[Milton-L] Query on 6th century Latin author

[Erick Ramalho]

Dear Dr Lares,

 

Milton mentions one Maximianus in ‘A
Defence of the People of England’, but that is of course Emperor Marcus Aurelius Valerius Maximianus Herculius.
As for Milton’s
reading of the 6th century poet Maximian, or Maximianus Etruscos, sound evidence
is much harder to come by. One possible hint is Richard Webster’s claim that the
phrasing of line 127 in
Milton’s fifth Latin elegy (‘Iamque latet, latitansque cupit male tecta videri’)
indicates Maximian’s first elegy as its source rather than Virgil, to whom it is commonly associated. Webster’s
claim (which I believe is the only one he makes in the whole book) is to be
found in his 1900 edition of ‘The Elegies of Maximianus’ (The Princeton
Press). A careful reading
of Douglas Bush’s Variorum Commentary on Milton’s Latin and Greek poems, in
which nearly all possible Latin sources are identified, may be worthy in looking
for further evidence.

 

Regards,

 

Erick Ramalho



--- On Mon, 1/6/09, Jameela Lares <Jameela.Lares at usm.edu> wrote:

From: Jameela Lares <Jameela.Lares at usm.edu>
Subject: [Milton-L] Query on 6th century Latin author
To: "John Milton Discussion List" <milton-l at lists.richmond.edu>
Date: Monday, 1 June, 2009, 4:10 PM

A friend just sent me a link to a new book in German on the elegies of Maximian, who is claimed to have some traces in various later authors, including Milton.  I'm curious as to whether any work has been done in English on such a connection.

The link:  http://www.steiner-verlag.de/sachgebiete/altertumswissenschaften/altphilologie/reihen/view/titel/53365.html

I didn't get much further than the Wikipedia entry, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maximianus_(poet), which looks fairly competent but makes no mention of Milton.  There's a Maximianus in Milton's History of Britain, but he's during Diocletian's rule.

Cheers,

Jameela Lares
Professor of English
The University of Southern Mississippi
118 College Drive, #5037
Hattiesburg, MS  39406-0001
601 266-4319 ofc
601 266-5757 fax

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