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APPENDIX A
REV. RUFUS W. GRISWOLD'S “MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR,” 1850
The third volume of the collected works of Edgar A. Poe, 1850, contained Griswold's “Memoir of the Author,” and bore upon its title-page a motto, reading:
Truth, peradventure, by force, may for a time be trodden down, but never, by any means, whatsoever, can it be trodden out. — LORD COKE.
These words have become as prophetic as the famous words used towards the close of Poe's (January 28, 1843) “Philadelphia Saturday Museum” criticism of Gris Wold's “Poets and Poetry of America,” i. e.:
* * * or, if he (Griswold) is spoken of hereafter, he will be quoted as the unfaithful servant who abused his trust.
The harshness of Griswold's “Memoir” raised a storm of protest, but unfortunately the protestants were not in a position to assail Griswold's statements, particularly as to the letters included in the “Preface to the Memoir.” It is, for instance, interesting to compare Poe's letter of February 24, 1845, the original of which is in the Boston Public Library, with the letter as quoted by Griswold (words in italic were interpolated by Griswold; words in brackets appear in the original letter, but not in the “Memoir”):
New York, Feb. 24, 1845.
My dear Griswold — A thousand thanks for your kindness in the matter of those books, which I could not afford to buy, and had so much need of. Soon after seeing you, I sent you, through Zieber, all my poems worth republishing, and I presume they reached you. I was sincerely delighted with what you said of them, and if you will write your criticism in the form of a preface, I shall be greatly obliged to you. I say this not because you praised me: everybody praises me now: but because you so perfectly understand me, or what I have aimed at, in all my poems; I did not think you had so much delicacy of appreciation joined with your strong sense; I can say truly that no man s approbation gives me so much pleasure. [With this] I send you another package, also through Zieber, by Burgess & Stringer. It contains, in the way of essay, “Mesmeric Revelation,” which I would like to have go in, even if [something else is omitted] you have to omit the “House of Usher” [I send also a portion of the “Marginalia,” in which I have marked some of the most [page 48:] pointed passages. In the matter of criticism I cannot put my hand upon anything that suits me — but I believe that in “funny” criticism (if you wish any such)] I send also corrected copies of (in the way of funny criticism, but you don't like this) Flaccus [will] which conveys a tolerable idea of my style; and of my serious manner “Barnaby Rudge” is a good specimen. [In “Graham” you will find these.] In the tale line I send you “The Murders in the Rue Morgue,” “The Gold Bug,” and “‘The Man That Was Used Up” far more than enough [you will say] — but you can select to suit yourself. I would prefer having in the “Gold Bug” to the “Murders in the R. M.,” [but have not a copy just now. If there is no immediate hurry for it, however, I will get one & send it you corrected. Please write & let me know if you get this.] I have taken a third interest in the “Broadway Journal,” & will be glad if you could send me anything for it [at any time, in the way of “literary Intelligence.”] Why not let me anticipate the book publication of your splendid essay on Milton?
Truly yours,
POE.
The closing words of the “Memoir” are the most brilliant ones, and the harshest, too, but when it is realized that they are printed verbatim (barring a little garbling), from “The Caxtons,” by Bulwer Lytton, they lose their force and effect entirely, for they do not express the convictions of a biographer, but, rather, something that he had read, he had been impressed with, and wished to make use of. In the “Memoir” no quotation marks were used to denote that these words were merely copied from a work of fiction. Any reader of the “Caxtons” can see that Poe did not resemble the character of Francis Vivian, and he can also see that Griswold only printed the damaging part of Bulwer Lytton's analysis of the character of his fictional demi-villain. As an example, in the part left out by Griswold, appears the sentence: “He seemed to have, to a high degree, the harder portions of the reasoning faculty, but to be almost without that arch beautifier of character, that sweet purifier of mere intellect — the imagination; for though we are too much taught to be on our guard against imagination, I hold it, with Captain Roland, to be the divinist kind of reason we possess, and the one that leads us the least astray.” The words surreptitiously “borrowed” by Griswold from “The Caxtons” were:
“Passion, in him, comprehended many of the worst emotions which [page 49:] militate against human happiness. You could not contradict him, but you raised quick choler; you could not speak of wealth, but his cheek paled with gnawing envy. The astonishing natural advantages of this poor boy — his beauty, his readiness, the daring spirit that breather around him like a fiery atmosphere — had raised his constitutional self-confidence into an arrogance that turned his very claims to admiration into prejudices against him. Irascible, envious — bad enough, but not the worst, for these salient angles were all varnished over with a cold repellant synicism, his passions vented themselves in sneers. There seemed to him no moral susceptibility; and, what was more remarkable in a proud nature, little or nothing of the true point of honor. He had, to a morbid excess, that desire to rise which is vulgarly called ambition, but no wish for the esteem of the love of his species; only the hard wish to succeed — not shine, not serve — succeed, that he might have the right to despise a world which galled his self-conceit.”
In his “Memoir,” Griswold made reference to plagiarism by Poe in the makeup of Poe's “Conchologist's First Book,” and in view of this, it is not beside the point to make the following comparison of the accuser's own work:
FROM GRISWOLD'S “MEMOIR”
1850
“But we see here only the better phases of his nature, only the symbols of his juster action, for his harsh experience had deprived him of all faith, in man or woman. He had made up his mind upon the numberless complexities of the social world, and the whole system with him was an imposture. This conviction gave a direction to his shrewd and naturally unamiable character. Still, though he regarded society as composed altogether of villains, the sharpness of his intellect was not of that kind which enabled him to cope with villainy, while it continually caused him by overshots to fail of the success of honesty.”
FROM “THE CAXTONS”
By BULWER LYTTON
1849
“This boy had thought proper to decide at once on the numberless complexities of the social world from his own harsh experience. With him the whole system was a war and a cheat.
“If the universe were entirely composed of knaves, he would be sure to have made his way. Now this bias of mind, alike shrewd and unamiable, might be safe enough if accompanied by a legarthic temper
Poe depicted Griswold, “a fellow, who is one of the most clumsy of literary thieves, and who, in his wildest aspirations, never even dreamed of an original thought.”
An interesting pamphlet on his own troubles was published by Griswold, [page 50:] called “Statement of the Relations of Rufus W. Griswold with Charlotte Myers (called Charlotte Griswold), Elizabeth F. Ellet, Ann S. Stephens, Samuel J. Waring, Hamilton R. Searles, and Charles D. Lewis, with particular reference to their late unsuccessful attempt to have set aside the decree granted in 1852 by the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County, in the case of Griswold vs. Griswold.” Philadelphia: Henry B. Ashmead, Book and Job Printer, George Street, above Eleventh, 1856.
Notes:
Griswold's letter actually does not show that the J. Lorimer Graham copy of The Raven and Other Poems bound with the Tales had failed to reach Griswold in time to be used for the first two volumes of his edition of Poe's work. For a more detailed examination, see Jeffrey A. Savoye, “The Works of the Late Edgar Allan Poe: Poe's Legacy and Griswold's Authority,” Edgar Allan Poe Review, vol. 20, no. 1, Spring 2019, pp. 1-26.
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[S:0 - JRT29, 1929] - Edgar Allan Poe Society of Baltimore - Bookshelf - The Genius and Character of Edgar Allan Poe (Thompson)