第45部分(第2/7 頁)

nd　energy。　At　least　that’s　my　impression。　What　an　awful　piece　of　romance　the　end　is！　I　like　Charmion　to　turn　on　him　for　his　bullying　the　queen。　The　absence　of　any　business　for　the　other　girl；　Iras；　strikes　me　as　rather　a　pity。　I’d　like；　if　you　don’t　mind；　to　read　over　the　early　part　with　you　as　I　feel　a　good　deal　turns　on　adding　energy　to　that；　and　on　condensing。　The　Menkara　bit　is　A1；　and　Cyprus　is　good　—　did　you　take　the　wreck　from　the　Odyssey　at　all？　I　don’t　see　who　they　can　say　you　stole　your　plot　from。　They’ll　say　the　parts　from　Plutarch　are　from　Shakespeare；　probably　they　never　read　Plutarch！

I　do　not　know　whether　I　cut　out　much　from　the　chapters　which　Lang　though　too　long。　Probably　not；　since　I　have　always　been　a　very　bad　hand　at　making　alterations　in　what　I　have　once　put　down；　unless　indeed　I　rewrite　the　entire　work。　Moreover；　at　any　rate　in　my　books；　this　cutting　out　of　passages　resembles　the　pulling　of　bricks　from　a　built　wall；　since　it　will　be　found　that　every　or　nearly　every　passage；　even　if　it　is　of　a　reflective　character；　is　developed　or　alluded　to　in　some　portion　of　what　follows。　The　pulling　out　of　bricks　may　or　may　not　improve　the　appearance　of　the　wall；　but　it　certainly　decreases　its　stability。

In　the　Author’s　Note　at　the　mencement　of　“Cleopatra”　I　see　that　I　wrote　the　following　passage；　evidently　having　Lang’s　criticism　in　mind：

Unfortunately　it　is　scarcely　possible　to　write　a　book　of　this　nature　and　period　without　introducing　a　certain　amount　of　illustrative　matter；　for　by　no　other　means　can　the　long　dead　past　be　made　to　live　again　before　the　reader’s　eyes　with　all　its　accessories　of　faded　pomp　and　forgotten　mystery。　For　such　students　as　seek　a　story　only；　and　are　not　interested　in　the　Faith；　ceremonies；　or　customs　of　the　Mother　o