Diodorus 31‑32

A hyena.

Books 31 and 32 are now up at Lacus and proofread. This concludes the Web-reproducible portions of the Loeb edition, since, as noted earlier, Books 33‑40 remain under copyright. I will have to round out the author with the next previous edition, which is 150 years older — and it makes a difference in this case, since in the interim significantly better or more manuscripts have been found. There remains the translator’s introduction to Vol. 11, which will have to wait for tomorrow: I’ve got a Dog to walk and a dinner to prepare.

Still, this pseudo-end of Diodorus is in the best tradition of ancient texts: after managing to write soberly for 3000 pages, he finally caves in and concludes Book 32 with a rather long tale about hermaphroditic prodigies, unnatural intercourse, and the biology of the hyena: enjoy.