John Mitchell Kemble
Published: 2015-07-12
Total Pages: 244
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Excerpt from The Poetry of the Codex Vercellensis: With an English Translation In 1840 James Grimm, feeling that this was a wrong done to the world of letters at large, and apparently under a mistake respecting the number of copies printed by the Commission, and their intention of ultimately publishing their book, extracted from Dr. Lappenberg's copy the two longest poems, which he published at Cassell under the title of "Andreas und Elene," together with an introduction and very copious notes. It would not be fair to institute a comparison between two works composed with very different aims, or to make Thorpe responsible for the meagre form in which his appeared. It was intended as an Appendix, or rather as part of an Appendix, to another and very different composition, and was consequently compressed into the smallest possible space, without introduction, translation or notes of any description. On the other hand, Grimm's edition, expressly intended to supply a want which was loudly complained of in Germany, was executed with all the skill and care that might have been anticipated from the eminent qualifications of its amiable editor, and forms at this moment one of the most valuable monuments for the student of our ancient tongue. It may be asked, what is then the necessity for a third edition of these poems? The answer is plain: Thorpe's edition is not to be obtained at all, and, even were it accessible, consists of a mere text, without the slightest attempt to assist the reader. Grimm's book contains only a portion of the Vercelli poems, and, did it even contain the whole, would still be inaccessible to those who could not read the German, in which the notes and introduction are written. Neither editor has thought it necessary to give a translation of the text. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
