ABSTRACT
The depth of M ildred Cecil’s skills in Greek are amply seen in surviving evidence: the letter she wrote to the Fellows of St John’s College, Cambridge; the poem she contributed to the presentation copy of Bartholo Sylva’s G iardin o cosm ograph ico cu ltiva tor her translation of Basil the G reat’s sermon on a passage from Deuteronomy; book dedications, and comments from contem poraries .5 M ildred Cecil was equally at home in Latin: a letter written in 15 7 3 to her cousin, the Lord Deputy of Ireland, gave him political advice based on a realistic assessment of the situation he faced .6 The
dedications to M ildred Cecil focus on her learning: Fulwell in 1576 refers modestly to his book as ‘so slender a present to so learned a lady’, and Ocland, in choosing to dedicate a Latin version of his poems to her in 15 8 2 , refers to her erudition in Greek and Latin .7 H adrianus Junius, author of a series of ‘Em blem ata’, seeking a favour from William Cecil in 15 6 8 , added a series of verses to his letter and chose to include poetry in praise of M ildred with that dedicated to her husband. Although flattery was at the heart of his purpose, his choice of language is interesting. He emphasized M ildred Cecil’s learning: women have been silent for a long while, he wrote, but she is ‘the kind of companion in this assembly worthy to be read’, and, he concluded, ‘let all of us poets prepare incense and altars for Cecil’s wife, who has been added to the number of the M uses ’ .8
