Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, page 121 (v. 2) (original) (raw)

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On this page: Eustathius – Eustathius Romanus

121

EUSTATHIUS.

(substance of their remarks and criticisms. The number of authors whose works he quotes, is prodi­gious (see the list of them in Fabric. Bill. Graec. vol. i. p. 457, &c.) ; but although we may admit that he had not read all of them, and that he quoted some at second-hand, yet there seems to be no sufficient reason for believing that he was not personally ac­quainted with the greatest of the ancient critics, such as Aristophanes of Byzantium, Aristarchus, Zenodotus and others, whose works were accessible to him in the great libraries of Constantinople. If, on the other hand, we look upon the work as a> commentary, and estimate it by .the standard of what a good commentary should be, we find it ex­tremely deficient in plan and method ; the author, however, cannot be blamed for these deficiencies, as his title does not lead us to expect a regular com­mentary. His remarks are, further, exceedingly diffuse, and frequently interrupted by all kinds of digressions ; the many etymological and grammati­cal fancies which we meet with in his work are such as we might expect. There is very little in the commentary that is original, or that can be re­garded as the opinion of Eustathius himself. He , incorporated in it everything which served to illus­trate his author, whether it referred to the language or grammar, or to mythology, history, and geo­graphy. The first edition of it was published at Rome, 1542—1550, in 4 vols. fol., of which an in­accurate reprint appeared at Basle in 1559-60. The Florence edition by A. Potitus (1730, 3 vols. fol.), contains only the commentary to the first five books of the Iliad with a Latin translation. A tolerably correct reprint of the Roman edition was published at Leipzig in two sections ; the first, containing the commentary on the Odyssey in 2 vols.4to., appeared in 1825-26, and the second, or the commentary on the Iliad, in 3 vols. 4to. was edited by G. Stalbaum, 1827-29. Useful extracts from the commentary of Eustathius are contained in several editions of the Homeric poems. 2. A commentary on Dionysius Periegetes, dedicated to Joannes Ducas, the son of Andronicus Camaterus, is on the whole of the same kind and of the same diffuseness as the commentary on Homer. Its great value consists in the nume­rous extracts from earlier writers to illustrate the geography of Dionysius. It was first printed in R. Stephens's edition of Dionysius (Paris, 1547, 4 to.), and afterwards also in that of H. Stephens (Paris, 1577, 4to., and 1697,8vo.), in Hudson's Geograph. Minor, vol. iv., and lastly, in Bernhardy's edition of Dionysius. (Leipzig, 1828, 8vo.). 3. A comment­ary on Pindar9 which however seems to be lost, at least no MS. of it has yet come to light. The in­troduction to it, however, is still extant, and was first edited by Tafel in his Eustathii Thessalonicensis Opuscula, Frankfurt, 1832,4to., from which it was reprinted separately by Schneidewin, Eustafltiipro- oemium commentariorum Pindaricorum, Gbttingen, 1837, 8vo. The other works of Eustathius which were published for the first time by Tafel in the Opuscula just mentioned, are chiefly of a theo­logical nature ; there is, however, among them one (p. 267, &c.) which is of great historical interest, viz. the account of the taking of Thessalonica by the Normans in A. d. 1185.

The name Eustathius is one of very common oc­ currence during the Byzantine period, and a list of all the known Eustathii is given by Fabricius. (Bibl. Graec. vol. ix. p 149, &c.) [L. S.]

**EUSTATHIUS, the author of a Latin trans-

EUSTATHIUS.

lation of the nine discourses of St. Basil on the Creation, He was an African by birth, flourished about the middle of the fifth century, and was the brother of the Syncletica Diaconissa, so lauded by Sedulius.

This version, which bears the title Novem S. Basilii Sermones in principium Geneseos, is given in the edition of St. Basil, published at Paris by Gar-nier, fol. 1721, vol. i. pp. 631—676. [W. R.]

**EUSTATHIUS ROMANUS, a celebrated Graeco-Roman jurist, of the noble family of the Maleini, was honoured with the rank of Patricius, and filled various, high offices at Constantinople. He was first a puisne judge (Amis Kpirtfs) under Romanus junior (Basil, vii. p. 677, schol.), and continued to fill the same office under Nicephorus Phocas (reigned a. d. 963—969), then was made Quaestor, and was afterwards made Magister Offici-orum under Basileius Bulgaroctonus (reigned 975— 1025). Basikius Porphyrogenitus, in a novell in­serted in the collection of Leunclavius (J. G. R. ii. p. 173), speaks of the uninterrupted prosperity of his family for 100 or 120 years. (Zachariae, Hist. Jur. Gr. Rom. Delin. p. 58 ; Heimbach, de Basil. Orig. p. 79.)

He is quoted by the four appellations, " Eusta­thius," "Patricius," " Romanus,"and "Magister." Harmenopulus, in the Prolegomena to his Hexabib-lon (§ 20), mentions his obligations to the Romazca of Magister, who was evidently a judge as well as an interpreter of law, for Harmenopulus frequently cites his decisions and decrees: Harmenopulus also several times cites Patricius, and, wherever such a citation occurs, there is always a marginal reference in manuscripts to the Biblion Roma'icum, which ap­pears to be the same as the Romaica of Magister. In Harmenopulus (4. tit. 12. § 10), is a passage cited from Patricius, with a marginal reference to the Biblion Romaicum, and the same passage is at­tributed in a scholium on the Basilica (60. tit. 37, vol. vii. p. 678) to Romanus. This work of Ma­gister was divided into titles, and the titles Ilepi TvvaiK&v, Hepl K\i]povouias and Uepl Aiadyxwv, are cited in the Hexabiblon (5. tit. 9. §§ 11,12,13). Mortreuil (Histoire du Droit Byzantin, ii. p. 503, Paris, 1844,) identifies the Biblion Roma'icum with the Practica of Eustathius. The STj/we^uaTa, or observations of Magister, are also mentioned in the Hexabiblon (3, tit. 3. $ 111).

Sometimes, when Magister is cited in Harmeno-pulus, there is a marginal reference to the MiKpov Kara 2Toi%6?oj', and in -Basil, vii. p. 22, mention is made of the ^roi-^ov rov Maforropos; but the work which now exists in manuscript, and passes under the name of the MtKpov Kara 2TOJX6?op, or Synopsis Minor^ has been usually attributed to Docimus, or Docimius, and is of a later date than Eustathius. (Reiz. Index Nom. Prop, in Harmenop. s. vv. Ma­ gister; Patricius, MtKpov, in Meerman. TJie-s. Suppl. pp. 389—400 ; Zachariae, Hist. Jur. Gr. Rom. Delin. § 47.)

The names of Eustathius and Romanus occur several times in the Scholia on the Basilica, e. g. Basil, iv. p. 489, iii. p. 340. 56. 480,.vii. 678. 694. The "TTnfyt^/xa of Eustathius is cited Basil, iii. p. 116. It is a tract of the date a. d. 1025, de Duobus Consobrinis qui Duas Gonsobrinas duocerant^ and is printed in the collection of Leunclavius (J. G. R. i. p. 414). Heimbach (Anecdota^i. p. Ixvi.) mentions a manuscript in the Vatican at Rome (cod. 226, fol. 294—300) under the title 'TTroV^a Et}<rra0fou