A PORTION of the works of King Alfred having already appeared in the series of which this volume forms a part, the Editor thought that a complete edition of his Anglo-Saxon translation of the treatise of Boethius de Consolatione Philosophiae would be acceptable. Some years since, the late Mr. Cardale published the prose of the Anglo-Saxon version with an English translation, which was soon afterwards followed by an edition of the Metres, with a literal translation by the present Editor. In the edition now printed, the judicious selection by Mr. Cardale from the different readings of the only MSS. in existence has been carefully weighed, and, for the most part, followed. The MSS. alluded to are the Cottonian MS., Otho, a. vi., now in the library of the British Museum, and one which contains merely a prosaic version, in the Bodleian Library, Oxford. The MS. in the British Museum formerly belonged to Sir Robert Cotton, and was so much injured by the fire which destroyed a portion of his valuable collection before its removal to our great public library, that for many years it was utterly useless, consisting merely of detached fragments thrown together in a box, until, by the skill and industry of the Rev. Joseph Stevenson and the late John Holmes, Esq., it was rearranged in 1844, the detached parts being neatly put together within a border of new parchment, and is now rendered so perfect that most of it can be read with the greatest ease! This MS. contains a similar translation of the prose portion of

Boethius to that in the Bodleian Library, but the Latin Metres are rendered in Anglo-Saxon verse, while those in the Bodleian MS. are translated in a prosaic form. In this edition every word contained in both MSS. is given, and the variations, which are the result of a careful collation, are marked at the foot of each page.

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The original work of Boethius de Consolatione Philosophiæ is extremely interesting from the circumstances under which it was written. The author, whose full name was Anicius Manlius Severinus Boethius, was born between A.D. 470 and 475. His father dying while he was young, was brought up among his father's friends at Rome, who were distinguished men, and of whom Symmachus, to whom allusion is made, was one. Boethius was famous for his general learning, and also for his extensive charities. He married Rusticiana, the daughter of Symmachus, and was the father of two sons, Aurelius Anicius Symmachus, and Anicius Manlius Severinus Boethius, who were consuls A.D. 522. His high character naturally brought him into public notice, and, after being consul A.D. 510, he attracted the attention of Theodoric, king of the Ostrogoths, who gave him a responsible appointment in his court, and consulted him on many important subjects. After attaining the greatest height of worldly prosperity, his happiness was suddenly overcast. His unflinching integrity provoked enmity in the court of Theodoric; and his boldness in pleading the cause of Albinus, when accused of treason by an informer, seems to have afforded his enemies a plea for charging him and Symmachus with the intention of delivering Rome from the barbarian yoke. Whatever grounds there may have been for the charge, he was treated with great injustice, not being allowed a trial, and a sentence of confiscation and death being passed against him without a hearing! He was imprisoned in the baptistry of the church at Ticinum, which was to be seen till A.D. 1584; and during this imprisonment

he wrote his books De Consolatione Philosophiæ. He was afterwards beheaded, or, according to some writers, he was beaten to death with clubs. Symmachus was also beheaded, and Rusticiana was reduced to poverty, until, through the kindness of the widow of Theodoric, who was regent during her son's minority, her husband's confiscated property was restored to her. A tomb was erected to the memory of Boethius by Luitprand, king of the Lombards, in the church of S. Pietro Cielo d'Oro; and afterwards a more magnificent one by Otho III., with an epitaph by Pope Sylvester II. There is much difficulty in deciding whether Boethius was a Christian or a devout heathen. Whatever he may have been, there is not in the original treatise any mention of the consolations which Christianity affords to the unfortunate. As is elsewhere stated, any allusions to the Christian religion which occur in the following pages, are introduced by King Alfred. Yet, as it has been well observed by an eminent writer, "If, on the one hand, the general silence on the subject of Christianity in such a book, at such a period of his life, proves that, if he was a Christian, its doctrines could hardly have been a part of his living belief; on the other hand, the incidental phrases which occur, the strong religious theism which pervades the whole work, the real belief which it indicates in prayer and Providence, and the unusually high tone of his public life, prove that, if a heathen, his general character must have been deeply tinged by the contemporaneous influences of Christianity."

The peculiar circumstances of King Alfred's life very naturally produced a sympathy in his mind for the sufferngs of the noble Roman, and were the happy means of producing a work, in which, at the distance of a thousand years, we can hear, as it were, our revered sovereign speaking to us in his own language on some of the most important topics of human life! For although King Alfred professed to translate the work of Boethius, yet he inserted in various parts

many of his own thoughts and feelings, and thus composed several moral essays, in which he has, in a manner, transmitted himself to posterity. The imperfection of King Alfred's early education will account for a few mistakes in names and historical facts. These, however, by no means lessen the value of the translation; and instead of wondering at their occurrence, one should rather feel surprised that they are not more numerous and more important, considering the disadvantages under which he laboured. The translation was made, as the royal author states, amid “various and manifold worldly occupations, which often busied him both in mind and in body. The occupations," said he, "are very difficult to be numbered which in his days came upon the kingdoms which he had undertaken to govern." On this account our wonder may well be excited, since we meet with literary attainments which, in those days, were to be sought rather in the retirement of the cloister than in the noise and tumult of a camp, which was often in the neighbourhood of harassing foes.

King Alfred entirely altered the arrangement of Boethius, for, instead of dividing his work into four books, and subdividing each book into chapters, as his author had done, he divided the whole work into forty-two chapters, alluding occasionally to the books of the original. The first six chapters of the Anglo-Saxon version comprise the chief part of the first book of Boethius, together with a short introduction. The next fifteen chapters contain the substance of the second book. The third book is translated in the fourteen chapters which follow. Four chapters and part of another, viz. part of chapter xl., are devoted to the fourth book; and the remaining portion of chapter xl., together with chapters xli. and xlii., completes the whole.

Although the work is deeply interesting, yet the most striking portion will be found in the following chapters: In chapter xv., there is a pleasing description of the golden age.