Plagiarism in Latin Literature

A study of the concept of plagiarism in Rome and the functions that accusations and denials had in Roman culture.

Scott McGill (Author)

9781107019379, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 5 July 2012

256 pages
22.9 x 15.2 x 1.6 cm, 0.51 kg

'[This book] significantly advances our awareness of the extent to which processes of textual creation were theorized and explicated by Roman authors.' Joseph A. Howley, Language and Literature

In response to critics who charged him with plagiarism, Virgil is said to have responded that it was easier to steal Hercules' club than a line from Homer. This was to deny the allegations by implying that Virgil was no plagiarist at all, but an author who had done the hard work of making Homer's material his own. Several other texts and passages in Latin literature provide further evidence for accusations and denials of plagiarism. Plagiarism in Latin Literature explores important questions such as, how do Roman writers and speakers define the practice? And how do the accusations and denials function? Scott McGill moves between varied sources, including Terence, Martial, Seneca the Elder and Macrobius' Virgil criticism to explore these questions. In the process, he offers new insights into the history of plagiarism and related issues, including Roman notions of literary property, authorship and textual reuse.

1. The ancient and the modern: approaching plagiarism in Latin literature
Part I. Accusations: 2. Blame and praise: plagiarism and self-promotion in Latin prefaces
3. Playing the victim: Martial on the plagiarism of his poetry
Part II. Denials: 4. Plagiarism on the stage: Terence, literary controversy, and the theater
5. A spectrum of innocence: denying plagiarism in Seneca the Elder
6. Saving the hero: Virgil, plagiarism, and canonicity
Conclusion.

Subject Areas: Classical history / classical civilisation [HBLA1], Ancient history: to c 500 CE [HBLA], Literary studies: classical, early & medieval [DSBB]