The Aeneid of Virgil: A Verse Translation By Rolfe Humphries [Paperback]

Virgil (Author), Rolfe Humphries (Translator)

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English, Latin (translation)

Product Details

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Prentice Hall; 1 edition (January 15, 1987)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0024277800
• ISBN-13: 978-0024277800
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #898,895 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Worthwhile Translation, August 14, 2005

By 

David Doster (New York, NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Aeneid of Virgil: A Verse Translation By Rolfe Humphries (Paperback)

I bought the Scribner Library edition of Humphries' translation of the AENEID for $1.95 around 1970. On the back cover, W.H. Auden and Dudley Fitts praise it highly. It's too bad that this beautiful and engaging translation does not sit on the bookstore shelves today at a reasonable price alongside of those of Fitzgerald and Mandelbaum. Here is Humphries' rendition of the last few lines of Book 12, where Aeneas "exacts his vengeance": "... the blade went deep/And Turnus' limbs were cold in death; the spirit/Went with a moan indignant to the shadows." A friend, upon reading these lines, suggested that Vergil could not possibly have done better in the original. Get a copy of this translation, if you can find it. The poetry has a moving rhythm, and it will move you.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I've never seen the Rolfe Humphries translation outdone, November 11, 2011

By 

Caraculiambro (La Mancha and environs) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Aeneid of Virgil: A Verse Translation By Rolfe Humphries (Paperback)

I'm a huge fan of Rolfe Humphries' translation of the Aeneid. I don't believe I've ever come across a better in English, although I own several.

My Latin is more or less good enough to read Virgil in the original, although that always means a lot of work. So sometimes I just want to sit down and read it without having to use a lexicon. When I do, this is the edition I turn to, definitely. F. Dryden!

What I like about Humphries is that his version retains the remote, cold dignity and fluid grace of the original.

I will admit to having issues with some of this word choices, but on balance I have never seen Humphries beaten at conveying the stateliness, the high import, and the gravitas of what's going on.

It's more of a feel issue rather than an accuracy of translation issue.

I'm not sure if I'm expressing myself well, but I'll say this: if you get good enough to read Virgil in the original, your respect for this will be increased.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Able Translation, January 10, 2010

By 

S. Pactor "reader" (San Diego, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Aeneid of Virgil: A Verse Translation By Rolfe Humphries (Paperback)

I also picked up the scribner library soft cover edition- have to say it's a handsome book. This is my first time reading Aeneid- I brought this edition for a reading copy to bring the rome. Nothing is going to blow a sophisiticated reader a way in terms of the analysis, but it was fine to read.