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Record Number: 33856

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Reading Experience:

Evidence:

Diary entry. September 19th, 1831: "He showed me his Benedictine edition of Gregory. It is in high preservation, & very beautiful. I will get one like it, whenever I have next the use of Fortunatus�s purse �or any purse, heavy enough. He allowed me to read a part of the Apologetic, out of it ; a high privilege, granted on solemnly enforced conditions of not leaning my arm on any part of page. I liked & admired much of what I read. I do like & admire Gregory�s prose!! -& I enjoy reading a beautiful style so much the more, when I can read it with one who enjoys it too �when I read it with Mr. Boyd".

Century:

1800-1849

Date:

19 Sep 1831

Country:

England

Time

daytime

Place:

city: Wellington Heath, Ledbury, Malvern Hills
county: Herefordshire
specific address: Hope End

Type of Experience
(Reader):
 

silent aloud unknown
solitary in company unknown
single serial unknown

Type of Experience
(Listener):
 

solitary in company unknown
single serial unknown

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Reader / Listener / Reading Group:

Reader:

Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Age:

Adult (18-100+)

Gender:

Female

Date of Birth:

6 Mar 1806

Socio-Economic Group:

Gentry

Occupation:

Poet

Religion:

Evangelical

Country of Origin:

England

Country of Experience:

England

Listeners present if any:
e.g family, servants, friends

n/a

Additional Comments:

n/a

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Text Being Read:

Author:

Gregory of Nazianzus

Title:

Apologeticus

Genre:

Other religious, Classics

Form of Text:

Print: Book

Publication Details

Gregory Nazianzen, Saint. Opera Omnia quae extant vel ejus nomine circumferunter. Vol. 1. Parisiis, 1778

Provenance

borrowed (private library)

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Source Information:

Record ID:

33856

Source:

Print

Author:

n/a

Editor:

Philip & Ronald Kelley & Hudson

Title:

Diary of E.B.B.: The Unpublished Diary of Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Place of Publication:

Athens, OH

Date of Publication:

1969

Vol:

n/a

Page:

n/a

Additional Comments:

Diary entry. September 19th, 1831

Citation:

Philip & Ronald Kelley & Hudson (ed.), Diary of E.B.B.: The Unpublished Diary of Elizabeth Barrett Browning, (Athens, OH, 1969), http://www.open.ac.uk/Arts/reading/UK/record_details.php?id=33856, accessed: 06 February 2026

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Additional Comments:

Editors' notes: - Subsequently given to EBB, it [this edition of Gregory] appeard as Lot 717 in the 1913 Browing Sale (Sancti Patris Nostri Gregorii� Nazianzeni� Opera Omnia, Quae Extant� vol. I, Parisiis, 1778). - Fortunatus possessed an inexhaustible purse and a wishing cap; both he and his osns were eventually ruined by these magic gifts (RE). - τούτοις ἐγὼ σύνειμι: �with these [thoughts] I am occupied. A marginal note by EBB in WG, p. 30, records: �I read from this place with Mr. Boyd. Sept. 19th 1831� and indicates that the reading continued to the foot of p. 32 (112 lines). Another note in WG, at the commencement of the �Apologeticus�, records this as being �a very fine passage�. BOOK DETAILS: A1091] Gregory Nazianzen, Saint. Opera Omnia quae extant vel ejus nomine circumferunter. Vol. 1. Parisiis, 1778. � Inscribed by HSB on fly-leaf: H. S. Boyd. May 26th. 1804. Boyd�s later autograph also appears, above which is written: This Book to be given to my very dear Friend Elizabeth Barrett Barrett. � Browning Collections, lot 717, purchased by Tregaskis. [ABL]