Dryden's Relation to Germany 47 



zugeschrieben, in welcher er beynahe die groszte Vortrefflichkeit 

 und das hochste Gut der ersten Menschen zu setzen scheinet. 

 Drydens Adam ist sich also in solchen ungereimten Ausschwei- 

 ftingen bestandig gleich, Miltons aber scheinet mir von seiner ersten 

 Hohheit und Obermacht des Verstandes einen plotzlichen Sprung 

 zu solcher auszschweiffenden Leidenschaft zu thun."^ 



Bodmer's familiarity with The Fall of Man and Dryden is again 

 evident from the commentaries of the 1742 edition of Milton's 

 epic, which contain numerous citations from Dryden's Play, an 

 analysis and criticism of the scene between Eve and the serpent,^ 

 a comment from Steele on the bower scene which apparently was 

 for the purpose of refuting Addison's contention, that Dryden at 

 times offended good morals,'^ a quotation from All for Love,^ and 

 one from The Flower and the Leaf."^ 



The translation of Dryden's State of Innocence was probably 

 hastened by Lauder's Essay'^'^ in 1750 in which he accused Milton 

 of plagiarism. Although the accusation was at once proved un- 

 founded, it revived the Gottsched-Bodmer controversy in which 

 Nicolai^^ and Lessing^^ also took a part, and because of its close 



5 Ibid., p. 195. 



^ Bodmer says (p. 399) : " Dryden hat in seinem Drama von dem Fall 

 der Menschen . . . nicht ohne sonderbare Kunst gedichtet, well Eva 

 neben dem Baum gestanden und, gewiinschet, dass ihr alle andere Baume, 

 nur dieser nicht waren untersagt worden." 



^ Loco citato, p. 348 ff. The quotation is from the Tattler No. 6, which 

 relates the liberties a Miss Sappho took in her conversation, but which 

 ever}' one excused because they knew it was her custom. When Mr. 

 Bickerstaff called upon her she had just broken her fan on which Adam 

 and Eve were artistically portrayed asleep in paradise with arms entwined. 

 This gave occasion for the reading of the passages on the theme from 

 Milton and Dryden and comparing them. 



8 Ibid., p. 167. 9 Ibid., p. 193. 



1° An Essay on Milton's Use and Imitation of the Moderns in his 

 Paradise Lost, London, 1750. 



11 Untersuchung ob Milton sein Verlohrenes Paradies ans neuern laiei- 

 nischen SchriftsteUern atisgeschrieben habe. Nebst einigen Anmerkungen 

 uber eine Recension des Lauderischen Buchs von Miltons Nachahmung 

 der neueren SchriftsteUern. Frankfurt und Leipzig, 1753. 



12 Lessing reviewed Nicolai's work in the Berlinischen priv. Zeitimg, 

 December 2Sth, 1753, and is extremely harsh in his criticism of Gottsched. 



335 



