3501 Otto 1856.
3 Passis velis E.g. Cic. Tusc. I, 49, 119.
plenis velis Cic. Dom. 10, 24.
4 Cic. loc. cit. (4-5 Si quae tum; 5 cum senatum; 7 plenissimis velis nauigares; 8 ecqui [Halm: (sed) qui codd.] locus orbi terrarum).
9 Philostr. Vit. soph. 25, 536, p. 46 Kayser.
12 alias Adag. 317 (Velis equisque), 318 (Remis velisque), 333 (Vela vends permittere), 1224 (Summis vti velis); see also Proleg. xiii., ASD II, 1, p. 68, ll. 489 ff.
14-15 Dig. XXXII, 79.
15 Dig. loc. cit. (16 quae ibi; 18 repositos habet; 18 quidam; 19 et audisse se rusticos; 20 peculium; seponeretur).
2120 alibi Adag. 3306 (Ne vni naui facultates).
22 solent For this use of the present instead of the past tense see Adag. 3653, p. 99, n.l. 565.
30 Theocr. 7, 41.
33 Schol. on Theocr. ad loc., p. 90 Wendel. Er. frequently uses the scholia in Kallierges' edition of Theocritus (1516) for the enlarged edition of 1526 (F); see ASD II, 1, p. 157, n.ll. 271-273.
36 Theocr. 7, 47.
40-41 poetae Chio Homer is meant.
43 Theocr. 9, 18 (45 κεφαλᾷ; πρὸς: παρ ed. 1516; κεῖται: κεῖνται codd. et ed. 1516).
49 Theocr. 12, 24 (50 ἀραιῆς: ἀραιᾶς ed. 1516).
52 Schol. on Theocr. ad loc., p. 254 f. Wendel (53 ἴονθοι ἢ ὄνθιοι ed. 1516).
albas The scholia have λεπταὶ (λευκαὶ ed. 1516).
54 hodie vulgo The reference is to the Dutch expression "Ik zie het aan uw neus" (I can tell from your nose); Harrebomée, II, p. 125 (no source given); Suringar 179, p. 331.
54-55 iocus vulgi de maculis vnguium Alexander of Aphrodisias attests to the belief that white spots on a person's fingernails reveal that he is a liar; Probl. anecd. 2, 58, Cats Bussemaker (Aristot. Opera, IV, Paris, 1857), p. 291 τὰ ἐπὶ τοῖς ὄνυξι τῶν χειρῶν λευκὰ σημεῖα ... ψεύδεα. However, Er. seems to refer to a popular belief of his own time. For evidence of later date in northwestern Europe see A. de Cock, Spreekwoorden, zegswijzen en uitdrukkingen op volksgeloof berustend, Volkskunde. Tijdschrift voor Nederlandsche folklore 23 (1912), p. 197. There the following saying is quoted: "Plekken op de nagels, leugens in den mond" (Spots on the nails, lies in the mouth). See also A.R. Hol, De Betuwe, Leiden, 1957, p. 99. I owe these references to H.W. Roodenburg.
56 Schol. on Theocr. loc. cit.
56-57 Amans ... amica After the scholiast, who paraphrases Theocritus in the following way: οὐδὲν ψεύσομαι περὶ σοῦ.
57-58 Iones ... efflorescant Etym. mag. ψύδραξ, 819, 10-12 οἱ Ἴωνες φύδρακας λέγουσι τὰς ποικίλας· ὅθεν καὶ ἡμεῖς φύδρακας καλοῦμεν τὰ ἐπὶ τοῦ σώματος ἐξανθήματα.
59-61 quendam etc. It is hard to tell whom Er. has in mind. M. Mann Phillips assumes that Ulrich von Hutten is meant, who died of syphilis in 1523 (The Adages' of Er. A Study with Translations, Cambridge, 1964, p. 153).
2363 Dig. XXXXVI, 3, 105.
71 Graecis Hesych. θυλακίζειν 848 Latte.
72 prouerbium Adag. 1911 (Mendicorum loculi semper inanes), 1424 (Mendici pera non impletur).
73 Hesych. loc. cit.
76 Dig. VIII, 2, 4.
79 Dig. loc. cit. (80 in servitute).
83 Cic. Brut. 17, 66 (84 ut horum concisis; 85 apertis cum brevitate turn nimio acumine, officit).
87 Cic. Rab. Post. 16, 43 (88 pendentem; praestringit: perstringit v.l.; splendor).
91 Dig. XXXXVI, 3, 79 (92 Pecuniam quam; 93 nam tum).
95 Dig. XXIII, 3, 43, 1.
104 Pueri ... porrigere After Quint. Inst. VI, 3, 59 "(Augustus) militi libellum timide porrigenti 'Noli' inquit 'tamquam assem elephanto des."'
105 alibi Adag. 103 (Longae regum manus).
3510
108 Pind. Nem. 4, 35 (56) (δ᾿ ἕλκομαι; sic et ed. Rom. 1515). The Pindar edition used by Er. is that published by Zacharias Kallierges (Rome, 1515); see ASD II, 4, p. 173, n.ll. 491-492; p. 249, n.l. 711.
109 Schol. on Pind. ad loc. (4, 56).
112 Theocr. 2, 17.
115 Quidam The reference is to Marsilio Ficino. Er.' source is Giambattista Pio, Annotationes (Annotamenta), Bologna, 1505, f. B iiir. Pio makes the following statement concerning a scholium on Theocr. 2, 17: "Quod iynx motacilla sit cum Theocriti interprete non sentio." In this connection he quotes a passage from Ficino's translation of Synes. De somniis, namely "Consideratione dignum est utrum hue tendant illices vel motacillae magorum." He then criticizes Ficino's translation "motacillae" ("Erravit enim Ficinus, qui iynga credidit esse motacillam"), proposing instead "iynges vel verticillae". Cf. Ficino, Opera, Basileae, 1576, II, p. 1969; Synes. De insomniis 2, 132 C Terzaghi: αἱ μάγων ἴυγγες. Pio's opening statement concerns a scholium in which he read the following about the ἴυγξ (wryneck): ἡ παρὰ Ῥωμαίοις σεισοπυγὶς καλουμένη διὰ τὸ πανταχοῦ στρέφειν καὶ λυγίζειν τὸν αὐχένα ἢ τὴν πυγήν (quoted from the 1516 ed. of Theocr.). For the wryneck and its use as a charm to entice see D.W. Thompson, A Glossary of Greek Birds, Oxford, 1895, pp. 71-73. For Er.' use of Pio's collection see ASD II, 4, p. 43 n. and p. 217, n.ll. 23-33; II, 1, p. 95, n.ll. 871-872.
motacillam ... moueat Varro, Ling. lat. V, 76, 2.
117 Hom. Od. X, 306.
119 Pind. Pyth. 2 (!), 49 (89) (120 ἐπὶ ἐλπίδεσσι: ἐπὶ ἐλπίδεσι ed. Rom. 1515).
3512 Otto 1065.
123 Probus Aemylius Nep. Thras. 2, 3.
127-135 Thrasybulus ... solere Nep. Thras. 1, 5-2, 3 (130 Actaeorum: Atticorum v.l.; 131 atque eius solitudo: neque eius sollicitudo v.l.; 133 haec; segnes ad persequendum: ad persequendum segnes v.l.; 135 neque: nec v.l.; matrem timidi: timidi matrem v.l.).
139 vt ansa ansam For the use of ansa in a metaphorical sense see Adag. 304 (Ansam quaerere).
141-142 tam ... homines Nep. Thras. 2, 1.
143 alibi Adag. 1536 (Ne in neruum erumpat).
145 Plut. Them. 11, 6. Er. Apophth. V, Themistocles 14, LB IV, 243 D-E "In Eretrienses ita cauillari solebat vt diceret eos similes piscium qui gladioli vocantur, quippe qui gladium quidem haberent, cor autem non haberent, notans illorum ignauiam, quod armatis non esset animus."
149 Quidam Hesych. τευθίδες 684 Schmidt and Suid, τευθίδες 424: σηπίαι. For the squid or calamary see D.W. Thompson, A Glossary of Greek Fishes, London, 1947, p. 260.
149-150 Sepia etc. Aristot. Hist. an. IV, 1, 524 b Σπλάγχνον δ᾿ οὐδὲν ἔχει τῶν μαλακίων.
152 Plut. Per. 26, 4. Aristoph., fr. 71 PCG III, 2.
155-158 quum Samii ... praeferens Plut. loc. cit.
157 in collectaneis Zenob. Ald. col. 156 Τὰ Σαμίων ὑποπτεύεις. (I owe this reference to M.L. van Poll.) See also the entry Τὰ Σαμίων ὑποπτεύεις 142 in Suidas, from which Er. quotes in Adag. 3089 (Samiorum mala metuis): "(Suidas) indicat 'Samen' dici genus calamitatis Samiae, quod Athenienses notas infames inusserint Samiis captis."
157-158 nauis ... praeferens Plut. loc. cit., Hesych. Σαμιακὸς τρόπος 147 Schmidt.
158 hie versus Hesych. loc. cit. The line is from Cratinus, fr. 14 PCG IV.
161 Dicta ... sit Plut. loc. cit.
162-166 Hesychius ... Sic Aristoteles Hesych. Σαμίων ό δήμος 150 Schmidt, Suid. Σαμίων ὁ δῆμος 77.
162-163 Hesychius ... notatos 'Hesychius and Suidas also note that the line of Aristophanes [quoted above, l. 153] referred to Babylonians' etc. The reference is to a play by Aristophanes, Babylonians (now lost).
27163 Aristot. ft. 575 Rose; see n.ll. 162-166.
167 stigmatis This form (abl. pl.) is strange. Er. has used the correct form in l. 163.
Plaut. Cos. 401.
168 Plin. Nat. XVIII, 21 (169 inscriptique).
170 alias Adag. 3273 (Attagenae nouilunium).
170-172 qui causam ... Atheniensibus Suid. Σαμίων ὁ δῆμος 77.
172 Cf. Andron Ephesius, fr. 7 FHG II, p. 348.
174-176 Nicanor etc. Suid. Νικάνωρ 375.
178 Hesych. Σαμιακὸς τρόπος 147 Schmidt.
178-180 Quidam ... speciem Following Hesychius, Er. gives a twofold explanation of the phrase 'the Samian manner'. His first explanation (ll. 178-179), however, differs from that given by Hesychius, which has it that the phrase referred contemptuously to the effeminacy of the Samians (ἐπὶ διαβολῇ τῶν Σαμίων θρυλλουμένων ὡς κατεαγότων). Er.' interpretation is his own invention; it was inspired by the preceding adage (3514) and its sources (more precisely Zenob. Aid. col. 156, Suid. Τὰ Σαμίων ὑποπτεύεις 142, and Suid. Σαμίων ὁ δῆμος 77).
180-181 quam ... tyrannus Suid. Σαμίων ὁ δῆμος 77.
187 Plut. Aristid. 5, 7-8.
188 Hesych. λακκόπλουτος 210 Latte.
190 Athen. XIII, 524 f-525 a; Steph. Byz. Ἄβυδοι; Eust. p. 357, 1 ff. on Il. II, 836.
190-191 Abydeni ... effoeminati Athen., Steph. Byz., Eust., loc. cit.
191 Paus. Attic. Ἄβυδος, p. 152 Erbse (for the lexicographer Pausanias see the notes on Adag. 4, ASD II, 1, p. 115). Suid. Ἄβυδος 101: Ἄβυδον φλυαρίαν.
193 Alibi Adag. 143 (Tricae, apinae). Both expressions, meaning 'trifles, nonsense', were supposedly derived from the names of towns.
frigeret Abydus ob vetustatem Athen. XIII, 586 a; see also 524 f.
194 Athen. XIII, 586 a.
195 Hesych. ἀβυδοκόμας 225 Latte.
195-196 poetam quendam Aristoph., fr. 755 PCG III, 2.
196 Suidas A memory lapse. The source that Er. wished to refer to is probably the anonymous proverb collection in the Aldine edition of Aesop (Zenob. Ald. col. 1 Ἄβυδος πόλις: Ἀριστοφάνης τὸν συκοφάντην ἀβυδηνοκώμην εἶπεν).
197 Zenodotus Zenob. Ald. loc. cit.
198 Steph. Byz. Ἄβυδοι.
199 hinc ... Hellespontica Steph. Byz. loc. cit.
200 ante Adag. 693 (Ne temere Abydum).
202-204 Graecis ... atheras Etym. mag. ἀθέριζον 24, 29-32 Ἀπεδοκίμαζον ... ἀπὸ μεταφορᾶς τῶν ἀθέρων, οἱονεὶ τῶν ἀσταχύων, ἢ τῶν μὴ δυναμένων θερίζεσθαι καρπῶν; Etym. Gud. ἀθέριζον· ἀπεδοκίμαζον ... ἀπὸ μεταφορᾶς τῶν ἀθέρων, ἤγουν τῶν ἀσταχύων τῶν ἐκ τῆς ἅλω ἀπορριπτουμένων.
203-205 Eas ... Barbaras Ermolao Barbaro, Corollarii libri quinque, [Venice], 1516, Triticum CCCIX, f. 43r "Sunt autem aristae partes in spica primae, quae a Graecis antherices dicuntur et atheres. Est autem ather proprie in ordeo, ut Galenus interpretatur, cuspis ipsa spicae." (I owe this reference to M.L. van Poll.)
29205-206 Sunt qui putent etc. The reference is to Hesychius' lexicon, since the form ἀθέριξ occurs nowhere else in ancient literature. Contrary to Er.' assertion, Hesychius merely defines the word as 'ear of corn'. His next entry (1560) is ἀθερίσαι· ἀφροντιστῆσαι. See also Adag. 377 (Anthericum metere), ASD II, 1, n.l. 260.
209 manticulari See Adag. 2681. Laberius, fr. 39 Ribbeck CRF, p. 346, quoted by Non. p. 205 Lindsay.
212 digitauit The reference is to the Dutch verb 'vingheren' ('pinch'); Suringar 259, p. 479; E. Verwijs-J. Verdam, Middelnederlandsch woordenboek, IX, 1, s-Gravenhage, 1929, 516 f; Woordenboek der Nederlandsche taal, XXI, 839.
213-214 manuatorem Er. has probably derived this word from the verb 'manuari', which he found in Nonius, loc. cit. 'Manuator' is not attested in any modern Latin dictionary, except in A. Blaise, Dictionnaire Latin-Français des auteurs chrétiens (one instance given, namely "S.S. Ruth 2, 15 cod. Complut."). Cf. Souter, A glossary of Later Latin, s.v.
216 προεπιπλήξει etc. Er. gives a number of formulas which may be used to soften a daring metaphor at the end of his introduction to the Adagia, ASD II, 1, p. 82.
218 Plut. Mor. 334 c.
219 literatores That is, Eust. p. 73, 21 ff. on Il. I, 170.
220-221 'corone' ... corniculam Etym. mag. κορωνίσι 530, 34-35 Ἔστι δὲ ὑποκοριστικὸν ἐκ τοῦ κορώνη κορωνίς. For the κορώνη see D.W. Thompson, A Glossary of Greek Birds, Oxford, 1895, pp. 168 f.
221 Apud Homerum Eust. loc. cit. See e.g. Od. I. 441.
222-223 Eust. loc. cit.
223-224 Plut. Mor. 334 c (226 ὅλην μέχρι).
227 Plut. Mor. 1066 a.
231 egregiis ... coronidem Eust. loc. cit.
234 Martial. X, 1, 1 (seraque). Er. himself uses 'coronis' in a metaphorical sense ('addition', 'supplement') in e.g. Ep. 1659, ASD II, 1, p. 33, l. 271; see n. ad loc. See also R. Hoven, Lexique de la prose latine de la Renaissance, Leiden, 1994, s.v.
235 ἐπιδορπίσματα sine μεταδόρττια Athen. XIV, 640 c-e.
236 Latini See esp. Gell. XIII, 11, 6-7 and Macrob. Sat. II, 8, 3.
239-241 grammatici ... lineis Er. may have taken this information from scholia on Aristophanes, e.g. those on Nub. 1130 and Ach. 971. The use of the coronis as a mark in colometry is discussed by J.W. White, The Verse of Greek Comedy, London, 1912, p. 393.
242 See Adag. 137 (A capite vsque ad calcem), which concludes with Plut. Mor. 1066 a.
245 Theocr. 5, 78 f. (246 ἐς).
250 et hodie Schol. on Theocr. ad loc., p. 170 Wendel: Ἔτι καὶ νῦν τοῖς δι᾿ ὄχλου τινὶ γινομένοις εἰώθαμεν τοῦτο λέγειν· ἄνες ποτὲ τὸν ἄνθρωπον. Prompted by this scholium, Er. quotes a similar expression current in his own day, namely "Laet de man toch leuen" (quoted by Sartorius, Adag. 3014; see Suringar 211).
252-253 See schol. on Theocr. loc. cit.
31257 Theocr. 7, 6. The poem is commonly entitled Θαλύσια, but the 1516 edition has, like some Mss., Ἐαρινὴ ὁδοιπορία as an additional title.
257-258 tum protinus Er.' translation of ἐκ ποδὸς as tum protinus is prompted by his association with the phrase "e vestigio", which means: from where one stands, i.e. at once. His translation is in agreement with one of the interpretations given by the scholiast, namely ταχέως. Modern interpreters (e.g. Gow) prefer the literal sense, namely "beneath his foot".
260 alibi The reference is to Adag. 137 (A capite vsque ad calcem), where Er. quotes Aristoph. Plut. 650 Ἐκ τῶν ποδῶν ἐς τὴν κεφαλήν, which he translates as "A pedibus vsque ad caput".
262 Schol. on Theocr. 7, 24, p. 86 Wendel. Fr. adesp. 155 Kock III, p. 439.
267 Theocr. 7, 24 (268 δαῖτ᾿ ἄκλητος: δαῖτα κλητὸς codd.).
270 addit Namely, the scholiast.
270-274 Etenim etc. Added by Er.
273 symbolum Certainly a mistake for 'symbolam' (see l. 266).
276 Suid. ψαμμακοσιογάργαρα 22, IV, p. 840, ll. 2 ff. Schol. on Aristoph. Ach. 3. Er. calls hostile theologians "gryllorum gargara" in Ep. 2892, l. 34.
276-289 ficta ... γάργαιρε Γάργαρα (lots, plenty) is an onomatopoeic word, says Er. In explaining its origin he wrongly takes γάργαρα and its derivative γαργαίρω (swarm with) to be synonymous with καρκαίρω (quake, or rumble). He found this association in Suidas and the scholiast, who, however, emphasize the connotation 'plenty', not that of 'noise'. Er. may also have thought of the following entries in Hesychius: ἐκάρκαιpov 1247: ψόφον τινὰ ἀπετέλουν; ἐκάρκαιρεν 1246: ἐπλήθυεν; γαργαρίς 172: θόρυβος.
278 Aristomenes, fr. 1 PCG II, quoted by Suid. loc. cit., l. 11 and in schol. on Aristoph. Ach.
279-280 tragicus quispiam Fr. adesp. 442 TrGF II, quoted by Suid. loc. cit., l. 13 and in schol. on Aristoph., loc. cit. Er.' tentative attribution of the fragment (the author of which is unknown) to Sophron is due to a somewhat rash interpretation of his sources.
281 γαργαίρω ... perstrepo See above, n.ll. 276-289.
282 Cratinus, fr. 321 PCG IV, quoted by Suid. loc. cit., l. 5 and in schol. on Aristoph. Ach. 3 a (ii).
285 Aristoph., fr. 375 PCG III, 2, quoted by Suid. loc. cit., l. 10 and in schol. on Aristoph. Ach. 3 a (i) (ἐν Λημνίαις Küster: ἐν Λίμναις codd.; 286 πᾶσ᾿ ἐγάργαιρ᾿ Toup: πᾶσα γάργαιρ᾽ v.l.) and 3 c.
288 Hom. Il. XX, Ι57, quoted by Suid. loc. cit., ll. 5 and 14, and in schol. on Aristoph. Ach. 3 a (i) and (ii).
290 cancros ... multitudinem Suid. loc. cit., ll. 15 f. Schol. on Aristoph. Ach. 3 a (i). Both sources connect καρκίνος (crab) with γαργαίρειν and claim that a crab is called καρκίνος because of his numerous legs (τὸν καρκίνον δὲ οὕτως ὀνομάζεσθαι διὰ τὸ πλῆθος τῶν ποδῶν). In misinterpreting οὕτως Er. makes up the nonexistent word γάργαρους. Macr. Sat. V, 20, 9-12.
294 Alcaeus, fr. 19 PCG II. Aristomenes, fr. 1 PCG II (see l. 278).
295 Aristoph. Ach. 3 (ψαμμακοσιογάργαρα).
295-299 duas voces ... ἑξακόσια Suid. loc. cit., p. 839, ll. 22 ff. Schol. on Aristoph. Ach. 3 a (i), (ii) and c.
33299-303 Athen. VI, 230 c (301 οἰκέτην). Er. (wrongly?) considers this (prose) passage to be part of a comedy by Alexis, from which Athenaeus quotes a fragment in the same context (b-c). See also Adag. 344 (Harenam metiris), ASD II, 1, p. 444, ll. 911 ff.
309 Macr. Sat. V, 20, 13.
312-317 Apud ... mulier Plut. Mor. 291 f.
318 alias Adag. 612 (Asinus apud Cumanos).
319-322 Apud Hebraeos ... sacramentum See Christ. matrim. inst., LB V, 619 A-B; 648 B-D; 700 B-C "Erat autem et apud ethnicos capitalis animaduersio in adulteros. Vnde igitur accidit vt apud Christianos ludus iocusque sit adulterium?"; De sarc. eccles. concord., ASD V, 3, p. 302, ll. 557 f.
319-320 Apud Hebraeos ... lapidabatur Dt. 22, 22-24; Ioh. 8, 4-5.
320 Apud Romanos ... Iulia Dig. XLVIII, 5 (Ad legem luliam de adulteriis coercendis).
323-324 Olim ... defodiebantur Ov. Fast. VI, 457 ff., Plin. Epist. IV, 11, 6 f., Suet. Dom. 8, 4, Aug. Civ. III, 5.
326 Plut. loc. cit.
329-339 Aeginensium etc. Plut. Mor. 301 d-f.
341 Plut. Thes. 16, 3.
341-344 Plutarchus ... interimi Plut. Thes. 15.
343 quotannis Plut.: δι᾿ ἐννέα ἐτῶν (every nine years).
344-352 Aristoteles etc. Aristot. fr. 485 Rose, quoted by Plut. Thes. 16, 2-3.
350 solent For this use of the present instead of the past tense see Adag. 3653, p. 99, n.l. 565.
353528 Otto 1.
356 Martial. X, 25, 3 f.
359-360 Martial. loc. cit. (359 durusque tibi fortisque: fortisque tibi durusque v.l.).
361 alias Adag. 906 (Boeotica sus), 1207 (Boeoticum ingenium), 2148 (Boeotia auris), 3535 (Auris Bataua).
362 Cic. Nat. I, 43, 120.
362-363 Plin. Nat. XXV, 94 (364 Potnias).
366 Pomp. Mela II, 29.
Steph. Byz. Ἄβδηρα (367 Ἀβδήρου: Ἀβδηρίτου v.l.; Ἑρμοῦ: Ἠρίμου v.l.).
369 Plaut. Cist. 221.
372-376 Cist. 213 ff. (372 mi: mihi ed. Mediol. 1500; 373 sunt ingenia: ingenia sunt codd.; lassum: lapsum ed. Mediol. 1500; 374 lactat: iactat codd.; 376 †expetitur). Passages from Plautus are frequently printed as prose in the Adagia editions. In the case at hand, a fragment of a canticum (in anapaestic verse), I have followed this practice (F-I). Cf. Adag. 4016, l. 143 sq.
378 alias Adag. 862 (Euripus homo).
3530 Otto 1402.
380 Cato, fr. 73 Jordan, p. 110, quoted by Cic. Flacc. 29, 72.
382 Cic. loc. cit.
384-386 Flacc. 29, 71 f. (384 si iam te).
391 Theocr. 4, 56 f. (392 ἕρπῃς; νήλιπος: ἀνάλιπος v.l.).
399 Schol. on Theocr. 5, 31, p. 164 Wendel.
Theocr. 5, 31 (401 θάλπεαι).
409 prius Adag. 2994 (Per ignem incedis).
37411-415 Antipater etc. Plut. Mor. 514 d.
418 Hom. Il. IX, 340 f.
424 Sextus Caecilius (!), quoted in Dig. XLVIII, 5, 14, 1.
425 Verg. Aen. IX, 138 f.
3535 Er. disliked the Hollanders. His aversion was inspired by three related motives: their cultural backwardness, their gluttony, and their failure to appreciate Er. himself. As this adage is, in fact, one of the few documents in which he pays homage to Holland and his countrymen, it is all the more remarkable. He composed it in Italy and made it the final piece of the Adagiorum chiliades (Venice, 1508). Its purpose was to recommend himself and his proverb collection to the scholarly world. In this light it becomes clear why he offers here such an unusual, positive picture. He aims at winning the Italians over by turning the disreputable name Batavian into a name of praise. In functioning chiefly as a promotional exercise, this final essay complements Aldus Manutius' preface on the title page, in which the Italian publisher advertises the Adagia by Erasmus Roterodamus to the world of learning.
The essay maintained its special position even in the enlarged editions of the Adagia that were being issued by Froben, but lost it in the edition of 1523 - contrary to Er.' intention. Indeed, in the alphabetical index at the end of this edition, Auris Bataua' is not referred to by a page number, as is the case for all other adages, but described as 'the last adage' ("ultimum"). Since Er. was wont to have such indices compiled by a secretary under his supervision, it follows that he intended to have his essay on Holland printed as the final piece. (The printer however, not heeding the wish of the author, simply added the new materials for the 1523 edition to the last item of the previous edition.) This indicates that Er. continued to attach a special importance to this adage as late as 1523. Accordingly, it appears again as the final item in the next (1526) edition. It was submerged definitively in the 1528 and subsequent editions by the mass of newly added adages. Aware of his European fame, Er. may have thought it at last superfluous to advertise himself. See Wesseling, Are the Dutch Uncivilized?, pp. 68-102. Er. was the first to write a description of Holland; see Wesseling, In Praise of Brabant, Holland, and the Habsburg Expansion: Barlandus's Survey of the Low Countries (1524), in: D. Sacré-G. Tournoy (eds.), Myricae. Silvula Neolatina Iosepho IJsewijn ... oblata (Supplementa Humanistica Lovaniensia 13), Leuven, 1997. For the reception of the adage in Dutch historiography see M.E.H.N. Mout, 'Het Bataafse oor'. De lotgevallen van Er.' adagium Auris Batava' in de Nederlandse geschiedschrijving, Mededelingen van de Afdeling Letterkunde van de Koninklijke Nederlandse Akademie van Wetenschappen 56 (1993), pp. 76-102.
428-429 Graeci ... crassaque Diogen. 1, 1 Βοιώτιον οὖς: ἐπὶ τῶν ἀναισθήτων καὶ ἀπαίδευτων.
'pingui crassaque' A pointed paraphrase of Diogenianus' explanation. Er. deals with the proverbial stupidity of the Boeotians in Adag. 2148 (Boeotia auris), 1207 (Boeoticum ingenium) and 906 (Boeotica sus). He also had in mind Horace's verse "Boeotum in crasso iurares aere natum" (Epist. II, 1, 244). He quotes Cic. Fat. 4, 7 "crassum (sc. caelum) Thebis, itaque pingues Thebani" in Adag. 2601 (Scarabeus), ASD II, 6, p. 417, l. 592. The expression "pingui" or "crassa Minerua" is the subject of Adag. 37.
430 agrestem Used by Er. in connection with the obtuse Boeotians in Adag. 906 and 1207.
tetricam 'Stern, forbidding'; the adjective is frequently used by Martial.
431-433 Martial. VI, 82, 4-6.
434-435 Sic ... 'seueram' One or two manuscripts of Martial and the early printed editions read "seueram" instead of "Batauam". Er. used Domizio Calderini's commentary on Martial, which was first printed in 1474. The Italian philologist read "batauam", which he correctly explained as "barbaram et hostilem". Even so, the text of Martial's epigram, printed along with Calderini's running commentary, reads "seueram". Apparently, the publisher did not bother to bring the text of Martial into harmony with Calderini's commentary. Calderini's comment runs as follows: "Bataui insulam tenent in Rheno. Hos domuit Domitianus prima aetate. Cum poeta barbarum uellet nominare, 'Batauum' dixit, qui et barbarus erat et hostis fuerat Domitiani. Aurem Batauam: idest barbaram et hostilem" (quoted from the Venice 1485 edition, f. k 11v).
436-444 Erant Bataui ... Hollandiam vocant Probably the primary source of this passage on the Batavians is not Tacitus, but Raimundus Marlianus' repertory of ethnic and topographical names in Caesar's Bellum Gallicum (Index locorum in commentariis (os ed.) Caesaris Belli Gallici descriptorum et nominum quae eis prisca nostraque (notsraque ed.) aetas indidit). Raimondo Marliano, an Italian professor of jurisprudence, had compiled this repertory in Louvain, where he lived from 1461 until his death in 1475 (see H. de Vocht, History of the Foundation and the Rise of the Collegium Trilingue Lovaniense 1517-1550, I, Louvain, 1951, pp. 135-139). It | 38 was widely used, since it was frequently printed as an appendix to editions of Caesar from 1477 onwards (see Indice generale degli incunaboli delle biblioteche d'Italia, s.v. Caesar). Marliano identified the Batavians with the Hollanders: "Bactaui: hodie Holandini, populi inter Belgas. Nam Mosa flumen parte quadam ex Rheno recepta longe fere ab Oceano octoginta millibus passuum, quae appellatur Vualis insulamque efficit Bactauorum, in Oceanum influit (Caes. Gall. IV, 10). Hi hodie, ut plaerisque placet, Holandini dicuntur, diocesis Traiectensis, propinqui Phrysiae et ducatui Ghelriae (Gherliae ed.) ac mari Oceano finitimi. Hos memorat Lucanus in primo (I, 431). Hi a Cattis, populis transrhenanis, Ceruscis et Ligiis, Pannoniae populis ultra Herciniam siluam finitimis Hermunduris, orti dicuntur, et seditione domestica pulsi extrema Gallicae orae uacua cultoribus simulque insulam in (!) uada sitam occupauere, quam mare Oceanum a fronte, Rhenus amnis tergum ac latera circumluit, ut refert Cornelius Tacitus (Hist. IV, 12), dicens apud Bactauos fuisse olim lucum sacrum (IV, 14, 3), qui, ut coniectura est, hodie in finibus uici Angheducis in Holandia extat" (quoted from an early edition of Marliano's Index, s.d., s.l., but Milan (Buono Accorsi), according to the Indice generale degli incunaboli. I have used the copy of the Biblioteca Nazionale at Florence). With regard to the Tacitus passage on the Batavians (ll. 436-441), there is no doubt that Er. consulted directly the text of the Roman historiographer. In addition to the passage presented by Marliano, Er. has quoted its sequel. (This sequel, in which Tacitus mentions the wealth and military skill of the Batavians as well as their status as Roman allies, was of obvious interest to Er., who in this adage sought to give a favorable picture of his countrymen and their ancestors.) The text of the Tacitus passage as quoted by Er. differs considerably from that of modern editions. He apparently used the edition by Francesco Dal Pozzo (Puteolanus); in the Venice 1497 edition (printed by Filippo Pinzi) the passage under discussion reads as follows (f. k viv): "Batavi, donec trans Rhenum agebant pars Cathorum, seditione domestica pulsi extrema Gallicae orae vacua cultoribus simulque insulam inter vada sitam occupavere, quam mare Oceanum a fronte, Rhenus amnis tergum ac latera circumluit. Nec opibus Romanis societate validiorum attriti viros tantum armaque Imperio ministrant, diu Germanicis bellis exerciti, mox per Britanniam gloria transmissis illuc cohortibus quas vetere instituto nobilissimi popularium regebant." The latter sentence is evidently corrupt - which explains why Er. renders it by a free paraphrase.
436 Erant Bataui Germaniae populi One would expect here the singular form 'populus', but the use of the plural in similar sentences is not unprecedented in later Latin; see the passage from Marliano quoted above, and that from Piccolomini in the following note. See also M. Bonnet, Le latin de Grégoire de Tours, Paris, 1890, p. 275; H. Goelzer, Le latin de Saint Avit, Paris, 1909, p. 593. (I owe these references to M.L. van Poll.)
442 Cornelius Tacitus libro xx The reference is to the twentieth book of the Historia Augusta, as Tacitus' work is entitled in Dal Pozzo's edition. This corresponds to the fourth book of the Historiae, to use the modern title. The titles Historiae and Annales, it may be recalled, have no ancient authority, but were attached by sixteenth-century editors, for the first time by Justus Lipsius in 1574. The jurist Marcus Vertranius Maurus (Lyon) was the first to separate the two | 39 works; his commentary was published in 1569. As for the numbering of Tacitus' books, the convention of numbering them continuously derives from later antiquity. This is borne out by e.g. Ms. Mediceus II (Laurentianus 68, 2), in which Hist. IV is labelled "Corneli Taciti liber XX". The first printed edition (Venice, ca. 1473) has no titles or numbers at all (see F.E. Cranz et al., ed., Catalogus Translationum et Commentariorum: Mediaeval and Renaissance Latin Translations and Commentaries, VI, Washington D.C., 1986, pp. 87-174, esp. 93, 108 ff., 168 ff.).
442-444 Conuenit ... Hollandiam vocant This statement is taken from Marliano's Index (quoted above). The travelling pope Aeneas Sylvius (Piccolomini, Pius II, d. 1464) may have been the first to identify the 'insula Batavorum' mentioned in ancient sources with Holland. In De Europa (ch. 36) he observes: "Holandia quoque, provincia Germaniae, a septentrione Oceano alluitur mari; quod reliquum est Rheni fluminis brachia intercipiunt insulamque conficiunt; palustris, pascuosa, pluribus stagnis ac maris interfusa sinibus ... Ultimi Germanorum ad septentrionem et occidentem versi Hollandini sunt, insulares populi, Rheni ostiis obiecti, inter quos praecipui Dordracenses (i.e. Dordrecht) habentur"; cf. also Commentarii rerum memorabilium IX, 10 van Heck, p. 530, ll. 25-26 "et intra Rheni fluenta Holandini et Zelandini, insulares homines." Raffaele Maffei (Volaterranus) situates the Batavians in Holland: "Batavi enim, ubi nunc Holandia, propinqui Oceano inter duo quasi Rheni brachia insulae modo civitatem habent Traiectensem (i.e. Utrecht), ubi Ptolemaeus navalia ponit ..." (Commentarii urbani (first printed in 1506), VII (the quotation is from the 1511 edition, f. 69v). There were, however, dissenting voices: in his wellknown dictionary, Ambrogio Calepio (Calepinus) identifies Batavia with southern Bavaria. This was rightly dismissed as nonsense by the Dutchman Maarten van Dorp, a friend of Er., in his preface to Crisostomo Colonna's eulogy of Holland (see Dorpius, Dialogus, in quo Venus et Cupido omnes adhibent versutias, Lovanii, [1514], f. F iiv). Around 1515 the Batavia question was to become a hot issue in humanist circles in the Low Countries (see Wesseling, Are the Dutch Uncivilized?, pp. 75-77).
443 nec id Used here as the opposite of 'atque id': 'without inferences that contradict the conviction, shared by most scholars, that the island mentioned by Tacitus is identical with modern Holland.' For this usage see Moria, ASD IV, 3, p. 92, l. 393 "amicitia ..., nec ea".
444-446 terram ... poenitenda! The theme 'honor your country' is a favorite humanist topos. When Er.' epigone van Baarland (Hadrianus Barlandus) had completed an Epitome of the Adagia for the use of students (1521), the master praised him for having rendered a great service to his country (and, indeed, to mankind as a whole): "patria, quae, vt recte scripsit Plato, iure sibi nostri partem vindicat" (Ep. 1204, ll. 6-7. Er.' source is not Plato, but Cicero, Off. I, 7, 22). It is only natural for human beings to love their own country: "Et quem vnquam vidimus in tam barbara regione natum, cui sua patria non vel optima videatur?" (Adag. 115 'Suum cuique pulchrum', ASD II, 1, p. 228, ll. 377 f.). "Omnes in admiratione rerum patriarum φίλαυτοι sumus" he wrote in 1527 to his countryman Kan (Cannius; Ep. 1832, ll. 60 f.). The same idea is expressed in the formula "Ducimur enim omnes admirabili quodam amore eius regionis quae nos aluit atque aedidit" (Coll., ASD I, 3, p. 187, ll. 2011 f.). In replying to Manius on the subject of his own fame (1520), Er. argues that credit is more justly due to the place that made an individual great than to his birthplace. But he goes on to say modestly: "quasi quicquam sit in me de quo possit sibi placere patria. Mihi satis est si non pudeat illam mei" (Ep. 1147, ll. 36 ff.). These topical statements sharply contrast with Er.' numerous expressions of aversion to his native province (see Wesseling, Are the Dutch Uncivilized?, pp. 71-75).
447 Lucan. I, 431. Er. may have found this reference in both Marliano's Index (above, n.ll. 436-444) and Giovanni Tortelli's encyclopedia De orthographia, s.v. Bathani (!).
450-451 Quod si ... pertinere But otherwise Er. himself repeatedly sneers at his countrymen, calling them uncivilized or crass and dull.
40452 Hollandiae meae 'My dear Holland'. To a Dutchman he writes that he is well disposed towards Holland ("meae Hollandiae"), despite its harsh climate (Ep. 1238, ll. 11 f.; see also 1603, l. 25 and 3043, l. 65).
453-455 Vtinamque ... caperentur! This veiled reprimand is meant for Italian humanists, whom Er. (in later letters) accuses of paganism in their scholarly pursuits. He reminds Vives in 1520 that one should not spend too much time on pagan poetry, as certain Italians do, but apply oneself primarily to serious subjects such as philosophy and theology: "Neque enim solis bonis literis vacandum, quod quidam apud Italos nimis ethnice faciunt" (Ep. IIII, ll. 17 f.). In 1524 he likewise warns young Haio Herman, then in Italy, to devote himself to philosophy instead of confining his studies to the Greek classics: "Noui enim quantum absint a Christianismo qui in bonis litteris velut ad scopulos Sireneos consenescunt, praesertim apud Italos" (Ep. 1479, ll. 176 ff.). "Equidem", Er. declares in 1526 to a Polish bishop, "adnixus sum vt nostra Batauia mitesceret commercio bonarum litterarum: nec id solum, verum multo magis vt bonae litterae, quas scis hactenus apud Italos fere paganas fuisse, consuescerent de Christo loqui" (Ep. 1753, ll. 19 ff.).
456 integris Lacedaemoniis See Adag. 1761 (Generosior Sparta); 1949 (Laconismus), ASD II, 4, p. 308, ll. 587 ff. "Quin et frugalitas et integritas Lacedaemoniorum prae caeteris Graeciae partibus tanta fuit, vt qui castigate casteque viuerent, Laconice viuere dicerentur"; 2700 (Canes timidi), ASD II, 6, p. 480, l. 147 "Lacedaemonii verbis parcissimi virtute longe praecelluerunt." A negative judgement on the Spartans ("vehementer perfidis") is the subject of 2631 (Quibus nec ara neque fides).
457 priscis illis Sabinis This proverbial phrase is not discussed in the Adagia. The Sabines of old used to be held up as models for their moral strictness and their sturdy lifestyle. Martial. X, 33, 1 "Simplicior priscis ... Sabinis"; I, 62, 1 "Casta nec antiquis cedens Laevina Sabinis"; Iuv. 10, 299 "veteres imitata Sabinos"; Liv. I, 18, 4 "disciplina tetrica ac tristi veterum Sabinorum, quo genere nullum quondam incorruptius fuit"; Verg. Georg. II, 532 (referring to the Golden Age) "Hanc olim veteres vitam coluere Sabini." See also Otto 1562; Nachträge zu Otto, p. 208.
457 laudatissimis Catonibus See Adag. 789 (Tertius Cato) "duorum Catonum, senioris, cui nomen Censorio, et minoris, cui nomen Vticensi, grauitas pariter atque integritas vulgo celebratissima quondam fuit, adeo vt e coelo demissi dicerentur, vt bellum cum vitiis gererent." Cato Censorius is also praised in 2185 (A puro pura) and 1535 (Frustra Herculi).
457-458 Lucanus ... Romanum Lucan. I, 431. Verg. Georg. III, 346. Lucan's characterization of the Batavians as "truces" is to be taken as a compliment, says Er. But he uses the same word from Lucan in a deprecatory sense in a letter of 1533, Ep. 2795, ll. 36-38 "Egone hominem clarum et candoris eximii conscribam in calce amicorum? Tum vere essem, quod olim fuisse dicuntur Bataui, trux et a Gratiis alienus."
41459 non alia ... propensior In the colloquy 'Naufragium' (ASD I, 3, p. 332) the Dutch are praised for their 'incredible alacrity' in extending hospitality to foreigners: "Ista (gente) nihil humanius, cum tamen feris nationibus cincta sit."
460-461 Ingenium ... alienum Hollanders are straightforward. Er., bent on giving a favorable image of his countrymen, here ignores the proverbial drawback of Dutch simplicity, namely bluntness and stupidity. This side of the picture is shown in Lister's commentary to the Moria: "laudatissima gens est, tamen ob ingenii simplicitatem et mores minime fucatos vulgo stulti vocantur" (ASD IV, 3, p. 85, n. ll. 254-255; it may be recalled that Er. had a hand in Lister's notes). Listing national vices - for the use of preachers - towards the end of his life, Er. gives the following stereotypes: the Germans are brave but savage, the Italians are sober in eating and drinking but otherwise intemperate, the Gauls are frivolous ("facilitatem") and wanting in obedience to God, the Gelderlanders are cunning ("astutiam"), and the Hollanders naive and simple-minded ("simplicitatem"); the latter peoples are both wanting in the wisdom of Christ ("euangelica prudentia"; Ecclesiastes I, ASD V, 4, p. 238, ll. 997 ff.). A Hollander never lies, if we are to believe Er.: "Hollandus est: mentiri si vellet, non posset" (Ep. 2799, ll. 14-15). He advances this argument with the purpose of persuading his Flemish friend Utenhove to believe the account rendered to him by the Dutch messenger Quirinus Hagius. Er. may consider his Hollanders to be frank and simple-minded, but Crisostomo Colonna, who visited Holland at the age of sixty, claims the very opposite. While praising them for their industry, he calls them crafty and cunning: "Hominum genus, ut plane inspexisse videor, maxime industrium et negociosum, sed versutum et callidum." A tourist, he especially blames the coachmen for cheating and charging too much: "Addo etiam essedarios, qui currulem vectationem exercent, subdolos et in advenas presertim lucelli cuiuspiam captandi gratia fraudulentos" (see Crisostomo's letter [above, n.ll. 442-444], f. G ir).
It is only fair to point out that, in Er.' view, honesty was by no means a prerogative of the Dutch. He credited all inhabitants of Germania with this quality. "Decet hominem Germanum ingenue tum facere tum dicere," he declares in the preface to the 1515 edition of the Adagia (ASD II, 1, p. 28, l. 153). The idea of 'the honest German', for which the humanists could find confirmation in Tacitus' Germania (22, 4 "Gens non astuta nec callida"), was certainly strengthened by their association of the ethnic name with the homonymous adjective 'germanus' (honest, guileless). Er. loved this pun (see J.D. Tracy, Er. Becomes a German, Renaissance Quarterly 21 (1968), p. 284; L.-E. Halkin, Ér. et l'Europe, in: Commémoration nationale d'Ér., Bruxelles, 1970, pp. 87-89).
460 feritatis vel truculentiae The first predicate, which contrasts with humanitatem, harks back to Martial's use of the name Batavian, whereas truculentiae, contrasting with benignitatem, refers to Lucan's qualification; see ll. 446-447 "quod Martialis earn gentem rusticitatis insimulat, quod eandem Lucanus trucem vocat".
461-462 ad voluptatem ... deditius Er. is usually less mild concerning the appetite of his countrymen (see Wesseling, Are the Dutch Uncivilized?, pp. 71-74). The Hollanders bore the nickname 'bellies' ("ventres"), witness Maarten van Dorp, a Dutchman himself (quoted below). By virtue of this ill repute the Spaniard Zúñiga called Er. "butyro et patria ceruisia obrutum" (see Er.' apology, ASD IX, 2, p. 68, ll. 152 f.). The only one to find fault with Dutch fare because of its meagreness and horrible quality was the Italian Crisostomo: "Victus omnibus parcissimus est. Secundario pane aut lacte macerato aut butiro leviter oblito vitam ducunt. Tum, si quando se volunt invitare unctius, aut bubulas aut ovillas carnes pridie coctas et in sextum interdum diem servatas apponunt. Has ego intuens averti statim iubebam" (see Crisostomo's letter [above, n.ll. 442-444], f. G ir-v). Van Dorp could not appreciate criticisms levelled by foreigners against his countrymen. In his preface to Crisostomo's letter he defends them, insisting that they are notorious gluttons: "nolim offendat vos (sc. the Hollanders) quod Hollandis victum scribat esse parcissimum, quando et finitimae gentes id una voce omnes facile coarguant, a quibus voluptatis gulaeque damnati etiam ventres per iocum vocamur: tantum abest ut tenui victu ac secundario pane victitare censeamur. Et videtur Neapolitanus non in alia quam essedariorum hospitia divertisse: quae ubinam gentium consueverunt non esse paulo sordidiora et agrario nauticoque cibo quam cupediis et lauticiis instructiora?"
42463-472 miram ... peragrata In his apology against Zúñiga, Er. summarizes this eulogy of Holland as follows: "Perinde quasi ... Hollandia regio sit vlli pro sua portione contemnenda, siue spectes celebritatem ac frequentiam oppidorum, siue cultum ac politiem vitae, siue copiam rerum omnium, siue ingeniorum prouentum. Quod esse verum Stunica vel ex negotiatoribus Hispanis cognoscere poterit" (ASD IX, 2, p. 68, 152 ff. He repeats this in a letter to Pierre Barbier, Ep. 1216, ll. 46-49). For the towns in Holland see J.D. Tracy, Holland under Habsburg Rule, 1506-1566, Berkeley, 1990.
465 nobilissimorum fluminum Possibly an echo of Plin. Nat. IV, 101 "In Rheno autem ipso ... nobilissima Batavorum insula." (It may be recalled that Pliny was one of Er.' favorite authors and that the passage bears on the Batavians.)
470 politia 'Elegance' of outward appearance. politia is derived from 'polire', like the variant form "polities", which is more common for Er. (cf. "cultum ac politiem vitae" in the passage quoted on ll. 463-472 above, "veterum theologorum politiem" in Antibarb., ASD I, 1, p. 77, l. 3, and "orationis politiem" in Ep. 3043, l. 41). This non-classical word, which Er. uses only here, is discussed by Angelo Decembrio at the beginning of his Politia litteraria and defined as "elegantia" and "elegantiae cultura". It matches with nitore (brightness, splendor) in the next sentence. Er. is referring to the external aspect and finish of houses and public buildings in the towns of Holland. This is confirmed by van Baarland, a follower of Er., who in his own eulogy of Holland echoes his master in the following way: "neque regio esse creditur alia in orbe quae simili spatio tot habeat oppida mediocriter quidem magna, sed apprime polita et concinna" ('elegant and pretty'. Hadrian us Barlandus, Germaniae inferioris urbium ... catalogus, published in combination with his Dialogi at Louvain in 1524; the quotation is from the Paris 1530 edition). Reinier Snoy on the other hand, another contemporary of Er., seems to be in doubt as to the sense of the word under discussion. He gives in fact a twofold interpretation, quoting Er. as follows: "Neque alia est inveniri regio quae simili spatio tantum oppidorum contineat mediocri quidem magnitudine, sed incredibili republica et ornatu" (Renerus Snoius, De rebus Batavicis libri XIII, in: Franciscus Sweertius, ed., Rerum Belgicarum annales, Francofurti, 1620, p. 13, ll. 36-56). It is true that it is quite normal for Er. to use the homonymous word 'politia' ( = politeia), but the evidence given above seems such as to preclude the interpretation 'constitution' or 'administration' in the passage at hand. In fact, it hardly suits the context (the focus being on the external aspect of towns and interiors). It also fails to account for the variant reading "politie" (from 'polities'; so A-D, see the apparatus criticus). Interestingly, the erroneous interpretation has firmly established itself, since it was adopted by such authors as C. Busken Huet, Het land | 43 van Rembrand. Studien over de Noordnederlandsche beschaving in de zeventiende eeuw, Haarlem, 1882, I, p. 7 and J. Huizinga, Erasmus, Rotterdam, 19786, p. 63. It is also found in current essays on Er.
domesticae ... nitore The reference is to the lustre of the furnishings of Dutch interiors. We may perceive here an early symptom of the notorious Dutch cleanliness, which indeed struck many a traveller in Er.' time, like Luigi Marliano and Crisostomo Colonna; see Marliano's letter, written ca. 1508, in: Cornelius Aurelius, Batavia, ed. B. Vulcanius, Lugduni Batavorum, 1586, p. 73, and that by Crisostomo (above, n.Il. 442-444), f. G ir.
472 Mediocriter ... numerus Er. refers to the inhabitants of the towns, where literacy was widespread and where well-to-do burghers participated in the literary and theatrical activities of the Chambers of Rhetoric. On other occasions, by contrast, Er. charges the Hollanders with cultural backwardness and lack of interest in scholarship (see Wesseling, Are the Dutch Uncivilized?, pp. 71-75). Humanism, the main factor of the Renaissance, was indeed slow to come to the Low Countries.
474 vitae luxus in causa Vitae luxus is a euphemism for the "comessationes" for which Er. so often chides the Dutch. Affluence brings about gluttony (ll. 461-463), gluttony in turn is attended by ignorance: "Sunt autem inter se cognata vitia πολυφαγία et stoliditas. Atque hinc Herculem Thebanum edacem faciunt, sed eundem a literis alienissimum, adeo vt praeceptorem suum trucidarit" (Adag. 906 'Boeotica sus'). In the same spirit, his epigone Hadrianus Junius, principal of the Haarlem Latin School, blames luxury and a strong bent for business for the lack of excellent scholars among the Dutch: "ingenia ... non infelicia neque sterilia, quorum nonnulla, nisi luxu protererentur obruerenturque ac velut in herba interirent aut nisi e medio studiorum cursu retracta ad negotiationem et lucrosas artes, a Mercuriali saliva alienas, spem luderent atque abrumperent, poterant cum veteribus illis in dubiam certaminis aleam ire. In his sine exemplo maximum illuxit clarissimumque domini Erasmi Roterodami ..." (Batavia, Lugduni Batavorum, 1588, p. 234).
474-475 apud illos ... doctrinae The idea that the Dutch value honesty more highly than learning is shared by van Baarland, a Zeelander by birth and professor of Latin at Louvain, who further observes in his eulogy (above, n.l. 470) that they are more successful in learning classics than other peoples provided that they are sent to school at a very early age.
475-476 ingenium ... argumentis In referring to the intellectual power of the Dutch, Er. leaves it to his readers to substantiate this claim for themselves. To understand what he has in mind, we must broaden our scope to the whole of Germania. Er. claims as early as 1499 that the peoples of Germania are by no means less gifted than the Italians ("Germanorum ingenia nulla in re Italis esse inferiora"), and summons his Frisian friend Sixtinus to prove it (Ep. 113, ll. 153 ff.). The great abilities and achievements of the Germanic peoples as opposed to the cultural supremacy of the Italians was a favorite theme for Northern humanists. Significantly, it is the subject of the sole fragment of Petrus Montanus' Adagia (1504) to survive. In it Montanus, a Gelderlander, observes that the Germanic race is given to action rather than reflection. He extols the Germans for their valor and for the magnificent inventions the world owes to them, to wit the cannon ("bombarda") and the art of printing ("chalcographia"). As regards the compass ("pixidem nauticam") and paper ("chartam"), the Italians surely cannot deny that they were invented by the French and the Spanish with the help of Germans, to be sure. The fabrication of paper was admittedly brought to perfection in Italy, but no one can prove that this was not due to a Batavian or Zeelander ("At quis negare certo poterit illi invento nec praefuisse nec adfuisse authorem Batavum aut Zelandum Germanum, vel in Italia?"). Finally, Montanus exclaims: "Sed quorsum haec, quorsum? Ut existimem Germanos, ut rebus bellicis et bonis artibus excogitandis caeterisque rerum praestantiis nulli genti omnium seculorum secundi fuerunt, ita quoque olim et Graeciam et Italiam eloquentia infra se visuros ... Tum denique futuram tam eruditam atque literatam Germaniam nostram ut non Latinius vel ipsum, quantumlibet politum sit, Latium." The adage that prompted this eulogy, namely "Prospectandum vetulo cane latrante", is nothing but the Germanic proverb "Als die oude hont bast so salmen wtsien" ('Beware when the old dog is barking'. The proverb is quoted, along with other variants, by Suringar, 70, pp. 117-121). Er. may well have been familiar with the ideas propagated | 45 by Montanus, although there is no evidence that he knew his Adagia. There is, however, an unsuspected connection between Montanus' short essay and Er.' first proverb collection of 1500: whereas Montanus' eulogy of the Germans is original, the adage and the accompanying explanation are not, for he plagiarized these from Er.' Collectanea (723). Montanus' essay has been preserved through his compatriot Geldenhouwer (Noviomagus), who appended it to his Historia Batavica, Argentorati, 1530, f. 26. For biographical details on Montanus (d. 1507) see G. Tournoy, The Beginnings of Neo-Latin Satire in the Low Countries, in: R. De Smet, ed., La satire humaniste, Leuven, 1994, pp. 100 f.
476-477 quanquam mihi etc. In bringing his eulogy of Holland and the Dutch to a close, Er. unexpectedly focuses on himself. By disparaging his own capacities he seeks to avoid the impression that he is implicitly praising himself. This final sentence echoes the famous opening of Cicero's defence of Archias: "Si quid est in me ingeni, iudices, quod sentio quam sit exiguum, aut si qua exercitatio dicendi, in qua me non infiteor mediocriter esse versatum, aut si huiusce rei ratio aliqua ab optimarum artium studiis ac disciplina profecta ...".
479 Suid. Κρουνοχυτρολήραιον εἶ 2485.
481 Ollas ... stupidos appellamus Er. probably refers to a term of abuse in his mother tongue.
481 Suid. loc. cit.
482 Aristoph. Equ. 89.
483-484 λήρους ... Olynthiacam Schol. on Demosth. Ol. 3, 29 Dilts I, p. 99.
485 Alibi Adag. 1103.
486-493 λέσχας ... Λέσχην ὅριον Harpocrat. λέσχαι. - The first edition of Harpocration's vocabulary appeared in 1503 at Venice, as an appendix to Ulpianus' scholia on Demosthenes; see ASD II, 5, p. 265, n.ll. 575-576. Er. learnt from Harpocration the literal sense of λέσχη (public bench or hall). Even so Er. misinterprets this word in 1531, taking it to mean a sort of exercise for retired gentlemen in smart and witty conversation; Ep. 2431, ll. 256 ff. "Instituit (Lycurgus) exercitamenti genus quod λέσχας appellabat, ad quod conueniebant seniores iam a publicis functionibus emeriti, lepidis dictis liberalibusque iocis tempus cum voluptate transmittentes, sed quae vel ad honesti laudem vel ad vitiorum vituperationem conducerent" (cf. Plut. Lyc. 25, 2-3).
489 Hom. Od. XVIII, 328 f., quoted by Harpocration (490 οὐδ᾿ ἐθέλεις: οὐκ ἐθέλεις v.l.).
492 Cleanthes, von Arnim I, fr. 543, p. 123, quoted by Harpocration.
492-493 Quidam etc. Harpocration quotes Cleanthes as saying that some refer to Apollo as Guardian of the Meetings in the Halls (λεσχηνόριον: λέσχην ὅριον v.l.).
495 Suid. κυαμοτρώξ 2578.
502-504 Priusquam ... quaestus Suid. loc. cit.
504 Suid. loc. cit. The provenance of the line is unknown.
507 Hesych. κυαμοτρώξ 4339, κυαμεύειν 4342, κυάμῳ πατρίῳ 4343 Latte.
510-511 Manet ... deligatur The festival of Epiphany (January 6) celebrates the adoration of Christ by the Magi. Eating lots of food was part of the festivities. A cake would be served in which a bean or a coin was concealed (driekoningenbrood; Twelfth-night cake). The lucky person who found it in his piece became the 'king' of the festival. A somewhat different way of selecting the king consisted in drawing beans (Woordenboek der Nederlandsche taal, III, 1, s.v. boon, 447). It is to this custom that Er. refers. See also G. Krause et al., ed., Theologische Realenzyklopädie, IX, Berlin, 1982, s.v. Drei Könige, 169.
511 Aristoph. Equ. 41.
517 Dici ... parcumque Folly uses the phrase "lupinum arrodere" of hungry theologians, Moria, ASD IV, 3, p. 112, l. 753.
473538 Zenobii Athoi Proverbia, ed. W. Bühler, IV, Gottingae, 1982, 37.
520-522 Narrant ... foecundae Suid. Κυλλοῦ Πήραν 2672; Zenob. Ald. κυλλοῦ πήραν, col. 108.
522 Suid. loc. cit. (Κυλλουπήραν).
523 Hesych. κύλλου πήρα 4521 Latte.
524 Aristoph., fr. 283 PCG III, 2.
525 decliuis ... ac praeceps Hesych.: ἐπηρεφὲς (ἐπιφερὲς v.l.).
526 illos ... libidinem See the end of Adag. 2344 (Bulbos quaerit) and 3142 (Nihil profuerit bulbus).
526-527 Quidam elleboro etc. See Adag. 751 (Bibe elleborum) and 3464 (Bibere mandragoram).
529 Suid. κῦμα 2675. Aristoph. Ran. 704.
532-533 In vlnis ... versabantur After Suid. loc. cit.
538 Hesych. κύματι κωφῷ 4531 Latte.
539-543 Primum etc. Added by Er. - See also Adag. 1808, ASD II, 4, p. 223, ll. 192 ff. on "mare surdum" and "litus surdum".
545 Suid. Καρικῇ Μούσῃ 388. There the phrase Καρικὸς αἶνος (a Carian fable or proverb) is quoted: παροιμία Καρικὸς αἶνος. Er., however, read (Καρικὸς) οἶνος. Yet he raises doubt as to the correctness of this reading, which he suspects to be a corruption of οἶμος (l. 548).
546 alias Adag. 779 (Carica Musa).
546-547 Quicquid ... Caricum dicebatur See Adag. 779; 130 (Cum Care Carizas) and 2597 (Caricus hircus).
548 Hesych. Καρική 817 Latte: ἀσύνθετος καὶ ἄμπελος, i.e. "Carian means 'faithless, without covenants'. It also denotes a type of vine." Er. takes ἀσύνθετος with ἄμπελος.
549 genus hoc militare Er. means the Carians, who were notorious mercenary soldiers; see Adag. 514 (In Care periculum) and 2597.
552 Hdt. IV, 149 (Theras; 554 τοιγαρῶν).
558 alibi Adag. 310.
561 Hesych. ναικισσορεύοντας 22 Latte: ἐπίτηδες διασύροντας, καὶ ἐξευτελίζοντας.
Alii Hesych. loc. cit. (ναικισσήρεις).
562-566 perplexis etc. Added by Er.
568 Strabo XII, 3, 10 (569 Ἀρμένην).
49572 Steph. Byz. Ἀρμένη (573 Ἀρμήνην).
576 interpres Guarino da Verona, that is, who translates the passage as follows: "Harmena, de qua proverbium fertur 'Cui nullum negocium erat Harmenam construxit"' (Strabo, De situ orbis, [Venice], 1494, f. ciir).
579 Plat. Leg. VIII, 830 c.
581-582 'iuuenum senumque' See e.g. Hor. Epist. I, 1, 55.
582 'bipedum ... nequissimus' Adag. 642.
nec ... hominibus Adag. 3776 (Nec deus nec homo).
584 Σκιαμαχεῖν Adag. 3548.
586 Plat. Leg. IV, 708 d (587 ἵππων; συμφυσῆσαι).
590 Interpres Marsilio Ficino translates the passage as follows: "arduum est omnino et longo tempore indiget ut conspirare et tanquam sub uno iugo equi unum idemque, ut dicitur, coefflare possint" (Divini Platonis Opera omnia Marsilio Ficino interprete, Lugduni, 1557, p. 533 a). For Er.' use of Ficino's translation see ASD II, 1, p. 177, n.l. 774.
590-591 Interpres ... verbum The correct reading in Plato is συμφυσῆσαι (blow together).
595 Verg. Georg. II, 77.
597 Poll. VII, 33.
597-598 suppresso ... Pandora Pollux suggests that the line is from Nicophon's Pandora. Er. replaces the name of the poet by that of Nicophanes, a painter mentioned by Plin. Nat. XXXV, 137 and Athen. XIII, 567 b.
599 Nicophon, fr. 13 PCG VII, quoted by Pollux, loc. cit. (ἱστός). The sense is: 'One web gets finished, the other gets started.' For technical details of weaving see H. Bluemner, Technologie und Terminologie der Gewerbe und Kunste bei Griechen und Römern, I, 2, Leipzig, 1912, pp. 143 f.
602 Poll. VII, 32.
604 Suid. διάζομαι 549.
Hesych. διέζετο ion Latte: διεσχίζετο.
605-606 Quod si etc. But διάζεσθαι means: to set the warp in the loom, i.e. to begin the web.
608 Plat. Leg. VIII, 830 b-c.
609 Plat. loc. cit. (610 ἐν ἐρημίᾳ).
613 Plat. Apol. 18 d.
616 Plat. Rep. VII, 520 c (617 περὶ τοῦ).
620 Florus Liv. Periochae XLIX, 16 (621-622 in Africa militarent; 622 umbras: vmbris v.l.; volitare: militare codd.; vigere: vigore v.l.). The Periochae, the author of which is unknown, were frequently attributed to Florus.
622 Poll. VI, 185.
51624 impatientes ... solis After Hor. Carm. I, 8, 4 "patiens pulveris atque solis".
625-626 Nam ... secretum Added by Er.
627-629 ludus ... citauimus With the purpose of clarifying Socrates' use of the expression σκιαμαχεῖν ('fighting against an imaginary opponent, shadowboxing', Apol. 18 d), Er. refers to a game of his own time, which consisted in fighting against a shadow. We know in fact of dramatic farces, more precisely comical plays in the form of monologues, in which the protagonist, a bragging lansquenet, fought with an opponent who was just his own shadow. It involved a lot of showing-off and verbal violence. Such farces were usually delivered before or after dinner; hence the appellative 'tafelspel' (table play; Er. uses the word ludus). The intended analogy between Socrates and the infatuated soldier is that both fight against an imaginary opponent. Several Dutch lansquenet plays have been preserved, e.g. 't Spel van den lansknecht, in: Twee onbekende tafelspelen, ed. C.F.P. Stutterheim, Amsterdam, 1946, pp. 21 ff. and Een Tafelspel van een Lantsknecht die teghen zijn eyghen schaduwe vocht, in: Cruythofken, Delft, 1600, f. D iiij ff. See R.J. Resoort-H. Pley, Nieuwe bronnen en gegevens voor de literatuurgeschiedenis van de zestiende eeuw uit Parijse bibliotheken, Spektator 5 (1975-76), pp. 653 ff.; W. Hüsken, Noyt meerder vreucht. Compositie en structuur van het komische toneel in de Nederlanden voor de Renaissance, Deventer, 1987, pp. 88-89, 92-93, 114-115 and (on the French 'soldat fanfaron') 83-85; P. Pikhaus, Het tafelspel bij de Rederijkers, I, Gent, 1988, pp. 69-70, 235. I owe these references to D. Coigneau. It may be clear that Er. does not simply refer to pantomime, since he mentions the use of dialogue (respondet). That he was not unfamiliar with popular theatre appears from an observation in Lingua on double-masked personages in farces; ASD IV, 1A, p. 139, ll. 727-729 "Ridentur in comoediis vulgaribus Iani, qui faciem vnam ostendunt a fronte et alteram ferunt longe dissimilem a tergo."
629 Lucian. Herm. 33.
630 Adag. 153.
632 Plat. Leg. X, 900 c.
636 Plat. loc. cit. (637 σφῷν: σφῶ ἵν᾿ v.l.; νυνδὴ: νῦν v.l.).
637 σφῶ The correction of σφῶν (G) to σφῶ (H I, with wrong accent) may well go back to Er. himself, who translates as if he read σφὼ, taking it as a direct object of δεξάμενος.
642 Poll. X, 132 (γάγγαμον).
flexibus sinuosum Taken from Pliny's description of the Maeander (Nat. V, 113), quoted in Adag. 3958, p. 250, ll. 525 ff.
643-645 quod a Graecis ... γαγγαμεῖς Etym. mag. γαγγαμῶν 219, 17.
645 idem est cum sagena Etym. mag. loc. cit., l. 22; Poll. II, 169 (σαγήνη).
646 Poll. loc. cit.: Αἰσχύλος (Ag. 361) τὸ δύσλυτον κακὸν ἢ δυσεξάλυκτον (i.e. hard to avoid) ἔφη 'γάγγαμον ἄτης παναλώτου'.
647 quemadmodum ... 'nassam' See Adag. 3388 (E nassa escam petere).
647-649 ventris ... neruorum Poll. II, 169 (648 γάγγαμον).
649 interior aluus sic appellatur Hesych. γάγγαμον 1411 Latte.
652 Athen. XIII, 561 f.
653 sacram ... rediisse See Adag. 24 (Sacram ancoram soluere) and 23 (Res ad triarios rediit). Athen. loc. cit.
661 Gal. De nat. facult. II, 6, 98 Helmreich (δ᾿ ἐκ).
665 Hor. Epist. I, 5, 31.
53666 Hor. Epist. I, 1, 18. Linacre's translation (Lugduni, 1548, p. 75) reads: "Sin ex multis est conditum, per horti posticum, ut in proverbio est, ad Asclepiadem discessimus." A marginal note explains the expression as "clanculum et velut imprudentes, aut via praepostera". For Linacre's translations of Galen (published between 1517 and 1524) see Contemporaries II, s.v.
671 παλινῳδεῖν See Adag. 859 (Palinodiam canere).
674 Athen. XI, 470 e.
675 Athen. loc. cit. (679 αἰεί; 680 ἅνθρωπος ἐστιν).
676 Alexis, fr. 88 PCG II.
685 Hor. Epist. I, 12, 5 f. (686 lateri est: lateri v.l.; tuis, nil).
688 alias Adag. 1111 (Coronam quidem gestans, caeterum siti perditus), 1165 (Sybaritica mensa), 1168 (Syracusana mensa), 1217 (Episcythizare), 1218 (Vinum caret clauo), 1724 (Maschalam tollere), 1778 (Ventres), 1784 (Venter auribus caret), 1997 (Gallorum incusare ventres), 2240 (Asini mandibula), 2518 (Pinguis venter non gignit sensum tenuem) and 3116 (Ex amphitheto bibisti). See also 3566 (Methysocottabi), 3582 (Pyraeus non fert vasa inania), 3816 (Gallonius) and 3970 (Porcus Troianus).
690 Sen. Benef. IV, 39, 1 (691 linguarium).
691-692 De lapide ... fallor But the correct reading in Seneca is "linguarium" (a forfeit for rash talk): 'as the saying is, I shall pay for my tongue.'
692 pyrete Pliny gives the name of the firestone as "pyrites", "pyrita", and "pyritis".
quem ... vocant Plin. Nat. XXXVI, 138. Hier. Trac. in psalm. 96, 107 f, CCSL 78, p. 160 "Lapis qui vulgo vocatur ignarius".
692-693 quod ... ponderosissimus Plin. Nat. XXXVI, 138 and XXXVII, 189.
696 Cic. Phil. 2, 34, 86 (697 fodiamus: fodiam codd.; 698 partem habes).
698 Ter. Hec. 467 "Noli fodere." Er. connects this with Hor. Epist. I, 6, 51 "fodicet latus".
699 Persius Not Persius, but Horace, Serm. V, 5, 42 ('Nonne vides' aliquis). Persius imitates this line in 4, 34. Er. quotes from memory.
700 prius Adag. 640 (Aurem vellere).
3555 Otto 1138.
702 Sen. Benef. IV, 39, 2.
55711 hodie The reference is to vernacular expressions. Not attested in Dutch and German dictionaries. Cf. Suringar 234. - Er. also refers to The Indies as an alien and distant region when declaring that he is completely ignorant of the Italian language: "vulgaris linguae vestratis tam sum ignarus quam Indicae" (Apophth. VIII, Thrasea 2, LB IV, 363 D). He uses the same name to indicate the farthest region to the East (Explan. symboli, ASD V, 1, p. 282, l. 258).
714 Plat. Phaedr. 227 d (715 ὥστ᾿ ἐὰν; 716 οὐ μή).
720-726 Ambigue etc. According to a more plausible explanation Herodicus was 'a physician and teacher of gymnastics, who exercised outside the wall, beginning at some distance, not great but moderate, going as far as the wall and going back'; see Scholia Platonica, ed. W.C. Greene, p. 69. The words κατὰ Ἡρόδικον are hardly a set phrase, let alone a proverbial expression.
723 Ter. Eun. 629 ff.
725-726 deliberandum ... incipias See Adag. 1001 (Festina lente) and 1270 (Antequam incipias, consulto).
726 Dignum etc. Adag. 718.
728 Plat. Leg. X, 890 d. It has escaped Er.' attention that he discussed this expression in a previous adage, namely 3476 (Omni voce).
730-731 καὶ παντοῖος γίγνεται E.g. Hdt. III, 124; VII, 10; IX, 109.
731 Plat. loc. cit. (733 σμικροῦ).
738 Plat. Phaedr. 272 b.
741 alicubi The reference is perhaps to Plat. Rep. II, 364 b-c.
744 Gal. 4, 20. See Er. Paraphr. in Gal., LB VII, 959 "In omnia me mutarem, quo vos reuocarem ad Christum, nunc blandiens, nunc obtestans, nunc obiurgans. Orationem melius ad varietates animorum et ad rem praesentem accommodarem. Experirer omnes remediorum vias, donec omnes ad sanitatem reuocassem."
751 Μαγαδίζειν Athen. XIV, 635 a. The form μαγαδεύειν is not attested.
751-752 dicebantur ... loquentes The explanation is Er.' own; it is inspired by the Greek fragment quoted in l. 758.
753 Athen. XIV, 634 c-636.
755-756 constat ... acutam Athen. XIV, 634 e.
756-757 harmonia ... πασῶν Athen. XIV, 636 c ... μαγάδιδας δὲ ἐν οἷς τὰ διὰ πασῶν καὶ πρὸς ἴσα τὰ μέρη τῶν ᾀδόντων ἡρμοσμένα. Aristot. Probl. XIX, 39 (921 a) μαγαδίζουσι δὲ ἐν τῇ διὰ πασῶν συμφωνίᾳ. (Er. quotes the latter passage at the end of Adag. 730 'Ex eodem ore calidum et frigidum efflare').
757 Anaxandrides (not Alexandrides, as the Aldine edition of Athen. has it), fr. 36 PCG II, quoted by Athen. XIV, 634 e (758 μαγάδι: μάγαδιν v.l. et ed. Ald.; μέγα).
760-763 Ait ... impuberes Excerpted from Athen. XIV, 634 f-636 f.
761 Pind., fr. 125 Maehler, quoted by Athen. XIV, 635 d.
57763 prouerbio Adag. 730.
766 Suid. Δίδυμος 872.
767-768 qualem fabulae ... Cretae See Adag. 2401 (Risus Sardonius), ASD II, 5, p. 291, where Er. draws on Zenob. 5, 85.
768-769 Hoc cognomen ... dicitur Suid. loc. cit. Cf. Moria, ASD IV, 3, p. 186, ll. 63 f. "Verum haec stulte persequor tam innumera, vt nec Chrysippi nec Didymi voluminibus omnia comprehendi possint."
769-770 Eadem ... Adamantinus Hier. Epist. 33, 4, where Origen is referred to as "Adamantium nostrum nostrumque Chalcenterum".
772 Suid. λῆμα 441.
773 Aristoph. Ran. 601-603, quoted by Suid. (774 βλέποντ᾿ ὀρίγανον). In Aristophanes, the fragment reads: ἀλλ᾿ ὅμως ἐγὼ παρέξω / ᾿μαυτὸν ἀνδρεῖον τὸ λῆμα / καὶ βλέποντ᾿ ὀρίγανον.
776 alibi In Adag. 3474 (Sinapi victitare) Er. quotes Aristoph. Equ. 631 Κἄβλεψε νᾶπυ. Adag. 754 (Ede nasturtium) concludes with Aristoph. Vesp. 455 βλεπόντων κάρδαμα.
777-779 Quidam ... Heracleum vocant Excerpted from Diosc. III, 27-29 (778-779 πάνακες ἢ Ἡρακλείαν) and Plin. Nat. XX, 169-171.
779 Diosc. loc. cit. Plin. Nat. XX, 156 (discussing the herb "puleium [or "pulegium"] silvestre").
782 Aristoph. Equ. 757, quoted and explained by Suid. λῆμα 441.
782-784 λῆμα ... volo Etym. mag. λήμα 563, 41-46.
784-785 λῆμμα ... λαμβάνω Etym. mag. loc. cit. (785 λήβω) and Suid. loc. cit.
785-786 est argumentum ... probationem Suid. loc. cit.
786 Thurion ... bellicum Suid. θούριος 420.
787 Hom. Od. IV, 527; Il. VII, 164; VIII, 262; XVIII, 157.
787-788 Mars ... θοῦρος Suid. θούριος 420.
788 a θορεῖν ... insilire Etym. mag. θοῦρος 453, 41.
Suid. λῆμα (see n.l. 782).
789 θούριος λόγος Iul. Epist. 152 Bidez-Cumont = 11 Wright, where Er. read Ὁ λόγος ποῖος ὁ θούριος instead of Ὁ λογοποιὸς ὁ Θούριος (i.e. Herodotus). See Adag. 100 (Oculis magis habenda fides quam auribus), ASD II, 1, p. 210, ll. 580 ff.
792 Athen. XI, 497 a.
794 Athen. loc. cit.: † ἐστιν δ᾿ ἐλέφας. :: ἐλέφαντας περιάγει; :: ῥυτόν / χωροῦντα δύο χοᾶς, ὃν οὐδ᾿ ἂν ἐλέφας ἐκπίοι. / ἐγὼ τοῦτο πέπωκα πολλάκις, † / :: οὐδὲν ἐλέφαντος γὰρ διαφέρεις οὐδὲ σύ. (This is how Kassel and Austin read the fragment from Epinicus, fr. 2 PCG V.) Er. has sought to emend the text of the Aldine edition, which reads Ἔστι δ᾿ ἐλέφας ἐλέφαντας περιάγει ῥυτὸν.
799 Rhytos ... cornu Athen. XI, 497 e (ῥυτόν).
803 ante Adag. 1890 (Nihil ab elephante differs).
'choa' Actually 'choa' is the accusative of χοῦς; see Liddell-Scott s.v. χοῦς (A). Er. may have consulted Suidas, s.v. χοᾶ (362): χοῦς, μέτρον Άττικόν, or Hesychius, s.v. χοᾶ (573 Schmidt): χοῦν. μέτρον ὑγρῶν.
807 Athen. XI, 503 c.
cyathissare Plaut. Men. 303 and 305.
808 prius Adag. 1724 (Maschalam tollere). See also 3569 (Cothonissare).
Athen. loc. cit.
814-815 Suid. ἱερὸν ἰχθῦν 186. Hom. Il. XVI, 407.
816 Hom., quoted by Athen. VII, 284 c. See Od. VII, 167; VIII, 4, 385; XIII, 20, 24.
820 Athen. loc. cit.
822 Hesych. φελλίνας 283 Schmidt: κοῦφος, ἀπὸ τοῦ φελλοῦ.
822-823 φελλός ... fluitans Hesych. φελλός 284 and φελλεῦον 280.
823-824 φελλεύς ... fruges Hesych. φελλεύς 281. Suid. φελλέα 189 and φελλεῖς 190.
824-825 quod terra ... radices Hesych. φελλεῦον 280: ἐπιπλέον.
825-827 Quin ... vocat Er. derives the noun 'fellow' from φελλός and φελλεύειν, i.e. float like cork. This derivation, which is prompted by similarity in sound and meaning, is in keeping with the etymological constructions of the humanists. Er. went so far as to derive the Dutch adjective 'bot' (blunt, dull-witted, silly) from Βοιωτός (Boeotian, stupid); see Adag. 906 (Boeotica sus). For the sense of 'fellow' see H. Kurath, ed., Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor, Mich., 1963, s.v. felaue. - Er. had little French and less English; see J. Chomarat, Grammaire et rhetorique chez Er., Paris, 1981, I, pp. 144 ff.
828 Plat. Rep. III, 400 d-e. For the sense of εὐήθεια see also Moria, ASD IV, 3, p. 94, ll. 404 f.
834 prouerbio Adag. 1307 (Subere leuior).
835 alias Adag. 3123 (Profundum sulcum).
837 Athen. XIII, 570 a.
838 Cottabus ... est Actually 'the cottabos' denoted a game, which consisted in throwing heeltaps into a basin; it is described by Athen. XV, 665 d-668 f.
838-839 Aristoph. Ach. 524 f, quoted by Athen. XIII (!), 570 a.
843 vuida 'drunken'.
845 Athen. XI, 472 c.
848 Athen. loc. cit. Aristophon (not Aristophanes, as the Aldine edition has it), fr. 13 PCG IV (852 κεκραμένην: κεκραμμένην ed. Ald.).
855 In Thericleis Θηρίκλειος means 'made by the potter Thericles'. This is also the interpretation given by Er. himself in Adag. 2253 (Thericlei amicus). Even so, he misinterprets the word in the fragment under discussion, taking it with ἀρετήν rather than with ἀσπίδα. A more plausible interpretation of the Greek fragment is: 'For that reason, just lately, my master gave me as a reward for merit a well-rounded bowl of Thericleian make ...' (I have slightly adapted C.B. Gulick's translation).
61858 Strattis (not Straton, as the Aldine edition of Athen. has it), fr. 23 PCG VII, quoted by Athen. XI, 473 c (859 προχοιδίου: προχιδίου ed. Ald.; 860 κεκραμένον: κεκραμένου ed. Ald.).
865 alias Adag. 3602 (Mercurio dextro). Alexis (not Hermippus), fr. 246 PCG II, quoted by Athen. XI, 502 b (866 ἀπνευστί τ᾿: ἔκπνευστ᾿ ed. Ald.; 867 κεκραμένον: κεκραμμένον ed. Ald.). The false attribution to Hermippus in the Aldine edition originates from a corruption in the transmission of the text, which was caused by a missing leaf. It is the missing fragment which has the name of Alexis.
870 Alibi Adag. 35 (Par pari referre).
874 διὰ πασῶν See Adag. 163 (Δὶς διὰ πασῶν).
3568 Otto 1367.
876 Amm. Marc. XVII, 5, 9.
878 veritatis ... oratio See Adag. 288.
882 Athen. XI, 483 f-484 b.
883 Mnesitheus Athen. XI, 483 f-484 a.
884 Plato The usefulness of drunkenness and carousals is the subject of Plat. Leg. I, 637 b-642 a and II, 671 a-672 d. It is asserted that drinking-bouts can be beneficial for educational ends (I, 641 c-d). However, a number of restrictions apply (II, 673 d-674 c). Plato states in the same work that drunkenness is allowed only during the festivals of Dionysus (VI, 775 b). I am indebted to S.R. Slings for information given. {For Plato's idea that moderate drunkenness can be useful for educational ends see also Gellus, Noctes Attica, 15, 2, 3-8; Lingua, ASD IV, 1A, p. 44, 592-592. (A. Wesseling, Humanistica Lovaniensia, Vol. L, 2001, Leuven, p. 455)}
885 Seneca Sen. Tranqu. an. 17, 8-9 "aliquando ... vigorem dabunt convictusque et liberalior potio. Non numquam et usque ad ebrietatem veniendum, non ut mergat nos, sed ut deprimat; eluit enim curas et ab imo animum movet et ut morbis quibusdam ita tristitiae medetur ... sed nec saepe faciendum est, ne animus malam consuetudinem ducat."
886-887 Ἀκροκώθωνες ... biberent Athen. XI, 483 e (ἀκρατοκώθωνας). Etym. mag. κρατοκώθωνες 53, 29.
887 Hesych. ἀκροθώρακες 2608 Latte: μέθυσοι.
888 Plut. Mor. 656 c (quoting from Aristotle).
Aristot. Probl. III, 2, 871 a and III, 27, 875 a.
890-891 Poll. VI, 25. Hyp. p. 24 Jensen. Athen. XI, 483 e.
892 Poll. VI, 31. Critias, FHG II, p. 69, 4.
892-893 Cothon ... est Athen. XI, 483.
893 alias Adag. 1724 (Maschalam tollere).
895 Poll. VI, 27 (τρυσιβίους: τρυγοβίους cod.).
897-899 diuites etc. Undoubtedly Andrea Torresani (Asulanus), father-in-law of Aldo Manuzio, is meant. Er. lodged at his house during his visit to Venice in 1508. He pillories the grasping Torresani in the colloquy 'Opulentia sordida' (1531), ASD I, 3, pp. 676 ff., in which he qualifies the wine served by his host as "vappa": "Nunquam enim emebat vinum nisi corruptum, quo minoris emeret; ex eo ne quid periret, subinde feces annorum decem miscebat, voluens ac reuoluens omnia, quo mustum videretur" (p. 678, ll. 60 ff.). See Contemporaries III, s.v. (Andrea) Torresani.
63 900 Poll. loc. cit.
Eust., p. 1828, 13 f. on Od. XVII, 455, observes that the word τρυσίβιος (Aristoph. Nub. 421) denotes τὸν τρύοντα ἤτοι κακοπαθοῦντα περὶ βίον.
902 Gell. XI, 7, 3-6 (903 flocces; 904 flocces).
907 loquax talpa Amm. Marc. XVII, 11, 1.
908-910 dictum ... purpurata Amm. Marc. loc. cit.: "'In odium venit cum victoriis suis capella, non homo', ut hirsutum Iulianum carpentes, appellantesque 'loquacem talpam' et 'purpuratam simiam'."
909 nam talpae ... muti Added by Er.
910 alibi Adag. 610 (Simia in purpura).
3572 Otto 428.
913 Amm. Marc. XVIII (!), 5, 6 (Antoninus;
914 nec remulco; 916 eundemque).
918 alibi Adag. 318 (Remis velisque).
920 Amm. Marc. XXI, 1, 14.
922 callem But the reading calcem is correct; see Otto 308-309.
alibi Adag. 48 (Tota erras via) and 2084 (Frustra currit).
3574 Collect. 773. Cf. Otto 102 n.
925 Amm. Marc. XXI, 16, 3.
928 Gell. XX (!), 1, 34 "ad amussim aequipera rent vel in librili perpenderent." Er. owes this reference (and that to Pliny) to Brassicanus, Prov. 97 (Ad perpendiculum); see the introd., pp. 13-14.
929-930 ad aequilibrium aestimare Source not identified.
930 Plin. Nat. XXXVI, 188 (et).
931 digitis ... facere Adag. 3486 (Metiri digitis), 415 (Eadem pensari trutina), 491 (Ad vnguem).
935-936 gnomonibus The reference seems to be to the square used by carpenters for obtaining right angles. The exact sense of gnomonibus remains unclear, despite Er.' explanation at the end of Adag. 1060 (Gnomon et regula): "ad regulam exaequant fabri structuram. Iidem vtuntur et gnomonibus. Constat autem gnomon e duabus lineis rectis, quas vtrinque dimetiens dissecto quadrangulo constituit."
936 Cic. Verr. 2, I, 51, 133 (939 mehercule). For the numbering of the Verrinae in the early editions see ASD II, 4, p. 115, n.l. 630.
941 Suid. ἀκόλῳ etc. 920.
943-944 ἀκόλους ... κολλᾶσθαι Suid. άκολος 917.
944 Hesych. ἀκόλους 2470 Latte.
945 vescentem One would expect the plural form 'vescentes' (τοὺς φαγόντας Hesych.).
945-946 ficus incendat sanguinem Cf. Athen. III, 75 b and 80 b.
65951 Athen. XI, 495 f (πενταπλόαν).
952-957 Ephebi ... olei Athen. loc. cit. (953 ὦσχον: ὄσχον ed. Ald.; 955 Σκιράδος (genitive): σκιρράδος ed. Ald.; πενταπλόαν: πεντάπλοον ed. Ald.).
958-961 vas ... sedecim Athen. XI, 478 d. - Baccho sacrum Athen. 478 c.
963 alias Adag. 502 (Copiae cornu).
964 suo loco Adag. 3676 (Per satyram).
966 Hesych. Καρικῷ σχήματι 822 Latte: ἐπὶ τῶν ἀκολάστων.
969 Καρικῷ πλοίῳ is the preceding entry in Hesychius.
971 Hesych. μυσίκαρφι 1946 Latte: ... τὸ μεμυκότως καὶ ξηρῶς παίζειν (ποιεῖν v.l. et ed. Ald.).
971-973 Vox ... praefocetur Added by Er. - a μύσσω ... praefocetur Er. has taken the verb μύσσω from Hesychius' entry μύσεις (μύσσει v.l. et ed. Ald.): κάρφεται (dries up). Er. explains μυσικαρφί as a combination of μύσσω (dry up) and μύσις (suffocation) plus κάρφος (dry stalk, festuca).
974 Hesych. μυσίκαρφι 1946.
975 Cratinus, fr. 293 PCG IV.
975-979 Alii etc. Hesych. loc. cit.
978 Apollophanes, fr. 8 PCG II.
981 Hesych. μύτις (μύτης v.l.) 1990 Latte.
981-982 quasi ... syllaba Added by Er. The form mutitor is made up by Er. himself, from 'mut(t)ire' (mutter).
982 alias Adag. 702 (Ne my quidem facere audet).
982-984 Est etc. Hesych. loc. cit.
986 Hesych. μυρμηκία 1903 Latte. - Ὡς does not properly belong to the proverb quoted by Hesychius, who says: ἦν δὲ καὶ λόγος, ὡς ὁ πτύσας etc.
991 Is etc. Suid. Δεινόλοχος 338.
993 Plat. Epist. 9, 358 a.
1 Cic. Off. I, 7, 22 (3 vindicat).
675 Sen. Epist. 32, 4.
6 ἐγένετο Er. means γέγονεν in the passage from Plato (l. 996).
14 Poll. VI, 31, quoting from Aristophanes (!) (Ἀριστοτέλης v.l.; Πειραιᾶ). Aristoph., fr. 683 PCG III, 2.
17 Ter. Eun. 539 f.
18-19 Est ... Corinthiacus Steph. Byz. Πειραιός.
19 vbi ... luxum See Adag. 301 (Non est cuius libet Corinthum appellere) and 3268 (Corinthiari).
20-22 Expende etc. The emendation proposed has proved correct.
24 Poll. VI, 40 (25 κράδαι; βαλανηφάγοι).
25-26 βαλανοφάγοι etc. See Adag. 2227 (Arcadicum germen).
3584 Otto 1582.
28 Don. Comm. in Ter. Hec. 696.
28-32 quod etc. Added by Er.
30 tota errat via Ter. Eun. 245, quoted in Adag. 48 (Tota erras via).
31 Ter. Hec. 696.
32 prouerbio Adag. 1278 (Qui bene coniiciet, hunc vatem).
34 Hesych. ἰαμβίζειν 44 Latte.
35-36 Probability ... exprimens Added by Er.
37-39 quod a breui ... πρῶτα Suid. ἰαμβίζω 25.
38 Hom. Il. IV, 442, quoted by Suidas.
39-40 hominem ... ἰάμβηλον Hesych. ἰαμβύλος (ἰάμβηλος cod.) 45 Latte.
42 Hesych. κεραμικὴ μάστιξ 2266 Latte.
43 prouerbio Adag. 1051 (Testulae transmutatio).
43-45 'Flagellum' etc. Hesych. loc. cit.
44 soleant For this use of the present instead of the past tense see Adag. 3653, p. 99, n.l. 565.
47 Suid. κριοῦ διακονία 2438 and the preceding entry. Zenob. Ald. col. 107 = Zenob. 4, 63.
49 Hesych. κριοῦ διακονία 4143 Latte.
51-53 dixit aries ... ἀλείφω Hesych. loc. cit. The Aldine edition of 1514 reads: καὶ ὁ κριὸς οὖν εἶπε, *κατέλειψε τοὺς ἀστραγάλους σοι δώσω. Er. proposes to read κατάλειψον (from ἀλείφω, Inunge!), interpreting the quotation as follows: "The ram said: 'Cover my food with dressing and I will give you knucklebones'" (sc. to play with). Modern editors read: (The ram said:) "καταλείψω τοὺς ἀστραγάλους σοι" [δώσω]. See also W. Bühler, Zenobii Athoi proverbia, IV, Gottingae, 1982, 31, p. 247.
6953 Huius The reference is to the expression κριοῦ διακονία.
54 prouerbio Adag. 1492 (Aries nutricationis mercedem persoluit).
55-57 aliud ... Graii Zenob. Ald. col. 36, quoted in Adag. 1507 (Pro beneficentia Agamemnonem vlti sunt Achiui).
58 scholiis Graecanicis Harpocrat. Ἑρμαῖ. For Er.' curiously vague reference to Harpocration's vocabulary see ASD II, 1, p. 56, n.ll. 204-206.
59 porticu ... Regis Harpocration actually refers to two Athenian porticoes, namely, the famous Painted Colonnade and the Royal Colonnade (τῆς Ποικίλης καὶ τῆς τοῦ βασιλέως στοᾶς). For these see Paus. I, 3, 1; 14, 6; 15, 1 and J.G. Frazer ad loc. (Pausanias's Description of Greece, New York, 1965, II, pp. 57 f.; 130 ff.).
60 plebeiis ... principibus Harpocrat.: ἰδιωτῶν καὶ ἀρχόντων.
62 suo loco Adag. 1507.
sed etc. Er. uses the same excuse at the end of Adag. 2360 and 2868.
3588 Otto 347.
64-65 After Demosth. 19, 130 and Plat. Euthyd. 283 e. Er. here uses αὐτοῦ presumably for the 2. person sing. (l. 63 tuum); see ASD II, 4, p. 257, n.l. 859.
65 Demosth. loc. cit.
68 Plat. loc. cit.
72 Verg. Aen. II, 190 f. (di).
73 Aristoph. Plut. 525 f.
77 reprecatur Er. uses the same verb in Ep. 362, l. 34. See also Colloquia, ASD I, 3, p. 128, ll. 106 ff. '"Precor vt hic sol tibi felix surrexerit.' :: 'Tantundem tibi reprecor.' "
78 Cic. Fam. VIII, 1, 4 (79 subrostrani). Modern editors adopt a full stop after apposuit. With te a new sentence begins. The passage is the subject of Adag. 4013 (Manum ad os apponere).
83-85 Flacci ... Adria Hor. Carm. III, 9, 22-23.
87 Hor. Epist. I, 20, 25 (tamen ut).
88 Hor. Serm. II, 7.
88-90 Aeschines ... illo See Athen. XII, 612d (Lysias accuses Aeschines). I owe this reference to R. Hoven.
90-91 non quod ... minus Er. would know, since he had seen the Adriatic Sea during his stay in Venice (1508).
94 Suid. βοῦς ἕβδομος 458: Βοῦς ἐνάλιος, ἐπὶ τῶν μηδὲν χρησιμευόντων.
97 Suid. βοῦς etc. 459 = Zenob. Ald. col. 57 Βοῦς ἐν αὐλίῳ κάθῃ· παροιμία ἐπὶ τῶν ἀχρήστων. See Adag. 1039 (Bos ad praesepe).
98 collectaneis ... Didymi The reference is to Zenob. Ald.
71100 Hesych. βοῦς ἐν αὐλίῳ 969 Latte. See also above, n.l. 97.
101 Cratinus, fr. 34 PCG IV, quoted by Hesych.
102 alibi Adag. 1039 (Bos ad praesepe).
104 Hesych. βοῦς etc. 971 Latte. The explanation is an addition by Er.
105 Hesych. loc. cit.
109 Suid. βοῦς ἕβδομος 457.
109-111 In eos ... septimus Er. claims that bos in quadra argentea is a set expression, but Suidas says merely that the epigram (quoted below, ll. 115 ff.) is about 'an ox and a goat that are carved upon a silver plate'.
111 alibi Adag. 963 (Septimus bos).
112-114 Olim ... bellaria After Suid. 458.
114 Suidas See n.l. 109.
125 Poll. VI, 76.
127-128 Galli etc. The reference is to the expression "un roi de cartes". See Adag. 1479 (Tragicus rex); Suringar 30.
130 Diphilus, fr. 2 PCG V, quoted by Athen. XV, 700 d (λύχνον, sic et ed. Ald.).
131 Arrepta But ἅψαντες (in combination with λύχνον) means 'having lighted' (a lamp).
135 Plat. Gorg. 486 c-d.
136 Plat. loc. cit. Er.' assumption that Plato quotes a poetic fragment (l. 140) is correct; it is from Euripides, fr. 188 Nauck.
147 De vacuo etc. The reference is to Theocr. 16, 10, quoted at the end of Adag. 1164 (Sera in fundo parsimonia).
149 Hesych. στηνιῶσαι 1827 Schmidt.
149-151 Athenis ... Στήνια Hesych. στήνια 1825.
151-152 Στηνόν ... molestum est Not in Hesych. nor in Etym. mag. nor in Etym. Gud. Er. seems to mean the adjective στενός.
153 De plaustro loqui Adag. 673.
73155-160 Athenienses ... venio Athen. XIV, 614 d. The clause quemadmodum ... significantes is an addition by Er.
156 in Diomeo aut Heracleo Er. follows the Aldine edition, which has ἐν γοῦν τῷ διομείῳ ἢ ἡρακλείῳ. Modern editors read ἐν τῷ Διομέων Ἡρακλείῳ ('in the temple of Heracles, in the deme Diomeia').
160 Athen. loc. cit.
161-162 Erat ... filio Hesych. Διομεῖς (!) 1880 Latte.
166 Plat. Rep. X, 600 d (168 περιφέρουσιν).
171 Cic. Phil. 6, 4, 11; Ad Q. fr. III, 1, 9; Fam. XVI, 27, 2. The expression is "in oculis ferre". See also Adag. 4150 (Oculis ferre et similia).
'in sinu ferimus' E.g. Hor. Carm. II, 18, 27; for the phrase in sinu see Oxford Latin Dictionary, s.v. sinus, 2 d, 3; Lewis-Short, s.v., 2 a.
174 Plat. Rep. X, 613 c.
176-180 iumentis ... aegris After Plin. Nat. XI, 136 f. (180 micantes: nutantes v.l.).
177 fronte et oculis After Plin. XI, 138. See Adag. 1304 (Ex fronte perspicere).
178 Nam ... immobiles Er. included the same observation in Adag. 2156 (Auribus arrectis), ASD II, 5, p. 138, ll. 785 f; there too the source is Plin. XI, 136 (not Aristotle).
179 auscultantibus sunt erectae Added by Er. See Adag. 2156.
181 Hor. Serm. I, 9, 20 f.
184-185 hodie etc. The reference is to vernacular expressions, e.g. "Hij laat de ooren hangen." Harrebomée, II, p. 148; Suringar 55.
187 Hesych. Ἀγαθοδαιμονισταί 250 Latte: οἱ ὀλιγοποτοῦντες.
188 ex re nomen habens A play on Hesychius' name, which means 'quiet'. Er. is dissatisfied with the meagre explanation presented by Hesychius. He expresses his discontent with the Greek lexicon also in the preface to the 1515 edition of the Adagia, ASD II, 1, p. 30, ll. 181 ff.
189-190 Socratem ... sitim Socrates used to harden himself in various ways. The source is Plut. Mor. 512 f. See also Apophth. III, Socratica 7, LB IV, 155 E and Lingua, ASD IV, 1A, p. 156, ll. 301-304.
191 alibi Adag. 553 (Bonae fortunae siue Boni genii). See also 3670 (Philotesius crater), ἀγαθοδαιμονίζειν The verb is not attested in ancient literature.
193 Itali ... stomacho An unusually positive observation on Italian lifestyle. Listing national vices - for the use of preachers - in the Ecclesiastes, Er. describes the Italians as sober in eating and drinking, but otherwise intemperate (ASD V, 4, p. 238, ll. 997 ff.). For his feelings towards the Italians, see J. Huizinga, Er. über Vaterland und Nationen, in: Verzamelde werken, VI, Haarlem, 1950, pp. 265-266; L.-E. Halkin, Ér. et l'Europe, in: Commemoration nationale d'Ér., Bruxelles, 1970, pp. 94-96 and Ér. en Italie, in: J.-C. Margolin, ed., Colloquia Erasmiana Turonensia, I, Toronto, 1972, pp. 44-47; Erasmo da Rotterdam, Adagia: Sei saggi politici in forma di proverbi, ed. S. Seidel Menchi, Torino, 1980, pp. viixxvii. saburrato Plaut. Cist. 121. Er. takes the word to mean 'ballasted with food' rather than 'with wine'. See Adag. 2657 (Saburratus).
194-195 Nos etc. A sneer against the inhabitants of the Low Countries and, perhaps, of Germania at large. For Er.' aversion to his countrymen see Wesseling, Are the Dutch Uncivilized?, pp. 71-75.