Transcribed from the 1873 Houlston & Sons edition, ,
edited by
JOHN JENKINS, Esq.
“I offer you a bouquet of culledflowers, I did not grow, only collect and arrange them.”—Parle Seigneur de Montaigne.
london: houlston &sons, paternoster square
llanidloes: john pryse.
1873.
[Cheap Edition.—All RightsReserved.]
The Editor of this little Collection ventures to think it may insome measure supply a want which he has heard mentioned, not only inthe Principality, but in England also. Some of the Editor’sEnglish friends—themselves being eminent in literature—havesaid to him, “We have often heard that there is much of valuein your literature and of beauty in your poetry. Why does notsome one of your literati translate them into English, and furnish uswith the means of judging for ourselves? We possess translatedspecimens of the literature, and especially the poetry of almost everyother nation and people, and should feel greater interest in readingthose of the aborigines of this country, with whom we have so much incommon.” It was to gratify this wish that the Editor wasinduced to give his services in the present undertaking, from whichhe has received and will receive no pecuniary benefit; and his solerecompense will be the satisfaction of having attempted to extend andperpetuate some of the treasures and beauties of the literature of hisnative country.
The literature of a people always reflects their character. You may discover in the prose and poetry of a nation its social condition,and in their different phases its political progress. The ageof Homer was the heroic, in which the Greeks excelled in martial exploits;that of Virgil found the Romans an intellectual and gallant race; thegenius of Chaucer, Spencer and Sidney revelled in the feudal halls andenchanted vistas of the middle ages; Shakespeare delineated the Britishmind in its grave and comic moods; Milton reflected the sober aspectand spiritual aspirations of the Puritanical era; while at later periodsPope, Goldsmith and Cowper pourtrayed the softer features of an advancedcivilization and milder times.
Following the same rule, the history of Wales is its literature. First came the odes and triads, in which the bards recited the valour,conquests and hospitality of their chieftains, and the gentleness, beautyand virtue of their brides. This was the age of Aneurin, of Taliesinand Llywarch Hen. Next came the period of love and romance, whereinwere celebrated the refined courtship and gay bridals of gallant knightsand lovely maids. p. 10Thiswas the age of Dafydd ap Gwilym, of Hywel ap Einion and Rhys Goch. In later times appeared the moral songs and religious hymns of the WelshPuritans, wherein was conspicuous above all others William Williamsof Pantycelyn, aptly denominated “The Sweet Psalmist of Wales.”
The Principality, like every other country, has had and has its orators,its philosophers and historians; and, much as they are prized by itsnative race, we venture to predict that the productions of none willoutlive the language in which their prose is spoken and writ. Not that there is wanting either eloquence or grandeur or force in theirorations and essays, depth or originality in their philosophical theories,or truthfulness, research or learning in