Lucian

by Turner, Paul

• ISBN13: 9780253205810
• ISBN10: 0253205816
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1990-07-01
• Publisher: Indiana Univ Pr

Summary

"... welcome and timely. It is written in crisp, idiomatic, conversational English, not hobbled by slavish imitation of Lucian's Greek syntax."  -- The Key ReporterThough Lucian's (A.D. c. 115--200) tendency to debunk everything might well have made him depressing reading, his lighthearted fantasy and wit have always had the opposite effect. His contribution to European literature may be seen in his influence on Rabelais, Erasmus, More, Swift, Voltaire, and Fielding. These sketches present him primarly as a humorous writer, making Lucian's special charm accessible to an age which largely shares his spirit.

Table of Contents

Introduction	p. 7
The Dream or a Chapter of My Life	p. 23
Zeuxis or Centaurs and Elephants	p. 30
Mother Knows Best or a Young Girl's Guide to Success	p. 39
Conversations in Low Society	p. 39
The Language of True Love	p. 41
The Results of Shooting a Line	p. 43
The New Sleeping Partner	p. 48
Conversations in High Society	p. 48
Zeus is Indisposed	p. 51
The Reluctant Parent	p. 53
A Beauty Competition	p. 55
Conversations in the Underworld	p. 65
No Baggage Allowance	p. 65
Menippus Gets Away with It	p. 72
A Slight Change of Sex	p. 74
How to Enjoy Life after Seventy	p. 75
Charon Sees Life	p. 78
Menippus Goes to Hell	p. 97
Icaromenippus or Up in the Clouds	p. 111
An Interview with Hesiod	p. 133
Some Awkward Questions for Zeus	p. 137
Philosophies Going Cheap	p. 147
Fishing for Phonies or the Philosophers' Day out	p. 166
The Pathological Liar or the Unbeliever	p. 196
Alexander or the Bogus Oracle	p. 221
The True History	p. 249
Notes	p. 297
Glossary	p. 301
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