Latin Literature Research Articles

"Catalogus clarorum Hispaniae scriptorum" Waleriusza Andrei jako źródło informacji o recepcji literatury antycznej

Valerius Andrea’s work Catalogus clarorum Hispaniae scriptorum contains the names of all Spanish authors whose works Valerius managed to find in German libraries. This catalog is therefore a valu­able source not only for learning about authors writing in Latin, but also for learning about the fate of Latin literature from antiquity to the 17th century, at the beginning of which this work was written.

O legado clássico de Horácio em Sá de Miranda e Ricardo Reis

In Portuguese literature, revisitations of Classical Antiquity, particularly the Greek philosophical doctrines of Stoicism and Epicureanism, as well as the literary genres cultivated in Latin literature by Horace, are projected onto Sá de Miranda, in the Renaissance period, and onto the modernist avant-garde heteronym of Fernando Pessoa, Ricardo Reis. Themes such as carpe diem, exegi monumentum, and non usitata, in the manner of Horace, are reactualized in the works of Portuguese poets. The aurea mediocritas, the awareness of the inexorable passage of time, and the conception of utile et dulce are constant thematic and theoretical elements that resonate in Sá de Miranda and Ricardo Reis, although modified by the reasons of time. To carry out this study, hermeneutic and comparative methods of analysis are applied to the works of Sá de Miranda and Pessoa in order to scrutinize the similarities and differences of the authors with Horace.

Latin literature

The study of the transmission of Latin texts has received an important new addition: the second volume of Stephen Oakley's Studies in the Transmission of Latin Texts, dedicated to the text of Vitruvius, the agricultural treatises of Cato and Varro, Porphyrio's commentary on Horace (or, rather, the abbreviated commentary transmitted under his name in manuscript V and younger related manuscripts), and Priscian's Latin translation of Dionysius’ Periegesis.1 In meticulous analyses and close work with manuscripts and incunables, Oakley traces the transmission of these texts and the genealogical relationships of individual (groups of) manuscripts as well as the progress of the scholarship on their transmission. The book is nicely illustrated by fifty-one images of some of the key manuscripts, and Oakley provides information of how to access these and others online as well.

On some ancient Greek and Latin medical recipes in verse. Their position in the world. Part A

In Part A of our article, we examine medical recipes in verse within Greek literature, spanning from the Hellenistic period to the Roman Imperial era. We also briefly touch upon analogous recipes in Classical and Late Latin, as these two literary forms were intertwined for centuries. A comprehensive analysis of Latin literature in this domain remains a necessity. We explore the motivations behind these didactic poems and the metrical patterns employed in their composition. The article presents fragments of these recipes, all translated into English and several retained in their original language as well, arranged chronologically alongside succinct biographical details of their authors. These include Homer, considered their distant forebear, followed by Ovid, Aglaias of Byzantium, Andromachus the Elder, Philo of Tarsus, Damocrates, Nicander, Rufus of Ephesus, Eudemus of Pergamum, Galen, Serenus Sammonicus, The Carmen graecum de herbis, and Marcellus Empiricus. In Part B, we will continue to explore similar recipes from the Middle and Late Byzantine periods. This section will also feature examples from Medieval Latin and Islamic medical literature, illustrating the intercultural context in which these Greek verses stood. A General Discussion and Conclusions will be provided at the end of Part B.

Latin Literature and Roman Rhetoric … and Beyond: A Symbiotic Relationship Re-examined

Latin Literature and Roman Rhetoric … and Beyond: A Symbiotic Relationship Re-examined

PROFESSOR IVAN TSVETAEV AND HIS METHODS OF THE EPIGRAPHIC RESEARCH: INTERPRETATION OF THE BRONZE FROM FALERII NOVI (CIL I2.365)

Ivan Vladimirovich Tsvetaev (1847-1913) was an outstanding Russian сlassical philologist, art historian and archaeologist, professor at the Moscow State University. He was known as the founder of the Alexander III Museum of Fine Arts. As a researcher, Tsvetaev was interested in Latin literature and Italic languages. The article is based on the linguistic analysis and interpretation of bronze tablet from Falerii Novi (CIL I2.365), published by Tsvetaev in the Ministry of Public Education journal in November 1883. Tsvetaev’s article is supplemented with comments of modern reading and explanation of some linguistic features, the historical grammar of Latin and other Italic languages, as well as a modern interpretation of the text and linguistic characteristics of the inscription language, which is still the subject of discussion. The article reveals an outstanding role of Tsvetaev in the development of the studies in Italic languages.

Concepts that fit in a (Roman) hand

Abstract The Roman author Lucius Anneus Seneca (4 BC–65 AC), the main representative of Stoic philosophy in Latin literature, wrote several tragedies in verse in which the Latin noun manus ‘hand’ has a remarkable incidence, almost doubling the occurrence of other terms more related to tragic themes, such as scelus ‘crime’ or mors ‘death’. This paper is based on the hypothesis that this high frequency is linked to the concept of embodiment as well as on the metonymies and metaphors used in Seneca’s figurative language to encode abstract concepts. The occurrences of the term manus in a corpus composed of Seneca’s dramatic and philosophical texts have been analysed, paying attention to the metonymic and metaphorical contexts where it appears. As a result, it has been observed that this word can refer to multiple realities such as individuals, actions, identity, control, or power.

By Torches, Bones, and Temples

Oath-taking during Roman Antiquity constitutes a telling example of how words and material matter interplay and relate to one another. Ancient Latin literature provides a myriad of representations of oaths sworn, both fictive and supposedly historical, which allude to contemporary notions of materiality. In this study, a selection of personal oaths (oaths sworn between individuals, as opposed to large-scale official ones) from Roman literature are explored in terms of materiality and agency. The chosen oath examples are all phrased using a ‘material language’ and their oath formulae include what is here termed as objectifying wordings, that is the reference to abstract things through material matter. The present article aims to demonstrate that Roman authors sometimes chose to (have their characters) swear by material matter – instead of something abstract and intangible – in order to better express what is actually sworn by or what is actually put up as deposit in the portrayed oath: in other words, how they could utilize contemporary notions of materiality as literary tools for the formulation of personal oaths.

RHETORICA AD HERENNIVM 1.2: QVOAD EIVS, QVOD EIVS OR QVOAD?

Abstract Rhet. Her. 1.2 quoad eius fieri poterit contains the surprising reading quoad eius. Earlier scholarship has debated the authenticity of this reading and its relationship to quod eius. A survey of the sources shows that quod eius appears in a number of inscriptions as well as in the transmitted text of nine passages within surviving Latin literature. So that phrase must be authentic; it appears to have arisen as a limiting formula in the language of the law. In two other passages, quoad eius appears in inferior manuscripts that lack authority, while the reading transmitted by authoritative textual sources is quod eius. Rhet. Her. 1.2 is the only passage in which quoad eius is the transmitted reading. This phrase is also linguistically problematic. Hence it is very likely to be corrupt. It probably arose as a conflation of quod eius with quoad, both of which are attested in similar contexts. On balance, it seems more likely that the original reading in this passage was quoad.

BREVIARIUM В КОНТЕКСТЕ ЛАТИНСКОЙ ЛИТЕРАТУРНОЙ ТРАДИЦИИ (I–IV ВВ.)

В статье рассматривается бревиарий(breviarium) как краткий латинский нарратив; обсуждается его эволюция с I по IV вв. Посредством изучения текстов Сенеки Младшего, Плиния Старшего, Светония и Тертуллиана анализируются особенности употребления лексемы breviarium, обсуждается ее трансформация в понятие о текстах, фиксирующих определенные сведения для имперского общества. Выявляются характерные черты, присущие ранним бревиариям, которые впоследствии проявились в исторических нарративах («Бревиариях») Феста и Евтропия (369 / 370 гг.). The paper examines the concept of breviarium and the evolution of its content in the period from the 1st to the 4thcenturies AD. By studying the texts of Seneca the Younger, Pliny the Elder, Suetonius, Tertullian, the peculiarities of its use are analysed. The conclusion is made that at the mentioned time breviarium could be both a concept for the form of certain fixation of information and a term in the context of creating lists of data. Some characteristic features inherent in Latin breviaries were later manifested in the historical “Breviaries” of Festus and Eutropius.

Non-Verbal Communication in Ancient Rome: Eyebrow Gestures

This article analyses the communicative power of eyebrows in ancient Rome within the framework of broader research into gestures from the same period. Our research uses the corpus of Latin literature to describe evidence of gestures in said texts. It then identifies the expressions used by the authors to refer to them and describes how they were performed. Moreover, by analysing the context, it explains the meanings the authors attribute to them. Although the texts do not describe these gestures with the precision required by non-verbal communication research today, our analysis of the selected extracts has enabled us to identify four free eyebrow gestures—contracting, raising, relaxing, and lowering—and associate a meaning to them. In this regard, we have uncovered that Roman writers introduce eyebrow gestures in their work to communicate emotions such as arrogance and humility, and anger or seriousness, and even to identify certain characters. In turn, these gestures are also used to express disapproval and assent in place of speech.

Latin literature

Let us start with a wonderful book that shows us not only Plautine comedy, but also Republican literary culture in a new light: Emilia Barbiero's fascinating exploration of the role played by letters in Plautus’ comedies. In five chapters dedicated to Bacchides, Persa, Pseudolus, Curculio, and, finally, Epidicus and Trinummus, she develops a powerful argument for the intricate metatheatric implications of the writing, reading, forging, or not-opening of letters on the Plautine stage. Countering a scholarly trend that tends to emphasize the role of improvisation, collaboration, and preliterate forms of theatre in Plautus’ comedies, Barbiero shows that the use of letters in Plautus’ comedies – without exception employed for amorous affairs – rather points to a deep concern with writing as the basis for acting and that they can be understood as mirrors of the text within the text and as mise-en-abyme of the origins of Plautine comedy in a script.

From Satirical Poems and Invisible Poisons to Radical Surgery and Organized Cervical Cancer Screening-A Historical Outline of Cervical Carcinoma and Its Relation to HPV Infection.

Over the last century, the narrative of cervical cancer history has become intricately tied to virus research, particularly the human papillomavirus (HPV) since the 1970s. The unequivocal proof of HPV's causal role in cervical cancer has placed its detection at the heart of early screening programs across numerous countries. From a historical perspective, sexually transmitted genital warts have been already documented in ancient Latin literature; the remarkable symptoms and clinical descriptions of progressed cervical cancer can be traced back to Hippocrates and classical Greece. However, in the new era of medicine, it was not until the diagnostic-pathological accomplishments of Aurel Babeş and George Nicolas Papanicolaou, as well as the surgical accomplishments of Ernst Wertheim and Joe Vincent Meigs, that the prognosis and prevention of cervical carcinoma were significantly improved. Future developments will likely include extended primary prevention efforts consisting of better global access to vaccination programs as well as adapted methods for screening for precursor lesions, like the use of self-sampling HPV-tests. Furthermore, they may also advantageously involve additional novel diagnostic methods that could allow for both an unbiased approach to tissue diagnostics and the use of artificial-intelligence-based tools to support decision making.

Minimal intervention dentistry: What is its clinical application and effectiveness in different continents? - A scoping review.

The aim of minimal intervention dentistry (MID) is to maximize the preservation of dental tissues through the use of modern and effective techniques and procedures. The central objective of MID is to increase the functional life of dental elements and, consequently, the quality of life of the population. The present study aimed to analyze and map the diffusion and clinical application of MID in different continents around the world. To perform this scoping review, the PRISMA checklist was used, adopting the following: population - dentists; concept - effectiveness of MID; and context - continents. The following databases were used: PubMed, European Archives of Paediatric Dentistry, Scientific Electronic Library, Latin Literature American and Caribbean Association in Health Sciences, and SCOPUS. The following keywords were used in the searches: "pediatric dentistry," "atraumatic restorative treatment," "dental caries," "child health," and "glass ionomer cements" using "and" and "or" combined with "minimal intervention dentistry." Studies published before 2010 as well as theses, dissertations, opinion articles, editorials, and guidelines, were excluded from the study. A total of 160 articles were obtained, and 17 articles were screened and selected for full reading. The analysis of the studies reveals the disparity in the use of minimal intervention techniques among continents due to a lack of knowledge of these techniques or lack of confidence in changing professional approaches, thus emphasizing the need for the dissemination and teaching of MID.

Vere Rosa: A Priapian Quatrain from the Appendix Vergiliana

Within the realm of Latin literature, the figure of Priapus is frequently evoked, a symbol of eroticism, of virility and of nature’s fecundity, always armed with his fearsome willow scythe, an accessory meant to scare away birds and thieves from vineyards and orchards. Several poems included in the Appendix Vergiliana – even entitled Priapea – are dedicated to this divine guardian of gardens and vineyards. This collection of verses debuts with a quatrain: Vere rosa, which enumerates the various joys, but also the difficulties or dangers that the agricultural god experiences, at once with the cyclical turning of the seasons. As such, the text explores a wide variety of motifs and emotional registers, from the euphoria of celebrating the harvest to hibernal melancholy, unrest, anxiety and lament – everything expressed concisely, with elegance and poise, qualities which make it into a tiny literary jewel.

Fabula Aesopici canis

Abstract Fables usually appear either assembled in fable collections or as exempla in other literary genres. In many cases, especially if the fable is well-known, there is no need to retell the full version of it and a short allusion will be sufficient for the reader to recognize the fable. This contribution offers a complete analysis of forty-two allusions to fables in Greek and Latin literature.

The liminal season: the image of spring in greek and latin literature

This article attempts an investigation of the numerous references to spring made by the Ancient Greek and Latin authors in order to offer a more precise understanding of what this season meant for the ancient world. After establishing the temporal frame to which these references allude, a short description of the vernal festivals offers a glimpse of the positive and negative associations of the season that will pervade the references to spring made by the ancient writers. The material investigated reveals that spring was seen as a period of renewal and rebirth, but also as a time fraught with anxiety and worry. Spring is a liminal period of the year, a time of hope and purification, of beauty, fertility and joyous celebration, but also a time of ambiguity and danger. Spring is unpredictable and characterised by an element of incertitude and change unknown to other seasons, its activities may become dangerous, while the feelings it arises may easily turn into uncontrollable passio.

Eusebia, Elena e l’imperatore romano Giuliano l’Apostata

Eusebia, Helena, and the Emperor Julian the Apostate The Emperor Flavius Claudius Julianus, known to posterity as the Apostate, is an extraordinary figure in the history of the Roman Empire. And although he was Caesar for only five years (355–360), and Emperor for less than two years (361–363), he became famous as a wise and just ruler, a good commander, a brave soldier, and an efficient administrator. He was also a great lover of ancient culture and a talented writer. He left behind many official letters and literary works. His writings provide valuable information both about the Roman state in the fourth century and about himself and his family. He was also one of the best educated Roman rulers, well versed in Greek and Latin literature, philosophy, and history. Two exceptional women played a particularly important role in the life of Julian the Apostate: his wife Helena and Eusebia, the wife of Emperor Constantius II, his cousin. Both were endowed with many good qualities, which are mentioned not only by Julian the Apostate himself in his writings, but also by other ancient authors, including the historians Ammianus Marcellinus, Eutropius, Zosimos, the rhetorician Libanius, and historians of the Church Socrates Scholasticus and Hermias Sozomen. Both Eusebia and Helena are very interesting figures. But, while about Eusebia there is a great deal of information in various sources, about Helena there are only brief mentions. Nevertheless, both of these empresses are worth closer attention. In my article, written in Italian, I present a picture of the virtues of Helena and Eusebia, as contained in the writings of the Emperor Julian the Apostate himself, as well as other ancient authors.

Acca soror: Queer kinship, female homosociality, and the Amazon-huntress band in Latin literature

Despite the modern association of ancient Amazons and Diana’s huntresses with lesbianism, scholarly accounts of these groups as they appear in ancient Greek and Roman literature have rarely adverted to any hints of homoeroticism. This article re-examines several narratives concerning Amazons and huntresses in Latin literature (including Camilla in Vergil’s Aeneid and Phaedra in Seneca’s eponymous tragedy) from the perspective of queer kinship and female homosociality, demonstrating the ways in which these characters subvert traditional norms of kinship and femininity, replacing patriarchal control with female sodality, often imaged as a “sister” relationship. It suggests that, even if we do not interpret these intense homosocial bonds as erotic, we can nonetheless perceive a more radical rejection of social norms that transcends genital sexuality and merits the label of “queerness”, insofar as queerness can be defined as a resistance to normativity.

Il viaggio dei monaci galilei al paradiso terrestre nel Pantheon di Goffredo da Viterbo

The Pantheon by Goffredo da Viterbo is one of the most interesting and curious works in medieval Latin literature. Awork of history, but also of poetry, it has been the subject of a troubled composition, rethought and rewritten severaltimes, bringing back numerous tales belonging to rare traditions, whose origin is often unknown. Among these is thedescription of the journey to the earthly paradise of some Galilean monks, who left from the western coasts of Brittanyand reached their destination after crossing the ocean. The story is interesting for at least three reasons. First of all, forthe destination of the journey itself, since it is a successful journey to the earthly paradise. Secondly, since Goffredospeaks of a manuscript, in the distant Breton abbey of Saint Mathieu, where one can read of this journey, anticipating aliterary tradition that goes from Cervantes, to Scott, to Manzoni up to the present day. Finally, the journey of the monksis a journey into another temporal dimension, where time flows differently, a narrative peculiarity not very commonin medieval literature. In any case, the text presents inconsistencies that are not easily resolved. This study proposesan edition of the text based on the author’s autograph, compared with the witnesses of the previous editions, drawingindications on the working method of Goffredo da Viterbo and on the composition of the Pantheon.