6 OCTOBER 1944, Page 10

When we read the accounts of his burial at St.

Paul's, when we examine the thirty-four engravings which Thomas Lam published of that elaborate ceremonial, we find it difficult to account for the

adoration accorded to Philip Sidney by his- conte.nporaries. His achievements in polities and diplomacy were in no sense remarkabl; and it is indeed doubtful whether he possessed a political mind. Not can his contemporary, as distinct from his posthumous, renown be attributed to his literary work, since none of his writings were printed during his own lifetime. When the Arcadia was published in ][590 it achieved a sensational success, and thirty foreign editions of this unreadable work were issued during the next century. The Apologia for Poqtrie, which was not published till 1598, was deservedly influential. The Sonnets, of which unauthorised and in- complete editions had been issued in 1591, did not appear in their correct form till seven years later. Thus, although today we are in a position to appreciate the significance of Sidney's writings, their circulation among his contemporaries was confined to his private friends. His literary renown is certainly justified by his achieve- ment, but it was not operative in 1586, and cannot, therefore, be adduced as an explanation of the deep and wide fame which among his contemporaries he enjoyed. Nor was this contemporary legend restricted to England only. How came it that Henry of Navarre took such pains to cultivate his friendship? How came it that Henri Etienne dedicated to him his Novum Testamentum? What made old Languet believe that he was, in fact,. the phoenix of the century? We can only find partial answers to such riddles.

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