De arte aleae
De arte aleae (Latin: [deː arte ˈaː.le.ae̯]; On the Art of Dice) is the name of a now-lost book written by the fourth Roman emperor Claudius. As the name suggests, it details how to play the game of dice.
History
In book five, chapter 33 of the work The Twelve Caesars by Roman historian Suetonius (c. AD 69–122), the author discusses many of Roman Emperor Claudius's vices.[1] The final one considered was the leader's love of dice.[2] Suetonius notes that Claudius so loved dice playing that he wrote a book on the art of the game ("He played dice most avidly, on the art of which he also wrote a book").[3]
Mention of this work is only to be found in Suetonius's work. The title De arte aleae seems to be mostly speculative,[4] and based merely on the assertion by Suetonius that the book was "on the art of [dice]".[1] As a result, in textual history, the book became simply known as De arte aleae; for instance, in 1761, the librarian Heinrich Jonathan Clodius, in his reference work Primae Lineae Bibliothecae Lusoriae (Bibliographic Outline of Recreation) calls it "the Book on the Art of Dice" (Lib[er] de Arte Aleae) and directly references Suetonius in naming it as such.[5]
References
- 1 2 Suetonius, The Twelve Caesars, 5.33.
- ↑ Austin (1935), p. 76.
- ↑ Suetonius, The Twelve Caesars, 5.33. "Aleam studiosissime lusit, de cuius arte librum quoque emisit."
- ↑ Voogt (1995), p. 73. "Claudius' book on dice-games [was] probably entitled De arte aleae."
- ↑ Clodius (1761), p. 55. "Claudius ... Librum de Arte Aleae scripsit".
Bibliography
- Austin, R. G. (1935). "Roman Board Games. II". Greece & Rome. 4 (11): 76–82. ISSN 0017-3835. Retrieved June 25, 2017.
- Clodius, Heinrich Jonathan (1761). Primae Lineae Bibliothecae Lusoriae. Leipzig. p. 55 – via Bavarian State Library.
- Voogt, Alexander J. de (1995). New Approaches to Board Games Research: Asian Origins and Future Perspectives (in Latin). Leiden, Netherlands: IIAS – via University of Michigan.