English Translations From The Greek
A Bibliographical Survey
By
Finley Melville Kendall Foster
Submitted in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree of
Doctor of Philosophy, in the Faculty of Philosophy, Columbia University
New York
Columbia University Press
1918
CONTENTS
Preface
Introduction
I. The Growth of Translation
II. The Translations
A Bibliographical Survey Of English And American Translations
Index
Vita
[Cover Art]
[Transcriber’s Note: The above cover image was produced by the submitter
at Distributed Proofreaders, and is being placed into the public domain.]
PREFACE
This book had its origin in a preliminary study of the attitude of the
first thirty years of the nineteenth century toward the classics. A list
of the translations which were published during those years seemed so
significant, if only from the point of view of quantity, that it was
deemed wise to extend that study backward and forward fifty years in order
to have the necessary material for a comparative study of the original
list. It soon became evident, however, that there were only two possible
termini for such a study: the establishment of Caxton’s printing press in
London in 1476 and the present year. The result of these searchings is
embodied in the list of translations which make up the contents of this
book.
Certain limitations have, of necessity, been put upon the scope of this
work. With a few exceptions, Musaeus for instance, the survey deals with
Greek literature to 200 A.D. Josephus, because the interest in his work is
mainly religious, has been omitted; and for the same reason the writings
of the early Christian fathers have not been listed. Moreover, in stating
the reappearances of a given translation, I have made no attempt to
distinguish between editions and reprints. To attempt to unravel the
tangled skein of second, third, fourth, fifth editions, and the like,
would in many cases be the work of a lifetime. I do not feel that the
value of this list would be increased by any such attempt. The fact that a
particular book was published at a particular time, with the notation of
any revision or correction which may have been made, is the matter of
prime importance.
Of the sources of this list I have little to say. The list of translations
published in England was gathered largely from the following books: Miss
Palmer’s bibliography of classical books published before 1640, _The
Stationers’ Register_, _The Term Catalogues_, _The British Museum
Catalogue of Printed Books_, _The London Catalogue_, _The English
Catalogue_, Watt’s _Bibliotheca Britannica_, Lowndes’ _Bibliographer’s
Manual of English Literature_, Moss’s _Classical Bibliography_,
Engelmann’s _Bibliotheca Scriptorum_, and the book lists published in the
_Gentleman’s Magazine_, and _The Edinburgh Review_.
The list of American translations has been gathered from Evans’ _American
Bibliography_, Roorbach’s _Bibliotheca Americana_, _The American
Catalogue_, and _The Publisher’s Weekly_. In two respects the American
section is not so complete as might be desired. In a number of cases it is
impossible to give the exact date of publication. Roorbach’s _Bibliotheca_
dates as many as possible and so do the first volumes of the _American
Catalogue_. Leypoldt in the preface to the first volume of the latter
publication regrets his inability to obtain from many of the publishers
the dates of their own publications. In all such cases I have given the
dates covered by each volume in which the translations occur. By this
means nearly all of them can be located within two or three years of the
exact date. The other defect I have found in dealing with American
bibliography is in the lack of differentiation between importations and
reprints. For this reason it is impossible to determine whether a given
English translation was reprinted in America or imported and sold by
certain publishers. So far as possible I have listed the American reprints
of English translations immediately after the original publication or
after the English reprints of it. By this arrangement all the available
facts concerning each translation are presented in one place.
A word, perhaps, is necessary in the way of definition of translation. In
this list I have aimed to include only such works as profess to be English
renderings of Greek writings. In some cases, chiefly before 1700, the
English translation was made from a French, Italian, or Latin version of
the Greek original. So far as possible, such instances have been noted. I
have not included adaptations, paraphrases, and the like; nor have I
attempted to record solitary translations of excerpts from Greek
literature. A book of translations in the literal sense of the word has
been my basis for entering a title in the following list.
The author would be the last one to claim infallibility for this list. One
has but to attempt to gather together any considerable number of titles on
a given subject to come to a realization of the difficulties of the work.
“Here a little and there a little” is a true text in any such undertaking;
and two translations in a bushel of books is no rare occurrence. I have
listed the facts as I have been able to gather them; but I dare not vouch
that in all cases they are complete. I hope some of the more elusive ones
will be added at some future time.
The contents of the two introductory sections sum up certain ideas which
have occurred to me as I have been working over this material. The
sections are intended to suggest rather than to solve the problems which
English translation from the Greek presents. A discussion of the
introduction of the literature of one nation into that of another by means
of translation is not new; but a discussion of such translations as
forming a continuous thread of influence is perhaps slightly different
from any hitherto set forth. A series of studies of translations into
English from various literatures might add something to our present
understanding of literary influences. If this book furnishes the basis for
some such study of the interrelations between Greek and English
literatures, the labor spent upon it will not have been expended in vain.
I am especially indebted to Professors Ashley H. Thorndike and William
Peterfield Trent of Columbia University, to whom I owe much for their
thoughtful advice and assistance. Their continual interest did much to
make a lonely task a pleasant one.
F.M.K.F.
DELAWARE COLLEGE
NEWARK, DELAWARE
February 28, 1918
INTRODUCTION
I. The Growth of Translation
[Illustration: Growth of translation]
The Growth of Greek Translation. The solid line is original and reprinted
translations; the dashed line is original translations only.
The history of English translation from the Greek is almost coincident
with the history of English printing. In 1477 William Caxton set up his
press in London and from that press in 1484 he issued his own translation
of Aesop’s _Fables_. The real beginning of serious translation, as is very
evident from the chart accompanying this section, was made in the decade
1530‐1540. From that time until the time of the Civil War and the
Protectorate there was a steady output of translations, not many as
compared with our day, but a proportion consistent with the size of the
reading public of the time.
In the one hundred and thirty years between 1520 and 1650, one hundred and
seventy‐nine translations were published. Of these one hundred and
fourteen were new translations and sixty‐five were reprintings. That two‐
thirds of the total number are new translations is not surprising; for
with the awakening of interest in Greek which took place during these
years, men could not turn to translations made in former years. For this
reason they had to satisfy the demand for knowledge of Greek literature in
the English language by producing their own translations and reprinting
these as the demand required. That the reprints amounted to one‐half of
the production of original translations is interesting as showing that the
demand for translations was not equalled by a supply of new ones and that
translations must have been popular. Printers have never been inclined to
be sentimental in regard to publishing books and any over‐enthusiasm a
translator may have in regard to his author is sure to be checked by the
monetary standards of the publisher. For this reason I would suggest that
the publishers during the latter part of the sixteenth and the first part
of the seventeenth century evidently found Greek translations a paying
proposition; if they had not, they would not have ventured to place so
many translations before a very limited reading public. All this seems to
add one more evidence to the already established dictum that the
Renaissance readers in England were much interested in Greek literature.
During the one hundred and fifty years following the Civil War English
literature was partly under the domain of those principles which are
generally known as neo‐classical. For this reason the facts of Greek
translation are very interesting and to a certain degree provide an index
of the importance of Greek literature during these years. At least five
hundred and four translations of Greek authors were published, of which
two hundred and thirty‐nine were reprintings of those previously printed.
The average number published per annum between 1530 and 1650 was 1.30 +;
whereas for these one hundred and fifty years the annual average is 3.36
+. This increase may be due to the fact that the reading public of these
later years was larger than that of the preceding age; but I doubt if it
was almost three hundred per cent larger. I would much rather attribute
the increase to an equal growth of interest in Greek literature encouraged
by the principles of literary art which were flourishing at that time and
fostered by the steady development of Greek scholarship through those
years. Aristotle’s _Poetics_ was one of the sources of criticism during
these years and, as I shall show in the next section, the interest in
Greek philosophy was predominant throughout the period. The authority of
the classics and the classics themselves were uppermost in the current of
literary thought; hence it seems plausible that Greek translation should
show a positive reaction at this time.
Before leaving this period I desire to point out one or two matters which
have become evident upon a study of the chart at the beginning of this
section. The curve as it passes through the decades after 1650 rises
gradually to a peak in 1720. It is interesting to note that this was the
hey‐day of Pope: his _Iliad_ was published volume by volume between 1715
and 1720. Through the latter years of Pope’s life the curve declines,
reaching its lowest point four years before his death. Shortly after his
death Doctor Johnson began to exert his influence on English literature,
an influence which was powerfully classical. This continuation of the neo‐
classical principles raised the curve again; and Doctor Johnson himself
assisted in producing that result by reprinting a number of translations
in his _Works of the English Poets_, 1779‐81. The decline of the last
twenty years of this period, 1780‐1800, is synchronous with the fading of
the supreme authority of neo‐classical principles; for with the death of
Johnson in 1784 the last star of the first magnitude in the neo‐classical
firmament had set. The curve would go much lower but for the reprinting of
a number of translations in Anderson’s _Poets of Great Britain_, 1792‐94.
As appears from the chart Greek translation was waiting for the tide to
turn and come forth into the nineteenth century with renewed vigor.
The nineteenth century, quantitatively at least, is the most important
period in the history of Greek translation, for more than half of the
total number of translations printed between 1484 and 1916 were published
during these years. As the chart indicates the great numerical advance
came after 1860, although the preceding sixty years had been far ahead of
the previous centuries in the work produced. The reasons suggested for
this great advance in the nineteenth century are: first, a new interest in
Greece itself; secondly, the rise of classical libraries and the
subsequent cheapness of translations; and thirdly a large output, mainly
in the latter part of the nineteenth century, of schoolboy helps.
The early part of the nineteenth century was a time of much interest in
Greece on the part of the English public. The travels of Edward Dodwell,
H. W. Williams, and William Gell, to say nothing of Lord Byron, made the
Greece of that day well known in England. Through all this time, from 1784
to 1818, William Mitford’s _History of Greece_ was proceeding in leisurely
installments. The immediate popularity of the work is but another evidence
of the widespread interest in Greece. I need hardly mention the stress
which was laid upon the classics in the educational system of the time,
for it is a well known fact. The emphasis which was placed upon Greek was
at least equal to that upon Latin. The Classical scholars of the period
such as C. J. Bloomfield, J. H. Monk, P. P. Dobree, and P. Elmsley spent
the major portion of their lives in carrying on the work of Porson and
editing Greek texts rather than Latin. The _Reviews_ from time to time
published articles on new classical books; and that the emphasis was on
Greek rather than Latin is shown by a survey of the classical reviews in
the _Edinburgh Review_ between 1802 and 1836: of a total of thirty‐nine
articles, twenty‐nine were on Greek books. All of these forces encouraged
a new interest in Greece and Greek literature, an interest which was not
so much the purely literary attitude of the century and a half which had
just passed, as a general interest on the part of the whole reading
public.
Another agency of supreme importance in bringing Greece before the eyes of
the English public at this time was the removal of the marbles from the
Acropolis by Lord Elgin. These marbles, the last of which arrived in
England in 1812, were the center of much discussion in England. One has
but to call to mind the caustic remarks by Lord Byron on Elgin in _The
Curse of Minerva_ and _Childe Harold_ to realize the intenseness of the
opposition to taking away from Greece part of the last vestiges of her
ancient glory. The coldness of their reception was finally overcome by
Visconti and Canova, who pointed out their historical and artistic value.
Finally in 1816, after an extensive investigation of their merits,
Parliament appropriated £35,000 for their purchase by the government. From
that time until to‐day they have been preserved for public view in the
British Museum. After the Greek Revolution the service which Lord Elgin
had rendered not only to England, but to the world, was recognized; for
they alone of all the monuments of Greece escaped the ravages of the years
of warfare. The importation of these marbles, then, was another cord which
fastened English attention on Greece; for they provoked public discussion
of the merits of the action, and for those who had access to London,
furnished a physical bond of connection with Greece.
The Greek Revolution, which raged from 1821 to 1829, was another factor in
deepening the interest which the English public had in Greece. After the
outbreak of the revolution, although the government officially ignored the
revolt and added its name to those who refused to admit the Greeks to the
Congress of Verona, the people of England announced in no uncertain terms
their approval of the Greek cause. The grounds for this approval were two:
the Greeks were the people who had in the ages long gone by given
priceless literature and art to the world for which the world had done
nothing in return; secondly, the Greeks were Christians and were to be
encouraged to throw off the yoke of bondage imposed upon them by the
Mohammedan Turk. Such sentiments as these are to be found in the magazines
of the time and in the various pamphlets which appeared in behalf of the
Greeks in the early part of the war. Concretely the interest of the
English public was shown by meetings held in various parts of the country,
chiefly Edinburgh and London, and in the formation of the London Greek
Committee. This committee collected £7,000 by voluntary subscription from
the British public, with which to purchase military supplies for the
Greeks. At the suggestion of Lord Byron, whom the committee made one of
its agents in Greece, the committee assisted in the floating of two Greek
loans in England. The battle of Navarino (1827) which, though considered
as "untoward" by the government, was a brilliant naval success for the
English and French fleets, was heartily welcomed by the English public.
And finally at the conclusion of the revolution the English nation became
one of the guarantors of the constitutional monarchy established in
Greece. Thus through the political events of the decade 1820‐1830 Greece
was kept in the eye of the British public.
All of these factors, the literary interest in Greece and Greek, the Elgin
marbles, and the Greek Revolution, created a desire for things Greek on
the part of the English public. Of these three forces the third was of
course effective only on the generation then living; but the other two
lost none of their power as the century proceeded. In fact the interest in
Greek literature as literature, I do not say as a language, was much
stronger at the close of the century than at the beginning, largely, I
think, because of the efforts of such men as Matthew Arnold, Benjamin
Jowett, and Richard Claverhouse Jebb. The work of these men has been ably
carried on by Sir Gilbert Murray and J. P. Mahaffy into our own century.
Consequently when one turns to view the progress of Greek translation
through these years, one is not surprised to find an abundant and
increasingly large output. The demand for translations grew almost in
direct ratio as the study of the Greek language and the reading of the
literature in the original declined. The interest in Greece which had been
fostered and developed through the century could only be satisfied by an
abundance of translations whose range covered the whole of Greek
literature.
This interest in and demand for the works of these ancient authors
produced a form of publication which was new to the reading public,
namely, the classical library. The first of these was _The Works of the
Greek and Roman Poets, translated into English verse_. This work was
published in eighteen volumes between the years 1809 and 1812; the volumes
were then gathered together and given the uniform date of 1813. The next
library to follow this was _Valpy’s Family Classical Library_, published
between 1830 and 1834. The works, as was also the case with the _Greek and
Roman Poets_, were reprintings of translations already in existence. The
emphasis was placed on Greek rather than Latin literature; for of the
twenty‐seven authors represented in the collection, sixteen were Greek.
Another significant fact in regard to this _Library_ was its price; the
books were sold at four shillings and sixpence a volume, a price which
placed the translations within the reach of all possible purchasers. The
last and probably the most famous library before the turn of the century
was Bohn’s _Classical Library_. This collection of books, at five
shillings a volume, was published in great part between 1848 and 1863. The
aim of the _Classical Library_ was to furnish the British public with
cheap translations of all the important classical works. In the
accomplishment of this purpose the _Library_ was much extended in scope
beyond _Valpy’s_ and made more complete by the translation of all the
works of many of its authors. While in some cases the translations were
reprintings of those already popular, the majority were new translations
made for the _Classical Library_. Of the great popularity of this
_Library_ I do not need to speak; for the translations have been on the
shelves of almost every educated family in England and America for the
last sixty years.
Satisfied with the translations published by Bohn, the reading public of
the latter part of the century made little demand for any other similar
collection of books. The only series of translations of any importance
which was published during these years was _Ancient Classics for English
Readers_, and these contained only selections from the authors with a
great amount of introductory matter. These works, edited by the Reverend
W. Lucas Collins and published by Blackwoods, were sold at two shillings
and sixpence a volume. Of the twenty authors translated in this collection
twelve were Greek. The series was more educational in its nature than any
preceding one and the outlines and analyses in the books were intended for
those who had little or no classical knowledge. The next classical library
of interest to the general reader was _The New Classical Library_ in which
were published translations of Herodotus, Plutarch, and Theophrastus
between 1906 and 1909. The last library and one which bids fair to take
the place of the Bohn _Classical Library_ is the _Loeb Classical Library_,
which was begun in 1912. Once more an attempt is being made to supply the
English reading public with adequate translations of all the classics.
Inasmuch as it is at present incomplete little can be said of it at this
time; but it seems assured of success.
In addition to the translations published in purely Greek and Latin
collections many translations were included in the general collections of
books which became popular in the latter part of the nineteenth century
and are still in vogue. In such libraries as the following were published
translations from the more popular Greek authors, e.g., Aristotle,
Herodotus, Homer, Plato, Plutarch, and the dramatists: _Morley’s Universal
Library_ (1884), _Cassell’s National Library_ (1887), _Lubbock’s Hundred
Best Books_ (1891), _Temple Classics_ (1897), _Golden Treasury Series_
(1901), _World’s Classics_ (1902), _New Universal Library_ (1906), and
_Everyman’s Library_ (1906). There are a few other sporadic publications
in other libraries, which have been noted in the _Survey_ as they occur.
As the publication of “classical libraries” is a nineteenth century
development, so the introduction of schoolboy helps began with the early
years of the century. The work of T. W. C. Edwards in the twenties and
thirties was intended for schoolboy consumption. At the same time one or
more persons hid behind the all‐inclusive authorship of "Graduate of the
University of Oxford" to produce literal translations of the works of the
dramatists. In the middle of the century much of the work of Doctor J. A.
Giles was done to help the schoolboy over hard places. In 1870 and the
following years a new series of translations of the dramatists was brought
out by a “First‐Class Man of Balliol College.” Roscoe Mongan, whose
translations were to a large extent published in _Kelly’s Keys to the
Classics_, began his work in 1878. These translations went over the ground
covered by his predecessors, and spread out into history, epic and
philosophy. Evidently the schoolboys of his time found them very useful,
for many of them were reprinted within a few years.
During the early eighties the “First‐Class Man of Balliol College”
reappeared with a translation of Herodotus book by book. From this time
until the outbreak of the present war there was a steady output of these
utilitarian translations. G. F. H. Sykes, J. H. Haydon, A. H. Allcroft, J.
A. Prout, F. G. Plaistowe, E. S. Crooke, J. Thompson, B. J. Hayes, H.
Hailstone, T. R. Mills, W. H. Balgarnie, J. F. Stout, and others who did
only one or two books, made their translations with the student of the
language as their reading public. Some of these translations appeared in
the _University Tutorial Series_, a collection of books in which the text,
translations, notes, vocabulary, difficult parsings, and test papers were
published.
The work of these men, quantitatively at least, is an important factor in
the history of Greek translation. Between 1850 and 1870 only eleven
translations of this type were published; between the years 1870 and 1910,
however, at least two hundred and eleven schoolboy helps were published.
The following table gives the minimum figures for this kind of translation
during these years.
1870‐1879=26
1880‐1889=62
1890‐1899=86
1900‐1909=37
The falling off in the first decade of the twentieth century may be due to
two causes: first, the decrease in the number of students of Greek in the
schools, which was the result of the great opposition stirred up in the
latter part of the nineteenth century by the advocates of a more practical
education; and, secondly, the ample production of the decade preceding
filled the market and plentifully supplied the demand. I have set forth
here these figures in regard to the schoolboy translation because I doubt
whether the extent of that type of work has been realized by any except
the competing publishers. To no small degree has the total of translations
in the latter part of the nineteenth century been increased by this type
of publication.
In the preceding paragraphs I have tried to suggest the reasons for the
changing fortunes of English translation from the Greek. The quantity of
translations produced between 1484 and 1917 is somewhat larger than is
generally realized: the total number of translations is 2164, of which
1289 are original translations and 875 are reprintings. For those who wish
to see the progress numerically decade by decade I give the following
table upon which the chart at the opening of this section was based.
II. The Translations
I have no intention in the following paragraphs of discussing the ideals
or the criteria of a good translation; for the making of an English
version of a Greek original presents problems little different from those
of translation from any language into English. At this time I merely wish
to call attention to the various kinds of Greek literature which have been
popular at different times during the last four hundred and thirty years.
The extant literature of Greece lends itself in many respects better than
other literatures to a _genre_ classification. I have taken for my
guidance the tabular survey at the close of Professor Jebb’s excellent
_Primer of Greek Literature_ and in grouping my authors have used his
headings and classifications. Of the divisions which he presents in his
table thirteen are to be found in this bibliography. Many of these
headings, such as Philosophy, Drama, History, Fable, Oratory, Geography,
Biography, are self‐explanatory. Under the remaining divisions I have
classed the following authors: Bucolic Poetry contains only the work of
Theocritus, Bion and Moschus; Poetry contains all the other work in verse
except the epic; Romance embraces the work of Longus, Heliodorus, and
Apollonius Rhodius; Epic contains the works of Homer and Hesiod; Belles
Lettres, the work of Theophrastus, Longinus, and Lucian; Learning and
Science, the work of Hippocrates, and others of similar nature.
Date New Reprints Total for Total for Total for
ten years preceding preceding
fifty hundred
years years
1481‐1490 1 0 1
1491‐1500 0 1 1 2 2
1501‐1510 0 0 0
1511‐1520 0 0 0
1521‐1530 4 0 4
1531‐1540 8 5 13
1541‐1550 6 3 9 26
1551‐1560 5 4 9
1561‐1570 12 2 14
1571‐1580 11 6 17
1581‐1590 8 5 13
1591‐1600 14 6 20 73 99
1601‐1610 7 7 14
1611‐1620 10 9 19
1621‐1630 9 3 12
1631‐1640 13 13 26
1641‐1650 7 2 9 80
1651‐1660 12 5 17
1661‐1670 9 6 15
1671‐1680 11 10 21
1681‐1690 18 12 30
1691‐1700 16 15 31 114 194
1701‐1710 17 19 36
1711‐1720 26 15 41
1721‐1730 14 19 33
1731‐1740 11 18 29
1741‐1750 23 19 42 181
1751‐1760 23 19 42
1761‐1770 14 22 36
1771‐1780 29 24 53
1781‐1790 17 22 39
1791‐1800 25 14 39 209 390
1801‐1810 28 49 77
1811‐1820 18 44 62
1821‐1830 55 32 87
1831‐1840 40 22 62
1841‐1850 59 19 78 366
1851‐1860 41 16 57
1861‐1870 94 26 120
1871‐1880 101 55 156
1881‐1890 154 88 242
1891‐1900 142 98 240 815 1181
1901‐1910 114 93 207
1911‐1917 63 28 91 298 298
Total 1289 875 2164 2164 2165
(For 1591‐1600, the totals are for six years only.)
With this classification I have made a chronological survey of the
translations and summed up my results at the century and half‐century
marks. These results are embodied in the following table in which the
translations have been listed in order of importance from a numerical
point of view. Underneath each heading I have placed the number of that
type which were printed during the preceding fifty years. Where two or
more classes are equal I have placed them within the same rectangle to
emphasize such equality. At the bottom of each column I have indicated,
where necessary, the classes which are non‐existent for each fifty years.
1550 1600 1650 1700 1750
Phil. 16 Phil. 20 Hist. Fable Phil. 34 Phil. 44
11
Hist. 2 Orat. 9 Phil. 10 Fable 26 Epic 31
Geog. 2 Epic 10
Learn. 2
Orat. 1 Rom. 8 Poetry 7 Epic 13 Fable 27
Fable 1
Fable 7 B. L. 5 Rom. Hist. 11 Hist. 15 B.
5 L. 15
Hist. 6 Orat. 4 Biog. 9 Poetry 14
Poetry 5 Biog. 3 B. L. 6 Drama 12
Epic 4 Drama Drama 2 Poetry 5 Biog. 7
4
Biog. 3 Learn. 1 Bucol. 4 Orat. 6
Geog. 1 Learn. 3 Bucol. 5
Learn 1 Rom. 3
Bucol. 1 B.
L. 1
Drama 2 Rom. 4
Learn. 1
No Epic No Geog. No Orat. No Geog.
Poetry Drama Bucol. Geog.
Biog Bucol.
B. L. Rom.
1800 1850 1900 1916
Phil. 48 Drama 115 Drama 244 Drama 92
Poetry 45 Hist. 59 Phil. 152 Phil. 84
Epic 37 Epic 52 Epic 141 Epic 34
Drama 22 Poetry 51 Hist. 90 Fable 21
Fable 16 Phil. 48 Biog. 60 Hist. 20
Bucol. 14 Bucol. 27 Poetry 39 Biog. 16
Orat. 12 B. Orat. 13 B. Fable 33 Poetry 13
L. 12 L. 13
Biog. 10 Rom. 8 Orat. 32 B. L. 9
Hist. 7 Biog. 7 Bucol. 22 Bucol. 7
Rom. 6 Fable 6 B. L. 19 Orat. 4 Rom.
4
Geog. 2 Geog. 2 Geog. 7 Rom. Learn. 2
7
Learn. 1 Learn. 1
No Learn. No Geog.
(B. L. are Belles Lettres, Learn. is Learning and Science, Biog. is
Biography, Orat. is Oratory, Bucol. is Bucolic Poetry, Phil. is
Philosophy, Geog. is Geography, Poetry is Elegiac, Iambic, Lyric Poetry,
Hist. is History, Romance is Prose Romances.)
To a large extent the table speaks for itself, for the interests and
preferences of each generation are made self‐evident; nevertheless it may
be worth while to sum up a few of the outstanding facts. The Elizabethans
translated anything which appealed to them and in many cases added to or
at least embellished the translation as they saw fit. Some of their
translations were made from the French, as Caxton’s version of Aesop or
North’s version of Plutarch. One has but to compare Marlowe and Chapman’s
_Hero and Leander_ with Musaeus to realize how little is Musaeus and how
much is Marlowe and Chapman. The Elizabethan translators, moreover, were
indiscriminate in their tastes, largely because their stock of Greek
learning was small and consequently they had no perspective from which to
judge the comparative merits of the works which they translated. “It was
all Greek to them” and therefore proper to be translated. They enjoyed and
believed Artemidorus’ _Dreams_ as much as they did any of the works of
Aristotle. Finally I wish to point out the high place Romance holds in the
fifty years before 1600. This adds to the credibility of the theory of the
influence of the Greek Romance upon Elizabethan prose fiction. All things
considered, the translations of the Elizabethans are thoroughly in accord
with the temper of the times as exhibited in their literature.
It is interesting to note that in the one hundred and fifty years
immediately following the Civil War Philosophy is the chief interest. The
neo‐classicists, theoretically at least, went back to the classics for
their authority. Indeed Aristotle’s _Poetics_ was considered absolute in
all its dicta. Fable and Epic with varying success contend for second
place in their interest. The moralized fable was naturally popular with a
generation which loved the didactic; and the epic, as they often
acknowledged, was a model for their own poetry. The rise of Poetry, such
as Pindar’s _Odes_, Anacreon’s _Odes_, and Tyrtaeus’ _Elegies_, is to my
mind an evidence of the change in opinion and attitude toward literature
which was gradually increasing during the latter half of the eighteenth
century and which finally came to the foreground in the first part of the
next century. Pindar’s _Odes_ were placed directly in opposition to those
of Cowley’s and the lyrics of Sappho were certainly not in accord with the
ideas of the neo‐classicists. Whether these translations were wholly
correct or not, is aside from the point. Men were becoming more interested
in the lyrical side of Greek literature, and this interest exhibited a
taste foreign to sententious didacticism; for none of that is to be found
in the Elegiac, Iambic, or Lyric Poetry of the Greeks. Once again, then,
the kind of translation which the generations enjoyed was coincident with
the prevailing literary taste, and the rise of Poetry toward the close of
these one hundred and fifty years is at least evidence of a change in
public interest.
Perhaps catholicity of taste is the best phrase which may be used to
characterize the nineteenth century. Nothing shows this better than the
table of translations. The Drama, Epic, History, Oratory, Philosophy,
Biography, Poetry and the more minor divisions were all translated with an
abundance which shows a steady demand on the part of the reading public.
The Drama now assumed its place as one of the important elements of Greek
literature and possibly because it was a new found treasure, for the texts
of the dramatists were not edited until the middle of the eighteenth
century, was a little overemphasized. However, as was pointed out in the
latter part of the previous section, the aim of Bohn’s _Classical Library_
was the aim of the reading public, i.e., a complete survey of Greek
literature in English. The nineteenth century, moreover, in addition to
translating practically all Greek literature, insisted upon a certain
amount of literalness in the translation. It was to be the endeavor of the
translator to present his author to the public without any change or
adaptation on his part in bridging the gap between the two languages. Just
what the word literal meant and of how much consequence it was during the
century can be readily ascertained by reading Matthew Arnold’s lectures
_On Translating Homer_ and Newman’s _Reply_.
Whether the twentieth century will carry on the width of interest of the
nineteenth is hard to say. Until the war broke out the present century bid
fair to equal its predecessor. With the coming of the war, however,
translation from the Greek has been forced into the background and how
long it will remain there, is, at this time, a matter of conjecture.
If this table has done no more, it has at least furnished an interesting
thermometer of public taste through the centuries that are past. In all
generations where the public has had the opportunity of choosing what it
would have from Greek literature, the choice has been along lines very
similar in taste to the prevailing literary interest. What lies in the
future is hard to say, for practically everything of importance has been
translated. Probably we shall see repeated what we are witnessing to‐day:
the retranslation of Greek literature for each succeeding generation into
terms of its own conception. Bohn’s _Classical Library_ is now in the
process of being replaced by the _Loeb Classical Library_ and I dare say
sixty years hence some other “library” will replace this one. Greek
literature is no longer a hidden pearl, and, although the interest in the
language may vary with the generations, the people of England and America
have evidently found in it a worth which they desire to keep. If they had
not, the following list of translations would never have been possible.
A BIBLIOGRAPHICAL SURVEY OF ENGLISH AND AMERICAN TRANSLATIONS
NOTE.—In all cases where no place of publication is mentioned London is to
be understood.
Achilles Tatius
1. The most delectable and pleasant historye of Clitophon and Leucippe,
written in Greeke, by Achilles Stacius an Alexandrian and nowe newlie
translated into Englishe by W. B[urton]. [1597?] 4o
2. The Loves of Clitophon and Leucippe. A most elegant History, written in
Greek by Achilles Tatius. And now Englished [by Anthony Hodges]. Oxford.
1638. 4o
3. The loves of Clitophon and Leucippe ... translated from the Greek, with
notes, by ... R. Smith. 1848. 8o [Bohn]
4. Achilles Tatius. With an English translation by S. Gasalee. 1917. 18o
[Loeb Classical Library]
_American Reprint_: [_Loeb_] _New York, 1917_.
Aelian (Claudius Aelianus)
1. A Registre of Hystories, containing Martiall exploites of worthy
warriours, Politique practises of Ciuil Magistrates, wise Sentences of
famous Philosophers, and other matters manifolde and memorable. Written in
Greeke, by Aelianus a Romane: and deliuered in Englishe (as well,
according to the truth of the greeke text, as of the Latine) by Abraham
Fleming. 1576. 4o BL
2. Aelianus Claudius; his Various History. Translated by Thomas Stanley.
1665. 8o
_Reprinted: 1670; 1677._
Aeneas The Tactician
1. The Tactics of Aelian Or art of embattailing an army after ye Grecian
manner Englished & illustrated wth figures throughout: & notes vpon ye
Chapters of ye ordinary notions of ye Phalange by I. B[ingham]. The
exercise military of ye English by ye order of that great Generall Maurice
of Nassau Prince of Orange & Gouernor & Generall of ye vnited Prouinces is
added. [1616] Fol.
2. The Art of Embattailing an Army. Or The Second Part of Aeslians
Tacticks. With notes upon every chapter. By Capt. Iohn Bingham. 1629. Fol.
_Reprinted: 1631._
Aeschines The Orator
1. The orations of Aeschines against Ctesiphon, and Demosthenes de Corona.
Translated from the original Greek, illustrated with notes, ... by A.
Portal. Oxford. 1755. 8o
2. A literal translation of the Oration of Aeschines against Ctesiphon. D.
Spillan. Dublin. 1823. 12o
3. The speech of Aeschines against Ctesiphon. Literally translated from
the Oxford text, and explained in short ... notes ... by a First Class Man
of Balliol College. Oxford. 1872. 8o
Aeschylus
1. The tragedies of Aeschylus translated [into English verse, with notes]
by R. Potter. Norwich. 1777. 4o
_Reprinted: 1779; Oxford, 1808; Weybridge, 1809; 1812; [Selections,
British Poets.] 1819; 1881; [With an essay on Grecian Drama and a
biography of A. by J. S. Harford.] 1833; [Introduction, Henry Morley]
1886._
_American Reprints: New York, 1872‐76; New York, 1820‐52._
2. The seven tragedies of Aeschylus literally translated into English
prose.... [Anon.] Oxford. 1822. 8o
3. Aeschyli Prometheus Vinctus, Graece, with literal translation....
[Anon.] 1822. 8o
4. Aeschylus’ Prometheus Chained. Translated by T. W. C. Edwards. 1823. 8o
_American Reprint: New Haven, 1872‐76._
5. Agamemnon. Translated by H. S. Boyd. 1824. 8o
6. A translation of the Agamemnon of Aeschylus. J. Symons. 1824. 8o
7. Aeschylus’ Persae. Translated by W. Palin. 1824. 8o
8. The tragedies of Aeschylus literally translated into English prose ...
with notes. [Anon.] Oxford. 1827. 8o
9. The Persians. Translated on a new plan ... with notes ... by W. Palin.
1829. [Gk.‐Eng.]
10. The Agamemnon of Aeschylus. Translated ... illustrated by dissertation
on Grecian tragedy ... by J. S. Harford. 1831.
11. Aeschylus’ Agamemnon translated into English verse. By Thomas Medwin.
1832. 8o
12. Aeschylus’ Prometheus Bound; a tragedy. Translated into English verse
by Thomas Medwin. 1832. 8o
13. Aeschylus’ Prometheus Bound. Translated by Elizabeth Barrett
[Browning]. 1833. 12o
_Reprinted: [With other poems] 1896._
14. Aeschylus’ Prometheus and Sophocles’ Electra. Translated by G. C. Fox.
1835. 8o
15. Agamemnon and Prometheus Bound. Translated by G. C. Fox. 1839. 8o
16. Tragedies. [Anon.] 1842.
17. Prometheus Bound. Translated by Pembroke. 1844.
18. Agamemnon. Translation by Sewell. 1846.
19. Prometheus Bound. Translation by G. S. Swayne. Oxford. 1846. 8o
20. The dramas of Aeschylus. Translated by Anna Swanwick. 1848. 8o [Bohn]
_Reprinted: 1873; 1881; 1886._
_American Reprints: New York, 1890 [Bohn]_
21. Tragedies. Translated by T. A. Buckley. 1849. 8o [Bohn]
_American Reprints: New York, 1856; New York, 1872‐76 [Bohn]; New York,
1888 [Bohn]._
22. Agamemnon. Translated by H. W. Herbert. 1849.
23. Lyrical dramas of Aeschylus; translation by J. S. Blackie. With a life
of Aeschylus. 2 vol. 1850.
_Reprinted: [Everyman] 1906._
_American Reprint: [Everyman] New York, 1906._
24. Prometheus Vinctus. Translation by C. C. Clifford. [In verse] Oxford.
1852.
25. Aeschylus’ Agamemnon translated by William John Blew. 1855.
_Reprinted: 1865._
26. Persae. Translation by M. Wood. 1855. [Gk.‐Eng.]
27. The Prometheus and Suppliants of Aeschylus construed literally word
for word. By the Rev. Dr. [J. A.] Giles. Vol. 1. 1856. 16o [Kelly’s Keys]
28. Eumenides. Translated by G. C. Swayne. 1856. 8o
29. Tragedies. Translated by Dr. [J. A.] Giles. Vol. 1. 1860. [Gk.‐Eng.]
30. Works. Translated by F. A. Paley. [In prose] Cambridge. 1864.
_Reprinted: 1871._
31. Agamemnon of Aeschylus and Bacchanals of Euripides; with passages from
the lyric and later poets of Greece, translated by H. H. Milman, etc.
1865. 8o
32. The Agamemnon, Choephori, and Eumenides of Aeschylus, translated into
English verse, by Anna Swanwick. 1865. 8o
_Reprinted: [Agamemnon only] 1900._
33. Prometheus Vinctus, translated by Augusta Webster. Edit. by Thomas
Webster. [In verse] 1866.
_American Reprint: New York, 1866._
34. The Prometheus Bound of Aeschylus. Translated into the original metres
by C. B. Cayley, etc. 1867. 8o
35. Agamemnon, translated by J. F. Davies. 1868.
_Reprinted: 1874._
36. Orestes, translated by C. N. Dalton. 1869. 8o
37. Tragedies. Translated by E. H. Plumptre. 2 vol. 1869.
_Reprinted: [With biographical essay] 1873, 1890; 2 vol., 1901._
_American Reprints: New York, 2 vol., 1869; New York, 1873; New York,
1882._
38. Prometheus, translated by E. Lang. 1870. 8o
39. Prometheus Vinctus, translated by J. Perkins. Cambridge. 1871.
_Reprinted: 1878._
40. Plays: translated by R. S. Copleston. 1871. [Ancient Classics]
_Reprinted: 1897._
_American Reprint: Philadelphia, 1871._
41. Persae. Translated by William Gurney. [In verse] Cambridge. 1873.
42. The Persians. A popular version from the Greek ... by J. Staunton.
With photographs of Flaxman’s designs. Warwick. 1873. 4o
43. Agamemnon. Translation by Robert Browning. 1877.
_Reprinted: [In collected works] 1889._
44. Agamemnon. Translation by A. D. A. Morshead. [In verse] 1877. 8o
45. Septem contra Thebas. Translated by William Gurney. Cambridge. 1878.
8o
46. The Seven Against Thebes. Translated with notes by J. Davies. 1878.
47. Agamemnon. Translated by Brown Hall Kennedy. [In verse] Cambridge.
1878.
_Reprinted: Dublin, 1882._
48. Agamemnon. Translated by Henry Howard Molyneux, Earl of Carnavon.
1879. 8o
49. Prometheus Vinctus. Translated by James Davies. 1879.
50. Agamemnon. Translated by a Balliol Man. [In prose] Oxford. 1880. 8o
51. Agamemnon. Translated by F. A. Paley. 1880.
52. Seven Chiefs Against Thebes. Translated by R. Mongan. 1880.
53. The House of Atreus, being the Agamemnon, Libation‐Bearers and Furies
of Aeschylus. Translated into English verse by E. D. A. Morshead. 1881.
_Reprinted: 1890; [Golden Treasury Series] 1901._
_American Reprints: [Golden Treasury Series] New York, 1901._
54. Scenes from Aeschylus translated into English verse by Lewis Campbell,
selected and arranged for the modern stage by F. Jenkin. Edinburgh. 1880.
55. Agamemnon. Translated by Arthur Sidgwick. Oxford. 1881.
_Reprinted: 1895._
56. The Suppliant Maidens of Aeschylus. Translated into English verse by
E. D. A. Morshead. 1883.
_American Reprint: New York, 1908._
57. Persae. Literally translated by T. Meyer‐Warlow. 1886.
58. Αἰσχύλου Ἑπτα ἐπὶ Θήβας. The Seven Against Thebes of Aeschylus edited
with an introduction, commentary and translation by Arthur Woolgar
Verrall. 1887.
_American Reprint: New York, 1887._
59. Agamemnon. Translated by a Gold Medallist in Classics. 1888. [Tutorial
Series]
60. Agamemnon; introduction, commentary and translation by A. W. Verrall.
1889. 8o
_American Reprint: New York, 1889._
61. Supplices; revised text, notes, commentary, introduction, and
translation by T. G. Tucker. 1889. 8o
62. Agamemnon, Choephoroe and Eumenides. Translated into English verse by
John D. Cooper. Wolverhampton and London. 1890.
63. Prometheus Vinctus. Translated by Herbert Hailstone. Cambridge. 1892.
_Reprinted: Cambridge, 1902._
64. Choephoroi; introduction, commentary and translation by A. W. Verrall.
1893. 8o
_American Reprint: New York, 1893._
65. Orestia. Translated into English prose by Lewis Campbell. 1893.
66. The Persians of Aeschylus. Translated into English prose by Samuel E.
Crooke. Cambridge. 1893.
67. Eumenides. [Anon.] 1894.
68. Prometheus Bound. Translated into English verse by E. A. D. Morshead.
1899. 8o
_American Reprint: New York, 1908._
69. Septem Contra Thebas. Translated by F. G. Plaistowe. 1899.
70. Agamemnon. Translated by the Upper Sixth Form Boys of Bradfield
College. [Gk.‐Eng.] 1900. 8o
71. Eumenides. Translated with notes, ... by F. G. Plaistowe. 1900.
[University Tutorial Series]
72. Oresteia. Translated and explained by George C. Warr. 1900. 8o
_American Reprint: New York, 1900._
73. Prometheus Vinctus. Edited by F. G. Plaistowe and T. R. Mills.
Introduction, text and notes. Translation. 1900. 8o [University Tutorial
Series]
74. Septem Contra Thebas. Edited by F. G. Plaistowe. Introduction, notes,
text. Translation. 1900. 8o
75. Choephori. Edited with notes. Translated ... by T. G. Tucker. 1901. 8o
76. Eumenides. Introduction, text, notes, translation.... [Anon.] 1901. 8o
[University Tutorial Series]
77. Prometheus Bound. Rendered into English verse by E. R. Brown. 1902. 4o
78. Prometheus Vinctus. Translated by E. S. Bouchier. 1903. 8o
79. Agamemnon. Translated by Walter Headlam. 1904. 8o [In verse]
_Reprinted: [With notes] Cambridge, 1910._
_American Reprint: New York, 1904; New York, 1909._
80. Agamemnon. Translated into English verse by E. Thring. 1904. 8o
81. Choephoroi. Translated by Walter Headlam. 1905. 12o
_American Reprint: New York, 1909._
82. Prometheus Bound. Edit. with introduction, translation, notes by Janet
Case. 1905. 16o [Temple Dramatists]
_American Reprint: [Temple Dramatists] New York, 1905_.
83. The Eumenides of Aeschylus as arranged for performance at Cambridge,
December, 1885, and November‐December, 1906, with an English version by
Arthur Woolgar Verrall. Cambridge. 1906.
_Reprinted: [With introduction, commentary, etc.] 1908._
_American Reprint: New York, 1908._
84. The Seven Plays in English verse. By Lewis Campbell. 1906. 12o
[World’s Classics].
85. Agamemnon. Translated by John Conington. Introduction and notes by J.
Churton Collins. 1907. 12o
86. Agamemnon. Rendered into English verse by W. R. Paton. 1907. 4o
87. Prometheus Bound. Translated by Robert Whitelaw. Introduction and
notes by J. Churton Collins. 1907. 12o
88. Aeschylus in English verse. In three parts. [Anon.] 1906‐08. 8o
89. Eumenides. Translated by Walter Headlam. 1908. 8o
_American Reprint: New York, 1909._
90. Prometheus Bound. Translated by Walter Headlam. 1908. 8o
_American Reprint: New York, 1909._
91. The Seven Against Thebes. With introduction, critical notes,
commentary, translation, etc., by T. G. Tucker. Cambridge. 1908. 8o
_American Reprint: New York, 1908._
92. The Suppliant Maidens, The Persians, The Seven Against Thebes,
Prometheus Bound. 1908. 8o [Golden Treasury Series]
93. The Persians. Translated by C. E. S. Headlam. 1909. 8o
_American Reprint: New York, 1909._
94. Agamemnon. Translated by the Sixth Form Boys of Bradfield College.
1911. 8o [Gk.‐Eng.]