[lit-ideas] A Roman Library
- From: "Luigi Speranza" <dmarc-noreply@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> (Redacted sender "jlsperanza" for DMARC)
- To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Thu, 23 Jun 2016 14:01:24 -0400
Sent from my iPhone
On Jun 21, 2016, at 10:09 PM, david ritchie <profdritchie@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Who needs books?
Another question is if books need us, or the Romans.
Or specifically that dictator whose ancestor had been born of Caesarian section.
Ancient sources indeed identify the occasion for the complete destruction of
the Library of Alexandria to Julius Caesar's fire during his civil war in 48 BC.
But then he couldn't read Alexandrian:
"when the Alexandrian enemy endeavored to cut off Julius Caesar's communication
by sea, the dictator was forced to divert that danger by setting fire to his
own ships, which, after burning the docks, thence spread on and destroyed the
great library.
— Plutarch, Life of Caesar.
According to J L Austin, Caesar only unintentionally burned it. With the
attending implicature that he possibly did read Alexandrian.
Cheers
Speranza
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