COMPLETE: [DR] Octavius by Marcus Minucius Felix-Leni

[AdamBielka]

This project is now complete. All files can be found at https://librivox.org/octavius-by-marcus-minucius-felix/

Octavius by Marcus Minucius Felix ( - 250). Translated by John Henry Freese ( - 0)

This ancient Roman dialogue plays out as a religious debate between the Christian lawyer Octavius, and his close friend, a skeptical pagan named Caecilius. Caecilius is relatively agnostic, expressing skepticism towards both aspects of traditional Roman paganism, as well as towards his friend's newfangled Christian religion. Octavius attempts to give the reasons he has for his own beliefs and answer Caecilius' critiques. The author- Marcus Minicus Felix- plays the role of referee and observer. This is one of the earliest Latin texts to talk about Christianity, and describe how the new religion fit in the wider social context of the Roman world. ( Adam Bielka)

• Gender Neutral
  
  World Count
  
  21,911
  
  
  Editor: AdamBielka
  DPL: Leni
  
  
  1. Is there a deadline?
     We ask that you submit your recorded sections within 1-2 months of placing your claim. Please note that to be fair to the readers who have completed their sections in a timely way, if you haven't submitted your recording(s) after two months, your sections will automatically be re-opened for other readers to claim, unless you post in this thread to request an extension. Extensions will be granted at the discretion of the Book Coordinator. If you cannot do your section, for whatever reason, just let me know and it'll go back to the pool. There's no shame in this; we're all volunteers and things happen.Please do not sign up for more sections than you can complete within the two month deadline.
  2. How to claim a part, and "how it all works" here
     To find a section to record, simply look at point 5. below at the sections. All the ones without names beside them are "up for grabs." Click "Post reply" at the top left of the screen and tell us which section you would like to read (include the section number from the left-most column in the reader list, please). Read points 6. to 8. below for what to do before, during and after your recording.
  3. New to recording?
     Please read our Newbie Guide to Recording!
  4. Where do I find the text? Source text (please only read from this text!): https://archive.org/details/octaviusofminuci00minuiala/page/xxvi/mode/2up
  5. Please claim roles (the numbers in the first column below)! Please note: All Librivox recordings are in the public domain. When you submit your recording, you will be placing your recording in the public domain as well.
     
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     Magic Window:

     
     
     BC Admin
     
  6. BEFORE recording: Please check the Recording Notes: viewtopic.php?p=6430#p6430
     
     Set your recording software to:
     Channels: 1 (Mono)
     Bit Rate: 128 kbps
     Sample Rate: 44.1 kHz
     
     Submit one file per act.
  7. Make sure you add this to the beginning of your recording:
     [Role], read by [your name].
     
     If you are reading stage directions, please include for each file:At the beginning: Section[#] of Octavius , by Minucius Felix. Translated by John Henry Freese. This is a Librivox recording. All Librivox recordings are in the public domain. For more information, or to volunteer, please visit Librivox dot org.
     
     At the end: End of Section [#].
     
     Please remember to check this thread frequently for updates!
  8. AFTER recording
     Save files as 128 kbps MP3
     octavius_[role]_[#]_128kb.mp3 (all lower-case) where # is the section number.
     
     
     
     Transfer of files (completed recordings) Please always post in this forum thread when you've sent a file. Also, post the length of the recording (file duration: mm:ss) together with the link.
     • Upload your file with the LibriVox Uploader: https://librivox.org/login/uploader
       (If you have trouble reading the image above, please message an admin)
     • You'll need to select the MC, which for this project is: Leni
     • When your upload is complete, you will receive a link - please post it in this thread.
     • If this doesn't work, or you have questions, please check our How To Send Your Recording wiki page.
     
     Remember to leave 5 seconds of silence if another character interjects, or start talking
     
     Pronunciation
     
     There are few Latin and Greek names, it shouldn't matter how you pronounce them. However, with the characters' primary names, let's try to keep them consistent (since they refer to each other)
     
     We'll be using the standard English pronunciations, instead of the classical Latin:
     
     Ock-tay-vee-us
     Mar-kus
     Sa-see-lee-us
     
     People Appearing in Each Individual Chapter
     
     O- Octavius (largest part)
     C- Caecillius
     M= Marcus (smallest part)
     
     i. M
     ii. M
     iii. M, O
     iv. M, C
     v. M, C
     vi. C
     vii. C
     viii. C
     ix. C
     x. C
     xi. C
     xii. C
     xiii. C
     xiv. M, C
     xv. M, C
     xvi. M, O
     xvii. O
     xviii. O
     xix. O
     xx. O
     xxi. O
     xxii. O
     xxiii. O
     xxiv. O
     xxv. O
     xxvi. O
     xxvii. O
     xxviii. O
     xxix. O
     xxx. O
     xxxi. O
     xxxii. O
     xxxiii. O
     xxxiv. O
     xxxv. O
     xxxvi. O
     xxxvii. O
     xxxviii. O
     xxxix. M
     xl. M, C
     xli. M
     
     Any questions?
     Please post below

[AdamBielka]

I was hoping to launch this as a DR. It's short-ish, and has three central roles so it shouldn't be too impossible to staff.

I was hoping to play one of the characters (doesn't matter which).

[KevinS]

I was hoping to launch this as a DR. It's short-ish, and has three central roles so it shouldn't be too impossible to staff.

I was hoping to play one of the characters (doesn't matter which).

Adam, will you be doing the editing? It's a big job. I wouldn't want to scare you off it as I know how hard-working you are, but it does take some doing.

[Leni]

Here for MC duty. I am a bit rushed now, but just wanted to confirm I will be MCing.

Are you going to do the editing too, Adam?

[AdamBielka]

I was hoping to launch this as a DR. It's short-ish, and has three central roles so it shouldn't be too impossible to staff.

I was hoping to play one of the characters (doesn't matter which).

Adam, will you be doing the editing? It's a big job. I wouldn't want to scare you off it as I know how hard-working you are, but it does take some doing.

I think I'd be fine to edit. It's probably a lot less work than typical DR- since it's only three character parts and its more a series of back-and-forth speeches rather than resembling an actual messy organic human conversation. Not like volunteering to compile Monte Cristo!

[Leni]

Ok, here we are. I didn't know if you wanted to PL it yourself, but I can PL it. I added my name there.

[mightyfelix]

Do you have a script prepared? Who are the characters? Potential readers will want to know these things.

[AdamBielka]

Ok, here we are. I didn't know if you wanted to PL it yourself, but I can PL it. I added my name there.

Awesome Leni!

As someone with more LibriVox experience, especially on the metadata side, do you have any advice on how long I ought to make the sections? There's 41 chapters of about 500 words each. What's a good approximate division for the user? Should it be like 10 short sections of 4 chapters each? Or 5 larger increments of 8ish chapters each? What do users prefer?

[AdamBielka]

Do you have a script prepared? Who are the characters? Potential readers will want to know these things.

No, I'll get one sorted tommorow. It mostly switched viewpoint character every chapter, so it'll be pretty easy to do. It'll just be a matter of organizing the narrator's part, since he pops in with "then he said" and such every now and then.

[cadastra]

Also, is casting gender specific? I’m asking because I absolutely love ancient Roman dialogues (Plato is my favorite), and would love to play at part in this one. However, I’m female.
If casting is gender specific, I could help out with editing/PLing.

[Leni]

Ok, here we are. I didn't know if you wanted to PL it yourself, but I can PL it. I added my name there.

Awesome Leni!

As someone with more LibriVox experience, especially on the metadata side, do you have any advice on how long I ought to make the sections? There's 41 chapters of about 500 words each. What's a good approximate division for the user? Should it be like 10 short sections of 4 chapters each? Or 5 larger increments of 8ish chapters each? What do users prefer?

That depends a lot on personal preference. Personally, I think about 20min-30min is a comfortably-sized section. In my reading pace, that is about 2500-3000 words. So you could do about 7 sections with 6 chapters each, or 6 sections with 7 chapters (minus 1 of course) as a suggestion.

Now, since this is a DR, you will need, at first, in the window, one line per finished section. Then, you will need one line per character per section, for the parts, before they are edited. I don't know if you have taken part in a DR before, but this information might be useful: https://wiki.librivox.org/index.php?title=Information_on_coordinating_dramatic_readings This is a small DR, so good for a first try for sure.

As soon as you can, please complete the window with the characters, so people know what they are (and which one you will choose for yourself!). Also, if you have any other doubts, don't hesitate to ask!

Best,

[AdamBielka]

Alright, I split the sections into roughly even chunks, and did my best to not cut the speakers off mid-speech more than necessary.

I've taken part in plenty of DRs, just never from this end, So still learning!

How do you pronounce Caecilius? There's some Latin and Greek references in this work, and most pronunciation obviously won't matter too much, but I'd like to put a standardized pronunciation for the the three friends' names since they refer to each other quite a bit. Be weird if Marcus calls the pagan "Kai-sell-ee-us" but Octavius calls him "Ka-che-uz" I assume Marcus and Octavius are pronounced how we'd expect, since they're common English names?

[AdamBielka]

As for script, most of the dialogue is in clear-cut blocks, with only occasional narrator interruptions. I think it would be easier to just follow along in the source text. I've highlighted which chapters each character appears in though, as a guide to where to look. But it's pretty straightforward.

O- Octavius
C- Caecillius
M= Marcus,

i. M
ii. M
iii. M, O
iv. M, C
v. M, C
vi. C
vii. C
viii. C
ix. C
x. C
xi. C
xii. C
xiii. C
xiv. M, C
xv. M, C
xvi. M, O
xvii. O
xviii. O
xix. O
xx. O
xxi. O
xxii. O
xxiii. O
xxiv. O
xxv. O
xxvi. O
xxvii. O
xxviii. O
xxix. O
xxx. O
xxxi. O
xxxii. O
xxxiii. O
xxxiv. O
xxxv. O
xxxvi. O
xxxvii. O
xxxviii. O
xxxix. M
xl. M, C
xli. M

[cadastra]

Using Classical Latin pronunciation, Caecillius is pronounced “ky-KIL-ee-us.” Octavian is “ahct-AH-we-an.” Marcus is “MAHR-kus,” with one hard, rolled “R.”

(I am a Classical Latin teacher.)

[Leni]

Alright, I split the sections into roughly even chunks, and did my best to not cut the speakers off mid-speech more than necessary.

I've taken part in plenty of DRs, just never from this end, So still learning!

How do you pronounce Caecilius? There's some Latin and Greek references in this work, and most pronunciation obviously won't matter too much, but I'd like to put a standardized pronunciation for the the three friends' names since they refer to each other quite a bit. Be weird if Marcus calls the pagan "Kai-sell-ee-us" but Octavius calls him "Ka-che-uz" I assume Marcus and Octavius are pronounced how we'd expect, since they're common English names?

Ok, great. Now, a question: do you think each character will be able to record the whole thing in just one file? Because if that would be too long, as I expect it to be, the window should have, instead of one line per character, as you have, one line per character per section in which the character appears. So you would have, for example:

Section I - Chapters 1-6
Marcus
Octavius
Caecilius
Section II -Chapters 7-13
Caecilius
Section III -Chapters 14 to 19
Marcus
Octavius
Caecilius
etc.

So that if, for example, I am recording Marcus, I will do the first section of Marcus and deliver it as my first file, then all the Marcus lines of the third section, etc. That also helps to edit, since all files for one section will be there already. Does it make sense?

Finally, as for the names, if Marcus and Octavius will be read in English, and not in Latin (which I think makes more sense), then Caecilius should also be read in English, I believe, which is like Cecilia, but with an -us at the end (https://howjsay.com/search?word=cecilia).