-) the king: and their hide nincge: and hyra hyd bith swythe is very good for ship-ropes. This god to scip-rapum. Se hwæl bith whale is much less that other micle læssa thonne othre hwalas, whales, not is he longer than seven ne bith he lengra thonne syfan ells long; but in his own land is elna lang; ac on his agnum lande the best whale-hunting, they are is se betsta hwæl-huntath, tha beoth eight and forty ells long, and the eahta and feowertiges elna lange, largest fifty ells long; (of-) these and tha mæstan fiftiges elna lange; he said that he (of-) six some slew thara he sæde that he syxa sum sixty in two days. He was (a) ofsloge syxtig on twam dagum. very wealthy man in the ownings lle was swythe spedig man on that their wealth in is, that is in tham æhtum the heora speda on wild-deer. He had yet, when ne beoth, that is on wild-deorum. the king sought, (of-) tanie deer He hæfde tha-gyt, tha he thone unsold six hundred. These deci cyningc sohte, tamra deora unbe- they hight reins, (of-) them were bohtra syx hund. Tha deor hi six stale-reins, these are very dear hatath hranas, thara wæron syx with (the) Finns, for-that they stæl-hranas, tna beoth swy the dyre catch the wild reins with (them). mid Finnum, for-th&m ly fod tha wildan hranas mid. 3. KING ALFRED. Translation of the Pastorale of St. Gregory. (Manual, p. 28.) (From Wright's Biographia Britannica Literaria, Anglo-Saxon period, p. 397.) Elfred kyning hateth gretung Alfred the king greets affec Wulfsige bisceop his worthum tionately and friendly bishop Wulfluflice and freondlice, and the sige his worthy, and bid thes eythan hate, that me com swithe know, that it occurred to me ve.; oft on ge-mynd, hwylce witan geo often in my mind, what kind of weron geond Angel-cyn, ægther wise men there formerly were ge godcundra hada ge world- throughout the English nation, as cundra, and hu ge-sæliglica tida well of the spiritual degree as of tha wæron geond Angle-cyn, and laymen, and how happy times hu tha cyningas the thone anweald there were then among the Enghæfdon thæs folces, Gode and his lish people, and how the kings æryndwritum hyrsumodon; and who then had the government of hu hi ægther ge hcora sybbe ge the people obeyed God and his heora sydo, and ge heora anweald Evangelists, and how they both in innan borde gehealdon and eac ut their peace and in their war, and hira ethel rymdon; and hu him in their government, held them at tha speow, ægther ge mid wige ge home, and also spread their noblemid wisdome; and eac tha god- ness abroad, and how they then cundan hadas hu georne hi wæron flourished as well in war as in ægther ge ymbe lara ge ymbe leor- wisdom; and also the religious nunga, and ymbe ealle tha theow-orders how earnest they were both domas thi hy Gode sceoldon, and about doctrine and about learning, hu man ut on borde wisdome and and about all the services that they lare hider on land sohte, and hu owed to God; and how people we hi nu sceoldon ute begitan, gif abroad came hither to this land in we hi habban sceoldon. Swa search of wisdom and teaching, clæne heo was othfeallen on An- and how we now must obtain them gel-cynne that swithe feawa wæron from without if we must have them. beheonan Humbre the hira the- So clean it was ruined amongst nunge cuthon understandan on the English people, that there were Englisc, oththe furthon an ærend- very few on this side the Humber ge-writ of Ledene on Englisc arec- who could understand their service can; and ic wene that naht monige in English, or declare forth an be-geondan Humbre næron. Swa epistle out of Latin into English; feawa heora wæron, that ic fur- and I think that there were not thon anne ænlepne ne mæg ge- many beyond the Humber. So thencan besuthan Thamise tha few such there were, that I cannot tha ic to rice feng. Gode ælmigh- think of a single one to the south tigum sy thane, that we n' ænigne of the Thames when I began to an steal habbath lareowa. For reign. To God Almighty be tham ic the beode, that thu do thanks, that we now have any awa ic ge-lyfe that thu wille, that teacher in stall. Therefore I bid thu the thissa woruld thinga to thee that thou do as I believe thou tham ge-æmtige, swa thu oftost wilt, that thou, who pourest out to mage, that thu thone wisdome them these worldly things as often the the God sealde thær thær thu as thou mayest, that thou bestow nine befæstan mæge befæst. Ge- the wisdom which God gave thee thenc hwilce witu us tha becomon wherever thou mayest bestow it for thisse world, tha tha we hit Think what kind of punishments na hwather ne selfe ne lufedon, ne | shall come to us for this world, if |