Ammianus Marcellinus, Res Gestae, John C. Rolfe (Translator), 22.8.37

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[37] So far the peak of the bow is thought to extend; the remainder of it, gently curved and lying under the Bear in the heavens, we shall now follow as far as the left side of the Thracian Bosporus, as the order demands, with this warning; that while the bows of all other races are bent with the staves curved, in those of the Scythians alone, or the Parthians, since a straight rounded¹ handle divides them in the middle, the ends are bent downwards on both sides and far apart,² presenting the form of a waning moon.³

Res Gestae. Ammianus Marcellinus. John C. Rolfe (Translator). Cambridge, MA. 1935-1940.

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Current edition Perseus

History (English) (Ammianus Marcellinus. Ammianus Marcellinus, with an English translation, Vols. I-III. Rolfe, John C., translator. Cambridge, MA; London: Harvard University Press; W. Heinemann, 1935-1940 (printing).)

Editions (1)

Res Gestae Perseus (Ammianus Marcellinus. Ammianus Marcellinus, with an English translation, Vols. I-III. Rolfe, John C., editor. Cambridge, MA; London: Harvard University Press; W. Heinemann, 1935-1940 (printing).) — 22.8.37 focus

[37] Hactenus arcus apex protendi existimatur. Eius nune residua leniter sinuata, subiectaque ursae caelesti, ad usque laevum Bospori Thracii latus (ut ordo postulat) exsequemur, id admonentes, quod, cum arcus omnium gentium flexis curventur hastilibus, Scythici soli vel Parthici, circumductis utrimque introrsus pandis et patulis cornibus, effigiem efigiem lunae decrescentis ostendunt, medietatem recta et rotunda regula dividente.

Notes on the current edition

History

1. These apparently contradictory words have given a good deal of trouble, but the meaning is plain. The handle is straight laterally, but is rounded like a broomstick for example, or a hoe-handle, and for the same reason; see note on § 10, above.

2. That is, the Greek bow is bent in a continuous curve; in the Scythian, the two sides are bent, but not the handle.

3. I.e. in the gibbous stage; see xx. 3, 11, notes.

Ammianus Marcellinus Res Gestae 22.8.37

John C. Rolfe (Translator)

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