Skip main navigation

"[Translation from Statius, Thebaid VI 646-88, 704-24]"

    • Archive Work ID: poems.tra6
    • Uniform Title: "[Translation from Statius, Thebaid VI 646-88, 704-24]" [e-text]
    • First Line: Then thus the king: 'Whoe'er the quoit can wield,
    • Language: English
    • First Published: 1853
    • References: Starr/Hendrickson (eds.), Complete Poems (1966), 54-55; Lonsdale (ed.), Poems (1969), 17-19
    • Summary: Written before the end of May 1736 when Gray was learning Italian, and sent in two letters, dated [8 May 1736] (ll. 646-88) and [before 24 May 1736] (ll. 704-24), to Richard West. Gray's translation of ll. 689-703 has not survived. Translation of ll. 646-88 (59 lines) first published, untitled, in Mitford (ed.), Correspondence of Gray and Mason (1853), letter I, 2-4, and of ll. 704-24 (27 lines) first published in Mason's Memoirs (1775), section I, 9-10.

    3 Manuscripts:

      • Archive MS ID: mss.0174 (Source: EAD/XML)
      • Title: "E lib: 6to Thebaidos"
      • Date: 8 May [1736]
      • Physical Description: [?] pages; autograph fair copy
      • Language: English
      • Location: Henry W. And Albert A. Berg Collection of English and American Literature, New York Public Library, New York, NY, USA <https://www.nypl.org/about/divisions/berg-collection-english-and-american-literature>
      • References: Smith (ed.), Index (1989), item GrT 145, 93; Toynbee/Whibley (eds.), Correspondence (1971), letter no. 22, vol. i, 38-41 (subscription required); Munby (ed.), Sale Catalogues (1971), Evans sale (27-29 November 1845), lot 614(?), 10, Sotheby's sale (4 August 1854), lot 244, 74
      • Contents: Autograph fair copy of a translation of Thebaid, VI, 646-88, headed "E lib: 6to Thebaidos", in a letter to Richard West, 8 May [1736].

      • Archive MS ID: mss.0213 (Source: EAD/XML)
      • Title: [untitled]
      • Date: [between 1845 and 1856]
      • Physical Description: 3 pages, 180 mm x 115 mm; transcript in the hand of John Mitford, partial [ll. 32-52, 1-31, 53-59]
      • Language: English
      • Location: Add. MS 32561, ff. 192r, 193r, 194r, Manuscripts Collection, British Library, London, UK <http://www.bl.uk/reshelp/bldept/manuscr/>
      • References: Smith (ed.), Index (1989), item GrT 145, 93
      • Contents: Transcript, here untitled, of ll. 32-52, 1-31, 53-59, in the hand of John Mitford, in John Mitford, Note-Books, vol. III "Mitford. Extracts from Mr Grays Common-place books", ff. 192r, 193r, 194r.


Contents

Manuscripts