Some Notes on Blaydes' ISTubes. 43 



Such examples might easily be multiplied, and the editor 

 himself is not unaware of their existence; see introd. p. 

 xxxvii. It is, however, foreign to my purpose to criticise 

 these details. I wish rather to discuss certain of his readings. 



It will be interesting to start with his own exposition of 

 his views in regard to Aristophanic criticism. Regretting 

 the fact that for the Nubes the Ravennas and Venetas have 

 not as yet been as thoroughly collated as we could wish, he 

 continues: " Fatendum tamen est non valde magnum auxilium 

 vel ab iis expectandum esse, quum mendorum quibus nostri 

 textus maculatur non pauca inveterata sint et ejusmodi ut 

 sine conjecturae ope nunquam tolli queant." This is the 

 ground for the adoption or suggestion of many hundred vari- 

 ations from the vulgata, as if he were correcting a schoolboy's 

 exercise! What shall we say to the array of "hariolationes" 

 in the critical note to vs. 995? or to the samples of his 

 critical acumen given in the introd. p. xxxv f.? 



I propose to discuss certain passages in detail. 

 Vs. 24. — Strepsiades is cursing himself for having bought the 

 Z--o> -/M--u-iay and exclaims — 



There is not the slightest ground for rejecting the reading 

 of the MSS. and Scholia. Close parallels are given by Teuffel, 

 especially Plant. Men. 152 (158) oculum ecfodito mihi si 

 ullum verbum faxo. 



Kuster however suggested i'iz•/.(>-r^ and has been followed 

 by Hermann, Meineke and Dindorf, the last of whom gravely 

 remarks, "Equo si elisus fuisset oculas, non emendus fuisset 

 Strepsiadi.'' Blaydes not only adopts this reading but sug- 

 gests further 'ov Izzpw owH. "quum non iJArjoffkiliun sint 

 equi." This is triviality itself. Of course the dual and plu- 

 ral often occur, but there are a number of cases, some cited 

 by Blaydes himself, where the singular is found. 

 See e. //. Aves. 1611 ff. — 



o'ray dp-vurj rig rdv xupa/.o. xai to> Ala. 

 6 y.opa^ TrapsX^oJV robitiop/.ohvTO'i h'lJ^pa 



