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Suetonius' Nero and A Pindaric Scholium
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 27 February 2009
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page 252 note 1 Whether the translation was that of Suetonius or came from an earlier source is a moot point. Townend (The Sources of the Greek in Suetonius, Hermes, lxxxviii [1960], 108) writes: ‘Such peculiar Latin must be due to a historian who was determined at all costs to avoid Greek, as Suetonius certainly was not.’ He suggests that tinnire represents λαλαγεῖν. For references to Greek accompanying a Latin translation in the Nero cf.Graecum proverbium (20. 1), inscription Graeca (45. 2).
page 252 note 2 Tacitus (Ann. xv. 33) mentions Nero's choice of Naples for his early stage ventures because it was a Greek city.
page 252 note 3 Epid. ii. 3. 11.
page 252 note 4 Although πυκνός here refers to a quality of voice, its use in connexion with high pitch may be based on acoustical theory—cf. Eucl. Sect. Can. p. 148 Jan. καὶ αἱ μὲν πυκνότεραι (sc. κινήσɛων) ὀξυτέρους ποιοῦσι τοὺς φθόγγους, αἱ δὲ ἀραιότɛραι βαρυτέρους. (Also Ptol. Harm. 1. 3, Porph. in Harm. 33. 11 Düring.)
page 253 note 1 εἶδοσ κρούματος would appear more telligible.
page 253 note 2 Apparently = ‘distinct’: cf. Dion. Hal., viii. 56 φωνὴν εὐσύνετόν τε καὶ γεγωνόν, also Theognost. Can. in Cramer, An. Oxon. ii. 19.
page 253 note 3 Egnatius proposed suffertim in Nero 20.
page 253 note 4 Hartung's suggestion that ‘muffled tones’ are meant seems to have no foundation.
page 253 note 5 Cf. Varro (Men. 565), virgula divina pullos peperit fritinientis.
page 253 note 6 Cf. v. 23. 3, v. 70. 21 freta meta (i.e. fritamenta): crumata vel modulos[a].
page 253 note 7 See also the corrupt words in Varro, , L.L. vii. 104.Google Scholar
page 253 note 8 In his review of Hosius's edition (B.P.W.also [1904] 1168); cf. A.L.L. xiv (1906), 62. I presume that Gemer's frequentamenta (= τερετίσμα)in his Latin translation of Lucian, Salt. 2 is imitated from Gellius here.
page 253 note 9 Cf. Quint, ii. 3. 9.
page 253 note 10 Schol. on 57a, which also has the gloss ὑποτɛρɛτίζɛι has ἐπαφώμενοι vice ἐφαπτόμενοι, and continues the sentence with ἔπειτα τέλεον κιθαρίζουσιν
page 254 note 1 Earlier citations of this schol. which I have seen—e.g. the editions of Heyne and Boeckh—giveἐνδόσιμόν ἐστι μανία, whereas Drachmann gives μαμίᾳ with no indication of manuscript divergence. It looks as if the schol. meant the dative, as is implied in the first version of it; nevertheless I believe the nominative gives the true sense.
page 254 note 2 Cf. Suid. ὑποκρεκόντωνׁ κρουόντωνׁ ἐγγιζόντων, where Hemsterhuys'sτερετγγόντων must be right (possibly by way of τεττγγόντων, although this form is dubious—see L.S.J.).Bernhardy proposed ἐλελιζόντων.
page 254 note 3 Perhaps to be thought of as being achieved by the process known as λῆΦις διὰ συμφωνίας—see Plut. de mus. 1145b with Reinach's note, Aristox. Harm. 2. 55, Ar. Quint., p. 21. 9 W.-I. For lyre tuning, see also D. Chr. 68. 7, Quint, xii. 10. 68.
page 254 note 4 Plut. Mar. sggc, Symp. Q. g. g (title only); [Ar.] Pr. 19. 12.
page 254 note 5 There is a variantπροΦὰλματα.
page 254 note 6 Bryennius (Harm. p. 481 Wallis) is worth quoting:ὁ δὲ τερετισμὸς κοινὸς, τοῦ τε μουσικοῦ καὶ ὀργανικοῦׁ καὶ γὰρ ὅταν τις τῷ μὲν στόματι ᾄδῃ, τοῖς δὲ δακτύλοις ἢ τῷ πλήκτρῲ τὰς χορδὰς κατὰ τὸ μέλος κρούῃ, τότε τερετίζειν λέγεταιׁ ἢμᾶλλον τότε τις ἀληθῶς τερετίζειν λέγεται, ἐπειδὰν οὐ μόνον τὸ ὀχύτερον μέρος τοῦ μέλους, ἤτοι τὸ τῶν νητῶν τετράχορδον, μετ᾽ ᾠδῆς ἅμα καὶ κρούσεως διεξέρχοιτοׁ ἀλλὰ τὸ βαρύτερον, ἤτοι τὸ τῶν ὑπατῶν. οὕτω καὶ γὰρ ἐναργῶς τερετίζειν οἱ τέττιγες φαίνονται.
page 254 note 7 Cf. the Aldine schol. on Ar. Ach. 554 ὁ νίγλαρος τρῆμά ἑστι (a palpable error for τερέτσμα: schol. RV have κροῦμα), and on νίγλαρος see Düring (Eranos xliii [1945], 196). Agathias also has φορμίγγων τɛρɛτίσματα (A.P. vii. 612).
page 254 note 8 See Gevaert-Vollgraff, ad loc., pp.116–17.
page 255 note 1 Cf. Themistius, Or. i (p. 5. 4) ὁρᾶτε οὖν ὅτι τὸ σμικρὸν ἐκεῖνο ῥῆμα διακρούοντί μοι ἅπας ὁ τῶν ἀρετῶν ἑσμὸς ὑποφθέγγεται.
page 255 note 2 αὔ is Valckenaer's emendation ofὤραςIn view of the parallels cited I prefer alsoαύτοῖςtoαύτούς: L.S.J.'s ‘invites them to sing’ seems unlikely. An anonymous rhetor (Walz, vol. iii, p. 579) suggests suitable clichés for a λόγος περὶ λειμῶνος as follows: ἄδουσι καὶ οἱ τέττιγες καὶ συνηχοῦσιν ὁμοῦ καὶ δένδρα καὶ ὄρνις καὶ τέττιγες καὶ x1F01;ρμονία μία τούτοις ὑπὸ φθόγγου πολυμμιγοῦς. καὶ ὁ διηχὴς ἀὴρ ἐκεῖθεν πρᾴως ὑποβομβεῖ καὶ πληροῖ τὴν ἀκοὴν μουσικῆς.Cf. also Meleager (A.P. vii. 196. 6) τέττιξ‥ἀντῳδὸν Πανὶ κρέκων κέλαδον.
page 255 note 3 The musical relationship of the notes and its metaphorical application can be judged from Theon's definition of ‘symphonic’ notes (pp. 50–51 Hiller) συμφωνοῦσι δὲ φθόγγοι πρὸς ἀλλήλους, ὧν θατέρου κρουσθέντος ἐπὶ τινὸς ὀργάνου τῶν ἐντατῶν καὶ ὁ λοιπὸς κατά τινα οἰκειότητα καὶ συμπάθειαν συνηχεῖ.
page 255 note 4 Burton, Pindar's Pythian Odes, p. 4, says thatκονπεῖhere is ‘a near synonym ofκελαδεῖν, andκλυτάνὄπα in the following sentence I take to mean ‘resonant sound’. For καυχᾶσθαι(which Farnell in 01. 9. 38 translates ‘loud, reckless babbling’) see Boisacq. Of recent translations of this passage, Bowra's ‘to boast beyond measure is a tune for the song of madness’ is somewhat confused; Lattimore's ‘to vaunt against season carries an underweb of madness’ is wholly eccentric.
page 255 note 5 For a similar metaphorical use, cf. [Longin.] Subl. 23 κομωδέστερα, followed by the image of κώδωνες, the tinkling bells of horses' trappings, as Russell rightly observes in his note ad loc, with parallels. It occurs to me that in this direction may lie the explanation of the mysterious gloss in Hesych. ὑποκρέκεινׁ ἐπὶ τῶν ἵππων, πορείας τις τρόπος, βῆμα. Cf. κωδωνοφαλαροπώλους of Ar. Ran. 963; and Plut. Mor. 672a describing npos the dress of the Jewish high-priest with κώδωνες‥ὑποκομποῦντες ἐν τῷ βαδίζειν. But it may refer more directly to the ‘ring’ of the horses' hooves—cf. Xen. Eq. I. 3 ὥσπερ γὰρ κύμβαλον ψοφεῖ‥ἡ κοίλη ὅπλη, Ar. Eq. 552, etc.
page 256 note 1 The well-known fragment of Aesch. Edoni (57 Nauck) about Dionysiac music bears some resemblance to Pindar's meta phorical language. Line 5 describes the commelody of the pipe as the sound which in-vites madness, μανί ας ἐπαγὸν ὁμοκλάν, and 7 the shrill twang of a stringed instrument, φαλμός δ᾽ ἀλ αλάζει. The vocabulary is Pindaric—cf. Isth. 5. 27 αὐλῶν παμφώνοις ὁμοκλαῖς and fr. 61. 10 B. μανίαι τ᾽ ἀλαλαί τ᾽ ὀρίνεται. ἀλαλάζω is also the verb used of the ‘tinkling cymbal’ of I Cor. 13. 1 (tinnire in Vulgate). Note also the juxtaposition ofκομοπολύραν andἀλαλγμόν in Aesch. fr. Mette, where the context is uncertain, but cf. Hesych.ἀλαλαγμόςׁ ἐπινίκιος ὕμνος ἢ εὔφημος βοή, Ar. Av. 1763–4 ἀλαλαὶ ἰὴ παιών, τήνελλα καλλίνικος—the last cry being famous verbal imitation of the shrill twang of the kithara, with which the ninth Olympian itself opens.
page 256 note 2 Cf. Ibid. 9. 584. 9–10, and Clem. Protr.i. 3ἐτερέτιζεν ὡς ἐπὶ κλάδῳ τῷ ὀργάνῳ.
page 256 note 3 ἠχεῖν is of course common of theἠχ έτα τέττιΞ(Hes. Erga 582; e.g. Ale. Z 23, Ar. Av. 1095, Theoc. 16. 96, Zenod. ap. Valck. ad Anon. p. 229 ἐπί τɛττίγων τɛρɛτίζɛιν, ὴχɛῖν). But the person who coined suffritinnire is likely to have based it on aτερετίζειν commelody pound. It is at least a happier coinage than and that of Damm in his Pindaric lexicon on the passage discussed above, who with superb philological (and zoological) indifference glossesὑποκρέκω subcrocito. As Suetonius self says in the Pratum (250. 4), corvorum crocitare. A more appropriate gloss would be recrepo, used of the Megarian stone in [Virg.] Cir. 108, and of the resonance of cymbals in 494 Cat. 63. 29.
page 256 note 4 See my article ‘A Grasshopper's Diet’ (to appear shortly in C.Q.).
page 256 note 5 For the comparison of cicada and singer the on the publicstage cf. Theophyl. Ep.I τερετίζει γοῦν ὁ 7mu;ελῳδός (sc. τέττιξ), βῆμα τὸ δένδρον ποιούμενος καὶ θέατρον τὸν ἀγρόν, καὶ τοῖς ὁδίταις τὴν μουσικὴν ἐπιδείκνυται.Cicada asχορευτήςPrat. 709 Page, Simon. 173–4 Bergk, Ael. N.A. j. 20, and the Phaedrus-inspired passages already quoted.