We know, however, that it has been printed with a preface, in which much is boasted, by one of our brethren, the commentator6 named Par5?us, who first perceived by the force of his genius, that the Apocalypse is a tragedy. On the strength of this discovery he divided the Apocalypse into five acts, and inserted choruses worthy7 of the elegance8 and fine nature of the piece. The author of this preface speaks to us of the fine tragedies of St. Gregory of Nazianzen. He asserts, that a tragedy should never have more than five acts, and to prove it, he gives us the “Samson Agonistes” of Milton, which has but one. Those who like elaborate declamation10 will be satisfied with this piece.
A comedy of Samson was played for a long time in Italy. A translation of it was made in Paris in 1717, by one named Romagnesi; it was represented on the French theatre of the pretended Italian comedy, formerly11 the palace of the dukes of Burgundy. It was published, and dedicated12 to the duke of Orleans, regent of France.
In this sublime piece, Arlequin, the servant of Samson, fights with a turkey-cock, whilst his master carries off the gates of Gaza on his shoulders.
In 1732, it was wished to represent, at the opera of Paris, a tragedy of Samson, set to music by the celebrated13 Rameau; but it was not permitted. There was neither Arlequin nor turkey-cock; but the thing appeared too serious; besides, certain people were very glad to mortify14 Rameau, who possessed15 great talents. Yet at that time they performed the opera of “Jephthah,” extracted from the Old Testament16, and the comedy of the “Prodigal Son,” from the New Testament.
There is an old edition of the “Samson Agonistes” of Milton, preceded by an abridgment17 of the history of the hero. The following is this abridgment:
The Jews, to whom God promised by oath all the country which is between the river of Egypt and the Euphrates, and who through their sins never had this country, were on the contrary reduced to servitude, which slavery lasted for forty years. Now there was a Jew of the tribe of Dan, named Manoah; and the wife of this Manoah was barren; and an angel appeared to this woman, and said to her, “Behold, thou shalt conceive and bear a son; and now drink no wine nor strong drink, neither eat any unclean thing; for the child shall be a Nazarite to God, from the womb to the day of his death.”
The angel afterwards appeared to the husband and wife; they gave him a kid to eat; he would have none of it, and disappeared in the midst of the smoke; and the woman said, We shall surely die, because we have seen God; but they died not.
The slave Samson being born, was consecrated18 a Nazarite. As soon as he was grown up, the first thing he did was to go to the Ph?nician or Philistine19 town of Timnath, to court a daughter of one of his masters, whom he married.
In going to his mistress he met a lion, and tore him in pieces with his naked hand, as he would have done a kid. Some days after, he found a swarm20 of bees in the throat of the dead lion, with some honey, though bees never rest on carrion21.
Then he proposed this enigma22 to his companions: Out of the eater came forth23 meat, and out of the strong came forth sweetness: if you guess, I will give you thirty tunics24 and thirty gowns; if not, you shall give me thirty gowns and thirty tunics. The comrades, not being able to guess in what the solution of the enigma consisted, gained over the young wife of Samson; she drew the secret from her husband, and he was obliged to give them thirty tunics and thirty gowns. “Ah,” said he to them, “if ye had not ploughed with my heifer, ye would not have found out my riddle25.”
Soon after, the father-in-law of Samson gave another husband to his daughter.
Samson, enraged26 at having lost his wife, immediately caught three hundred foxes, tied them two together by the tails with lighted firebrands, and they fired the corn of the Philistines27.
The Jewish slaves, not being willing to be punished by their masters for the exploits of Samson, surprised him in the cavern28 in which he dwelt, tied him with great ropes, and delivered him to the Philistines. As soon as he was in the midst of them, he broke his cords, and finding the jawbone of an ass9, with one effort he killed a thousand Philistines. Such an effort making him very warm, he was dying of thirst, on which God made a fountain spout29 from one of the teeth of the ass’s jaw-bone. Samson, having drunk, went into Gaza, a Philistine town; he there immediately became smitten30 with a courtesan. As he slept with her, the Philistines shut the gates of the town, and surrounded the house, when he arose, took the gates, and carried them away. The Philistines, in despair at not being able to overcome this hero, addressed themselves to another courtesan named Delilah, with whom he afterwards slept. She finally drew from him the secret in which his strength consisted: it was only necessary to shave him, to render him equal to other men. He was shaved, became weak, and his eyes being put out, he was made to turn a mill and to play on the violin. One day, while playing in a Philistine temple, between two of its columns, he became indignant that the Philistines should have columned temples, whilst the Jews had only a tabernacle supported on four poles. He also felt that his hair began to grow; and being transported with a holy zeal31, he pulled down the two pillars; by which concussion32 the temple was overthrown33, the Philistines were crushed to death, and he with them.
Such is this preface, word for word.
This is the history which is the subject of the piece of Milton, and Romagnesi: it is adapted to Italian farce34.
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alphabetical
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| adj.字母（表）的，依字母顺序的 | |
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anecdotes
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| n.掌故，趣闻，轶事( anecdote的名词复数 ) | |
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glorify
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| vt.颂扬，赞美，使增光，美化 | |
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sublime
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| adj.崇高的，伟大的；极度的，不顾后果的 | |
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par
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| n.标准，票面价值，平均数量；adj.票面的，平常的，标准的 | |
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commentator
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| n.注释者，解说者；实况广播评论员 | |
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worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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elegance
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| n.优雅；优美，雅致；精致，巧妙 | |
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ass
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| n.驴；傻瓜，蠢笨的人 | |
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declamation
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| n. 雄辩，高调 | |
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formerly
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| adv.从前，以前 | |
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dedicated
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| adj.一心一意的；献身的；热诚的 | |
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celebrated
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| adj.有名的，声誉卓著的 | |
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mortify
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| v.克制，禁欲，使受辱 | |
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possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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testament
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| n.遗嘱；证明 | |
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abridgment
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| n.删节，节本 | |
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consecrated
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| adj.神圣的，被视为神圣的v.把…奉为神圣，给…祝圣( consecrate的过去式和过去分词 )；奉献 | |
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philistine
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| n.庸俗的人；adj.市侩的，庸俗的 | |
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swarm
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| n.(昆虫)等一大群；vi.成群飞舞；蜂拥而入 | |
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carrion
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| n.腐肉 | |
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enigma
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| n.谜，谜一样的人或事 | |
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forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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tunics
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| n.（动植物的）膜皮( tunic的名词复数 )；束腰宽松外衣；一套制服的短上衣；（天主教主教等穿的）短祭袍 | |
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riddle
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| n.谜，谜语，粗筛；vt.解谜，给…出谜，筛，检查，鉴定，非难，充满于；vi.出谜 | |
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enraged
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| 使暴怒( enrage的过去式和过去分词 )； 歜； 激愤 | |
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philistines
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| n.市侩，庸人( philistine的名词复数 )；庸夫俗子 | |
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cavern
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| n.洞穴，大山洞 | |
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spout
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| v.喷出，涌出；滔滔不绝地讲；n.喷管；水柱 | |
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smitten
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| 猛打，重击，打击( smite的过去分词 ) | |
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zeal
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| n.热心，热情，热忱 | |
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concussion
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| n.脑震荡；震动 | |
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overthrown
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| adj. 打翻的，推倒的，倾覆的 动词overthrow的过去分词 | |
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farce
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| n.闹剧，笑剧，滑稽戏；胡闹 | |
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