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Copyright by Steven James Lundy 2013 The Dissertation Committee for Steven James Lundy Certifies that this is the approved version of the following dissertation: Language, Nature, and the Politics of Varro’s De Lingua Latina Committee: Andrew M. Riggsby, Supervisor Jennifer V. Ebbeler Ayelet Haimson-Lushkov Claudia Moatti Stephen A. White Language, Nature, and the Politics of Varro’s De Lingua Latina by Steven James Lundy, B.A. (Hons); M.A. Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of The University of Texas at Austin in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy The University of Texas at Austin August 2013 This dissertation is dedicated to the memory of Peter Derow. Acknowledgements These acknowledgements were written in the very final stages of this dissertation, and there will no doubt be more or less serious omissions, which I hope can be addressed in future projects. Suffice it to say, however, this dissertation could not have been written without the assistance, support, and kindness of more people than I can name here. My first thanks go to my committee, and, in particular, my supervisor Andrew Riggsby, whose guidance and attention have been indispensable both to this project, and throughout my graduate education. The assistance of Jennifer Ebbeler has been instrumental both to the dissertation, and in other innumerable areas of my developing professional career. Steve White has been a steadfast and thorough reader, and I am particularly grateful for his enthusiasm and willingness to discuss Varronian minutiae at any moment; his door was always open, it seems. Ayelet Haimson-Lushkov was an absolutely dependable source of invaluable advice and thoughtful criticism, and without her watchful eye, progress in this project would not have been possible. Finally, I offer my sincere thanks to Claudia Moatti, who provided both inspiration to the project as a scholarly source in its formative stages, as well as enthusiastic and judicious external review as it reached its completion. In addition to my professors at the University of Texas, I have benefited throughout my life from dozens of exemplary teachers, and if I can even modestly emulate their instruction in my own work, my career as a teacher will be complete. During my time at Wadham College, Oxford, I was lucky enough to study with Olivier Hekster, Andrew Hobson, and James Morwood (among others), all of whom provided important models for me as an undergraduate classicist. Stephen Heyworth was the first v to suggest to me pursuing Classics at the graduate level, and taught me the value and delight in careful and thorough philological study. Peter Derow, to whose memory this dissertation is dedicated, remains an unparalleled influence as an ancient historian and friend, and I continue to work in the hope that I can in any small way repay his faith, attention, and generosity. The graduate students of the Classics Department at UT Austin have been consummate colleagues and excellent companions; to single anyone out seems grossly unfair, but I thank in particular Grant Nelsestuen, Varronianus prior, who first entertained my ramblings about a dissertation on the historical character of De Lingua Latina. I am tremendously grateful to have lived in Austin throughout my graduate education, and humbled by the generous hospitality I have received during my time here. Katie Griffin provided mentorship at a crucial point, and has my boundless gratitude. Todd Bellaire and Edwin Maldonado, Jr. have been wonderful friends, and have probably heard as much about this dissertation as anyone needs to. From England, special thanks are due to Tom Boylston, for anthropological and swearological consultations; to Hugh Drummond; and to anyone who has ever passed through Paso Robles, CA – all have had a serious hand in my work. There are countless others, both named and otherwise, who have offered indispensable friendship and counsel. Finally, I offer my continuing gratitude to Chris and Dave, my parents, and Sarah, my sister, for their tireless support, patience, and devotion; for ensuring, however far I wander, that I can always find a home. vi Language, Nature, and the Politics of Varro’s De Lingua Latina Steven James Lundy, Ph.D The University of Texas at Austin, 2013 Supervisor: Andrew M. Riggsby This dissertation is a historical analysis of Varro’s De Lingua Latina, a linguistic treatise composed in the 40s BCE during Rome’s transition from oligarchic Republican government to the monarchic settlement of the Augustan Principate. I advance a reading which restores contemporary political and intellectual context to the treatise, complementing and revising previous scholarship which has traditionally focused on the Greek philosophical pedigree of Varro’s work. As such, I explore Varro’s thematic emphasis on natura (‘Nature’) in his linguistic programme, which, as a term with wide- ranging intertextual functions, embodies its complex philosophical, political, and literary character. This five-chapter dissertation is subdivided between the surviving books on etymology (Chapters 1-3) and inflection (Chapters 4-5). In Chapter 1 (“Organisation and Meaning in Varro’s Etymologies”), I explore Varro’s etymologies in De Lingua Latina, Books 5-7, and explain how his programmatic emphasis on natural philosophy conveys his unique etymological authority. In Chapter 2 (“Grammatical Discourse in De Lingua Latina”), I consider Varro’s reception of grammatical techniques of etymological exegesis, elucidating his preference for philosophical readings of poetry and the social value of literary sophistication in the late Republic. Chapter 3 (“Ethnography and Identity vii in Varro’s Etymologies”) develops Varro’s etymological project as a kind of ethnography of the Roman people, which contextualises Varro’s philosophical intervention in the changing circumstances of his era. Chapters 4-5 are devoted to an analysis of Books 8-10, in which Varro describes his theory of morphological inflection (declinatio naturalis) as a platform for Latin linguistic standardisation. In Chapter 4 (“Declinatio and Linguistic Standardisation in the late Republic”), I survey the politics of linguistic standardisation in the late Republic. Mediating in a debate between Cicero and Caesar, I describe Varro’s nuanced revision of existing models of analogical inflection, and characterise his use of natura to explain linguistic standards. In Chapter 5 (“Linguistic Analogy and Natural Ratio in De Lingua Latina, Books 8-10”), I relate Varro’s linguistic innovations to contemporary shifts in cultural authority, and demonstrate how his transference of linguistic standardisation to philosophy entails a radical reorganisation of the existing political status quo. viii Table of Contents List of Tables ......................................................................................................... xi List of Figures....................................................................................................... xii Introduction..............................................................................................................1 Chapter 1: Organisation and Meaning in Varro’s Etymologies.............................14 Introduction...................................................................................................14 Natural Philosophy and the Atomic Etymologies of Book 5........................26 Etymology and Antiquity..............................................................................41 Varro, historia, and hierarchy in De Lingua Latina, Books 5-7...................58 Chapter 2: Grammatical Discourse in De Lingua Latina ......................................67 Introduction...................................................................................................67 Grammar and Philosophy in the Late Republic............................................71 Textual Exegesis and Social Status in De Lingua Latina, Books 5-7 ..........84 Text, Natura, and the Politics of Grammar in the late Republic ................101 Chapter 3: Ethnography and Identity in Varro’s Etymologies ............................108 Introduction.................................................................................................108 Varro’s Roman Ethnography: the corpora mortalia of Book 5 .................115 The Appeal of Hellas in Varro’s Etymologies............................................131 Etymology, Identity, and Empire................................................................147 Chapter 4: Declinatio and Linguistic Standardisation in the late Republic.........155 Introduction.................................................................................................155 Political Inflections: Cicero and Caesar on linguistic standards.................164 The Linguistic Debate in De Lingua Latina, Books 8-9.............................178 The Function of Varronian Morphology.....................................................191 Chapter 5: Linguistic Analogy and Natural Ratio in De Lingua Latina, Books 8-10 .....................................................................................................................201 Introduction.................................................................................................201 ix Linguistic and Natural Analogies in De Lingua Latina, Books 9-10 .........206 Analogism and Cosmology in Cicero’s De Republica and Lucretius’ De Rerum Natura ................................................................................................222