Dryden's Relation to Germany 49 



was interested in the fall-of-man theme and also made a partial 

 translation of Paradise Lost.^^ 



The second translation was made by Spreng.^^ The third trans- 

 lation I again conjecture to be the work of Grynaeus. It could 

 not have been Spreng, as Gottsched said the translator had given 

 the translation to Spreng,^^ who changed it. In the review which 

 Gottsched made at his request, as he tells us, he characterizes the 

 translator as a German meriting respect, a clever fellow who was 

 known through his numerous other works. This characterization 

 fits Grynaeus, who had made a number of classical translations 

 besides that of the Bible. Moreover he was also a theologian 

 apparently interested in the theme, and as stated above, had used 

 blank verse in other translations. 



The 1754 translation is a literal prose rendering of the text, 

 showing marks of the Swiss dialect and an occasional error in 

 translation. Prefaced to the text are Dryden's Dedication to 

 the Duchess of York, and his Apology for Heroic Poetry and 

 Poetic License. The sketch of Dryden's life (20 pages), taken 

 from the London Magazine for the year 1752, is added as an ap- 

 pendix to the text. This as well as the Apology for Heroic 

 Verse is an important contribution so early, as they appeared 

 only four years after the translation of Voltaire's Lettres, and 

 four years previous to Lessing's translation of Dryden's Essay. 

 The preface of the translator speaks of Dryden as if he were 

 familiar to his readers, and excuses his literal prose translation 

 by calling attention to the Nachtgedanken and other poems sub- 



20 Baechtold, Geschichte dcr deuischen Literatur der ScJiweis, pp. 486- 

 488. 



-1 The review in Anmuthige Gelehrsanikeit (1761) by Gottsched says: 

 " Vor etlichen Jahren gab der Hr. Uebersetzer (of the third translation) 

 sie dem Hrn. Prof. Spreng, der nach Belieben damit geschaltet hat. Er 

 reimte sie, setzte zu, und that davon ; und ging weit von Dryden ab : und 

 so gab er sie unter seinem Namen heraus. So sah dann die Tochter vor 

 der Mutter das Licht." 



Baechtold, loco citato, says: " I7S3 uebertrug er (Spreng) Dryden's 

 Schauspiel von dem Fall des Menschen in Blankversen. . . . Dasselbe 

 erschien in 1757 zu Basel in Druck." 



22 See note 21. 



337 



