The Poetical Works of Christopher Smart: Miscellaneous Poems in English and Latin

The present volume, which contains miscellaneous English and Latin verse, written throughout his career, shows Smart as he appeared to his contemporaries: a brilliant but wayward scholar, who threw away a life of distinction at Cambridge to engage in the raffish world of the London theaters and pleasure gardens. By presenting the poems in chronological order, it also reveals the pattern of his evolution from both academic and popular roles into a poet dedicated to Christian service. Over thirty pieces in this volume have not appeared in any previous collection, and several are reprinted for the first time since the 18th century. Translations are provided for all Latin poems.