Alexander Numenius

Alexander Numenius (Gr. Ἀλέξανδρος), or (according to the Suda) Alexander, son of Numenius, was a Greek rhetorician who flourished in the first half of the 2nd century.[1]

About his life almost nothing is known. We possess two works which are ascribed to him. The one which certainly is his work bears the title Περὶ τῶν τῆς διανοίας καὶ τῆς λέξεως σχημάτων Peri ton tes dianoias kai tes lexeos schematon. Julius Rufinianus, in his work on the same subject expressly states that Aquila Romanus, in his Latin treatise De Figuris Sententiarum et Elocutionis, took his materials from Alexander's work.[2] Another epitome was made in the 4th century by a Christian for use in Christian schools, containing additional examples from Gregory Nazianzus.[3]

The second work traditionally attributed to Alexander Numenius, titled On Show-Speeches (Περὶ Ἐπιδεικτικῶν), is acknowledged by virtually all critics to not be the work of this Alexander, but of a later grammarian also named Alexander; it is, to speak more correctly, made up very clumsily from two distinct works, one of which was written by one Alexander, and the other by Menander Rhetor.[4] The first edition of these two works is the Aldine edition (Rhetores Graeci, Venice, 1508, fol., vol. i. p. 574, &c.). They are also contained in Walz's Rhetores Graeci, vol. viii. The genuine work of Alexander Numenius has also been edited, together with Minucianus and Phoebammon, by L. Normann, with a Latin translation and useful notes, Upsala, 1690, 8vo.[5][6]

See also

References
  •  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Smith, William, ed. (1870). "Alexander Numenius" . Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology.
  • Ahn Jaewon: Alexandri de figuris sententiarum et verborum. Göttingen 2004 (electronic dissertation)
  • Jaewon, Ahn (2015-08-03). "Anonymi christiani tractatus de figuris sententiarum et verborum (Nota Marginalis in Paris. 1741)". Bulletin of the Institute of Classical Studies. 54: 89–113. ISSN 0076-0730. Retrieved 2017-02-17.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)

Notes
  1. Schmitz, Leonhard (1867). "Alexander Numenius". In William Smith (ed.). Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology. 1. Boston: Little, Brown and Company. p. 123. Archived from the original on 2007-05-18.
  2. Julius Rufinianus, p. 195, ed. Ruhnken
  3. Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Alexander" . Encyclopædia Britannica. 1 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 564.
  4. Vales. ad Euseb. Hist. Eccles. p. 28
  5. David Ruhnken, ad Aquil. Rom. p. 139, &c.
  6. Westermann, Gesch. der Griech. Beredisamkeit, ~ 95, n. 13, ~ 104, n. 7
  • Greek text: Leonhard von Spengel, Rhetores graeci, vol. 3 (Leipzig: Teubner, 1856), pp. 1-40, with preface, pp. iii-v (Google Books; HTML)
  • The biographical dictionary of the society for the diffusion of useful knowledge, vol. 3, London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, 1843, p. 217.


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