Preface
The processes summarized here have been the subject of several talks at the annual meeting of the Society for Classical Studies and will be described more fully in Damon and Huskey (in preparation).
Why a new edition of the Bellum Alexandrinum?
What is New?
The text and apparatus:
42.2 exercitus alendos, 49.2 causae, 57.3 †in†, 60.1 educerentur, 60.3 animaduerteret, 61.6 sibi usui, 62.1 auxiliares, 62.2 Marcello fauebant, 64.3 derectam, 66.1 praefecit, 66.5 inceptum. See further the lists in Damon 2015b, 46 (note 93) and 48 (note 99).
1.5 expectans, 7.2 casum, 7.2 ut … absumeretur, 8.2 Paratonio, 10.2 accessissent, 10.2 exposuissent, 12.3 miserant, 12.4 Caesaris, 13.5 Lycias, 13.5 et, 14.1 Rhodios, 14.1 Ponticos, 14.1 hos, 16.1 uictis, 19.2 certiorem, 20.4 perturbatos, 26.2 adducit, 26.2 multiplici praesidio, 27.5 constantiaque, 27.7 adiuncti his, 31.3 partibus, 32.1 magnae, 33.5 itinere terrestri, 36.5 siue amicus siue inimicus, 40.2 aperto, 42.3 Iadertinorum, 48.3 minuebat, 49.1 in ea, 51.2 uoluntate, 51.3 describerentur, 53.4 Laterensis, 54.3 indicaretur, 55.1 cohortibus, 55.5 Q. Sestio, 56.2 temporum, 56.2 animus, 57.1 Leptim, 59.1 detraxerunt, 60.1 educerentur, 60.2 esset 2, 60.5 educit, 61.6 sibi usui, 64.3 derectam, 66.1 legionibus, 66.1 praefecit, 66.5 inceptum, 67.1 Caesaris, 68.1 defensionem, 68.2 natura, 70.8 si, 72.2 superioribus … oppido, 75.1 operibus, 78.2 quod.
11.2 ⟨suorum⟩ Khan, 15.3 ⟨moram⟩ Lewis, 16.2 ⟨exercitus⟩ scripsimus, 17.2 ⟨et hanc⟩ et illam [urbem] scripsimus, 35.3 ⟨constat⟩ scripsimus, 44.4 has adiunxit scripsimus, 60.3 animaduerteret causa Reinhardt, 61.4 adductus scripsimus, 62.1 auxiliares scripsimus, 67.1 ⟨et coactus⟩ Bensch-Schaus, 73.3 aggerere tum scripsimus, 74.3 contemptione scripsimus, 75.1 operibus reuocat Naqvi. Emendations proposed but not printed: 20.3 ⟨et⟩ sine ratione Callaghan, 26.2 ⟨gap⟩ adducit Persyn, 27.5 Mithridates [magna cum prudentia] D. Simons, 57.1 adducebatur J. Simons, 58.1 ueteranas J. Simons. There are also more than 40 new suggestions introduced at the end of apparatus notes with the formulas an … ? or nisi mauis.
2.1 ⟨armatorum⟩ Fischer, 7.2 esse Nipperdey, 15.8 ⟨nisi⟩ qui Fleischer, 17.3 quosque Lipsius, 25.1 Caesaris praesidia ed. pr., 36.5 aduentu sin Hoffmann, 40.2 circumire ac transcendere Nipperdey, 42.2 exercitus alendos M, 45.2 distentis Hoffmann, 49.2 simul et Latinius, 55.1 legionem quintam in castra remittit ed. pr., 58.1 Torius ς, 70.4 quamquam Dinter, 74.4 in procliuem Nipperdey.
The machine-readable form:
From the layout of the page to the typographical conventions used to represent manuscripts and other details about the text, traditional critical editions in print rely on complex visual cues to communicate information to readers who understand how to read and interpret those cues. For the most part, that information is inaccessible to a different type of reader: machines that can process and visualize information. If that information is presented in a way that both humans and machines can read and interpret, we can leverage the computational power of machines to open up new ways of exploring texts.
This is the first “born digital” edition of the Bellum Alexandrinum. It is encoded in Extensible Markup Language (XML) according to the guidelines of the LDLT. That means that the typographical conventions familiar to readers of traditional editions will still be rendered on screen or paper in their familiar form, but machines can also recognize them as more than just strings of characters. Rather, what a human reads as a crux (†), a machine can read in its own language. That is why this edition can be read in an online viewing platform, visualized with any number of data visualization tools, queried like a database, or rendered in a traditional form as a print-ready PDF.
I. The Bellum Alexandrinum
The dates (Julian) are taken from Raaflaub and Ramsey 2017.
The word count used by Gaertner and Hausburg is 10513 (see, e.g., 2013, 286).
II. Constituting the text
A. The stemma
For a fuller discussion of the history of the text and of editorial work on the Caesarian corpus see the Preface to Damon 2015a and the first chapter of Damon 2015b.
As was the case for the Bellum ciuile, the “good readings” in S, which have traditionally been taken as evidence of agreement in error by the hyparchetypes mu and pi and proof that they have a common ancestor, can be explained as scribal emendations. Examples are given in the description of S below.
B. The witnesses
More detailed versions of the following paragraphs are given in Damon 2015a, xxii-xxvi and 2015b,
55-61.
More detailed versions of the following paragraphs are given in Damon 2015a, xxii-xxvi and 2015b, 55-61.
1. The archetype
Possible instances can be found throughout the apparatus, but the clearest examples are these: 9.3 dediticiis UcSV et Mmr : dedi(c/t)iis MUacT; 10.6 successuros McUS : successoros Mac : succens(u/o)res TcV : succensuros Tac ; 15.5 pugnae MTc : pugna USTacVac : pugnandi Vc; 26.2 ibi suum UST et Mmr : suum ibi MV; 32.3 precari MTcV : precare USTac; 45.1 cum Vatinium MUV : eum uatinium T : eum uatinium cum S; 46.2 contra illo remigante M (cf. BG 7.28.1 contra ueniretur) : contra illum remigantem SV : contra illo remigantem UT; 56.4 creabat UST : credebat MV; 57.3 ex USV : et MT ; 58.3 inscriptum UST : scriptum MV; 60.4 esse UacSTV : eum MUc; 73.2 triarium MS : traiarium UTV; 74.4 in procliuem Nipperdey : in proelium ST : in bellum V : praeruptam in proelium U : in praeruptam M. Other examples of innovations in the archetype that aim to repair the text include: 27.1 [a]; 29.3 [fluminum]; 70.3 [non]; 78.3 [legibus].
Variants: 12.1 classiariorum USTV et M supra lineam : nauigatorum M; 24.1 statuit UTV et M supra lineam : constituit M (deest S); 27.5 prudentia MUScV et T supra lineam : potentia SacT; 34.1 prouincias USTV et M supra lineam : regiones M; 46.4 dubitabant USTV et M supra lineam : dubitarent M; 73.3 discederet USTV et M supra lineam : cessaret M. Glosses: 17.2 [urbem]; 27.5 [uirtutum … imprudentia]; 37.3 [rex]; 46.1 [fortunae].
2. The hyparchetypes
The most suggestive evidence from the Bellum Alexandrinum is discussed at Damon 2015b, 34-36.
a. μ
- 4.2 militem STV : milites MU
- 7.1 Alexandrini STV : Alexandrinis MU
- 16.2 qui STV : quis MU
- 19.2 certiorem STV : fortiorem MU
- 27.7 adiuncti his STV: adiunctis (h)iis MU
- 33.2 imperia ST : imperio MU : imperiam V : imperium Mmr
- 37.2 cum uereretur S : uereretur TV : ueritus MU
- 55.3 adfectus STV : a(d/f)fecit MU
- 56.2 dolore STV : dolori MU
- 74.3 quem1 STV : quem cum legione M : cum legione quem U
- 75.1 oppressus STV : oppressos MU
- 1.2 operibus om. M
- 1.2 uidentur om. M
- 2.3 in … locis om. M (uerba 4)
- 9.1 negotium om. M
- 14.5 sic … Africae om. M (uerba 8)
- 16.4 falleret om. M
- 17.1 ad insulam om. M
- 26.1 Caesaris om. M
- 27.5 undique om. M
- 37.5 pro uallo om. M
- 40.4 non amplius om. M
- 44.2 misit om. M
- 45.2 aduersam om. M
- 57.6 prouincia om. M
- 58.2 Pompei om. M
- 58.3 milites adeo fatebantur om. M
- 61.1 Marcellus om. M
- 63.2 Marcellus om. M
- 67.2 populi Romani per compendia om. M
- 76.1 acri om. M
- 6.3 uero om. U
- 18.4 ex his om. U
- 30.3 numero om. U
- 50.1 faceret quae om. U
As was the case in the Bellum ciuile, the relative lengths of these two lists suggests that U is a more faithful copy of μ than M is; this is borne out by other sorts of singular readings, which are far more numerous in M than in U, as can be seen in the Appendix critica.
Where μ and ν diverge, as they do more than 60 times in the Bellum Alexandrinum, μ more often offers a good reading, either by conjecture or by preserving the archetype.
b. ν
- 19.2 quod MU : om. STV
- 25.1 commeatum MU : commeatumque STV
- 44.3 non MU : om. STV
- 44.3 iusta ad MU : iuxta ad STV
- 48.2 esset MU : om. STV
- 49.2 causae MU: causa STV
- 5.3 isdem MU : idem STV
- 56.6 ut MU: om. STV
- 59.1 tamque MU : ta(m/n)quam STV
- 61.4 confligeret MU : confligere STV
- 68.1 frequentes MUT : frequenter SV
- 70.8 ei MU : om. STV
- 71.1 proficisceretur STV : proficisceretur existimabat MU
- 1.5 rei … alterius om. S (uerba 4)
- 2.1 magnumque … adduxerant om. S (uerba 12)
- 15.8 atque … exposceret om. S (uerba 16)
- 17.5 constiterunt … litore om. S (uerba 12)
- 19.6 pugnabatur … (24.2) ut ad om. S
- 27.5 constantiaque … imprudentia om. S (uerba 5)
- 31.1 uirum om. S
- 57.5 namque om. S
- 74.4 inanem om. S
- 8.3 qui MUS : om. T
- 14.1 eorum MUS : om. TV
- 46.4 erant MUS : om. TV
- 68.1 consul esset Mc et uocibus perpere diuisis U : consules sed Mac : consules se S : consules TV non male
- 70.5 se MUS : om. TV
- 76.1 in MUS : om.
TV
Textual variation between π and μ in some of the many passages omitted by S make it unlikely that these omissions were filled by contamination from the μ branch. There are also some small discrepancies between S and μ in text omitted by π (see above on 68.1). It is therefore likely that in all of the passages listed above ν's text was complete and transmitted to one of its two descendants.
The relative number of words omitted in these two lists suggests that π is a more faithful copy of ν than S is; this is borne out by other sorts of singular readings, which are vastly more numerous in S than in π.
Where ν and μ diverge, ν is more often in error than μ is, either by preserving a corrupt archetype or by innovating.
c. π
Hering (1963, 40) lists six substantial omissions common to T and V in the BG. There is another at BHisp 40.2. (The relationship between T and V is the same for all fourteen books of the Caesarian corpus.)
- 15.8 in pugna occupatum animum haberent TV : inpugnatioccupatum animum haberent S : in pugna occupatum animum haberet U : pugna haberet occupatum animum Mac : pugna occupatum animum haberet Mc
- 19.1 propior TV : prior MUS
- 22.1 accessiones TV : accensiones MU (deest S)
- 24.1 postularent TV : postularet (sc. rex) MU uix recte (deest S)
- 66.4 sacerdotium TV : sacerdotum S : sacerdotio MU
For the hyparchetypes discussed above, μ and ν, it was a simple matter to show the independence of the two earliest descendants of each (M and U; S and π). This is not the case for π. A detailed discussion of the relationship between T and V is presented in Damon 2015b. Our work on the Bellum Alexandrinum turned up no new and conclusive evidence. We report the readings of T and V throughout.
3. The extant manuscripts
For detailed descriptions of the five manuscripts used to constitute the text see Damon 2015a, xxxiv-lxi. Here we indicate the folio numbers in each for the text of the Bellum Alexandrinum and the noteworthy innovations. Full transcriptions are available online at the LDLT website (see further below).
a. M
High quality page images of M can be viewed at https://bit.ly/3HCkcSG.
Also noteworthy in M: 11.2 conspectu ⟨suorum⟩ Khan : conspectu hostium M : conspectu USTV : an conspectu ⟨omnium⟩?; 48.1 multis UTV : mutis M : mutus S.
- 11.1 tenuerunt M : tenurunt U : terunt ST : terter V
- 12.4 naturale M : naturalem USTV
- 14.5 impeditiores M : expeditiores USTV
- 23.1 quo M : qui UTV (deest S)
- 24.2 parceret M : parceret et UTV (deest S)
- 42.2 exercitus alendos M : exercitum alendos UTV : exercitum alendum S
- 43.3 quo M : quod USTV
- *46.2 contra illo remigante M : contra illum remigantem SV : contra illo remigantem UT
- *47.3 ea M : eum USTV
- 48.1 animaduertere M : animum auertere USTV
- 60.5 difficultatisque: difficultatesque USTV
- 61.4 passi M : pass(a)e USTV
- 72.2 huic M : hoc USTV
b. U
Microfilm images are available online: https://digi.vatlib.it/view/MSS_Vat.lat.3324.
In the Bellum Alexandrinum U has roughly 80 singular readings listed in the Appendix critica; the approximate figures for the other manuscripts are as follows: M 170, S 260, T 130, V 165. Orthographical variants are not included in these figures.
Also noteworthy in U: 10.1 nudare MSTV : nudari U non male; 28.3 rex S : L ex MTV : ex U; 44.3 magnitudo nequaquam Larsen (cf. BC 3.109.2) : magnitudine quam non M : magnitudine quamquam non U : magnitudine quaquam S : magnitudine quamquam TV.
- 1.5 urbs U : ubrs M : urbis STV non male
- 20.3 refugere coeperunt U : receperunt M : fugere coeperunt T : profugere coeperunt V (deest S)
- 35.2 adductum U : abductum MSTV
- 36.3 castra U : sex castra M : et castra S : ex castra TV
- 49.1 hiberna U : hibernia MTV : ibernia S
- 52.4 ibi T. Vasius U et Mmr : ibi tuasius MTV : ibit uasius S
- 73.1 munituras U : munitura M : muniturus ST et Vc ut uidetur : munitur Vac
c. S
On the innovator see further Damon 2015a, li-liii. The innovations in S, here as in the Bellum ciuile, include supplements to apparent omissions, omissions of superfluous material, alterations of inflexional endings to repair the syntax, corrections to misreadings of letters, and repairs based on material elsewhere in the text. There are also a large number of obvious mistakes, and some possible misreadings of corrections: see the apparatus for 11.3 contentione Rhodiorum, 26.2 idque, 28.2 circumuectus, 61.6 sibi usui. … The most interesting of these can be seen in the apparatus for 11.4 altera duae, where the nonsensical que pertur and que peritur in Sac and Sc respectively may contain the kernel of apertae un- in Kübler’s emendation.
Also noteworthy in S: 8.4 aduersos (sc. impetus) ex munitionibus sustineri MUTV : aduersos (sc. nostros) ex munitionibus sustinere S fortasse recte; 11.6 suis nauibus MUTV : suis S non male; 17.4 quo MUTV : qua S fortasse recte; 26.2 idque MUTV (cf. 3.4) : idque quod S : quod Landgraf; 45.4 parati deinceps MUTV : deinceps S : paratis ( sc. Vatinianis) deinceps Klotz dubitanter; 48.1 Q. Cassius MU : quae cassius TV : cassius S; 48.2 sestertiis centenis ς teste Oudendorp : ihs c MUT compendio indicato : Iterum ihs c S compendio indicato : ihc cesar V compendio indicato; 72.2 unus qui MUTV : qui S non male; 78.3 Deiotaro MUTV: a deiotaro S fortasse recte. See also the immediately previous note.
- 7.2 domiciliis S : domicilius V et MT per compendia : domicius U per compendium
- *11.3 contentione Rhodiorum scripsimus (cf. BC 1.1.1) : contentio nerhodiorum S : contentio r(h)odiorum MUTV
- *28.3 rex S : L ex MTV : ex U
- 37.2 cum uereretur S : uereretur TV : ueritus MU
- *37.3 contulit S : contulit rex MUTV
- 44.1 classe S : classem MUTV
- 45.1 classem magna S : classem magnam M : classe magna UTV
- *49.3 quin S : qui MUTV
- 52.4 at S: ad McUTV
- *60.5 uitii S : uti UTV : usus M
- 62.1 paucis diebus q S : paucis diebusque MU : paucisque diebus T : paucis diebus V
- 64.2 obtinendam uenit S : obtinendam MUTV : obtinendam mittitur Damon exempli gratia
- 64.3 nihilo S (cf. 25.1) : ni(c)hil MUTV
d. T
Page images of T may be viewed at http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b90668596.
Another noteworthy correction in T: 12.3 non tamen MU : tamen STacV : non post cogitationem suppleuit Tc.
- 33.2 diuturnitate confirmarentur Tc et Mmr : diuturnitates confirmarentur MUSTacV
e. V
V is a manuscript preserved in the Österreichische Nationalbibliothek in Vienna, shelf mark 95.
Also noteworthy in V: 27.5 Mithridates magna cum prudentia MUSc et T supra lineam : mithridates magna cum potentia SacT : magna cum prudentia mithridates V feliciter; 62.1 paucis diebus q S : paucis diebusque MU : paucisque diebus T : paucis diebus V non male. Perhaps the scribe devoted less attention to this work than to those written by Caesar himself.
- 59.1 esse1 V : esset MUST
III. Using this edition
The Bellum Alexandrinum has come down to us in a very imperfect state. The ongoing process of rendering it readable and at least arguably authentic has resulted in a text that differs in hundreds of spots from that transmitted by the manuscripts. The critical apparatus of this edition is designed to facilitate scrutiny of these textual repairs. We hope that readers will accept repairs not because they are there but because they are persuasive, or better than others, or better than nothing. Some of the damage incurred in the text's transmission seems irreparable: where text has been lost, for example, or where rival repairs are equally (im)plausible. These spots are marked with […] and †† respectively. But the vast majority of the problem spots are amenable to emendation, and the apparatus presents the evidence and (in brief) the arguments for the repairs adopted or proposed.
A. Text
In general terms the text of this edition aims to reproduce the text of the archetype of our tradition, as emended where it seems possible to restore a text closer to the original. However, several expedients adopted to improve the legibility of the text constitute exceptions to this policy.
The spelling of names and common Latin words and forms is silently regularized where the manuscript variants are not relevant to understanding the text or its transmission. The lemmata in the critical apparatus match the reading in the text (except in capitalization) and therefore do not necessarily represent the spelling in the manuscripts cited.
Abbreviations and symbols are silently spelled out where there is no ambiguity about the full form of the word. (For the special case of numbers see below.) Roman praenomina are an exception to this general rule, since we use the standard abbreviations (C. for Gaius, Cn. for Gnaeus, L. for Lucius, and so on), regardless of what is in the text. The phrase per compendium in the apparatus indicates that a manuscript contains an abbreviation when this information is helpful for understanding the transmission of the text. But the absence of such an indication should not be taken to imply that the text is written in full. All of the manuscripts cited here use abbreviations to a greater (U) or lesser (TV) or variable (MS) degree. The phrase compendio indicato indicates that a word is presented as an abbreviation in the manuscript but that the significance of the abbreviation is unclear.
We have silently regularized the manuscripts' inconsistent and discrepant representations of cardinal and ordinal numbers. For one, two, and three we use the inflected forms, and for most cardinal numbers higher than three we use Roman numerals, since the inflected forms of large numerical adjectives and adverbs are cumbersome in Latin and less perspicuous than their symbolic counterparts. However, we do spell out mille and the inflected forms of milia. Ordinal numbers are spelled out; this is particularly useful in connection with legions, where the difference between, say, “five legions” and “the fifth legion” is significant. Distributive numbers, which are infrequent in this text, are also spelled out.
See Damon (2020) on such parentheses.
Paragraphs are generally those established by Jungermann's 1606 edition, which serve as the basis for the modern citation system. Units within the paragraphs are numbered as in Andrieu 1954.
B. Critical apparatus
- If the reading of the archetype is uncertain: μ≠ν, or MS≠Uπ, etc. In choices between equally authoritative variants we have put in the text the one that offers the best sense and style. Or, if these criteria fail, the lectio difficilior. If no other criterion suffices, we follow U, which is the least deviant manuscript. In some places these criteria pull in different directions.
- If there may be a disagreement between μ and ν: μS≠π, U≠Mν, etc. We list this category separately from (1) because it is often difficult, owing to the waywardness of S, to determine the reading of ν. The same is true, but to a much lesser extent, about μ, owing to M's propensity to stray.
- If the manuscript evidence warrants display for some other
reason. Readings unique to a particular manuscript—lectiones singulares or singular readings—are
generally recorded in the Appendix
critica if the text is not in doubt, but multi-word omissions
are also reported in the apparatus since they provide crucial information
about the shape of hyparchetype families. When other sorts of singular
readings are reported in the apparatus, they are mentioned for their
value as emendations. Where two manuscripts have different singular
readings at the same spot we generally record this in the apparatus.
In some cases the Appendix critica seemed the more appropriate home for the information, especially when unrelated errors were typical of their manuscripts or where one of the two errors has been corrected by the scribe.
- If the syntax is faulty, showing omissions, problems of
agreement, etc. The problem is fixed in the text if possible, even if the
solution adopted is only one of several possible solutions. But sometimes
a lacuna (indicated by […]) is indicated instead.
For the more difficult examples of categories (4)–(7) there are notes explaining our reasoning in Studies on the Text of the Bellum Alexandrinum. These are signaled by a diamond (◊) in the apparatus note.
- If the usage is or appears to be problematic. In this situation,
the problem is usually fixed in the text, unless it can be attributed to
the author himself. This large category is subject to some limitations.
- We rarely make notes involving the regularization of
acceptable syntax. A very common type of emendation involves verb
forms. E.g., where in a series of historical present tense verbs
one finds a perfect. These generally require trivial textual
intervention. But readers can spot these discrepancies for
themselves and decide about the suitability of the preserved
reading and the repairs available. The fact that someone before
them has also queried the text is unlikely to help resolve the
problem, and such notes, which would be very very numerous, would
clog the apparatus.Emendations of this sort (and of those discussed below) can be seen in the Conspectus editionum. However, where such emendations remove a contradiction within the text they are usually either accepted or at least reported. Similarly if they help address an otherwise problematic passage or draw attention to a notable feature of the text such as a constructio ad sensum. (This logic and these exceptions also apply to the following two categories.)
The α and β branches of the tradition of the BG frequently differ over verb tenses, which leads one to suspect that in our tradition, which is limited to the β branch, tense errors will be numerous (see further Damon 2015b, 100-104).
- We rarely make notes involving the addition or excision or interchange of verb prefixes.
- We rarely make notes involving the addition or excision of the connectives et and -que, or the interchange of -que and -ue. A glance at the apparatus will show that these words are frequently overlooked or added by our manuscripts.
- We rarely make notes involving diction. Unlike categories
(a)–(c), such notes sometimes involve substantial changes to the
text, and the presumed innovations have to be explained as
substitutions (deliberate or unconscious) by the scribe.Spotting this sort of problem is an almost infinite task, as there are many words in the text for which one could think of a more apt, a more common, or at least a different expression. The fact that in the BG tradition there are numerous synonym-variants between the α and β branches (see Damon 2015b, 100-104) almost guarantees that some of the expressions in our text were not those originally chosen by the author, and one advantage of notes on diction would be to call attention to anomalies, but at the cost of suggesting, even if only gently, that dictional anomalies need to be fixed. Readers who are sensitive enough to diction to look to the apparatus when an expression seems odd already have what they need to analyse the situation. This is obviously a matter for editorial judgment, and “rarely” does not mean “never.”
Or additions. We also refrain from making notes about possible intrusive glosses, as long as they don't interfere with the comprehension of the text.
- We rarely make notes involving the regularization of
acceptable syntax. A very common type of emendation involves verb
forms. E.g., where in a series of historical present tense verbs
one finds a perfect. These generally require trivial textual
intervention. But readers can spot these discrepancies for
themselves and decide about the suitability of the preserved
reading and the repairs available. The fact that someone before
them has also queried the text is unlikely to help resolve the
problem, and such notes, which would be very very numerous, would
clog the apparatus.
- If the sense is or appears to be problematic on grounds of
either history or logic. Such a problem is fixed in the text unless it
can be attributed to the author himself. A number of these passages
involve names.
For example, we printed the transmitted spelling, even though epigraphic evidence suggests that it is wrong, at 42.3 Iadertinorum and 48.2 Medobrigam. Incertus might not have known the local or accepted spelling of these rather out of the way toponyms. Like Caesar, Incertus is inconsistent in his use of the tria nomina, both at an individual’s introduction, where he sometimes supplies the praenomen and sometimes doesn’t, and subsequently. Q. Cassius Longinus, for example, is sometimes called Cassius, sometimes Longinus.
- If the text is or appears to be suspect on other grounds. Numbers are responsible for most of this category. Sometimes no solution can be proposed but it still seems worth marking the problem.
Parallel passages are often cited in the apparatus to defend the text, a variant, or an emendation, but only when the available parallels are rare; regular usage speaks for itself. In directing the reader to parallels we use uide [u.] for passages illustrating the matter, confer [cf.] for passages illustrating the expression. If a parallel from the Caesarian corpus is given, it is the best one, and often the only one, unless “etc.” follows, in which case there are up to five or so pertinent parallels. If parallels are given for distinct aspects of the phrase in question, et is interposed between citations. If a parallel is given from outside of the Caesarian corpus, no adequate parallel exists within the corpus. Where the cited parallel nevertheless provides only indifferent support for the reading it defends, the reading can be assessed accordingly.
In this edition the readings of all of the principal manuscripts are stated for every lemma. This makes it easy for the reader to follow the behavior and affiliations of the manuscripts over large stretches of text. It also facilitates the task of assessing the arguments about readings in the text, since the lemmata and the evidence for them are listed alongside the conflicting evidence.
Orthographical variants and the related category of abbreviations abound in this tradition (see Damon 2015a, xxiii). They are generally ignored in the apparatus, unless a variant helps explain subsequent innovations, as is sometimes the case for abbreviations in particular.
Citations for works of classical literature are given in the abbreviated forms standardized by the OLD and Liddell-Scott-Jones. (With space-saving exceptions for the six works in the corpus Caesarianum, which appear as BG, Hirt., BC, BAlex, BAfr, BHisp.) Citations without titles refer to the Bellum Alexandrinum.
In the long history of work on the text of the Bellum Alexandrinum some emendations have lost their source. Where other editors ascribe a reading to “edd.,” we have named the earliest source we can find. We use ς if we can verify that a reading is in a manuscript other than those used here to constitute the text. (This usually means that the reading is in L or N or R.) Otherwise we give the earliest edition in which it appears. Emendations credited to the first edition (“ed. pr.”) are presumably drawn from a manuscript source.
C. Appendix critica
In the Appendix critica we record the singular readings of the principal manuscripts in passages where the text is not in doubt. (Where a singular reading is useful for the constitution of the text it is recorded in the critical apparatus.) This collection of readings illustrates the character of the witnesses to the text, allowing the reader to see both the frequency and the types of errors in each. Lemmata are provided to show the nature of the error. The spelling of the lemma is that of the printed text. Orthographical variants are not registered in the Appendix. An erroneous reading ascribed to Mac (or Mc) implies that Mc (or Mac) has the reading of the lemma. All singular omissions are listed. Omissions notable for length or content are also reported in the apparatus criticus. An asterisk marks errors in M that prompted a correction—not necessarily a successful one—by Mmr.
Additional materials in the LDLT edition:
Studies on the Text of the Bellum Alexandrinum
Twenty-three notes on difficult spots in the text by members of the Latin 540 classes in 2015 and 2017. These present in depth the arguments that underlie the various remedies suggested in the edition's critical apparatus. They are signaled in the relevant apparatus note by a diamond (◊) before the lemma.
Transcriptions of the manuscript witnesses (MUSTV)
The five manuscript witnesses used to constitute the text were transcribed by members of the Postbac Latin seminars in 2014 and 2016, and by highschool volunteers in the summer of 2016. The transcriptions were checked and doublechecked by the transcribing teams, by other class members, and by the Latin 540 students who used the transcriptions to generate the critical apparatus. Machine-collation was used to locate discrepancies that needed verification; we used the collation tool at juxtacommons.org. (For the process see Damon and Huskey, forthcoming.) Errors certainly remain, and many features of the original are not reflected in these simple documents, but they are helpful maps for finding a particular bit of text in a manuscript book or a page image. Abbreviations are filled out unless obscure (as is sometimes the case with monetary amounts, for example), punctuation is ignored, and capitalization is reproduced rather erratically. Where a manuscript contains a correction the transcription records the corrected form, not the original reading; the original readings were recorded elsewhere and are taken account of in the apparatus and Appendix critica.
Translation
The students in the two Latin 540 classes produced a translation of the Bellum Alexandrinum in the course of their work on the text. It is a work of many hands and makes no claim to stylistic merit or even consistency. It is designed to communicate our interpretation of the text, particularly where we have emended it.
Conspectus editionum
A list of the 98 places where the reading of the LDLT Bellum Alexandrinum differs from that of Andrieu 1954, which we used as our base text. (Differences of orthography and punctuation are not reported.)
Acknowledgements
As we said at the outset, this edition rests on the work of many contributors. It couldn’t have been done without them, or without the financial and other forms of support for research provided by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and our two home institutions, the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Oklahoma. Our largest debts are recorded below, but the process has been a long one and we are grateful to all who kept us company along the way, even on the “paths not (or not yet) taken” that are an inevitable part of a project as complex as this one proved to be. Information on the collaborations and support that resulted in the platform and protocols that host and govern this edition can be found at the Digital Latin Library and the Library of Digital Latin Texts.
Students at the University of Pennsylvania transcribed and collated the manuscript witnesses and produced the text, critical apparatus, appendix critica, and translation. The contributors were undergraduates, students in the Postbac program, and graduate students in Classical Studies and Ancient History, along with some Philadelphia-area high school students: Adrienne Atkins, Katie Becker, Amelia Bensch-Schaus, Jacob Bickford, Nicholas Bolig, Victoria Burmeister, Sean Carpenter, Greg Callaghan, Brian Credo, Maxwell Dietrich, Alexis Frankel, Kathleen Garland, Nikola Golubovic, Wesley Hanson, Zachary Herbster, Xinyi Huang, Molly Hutt, Johanna Kaiser, Elizabeth Keyser, Scheherazade Khan, Peter Kotiuga, Maria Kovalchuk, Shenda Kuang, Amy Lewis, Scotland Long, Nicole Love, Daniel Mackey, Kate Murphy, Addie McKenzie, Theodora Naqvi, Jeffrey Nolte, Kristen Patterson, Marcie Persyn, Harrison Powell, Isaac Rand, Annamaria Rapsomanikis, Rudolf Rauk, Isabella Reinhardt, Joshua Renfro, Janelle Sadarananda, Jessica Shaw, Dallas Simons, Julia Simons, Brandon Stark, Benjamin Turnbull, Tom Vozar, Tim Warnock, Joseph Watkins, Duo Xu, Yingchao Zhu. You will find the names of some of these students in the edition itself as the sources of emendations to the text and authors of notes on difficult spots in the text. Special mention goes to: Sean Carpenter, who with the support of a grant from Penn’s Undergraduate Research Mentoring Program developed a transcription protocol compatible with automatic collation and produced directories of manuscript abbreviations; Dallas Simons, who helped edit the apparatus notes and prepared page images from early editions for Optical Character Recognition (one of those paths not yet taken, for which we also received help and advice from Greg Crane, Uwe Springmann, and Katie Rawson); Amy Lewis, who helped edit the apparatus notes and appendix critica; and Zachary Elliott, who along with his wife Molly Cowan tested approaches to automating the conversion of traditional apparatus notes into spreadsheet form. Support both financial and technical was provided by Penn’s Price Lab for Digital Humanities.
We owe a debt of gratitude to many people at the University of Oklahoma. Virginia K. Felkner perfected the scripts used to reduce the amount of manual encoding we had to do. Mark Laufersweiler and Tyler Pearson of the Data Analytics, Visualization, and Informatics Syndicate provided invaluable advice on that and other aspects of the project. Tara Carlisle, Director of the Digital Scholarship Laboratory, facilitated meetings and made many helpful suggestions. Logan Cox made important contributions to the DLL's digital infrastructure. The Office of the Vice President for Research supported this and other DLL projects by providing physical and virtual spaces for them.
Several people beyond the walls of the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Oklahoma deserve special mention. Hugh Cayless (Duke University), co-author of the "Guidelines for Encoding Critical Editions for the Library of Digital Latin Texts" and architect of the application for reading this edition online, has been instrumental in all aspects of this project. Tom Elliott (New York University) and Alex Ward provided advice on scholarly and technical matters. Finally, this project could not have come to fruition without the support of the leadership of the Society for Classical Studies, particularly former Executive Director Adam Blistein and current Executive Director Helen Cullyer and those who have served as Vice President of Publications and Research during our work: Michael Gagarin, Donald Mastronarde, Kathryn Gutzwiller, and Colin Whiting.
Bibliography
Manuscripts
Descendants of μ
Hands in M
Hands in U
Descendants of v
Hands in S
Hands in T
Hands in V
Occasionally cited
Early Editions
Modern Editions
Other Sources
List of People Cited by Name
Abbreviations and Other Notations
- scripsimus = denotes changes made collectively by Damon and members of the Latin 540 classes taught at the University of Pennsylvania.
Conspectus Editionum
| BAlex | Budé | LDLT |
| 1.5 | spectans | expectans |
| 2.1 | adduxerant | ⟨armatorum⟩ adduxerant |
| 7.2 | [casum] | casum |
| 7.2 | †ut ... essent ... absumeretur† | ut ... esse ... absumeretur |
| 8.2 | Paraetonio | Paratonio |
| 10.2 | accessisset | accessissent |
| 10.2 | exposuisset | exposuissent |
| 11.2 | ⟨hostium⟩ | ⟨suorum⟩ |
| 12.1 | quibus *** et | quibus et *** |
| 12.3 | amiserant | miserant |
| 12.4 | Caesari | Caesaris |
| 13.5 | ⟨Syrias***, Ci⟩licias | Lycias |
| 13.5 | †et† | et |
| 14.1 | Rhodias | Rhodios |
| 14.1 | Ponticas | Ponticos |
| 14.1 | has | hos |
| 15.3 | ⟨cunctationem⟩ | ⟨moram⟩ |
| 15.5 | , IIII | IIII, |
| 15.8 | qui | ⟨nisi⟩ qui |
| 16.1 | [uictis] | uictis |
| 16.3 | ⟨rerum⟩ | ⟨exercitus⟩ |
| 17.2 | et illa et urbem | ⟨et hanc⟩ et illam [urbem] |
| 17.3 | quos | quosque |
| 17.3 | et alteram insulae partem distinendae | in alteram insulae partem *** distinendae |
| 17.3 | praemiis[que] | praemiis |
| 19.2 | fortiorem | certiorem |
| 20.4 | perturbantes | perturbatos |
| 22.2 | *** comprehendi multum operibus *** et | *** comprehendi †multum† operibus et |
| 24.2 | parceret | parceret [et] |
| 25.1 | Caesari | Caesaris |
| 26.2 | Pelusium aduenit | —Pelusium adducit |
| 26.2 | [multiplici praesidio] | multiplici praesidio |
| 27.5 | [constantiaque] | constantiaque |
| 27.7 | adiunctis | adiuncti |
| 31.3 | partibus ***, | partibus, |
| 32.1 | magna | magnae |
| 33.4 | [itinere terrestri] | itinere terrestri |
| 35.1 | opportunitates ⟨cognouerat⟩ | ⟨constat⟩ opportunitates |
| 36.3 | castra | [ex] castra |
| 36.5 | si[ue] amicus [siue inimicus] | siue amicus siue inimicus |
| 36.5 | si | sin |
| 37.3 | contulit | contulit [rex] |
| 40.2 | circumire acies secunda | circumire ac transcendere |
| 40.2 | ⟨ab⟩ aperto | aperto |
| 42.2 | exercitum alendum | exercitus alendos |
| 42.3 | Iadestinorum | Iadertinorum |
| 44.4 | His adiunctis | Has adiunxit |
| 45.2 | distensis | distentis |
| 48.3 | minuebant | minuebat |
| 49.1 | antea | in ea |
| 49.2 | simultatium causa | simul et causae |
| 51.2 | uoluptate | uoluntate |
| 51.3 | discriberentur | describerentur |
| 52.4 | Ad | At |
| 53.4 | ⟨L.⟩ Laterensis | Laterensis |
| 54.3 | iudicaretur | indicaretur |
| 55.1 | legiones | legionem quintam |
| 55.1 | V cohortibus | cohortibus |
| 55.5 | Squillo | Q. Sestio |
| 56.2 | ⟨superiorum⟩ temporum | temporum |
| 56.2 | animi | animus |
| 57.1 | Ilipam | Leptim |
| 57.2 | Naeuam | †noctu† |
| 57.3 | T. Thorium | †in† Torium |
| 58.1 | Thorius | Torius |
| 59.1 | deterserunt | detraxerunt |
| 60.1 | educerentur ⟨orant⟩ | educerentur |
| 60.2 | esse *** | esset |
| 60.3 | uideret | animaduerteret |
| 60.4 | infirmem | infirmum |
| 60.5 | educunt | educit |
| 61.4 | deductus | adductus |
| 61.6 | magno sibi usu | sibi usui |
| 62.1 | complures[que] | complures |
| 62.1 | auxiliarias | auxiliares |
| 62.2 | Marcellum fouebant | Marcello fauebant |
| 64.2 | uenit | ⟨uenit⟩ |
| 64.3 | in | ⟨in⟩ |
| 64.3 | in derectum | derectam |
| 65.1 | re | rei |
| 65.2 | hae | eae |
| 66.1 | legioni | legionibus |
| 66.1 | praeficit | praefecit |
| 66.5 | coeptum | inceptum |
| 67.1 | ⟨in⟩ Caesaris | Caesaris |
| 67.1 | habuisset | habuisset ⟨et coactus⟩ |
| 67.1 | imperiisque ⟨aduersariorum coactus⟩ | imperiisque |
| 68.1 | defectionem | defensionem |
| 68.2 | armatura | natura |
| 70.4 | quin | quamquam |
| 70.8 | ⟨Id⟩ si | si |
| 72.2 | †superioribus … oppido† superioribus … oppido | |
| 73.3 | iussit | tum iussit |
| 74.3 | contemptu | contemptione |
| 74.4 | praeruptam | procliuem |
| 75.1 | opere | operibus |
| 75.3 | eis | iis ⟨in⟩ |
| 78.2 | quod ⟨regnum⟩ | quod |