16 SEPTEMBER 1905, Page 25

The Purgatorio of Dante Alighieri. Translated by C. Gordon Wright,

M.A. (Methuen and Co. 2s. 6d. net.)—" Translated," says the title-page, "into Spenserian English," and Mr. Wright gives in his preface the reasons for this choice of style. There is the objection that Spenser's English is highly artificial ; it never was spoken nor written by any one else, and it is a con- glomerate of various times and even dialects. But Mr. Wright

• uses it with judgment. The original text, on which considerable care has been spent, is printed on the left-hand page, and the book is intended for readers whose knowledge of Italian is small. This purpose it is, we think, well calculated to serve.