9* s. xii. DEC. 12, lore.] NOTES AND QUERIES.
473
have been in use for many centuries before
hoar-thorn was ever heard of, whilst it seems
to be assumed, in direct contradiction to all
evidence, that the contrary was the case.
Hoarthorn is mere English ; but haiuthorn
(i.e., "hedge-thorn") is a word of extreme
antiquity, one of the old Germanic words
existing long before the Saxons came to
England, and still represented in three old
Germanic languages viz., German, Dutch,
and English. WALTER W. SKEAT.
It may interest PROF. SKEAT to hear that in August last a child in this village who had made a collection of pressed flowers and leaves pointed out to me amongst others the leaf of the hawthorn, which she described as a haga- thorn. H. M. BATSON.
Hoe Benham, Newbury.
"PALO DE COBRA" (9 th S. xii. 288, 374, 436)' A couple of references which I have casually come across, and which favour my suggested identification of this plant, may be of interest. In _Ogilyie's 'Imperial Dictionary' (1871 edition) it is observed that the rhizome of Ophiorrhiza mungos
"in the pharmacopceias is termed Radix serpenti- num. It is much esteemed in China, Java, Sumatra, &c., as preventing the effects which usually follow the naja, a venomous serpent [sic], and those of the bite of a mad dog/'
And in the ' Standard Dictionary ' of Funk & Wagnalls, s.v. ' Mungo/ it is mentioned that the mungoose "is said to eat this plant as a remedy for snakebite." A little time spent on following up these clues would, I have no doubt, definitely settle the matter.
J. DORMER.
TRANSLATIONS, GOOD AND BAD (9 th S. xii. 285). In a tentative sort of way I have done a little translating, so that I may timidly put forward a claim to offer a few remarks. All translations are bad, in the sense that all sub- stitutes are bad. A photograph is a poor consolation for the lost touch of a vanished hand. Most of us would gladly cover our walls with Kembrandts or Correggios. Failing these we content ourselves with the humble
Erint or etching. To many minds a trans- ition is an abomination ; my lamented father was of this severe school. But there is a numerous and influential class whose early studies were neglected or not pushed far enough along the lines of advancing scholar- ship, and to whom a first-rate translation is a necessity and a boon. In later life, with economic development, a taste for severe study often springs up. Thus a brilliant transcript of a classical writer may serve as an introduction to the writer himself, pre-
cisely as a first-class criticism of a modern
author serves to draw readers to his works.
For my own part, I have read most of the
authors of antiquity in a modern dress, and
have suffered no serious inconvenience there-
from. The pleasure I derived has always been
tempered by remorse for chances spurned in
the heyday of youth. In one respect a transla-
tion has a distinct advantage over the original
production. One can examine its technique
with the eye of a master, and ask oneself
whether one could have bettered this or that
phrase or turn of thought. As a matter of
fact I never take up any translated work
without seeking to discover points for admi-
ration, either in the diction or the style. Yet
I presume one ought to differentiate between
the reproductions of the masterpieces of an-
tiquity. At the present moment I am read-
ing Lecky's * European Morals,' in which I
find excerpts translated from the 'Epistles 'of
Seneca, polished to such a degree of perfection
that it puzzles one to conceive how the matter
could be better managed. To me they seem
the ne plus ultra in transcription. This is
the judgment I am pleased to pass upon
Jowett's ' Plato.' Jowett, in my humble
opinion, has enriched the language with a
new and almost original work. Plato him-
self would have some difficulty in recognizing
his own labours, unless he had acquired a
mastery of English during his sojourn in
the nether regions. Nor shall I ever forget
the many thrills of exquisite pleasure I got
out of John Hookham Frere's rendering of
the ' Birds,' &c. of Aristophanes, which is a
veritable tour de force, and is well-nigh
matchless for symmetry, grace, and bril-
liancy of diction. Now the student using
a translation should always ask himself
whether that rendering has enabled him to
get a moderate insight into the fascinations
of the original. Few translations rise to
this severe test, and so disgust the student
with his altogether blameless Greek author.
Homer must feel very sore over his English
exponents. Most reproductions seem to have
been passed through an oven, they are so
arid and gritty. All the scent of the rose
seems crushed out of them. Like the writing
of memoirs, translating is a fine art, which
few men are by nature adapted for.
M. L. R. BRESLAR.
" WAKE "=A VILLAGE FEAST (9 th S. xii. 107, 134, 216). At Little Hucklow, in the High Peak of Derbyshire, Wake Sunday is the second Sunday in September. But the annual feast begins on the preceding Saturday, which is known as Wake Eve, or Wake Even, and, till late years, ended on the following Satur-
