Talk:Supplements to the Satyricon
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[edit] The Morazla Scrolls by Ellery David Nest
retrieved from Talk:Satyricon:
Does anyone know anything about the supposed "Morazla Scrolls"? In the past there have been well-known forgeries of missing sections of the Satyricon. So could it be that the 2003 book by Ellery David Nest, The Satyricon: The Morazla Scrolls (Llumina Press: Tamarac, FL), is another such forgery?
The promotional blurb on the book back claims that this new translation provides "episodes that immediately precede the opening of the well known extant fragments." According to the book's Introduction, these episodes were supposedly found "during the reconstruction of Bosnia after the conflict of 1992-1995, in the small village of Morazla."
If you aren't already familiar with this book, simply Googling the author's name will link you to many available copies online. The Web site of the publisher, Llumina Press, is at www.llumina.com and their special page for this book is here.
My reasons for suspicions regarding this work are as follows. I would appreciate any knowledgeable comment.
In his Introduction, Nest tells just a little of the history of the Morazla Scrolls, ancient parchments supposedly now stored in the National Archives in Berlin. But when I Google "Morazla Scrolls" I find nothing but his book. When I look for a village of Morazla in Bosnia or its environs I also come up with nothing.
So I have tried to track down a source the author recommends for learning the intriguing story of this manuscript discovery: The New Satyricon: The Recovered Books by Dr. David S. Johnson. But, alas, I've been unable to track down the existence of any such book, even when checking the Library of Congress and various online bookfinders. Nor can I find anything about a classical scholar of that name. As for the reputed publisher of the Johnson book, "Monticello Park Press, NY," I find no such publisher and no such municipality as Monticello Park, NY. Moreover, I can find no publishing house of any kind located in the existing Monticello, NY.
The publisher of Nest's translation, Llumina Press, exists of course. But it is an on-demand self-publisher. Though Llumina does nice work, why would any scholar need to go to such a publisher in order to publish the first English translation of a newly discovered ancient manuscript of so significant a work?
As for Nest himself, according to his biography on the back of the book:
- Ellery David Nest is Professor Emeritus at Carlboro State University in East Manchester, Mass. He has also held positions at the University of Osnanich of Heidelburg in ancient langage studies, and at the Steed Road College, Cambridge England, as the director of the Latin Scholars group. He currently resides in Boston.
But I find no Carlboro State University anywhere, nor any such municipality as East Manchester, Massachusetts, where said university is supposed to be located. (There's a Manchester and a Manchester-by-the-Sea, however, but no Carlboro State University there.) Moreover, the Internet White Pages reveals no Ellery David Nest in Boston. The only things that Googling his name gives me are links to copies of his book available for sale online.
I have just e-mailed the publisher, Llumina Press, seeking contact with the author so that I might ask a few questions--such as how do I find the book by Johnson, what year were the scrolls discovered by Reinhardt Struch of Oberhausen University in Germany, and is a Latin text available? I don't know if they'll find it in their interest to help me or, if they forward my e-mail on to Dr. Nest, if he will find it in his interest to answer.
Anything you may be able to tell me about all this, or any article on the subject that you can direct me to, would be most appreciated.
-- Fred Edwords (Fredwords 20:51, 17 September 2006 (UTC))
- Hadn't seen your comment till now. Clearly the book you describe is a piece of fiction, like the other modern complements to the Satyricon. I think we ought to have a section, or a separate article, about these. Andrew Dalby 12:25, 15 October 2006 (UTC)
- I am now starting a Supplements to the Satyricon article. I'll incorporate some of what you say above. Please correct or improve if you can! Andrew Dalby 19:06, 24 October 2006 (UTC)
