Difference between revisions of "Pursuits of Literature"

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{{DISPLAYTITLE:''The Pursuits Of Literature''}}
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{{DISPLAYTITLE:''The Pursuits of Literature: A Satirical Poem, in Four Dialogues, with Notes''}}
 
===by Thomas James Mathias===
 
===by Thomas James Mathias===
 
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<blockquote> Mathias's Pursuits of Literature, or, What you will, a wide-ranging satire with extensive notes on the conceit and licence of contemporary authors, appeared anonymously in four dialogues, the first on 7 June 1794, the second and third on 14 July 1796, and the fourth on 19 July 1797. The poem was issued as a whole in a ‘fifth edition revised’ in 1798, alongside several editions of a translation of the classical passages quoted in the poem. The attacks on Payne Knight's Worship of Priapus and Lewis's The Monk are concerned with obscenity, and Mathias ridicules the ‘Black-Letter Kennell’ of antiquarians (especially George Steevens), W. H. Ireland, Parr, Darwin, and Gilpin, on literary grounds. There is praise for Gray, Mason, Beattie, Burns, Cowper, Ann Radcliffe, Capell, Johnson, Isaac Reed, and Jacob Bryant, as well as for several of Mathias's own works. But the poem is confessedly of its political moment, declaring openly that literature is an important tool of government. Held up for censure are Sheridan, Fox, Priestley, Paine, Horne Tooke, and Godwin. The vehement distrust of Catholics in the poem was also expressed separately in A Letter to the Lord Marquis of Buckingham (1796). <ref> Paul Baines, ‘Mathias, Thomas James (1753/4–1835)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004 [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/18334, accessed 11 June 2013] </ref> </blockquote>
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{{BookPageInfoBox
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|imagename=MathiasPursuits1798TitlePage.jpg
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|link=https://wm.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01COWM_INST/g9pr7p/alma991017624069703196
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|shorttitle=The Pursuits of Literature
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|author=[[:Category:Thomas James Mathias|Thomas James Mathias]]
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|publoc=[[:Category: Dublin| Dublin]]
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|publisher=Printed for J. Milliken
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|year=1798
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|edition=Eighth
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|lang=[[:Category: English| English]]
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|pages=2 p. ℓ., 2 p., 1 ℓ., xxxi, 381
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|desc=[[:Category:Octavos|8vo]] (21 cm.)
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|shelf=N-2
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}}{{BookPageBookplate
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|imagename=MathiasPursuitsOfLiterature1798Bookplate.jpg
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|display=left
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|caption=Bookplate of Rev. John W<sup>m</sup>. Beauman, front pastedown.
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}}[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_James_Mathias Thomas James Mathias] (1753/4-1835) was an accomplished satirist and Italian scholar<ref>Paul Baines, [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/18334 “Mathias, Thomas James (1753/4–1835)”], ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (Oxford University Press, 2004), accessed September 24, 2013. Unless otherwise noted, all biographical details are from this source.</ref> chiefly known for his satire ''The Pursuits of Literature, or, What you will''. Published in four dialogues from 1794-1797, the work was in part a response to the French Revolution and prevalence of democratic radicalism.<ref>Thomas B. Gilmore and W.B. Carnochan, “The Politics of Eighteenth-Century Satire,” ''PMLA,'' 86, No. 2 (Modern Language Association, 1971), p. 277.</ref> Despite criticism of his lack of poetic skill, his satire of contemporary figures made it an incredibly popular work.<ref>Ibid.</ref>
  
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==Bibliographic Information==
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After his mother’s death in 1799, Mathias published numerous Italian translations of English poems in a perfect mastery of the written language,<ref>Anonymous, “Obituary of Thomas James Mathias,” ''Gentleman’s Magazine NS'' (Nov. 1835), pp. 550-52.</ref> and he moved to Naples in 1814.<br/>
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'''Author:''' Thomas James Mathias, (1753/4-1835)
 
  
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'''Title:''' The Pursuits Of Literature: A Satirical Poem, In Four Dialogues, With Notes
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==Evidence for Inclusion in Wythe's Library==
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Listed in the [[Jefferson Inventory]] of [[Wythe's Library]] as "Pursuits of Literature. 8vo." This was one of the titles kept by [[Thomas Jefferson]] and may have been sold to the Library of Congress in 1815. Jefferson did sell a copy of Mathias's ''Pursuits of Literature'' to the Library of Congress but the volume no longer exists to verify its edition or Wythe's prior ownership. [http://www.librarything.com/profile/GeorgeWythe George Wythe's Library]<ref>''LibraryThing'', s. v. [http://www.librarything.com/profile/GeorgeWythe "Member: George Wythe"], accessed on February 24, 2014.</ref> on LibraryThing indicates "Precise edition unknown. This was first published in 1794, and many London and Dublin editions followed." The [https://digitalarchive.wm.edu/handle/10288/13433 Brown Bibliography]<ref> Bennie Brown, "The Library of George Wythe of Williamsburg and Richmond," (unpublished manuscript, May, 2012) Microsoft Word file. Earlier edition available at: https://digitalarchive.wm.edu/handle/10288/13433</ref> includes the eighth Dublin edition (1798) based on Millicent Sowerby's use of that edition in ''Catalogue of the Library of Thomas Jefferson''.<ref>E. Millicent Sowerby, ''Catalogue of the Library of Thomas Jefferson'', (Washington, D.C.: The Library of Congress, 1952-1959), 4:521 [[http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015033648125;view=1up;seq=541 no.4513]].</ref> The Wolf Law Library followed Brown's recommendation and purchased a copy of the eighth edition for the [[George Wythe Collection]].
  
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'''Published:''' Dublin: Printed for J. Milliken, 1798.  
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==Description of the Wolf Law Library's copy==
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Bound in original full-leather covers with gilt title on read leather spine label. Includes the bookplate of the Rev. John William Beauman on the front pastedown. Purchased from Shoemaker Booksellers.  
  
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'''Edition:'''
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Images of the library's copy of this book are [https://www.flickr.com/photos/wolflawlibrary/sets/72157658115162884 available on Flickr.] View the record for this book in [https://wm.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01COWM_INST/g9pr7p/alma991017624069703196 William & Mary's online catalog.]
  
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==Evidence for Inclusion in Wythe's Library==
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==See also==
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*[[George Wythe Room]]
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*[[Jefferson Inventory]]
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*[[Wythe's Library]]
  
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==Description of the Wolf Law Library's copy==
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==References==
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Bound in original full-leather covers with gilt title on read leather spine label. Purchased from Shoemaker Booksellers.
 
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===References===
 
 
<references/>
 
<references/>
  
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[[Category:Books]]
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[[Category: English Literature]]
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[[Category:Titles in Wythe's Library]]
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[[Category: George Wythe Collection at William & Mary's Wolf Law Library]]
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[[Category: Jefferson's Books]]
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[[Category: Poetry]]
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[[Category: Thomas James Mathias]]
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[[Category: Titles in Wythe's Library]]
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[[Category: Dublin]]
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[[Category: English]]
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[[Category: Octavos]]

Latest revision as of 12:36, 26 October 2021

by Thomas James Mathias

The Pursuits of Literature
MathiasPursuits1798TitlePage.jpg

Title page from The Pursuits of Literature, George Wythe Collection, Wolf Law Library, College of William & Mary.

Author Thomas James Mathias
Editor {{{editor}}}
Translator {{{trans}}}
Published Dublin: Printed for J. Milliken
Date 1798
Edition Eighth
Language English
Volumes {{{set}}} volume set
Pages 2 p. ℓ., 2 p., 1 ℓ., xxxi, 381
Desc. 8vo (21 cm.)
Location Shelf N-2
  [[Shelf {{{shelf2}}}]]
Bookplate of Rev. John Wm. Beauman, front pastedown.

Thomas James Mathias (1753/4-1835) was an accomplished satirist and Italian scholar[1] chiefly known for his satire The Pursuits of Literature, or, What you will. Published in four dialogues from 1794-1797, the work was in part a response to the French Revolution and prevalence of democratic radicalism.[2] Despite criticism of his lack of poetic skill, his satire of contemporary figures made it an incredibly popular work.[3]

After his mother’s death in 1799, Mathias published numerous Italian translations of English poems in a perfect mastery of the written language,[4] and he moved to Naples in 1814.

Evidence for Inclusion in Wythe's Library

Listed in the Jefferson Inventory of Wythe's Library as "Pursuits of Literature. 8vo." This was one of the titles kept by Thomas Jefferson and may have been sold to the Library of Congress in 1815. Jefferson did sell a copy of Mathias's Pursuits of Literature to the Library of Congress but the volume no longer exists to verify its edition or Wythe's prior ownership. George Wythe's Library[5] on LibraryThing indicates "Precise edition unknown. This was first published in 1794, and many London and Dublin editions followed." The Brown Bibliography[6] includes the eighth Dublin edition (1798) based on Millicent Sowerby's use of that edition in Catalogue of the Library of Thomas Jefferson.[7] The Wolf Law Library followed Brown's recommendation and purchased a copy of the eighth edition for the George Wythe Collection.

Description of the Wolf Law Library's copy

Bound in original full-leather covers with gilt title on read leather spine label. Includes the bookplate of the Rev. John William Beauman on the front pastedown. Purchased from Shoemaker Booksellers.

Images of the library's copy of this book are available on Flickr. View the record for this book in William & Mary's online catalog.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Paul Baines, “Mathias, Thomas James (1753/4–1835)”, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (Oxford University Press, 2004), accessed September 24, 2013. Unless otherwise noted, all biographical details are from this source.
  2. ↑ Thomas B. Gilmore and W.B. Carnochan, “The Politics of Eighteenth-Century Satire,” PMLA, 86, No. 2 (Modern Language Association, 1971), p. 277.
  3. ↑ Ibid.
  4. ↑ Anonymous, “Obituary of Thomas James Mathias,” Gentleman’s Magazine NS (Nov. 1835), pp. 550-52.
  5. ↑ LibraryThing, s. v. "Member: George Wythe", accessed on February 24, 2014.
  6. ↑ Bennie Brown, "The Library of George Wythe of Williamsburg and Richmond," (unpublished manuscript, May, 2012) Microsoft Word file. Earlier edition available at: https://digitalarchive.wm.edu/handle/10288/13433
  7. ↑ E. Millicent Sowerby, Catalogue of the Library of Thomas Jefferson, (Washington, D.C.: The Library of Congress, 1952-1959), 4:521 [no.4513].
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