Attic Nights

we must speak of each part separately.

And first, indeed, to turn to the former part: in books I—VII1) Hertz correctly concluded, on his own authority (see below, p. 336), based on the subscription of Aurelius Romulus placed under the ninth book, that the first volume had previously comprised books I—IX, although we can scarcely understand how it happened at that time that the eighth book was lost., the art of criticism ars critica textual criticism relies primarily on three membranes i.e., parchment manuscripts, to which are added the fourth manuscript—of the highest age and authority, though preserved only in rags—and the fifth, known almost exclusively from the collation of Carrion.2) Regarding other manuscripts, see Manitius, Philologisches aus alten Bibliothekskatal [Philological matters from old library catalogs], Mus. Rhen. XLVII (1892) suppl. p. 72; R. Sabbadini, Della biblioteca di Giovanni Corvini [On the library of Giovanni Corvini], see Stangl, Wochen-schr. f. kl. Phil. III (1886) p. 1265. Truly, those three are:

P The manuscript of the National Library of Paris 5765 (P), 13th century, which omits I 1—2, 10 and ends at VII 4, 3 at the words sun's strike.

R The Leyden-Batavian Gronovianus manuscript 21, formerly the Rottendorfianus (R), written by various hands, mostly 12th century, ends at VI 20, 6. The chapter summaries are missing.

V The Vatican manuscript 3452 (V), 13th century, beginning from the table of chapters, with the preface omitted.

That these books flowed from the same archetype is sufficiently proven by the same gaps lacunae missing portions of text (at I 4, 3; 22, 5; II 6, 12; 20, 2; 21, 3; III 13, 3; IV 1, 12; 15, 3; VI 9, 17, etc.), as well as the same perverse additions (III 17, 5; V 18, 9; VI 9, 17) and the same errors (I 3, 19; 24; 25; 28; 29; 7, 1; 13, 10; II 6, 20; 14, 2; III 17, 5; IV 11, 3; 14, 3, etc.). That it was written out in connected letters and those uncial a majuscule script used in antiquity is shown by words poorly distinguished, such as I 3, 9; 30; 11, 12; 12, 14; 15, 1 (R); II 18, 10; 24, 7; 26, 11; III 14, 20; 18, 5; IV 2, 11; VI 3, 6, and letters exchanged, such as A and B at I 3, 23 (sua eunda), B and R at I 3, 27 (permissoque), III 16, 20 (sepius), P and F at I 3, 28 (per me), 7, 20 (inperpectiusque), II 8 lemma (pacta), P and I at VI 11, 4 (perpoparet), and B and R (heberet in R).

Among these witnesses, the oldest is not necessarily the best.