A Bruta Animalia latin fordításai: Antonio Cassarino és Lampugnino Birago
Latin Translations of Bruta Animalia: Antonio Cassarino and Lampugnino Birago

Summary/Abstract: Plutarch’s lively dialogue Bruta animalia ratione uti was translated in the course of the 15th century by three different persons whose works are only extant in manuscripts. For establishing the connections between these translations a thorough study of the texts of the codices is needed. In a previous article, we have dealt with Giovanni Regio’s translation, which is the latest in time (1488), and found traces of the latter’s dependence from the translation of the Milanese Lampugnino Birago (c. 1465–1470). The aim of the present paper is to inquire into the text of the earliest translation by the Sicilian Antonio Cassarino (c. 1440–1445) in parallel with the text of Lampugnino Birago’s translation which followed it after two and a half decades. The different translation methods and devices used by the translators provide ample space for comparison. Whereas Cassarino’s approach is more in keeping with the humanist ideal of ‘translation by sense’ (ad sententiam), Birago as a rule follows a principle of ‘translation by word’ (ad verbum), keeping close to the letter. Beyond the questions of translation theory in general problems relating to the textual tradition of the Latin codices, the possible Greek sources of the translations, and a number of lexical matters are discussed.

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