Studies on the Text of Seneca’s De beneficiis

Studies on the Text of Seneca’s De beneficiis is a companion volume to Kaster’s Oxford Classical Texts critical edition of Seneca’s De beneficiis, the first new edition in nearly a century. De beneficiis is the most detailed treatment surviving from antiquity of the proper ways to show favour to others and to express gratitude when one has been favoured. After a survey of the documentary resources (medieval and Renaissance manuscripts and earlier printed editions) on which our knowledge of the text depends, the core of the book-seven chapters, one for each of the treatise’s seven books–treats 200 passages where the Latin text is or has been thought to be corrupt and clarifies the reasons for favouring the reading adopted in the new edition. Three appendices treat further matters of detail. Three indexes detailing passages discussed or cited, personal names, and manuscripts and editions provide a useful guide for the reader.