It has frequently been said that Lassen did little more than "norvagicize" Lembcke's Danish renderings. And certainly even the most cursory reading will show that he had Lembcke at hand. But comparison will also show that variations from Lembcke are numerous and considerable. Lassen was a man of letters, a critic, and a good student of foreign languages, but he was no poet, and his Merchant of Venice is, generally speaking, much inferior to Lembcke's. Compare, for example, the exquisite opening of the fifth act:
| Lassen | Lembcke | |
| Lor: |
Klart skinner Maanen, i en Nat som denne, da Vinden gled med Lys igjennem Løvet, og alt var tyst: i slig en Nat forvist Trojas Murtinder Troilus besteg, til Grækerlejren, til sin Cressida udsukkende sin Sjæl. |
Klart skinner Maanen, i en Nat som denne, mens Luftningen saa sagte kyssed Træet at knapt det sused, i en saadan Nat steg Troilus vist up paa Trojas Mur og sukked ud sin Sjæl mod Grækerlejren der gjemte Cressida. |
| Jes: |
I slig en Nat
sig Thisbe listed ængstelig, over Duggen saa Løvens Skygge før hun saa den selv, og løb forskrækket bort. |
En saadan Nat
gik Thisbe bange trippende paa Duggen og øjned Løvens Skygge før den selv og løb forfærdet bort. |
| Lor: |
I slig en Nat
stod Dido med en Vidjevaand i Haanden paa vilden strand, og vinked til Kartago sin elsker hjem igjen. |
En saadan Nat
stod Dido med en Vidjekvist i Haanden paa vilden Strand og vinkede sin Elsker tilbage til Carthagos Kyst. |
| Jes: |
I slig en Nat
Medea plukked Galder-Urt for Aeson hans Ungdom at forny. |
Det var
en saadan Nat, da sankede Medea de Trolddomsurter der foryngede den gamle Aeson. |
| Lor: |
I slig en Nat
stjal Jessica sig fra den rige Jøde, Løb fra Venedig med en lystig Elsker til Belmont uden Stands. |
Og en saadan Nat
sneg Jessica sig fra den rige Jøde og løb med en Landstryger fra Venedig herhid til Belmont. |
| Jes: |
I slig en Nat
svor ung Lorenzo at han elsked hende, stjal hendes Sjæl med mange Troskabsløfter og ikke et var sandt. |
Og en saadan Nat
svor ung Lorenzo hende Kjærlighed og stjal med Troskabseder hendes Hjerte og aldrig en var sand. |
| Lor: |
I slig en Nat
skjøn Jessica, den lille Klaffertunge, løi paa sin Elsker, og han tilgav hende. |
I slig en Nat
bagtalte just skjøn Jessica sin Elsker ret som en lille Trold, og han tilgav det. |
| Jes: |
Jeg gad fortalt dig mer om slig en Nat, hvis jeg ei hørte nogen komme—tys! |
Jeg skulde sagtens "overnatte" dig hvis ingen kom; men tys, jeg hører der Trin af en Mand. |
Lembcke's version is faithful to the point of slavishness. Compare, for example, "Jeg skulde sagtens overnatte dig" with "I would outnight you." Lassen, though never grossly inaccurate, allows himself greater liberties. Compare lines 2-6 with the original and with Lembcke. In every case the Danish version is more faithful than the Norwegian. And more mellifluous. Why Lassen should choose such clumsy and banal lines as:
I slig en Nat
Trojas Murtinder Troilus besteg
when he could have used Lembcke's, is inexplicable except on the hypothesis that he was eager to prove his own originality. The remainder of Lorenzo's first speech is scarcely better. It is neither good translation nor decent verse.
In 1882 came Lassen's Julius Caesar,[I.20] likewise published as a supplement to Folkevennen for use in the schools. A short postscript tells us that the principles which governed in the translation of the earlier play have governed here also. Lassen specifically declares that he used Foersom's translation (Copenhagen, 1811) as the basis for the translation of Antony's oration. A comparison shows that in this scene Lassen follows Foersom closely—he keeps archaisms which Lembcke amended. One or two instances:
| Foersom: |
Seer, her foer Casii Dolk igjennem den; seer, hvilken Rift den nidske Casca gjorde; her rammed' den høitelskte Bruti Dolk, etc. |
| Lembcke: |
Se, her foer Cassius' Dolk igjennem den; se hvilken Rift den onde Casca gjorde. Her stødte Brutus den høitelskede, etc. |
| Lassen: |
Se! her foer Casii Dolk igjennem den; se hvilken Rift den onde Casca gjorde. Her rammed den høielskte Bruti Dolk, etc. |
For the rest, a reading of this translation leaves the same impression as a reading of The Merchant of Venice—it is a reasonably good piece of work but distinctly inferior to Foersom and to Lembcke's modernization of Foersom. Lassen clearly had Lembcke at hand; he seldom, however, followed him for more than a line or two. What is more important is that there are reminiscences of Foersom not only in the funeral scene, where Lassen himself acknowledges the fact, but elsewhere. Note a few lines from the quarrel between Brutus and Cassius (Act IV, Sc. 3) beginning with Cassius' speech:
Urge me no more, I shall forget myself.