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The Attic Nights of Aulus Gellius, Vol. 2 of 3
Excerpt from The Attic Nights of Aulus Gellius
Thefe he fays were not produced by nature, but by certain neceiiary confequenccs, which he de nominates xot'roo napaoaqna-m. Â Thus he remarks, when nature creates the bodies of men, a more fubtle caufc, and the very ufefulnefs of his work.
Thefe he fays were not produced by nature, but by certain neceiiary confequenccs, which he de nominates xot'roo napaoaqna-m. Â Thus he remarks, when nature creates the bodies of men, a more fubtle caufc, and the very ufefulnefs of his work.
376 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1927
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Books whose authorship is purposefully withheld should be attributed instead to Anonymous.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
November 30, 2025
What a massive nerd. Imagine going on a date with him and he just babbles on about grammarians. Wonderful
August 14, 2018
This is another entry into the 'Classical books which everyone quotes, but no one reads' category. Aulus Gellius' Attic Nights is a fascinating miscellany which began as Gellius' random notes on things he read which he began while living in Athens as a student. The notes cover a wide range of topics from history to science to philosophy to grammar/rhetoric, lots of grammar and rhetoric. Now, you'd think that this would make this book deadly to read, but Gellius writes engagingly and can even be rather funny at times.
The result is a book which is a bit of a treasure trove for the Classicist (thus, explaining why everyone quotes it) because Gellius reads very widely in Latin and in Greek. That means that he has access to sources which have been lost for millenia. Indeed, because of his evident love of pre-Vergillian poets, this work garners a surprisingly high proportion of our fragments for these writers. His major concerns are literary, so we see him frequently defending authors against what he feels to be unjust criticism and dealing out his own criticism when he sees fit. One of his favourite tropes is the ignorant pseudo-critic put down by a more educated peer (Gellius himself or his teacher, Favorinus, among others). Gellius has an easy familiarity with Greek and Roman literature and, as a result, gives a native speaker's point of view on Latinity. We can't know if this was a general view, but the insider's view is precious for scholars today.
For all its charm and usefulness, I should also note that readers with a low tolerance for pomposity might find this an annoying part of this book. Gellius is learned, but really a learned dilittante. He is a bit affected and more than a little pompous. He is that literate friend who has an opinion on everything. Interesting, but, occasionally, annoying. He's still well worth reading for his lively style and his interesting content.
The result is a book which is a bit of a treasure trove for the Classicist (thus, explaining why everyone quotes it) because Gellius reads very widely in Latin and in Greek. That means that he has access to sources which have been lost for millenia. Indeed, because of his evident love of pre-Vergillian poets, this work garners a surprisingly high proportion of our fragments for these writers. His major concerns are literary, so we see him frequently defending authors against what he feels to be unjust criticism and dealing out his own criticism when he sees fit. One of his favourite tropes is the ignorant pseudo-critic put down by a more educated peer (Gellius himself or his teacher, Favorinus, among others). Gellius has an easy familiarity with Greek and Roman literature and, as a result, gives a native speaker's point of view on Latinity. We can't know if this was a general view, but the insider's view is precious for scholars today.
For all its charm and usefulness, I should also note that readers with a low tolerance for pomposity might find this an annoying part of this book. Gellius is learned, but really a learned dilittante. He is a bit affected and more than a little pompous. He is that literate friend who has an opinion on everything. Interesting, but, occasionally, annoying. He's still well worth reading for his lively style and his interesting content.
September 3, 2025
"Once upon a time, when I was riding in a carriage, to keep my mind from being dull and unoccupied and a prey to worthless trifles, it chanced to occur to me to try to recall the names of weapons, darts and swords which are found in the early histories, and also the various kinds of boats and their names."
hasta, pilum, phalarica, semiphalarica, soliferrea, gaesa, lancea, spari, rumices, trifaces, tragulae, frameae, mesanculae, cateiae, rumpiae, scorpii, sibones, siciles, veruta, enses, sicae, macherae, spathae, lingulae, pugiones, clunacula.
hasta, pilum, phalarica, semiphalarica, soliferrea, gaesa, lancea, spari, rumices, trifaces, tragulae, frameae, mesanculae, cateiae, rumpiae, scorpii, sibones, siciles, veruta, enses, sicae, macherae, spathae, lingulae, pugiones, clunacula.
October 25, 2015
If I were better versed in Latin, it would be five stars. Love the lore of this book--fascinating!
October 30, 2015
Full work reviewed here.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews