The holospondaic hexameter mentioned by Aphtonius (GL VI 72, 14: non phocae turpes, non marcentes ballenae) could be ascribed to Ennius for the following reasons: all the holospondaic hexameters treated by the scriptores de re metrica, except the exempla ficta, are considered Ennian fragments; the word ballaena appears in Quintilian (inst. 1, 4, 15), as an example of Greek f that becomes Latin b, together with Burrus and Bruges: these words are explicitly quoted as Ennian by Cicero (orat. 160 = inc. 334 Jocelyn = scen. 176 V.2) for the same reason; the expression phocae turpes is to be found in Vergil (georg. 4, 395) with a probable allusion to Ennius, a frequent Vergilian device.The verse could have been extrapolated from the Hedyphagetica and considered as a negative prescription of a gourmet, taking into account the topoi of seals bad smelling and of whales ugliness in the Graeco-Roman tradition.
Paretti, L. (2006). Un frammento dimenticato degli Hedyphagetica di Ennio, 134, 1-9.
Un frammento dimenticato degli Hedyphagetica di Ennio
PARETTI, LUCA
2006-01-01
Abstract
The holospondaic hexameter mentioned by Aphtonius (GL VI 72, 14: non phocae turpes, non marcentes ballenae) could be ascribed to Ennius for the following reasons: all the holospondaic hexameters treated by the scriptores de re metrica, except the exempla ficta, are considered Ennian fragments; the word ballaena appears in Quintilian (inst. 1, 4, 15), as an example of Greek f that becomes Latin b, together with Burrus and Bruges: these words are explicitly quoted as Ennian by Cicero (orat. 160 = inc. 334 Jocelyn = scen. 176 V.2) for the same reason; the expression phocae turpes is to be found in Vergil (georg. 4, 395) with a probable allusion to Ennius, a frequent Vergilian device.The verse could have been extrapolated from the Hedyphagetica and considered as a negative prescription of a gourmet, taking into account the topoi of seals bad smelling and of whales ugliness in the Graeco-Roman tradition.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
