5.0542 Plutarch in the Colonies (2/35)
Elaine Brennan & Allen Renear (EDITORS@BROWNVM.BITNET)
Thu, 19 Dec 1991 17:21:54 EST
Humanist Discussion Group, Vol. 5, No. 0542. Thursday, 19 Dec 1991.
(1) Date: Wed, 18 Dec 1991 07:26:24 -0500 (15 lines)
From: warkent@epas.utoronto.ca (Germaine Warkentin)
Subject: Plutarch again
(2) Date: Wed, 18 Dec 91 19:55:25 EST (20 lines)
From: Brian Whittaker <BRIANW@VM2.YorkU.CA>
Subject: Re: 5.0536 Plutarch in the Colonies
(1) --------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Wed, 18 Dec 1991 07:26:24 -0500
From: warkent@epas.utoronto.ca (Germaine Warkentin)
Subject: Plutarch again
Mark Olsen's research sounds fascinating; if he is on ExLibris,
I urge him to share his project and results with the old book and
library history enthusiasts who use that list! But in truth, I was
thinking about an earlier period: late 17th and early 18th century.
Certainly what I know about 17th century library catalogues (I'm
editing one, so I'm beginning to know more than I want to) suggests
that book collectors certainly _bought_ Plutarch. It would be
interesting to know how much they _read_ him; I am firmly of the belief
that an awful lot of people bought books and then read only the
beginnings, or the first volume of three . . . Germaine Warkentin
(2) --------------------------------------------------------------27----
Date: Wed, 18 Dec 91 19:55:25 EST
From: Brian Whittaker <BRIANW@VM2.YorkU.CA>
Subject: Re: 5.0536 Plutarch in the Colonies (1/20)
If the quotation were well known, I suspect it might not be from
editions of Plutarch, whether purchased, inherited or borrowed, but
rather from inclusion in a commonly used primer, grammar, reader or
anthology of the day. Only the more scholarly memorize at length, but
until quite recently everyone memorized the examples from the textbooks.
I expect there are many members of Humanist who know the first sentence
from Caesar's Gallic Wars without having purchased, borrowed or read
the whole book.
Brian
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Brian Whittaker BRIANW@VM2.YorkU.CA
Atkinson College, York University (Please do not omit the W)
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