S. P. Oakley – författare

Books VI-X of Livy's history of Rome describe the beginnings of Rome's conquest of Italy in the fourth century BC. Stephen Oakley has produced the first full-scale, scholarly commentary to be written in modern times on this part of the history. The second of three volumes, this book is a sequel to the introduction and commentary on Book VI published earlier in 1997. It contains the commentary on Books VII and VIII, in which Livy describes Rome's annexation of Capua and Naples and her first fighting against the Samnites, the powerful tribe that lived in the mountains of central Italy.The commentary devotes equal attention to historical, literary, linguistic, and textual matters. An excursus provides a brief introduction to the Samnites and to the terrain of the Samnite wars. The remaining volume, which is forthcoming, will deal with Books IX and X. An indispensable work of reference for anyone interested in Latin literature and early Roman history, as well as for scholars of Livy himself, these three volumes represent a major new contribution to Latin scholarship.

Books VI-X of Livy's history of Rome describe the beginnings of Rome's conquest of Italy in the fourth century BC and contain some of Livy's finest writing. This is the first full-scale, scholarly commentary to be written on this part of the history in modern times. The first of three volumes, this book contains an extensive introduction and the commentary to Book VI. The introduction provides a full analysis of the Roman annalistic tradition, of Livy's style and narrative technique, and of the manuscript tradition; the commentary devotes equal attention to historical, literary, linguistic, and textual matters. The remaining two volumes, which are forthcoming, will deal with Books VII-VIII and IX-X respectively. An indispensable work of reference for anyone interested in Latin literature and early Roman history, as well as for scholars of Livy himself, these three volumes represent a major new contribution to Latin scholarship.

This volume offers a comprehensive study of all the known manuscripts and incunables of two works: the history of Alexander the Great written by Quintus Curtius Rufus, probably in the first century AD, and the translation into Latin by Lucius Septimius of the spoof history of the Trojan War, allegedly written at the time of that war by a certain Dictys Cretensis. Drawing on in excess of 200 witnesses, the analysis reveals how the text of Curtius in all our extant manuscripts descends from one damaged copy that survived from the Roman Empire into the Middle Ages, and how the text of Dictys survived in two such copies. It demonstrates that clear and decisive results can be achieved by application of the so-called stemmatic method, and how the application of those results will lead to several improvements to our standard text of Dictys. As well as determining which manuscripts future editors should use in editing these texts and examining them in detail, it also offers equally full discussion of those which will not be needed, establishing many localizations and derivations. The result is a large body of material that will help deepen our knowledge of the transmission of classical Latin texts, especially in the Renaissance, as well as our knowledge of scribal practice and of techniques that can be deployed in the genealogical study of manuscripts and incunables.

This volumes offers a study of all known manuscripts and incunabular editions of four classical texts: Vitruvius' De architectura, Cato's De agri cultura, Varro's De re rustica, Porphyrio's Commentary on Horace, and Priscian's Periegesis. The total number of witnesses involved comes to over 200; many of the manuscripts were produced in France or Italy, but English, German, Polish, and Swiss manuscripts also feature. For each text, the genealogical affiliations of its manuscript copies are determined (in many cases for the first time), as is the manner in which each was dispersed throughout medieval Europe and transmitted from antiquity through the Middle Ages to the first printed editions. S. P. Oakley shows that clear and decisive results can be achieved by application of the so-called stemmatic method and establishes which manuscripts future editors should use in editing these texts. Manuscripts that are not needed by future editors are discussed as fully as those that are, and many localizations and derivations are established. The result is a detailed study that deepens knowledge of the transmission of classical Latin texts, especially in the Renaissance, of scribal practice, and of techniques that can be deployed in the genealogical study of manuscripts and incunables.

Livy's tenth book, an exciting climax to his first decade, narrates two political advances of 300 BC, the Lex Valeria de provocatione and the opening up of major priesthoods to plebeians; it also tells of the Spartan Cleonymus' landfall at the site that long afterwards would be Venice. Its main topic, however, is Roman warfare, above all the outbreak of the Third Samnite War and the decisive battle of Sentium in 295 BC. This new commentary, which completes Professor Oakley's exposition of Books VI-X, deals comprehensively with all aspects of Livy's work, including the literary structure of his narrative, the historical and topographical problems of the Samnite Wars, the poetical and archaic language sometimes affected by Livy, and the numerous textual problems posed by the extant manuscripts. An extensive section of addenda and corrigenda contains revisions to the preceding volumes.

Livy's ninth book, one of his finest and most interesting, begins with his celebrated account of the Roman disaster in the Caudine Forks and its aftermath and contains also the famous digression on Alexander and our longest account of the censorship of Appius Claudius Caecus. This new commentary, which is a sequel to those on Books VI-VIII published in 1997 and 1998, deals comprehensively with all aspects of Livy's work, including the literary structure of his narrative, the purpose of the digression on Alexander, the historical and topographical problems of the Samnite Wars, Roman politics in the age of Appius Claudius Caecus, the poetical and archaic language sometimes affected by Livy, and the numerous textual problems posed by the extant manuscripts.

This is a series of innovative studies in the textual and literary criticism of Latin literature, exploring how these two branches of the discipline are mutually supportive. The contributors include many leading scholars in the field. Individual essays are devoted to Catullus, Cicero, Horace, Lucretius, Ovid, Tacitus and Virgil, and there are also essays on the Renaissance reception of Virgil and on principles of editorial practice. The collection celebrates the extraordinary contribution which Michael Reeve has made and continues to make to Latin studies.