Codice suo, quem jam per decennium, opinor, apud te detines. Optimum esset si velles tibi describere, et codicem huc remittere; dolet enim tam bonum librum tam diu bibliothecae suae locupletissimae deesse. To this Graevius replies Nov. 1702, describendas varias mandavi juveni, ne longius justo retineatur hic liber. Proximo vere ut salvus Viro Summo reddatur mihi erit curae; and again in December Cicero in quo nunc describendo sudat adolescens redibit ad vos proxima cum hirundine. The correspondence closes with a letter from Burmann in the following month, Jan. 15 1703, announcing Graevius' death. It would be interesting to know whether the collation made by the adolescens was ever completed, and whether it is still in existence at Utrecht or elsewhere. The volume itself must have been returned to its owner, as it was lent by him to Davies for his 1st ed. of the Tusculans, which appeared in 1709, and seems to have been used by the latter until his death in 1732. As Bp. Moore's Library was purchased by Geo. I and presented to the University of Cambridge in 1715, the Stephanus ought to have found its way to the University Library, and to be now safely locked up in one of the cases there, but Mr Bradshaw, the present learned Librarian, informs me that he can discover no trace of it, nor is there anything to be heard of it at Queens' College, of which Davies was President. I turn now to the Codex Regius which is described as follows in Davies' preface to the N.D., MSS Elienses excipit Codex membranaceus in Bibliotheca Regia Londini servatus, cujus mihi copiam fecit Richardus Bentleius. The same MS is described in the Preface to the De Legibus as belonging to the Royal Library at St James'; mutilus est, nec ultra mediam partem libri secundi progreditur. Est annorum, ut videtur, cccc. It was also used for the Academica Bk. II and for the De Divinatione and De Fato, but apparently not for the Tusculans, where Reg. stands for a Paris Codex. Bentley who succeeded Justell as "Library Keeper to His Majesty at St James'" in April 1694, wrote in May to Graevius, offering to send him variantes lectiones ex duobus vetustissimis Codd. ex Bibliotheca Regia Sancti Jacobi, but it does not appear whether they were ever sent. As the King's Library was removed in 1752 to the British Museum, these two codices ought now to be there, but by a strange fatality these also have disappeared. Is it possible that they were among the 200 volumes 'destroyed or greatly injured' by the fire at Abingdon House in 1731, on which see Monk's Life of Bentley, 11 308. Of 'Med.' I know nothing beyond the fact that it was used by Davies for the Tusculans, De Legibus and De Divinatione as well as for the Natura Deorum, and that in the preface to the De Legibus he describes it as a MS of about 300 years old. As regards the value of these мSS, Madvig in his Preface to the De Finibus makes a broad distinction between Cod. El. 1 and Cod. El. 2, considering the latter to belong either to the better or to the mixed class of Mss, while he has no hesitation in classing the former with the inferior MSS. He finds fault with Davies for so frequently confounding the two. In the 1st book of the N.D. I notice three generally accepted readings, which rest either wholly or chiefly on the authority of Cod. El., inscientiam § 1, vim § 39, esse § 86; and two in the 2nd Bk. resting on Cod. Reg., nuptam dicunt § 66, hic quaerat quispiam § 133. It is evident from these facts that it would be of great service to Ciceronian criticism, if the мss could be recovered and carefully collated. EXPLANATION OF SYMBOLS1. A. Codex Leidensis (Vossianus) no. 84, written in the xith century (C in Moser's ed.)2. B. Codex Leidensis (Vossianus) no. 86, written in the xith century (B in Moser) 3. C. Codex Leidensis (Heinsianus) no. 118, written in the xiith century (A in Moser, H in Baiter)4. E. Codex Erlangensis no. 38, written in the xvth century (N of Moser). P. Codex Palatinus no. 1519, a defective but very ancient мs, containing §§ 1 27-75, II 16-68, 111-156, 162-168, 111 6-95. V. Codex Vindobonensis no. 189, written in the xth century. Defective, wants the whole of Bk 1, and Bk II §§ 1-16, and 86-925. U. Codex Uffenbachianus, formerly in the possession of Creuzer, now the property of Samuel Allen, Esq., written in the xvth century, collated by Mr J. S. Reid and myself (G in Moser). T. Another xvth century codex belonging to Mr Allen; small 4to. parchment; injured by late corrections, which often make it impossible to decipher the original reading; collated by myself. iThe account of the first six MSS is taken from the 2nd ed. of Orelli as revised by Baiter 1861. 2 Müller says of this N. Jahrb. x 144 'A is an arbitrary text, inferior to both B and V. The writer omits what he could not make sense of.' 3 B is taken directly from the archetype of the existing MSS, according to Halm, but the writer mistakes the abbreviations &c.' Müller .c. From the description in Orelli it would seem as if $$ 64-91 of Bk I were wanting, but B is often cited in the critical notes on these §§, and it is evident from Bake's ed. of the De Legibus p. 105, that these pages are simply misplaced in the Codex. 4 'C is carelessly written, but without deliberate alteration of the older мs'. Müller l. c. 5 V is the nearest approach to the archetype. Its marginal readings of the first hand are corrections from the archetype'. Müller 1. c. Oxf. e. o. u. 4. Four Oxford codices, e in the Bodleian bears date 1459, o at Merton stated in Coxe's Catalogue of Mss to belong to the 12th century, u at Lincoln (Linc. of Davies) assigned to the 15th century, at Balliol also of the 15th century. These are collated in the Oxford edition of 1783. G. Codex Glogavensis, used by Heindorf, contains certissimas emendationes,' Baiter pref. to De Finibus. Red. Codex Rehdigerianus, used by Heindorf. El. Readings from two ancient codices transcribed on the margin of Bp. Moore's copy of the edition by Rob. Stephanus 1539, collated by Davies under the name Codd. Elienses. Davies rarely distinguishes between the two codices. Reg. Codex Regius belonging to the Royal Library of St James', used by Davies, now lost. Mars. Ed. Petri Marsi, Venice 1508. The letters BHIKLMNOC in thick type denote the мss (all but C contained in the British Museum), and RVV, the editions collated by Mr Swainson. See his description of these prefixed to the collations given at the end of this volume. B and K are the most important of these мss. Sometimes readings will be found in my critical notes, which are not given in Mr Swainson's collation. These have been added by myself from personal examination of the Mss. X. denotes the consensus of Orelli's Mss. Mus. denotes the consensus of the Museum мss, so far as the contrary is not stated. [] The present editor, thinking it more satisfactory that the evidence for each reading should be given in a positive form, has made use of square brackets to signify that the мss denoted by the inclosed letters are presumed, ex silentio on the part of previous editors, to show a given reading. + denotes that the same reading occurs in other мss besides those cited. Or. The revised Orelli, 1861. edd. denotes the consensus of the four editions. It is always stated when the reading in one of these differs from that of the text. Ed, denotes that the present editor is responsible for a reading. M. TULLII CICERONIS DE NATURA DEORUM. LIBRARY UNIVERSITY LIBER PRIMUS CALIFORNIA I. CUM multae res in philosophia nequaquam satis adhuc 1 explicatae sint, tum perdifficilis, Brute, quod tu minime ignoras, et perobscura quaestio est de natura deorum, quae et ad agnitionem animi pulcherrima est et ad moderandam religionem 5 necessaria. De qua tam variae sunt doctissimorum hominum tamque discrepantes sententiae, ut magno argumento esse debeat causam [id est, principium philosophiae] esse inscientiam, prudenterque Academicos a rebus incertis assensionem cohibuisse. Quid est enim temeritate turpius, aut quid tam teme10 rarium tamque indignum sapientis gravitate atque constantia quam aut falsum sentire aut, quod non satis explorate perceptum sit et cognitum, sine ulla dubitatione defendere? Velut in hac 2 2 sint X, sunt Asc. K. 3 agnitionem [ACE] Mus. cognitionem BO. 5 qua tam XBKL, qua quod tam several of Moser and HMNCR, qua quidem tam G Heind., qua cum tam Ba. sunt Asc. [B2CE]KVÕ1U+, sint AB1вCHMO2 Ba. ~6 ut Asc. B2UILO (erased by corrector), om. AB1CEBK + Ba. id magno Or. Ba. after Ernesti. esse debeat-sententias (§ 2) om. AC1BKMR. debeat BC2E and мss generally, debeant L Sch., debent M (of Moser) Ba. 7 causam id est principium Asc. C2 (recenti manu margini adscriptum) El. UTHILNV, causa principium B1E, causa et principium B20, causam Or., principium Ba, causam et principium Sch. Mu., causam esse inscientiam Wytt. Heind. Creuz. id est -inscientiam om. C. esse inscientiam El., esse scientiam мss generally, esse sen9 turpius Asc. Palat. 3 Herv. El. Oxf.¥C2, fortius мss generally, 1 tentiam HN. M. C. 1 |