Book 15 (ο)

The question between the participles biba/s and bibw=n is left unsettled by La Roche (H. T. 215): and both forms are admitted by Ludwich (βιβάς in Od.9. 450. Od., 17. 27, βιβᾶσα in 11. 539, προβιβῶντα here). The MSS. are overwhelmingly in favour of the nom. masc. βιβάς, while they give fem. βιβῶσα in Od.11. 539, and βιβῶντα, &c. in Il.3. 22. Il., 13. 807. Il., 16. 609, Od.15. 555, but βιβάντα in Il.13. 371.About the reading of Aristarchus there is an apparent contradiction. On Il.15. 307 both the marginal and the text scholia of A tell us that he read βιβῶν (βιβῶν πᾶσαι εἶχον A, Ἀρίσταρχος βιβῶν A^{t},both from Didymus). The Townley scholia have: βιβάς] οὕτω τινές, ἐπεὶ καὶ ὕψι βιβάντα (13. 371) φησίν: ἄλλοι δὲ βιβῶν γράφουσι καὶ περισπῶσι. On the other hand, on Il.7. 213A^{t} has οὕτως Ἀρίσταρχος βιβάς (from Did. ): and on Il.13. 371 we find in A and T the statement, probably coming from Herodian (see Ludwich), that he wrote βιβάντα as δαμέντα and ἱστάντα. It seems to me certain that in the scholia A and A^{t} on Il.15. 307βιβάς should be written for βιβῶν. The agreement of scholia A and A^{t} does not prove (as La Roche seems to think) that βιβῶν must be right. A and A^{t} are taken from a common source, the comparatively late epitome. Against this evidence we have the testimony of Didymus himself on Il.7. 213, and of Herodian on Il.13. 371, ascribing βιβάς and βιβάντα to Aristarchus. Moreover, Schol. T on Il.15. 307 is practically conclusive in the same direction. In a Townley scholium of the form οὕτω τινές, ἄλλοι δὲ, the word τινές almost certainly includes Aristarchus (see examples in Ludwich, A. H. T. p. 128). This is strongly confirmed by the reference to βιβάντα in Il.13. 371, since we know that that form was expressly adopted there by Aristarchus. On the whole, then, we may take it that in his view the Homeric declension was βιβάς, gen. βιβάντος, &c. And considering that the MSS. are practically unanimous for βιβάς, while they are not unanimous against βιβάντος, &c., and further that the declension βιβάς, gen. βιβῶντος, &c. is improbable, we infer that βιβῶν, βιβῶντος, &c. may be banished from Homer.