Customer Reviews

Tertullian: Apology and De Spectaculis. Minucius Felix: Octavius (Loeb Classical Library No. 250) (English and Latin Edition)

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The Latin text of the Apologeticum is the rather elderly 1851 Oehler text; the text of De Spectaculis is that from the serviceable 1890 Vienna edition (CSEL 20). The translation by T.R.Glover is very readable. There are a small number of critical notes at the foot of the Latin, although not a critical apparatus by any means, and a useful preface. Glover draws attention to the difficult problem of the dual Latin text and possible two editions of the Apologeticum. A modern bibliography is on the fly-leaf.

The Apologeticum is Tertullian's most important work, and this is a sterling translation of it. While the edition is now somewhat aged (from the 20's, I would guess), it still is one of the best introductions to Tertullian.

De Spectaculis is a rare work by Tertullian, preserved only in a single manuscript, and this edition makes it readily available.

The volume is completed with a Latin text and pleasant English translation of the Octavius of Minucius Felix. This last work deserves to be better known than it is. Preserved by the slenderest of threads, the little book describes three friends walking along the beach at Ostia, and then holding a Ciceronian debate about the truth or falsehood of the Christians.

Note that, as with all the older editions, a portion of the Latin of the Octavius which is obscene is left untranslated.

This is an excellent translation of a difficult and important author. Tertullian is generally considered the most important author in the Latin Church before Augustine. Because this book includes the Latin text, it is a "primary source" of considerable importance. The translation is lucid, especially given the difficulty of Tertullian's Latin, and the translator's notes are very helpful. The introduction is also learned and thorough. My only regret is that the translator chose to translate De Spectaculis rather than more important works.

Accout to tertullian is simple and so sliper