Knowing but too well that it is the general opinion of the people of this country that Englishmen are made of gold, and that it is only necessary to ask the most extravagant12 price for any article in order to obtain it, I told no person, to whom I applied13, who I was, or of what country; and I believe I was supposed to be a German. [103b]
Then came the composing or setting up of the type of the book. When Borrow was called to account by his London employers, who were not sure whether he was wasting time, he replied: “I have been working in the printing-office as a common compositor, between ten and thirteen hours every day.” In another letter Borrow records further difficulties with the printers after the composition had been effected. Several of the working printers, it appears, “went away in disgust.” Then he adds:
I was resolved “to do or die,” and, instead of distressing14 and perplexing the Committee with complaints, to write nothing until I could write something perfectly15 satisfactory, as I now can; and to bring about that result I have spared neither myself nor my own money. I have toiled16 in a close printing-office the whole day, during ninety degrees of heat, for the purpose of setting an example, and have bribed17 people to work whom nothing but bribes18 would induce so to do. I am obliged to say all this in self-justification. No member of the Bible Society would ever have heard a syllable19 respecting what I have undergone but for the question, “What has Mr. Borrow been about?” [103c]
p. 104It is not my intention to add materially to the letters of Borrow from Russia and from Spain that have already been published, although many are in my possession. They reveal an aspect of the life of Borrow that has been amply dealt with already, and it is an aspect that interests me but little. Here, however, is one hitherto unpublished letter that throws much light upon Borrow’s work at this time, and shows, moreover, how well he was learning the cant20 phrases which found acceptance with his friends in Earl Street:
To the Rev. Andrew Brandram
St. Petersburg, 18th Oct., 1833.
Reverend Sir,—Supposing that you will not be displeased21 to hear how I am proceeding22, I have taken the liberty to send a few lines by a friend [104] who is leaving Russia for England. Since my arrival in Petersburg I have been occupied eight hours every day in transcribing23 a Manchu manuscript of the Old Testament belonging to Baron24 Schilling, and I am happy to be able to say that I have just completed the last of it, the Rev. Mr. Swan, the Scottish missionary, having before my arrival copied the previous part. Mr. Swan departs to his mission in Siberia in about two months, during most part of which time I shall be engaged in collating25 our transcripts26 with the original. It is a great blessing27 that the Bible Society has now prepared the whole of the Sacred Scriptures28 in Manchu, which will doubtless, when printed, prove of incalculable benefit to tens of millions who have hitherto been ignorant of the will of God, putting their trust in idols29 of wood and stone instead of in a crucified Saviour30. I am sorry to say that this country in respect to religion is in a state almost as lamentable31 as the darkest regions of the East, and the blame of this rests entirely32 upon the Greek hierarchy33, who discountenance all attempts to the spiritual improvement of the people, who, poor things, are exceedingly willing to receive instruction, and, notwithstanding the scantiness34 of their means in general for the most part, eagerly buy the tracts35 which a few pious36 English Christians37 cause to be printed and hawked38 in the neighbourhood. But no one is better aware, Sir, than yourself that without the Scriptures men can never be brought to a true sense of their fallen and miserable39 state, and of the proper means to be employed to free themselves from the thraldom40 of Satan. The last few copies which remained of the New Testament in Russian were purchased and distributed a few days ago, and it is lamentable to be compelled to state that at the present there appears no probability of another edition being permitted in the modern language. It is true that there are near twenty thousand copies of the Sclavonic bible in the shop which is entrusted41 with the sale of p. 105the books of the late Russian Bible Society, but the Sclavonian translation is upwards42 of a thousand years old, having been made in the eighth century, and differs from the dialect spoken at present in Russia as much as the old Saxon does from the modern English. Therefore it cannot be of the slightest utility to any but the learned, that is, to about ten individuals in one thousand. I hope and trust that the Almighty43 will see fit to open some door for the illumination of this country, for it is not to be wondered if vice44 and crime be very prevalent here when the people are ignorant of the commandments of God. Is it to be wondered that the people follow their every day pursuits on the Sabbath when they know not the unlawfulness of so doing? Is it to be wondered that they steal when only in dread45 of the laws of the country, and are not deterred46 by the voice of conscience which only exists in a few? This accounts for their profanation47 of their Sabbath, their proneness48 to theft, etc. It is only surprising that so much goodness is to be found in their nature as is the case, for they are mild, polite, and obliging, and in most of their faces is an expression of great kindness and benignity49. I find that the slight knowledge which I possess of the Russian tongue is of the utmost service to me here, for the common opinion in England that only French and German are spoken by persons of any respectability in Petersburg is a great and injurious error. The nobility, it is true, for the most part speak French when necessity obliges them, that is, when in company with foreigners who are ignorant of Russian, but the affairs of most people who arrive in Petersburg do not lie among the nobility, therefore a knowledge of the language of the country, unless you associate solely50 with your own countrymen, is indispensable. The servants speak no language but their native tongue, and also nine out of ten of the middle classes of Russians. I might as well address Mr. Lipóftsof, who is to be my coadjutor in the edition of the New Testament (in Manchu), in Hebrew as in either French or German, for though he can read the first a little he cannot speak a word of it or understand when spoken. I will now conclude by wishing you all possible happiness. I have the honour to be, etc.,
George Borrow.
When the work was done at so great a cost of money, and of energy and enthusiasm on the part of George Borrow, it was found that the books were useless. Most of these New Testaments51 were afterwards sent out to China, and copies distributed by the missionaries52 there as opportunities offered. It was found then—why not before is not explained—that the Manchus in China were able to read Chinese, preferring it to their own language, which indeed had become almost confined to official use. [105] In fact what was p. 106a congenial livelihood53 for Borrow—this production of a Bible in the Manchu tongue—would have been death and desolation to the highly placed caste of the Chinese Empire had these been compelled to make use of Borrow’s efforts. The experiment was not to be made. The Bible Society had such comfort for their subscribers as is contained in the fact that in the year 1859 editions of St. Matthew and St. Mark were published in Manchu and Chinese side by side, the Manchu text being a reprint of that edited by Borrow, and that these books are still in use in Chinese Turkestan. But Borrow had here to suffer one of the many disappointments of his life. If not actually a gypsy he had all a gypsy’s love of wandering. No impartial54 reader of the innumerable letters of this period can possibly claim that there was in Borrow any of the proselytising zeal or evangelical fervour which wins for the names of Henry Martyn and of David Livingstone so much honour and sympathy even among the least zealous55. At the best Borrow’s zeal for religion was of the order of Dr. Keate, the famous headmaster of Eton—“Blessed are the pure in heart . . . if you are not pure in heart, by God, I’ll flog you!” Borrow had got his New Testaments printed, and he wanted to distribute them because he wished to see still more of the world, and had no lack of courage to carry out any well-defined scheme of the organisation56 which was employing him. Borrow had thrown out constant hints in his letters home. People had suggested to him, he said, that he was printing Testaments for which he would never find readers. If you wish for readers, they had said to him, “you must seek them among the natives of Pekin and the fierce hordes57 of desert Tartary.” And it was this last most courageous58 thing that Borrow proposed. Let him, he said to Mr. Jowett, fix his headquarters at Kiachta upon the northern frontier of China. The Society should have an agent there:
I am a person of few words, and will therefore state without circumlocution59 that I am willing to become that agent. I speak Russ, Manchu, and the Tartar or broken Turkish of the Russian steppes, and have also some knowledge of Chinese, which I might easily improve at Kiachta, half of the inhabitants of which town are Chinamen. I am therefore not altogether unqualified for such an adventure. [106]
p. 107The Bible Committee considered this and other plans through the intervening months, and it seems clear that at the end they would have sanctioned some form of missionary work for Borrow in the Chinese Empire; but on 1st June, 1835, he wrote to say that the Russian Government, solicitous60 of maintaining good relations with China, would not grant him a passport across Siberia except on the condition that he carried not one single Manchu Bible thither61. [107] And so Borrow’s dreams were left unfulfilled. He was never to see China or the farther East, although, because he was a dreamer and like his hero, Defoe, a bit of a liar62, he often said he had. In September, 1835, he was back in England awaiting in his mother’s home in Norwich further commissions from his friends of the Bible Society.
Work on the Manchu New Testament did not entirely absorb Borrow’s activities in St. Petersburg. He seems to have made a proposition to another organisation, as the following letter indicates. The proposal does not appear to have borne any fruit:
Prayer Book and Homily Society,
No. 4 Exeter Hall, London, January 16th, 1835.
Sir,—Your letters dated July and November 17, 1834, and addressed to the Rev. F. Cunningham, have been laid before the Committee of the Prayer Book and Homily Society, who have agreed to print the translation of the first three Homilies into the Russian language at St. Petersburg, under the direction of Mr. and Mrs. Biller, so soon as they shall have caused the translation to undergo a thorough revision, and shall have certified63 the same to this Society. I write by this post to Mrs. Biller on the subject. In respect to the second Homily in Manchu, if we rightly understand your statement, an edition of five hundred copies may be sent forth6, the whole expense of which, including paper and printing, will amount to about £12. If we are correct in this the Committee are willing to bear the expense of five hundred copies, by way of trial, their wish being this, viz.: that printed copies should be put into the hands of the most competent persons, who shall be invited to offer such remarks on the translation as shall seem desirable; especially that Dr. Morrison of Canton should be requested to submit copies to the inspection64 of Manchu scholars as he shall think fit. When the translation has been thoroughly65 revised, the Committee will consider the propriety66 of printing a larger edition. They think that the plan of submitting copies in letters of gold to the p. 108inspection of the highest personages in China should probably be deferred67 till the translation has been thus revised. We hope that this resolution will be satisfactory to you; but the Committee, not wishing to prescribe a narrower limit than such as is strictly68 necessary, have directed me to say, that should the expense of an edition of five hundred copies of the Homily in Manchu exceed £12, they will still be willing to meet it, but not beyond the sum of £15.
Should you print this edition be pleased to furnish us with twenty-five copies, and send twenty-five copies at the least to Rev. Dr. Morrison, at Canton, if you have the means of doing so; if not, we should wish to receive fifty copies, that we may send twenty-five to Canton. In this case you will be at liberty to draw a bill upon us for the money, within the limits specified69 above, in such manner as is most convenient. Possibly Mr. and Mrs. Biller may be able to assist you in this matter. Believe me, dear Sir, yours most sincerely,
C. R. Pritchett.
Mr. G. Borrow.
I am not aware whether I am addressing a clergyman or a layman70, and therefore shall direct as above. Will you be so kind as to send the MS. of the Russian Homilies to Mrs. Biller?
During Borrow’s last month or two in St. Petersburg he printed two thin octavo volumes of translations—some of them verses which, undeterred by the disheartening reception of earlier efforts, he had continued to make from each language in succession that he had the happiness to acquire, although most of the poems are from his old portfolios71. These little books were named Targum and The Talisman72. Dr. Knapp calls the latter an appendix to the former. They are absolutely separate volumes of verse. The publishers, it will be seen, are the German firm that printed the Manchu New Testament, Schultz and Beneze. Borrow’s preface to Targum is dated “St. Petersburg, June 1, 1835.” Here in Targum we find the trial poem which in competition with a rival candidate had won him the privilege of going to Russia for the Bible Society—The Mountain Chase. Here also among new verses are some from the Arabic, the Persian, and the Turkish. If it be true, as his friend Hasfeld said, that here was a poet who was able to render another without robbing the garland of a single leaf—that would but prove that the poetry which Borrow rendered was not of the first order. Nor taking another standard—the capacity to render p. 109the ballad73 with a force that captures “the common people”—can we agree with William Bodham Donne, who was delighted with Targum and said that “the language and rhythm are vastly superior to Macaulay’s Lays of Ancient Rome.” In The Talisman we have four little poems from the Russian of Pushkin followed by another poem, The Mermaid74, by the same author. Three other poems in Russian and Polish complete the little book. Borrow left behind him in St. Petersburg with his friend, Hasfeld, a presentation copy for Pushkin, who, when he received it, expressed regret that he had not met his translator while Borrow was in St. Petersburg.
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1
folly
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| n.愚笨，愚蠢，蠢事，蠢行，傻话 | |
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testament
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| n.遗嘱；证明 | |
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3
rev
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| v.发动机旋转，加快速度 | |
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4
missionary
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| adj.教会的，传教(士)的；n.传教士 | |
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5
transcript
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| n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书 | |
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6
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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7
qualified
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| adj.合格的，有资格的，胜任的，有限制的 | |
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8
zeal
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| n.热心，热情，热忱 | |
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9
grudge
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| n.不满，怨恨，妒嫉；vt.勉强给，不情愿做 | |
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ardent
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| adj.热情的，热烈的，强烈的，烈性的 | |
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11
subterfuges
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| n.（用说谎或欺骗以逃脱责备、困难等的）花招，遁词( subterfuge的名词复数 ) | |
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12
extravagant
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| adj.奢侈的；过分的；(言行等)放肆的 | |
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13
applied
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| adj.应用的；v.应用，适用 | |
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14
distressing
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| a.使人痛苦的 | |
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15
perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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16
toiled
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| 长时间或辛苦地工作( toil的过去式和过去分词 )； 艰难缓慢地移动，跋涉 | |
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17
bribed
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| v.贿赂( bribe的过去式和过去分词 )；向（某人）行贿，贿赂 | |
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18
bribes
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| n.贿赂( bribe的名词复数 )；向（某人）行贿，贿赂v.贿赂( bribe的第三人称单数 )；向（某人）行贿，贿赂 | |
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19
syllable
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| n.音节；vt.分音节 | |
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20
cant
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| n.斜穿，黑话，猛扔 | |
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21
displeased
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| a.不快的 | |
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22
proceeding
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| n.行动，进行，(pl.)会议录，学报 | |
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23
transcribing
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| （用不同的录音手段）转录( transcribe的现在分词 )； 改编（乐曲）（以适应他种乐器或声部）； 抄写； 用音标标出（声音） | |
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baron
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| n.男爵；(商业界等)巨头，大王 | |
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collating
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| v.校对( collate的现在分词 )；整理；核对；整理（文件或书等） | |
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transcripts
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| n.抄本（ transcript的名词复数 ）；转写本；文字本；副本 | |
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blessing
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| n.祈神赐福；祷告；祝福，祝愿 | |
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scriptures
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| 经文，圣典( scripture的名词复数 )； 经典 | |
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idols
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| 偶像( idol的名词复数 )； 受崇拜的人或物； 受到热爱和崇拜的人或物； 神像 | |
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saviour
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| n.拯救者，救星 | |
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31
lamentable
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| adj.令人惋惜的，悔恨的 | |
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entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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hierarchy
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| n.等级制度；统治集团，领导层 | |
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scantiness
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| n.缺乏 | |
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tracts
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| 大片土地( tract的名词复数 )； 地带； （体内的）道； （尤指宣扬宗教、伦理或政治的）短文 | |
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pious
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| adj.虔诚的；道貌岸然的 | |
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Christians
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| n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 ) | |
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38
hawked
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| 通过叫卖主动兜售（hawk的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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39
miserable
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| adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的 | |
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thraldom
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| n.奴隶的身份，奴役，束缚 | |
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41
entrusted
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| v.委托，托付( entrust的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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42
upwards
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| adv.向上，在更高处...以上 | |
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43
almighty
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| adj.全能的，万能的；很大的，很强的 | |
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44
vice
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| n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的 | |
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45
dread
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| vt.担忧，忧虑；惧怕，不敢；n.担忧，畏惧 | |
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46
deterred
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| v.阻止，制止( deter的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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47
profanation
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| n.亵渎 | |
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48
proneness
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| n.俯伏，倾向 | |
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49
benignity
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| n.仁慈 | |
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50
solely
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| adv.仅仅，唯一地 | |
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51
testaments
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| n.遗嘱( testament的名词复数 )；实际的证明 | |
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52
missionaries
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| n.传教士( missionary的名词复数 ) | |
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53
livelihood
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| n.生计，谋生之道 | |
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54
impartial
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| adj.(in,to)公正的，无偏见的 | |
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55
zealous
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| adj.狂热的，热心的 | |
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56
organisation
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| n.组织，安排，团体，有机休 | |
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57
hordes
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| n.移动着的一大群( horde的名词复数 )；部落 | |
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58
courageous
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| adj.勇敢的，有胆量的 | |
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59
circumlocution
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| n. 绕圈子的话，迂回累赘的陈述 | |
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60
solicitous
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| adj.热切的，挂念的 | |
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61
thither
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| adv.向那里；adj.在那边的，对岸的 | |
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62
liar
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| n.说谎的人 | |
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63
certified
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| a.经证明合格的；具有证明文件的 | |
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64
inspection
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| n.检查，审查，检阅 | |
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65
thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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66
propriety
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| n.正当行为；正当；适当 | |
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67
deferred
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| adj.延期的，缓召的v.拖延，延缓，推迟( defer的过去式和过去分词 )；服从某人的意愿，遵从 | |
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68
strictly
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| adv.严厉地，严格地；严密地 | |
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69
specified
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| adj.特定的 | |
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70
layman
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| n.俗人，门外汉，凡人 | |
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71
portfolios
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| n.投资组合( portfolio的名词复数 )；（保险）业务量；（公司或机构提供的）系列产品；纸夹 | |
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72
talisman
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| n.避邪物，护身符 | |
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73
ballad
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| n.歌谣，民谣，流行爱情歌曲 | |
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74
mermaid
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| n.美人鱼 | |
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