The Establishment of the Latin Text in the Fundació Bernat Metge’s Lucretius by Joaquim Balcells (1923-1932)

I analyse how Joaquim Balcells edited the Latin text of Lucretius’ De rerum natura (DRN) that appeared in the Catalan translations series of the Fundació Bernat Metge. In the first volume (1923), with DRN I-III, Balcells relied directly on the editions of Ernout (Budé) and Bailey (OCT). In the second volume (1928), with DRN IV-VI, and in the revision of the first volume (1932), Balcells did a true critical edition, collating the two most important manuscripts. In any case, Balcells’ edition reflects his own time limitations.