Marston MS 45     France, s. XII 3/4
Seneca; Claudian, etc.


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1. f. 1r In hoc uolumine continentur epistole senece transmisse ad 
sanctum paulum uel pauli ad senecam.  Item epistole senece ad lucilium 
suum numero.  octoginta nouem.  Item libri septem eiusdem de beneficijs 
uel liberalitate.  Libri duo eiusdem de clementia.  Liber unus 
supradicti de .iiij#o#r. uirtutibus Liber unus eiusdem de remedijs 
fortuitorum.

Table of contents, in red throughout, occupies only the second column.

2. f. 1v Incipit prologus beati ieronimi presbiteri.  Lucius ennius 
[written above:  uel anneus] seneca cordubensis.  fotini [sic; 
written above: uel stratini] stoici discipulus. et patruus lucani 
poete. continentissime uite fuit. quem non ponerem in cathalogo 
sanctorum. nisi me ille epistole prouocarent...a nerone interfectus 
est.

Jerome, Prologus beati Ieronimi presbyteri; F. Haase, ed., Teubner
(1872) v. 3, p. 476.

3. ff. 1v-2v Incipiunt epistole ad sanctum paulum transmisse a seneca. 
Seneca paulo salutem.  Credo tibi paule nunciatum...Data kal.aug. 
locone [sic] et sauino [sic] consulibus.

Ps.-Seneca, Epistolae Senecae, Neronis imperatoris magistri, ad 
Paulum apostolum et Pauli apostoli ad Senecam; F. Haase, op.cit. 
pp. 476-81.  Contains all 14 letters of the correspondence, reversing 
the order of letters 11 and 12 as printed in Haase's text but 
otherwise corresponding closely  to the text of his edition.

4. ff. 2v-3r Epitaphium senecae.  Cura labor meritum...reddimus; 
ossa tibi.

Complete 6-line text of Anthologia latina 667, ed. Riese (Leipzig,
1894).

5. ff. 3r-79r Incipiunt epistole Senece ad lucilium. numero. 
1xxx.ix. [added in later (?) hand] prima; [text:]  Ita fac mi 
lucili. uendica [sic]  te tibi...ad hunc peruenire mansueta sunt.  
Vale.

Seneca, Ad Lucilium epistulae morales; L. D. Reynolds, ed., OCT
(1965).  Purporting to contain 89 letters, the text begins with the 
first and ends with the complete text of the 85th letter, the 48th 
letter being divided into two letters at 48.6 on f. 30r ["...tam seria.  
senes ludimus. Vale. //  Mus sillaba est..."] and letters 86, 87 and 
88 being placed between letters 84 and 85.  As noted by Reynolds, 
this division of letter 48 is shared by all the older manuscripts.  
The placement of the final four letters seems to be unique to 
Marston MS 45.  Our text therefore corresponds to the contents of 
v. 1 of Reynold's OCT, and to Books 1-13 of the medieval tradition, 
which were transmitted separately from Books 14-20.  (See Texts 
and Transmission, p. 359.)

6. ff. 79r-99v Incipiunt exceptiones librorum Annei senece de 
beneficijs uel liberalitate ad eburtium liberalem. amicum suum. 
Liber primus incipit. Inter multos ac uarios errores temere 
inconsulteque uiuentium...iste omnibus [sic].  Non est. magni 
animi. beneficium dare. et perdere; hoc est magni animi. perdere. 
et dare.

Seneca, De beneficiis libri vii; K. Hosius, ed., Teubner (1914).  
The text is heavily excerpted, containing in proper order selections 
from all seven books.

7. ff. 100r-103v Annei. lucij. Senece. de clementia ad neronem. 
liber primus incipit.  Scribere De clementia Nero cesar institui; 
ut quodam modo speculi uice fungerer...Videbit sapiens quod ingenium. 
qua ratione tractandum sit; quomodo in rectum praua flectantur.  
Explicit liber de clementia.

Seneca, De clementia libri ii; K. Hosius, ed., Teubner (1914).  
The text is heavily excerpted in the manner of art. 6, containing in 
proper order selections from both books.

8. ff. 103v-105v Annei Senece. de iiij or uirtutibus liber incipit. 
Quatuor uirtutum species. multorum sapientium sententiis diffinite
[sic] sunt. quibus animus humanus comptus ad honestatem possit
accedere...De prudentia Quisquis ergo prudentiam sequi desideras;
tunc per rationem recte uiues...aut ruentem compos ipse deuitet 
insaniam; aut deficientem puniat ignauiam.

Martin of Braga, Formula vitae honestae; C. W. Barlow, ed., 
Martini episcopi Bracarensis opera omnia (New Haven, 1950) 
pp. 236-50.  Barlow does not seem to mention any manuscripts 
which, like Marston MS 45, omit the preface and dedication and 
then attribute the work to Seneca. Aside from the omission of 
preface and dedication, the text is complete.  

9. ff. 105v-107v Incipit liber annei.  Senece de remedijs 
fortuitorum. Licet cunctorum poetarum carmina gremium uestrum 
semper illustrent. aliquando deliberans...Felix est. non qui 
aliis uidetur; sed qui sibi. Vides autem qua in domo sit ista 
felicitas.

Ps.-Seneca, De remediis fortuitorum liber; F. Haase, ed., 
Teubner (1872) v. 3, pp. 446-57.  The text corresponds to a 
very early stage in the tradition, omitting the additiones 
in Haase's text.

10. f. 107v Ab alio expectes; alteri quod feceris/...Oratorem 
te puta; si tibi ipsi quod oportet persuaseris.

19 sententiae attributed to Publilius Syrus and Seneca by a 
modern hand in pencil at the top right hand of f. 107v.  17 
occur in the text of Publilius, E. Woelfflin, ed., Publilii 
Syri sententiae (Leipzig, 1869), while the other two are found 
neither there nor in the works of Seneca.  The order of the 
sententiae, all but four of which are arranged in alphabetical 
order, is as follows [line numbers refer to Woelfflin's text]: 
(1) P.S. 2; (2) P.S. 95; (3) P.S. 47; (4) P.S. 128; (5) P.S. 161; 
(6) P.S. 199; (7) P.S. 208; (8) P.S. 255; (9) Caritas in quo 
regnat; non aliquando unici potest; (10) P.S. 292; (11) P.S. 315; 
(12) P.S. Prov. 9; (13) P.S. Prov. 57; (14) P.S. Prov. 91; (15) 
P.S. Prov. 103; (16) P.S. Prov. 123; (17) P.S. Prov. 133; (18) 
Locutum me aliquando penituit; tacuisse numquam [Walther, 
Sprichwoerter 37932c]; (19) P.S. Prov. 28.

11. 107v-109r Claudianus uir illustris.  Abstulit hunc tandem 
rufini pena tumultum.  Absoluitque deos...Leujus communia tangunt.

Claudian, Excerpta; J. B. Hall, ed., Teubner (1985).  The excerpts 
correspond exactly to the text in a manuscript described by T. Birt, 
Claudii Claudiani Carmina MGH X (1892) p. clxxv, who is referring 
incorrectly to what is now Beinecke Marston MS 45 as the codex 
Cheltenhamensis 4534,  which, like Beinecke Marston MS 45, 
"Continet Senecae epist. ad paulum et alia eiusdem scriptoris."  
The Cheltenhamensis likewise prefaced its excerpts of Claudian 
with the rubric "Claudianus uir illustris," the only manuscript of 
those mentioned by Birt to do so, and followed the excerpts from 
Claudian with the "Willelmus signiacensis de tribus dicendi generibus 
(versus 23 a m. poster.)"  In his article "Verses attributed to 
William of Saint-Thierry" (Scriptorium 8 1954) pp. 117-19, C. H. 
Talbot mentions what is now Beinecke Marston MS 45 as the only 
source for this work, though in his remarks on its provenance he says 
nothing of its having once been Cheltenhamensis 4534.  Birt 
describes the Cheltenhamensis 4534 as "membre. saec. XII de quo 
rettulit Vogel," which is consistent with the date of Beinecke 
Marston MS 45.  It is almost certain that the codex Birt is referring 
to is actually Cheltenhamensis 4572, now Beinecke Marston MS 45 
(see also provenance below).

12. f. 109r Willelmus signiacensis de tribus dicendi generibus.  
Si doceas; ujtes id quo [sic] non rite docetur;/ Soluens atque 
docens...sit clausula queque:/ Ut non ex animo fugiant dicenda; 
cauendum.  ff. 109v-110v blank except for miscellaneous notes

William of Saint-Thierry, De tribus dicendi generibus; C. H. 
Talbot, ed., "Verses attributed to William of Saint-Thierry," 
Scriptorium 8 (1954) pp. 117-19. We offer the following 
corrections to Talbot's text:  line 1, "quo" [not "quod"], 
line 10, "asciscit" [not "accescit"], line 11, "grande" [not
"grandi"]; in addition, Talbot's punctuation does not reflect 
that of the manuscript.

	Parchment (good quality), ff. ii (paper) + 110 + ii (paper), 
294 x 204 (218 x 150) mm.  2 columns, 34 lines.  Single vertical 
bounding lines.  Double upper (and sometimes lower) horizontal 
bounding lines, often widely spaced.  Ruled in crayon or lead.  
Remains of prickings in all margins, including inner.
	I-XIII 8, XIV 4, XV 2.  Quires signed with Roman numerals 
(I-II accompanied by small head of a grotesque) center of lower 
margin, verso. 
	Written in fine early gothic bookhand; arts. 11-12 in less 
expert hands. 
	Carefully drawn monochrome initials with modest penwork 
designs, 12- to 2-line, in red, green and blue.  Headings in red.
	Binding:  France, s. xviii.  Bound in light brown, mottled 
calf with a gold-tooled spine and red label:  "Opera Senecae MS."  
Red edges.  Mended at tail.  Discoloration from bosses [?] of 
earlier binding on first and last leaves.

Written in the third quarter of the 12th century in the Cistercian
abbey at Igny near Rheims (Cottineau v. 1, col. 1443; ex libris in 
hand of original scribe written in lower margin, ff. 49v-50r:  
"Liber Sancte Marie Igniacj"). The manuscript contains evidence of 
early use, including interlinear and marginal variant readings.  
Marston MS 45 served as the exemplar for Charleville-Mezieres 206-II 
from the Cistercian abbey of Notre-Dame de Signy (we thank J. Fohlen 
for this information); see C. Jeudy and Y.-F. Riou, Les manuscrits 
classiques latins des bibliotheques publiques de France v. 1: 
Agen-Evreux (Paris, 1989) pp. 423-24.  Contemporary inscription on 
f. 109r obliterated by reagent.  Signature, f. 1r, of Claude Robert 
Jardel (ca. 1722-1788), antiquary and bibliophile of Braine, near 
Soissons; see S. Prioux, "Notice biliographique et biographique sur 
Jardel de Braisne, antiquaire [1722-1788]," Bulletin de la Societe 
Academique de Laon 8 (1859) p. 18.  This manuscript among those 
acquired from Jardel by Sir Thomas Phillipps (no. 4572; see also 
art. 11 above).  Bookstamp, f. 1r, of Friedrich von Schennis, 
Swiss-born artist (1852-1918).  Belonged to C. S. Ascherson 
(bookplate; d. 1945) who acquired it, according to note on bookplate,
at the J. T. Adams sale (Sotheby's, 8 Dec. 1931, no. 218).  From 
the collection of Dr. Eric G. Millar (1877-1966; booklabel); see 
D. H. Turner, "List of the Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts 
owned by Eric Millar," British Museum Quarterly 33 (1968-69) 
pp. 9-16, Marston MS 45 = no.64 on p. 16.  Miscellaneous modern 
notes, in  pencil, on front and rear flyleaves.  Purchased from 
C. A. Stonehill (inv. no. 10991) in 1954 by Thomas E. Marston 
(bookplate).

secundo folio:  [fac]tum non

Bibliography:  Faye and Bond, p. 69, no. 45.

Barbara A. Shailor