KARIN HULT HULT KARIN Studia graeca et latina Gothoburgensia LXX THEODORE METOCHITES ON THE HUMAN CONDITION AND THE DECLINE OF ROME OF DECLINE THE AND CONDITION HUMAN THE ON METOCHITES THEODORE KARIN HULT THEODORE METOCHITES ON THE HUMAN CONDITION AND THE DECLINE OF ROME SEMEIOSEIS GNOMIKAI 27–60 CRITICAL EDITION WITH INTRODUCTION, TRANSLATION, NOTES, AND INDEXES THEODORE METOCHITES ON THE HUMAN CONDITION AND THE DECLINE OF ROME STUDIA GRAECA ET LATINA GOTHOBURGENSIA LXX Theodore Metochites on the Human Condition and the Decline of Rome Semeioseis gnomikai 27–60 A Critical Edition with Introduction, Translation, Notes, and Indexes by Karin Hult © Karin Hult 2016 ISBN 978-91-7346-889-3 (print) ISBN 978-91-7346-890-9 (pdf ) ISBN 978-91-7346-900-5 (epub) ISBN 978-91-7346-899-2 (mobi) ISSN 0081-6450 ISSN 2002-2131 Kriterium (Online) http://dx.doi.org/10.21524/kriterium.4 Studia Graeca et Latina Gothoburgensia, volume 70 Editor: Gunhild Vidén This volume is published within the framework of Kriterium, a quality hall- mark for Swedish academic books. All Kriterium publications undergo peer review according to set guidelines, and are available as open access publica- tions at www.kriterium.se Printed with grants from Riksbankens Jubileumsfond Herbert & Karin Jacobssons Stiftelse Acta Universitatis Gothoburgensis, Box 222, 405 30 Göteborg [email protected] Typesetting and cover: philologicon, Eric Cullhed Print: Responstryck, Borås 2016 Abstract Title: Theodore Metochites on the Human Condition and the Decline of Rome. Semeioseis gnomikai 27–60. A Critical Edition with Introduction, Translation, Notes, and Indexes Author: Karin Hult Language: Ancient Greek and English ISBN: 978-91-7346-889-3 (printed) ISBN: 978-91-7346-890-9 (pdf ) ISBN: 978-91-7346-900-5 (epub) ISBN: 978-91-7346-899-2 (mobi) ISSN: 0081-6450 ISSN: 2002-2131 Kriterium (Online) DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.21524/kriterium.4 Keywords: human condition, Fortune, misfortunes, lament, Byzantium, Eastern Roman Empire, monasteries, decline, Moslems, Fourth Crusade A critical edition, with English translation and notes, of chapters 27–60 of the Semeioseis gnomikai (“Sententious notes”), a collection of 120 essays by the Byzantine statesman and scholar Theodore Metochites (1270–1332). The edition is based on three manuscripts, which are briefly presented in the introduction. P (Par. gr. 2003, Paris) and M (Marc. gr. 532, Venice) were both written in the early fourteenth century; E (Scor. gr. 248, Escorial) is a sixteenth-century copy of M. After the edition, with accompanying English translation and notes, the book is concluded with a bibliography and three indexes: of quoted passages, Greek words, and Greek names. Several of the essays in this volume contain laments on the reduced state of the Eastern Roman Empire (Byzantium), and on the vicissitudes of hu- man life and fortune. A group of short essays describe the pleasure of behold- ing Creation and one of the longest discusses the pros and cons of having been born, i.e. of life. Contents Preface. ix Introduction . xi The manuscripts. xi The relation between the manuscripts . xi The edition of Müller and Kiessling . xvi The present volume . xxiv Essays in the present volume . xxv Text, Translation and Notes . 1 Bibliography . 223 Index of Passages . 227 Index of Greek Words . 235 Index of Greek Names . 305 Preface I wish to express my gratitude to a number of people who have helped me with this book. Börje Bydén has been an invaluable partner in discussions on interpretation, commentary and content, and given expert help; many of the notes containing information on Greek philosophy owe their existence to him. I am also extremely grateful to Staffan Wahlgren, who has taken the time to go through my translation very carefully and suggested a large num- ber of improvements, both in the interpretation of difficult passages and in the phrasing of the English. He has also proofread the edition. Both Börje and Staffan have, on different occasions, looked up passages for me in the Venice manuscript in the Biblioteca Marciana. Rena Minkoff has done wonders for the translation, with light and sub- tle changes. Metochites and I both are in her debt. I am forever grateful to Eric Cullhed, who generously undertook, at short notice, to do the formatting and layout of the book. It was a great relief to me to leave my manuscript in his capable hands. Eric also suggested several improvements. Gunhild Vidén has been in charge of the publication of the book in Studia Graeca et Latina Gothoburgensia. I am grateful for her calm efficien- cy and good sense, and for her friendship and moral support over many years. I also want to thank the Greek and Latin seminar at Gothenburg University and the Greek and Byzantine seminar at Uppsala University, where I had the opportunity to discuss problematic passages. Thanks also to Mikael Johansson for proof-reading, to Andreas Nordin for additional help with the English, and to The Herbert & Karin Jacobsson Foundation for contributing to the printing costs. Last but not least I wish to express my heartfelt gratitude to Riksbankens Jubileumsfond who funded the work for three years. I am happy to be finally able to show them that their money was not wasted. Gothenburg 15 August 2016 Karin Hult Introduction The present volume comprises essays nos. 27–60 of theSemeioseis gnomikai by Theodore Metochites. The first volume, essays 1–26 & 71, appeared in 2002. The third volume, essays 61–70 & 72–81, prepared by Staffan Wahl- gren, will appear shortly.1 The fourth and last volume, essays 82–120, is in preparation. Since the present volume is a continuation of the edition from 2002, this introduction will be kept rather brief. I refer the reader to the introduction in my previous volume,2 and to the thorough and well-reasoned introduction in Wahlgren (forthcoming). THE MANUSCRIPTS The same three manuscripts are used as in volume one, namely, Parisinus gr. 2003 (P), Marcianus gr. 532 (coll. 887) (M), and Scorialensis gr. 248 (Y.I.9) (E).3 THE RELATION BETWEEN THE MANUSCRIPTS There is a thorough discussion of the relation between the manuscripts in Hult 2002,4 and an even more thorough one in Staffan Wahlgren’s forth- coming edition of essays 61–70 & 72–81. Whereas it is practically certain that E is a copy of M, the relation between P and M is difficult to ascertain. Either they are independent of each other (but perhaps copies of the same manuscript), or P may be a copy of M. 1 To be published in Studia Graeca et Latina Gothoburgensia. 2 Hult 2002, xiii–xliv. 3 Hult 2002, xvi–xxii; Wahlgren (forthcoming), introduction. 4 Hult 2002, xxii–xxxii. xii SEMEIOSEIS GNOMIKAI 27–60 Corrections in P The following corrections in P (P1) agree with M/E (not all these correc- tions are noted in the critical apparatus): 29.3.3 μὴ add. s. l. P1 50.2.3 τοιαῦται p.c. P 31.2.1 ὥσπερ: -περ add. scriba 50.3.7 ἐρεῖν: ἐρ- p.c. P 31.2.8 ἔχοντες: -ες p.c. P 52.1.3 τιμήσαιντ᾿: -ν- add. scriba 33.3.6 ποθήσαι: ποθῆσαι a.c. ut vid. 52.3.1 ἥττηνται: -ν- p.c. P P 53.2.1 ἡλικιῶτιν: -ιν p.c. P 36.2.1 εἶναι inter γε et καὶ add. 53.2.3 ἔθνεσι γενόμενοι: -σι γε- in scriba P rasura scripta P 37.2.7 εὐθαρσεῖς: -αρ- p.c. P 53.3.5 τῆς: τοῖς a.c. P 37.4.4 γιγνόμενον: -γ- add. scriba 54.2.6 λεγόντων: -ων in rasura 38.1.4 καταβαπτίζει: -τβ- a.c. P scriptum P 38.3.6 τò λοιπòν: τò add. scriba 56.1.1 οὑτοσί p.c. P (P1 s.l.) E, οὑτω- 39.1.5 κατ᾿: καθ᾿ a.c. P σί a.c. P 39.2.6 αὐτοῖς: -τοῖς add. scriba 56.1.5 καὶ τἀλγεινὰ: καὶ p.c. P 44.1.1 ἀσείστως: -στ- add. scriba 57.2.10 ἠξίουν: -ν add. scriba 47 title πλείοσι περισπούδαστον p.c. 57.6.4 πάσῃ: -η p.c. P P1 58.4.4 ἅπαντα: -τα add. scriba 48.1.6 χρόνιον p.c. P 58.7.3 τῶν: τον a.c. ut vid. P 48.2.8 ἀζημίως p.c. P 58.7.6 ξυναορεῖ: ξυν- add. scriba P 50.1.2 ἐπὶ in rasura scriptum P 58.9.4 ἢ: fort. p.c. P 50.2.2–3 καὶ γλυκυθυμία … οὐ- in 59.2.4 ἢ1 s.l. P rasura scriptum P 60.3.2 ἐν εὐρίποις: ἐν s.l. P In the following cases the word order in P has been corrected by the origi- nal scribe. The corrections are all in accordance with the word order found in M(E). A possible explanation is that M was the exemplar of P; another explanation could be that the scribe of M was more careful than the scribe of P when they copied the text from the same exemplar. 27.3.9 σκέπην ἄλλων καὶ χρείαν 35.1.6 μέχρι καὶ: καὶ μέχρι a.c. P ἡντιναοῦν: σκέπην ἄλλων 59.4.3 ἐπίτηδες ὅμως E, p.c. P: ὅμως ἡντιναοῦν καὶ χρείαν a.c. P ἐπίτηδες a.c. P 28.5.5 ἐπιμελῶς ἀποδιδόντα E, p.c. P: ἀποδιδόντα ἐπιμελῶς a.c. P, non leg. M Introduction xiii Corrections by P2 28.1.7 περιγινόμενον PE, non leg. 56.3.1 ἀγαπῶντος PE, α s.l. P2 (i.e. M, ε (i.e. -γενόμενον) s.l. P2 ἀγαπῶντα [sic MK]) 40.2.5 κατὰ: κα- add. P2 57.2.3 ἔχοντας + τινὰς (add. s.l.) P2 41.1.7 πάσχοντες PE in πάσχουσιν 57.2.3 ταύτης δὴ add.