Note 2, 52 — A. PERSIUS FLACCUS (continued 4)
Reading edition
52. creterras: preferred by Jahn (1868) and Hermann to crateras, in which the Acc. Sing. of the Greek word κρατήρ seems to be taken as the stem (G., 72, R. 2). See Hor., Od., 3, 18, 7: Sat., 2, 4, 80. Comp. also statera and panthera. G. Meyer (Beitrage zur Stammbildung in Curtius, Studien, 5, 72) questions the Accus. origin.—argenti: The context indicates the material, which in prose would be ex argento or argentea (G., 396; A., 54, 2). The Genitive should give us the contents as in v. 11, argenti seria. Comp. Juv., 9, 141: argenti vascula puri.—incusa: ‘is a translation of ἐμπαιστά (Casaubon), ἐμπαιστικη τέχνη being the art of embossing silver or some other material with golden ornaments (crustae or emblemata). Hence crateras argenti incusaque dona is probably a hendiadys’ (Conington). Chrysendeta, or parcel-gilt plate (Pretor).—pingui: ‘thick,’ not a generic epithet.