Moravcsik Gyula (szerk.): Constantine Porphyrogenitus De administrando imperio - Magyar-görög tanulmányok 29. (1949)
Foreword
FOREWORD In publishing this critical edition and translation of the text of the treatise De Administrando Imperio, compiled exactly one thousand years ago by the emperor Constantine VII, we feel that we should explain how our work began. The editor of the Greek text started to work on it as long ago as 1926 ; but the carrying out of other academic projects interfered during many years with completing the collection of his material, and bringing it into final shape for publication. Then, the latter years of the world war made completion and publication alike impossible. Fortunately, however, the ms. survived the siege of Budapest; and immediately after the war efforts were again made to finish the work, and the question arose of bringing it out. The first draft of the English translation was made independently. But while its publication was under consideration, chance brought it into relation with the publication of the Greek text. In the pursuit of our common purpose, we established contact with one another, and agreed that text and translation should be published together, believing that an edition of a Greek text is incomplete without a translation, and having in mind that, apart from the old Latin versions and those in the Russian and Croat languages, there is still no complete translation of the treatise in existence. From the beginning of 1947 we have worked together, through the medium of correspondence, to bring text and translation into line with one another, and have thus been able to subject the work of each to the revision of the other. Doubtless both parts of the work have benefited from this revision. Certain deficiences came to light in the Greek text, and the editor owes some corrections to the translator, who has also contributed a few conjectural emendations to the apparatus. At the same time, the translator wishes to own a special debt to the editor, whose long study and deep knowledge of the text have assisted in solving many difficulties of interpretation ; and though the translator takes