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The Diary of Samuel Pepys #5
Diary of Samuel Pepys - Complete 1664 N.S.
This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery.
284 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 1, 1971
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About the author
Samuel Pepys
986 books73 followersSamuel Pepys was an English naval administrator and Member of Parliament, who is now most famous for his diary. Although Pepys had no maritime experience, he rose by patronage, hard work and his talent for administration, to be the Chief Secretary to the Admiralty under King James II. His influence and reforms at the Admiralty were important in the early professionalization of the Royal Navy.
The detailed private diary he kept during 1660–1669 was first published in the nineteenth century, and is one of the most important primary sources for the English Restoration period. It provides a combination of personal revelation and eyewitness accounts of great events, such as the Great Plague of London, the Second Dutch War and the Great Fire of London.
His surname is usually pronounced /'pi:ps/ ('peeps').
The detailed private diary he kept during 1660–1669 was first published in the nineteenth century, and is one of the most important primary sources for the English Restoration period. It provides a combination of personal revelation and eyewitness accounts of great events, such as the Great Plague of London, the Second Dutch War and the Great Fire of London.
His surname is usually pronounced /'pi:ps/ ('peeps').
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
January 2, 2016
"take it from me never to trust too much to any man in the world, for you put yourself into his power; and the best-seeming friend and real friend as to the present may have or take occasion to fall out with you; and then out comes all."
-- Lord Sandwich, quoted to Samuel Pepys, July 15, 1664.
The fifth volume (1664, with 132,000 words) contains such an amazing blend of those very human desires, human follies, and human wisdom that it keeps pulling me back volume after volume, day after day, page after page. There are times when I read about his multiple affairs with women, his fixation on money and status, that I think Pepys, while interesting, is just a son-of-a-bitch who would do well and fit in wherever he landed. However, his genuine curiosity, his integrity (minus the occasional small graft and dalliance with the ladies) reminds me that there is an actual heart beating in that social climber. He loves books, loves his job, loves food, loves theatre, and just happens to also like the occasional strange. Oh, and the year ended with a big comet, so next year might not end as well as this one.
Some of my favorite passages from Vol 5:
A prophet is without honor only in his hometown
January 27, 1664:
He shewed finely whence it happens that good writers are not admired by the present age; because there are but few in any age that do mind anything that is abstruse and curious; and so longer before any body do put the true praise, and set it on foot in the world, the generality of mankind pleasing themselves in the easy delights of the world, as eating, drinking, dancing, hunting, fencing, which we see the meanest men do the best, those that profess it. A gentleman never dances so well as the dancing master, and an ordinary fiddler makes better musique for a shilling than a gentleman will do after spending forty, and so in all the delights of the world almost.
Helping a bitch out
March 22, 1664:
Up, and spent the whole morning and afternoon at my office, only in the evening, my wife being at my aunt Wight’s, I went thither, calling at my own house, going out found the parlour curtains drawn, and inquiring the reason of it, they told me that their mistress had got Mrs. Buggin’s fine little dog and our little bitch, which is proud at this time, and I am apt to think that she was helping him to line her, for going afterwards to my uncle Wight’s, and supping there with her, where very merry with Mr. Woolly’s drollery, and going home I found the little dog so little that of himself he could not reach our bitch, which I am sorry for, for it is the finest dog that ever I saw in my life, as if he were painted the colours are so finely mixed and shaded. God forgive me, it went against me to have my wife and servants look upon them while they endeavoured to do something …
March 23, 1664
Up, and going out saw Mrs. Buggin’s dog, which proves as I thought last night so pretty that I took him and the bitch into my closet below, and by holding down the bitch helped him to line her, which he did very stoutly, so as I hope it will take, for it is the prettiest dog that ever I saw.
A Man Made for Twitter
October 18, 1664
"that Sir Ellis Layton is, for a speech of forty words, the wittiest man that ever he knew in his life, but longer he is nothing, his judgment being nothing at all, but his wit most absolute."
Here are my other Pepys diary reviews:
Vol 1: 1660, 117,000 words
Vol 2: 1661, 84,000 words
Vol 3: 1662, 105,000 words
Vol 4: 1663, 159,000 words
Vol 6: 1665, 121,000 words
Vol 7: 1666, 151,000 words
Vol 8: 1667, 201,000 words
Vol 9: 1668, 128,000 words; 1669, 52,500 words
-- Lord Sandwich, quoted to Samuel Pepys, July 15, 1664.
The fifth volume (1664, with 132,000 words) contains such an amazing blend of those very human desires, human follies, and human wisdom that it keeps pulling me back volume after volume, day after day, page after page. There are times when I read about his multiple affairs with women, his fixation on money and status, that I think Pepys, while interesting, is just a son-of-a-bitch who would do well and fit in wherever he landed. However, his genuine curiosity, his integrity (minus the occasional small graft and dalliance with the ladies) reminds me that there is an actual heart beating in that social climber. He loves books, loves his job, loves food, loves theatre, and just happens to also like the occasional strange. Oh, and the year ended with a big comet, so next year might not end as well as this one.
Some of my favorite passages from Vol 5:
A prophet is without honor only in his hometown
January 27, 1664:
He shewed finely whence it happens that good writers are not admired by the present age; because there are but few in any age that do mind anything that is abstruse and curious; and so longer before any body do put the true praise, and set it on foot in the world, the generality of mankind pleasing themselves in the easy delights of the world, as eating, drinking, dancing, hunting, fencing, which we see the meanest men do the best, those that profess it. A gentleman never dances so well as the dancing master, and an ordinary fiddler makes better musique for a shilling than a gentleman will do after spending forty, and so in all the delights of the world almost.
Helping a bitch out
March 22, 1664:
Up, and spent the whole morning and afternoon at my office, only in the evening, my wife being at my aunt Wight’s, I went thither, calling at my own house, going out found the parlour curtains drawn, and inquiring the reason of it, they told me that their mistress had got Mrs. Buggin’s fine little dog and our little bitch, which is proud at this time, and I am apt to think that she was helping him to line her, for going afterwards to my uncle Wight’s, and supping there with her, where very merry with Mr. Woolly’s drollery, and going home I found the little dog so little that of himself he could not reach our bitch, which I am sorry for, for it is the finest dog that ever I saw in my life, as if he were painted the colours are so finely mixed and shaded. God forgive me, it went against me to have my wife and servants look upon them while they endeavoured to do something …
March 23, 1664
Up, and going out saw Mrs. Buggin’s dog, which proves as I thought last night so pretty that I took him and the bitch into my closet below, and by holding down the bitch helped him to line her, which he did very stoutly, so as I hope it will take, for it is the prettiest dog that ever I saw.
A Man Made for Twitter
October 18, 1664
"that Sir Ellis Layton is, for a speech of forty words, the wittiest man that ever he knew in his life, but longer he is nothing, his judgment being nothing at all, but his wit most absolute."
Here are my other Pepys diary reviews:
Vol 1: 1660, 117,000 words
Vol 2: 1661, 84,000 words
Vol 3: 1662, 105,000 words
Vol 4: 1663, 159,000 words
Vol 6: 1665, 121,000 words
Vol 7: 1666, 151,000 words
Vol 8: 1667, 201,000 words
Vol 9: 1668, 128,000 words; 1669, 52,500 words
August 26, 2020
Oh Samuel... I brag about him in bookclub and a couple of days later he goes and punches his wife in the eye right before New Year's Eve...
July 20, 2012
From BBC Radio 4:
It's 1664 and Sam starts the year with a family visit to a coffee house. As time progresses, however, his trips around London have a more salacious purpose, as his thoughts turn increasingly towards the ladies in his life. The neighbourhood, meanwhile, suffers some serious crimes: a local criminal mastermind is caught and hanged. Sam goes to the hanging, and balances on a cartwheel to get a good view - but is sorry to see it. Sam hears of a rape which is hushed up because the perpetrators are attendants to the Queen Mother. Then other news arrives - that Sam's brother Tom has been taken seriously ill.
It's 1664 and Sam starts the year with a family visit to a coffee house. As time progresses, however, his trips around London have a more salacious purpose, as his thoughts turn increasingly towards the ladies in his life. The neighbourhood, meanwhile, suffers some serious crimes: a local criminal mastermind is caught and hanged. Sam goes to the hanging, and balances on a cartwheel to get a good view - but is sorry to see it. Sam hears of a rape which is hushed up because the perpetrators are attendants to the Queen Mother. Then other news arrives - that Sam's brother Tom has been taken seriously ill.
April 5, 2021
Godammit, Pepys. This book is full of charming anecdotes, mixed with inadvisable visits with various ladies (and plenty of dry day-to-day minutia) but it ends with him giving his wife a black eye in a run of the mill fight, and sure, whatever, he "feels bad" about it, but also he isn't really sorry, and it's just all so depressing. BUT, I'll keep reading, because this is such a fantastic insight into one man's 1660's mind.
July 15, 2013
Quite a troubled year for Pepys, at home there is quite a bit of tension between him and his wife and at one point this leads to him striking her, this has never happened in any account before and Pepys is ashamed as he mentions that his household staff witnessed it and he starts making excuses for her not to go out in public due to the mark on her face.
This may be due to stresses at work and in general as to the state of the country as there is war brewing with the Dutch and also rumours of plague victims so quite a tumultuous year, in political and domestic aspects.
Throughout the whole diary, war and the preparation for it is hinted at and towards the end of the year there is talk of a spring campaign for the next year.
Tensions at work is not helping matters with some of his colleagues and professional relationships affected so all in the country is facing a lot of problems and financial issues.
Still to a certain extent Pepys tries hard to keep up his usual way of life and the row with his wife is the real first sign of his losing control, there has been rows between them before but never to this extent.
There is talk of his usual pastimes of visiting his booksellers, mathmatics, music, plays and the usual and with Pepys expected little dalliances with pretty ladies.
All in all though i do find this one of his most serious diaries with more concentration on politics, war and work and less on home matters apart from engaging some new staff and less of personal enjoyment so as with any factual account the events narrated reflects the concerns and worries of that person's life at the time of writing.
This may be due to stresses at work and in general as to the state of the country as there is war brewing with the Dutch and also rumours of plague victims so quite a tumultuous year, in political and domestic aspects.
Throughout the whole diary, war and the preparation for it is hinted at and towards the end of the year there is talk of a spring campaign for the next year.
Tensions at work is not helping matters with some of his colleagues and professional relationships affected so all in the country is facing a lot of problems and financial issues.
Still to a certain extent Pepys tries hard to keep up his usual way of life and the row with his wife is the real first sign of his losing control, there has been rows between them before but never to this extent.
There is talk of his usual pastimes of visiting his booksellers, mathmatics, music, plays and the usual and with Pepys expected little dalliances with pretty ladies.
All in all though i do find this one of his most serious diaries with more concentration on politics, war and work and less on home matters apart from engaging some new staff and less of personal enjoyment so as with any factual account the events narrated reflects the concerns and worries of that person's life at the time of writing.
May 15, 2015
A war with the Dutch looms throughout this year. Pepys health much better which seemed to increase his lust for the ladies. What a jerk! He even hit his wife giving her a black eye at the end of the year. What a jerk! A comet appears in the sky in December which causes a bit of a stir in London town. All in all, kind of a dull year. Waiting for the plague year of 1665.
May 1, 2022
The Diary continues. In 1664 the war between the English and the Dutch heated up and towards the end of the year began to result in English losses. Discussion of war readiness dominated the Diary, since Pepys was employed by the Navy. But some unpleasant features of his personality also began to make themselves felt. He began to chase women frequently, and not always with their consent. And, his graft began to net him quite a bit of money. In the diary he talks about getting money and getting women frequently. One of the least savory incidents occurred on December 19, when he began to criticize his wife's household management, became angry and "I did strike her over her left eye such a blow, as the poor wretch did cry out and was in great pain". Of course he was sorry immediately afterward; but this did not stop him from chasing after Bagwell's wife the next day.
I confess Pepys has finally managed to disillusion me, and I'm not sure I'm going to press forward with 1665. I still give it 5 stars, because it is a historical treasure, and Pepys has his good points (he's a serious reader, for one thing) but his values leave a lot to be desired. Granted, he was a man of his time, but it's still difficult for this modern reader to stomach.
I confess Pepys has finally managed to disillusion me, and I'm not sure I'm going to press forward with 1665. I still give it 5 stars, because it is a historical treasure, and Pepys has his good points (he's a serious reader, for one thing) but his values leave a lot to be desired. Granted, he was a man of his time, but it's still difficult for this modern reader to stomach.
September 28, 2016
Enjoyable mix of politics, London life, domestic details (rather earthy sometimes). The office intrigues are glossed over a bit but it is clear that backhanders were very much the order of the day. The seventeenth century equivalent of today's "revolving door", perhaps? Samuel Pepys doesn't seem to mind recording things which others would think embarrassing - his increasing tendency to womanise (occasionally recorded in French, but not presumably for secrecy, as it is hardly a secret language: his shorthand would probably have kept the contents hidden from his wife). Not very impressed by his finishing the year giving his wife a black eye, and this clearly wasn't acceptable even then, as he spends the final week of the year making excuses for her not appearing in public because of it.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews