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COMMENTARY
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works of these authors to the other uses of Samian earth, though Theophrastus says little about them. It appears to have been widely used for medicinal purposes, principally as an ingredient of plasters and salves.
62. For the \ind which is . . . and . . . , and is not greasy is more suitable for painting.
Since a contrast between the properties of Melian and Samian earth is clearly intended, one of these adjectives describing Melian earth should suggest lightness or lack of density. Turnebus substituted άραιόν for ήρεμον; this means "of loose texture" and is the opposite of πυκνός ("compact"). Furlanus and three other editors accepted άραιόν but, oddly enough, kept ήρεμον as well. This word usually means "quiet"; it is not clear why Liddell and Scott's lexicon gives "smoothness" as the meaning in this passage. Perhaps the adverb ήρεμα was written here, as Turnebus seems to imply by his Latin translation leniter aequabtle. The second adjective might be the opposite of Xeto? ("smooth"), for smoothness was one of the qualities of Samian earth. Only the ending (δε?) of this adjective remains. Turnebus added two syllables and read τραχώδες ("rough"), the opposite of smooth. He was followed by four other editors, but Schneider and Wimmer did not attempt to emend the text. Since it is impossible to know what adjective was used, no emendation has been made.
62. and the Melian \ind has this quality .... The words τω φαρίδι appear in the Aldine text; the manuscripts have the same reading, but the last vowel is elided before the first word of the next section. The text seems to be corrupt, as the meaning of the word φαρίδι is unknown. Heinsius, De Laet, and Hill print it with a capital letter, as if Pharis were the name of a place, and add the preposition iv. Thus Hill gives the following free translation, "all which properties the Melian, particularly that of Pharis, possesses." However, no evidence exists that a town or other locality of this name ever existed on the island of Melos. It is significant that neither Schneider nor Wimmer accepted this emendation. Since Turnebus uses the words suapte friabilitate in his Latin translation, Schneider suggests iv τφ ψαφαρω
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• 2ΐι ·
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