Rightly to understand and appreciate Lucian, one must recognise that he was not a philosopher nor even a moralist, but a rhetorician, that his mission in life was not to reform society nor to chastise it, but simply to amuse it. He himself admits on every page that he is serious only in his desire to please, and he would answer all charges but that of dullness with an ον φροντις ΑπιτοκλΑορ. Judged from his own stand-point, he is successful; not only in his own times but in all the ensuing ages his witty, well-phrased comments on life, more akin to comedy than to true satire, have brought him the applause that he craved.
Among the eighty-two pieces that have come down to us under the name of Lucian, there are not a few of which his authorship has been disputed. Certainly spurious are Halcyon, Nero, Philopatris, and Astrology; and to these, it seems to me, the Consonants at Law should be added. Furthermore, Demosthenes, Charidemus, Cynic, Love, Octogenarians, Hippias, Ungrammatical Man, Swiftfoot, and the epigrams are generally considered spurious, and there are several others (Disowned and My Country in particular) which, to say the least, are of doubtful authenticity.
Beside satiric dialogues, which form the bulk of his work, and early rhetorical writings, we have from the pen of Lucian two romances, A True Story and Lucius, or the Ass (if indeed the latter is his), some introductions to readings and a number of miscellaneous treatises. Very few of his writings can be dated with any accuracy. An effort to group them on a chronological basis has been made by M. Croiset, but it cannot be called entirely successful. The order in which they are to be presented in this edition is that of the best manuscript (Vaticanus 90), which, through its adoption in Rabe’s edition of the scholia to Lucian and in Nilen’s edition of the text, bids fair to become standard.
There are a hundred and fifty manuscripts of Lucian, more or less, which give us a tradition that is none too good. There is no satisfactory critical edition of Lucian except Nilen’s, which is now in progress. His text has been followed, as far as it was available, through the True Story. Beyond this point it has been necessary to make a new text for this edition. In order that text and translation may as far as possible correspond, conjectures have been admitted with considerable freedom: for the fact that a good many of them bear the initials of the translator he need not apologize if they are good; if they are not no apology will avail him. He is deeply indebted to Professor Edward Capps for reviewing his translation in the proof.
BIBLIOGRAPHY.
Chief manuscripts: —
y group —
Vaticanus 90 (Γ), 9/10th century.
Harleianus 5694 (E), 9/10th century.
Laurentianus C. S. 77 (Φ), 10th century.
Marcianus 434 (Ω), 10/11th century.
Mutinensis 193 (S), 10th century.
Laurentianus 57, 51 (L), 11th century(?)
β group —
Vindobonensis 123 (B), 11th century (?)
Vaticanus 1324 (U), 11/12th century.
Vaticanus 76 (P).
Vaticanus 1323 (Z).
Parisinus 2957 (N).
Principal editions: —
Florentine, of 1496, the first edition by J. Lascaris, from the press of L. de Alopa.
Hemsterhuys-Reitz, Amsterdam 1743, containing a Latin translation by Gesner, critical notes, variorum commentary and a word-index (C. C. Reitz, 1746).
Lehmann, Leipzig 1822-1831, a convenient variorum edition which contains Gesner’s translation but lacks Reitz’s index.
Jacobitz, Leipzig 1836-1841, with critical notes, a subject-index and a word-index; it contains the scholia.
Jacobitz, Leipzig 1851, in the Teubner series of classical texts.
Bekker, Leipzig 1853.
Dindorf, Leipzig 1858, in the Tauchnitz series.
Fritzsche, Rostock 1860-1882, an incomplete edition containing only thirty pieces; excellent critical notes and prolegomena.
Sommerbrodt, Berlin 1886-1899, also incomplete, but lacking only fifteen pieces; with critical appendices.
Nilén, Leipzig 1906 — , the new Teubner text, with very full critical notes, and part of the Prolegomena in a separate gathering; the text is to appear in eight parts, of which the first is out and the second in press.
Noteworthy English Translations: —
Francklin, London 1780.
Tooke, London 1820.
Fowler (H. W.) and Fowler (F. G.), Oxford 1905. Scholia: edited by Rabe, Leipzig 1906.
Mras, Die Ueberlieferung Lucians, Vienna, 1911.
Croiset, Essai sur la Vie et les (Euvres de Lucian, Paris 1882. Foerster, Lucian in der Renaissance, Kiel 1886 Helm, Lucian und AIcnipp, Leipzig 1906.
There are also very numerous editions and translations of selections from Lucian, of which no mention has been made, besides dissertations and essays. A survey of the Lucian literature for ten years back may be found in Bursians Jahresbericht 129 (1906), pp. 237-252, and 149 (1910), pp. 44-95.
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Athens — believed to be where Lucian spent his final days
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Delphi Complete Works of Lucian Page 318
