medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
On Friday, March 16, 2007, at 5:07 pm, Paul Chandler wrote:
> I've been wondering about medieval use of the saying of Terence "Homo
> sum:
> humani nil a me alienum puto". Augustine quotes it in Ep. 155. Do we know
> anything about its use in later Christian authors? Are there studies?
> --
In almost all manuscripts of Terence and in printed editions of him until sometime in the nineteenth century the text of this saying (_Heauton Timorumenos_, line 77) reads "nihil" rather than "nil". The standard modern reading was restored only after philological understanding of finer points in T.'s prosody had advanced to the point where that form was seen as metrically preferable.
Bearing that in mind, I searched Chadwyck-Healey's Patrologia Latina database for "humani nihil a me" and came up with one hit: Hildebert of Le Mans, _De honesto et utili_, 1. 25 (_De misericordia), at PL 171, col. 1024:
{col. 1024B} 25. Misericordia est virtus per quam animus super calamitate movetur afflictorum. <<Haec virtus nihil humani a se putat alienum
[note (80) {col. 1024D} Cic. I Off., 9 sic habet: Est difficilis cura rerum alienarum, quanquam Terentianus ille Chremes <<humani nihil a se alienum putat.>> Porro Terent. Heaut. I, I, 25 dixit:
Homo sum: humani nihil a me alienum puto.
]
;>> juxta illud Pauli apostoli: Quis infirmatur et ego non infirmor
[note (81) {col. 1024D} Paulus II Corinth. XI, 29.]
? Aliorum incommoda vel damna exstimat sua. <<Qui in calamitosum misericors est, sui meminit
[note (82) {col. 1024D} Haec inter sententias Publianas locum habere possent. Unde sumpta incompertum.]
.>>--<<Est tamen difficilis cura rerum alienarum
[note (83) {col. 1024D} Ex Cic. loco nuper citato.]
Best,
John Dillon
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