Laudabile Carmen – část II

The second part of this textbook, Laudabile Carmen, is conceived as an introduction to Roman poetry and an initial presentation of reflections on literature and rhetoric in Ancient Rome. For this reason it focuses primarily on two aspects; an explanation of means of expression and an anthology of texts on Ancient Rome’s literary culture.
The explanation of the terms in the glossary of figures and tropes is based on definitions and views of the Roman theoreticians of rhetoric and the entries include examples from the works of famous poets, with all Latin examples and quotations being translated into Czech.
The selection of texts written by Roman authors, poets and prose writers, aims to demonstrate that poetic discourse was lively in Rome from the very outset of Roman literature up until the 2nd century CE, when Roman "pagan" literature began to gradually but steadily disappear from the cultural horizon. The selected examples come from texts whose Czech translations are not available or are obsolete, and from works hitherto not translated (Rhetorica ad Herennium, some of Cicero’ and Gellius’ writings). As to the selection of available texts, we focused on those passages which might easily escape one’s notice in the context of a work focusing on other areas (Velleius Paterculus, Petronius).
This is the first Czech scholarly book focusing on Roman literature and rhetoric from this perspective. Its structure and methods used make it suitable for students of classical languages as well as to anyone interested in the topic.