Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Appeitive/Reasoning: The Elusive Oxford "Reds"

I guess I'm really becoming one of those classical geeks.

Ever since I did some of the original reading from David Schaps' Handbook for Classical Research, I have been hunting the local university library for the "Oxford Reds." According to Schaps, "the “Oxford Reds,” a number of works (never officially a series) [were] published by Oxford University Press from the 1930s until the 1980s, offering an introduction and a detailed commentary that were on quite a respectable scholarly level: some of these editions, indeed, became the scholarly standard for decades. The text used was usually that of the OCT, occasionally with minor deviations" (Schaps 110). I am glad to say I finally found one. I need to practice my dactylic hexameter scansion with Virgil, so I checked out what I believe is the "Oxford Red" of Book II of the Aeneid. It has a detailed commentary. Should be fun. I might actually translate some of it.

2 comments:

  1. If that's Austin's commentary on Aeneid II you have, then you have an Oxford Red. (You just need his commentaries on I, IV and VI now!)

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  2. Yes, indeed! He did my commentary on the Pro Caelio as well.

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