[On mention of the tomb of Alexander at Alexandria.] illic Pellaei proles uesana Philippi, perque Asiae populos, fatis urgentibus actus, humana cum strage ruit, gladiumque per omnes Persarum Euphraten, Indorum sanguine Gangen : sed cecidit Babylone sua, Parthoque uerendus. pro pudor! eoi propius timuere sarissas quam nunc pila timent populi. licet usque sub Arcton regnemus, Zephyrique domos, terrasque premamus flagrantis post terga Noti; cedemus in ortus Arsacidum domino. non felix Parthia Crassis exiguae secura fuit prouincia Pellae, LUCAN Pharsalia X 20-52. PREFACE. IN attempting to bring before English classical students a portion of the work of an author once widely read both elsewhere and in this country, but now used seldom-at least in England-, we hope that we have not undertaken a thankless task. The want of variety in Latin prose authors read in schools has often been felt by schoolmasters; and, if none but the writers of the purest Latin are to be studied, we are at once thrown back upon Caesar and Cicero alone. And it may with reason be held that University students would not lose by reading portions of a wider range of authors than they now usually do. The claims of Curtius are dealt with in the introduction. As we are not preparing this book with the view of furnishing candidates for some particular examination with a short and simple means to mark-getting, but seek to help and instruct several different classes of students, we have not thought fit to restrict our notes to the clearing up of difficulties in each separate sentence, in fact to the repeating of things that ( every fourth form boy' ought to know and does not. On the contrary, while dealing with grammatical questions of an even elementary nature, we have freely illustrated the matter by quotation and reference. The notes on the first chapter are mainly of an illustrative character, as the nature of the subject required. In the spelling of Indian names we have generally followed the best modern authorities; but in citing authorities we have used the spelling adopted by the several writers. Thus we write Brahman, but in citing Elphinstone Bramin, and so forth. A copious index will make up for some deficiencies in cross reference, and appendix D will help in understanding the plan of Alexander's Indian expedition generally. The notes on the first chapter are the work of Mr Heitland: the rest are all written in common. Mr Raven has supplied the index and list of names, Mr Heitland the introductions and appendices. When quotations from Greek writers seemed not to require to be left in the original for some good cause, we have generally given an English translation or abstract. Mr Heitland is responsible for the text, which is based on that of Hedicke; also for the maps, which depend mainly on General Cunningham's Ancient Geography of India. Elphinstone's History of India has been cited from the fifth (Cowell's) edition, and Thirlwall's History of Greece from the first edition in Lardner's Cabinet Cyclopaedia. Perhaps the most specially useful book to us has been Otto Eichert's lexicon to Curtius (Hanover 1870). The help got from other books is acknowledged on occasion in the notes. March 1879 WEH TER. |