Fair-copy manuscript, titled ‘A Translation of the Manuel [sic.] of Epictetus:

[‘J.S.’ (translator and author].

Fair-copy manuscript, titled ‘A Translation of the Manuel [sic.] of Epictetus: with a brief sketch of the Philosophy of the Greeks and Romans. Some of the Dialogues of Socrates; and the Advice of Isocrates to a young man’ [U.K. ?: undated but watermark dates suggest 1816 or later]. Duodecimo (7 ¼ x 4 5/8in; 184 x 117mm), laid paper, with occasional blind stamps noting that is ‘Bath Vellum’ paper, (retailed solely by ‘T. Gibbons’ of Bath), pages numbered from 1-248, written in a single legible hand, very occasional corrections or deletions. Original calf, covers with decorative roll-tool border, the flat spine divided into six compartments by roll tools, blue/black leather title label ‘Epictetus / M.S.’ in the second compartment, lettered at the foot of the spine ‘J.S.’, marbled endpapers, speckled edges (joints split, spine chipped, extremities rubbed, front inner hinge reinforced). Provenance: J.S. (binding, erased initials on p.3); ‘EB’ (?, monogram dated 1929 on front free endpaper).

An interesting and apparently unpublished work: the watermarks confirm that this fair copy was done no earlier than 1816, but the partially erased sub-title to the first part (p.3) suggests that this may have been something that ‘J.S.’ worked on for many years. It reads ‘A Sketch of the Philosophy of the Ancients; occasioned by a Translation [I] made of Epictetus [Anno Dom – 17?? :- by J.S]’. The translator / author also quotes from the works of others, including Vicesimus Knox. Elizabeth Carter’s famous translation had appeared in 1758, but the present work does appear to be new, and certainly precedes the next well-known version (by T.W. Higginson) by many decades.