"That which drew him therto is euident and true, & that is the wit and reason of diuers beasts, and again the dul beastly brutish ignorance of diuers men."
-- why Pythagoras believed that animals and human beings could be reborn in each other's forms, according to Beware the Cat
Wrapping up my Classics Club list with a special treat! Read to the end (or scroll down if you're lazy) for a bonus.
Written in 1553 and published in 1561, this peculiar tale by printer William Baldwin (poetically a.k.a "Gulielmus Baldwin") is set at Christmastime, "on a night (which I think was the twenty eight of December)." Since it took place at "Christemas last," that means the story-telling session related here apparently took place 465 years ago today! Well, barring inaccuracy and any calendar changes.
Some people apparently make a case for this as the first English novel, which seems like a stretch, in light of how short it is. And as a sustained narrative, well, both The Canterbury Tales and Le Morte D'Arthur predate it by centuries. However, it does have interest as a document in the development in imaginative fiction.
A group of men in the king's service gather together over Christmas and discuss whether animals have rational thought, and can communicate like people do. One of the men, a Master Streamer, tells a friend-of-a-friend tale of cats being able to speak, and how that inspired him to mix up a potion enabling him to understand their language. Then he relates what he heard at the cats' assembly, and how they are always there watching people, and reporting back on their behavior.
Hence, the need to "Beware," summarizing (and I'm going to put this into modern spelling), "I would counsel all men to take heed of wickedness, and eschew secret sins and privy mischievous counsels, lest (to their shame) all the world at length do know thereof. But if any man for doubt hereof, do put away his Cat: then shall his so doing testify his secret naughty living, which he is more ashamed his cat should see." In other words, live your life so your cat has nothing to say against you.
A strong vein of anti-Catholic sentiment runs through the work, especially in the later-added introduction, with its references to the "many pranks of popish preests,/bothe foolish mad and fel." There are various snide side comments, and some overt mockery of Catholics' perceived superstitions. Which is actually pretty ironic from an alchemist who combines multiple animal innards and puts the "philtre" in his ears for magical purposes. It is true that at the time this was written, the Catholic Mass and things like the use of rosaries were officially illegal, hence the secrecy involved here -- just a little reminder for those who wonder why the Founding Fathers thought separation of church and state might be a good idea.
There is no consistent spelling, even of names, and the grammatical conventions were clearly all over the place in the 1500s, so one needs to make some mental negotiations. Sentences go on and on, with pilings-on of subordinate clauses, so it's hard to tease out where a thought is ending. Some of this does seem meant to convey a rambling conversational quality for comedic effect. Also, if you do read the text, in any of the versions, be prepared for some vulgarity, since, after all, the cats are talking about the sins and follies of humanities. And be forewarned that there are some descriptions of cruelty toward animals, which certainly puts me on the cats' side of any conflict.
An edition of Beware the Cat, subtitled "The First English Novel," was published in 1987, and included a modern translation and enough scholarly supporting material to make up 160 pages. Used copies of that (and its 1995 reissue) sell for crazy high prices, so I am very grateful to the mysterious people behind Presscom, who have made the entire texts available here. Their stated "aim is to give wider access to this largely forgotten literature, now regarded as specialist," in order to "be of help to someone somewhere (in a non-destructive sense)." They have certainly been a big help to me! I did attempt to contact them, but my email bounced back, so I have no idea if the site is being actively maintained.
The Broadview Anthology of Sixteenth-Century Poetry and Prose includes excerpts from Beware the Cat, along with other of Baldwin's works, and seems to have plenty of useful footnotes, although I didn't have a chance to look at that yet in detail.
Since a version in contemporary English isn't really available, as a bonus, I did a paraphrased version. I couldn't translate some of the vocabulary, at least not without making it too big of a project, but I did what I could. Some of the words appear to be legit, but archaic, but some things, like "likenightical," I think Baldwin was making up. At any rate, with luck, this will be of help to someone somewhere, in a non-destructive sense.
Baldwin, William. Beware the Cat. See this link for the different versions available. http://www.presscom.co.uk/halliwell/baldwin/baldwin_cat0.html
This movie poster image from the (awesome and amazing) 1977 Japanese horror move Hausu (House) isn't really related, but when I hear the phrase "Beware the Cat," it certainly comes to mind!
And with that, I conclude my Classics Club list, or at least version 1.0! Thanks to everyone who read my reviews, especially if you left a comment!
-- why Pythagoras believed that animals and human beings could be reborn in each other's forms, according to Beware the Cat
Wrapping up my Classics Club list with a special treat! Read to the end (or scroll down if you're lazy) for a bonus.
Written in 1553 and published in 1561, this peculiar tale by printer William Baldwin (poetically a.k.a "Gulielmus Baldwin") is set at Christmastime, "on a night (which I think was the twenty eight of December)." Since it took place at "Christemas last," that means the story-telling session related here apparently took place 465 years ago today! Well, barring inaccuracy and any calendar changes.
Some people apparently make a case for this as the first English novel, which seems like a stretch, in light of how short it is. And as a sustained narrative, well, both The Canterbury Tales and Le Morte D'Arthur predate it by centuries. However, it does have interest as a document in the development in imaginative fiction.
A group of men in the king's service gather together over Christmas and discuss whether animals have rational thought, and can communicate like people do. One of the men, a Master Streamer, tells a friend-of-a-friend tale of cats being able to speak, and how that inspired him to mix up a potion enabling him to understand their language. Then he relates what he heard at the cats' assembly, and how they are always there watching people, and reporting back on their behavior.
Hence, the need to "Beware," summarizing (and I'm going to put this into modern spelling), "I would counsel all men to take heed of wickedness, and eschew secret sins and privy mischievous counsels, lest (to their shame) all the world at length do know thereof. But if any man for doubt hereof, do put away his Cat: then shall his so doing testify his secret naughty living, which he is more ashamed his cat should see." In other words, live your life so your cat has nothing to say against you.
A strong vein of anti-Catholic sentiment runs through the work, especially in the later-added introduction, with its references to the "many pranks of popish preests,/bothe foolish mad and fel." There are various snide side comments, and some overt mockery of Catholics' perceived superstitions. Which is actually pretty ironic from an alchemist who combines multiple animal innards and puts the "philtre" in his ears for magical purposes. It is true that at the time this was written, the Catholic Mass and things like the use of rosaries were officially illegal, hence the secrecy involved here -- just a little reminder for those who wonder why the Founding Fathers thought separation of church and state might be a good idea.
There is no consistent spelling, even of names, and the grammatical conventions were clearly all over the place in the 1500s, so one needs to make some mental negotiations. Sentences go on and on, with pilings-on of subordinate clauses, so it's hard to tease out where a thought is ending. Some of this does seem meant to convey a rambling conversational quality for comedic effect. Also, if you do read the text, in any of the versions, be prepared for some vulgarity, since, after all, the cats are talking about the sins and follies of humanities. And be forewarned that there are some descriptions of cruelty toward animals, which certainly puts me on the cats' side of any conflict.
An edition of Beware the Cat, subtitled "The First English Novel," was published in 1987, and included a modern translation and enough scholarly supporting material to make up 160 pages. Used copies of that (and its 1995 reissue) sell for crazy high prices, so I am very grateful to the mysterious people behind Presscom, who have made the entire texts available here. Their stated "aim is to give wider access to this largely forgotten literature, now regarded as specialist," in order to "be of help to someone somewhere (in a non-destructive sense)." They have certainly been a big help to me! I did attempt to contact them, but my email bounced back, so I have no idea if the site is being actively maintained.
The Broadview Anthology of Sixteenth-Century Poetry and Prose includes excerpts from Beware the Cat, along with other of Baldwin's works, and seems to have plenty of useful footnotes, although I didn't have a chance to look at that yet in detail.
Since a version in contemporary English isn't really available, as a bonus, I did a paraphrased version. I couldn't translate some of the vocabulary, at least not without making it too big of a project, but I did what I could. Some of the words appear to be legit, but archaic, but some things, like "likenightical," I think Baldwin was making up. At any rate, with luck, this will be of help to someone somewhere, in a non-destructive sense.
Baldwin, William. Beware the Cat. See this link for the different versions available. http://www.presscom.co.uk/halliwell/baldwin/baldwin_cat0.html
This movie poster image from the (awesome and amazing) 1977 Japanese horror move Hausu (House) isn't really related, but when I hear the phrase "Beware the Cat," it certainly comes to mind!
And with that, I conclude my Classics Club list, or at least version 1.0! Thanks to everyone who read my reviews, especially if you left a comment!
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