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[ SOLD OUT ] POMPONIUS MELAE, De Chorographia libri tres. Introduzione, edizione critica e commento a cura di P. Parroni. Edizioni di Storia e Letteratura, Roma, 1984. 470p. Sewn. Unopenend. Series: Storia e Letteratura, Raccolta di Studi e Testi, 160. (Rare). ‘Pomponius Mela’s ‘De Chorographia libri tres occupes a special place among the classical works on geography which are transmitted to us. Although its form and content resemble those of the specialist Periploi and other works on geography (…), the aims of Mela’s are different. He states his intentions more or less explicitly in the prooemium: to write a rhetorical work on a subject which is by its character in principle unsuited to such a performance (…) His intentions become clear in the numerous rhetorical phrases and figures of speech. Eventually, geographical exactitude is sacrifices to this purpose (see pp.34-37). (…) The main interest of this work lies in its extensive commentary (pp.175-441). (…) Parroni restricts his references to modern literature to those books and articles which are directly relevant to the understanding of Mela’s words, and he is right in doing so. (…) The main value of this commentary consists in its extensive quoting of parallel passages and remarks by classical authors on peoples, places and other geographical feature mentioned by Mela. Parroni has not confined these references to geographical literature in particular (Herodotus, Pliny, Strabo, Solinus, GGM (…), but also consulted the historiographical literature (e.g. Curtius Rufus, Xenophon, and even Procopius), and works of a purely literary character (e.g. poets like Ovidius, Lucanus, Martianus Capella; the philosopher Seneca), and so on. Therefore, this commentary should be known to anybody interested in ancient geography. It is a real ‘Fundgrube’ restricted only, as a matter of fact, by the restrictions of Mela. (…) In a few short introductory chapters Parroni successively deals with: Mela’s native country and the date of composition of his work (pp.16-22), the problem of the prooemium (pp.23-29); the structure and character of the work (pp.31-41), its sources and survival (pp.43-49), and its language and style (pp.51-53).(…) In concluding one must say that this a thorough work which deserves a much broader attention than only that of the specialist on classical geography.’ (E.Ch.L. van der VLIET in Mnemosyne, 1988, pp.438-441). From the library of Prof. Carl Deroux. (Antiquarian) (approx. delivery time: undeliverable)