EXCURSUS III 375 



would be *' concerminarit," made more like a Latin word 

 by the change of the second " c " to '' g." 



Columella (IX, 15, 3) uses '* exterminare " in this rela- 

 tion: *' Hos quidem praecipiunt in totum exterminari 

 oportere." In the phrase **et si favorum . . . cum re- 

 moreissi" Keil deletes, I think, the wrong **si," for it 

 is Varro's constant habit to place his conjunction as 

 near the end of the phrase as possible. 



In the last clause **sunt" for '*sint" seems neces- 

 sary. In these books they are perpetually confused. 



To the reading proposed support is given by Columella 

 (IX, 15, 4) : *' Ergo cum rixam fucorum et apium saepius 

 committi videris, adapertas alvos inspicies ut sive semi- 

 pleni favi sint, differantur; sive iam liquore completi et 

 superpositis ceris, tamquam operculis, obliti, deme- 

 tantur" — and by Palladius Qune, cap. 7), "Item cum 

 fucos a sedibus suis, qui sunt apes maiores, grandi in- 

 tentione deturbant matura mella testantur." 



Ill, 17, 2. ** Ubi lymphae . . . ministrant." Keil 

 writes ** lymphae " with a small initial letter in both edi- 

 tions. It should be written with a capital. The ** Lym- 

 phae " are contrasted with " Neptunus " farther down, 

 and ** Lympha" is personified by Varro, I, i, 6 (** Lym- 

 pham et Bonum Eventum "). 



Ill, 17, 3. " Hirrus . . . duodena milia sestertia 

 capiebat." This ungrammatical ** sestertia" is found 

 also III, 16, II, and III, 6, 6. I feel sure that in all three 

 cases ** sestertium " (** sestertio ") should be written, for 

 as I have already pointed out, nothing is commoner in 

 these books than the confusion of *'a" and "u" 

 (twenty-one times). 



