Symphosius The Aenigmata: An Introduction, Text and Commentary

281 Pages·2014·2.225 MB·English

by  Tim J. Leary

Symphosius Th e Aenigmata
i
Also available from Bloomsbury:
Martial Book XIII: Th e Xenia
By T. J. Leary
978 0 7156 3124 9
Martial Book XIV: Th e Apophoreta
By T. J. Leary
978 0 7156 2721 1
ii
Symphosius Th e Aenigmata
An Introduction, Text and Commentary
T. J. Leary
iii
Bloomsbury Academic
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First published 2014
© T. J. Leary, 2014
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Contents
Preface and Acknowledgements vii
List of Tables ix
Select Bibliography xi
Introduction 1
1 Author and title 1
2 Date 4
3 Th e collection 6
(a) Martial, Symphosius, Riddles and the Saturnalia 6
(b) Order and arrangement 13
(c) Literary style 26
(d) Latinity and metre 27
(e) Literary debts 28
4 Nachleben 31
5 Th e text 32
(a) Sigla 35
(b) Diff erences with Shackleton Bailey’s 1982 Teubner text 36
Latin Text 39
Commentary 53
Appendix: Attributions to Symphosius 249
General Index 251
Index Verborum 264

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vi
Preface and Acknowledgements
Th ere survives in the post- classical compilation known to modern scholarship as the
Latin Anthology a collection of a hundred riddles, each consisting of three hexameters
and preceded by a l emma which gives the riddle’s answer. It would seem from the
collection’s preface that these riddles were composed extempore at a dinner to celebrate
the Roman Saturnalia. Th e work was to have a defi ning infl uence on later collections of
riddles; yet of its author almost nothing is known, and a debate regarding his biography
has inevitably ensued. While the evidence will be presented in the pages which follow,
it is none the less helpful to state at the outset that the name he went by was probably
(a form of) Symphosius and that the riddles in his collection were probably called the
Aenigmata . He seems, further, to have belonged to the period of Late Antiquity, he may
have come from North Africa, it is evident that he was talented and well educated, and
he may well have been a student or teacher of one of the rhetorical schools. Although
his work was later to infl uence that of several Christian writers and is included in the
Corpus Christianorum , there is nothing in it which suggests that he himself was not
pagan.
Past work on Symphosius has centred mostly on the text and transmission and is to
be found mainly in periodicals and editions of the Minor Latin Poets or the L atin
Anthology . Th ere have in addition been several book- chapters and articles of general
appreciation, and a number on such matters as the author’s name and date; but until
recently there has been only one modern commentary, the doctoral dissertation of
Raymond Th eodore Ohl published in Philadelphia in 1928. Th is commentary contains
much of value and was favourably reviewed when it appeared, 1 but it now appears
somewhat dated and leaves a good deal still to be said. Manuela Bergamin’s commentary
(Florence 2005) is considerably more detailed and has much to add on the textual
tradition. It appeared aft er I had been working for some years on my own commentary,
and I have modifi ed several of my thoughts in the light of it. I have also adopted many
of her parallels. I believe nevertheless that a further edition, this time in English, is
justifi ed by our diff erences in interest, approach and emphasis.
Th e Aenigmata have proved far more subtle and sophisticated than I fi rst expected,
and accordingly I have at times allowed myself to be more speculative – and even
subjective – than I have been in earlier projects. Th e reader must judge to what extent
this is justifi ed. I have followed the format of my commentaries on Martial, and my text
is therefore not accompanied by an apparatus. Instead textual variants and conjectures
are supplied as part of the l emmata in the commentary. In the case of Martial this did
not prove a diffi culty, but the Symphosius MS tradition is more complex and a number
1 See e.g. Souter 242–3, Spaeth 279, Manitius 309–10. (Full details of these reviews are given in the
Select Bibliography.)
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viii Preface and Acknowledgements
of my lemmata are rather cumbersome in consequence. 2 I could think of no easy way,
within the constraints of the book’s format, of avoiding this; but I apologise for any
irritation it may occasion. I have not consulted any works published aft er March 2013.
I fi rst began thinking about Symphosius in 2001. Since then I have accumulated a
great many debts. Th ose whom I have pestered over individual points are thanked in
the commentary below, but I am conscious of more general obligations to the following:
Deborah Blake, then at Duckworth, who agreed to publish my work, and her successors
at Bloomsbury, Charlotte Loveridge and the Bloomsbury production team; Dr Bridget
Nichols, who has been a loyal friend and fi rm supporter since our fi rst undergraduate
Greek class more than thirty years ago; the many librarians who have patiently and
courteously dealt with my queries, however misguided or obtuse; and Professor Kathy
Coleman, Professor Stephen Harrison and Dr Nigel Kay for nobly ploughing through
and commenting on my typescript. While the responsibility for any infelicities that
remain in the work is entirely mine, had it not been for their eff orts there would have
been a great many more. (It is perhaps worth remarking here that I have not replicated
material in Kay (see the Select Bibliography), especially regarding Vandal North
Africa.) Finally, I must thank Dr Helen Cockle for the care and dedication with which
she has prepared the fi nal submission copy.

2 Th e more complex tradition has meant that the various MS readings have oft en demanded comment,
explanation and summary. I have used Latin for this, in the style of an apparatus.
List of Tables
1 Symphosius and the X enia 7
2 Symphosius and the A pophoreta 7
3 Overview of Symphosius’ book structure 15
4 Allusions to Virgil and Horace 29
5 Allusions to authors other than Virgil and Horace 30
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