1. Gellius Lines 1-6 - Translation

Apion, qui "Plistonices" appellatus est, litteris homo multis praeditus rerumque Graecarum plurima atque varia scientia fuit.

Apion, who was called 'Plistonices', was a man endowed with much learning and very great and varied knowledge of Greek matters.

eius libri non incelebres (esse) feruntur, quibus omnium ferme, quae mirifica in Aegypto visuntur audiunturque, historia comprehenditur.

His books are said (to be) not unrenowned, in which is contained the history of nearly all the things which are seen and heard (to be) remarkable in Egypt.

hoc autem, quod in libro Aegyptiacorum quinto scripsit, neque audisse neque legisse, sed ipsum sese in urbe Roma vidisse oculis suis confirmat.

However, he affirms that he neither heard nor read this which he wrote in the fifth book of Egyptian Wonders, but that hehimself saw it with his own eyes in the city of Rome.

litteris homo multis praeditus

here we have a man (Apion) so wrapped up in

learning that his knowledge is mimicked by the enclosing word order: the man

(homo) is surrounded by the description of his learning (litteris … multis), just like

he is consumed by learning.

multis … plurima atque varia

we have variatio of words of quantity: he is

endowed with ‘much learning’ (litteris … multis), and he has knowledge that is very

great (plurima) and varied (varia).

litteris … scientia

we also have variatio of words of learning here, emphasising

just how deeply his knowledge stretches.

non incelebres

this is a deliberate double negative or understatement (litotes),

used to emphasise just how celebrated Apion’s books are, another suggestion of

how much he knows and has placed into those books.

mirifica

Apion isn’t writing about day-to-day life: he’s relating amazing stories,

again showing the depth of his knowledge as he must have researched carefully!

– Apion isn’t writing about day-to-day life: he’s relating amazing stories,

again showing the depth of his knowledge as he must have researched carefully!

so great is Apion’s knowledge that almost the whole history of remarkable things in Egypt is

contained within his books, an amazing feat given that Egyptian civilisation

stretches back millennia before the Romans.

in libro Aegyptiacorum quinto

the scale of Apion’s scholarship is emphasised by the

fact that he has written no fewer than five books of the wonders of Egypt!!

Aegyptiacorum

this word means ‘The Wonders of Egypt’, and it refers to Apion’s book.

However, it is probably not the word that Apion would have used for the title; instead, it

is a coinage of Gellius’, and it only appears here – we refer to a word that is used only

once in a language as a hapax legomenon. The uniqueness of the word mirrors the

special quality of Apion’s stories.

neque audisse neque legisse

here we have balanced syntax of the actions that Apion

did not carry out; he neither heard the story, or read about it (but saw it with his own

eyes). This balanced syntax underlines the first hand nature of Apion’s account, its

validity as history, and also its miraculous nature.

ipsum sese

The double emphasis on the fact that Apion saw it himself emphasises just

how amazing the story is, and Apion’s insistence of its truth.

neque audisse neque legisse, sed … vidisse

this is a tricolon crescens, framed around

the infinitives: the two short clauses at the start dismiss what would be weaker evidence

for this story, while the final (much) longer clause builds to a climax, thoroughly

emphasising that Apion was there himself in the Circus.

oculis suis – suis

is not necessary here, but, just as above, it is inserted to hammer home

the fact that Apion was there himself, and saw it all with his own eyes. First hand