Page:King Alfred's Old English version of St. Augustine's Soliloquies - Hargrove - 1902.djvu/39

SOLILOQUIES TO ALFRED'S OTHER WORKS XXXIII '''2. Title.''' - In regard to the somewhat minor question of the title, Wülker thinks Alfred made a collection of Latin quotations from the Church Fathers and from the Bible, and then translated these into Old English and wrote a preface, and that this constituted his Handbook. But the evidence is insufficient for such a conclusion, because:

1. The Soliloquies is not a collection of quotations, but a translation and adaptation of one work. Book I is a fairly close rendering; Book II is a paraphrase of Book II of the Latin. It is true that there are a few quotations from other works in Books II and III of Alfred's version, but not enough to justify our calling it an anthology (blōstman, flosculi, Blumenlese).

2. The unity and sequence of Alfred's version indicate, not a heterogeneous group of quotations, but a dominant theme which suggested and easily invited what quotations +s he used.

I prefer to reject the title of Blooms as used by Hulme, Hubbard, and others, on the ground that the word blōstman, as used by Alfred, was most likely a general, descriptive term and not intended as a title.

3. Relation to Works Other than the Boethius. Alfred translated, or had a part in translating, the following books:

1. The Universal History of Orosius. 2. The Ecclesiastical History of the English People of Bede. 3. The Dialogues of Gregory the Great. 4. The Pastoral Care of Gregory the Great. 5. The Consolation of Philosophy of Boethius. 6. The Soliloquies of St. Augustine.

The first fact that strikes us as to the kind of books King Alfred chose for the betterment of his people is that they are thoroughly imbued with the Christian spirit. Orosius was written at the suggestion of St. Augustine, to