Category: Eusebius

One bit of paranoia concerned the Syriac fragments of Eusebius, printed by Gerhard Beyer in 1926 in the German journal Oriens Christianus.  I couldn’t find any information on when he died.  In Europe, copyright extends until 70 years after the death of the author, you see.  So I wrote to Hubert Kaufhold and Manfred Kropp, the current editors of Oriens Christianus, asking whether they knew when he died and if they claimed a copyright.

I had a very friendly email back from Dr Kropp yesterday, promising to look; and tonight Dr Kaufhold wrote as follows:

… Bei dem Autor des Oriens Christianus Dr. Gerhard Beyer handelte es sich um einen katholischen Priester, der 1931 gestorben ist (vgl. H. Kaufhold, Oriens Christianus. Gesamtregister für die Bände 1 (1901) bis 70 (1986), Wiesbaden 1989, S. 39, 146. Ein Urheberrecht besteht deshalb nicht mehr, so daß Sie seine Edition ohne weiteres verwenden können.

…Dr Gerhard Beyer was a Catholic priest, who died in 1931 (see H. Kaufhold, Oriens Christianus. Collected indexes for vols 1 (1901) to 70 (1986), Wiesbaden 1989, pp. 39, 146.  No copyright exists any longer, so you can use his edition freely.

Full marks to the OC team to keep track of such things!  Who would have guessed that an index with that sort of information in it existed?

I must remember to thank them in the book, and send them a copy of the electronic text when I have it.

On Wednesday I wrote to Hubert Kaufhold, editor of Oriens Christianus, which published the Syriac text of the fragments of Eusebius back in 1926 (OC 3).  I can’t find any evidence that the editor of that article, Gerhard Beyer, ever published anything else.  So … presumably the text is out of copyright, even under the daft and oppressive German copyright laws.  (If not, I shall have to waste time and money on getting a microfilm of the Vatican ms. and editing a text again from that – not what I want to do).

But… no reply.  Today I’ve emailed a colleague of his with the same query.

I’ve also  heard again from Brepols about the 500 words of Jerome and 580 words of Ambrose.  One awkward addition to the problem; if I include a translation of those two fragments based on the text they printed, they want control of my translation.  This would mean that I have to pay them not merely for the hardback, text and translation, but also for any popular paperback versions or magazine versions I might do of the translation only. 

That might be liveable with, although undesirable; but after the books are done with,  it would effectively prevent me placing the translation of the whole thing online under some kind of Creative Commons license, which is what I have in mind.  And that would destroy the point of the whole thing.

Perhaps instead I should have two different translations; one for book form, based on the critical text, and the other for online based on Mai.  That would allow me to give away the latter one.  The minor differences wouldn’t matter to 99% of those who read it, and the rest could consult the book form.

Fortunately I didn’t know the critical texts existed when the translation was made, so I already have the latter.  When I found out about the Jerome I passed a copy to the translator to collate, and I have his notes on the differences.  So effectively I do have the two versions of this already.  The Anastasius of Sinai has yet to reach me, but with luck that won’t be more difficult.

But all this is extra buggeration, which adds no value to anyone’s life and puts no money in anyone’s pocket.  It’s enough to drive a man to drink.

I have no urge to be a publisher.  What we want is English translation of patristic texts online where the world can use them.  If I were a rich man, I would simply hire the staff and churn them out.  Because I am poor, it is necessary for me to sell some copies to fund the next round. 

But all this crap does drain away my time and energy, I must say.  That may limit what I do.  Once everything just makes you feel tired, why do it?

One thing I need to do for the Eusebius book is to get the extracts from Cramer’s catena transcribed into electronic form.  I’ve agreed with someone for this, and emailed him the details of the first couple tonight.  Let’s see how it goes!

Meanwhile I have written back to Brepols.  They claim that they own the text of Jerome and Anastasius that they publish, as an original creative text.  Of course this is absurd, but commonplace.  But an interesting issue; they may be claiming that they own any translation made from that text.  If so, that would mean I cannot use their text.  After all, the idea is to produce a translation that can circulate freely.  In fact it would probably rule out the use of any modern text, unless I started thinking about lawyers. 

But … most of the texts that I am interested in, I am interested in precisely because they are neglected.  They are texts which have never received an English translation, and are unlikely to any time soon.  Mostly they don’t have critical editions.  Indeed most of the Eusebius material has never been edited critically.  So it is possible that even a demand that extreme would not really inconvenience me. 

I don’t believe that the text of ancient literature can be in copyright.  Publishers claim otherwise, but as far as I know these claims have not been tested in court. The idea is a shameful abuse of copyright law; like claiming copyright of Shakespear.  Unfortunately once money is involved, it seems more prudent for a little chap like me to pay them than pay lawyers.

My remaining copyright issue concerns the fragments from Jerome’s Commentary on Matthew, and those from Anastasius of Sinai, Quaestiones et responsiones.

The critical edition of the Jerome is Hieronymus, Commentariorum in Matheum libri IV. Corpus Christianorum, Series Latina 77 Turnhout, Brepols, 1969.  The extracts printed by Mai are about 500 words in total.

The critical edition of the Anastasius is Anastasii Sinaitae Quaestiones et responsiones, Corpus Christianorum, Series Graeca 59. Ed. Marcel Richard; Joseph A Munitiz. Turnhout : Brepols, 2006.  There are three extracts, two from Q.153 and one from Q.148, in total 581 words.

Both are owned by Brepols, the big Belgian publisher.  It is a great pity that the founder of the Corpus Christianorum, Dom Dekkers, is no longer with us.  But I will write to them and see if they will agree not to sue me if I use their version of the original text for these extracts. 

If not, or if they want more than a nominal sum, I will print Mai’s text with an apparatus of the differences and a note as to why.  But … who knows?  I have had very good experiences with publishers so far.

Printing a Greek and Latin text opposite the English translation involves me in the murky world of copyright.  One difficulty is that a work extant in fragments is liable to have bits copyright by all sorts of people.  If they all get greedy, this can render it impossible.

The major chunks and their owners are:

• The Greek text of the epitome, edited by Claudio Zamagni, published by Sources Chretiennes, owned by Editions du Cerf.  This is the largest single chunk, and thanks to Dominique Gonnet, Bernard Muenier and co, I have permission to use this at a fee which won’t wreck the project.  So… be thankful that I didn’t give you the Migne text!
• The Greek text of the fragments.  Mostly by Mai, or Cramer, or Migne; all out of copyright.
• The Greek text of some extracts from Anastasius of Sinai.  There’s a critical edition of this, and it will belong to someone.  If they get all difficult I’ll reprint Mai.
• The Latin extracts from Ambrose of Milan’s Commentary on Luke.  This I thought belonged to the SC; but in fact they reprint the CSEL 32.4 text of 1902, edited by Karl and Heinrich Schenkl (father and son).
• The Latin extracts from Jerome’s Commentary on Matthew.  This I also thought belonged to the SC but is in fact from the Corpus Christianorum Series Latina, owned by Brepols, a massive Belgian publishing firm.  Collywobbles time!  The SC text says they got permission from Dom Dekkers, who edited that series and whose articles got me into much of my Tertullian stuff.  Sadly he died in 1997.  So I need to find a human being associated with the CCSL.  But it’s only a page; I can certainly use Mai if I need to, and just footnote the (few) differences.
• The Syriac fragments, published by Gerhard Beyer in Oriens Christianus in 1925-6.  I can’t find anything else that Beyer ever wrote, so I have no idea when he died.  I have written to the editor of OC asking if they claim a copyright.  I can’t see how, tho.

So… what about the Ambrose?  When did the Schenkl’s die?  For that is copyright in the Euroland; life plus 70 years.  In the USA it is all public domain before 1923.

The Ambrose CSEL is online here, although only for Americans.  A google search reveals that Karl Schenkl was 1827-1900.  As for Heinrich, Wikipedia says he died in 1919.

So … another step forward.  The CSEL text is mine to use as I choose.  All I have to do is get an electronic text.  Likewise I need to get some of the Greek stuff entered; material from Cramer’s catena, etc.  I’ll have to hire someone who knows polytonic Greek to do that — anyone interested?  Likewise with typing up the extracts from the CSEL text?  Anyone?  I can’t pay much, but can pay something.  Both of these are a few pages.

The remains of the Gospel Problems and Solutions of Eusebius of Caesarea exist in two chunks.  Firstly there is a long epitome, and then there is a mass of fragments of the original work, which together are longer than the epitome.  There is a critical text of the epitome, but not of the fragments.

People I have consulted universally tell me that they would like the Greek facing the English translation that I commissioned.  So I have asked the Sources Chretiennes, and the Editions Cerf who publish them, for permission to print a copy of their text opposite, as in a Loeb.

Good news!  I heard from them today, and they have agreed.  The price for doing so seems very reasonable.  Frankly I was prepared to abandon the idea of printing the Greek, had it been otherwise.  But there is now no reason not to proceed.

This means that I must now negotiate rights on the fragments.  Fortunately (?) most of them have never been edited since Migne, so there are no rights!  But there are three fragments of Anastasius of Sinai that I need to use.   I’ll have to find out who the publisher is and ask them.  But the total size must be about a page; and I don’t much care if they refuse and I have to use Migne.

Also there are a few pages of extracts from St. Ambrose of Milan and St. Jerome.  For these, slightly embarassingly, I find that the Sources Chretiennes are also the most recent critical edition.  I wish I had known that when I originally asked!  No matter; I have written back, thanking them, and asking if these can be included in the deal also.

Again, if not it hardly matters.  I collated the Jerome, and there was no substantive difference at all.  (The Ambrose is longer, and I ran out of puff!)  But let’s try to do things the way it should be done.

Of course this also means that I’m going to have to enter material not in Migne by hand.  I wonder if there are people who know polytonic Greek who would be willing (for money) to do this?  If so, please use this form and let me know, and we’ll talk.  I can’t pay much, but I can pay something.

Even more fun, I will have to get the Syriac text transcribed.  This was originally printed without vowels, ca. 1900; but I can hardly print an unvocalised text today.  So I will have to get back to the translator and ask for help. 

I expect the Syriac is out of copyright, tho.  I must remember to check!

There’s nothing quite like having a book on hand in paper format.  Last night, troubled with insomnia, I browsed along my shelves for something gentle to read, and in vain.  But then my hand fell on a cheap modern reprint of Harnack, Geschichte der altchristlichen Litteratur bis Eusebius, Teil 1, Halfte 2.

This is the sort of book I just do not buy.  It’s best consulted in PDF.  But … for some reason I had seen it in PDF form, and had felt the urge to have a copy.

Basically it’s a patrology.  It’s stuffed full of Harnack’s notes on authors, full of untranslated bits of Greek and Latin and even Syriac.  Readability it has none.  But as a source to mine for untapped materials, it can’t be beaten.  I have it because of the Gospel Problems and Solutions of Eusebius.  Unlike any other source, it lists bunches of manuscript fragments.

But then my attention was drawn to the fact that Harnack says that Nicephorus Callistus (who?) mentions the Quaestiones ad Stephanum.  Who is this guy?

Well, he turns out to be the author of an Ecclesiastical History in 18 books.  In fact he lived in the 14th century, so was at the end of the chain of authors, extending and extending the basic HE of Eusebius.  There seem to be some letters of his extant also.  A web search revealed little more.

His HE is in Migne’s Patrologia Graeca, of course, vols 145-7.  But is there an English translation?  A search on the name revealed almost nothing since Migne, which is very curious.  I wonder if perchance people have started to spell his name differently, with K’s and ‘os’ instead of C and ‘us’, “to be more accurate”?  Such twiddling is a curse for an obscure author.

I did find an elderly text on Google books, W.F.Hook,  An Ecclesiastical Biography, vol. 7, which had something on him, p.411 here:

Callistus Nicephorus, an ecclesiastical historian, son of Callistus Xanthopulus, flourished in the fourteen century. Born with a taste for letters, at a period when there was no means of pursuing them but in the cloister, he became a monk, and passed his time in prayer and study.

He composed an Ecclesiastical History, in twentythree books, but only eighteen have been preserved, which extend from the birth of our Lord to the death of the Emperor Phocas, in 610, and the summaries of the five others, which include the reigns of Heraclius to Leo the philosopher. Callistus dedicated this work to Andronicus Paleologus the ancient; he had completed it before the age of thirty-six. It is only a compilation of the histories of Eusebius, Socrates, Sozomen, &c., but it contains fragments of some authors, whose works we no longer possess, and is written in a pleasing manner.

Schurzfleisch has called Nicephorus the Ecclesiastical Thucydides, on account of the beauty of his style; and Vossius calls him the Pliny of Theology, because he ornaments his accounts with so many fabulous details. The only MS. known of this history is at Vienna, in the Imperial Library. There is a Latin version by John Lang. Bale, 1553, fol. A French translation by Jean Gillot, Paris, 1567, fol. The Greek text was printed with the version by Lang, corrected by Fronton du Due. Paris, 1630, 2 vols., fol.

Besides this work, there remain some Verses of his; A Catalogue of the Emperors and Patriarchs of Constantinople ; A Short Abridgment of the Old Testament ; A Catalogue of the Fathers of the Church, &c.

Nicephorus is considered to be one of the principal compilers of the Synaxarius, or Abridgment of the Lives of the Saints; Combefis accuses him of having disfigured them, by inserting fables drawn from legends.— Weiss.

Hmm.  Surely a text worthy of a translation?  Let’s try searching for the barbarous-looking “Nikephoros Kallistos”…

A BBKL article in German hides him under Xanthopulos.