On Famous Women

A metal paperclip is attached to the left edge of the page. There is a partially visible marginal note on the right edge of the page.

Who would not grant at least one small tear for these youths and their so unhappy end? He would be made of stone. These children loved one another; they did not deserve a bloody end for this misfortune. It is a crime of the spirit in a flourishing age, but it is not a horrific crime for those who have been released from life. Can going into marriage truly be called a crime? Perhaps it was the worst of Luck original: "fors pessima," referring to personified Fortune or Chance. that sinned, or perhaps the wretched parents sinned. For the impulses of the young must be reined in gradually, lest while we wish to oppose them with a sudden barrier, we drive those who have lost hope over a precipice. The passion of desire is of immoderate strength, and it is a common plague among adolescents. In them, by Hercules original: "edepol," an archaic Latin oath dedicated to Pollux, common in Roman comedy and later humanistic writing., it must be tolerated with a patient mind, since the nature of things wills it so; while we are strong in our prime, we are naturally inclined toward it, lest the human race fall into ruin if union were deferred until old age.

Of Hypermnestra, Queen of the Argives.

Hypermnestra The OCR reads "P Permestra," likely a misreading of a decorative initial "H" or a scribe's stylistic choice. was famous for her lineage and dignity; she was the daughter of Danaus, King of the Argives, and the wife of Lynceus. It is gathered from the histories of the ancients that there were once two brothers in Egypt, the sons of King Belus, who were preeminent in their remarkable power original: "imperio." The OCR reads "impio" (wicked), but "imperio" fits the context of royal brothers better.. One of these was named Danaus, and the other Aegyptus. The fortune of their offspring was not equal, even if their number was; for Danaus had fifty daughters, while Aegyptus had just as many sons.

Danaus and Aegyptus

When Danaus had received an oracle stating that he would be killed by the hand of a nephew born of his brother, he was secretly tormented by fear, especially since he did not know, out of such a vast multitude, whose hands he ought to hold in suspicion. It happened that when the children of both were reaching maturity, Aegyptus requested that all of Danaus's daughters be joined in marriage to his own sons. Danaus, having devised a cruel crime in his mind, granted this of his own accord. When the daughters were betrothed to their cousins and the wedding rites were being prepared, he strictly warned them all that if they wished for their own safety, each one should kill her husband with a blade original: "ferro," literally "iron," often used to mean a sword or dagger. on the first night while he was soaked with wine and feasting and bound in heavy sleep. They all, having brought knives secretly into their chambers, killed the youths who were sluggish from their excessive drinking, by their father's command. But Hypermnestra alone abstained; for the maiden had already set her heart upon Lynceus The OCR reads "linū seu linteū," likely a misreading of "Linceum," the name of her husband. her husband, as is the custom...