| RefNo | HSF/1/1/2 |
| Previous numbers | 600/31/45 |
| Level | Item |
| Title | Letter from J F W [John Frederick William] Herschel, Collingwood, to [William] Whewell |
| Creator | Herschel; Sir John Frederick William; first baronet (1792-1871); British mathematician and astronomer |
| Date | 12 December 1861 |
| Description | Herschel sends the beginning of his translation of 'The Iliad', book 1, from the quarrel of the kings to the intervention of Nestor. He asks Whewell to tell him what he thinks of it and whether it would be worth going on. Herschel is not dissatisfied with it. There appears to be no appearance of constraint 'but it reads bald and homely'. Homer's verse is homely contrasted with the 'glorious' expansion of Pope. He has not seen [Henry Alford] the Dean of Canterbury's hendecasyllable translation of 'The Odyssey' and he does not relish that choice of metre. It is good as an occasional variation on blank verse, but must be 'disagreeable and wearisome' throughout. Herschel contrasts the hexameter with the hendecasyllable in English. Some of Homer's adjunct epithets are quite unmanageable, he states, with an example, noting how the German language can cope with this. Once Whewell has looked at the translation, he asks that it is forwarded to Birkhall, since they are snowed up for the winter and might need amusement. With an additional postscript on the hexameter. |
| Extent | 4p. |
| Format | Manuscript |
| PhysicalDescription | Ink on paper |
| AccessStatus | Open |
Fellows associated with this archive
| Code | PersonName | Dates |
| NA8238 | Herschel; Sir; John Frederick William (1792 - 1871); astronomer | 1792 - 1871 |