Βάπται (fr. 79)

251

άνόερος); νοσερός but άνοσος (not άνόσερος); σκιερός but άσκιος (not
άσκίερος); σφαλερός but ασφαλής (not άσφάλερος); τρομερός but άτρεμής
(not άτρόμερος); φθονερός but άφθονος (not άφθόνερος); φοβερός but
άφοβος (not άφόβερος); χλιερός but άχλοος (not άχλιερός). As Herwerden
saw, therefore, άτρύφερος is unexpected146 and is perhaps a nonce-form in-
tended to add emphasis to the litotes. The word is attested a handful of times
in the Hellenistic and Roman periods (Bion fr. 17.10 Kindstrand; [Ceb.] 20.2;
Orib. 2.58.40), perhaps having been legitimized by the lexicographic source
that picked it up out of Eupolis. τρυφή is <( θρύπτω (“break in pieces, weaken,
enfeeble”), and the word and its cognates are often used in a moralizing fash-
ion to refer to “bad” luxury or daintiness of the sort that distorts values and
thus ruins those who become enmeshed in it (e.g. Ar. Lys. 387; Ra. 21; X. HG
6.2.6; Pl. Grg. 492c); cf. Garvie 2009 on A. Pers. 41 άβροδιαίτων.
άωρος is properly “out of season, untimely” (e.g. Nicom. Com. fr. 1.21),
but occasionally “no longer at its peak” and thus “old (and unattractive)”, as
also at E. fr. 282a.2; X. Mem. 1.3.14; Smp. 8.21; Pl. R. 574c (in the latter two cases
explicitly contrasted with ωραίος, “young (and lovely”)).147
For the seemingly pleonastic use of άνήρ after the adjectives, e. g. Ar. Lys.
661 ένόρχης έστ’ άνήρ /; Men. fr. 298.2 αλόγιστός έστ’ άνήρ /; S. Ai. 1375
μωρός έστ’ άνήρ /; Ε. Med. 452 κάκιστός έστ’ άνήρ /.
fr. 79 Κ.-Α. (70 Κ.)
άλλ’ έξολεϊς με ναι μά τήν αμυγδαλήν
άλλ’ έξολεϊς Bloch : άλλεξομέλεις Hdn. : άπολεϊς Ath. : άλλ’ έξαπολεϊς Dindorf
but you’ll be the death of me, by the almond tree!

146 Delneri misses the point of Herwerden’s remark, which she seemingly believes is
refuted by noting (correctly) that τρυφερός is well-attested.
147 Montanari s.v. άωρος 1 omits not only the use of the word in Euripides (absent
from LSJ) but the fragment of Eupolis (which LSJ cites) as well, and thus tacitly
misrepresents its history and stylistic level. At Od. 12.89, Scylla’s twelve feet are
described as άωροι, which some ancient scholars took to mean “/ore-feet”, hence
the use of the word in Philem. fr. 133.1 (an allusion to a Homeric glossd), the only
other example of this sense offered in LSJ s. v. άωρος (B) (garbled in Montanari
s. v. άωρος 2 “only άωροι πόδες, front feet, tentacles”). The Homeric word is unex-
plained, but is perhaps simply the earliest attestation of άωρος (A) and thus means
“that appear when one does not want them to, unwelcome”.