300

Eupolis

fr. 248 K.-A. (234 K.)
άσπουδος δ’ άνήρ σπουδαρχίδου κακίων
σπουδαρχίδου Meineke/Kock : σπουδάν Phot. Synag. : σπουδαίου Bekker
but a man who lacks zeal is worse than one who is over-zealous for
office
Phot, a 2989 = Synag. B a 2256
άσπουδος- ό μή σπουδαρχίδης (Meineke : σπουδαίος, οϋτως Αρχίδης codd.). Εϋπολις
Πόλεσιν·-
aspoudos: someone who is not zealous for office (thus Meineke : “someone who is not
zealous. Thus Archides” codd.). Eupolis in Poleis;-
Meter lambic tetrameter catalectic.
<X—>- |
Discussion Raspe 1832. 91; Meineke 1839 11.518; Kock 1880 1.321-2; Storey
2003. 224
Citation context From the common source of Photius and Synagoge B gen-
erally referred to as Σ'”; de Borries identified the source behind the passage
as Phryn. PS fr. 267.
Text Photius and Synagoge B141 both offer άσπουδος· ό μή σπουδαίος, οϋτως
Αρχίδης. Εϋπολις Πόλεσιν· άσπουδος δ’ άνήρ σπουδάν κακιών (“aspoudos:
someone who is not zealous. Thus Archides. Eupolis in Poleis: ‘but a man who
lacks zeal is worse at showing zeal’”). Bekker corrected the text of Eupolis to
άσπουδος δ’ άνήρ σπουδαίου κακίων (“but a man who lacks zeal is worse than
one who is zealous”), which makes better sense but is unmetrical. Meineke
saw that the obscure οϋτως Αρχίδης in the gloss concealed a variant reading
σπουδαρχίδης, on which basis he wrote σπουδαρχίδου in place of the para-
dosis σπουδάν, allowing the line to scan as the end of an iambic tetrameter
catalectic.
Interpretation A defense offered by or on behalf of someone accused, like
Lamachus at Ar. Ach. 595-7 (see Olson 2002 ad loc.), of excessive interest
in holding public office, sc. for the personal advantages of pay, power, con-

141 Kassel-Austin had access only to Bekker’s edition of the Synagoge and accordingly
misattribute his unsignaled emendation of the text to the manuscript itself.