Proclus: Commentary on Plato's Timaeus, Vol. II

VIII

PRAEFATIO

Preface

page 216 D of the Basle edition καθάπερ οἱ τελεστικοί φασιν as the mystics say |.

The orthography of this book is generally the same as that of codex C: here and there it preserved the silent iota (as on p. 112, 5 συνδιώκει pursues together, p. 117 in the Heraclitean scholium; conversely, it is incorrect on p. 144, 31 μετάγειν to transfer). On the last line, however, the addition of the paragogic nu as well as the acute accent placed instead of the grave is due to the scribe's pen. Plato's lemmata passages being commented upon are usually adorned with the mark ≻ for as many verses as they extend, the passages of poets are distinguished by ≻ or χ or ~, those that are rarely placed in the text to call for scholia are marked ÷ ÷, in the margin ※ or ◡, and I found the corrections and additions of the margin joined to the text with the mark ∴

Errors arising from itacism confusion of vowel sounds are not lacking. The book returns to an apparently ancient model written in minuscule letters 1), since certain traces of the uncial 2) sample are not found.

I believe that besides the beginning of the commentaries, the book περὶ ψυχᾶς κόσμω καὶ φύσιος on the soul of the world and nature had been inscribed on the first gathering of the archetype, as other codices imitating the philosopher's own copy (cf. p. 1, 13 s) also had prefixed.

The book belonged to Cardinal Bessarion 3), as the inscription on folio 1^u teaches:

procli platonici sup timaeū. locus 53, liber b(essarionis) Car(dinalis) Sabinen(sium) niceni
πρόκλου εἰς τὸν τίμαιον τόπ(ος) λα (sscr. νγ) βιβλίον βησσαρίωνος καρδηνάλεως τοῦ τῶν σαβίνων.
Of the Platonist Proclus on the Timaeus. Place 53, book of Bessarion, Cardinal of the Sabines, of Nicaea.

On the middle of fol. 1^r, a recent hand wrote Ventiquattro—24 Twenty-four—24.

I collated the precious gatherings in Venice in the winter of 1899 to 1900 and in Munich in the summer of 1901.

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1. $β$ and $μ$ confused with each other: p. 147, 13 ἐννεάμιοι nine-fold, p. 152, 29 ἰάμβλιχος Iamblichus, p. 174, 18 φιλήμω (often thus, but p. 440, 29 φιλήβω Philebus), p. 213, 25 λοιβικῶν of libations (for λοιμικῶν of plagues). p. 178, 24 ἐγγυτέρα nearer (for ἐγγυτέρω nearer [adv.]).
2. cf. p. 178, 21 μείζων βύης greater of Libya [part of] (for μείζω λιβύης greater Libya), p. 356, 8 ἐκεῖ θέλει ὑφίστασθαι there he wishes to exist (for ἐκεῖθεν ὑφίσταται from there it exists), p. 400, 1 s τὸ γονεύειν begetting (for τὸ νεύειν inclining). Conversely, cf. scholia p. 469, 18.
3. see Omont, Revue des Bibliothèques 4 (1894) p. 137.