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BELLANDI, F., 'Lepos' e 'Pathos'. Studi su Catullo. Pàtron, Bologna, 2007. 502p. Paperback. ‘Bellandi’s book is the product of a long engagement with Catullus’ poetry, as he notes in the first line of his preface. This ‘longus amor’, as he calls it, is evident on every page of his very detailed and densely argued study, which includes both new and previously published work (…). The book hangs together better than many volumes of collected papers because Bellandi has not only updated and added to his earlier studies but also written entirely new chapters to provide a unifying general argument for the whole. The agreement has to do with Catullan poetics, which Bellandi sees in terms of his title: ‘lepos’ and ‘pathos’- the one Callimachean in inspiration, the other linked more to Sappho. ‘Lepos’ is the constellation of qualities that Catullus values in both his social interactions and his light poetry (sal, venustas, urbanitas, etc.). It can and does include obscenity, but never ‘pathos’, or deep and painful emotion. (…) To sum up. ‘Lepos e pathos’ is too long, and it is often repetitious and tendentious. Nevertheless, it is valuable for its many insights into individual passages and for the subtlety and perception with which Bellandi illuminates whole poems. Readers without the patience to work through the whole will be helped to find discussion of specific points by Bellandi's detailed ‘index locorum’. (JULIA GAISSER in Bryn Mawr Classical Review 2008.10.30). € 39.50 (Antiquarian) ISBN: 9788855529730