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C. W. Chilton: Diogenes of Oenoanda, The Fragments. A Translation and Commentary. Pp. xlviii+141; 8 plates, 1 map. London: Oxford University Press, 1971. Cloth, £3.

Ideally there should be no such thing as translator's licence; the perfect translator should completely suppress self. However, since, to quote Helm again, he is 'vorziiglich im Geiste Lucians' one can the more readily condone these occasional liberties. Typical of his Lucianic 'Geist' is the opening of the Gallus: 'O du vertrackter Hahn, dass dich und die verdammte Trompete in deinem Halse der grosse Jupiter zerschmettre, du neidische Bestie.' In his introduction (p. xliv) Wieland gives a model description of the translator's aims. 'Mein angelegenstes Bestreben war, dass ich ihm kein Unrecht thun, und dass er von den Schonheiten, welche die Kenner der Griechischen Sprache an ihm bewundern, so wenig als moglich unter meinen Handen verlieren mochte. Ich habe mich seines Geistes, seiner Laune, seiner Genialitat zu bemachtigen und, soviel es die Natur unsrer von der seinigen so sehr verschiedenen Sprache, die Deutlichkeit, und andere Riicksichten nur immer erlauben wollten, auch seine Wendungen und das Colorit seiner Schreibart nachzuahmen gesucht.' Would that all modern translators could read and digest these words! German classical scholars clearly believe that on the whole he succeeded in his aims and seem to prefer his version to the more literal translation of Pauly. But Wieland's Lucian is much more than the German equivalent of Fowler and Fowler. He not only translates the whole corpus except for Jud. Voc., Sol., Lex., Amores, and Ocypus but also adds copious and usually accurate notes which range from the explanatory to comments on 'was an ihm zu loben, zu rechtfertigen und zu tadeln ist'. Thus, after telling us that the Dream is based on Prodicus' Choice of Heracles, he continues 'Sie ist alien Anfangern zum Muster, wie man nachahmen muss, zu empfehlen'. Needless to say Wieland usually takes Lucian's side on matters of opinion, but he is not above criticizing him, e.g. for not giving us the whole truth about Peregrinus, for inadequate knowledge of Latin, and for not knowing that Hannibal knew Greek. There are also several interesting and scholarly essays. The introduction gives a sensible chronology, dating Lucian's birth to c. 117 and his Egyptian post to Commodus' reign and comparing favourably with some recent ventures on this subject. He has an introduction to D. Deor. and a descriptive schema of the gods, and essays on Lucian's reliability in the Peregrinus and on Demonax's teacher, Demetrius. Finally there is an admirable discussion of the authorship of Asinus firmly rejecting the belief of Photius that Lucian copied the work of one Lucius of Patras. The three volumes are strongly bound and reproduce the beautiful original type with clarity. Although too expensive for most students of the classics, they are excellent value for the library of any self-respecting college. They represent eighteenth-century classical scholarship at its best and the words of Horace, Wieland's other favourite classical author, 'Omne tulit punctum qui miscuit utile dulci', are true of Wieland, the translator of Lucian.