RésumésBy drawing on a period of Sir Philip Sidney’s life, this article argues that the act of writing can become an alternative for political commitment. For that purpose, it investigates possible reasons for the important turn which took place in Sidney’s life roughly between 1578 and 1580. In accordance with his family’s social standing, Philip Sidney was educated to take on important political tasks in order to serve the state. But contrary to his high expectations and much to his chagrin, he remained unemployed for extended periods of time after he had finished his training. In order to nonetheless fulfil the conditions for the humanist ideal of the vita activa, the young courtier developed his own scope for virtuous action and relied increasingly on the production of literary texts to express his socio-political aims. This study also demonstrates how critical biographism is a necessary tool for a thorough understanding of Sidney’s works. Le présent article révèle à l’aide d’un exemple de la vie de Sir Philip Sidney que l’acte d’écrire constitue une alternative nécessaire par rapport à l’action concrète. À cette fin, l’analyse se réfère aux explications possibles du changement important dans la vie de Sidney qui s’est produit surtout entre les années 1578 et 1580 : Conformément à la couche sociale de sa famille, Sidney a reçu une bonne éducation qui l’a qualifié pour un emploi dans la fonction publique d’une importance capitale. Contrairement à son attente et aussi à son grand regret, on ne lui a pas confié immédiatement la charge d’accomplir des tâches primordiales après qu’il avait terminé sa formation. Néanmoins, le jeune courtisan Sidney voulait satisfaire aux conditions d’une vita activa qu’il considérait comme la meilleure façon de réaliser une vie qui se conforme aux valeurs humanistes. Pour atteindre son objectif et pour exprimer ses convictions politico-sociales, Sidney a développé un cadre pour des activités vertueuses, dans lequel il a mis l’accent sur la production des textes littéraires. L’exposé met aussi en valeur l’importance d‘un biographisme critique qui est indispensable pour la meilleure compréhension. Haut de page Notes1 Steuart A. Pears, The Correspondence of Sir Philip Sidney and Hubert Languet, London, William Pickering, 1845, p. 182. 2 Ibid. 3 Ibid., p. 183. 4 Ibid., p. 185. 5 Ibid. 6 Ibid., p. 126-127. Roger Kuin, however, does not share Languet’s sentiments according to which Sidney was the slave of gold. He espouses the view that Sidney’s involvement with the New World was “more concerned with geopolitical strategy than with personal advantage.” See Roger Kuin, “Querre-Muhau: Sir Philip Sidney and the New World”, Renaissance Quarterly, 51 (2), Summer 1998, p. 549-585, here p. 549. 7 Katherine Duncan-Jones, Sir Philip Sidney. Courtier Poet, New Haven and London, Yale University Press, 1991, p. 65. 8 See Steuart A. Pears, op. cit., p. 95-96, 112, 138. 9 Ibid., p. 202. 10 See Katherine Duncan-Jones, op. cit., p. x. 11 Ibid. 12 See Umberto Eco, Die Grenzen der Interpretation, München, Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag, 2004, p. 35 39. 13 See, for instance, Errol Warwick Slinn, “Poetry and Culture: Performativity and Critique”, New Literary History, 30 (1), Winter 1999, p. 57-74, especially p. 71. Here, Slinn indicates that “[…] poetry requires a reader to authorize its enactment, or to put it another way, a poem as cultural critique would be inseparable from the critical reading which both constitutes and reconstitutes it as such.” 14 See Wolfgang Iser, Die Appellstruktur der Texte, Konstanz, Universitätsverlag, 1970, p. 33-35. Iser argues that readers fill in the gaps (“Leerstellen”) of a text with their experience in a variety of ways so that the text can be differently adapted by the recipients: “Die Leerstellen machen den Text adaptierfähig und ermöglichen es dem Leser, die Fremderfahrung der Texte im Lesen zu einer privaten zu machen. […] Zugleich entsteht für den Text in diesem Akt eine jeweils individuelle Situation.” (p. 34). 15 See Michael G. Brennan, The Sidneys of Penshurst and the Monarchy, 1500-1700, Aldershot and Burlington, Ashgate, 2006, p. 1. 16 Malcom William Wallace, The Life of Sir Philip Sidney, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2010, p. 4. 17 See Michael G. Brennan, op. cit., p. 2. 18 See, for instance, Malcom William Wallace, op. cit., p. 1; Michael G. Brennan, op. cit., p. 2; Michael G. Brennan and Noel J. Kinnamon, A Sidney Chronology, 1554-1654, New York, Palgrave MacMillan, 2003, p. xx-xxi. 19 See Matthew Woodcock, Sir Philip Sidney and the Sidney Circle, Tavistock, Northcote House Publ., 2010, p. 1. On the one hand Henry’s position as Lord Deputy Governor of Ireland was quite prestigious; on the other hand, he suffered several disadvantages. Apart from the fact that the time in office entailed massive costs for Henry – he had to entrust an administrator with his estate and had to take on additional staff for his second domicile in Ireland –, there were only few chances for him to spend some time with his son, which must have been quite disappointing to him. Several personal documents indicate, indeed, that the father had a good rapport with his son. See Katherine Duncan-Jones, op. cit., p. 47. In addition, Henry Sidney offers a self-evaluation of his achievements in Ireland within the context of a letter from 1583 to Philip’s father-in-law, Sir Francis Walsingham, which was published in two parts by the Ulster Archaeological Society in 1855 and 1857. 20 Katherine Duncan-Jones, op. cit., p. 44. The second part of this quote refers to the older Philip and indicates that he has successfully internalized the aspiration of his parents. 21 Samuel Butler, Sidneiana. Being a collection of Fragments relative to Sir Philip Sidney Knt. and his immediate connections, London, Shakespeare Press, 1837, p. 4. Katherine Duncan-Jones is probably right to assume that – even though it is undated – this letter was compiled early during Henry Sidney’s first term as Lord Deputy Governor of Ireland in order to offer general advice to his son since Philip lacked the direct guidance of his father while he was attending Shrewsbury school in the mid 1560s. See Katherine Duncan-Jones, op. cit., p. 32. 22 Arthur T. Eliot, The Book Named The Governour. Devised by Sir Thomas Elyot, Knt., London, Ridgway and Sons, 1834, p. 16. 23 Malcom William Wallace, quoted in Albert C. Hamilton, Sir Philip Sidney. A Study of his Life and Works, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1977, p. 4. 24 Sir Henry Sidney, quoted in Berta Siebeck, Das Bild Sir Philip Sidneys in der Englischen Renaissance, Weimar, Verlag Hermann Böhlaus Nachf., 1939, p. 7. 25 Steuart A. Pears, op. cit., p. 195-196. Here, Philip also elucidates two kinds of knowledge he perceives to be apt for a travelling gentleman who aims for public service: “[O]ne notable use of travellers, which stands in the mind and correlative knowledge of things, in which kind comes in the knowledge of all leagues betwixt prince and prince: the topographical description of each country; how the one lies by situation to hurt or help the other; how they are to the sea, well harboured or not; [...] how the people, warlike, trained or kept under [...]. The other kind of knowledge is of them which stand in the things which are in themselves either simply good, or simply bad, and so serve for a right instruction or a shunning example. These Homer meant in his verse, ‘Qui multos hominum mores cognovit et urbes.’ [...] He attends to their religion, politics, laws, bringing up of children, discipline both for war and peace, and such like. These I take to be of the second kind, which are ever worthy to be known for their own sakes.” 26 For the “Wars of the Roses”, see Christine Carpenter, The Wars of the Roses. Politics and the Constitution in England, c. 1437-1509, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1997. 27 See Claus Uhlig, “Humanism”, in Thomas O. Sloane (ed.), Encyclopedia of Rhetoric,Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2001, p. 350-359 and Roberto Weiss, Humanism in England During the Fifteenth Century, Oxford, Blackwell, 1957, p. 1-7. 28 See Eckhard Keßler, Die Philosophie der Renaissance. Das 15. Jahrhundert, München, C. H. Beck, 2008, p. 184 and Geoffrey Shepherd, Sir Philip Sidney: An Apology for Poetry, or The Defence of Poesy, London, Thomas Nelson, 1965, p. 19. 29 Margaret L. King, The Renaissance in Europe, London, Laurence King, 2003, p. 90. 30 See Claus Uhlig, “Die Dichtung der englischen Renaissance”, in Ludwig Borinski and Claus Uhlig, Literatur der Renaissance, Düsseldorf, August Bagel, 1975, p. 103-145, here p. 111. 31 See Katherine Duncan-Jones, op. cit., p. 25. 32 See Matthew Woodcock, op. cit., p. 3. 33 In her essay, Alice Friedman has convincingly shown that not all children had equal access to (higher) education: “Like yeomen, tradesmen, and craftsmen, women of all classes were largely excluded from the new [i.e. humanistic, D.W.] learning by a combination of ideological and economic forces.” See Alice T. Friedman, “The Influence of Humanism on the Education of Girls and Boys in Tudor England”, History of Education Quarterly, 25 (1/2), Spring/Summer 1985, p. 57-70, here p. 59. 34 See Ann Moss, “Humanist education”, in Glyn P. Norton (ed.), The Cambridge History of Literary Criticism. Vol. III: The Renaissance, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1999, p. 145-154, here p. 147. 35 Albert C. Hamilton, “Sidney’s Humanism”, in Michael J. B. Allen, Dominic Baker-Smith, Arthur F. Kinney, Margaret M. Sullivan (eds.), Sir Philip Sidney’s Achievements, New York, AMS Press, 1990, p. 109-116, here p. 110. 36 See Paul Salzman, “Theories of Prose Fiction in England: 1558-1700”, in Glyn P. Norton (ed.), The Cambridge History of Literary Criticism. Vol. 3: The Renaissance, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1999, p. 295-304, here p. 296. 37 See Willi Erzgräber, “Humanismus und Renaissance in England im 16. Jahrhundert”, in Stiftung Humanismus Heute des Landes Baden-Württemberg (ed.), Humanismus in Europa, Heidelberg, C. Winter Verlag, 1998, p. 159-186, here p. 168. 38 As a reference for this statement, we can point to the following quote which is taken from a letter Philip wrote to his brother Robert. Here, Philip advocates an instrumental use of language as a moral principle of action rather than a simple rhetorical skill: “So you can speak and write Latin, not barbarously; I never require great study in Ciceronianism, the chief abuse of Oxford, ‘qui dum verba sectantur res ipsas negligunt‘.” See Steuart A. Pears, op. cit., p. 201. 39 Katherine Duncan-Jones, op. cit., p. 55. 40 Matthew Woodcock, op. cit., p. 3. For a brief outline of Languet’s biography, see Katherine Duncan-Jones, op. cit., p. 71-72. 41 Roger Kuin has pointed out why the Sidney-Languet correspondence has always fascinated scholars. In his article, Kuin mentions the following reasons among others: Languet’s profound style, the passions he revealed about contemporary politics, the gossip-aspect, and the necessity of intact moral values. In his opinion, these features are why “such epistolæ were thought worth printing, worth reading, worth learning from, and worth emulating.” See Roger Kuin, “A Civil Conversation: Letters and the Edge of Form,” in Zachary Lesser and Benedict S. Robinson (eds.), Textual Conversations in the Renaissance. Ethics, Authors, Technologies, Aldershot, Ashgate, 2006, p. 147-172, here p. 164. 42 Katherine Duncan-Jones, op. cit., p. 62. 43 Ibid., p. 84. 44 Ibid., p. 85. 45 Ibid. 46 Berta Siebeck, op. cit., p. 6. 47 See Jan van Dorsten, Poets, Patrons, and Professors. Sir Philip Sidney, Daniel Rogers, and the Leiden Humanists, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 1962, p. 49. 48 Languet openly admitted that his aim was to turn Philip into a statesman who would further espouse the Protestant movement to which Philip had felt attracted for quite some time. In a letter to Philip dated June 21st, 1575, Languet wrote the following: “I had designed to write to you on public affairs, trusting that letters on such matters would not be disagreeable to you, since I know that you feel the strongest desire to learn the state of things in those nations with which we have any relations, and the changes that may occur among them. And as this desire is in itself most praiseworthy and almost necessary to those who aspire to be statesmen, no one shall easily make me believe that you are altogether discarding it.” See Steuart A. Pears, op. cit., p. 95-96. 49 See, for instance, Languet’s letters to Philip, printed in Steuart A. Pears, op. cit., p. 6, 73, 85, 183. 50 See James M. Osborn, Young Philip Sidney, 1572-1577, New Haven and London, Yale University Press, 1972, p. 323 and 325. Here, Osborn illustrates that for her hosts the Queen’s visits were “mixed blessings”: “That a noble’s hospitality would be welcomed by her Majesty markedly raised the lucky courtier’s prestige, but at the same time he knew that the food, drink, and entertainment he offered would be subject to close comparison with that provided by his peers. […] Hence a nobleman recognized the royal visit as an expensive honour, indeed as an investment in his future and that of his family which could pay off handsomely in position, power, and financial favours. […] Little wonder that as much as £1,000 spent on entertaining the Queen and her court was considered a justifiable investment.” For the reasons of the Court’s progresses, see also David Dean, “Elizabethan Government and Politics”, in Robert Tittler and Norman Jones (eds.), A Companion to Tudor Britain, Oxford, Blackwell Publishing, 2009, p. 44-60, here p. 51; Retha Warnicke, “The Court”, in Robert Tittler and Norman Jones (eds.), A Companion to Tudor Britain, Oxford, Blackwell Publishing, 2009, p. 61-76, here p. 62. 51 Berta Siebeck, op. cit., p. 12. “He [i.e. Philip] was the son of the indispensable, yet too autonomous Lord Deputy of Ireland, and he was on an extreme Protestant way.” (The translation is mine). 52 Katherine Duncan-Jones, op. cit., p. 49. 53 Ibid., p. 88. 54 See Ibid., p. 89. 55 Fred J. Levy, “Philip Sidney Reconsidered”, in Arthur F. Kinney (ed.), Sidney in Retrospect: Selections from English Literary Renaissance, Amherst, University of Massachusetts Press, 1988, p. 3-14, here p. 7. 56 Peter I. Kaufman, for instance, has hinted at the heterogeneity of Elizabethan Protestants. See Peter I. Kaufman, “The Protestant Opposition to Elizabethan Religious Reform”, in Robert Tittler and Norman Jones (eds.), A Companion to Tudor Britain, Malden, John Wiley & Sons, 2008, p. 271-288. According to Fred J. Levy (op. cit., p. 6), three main groups can be named: (1) Protestants such as the Queen who wanted to restrict their actions to the peaceful development of the Church of England, (2) resolute Puritans such as John Stubbs who aimed for a further reformation of the Church of England which they perceived to be still too close to Catholicism, and (3) “between them a group of aggressive Protestants [such as Philip Sidney] who did not adopt the theology of the Puritans but who saw England as the leader of European Protestantism.” 57 I would consent to Edward Berry’s statement according to which Sidney’s political position stems to a great extent from Hubert Languet’s arduous efforts to make young Philip a statesman who was predestinated to play a central role in shaping a supranational Protestant union. See Edward Berry, “Hubert Languet and the ‘Making’ of Philip Sidney”, Studies in Philology, 85 (3), Summer 1988, p. 305-320, here p. 307. Languet, however, was well aware of the difficulties this project implied. On January 8th, 1578, for instance, he wrote to Sidney: “On the subject of forming a league, you know what were my sentiments when you mentioned the thing to me at Nuremberg. Those who are only moderately versed in the affairs of Germany know that it is not an easy task to bring about that which Master Rogers attempted in the first instance with a few Princes, and Beale afterwards with more. […] Still, even if on this ground the thing has not turned out altogether as you might wish, you have no reason by any means to regret the trouble bestowed upon it […]. Is it not deserving of great praise, and ought they not to be thankful […] as to invite them to a union of policy and of power for the purpose of meeting the danger […]?” See Steuart A. Pears, op. cit., p. 134-135. 58 Fred J. Levy, op. cit., p. 6. 59 Steuart A. Pears, op. cit., p. 92. In his book, Alan Stewart hints at the possibility that Sidney “did fraternise with the English expatriate community, many of whom were undoubtedly Catholic.” See Alan Stewart, Philip Sidney. A Double Life, London, Chatto & Windus, 2000, p. 120. 60 See Katherine Duncan-Jones, op. cit., p. 120. 61 James M. Osborn, op. cit., p. 494. 62 See Ibid., p. 493-495. 63 See Ibid., p. 467. 64 Richard Wilson, Secret Shakespeare. Studies in Theater, Religion and Resistance, Manchester, Manchester University Press, 2004, p. 76. 65 James M. Osborn, op. cit., p. 467-468. 66 Ibid., p. 467. 67 See Richard Simpson, Edmund Campion. A Biography, London, John Hodges, 1896, p. 115. Simpson offers a detailed, yet in some parts probably fictionalized account of Campion’s life, as James M. Osborn has indicated: “Simpson clearly knew his own audience and told them what they wished to hear.” See James M. Osborn, op. cit., p. 468. 68 Katherine Duncan-Jones, op. cit., p. 135. 69 Ibid., p. 153. 70 Albert Feuillerat, The Prose Works of Sir Philip Sidney, in Four Volumes. Vol. III: The Defence of Poesie, Political Discourses, Correspondence, Translations,Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1963, p. 124. 71 See Katherine Duncan-Jones, op. cit., p. 153. 72 For some critical remarks on Greville’s descriptions, see Ibid., p. 165. 73 Nowell Smith, Sir Fulke Greville’s ‘Life of Sir Philip Sidney’, Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1907, p. 63-66. 74 Katherine Duncan-Jones, op. cit., p. 165. 75 Stephen Greenblatt, Shakespearean Negotiations. The Circulation of Social Energy in Renaissance England, Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1988, p. 135-136. 76 Michael G. Brennan, op. cit., p. 4. 77 See Neil L. Rudenstine, Sidney’s Poetic Development, Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press, 1967, p. 7. 78 Steuart A. Pears, op. cit., p. 143-144. 79 In his letters to Philip Sidney, Hubert Languet had warned him about these perils several times before. A quote from a letter dated June 14th, 1577 may serve as an example: “You know the state of affairs in Belgium, and are doubtless aware of the disasters our friends have lately suffered in France. Your people must sleep with one ear open, especially if the Spaniards obtain their peace from the Turks, as I hear from many quarters that they will.” See Ibid., p. 108. 80 Philip first encountered the importance of a sizeable fortune when he became engaged to William Cecil’s elder daughter Anne around 1569. When the formal marriage settlement was about to be concluded, William Cecil discovered that his daughter would bring far more to the marriage than Philip and finally decided to prefer the Earl of Oxford as husband for her. To quote Katherine Duncan-Jones (op. cit., p. 52), “it was intensely galling [for Sidney] to see Oxford’s wealth and rank preferred to his own talent and promise.” 81 Neil L. Rudenstine, op. cit., p. 14. 82 See Steuart A. Pears, op. cit., p. 147-148. 83 Ibid. With respect to providence, it should be noted that in a letter from June 1574 Sidney himself made clear that he was willing to accept and rely on providence as the driving force of contemporary political events: “The Almighty is ordering Christendom with a wonderful providence in these our days.” See Ibid., p. 75-76. 84 Katherine Duncan-Jones, op. cit., p. 152. 85 See Peter Burke, “The Invention of Leisure in Early Modern Europe”, Past & Present, 146, February 1995, p. 136-150, here p. 140. 86 See William A. Laidlaw, “‘Otium’”, Greece & Rome, Second Series, 15 (1), April 1968, p. 42-52, here p. 42. 87 Ibid, p. 42-43. 88 See, for instance, Anna L. Motto and John R. Clark, “‘Hic Situs Est’: Seneca and the Deadliness of Idleness”, The Classical World, 72 (4), December 1978 – January 1979, p. 207-215. 89 See, exempli gratia, Platonis Opera, Vol. IV: ΠΟΛΙΤΕΙΑ, rec. Ioannes Burnet, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 1902, VII, 514a-521b and Aristotelis Ethica Nicomachea, rec. Ingram Bywater, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 1920, VI, 1139a-1145a. For the direct relation between individual happiness and common welfare as presented in Greek philosophy and literature, see Arbogast Schmitt, “Was hat das Gute mit der Politik zu tun? Über die Verbindung von individuellem Glück und dem Wohl Aller in griechischer Philosophie und Literatur”, in Mathias Lotz, Matthias van der Minde, and Dirk Weidmann (eds.), Von Platon bis zur Global Governance. Entwürfe für menschliches Zusammenleben, Marburg, Tectum, 2010, p. 27-36. 90 See also Peter Burke, op. cit., p. 139-140. Many Roman intellectuals chose to work outside the crowded city: Cicero, for instance, probably chose the rural area around Tusculum for his periods of meditation since in Rome it used to be very noisy, and Pliny the Younger even “liked to have a sound-proof room” (William A. Laidlaw, op. cit., p. 46). For a vivid description of the usually high noise level in Rome, see also the beginning of Seneca’s fifty-sixth letter to Lucilius. 91 See M. Tulli Ciceronis Rhetorica. Vol. I: De oratore, rec. Augustus S. Wilkins, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 1963, I, 224: “Philosophorum autem libros reservet sibi ad huiusce modi Tusculani requiem atque otium.” “But he should spare the works of philosophers for a time of recreation and leisure in the manner of Tusculum.” The subject of this sentence is introduced shortly before the quote: “[acutus homo] et natura usuque [callidus],” i.e. “a man, astute and proficient because of both nature and exercise.” (The translations are mine). 92 Anna L. Motto and John R. Clark, op. cit., p. 209. The Latin sentence is taken from Seneca’s dialogue De otio (V, 1) and can be translated as follows: “Nature has given birth to us for accomplishing both, contemplation about things and [concrete] action.” 93 See L. Annaei Senecae Dialogorum Libri Duodecim, Liber VIII: De otio, rec. Leighton D. Reynolds, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 1977, V, 1: “Solemus dicere summum bonum esse secundum naturam uivere [...].” “It is customary to say that it is the greatest good to live in accordance with nature.” (The translation is mine). 94 See Ibid., V, 8: “Ergo secundum naturam uiuo si totum me illi dedi, si illius admirator cultorque sum. Natura autem utrumque facere me uoluit, et agere et contemplationi uacare: utrumque facio, quoniam ne contemplatio quidem sine actione est.” “Therefore, I live in accordance with nature if I dedicate myself to her, if I am her admirer and carer. Nature, however, wanted me to do both, [namely] being active and having time for contemplation; both I do because contemplation cannot be without action.” (The translation is mine). 95 Anna L. Motto and John R. Clark, op. cit., p. 210. 96 This fundamental terminological distinction is contrary to Peter Burke’s statement (op. cit., p. 141) according to which “[i]n English, the closest term to the classical otium was ‘ease’ in the narrow sense of ‘repose’ or ‘idleness’.” If Sidney, being a highly educated expert in the classics, wanted to “play the Stoic”, he would certainly know about the differences in meaning which go along with the terms otium and ignavia. Hence, while writing at Wilton, he would not refer to his condition as being “idle” since this would suggest what Seneca and other Stoics strictly refused, namely ignavia. 97 Anna L. Motto and John R. Clark, op. cit., p. 210. Italics appear as in the original. 98 Ibid. These “thoughts” of wise men refer to the quotes which can be found in the initial letters of Seneca’s Epistulae morales ad Lucilium. 99 See again the end of Sidney’s letter to Languet as translated in Steuart A. Pears, op. cit., p. 144: “I have now pointed out the field of battle, and I openly declare war against you.” 100 Steuart A. Pears, op. cit., p. 155. Since enough evidence has already been provided in this article to support the thesis that Sidney felt unchallenged, Languet’s phrase “escape the tempest of affairs” cannot refer to an overwhelming and distracting amount of obligations that Sidney had to fulfil. Rather, the underlying comments which Sidney had apparently made in antecedent letters or in face-to-face conversation with Languet allude to the constant blandishments by other courtiers, to the excessive Court festivities, and to certain leisure activities like hunting and animal-baiting, which were never highly regarded by Sidney. He did not speak in high terms even of the different kinds of poetic entertainment. For Sidney’s negative attitude towards this kind of courtly amusement, see Katherine Duncan-Jones, op. cit., p. 95-96 and 98. A general account of Court life in Tudor Britain is offered by Retha Warnicke, op. cit., p. 61-76. 101 It can indeed by argued that Sidney perceived the Court as idly standing by the conflicts in England’s neighbouring countries. He seemed to have been repeatedly annoyed about the Queen’s passivity. In a letter to Languet dated April 21st, 1576, for example, he criticised: “We are doing nothing here [i.e. at the English Court]. I long to live in your part of the world again.” See James M. Osborn, op. cit., p. 420. Similar thoughts are provided in a letter to his brother Robert, dated October 18th, 1580: “Now, Sir, for news, I refer myself to this bearer, he can tell you how idle we look on at our neighbours’ fires […].” See Steuart A. Pears, op. cit., p. 202. For the upcoming interest of 16th century people in temporary retirements from public obligations, see also Peter Burke, op. cit. 102 Sidney’s plans to join an expedition led by Frobisher have already been mentioned above. In addition, Languet had generally advised Sidney in a letter dated February 15th, 1578 “[...] to reflect that young men who rush into danger incautiously almost always meet an inglorious end, and deprive themselves of the power of serving their country; for a man who falls at an early age cannot have done much for his country. Let not therefore an excessive desire of fame hurry you out of the course; and be sure you do not give the glorious name of courage to a fault which only seems to have something in common with it. It is the misfortune, or rather the folly of our age, that most men of high birth think it more honourable to do the work of a soldier than of a leader, and would rather earn a name for boldness than for judgment.” See Steuart A. Pears, op. cit., p. 137. In October 1578, when Sidney had already retreated from Court, Languet finally warned Sidney to disregard established conventions and get involved in acts of warfare in Belgium by ignoring governing law: “But you, out of mere love of fame and honour, and to have an opportunity of displaying your courage, determined to regard as your enemies those who appeared to be doing the wrong in this war. It is not your business, nor any private person’s, to pass a judgment on a question of this kind; it belongs to the magistrate, I mean by magistrate the prince, who, whenever a question of this sort is to be determined, calls to his council those whom he believes to be just men and wise. You and your fellows, I mean men of noble birth, consider that nothing brings you more honour than wholesale slaughter; and you are generally guilty of the greatest injustice, for if you kill a man against whom you have no lawful cause of war, you are killing an innocent person.” (Ibid., p. 154). 103 See Neil L. Rudenstine, op. cit., p. 12. 104 Berta Siebeck, op. cit., p. 14. “By means of creative actions that finally enabled his nature to develop completely, Sidney liberated himself from the pressure of inactivity.” (The translation is mine). 105 See, for instance, Katherine Duncan-Jones, op cit., p. 16, 144-147, 175-176. 106 This assessment seems to be quite constant through the last century. See Berta Siebeck, op. cit., p. 15 (“Mit dem Erwachen von Sidneys dichterischer Tätigkeit war seine Schwester Mary aufs Engste verknüpft.”); Katherine Duncan-Jones, op. cit., p. 16 (“[…] Mary was of incalculable importance to him as a writer, for she and her entourage of ‘fair ladies’ at Wilton were the audience for whom he originally wrote his Arcadia.”); or, more recently, Michael G. Brennan, op. cit., p. 67 (“[...] an intimacy [between Philip and Mary] which proved to be the single greatest catalyst to his prolific recreational activities as a writer.”). 107 Katherine Duncan-Jones, op. cit., p. 140. 108 Dorothy Connell, Sir Philip Sidney. The Maker’s Mind, Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1977, p. 91. 109 Nowell Smith, op. cit., p. 15. 110 Edward Waterhouse, Secretary of State for Ireland in 1577, praised the power of Philip Sidney’s words in a letter to Sir Henry Sidney, dated September 30th, 1577: “[…] Mr. Philip had gatherid a Collection of all the Articlis, which have been enviously objectid to your Goverment, whereunto he had framid an Answer in way of Discours, the most excellently (if I have eny Judgement) that ever I red in my Lief; the Substance whereof is now approved in your Letters, and Notes by Mr. Whitten. But let no Man compare with Mr. Philips Pen.” Quoted in Martin Garrett, Sidney. The Critical Heritage, London, Routledge, 1996, p. 87. 111 See Judith Dundas, “‘To Speak Metaphorically’: Sidney in the Subjunctive Mood”, Renaissance Quarterly, 41 (2), Summer 1988, p. 268-287. 112 Ibid., p. 268. 113 Katherine Duncan-Jones, op. cit., p. 186. 114 See, for instance, the comment by Clive S. Lewis: “Its woods are greener, its rivers purer, its sky brighter than ours.” in English Literature in the Sixteenth Century Excluding Drama, Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1954, p. 341. 115 Katherine Duncan-Jones, op. cit., p. 187. 116 Sidney not only used the subjunctive mood in order to hedge against charges, he also drew on certain phrases like “as it were” or “me seems” to soften his metaphors in order to accommodate them to a more rational discourse. On a related note, Judith Dundas (op. cit., p. 273) explains: “Responding to narrative fiction as only a poet can, he knows that his proper mode of expression is the subjunctive, what ‘may be or should be’, but he is willing to make it as easy as possible for others, even the unpoetic, to understand what he is saying.” With respect to Sidney’s use of the verb “to seem”, she further expounded: “Sidney’s use of the word ‘seems’ is indicative or declarative in form, rather than subjunctive, but it implies a similar disclaimer for the use of tropical language” (Ibid., p. 280). 117 For a thorough analysis of Sidney’s ideas as deducible from his Arcadia, see William D. Briggs, “Political Ideas in Sidney’s Arcadia”, Studies in Philology, 28 (2), April 1931, p. 137-161 and William D. Briggs, “Sidney’s Political Ideas”, Studies in Philology, 29 (4), October 1932, p. 534-542. In addition, see Dorothy Connell, op. cit., p. 104-113; Alan Sinfield, “Power and Ideology: An Outline Theory and Sidney’s Arcadia”, ELH, 52 (2), Summer 1985, p. 259-277; Blair Worden, The Sound of Virtue. Philip Sidney’s Arcadia and Elizabethan Politics, New Haven and London, Yale University Press, 1996; Michael G. Brennan, op. cit., p. 7. 118 Ewald Flügel, Sir Philip Sidney’s Astrophel and Stella und Defence of Poesie, Halle, Verlag Max Niemeyer, 1889, p. 74-75. 119 James M. Osborn, op. cit., p. 503. 120 See, for instance, John N. King, “Queen Elizabeth I: Representations of the Virgin Queen”, Renaissance Quarterly, 43 (1), Spring 1990, p. 30-74. In her article, Susan Doran hints at an interesting fact: in the plays Elizabeth had witnessed at her Court between 1561 and 1578 virginity was initially not idealised but instead marriage was celebrated as a preferable state of chastity. But when the marriage negotiations with Alançon became manifest, the plays’ message was altered and virginity was praised as supernatural quality – the Queen was called “unspoused Pallas”, “a Virgine pure”, and “a sacred Queene.” See Susan Doran, “Juno versus Diana: The Treatment of Elizabeth I’s Marriage in Plays and Entertainments, 1561-1578”, The Historical Journal, 38 (2), June 1995, p. 257-274, here p. 271. 121 See Katherine Duncan-Jones, op. cit., p. 160. 122 Ibid. 123 Steuart A. Pears, op. cit., p. 131. 124 For a sententious summary of Sidney’s line of argumentation in this letter, see William D. Briggs, “Sidney’s Political Ideas”, op. cit., p. 534-535. 125 Irving Ribner, “Machiavelli and Sidney’s Discourse to the Queenes Majesty”, Italica, 26 (3), September 1949, p. 177-187, here p. 179. With regard to the fear of change, Ribner moves Sidney in close vicinity to the writings of Machiavelli, a point which would clearly deserve greater attention than one can concede in the context of this article. 126 This hypothesis is also favoured by James M. Osborn (op. cit., p. 503). He conjectures that this group probably consisted of Sir Francis Walsingham (Philip Sidney’s father-in-law), Robert Dudley (Philip Sidney’s uncle, the Earl of Leicester), Sir Christopher Hatton (a fellow-courtier), Henry Herbert Pembroke (2nd Earl of Pembroke), Sir Henry Sidney and Philip Sidney himself. Katherine Duncan-Jones (op. cit., p. 160) also subscribes to the collaborative collection of arguments; however, she excludes both Henry and Philip Sidney from the main players of this anti-marriage faction for the Sidneys had at least not been in the front row before. To me, this assessment seems plausible since Henry Sidney, on the one hand, had been under fire from many sides due to his moderate success in Ireland and therefore had to keep in the background, while Philip Sidney, on the other hand, was absent from Court and thus from courtly affairs unlike the other members of the group, who had more immediate and regular contacts with the royal household. 127 Albert Feuillerat, op. cit., p. 54. 128 Ibid., p. 56. 129 Ibid., p. 60. 130 See Berta Siebeck, op. cit., p. 20. Here, Siebeck maintains that Sidney was commissioned by Walsingham and Leicester to compile this letter. 131 Steuart A. Pears, op. cit., p. 187. 132 The first person plural pronoun is used only once in the text, namely in the following passage: “Very common reason would teach us to hold that jewel deare the losse of which should bring us to we know not what [...]” (Albert Feuillerat, op. cit., p. 58). However, it does not refer to the anti-marriage group, but rather to the entire nation in the sense of “we as English nation” in order to describe the aporia which would result from the loss of the “jewel“, i.e. the established manifestation of the English monarchy. 133 Among others, Katherine Duncan-Jones (op. cit., p. 160) has indicated that the French Duke had arrived in England on August 17th, 1579. Therefore, the group was pressed for time so that the Queen had an opportunity to read the letter in good time prior to the advancement of their marriage plans. 134 Dorothy Auchter, Dictionary of Literary and Dramatic Censorship in Tudor and Stuart England, Westport, Greenwood Press, 2001, p. 345. 135 See the examples of censorship presented by Dorothy Auchter, op. cit., especially p. 7-10, 344-346, 350-353. For a detailed analysis of censorship in Elizabeth’s times, see Cyndia S. Clegg, Press Censorship in Elizabethan England, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1997. 136 With respect to the political and personal significance of The Lady of May, see Edward Berry, “Sidney’s May Game for the Queen”, Modern Philology, 86 (3), February 1989, p. 252-264. 137 See James M. Osborn, op. cit., p. 503. 138 Nowell Smith, op. cit., p. 61. 139 Ibid. 140 See Derek B. Alwes, Sons and Authors in Elizabethan England, Newark, University of Delaware Press, 2004, p. 77. 141 See Robert Kimbrough, Sir Philip Sidney. Selected Prose and Poetry, Madison, The University of Wisconsin Press, 1983, p. xix; Katherine Duncan-Jones, op. cit., p. 154; Julie Campbell, Literary Circles and Gender in Early Modern Europe. A Cross-Cultural Approach, Aldershot, Ashgate, 2006, p. 17-18 and 123-147. Henry Woudhuysen, however, has outlined that these literary friends had probably not been “the great and the famous, [but] tended to be local, courtly, or university acquaintances.” See Henry R. Woudhuysen, Sir Philip Sidney and the Circulation of Manuscripts, 1558 1640, Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1996, p. 385. 142 See Berta Siebeck, op. cit., p. 15. 143 See Matthew Woodcock, op. cit., p. 7. 144 Katherine Duncan-Jones (op. cit., p. 168) points at the paucity of letters from Sidney during his period at Wilton. As plausible explanation, she offers that “so much of his writing energies were now going into his romance [i.e. the Arcadia].” However, some letters have survived. For an insight into Philip Sidney’s correspondence after the summer of 1579, see Charles S. Levy, “A Supplementary Inventory of Sir Philip Sidney’s Correspondence” , Modern Philology, 67 (2), November 1969, p.177-181; Robert Shephard and Noel J. Kinnamon, “The Sidney Family Correspondence during Robert Sidney’s Continental Tour, 1579-1581”, Sidney Journal, 25 (1/2), 2007, p. 43-66. 145 Stubbs felt compelled to object to the Queen’s proposed marriage with Duke Alançon trying to persuade his readers that the French prince would be corrupt and unfit for marriage with the glorious Queen. “Elizabeth had always been particularly sensitive about her martial negotiations, and fiercely resented interference from a commoner in her affairs. […] Stubbs and his associates were charged with disseminating seditious literature.” See Dorothy Auchter, op. cit., p. 90. As a penalty, the publisher William Page and John Stubbs himself had one of their hands cut off. For a deeper analysis of the case of John Stubbs, see also Cyndia S. Clegg, op. cit., p. 123-137. Whether Leicester and Walsingham were involved in John Stubbs’s project, too, has been under discussion for quite a long time. Strong evidence against this thesis has been offered by Natalie Mears, “Counsel, Public Debate, and Queenship: John Stubbs’s The Discovery of a Gaping Gulf, 1579”, The Historical Journal, 44 (3), September 2001, p. 629-650. 146 See Ivan L. Schulze, “The Final Protest Against the Elizabeth-Alençon Marriage Proposal”, Modern Language Notes, 58 (1), January 1943, p. 54-57. 147 Steuart A. Pears, op. cit., p. 170. 148 Dennis Kay, “‘She Was a Queen, and Therefore Beautiful’: Sidney, His Mother, and Queen Elizabeth”, The Review of English Studies, New Series, 43 (169), February 1992, p. 18-39, here p. 22. 149 Michael G. Brennan (op. cit., p. 7) holds that “the Sidneys frequently compiled for their own use, and occasionally for public dissemination, analyses and polemical tracts on current political issues.” 150 Albert Feuillerat, op. cit., p. 129. 151 Ibid. Sidney wrote that he is “[...] so full of the colde as one can not heere me speake.” 152 Dennis Kay, op. cit., p. 29. 153 For the notion of “publicatio sui”, see Michael L. Humphries, “Michel Foucault on Writing and the Self in the Meditations of Marcus Aurelius and Confessions of St. Augustine”, Arethusa, 30 (1), Winter 1997, p. 125-138, here p. 136. 154 Jan van Dorsten, “Sidney and Languet”, Huntington Library Quarterly, 29 (3), May 1966, p. 215-222, here p. 215. 155 Åke Bergvall, The “Enabling of Judgement”. Sir Philip Sidney and the Education of the Reader, Stockholm, Almqvist & Wiksell International, 1989, p. 60. 156 Dorothy Connell, op. cit., p. 91. 157 See Andrew D. Weiner, Sir Philip Sidney and the Poetics of Protestantism. A Study of Contexts, Minneapolis, University of Minnesota Press, 1978, p. 3-4. 158 Ewald Flügel, op. cit., p. 67. Albert Hamilton has analysed Sidney’s poetic development and arrives at the conclusion that it would better be termed his “elected vocation”, and not – as Sidney himself proposed in the context of this quote – his “unelected vocation”. For the reasons, see especially Albert C. Hamilton, Sir Philip Sidney, op. cit., p. 58-106. 159 Ibid., p. 68. 160 Kenneth O. Myrick, Sir Philip Sidney as a Literary Craftsman, Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press, 1935, p. 6. 161 Ewald Flügel, op. cit., p. 93. Haut de page Pour citer cet articleRéférence électroniqueDirk Weidmann, « Writing as socio-political commitment. Sir Philip Sidney’s alternative », Études Épistémè [En ligne], 21 | 2012, mis en ligne le 01 avril 2012, consulté le 16 septembre 2022. URL : http://journals.openedition.org/episteme/415 ; DOI : https://doi.org/10.4000/episteme.415 Haut de page |
Which of the following groups would most likely have been critical of the sentiments expressed in the passage above Edward Waterhouse?
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