Thoughts on Antiquity, Patristics, putting things online, freedom of speech, information access, and more
Edward Campbell has kindly translated for us this letter of Isidore of Pelusium, from the Patrologia Graeca text. It came to my attention after a correspondent asked whether it referred to the Three Hundred Spartans. To Esaias[1] the soldier. To[2] the disorderly soldier. If, from among your weapons, you consider your spears and your helmet [...]
LETTER XCVII – to Hymetios. Against the Macedonians, or Spirit-Contesters. It was in order to show the union of the most Holy Spirit with Himself and the Father said to the disciples that Our Lord and Master, after rising from the dead, said to his disciples, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive any ones’ sins, [...]
Busy. I’m about half way through processing the Latin proof corrections into Eusebius Gospel Problems and Solutions. I’ve also tentatively commissioned a translation of a few more of Isidore of Pelusium’s letters. And I’m reading Mutschmann’s article on chapter divisions.
Isidore of Pelusium: Letters 1-14 (PG 78, cols. 177-189) 1. To the monk Nilus. The holy bishops and the guides of the monastic discipline, from the conflicts and struggles which they underwent,[1] established fitting terms, for activities for our instruction and knowledge. They called the withdrawal from the material world “renunciation,” and ready obedience “subjection.” [...]
An email reached me today from a chap volunteering to take on a commission for some Greek and Syriac (and Armenian for that matter, although I have none in mind at the moment). I’ve written back and asked for some details. It might be nice to get him to do a few of the letters [...]
I’ve been really unwell this week, so all my projects are on hold. Fortunately, for most of them, the ball is in someone else’s court. One project has been abandoned. The translation of the remains of Polychronius’ commentary on Daniel will not go ahead. The translator has decided to write an academic article around what he [...]
A translation of the first 14 letters of Isidore of Pelusium came in this morning. It’s generally looking good, although the people I use to verify this are on holiday! But I’ve paid the sum agreed anyway — the chap has certainly worked on it seriously — and commissioned letters 15-25 for the same treatment. [...]
Lots of work this afternoon. The translator writing direct to the typesetter with instructions caused quite a flurry! But the situation is now under control and I’m back in the middle, vetting and batching up changes. It’s quite impossible for anyone to do something like typesetting with two people issuing instructions anyway. So it meant [...]
A friend has been typing up the Greek text of letter 212 of Isidore of Pelusium for me. This is one of the fragments of Eusebius of Caesarea’s Gospel Problems and Solutions, so I have a translation of it. The friend commented on the style of translation adopted, versus a more literal approach. Your translator [...]
Somewhere I read that book 2, letter 212 of Isidore of Pelusium was an unacknowledged copy of part of Eusebius Ad Marinum. This would make it valuable as a witness to the text of the latter. But I sent the text to the translator today. He has just informed me that in fact it takes rather a [...]