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Title: Cato Maior de Senectute with Introduction and Notes

Author: Marcus Tullius Cicero

Annotator: James S. Reid

Editor: Francis W. Kelsey

Release date: February 7, 2005 [eBook #14945]
Most recently updated: December 19, 2020

Language: English, Latin

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*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CATO MAIOR
DE SENECTUTE WITH INTRODUCTION AND NOTES ***

M. TULLI CICERONIS

CATO MAIOR DE SENECTUTE

WITH INTRODUCTION AND NOTES
BY JAMES S. REID, M.L.
FELLOW OF GONVILLE AND CAIUS COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE,
UNIVERSITY LECTURER IN ROMAN HISTORY

American Edition Revised
BY FRANCIS W. KELSEY
UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN

ALLYN AND BACON
Boston New York Chicago

Copyright, 1882 By John Allyn

PREFACE.
Three years ago Mr. James S. Reid, of Gonville and Caius College,
Cambridge, prepared for the Syndics of the University Press editions of
Cicero's Cato Maior de Senectute and Laelius de Amicitia. The thorough
and accurate scholarship displayed, especially in the elucidation of the
Latinity, immediately won for the books a cordial reception; and since then
they have gained a permanent place in the esteem of English scholars.
The present volume has the full authorization of Mr. Reid, and was
prepared with the design of presenting to American students, in a form best
adapted to their use, the results of his work. The Text remains substantially
that of Mr. Reid; while mention is made in the notes of the most important
variations in readings and orthography from other editions. The
Introductions have been recast, with some enlargement; the analyses of the
subject-matter in particular have been entirely remodelled. The Notes have
been in some instances reduced, in others amplified,—especially by the
addition of references to the standard treatises on grammar, history, and
philosophy. It was at first the intention of the American editor to indicate by
some mark the matter due to himself; but as this could hardly be done
without marring the appearance of the page, and thus introducing a source
of confusion to the student, it was not attempted. In the work of revision
free use of the principal German and English editions has been made.
To some the notes of the present edition may appear too copious. The aim
throughout, however, has been not simply to give aid on difficult points, but
to call attention to the finer usages of the Latin, and to add also whatever
explanation seemed necessary to a clear understanding of the subject-
matter. Latin scholarship which shall be at the same time broad and
accurate, including not only a mastery of the language but also a
comprehensive view of the various phases of Roman life and thought, will,
it is believed, be best assured by the slow and careful reading of some
portions of the literature and by the rapid survey of others. Certainly of the
shorter Latin classics few would more fully repay close and careful study of
both language and thought than these charming colloquies on Old Age and

Friendship. While almost faultless in expression, they embody in a
remarkable degree that universal element which characterizes the literary
masterpiece, and makes it the valued possession not merely of an age or a
nation, but of all time.
FRANCIS W. KELSEY
LAKE FOREST, ILL., May, 1882.

INTRODUCTION.
I. CICERO AS A WRITER ON PHILOSOPHY.

(i.) STATE OF PHILOSOPHY IN CICERO'S TIME.

In Philosophy the Romans originated nothing. Their energies in the earlier
years of the state were wholly absorbed in organization and conquest.
Resting in a stern and simple creed, they had little speculative interest in
matters outside the hard routine of their daily life. But with the close of the
Period of Conquest came a change. The influx of wealth from conquered
provinces, the formation of large landed estates, the excessive employment
of slave labor, and the consequent rise of a new aristocracy, prepared the
way for a great revolution. The old religion lost its hold on the higher
classes; something was needed to take its place. With wealth and luxury
came opportunity and desire for culture. Greece, with Art, Literature, and
Philosophy fully developed and highly perfected, stood ready to instruct her
rude conqueror.[1]
In Cicero's time the productive era of Greek Philosophy had well-nigh
passed. Its tendency was less speculative, more ethical and practical than in
the earlier time. There were four prominent schools, the New Academy, the
Peripatetic, the Stoic, and the Epicurean. The supporters of the last-named
advocated in Science the doctrine of the atom, in Ethics the pursuit of
pleasure, in Religion the complete inactivity of the gods.
The Stoics and Peripatetics were divided by comparatively unimportant
differences. In Ethics, considered by them as almost the whole of
Philosophy, which was itself defined as 'the art of living', the main question
between the two schools was the amount of importance to be attributed to
Virtue,—the Stoics declaring that in comparison with Virtue all other things
sink into absolute insignificance, while the Peripatetics maintained that
these have a certain though infinitesimally small significance. The New
Academy taught at this time no complete philosophical system. It simply

proclaimed the view that in the field of knowledge certainty is unattainable,
and that all the inquirer has to do is to balance probabilities one against the
other. The New Academic, therefore, was free to accept any opinions which
seemed to him to have the weight of probability on their side, but he was
bound to be ready to abandon them when anything appeared which altered
his views of the probabilities. He not only might be, but he could not help
being, eclectic; that is, he chose such views promulgated by other schools
as seemed to him at the moment to be most reasonable or probable. Cicero
called himself an adherent of this school. On most points however, although
eclectic, he agreed with the Peripatetics, but with a decided leaning toward
the Stoic ethical system. The Stoic opinion that it is the duty of the wise
man to abstain from public life, which the Peripatetics contested, Cicero
decisively rejected. With the Epicureans he had absolutely no sympathy. Up
to this time these schools and their teachings were known to the Romans
only through the medium of the Greek. The only Latin philosophical
literature was Epicurean, and, excepting the poem of Lucretius (De Rerum
Natura), scarcely famous as yet, consisted entirely of books rudely written,
although considerably read.

(ii.) THE MISSION OF CICERO IN PHILOSOPHY.

Cicero made no claim to originality as a philosopher, nor even to complete
acquaintance with every detail of the Greek systems.[2] In early life he had
studied with enthusiasm and success all the learning of the Greeks, but
especially in the two departments of Rhetoric and Philosophy, then closely
connected, or rather hardly distinguished. He not only sought the society of
learned Greeks, but spent considerable time in study at Rhodes and Athens,
which had become not merely the 'school of Greece', as Thucydides makes
Pericles call her, but the school of the civilized world.[3] When, by reason of
political troubles, he was forced to retire to private life, he began to carry
out a great plan for interpreting the best philosophical writings of the
Greeks to his fellow-countrymen. For this work his liberal views as a New
Academic peculiarly fitted him. His usual method was to take one or two
leading Greek works on the subject with which he was dealing, and to
represent freely in his own language their subject-matter, introducing
episodes and illustrations of his own. He thus presented to the Romans in
their own tongue the most significant portions of the Greek Philosophy; and

in his writings there has come down to us much, especially of the Post-
Aristotelian Philosophy, that was doomed to oblivion in the original Greek.
But further than this, to Cicero more than to any other Roman is due the
formation of a Latin philosophical vocabulary, by which the language was
enriched and fitted for the part it has since taken as the Language of the
Learned. While on many points Cicero's own views can hardly be
determined with perfect exactness, the exalted sentiments and the exquisite
literary finish of his philosophical writings have always won admiration;
and through them he has exerted no small influence on the literature and life
of modern times.[4]

(iii.) THE PHILOSOPHICAL WRITINGS OF CICERO.

During the whole of an exceptionally busy public life Cicero devoted his
spare moments to reading and to the society of the learned. After his exile in
58 and 57 B.C. his political career, except for a brief period just before his
death, was over, and it is at this time that his period of great literary activity
begins, In 55 he produced the work De Oratore, in 54 the De Re Publica,
and in 52 the De Legibus, all three works, according to ancient ideas,
entitled to rank as philosophical.[5]
From 51 to 46 B.C., owing first to his absence in Cilicia, then to the civil
troubles, Cicero almost ceased to write. But in the latter year he was
reconciled with Caesar, and as the Senate and law courts were closed
against him on his refusal to compromise his political principles, he betook
himself with greater devotion than ever to literature. The first work written
in 46 was the Hortensius, or De Philosophia, now lost. It was founded on a
lost dialogue of Aristotle, and set forth the advantages of studying
Philosophy. During the same year Cicero completed several oratorical
works, the Partitiones Oratoriae, the Brutus, or De Claris Oratoribus, and
the Orator, all of which are extant.
Early in 45 Cicero lost his beloved daughter Tullia. He passed the whole
year in retirement, trying to soothe his grief by incessant writing. In quick
succession appeared
De Consolatione, an attempt to apply philosophy to the mitigation of his
own sorrow and that of others;

Academica, an exposition of the New Academic Philosophy, advocating
probability rather than certainty as the foundation of philosophy;
De Finibus Bonorum et Malorum, a work criticising the most prominent
views entertained concerning Ethics;
Disputationes Tusculanae, treating of certain conditions essential to
morality and happiness;
De Natura Deorum, an examination of the principal theories regarding the
nature and power of the gods;
Cato Maior, on old age; Laelius, on friendship;
De Fato, discussing Fate and Free Will;
Paradoxa, a book setting forth certain remarkable views of the Stoics;
De Officiis, a treatise on practical ethics, the application of moral principles
to the questions and difficulties of ordinary life.
These works, written mostly in 45 and 44, are, except the De Cons., still
extant. To the list may be added also other works of a rhetorical nature, such
as the Topica and De Optima Genere Dicendi, and some lost philosophical
books, such as De Gloria.
Even though allowance be made for the fact that Cicero was giving in Latin
the substance of Greek books with which he had been familiar from
boyhood, the mental vigor and literary power exhibited by this series of
works appear prodigious when we consider their great compass and variety
and the generally high finish of their style.
References.—For a fuller account of Cicero's philosophical views and
writings consult Ritter, 'History of Ancient Philosophy', Vol. 4, Ch. 2;
Maurice, 'Moral and Metaphysical Philosophy', Ch. 7, § 5; Tennemann and
Morell, 'History of Philosophy', Ch. 3; Ueberweg, 'History of Philosophy',
Vol I, § 61; J.B. Mayor, 'Sketch of Ancient Philosophy', pp. 223-244;
Teuffel, 'History of Roman Literature', Vol. i, § 172 et seq. Cruttwell,
'History of Roman Literature', Bk. II. Part 1, Ch. 2; 'Cicero', by Collins, in
Ancient Classics for English Readers, Ch. 10, et seq.; also the Introduction
to Reid's edition of the Academica, and the account of Cicero by Prof.

Ramsay in Smith's Dictionary of Biography and Mythology. The most
attractive biography of Cicero in English is that by Forsyth. That by
Trollope is able but quite partisan. On the philosophy, consult also Zeller's
'Eclectics.'

II. THE CATO MAIOR.

(i.) ORIGIN AND SCOPE.

1. Date and Circumstances of Composition.
The date at which the Cato Maior was written can be determined with
almost perfect exactness. A mention in Cicero's work entitled De
Divinatione[6] shows that the Cato Maior preceded that work by a short
time. The De Divinatione was written after the assassination of Caesar, that
is, after the 15th of March in the year 44.[7] Again, the Cato Maior is
mentioned as a recent work in three letters addressed by Cicero to Atticus.
[8] The earliest of these letters was written on or about the 12th of May, 44.
[9]
We shall hardly err, therefore, if we assume that Cicero composed the
Cato Maior in April of the year 44.[10] This agrees also with slight
indications in the work itself. In the dedicatory introduction Cicero speaks
of troubles weighing heavily on himself and Atticus.[11] Any one who reads
the letters to Atticus despatched in April, 44, will have little doubt that the
troubles hinted at are the apprehensions as to the course of Antonius, from
whom Cicero had personally something to fear. Atticus was using all the
influence he could bring to bear on Antonius in order to secure Cicero's
safety; hence Cicero's care to avoid in the dedication all but the vaguest
possible allusions to politics. Had that introduction been written before
Caesar's death, we should have had plain allusions (as in the prooemia of
the Academica, the De Finibus, the Tusculan Disputations, and the De
Natura Deorum) to Caesar's dictatorship.[12]
The time was one of desperate gloom for Cicero. The downfall of the old
constitution had overwhelmed him with sorrow, and his brief outburst of
joy over Caesar's death had been quickly succeeded by disgust and alarm at
the proceedings of Antonius. The deep wound caused by his daughter's

death[13] was still unhealed. It is easy to catch in the Cato Maior some
echoes of his grief for her. When it is said that of all Cato's titles to
admiration none is higher than the fortitude he showed in bearing the death
of his son,[14] the writer is thinking of the struggle he himself had been
waging against a like sorrow for more than a year past; and when Cato
expresses his firm conviction that he will meet his child beyond the grave,
[15] we can see Cicero's own yearning for reunion with his deeply loved

Tullia.
2. Greek Sources.
All Cicero's philosophical and rhetorical writings were confessedly founded
more or less on Greek originals.[16] The stores from which he principally
drew in writing the Cato Maior are clearly indicated in several parts of the
work. Passages from Xenophon's Oeconomicus are translated in Chapters
17 and 22. In Chapters 2 and 3 there is a close imitation of the conversation
between Socrates and Cephalus at the beginning of Plato's Republic, while
in Chapter 21 is reproduced one of the most striking portions of the Phaedo,
72 E-73 B, 78-80.[17] The view of the divine origin and destiny of the
human soul contained in the passage from the Phaedo is rendered by Cicero
in many of his works,[18] and was held by him with quite a religious fervor
and sincerity.
Besides these instances of special indebtedness Cicero, in composing the
Cato Maior, was no doubt under obligations of a more general kind to the
Greeks. The form of the dialogue is Greek, and Aristotelian rather than
Platonic.[19] But further, it is highly probable that Cicero owed to some
particular Greek dialogue on Old Age the general outline of the arguments
he there brings forward. Many of the Greek illustrative allusions may have
had the same origin, though in many cases Roman illustrations must have
been substituted for Greek. Whether the dialogue by Aristo Cius, cursorily
mentioned in the Cato Maior,[20] was at all used by Cicero or not it is
impossible to determine.[21]
3. Purpose.
The Cato Maior is a popular essay in Ethics, applying the principles of
philosophy to the alleviation of one of life's chief burdens, old age. In

ancient times, when philosophy formed the real and only religion of the
educated class, themes like this were deemed to afford a worthy
employment for the pens even of the greatest philosophers. Such essays
formed the only substitute the ancients had for our Sermons. There can be
no doubt of Cicero's sincerity when he says that the arguments he sets forth
in the treatise had given him real comfort,[22] and the opening words of the
dedication show that he meant and hoped to administer the same comfort to
his friend Atticus, who indeed acknowledged the benefit he derived from
the work.[23] When Cicero wrote the treatise he was himself sixty-two years
of age, while his friend was three years older. He speaks, therefore, rather
euphemistically when he says that his purpose is to lighten the trouble of an
old age which is already close at hand, or at all events approaching.[24]
But in addition to the main ethical purpose, there was, as in many of
Cicero's works, a distinct political purpose. He desired to stimulate in his
readers an admiration for what he regarded as the golden age of Roman
politics, the era of the Punic wars, and to do this by making the contrast
between that age and his own appear as striking as possible. A like double
purpose is apparent throughout the De Re Publica, where Africanus the
younger is the chief personage, and in the treatise on Friendship, where
Laelius is the central figure. For the dialogue on Old Age M. Porcius Cato
the Censor is selected as the principal speaker for two reasons: first,
because he was renowned for the vigor of mind and body he displayed in
advanced life;[25] and secondly, because in him were conspicuously
exhibited the serious simplicity, the unswerving adherence to principle, and
the self-sacrificing patriotism which were the ideal Roman virtues, and
which Cicero could not find among the politicians of his time.
4. Form and Language.
The Cato Maior, like most of Cicero's philosophical writings, is cast in the
form of a dialogue. Among the ancients the dialogue was a common
rhetorical device, especially in the presentation of abstruse subjects. The
introduction of characters to conduct the discussion gave vividness and
clearness to the unfolding of the argument, as well as a kind of dramatic
interest to the production. In the Cato Maior[26] and the Laelius, as
generally, Cicero followed the plan of Aristotle's dialogues (now lost) rather
than that of the dialogues of Plato. In the former there was more of

exposition and less of discussion than in the latter; one person stated his
views on some question, and the company in attendance only made
occasional remarks without attempting to debate the question. In the latter,
although one person, Socrates, is everywhere prominent, others are
continually drawn into the discussions, and there is a quick interchange of
question and answer. The Aristotelian form was better adapted to Cicero's
purposes than the Platonic; the progress of the argument was less
interrupted, and thus better opportunity for a symmetrical development of
the theme was afforded. Then, too, the former was more popular. The style
of Aristotle[27] had been imitated by Theophrastus and many other writers
down to Cicero's time, while that of Plato had found hardly any imitators.
The editors of the Cato Maior have generally assumed that Cicero
attempted to give an antique coloring to the diction of the dialogue in order
to remind readers of Cato's own style. It is only necessary to read a page or
two of Cato's De Re Rustica to have this illusion dispelled. The only things
actually alleged to be archaisms are (1) the use of deponent participles as
passives in §§ 4, 59, 74, a thing common enough in Cicero; (2) the
occurrence of quasi = quem ad modum in § 71; (3) of audaciter = audacter
in § 72; (4) of tuerentur for intuerentur in § 77; (5) of neutiquam in § 42;
(6) of the nominative of the gerundive governing an accusative case in § 6.
In every instance the notes will supply a refutation of the allegation. That
Cicero should attempt to write in any style but his own is exceedingly
improbable.
5. Personages.
The conversation is supposed to take place between Cato, Scipio Africanus
the younger, and Laelius, in the year before Cato's death, i.e. 150 B.C.,
when he was in his eighty-fourth year,[28] Scipio being about 35 and Laelius
a few years older.

(1.) Cato. M. Porcius Cato was born in 234 B.C.[29] at the ancient Latin
town of Tusculum. Little is known of his family except that it was plebeian,
and possessed a small patrimony in the territory of the Sabines, close to the
farm of M'. Curius Dentatus, one of Cato's great heroes and models. The
heads of the family, so far as memory extended, had distinguished
themselves as tough warriors and hardy farmers. Among the Sabines, who

even down to the times of the Empire were famed for simplicity of manners
and the practice of all the sterner virtues, Cato passed those portions of his
life which were not occupied with business of state. From his earliest days
he toiled in his own fields, and contented himself with the hardest rustic
life.[30] Yet even in his boyhood Cato must have passed intervals at Rome,
and seen something of the great statesmen and generals of the time.[31] He
seems to have received when young as thorough an education as was
possible without learning Greek, such an education as was to be obtained
only in the capital. He grew up to manhood in the comparatively quiet
period between the first and the second Punic wars; the most exciting event
of his younger years must have been the destruction at Clastidium of the
vast hordes of Celts who had swept over the northern half of Italy, almost
within reach of Rome.
Cato was of the age for military service about the time of the battle of Lake
Trasimenus, and entered the army then as a common soldier.[32] The first
expedition in which he is definitely said to have taken part is that of Q.
Fabius Maximus Cunctator against Hannibal in Campania, in 214.[33] This
Roman commander was a man entirely after Cato's heart, and became one
of his models in public life.
Before and during the early years of his soldier's life, Cato succeeded in
winning some reputation as an orator, having practised first in the
provincial courts near his home, and afterwards at Rome.[34] This reputation
as well as his great force of character procured for him a powerful life-long
friend and patron, M. Valerius Flaccus, a statesman of the old Roman
conservative-democratic school of politics, the leader of which was Fabius
Cunctator. Through the influence of Flaccus, possibly with the aid of
Fabius, Cato became military tribune, and served with that rank under
Marcellus in Sicily, under Fabius again at the capture of Tarentum in 209,
[35] and under C. Claudius Nero at the battle of the Metaurus, where he

contributed materially to that great victory.

In 204 Cato began his political career with the quaestorship.[36] As he was a
novus homo and a man of small private means, it was no small distinction
that he had forced his way to office in his thirtieth year. The lot assigned
him as quaestor to Scipio, then in Sicily and about to cross over into Africa.

The chance was most unfortunate, if for no other reason, because Cato was
intimately connected with the party in the senate opposed to Scipio, which
had been attempting to bring him to trial for the atrocities committed by the
Roman army in southern Italy. But in addition the two men were so utterly
different that there was no possibility of the quaestor standing in that filial
relation to his consul, which old Roman custom required. As financial
officer, Cato complained of the luxury and extravagance which Scipio
allowed not only to himself but to his army. Yet the complaint was made not
so much on economic as on moral grounds; it seemed to Cato that the old
Roman discipline and power to endure hardships were being swept away.
The dispute was ended by Scipio allowing Cato to return to Rome, some
authorities say from Sicily, others from Africa. According to one writer,[37]
he came home by way of Sardinia and brought thence with him Ennius the
poet.[38]
In 199 Cato was plebeian aedile, and exercised with severity the police
jurisdiction pertaining to that office, yet so as to win popular approval, since
he was chosen praetor for 198 without the usual interval. The province of
Sardinia was entrusted to him, and he strained every nerve to make his
government present as strong a contrast as possible with the lax and corrupt
administration of the nobles who took Scipio for their pattern. The troops
were sternly disciplined, and law-breakers of every kind severely dealt
with; in money matters the strictest economy prevailed; all gifts from
provincials to Roman officers were forbidden. The praetor, the great
representative of Roman power, passed from town to town attended by a
single servant.
In 196 Cato was occupied with his canvass for the consulship of the year
195, to which he was elected in company with his friend Flaccus. Cato was
the first novus homo elected since C. Flaminius, the consul of 217. It is
probable, though not certain, that he paved the way to his election by
carrying the first of the leges Porciae, restricting the right of punishing
Roman citizens. During the whole of his career Cato showed a high sense
of the importance of the individual civis Romanus.
One of the first official acts of the new consul was to deliver a set speech to
the people against a proposal to repeal the Oppian law, passed twenty years
before, the object of which was to prevent lavish expenditure on dress and

adornments, particularly by women. We have a lively report of Cato's
speech from Livy's pen, partly founded on the speech as published by Cato
himself.[39] The earnest pleading in favor of simple manners and economy
failed, after having almost caused an open insurrection on the part of the
women.[40]
The two new provinces in Spain, Hispania Citerior and Ulterior, were still
in a very unsettled state. The nearer province was made a consular province
and assigned to Cato; the praetor who governed the farther province was
also placed under Cato's jurisdiction. Before leaving Rome Cato carried a
law for protecting the provincials from extortion. During the whole of his
year of office he practised with the utmost exactness his principles of purity,
simplicity, and economy in public affairs. He is said to have started from his
house on the journey to Spain with only three servants, but when he got as
far as the forum, it struck him that such an attendance was scarcely worthy
of a Roman consul; so he purchased two more slaves on the spot! In the
same spirit, before returning he sold his horse that the state might not be at
the expense of transporting it to Italy. Cato was no less careful of the
revenue than of the expenditure. He largely increased the productiveness of
the mines and other property belonging to the state, and all goods captured
from the enemy were sold for the benefit of the exchequer. On leaving the
province Cato made an unusually large gift to each soldier, saying that it
was better for all to bring home silver than for a few to bring home gold.
The provincials were thoroughly content with their ruler and ever after
looked on him as their best friend. The army was kept in the strictest
discipline. Some disorderly conduct of the equites was rebuked by Cato in a
bitter harangue which he afterwards published. Partly by craft, partly by
good leadership in the field, Cato broke the strength of the turbulent natives
and returned to enjoy a well-earned triumph.[41] In the same year (194) a
brilliant triumph was celebrated by Flamininus.
Scipio, probably uneasy at the great reputations quickly won by Flamininus
and Cato, secured his second consulship for the year 194, but failed to
achieve anything remarkable. Cato probably spent the three years after his
return for the most part at his Sabine farm. When the war against Antiochus
broke out, he took service along with his friend Flaccus on the staff of the
consul Glabrio,[42] and by a difficult march over the mountains broke in on

the king's rear, and so was chiefly instrumental in winning the great battle
of Thermopylae, by which Antiochus was driven out of Greece.
Immediately after the battle Cato returned home with despatches. We have
dim and uncertain information that he took the field once or twice again,
but his career as a soldier was practically ended.
From this time to his death, forty years later, Cato was the leading figure on
the stage of Roman politics. In season and out of season he attacked abuses
or innovations in speeches addressed to the senate, the people, or the courts.
Soon after his return from Thessaly he struck a heavy blow at the
unrepublican honor-hunting among the magistrates, of which the example
had been set by P. Scipio Africanus. Most provincial governors drove their
subjects into war, sent lying despatches home about their victories, and
claimed a triumph. In 190 Cato attacked with success the proposal to grant
a triumph to Q. Minucius Thermus, who had already triumphed over the
Spaniards as praetor, and after his consulship in 193 had fought against the
Ligurians. Cato's next victim was his former commander M'. Acilius
Glabrio, who came forward at the same time with Cato, Marcellus (a son of
the captor of Syracuse), L. Cornelius Scipio Nasica, T. Quinctius
Flamininus (the conqueror of Macedonia) and Cato's friend L. Valerius
Flaccus, as candidate for the censorship of 189. Cato by his violent
speeches procured the trial of Glabrio for appropriating the plunder
captured in Thessaly, and himself gave evidence concerning some property
which had disappeared. Glabrio denounced Cato as a perjurer, but yet
retired from his candidature. On this occasion Cato and Flaccus failed,
Marcellus being elected as plebeian and Flamininus as patrician censor.
In the next year (188) Cato acted in the senate with the party which tried
unsuccessfully to refuse the triumph to the two consuls of 189, M. Fulvius
Nobilior and Cn. Manlius Vulso, the former of whom had gained none but
trifling advantages over the Aetolians, while the latter had disgraced the
Roman name by making war without authorization upon the Gauls of Asia
Minor, and had also suffered a humiliating defeat from some Thracian
robber bands on his homeward march. Not disheartened by ill success, Cato
and his friends determined to strike at higher game. L. Scipio Asiaticus (or
Asiagenus), the brother of Africanus, was asserted in the senate to have
appropriated 3000 talents of public money when in command against
Antiochus. Legal proceedings were taken not only against Asiaticus, but

against Africanus, who behaved with great violence and arrogance. In the
end Africanus withdrew to his country estate, while his brother was
condemned to pay a heavy fine. A death-stroke had been given to the almost
kingly authority of Africanus, who never again showed his face in Rome.
The proceedings against the Scipios seem to have begun in 187 and not to
have been completed before 185.
Nearly twenty years had passed since the conflict between Cato and Scipio
began, and now it had ended in a complete triumph for Cato.[43] But the
new modes of which Scipio was the chief patron were too strong to be
conquered, and Cato spent the rest of his life in fighting a hopeless battle
against them, though he fought for a time with the strongest weapons that
the constitution supplied. In 184 he was censor along with Flaccus, who
seems to have allowed his colleague full liberty of action. Every portion of
the censor's duty was carried out on the most severe and 'old Roman'
principles. Seven senators were degraded, among them L. Flamininus, an
ex-consul and brother of the 'liberator of the Hellenes,' for serious
misconduct,[44] also Manilius, an ex-praetor, for no worse offence than that
of having kissed his wife in presence of his daughter. M. Furius Purpurio,
who had actually competed with Cato for the censorship, was punished for
diverting a public aqueduct for his private advantage. Flaccus was named
leader of the senate in the place of Scipio Africanus, now dead.
On reviewing the equites, Cato removed from that body L. Scipio and many
others on various charges: this one had allowed himself to grow too fat for
horsemanship; that had failed to groom his horse properly; another had
neglected his farm; another again had made an untimely jest on the
occasion of the review itself. With the ordinary citizens Cato dealt just as
harshly. In his censorian edict he sharply reproved the extravagance
prevalent at private feasts. All articles of luxury, such as slaves purchased at
fancy prices, luxurious clothing, carriages, statues, and pictures were
rendered liable to heavy taxation. In this way Cato revenged himself for the
repeal of the Oppian law.
In looking after the property and income of the state Cato followed the
same principles he had acted on in Spain. He reduced the expenditure on
public works as far as possible, and took care to sell at the full price the

right to collect the revenue. Encroachments on the property of the nation
were severely punished.
Not by acts only, but by constant speeches, full at once of grimness and
humor, did Cato struggle against the degeneracy of his time[45]. He
concluded his period of office with a self-laudatory harangue, and assumed
the title Censorius, while his statue was placed in the temple of the goddess
Salus with an inscription affirming that he had reformed the Roman nation.
But in a very brief time all trace of Cato's activity as censor was swept
away, except that afforded by the numerous life-long quarrels in which he
had involved himself[46]. In less than two years one of his victims, Purpurio,
was employed by the senate on a high political mission, while another, L.
Flamininus, sat among the senators at the games in defiance of Cato's
sentence. Yet Cato remained by far the most powerful member of the
senate. Titus Flamininus, his only important rival, quickly passed out of
notice. So far as there was any democratic opposition to the senatorial
oligarchy, Cato was the leader of that opposition for the remainder of his
life. But at that period no great political movements agitated the state
within; nearly the whole interest of the time was centred in the foreign
relations of Rome. On matters of foreign policy Cato offered but little
opposition to the prevailing tendencies of the age, though on particular
occasions he exercised great influence. But his voice was at all times loudly
heard on all questions of morality and public order. He supported the lex
Furia and the lex Voconia, the object of which was to prevent the
dissipation of family property, and the lex Orchia, directed against
extravagant expenditure on feasts, also the lex Baebia de ambitu, the first
serious attempt to check bribery. We hear also that Cato bitterly attacked
Lepidus, censor in 180, for erecting a permanent theatre in place of the
movable booths before used. The building was actually pulled down. We
are told that from time to time he denounced the misdoings of provincial
governors. In 171 he was one of a commission of five for bringing to justice
three ex-praetors who had practised all manner of corruption in Spain.
Almost the last act of his life was to prosecute Galba for cruel
misgovernment of the Lusitanians. The titles of Cato's speeches show that
he played a great part in the deliberations of the senate concerning foreign
affairs, but as his fighting days were over and he was unfitted for
diplomacy, we have little explicit evidence of his activity in this direction.

At the end of the third Macedonian war he successfully opposed the
annexation of Macedonia. He also saved from destruction the Rhodians,
who during the war had plainly desired the victory of Perseus, and in the
early days, when the Roman commanders had ill success, had deeply
wounded the whole Roman nation by an offer to mediate between them and
the king of Macedon.
Cato had all his life retained his feeling of enmity to the Carthaginians,
whom Scipio, he thought, had treated too tenderly. In 150 he was one of an
embassy sent to Carthage, and came back filled with alarm at the prosperity
of the city. It is said that whatever was the subject on which he was asked
for his opinion in the senate, he always ended his speech with 'ceterum
censeo delendam esse Carthaginem' P. Scipio Nasica, the son-in-law of
Africanus, and the representative of his policy, always shouted out the
opposite opinion, thinking that the fear of Carthage had a salutary effect on
the Roman populace at large. But the ideas of Cato prevailed, and a cruel
policy, carried out with needless brutality, led to the extinction of Rome's
greatest rival. Cato did not live to see the conclusion of the war; he died in
149, at the age of 84 or 85 years, having retained his mental and physical
vigor to the last. He had two sons, one by his first wife, and one by his
second wife, born when Cato was 80 years of age. The elder son, to whom
many of Cato's works were addressed, died as praetor-elect, before his
father[47]. The other was grandfather of Cato Uticensis.
The literary activity of the old censor was great, though his leisure was
small.[48] In Cicero's time a collection of 150 speeches was still extant. The
titles of about 90 are still known to us, and of some we possess a few
fragments. Cato's greatest work, however, was his Origines, the first real
historical work written in Latin. His predecessors had been merely
compilers of chronicles. The work was founded on laborious investigations,
and comprised the history of Rome from the earliest times perhaps down to
150 B.C.[49], as well as notices of the history of other important Italian
states. Further, Cato wrote of Agriculture, to which he was enthusiastically
devoted. We still have his De Re Rustica, a collection of maxims loosely
strung together. He also composed works on law; a sort of educational
encyclopaedia for his son; and a collection of witty sayings, Αποφθεγματα,
drawn from Greek as well as from Roman sources.

Plutarch seems to have known a collected edition of the pungent and
proverbial utterances for which the censor was famous, and for which (not
for any knowledge of philosophy[50]) he received the title of sapiens
('shrewd') which he bore at the end of his life. This edition, however, was
not compiled by Cato himself.
In view of Cicero's treatise, the Cato Maior, it is necessary to say something
of Cato's relations with the Greeks and Greek literature. The ancients give
us merely vague statements that he only began to learn Greek 'in his old
age.' The expression must be liberally interpreted if, as seems clear, the
whole of his writings showed the influence of Greek literature. It is certain,
however, that he thoroughly detested the Greek nation. This hatred was
shown in acts more than once. No doubt Cato was at least a consenting
party to the expulsion from Rome of Greek teachers in 161 B.C. When in
155 the famous embassy came from Athens consisting of Carneades the
Academic, Critolaus the Peripatetic and Diogenes the Stoic, Cato was a
prime mover of the decree by which they were removed from the city.
Socrates was one of Cato's favorite marks for jests. And this is the man into
whose mouth Cicero puts the utterances, but slightly veiled, of Greek
wisdom!
(2.) Scipio. P. Cornelius Scipio Africanus, the younger, was no blood
relation of the conqueror of Hannibal, but the adopted son of his son. It
must be remembered, however, that adoption was much more formal and
binding, and produced much closer ties in ancient than in modern times.[51]
The elder Africanus was unfortunate in his sons. The younger of these
attained to the praetorship in 174, but was immediately driven from the
senate by the censors of that year on account of his disreputable life. The
elder was an invalid, who never held any office except that of augur, and
died at an early age. He adopted the son of L. Aemilius Paulus, the victor of
Pydna; the adopted son bore the name Aemilianus in memory of his origin.
Cato's son married a daughter of Paulus, so that the censor was brought into
relationship with the Cornelii, whose most illustrious representative he had
hated and attacked.
The young Scipio was born about 185, and when scarce 17 years old fought
with daring bravery at Pydna. While still very young he showed a great
devotion to study, which he retained through life. He was a thorough

partisan of the new Greek learning, and grouped around him in friendship
all the leaders of the Hellenistic movement. Among his dearest friends were
Polybius, the Greek statesman and historian, and later Panaetius, the Stoic.
In 151 B.C. when the consuls found it difficult to enlist officers and men for
service in Spain, where great defeats had been suffered, Scipio volunteered,
and served with great distinction as military tribune. When the war with
Carthage broke out he held the same rank, and shone by comparison with
his blundering superior officers. Coming to Rome in 148 he stood for the
aedileship, but was elected consul for the year 147, and again for 146, when
he finished the war. He is said to have grieved over the fate of Carthage,
and to have dreaded any further increase of the Roman territory. In 142
Scipio was censor, and acted with almost Catonian severity. In 134, though
not a candidate, he was elected to the consulship and put in command of the
Roman army then besieging the city of Numantia in Spain. The war, of
which this siege formed a part, had been going on for some years most
disastrously for the Romans, but Scipio speedily brought it to a conclusion
in 133. While before Numantia he received news of the murder of Ti.
Gracchus, whose sister he had married and whose cousin he had become by
adoption, but whose policy he had on the whole opposed, though he had
occasionally coquetted with the democrats. This course cost him the favor
of the people, and when in 131 he desired to conduct the war against
Aristonicus, only two of the thirty-five tribes voted for his appointment. In
129, after a violent scene in the senate, where he had opposed the carrying
out of Ti. Gracchus' agrarian law, he was triumphantly escorted home by a
crowd, composed chiefly of Italians whose interests had been threatened by
the law. Next morning he was found dead in his bed. Opinion as to the
cause of his death was divided at the time and so remained. In the Laelius
the death is assumed to have been from natural causes.[52] Elsewhere,
however, Cicero adopts the view of many of Scipio's friends that he was
murdered by Carbo.[53] Carbo afterwards lent color to the suspicions by
putting himself to death, in order, as was supposed, to avoid a direct
prosecution. In ancient times even C. Gracchus was suspected of having
thus avenged his brother's death, but no modern scholar of any rank has
countenanced the suspicion.
Whether the degree of intimacy between Cato and Scipio, which Cicero
assumes, ever existed or not, cannot be determined.[54] There was much in

Scipio that would attract Cato. Unlike the elder Africanus, he was severe
and simple in his outward life, and though a lover of Greek and Greeks, yet
attached to all that was best in the old Roman character and polity. Though
an opponent of revolution, he was far from being a partisan of the oligarchy.
Altogether, of all Romans, he most nearly deserved the description, 'ανηρ
τετραγωνος ανευ ψογου,' 'a man four-square without reproach.' In his De Re
Publica, Cicero points to Scipio as the ideal statesman, and often elsewhere
eulogizes him as an almost perfect Roman.
(3.) Laelius. Gaius Laelius, born about 186, was Scipio's most distinguished
officer before Carthage, and his most intimate friend throughout life. The
friendship of the two was one of the most famous in antiquity, and is
celebrated in the Laelius. Laelius was an able speaker, writer and soldier,
and devoted to Greek learning, particularly to the Stoic philosophy. He is
with Cicero the type of a man of culture.[55] He, too, is one of the
interlocutors in the De Re Publica.

(ii.) SUBJECT-MATTER.

1. General View.
The Cato Maior falls naturally into three parts:—

Preliminary, dedication to Atticus, §§ 1-3;
Introductory Conversation, 4-9;
Cato's Defence of Old Age, 10-85.

After § 9 Cato continues to express his views on old age without
interruption to the end, and the dialogue thus becomes really a monologue.
2. Analysis.

Preliminary ... 1-3.

Cicero, addressing Atticus, states his purpose in writing the book and the
effect of the work on himself (1, 2), the reasons for putting the sentiments
on old age into the mouth of Cato, and the circumstances of the supposed
conversation (3).

Introductory Conversation ... 4-9.

Scipio declares his admiration of Cato's vigorous and happy old age. Cato
replies that the secret lies in following the guidance of Nature (4, 5). Laelius
then asks Cato to point out the road to such an old age as his own (6). This
the old man promises to do, but first remarks that the faults charged against
old age are generally due to defects of character (7). Laelius suggests that
prosperity makes Cato's declining years pleasant. Cato admits that there
may be some truth in this, but maintains that right character alone can make
old age tolerable (8, 9).

Cato's Defence of Old Age ... 10-85.

A. Introductory argument from fact. Account of celebrated old men whose
lives till death were useful and happy ... 10-14

(a). Fabius Maximus ... 10-12
(b). Plato; (c). Isocrates; (d). Gorgias ... 13
(e). Ennius ... 14

B. Refutation of charges made against old age ... 15-85
Statement of the four charges commonly made against old age: it withdraws
men from active life, it weakens the physical powers, it takes away capacity
for enjoyment, and it involves the anticipation of death ... 15
A. Refutation of the first charge, that old age withdraws from active life.

(a). There are employments suited to old age which are as necessary to
the well-being of society as those which require greater physical
powers ... 15-20

(b). The special objection that old men have weak memories is
answered by showing that this is due either to an original defect or to
insufficient exercise ... 21-22

(c). Argument from fact: instances of old men in public and in private
life who till death were actively at work ... 23-26

B. Rebuttal of the second charge, that old age weakens the physical powers.

(a). Old age does not desire nor require the strength of youth, because
it may exert influence through other means. Instances cited to show
this ... 27-32

(b). Temperate habits will retain a good measure of strength till old age
(33, 34); many instances of weakness in old age may be attributed to
ill-health, which is common to all periods of life (35); proper care will
greatly retard decay ... 33-38

C. Refutation of the third charge, that old age takes away the capacity for
enjoyment

(a). The pleasures in which youth finds its keenest enjoyment are in
themselves bad, and old age is beneficent in freeing from their
allurements ... 39-44

(b). Old age has pleasures far more refined and satisfying than those of
sense ... 45-64
Such as, those of conversation and literature (45-50); especially those
of agriculture (51-61); and lastly, the exercise of influence, which old
age will always possess if a rightly spent youth has preceded ... (62-
64).

(c). The special objection that old men's tempers spoil their enjoyments
is met by the statement that this is the fault of character, not of age ...
65

D. Refutation of the fourth charge, that old age is unhappy because it
involves the anticipation of death.

(a). Since the right aim of life is to live not long but well, death ought
not to be dreaded at any age ... 66-69

(b). Old men, especially those of learning and culture, ought not to fear
death ... 70-76
Because, that which is according to nature is good, and it is natural for

old men to die (70-73); the process of dying is brief and almost
painless (74); even young men and those without learning often set the
example of despising death (75); and old age, just as the other periods
of life, has finally its season of ripeness and satiety (76).

(c). Death is probably the gateway to a happy immortality ... 77-85
Tending towards proof of this are the arguments stated in Plato; viz.
the rapidity of the mind's action, its powers of memory and invention,
its self-activity, indivisible nature and pre-existence (78); also the
arguments, attributed to Cyrus, based upon the soul's immateriality, the
posthumous fame of great men and the likeness of death to sleep (79-
81); the instinctive belief in immortality, so strong as even to form an
incentive for action (82); and, finally, the speaker's own longing after
immortality and hope of union with those whom he once knew and
loved (83-85).

CATO MAIOR DE SENECTUTE

M. TULLI CICERONIS

CATO MAIOR
DE SENECTUTE.

1

O Tite, si quid ego adiuero curamve levasso
quae nunc te coquit et versat in pectore fixa,
ecquid erit praemi?

Licet enim mihi versibus isdem affari te, Attice, quibus affatur Flamininum

ille vir haud magna cum re, sed plenus fidei,

quamquam certo scio non, ut Flamininum,

sollicitari te, Tite, sic noctesque diesque,

novi enim moderationem animi tui et aequitatem, teque non cognomen
solum Athenis deportasse, sed humanitatem et prudentiam intellego. Et
tamen te suspicor isdem rebus quibus me ipsum interdum gravius
commoveri, quarum consolatio et maior est et in aliud tempus differenda.
Nunc autem visum est mihi de senectute aliquid ad te conscribere. 2 Hoc
enim onere, quod mihi commune tecum est, aut iam urgentis aut certe
adventantis senectutis et te et me ipsum levari volo: etsi te quidem id
modice ac sapienter, sicut omnia, et ferre et laturum esse certo scio. Sed
mihi, cum de senectute vellem aliquid scribere, tu occurrebas dignus eo
munere, quo uterque nostrum communiter uteretur. Mihi quidem ita iucunda
huius libri confectio fuit, ut non modo omnis absterserit senectutis
molestias, sed effecerit mollem etiam et iucundam senectutem. Numquam
igitur laudari satis digne philosophia poterit cui qui pareat omne tempus

aetatis sine molestia possit degere. 3 Sed de ceteris et diximus multa et
saepe dicemus: hunc librum ad te de senectute misimus. Omnem autem
sermonem tribuimus non Tithono, ut Aristo Cius, parum enim esset
auctoritatis in fabula, sed M. Catoni seni, quo maiorem auctoritatem haberet
oratio: apud quem Laelium et Scipionem facimus admirantis, quod is tam
facile senectutem ferat, eisque eum respondentem, qui si eruditius videbitur
disputare quam consuevit ipse in suis libris, attribuito litteris Graecis,
quarum constat eum perstudiosum fuisse in senectute. Sed quid opus est
plura? Iam enim ipsius Catonis sermo explicabit nostram omnem de
senectute sententiam.
II. 4 SCIPIO. Saepe numero admirari soleo cum hoc C. Laelio cum
ceterarum rerum tuam excellentem, M. Cato, perfectamque sapientiam, tum
vel maxime quod numquam tibi senectutem gravem esse senserim, quae
plerisque senibus sic odiosa est, ut onus se Aetna gravius dicant sustinere.
CATO. Rem haud sane, Scipio et Laeli, difficilem admirari videmini.
Quibus enim nihil est in ipsis opis ad bene beateque vivendum, eis omnis
aetas gravis est: qui autem omnia bona a se ipsi petunt, eis nihil potest
malum videri quod naturae necessitas afferat. Quo in genere est in primis
senectus, quam ut adipiscantur omnes optant, eandem accusant adeptam:
tanta est stultitiae inconstantia atque perversitas. Obrepere aiunt eam citius
quam putassent. Primum quis coegit eos falsum putare? Qui enim citius
adulescentiae senectus quam pueritiae adulescentia obrepit? Deinde qui
minus gravis esset eis senectus, si octingentesimum annum agerent, quam si
octogesimum? Praeterita enim aetas quamvis longa, cum effluxisset, nulla
consolatione permulcere posset stultam senectutem. 5 Quocirca si
sapientiam meam admirari soletis, quae utinam digna esset opinione vestra
nostroque cognomine, in hoc sumus sapientes, quod naturam optimam
ducem tamquam deum sequimur eique paremus: a qua non veri simile est,
cum ceterae partes aetatis bene descriptae sint, extremum actum tamquam
ab inerti poeta esse neglectum. Sed tamen necesse fuit esse aliquid
extremum et, tamquam in arborum bacis terraeque fructibus, maturitate
tempestiva quasi vietum et caducum, quod ferundum est molliter sapienti.
Quid est enim aliud Gigantum modo bellare cum dis nisi naturae
repugnare?

6 LAELIUS. Atqui, Cato, gratissimum nobis, ut etiam pro Scipione
pollicear, feceris, si, quoniam speramus, volumus quidem certe, senes fieri,
multo ante a te didicerimus quibus facillime rationibus ingravescentem
aetatem ferre possimus.
CATO. Faciam vero, Laeli, praesertim si utrique vestrum, ut dicis, gratum
futurum est.
LAELIUS. Volumus sane, nisi molestum est, Cato, tamquam longam
aliquam viam confeceris, quam nobis quoque ingrediundum sit, istuc, quo
pervenisti, videre quale sit.
III. 7 CATO. Faciam ut potero, Laeli. Saepe enim interfui querellis
aequalium meorum, pares autem vetere proverbio cum paribus facillime
congregantur, quae C. Salinator, quae Sp. Albinus, homines consulares,
nostri fere aequales, deplorare solebant, tum quod voluptatibus carerent,
sine quibus vitam nullam putarent, tum quod spernerentur ab eis, a quibus
essent coli soliti; qui mihi non id videbantur accusare, quod esset
accusandum. Nam si id culpa senectutis accideret, eadem mihi usu venirent
reliquisque omnibus maioribus natu, quorum ego multorum cognovi
senectutem sine querella, qui se et libidinum vinculis laxatos esse non
moleste ferrent nec a suis despicerentur. Sed omnium istius modi
querellarum in moribus est culpa, non in aetate. Moderati enim et nec
difficiles nec inhumani senes tolerabilem senectutem agunt, importunitas
autem et inhumanitas omni aetati molesta est.
8 LAELIUS. Est, ut dicis, Cato; sed fortasse dixerit quispiam tibi propter
opes et copias et dignitatem tuam tolerabiliorem senectutem videri, id
autem non posse multis contingere.
CATO. Est istuc quidem, Laeli, aliquid, sed nequaquam in isto sunt omnia;
ut Themistocles fertur Seriphio cuidam in iurgio respondisse, cum ille
dixisset non eum sua, sed patriae gloria splendorem assecutum: 'nec
hercule', inquit, 'si ego Seriphius essem, nec tu, si Atheniensis, clarus
umquam fuisses'. Quod eodem modo de senectute dici potest; nec enim in
summa inopia levis esse senectus potest, ne sapienti quidem, nec insipienti
etiam in summa copia non gravis. 9 Aptissima omnino sunt, Scipio et Laeli,
arma senectutis artes exercitationesque virtutum, quae in omni aetate cultae,
cum diu multumque vixeris, mirificos ecferunt fructus, non solum quia

numquam deserunt, ne extremo quidem tempore aetatis, quamquam id
quidem maximum est, verum etiam quia conscientia bene actae vitae
multorumque bene factorum recordatio iucundissima est.
IV. 10 Ego Q. Maximum, eum qui Tarentum recepit, senem adulescens ita
dilexi, ut aequalem. Erat enim in illo viro comitate condita gravitas, nec
senectus mores mutaverat. Quamquam eum colere coepi non admodum
grandem natu, sed tamen iam aetate provectum. Anno enim post consul
primum fuerat quam ego natus sum, cumque eo quartum consule
adulescentulus miles ad Capuam profectus sum quintoque anno post ad
Tarentum. Quaestor deinde quadriennio post factus sum, quem magistratum
gessi consulibus Tuditano et Cethego, cum quidem ille admodum senex
suasor legis Cinciae de donis et muneribus fuit. Hic et bella gerebat ut
adulescens, cum plane grandis esset, et Hannibalem iuveniliter exsultantem
patientia sua molliebat; de quo praeclare familiaris noster Ennius:

unus homo nobis cunctando restituit rem;
noenum rumores ponebat ante salutem;
ergo plusque magisque viri nunc gloria claret.

11 Tarentum vero qua vigilantia, quo consilio recepit! Cum quidem me
audiente Salinatori, qui amisso oppido fugerat in arcem, glorianti atque ita
dicenti, 'mea opera, Q. Fabi, Tarentum recepisti', 'certe', inquit ridens, 'nam
nisi tu amisisses, numquam recepissem'. Nec vero in armis praestantior
quam in toga; qui consul iterum, Sp. Carvilio collega quiescente, C.
Flaminio tribuno plebis, quoad potuit, restitit agrum Picentem et Gallicum
viritim contra senatus auctoritatem dividenti, augurque cum esset, dicere
ausus est optimis auspiciis ea geri, quae pro rei publicae salute gererentur;
quae contra rem publicam ferrentur, contra auspicia ferri. 12 Multa in eo
viro praeclara cognovi, sed nihil admirabilius quam quo modo ille mortem
fili tulit, clari viri et consularis. Est in manibus laudatio, quam cum legimus,
quem philosophum non contemnimus? Nec vero ille in luce modo atque in
oculis civium magnus, sed intus domique praestantior. Qui sermo, quae
praecepta! Quanta notitia antiquitatis, scientia iuris auguri! Multae etiam, ut
in homine Romano, litterae: omnia memoria tenebat non domestica solum,
sed etiam externa bella. Cuius sermone ita tum cupide fruebar, quasi iam
divinarem, id quod evenit, illo exstincto fore unde discerem neminem.

V. 13 Quorsus igitur haec tam multa de Maximo? Quia profecto videtis
nefas esse dictu miseram fuisse talem senectutem. Nec tamen omnes
possunt esse Scipiones aut Maximi, ut urbium expugnationes, ut pedestris
navalisve pugnas, ut bella a se gesta, ut triumphos recordentur. Est etiam
quiete et pure atque eleganter actae aetatis placida ac lenis senectus, qualem
accepimus Platonis, qui uno et octogesimo anno scribens est mortuus,
qualem Isocrati, qui eum librum, qui Panathenaicus inscribitur, quarto
nonagesimo anno scripsisse dicit vixitque quinquennium postea; cuius
magister Leontinus Gorgias centum et septem complevit annos, neque
umquam in suo studio atque opere cessavit. Qui, cum ex eo quaereretur cur
tam diu vellet esse in vita, 'nihil habeo,' inquit, 'quod accusem senectutem'.
Praeclarum responsum et docto homine dignum! 14 Sua enim vitia
insipientes et suam culpam in senectutem conferunt, quod non faciebat is,
cuius modo mentionem feci, Ennius:

sic ut fortis ecus, spatio qui saepe supremo
vicit Olumpia, nunc senio confectus quiescit.

Equi fortis et victoris senectuti comparat suam; quem quidem probe
meminisse potestis; anno enim undevicesimo post eius mortem hi consules,
T. Flamininus et M'. Acilius, facti sunt; ille autem Caepione et Philippo
iterum consulibus mortuus est, cum ego quinque et sexaginta annos natus
legem Voconiam magna voce et bonis lateribus suasissem. Annos
septuaginta natus, tot enim vixit Ennius, ita ferebat duo quae maxima
putantur, onera, paupertatem et senectutem, ut eis paene delectari videretur.
15 Etenim, cum complector animo, quattuor reperio causas cur senectus
misera videatur: unam, quod avocet a rebus gerendis; alteram, quod corpus
faciat infirmius; tertiam, quod privet omnibus fere voluptatibus; quartam,
quod haud procul absit a morte. Earum, si placet, causarum quanta
quamque sit iusta una quaeque videamus.
VI. A rebus gerendis senectus abstrahit. Quibus? An eis, quae iuventute
geruntur et viribus? Nullaene igitur res sunt seniles, quae vel infirmis
corporibus animo tamen administrentur? Nihil ergo agebat Q. Maximus,
nihil L. Paulus, pater tuus, socer optimi viri fili mei? Ceteri senes, Fabricii
Curii Coruncanii, cum rem publicam consilio et auctoritate defendebant,
nihil agebant? 16 Ad Appi Claudi senectutem accedebat etiam ut caecus

esset; tamen is, cum sententia senatus inclinaret ad pacem cum Pyrrho
foedusque faciendum, non dubitavit dicere illa, quae versibus persecutus est
Ennius:

quo vobis mentes, rectae quae stare solebant
antehac, dementis sese flexere viai?

ceteraque gravissime, notum enim vobis carmen est, et tamen ipsius Appi
exstat oratio. Atque haec ille egit septemdecim annis post alterum
consulatum, cum inter duos consulatus anni decem interfuissent censorque
ante superiorem consulatum fuisset, ex quo intellegitur Pyrrhi bello
grandem sane fuisse, et tamen sic a patribus accepimus. 17 Nihil igitur
afferunt qui in re gerenda versari senectutem negant, similesque sunt ut si
qui gubernatorem in navigando nihil agere dicant, cum alii malos scandant,
alii per foros cursent, alii sentinam exhauriant, ille clavum tenens quietus
sedeat in puppi, non faciat ea, quae iuvenes. At vero multo maiora et
meliora facit. Non viribus aut velocitate aut celeritate corporum res magnae
geruntur, sed consilio auctoritate sententia, quibus non modo non orbari,
sed etiam augeri senectus solet; 18 nisi forte ego vobis, qui et miles et
tribunus et legatus et consul versatus sum in vario genere bellorum, cessare
nunc videor, cum bella non gero. At senatui quae sint gerenda praescribo et
quo modo; Carthagini male iam diu cogitanti bellum multo ante denuntio,
de qua vereri non ante desinam quam illam exscisam esse cognovero. 19
Quam palmam utinam di immortales, Scipio, tibi reservent, ut avi relliquias
persequare, cuius a morte tertius hic et tricesimus annus est, sed memoriam
illius viri omnes excipient anni consequentes. Anno ante me censorem
mortuus est, novem annis post meum consulatum, cum consul iterum me
consule creatus esset. Num igitur, si ad centesimum annum vixisset,
senectutis eum suae paeniteret? Nec enim excursione nec saltu, nec eminus
hastis aut comminus gladiis uteretur, sed consilio ratione sententia, quae
nisi essent in senibus, non summum consilium maiores nostri appellassent
senatum. 20 Apud Lacedaemonios quidem ei, qui amplissimum
magistratum gerunt, ut sunt, sic etiam nominantur senes. Quod si legere aut
audire voletis externa, maximas res publicas ab adulescentibus labefactatas,
a senibus sustentatas et restitutas reperietis.

Cedo qui vestram rem publicam tantam amisistis tam cito?

sic enim percontantur in Naevi poetae Ludo. Respondentur et alia et hoc in
primis:

proveniebant oratores novi, stulti adulescentuli.

Temeritas est videlicet florentis aetatis, prudentia senescentis.
VII. 21 At memoria minuitur. Credo, nisi eam exerceas, aut etiam si sis
natura tardior. Themistocles omnium civium perceperat nomina; num igitur
censetis eum, cum aetate processisset, qui Aristides esset Lysimachum
salutare solitum? Equidem non modo eos novi qui sunt, sed eorum patres
etiam et avos, nec sepulcra legens vereor, quod aiunt, ne memoriam
perdam; his enim ipsis legendis in memoriam redeo mortuorum. Nec vero
quemquam senem audivi oblitum, quo loco thesaurum obruisset. Omnia
quae curant meminerunt, vadimonia constituta, quis sibi, cui ipsi debeant.
22 Quid iuris consulti, quid pontifices, quid augures, quid philosophi senes?
Quam multa meminerunt! Manent ingenia senibus, modo permaneat
studium et industria, neque ea solum claris et honoratis viris, sed in vita
etiam privata et quieta. Sophocles ad summam senectutem tragoedias fecit;
quod propter studium cum rem neglegere familiarem videretur, a filiis in
iudicium vocatus est, ut, quem ad modum nostro more male rem gerentibus
patribus bonis interdici solet, sic illum quasi desipientem a re familiari
removerent iudices. Tum senex dicitur eam fabulam quam in manibus
habebat et proxime scripserat, Oedipum Coloneum, recitasse iudicibus
quaesisseque num illud carmen desipientis videretur, quo recitato sententiis
iudicum est liberatus. 23 Num igitur hunc, num Homerum Hesiodum
Simoniden Stesichorum, num quos ante dixi Isocraten Gorgian, num
philosophorum principes, Pythagoran Democritum, num Platonem
Xenocraten, num postea Zenonem Cleanthen, aut eum, quem vos etiam
vidistis Romae, Diogenen Stoicum coegit in suis studiis obmutiscere
senectus? An in omnibus studiorum agitatio vitae aequalis fuit? 24 Age, ut
ista divina studia omittamus, possum nominare ex agro Sabino rusticos
Romanos, vicinos et familiaris meos, quibus absentibus numquam fere ulla
in agro maiora opera fiunt, non serendis, non percipiendis, non condendis
fructibus. Quamquam in aliis minus hoc mirum est, nemo enim est tam
senex qui se annum non putet posse vivere; sed idem in eis elaborant, quae
sciunt nihil ad se omnino pertinere:

serit arbores, quae alteri saeclo prosint,

ut ait Statius noster in Synephebis. 25 Nec vero dubitat agricola, quamvis
sit senex, quaerenti cui serat respondere: 'dis immortalibus, qui me non
accipere modo haec a maioribus voluerunt, sed etiam posteris prodere'.
VIII. Et melius Caecilius de sene alteri saeculo prospiciente, quam illud
idem:

edepol, senectus, si nil quicquam aliud viti
adportes tecum, cum advenis, unum id sat est,
quod diu vivendo multa quae non volt videt.

Et multa fortasse quae volt, atque in ea, quae non volt, saepe etiam
adulescentia incurrit. Illud vero idem Caecilius vitiosius:

tum equidem in senecta hoc deputo miserrimum,
sentire ea aetate eumpse esse odiosum alteri.

26 Iucundum potius quam odiosum! Ut enim adulescentibus bona indole
praeditis sapientes senes delectantur, leviorque fit senectus eorum qui a
iuventute coluntur et diliguntur, sic adulescentes senum praeceptis gaudent,
quibus ad virtutum studia ducuntur, nec minus intellego me vobis quam
mihi vos esse iucundos. Sed videtis, ut senectus non modo languida atque
iners non sit, verum etiam sit operosa et semper agens aliquid et moliens,
tale scilicet, quale cuiusque studium in superiore vita fuit. Quid, qui etiam
addiscunt aliquid, ut et Solonem versibus gloriantem videmus, qui se
cotidie aliquid addiscentem dicit senem fieri, et ego feci, qui litteras
Graecas senex didici, quas quidem sic avide arripui quasi diuturnam sitim
explere cupiens, ut ea ipsa mihi nota essent, quibus me nunc exemplis uti
videtis. Quod cum fecisse Socraten in fidibus audirem, vellem equidem
etiam illud, discebant enim fidibus antiqui, sed in litteris certe elaboravi.
IX. 27 Ne nunc quidem viris desidero adulescentis, is enim erat locus alter
de vitiis senectutis, non plus quam adulescens tauri aut elephanti
desiderabam. Quod est, eo decet uti et quidquid agas agere pro viribus.
Quae enim vox potest esse contemptior quam Milonis Crotoniatae? Qui
cum iam senex esset athletasque se exercentis in curriculo videret, aspexisse

lacertos suos dicitur illacrimansque dixisse, 'at hi quidem mortui iam sunt'.
Non vero tam isti, quam tu ipse, nugator, neque enim ex te umquam es
nobilitatus, sed ex lateribus et lacertis tuis. Nihil Sex. Aelius tale, nihil
multis annis ante Ti. Coruncanius, nihil modo P. Crassus, a quibus iura
civibus praescribebantur, quorum usque ad extremum spiritum est provecta
prudentia. 28 Orator metuo ne languescat senectute: est enim munus eius
non ingeni solum, sed laterum etiam et virium. Omnino canorum illud in
voce splendescit etiam nescio quo pacto in senectute, quod equidem adhuc
non amisi, et videtis annos. Sed tamen est decorus seni sermo quietus et
remissus, facitque persaepe ipsa sibi audientiam diserti senis composita et
mitis oratio, quam si ipse exsequi nequeas, possis tamen Scipioni praecipere
et Laelio. Quid enim est iucundius senectute stipata studiis iuventutis? 29
An ne illas quidem viris senectuti relinquimus, ut adulescentis doceat,
instituat, ad omne offici munus instruat? Quo quidem opere quid potest esse
praeclarius? Mihi vero et Cn. et P. Scipiones et avi tui duo L. Aemilius et P.
Africanus comitatu nobilium iuvenum fortunati videbantur, nec ulli
bonarum artium magistri non beati putandi, quamvis consenuerint vires
atque defecerint. Etsi ipsa ista defectio virium adulescentiae vitiis efficitur
saepius quam senectute; libidinosa enim et intemperans adulescentia
effetum corpus tradit senectuti. 30 Cyrus quidem apud Xenophontem eo
sermone, quem moriens habuit, cum admodum senex esset, negat se
umquam sensisse senectutem suam imbecilliorem factam quam
adulescentia fuisset. Ego L. Metellum memini puer, qui, cum quadriennio
post alterum consulatum pontifex maximus factus esset, viginti et duos
annos ei sacerdotio praefuit, ita bonis esse viribus extremo tempore aetatis,
ut adulescentiam non requireret. Nihil necesse est mihi de me ipso dicere,
quamquam est id quidem senile aetatique nostrae conceditur. X. 31
Videtisne, ut apud Homerum saepissime Nestor de virtutibus suis praedicet?
Tertiam enim aetatem hominum videbat, nec erat ei verendum ne vera
praedicans de se nimis videretur aut insolens aut loquax. Etenim, ut ait
Homerus, ex eius lingua melle dulcior fluebat oratio; quam ad suavitatem
nullis egebat corporis viribus. Et tamen dux ille Graeciae nusquam optat ut
Aiacis similis habeat decem, sed ut Nestoris, quod si sibi acciderit, non
dubitat quin brevi sit Troia peritura. 32 Sed redeo ad me. Quartum ago
annum et octogesimum: vellem equidem idem posse gloriari quod Cyrus,
sed tamen hoc queo dicere, non me quidem eis esse viribus, quibus aut
miles bello Punico aut quaestor eodem bello aut consul in Hispania fuerim

aut quadriennio post, cum tribunus militaris depugnavi apud Thermopylas
M'. Glabrione consule; sed tamen, ut vos videtis, non plane me enervavit,
non afflixit senectus: non curia viris meas desiderat, non rostra, non amici,
non clientes, non hospites. Nec enim umquam sum assensus veteri illi
laudatoque proverbio, quod monet mature fieri senem, si diu velis senex
esse. Ego vero me minus diu senem esse mallem quam esse senem ante
quam essem. Itaque nemo adhuc convenire me voluit cui fuerim occupatus.
33 At minus habeo virium quam vestrum utervis. Ne vos quidem T. Ponti
centurionis viris habetis: num idcirco est ille praestantior? Moderatio modo
virium adsit et tantum quantum potest quisque nitatur, ne ille non magno
desiderio tenebitur virium. Olympiae per stadium ingressus esse Milo
dicitur, cum umeris sustineret bovem: utrum igitur has corporis an
Pythagorae tibi malis viris ingeni dari? Denique isto bono utare, dum adsit,
cum absit, ne requiras: nisi forte adulescentes pueritiam, paulum aetate
progressi adulescentiam debent requirere. Cursus est certus aetatis et una
via naturae eaque simplex, suaque cuique parti aetatis tempestivitas est
data, ut et infirmitas puerorum et ferocitas iuvenum et gravitas iam
constantis aetatis et senectutis maturitas naturale quiddam habet, quod suo
tempore percipi debeat. 34 Audire te arbitror, Scipio, hospes tuus avitus
Masinissa quae faciat hodie nonaginta natus annos: cum ingressus iter
pedibus sit, in equum omnino non ascendere; cum autem equo, ex equo non
descendere; nullo imbri, nullo frigore adduci ut capite operto sit; summam
esse in eo corporis siccitatem, itaque omnia exsequi regis officia et munera.
Potest igitur exercitatio et temperantia etiam in senectute conservare aliquid
pristini roboris.
XI. Ne sint in senectute vires: ne postulantur quidem vires a senectute. Ergo
et legibus et institutis vacat aetas nostra muneribus eis quae non possunt
sine viribus sustineri. Itaque non modo quod non possumus, sed ne quantum
possumus quidem cogimur. 35 At multi ita sunt imbecilli senes, ut nullum
offici aut omnino vitae munus exsequi possint. At id quidem non proprium
senectutis vitium est, sed commune valetudinis. Quam fuit imbecillus P.
Africani filius, is qui te adoptavit, quam tenui aut nulla potius valetudine!
Quod ni ita fuisset, alterum illud exstitisset lumen civitatis; ad paternam
enim magnitudinem animi doctrina uberior accesserat. Quid mirum igitur in
senibus, si infirmi sunt aliquando, cum id ne adulescentes quidem effugere
possint? Resistendum, Laeli et Scipio, senectuti est, eiusque vitia diligentia

compensanda sunt, pugnandum tamquam contra morbum sic contra
senectutem, 36 habenda ratio valetudinis, utendum exercitationibus
modicis, tantum cibi et potionis adhibendum, ut reficiantur vires, non
opprimantur. Nec vero corpori solum subveniendum est, sed menti atque
animo multo magis. Nam haec quoque, nisi tamquam lumini oleum
instilles, exstinguuntur senectute. Et corpora quidem exercitationum
defetigatione ingravescunt, animi autem exercitando levantur. Nam quos ait
Caecilius 'comicos stultos senes,' hos significat credulos obliviosos
dissolutos, quae vitia sunt non senectutis, sed inertis ignavae somniculosae
senectutis. Ut petulantia, ut libido magis est adulescentium quam senum,
nec tamen omnium adulescentium, sed non proborum, sic ista senilis
stultitia, quae deliratio appellari solet, senum levium est, non omnium. 37
Quattuor robustos filios, quinque filias, tantam domum, tantas clientelas
Appius regebat et caecus et senex; intentum enim animum tamquam arcum
habebat nec languescens succumbebat senectuti. Tenebat non modo
auctoritatem, sed etiam imperium in suos: metuebant servi, verebantur
liberi, carum omnes habebant; vigebat in illo animus patrius et disciplina.
38 Ita enim senectus honesta est, si se ipsa defendit, si ius suum retinet, si
nemini emancipata est, si usque ad ultimum spiritum dominatur in suos. Ut
enim adulescentem in quo est senile aliquid, sic senem in quo est aliquid
adulescentis probo, quod qui sequitur, corpore senex esse poterit, animo
numquam erit. Septimus mihi liber Originum est in manibus; ommia
antiquitatis monumenta colligo; causarum illustrium, quascunque defendi,
nunc cum maxime conficio orationes; ius augurium pontificium civile
tracto; multum etiam Graecis litteris utor, Pythagoriorumque more,
exercendae memoriae gratia, quid quoque die dixerim audierim egerim
commemoro vesperi. Hae sunt exercitationes ingeni, haec curricula mentis;
in his desudans atque elaborans corporis viris non magno opere desidero.
Adsum amicis, venio in senatum frequens ultroque affero res multum et diu
cogitatas easque tueor animi, non corporis viribus. Quas si exsequi
nequirem, tamen me lectulus meus oblectaret ea ipsa cogitantem, quae iam
agere non possem; sed ut possim facit acta vita. Semper enim in his studiis
laboribusque viventi non intellegitur quando obrepat senectus: ita sensim
sine sensu aetas senescit nec subito frangitur, sed diuturnitate exstinguitur.
XII. 39 Sequitur tertia vituperatio senectutis, quod eam carere dicunt
voluptatibus. O praeclarum munus aetatis, si quidem id aufert a nobis, quod

est in adulescentia vitiosissimum! Accipite enim, optimi adulescentes,
veterem orationem Archytae Tarentini, magni in primis et praeclari viri,
quae mihi tradita est cum essem adulescens Tarenti cum Q. Maximo.
Nullam capitaliorem pestem quam voluptatem corporis hominibus dicebat a
natura datam, cuius voluptatis avidae libidines temere et ecfrenate ad
potiendum incitarentur. Hinc patriae proditiones, 40 hinc rerum publicarum
eversiones, hinc cum hostibus clandestina colloquia nasci; nullum denique
scelus, nullum malum facinus esse ad quod suscipiendum non libido
voluptatis impelleret; stupra vero et adulteria et omne tale flagitium nullis
excitari aliis illecebris nisi voluptatis; cumque homini sive natura sive quis
deus nihil mente praestabilius dedisset, huic divino muneri ac dono nihil
tam esse inimicum quam voluptatem. 41 Nec enim libidine dominante
temperantiae locum esse, neque omnino in voluptatis regno virtutem posse
consistere. Quod quo magis intellegi posset, fingere animo iubebat tanta
incitatum aliquem voluptate corporis, quanta percipi posset maxima: nemini
censebat fore dubium quin tam diu, dum ita gauderet, nihil agitare mente,
nihil ratione, nihil cogitatione consequi posset. Quocirca nihil esse tam
detestabile tamque pestiferum quam voluptatem, si quidem ea, cum maior
esset atque longior, omne animi lumen exstingueret. Haec cum C. Pontio
Samnite, patre eius, a quo Caudino proelio Sp. Postumius T. Veturius
consules superati sunt, locutum Archytam Nearchus Tarentinus hospes
noster, qui in amicitia populi Romani permanserat, se a maioribus natu
accepisse dicebat, cum quidem ei sermoni interfuisset Plato Atheniensis,
quem Tarentum venisse L. Camillo Ap. Claudio consulibus reperio. 42
Quorsus hoc? Ut intellegeretis, si voluptatem aspernari ratione et sapientia
non possemus, magnam esse habendam senectuti gratiam, quae efficeret ut
id non liberet quod non oporteret. Impedit enim consilium voluptas, rationi
inimica est, mentis ut ita dicam praestringit oculos, nec habet ullum cum
virtute commercium. Invitus feci ut fortissimi viri T. Flaminini fratrem L.
Flamininum e senatu eicerem septem annis post quam consul fuisset, sed
notandam putavi libidinem. Ille enim cum esset consul in Gallia exoratus in
convivio a scorto est ut securi feriret aliquem eorum qui in vinculis essent,
damnati rei capitalis. Hic Tito fratre suo censore, qui proximus ante me
fuerat, elapsus est, mihi vero et Flacco neutiquam probari potuit tam
flagitiosa et tam perdita libido, quae cum probro privato coniungeret imperi
dedecus.

XIII. 43 Saepe audivi e maioribus natu, qui se porro pueros a senibus
audisse dicebant, mirari solitum C. Fabricium quod, cum apud regem
Pyrrhum legatus esset, audisset a Thessalo Cinea esse quendam Athenis qui
se sapientem profiteretur, eumque dicere omnia quae faceremus ad
voluptatem esse referenda. Quod ex eo audientis M'. Curium et Ti.
Coruncanium optare solitos ut id Samnitibus ipsique Pyrrho persuaderetur,
quo facilius vinci possent cum se voluptatibus dedissent. Vixerat M'. Curius
cum P. Decio, qui quinquennio ante eum consulem se pro re publica quarto
consulatu devoverat: norat eundem Fabricius, norat Coruncanius, qui cum
ex sua vita tum ex eius quem dico. Deci facto iudicabant esse profecto
aliquid natura pulchrum atque praeclarum, quod sua sponte expeteretur
quodque spreta et contempta voluptate optimus quisque sequeretur. 44
Quorsum igitur tam multa de voluptate? Quia non modo vituperatio nulla,
sed etiam summa laus senectutis est, quod ea voluptates nullas magno opere
desiderat. Caret epulis exstructisque mensis et frequentibus poculis. Caret
ergo etiam vinulentia et cruditate et insomniis. Sed si aliquid dandum est
voluptati, quoniam eius blanditiis non facile obsistimus, divine enim Plato
escam malorum appellat voluptatem quod ea videlicet homines capiantur ut
pisces, quamquam immoderatis epulis caret senectus, modicis tamen
conviviis delectari potest. C. Duellium M. F., qui Poenos classe primus
devicerat, redeuntem a cena senem saepe videbam puer; delectabatur cereo
funali et tibicine, quae sibi nullo exemplo privatus sumpserat: tantum
licentiae dabat gloria. 45 Sed quid ego alios? Ad me ipsum iam revertar.
Primum habui semper sodalis—sodalitates autem me quaestore constitutae
sunt sacris Idaeis Magnae Matris acceptis—epulabar igitur cum sodalibus,
omnino modice, sed erat quidam fervor aetatis, qua progrediente omnia
fiunt in dies mitiora. Neque enim ipsorum conviviorum delectationem
voluptatibus corporis magis quam coetu amicorum et sermonibus metiebar;
bene enim maiores accubitionem epularem amicorum, quia vitae
coniunctionem haberet, convivium nominaverunt, melius quam Graeci, qui
hoc idem tum compotationem, tum concenationem vocant, ut, quod in eo
genere minimum est, id maxime probare videantur.
XIV. 46 Ego vero propter sermonis delectationem tempestivis quoque
conviviis delector, nec cum aequalibus solum, qui pauci admodum restant,
sed cum vestra etiam aetate atque vobiscum, habeoque senectuti magnam
gratiam, quae mihi sermonis aviditatem auxit, potionis et cibi sustulit. Quod

si quem etiam ista delectant, ne omnino bellum indixisse videar voluptati,
cuius est fortasse quidam naturalis modus, non intellego ne in istis quidem
ipsis voluptatibus carere sensu senectutem. Me vero et magisteria delectant
a maioribus instituta et is sermo, qui more maiorum a summo adhibetur in
poculo, et pocula sicut in Symposio Xenophontis est, minuta atque rorantia,
et refrigeratio aestate et vicissim aut sol aut ignis hibernus. Quae quidem
etiam in Sabinis persequi soleo conviviumque vicinorum cotidie compleo,
quod ad multam noctem quam maxime possumus vario sermone
producimus. 47 At non est voluptatum tanta quasi titillatio in senibus.
Credo, sed ne desideratio quidem; nihil autem est molestum quod non
desideres. Bene Sophocles, cum ex eo quidam iam affecto aetate quaereret,
utereturne rebus veneriis, 'di meliora!' inquit; 'ego vero istinc sicut a domino
agresti ac furioso profugi.' Cupidis enim rerum talium odiosum fortasse et
molestum est carere, satiatis vero et expletis iucundius est carere quam frui;
quamquam non caret is, qui non desiderat; ergo hoc non desiderare dico
esse iucundius. 48 Quod si istis ipsis voluptatibus bona aetas fruitur
libentius, primum parvulis fruitur rebus, ut diximus, deinde eis, quibus
senectus, etiam si non abunde potitur, non omnino caret. Ut Turpione
Ambivio magis delectatur qui in prima cavea spectat, delectatur tamen
etiam qui in ultima, sic adulescentia voluptates propter intuens magis
fortasse laetatur, sed delectatur etiam senectus, procul eas spectans, tantum
quantum sat est. 49 At illa quanti sunt, animum tamquam emeritis stipendiis
libidinis ambitionis, contentionum inimicitiarum, cupiditatum omnium
secum esse secumque, ut dicitur, vivere! Si vero habet aliquod tamquam
pabulum studi atque doctrinae, nihil est otiosa senectute iucundius.
Videbamus in studio dimetiendi paene caeli atque terrae Gallum familiarem
patris tui, Scipio. Quotiens ilium lux noctu aliquid describere ingressum,
quotiens nox oppressit cum mane coepisset! Quam delectabat eum
defectiones solis et lunae multo ante nobis praedicere! 50 Quid in levioribus
studiis, sed tamen acutis? Quam gaudebat Bello suo Punico Naevius, quam
Truculento Plautus, quam Pseudolo! Vidi etiam senem Livium, qui, cum sex
annis ante quam ego natus sum fabulam docuisset Centone Tuditanoque
consulibus, usque ad adulescentiam meam processit aetate. Quid de P.
Licini Crassi et pontifici et civilis iuris studio loquar aut de huius P.
Scipionis, qui his paucis diebus pontifex maximus factus est? Atque eos
omnis, quos commemoravi, his studiis flagrantis senes vidimus. M. vero
Cethegum, quem recte suadae medullam dixit Ennius, quanto studio

exerceri in dicendo videbamus etiam senem! Quae sunt igitur epularum aut
ludorum aut scortorum voluptates cum his voluptatibus comparandae?
Atque haec quidem studia doctrinae, quae quidem prudentibus et bene
institutis pariter cum aetate crescunt, ut honestum illud Solonis sit, quod ait
versiculo quodam, ut ante dixi, senescere se multa in dies addiscentem, qua
voluptate animi nulla certe potest esse maior.
XV. 51 Venio nunc ad voluptates agricolarum, quibus ego incredibiliter
delector, quae nec ulla impediuntur senectute et mihi ad sapientis vitam
proxime videntur accedere. Habent enim rationem cum terra, quae
numquam recusat imperium nec umquam sine usura reddit quod accepit,
sed alias minore, plerumque maiore cum faenore; quamquam me quidem
non fructus modo, sed etiam ipsius terrae vis ac natura delectat. Quae cum
gremio mollito ac subacto sparsum semen excepit, primum id occaecatum
cohibet, ex quo occatio quae hoc efficit nominata est; deinde tepefactum
vapore et compressu suo diffundit et elicit herbescentem ex eo viriditatem,
quae nixa fibris stirpium sensim adolescit culmoque erecta geniculato
vaginis iam quasi pubescens includitur; e quibus cum emersit, fundit
frugem spici ordine structam et contra avium minorum morsus munitur
vallo aristarum. 52 Quid ego vitium ortus satus incrementa commemorem?
Satiari delectatione non possum, ut meae senectutis requietem
oblectamentumque noscatis. Omitto enim vim ipsam omnium quae
generantur e terra, quae ex fici tantulo grano aut ex acini vinaceo aut ex
ceterarum frugum aut stirpium minutissimis seminibus tantos truncos
ramosque procreet; malleoli plantae sarmenta viviradices propagines nonne
efficiunt ut quemvis cum admiratione delectent? Vitis quidem quae natura
caduca est et, nisi fulta est, fertur ad terram, eadem, ut se erigat, claviculis
suis quasi manibus quidquid est nacta complectitur, quam serpentem
multiplici lapsu et erratico, ferro amputans coercet ars agricolarum, ne
silvescat sarmentis et in omnis partis nimia fundatur. 53 Itaque ineunte vere
in eis quae relicta sunt exsistit tamquam ad articulos sarmentorum ea quae
gemma dicitur, a qua oriens uva se ostendit, quae et suco terrae et calore
solis augescens primo est peracerba gustatu, dein maturata dulcescit
vestitaque pampinis nec modico tepore caret et nimios solis defendit
ardores: qua quid potest esse cum fructu laetius, tum aspectu pulchrius?
Cuius quidem non utilitas me solum, ut ante dixi, sed etiam cultura et natura
ipsa delectat: adminiculorum ordines, capitum iugatio, religatio et

propagatio vitium, sarmentorum ea, quam dixi, aliorum amputatio, aliorum
immissio. Quid ego irrigationes, quid fossiones agri repastinationesque
proferam quibus fit multo terra fecundior? 54 Quid de utilitate loquar
stercorandi? Dixi in eo libro, quem de rebus rusticis scripsi. De qua doctus
Hesiodus ne verbum quidem fecit, cum de cultura agri scriberet. At
Homerus, qui multis, ut mihi videtur, ante saeculis fuit, Laerten lenientem
desiderium, quod capiebat e filio, colentem agrum et eum stercorantem
facit. Nec vero segetibus solum et pratis et vineis et arbustis res rusticae
laetae sunt, sed hortis etiam et pomariis, tum pecudum pastu, apium
examinibus, florum omnium varietate. Nec consitiones modo delectant, sed
etiam insitiones, quibus nihil invenit agri cultura sollertius.
XVI. 55 Possum persequi permulta oblectamenta rerum rusticarum, sed ea
ipsa quae dixi sentio fuisse longiora. Ignoscetis autem, nam et studio rerum
rusticarum provectus sum, et senectus est natura loquacior, ne ab omnibus
eam vitiis videar vindicare. Ergo in hac vita M'. Curius, cum de Samnitibus,
de Sabinis, de Pyrrho triumphavisset, consumpsit extremum tempus aetatis;
cuius quidem ego villam contemplans, abest enim non longe a me, admirari
satis non possum vel hominis ipsius continentiam vel temporum
disciplinam. Curio ad focum sedenti magnum auri pondus Samnites cum
attulissent, repudiati sunt; non enim aurum habere praeclarum sibi videri
dixit, sed eis qui haberent aurum imperare. 56 Poteratne tantus animus
efficere non iucundam senectutem? Sed venio ad agricolas, ne a me ipso
recedam. In agris erant tum senatores, id est senes, si quidem aranti L.
Quinctio Cincinnato nuntiatum est eum dictatorem esse factum, cuius
dictatoris iussu magister equitum C. Servilius Ahala Sp. Maelium regnum
appetentem occupatum interemit. A villa in senatum arcessebatur et Curius
et ceteri senes, ex quo qui eos arcessebant viatores nominati sunt. Num
igitur horum senectus miserabilis fuit, qui se agri cultione oblectabant? Mea
quidem sententia haud scio an nulla beatior possit esse, neque solum
officio, quod hominum generi universo cultura agrorum est salutaris, sed et
delectatione quam dixi, et saturitate copiaque rerum omnium, quae ad
victum hominum, ad cultum etiam deorum pertinent, ut, quoniam haec
quidam desiderant, in gratiam iam cum voluptate redeamus. Semper enim
boni assiduique domini referta cella vinaria, olearia, etiam penaria est,
villaque tota locuples est, abundat porco haedo agno gallina, lacte caseo
melle. Iam hortum ipsi agricolae succidiam alteram appellant. Conditiora

facit haec supervacaneis etiam operis aucupium atque venatio. 57 Quid de
pratorum viriditate aut arborum ordinibus aut vinearum olivetorumve specie
plura dicam? Brevi praecidam. Agro bene culto nihil potest esse nec usu
uberius nec specie ornatius, ad quem fruendum non modo non retardat,
verum etiam invitat atque allectat senectus. Ubi enim potest illa aetas aut
calescere vel apricatione melius vel igni, aut vicissim umbris aquisve
refrigerari salubrius? 58 Sibi habeant igitur arma, sibi equos, sibi hastas,
sibi clavam et pilam, sibi venationes atque cursus, nobis senibus ex
lusionibus multis talos relinquant et tesseras; id ipsum ut lubebit, quoniam
sine eis beata esse senectus potest.
XVII. 59 Multas ad res perutiles Xenophontis libri sunt, quos legite quaeso
studiose, ut facitis. Quam copiose ab eo agri cultura laudatur in eo libro, qui
est de tuenda re familiari, qui Oeconomicus inscribitur! Atque ut intellegatis
nihil ei tam regale videri quam studium agri colendi, Socrates in eo libro
loquitur cum Critobulo Cyrum minorem Persarum regem, praestantem
ingenio atque imperi gloria, cum Lysander Lacedaemonius, vir summae
virtutis, venisset ad eum Sardis eique dona a sociis attulisset, et ceteris in
rebus communem erga Lysandrum atque humanum fuisse et ei quendam
consaeptum agrum diligenter consitum ostendisse. Cum autem admiraretur
Lysander et proceritates arborum et directos in quincuncem ordines et
humum subactam atque puram et suavitatem odorum qui afflarentur ex
floribus, tum eum dixisse mirari se non modo diligentiam sed etiam
sollertiam eius a quo essent illa dimensa atque discripta; et Cyrum
respondisse 'atqui ego ista sum omnia dimensus, mei sunt ordines, mea
discriptio; multae etiam istarum arborum mea manu sunt satae.' Tum
Lysandrum, intuentem purpuram eius et nitorem corporis ornatumque
Persicum multo auro multisque gemmis, dixisse 'recte vero te, Cyre, beatum
ferunt, quoniam virtuti tuae fortuna coniuncta est!' 60 Hac igitur fortuna frui
licet senibus, nec aetas impedit quo minus et ceterarum rerum et in primis
agri colendi studia teneamus usque ad ultimum tempus senectutis. M.
quidem Valerium Corvinum accepimus ad centesimum annum perduxisse,
cum esset acta iam aetate in agris eosque coleret, cuius inter primum et
sextum consulatum sex et quadraginta anni interfuerunt. Ita quantum
spatium aetatis maiores ad senectutis initium esse voluerunt, tantus illi
cursus honorum fuit; atque huius extrema aetas hoc beatior quam media,
quod auctoritatis habebat plus, laboris minus; apex est autem senectutis

auctoritas. 61 Quanta fuit in L. Caecilio Metello, quanta in A. Atilio
Calatino! In quem illud elogium:

hunc unum plurimae consentiunt gentes
populi primarium fuisse virum.

Notum est totum carmen incisum in sepulcro. Iure igitur gravis, cuius de
laudibus omnium esset fama consentiens. Quem virum nuper P. Crassum,
pontificem maximum, quem postea M. Lepidum eodem sacerdotio
praeditum vidimus! Quid de Paulo aut Africano loquar, aut, ut iam ante, de
Maximo? Quorum non in sententia solum, sed etiam in nutu residebat
auctoritas. Habet senectus, honorata praesertim, tantam auctoritatem, ut ea
pluris sit quam omnes adulescentiae voluptates.
XVIII. 62 Sed in omni oratione mementote eam me senectutem laudare,
quae fundamentis adulescentiae constituta sit. Ex quo efficitur id, quod ego
magno quondam cum assensu omnium dixi, miseram esse senectutem quae
se oratione defenderet. Non cani nec rugae repente auctoritatem arripere
possunt, sed honeste acta superior aetas fructus capit auctoritatis extremos.
63 Haec enim ipsa sunt honorabilia, quae videntur levia atque communia,
salutari appeti decedi assurgi deduci reduci consuli, quae et apud nos et in
aliis civitatibus, ut quaeque optime morata est, ita diligentissime
observantur. Lysandrum Lacedaemonium, cuius modo feci mentionem,
dicere aiunt solitum Lacedaemonem esse honestissimum domicilium
senectutis; nusquam enim tantum tribuitur aetati, nusquam est senectus
honoratior. Quin etiam memoriae proditum est, cum Athenis ludis quidam
in theatrum grandis natu venisset, magno consessu locum nusquam ei
datum a suis civibus, cum autem ad Lacedaemonios accessisset, qui, legati
cum essent certo in loco considerant, consurrexisse omnes illi dicuntur et
senem sessum recepisse; 64 quibus cum a cuncto consessu plausus esset
multiplex datus, dixisse ex eis quendam Atheniensis scire quae recta essent,
sed facere nolle. Multa in nostro collegio praeclara, sed hoc de quo agimus,
in primis, quod, ut quisque aetate antecedit, ita sententiae principatum tenet,
neque solum honore antecedentibus, sed eis etiam, qui cum imperio sunt,
maiores natu augures anteponuntur. Quae sunt igitur voluptates corporis
cum auctoritatis praemiis comparandae? Quibus qui splendide usi sunt, ei
mihi videntur fabulam aetatis peregisse nec tamquam inexercitati histriones
in extremo actu corruisse.

65 At sunt morosi et anxii et iracundi et difficiles senes. Si quaerimus, etiam
avari; sed haec morum vitia sunt, non senectutis. Ac morositas tamen et ea
vitia, quae dixi, habent aliquid excusationis, non illius quidem iustae, sed
quae probari posse videatur: contemni se putant, despici, illudi; praeterea in
fragili corpore odiosa omnis offensio est; quae tamen omnia dulciora fiunt
et moribus bonis et artibus, idque cum in vita tum in scaena intellegi potest
ex eis fratribus qui in Adelphis sunt. Quanta in altero diritas, in altero
comitas! Sic se res habet: ut enim non omne vinum, sic non omnis natura
vetustate coacescit. Severitatem in senectute probo, sed eam, sicut alia,
modicam; acerbitatem nullo modo; 66 avaritia vero senilis quid sibi velit,
non intellego. Potest enim quicquam esse absurdius quam, quo viae minus
restet, eo plus viatici quaerere?
XIX. Quarta restat causa, quae maxime angere atque sollicitam habere
nostram aetatem videtur, appropinquatio mortis, quae certe a senectute non
potest esse longe. O miserum senem, qui mortem contemnendam esse in
tam longa aetate non viderit! Quae aut plane neglegenda est, si omnino
exstinguit animum, aut etiam optanda, si aliquo eum deducit ubi sit futurus
aeternus. Atqui tertium certe nihil inveniri potest. 67 Quid igitur timeam, si
aut non miser post mortem, aut beatus etiam futurus sum? Quamquam quis
est tam stultus, quamvis sit adulescens, cui sit exploratum se ad vesperum
esse victurum? Quin etiam aetas illa multo pluris quam nostra casus mortis
habet: facilius in morbos incidunt adulescentes, gravius aegrotant, tristius
curantur. Itaque pauci veniunt ad senectutem; quod ni ita accideret, melius
et prudentius viveretur. Mens enim et ratio et consilium in senibus est, qui si
nulli fuissent, nullae omnino civitates fuissent. Sed redeo ad mortem
impendentem. Quod est istud crimen senectutis, cum id ei videatis cum
adulescentia esse commune? 68 Sensi ego in optimo filio, tu in exspectatis
ad amplissimam dignitatem fratribus, Scipio, mortem omni aetati esse
communem. At sperat adulescens diu se victurum, quod sperare idem senex
non potest. Insipienter sperat; quid enim stultius quam incerta pro certis
habere, falsa pro veris? At senex ne quod speret quidem habet. At est eo
meliore condicione quam adulescens, quoniam id quod ille sperat hic
consecutus est: ille volt diu vivere, hic diu vixit. 69 Quamquam, o di boni,
quid est in hominis natura diu? Da enim supremum tempus, exspectemus
Tartessiorum regis aetatem: fuit enim, ut scriptum video, Arganthonius
quidam Gadibus, qui octoginta regnaverat annos, centum viginti vixerat.

Sed mihi ne diuturnum quidem quicquam videtur, in quo est aliquid
extremum; cum enim id advenit, tum illud quod praeteriit, effluxit; tantum
remanet, quod virtute et recte factis consecutus sis. Horae quidem cedunt et
dies et menses et anni, nec praeteritum tempus umquam revertitur nec quid
sequatur sciri potest. Quod cuique temporis ad vivendum datur, eo debet
esse contentus. 70 Neque enim histrioni, ut placeat, peragenda fabula est,
modo in quocunque fuerit actu probetur; neque sapientibus usque ad
'plaudite' veniendum est, breve enim tempus aetatis satis longum est ad
bene honesteque vivendum; sin processerit longius, non magis dolendum
est, quam agricolae dolent praeterita verni temporis suavitate aestatem
autumnumque venisse. Ver enim tamquam adulescentia significat
ostenditque fructus futuros; reliqua autem tempora demetendis fructibus et
percipiendis accommodata sunt. 71 Fructus autem senectutis est, ut saepe
dixi, ante partorum bonorum memoria et copia. Omnia autem, quae
secundum naturam fiunt, sunt habenda in bonis; quid est autem tam
secundum naturam quam senibus emori? Quod idem contingit
adulescentibus adversante et repugnante natura. Itaque adulescentes mihi
mori sic videntur, ut cum aquae multitudine flammae vis opprimitur, senes
autem sic, ut cum sua sponte, nulla adhibita vi, consumptus ignis
exstinguitur, et quasi poma ex arboribus, cruda si sunt, vix evelluntur, si
matura et cocta, decidunt, sic vitam adulescentibus vis aufert, senibus
maturitas; quae quidem mihi tam iucunda est, ut, quo propius ad mortem
accedam, quasi terram videre videar aliquandoque in portum ex longa
navigatione esse venturus.
XX. 72 Senectutis autem nullus est certus terminus, recteque in ea vivitur,
quoad munus offici exsequi et tueri possit mortemque contemnere, ex quo
fit ut animosior etiam senectus sit quam adulescentia et fortior. Hoc illud
est, quod Pisistrato tyranno a Solone responsum est, cum illi quaerenti qua
tandem re fretus sibi tam audaciter obsisteret respondisse dicitur 'senectute.'
Sed vivendi est finis optimus, cum integra mente certisque sensibus opus
ipsa suum eadem quae coagmentavit natura dissolvit. Ut navem, ut
aedificium idem destruit facillime qui construxit, sic hominem eadem
optime quae conglutinavit natura dissolvit. Iam omnis conglutinatio recens
aegre, inveterata facile divellitur. Ita fit ut illud breve vitae reliquum nec
avide appetendum senibus nec sine causa deserendum sit; vetatque
Pythagoras iniussu imperatoris, id est dei, de praesidio et statione vitae

decedere. 73 Solonis quidem sapientis est elogium, quo se negat velle suam
mortem dolore amicorum et lamentis vacare. Volt, credo, se esse carum
suis. Sed haud scio an melius Ennius:

nemo me lacrumis decoret, neque funera fletu
faxit

74 Non censet lugendam esse mortem, quam immortalitas consequatur. Iam
sensus moriendi aliquis esse potest, isque ad exiguum tempus, praesertim
seni: post mortem quidem sensus aut optandus aut nullus est. Sed hoc
meditatum ab adulescentia debet esse, mortem ut neglegamus; sine qua
meditatione tranquillo animo esse nemo potest. Moriendum enim certe est,
et incertum an hoc ipso die. Mortem igitur omnibus horis impendentem
timens qui poterit animo consistere? 75 De qua non ita longa disputatione
opus esse videtur, cum recorder non L. Brutum, qui in liberanda patria est
interfectus, non duos Decios, qui ad voluntariam mortem cursum equorum
incitaverunt, non M. Atilium, qui ad supplicium est profectus ut fidem hosti
datam conservaret non duos Scipiones, qui iter Poenis vel corporibus suis
obstruere voluerunt, non avum tuum L. Paulum, qui morte luit collegae in
Cannensi ignominia temeritatem, non M. Marcellum, cuius interitum ne
crudelissimus quidem hostis honore sepulturae carere passus est, sed
legiones nostras, quod scripsi in Originibus, in eum locum saepe profectas
alacri animo et erecto, unde se redituras numquam arbitrarentur. Quod igitur
adulescentes, et ei quidem non solum indocti sed etiam rustici contemnunt,
id docti senes extimescent? 76 Omnino, ut mihi quidem videtur, rerum
omnium satietas vitae facit satietatem. Sunt pueritiae studia certa: num
igitur ea desiderant adulescentes? Sunt ineuntis adulescentiae: num ea
constans iam requirit aetas, quae media dicitur? Sunt etiam eius aetatis: ne
ea quidem quaeruntur in senectute. Sunt extrema quaedam studia senectutis:
ergo, ut superiorum aetatum studia occidunt, sic occidunt etiam senectutis;
quod cum evenit, satietas vitae tempus maturum mortis affert.
XXI. 77 Non enim video, cur, quid ipse sentiam de morte, non audeam
vobis dicere, quod eo cernere mihi melius videor, quo ab ea propius absum.
Ego vestros patres, P. Scipio tuque, C. Laeli, viros clarissimos mihique
amicissimos, vivere arbitror et eam quidem vitam, quae est sola vita
nominanda. Nam dum sumus inclusi in his compagibus corporis, munere
quodam necessitatis et gravi opere perfungimur; est enim animus caelestis

ex altissimo domicilio depressus et quasi demersus in terram, locum divinae
naturae eternitatique contrarium. Sed credo deos immortalis sparsisse
animos in corpora humana, ut essent qui terras tuerentur quique caelestium
ordinem contemplantes imitarentur eum vitae modo atque constantia. Nec
me solum ratio ac disputatio impulit ut ita crederem, sed nobilitas etiam
summorum philosophorum et auctoritas.
78 Audiebam Pythagoran Pythagoriosque, incolas paene nostros, qui essent
Italici philosophi quondam nominati numquam dubitasse quin ex universa
mente divina delibatos animos haberemus. Demonstrabantur mihi praeterea
quae Socrates supremo vitae die de immortalitate animorum disseruisset, is
qui esset omnium sapientissimus oraculo Apollinis iudicatus. Quid multa?
Sic mihi persuasi, sic sentio, cum tanta celeritas animorum sit, tanta
memoria praeteritorum futurorumque prudentia, tot artes tantae scientiae,
tot inventa, non posse eam naturam, quae res eas contineat, esse mortalem;
cumque semper agitetur animus nec principium motus habeat, quia se ipse
moveat, ne finem quidem habiturum esse motus, quia numquam se ipse sit
relicturus; et cum simplex animi natura esset neque haberet in se quicquam
admixtum dispar sui atque dissimile, non posse eum dividi, quod si non
posset, non posse interire; magnoque esse argumento homines scire
pleraque ante quam nati sint, quod iam pueri, cum artis difficilis discant, ita
celeriter res innumerabilis arripiant, ut eas non tum primum accipere
videantur, sed reminisci et recordari. Haec Platonis fere. XXII. 79 Apud
Xenophontem autem moriens Cyrus maior haec dicit: 'nolite arbitrari, o
mihi carissimi filii, me, cum a vobis discessero, nusquam aut nullum fore.
Nec enim, dum eram vobiscum, animum meum videbatis, sed eum esse in
hoc corpora ex eis rebus quas gerebam intellegebatis. Eundem igitur esse
creditote, etiam si nullum videbitis. 80 Nec vero clarorum virorum post
mortem honores permanerent, si nihil eorum ipsorum animi efficerent, quo
diutius memoriam sui teneremus. Mihi quidem numquam persuaderi potuit
animos dum in corporibus essent mortalibus vivere, cum excessissent ex eis
emori; nec vero tum animum esse insipientem cum ex insipienti corpore
evasisset, sed cum omni admixtione corporis liberatus purus et integer esse
coepisset, tum esse sapientem. Atque etiam, cum hominis natura morte
dissolvitur, ceterarum rerum perspicuum est quo quaeque discedat, abeunt
enim illuc omnia, unde orta sunt; animus autem solus nec cum adest nec
cum discessit apparet. Iam vero videtis nihil esse morti tam simile quam

somnum. 81 Atqui dormientium animi maxime declarant divinitatem suam;
multa enim, cum remissi et liberi sunt, futura prospiciunt; ex quo
intellegitur quales futuri sint, cum se plane corporis vinculis relaxaverint.
Qua re, si haec ita sunt, sic me colitote,' inquit, 'ut deum, sin una est
interiturus animus cum corpore, vos tamen, deos verentes, qui hanc omnem
pulchritudinem tuentur et regunt, memoriam nostri pie inviolateque
servabitis.'
XXIII. 82 Cyrus quidem haec moriens; nos, si placet, nostra videamus.
Nemo umquam mihi, Scipio, persuadebit aut patrem tuum Paulum, aut duos
avos Paulum et Africanum, aut Africani patrem aut patruum, aut multos
praestantis viros, quos enumerare non est necesse, tanta esse conatos quae
ad posteritatis memoriam pertinerent, nisi animo cernerent posteritatem ad
ipsos pertinere. Anne censes, ut de me ipse aliquid more senum glorier, me
tantos labores diurnos nocturnosque domi militiaeque suscepturum fuisse, si
isdem finibus gloriam meam quibus vitam essem terminaturus? Nonne
melius multo fuisset otiosam et quietam aetatem sine ullo labore et
contentione traducere? Sed nescio quo modo animus erigens se posteritatem
ita semper prospiciebat, quasi, cum excessisset e vita, tum denique victurus
esset. Quod quidem ni ita se haberet ut animi immortales essent, haud
optimi cuiusque animus maxime ad immortalitatis gloriam niteretur. 83
Quid quod sapientissimus quisque aequissimo animo moritur, stultissimus
iniquissimo, nonne vobis videtur is animus, qui plus cernat et longius,
videre se ad meliora proficisci, ille autem, cuius obtusior sit acies, non
videre? Equidem efferor studio patres vestros quos colui et dilexi videndi,
neque vero eos solum convenire aveo, quos ipse cognovi, sed illos etiam, de
quibus audivi et legi et ipse conscripsi; quo quidem me proficiscentem haud
sane quid facile retraxerit, nec tamquam Pelian recoxerit. Et si quis deus
mihi largiatur ut ex hac aetate repuerascam et in cunis vagiam, valde
recusem, nec vero velim quasi decurso spatio ad carceres a calce revocari.
84 Quid habet enim vita commodi? Quid non potius laboris? Sed habeat
sane; habet certe tamen aut satietatem aut modum. Non libet enim mihi
deplorare vitam, quod multi et ei docti saepe fecerunt, neque me vixisse
paenitet, quoniam ita vixi, ut non frustra me natum existimem, et ex vita ita
discedo tamquam ex hospitio, non tamquam e domo; commorandi enim
natura divorsorium nobis, non habitandi dedit. O praeclarum diem cum in
illud divinum animorum concilium coetumque proficiscar cumque ex hac

turba et colluvione discedam! Proficiscar enim non ad eos solum viros, de
quibus ante dixi, verum etiam ad Catonem meum, quo nemo vir melior
natus est, nemo pietate praestantior, cuius a me corpus est crematum, quod
contra decuit ab illo meum, animus vero non me deserens sed respectans, in
ea profecto loca discessit quo mihi ipsi cernebat esse veniendum. Quem ego
meum casum fortiter ferre visus sum, non quo aequo animo ferrem, sed me
ipse consolabar existimans non longinquum inter nos digressum et
discessum fore.
85 His mihi rebus, Scipio, id enim te cum Laelio admirari solere dixisti,
levis est senectus, nec solum non molesta, sed etiam iucunda. Quod si in
hoc erro, qui animos hominum immortalis esse credam, libenter erro nec
mihi hunc errorem, quo delector, dum vivo, extorqueri volo; sin mortuus, ut
quidam minuti philosophi censent, nihil sentiam, non vereor ne hunc
errorem meum philosophi mortui irrideant. Quod si non sumus immortales
futuri, tamen exstingui homini suo tempore optabile est. Nam habet natura,
ut aliarum omnium rerum, sic vivendi modum. Senectus autem aetatis est
peractio tamquam fabulae, cuius defetigationem fugere debemus,
praesertim adiuncta satietate.
Haec habui de senectute quae dicerem, ad quam utinam veniatis, ut ea, quae
ex me audistis, re experti probare possitis!

NOTES TO CATO MAIOR.

CATO MAIOR DE SENECTUTE (CATO THE ELDER ON OLD AGE).
CATO MAIOR was probably intended by Cicero as the principal title. He
twice gives the work this name, in Laelius 4 and Att. 14, 21, 1. In the
former passage he adds the descriptive words, addressed to Atticus, qui est
scriptus ad te de senectute. In a third notice, De Div. 2, 3, he gives the
description without the title, liber is quem ad nostrum Atticum de senectute
misimus. It is likely that Cicero intended the essay to be known as the
CATO MAIOR DE SENECTUTE, the full title corresponding with
LAELIUS DE AMICITIA. The word maior was necessary to distinguish
the book from Cicero's eulogy of the younger Cato (Uticensis), which
seems to have gone by the name of CATO simply.
P. 1 — 1. O Tite etc.: the lines are a quotation from the Annales of Q.
Ennius (born at Rudiae in Calabria 239 B.C., died 169), an epic poem in
hexameter verse, the first great Latin poem in that metre, celebrating the
achievements of the Roman nation from the time of Aeneas to the poet's
own days. The incident alluded to in Ennius' verses is evidently the same as
that narrated by Livy 32, cc. 9, 10. Titus Quinctius Flamininus, who
commanded in 198 B.C. the Roman army opposed to Philip of Macedon,
found the king strongly posted on the mountains between Epirus and
Thessaly. For forty days Flamininus lingered, hoping to find some path
which would give him access to the enemy's quarters. A shepherd who
knew every nook of the mountains came before the general, and promised
to lead the Roman soldiers to the ground above Philip's camp. This was
done, and Flamininus drove the Macedonians into Thessaly. It is the
shepherd who in the first line addresses Flamininus by his first name Titus.
Cicero here cleverly applies the lines to his life-long friend Titus
Pomponius Atticus. He several times takes the two words 'O Tite' to
designate the whole treatise; cf. Att. 16, 11, 3 'O Tite' tibi prodesse laetor.
— quid: accusative of respect or extent; so nihil in 30, aliquid in 82. A.[56]
240, a; G. 331, 3; H. 378, 2. — adiŭero: for adiūvero, the long vowel
having become short after the falling out of the v between the two vowels.

Catullus 66, 18 has iŭerint at the end of a pentameter verse, and the same
scanning is found in Plautus and Terence. A. 128, a; G. 151, 1; H. 235. —
levasso: a form of levavero, which was originally levaveso. For the
formation of this class of future-perfects see Peile, Introduction to Greek
and Latin Etymology, p. 295, ed. 3; also Roby, Gram. 1, p. 199, who has a
list of examples; he supports a different view from that given above; cf. A.
128, e, 3; G. 191, 5; H. 240, 4. — coquit: 'vexes.' This metaphorical use of
coquere occurs in poetry and late prose; cf. Plaut. Trin. 225 egomet me
coquo et macero et defetigo; Verg. Aen. 7, 345 quam ... femineae ardentem
curaeque iraeque coquebant; Quint. 12, 10, 77 sollititudo oratorem macerat
et coquit. — versāt: we have here the original quantity of the vowel
preserved, as in ponebāt below, 10; the a in versat was originally as long as
the a in versās. Plautus has some parallels to this scanning (see Corssen,
Aussprache 11², 488), but it is rarely imitated by poets of the best period.
Horace, however, has arāt, Odes 3, 16, 26. A. 375, g, 5; H. 580, III n. 2. —
praemi: the genitive in ĭ-ī from nouns in ium only began to come into use at
the end of the Republic. A. 40, b; G. 29, Rem. 1; H. 51, 5. — isdem: Cicero
may have written isdem or eisdem (two syllables), but he probably did not
write the form most commonly found in our texts, iisdem. H. p. 74, foot-
note 2. — Flamininum: T. Quinctius Flaminīnus first served against
Hannibal during the Second Punic War. He was present at the capture of
Tarentum in 209 B. c., and in 208 was military tribune under Marcellus.
After being employed on minor business of state, he became quaestor in
199, and, immediately after his year of office, consul, passing over the
aedileship and praetorship, and attaining the consulship at the
extraordinarily early age of 30. In 197 he won the victory of Cynoscephalae
over the Macedonians, which ended the war. At the Isthmian games in the
spring of 196 Flamininus made his famous proclamation of freedom to all
the Greeks. He returned to Rome in 194 to enjoy a splendid triumph. For
the rest of his life was employed chiefly on diplomatic business concerning
Greece and the East. One of his embassies was to Prusias, king of Bithynia,
call on him to surrender Hannibal, who was living at his court in advanced
old age; this led to Hannibal's suicide. Flamininus was censor in 189 (see
below, 42), and lived on till some time after 167, in which year he became
augur; but the date of his death is unknown. He was a man of brilliant
ability both as general and as diplomat, and also possessed much culture
and was a great admirer of Greek literature. — ille vir etc.: i.e. the shepherd

mentioned in n. on line 1. Livy 32, II, 4 says that Flamininus sent to the
master of the shepherd, Charopus, an Epirote prince, to ask how far he
might be trusted. Charopus replied that Flamininus might trust him, but had
better keep a close watch on the operations himself. — haud magna cum
re: 'of no great property'; re = re familiari, as is often the case elsewhere in
both verse and prose. Cf. pro Caelio 78 hominem sine re. Cum is literally
'attended by'; it is almost superfluous here, since vir haud magna re would
have had just the same meaning. Madvig, Gram. § 258 has similar
examples. — plenus: final s was so lightly pronounced that the older poets
felt justified in neglecting it in their scanning. It was probably scarcely
pronounced at all by the less educated Romans, since it is often wholly
omitted in inscriptions, and has been lost in modern Italian. Cicero, Orator
161, says that the neglect to pronounce final s is 'somewhat boorish'
(subrusticum), though formerly thought 'very refined' (politius). Even
Lucretius sometimes disregards it in his scanning. In the ordinary literary
Latin a large number of words has lost an original s; e.g. all the nouns of the
-a declension. A. 375, a; G. 722; H. 608, 1, n. 3. — fidēi: this form of the
genitive of fides is found also in Plautus, Aulularia 575, and Lucretius 5,
102. Fidĕi as genitive seems only to occur in late poets, but as dative it is
found in a fragment of Ennius. Fidē as genitive occurs in Horace and Ovid.
H. 585, III. 1; Roby, 357, (c). — quamquam: see n. on 2 etsi. — sollicitari
etc.: Cicero probably has not quoted the line as Ennius wrote it. The word
sic, at least, is evidently inserted on purpose to correspond with ut before
Flamininum. — noctesque diesque: the use of que ... que for et ... et is
almost entirely poetical, Sallust being the only prose writer of the best
period in whose works the usage is beyond doubt. Noctes is put before dies
here, as in noctes diesque (Verr. 5, 112), noctes et dies (Brut. 308 etc.),
nodes ac dies (Arch. 29); cf. also Verg. Aen. 6, 127; and νυκτας τε και ημαρ
in Iliad 5, 490; but the collocations dies noctesque, dies et noctes are far
commoner in Cicero. Madvig (Emend. Liv. p. 487 n., ed 2) says that in
writers of Livy's time and earlier, when an action is mentioned which
continues throughout a number of days and nights, either dies et noctes and
the like phrases are used, or die et nocte and the like, but not diem
noctemque or diem et noctem, which expression, he says, would imply that
the action continued only throughout one day and one night. But Madvig
has overlooked De Or. 2, 162 eandem incu dem diem noctemque
tundentibus; also three passages of Caesar: viz. Bell. Gall. 7, 42, 6 and 7,

77, 11; Bell. Civ. 1, 62, 1; to which add a passage in the Bell. Hisp. 38.
Though diem noctemque does often mean 'throughout one day and one
night' (as e.g. in Nep. Them. 8, 7), yet it would seem that the other sense
cannot be excluded. — moderationem ... aequitatem: 'the self-control and
even balance of your mind'. Moderatio is in Cic. a common translation of
σωφροσυνη. Aequitas is not used here in its commonest sense of
'reasonableness' or 'equity', but as the noun corresponding to aequus in the
ordinary phrase aequus animus (Horace, 'aequam memento rebus in arduis
servare mentem'), cf. Tusc. 1, 97 hanc maximi animi aequitatem in ipsa
morte. said of Theramenes' undisturbed composure before his execution. —
animi tui: for the position of these words between moderationem and
aequitatem, to both of which nouns they refer (a form of speech called by
the Latin grammarians coniunctio), see note on Laelius 8 cum summi viri
tum amicissimi. — cognomen: i.e. the name Atticus, which Cicero's friend
did not inherit, but adopted. For the word cognomen cf. n. on 5. —
deportasse: it should be noted that the verb deportare is nearly always in
the best writers used of bringing things from the provinces to Italy or Rome,
and not vice versa, the Romans using 'down' (de) of motion towards the
capital. Italia deportare occurs in Tacitus and late writers, but only in the
sense of banishing a person (cf. Ann 14, 45). So decedere de provincia is
common, but not Roma decedere. As to the form deportasse, it may be
remarked that Cic. in the vast majority of instances uses the contracted and
not the full forms of the infinitives corresponding to perfects in -avi. So
putassent in 4. An extensive collection of examples of this and similar
contractions may be found in Frohwein, Die Perfectbildungen auf -vi bei
Cicero; Gera, 1874. — humanitatem: 'culture', i.e. learning resulting in
gentleness and refinement of character. — prudentiam: φρονησιν or
practical wisdom. Corn. Nepos (or his imitator) in his life of Atticus 17, 3
says of him principum philosophorum ita percepta habuit praecepta ut his
ad vitam agendam non ad ostentationem uteretur. — isdem rebus: i.e. the
state of public affairs at the time, see Introd. — quibus me ipsum: strictly
speaking the construction is inaccurate, since suspicor commoveri must be
supplied, and Cicero does not really mean to say that he merely conjectures
himself to be seriously affected by the state of public affairs; ego ipse
commoveor would have accurately expressed his meaning. The accusative
is due to the attraction of te above. — maior: = difficilior as often; e.g.
Lael. 29 quod maius est. — visum est mihi conscribere: = placuit mihi, 'I

have determined to write'. The best writers rarely use the impersonal videtur
etc. followed by an infinitive. When the usage occurs videtur mihi etc.
generally have the meaning (as here) of δοκει μοι κ τ λ = 'I have made up
my mind'. Cf. Tusc. 5, 12 Non mihi videtur ad beate vivendum satis posse
virtutem; ib. 5, 22 (a curious passage) mihi enim non videbatur quisquam
esse beatus posse cum esset in malis; in malis autem sapientem esse posse;
Off 3, 71 malitia quae volt illa quidem videri se esse prudentiam ('craft
which desires that people should believe it to be wisdom'); Liv. 1, 10, 7 dis
visum nec irritam conditoris templi vocem esse ... ('the gods decided that the
word of the founder of the shrine should not remain of no effect'). It would
be difficult, if not impossible, to find a passage in a writer before silver
Latin times where the best texts still exhibit anything like videtur eum
facere for is videtur facere. H 534, 1, n. 1; Roby, 1353. — aliquid ad te:
'some work dedicated to you'; so below, 3; cf. also Lael. 4 ut de amicitia
scriberem aliquid; ib. Catone maiore qui est scriptus ad te de senectute;
Div. 2, 3 liber is quem ad nostrum Atticum de senectute misimus.
2. aut ... aut certe: so often in Cic.; certe, 'at any rate'. — senectutis: at the
time the words were written Cic. was 62 years old, Atticus three years older.
For the meaning of senectus see n. on 4. — levari volo: the best Latin
writers frequently use the passive infinitive after verbs expressing desire,
where moderns would incline to the active; here Cic. instead of saying 'I
wish to relieve yourself and me of the burden' says 'I wish yourself and me
to be relieved'. — etsi: = καιτοι 'and yet'. This use of etsi to introduce a
clause correcting the preceding clause, though not uncommon (e.g. below
29; Tusc. 1, 99; 3, 17; 4, 63; 5, 55), is far less common than that of
quamquam, which we have in 1, 9, 10, 24, 47, 67, 69. — te quidem: 'you at
all events', 'you for one'. — modice ac sapienter: modice recalls
moderationem above (modice and moderate are used with exactly the same
sense by Cic.), while sapienter recalls aequitatem, since sapientia produces
stability and an even balance of the mind. In De Or. 1, 132 we have modice
et scienter. — sicut omnia: cf. Fin. 1, 7 facete is quidem sicut alia; also
below, 65 sicut alia. — et ferre et laturum esse: Tischer rightly remarks
that when a verb is repeated thus with a variation of tense Cic. very nearly
always uses et ... et, and not a single et merely. The contrast between the
two tenses is thus made more pointed. Cf. 3 et diximus et dicemus. — certo
scio: one of the best MSS., followed by some editors, has here certe scio.

The latter phrase would mean 'I am sure that I know'(a sense which seems
out of place here); the former 'I have certain or sure knowledge'. Observe
that certe may be used with all verbs, while certo is only used with scire. A.
151, c. — sed: the idea implied is, 'but though I well know you do not need
such consolation, I have yet resolved to address my book to you'. —
occurrebas dignus: a condensed construction for occurrebat te digmim
esse.
P. 2 — munere ... uteretur: 'a gift such as we both might make use of in
company'. — mihi quidem: this forms a correction upon uterque nostrum
above: 'whatever you may think of the work, I at least have found the
writing of it pleasant'. — confectio: 'composition'; 'completion'; a word
scarcely found in the classical Latin except in Cicero's writings. Cf. De Or.
2, 52 annalium confectio; pro. Font. 3 confectio tabularum ('account-
books'). — fuit ut absterserit: the sequence of tenses fuit ut abstergeret
would have been equally admissible, but the meaning would have been
slightly different. With the perfect the sense is 'was so pleasant that it has
wiped away'; with the imperfect 'was so pleasant that it did (while I was
writing) wipe away'. The metaphor in absterserit is common: e.g. Tusc. 3,
43 luctum omnem absterseris. With this statement of Cicero's concerning
the effect the work had on himself contrast Att. 14, 21, 3 legendus mihi
saepius est Cato maior ad te missus. Amariorem enim me senectus facit.
Stomachor omnia. — omnis: acc. pl. A. 55, c; G. 60, 1; H. 67. — effecerit
mollem: so 56 poteratne tantus animus efficere non iucundam senectutem;
but 56 conditiora facit haec aucupium. Efficio gives more emphatically than
facio the idea of the completion of the action. Cf. Lael. 73 efficere aliquem
consulem, 'to carry through a man's election as consul'; facere aliquem
consulem being merely 'to vote for a man's election to the consulship'. —
satis digne: 'as she deserves', lit. 'in a sufficiently worthy manner.' Some
editors have thought digne superfluous and wished to cast it out but we
have satis digne elsewhere, as in Verr. Act. II. 1, 82; cf. also Sex. Rosc. 33
pro dignitate laudare satis commode. — qui pareat ... degere: a
conditional sentence of irregular form (qui = siquis; cui simply connective,
= et ei). Cf. Div. 1, 127 qui enim teneat causas rerum futurarum, idem
necesse est omnia teneat quae futura sint; also the examples in Roby's
Grammar, 1558. A. 310, a, 307, b; G. 594, 1, 598; H. 507, II. and III. 2.
Some, however, make possit a subjunctive of characteristic or of cause with

cui, and pareat a subjunctive by attraction. — omne tempus aetatis: 'every
season of life'; so in 55 extremum tempus aetatis; 70 breve tempus aetatis.
The opposite phrase aetas temporis is very rare; it occurs in Propertius 1, 4,
7.
3. ceteris: neuter adjective used as a noun, equivalent to ceteris rebus 'the
other matters'; i.e. the political troubles hinted at above. The best writers do
not often use the neuter adjective as noun in the oblique cases unless there
is something in the context to show the gender clearly, as in 24 aliis ... eis
quae; we have, however, below in 8, isto = ista re; 72, reliquum; 77,
caelestium = rerum caelestium; and in 78, praeteritorum futurorumque; see
other instances in n. on Lael. 50 similium. The proleptic or anticipatory use
of ceteris should also be noticed; its sense is not fully seen till we come to
hunc librum; the same use occurs below in 4, 5, 59, 60; so aliis in 24; cf.
also n. on Lael. 7 reliqua. — diximus ... dicemus: when a clause or phrase
consists of four parts, which go in pairs (as here diximus, dicemus on one
side, and multa, saepe on the other), the Latins frequently arrange the words
so as to put one pair between the two members of the other pair, as here.
This usage is called by grammarians chiasmus. Thus if we denote the four
parts by AA' BB', chiasmus requires the order ABB'A' or BAA'B'. See
examples in 8, 20, 22, 38, 44, 71. For the more complicated forms of
chiasmus consult Nägelsbach, Stil. §§ 167, 169. A. 344, f; G. 684; H. 562.
— librum ... misimus: observe the omission of a particle at the beginning
of the clause; the contrast between ceteris and hunc librum is made stronger
by the omission. For this asyndeton adversativum see n. on Lael. 5 Laelium
... putes. For tense of misimus, 'I send' see A. 282; G. 244, H. 472, 1. —
omnem: see n. on 62. — tribuimus: perfect tense like misimus. — Tithono
... Aristo: see Introd. — Cius: Greek Κειος (a native of Ceos), not to be
confused with Χιος(a native of Chios), or Κωος (a native of Cos). Cicero
generally denotes the Greek diphthong ει by i not e. This Aristo was a
Peripatetic. — parum ... auctoritatis: observe how often Cicero takes
trouble to separate words which are, grammatically, closely connected. So
above, omnis ... molestias; 7 multorum ... senectutem; 9 mirificos ... fructus;
21 civium ... nomina; 33 minus ... virium; 53 multo ... fecundior; etc. etc.
See also n. on 15 quam sit iusta. A. 344, c, d, e; H. 561, III. — esset:
condition omitted. A. 311; G. 602; H. 510. — maiorem auctoritatem: cf.
Lael. 4. — apud quem: 'at whose house'; so 55 a me, 'from my house'. A.

153; G. 417; H. 446, n. 4. — Laelium ... Scipionem: see Introd. —
facimus admirantis: 'we represent as expressing astonishment'. For facere,
in this sense, Cic. more often uses inducere 'to bring on the stage', as in
Lael. 4 Catonem induxi senem disputantem. Cf. however 54 Homerus
Laerten colentem agrum facit; also Brut. 218; Orat 85. Instead of facimus
we might have expected either fecimus to correspond with misimus and
tribuimus above, or faciemus to correspond with videbitur below. On the
use of the participle see A. 292, q; G. 536; H 535, I. 4. — eruditius
disputare: Cic. not infrequently in his dialogues makes people talk with
more learning than they really possessed. He several times confesses this as
regards Lucullus and Catulus in the Academica, and as regards Antonius in
the De Oratore. — ferat: subjunctive because embodying the sentiment of
Laelius and Scipio. Roby, 1744; Madvig, 357; H. 516, 11. — suis libris
etc.: for the allusions here to Cato's life, works, and opinions see Introd. —
quid opus est plura? sc. dicere. cf. the elliptic phrases quid multa? sc.
dicam in 78; also below, 10 praeclare. A 206, c; H. 368, 3, n. 2.
4. saepe numero soleo: 'it is my frequent custom'. Numero is literally 'by
the count or reckoning', and in saepe numero had originally the same force
as in quadraginta numero and the like; but the phrase came to be used
merely as a slight strengthening of saepe. — cum hoc ... cum ceterarum:
the use of cum in different senses in the same clause, which seems
awkward, is not uncommon; cf. below, 67. The spelling quum was certainly
not used by Cicero, and probably by no other Latin writer of the best
period. H. 311, foot-note 4. It is worth remarking that cum the conjunction
and cum the preposition, though spelt alike, are by origin quite distinct. The
former is derived from the pronominal stem ka or kva, and is cognate with
qui; the latter comes from the root sak 'to follow', and is cognate with Gk.
συν, Lat sequor, etc. See Vanicek, Etymologisches Worterbuch, pp. 96, 984.
— rerum ... sapientiam: 'wisdom in affairs'; the objective genitive. —
excellentem: in sense much stronger than our 'excellent'; excellentem
perfectamque 'pre-eminent and indeed faultless'. — quod ... senserim: this
clause takes the place of an object to admirari. The subjunctive is used
because the speaker reports his own reason for the wonder, formerly felt, as
if according to the views of another person, and without affirming his
holding the same view at the time of speaking. Madvig, 357, a, Obs. 1. A
341, d, Rem. — odiosa: this word is not so strong as our 'hateful', but rather

means 'wearisome', 'annoying'. In Plautus the frequent expression odiosus
es means, in colloquial English, 'you bore me'. Cf. 47 odiosum et molestum;
65 odiosa offensio. — onus Aetna gravius: a proverbial expression with an
allusion to Enceladus, who, after the defeat of the Giants by Juppiter, was
said to have been imprisoned under Mt. Aetna. Cf. Eurip. Hercules Furens,
637; also Longfellow's poem, Enceladus. — haud sane difficilem: 'surely
far from difficult'; cf. 83 haud sane facile. — quibus: a dativus commodi,
'those for whom there is no aid in themselves'. Cf. Lael. 79 quibus in ipsis.
— bene beateque vivendum: 'a virtuous and happy life'; 'virtue and
happiness'; so bene honesteque below, 70. — qui ... petunt: these are the
αυταρκεις, men sufficient for themselves, 'in se toti teretes atque rotundi'.
We have here a reminiscence of the Stoic doctrine about the wise man,
whose happiness is quite independent of everything outside himself, and is
caused solely by his own virtue. Cicero represents the same Stoic theory in
Lael. 7. Cf. Juv. Sat. 10, 357-362; also Seneca, De Cons. Sap. VIII, De
Prov. I. 5. — a se ipsi: 'themselves from themselves,' so in 78 se ipse
moveat ... se ipse relucturus sit; 84 me ipse consolabar. Expressions like a
se ipsis are quite uncommon in Cicero. Cf. n. on Lael. 5 te ipse cognosces;
also see below, 38 se ipsa 78 se ipse. — naturae necessitas: 'the inevitable
conditions of nature.' Cf. 71 quid est tam secundum naturam quam senibus
emori? — afferat: subjunctive because nihil quod = nihil tale ut. A 320, a;
G. 633, 634; H. 503, I. — quo in genere: sc. rerum; with this phrase the
defining genitive is commonly omitted by Cicero. So below, 45 in eo
genere. — ut ... adeptam: notice the chiasmus. — eandem: idem is used in
the same way, to mark an emphatic contrast in 24, 52, 68, 71. — adeptam:
this is probably the only example in Cicero of the passive use of adeptus,
which occurs in Sallust, Ovid, Tacitus, etc.; and in this passage the use
cannot be looked on as certain, since one of the very best and several of the
inferior MSS. read adepti. Cicero, however, uses a good many deponent
participles in a passive sense (cf. below, 59 dimensa; 74 meditatum; see also
a list, Roby, 734), and some of them occur very rarely. Thus periclitatus,
arbitratus, depastus as passives are found each in only one passage. —
inconstantia: 'instability', 'inconsistency'. Constantia, unwavering firmness
and consistency, is the characteristic of the wise man; cf. Acad. 2, 23
sapientia ... quae ex sese habeat constantiam; also Lael. 8 and 64.

P. 3 — aiunt: sc. stulti. — putassent: the subjunctive is due to the indirect
discourse. Where we say 'I should not have thought,' the Latins say, in
direct narration, 'non putaram,' i.e. 'I never had thought' (so Off. 1, 81 and
often in Cicero's letters). Translate, 'more quickly than they had ever
expected'. Cf. Att. 6, 1, 6 accipiam equidem dolorem mihi ilium irasci sed
multo maiorem non esse eum talem qualem putassem. See Zumpt, Gram.,
518. — falsum putare: 'to form a mistaken judgment'. For falsum as noun
equivalent to ψευδος, cf. 6 gratissimum; also n. on 3 ceteris. — qui citius:
lit. 'in what way quicker'; cf. Tusc. 5, 89 qui melius. H. 188, II. 2. —
adulescentia ... senectus ... pueritia: babyhood was generally at Rome
supposed to last till the 17th year (the time for assuming the toga virilis and
for beginning military service). Iuventus is usually the age from 17 to 45,
during which men were liable to be called on for active service. Ordinarily,
in colloquial language, adulescentia is the earlier portion of iuventus, say
the years from 17 to 30 (cf. 33), but Cicero seems here to make
adulescentia co-extensive with iuventus. From 45 to 60 is the aetas
seniorum, the period during which citizens in early Rome might be called
out for the defence of the city, but not for active service. Senectus was
commonly reckoned as beginning at 60; but in § 60 Cicero includes in
senectus the aetas seniorum, and probably intended to include it here. In
Tusc. 1, 34 Cic. reckons three ages pueritia adulescentia senectus as here;
below in 74, four periods, or five. — quamvis: = quantumvis. —
effluxisset: subjunctive because the mood of posset, to which it stands in
subordinate relation Cum here is purely temporal. See Roby, 1778; A. 342;
G. 666; H. 529, II. — posset: see n. on esset above, 3.
5. si ... soletis ... sumus: the apodosis and protasis do not exactly
correspond; the sense really required is 'if that wisdom for which you
admire me does exist, it lies in this', etc. — utinam ... esset: esset here
gives a greater appearance of modesty than would been expressed by sit:
'would it were, as it certainly is not'. A. 267; G. 253; H. 483, 2. —
cognomine: Cato bore the title sapiens, even in his lifetime; see Introd.
Cognomen is used in good Latin to denote both the family name and the
acquired by-name; in late Latin this latter is denoted by agnomen. — in hoc
sapientes: but above, 4 rerum sapientiam, not in rebus. The genitive
construction is not found with sapiens used as noun or adjective till late
Latin times. — naturam ducem etc.: Cato's claim to the title of sapiens

does not rest on any deep knowledge of philosophy, but on practical
wisdom or common sense and experience in affairs. Cf. Lael. 6 and 19. In
this passage Cicero has put into Cato's mouth phrases borrowed from the
Stoic philosophy, which declared the life of virtue to be life in accordance
with nature (naturae convenienter vivere or ‛ομολογουμενως τη φυσει ζην).
Cf. 71, n. on secundum naturam. — tamquam deum: observe deum not
deam, because nature is compared with, and not identified with, a divine
being. Cf. Fin. 5, 43 eam (rationem) quasi deum ducem subsequens. —
aetatis: here = vitae, life as a whole. Cf. 2 omne tempus aetatis and n.; also
13 aetatis ... senectus; 33, 64, 82. — descriptae: 'composed'; literally
'written out'. The reading discriptae, which many editions give, does not so
well suit the passage. Discribere is to map out, plan, arrange, put in order
(see 59 discripta and discriptio); the point here lies, however, not in the due
arrangement of the different scenes of a play, but in the careful working out
of each scene. Ab ea must be supplied after descriptae from a qua above.
— actum: the common comparison of life with a drama is also found in 64,
70, 85. — inerti: the sense of 'ignorant' 'inartistic' (in, ars), has been given
to this by some editors (cf. Hor. Ep. 2, 2, 126 praetulerim scriptor delirus
inersque videri, and Cic. Fin. 2, 115 artes, quibus qui carebant, inertes a
maioribus nominabantur), but the meaning 'inactive', 'lazy', 'slovenly' seems
to suit neglectum better. — poeta: nature is here the dramatist, the drama is
life, the actors are human beings. — sed tamen etc.: 'but for all that it was
inevitable that there should be something with the nature of an end'. So 69
in quo est aliquid extremum, 43 aliquid pulchrum. — arborum bacis: the
word baca (the spelling bacca has little or no authority) is applied to all
fruits growing on bushes or trees, cf. Tusc. 1, 31 arbores seret diligens
agricola, quarum aspiciet bacam ipse numquam. — terraeque fructibus:
here = cereals, roots, vegetables and small fruits. No sharp distinction can
be drawn between fruges and fructus (e.g. in Div. 1, 116 we have fruges
terrae bacasve arborum) though fructus as commonly used is the more
general word of the two. — maturitate caducum: 'a time of senility, so to
speak and readiness to drop, that comes of a seasonable ripeness'. Vietus is
literally 'twisted' or bent', being originally the passive participle of viere.
The comparison of old age with the ripeness of fruit recurs in 71. Cf. Plin.
Ep. 5, 14, 5 non tam aetatis maturitate quam vitae. — ferundum: the form
in undus is archaic, and generally used by Cic. in quoting or imitating
passages of laws, sacred formulae, and the like. H 239. — molliter: here

'gently', 'with resignation', though molliter ferre often has another meaning,
viz. to bear pain or trouble in an unmanly fashion. Cf. facillime ferre below.
— quid est aliud etc. The words perhaps imply the rationalistic explanation
of myths which the Greeks had begun to teach to the Romans during Cato's
lifetime. Trans 'what else but resistance to nature is equivalent to warring
against the gods, and not 'what else does warring with the gods mean but to
resist nature.' In comparisons of this sort the Latins generally put the things
compared in a different order from that required by English idiom. Thus in
Div. 2, 78 quid est aliud nolle moneri a Iove nisi efficere ut aut ne fieri
possit auspicium aut, si fiat, videri, S. Rosc. 54 quid est aliud iudicio ac
legibus ac maiestate vestra abuti ad quaestum ac libidinem nisi hoc modo
accusare. Phil. 1, 22, 2, 7, 5, 5, 10, 5. — Gigantum modo: see n. on 4
Aetna gravius — dis: for the form dis see n. on 25.
6. atqui: in the best Latin atqui does not introduce a statement
contradicting the preceding statement, but one that supplements it. Here it
may be translated 'True, but'. Cf. 66, 81. — gratissimum: equivalent to rem
gratissimam. With the thought cf. Rep. 1, 34 gratum feceris si explicaris.
Lael. 16 pergratum feceris si disputaris. — ut pollicear: so Acad. 1, 33 nos
vero volumus ut pro Attico respondeam. Brut. 122 nobis vero placet, ut pro
Bruto etiam respondeam; Lael. 32 tu vero perge, pro hoc enim respondeo A
317, c, H 499, 2, n. — senes fieri: if the infinitive had depended on
speramus alone and volumus had not intervened, Cicero would probably
have written nos futuros esse senes. — multo ante: sc. quam id factum erit
so Balb 41 re denique multo ante (sc. quam factum est) audita, and very
often in Cicero. — didicerimus: as this corresponds with feceris,it would
have been formally correct to write here nos docueris. — quibus possimus:
'what considerations will enable us most easily to support the growing
burden of age'. — futurum est: = μελλει ειναι this form of the future is
used in preference to the simple erit because it is desired to represent the
event as on the very point of fulfilment, and therefore sure of fulfilment. Erit
would have implied much less certainty. Trans. 'I will do so if my action is
going to give you pleasure'. Cf. 67 beatus futurus sum, also 81, 85. See
Roby, 1494. — nisi molestum est: a common expression of courtesy, like
15 nisi alienum putas, si placet, cf. Hor. Sat. 2, 8, 4 si grave non est. —
tamquam longam viam: Cicero here puts into Laelius' mouth almost the
very words addressed by Socrates to the aged Cephalus in the introduction

to Plato's Republic, 328 E. Observe the succession of similar sounds in
tamquam, aliquam, longam, viam. — viam confeceris so pro Quint. 79
conficere DCC milia passuum, conficere iter a common phrase. For mood
see A 312, G 604, H 513, II. — quam ... ingrediundum sit: this
construction, the neuter of the gerundive with est followed by an accusative
case, is exceedingly rare excepting in two writers, Lucretius and Varro. See
the full list of examples given by Roby, Gram., Pref. to vol. 2, p LXXII. A
294, c, H 371, I. 2, 2, n. The best texts of Cicero now give only one
example of a construction at all resembling this, viz. pro Scauro 13
obliviscendum vobis putatis matrum in liberos, virorum in uxores scelera?
The supposition of some scholars, that in this passage Cic. used the
construction in imitation of the archaic style of Cato, is not likely to be true,
seeing that in Cato's extant works the construction does not once occur. For
the form undum see n. on 5 ferundum. — istuc: not adverb, but neuter
pronoun, as in 8. The kind of construction, istuc videre quale sit for videre
quale istuc sit, is especially common in Cicero.
7. faciam ut potero 'I will do it as well as I can.' Observe the future potero
where English idiom would require a present. So Rep. 1, 38 hic Scipio,
faciam quod voltis, ut potero. — saepe enim: enim introduces a reason, not
for the words ut potero, but for faciam — 'I will grant your request because
I have often heard complaints about old age and therefore have thought of
the matter.' — pares autem etc.: parenthetical. — vetere proverbio: the
saying is as old as Homer, Od. 17, 218 as ‛ως αιει τον ‛ομοιον αγει θεος ‛ως
τον ‛ομοιον; cf. also Plat., Rep. 329 A, Symp. 195 B, Phaedr. 240 C.
P. 4 — facillime: 'most cheerfully', 'most eagerly'; a common meaning of
the word in Cic., e.g. Fam. 2, 16, 2 in maritimis facillime sum, i.e. 'I find
most pleasure in staying by the sea'. — quae: a kind of explanation of
querellis. — 'lamentations, viz. such utterances as' etc.; see n. on Lael. 14
quae; cf. Fam. 2, 8, 2 sermonibus de re publica ... quae nec possunt scribi
nec scribenda sunt. A. 199, b; G. 616, 3, I.; H. 445, 5. — C. Salinator:
probably C. Livius Salinator, praetor in 191 B.C. (Livy 35, 24), who was
entrusted with the equipment of the Roman fleets during the war against
Antiochus. He was born about 230, and was therefore a little younger than
Cato; cf. fere aequales below. Salinator was consul in 188, and died in 170.
For the name Salinator cf. n. on 11. — Sp. Albinus: Sp. Postumius Albinus
was consul in 186, and was with his colleague appointed to investigate the

great Bacchanalian conspiracy of that year (Livy 39, CC. 1 seq.). Albinus
died in 180. He was probably a little younger than Salinator. He can
scarcely have been fifty years of age at his death. — tum ... tum: 'now ...
again'; so in 45. — carerent: see n. on 3 ferat. — vitam nullam putarent:
'they considered life to be not life at all'. For vitam nullam cf. Lael. 86 sine
amicitia vitam esse nullam; also the Greek phrase βιος αβιωτος; and below,
77 vitam quae est sola vita nominanda; also 82. A. 239; H. 373, 1, n. 2.
Putarent = 'thought, as they said'. — id quod esset accusandum: the
subjunctive esset is used because a class of things is referred to, 'nothing of
a nature to deserve complaint'; id quod erat, etc. would have meant merely
'that one thing which was matter for complaint'. A. 320; G. 634, Rem. 1; H.
503, I. — usu venirent: the phrase usu venire differs very little in meaning
from accidere. Usu is commonly explained as an ablative ('in practice', 'in
experience'), but is quite as likely to be a dative of the sort generally called
predicative ('to come as matter of experience'); cf. Verg. Aen. 1, 22 venire
excidio; Plin. N.H. 28, 106 odio; Caes. B.G. 5, 27 subsidio. — quorum ...
multorum: the first genitive is dependent on the second, so that quorum =
e quibus. Notice the separation of quorum from multorum and of multorum
from senectutem. — sine querella: attribute of senectutem. A. 217, Rem.;
H. 359, n. 1, 4), and n. 3. This form of attributive phrase, consisting of a
preposition with a noun, is common; cf. 24 ex agro Sabino rusticos
Romanos; 40 cum hostibus clandestina colloquia. Querella is better spelling
than querela. See Roby, 177, 2. — qui: 'men of such nature as to ...' — et ...
nec: Roby 2241. The reason for the departure from the ordinary sequence of
particles lies in the words non moleste. Nec ...et is common; see 51, 53. —
libidinum vinculis etc.: Cic. is here thinking of the conversation between
Socrates and Cephalus in Plato, Rep. 329 D, for which see Introd. —
moderati: 'self-controlled'; cf. n. on 1 moderationem; difficiles, 'peevish';
inhumani, 'unkindly'; importunitas, 'perversity'. Importunitas seems to be
used as the substantive corresponding in sense with the adjective difficilis.
Difficultas, in the sense of 'peevishness', probably occurs only in Mur. 19.
8. dixerit quispiam: 'some one will say presently'; a gentle way of
introducing one's own objection. The mood of dixerit is probably indicative,
not subjunctive; see the thorough discussion in Roby, Gram., Vol. 2, Pref.,
p. CIV. et seq. — opes et copias: 'resources and means'. Opes has a wider
meaning than copias (mere material wealth) and includes all sources of

power, influence, and authority as well as wealth. Thus in Lael. 22 the end
of divitiae is said to be enjoyment; of opes, worship (opes ut colare).
Dignitas is social position. — id: remark the singular pronoun, which
indicates that the preceding clause is now taken as conveying one idea.
Trans. 'such fortune'. — contingere: 'to fall to one's lot' is the phrase in
English which most closely represents contingere. This verb is not, as is
often assumed, used merely of good fortune; it implies in itself nothing
concerning the character of events, whether they be good or bad, but
simply that the events take place naturally and were to be expected. See n.
on Lael. 8, where the word is distinctly used in connection with bad
fortune, as it is, strikingly, in 71 below. — est ... omnia: 'your statement
indeed amounts to something, but it by no means comprises every
consideration'. The phrase esse aliquid, 'to be of some importance', is often
used by Cic. both of things and of persons; cf. Tusc. 5, 104 eos aliquid esse,
also n. on 17 nihil afferunt. So esse aliquis of persons, as in the well-known
passage of Iuvenal, 1, 72 aude aliquid brevibus Gyaris et carcere dignum si
vis esse aliquis. For the general sense cf. Tusc. 3, 52 est id quidem magnum,
sed non sunt in hoc omnia; so De Or. 2, 215; ib. 3, 221; Leg. 2, 24 in quo
sunt omnia. — isto: the use of the neuter pronoun in the oblique case as
substantive is noticeable. — Themistocles etc.: Cicero borrows the story
from Plato (Rep. 329 E et seq.), but it was first told by Herodotus, 8, 125
who gave a somewhat different version. Themistocles had received great
honors at Sparta when Athenian ambassador there; an envious man
declaring that the honors were paid really to Athens and not to
Themistocles, the statesman answered ουτ αν εγω, εων Βελβινιτης (i.e. an
inhabitant of the small island of Belbina lying to the S. of Cape Sunium)
ετιμηθην ουτω προς Σπαρτιηρεων, ουτ αν συ, ανθρωπε, εων Αθηναιος. —
Seriphio: Seriphus is a small island belonging to the Cyclad group and
lying almost due N. of Melos, and due E. of the Scyllaean promontory.
Seriphus is often taken by ancient writers as a specimen of an insignificant
community (e.g. Aristoph. Acharn. 542; Cic. N.D. 1, 88), but it had the
honor of being one of the three island states which refused to give earth and
water to the Persian envoys, the other two being the adjacent islands of
Melos and Siphnus (Herodotus, 8, 46). — iurgio: iurgium is a quarrel
which does not go beyond words; rixa a quarrel where the disputants come
to blows. — si ego: but further on, tu si. The contrast would certainly be
more perfect if ego si were read, as has been proposed, in place of si ego. —

quod eodem modo ... dici: Cic. commonly says quod ita dicendum and the
like; see n. on 35 quod ni ita fuisset. Cato means that just as Themistocles'
success was due to two things, his own character and his good fortune, so
two things are necessary to make old age endurable, viz. moderate fortune
and wisdom. He then in 9 insists that of these two conditions wisdom is far
the more important. — nec ... levis ... nec ... non gravis: notice the
chiasmus.
9. omnino: here = πανταπασι 'undoubtedly', in a strongly affirmative sense,
as in 76; but in 28 (where see n.) it is concessive. — cum diu multumque
vixeris: literally 'when you have lived long and much', i.e. when you have
not only had a long life but have done a great deal in the course of it. The
phrases diu multumque, multum et diu are common in Cic., as below, 38;
Acad. 1, 4; Div. 2, 1; Off 1, 118; Leg. Agr. 2, 88; De Or. 1, 152. For mood
see A. 309, a; H. 518, 2. — ecferunt: ecferunt for efferunt (ec = ex = ecs; so
εκ = εξ = εκς) was old-fashioned in Cicero's time, but forms of the sort, as
below, 39 ecfrenate, according to the evidence of the best MSS., occur in a
good many passages. See Neue, Formenlehre, Vol. 2, pp. 766 seq., ed. 2. —
numquam deserunt: the omission of the object after deserunt is not
common. With the general sense of this passage cf. Arch. 16 litterarum
studia adulescentiam alunt, senectutem oblectant, secundas res ornant,
adversis perfugium ac solarium praebent, delectant domi, non impediunt
foris, pernoctant nobiscum, peregrinantur, rusticantur.
P. 5 — 10. Q. Maximum: the famous Q. Fabius Maximus Verrucosus
Ovicula Cunctator, hero of the Second Punic War. — eum ... recepit: this
clause has often been suspected to be an insertion of the writers of MSS.
But (1) the capture of Tarentum in 209 B.C. was Fabius' crowning
achievement, and 'captor of Tarentum' was often added to his name as a title
of honor; see De Orat. 2, 273; and (2) there were several other persons of
distinction bearing the name Q. Maximus about the same time, so that some
special mark was wanted for the sake of clearness. Notice recepit
'recovered', Tarentum having been lost by the Romans to Hannibal in 212
B.C. — senem adulescens: observe the emphasis given by placing close
together the two words of opposite meaning. — erat ... gravitas: 'that hero
possessed dignity tempered by courtesy'. Expressions like erat in illo
gravitas are common in Cicero; e.g. Mur. 58 erat in Cotta summa
eloquentia. The metaphor in condīta, 'seasoned', is also common; cf. Lael.

66 condimentum amicitiae. — quamquam: 'though indeed', introducing a
necessary correction of the last words nec senectus mores mutaverat. For
this corrective quamquam cf. n. on 2. — consul primum: B.C. 233. —
grandem natu: although the phrases maior, maximus, parvus, minor,
minimus natu are of frequent occurrence, yet magnus natu is not Latin,
grandis natu being always used instead. The historians sometimes use
magno natu esse or in magno natu esse. — anno post: the word unus is not
usually attached to annus except where there is a strong contrast between
one and a larger number of years. Anno post must not be translated 'during
the year after'; but either 'a year after', anno being regarded as the ablative
of measure or excess, literally 'later by a year', or 'at the end of a year', the
ablative being one of limitation, and fuerat being equivalent to factus erat
'had been elected'. So quinto anno below, 'at the end of the fifth year', i.e.
'five years after'. — adulescentulus miles: See n. on 21 quemquam senem.
Translate 'when quite a youth I marched with him to Capua as a private
soldier'. G. 324; H. 363, 3, 2). Miles here = gregarius miles. — quem
magistratum: sc. quaesturam, to be understood from quaestor Cf. Mur. 18
quaesturam una petiit et sum ego factus (sc. quaestor) prior. — Tuditano
et Cethego: when the praenomina of the consuls are given the names
generally stand side by side without et; when they are omitted et is
generally inserted. Cf. n. on 50 Centone Tuditanoque, etc. — cum quidem:
the quidem simply adds a slight emphasis to cum; 'at the very time when',
επειδη γε. — suasor: suasor legis was any person who publicly (i.e. before
the senate or people in contio assembled) spoke in favor of a measure,
dissuasor any one who spoke against it. Cf. 14 suasissem. — legis Cinciae:
a law passed in 204 B.C. by M. Cincius Alimentus, a plebeian tribune,
whereby advocates were forbidden to take fees from their clients, and
certain limitations were placed on gifts of property by private persons. —
cum ... esset: 'though he was'; so below 11, 30, etc. — grandis: = grandis
natu. — iuveniliter: Hannibal was 29 years of age when he entered Italy in
218. — exsultantem: 'wildly roaming'. The word in its literal sense is used
of a horse galloping at its own will over a plain. The metaphorical use is
common in Cicero; cf. Acad. 2, 112 cum sit campus in quo exsultare possit
oratio, cur eam tantas in angustias compellimus? — patientia: 'endurance',
'persistence'; it is not equivalent to our 'patience'. — praeclare: sc. dicit; cf.
n. on 3. — familiaris: see Introd. — unus homo etc.: these lines were
famous, and were not only often quoted with the name of Ennius attached

(as in Off. 1, 84; Livy 30, 26), but also imitated or adapted without mention
of his name, as, being too familiar to need it; cf. Att. 2, 19, 2; Ovid, Fast. 2,
241; Verg. Aen. 6, 846; Suet. Tib. 21. — cunctando: Cf. Polybius 3, 105, 8.
On Fabius' military policy consult Mommsen, Hist. of Rome, Bk. III. ch. 5.
— rem: here = rem publicam. — noenum: the older form from which non
is an abbreviation; = ne-oinom, n-oinom, literally 'not one thing'; cf. nihil =
ne-hilum 'not a whit', also the rare word ningulus = ne oinculus, 'not even a
little one'. — rumores: 'fame', 'public opinion'. — ponebāt: for the long
vowel cf. n. on 1, l. 2 versat. — plusque: MSS. postque; plusqueis the
emendation of Bernays. Plusque magisque is a variation upon the ordinary
phrases plus plusque, magis magisque.
11. Salinatori: there can be no doubt that Cicero is guilty of a blunder here,
and in De Or. 2, 273 where the story also occurs. Livy (27, 34, 7) gives M.
Livius Macatus as the name of the Roman commander who held the citadel
of Tarentum while Hannibal was in possession of the town. Cicero probably
found the commander described by the annalists merely as M. Livius (so in
Livy 24, 20, 13; 26, 39, 1), and then jumped to tne conclusion that he was
the famous M. Livius Salinator. This man, the father of the Salinator
mentioned in 7, was consul in 219 and subdued the Illyrians, but was
condemned for misappropriation of public moneys and went into exile. In
210 he was induced to return by the desire of the senate. In 207 he became
consul with C. Claudius Nero, and defeated Hasdrubal in the great battle of
the Metaurus. In 204 Livius was censor with Nero as his colleague, and
won his name Salinator by imposing a tax on salt. The title was bestowed in
ridicule, but clung to the family. Salinator was a relative of M. Livius
Macatus. See Liv 27, 34, 7. — ita dicenti etc.: the anecdote is told by Livy,
27, 25, 5 and Plutarch, Fab. 23. Both, however, refer the story not to the
time at which Tarentum was taken, but to the year after, when altercations
about it took place in the senate. — toga: here put for 'civil life', the toga
being replaced in time of war by the sagum. Cf. in Pisonem 73 pacis est
insigne et oti toga, contra autem arma tumultus atque belli; De Or. 3, 167
'togam', pro 'pace', 'arma', ac 'tela', pro 'bello'. We have the same contrast
between arma and toga in Cicero's own much-derided verse, cedant arma
togae, concedat laurea laudi, which is defended by him, in Pis. 73 and Off.
1, 77. — consul iterum etc.: as the second consulship of Fabius was in 228
B.C., while the law of Flaminius was passed in 232 (according to Polybius),

it is very difficult to understand the statement here made. It is possible that
Flaminius was one of the commissioners for executing his own law, and
that its execution lasted over the time of Fabius' second consulship. The
Flaminius here mentioned is the same who fell as consul in 217 at the battle
of lake Trasimenus. He held large and statesman-like views on the policy of
securing Italy by planting Romans and Latins in the territory then recently
taken from the Gauls, in the neighborhood of Ariminum. This particular
measure was carried against the will of the senate, and was the first law
passed, since the lex Hortensia of 287, in defiance of its wishes. It was also
the first agrarian law since the Licinio-Sextian law of 367. Polybius dates
the decline of the Roman constitution from the passing of the lex Flaminia.
Cf.'Rheinisches Museum', 1843, p. 573. — Sp. Carvilio quiescente: this
Sp. Carvilius was consul in 234 when he conquered the Corsicans and
Sardinians. In 228 he was again consul, and died as augur in 212. He is
said, but erroneously, to have been the first Roman who divorced his wife.
In 216, just after the battle of Cannae, he made a most remarkable proposal,
to fill up the gaps which that battle had made in the numbers of the senate
by selecting two members from each of the Latin communities. It was
almost the only occasion in the course of Roman history when anything like
modern representative government was advocated. Carvilius was not sprung
from one of the noble families, who for the most part monopolized the
higher offices of state, it is therefore not surprising that he should have
sympathized with Flaminius. — contra senatus auctoritatem: 'against the
expressed wish of the senate' Senatus auctoritas is, strictly speaking, an
opinion of the senate not formally embodied in a decree, senatus consultum.
Cicero, in Invent. 2, 52 says Flaminius carried his law contra voluntatem
omnium optimatium. — dividenti: 'when he tried to divide'. The participle
is here equivalent to cum with the imperfect indicative (dividebat). So in 54
lenientem A. 290, a; G 668; H 549, 1.
P. 6 — cum esset: 'though he was'. What Fabius declared was reaily that the
auspicia were a political instrument in the hands of the aristocrats, rather
than a part of religion. Fabius, according to Liv. 30, 26, 7, was augur for 62
years before his death, and had no doubt had a large experience in the
manipulation of the auspicia for political purposes. Compare Homer, Iliad,
12, 243, also Cic. Phil. 11, 28 Iuppiter ipse sanxit ut omnia quae rei

publicae salutaria essent legitima et iusta haberentur. Consult Mommsen,
Hist of Rome, Bk. IV. Ch. 12.
12. admirabilius: 'more amazing'. The Latin word has a much stronger
meaning than the English word derived from it. — quo modo tulit: = eum
modum quo tulit, so that the clause is not really dependent on cognovi, nor
tulit irregularly put for tulerit. In Lael. 9 Laelius exclaims, of Cato himself,
quo modo, ut alia omittam, mortem fili tulit. And no doubt Cic. meant here
to make Cato allude to his loss, described in 84. — fili: see n. on 1 praemi.
— consularis: the son of Fabius was consul in 213 with Ti. Sempronius
Gracchus. — est in manibus: 'is in every one's hands', 'is commonly read'.
The expression is common enough in this sense; e.g. Lael. 96 in manibus
est oratio. — laudatio: sc. funebris, the funeral speech. This composition
was read in Cicero's time (see Tusc. 3, 70; Fam. 4, 6, 1) and existed in the
time of Plutarch. See Plutarch's life of Fab. 24. — quem philosophum:
many of the ancient philosophers wrote popular treatises in which the
principles of philosophy were applied to the alleviation of sorrow. The most
famous of these in Cicero's time was Crantor's περι πενθους, which Cicero
used largely in writing his Tusculan Disputations, and also in his De
Consolatione on the death of his daughter. — in luce ... civium: 'in public
and under the gaze of his fellow-countrymen'. Do not translate in oculis by
the English phrase 'in the eyes of', which has another sense. The metaphor
in lux is often used by Cicero, as Qu. Fr. 1, 1, 7 in luce Asiae, in oculis
provinciae. — notitia: notitia is general knowledge, often merely the result
of superficial observation; scientia is thorough knowledge, the result of
elaboration and generalization. — multae litterae: 'great literary
attainments.' In this sense magnae could not be used to represent 'great'.
Note the ellipsis of erant. — ut in homine Romano: 'considering that he
was a Roman', or 'for a Roman'. On the backwardness of the Romans in
literary pursuits see Teuffel, Hist. of Rom. Lit, § 2; cf. also Ritter, Hist. of
Ancient Philosophy, Vol. IV. pp. 1-13, Eng. ed. In parenthetic clauses like
this, the introductory ut may convey two very different meanings according
to the context. Thus in Acad. 2, 98 homo acutus, ut Poenus is 'a keen witted
man, as might be expected of a Carthaginian' (cf. Colum. 1, 3, 8
acutissimam gentem Poenos) while Nepos, Epam. 5, 2 exercitatum in
dicendo ut Thebanum implies that oratory was not to be expected of a
Theban. — domestica ... externa bella: here the domestica bella are those

wars which belong to the history of Rome, the externa bella those wars
which belong to the history of other states; but usually domestica bella are
civil wars, externa foreign wars in which Rome is engaged; e.g. Leg. agr. 2,
90 omnibus domesticis externisque bellis; in Catil 2, 11 omnia sunt externa
unius virtute pacata; domesticum bellum manet, intus insidiae sunt. The
practice of reading military history was common among Roman
commanders; see for instance Acad. 2, 3 of Lucullus; the practice is
ridiculed by Marius in Sall. Iug. 85. — ita: ita does not qualify cupide, and
has not the sense of tam, it means rather 'in this state', 'under these
conditions'; the words from quasi to the end of the sentence really form an
explanation of ita. This mode of expression is often found, ita and sic
frequently look on to clauses introduced by quasi, si, ut, cum etc. Cf. below
26 sic quasi, cupiens (where see n.); Sall. Iug. 85, 19 ita aetatem agunt
quasi vestros honores contemnunt, ita hos petunt quasi honeste vixerint. —
divinarem: see references on 6 confeceris. — illo exstincto: Fabius died in
203 B.C. — fore unde discerem neminem: cf. Acad. 1, 8 quae nemo
adhuc docuerat nec erat unde studiosi scire possent. Unde of persons (here
= a quo); is common in both verse and prose (so ‛οθεν and ‛οθενπερ, vid.
Liddell and Scott in vv.); cf. Horace 1, 12, 17 unde nil maius generatur
ipso; 1, 28, 28; Cic. de Or. 1, 67 ille ipse unde cognorit; ib. 2, 285. So ubi =
apud quem in Verr. 4, 29; quo = ad quos below, 83, and in Verr. 4 38; cf.
also n. on istinc in 47. For mood of discerem see A. 320; G. 634; H. 503, I.

13. quorsus igitur haec: sc. dixi. — tam multa: this takes the place of tot,
which, like quot, cannot be used as a substantive. — Scipiones: 'men like
Scipio', i.e. the elder Africanus; so 15 Fabricii Curii Coruncanii. Cicero has
here put his own opinion of Scipio into the mouth of Cato, who, during a
large part of his life, was a staunch and even bitter opponent of Scipio, and
therefore not likely to couple him with Fabius. Cf. Introd. — ut ...
recordentur: the repetition of ut with each clause for the sake of effect may
be compared with the repetition of nihil in 15, 27, 41; of non in 32; of hinc
in 40; of sibi in 58. — pedestris: for terrestris; the usage is very common;
so in Greek πεζομαχια and ναυμαχια, πεζομαχειν and ναυμαχειν are often
contrasted (see Liddell and Scott). It is not recorded by historians that either
Scipio or Fabius took part personally in naval warfare. — recordentur: this
verb implies the habitual dwelling of the memory upon the past. — quiete et
pure atque eleganter: the enumeration consists of two branches connected
by et, the second branch being subdivided into two members connected by
atque. Had each of the adverbs been intended to stand on exactly the same
footing Cic. would have written et instead of atque, or else would have
omitted the copula altogether; see n. on 53 capitum iugatio. In enumerations
of the form A + (Bl + B2), the + outside the bracket is expressed by et, the +
inside the bracket generally being expressed by ac, for which atque is
substituted when the following word (i.e. B2) begins with a vowel, a guttural
(c, q, g) or h, before which ac was very seldom written. — pure atque
eleganter: 'sinlessly and gently'. Pure implies moral stainlessness, eleganter,
literally 'in choice fashion', implies daintiness combined with simplicity in
regard to the external conditions of life. The same ideas are put together in
Sull. 79 cum summa elegantia atque integritate vixistis. — aetatis: see n. on
5. — placida ac lenis: 'quiet and mild'; placida refers to the external
surroundings, lenis to the temper and character. — accepimus: sc. fuisse; for
the ellipsis of the infinitive cf. n. on 22 videretur. — uno et octogesimo: but
below quarto (not quattuor) nonagesimo. In the compound ordinal numbers
corresponding to those cardinal numbers which are made up of one and a
multiple of ten, the Latins use unus oftener than primus, which would be
strictly correct; so in English 'one and eightieth' for 'eighty-first'. The
ordinary Grammar rule (Roby, Vol. I, p. 443 'the ordinal not the cardinal is
used in giving the date') requires slight correction. For the position of the
words see G. 94, 3; H. 174, footnote 3. — scribens est mortuus: 'died while
still engaged upon his works'; cf. 23 num Platonem ... coegit in suis studiis

obmutiscere senectus? Diog. Laert. 3, 2 quoting Hermippus (a Greek writer
of biography who lived about the time of the Second Punic war), says that
Plato died in the middle of a marriage-feast at which he was a guest. Val.
Max. 8, 7, 3 gives a slightly different account. — Isocrati: this form of the
genitive of Greek proper names in -es was probably used by Cicero rather
than the form in -is; see Madvig on Fin. 1, 14; Neue, Formenlehre, 1² 332.
Isocrates, the greatest teacher of rhetoric of his time, lived from 436 to 338,
when he died by voluntary starvation owing to his grief at the loss of Greek
freedom through the battle of Chaeronea. Milton, Sonnet X. 'That dishonest
victory At Chaeronea, fatal to liberty, Kill'd with report that old man
eloquent'. — eum ... inscribitur: the periphrasis is common, and the verb
inscribere is nearly always in the present tense (in later prose as well as in
Cicero) as in 59. This is sometimes the case even where the neighboring
verbs are in past tenses, as in Acad. 1, 12 nec se tenuit quin contra suum
doctorem librum etiam ederet qui Sosus inscribitur. The present seems to
mean that the name mentioned is continually given to each copy of the book
as produced; where the continuing multiplication of copies is not looked to,
we have the perfect, as Att. 8, 5, 2 tu fasciculum (bundle of letters) qui est
inscriptus 'des M'. Curio', velim cures ad eum perferendum. Cf. also De Or.
2, 61 deceptus indicibus librorum qui sunt fere inscripti ('to which the
authors—once for all—have given the titles') de virtute, de iustitia, etc.; so
Div. 2, 1 eo libro qui inscriptus Hortensius. — dicit: the 'Panathenaicus', an
encomium of Athens written for recitation at the great festival of the
Panathenaea, is among the works of Isocrates which we still possess. In c. 1
Isocrates says τοις ετεσι ενενηκοντα και τετταρσιν, ‛ων εγω τυγχανω
γεγονως. — vixitque: 'and yet he lived'. The que here has a slight
adversative force, as is often the case with et. Cf. n. on 28, 43, 73. —
Gorgias: the greatest of the sophists, born at Leontini in Sicily about 485
B.C.; his death took place, according to the varying accounts, in 380, 378, or
377. In his old age he lived in Thessaly where Isocrates studied with him;
see Or. 176; Fin. 2, 1. For the adjective Leontinus placed before the name
rather than after cf. 43 Thessalo Cinea. — centum et septem annos:
Kennedy, Gram., § 34, vii, c, says, 'in compound numbers above 100 the
larger number, with or without et, generally precedes the smaller'; cf. Roby,
Vol. 1 p. 443. — cesso: does not correspond in meaning with our 'cease', i.e.
'to come to a standstill'; cesso is 'I am in a state of rest', 'I am idle'. —
quaereretur: the past tense, though the principal verb inquit, is in the
present, because the present is the historical present and so equivalent to a

past tense. Cf. Roby, 1511-1514; Kennedy 229, 2. A. 287, e; G. 511, Rem. 1;
H. 495, II. The idiom by which the imperfect stands where we should expect
a tense of completed action, should be noticed; cf. Tusc. 2, 60 quem cum
rogaret, respondit. The explanation of the imperfect in such cases is that it
marks out, more clearly than the pluperfect would, the fact that the action of
the principal verb and the action of the dependent verb are practically
contemporaneous. In our passage if quaesitum esset had been written it
would have indicated merely that at some quite indefinite time after the
question was put the answer was given. Cf. N.D. 1, 60 auctore ... obscurior.
— cur ... vita: a hint at suicide, which the ancients thought a justifiable
mode of escape from troubles, particularly those of ill health or old age. See
n. on 73 vetat Pythagoras. Esse in vita is stronger than vivere; cf. Qu. Fr. 1,
3, 5. — nihil habeo quod accusem: 'I have no reason to reproach'. Cf. the
common phrase quid est quod ...? Quod, adverbial acc. A. 240, a; G. 331, R.
3; H. 378, 2. For mood of accusem see H. 503, I. n. 2, and references on 12
discerem. — praeclarum responsum: est is not required, because
responsum is in apposition to the last part of the preceding sentence. Similar
appositions occur in Laelius, 67, 71, 79. — docto: applied especially to
philosophers, but also to poets. The word implies cultivation as well as mere
knowledge; 'a learned man', merely as such, is 'homo litteratus'; cf. n. on 54.
P. 7 — 14. cuius ... feci: 'the aforesaid' is in good Latin always expressed by
a parenthesis like this and not by a participle in agreement with the noun.
The phrases 'ante dictus', 'supra dictus', belong to silver Latin, where they
are common. Cf. 23 quos ante dixi. — sic ut etc.: the lines are from the
Annals of Ennius, for which see n. on 1. — ecus: Ennius did not write uu,
nor most likely did Cicero; the former may have written either ecus, equos,
or equs. The last form Vahlen prints in his edition of Ennius. — spatio
supremo: 'at the end of the race-course', 'at the goal', or it may be 'at the last
turn round the course', the race requiring the course to be run round several
times; cf. Homer's πυματον δρομον in Iliad 23, 768. So 83 decurso spatio;
Verg. Aen. 5, 327 iamque fere spatio extreme fessique sub ipsam finem
adventabant. — vicit Olumpia: a direct imitation of the Greek phrase νικαν
Ολυμπια, to win a victory at an Olympic contest. So Horace Ep. 1, 1, 50 has
coronari Olympia = στεφανουσθαι Ολυμπια. The editors print Olympia, but
the use of y to represent Greek υ did not come in till long after the time of
Ennius. — senio: differs from senectute in implying not merely old age, but
the weakness which usually accompanies it. — confectus: for the disregard

of the final s in scanning cf. n. on 1, l. 6. — equi victoris: for the almost
adjectival use of the substantive victor, cf. Verg. Aen. 7, 656 victores equos;
ib. 12, 751 venator canis; ib. 10, 891; 11, 89, and Georg. 2, 145 bellator
equus, in Theocritus 15, 51 πολεμισται ‛ιπποι. The feminine nouns in -trix
are freely used as adjectives both in verse and in prose. A. 88, c; H. 441, 3.
— quem quidem: the same form of transition is used in 26, 29, 46, 53. The
whole of this passage to suasissem is an exhibition of antiquarian learning
quite unnatural and inappropriate in a dialogue. — probe meminisse
potestis: cf. De Or. 3, 194 quem tu probe meministi; Fin. 2, 63 L. Thorius
quem meminisse tu non potes. Memini can take a personal accusative only
when the person who remembers was a contemporary of the person
remembered; otherwise the gen. follows. Cf. Roby, 1333; A. 219, Rem.; H.
407, n. 1. — hi consules: 'the present consuls'. — T. Flamininus: commonly
said to be the son of the great Flamininus (1, l. 1). He was altogether
undistinguished, as also were the Acilius and the Caepio here mentioned.
This passage gives the imagined date of the dialogue as 150 B.C. —
Philippo: this was Q. Marcius Philippus, who was consul in 186 and took
part in the suppression of the great Bacchanalian conspiracy of that year. For
the next 17 years he was a leading senator and much engaged in diplomacy
in the East. In 169 he was again consul and commanded against Perseus in
the early part of the war. — cum ... legem Voconiam ... suasissem: 'after I
had spoken publicly in favor of the law o£ Voconius'. For suasissem cf. 10
suasor with n. The Lex Voconia de mulierum hereditatibus aimed at securing
the continuance of property in families. By its provisions no man who
possessed property valued in the censors' lists at 100,000 sesterces or more,
could appoint a woman or women as his heres or heredes; further, no person
or persons, male or female, could receive under the will legacies amounting
in all to a larger sum than that received by the principal heir or heirs. Every
Roman will named a heres or heredes, on whom devolved all the privileges
and duties of the deceased, with such duties as were enjoined by the will;
particularly the duty of paying the legacies left to those who were not
heredes. See Maine, Ancient Law, Ch. 6; also Hunter, Introd. to Roman Law,
Ch. 5. — magna: in Latin the word magnus is the only equivalent of our
'loud'. — lateribus: 'lungs'. Cic. and the best writers rarely use pulmones for
'lungs'; the few passages in which it occurs either refer to victims sacrificed
at the altar, or are medical or physiological descriptions. 'Good lungs' is
always 'bona latera' never pulmones. — duo ... senectutem: Ennius is said

to have kept a school in his later days, and to have lived in a cottage with
one servant only.
15. etenim: this word generally introduces either an explanation or a proof
of a preceding statement. Here the words are elliptic, and the real connection
with what precedes can only be made clear by a paraphrase. 'Ennius seemed
to delight in old age. And no wonder, since there are four causes which make
men think old age wretched, and no one of these will bear examination'.
Etenim may generally be translated 'indeed', or 'in fact'. — cum complector
animo: 'when I grasp them in my thoughts'. The object of complector is to
be supplied from causas. — avocet: sc. senes. The subjunctives denote that
these are the thoughts not of the speaker, but of the persons who do think old
age a wretched thing. See n. on 3 ferat; but cf. Kennedy, Grammar, pref., p.
30. — alteram ... tertiam: in enumerations of more than two things unus
and alter generally take the place of primus, and secundus: in Cic. these
latter rarely occur under such circumstances. Cf. Att. 3, 15, 1; Fin. 5, 9; Off.
1, 152; Cluent. 178. — infirmius: sc. auam antea erat. — quam sit iusta:
Cicero generally separates from the words they qualify quam, tam, ita,
tantus, quantus, often, as here, by one small word. Cf. below, 35 quam fuit
imbecillus; 40 tam esse inimicum. — quibus: the preposition a is often
omitted; cf. in Pis. 91 Arsinoen ... Naupactum fateris ab hostibus esse
captas. Quibus hostibus? Nempe eis etc.; Tusc. 3, 37 sed traducis
cogitationes meas ad voluptates. Quas? Even when relative and antecedent
are in the same sentence the preposition is not often repeated; e.g. Fin. 5, 68
eodem in genere quo illa. — an eis: an always introduces a question which
is not independent, but follows upon a previous question either expressed or
implied. Here quibus implies omnibusne. Cf. div. in Caec. 52 quid enim
dices? An id quod dictitas ... where quid implies nihilne: also below, 23, 29
anne. A 211, b; G. 459; H. 353, 2, n. 4. — iuventute et viribus: commonly
explained as a hendiadys, i.e. as put for iuventutis viribus; but Cic. no more
meant this than we mean 'the strength of youth' when we speak of 'youth and
strength'. Real instances of hendiadys are much rarer than is generally
supposed. — quae: = tales ut. — L. Paulus: this is L. Aemilius Paulus
Macedonicus, consul in 182 B.C., and again in 168 when he finished the
third Macedonian war by utterly defeating Perseus at Pydna. For his
connection with Scipio and Cato see Introd. — pater tuus: i.e. Scipio; so in
29 avi tui, and in 75 avum tuum, without mention of young Scipio's name,
but in 49 patris tui, Scipio; so 77. — Fabricii etc.: for the plurals see n. on

13. C. Fabricius Luscinus, consul in 282, 278, and 273 B.C., censor in 275,
held the command against Pyrrhus. The Roman writers, Cicero especially,
are never tired of eulogizing him as a pattern of old-fashioned Roman virtue.
Manius Curius Dentatus, consul in 290, 275, and 274 practically, if not
formally, ended the third Samnite war, and also commanded against Pyrrhus;
see 55. He was famed for his sturdy Roman simplicity and frugality. Tiberius
Coruncanius as consul in 280 crushed an Etruscan insurrection. In 252 he
became the first plebeian pontifex maximus. These three men are very
frequently mentioned together by Cicero; cf. below, 43, Lael. 18. — nihil
agebant: observe that nihil agebat is put at the beginning of the first
sentence, nihil agebant at the end of the second; chiasmus.
16. A. Claudi: Appius Claudius, the head of the most strongly aristocratic
family in Rome, was censor in 311 B.C., when he constructed the via Appia,
and consul in 307 and 296. He had to be carried into the senate-house in
order to oppose the peace with Pyrrhus. — accedebat ut: accedit is far
oftener followed by a clause with quod and indicative than by a clause with
ut and subjunctive. When the quod clause follows, it contains a fact looked
at merely as a fact and nothing more, but the ut clause views the fact as
consequent upon, or dependent on some other fact. Here the blindness is
regarded as being the consequence of old age, though Livy 9, 29, 11 and
other authors attribute it to the anger of the gods, because as censor Appius
had taken the administration of the worship of Hercules away from the
ancient family of the Potitii, and had placed it in the hands of public slaves.
The mental vigor of Appius in his old age is mentioned by Cic. in Tusc. 5,
112.
P. 8 — cum Pyrrho: note the position of the words between pacem and
foedus, with both of which they go. This usage is called by the grammarians
coniunctio; cf. n. on Lael. 8 cum summi viri tum amicissimi, also above,
quae iuventute geruntur et viribus, below 18 quae sunt gerenda praescribo
et quo modo. — foedus: this seems opposed to pacem as a formal
engagement is to a mere abstention from hostilities. — non dubitavit
dicere: when dubitare means 'to hesitate' (about a course of action), and the
sentence is negative, or an interrogative sentence assuming a negative
answer, the infinitive construction generally follows, as here; but the
infinitive is rare in a positive sentence. When dubitare means to 'be in doubt'
(as to whether certain statements are true or not), the regular construction is

either quin with subj. or some form of indirect interrogative clause. Cf.
below, 25. — quo vobis: from the Annales. In mentis dementis we have
oxymoron (an intentional contradiction in terms) as in 38 sensum sine sensu;
39 munus ... aufert. On the case of vobis, see Roby, 1154, A. 235, a, H. 384,
4, n. 2. — antehac: always a dissyllable in verse, and probably so
pronounced in prose. — viai: the old genitive. A. 36 a, G. 27, Rem. 1, H. 49,
2. The reading is not quite certain, if viai be read it is not altogether certain
whether it depends on quo or on sese flexere. In the former construction we
have a partitive gen with an adv; A. 216, a, 4, G. 371, Rem. 4, H. 397, 4, in
the latter, a distinct Graecism like desine querellarum (Hor Od 2, 9, 17) and
the like; A. 243 Rem., G. 373 Rem. 6, H. 410 V 4. — et tamen: the sense is
incompletely expressed, in full it is 'and yet there is no need for me to refer
to Appius' speech as given by Ennius, since the speech itself is in existence.'
Exactly similar ellipses are found with et tamen in Fin. 1, 11 and 15; 2, §§
15, 21, 64 and 85, Att. 7, 3, 10, Lucretius 5, 1177. In Munro's note on the last
passage a collection of examples will be found. — Appi ... oratio: the
speech was known to Cicero, and was one of the oldest monuments of prose
composition in Latin extant in his time, see Brut. 61. Plutarch, Pyrrhus 19,
gives an account of Appius' speech, which may founded on the original, he
mentions it also in his tract commonly called 'an seni sit gerenda res
publica', c. 21. Ihne (History of Rome, Vol I. p. 521, Eng. ed.) doubts
whether the speech, as Cic. knew it, was committed to writing by Appius
himself. — haec ille egit: 'he made this speech.' — septemdecim annis: as
the second (alterum) consulship was in 296, and the speech in 280, both
these years are included in the reckoning by a usage very common in Latin.
For the ablative cf. 19. — censor ... ante consulatum: this was unusual, and
therefore to Claudius' honor. — grandem sane: 'undoubtedly old'. — et
tamen sic: i.e. eum tum grandem fuisse Lahmeyer wrongly says that sic
points to the words atque haec ille egit. It may be noted that sic takes the
place of an object after accipimus, cf. 77 ita crederem; 78 sic mihi persuasi,
also 18 male cogitanti.
17. nihil afferunt: 'they bring forward nothing', i.e. what they bring forward
is worthless, so in Greek ουδεν λεγειν, the opposite of which is λεγειν τι. —
similes ut si: a very rare construction. Equally unusual is similes tamquam si
in Div. 2, 131. In Tusc. 4, 41 and Off. 1, 87 we find similiter ut si in Fin 2,
21 and 4, 31 similiter or similis et si, in N.D. 3, 8 similiter ac si, also in Liv.
5, 5, 12 dissimilia ac si, in 35, 42, 10 idem ac si. As regards the ut after

similes, we may compare a few passages in which simul ut appears for simul
ac, see Reid's n. on Academ. 2, 51. In the English Bible there are expressions
like similes sunt ut si qui dicant, 'they are like as if some men should say.' —
scandant: 'cum is used with the subjunctive when it expresses a kind of
comparison, and especially a contrast, between the contents of a leading
proposition and a subordinate ("whereas", etc.)' Madvig, 358, Obs. 3. The
underlying idea in this use is generally cause, sometimes concession. — per
foros: 'over the deck.' — ille: for the omission of sed or autem (asyndeton
adversativum) see n. on 3 librum, etc. — clavum: 'tiller'. With this passage
Lahmeyer well compares what Cicero says of himself in Fam. 9, 15, 3
sedebamus in puppi et clavum tenebamus; nunc autem vix est in sentina
locus. — velocitate: velocitas and celeritas differ very slightly; the former
means rather speed of movement in one line the latter rather power of rapid
motion with frequent change of direction. The emphatic word in this clause
is corporum. Cf. Off. 1, 79 honestum ... animi efficitur non corporis viribus.
— consilio ... sententia: consilio, advice; auctoritate, weight of influence;
sententia, an opinion or vote formally given. — quibus: in twofold relation;
with orbari, abl. of separation, with augeri of specification.
18. nisi forte: ironical, used to introduce a possible, but absurd objection to
something which has gone before. The verb that follows is always in the
indicative. — miles etc.: 'as common soldier'; see n. on 10. — in vario
genere: we use the plural, 'in different kinds'. Cf. Acad. 2, 3 in omni genere
belli; Deiot. 12 in omni genere bellorum. — cessare: cf. n. on 13. — at
senatui etc.: exactly the same ideas are expressed, with the same mention of
Cato's activity in Off. 1, 79. — male cogitanti: 'which has now for a long
time been plotting mischief'; A. 290, a; G. 671, 221; H. 549, 4; 467, III. 2.
Cf. pro Sulla 70 nefarie cogitare; for the use of the adverb see n. on 16 sic.
On Cato's attitude toward Carthage see Introd. — vereri: the construction is
unusual. Vereor regularly takes after it an accusative, or else a clause with ne
or ut. A passage much resembling this is Rab. Post. 10 omnes qui aliquid de
se verebantur; cf. also Att. 10, 4, 6 de vita sua metuere; Verg. Aen. 9, 207 de
te nil tale verebar; in all these examples the ablative with de denotes the
quarter threatened, not, as here, the quarter from which the threat comes. —
exscisam: from exscindo; most edd. excisam, but to raze a city is urbem
exscindere not excidere; e.g. Rep. 6, 11 Numantiam exscindes.

19. quam palmam etc.: a prophecy after the event, like that in Rep. 6, 11 avi
relliquias, the finishing up of the Punic wars. For the use of relliquias cf.
Verg. Aen. 11, 30 Troas relliquias Danaum atque immitis Achilli; ib. 598; ib.
3, 87. — tertius: so all our MSS. This places the elder Scipio's death in 183,
which agrees with Livy's account in 39, 50, 10. But the year before Cato's
censorship was 185 not 183, hence some edd. read quintus and some sextus
in place of tertius.
P. 9 — novem annis: as Cato's consulship was in 195 these words also
apparently disagree with tertius above. Novem annis post means nine full
years after, i.e. 185 not 186; cf. 42 septem annis post. — enim: implies that
the answer 'no' has been given to the question and proceeds to account for
that answer. — excursione: a military term = 'skirmishing'; Cf. Div. 2, 26
prima orationis excursio. — hastis: loosely used for pilis. The long old
Roman hasta, whence the name hastati, had long before Cato's time been
discarded for the pilum or short javelin, which was thrown at the enemy
from a distance before the troops closed and used the sword. — consilium:
the repetition of consilium in a different sense from that which it had in the
sentence before seems to us awkward; but many such repetitions are found
in Cicero. Consilium corresponds to both 'counsel' and 'council'; the senate
was originally regium consilium, the king's body of advisers. Here translate
summum consilium 'the supreme deliberative body'. — senatum: 'assembly
of elders'. Cf. 56 senatores, id est senes. Senatus implies a lost verb senā-re,
to be or grow old from the stem of which both senā-tus and senā-tor are
derived. This stem again implies a lost noun or adjective senus, old. The
word senatus was collective, like comitatus, a body of companions,
exercitus, a trained band etc.
20. amplissimum: 'most honorable'. — ut sunt ... senes: the Spartan
γερουσια, as it is commonly called, consisted of 28 members, all over 60
years of age. Herodotus uses the term γεροντες (senes) for this assembly;
Xenophon γεροντια. In the Laconian dialect γερωια was its name; we also
find γεροντευειν 'to be a senator'. For ut ... sic cf. Academ. 2, 14, similiter
vos cum perturbare, ut illi rem publicam, sic vos philosophiam velitis; also
Lael. 19. — audire: like ακουω, used especially of historical matters, since
instruction in them was almost entirely oral. Cf. ανηκοος = 'ignorant of
history'. — voletis: see note on 7 faciam ut potero; cf. Roby, 1464, a;
Madvig, 339, Obs. 1; A. 278, b; G. 234, Rem. 1; H. 470, 2. —

adulescentibus: Cic., when he wrote this, was possibly thinking of Athens
and Alcibiades. — labefactatas: the verb labefacio is foreign to good prose,
in which labefacto is used. — sustentatas: Cic. does not use sustentus. In
Mur. 3 sustinenda is followed by sustentata in the same sentence. — cedo ...
cito: the line is of the kind called tetrameter iambic acatalectic (or
octonarius), and is scanned thus: —

In all kinds of iambic verse the old Romans freely introduced spondees
where the Greeks used iambi; so in hexameters spondees for dactyls. Cf.
Hor. Ep. ad Pis. 254 et seq. — cedo: = dic; from ce, the enclitic particle
involved in hic = (hi-ce) etc. and da, the root of do. So cette = ce-dăte =
cedte, then cette by assimilation of d to t. The original meaning would thus
be 'give here', and in this sense the word is often used. See Lex. Dare is
commonly put for dicere, as accipere is for audire. — qui: 'how'. —
tantam: = οτσαυτην ουσαν. — Naevi: Naevius lived about 264-194 B.C.
His great work was a history of the First Punic War written in Saturnian
verse, the rude indigenous metre of early Roman poetry. He wrote also
plays,—tragedies and comedies, both palliatae and praetextae. For an
account of him see Cruttwell, History of Roman Literature; also, Sellar,
Roman Poets of the Republic, Ch. 3. If Ludo be read, it may be either from
the Latin ludus (Naevius entitled a comedy Ludius) or from Λυδος, Lydian.
— poetae: Naevius seems to have been in the habit of adding poeta to his
name. It appears in the well-known epitaph said to have been written by
himself, also in the lines written against him by the family poet of the
Metelli: 'malum dabunt Metelli Naevio poetae'. The name poeta was new in
Naevius' time and was just displacing the old Latin name vates; see Munro
on Lucr. 1, 102. — proveniebant etc.: the same metre as above, divided thus
by Lahmeyer: —

provéni | ebant | orát | ores || noví | stultí adu | lescén / iuli.

The whole line has the look of being translated from the Greek: προυβαινον
(εις το βημα) ‛ρητορες κανοι τινες, μειρακια γελοια. Lr. takes provenire in
the sense of 'to grow up', comparing Plin. Ep. 1, 13, 1 magnum proventum

('crop') poetarum annus hic attulit; Sall. Cat. 8, 3 provenere ibi scriptorum
magna ingenia. — videlicet: 'you see'.
21. at: = αλλα γαρ; used, as in 32, 35, 47, 65, and 68, to introduce the
supposed objection of an opponent. — credo: 'of course'. Cf. 47 where credo
follows at as here. — exerceas: the subject is the indefinite 'you' equivalent
to 'one', τις: 'unless one were to practise it'. So 28 nequeas; 33 requiras. Cf.
also Plin. Ep. 8, 14, 3 difficile est tenere quae acceperis, nisi exerceas. For
the mood see A. 309, a; G. 598, 597, Rem. 3; H. 508, 5, 2). — tardior:
'unusually dull'; cf. Academ. 2, 97 Epicurus quem isti tardum putant. —
Themistocles: famed for his memory. — civium: 'fellow-countrymen';
perceperat: 'had grasped' or 'mastered'. — qui ... solitum: 'that he often
addressed as Lysimachus some one who for all that was Aristides'. The direct
object of salutare is omitted. For qui = tametsi is cf. Att. 1, 13, 3 nosmet
ipsi, qui Lycurgei fuissemus, cotidie demitigamur; also De Or. 1, 82. —
esset: A.342; G.631; H.529, II. and n. 1, 1). — Lysimachum: for ut L. or pro
Lysimacho. So Arch. 19 Homerum Chii suum vindicant (= ut suum or pro
suo). Lysimachus was the father of Aristides. — sunt: = vivunt, as often; so
in 32 esse = vivere; 54 fuit = vixit; 56, 60, 69. — sepulcra legens: Cato was
a great antiquarian; cf. 38 Originum. — in memoriam redeo mortuorum:
the genitive as with memini, recordari etc. For the phrase cf. Verr. 1, 120
redite in memoriam, iudices, quae libido istius fuerit; also below, 59 in
gratiam redire cum voluptate. Here translate 'I refresh my memory of the
dead'. — quemquam senem: the best writers do not use quisquam as an
adjective, but there is no need to alter senem into senum as some editors do,
since senem is a substitute for a clause cum senex esset; 'I never heard that
anybody because he was an old man ...'. Senes must be so taken in 22, since
pontifices etc. cannot stand as adjectives. Cf. n. on 10 adulescentulus miles.
— vadimonia: 'their appointments to appear in court, the debts due to them
and the debts they owe'. When the hearing of a suit had to be adjourned, the
defendant was bound over either on his own recognizance merely (pure) or
along with sureties (vades) to appear in court on the day appointed for the
next hearing, a sum or sums of money being forfeited in case of his non-
appearance. The engagement to appear was technically called vadimonium;
when the defendant entered into the engagement he was said vadimonium
promittere; if he kept the engagement, v. obire or sistere; if he failed in it, v.
deserere. The plural vadimonia is here used because a number of suits is
meant; the word constituta is chosen as a more general term than promissa,

and as referring to the circumstances of both plaintiff and defendant. Strictly
speaking, it is the presiding judge who vadimonia constituit. On this account
vadimonia constituta should be translated as above 'appointments', and not
'bonds' or 'engagements' to appear in court.
P. 10 — 22. quid ... senes: sc. tibi videntur; 'what do you think of old men as
lawyers, etc.?' So without ellipsis, Fam. 9, 21, 1 quid tibi ego in epistulis
videor? — ingenia: = suum cuique ingenium; 'old men retain their wits'. —
permaneat: A. 266, d; G. 575; H. 513, I. — studium et industria:
'earnestness and activity'; not a case of hendiadys, as some editors make it.
Cf. n. on 15 iuventute et viribus. — neque ea solum: = ουδε ταυτα μονον,
'and that not only'. — honoratis: this does not correspond to our 'honored',
but implies that the persons have held high offices (honores); cf. 61 senectus
honorata praesertim. Here translate 'statesmen'. — in vita ... quieta: 'in an
unofficial and retired life'. There is chiasmus here, since privata is contrasted
with honoratis and quieta with claris. — summam senectutem: Sophocles
died at the age of 90 in 405 B.C. — quod propter studium: 'from his
devotion to this occupation'. — filiis: except Plutarch, who probably follows
Cicero's words, all the authorities tell the story of the poet's eldest son
Iophon only. The tale is full of improbabilities. — rem: = rem familiarem as
in 1. — patribus bonis interdici solet: 'fathers are often prevented from
managing their property'. For the construction cf. the expression interdicere
alicui aqua et igni: interdici is here used impersonally with patribus in the
dat.; A. 230; H. 384, 5; bonis is abl. of separation (deprivation). The
fragment of the XII tables here referred to is thus given in Dirksen's edition:
sei fouriosos aut prodicos (prodigus) escit (erit) adenatorum centiliomque
(gentiliumque) eius potestas estod, i.e. the agnates (male relatives whose
kinship with the furiosus is derived through males) and members of his gens
are to administer his property. We have preserved the form in which the
judgment was made by the praetor urbanus (Paulus, Sent. 3, 4a, 7): 'quando
tibi tua bona paterna avitaque nequitia tua disperdis liberosque tuos ad
egestatem perducis, ob eam rem tibi ea re commercioque interdico'. — quasi
desipientem: '‛ως παραφρονουντα' says the author of the anonymous life of
Sophocles. Cf. Xenophon, Mem. 1, 2, 49. — in manibus habebat: 'had on
hand' i.e. in preparation. Est in manibus in 12 has a different meaning. —
scripserat: he had written it but not finally corrected it. — recitasse: the
common version of the story states that not the whole play was read but only
the fine chorus beginning ευιππου, ξενε, τασδε χωρας. — videretur: sc.

esse; the infinitive is often omitted thus after verbs of desiring, thinking etc.,
also verbs of speaking and hearing; cf. Lael. 18 eam sapientiam
interpretantur; ib. 29 quam natam volunt; ib. 64 homines ex maxime raro
genere iudicare; Acad. 2, 12 viderenturne ea Philonis.
23. Hesiodum: see n. on 54. — Simoniden: Simonides of Ceos (not S. of
Amorgos), one of the greatest Greek lyric poets, lived from 556 to about 469
B.C. — Stesichorum: of Himera in Sicily, also a lyric poet; lived from about
630 to about 556 B.C. — Isocraten Gorgian: nn. on 13. — philosophorum
principes: 'in the first rank of philosophers'. — Pythagoran: neither the date
of his birth nor that of his death can be determined; he 'flourished' about 530.
He lived mostly in the Greek settlements of lower Italy, where his school
existed for some centuries after his death. — Democritum: of Abdera, one
of the originators of the theory of atoms; said to have lived from 460 to 361
or 357 B.C. — Xenocraten: after Plato, Speusippus was the first head of the
Academic School; Xenocrates succeeded him. He lived from 397 to 315 or
313. — Zenonem: of Citium in Cyprus, founder of Stoicism, born about
357, is said to have lived to the age of 98. — Cleanthen: he followed Zeno
in the presidency of the Stoic school. His age at death is variously given as
99 and as 80 years. — quem vidistis: see Introd. It is rather curious that Cic.
should make Cato speak with admiration of Diogenes, to whom he had
shown great hostility. — Diogenen: Cic. probably wrote in -an, -en, not in -
am, -em the accusatives of Greek proper names in -as, -es. — Stoicum: to
distinguish him from Diogenes the Cynic. — agitatio: Cic. uses agitatio and
actio almost interchangeably; cf. agitatio rerum in De Or. 3, 88 with actio
rerum in Acad. 2, 62 and elsewhere. Actus in this sense occurs only in silver
Latin.
24. age: a common form of transition to a new subject; brief for 'hoc age',
'do this', i.e. 'attend to this that I am going to say'. The common use of αγε in
Greek is exactly similar. — ut ... omittamus: Cf. n. on 52 ut. — possum
nominare: 'I am able to name'; in colloquial English 'I might name'. The
Latins occasionally use also a hypothetical form, where possim or possem
stands in the apodosis of a conditional sentence, the protasis of which is not
expressed; but the missing protasis is generally easily supplied and was
distinctly present to the writer's mind. E.g. in Tusc. 1, 88 we have dici hoc in
te non potest; posset in Tarquinio; at in mortuo ne intellegi quidem (potest),
where the reason for the change from potest to posset is quite evident. In

translating from English into Latin it is far safer to use the indicative. Cf. 55
possum persequi. A. 311, c; G. 599, Rem. 3; H. 511, 1, n. 3, 476, 4. — ex
agro ... Romanos: 'country-bred Romans (i.e. Roman citizens) belonging to
the Sabine district'. The words ex agro Sabino form an attributive phrase
qualifying Romanos just as rusticos does. — numquam fere: 'scarcely ever'.
— maiora opera: 'farm work of any importance'. This use of opera is
common in Vergil's Georgics. — non: the repetition of the negative after
numquam is common in Latin; in English never ... not is found in dialects
only. Cf. Lael. 48 non tantum ... non plus quam. — serendis: ablative of
respect, 'as regards sowing'. See Roby 1210; Kennedy, 149. — percipiendis:
so 70; cf. N.D. 2, 156 neque enim serendi neque colendi, nec tempestive
demetendi percipiendi que fructus, neque condendi nec reponendi ulla
pecudum scientia est. — in aliis: see n. on 3 ceteris. Notice the proleptic use.
— idem: a better form of the plural than iidem, commonly found in our
texts. For the use here cf. n. on 4 eandem. — pertinere: present for future.
— sent ... prosint: the line is given as Ribbeck prints it. He scans it as a
'bacchius', consisting of four feet, with the measurement , the last
syllable of saeclo seeming to be shortened. Cicero quotes the same line in
Tusc. 1, 31 adding ut ait (Statius) in Synephebis, quid spectans nisi etiam
postera saecla ad se pertinere? Saeclo = 'generation'. For mood of prosint
see A 317; G. 632, H. 497, I. — Statius noster: 'our fellow-countryman
Statius'. So Arch. 22 Ennius noster. Caecilius Statius, born among the
Insubres, wrote Latin comedies which were largely borrowed from the
Greek of Menander. The original of the Synephebi was Menander's Συνε
φηβοι 'young comrades'. See Sellar, Rom. Poets of the Rep., Ch. 7.
P. 11. — 25. dis: the spellings diis, dii which many recent editors still keep,
are probably incorrect, at all events it is certain that the nominative and
ablative plural of deus formed monosyllables, except occasionally in poetry,
where dei, deis were used. Even these dissyllabic forms scarcely occur
before Ovid. — et: emphatic at the beginning of a sentence: 'aye, and'. —
melius: sc. dixit. — illud: 'the following' A. 102, b, G. 292, 4; H. 450, 3. —
idem: īdem, not ĭdem. — edepol: literally, 'ah, god Pollux', e being an
interjection, de a shortened form of the vocative of deus, pol abbreviated
from Pollux. The asseveration is mostly confined to comedy. The lines come
from a play by Statius called Plocium (πλοκιον 'necklace'), copied from one
by Menander with the same title; see Ribbeck's 'Fragmenta' The verses are
iambic trimeters A. 365; G. 754, H. 622. — nil quicquam: see n. on 21

quemquam senem, cf. the common expression nemo homo, 84 nemo vir, etc.
where two substantival words are placed side by side. — viti: see n. on 1, l 3
praemi Viti here = mali; cf. Ter. Andr. 73 ei vereor ne quid Andria adportet
mali. — sat est: sat for satis in Cicero's time was old-fashioned and poetical.
— quod diu: these words must be scanned as a spondee. The i in diu here
probably had the sound of our y. A. 347, c, G. 717; H. 608, III. n. 2. Allen
well compares a line of Publilius Syrus heu quam multa paenitenda
incurrunt vivendo diu. — volt: indefinite subject. — videt: Tischer quotes
Herod. 1, 32 (speech of Solon to Croesus) εν γαρ τωι μακρωι χρονωι πολλα
μεν εστιν ιδεειν, τα μη τις εθελει, πολλα δε και παθεειν — tum equidem
etc.: these lines, as well as those above, occurred in a play of Statius called
'Ephesio' see Ribbeck's 'Fragmenta'. — senecta: not used by prose writers
before the time of silver Latin. — deputo: this compound is used by the
dramatists and then does not occur again till late Latin times. — eumpse:
like ipse and reapse (for which see n. on Lael. 47) this word contains the
enclitic particle pe (probably another form of que), found in nem pe, quis-p-
iam etc., along with se, which belongs to an old demonstrative pronoun once
declined sos, sa, sum, the masc. and fem. of which are seen in ‛ο, ‛η. The
form was no doubt originally eumpsum, like ipsom (ipsum), but has passed
into its present form just as ipsos (nom.) became ipso, then ipse. The only
difference in sense between eumpse and the simple eum is that the former is
more emphatic. The pronoun eumpse is the subject of the infinitive sentire,
but the substantive, senex, to which the pronoun refers, is not expressed. —
odiosum: cf. n. on 4.
26. iucundum ... odiosum: elliptic, = 'iucundum' potius quam 'odiosum'
senem esse dicendum est. — ut ... delectantur: cf. Lael. 101; also below, 29.
— sapientes senes: neither of these words is used as an adjective here; the
whole expression = sapientes, cum facti sunt senes. — levior: cf. the fragm.
of Callimachus: γηρασκει δ' ‛ο γερων κεινος ελαφροτερον, τον κουροι
φιλεουσι. — coluntur et diliguntur: colere rather implies the external
marks of respect (cf. coli in 7), diligere the inner feeling of affection. —
praeceptis etc.: cf. Off. 1, 122 ineuntis enim aetatis inscitia senum
constituenda et regenda prudentia est. — me ... iucundos: put for me
iucundum esse quam vos mihi estis iucundi. The attraction of a finite verb
into the infinitive after quam is not uncommon; cf. n. on 1 quibus me ipsum
(Roby, 1784, b; A. 336, b, Rem.; H. 524, 1, 2). Minus, be it observed, does
not qualify intellego, but iucundos. — sed: here analeptic, i.e. it introduces a

return to the subject proper after a digression, so in 31. — videtis, ut ... sit:
here ut = quo modo; 'how'. — senectus ... cuiusque: the abstract senectus is
put for senes as in 34; hence cuiusque, sc. senis. So above adulescentia =
adulescentes. — agens aliquid: this phrase differs from agat in that while
the subjunctive would express the fact of action, the participial phrase
expresses rather the constant tendency to act. Agens aliquid forms a sort of
attribute to senectus, parallel with operosa. Moliri differs from agere in that
it implies the bringing into existence of some object. Cf. Off. 3, 102 agere
aliquid et moliri volunt; Acad. 2, 22 ut moliatur aliquid et faciat; N.D. 1, 2
utrum di nihil agant, nihil moliantur; Mur. 82 et agant et moliantur. — quid
... aliquid: for the ellipsis in quid qui cf. n. on 22 quid ... Addiscunt =
προμανθανουσι = learn on and on, go on learning. — ut ... videmus: put, as
Allen observes, for ut Solon fecit, quem videmus. — Solonem: see also 50.
The line (versibus here is an exaggeration; in 50 it is versiculus) is preserved
by Plato in his Timaeus and by Plutarch, Sol. 31 γαερασκο δ' αει πολλα
διδασκομενος. The age of Solon at his death is variously given as 80 or 100
years. — videmus: the Latins frequently use 'we see' for 'we read'. See n. on
Lael. 39, also below, 69 ut scriptum video. — gloriantem: A. 292, e; G. 536,
527, Rem. 1; H. 535, I. 4. Notice the change to the infinitive in uti below. —
senex: i.e. cum senex essem; so 27 adulescens desiderabam; 30 memini puer.
Plutarch (Cato 2) gives an account of Cato's study of Greek in his old age.
— sic: this word does not qualify avide, but refers on to quasi, so that sic ...
quasi cupiens = 'thus, viz. like one desiring'. Cf. n. on 12 ita cupide fruebar
quasi; also 35 tamquam ... sic. Quasi serves to soften the metaphor in sitim;
cf. n. on Lael. 3. — cupiens: after quasi a finite verb (cuperem) would have
been more usual, as in 12 ita ... quasi divinarem. Cf. however 22 quasi
desipientem. — ea ipsa mihi: for the juxtaposition of pronouns, which is
rather sought after in Latin, cf. 72 ipsa suum eadem quae. — exemplis: =
pro exemplis, or exemplorum loco (cf. n. on 21 Lysimachum), so that those
editors are wrong who say that we have here an example of the antecedent
thrust into the relative clause, as though ea ipsa quibus exemplis were put for
ea ipsa exempla quibus. — quod: = ut cum iam senex esset disceret. —
Socraten: Cic. probably learned this fact from Plato's Menexenus 235 E and
Euthydemus 272 C where Connus is named as the teacher of Socrates in
music. In the Euthydemus Socrates says that the boys attending Connus'
lessons laughed at him and called Connus γεροντοδιδασκαλον. Cf. also Fam.
9, 22, 3 Socraten fidibus docuit nobilissimus fidicen; is Connus vocitatus est;
Val. Max. 8, 7, 8. — in fidibus: 'in the case of the lyre'. Tücking quotes

Quintilian 9, 2, 5 quod in fidibus fieri vidimus. The Greek word cithara is
not used by Cicero and does not become common in Latin prose till long
after Cicero's time, though he several times uses the words citharoedus,
citharista, when referring to Greek professional players. The word lyra too
is rare in early prose; it occurs in Tusc. 1, 4 in connection with a Greek,
where in the same sentence fides is used as an equivalent. — audirem: for
audire = legendo cognoscere see n. on 20. — vellem: sc. si possem. —
discebant ... antiqui: doubts have been felt as to the genuineness of the
clause. In Tusc. 4, 3 a passage of Cato is quoted which refers to the use of
the tibia among the ancient Romans; immediately afterwards the antiquity of
practice on the fides at Rome is mentioned, though not expressly on Cato's
authority. The words cannot be said to be unsuited either to the person or to
the occasion. — discebant ... fidibus: the verb canere, which means 'to play'
as well as 'to sing', must be supplied; fidibus is then an ablative of the means
or instrument. There is the same ellipsis of canere in the phrases docere
fidibus (Fam. 9, 22, 3) and scire fidibus (Terence, Eunuchus 133). Cf. Roby,
1217.
P. 12 — 27. ne ... quidem: these two words together correspond to the
Greek ουδε (ου = ne, δε = quidem), and are best translated here by 'nor'
rather than by 'not even'. The rendering 'not even', though required by some
passages, will often misrepresent the Latin. — locus: locus (like τοπος in
Greek) is a rhetorical term with a technical meaning. The pleader is to
anticipate the arguments he may find it necessary to use in different cases,
and is to arrange them under certain heads; each head is called a τοπος or
locus, meaning literally the place where a pleader is to look for an argument
when wanted. Hence locus came to mean 'a cut-and-dried argument' or, as
here, a 'commonplace'. It is often found in Cicero's rhetorical writings. —
non plus quam: 'any more than'. After the negative ne above it is incorrect
to translate non by a negative in English, though the repetition of the
negative is common enough in Latin, as in some English dialects. Cf. n. on
24. Plus here = magis. — quod est: sc. tibi, 'what you have', so Paradoxa 18
and 52 satis esse, quod est. — agas: quisquis is generally accompanied by
the indicative, as in Verg. Aen. 2, 49 quidquid id est etc.; see Roby, 1697; A.
309, c; G. 246, 4; H. 476, 3. The subjunctive is here used, with the imaginary
second person, to render prominent the hypothetical and indefinite character
of the verb statement. Roby, 1544-1546; Madvig, 370, 494, Obs. 5, (6). —
vox: 'utterance'; the word is used only of speeches in some way specially

remarkable. — contemptior: 'more despicable'. The passive participle of
contemno has the sense of an adjective in -bilis, like invictus and many
others. — Milonis: the most famous of the Greek athletes. He lived at the
end of the sixth century B.C., and the praises of his victories were sung by
Simonides. It was under his leadership that his native city Croton, in Magna
Graecia, attacked and destroyed Sybaris. Many stories are told by the
ancients about his feats of strength (see 33), and about his power of
consuming food. He is said to have been a prominent disciple of Pythagoras.
— illacrimans: beware of spelling lacrima with either ch for c or y for i;
these spellings are without justification. The y rests on the absurd
assumption that the Latins borrowed their word lacrima straight from the
Greek δακρυ. — dixisse: combinations like dicitur dixisse are exceedingly
rare in good Latin. Cicero nearly always uses two different verbs; i.e. he says
aiunt dicere and the like. — at: there is an ellipsis here such as 'those young
men's muscles are powerful but ...'. This elliptic use of at is common in
sudden exclamations of grief, annoyance, surprise etc. — vero: this is
common in emphatic replies, whether the reply convey assent, or, as here, a
retort. The usage is well illustrated in Nägelsbach's Stilistik, § 197, 2. —
tam: sc. mortui sunt. — nugator: nugari = ληρειν, 'to trifle'. — ex te: Cato
here identifies a man's person with his soul and intellect, the body being
regarded as a mere dress; cf. Rep. 6, 26 mens cuiusque is est quisque. Ex te,
literally, 'out of yourself', i.e. 'from your real self's resources'. — lateribus:
see n. on 14. — Aelius: his cognomen was Paetus; he was consul in 198, and
censor in 194 B.C. He was one of the earliest and most famous writers on
Roman Law. His great commentary on the XII tables is often referred to by
Cicero, who several times quotes Ennius' line about him — egregie cordatus
homo catus Aelius Sextus. — tale: sc. dixit. — Coruncanius: n. on 15. — P.
Crassus: consul in 205 B.C. with the elder Africanus; pontifex maximus
from 212 to his death in 183. He was famous both as a lawyer (see below,
50; also Liv. 30, 1, 5 iuris pontifici peritissimus) and as a statesman (see 61).
Modo therefore covers a space of at least 33 years, so that it cannot well be
translated by our 'lately'; say rather 'nearer our time'. The amount of time
implied by modo and nuper depends entirely on the context; for modo see
Lael. 6 with note, for nuper below, n. on 61, where it is used of Crassus as
modo is here. — praescribebantur: the meaning is that these lawyers
practised in old age as jurisconsults, i.e. according to old Roman custom,
they gave audience in the early hours of the day to all who chose to consult
them about legal difficulties. — est provecta: literally 'was carried forward',

i.e. 'continued', 'remained'. Some wrongly take the phrase to mean 'made
progress', 'increased', a sense which would require the imperfect,
provehebatur. — prudentia: here, as often, 'legal skill'.
28. orator: emphatic position. — senectute: causal ablative; not 'in age', but
'owing to age'. — omnino — sed tamen: 'no doubt — but still'. Omnino
(literally, 'altogether') has two almost exactly opposite uses — (1) the
affirmative, cf. 9; (2) the concessive, which we have here and in 45. The
circumstance which is contrasted with the admitted circumstance is usually
introduced by sed tamen or sed as in 45, but in Lael. 98 by the less emphatic
autem, while in Lael. 69 there is no introductory particle. — canorum ...
senectute: canorum implies the combination of power with clearness in a
voice. For the mixture of metaphors in canorum splendescit edd. quote Soph.
Phil. 189 αχω τηλεφανης; Cic. De Or. 2, 60 illorum tactu orationem meam
quasi colorari. — nescio quo pacto: literally, 'I know not on what terms';
quite interchangeable with nescio quo modo; cf. 82. A. 334, e; G. 469, Rem.
2; H. 529, 5, 3). — adhuc non: purposely put for nondum, because more
emphasis is thus thrown both on the time-word and on the negation. The
common view that nondum was avoided because it would have implied that
Cato expected to lose the canorum is certainly wrong. — et videtis: 'though
you see my years'. The adversative use of et for autem or tamen after the
negative is not very uncommon in Cicero, but there are few examples of the
usage in the speeches. Cf. Lael. 26 et quidquid; so sometimes que as above,
13; also Lael. 30 ut nullo egeat suaque omnia in se posita iudicet. — seni:
Madvig's em. for senis. In Leg. 1, 11 allusion is made to the great change
which advancing years had wrought in Cicero's own impassioned oratory.
He was no doubt thinking of that change when he wrote the words we have
here. — sermo: 'style of speaking'; a word of wider meaning than oratio,
which only denotes public speaking. — quietus et remissus: 'subdued and
gentle'. The metaphor in remissus (which occurs also in 81) refers to the
loosening of a tight-stretched string; cf. intentum etc. in 37 with n. With the
whole passage cf. Plin. Ep. 3, 1, 2 nam iuvenes confusa adhuc quaedam et
quasi turbata non indecent; senibus placida omnia et ordinata conveniunt.
— facit audientiam: 'procures of itself a hearing for it'. In the words per se
ipsa there is no doubt an allusion to the custom at large meetings in ancient
times whereby the praeco or κηρυξ called on the people to listen to the
speakers. Cf. Liv. 43, 16, 8 praeconem audientiam facere iussit. Note that
this is the only classical use of the word audientia; it has not the meaning of

our 'audience' either in the sense of a body of listeners, or as used in the
expression 'to give audience'. — composita et mitis: 'unimpassioned and
smooth'. Cf. Quintil. 6, 2, 9 affectus igitur hos concitatos, illos mitis atque
compositos esse dixerunt. — quam ... nequeas: 'and if you cannot practise
oratory yourself'. Evidently quam refers to oratio in the widest sense, not to
the special style of oratory mentioned in the last sentence. With si nequeas
cf. nisi exerceas in 21 with n. — Scipioni et Laelio: 'a Scipio and a Laelius';
i.e. 'young friends such as Scipio and Laelius are to me'. — praecipere: here
absolute, = praecepta dare; usually an accusative follows. — studiis
iuventutis: 'the zeal of youth'. Studiis does not imply here the deference of
youth to age; the studia meant are the virtutum studia of 26.
29. ne ... instruat: docere is to impart knowledge, instituere (literally 'to
ground' or 'establish') is to form the intellect and character by means of
knowledge, instruere, to teach the pupil how he may bring his acquirements
to bear in practical life. — offici munus: 'performance of duty'; cf. 35, 72;
Fam. 6, 14. In scores of passages in Cicero we find officium et munus, 'duty
and function', as in 34. — Cn. et P. Scipiones: in Cic. the plural is always
used where two men of the same family are mentioned and their names
connected by et. In other writers the plural is regular, the singular
exceptional, as in Sall. Iug. 42, 1 Ti. et C. Gracchus; Liv. 6, 22 Sp. et L.
Papirius. Even with other nouns the plural is regular; e.g. Cic. Phil. 2, 101
arationes Campana et Leontina, though a little above we have mense Aprili
atque Maio. [See Draeger, Hist. Synt. 1², p. 1.] Gnaeus (not Cnaeus — see n.
on Lael. 3) Cornelius Scipio was consul in 222 B.C. and was sent to Spain at
the outbreak of the Second Punic war to command against Hasdrubal.
Publius was consul in 218, and after being defeated by Hannibal at the
Ticinus, joined his brother in Spain. At first they won important successes,
but in 212 they were hemmed in and killed, after a crushing defeat. — L.
Aemilius: the father of Macedonicus. He was consul in 219 and defeated the
Illyrii; but when consul again in 216 was defeated and killed at Cannae. See
75. For avi duo cf. 82. — consenuerint ... defecerint: coniunctio, for which
see n. on 16. For the mood see A. 313, a; G. 608; H. 515, III. and n. 3. —
etsi: see n. on 2. — senectute: MSS. and edd. have senectutis, but the sense
requires the abl.
P. 13 — 30. Cyrus: the elder. — apud Xenophontem: 'in Xenophon'; so in
79 where see n.; also 31 apud Homerum. See Cyropaedia, 8, 7, 6. — cum ...

esset: 'though he was very old', the clause depends on the following words,
not on the preceding. — negat: in Latin as in English the present tense is
used in quotations from books. — Metellum: was consul in 251 B.C. and
won a great victory over the Carthaginians at Panormus (Palermo); consul
again in 247. See below, 61. — memini ... esse: for the construction of
memini with the present or perfect infinitive, see n. on Lael. 2; also A. 288,
b; G. 277, Rem.; H. 537, 1. — puer: the expression is peculiar, being
abbreviated from quod puer vidi or something of the kind. Quintil. 8, 3, 31
has memini iuvenis. In Rep. 1, 23 Cicero says memini me admodum
adulescentulo. — viginti et duos: the commoner order of the words is duos
et viginti; see n. on 13 centum ... annos. — ei sacerdotio: 'that sacred
college'; i.e. the pontifical college consisting of the pontifex maximus and the
inferior pontifices. — requireret: see n. on 13 quaereretur. — nihil: n. on 1,
l. 1 quid. — mihi: dat. for acc. to emphasize the person. — id: 'such a
course'; cf. 82 ut de me ipse aliquid more senum glorier.
31. videtisne ut: here ne is the equivalent of nonne, as it often is in the Latin
of Plautus and Terence, and in the colloquial Latin of the classical period.
For ut after videtis see n. on 26. — Nestor: e.g. in Iliad 1, 260 et seq. 11, 668
et seq. — tertiam aetatem: cf. Iliad 1, 250; Odyssey 3, 245. — vera ... se:
'if he told the truth about himself'. — nimis: 'to any great extent'. Insolens
does not correspond to our 'insolent'; it is almost the equivalent of ineptus,
and has no harsher meaning than 'odd', 'strange', 'in bad taste'. — melle
dulcior: Homer, Il. 1, 249 του και απο γλωσσης μελιτος γλυκιων ‛ρεεν
αυδη. In Or. 32 Cic. says of Xenophon (whom the Greeks called Αττικη
μελιττα) that his oratio was melle dulcior. — suavitatem: notice the change
from dulcior, which seems to be made for the mere sake of variety, since
elsewhere (De Or. 3, 161) Cicero writes dulcitudo orationis. — et tamen:
see n. on 16. — dux ille: Agamemnon; see Iliad 2, 370 et seq. — nusquam:
i.e. nowhere in Homer. — Aiacis: i.e. Aiax Telamonius, who was the
greatest Greek warrior while Achilles sulked (Iliad 2, 768). The genitive
after similis is the rule in Cicero, though many examples of the dative are
found even with names of persons; see Madv. on Fin. 5, 12.
32. sed: see n. on 26. — redeo ad me: so 45; Lael. 96, Div. 1, 97 ad nostra
iam redeo; also below, 67 sed redeo ad mortem impendentem. — vellem: see
n. on. 26. — idem: A. 238; G. 331, Rem. 2; H. 371, 2. — quod Cyrus: see
30. — queo: the verb queo is rarely found without a negative, possum being

used in positive sentences; cf. however Lael. 71 queant, where see n. —
miles etc.: see 10 above. — fuerim ... depugnavi: A. 336, b; G. 630, Rem.
1; H. 524, 2, 2. Depugnavi = 'fought the war out', or 'to the end'; cf. 38,
desudans; 44 devicerat. — enervavit: enervare is literally 'to take out the
sinews'; cf. the expressions nervos elidere (Tusc. 2, 27) and nervos incidere
(Academ. 1, 35) both of which are used in a secondary or metaphorical
sense. — curia: = senatus. — rostra: cf. n. on 44 devicerat. — fieri: A. 331,
a; G. 546, Rem. 1; H. 498, I. n. — esse: emphatic, = vivere; see n. on 21. —
ego vero etc.: 'I however would rather that my old age should be shorter than
that I should be old before my time'. — mallem: see n. on 26 vellem.
P. 14 — nemo cui fuerim: cf. Plaut. Mercator 2, 2, 17 quamquam negotium
est, numquam sum occupatus amico operam dare.
33. at: as in 21, where see n. — T. Ponti centurionis: the centurions were
generally men of powerful frame; cf. Veget. 2, 14 centurio elegendus est, qui
sit magnis viribus et procera statura; Philipp. 8, 26 centuriones pugnaces et
lacertosos; Horat. Sat. 1, 6, 72. — moderatio: 'a right application'; literally
'a governing'. — tantum ... nitatur: cf. 27 quidquid agas agere pro viribus,
also 434 quantum possumus. — ne: the affirmative ne, often wrongly written
nae on the absurd assumption that the word passed into Latin from the Greek
ναι, is in Cicero always and in other writers nearly always followed by a
pronoun. For the form of the sentence here cf. Fam. 7, 1, 3 ne ... nostrum;
Tusc. 3, 8 ne ista etc.; Fin. 3, 11 (almost the same words). — per stadium:
'over the course'; cf. Athenaeus 10. 4, p. 412 E; Lucian, Charon, 8; Quint. 1,
9, 5 Milo quem vitulum assueverat ferre, taurum ferebat. As to Milo see n.
on 27. For cum sustineret a modern would have been inclined to use a
participle, which was perhaps avoided here because of the close proximity of
another participle, ingressus. — umeris: this spelling is better than humeris,
which is now abandoned by the best scholars. There is no sound
corresponding to the h in words of the same origin in cognate languages (see
Curtius, Greek Etym. 1, 423 of the Eng. Trans.), and although undoubtedly h
was wrongly attached to some Latin words, there is no evidence to show that
this happened to umerus. — has: i.e. Milonis, corresponding to Pythagorae.
— Pythagorae: chosen no doubt because tradition made Milo a
Pythagorean; see n. on 27. — malis: i.e. si optandum sit (cf. Plaut. Miles
170). For the ellipsis see n. on 26. — denique: 'in short'. — utare: the
second person of the present subjunctive hortative is very rare, excepting

when, as here, the command is general. Had the command been addressed to
a particular person, Cicero might have written ne requisieris. Cf. Madvig,
Opusc. 2, 105; Roby, 1596; A. 266, a, b; G. 256, 2; H. 484, 4, n. 2. — dum
adsit, cum absit: as both dum and cum evidently have here a temporal
sense, the subjunctives seem due to the influence of the other subjunctives
utare and requiras. A. 342; G. 666; H. 529, II. and n. 1, 1). — nisi forte: see
n. on 18. — cursus: for the metaphor cf. n. on 83; also Fam. 8, 13, 1 (a letter
of Coelius) aetate iam sunt decursa; pro Quint. 99 acta aetas decursaque.
For certus cf. below, 72 senectutis certus terminus. — aetatis: here = vitae;
see n. on 5. — eaque: this is a common way of introducing with emphasis a
fresh epithet or predicate. Often idque (και τουτο) occurs, the pronoun being
then adverbially used, and not in agreement with the subject. Cf. n. on 65
illius quidem; also neque ea in 22. — simplex: life is compared to a race, in
which each man has to run once and only once around the course. —
tempestivitas: 'seasonableness'; cf. 5 maturitate tempestiva, with n. —
infirmitas: the context shows that not physical but intellectual weakness is
meant; so in Acad. 2, 9 infirmissimo tempore aetatis; Fin. 5, 43 aetas
infirma. — ferocitas: 'exultation', 'high spirit'. — iam constantis aetatis: i.e.
middle age, the characteristic of which is stability; cf. 76 constans aetas
quae media dicitur; also 60; Tac. A. 6, 46 composita aetas. For iam cf. Suet.
Galb. 4 aetate nondum constanti; pro Caelio 41 aetas iam corroborata; Fam.
10, 3, 2 aetas iam confirmata. — maturitas: 'ripeness', i.e. of intellect or
judgment. — suo: G. 295, Rem. 1; H. 449, 2.
34. audire te arbitror: 'I think that news reaches you'. — hospes: see n. on
28 orator. — avitus: there was a strong friendship between the elder
Africanus and Masinissa, king of Numidia, who in 206 B.C. passed over
from the Carthaginian alliance to that of the Romans. He was richly
rewarded by Scipio, and remained loyal to Rome till his death. He lived to
welcome the younger Scipio in Africa during the last Punic war, and to see
the utter ruin of Carthage. See Sall. Iug. 5, 4. For the expression hospes tuus
avitus cf. Plautus, Miles 135 paternum suom hospitem. — cum ingressus
etc.: i.e. protracted exercise of one kind did not weary him. — cum ... equo:
though Cic. says in equo vehi, esse, sedere etc. the preposition here is left
out because a mere ablative of manner or means is required to suit the
similar ablative pedibus. So Div. 2, 140 equus in quo vehebar, 'the horse on
which I rode'; but ib. 1, 58 equo advectus ad ripam, 'brought to the bank by
the aid of a horse'. — siccitatem: 'wiriness', literally 'dryness' or freedom

from excessive perspiration, colds and the like; cf. Tusc. 5, 99 siccitatem
quae consequitur continentiam in victu; Catull. 23, 12 corpora sicciora
cornu. — regis: here = regia. — officia et munera: see n. on 29. — ne sint:
'grant that age has no strength'. This formula of concession for argument's
sake is frequent in Cicero, who often attaches to it sane. A. 266, d; G. 610;
H. 515, III. — senectute = senibus: see n. on 26. — legibus et institutis: 'by
statute and precedent'. — muneribus eis etc.: chiefly military service. —
non modo ... sed ne quidem: when a negative follows non modo these
words have the force of non modo non, a negative being borrowed from the
negative in the subsequent clause. But often non modo non is written; the
negative after modo is then more emphatic, being independent. Here non
modo non quod non would have had a harsh sound. A. 149, e; G. 484, 3 and
Rem. 1.; H. 552, 2. — quod: adv. acc. (see n. on 1 quid). Cf. Liv. 6, 15 sed
vos id cogendi estis.
35. at: as in 21, where see n. In his reply Cato adopts the same form as that
in which the objection is urged, at id quidem etc. So in 68 at senex ... at est
...
P. 15 — commune valetudinis: 'common to weak health', i.e. to all in a
weak state of health. Valetudo means in itself neither good nor bad health;
the word takes its coloring from the context. — filius is qui: a pause must be
made at filius; the sense is not 'that son of Africanus who adopted you', but
'the son of Africanus, I mean the man who adopted you'. — quod ni ita
fuisset: 'now if this had not been so'; a phrase like quod cum ita sit and hoc
ita dici. Cf. also 67 quod ni ita accideret; 82 quod ni ita se haberet. —
alterum ... civitatis: illud is put for ille, by attraction to lumen. Roby, 1068.
A. 195, d; G. 202, Rem. 5; H. 445, 4. Cf. Fin. 2, 70 Epicurus, hoc enim
vestrum lumen est, 'Epicurus, for he is your shining light'. — vitia: 'defects'.
— diligentia: scarcely corresponds to our 'diligence'; it rather implies
minute, patient attention; 'painstaking'.
36. habenda ... valetudinis: 'attention must be paid to health'; so valetudini
consulere (Fam. 16, 4, 3) operam dare (De Or. I, 265) indulgere (Fam. 16,
18, 1) valetudinem curare often; cf. also Fam. 10, 35, 2; Fin. 2, 64. —
tantum: restrictive, = 'only so much'; so in 69, and often. — potionis: cibus
et potio is the regular Latin equivalent for our 'food and drink'; see below,
46; also Tusc. 5, 100; Fin. 1, 37; Varro de Re Rust. 1, 1, 5. — adhibendum:
adhibere has here merely the sense of 'to employ' or 'to use'. Cf. Fin. 2, 64.

— non: we should say 'and not' or 'but not'; the Latins, however, are fond of
asyndeton, called adversativum, when two clauses are contrasted. — menti
... animo: properly mens is the intellect, strictly so called, animus intellect
and feeling combined, but the words are often very loosely used. They often
occur together in Latin; Lucretius has even mens animi. — instilles: see n.
on 21 exerceas. — et: 'moreover'. — exercitando: in good Latin the verb
exercitare is rare except in exercitatus, which stands as participle to exerceo,
exercitus being unused. The word seems to have been chosen here as suiting
exercitationibus better than exercendo would. So in 47 desideratio is chosen
rather than desiderium, to correspond with the neighboring titillatio. — ait:
sc. esse; the omission with aio is rare, though common with dico, appello
etc.; see n. on 22. — comicos: not 'comic' in our sense, but = in comoediis,
'represented in comedy'. So Rosc. Am. 47 comicum adulescentem, 'the young
man of comedy'. The passage of Caecilius (see n. on 24 Statius) is more fully
quoted in Lael. 99. — credulos: in almost every Latin comedy there is some
old man who is cheated by a cunning slave. — somniculosae: the adj.
contains a diminutive noun stem (somniculo-). — petulantia:
'waywardness'. — non proborum: Cic. avoids improborum as being too
harsh; with exactly similar feeling Propertius 3, 20, 52 (ed. Paley) says nec
proba Pasiphae for et improba P. Cf. Off. 3, 36 error hominum non
proborum. — ista: implying contempt. A. 102, c; G. 291, Rem.; H. 450, 1. n.
and foot-note 4. — deliratio: 'dotage'; a rare word, used by Cic. only here
and in Div. 2, 90.
37. robustos: 'sturdy'; implying that the sons were grown up. — tantam: sc.
quantam habuit; only a little more emphatic than magnam would have been;
see n. on 52. — Appius: see n. on 16. — regebat: the pater familias in early
Roman times was an almost irresponsible ruler over his children and
household. For a full discussion of the patria potestas see Coulanges,
Ancient City, Bk. II. Ch. 8; Maine, Ancient Law, Ch. 5; Hadley, Introd. to
Roman Law, Chapters 5 and 6. — et ... senex: 'though both blind and old'.
— intentum: commonly used of animus, like the opposite remissus (28). —
tenebat etc.: the patria potestas is often denoted by the word imperium; cf.
De Invent. 2, 140 imperium domesticum. — vigebat etc.: 'in him ancestral
spirit and principles were strong'. While animus patrius here evidently
means the strong will for which the patrician Claudii were proverbial (as e.g.
in Rosc. Am. 46 intellegere qui animus patrius sit in liberos) it indicates the
feeling of a particular father for his children.

P. 16 — 38. ita: = ea lege 'on these conditions, viz. ...', the clause with si
being an explanation of ita. This correspondence of ita ... si is common in
Cicero; see n. on 12 ita ... quasi. Here translate 'age can only be in honor if it
fights for itself'. — se ipsa: cf. Cic. Acad. 2, 36 veritas se ipsa defendet; see
also the n. on 4. — si ... est: 'if it has passed into bondage to nobody'.
Mancipium is a piece of property; emancipare is to pass a piece of property
out of its owner's hands. The word acquired two exactly opposite meanings.
When used of a slave, or of a son in patria potestate, who was legally
subject to many of the same ordinances as a slave, it means 'to set free',
unless, as in Fin. I, 24 filium in adoptionem D. Silano emancipaverat, some
person is mentioned to whom the original owner makes over his rights. But
in Plaut. Bacchid. 1, 1, 90 mulier, tibi me emancupo the sense is 'I enslave
myself to you', i.e. 'I pass myself out of my own power into yours'. So in the
well-known passage of Horace, Epod. 9, 12 (of Antony) emancipatus
feminae 'enslaved to a woman'; cf Cic. Phil. 2, 51 venditum atque
emancipatum tribunatum. — senile aliquid ... aliquid adulescentis:
chiasmus. For the sense cf. 33 ferocitas iuvenum ... senectutis maturitas. —
quod qui sequitur: 'and he who strives after this', i.e. to combine the virtues
of age and youth. Cf. Aesch. Sept. 622 γεροντα τον νουν σαρκα δ' ‛ηβωσαν
φυει. — mihi ... est in manibus: 'I have on hand', 'am busy with'. Cf. n. on
22. — Originum: as to Cato's literary labors see Introd. — omnia colligo:
referring to the materials Cato was collecting for his 'Origines'. —
quascunque defendi: 'as many as I have conducted'. Defendere causam here
is simply to act as counsel in a case, whether the client be defendant or
plaintiff. So in Lael. 96 and often. — nunc cum maxime: 'now more than
ever', νυν μαλιστα. The phrase is elliptic; in full it would be 'cum maxime
conficio orationes, nunc conficio', 'when I most of all compose speeches, I
now compose them'; i.e. 'the time when I most of all compose is now'. The
words cum maxime generally follow tum or nunc and add emphasis to those
words, but are sometimes used alone to express the ideas 'then' and 'now'
more emphatically than tum and nunc would. Cf. Ver. 4, 82; Tac. Ann. 4, 27.
The orators were in the habit of working over their speeches carefully for
publication and preservation. — ius augurium etc.: 'the law pertaining to
the augurs and pontifices'; i.e. the principles applied by them in the
performance of their duties. The pontifices had the general oversight of
religious observances. See Dict. of Antiq. — civile: the meaning of ius civile
varies according to the context. Here it is the secular law as opposed to the
sacred law, as in 50; sometimes it is the whole body of Roman law as

opposed to the law of other states; often, again, it is the older portion of the
Roman law as opposed to the newer or 'equity' portion. — commemoro: 'I
say over to myself'. In Cicero commemoro is a verb of speaking, and never
has the meaning of recordor or memini. — curricula: see nn. on 33. —
magno opere: better so written than in one word magnopere; so maximo,
minimo, nimio opere. — adsum amicis: 'I act as counsel to my friends'. This
legal sense of adesse is common. — frequens: literally the word means
'crowded' (connected with farcire 'to cram' or 'to crowd together'), hence
frequens senatus and the like phrases. Then frequens comes to be used of
actions or events that often recur; e.g. Orat. 15 Demosthenes frequens
Platonis auditor; De Or. 1, 243 frequens te audivi. On the use of the adj. here
see A. 191; G. 324, Rem. 6; H. 443. — ultro: 'unasked', 'of my own motion',
a reference to the well-known story that, whatever subject was discussed,
Cato gave as his opinion 'delenda est Carthago'. See Introd. — tueor:
'advocate', 'support'. — lectulus: a couch usually stood in the Roman study,
on which the student reclined while reading, composing or dictating, or even
writing. Cf. De Or. 3, 17, in eam exedram venisse in qua Crassus lectulo
posito recubuisset, cumque eum in cogitatione defixum esse sensisset, statim
recessisse ...; Suet. Aug. 78 lecticula lucubratoria. — ea ipsa cogitantem: =
de eis ipsis cog.: so Acad. 2, 127 cogitantes supera atque caelestia, and
often. — acta vita: 'the life I have led'; cf. 62 honeste acta superior aetas; so
Tusc. 1, 109; Fam. 4, 13, 4. — viventi: dative of reference. A. 235; G. 354;
H. 384, 4, n. 3. 'As regards one who lives amid these pursuits and tasks'. —
ita sensim etc.: sensim sine sensu (observe the alliteration) is like mentes
dementis in 16, where see n. Sensim must have meant at one time
'perceptibly', then 'only just perceptibly', then 'gradually' and almost
'imperceptibly'.
39. quod ... dicunt: not strictly logical, being put for quod careat, ut dicunt.
In cases like this the verb of saying is usually in the subjunctive. Cf. Roby,
1746; A. 341, Rem.; G. 541, Rem. 2; H. 516, II. 1. The indicative here is
more vivid and forcible. — munus ... aufert: to say that a gift robs one of
anything is of course an oxymoron; cf. n. on 16 mentes dementis. — aetatis:
almost = senectutis: cf. n. on 45. — id quod est etc.: 'the greatest fault of
youth'; i.e. the love of pleasure. In this passage voluptas indicates pleasure of
a sensual kind, its ordinary sense, delectatio, oblectatio etc. being used of the
higher pleasures. In 51, however, we have voluptates agricolarum. —
accipite: 'hear'; so dare often means 'to tell'. With accipere in this sense cf.

the similar use of αποδεχεσθαι. — Archytae: Archytas (the subject of
Horace's well-known ode, 1, 28) was a contemporary and friend of Plato,
and a follower of the Pythagorean philosophy. He wrote philosophical
works, and was also famous as a mathematician and astronomer, besides
being the leading statesman and general of the commonwealth of Tarentum.
For another saying of Archytas, cf. Lael. 88. — tradita est: 'was imparted to
me', i.e. by word of mouth. — cum ... Tarenti: 'when as a young man I
stayed at Tarentum'. For adulescens cf. n. on 26 senes. — nullam ... pestem
etc.: cf. Lael. 34 pestem ... cupiditatem; Off. 2, 9 consuetudo ... honestatem
ab utilitate secernens, qua nulla pernicies maior hominum vitae potuit
afferri. — capitaliorem: 'more deadly'; caput was often equivalent to vita,
so that capitalis comes to mean 'affecting the life'.
P. 17 — 40. hinc etc.: cf. Cic. Hortensius fragm. quod turpe damnum, quod
dedecus est quod non evocetur atque eliciatur voluptate? Observe the
singular patriae followed by the plural rerum publicarum; the plural of
patria is rare. On the significance of this passage see Lecky, Hist. of
European Morals, I. p. 211, n. (Am. ed.). — cum hostibus etc.: attributive
phrase; cf. Phil. 12, 27 colloquia cum acerrimis hostibus. — scelus: this
word looks chiefly to the criminal intention, whether it be carried into action
or not, malum, facinus to the completed crime; flagitium is sin rather than
crime, Facinus in sense is often rather narrower and lighter than scelus; cf.
Verr. 5, 170 facinus est vincire civem Romanum, scelus verberare, prope
parricidium necare. — impelleret: sc. homines; so nos is omitted after
iubebat below. — excitari: 'stirred up'. In 39 and 41 we have the verb in-
citare; for the difference between the two verbs cf. Qu. Fr. 1, 1, 45 haec non
eo dicuntur, ut te oratio mea dormientem excitasse, sed potius ut currentem
incitasse videatur. — homini ... dedisset: cf. Acad. 1, 7 nec ullum arbitror
maius aut melius a dis datum munus homini. Notice homini 'man', in the
same sense as hominibus, above. — muneri ac dono: the two words munus
and donum are often found together; the difference in meaning is hardly
perceptible. Donum implies the fact of giving, munus the generosity of the
giver. — tam ... inimicum: notice the separation of tam from inimicum.
41. libidine: = επιθυμια; temperantia = σωφροσυνη. Dominari is a very
strong word, 'to tyrannize'; dominatio = τυραννις. For locum cf. Lael. 52 in
tyranni vita nullus locus est amicitiae. — consistere: 'find a foothold'. Cf.
Fin. 4, 69 sapientia pedem ubi poneret non habebat. — fingere animo: 'to

imagine'. — tanta ... quanta ... maxima: 'the greatest that could possibly be
enjoyed'. The form of expression is common, e.g. Lael. 74 tanta quanta
maxima potest esse distantia. — tam diu dum: this is not exactly equivalent
to the ordinary tam diu quam, but there is ellipsis — 'so long as this, I mean
while, etc.'. Cf. Cat. 3, 16 tam diu, dum urbis moenibus continebatur; Off. 1,
2 tam diu ... quoad ... — mente ... ratione ... cogitatione: 'by thought, by
reasoning, by imagination'. Cogitatio like διανοια has often the sense of
'imagination'. The close juxtaposition of words nearly synonymous is quite
characteristic of Cicero's Latin. — quidem: concessive, as in 32 and often.
— maior atque longior: 'very intense and protracted'. Superlatives might
have been expected, in view of quanta percipi posset maxima above. Longus
in the sense of 'long-continued' is rare in Ciceronian Latin, excepting when,
as in 66 longa aetate, it is joined with a word distinctly referring to time. For
the general drift of the passage cf. Cic. Hortensius (fragment) congruere cum
cogitatione magna voluptas corporis non potest; quis enim, cum utatur
voluptate ea qua nulla possit maior esse, attendere animum, inire rationes,
cogitare omnino quidquam potest? — animi lumen: a common metaphor;
e.g. Cic. Rep. 6, 12 tu, Africane, ostendas oportebit patriae lumen animi tui.
Cf. 36 haec ... exstinguuntur; also below, 42 mentis oculos. — C. Pontio: C.
Pontius Herennius, the father of C. Pontius Telesinus who defeated the
Romans at the Caudine Forks during the Second Samnite war, in 321 B.C.
The father is several times mentioned by Livy 9, cc. 1 and 3; cf. especially 1,
§ 2 C. Pontium, patre longe prudentissimo natum. — Nearchus: mentioned
by Plutarch, Cato 2, as a Pythagorean and friend of Cato. — permanserat:
i.e. during the siege of Tarentum. — interfuisset: not in accordance with
English idiom; cf. n. on 4 putassent; also 44 devicerat. — Plato etc.:
although Plato made two journeys to Italy and Sicily (or, as some authorities
say, three) it is scarcely likely that he was present at Tarentum in the year
mentioned, 349 B.C., two years before his death, when he was of advanced
age. The latest date assigned by other authorities for Plato's last visit to the
West is 361 B.C. — reperio: sc. in annalibus; so in 15; cf. videmus in 26.
42. efficeret: efficeret, liberet, and oporteret can be properly rendered into
English only by the present tense. Although these verbs express
circumstances which continue, since the general effect of old age is being
described, they are thrown into the past to suit the past tense dicebam or dixi
which, though not expressed, is really the principal verb. Cf. below, 62, 78.
— consilium: 'deliberation'.

P. 18 — ut ita dicam: this softens the metaphor, as quasi or quasi quidam
often does, and as ‛οιον, ‛ωσπερ do in Greek [but not ‛ως επος ειπειν, which
is often wrongly said to be the equivalent of ut ita dicam; see n. on Lael. 2].
The phrase mentis or animi aciem praestringere often occurs without
anything to soften the metaphor; e.g. Fin. 4, 37. — nec habet etc: 'and has
no relations with virtue'. The use of commercium in the metaphorical sense is
common. — invitus: see ref. on 38 frequens. — feci ut: a periphrasis not
unusual. A. 332, e; G. 557; H. 498, II. n. 2. — T. Flaminini: see n. on 1, l. 1.
— L. Flamininum: as prætor he commanded the fleet under his brother
Titus during the Macedonian war; in 192 B.C. he was consul. Septem annis
denotes seven complete years (cf. n. on 19), as Cato was censor in 184. A
reference to Livy 39, 43, 2 will show that Cicero borrows his account of
Flamininus' crime from the old annalist Valerius Antias. Livy also quotes
(39, 42, 7) an account of the matter given by Cato himself in a speech, which
is even more disgraceful to Flamininus. — eicerem: the phrase commonly
used is not eicere, but movere, aliquem senatu. Notare and nota (censoria)
are technically used of degradation or disfranchisement inflicted by the
censors. For the spelling see Roby, 144, 2; A. 10, d; H. 36, 4 and footnote 1.
— fuisset: for the mood see A. 342; G. 666; H. 529, II. and n. 1, 1); for the
tense see Roby, 1491; A. 324, a; G. 233, 2; H. 471, 4. — cum ... Gallia: not
'when he was consul in Gaul' but 'when he was in Gaul during his
consulship'. Cum with the imperfect or pluperfect subjunctive often has a
sense differing very little from that of cum with the imperfect or pluperfect
indicative. No doubt when the usage originally arose, the clause with cum
was regarded as expressing the cause of the action or event denoted by the
principal verb; here the presence of F. in Gaul might be regarded as a cause
of the crime. It is more than doubtful, however, whether in actual use the
subjunctive in these phrases continued to carry with it to Latin readers any
idea of cause. See Roby, 1720, Kennedy, 211; also A. 325, 323 and footnote
1; G. 586 with Rem.; H. 521, II. 2 and footnote 1. — exoratus est: 'was
persuaded'; cf. Liv. 39, 43. — securi feriret: the story was that L.
Flamininus himself acted as executioner. — eorum qui ... essent: the
subjunctive because of the class-notion, 'of such persons as were'. — Tito
censore: i.e. in 189 B.C.; see n. on 1. — Flacco: L. Valerius Flaccus was the
life-long friend of Cato, and his colleague in the consulship and in the
censorship. He entirely favored Cato's political views. See Introd. — imperi
dedecus: Flamininus was at the time Roman governor of the district.

43. audivi e: Cic. uses audire ex, ab, and de aliquo, almost indifferently. —
porro: 'in turn'; literally 'farther on', here = 'farther back'; cf. Livy 27, 51. —
C. Fabricium: see n. on 15. — Cinea: the famous diplomatist, minister of
Pyrrhus. He was a pupil of Demosthenes and himself one of the most famous
orators of his time. Cineas was the ambassador who tried to negotiate peace
on the occasion mentioned in 16. — se sapientem profiteretur: the
omission of esse is common in such phrases; e.g. Fin. 5, 13 Strato physicum
se voluit. Epicurus, who is here meant (born 342 B.C., died 270), was
blamed for calling himself σοφος or sapiens. Others, says Cicero, who had
borne the title had waited for the public to confer it on them (Fin. 2, 7). —
eumque: 'and yet he'; cf. n. on 13 vixitque. — faceremus: for the tense cf. n.
on 42 efficeret; also expeteretur below. — ad ... referenda: 'ought to be
judged by the standard of pleasure', i.e. anything which brings pleasure may
be regarded as good, and its opposite bad. So in Greek επαναφερειν τι εις τι.
On the moral teachings of Epicurus consult Zeller, Stoics, Epicureans, and
Sceptics, Ch. 19; Ueberweg, History of Philosophy, § 59; Guyan, La morale
d'Épicure et ses rapports avec les doctrines contemporaines. — Curium ...
Coruncanium: see n. on 15. — id ... persuaderetur: intransitive verbs are
used in the passive only impersonally (Roby, 1422; A. 230; G. 199, Rem. 1;
H. 301, 1); when so used the dative may follow as in the active (see Madvig,
244, b; G. 208; H. 384, 5). A neuter pronoun in the singular sometimes, as
here, accompanies the passive, and may be regarded as an adverbial
accusative of respect or extent, or as a nominative qualifying the impersonal
subject. The former is probably the real construction. Cf. Roby, 1423, and
Madvig, 229, b, Obs. 1. — Samnitibus: then in alliance with Pyrrhus. —
vixerat ... cum: not to be taken literally of living in the same house; the
phrase merely indicates close friendship. In Acad. 2, 115 Cic. writes Diodoto
qui mecum vivit tot annos, qui habitat apud me, clearly showing that the
phrases vivere cum aliquo and habitare apud aliquem are not equivalent. —
P. Decio: this is P. Decius Mus, who at the battle of Sentinum in 295 gave
his life as a propitiatory offering to the powers of the unseen world, in order
to bring victory to the Roman arms. His father had sacrificed himself in the
same way at the battle of Veseris (close to Vesuvius) in 340, fought against
the Latins and Campanians. — devoverat: Liv. 10, 28, 13 (speech of
Decius) datum hoc: nostro generi est ut luendis periculis publicis piacula
simus; iam ego mecum hostium legiones mactandas Telluri et dis Manibus
dabo. — aliquid etc.: 'some principle'; in his philosophical works Cicero
often confounds the Epicureans by quoting the action of the Decii and others

like it, as showing that pleasure is not the end of existence. Cf. especially
Fin. 2, 61 P. Decius cum se devoverat et equo admisso in mediam aciem
Latinorum irruebat, aliquid de voluptatibus suis cogitabat? Cf. also below,
75. With regard to natura see n. on 5. — sua sponte: 'for its own sake'; 'on
its own account'. Cf. Leg. 1, 45 vera et falsa sua sponte non aliena
iudicantur, where a few lines later sua natura occurs as equivalent to sua
sponte. — ex peteretur: em. for peteretur in the MSS. The words expetere,
expetendum are technically used in Cicero's philosophical works to express
the Greek ‛αιρεισθαι, ‛αιρετον as applied to the finis or τελος, the supreme
aim of moral action. Pulchrum above is a translation of the Greek καλον, a
term constantly applied to the τελος, particularly by the Stoics. — spreta et
contempta: the first word is much the stronger of the two; spernere is
καταφρονειν, 'to scorn'; contemnere ολιγωρεισθαι, 'to make light of', 'hold of
no account'. Contemnere is often no stronger in sense than omittere, 'to pass
by, neglect'. Cf. 65 contemni, despici. — optimus quisque: see A. 93, c; G.
305; H. 458, 1.
P. 19 - 44. cruditate: 'indigestion'. — insomniis: 'sleeplessness'; the singular
insomnium occurs only once in prose (Tac. Ann. 11, 4). Insomnia, ae is
found only in poetry and late prose. — divine: this word in Cic. often means
nothing more than 'splendidly', 'extraordinarily'. — escam malorum: 'an
enticement to evil' (esca = ed-ca, from the root of edo). Plato in the Timaeus
69 D (a dialogue translated into Latin by Cicero, a fragment of whose
translation is still preserved) has ‛ηδονην μεγιστον κακου δελεαρ. Cf. also
Cic. Hortensius fr. 76 (ed. Halm) voluptates corporis quae vere et graviter a
Platone dictae sunt illecebrae esse atque escae malorum. — modicis: for the
sake of variety Cic. chooses this, not moderatis, as the opposite of
immoderatis. Trans. 'a moderate amount of goodfellowship'. — M.F. =
Marci filium. — devicerat: pluperfect where a modern would incline to use
a perfect. The battle referred to is that of Mylae, fought in 260; its memory
was perpetuated by the decking of the forum with the rostra of the captured
ships; the columna rostrata bore a long inscription, a restored version of
which still exists. — cena: so best spelt; some good texts still print caena,
but coena is decidedly wrong, being based on the fiction that the Latin
borrowed the Greek word κοινη and turned it into coena. — cereo funali:
'the torch-light'; cereo, the em. of Mommsen for crebro; the funale was a
torch composed of withs or twigs twisted into a rope (funis) and dipped in
pitch or oil. — sibi ... sumpserat: Cic. seems to think that Duillius assumed

these honors on his own authority. This was probably not the case; they were
most likely conferred on him by a vote of the comitia tributa. Cf. Liv. epit.
17 C. Duillius primus omnium Romanorum ducum navalis victoriae duxit
triumphum, ob quam causam ei perpetuus quoque honos habitus est, ut
revertenti a cena tibicine canente funale praeferretur. No other instance is
known where these particular distinctions were decreed; the nearest parallel
lies in the right accorded to Paulus Macedonicus and to Pompeius to wear
the triumphal toga picta for life on each occasion of the ludi. It may be
conjectured that the music and the torch were part of the ceremony on the
evening of a triumph when the triumphator was escorted home. Cf. Florus 1,
18, 10, ed. Halm. — nullo exemplo: 'without any precedent'. — privatus:
any person is privatus who is not actually in office at the moment referred
to, whether he has led a public life or not. — licentiae: a strong word is used
to mark the heinousness of Duillius' supposed offence against ancestral
custom.
45. alios: sc. nomino. — primum: the corresponding deinde is omitted, as
often. — sodalis: the sodalitates or sodalitia, brotherhoods for the
perpetuation of certain rites accompanied with feasting, were immemorial
institutions at Rome. The clause sodalitates ... acceptis must not be taken to
mean that Cicero supposed these brotherhoods to have been first instituted in
the time of Cato; it is only introduced to show that Cato, so far from being
averse to good living, assisted officially in the establishment of new clubs.
Most of the sodalitates were closely connected with the gens; all members of
a gens were sodales and met together to keep up the old sacra, but in
historical times fictitious kinship largely took the place of real kinship, and
feasting became almost the sole raison d'être of these clubs. [See
Mommsen's treatise De collegiis et sodaliciis Romanis] The parallel of the
London City Companies readily suggests itself. The national sodalitates or
priesthoods such as those of the Sodales Titii, Luperci, Augustales etc. were
somewhat different. — autem: for the form of the parenthesis cf. 7. —
Magnae Matris: the image of Cybele was brought to Rome in 204 B.C.
from Pessinus in Phrygia. See Liv. 29, 10. The Sacra are called Idaea from
Mount Ida in Phrygia, which was a great centre of the worship of Cybele.
Acceptis, sc. in civitatem; the worship of strange gods was in principle illegal
at Rome unless expressly authorized by the State. — igitur: the construction
of the sentence is broken by the introduction of the parenthesis, and a fresh
start is made with epulabar igitur. Igitur is often thus used, like our 'well

then', to pick up the broken thread of a sentence. So often sed or ergo. —
fervor: Cf. Hor. Od. 1, 16, 22 me quoque pectoris temptavit in dulci iuventa
fervor. — aetatis, qua progrediente: 'belonging to that time of life, but as
life advances'. The word aetas has really two senses here; in the first place it
is bona aetas or iuventus (cf. 39 where aetas = senectus), in the second
place vita (for which see n. on 5). — neque enim: the enim refers to modice.
— coetu ... sermonibus: for the order of the words see n. on 1 animi tui. —
metiebar: cf. n. on 43 referenda. — accubitionem: a vox Ciceroniana,
rarely found in other authors. — vitae coniunctionem: 'a common
enjoyment of life'. — tum ... tum: here purely temporal, 'sometimes ...
sometimes'; often however = 'both ... and'; cf. 7. — compotationem etc.: cf.
Epist. ad Fam. 9, 24, 3. Compotatio = συμποσιον; concenatio = συνδειπνον.
— in eo genere: see n. on 4. — id: i.e. eating and drinking.
46. tempestivis ... conviviis: 'even in protracted banquets'. Those banquets
which began early in order that they might last long were naturally in bad
repute, so that the phrase tempestivum convivium often has almost the sense
of 'a debauch'. Thus in Att. 9, 1, 3 Cicero describes himself as being evil
spoken of in tempestivis conviviis, i.e. in dissolute society. Cf. pro Arch. 13.
The customary dinner hour at Rome was about three o'clock in the
afternoon. The word tempestivus, which in 5 means 'at the right time', here
means 'before the right time'. So in English 'in good time' often means 'too
early'. See Becker's Gallus, p. 451 et seq. — qui pauci: the substitution of
the nominative of the relative for the partitive genitive (quorum) is not
uncommon. A. 216, e; G. 368, Rem. 2; H. 397, 2, n. — pauci admodum:
Cic. usually says admodum pauci rather than pauci admodum. — vestra
aetate: = eis qui sunt vestra aetate. Cf. n. on 26 senectus. — sermonis ...
sustulit: notice the indicatives auxit, sustulit, the relative clauses being
attributive, though they might fairly have been expected here to be causal. G.
627; H. 517, 2. In this passage Cic. imitates Plato, Rep. 328 D. — bellum
indicere: common in the metaphorical sense; e.g. De Or. 2, 155 miror cur
philosophiae prope bellum indixeris; Hor. Sat. 1, 5, 7 ventri indico bellum.
— cuius est etc.: i.e. nature sanctions a certain amount of pleasure. This is
the Peripatetic notion of the mean, to which Cicero often gives expression,
as below, 77; also in Acad. 1, 39; 2, 139; and in De Off.; so Hor. Sat. 1, 1,
106 sunt certi denique fines quos ultra citraque nequit consistere rectum; cf.
Od. 2, 10. — non intellego ne: for the negatives cf. nn. on 24, 27.

P. 20 — magisteria: generally explained as referring to the practice of
appointing at each dinner a 'master of the feast', arbiter bibendi or
συμποσιαρχης. This explanation is not quite correct. Mommsen shows in his
work 'de collegiis' that each one of the collegia or sodalicia annually
appointed a magister cenarum whose duty it was to attend to the club-
dinners during his year of office and no doubt to preside at them. That some
office is meant more important than that of the arbiter bibendi appointed for
a particular feast is shown by the words a maioribus instituta. It is scarcely
likely that Cicero was ignorant of the Greek origin of the custom of
appointing an arbiter bibendi. — et is sermo etc.: 'and the kind of talk in
which following the fashion of our fathers we engage, beginning at the upper
table, as the cup goes round'. The cup circulated from left to right, not, as
with us, from right to left. The guests at a Roman dinner reclined on three
couches, placed at three tables; two of the couches (lecti) were parallel, and
the third was at right angles to the other two. The lectus at which the cup
began to circulate was summus, the next medius, the last imus. For a summo
cf. da (sc. bibere) a summo in Plaut. Asin. 5, 2, 41. See Becker's Gallus, p.
471 et seq. — sicut ... est: 'as we find'; so Off. 1, 32 ut in fabulis est, and
often. — in Symposio: 2, 26. — minuta: see n. on 52. — rorantia: here
with an active sense, 'besprinkling', representing επιψεκαζειν in Xenophon;
often however not different in sense from 'roscida'. — refrigeratio ...
hibernus: cf. closely 57 ubi et seq. Note the changes of expression in
passing from refrigeratio to sol (apricatio would have more exactly
corresponded with refrigeratio) and from aestate to hibernus (for hieme). —
in Sabinis: 'when with the Sabines', who were celebrated for their simplicity
of life. Cato had an estate in the Sabine district. — convivium vicinorum
compleo: 'I make up (i.e. to the proper number) a company of my
neighbors'. — quod ... producimus: 'and we continue our companionship to
as late an hour as we can, with changing talk'. The phrases multa nocte or de
nocte 'late in the night', multo die 'late in the day', are common; cf. also Att.
13, 9, 1 multus sermo ad multum diem; Rep. 6, 10 sermonem in multam
noctem produximus.
47. at: so in 21, where see n. — quasi titillatio: the quasi, as often in
Cicero's writings, marks a translation from the Greek. Here the Epicurean
word γαργαλισμος is referred to; it is often in Cic. represented by titillatio;
cf. N.D. 1, 113; Fin. 1, 39; Tusc. 3, 47. — bene: sc. dixit. — affecto aetate:
'wrought on by age'. Cf. De Or. 1, 200 in eius infirmissima valetudine

affectaque iam aetate. — utereturne etc.: 'whether he still took pleasure in
love'; uti = frui. Cf. Ovid, Met. 4, 259 dementer amoribus uti with Cic. Tusc.
4, 68 venereis voluptatibus frui. — di meliora: sc. duint; this archaic form
usually occurs when the phrase is given in full. The story of Sophocles is
taken by Cicero from Plato (Rep. 329 B) who has ευφημει. — istinc etc.: cf.
the passage in Plato, Rep. 1, 329 C. For istinc used otherwise than of place
cf. unde in 12 with n. — agresti: 'boorish'; rusticus denotes simply an
ordinary countryman. — quamquam ... ergo: these words may be scanned
as a hexameter line, but the pause before ergo would prevent them from
being taken as a verse. — hoc non desiderare: 'this absence of regret'; the
words form the subject of est. So hoc non dolere in Fin. 2, 18. For the
pronoun in agreement with the infinitive treated as noun cf. Persius 1, 9 istud
vivere; 1, 122 hoc ridere meum. H. 538, 3.
48. si: 'even if', 'granting that'. — bona aetas: 'the good time of life', i.e.
youth. Tischer qu. Varro de Re Rustica 2, 6, 2 mares feminaeque bona aetate
= 'young'. For bona aetas = homines bona aetate cf. n. on 26 senectus. — ut
diximus: not expressly, but the opinion is implied in 44, 45. — Turpione
Ambivio: L. Ambivius Turpio was the most famous actor of Cato's time, and
appeared especially in Terence's plays. In old Latin commonly, occasionally
in the Latin of the best period, and often in Tacitus, the cognomen is placed
before the nomen when the praenomen is not mentioned. Cf. Att. 11, 12, 1
Balbo Cornelio. The usage is more common in Cicero's writings than in
those of his contemporaries. — prima cavea: 'the lower tier'. The later
Roman theatres consisted of semicircular or elliptic galleries, with rising
tiers of seats; the level space partially enclosed by the curve was the
orchestra, which was bounded by the stage in front. There can be little doubt
that Cicero is guilty of an anachronism here; his words do not suit the
circumstances of Cato's time. Till nearly the end of the Republic the theatres
were rude structures of wood, put up temporarily; it is even doubtful whether
they contained seats for the audience. Cato himself frustrated an attempt to
establish a permanent theatre. — propter: 'close by'. The adverbial use of
propter (rarely, if ever, met with outside of Cicero) is denied by some
scholars, but is well attested by MSS. here and elsewhere. — tantum ... est:
these words qualify delectatur.
49. illa: put for illud, as in Greek ταυτα and ταδε are often put for τουτο and
τοδε. The words from animum to the end of the sentence are explanatory of

illa. — quanti: 'how valuable!' but the word may have exactly the opposite
meaning if the context require it; thus in N.D. 1, 55 and Rep. 6, 25 the sense
is 'how worthless!' — stipendiis: 'campaigns'. The four words from libidinis
to inimicitiarum are to be taken in pairs, while cupiditatum sums them up
and is in apposition to all. — secum esse: cf. Tusc. 1, 75; Pers. 4, 52 tecum
habita. — si ... aliquod: the sense is scarcely different from that of si ...
quod; the distinction is as slight as that in English between 'if' followed by
'some', and 'if' followed by 'any'. Cf. n. on Lael. 24 si quando aliquid. —
pabulum: for the metaphorical sense rendered less harsh by tamquam, cf.
Acad. 2, 127; Tusc. 5, 66 pastus animorum. — studi: an explanatory
genitive dependent on pabulum. — otiosa senectute: 'leisured age'; otium in
the Latin of Cicero does not imply idleness, but freedom from public
business and opportunity for the indulgence of literary and scientific tastes.
— videbamus: for the tense cf. Lael. 37 Gracchum rem publicam vexantem
ab amicis derelictum videbamus, i.e. 'we saw over a considerable period'.
See also 50, 79. — in studio etc.: 'busied with the task of almost measuring
bit by bit (di-metiendi) the heavens and the earth'. For the sense cf. Hor. Od.
1, 28 (of Archytas). — Gallum: consul in 157 B.C., famous as an
astronomer and as the first Roman who predicted an eclipse before the battle
of Pydna. See Liv. 44, 37.
P. 21 — describere: technically used of the drawing of mathematical
figures. Ingredior often has an infinitive dependent on it even in the best
Latin; e.g. Cic. Top. 1 nos maiores res scribere ingressos.
50. acutis: requiring keenness of intellect. — Naevius: see n. on 20. —
Truculento ... Pseudolo: these plays of Plautus (lived from 254 to 184 B.C.)
we still possess. The Truculentus is so named from one of the characters, a
slave of savage disposition who is wheedled; the Pseudolus from a cheating
slave. The latter name is commonly supposed to be a transcription from a
Greek word ψευδυλος, which however nowhere occurs; and as the change
from Greek υ to Latin o is not found before l, Corssen assumes ψευδαλος as
the original word. The form Pseudulus of the name is probably later than
Pseudolus. — Livium: Livius Andronicus, the founder of Latin literature
(lived from about 285 to 204 B.C.), who translated the Odyssey, also many
Greek tragedies. Livius was a Greek captured by Livius Salinator at
Tarentum in 275 B.C.; for a time he was the slave of Livius, and, according
to custom, took his name when set free. For an account of his writings see

Cruttwell's Hist. of Roman Literature, Ch. 3; Sellar, Roman Poets of the
Rep., Ch. 3. — docuisset: 'had brought on to the stage'. Docere (like
διδασκειν in Greek, which has the same use) meant originally to instruct the
performers in the play. — Centone Tuditanoque consulibus: i.e. in 240
B.C. The use of que here is noticeable; when a date is given by reference to
the consuls of the year it is usual to insert et (not que or atque, which rarely
occur) between the two names, if only the cognomina (as here) be given. If
the full names be given, then they are put side by side without et. Cf. n. on
10. — Crassi: see n. on 27. — pontifici et civilis iuris: the ius pontificium
regarded mainly the proper modes of conducting religious ceremonial. Ius
civile, which is often used to denote the whole body of Roman Law, here
includes only the secular portion of that Law. Cf. n. on 38. — huius P.
Scipionis: 'the present P. Scipio'. So in 14 hi consules 'the present consuls';
Rep. 1, 14 Africanus hic, Pauli filius, and often. The P. Scipio who is meant
here is not Africanus, but Nasica Corculum. — flagrantis: 'all aglow'; so
ardere studio in Acad. 2, 65. — senes: = cum senes essent, so senem below.
— suadae medullam: 'the essence (lit. marrow) of persuasiveness'. The
lines of Ennius are preserved by Cicero, Brut. 58. Suada is a translation of
πειθω, which the Greek rhetoricians declared to be the end and aim of
oratory. This Cethegus was consul in 204 and in 203 defeated Mago in the
N. of Italy. — exerceri: here reflexive in meaning. A. 111, n. 1; G. 209; H.
465. — videbamus: see n. on 49. — comparandae: for the idea of
possibility which the gerundive sometimes has (but only in negative
sentences or interrogative sentences implying a negative answer, and in
conditional clauses) see Madvig, 420, Obs.; Roby, 1403. — haec quidem: a
short summary of the preceding arguments, preparatory to a transition to a
new subject, introduced by venio nunc ad. The succession of two clauses
both containing quidem seems awkward, but occurs in Fin. 5, 80 and
elsewhere. — honestum sit: 'does him honor'. — ut ante dixi: in 26, where
see the notes. — potest esse: Meissner (n. on 27) says that Cicero's rule is to
say potest esse, debet esse and the like, not esse potest and the like. It is true
that esse in such cases is very seldom separated from the word on which it
depends, but esse potest is just as common as potest esse; the difference to
the sense is one of emphasis only, the esse having more emphasis thrown on
it in the latter case.
51. mihi ... videntur: see Introd. — habent rationem cum: 'they have their
reckonings with', 'their dealings with'; a phrase of book-keeping. —

imperium: so Verg. Georg. 1, 99 exercetque frequens tellurem atque imperat
agris; ib. 2, 369 dura exerce imperia et ramos compesce fluentes; Tac. Germ.
26 sola terrae seges imperatur. — sed alias ... faenore: put for sed semper
cum faenore, alias minore, plerumque maiore. — vis ac natura: 'powers and
constitution'. These two words are very often used by Cic. together, as in
Fin. 1, 50 vis ac natura rerum. — gremio: so Lucret. 1, 250 pereunt imbres
ubi eos pater aether In gremium matris terrai praecipitavit, imitated by
Verg. Georg. 2, 325. — mollito ac subacto: i.e. by the plough. Subigere,
'subdue', is a technical word of agriculture; so Verg. Georg. 2, 50 scrobibus
subactis; see also below, 59.
P. 22 — occaecatum: 'hidden'. Caecus has the sense of 'unseen' as well as
that of 'unseeing' or 'blind'. — occatio: Cicero's derivation, as well as Varro's
(De Re Rust. 1, 31, 1) from occidere, because the earth is cut up, is unsound.
Occa is rastrum, probably from its sharp points (root ak-); occatio therefore
is 'harrowing'. — vapore: 'heat'. This word has not in the best Latin the
meaning of our 'vapor'. — compressu: a word found only here in Cicero's
writings and elsewhere in Latin only in the ablative case, like so many other
nouns whose stem ends in -u. — diffundit et elicit: 'expands and lures
forth'. — herbescentem: this word occurs nowhere else in Latin. — nixa: A.
254, b; G. 403, Rem. 3; H. 425, 1, 1), n. — fibris stirpium: so Tusc. 3, 13
radicum fibras. — geniculato: 'knotted'. The verb geniculo, from genu,
scarcely occurs excepting in the passive participle, which is always used, as
here, of plants. So Plin. Nat. Hist. 16, 158 geniculata cetera gracilitas
nodisque distincta, speaking of the harundo. — spici: besides spica, the
forms spicum and spicus are occasionally found. Spici here is explanatory
frugem. — vallo: for the metaphor compare N.D. 2, 143 munitae sunt
palpebrae tamquam vallo pilorum; Lucr. 2, 537.
52. quid ego ... commemorem: this and similar formulae for passing to a
new subject are common; cf. 53 quid ego ... proferam etc.; often nam
precedes the quid, as in Lael. 104. The ego has a slight emphasis. Cato
implies that his own devotion to grape-culture was so well known as not to
need description. — ortus satus incrementa: 'origin, cultivation, and
growth'. For the omission of the copula see n. on 53. — ut: final, and
slightly elliptic ('I say this that etc.'); so in 6 (where see n.), 24, 56, 59, 82.
— requietem: the best MSS. of Cic. sometimes give the other form requiem,
as in Arch. 13. — vim ipsam: 'the inherent energy'. — omnium ... terra: a

common periphrasis for 'all plants'; cf. e.g. N.D. 2, 120. The Latin has no
one word to comprehend all vegetable products. — quae ... procreet: 'able
to generate'. — tantulo: strictly elliptic, implying quantulum re vera est. In
such uses tantus and tantulus differ slightly from magnus and parvus; they
are more emphatic. — acini vinaceo: 'a grape-stone'. — minutissimis: used
here for minimis. Strictly speaking minutus ought to be used of things which
are fragments of larger things, minutus being really the participle passive of
minuo. In a well-known passage (Orat. 94) Cic. himself calls attention to the
theoretical incorrectness of the use, which, however, is found throughout
Latin literature. Cf. 46 pocula minuta; also below, 85 minuti philosophi. —
malleoli: vine-cuttings; so called because a portion of the parent stem was
cut away with the new shoot, leaving the cutting in the shape of a mallet. —
plantae: 'suckers', shoots springing out of the trunk. — sarmenta: 'scions',
shoots cut from branches not from the trunk. — viviradices: 'quicksets', new
plants formed by dividing the roots of the mother plant. — propagines:
'layers', new plants formed by rooting a shoot in the earth without severing it
from the parent plant; Verg. Georg. 2, 26. — eadem: n. on 4 eandem. —
claviculis: cf. N.D. 2, 120 vites sic claviculis. — ars agricolarum:
agricolae arte freti, a strong instance of the abstract put for the concrete.
53. eis: sc. sarmentis, those which have not been pruned away by the knife.
— exsistit: 'springs up'. Exsistere in good Latin never has the meaning of our
'exist', i.e. 'to be in existence', but always means 'to come into existence'. —
articulos: 'joints'; cf. 51 culmo geniculato. The word tamquam softens the
metaphor in articuli, which would properly be used only of the joints in the
limbs of animals. — gemma: Cicero took the meaning 'gem' or 'jewel' to be
the primary sense of gemma and considered that the application to a bud was
metaphorical. See the well-known passages, Orat. 81 and De Or. 3, 155. —
vestita pampinis: 'arrayed in the young foliage'. — fructu ... aspectu:
ablatives of respect, like gustatu above. — capitum iugatio: 'the linking
together of their tops'; i.e. the uniting of the tops of the stakes by cross-
stakes. So the editors; but Conington on Verg. Georg. 2, 355 seems to take
capita of the top-foliage of the vines, an interpetation which is quite
possible. Those editors are certainly wrong who remove the comma after
iugatio and place it after religatio, as though et were omitted between the
two words. In enumerations of more than two things Cic. either omits the
copula altogether or inserts it before each word after the first; but in
enumerating two things et cannot be omitted, except where there are several

sets or pairs of things. Cf. n. on 13. — religatio: i.e. the tying down of
shoots so as to cause them to take root in the earth. Religatio seems to occur
only here.
P. 23 — aliorum immissio: 'the granting of free scope to others'. Immissio
scarcely occurs elsewhere in good Latin. The metaphor is from letting loose
the reins in driving; cf. Verg. Georg. 2, 364; Plin. N.H. 16, 141 cupressus
immittitur in perticas asseresque amputatione ramorum; Varro, R.R. 1, 31, 1
vitis immittitur ad uvas pariendas. Some, referring to Columella de Arbor, c.
7, take the word to mean the setting in the earth of a shoot in order that it
may take root before being separated from the parent stem. The context,
however, is against this interpretation. — irrigationes etc.: the plurals
denote more prominently than singulars would the repetition of the actions
expressed by these words. — repastinationes: 'repeated hoeings'. The
pastinum was a kind of pitchfork, used for turning over the ground round
about the vines, particularly when the young plants were being put in. —
multo terra fecundior: see n. on 3 parum ... auctoritatis.
54. in eo libro: see Introd. — doctus: often used of poets, not only by
Cicero but by most other Latin writers, more particularly by the elegiac
poets; see also n. on 13. — Hesiodus: the oldest Greek poet after Homer.
The poem referred to here is the Εργα και ‛Ημεραι which we still possess,
along with the Theogony and the Shield of Heracles. — cum: concessive. —
saeculis: 'generations', as in 24. — fuit: = vixit. — Laerten: the passage
referred to is no doubt the touching scene in Odyss. 24, 226, where
Odysseus, after killing the suitors, finds his unhappy old father toiling in his
garden. In that passage nothing is said of manuring. — lenientem: see n. on
11 dividenti. — colentem etc.: the introduction of another participle to
explain lenientem is far from elegant. Cultione agri or something of the kind
might have been expected. The collocation of appetentem with occupatum in
56 is no less awkward. — facit: n. on 3 facimus. — res rusticae laetae sunt:
'the farmer's life is gladdened'. — apium: this form is oftener found in the
best MSS., of prose writers at least, than the other form apum, which
probably was not used by Cic. — omnium: = omnis generis. — consitiones
... insitiones: 'planting ... grafting'. On the varieties of grafting and the skill
required for it see Verg. Georg. 2, 73 seq.
55. possum: see n. on 24. — ignoscetis: 'you will excuse (me)'. —
provectus sum: 'I have been carried away'. Cicero often uses prolabi in the

same sense. — in hac ... consumpsit: Cic. probably never, as later writers
did, used consumere with a simple ablative. — Curius: see n. on 15. — a
me: = a mea villa; cf. n. on 3 apud quem. — admirari satis non possum: a
favorite form of expression with Cicero; e.g. De Or. 1, 165. — disciplinam:
'morals'; literally 'teaching'.
56. Curio: Plutarch, Cat. 2, says the ambassadors found him cooking a
dinner of herbs, and that Curius sent them away with the remark that a man
who dined in that way had no need of gold. The present was not brought as a
bribe, since the incident took place after the war. Curius had become
patronus of the Samnites, and they were bringing the customary offering of
clientes; see Rep. 3, 40. — ne: here = num, a rare use; so Fin. 3, 44; Acad. 2,
116. — sed venio ad: so in 51 venio nunc ad. Redeo ad (see n. on 32) might
have been expected here. — in agris erant: 'lived on their farms'. For erant
cf. n. on 21 sunt. — id est senes: cf. 19 n. on senatum. — si quidem: often
written as one word siquidem = ειπερ. — aranti: emphatic position. —
Cincinnato: L. Quinctius Cincinnatus is said to have been dictator twice; in
458 B.C., when he saved the Roman army, which was surrounded by the
Aequians, and ended the war in sixteen days from his appointment; in 439,
when Maelius was killed and Cincinnatus was eighty years old. In our
passage Cic. seems to assume only one dictatorship. The story of
Cincinnatus at the plough is told in Livy 3, 26. — factum: the technical term
was dicere dictatorem, since he was nominated by the consul on the advice
of the senate. — dictatoris: in apposition with cuius.
P. 24 — Maelium: a rich plebeian, who distributed corn in time of famine
and was charged with courting the people in order to make himself a king.
Ahala summoned him before the dictator, and because he did not
immediately obey, killed him with his own hand. For this, Ahala became one
of the heroes of his nation. See Liv. 4, 13. Cicero often mentions him with
praise. Cf. in Catil. I. 3; p. Sestio 143, etc. — appetentem: = quia
appetebat; so occupatum = cum occupasset. — viatores: literally 'travellers',
so 'messengers'. They formed a regularly organized corporation at Rome and
were in attendance on many of the magistrates. Those officers who had the
fasces had also lictors, who, however, generally remained in close
attendance and were not despatched on distant errands. The statement of Cic.
in the text is repeated almost verbatim by Plin. N.H. 18, 21. — miserabilis:
'to be pitied'. The word does not quite answer to our 'miserable'. — agri

cultione: a rare expression, found elsewhere only in Verr. 3, 226; then not
again till the 'Fathers'. — haud scio an nulla: since haud scio an is
affirmative in Cicero, not negative as in some later writers, nulla must be
read here, not ulla. Cf. 73 haud scio an melius Ennius, 'probably Ennius
speaks better'; also 74 incertium an hoc ipso die, 'possibly to-day'. Roby,
2256; G. 459, Rem.; H. 529, II. 3, 20, n. 2. — quam dixi: = de qua dixi, as
in 53. — saturitate: the word is said to occur nowhere else in Latin. —
quidam: i.e. the authors of the tertia vituperatio senectutis, whom Cato
refutes in 39, 59. — porco ... gallina: these words are used collectively, as
rosa often is; so Fin. 2, 65 potantem in rosa Thorium. — iam: 'further'. —
succidiam alteram: 'a second meat-supply'. The word seems to be
connected with caedo, and probably originally meant 'slaughter'. In a
fragment of Cato preserved by Gellius 13, 24, 12 (in some editions 13, 25,
12) we find succidias humanas facere. Varro, R.R. 2, 14 has the word in the
sense of 'meat'. — conditiora facit: 'adds a zest to'; cf. condita in 10. —
supervacaneis operis: 'by the use of spare time'; literally 'by means of toils
that are left over', i.e. after completing the ordinary work of the farm.
57. ordinibus: cf. 59 ordines. — brevi praecidam: 'I will cut the matter
short', for praecidam (sc. rem or sermonem) cf. Acad. 2, 133 praecide (sc.
sermonem); for brevi (= 'in brief', εν βραχει) cf. De Or. 1, 34 ne plura
consecter comprehendam brevi. — usu uberius: cf. 53 fructu laetius ...
aspectu pulchrius. — ad quem ... retardat: some have thought that there is
zeugma here, supposing ad to be suited only to invitat, not to retardat. That
this is not the case is clear from such passages as Caes. B.G. 7, 26, 2 palus
Romanos ad insequendum tardabat (= tardos faciebat); Cic. Sull. 49 nullius
amicitia ad pericula propulsanda impedimur. On fruendum see Madvig,
421, a, Obs. 2 and 265, Obs. 2; G. 428, Rem. 3, exc.; H. 544, 2, n. 5. —
invitat atque allectat: one of the 'doublets' of which Cicero is so fond; cf.
Lael. 99 allectant et invitant.
58. sibi habeant: sc. iuvenes; contemptuous, as in Lael. 18 sibi habeant
sapientiae nomen Sull. 26 sibi haberent honores, sibi imperia etc.; cf. the
formula of Roman divorce, tu tuas res tibi habeto. — hastas: in practising,
the point was covered by a button, pila; cf. Liv. 26, 51 praepilatis missilibus
iaculati sunt. — clavam: cf. Vegetius de Re Mil. 1, 11 clavas ligneas pro
gladiis tironibus dabant, eoque modo exercebantur ad palos; Iuv. 6, 246.
The palus is called stipes by Martial 7, 32. — pilam ... venationes ...

cursus: all national amusements, well known to readers of Horace; see
Becker's Gallus. Venationes, em. for nataliones. — talos ... tesseras: tali,
'knucklebones', were oblong, and rounded at the two ends; the sides were
numbered 1 and 6 (1 being opposite to 6), 3 and 4. Four tali were used at a
time and they, like the tesserae, were generally thrown from a box, fritillus.
The tesserae, of which three were used at a time, were cubes, with the sides
numbered from 1 to 6 in such a way that the numbers on two opposite sides
taken together always made 7. A separate name was used by dicers for
almost every possible throw of the tesserae and tali. The two best known are
canis, when all the dice turned up with the same number uppermost; and
venus, when they all showed different numbers. The word alea was general
and applicable to games of chance of every kind. These games, which were
forbidden by many ineffectual laws ('vetita legibus alea') were held to be
permissible for old men; see Mayor on Iuv. 14, 4. — id ipsum: sc. faciunt;
the omission of facere is not uncommon. Roby, 1441; H. 368, 3, n. 1. — ut:
em. for ordinary readings unum and utrum.
59. legite: 'continue to read'. Cf. De Or. 1, 34 pergite, ut facitis,
adulescentes. In Tusc. 2, 62 it is stated that Africanus was a great reader of
Xenophon.
P. 25 — libro qui est de: so in Fat. 1 libris qui sunt de natura deorum, and
similarly elsewhere; but the periphrasis is often avoided, as in Off. 2, 16
Dicaearchi liber de interitu hominum. — qui: quique might have been
expected, but the words above, qui ... familiari, are regarded as parenthetical.
— Oeconomicus: Cicero translates from this work c. 4, 20-25. —
inscribitur: see n. on 13. — regale: 'worthy of a king'; different from
regium, which would mean 'actually characteristic of kings'. Yet Cic.
sometimes interchanges the words; thus regalis potestas in Har. Resp. 54 is
the same as regia potestas in Phil. 1, 3. — loquitur cum Critobulo etc.:
'discourses with Critobulus of how Cyrus etc.'. The construction of loqui
with acc. and inf. belongs to colloquial Latin, as does the construction loqui
aliquam rem for de aliqua re; cf. Att. 1, 5, 6 mecum Tadius locutus est te ita
scripsisse; ib. 9, 13, 1 mera scelera loquuntur. — Cyrum minorem: Cyrus
the younger (cf. 79 Cyrus maior), well known from Xenophon's Anabasis.
As Cyrus never arrived at the throne (having been killed at Cunaxa in 401 in
his attempt to oust his brother the king with the help of the 10,000 Greeks)
regem is used in the sense of 'prince', as in Verr. 4, 61 and elsewhere;

βασιλευς is used in exactly the same way in a passage of the Oeconomicus
which comes a little before the one Cic. is here rendering (4, 16). —
Lysander: the great commander who in 405 B.C. won the battle of
Aegospotamos against the Athenians. — Sardis: acc. pl.; -is represents Gk.
-εις. — consaeptum agrum: 'park'; the phrase is a translation of Xenophon's
παραδεισον; this will account for the omission of et before diligenter
consitum. — diligenter: 'carefully'. — proceritates: the plural probably
indicates the height of each kind of tree. — quincuncem: thus
:·:·:·:·:·:·: This was the order of battle in the Roman army during a
great part of its history. The cause for this application of the term is rather
difficult to see; it originally meant five-twelfths of an uncia; possibly it was
thus applied because by drawing lines between the points the letter V (five)
might be produced. As regards its application to trees, see Verg. Georg. 2,
277-284. — puram: so the farmers talk of 'cleaning' the land. — dimensa:
notice the passive use of this participle, originally deponent; cf. n. on 4
adeptam. — discripta: 'arranged'; so discriptio a little farther on. Cf. n. on 5
descriptae. — ornatum: 'costume', used by Latin writers of any dress a little
unfamiliar. So in Plaut. Miles 4, 4, 41 (1177 R) ornatus nauclericus.
60. impedit: sc. nos; with this construction the pronoun is always omitted.
— Valerium: when a young man, in 349 B.C., he engaged in combat with a
Gaul, in sight of the Roman and Gallic armies, and came off victor by the
aid of a raven, corvus; hence the name Corvinus (Liv. 7, 26). His first
consulship was in 348, his last in 299; Cic. has miscalculated. Valerius was
also twice dictator and is said to have held altogether 21 terms of curule
offices. — perduxisse: sc. agri colendi studia. Cf. Lael. 33 quod —
perduxissent. — esset: cf. n. on 21. — aetate: here = the vigorous period of
life; cf. bona aetas in 48. — cursus honorum: 'official career'. — huius: ille
and hic are not often found in the same sentence referring to the same
person. Eius would have been more regular here. — media: cf. n. on 33
constantis aetatis.
P. 26 — apex: 'the crown', 'the highest glory'. The word meant originally
'knot', being connected with ap-tus ap-isci ap-ere and other words
containing the idea of binding fast or grasping. It was properly applied to the
olive-twig bound round with wool, which was stuck in the cap worn by the
flamines and salii. It is sometimes employed to translate διαδημα (a word
originally of similar meaning), the royal insigne, as in Horace, Odes, 3, 21,

20 regum apices, with which cf. Odes, 1, 34, 14. The word is scarcely found
elsewhere in a metaphorical sense. Our passage is imitated by Ammianus
Marcellinus (a great imitator of Cicero) 27, 7, 2 Rufinus velut apicem
honoratae senectutis praetendens.
61. Metello: see n. on 30. — A. Atilio Calatino: consul in 258 B.C. and
again in 254; dictator in 249, censor in 247. Cicero classed him with old
heroes like Curius and Fabricius (Planc. 60). His tomb was on the via Appia
outside the Porta Capena, close to the well-known tomb of the Scipios (see
Tusc. 1, 13). — in quem ... elogium: 'in whose honor there is the
inscription'. With in quem = de quo cf. the occasional occurrence of κατα
τινος in the sense of περι τινος. — elogium: Greek ελεγειον (so Curtius): for
the representation of ε by o cf. oliva with ελαια, and Plautus' lopadas for
λεπαδας. But cf. Roby, 929, d. — hunc etc.: the inscription (which is quoted
by Cicero also in Fin. 2, 116) is strikingly like that on the tomb of Scipio
Barbatus which has actually come down to us, and thus begins (Ritschl's
recension):

honc oino ploirime cosentiont Romai
duonoro optumo fuise viro viroro

i.e. hunc unum plurimi consentiunt Romae bonorum optimum fuisse virum
virorum. Ritschl thus completes the elogium of Atilus, by comparison with
others still preserved: dictator (ending the second line), Consul, censor,
aedilis hic fuit apud vos. But Cicero's words (nolum ... sepulcro) seem to
imply a longer inscription than one of three lines; the analogy of the
Scipionic inscriptions points the same way. The older monumental
inscriptions of Rome were written in the Saturnian metre, which depended
partly on accent. The normal line ran thus:

but there were many deviations. — unum: intensifies primarium, 'the very
first'; cf. the common use of unus with a superlative adjective, for which see
n. on Lael. 1 unum etc. — esset consentiens: cf. n. on 26 agens aliquid. —
nuper: like modo (see n. on 27) nuper is loosely used, and has its meaning
defined by the context. Cf. n. on Lael. 13. In Plin. Ep. 1, 2, 2 the orator
Calvus, a younger contemporary of Cicero, is said to have existed nuper. —
Lepidum: pontifex maximus from 180 B.C., consul in 187 and in 175;
censor in 179; he is said to have been chosen princeps senatus by six sets of
censors in succession. He died in 152. — Paulo: see 29 L. Aemilius with n.
— Maximo: see 10 et seq. — sententia: i.e. a set speech in the senate. Cf.
De Or. 1, 38 is non accurata orationis copia, sed nutu atque verbo
libertinos in urbanas tribus transtulit. — honorata: see n. on 22.
62. in omni oratione: 'everywhere throughout my speech'. Tota oratione
would have meant 'my speech viewed as a whole'. — defenderet: the tense
is accommodated to that of dixi, according to Latin custom; see n. on 42
efficeret. — cani: sc. capilli; the same ellipsis is found in Ovid. Cf. calda
(sc. aqua), laurea (sc. corona), natalis (sc. dies), Latinae (sc. feriae), etc.;
also cereo in 44. — fructus ... extremos: 'receives the reward of influence
at the last'.

63. appeti: 'to be courted'; decedi: 'to take precedence', literally 'that there
should be a yielding of the way'. — assurgi: 'the honor shown by rising'.
Cf. Iuv. 13, 54 credebant grande nefas et morte piandum si iuvenis vetulo
non assurrexerat, where see Mayor's note. — deduci reduci: 'the escort
from home and the attendance homeward'. The difference between these
two words, which has often been misunderstood, is shown by Val. Max. 2,
1, 9 iuvenes senatus die utique aliquem ex patribus conscriptis ad curiam
deducebant, affixique valvis exspectabant donec reducendi etiam officio
fungerentur. — consuli: probably refers to private legal consultations as
well as to the deliberations of the senate. — ut quaeque optime: Cic. often
uses ut quisque with superlatives, ita following; see n. on Lael. 19.
Translate ut ... ita 'in proportion as ... so'. — morata: from mos. — modo:
in 59. — memoriae proditum est: in Verr. 5, 36 Cic. uses ad memoriam
instead of the dative. The best writers have memoriae prodere and prodi,
'for the recollection of posterity', memoria prodi, 'to be handed down by
tradition'; but not memoria prodere. — ludis: sc. Panathenaicis, abl. of
time. The Panathenaea was the greatest of the Athenian festivals and was
celebrated in honor of Athene, patron goddess of the city, once in four
years. The story that follows is told in almost the same words by Val. Max.
4, 5, ext. 2.
P. 27 — qui: at this point the oratio obliqua is broken off, but it is resumed
in the next sentence, dixisse being dependent on proditum est. — legati
cum essent: 'being ambassadors'. — illi: 'in his honor'. — sessum
recepisse: Val. Max. uses the same phrase; cf. Fam. 10, 32, 2 sessum
deducere; N.D. 3, 74 sessum ire.
64. plausus multiplex: cf. Verg. Aen. 1, 747 ingeminant plausu. Cic.
generally says plausus maximus. — facere nolle: cf. the well-known saying
of Demosthenes, Olynth. 3, § 3 πεπεισμαι γαρ τα πλειω των πραγματων
‛υμας εκπεφευγεναι τωι μη βουλεσθαι τα δεοντα ποιειν, η τωι μη συνιεναι.
— collegio: the college or board of augurs to which Cato belonged. In his
time there were nine members; later the number was increased. —
antecedit: sc. alios. — sententiae principatum: 'precedence in debate'.
Meissner quotes Verr. 4, 142 ut quisque aetate et honore antecedit, ita
primus solet sua sponte dicere itaque a ceteris ei conceditur. — honore: i.e.
as regards office, past or present. — qui ... sunt: actual praetors or consuls.
— comparandae: n. on 50. — fabulam aetatis: cf. 5, 70, 85. The

comparison of life to a play, and mankind to the players, is common in all
literature; e.g. 'All the world's a stage, etc.'. When Augustus was on his
deathbed he asked his friends ecquid eis videretur mimum vitae commode
transegisse (Suet. Aug. 99); cf. Gay's epitaph, 'Life's a jest, etc.'. —
corruisse: i.e. through fatigue; cf. defetigationem in 85.
65. at: see n. on 21. — morum: cf. 7 in moribus est culpa, non in aetate. —
ea vitia: i.e. ea alia vitia. — habent etc.: cf. Thucyd. 3, 44 εχοντες τι
συγγνωμης. — non ... videatur: 'not well grounded indeed, but such as it
may seem possible to allow'. Ille is often used with quidem in making
concessions where the English idiom requires no pronoun. Roby, 2259;
Madvig, 489, b; Kennedy, 65, n. 2; A. 151, e; G. 292, Rem. 4; H. 450, 4, n.
2. — contemni ... despici: see n. on 43 spreta et contempta. — moribus
bonis et artibus: for the order of the words cf. n. on 1 animi tui. — in vita:
'in everyday life.' — Adelphis: Adelphi = αδελφοι, The Brothers; this play
of Terence is still extant. — diritas: 'harshness of temper'; but Suet. Tib. 21
has diritas morum, and Varro scena quem senem Latina vidit dirissimum.
Both dirus and diritas are rare in Cicero; the former word does not once
occur in the whole range of the speeches, the latter scarcely excepting here
and in Vat. 9; in Tusc. 3, 29 Cic. uses it in translating from Euripides.
P. 28 - 66. sollicitam habere: 'to keep in trouble'. Sollicitus is, literally,
'wholly in motion', from sollus, which has the same root with ‛ολος, and
citus; cf. the rare words sollifides, solliferreus. The perfect participle with
habeo emphasizes the continuance of the effect produced. Zumpt, 634; A.
292, c; G. 230; H. 388, 1, n. — nostram aetatem: cf. n. on 26 senectus. —
esse longe: more usually abesse. — O miserum: 'O, wretched is that old
man'. Cicero oftener joins O with the accusative than with the nominative:
he rarely, if ever, uses the interjection with the vocative in direct address to
persons. — extinguit animum: the doctrine of the annihilation of the soul
after death was held by many of Cicero's contemporaries, professedly by
the Epicureans (e.g. Lucretius, De Rerum Nat. 3, 417 et seq.; cf. also
Caesar's argument at the trial of the Catilinian conspirators, Sall. Bell. Catil.
c. 51, Cic. in Catil. 3, c. 4), practically by the Stoics, who taught that there
is a future existence of limited though indefinite length. — deducit: cf. n.
on 63. — atqui: see n. on 6. — tertium ... potest: 'nothing can be found as
a third alternative': so in Tusc. 1, 82 quoniam nihil tertium est.

67. quid timeam etc.: so Tusc. 1, 25 quo modo igitur aut cur mortem
malum tibi videri dicis? quae aut beatas nos efficiet, animis manentibus, aut
non miseros, sensu carentis; ib. 1, 118 ut aut in aeternam domum
remigremus aut omni sensu careamus. For mood see A. 268; G. 251; H 486,
II. — aut non miser ... aut beatus: a dilemma, but unsound and not
conclusive; for non miser is used with reference to annihilation, and the
soul may exist after death in a state of unhappiness. — futurus sum: see n.
on 6 futurum est. — quamvis sit: prose writers of the Republican period
use quamvis with the subjunctive only; see Roby, 1624, 1627; A. 313,a, g;
G. 608; H. 515, III. and n. 3. — cui: see n. on 38 viventi. — ad vesperum
esse victurum: 'that he will be alive when evening comes', not 'that he will
live till the evening'. With the prepositions ad, sub, in the form vesper is
generally used, not vespera. With this passage cf. Fin. 2, 92 an id
exploratum cuiquam potest esse quo modo sese habiturum sit corpus. non
dico ad annum, sed ad vesperum? Also cf. the title of one of Varro's
Menippean Satires, nescis quid vesper serus vehat, probably a proverb. —
aetas illa ... adulescentes: some suppose that this sentence was borrowed
from Hippocrates. — tristius: 'severioribus remediis'. Manutius. So Off. 1,
83 leviter aegrotantis leniter curant, gravioribus autem morbis periculosas
curationes et ancipites adhibere coguntur. The adverb tristius, which has in
prose a superlative but no positive, occurs in Fam. 4, 13, 5. — mens ...
ratio ... consilium: cf. n. on 41. — qui ... nulli: cf. n. on 46 qui pauci; but
nulli here almost = non. — nullae ... fuissent: i.e. the young men would
have brought every country to ruin; see 20. — cum ... cum: see n. on 4.
68. in filio ... in fratribus: cf. Lael. 9. As to Cato's son cf. 15, 84. — tu: sc.
sensisti. — exspectatis ad: a rare construction, perhaps without parallel;
exspectatis is an adjective and takes the construction of aptus, idoneus etc.,
'of whom hopes were entertained as regards honor'. — fratribus: the sons
of Paulus Macedonicus, two of them died within seven days (Fam. 4, 6, 1),
one just before and one just after Paulus' great triumph in 167 B.C. —
idem: see n. on 4 eandem. — insipienter: adversative asyndeton. —
incerta ... veris: chiasmus avoided. With the thought cf. Off. 1, 18. — at ...
at: the objection and its answer are both introduced by at, as here, in 35. —
at ... adulescens: these words look back to the preceding sentence, to which
they are an answer. — ille ... hic: here hic denotes the person who is more
important, ille the person who is less important for the matter in hand; the

former may therefore be regarded as nearer to the speaker, the latter as more
remote. A. 102, a; G. 292, Rem. 1; H. 450, 2, n.
69. quamquam: see n. on 2 etsi. — quid est ... diu: cf. Tusc. 1, 94 quae
vero aetas longa est, aut quid omnino homini longum? ... quia ultra nihil
habemus, hoc longum dicimus. For est see n. on 72. — Tartessiorum ...
Gadibus: the whole of the south coast of Spain bore the name Tartessus,
but the name is often confined to Gades, the chief city. — fuit: = vixit. —
scriptum video: so in Acad. 2, 129; Div. 1, 31; cf. also N.D. 1, 72 ut
videmus in scriptis; Off. 2, 25 ut scriptum legimus; also cf. n. on 26
videmus. — Arganthonius: the story is from Herodotus 1, 163.
P. 29 — aliquid extremum: see n. on 5; cf. pro Marcello 27 — effluxit:
strongly aoristic in sense 'at once is gone'. — tantum: — 'only so much'. —
consecutus sis: 'you may have obtained'. The subjunctive is here used in the
indefinite second person to give a hypothetical character to the statement of
the verb. The indicative might have been expected; the expression almost =
consecuti sumus, consecutus aliquis est. Roby, 1546; G. 252, Rem. 3; H.
486, III. — virtute et recte factis: the same opinion is enforced in Tusc. 1,
109. — quid sequatur: 'the future'; cf. Lucr. 1, 459 transactum quid sit in
aevo, Tum quae res instet, quid porro deinde sequatur. — quod ...
contentus: this passage with the whole context resembles Lucretius 3, 931-
977; cf. especially 938 cur non ut plenus vitae conviva recedis; 960 satur ac
plenus discedere rerum. Cf. also Hor. Sat. 1, 1, 117-118.
70. ut placeat: 'in order to secure approval'. — peragenda: cf. n. on 50
comparandae. — plaudite: the Latin plays nearly always ended with this
word, addressed by the actor to the audience; cf. Hor. A.P. 153 si plausoris
eges aulaea manentis et usque Sessuri donec cantor 'vos plaudite' dicat. —
breve tempus etc.: one of the poets has said that 'in small measures lives
may perfect be'. Cf. also Tusc. 1, 109 nemo parum diu vixit qui virtutis
perfectae perfecto functus est munere; Seneca, Ep. 77 quo modo fabula, sic
vita: non quam diu, sed quam bene acta sit refert. — processerit: probably
the subject is sapiens, in which case aetate must also be supplied from
aetatis; the subject may however be aetas. — ostendit: 'gives promise of';
cf. Fam. 9, 8, 1 etsi munus (gladiatorial show) flagitare quamvis quis
ostenderit, ne populus quidem solet nisi concitatus. With the whole passage
cf. pro Cael. 76.

71. ut ... dixi: in 9, 60, 62. — secundum naturam: = κατα φυσιν a Stoic
phrase; cf. n. on 5 naturam optimam ducem. — senibus: dative of
reference; emori stands as subject to an implied est. — contingit: see n. on
8. — exstinguitur: there is the same contrast between opprimere and
exstinguere in Lael. 78. — quasi ... evelluntur: it is rare to find in Cic. or
the other prose writers of the best period a verb in the indicative mood
immediately dependent on quasi, in the sense of sicut or quem ad modum.
When two things are compared by quasi ... ita, the indicative verb is nearly
always put in the second clause, and may be supplied in the clause with
quasi; very rarely are there two different verbs for the two clauses. Cf.
however Plautus, Stich. 539 fuit olim, quasi nunc ego sum senex; Lucr. 3,
492 agens animam spumat quasi ... fervescunt undae. — si ... si: for the
more usual si ... sin. — accedam: see A. 342; G. 666; H. 529, II. — in
portum: speaking of death, Cic. says in Tusc. 1, 118 portum potius paratum
nobis et perfugium putemus: quo utinam velis passis pervehi liceat! Sin
reflantibus ventis reiciemur tamen eodem paulo tardius referamur necesse
est; cf. also ib. 1, 107.
P. 30 — 72. munus offici: see n. on 29. — tueri: 'uphold'. — possit:
subject indefinite. — ex quo fit etc.: the argument seems to be that youth
knows how long it has to last and is therefore less spirited than age, which
knows not when it will end. — animosior ... fortior: Horace, Odes 2, 10,
21 rebus angustis animosus atque fortis appare; the two words are joined
also in Cic. Mil. 92: animosus, 'spirited'. — hoc illud est etc.: 'this is the
meaning of the answer made by Solon etc'. Cf. Div. 1, 122 hoc nimirum
illud est quod de Socrate accepimus, also the Greek phrase ‛η τουτ' εκεινο.
Est = valet as in 69. — Pisistratus: the despot of Athens, who seized the
power in 560 B.C. Plutarch, who tells the story, 'An Seni Sit Gerenda
Respublica' c. 21, makes Solon speak to the friends of Pisistratus, not to P.
himself. — quaerenti: see n. on 11 dividenti. — audaciter: Quintil. 1, 6, 17
condemns those who used audaciter for audacter, which latter form, he
says, had been used by 'all orators'. Yet the form audaciter is pretty well
attested by MSS. here and elsewhere in Cicero. [See Neue, Formenlehre, 1²
662.] For the two forms cf. difficiliter, difficulter. Audaciter is of importance
as showing that c before i must have been pronounced just like c in any
other position, not as in modern Italian. — certis sensibus: Acad. 2, 19
integris incorruptisque sensibus. — ipsa ... quae: see n. on 26. H. 569, I. 2

— coagmentavit: Cic. is fond of such metaphors; cf. Orat. 77 verba verbis
quasi coagmentari; Phil. 7, 21 docebo ne coagmentari quidem pacem posse
('that no patched-up peace can be made'). — conglutinavit: a still more
favorite metaphor than coagmentare. Cic. has conglutinare rem (Or. 1,
188); amicitias (Lael. 32 and Att. 7, 8, 1); voluntates (Fam. 11, 27, 2);
concordiam. (Att. 1, 17, 10); in Phil. 3, 28 Cic. says of Antony that he is
totus ex vitiis conglutinatus. — iam: 'further', so below. — conglutinatio:
the noun occurs only here and Orat. 78 c. verborum. — reliquum: not
infrequently, as here, used substantively with an adjective modifier. — sine
causa: 'without sufficient reason'.
73. vetat Pythagoras etc.: the passage is from Plato, Phaedo 61 A-62 C.
Plato makes Socrates there profess to quote Philolaus, the Pythagorean; Cic.
therefore refers the doctrine to Pythagoras Cf. Tusc. 1, 74; Rep. 6, 15. The
Stoics held the same view about suicide, which they authorized in extreme
cases, but much less freely than is commonly supposed; cf. Sen. Ep. 117, 22
nihil mihi videtur turpius quam optare mortem. See Zeller, Stoics,
Epicureans, and Sceptics, Ch. 12, C (2); cf. also Lecky, Hist. of European
Morals, I. p. 228 et seq. (Am. ed.) — imperatoris ... praesidio: here Cic.
seems to understand Plato's φρουραι as referring to warfare; in Tusc. and
Rep. he understands it of a prison. — sapientis: Solon was one of the
'Seven Sages of Greece'. — elogium: the distich is preserved by Plutarch,
and runs thus: μηδε μοι ακλαυστος θανατος μολοι, αλλα φιλοισι
Καλλειποιμι θανων αλγεα και στοναχας. Cic. thus translates it in Tusc. 1,
117 Mors mea ne careat lacrimis, linquamus amicis Maerorem, ut celebrent
funera cum gemitu. The epitaph of Ennius is also quoted there and is
declared to be better than that of Solon (cf. Tusc. 1, 34). — volt se esse
carum: 'he wishes to make out that he is beloved'; volt esse carus would
have had quite a different sense. Cf. Fin. 5, 13 Strato physicum se volt, with
Madvig's n. — haud scio an: see n. on 56. — faxit: the subject is quisquam
understood from nemo. For the form see A. 142, 128, e, 3; G. 191, 5; H.
240, 4. The end of the epitaph is omitted here as in Tusc. 1, 117, but is
given in Tusc. 1, 34 cur? volito vivas per ora virum. Notice the alliteration.
74. isque: cf. n. on 13 vixitque. — aut optandus aut nullus: cf. 66 aut
neglegenda ... aut optanda; nullus almost = non as in 67, but only in the
Letters does Cic. (imitating Plautus and the other dramatists) attach nullus
in this sense to the name of a particular person; e.g. Att. 11, 24, 4

Philotimus nullus venit. — sed ... esse: 'but we must con this lesson from
our youth up'. For the passive sense of meditatum cf. n. on 4 adeptam. In
Tusc. 1, 74 Cic., imitating Plato, says tota philosophorum vita commentatio
mortis est. So Seneca, tota vita discendum est mori. — sine qua ... nemo
potest: these words bring the position of Cicero with regard to death
wonderfully near that of Lucretius: the latter argues that for peace of mind
one must believe 'nullum esse sensum post mortem'; the former's lesson is
'aut nullum esse sensum aut optandum'. — timens: = si quis timet; the
subject of poterit is the indefinite quis involved in timens. A. 310, a; G.
670; H. 549, 2. — qui: = quo modo, as in 4. — animo consistere: so in pro
Quint. 77; also mente consistere in Phil. 2, 68; Div. 2, 149; Q. Fr. 2, 3, 2
neque mente neque lingua neque ore consistere. The word is, literally, 'to
stand firm', 'to get a firm foothold'.
P. 31 — 75. L. Brutum: fell in single combat with Aruns, son of the exiled
Tarquin; see Liv. 2, 6. The accusatives Brutum etc. are not the objects of
recorder but the subjects of infinitives to be supplied from profectas. —
duos Decios: see n. on 43. — cursum equorum: the word equos would
have been sufficient; but this kind of pleonasm is common in Latin; see n.
on Lael. 30 causae diligendi. — Atilius: i.e. Regulus, whose story is too
well known to need recounting. There are many contradictions and
improbabilities about it. — Scipiones: see n. on 29. In Paradoxa 1, 12 Cic.
says of them Carthaginiensium adventum corporibus suis intercludendum
putaverunt. — Poenis: on the dat. see A. 235, a; H. 384, 4, n. 2. —
Paulum: n. on 29 L. Aemilius. — collegae: M. Terentius Varro. There is no
reason to suppose that he was a worse general than many other Romans
who met Hannibal and were beaten; the early historians, being all
aristocrats, fixed the disgrace of Cannae on the democratic consul. Varro's
contemporaries were more just to him. Far from reproaching him, the
Senate commended his spirit, and several times afterwards entrusted him
with important business. — Marcellum: the captor of Syracuse in 212 B.C.
He fell into an ambush in 208 and was killed; Hannibal buried him with
military honors. — cuius interitum: abstract for concrete = quem, post
interitum. — crudelissimus hostis: this, the traditional Roman view of
Hannibal, is the reverse of the truth, so far as extant testimony goes. See
Mommsen, Hist. of Rome, Bk. III. Ch. 4; Ihne, Hist. of Rome, Bk. IV. —
sed ... arbitrarentur: these words are almost exactly repeated in Tusc. 1,

89 and 101. — rustici: cf. Arch. 24 nostri illi fortes viri sed rustici ac
milites; also above, 24.
76. omnino: see n. on 9. — num igitur etc.: cf. 33 nisi forte et seq. —
constans: cf. n. on 33. — ne ... quidem: see n. on 27. — satietas vitae: cf.
85 senectus autem et seq., and satietas vivendi in pro Marc. 27; also Tusc. 1,
109 vita acta perficiat ut satis superque vixisse videamur.
77. cernere: of the mind also in 82. With the context cf. Div. 1, 63 animus
appropinquante morte multo est divinior; facilius evenit appropinquante
morte ut animi futura augurentur. — vestros patres: n. on 15. The elder
Laelius was prominent both as general and as statesman. He commanded
the fleet which co-operated with Scipio Africanus in Spain and afterwards
served with honor in Africa. He was an intimate friend of Cato. See Liv. 26,
42 et seq. — tuque: so in Lael. 100 C. Fanni et tu, Q. Muci; but above, 4
and 9 simply Scipio et Laeli. — quae est sola vita: cf. n. on vitam nullam in
7. — nam dum sumus etc.: the whole of this doctrine is Platonic; cf. Lael.
13. — munere necessitatis et ... opere: 'function and task allotted as by
fate'.
P. 32 — immortalis: Cicero rarely mentions the gods without this epithet.
— sparsisse: Horace calls the soul divinae particulam aurae. — tuerentur:
rule, or guard, or care for. Most editors wrongly take tuerentur to be for
intuerentur, 'to look upon', and regard it as an intentional archaism. But cf.
Rep. 6, 15 (where no archaism can be intended): homines sunt hac lege
generati, qui tuerentur illum globum quae terra vocatur; also tuentur below
in 82. — contemplantes imitarentur: perhaps more Stoic than Platonic;
the Stoics laid great stress on the ethical value of a contemplation and
imitation of the order of the universe. Cf. N.D. 2, 37 ipse homo ortus est ad
mundum contemplandum et imitandum; Sen. Dial. 8, 5, 1 Natura nos ad
utrumque genuit, et contemplationi rerum et actioni. — modo: here modus
seems to be the Platonic το μετριον, or perhaps a reminiscence of the
Aristotelian doctrine of the mean (n. on 46). Translate 'in moderation and
consistency of life'; and cf. Off. 1, 93 rerum modus 'moderation in all
things'. For constantia see n. on 4. — ita: cf. n. on 16 et tamen sic.
78. Pythagoran: see n. to 23. No ancient philosopher held more firmiy than
Pythagoras to belief in the immortality of the soul; it formed a part of his

doctrine of Metempsychosis. He was also noted for his numerical
speculations in Astronomy and Music. With him is said to have originated
the doctrine of the 'harmony of the spheres'. — qui essent: 'inasmuch as
they were'. Cicero often tries to make out a connection between Pythagoras
and the early Romans; cf. Tusc. 4, 2; also Liv. 1, 18. — ex universa mente:
the world-soul. Diog. Laert 8 gives as Pythagorean the doctrine ψυχην ειναι
αποσπασμα του αιθερος και αθανατον. Similar doctrines occur in Plato and
the Stoics; cf. Div. 1, 110 a qua (i.e. a natura deorum) ut doctissimis
sapientissimisque placuit, haustos animos et libatos habemus; Tusc. 5, 38
humanus animus decerptus ex mente divina; Sen. Dial. 12, 6, 7. —
haberemus: imperfect where the English requires the present. A. 287, d; H.
495, V. — Socrates: in Plato's Phaedo. — immortalitate animorum: this
is commoner than immortalitas animi, for 'the immortality of the soul'; so
Lael. 14; Tusc. 1, 80 aeternitas animorum. — disseruisset: subjunctive
because involving the statements of some other person than the speaker. A.
341, c; G. 630; H. 528, 1. — is qui esset etc.: 'a man great enough to have
been declared wisest'. See n. on Lael. 7 Apollinis ... iudicatum. — sic: cf. ita
above. — celeritas animorum: the ancients pictured to themselves the
mind as a substance capable of exceedingly rapid movement; cf. Tusc. 1, 43
nulla est celeritas quae possit cum animi celeritate contendere. — tantae
scientiae: as the plural of scientia is almost unknown in classical Latin,
recent editors take scientiae here as genitive, 'so many arts requiring so
much knowledge'. In favor of this interpretation are such passages as Acad.
2, 146 artem sine scientia esse non posse; Fin. 5, 26 ut omnes artes in
aliqua scientia versentur. Yet in De Or. 1, 61 physica ista et mathematica et
quae paulo ante ceterarum artium propria posuisti, scientiae sunt eorum
qui illa profitentur it is very awkward to take scientiae as genitive. —
cumque semper etc.: this argument is copied very closely from Plato's
Phaedrus, 245 C. — principium motus: αρχη κινησεως in Plato. — se
ipse: cf. n. on 4 a se ipsi. — cum simplex etc: from Plato's Phaedo, 78-80.
The general drift of the argument is this: material things decay because they
are compounded of parts that fall asunder; there is nothing to show that the
soul is so compounded; therefore no reason to believe that it will so decay.
Notice the imperfects esset ... haberet ... posset accommodated to the tense
of persuasi above, although the other subjunctives in the sentence are not;
cf. n. on 42 efficeret. — neque ... dissimile: in modern phraseology the
whole of this clause would be briefly expressed thus, — 'and was

homogeneous'. — posset: quod si ='whereas if', the subject of posset being
animus, and dividi being understood. — magno argumento: ‛ικανον
τεκμηριον in Pl. Phaed. 72 A. Belief in the immortality of the soul naturally
follows the acceptance of the doctrine of pre-existence. — homines scire
etc.: See Plato, Phaedo, 72 E-73 B. The notion that the souls of men existed
before the bodies with which they are connected has been held in all ages
and has often found expression in literature. The English poets have not
infrequently alluded to it. See Wordsworth's Ode on the Intimations of
Immortality from the Recollections of Early Childhood, 'Our birth is but a
sleep and a forgetting' etc.; also, in Tennyson's Two Voices the passage
beginning, —

'Yet how should I for certain hold,
Because my memory is so cold,
That I first was in human mould?'

reminisci et recordari: a double translation of Plato's αναμιμνησκεσθαι,
quite in Cicero's fashion; the former word implies a momentary act, the
latter one of some duration. — haec Platonis fere: 'so far Plato'.
79. apud Xenophontem: Cyropaedia, 8, 7, 17; for apud cf. 30; when Cic.
says that a passage is 'in' a certain author (not naming the book) he uses
apud, not in. — maior: 'the elder'; cf. 59 Cyrum minorem. — nolite
arbitrari: a common periphrasis. A. 269, a, 2; G. 264, II.; H. 489, I. —
dum eram: the imperfect with dum is not common; see Roby, 1458, c; A.
276, e, n.; G. 572, 571; H. 519, I., 467, 4 with n.
P. 33 — 80. nec ... teneremus: the souls of the dead continue to exert an
influence on the living, or else their fame would not remain; a weak
argument. — mihi ... potuit: cf. 82 nemo ... persuadebit. — vivere ...
emori: adversative asyndeton. — insipientem: in Xen. αφρων, i.e. without
power of thinking. — sed: 'but rather that ...'. — hominis natura: a
periphrasis for homo; cf. Fin. 5, 33 intellegant, si quando naturam hominis
dicam, hominem dicere me; nihil enim hoc differt. — nihil ... somnum:
poets and artists from Homer (Il. 16, 682) onwards have pictured death as
sleep's brother. Cf. Lessing, How the Ancients Represented Death.

81. atqui: see n. on 6. — dormientium animi etc.: see Div. 1, 60 where a
passage of similar import is translated from Plato's Republic IX; ib. 115. —
remissi et liberi: cf. Div. 1, 113 animus solutus ac vacuus; De Or. 2, 193
animo leni ac remisso. — corporis: the singular, though animi precedes; so
in Lael. 13; Tusc. 2, 12, etc. — pulchritudinem: κοσμον; Cic. translates it
by ornatus in Acad. 2, 119 where hic ornatus corresponds to hic mundus a
little earlier. — tuentur: see n. on 77 tuerentur. — servabitis: future for
imperative. A. 269, f; G. 265, 1; H. 487, 4.
82. Cyrus etc.: see n. on 78. — si placet: cf. n. on 6 nisi molestum est. —
nostra: = Romana = domestica in 12. — nemo etc.: this line of argument is
often repeated in Cic.; see Tusc. 1, 32 et seq.; Arch. 29. — duos avos ...
patruum: see nn. on 29. — multos: sc. alios. — esse conatos: loosely put
for fuisse conaturos, as below, suscepturum fuisse. So in the direct narration
we might have, though exceptionally, non conabantur nisi cernerent for non
conati essent nisi vidissent. — cernerent: see n. on 13 quaereretur. — ut ...
glorier: in Arch. 30 Cic. makes the same reflections in almost the same
words about his own achievements. — aliquid: see n. on 1 quid.
P. 34 — si isdem etc.: cf. Arch. 29 si nihil animus praesentiret ... dimicaret.
— aetatem: = vitam. — traducere: cf. Tusc. 3, 25 volumus hoc quod
datum est vitae tranquille placideque traducere. — nescio quo modo: A.
210, f, Rem.; G. 469, Rem. 2; H. 529, 5, 3). — erigens se: Acad. 2, 127
erigimur, elatiores fieri videmur. — haud ... niteretur: in Cicero's speeches
haud scarcely occurs except before adverbs and the verb scio; in the
philosophical writings and in the Letters before many other verbs. —
immortalitatis gloriam: so Balb. 16 sempiterni nominis gloriam. Cf. also
Arch. 26 trahimur omnes studio laudis et optimus quisque maxime gloria
ducitur.
83. non videre: either non videre or non item was to be expected, as Cicero
does not often end sentences or clauses with non. — colui et dilexi: so 26
coluntur et diliguntur. — videndi: Cic. for the most part avoids the genitive
plural of the gerundive in agreement with a noun, and uses the gerund as
here. Meissner notes that Latin has no verb with the sense 'to see again',
which a modern would use here. — conscripsi: in the Origines. — quo: =
ad quos; see n. on 12 fore unde. — Pelian: a mistake of Cicero's. It was not
Pelias but his half-brother Aeson, father of Iason, whom Medea made

young again by cutting him to pieces and boiling him in her enchanted
cauldron. She, however, induced the daughters of Pelias to try the same
experiment with their father; the issue, of course, was very different.
Plautus, Pseud. 3, 2, 80 seems to make the same mistake. — si quis deus:
the present subjunctive is noticeable; strictly, an impossible condition
should require the past tense, but in vivid passages an impossible condition
is momentarily treated as possible. So Cic. generally says si reviviscat
aliquis, not revivisceret. — decurso spatio: 'when I have run my race'. See
n. on 14. Lucretius 3, 1042 oddly has decurso lumine vitae. — ad carceres
a calce: carceres were the barriers behind which the horses and cars stood
waiting for the race; calx (γραμμη), literally 'a chalked line', was what we
should call 'the winning post'. Cf. Lael. 101; Tusc. 1, 15 nunc video calcem
ad quam cum sit decursum, nihil sit praeterea extimescendum.
84. habeat: concessive. A. 266, c; G. 257; H. 484, 3. — multi et ei docti:
as Nägelsbach, Stilistik § 25, 5, remarks, Cic. always uses this phrase and
not multi docti. One of the books Cic. has in view is no doubt that of
Hegesias, a Cyrenaic philosopher, mentioned in Tusc. 1, 84. —
commorandi ... divorsorium: 'a hostelry wherein to sojourn'. The idea has
been expressed in literature in a thousand ways. Cf. Lucr. 3, 938 cur non ut
plenus vitae conviva recedis; Hor. Sat. 1, 1, 118 vita cedat uti conviva satur.
Cicero often insists that heaven is the vera aeternaque domus of the soul
(cf. Tusc. 1, 118). Cf. Epist. to the Hebrews, 13, 14 'Here have we no
continuing city, but we seek one to come'. — concilium coetumque: so in
Rep. 6, 13 concilia coetusque hominum quae civitates vocantur. The words
here seem to imply that the real civitas is above; what seems to men a
civitas is merely a disorganized crowd.
P. 35 — Catonem meum: see 15, 68; so Cicero in his letters often calls his
own son meus Cicero. — nemo vir: see n. on 21 quemquam senem. —
quod contra: = ‛ο τουναντιον, 'whereas on the contrary'; cf. n. on Lael. 90
where, as well as here, many of the editors make the mistake of taking quod
to be the accusative governed by contra out of place. — meum: sc. corpus
cremari. — quo: put for ad quae, as often. — visus sum: 'people thought I
bore up bravely'. — non quo ... sed: a relative clause parallel with a
categorically affirmative clause. The usage is not uncommon, though Cic.
often has non quo ... sed quia. For mood of ferrem see A. 341, d, Rem.; G.
541, Rem. 1.; H. 516, II. 2.

85. dixisti: in 4. — qui: here = cum ego, 'since I ...'. — extorqueri volo: n.
on 2 levari volo. — minuti philosophi: for the word minutus cf. n. on 46;
Cic. has minuti philosophi in Acad. 2, 75; Div. 1, 62; in Fin. 1, 61 minuti et
angusti (homines); in Brut. 265 m. imperatores; cf. Suet. Aug. 83 m. pueri.
— sentiam: future indicative. — peractio: the noun is said to occur only
here in Cic.; cf. however 64 peragere; 70. — haec ... dicerem: the same
words occur at the end of the Laelius; for habeo quod dicam Cic. often says
habeo dicere, as in Balb. 34.

Footnotes.
[1] Horace, Ep. 2, I, 156:—
Graecia capta ferum victorem cepit, et artes
Intulit agresti Latio.
[2] De Off. 1, 1, 2: philosophandi scientiam concedens multis etc.
[3] To judge rightly of Cicero it must be remembered that he was a politician only by
accident: his whole natural bent was towards literature.
[4] To see the truth of this it is only necessary to refer for example to the weight given to
the opinions of Cicero in the heated political discussions of the sixteenth and seventeenth
centuries.
[5] Almost every branch of learning was ranked under the head of Philosophy. Strabo even
claimed that one branch of Philosophy was Geography.
[6] 2, 3 interiectus est nuper liber is quem ad nostrum Atticum de senectute misimus. No
argument can be founded on the words interiectus est, over which the editors have wasted
much ingenuity. They simply mean 'there was inserted in the series of my works'.
[7] See 2, 23.
[8] 14, 21, 3; 16, 3, 1; 16, 11, 3.
[9] See Att. 14, 21, 1.
[10] It was certainly not written, as Sommerbrodt assumes, in the intervals of composing
the De Divinatione. The words in 2, 7 of that work—quoniam de re publica consuli coepti
sumus etc.—point to the end of September or beginning of October, 44, when Cicero
returned to Rome and began to compose his Philippic orations.
[11] § 1.
[12] It is perhaps not a mere accident that the prowess of L. Brutus in liberanda patria is
mentioned in § 75. There may be a reference to the latest Brutus who had freed his country.
[13] In March, 45.
[14] § 12.
[15] § 84.
[16] See p. iii. above.
[17] In the notes exact references will be given to the places in the original where the other
passages mentioned may be found.
[18] Particularly the first book of the Tusculan Disputations, the De Republica, and the
Laelius.

[19] See 4, below.
[20] § 3.
[21] Works on Old Age are said to have been written by Theophrastus and Demetrius
Phalereus, either or both of which Cicero might have used. One passage in § 67, facilius in
morbos ... tristius curantur, is supposed by many to have been imitated from Hippocrates;
but the resemblance is probably accidental. Cf. De Off. 1, 24, 83.
[22] See § 2.
[23] See Att. 16, 11, 3; 16, 3, 1; 14, 21, 3.
[24] § 2.
[25] As Cicero's intention was to set old age in a favorable light, he slights Aristo Cius for
giving to Tithonus the chief part in a dialogue on old age. See § 3; cf. also Laelius, § 4.
[26] See below (ii.), 1.
[27] On the whole subject of Aristotle's dialogues see Bernays' monograph, Die Dialoge
des Aristoteles.
[28] § 32 quartum ago annum et octogesimum. Cf. Lael. 11 memini Catonem ante quam est
mortuus mecum et cum Scipione disserere etc.
[29] Cicero always indicates this date; cf. § 14. Some other writers, as Livy, give, probably
wrongly, an earlier date.
[30] He himself says (Festus, p.28l) ego iam a principio in parsimonia atque in duritia
atque industria omnem adulescentiam, abstinui agro colendo, saxis Sabinis silicibus
repastinandis atque conserendis. Cf. Gell. Noct. Att. 13, 23.
[31] See Cat. M. 44.
[32] Plut. C. 1; Cat. M. §§ 18, 32: Cato himself ap. Fest. s.v. ordinarius says quid mihi
fieret si non ego stipendia in ordine omnia ordinarius meruissem semper?
[33] § 10.
[34] If Plutarch may be trusted, Cato at the age of 30 had won for himself the title of 'the
Roman Demosthenes'.
[35] § 10.
[36] In § 10 Cicero makes the quaestorship fall in 205, but he refers to the election, not to
the actual year of office.
[37] Nepos (or pseudo-Nepos), Cat. 1.
[38] Cato afterwards made it a charge against M. Fulvius Nobilior that he had taken Ennius
with him on a campaign (Tusc. 1, 3). But Cato used Ennius as soldier while Nobilior
employed him as poet.
39 It is difficult, however, to fix the date of this enactment. Some authorities place it after
Cato's return from Spain.

[40] Livy 34, cc. 1-8.
[41] See Livy, 34, 18.
[42] i.e. he was legatus consularis. It was at the time a common thing for ex-consuls to
take service under their successors. So Liv. 36, 17, 1, but Cic. Cat. M. c 10 says tribunus
militaris.
[43] Cicero's statements throughout the treatise concerning the relations between Cato and
Africanus the elder, particularly in § 77 where Cato calls his enemy amicissimus, are
audaciously inexact.
[44] See Cato M. § 42.
[45] We possess the titles of 26 speeches delivered during or concerning his censorship.
[46] He is said to have undergone 44 prosecutions, and to have been prosecutor as often.
[47] See Lael. 9; Cat. M. 12 and 84.
[48] Cf. Livy, 39, 40.
[49] The common view is that Cato said nothing of Roman history from 509-266 B.C.
[50] Cf. Cic. pro Arch. 7, 16.
[51] See Coulanges, 'Ancient City', Bk. II. Ch. 4.
[52] See §§ 12, 41 etc.
[53] De Or. 2, 170; Fam. 9, 21, 3; Qu. Fr. 2, 3, 3.
[54] In De Re Publica 2, 1 Cicero makes Scipio talk extravagantly of Cato.
[55] See Introduction to the Laelius, pp. vi, vii.
[56] A. = Allen and Greenough's Grammar, Revised Ed.; G. = Gildersleeve's Grammar; H.
= Harkness's Grammar, Rev. Ed. of 1881. In quoting from the works of Cicero reference is
made to sections, not to chapters.

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