In the narrative texture of the fabula of Martianus Capella, some etymological, linguistic, explanations are inserted, in relation to the functions of the characters in the scene of the marriage between Philology and Mercury.
The kind of these scholarly notes reflects that of the esegetical-etymological gloss, or paraphrastic one. These glossographical entries are introduced by recognizable criterions, which refer to an unbroken tradition well represented in greek and latin authors from Homer and Hesiod.