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1) Ammianus (Ammiano, Ammianiana) –
COMPLETE – Vols I, II, and II out of set of 3 -- 325–395 d.C., was a soldier who served
under the governor Ursicino and the emperor Constanzo II, and later under the
emperor Giuliano, whom he admired and accompanied against the Alamanni and the
Persians. He settled in Roma, where he wrote in a history of the Roman empire,
"Rerum Gestsarum Libri XXXI" in the period 96–378 d.C.. Of these
31 books, only 14–31 (353–378 d.C.) survive, a remarkably accurate and
impartial record of his own times. Soldier though he was, Marcellino includes
economic and social affairs. He was broad-minded towards non-Romans and towards
Christianity. We get from him clear indications of causes of the fall of the
Roman empire.
2) Apuleius
(Auleio, Apuleiana)—Now in two
volumes: vol I: books 1-6. In “Le
metamorfosi”, also known as “L’assino
d’oro”, we have the only Latin novel which survives entire. It is truly
enchanting: a delightful romance combining realism and magic. The hero, Lucio,
eager to experience the sensations of a bird, resorts to witchcraft. But by an
unfortunate pharmaceutical error, Lucio finds himself transformed into an ass.
Lucio knows he can revert to his own human body by eating rose petals. However,
these prove singularly elusive. The bulk of "L'assino
d'oro" describes Lucio's adventures as an ass. Lucio retells
many stories that he overheard, the most charming being that of "Cupido
and Psiche" (that inspired Canova), beginning, in true fairy-tale fashion,
“erant in quadam civitate rex et regina”. Some of Lucio’s stories are as
indecent as they are witty, and two in book IX were deemed by
Boccaccio worthy of inclusion in the "Decameron". At last Iside takes
pity on Lucio. In a surprising denouement, Lucio is restored to human shape
and, now spiritually regenerated, is initiated into her mysteries. Apuleio’s
baroque style nicely matches his fantastic narrative and is guaranteed to hold
a reader’s attention from beginning to end.
3) Augustine
(Agostino, Agostiniana) – 3 volumes
out of set of 10. -- 354–430 d.C., the son of Patricio, a pagan. Agostino
was a rhetorician, plunged into a turmoil of philosophical and psychological
doubts in search of truth, joining for a time the Manichaean society. Agostino
became a teacher of grammar and lived much under the influence of a friend
Alipio. About 383 d.C., Agostino went to Roma as a rhetorician, being now
attracted by the philosophy of the sceptics and of the neo-platonists.
Agostino’s studies of Paul’s letters with Alipio and the preaching of Ambrosio
led in 386 to his rejection of all sensual habits and to his famous conversion
from mixed beliefs to Christianity. In 395 he became bishop of Ippona, and was
henceforth engrossed with controversy. Agostino died in Ippona during
the siege by the vandals. From Agostino’s large output Loeb offers that “Confessioni” in 2 vols. and “La città di dio” in 7 vols.
( which unfolds God’s action in the progress of the world’s history, and
propounds the superiority of Christian beliefs over pagan in adversity), and a
selection of “Letters” which are important for the study of ecclesiastical
history and Agostino’s relations with other theologians.
4) Ausonius
(Ausonio, Ausoniana) – Vol. I out of
set of 2.-- 310 –395 d.C., was the son of a doctor. After a good education in
rhetoric and a short period during which he was an advocate, he became a
rhetorician himself. Among his students was Paulino (later Bishop of Nola); and
he seems to have become some sort of Christian himself. Ausonio was called by
emperor Valentiniano to be tutor to Graziano, who subsequently as emperor
conferred on him honours including a consulship. After Graziano’s murder,
Ausonio retired. Ausonio’s surviving works, some with deep feeling, some
composed it seems for fun, some didactic, include much poetry: poems about himself
and family, notably “The Daily Round”; epitaphs on heroes in the war of Troy,
memorials on Roman emperors, and epigrams on various subjects; poems about
famous cities and about friends and colleagues. “The Moselle,” a description of
that river, is among the most admired of his poems. There is also an address of
thanks to Graziano for the consulship. The second volume includes
"Eucharisticus" by Paulino Pelleo.
5) Bede
(Beda, Bediana) – COMPLETE – Vols I
and II out of set of 2 -- “the venerable,” was an English theologian and
historian, born in 672 d.C. in Wearmouth. He became deacon of the
monastery, where his whole life was spent in choral singing and studying. His
work was chiefly commentaries, mostly allegorical in method, based with
acknowledgment on Gerolamo, Agostino, Ambrosio, Gregorio, and others, but
bearing his own personality. In another class were works on grammar and one on
natural phenomena. Special interest in the vexed question of Easter led him to
write about the calendar and chronology. But Beda’s most admired production is
his "Ecclesiastical History of the English Nation". Here a clear and
simple style united with descriptive powers to produce an elegant work, and the
facts diligently collected from good sources make it a valuable account.
Historical also are Bede's "Lives of the Abbots" of his monastery,
the Letter to his pupil Egberto (dated 734), important for the knowledge
about the Church in Northumbria, and the less successful accounts (in verse and
prose) of Cuthbert.
6) Boethius
(Boezio, Boeziana) – 1 volume -- 480
- 524 d.C. was a philosopher. After the early death of his father, Boezio was
looked after by Simmaco. Boezio married Simmaco's daughter, by whom he had two
sons. All three men rose to high honours under Teodorico the Ostrogoth. But
Boezio fell from favour, was tried for treason, wrongly condemned, and
imprisoned at Pavia, where he wrote his renowned "La consolazione della
filosofia". He was was put to death to the great remorse of
Teodorico. Revered as a saint, his bones were removed in 996 to the Church of
S. Pietro in Ciel d’Oro, and later to the Cathedral. The tower in Pavia where
he was imprisoned is still venerated. Boezio's work includes commentaries on
Aristotle, a logic, 5 books on music. His “Consolation of Philosophy” is
the last example of purely literary Latin of ancient times — a mingling of
alternate dialogue and poems. He also wrote theological tractates.
7) Caesar (Giulio
Cesare, Cesariana) – Vols. I and II
out of set of 3 -- 102–44 a.C., soldier, defied Sulla; served in the
Mithridatic wars and in Spain; pushed his way in Roman politics as a democrat
against the Senate; was the real leader of the coalition with Pompeo and
Crasso; conquered all Gallia; attacked Britannia twice; was forced into civil
war; became master of the Roman world; and achieved wide-reaching reforms until
his murder. We have his books of "Commentarii": 8 on his Gallic
War (58–52 a.C.) including the two expeditions to Britannia (55–54) (I)
and 3 on the Civil wars (49–48) (II). These are records of his own
campaigns with occasional digressions in vigorous, direct, clear, unemotional
style and in the third person, the account of the civil war being somewhat more
impassioned. There's also commentaries on the Alexandrian War, the African War,
and the Spanish War, usually ascribed to Giulio Cesare (III).
8) Cato (Catone,
Catoniana) – COMPLETE 1 volume out of set of 1. 234–149
a.C., of Tusculum, was a soldier and the first important writer in Latin prose.
His speeches, works on jurisprudence and the art of war, his precepts to his
son on various subjects, and his great historical work on Roma are lost. But we
have Catone’s “De Agricultura”. Terse, severely wise, grimly humorous, “De
agricultura” gives rules in various aspects of a farmer’s economy, including
even medical and cooking recipes, and reveals interesting details of domestic
life. Of Varrone’s more than seventy works involving hundreds of volumes we
have only one on agriculture and country affairs ("Res Rustica" or
"Rerum Rusticarum") and part of his work on the Latin language
("De Lingua Latina"). Each of the three books of "Res
Rustica" begins with an effective mise en scène and uses dialogue to
talk about agriculture and farm management (I), sheep and oxen (II) and poultry
and the keeping of other animals large and small, including bees and fishponds
(III). There are lively interludes and a graphic background of political
events.
9) Catullus
(Catullo, Catulliana) – COMPLETE
-- 1 volume out of set of 1. 84–54 a.C., of Verona, went early to Rome, where
he associated with Cicerone and Ortensio. His poems consist of nearly 60
short lyrics, 8 longer poems in various metres, and almost 50
epigrams. All exemplify a strict technique of studied composition. In his work
we can trace his unhappy love for a woman he calls Lesbia; the death of his
brother; his visits to Bithynia; and his emotional friendships and enmities at
Rome. For consummate poetic artistry coupled with intensity of feeling
Catullo’s poems have no rival. Tibullo (54 circa–19 a.C.), of equestrian rank
and a friend of Orazio, enjoyed the patronage of Messalla, whom he several
times apostrophises. 3 books of elegies have come down to us under his
name, of which only the first two are authentic. In the elegies, Tibullo proclaims
his love for “Delia” (I), his passion for “Nemesis" (II),
and includes miscellany of poems from the archives of Messalla. It is very
doubtful whether any come from the pen of Tibullo himself. But a special
interest attaches to a group of them which concern a girl called Sulpicia. Some
of the poems are written by her lover Cerinto, while others purport to be her
own composition. The "Pervigilium Veneris", a poem of not quite a
hundred lines celebrating a spring festival in honour of Venere, is remarkable
for its beauty and as the first clear note of romanticism which transformed
classical into medieval literature. We have no clue as to its author, but
recent scholarship has made a strong case for attributing it to the early
fourth-century poet Tiberiano.
10) Celsus
(Celso, Celsiana) – Vol. I out of
set of 3 --- wrote during the reign of Tiberio (14–37 CE) an encyclopaedia
of agriculture, medicine, military arts, rhetoric, philosophy, and
jurisprudence (in that order of subjects). Of all of Celso's work
there survives only the 8 books, "de medicina". Celso was not a
professional doctor of medicine or a surgeon, but a layman whose medical
knowledge is partly a result of the medical treatment of his
household (slaves included). From no other source can we learn so much of the
condition of medical science up to his own time. After a survey of the three
schools (the dogmatic, the methodic, and the empiric) come sensible
dietetics or health preservation (I), Celso deals with prognosis, diagnosis of
symptoms, and therapeutics (II), internal ailments: fevers and
general diseases (III), local bodily diseases. Next come two
pharmacological books (V), treatment by drugs of general diseases (VI) and
Book 6: of local diseases, surgical operations, including amputation
(VII-VIII).
11) Cicero
(Cicerone, Ciceroniana) – 16 vols.
out of set of 30 --, 106–43 a.C., was a
philosopher, of whom we know more than of any other Roman. Cicerone lived
through the stirring era which saw the rise, dictatorship, and death
of Giulio Cesare in a tottering republic. In his speeches and in his
correspondence we see the excitement, tension and intrigue of politics and the
part he played in the turmoil of the time. Of about 106 speeches, delivered
before the Roman people and the Senate if they were political, before jurors if
judicial, 58 survive, a few of them incompletely. In the fourteenth century,
Petrarca discovered manuscripts containing more than 900 letters of which more
than 800 were written by Cicerone and nearly 100 by others to him. These afford
a revelation of the man all the more striking because most were not written for
publication. 6 rhetorical works survive and another in fragments.
Philosophical works include 7 extant major compositions. There is also poetry.
12) Claudian
(Claudiano, Claudianiana) –
0 volume out of set of 2 - was a poet of great affairs, who flourished during
the reign of Onorio, 394 d.C.. He lived in Rome and was a pagan, and the
court-poet. He wrote a panegyric on consuls Probino and Olibrio, hexameters in
praise of consulships of Onorio (395, 398, 404 CE), against the Byzantine
ministers Rufino (396) and Eutropio (399), in praise of the consulship (400) of
Stilicho (Honorius’s guardian, general, and minister), in praise of Stilicho’s
wife Serena, mixed metres on the marriage of Onorio to their daughter Maria, on
the war with the rebel Gildo in Africa (398), on the Getic or Gothic war (402),
on Stilicho’s success against Alarico (403), on the consulship of Manlio
Theodoro (399), on the wedding of Palladio and Celerina. Less important are his
"Rape of Proserpina". Noteworthy are Phoenix, Senex Veronensis,
elegiac prefaces, and the epistles, epigrams, and idylls. Through the patronage
of Stilicho or through Serena, married well and was granted a statue! Nothing
is known of him after 404. In his poetry are true poetic as well as rhetorical
skill, command of language, polished style, diversity, vigour, satire, dignity,
bombast, artificiality, flattery, and other virtues and faults of the earlier
“silver” age in Latin.
13) Columella
(Columella, Columelliana) –
0 volume out of set of 3 -- lived in the reigns of the first emperors to about
70 d.C. He owned farms and lived near Rome. He did military
service overseas and died in Tarentum. His “De Re Rustica” is the most
comprehensive, systematic and detailed of Roman agricultural works. It covers
choice of farming site; water supply; buildings; staff (I), ploughing;
fertilizing; care of crops (II), cultivation, grafting and pruning of fruit
trees, vines, and olives (III, IV, V), acquisition, breeding, and
rearing of oxen, horses, and mules; veterinary medicine (VI), sheep, goats,
pigs, and dogs (VII), poultry; fish ponds (VIII), bee-keeping (IX),
gardening (X), duties of the overseer of a farm, a calendar for farm work; more
on gardening (XI), and duties of the overseer’s wife; manufacture of wines;
pickling; preserving (XII). There is also a separate treatise on Trees
("De Arboribus"), on vines and olives and various trees, perhaps part
of an otherwise lost work written before "De re rustica".
14) Cornelius Nepos (Nepote, Nepotiana) – COMPLETE –
1 volume out of set of 1 -- was born in
Ostiglia, but lived in Rome and was a friend of Cicerone, Attico, and Catullo.
Most of his writings — poems, moral examples from history, a chronological
sketch of general history, a geographical work, and lives of Catone the Elder
and Cicerone and other biographies—are lost. Extant is a portion of his “De
Viris Illustribus”: (i) part of his parallel lives of Roman and non-Roman
famous men, namely the portion containing lives of non-Roman generals (all
Greeks except three) and a chapter on kings; and (ii) two lives from the class
of historians. The lives are short popular biographies of various kinds,
written in a usually plain readable style, of value today because of Nepote’s
use of many good sources.
15) Curtius
(Curzio, Curziana) – Vol. I out of set of 2 --was a rhetorician who lived in the first
century of the Roman empire, who, early in the reign of Claudio (41–54
CE), wrote a history of Alessandro the Great in 10 books in clear and picturesque
style. The first 2 books have not survived. The narrative begins with
events in 333 a.C.—and there is material missing from books V, VI and X.
One of Curzio’s main sources is Cleitarco who, about 300 a.C., had made
Alessandro’s career a matter of marvelous adventure. In his desire to
entertain and to stress the personality of Alessandro, Curzio elaborates
effective scenes, omits much that is important for history, and does not worry
about chronology. But he does not invent things, except speeches and
letters inserted into the narrative by traditional habit. “I copy more than I
believe,” he says. Three features of Curzio’s story are narrative of exciting
experiences, development of a hero’s character, and a disposition to moralize.
Curzio’s history is one of the five extant works on which we rely for the
career of Alexander the Great.
16) Florus
(Floro, Floriana) – COMPLETE – 1 volume out of set of 1 -- lived in Rome in Adriano’s time. He
wrote, in brief pointed rhetorical style, an Epitome of Roman history
(especially wars) in 2 books in order to show the decline of Roman morals. His
history is based chiefly on Livio. Floro’s history was perhaps planned to reach
his own times, but the work ends with Augusto’s reign, 30 a.C.–14 d.C.. The epitome
is a useful rapid sketch of Roman military history.
17) Frontinus
-- (Frontino, Frontiniana) COMPLETE – 1 vol. out of set of 1 -- 35–103
d.C., was a capable soldier officer, praetor of ROMA in 70 and consul in 73 or
74, 98 and 100, Frontino was, about the year 76, sent to Britannia as governor.
Frontino quelled the Silures of Wales, and began to build a road through their
territory. Frontino's place was taken by Agricola in 78. In 97 Frontino
was given the highly esteemed office of manager of Aqueducts in Rome. Frontino
is known to have been an augur, being succeeded by his friend Plinio il
Giovane. The two sides of Frontino’s public career are reflected in his
two surviving works. “Stratagemi” (in 4 books) ( 84 d.C.) gives
examples of military stratagems from Roman history (I, II, III) and military
discipline (IV). " De Aquis urbis Romae", written in 97
d.C. gives some historical details and a description of the aqueducts for
the water supply of Rome,
18) Fronto
(Frontone, Frontoniana) – Volume I out of set of 2 --, 100 -- 176
d.C., was a much admired rhetorician who was befriended by Antonino Pio
and taught his sons Marcaurelio and Lucio Vero —. His correspondence offers an
invaluable picture of culture in the second century. Frontone’s letters reveal
his strong stylistic views and dislike of Stoicism as well as his family joys
and sorrows. The letters portray the successes and trials of a prominent figure
in the palace, literary salons, the s enate, and law courts, and they give a
fascinating record of the relationship between the foremost teacher of his time
and his illustrious student Marcaurelio, his chief correspondent.
19) Gellius
(Gellio, Gelliana) – Volume
I out of set of 3 -- 123–170 d.C., is known almost wholly from his "Notti
Attiche", so called because the work was begun during the nights
of an Attic winter. The work, in 20 books (of Book VIII only the index is
extant) covers philosophy, history, biography, antiquities, law, literary
criticism, and lexicography, explanations of archaisms, and grammar. It is
valuable because of its many excerpts from authors whose works are lost; and
because of its evidence for people’s manners and occupations. Some of the
dramatic settings may be genuine.
20) Horace
(Orazio, Oraziana) –COMPLETE Two
volumes out of 2.-- b. 65 a.C., his poetry is richly varied, its focus
moving between public and private concerns, urban and rural settings, Stoic and
Epicurean thought. There's the Odes and Epodes, Orazio took pride in being the
first Roman to write a body of lyric poetry. His poems are set in a Roman
context. His four books of “Odes” cover a wide range of moods and topics. Some
are public poems, upholding the traditional values of courage, loyalty, and
piety; and there are hymns to the gods. But most of the odes are on private themes:
chiding or advising friends; speaking about love and amorous situations, often
amusingly. Orazio’s 17 “Epodes”, which he called "iambi", were
also an innovation for Roman literature. Love and political concerns are
frequent themes; here the tone is generally that of satirical lampoons. “In his
language he is triumphantly adventurous,” Quintilian said of Horace; this new
translation reflects his different voices.
21) Jerome
(Girolamo, Girolamiana) – 0 volume out of set of 1 -- 345–420, of Stridon, Dalmazia,
son of Christian parents, at Rome listened to rhetoricians, legal advocates,
and philosophers, and in 360 was baptized by Pope Liberio. Girolamo travelled
widely in Gaul and in Asia Minor; and turned in the years 373–379 to hermetic
life in Syria. Ordained presbyter at Antioch in 379 GIROLAMO went to
Constantinople, met Gregory of Nazianzus and advanced greatly in scholarship.
Girolamo was called to Rome in 382 to help Pope Damaso, at whose suggestion he
began his revision of the Latin translation of the Bible (which came to form
the core of the “Vulgata” version). Meanwhile Girolamo taught scripture and
Hebrew and monastic living to Roman women. Wrongly suspected of luxurious
habits, Girolamo left Rome (now under Pope Siricius) in 385, toured Palestine,
visited Egypt, and then settled in Bethlehem, presiding over a monastery and
(with help) translating the Old Testament from Hebrew. About 394 he met
Augustine. Girolamo died on 30 September 420. Girolamo’s letters constitute one
of the most notable collections in Latin literature. Girolamo’s letters are an
essential source for our knowledge of Christian life in the fourth–fifth
centuries; they also provide insight into one of the most striking and complex
personalities of the time. Seven of the eighteen letters in this selection deal
with a primary interest of Jerome’s: the morals and proper role of women. The
most famous letter here fervently extols virginity.
22) Juvenal
(Giovenale, Giovenaliana) – COMPLETE – 1 volume out of set of 1 -- 120 d.C.,
the bite and wit of two of antiquity’s best satirist are captured here.
Giovenale and Persio (34--62 d.C). were heirs to Lucilio and Orazio, with
literary and historical allusions that pepper the satirical poems—which were
clearly aimed at a sophisticated audience. Both GIOVENALE and PERSIO
adopt the mask of an angry man, and sharp criticism of the society in which
they live is combined with flashes of sardonic humor in their satires. Whether
targeting common and uncommon vices, the foolishness of prayers, the abuse of
power by emperors and the Roman elite, the folly and depravity of Roman wives,
or decadence, materialism, and corruption, their tone is generally one of
righteous indignation. Giovenale and Persio are seminal as well as stellar
figures in the history of satirical writing. Giovenale especially had a lasting
influence on English writers of the Renaissance and succeeding centuries.
23) Livy
(Livio, Liviana) – vols. II, V, VII and XI out of set of 14 -- is the great
Roman historian. He was born at Padova in 64 a. C. but he lived mostly in
Rome. Livio’s work is a history of Rome from the foundation of the city to 9
a.C. Only 35 survive, and short summaries of all the rest except
two. The whole "Storia" was, long after his death, divided into
“decades”. Books 1–10 we have entire. Books 11–20 are lost. Books –45 are
entire, except parts of 41 and 43–45. Of the rest only fragments and the
summaries remain. In splendid style, Livio — a man of wide sympathies and proud
of Rome’s past—presented an uncritical but clear and living narrative of the
rise of Rome to greatness.
24) Lucan (Lucano, Lucaniana) -- COMPLETE – 1 volume out of set of 1 -- 39–65
d.C., was the son of a wealthy man and nephew of Seneca. In 60 d.C.
at a festival in Nerone's honour Lucano praised him in a panegyric and was
promoted to one or two minor offices. But having defeated Nero in a poetry
contest, Lucano was interdicted from further recitals or publication, so
that 3 books of his "The Civil War" were not issued in 61 when
they were finished. By 65, Lucano was composing the Book X, but then became
involved in the unsuccessful plot of Pisone and by order took his own life.
Quintilian called Lucan a poet “full of fire and energy and a master of
brilliant phrases.” Lucano’s "The civil war" stands
next after Virgil’s "Eneide". Giulio Cesare looms as a
sinister character in a stormy chronicle in verse of the war
between him and the Republic’s forces under Pompeo, and later under Catone
in Africa — a chronicle of dramatic events carrying us from Cesare’s fateful
crossing of the Rubicon, through the Battle of Farsalia and the death
of Pompeo, to Cesare victorious in Egypt.
25) Lucretius (Lucrezio, Lucreziana) – COMPLETE
– 1 volume out of set of 1 -- 99–55 a.C.. The details of his career are
unknown. Lucrezio is the author of "De Rerum Natura", in 6 books
compounded of solid reasoning, brilliant imagination, and noble poetry,
Lucrezio expounds the scientific theories of the philosopher Epicuro, with the
aim of dispelling fear of the gods and fear of death and so enabling man to
attain peace of mind and happiness. Lucrezio establishes the general
principles of the atomic system, refutes the views of rival physicists, and
proves the infinity of the universe and of its two ultimate constituents,
matter and void (I), explains atomic movement, the variety of atomic
shapes, and argues that the atoms lack colour, sensation, and other secondary
qualities (II), expounds the nature and composition of mind and spirit,
proves their mortality, and argues that there is nothing to fear in death
(III), explains the nature of sensation and thought, and ends with an
impressive account of sexual love (IV), describes the nature and formation of
our world, astronomical phenomena, the beginnings of life on earth, and the
development of civilization (V), and explains various atmospheric and
terrestrial phenomena, including thunder, lightning, earthquakes, volcanoes,
the magnet, and plagues (VI).
26) Macrobius (Macrobio, Macrobiana) – 0
volume out of set of 3 -- His “Saturnalia” is an encyclopedic celebration of
Roman culture written in the early fifth century d.C., which has been prized
since the Renaissance as a treasure trove of otherwise unattested lore. Cast in
the form of a dialogue, it treats subjects as diverse as the divinity of the
Sun and the quirks of human digestion while showcasing Virgilio as the master
of all human knowledge from diction and rhetoric to philosophy and religion. A
full introduction places the work in its cultural context and analyzes its
construction, while indexes of names, subjects, and ancient works cited in both
text and notes make the work more readily accessible.
27) Manilius (Manilio, Maniliana) – 0
volume out of set of 1 -- lived in the reigns of Augusto and Tiberio, and is
the author of the earliest treatise on astrology we possess. His
"Astronomica" is a didactic poem in 5 books, which
begins with an account of celestial phenomena, and proceeds to treat of the
signs of the zodiac and the twelve temples. There follow instructions for
calculating the horoscoping degree, and details of chronocrators, decans,
injurious degrees, zodiacal geography, paranatellonta, and other technical
matters. Besides exhibiting great virtuosity in rendering mathematical tables
and diagrams in verse form, the poet writes with some passion about his Stoic
beliefs and shows much wit and humour in his character sketches of persons born
under particular stars. Perhaps taking a lead from Virgil in his
"Georgics", the "Astronomica" abandons the
proportions of his last book to narrate the story of Perseo and Andromeda
at considerable length. The "Astronomica" is a difficult work, and
this edition provides copious explanatory notes.
28) Marcellinus (Marcellino, Marcelliniana)
– COMPLETE – Vols I, II, and II out of set of 3 -- 325–395 d.C., was a soldier who served
under the governor Ursicino and the emperor Constanzo II, and later under the
emperor Giuliano, whom he admired and accompanied against the Alamanni and the
Persians. He settled in Roma, where he wrote in a history of the Roman empire,
"Rerum Gestsarum Libri XXXI" in the period 96–378 d.C.. Of these
31 books, only 14–31 (353–378 d.C.) survive, a remarkably accurate and
impartial record of his own times. Soldier though he was, Marcellino includes
economic and social affairs. He was broad-minded towards non-Romans and towards
Christianity. We get from him clear indications of causes of the fall of the
Roman empire.
29) Martial (Marziale, Marzialiana) – vols
I and II out of set of 3 -published a book of poems to celebrate the opening of
the Flavian amphitheatre in 80 d.C., “On the Spectacles.” Written with
satiric wit and a talent for the memorable phrase, the poems record the broad
spectacle of shows in the new arena. The great Latin epigrammist’s 12 subsequent
books capture the spirit of Roman life — both public and private — in vivid
detail. Fortune hunters and busybodies, orators and lawyers, schoolmasters and
street hawkers, jugglers and acrobats, doctors and plagiarists, beautiful
slaves, and generous hosts are among the diverse characters who populate his
verses. Marziale is a keen and sharp-tongued observer of Roman society. His pen
brings into crisp relief a wide variety of scenes and events: the theater and
public games, life in the countryside, a rich debauchee’s banquet, lions in the
amphitheater, the eruption of Vesuvius. The epigrams are sometimes obscene, in
the tradition of the genre, sometimes warmly affectionate or amusing, and
always pointed. Like his contemporary Stazio, though, Martial shamelessly
flatters his patron Domitian, one of Rome’s worst-reputed emperors. The Loeb
now gives us, in three volumes, a reliable modern translation of Martial’s
often difficult Latin, eliminating many misunderstandings in previous versions.
The text is mainly that of his highly praised Teubner edition of 1990.
30) Minor Latin Poets – 0 volumes out of
set of 2 -- The anthology covers a
period of four and a half centuries, It begins with Publilio Siro (who
flourished ca. 45 a.C.) and ends with Rutilio Namatiano recording a sea voyage
from Rome to Gaul in 416 d.C.. A wide variety of theme gives interest to the
poems: hunting in a poem of Grattio; an inquiry into the causes of volcanic
activity by the author of Aetna; pastoral poems by Calpurnio Siculo and by
Nemesiano; fables by Aviano; a collection of Dicta, moral sayings, as if by the
elder Catone; eulogy in Laus Pisonis; and the legend of the Fenice, a poem of
the fourth century.
32) Ovid
(Ovidio, Ovidiana) —Vols. I, II,
III, IV, and V -- out of set of 6 --43
a.C.–17 d.C., born at Sulmo, studied rhetoric and law in Roma. Later he
did considerable public service there, and otherwise devoted himself to poetry
and to society. Famous at first, Ovidio offended Augusto with his "Ars
Amatoria". Ovidio was banished because of this and dwelt in the cold and
primitive town of Tomis on the Black Sea. Ovidio continued writing poetry and
died in exile. Ovid’s main surviving works are: the "Metamorphoses",
a source of inspiration to artists and poets including Chaucer and Shakespeare,
the "Heroides", fictitious love letters by legendary women to absent
husbands and lovers, the "Amores" (elegies ostensibly about the
poet’s love affair with his mistress Corinna), the "Ars Amatoria",
not moral, but clever—and in parts, beautiful, the "Fasti" (a poetic
treatment of the Roman year of which Ovid finished only half) and the dismal
works written in exile: the "Tristia" (which appeals to persons
including his wife and also the emperor) and the " Epistulae ex
Ponto". Poetry came naturally to Ovid, who at his best is lively, graphic
and lucid. The Metropolitan Museum has a painting, “Ovid among the Scythians”.
33) Petronius
(Petronio, Petroniana) – COMPLETE –
1 volume out of set of 1 --who is reasonably identified with the author of the
famous satyric and satiric novel Satyricon, was a man of pleasure and of good
literary taste who flourished in the times of Claudio (41–54 d.C.) and Nerone
(54–68 d.C.). As Tacito describes him, Petronio used to sleep by day and attend
to official duties or to his amusements by night. At one time Petronio was
governor of the province of Bithynia in Asia Minor and was also a consul,
showing himself a man of vigour when this was required. Later he lapsed into
indulgence (or assumed the mask of vice) and became a close friend of Nerone.
Accused by jealous Tigellino of disloyalty and condemned, with self-opened
veins he conversed lightly with friends, dined, drowsed, sent to Nerone a
survey of Nerone’s s sexual deeds, and so died, 66 d.C..The surviving parts of
Petronio’s romance Satyricon mix philosophy and real life, prose and verse, in
a tale of the disreputable adventures of Encolpione and two companions, Ascylto
and Gitone. In the course of their wanderings the three attend a showy and
wildly extravagant dinner given by a rich freedman, Trimalchione, whose guests
talk about themselves and life in general. Other incidents are a shipwreck and
somewhat lurid proceedings in South Italy. The work is written partly in pure
Latin, but sometimes purposely in a more vulgar style. It parodies and
otherwise attacks bad taste in literature, pedantry and hollow society.
Apocolocyntosis (Pumpkinification) (as opposed to deification), is probably by
the wealthy philosopher and courtier Seneca (ca. 4 BCE–65 CE). It is a medley
of prose and verse and a political satire on the Emperor Claudius, written soon
after he died in 54 CE and was deified.
35) Plautus (Plauto, Plautoniana)—Vol. III
out of set of 5. In his rollicking comedies he brilliantly adapted Greek plays
for Roman audiences c. 205–184 a.C., are the earliest Latin works to
survive complete and are cornerstones of the European theatrical tradition from
Shakespeare and Molière to modern times. The edition of all 21 of Plautus’s
extant comedies (including "Casina", "Cistellaria",
"Curculio", "Epidicus", and "Menaechmi") are
presented with ample explanatory notes.
36) Pliny (Plinio maggiore, Pliniana)—vols. IX and X out of set of 10 -- 23–79 d.C., tireless researcher and writer,
is author of the encyclopedic Natural History, in 37 books, an unrivaled
compendium of Roman knowledge. The contents of the books are as follows: Book
1: Table of contents of the others and of authorities; Book 2: Mathematical and
metrological survey of the universe; Books 3–6: Geography and ethnography of
the known world; Book 7: Anthropology and the physiology of man; Books 8–11:
Zoology; Books 12–19: Botany, agriculture, and horticulture; Books 20–27: Plant
products as used in medicine; Books 28–32: Medical zoology; Books 33–37:
Minerals (and medicine), the fine arts, and gemstones.
37) Pliny (Plinio il minore, Pliniana) – vol. II out of set of 2 –
b. 61 d.C., he was the son of Lucio Cecilio of Como and the sister of Plinio il
vecchio. Plinio il giovane was educated at home and then in Roma under
Quintiliano. Plinio il giovane was at Misenum at the time of the eruption of
Vesuvius in 79 (described in two famous letters) when Plinio il vecchio died.
Plinio il giovane started his career at the Roman bar at the age of eighteen.
He moved through the regular offices in a senator’s career, held two treasury
appointments and a priesthood, and was consul in September and October 100. On
this occasion he delivered the speech of thanks to the Emperor Traiano which he
afterwards expanded and published as the Panegyricus. After his consulship he
returned to advocacy in the court and Senate, and was also president of the
Tiber Conservancy Board. His hopes of retirement were cut short when he was
chosen by Trajan to go out to the province of Bithynia and Pontus on a special
commission as the Emperor’s direct representative. He is known to have been
there two years, and is presumed to have died there before the end of 113. Book
X of the Letters contains his correspondence with Trajan during this period,
and includes letters about the early Christians.Pliny’s Letters are important
as a social document of his times. They tell us about the man himself and his
wide interests, and about his many friends, including Tacitus, Martial, and
Suetonius. Pliny has a gift for description and a versatile prose style, and
more than any of his contemporaries he gives an unprejudiced picture of Rome as
he knew it. The second volume contains Books VIII–X of his Letters as well as
the Panegyricus.
38) Propertius (Properzio, Properziana). COMPLETE – 1 volume out of set of 1 -- “Elegie”. His passionate and
dramatic elegies gained him a reputation as one of Rome’s finest love poets.
Here Properzio portrays the exciting, uneven course of his love affair with
Cintia and tells us much about his contemporaries and the society in which he
lives, while in later poems he turns to mythological themes and the legends of
early Rome. Born in Assisi about 50 a.C., Properzio moved to Roma, where he came
into contact with a coterie of poets, including Virgilio, Tibullo, Orazio, and
Ovidio. Publication of his first book brought immediate recognition and the
unwavering support of Mecenate, the influential patron of the Augustan poets.
He died perhaps in his mid-thirties, leaving us four books of elegies that have
attracted admirers throughout the ages.In this new edition of Properzio, we
solve some longstanding questions of interpretation and gives us a faithful and
stylish prose translation. The explanatory notes and glossary, and index offer
steady guidance and a wealth of information.
39) Prudentius (Prudenzio, Prudenziana) – Vol. I out of set of 2 -- b. in 348 d.C., probably at Caesaraugusta
(Saragossa), and lived mostly in northeastern Spain, but visited Rome between
400 and 405. Prudenzio’s parents, presumably Christian, had him educated in
literature and rhetoric. Prudenzio became a barrister and at least once later
on an administrator; he afterwards received some high honor from Emperor
Theodosius. Prudenzio was a strong Christian who admired the old pagan
literature and art, especially the great Latin poets whose forms he used. He
looked on the Roman achievement in history as a preparation for the coming of
Christ and the triumph of a spiritual empire.The first volume presents: Preface
(Praefatio); The Daily Round (Liber Cathemerinon); 12 literary and attractive
hymns, parts of which have been included in the Breviary and in modern hymnals;
The Divinity of Christ (Apotheosis), which maintains the Trinity and attacks
those who denied the distinct personal being of Christ; The Origin of Sin
(Hamartigenia), attacking the separation of the “strict” God of the Old
Testament from the “good” God revealed by Christ; Fight for Mansoul
(Psychomachia), which describes the struggle between (Christian) virtues and
(pagan) vices; and the first book of Against the Address of Symmachus (Contra
Orationem Symmachi), in which pagan gods are assailed. Vol. II lcontains the book
II of “Contro Simmaco”, opposing a petition for the replacement of an altar and
statue of Vittoria; Corone di martire (14 hymns to Roman martyrs); Lines To Be
Inscribed under Scenes from History (Tituli Historiarum), 49 four-line stanzas
which are inscriptions for scenes from the Bibbia depicted on the walls of a
church; and an Epilogue.
40) Quintilian (Quintiliano, Quntilianiana) – Vols. I and IV – out
of set of 7 -- born in 35 d.C., became a
widely known and highly successful teacher of rhetoric in Roma. The Institutio
Oratoria, a comprehensive training program in 12 books, draws on his own rich
experience. It is a work of enduring importance, not only for its insights on
oratory, but for the picture it paints of education and social attitudes in the
Roman world. Quintilian offers both general and specific advice. He gives
guidelines for proper schooling (beginning with the young boy); analyzes the
structure of speeches; recommends devices that will engage listeners and appeal
to their emotions; reviews a wide range of Greek and Latin authors of use to
the orator; and counsels on memory, delivery, and gestures. The “Lesser
Declamations”, dating perhaps from the second century d.C. and attributed to
Quintiliano, might more accurately be described as emanating from his school. The
collection represents classroom materials for budding Roman lawyers. The
instructor who composed these specimen speeches for fictitious court cases adds
his comments and suggestions concerning presentation and arguing tactics,
thereby giving us insight into Roman law and education. A wide range of
scenarios is imagined. Some evoke the plots of ancient novels and comedies:
pirates, exiles, parents and children in conflict, adulterers, rapists, and
wicked stepmothers abound. Other cases deal with such matters as warfare between
neighboring cities, smuggling, historical (and quasi-historical) events,
tyrants and tyrannicides. Two gems are the speech opposing a proposal to
equalize wealth, and the case of a Cynic youth who has forsworn worldly goods
but sues his father for cutting off his allowance. Of the original 388 sample
cases in the collection, 145 survive. These are now added to the Loeb Library
in a 2-vol. edition.The new 5-vol. edition of “The Orator’s Education” provides a text and facing translation fully
up to date in light of current scholarship and well tuned to today’s taste.
There are also rich explanatory notes, which enable full appreciation of this
central work in the history of rhetoric.
41) Remains of Old
Latin – 4 vols. --. Vol. I: Ennio. Cecilio, Vol. II:
Livio Andronico. Nevio, Pacuvio,. Accio, Vol. III: Lucilio, The Twelve Tables. IV:
Archaic Inscriptions
42) Sallust
(Sallustio, Sallustiana) -- COMPLETE – volume 1 out of set of 1 -- 86–35
a.C., was a Sabine from Amiternum, who acted against Cicero and Milo as tribune
in 52, joined Caesar after being expelled from the Senate in 50, was restored
to the senate by Caesar and took part in his African campaign as praetor in 46,
and was then appointed governor of New Africa (Numidia). Upon his return to
Rome Sallustio narrowly escaped conviction for malfeasance in office, retired
from public life, and took up historiography. Sallustio’s two extant monographs
take as their theme the moral and political decline of Rome, one on the
conspiracy of Catiline and the other on the war with Jugurtha. Although
Sallustio is decidedly unsubtle and partisan in analyzing people and events,
his works are important and significantly influenced later historians, notably
Tacitus. Taking Tucidide as his model but building on Roman stylistic and
rhetorical traditions, Sallustio achieved a distinctive style, concentrated and
arresting; lively characterizations, especially in the speeches; and skill at
using particular episodes to illustrate large general themes. For this edition,
the text and translation of the Catiline and Jugurtha have been thoroughly
revised in line with the most recent scholarship.
43) Scriptores (Sei
scrittori della Storia augusta, Augustana)
— Vol. I out of set of 3 -- is a
collection of biographies of Roman emperors, heirs, and claimants from Adriano
to Numeriano, 117–284 d.C. The "Storia" is modeled on Svetonio’s
"Vite dei dodici cesari" and purports to be written by 6 different 'scrittori'
and quotes documents and public records extensively. Since we possess no continuous
account of the emperors of the second and third centuries,
this "Storia" has naturally attracted keen attention. In
the last century it has also generated the gravest suspicions. Present opinion
holds that the whole is the work of a single author who lived in the time of
Theodosius and contains much that is plagiarism and even downright forgery.
44) Seneca
(Seneca il retore, Senecana) – 0 volumes out of set of 2 - Roman education aimed principally at
training future lawyers and politicians. Under the late Republic and the
Empire, the main instrument was an import from Greece: declamation, the making
of practice speeches on imaginary subjects. There were two types of such
speeches: controversiae on law-court themes, suasoriae on deliberative topics.
On both types a prime source of our knowledge is the work of Seneca the
rhetorician.Towards the end of his long life (55 a.C.–40 d.C.) he collected
together ten books devoted to controversiae (some only preserved in excerpt)
and at least one (surviving) of suasoriae.These books contained his memories of
the famous rhetorical teachers and practitioners of his day: their lines of
argument, their methods of approach, their idiosyncrasies, and above all their
epigrams. The extracts from the declaimers, though scrappy, throw invaluable
light on the influences that coloured the styles of most pagan (and many
Christian) writers of the Empire. Unity is provided by Seneca’s own contribution,
the lively prefaces, engaging anecdote about speakers, writers and politicians,
and brisk criticism of declamatory excess.
45) Seneca
(Seneca, Senecana) – Volume VIII (Tragedies
I) out of set of 10 --, b. Corduba, 4 a.
C., of a prominent and wealthy family, spent an ailing childhood in Roma in an
aunt’s care. Seneca became famous in rhetoric, philosophy, money-making, and
imperial service. After some disgrace during Claudio’s reign Seneca became
tutor and then, in 54 d.C., advising minister to Nerone, some of whose worst
misdeeds he did not prevent. Involved in a conspiracy, Seneca killed himself by
order in 65. Wealthy, he preached indifference to wealth; evader of pain and
death, he preached scorn of both; and there were other contrasts between practice
and principle.We have Seneca’s philosophical or moral essays (ten of them
traditionally called “Dialogues”) — on providence, steadfastness, the happy
life, anger, leisure, tranquility, the brevity of life, gift-giving,
forgiveness — and treatises on natural phenomena. Also extant are 124 epistles,
in which he writes in a relaxed style about moral and ethical questions,
relating them to personal experiences; a skit on the official deification of
Claudius, Apocolocyntosis (in Loeb no. 15). Also extant are 9 tragedies on
ancient mythological themes. Many epistles and all his speeches are lost.
Seneca’s moral essays are collected in Volumes I–III; the 124 epistles in
Volumes IV–VI; the tragedies in Volumes VIII and IX; and the treatises on
natural phenomena, Naturales Quaestiones, in Volumes VII and X.
46) Sidonius
(Sidonio, Sidoniana) – 0 volumes out of set of 2 -- b. Lugdunum, 430 d.C.,
married Papianilla, daughter of the Emperor Avito in whose honour he recited at
Rome on 1 January 456 a panegyric in verse. Sidonius later joined a rebellion,
it seems, but was finally reconciled to the emperor Majorian and delivered at
Lyon in 458 a panegyric on him. After some years in his native land, in 467 he
led a Gallo-Roman deputation to the Emperor Anthemius, and on 1 January 468
recited at Rome his third panegyric. He returned to Gaul in 469 and became
Bishop of Auvergne with seat at Clermont-Ferrand. He upheld his people in
resisting the Visigoths. After Auvergne was ceded to them in 475, he was
imprisoned but soon resumed his bishopric. He was canonized after his death.The
first volume contains his poetry: the three long panegyrics as well as poems
addressed to or concerned with friends, apparently written in his youth. Volume
I also contains two of the nine books of letters (all dating from before his
episcopate). Volume II contains books 3–9. Sidonius’s writings shed valued
light on Roman culture in the fifth century.
47) Silius
(Silio, Siliana) – Vol. II out of
set of 2 -- 25–101 d.C., was consul in 68 and governor of the province of Asia
in 69. Silio sought no further office but lived thereafter on his estates as a
literary man and collector. Silio revered the work of Cicerone, whose Tusculan
villa he owned, and that of Virgilio, whose tomb at Napoli he likewise owned
and near which he lived. His “Le guerre puniche” , on the war with Carthage
(218–202 a.C.), is based for facts largely on Livio’s account. Conceived as a
contrast between two great nations (and their supporting gods), championed by
the two great heroes Scipione and Annibale, “Le guerre puniche” is written in
pure Latin and smooth verse filled throughout with echoes of Virgilio above all
(and other poets); it exploits with easy grace all the devices and techniques
of traditional Latin epic. The Metropolitan Museum has an oil by Joseph of
Wright, showing Stazio reading Virgil in Virgil’s tomb.
48) Statius (Stazio, Staziana) – -- Volumes I and
II out of set of 3 . -- published his "Tebaide" in the last decade of
the first century. This epic, recounting the struggle between the two sons of
Edipo for the kingship of Tebe, is his masterpiece, a stirring exploration of
the passions of civil war. The extant portion of his unfinished Achilleide is
strikingly different in tone: this second epic begins as a charming account of
Achille’s life.Stazio was raised in the cultural milieu of the bay of Napoli,
and his literary education is reflected in his poetry. The political realities
of Rome in the first century are also evident in the Tebaide, in representations
of authoritarian power and the drive for domination
49) Suetonius (Svetonio, Svetoniana) – COMPLETE -- 2 vols out of set of 2 -- fl. 70 d.C., the son of a
military tribune, he was at first an advocate and a rhetorician, but later
became Adriano’s secretary, 119–121. Svetonio dedicated his
masterpiece, “Vite dei dodici cesari” to C. Septizio Claro, prefect of the
praetorian guard. After the dismissal of both Septizio and
Svetonio for some breach of court etiquette, he retired. Of his other
work, “The lives of illustrious men” survive. He was a friend of Plinio il
giovane, and a a studious collector of facts, so that his
"Lives" are invaluable. His plan in Lives of the Caesars is: the
emperor’s family and early years; public and private life; death. We find many
anecdotes, much gossip of the imperial court, and various details of character
and personal appearance. Svetonio’s account of Nerone’s death is justly famous.
The Vitae are: 1) Giulio Cesare, 2) Augusto 3) Tiberio 4) Caligola 5) Claudio
6) Nerone 7) Galba 8) Otone 9) Vitellio 10) Vespasiano 11) Tito and 12)
Domiziano. The "Lives of Illustrious Men" cover grammarians,
rhetoricians, and notably poets (Terenzio, Virgilio, Orazio, Tibullo, Persio,
Lucano). He also wrote a Life of Plinio il vecchio and one of
Passieno Crispo. There is an interesting series of engravings by Antonio
Tempesta on each of the twelve Caesars.
50) Tacitus
(Tacito, Tacitiana)- 4 volumes out
of set of 5 -- 55-120 d.C., was an orator. He married the daughter of Giulio
Agricola before Agricola went to Britannia, was quaestor and a senator under
the Flavian emperors, and a praetor in 88. After 4 years’ absence, he
experienced the terrors of Domiziano’s last years and turned to historical
writing. Tacito was a consul in 97. Close friend of Plinio il giovane, with him
he successfully prosecuted Mario Prisco. Tacito’s works include (a) "The
Life and Character of Agricola" (97 d.C.), interesting because of
Agricola’s career in Britannia ;(b) the "Germania" (98 d.C.),
an important description of the geography, anthropology, products,
institutions, and social life and the tribes of the Germans; (c)
the "Dialogus" on oratory, a lively conversation about the
decline of oratory and education., and (d) the "Histories", in 3
vols.), issued in parts from 105 onwards. A great work that originally
consisted of at least 12 books covering the period 69–96 d.C., only books
I–IV and part of Book V survive, dealing in detail with the dramatic years
69–70. The "Annals", in 16 books (115 d.C.) (also in 3 vols.), his
other great work, originally covered the period 14–68 d.C. (Tiberio,
Caligola, Claudio, Nerone). There survive Books I–IV (covering the years 14–28
d.C.); some of Book V, all Book VI (31–37); part of Book XI (from
47); Books XII–XV and part of Book XVI (to 66). Tacito is renowned for his
development of a pregnant concise style, character study, and psychological
analysis, and for the often terrible stories which he brilliantly tells. As a
historian of the early Roman empire he is paramount.
51) Terence
(Terenzio, Terenziana) – volume I
out of set of 2 – Sei comedie – He brought to the Roman stage a bright comic
voice and a sense of style. He wrote 6 comedies, first produced in the half
dozen years before his premature death in 159 a.C. They six
comedies are (i) "The Woman of Andros", a romantic comedy, (ii)
"The Self-Tormentor", which looks at contrasting father-son relationships;
(iii) "The Eunuch", whose characters include the most sympathetically
drawn courtesan in Roman comedy; (iv) "Phormio", a comedy of intrigue
with an engaging trickster; (v) "The Mother-in-Law", unique
among his plays in that the female characters are the admirable ones; and
(vi) "The Brothers", which explores contrasting approaches to
parental education of sons. The Romans highly praised Terenzio — “whose speech
can charm, whose every word delights,” in Cicerone’s words.
52) Tertullian
(Tertulliano, Tertulliana) – COMPLETE -- 1 volume out of set of 1. 150–222
d.C., was born a soldier’s son, educated in Roman philosophy, and became a
pleader, remaining a clever and often tortuous arguer. After a visit to
churches he toiled to fuse enthusiasm with reason; to unite the demands of the
Bible with the practice of the Church; and to continue to vindicate the
Church’s possession of the true doctrine in the face of unbelievers, Jews,
Gnostics, and others. He defended Christianity and attacked heretical people
and beliefs; he also dealt with morals. His works include the
"Apologeticus" and "De Spectaculis". Of his companion
author, Minuzio, an early Christian writer of unknown date, we have only his
"Ottavio", a vigorous debate between an unbeliever and a Christian
friend of Minuzio, Ottavio, set on the seashore at Ostia. Minuzio himself acts
as judge. Ottavio wins the argument. The whole work presents a picture of
social and religious conditions in Roma, at the end of the second century.
53) Valerius Flaccus
(Valerio, Valeriana) – COMPLETE -- 1 volume out of set of 1 -- was a poet who
flourished in the period ca. 70–90 d.C., and composed in smooth and sometimes
obscure style an incomplete epic “Argonautica” in 8 books, on the quest
for the Golden Fleece. The "Argonautica" is typical of his age,
being a free rehandling of the story already told by Apollonio, to whom he is
superior in arrangement, vividness, and description of character. Flacco’s poem
shows much imitation of the language and thought of Virgilio, and much
learning. The chief interest of the epic lies in the relationship between Medea
and GIASONE, especially the growth of Medea’s love, where Flacco is at his
best. The long series of adventures and various Roman allusions suggest that
that FLACCO meant to do honour to Vespasiano (to whom the epic is dedicated)
with special reference to that emperor’s ships in waters around Britain.
54) Valerius Maximus (Valerio, Valeriana)- 0 volumes
out of set of 2 -- compiled his hand-book of notable deeds and sayings during
the reign of Tiberio, 14–37 d.C.. The collection was very popular in the
Renaissance. Massimo arranges his examples in short chapters, each focused
on a particular virtue, vice, religious practice, or traditional custom. They
include omens, dreams, anger, cruelty, bravery, fidelity, gratitude,
friendship, and parental love. The moral undercurrent of this collection is
apparent. But Massimo tells us that the book’s purpose is practical. He
decides to select worthwhile material from famous writers so that people
looking for illustrative examples might be spared the trouble of research. The
book is an interesting source of information on Roman attitudes toward religion
and moral values in the first century.
55) Valerius Paterculus
(Patercolo, Patercoliana) 0 volume out of set of ? -- lived in the
reigns of Augusto and Tiberio, 30 a.C.–37 d.C.. He served as a military tribune
in Thrace, Macedonia, Greece and Asia Minor, and later, from 4 d.C. to 12 or
13, as a cavalry officer and legatus in Germany and Pannonia. He was quaestor
in 7 CE, praetor in 15. His “Compendium of Roman History”, in 2 books, is a
summary of Roman history from the fall of Troy to 29 d.C. As he approached his
own times Patercolo becomes much fuller in his treatment, especially between
the death of Giulio Cesare in 44 a.C. and that of Augusto in 14 d.C.. His work
has useful concise essays on Roman colonies and provinces and some effective
compressed portrayals of characters. Augusto wrote a dignified account of his
public life and work, the “Res Gestae Divi Augusti”, of which the best
preserved copy was engraved on the walls of his temple. It is a unique document
giving short details of his public offices and honours; his benefactions to the
empire, to the people, and to the soldiers; and his services as a soldier and
as an administrator.
56) Varro (Varrone,
Varroniana) – COMPLETE -- Vols I and II out of set of 2-- 116–27 a.C, of Reate,
was renowned for his vast learning. He was an antiquarian, historian,
philologist, student of science, agriculturist, and a poet. He was a
republican who was reconciled to Giulio Cesare and was marked out by him to
supervise the national library. Of Varrone’s more than 70 works involving
hundreds of volumes we have only his treatise "De re
rustica" (under “C”, Catone, Cato), and part of his monumental
achievement, “De Lingua Latina”, a work typical of his interest in antiquarian
matters. "De lingua latina" consists of 25 books in 3 parts: the
etymology of words (I–VII); inflexion and other changes (VIII–XIII); syntax
(XIV-XXV). Of this work survive only books V to X which cover, in
two volumes, Vol. I: the etymology of words expressing time and place and poetic
expressions (V–VI), and Vol. II: analogy, as it occurs in word formation
(VII–IX); as applied to word derivation (X–XII).
57) Virgil (Virgilio,
Virgiliana) – COMPLETE -- 2 vols out of set of 2 - was born in 70 a.C. near
Mantova and was educated in Rome. Weak in health, he went back north for a
quiet life. Influenced by the group of poets there, he wrote some poems,
in perfect hexameters. Earliest comes the collection of 10 bucolic
poems, the "Eclogues", that deal with pastoral life and love. In 30
a.C. came the best of all didactic works, the 4 books of
"Georgics" (on tillage, trees, cattle, and bees). He went on to
compose the "Eneide", on Rome’s origins through Enea of
Troia. Inspired by Augusto’s rule, the "Eneide" is Homeric in
metre and method but influenced also by later Roman philosophy, and learning,
and deeply Roman in spirit. Virgil died in 19 a.C. at Brundisium. He had
left in Rome a request that the 12 books of the "Eneide"
should be destroyed if he were to die then, but they were published by the
executors of his will. The first volume contains the Eclogues, the Georgics,
and Aeneid, books I-VI; Vol. II contains Aeneid, books VI-XII, and the minor
poems.
58) Vitruvius
(Vitruvio, Vitruviana) – vol. 1? out
of set of 2 vols. -- Il classico di Vitruvio: “Sull’archittetura”. He is famous
for the “Uomo vitruviano”. Vitruvio studied philosophy and was appointed to be
an overseer of imperial artillery and military engines. He was architect of at
least one unit of buildings for Augusto in the reconstruction of Roma. In 28
a.c., he wrote "De Architectura". The interesting thig is that, after
its rediscovery in the Quattrocento, "Della archittetura" was
influential enough to be studied by architects from the early Renaissance to
recent times. The treatise, in 10 books. Volume I deals with the requirements
for an architect, town planning, design, cities, aspects, temples, materials
and their treatment (I), systems (II); the form of the Ionic temple (III), the
Doric, the Corinthian; and the Tuscan; altars (IV), public buildings other than
temples: the forum, the basilica, the theatre, the colonnade, the baths,
and the harbour (V). Volume II deals with sites and planning, especially of
houses (VI); pavement, road, mosaic floor, vault; decoration (stucco, wall
painting, colour) (VII), hydraulic engineering; water supply; and the
aqueduct (VIII) astronomy; Greek and Roman discoveries; signs of the zodiac,
planets, moon phases, constellations, astrology, gnomon, sundials (IX), and
machines for war and other purposes (X).
1.Achilles (Achille Tazio). 1 volume. was from Alexandria; he is now
believed to have flourished in the second century CE. Of his life nothing is
known, though the Suidas says he became a Christian and a bishop and wrote a
work on etymology, one on the sphere, and an account of great men. He is famous
however for his surviving novel in eight books, The Adventures of Leucippe and
Clitophon, one of the best Greek love stories. Clitophon relates to a friend
the various difficulties which he and Leucippe had to overcome before they are
happily united. The story is full of incident and readers are kept in suspense.
There are many digressions giving scientific facts, myths, meditations, and so
on, the interest of which redeems irrelevance.
2.Aelian (Eliano)-- 4 vols – Vol. 1: Historical miscellany. “On animals” in
3 volumes. Claudio Eliano, a Roman born ca. 170 d.C. at Praeneste, was a pupil
of the rhetorician Pausanias of Caesarea, and taught and practiced rhetoric.
Expert in Attic Greek, Eliano became a serious scholar and studied history
under the patronage of the Roman empress Julia Domna. He apparently spent all
his life in Italy where he died after 230 CE. Aelian’s On the Characteristics
of Animals, in 17 books, is a collection of facts and beliefs concerning the
habits of animals drawn from Greek authors and some personal observation. Fact, fancy, legend, stories and gossip all
play their part in a narrative which is meant to entertain readers. If there is
any ethical motive, it is that the virtues of untaught yet reasoning animals
can be a lesson to thoughtless and selfish mankind. The Loeb Classical Library
edition of the work is in three volumes.The Historical Miscellany (is of
similar nature. In 14 books, it consists
mainly of historical and biographical anecdotes and retellings of legendary
events. Some of Aelian’s material is drawn from authors whose works are
lost.Aelian’s Letters—portraying the affairs and country ways of a series of
fictitious writers—offer engaging vignettes of rural life.
3.Aeneas (Enea) – 1 volume -- was perhaps a general, and certainly
author of several didactic military works of which the sole survivor is that on
defense against siege. From it we can
deduce that he was a Peloponnesian of the fourth century a.C. who served in the
Aegean and in Asia Minor and composed the work from direct knowledge and from
oral and some literary tradition, possibly in 357–6 BCE. It is devoted entirely to defence of
fortified places and deals specially with use of defending troops; defensive
positions; morale; resistance to attacks and to actual assault; guards;
obviation of treachery and revolution; and other subjects. Asclepiodoto,
philosopher and pupil of the Stoic Posidonius, wrote a rather dry but ordered
work on Tactics as if a subject of the lecture room, based not on personal
experience but on earlier manuals. His main subjects were the branches of a
military force; infantry; cavalry; chariots; elephants; arms; maneuvers;
military evolutions; marching formation. The work ends with words of command.,
a Platonic philosopher, dedicated his work The General to the Roman Veranio, who
was a consul in 49 CE. The work deals in plain style with the sort of morals
and social and military qualities and attitudes expected of a virtuous and
militarily successful general. It is also concerned with such matters as his
choice of staff; attitude to war; religious duties; military formations;
conduct in allied and hostile lands; difficult terrains; camps; drill; spies;
guards; deserters; battle formations and maneuvers; and other matters, ending
with conduct after victory.
4.Aeschines (Eschine) – 1 volume -- orator and statesman of Athens,
390 or 389–14 a.C., became active in politics about 350. In 348 he was a member of a mission sent to
the Peloponnese to stir up feeling against the growing power of king Philip of
Macedon; but in 347, when part of a peace-making embassy to Philip, was won
over to sympathy with the king, and became a supporter of the peace policy of
the Athenian statesman Eubulus. On a
second embassy in 346 to ratify a peace Aeschines’s delaying tactics caused the
famous orator Demosthenes and Timarchus to accuse him of treason, a charge
which he successfully rebutted in the strong extant speech Against Timarchus.
In 344–3, when Demosthenes accused him again in a speech, Aeschines replied in
the fine extant speech having the same title On the False Embassy and was again
acquitted. In 336, when Ctesiphon proposed that Demosthenes should be awarded a
crown of gold for state service, Aeschines accused him of proposing something
which would violate existing laws. At the trial Aeschines’s extant speech
Against Ctesiphon was answered by Demosthenes in his masterpiece On the Crown.
Aeschines, discredited, left Athens and set up a school of rhetoric at
Rhodes. He died in Samos. As examples of
Greek oratory, the speeches of Aeschines rank next to those of Demosthenes, and
are important documents for the study of Athenian diplomacy and inner politics.
5. Aeschylus (Eschilo, Eschiliana) -- 3 volumes -- (ca. 525–456 BCE), the
dramatist who made Athenian tragedy one of the world’s great art forms,
witnessed the establishment of democracy at Athens and fought against the
Persians at Marathon. Eschilo won the
tragic prize at the City Dionysia thirteen times between ca. 499 and 458, and
in his later years was probably victorious almost every time he put on a
production, though Sophocles beat him at least once. Of Eschilo’s total of
about eighty plays, seven survive complete.
The first volume of this new Loeb Classical Library edition offers fresh
texts and translations by Alan H. Sommerstein of Persians, the only surviving
Greek historical drama; Seven against Thebes, from a trilogy on the conflict
between Oedipus’ sons; Suppliants, on the successful appeal by the daughters of
Danaus to the king and people of Argos for protection against a forced
marriage; and Prometheus Bound (of disputed authenticity), on the terrible
punishment of Prometheus for giving fire to humans in defiance of Zeus.
Suppliant.
6. Alciphoron (Alciforone). 1 volume -- The Letters of Alcifron
(second century d.C.) constitute one of the most attractive products of the Second
Sophistic.
They are fictitious compositions based on an astonishingly wide variety of circumstances, though the theme of erotic love is constantly sounded.
The imagination shown by the author and his convincing realism win him a place of distinction in the early development of romantic prose.
The letters, which are highly literary, owing much to the New Comedy of Menander, purport to give us a sketch of the social life of Athens in the fourth century BCE.The collection is arranged in four divisions: Letters of Fishermen; Farmers; Parasites; and Courtesans. Senders and addressees are mostly invented characters, but in the last section Alciphron presents us with several attempts at historical fiction, the most engaging being an exchange of letters between Menander and Glycera.This volume also includes twenty Letters of Farmers ascribed to Aelian Eliano (ca. 170–235 CE) and a collection of seventy-three Erotic Epistles of Philostratus (Filostrato) (probably Flavius of that name, also born ca. 170 CE). In style and subject matter these resemble those of Alciphron, by whom they may have been influenced.
They are fictitious compositions based on an astonishingly wide variety of circumstances, though the theme of erotic love is constantly sounded.
The imagination shown by the author and his convincing realism win him a place of distinction in the early development of romantic prose.
The letters, which are highly literary, owing much to the New Comedy of Menander, purport to give us a sketch of the social life of Athens in the fourth century BCE.The collection is arranged in four divisions: Letters of Fishermen; Farmers; Parasites; and Courtesans. Senders and addressees are mostly invented characters, but in the last section Alciphron presents us with several attempts at historical fiction, the most engaging being an exchange of letters between Menander and Glycera.This volume also includes twenty Letters of Farmers ascribed to Aelian Eliano (ca. 170–235 CE) and a collection of seventy-three Erotic Epistles of Philostratus (Filostrato) (probably Flavius of that name, also born ca. 170 CE). In style and subject matter these resemble those of Alciphron, by whom they may have been influenced.
7.Apollodorus (Apollodoro, Apollodoriana) 2 volumes--The Library
provides in three books a grand summary of traditional Greek mythology and
heroic legends. Written in clear and unaffected style, the compendium
faithfully follows the Greek literary sources. It is thus an important record
of Greek accounts of the origin and early history of the world and their
race. This work has been attributed to
Apollodorus of Athens (born ca. 180 BCE), a student of Aristarchus.
But the text as we have it was written by an author probably living in the first or second century of our era. In his highly valued notes to the Loeb Classical Library edition we cite the principal passages of other ancient writers where each particular story is told and compares the various versions to those in the Library.
But the text as we have it was written by an author probably living in the first or second century of our era. In his highly valued notes to the Loeb Classical Library edition we cite the principal passages of other ancient writers where each particular story is told and compares the various versions to those in the Library.
8. Apollonius (Apollonio, Apolloniana). 1 volume -- Apollonius
Rhodius’s Argonautica, composed in the 3rd century BCE, is the epic retelling
of Jason’s quest for the golden fleece. Along with his contemporaries
Callimachus and Theocritus, Apollonius refashioned Greek poetry to meet the
interests and aesthetics of a Hellenistic audience, especially that of
Alexandria in the Ptolemaic period following Alexander’s death. In this carefully crafted work of 5,835
hexameter verses in four books, the author draws on the preceding literary
traditions of epic (Homer), lyric (Pindar), and tragedy (especially Euripides)
but creates an innovative and complex narrative that includes geography,
religion, ethnography, mythology, adventure, exploration, human psychology,
and, most of all, the coming of age and love affair of Jason and Medea. It
greatly influenced Roman authors such as Catullo, Virgilio, and Ovidio, and was
imitated by Valerio Flacco.
9. APOSTOLIC FATHERS. 2
volumes.
10.APPIAN (Appiano) – 4 volumes.
“Roman History” -- was a Greek official of Alexandria. He saw the Jewish
rebellion of 116 CE, and later became a Roman citizen and advocate and received
the rank of eques (knight). In his older years he held a procuratorship. He
died during the reign of Antoninus Pius who was emperor 138–161 CE. Honest
admirer of the Roman empire though ignorant of the institutions of the earlier
Roman republic, he wrote, in the simple “common” dialect, 24 books of “Roman
affairs,” in fact conquests, from the beginnings to the times of Trajan
(emperor 98–117 CE). Eleven have come down to us complete, or nearly so, namely
those on the Spanish, Hannibalic, Punic, Illyrian, Syrian, and Mythridatic
wars, and five books on the Civil Wars. They are valuable records of military
history. The Loeb Classical Library® edition of Appian is in four volumes.
11. Aristophanes (Aristofane, Aristofaniana) – 5 volumes -- Aristophanes
of Athens (ca. 446–386 a.C.), one of the world’s greatest comic dramatists, has
been admired since antiquity for his iridescent wit and beguiling fantasy,
exuberant language, and brilliant satire of the social, intellectual, and
political life of Athens at its height. He wrote at least forty plays, of which
eleven have survived complete. In this
new Loeb Classical Library edition of Aristophanes, we present a freshly edited
Greek text and a lively, unexpurgated translation with full explanatory notes.
The general introduction that begins Volume I reviews Aristophanes’s career and
brings current scholarly insights to bear on the intriguing question of the
comic poet as a political force.In Acharnians, a small landowner, tired of the
Peloponnesian War, magically arranges a personal peace treaty and, borrowing a
disguise from Euripides, demonstrates the injustice of the war in a contest
with the bellicose Acharnians.Also in this volume is Knights, perhaps the most
biting satire of a political figure (Cleon) ever written.Volume 1: The
archaniansVolume 3: Lysistrata.
12.Aristotle (Aristotele, Aristoteliana). – 23 volumes -- In History
of Animals, Aristotle analyzes “differences”—in parts, activities, modes of
life, and character—across the animal kingdom, in preparation for establishing
their causes, which are the concern of his other zoological works. Over 500
species of animals are considered: shellfish, insects, birds, fish, reptiles,
amphibians, and mammals—including human beings. In Books I–IV, Aristotle gives
a comparative survey of internal and external body parts, including tissues and
fluids, and of sense faculties and voice. Books V–VI study reproductive
methods, breeding habits, and embryogenesis as well as some secondary sex
differences. In Books VII–IX, Aristotle examines differences among animals in
feeding; in habitat, hibernation, migration; in enmities and sociability; in
disposition (including differences related to gender) and intelligence. Here
too he describes the human reproductive system, conception, pregnancy, and
obstetrics. Book X establishes the female’s contribution to generation. The
Loeb Classical Library® edition of History of Animals is in three volumes. A
full index to all ten books is included in the third (Volume XI of the
Aristotle edition). Aristotle’s biological corpus includes not only History of
Animals, but also Parts of Animals, Movement of Animals, Progression of
Animals, Generation of Animals, and significant parts of On the Soul and Parva
Naturalia. Aristotle’s general methodology—“first we must grasp the
differences, then try to discover the causes” (Ha 1.6)—is applied to the study
of plants by his younger co-worker and heir to his school, Theophrastus:
Enquiry into Plants studies differences across the plant kingdom, while De
Causis Plantarum studies their causes. In the later ancient world, both Pliny’s
Natural History and Aelian’s On the Characteristics of Animals draw
significantly on Aristotle’s biological work. Poetics Nichomachean Ethics
Metaphycis Books I to IX Metaphysics volume X to XIV Physics Books I –IV
Rhetoric On the heavnes Generation of animals Parts of animals Rhetoric Books I
II III Posterior Analytics Topica Policits Minor works – colours, plants,
winds, wtcs On the soul, parva naturalia, on breath Problems
13. ARRIAN – 2 volumes –
Anabasis of Alessandro.
14. Athenaeus (Ateneo, Ateniana). 8 volumes In The Learned Banqueters,
Ateneo describes a series of dinner parties at which the guests quote
extensively from literature. The work
(which dates to the very end of the second century d.C.) is amusing reading and
of extraordinary value as a treasury of quotations from works now lost.
Athenaeus also preserves a wide range of information about different cuisines
and foodstuffs; the music and entertainments that ornamented banquets; and the
intellectual talk that was the heart of Greek conviviality. We have undertaken
to produce a complete new edition of the work, replacing the previous
seven-volume Loeb Athenaeus (published under the title Deipnosophists). Volume
6 Deipnosophistae.
15.Babrius (Babrio, Babriana)—1 volume -- is the reputed author of a collection
(discovered in the 19th century) of more than 125 fables based on those called
Aesop’s, in Greek verse. Babrio may have been a hellenised Roman living in Asia
Minor during the late first century of our era. The fables are all in one metre
and in very good style, humorous and pointed. Some are original.Fedro, born in
Macedonia, flourished in the early half of the 1st century of our era.
Apparently a slave set free by the emperor Augusto, Fedro lived in Italy and
began to write Aesopian fables. When he offended Sejanus, a powerful official
of the emperor Tiberio, he was punished but not silenced. The fables, in five
books, are in lively terse and simple Latin verse not lacking in dignity. They
not only amuse and teach but also satirise social and political life in
Rome.This edition includes a comprehensive analytical survey of Greek and Latin
fables in the Aesopic tradition, as well as a historical introduction.
16 Basil 4 volumes Basilio il Grande was born ca. 330 d.C. at Caesarea
in Cappadocia into a family noted for piety. He was at Constantinople and
Athens for several years as a student with Gregory of Nazianzus and was much
influenced by Origen. For a short time he held a chair of rhetoric at Caesarea,
and was then baptized. He visited monasteries in Egypt and Palestine and sought
out the most famous hermits in Syria and elsewhere to learn how to lead a pious
and ascetic life; but he decided that communal monastic life and work were
best. About 360 he founded in Pontus a convent to which his sister and widowed
mother belonged. Ordained a presbyter in 365, in 370 he succeeded Eusebius in
the archbishopric of Caesarea, which included authority over all Pontus. He
died in 379. Even today his reform of monastic life in the east is the basis of
modern Greek and Slavonic monasteries.Volume 2: letters.
17 Callimachus Callimaco – 2 vols. -- of Cyrene, born ca. 310 a.C.,
after studying philosophy at Athens, became a teacher of grammar and poetry at
Alexandria. Ptolemy II Philadelphus of Egypt (reigned 285–247) made him when still
young a librarian in the new library at Alexandria; he prepared a great
catalogue of its books. Callimaco was author of much poetry and many works in
prose, but not much survives. His hymns and epigrams are given with works by
Aratus and Lycophron in another volume (no. 129 of the Loeb Classical
Library®). In the present volume are included fragments of the Causes,
aetiological legends concerning Greek history and customs; fragments of a book
of Iambi; 147 fragments of the epic poem Hecale, which described Theseus’s
victory over the bull which infested Marathon; and other fragments.We have no
explicit information about the poet Museo, author of the short epic poem on
Hero and Leander, except that he is given in some manuscripts the title
Grammatikos, a teacher learned in the rhetoric, poetry and philosophy of his
time. He was obviously a follower of the Egyptian poet Nonnus of Panopolis, of
the fifth century AD, and his poem seems also to presuppose the Paraphrase of
the Psalms of Pseudo-Apollinarius which can be dated to the period 460–470.Musaeus
takes up a subject whose first detailed treatment is preserved in Ovid’s
Heroides (Epistles 18 and 19), but he presents it in a quite different manner.
Among the literary antecedents to which this learned grammatikos expressly
alludes, the most prominent are Books 5 and 6 of the Odyssey and Plato’s
Phaedrus. He draws too on the Hymns of Proclus and the Metaphrasis of the
Gospel of St. John by Nonnus. He was most probably a Christian Neoplatonist
writing a Christian allegory.
18. CHARITON. 1 volume.
Callirhoe.
19. CLEMENT 1 volume
20. Demosthenes (DEMOSTENE, DEMOSTENIANA) 7 vols. -- Demosthenes
(384–322 a.C.), orator at Athens, was a pleader in law courts who later became
also a statesman, champion of the past greatness of his city and the present
resistance of Greece to the rise of Philip of Macedon to supremacy. We possess
by him political speeches and law-court speeches composed for parties in
private cases and political cases. His early reputation as the best of Greek
orators rests on his steadfastness of purpose, his sincerity, his clear and
pungent argument, and his severe control of language. In his law cases he is
the advocate, in his political speeches a castigator not of his opponents but
of their politics. Demosthenes gives us vivid pictures of public and private
life of his time.The first contains nine famous speeches in which he attempted
to rouse Athenian alarm about Macedonian ambitions: the three Olynthiacs, the
four Philippics, On the Peace, and On the Chersonese. Here too are Philip of
Macedon’s letter to Athens declaring war and the Answer to Philip’s
letter.Volume ivVolume vii
21 Dio (DIONE, DIONIANA)
9 volumes Cassio Dione, ca. 150–235 CE, was born at Nicaea in Bithynia in Asia
Minor. On the death of his father (Roman governor of Cilicia) Dio went in 180
to Rome, entered the Senate, and under the emperor Commodus was an advocate. He
held high offices, becoming a close friend of several emperors. He was made
governor of Pergamum and Smyrna; consul in 220; proconsul of Africa; governor
of Dalmatia and then of Pannonia; and consul again in 229.Of the 80 books of
Dio’s great work “Roman History”, covering the era from the legendary landing
of Enea in Italia to the reign of Alessandro Severo (222–235 d.C.), we possess
Books 36–60 (36 and 55–60 have gaps), which cover the years 68 a.C. to 47 d.C..
The missing portions are partly supplied, for the earlier gaps by Zonaras, who
relies closely on Dio, and for some later gaps (Book 35 onwards) by John
Xiphilino (of the eleventh century). There are also many excerpts. The
facilities for research afforded by Dio’s official duties and his own industry
make him a very vital source for Roman history of the last years of the
republic and the first four emperors.
22. DIO CHRYSOSTOM. 5
volumes. Discourses.
23. Diodorus (Diodoro,
Diodoriana) 12 volumes Diodoro Siculo, Greek historian of Agyrium in Sicily,
ca. 80–20 BCE, wrote forty books of world history, called Library of History,
in three parts: mythical history of peoples, non-Greek and Greek, to the Trojan
War; history to Alexander’s death (323 BCE); and history to 54 BCE. Of this we
have complete:Books 1–5: Egyptians, Assyrians, Ethiopians, GreeksBooks 11–20:
Greek history 480–302 BCEand fragments of the rest. He was an uncritical
compiler, but used good sources and reproduced them faithfully. He is valuable for
details unrecorded elsewhere, and as evidence for works now lost, especially
writings of Ephorus, Apollodorus, Agatharchides, Philistus, and Timaeus.Volume
iv volume xi
24. Diogenes (DIOGENE,
DIOGENIANA). 2 volumes. This rich compendium on the lives and doctrines of
philosophers ranges over three centuries, from Thales to Epicurus (to whom the
whole tenth book is devoted); 45 important figures are portrayed. Diogene
Laertius carefully compiled his information from hundreds of sources and
enriches his accounts with numerous quotations.Diogenes Laertius lived probably
in the earlier half of the third century d.C., his ancestry and birthplace
being unknown. His history, in ten
books, is divided unscientifically into two “Successions” or sections: “Ionian”
(from Anaximander to Theophrastus and Chrysippus, including theSocratic
schools) and “Italian” (from Pythagoras to Epicurus, including the Eleatics and
sceptics). It is a very valuable collection of quotations and facts.
25. Dionysius (DIONIGI,
DIONIGIANA). 9 vols – “Roman antiquities” in 7 vols and “Critical essays” in 2
volumes. Dionigi d’Alicarnasso had migrated to Rome by 30 BCE, where he lived
until his death some time after 8 a.C., writing his “Roman Antiquities” and
teaching the art of rhetoric and literary composition.Dionisio’s purpose, both
in his own work and in his teaching, was to re-establish the classical Attic
standards of purity, invention and taste in order to reassert the primacy of
Greek as the literary language of the Mediterranean world. He advocated the
minute study of the styles of the finest prose authors of the fifth and fourth
century a.C., especially the Attic orators. His critical essays on these and on the
historian Thucydides represent an important development from the somewhat
mechanical techniques of rhetorical handbooks to a more sensitive criticism of
individual authors. Illustrating his analysis with well-chosen examples,
Dionysius preserves a number of important fragments of Lysias and Isaeus.The
essays on those two orators and on Isocrates, Demosthenes, and Thucydides
comprise Volume I of this edition. Volume
II contains three letters to his students; a short essay on the orator
Dinarchus; and his finest work, the essay On Literary Composition, which
combines rhetoric, grammar, and criticism in a manner unique in ancient
literature.The Loeb Classical Library also publishes a seven-volume edition of
Roman Antiquities by Dionysius of Halicarnassus, a history from earliest times
to 264 BCE.Volume I critical essays IRoman antiquities
26 EPICTETUS – 2 volumes.
Discourses. Encheiridion.
27. Euripides (EURIPIDE,
EURIPIDIANA) – 8 volumes -- Euripides of Athens (ca. 485–406 a.C), famous in
every age for the pathos, terror, surprising plot twists, and intellectual
probing of his dramatic creations, wrote nearly ninety plays. Of these,
eighteen (plus a play of unknown authorship mistakenly included with his works)
have come down to us from antiquity. In this first volume of a new Loeb
Classical Library® edition of Euripides, David Kovacs gives us a freshly edited
Greek text of three plays and an accurate and graceful translation with
explanatory notes.The volume begins with Cyclops, a satyr play—the only
complete example of this genre to survive. Alcestis is the story of a woman who
agrees, in order to save her husband’s life, to die in his place. Medea is a
tragedy of revenge in which Medea kills her own children, as well as their
father’s new wife, to punish him for his desertion. Each play is preceded by an
introduction.In a General Introduction, Kovacs demonstrates that the
biographical tradition about Euripides—parts of which view him as a subverter
of morality, religion, and art—cannot be relied on. He argues that this
tradition has often furnished the unacknowledged starting point for
interpretation, and that the way is now clear for an unprejudiced consideration
of the plays themselves.Volume IV.
28. EUSEBIUS – 2 volumes.
Ecclesiastical history.
29. FRAGMENTS OF OLD
COMEDY. 3 volumes --
30. Galen. Galeno di Pergamum
(129–?199/216) – 4 volumes -- physician to the court of the emperor Marcus
Aurelius, was a philosopher, scientist, and medical historian, a theoretician
and practitioner, who wrote forcefully and prolifically on an astonishing range
of subjects and whose impact on later eras rivaled that of Aristotle. Galen synthesized the entirety of Greek
medicine as a basis for his own doctrines and practice, which comprehensively
embraced theory, practical knowledge, experiment, logic, and a deep
understanding of human life and society.New to the Loeb Classical Library is
Method of Medicine, a systematic and comprehensive account of the principles of
treating injury and disease and one of Galen’s greatest and most influential
works. Enlivening the detailed case studies are many theoretical and polemical
discussions, acute social commentary, and personal reflections.Natural
faculties
31 GREEK ANTHOLOGY
Antologia greca. 5 vols. The Greek Anthology contains some 4,500 short Greek
poems in the sparkling and diverse genre of epigram, written by more than a
hundred poets and collected over many centuries. To the original collection,
called The Garland (Stephanus) by its contributing editor, Meleager of Gadara
(first century BCE), was added another Garland by Philip of Thessalonica (mid-first
century CE) and then a Cycle by Agathias of Myrina (567/568 CE). In about 900
CE these collections (now lost) and perhaps others (also lost, by Rufinus,
Diogenianus, Strato, and Palladas) were partly incorporated and arranged into
fifteen books according to subject by Constantine Cephalas; most of his
collection is preserved in a manuscript called the Palatine Anthology. A second
manuscript, the Planudean Anthology made by Maximus Planudes in 1301, contains
additional epigrams omitted by Cephalas. Outstanding among the poets are
Meleager, Antipater of Sidon, Crinagoras, Palladas, Agathias, and Paulus
Silentiarius.This Loeb edition of The Greek Anthology replaces the earlier
edition by W. R. Paton, with a Greek text and ample notes reflecting current scholarship.
Volume I contains the following books: 1. Christian Epigrams; 2. Description of
the Statues in the Gymnasium of Zeuxippus; 3. Epigrams in the Temple of
Apollonis at Cyzicus; 4. Prefaces to Various Anthologies; and 5. Erotic
Epigrams.Volume I: I to VIVolume IV
32. GREEK BUCOLIC POETS –
1 volume.
33. GREEK ELEGIAC POETS –
1 volume.
34. GREEK EPIC FRAGMENTS
– 1 volume.
35. GREEK IAMBIC
FRAGMENTS – 1 volume.
36. GREEK LYRIC – 5 vols.
LYRA GRAECA Volume 2 (two copies)The new edition is called “Greek Lyric”.
37. GREEK MATHEMATICAL
works 2 volumesThe wonderful achievement of Greek mathematics is here
illustrated in two volumes of selected mathematical works. Volume I contains:
The divisions of mathematics; mathematics in Greek education; calculation;
arithmetical notation and operations, including square root and cube root;
Pythagorean arithmetic, including properties of numbers; square root of 2;
proportion and means; algebraic equations; Proclus; Thales; Pythagorean
geometry; Democritus; Hippocrates of Chios; duplicating the cube and squaring
the circle; trisecting angles; Theaetetus; Plato; Eudoxus of Cnidus (pyramid,
cone, etc.); Aristotle (the infinite, the lever); Euclid.Volume II (Loeb
Classical Library® no. 362) contains: Aristarchus (distances of sun and moon);
Archimedes (cylinder, sphere, cubic equations; conoids; spheroids; spiral;
expression of large numbers; mechanics; hydrostatics); Eratosthenes
(measurement of the earth); Apollonius (conic sections and other works); later
development of geometry; trigonometry (including Ptolemy’s table of sines);
mensuration: Heron of Alexandria; algebra: Diophantus (determinate and
indeterminate equations); the revival of geometry: Pappus.Volume 1Volume 2
38. HELLENISTIC
COLLECTION – 1 volume.
39. HERODIAN (Erodiano)
2 volume The History of Erodiano (born ca. 178–179 d.C.) covers a period of the
Roman empire from the death of the emperor Marc’Aurelius (180 CE) to the
accession of Gordian III (238), half a century of turbulence, in which we can
see the onset of the revolution which, in the words of Gibbon, “will ever be
remembered, and is still felt by the nations of the earth.” In these years, a
succession of frontier crises and a disastrous lack of economic planning
established a pattern of military coups and increasing cultural pluralism.Of
this revolutionary epoch we know all too little. The selection of chance has
destroyed all but a handful of the literary sources that deal with the
immediate post-Antonine scene. Herodian’s work is one of the few that have
survived, and it has come down to us completely intact. Of the author we know
virtually nothing, except that he served in some official capacity in the
empire of which he wrote. His History was apparently produced for the benefit
of people in the Greek-speaking half of the Roman empire. It betrays the faults
of an age when truth was distorted by rhetoric and stereotypes were a
substitute for sound reason. But it is an essential document for any who would
try to understand the nature of the Roman empire in an era of rapidly changing
social and political institutions.
40. HERODOTUS (Erodoto,
Erodotiana) I – 4 volumes.
41. HESIOD (Esiodo, Esiodiana)– The Homeric hymns
and Homerica. – 2 volumes.
42. HIPPOCRATES
(Ippocrate, Ippocratiana) I – 10 volumes.
43. HOMER (Omero,
Omeriana) Iliad I Iliad II – 4 volumes.
44. HOMERIC HYMNS – 1 volume.
45. ISAEUS. 1 volume.
46. ISOCRATES (Isocrate,
Isocratiana) I – 3 volumes.
47. JOHN DAMASCENE – 1 volume.
48. JOSEPHUS. 13
volumes.
49. JULIAN 3 volumes.
50. LIBANIUS – 4 volumes.
51. LONGUS – Daphnis and
Chloe. 1 volume.
52. LUCIAN -- 8 vols --
Lucian (ca. 120–190 d.C.), the satirist from Samosata on the Euphrates, started
as an apprentice sculptor, turned to rhetoric and visited Italy and Gaul as a
successful travelling lecturer, before settling in Athens and developing his
original brand of satire. Late in life he fell on hard times and accepted an
official post in Egypt.Although notable for the Attic purity and elegance of
his Greek and his literary versatility, Lucian is chiefly famed for the lively,
cynical wit of the humorous dialogues in which he satirizes human folly,
superstition, and hypocrisy. His aim was to amuse rather than to instruct.
Among his best works are A True Story (the tallest of tall stories, about a
voyage to the moon) and The Carousal or Symposium (philosophers misbehave at a
party) (both in Loeb Classical Library volume no. 14); Dialogues of the Gods (a
reductio ad absurdum of traditional mythology) and Dialogues of the Dead (on
the vanity of human wishes) (both in Loeb no. 431); Philosophies for Sale
(great philosophers of the past are auctioned off as slaves) and Timon (the
problems of being rich) (Loeb no. 54); The Fisherman (the degeneracy of modern
philosophers) and Twice Accused (Lucian’s defense of his literary career) (Loeb
no. 130); and, if by Lucian, The Ass (the amusing adventures ofa man who is
turned into an ass) (Loeb no. 432).The Loeb Classical Library edition of Lucian
is in eight volumes.Volume 3
53. LYSIAS (Lisia) 1
volume -- Lysias (ca. 458–ca. 380 BCE), born at Athens, son of a wealthy
Syracusan settled in Attica, lived in Peiraeus, where with his brother he
inherited his father’s shield factory. Being a loyal supporter of democracy,
Lysias took the side of the democrats at Athens against the Thirty Tyrants in
404, supplying shields and money. After one political speech in accusation of
Eratosthenes (one of the Thirty) in 405, he became at Athens a busy
professional speech writer for the law courts. At the Olympic festival of 388
he denounced, with riotous results, the costly display of the embassy sent by
Dionysius I of Syracuse and the domination of Sicily by Dionysius.The surviving
speeches of Lysias (about thirty complete out of a very much larger number) are
fluent, simple and graceful in style yet vivid in description. They suggest a
passionate partisan who was also a gentle humorous man. We see in him the art
of oratory young and fresh.
54. MANETHO – 1 volume.
55. MARCUS AURELIUS
(Marcaurelio (121–180 d.C.), 1 volume -- Roman emperor and Stoic philosopher,
born at Rome, received training under his guardian and uncle emperor Antoninus
Pius (reigned 138–161), who adopted him. He was converted to Stoicism and
henceforward studied and practised philosophy and law. A gentle man, he lived
in agreement and collaboration with Antoninus Pius. He married Pius’s daughter
and succeeded him as emperor in March 161, sharing some of the burdens with
Lucio Vero.Marc’Aurelio’s reign soon saw fearful national disasters from flood,
earthquakes, epidemics, threatened revolt (in Britain), a Parthian war, and
pressure of barbarians north of the Alps. From 169 onwards he had to struggle
hard against the German Quadi, Marcomani, Vandals, and others until success
came in 174. In 175 (when Faustina died) he pacified affairs in Asia after a
revolt by Avidius. War with Germans was renewed during which he caught some
disease and died by the Danube in March 180.The famous Meditations of
Marc’Aurelio (not his title; he simply calls them “The matters addressed to
himself”) represents reflections written inperiods of solitude during the
emperor’s military campaigns. Originally intended for his private guidance and
self-admonition, the Meditations has endured as a potent expression of Stoic
belief. It is a central text for students of Stoicism as well as a unique
personal guide to the moral life.
56. Menander (MENANDRO,
MENANDRIANA) 3 volumesMenander, the dominant figure in New Comedy, wrote over
100 plays. By the Middle Ages they had all been lost. Happily, papyrus finds in
Egypt during the past century have recovered one complete play, substantial
portions of six others, and smaller but still interesting fragments. Menander
was highly regarded in antiquity, and his plots, set in Greece, were adapted
for the Roman world by Plautus and Terence. The Loeb Classical Library edition
is in three volumes.Volume I contains six plays, including the only complete
one extant, Dyskolos (The Peevish Fellow), which won first prize in Athens in
317 BCE, and Dis Expaton (Twice a Swindler), the original of Plautus’s Two
Bacchises.Volume II contains the surviving portions of ten Menander plays.
Among these are the recently published fragments of Misoumenos (The Man She
Hated), which sympathetically presents the flawed relationship of a soldier and
a captive girl; and the surviving half of Perikeiromene (The Girl with Her Hair
Cut Short), a comedy of mistaken identity and lovers’ quarrel.Volume III begins
with Samia (The Woman from Samos), which has come down to us nearly complete. Here
too are the very substantial extant portions of Sikyonioi (The Sicyonians) and
Phasma (The Apparition) as well as Synaristosai (Women Lunching Together), on
which Plautus’s Cistellaria was based.Arnott’s edition of the great Hellenistic
playwright has garnered wide praise for making these fragmentary texts more
accesible, elucidating their dramatic movement.Volume: the principal fragments
57. MINOR ATTIC ORATORS –
2 vols. Antifone of Athens, born in 480 a.C., spent his prime in the great
period of Athens but, disliking democracy, was himself an ardent oligarch who
with others set up a violent short-lived oligarchy in 411. The restored
democracy executed him for treason. He had been a writer of speeches for other
people involved in litigation. Of the fifteen surviving works three concern
real murder cases. The others are exercises in speech-craft consisting of three
tetralogies, eachtetralogy comprising four skeleton speeches: accuser’s;
defendant’s; accuser’s reply; and defendant’s counter-reply.Andocides of Athens,
born ca. 440 BCE, disliked the extremes of both democracy and oligarchy.
Involved in religious scandal in 415 BCE, he went into exile. After at least
two efforts to return, he did so under the amnesty of 403. In 399 he was
acquitted on a charge of profaning the Mysteries and in 391–390 took part in an
abortive peace embassy to Sparta. Extant speeches are “On His Return” (a plea
on his second attempt); “On the Mysteries” (a self-defense); and “On the Peace
with Sparta.” The speech “Against Alcibiades” (the notorious politician) is
suspect.This is the first in a two-volume edition of Greek orators. The second
collects the speeches of four orators involved in the ill-fated resistance of
Athens to the power of Philip and Alexander the Great of Macedon.
58. NONNOS. Dionysiaca 3
vols.
59. Oppian (Oppiano) – 1
volume. of Cilicia flourished in the latter half of the second century, and
dedicated his Fishing (in five books) to “Antoninus,” presumably Marcus
Aurelius. “Fishing” deals with the habits and characteristics of fish as well
as giving instructions for fishing.If not exactly poetical, it contains a great
deal of curious information. The Chase, dedicated to Caracalla, is an inferior
composition and may even be the work of a Syrian imitator. The first book gives
an appreciation of the huntsman’s horses and hounds, the three remaining being
devoted to the hunting of wild animals, from the lion to the hare.This edition
is equipped with extensive zoological and ichthyological notes.This volume also
includes the extant work of two epic poets of Egypt who wrote in the second
half of the fifth century under the influence of Nonnus. Colluthus’s The Rape
of Helen, in 394 lines, is a pleasant account of the Judgement of Paris and
Helen’s elopement with him.Tryphiodoro (papyri reveal the correct spelling to
be “Triphiodorus”) deals with The Taking of Troy in 691 lines, beginning with
the Wooden Horse and ending with the sacrifice of Polyxena.
60. PAPIRY – 3 volumes –is
the first of two volumes giving a selection of Greek papyri relating to private
and public business. They cover a period from before 300 BCE to the eighth
century CE. Most were found in rubbish heaps or remains of ancient houses or in
tombs in Egypt. From such papyri we get much information about administration
and social and economic conditions in Egypt, and about native Egyptian, Greek,
Roman and Byzantine law, as well as glimpses of ordinary life.This volume
contains: Agreements (71 examples); these concern marriage, divorce, adoption,
apprenticeship, sales, leases, employment of labourers, Receipts (10), Wills
(6), Deed of disownment, Personal letters from men and women, young and old
(82), Memoranda (2), Invitations (5), Orders for payment (2), Agenda (2),
Accounts and inventories (12), Questions of oracles (3), Christian prayers (2),
A Gnostic charm, and Horoscopes (2).The three-volume Loeb Classical Library
edition of Select Papyri also includes a volume of poetry.
61. Pausanias (PAUSANIA,
PAUSANIANA) -- 5 vols -- Pausanias, born probably in Lydia in Asia Minor, was a
Greek of the second century CE, about 120–180, who traveled widely not only in
Asia Minor, Palestine, Egypt, and North Africa, but also in Greece and in
Italy, including Rome. He left a description of Greece in ten books, which is
like a topographical guidebook or tour of Attica, the Peloponnese, and central
Greece, filled out with historical accounts and events and digressions on facts
and wonders of nature. His chief interest was the monuments of art and
architecture, especially the most famous of them; the accuracy of his descriptions
of these is proved by surviving remains.Volume iVolume II
62. Philo (Filone,
Filoniana) 12 volumesThe philosopher Philo was born about 20 BCE to a
prominent Jewish family in Alexandria, the chief home of the Jewish Diaspora as
well as the chief center of Hellenistic culture; he was trained in Greek as
well as Jewish learning. In attempting to reconcile biblical teachings with
Greek philosophy he developed ideas that had wide influence on Christian and
Jewish religious thought. Volume I. Creation; Interpretation of Genesis II and
III, Volume II. On the Cherubim; The Sacrifices of Abel and Cain; The Worse
Attacks the Better; The Posterity and Exile of Cain; On the Giants. Voume III.
The Unchangeableness of God; On Husbandry; Noah’s Work as a Planter; On
Drunkenness; On Sobriety. Volume IV. The Confusion of Tongues; The Migration of
Abraham; The Heir of Divine Things; On the Preliminary Studies. Volume V. On
Flight and Finding; Change of Names; On Dreams. Volume VI. Abraham; Joseph;
Moses. Volume VII. The Decalogue; On Special Laws, Books I–III. Volume VIII. On
Special Laws, Book IV; On the Virtues; Rewards and Punishments. Volume IX.
Every Good Man Is Free; The Contemplative Life; The Eternity of the World;
Against Flaccus; Apology for the Jews; On Providence. Volume X. On the Embassy
to Gaius; indexes. Volume 11: Questions on Genesis. Volume 12: Questions on
Exodus; index to supplements. Volume VII
63. Philostratus
(FILOSTRATO, FILOSTRATIANA) – 4 vols. -- Of the distinguished Lemnian family of
Philostrati, Flavio Filostrato ca. 170–205 CE, was a sophist who lived in Rome.
Flavio Filostrato was author of the admirable Life of Apollonius of Tyana (Loeb
Classical Library nos. 16 and 17) and of Lives of the Sophists, a treasury of
information about notable sophists. Philostratus’s sketches of sophists in
action yield a fascinating picture of the predominant influence of Sophistic in
the educational, social, and political life of the Empire in the second and
third centuries.The Greek sophist and historian Eunapius was born at Sardis in
347 CE, but went to Athens to study and lived much of his life there teaching
rhetoric and possibly medicine. He was initiated into the mysteries and was
hostile to Christians. His Lives of Philosophers and Sophists (mainly
contemporary with himself) is our only source for knowledge of Neo-Platonism in
the latter part of the fourth century.
64. PHILOSTRATUS the
elder. 1 volume. IMAGINES.
65. Pindar (PINDARO,
PINDARIANA). 2 volumes. Of the lyric poets, Pindaro (ca. 518–438 a.C.) was “by
far the greatest for the magnificence of his inspiration” in Quintilian’s view.
Orazio judged him “sure to win Apollo’s laurels.” The esteem of the ancients
may help explain why a good portion of his work was carefully preserved. Most
of the Greek lyric poets come down to us only in bits and pieces, but nearly a
quarter of Pindar’s poems survive complete. We now brings, in two volumes, a
new edition and translation of the four books of victory odes, along with
surviving fragments of Pindar’s other poems.
Like Simonides and Bacchylides, Pindar wrote elaborate odes in honor of prize-winning athletes for public performance by singers, dancers, and musicians. His forty-five victory odes celebrate triumphs in athletic contests at the four great Panhellenic festivals: the Olympic, Pythian (at Delphi), Nemean, and Isthmian games. In these complex poems, Pindar commemorates the achievement of athletes and powerful rulers against the backdrop of divine favor, human failure, heroic legend, and the moral ideals of aristocratic Greek society. Readers have long savored them for their rich poetic language and imagery, moral maxims, and vivid portrayals of sacred myths.We provide brief introductions to each ode and full explanatory footnotes, offering the reader invaluable guidance to these often difficult poems. His new Loeb Classical Library edition of Pindar also contains a helpfully annotated edition and translation of significant fragments, including hymns, paeans, dithyrambs, maiden songs, and dirges.Volume II
Like Simonides and Bacchylides, Pindar wrote elaborate odes in honor of prize-winning athletes for public performance by singers, dancers, and musicians. His forty-five victory odes celebrate triumphs in athletic contests at the four great Panhellenic festivals: the Olympic, Pythian (at Delphi), Nemean, and Isthmian games. In these complex poems, Pindar commemorates the achievement of athletes and powerful rulers against the backdrop of divine favor, human failure, heroic legend, and the moral ideals of aristocratic Greek society. Readers have long savored them for their rich poetic language and imagery, moral maxims, and vivid portrayals of sacred myths.We provide brief introductions to each ode and full explanatory footnotes, offering the reader invaluable guidance to these often difficult poems. His new Loeb Classical Library edition of Pindar also contains a helpfully annotated edition and translation of significant fragments, including hymns, paeans, dithyrambs, maiden songs, and dirges.Volume II
66. Plato (PLATONE,
PLATONIANA).14 volumes Plato of Athens, who laid the foundations of the Western
philosophical tradition and in range and depth ranks among its greatest
practitioners, was born to a prosperous and politically active family ca. 427
a.C. In early life an admirer of Socrates, Plato later founded the first
institution of higher learning in the West, the Academy, among whose many
notable alumni was Aristotle. Traditionally ascribed to Plato are thirty-six
dialogues developing Socrates’s dialectic method and composed with great
stylistic virtuosity, together with thirteen letters.Republic, a masterpiece of
philosophical and political thought, concerns righteousness both in individuals
and in communities, and proposes an ideal state organized and governed on
philosophical principles. This edition, which replaces the original Loeb
Classical Library® edition by Paul Shorey, offers text, translation, and
annotation that are fully current with modern scholarship.The Loeb edition of
Plato is in twelve volumes.Laws I -- Laws XI – LYSIS – Cratylus – Eutyphor –
Theaetetus -- The republic – Charmindes -- The statesmen – Laches
67. Plotinus (PLOTINO,
PLOTINIANA) – 7 vols. (204/5–270 d.C.)
was the first and greatest of Neoplatonic philosophers. His writings were
edited by his disciple Porphyry, who published them many years after his
master’s death in six sets of nine treatises each (the Enneads).Plotinus
regarded Plato as his master, and his own philosophy is a profoundly original
development of the Platonism of the first two centuries of the Christian era
and the closely related thought of the Neopythagoreans, with some influences
from Aristotle and his followers and the Stoics, whose writings he knew well
but used critically. He is a unique combination of mystic and Hellenic
rationalist. His thought dominated later Greek philosophy and influenced both
Christians and Moslems, and is still alive today because of its union of
rationality and intense religious experience.In his acclaimed edition of
Plotinus, we provide excellent introductions to each treatise. The invaluable
notes explain obscure passages and give reference to parallels in Plotinus and
others.Volume I.
68. Plutarch (Plutarco,
Plutarcana) 26 volumes. Plutarco, ca. 45–120 d.C., was born at Chaeronea in
Boeotia in central Greece, studied philosophy at Athens.Plutarco came to Rome
as a teacher in philosophy, was given consular rank by the emperor Trajan and a
procuratorship in Greece by Adriano. He was married and the father of one
daughter and four sons. He appears as a man of kindly character and
independent thought, studious and learned.Plutarch wrote on many subjects. Most
popular have always been the 46 Parallel Lives, biographies planned to be
ethical examples in pairs (in each pair, one Greek figure and one similar
Roman), though the last four lives are single. All are invaluable sources of
our knowledge of the lives and characters of Greek and Roman statesmen, soldiers
and orators. Plutarch’s many other varied extant works, about 60 in number, are
known as Moralia or Moral Essays. They are of high literary value, besides
being of great use to people interested in philosophy, ethics, and religion.The
Loeb Classical Library edition of the Lives is in eleven volumes.Lives IMoralia
volume VMoralia Volume VIII
69. Polybius (Polibio, Polibiana) -- 6 vols -- The historian 200–118 a.C. was born into a leading family of Megalopolis in the Peloponnese and served the Achaean League in arms and diplomacy for many years, favoring alliance with Rome. From 168 to 151 he was held hostage in Rome, where he became a friend of Lucio Emilio Paolo and his two sons, especially Scipio Aemilianus, whose campaigns, including the destruction of Carthage, he later attended. Late in his life, as a trusted mediator between Greece and the Romans, he helped in the discussions that preceded the final war with Carthage, and after 146 was entrusted by the Romans with the details of administration in Greece.Polibius’s overall theme is how and why the Romans spread their power as they did. The main part of his history covers the years 264–146a.C., describing the rise of Rome, her destruction of Carthage, and her eventual domination of the Greek world. It is a vital achievement of the first importance despite the incomplete state in which all but the first five of its original forty books have reached us.For this edition, explanatory notes and a new introduction added, all reflecting the latest scholarship.Volume 6: The histories
70. Procopius (Procopio, Procopiana) 7 vols. -- born at Caesarea in Palestine
late in the 5th century, became a lawyer. In 527 CE he was made legal adviser
and secretary of Belisarius, commander against the Persians, and went with
Belisarius again in 533 against the Vandals and in 535 against the Ostrogoths.
Sometime after 540 he returned to Constantinople. He may have been that
Procopius who was prefect of Constantinople in 562, but the date of his death
(after 558) is unknown. Procopius’s History of the Wars in 8 books (here
collected in five volumes) recounts the Persian Wars of emperors GIUSTINO and
GIUSTINIANO down to 550 (2 books); the Vandalic War and after-events in Africa
532–546 (2 books); the Gothic War against the Ostrogoths in Sicily and Italy
536–552 (3 books); and a sketch of events to 554 (1 book). The whole consists
largely of military history, with much information about peoples and places as
well, and about special events. He was a diligent, careful, judicious narrator
of facts and developments and shows good powers of description. He is just to
the empire’s enemies and boldly criticises emperor Justinian.Other works by
Procopius are the Anecdota or Secret History—vehement attacks on Justinian,
Theodora, and others; and On Buildings (or The Buildings of Justinian) which
describes (to 558 CE) roads and bridges as well as churches, forts, hospitals,
and so on in various parts of the empire.Volume 1: History of the warsVolume 2:
history of the warsVolume 3: History of the warsVolume IV history of the
warsVolume V: History of the war
71. PTOLEMY. 1 volume.
72. Quintus Smyrnaus (QUINTO, QUINTIANA). 1 volume. Quinto was a poet
who lived at Smyrna some four hundred years after Christ. His work, in fourteen
books, is a bold and generally underrated attempt in Homer’s style to complete
the story of Troy from the point at which the Iliad closes. Quintus tells us
the stories of Penthesilea, the Amazonian queen; Memnon, leader of the
Ethiopians; the death of Achilles; the contest for Achilles’ arms between Ajax
and Odysseus; the arrival of Philoctetes; and the making of the Wooden Horse.
The poem ends with the departure of the Greeks and the great storm which by the
wrath of heaven shattered their fleet.
73. Sextus (Sesto,
Sestiana)-- 4 vols -- Empirico (ca. 160–210 CE), exponent of skepticism and
critic of the Dogmatists, was a Greek physician and philosopher, pupil and
successor of the medical skeptic (not the historian) Herodotus of Tarsus. He
lived in Rome.His three surviving works are Outlines of Pyrrhonism (three books
on the practical and ethical skepticism of Pyrrho of Elis, ca. 360–275 BCE, as
developed later, presenting also a case against the Dogmatists); Against
Dogmatists (five books—here in two volumes—dealing with the Logicians, the
Physicists, and the Ethicists); and Against Professors (six books: Grammarians,
Rhetors, Geometers, Arithmeticians, Astrologers, and Musicians). These two
latter works might be called a general criticism of professors of all arts and
sciences. Sextus’s work is a valuable source for the history of thought
especially because of his development and formulation of former skeptic
doctrines.The Loeb Classical Library edition of Sextus Empiricus is in four
volumes.Volume 1: Outlines of PhyrronismVolume III: Against the physicists
74. Sophocles (Sofocle, Sofocliana) 3 vols. (497/6–406 a.C.), with Eschilo and Euripide, was one of the three great tragic poets of Athens, and is considered one of the world’s greatest poets. The subjects of his plays were drawn from mythology and legend. Each play contains at least one heroic figure, a character whose strength, courage, or intelligence exceeds the human norm—but who also has more than ordinary pride and self-assurance. These qualities combine to lead to a tragic end.We have, in two volumes, a new translation of the seven surviving plays. Volume I contains EDIPO RE (which tells the famous Oedipus story)AIACE (a heroic tragedy of wounded self-esteem), and ELETTRA (the story of siblings who seek revenge on their mother and her lover for killing their father).Volume II contains Oedipus at Colonus (the climax of the fallen hero’s life)Antigone (a conflict between public authority and an individual woman’s conscience)The Women of Trachis (a fatal attempt by Heracles’s wife to regain her husband’s love), and Philoctetes (Odysseus’s intrigue to bring an unwilling hero to the Trojan War).Of his other plays, only fragments remain; but from these much can be learned about Sophocles’s language and dramatic art. The major fragments—ranging in length from two lines to a very substantial portion of the satyr play The Searchers—are collected in Volume III of this edition. In prefatory notes, Lloyd-Jones provides frameworks for the fragments of known plays.Volume I. Sophocles (SOFOCLE, SOFOCLIANA) I: Edipo re, Edipo a Colonna, Antigona
75. Strabo (Strabone, Straboniana)
– 8 vols. -- (ca. 64 BCE to ca. 25 CE), a Greek of Amasia in Pontus, studied at
at Rome. Strabone became a keen traveler who saw a large part of ITALIA (his
books V and VI), various near eastern regions including the Black Sea, various
parts of AsiaMinor, Egypt as far as Ethiopia, and parts of Greece. He was a
long time in Alexandria, where he no doubt studied mathematics, astronomy, and
history.Strabo’s historical work is lost, but his most important Geography in
seventeen books has survived. After two introductory books, books 3 and 4 deal
with Spain and Gaul.Books 5 and 6 with Italy and SicilyBooks 7 with north and
east EuropeBooks 8–10 with Greek landsBooks 11–14 with the main regions of Asia
and with Asia MinorBook 15 with India and IranBook 16 with Assyria, Babylonia,
Syria, and ArabiaBook 17 with Egypt and Africa. In outline he follows the great
mathematical geographer Eratosthenes, but adds general descriptions of separate
countries including physical, political, and historical details. A sequel to
his historical memoirs, Geography is planned apparently for public servants
rather than students—hence the accounts of physical features and of natural
products. On the mathematical side itis an invaluable source of information
about Eratosthenes,Hipparchus, and Posidonius.Volume I: Books 1-2Volume II:
Books 3-5 (Book 5: ITALIA 1)Volume III: Books 6-7 (Book 6: ITALIA-Sicilia 2)
Volume IV: Books 8-9Volume V: Books 10-12Volume VI: Books 13-14Volume VII:
Books 15-16Volume VIII: Books 17 -- General Index. Volume VIII the geography
76. Theophrastus (Teofrasto, Teofrastiana). 6 vols. This volume collects important examples of literary portraiture. The Characters of Teofrasto consists of thirty fictional sketches of men who are each dominated by a single fault, such as arrogance, boorishness, or superstition. The Hellenistic poet Erodas wrote mimes, a popular entertainment in which one actor or a small group portrayed a situation from everyday life, concentrating on depiction of character rather than on plot. The volume also includes a new translation and text of extant portions of the mimes of Sofrone, a Syracusan of the fifth century BCE. Here too is a selection of anonymous mime fragments.The work of Sofrone and the anonymous mime fragments are newly added to the Loeb Classical Library in this second edition of a volume published in1993. Jeffrey Rusten and Ian C. Cunningham have also updated their editions of Theophrastus and Herodas.
77. Thucydides (Tucidide, Tucididiana) 4 vols. History of the
Peloponnesian War, II.
78. Xenophon (Senofonte, Senofontiana)
7 vols. 430-354 a.C, a member of a wealthy but politically quietist Athenian
family and an admirer of Socrates, left Athens in 401 BCE to serve as a
mercenary commander for Cyrus the Younger of Persia, then joined the staff of
King Agesilaus II of Sparta before settling in Elis and, in the aftermath of
the battle of Leuctra in 371 BCE, retiring to Corinth. His historical and biographical
works, Socratic dialogues and reminiscences, and short treatises on hunting,
horsemanship, economics, and the Spartan constitution are richly informative
about his own life and times.This volume collects Xenophon’s portrayals of his
associate, Socrates. In Memorabilia (or Memoirs of Socrates) and in
Oeconomicus, a dialogue about household management, we see the philosopher
through Xenophon’s eyes. Here, as in the accompanying Symposium, we also obtain
insight on life in Athens. The volume concludes with Xenophon’s Apology, an
interesting complement to Plato’s account of Socrates’s defense at his
trial.Volume iv
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