Just bought this for 2 dollars in used books store. What should I expect?
>>25551194A rhetorical whirlwind through an ancient land.
>>25551894Damn, you've read the wikipedia article on the book?
>>25552698You could be right. But now you'll have to read both to find the truth.
>>25551194never heard of it. what is it about?
>>25554814Epic about roman civil war that favors Pompey and turns Caesar into force of nature. Written during reign of Nero by 25yo Lucan, unfinished because Lucan was forced to commit suicide by Nero. Because of his youth and the high quality of the epic and the speed in which he composed it Lucanus is considered one of the roman GOATs.
>>25551194the thomas may translation into heroic couplets is way more fun, and thomas may continues the story up to the caesar's assassination. i'm not surprised you didn't find it in print, though, it's not easy to get a hold of. the MHRA edition i used for this picture turned out to be heavily rewritten for the sake of modern audiences. compare the original translation i got from google books:>Deare Cittizens, what brainßick charmes?>What outrage of dißordered armes?>Leades you to feaßt your enuious foes,>To ßee you goar'd with your owne blowes?>Proud Babylon your force doth ßcorn>Whoße ßpoyles your trophies might adorne>And Craßßus vnreunged ghoßt,>Roames wayling through the Parthian coaßt.>Doth now your hearts ßuch warre desire>As yeelds no triumphs for your hyre?>O what a world by Lands and Seas,>Mought you haue won with much more eaße.>Then halfe the bloud your weapons draines,>in ciuill ßtrife from out your vaines!to the modernized one:>What fury, countrymen, what madness could>Move you to feast your foes with roman blood?>And choose such wars as could no triumphs yield,>Whilst yet proud Babylon unconquered held>The boasting trophies of a Roman host,>And unrevengèd wandered Crassus ghost?>Alas, what seas, what lands you might have ta'en>With what blood's loss, which civil hands had drawn?
>>25555334Nigger, did you think that writing the german S in the first one makes it more cool? It's the cringiest shit I've ever seen.I am also not reading some shitty english translation (shit language with the shittiest translators), I just used english bookcover for the thread.
>>25557264it doesn't use the "ß", i just don't have a "ſ" on my keyboard, so it ws easier to transcribe it that way. "brain[s]ick charms" and "outrage of di[s]ordered arms" are obviously cooler terms than "fury" and "madness". any sensible reader would be insulted at the notion that they need it dumbed down for them this way. if they had simply updated the spelling, i'd have been fine with it, but it clearly goes further than that. can you not see thaf the second is nearly half the length of the original, chucklehead?
>>25555245seems neat
>>25555334Yeah, I'd swap a kidney for a print copy of May's translation. Will probably never find one though.
>>25559827you can get a reprint of any book in the public domain. i got a two volume set of "the orleanide" by phillipe-alexandre le brun de charmettes for 70 dollars.
>for THIS the sword is given, that man need never live as a SLAVE!
