Recent times have seen a growing interest in ancient rhetoric, particularly in its theory. So works previously little known even to professional classicists are attracting fresh attention in the form of new editions and monographs. This new volume of Loeb Classical Library follows this trend, as it offers to the public a readily available and inexpensive edition of three treatises on a somewhat specialized field: epideictic rhetoric.
Although part of ancient rhetorical theory at least since Aristotle, the rhetoric of praise and blame was often regarded as secondary by ancient rhetoricians, because it did not directly deal with political matters, in contrast to symbouleutic and judicial rhetoric. Epideictic rhetoric received far less theoretical attention, the main exceptions being the two treatises attributed to a rhetor named Menander and now reproduced in the new Loeb. These texts not only provide us with the most complete treatment of the topic, but also offer glimpses of various genres of epideictic speeches practiced in Antiquity.
The volume also contains an excerpt of the Ars Rhetorica (wrongly) attributed to Dionysius of Halicarnassus. This work formed part of a late mélange of various rhetorical writings by different authors, and seven of its chapters are included here, specifically those concerned with epideictic rhetoric. Since the treatment here is very similar to that found in Menander’s texts, this part of Dionysius’ Ars certainly must have been based on the latter’s works, although it contains chapters on two genres not dealt with by Menander: panegyrics and exhortation to athletes.
So much for the ancient works themselves; turning now to the present volume, one must say it constitutes an invaluable contribution to the classical scholar, as it exhibits the qualities of the series’ best representatives: besides a general preface, the volume is divided in two parts, one for each author. Each part has a brief “Introduction”, in which Race summarizes the available information for the authors and tries to explain some of his editorial choices. As for Menander, the following issues are discussed: “The author”, “Date of the treatises”, “The condition of the two treatises”, “Relationship of the two treatises”, “The rhetorical and cultural context”, “The addressee and implied audience”, and “Manuscripts”. On the work of Pseudo-Dionysius, Race deals with the “The unity of Ars Rhetorica” (an unavoidable topic when dealing with this work), and “The identity of Echecrates”, the addressee in some passages of the treatise. Although very concise, these subsections succeed not only in presenting the available information about the author and works, but also in introducing the reader to the problems concerning these texts. The section on Menander is somewhat more complete, although information about the author, date, and context of composition remain dubious. Even so, the editor does an admirable job with his scant material, bringing to light the most important questions and pointing out the limitations of the evidence. Finally each introductory text is followed by a general bibliography and a summary of “Contents”.
Now I would like to speak a little longer on the subject of the printed Greek text. As Race himself acknowledges, the volume relies heavily on the work of Russell and Wilson on Menander Rhetor.[1] They offered a plausible reconstruction of the text’s tradition and solved most difficulties within the Greek original. The Pseudo-Dionysius’ text offers a considerably greater challenge to the editor; to circumvent its obstacles, Race resorts to previous editions (especially Usener and Rademacher edition),[2] taking care, however, to register in the footnotes variants and editorial solutions to difficult passages. So, in printing the text, Race succeeds in offering a comprehensive account of the main variants, even if he remains within the general scope of the series and never reaches the level of detail found in a critical apparatus.
A major improvement brought by the volume is the new system of reference to Menander’s text, replacing the often confusing Spengel pagination, so that searching for specific passages and referencing has become much easier. Two appendices on quoted passages and two indices on proper names are included at the end of the volume, each corresponding to one specific author. The volume closes with two maps, one of the Mediterranean and another of Greece proper. Although the maps do not bring anything new and might be seen as dispensable by the experienced classical scholar, they bring help to the neophyte, which in my view justifies their inclusion in the volume.
To sum up, this new volume of the Loeb Classical Library represents an invaluable contribution to the studies of ancient rhetoric, and the editor is deserving of the epideictic formulas of praise contained in it, not only for his initiative in promoting little known works on a somewhat specialized field, but also for the outstanding work done on not always easy material.
Notes
[1] Russell, D. A.; Wilson, N. G. (1981) Menander Rhetor. A Commentary. Oxford.
[2] Usener, H.; Rademacher, L. (1904) Dionysii Halicarnasei Opuscula. Vol. II. Leipzig. Other editions of note: Reiske, J. J. (1775) Dionysii Halicarnassensis Opera Omnia Graece et Latine. Vol. V. Leipzig; Schott, H. (1804) ΤEΧΝΗ ΡΗΤΟΡΙΚΗ Quae vulgo integra Dionysio Halicarnassensi Tribuitur, Emendata, Nova Versione Latina et Commentario Illustrata. Leipzig.