Tag: From my diary

Always verify your references

Posted on by Roger Pearse

To Norwich this morning, mainly to escape my cleaning lady.  But I went into the cathedral library, where I knew that they had a 1696 edition of the works of Julian the Apostate.  This includes the text of Cyril of Alexandria, Contra Iulianum.

According to the Sources Chretiennes edition of books 1 and 2 (only), this edition was the source for Migne’s Patrologia Graeca text.  But you can never tell, unless you look.

In I went, accordingly, and asked to see the book.  The library was merged with a modern theology library some years ago, and closed to visitors.  The new librarian has made it into a rare books room.  This is rather a pity.  Sitting among the volumes in a library founded some centuries ago was a treat by itself.

Anyway out came the book, a massive folio volume in white leather.  As soon as I tried to use it, it became clear that no-one had opened it in years, if not decades or longer.  The spine was tight and stiff.  Indeed it looked like an original 17th century binding to me.  It was almost impossible to open more than about 30 degrees.

But the effort was worthwhile, because it revealed that this cannot be the source for the PG text.  The PG text prints the full text of books 1-10, which survive complete.  But there were certainly books 11-20 in antiquity, because people like John Damascene quote them!  In the PG, therefore, there is a meagre collection of fragments following book 10.  I know that there are Syriac fragments, and I would be surprised if there are not Arabic fragments too, and indeed Armenian ones.  For Julian’s book attacked the bible; Cyril’s reply necessarily defends it; and such comments must be of interest to catenists.  Cyril was such an important figure in monophysite Christianity, that we would expect his work to travel into those languages.

None of this extra material is present in the 1696.  Therefore Migne, for these items at least, used some other source.

It all goes to show that you cannot rely on what you read in even the best editions.  You must check.

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From my diary: Problems with the Nielsen UK ISBN Agency

Posted on by Roger Pearse

One of the minor pieces of bureaucracy in publishing a book is getting an ISBN for it.  The International Standard Book Number is something all books need to have.

The translation of Eusebius Gospel Problems and Solutions will be published in the UK, which means that I have to apply to the Nielsen UK ISBN Agency for a block of 10 ISBNs.  They have a website, with a form.  Unfortunately it is the sort of PDF form you have to download, print off, and fill in by hand.  But you can send the result in as a scanned PDF by email.  They also expect you to fill in your credit card details in that PDF form and send it in, insecurely.  I didn’t like that bit at all!

They don’t seem very efficient, tho.  I emailed in a form on Thursday.  I heard nothing on Friday.  On Saturday I emailed one page again with a correction, and asked for an acknowledgement.  This morning (Monday) I got a note that they had received the one page, but not the rest.  So I email in the original PDF again.  I get no reply.  A couple of hours later I email asking whether they got it.  And I get a note from someone else “thanking me for my application.”  What’s the betting that my correction gets lost?

These people charge $150 for this trivial service, which could (and should) be a webpage automatically allocating them.  And they want me to wait 10 days.  I don’t know who made these muppets into the gods of the UK book industry, and I need to be on holiday, not worrying about it.  Oh well.

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From my diary – book completion day

Posted on by Roger Pearse

Today is the day that the Eusebius book must be completed and sent to typesetting.  Up early and on with it!

First I’ve reread the contract with the Sources Chretiennes and made sure I acknowledge them in the proper way on the title page and reverse.

Next I’ve applied for a block of 10 ISBN’s from the Nielsen Agency, here in the UK.  I’ve decided on “Chieftain Publishing”.

And I’ve also emailed a friend who runs an online shoe-selling business to ask for recommendations for a commercial website designer – I’m not going to attempt it myself, when money rests on it.

UPDATE, 10:39.  Deep into it now, dealing with all the little notes scattered throughout the text where I marked (with “qqq”) that I needed to come back and deal with some cross-reference.  I’ve also converted a cross-reference table to the PG and Mai editions into Word format and am updating it with Cramer references.  Finding the odd bit of sloppy work by some hired editorial people, unfortunately, as well; trouble is that checking  they did it is as much work as doing it myself again.  Trudge trudge trudge…

UPDATE, 11:38.  Most of those notes dealt with, the cross-references added.  The only “qqq”s are in files like indexes and so on that need populating.  It’s been a slog but worth it.

Bad news in the Latin materials; I originally intended to footnote each page in the CSEL text that we printed.  That’s probably 2 days work, and we haven’t got the time.  Indeed if I was ever to do it, it would already have been done.  Too late now.  Just do without.

Time for some lunch.  After that, process in the last batch of translator changes, then print the whole lot off and sit down with a coke and read it all!

UPDATE, 13:37.  All the “qqq”s done, and some sort of minimal index of the main biblical passages created.  I’ve also tracked down all the uses of theotokos in the text and highlighted them with a note.  It is, after all, highly unlikely that Eusebius used in 300 AD this battle-cry of the 5th century, so it suggests interpolation.  Both the ecloge and the fragments have it, which suggests that the addition was made early on.  Now to process in the translator’s comments.

UPDATE, 15:54.  All the translator’s comments processed, and a bit of to- and fro- over a couple of them.  Now printing it all off; or trying to!  The Greek text (which I got from Claudio Zamagni and the SC) is all over the place; paper size wrong, paper tray set to manual, varying margin sizes.  Fixed it all now, but it all cost time.  Still printing…

UPDATE, 16:13.  All printed, and a pile of paper an inch and a half thick on the side.  Now to read through it all…

UPDATE, 17:53.  I’m getting a definite impression that some professional copy editing would be a good idea.

UPDATE, 19:00.  Enough!  My eyeballs are giving out.  The manuscript is complete.  It just needs some professional copy editing by someone NOT so far involved.  Then it can be typeset.  So I am contacting people who might be willing to do that.  Let’s see if we can get that done in a week or two and then get on.

This human weakness thing is a nuisance.  I’ve decided that if we  get a choice in the New Jerusalem, I’m opting to come back as a dalek.

It would give the cherubs a shock, anyway… 🙂

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From my diary

Posted on by Roger Pearse

I’ve been looking into another Syriac chronicle today, in between chores.  This is an East Syriac chronicle, by an unnamed writer, written about 660 AD, and known as the Chronicle of Khuzistan.  It covers the final years of the Sassanids and the first three decades of Islam.  Interestingly there is an English translation by Sebastian Brock, made twenty years ago, but never published.  The text was published in the CSCO 1 by Guidi, from a copy in the Vatican made in 1891.  The original is a fourteenth century manuscript, then at the abbey of Rabban Hormizd in Alqosh.  I wonder where it is now?

I’m rather pre-occupied with some earnings-related stuff at the moment, so there will be a few days silence here.   Please don’t worry if I don’t get to your emails either for a few days.  Sadly the task of earning a living has to take priority, and that means paperwork!

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From my diary

Posted on by Roger Pearse

The last couple of days have been very hot during the day — well over 30C in direct sun, and up to 29C in the shade.  I’ve had to bring my laptop downstairs, because it is simply too hot up.  I sat here last night until 2am, because it was so muggy last night.  The roads were half empty of traffic, and some of those driving seemed to have had their brains addled, or were quarrelsome with the heat.  The bright sun and clear sky is nice; but best seen from an air-conditioned office! 

I’m sat here now, downstairs, at 22:13 with the air conditioner going because it is too hot otherwise.  It’s been dark for over an hour, but it is still 20C out there.  Last night I only got around 5 hours sleep, so I’m hoping tonight will be cooler!  But it’s like a sauna upstairs.  Hum.

All the same these nights are a splendid opportunity to get things done.  After all, I don’t have to go to work at the moment, so it really doesn’t matter if I’m unfit to work on Monday.  This is how I was able to translate John bar Penkaye. 

I have a list of chores on a bit of paper that has been staring at me for a week, with forms to fill in and letters to send.  So I’ve been attacking them.  The sheer relief of getting rid of most of these is extraordinary!  Mind you two of the utilities websites I went to, to book an appointment etc, are … offline!  Yes, at the weekend, when everyone can do things, they’re down.

So … here I am again.  Nothing I can do with the chores.  So… what to do?  What can I usefully do tonight that requires no real energy, no intelligent thought, and can be done while zonked out of my brain from lack of sleep?  There must be something patristical that I can do.

Ah.  I’ve thought of it.  I was going to put online here a controversia from the elder Seneca, so people could see what they looked like.  In a bit. 

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Updates to the list of online CSEL volumes

Posted on by Roger Pearse

I’ve held a copy on this blog here of Stefan Zara’s list of CSEL volumes.  A correspondent writes that he has detected some errors in the links, and sent me a couple of corrections already.  I’ll add these in today as they come in.

I’ve been intending to download the CSEL volumes for a while.  Maybe I will get to it today!

It’s 8:57am.  The temperature is already unbearable here, and they are forecasting temperatures over 90F.  Naturally, then, today is the day when I have a job interview.  In half an hour I must put on a heavy interview suit and go off to be, erm, grilled.  Probably in more senses than one!

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From my diary

Posted on by Roger Pearse

Busy today with Adam’s curse, so I haven’t managed to get to posting about the Controversiae of the elder Seneca.  But I will!

Another correspondent asked if I knew where all the volumes of the Oxford Movement Library of the Fathers translations might be found.  I’ve been looking for them and downloading them.

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Sir Henry Savile and the perils of editing Chrysostom

Posted on by Roger Pearse

The best edition of the works of John Chrysostom (including sermons by Severian of Gabala) remains that made by Sir Henry Savile in the 17th century and published at Eton college where Sir Henry was provost.

On Monday I went into the second-hand bookshop Treasure Chest in Felixstowe in search of something literary to read, and came out with an edition of John Aubrey’s Brief Lives.  This is not a book, so much as a collection of gossip and memoranda in preparation for a book, and contains a section on Sir Henry Savile.

He was very munificent, as appears by the two chairs he had endowed of Astronomy and Geometry. … He had travelled very well, and had a general acquaintance with the learned men abroad; by which means he obtained from beyond sea, out of their libraries, several rare Greek MSS., which he had copied by an excellent amanuensis for the Greek character.

Someone put a trick upon him, for he got a friend to send him weekly over to Flanders (I think), the sheets of the curious Chrysostom that were printed at Eton, and translated them into Latin, and printed them in Greek and Latin together, which quite spoiled the sale of Sir Henry’s.

It would be interesting to know which the pirate edition was.  Savile’s edition was printed without a Latin translation.  Because of this, Migne printed the Montfaucon edition instead, and the Savile edition has remained relatively unknown.

UPDATE: A correspondent writes:

On Savile & the “pirate edition” (of Fronto Ducaeus): The Critical Review, 4th series, vol. 2, pp. 92ff. http://books.google.com/books?id=9BMFAAAAYAAJ

The review is a little odd; the Montfaucon edition is said to be inferior to the Savile one by Quasten.  But all very useful!

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From my diary

Posted on by Roger Pearse

My last contract finished on Friday, so I’m at home and looking for another.  It’s also a good opportunity to catch up on outstanding projects.

I got hold of a copy of Vermaseren’s excavation report for the Mithraeum under the church of Santa Prisca in Rome.  I’m trying to make a PDF of this for private use, because I only have it for a fortnight.  Sadly it’s so heavy that scanning it is pretty difficult!  Also it’s so hot and humid that the urge to do much tends to evapourate.  And I keep feeling the urge to paint walls! 

I hope to go to Norwich and visit the cathedral library.  I think they have a copy of the editio princeps of Cyril of Alexandria’s Contra Iulianum.  I need to research which edition to use, because one day I still want to get a translation made of it.

 

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