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omnes enim artes, quae nobis populi Romani studia concilient, et admirabilem dignitatem et pergratam utilitatem debent ha24 bere. XI. summa dignitas est in his, qui militari laude antecellunt: omnia enim, quae sunt in imperio et in statu civitatis, ab his defendi et firmari putantur; summa etiam utilitas, si quidem eorum consilio et periculo cum re publica, tum etiam nostris rebus perfrui possumus. gravis etiam illa est et plena dignitatis dicendi facultas, quae saepe valuit in consule deligendo, posse consilio atque oratione et senatus et populi et eorum, qui res iudicant, mentes permovere. quaeritur consul, qui dicendo nonnumquam comprimat tribunicios furores, qui concitatum populum flectat, qui largitioni resistat. non mirum, si ob hanc facultatem homines saepe etiam non nobiles consulatum consecuti sunt, praesertim cum haec eadem res plurimas gratias, firmissimas amicitias, maxima studia pariat: quorum in isto vestro artificio, Sulpici, nihil est. primum

artes] 'pursuits,' 'professions,' as in § 22.

quae concilient] 'such as to win the support of...the MSS. have the indicative, which generally win'... and I cannot see why this should not stand.

xi. 24. his] has better MSS. authority than lis; 'our friends who'... speaking to Sulpicius and indicating Murena. cf. on § 3.

statu civitatis]= quae ̧ ad salutem civitatis pertinent, M. All that concerns the assured permanence of the State,' H., who cf. pro Sestio § 1. The position of our State in the world,' in relation to others; Z. and T., who cf. de Rep. II. § 2, praestare nostrae civitatis statum ceteris civitatibus, pro Flacco § 3, totum statum civitatis. But in de Rep. II. § 2 it clearly' our constitution,' and I believe the same to be the meaning in pro Sestio § 1 and pro Flacco § 3. Is it not also here? One consul was at this very time away, putting down the Catilinarian insurrection. 'For all things within the sphere of our rule abroad or our constitution at home are felt

to get their protection and maintenance from these.'

consilio] so § 33. 'vis consili expers' comes to a bad end, Hor. Carm. III. 4. 65; ' tact.'

posse] the subject of valuit, in apposition to facultas. Z. For the sentiment H. cf. de Orat. I. § 30. valuit, 'has turned the day.'

consilio, &c.] by tact and power of speaking.'

furores...largitioni] 'able to put down hot-headed tribunes, to..., to stand out against a proposed bounty.' largitio, here the distribution of lands or corn to the people by a lex agraria or frumentaria. He is thinking of his own speeches de lege agraria contra Rullum, delivered early in this very year. cf. § 80.

non nobiles] such as Cicero him

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dignitas in tam tenui scienția non potest esse: res enim sunt 25 parvae, prope in singulis litteris atque interpunctionibus verborum occupatae. deinde, etiamsi quid apud maiores nostros fuit in isto studio admirationis, id enuntiatis vestris mysteriis totum est contemptum et abiectum. posset agi lege necne, pauci quondam sciebant; fastos enim vulgo non habebant: erant in magna potentia qui consulebantur, a quibus etiam. dies tamquam a Chaldaeis petebatur. inventus est scriba quidam Cn. Flavius, qui cornicum oculos confixerit et singulis diebus ediscendis fastos populo proposuerit et ab ipsis causis iure consultorum sapientiam compilarit. Itaque irati illi, quod sunt veriți, ne dierum ratione pervulgata et cognita sine suą opera lege agi posset, verba quaedam composuerunt, ut omnibus in rebus ipsi interessent.

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res] the matter,' occupatae in, 'taken up with.'

litteris] sc. questions of spelling, cf. auceps syllabarum, de Orat. I. § 236.

interpunctionibus verborum] such as the questions whether a man was to be buried in culto loco or inculto loco, and whether a man had left his whole property to Aéwv or his property to Πανταλέων (πάντα Λέοντι οι Πανταλέοντι), given by Quint. VII. ix. 5, 6; many such ambiguities, observes Z., are found in laws.

agi lege] whether actions at law could be brought or no,' cf. Div. in Caecil. § 19, i.e. whether a certain day belonged to the dies fasti or nefasti, cf. Ovid, Fasti, I. 45 foll. fastos] 'calendar,' with the days marked F. or N.

qui consulebantur] sc. the pontifices, in whose hands the regulation of the calendar lay, and who were

the sole jurisconsults until 304 B.C.

a Chaldaeis] as an astrologer is entreated to point out a 'fucky' day.

Cn. Flavius] cf. de Orat. 1. § 186, ad Att. VI. 1, § 8, Plin. H. N. XXXIII. 17.

carnicum oculos] i. e. took in knowing men; a proverb, cf. pro Flacco 46, and Propert. v. 5. 16, where it refers to a charm for blinding even the watchful. The crow was thought to be especially fond of pecking out the eyes of other animals.

ediscendis] by learning the days one by one, i.e. whether they were fasti or nefasti. So Pliny, Appi Caeci hortatu exceperat eos dies consultando adsidue sagaci ingenio, H. has discendis, dative, 'for learning.'

ab ipsis causis] sc. consultando adsidue, as Pliny says; from the individual cases in court.' He seems to have noted not merely the day on which the case was tried, but also the form of pleading [actiones, Cic. 11. cc. sup.].

compilarit] pilfered,' got together by hook or by crook.'

verba] sc. they made the forms of pleading more and more intricate.

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XII. cum hoc fieri bellissime posset: 'fundus Sabinus meus est': 'immo meus,' deinde iudicium: noluerunt. fundus, inquit, qui est in agro, qui Sabinus vocatur. satis verbose: cedo, quid postea? eum ego ex iure Quiritium meum esse aio. quid tum? inde ibi ego te ex iure manum consertum voco. quid huic tam loquaciter litigioso responderet ille, unde petebatur, non habebat. transit idem iure consultus, tibicinis Latini modo: unde tu me,

xii. 26. Cicero gives an instance of legal formalities, a lis vindiciarum, or actio rei vindicandae. It was one of those conducted with a legal wager or stake (actio sacramenti). The defendant staked a sum of money on the justice of his refusal to give up the property (sponsio), the plaintiff accepting the wager to prove the justice of his claim (restipulatio). Either party gave security to the praetor for the money, and the loser forfeited the fixed sum to the State. Gaius, IV. 13. These actiones were intended to supplement the defective old law.

bellissime] conversational, like Eng. 'nicely.' 'Though it might have been done very nicely thus, "the Sabine estate belongs to me." "No, to me,' " and then the trial and decision; they would not have it so,' i.e. the iuris consulti.

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inquit] says the jurist.'

ex iure Quiritium] so Gaius IV. 16. in accordance with the legal rights of a Roman citizen.' Opposed to in bonis esse. cf. Gaius II. 40, 41,. . . . ut alius possit esse ex iure Quiritium dominus, alius in bonis habere. nam si tibi rem mancipi neque mancipavero neque in iure cessero, sed tantum tradidero, in bonis quidem tuis ea res efficitur, ex iure Quiritium vero mea permanebit, donec tu eam possidendo usucapias.

inde] for that reason I call you from the praetor's tribunal to join hands with me on the said estate.' inde. sc. quia meum esse aio. cf. unde...inde inf.

ex iure] We learn from Gellius,

XX. 10 SS 6-te, that the solemn joining of hands and claiming of a disputed property was of old performed on the property in the presence of the praetor; for the XII tables said si qui in iure manum conserunt. As the empire of Rome grew in Italy and the praetors were more and more busied with their juridical functions, they found it too much of a burden to go far and near, settling questions of property on the spot; hence by tacit consent the custom was changed; the parties, instead of joining hands in iure (i.e. before the praetor), went on challenge to the property in question ex iure (i. e. from the presence of the praetor), joined hands there, and brought back some piece or other into court, e. g. a clod, to which they laid claim as representing the property. See Appendix E.

loquaciter] with adj. cf. de Off. III. § 112, acerbe severus, Tusc. D. v. § 6, impie ingratus.

unde] sc. a quo fundus petebatur. 'the defendant knew not how to answer such a chattering pettifogger,' the bombastic forms are too much for him.

transit] changes sides and prompts the defendant, as a flute-player accompanies first one singer, then another. Quint. VII. 1. 51, has adopted this simile.

Latini] The story in Liv. IX. 30 shews that they were not Roman citizens. Thus the haruspices were Etruscans. Ern.

unde......inde.] cf. on inde sup.

inquit, ex iure manum consertum vocasti, inde ibi ego te revoco. praetor interea ne pulchrum se ac beatum putaret atque aliquid ipse sua sponte loqueretur, ei quoque carmen compositum est, cum ceteris rebus absurdum, tum vero in illo: suis utrisque superstitibus praesentibus istam viam dico; ite viam. praesto aderat sapiens ille, qui inire viam doceret. redite viam: eodem duce redibant. haec iam tum apud illos barbatos ridicula, credo, videbantur, homines, cum recte atque in loco constitissent, iuberi abire, ut, unde abissent, eodem statim redirent. isdem ineptiis fucata sunt illa omnia: quando te in iure conspicio, et haec: anne tu dicas, qua ex causa vindicaveris? quae dum

revoco] I call in turn.' Of invi tations, pro Rosc. Amer. § 52. Here, I return your challenge.'

pulchrum] Z cf. de Nat. Deor. 1. § 114, deum nihil aliud in omni aeternitate nisi mihi pulchre est' et 'ego beatus sum' cogitantem. 'For fear that, while all this was going on, the praetor might fancy himself a fine lucky fellow, and bring out some remark on his own account, a set form of words was made up for him also.'

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'As I see you here in court, I want to know whether you are responsible for the title.' This seems to be some part of the formal procedure in a suit concerning a disputed title, and is quoted again in pro Caecina $54, actio est in auctorem praesentem his verbis; quandoque te in iure conspicio.

anne tu dicas] Gaius, IV. 16, has postulo, anne......, but the text there is corrupt, and Z., with great plausibility, maintains that the MSS. postul has been wrongly completed. anne dicas he makes=numquid aliud an dicturus es; but I am not sure that I understand this. It is a part of the proceeding in a case of vindicatio, as above. The clod was brought into court, and was claimed by either party in turn, as above, adding sicut dixi, ecce tibi, vindictam imposui. This was a festuca or wand, symbolizing the hasta spear, the Roman sign of ownership. Then the praetor told both to let the thing go (mittite ambo). The first claimant then asked the defendant (as here), why he had laid claim to the thing; the latter answered ius peregi, sicut vindictam imposui. A went on quando tu iniuria vindicavisti (since your claim is a wrongful one), D aeris sacramento e provoco [or L aeris etc.], and B rejoined similiter ego te. The proceedings

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erant occulta, necessario ab eis, qui ea tenebant, petebantur ; postea vero pervulgata atque in manibus iactata et excussa inanissima prudentiae reperta sunt, fraudis autem et stultitiae 27 plenissima. nam cum permulta praeclare legibus essent constituta, ea iure consultorum ingeniis pleraque corrupta et depravata sunt. mulieres omnes propter infirmitatem consilii maiores in tutorum potestate esse voluerunt: hi invenerunt genera tutorum, quae potestate mulierum continerentur. sacra interire illi noluerunt: horum ingenio senes ad coemptiones faciendas interimendorum sacrorum causa reperti sunt. in omni denique iure civili aequitatem reliquerunt, verba ipsa

then took the form of a personal action, founded on the alleged neglect of an obligation, and it was regularly tried by a iudex or arbiter. This was in iudicio, as opposed to in iure, before the magistrate. See Lord Mackenzie, Rom. Law, part v. cc. 2, 3; Gaius, IV. 5; and for distinction between civil and criminal causes, Mommsen, book IV. C. IO.

tenebant] 'knew,' were up in them.' cf. tenet § 22. Or perhaps were exclusively in possession of them.' cf. § 25.

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excussa] 'shaken out,'' examined.' cf. de Off. III, § 81; Tusc. Disp. 1. §88. fraudis] chicanery' or 'pitfalls,' as one who pleaded informally causa cadebat. cf. on § 9.

27. iure consultorum] This rare form is certainly found here.

infirmitatem consilii] so Gaius, I. 144, propter animi levitatem. Ulp. XI. I, propter sexus infirmitatem et propter forensium rerum ignorantiam. But Gaius, I. 190, ridicules this latter theory, which however

was not uncommon.

genera tutorum] Sometimes a man, instead of appointing by will a guardian for his wife in event of his own decease, gave her in that case the right to choose for herself. Such a guardian was called tutor optivus, and would no doubt be chosen as one whom the woman could manage to lead. But the most common way of shaking off a disagreeable tutor was

this: the woman got her tutor's consent to her making a coemptio fiduGiae causa; then the coemptionator made her over again to some person of her own choice. This latter emancipated her, and then she was only the ward of the man who had emancipated her, her tutor fiducia. cius. Gaius, I. 114, 115, 166, 195.

sacra] sc. privata, often great burdens on property at Rome, in honour of the tutelary god of a family or gens. In order to ensure their maintenance (perpetua), they went with the property. cf. de Legib. II. § 47 foll., Plaut. Capt. 775, sine sacris hereditatem = an unencumbered property. Add Orator § 144.

coemptiones] The coemptio was a symbolic sham-sale, by which a woman passed into the power of some man either matrimonii causa, i.e. in manum mariti sui, or fiduciae causa (transacted either with her husband or some stranger); for instance, if a woman inherited an estate burdened with sacra, she cum sene coemptionem fecit. He then came into her property, sacra included. Then he at once manumitted her, and gave back the property in parcels as dona. The old man being poor (in fact chosen as such), when he died, had no property to leave, and the sacra fell through for want of heirs. See Gaius, I. 113, 114.

aequitatem......tenuerunt] 'They

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