+ − Nature 106:494 D 16 ’20 1950w
“If these Gifford lectures had no other value they would be welcome for their simple and comprehensive statement of the present phase of the Darwinian theory. In some cases he lays himself open to a charge of bad philosophy, in others of bad science. None the less, we are grateful for what is always a serious and often a true and beautiful book.”
+ − The Times [London] Lit Sup p848 D 16 ’20 1900w
THORLEY, WILFRID CHARLES, tr. and ed. Fleurs-de-lys. *$2 Houghton 841.08
20–26552
This anthology of French verse reaches from the thirteenth century to the present. It is a free translation and in his introduction to the collection, which is in part a treatise on the art of translation, the author sets forth his reasons for a free rendering. The greater part of the introduction is a historical survey of French verse. The poems are chronologically grouped and the English employed is likewise chronologically adapted to the original verse. There are copious notes, an index of authors and an index of first lines.
“Mr Thorley’s power of fluent expression gets the better of his sense of history. What he brings with him obscures what he takes. But to harp on Mr Thorley’s failures is ungenerous. Let us rather express our surprise and admiration that in a volume so large and so varied the failures are not more numerous and more complete.” A. L. H.
+ − Ath p209 F 13 ’20 1000w + Booklist 16:339 Jl ’20
“The whole collection is marked by inspiration, technical flexibility and literary tact.”