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"[Ode on the Pleasure Arising from Vicissitude]"

    • Archive Work ID: poems.oopv
    • Uniform Title: "[Ode on the Pleasure Arising from Vicissitude]" [e-text]
    • First Line: Now the golden Morn aloft
    • Language: English
    • First Published: 1775
    • References: Starr/Hendrickson (eds.), Complete Poems (1966), 100-103; Lonsdale (ed.), Poems (1969), 201-207
    • Summary: Written probably in 1754 or 1755. First printed privately in 1774. First published, in two versions, among the notes to the poems, entitled "Ode, On the Pleasure arising from Vicissitude", and as "Ode" in Mason's Memoirs (1775), 78-81 (with Mason's additions) and 236-237 (ll. 1-48 only) respectively.

    7 Manuscripts:

      • [MS image]Archive MS ID: mss.0113 (Source: EAD/XML)
      • Title: "Fragment of an Ode found amongst Mr. Grays papers after his decease and here transcribed from the corrected Copy"
      • Date: [after 1771]
      • Physical Description: 4 pages; transcript in the hand of William Mason, partial [wanting ll. 17-20]
      • Language: English
      • Location: GBR/1058/GRA/1, Commonplace Book, Vol. III, 1097-1100, College Library, Pembroke College, Cambridge, Cambridge, UK <http://www.pem.cam.ac.uk/>
      • Alternate Form: Microfilm copy available in Poetic Commonplace Books and Manuscripts of Thomas Gray, 1716-1771, from Pembroke College, Cambridge (1999), reel one
      • References: Smith (ed.), Index (1989), item GrT 95, 88; Poetic C. B., Pembroke College (1999), 30; Clark (ed.), Ode on Vicissitude (1933), discussion of Mason's transcript and facsimile of 1774 pamphlet
      • Contents: Transcript in the hand of William Mason, headed "Fragment of an Ode found amongst Mr. Grays papers after his decease and here transcribed from the corrected Copy", wanting ll. 17-20 and accompanied by a list of "Variations in the first copy", in Gray's Commonplace Book, vol. III, 1097-1100. Ll. 21-24 and 69-96 were composed by Mason.
      • Surrogates: Digital facsimile [JPEG] from original MS available online.

      • [MS image]Archive MS ID: mss.0114 (Source: EAD/XML)
      • Title: [untitled]
      • Date: [after 1771]
      • Physical Description: 1 page; transcript in the hand of William Mason, partial [ll. 17-20]
      • Language: English
      • Location: GBR/1058/GRA/1, Commonplace Book, Vol. III, 1110, College Library, Pembroke College, Cambridge, Cambridge, UK <http://www.pem.cam.ac.uk/>
      • Alternate Form: Microfilm copy available in Poetic Commonplace Books and Manuscripts of Thomas Gray, 1716-1771, from Pembroke College, Cambridge (1999), reel one
      • References: Smith (ed.), Index (1989), item GrT 96, 88; Poetic C. B., Pembroke College (1999), 30; Starr/Hendrickson (eds.), Complete Poems (1966), 247, notes; Lonsdale (ed.), Poems (1969), 201, notes
      • Contents: Transcript of ll. 17-20 in the hand of William Mason, within the "Extract from Mr Gray's Pocket Books... 1754", which also contains notes arguably related to the poem, in Gray's Commonplace Book, vol. III, 1110.
      • Surrogates: Digital facsimile [JPEG] from original MS available online.

      • Archive MS ID: mss.0111 (Source: EAD/XML)
      • Title: [?]
      • Date: [17??]
      • Physical Description: [?] pages, 250 mm x 200 mm; transcript in the hand of James Beattie
      • Language: English
      • Location: MS 30/44 ("Copies of the poems of Thomas Gray"), Historic Collections, Special Libraries and Archives, King's College, University of Aberdeen Library, Aberdeen, UK <https://www.abdn.ac.uk/library/>
      • References: Smith (ed.), Index (1989), 88; Ellner, June, "Re: MS 30/44, James Beattie papers". E-mail to the editor, 20 December 2006
      • Contents: Transcript in the hand of James Beattie, annotated in his hand "A note which I find in a Memorandum-book of Mr Gray's 1754 will best explain the intended plan of this beautiful Lyrical fragment, and will give the poetical reader how he meant to conclude it. "Contrast between the winter past and coming spring – Joy owing to that vicissitude – many who never feel that delight – Sloth - Envy - Ambition – how much happier the Rustick who feels it though he knows not how.""

      • Archive MS ID: mss.0112 (Source: EAD/XML)
      • Title: [?]
      • Date: [?]
      • Physical Description: [?] pages; transcript in an unidentified hand
      • Language: English
      • Location: [privately owned]
      • References: Smith (ed.), Index (1989), 88
      • Contents: Transcript in an unidentified hand, owned (1969) by Arthur A. Houghton, Jr.

      • Archive MS ID: mss.0232 (Source: EAD/XML)
      • Title: "Ode On the Pleasure arising from Vicissitude"
      • Date: 1780[?]
      • Physical Description: 11 pages, 180 mm x 110 mm; transcript in an unidentified neat and legible hand on Whatman paper
      • Language: English
      • Location: MS Add. 439, "Fragments" section, 7-17, The Archives, York Minster Library & Archives, York, UK <https://yorkminster.org/treasures-and-collections.html>
      • Contents: Transcript in an unidentified neat and legible hand, entitled "Ode On the Pleasure arising from Vicissitude" (p. 7) ("Ode. II." [p. 9]). The poem, which is annotated "N.B. This Ode was left unfinished by Mr. Gray; but was compleated by Mr. Mason. // The lines by Mr. Mason are marked * / single words _" and is identical to the version in Mason's Poems (1775), 78-81, is part of a section called "Fragments", which is separately paginated and has its own table of contents (p. 19), in a volume entitled Gray's Poems. The book carries the bookplate of Gray's friend and biographer William Mason.


      • Archive MS ID: mss.0272 (Source: EAD/XML)
      • Title: "Ode on the pleasure arising from vicissitude"
      • Date: 1799
      • Physical Description: [?] pages, 200mm x 170mm (volume); transcript in the hand of Thomas Binns
      • Language: English
      • Location: c.142, 384, Osborn Collection, Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Yale University Library, New Haven, CT (Beinecke)/Farmington, CT (Lewis Walpole), USA <http://www.library.yale.edu/>
      • References: Parks, Stephen et al. (ed.), Osborn Collection First-Line Index. New Haven: Beinecke Library, Yale University, 2005, 561, item N0507; Nelson (ed.), Union First Line Index. Mar. 2010. Folger Shakespeare Library. 16 April 2010. <http://firstlines.folger.edu/detail.php?id=10643>
      • Contents: Transcript in the hand of Thomas Binns, entitled "Ode on the pleasure arising from vicissitude", in his autograph Miscellaneous manuscripts, vol. 4, a manuscript of a collection of about 100 primarily elegiac or sentimental poems.

Contents

Manuscripts