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gratia cepissimus.

3. Quod ad me de Hermathena scribis, per mihi gratum est. Est ornamentum Academiae proprium meae, quod et Hermes commune omnium et Minerva singulare est insigne eius gymnasii. Qua re velim, ut scribis, ceteris quoque rebus quam plurimis eum locum ornes. Quae mihi antea signa misisti, ea nondum vidi. In Formiano sunt, quo ego nunc proficisci cogitabam. Illa omnia in Tusculanum deportabo. Caietam, si quando abundare coepero, ornabo. Libros tuos conserva et noli desperare eos me meos facere posse. Quod si adsequor, supero Crassum divitiis atque omnium vicos et prata contemno.

3: Est ornamentum] It (the Hermathena) is an ornament appropriate to my Academy, because Hermes is the usual decoration of all such places, and the Minerva is peculiarly suited to mine.'

Athena is (strangely) called by her Latin name, though Hermes is Greek, as well as Hermathena. Does he mean to imply that the peculiar appropriateness of the Hermathena to his gymnasium lies not in the fact that his Academy takes its name from the Athenian Academy, but in the fact that his gymnasium was used solely for mental not bodily exercise; and does he therefore avoid Athena, as suggesting Athens, and use Minerva as pointing to the intellect? Of course Athena is not found in Latin for Minerva, but one might have expected it here, after Hermathena. I have not followed Boot in omitting insigne, as he is wrong in saying that it rests only on the authority of Bosius. It is not found in M, but is in Z, and that not teste Bosio, but teste Lambino. See Introduction, iii., On the Sources of

the Text.

ea nondum vidi] Merely because nondum occurs here, Baiter would read nos es nondum vidimus in the preceding lettera vicious principle; as if because Cicero says, I have not yet seen them,' in one letter, he should not say, 'I have not seen them,' in another, more especially as nondum is quite necessary here, contrasted as it is with two other points of time, in the words " quae mihi antea misisti,' and 'quo ego nunc proficisci cogitabam.'

Caietam] This is the ms reading, usually changed to Caietanum; but Klotz justly observes that Cicero may have preferred rather to call his villa Caieta than Caietanum.

Crassum] Crassus is the typical mil lionaire of Roman literature: see Fin. iii. 75; Plin. H. N. xxxiii. 47; Tertull. Apol. ii.

vicos et prata] I envy no man's manor and demesne': see Font. 19; Fam. xiv. 1, 5.

LETTERS OF THE FOURTH YEAR OF CICERO'S CORRESPONDENCE.

EPP. X., XI.

A. U. C. 689; B. C. 65; AET. CIC. 41.

COSS. L. AURELIUS COTTA, L. MANLIUS TORQUATUS.

THIS year Cicero devoted chiefly to his canvass for the attainment of the consulship two years thence, 691 (b. c. 63). He could not legally become consul till he was 43 years of age. He offered to defend Catiline, in hopes that Catiline might make common cause with him against the other candidates. He had set his heart on the consulate, and he neglected no means which might achieve success. He refused to defend the uncle of Atticus in a just cause against Caninius Satyrus, whose influence he thought might be useful in his candidature. His son Marcus was born this year. of the speeches for C. Cornelius.

This was the year

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X. TO ATTICUS, AT ATHENS (ATT. 1. 1).

ROME, A. U. C. 689; B. C. 65; AET. CIC. 41.

Cum M. Ciceronis tempus iustum petendi consulatus appropinquaret, primum Attico exponit rationem petitionis suae et ea ipsa petitionis causa sese excusat, quod Caecilio, Attici avunculo, contra A. Caninium Satyrum in iudicio adesse noluerit.

CICERO ATTICO SAL.

1. Petitionis nostrae, quam tibi summae curae esse scio, huius modi ratio est, quod adhuc coniectura provideri possit. Prensat unus P. Galba: sine fuco ac fallaciis, more maiorum, negatur. Ut opinio est hominum, non aliena rationi nostrae fuit illius haec praepropera prensatio. Nam illi ita negant vulgo, ut mihi se debere dicant. Ita quiddam spero nobis profici, cum hoc percrebrescit, plurimos nostros amicos inveniri. Nos autem initium prensandi facere cogitaramus eo ipso tempore, quo tuum puerum cum his litteris proficisci Cincius dicebat, in campo, comitiis tribuniciis, A. D.

1. Petitionis] About the prospects of my candidature, in which I know you are deeply interested, the case stands thus, as far as surmises go-Galba is the only one who is actively making interest for himself. He receives for answer a plain, unvarnished, old-fashioned No. This premature canvass of his, as common report goes, has not been a bad thing for my interests; for their refusal generally takes the form of a statement that they owe their support to me. So I fancy my cause is being served, now that the report gets wind that my supporters are found to be in the majority.' In using the word petitio here, Cicero does not imply that he is now engaged in any petitio. He only says the prospects of his candidature (when he shall become a candidate) are improved by the praepropera prensatio of Galba, who should have waited for the comitia tribunicia, the first election in the year, and the time at which etiquette prescribed that the prensatio should begin. Cicero had not yet begun prensare, to make interest, much less petere, 'to stand,' for the consulship.

sine fuco ac fallaciis] The alliteration is doubtless fortuitous. If it were designed, the phrase might be rendered 'clean and clever.' Cf. for the sentiment, Plaut. Truc. prol. 6:

En mehercle in vobis resident mores pristini
Ad denegandum ut celeri lingua utamini.

ita ut] These particles are used with great delicacy by Cicero: see Introd., p. 65. A paraphrase like that in the rendering given above is often necessary to bring out the force of the particles. Cf. Att. vi. 9, ita se domi ex tuis audisse ut nihil esset incommodum, 'that the account which he had from your people was incompatible with the idea of anything being wrong.' For profici, cp. Plin. Ep. ix. 40, 2, memoriae proficitur.

cogitaramus] is virtually an imperf., as cogitavi (yvwka) is virtually a present, 'I have made up my mind'-'I purpose;" but here it is an epistolary tense: hence the pluperf. may here be fairly rendered by the English present, I was intending when I wrote,' that is, I intend.' in campo] sc. Martio.

XVI. Kalend. Sext. Competitores, qui certi esse videantur, Galba et Antonius et Q. Cornificius. Puto te in hoc aut risisse aut ingemuisse. Ut frontem ferias, sunt qui etiam Caesonium putent. Aquilium non arbitramur, qui denegat et iuravit morbum et illud suum regnum iudiciale opposuit. Catilina, si iudicatum erit meridie non lucere, certus erit competitor. De Aufidio et Palicano

qui certi esse videantur] to take only those who are certain to stand.' Cp. quod erstet litteris, Tusc. i. 38. Qui modo is more usual in this case, but quod memiNerim is common. Boot, who apparently sees something in qui . parallel to quod provideri possit above, would (with R.), read videbantur, the epistolary imperf.

videantur not

In

Puto] I can fancy your smile or sigh as you come to this piece of news. But here is something à faire frémir; some think Caesonius will actually stand.' hoc refers to the whole sentence, 'you will smile or sigh (according to the point of view from which you regard the news) when you hear there are no candidates with stronger claims than these.' Ingemere really means to groan or growl; a modern English letter-writer would say, I fancy you will smile or else swear.' The groan is essentially southern still

more,

'the smiting of the forehead.' None of the men had as yet achieved any such personal distinction as would warrant their standing. Q. Cicero, in the Comment. Pet. 7, says of these rivals of his brother, especially of Galba, vides igitur amplissimis ex familiis homines, quod sine nervis sunt, tibi pares non esse."

t frontem] Cp. Brutus, 278, nulla perturbatio animi, nulla corporis, frons non percussa, non femur; pedis, quod minimum est, nulla supplosio. Cp. also imo de pectore cruciabilem suspiritum ducens dextra saeriente frontem replaudens, Apul. Met. i. 7.

iuravit] has excused himself on the plea of ill-health, and his unquestioned sway in the law courts.' The position of Aquilius as a iuris consultus was really deserving of the term regnum; see the eloquent eulogy of him in pro Caecina 77; he was the colleague of Cicero in the praetorship. It is to be noticed, then, that a distinguished Roman felt that he was bound to allege some excuse for his conduct, if he did not, having been praetor, aim at the consulship. For the expression regnum iudic., cp. amisso regno

forensi, Fam. ix. 18, 1. Cic. uses excusare morbum in the same sense in Phil. ix. 8, with which cp. excusare laborem, Hor. Ep. i. 7, 67.

Catilina] Catiline was charged by Clodius with misappropriation of public moneys. Therefore he could not stand for the consulship unless acquitted, that is only if the jury bring in a verdict that the sun does not shine at noonday.' The reference is not to the trial of Cat. for extortion as propraetor in Africa; for that trial occurred immediately after Catiline's return from Africa in 688 (b. c. 66). -Reid pro Sulla, Introd., § 7.

Aufidio] T. Aufidius, mentioned as a jurist in Brut. 179; he had been praetor in Asia, pro Flacco, 45. Orelli has changed this reading to Auli filio, and has been almost universally followed by the editors; wrongly, as I think I can show: Aufidio is the reading of all the mss, and there is no reason why he should not have aspired to the consulship, having been praetor, as well as Palicanus, who had only been tribune, and who was a man of bad character, Val. Max. iii. 8, 3. But Orelli observed that in Att. ii. 3, 1, the ms has Atilio, which should be, doubtless, corrected to A. filio, i. e. Auli filio, i. e. Afranio. Therefore, here he changes Aufidio to Auli filio. On Att. i. 4, 3, I have already adverted to the uncritical character of this method. But here is a far more serious case, for above nondum might have stood in both places, here A. filio cannot stand. For why

should Afranius be here called the son of Aulus'? In Att. ii. 3, 1, the correction is right, for Cicero is purposely using covert language; he says, it is said that a certain acquittal is due to the influence of the son of Aulus, and that Pompeius (whom also he covertly calls Epicrates) has been going it strong.' Afranius was well known as a protégé of Pompeius, and Atticus would understand what he meant. Besides, at that time Afranius was consul, and Cicero might think it dangerous to criticise him except in covert

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non puto te exspectare dum scribam. 2. De iis, qui nunc petunt, Caesar certus putatur. Thermus cum Silano contendere existimatur: qui sic inopes et ab amicis et existimatione sunt, ut mihi videatur non esse adúvarov Curium obducere. Sed hoc praeter me nemini videtur. Nostris rationibus maxime conducere videtur Thermum fieri cum Caesare. Nemo est enim ex iis, qui nunc petunt, qui, si in nostrum annum reciderit, firmior candidatus fore videatur, propterea quod curator est viae Flaminiae:† quae cum erit absoluta, sane facile eum libenter nunc ceteri consuli acciderim.†

phrase. In Att. i. 16, 12, he first calls Afranius A. filius, but then he is referring to a matter well known to Atticus. In Att. i. 18, 5, where also he calls Afranius 4. filius (a letter also written in 694, b. c. 64, the year of Afranius' consulship), the context proclaims who is meant by Auli filius. But here (1) there is no objection to Aufidio of the mss; (2) there is no occasion for any covert allusion to Afranius; (3) Atticus could not have understood what he meant by A. filio. Mr. Watson honestly says, 'Afranius is said to have been called Auli filius on account of his own insignificance; quasi terrae filius, says Drumann; but it seems a strange expression.' But if it referred to his insignificance, it ought to imply that any little lustre he had was reflected from his father Aulus; now Aulus was quite obscure. Moreover, there are more insignificant men mentioned here, e.g. Palicanus. No: he is never called Auli filius until Cicero feared to criticise him unless covertly, and then the context leaves it unmistakable who is meant by the son of Aulus. In Att. i. 18, 5, we have, Metellus is an excellent consul; not so Aulus' son'-of course the other consul. There is no reference to insignificance. Having once given him this name in Att. i. 16, 12, Cicero afterwards frequently applies it to him.

2. De iis qui] "Of those who are now canvassing for the year 690 (b. c. 64), Caesar is sure to be elected. It is thought the real struggle will be between Thermus and Silanus, who are so poor in friends and character that it seems to me on the cards to carry Curius against them.'

et existimatione] So the mss; Boot and Baiter insert ab before existimatione. Klotz rightly adheres to the mss: inops ab amicis is found in or de domo sua, 58, and inops verbis, Brut. 247. Each of these constructions finds a parallel here.

Curium] Boot suggests Turium, which is found in the margin of the Med. He thinks Curius was of too bad a character to have had a chance, but this is hardly sufficient ground for abandoning the Med., which should be a lamp unto our path in these letters.

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Nostris... acciderim]. The meaning of the passage is this: it would suit my interests best that Thermus should be elected with Caesar (who is certain), for Thermus would be the most formidable rival to me, if left over for my year, because he is commissioner for the repairing of the Flaminian road, and when that is completed his influence will be greatly strengthened' (though it is not great now, as we see above, qui sic inopes, &c.).

In the text have given the unintelligible reading of Med. The best conjecture is perhaps that of Manutius, who gives quae tunc erit absoluta sane facile: eum libenter nunc Caesari consulem addiderim; which, I would suggest, might be improved thus: quae tunc erit absoluta sane facile eo libenter Thermum Caesarı consulem accuderim.' The last word is suggested by Boot, but is rejected as being found only in Plautus. But this is in its favour: see Introduction, pp. 59-64. My objection to Manutius' reading is, that it is a mere repetition. Read, therefore, EO accordingly, which suits the repetition, and that is why I would wish to solder together Thermus and Caesar in the consulship.' Draeger, Hist. Synt, gives no example of eo accordingly without correlatives quo, ut; but see Fam. vi. 20, 1, dederam triduo ante... litteras ad te: EO nunc ero brevior; and de Div. ii. 46, frater es: EO verear. benter Thermum for libenter nunc is a case of dittography-ter was left out before ther, and this is confirmed by the reading of Z and M; for Z (teste Lambino) reads libenter nunciteri consuli acciderent, and

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