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a full discussion of the means whereby Cicero was restored, see Introd.

i. § 1, sub. fin.

During his exile Cicero composed nothing. He appears to have shrunk even from his necessary correspondence (Fam. xiv. 2, 1, 4; Att. iii. 7, fin.); but the last months of 697 were signalized by the delivery of the orations post Reditum in Senatu, post Reditum ad Quirites, and pro Domo sua. These speeches, together with the speech pro Sestio (698) and pro Plancio (700), should be read with the letters from exile, as giving with them a complete and connected history of this interesting crisis in the life of Cicero.*

The authenticity of the first-mentioned speeches is of course doubtful; but, however this question may be decided, they are valuable sources of history.

LXXXVII. TO ATTICUS (ATT. III. 26)

DYRRACHIUM, A. U. C. 697; B. C. 57; AET. CIC. 49.

Misso ad se a Q. fratre senatus consulto de se facto legum lationem vult exspectare et Atticum ad se arcessit.

CICERO ATTICO SAL.

Litterae mihi a Quinto fratre cum senatus consulto, quod de me est factum, adlatae sunt. Mihi in animo est legum lationem exspectare et, si obtrectabitur, utar auctoritate senatus et potius vita quam patria carebo. Tu, quaeso, festina ad nos venire.

LXXXVIII. TO ATTICUS (ATT. III. 27).

DYRRACHIUM, A. U. C. 697; B. C. 57; AET. CIC. 49.

Acceptis ab Attico litteris de se desperat et suos Attico commendat.

CICERO ATTICO SAL.

Ex tuis litteris et ex re ipsa nos funditus perisse video. Te oro, ut, quibus in rebus tui mei indigebunt, nostris miseriis ne desis. Ego te, ut scribis, cito videbo.

senatus consulto] This is the senatus consultum of Jan. 1, 697 (b. c. 57), made on the proposal of Lentulus for the recall of Cicero. This Setum was never vetoed. The unfriendly tribune who was suborned by Clodius to desert Cicero, Sex. Atilius Serranus Gavianus, non ausus est, cum esset emptus, intercedere; noctem sibi ad deliberandum postulavit (Sest. 74). The result of this was that no further definite step was taken in Cicero's favour until Jan. 25, when the attempt was foiled by the violence of Clodius (see next letter). Accordingly, this decree of the Senate, thus rendered abortive by the ruse of Serranus, was not strictly a senatus auctoritas, or decree of the Senate vetoed by a tribune;' it was only an expression of opinion on the part of the Senate. Cicero expects that the matter will be resumed in the Senate on the following day, and that a bill will be brought before the

people for his recall (for as yet there was no bill, but only expressions of opinion in the Senate that his banishment was illegal: see Sest. 74); if then Serranus vetoes this Sctum (si obtrectabitur), it will be a senatus auctoritas, and Cicero says he will return on the strength of it. Senatus auctoritate (Sest. 74) is used in a vaguer sense, an expression of opinion on the part of the Senate,' when Cotta votes non restitui lege sed revocari senatus auctoritate oportere.

nos funditus perisse video] This refers to the bill brought before the people on Jan. 25, which was defeated by the violence of Clodius. Sestius and Q. Cicero were severely hurt in the fray. No further attempt to restore Cicero was made till Aug. 4.

tui mei indigebunt] He seems to think of destroying himself.

LXXXIX. TO THE CONSUL, METELLUS 'NEPOS, IN ROME (FAM. V. 4).

DYRRACHIUM, A. U. C. 697; B. C. 57; AET. CIC. 49.

M. Cicero Q. Metelli consulis opem implorat.

M. CICERO S. D. Q. METELLO COS.

1. Litterae Quinti fratris et T. Pomponii, necessarii mei, tantum spei dederant, ut in te non minus auxilii quam in tuo collega mihi constitutum fuerit. Itaque ad te litteras statim misi, per quas, ut fortuna postulabat, et gratias tibi egi et de reliquo tempore auxilium petii. Postea mihi non tam meorum litterae quam sermones eorum, qui hac iter faciebant, animum tuum immutatum significabant: quae res fecit ut tibi litteris obstrepere non auderem. 2. Nunc mihi Quintus frater meus mitissimam tuam orationem, quam in senatu habuisses, perscripsit, qua inductus ad te scribere sum conatus et abs te, quantum tua fert voluntas, peto quaesoque, ut tuos mecum serves potius quam propter adrogantem crudelitatem tuorum me oppugnes. Tu tuas inimicitias ut rei publicae donares, te vicisti: alienas ut contra rem publicam confirmes, adduceris? Quod si mihi tua clementia opem tuleris, omnibus in rebus me fore in tua potestate tibi confirmo: sin mihi neque magistratus neque senatum neque populum auxiliari prop

1. immutatum] turned against me.' obstrepere] obtrude my letters on you.'

2. orationem] on the motion of Lentulus for Cicero's recall.

quantum tua fert voluntas] This is to be taken, not with ut serves, but with peto; it means, 'I beseech you as strenuously as I may without offending you.' Otherwise, fert must be changed to ferat, or feret, which Wes. reads.

tuos mecum serves] by aiding me (I

beg you) to do a service to your whole family,' referring to his promise below, omnibus in rebus me fore in tua potestate.

tuorum] Clodius, whose sister was the widow of the consul's late brother, Metellus Celer.

Tu tuas inimicitias] 'you have com pelled yourself to resign a private (per sonal) grudge (see above, Fam. v. 1) for the sake of the State. Will you be per suaded to injure the State to satisfy the resentment of another?' (i. e. Clodius).

ter eam vim, quae me cum re publica vicit, licuerit, vide ne, cum velis revocare tempus omnium reservandorum, cum qui servetur non erit, non possis.

eam vim] referring especially to the violence with which Clodius foiled the attempt of Jan. 25 in favour of Cicero.

The

vide ne] 'take care lest afterwards, when you would gladly recall the opportunity you now have for restoring all your fellow-citizens to safety and happiness, you may find yourself unable to do so (as there may not then be one whom you can even save from utter ruin).' Such is the explanation of Orelli. following are his words: sanissima est ista sententia peracuta propter oppositionem verborum reservandi et servandi, sed varie corrupta a criticis. Hoc dicit: 'vide ne, cum frustra in eo labores, ut revoces nunc tempus illud, quo omnes in republica illaesi atque incolumes reservari etiam tunc poterant, id ipsum efficere non possis, cum nemo iam omnino erit, qui queat vel servari dumtaxat (id quod minus etiam est quam reservari).' But this antithesis between servari and reservari seems to me to need defence; and, feeling this, most edd. give servandorum for reservandorum. Martyni-Laguna even reads cum velis revocare ipsum omnium conservatorem (Ciceronem). I cannot find a single passage in Cicero in which reservare is used merely as an intensive of servare. I believe that reip. (reipublicae) dropped out before reservandorum, and that the sentence means, when you wish to recall the opportunity you had of saving the State from the loss of all her best interests.' In this sense Cicero often uses reservare: cf. pro Flac. 106, nomen clarissimum reipublicae reservate, 'save the State from the loss of one so distinguished;' Sest. 50, vitam suam ad reipublicae statum reservavit. But reservare absolutely can only mean in Cicero, 'to hold over,' 'reserve.' We have in Prov. Cons. 47, inimicitias in aliud tempus reservare; but it would be too harsh to

construe here, when you may wish to recall your present opportunity of at least holding in abeyance all your feuds with me.' The passage from the or. pro Flac. just quoted suggests a conjecture which may appear to be rash, but seems to me to derive considerable confirmation from that passage. For omnium reservandorum read NOMINUM reip. reservandorum. Cicero says, 'when you may wish to recall the opportunity you now have of saving the State from the loss of a distinguished citizen,' he refers to himself, and he uses the plural so as to take away some of the arrogance from the words. The plural is often used by Cicero in his letters, though the reference be to a single person, when it is desirable to make the statement vague, either to avoid arrogance, as in this case, or to avoid offence, as in this letter (above), where he says, propter adrogantem crudelitatem tuorum, though referring to Clodius alone. this theory, in the words cum qui servetur non erit, Cicero hints at his design to destroy himself if the attempts to restore him should fail. Draeger calls this plural the pluralis modestiae (Historische Syntax, I., p. 25), and gives as exx., Moloni dedimus operam, Brut. 312; scripsimus. tenebamus, De div. ii. 3; vides multa conari, Orat. 105; adolescentuli diximus, ib. 107; imperatores appellati sumus, Att. v. 20, 3. Cp. poscimur, Hor. Carm. i. 32, 1. The singular and plural are often found together, as, video ... mea voce . . . nobis, Catil i. 22; dissuasimus nos. nihil de me, De Am. 95; viribus nostris et possim et soleam, Fam. ii. 11, 1; ardeo ... cupiditate ut nomen nostrum, Fam. v. 12, 1. A good ex. in poetry is, Et flesti et nostros vidisti flentis ocellos, Ov. Her. v. 45. See Adn. Crit. for Madvig's conjecture on this passage.

On

nos

Sed

ADDENDA TO THE COMMENTARY.

NOTE I.

COLONIES,

ETC.

SINCE the passing of the Lex Julia, 664 (b. c. 90), coloniae and municipia had obtained Roman citizenship; and, as far as rights and privileges went, were on the same footing. The distinction that existed between them was partly a merely formal one, partly a historical one-formal, in so far as coloniae had as chief magistrates IIviri, and municipia IIIIviri; historical, in that colonies were offshoots of the State from within; municipia, engraftings on the State from without. See the interesting chapter in Gellius xvi. 13.

Praefectura, according to Festus (p. 233), was a generic title given to both colonies and municipia, as having praefecti iure dicundo generally nominated by the praetor— in some cases elected at his recommendation. It seems to me more probable that the praefecturae that are spoken of as a class co-ordinate with coloniae and municipia (e.g. Sest. 32, Pis. 51), were those villages and towns we read of in Siculus Flaccus (Grom. i. p. 159), lying outside the actual district of a colony or municipium, to which its own magistrates did not directly administer justice, but to which it sent praefecti for that purpose. We do not find praefecturae outside Italy.

Pagi in the country were communities of peasants having common religious rites. They used to elect a magister each year (Festus, p. 371), and they had the charge of the roads (Sicul. Flaccus, p. 146). As being thus to some extent organized, members were able to act together and be of some importance at the elections.

Cf. Mommsen on the Liber Coloniarum (Grom. ii. 155), and all his references.

* Siculus Flaccus (Gromatici, i. p. 159). Illud praeterea comperimus, deficiente numero militum veteranorum agro qui territorio eius loci continetur in quo veterani milites deducebantur, sumptos agros ex vicinis territoriis divisisse et assignasse horum etiam agrorum, qui ex vicinis populis sumpti sunt, proprias factas esse formas ('maps'), id est suis limitibus

quaeque regio divisa est et non ab uno puncto omnes limites acti sunt, sed, ut supra dictum est, suam quaeque regio formam habet: quae singulae praefecturae appellantur ideo quoniam singularum re gionum divisiones aliis praefecerunt, vel ex eo quod in diversis regionibus magis tratus coloniarum iuris dictionem mittere soliti sunt.

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