Valerius Maximus: Memorable Deeds and Sayings

PREFACE.

scribtum written, labsum slipped, etc., and adque, not atque. With these excepted, therefore, you will see the writing of the Vatican codex always expressed.

In this same codex, throughout the ninth book, another copyist of a later age, to whom the summaries of the Paris examples seemed more than justifiably mutilated and curtailed, in order to assist that excessive brevity, expanded the words of Paris by adding many things.1) Thus, after occidit he killed at Par. 9, 9. 2 (p. 582, 27), he added: tinius (sic) uero rediens super corpus iacentis se ipsum occidit Tinius, however, returning over the body of the one lying there, killed himself; cf. Val. p. 450, 26 sqq. The readings of this book, which is Vat. to Halm, but II to me, were collected by Du Rieu; after him, Kruse described them for me accurately. Halm is mistaken, however, in thinking this a book of good quality, for it has almost no authority: first, that copyist changed the words of Valerius found in his codex as it pleased him or as the matter seemed to demand, so that those additions might be suitably joined to the narration of Paris; furthermore, there is no notable reading in it at all that is not found in the other better or worse codices or that should be attributed to the conjecture of the copyist.2) Thus, at 9, 2. ext. 11 after emineant they stand out (p. 434, 9 and Par. p. 577, 33), he added the primary reading of the good books also, ut diutius poenae sufficiant cibo et potione that they might suffice longer for punishment with food and drink, changed to the example of Paris: eosque ut diutius pene sufficiant cibo et potu and those [who] might suffice longer for punishment with food and drink, whence Halm did not correctly receive eosque. Cf. besides what I brought from that book to p. 423, 4, where auleis tapestries is not read, as Halm reports, but 7 auleis (i.e., et auleis and with tapestries), as in LA; p. 436, 6 letantes rejoicing for laetitia ouantes rejoicing with joy; 447, 7 aris altars for altaribus altars; 448, 2 habuit he had for abiit he departed; p. 451, 23 popilia for pollia; ibid. l. 25 popilia for papiria; p. 455, 27 uerbis magis quam ferro decernerent they would decide more by words than by iron for uerbis quam ferro diiudicare mallent they preferred to judge by words rather than by iron, etc. For this reason, I have passed over the readings of this codex in silence, unless some certain cause persuaded otherwise.

In another category, too, I often had to depart from Halm's edition: for although he correctly attributed most of the authority to the Paris epitome, he nevertheless, it seems, clearly forgot that this abbreviator had changed many words of Valerius at his own discretion, either out of a desire for brevity or moved by another cause...