
Autobiography and Selected Letters, Volume II
Letters 51-193
Libanius(Author)
LOEB (Publisher)
Published on 1. January 1992
Book
Hardback
496 pages
978-0-674-99528-4 (ISBN)
Description
Pagans' advocate.
A professing pagan in an aggressively Christian empire, a friend of the emperor Julian and acquaintance of St. Basil, a potent spokesman for private and political causes-Libanius can tell us much about the tumultuous world of the fourth century.
Born in Antioch to a wealthy family steeped in the culture and religious traditions of Hellenism, Libanius rose to fame as a teacher of the classics in a period of rapid social change. In his lifetime Libanius was an acknowledged master of the art of letter writing. Today his letters-about 1550 of which survive-offer an enthralling self-portrait of this combative pagan publicist and a vivid picture of the culture and political intrigues of the eastern empire. A. F. Norman selects one eighth of the extant letters, which come from two periods in Libanius' life, AD 355-365 and 388-393, letters written to Julian, churchmen, civil officials, scholars, and his many influential friends. The Letters are complemented, in this two-volume edition, by Libanius' Autobiography (Oration 1), a revealing narrative that begins as a scholar's account and ends as an old man's private journal.
Also available in the Loeb Classical Library is a two-volume edition of Libanius' Orations.
A professing pagan in an aggressively Christian empire, a friend of the emperor Julian and acquaintance of St. Basil, a potent spokesman for private and political causes-Libanius can tell us much about the tumultuous world of the fourth century.
Born in Antioch to a wealthy family steeped in the culture and religious traditions of Hellenism, Libanius rose to fame as a teacher of the classics in a period of rapid social change. In his lifetime Libanius was an acknowledged master of the art of letter writing. Today his letters-about 1550 of which survive-offer an enthralling self-portrait of this combative pagan publicist and a vivid picture of the culture and political intrigues of the eastern empire. A. F. Norman selects one eighth of the extant letters, which come from two periods in Libanius' life, AD 355-365 and 388-393, letters written to Julian, churchmen, civil officials, scholars, and his many influential friends. The Letters are complemented, in this two-volume edition, by Libanius' Autobiography (Oration 1), a revealing narrative that begins as a scholar's account and ends as an old man's private journal.
Also available in the Loeb Classical Library is a two-volume edition of Libanius' Orations.
Reviews / Votes
Norman's command of his material is complete and remarkable. * TImes Literary Supplement *More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Cambridge, Mass
United States
Publishing group
Harvard University Press
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Illustrations
Index
Dimensions
Height: 169 mm
Width: 115 mm
Thickness: 24 mm
Weight
318 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-674-99528-4 (9780674995284)
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Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Albert Francis Norman was Professor of Classics at the University of Hull.