Digital edition: exploring text re-uses across languages
Building a digital edition of fragmentary texts means also searching quotations and text re-uses across different languages.
1) Text re-uses of lost texts across languages
| Hyginus, Astronomica 2.40: Istros autem et complures dixerunt Coronida Phlegyae filiam fuisse, hanc autem ex Apolline Aesculapium procreasse, sed postea Ischyn Elati filium cum ea concubuisse. quod cum viderit corvus, Apollini nuntiasse; qui cum fuerit antea candidus, Apollinem pro incommodo nuntio eum nigrum fecisse et Ischyn sagittis confixisse. |
Hyginus, Astronomica 2.40: Istros and several others have said that the Crow was Koronis, daughter of Phlegyas. She bore Aesculapius to Apollo, but after Ischys, son of Elatos, had lain with her, the crow, which had noted it, reported it to Apollo. For his unpleasant news Apollo changed him to black instead of his former white color, and transfixed Ischys with his arrows (trans. Jackson). |
In this example the Latin author Hyginus quotes Istros (BNJ 334 F 66). We can't check the accuracy of the quotation because the original text is lost, but this is an evidence of a Latin re-use of a Greek text which is otherwise lost.
2) Text re-uses of preserved texts across languages
|
Livius 30.45: (2) ... Romam pervenit triumphoque omnium clarissimo urbem est invectus. (3) argenti tulit in aerarium pondo centum uiginti tria milia. militibus ex praeda quadringenos aeris diuisit. morte subtractus spectaculo magis hominum quam triumphantis gloriae Syphax est, (4) Tiburi haud ita multo ante mortuus, quo ab Alba traductus fuerat. conspecta tamen mors eius fuit quia publico funere est elatus. (5) — hunc regem in triumpho ductum Polybius, haudquaquam spernendus auctor, tradit. — secutus Scipionem triumphantem est pilleo capiti imposito Q. Terentius Culleo, omnique deinde uita, ut dignum erat, libertatis auctorem coluit. |
Polybius 16.23: (4) ... ὡς δὲ καὶ τὸν θρίαμβον εἰσῆγε, (5) τότε καὶ μᾶλλον ἔτι διὰ τῆς τῶν εἰσαγομένων ἐνεργείας μιμνησκόμενοι τῶν προγεγονότων κινδύνων ἐκπαθεῖς ἐγίνοντο κατά τε τὴν πρὸς θεοὺς εὐχαριστίαν καὶ κατὰ τὴν πρὸς τὸν αἴτιον τῆς τηλικαύτης μεταβολῆς εὔνοιαν. (6) καὶ γὰρ ὁ Σόφαξ ὁ τῶν Μασαισυλίων βασιλεὺς ἤχθη τότε διὰ τῆς πόλεως ἐν τῷ θριάμβῳ μετὰ τῶν αἰχμαλώτων: ὃς καὶ μετά τινα χρόνον ἐν τῇ φυλακῇ τὸν βίον μετήλλαξε. (7) τούτων δὲ συντελεσθέντων οἱ μὲν ἐν τῇ Ῥώμῃ κατὰ τὸ συνεχὲς ἐπὶ πολλὰς ἡμέρας ἀγῶνας ἦγον καὶ πανηγύρεις ἐπιφανῶς, χορηγὸν ἔχοντες εἰς ταῦτα τὴν Σκιπίωνος μεγαλοψυχίαν. |
|
Livius 30.45: (2) ... (Scipio) reached Rome and rode into the city in the most distinguished of all triumphs. (3) He brought into the treasury one hundred and twenty-three thousand pounds weight of silver. To his soldiers he distributed four hundred asses apiece out of the booty. The death of Syphax withdrew him rather from the eyes of spectators than from the glory of the triumphing general. (4) He had died not long before at Tibur, to which he had been transferred from Alba. Nevertheless his death attracted attention because he was given a state funeral. Polybius, an authority by no means to be despised, relates that this king was led in the triumphal procession. (5) Following Scipio as he triumphed was Quintus Terentius Culleo wearing the liberty cap; and for all the rest of his life, as was fitting, he honoured in Scipio the giver of his freedom (trans. Moore). |
Polybius 16.23: ... and when Scipio came into the city in triumph, and the actual sight of the prisoners who formed the procession brought still more clearly to their memories the dangers of the past, they became almost wild in the expression of their thanks to the gods, and their affection for the author of such a signal change. For among the prisoners who were led in the triumphal procession was Syphax, the king of the Masaesylii, who shortly afterwards died in prison. The triumph concluded, the citizens celebrated games and festivals for several days running with great splendour, Scipio, in his magnificent liberality, supplying the cost ... (trans. Shuckburgh) |
In this example Livius quotes Polybius for a piece of information concerning the king Syphax and his presence in the triumph of Scipio in Rome. Given that the text of Polybius is preserved, it is possible to compare the Latin re-use of the Greek original text.
The following screenshot shows the alignment of the two relevant parts of the texts of Livius and Polybius realized with the Alpheios Translation Alignment Editor. This tool allows also to export the XML of the alignment.
(Please use Firefox for a correct visualization of the Alpheios Translation Alignment Editor tool)
<aligned-text xmlns="http://alpheios.net/namespaces/aligned-text">
<language lnum="L1" xml:lang="lat"/>
<language lnum="L2" xml:lang="grc"/>
<sentence>
<wds lnum="L1">
<w n="1-1">
<text>Syphax</text>
<refs nrefs="1-4"/>
</w>
<w n="1-2">
<text>...</text>
</w>
<w n="1-3">
<text>hunc</text>
</w>
<w n="1-4">
<text>regem</text>
<refs nrefs="1-8"/>
</w>
<w n="1-5">
<text>in</text>
<refs nrefs="1-14"/>
</w>
<w n="1-6">
<text>triumpho</text>
<refs nrefs="1-16"/>
</w>
<w n="1-7">
<text>ductum</text>
<refs nrefs="1-9"/>
</w>
<w n="1-8">
<text>Polybius,</text>
</w>
<w n="1-9">
<text>haudquaquam</text>
</w>
<w n="1-10">
<text>spernendus</text>
</w>
<w n="1-11">
<text>auctor,</text>
</w>
<w n="1-12">
<text>tradit</text>
</w>
</wds>
<wds lnum="L2">
<w n="1-1">
<text>καὶ</text>
</w>
<w n="1-2">
<text>γὰρ</text>
</w>
<w n="1-3">
<text>ὁ</text>
</w>
<w n="1-4">
<text>Σόφαξ</text>
<refs nrefs="1-1"/>
</w>
<w n="1-5">
<text>ὁ</text>
</w>
<w n="1-6">
<text>τῶν</text>
</w>
<w n="1-7">
<text>Μασαισυλίων</text>
</w>
<w n="1-8">
<text>βασιλεὺς</text>
<refs nrefs="1-4"/>
</w>
<w n="1-9">
<text>ἤχθη</text>
<refs nrefs="1-7"/>
</w>
<w n="1-10">
<text>τότε</text>
</w>
<w n="1-11">
<text>διὰ</text>
</w>
<w n="1-12">
<text>τῆς</text>
</w>
<w n="1-13">
<text>πόλεως</text>
</w>
<w n="1-14">
<text>ἐν</text>
<refs nrefs="1-5"/>
</w>
<w n="1-15">
<text>τῷ</text>
</w>
<w n="1-16">
<text>θριάμβῳ</text>
<refs nrefs="1-6"/>
</w>
<w n="1-17">
<text>μετὰ</text>
</w>
<w n="1-18">
<text>τῶν</text>
</w>
<w n="1-19">
<text>αἰχμαλώτων</text>
</w>
</wds>
</sentence>
</aligned-text>