Exeranthica
Exeranthica grece sunt exiccativa Dyascorides capitulo de aloe, in psalterio vero ubi nos habemus aruit cor meum grecum habet exirhanti cardiamu.
Apparatus:
Exeranthica AC f | Exerantica B p | Exeratica ms. e | Exarãticha j
exiccatiua AC | exsiccatiua ms. e | exsiccantia B p | exsiccati͡a fj
{Dyascorides} ĩ add. p
aloe | aleo j
vero om. B efj
{habemus} et add. j
grecum habet exirhanti cardiamu om. f
exirhanti AC ejp | exirãti B
cardiamu AC jp | cardiamuʒ (-mũ B) B e {interference from cardamum?}
Translation:
Exeranthica in Greek means exiccativa {"herbs/substances of a drying up nature"} according to Dyascorides in his chapter De aloe {"On aloe"}. And in the psalter, where we have aruit cor meum {"my heart has dried up"}, the Greek version has exirhanti cardiamu.
Commentary:
Exeranthica:
In the original Greek text of Dioscorides - 3, 22, ed. Wellmann (1906-14: II.28): ἀλóη /alóē/ - it says p. 29: δύναμιν δ'ἔχει … ξηραντικήν /dýnamin d'ékhei …. xērantikḗn/ "its virtue is … desiccative {'dry making'}" [[1]].
In Dioscorides Longobardus, 3, 22, ed. Stadler (1899: book III.385f.), De aloen {"On aloe"} [[2]] this passage is translated: Virtus est illi … {p. 386} exerantica; the initial vowel is here probably only prosthetic to avoid the initial consonant cluster /ks-/ or it is the result of an incorrect analysis of the first element being the prefix ex-.
Dyascorides alphabeticus (cf. Bodmer, f 10r), has: virtus … siccaminis ex erãtica [[3]] – “the virtue as to dryness is ‘exerantic’.
The word ξηραντικός /xērantikós/ "dry making" is a derivative of ξηραίνω /xēraínō/ "to parch, dry up" < ξηρός /xērós/ "dry".
Simon goes on to quote from the Vulgate Psalm 101.5: Percussum est ut faenum et aruit cor meum – which is translated in the AV 102.4: My heart is smitten like grass and withered. The Greek version of the LXX is: Psalm ΡΑ' (101) 5: καὶ ἐξηράνθη καρδία μου /kaì exēránthē kardía mou/. Here ἐξηράνθη /exēránthē/, itacist /exiránthi/, 3rd sg. aorist indicative passive of ξηραίνω /xēraínō/, has the aorist augment, i.e. the prefixed vowel /e/.
The expected transcriptions would have been (e)xerantica, possibly *(e)xirantica, and *exiranthi, showing in exiranthi the late Greek sound change /ē/ > /i/.
WilfGunther 10:40, 10 October 2014 (BST)
See the other virtues of aloe Stiptica, Ipnotica, Pignotica virtus
See also Aloes
