On the Months

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...made mention [of them], lest they say I have committed the [theft] of the jackdaw A reference to Aesop's fable where a jackdaw decks himself in the feathers of other birds to appear more beautiful; the editor is saying he does not want to take credit for other scholars' discoveries., as it is in the fable—an arrogance which is far removed from my character.

Next, it was my chief care to accurately cite the passages of those authors whom Lydus Joannes Lydus (6th century CE), a Byzantine administrator and writer. praises, and where necessary, to correct the errors Lydus committed in naming his sources; or, as far as was possible, to track down those authors he passes over in silence and indicate the names of those I discovered. As for the other errors of John [Lydus], which he committed in great number, I have noted some of them in his explanations of etymologies etymis Lydus was notorious for imaginative but often linguistically incorrect explanations of the origins of words., but for the most part I passed them over in silence, as learned men would detect them even without my speaking. For I did not think the writer himself should be subjected to the strict Rule of Criticism Criticae regula The scholarly standard of analyzing a text for historical and logical consistency. as much as his booklet should be purged by me of the faults that crept in through the negligence of scribes. To illustrate those points which were less clear, I compared similar passages from John’s other remaining writings, so that his style of writing might be better understood, and I also examined ancient writers who touched on the same subjects, and their passages,

[Jacobs] corrected "through which also..." original: διὸ δὲ α., whereas I thought it should be corrected so that "this" original: τοῦτο was placed after "but through" original: διὰ δέ; he thinks "and Zeus himself" original: Δία δὲ αὐτόν should be written. — The Oracle of Hecate A mystical text often cited in late antiquity regarding the goddess of magic and crossroads., which is in part III, number 7, page 94, he emends in the same way as we do on page 615, putting "bearing three things" original: τρισσὰ φέρουσα instead of "taking away thrice" original: τρὶς ἀφαιροῦσα. — Likewise on page 324, "immovable" original: ἀκίνητος, which was in part III, number 30, page 126, which we corrected from Plato, he changes to "ever-moving" original: ἀεικίνητος. — On page 875, "reveler" original: βακχευτήν, which is in part IV, number 38, page 200, before the words "and running up" original: καὶ ἀνατρέχοντα, he says is corrupted, and after the words "up through the heaven" original: ἀνὰ τὸν οὐρανὸν before "from the [number] seven" original: ἐκ τῆς τ. ἑπτ., he supplies "the heaven" original: τὸν δὲ οὐρανόν, for which I myself have put "where" original: οὗ, which amounts to the same thing. — On page 611, he himself also changes "remains" original: μένει, which is read in part IV, number 48, page 228 (and which Schow had wrongly removed), into "part" original: μέρει.