A Sixth-Century Fragment of the Letters of Pliny the Younger: A Study of Six Leaves of an Uncial Manuscript Preserved; in the Pierpont Morgan Library New YorkRand, Edward Kennard
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A Sixth-Century Fragment of the Letters of Pliny the Younger: A Study of Six Leaves of an Uncial Manuscript Preserved; in the Pierpont Morgan Library New York
Rand, Edward Kennard
Manuscripts, Latin -- Facsimiles; Manuzio, Aldo, 1449 or 50-1515; Paleography, Latin; Pliny, the Younger -- Correspondence
[Sidenote: _The variants of Budaeus in the Bodleian volume_]
We may now test Aldus by the evidence of the Bodleian volume with its
variants in the hand of Budaeus. For the section included in _Π_, their
number is disappointingly small. The only additions by Budaeus (= _i_)
to the text of Beroaldus are: 61, 14 sera] _MVDoa_, (_m. 1_) _Π_ serua
_BFuxi_, (_m. 2_) _Π_; 62, 4 ambulat] _i cum plerisque_ ambulabat _r
Ber._ (ab _del._) _M_; 62, 25 quoque] _i cum ceteris_ p̷ouq (ue) _Ber._;
64, 23 Quamvis] q Vmuis _Ber._ _corr. i._
This is all. Budaeus, who, according to Merrill, had the Parisinus at
his disposal, has corrected two obvious misprints, made an inevitable
change in the tense of a verb--with or without the help of the ancient
book--and introduced from that book one unfortunate reading which we
find in the second hand of _Π_.
There is one feature of Budaeus’s marginal jottings that at once arouses
the curiosity of the textual critic, namely, the frequent appearance of
the _obelus_ and the _obelus cum puncto_. These signs as used by
Probus[56] would denote respectively a surely spurious and a possibly
spurious line or portion of text. But such was not the usage of Budaeus;
he employed the obelus merely to call attention to something that
interested him. Thus at the end of the first letter of Book III we find
a doubly pointed obelus opposite an interesting passage, the text of
which shows no variants or editorial questionings. Budaeus appears to
have expressed his grades of interest rather elaborately--at least I can
discover no other purpose for the different signs employed. The simple
obelus apparently denotes interest, the pointed obelus great interest,
the doubly pointed obelus intense interest, and the pointing finger of a
carefully drawn hand burning interest. He also adds catchwords. Thus on
the first letter he calls attention successively[57] to _Ambulatio_,
_Gestatio_, _Hora balnei_, _pilae ludus_, _Coena_, and _Comoedi_. The
purpose of the doubly pointed obelus is plainly indicated here, as it
accompanies two of these catchwords. Just so in the margin opposite 65,
17, a pointing finger is accompanied by the remark, “_Beneficia
beneficiis aliis cumulanda_,” while 227, 5 is decorated with the moral
ejaculation, “_o hominem in diuitiis miserum_.” Incidentally, it is
obvious that the Morgan fragment was once perused by some thoughtful
reader, who marked with lines or brackets passages of special interest
to him. For example, the account of how Spurinna spent his day[58] is so
marked. This passage likewise called forth various marginal notes from
Budaeus,[59] and other coincidences exist between the markings in _Π_
and the marginalia in the Bodleian volume. But there is not enough
evidence of this sort to warrant the suggestion that Budaeus himself
added the marks in _Π_.
[Footnote 56: See Ribbeck’s Virgil, _Prolegomena_, p. 152.]
[Footnote 57: See plate XVIII.]
[Footnote 58: _Epist._ III, i (plate IV).]
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