Select Essays of Sainte-Beuve

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Excerpt from Select Essays of Sainte-Beuve: Chiefly Bearing on English Literature A good many years ago the present translator ventured to speak a little disrespectfully of a remark of Sainte-Beuve's. When, therefore, in pursuance of a suggestion made by a well-known authority on English literature, who is also great in the councils of University Extension, he was asked to undertake the task of producing a translation of such of the eminent French critic's essays as might, it was thought, be of interest to many students of English literature, it seemed that the hand of Nemesis was at work. Nay, it was manifest in the very matter of the penalty. The remark referred to was part of a sentence in which it was said that to read Dante attentively almost inevitably meant wanting to translate him. Now, to read Sainte-Beuve attentively means inevitably wanting not to translate him. It may be true, as Bonstetten said, that in French you have to reject ten thoughts before coming to one which you can clothe properly, but when that one is clothed, how well its clothes fit! 'To read good French, ' wrote a master of English once to the present writer, 'almost makes one despair of ever expressing one's self properly.' 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.