latet arbore opaca
aureus et foliis et lento uimine ramus...

corripit Aeneas extemplo auidusque refringit

cunctantem, et uatis portat sub tecta Sibyllae.

(Virgil, Aeneid 6.136f. and 210f.)

 

Hidden on a dark tree
Is a golden bough--gold its leaves and pliant stem...

Aeneas snatches it at once and rips it off avidly

As it resists, and takes it beneath the seer Sibyl's roof.

(tr. A.J. Boyle)

Ramus and its publisher are linked by the reference to this passage in the Aeneid. For Aeneas, the golden bough (aureus ramus) is the talisman which allows him passage through to the Elysian fields and the promise of understanding; for readers of theAeneid it is something that itself requires interpretation for an understanding of the poem. This catalogue of books published by Aureal Publications, together with the articles published in Ramus, represents this publisher's contribution to a greater understanding of the culturally seminal works that we know as classical literature.

To order:

Orders should be mailed to:

Aureal Publications

P.O. Box 49

Bendigo North

Victoria

Australia 3550.

Individuals should include a cheque in one of the three currencies in which prices are quoted. For orders placed by booksellers and institutions on official order forms, an invoice will be included with the goods. For overseas orders price includes delivery by surface mail; if delivery by airmail is required, a surcharge of A$20.00 per item will be applied. We are not at present able to accept payment by credit card.

Orders may also be e-mailedto: j.penwill

BOOKS PUBLISHED BY AUREAL PUBLICATIONS

-- in the Ramus Monographs series:

Existentialism and Euripides: Sickness, Tragedy and Divinity inthe Medea, the Hippolytus and the Bacchae, by W. Sale (RamusMonographs 1, 1977).

An examination of what are probably Euripides' three best knownplays in the light of theories developed in existentialpsychoanalysis. This is a profoundly humane study that brings outEuripides' insight into the psychology of human beings and into thegods and demons with which they people their world.

En conjunto, pues, nos parece que éste es un estudio sugerente y discutibile, escrito con claridad y basado en una lectura nueva de los famosos textos trágicos de las tres piezas más interesantes psicológicamente del drama antiguo. Emerita Interesting and stimulating. Journal of Hellenic Studies

Horace's Lyric Poetry: The Force of Humour, by Peter Connor(Ramus Monographs 2, 1987).

The author sees humour in Horace as 'a positive force of, and in,his engagement with the several ideas and attitudes he explores'. Farfrom being peripheral or tangential, humour functions as an integralelement in the Odes; this analysis of its place in the totalexperience of reading these poems significantly enhances ourperception of !he quality of Horace's achievement.

Full of interesting, well-documented and stimulating comments on the Odes. Journal of Roman Studies A book which Horatian scholars will generally find worth consulting for a fresh approach to the individual Odes. Greece & Rome

Tragic Aporia: A Study of Euripides' Iphigenia at Aulis, by C.A.E. Luschnig (Ramus Monographs 3, 1988).

The self-consciously literary nature of this tragedy is wellbrought out in this study. Aporia in its widest sense, the gulf thatexists between myth and reality, is shown to be the unifying elementin the play; the only way to bridge this gulf is through the mediumof art. Iphigenia's choice, which sets up an ending as startling asany in Euripides, is revealed as ultimately an aesthetic one.

Il faut conseiller la lecture de cet ouvrage. L'auteur dégage en effet puissamment la cohérence de l'oeuvre et produit une interprétation globale intéressante. Revue des Études Grecques

Ovid and the Monuments: A Poet's Rome, by A.J. Boyle(Ramus Monographs 4, 2003).

This book examines the representation of the monuments of the cityof Rome by the last of the great Augustan poets, Ovid, who washimself banished from Rome's urban spaces. All Ovid's descriptions ofthe city's monuments are presented, translated and analysed within acoherent topographical framework. A literary and historicalintroduction and detailed literary, historical and culturalcommentary focus not only on 'factual' matters pertaining to thebuildings themselves but on the larger issues of cultural identity,the ideology of place, and poetic and political power. From Ovid'stext the physical city emerges both as the embodiment andmonumentalisation of past and present and as the site of an intenseideological struggle over the meaning of romanitas or'Roman-ness'. It should be of interest to all students--literary,historical or archaeological--of Augustan Rome. All Latin and Greektexts are translated.

-- book versions of special Ramus issues:

Ancient Pastoral: Ramus Essays on Greek and Roman Pastoral Poetry, edited by A.J. Boyle.

This volume contains the seven specially commissioned essays onTheocritus, Virgil and Calpurnius Sicilus which first appeared inRamus Vol. 4 no. 2 (1975). All the contributors arespecialists in the field of classical pastoral.

The articles by Boyle and Coleman are required reading for students of the Eclogues Vergilius On a fortement le sentiment d'y retrouver partout la marque du maître d'oeuvre. Revue des Études Latines

Virgil's Ascraean Song: Ramus Essays on the Georgics,edited by A.J. Boyle.

A publication in book form of the special number of Ramus(Vol. 8 no. 1, 1979) devoted to the Georgics. As well as sevenessays by distinguished scholars in the field, this volumeincorporates an introduction and an index of passages cited.

What is offered is literary criticism of quality...It enables the reader to put the Georgics in proper perspective as the masterpiece that it truly is. AUMLA J'espère que j'aurai donné au lecteur l'envie de se reporter a cet ouvrage. Il pourra en apprécier toute la richesse et se sentira lui-même invité à de nouvelles investigations. Latomus

Seneca Tragicus: Ramus Essays on Senecan Drama, edited by A.J. Boyle.

This volume contains the twelve essays on the plays of Seneca thatwere commissioned for Ramus Vol. 12 (1983). This original andunique collection (the only one so far published in English) coversthe whole range of Seneca's dramatic output and will be of interestto scholars and students in classics, drama, English and Europeanliterature and comparative literature.

An extremely useful book for those interested in teaching Senecan tragedy or becoming familiar with more recent Senecan scholarship that accepts the author on his own terms. The Classical World Readers should all find something to their taste and much that is enlightening and stimulating. Greece & Rome

The Imperial Muse: To Juvenal Through Ovid, edited by A.J.Boyle.

The first of two volumes devoted to Roman literature of theempire, this book version of Ramus Vol. 16 (1987) contains tenessays on authors of the Julio-Claudian and Flavian periods togetherwith an introduction by the editor. As usual, all essays werespecially commissioned from experts in their respective fields andreflect a wide range of interests and literary methodology.

[The editor] introduces the volume by suggesting the need for a contemporary reassessment of post-Augustan literature. This volume makes a significant contribution towards this goal. Classical Review This exciting collection of essays...reinforces the idea that the literature of 1-150 AD, far from being an artificial imitation of the previous age, is steeped in but not at all shackled by tradition and exhibits an artistic excellence uniquely imperial. The Classical World Ces essais atteignent leur but qui est de montrer que la littérature impériale n'est pas seulement une littérature de réponse mais aussi une littérature de choc. Revue des Études Anciennes

The Imperial Muse: Flavian Epicist to Claudian, edited byA.J. Boyle.

This second volume, the book version of Ramus Vol. 18(1989) and 19.1 (1990), comprises thirteen essays on Roman literatureof the middle and late empire. Authors covered include Statius,Valerius Flaccus, Silius Italicus, Tacitus, Apuleius, Ausonius,Ammianus, Prudentius and Claudian.

The editor has once again been remarkably successful in finding contributors who can write sympathetically on their authors. Classical Review L'opera interesserà specialmente gli studiosi dell' epica latina, sia per il numero e l'ampiezza dei relativi contributi, sia per la rilevanza dei temi trattati, primo tra tutti il rapporto con la realtà politica e culturale del tempo. Athenaeum

Roman Literature and Ideology: Ramus Essays for J.P.Sullivan, edited by A.J. Boyle.

In addition to ten specially commissioned essays covering a rangeof Roman literature from Plautus to Juvenal, this volume contains anappreciation of Sullivan's life and work (including a complete listof his publications in classics and other fields) and the text of thefirst J.P. Sullivan Annual Lecture given by Professor Boyle at theUniversity of Califomia, Santa Barbara, in March 1994. In the themeon which it focuses and in the quality of its contributions, RomanLiterature and Ideology constitutes a worthy tribute to one whodid so much to further the study of Roman literature.

More than most Festschriften , this one evinces a definite consistency, not so much in subject matter...as in critical tenor and theoretical outlook. Its contributors have paid fitting homage to Sullivan. Bryn Mawr Classical Review The essays contained in [this book] are too important (and accessible) to be reserved for senior scholars only. My copy has already been liberally borrowed by my undergraduate students...The book is a self-referential sign of the state of at least one major area of classics today, the health of which is indebted in part to Sullivan and other pioneers in the opening up of classical scholarship to the intellectual forces of the late twentieth century. Greece & Rome A Festschrift for J.P. Sullivan, and a suitable tribute in its warmth of appreciation and in its willingness to play the edges, take chances, upset the old routine--or even the new. Classical Review

-- texts and translations

The Eclogues of Virgil, translated with introduction, notesand Latin text by A.J. Boyle.

As stated by the translator in his preface, the primary purpose ofthis book is to provide an English translation of Virgil'sEclogues (with exegetic notes and a factual and interpretativeintroduction) suitable for the student of ancient pastoral who haslittle or no knowledge of Latin. With its line for linecorrespondence to and accurate rendition of the original, itconstitutes an excellent text for use in courses which studyclassical literature in translation.

Boyle's success is remarkable and sets a new standard for the translation of Latin poetry. Guy Lee Boyle's rendering must impress upon readers of Latin at all levels the grace and felicity to which translation can attain. Vergilius On lira avec plaisir les trente pages d'une introduction bien équilibrée. Revue des Études Latines