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home:texts_and_library:essays:the-true-history [2019/07/08 22:48] – [Contents] frankhome:texts_and_library:essays:the-true-history [2019/07/08 22:49] – frank
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-True History Decrypted+====== True History Decrypted ======
  
 Full text and commentary of Lucian’s //True History// Full text and commentary of Lucian’s //True History//
  
-====== Contents ======+===== Contents =====
  
-**True History Decrypted: Full text and Commentary of Lucian’s**//**True History**// +  * **True History Decrypted: Full text and Commentary of Lucian’s**//**True History**// 
-Edited by Frank Redmond +  * Edited by Frank Redmond 
-Notes by Frank Redmond +  * Notes by Frank Redmond 
-//True History// text translated by H.W. and F.G. Fowler +  * //True History// text translated by H.W. and F.G. Fowler 
-First Edition (1.0), 2013 +  * First Edition (1.0), 2013 
-Second Edition (2.0), 2015 +  * Second Edition (2.0), 2015 
-Second Edition Updated (2.2), 2016 +  * Second Edition Updated (2.2), 2016 
-Mênin Web and Print Publishing +  * Mênin Web and Print Publishing 
-http://meninpublishing.org/ +  * http://meninpublishing.org/ 
-Chicago, Illinois, United States of America+  * Chicago, Illinois, United States of America
  
-====== Introduction ======+===== Introduction =====
  
 One of the translators of Lucian, Thomas Francklin, bemoaned in his introduction to //True History//, “We cannot but lament that the humour of many of the references has been lost to us; therefore, Lucian’s //True History// cannot be half as pleasurable as when it was first written, but there are enough remaining allusions which we understand to secure it from being unrelatable.” This work, //True History Decrypted//, attempts to take those “remaining allusions” and make them relatable to the modern reader. Modern audiences rarely have the background to fully understand all of the allusions made in //True History// and classical texts in general. It would be unfortunate if there were not a book that could help guide the reader through each section and provide the necessary background to fully enjoy the work. One of the translators of Lucian, Thomas Francklin, bemoaned in his introduction to //True History//, “We cannot but lament that the humour of many of the references has been lost to us; therefore, Lucian’s //True History// cannot be half as pleasurable as when it was first written, but there are enough remaining allusions which we understand to secure it from being unrelatable.” This work, //True History Decrypted//, attempts to take those “remaining allusions” and make them relatable to the modern reader. Modern audiences rarely have the background to fully understand all of the allusions made in //True History// and classical texts in general. It would be unfortunate if there were not a book that could help guide the reader through each section and provide the necessary background to fully enjoy the work.
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 There is no doubt that //True History//is Lucian’s most famous and influential work. It has influenced works like More’s //Utopia// and Swift’s //Gulliver’s Travels//. //True History// masquerades as a clinical account of the travels of the narrator and his companions. The style, tone, and approach of //True History// is exceptionally true to the travel genre; however, it is with the content where Lucian makes his satirical intent manifest. The narrator travels to the moon and back, to different islands like the Island of Cheese and Island of the Damned; he meets a cast of strange, twisted characters throughout, some more fanciful than others. Underneath it all, Lucian is really questioning the idea of truth found in factual, non-fiction writing. On a meta level, Lucian is trying to show the impossibility of absolute truth in writing. If the purpose of satire is to improve the condition of a certain aspect of society, then Lucian is trying to call out some of the more grossly inaccurate worldly depictions in order to improve, all around, truth in literature, history, and entertainment. There is no doubt that //True History//is Lucian’s most famous and influential work. It has influenced works like More’s //Utopia// and Swift’s //Gulliver’s Travels//. //True History// masquerades as a clinical account of the travels of the narrator and his companions. The style, tone, and approach of //True History// is exceptionally true to the travel genre; however, it is with the content where Lucian makes his satirical intent manifest. The narrator travels to the moon and back, to different islands like the Island of Cheese and Island of the Damned; he meets a cast of strange, twisted characters throughout, some more fanciful than others. Underneath it all, Lucian is really questioning the idea of truth found in factual, non-fiction writing. On a meta level, Lucian is trying to show the impossibility of absolute truth in writing. If the purpose of satire is to improve the condition of a certain aspect of society, then Lucian is trying to call out some of the more grossly inaccurate worldly depictions in order to improve, all around, truth in literature, history, and entertainment.
  
-Frank Redmond – 2013 (1<sup>st</sup> Edition; 1.0) +  * Frank Redmond – 2013 (1<sup>st</sup> Edition; 1.0) 
- +  * Frank Redmond – 2015 (2<sup>nd</sup> Edition; 2.0) 
-Frank Redmond – 2015 (2<sup>nd</sup> Edition; 2.0) +  * Frank Redmond – 2016 (2<sup>nd</sup> Edition; 2.2) 
- +  * 2<sup>nd</sup> Edition (2015) modifications – Patched Introduction; fixed minor content bugs; added additional notes to Lucian text. 
-Frank Redmond – 2016 (2<sup>nd</sup> Edition; 2.2) +  * 2<sup>nd</sup> Edition (2016) modifications – Standardized citations; style updates.
- +
-2<sup>nd</sup> Edition (2015) modifications – Patched Introduction; fixed minor content bugs; added additional notes to Lucian text. +
- +
-2<sup>nd</sup> Edition (2016) modifications – Standardized citations; style updates.+
  
 ****True History Text and Commentary**** ****True History Text and Commentary****
home/texts_and_library/essays/the-true-history.txt · Last modified: 2019/07/08 22:51 by frank
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