Acknowledgements
This book owes its existence above all to the Leverhulme Trust, who funded its production by means of a Research Project Grant held at the University of Birmingham between January 2021 and December 2022. To the Leverhulme Sharon van Dijk owes two years’ salary, Nigel Harris two semesters’ research leave, and both of us numerous opportunities to travel, to purchase necessary research materials, and to engage in fruitful discussion with many colleagues. The Trust has our enthusiastic and lasting gratitude.
As to individuals, we must give prime billing to the distinguished classical scholar and translator Christopher Stace. When we first approached Christopher, we asked him to act as a kind of ‘back stop’, who might prevent us from making too many egregious errors of translation. But he became far more than that: an ever willing source of both reactive and proactive advice, an ever gentlemanly encourager, and an ever enthusiastic proponent both of fidelity to the Latin original and of good English style.
We are grateful also to many other friends and colleagues for their interest in and active support of the project. We wish to mention particularly (in strict alphabetical order): Caroline Ardrey, Peter Auger, Phyllis Benedikz, Paul Botley, Michael Dodd, Falk Eisermann, Bruce Gordon, Mark Greengrass, Elystan Griffiths, Daniel Hadas, Catherine McMillan, Lucy Nicholas, Peter Opitz, Claire Peters, Ivo Romein, Ron Speirs and Andrew Watts.
Finally, and of course, we acknowledge and are eternally grateful for the support of our partners and families: Katharine, Elizabeth and David Harris; Felix Gilding, and Jos and Martha van Dijk.
To all these people, and to any we have forgotten, we wish to say, with Oecolampadius: “we are thankful that you are so concerned for us, and that you advise us at the right time”.
Nigel Harris and Sharon van Dijk
Hall Green and Groningen, May 2024