tionis proficiscare. Haec tua deliberatio non mihi convenire visa est cum oratione Largi. Ille enim mecum quasi tibi non liceret in Sicilia diutius commorari ita locutus erat: tu autem quasi concessum sit ita deliberas. Sed ego, sive hoc sive illud est, in Sicilia censeo commorandum. Propinquitas locorum vel ad impetrandum adiuvat crebris litteris et nuntiis vel ad reditus celeritatem re aut impetrata, quod spero, aut aliqua ratione confecta. Quam ob rem censeo magno opere commorandum. 3. T. Furfanio Postumo, familiari meo, legatisque eius, item meis familiaribus, diligentissime te commendabo cum venerint: erant enim omnes Mutinae. Viri sunt optimi et tui similium studiosi et mei necessarii. Quae mihi venient in mentem quae ad te pertinere arbitrabor, ea mea sponte faciam si quid ignorabo, de eo admonitus omnium studia vincam. Ego etsi coram de te cum Furfanio ita loquar ut tibi litteris meis ad eum nihil opus sit, tamen quoniam tuis placuit te habere meas litteras quas ei redderes, morem iis gessi. Earum litterarum exemplum infra scriptum est.

illud] It is not quite plain how Caecina could stay in Sicily if he were forbidden to do so. Perhaps Cicero considered that an excuse could be made for his staying there, at least until the temporary permission to remain, which had been granted by Balbus and Oppius (§ 1), was definitely revoked.

Propinquitas] The proximity of these regions is of importance, either for carrying through your point, as letters and messengers can often come and go, or for a speedy return if your point is gained, as 1 hope it will be, or settled by some arrangement.' The meaning of the latter clause is probably what Manutius

gives to it, viz. that Caecina may be allowed to live in Italy, provided he does not come to Rome: not as Billerbeck says, if something should be brought to pass,' a euphemism for if Caesar should be defeated in Spain.' Crebris nuntiis is ablative of the cause.

3. T. Furfanio Postumo] This Furfanius was a judge in the case of Milo, and had been threatened by Clodius (Mil. 75). He appears to have held the government of Sicily in 49, as we are told that a certain Postumius was appointed by the Senate to succeed him: cp. 311. 2. In 45 he was again governor of Sicily.

erant] they are now,' epistolary tense.

VOL. IV.

528.

CICERO TO T. FURFANIUS POSTUMUS,

PROCONSUL OF SICILY

(FAM. VI. 9).

(ENCLOSED IN THE PRECEDINg letter.)

M. Cicero T. Furfanio Postumo proc. Siciliae designato A. Caecinam diligenter commendat.

M. CICERO T. FURFANIO PROCOS S.

1. Cum A. Caecina tanta mihi familiaritas consuetudoque semper fuit ut nulla maior esse possit. Nam et patre eius, claro homine et forti viro, plurimum usi sumus et hunc a puero, quod et spem magnam mihi adferebat summae probitatis summaeque eloquentiae et vivebat mecum coniunctissime, non solum officiis amicitiae sed etiam studiis communibus sic semper dilexi ut non ullo cum homine coniunctius viverem. 2. Nihil attinet me plura scribere quam mihi necesse sit eius salutem et fortunas quibuscumque rebus possim tueri vides. Relicuum est ut, cum cognorim pluribus rebus quid tu et de bonorum fortuna et de rei publicae calamitatibus sentias, nihil a te petam nisi ut ad eam voluntatem quam tua sponte erga Caecinam habiturus es tantus cumulus accedat commendatione mea quanti me a te fieri intellego. Hoc mihi gratius facere nihil potes. Vale.

1. non solum communibus] not only on terms of friendship, but also sharing in the same pursuits."

ut non ullo... viverem] So that I did not live on closer terms of intimacy with any single man.' The Turin palimpsest has nullo ut, so that there was no one with whom I lived on terms of closer intimacy,' the difference being mainly one of emphasis. Non ullus is rare except in cases of anaphora with non, such as Clu. 39 (non ille honorem a pueritia, non studia virtutis, non ullum existimationis bonae fructum umquam cogiturat), yet it is occasionally found, e.g. in

529. CICERO TO TITIUS (FAM. V. 16).

ROME (?); A. U. C. 708 (?); B. C. 46 (?); AET. CIC. 60 (?).

Consolatur M. Cicero amicum in morte, ut videtur, liberorum admodum dolentem.

M. CICERO S. D. TITIO.

1. Etsi unus ex omnibus minime sum ad te consolandum accommodatus quod tantum ex tuis molestiis cepi doloris ut consolatione ipse egerem, tamen, cum longius a summi luctus acerbitate meus abesset dolor quam tuus, statui nostrae necessitudinis esse meaeque in te benevolentiae non tacere tanto in tuo maerore tam diu, sed adhibere aliquam modicam consolationem quae levare dolorem tuum posset si minus sanare potuisset. 2. Est autem consolatio pervulgata quidem illa maxime, quam semper in ore atque in animo habere debemus, homines nos ut esse meminerimus, ea lege natos ut omnibus telis fortunae proposita sit vita nostra, neque esse recusandum quo minus ea qua nati sumus condicione vivamus, neve tam graviter eos casus feramus quos nullo consilio vitare possimus, eventisque aliorum memoria repetendis nihil accidisse novi nobis cogitemus. 3. Neque trae neque ceterae consolationes, quae sunt a sapientissimis viris usurpatae memoriaeque litteris proditae, tantum videntur proficere debere

We cannot fix definitely the place or time at which this very lugubrious letter was written, and have inserted it in this part, as most of Cicero's letters of consolation are here collected. It is also uncertain who this Titius was, whether L. Titius L. F. Rufus, who was Praetor Urbanus in 50, and to whom Cicero wrote Fam. xiii. 58 (248), or T. Titius who had been legatus of Pompey, and to whom he wrote Fam. xiii. 75 (178)-more probably the latter. He was a friend of Cicero, and had a villa at Anagnia, where he entertained him in 56: cp. Q. Fr. ii. 5. 4 (106). It is certainly a letter which was not calculated to dry a single tear.

1. a summi luctus acerbitate] from the intensity of the deepest grief.' SüpfleBoeckel notice the gradation of synonyms for grief here used, molestiae, dolor, luctus,

maeror, trouble, sorrow, grief, affliction.'

tam diu] so long' (as I might have done considering my own misfortunes).

2. autem] often used in resumptions or transitions. Well, there is one kind of consolation, trite (commonplace) indeed in the highest degree, which we ought always to have on our lips and in our hearts."

telis fortunae] 'slings and arrows of fortune.' For the sentiment of the whole passage cp. Att. xv. la, 1 (730), Sed ad haec omnia una consolatio est quod ea condicione nati sumus ut nihil quod homini accidere possit recusare debeamus.

tam graviter take so hardly.' 3. Neque hae] This is very abrupt. Wesenberg adds sed: cp. note to 506. 1. memoriaeque litteris proditae] ' and handed down to posterity in literature': litteris is ablative of the means.

quantum status ipse nostrae civitatis et haec perturbatio temporum perditorum, cum beatissimi sint qui liberos non susceperunt, minus autem miseri qui his temporibus amiserunt quam si eosdem bona aut denique aliqua re publica perdidissent. 4. Quod si tuum te desiderium movet aut si tuarum rerum cogitatione maeres, non facile exhauriri tibi istum dolorem posse universum puto: sin illa te res cruciat, quae magis amoris est, ut eorum qui occiderunt miserias lugeas, ut ea non dicam quae saepissime et legi et audivi, nihil mali esse in morte-ex qua si resideat sensus, immortalitas lla potius quam mors ducenda sit, sin amissus, nulla videri miseria debeat quae non sentiatur-hoc tamen non dubitans confirmare possum, ea misceri, parari, impendere rei publicae quae qui reliquerit nullo modo mihi quidem deceptus esse videatur. Quid est enim iam non modo pudori, probitati, virtuti, rectis studiis, bonis artibus, sed omnino libertati ac saluti loci? Non mehercule quemquam audivi hoc gravissimo et pestilentissimo anno adulescentulum aut puerum mortuum qui mihi non a dis immortalibus ereptus ex his miseriis atque ex iniquissima condicione vitae videretur. 5. Quare si tibi unum hoc detrahi potest, ne quid iis 7. 19 ff. (ep. Cic. De Sen. 81), or Plat. Apol. 40 C (cp. Cic. Tusc. i. 97).

bona. ... re publica] a proper or indeed any government.'

when there was
form of free

4. Quod si ... maeres] But if it is personal regret that affects you, if you grieve when you think of your personal misfortunes, I think it would be difficult for that source of sorrow ever to be wholly exhausted. But if your affliction is thisand it is a sign of a sympathetic nature that you mourn for the misfortunes of those who have fallen,' &c.

...

illa res... ut lugeas] The ut is explicative of illa res.

sup

ut ea non dicam tamen] posing I do not mention. . . . yet.' Hofmann compares Verr. v. 179, mihi porro, ut ego non dicam (even supposing I do not say it), quis omnium mortalium non intellegit quam longe progredi sit necesse ? For ut concessive, followed by tamen, cp. Att. ii. 15. 2 (42), verum ut hoc non sit, tamen praeclarum spectaculum mihi propono. Hofmann also notices that ne dicam has not the exact same meaning as ut non dicam. It means 'not to say,' expressing a desire not to use too strong a phrase, e.g. Phil. xiii. 12, Satis inconsiderati fuit, ne dicam audacis.

...

legi] probably in Xenophon, Cyr. viii.

6

ea... rei publicae] such confusion reigns, such projects are on foot, such dangers are threatening the state.'

quae qui reliquerit... videatur] 'that he who has made his exit from the scene cannot possibly, it would seem, be a loser by the exchange' (Melmoth): rather perhaps 'consider himself unfairly dealt with (by the gods).

non modo... sed omnino] Cp. 481. 4, quos ego non modo reges appellatos sed omnino natos nesciebam.

rectis studiis, bonis artibus] 'honest pursuits and liberal studies.'

pestilentissimo anno] We do not know of any year about this time that was especially unhealthy.

5. Quare

deminutum] Cicero speaks like an Epicurean, trying to divest his correspondent of all fear that his loved ones should be suffering the terrors of Hades.

quos amasti mali putes contigisse, permultum erit ex maerore tuo deminutum. Relinquetur enim simplex illa iam cura doloris tui, quae non cum illis communicabitur sed ad te ipsum proprie referetur: in qua non est iam gravitatis et sapientiae tuae, quam tu a puero praestitisti, ferre immoderatius casum incommodorum tuorum qui sit ab eorum quos dilexeris miseria maloque seiunctus. Etenim eum semper te et privatis in rebus et publicis praestitisti tuenda tibi ut sit gravitas et constantiae serviendum. Nam quod adlatura est ipsa diuturnitas, quae maximos luctus vetustate tollit, id nos praecipere consilio prudentiaque debemus. 6. Etenim si nulla fuit umquam liberis amissis tam imbecillo mulier animo quae non aliquando lugendi modum fecerit, certe nos, quod est dies adlatura, id consilio anteferre debemus neque exspectare temporis medicinam quam repraesentare ratione possimus. His ego litteris si quid profecissem, existimabam optandum quiddam

contigisse] used here of bad fortune, as in Lael. 8, nec ullo casu arbitror hoc constanti homini posse contingere ut ulla intermissio fiat offici, where Dr. Reid compares our passage, and also Lael. 72 ; N. D. i. 27; Phil. xiv. 24; and quotes with approval Seyffert's opinion, that contingere, like προσήκειν, signifies the happening of something which is natural or to be expected under the circumstances.

the

casum incommodorum tuorum] misfortunes which have befallen you.' For a genit. signifying misfortune after casus cp. 540. 4, ad omnis casus subitorum periculorum.

et constantiae serviendum] should be paid to firmness."

and regard

Nam. tollit] For that which mere progress of time is sure to bring, which by its long lapse wears out even the deepest sorrows." This recalls the line found in the мss. of Aeschylus (Eum. 286):-χρόνος καθαίρει (or καθαιρεῖ) πάντα γηράσκων ὁμοῦ. The same sentiment is in the Sophoclean χρόνος γὰρ εὐμαρὴς θεὸς (El. 179), Time is a comfortable god.'

6. anteferre] This must mean anticipate though no parallel has been adduced for this usage, yet the form of the compound would not seem to render it impossible. Streicher (p. 202) objects that anteferre would naturally mean prefer,' and so is inappropriate here. Some editors read ante ferre. Cobet con

jectures antevertere, which means ‘to anticipate,' in Lael. 16: Streicher suggests ante adferre; and Mendelssohn, anteire, or rather the archaic form anteeire. If any change is necessary, we should possibly read ante referre, a mercantile word (cp. repraesentare). We ought, if we are wise, settle that account before its date.'

castra

quam possimus] 'which we can have ready to hand if we are reasonable'; repraesentare is lit. to bring into the present from the future,' hence to do at once'; cp. Phil. ii. 118, repraesentari (acquired at once') morte mea libertas civitatis potest; Att. xvi. 2. 3 (772); Cues. B.G. i. 40. 14, Itaque se quod in longiorem diem collaturus fuisset repraesentaturum et proxima nocte moturum. The word also means 'to pay ready money,' Att. xii. 25. 1 (561); 29. 2 (565); Fam. xvi. 14. 2 (924). For the general sentiment cp. Att. xii. 10 (651), Consolationum autem multae viae, sed illa rectissima; impetret ratio quod dies impetratura sit; also 477. 3, quamquam me non ratio solum consolatur, quae plurimum debet valere, sed etiam dies, quae stultis quoque mederi solet. Servius Sulpicius ap. Fam. iv. 5. 6 (555), nullus dolor est quem non longinquitas temporis minuat ac molliat; and 540. 3, etsi me ipsum consolatorem tuum non tantum litterae quibus semper studui quantum longinquitas temporis mitigavit.