Art. III.—On the Preservation of National Literature in the East

Extract

English translations from Oriental languages are not easily made attractive to the general reader, unless they convey some startling novelty of idea or treatment, a position which they are not often calculated to realise. If literal, they are for the most part verbose or unmeaning; if adaptations to suit the supposed taste of the home public, they become subject to the rules of ordinary criticism, and have seldom the requisite stamina to pass creditably through the ordeal. I have always thought that the true charm of Sa'dí and Háfiz rests more in the language than in the morals or poetry; consequently, that our English versions, however ably executed, are far from doing justice to the original. The airs are for a full orchestra, and we hear them on a piano or street organ. And if the Persian intellect be, as I believe, one which places sound above import, so also may we esteem that of other Eastern nations, whose poets are humble imitators of the Persians. These remarks apply with especial force to the romantic and fanciful schools of poetry, whether expressed after the fashion of an ode, a ballad, or a sonnet. I use intelligible terms, though all may not precisely correspond with the technical requirements of the Asiatic Muse.