Gian Biagio Conte Libri

Covering a millennium of Latin literature, this comprehensive history traces the evolution of written Latin from its origins to the early Middle Ages. It serves as both a reference and a reader's handbook, featuring major Latin authors from the earliest texts to figures like Gregory of Tours and Bede. With detailed summaries, bibliographic information, and critical insights, this work blends encyclopedic breadth with scholarly depth, making it an invaluable resource for students and enthusiasts of Latin literature.

This is an original collection of exemplary emendations made by ancient and modern scholars. Single examples are analysed in order to extract a method of emendation. The author reviews some attractive interventions which offer a model of textual criticism: a kind of ideal museum of critical intelligence applied to corruptions or cryptocorruptions which have damaged some Greek and Latin literary texts. All Greek and Latin passages included are literally translated and commented step by step. Advanced students and scholars are offered an orderly sequence of ‘cruces’ healed by great philologists so that a teaching route is granted.

In this book, conceived as a sort of Prolegomena to his two Teubner editions, Conte gives account of his choices in editing his Virgilian text. Engaging in a passionate debate with his predecessors and critics, he guides the reader in a fascinating journey in the history of transmission and interpretation of Georgics and Aeneid and shows how lively textual criticism can be.

This volume serves as a vital companion to the critical text of Virgil, enhancing the reader's understanding through insightful commentary and analysis. It includes "Critical Notes on Virgil," providing a deeper exploration of themes, literary techniques, and historical context. This work is designed for scholars and students alike, aiming to enrich the study of Virgil's contributions to literature and his enduring influence.

In the first part of this volume on the literary technique of imitation, the author analyses Virgil's working over the text of Homer which paradoxically represents a true act of artistic originality. In the second chapter, the author reconstructs the presuppositions of a method and explores at the same time its limitations.