Page:Two Mock Epics (Hanuman and Tantum Religio), Lyrics, Post Meridian Verse, The Turret Captain's Toast and other Verses.pdf/9



order to preserve as far as possible the original metres and system of double-rhyming in the translation of this Slav mock-heroic poem, much has been deliberately sacrificed. It is a poem of some two thousand lines in length; and, in comparison with the Slavonic, our language is poor in rhymes. And not only have the exact combinations of double-rhymes in general been exactly reproduced, but also in many passages the exact rhythm of individuaindividual [sic] lines. More than this. In by far the greater part of the poem, the translation is not only a phonetic but also a word-for-word reproduction of the text. With more latitude, far greater fluency of versification could have been easily attained. Add to this the difficulty of transferring that subtle essence—humour—from one language to another. Lastly, the classical perfection of form which renders Slav humour a thing sui generis is necessarily in great part lost. Literary form is seen in perfection only in highly inflexed languages. Czech is more highly inflexed than Greek or Latin. English is fast returning to the agglutinative stage. However, in spite of these drawbacks, it is hoped that the poem, if it does not find a large audience, may at least please those who know what good writing is, and that the striking humour and admirable working out of the originaoriginal [sic] conceit may to some extent counterbalance the inevitable defects of a translation.

This preface could easily be extended to the length of the poem itself, or longer, if it were deemed desirable to cite a hundredth part of the barbarities practised, not in past times, but within the last fifty years, by Christians—both Papist and Protestant—upon one another or upon their opponents. To marshal the long and damning array of facts here would be itself a cruelty. They can always be held in reserve. Freethinkers have no desire unduly to wound the susceptibilities of Christians, but only to render the barbarities which hitherto have invariably accompanied every powerful Christian organisation, impossible for the future, or at any rate ridiculous.