#  Sections of a Commentary 

 



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 Commentaries are usually organized by section (which you can think of as chapters, only shorter), just like the Latin or Greek text that precedes them. You’ll likely find a line break followed by a bolded number and then some Latin or Greek text in bold or italics, with the author's commentary on that section following. If something strikes you as difficult to understand, interesting, or unusual as you read, the commentary should be your first stop. It may explain the issue in question or might point you to other pieces of scholarship, and as you read a passage you might flip back and forth between the original text and the commentary on that passage.

##  Sections may include:

###  The Introduction

 The introduction usually gives a short history of the text itself (i.e. discusses the manuscript tradition). It will also discuss the circumstances that produced the text (the context in which it arose) or with which the text is concerned (the historical background), and usually a mix of both. Many commentators (the modern author of the commentary) point to key features and themes of the text, and make some mention of what makes that particular text interesting or important. For example, an introduction to a legal speech of Cicero will probably discuss the speech’s origins (the legal case in question), the literary qualities of the text (what stylistic and grammatical features are worth special note), and how our understanding of both have evolved over time. A commentary on Ovid may have an introductory section on meter, though this might also be at the back of the book as an appendix.

###  The Text

 The text is a continuous printing of the ancient text, either the author’s own edition or someone else’s. If they’ve used another scholar’s edition but made a few edits of their own, this will usually be indicated in the introduction.

###  The Bibliography

 The bibliography will list sources cited by the author in the commentary, and there may also be a section for further reading that lists articles and books that discuss the text. This can be especially useful when you begin to research a primary source; whether looking at broad themes or a specific section for close reading you will find reference to what other scholars have written about that topic. Bibliographies are usually towards the back of the book.

###  The Notes

 This section, sometimes called the commentary, is what you will use the most (alongside the text). Above the introductory level this section usually follows directly after the unbroken text. Different authors have their own approaches, but usually a commentary will include information about unusual grammatical constructions, some vocabulary (especially idiomatic translations), connections with other ancient works, and historical and literary information necessary to understand a given portion of the text. Commentaries designed with undergraduates in mind will explain more of the grammar; those aimed at professionals are more likely to discuss the manuscript tradition and textual variants or how scholarship has interpreted various points in the text (with reference to the bibliography). The author of a commentary has researched and read what other scholars have said and has picked out what they think is most important for their target audience to know.