The Iliad
Title
The Iliad
Text Read
The Iliad
Author
Homer. tr. Alexander Pope
Original Source
London: Ingram, Cooke, & co., 1853
Digitized by
HathiTrust
Publication Date
1853
Date(s) of Reading
- 1855-06-13
- 1856-04-01
- 1867-10-10
- 1868-03-01
- 1868-08-[?]
- 1869-01-23
- 1879-03-31
- 1879-04-11
- 1879-04-20
- 1879-04-22
Evidence
1855-06-13: "Wednesday 13. Began Part IV of Spinoza's Ethics. Began also to read Cumming for article in Westminster. We are reading in the evenings now, Sydney Smith's letters, Boswell, Whewell's History of lnductive Sciences, the Odyssey and occasionally Heine's Reisebilder. I began the second Book of the Iliad in Greek this morning." Diary 1854-1861 56
1856-04-01: Reviewed "The Iliad of Homer, faithfully translated into unrhymed English metre" tr. Francis William Newman, London: Walton & Maberly, 1856, in “Art and Belles Lettres” within the Westminster Review, vol. 65, issue 128, pp. 625-650.
1867-10-10: "10. Began the scene in the Gypsy Camp. Reading the Iliad, book III. Finished Los Judios en Espa, a wretchedly poor book." Diary 1861-1877 130
1868-03-01: "Mar. 1. Sunday. Finished Guillemin on the Heavens and the 4th Book of the Iliad. I shall now read Grote." Diary 1861-1877 132
1868-08-[?]: "Reading; First book of Lucretius, 6th book of the Iliad; Samson Agonistes, Warton's History of English Poetry; Grote 2nd vol; Marcus Aurelius; Vita Nuova; vol IV, Chapter 1 of the Politique positive; Guest on English Rhythms, Maurice's Lectures on Casuistry." Diary 1861-1877 133
1869-01-23: "Since I wrote last I have finished a little poem on Old Agatha. But the last week or two I have been so disturbed in health that no work prospers. I have made a little way in constructing my new Tale, have been reading a little on philology, have finished the 24th book of the Iliad, the first book of the Faery Queene, Clough's poems, and a little about Etruscan things in Mrs Grey and Dennis. Aloud to G. I have been reading some Italian, Ben Jonson's Alchemist and Volpone, and Bright's speeches, which I am still reading - besides the first four cantos of Don Juan. But the last two or three days I have seemed to live under a leaden pressure - all movement mental or bodily is grievous to me. In the evening read aloud Bright's 4th speech on India, and a story in Italian. In the Spectator some interesting facts about loss of memory, and "double life". In the Revue des Cours a lecture by Sir W. Thomson of Edinburgh on the retardation of the earth's motion round its axis." Diary 1861-1877 134
1879-03-31: "Finished revision of Laws of Operation and numbered of Problem n. Iliad in Munro's edition. Johnnie brought documents for signature. Bad Headache." Diary 1879 168
1879-04-11: "Alone all day. Drove out before lunch. Saw Mr. Mocatta. Heavy in body and mind. Read 'Dwarfs and Giants' with which many memories are connected of far-off Richmond Days. Homer." Diary 1879 169-170
1879-04-20: "Read Homer, Bain, St Beuve. Isaiah. Herbert Spencer in the afternoon asking advice about his autobiography." Diary 1879 171
1879-04-22: "Letter from Vivian, returning cheque, and confessing his error. Letter from Mde. Belloc asking me to lend her 500. Told Charles about V. John came to advise me in the evening. Wrote to Mde. Belloc, declining. Homer IV. Foster, Physiology. Mrs. Congreve at 2. Drove her home, with parcel of my grey dresses for the girls." Diary 1879 171
1856-04-01: Reviewed "The Iliad of Homer, faithfully translated into unrhymed English metre" tr. Francis William Newman, London: Walton & Maberly, 1856, in “Art and Belles Lettres” within the Westminster Review, vol. 65, issue 128, pp. 625-650.
1867-10-10: "10. Began the scene in the Gypsy Camp. Reading the Iliad, book III. Finished Los Judios en Espa, a wretchedly poor book." Diary 1861-1877 130
1868-03-01: "Mar. 1. Sunday. Finished Guillemin on the Heavens and the 4th Book of the Iliad. I shall now read Grote." Diary 1861-1877 132
1868-08-[?]: "Reading; First book of Lucretius, 6th book of the Iliad; Samson Agonistes, Warton's History of English Poetry; Grote 2nd vol; Marcus Aurelius; Vita Nuova; vol IV, Chapter 1 of the Politique positive; Guest on English Rhythms, Maurice's Lectures on Casuistry." Diary 1861-1877 133
1869-01-23: "Since I wrote last I have finished a little poem on Old Agatha. But the last week or two I have been so disturbed in health that no work prospers. I have made a little way in constructing my new Tale, have been reading a little on philology, have finished the 24th book of the Iliad, the first book of the Faery Queene, Clough's poems, and a little about Etruscan things in Mrs Grey and Dennis. Aloud to G. I have been reading some Italian, Ben Jonson's Alchemist and Volpone, and Bright's speeches, which I am still reading - besides the first four cantos of Don Juan. But the last two or three days I have seemed to live under a leaden pressure - all movement mental or bodily is grievous to me. In the evening read aloud Bright's 4th speech on India, and a story in Italian. In the Spectator some interesting facts about loss of memory, and "double life". In the Revue des Cours a lecture by Sir W. Thomson of Edinburgh on the retardation of the earth's motion round its axis." Diary 1861-1877 134
1879-03-31: "Finished revision of Laws of Operation and numbered of Problem n. Iliad in Munro's edition. Johnnie brought documents for signature. Bad Headache." Diary 1879 168
1879-04-11: "Alone all day. Drove out before lunch. Saw Mr. Mocatta. Heavy in body and mind. Read 'Dwarfs and Giants' with which many memories are connected of far-off Richmond Days. Homer." Diary 1879 169-170
1879-04-20: "Read Homer, Bain, St Beuve. Isaiah. Herbert Spencer in the afternoon asking advice about his autobiography." Diary 1879 171
1879-04-22: "Letter from Vivian, returning cheque, and confessing his error. Letter from Mde. Belloc asking me to lend her 500. Told Charles about V. John came to advise me in the evening. Wrote to Mde. Belloc, declining. Homer IV. Foster, Physiology. Mrs. Congreve at 2. Drove her home, with parcel of my grey dresses for the girls." Diary 1879 171
Related Works
Citation
Homer. tr. Alexander Pope, The Iliad, George Eliot's Reading, George Eliot Archive, edited by Beverley Park Rilett. https://GeorgeEliotArchive.org, Accessed September 7, 2026. https://georgeeliotarchive.org/items/show/57497