The work of Professor Rudolf Kassel, one of the most prominent classical scholars of our time and one of the most eminent authorities on Greek Comedy in particular, includes not only the monumental edition of the Poetae Comici Graeci, the unsurpassed edition of Aristotle’s Rhetoric, as well as the edition of Aristotle’s Poetics, but also monographs, articles and reviews. A complete bibliography of his publications was made available in 1991 with his Kleine Schriften, edited with exemplary diligence by Professor H.–G. Nesselrath. Kassel’s profound knowledge of Greek literature and language is consistently combined with the scholarship, precision, and economy of his writing. One has much to learn in many ways from each one of them; indeed, I cannot resist the temptation to quote here the opinion of another important classical scholar, the late Sir Hugh Lloyd-Jones (CJ 90 [1995] 444), concerning the shorter texts of Kassel contained in the Kleine Schriften:
Any person capable of forming an idea of the value of its contents will be aware that this collection of the shorter writings of one who is second to none among living Greek scholars is worth several hundred books about classical philology that are of the common run. Even the briefest note shows the hand of the master; a brief paragraph may demonstrate a precious truth or exemplify an important principle; the clarity of the arrangement matches the acuteness and precision of the reasoning; and Kassel makes German seem as limpid and elegant as the most polished French. [...] If I were the director of a classical library that subsisted on a small grant, I would be prepared to spend a whole year’s money on this one book.
A quarter of a century has passed since the Kleine Schriften appeared and, thankfully for us all, Kassel has in the meantime published several new extensive volumes as well as shorter works. The occasion of the present volume of Logeion celebrating Rudolf Kassel’s 90th birthday seems an appropriate moment to compile a much needed updated list of my teacher’s published works. For those items which have been republished in the Kleine Schriften [= KS], the reference to this latter volume is provided in brackets at the end of each entry. We wholeheartedly look forward to the need for a new updating in the future!
