The Roman History (Res Gestae)

Conversely, I could not help but correct what Hadrian produced in a new note of his brother's in the same place, for Book 16, to the words Here first, men reached the foundations of religions, citing from Eusebius thus: Ας πρῶτοι μερόπων ἐπ’ ἀπείρονα πῆξιν ἔφιξ As the first of mortals reached the infinite foundation, when certainly he himself could not have understood the last word any better than he understood ὑφάνισεν he wove in book 22, chapter 5, as he edited it—when in his brother's edition the first letter had been smudged in the note to the words that he may labor to persuade us, etc. I removed the note from the former passage all the more justly because it is otherwise in Eusebius himself, such that I have corrected those two points according to the truth. In Book 25, Chapter 6, Henri notes that Chartam Chartae is read in the Roman edition. But in fact, Charram Carrhae is expressed there. Thus, in Book 26, Chapter 8, the Valesii themselves do not know whether they want Mascizelem or Mascezilem; indeed, they hold both there in each edition, and for that reason, I have pardoned them for it. And who would not believe that Hadrian liked to toy with his brother's writings, when in a note to Book 31, Chapter 2, to the words Once this is crossed, he sustained publishing: "[For he calls the European Alans so named from the Alan mountains: but the Asiatic Alans, Scythians from the Alan mountains]," when Henri had edited: "[For he calls the European Alans so named from the Alan mountains: but the Asiatic Alans, Scythians from the Alan mountains]." This later formulation of theirs is certainly said to have been sought from Ptolemy, and thus it agrees correctly with him, not the former; but it was not my place to correct all the curves.

Since this beautiful and self-satisfied edition has treated the hand of Henri Valesius in this way, it is also important to know how it has taken care of Ammianus himself, which is the head and sum of the matter. It is evident even from Book 29, Chapter 6, where this edition alone out of all of them says, the fortification would rise without one cause, quite ineptly, when the others say otherwise. When in Book 30, Chapter 4, they have long since buried by many centuries with Evander's mother, this one has now brought forth and introduced into the Latin hitherto. In Book 14, Chapter 9, when Henri's edition and others read but if any unknown person had whispered such things into his ears, the Hadrian edition preferred any whatever. In Book 18, Chapter 7, the most recent edition has unless the water is found thin in the wells, where the earlier ones preserve is sought. As small as that is, a more serious error is committed in the following verse, where he edits and now by the hardness of his own people confidence passes, when the earlier ones had by the hardness. Finally, in the same chapter, he edited Bargala, where the previous ones had Barzala, and the Roman one itself alludes to this with Barzalos. In Book 19, Chapter 4, they now want Peloponessiaci Peloponnesian to be read, where Henri and every previous memory had Peloponnesiaci. In Book 23, last chapter, it is read in others threatening in adverse matters and prosperous; but that Parisian one wants the conjunction in to be omitted: in adverse matters prosperous. In Book 20, Chapter 4, I edited But at night, as it caught on, they erupted into open discord from the Lindebrogian and Augustan editions, while both Valesian ones have disagreement; yet all are said to have stayed there together, but that their spirits were stirred to sedition and turned to weapons and hands. Finally, does that wonderfully varied inscription on the top pages of Book 22 show a sign of negligence? Where you will see now DN. CL. FL. JULIANUS PIUS FELIX AUGUSTUS, now JULIANUS AUGUSTUS, now CLAUDIUS JULIANUS AUGUSTUS, now DN. JULIANUS AUGUSTUS, now FL. CL. JULIANUS AUGUSTUS; just as in Book 17, they now placed DN. CONSTANTIUS AUGUSTUS, now JULIUS CONSTANTIUS AUG., now CONSTANTIUS AUG., now DN. CONSTANTIUS P. F. AUG.

When I saw such preparation and care applied both in the Valesian commentaries and in Ammianus himself, I should not have conceived any notable concern for those things which were written by Lindebrogius. Therefore, when I came to the matter, I found these observations edited in such a way that whoever reads them is truly not far from thinking the author is mad in either Latin or Greek. For is it not such a thing that is edited in Book 21, Chapter 1, in a note to the words The assured faith of dreams: "[Synesius On Dreams and Nicephorus upon him. Artemidorus and Apomas.]"? With that last word, two editions of Ammianus have already been soiled with the mockery of Lindebrogius. To prevent it from happening a third time, I intervened, and replaced it with whom he undoubtedly was hinting at.