Abstract

Reviews Lawrence D. Green and James J. Murphy, Renaissance Rhetoric ShortTitle Catalogue 1460-1700. Second edition. Aldershot UK/Burlington USA: Ashgate, 2006, xxxv, 467 pp. ISBN 0 7546 0509 4 As the cover of the new RRSTC of works on rhetoric from the beginning of printing to the Enlightenment states, or rather understates, this catalogue is a "revised and expanded" version of the one published by James J. Murphy two and a half decades earlier. My personal copy of this first edition tells me that I purchased it in New York City, April 23, 1981.1 still remember my excitement after leaving the publisher's office: this was indeed a precious gift for all those interested in Renaissance rhetoric. And it was a very courageous gift as well, since it inevitably demonstrated not only the vast knowledge of one of the founding fathers of the ISHR in those rich but largely unexplored fields, but also the gaps in his knowledge. Over the years, we—students of Renaissance rhetoric, in various stages of immaturity—all had the STC on our shelves, making good use of all it had to offer, and feeling proud to be able to add an edition, or a name, or an entirely unknown work in its margins. No one, except Lawrence Green, went so far as to devote the major part of his research time—and doubtlessly a considerable part of his spare time—to the correction and expansion of Murphy's pioneering catalogue. The results of his efforts are now available in print, and the Introduction preceding the actual RRSTC shows with admirable clarity how the author managed to integrate a wealth of new printed bibliographical material and an everexpanding variety of high quality internet sources into the previous edition. It is difficult to conceive how much relentless work and genuine scholarship are hidden behind the following simple lines in the opening paragraph of the Introduction: "The RRSTC now presents 1,717 authors and 3,842 rhetorical titles in 12,325 printings, published in 310 towns and cities by 3,340 printers and publishers from Finland to Mexico." At the same time, one cannot fail to be deeply impressed and even more deeply grateful to the author. In its present form, the volume contains some five hundred pages printed in small type. The 1,717 authors are listed in alphabetical order. As far as possible, copies of their works have been inspected in order to prevent the kind of fantasies one often finds in catalogues. The entry on Rhetorica, Vol. XXVI, Issue 3, pp. 337-343, ISSN 0734-8584, electronic ISSN 15338541 . ©2008 by The International Society for the History of Rhetoric. All rights re­ served. Please direct all requests for permission to photocopy or reproduce article content through the University of California Press's Rights and Permissions website, at http://www.ucpressjournals.com/reprintlnfo.asp. DOI: 10.1525/RH.2008.26.3.337. 338 RHETORICA Cicero alone covers 30 pages, and is in itself an eloquent invitation to all students of classical rhetoric to consider more carefully and respectfully the complex history of the transmission of all the major texts they are studying. It also offers many new opportunities to investigate the interaction between commentary and textbook in the course of time. As such, this book is not only an invaluable tool for Renaissance specialists, but a guide to the study of rhetoric from Antiquity to the present. By its very nature, an ambitious enterprise like this is open-ended; too much is happening at present on the internet. Almost every day new biblio­ graphical data become available. This is the paradox of the present moment: we all want to have a printed catalogue like the new RRSTC and we will bless its existence. At the same time, modern bibliographical tools are moving so swiftly, that ultimate perfection is more out of reach than ever. This is why Professor Green clearly states in his Introduction how much he would wel­ come suggestions, additions and corrections: like no one else, he is aware of the unavoidable shortcomings of this second edition, immensely expanded and improved though it is. The author explicitly invites readers to send their...