Larramendiren apologiaren XVIII. mendeko bizitza, edo zergatik ez den bibliografia lana ahaztu behar

Resumen

In this paper we have analyzed the two editions that were made of the book known as Larramendi's “apology” (De la antigüedad...) during the author's lifetime, and the difficulties that surrounded it, because they could affect the interpretation of the book. The comparison of both editions has provided us with a fascinating insight into the problems that arose from the publication of the first edition (1728), the “Notice to the reader” that only appears in some copies of the first edition, the whereabouts of the “notice” in the second edition (s.d.), the changes made to the list of Basque etymologies of Spanish words and so on.

Throughout our research, the need to date the second edition grew. By piecing together internal and external arguments, we have proposed a range that seems to us to be certain, of between 1730-1736, and another more precise and quite plausible one of between 1730-1732 instead of the approximate date of 1740 that has hitherto been suggested. Along the way, we have also obtained some data that may be useful to the chronology of the composition of Larramendi’s dictionary.

By way of general conclusion, we have once again proved that bibliographical work is a fundamental and indispensable task in philology.