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EX ANGULIS SECRETISQUE LIBRORUM: READING, WRITING, AND
USING MISCELLANEOUS KNOWLEDGE IN THE NOCTES ATTICAE
by
Eleanor M. Rust
______________________________________________________
A Dissertation Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
(CLASSICS)
December 2009
Copyright 2009 Eleanor M. Rust
Object Description
| Title | Ex angulis secretisque librorum: reading, writing, and using miscellaneous knowledge in the Noctes Atticae |
| Author | Rust, Eleanor M. |
| Author email | erust@usc.edu; eleanorrust@gmail.com |
| Degree | Doctor of Philosophy |
| Document type | Dissertation |
| Degree program | Classics |
| School | College of Letters, Arts and Sciences |
| Date defended/completed | 2009-08-06 |
| Date submitted | 2009 |
| Restricted until | Unrestricted |
| Date published | 2009-10-23 |
| Advisor (committee chair) | Habinek, Thomas N. |
| Advisor (committee member) |
Richter, Daniel S. Rosenthal, Margaret F. |
| Abstract | The Noctes Atticae (NA) of Aulus Gellius takes the form of a diverse and erudite collection of interesting tidbits of learning, excerpts from earlier writings, and anecdotes about Gellius’s teachers, friends, and intellectual rivals. Like many other ancient compilatory works, the NA has most often been read for the individual facts and literary fragments preserved within. Recent work on the NA has suggested that it furthers a cultural agenda and model a gentlemanly lifestyle of widely-ranging reading. I argue that the variation (disparilitas) and random order (ordo fortuito) that Gellius identifies as important features of his work do not merely make the work more entertaining, but are essential features of his intellectual project. The collection, organization, and deployment of knowledge are central concerns of the miscellaneous NA.; In Gellius’s narrative chapters, characters model ways of deploying the particular kind of knowledge contained in the NA. Gellius represents many kinds of citation as signs of affiliation with intellectual social circles that extend into the past. His favored characters are armed with knowledge gleaned from ancient authors that allows them to succeed in debates that hinge on performance and self-representation as well intellectual prowess. The random order of Gellius’s chapters encourages the juxtapositions and lateral thinking needed in these social situations, inviting the reader to participate in the intellectual practice Gellius espouses.; Gellius situates his radically miscellaneous NA in opposition to earlier compilatory works that represent alternative systems for ordering and using knowledge. Two intertexts that figure prominently in Gellius’ programmatic statements are Pliny the Elder’s Historia Naturalis and Seneca’s Epistulae Morales. Gellius’s allusions to Pliny’s work contrast the comprehensive scope and hierarchical structure of the HN with the randomly ordered and open-ended the chapters of the NA. Seneca figures as an antitype for the archaizing literary culture Gellius champions, and reading the NA alongside the EM highlights the differences between Seneca’s philosophical model of reading and writing with Gellius’s miscellaneous theory of knowledge. |
| Keyword | Noctes Atticae; Attic nights; Aulus Gellius; Latin literature, Second century CE; miscellanies; knowledge organization; Gaius Plinius Secundus; Pliny the Elder; Lucius Annaeus Seneca; Seneca the Younger |
| Coverage era | Second Century |
| Language | English |
| Part of collection | University of Southern California dissertations and theses |
| Publisher (of the original version) | University of Southern California |
| Place of publication (of the original version) | Los Angeles, California |
| Publisher (of the digital version) | University of Southern California. Libraries |
| Provenance | Electronically uploaded by the author |
| Type | texts |
| Legacy record ID | usctheses-m2688 |
| Rights | Rust, Eleanor M. |
| Repository name | Libraries, University of Southern California |
| Repository address | Los Angeles, California |
| Repository email | http://www.usc.edu/isd/libraries/services/ask_a_librarian/email/ |
| Filename | etd-Rust-3215 |
| Archival file | uscthesesreloadpub_Volume29/etd-Rust-3215.pdf |
Description
| Title | Page 1 |
| Full text | EX ANGULIS SECRETISQUE LIBRORUM: READING, WRITING, AND USING MISCELLANEOUS KNOWLEDGE IN THE NOCTES ATTICAE by Eleanor M. Rust ______________________________________________________ A Dissertation Presented to the FACULTY OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY (CLASSICS) December 2009 Copyright 2009 Eleanor M. Rust |
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