Written before the end of
May 1736
when
Gray was learning Italian, and sent in two letters, dated
[8 May
1736]
(ll. 646-88) and
[before 24
May 1736]
(ll. 704-24), to
Richard West
. Gray's translation of ll.
689-703 has not survived. Translation of ll. 646-88 (59 lines) first
published, untitled, in Mitford (ed.), Correspondence of Gray and Mason
(1853), letter I, 2-4
, and of ll. 704-24 (27 lines)
first published in
Mason's
Memoirs (1775), section I, 9-10.