Fables on Subjects Connected with Literature Imitated from the Spanish of Don Tomas de Yriarte
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Authors
Belfour, John
de Iriarte, Tomás
Issue Date
1804
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Book, Whole
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Abstract
One of the nicest books I have: a little treasure. The Laurie description details its handsome cover and excellent binding. I am happy to add this early translation of thirty-four fables to the few things I have by Iriarte. The introductory remarks would make a fascinating study in the history of the definition of fable; they depend heavily on terminology whose meaning has shifted, particularly apologue and allegory. Might the point--that allegory is the foundation of fable--be made today by saying that fable is basically symbol? These remarks have high praise for LaFontaine and Gellert, while LaMotte deserves to be forgotten! The rhyming fables are introduced with a helpful short Spanish moral. Their typical form involves a philosophical statement on some literary subject (like plagiarism, talent, revision, public acceptance, or critics) followed by a fable situation between two animals, an opening remark by one of them, and a winning retort by the other. The best specimens here include The Ass and the Reed (41), The Gardener and the Master (55), The Bear, the Ape, and the Hog (73), The Horse and the Goat (99), The Ape and the Juggler (118), The Author and the Rat (134), and The Goose and the Serpent (157). It may help in dating the edition to note the misprint in the title page's Latin motto: vestuto for vetusto. And the line is from the prologue to Book IV, not V, of Phaedrus.
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Publisher
Printed by C. Whittingham for W.J. and J. Richardson
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Identifier
1531 (Access ID)