Amos Simon Cottle (1766–1800) was an English translator and poet. His publications include, ''Icelandic poetry or The Edda of Sæmund'' which was first printed in 1797 with

Robert Southey Robert Southey (; 12 August 1774 – 21 March 1843) was an English poet of the Romantic poetry, Romantic school, and Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom, Poet Laureate from 1813 until his death. Like the other Lake Poets, William Wordsworth an ...

as a co-author.

Life

The elder brother of the author

Joseph Cottle Joseph Cottle (1770–1853) was an English publisher and author. Cottle started business in Bristol. He published the works of Samuel Taylor Coleridge and Robert Southey on generous terms. He then wrote in his ''Early Recollections'' an exposur ...

, he was born in

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( , ; abbreviated Glos.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire ...

. He received a classical education at Mr. Henderson's school at

Hanham Hanham is in the unitary authority of South Gloucestershire, adjacent to, but not within the City of Bristol. It became a civil parish on 1 April 2003. The post code area of Hanham is BS15. The population of this civil parish taken at the 2 ...

, near

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

, and subsequently as a mature student at

Magdalene College, Cambridge Magdalene College ( ) is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1428 as a Benedictine hostel, in time coming to be known as Buckingham College, before being refounded in 1542 as the College of St Mary ...

, taking his B.A. degree in 1799. He died at his chambers in

Clifford's Inn Clifford's Inn is the name of both a former Inn of Chancery in London and a present mansion block on the same site. It is located between Fetter Lane and Clifford's Inn Passage (which runs between Fleet Street and Chancery Lane) in the City of ...

on 28 September 1800.

Works

His principal work is ''Icelandic Poetry, or the Edda of Saemund, translated into English verse'', Bristol, 1797. It is not stated whether the translation is made from the original Icelandic or from a Latin version; it is not faithful nor vigorous. It is preceded by a critical introduction, and a poetical address from Southey to the author, which contains the panegyric of

Mary Wollstonecraft Mary Wollstonecraft ( , ; 27 April 175910 September 1797) was an English writer and philosopher best known for her advocacy of women's rights. Until the late 20th century, Wollstonecraft's life, which encompassed several unconventional ...

, ‘who among women left no equal mind.’ She died on 10 September 1797, and Cottle's preface is dated on 1 November. His final work, the blank-verse epic poem ''Alfred the Great'' (written in twenty-four books, after the

Iliad The ''Iliad'' (; , ; ) is one of two major Ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the ''Odyssey'', the poem is divided into 24 books and ...

and

Odyssey The ''Odyssey'' (; ) is one of two major epics of ancient Greek literature attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest surviving works of literature and remains popular with modern audiences. Like the ''Iliad'', the ''Odyssey'' is divi ...

), was published in London in the year of his death. Other poems of Cottle, including one on missionary enterprise and a Latin ode on the French conquest of Italy, were published with his brother's ''Malvern Hills''.

References

;Attribution * 1766 births 1800 deaths English male poets Translators of the Poetic Edda 18th-century English translators {{England-poet-stub