Arrian on coursing: the Cynegeticus of the younger Xenophon, translated from the Greek, with classical and practical annotations, and a brief sketch of the life and writings of the author. To which is added an appendix, containing some account of the Canes Venatici of classical antiquity

About this book

This work is a scholarly translation of Arrian’s Cynegeticus, the ancient treatise on hare‑coursing written by the “courser of Nicomedia” in the age of Hadrian. The opening pages explain that the edition is not meant for the casual reader but for the dedicated coursing enthusiast, offering a literal English rendering of the original Greek together with extensive annotations drawn from a wide range of classical sources, Greek and Roman poets, later medieval manuals, and early modern hunting literature. The translator situates Arrian’s text within a long tradition of greyhound hunting, tracing the evolution of the Celtic hound from antiquity through the medieval period and noting the scarcity of complete descriptions until the sixteenth‑century “Book of St Albans.” The result is a dense, reference‑rich volume that interweaves the ancient manual with commentary on its historical reception and technical details of the sport.

The voice is erudite and deliberately technical, reflecting a seventeenth‑century scholarly style that assumes familiarity with classical literature and hunting terminology. Readers who relish detailed historical analysis, enjoy the minutiae of breed standards, and have a genuine interest in the lineage of coursing will find the book rewarding. It appeals especially to historians of sport, classicists, and serious greyhound aficionados who appreciate a blend of primary source translation and extensive footnote‑driven exposition.

Opening lines

The following version does not aim at pleasing the mere literary man. It was not undertaken with the ambitious expectation of being generally acceptable. It is addressed to the coursing public alone—to the amateurs of the leash; for whom the original was written, seventeen centuries ago, by their representative of old, a courser of Nicomedia in Asia Minor; and for whose amusement and instruction the same now assumes an English garb. …

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