Customer Reviews

Cornelius Nepos: Three Lives -- Alcibiades, Dion, Atticus

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We used this text in the second year Latin readings course I had in college. As the introduction by Roebuck states, Cornelius Nepos is considered an easy author to translate, given that his language is common and plain in construction, not given to a wide range of artistic flourishes that make for tricky translation (Julius Caesar was also said to write in this way).

Cornelius Nepos is a somewhat shadowy figure, and not all of his work has survived into the modern world. Catullus was a friend of Nepos, and dedicated a work of poetry to him; Catullus was fond of Nepos' three-volume 'History of the World', which has not survived.

The sections in this text come from Nepos' work, 'de Viris Illustribus', in which Nepos wrote of grand persons foreign and domestic in military and political realms, for the most part. The three here include two Greek generals, Alcibiades and Dion (the largest group of 'lives' from Nepos are of Greek generals), and one from the Roman group, Atticus. Atticus was at one time one of the most influential men in Rome, contemporary with Cicero, and close friend and business associate of Nepos. It is likely this 'life' was written in the lifetime of Atticus, and amended after his death.

Roebuck gives an introduction to the book by covering a brief history of the texts (these represent the earliest examples of biography in Latin that have survived, according to Roebuck). He also provides historical background for each of the three figures of Alcibiades, Dion and Atticus, as well as a general Greek and Roman world overview.

This is a book for those learning Latin moreso than for those seeking history lessons. There is a vocabulary glossary of 30 pages in the back, as well as an eight-page index of proper names with annotations. The actual Latin text comprises only 40 pages; by comparison, there are 43 pages of notes for aid in translating the Latin text (and the print is generally smaller on those pages).

My experience with Nepos and this text by Bolchazy-Carducci (the same people who produce 'Cat in the Hat' in Latin, and such) was a good one, and I recommend it as a text for anyone who has had a basic Latin class, and wants to turn the hand to translating something 'real'.