1 XXXVIII. That their defection might thus be less observed] “Ita delicta occultiora fore.” Cortius transferred these words to this place from the end of the preceding sentence; Kritzius and Dietsch have restored them to their former place. Gerlach thinks them an intruded gloss.
2 The chief centurion] “Centurio primi pili.” There were sixty centurions in a Roman legion; the one here meant was the first, or oldest, centurior of the Triarii, or Pilani.
3 As death was the alternative] “Quia mortis metu mutabant.” Neither manuscripts nor critics are agreed about this passage. Cortius, from a suggestion of Palmerius, adopted mutabant; most other editors have mutabantur; but both are to be taken in the same sense; for mutabant is equivalent to mutabant se. Cortius's interpretation appears the most eligible: "Permutabantur cum metuendâ morte," i.e. there were those conditions on one side, and death on the other, and if they did not accept the conditions, they must die. Kritzius fancifully and strangely interprets, propter mortis metum se mutabant, i.e., alia videbantur atque erant, or the acceptance of the terms appeared excusable to the soldiers, because they were threatened with death if they did not accept them. It is worth while to notice the variety of readings exhibited in the manuscripts collated by Cortius: ten exhibit mutabantur; three, minitabantur; three, multabantur; three, tenebantur; one, tenebatur; one, cogebantur; one, cogebatur; one, angustiabantur; one, urgebantur; and one, mortis metuebant pericula. There is also, he adds, in some copies, nutabant, which the Bipont editors and Müller absurdly adopted.
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