Correspondence

962.  EBB to John Kenyon

As published in The Brownings’ Correspondence, 5, 351–352.

[London]

Friday– May 20– 1842.

My dear Mr Kenyon,

I hope you will express to Mr Burges my sense of his kind attention in allowing me to witness the experiment upon Demosthenes; [1] & that— .. should it appear to you necessary to give any account of my thoughts of it .., my honesty may be received as simply a part of my gratitude.

Really & sincerely, the translation seems to me inadequate .. a Demosthenes without his Demosthenisms– The vehemence & fire .. the harmony in abruptness—the characteristics, in fact .., are not there. And if it were not impertinent to compare a failure of mine, with the supposed one of so learned a critic, I shd opine that he had fallen almost as low from the heaven of a high purpose, as I did myself when I thought to copy Prometheus & went a-stealing of fire .. with liberal allowance of three days & nights to me & Vulcan, for falling down withal!–

The translation is too close to be faithful—& I complain on the other hand of its not being too close to exclude such .... not Atticisms .. as “fore gad”!– They are not for Demosthenes; nor for Peel!

Dear Mr Kenyon—mind you do not say any of this to Mr Burges unless it is pressed for– My own private opinion being that Demosthenes is untranslateable by any possible process .. & more beyond our ken & apprehension even in Greek than even Æschylus .. (because Æschylus was a poet—& high ideality is a common country—) I was the less malleable to the translation in question.

It all reminds me that I shd be glad if you wd explain to Mr Burges Mr Boyd’s yearnings towards him of which he has told me more than twice– Mr Burges called upon him once, but never again .. & a mutual friend explained the reason to be that “Mr Boyd did not seem glad to see him”. —“What an unhappy manner I must have!”, ejaculated poor Mr Boyd to me—“because I really was very glad to see him!!”– [2]

Would it be wrong to tell Mr Burges this? and if it wdnt be wrong, will you do it? sometime you know—when there is an opportunity!

Mr Boyd cares so much for Greek company, & has so little, that I am sure he has worn out one suit of sackcloth already in expiation of an unintentional sin which did such mischief of deprivation.

Ever affectionately yours

Elizabeth B Barrett.

Publication: None traced.

Manuscript: Wellesley College.

1. George Burges had contributed a long and very detailed review of Lord Brougham’s translation of Demosthenes’ De Corona to The Times. Totalling some 20 columns, the review (unsigned) appeared in eight issues of the paper, between 21 March 1840 and 4 April 1840; it was subsequently published as A Review of Lord Brougham’s Translation of the Oration of Demosthenes on the Crown [1840].

2. See letter 939.

___________________

National Endowment for the Humanities - Logo

Editorial work on The Brownings’ Correspondence is supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities.

This website was last updated on 3-29-2024.

Copyright © 2024 Wedgestone Press. All rights reserved.

Back To Top