>When a Roman said 'hercle' he was swearing by Hercules, and I mean 'he',
>for women didn't say it; conversely mean didn't say 'ecastor', 'by
>Castor', though both sexes said 'edepol', by Pollux: see Aulus Gellius
>11. 6. Similarly it is Greek men who say Herakleis. However, 'hercle'
>found its way into literary prose as _ne Dia_, by Zeus, did in Greek,
>and was used as a classicism at the Renaissance. (That is nothing to the
>letter in the British Library from Vida to Bembo congratulating him on
>being made a cardinal, which thanks 'the immortal gods'. It is
>Additional MS 21520, folio 19; the MS is a collection of autographs,
>including a Michelangelo drawing.)
>Leofranc Holford-Strevens
For example you can find this expression in very late latin poets, as Ennius
"Malo hercle magno suo convivat sine modo"
In Saturarum lib. I, 1 (I took the line from Vahlen's second edition of
Ennius works).
But probably it wasn't used very much in arcaic literature, because I found
this expression only in this line. There is NO other example in any of the
fragments of the Annales or of the Scenica.
So, probably Vergil never borrowed this expression from Ennius. Probably
in augustan age It was so a "common" expression that it hasn't anything of
"archaic".
What do you think?
I will take a look on Naevius fragments, probably there are more examples
even if I doubt (Also because of the little number of fragments we have).
Thankyou for the attention
and, as usual, excuse ne for the terrible english.
Laura Lesi
Universita' Cattolica del S.Cuore, Brescia
Italy
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