, does not
include the translations of the sonnets referred to below.)]

A good part of Collin's success must be attributed to his intimate
familiarity with English. The fine nuances of the language do not escape
him, and he can use it not with precision merely but with audacity and
power. Long years of close and sympathetic association with the
literature of England has made English well-nigh a second mother tongue
to this fine and appreciative critic. But he is more than a critic. He
has more than a little of the true poet's insight and the true poet's
gift of song. All this has combined to give us a body of translations
which, for fine felicity, stand unrivalled in Dano-Norwegian. Many of
these have been prepared for lecture purposes and have never been
printed.[23] Only a few have been perpetuated in this text edition of
_The Merchant of Venice_. We shall discuss the edition itself below.
Our concern here is with the translations. We remember Lassen's and
Lembcke's opening of the fifth act. Collin is more successful than his
countryman.

_Lor_:
Hvor Maanen straaler! I en nat som denne,
da milde vindpust kyssed skovens traer
og alting var saa tyst, i slig en nat
Troilus kanske steg op paa Trojas mure
og stonned ud sin sjael mod Graekerteltene
hvor Cressida laa den nat.

_Jes_:
I slig en nat
kom Thisbe angstfuldt trippende over duggen,--
saa lovens skygge, for hun saa den selv,
og lob forskraekket bort.

_Lor_:
I slig en nat
stod Dido med en vidjekvist i haand
paa havets strand og vinkede AEneas
tilbage til Karthago.

_Jes_:
I slig en nat
Medea sanked urter som foryngede
den gamle AEsons liv.

_Lor_:
I slig en nat
stjal Jessica sig fra den rige Jode
med en forfloien elsker fra Venedig
og fandt i Belmont ly.

_Jes_:
I en saadan nat
svor ung Lorenzo at hun var ham kjaer
og stjal med mange eder hendes hjerte,
men ikke en var sand.

_Lor_:
I slig en nat
skjon Jessica, den lille heks, bagtalte
sin elsker og han--tilgav hende alt.

[23. I have seen these translations in the typewritten copies
which Professor Collin distributed among his students.]

"A translation of this passage," says Collin,[24] "can hardly be more
than an approximation, but its inadequacy will only emphasize the
beauty of the original." Nevertheless we have here more than a feeble
approximat