Textus Originalis

PRAEFATIO.

Diodori libris omnino nihil operi suo inseruit; excerpta autem Constantiniana quae inveniuntur in palimpsesto Vaticano, nobis auxilium non ferunt, quod et Angelus Mai et Herwerden ea tantum contulit, quae ad perditos Diodori libros spectant. Paulo plus valet codex excerptorum Peirescianus saeculi decimi, qui eis locis, scilicet non multis, ubi codices Diodori inter se dissentiunt, a parte codicis P stat: XIII 74, 3 ὀκτώ] ν̅ P, Ν̅ Peiresc. XV 1, 5 Λακεδαιμονίους om. P et Peir. νικήσαντες] νικήσαντας P et Peir. XVI 81, 2 τὴν Λιβύην] Λιβύην P et Peir. Maximi autem momenti ad codices ponderandos est locus Athenaei (XII 59), qui sic incipit: Διόδωρος δ᾿ ὁ Σικελιώτης ἐν τοῖς περὶ βιβλιοθήκης· Ἀκραγαντίνους φησὶ κατασκευάσαι Γέλωνι κολυμβήθραν . . . . = Diod. XI 25, 4. Consentit Athenaeus cum omnibus Diodori codicibus in vocabulo ποταμῶν (pro ποταμίων), tum dissentit a codice P, cuius lectionem τροφήν (τρυφήν vulg. et Athen.) equidem cum Rhodomanno et Cobeto praetuli. Sed haec sunt levia, sicut etiam scriptura αὕτη, quam codex P et Athenaeus offerunt pro vulg. αὐτή. Contra ea gravissimum argumentum inest in his verbis: κύκνων τε πλείστων εἰς αὐτὴν καταπταμένων συνέβη τὴν πρόσοψιν αὐτῆς ἐπιτερπῆ γενέσθαι ex codice P restitui pro lectione vulgata κύκνων τε πλῆθος [πλήθους edit.] εἰς αὐτὴν καταπταμένων [καταπταμένους AL, καταπταμένου edit.] etc. Apud Athenaeum enim scriptum est: καθίπτασθαι δὲ καὶ κύκνων πλῆθος εἰς αὐτήν, ὡς γίνεσθαι ἐπιτερπεστάτην τὴν θέαν, unde apparet iam Athenaeum genuinae lectionis, quam

Traduzione

PREFACE.

books of Diodorus he inserted nothing at all into his work; the Constantinian excerpts found in the Vatican palimpsest offer us no help, because both Angelo Mai and Herwerden collated only those that pertain to the lost books of Diodorus. Slightly more valuable is the Peirescian codex of excerpts of the tenth century, which in those places, not many indeed, where the Diodorus manuscripts disagree among themselves, stands on the side of codex P: XIII 74, 3 ὀκτώ] ν̅ P, Ν̅ Peiresc. XV 1, 5 Λακεδαιμονίους om. P et Peir. νικήσαντες] νικήσαντας P et Peir. XVI 81, 2 τὴν Λιβύην] Λιβύην P et Peir. Of the greatest importance, however, for weighing the manuscripts is the passage from Athenaeus (XII 59), which begins thus: Διόδωρος δ᾿ ὁ Σικελιώτης ἐν τοῖς περὶ βιβλιοθήκης· Ἀκραγαντίνους φησὶ κατασκευάσαι Γέλωνι κολυμβήθραν . . . . = Diod. XI 25, 4. Athenaeus agrees with all Diodorus manuscripts in the word ποταμῶν (for ποταμίων); then he disagrees with codex P, whose reading τροφήν (τρυφήν vulg. and Athen.) I myself, along with Rhodoman and Cobet, have preferred. But these are trivial matters, as is also the reading αὕτη, which codex P and Athenaeus offer for the vulgate αὐτή. On the other hand, a most weighty argument lies in these words: κύκνων τε πλείστων εἰς αὐτὴν καταπταμένων συνέβη τὴν πρόσοψιν αὐτῆς ἐπιτερπῆ γενέσθαι, restored from codex P for the vulgate reading κύκνων τε πλῆθος [πλήθους edit.] εἰς αὐτὴν καταπταμένων [καταπταμένους AL, καταπταμένου edit.] etc. For in Athenaeus it is written: καθίπτασθαι δὲ καὶ κύκνων πλῆθος εἰς αὐτήν, ὡς γίνεσθαι ἐπιτερπεστάτην τὴν θέαν, from which it is apparent that already Athenaeus had corrupted the genuine reading, which

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