M. M. Willcock - Böcker

Plautus' Casina is a lively and well composed farce. The plot, which concerns the competition of a father and his son for the same girl and the various scurrilous tricks employed in the process, gives full scope to Plautus' inventiveness and richly comic language. The editors' aim is to establish the play as one of the liveliest of ancient comedies, and in their introduction and notes to make the reader continually aware of the conditions of an actual stage performance. They discuss the background and conventions of Roman comedy and by offering a complete metrical analysis they help the reader to appreciate the original musical structure of the play. The edition is intended primarily for use by students at school and university but will be of value to anyone interested in reading the play in the original.

This edition contains the thirty-three letters which survive from those exchanged between Cicero and his correspondents between the beginning of January and the end of April, 43 B.C. This was a key period of Roman history, when the forces of the Senate, supported by the precocious young Octavian, faced Mark Antony in north Italy, leading to the battle of Mutina (Modena) in April, and the defeat of Antony. The period has the dramatic quality of a tragedy, especially considering the events of the following months. Cicero, now aged sixty-three, is deeply involved in all the political actions, and in touch with most of the protagonists in the confused scenario. Cicero's Letters are normally read, if at all, in selection. Continuous reading of all that survives from a given period is far more interesting, and puts the reader in close contact with the feelings and experiences of those who were living at the time. Latin text with facing-page English translation, introduction and commentary.