INTRODUCTION.
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these gentlemen, two productions bearing the title of Gesta Romanorum, and totally distinct from each other, exist. I confess, I see no good reason for the assertion. I take it to be the same work, with a few additions, not so considerable by any means as Mr. Douce imagines[1]. This I shall shew, by and by. Of the present performance, though it purports to relate the Gests of the Romans, there is little that corresponds with the title. On the contrary, it comprehends "a multitude of narratives, either not historical; or in another respect, such as are totally unconnected with the Roman people, or perhaps
- ↑ "In fact, the two Gestas may just as well be considered the same work, as the different versions of the Wise Masters, or of Kalilah u Damnah. The term Gesta Romanorum implies nothing more than a collection of ancient stories, many of which might be the same, but which would naturally vary in various countries according to the taste of the collector, in the same manner, as different stories are introduced in the Greek Syntipas, the Italian Erastus, and English "Wise Masters."—Dunlop. Hist. of Fiction, Vol. II. p. 170.
