Dolor and furor are rendered consistently (as “anguish and “madness” respectively), in order to register the thematic force of their frequent repetition (see comm. the paradox of 618 indocto magistro, “an untutored master,” and the violence of 105 corripe, “seize” (not “take to your arms,” Miller). He is alive to details others have missed, e.g. paria narrentur tua/ repudia thalamis “be gentle with my gift” for 142 muneri parcat meo. has a gift for choosing the right phrase or word for the Latin and the context: “Let the story they tell of your divorce be like/ the one they tell of your marriage” (after Ahl) for 52f.
Its style is clear, direct, vigorous-attractive qualities-though it never disguises the fact that it is a translation. I begin with the translation, since it will determine the impressions of non-Latinists, and of struggling Latin students. H.’s notes and discussions, though never jejune, are well within the grasp of non-specialists and students yet this reviewer, who has been reading the Medea for three decades, found something of interest on almost every page. In 218 pages, and at a reasonable price at least in paperback, it distils much of what is best in current Senecan scholarship.
It must be said that Hine manages the format with great skill, and that this edition in itself constitutes a strong argument on the “pro” side. Con, it could encourage a false sense that the essence of a Latin text is accessible without the bother of learning Latin. Pro, it opens sophisticated discussion of the play to those with little or no Latin-academics in other fields, I suggest, as well as students. This format, of course, triggers a familiar weighing of pro’s and con’s. Accordingly the Latin text is faced by a fairly close translation, and the commentary is keyed to the translation, not the Latin.
Like other editions in the Aris & Phillips series of dramatic texts, this edition is aimed “primarily at students, both those who will read the play in Latin, and those who will read it in translation” (p.
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