Latin nouns in -a-ster

Augustine, City of God II.27 begins:
vir grauis et philosophaster Tullius aedilis futurus clamat in auribus ciuitatis...

-aster has been added to the stem philosoph-a-- (cf. philosophari, etc.).

Herein is Augustine's verdict on Marcus Tullius Cicero. He has in mind In Verrem 2.5[14.]36 and soon afterwards he refers to In Catilinam III [8.]20.

oleaster tri 'the wild olive' can be cited from Cicero, Sallust, Virgil, and Ovid. Whence oleastellus 'A cultivated variety of olive resembling the wild sort in its fruit' Col(umela) 12.51.3.

OLD's entry for this suffix (p. 191) also cites parasitaster (Terence, Adelpi 779). Cf. parasitari

Also of note is the name of the Pauline commentator Ambrosiaster. Apparently, this name 'Would<->be-Ambrose (perh. 'Ambrose-Wannabe') is not antique, but early modern.

The rationale of the OCT series

From the dust jacket of Platonis Opera... Tomus IV (reprinted 1962):

'... In undertaking the series the Delegates were greatly influenced by the consideration of the educational advantages of a long series of Classical Texts upon a uniform plan. As the Oxford Classical Texts are used by the Examiners for the Certificate of the Universities Joint Board and at the Universities themselves, volumes bought at school should serve as the beginning of a small library which will be used by its possessor throughout school and undergraduate life; and be a better stimulus to literary interest than annotated editions of the parts of an author's works which are set for the next examination.'

Ouch!

Lifestyles of Lexicographesses: Miss Margaret Alford

Miss Margaret Alford is named in the 1940 Postscript to the 1925 Preface of LSJ. She also appears in the Preface to E. Fraenkel's Agamemnon (p. xiii).

"In the last ten years the name of Miss Margaret Alford has appeared more than once in the prefaces of works of Greek scholarship published by the Clarendon Press; the present preface is fortunately in a position to follow suit. An indefatigable worker, Spartan in the austerity of her life, a rigid and accomplished grammarian, Miss Alford is at the same time the soul of gentleness. Of her genuine understanding of great poetry I have ample proof. She spent a long time going through the English version of my commentary, correcting errors of the translators and blunders of my own, and giving me, always with disarming modesty, all sorts of invaluable advice."

Fraenkel makes other comments about Miss Alford, but I will have to track them down again before adding them here.

Note: Fraenkel's comment on LSJ and ἄπαρχος in A.Ag.1227 calls for discussion too.

From The Greek Anthology: Perfume, Scholarship, Adynata

"You are the perfume of your perfume."
(loosely) Adespoton, Anth. 5.91

**
Philip of Thessalonika:

Χαίροιθ’, οἱ περὶ κόσμον ἀεὶ πεπλανηκότες ὄμμα

οἵ τ’ ἀπ’ Ἀριστάρχου σῆτες ἀκανθολόγοι.

ποῖ γὰρ ἐμοὶ ζητεῖν, τίνας ἔδραμεν Ἥλιος οἴμους

καὶ τίνος ἦν Πρωτεὺς καὶ τίς ὁ Πυγμαλίων;

γινώσκοιμ’, ὅσα λευκὸν ἔχει στίχον· ἡ δὲ μέλαινα

ἱστορίη τήκοι τοὺς Περικαλλιμάχους.

A long farewell to your universe-swivelling optics,
and to all your Aristarchoid acanthologizing bookworms!
What do I care about aphelion or perihelion,
or the generations of Proteus or Pygmalion?
Clarity, clarity always! and may some tenebrous saga
wither the bones of the Hypercallimachoids!

Anth. 11.347 [Translated by Edwin Morgan as no. 474 in Peter Jay's Penguin]

Γραμματικοὶ Μώμου στυγίου τέκνα, σῆτες ἀκανθῶν,

τελχῖνες βίβλων, Ζηνοδότου σκύλακες,

Καλλιμάχου στρατιῶται, ὃν ὡς ὅπλον ἐκτανύσαντες,

οὐδ’ αὐτοῦ κείνου γλῶσσαν ἀποστρέφετε,

συνδέσμων λυγρῶν θηρήτορες, οἷς τὸ „μὶν“ ἢ „σφὶν“

εὔαδε καὶ ζητεῖν, εἰ κύνας εἶχε Κύκλωψ,

τρίβοισθ’ εἰς αἰῶνα κατατρύζοντες ἀλιτροὶ

ἄλλων· ἐς δ’ ἡμᾶς ἰὸν ἀποσβέσατε

Anth. 11.321.

**

Οὐρανὸς ἄστρα τάχιον ἀποσβέσει ἢ τάχα νυκτὸς

ἠέλιος φαιδρὴν ὄψιν ἀπεργάσεται

καὶ γλυκὺ νᾶμα θάλασσα βροτοῖς ἀρυτήσιμον ἕξει

καὶ νέκυς εἰς ζωῶν χῶρον ἀναδράμεται,

ἤ ποτε Μαιονίδαο βαθυκλεὲς οὔνομ’ Ὁμήρου

λήθη γηραλέων ἁρπάσεται σελίδων.

The sky will estinguish its stars, and the sun
will appear shining in the folds of night,
and the seawill be a well of fresh water for men,
and the dead will come back to the land of the living,
before forgetfulness of those ancient lines
can steal from us the far-famed name of Homer.

Anth. 9.575 [Translated by Edwin Morgan as no. 472 in Peter Jay's Penguin]