Antiquarianism, philology, and translatio studii in the epistolary translations of Sir John Hobart and Nicholas Bacon

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article examines the collaborative verse translations undertaken by the learned amateurs Nicholas Bacon and John Hobart in their 1664–65 correspondence. The letters reveal the pair’s critical attitudes as translators, and also include their substantial discussion about secondary textual and antiquarian resources. This article argues that Hobart and Bacon have three distinct methods of dealing with difficult passages of their texts – conjecture, the collation of different editions and commentaries, and the use of antiquarian resources – which each enables them to think critically about a given crux whilst avoiding the finality of a definitive resolution. In these three methods, the pair invoke humanist antecedents as well as distinctively modern seventeenth-century resources such as reference books. In the latter case, the men also provide a notable case study in the practical use of a particular type of early modern book which is usually difficult to trace in the historical record.