Critics, Compilers, and Commentators: An Introduction to Roman Philology, 200 BCE-800 CE - Softcover

Zetzel, James E.G.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0195380525 ISBN 13: 9780195380521

Publisher: Oxford University Press, 2018

Synopsis

"To teach correct Latin and to explain the poets" were the two standard duties of Roman teachers. Not only was a command of literary Latin a prerequisite for political and social advancement, but a sense of Latin's history and importance contributed to the Romans' understanding of their own cultural identity. Put plainly, philology-the study of language and texts-was important at Rome. Critics, Compilers, and Commentators is the first comprehensive introduction to the history, forms, and texts of Roman philology. James Zetzel traces the changing role and status of Latin as revealed in the ways it was explained and taught by the Romans themselves. In addition, he provides a descriptive bibliography of hundreds of scholarly texts from antiquity, listing editions, translations, and secondary literature. Recovering a neglected but crucial area of Roman intellectual life, this book will be an essential resource for students of Roman literature and intellectual history, medievalists, and historians of education and language science.

About this title

About the Author

James E.G. Zetzel is Anthon Professor of the Latin Language and Literature at Columbia University. He studied at Harvard University and the Institute of Classical Studies of the University of London; he has taught at Brown and Princeton Universities and for the last 32 years at Columbia University. He has written extensively on the literature of the first century BCE and on the history of classical scholarship. He has also published two volumes of translations of Cicero.

Review

"Zetzel has done a splendid job of breathing life into the apparently dry pedantic world of the schoolroom, and his account of a vast array of literature manages to be both helpful to the scholar and of value to the interested reader whose own grammar studies perhaps began (and ended) with B.H. Kennedy." -- John Godwin, Classics for all

"Zetzel's volume is an enormous achievement, covering a much longer historical period than any discussion of Roman philology has done before, at least in such a detailed and consistent way. It constitutes a most valuable tool and an indispensable starting point for anyone studying the history of Roman philology in general and of Latin grammaticography in particular." -- Historiographia Linguistica

"This unparalleled work fills an immense gap in the history of Roman philology. Experts and general readers alike owe a profound debt to Prof. Zetzel. Only a scholar with mastery of the grammatical textual tradition in its entirety could deliver such a methodical, lucid, and consistently stimulating account." -- Alessandro Garcea, Sorbonne Université

"This is a book that anyone with a serious interest in classical Latin language and literature will want to own and read. It represents a truly staggering amount of chalcenteric labor, carried out to meet the highest standard of excellence, by a scholar who has no peer in this field today. It is a great achievement and will be recognized as an indispensable resource for generations." -- Robert A. Kaster, Princeton University

"James Zetzel has written two outstanding books in one. The second half of Critics, Compilers, and Commentators is a modern portrait gallery of our ancestors, the ancient scholars who hover behind our Latin texts. The first half tells a fascinating story of how the work they did coalesced into a cultural project." -- Peter White, University of Chicago

Edition details

• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication date: 2018
• ISBN 10: 0195380525
• ISBN 13: 9780195380521
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 448