Thursday, July 27, 2017
Only Aristophanes
Aldus Manutius, preface to the editio princeps of Aristophanes (1498), tr. N.G. Wilson:
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For people wishing to learn Greek there is nothing more suitable, nothing better to read. And that is not simply my opinion, but that of Theodore Gaza, a man of much learning in all fields. When he was asked which Greek author should be read assiduously by people wishing to learn Greek, he replied, "Only Aristophanes," because he was very witty, rich, erudite and pure in his Attic language.
Graece discere cupientibus nihil aptius, nihil melius legi potest, non meo solum iudicio, quod non magnifacio, sed etiam Theodori Gazae, viri undecunque doctissimi, qui, interrogatus quis ex Graecis auctoribus assidue legendus foret Graecas literas discere volentibus, respondit: 'Solus Aristophanes,' quod esset sane quam acutus, copiosus, doctus et merus Atticus.
