Peculiarities in the text of Plautus

Latin Learning Latin
1

Hello!

I’m writing my university thesis on Plautine comedy and had questions about line numbering and symbols in the text.

I’m using Questa’s text of the Casina in the Editiones Plautinae Sarsinates series.

  • What do the symbols <> mean in: nam ubi amor condimentum inerit, cuiuis placituram credo (221)?

  • Some lines are given two numbers – e.g. noli sis tu illi advorsari (204/205). Is this a reflection of variant numbering in Manuscripts or something else? If referencing these lines, should I use include both numbers?

  • Other lines include letters: heia, mea Iuno, non decet / e_sse te tam tristem tuo Ioui_ (230-230a). What do these signify?

Any help would be much appreciated!

2

I don’t have Questa’s text to hand. However, < > is conventionally used to enclose words absent from the manuscripts and editorially restored to the text.

Line numeration is not always consistent. 204/205 will mean that the quoted text is split between two lines.

I don’t know what 230-230a will mean. Should it be 230-231a? That would mean that the latter part of the quoted text is the first part of 231.

Hope this helps.