Book 7
9.6
Thus arises the Greek theme about Leon and Pantaleon, who go to law because the handwriting of a will makes it uncertain whether the testator has left all his property to Leon or his property to Pantaleon. i. e. whether he wrote πάντα Λέοντι or Πανταλέοντι. Groups of words give rise to more serious ambiguity. Such ambiguity may arise from doubt as to a case, as in the following passage: Enn. Ann. 186. An ambiguous oracle quoted by Cicero ( de Div. II. lvi.). It might equally mean that Rome or Pyrrhus would conquer. Cp. the oracle given to Croesus: If thou cross the Halys, thou shalt destroy a mighty empire. — I say that you, O prince of Aeacus' line, Rome can o'erthrow. Or it may arise from the arrangement of the words,
9.7
which makes it doubtful what the exact reference of some word or words may be, more especially when there is a word in the middle of the sentence which may be referred either to what precedes or what follows, as in the line of Virgil Aen. i. 477. which describes Troilus as lora tenens tamen, where it may be disputed whether the poet means that he is still holding the reins, or that, although he holds the reins, he is still dragged along.
