Orixeren egitasmoa klasiko greko-latindarrak esukaratu eta argitaratzeko

Abstract

In the Azkue Library and Archive of Euskaltzaindia, the Basque Language Academy, there is a letter from the writer Nikolas Ormaetxea «Orixe» addressed in 1919 to the Academy member Pedro Lardizabal. In the letter, Orixe asks for Lardizabal’s mediation to present a plan to Euskaltzaindia: to create a collection of Greek and Latin classics, translated and published in collaboration with Jesuit education centers. In this article the letter is published and the historical context is considered, necessary for a better understanding of the project. Special attention is paid to the relationship between Orixe and Pedro Lardizabal and also to the magazine Jesus’en Biotzaren Deya. In order to give a more precise insight into the project, we then provide an overview of the characteristics of other collections of the time. Finally, we present two initiatives in the field of translating Greek and Latin classics, promoted by Euskaltzaindia in 1921 and 1928.