Life of Lord Byron, Vol. 6: With His Letters and JournalsMoore, Thomas
General
Life of Lord Byron, Vol. 6: With His Letters and Journals
Moore, Thomas
Byron, George Gordon Byron, Baron, 1788-1824; Poets, English -- 19th century -- Biography
We now come to the "Grecian Patterson," or "Cary," which Mr. Gell has
begun to publish; and really he has carried the epic rule of
concealing the person of the author to as great a length as either of
the above-mentioned heroes of itinerary writ. We hear nothing of his
"hair-breadth 'scapes" by sea or land; and we do not even know, for
the greater part of his journey through Argolis, whether he relates
what he has seen or what he has heard. Prom other parts of the book,
we find the former to be the case: but, though there have been
tourists and "strangers" in other countries, who have kindly
permitted their readers to learn rather too much of their sweet
selves, yet it is possible to carry delicacy, or cautious silence, or
whatever it may be called, to the contrary extreme. We think that Mr.
Gell has fallen into this error, so opposite to that of his numerous
brethren. It is offensive, indeed, to be told what a man has eaten
for dinner, or how pathetic he was on certain occasions; but we like
to know that there is a being yet living who describes the scenes to
which he introduces us; and that it is not a mere translation from
Strabo or Pausanias which we are reading, or a commentary on those
authors. This reflection leads us to the concluding remark in Mr.
Gell's preface (by much the most interesting part of his book) to his
Itinerary of Greece, in which he thus expresses himself:--
"The confusion of the modern with the ancient names of places
in this volume is absolutely unavoidable; they are, however,
mentioned in such a manner, that the reader will soon be
accustomed to the indiscriminate use of them. The necessity of
applying the ancient appellations to the different routes,
will be evident from the total ignorance of the public on the
subject of the modern names, which, having never appeared in
print, are only known to the few individuals who have visited
the country.
"What could appear less intelligible to the reader, or less
useful to the traveller, than a route from Chione and Zaracca
to Kutchukmadi, from thence to Krabata to Schoenochorio, and
by the mills of Peali, while every one is in some degree
acquainted with the names of Stymphalus, Nemea, Mycenae,
Lyrceia, Lerna, and Tegea?"
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