Thomas May Lucan's Pharsalia 1627

<p>Lauded after his death as ''champion of the English Commonwealth'', but also derided as a ''most servile wit, and mercenary pen'', the poet, dramatist and historian Thomas May (<em>c</em>.1595-1650) produced the first full translation into English of Lucan''s <em>Bellum Ciuile</em> shortly before a ruinous civil war engulfed his own country. Lucan, whose epic had lamented the Roman Republic''s doomed struggle to preserve liberty and inevitable enslavement to the Caesars, and who was forced to commit suicide at the behest of the emperor Nero, was a figure of fascination in early modern Europe. May''s accomplished rendition of his challenging poem marked an important moment in the history of its English reception.  </p><p><br></p><p>This is a modernized edition of the first complete (1627) edition of the translation. It includes prefatory materials, dedications and May''s own historical notes on the text. Besides an introduction contextualising May''s life and work