Ruth Morello and A. D. Morrison (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199203956
- eISBN:
- 9780191708244
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199203956.001.0001
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Literary Studies: Classical, Early, and Medieval
The surviving body of ancient letters offers the reader a stunning variety of material, ranging from the everyday letters preserved among the Oxyrhynchus papyri to imperial rescripts, New Testament ...
More
The surviving body of ancient letters offers the reader a stunning variety of material, ranging from the everyday letters preserved among the Oxyrhynchus papyri to imperial rescripts, New Testament Epistles, fictional or pseudepigraphical letters and a wealth of missives on almost every conceivable subject. They offer us a unique insight into ancient practices in the fields of politics, literature, philosophy, medicine, and many other areas. This collection presents a series of case studies in ancient letters, asking how each letter writer manipulates the epistolary tradition, why he chose the letter form over any other, and what effect the publication of volumes of collected letters might have had upon a reader's engagement with epistolary works. This volume brings together both well-established and new scholars currently working in the fields of ancient literature, history, philosophy, and medicine to engage in a shared debate about this most adaptable and ‘interdisciplinary’ of genres.Less
The surviving body of ancient letters offers the reader a stunning variety of material, ranging from the everyday letters preserved among the Oxyrhynchus papyri to imperial rescripts, New Testament Epistles, fictional or pseudepigraphical letters and a wealth of missives on almost every conceivable subject. They offer us a unique insight into ancient practices in the fields of politics, literature, philosophy, medicine, and many other areas. This collection presents a series of case studies in ancient letters, asking how each letter writer manipulates the epistolary tradition, why he chose the letter form over any other, and what effect the publication of volumes of collected letters might have had upon a reader's engagement with epistolary works. This volume brings together both well-established and new scholars currently working in the fields of ancient literature, history, philosophy, and medicine to engage in a shared debate about this most adaptable and ‘interdisciplinary’ of genres.
John Reumann
- Published in print:
- 1991
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198262015
- eISBN:
- 9780191682285
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198262015.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Biblical Studies
The blend of variety and unity apparent in the thought of the New Testament has been a subject for theological debate through the ages. Certain themes, teachings, and characterizations are clearly ...
More
The blend of variety and unity apparent in the thought of the New Testament has been a subject for theological debate through the ages. Certain themes, teachings, and characterizations are clearly consistent, but others are perplexing in their diversity. This distinction was acknowledged by the New Testament writers themselves. For example, the author of 2 Peter looking back at the letters of ‘our beloved brother Paul’ confesses that they contain ‘some things hard to understand’. This book explores in detail the different aspects of variety and unity in the entire New Testament. The book gives special attention to the sixteen books which fall outside the central Gospels and Pauline epistles and which offer the greatest challenge to the defence of unity. These include such important writings as Revelation, 1 Peter, Hebrews, and James. The discussion shows that, despite contemporary emphasis on the pluralism of the writings, there remains a central unifying focus: faith in Jesus as the Christ. Emphases on social setting, rhetoric, and narrative are shown to enrich traditional historical criticism and to open up the New Testament for readers today.Less
The blend of variety and unity apparent in the thought of the New Testament has been a subject for theological debate through the ages. Certain themes, teachings, and characterizations are clearly consistent, but others are perplexing in their diversity. This distinction was acknowledged by the New Testament writers themselves. For example, the author of 2 Peter looking back at the letters of ‘our beloved brother Paul’ confesses that they contain ‘some things hard to understand’. This book explores in detail the different aspects of variety and unity in the entire New Testament. The book gives special attention to the sixteen books which fall outside the central Gospels and Pauline epistles and which offer the greatest challenge to the defence of unity. These include such important writings as Revelation, 1 Peter, Hebrews, and James. The discussion shows that, despite contemporary emphasis on the pluralism of the writings, there remains a central unifying focus: faith in Jesus as the Christ. Emphases on social setting, rhetoric, and narrative are shown to enrich traditional historical criticism and to open up the New Testament for readers today.
Paul B. Clayton, Jr.
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780198143987
- eISBN:
- 9780191711497
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198143987.003.0006
- Subject:
- Religion, Early Christian Studies
This chapter begins by looking very briefly at the tenth sermon of Theodoret's on providence. It then examines the Isaiah and Pauline commentaries, the most important regarding the question of ...
More
This chapter begins by looking very briefly at the tenth sermon of Theodoret's on providence. It then examines the Isaiah and Pauline commentaries, the most important regarding the question of Theodoret's Christology.Less
This chapter begins by looking very briefly at the tenth sermon of Theodoret's on providence. It then examines the Isaiah and Pauline commentaries, the most important regarding the question of Theodoret's Christology.
CARLO GINZBURG
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780197263945
- eISBN:
- 9780191734038
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197263945.003.0008
- Subject:
- History, Cultural History
This chapter discusses a new interpretation of an epistle to Cangrande della Scala, a lord of Verona. For over a century, the question of whether Dante wrote the epistle or not has been the object of ...
More
This chapter discusses a new interpretation of an epistle to Cangrande della Scala, a lord of Verona. For over a century, the question of whether Dante wrote the epistle or not has been the object of a passionate scholarly debate. The new interpretation of the epistle presented in the chapter focuses on the role played by Giovanni Boccaccio in promoting the literary cult of Dante.Less
This chapter discusses a new interpretation of an epistle to Cangrande della Scala, a lord of Verona. For over a century, the question of whether Dante wrote the epistle or not has been the object of a passionate scholarly debate. The new interpretation of the epistle presented in the chapter focuses on the role played by Giovanni Boccaccio in promoting the literary cult of Dante.
A. D. Morrison
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199203956
- eISBN:
- 9780191708244
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199203956.003.0005
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Literary Studies: Classical, Early, and Medieval
This chapter investigates how the ‘epistolarity’, the ‘letteriness’ of Horace's Epistles relates to and complements the didactic, instructive element of the book and vice versa. Horace is the first ...
More
This chapter investigates how the ‘epistolarity’, the ‘letteriness’ of Horace's Epistles relates to and complements the didactic, instructive element of the book and vice versa. Horace is the first poet to compose or construct a book of verse-letters, a dedicated poetry-book in epistolary form, Epistles book 1 (in 20/19 BC). Epistles 1 also plays an important role in the development of ancient philosophical epistolography. It adapts, in part, the letters of Epicurus, and itself forms a model (along with those same letters of Epicurus) for Seneca's letters to Lucilius, but it also engages with Lucretius' philosophical didactic poem, the De Rerum Natura, as well as the figure and methods of the archetypal ancient philosopher, Socrates. In Epistles 1 Horace explicitly employs what can be usefully described as the ‘didactic mode’: the collection of letters contains very many imperatives, and other ‘imperatival expressions’, directing, instructing, and exhorting its internal addressees in various ways. In various parts of the different epistles, then, ‘Horace’, the narrator, seems to be teaching or advising his addressees.Less
This chapter investigates how the ‘epistolarity’, the ‘letteriness’ of Horace's Epistles relates to and complements the didactic, instructive element of the book and vice versa. Horace is the first poet to compose or construct a book of verse-letters, a dedicated poetry-book in epistolary form, Epistles book 1 (in 20/19 BC). Epistles 1 also plays an important role in the development of ancient philosophical epistolography. It adapts, in part, the letters of Epicurus, and itself forms a model (along with those same letters of Epicurus) for Seneca's letters to Lucilius, but it also engages with Lucretius' philosophical didactic poem, the De Rerum Natura, as well as the figure and methods of the archetypal ancient philosopher, Socrates. In Epistles 1 Horace explicitly employs what can be usefully described as the ‘didactic mode’: the collection of letters contains very many imperatives, and other ‘imperatival expressions’, directing, instructing, and exhorting its internal addressees in various ways. In various parts of the different epistles, then, ‘Horace’, the narrator, seems to be teaching or advising his addressees.
Michèle Lowrie
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- February 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199545674
- eISBN:
- 9780191719950
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199545674.003.0008
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Literary Studies: Classical, Early, and Medieval
This is the first in a series of chapters on the Augustan literary epistle, where the advantages of writing come to the fore. A brief treatment of Catullus 50 outlines some of the semiotic issues of ...
More
This is the first in a series of chapters on the Augustan literary epistle, where the advantages of writing come to the fore. A brief treatment of Catullus 50 outlines some of the semiotic issues of communication in absence as an introduction to the heroine epistles of Propertius and Ovid. Although separation is a source of frustration for all the literal or metaphorical lovers in these poems, their situations provide an occasion for their respective poets to explore the gap between the insufficiency of writing as a medium of communication between lovers and its great advantages for reaching a more general reader. The power of representation, of imagination, as well as concerns that anticipate modern speech act theory are addressed.Less
This is the first in a series of chapters on the Augustan literary epistle, where the advantages of writing come to the fore. A brief treatment of Catullus 50 outlines some of the semiotic issues of communication in absence as an introduction to the heroine epistles of Propertius and Ovid. Although separation is a source of frustration for all the literal or metaphorical lovers in these poems, their situations provide an occasion for their respective poets to explore the gap between the insufficiency of writing as a medium of communication between lovers and its great advantages for reaching a more general reader. The power of representation, of imagination, as well as concerns that anticipate modern speech act theory are addressed.
Douglas M. MacDowell
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- February 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199287192
- eISBN:
- 9780191713552
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199287192.001.0001
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Prose and Writers: Classical, Early, and Medieval
Concentrating on Demosthenes' texts rather than his politics, this book describes and assesses all his speeches, including those for the lawcourts as well as the addresses to the Ekklesia. Besides ...
More
Concentrating on Demosthenes' texts rather than his politics, this book describes and assesses all his speeches, including those for the lawcourts as well as the addresses to the Ekklesia. Besides the genuine speeches, it also covers those which probably are wrongly ascribed to Demosthenes, such as those written for delivery by Apollodoros. It considers the Epistles, the Prooimia, and the Erotic Speech. The arguments of each speech are analysed. The question whether the texts reproduce accurately what was actually spoken is approached cautiously. There is a short survey of Demosthenes' prose style, with examples quoted in Greek. In the rest of the book quotations are given in the author's own translations, with the Greek words added in footnotes where appropriate.Less
Concentrating on Demosthenes' texts rather than his politics, this book describes and assesses all his speeches, including those for the lawcourts as well as the addresses to the Ekklesia. Besides the genuine speeches, it also covers those which probably are wrongly ascribed to Demosthenes, such as those written for delivery by Apollodoros. It considers the Epistles, the Prooimia, and the Erotic Speech. The arguments of each speech are analysed. The question whether the texts reproduce accurately what was actually spoken is approached cautiously. There is a short survey of Demosthenes' prose style, with examples quoted in Greek. In the rest of the book quotations are given in the author's own translations, with the Greek words added in footnotes where appropriate.
Ole Jakob Løland
- Published in print:
- 2020
- Published Online:
- September 2020
- ISBN:
- 9780823286553
- eISBN:
- 9780823288816
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Fordham University Press
- DOI:
- 10.5422/fordham/9780823286553.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Biblical Studies
Paul has been rediscovered outside of the apostle’s traditional religious reading circles, particularly among radical leftist philosophers such as Giorgio Agamben, Alain Badiou, and Slavoj Žižek. ...
More
Paul has been rediscovered outside of the apostle’s traditional religious reading circles, particularly among radical leftist philosophers such as Giorgio Agamben, Alain Badiou, and Slavoj Žižek. This is the first book to historically and philosophically situate the forerunner of this recent philosophical turn to Paul, the Jewish rabbi and philosopher Jacob Taubes (1923–1987). Paul becomes an effective tool for Taubes to position himself within European philosophical debates of the twentieth century, a position he gains through Nietzsche’s polemical readings of the ancient apostle as well as through Freud’s psychoanalysis. Taubes performs a powerful deconstruction of dominant conceptions of the apostle, such as the view that Paul is the first Christian who broke definitively with Judaism and drained Christianity of its political potential. As a Jewish rabbi steeped in a philosophical tradition marked by European Christianity, Taubes is able to emphasize Paul’s Jewishness as well as the political explosiveness of the apostle’s revolutionary doctrine of the cross. For Taubes, the Pauline movement was the birth of a politics of ugliness, the invention of a revolutionary notion trenchantly critical of the “beautiful” culture of the powerful, a movement which sides definitively with the oppressed—the “crucified”—against the strong. Building on Nietzsche’s and Taubes’s insights, Løland suggests future directions that readings of Paul the apostle might lead in light of recent biblical scholarship on Paul and current discussions of the Pauline epistles within reading circles of the continental philosophers.Less
Paul has been rediscovered outside of the apostle’s traditional religious reading circles, particularly among radical leftist philosophers such as Giorgio Agamben, Alain Badiou, and Slavoj Žižek. This is the first book to historically and philosophically situate the forerunner of this recent philosophical turn to Paul, the Jewish rabbi and philosopher Jacob Taubes (1923–1987). Paul becomes an effective tool for Taubes to position himself within European philosophical debates of the twentieth century, a position he gains through Nietzsche’s polemical readings of the ancient apostle as well as through Freud’s psychoanalysis. Taubes performs a powerful deconstruction of dominant conceptions of the apostle, such as the view that Paul is the first Christian who broke definitively with Judaism and drained Christianity of its political potential. As a Jewish rabbi steeped in a philosophical tradition marked by European Christianity, Taubes is able to emphasize Paul’s Jewishness as well as the political explosiveness of the apostle’s revolutionary doctrine of the cross. For Taubes, the Pauline movement was the birth of a politics of ugliness, the invention of a revolutionary notion trenchantly critical of the “beautiful” culture of the powerful, a movement which sides definitively with the oppressed—the “crucified”—against the strong. Building on Nietzsche’s and Taubes’s insights, Løland suggests future directions that readings of Paul the apostle might lead in light of recent biblical scholarship on Paul and current discussions of the Pauline epistles within reading circles of the continental philosophers.
Edward A. Siecienski
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- May 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780195372045
- eISBN:
- 9780199777297
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195372045.003.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, History of Christianity
Although the New Testament does not contain an explicit theology of the Spirit’s procession (as later theology would understand it), the Bible does contain several important pneumatological ...
More
Although the New Testament does not contain an explicit theology of the Spirit’s procession (as later theology would understand it), the Bible does contain several important pneumatological principles that would later guide East and West in their respective claims vis-à-vis the filioque. This chapter examines those principles and the proof texts that both sides used to support their thinking on the procession. If East and West came to read these texts differently, it is perhaps understandable given the fact that very often the authors of the New Testament did not always express themselves with a great deal of precision, and that the various “movements” of trinitarian revelation contained in Scripture, read in isolation, easily lend themselves to diverse, and even incompatible, understandings of relationships within the Trinity.Less
Although the New Testament does not contain an explicit theology of the Spirit’s procession (as later theology would understand it), the Bible does contain several important pneumatological principles that would later guide East and West in their respective claims vis-à-vis the filioque. This chapter examines those principles and the proof texts that both sides used to support their thinking on the procession. If East and West came to read these texts differently, it is perhaps understandable given the fact that very often the authors of the New Testament did not always express themselves with a great deal of precision, and that the various “movements” of trinitarian revelation contained in Scripture, read in isolation, easily lend themselves to diverse, and even incompatible, understandings of relationships within the Trinity.
H. E. J. COWDREY
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- January 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199259601
- eISBN:
- 9780191717406
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199259601.003.0004
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Medieval History
As scholar and teacher, Lanfranc's intellectual concerns extended over his lifetime, but they also underwent changes so far as his priorities were concerned. He came to Normandy as a teacher of the ...
More
As scholar and teacher, Lanfranc's intellectual concerns extended over his lifetime, but they also underwent changes so far as his priorities were concerned. He came to Normandy as a teacher of the liberal arts, and the financial needs of the abbey of Bec led him to continue as such during his long service as its prior. Nevertheless, as he grew to maturity in the life of a monk, he wished to devote himself increasingly to the study of the Bible as an aspect of monastic discipline; his determination led, in particular, to his commentaries on the Psalms and the epistles of Paul. The difficult subject of Lanfranc's theology of the eucharist and of his controversy about it with Berengar of Tours is best approached with his biblical commentaries in mind, especially in so far as they illustrate his view of the relation between authority and human learning.Less
As scholar and teacher, Lanfranc's intellectual concerns extended over his lifetime, but they also underwent changes so far as his priorities were concerned. He came to Normandy as a teacher of the liberal arts, and the financial needs of the abbey of Bec led him to continue as such during his long service as its prior. Nevertheless, as he grew to maturity in the life of a monk, he wished to devote himself increasingly to the study of the Bible as an aspect of monastic discipline; his determination led, in particular, to his commentaries on the Psalms and the epistles of Paul. The difficult subject of Lanfranc's theology of the eucharist and of his controversy about it with Berengar of Tours is best approached with his biblical commentaries in mind, especially in so far as they illustrate his view of the relation between authority and human learning.
J. K. Elliott (ed.)
- Published in print:
- 1993
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198261827
- eISBN:
- 9780191600562
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198261829.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Biblical Studies
An English translation of the oldest and most important early Christian non‐canonical writings. It is based on the earlier collection edited in 1924 by Montague Rhodes James. The book is divided into ...
More
An English translation of the oldest and most important early Christian non‐canonical writings. It is based on the earlier collection edited in 1924 by Montague Rhodes James. The book is divided into the conventional categories of gospels, acts, epistles, and revelatory texts. A long subsection deals with stories of Jesus’ infancy and childhood. Another section deals with fragmentary gospel texts on papyrus. The bulk of the book is given over to second‐century legends of individual apostles. Another section covers apocryphal acpocalypses. An appendix gives a selection of stories about the Virgin Mary's assumption and dormition. Each translated text is prefaced with an introduction and select bibliography. Full indexes of citations and themes are provided.Less
An English translation of the oldest and most important early Christian non‐canonical writings. It is based on the earlier collection edited in 1924 by Montague Rhodes James. The book is divided into the conventional categories of gospels, acts, epistles, and revelatory texts. A long subsection deals with stories of Jesus’ infancy and childhood. Another section deals with fragmentary gospel texts on papyrus. The bulk of the book is given over to second‐century legends of individual apostles. Another section covers apocryphal acpocalypses. An appendix gives a selection of stories about the Virgin Mary's assumption and dormition. Each translated text is prefaced with an introduction and select bibliography. Full indexes of citations and themes are provided.
Douglas M. MacDowell
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- February 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199287192
- eISBN:
- 9780191713552
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199287192.003.0016
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Prose and Writers: Classical, Early, and Medieval
The Epistles are probably all genuine texts of Demosthenes, though the authenticity and context of Ep. 5 are doubtful. The other letters were written during or after his exile in consequence of the ...
More
The Epistles are probably all genuine texts of Demosthenes, though the authenticity and context of Ep. 5 are doubtful. The other letters were written during or after his exile in consequence of the Harpalos affair, which is recounted briefly. He had been condemned to pay a heavy fine, and as long as it was unpaid he remained disfranchised. In Ep. 3 he requests favourable treatment for the sons of Lykourgos, and for himself too. In Ep. 2 he claims that no proof of his guilt has ever been produced. Ep. 4 rejects an assertion that he brought misfortune upon Athens, and Ep. 1, written after Alexander's death, urges the Athenians to unite against Macedonia. Ep. 6 is a hasty note written before or after his recall from exile. After Antipatros took control of Athens, Demosthenes fled and committed suicide. Demokhares' proposal is quoted, honouring Demosthenes more than forty years later.Less
The Epistles are probably all genuine texts of Demosthenes, though the authenticity and context of Ep. 5 are doubtful. The other letters were written during or after his exile in consequence of the Harpalos affair, which is recounted briefly. He had been condemned to pay a heavy fine, and as long as it was unpaid he remained disfranchised. In Ep. 3 he requests favourable treatment for the sons of Lykourgos, and for himself too. In Ep. 2 he claims that no proof of his guilt has ever been produced. Ep. 4 rejects an assertion that he brought misfortune upon Athens, and Ep. 1, written after Alexander's death, urges the Athenians to unite against Macedonia. Ep. 6 is a hasty note written before or after his recall from exile. After Antipatros took control of Athens, Demosthenes fled and committed suicide. Demokhares' proposal is quoted, honouring Demosthenes more than forty years later.
Gilbert Dahan
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- May 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780199206575
- eISBN:
- 9780191709678
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199206575.003.00016
- Subject:
- Religion, Biblical Studies, Judaism
In providing a model of allegorical interpretation and in condemning the fabula on several occasions, St Paul laid the foundation for Christian exegesis. During the following generations Christian ...
More
In providing a model of allegorical interpretation and in condemning the fabula on several occasions, St Paul laid the foundation for Christian exegesis. During the following generations Christian and Jewish exegesis went separate and mutually opposing ways, the former opting for allegorical exegesis, the latter for ‘mythic’ exegesis. However, it appears that any traditional confessional exegesis has need of these two elements — allegory and myth. Under diverse forms, myth reappears in western Christian thought, during the 12th and 13th centuries — first myths of pagan antiquity, then Jewish agadot. The constant occurrences of the expression Iudei fabulantur in 13th-century exegesis seem to respond to this need. By means of a brief linguistic analysis and an examination of commentaries on the pastoral epistles in which Paul condemns myth, this chapter attempts to lay the groundwork for a broader inquiry to ascertain the place of myth or of fabula in Christian exegesis.Less
In providing a model of allegorical interpretation and in condemning the fabula on several occasions, St Paul laid the foundation for Christian exegesis. During the following generations Christian and Jewish exegesis went separate and mutually opposing ways, the former opting for allegorical exegesis, the latter for ‘mythic’ exegesis. However, it appears that any traditional confessional exegesis has need of these two elements — allegory and myth. Under diverse forms, myth reappears in western Christian thought, during the 12th and 13th centuries — first myths of pagan antiquity, then Jewish agadot. The constant occurrences of the expression Iudei fabulantur in 13th-century exegesis seem to respond to this need. By means of a brief linguistic analysis and an examination of commentaries on the pastoral epistles in which Paul condemns myth, this chapter attempts to lay the groundwork for a broader inquiry to ascertain the place of myth or of fabula in Christian exegesis.
Michèle Lowrie
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- February 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199545674
- eISBN:
- 9780191719950
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199545674.003.0010
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Literary Studies: Classical, Early, and Medieval
Recitation had become a strong venue for poets to reach a public in Augustan Rome. Horace, however, resists this medium on the grounds that it exposed a poet to the exigencies of the rat race. ...
More
Recitation had become a strong venue for poets to reach a public in Augustan Rome. Horace, however, resists this medium on the grounds that it exposed a poet to the exigencies of the rat race. Epistles 1. 19 analyzes its own poet's hypocrisy in wanting to avoid social climbing while reserving his poetry for Augustus' ears.Less
Recitation had become a strong venue for poets to reach a public in Augustan Rome. Horace, however, resists this medium on the grounds that it exposed a poet to the exigencies of the rat race. Epistles 1. 19 analyzes its own poet's hypocrisy in wanting to avoid social climbing while reserving his poetry for Augustus' ears.
Roy K. Gibson and A. D. Morrison
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199203956
- eISBN:
- 9780191708244
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199203956.003.0001
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Literary Studies: Classical, Early, and Medieval
This introduction ponders the question of what defines a letter as used by some authors over other types of document. One way of deciding where the boundary between letters and other forms of text ...
More
This introduction ponders the question of what defines a letter as used by some authors over other types of document. One way of deciding where the boundary between letters and other forms of text lies, and whether this is a worthwhile question to pose, is to consider borderline cases. Two such cases — the history of the classification as letters of various Greek poems, more recently thought not to qualify as letters, and Cicero's De Officiis — are examined. It is asserted that the epistolary character of an individual text is often guaranteed by its place within a larger group of epistolary texts, such as in a letter-collection whose function is to guide the reader as to the need to read its constituent texts as letters. It is concluded that the only way to achieve a full appreciation of letter-collections is to take seriously their claims to epistolarity, and by remembering that the letter is not a type of text devoid of formal, structural, and thematic connections with other types of text.Less
This introduction ponders the question of what defines a letter as used by some authors over other types of document. One way of deciding where the boundary between letters and other forms of text lies, and whether this is a worthwhile question to pose, is to consider borderline cases. Two such cases — the history of the classification as letters of various Greek poems, more recently thought not to qualify as letters, and Cicero's De Officiis — are examined. It is asserted that the epistolary character of an individual text is often guaranteed by its place within a larger group of epistolary texts, such as in a letter-collection whose function is to guide the reader as to the need to read its constituent texts as letters. It is concluded that the only way to achieve a full appreciation of letter-collections is to take seriously their claims to epistolarity, and by remembering that the letter is not a type of text devoid of formal, structural, and thematic connections with other types of text.
John Henderson
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199203956
- eISBN:
- 9780191708244
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199203956.003.0003
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Literary Studies: Classical, Early, and Medieval
This chapter examines the three-book collection of (Marcus) Cicero's Letters to (Quintus) Cicero that dramatizes the years of their writer's tempora (‘crisis’) between the fall-out from his ...
More
This chapter examines the three-book collection of (Marcus) Cicero's Letters to (Quintus) Cicero that dramatizes the years of their writer's tempora (‘crisis’) between the fall-out from his consulate, through his banishment, return, and shift of alignment from unease with Pompey to investment in Caesar (60-54 BCE). Besides Marcus' own spell out in the cold, they are occasioned by three periods of Qfr.'s absence from Italy, as praetorian proconsul of Asia, and as legate to Pompey in Sardinia, and as legate to Caesar in Gaul. Their epistoliterarity spans the whole range from formal broadside through mimetic bulletin to keeping channels open. A text and translation follow the chapter and conclusion, and a bibliographical note is appended.Less
This chapter examines the three-book collection of (Marcus) Cicero's Letters to (Quintus) Cicero that dramatizes the years of their writer's tempora (‘crisis’) between the fall-out from his consulate, through his banishment, return, and shift of alignment from unease with Pompey to investment in Caesar (60-54 BCE). Besides Marcus' own spell out in the cold, they are occasioned by three periods of Qfr.'s absence from Italy, as praetorian proconsul of Asia, and as legate to Pompey in Sardinia, and as legate to Caesar in Gaul. Their epistoliterarity spans the whole range from formal broadside through mimetic bulletin to keeping channels open. A text and translation follow the chapter and conclusion, and a bibliographical note is appended.
Michèle Lowrie
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- February 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199545674
- eISBN:
- 9780191719950
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199545674.003.0009
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Literary Studies: Classical, Early, and Medieval
Horace's literary epistles, contrary to their own written medium, are fascinated with performance. It is not just that the Ars Poetica is a didactic poem on how to write tragedy and Epistles 2.1 ...
More
Horace's literary epistles, contrary to their own written medium, are fascinated with performance. It is not just that the Ars Poetica is a didactic poem on how to write tragedy and Epistles 2.1 focuses mostly on drama in its literary history. Horace is interested in the function of the poet in society. He claims a plenitude for choral lyric and for the archaic poet's role as a founder that is lacking for himself. Although he had already composed the Carmen saeculare by the time of the epistle, he does not line up his own epistolary oeuvre with such plenitude and rather presents the library as a place of refuge for a poet who does not want to be subject to the whims of an audience.Less
Horace's literary epistles, contrary to their own written medium, are fascinated with performance. It is not just that the Ars Poetica is a didactic poem on how to write tragedy and Epistles 2.1 focuses mostly on drama in its literary history. Horace is interested in the function of the poet in society. He claims a plenitude for choral lyric and for the archaic poet's role as a founder that is lacking for himself. Although he had already composed the Carmen saeculare by the time of the epistle, he does not line up his own epistolary oeuvre with such plenitude and rather presents the library as a place of refuge for a poet who does not want to be subject to the whims of an audience.
BRUCE M. METZGER
- Published in print:
- 1977
- Published Online:
- September 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198261704
- eISBN:
- 9780191682209
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198261704.003.0005
- Subject:
- Religion, Biblical Studies, Early Christian Studies
This chapter discusses the introduction of Christianity into Ethiopia and the early manuscripts of the Ethiopic version of the New Testament. Many modern scholars date the origin of the Ethiopic ...
More
This chapter discusses the introduction of Christianity into Ethiopia and the early manuscripts of the Ethiopic version of the New Testament. Many modern scholars date the origin of the Ethiopic version to a time during the 5th century and/or 6th century, in connection with the missionary activity of the Nine Saints. Of the several thousand Ethiopic manuscripts in European and American collections, about three hundred contain the text of one of more books of the New Testament. This chapter also discusses the Ethiopic textual analyses of the Gospels such as the Acts of the Apostles, Pauline Epistles, Catholic Epistles and the Book of Revelations, and the limitations of Ethiopic in representing the Greek New Testament.Less
This chapter discusses the introduction of Christianity into Ethiopia and the early manuscripts of the Ethiopic version of the New Testament. Many modern scholars date the origin of the Ethiopic version to a time during the 5th century and/or 6th century, in connection with the missionary activity of the Nine Saints. Of the several thousand Ethiopic manuscripts in European and American collections, about three hundred contain the text of one of more books of the New Testament. This chapter also discusses the Ethiopic textual analyses of the Gospels such as the Acts of the Apostles, Pauline Epistles, Catholic Epistles and the Book of Revelations, and the limitations of Ethiopic in representing the Greek New Testament.
ROBERT BRODY
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780197264744
- eISBN:
- 9780191734663
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197264744.003.0015
- Subject:
- History, Middle East History
This chapter comments on the epistle of Sherira Gaon, which is considered an extraordinary instance of the genre of Geonic responsa written in 986 or 987. Sherira's Epistle is exceptional both in ...
More
This chapter comments on the epistle of Sherira Gaon, which is considered an extraordinary instance of the genre of Geonic responsa written in 986 or 987. Sherira's Epistle is exceptional both in terms of its length and subject matter and it addresses a number of questions formulated by Rabbi Nissim b. Jacob ibn Shahin on behalf of the scholars of Qayrawan. This chapter questions Sherira's use of talmudic sources and oral traditions in the responsa and suggests that Sherira's statements are almost inversely proportional to the extent to which they are supported by the Talmud itself.Less
This chapter comments on the epistle of Sherira Gaon, which is considered an extraordinary instance of the genre of Geonic responsa written in 986 or 987. Sherira's Epistle is exceptional both in terms of its length and subject matter and it addresses a number of questions formulated by Rabbi Nissim b. Jacob ibn Shahin on behalf of the scholars of Qayrawan. This chapter questions Sherira's use of talmudic sources and oral traditions in the responsa and suggests that Sherira's statements are almost inversely proportional to the extent to which they are supported by the Talmud itself.
Anne Cotterill
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199261178
- eISBN:
- 9780191717598
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199261178.001.0001
- Subject:
- Literature, 16th-century and Renaissance Literature
This book begins and ends with the intellectual and imaginative pleasures of narrative wandering. ‘To digress’ in early modern England carried a range of associations with authority and gender, from ...
More
This book begins and ends with the intellectual and imaginative pleasures of narrative wandering. ‘To digress’ in early modern England carried a range of associations with authority and gender, from amplitude and escape to deviance and transgression. The book argues that writers classically trained in verbal contest used the liberty of digression to create a complex form of underground writing and self-definition in some of the richest non-dramatic texts of 17th-century England; such a pointed use of digressiveness in the period has not been recognized. Within these textual mazes writers captured the ambiguities of political occasion and patronage, while they anatomized enemies and mourned personal loss. The narrator of each text addresses a specter of speechlessness as well as loss of self through a figurative descent to an unstable underworld associated with a female or effeminate weakness. In fresh readings of Donne's Anniversaries, Marvell's Upon Appleton House, Sir Thomas Browne's The Garden of Cyrus, Milton's Paradise Lost, Dryden's The Hind and the Panther and A Discourse of Satire, and Swift's A Tale of a Tub, the book draws attention to the expansiveness of many of the period's literary forms, such as country-house poem, literary anatomy, dedicatory epistle, beast fable, and epic. Turning current sensitivity toward the silenced voice in a new direction, the book argues that rhetorical amplitude might suggest anxieties about speech and silence for early modern men forced to be competitive yet circumspect to make their voices heard.Less
This book begins and ends with the intellectual and imaginative pleasures of narrative wandering. ‘To digress’ in early modern England carried a range of associations with authority and gender, from amplitude and escape to deviance and transgression. The book argues that writers classically trained in verbal contest used the liberty of digression to create a complex form of underground writing and self-definition in some of the richest non-dramatic texts of 17th-century England; such a pointed use of digressiveness in the period has not been recognized. Within these textual mazes writers captured the ambiguities of political occasion and patronage, while they anatomized enemies and mourned personal loss. The narrator of each text addresses a specter of speechlessness as well as loss of self through a figurative descent to an unstable underworld associated with a female or effeminate weakness. In fresh readings of Donne's Anniversaries, Marvell's Upon Appleton House, Sir Thomas Browne's The Garden of Cyrus, Milton's Paradise Lost, Dryden's The Hind and the Panther and A Discourse of Satire, and Swift's A Tale of a Tub, the book draws attention to the expansiveness of many of the period's literary forms, such as country-house poem, literary anatomy, dedicatory epistle, beast fable, and epic. Turning current sensitivity toward the silenced voice in a new direction, the book argues that rhetorical amplitude might suggest anxieties about speech and silence for early modern men forced to be competitive yet circumspect to make their voices heard.
