he only authentic record of the Germanic nations written
by a contemporary so early as the ninth century."

In Gregory's 'Pastoral Care' we have Alfred's closest translation. It is
a presentation of "the ideal Christian pastor" (Ten Brink), and was
intended for the benefit of the lax Anglo-Saxon priests. Perhaps the
work that appealed most strongly to Alfred himself was Boethius's
'Consolations of Philosophy'; and in his full translation and adaptation
of this book we see the hand and the heart of the good king. We shall
mention one other work of Alfred's, his translation of the already
frequently mentioned 'Historia Ecclesiastica Anglorum' of the Venerable
Bede. This great work Alfred, with good reason, considered to be of the
greatest possible value to his people; and the king has given it
additional value for us.

Alfred was not a great scholar. The wonder is that, in the troublous
times of his youth, he had learned even the rudiments. The language in
his translations, however, though not infrequently affected for the
worse by the Latin idiom of the original, is in the main free from
ornament of any kind, simple and direct, and reflects in its sincerity
the noble character of the great king.

The period between the death of Alfred (901) and the end of the tenth
century was deficient in works of literary value, except an entry here
and there in the 'Chronicle.' "Alfric's is the last great name in the
story of our literature before the Conquest," says Henry Morley. He
began writing about the end of the tenth century, and we do not know
when his work and his life ended. This gentle priest, as he appears to
us through his writings, following Alfred's example, wrote not from
personal ambition, but for the betterment of his fellow-men. His style
is eminently lucid, fluent, forcible, and of graceful finish. Earle
observes of it:--"The English of these Homilies is splendid; indeed, we
may confidently say that here English appears fully qualified to be the
medium of the highest learning." This is high praise, and should be well
considered by those disposed to consider the Anglo-Saxon as a rude
tongue, incapable of great development in itself, and only enabled by
the Norman infusion to give expression to a deep and broad culture.

Alfric's works in Anglo-Saxon--for he wrote also in Latin--were very
numerous, embracing two series of homilies, theological writings of many
kinds, translations of portions of the Bible, an Engli