Sarah Fielding (1710-1768), the younger sister of Henry Fielding, and the close friend of his literary rival Samuel Richardson, was one of the very few English women to master ancient languages like Latin and Greek. With the help of Shaftesbury's nephew, James Harris, a distinguished writer, scholar and grammarian, she embarked on the ambitious project of translating Xenophon's Memorabilia and the Apology of Socrates from the Greek. This work, titled Memoirs of Socrates, with the Defence of Socrates before his Judges, was finally released in 1762. She proved a discreet editor and a talented Hellenist, whose elegant style garnered praise from Tobias Smollett in his Critical Review. This superb translation is re-published in its entirety for the first time since the 18th century.
SKU (ISBN):
978-1-4632-0614-7
Publication Status:
In Print
Publication Date:
Sep 12,2016
Interior Color:
Black
Trim Size:
6 x 9
Page Count:
231
Language:
English
ISBN:
978-1-4632-0614-7
Sarah Fielding (1710-1768), the younger sister of Henry Fielding, and the close friend of his literary rival Samuel Richardson, was one of the very few English women (as was her friend Elizabeth Carter, the translator of all the works of Epictetus) to master ancient languages like Latin and Greek. With the help of Shaftesbury's nephew, James Harris, a distinguished writer, scholar and grammarian, she embarked on the ambitious project of translating Xenophon's Memorabilia and the Apology of Socrates from the Greek. This work, titled Memoirs of Socrates, with the Defence of Socrates before his Judges, was finally released in 1762. She proved a discreet editor and a talented Hellenist, whose elegant style garnered praise from Tobias Smollett in his Critical Review. This superb translation is re-published in its entirety for the first time since the 18th century.
Hélène Pignot, PhD, is Senior Lecturer in English at the University of Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne.
The cover illustration is featured in The Works of James Harris, Esq. with an account of his life and character by his son the Earl of Malmesbury, 2 vols (London, 1801), vol II, p. 274, © Bibliothèque nationale de France.
