POPE (ALEXANDER) AND BOETHIUS Manuscript miscellany of religious writings and meditations thought to be compiled and written by Sir William Trumbull, in English and Latin, ending with a translated passage from Boethius, beginning with prayers including '...An Ejaculation before I begin Prayers... have mercie upon mee most Miserable Sinner...', '...Preparation for the Holy Sacrament... God was ye word & spake it, Hee tooke ye Bread & brake it, And as hee meant I take it...' and '...Att Coming to serve God in Publick...', some acknowledged from other texts ('...Gods method of Saving a Siner (Pract. Cat. p.89) turn'd into a Prayr....', '...Prayer for Wisdom, out of Dr Barrow, Vol.1, Serm.1.fin...'), on the taking of communion ('...Till ye Assembly is plac'd & ye Service begins, 'tis better to bee att my Prayers on my Knees, than suffer my Eyes to Gaze & my Thoughts to Wander...'), with further prayers ('...For Perseverance...', '...Prayer in my Old Age...', '...Pray every Morning att ye Beginning of Studdie...', '...Prayer every Qr, att ye receiving my Salarie, & other Increases...'), the final pages with a passage from Boethius ('Boet. Lib. 3') in Latin, followed two pages later by '...Mr Pope's Translation of Boetius, in pag. Before: & qui perpetua &c...' beginning '...Thou, who didst form, & formed dost still sustain/ The radiant Heavens & Earth, & ambient Main; Eternal Reason, whose Presiding Soul,/ Informs great nature, & directs the whole'...' and ending '...Thee we regard alone, To Thee we send,/ At once our Great Original and End,/ At once our Strength, our Aid, our Guide, our Way,/ Our utmost bound, and our Eternal Stay...', 117 pages (numbered to 114, 70-100 blank), light dust-staining and some marks, Arms of Amsterdam watermark, remains of bookplate, gilt tooled black panelled morocco, worn and rubbed, corners bumped, g.e., 8vo (148 x 100mm.), [Easthampstead, c.1690's-1705] Footnotes: 'AT ONCE OUR STRENGTH, OUR AID, OUR GUIDE, OUR WAY, OUR UTMOST BOUND, AND OUR ETERNAL STAY': REDISCOVERED NOTEBOOK REVEALS COLLABORATION BETWEEN A YOUNG ALEXANDER POPE AND HIS FRIEND WILLIAM TRUMBULL. Our notebook includes a rare transcription of Pope's translation of verses from Book 3 of Boethius's De Consolatione Philosphiae, the only other known being in Pope's own hand, and sheds light on the relationship between the young Pope and his mentor, Sir William Trumbull. The presence of 'Mr Pope's Translation of Boetius' at the end of this closely-written volume suggests that the anonymous compiler is likely to be Sir William Trumbull (1637-1716). Trumbull had enjoyed a long and successful career in politics and the law, retiring from the position of Secretary of State in 1698. Now in retirement he had time to muse on religious and philosophical matters and cultivate friendships with a few selected figures such as Henry St John (later Viscount Bolingbroke), John Dryden and, as shown here, the teenage Alexander Pope, who had moved with his family from London to Whitehill House, Binfield, across the valley from William Trumbull's Easthampstead House. It is thought that the friendship between Trumbull and Pope began in 1703 or early 1704: '...Pope made Trumbull's acquaintance during his most formative years, and there is no doubt the old gentleman took a genuine and even a fatherly interest in his education and health...' (Brian S. Donaghey, 'Alexander Pope's and Sir William Trumbull's Translations of Boethius', Leeds Studies in English, n.s.1 (1967), p.71). Pope later remarked that they rode together almost every day at one point in the forests around Binfield, and talked of the classics and literature, Trumbull becoming a significant early influence and introducing him to other men of letters. Pope, in turn, dedicated 'Spring' from his Pastorals of 1709 to Sir William, although Trumbull's influence and friendship were to decline as the years went by. The text itself comes from the midpoint of De Consolatione Philosphiae, the ninth poem of the third book, when Boethius considers the cosmos and its creator, and was often studied as a separate entity detached from the longer work. It is known from the small amount of correspondence that survives between them, that Trumbull and Pope were studying the work of Boethius together around 1703 or 1704. The Brotherton Collection at the University of Leeds holds an autograph manuscript by Pope of the same text as ours but with a few variations (MS Lt.15). This manuscript is generally accepted by scholars as a fair copy written out by Pope for Trumbull. On an accompanying letter to Trumbull from Charles Bertie of February 1703, Trumbull has hastily written a heavily amended draft of his own translation (see Brian Donaghy's article online for a longer exposition of these pieces). In our volume, Trumbull has written 'Mr Pope's translation' verbatim, apart from some small differences in punctuation and the use of the possessive adjective instead of the definite article (for example 'Oh teach my mind' instead of 'Oh teach the Mind' in Pope's autograph version). This suggests an ongoing collaborative conversation between them, small changes having been made by Pope in the autograph version. Our volume is also significant in that Pope's poems rarely appear in contemporary miscellanies, '...probably because of the strict controls he exerted over control of his holographs...', (Joseph Hone, Alexander Pope in the Making, 2021), so to find such an early example of Pope's work, albeit written by another, is unusual. Comparison of the hand in our volume with that of the Brotherton manuscript and other known examples of Trumbull's handwriting, does demonstrate close similarities, thus confirming that the volume is highly likely to have been compiled by Trumbull. The content of the rest of the volume seems to bear this out, suggesting that is was written by someone late in life ('...with Fear & Trembling... how much nearer I am to my Latter End...'), someone who has perhaps had a life in politics ('...Trust in God for all Outward concerns, Resignation & Low Opinion of the World... when any Losse or Disgrace &c is apprehended...'), and who is now dedicated to other works ('...at the Beginning of Studdie...'). Our volume and its variant text, which seems to have become separated from the bulk of Trumbull's papers, was known to Norman Ault, the principal editor of Volume 6 of the Twickenham edition of Pope's poems, who died in 1950. Ault includes a transcription of a 'manuscript version' of Pope's translation of Boethius, the wording of which is the same as ours, under the reference 'Callaghan Mss'. This reference was removed from the 1964 reprint of Volume 6, when the variant Brotherton autograph manuscript came to light, possibly as it was seen as a more accurate reflection of Pope's intentions. This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: • • Zero rated for VAT, no VAT will be added to the Hammer Price or the Buyer's Premium. For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com For further information about this lot please visit the lot listing