Wisdom from Rome: Reading Roman Society and European Education in the Distichs of Cato

Serena Connolly

Published by De Gruyter 2022

Wisdom from Rome

Reading Roman Society and European Education in the Distichs of Cato

Serena Connolly

Volume 8 in the series Trends in Classics – Pathways of Reception

https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110789492

Overview
Contents

About this book

For about one thousand years, the Distichs of Cato were the first Latin text of every student across Europe and latterly the New World. Chaucer, Cervantes, and Shakespeare assumed their audiences knew them well—and they almost certainly did. Yet most Classicists today have either never heard of them or mistakenly attribute them to Cato the Elder. The Distichs are a collection of approximately 150 two-line maxims in hexameters that offer instructions about or reflections on topics such as friendship, money, reputation, justice, and self-control. Wisdom from Rome argues that Classicists (and others) should read the Distichs: they provide important insights into the ancient Roman literate masses’ conceptions of society and their views of relationships between the individual, family, community, and state. Newly dated to the first century CE, they are an important addition and often corrective to more familiar contemporary texts that treat the same topics. Moreover, as the field of Classics increasingly acknowledges the intellectual importance of exploring the reception of Classical texts, an introduction to one of the most widely read ancient texts for many centuries is timely and important.

Author / Editor information

Serena Connolly, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, NJ, USA.

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	I
Acknowledgements Publicly Available Download PDF	V
Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	VII
List of Figures Publicly Available Download PDF	XI
Introduction Publicly Available Download PDF	XIII
Part I: The Distichs and Paraenesis
1 The Distichs Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
2 Ancient Wisdom Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	40
3 Style Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	53
Part II: Content and Context
4 Friendship Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	77
5 Money Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	108
Part III: Reception
6 Legere et intelligere: Editions and Commentaries for Schools and Homes Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	141
7 Translations and Transformations Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	168
Conclusion Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	190
Appendix: Selected Translations of DC 3.24 Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	193
Works Cited Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	203
Index of Subjects Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	227
Index Locorum Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	237

(Deutsch)

Language: English
Publisher: De Gruyter
Audience: Classical philologists, scholars in reception studies, social and educational historians, European literature scholars
Pages
- Front matter: 9
- Main content: 250
Illustrations
- Illustrations: 4
- Tables: 3
Keywords: education; paraenesis; Latin; reception

eBook

Published: October 3, 2022
ISBN: 9783110789492

Hardcover

Published: October 3, 2022
ISBN: 9783110788846

Paperback

Planned Publication: June 17, 2024
ISBN: 9783111536392