Confessions of an English Opium-Eater

267 Pages·1898·10.678 MB·english

by  Thomas de Quincey

HARVARD UNIVERSITY
LIBRARY OF THE
Department of Education
COLLECTION OF TEXT-BOOKS
THOMAS DE QUINCEY
DE QUINCEY’S
CONFESSIONS OF AN ENGLISH
OPIUM-EATER
WITH INTRODUCTION AND NOTES
BY
GEORGE ARMSTRONG WAUCHOPE, M.A., Ph.D.
Professor of Engi.ish in the University of Iowa
Humani nil a me alienum puto
TERENCE
BOSTON, U.S.A.
D. C. HEATH & CO., PUBLISHERS
1898
Copyright, 1898,
By GEORGE ARMSTRONG WAUCHOPE.
Typography by J. S. Cushing & Co., Norwood, Mass.
Presswork by Rockwell & Churchill, Printers, Boston,
TO
JAMES ALBERT HARRISON
OF THE UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA
Cljts (Edition of tlje Confessions
IS INSCRIBED
AS A TOKEN OF FRIENDSHIP AND ESTEEM
BY HIS FORMER PUPIL
THE EDITOR
CONTENTS
PAGE
Editor’s Pr e f a c e ...............................................................vii
In tr o d u c tio n ...................................................................................xiii
Critical Op i n i o n s ..........................................................................xxi
Bib l io g r a p h y .................................................................................xxiii
Confessions of an English Opium-Eater i
De Quincey’s Pr e f a c e s .................................................5
Part I. Preliminary Confessions . . . 17
Part II. The Pleasures of Opium . . . . 65
Part III. The Pains of Opium.....................................102
The Daughter of Le b a n o n .............................................147
Levana and Our Ladies of Sorrow . 154
Letter to “ The London Magazine” . . . 165
Appendix to the Confessions.............................................169
History of the Confessions............................................. 181
No t e s ......................................................................................................183
In d e x ......................................................................................237
v
EDITOR’S PREFACE.
For over half a century De Quincey’s position as one of
our most important prose classics has been undisputed. The
critical estimate of'his contemporaries differs little from that
of the Scottish Professors Minto, Masson, and Saintsbury in
recent years.
The publication of the authoritative edition of his writings,
by the Messrs. Black, of Edinburgh (1889-90), has awakened
fresh interest in the “ Opium-Eater.” This revival has natu­
rally manifested itself chiefly in the universities, but is ex­
tending rapidly into the secondary schools.
De Quincey’s greatest masterpiece, however, has been less
frequently edited for college students than those of Burke,
Lamb, Macaulay, Carlyle, or, indeed, most writers of his
class, with the exception of Ruskin. This fact alone is, I
hope, sufficient reason for offering the Confessions in its
present form.
The introduction makes no claims to original research, but
is intended to give, in condensed form, a biographical sketch
of the author, and such critical material as the student would
hardly have time, at this stage, to collate at first hand.
In regard to the texts of the Confessions, a situation which
requires detailed explanation exists. For Parts II and III,
the “ Pleasures ” and “ Pains of Opium,” respectively, I have
used the author’s revised text of 1856. This contains about
15,000 more words than the original edition ; about 6000
words of this new matter, however, appear as a scientific
vii
Orininal from
vin EDITOR’S PREFACE.
digression at the beginning of Part III. For Part I, the
“ Preliminary Confessions,” I have adhered to the briefer text
which originally appeared in The London Magazine in 1821.
For several reasons teachers generally prefer this text for
class usç to that of 1856. The latter is not a mere revision,
but an elaborate rewriting of his youthful reminiscences, the
matter being enlarged from about 15,000 to over 64,000
words. The additions, while written in his most brilliant but
prolix style, and though interesting as autobiography and
commentary, as a whole seriously detract from the finished
unity and elegance of the briefer work. When De Quincey
was editing the collective edition of his works, he was no
longer writing under the stress of poverty and in the first
flush of genius, but he “ had acquired,” as Mr. Garnett says,
“ the amiable garrulity of age without losing the exuberance
of youth.” Consequently the concise and pointed account
of his early experiences often overflows into diffuse and quite
irrelevant episodes, or expands into tedious discussions of
questions foreign to the subject. While specialists will re­
quire the recension, the original text of this introductory nar­
rative, both in form and size, seems to me better adapted to
the needs of undergraduates. The notes, however, contain
profuse extracts from the revised edition for purposes of com­
parison, and give the student the benefit of the author’s later
explanation of names of persons and places and obscure
allusions. Some of the finest passages from a dialectic or
imaginative standpoint are also included.
My aim has been to make the notes distinctively literary,
rather than linguistic. The function of the editor is, in my
opinion, to stimulate the student to a wholesome enjoyment
of the work before him, to train him in the principles of
sound criticism, to suggest questions calling for an original
opinion or for investigation in the library, and to guide him
into the comparative study of literature by directing him, as
far as possible, to the sources of the quotations, and by ex­
_i _ Oriainal from
EDITOR’S PREFACE.
IX
plaining the obscure allusions in which the discursive mind of
the author delighted to indulge. At the same time, it is im­
portant for the student’s scholarship that he shpuld not be
deprived by the editor of that unique pleasure — the pursuit
of knowledge. It is his rightful privilege.
The wide-awake teacher will not forget the true aims of
literary study. If the student is studying literature, let it be
as literature, not as philological material. Hence it should
be treated primarily as a fine art with its appeal to the feelings
through beauty of form, and, on its ethical side, embodying a
philosophy of life. Too often etymological and grammatical
exercises are obtruded to the neglect of the study of thought
and style.
In our present system of education, the study of literature,
besides its disciplinary value, holds or should hold first place
as the most powerful means of spiritual culture. Through it
comes the appeal to the soul with all its emotions and sympa­
thies. If the prime object of education is character-mould­
ing, then this awakening of the feelings should be held at
least as important as the cultivation of the reason and the
acquisition of facts. Surely that student has missed his op­
portunity whose soul has not been stimulated by the moral
and aesthetic ideas of the author.
From this standpoint the Confessions will be found espe­
cially inspiring. De Quincey’s broad sympathies, his rich
and imaginative style, his romantic love of adventure, his
fondness for speculation, and the splendor of his pageantry
unite to arouse our noblest intuitions.
I suggest that, after the first reading, the student make an
analysis of the different parts. The following will serve as a
specimen :
_i _ Oriainal from