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τοῦτο τέλος τοῦ κακοδαίμονος Πρωτέως ἐγένετο, ἀνδρός, ὡς βραχεῖ λόγῳ περιλαβεῖν, πρὸς ἀλήθειαν μὲν οὐδεπώποτε ἀποβλέψαντος, ἐπὶ δόξῃ δὲ καὶ τῷ παρὰ τῶν πολλῶν ἐπαίνῳ ἅπαντα εἰπόντος ἀεὶ καὶ πράξαντος, ὡς καὶ εἰς πῦρ ἁλέσθαι, ὅτε μηδὲ ἀπολαύειν τῶν ἐπαίνων ἔμελλεν ἀναίσθητος αὐτῶν γενόμενος.
43
ἓν ἔτι σοι προσδιηγησάμενος παύσομαι, ὡς ἔχῃς ἐπὶ πολὺ γελᾶν. ἐκεῖνα μὲν γὰρ πάλαι οἶσθα, εὐθὺς ἀκούσας μου ὅτε ἥκων ἀπὸ Συρίας διηγούμηνδιηγούμην Γ: διηγουμένου MF. Levi cites X (his Pl) both for the same reading as Γ, and for ἧκον . . . διηγουμένου. ὡς ἀπὸ Τρῳάδος συμπλεύσαιμι αὐτῷ καὶ τήν τε ἄλλην τὴν ἐν τῷ πλῷ τρυφὴν καὶ τὸ μειράκιον τὸ ὡραῖον ὃ ἔπεισε κυνίζειν ὡς ἔχοι τινὰ καὶ αὐτὸς Ἀλκιβιάδην, καὶ ὡς ἐπεὶ ταραχθείημενἐπεὶ ταραχθείημεν Meiser: ἐπιταραχθείημεν ΓΧ: ἐπιταραχθείη μὲν MF. τῆς νυκτὸς ἐν μέσῳ τῷ ΑἰγαίῳΑἰγαίῳ M2: ἀγῶνι M1FΓΧ. The conjecture, if it is one, is right. Things are always happening in “mid-Aegean” with Lucian (Dial. Mar. 8, 2; 10, 1). Mras rightly sets aside Levi's interpretation of ἀγῶνι as meaning lutta d’amore, but his own defence of it as meaning “discrimen” does not properly reckon with the context. The archetype had a peculiar pointed ω, frequently confused with αι and νι, and these with it. γνόφου καταβάντος καὶ κῦμα παμμέγεθες ἐγείραντος ἐκώκυε μετὰ τῶν γυναικῶν ὁ θαυμαστὸς καὶ θανάτου κρείττων εἶναι δοκῶν.
