The limits of exactitude in Greek, Roman, and Byzantine literature and textual transmission / edited by Nicoletta Bruno [and three others].

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Bruno, Nicoletta, editor.

Series:

Trends in Classics - Supplementary Volumes

Trends in Classics - Supplementary Volumes ; v.137

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Classical literature.

Literature--Philosophy.

Literature.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (468 pages)

Place of Publication:

Berlin, Germany ; Boston, Massachusetts : Walter de Gruyter GmbH, [2022]

Summary:

Building on Calvino’s observations on Exactitude in Six Memos for the Next Millennium, the present book elucidates on the possible definitions of exactitude, the endeavor of reaching exactitude, and the undeniable limits to the achievement of this ambitious milestone.The eighteen essays in this interdisciplinary volume show how ancient and medieval authors have been dealing with the problem of exactitude vs. inexactitude and have been able to exploit the ambiguities related to these two concepts to various ends. The articles focus on rhetoric and historiography (section I), exact sciences and technical disciplines (II), the peculiarity of "ations (III), cases of programmatic inexactitude (IV) and textual transmission (V). Several interconnected questions weave a net across the volume: to what extent is exactitude the goal in ancient and medieval texts? How can the concepts of accuracy and inaccuracy aid the reinterpretation of an already known text or fact? To what extent can certain definitions of exactitude be stretched, without turning into inexactitude?The volume presents an extensive study capable of highlighting the shrewdness and aptness of the concepts introduced by Calvino more than thirty years ago.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Preface

Contents

Introduction: “The Crystal and the Flame”. Preliminary Remarks on Exactitude

Part I: Accuratio vel ambiguitas: Historical Narrative and Rhetorical Strategies

Discourse Relations and Historical Representation: Tacitus on the Role of Livia and Agrippina

Unspoken Messages: Tiberius and the Power of Silence in Tacitus’ Annals

Prescriptive and Performative Aesthetics: “Exactitude” in Quintilian’s Institutio oratoria

The Limits of Exactitude in Lucian’s Toxaris

Part II: Philosophical, Scientific, and Technical Exactitude

When Terence Writes Ambiguously (But He Does It on Purpose): An Analysis of Donatus’ Commentary on Phorm. 7.2

Walking at the Same Pace: On the Relevance of Clarity in Epictetus’ Teaching and Its Models

Exactitude in Ancient Pharmacological Theory and Practice, with Cases from the Greek Medical Papyri

Exactitude in Greek Musical Treatises: Meanings, Vocabulary, and Limits

Part III: Quotations and Misquotations: Three Cases from Greek and Roman Literature

Αἰσχυλαριστοφανίζειν: On the Boundaries of an Aeschylean Quotation (Aesch. fr. 61 R.)

Misquoting, Misplacing, Misusing: Some Observations on Cicero’s De consulatu suo

“Always Remember…”: The Role and Character of the Citations of Heraclitus in Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations

Part IV: Choosing Inexactitude: Programmatic and Genre Ambiguity

Exile or Envoy? Contradictions, Inaccuracies and Ambiguities about Clearchus

Between Inaccuracy and Idealization: The concordia fratrum in Claudian’s Poems

Cassiodorus’ Variae and the Role of Ambiguity in Ostrogothic Foreign Policy

Navigating the Ambiguity of Byzantine Apocalypses: Remarks on Genre, Exegesis, and Manuscript Transmission

Part V: Ambiguities in Textual Transmission

Sophocles’ Thyestes Plays: How Many Is Too Many?

Titles in Martial’s Manuscripts: Mistakes in Interpretation?

Byzantine Hymnographers Named Θεόδωρος: An Attempt at Disambiguation

List of Contributors

Index of Names and Places

Index of Sources

Index of Material Sources

Notes:

Description based on print version record.

Includes index.

ISBN:

3-11-079661-9