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Tacitus, The Man and His Work
Preface
Part 1. Life & qualifications
Historiography before Tacitus
Religious & philosophical position
Tacitus' political theory
Literary style
Technique of composition
Character delineation
Tacitus as historian of military affairs
Digressions in the historical works
Sources
Credibility of Tacitus' history
Part 2. From publication to discovery
Discovery of the works
Manuscripts of the minor works
Manuscript affiliations of the major works
Manuscript affiliations: books XI-XXI
Titles
History of the printed text
Selected Bibliography
Index
Part 1. Life & qualifications
Historiography before Tacitus
Religious & philosophical position
Tacitus' political theory
Literary style
Technique of composition
Character delineation
Tacitus as historian of military affairs
Digressions in the historical works
Sources
Credibility of Tacitus' history
Part 2. From publication to discovery
Discovery of the works
Manuscripts of the minor works
Manuscript affiliations of the major works
Manuscript affiliations: books XI-XXI
Titles
History of the printed text
Selected Bibliography
Index
397 pages, Unknown Binding
First published January 1, 1957
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
April 8, 2024
Studying the bible got me interested in textual transmission theory, modern bibles being various attempts to get at true text in the face of ten of thousands of variant holographs spanning centuries and continents. This, of course, is likely an unachievable ideal--a 'regulative ideal of reason' as Kant would have it.
Mendell's 'Tacitus' is such a work of scholarship and, for me, a daunting read. I'd taken Latin years ago, but haven't retained enough to critically read his many quotations in the language. Nor have I the background in the study of antiquarian manuscripts to understand his descriptions without reference to dictionaries (some words weren't even in my edition of the greater Websters). Still, I trudged through his apparently exhaustive work to get a sense of how transmission theory plays out in the field of Latin literature.
For what it's worth, I had read the Annals, the Histories and Agricola in translation. Having done so, I was hoping for more of a review of their contents and the historicity of such than Mendell offers. Such, however, was hardly his concern.
Biblical study is currently being radically improved by our ability now to digitalize texts, allowing a scope of comparison far beyond the capacity of any scholar. This book, published in 1957, does not represent this advance.
Mendell's 'Tacitus' is such a work of scholarship and, for me, a daunting read. I'd taken Latin years ago, but haven't retained enough to critically read his many quotations in the language. Nor have I the background in the study of antiquarian manuscripts to understand his descriptions without reference to dictionaries (some words weren't even in my edition of the greater Websters). Still, I trudged through his apparently exhaustive work to get a sense of how transmission theory plays out in the field of Latin literature.
For what it's worth, I had read the Annals, the Histories and Agricola in translation. Having done so, I was hoping for more of a review of their contents and the historicity of such than Mendell offers. Such, however, was hardly his concern.
Biblical study is currently being radically improved by our ability now to digitalize texts, allowing a scope of comparison far beyond the capacity of any scholar. This book, published in 1957, does not represent this advance.
Displaying 1 of 1 review