| The Aeneid in English
| Joepye Latin Bookstore |
| Collins2006 Ecclesiastical Latin Study Group
| Collins2007 Ecclesiastical Latin Study Group |
The Aeneid, trans. David West (London: Penguin Classics, 1991) is the version of West's translation that I have. It is in paperback (ISBN: 0140444572), and it includes a brief introduction by the translator, two appendicies dealing with the parade of future Romans in Book VI and the shield of Aeneas in Book VIII, and a map and index of place names. Apparently it is no longer in print.
There is a newer edition, also from the Penguin Classics series and also in paperback (ISBN: 0140449329). I have not seen this book but I understand it has a new introduction.
Both of these books are readily available at online booksellers, including the Joepye Latin Bookstore (text-only version).
David West is Professor Emeritus at the Universtiy of Newcastle upon Tyne. Other publications include Reading Horace (1967), The Imagery and Poetry of Lucretius (1969), Horace Odes I: Carpe Diem: Text Translation and Commentary (1995) and Horace: The Complete Odes and Epodes (1997).[1].
David West rejects the notion that English prose is inadequate to translate the Aeneid. He states:
...I have had to reject this [that 'to translate poetry into prose is always a folly'] because I know of nobody at the end of our century who reads long narrative poems in English, and I want the Aeneid to be read. I believe also that this view does less than justice to the range, power and music of contemporary English prose.[2].
He goes on to say
I have tried to be utterly faithful to everything I see and hear in the Latin...and
My second aim has been to write readable English which does honour to the richness and sublimity of Virgil's language...[3]
In order not to interrupt the flow of the narrative, West does not include a glossary or footnotes. He chooses to include any additional information he thinks the reader must have in the text. These seem to be reasonably unobtrusive, less so than in Cobbold's version.
I found this to be an excellent translation, although I found myself missing the information normally provided by footnotes and a glossary. But I confess the lack of same does make for a more readable Aeneid. If you want to "study" a prose version of the Aeneid, pick up Caldwell. If you want to "read" a prose version, go for West.
The Bryn Mawr Classical Review contains a review of Caldwell's translation by Betty Rose Nagle. She briefly discusses West's translation as well.
| Latin[4] | West's Translation[5] |
|---|---|
|
Tum Iuno omnipotens, longum miserata dolorem |
All-powerful Juno then took pity on her long anguish |
[1]Virgil, The Aeneid, trans. David West (London: Penguin Classics, 1991) first page.
[2]Virgil, xi.
[3]Virgil, xii.
[4] P. Vergilius Maro, Aeneid, edited by J. B. Greenough, from The Perseus Digital Library.
[5]Virgil, 103.
| The Aeneid in English
| Joepye Latin Bookstore |
| Collins2006 Ecclesiastical Latin Study Group
| Collins2007 Ecclesiastical Latin Study Group |
| Created on January 29, 2006. Updated on December 8, 2006. Comments to joepye@pobox.com. | |||
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