Etymologies. 9 



6, 179 (ab eundo et a fortuna); furcillae, G. 2, 889 (quibus 

 frumeuta cilleutur). A similar case is the explanation of 

 'legumen'. On G. 1,74, we read 'dicitur quod mauu legatur 

 nee seetionem recjuirat'; on G. 1, 199, "'manu legeret'; hinc 

 quidam volunt dictum legumen". The fact that 'legumma' 

 is represented in an old glossary by yzi^po-a seems to confirm 

 the suspicion that, if Servius himself did not derive the word 

 from legere -,- mauus, he at least refers to such a derivation 

 in his note on G. 1, 199*. A third instance is the note on 

 'lugentes campi', A. 6, 441: ''lugentes, quasi 'lucis egentes'". 

 This is probably meant for an etymology, not merely the 

 explanation of a metaphor. Voss in his Etymologicon men- 

 tions a derivation, 'ingeniosius quam verius', of "lugere' from 

 'Aw^'ry, i. e. (s/.K-U tenebrae'. 



X. The difficult question of the sources of Servius' ety- 

 mological notes must be reserved for a separate paper. At 

 present, however, two general statements may be made. 

 About thirty derivations are attributed to Varro, but he un- 

 doubtedly was the ultimate authority for a good many more. 

 Verrius Flaccus is only once mentioned by name, but there 

 is much in these notes which must have come directly or 

 indirectly from the great work De Verborum Significatu. 

 This might have been inferred from the papers in which 

 Nettleship has pointed out some of the parallels between 

 Servius and Festus or Paulus. See his Ancient Commenta- 

 tors to VcrgU, prefixed to the fourth edition of Conington's 

 commentary, and the papers on Verrius Flaccus, Nonius 

 Marcellus and Thilo's Servius in his Lectures and Essays, 

 Oxford, 1885. 



Many of the etymologies quoted in our commentary are 

 introduced by such general f)hrases as ' quidam . . .', 'alii . . .', 

 'fabula est . . .', etc., or by others which are almost as indefi- 

 nite: 'ut lectum est in historia Poenorum' (Carthago, A. 1, 

 348); 'lectum tamen est in philologis' (Caieta, A. 7, 1); 

 ' prudentiores tamen dicunt' (Silvanus, A. 8, 601). On Aen. 



* It may be noted that the latest etymology ofEered for this word is also due to the 

 feeling that 'legere' in itself is not sufficient to explain 'legumina'. Stowasser, Dunkle 

 Woerter, p. 29, proposes leyere -\- * umina . "Umen von uere, vfie fluiiien von fluere,numen 

 von nuere, acumen von avuere gebildet, bedeutet ersichtlich Huelle, Huelse." 



