Intellectual narratives and elite Roman learning in the 'Noctes Atticae' of Aulus Gellius
Abstract
This thesis offers a new interpretation of the literary techniques of the Noctes Atticae,
a second-century Latin miscellaneous work by Aulus Gellius, with new readings
of various passages. It takes as its main subject the various ways in which Gellius narrates
and otherwise represents mental and intellectual activity. It proposes a typology
for these representations in Chapter One, the Introduction. Chapter Two examines
the “dialogic” scenes, which relate the conversations of characters, in the context of
the history of dialogic writing. It argues that Gellius's unique approach to relating
conversation, besides revealing specific concerns about each stage of ancient education,
encourages readers to develop strategies for imagining and reconstructing the intellectual
character and lifestyle that lie behind an individual's speech - in short, to see
every instance of conversation as a glimpse at others' mental quality. Chapter Three
of the thesis examines Gellius's narrative accounts of his own reading experiences, a
body of ancient evidence unparalleled in both substance and detail. Focusing on his depictions of reading Pliny the Elder, it shows the way Gellius, in the traditionally public
contexts of ancient reading, seeks to invent a performative space in the privacy of the
reader's mind. Chapter Four explores Gellius's essays and notes which, despite lacking
clear narrative frameworks, nonetheless share common themes with the rest of the
Noctes, and can be understood as representations of the mental activity and standards
that Gellius associates with his contemporaries' relationship to the past. The Conclusion
points the way for further applications of the thesis's conclusions in Imperial
intellectual culture and beyond. This thesis suggests a new approach for examining
depictions of the acquisition, evaluation and use of knowledge in the Imperial period,
and contributes to the ongoing scholarly discussion about the reading of miscellaneous
literature.
Type
Thesis, PhD Doctor of Philosophy
Collections
Items in the St Andrews Research Repository are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.