Philology
Contents

This page is the "hub" for the Philology section and its support materials. The Preliminary material is meant to be read through in the order given, as a device of familiarization for those new to the subject, starting with the acerbic Housman, as a sample of severe advice from a professional to other professionals. In the following Gallery of Philologists, each profile presents a sample philological problem, and the set together constitute a second introduction, focusing on detail rather than on general principles. The rest is our suggested outline of procedures with a new and uncertain text. We have endeavored to make all of it clear to someone approaching philology for the first time, and will be glad to be told of places which need further work in that regard, or of useful examples which we have not included. There is an E-mail blank at the bottom of each page.

• Preliminary: What Sort of Thing is Philology?
  • Housman on Thought (Introduction By Immersion)
  • The Question of Rules
  • The Question of Certainty
• Acquaintance: Who Does Philology?
• Gallery of Philologists: Western and Chinese
• Outline of Procedure
  • Growth
  • Differences
  • Interpolations
  • Distribution
  • Directionality
    • Text Typology
  • Corruption
    • Omissions
    • Additions
    • Improvements
      • Canon of Scribal Errors
  • Text Families
  • Placement
    • Location
    • Date
      • Checklist of Anachronisms
    • Authorship
    • Events
    • Persons
• Retrospect
• Afterword
• Apparatus
• Glossary
• Works Cited

 

Philology is Copyright © 2001- by E Bruce Brooks 

4 Aug 2004 / Contact The Project / Exit to Philology Page