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Varro Varius, the Polymath of the Roman World , written by Butterfield, D.J.

Varro Varius, the Polymath of the Roman World , written by Butterfield, D.J. Varro Varius, the Polymath of the Roman World (Cambridge Classical Journal Supplement 39). Cambridge, The Cambridge Philological Society, 2015. x, 218 pp. Pr. £30.00 (hb). isbn 9780956838148.This is a much needed volume and one full of good things. There is far too little available in any language on Varro, and quite a lot of it is not very helpful. Butterfield begins his edited volume with the words “Varro is a figure to whom scholarship has not yet done justice”—and he is quite right.The volume begins with a sparkling introduction. Butterfield neatly outlines what we know of Varro’s life and the fate of his works, before giving a helpful survey of what survives and its characteristics. Within this, there is a short but super illustration of how careful we have to be to avoid conflating the attraction of Varro’s huge output, and its clear influence, with the quality of the research. Butterfield brilliantly argues that Varro’s dodgy etymologies persuaded a host of Roman writers to populate Armenia with tigers, despite there being none there. The non-existent Armenian tiger is a wonderful symbol of the Varronian paradox. What we have of Varro is so peculiar that despite being of immense interest http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Mnemosyne Brill

Varro Varius, the Polymath of the Roman World , written by Butterfield, D.J.

Smith, Christopher
Mnemosyne , Volume 70 (1): 1 – Oct 4, 2016
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Publisher
Brill
Copyright
© Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands
Subject
De Novis Libris Iudicia
ISSN
0026-7074
eISSN
1568-525X
DOI
10.1163/1568525X-12342284
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Varro Varius, the Polymath of the Roman World (Cambridge Classical Journal Supplement 39). Cambridge, The Cambridge Philological Society, 2015. x, 218 pp. Pr. £30.00 (hb). isbn 9780956838148.This is a much needed volume and one full of good things. There is far too little available in any language on Varro, and quite a lot of it is not very helpful. Butterfield begins his edited volume with the words “Varro is a figure to whom scholarship has not yet done justice”—and he is quite right.The volume begins with a sparkling introduction. Butterfield neatly outlines what we know of Varro’s life and the fate of his works, before giving a helpful survey of what survives and its characteristics. Within this, there is a short but super illustration of how careful we have to be to avoid conflating the attraction of Varro’s huge output, and its clear influence, with the quality of the research. Butterfield brilliantly argues that Varro’s dodgy etymologies persuaded a host of Roman writers to populate Armenia with tigers, despite there being none there. The non-existent Armenian tiger is a wonderful symbol of the Varronian paradox. What we have of Varro is so peculiar that despite being of immense interest

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Mnemosyne – Brill

Published: Oct 4, 2016

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