Maurus Servius Honoratus

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Servius (top, middle) next to Virgil (top right) with three figures representing the works of Aeneid , Bucolica and Georgica . Illumination by Simone Martini in the manuscript made for Francesco Petrarca Milan, Biblioteca Ambrosiana, Ms. SP 10/27 (= A 49 inf.), Fol. 1v, around 1340
Vergil edition from 1544 with comments. Servius comment on the left margin.

Maurus Servius Honoratus , or Marius Servius Honoratus, was a late Roman grammarian and Virgil commentator who lived in the late 4th and early 5th centuries.

He was one of the interlocutors in the Saturnalia of Macrobius Ambrosius Theodosius , and allusions in this work as well as a letter from Quintus Aurelius Symmachus to Servius show that he was a pagan . He was one of the best examples of a Roman " grammaticus " and the most experienced of his time.

Virgil commentary

He is primarily known for his Virgil commentary, which has come down to us in different versions. The first version is a comparatively short commentary that can definitely be attributed to Servius in the heading of the manuscripts and also by other evidence.

A second group of manuscripts (all from the 9th and 10th centuries) are the much more detailed commentaries, which contain the first, but differ greatly in quantity and character from the latter. The added material is undoubtedly old, from a time little different from that of Servius, and is based in large measure on literature that is now lost. Its author was identified as Aelius Donatus by Edward Kennard Rand in 1916 . This text version was published by Pierre Daniel in 1600 and is known under the names Servius Auctus , Servius Danielis , DServius or DS .

A third group of manuscripts, most of which were written later in Italy , repeats the text of the first group, but adds many scholia of almost contemporary origin of little or no value.

The commentary is very much constructed according to the principle of modern editions and is partly based on the extensive Virgil literature of previous times, much of which is only known from the fragments and the material supplied in the commentary. The notes on Virgil's text - although rarely or never reliable in relation to the existing manuscripts dating back to the time of Servius, if not beyond - provide valuable information regarding the old reviews and textual criticisms of Virgil. In the grammatical interpretation of his author's language, however, Servius does not rise above the stiff and exhausted subtleties of his time; while its etymologies violate every law of feeling and sound. As a literary criticism - judged by modern standards - the shortcomings in Servius are great, but he rises above his contemporaries.

In particular, he deserves credit for his opposition to the prevailing allegorical method of exposure. But the enduring value of his work lies in his preservation of facts from Roman history, religion, and language that would have disappeared without him. Not a little of the erudition of Marcus Terentius Varro and other ancient scholars has survived in his papers.

Other works

In addition to the Virgil Commentary, other works have been preserved under the name of Servius: a collection of notes on the grammar of Aelius Donatus ( Commentarius in artem Donati ), a treatise on metric endings ( De finalibus ), a treatise on the various metrics metres ( De centum metris ) and one on the metrics of Horace ( De metris Horatii ). Of these, however, only the first can definitely be attributed to Maurus Servius Honoratus.

expenditure

  • Georg Fabricius : P. Vergilii Maronis Opera, quae quidem extant, omnia ( editio princeps of the shorter commentary; Basel 1551; digitized version )
  • Pierre Daniel: Pvb. Virgilii Maronis Bvcolicorvm eclogæ x. Georgicorvm, libri IIII. Æneidos, libri XII, et in ea, Mavri Servii Honorati grammatici commentarii, ex antiqviss, exemplaribvs longè meliores et avctiores. (first edition of the more extensive commentary; Paris 1600)
  • Georg Christian Thilo, Hermann Hagen: Servii Grammatici qui feruntur In Vergilii carmina commentarii. Teubner, Leipzig 1881–1902, 3 vol. In 4 parts. Reprint: Olms, Hildesheim 1961 a. 1986. Online
  • Georg Christian Thilo: Servii Grammatici qui feruntur in Vergilii Bucolica et Georgica commentarii. Teubner, Leipzig 1887
  • Servianorum in Vergili Carmina Commentariorum Editio Harvardiana . Oxford 1965ff

literature

The Essai sur Servius by E. Thomas (1880) remains a sophisticated and valuable study on all subjects concerning Servius; many points of this are also dealt with by Otto Ribbeck in his Prolegomena zu Virgil; see also the review of Thilo's edition by Henry Nettleship in the Journal of Philology , 10 (1882).

For Donatus' authorship of the supplementary material, see EK Rand: Is Donatus's Commentary on Virgil Lost? . In: Classical Quarterly. Volume 10, 1916, pp. 158-164. JJ Savage provides a complete list of the Virgil Commentary manuscripts in two separate articles: The Manuscripts of the Commentary of Servius Danielis on Virgil . In: Harvard Studies in Classical Philology . Volume 43, 1932, pp. 77-121; and The Manuscripts of Servius's Commentary on Virgil . In: Harvard Studies in Classical Philology. Volume 45, 1934, pp. 157-204.

Philippe Bruggisser : Romvlvs Servianvs. La legend de Romulus dans les Commentaires à Virgile de Servius: mythographie et idéologie à l'époque de la dynastie théodosienne. Habelt, Bonn 1987, ISBN 3-7749-2303-5 (= dissertation).

On the strata and cultural models in the commentary of Servius see now: Sergio Casali , Fabio Stok ( eds .), Servio: stratificazioni esegetiche e modelli culturali / Servius: exegetical stratifications and cultural models . Collection Latomus, vol. 317. Bruxelles: Éditions Latomus, 2008. ISBN 978-2-87031-258-2 . Review by: Ute Tischer, in: Bryn Mawr Classical Review 2010.01.16 [1]

On ethnography in the Servius commentary: Carlo Santini , Fabio Stok ( eds .), Hinc Italae gentes. Geopolitica ed etnografia dell'Italia nel commento di Servio all'Eneide , Pisa 2004.

Also:

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Servius Honoratus, Maurus
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Servius Honoratius, Marius
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Roman grammarian
DATE OF BIRTH 4th century
DATE OF DEATH after 400