M. Annaeus Lucanus: Bellum Civile, Liber IX. Einleitung, Text und Übersetzung, and: M. Annaeus Lucanus: Bellum Civile, Liber IX. Kommentar (review)

The ninth book of Lucan's epic on the Roman civil war between Caesar and Pompey contains many of the epic's most famous scenes: Pompey's "apotheosis," Cato's march through the Libyan desert featuring the Medusa excursus and the infamous snake catalogue, and finally, Caesar's visit to the ruins of Troy. Since up to now only partial commentaries on book 9 have appeared, Wick's detailed study forms a welcome addition to Lucan scholarship. Besides offering Latin text, German translation, and about forty pages of introduction focusing on the main scene's sources, structure, function, coherence, and personae, for the foreign reader the value of the first volume lies in particular in some fifty pages of immensely detailed indices. A rich index locorum, a select index verborum, and a full subject index provide excellent research tools. In addition, Wick's commentary not only provides a wealth of parallels from Lucan's literary predecessors, it also cites many of his successors, epic and otherwise, thus assembling valuable material on Lucan's Nachleben.

Rich in bibliography and learning, Wick's commentary remains conservative both in its approach and interpretation, eschewing postmodern metaliterary scholarly voices. Its main strength lies in the author's experience as researcher for the Thesaurus Linguae Latinae, which is manifested in the commentary's focus on lexicography and semantics. Since Lucan's syntax often stretches Latin to its breaking point—the word at war, so to speak—Wick illuminates it with countless enriching discussions of vocabulary and grammar.

Lucan's motto could be pinned down as plus quam (BC 1.1), and an obvious desire to outdo his literary fathers permeates the Bellum Civile. Likewise, Wick's commentary suffers from avalanches of material and detail that threaten to bury even the most avid reader with more than what can be reasonably digested. Moreover, Wick's discussions are steeped in Realia—not a bad thing, and much is relevant and interesting—but to what purpose does she treat us to a wealth of herpetological detail when discussing the snake catalogue? When reading such an obviously fictitious battle of soldiers and über-snakes, I for my part am content with being pointed to literary models. Similarly, many of us may have never wondered what kind of apple-farming viper was chatting up Eve in the Garden of Eden. Wick, however, advocates the benefits of drawing parallels with zoology, resulting in an at times idiosyncratic treatment of this passage.

Exemplary brief introductions precede the line-by-line discussion of each subsection of book 9. These provide valuable background information and often also address questions of structure and wider design. Wick has to be congratulated for producing such a thorough and rich commentary with such high standards. Her love for her subject shines through every page and equals her love of detail. In the future, Wick's opus will surely become a point of reference for any serious Lucan scholar.