PLAYS.
The Plays of Roswitha. Translated by H. J. W. Tillyard. (The Faith Press. 5s. 6d.) The Plays of Roswitha. Translated by H. J. W. Tillyard. (The Faith Press. 5s. 6d.) Roswitha was a tenth-century nun of German parentage who lived in the convent of Gandersheim. Her earliest works were rhymed epics on sacred subjects, but the distressing popularity of Terence induced her to try to divert some of the attention which was given thii profane writer to a more pious subject. Steadfastness under persecution, the reform of harlots, and renunciation of the world are the familiar themes of these plays, which are based on current legends. They have the particular charm of primitive art, a sort of simple directness to which realism is irrelevant, and which a modern only achieves after a too-obvious effort. The introduction is interesting and the translation eloquent. Though Roswitha wrote in Latin, her plays are said to have been the origin of the German theatre, which adds an historical interest to work which is also of literary value.
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