“A Happy Life” CYBELE ZHANG

“A Happy Life:” Elizabeth Lyttelton’s Reflections on Life’s Purpose and Joys in Her Commonplace Book

Cybele Zhang

THE COMMONPLACE BOOK OF ELIZABETH LYTTELTON UNITES LITERATURE FROM across time and place, but many of her curated texts seek to answer the same questions—what constitutes a good life, and how is it achieved? Lyttelton (c. 1648 – c. 1728) composes her manuscript roughly between 1670 and 1714, following the death of her mother Lady Dorothy Browne in 1685, who likely owned and wrote in the same intergenerational book before her daughter (Bullard 1). With this context in mind, Browne’s recent passing perhaps shapes Lyttelton’s literary selections and provokes the daughter to grapple with mortality and life’s meaning. Both topics are highly personal, and Kate Eichhorn notes that the commonplace book genre uniquely exists in a transitional space, straddling public and private spheres (Burke, “Recent Studies” 154). Therefore, although Lyttelton lived a relatively sheltered and obscure life as an upper class, pious woman, the book serves as a bridge between herself and past texts, connects her to contemporary readers, and brings her beliefs to subsequent readers. The final page of the commonplace book notes that it was gifted in 1714 to Edward Tenison, a first cousin, who was likely to pass the book along himself and continue Lyttelton’s chain of readership (Lyttelton 174). Thus, she writes with a broader audience in mind, although it was definitely beyond her imagination that her book would now be accessible online. In the process of writing for her extended family, however, Lyttelton offers unique insight into the female, mid-seventeenth- century zeitgeist (Bullard 2). Thus Lyttelton’s manuscript is not only a personal means of remembering admired passages and her deceased mother, but it is a way for the daughter to explain the good life to others. Lyttelton selects and edits excerpts to educate readers with her reflections on what a fruitful life includes and how it is achieved, most notably through the royalist political rhetoric of Martial, as translated by Sir Richard Fanshawe, and the religious teachings of Martin Luther.

One of Lyttelton’s most explicit inclusions on how to live a good life is “A Happy Life out of Martiall.” Her intentional choice of translation prioritizes both accessibility for readers and emphasizes her own royalist political views (Lyttelton 69). Writing in a volatile political period, amidst the English Civil War and The Restoration, it was especially important that Lyttelton’s book was accessible because the general public was seriously engaging with questions of government, revolution, and the necessity of monarchy. Only by using recognizable language

Adaptations of Martial: Status, the state and family values

and form could Lyttelton actively engage with and persuade a broad audience—not just the highly educated, rich classes with whom she directly interacted. The Latin epigram’s original title, “10.47,” is more vague than the heading Lyttelton assigns, which prioritizes use and helpfully summarizes the content for readers skimming through the commonplace book. Although Lyttelton likely knows Latin—some scholars believe she translated “Item 6.38” in the commonplace book herself—she selects an existing English translation for the Martial poem by Sir Richard Fanshawe (Burke, “Contexts” 321). Writing in English thus makes Lyttelton’s book more accessible to a potential general British audience, who may not know Latin, and prioritizes mass dissemination over historical accuracy (Burke, “Contexts” 321). The 1660 Fanshawe version of the epigram that Lyttelton transcribes was one of the most popular, contemporary versions—again, emphasizing accessibility (Sullivan 113-114). With her selection,

Lyttelton passes over slightly dated versions by, among others, Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey (1545), Simon Thelwall (1570), and Ben Jonson (1615) that also circulated at the time (Sullivan 113-114). Like Lyttelton and her family, Fanshawe is a royalist, and he serves in Charles II’s government in various diplomatic roles (“Sir Richard Fanshawe”). Fanshawe’s inclusion over other poets thus makes a political statement, as Lyttelton implies that Tory ideology is tied to “A Happy Life.” Similarly, the original author, Martial, lived in Imperial Rome and wrote as a client of noble patrons—again emphasizing the grandeur of autocratic rule, as his work would not exist without patrician funding (Austin). Fanshawe does not use a literal translation, however, and instead alters the work from Martial’s 13-line hendecasyllabic epigram into a 14-line, sonnet of sorts; in 1648, Fanshawe similarly transformed The Aeneid into Spenserian stanza (“Sir Richard Fanshawe”). With a recognizable rhyme scheme (seven rhyming couplets) and meter (iambic tetrameter), Fanshawe’s translation of Martial appears early modern and British, instead of classical and Roman. His reimagining of the epigram appeals to Lyttelton and her potential readers because Fanshawe’s form is more familiar and accessible to contemporary audiences— important for a text implicitly intended to educate its readers. The form change also allows the epigram to fit seamlessly into Lyttelton’s larger commonplace book, as she places the poem preceding and followed by other iambic verse.

In addition to her careful choice of translation, Lyttelton also makes a class statement in her early modern reinterpretation of the classical epigram. Martial, Fanshawe, and Lyttelton all work and socialize in upper class circles, and the ideal life they encourage through their poems largely parallels the privilege and leisure they already enjoy. Both the Latin original

Thus, in transcribing the work, Lyttelton implicitly encourages her readers to buy into Fanshawe’s political views to achieve a good life.

and Lyttelton’s transcription of Fanshawe stress the simple beauty of life as a land-owning patrician as the way to happiness. Lyttelton’s copy seeks “a thankfull Feild, hearth always hot/ Citty seldom” (Lyttelton 69). “Hearth” in particular brings to mind Hestia, Roman goddess of the hearth and home, connoting domestic life—much like the lifestyle that an upper-class woman like Lyttelton herself would have enjoyed in Norwich. The poem also emphasizes indulgences such as dining with friends and sleeping well, but Fanshawe refashions Martial’s Latin word choice and imagery to better resonate with seventeenth century politics and readers. Fanshawe translates that the first step towards a happy life is an “estate inherited not got,” again alluding to an agrarian ideal (Lyttelton 69). “Estate” encompasses property but also extends more broadly to all inherited capital, which would not have had the same connotation 1,600 years earlier in Rome. So the loose translation of Martial’s “res” (meaning “thing/affair”) as “estate” is important in modernizing the ancient poet’s conception of inheritance to fit seventeenth century definitions of intergenerational capital (Gardner, line 3). “Estate” in 1660 also refers to the division of classes within the body politic—so to Lyttelton, inheriting her father’s estate means also inheriting his social capital (OED). Both Martial and Fanshawe implicitly critique new, earned money, and the anti-labor theme recurs later in the essay. Furthermore, “estate” is also reminiscent of Lyttelton’s inheritance of the manuscript itself, as the text passes down intergenerational knowledge on happiness.

Similarly, Fanshawe appropriates Martial’s epicurean tone to uphold Charles II as a model of the “happy life,” and Lyttelton implicitly supports these royalist sentiments in copying the work. Writing shortly after the Restoration, Lyttelton and the English people faced a choice: reinstate the lewd, excessive monarchy or continue on an unclear path of pseudo-democracy that has already proven to be bloody (Webster). At the time of publication, Fanshawe worked alongside the king, but the pro-monarchical sentiment would still resonate with a royalist like Lyttelton decades later. Multiple times in the poem, Fanshawe fixates upon the need for peace, which he sees as tied to the Restoration; he writes that happiness requires “City seldom law-suits never:/equall Friends agreeing ever” (Lyttelton 69). The ideal is fitting following the Civil War because, for royalists, Charles II’s Restoration brings relative peace to the “City” and England at large. Fanshawe employs a similar four-word syntax in both lines to connect the couplet and imply that peaceful friends are analogous to peaceful law—i.e. citizens are happiest when politicians are friendly to one another. Thus in transcribing the work, Lyttelton implicitly encourages her readers to buy into Fanshawe’s political views to achieve a good life. As J.P. Sullivan notes on Martial’s original work, “At first blush, it appears an epicurean manifesto” (Sullivan 114); for example, “Sleeps that till the Morning bind” and “nights yet loos’d from care” encourage sex and partying without repercussions (Lyttelton 69). To Martial, a working writer, this lifestyle was largely a dream; but such debauchery was standard in Charles II’s court, and the king largely exemplified Martial’s carefree ideal (Sullivan 112). For a wealthy woman, who was largely at leisure at home, Lyttelton would be similarly idle, although nowhere near as lewd.

The requirement of “a sober” spouse, however, runs contrary to Charles II’s rogue lifestyle,

Figure 1. (Top) Excerpt from Lyttelton’s commonplace book, page 44.

Figure 2. (Bottom) Excerpt from Lyttelton’s commonplace book, page 93.

but perhaps Fanshawe keeps the original text here as an ironic, humorous device (Lyttelton 69). Meanwhile for Lyttelton, who married Captain George Lyttelton in 1680 during the commonplace book’s writing, the calls for marriage as the gateway to a good life would have rang true since their union was described as a “happy match” (Burke, “Contexts” 317). Marriage also brings to mind Lyttelton ’s own parents and again recalls her mother’s memory, embedded into the commonplace book. Lyttelton’s other selected texts in the commonplace book also include multiple that she read with her father, Sir Thomas Browne, including “The books which my daughter Elizabeth hath read unto me at nights” and “Fearfully beholds in glass” (Lyttelton 44, Fig. 1; Lyttelton 93, Fig. 2), a poem written by Browne. These frequent mentions of her father thus highlight Lyttelton’s opinion of family and marital bliss as integral to overall happiness and well-being.

Lyttelton also edits punctuation in “A Happy Life out of Martiall” to place additional emphasis on key words and further tie happiness to monarchical strength and pastoral life. To reinforce existing class divides, Fanshawe endorses “Clean strength, not such as his that plows,” indicating that “strength” does not come from the working people’s brawn, but through divinely ordained, royal authority (Lyttelton 69). Lyttelton makes only minor changes throughout her transcription of Fanshawe’s text, primarily eliminating his punctuation. Here, however, Lyttelton uncharacteristically keeps Fanshawe’s comma following “strength” intact. The only other commas in the epigram follow “Martiall,” “Feild,” and “body” (Lyttelton 69). The comma’s rarity thus places special emphasis on the words they follow. These highlighted four words, in turn, focus attention on human strength and the natural environment—which reminds the reader of Martial’s overarching message of happiness through leisurely, pastoral life. Lyttelton’s lack of punctuation perhaps also recalls scriptio continua, the Roman practice of not using spacing or punctuation, but her revision also eliminates Fanshawe’s caesurae and choppiness (Gayrilov). Without many commas, Lyttelton’s version is more flowing and mirrors the steady passage of time to recall the human lifespan of which Martial writes. In emphasizing “clean power,” specifically, Fanshawe again makes a political argument. On a facile level, he looks down upon the seemingly dirty lower class, but “clean” also stresses how Charles II’s new authority is innocent and honest to fight back against Whig critiques of Stuart corruption. Fanshawe’s pure description asserts that not only is the monarchy worthy of being reinstated, but Charles II is

a model of the happy, uncorrupted life that Martial describes (OED). While Lyttelton would have agreed with such notions as a royalist, “strength” for her also implies mental acuity. As an upper-class woman, her strength, like her mother’s, is manifested not through hard labor but intellectual pursuits, such as writing this commonplace book. Furthermore, growing up in a “lively and stimulating household,” happiness from “clean strength,” rather than manual labor, may also recall her own father or brothers—who found their power through education—or her husband, a diplomat (Nelson 80; Morris).

Despite the poem’s emphasis on worldly experiences in the preceding lines, Lyttelton and Fanshawe alter the final couplet to Christianize Martial’s description of death. Martial refers to death as “summum diem” or the final, greatest day (Gardner). Writing in pagan Rome, Martial did not hold the Christian belief of Heaven or Hell, and life in the epigram concludes with emphasis on the last, greatest day rather than what comes next. Fanshawe echoes Martial’s sentiment not to fear nor long for death, but instead phrases his message as, “Death neither wish nor fear to see” (Lyttelton 69). Fanshawe personifies death as a physical object or destination “to see,” which stresses the Christian belief that someone or someplace follows mortal life. His English conclusion also lacks the object “it,” and leaves what one “see[s]” at the end of life intentionally ambiguous to stress that those living have the ability to shape their fate and determine whether the sight is Heaven or Hell. Additionally, Lyttelton removes Fanshawe’s period at the end of the epigram to stress the soul’s continuation into the afterlife—a comforting thought for someone whose mother has recently died. Martial’s final verse comes on the 13th line, but Fanshawe adds a line earlier in the poem to mimic the sonnet structure and remove the unchristian ending, since 13 is a number reminiscent of Judas, the 13th guest at the Last Supper (Roach). Instead, Fanshawe concludes on the 14th line; Matthew 1:12–17 notes, “So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and from David until the carrying away into Babylon are fourteen generations; and from the carrying away into Babylon unto Christ are fourteen generations” (“Matthew 1”). Fourteen thus serves as a link between Jesus and his ancestors, and 14 lines of verse place the readers within this holy lineage to remind them of the happiness in divine salvation.

Continuing the religious theme, Lyttelton shifts to a series of excerpts on Martin Luther from John Fox’s Book of Martyrs less than thirty pages later. In “The Prayer of Luther at his death,” Lyttelton transcribes the German theologian’s final conversation with God, in which Luther implies on his deathbed that happiness comes from a personal connection to Christ. Luther’s form juxtaposes sharply with Martial’s jovial verse and instead appears as prose excerpts divided into three sections—representing Luther’s life on earth, his passing, and legacy. In Lyttelton’s excerpt, Luther begins, “My heavenly Father, Eternall, & Mercyfull God, thou hast Manifested unto mee thy deare Sonne, our Lord Jesus Christ” (Lyttelton 98). Although Luther’s message opens generically like many prayers, his tone still feels extemporaneous, humble, and

“I love him as my Life”: Nuance through Lutheran piety

from the heart. The lack of showy rhetoric, rigid structure, rhyme, and meter focuses attention instead on Luther’s emotion and vulnerability with God. Luther’s inclusion also reveals a more intimate side of Lyttelton. While the Martial poem emphasizes and upholds class hierarchies, Luther’s work is not concerned with politics; rather, he dissolves such demarcations when calling God “my heavenly father.” The only “Lord” here is Christ, as Luther ignores any loyalty to the crown. Luther continues on, “I have taught him, I have known him, I love him as my Life, my health, and my redemption” (Lyttelton 98). The asyndeton makes Luther’s prayer feel free

flowing, unstructured, and raw to emphasize his vulnerability with God. Again, the message his highly personal with the repetition of “I” and “my,” and the intimacy parallels Protestant teachings that emphasize the personal relationship with God. The symploce of “I…him, I…him, I… him” furthers the interconnection of God and man. To the commonplace book’s omnipresent questions—what constitutes a good life, and how is it achieved—Luther answers plainly; “I love him as my Life” sets forth a definition of existence as inextricably rooted in faith. Luther does not dwell on Martial and Fanshawe’s epicurean follies but instead focuses attention on his realization that a good life cannot exist without God. As a Protestant herself, the sentiment would resonate with Lyttelton, who shares Luther’s message to aid readers in seeking salvation, too.

For Luther himself, however, God’s path is clear. As Luther approaches death, he continues to trust in God and the scripture to maintain tranquility and purpose. Before passing away, Luther speaks directly to his creator, saying, “I commend my Spirit into thy hands, thou hast redeemed me” (Lyttelton 98). As Martial’s epigraph encourages, Luther neither seeks nor fears death (Lyttelton 69). As a devout man, Luther blindly trusts in God, knowing that whatever the outcome, he will be safe in divine “hands.” Luther then nearly identically quotes John 3:16 and adds, “God so loved the world, that he gave his onely Sonne; that all those that believe in him, should have Life ever Lasting” (Lyttelton 98). Luther thus becomes an extension of the Bible and internalizes the Christian doctrine so deeply that it becomes part of his vernacular.1 Lyttelton then includes a line break, symbolizing Luther’s departure from Earth into Heaven, and the sentence continues, “having repeated oftimes his Prayers, he was called to God” (Lyttelton 98). To Luther, death is a peaceful invitation, a mere call “to God,” because he believes in Christ

Unlike Martial’s grand, pastoral life of leisure, Luther’s example promotes caring for the “wretched” because unlike Martial, Luther sees all people as children of God.

1 King James Bible writes John 3:16 as, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (“John 3:16”).

Figure 3. (Above) Inside cover of Lyttelton’s commonplace book.

Figure 4. (Right) “The Prayer of Luther at his death,” Lyttelton’s commonplace book, page 98.

so “Faythfully.” Rewarded for leading a good life of devotion and sharing God’s word, Luther “noe doubt” enters “the blessed Society of the Patriarcks Prophets and Apostles,” with likeminded, good, religious predecessors. “Patriarck” comes from the Latin pater, or father, so piety is not only a devotion to God, but to family, too—a connection Lyttelton also establishes in the Martial text to allude to her own father. Thus, Luther’s successful life on earth continues in Heaven, just as Fanshawe concludes his translation with a focus on seeing God (Lyttelton 69).

By recording Luther’s prayer on paper, Lyttelton upholds him as a model for others seeking fulfillment in life and encourages readers to find happiness through faith, too. Luther’s legacy on earth thus lives on, just as the prayer continues despite his passing. Lyttelton’s excerpt concludes with a call to action: “let us now Love the memory of this man and the doctrine that he hath taught, let us Learn to be modest and meek, let us Consider the wretched” (Lyttelton 98). Happiness for Luther’s followers comes through loving his “memory” and “doctrine” as he becomes a Christ-like figure. His example teaches Lyttelton and her readers that true happiness is achieved through interpersonal relationships. Unlike Martial’s grand, pastoral life of leisure, Luther’s example promotes caring for the “wretched,” because unlike Martial, Luther sees all people as children of God. The call, “let us Learn,” is well suited for a somewhat educational text like the commonplace book, and the collective “us” creates a united community of Luther’s followers. This Christian collective is similar to Martial’s “equall Friends agreeing ever,”

but Luther’s followers instead achieve happiness through agreeing on shared Christian values (Lyttelton 69).

Although the messages in “A Happy Life out of Martiall” and “The Prayer of Luther at his death” sometimes seem at odds, Lyttelton includes both literary works both to stress how questions of what constitutes a good life and how is it achieved interest people across time and place—a purpose especially suited for the commonplace genre that inherently encourages diverging ideas to come together in the same text. By including a diverse, sometimes contradictory, range of thinkers and their writings, Lyttelton also exposes her own intellectual curiosity and how she is able to place disparate philosophies in conversation. For her, there is not one clearly defined path to follow, but she instead incorporates varied ideologies as she reads and transcribes more.

Martial’s classical Roman epigraph, its early modern English rewrite by Fanshawe, Luther’s German prayer, and Lyttelton’s commonplace book as a whole thus serve as educational tools to enlighten those still living about how to continue on. While Martial’s poem focuses on worldly delights and Luther’s prayer ignores such pursuits completely, both stress the overreaching influence of God as a force for good and explain how faith makes a life, both in the earthly and eternal sense, fulfilling. Both reflections on the good life reflect upon the end of life in particular; Martial concludes with the message not to fear or seek death, and Luther says his prayer on his death bed. Thus, for many, important reflections on life come too late—or perhaps they are only able to reflect on mortality once life has reached its end. Both works put individual existence into perspective, just as Lady Dorothy Browne’s passing likely forced Lyttelton to reckon with these questions of mortality herself. Lyttelton’s commonplace book is thus a manifestation of her own thoughts following the tragic event and helps to guide others through the confusion inherent to life, using diverse literature as a teaching tool towards spiritual clarity and lived joy. //

Overlapping roads to happiness

Works Cited

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