Author: Roger Pearse

From my diary

Posted on by Roger Pearse

There’s quite a lot going on in my world at the moment.  Too much, indeed, for me to keep on top of it all.

Firstly, I’ve been asked to write a paper for an academic volume.  As I am not an academic, this is quite unusual; the explanation, perhaps, is that the subject is an intractable one which most academics wisely stay away from.  This will involve me in some real expenditure of time, admittedly on a subject in which I am interested.  Fortunately I do have some free time upcoming.

In consequence, on Friday, I drove to Cambridge University Library and renewed my library card.  Plebs like myself are only allowed to take out a card for six months, which means you have to renew them timesomely often.  Mine had expired over a year earlier, which meant that I had to turn up with all sorts of terribly evidential documents.  While sitting there, I realised that I had sat in that office some thirty times over the last fifteen years, and been photographed by them more often than by my mother!  It’s a surreal indication of how bureaucracy loses touch with reality.

One thing I also noted was that my “letter of introduction” that I use to obtain access to manuscript collections is now really rather elderly.  I will need to get some kind scholar to write me a fresh one!

I’ve yet to process all my photographs and documents from my Rome trip into the Mithras pages.  They sit here, looking at me solemnly!

The translation of Eusebius’ Commentary on Luke has been held up by university stuff, but is still in progress.

I haven’t heard anything about the translation of a sermon by Severian of Gabala for a while… must enquire!

The translation of Leontius of Byzantium, Against the forgeries of the Apollinarists, is going well, although we’re finding that we trip up over bits of abtruse theology.  Sooner or later I shall have to get some kind of ideas together on Apollinarian theology.  Not now, tho.

I’ve also picked up various papers on ancient chapter titles, divisions and tables of contents.  A kind correspondent has been sending me details on this, from the Latin perspective, which is consequently getting much clearer in my mind.  What I don’t have, tho, is enough information on the Greek side of things.

Finally I’ve got sick again, so can’t progress a thing!  How much we depend on our health.  How easily we neglect it.

Share

John the Lydian – On April

Posted on by Roger Pearse

Mischa Hooker has sent over another chunk of John the Lydian, De Mensibus book 4.  This time it is the section on the events in the Roman month of April.  It’s very interesting, as ever!

JohnLydus-4-04-April – final (PDF)

We’ll need to decide whether to carry on with this project.  A printed translation of De Mensibus has just appeared from the Edward Mellen Press; and another is in progress elsewhere.  I hope that our activities have perhaps stirred up some interest in this neglected text; but it does leave us in a quandary!

Share

A drawing of Old St. Peter’s and the Vatican palace from 1535

Posted on by Roger Pearse

I stumbled across the following sketch here.  It shows Old St Peters (left).  On the right is the wall that leads even today to the Castell Sant’Angelo, so the viewpoint is more or less that of every modern photograph of St Peters.

From this, it is easy to see why the old basilica was not impressive enough for the renaissance popes.  It reminds one rather of the church of the holy tomb in Jerusalem.

Share

“The Mysteries of the Greek Alphabet” – part 4 of translation from Coptic now online

Posted on by Roger Pearse

Anthony Alcock continues working on this late Coptic text.  Part 4, of 5, is here:

Share

Review: Tony Burke, “Ancient Gospel or Modern Forgery? The Secret Gospel of Mark in Debate”

Posted on by Roger Pearse

I have now completed my review of this book.  My thanks to Wipf and Stock for sending me a review copy.  Of course I write as an interested amateur, not a professional scholar, so my opinions are those of an educated layman.

The review may be found here (PDF):

Review_Burke_Secret_Mark

Share

From my diary

Posted on by Roger Pearse

Spent the evening labouring over a book review.  This item must have cost me several evenings work.  At least I have now got through to the end of it.  But I shall reread it in a couple of days time.  Always good to judge the tone first!

It will be a good while before I agree to review anything again.

Share

Scribonius Largus – an authorial table of contents

Posted on by Roger Pearse

Scribonius Largus was a physician in the time of Claudius.[1]  He was the author of a collection of medical recipes, written in 47-48 A.D.

The work begins with a preface; then there is an index; and then the recipes.[2]

At the end of the preface, Largus writes[3]:

Primum ergo ad quae vitia compositiones exquisitae et aptae sint, subiecimus et numeris notavimus, quo facilius quod quaeretur inveniatur.  Deinde medicamentorum, quibus compositiones constant, nomina et pondera vitiis subiunximus.

I.e.

So firstly, the illnesses for which medicines are sought-for and found, we have subjoined and numbered, so that the seeker may find more easily.  Then we have subjoined the names and amounts of the medicaments which the medicines for illnesses consist of.

The second list has not been preserved, but these words are followed in the edition by a list of illnesses, and for each a numeral.

What this demonstrates is that the concept of producing a numbered table of contents did exist in the time of Claudius, and, therefore, probably earlier.

Share
  1. [1]A note on his career will be found at Lacus Curtius.↩
  2. [2]I owe my knowledge of this instance of ancient book summaries to the Google Books preview of Bianca-Jeanette Schroder, Titel und Text, De Gruyter 1999, p.107.↩
  3. [3]I grabbed a random 1786 edition here, page 7.↩

More on chapter titles

Posted on by Roger Pearse

I need to do some further research on chapter titles in ancient texts, and whether they are authorial.  A correspondent has drawn my attention to Bianca-Jeanette Schroder’s Titel und Text: Zur Entwicklung lateinischer Gedichtüberschriften. Mit Untersuchungen zu lateinischen Buchtiteln, Inhaltsverzeichnissen und anderen Gliederungsmitteln (De Gruyter, 1999, 349 pages).  It retails for the eye-watering sum of 160 euros; around $240, which is ridiculous.  An abstract is here, and in English here at the Google Books preview:

How old are the manuscript titles of Latin poems from Antiquity and Late Antiquity? Why were they written, and who created them? With these questions, the author enters virgin philological territory. Her interest is directed at the organisation of ancient texts.She shows that, contrary to conventional wisdom, the headings which subdivide poetry collections and provide preliminary information for the reader were not invented by medieval scribes or early modern editors; their development can in fact be traced back to Classical and Late Antiquity. The headings in collections of Latin poetry handed down through medieval mss. (incl. Horace, Ovid, Martial, Commodian, Ausonius, Luxurius) are partly authentic, and were partly added in late Classical Antiquity. In their function and linguistic form, they can be compared with book titles and other structural textual devices such as tables of contents and chapter headings. The present study also deals with the development of these devices, which are important for the history of books and of reading habits.

I have ordered a copy of this via interlibrary loan, not very hopefully.  It will probably take weeks for the sleepy civil servants to bestir themselves.  But at the price given, who can afford to buy a copy?

Share

Chronica Tertullianea et Cyprianea 2011 now out

Posted on by Roger Pearse

Through the kindness of Pierre Petitmengin, a copy of the Chronica Tertullianea et Cyprianea 2011 has reached me.  This bibliography of Latin patristic materials before Nicaea, with short reviews, is published in the Revue d’etudes augustiniennes, which, I learn, has now become the Revue d’etudes augustiniennes et patristiques.[1]

So, what was published in the last year, and what do we make of it?  I shall concentrate on Tertullian material.

The review opens with 4 Italian and 1 Spanish editions of works of Tertullian.  These are all based on existing texts with minor modifications and translations.  In truth something of the kind is published every year, and it seems unlikely that any of these editions require any special attention from us.

The new Reallexikon project, Bd. 24, p/189-191 includes an article on Minucius Felix by Christoph Schubert.  The reviewer comments slightly wearily that every article on this author tends to be similar to every other article, since the subject has been thrashed to death from every possible angle.  This one is particularly clear and up-to-date on every point, however.

A volume has appeared, collecting the fragments of the medical writer Soranus, much of it from Tertullian.

There is a proposal by Carmelo Conticello to make an inventory of all the Latin Christian texts that were translated into Greek, from the 2nd to the 15th century; a subject never systematically explored.  A set of examples has appeared.

Most of the remainder of the 81 articles reviewed seemed dispensable.  Looking at them, I found very little that I thought worth my time to read, and much that seemed not worth the trouble of writing.  The latter was the case particularly for material written in English.  I read, from time to time, of the litter of substandard journal publications.  Here we see clear signs of it, exhausting the patience of reader and reviewer alike.

Share
  1. [1]Vol. 58 (2012), p.323-372.  An offprint has been sent to me.↩

The evil bishop, the evil pope, and the satire of Erasmus on such creatures

Posted on by Roger Pearse

I mentioned a little while ago how a Canadian episcopal bishop named Michael Bird is now suing a blogger who dared to criticise and satirise him, the Anglican Samizdat blog.  Bird has been fervent in promoting non-Christian causes such as homosexuality in his unfortunate church.  He has also been zealous in suing his congregations for daring to disapprove, seizing their property and closing the doors.  Few will endorse attempts by bishops to silence bloggers.  Sadly we live in an era when bishops endorse vice and harass virtue.  Not that this kind of thing is actually unknown to history.

This evening I was browsing Anthony Grafton’s Forgers and Critics, and found mention of a work by Erasmus, Julius Excluded From Heaven.  An English translation is online here (archived here).  It is a satire on Pope Julius II.

Pope Julius II was not a respectable person.  He was the kind of self-serving scoundrel who ignores the interests of the church he heads, instead concentrating on increasing his own wealth and power.  Such ‘Popes’ were the direct cause of the Reformation.

Erasmus’ witty remarks will strike more than a few as apposite for Bishop Michael Bird, since he seems to keen on turning churches into money and silencing critics by litigation.  Indeed they will apply, to a greater or lesser extent, to every worldly prelate.  Here are a couple of snippets:

PETER: Fine! but let’s go back a ways: you are the nephew of Sixtus.
JULIUS: Glad to confirm it; I’d like to stop the mouths of those who say I’m his son. That’s slanderous.
PETER: Slanderous indeed-unless perhaps it’s true.
JULIUS: It’s an insult to papal dignity, which must always be protected.
PETER: But I think popes should protect their own dignity by not doing anything offensive to the moral law.

And:

PETER: So the court of Rome is to be, as it were, the treasure chest of the whole world?
JULIUS: Is it such a great matter if we collect all their carnal wealth, seeing we spread our spiritual gifts far and wide?
PETER: What spiritual gifts are you talking about? Up to now I’ve heard only about worldly things. No doubt you attract men to Christ by preaching his holy word?
JULIUS: There are people who preach it, and I don’t prevent them, as long as they don’t in any way question my authority.

The litigious bishop is always a figure of fun.  Perhaps we need a  new Erasmus!

Share