GIUSSANI, Carlo. Milano 6.11.1840 — Milano 21.4.1900. Italian Indologist and Classical Scholar. Teacher in Milano. Son of Giovanni G. and Angela Carrera. Learned first Sanskrit and linguistics from Ascoli, then studies at Turin and Pisa. Student of Bardelli, graduated at Pisa in 1864. Further studies at Berlin (Weber), Erlangen (Spiegel) and Tübingen (Roth). Back in Italy he taught first classical languages at Liceo di Cremona. In 1874-1900 Professor (insegnò) di letteratura latina at Accademia scientifico-letteraria in Milano.
Giussani tried first to specialize in the Avesta, but his office drained him so completely that he was no longer capable of publishing anything and completely resigned his studies – thus it is stated, but in fact he continued writing on Latin. It is also said that his nomination, arranged by Ascoli, caused criticism because he had no Latin publications – he just had to change into it. His Indological main work remained thus the editio princeps of the Aṣṭāvakragītā.
Publications: “Asht’avakragītā ossia le sentenze filosofiche di Asht’avakra. Testo, traduzione e note”, Rivista Orientale 1, 1867, 912-922, 1032-1055, 1132-1149, 1252-1264; and separately (from this the poetic adaptation by Silvio Pagani: A. o il canto di Asht’avakra, poemetto filosofico indiano. Bibl. Univ. Sonzogno 316. 18??).
– Principi della grammatica Sanscrita. 6+140 p. Turin & Florence 1868 (also as appended to A. De Gubernatis: Piccola Enciclopedia indiana. Turin 1868.
– Reviews of Spiegel, Grammatik der Altbaktrischen Sprache, Riv. Or. 1, 1867-68, 923-235, and of Curtius, Zur Chronologie der idg. Sprachforschung, Riv. Or. 1, 1867-68, 1160-1172.
– “La questione del linguaggio secondo Platone e secondo Epicuro”, Mem. Ist. Lomb. XX:3:xi, 1868, 103-141; translated: E. Guhl & W. Koner, La vita degli Greci e Romani. 20+763 p. Turin 1875; De Horatii epistola ad Pisones. 16 p. Mediolani 1885; Quaestiones Lucilianae. 52 p. Mediolani 1885;Lletteratura romana. 11+447 p. Milano 1899; edited Lucretius, De rerum natura. 1-4. Turin 1896-98 (with a famous commentary).
Sources: M.P. Bologna & Fr. Dedè, “Il background glottologico e orientalistico di un latinista dell’Accademia scientifico-letteraria: note sull’opera di Carlo Giussani”, M. Prada & G. Sergio (eds.), Italiani di Milano. Studi in onore di Silvia Morgana. 2017, 561-586 with photo;De Gubernatis, Matériaux 310, 352f.; Gli studi orientali in Italia 1861–1911. Briefly in Arch. biogr. ital. 2nd series, three articles in the 1st Series (best De Gubernatis 1879); D.B.I. in www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/carlo-giussani_(Dizionario_Biografico)/.
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