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Minor Latin poets; with introductions and English translations

Minor Latin poets; with introductions and English translations

Minor Latin poets; with introductions and English translations

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FABULAE AVIANIEPISTULA EIUSDEM AD THEODOSIUMDubitanti mihi, Theodosi optime, quoinam litterarumtitmlo nostri nominis memoriam m<strong>and</strong>aremus,fabularum textus occurrit, quod in his urbane conceptafalsitas deceat et non incumbat necessitas veritatis.nam quis tecum de oratione, quis de poemateloqueretur, cum in utroque litterarum genere etAtticos Graeca eruditione superes et <strong>Latin</strong>itateRomanes ? huius ergo materiae ducem nobis Aesopumnoveris, qui response Delphici Apollinis monitusridicula orsus est, ut legenda fii*maret. verum has pro 1exemplo fabulas et Socrates divinis operibus indiditet poemati suo Flaccus aptavit, quod in se sub iocorumcommunium specie vitae argumenta contineant.Titulus : Incipiunt fabulae Aviani poetae : epistolaeiusdem ad Theodosium C : ad imperatorem TheodosiumReg. : ad Teodosium imperatorem Bawl.* falsitas codd. : salsitas Baehrens. veritatis codd. :severitatis Lachmann.^° legenda codd. : sequenda Lachmann." i.e. probably Macrobius Theodosius, author of theSaturnalia : see Introduction. The tone of the dedicationsuits a literary addressee.* The historical " Aisopos " was a slave in Samos, 6th cent.B.C., who used beast-stories to convey moral lessons. Latergenerations freely ascribed to him a mass of fables, <strong>and</strong> thesupposed Aesopic fables were collected about 300 B.C. by68o

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