Edgar Allan Poe — “Latin Hymn” (from “Epimanies”)

Reading copy:

• “Latin Hymn” — reading copy

Manuscripts and Authorized Printings:

• Text-01 — “[Latin Hymn]” — May 4, 1833 — in “Epimanes,” manuscript— (Although we have the “Buckingham” manuscript, we may speculate that there must have been an earlier form as the copy sent to the Buckinghams is clearly a clean copy. It may also be surmised that Poe must have retained a manuscript as the Buckinghams appear never to have returned Poe's letter, and Poe would need to have a copy of the text, which was later printed in the Southern Literary Messenger. This manuscript is lost, but this version is presumably recorded in Text-02.)
• Text-02 — “[Latin Hymn]” — May 4, 1833 — in “Epimanes,” manuscript— (Mabbott text A)
• Text-03 — “[Latin Hymn]” — about June 1835 — lost “Carey” manuscript (In a letter of September 11, 1835, written to John P. Kennedy, Poe stated that he had sent Henry Carey a manuscript for a tale to replace “MS. found in a Bottle,” specifically naming the new tale as “Epimanes.” On May 18, 1835, H. Carey wrote to J. P. Kennedy, noting that Poe had told him that “MS. found in a Bottle” had already been published, and saying that he had asked Poe to send him “something good in its stead.” Poe apparently responded by sending the “Epimanes” manuscript. On November 29, 1835, Carey and Lea wrote to Poe that they were unable to find the manuscript for which he had requested a return. Although the name is not specified, it was presumably the manuscript of “Epimanes” that Poe had sent to H. Carey. This manuscript is lost, but this version is presumably recorded in Text-04.)
• Text-04 — “[Latin Hymn]” — March 1836 — in “Epimanes” Southern Literary Messenger — (Mabbott text B)
• Text-05 — “[Latin Hymn]” — about 1839 — (although these pages in the Duane copy of the Southern Literary Messenger show no sign of changes, the version published in TGA shows verbal modifications, which suggests an intermediary form. It is likely, therefore, that Poe made changes in copies other than those which were ultimately owned by Duane, and that those copies have not been located and possibly have not survived. Poe appears to have attempted to erase his changes in the Duane copies, and it is possible that a copy exists in which these erased changes have been overlooked. This missing text is presumably reflected in text-06. There are no changes to the poem as it appears in the printed texts.)
• Text-06 — “[Latin Hymn]” — 1840 — in “Epimanes” TGA— (Mabbott text C)
• Text-07 — “[Latin Hymn]” — 1842 — manuscript title revision of the tale in TGAPP (volume II, which seems to have had revisions by Poe, is lost, but this version is presumably recorded in Text-06. There are no changes to the poem as it appears in the printed texts.)
• Text-08 — “[Latin Hymn]” — 1845 — in “Four Beasts in One” Broadway Journal — (Mabbott text D — This is Mabbott's copy-text)
• Text-09 — “[Latin Hymn]” — 1845-1849 — (speculated copy of Text-08 with manuscript revisions by Poe. Among the revisions to the text of the tale, the fussy changes to indendation of the poems are more likely to be the work of Poe than of Griswold or the typesetters. This copy has apparently not survived, but the text is presumably reflected in Text-10.)
• Text-10 — “[Latin Hymn]” — 1850 — in “Four Beasts in One,” WORKS — (Mabbott text E)

Reprints:

• “[Latin Hymn]”— 1867 — in “Four Beasts in One,” Prose Tales of Edgar Allan Poe, second series (New York: W. J. Widdleton), pp. 169-176 (This collection is extracted from the 1850-1856 edition of Poe's Works. It was reprinted several times.)
• “[Latin Hymn]” — 1875 — in “Four Beasts in One,” The Works of Edgar Allan Poe, vol 3: Poems and Essays, ed. J. H. Ingram, Edinburgh, Adam and Charles Black (2:389)

Scholarly and Noteworthy Reprints:

• “[Latin Hymn]” — 1894-1895 — in “Four Beasts in One,” The Works of Edgar Allan Poe, vol. 4: Tales (of Extravagance and Caprice), eds. E. C. Stedman and G. E. Woodberry, Chicago: Stone and Kimball (4:97)
• “[Latin Hymn]” — 1902 in “Four Beasts in One,” The Complete Works of Edgar Allan Poe, vol. 6: Tales, ed. J. A. Harrison, New York: T. Y. Crowell (6:209) (Harrison did not include the poem as a separate entry among the volume of poems, presumably because, as a comprehensive collection of Poe's work it was not necessary to duplicate it as an extract)
• “Latin Hymn” — 1911, The Complete Poems of Edgar Allan Poe, ed. J. H. Whitty, Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co (p. 152)
• “Latin Hymn” — 1917 — The Poems of Edgar Allan Poe, ed. Killis Campbell, Boston: Ginn and Company (p. 138, and p. 298, although in the first issue of this edition the poem appears on p. 137, and in the second issue some material has been omitted from the notes for this poem.)
• “Latin Hymn” — 1965 — The Poems of Edgar Allan Poe, ed. Floyd Stovall, Charlottesville: The University Press of Virginia (p. 133, and pp. 292-293)
• “Latin Hymn” — 1969 — The Collected Works of Edgar Allan Poe, vol. 1: Poems, ed. T. O. Mabbott, Cambridge: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press (1:218-219)
• “[Latin Hymn]” — 1978 — in “Epimanies (Four Beasts in One),” The Collected Works of Edgar Allan Poe, vol. 2: Tales and Sketches, ed. T. O. Mabbott, Cambridge: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press (2:124)

Instream Comparative and Study Texts:

• None

Miscellaneous Texts and Related Items:

• None.

• Heartman, Charles F. and James R. Canny, A Bibliography of First Printings of the Writings of Edgar Allan Poe, Hattiesburg, MS: The Book Farm, 1943.
• Mabbott, Thomas Ollive, ed., The Collected Works of Edgar Allan Poe (Vol 1 Poems), Cambridge, Mass.: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1969.