Stichometry is the practice of counting lines in texts: Ancient Greeks and Romans measured the length of their books in lines, just as modern books are measured in pages. This practice was rediscovered by German and French scholars in the 19th century. Stichos is the Greek word for a 'line' of prose or poetry and the suffix '-metry' is derived from the Greek word for measurement.
A List of Total Line Counts for Christian Texts: The title is 'Versus Scribturarum Sanctarum' or 'Lines of Holy Scriptures.' The second line says 'Genesis Versus IIIId' or 'Genesis Lines 4500.' The third line says 'Exodus Versus IIIdcc (= 3700). From the Codex Claromontanus (5th or 6th century AD), Leaf 467v, National Library, Paris, France.
Charles Graux (1852--1882): French classicist and palaeographer. His discovery of the standard line launched the rigorous, modern study of stichometry.
Total Stichometry on a Papyrus Column: A line count in the subscription on the last column of a text by the philosopher Philodemus (1st century BC). The first line says 'ΦΙΛΟΔΗΜ[ΟΥ]' or 'By Philodemus' (brackets around restored characters). The second says '[ΠΕΡΙ ΡΗΤ]ΟΡΙΚΗϹ' or 'On Rhetoric.' The last says 'XXXXHH' or '4200 [lines] (written with attic numerals).' Transcription of papyrus charred by the eruption of Vesuvius in AD 79 and excavated at
Partial stichometry in Plato: The lambda in the margin means 'line 1100' since lambda is the eleventh letter in the Greek alphabet.[clarification needed] The Greeks used letters of the alphabet for numerals but decorated them to distinguish them from ordinary letters, here with a two bars and two dots. The same stichometric notations appear in another Plato manuscript and they probably derive from an early edition. Clarke Codex of Plato's Dialogues, copied in AD 895, Bodleian Library, Oxford University, leaf 210v, detail.
Codex Claromontanus, symbolized by Dp, D2 or 06 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering), δ 1026 (von Soden), is a Greek-Latin diglot uncial manuscript of the New Testament, written in an uncial hand on vellum. The Greek and Latin texts are on facing pages, thus it is a "diglot" manuscript, like Codex Bezae Cantabrigiensis. The Latin text is designated by d (traditional system) or by 75 in Beuron system.
The Latin text of Romans 7:4-7 from Codex Claromontanus
The Greek text of Romans 7:4-7
Catalogus Claromontanus part 1 (page 467 verso)
Catalogus Claromontanus part 2 (page 468 recto)
