36. Cod. Theod. XVI 5, 47.
37. Cod. Theod. XVI 5, 51,
38. Mansi IV 8.
39. Mansi IV 335.
40. Ep. CLXXVI.
41. Ep. CLXXVII.
42. De Gestis cum Emerito PL 43, 697; Vita XIV.
43. Vita XXVIII.
44. Prosper, Chronic on, PL 51, 597.
45. Ep . CCXLV. The date of this letter is uncertain.
46. Vita XV, XXII.
47. Ep. XCV.
48. Instances will be found in the Notes.
49. In view of these facts it is a surprise to come upon such a statement as the following: "No Vandal writer ever arose to give a second account of the war, and there is much in the statements of Victor and Possidius to show the need of caution in accepting their facts as literally true" (L. R. Holme, The Extinction of Christian Churches in North Africa, p. 88). This writer presents no evidence whatsoever to sustain his disparagement of Possidius, though he does so in the case of Victor Vitensis, whose unrestrained statements must, of course, be accepted with reserve.
50. See Chapter XVIII, note 6.
51. Leo, F., Die Griechische-Römische Biographie, pp. 11-16.
52. See his Praefatio, p. 38.
53. Roth, C. L., Suetonius, p. 287.
54. quam urbem ferme quatuordecim mensibus conclusam obsederunt . . . in eademque omni eius obsidionis tempore fuimus: Vita XXVIII.
55. Vita XXVIII.
56. Some of these are direct quotations from the Vulgate; others are taken from some pre-Vulgate versions. Many of them are apparently loose quotations from memory.
57. With the exception of A, the descriptions of the MSS. are taken from the Bollandist Catalogus Codicum Hagiographicorum Latinorum for the Vatican and for the Bibliothèque Nationale.
58. We have no means of determining what exact title, if any, was given by Possidius to his Life of Augustine. The titles, as given in the ten MSS. consulted, vary greatly. The one most common element in them is the initial Sancti Augustini Vita, followed by some sort of reference to Possidius as the author, who is characterized as bishop in every instance but one where his name appears. I have taken as a provisional title Sancti Augustini Vila scripta a Possidio Episcopo, the heading given in A.
In all the MSS. consulted the body of the text is continuous, even in the fragmentary MSS., without any division into chapters, and consequently without any chapter titles. In a few cases there are consecutive Roman numerals entered at the side of the text at. irregular intervals, but not continuing beyond the earlier part of the text. It is of course possible that these may have been intended by one or another scribe to indicate chapter divisions, but as they do not agree with each other nor extend through the body of the text nor correspond to the natural literary divisions, they may be disregarded as insignificant.
59. Some examples of these faults are altusque for alitusque Chapter I, manente for manentes and the omission of ac perficere IX, circelliones for circumcelliones X, episcopum for episcopi cum XIII, the omission of loquacitate . . . collatione XVII, the omission of impium . . . ministerium and quando . , . necessarium XXX 7; cogitandi atque orandi for cogitanti atque aranti III, multum . . . aurarium for mulctam . . . aurariam and commendatio for condemnatio XII, bibebant for vivebant XV, sectae for rectae XVIII, reticebantur for recitabantur XXIV, lucis for locis, evolatos for evolutos, fama contubescerent for fame contabescerent and regionum for regiorum XXVIII, absit for obsit XXX 10; intellexit for intercessit XII, heresi se for recessisse XVII, memorare for mentor erat XXIII, orantibus for videntibus XXVII, ad locum uncti for ad loca munita XXX 2.