Freethought & Rationalism Archive

countjulian · 01-13-2006, 02:19 PM

A complete work by either Democritus or Epicurus.

A scientific work of Posidinos.

A complete heliocentric work of Hipparchus

A pre-Livy Roman history.

Any of the lost works of Homer.

Anything from the Greek dark ages, preferably something to let us decipher linear A.

Chris Weimer · 01-13-2006, 02:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Roger Pearse

I'd like to see all the *extant* material on the web in English. I fear a lot of it has never been translated.

I was talking to a Walter Shandruk. I fear that he is also in favor of the "team" we were talking about earlier. However, what say you we take Peter's suggestion of doing morph tags for the works along with translation?

Quote:

Perhaps; I'd rather have the Gospel according to the Hebrews, tho.

Agreed.

Quote:

We have this, in Greek and Syriac.

We sure do... I wonder what I must have been thinking...?

Quote:

Can be pretty much reconstructed from Tertullian, Adversus Marcionem IV.

Yes, I suppose most of it can. However, an independently stored codex would be nice as well to have, especially if Tertullian missed something...

Quote:

Never heard of him, I'm afraid.

The Lue Jing is the 6th classic of ancient China lost since the Han Dynasty.

Quote:

I think the world has enough Greek philosophy, actually.

I'd agree, but the Stoic in me would like to see the origins of the philosophy and the original logic used - which didn't survive unfortunately.

Chris

MortalWombat · 01-13-2006, 02:41 PM

The Library of Alexandria

Clivedurdle · 01-13-2006, 02:45 PM

Anyone any news on that buried library in is it herulanium that they think might have loads of tuff?

Amaleq13 · 01-13-2006, 02:48 PM

All of Paul's letters in their original form.

Jesus' diary.

Chris Weimer · 01-13-2006, 02:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Clivedurdle

Anyone any news on that buried library in is it herulanium that they think might have loads of tuff?

Nothing new that I've heard recently. Oy vey, that's two great collections found very close to each other of which nothing has been offered to the public but mere speculation. Sounds oddly familiar, don't you think?

MortalWombat · 01-13-2006, 02:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Amaleq13

All of Paul's letters in their original form.

Dear Corinthians,

You know I was just kidding, right?

Love,

Paul

Chris Weimer · 01-13-2006, 02:51 PM

Someone might know this here - what was that book called - it was mentioned in the Talmud (perhaps even in the OT) as a book of healings that was suppressed and is now lost?

Chris Weimer · 01-13-2006, 02:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Amaleq13

All of Paul's letters in their original form.

Jesus' diary.

Perhaps the first letter to the Corinthians, the one no one ever talked about. (I Cor. 5.9)

Clivedurdle · 01-13-2006, 03:18 PM

Quote:

February 13, 2005

Herculaneum library excavation funding comes through
I've been remiss in not mentioning the ongoing story about the campaign to reopen excavations at the Villa of the Papyri in Herculaneum. So here's some good news (and let's all keep our fingers crossed for even better yet to come):

A PHILANTHROPIST has stepped forward to fund excavations at the ancient city of Herculaneum in Italy, where scholars believe a Roman library lies buried beneath 90ft of lava from the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD79.
David W Packard, whose family helped to found the Hewlett-Packard computer company, is concerned that the site may be poorly conserved or that excavation of the library may not continue unless he underwrites the work. . .

There has been concern in academic circles that the already excavated parts of the Roman city are falling into disrepair and that there are no plans for excavating the Villa of the Papyri. . .

The villa is regarded as one of the most important unexcavated sites in Italy. Previous exploratory digs unearthed 1,800 charred manuscripts, many of them unknown or known only through references in other works.

That was in the 18th century, however.
It is believed that there are thousands more scrolls in the building, much of which lies beneath the modern town of Ercolano, and that they may include lost works by Aristotle, Livy and Sappho.
That really should have read, "it is fervently hoped".
Packard, a former classics scholar who lives in California, runs the Packard Humanities Institute, which supports archeological work in Bosnia, Albania and other countries. . .
He said there should be no conflict between those who want to excavate the villa immediately and those who argue in favour of conserving the whole site, generally acknowledged to be in a poor state of repair.

From the Sunday Times. Another article from a couple of weeks back in the Globe and Mail, which discusses the scrolls in a bit more detail:
Unfortunately, the volcano's preservative qualities also made the blackened scrolls extremely hard to unravel and read. More than 1,700 of them were discovered during the first excavation of Herculaneum in the mid-18th century, but it is only recently, with the application of NASA-developed multispectral imaging technology, that researchers have been able to decipher many of the ancient works.
"The pace of our investigations has accelerated tremendously," says Roger Macfarlane of Brigham Young University. "It's fair to say we've made more progress in understanding these papyri in the last five years than in the previous 50."

And offers a bit of balance regarding the prospects:
So far, the papyri have not produced their hoped-for rewards: Considerable material from a lesser-known 1st-century BC Greek philosopher named Philodemus, who taught Virgil and seems to have worked out of the Villa, but little from the classical world's big names. . .

http://www.cronaca.com/archives/003266.html

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01-13-2006, 02:19 PM	#11
countjulian Veteran Member Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: In the torture chambers of Pinochet's Chile Posts: 2,112	A complete work by either Democritus or Epicurus. A scientific work of Posidinos. A complete heliocentric work of Hipparchus A pre-Livy Roman history. Any of the lost works of Homer. Anything from the Greek dark ages, preferably something to let us decipher linear A.

01-13-2006, 02:41 PM	#13
MortalWombat Veteran Member Join Date: Apr 2001 Location: St Louis area Posts: 3,458	The Library of Alexandria

01-13-2006, 02:45 PM	#14
Clivedurdle Contributor Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: London UK Posts: 16,024	Anyone any news on that buried library in is it herulanium that they think might have loads of tuff?

01-13-2006, 02:48 PM	#15
Amaleq13 Veteran Member Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Eagle River, Alaska Posts: 7,816	All of Paul's letters in their original form. Jesus' diary.

01-13-2006, 02:51 PM	#18
Chris Weimer Veteran Member Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: none Posts: 9,879	Someone might know this here - what was that book called - it was mentioned in the Talmud (perhaps even in the OT) as a book of healings that was suppressed and is now lost?

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