In view of the overwhelming weight of the manuscript evidence, including most recently the testimony of Y, it is perhaps about time to stop the attempts at emendation that began in the sixteenth century with sed non blanda puto. The weaknesses, too, of the argument in favour of lengthening metri gratia the final vowel of blanda have been clearly pointed out by Housman,1 who just as clearly pointed out that blanda must therefore be an ablative.