Macrobius: Saturnalia, Books 1-2

Ambrosius Aurelius Theodosius Macrobius

Harvard University Press, Jan 5, 2011 - Literary Criticism - 387 pages

The Saturnalia, Macrobius's encyclopedic celebration of Roman culture written in the early fifth century CE, has been prized since the Renaissance as a treasure trove of otherwise unattested lore. Cast in the form of a dialogue, the Saturnalia treats subjects as diverse as the divinity of the Sun and the quirks of human digestion while showcasing Virgil as the master of all human knowledge from diction and rhetoric to philosophy and religion.

The new Latin text is based on a refined understanding of the medieval tradition and improves on Willis's standard edition in nearly 300 places. The accompanying translation—only the second in English and the only one now in print—offers a clear and sprightly rendition of Macrobius's ornate Latin and is supplemented by ample annotation. A full introduction places the work in its cultural context and analyzes its construction, while indexes of names, subjects, and ancient works cited in both text and notes make the work more readily accessible than ever before.

What people are saying

Review: Saturnalia, Volume Iii: Books 6 7 (Loeb Classical Library)

User Review  - John Cairns - Goodreads

Book 6 on where Virgil used earlier poets' words made me want to read Servius Ad Aeneidem. Book 7 did my head in with its explaining everything in terms of humours and having light emanate from eyes ...

About the author

Robert A. Kaster, professor of classics and Kennedy Foundation Professor of Latin at Princeton University, has taught and written mainly in the areas of Roman rhetoric, the history of education, and Roman ethics. His books include "Guardians of Language: The Grammarian and Society in Late Antiquity" (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1988), "Emotion, Restraint, and Community in Ancient Rome" (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005), and several critical editions and translations, including "Anger, Mercy, Revenge "(with Martha C. Nussbaum) in the University of Chicago Press's Complete Works of Seneca series (2010).

Bibliographic information

• Title: Macrobius: Saturnalia, Books 1-2; Loeb Classical Library; Volume 1 of Saturnalia, Ambròs Teodosi Macrobi
• Author: Ambrosius Aurelius Theodosius Macrobius
• Editor: Robert A. Kaster
• Translated by: Robert A. Kaster
• Publisher: Harvard University Press, 2011
• ISBN: 0674996496, 9780674996496
• Length: 387 pages
• Subjects: History / Ancient / Rome; Literary Criticism / Ancient & Classical; Social Science / Customs & Traditions