Barsby, Plautus Bacchides (1991).pdf

(13929 KB) Pobierz
ARIS
&
PIDLLIPS CLASSICAL TEXTS
PLAUTUS
Bacchides
with an Introduction, Translation and Commentary
by
John
Barsby
Aris
&
Phillips is an imprint of
Oxbow Books
© John Barsby 1986. AU rights reserved. No part of this
publication may be reproduced or stored in a retrieval
system or transmitted in any form or by any means
including photocopying without prior permission of the
publishers in writing.
First published 1986. Reprinted with corrections 1991.
Reprinted 2008.
ISBN 978-0-85668-227-8
A CIP record for this book is available from the British Library
Printed in Great Britain
by CPI Antony Rowe, Eastbourne
Contents
PREFACE .................................................................................................... iv
INTRODUCTION
1. Plautus and his Background .............................................................. 1
2. Plautus and Greek New Comedy...................................................... 2
3. Native Italian Influences ................................................................... 5
4. Theatrical Conditions ........................................................................ 7
5.
Language and Style .........................................................................
10
6.
Metre ...............................................................................................
.13
7. Text. ................................................................................................. 16
8. Translation ....................................................................................... 18
9. Commentary.................................................................................... .19
SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY....................................................................... 25
ABBREVIATIONS ....................................................................................
29
TEXT AND TRANSLATION .................................................................... 30
COMMENTARY........................................................................................ 93
APPENDIX............................................................................................... 191
INDEX...................................................................................................... 197
PREFACE
The time is ripe for new editions of Roman comedy. The papyrus discoveries of the last twenty-
five years have so increased our knowledge of Greek New Comedy that wc are now in a better
position than at any time since the end of the classical era
to
understand the originality of
Plautus and Terence and to appreciate their respective contributions to the development of
European comedy. At the same time we now have a wider range of srudents of Roman drarna,
whose needs are not well served by the predominantly linguistic and philological editions of
previous generations.
Plautus'
Bacchides
has been generally neglected by English commentators and translators. The
last English edition with commentary was that of
]
. M'Cosh (1896), and the recent English
translation by
j.
Tatum (Baltimore 1983) is the firsi: since that of P. Nixon in the Loeb series
(1916). But
Bacchides
is one of Plamus' best and most typical plays: it contains one of his
outstanding creations in the character of the slave Chrysalus, and in its general treatment of
character, theme, and dialogue it provides an excellent introduction to Plautus' work. At the
same time it is a play which is at the forefront of scholarly discussion of Plautus, since the
rediscovery on papyrus in 1968 of a lengthy passage from its Greek mode!, Menander's
Dis
Exapaton.
This has enabled modern scholars for the first time to evaluate Plautus' style and
methods by a direct comparison with the corresponding part of his Greek original.
The play therefore has much to offer both
to
the classical scholar and
to
the general student
interested in the qualities of Plautus and his place in the development of the comic tradition.
This edition has been consciously slanted towards the needs of those working in translation,
though it is intended to be equally useful
to
the Latinist and to provide scholars with an up-to-
date guide to the play and
to
the issues which it raises. The Latin text has been independently
constituted, though with no real pretensions to originality. The translation provides a line-by-
line equivalent, aiming to reproùuce not only the sense of the Latin but also something of its
style and metrical variety. The commentary concentrates on the literary, ùramatic, and histori-
cal aspects of the play, while not ignoring important questions of language, text, and metre.
It is a pleasure
to
acknowledge the generous help of scholars who were kind enough
to
discuss
aspects of the work with me, including Mr Robert Coleman, Mr Guy Lee, Professor Kevin
Lee, Dr Christopher Ehrhardt, and Mr Robert llannaho I must single out for special mention
Dr Richard Humer, Professor Harry Sandbach, and Profcssor Malcolm Willcock, each of whom
read through the whole typescript and suggested innumerable improvements in detail:
l
hope
that the places where l have been rash enough
to
ignore their advice will not be too noticeable.
l must further thank the University of Otago for research grants and for a period of leave which
enabled me to concentrate on the work, and the lnstitute uf Classical Studies in London and
two Cambridge colleges (Peterhouse and Clare Hall) for their hospitality during that period.
I wish also to express my gratitude to the publishers for their courtesy and patience and to
Lyn Knarston for her meticulous work on the typesetting.
].A.
Barsby
Dunedin, N.Z. April 198 5
IV

Plik z chomika:

Inne pliki z tego folderu:

Inne foldery tego chomika:

Zgłoś jeśli naruszono regulamin