A Historical Commentary on Polybius, Vol. 1-3

Description

Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1957, 1967, 1979. 799 + 697 + 850 pp. From author: The last full commentary on Polybius, that of lohannes Schweighaeuser, was published during the French Revolution ; but his eight massive volumes, which also contain a text and translation, are fundamentally untouched by the stirring events going on at the time—except that in the last two the author, hitherto described as Argentoratensis, has suddenly grown conscious that he is also ciuis Gallo-Francus. The work appeared between 1789 and 1795, and the Lexicon Polybianum followed the next year. It is in essence a product of eighteenth-century scholarship, and a noteworthy one, not least because it marks a major stage in the reconstitution of the text; but it is especially in the commentary that Schweighaeuser’s gifts come out most clearly. The more one works with this, the more one comes to admire its thoroughness and sound common sense. Again and again Schweighaeuser is right where his successors are wrong ; and it does not in the least detract from his achievement to admit, as one must, that his commentary no longer satisfies current needs, For this, one reason is of course that the work of Nissen, Hultsch. and Büttner-Wobst has radically transformed the text, especially in the fragmentary books; but, more important, there has been a shift in interest since Schweighaeuser’s time. His commentary is primarily philological ; whereas most people who read Polybius today turn to him as the main source for much Hellenistic history, as the historian of the Punic Wars, and, above all, as the first man who really came to grips with the problem of the rise of Rome to world empire—which is equivalent to saying that his readers today are preeminently those who share his own interests. It is these readers whose needs the present work is intended to meet. It is to be completed in two volumes. The second volume in fact goes down only to the end of book xviii (which affords a logical break after the Second Macedonian War) and a third volume will cover books xx to xxxix. Vol. 1 Commentary on Books 1-6 (1957) Preface LIST OF MAPS ABBREVIATIONS AND BIBLIOGRAPHY OF SHORT TITLES INTRODUCTION I. Polybius' Life and Journeys 2. Polybius' Views on History 3. Tyche 4. Polybius’ Sources 5. Chronology COMMENTARY Book I Book II Book III Book IV Book V Book VI INDEXES I. General 2. Authors and passages 3. Inscriptions and Papyri 4. Greek Vol. 2 Commentary on Books 7-18 (1967) Preface LIST OF MAPS AND PLANS ABBREVIATIONS AND BIBLIOGRAPHY OF SHORT TITLES INTRODUCTION: THE ASSIGNMENT OF THE FRAGMENTS I. Books VII and VIII 2. Books IX and X 3. Book XI 4. Book XII 5. Book XIII 6. Books XIV and XV 7. Book XVI 8. Books XVII and XVIII COMMENTARY Book VII Book VIII Book IX Book X Book XI Book XII Book XIII Book XIV Book XV Book XVI Book XVII Book XVIII ADDENDA AND CORRIGENDA TO VOLUME I ADDENDA AND CORRIGENDA TO VOLUME II INDEXES I. General 2. Authors and passages 3. Inscriptions and Papyri 4. Greek Vol. 3 Commentary on Books 19-40(1979) LIST OF MAPS AND PLANS ABBREVIATIONS AND BIBLIOGRAPHY OF SHORT TITLES INTRODUCTION: THE ASSIGNMENT OF THE FRAGMENTS 1. Book xix 2. Book XX 3. Book xxi 4. Book xxii 5. Book xxiii 6. Book xxiv 7. Book XXV 8. Book XXvi 9. Book xxvii 10. Book xxviii 11. Book xxix 12. Book xxx 13. Book xxxi 14. Book xxxii 15. Book xxxiii 16. Book xxxiv 17. Book xxxv 18. Book xxxvi 19. Book xxxvii 20. Book xxxviii 21. Book xxxix 22. Book xl TABLE OF FRAGMENTS: BOOKS VII-XXXIX COMMENTARY Book xix Book XX Book xxi Book xxii Book xxiii Book xxiv Book XXV Hook xxvi Book xxvii Book xxviii Book xxix Appendix on Hie Achaean Assemblies Book XXX Book xxxi Book XXXii Book xxxiii Book xxxiv Book XXXV Book xxxvi Book xxxvii Book xxxviii Book xxxix Book xl Fragments ADDENDA AND CORRIGENDA TO VOLUME I ADDENDA AND COHRIGENDA TO VOLUME II ADDENDA TO VOLUME III INDEXES 1. General 2. Authors and passages 3. Inscriptions, Papyri, and Ostraca 4. Greek