771. Robert Southey to John Rickman, [8 April 1803] ⁠* 

Dear Rickman

We are all bustle & business & brown paper & cords & packages. Tom has been appointed to the Galatea [1]  (not the Mercury [2]  as the newspapers have it) & is this day setting off. he is probably first Lieutenant – & if we must go to loggerheads will start with a fair chance of mending his fortunes.

You will not see me in London so soon as I had at first resolved. I can come up to better advantage in the autumn. this is a good reason, & moreover I wish that cursed La Gripe [3]  to be completely extirpated before lest I should fall into his clutches again.

Septuagints [4]  ought to be more common, for the reason you have given. but you misreckon upon the possible price at which they could be sold. Unless School masters sanction them & adopt them, school boys would not buy them, & nothing but a great school sale could cover the expences. all printing is of course dear in proportion to its closeness, & crowded Greek would be God knows what per sheet, treble – or six fold the English price. I have let my Greek sleep so long that perhaps it may never be awakened – yet I must read Homer again & again. I mean to hunt the Byzantine historians for facts of manners & such corollaries as may be gleaned – & there must be something in Nonnus [5]  which might be useful in writing upon Hindostan – to all this, bless the old Editors! their Latin will help me, & I have yet Greek enough to verify all that concerns me. – Elmsley whom you saw at my rooms, is editing Sophocles at Edinburgh. [6]  I am glad he is doing any thing, tho the stock of human knowledge will be but little increased by any corrections of the metre of a Greek chorus. Elmsleys very complete knowledge of the language will one day be applied to some better purpose. it is a great thing to break the ice. facilis descensus! [7]  – printers ink has a bird-lime quality of sticking to the fingers.

Danvers is much obliged to you for putting his letter in so fair a way of reaching its mark. – I have not written to Lamb – & am sorry for it – but in fact I know not how to mention his sister, & cannot write without mentioning her. in all cases madness is a dreadful affliction – & in this instance it is peculiarly dreadful. [8] 

You are going to Lewes – I wish it were to Portsmouth. the Lt of H. M. S. Galatea would be very glad to see you on board.

God bless you –

RS.