MAKING INSTRUMENTS COUNT

Essays on Historical Scientific Instruments presented to

Gerard L'Estrange Turner

Edited by

R. G. W. Anderson, J. A. Bennett, W. F. Kyan

AN UNKNOWN LATIN VERSION OF AN ANCIENT PARAPEGMA: THE WEATHER-FORECASTING STARS IN

THE IUDICIA OF PSEUDO-PTOLEMY

Charles Bumett

The parap?gnlu was originally a kind of calendar inscribed on stone exhibited in a public space in a Greek city.' The inscription gave a list of the rising and setting times of fixed stars and the weather associated with these. These tinies were correlated with the civil calendar by means of pegs inserted into holes adjacent to the lines of text: hence the term 'parapegma' from the verb meaning 'to fix beside'. The dates of the civil calendar were indicated on the pegs. Several fragments of stone pur-ap?gniara have survived from ancient times.' Alongside of, or deriving from the epigraphic form, there developed a literary form of the / ~ a r a / ~ ? ~ m a . in which the ckay-to-day Progress of the sun takes over the role of the pegs and the holes. More or less einphasis was given to the details of weather-forecasting. In associating stars and constellations with changes of weather these literary- /~anli>E,qmafa were similar to the krrrrrh 01-airu>ä' in the Arabic world (in which the risings and the settings of stars and constellations were combined with the twenty-eight inansions of the ~oon) . ' and the lists of fixed stars indicating bad weather occurring in Arabic, Byzantine and Medieval Latin sources, but of obscure ~ r i g i n . ~

Several ancient astronomers are credited with setting up or compiling para- pegmata, including Meton and Euctemon (who perhaps invented the device in tlle fifth century BC). Eudoxus. Gennanicus Caesar. Ptolemy and Geminus. A collection of classical paro/??,qniura was published hy Wachsniuth in 1897.qn

' For tlie cleaiert sumniay of the original fuiictioii and hisroiy of rhe i>oi-oii>Fg»tm c c 0. Neunehauer. A Hirioi? nf Aiicieni M<i,iieni<i!i<ol Asn-o>innc. Berlin erc.. 1975. pp. 587-9, and rhc 'bibliogriiphical notc' oi> p. 589. My opcning parqiaph is rnuch indehted so Neu;ehauer's crposirion. For thc rest of tlie aniclc I arn giateful foi tlie hclp of Kristen Lippincott. Rurh Webb and Paul Kuniizsch aiid David Pingiee who first recognized ihe Gicek source of rhc Latin Text in Pseudo- Ptolemy's !i«i!i<io.

For an illi~srration see end of anicle; it was first puhlished in H. Diels and A. Rchm. 'Paiapegrnenfragrnenie aus Milct', Sii:iii,g.~hoiciiie d o Pn,us,~i.~</re>i Akadmiie dco- W;.sroi.s<iiofrcri. Berlin. 1904. pp. 92-1 1 I . Plare I1 (also in H. DicIs.A,,riiir Techiiik. 3rd edn. Leipzig nnd Berlin. 1924. Plate I).

See F. Sezgin. Gi,r<-hiciiic d e ~ aruhischen Sii„-ptiinn. 7. Leiden. 1979. pp. 36&70. ' P. Kunitzscli. 'Zur Tiadiiion der"Unwettersterne" '. Z ~ ~ i n r l i r p rlcr-Deerrcbeti Mr>ipe>i/ä>?di.s<-hm

Gcrcllsriiofl. 122. 1972. pp. 108-17. ' loanncs Laurentius Lydur. Lihei <le ocie>iiis er cnleiidoi-ia ,qi-aecu owinio. ed. C. Wachsmuth.

Leipzig. 1897.

maiiuscript .Misccllaneaastrologica' in the Biblioteka ~ l + s k a of Karowice. %,ritten in c.1493."' The text follows a work of 'Haly' on astrological weathcr-forecast- iiig. aiid is headcd 'Sequuiitur stelle fixe aerem turbantes in singulis meiisibus'. The script is vcry difficult to read. bnt. when deciphcred. reveals quite a literal translitcration of Actios's Grcek. It begins:

In lariuario 4 die oriiui- stella Dclpliin ci in quiiiia die occidii stclla Orcios in vespere iii occideiiic CI fiel i~iihacio ei icmpestaie [ r i c ! ] in acrc el anic pci- ircs dies inuiabii aercm. Ei in die 28 sieila Delphin occidii dc vespere ei pariter siclla Lira in occidclitc. Er in 29 die Lainpade iiiiiniirai acreni <...> dies anic.

T h e Greek star iiaincs have heen retained. and none of the nanies are glossed with Latin o r Arabic cquivaleiits.

Three centuries erirlier we find another Latin texr whicli bcars 21 great similarity to Aetios's /)ai-a/~?$~?io. This text is fouiid iii a manuscript-Londoii. British Lihrary. Harley 5402-wliich uscd in belong to Nicholas of Cusa." but an carlier provenance is indicated by iiotes on fols 69". These give a datc of I 160. refer to tahles of Lucca, and are written in a crudc Latin with markedly ltalian feütures. It is rcasonablc to asslime that tlie part of the iiianoscript that precedes tliesc notes (i.e.. fols { M ? ) was written before 1160. and probahly iii ~ u s c a i i ~ . " Thc /~ilr-u/><('i?iu occurs a s a cliaptcr of the first work in the rnanuscript: a tcxt oii

judicial asirology, witli tiie incipit 'Signa alia suiit inasculini gencris. alia feminini. Fcmiiiini. ut Taurlis ...' (fols 1'-15'). T h e runniiig titles aitrihutc ihis text to 'Alkaiid(c)rinus'. I-iowever. the text occurs in other manuscripts with ihe title 'ludiciorum Ptoloinci ad Aristonern filiuin suum liber' and can most conveniently be refcrred to as the 'Iirdiciu of ~ s e u d o - ~ t o l e m ~ ' . " This pseudepi- graphic work occurs in some ihirteen manuscripis of which ihe Harley manuscript seeins to be the earliest. '"~ is written in a rather unsophisiicated Latin style and irs vocabulary is influenced by vernacular usage. Moreover. the use of words of

? X , 1 owe rliis infoniiaiioii io f'aiil Koiiilzscti wiio firsi hrouglii ihis lcrt to sciioiais' üricntinci i n 'Ziir Tradition <Ici "lliiwellcislciiic"' (n. 4 abovc). anrl kindly seiit i i ic ii ~~liotocopy of llie relcvaiii pages of the niiinuscripl. Tlic ri?ariiisciipr <loes not seciii lo Ihnve a ~iumber.

" A. KrchiiJk. 'Die tlerkunfi der asironoinisclicii Handschriften ~ ind Iiistmn>enic d c Nikolaus Kucs'. Miiieila>i,qoi iriid i;i>i7cltiiti,qsbcrirri:>:>~ iiw Cir.~ont<s-GcsclIr<i?~fl. 3. 1963. pp. 109-80

(17<+7). " Thc wriiing «n fols 7iL104 iippcars 10 he of a larci dnic. Paul Irhiiiann. iii Min~iii it,:.eii oi i i

Il<in<l.wb,-,/irr, 11. Silzuiigrheiichic <Ici Bayciisctieii Ahdenlic dcr Wisseiirchnficii. Philos-liiri. Ahreilun~. 1930. 2. Muiiicli. 1930. p. 27. ascribes lhc manurcripl 10 ihe 13th ;tnd 1511i centuiics. Houevci. 1 ürn inclincci tu iigiee wiih Krclifiik (sec prwious notc): 'Da die Schrifizüoe der i e i i der Jaliresaiigabe I160 e~iispieclieri. kann aiigcciomnieii wrden. <laß dcr Scliicihci diese Noiixeii iiin

<lieses Jahr 1 160 iii den Kodex einpetiageri hni. iiiid &aß die voiheigchenden Folien minilesiens cinigc Jalir,.elintc friihcr ciitsiaiiden sind.' Tiie oiienial fornis of the Aiahic numei;ils ori 101. 69' uould also reern io confimi a i*eIflli-ccnrury daie.

C. S. F. Burneti. Wliai is ilic E,~ l>o i t~e i i i u i i i < r of Bcrnardus Silvestiis?' Aicbir<,.s d l i i s lo i rc riocii inii lc o i i i i i r i i i rc ili, »i,,?eii C:?. 44. 1977. pp. 79-125 (814)

" I ani curicrilly eiigiigcd iii a full-sciile siudy of Pseudo-Piolemy's l i« i i i . in arid its sihlingr.

30 CHARLES BURNET?

Arabic derivation would suggest that the place of composition was Spain or Sicily. The text can hardly be a direct translation of an Arabic astrological text as i r stands. Nevenheless. it may well be one of the earliest Latin texts to use Arabic material.

The porul~i.gnlo occurs on fol. 14'' after a chapter on 'whether you will form a friendship with someone' ('Utmrii habeas amicurn') and before the last chapter: 'whether you will have a wife whom you love' ('Si habebis inulierem dilectam'). Unfortunately the l~urap?gn~a is incomplete in this manuscript and none of the other manuscripts of the Iiidicio of Pseudo-Ptolemy include this chapter. However. in 1509 the ludiciu was printed by Peter Liechtenstein in Venice. under the title 'Sacratissime Astronomie Ptholemei Liber diversarum rerum: Quem scrip<s>it ad Heristhonem filium suum tractans compendiose de diversis rebus'. This time the paf-ap?gnln occurs as the last chapter. after a text on what to do and what not to do when the Moon is in each of its mansions." Here it occurs in full and gives several readings which are more reliable than those of the Harley manuscript.'"

When this Latin text is compared wich the paro1>2gnla in Aetios's Tetruhihlos several points emerge. Aetios uses Atheniaii and Roman nionths. whereas the Latin author had Egyptian months in his source: and Aetios begins with I9 March (i.e. round about the Spring equinox), whereas the Latin text begiiis with 1 September. the beginning of the Byzantine year. Moreover the Latin text includes not only more weather predictions (in particular, those referring to hours; see I Sept., 27 April and 9 June), hut also some Grrek srar names which are not in Aelios (see 6 Nov.. 23 Nov., 18 March and 19 Aug.). Wheii one notices that all the medical information in Aetios's text is inissing in the Latin text, one cannot help but think that the latter must be based ultimately on a Greek paropegnlu which was related to Aetios's source rather than on Aetios's tcxt directly. That there should be such a source is quite plausible since Aetios's Terrohihlor is largely a compilation from other texts. The chapter precediiig the poral).:niu is a text on winds by Adamantios the Sophist, and the chapter which follows ('On waters') is from Rufus of Ephesus. It is likely that Aetios used a preexisting pol-ap<qma and slightly adapted it to tlie coiitext by adding references to medicine. In fact we have several Greek versions of this porul~~,qn~a which seem to be independent of Aetios's work, though none of them are as close to the Latin text as that of the Teirohihlos."

" Tliis latter text-'Sententia Aiirtoielis de Luna 14 contineiis capitula de iniaginibus fahiicandis pro divcrsis rebus'-is disciisscd and edircd in C. Burnett. 'Arabic. Greek. and Latin Woiks on Astrological Magic Atrribuled to ArisrotlC. in P,seud~~-Arirlotle ir, iize Mi<l<lie Ages. ed. I . Kraye. C. B. Schmitt and W. F. Ryan, London. 1986. pp. 83-96.

nnianiiscript cop) was miidc fiom this edition iii tlic sixteciith ccntur).: London. British Libiary. MS Add. 10.775.

'' Tticse vcrsio~is. iki Creek nnd Amenian. are discussed and collated i i i F. Roll, Gr-ie<itir<-he

What might have happened in the case of the Latin text is that a crude translation was made of a Greek archetype in which, for example, el~irclleii~ ('to rise') was regularly translated as apparere ('10 appear'). diriieiii ('to set') as poi~ei-e 'to puthay down' !) and kuihistasrhai ('to be calm') as ohscur-uri ('to be hidden'. i.e., 'to be overcast' ?). and the star names were simply transliterated into Latin. At some stage Latin equivalents to the Greek star names were added. and. perhaps at the same time. further dates of star-risings and settings were inserted. in panicular for the period between 23 Fehruary and 21 March (19 March in Aetios). Equivalents to most of these Latin additions can be found in the prii-o[~fjimo in Pliny's N(11iliirr-01 Hisrr~ry, book XVII I , with which our text shares some phrases (see 19 Sept.. 25 Jan., 5-9 March and 28 Aug.). However, i t is more likely that the source was a set of astroiiomical sclzolio such as the Sr.Iiolio Srroiriai7u to the Arorea of Germanicus Caesar which not only reproduce Pliny's ~ i a r o y ~ f x n ~ u , but also include those star and constellation names which our text does not take froin Pliny (sec I Sept., I8 Mar.. 4 Jul.. 19 Aug. and 28 Aug.). Both thc Greek and the Latin names became corrupt, and on one occasion an Arabic star name was added (25 Sept.). Finally the text was added to a copy of the ludicio of Pseudo-Ptolemy. presuinably hecause it contained information on predicting the weather.'"

Up to now no evidence has been found of the existence of this Latin / ~arup fxn~( i before its appearance in a twelfth-century manuscript of the Iirdicia. However. the nature of its sources and the crude condition of its text may suggest that it is another example of the meagre astronomical material transmitted directly from Greek into Latin which circulated in the West before the advent of the more accurate and sophisticated texts translated from Arahic in the twelfth c e n t ~ r y . ' ~

Krih,>i<i<.r 11 (n. 6 above). '"1 is iioticeable rhat cliapieir oii ihe weaihei tend io he included at ihe end of woikr on judicial

zistrology. 8s. foi enainple. i n tlie Lih~r- >iovo„ iii<ii<iini. which. like Pseudo-Ptolcniy's Iirdicio. was also puhlirhed hy Pclei 1.iccliiensrein in Venice in 1509.

" Oihei cainples of ihis genrc are ihe lettei of Ncchcpso and Peiosiris (Ne<-li<,pl>roiii.~ ct

Peroriiiiir /iu,qmr,iiri »iozi<n. ccl. E. Riess. Phiioio,q$tr. 6 Supplcriienrhand. GBitingen. 1892. pp. 3 2 5 4 4 (sce pp. 382-3)). and the Pirc<,l>i>iio,i coaonir of Plolcmy. on rhc iarrei of which see D. Pingiec. 'The Prccej>tirni Cotiniiis Pinio~iici' i n Reiicr>,itrrr ilc cuiii<r-ci ii<i>is iri j>iiiir,rni>iiie n?#<Ii#ri>ie. edr. J . Hamesre an<l M. Fairoii. Loui,ain-la-Neuve and Carririo. 1990. pp. 355-75.

34 CHARLES BCRNETI

De mutatione aeris.

Ut autem de mutatione temporumi particulariter nosse verum desideras,' regule que iam dicentur a b animo tuo non labantur.

Prima die3 mensis septembris, Icarus4 custos plaustri apparet cum Solis ortu, et mutatur ae r in .vii. horis,' hoc%t inter diem et noctem. Septima die eiusdem meiisis < > vespertinus apparet, et mutatur aer in ventum. Quarta decima die7 eiusdem Arcturus-id est ~ e ~ t e m t r i o n ~ - a ~ p d r c t cum Solis ortu. Mutatur aer in crastinum. Decima nona" die eiusdein mensis. Sichis-id est ~ubole<s>"' quam" Virgo tenet in manu-apparet. Tunc mutatur aer" anre duos dies. ~ iccs ima" quinra die eiusdem mensis Alferat-id est equus-ponet, et erit calida mutatio aeris."

Sexta die mensis Octobris StephanonE-id est Cor~na '~ -a~pare t . et cst nimia" mutatio aeris. Septima die eiusdcn~ ~ r i f i ' L i d est Edi-vespertini apparent. et tune f i t r9 magna turbario" aeris. Vicesima tertia die mensis illius" Pliades-id est Virgilie!.2-cum Solis ortu

1 ' 7 F - ' - - poiiunt,'3 et tune'' f i t magna turbatio-- aeris.

Sexta die inensis Novembris Lapsidis-id est 1,ucidus-ponit, er incipit tune obscurari aer. Tertia decima2%ie eiusdem" Lira2' apparet. Vicesima prima dic Yades-id est Facule-ponuiit et rnutatur2%er in er. 'istinum. . . Vicesima septima die eiusdem3' < > vespertinus apparct et Stephanon3'-id est Corona-ponet. e t mutatur aer.

Prima die mensis Decembris Cion3'-id est Canis"-apparet,'4 et tune fit magna turbatio" aeris usque adi6 aliquantos dies.

I . rcmpoitim inutarione Li 2. desideraveris Li 3. dies Li. 4. Ycarus H. 5. oiis H 6. hec Li 7. Li adds: mciisis 8. id cst Seplcnitiionl idcm Scpteniliioni Li 9. Non;, dccirna Li 10. si scis i . auhsole H 11. quia H 12. H omiti 13. Vigesirna Li 14. iiiuistio aeris tiinc calidi Li 15. Stcplianio H 16. i i . comua H 17. eat niniial renua Li 18. Erifri Li 19. esr Li 20. pcniirhatio Li 21. illius mcnsis Li 22. Virsilc H 23. ponuntui Li 24. Li oiiiils 25. penurhvrio Li 26. 'liiccsima H 27. H oinits 28. Libiii H 2 9 niutuntur Li 30. Yades ... ciusdcml H on~itr. 31 Slephonion H 32. Oiion H 33. Ciriis H 34. Li omits 5. peiiurhaiio Li 36. in Li

A PAKAPI-<;iMA I'\ THE IUDICIA OF PSEUDO-PTOLEMY

AETIOS:"

7 Se/?/. Aix rises iii the everiing. 14 Se11r. Arkrorrros I-ises ai7d changes ihc air- on rhe t?e~.t da?. 19 Sepr. Srakhrrs rises at dawn, und rhe air i.7 chaii#ed ru'o days hefore. 25 Sepr. is the autumn equinox and ihere i.r a great distrrthaitce r ~ f i h e ait- two days before. For this reasoii it is necessary to take care not to bleed a vein or to purze or to move the body with any violent movement from 15 Sept. until 24 Sept.

6 Ocr. Strl~haizos ri.~es at dawn ai7ri ihere is a i,io/er?t cl1at7ye qf the ai,: 7 Ocr. rhr EI-iplioi rise in the evening. 17 Oct. the Hyades rise in the evening aiid a cori.siderahle distr~tharzcc of lhe air iokes place. 23 Ocr. ur srriirise ilze Pleiodcs sei ai7d rhere is a greai disrrrrhaiicr ($ihr air one day bcfore.

6 Noi:. the Plciades sei at dawn and rhe aip- hegitis io he calni. I3 No,i Lyro rises at dawn. 21 Not. rhe flyades S P I at dawn und a iii.rtrrt-hance cor?ceriiiizg rhe aii- 1aXe.s piacc oir rhe i7e,\.r day. 27 Noir Orion rises aitd Slr/)hoi?os srts.

I Dec. Kirfirz ri.sce at dawii. I1 has hecri ohserved hy inany that if there is a storni on this day. the disrui-I~niice ( ! f i l~e air on the whole continues for 37 days; if it is calm, the same thing happens."

'' Note thai iri Aftios the data foi rhc period from Maich ro August precedc ihat for September to Fcbruv~y.

" I.e., caim weathcr issts for 37 days.

36 CHARLES BURNETJ

Decima die mensis eiusdem Erifi-id est Edi-ponunt. Vicesima prinia die Ecto~'~-id est Aquila-apparet, et ~siod'-id est Eridanus-ponet, et erit turbatio aeris post unam diem. Vicesima tertia die Egerai9-id est Capra4'-oritur,"' et mutatur aer.

Quarta die mensis Ianvarii ~ e l p h i n u s ~ ~ apparet. Quinta die Ectos4' vespertinus ponet. Vicesinia quinta die4%ctos-id est Aquila-ponet, et sglla regia appellata Tuberoni" in pectore Leonis occidit matutina, er turbatur aer ante .iii. dies.

4 7 . . Vicesinia octava4' ~elphinusvei~ert inus appaiet. Vicesima nona die Lira vespere4~onet , et mutatur aer.

Sexta die ~ebruarii" Zephirus Rat. Vicesinia secunda die I pos5L id est Equus-vespertinus ponet. Vicesima tertia die Arcturus-id est Septemtrion"-apparet. Vicesima quinta die Kalende .V."' Libra apparet, et mutatur aer.

Quinta die mensissi Marcii Cancer apparet. Octava die eiusdem" Piscis Aquilonis. Nona die eiusdem Orion apparet. Octava decima die eiusdem" Esiod6-id est Eridanus-apparet. Vicesima prima die 1posS7-id est Equus5B-<apparet>, et est turbatio aeris.

Prima die Aprilis F'!i'@--id est Vergilie-paulum apparet. 19 die mensis eiusdem Pliades vespere ponunt. 21 die Pliades apparent, et fit m a g a turbatio aeris. Vicesima septinia die Orion vespertinus ponet. et mutatur aer usque in 9 die<i> horas.

Prinia die Maii Yabq-i&itmcule-curn Solis onu appare<n>t, et mutatur aer usque in 4 dies. Quarta die Lira vespere apparet, et mutatur aer nimis. Die 7 cum Solis ortu Pliades cum Esion apparent, et incipit aer obscurari. 19 die eiusdem Lapsidis-id est Lucidus-apparet et mutatur aer ante duos dies. Vicesima quarta die Exeon vespertinus ponet, et movetur aer ante unam diem.

.37. Orctoti H 18. Erifoii 13 39. Eza Li 40. ciii>. H 41. appaiet Li 42. Delfinius Li 43. Cetus H 44. H ornits 45. Tube noni H 46. Li adds: dic 47. vespeninus Delphinus Li 48. apparct ... vcspeicl H ornirs (bot sce 18 March hciow) 49. Febroaiii H 50. Ypos Li 51. Septentiionem Li 52. Kale i . Li 53. Li ornits. 54. 1-1 adds: Esion (sec 18 Marcli below) 5 5 . H aniits 56. Esionl Libiii vcspeic ponct H 57. Ypos Li 58. H ends hcrc.

A PAKAP~<;M,< IN THE IUßICIA OF PSEliDO-PTOI.EMY

10 Drc. rhr Eril~lioi sei at dawn. 21 Dec. Aiv srrs at dawn, uiid u di.srio.boiicr 1ote.s [~lacc ufier- orir <I(<? 21 Der. is the winter solsrice.

4 .lo>i. Del/~his rises. 5 .laii. Aeros seis iii rlie ei.eiii~ig. and a violent disturbance takcs placc two days hefore. 25 .Iuii. the hright star iii Lroii sers; ir nio1,e.s riie ah. rhree iluys he/orr. 28 .loii. Delphis sets iii ihr ei.rniilg. 29 .laii. Lyi-u sers iii rlie ?i.eiliii,q.

6 Feh. Ze(11iyros h1oii.s. 22 Feh. Oistos .scrs iii rlie ei.e>iiiig and there is a considerable disturbance of the air. 25 Feh. Allroirrf~s rires in the evcning. 26 Feh. swallows appcar.

I9 Dustros. which is Mur-eh. rhe so-called Hipl~os rises in the morning. 23 Mar is the spring equinox and there is a great disturbance of the air

1 Apr. the Pleiades appear at night-fall. 19 Apr. the Pleiades are hidden in the evening. 21 Apr the Pleiades risc at sunrise uiid illere is rr <qreur di~fidrhuiice coficeriiiii8 rhe ail: 27 Xurithikos (Ap':) Orioii is hiddeii iii ihc escriiiig.

I Arteinisios. which is Mo?. ihe Hyudes rise ur srtnri~e. 4 May Lyra rises iii lhc ei,eiiiiin a>id il7e uir is diaiiged ci~iisideruhi?. 6 May Aix rises at dawn and the air is changed violently. 7 May rlie Pleiudes upjlea>- ur du~:i? aiid ihr uir- hegiiis 10 he culni. 19 iMrq the Hyades u11l1eur at dawn niid rhe aii- is much chmiged oiie or iwo duys hefore. 24 May Ai,r is hiddeii iii iile ei'e,ii>ig: rhe air- is niored two duys hefoi-e.

38 CHARLES BURNETT

Die secunda lunii Ectos-id est Aquila-vespertinus appare[njt e t fit ca[llliditas e t mutatur aer. Die 5 eiusdem Arct<ur>us ponet, et mutatur aer in duos dies. Die 9 vespertinus apparet Delfinus, et mutatur usque in 10 hora<m> diei. 25 die Orion incipit apparere, ct mutatur aer nimis ante 3 dies.

Die tertia lulii Orion plenus apparet. et fit ca[l]liditas in Ariete. Die quarta Prochioii-id est Antichanus-apparet. et est inutatio aeris. Octava deciina die Cion-id est Canis-apparet plenus. et fit magna turbatio aeris ante duos dies. Vicesiina quinta die Tcros ponet. et movetur <aer> ante trcs dies.

Quintadecima die Augusti Lira apparet, et mutatur aer. Decima iioiia die Delphinus poiiet et Friccos et Ydre pars prior-id est Oridus-apparet. Vicesiina octava die Protriguis-id est Antevendemor-apparct et Cystos ida Esie desunt. et est finis Cionis-id est Canis-ante unam diem.

COMMENTARY

The introduction to the Latin text is in the same. informal. style as that of much of the rest of the Iiidicia of Pseudo-Ptolemy. This is addressed to 'Ptolcmy's son AristofEriston' and there are several apostrophes and asides addressed to the dedicatee i n the second Person singular. E.g., MS H, fol. I': 'fili mi Eriston. ne titubes ...' : fol. 2': 'Si enim hec, fili mi. non ignoravcris. sine <h>esitatioiie ad preterita. preseiitia. futura tempora dicenda pervenire poteris': fol. 1": ... ad id quod nientem tuam optare cognoscimus, pedetentim exponere incipiain~is': and especially fol. 6': 'hec regula que tibi dicetur ab animo tuo non labatur'. The totally different opening words to Aetios's chapter are given above. p. 48.

1 Sept. This date and these star names do not appear in Aetios. For the star names sec Schol. Gei-rn.. p. 169.6: 'Icaruin autem patrein eius Arcturum <nominavit>' ('he called lcarus his father, Arcturus'). and ibid., p. 121.7-9: 'Boötes, qui et Arcturus, fertur esse custos plaustri eo quod plaustrum sequitur id est Septentriones et quasi subcinctus sit Septentrionibus' ('Boötcs. which is also Arcturus, is said to be the custodian of the plough hecause he follows the Plough, i.e., the Septentriones. and is. as it were. girded by the Septentriones').

3 Sept. Septemtrion] See previous note

19 Sept. Pliny (para. 31 1) gives Sept. 16 as the day on which 'spica quam tenet Virgo exoritur' ('the stalk which Virgo holds, rises'j. This information is taken

A PARAPSGMA I\; THE IUDICM OF PSEUDO-PTOLEMY

2 Jurie Aems rises iri flie ei,eiiin6q. 6 Jltiie Arkroirros .set.~ at dawn. 9 Jiriir Delphis rises in ihe eveiii~ig. 25 June Oriori hegiirs f o rise at dawn, and this is the summer solstice. arid flze air is cliaiiged i;ioleiifly iliree days hefor-C.

3 .Iirly Or-ion rises conilrlere~. 14 .Jirly Proku617 rises at dawn. 19 Juiy Kiron ricex at dawti arid a greur di~firrharice of fhe uir rakes place sotnetimcs fwo days hej%r-e. 25 .lirly AFfos sets at dawn. arid rhe nii- is m»ved thlrc duys hefor-e.

15 A~tg . Lyra sets at dawn. 19 Air:. Del~l i f s sers at dawn and this is the time when summer tums towards the cool season. 28 Airg. Pr(rn-irg?r?r rises at dawn mid Oisros sets, ar~d ii is fhe end of the 40 days after the rising ofKiroi7.

from Pliny in Schoi. Germ. p. 208.13-14

25 Sept. Alferat is the only Arabic constellation name to appear in this Latin text. The ward is a corruption of 01-furas ('the horse'), and aiready appears in this form as the name of a star in the constellation Pegasus in the earliest list of astrolabe stars-a list which had a wide circulation from the end of the tenth century onwards."

6 aiid 7 Oct. Corona ... Edi] Cf. Pliny, para. 312: 'IV <non. Oe[.> ... Corona exoriri incipit, et postridie occidunt Haedi vespere' ('on 4 Oct. the Crown hegins to rise and on the next day the Kids set in the evening') = Schol. Gern . , p. 2 0 9 3 4 (the latter text and most Pliny MSS give 'I11 non. <Oct.> [ = 5 0ct.j').

23 Oct. Virgiliej Cf. Pliny, para. 313. Schol. Ger-ni.. p. 209.6

6 Nov. Lapsidis-id est Lucidus-ponitl The Latin text replaces the constellation Hyades with the single star, Lampros (i.e. 'the hright <Star of the ~ ~ a d e s > ' ) " for which 'Lucidus' is the most obvious translation. 'Lucidus' is not used as the name of a star by Pliny. and the reading 'Lampros' would appear to go back to

" See P. Kuniizrch. i?.i>rri vnii Sioin.rnei<-ii>?i«e>~ irr osrioiin»~ir</zrn Hori<h<-lir$oi des :eiiiiIeii 1,i.s i.ici;el»iioi .loizri?irii<iein. Wierbadeii. 1966. p p . 28-9.

" Sce P. Kunitxsch. D<,r A/!no,qc.sr. Wieshadeii. 1974. p. 267.

the Latin text's Greek source

21 Nov. Facule] A corruption of 'Suculae': see Pliny, para. 314, Schol. Gei-01.. P. 209.8.

27 Nov. The niissiiig constellation 'Orion' niiglit be preserved in H's read- ing-'Orion' for 'Cion'-in the 1 Dec. entry.

1 Dec. The most ancient and reliable family of MSS of the Teri-uhihlos. designated hy Olivieri by the siglum $. gives epitcllei ('rises'). and this is reflected in the Latin 'apparet'. Other Greek MSS. however, give 'sets' which is the rcading adopted by Olivieri here.

21 Dec. Ectos (i.e. Aetos = 'the Eagle') was probably nientioiied in the Greek text that lies behind this Latin text. Eridanus is not rnentioned by Pliny. It is found in the Ai-aiea and the Schol. Gei-n?. (p. 109.3) as a constellation next to Orion. bot is hardly the same as the spar Aix ('the Goat': corrupted into 'Esion'). which is in the constellation ~ u r i ~ a . ' ~

23 Dcc. Egera-id est Capraj This is a corruption of the words 'Aigokerös est Capricornus' (or 'Aix-id est Capra'?), another entry probably in the Latin text's Greek archetype but missing in Aetios.

25 Jan. The Latin text iiicorporates a phrase froin Pliny. para. 235 (= Schol. Germ., p. 203): 'V11 kal. Feb. stella regia appellata Tuheroni in pectore Leonis occidit matutina' ('on 25 Jan. the royal s p a r - e Tubero in the breast of the Lion sets at dawn'). a c c n & n i 3 =

29 Jan. The entry for this day is found only in MS family of the Teir-uhihlos.

25 Feh.-IR March. It may be significant that these five extra entries in the Latin text occur just where the list of dates in Aetios breaks. This might suggest that Aetios left out some of the dates given in his archetype. For all the months except March have four or five entries." However, only the last entry in the Latiii text would seem to go back to a Greek archetype (here we find the same erroneous identification of Aix with Eridanus as in the entry for 21 Dec.). All the other entries except the first are taken from Pliny, Aratus or later scholiasts. See Pliny para. 237: 'Caesari significat XIV kal. Mart. triduum varie ... ; item 111 non. Mart.-Caesar Cancri exortu id fieri observavit ... V111 idus Aquilonii Piscis

'"hid.. p. 216. 25 May iiar six entries in ACtios but five in the Latin iexi.

A P?IUPECIMA LN THE IUDICIA OF PSEEDO-PTOLEMY 41

exortu et postero die Orionis' ('The 16 Feb announces. according to <Gemanicus> Caesar three days of variable weather ... : the same observation for the 5 March: Caesar observed that the same happened at the time of the rising of Cancer ... : the same for the rising of the northem Fisb on 8 March and of Orion on the next day'). As Le Bceuffle remarks. Pliny himself was mistaken in placing the rising o i Cancer in ~ a r c h . ' ~ and our Latin text perpetuates this mistake. The first entry (25 Feh.) is not from Pliny. but its Latin source is clearly indicated hy rhe fact that it refers to (and is the only entry to refer to) the kalends of a month.

1 April. Inexplicably, 'akr~nukhos'has become 'paulum' ('a iittle')

7 May. 'Cum Esion' (i.e.. 'with Aix') has probably strayed from the enny for the previous day, preserved by Aetios.

19 May. See 6 Nov. above

4 July. 'Antichanus' is a conuption of 'Antecanis', a calque on 'Prokuön' ('Before-Dogstar') which appears as 'Antecanis' or 'Anticanis' in Schol. Germ., pp. 109 and 1 8 1 - ('Antecanis. quem graece Procyona ... appellant'; 'the Before-Dogstar. which they call in Greek "Procyon"').

19 Aug. Friccos] Unidentified. Hydra appears in the Ar-uzen and Schol. Germ. and could be aprly descrihed as 'oridus' (i.e. 'homdus' = 'making one shudder').

28 4ug. 'Antevendemor' is a conuption of 'Antevindemiator', a calque on 'Protrygeter' ['Before-Grapegatherer') and occurs in place of Pliny's 'Vindemitor' in the Schol. Germ.'s version of Pliny. para. 309: 'XI Kai. Sept. Caesari et Assyriae steila quae Vindemiior (Antevindemiator, Schol. Germ., p. 208.1-3) appellatur exoriri mane incipit' ('On 22 Aug. for Caesar and Assyria the star called the Vintager begins to rise at dawn'). 'Cystos' is an error for 'Oistos' ('the Arrow') and one wouid expect the name to he iollowed by 'id est' and a Latin translation. Instead, after 'ida' (possibly from 'id est') there iollows 'Esie desunt' which is clearly the mmp of a phrase from Pliny's purupCgmu for this date: 'Assyriae V Kal. <Sept.> et Sagitta occidit et etesiae desinunt' ('For Assyria on 28 Aug. both the Anow sets and the etesian winds cease') = Schol. Germ., p. 208.4-5. The last phrase in the Latin text is a c o m p t relic OE the reference to the end of the dog-days which we find in Aetios.'

~. ~ ~.~~ . ...

" Pliny. Hisroire norureile, Bk. XVIII. ed. H. Le Bonniec and A. Le Bmuffle. Paris. 1972. P. 274 n. 4.