Dios Rome, Volume 1 | Page 8

the warnings of the royal prophetess and couched in appropriately incomprehensible expressions). It was hardly worth all the care that Tzetzes lavished upon it. From manuscript evidence and various claims of John Tzetzes it seems that John worked over, improved, and enlarged the commentary of his brother. Isaac's name, however, still remains associated with this particular exposition.
We are now at length placed in a position to consider the condition of the ultimate portion of the work, i.e., the last twenty books, Sixty-one to Eighty inclusive. In general it may be said that for this section of the history we are thrown back upon an epitome of Ioannes Xiphilinus, who lived about fifty years earlier than the Ioannes Zonaras recently under discussion. To this general statement there are two important exceptions. First, even as early as Xiphilinus wrote (eleventh century) nearly two books of this last portion had perished. Book Seventy, containing the reign of Antoninus Pius, was entirely gone save a few miserable chapters, and Book Seventy-one had suffered the same fate in its beginning, so that our account of the renowned Marcus Aurelius begins practically with the year 172 instead of 161. The gap thus created has been partially filled by extracts of every conceivable quality and merit, from Suidas, from John of Antioch, even from Asinius Quadratus. This on the side of loss: on the side of gain there are numerous little excerpts (just as in the case of the early books) that may serve to fill crevices or cover scars, and above all there exists a parchment manuscript, known as Vaticanus 1288, older than Mediceus A, older than Venetus A, and containing Books Seventy-eight and Seventy-nine probably very much as Dio wrote them, save that the account is mutilated at beginning and end.
Boissevain concludes (by comparing the Table of Contents found with a remark of Photius) that this particular piece of salvage was originally Books Seventy-nine and Eighty (instead of Seventy-eight and Seventy-nine), that Book Eighty of Dio was really what is now commonly called Seventy-nine and Eighty, and that the so-called Book Eighty (of only five chapters) was but a kind of epilogue to the whole work. Whatever we may decide respecting the merits of his argument, the important fact is that here for a short distance we have Dio's original narrative, as in Books Thirty-six to Sixty, and are no longer obliged to depend upon epitomes.
A word of explanation about Xiphilinus must come next. This Xiphilinus was a native of Trapezos (Trebizond) and became a monk at Constantinople. Here, at the behest of Michael VII. Ducas (1071-1078) he made an abridgment of Books Thirty-six to Eighty of Dio; thus it is his version of the lost books Sixty-one to Eighty on which we are compelled to rely. His task was accomplished with an even greater degree of carelessness than is customary in such compositions, and it may be said that his ability or, at least, his good will is not nearly so great as that of Zonaras. Yet he is largely a pis aller for the would-be reader of Cassius Dio.
Whereas the original was divided arbitrarily into books, Xiphilinus divided his condensation into "sections," each containing the life of one emperor. Readers must further note that the present division of Books Seventy-one to Eighty dates only from Leunclavius (1592, first edition) and is not necessarily correct. Improvements in arrangement by Boissevain (latest editor of Dio entire) are indicated in the present translation, though for convenience of reference the old headlines are still retained.
Before speaking of the editions through which Dio's Roman History has passed it seems desirable to summarize briefly the condition of the whole as explained in the preceding pages. Here is a bird's-eye view of the whole situation.
Books 1-21 exist in Zonaras and various fragments. " 22-35 exist in fragments only. " 36-54 exist in Dio's own words, and are found in universally approved MSS. " 54-60 exist in generally approved MSS. " 60-69 exist in Xiphilinus and excerpts. Book 70 exists in fragments only. Books 71-77 exist in Xiphilinus and excerpts. " 78, 79 exist in Dio's own words (oldest MS). Book 80 exists in Xiphilinus.
EDITIONS.
A brief list of important editions of this author is appended; the order is chronological.
1. N. Leonicenus.--Italian translation of Books 35 to 60. Venice, 1533. Free, and with many errors.
2. R. Stephanus.--Greek text of Books 35 to 60. Paris, 1548. Work well done, but based on a poor MS.
3. Xylander.--Latin translation of Books 35 to 60, with a brief Latin index. Basle, 1557. This version was made from No. 2.
4. Baldelli.--Italian translation of Books 35 to 60. Venice, 1562.
5. H. Stephanus.--A second edition of No. 2 with Latin translation of No. 2 added. A few corrections have been made and the Latin index is a little fuller.