PROLEGOMENA.

CHAPTER I.

CONCERNING THE NAMES, HONORS, AGE, RELIGION, AND HOMELAND OF MACROBIUS.

1. It is not sufficiently certain who Macrobius, the author of these books, was; not even his names are entirely certain. For in several handwritten codices 1, the names attributed to him here, Macrobius Ambrosius Theodosius, are read in this very order. In others, the order is varied—sometimes 2 Macrobius Theodosius Ambrosius, sometimes 3 Ambrosius Macrobius Theodosius, sometimes 4 Ambrosius Theodosius Macrobius. In others, one name is omitted; and in several codices of the Commentaries on the Dream of Scipio 5, one reads Macrobius Ambrosius, while in several codices of the Saturnalia 6, one reads Macrobius Theodosius. In others, or even in the same ones elsewhere 7, one reads only Macrobius. But in all editions, the name Aurelius 8 is added, which I have not found in any codex.

1) Ms. Barth. 2; Fragment. Gronov.; Cod. Maximin. Al. Wilthemii at the beginning of the Commentaries on the Dream of Scipio; BP46 Thuan. at the end of Book I; P3 at the beginning of the Saturnalia; M3 at the end of Book I. 2) P6 and Cod. Vindob. 165, f. 143 (cf. Endlicher, XXVIII) at the end of the Commentaries. 3) P1 ibid.; Cod. Bamb. H. I. IV, 22 and Cod. Vindob. 51, U. 38 (cf. Endlich. CCCLXIX) at the beginning of excerpts from the Commentaries; Cod. Paris. 7186 at the end of an excerpt from the book on the differences and similarities of the Greek and Latin verb. 4) P1 at the beginning of the Saturnalia. Gothofredus recommends this order in his notes to the Theodosian Code, Book VI, title 8, with these words: "The proper name of each person during these times was that which was placed last; such is the name of Macrobius. For the fact that Avianus, in the letter he prefixed to his fables, and Boethius call him Theodosius, they did so at their own discretion." These arguments, however, carry no weight against the authority of the manuscripts; and others have contended with no less right that Macrobius was known to his contemporaries by the name Theodosius. Mahul (l. c. p. 1) cites Colomesius (Works published by I. Alb. Fabricius, Hamburg 1709 in 4to, Keimēlia litteraria, ch. 38, p. 312). 5) Ms. Barth. 2; Cod. Maximin. elsewhere; and Planudes in the Greek version of Cod. Paris. 1868 and Augustan 495 at the beginning; S also at the beginning of Book II; C in the inscription of Book I, inserted into chapter 20, corrupted as: Ambrosius Macrobius. In Cod. Paris. 7400 B, which was written in the 10th century and contains an excerpt from the Commentaries on the Dream of Scipio, one reads Ambrosius Macrobius. 6) ABGSM123 at the beginning; P6 at the end of Book I; A at the beginning of Book II; ABGM13P2 at its end; M13P6 at the end of Book III; M2P6 at the end of Book VI; AHM123V at the end of Book VII. 7) FV2 at the beginning of the Commentaries; R1 at their end; APS at the beginning of the Saturnalia; M1 at the end of Book I. 8) In the version v-g, one reads Macrobius Aurelius Theodosius (in hg it is Aurelius and in the margin Ambrosius), in s-b it is Aurelius Macrobius Ambrosius Theodosius.