Child (C. G.), John Lyly and Euphuism

3. « Young gentleman, although my acquaintaunce bee small to intreate you, and my authoritie lesse to commaund you, yet my good will in giuing

thèses; le troisième groupe est formé d’une similitude, de quatre exemples ou comparaisons, d'une similitude, de trois comparaisons, de quatre assimilations et de: trois phrases à structure grammaticale identique ?; le quatrième groupe réunit deux proverbes, une allusion donnée sous forme proverbiale (en réalité trois proverbes), trois comparaisons, trois antithèses, trois énumérations commençant par « here maist thou see », deux allusions et deux interrogations ? ;

you good counsaile should induce you to beleeue mee, and my hoarie haires (ambassadors of experience) enforce you to follow mee, for by howe much the more I am a straunger to you, by so much the more you are beholdinge to mee, hauing therefore opportunitie to vtter my minde, I meane to bee importunate wyth you to followe my meaninge » (I, 187).

1. « As thy birth doth shewe the expresse and liuely Image of gentle bloude, so thy bringing vp seemeth to mee to bee a greate blotte to the linage of so noble à brute, so that I am enforced to thincke that either thou dyddest want one to giue thee good instructions, or that thy parentes made thee a wanton wyth to much cockeringe, either they were too foolishe in vsinge no discipline, or thou too frowarde in reiecting their doctrine, eyther they Willinge to haue thee idle, or thou wylfull to hee ill employed » (Zbid.).

2. « Dyd they not remember that whiche no man ought to forgette, that the tender youth of a childe is lyke the temperinge of newe waxe apte to receiue any forme? Hee that wyll carry a Bull wyth Milo, must vse to carrye him a Calfe also, hee that coueteth to haue a straight tree, muste not boowe hym beeinge a twigge. The Potter fashioneth his claye when it is softe, and the Sparrowe is taught to come when hee is younge : As therefore the yron beeinge hotte receyueth any forme with the stroake of the Hammer, and keepeth it beeinge colde for euer, so the tender witte of a childe if with diligence it bee instructed in youth, wyll with industrye vse those qualities in hys age.

They might also haue taken example of the wise husbandmen, who in their fattest and most fertill grounde sowe Hempe before Wheate, a grayne that dryeth vp the superfiuous moysture, and maketh the soyle more apte for corne : Or of good Gardeiners who in their curious knottes mixe Hisoppe wyth Time as ayders the one to the growth of the other, the one beeinge drye, the other moyste : or of cunning Painters who for the whitest woorke caste the blackest grounde, to make the Picture more amiable. If therefore thy Father had bene as wise an husbandman, as hee was a fortunate husbande, or thy Mother as good a huswyfe as shee was a happye wyfe, if they had bene bothe as good Gardners to keepe their knotte, as they were grafters to brynge foorth such fruite, or as cunninge Painters, as they were happie parentes, no doubte they had sowed Hempe before Wheate, that is discipline before affection, they had set Hisoppe wyth Time, that is manners wyth witte, the one to ayde the other : and to make thy dexteritie more, they had caste à blacke grounde for their white woorke, that is, they had mixed threates wyth faire 1ookes » (I, 187-188).

3. « But thinges past, are paste callinge agayne, it is to late to shutte the stable doore when the steede is stolen : The Troyans repented to late

le cinquième groupe accumule dix comparaisons! et le sixième dix antithèses ?.

when their towne was spoiled : Yet the remembraunce of thy former follies might breede in thee a remorse of conscience, and bee a remedy against further concupiscence. But nowe to thy present tyme : The Lacedemonians were wont to shewe their children dronken men and other wicked men, that by seeinge theire filth they might shunne the lyke faulte, and auoyde suche vices when they were at the lyke state. The Persians to make theire youth abhorre gluttonie woulde paint an Epicure sleeping with meate in his mouthe, & most horribly ouerladen with wine, that by the view of such monsterous sightes, they might eschewe the meanes of the like excesse.

The Parthians to cause their youthe to loath the alluringe traines of womens wyles and deceiptful entisementes, had most curiously carued in their houses a younge man blinde, besides whome was adioyned a woman so exquisite, that in some mennes iudgement Pigmalions Image was not halfe so excellent, hauing one hande in hys pocket as notinge their theîfte, and holdinge a knyfe in the other hande to cutte hys throate : If the sight of such vglye shapes caused a loathinge of the like sinnes, then my good Euphues consider their plight, and beware of thyne owne perill. Thou art heere in Naples a younge soiourner, I an olde senior, thou a straunger, I a Citizen, thou secure doubtinge no mishappe, I sorrowfull dreadinge thy misfortune. Heere mayste thou see that which I sighe to see, dronken sottes wallowinge in euery house, in euery chamber, yea, in euery channell, heere maïste thou beholde that whiche I cannot wythout blushinge beholde, nor wythoute blubbering vtter, those whose bellies bee their Gods, who offer their goodes as sacrifice to theyre guttes : who sleepe wyth meate in their mouthes, wyth sinne in their heartes, and wyth shame in their houses.

Heere, yea, heere Euphues, maiste thou see not the carued visarde of a lewde woman, but the incarnate visage of a lasciuious wanton, not the shaddowe of loue, but the substaunce of luste : My hearte melteth in droppes of bloude, to see à harlot with the one hande robbe so many cofers, and wyth the other to rippe so many corses.

Thou arte heere amiddest the pykes betweene Scilla and Caribdis, readye if thou shunne Syrtes, to sincke into Semphlagades. Let the Lacedemonian, the Persian, the Parthian, yea, the Neapolitan, cause thee rather to detest suche villanie, at the sight and viewe of their vanitie.

Is it not farre better to abhorre sinnes by the remembraunce of others faultes, then by repentaunce of thine owne follies? Is not hee accompted moste wise, whome other mens harmes dooe make moste warie ? » (I, 188-189). 4. « The fine christall is sooner crazed then the harde marble, the greenest Beeche burneth faster then the dryest Oke, the fairest silke is soonest soyled, and the sweetest wine tourneth to the sharpest vineger, the pestilence doth most ryfest infect the cleerest complection, and the Caterpiller cieaueth vnto the ripest fruite, the most delicate wyt is allured with small enticement vnto vice, and moste subiecte to yelde unto vanitie, if therefore thou doe but harken to the Syrens, thou wilte bee enamoured, if thou haunte their houses and places, thou shalt be enchaunted. +

One droppe of poyson infecteth the whole tunne of Wine, one leafe of Colliquintida marreth and spoyleth the whole potte of porredge, one yron Mole defaceth the whole peece of lawne » (I, 189).

2. « Descende into thine owne conscience, and consider wyth thy selfe the greate difference betweene staringe and starke blinde, wit and wisdome, loue

Ce parallélisme se poursuit, d'autre part, dans la structure de la phrase elle-même. Il devient alors du balancement!. Une phrase lylienne peut presque toujours se décomposer en propositions coordonnées deux à deux, généralement délimitées par une des locutions conjonctives as... SO, tetther.. OTNTCANRET 22 NOT OL 0 but, although....… yel, et dans lesquelles les mots qui se correspondent par la place sont identiques par le rôle grammalical. À un membre de phrase composé d'un vocatif, suc- .cède un membre de phrase composé d'un vocatif ; si un premier membre de phrase est composé d’un sujet, d'un verbe et d’un complément accompagné d'un adjectif, le second membre est lui aussi composé d'un sujet, d’un verbe et d'un complément accompagné d'un adjectif. Ainsi dans la réponse d'Euphues au discours d'Eubulus, la première phrase peut se découper en paires de propositions de construction identique, ou à peu près identique :

Father and friende,

your age sheweth the one, your honestie the other,

T am neither so suspitious to mistrust your goodwill, nor s0 sottishe to mislike your good counsaile,

as I am therfore to thancke you for the first, so it standes mee vppon to thincke better on the latter :

I meane not to cauill wyth you as one louinge sophistrye, neyther to controwle you, as one hauing superioritie,

the one woulde bring my talke into the suspition of fraude, the other conuince me of folly ?.

and just. Bee merrye but with modestie, be sober but not to sulloume, beg

valiaunt but not too venterous. Let thy attyre bee comely but not costly,

thy dyet wholesome but not excessiue, vse pastime as the woorde importeth,

to passe the tyme in honest recreation : mistrust no man wythout cause,

neither bee thou credulous without proofe, bee not light to followe euery

mans opinion, nor obstinate to stande in thine owne conceipte » (1, 189-190) 1. J'emploie ce mot là où Landmann et Child ont employé le mot parison 2. Works, I, 190. : s

Cette structure de la phrase est, en outre, rendue plus saillante par d’autres procédés, de caractère purement euphonique, et qui ont pour but de mettre certains mots en relief par des analogies de sons. Ces procédés peuvent se diviser en deux classes : a) il en est qui affectent des syllabes et même des mots entiers; ce sont les assonances, les consonances, les rimes, les annominations et les jeux de mots; b) il en est un qui porte seulement sur les lettres initiales des mots : l'allitération t.

a) Les premiers de ces caractères euphoniques servent presque toujours à faire sonner les mots autour desquels oscille le balancement; ils contribuent par là à préciser et à accentuer plus fortement le rythme phraséologique, ainsi que le montrent les exemples suivants

Assonances. There to lap vp, that he doth cast vp?.

Consonances. Not the carued visarde of a lewde woman, but the incarnate visage of a lasciuious wanton à.

to renounce his Ladye as most pernicious, or redeeme his lybertie as most pretious 4.

either to purge my new disease, or recouer my hoped desire 5.

Rimes. Aunswered his forged gloase with this friendly cloase 6.

1. J'adopte pour ces différents procédés la définition qu’en a donnée Child (John Lyly and Euphuism) : « Similarity at once of vowel and consonantal sounds is consonance; of vowels only is assonance; of initial sounds of stressed syllables or words, is alliteration; of all but initial sounds is rime » (p. 53). « Annomination..… This we take to mean consonantal similarity plus nonassonance, as bul, bel » (p. 54). J’ai aussi emprunté à l'excellente étude de Child un grand nombre des exemples que je cite dans les trois pages suivantes.

Works, IL 5.

OLDIA 10189; 1bid., I, 247.