Part 1

ANCIENT ROME IN THE ENGLISH NOVEL

A STUDY IN ENGLISH HISTORICAL FICTION

A THESIS PRESENTED TO THE FACULTY OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY

RANDOLPH FARIES, 2d

PHILADELPHIA 1923

LYON & ARMOR, Printers 124 North 7th Street Philadelphia

Copyright, 1923, by Randolph Faries, 2d, Philadelphia, Pa.

PREFACE

For some time I have felt the need for a satisfactory definition of the “classic” novel,—a definition which should include novels of value, and exclude innumerable works of fiction of little or no value. The want of such a definition was evident not only from the vagueness with which literary historians have referred to the “classic” novel, but also from the fact that other students seemed to consider as such any work of fiction using Greek and Roman names. For a definite selection of theme, I am indebted to Dr. John Cooper Mendenhall, of the Department of English of the University of Pennsylvania, whose generous advice I wish to acknowledge most gratefully, and whose fine sense for literary form has been an inspiration to me in my work. I wish to express my most sincere appreciation for many helpful suggestions, to other members of the Department of English, whose lectures have provided, I feel, a background for this study. I have also to thank Dr. Eugene Stock McCartney, of the University of Michigan, for freely providing me with a list of titles, which has materially aided me in making complete my list of all works of fiction dealing with ancient Rome.

RANDOLPH FARIES, 2D.

UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA, MAY, 1923.

CONTENTS

PAGE

I. DEFINITION OF THE FIELD 7

A. Important Novels of Roman Life 14

II. GENESIS OF THE NOVEL OF ROMAN LIFE 17

A. The First True Novel of Roman Life 23

B. The Influence of “Vathek” on the Novel of Roman Life 24

C. The Influence of the “Byronic Romance” on the Novel of Roman Life 25

D. The Novel of Roman Life in a Fully Developed Form 28

III. PRINCIPAL LINES OF DEVELOPMENT OF THE NOVEL OF ROMAN LIFE FROM 1834 TO THE PRESENT DAY 33

A. Novels of Roman Life which Show Evidence of the Scholarship of Great Preachers 34

B. Thoroughness in Scholarship, Resulting in Part from the Influence of Such German Scholars as Becker—Becker’s “Gallus” 62

C. German Followers of Scott—The German Novel of Roman Life; Its Influence on the English Novel 65

D. Two Pedantic Novels of Roman Life 73

E. Novels Written by So-called “Popular” Novelists Who Rely on the Melodramatic for Their Appeal; the Development of the “Popular” Novel of Roman Life from 1843 to the Present Day 75

F. Influence of French Novels of Roman Life 90

G. Novels Written by Teachers of Roman History or of the Classics 96

H. Novels Written by Authors Who Have Portrayed Roman Life from an Esthetic Viewpoint 108

IV. IN CONCLUSION 121

BIBLIOGRAPHY 124

I

DEFINITION OF THE FIELD

It is my purpose in this study to show the use which the English historical novel has made of the rich and abundant material furnished by the life of ancient Rome. In doing this I shall trace the genesis of the novel of Roman life and its development, with special emphasis upon elements of permanent value. As an aid to a clear perception of this latter point, I shall give a carefully selected list of the best novels of Roman life, pointing out their claims to greatness. At the end of my study will be found a complete list of all books which make any pretense of presenting Roman life in the form of a novel.

Since ancient Rome is often associated with ancient Greece in classical study, the question may arise as to why novels dealing with life in ancient Greece are excluded from consideration here. The answer is that comparatively few such novels have been written. The author who writes of ancient Rome has at his disposal abundant materials from which he may construct a novel; he who writes of the life of ancient Greece finds his sources somewhat more limited. Another consideration which has influenced authors is that modern life is more immediately related to the life of ancient Rome than to that of ancient Greece. The classic period of Greek history was of comparatively short duration, and, in one sense, the life of ancient Greece lost its identity even before it was absorbed by the life of the Roman empire; while the life of ancient Rome made itself felt in the most remote parts of the widely extended Roman world. We must give full recognition to ancient Greece for her contribution to the world’s culture, yet admit that her influence upon the world today has been overshadowed by the power of Rome. The story of Rome’s power, rather than that of the culture of Greece, has found expression in the modern novel.

A novelist who writes of ancient Rome may deal with any period of Rome’s history, from the traditional date of the founding of the city to the time at which Rome ceased to be the head of the western Empire. A convenient division is made when we speak of (1) Rome before the Empire, (2) Rome under the Empire. Pre-imperial Rome has furnished the inspiration for comparatively few novels. Since, however, some of these are of great merit, it will be well to examine certain portions of Rome’s early history with which they are connected. One excellent novel[1] deals with prehistoric Italy and the first faint beginnings of Roman things. Immediately following the legendary period of her existence, Rome was chiefly concerned with struggles with her Italian neighbors; these struggles have inspired no great novel in English, though several good books for boys have been written about them. The desperate conflict between Rome and Carthage offers material for a novel of strong appeal. But the stirring times of the later Republic present the best field for the novel of pre-Imperial Rome.[2] The period of the Empire, however, when Rome was undisputed mistress of the world, is the time which has appealed to most of the novelists who write of ancient Rome.

The number of novels or of books masquerading as novels, which make some use of Roman life as a background, is large; many of these purport to be what they are not. So, if one reviews even a small portion of the entire number, it becomes obvious that many, if not most of them, are neither literature nor anything else of value. There is one class of novels, whose purpose is not primarily to represent life in ancient Rome, but to make other work attractive by the addition of artificial coloring. The use of such superficial aid in a novel nearly always reveals the absence of any serious purpose. This lack of seriousness is well illustrated by the work of Sir Rider Haggard in such pseudo-historical novels as _Cleopatra_, and _Pearl Maiden_. A novel which seems to come a little closer to being truly “historical,” is _Unto Caesar_, by the Baroness Orczy; but, on closer examination, this book is found to belong to the “artificial” class we are discussing. It makes use of a few striking facts in the life of Caligula; but the deep significance of these facts and of its quotations from the Bible, is entirely lost, owing to the light and cheap sentimentality which pervades the whole volume. A further illustration of pseudo-sanctity is seen in the recently published novel of Dr. Burris Jenkins, _Princess Salome_.[3] When fantastic and improbable stories are woven around historical characters in a novel; or when facts of deep historical significance are made to aid the novelist in a frivolous pretense to serious work; the result is sure to be a work of small merit. Novels in which a supposed setting of Roman life merely conceals inferior work and makes it appear attractive, will not be considered in this study.

There is a second class of books whose chief purpose is not portrayal of life in ancient Rome, but rather a kind of religious propaganda. They set forth in the form of fiction, some story inspired by the records of the New Testament, or taken from the chronicles of Church history. Not all of these books are to be called novels, but they have been produced in large numbers, and have a significant relation to the kind of novel we are considering. Many stories of the early Christians, particularly of martyrs in the arena, may be told in such a way as to portray the life of Rome very inadequately. They often ignore the pagan point of view, and in most cases deliberately misrepresent it. In such a book as Cardinal Wiseman’s _Fabiola_, (1855), the Emperor and his soldiers are mere abstract representatives of power and evil; while the Christians artificially personify virtue and martyrdom. The work of Mrs. J. B. Peploe Webb is well represented by _Pomponia_,[4] a moral story of supposed religious experience. Many such books have been written since 1850, and published by religious publication societies. They usually present merely a stereotyped analysis of the character of some Christian martyr, while a smattering of history is used to blindfold, rather than to enlighten the reader. A novel which is truly to portray the life of ancient Rome may well include within its scope the life of the early Christians, but we shall not consider those books which deliberately present either Christians or pagans in a false light.[5]

Of special interest to the teacher of history are juvenile stories of Roman history, written for boys in fiction form, since many of these truly portray a part of the life of ancient Rome. It must be observed, however, that books for boys are subject to some limitations not placed upon novels written for their elders. Such well-known authors of books for boys as the Rev. Alfred J. Church and G. A. Henty have recognized that they must present a hero who will appeal especially to boys, and that this hero must have adventures illustrating schoolbook history. In Church’s book _Two Thousand Years Ago_, Spartacus is represented as a truly noble figure, while in _The Young Carthaginian_, Henty makes Hannibal the real hero. But the technical hero in each of these books is an idealized youth, who rushes from one exciting adventure to another. Moreover, both Church and Henty tried to make the study of history instructive, by introducing into their fictions for boys favorite incidents of the history books. The result was that their novels for boys became too heavy with history. The general criticism may also be made of such books for boys, that they make too much use of the life of the soldier and the gladiator, to the exclusion of other elements in Roman life. There is, however, a fairly accurate portrayal of Roman life, from a teacher’s point of view, in some books for boys; such books are not to be confused with religious stories of the Sunday-school type, and have a definite connection with our subject.

After excluding novels which use Roman life merely to make other work attractive, or as an artificial background for religious instruction, we find that there still remain a considerable number which attempt to portray Roman life, but are unsuccessful. The novelist may fall short of his aim through lack of scholarship, through want of appreciation of the essential worth of his subject, or through sheer inability to appeal to his readers directly. There may be found on the shelves of public libraries, many novels, in which the characters have Roman names and are supposed to live in ancient Rome; but many of these novels do not really portray the life of Rome at all. Some of them feebly essay to imitate books of established reputation, and prove to be very poor imitations. The present study will be chiefly concerned with those novels which make a serious portrayal of the life of ancient Rome for its own intrinsic interest.

We are dealing then with that form of the historical novel which portrays the life of ancient Rome. The historical novel may be defined as that form of the novel which makes use of historical characters and events as an integral part of the story. Ample support may be found for this definition in the always candid words of Sir Walter Scott, the first really great English historical novelist, in his introductions to the _Waverly Novels_. In the _Prefatory Letter_ to _Peveril of the Peak_, he has the anonymous “Author of Waverly” say, “A poor fellow, like myself, weary with ransacking his own barren and bounded imagination, looks out for some general subject in the huge and boundless field of history, which holds forth examples of every kind,—lights on some personage, or some combination of circumstances, or some striking trait of manners, which he thinks may be advantageously used as the basis of a fictitious narrative, ... invests it with such shades of character as will best contrast with each other—and thinks, perhaps, he has done some service to the public if he can present to them a lively fictitious picture, for which the original anecdote or circumstance which he made free to press into his services, only furnishes a slight sketch.” Again, in the introduction to _The Abbot_, Scott says, “I naturally paid attention to such principles of composition, as I conceived were best suited to the historical novel;” and this when he has just made it clear that the choice of a famous historical character[6] as subject is the readiest, though the most difficult, way to instant success. In a note to the introduction to _The Abbot_, he says, “There occur in every country some peculiar historical characters, which are, like a spell or charm, sovereign to excite curiosity and attract attention, since every one in the slightest degree interested in the land which they belong to, has heard much of them, and longs to hear more.” The importance of a theme based on famous historical events, to an historical novel, is attested by Scott in his introduction to _Red Gauntlet_. Here he says, “The Jacobite enthusiasm of the eighteenth century, particularly during the rebellion of 1745, afforded a theme, perhaps the finest that could be selected for fictitious composition, founded upon real or probable incident.” In the introduction to _Woodstock_, Scott says, “Nothing, indeed, is more certain, than that incidents that are real, preserve an infinite advantage in works of this nature (historical novels) over such as are fictitious.” Not every novel which tells a story of the past is a true historical novel; it must make some vital use of historical characters and events if it is to be considered truly historical.

But the function of the historical novel is not to teach history as it is taught by the schoolbook. It is rather to aid the reader to a sympathetic appreciation of history in the broader sense,—the history that reveals the life of the past with all its significant relations to the life of the present. As Scott explains, “The love of knowledge wants but a beginning—the least spark will give fire when the train is properly prepared; and having been interested in fictitious adventures ascribed to an historical period and characters, the reader begins next to be anxious to learn what the facts really were, and how far the novelist has justly represented them.”[7] Moreover the aim of the best historical novels is not to _escape_ the present and carry the reader back to the past, but to bring the present and the past face to face,—in short, to portray life as it exists, and always has existed. “The passions, the sources from which (sentiments and manners) must spring in all their modifications, are generally the same in all ranks and conditions, all countries and ages; and it follows as a matter of course, that the opinions, habits of thinking, and actions, however influenced by the peculiar state of society, must still, on the whole, bear a strong resemblance to each other.”[8] An historical novel is great,—when it _is_ great,—because, in its study of the life of the past, it displays the same qualities that give value to the life of today. The true test of greatness in an historical novel may be defined at once, as the test of its success in portraying the past with realistic effect.

With this test in mind, I have reviewed all novels of Roman life which a most thorough search has brought to light, asking the question: What degree of success do they attain in portraying the life of Rome with realistic effect? This was done in order to obtain from a multitude of novels of different degrees of merit, a standard representing the best and most significant work that has been done in the novel of Roman life. Judged according to this standard, the best and most representative novels of Roman life are those which appear in the following list. I have made this list with the intention of basing upon it my deductions concerning the achievement of English and American authors in the field of the novel of Roman life.

A. IMPORTANT NOVELS OF ROMAN LIFE

_Valerius, a Roman Story_: John G. Lockhart, (1821)

_The Epicurean_: Thomas Moore, (1827)

_Sathaliel, the Immortal_: George Croly, (1829)

_The Last Days of Pompeii_: Sir E. G. Bulwer-Lytton, (1834)

_Zenobia_: William Ware, (1836)

_Attila_: G. P. R. James, (1837)

_Probus_—later called _Aurelian_: William Ware, (1838)

_Julian, Scenes in Judea_: William Ware, (1841)

_Antonina_: Wilkie Collins, (1850)

_Hypatia_: Charles Kingsley, (1853)

_The Roman Traitor_: Henry Herbert, (1853)

_Callista_: John Henry Newman, (1855)

_The Gladiators_: G. J. Whyte-Melville, (1863)

_Ben Hur_: Gen. Lew Wallace, (1880)

_Marius the Epicurean_: Walter Pater, (1885)

_Darkness and Dawn_: Archdeacon Frederic William Farrar, (1892)

_Gathering Clouds_: Archdeacon Frederic William Farrar, (1895)

_The Sign of the Cross_: Wilson Barrett, (1897)

_Perpetua_: Rev. S. Baring-Gould, (1897)

_Domitia_: Rev. S. Baring-Gould, (1898)

_A Friend of Caesar_: William Stearns Davis, (1900)

_Vergilius, a Tale of the Coming of Christ_: Irving Bacheller, (1904)

_Psyche_: Walter S. Cramp, (1905)

_Veranilda_: George Gissing, (1904)

_An Heir to Empire_: Walter S. Cramp, (1913)

_Behold the Woman_: T. Everett Harré, (1916)

_The Unwilling Vestal_: Edward Lucas White, (1918)

_Evander_: Eden Philpotts, (1919)

_Andivius Hedulio_: Edward Lucas White, (1921)

_Pan and the Twins_: Eden Philpotts, (1922)

The above list represents my choice, based upon reasons indicated, of the most important novels of Roman life. The process of selection may be carried still further, however; and, using the same standard as before, I have chosen from this list a dozen novels which stand out above the rest, and are to be considered the absolute best among novels of Roman life. This more select list is as follows:

1. _The Last Days of Pompeii_: Bulwer, (1834)

2. _Hypatia_: Charles Kingsley, (1853)

3. _The Gladiators_: G. J. Whyte-Melville, (1863)

4. _Ben Hur_: Lew Wallace, (1880)

5. _Marius, the Epicurean_: Walter Pater, (1885)

6. _Darkness and Dawn_: F. W. Farrar, (1892)

7. _Domitia_: S. Baring-Gould, (1898)

8. _A Friend of Caesar_: William Stearns Davis, (1900)

9. _Vergilius, a Tale of the Coming of Christ_: Irving Bacheller, (1904)

10. _Veranilda_: George Gissing, (1904)

11. _Andivius Hedulio_: Edward Lucas White, (1921)

12. _Pan and the Twins_: Eden Philpotts, (1922)

These twelve novels are of permanent value. None of them are either obsolete or obsolescent. But for the benefit of those who raise the cry: “Of what practical good is anything which does not satisfy the present popular taste?” I wish to make an interesting comparison. After deciding upon the above list of twelve novels, I came upon _A Classified List of the Best Modern Novels that are in ACTIVE USE in the Public Libraries of the United States_. This was compiled with infinite pains by Mr. William Alanson Borden, not with any scholarly purpose, but with a view to ascertaining what novels were _most read_. While his list of novels of Roman life stops at the year 1910, it can be seen that it closely corresponds with the one I have just given. His list of novels of Roman life, written in English, is as follows:

_The Last Days of Pompeii_: Bulwer

_Hypatia_: Charles Kingsley (given under “Alexandria,” not “Rome”)

_Ben Hur_: Lew Wallace

_Marius, the Epicurean_: Walter Pater

_Domitia_: Baring-Gould

_A Friend of Caesar_: W. S. Davis

_Vergilius_: I. Bacheller

*_Aurelian_: William Ware

*_The Son of the Swordmaker_: Opie Read

*_The Sign of the Cross_: Wilson Barrett

Of the novels marked with an asterisk, _Aurelian_ was excluded from my list, as being somewhat too “gloomy” for modern taste. _The Son of the Swordmaker_ and _The Sign of the Cross_ were novels of widespread, but transient popularity. This may be said also of _Vergilius_, but to a less extent. The three novels on Mr. Borden’s list which I have marked with an asterisk are the only ones which do not appear of my list of the twelve best. On the whole, Mr. Borden’s list of the best confirms my own, and the twelve novels given in the first of the two lists will receive our chief attention.[9]

II

GENESIS OF THE NOVEL OF ROMAN LIFE

We have indicated what novels are to be given an important place in the field of the novel of Roman life; but before considering so fully developed a form as Bulwer’s _Last Days of Pompeii_, let us see what the soil was, from which such a form grew. Since the novel of Roman life is a definite variety of the historical novel, we must first consider the origin of the historical novel as such. The true historical novel, it has been said, portrays the past with realistic effect. Since the time of Scott, historical fiction has in the main followed the example which he set in his historical novels, and it is largely due to this fact that some authors have attained notable success in portraying the life of the past with realistic effect. Before Scott’s time historical romances existed, often taking such a form as to point directly toward Scott’s work, and even attaining much of his success in such a realistic portrayal of life. Yet in 1785, Clara Reeve had somewhat arbitrarily said: “The Romance, in lofty and elevated language, describes what never happened, nor is likely to happen.”[10] This definition does not seem to allow that the historical romance had achieved realistic effect at all, and so does not fairly represent the facts. But it must be remembered that the definition applied not only to the historical romance, but also to another form of the romance, which has been called the “Gothic” romance. While Scott’s work in the historical novel is, in a sense, a continuation of the historical romance, the “Gothic” romance better represents the school of fiction which Scott supplanted. For this reason it seems better to dispose of the “Gothic” romance before we discuss more fully the early development of the historical romance.