Bibliotheca Classica
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
|
"The ancients supposed that men's souls after death wandered all over the world and disturbed the peace of its inhabitants. The good spirits were called Lares familiares, and the evil ones were known by the name of Larvae, or Lemures. They terrified the good, and continually haunted the wicked and impious; and the Romans had the custom of celebrating festivals in their honour, called Lemuria, or Lemuralia, in the month of May. They were first instituted by Romulus to appease the ghost of his brother Remus, from whom they were called Remuria, and, by corruption, Lemuria. These solemnities continued three nights, during which the temples of the gods were shut and marriages were prohibited. It was usual for the people to throw black beans on the graves of the deceased, or to burn them, as the smell was supposed to be insupportable to them. They also muttered magical words, and, by beating kettles and drums, they believed that the ghosts would depart and no longer come to terrify their relations upon earth."--Bibliotheca Classica (1788) by John Lemprière |
|
Related e |
|
Featured: |
The Bibliotheca Classica (Reading, November, 1788), or Classical Dictionary containing a full Account of all the Proper Names mentioned in Ancient Authors is the best-known work of John Lemprière, an English classical scholar. Edited by various later scholars, the dictionary long remained a readable if not absolutely trustworthy reference book in mythology and classical history. Lemprière wished "to give the most accurate and satisfactory account of all the proper names which occur in reading the Classics, and by a judicious collection of anecdotes and historical facts to draw a picture of ancient times, not less instructive than entertaining."
The dictionary has been a handbook for teachers, journalists, dramatists and poets for almost 200 years and John Keats is said to have known the book almost by heart. "Far from being just an ordinary dictionary, however, Lemprière's encyclopedic work is full of incidental details and stories which bring the mythical past to life." It is also assumed that the great scholar Richard Valpy helped Lemprière with the dictionary.
In 1794 a Latin-language Bibliotheca Classica was published anonymously in Deventer in Holland. The introduction criticised Lemprière's work, but the book itself largely consisted of a translation of Lemprière, even to the extent of incorporating errors that had been corrected in the 1792 edition.
Editions
- Bibliotheca Classica or Classical Dictionary, Reading, 1788.
- Bibliotheca Classica or a Classical Dictionary.....The Second Edition greatly enlarged, London, for T. Cadell, 1792.
- Bibliotheca Classica or Classical Dictionary, 3rd Edition, London, for T Cadell et al, 1797 (Later editions: 1815, 1818, 1828 - 15th edition, printed by A[ndrew] & R[obert] Spottiswoode, New-Street-Square, 1832, 1838, 1843, 1888).
- Bibliotheca Classica or Classical Dictionary, New York, 1833.
- Bibliotheca Classica or Classical Dictionary, W.E. Dean, New York, 1836. Revised and Corrected, and Divided, under Separate Heads, into Three Parts: Part I. Geography, Topography, etc. Part II. History, Antiquities, etc. Part III. Mythology by Lorenzo L. Da Ponte and John D. Ogilby. 10th American Edition. Greatly Enlarged in the Historical Department, by Lorenzo L. Da Ponte.
- Bibliotheca Classica or Classical Dictionary, 10th American Edition, W.E. Dean, New York, 1839. Greatly Enlarged in the Historical Department by Lorenzo L. Da Ponte and John D. Ogilby.
- Lemprière's Classical Dictionary, (Facsimile) London: Bracken Books, 1984.
- Lemprière's Classical Dictionary, Senate Books, 1994.
See also
