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199 The words following the asterisk (*) are marked in LB. as spurious or corrupt, or at least as here out of place. Orelli transposes them to ch. 13, as was noticed there, although he regards them as an interpolation. The clause is certainly a very strange one, and has a kind of affected abstractness, which makes it seem out of place; but it must be remembered that similarly confused and perplexing sentences are by no means rare in Arnobius. If the clause is to be retained, as good sense can be made from it here as anywhere else. The general meaning would be: The gods, if angry, are angry with the pagans; but if they are not subject to passion, it would be idle to speak of them as angry with the Christians, seeing that they cannot possibly at once be incapable of feeling anger, and yet at the same time be angry with them. [See cap. 13, note 4, p. 480, supra.]
1 So most edd., inserting er; in ms. and Oehler, vid-entur.
2 So named either because he was said to have made use of the bird of Mars, i.e., a woodpecker (picus), in augury, or because according to the legend he was changed into one by Circe.
3 i.e., the Aventine. The story is told by Plutarch in his Life of Numa, c. 15, and by Ovid, Fasti, iii. 291 sqq.
4 The ms. reads sollemniter haec, corrected, as above, solenne iter huc by all edd. except Hild.
5 So the ms. and most edd., reading pocula non parvi numeri, for which Elmh. and Orelli have received from the margin of Ursinus, poc non parva mero- "cups of great size, with pure wine."
10 Jupiter is supposed to say humano, meaning capite, to be understood, i.e., "with a man's head," while the king supplies capillo-"with a man's hair."
12 Maena. There is here a lacuna in the text; but there can be no difficulty in filling it up as above, with Heraldus from Plutarch, or with Gelenius from Ovid, piscis-"with the life of a fish."
13 The ms. and both Roman edd. read Numa, corrected by Gelenius, as above, non.
14 The ms. and edd. read cred-i-musne-"do we believe," for which Meursius suggests -e- as above.
15 Lit., "or whether." Below the ms. reads corruptly ad ipsum-"to him."
16 The ms. reads scire, but "knows" would hardly suit the context. Instead of adopting any conjecture, however, it is sufficient to observe, with Oehler, that scire is elsewhere used as a contraction for sciscere.
18 So Cujacius, inserting vi, omitted by the ms.
20 Lit., "the fumigation of verbenae," i.e., of boughs of the laurel, olive, or myrtle.
22 Lit., "the uncertain things of that ambiguity."
23 Lit., "unless a mortal anticipated"-praesumeret, the ms. reading.
25 Lit., "liveliness of heart is procured."
27 So Ovid also (Metam., i. 321), and others, speak of Themis as the first to give oracular responses,
28 So the ms. and edd., reading quam incestis, except Orelli, who adopts the conjecture of Barthius, nequam-"lustful Jupiter with lewd desires."
29 So the ms. and edd., except Hildebrand and Oehler, who throughout spell Agdestis, following the Greek writers, and the derivation of the word from Agdus.
30 So Ursinus suggested, followed by later edd., ex utroque (ms. utra.) sexu; for which Meursius would read ex utroque sexus-"and a sex of both," i.e., that he was a hermaphrodite, which is related by other writers.
34 So the reading of the ms. and edd., unum laqueum, may be rendered; for which Canterus conjectured imum-"the lowest part of the noose."
35 So the edd., reading eo quo (ms. quod) fuerat privat sexu; for which Hild. and Oehler read fu-tu-erat-"of the sex with which he had been a fornicator."
36 Lit., "these (i.e., the parts and the blood) are," etc.
37 The ms. here reads Nata, but in c. 13 the spelling is Nana, as in other writers.
39 The ms. reads t-abulis, corrected as above p- by Jos. Scaliger, followed by Hild. and Oehler. The other edd. read bacculis-"berries."
40 So all the edd., except Hild. and Oehler, who retain the ms. reading sanguinarius-"bloodthirsty."
41 So Salmasius, Orelli, and Hild., reading repertum nescio quis sumit Phorbas, lacte; but no mention of any Phorbas is made elsewhere in connection with this story, and Oehler has therefore proposed forma ac lacte-"some one takes the child found, nourishes it with sweet pottage of millet (forma) and milk," etc.
45 The ms., first five edd., and Oberthür, read exterriti adorandorum Phryges; for which Ursinus suggested ad ora deorum-"at the faces of gods," adopted by Oehler; the other edd. reading ad horam-"at the hour, i e., thereupon."
46 It seems probable that part of this chapter has been lost, as we have no explanation of this epithet; and, moreover (as Oehler has well remarked) in c. 13 this Gallus is spoken of as though it had been previously mentioned that he too had mutilated himself, of which we have not the slightest hint.
48 Lit., "so great motions of furious hazards."
49 So most edd., reading veste prius tectis atque involutis for the ms. reading, retained by Hild. and Oehler, tecta atque involuta-"his vest being first drawn over and wrapt about them;" the former verb being found with this meaning in no other passage, and the second very rarely.
52 Nourry supposes that this may refer to M. Valerius Messala, a fragment from whom on auspices has been preserved by Gellius (xiii. 15); while Hild. thinks that Antias is meant, who is mentioned in c. 1.
53 So Orelli punctuates and explains; but it is doubtful whether, even if this reading be retained, it should not be translated, "bedewed these (violets)." The ms. reads, suffodit et as (probably has)-"digs under these," emended as above in LB., suffudit et has.
55 So it has been attempted to render the ms., reading pausatae circum arboris robur, which has perplexed the different edd. Heraldus proposed pausate-"at intervals round the trunk of the tree;" LB. reads -ata-"round...tree having rested." Reading as above, the reference might be either to the rest from motion after being set up in the cave, or to the absence of wind there.
56 Lit., "could be done through (i.e. as far as concerns) fate."
57 So Oehler, reading sacerdotum antistitiis for the ms. antistibus, changed in both Roman edd. and Hild. to -stitibus-"with priests (or overseers) of priests." Salmasius proposed intestibus-"with castrated priests."
58 i.e., in the ever-recurring festival of Cybele.
60 So the edd., reading orari in alicujus substantiae qualitate for the ms. erari restored by Oehler, num-erari-"numbered in the quality of some substance," from the reading of an old copy adopted by Livineius.
61 Lit., "through the resistance of nature."
63 Lit., "the feeling commonly implanted."
64 Lit., "was regard of piety wanting"-defuit, an emendation of Salmasius (according to Orelli) for the ms. depuit.
65 Lit., "the depth and patience of his sleeping mother."
66 Lit., "from the theft of taking by surprise"-obreptionis, for which the ms., first four edd., Oberth., Hild., and Oehler read object.-"of what he proposed."
67 So Heraldus, reading conventionis hujusmodi coetum for the ms. coeptum.
69 Most edd. read as an interrogation.
70 Perhaps, "that she might not be subject to ill-will for having borne so."
71 i.e., to form nooses with. The reading translated is an emendation of Jos. Scaliger, adopted by Orelli, peniculamenta decurtantem cantheriorum, for the ms. peniculantem decurtam tam cantherios, emended by each ed. as he has thought fit.
73 Lit., "endowed with the honour of."
74 The ms. here inserts de-"from the body from a divine (being)."
75 So the edd. (except Oehler), reading tum cum for the ms. tum quae quod.
76 Balaustiis, the flowers of the wild pomegranate.
77 Dares supplied by Salmasius.
78 [The Abderitans were proverbially such. "Hinc Abdera, non tacente me."-Cicero, Ep. ad Attic., iv. 16.]