Ancient Witnesses on Deponency in Greek 15 situation as described by Apollonius Dyscolus, the active morphology would cease to be used because it was overtaken by the middle morphol- ogy, although this principle is not universally true. 4. Macrobius Macrobius, whose major work was done ca. a.d. 410-430, is an influen- tial ancient grammarian who wrote On the Differences and Similarities of the Greek and Latin Verb (De differentiis et societatibus graeci latinique verbi)44. His information on deponency is strategic because he wrote in (and thus knew) Latin, and he published discussion on Greek grammar. His purpose was to compare the Latin verbal system to the Greek ver- bal system45. The text that follows is an excerpt from a “ninth-century abridgement of Macrobius’ exposition of the Greek middle voice”46. (A.2) Sunt apud Graecos communia, quae ab illis μέσα vocantur, quae, dum in μαι desinant, et actum et passionem una eademque forma designat, ut βιάζομαί σε καὶ βιάζομαι ὑπὸ σοῦ, ἀνδραποδίζομαί σε καὶ ἀνδραποδίζομαι ὑπὸ σοῦ. (C) Sola quoque passiva hoc nomine, id est μέσα, vocantur, ut ἠλειψάμην ἡσάμην ἐλουσάμην. Haec enim licet τῆς μέσης διαθέσεως dicant, nihil tamen aliud significant nisi πάθος: nam hoc est ἠλει|ψάμην quod ἠλείφθην; hoc est ἡσάμην quod ἥσθην. Item ἐγραψάμην ἐφάμην ἐδόμην μέσα appellant, cum nihil significant praeter actum. Hoc est enim ἐγραψάμην quod ἔγραψα, nec umquam dicitur ὑπὸ σοῦ ἐγραψάμην, et hoc ἐφάμην quod ἔφην, hoc est ἐδόμην quod ἔδων. (B.2) Ergo et illa quae superius diximus, φείδομαί σου, κήδομαί σου, ἱππάθομαι μάχομαι διαλέγομαι περιβλέπομαι δωροῦμαι χαρίζομαι εὔχομαι ἄγαμαι, cum ac- tum solum significent, μέσα tamen appellantur; licet his similia Latini non communia, sed deponentia nominent. (X) Est et haec Graecorum a Latinitate dissensio, quod cum Latini numquam verbum commune dicant, nisi quod sit simile passivo, (B.1) Graeci tamen quaedam et activis similia μέσα dixerunt, ut πέπηγα, quod μέσον dicitur et sub activo sono solam significat passionem: hoc est enim πέπηγα quod πέπηγμαι. (A.1) Πέπληγα vero, ἀφ’ οὗ τὸ 44 M. Grant, Greek and Latin Authors: 800 B.C.–A.D. 1000 (The Wilson Authors Series; New York 1980) 271. Two additional grammarians exist between Apollonius Dyscolus and Macrobius: Aelius Herodianus (second century a.d.) and Theodosius of Alexandria (early fifth century a.d.) (Signes-Codoñer, “Definitions of Middle Voice”, 28). Aelius Herodianus, whose extant work is mostly in the realm of phonology, was the son of Apollonius Dyscolus (Householder, Syntax of Apollonius Dyscolus, 5). 45 Robins, Ancient and Mediaeval Grammatical Theory, 63. 46 Signes-Codoñer, “Definitions of Middle Voice”, 27.