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Jowett Papers - Group II Class E

Group II

Class E - Material connected with Benjamin Jowett's work on Aristotle's Politics

Most of this material is connected with BJ's work on his translation of Aristotle's Politics. Although there is no evidence to prove it, the extremely fragile state of these items makes it almost certain that they were found in the Basement to Staircase III by EVQ.

E1

Papers and notebooks connected with BJ's work on Aristotle's Politics, on which he was engaged from the late 1870s to the early 1880s. It largely consists of notes on scraps of paper for the essays which he never completed. Their fragmentary state suggests that no attempt was ever made to order them after the decision to abandon work on the Politics in the late 1880s.

• [1] 1 leaf in Martha Knight's hand, with the words `Notes for Essays on the Politics'.
• [2] 47 leaves in BJ's hand, of varying sizes, in black and purple ink and pencil. Drafts and sketches for his incomplete work on Aristotle's Politics.
• [3] 1 small leaf in BJ's hand with a draft of the dedication of Aristotle's Politics to Rev. William Rogers.
• [4] Folded leaf titled On the Metaphysics, containing 5 leaves of notes on Aristotle's Metaphysics.
• [5] 14 leaves sewn together to form a booklet 180 by 120mm, written in BJ's hand in ink throughout. A series of notes titled Inaccuracies of Language in Aristotle.
• [6] 31 leaves in Matthew Knight's hand of varying sizes. These are drafts and sketches for BJ's incomplete work on Aristotle's Politics of a similar nature to 2 above.
• [7] Medium NB (200 by 160mm), limp brown marbled paper cover (now very fragile), no title or label. 22 leaves. Pages unlined. Mostly black ink with some purple ink and a little pencil. The whole NB is in Matthew Knight's hand.
• [untitled essay draft, quite heavily corrected, on early Greek History; perhaps intended for the Politics?] 3-17
• [5 loose leaves 12A-12E inserted at 12: addenda to the essay]]
• [Material was written on fols.12v-21 with the NB inverted, and is listed backwards]
• References to Book I [of the Politics] 20v
• References to Book II [of the Politics] 19v
• References to Book III [of the Politics] 18v-18
• References to Book IV [of the Politics] 17v-17
• References to Book V [of the Politics] 16v
• References to Book VI [of the Politics - title only] 15v
• References to Book VII [of the Politics] 14v
• References to Book VIII [of the Politics - title only] 13v
• [Untitled page of Greek references to Books I-IV of the Politics] 12v
• [8] Small NB (175 by 115mm), black morocco leather cover, no title or label, although the inside cover is inscribed by Matthew Knight Book III and IV. The cover is in especially bad condition, and at some stage a leaf of paper in BJ's hand with some untraced Greek quotations became stuck to it. 60 leaves, many unused. Pages lined. Ink. All the NB is in Matthew Knight's hand.
• Notes, some quite full, others somewhat rougher, on Books III and IV of Aristotle's Politics, arranged by individual chapters. Not listed in detail.
• [9] 18 leaves, some in Frank Fletcher's hand, the rest in possibly 4 hands, all unknown, all connected with Aristotle's Politics, and so presumably linked to BJ's work.
• [10] 1 leaf with notes on Aristotle in both BJ's and Matthew Knight's hands.
• [11] 2 printed pages taken from Philologische Rundschau, 2 Jahrgang N o39, 23 Sep 1882, containing a review by J. Cook Wilson [in German] of Studien zu Aristoteles Politik by H Büchsenschütz [perhaps sent to BJ by Wilson?].
• [12] Receipt from the OUP. dated 3 Sept 1885, for folios 1-26 of the Essays on Aristotle.
• [13] Letter from Mary Smith to BJ, Embley, Romsey, 25 Dec [before 1861], ALS [1 leaf]. Letter accompanying two testimonials to Arthur Clough [not preserved]. The letter only occupies one side of the leaf; on the other, BJ has made what appear to be jottings on Aristotle's Politics [if this is so, he held onto this letter for many years after Clough's death].
• [14] Letter from Matthew Knight to J. Cook Wilson, Sydney Villa, The Mall, Brading, Isle of Wight, 26 Mar 1894, ALS [1 leaf], envelope with stamp preserved. Account of how BJ worked on the Essay on the Formation of the Aristotelian Writings with the aid of Knight and Frank Fletcher.

E2

4 letters to BJ, dated 1884-7. They probably owe their survival to being placed with the Aristotle material, and being put aside with them

• [1] C. Bigg, 28 Norham Road, 6 Sep 1886, ALS [1 leaf]. Letter accompanying some passages connected with the Early Fathers.
• [2] C. Bigg, 28 Norham Road, 22 Oct 1886, ALS [1 leaf]. More discussion of passages from the Early Fathers.
• [3] David G. Ritchie, Jesus College, 8 Dec 1884, ALS [1 leaf]. On BJ's planned edition of the Politics. Discussion of the MSS, and what an English edition of them should cover.
• [4] David G. Ritchie, n.a., 15 Jun 1887 ALS [1 leaf]. The top left corner of the letter, which may have had the address, has rotted away. Some recommended books for BJ's work on the Politics.

E3

Miscellaneous material found in this class, but unrelated to the rest of it.

• [1] 2 foolscap leaves in BJ's hand headed The Second Examination. Undated, but BJ's hand suggests the 1840s. BJ's proposals for a revised second exam at Oxford.
• [2] 1 leaf in an unknown hand containing copies of 2 letters to the Vice-Chancellor of Oxford, one (complete) from J.D. Macbride and C.P. Golightly, Oxford 10 Dec 1855, the other (only the beginning is preserved) from an unknown writer, Christ Church 8 Dec 1855. Both are concerned with possible heresies in the Essay on Atonement from BJ's commentary on St. Paul.
• [3] 1 leaf with notes on William of Merbeck in Matthew Knight's hand. Undated, but presumably written between the late 1860s and late 1880s.

- Robin Darwall-Smith, 1993