Minor Latin poets; with introductions and English translations

THE FABLES OF AVIANUSthe decline of metrical strictness at the end of thefourth century.There is no trace of Christian influence in the Fables.Pagan gods and sacrifices are introduced after a pre-Christian fashion in 4, 8, 14, 22, 23, 32, 36 and 42.The popularity of Avianus in the schools of theMiddle Ages is attested by accretions, paraphrases,scholia and quotations. As rhetorical exercises,promythia or epimythia were composed at thebeginning or end of many fables to point the moral.A few of these came to be included in the text.Some epimythia (those contained in the earliestMSS.), it is likely, come from Avianus himself;but the four promythia (to fables 5, 7, 8, 34) areprobably the work of a rhetorician, although, beingcontained in the tenth century MSS., they are ofan early date. A number of undoubtedly spuriousepimythia (found only in later MSS.) are omittedin most editions. Froehner prints them separatelyin his edition of 1862. Paraphrases were oftenmade of Avianus. One collection entitled ApologiAviani^ is attached to two of the later Paris MSS.Here the paraphrast usually turns the first half orinto prose and ends by copyingmore of each fablethe last few lines of Avianus' own version, so thatoccasionally his Mork is useful for determining thetext. Alexander Neckam (1157-1217) composedverse paraphrases, perhaps of the whole of Avianus,entitling his work Novus Avianus. His versions ofthe first six fables are contained in a St. GermainMS. of the thirteenth century. ** Scholia of varying* Published by Froehner in his ed. of Avianus 1862.^ Published by Edclestand du Meril {Poesies Inediles, 260-267) and afterwards by Froehner, op. cit.X X 2675