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Retold by Walter Charleton (1620-1707) in The Ephesian Matron, the story of the widow of Ephesus - a well-travelled lady by that time - became the starting point for digressions on the subject of love. In an intriguing mix of fiction and philosophy, Charleton used the ancient story to comment on a contemporary social phenomenon (the fashionable ideal of Platonic love) and contributed to the seventeenth-century debate about the passions.

This book attempts to shed light on the at times ambiguous text by studying its various (philosophical, literary, historical and philological) contexts. Particularly the Latin translation (Matrona Ephesia, 1665) is analysed as a so-far entirely neglected context that may e.g. offer insights into the reception of the story but that is also philologically interesting in its own right.

Additionally, this book offers the first bilingual edition of Charleton´s The Ephesian Matron and its Latin translation Matrona Ephesia, as well as the first comprehensive commentary.

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Table of contents (Auszug)


I Contextual studies 13

1. The Widow of Ephesus through the ages 16

2. Charleton´s adaptation of the story 25
2.1. The plot/structure 26
2.2. Charleton and Epicurus 30
2.3. Charleton and Hobbes 46
2.4. Charleton and the Platonic Ladies 55
2.5. Charleton and misogyny/the women controversy 65
2.6. Judging the matron 70
2.7. Irony in The Ephesian Matron 75
2.8. Evaluation 82

3. Biographical sketch 84
3.1. Early life and education 85
3.2. Politics, (medical) career and intellectual development 87
3.3. Private life and personal appearance 92
3.4. Friends and patrons - Charleton´s ´network´ 94
3.5. Last years and death 102
3.6. Contemporary judgements 104

4. Aspects of language and translation 113
4.1. Charleton and the inkhorn controversy/translator´s note 113
4.2. The Latin translation 118

5. The publication of Charleton´s text 209
5.1. The Ephesian Matron´s anonymity 209
5.2. Charleton and The Cimmerian Matron 211

6. The edition 217
6.1. The extant editions 217
6.2. Additional (lost) editions 222
6.3. Reconstruction of the stemma 226
6.4. Remarks on this edition 228
6.5. Sigla 230


II Text 1

1. Title page 1
2. Letter / Epistola 4
3. The Ephesian Matron / Matrona Ephesia 12


III Commentary 90

1. Title page 90
2. Letter / Epistola 102
3. The Ephesian Matron / Matrona Ephesia 140


Bibliography 386

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