A couple of days ago I mentioned the 30-odd letters by John Chrysostom which had appeared in draft form at Academia.edu, and the project (not mine) to translate the lot.
Today I learn that Chrysostom scholar Wendy Mayer has also uploaded some draft translations of letters by Chrysostom. They may be found here, and look very good indeed. It is great to find these.
There are five letters given there, with copious notes. They include Chrysostom’s two letters to Pope Innocent, and Innocent’s reply (letter 11), plus Innocent’s letter (14) to Theophilus of Alexandria, and Innocent’s letter to the people of Constantinople (letter 33).
The drafts have at the top wording such as:
Note: This is a new translation based prepared for Geoffrey Dunn for the translation volume to accompany his new edition of the letters of Innocent I, in preparation for CCSL. Posted with his permission. The Greek text is found in Sozomen, HE 8.26.
Which is fair enough, of course. I think we may all thank Dr Mayer for generously making these drafts available.
It is also excellent news that a translation of Innocent’s letters is in progress. Papal correspondence of the 5-6th century is a historical source of the highest value, and it ought to be more accessible than it is.
It seems as if an intriguing use of Academa.edu is developing. People are starting to use it as a safe place to put work in progress, draft material which may or may not be published, and so forth.
I imagine that most people who work on some worthwhile research have to prepare working documents, draft translations of sources, and detailed notes, as part of the research project. Most of this is never published, nor always publishable. But it may be of great interest all the same to other workers in the field! Now, suddenly, there is a place for such material.
The availability of such material can facilitate cooperative working with people who may otherwise never hear of the work already done. It’s an excellent idea.
I get the impression that the site is gaining some real traction. One to watch.