Cicero, Orator 21 and Nonius Marcellus Note

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Gualtiero Calboli

Abstract

Cicero (Orat.21) speaks of the tria genera dicendi, grande, medium, extenuatum, and places the medium between the other two, saying nec acumine posteriorum nec flumine utens superiorum, vicinus amborum, in neutro excellens. Nonius, p.83 L, instead of vicinus amborum, reads ut cinnus amborum and explains CINNUS as commistio plurimorum. Ferruccio Bertini (to whom this little paper is dedicated) suggests to avoid the mistakes of the medieval tradition and to accept Nonius' reading: ut cinnus amborum, in neutro excellens (UTCIN̄ > UICIN̄). Myself to avoid the ἅπαξ εἱρη-μένον (ut cinnus amborum) I suggested: <con>cinnus, amborum in neutro excellens (C̄CIN̄ < CON-CINNUS through the fall of C̄). To confirm the reading, I found in Latin some examples of combination amborum neuter and quoted all cases of concinnus/concinnitas in Cicero (42 times, 23 occurrences refer to a speech) and the Rhetorica ad C.Herennium (almost contemporary to Cicero) 6 times.

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