I. 1821 Latin Letter from Franciscus Glass to James Madison: Below is a completed example of a transcription, translation, and annotation of a primary source. The primary source is an 1821 letter, written in Latin by a young, unemployed teacher, Francis Glass, and sent to the fourth U.S. President, James Madison. Students in the Latin IV class (2011-2012) at St. Andrew's Episcopal School in Potomac, Maryland followed the Project Based Learning steps, described in the menu item so-named above. The work was submitted to historian David Mattern at the Papers of James Madison Project at the University of Virginia and used for publication in Volume II, UVA Press, 2012. The students were acknowledged by name in the frontmatter of the book.
Immediately below, in order, are (1) pages one and two of the Glass letter in Latin (for a zoomable version of Glass's letter, click here to see the copy digitized by The Library of Congress), followed by (2) the final, submitted transcription on the lower left and (3) the annotated translation on the lower right.
Immediately below, in order, are (1) pages one and two of the Glass letter in Latin (for a zoomable version of Glass's letter, click here to see the copy digitized by The Library of Congress), followed by (2) the final, submitted transcription on the lower left and (3) the annotated translation on the lower right.
Transcription of a letter from The James Madison Papers:
Franciscus Glass to James Madison, March 3, 1821. In Latin. Digital Manuscript Source: http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/collections/madison_papers/index.html Lebanon, Ohio, Tertio die Martii, A.D. 1821 Vir Excellentissime. Quamvis non sim de numero eorum, qui tui notitiam habent, tamen, quia compertum jamdiu habebam, te literarum omnis generis patronum insignem semper fuisse: ideo ausus sum, Vir inclyte, hasce epistolas ad te mittere, sperans Te eodem, quo mittitur animo accepturum hanc epistolam. Scripsi, et in lucem jamjam daturus sum libellum, cui titulus, "Vita Georgii Washingtonii, ducis nuperi harum Civitatum Foederatarum Americae septentri =onalis copiarum omnium, earundemque primi praesi =dis." In animo est mihi, istum librum tibi, Vir clare, dicare dummodo id tibi bonum gratumque videbitur. Ideoque, valde scire laboro utrum ausim illum Tibi dicare, necne; Liber, de quo agitur, in usum scholarum a me exaratus est. Pauca de me ipso dicenda videntur: Oriundus de Republica Pennsylvaniensi sum, haud procul ab urbe Philadelphia. Duobus annis abhinc, migravi in hanc regionem, ubi in pueros erudiendo operam navavi; sed ingravescente valetudine, coactus fui, istud munus relinquere, et ad extremam pauperiem redactus sum, propterea quod, cum uxore, et sex parvulis liberis, nequaquam par fui, qui eos, in afflicta valetudine, (praesertim his temporibus,) sustineam. Proinde inductus inopia, diraque necessitate, Vitam, Latine, illustriss =imi Washingtonii, ad scribendum me contuli. Semper in votis meis fuit, assignationem aliquam in exercitu patriae adipisci; sed nescio quomodo, propter humilitatem amicorum, ab isto conatu depulsus fui. Sed, ut vetus adagium prae se fert, "dum spiro, spero;") aliquem gradum in exercitu obtinendi spes me tenet. Nonnumquam aveo nonnihil agri coemere; at pecun =ia mihi deest; et, vereor, ut semper deerit in hac page 2: regione, cum omnia collegia referta sunt clericis; - nam, quod ad me spectat*, laicus sum; disciplinae eclesiae Anglicanae obnoxius. Linguas, et artes mathematicas, per decem fere annos, docui; sed docti et indocti prae = =ceptores hac in regione, eodem in numero habentur. - sed, quia iuvenis sum, spero me aliquando ex hac aerumna miseriaque emersurum esse. - Volo interdum reverti ad Philadelphiam, meum natale solum, sed paup =ertas, (durum telum, ut Erasmus facete ait,) me prohibet. - Sed, quoniam valetudo mea habet sese melius nemo, quam dudum, spero me posse adhuc visere meliores regiones nostrae felicis Reipublicae; - hanc licentiam mihi, vir excellentissime, condonare et ignoscere Te precor, bonique consulere, supplicite peto, humillimeque rogo. - Sum, Vir Clarissime, Tuae Celsitudinis Observantissimus, Humillimusque Tuus Servus, Franciscus Glass. Ad Virum excellentem, Jacobum Madison, Praesidem nuperum Sociarum Civitatum Americae Septentrionali(s) vertically written (archival note): Glass. F. Mar. 3. 1821 Transcription Notes: * indicates the transcription is uncertain (in one place). = is the notation used by Glass for a word that breaks at the end of a line and is continued on the next line. Underlining is contained in the original letter. |
Translation of a letter from The James Madison Papers:
Franciscus Glass to James Madison, March 3, 1821. In Latin. Digital Manuscript Source: http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/collections/madison_papers/index.html Lebanon, Ohio, on the Third day of March, A.D. 1821 Most Excellent Sir, Although I am not from the number of those men who have your acquaintance, nevertheless, because for a long time now I have already known for certain that you always have been a distinguished protector of every kind of literature: therefore, I have dared, famous Sir, to send these letters[1] to you,hoping that You would accept this letter in the same spirit in which it is sent. I wrote, and now finally I am about to put forth into daylight a little book, the title of which [is] "The Life of George Washington, recent leader of all of these troops of the Federated States of north America and first President of the same." It is in my soul, distinguished Sir, to dedicate that book to you, provided that this will seem to you good and gracious. And therefore I strive very much to know whether I dare to dedicate that to You, or not; The book, about which [this letterwriting/request] is done, was written by me for the use of schools. It might be fitting for me to say a few things about myself:[2] I am originally from the Republic of Pennsylvania, hardly far from the city Philadelphia. Two years ago, I moved into this region, where I performed energetically the work of educating[3] boys; but with my health growing worse, I was forced to relinquish that duty, and I was driven back to extreme poverty, for this very reason[4], I was not at all suitable[5] to my wife, and my six little kids, who, them, I must [be able to] sustain [even] in afflicted health, (especially in these times). Consequently, brought in by need, by dire necessity, I devoted myself to writing, in Latin, the Life of the most illustrious Washington. Always it was in my prayers to obtain some assignment in the army of the country; but I do not know how, on account of the lowness [in stature] of [my] friends, I was dissuaded from that attempt. But, as the old adage plainly says, "while I breathe, I hope;") The hope of obtaining some rank in the army holds me. Sometimes I wish to buy up some[6] little field; but I have no money; and, I fear, that it will always be lacking in this page 2: region, since all the colleges[7] have been returned to priests; -indeed, the which tests me,[8] I am a layman; at the mercy of the ecclesiastical Anglican system. I taught languages, and the mathematic arts, for nearly ten years; but learned and unlearned teachers in this region, are held in the same number.[9] -but, because I am young, I hope that I someday will emerge from this trouble and misery. - Occasionally I want to return to Philadelphia, my birthplace, but poverty (a harsh weapon, as Erasmus says facetiously,) prevents me. - But since my health holds [and] no one [feels] better [than me][10], for some time[11], I hope that I am yet able to go and see better regions of our prosperous Republic; -Most excellent sir, I pray that you pardon me this license[12] and forgive me, and that you think well of me, suppliantly I seek [this], and very humbly I ask [this]. I am, A Gentleman, Very Observant of Your Loftiness, and Your Very Humble Servant, Franciscus Glass To the excellent Sir Jacob Madison, recent President of the United States of Northern America Translators' Note: 1. Words in brackets [ ] have been supplied by the translator to render the Latin thought more smoothly in English; Glass likely would have intended the reader to supply such words. 2. Glass's punctuation and capitalization, or lack thereof, have been preserved. A writer today, in many passages, would include semicolons and periods where Glass has commas, capital letters where Glass has lower case. Footnotes: [1] The plural hasce epistolas, especially contrasted with the singular hanc epistolam in the next line's relative clause, may indicate pages of this letter or be a reference to other letters Glass sent or intended to send to Madison. Note that the enclitic -ce on the demonstrative has is the equivalent of a colloquial "these here [letters]" [2] The literal translation of Pauca de me ipso dicenda videntur is "A few things about me myself seem fit to be noted," which yields the sentiment above. [3] in pueros erudiendo, literally, "in educating boys" [4] propterea quod usually means "for the very reason that," better construed here "for this very reason" referring to his ill-health and the resulting poverty. [5] par with cum usually means "comparable to" or "equal too"; Glass seems to be expressing that his desire is to be an honorable husband who supports his family, but that his fall into ill health and resulting loss of employment has made that difficult to accomplish. [6] nonnihil agri, literally "something of a field" [7] collegia also can mean associations, guilds, boards, or offices, but in the context here, Glass means schools or educational institutions where potentially he could find employment. [8] quod ad me spectat or, possibly, spectas; an ambiguous turn of phrase. It is probably best to employ the verb spectare in its sense of to "test" or "be trying/challenging to," rather than its more common classical sense of "to observe, watch, or look at." [9] "There are the same number of learned and unlearned teachers in this region." The implication is that the priests have given plum appointments to those who are well-connected within the ecclesiastical community. [10] Sed, quoniam valetudo mea habet sese melius nemo, literally, "but since my health holds itself better as [like] no one.." [11] quam dudum, literally, "how long" but here meant like jam dudum; perhaps Glass's implication is that 'no one knows how long health will hold out' or some such thought. [12] licentiam can also be translated "outspokenness"; Glass is daring to write the President to ask for a job and recognizes the potential impropriety of the situation. He appears to hope that his love and knowledge of Latin and the American Republic, demonstrated in his writing of the "libellus" about Washington, will forge a connection with Madison and that Madison will sympathize with his ill fortune and, thus, help him, by way of offering a job or military appointment. |