Acta Antiqua Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae, 2022
The present paper aims at giving a text edition of Antonio Cassarino's humanist Latin translation... more The present paper aims at giving a text edition of Antonio Cassarino's humanist Latin translation of Plutarch's dialogue Bruta animalia ratione uti. This is the earliest of three translations made of this dialogue in the course of the 15th century. The text itself is extant in three different manuscripts, one of which is a codex of the Vatican Library (Vat. lat. 3349), compiled after Cassarino's death by Panormita. A comparison of the text variants has led to several results. First, some of the errors shared by all three manuscripts show that they go back to a common archetype already at some distance from the translator's original copy. Second, Panormita relied heavily on a codex of the Biblioteca della Società Siciliana per la Storia Patria in Palermo (MS Lodi XII E 13) in preparing his own version. Third, the Vatican codex is far from being the best representative of Cassarino's original translation. Though Panormita corrected several of the common inherited errors, he made changes to the text without consulting the Greek. In almost every instance, it is a codex of the Biblioteca Casanatense of Rome (Bibl. Casan. 665 C II 8) which gives the best reading, providing the clue for a successful reconstruction of the text. An attempt will be made to trace the version contained in this codex back to a certain person named Balbi, referred to in the dedicatory letter as being a learned expert of both languages, Greek and Latin. Along with the establishment of the text, it will also be possible to define the original Greek source codex Cassarino used for his translation (Vat. Pal. gr. 170).
Plutarchos Bruta animalia ratione uti című eleven dialógusából három latin fordítás is készült a ... more Plutarchos Bruta animalia ratione uti című eleven dialógusából három latin fordítás is készült a XV. század folyamán, melyek csak kéziratban maradtak fenn. Hogy a fordítások belső viszonyait felfedjük, a kézirati szövegek mélyreható elemzésére van szükség. Egy korábbi tanulmányunkban feldolgoztuk Giovanni Regio időben legkésőbbi fordítását (1488), kimutatva azokat a szálakat, amelyek elődje, a milánói Lampugnino Birago fordításához (1465-1470 körül) fűzik. Most a szicíliai Antonio Cassarino legkorábban készült fordításának (1440-1445 körül) a vizsgálatát kívánjuk elvégezni párhuzamosan utódja, Lampugnino Birago negyed évszázaddal későbbi fordításával, hogy összehasonlítsuk módszerüket és stíluseszközeiket. A két fordító megközelítése között lényeges különbség figyelhető meg. Míg Cassarino a humanista fordításeszményt követve "értelem szerinti" (ad sententiam) fordításra törekszik, addig Birago inkább a "szó szerinti" (ad verbum) fordítás követelményének tesz eleget. A fordításelmélet általános kérdései mellett tárgyaljuk a latin fordítások kézirati hagyományának, görög forrásszövegének, valamint szóhasználatának problémáját.
Plutarchos Bruta animalia ratione uti című dialógusának humanista latin fordításai közül a legism... more Plutarchos Bruta animalia ratione uti című dialógusának humanista latin fordításai közül a legismertebb Giovanni Regio nevéhez fűződik. Az 1488-ban készült fordítást, amelyet a Padovai Egyetemi Könyvtár Ms. 958 jelzetű papírkódexe őriz, Raffaele Regio, a fordító testvérbátyja átdolgozta, és 1508-ban Velencében posztumusz kiadta. A kézirati és a nyomtatott szöveg egybevetését a kutatás még nem végezte el. A beható filológiai elemzéssel az a célunk, hogy megállapítsuk az eredeti fordításba való beavatkozás mértékét és természetét, majd ennek révén közelebbi bepillantást nyerjünk a fordító eljárási módszerébe és technikáiba. Ezzel alkalmunk nyílik a fordítás szövegének további kapcsolatait is megvizsgálni a dialógus másik két latin fordításával, amelyeket Antonio Cassarino és Lampugnino Birago készített néhány évtizeddel korábban.
Acta Orientalia Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae, 2018
It is commonly held among scholars that Aśoka's Minor Rock Edicts were the king's first attempts ... more It is commonly held among scholars that Aśoka's Minor Rock Edicts were the king's first attempts at engraving his messages on stone, and as such, they represent the earliest evidence for writing in India. While this may be true, it has not been duly emphasised that the text of the Minor Rock Edicts, in several versions as we have it, shows considerable traces of influence by the Major Rock Edicts and Pillar Edicts. Particular instances for such an influence in the text are the intrusion of the key term dhaṃma or the use of a general formulaic language characteristic of the later edicts. In our discussion , we wish to bring out some of these "Major" trends in the Minor Rock Edicts, making proposals for new interpretations and reading in Minor Rock Edicts I and II. On a similar basis, we will propose placing the Greco-Aramaic edict from Kandahar in the context of the Minor Rock Edicts, and try to account for the elements which may be derived from the Major Rock Edicts by the same scribal procedure as can be supposed to have been at work in formulating the text of the Minor Rock Edicts.
International Journal of the Classical Tradition, Feb 8, 2017
In late medieval encyclopedias there is an apparent revival of an ancient classical motif, which ... more In late medieval encyclopedias there is an apparent revival of an ancient classical motif, which was traced by me in a previous study: the motif of the suppliant bird, that is, a bird which, escaping a hawk, seeks refuge in a human lap. The encyclopedists tend to attribute to this motif, in a more pronounced way than their classical predecessors, the force of natural observation, in accordance with the general aim of their works. As a result of this tendency, the dove and the sparrow, typical birds in the role of a suppliant in the classical sources, come to be replaced by the lark, presumably because it was one of the targets of contemporary falconry. At the same time, by way of allegory, the image of the suppliant bird continues to serve as an example of mercy, one of the main virtues in the pagan worldview and the highest ideal in Christianity. In the present study, I follow the lines of the motif of the suppliant bird from the medieval encyclopedias to the rise of awareness in Europe of the humane treatment of animals.
International Journal of the Classical Tradition, Nov 23, 2016
A famous legend in ancient Indian literature tells how a king named Śibi saved a dove which, chas... more A famous legend in ancient Indian literature tells how a king named Śibi saved a dove which, chased by a hawk, sought refuge in the king's lap. When refuge was given to the suppliant dove, the hawk wanted its prey back from the king, who, unwilling to give up the suppliant, was forced to cut pieces of flesh off his own body in order to ransom the dove. Remarkable parallels to the Indian legend in classical sources have remained unnoticed by scholars both in the Indological and classical fields. In my study, I wish to make a thorough investigation of the classical sources attesting to the image of the suppliant dove chased by a hawk, used by authors as a literary device or as an anecdote with a moral from as early as the classical period through Hellenistic and Roman times. The events leading up to the central drama of the Indian legend, that is, the king's cutting his own flesh off his limbs, are therefore likely to have been borrowed from the classical tradition. This conclusion is supported by the fact that the element of supplication is missing in all other Indian stories belonging to the same type as the legend of king Śibi, representing the ideal of bodily self-sacrifice. The religious ideal of bodily self-sacrifice to save a living being, which is a specifically Indian characteristic, proved to be a good soil for the reception of the image of the suppliant dove chased by a hawk, as both were teaching, in a way, the lesson of humane treatment towards animals.
Acta Antiqua Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae, 2022
The present paper aims at giving a text edition of Antonio Cassarino's humanist Latin translation... more The present paper aims at giving a text edition of Antonio Cassarino's humanist Latin translation of Plutarch's dialogue Bruta animalia ratione uti. This is the earliest of three translations made of this dialogue in the course of the 15th century. The text itself is extant in three different manuscripts, one of which is a codex of the Vatican Library (Vat. lat. 3349), compiled after Cassarino's death by Panormita. A comparison of the text variants has led to several results. First, some of the errors shared by all three manuscripts show that they go back to a common archetype already at some distance from the translator's original copy. Second, Panormita relied heavily on a codex of the Biblioteca della Società Siciliana per la Storia Patria in Palermo (MS Lodi XII E 13) in preparing his own version. Third, the Vatican codex is far from being the best representative of Cassarino's original translation. Though Panormita corrected several of the common inherited errors, he made changes to the text without consulting the Greek. In almost every instance, it is a codex of the Biblioteca Casanatense of Rome (Bibl. Casan. 665 C II 8) which gives the best reading, providing the clue for a successful reconstruction of the text. An attempt will be made to trace the version contained in this codex back to a certain person named Balbi, referred to in the dedicatory letter as being a learned expert of both languages, Greek and Latin. Along with the establishment of the text, it will also be possible to define the original Greek source codex Cassarino used for his translation (Vat. Pal. gr. 170).
Plutarchos Bruta animalia ratione uti című eleven dialógusából három latin fordítás is készült a ... more Plutarchos Bruta animalia ratione uti című eleven dialógusából három latin fordítás is készült a XV. század folyamán, melyek csak kéziratban maradtak fenn. Hogy a fordítások belső viszonyait felfedjük, a kézirati szövegek mélyreható elemzésére van szükség. Egy korábbi tanulmányunkban feldolgoztuk Giovanni Regio időben legkésőbbi fordítását (1488), kimutatva azokat a szálakat, amelyek elődje, a milánói Lampugnino Birago fordításához (1465-1470 körül) fűzik. Most a szicíliai Antonio Cassarino legkorábban készült fordításának (1440-1445 körül) a vizsgálatát kívánjuk elvégezni párhuzamosan utódja, Lampugnino Birago negyed évszázaddal későbbi fordításával, hogy összehasonlítsuk módszerüket és stíluseszközeiket. A két fordító megközelítése között lényeges különbség figyelhető meg. Míg Cassarino a humanista fordításeszményt követve "értelem szerinti" (ad sententiam) fordításra törekszik, addig Birago inkább a "szó szerinti" (ad verbum) fordítás követelményének tesz eleget. A fordításelmélet általános kérdései mellett tárgyaljuk a latin fordítások kézirati hagyományának, görög forrásszövegének, valamint szóhasználatának problémáját.
Plutarchos Bruta animalia ratione uti című dialógusának humanista latin fordításai közül a legism... more Plutarchos Bruta animalia ratione uti című dialógusának humanista latin fordításai közül a legismertebb Giovanni Regio nevéhez fűződik. Az 1488-ban készült fordítást, amelyet a Padovai Egyetemi Könyvtár Ms. 958 jelzetű papírkódexe őriz, Raffaele Regio, a fordító testvérbátyja átdolgozta, és 1508-ban Velencében posztumusz kiadta. A kézirati és a nyomtatott szöveg egybevetését a kutatás még nem végezte el. A beható filológiai elemzéssel az a célunk, hogy megállapítsuk az eredeti fordításba való beavatkozás mértékét és természetét, majd ennek révén közelebbi bepillantást nyerjünk a fordító eljárási módszerébe és technikáiba. Ezzel alkalmunk nyílik a fordítás szövegének további kapcsolatait is megvizsgálni a dialógus másik két latin fordításával, amelyeket Antonio Cassarino és Lampugnino Birago készített néhány évtizeddel korábban.
Acta Orientalia Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae, 2018
It is commonly held among scholars that Aśoka's Minor Rock Edicts were the king's first attempts ... more It is commonly held among scholars that Aśoka's Minor Rock Edicts were the king's first attempts at engraving his messages on stone, and as such, they represent the earliest evidence for writing in India. While this may be true, it has not been duly emphasised that the text of the Minor Rock Edicts, in several versions as we have it, shows considerable traces of influence by the Major Rock Edicts and Pillar Edicts. Particular instances for such an influence in the text are the intrusion of the key term dhaṃma or the use of a general formulaic language characteristic of the later edicts. In our discussion , we wish to bring out some of these "Major" trends in the Minor Rock Edicts, making proposals for new interpretations and reading in Minor Rock Edicts I and II. On a similar basis, we will propose placing the Greco-Aramaic edict from Kandahar in the context of the Minor Rock Edicts, and try to account for the elements which may be derived from the Major Rock Edicts by the same scribal procedure as can be supposed to have been at work in formulating the text of the Minor Rock Edicts.
International Journal of the Classical Tradition, Feb 8, 2017
In late medieval encyclopedias there is an apparent revival of an ancient classical motif, which ... more In late medieval encyclopedias there is an apparent revival of an ancient classical motif, which was traced by me in a previous study: the motif of the suppliant bird, that is, a bird which, escaping a hawk, seeks refuge in a human lap. The encyclopedists tend to attribute to this motif, in a more pronounced way than their classical predecessors, the force of natural observation, in accordance with the general aim of their works. As a result of this tendency, the dove and the sparrow, typical birds in the role of a suppliant in the classical sources, come to be replaced by the lark, presumably because it was one of the targets of contemporary falconry. At the same time, by way of allegory, the image of the suppliant bird continues to serve as an example of mercy, one of the main virtues in the pagan worldview and the highest ideal in Christianity. In the present study, I follow the lines of the motif of the suppliant bird from the medieval encyclopedias to the rise of awareness in Europe of the humane treatment of animals.
International Journal of the Classical Tradition, Nov 23, 2016
A famous legend in ancient Indian literature tells how a king named Śibi saved a dove which, chas... more A famous legend in ancient Indian literature tells how a king named Śibi saved a dove which, chased by a hawk, sought refuge in the king's lap. When refuge was given to the suppliant dove, the hawk wanted its prey back from the king, who, unwilling to give up the suppliant, was forced to cut pieces of flesh off his own body in order to ransom the dove. Remarkable parallels to the Indian legend in classical sources have remained unnoticed by scholars both in the Indological and classical fields. In my study, I wish to make a thorough investigation of the classical sources attesting to the image of the suppliant dove chased by a hawk, used by authors as a literary device or as an anecdote with a moral from as early as the classical period through Hellenistic and Roman times. The events leading up to the central drama of the Indian legend, that is, the king's cutting his own flesh off his limbs, are therefore likely to have been borrowed from the classical tradition. This conclusion is supported by the fact that the element of supplication is missing in all other Indian stories belonging to the same type as the legend of king Śibi, representing the ideal of bodily self-sacrifice. The religious ideal of bodily self-sacrifice to save a living being, which is a specifically Indian characteristic, proved to be a good soil for the reception of the image of the suppliant dove chased by a hawk, as both were teaching, in a way, the lesson of humane treatment towards animals.
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