Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Stobaeus: Loci Communes Sacri et Profani
Loci Communes Sacri et Profani by Stobaeus (1581)
This huge and astounding book by Stobaeus, here in the so-called "Frankfurt" edition, has facing Greek text and Latin translation which makes it perhaps the most useful edition for readers of this blog. For a discussion of Stobaeus, an altogether mysterious figure who lived perhaps in the fifth century, see this Wikipedia article.
For the Latin-only edition of Conrad Gessner of 1551, see the Sententiae by Stobaeus.
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Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Merrill: Latin Hymns
Latin Hymns by William A. Merrill (1904)
This is a book in The Students' Series of Latin Classics. Each hymn is accompanied by a note about the author (if known), with notes about the text of the hymn as well. There is an index of hymns and authors, but no vocabulary list.
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Monday, November 28, 2011
Scutteputaeus: Senecae Sententiae
Senecae Sententiae by Hubertus Scutteputaeus (1576)
This draws on the writings of "both" Senecas - both his philosophical writing and his dramatic poetry. It also includes the apocryphal correspondence of Seneca and Paul! The excerpts from Seneca are organized by "loci communes" in alphabetical order. There is also an index in the back of the book.
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Sunday, November 27, 2011
Philes: De Animalium Proprietate
De Animalium Proprietate by Philes & Joachim Camerarius (1596)
Philes was a Byzantine Greek poet active in the early 14th century. This book contains the Greek iambic verses, along with a Latin version, also in iambs, describing the characteristics of the animals. Following Philes' verses, you will find an appendix by Camerarius in both Latin and Greek, expanding on Philes' project. There is an index listing the animals in the back of the book.
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Saturday, November 26, 2011
Tolstoy: Fables for Children
Fables for Children by Leo Tolstoy (1904)
This is Volume 12 in the Complete Works of Count Tolstoy, translated by Leo Wiener. This volume contains Fables for Children, Stories for Children, Natural Science Stories, Popular Education, The Decembrists, and Moral Tales. The fables give us a glimpse into the Aesop's fables that had a special appeal for Tolstoy!
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Friday, November 25, 2011
Aphthonius: Progymnasmata
Progymnasmata by Aphthonius (1665)
This is a Latin edition the Progymnasmata of Aphthonius, which is a set of rhetorical exercises to help students build up to preparing their own declamations. You can get an overview of the progymnasmata tradition at this webpage: Progymnasmata. Aphthonius is also an important source for Aesop's fables, since he advocated the use of fables as good raw writing material for students to work with!
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Thursday, November 24, 2011
Bornitz: Symbola et Emblemata
Symbola et Emblemata by Jakob Bornitz (1680)
Here is the full title of the book from the title page: "Centuria exquisitissimorum Symbolorum et Emblematum historiarum Sacro-Prophanarum Moralium et Politicarum Cultoribus per quam utilis et necessaria ex eruditissimis prisci et moderni saeculi auctoribus collecta quae propter illorum praestantiam tamquam continuatio famosi Ioachimi Camerarii intitulari potest." Each emblem is illustrated, accompanied by a Latin distich along with a Latin essay, following the model established by Camerarius in his four "Centuriae" of emblems on natural history topics.
You can find a different edition, with the emblems neatly outlined in the letters of the motto text at the University of Mannheim CAMENA project. There is also a wonderful online edition as part of the Emblem collection at the Herzog August Bibliothek.
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Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Caussin: Polyhistor Symbolicus
Polyhistor Symbolicus by Nicolas Caussin (1634)
As the book's subtitle explains, this is a book "electorum symbolorum et parabolarum historicarum stromata, XII libris complectens." The books are organized by topics: Mundus et Elementa, Dii Gentium, Hominis Bona, Hominis Mala, Ritus Gentium, Aves, Quadrupedes, Pisces, Serpentes et Insecta, Plantae, Lapilli et Manufacta. Within each chapter, you will find a series of numbered entries, each consisting of an anecdote or observation of some kind, followed by an "apodosis," which is an interpretive commentary, explaining the significance of the symbol.
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Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Desbillons: Fabulae Aesopiae
Fabulae Aesopiae by Franciscus Desbillons (1789)
This book contains all fifteen books of Desbillons' Latin fables in verse, along with a Latin-German index of words and phrases, along with a Latin index of the fables' Sententiae, and a Latin index by the characters of the fables.
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Monday, November 21, 2011
Davies: Fables of Babrius
Fables of Babrius, translated into English verse by James Davies (1860)
This book contains the fables of Babrius translated into English verse; I'll be transcribing some of these over at the English Aesop blog!
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Sunday, November 20, 2011
A Selection of Aesop's Fables (Eton)
A Selection of Aesop's Fables by (the students of) Eton College (1868)
This is a collection of Aesop's fables, rendered into verse, by the Greek students of Eton College in the late 18th century, circa 1773. I will be definitely transcribing some of these for the English Aesop blog; they are delightful!
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Saturday, November 19, 2011
Thummel: Aesop in Rhyme
Aesop in Rhyme by Mary Leone Gilliam Thummel (1906)
This collection of Aesop's fables in verse also features illustrations by Edward Eksergian. I've transcribed some of them over at the English Aesop blog.
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Friday, November 18, 2011
Booth: Epigrams, Ancient and Modern
Epigrams, Ancient and Modern by John Booth (1865)
As the title explains, the book contains all kinds of epigrams: humorous, witty, satirical, moral, and panegyrical. They are organized chronologically, starting with the Greek Anthology and Roman authors, followed by English authors, and then other modern writers, followed by contemporary English writers. There are citations for the ancient epigrams, but they are provided in English verse translation, by a variety of translators - but no Latin or Greek.
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Thursday, November 17, 2011
Alois: Epigrammata
Epigrammata: Centuriae Sex by Petrus Alois (1646)
The epigrams are divided into these categories: encomiastica, censoria, sacra, heroidum, pia, et varia. Six hundred is a lot of epigrams, and as they are each printed on a separate page, the book runs to over 600 pages!
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Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Bechmann: Epigrammata
Epigrammata: Libri 8 by Johann Friedrich Bechmann (1671)
The first five books of epigrams are on the live of Jesus, and the remaining three books are on various topics.
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Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Zuiccaviensis: Selecta Epigrammata Graeca
Selecta Epigrammata Graeca by Ianus Cornarius Zuiccaviensis (1529)
This book contains epigrams from the Greek Anthology, translated into Latin verse. The Greek is provided, and there are often multiple versions of the same epigram as translated by different Latin authors.
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Monday, November 14, 2011
Cunichius: Epigrammata Anthologiae Graecorum
Anthologica sive Epigrammata Anthologiae Graecorum Selecta by Raymundus Cunichius (1784)
These epigrams from the Greek Anthology, rendered in Latin verse, are organized by genre, starting with the epigrammata encomiastica, satyrica, moralia, votiva, sepulcralia, lugubria, ludicra, and varia.
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Sunday, November 13, 2011
Buchler: Thesaurus Proverbialium Sententiarum Uberrimus
Thesaurus Proverbialium Sententiarum Uberrimus by Johann Buchler (1613)
The book is organized alphabetically by themes, with the theme word given in Latin; each theme contains proverbs in various languages, with some citations. There are both Latin and Greek proverbs.
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Saturday, November 12, 2011
Mair: Proverbs and Family Mottoes
Proverbs and Family Mottoes by James Allan Mair (1891)
This book contains "an alphabet of proverbs," followed by Shakespearean proverbs, Scripture proverbs and family mottoes, which of course include many Latin proverbs.
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Friday, November 11, 2011
Gruterus: Florilegium Ethico-Politicum
Florilegium Ethico-Politicum by Janus Gruterus (1611)
Volume 1
Volume 2
In addition to Latin proverbs, it also includes Greek proverbs (with Latin translations) along with the proverbs of various European countries. The first volume contains appx. 300 pages of Latin and Greek proverbs, followed by notes by Gruterus. The second volume contains appx. 200 pages of additional Latin and Greek proverbs with notes by Gruterus, along with proverbs from other European countries.
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Thursday, November 10, 2011
Aesop's Fables for the Instruction and Improvement of Youth
Aesop's Fables for the Instruction and Improvement of Youth (1834)
Volume 1
Volume 2
Volume 1 goes from The Cock and the Jewel through to The Tortoise and the Eagle, with illustrations; Volume 2 goes from The Frogs and the Fighting Bulls through to The Pigeon, the Dove and the Raven, again with illustrations.
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Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Adagia, collectio absolutissima
Adagia: Proverbiorum, paroemiarum et parabolarum omnium collectio absolutissima (1643)
This is an enormous collection, compiling the work of Erasmus, Iunius, Polydorus, Bovillus and many others. So, as a result, it really is gigantic. It does contain an index, but unfortunately the scan is hard to read.
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Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Suringar: Glossarium
Glossarium van de oud-Hollandsche en midden-eeuwsch Latijnsche woorden by Willem Hendrik Dominicus Suringar (1865)
The Proverbia Communia (almost 800 proverbs) are included here, the Dutch versions together with Latin.
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Monday, November 7, 2011
Sartorius-Schrevelius: Adagiorum chiliades tres
Adagiorum chiliades tres by Joannes Sartorius and Cornelius Schrevelius (1670)
In addition to the Latin and Greek proverbs there is a brief commentary in Latin.
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Sunday, November 6, 2011
Apostolius: Proverbia Graeco-Latina
Clavis Homerica: Proverbia Graeco-Latina by Michaelis Apostolius (1831)
This is a Homeric dictionary, Greek to Latin, but it also contains a very useful appendix of the proverbs of Apostolius in Greek with Latin translations - all 20 centuries of them!
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Saturday, November 5, 2011
Ritz: Florilegium Adagiorum et Sententiarum
Florilegium Adagiorum et Sententiarum Latino-Germanicum by Andreas Ritz (1728)
As the title explains, this is a book in which "X Chiliades Proverbiorum et Sententiarum non sine delectu conquisitae reperiuntur IN USUM ET GRATIAM studiosae iuventutis." The Latin proverbs contain indications for classical sources, including both authors and books, although most of the proverbs do not have citations. The proverbs are organized alphabetically, in addition to having been divided into their thousands and hundreds.
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Friday, November 4, 2011
Ray: Compleat Collection of English Proverbs
A Compleat Collection of English Proverbs by J. Ray (1737)
The "proverbial sentences" are arranged alphabetically by key word, not simply by the first word of the sentence. Proverbs translated from other languages are included with the English proverbs. First come the proverbial sentences, then proverbial phrases, and then proverbial similes. There then follow Scottish proverbs, and then Hebrew proverbs (English only). In the back is a collection of English words, including local and dialect words.
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Thursday, November 3, 2011
Sententiae et Proverbia
Sententiae et Proverbia (1548)
The sayings are collected from the full range of classical Latin poets, including Plautus and Terence. No prose sources are included. The sayings are organized by author, and within author by specific poetic works.
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Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Marvin: Antiquity of Proverbs
The Antiquity of Proverbs by Dwight Edwards Marvin (1922)
As the book's subtitle explains: "fifty familiar proverbs and folks sayings with annotation and lists of connected forms, found in all parts of the world." The proverbs are given in English, and the parallel proverbs from other languages are presented only in English translation. Each of the familiar sayings has a nice little essay about its history in the English language.
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Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Macdonnel: Dictionary of Quotations
Dictionary of Quotations by D E. Macdonnel (1858)
As the subtitle explains, this is a "Dictionary of Quotations, from the Latin, French, Greek, Spanish, and Italian languages: also including maxims, proverbs, law phrases, family mottoes, & c., carefully translated into English, with illustrations, historical and idiomatic." The book is organized alphabetically, with all the languages combined.
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