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Part of the book: Horace’s Epistles, Wieland and the Reader

Jane V. Curran

MHRA Texts and Dissertations 38

Bithell Series of Dissertations 19

W. S. Maney & Son Ltd for the Modern Humanities Research Association and the Institute of Germanic Studies

GermanPoetryTranslationopen

Abstract.  It is well known and well documented that Wieland follows Horace’s advice by diligently revising and polishing his texts. Revision was almost a compulsion with Wieland and one which was not restricted to his translations. In the case of Wieland’s versions of the Satires and Epistles, this polishing included changes to the translations themselves, and additions to the commentary and footnotes at the base of the page. For the revised edition of the Epistles in 1790, Wieland made the significant decision to add to the text of the original, which had not been included in the selections which appeared in the Teutscher Merkur or in the first edition published in book form. The physical appearance of the text reinforces the findings of previous chapters: the features of the style of translation which brought the text to life, such as the impression of a dialogue, the constant oscillation between ancient and modern, and the conversational rhythm played off against the regular iambic beat, are reflected and to some extent produced by the particular order in which the text has been compiled for the revised publication.

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