A

HOMERIC DICTIONARY

FOR USE IN SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES

FROM THE GERMAN OF

DR. GEORG AUTENRIETH

RECTOR OF THE GYMNASIUM AT ZWEIBRÜCKEN

TRANSLATED, WITH ADDITIONS AND CORRECTIONS,

BY ROBERT P. KEEP, PH.D.

AAMITAALA

NEW YORK

HARPER & BROTHERS, PUBLISHERS

FRANKLIN SQUARE

1884

Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1876, by

HARPER & BROTHERS,

In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington.

PA

4209

A73 1576

PREFACE.

DR. GEORG AUTENRIETH, the compiler of the "Wörterbuch zu den Homerischen Gedichten," of which the present volume is a translation, is the Director of the Gymnasium at Zweibrücken, in the Bavarian Palatinate. A favorite scholar and intimate personal friend of that admirable man, Von Nägelsbach, of Erlangen, there devolved upon him, on the death of the latter, the editorial charge of his works, and Autenrieth's editions of the "Gymnasial Pädagogik," the "Homerische Theologie," and the "Commentary on the First Three Books of Homer's Iliad" gained him the repute of a thorough and judicious scholar, and led to his appointment, at an unusually early age, to the important position which he now holds.

In 1868, at the request of the publishing house of Teubner & Co., of Leipzig, he undertook the preparation of a school dictionary of the Iliad and Odyssey, which appeared in 1873. This work met with favorable criticism in Germany, was translated, within a year from its publication, into Dutch, and has passed to its second German edition. Of Autenrieth's special fitness for the task of compiling such a dictionary, his experience as a practical educator, his devotion for many years to the study of Homer, his numerous contributions to the admirable Commentary of Ameis, and the frequent citation of his name in Crusius's Homeric Lexicon (the last edition, that of Seiler and Capelle) furnish sufficient proof. Autenrieth's aim has been not only to convey, in the compactest form consistent with clearness, the results of Homeric study and criticism up to the present time, but also to communicate such collateral information as may serve to render the study of Homer interesting and attractive. Passages of doubtful or difficult interpre

tation are translated, and the degree of tions words receive from the

author, who has made the science of comparative philology a special study, particular attention. A novel feature of the work is the introduction into the text of nearly one hundred and fifty small wood-cuts mainly representations of veritable antiques-which are designed to give to the student a vivid conception of the things mentioned by Homer, by placing before his eyes the warfare, navigation, costume, and sacrificial rites of the Homeric age. It was the test of actual use which suggested to the editor the idea of translating this book. With it in his hand he read, first the Odyssey, then the Iliad. Tried by this test, it seemed to combine so many excellences that the wish arose in his mind that the work might be made generally accessible to students in America and in England. From the time when he decided to undertake the translation to the present date he has been in frequent correspondence with the author, calling his attention to articles which seemed obscure, and receiving from him the corrections and changes which have been incorporated into the second German edition. The number of additions made by the editor himself is considerable, and many articles have been entirely rewritten, as a comparison of the present with the German edition will show.

Autenrieth's dictionary rests especially upon the labors of three distinguished Homeric scholars-Von Nägelsbach, Döderlein, and Ameis. The frequent references which, in the original edition, are made to these commentators, have been omitted in the translation.

Autenrieth frequently employs a Latin to define a Greek word. The practice commends itself from its conciseness and its precision, and the translator has accordingly in most cases continued it; yet he has not felt that he could presuppose, in the case of American students, such an acquaintance with a large Latin vocabulary as would justify him in omitting to add (in most cases) an English translation.

The present dictionary was intended to be primarily one of Homeric forms. Hence the plan of the work requires that, in the definitions of words which are inflected, the first inflexional form actually occurring in Homer should begin the article, and not, in all cases, the first person singular present indicative active or the

nominative singular. Whenever, in rare cases, a non-Homeric form occupies the first place, this is printed in thin-faced typc. Occasionally, moreover, a verb which occurs only in a historical tense, and is therefore augmented, will be found in that place which the first person singular of its present indicative active would properly occupy: e. g., ἐξ-έφθιτο, a ἅπαξ λεγόμενον, will be printed but once (to save space), and will be found where (if it occurred in Homer) the present, ex-p0ivw, would stand; so, likewise, ἐξήρπαξε will occupy the place properly belonging to ἐξαρπάζω.

The necessity for extreme conciseness and the restriction of the work to Homeric usage cause some articles to lack that full account of the various meanings of a word, as developed one from the other, which is to be found in a general lexicon like that of Liddell & Scott. A certain baldness and inadequateness in the treatment of many words must, indeed, be a characteristic of such a dictionary. The test of the book, however, is its practical adaptation to the ends it is intended to serve. The writer's own experience has led him to believe that it is well adapted to meet the wants of the young student, as well as to be a companion in the reading of those professional men who have unwillingly let their acquaintance with Homer drop because of the inconvenience of carrying with them on a journey or to the seashore a cumbrous lexicon. It is his earnest hope that this book -so attractive in form, and procurable at so low a price-will render possible, alike in our secondary schools and in our colleges, the reading of a considerably larger portion of Homer than has heretofore been attempted.

The following suggestions as to the use of the book may be found serviceable:

Let the beginning be made by grounding the student carefully and thoroughly upon the forms and peculiarities of the Homeric dialect, with the necessary constant comparison of Homeric and Attic forms. During this stage, the use of the larger lexicon in connection with the present volume will be necessary. Two Books read in this way would suffice. This done, the second step would