Charles Simmons, The Metamorphoses of Ovid, Books XIII and XIV

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forma celatus anili. The reading of cod. Amplonianus, formas deus aptus in omnes, is no doubt, as Merkel observes, an interpolation intended to avoid the recurrence of anilis. M has deus aptus anili, with actus, apparently from the same hand, in the margin. Merkel believes that corruption began by the substitution of u for a in acta, and that Ovid wrote acta senili. He compares VI. 468, revertitur...ad mandata Prognes, et agit sua vota sub illa, and the use of puerilibus for puellaribus in V. 400 (cf. Hippol. 431, quid huc seniles fessa moliris gradus, o fida nutrix), but the concurrence of senili and anilia seems very awkward. Korn's conjecture celatus suggests to Zingerle velatus, which he prefers as nearer to the MS. reading, comparing VI. 36 (not V. 437 as printed) obscuram Pallada, of Pallas similarly disguised as an old woman, and to Dr. Ellis, “what is nearly the same in meaning, but far nearer palaeographically, deceptus ‘counterfeited,’” Journal of Philology, XII. p. 76. For this he compares H. N. XVI. 84, sic iubent citrum pretiosius fieri, sic acer decipi (by painting with maple colour). ‘The form of the corruption is very like ipsam mathen for Psamathen, XI. 398; but similar expansions of single words into two are tolerably frequent, and found in all kinds of MSS.’ [If I am right in my conjecture forma deceptus anili ‘disguised by the shape of a crone,’ cf. Auson. 84, i.: “deceptae felix casus se miscuit arti. histrio, saltabat qui Capanea, ruit,” ‘Lucky chance blended with art in disguise. The actor who in dancing represented Capaneus, fell down actually.’ R. E.]. Another example of this use of decipere (for which cf. 521 n., xiii.721 n.) occurs in Theb.IX. 425, dotalesque rogos deceptaque fulmina vidi, where the reference is to the story (given in III. 302-7) that Jupiter deceived Semele in his wish to save her, by appearing in less than his full majesty, bearing only what Seneca calls his lusoria tela (N Q. II. 44). In the argument of Lactantius Placidus to Fab.x. of this book are the words ut comites eius (sc. of Diomede) in mari vclucrum figura decepti substiterint.*

* This sense perhaps explains the difficult passage Livy VIII. vii. 18 (of T. Manlius addressing his son) me quidem cum ingenita caritas liberum, tum specimen istud virtutis deceptum vana imagine decoris in te movet. May not the meaning be, ‘an example of valour counterfeited in the unreal likeness of an honourable deed’? And in the same way may be defended the MS. reading in Livy XXII. iv. 4 ab tergo ac super caput deceptae (‘were concealed’) insidiae, for which has been substituted Lipsius conjecture decepere (‘escaped notice’).