Synopses & Reviews
Aulus Gellius originated the modern use of "classical" and "humanities." His Attic Nights contains information on many aspects of antiquity, and preserves much early Latin literature that would otherwise be lost; it also offers personal reminiscences and vignettes of life in the second century AD. This comprehensive study examines his life and writings. It has been fully revised in the light of recent work.
Review
"A book to mine for its information.... and to enjoy for its own spirited enjoyment of scholarship and of the literature that scholarship illuminates."--London Review of Books
"A joy, as much for the mind of the modern writer as of his beloved ancient subject."--American Journal of Philology
Table of Contents
I. The Man and his Book 1. Life and Dates
2. Composition and Purpose
3. Language and Style
4. Presentation and Sources
II. Preceptors and Acquaintances
5. Teachers
6. Favorinus
7. Honoured Orators
8. Miscellaneous Contemporaries
III. Scholarship and Study
9. Scholarly Reading
10. The Latin Language
11. Roman Orators and Poets
12. Greek: Language, Poets, Orators
13. History
14. Philosophy
15. Other Sciences: Rhetoric, Law, Medicine
16. Miscellaneous Interest, Weak Spots, and Blind Spots
Epilogue