- DE ANTIQUIS DICTIONIBUS. 11 
19. Catalogus or cathalogus. Slight difference between the two manuscripts in the 
spelling of the word; none in the definition. What is ordinarius sermo? Does it 
signify * regular customary language," a meaning which does not belong to catalogus, 
or does it mean * a treatise or book in which a certain order is observed, a list”? I 
am in favor of the latter interpretation, although I cannot support it by any other 
authority. 
20. .Avarus. Slight difference, in the text, between the two manuscripts. This 
word, as well as several others, may furnish somé clew to the source of the material 
of this fragment, if not to the author. Cf. Aul. Gell. N. A.* 10, 5: * Avarus non sim- 
plex vocabulum sed iunctum copulatumque esse P. Nigidius dicit in commentariorum 
undetricesimo: * Avarus enim, inquit, appellatur qui avidus aeris est. Sed in ea 
copula e litera, inquit, detrita est. Item locupletem dictum ait ex compositis 
vocibus, qui pleraque loca, hoc est, qui multas possessiones teneret. Sed pro- 
babilius id firmiusque est, quod de locuplete dixit; nam de avaro ambigitur; cur 
enim non videri possit ab uno solum verbo inclinatum, quod est avet?” There is 
great similarity, in the substance of the informatioh, between Petronius and Gellius, 
although the former expresses himself more concisely. What does this similarity 
indicate? that Petronius borrowed from Gellius, or that both drew from a common 
source? "The work of P. Nigidius Figulus (a contemporary of Cicero, and distinguished 
as a mathematician and astronomer, as well as grammarian), which had the title Com- 
mentarii Grammatici, was probably a collection of lexicographical, grammatical, and 
etymological observations, gathered without any attempt at a systematical arrange- - 
ment, from which our fragment may in part have been taken. Compare the ridicu- 
lous etymology of avidus in Festus. : ] 
91. Locuples. The two manuscripts agree. It is apparent that this article is de- 
ES from the same source as the preceding. | 
22. Lex or legem. With the exception of the form of “the mont itself, there is no 
difference between the two manuscripts. Genuine Roman definition of the word, such 
as might be given by Nigidius or any other well-informed man, who knew from expe- 
rience the institutions of the republic. CL A, Gell. N. A., 10, 20: * Ateius Capito 
publici privatique iuris peritissimus, quid lex esset, hisce verbis definivit. * Lex, 
inquit, est generale iussum populi aut plebis rogante magistratu." It is apparent that 
the definition of Petronius is copied verbatim from that of Capito.t 
* I quote, in this and all other citations from A. Gellius, from the edition of M. Hertz, 1853. 
t C. Ateius Capito, a distinguished lawyer and rival in the science of the law of Q. Antistius Labeo; 
Consul Suffectus 6 p. C., 759 U. C.; he died 22 p. C., 775 U. C. 
