Diary of Samuel Pepys — Volume 16: May/June 1662 — Edition Insights

A Journey and Its Undercurrents

The opening entries (May 1–2) show Pepys in motion, both physically and socially. He notes the hot weather, washes himself upon arrival, and visits Dr. Clerke's lady, where he feels out of countenance among fine ladies. His self-consciousness—'could hardly carry myself like a man among them'—is a recurring theme. The journey also includes a telling exchange: Pen asks for 'a grain or two' of confidence, and Pepys retorts that Pen is better stored. This small quarrel foreshadows the office politics that dominate later entries.

Office Politics and Personal Gains

By mid-May, the diary shifts to the Admiralty office, where Pepys maneuvers for advantage. On May 12, he secures a vote about issuing warrants, pleased that colleagues do not 'smell the use I intend to make of it.' A heated dispute between Carteret and Coventry over the Victualler's account threatens to reach the King and Council. Pepys stays neutral, focusing on his own interests. His pleasure in ruling lines and writing capital words in red ink for his Alphabet book shows a meticulous, almost childish delight in order and control.

Domestic Details and Family News

Pepys interleaves office business with domestic life. On May 11, he pays a painter £3 for varnishing his and his wife's pictures. A letter from his father reports his mother's recovery, but Pepys is vexed that his sister Pall exaggerated her illness, forcing his father to hurry back to the country. On May 12, he tries on a new riding cloth suit with close knees, the first of its kind. The longest day of the year (old style) prompts him to send his people to bed by daylight—a small, characteristic gesture of control over his household.

Reading and Reflection

On May 13, Pepys rises at 4 a.m. to read Cicero's Second Oration against Catiline, which pleases him exceedingly. He admits his previous ignorance, now seeing Cicero as 'as good a writer as ever I read in my life.' This moment of intellectual self-improvement contrasts with the petty office politics. He then visits Carteret to offer help against Coventry, learning of past parliamentary intrigues. The entry shows Pepys balancing self-education with strategic alliance-building, a pattern that gives the diary its texture of ambition and curiosity.

The excerpts from May and June 1662 capture Pepys at a moment of consolidation: advancing his career, managing relationships, and recording daily life with unsparing honesty. Readers should attend to the interplay between public events and private reactions, as well as the recurring motifs of money, status, and self-improvement. The diary's value lies not in grand narrative but in the accumulation of small, telling details—a new suit, a quarrel, a book read at dawn.

I’ve often thought May and June of '62—all that jostling ambition and Portsmouth mud—reads like a young man’s first breath in the world. Yet the kinship with October of '64 is the quiet echo of that same restlessness settling into the bones. What was noise becomes habit, a softer, older ache. Diary of Samuel Pepys — Volume 31: October/November 1664 — Background and Themes, they sit on my shelf like two letters written in the same hand.