the _de caelo_ would at least suggest an investigation of the question whether our scholia drew them from an earlier source than Simplicius—in other words, whether Simplicius did not in all probability take them from the commentaries of his predecessors. So when we find Parmenides line 78 _ap._ Simplicius, _Physica_ 29, 18 in the form that Plato had quoted it,[121] when we find line 60 _ap._ 120, 23 quoted from an indirect source (cf. p. 145, 4, where it is quoted in context), we may conclude that Simplicius took those quotations from Parmenides at second hand, and not improbably from earlier commentators on Aristotle. The quotations from Herakleitos are all of them in a late form, and show that Simplicius was not familiar with any work under the name of Herakleitos.[122] Nor did Simplicius know Xenophanes at first hand. The two quotations from his poem occur in the discussion of a passage from Theophrastos, and are probably taken from him. The quotations show, however, that Simplicius knew at first hand the works of Zeno, Melissos, Anaxagoras, Parmenides, and Empedokles, and it remains to examine the numerous quotations from the last two thinkers in order to form some idea as to the probable accuracy of Simplicius’ method of quotation. Stein in his attempt to restore the text of Parmenides finds numerous misarrangements of the lines and breaks where one or more lines have dropped out. Certainly there is evidence that Simplicius omitted four or more lines between 89 and 94, nor does he indicate the break in any way. Several times a phrase of his own is inserted in the middle of a line (e.g. _Phys._ 39, 28; 143, 22), and once a line is filled out metrically, according to our manuscripts, by a phrase which is generally regarded as a comment from Simplicius (_Phys._ 145, 16). The text itself of these fragments is often very dubious in our manuscripts (e.g. lines 96, 98, 100), but Simplicius may not be responsible for this. In our manuscripts also we read sometimes ωὐτός, sometimes αὐτός, and when either ὤν or ἐών (ὄντα or ἐόντα) is metrically possible, the shorter is usual; here again we cannot with any confidence hold that Simplicius is responsible.