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AMERICAN

JOURNAL OF PHILOLOGY

VOL. XXII, I.

WHOLE NO. 85.

I.-A FURTHER COLLECTION OF LATIN PROVERBS.

The additions to Otto, Die sprichwörter und sprichwörtlichen redensarten der Römer, Leipzig, 1890, by Victor Szelinski, Nachträge und ergänzungen zu Otto, Jena, 1892, and by C. Weyman and A. Sonny in the Archiv für lateinische lexicographie, vols. 8 and 9, make a second edition of this valuable work a matter of necessity. To these extensive collections I have added a few more proverbs taken from the whole range of Latin literature, with especial attention to writers of late and mediaeval times.

Particular stress should be laid on the citations from Apuleius as an author who worked in the field of proverbial literature (Charis. 1, 240, Keil). We would naturally expect to find proverbs not infrequently used in his other works. Otto cites over one hundred instances from this author; further additions have about doubled the number, making the percentage in his pages a heavy one. A more careful survey of Latin satire has also greatly increased the number of Otto's citations.

Regarding late and mediaeval authors, it has been quite impossible to collect all the material that might come to light by a more extended investigation of Migne's Patrologia Latina. I have therefore restricted myself, in general, to the epistolary literature in those volumes. Particular authors, among whom I may mention Alcuin, Petrus Damianus, Abelard, Thomas of Canterbury, Gilbert Foliot, John of Salisbury, Nicolaus of Clairvaux, and Stephanus Tornacensis, make frequent use of proverbs the great majority of which are strictly classical. In mediaeval Latin the

usage is literary to a great extent, and, undoubtedly, many of the proverbs cited were no longer current. The value of these citations, however, lies in the fact that we often find expressions that are proverbial in character, but not actually so designated in classical Latin literature, introduced by ut aiunt, ut dicitur, ut dici solet, or ut vetus proverbium est. These may now be fairly put on our lists. The importance of such collections as the monosticha of Columbanus, the liber proverbiorum of Othlo, and the collections which go under the names of Wippo and Baeda, must also not be disregarded, and weight should be given to Alanus Insulensis, who has woven many classical proverbs into his liber parabolarum (Migne, 210, 585 ff.). Manitius very justly remarks (Philol. 55, 573) that proverbs cited by mediaeval writers as 'vetera proverbia' may go back to a respectable antiquity, and the vast number of popular proverbs in mediaeval and modern Spanish and Italian may lead us to a similar conclusion.

Further

Following the lead of Otto, I have not infrequently added a phrase that 'klingt sprichwörtlich' to my collection. investigation may result in the discovery of parallel passages which will strengthen its position in our lists. Though I might often agree with others and disagree with Otto regarding the strictly proverbial nature of many of his citations, I have felt justified in adding further examples in the hope that such collections may be useful in the annotation of various authors. It is only fair to call attention to the double title of Otto's book and to add that the expression 'proverbial phraseology' may often approach our English term 'slang.'

The longed-for revision of the Greek paroemiographers by Crusius will soon, I trust, make the addition of further parallels from Greek literature unnecessary.

[ABIRE. The well-known words of Cicero, Cat. 2, 1, 1 abiit, excessit, evasit, erupit, appear again as a stock quotation in Hier. ep. 109, 2; compare Otto, venire, p. 303.]

ACCEDERE, p. 2. See Heraeus, p. 32.1

ACCUSARE, p. 2. Augustin. ep. 148, 4 (M. 33, 624), again brings the two verbs together; hoc non excuso, sed accuso. ACETUM, p. 2. Compare Theokr. 15, 148 xwvǹp ö§os äñav.2

1 W. Heraeus, Die sprache des Petronius und die glossen, Leipzig, 1899. 2 P. Tribukait, De proverbiis vulgaribusque aliis locutionibus apud bucolicos Graecos obviis, Königsberg, 1889, p. 37.

ACHERON, p. 3. Change Plaut. Amphitr. 627 to Mil. glor. 627, and see Lorenz on Pseud. 392. Note also the use of sepulchrum Pseud. 412, ex hoc sepulchro vetere; Lucil. sat. 30, 81 (M.) plauta unast, pedibus cariosis, mers Libiteinai.

ACHILLES, P. 3. Propert. 2, 22, 34 hic ego Pelides, hic ferus Hector ego.

ADAMAS, p. 4. Ioh. Sar. ep. 183 (M. 199, 183 B) frons adamante durior; enthet. in Polycrat. (M. 199, 383 B) frons adamante tibi sit durior; Anthol. Pal. 5, 246, 3 yuxǹ d' é§ ádáμavtos ἀπείθεος.

[AEDES 2. Plaut. Most. 80 periere et aedis et ager, sounds proverbial.]

AEGROTUS, p. 5. Terence, Andr. 309 is cited by Hincmar (M. 124, 1062 B), by Thom. Cant. ep. 100 (M. 190, 576 C), and by Ioh. Sar. Polycrat. 7, prol. (M. 199, 635 C).

AER 3, p. 6. Alcuin, vit. S. Richar. 1, 177 (M. 101, 684) aerem verberans; Petr. Damian. ep. 6, 23, 217 (M. 144, 412) sic curro non quasi in incertum, sic pugno non quasi aerem verberans; Petr. Blesensis, ep. 124 (M. 207, 370 A), and frequently in Steph. Tornacensis. Compare for Greek, Suidas dépa daípew.

AES 2, p. 7. Symmach. ep. 3, 14, 1 in meo aere duco; compare Seneca, ep. 87, 17 virtus . . . suo aere censetur.

AES 4. As a lasting substance; Hor. c. 3, 30, 1 exegi monumentum aere perennius; Ennod., p. 476, 2 (H.) mansuro perenniter aere; p. 465, 25 (H.) perenni aere formatus; compare Ovid, trist. 1, 5, 53 pectus mihi firmius aere, and Hor. c. 1, 3, 9 aes triplex | circa pectus erat. Note the similar use of triplex to denote strength under duo 3, p. 122, n., Otto.

AES ALIENUM. Sen. ep. 19, 11 leve aes alienum debitorem facit, grave inimicum; cf. Tac. ann. 4, 18 beneficia eo usque laeta sunt, dum videntur exsolvi posse; ubi multum antevenere, pro gratia odium redditur. The expression of Seneca sounds proverbial.

AETNA I, p. 7. With Plaut. Mil. 1065 compare Lucil. sat. 3, 7 (M.) aiyiλnot montes, Aetnae omnes, asperi Athones. AFRICA 2, p. 8. Ovid ex Pont. 4, 15, 8 Africa quot seges; Stat. silv. 3, 3, 91 aestiferi quicquid terit area Nili. Compare Iuvenal 5, 119 O Libye, disiunge boves, dum tubera mittas.

For Greek parallels see O. Schmidt, Metapher und gleichnis in den schriften Lukians, Winterthur, 1897, p. 123.

2 See Kurtz, Philol. Suppl.-bd. 6, p. 308.

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