The end of Notebook D is in sight! For our September-October 2024 challenge, we’re exploring the last four pages – including one particularly tricky final page.
So far, in our transcription of Notebook D we have found extracts from three different works by the philosopher Sydney Smith and one from an unknown source, in the following order:
- 01 blank page
- 02 Spring Guns and Man Traps (final sentences of the essay)
- 03 blank page
- 04 On the Beautiful (3 sentences from the middle of the essay)
Spring Guns and Man Traps (sentences immediately preceding the final ones on page 2) - 05 I Would Not Live Always (starting at shorthand line 7)
- 06 On the Beautiful (immediately precedes page 04)
- 07 I Would Not Live Always (continues from page 05)
- 08 On the Beautiful (immediately precedes page 06)
- 09 I Would Not Live Always (continues from page 07)
- 10 On the Beautiful (immediately precedes page 08)
- 11 I Would Not Live Always (continues from page 09)
- 12 On the Beautiful (immediately precedes page 10)
- 13 I Would Not Live Always (continues from page 11)
- 14 On the Beautiful (immediately precedes page 12)
- 15 I Would Not Live Always (continues from page 13)
- 16 lines 1+2 unknown source; lines 3-18 On the Beautiful (immediately precedes page 14)
- 17 I Would Not Live Always (continues from page 15)
- 18 unknown source
- 19 I Would Not Live Always (continues from page 17)
- 20 unknown source
- 21 I Would Not Live Always (continues from page 19)
- 22 unknown source
- 23 I Would Not Live Always (continues from page 21)
- 24 unknown source
- 25 I Would Not Live Always (continues from page 23)
- 26 unknown source
- 27 Spring Guns and Man Traps (precedes the text on 04 and 02 by about one page)
- 28 unknown source
For our September-October 2024 Notebook D challenge, we are moving on to pages 29, 30, 31 and 32. Page 32 is the final page of the notebook.
Remember:
- On the Beautiful has now been completed; it started at page 16, l.2, then continued on pages 14, 12, 10, 08, 06, ending on 04.
- I Would Not Live Always seems to be going forwards on alternate pages.
- We have already seen parts of Spring Guns and Man Traps on pages 02 and 04 and 27.
- We have completely new text on pages 16, 18, 20, 22, 24, 26 and 28. These pages look like they are a single consecutive text taken from a single source, but we have not yet found the source!
Resources
Explore the ‘Man Traps and Spring Guns’ essay here. ‘On the Beautiful’ (which comes in three parts) can be found here. You can find the sermon, ‘I Would Not Live Always’ here.
Please complete as much of the entry form as you can and email us your solutions by 31 October 2024.
Download an entry form
The same file is provided in .docx and .pdf for your convenience.