Curiosities of the Royal Library at Dresden (1748) - Page 10

470.) Stephanus de Vrbibus. Greek.

from the aspect of the secret sometimes one says things jokingly which, however, turn out differently and about which one has a different conviction. What I can say with the basis of truth is that they were not gathered together with sufficient judicium judgment, and were published without distinction. See Jo. Christoph. Wolfius in the preface to Casauboniana notes on Casaubon, Morhof in Polyhistor the polymath, Reimmann in Catal. Bibliothec. Theol. Catalog of the Theological Library p. 441, and in the Accessiones additions p. 281.

Romanum, mense Januario 1502. &

Aldus was the first who brought this ancient writer, who can serve for the explanation of geography and grammar, into the light. However, he did not bring the entire Stephanus into the light, for that same has long been lost, but only a short excerpt from it, of which not Stephanus himself, but a certain Hermolaus Byzantius Grammaticus is the author, or perhaps even only an excerpt from his excerpt. Aldus dedicated this book to Joannes Taberius of Brescia, who taught the Greek and Latin languages in his fatherland. In this dedication, he calls this work an opus perquam utile, maximeque necessarium iis, qui humanitati incumbunt, ob historiarum poë- extremely useful work, and most necessary to those who apply themselves to the humanities, because of the reading of the historians and poets, in which they are assiduously engaged. For he elegantly teaches almost all the cities that are read in those very historians and poets, κατὰ στοιχεῖον in alphabetical order, and shows in what manner their gentile names are derived. Add that it is worthwhile to learn from him the orthography of those names, in which those who are unlearned in Greek letters are wont to err the most.

At the end stands: Venice at the house of Aldus with privilege, as in others. fol.

471.) Stephanus de Vrbibus. Greek.

However, this first edition is still quite imperfect and was subject to many errors, which partly Xylander, partly the subsequent editors of Stephanus, have corrected. Our copy has this particularity, that about thirty variantes lectiones variant readings, improvements, and annotations have been written on the margins by different hands.

Image description: The bibliographic entry continues describing the work of Gulielmus Xylander: "Purified from very many foul errors by the labor of Gulielmus Xylander of Augsburg, and augmented by two inventories (one of authors, from whose writings testimonies are sought: another of remarkable things and words). You will understand the rest from his preface to the reader. The same work translated into Latin, inserted into his Onomasticon Geographicum Geographical Lexicon, will be published shortly. Basel, from the Oporinus workshop, 1568, fol., column 388."

Xylander, who did not have a clear eye, was easy to seduce and could have let himself be persuaded by the final words of the inscription of his Stephanus that he had produced a Latin translation of the same. In fact, more than one scholar has fallen into the error of thinking he published such a version. Xylander had the bad habit of not working much in advance, but only putting as much on paper every day as was necessary for the printing. Thus, his promised Onomasticon Geographicum did not come to fruition, and perhaps was not even started. One must grant Xylander justice and confess that he did much with this writer to put him in a better state, even if he did not always succeed well. However, he did not write commentarios luculentos brilliant commentaries over it, as the Acta Eruditorum Acts of the Learned (1689, p. 238) wish to claim, but only undertook some improvements with the text itself without giving account of them, and produced two registers, one of the scribes whom Stephanus cites and whose testimonies he uses, and the other of the most important words and things contained in Stephanus. At this edition, several short Greek poems are also cited, which the scholars of that time, Jo. Leunclavius, Hieron. Wolfius, Martinus Crufius, and Carolus Uttenhofius, wrote in honor partly of Xylander, partly of the book printer Oporinus.