28 iudicium veri: 'our power to judge of truth'. Cic. often uses iudicium veri in another sense to translate the Greek κριτήριον τοῦ ἀληθοῦς; cf. Acad. 2, 29. § 92. 29 idque: id=verum, not iudicium veri as Seyffert and Nägelsbach take it. 30 nomen amicitiae: n. on 6, p. 29, 1. 5 nomen sapientis. 31 32 33 valere non potest; can have no meaning'. Cf. 19, 1. 29 nomen amicitiae tollitur. amicitiae vis: cf. 15, 1. 10 etc. unus quasi animus: n. on 81, 1. 16. quoque: this is quõque not quoque. For the sense cf. Aristot. Eth. Nic. 9, 4, 8 διαφέρονται γὰρ ἑαυτοῖς (οἱ φαῦλοι); ib. 9 στασιάζει γὰρ αὐτῶν ἡ ψυχή; Plato, Lysis 214 C αλλά μοι δοκοῦσι λέγειν τοὺς ἀγαθοὺς ὁμοίους εἶναι ἀλλήλοις καὶ φίλους, τοὺς δὲ κακοὺς μηδέποτε ὁμοίους μήδ ̓ αὐτοὺς αὑτοῖς εἶναι ἀλλ' ἐμπλήκτους καὶ ἀσταθμήτους. varius...multiplex: above, 65, p. 48, 1. 31; 88, 1. 25. I devium: erratic'. 2 3 § 93. P. 57. sensum ac voluntatem: 'feeling and inclination'. convertitur: De Or. 3, 177 orationis genus ad omnem aurium voluptatem et animorum motum mutatur et vertitur. 4 negat quis: this is no hypothesis; i.e. it must not be supposed that there is an ellipse of si; there is rather a picture of very common occurrences in Gnatho's life; 'a man says no, I say no; then he says yes and I say yes'. The use of the verb is therefore not to be compared with that of roges in N. D. 1, 57 roges me...nihil respondeam, nor even with Tevâσt in the well-known passage of Euripides' Medea (kaì dǹ telvâσi). The lines are in Terence, Eunuchus 2, 2, 21 (1. 250). For the contrast of negat and ait cf. Acad. 2, 104 ut neque neget aliquid neque aiat. 5 6 omnia: used adverbially; 'throughout', 'in everything'. persona: n. on 4, 1. 9. quod amici etc.: 'and it belongs to lightmindedness to attach to oneself at all a friend of that kind'. For omnino cf. 87, 1. 11; for id genus amici amicum eius generis n. on 4, l. 15. § 94. 8 9 similes: sc. sunt; for the omission cf. 89, p. 56, 1. 1, molesta veritas, and n. on 14, 1. 31. Cum 'though'. = loco: 'origin'; i.e. loco quo nati sunt. cum...accessit: so 48, 1. 29 cum contigit. vanitatem: lit. 'emptiness'; i.c. ' worthlessness'. R. L. ΙΟ § 95. II secerni...internosci: for the arrangement of the words see n. on 8, Plutarch wrote a tract entitled πῶς ἄν τις διακρίνεις κόλακα τοῦ 1. 22. φίλου. fucata...veris: there is no chiasmus here; fucata corresponds to sinceris and simulata to veris. 12 imperitissimis: superlative adjective as substantive; so often in Cicero familiarissimi, inimicissimi, iniquissimi. The substantival use of the comparative adjective is less common. Seyffert quotes Xen. Mem. 3, 7, 5 where Socrates calls the voters in the Athenian ecclesia άppoveσtáτους καὶ ἀσθενεστάτους. 13 15 16 17 19 20 21 22 23 inter...et inter: the repetition of the preposition is not required by modern idiom; it is adopted here for the sake of clearness. In 48, 1. 18 inter pecudem et hominem. Cf. n. on 12, l. 25. § 96. C. Papirius etc.: in 130 B.C. Carbo (see n. on 39, p. 41, l. 2) proposed a law ut eundem tribunum plebi quotiens vellet creare liceret (Livy, epit. 59). The proposal failed, but at some date before 123 B.C. a law was carried which allowed the re-election of outgoing tribunes when the number of candidates was not sufficient to fill all the places (Appian, Bell. Civ. 1, 21). influebat: so irrepere illabi and insinuare (below, 99, 1. 28) are often used. Cf. Off. 2, 31 in universorum animos tamquam influere; Fin. 1, 39 si ea sola voluptas esset quae quasi titillaret sensus ut ita dicam et ad eos cum suavitate afflueret et illaberetur. ferret: here 'was trying to carry'; so transferebatur below. nihil de me etc.: Acad. 2, 66 non de me sed de sapiente; De Or. 3, 74 non de memet ipso sed de oratore. ducem. .comitem: n. on 37, p. 40, l. 12. Scipio appeared to be the leader of the nation, though then not a magistrate but only a homo privatus. est in manibus: 'is published', 'is commonly read'. A common use; cf. De Or. 1, 94 libellus qui me invito excidit et pervenit in manus hominum. But in Cat. m. 38 septimus liber originum est in manibus the sense is different, I have on hand the seventh book of my Origines'. Cf. 102, 1. 4. popularis...populi: intentional contrast. redeam: n. on 1, 1. 10; 75, 1. 22. Q. Maximo: n. on 69, p. 50, 1. 4. et L. Mancino: the insertion of et is due to the interposition of the words fratre Scipionis; otherwise Cic. would have written Q. Maximo L. Mancino consulibus. L. Hostilius Mancinus served in the third Punic war, and was one of the first who entered Carthage when it was stormed. He is said to have gained the consulship by having war-scenes painted 25 26 27 and exhibited in the forum, where he attended and explained the pictures to the multitude (Plin. Nat. Hist. 35, § 23). quam videbatur: for the indicative, though dependent on meministis, cf. the common use in poets of the indicative after nonne vides ut and the like; also for quam n. on 37, 1. 9. lex... Crassi: C. Licinius Crassus, tribune in 145, proposed to make election to all priesthoods go by popular vote. When a vacancy occurred in a priestly college the remaining members filled up the vacancy as they pleased. A measure like that of Crassus was carried in 104 by Cn. Domitius Ahenobarbus, a tribune. In opposing the law of Crassus, Laelius (whose oration is mentioned in Brut. 83; N. D. 3, 5 and 43, in which last passage it is called aureola) maintained that the state had no right to control the order of religious observance. A curious method was adopted to get over this objection. The election to priesthoods was at an assembly of a minority (17) of the 35 tribes, the particular tribes which took part in it being determined by lot. While, theoretically, a resolution of the minority of the nation had no binding effect, and therefore could not be offensive to the gods, still in practice the colleges were bound to appoint the persons so nominated, though the form of cooptatio was gone through. The colleges of priests had great influence in politics, hence the aristocrats desired to keep the offices in their own hands. ad populi beneficium transferebatur: was being changed into a matter of public patronage'. Magistracies are often called beneficia populi Romani; see my n. on Arch. § 11. primus instituit etc.: the interpretation of this passage is difficult. Plutarch, life of C. Gracchus c. 5, tells the tale of C. Gracchus, and assigns to the act a democratic purpose. Our passage certainly seems to countenance Plutarch in this, but Lange, Römische Alterthümer 112 443, denies that the act had any political aim. He connects it with a change in the voting at public assemblies. This originally took place in the comitium, which formed a small part of what was ordinarily called the forum. Lange thinks that when the voting was transferred from the comitium to the saepta (enclosures) the speakers naturally turned their backs on the comitium and faced the saepta, the rostra being placed between them. The matter is far from clear, and Lange's explanation seems scarcely to fit in with our passage. agere cum populo: the technical phrase for the laying of matters before the people in their assemblies. vendibilem: 'plausible'; lit. 'saleable'. So Brut. 174 vendibilis oratio; Fin. I, 12 nam ut sint illa vendibiliora, haec uberiora certe sunt. 28 praetore me as the regular age for the praetorship was 40, Laelius was probably born about 186 B. C. 29 re...auctoritate: since Laelius was not consul, he carried his case owing to its inherent goodness and not from the auctoritas conferred by office, which was then not summa. 31 § 97. in scena, id est in contione: on the stage, I mean before a public assembly'. Seyffert has very fully illustrated the comparison between speaking on the stage and speaking before the people. Cf. De Or. 2, 338 quia maxima quasi oratori scena videatur contiones; Ad Brut. 1, 9, 2 nunc populo et scenae, ut dicitur, serviendum est; Brut. 6 forum quod fuisset quasi theatrum illius ingeni; so De Or. 3, 177 scenam pompamque; Hor. Sat. 2, 1, 71 quin ubi se a volgo et scena in secreta remorant (of Scipio and Laelius). contione: so rightly spelt, not concione. 32 adumbratis: adumbrare is to give in outline, or incompletely'; the reference here is to misleading the people, not by actual lies, but by partial presentation of the truth, quod valet si modo illustratum est. P. 58. I illustratum: 'brought into full light'; the word contrasts exactly with adumbratis above. 2 3 4 9 II 13 14 15 tota: totă not totă. veritate perpenditur: 'is judged by its truth'. Perpendere is here the equivalent of metiri in 21, 1. 13; the ablative construction similarly follows on metiri there and on iudicare in 74, 1. 9. ut dicitur: n. on ut aiunt in 19, 1. 15. amare...amari: the subject of these infinitives (which depend on exploratum habeas) is te: 'you would have no certainty that you either love or are loved, knowing nothing of the degree of sincerity with which the love is given'. Id refers to both verbs amare and amari. For id quam vere fiat, cf. quam id recte faciam in 10, 1. 9, and quamvis honeste id facerent in 35, 1. 20. Nauck is right, however, in saying that id here is object of ignores and not subject of fiat. quamquam:= Kalтol, 'and yet'; so 29, 1. 23; 33, p. 39, 1. 2 and often. patefaciat: so Off. 1,91 cavendum est ne assentatoribus patefaciamus auris, neve adulari nos sinamus, in quo falli facile est. Tales enim nos esse putamus, ut iure laudemur. se...ipse: n. on 5, 1. 28 te ipse. § 98. omnino: n. on 69, p. 50, 1. 5. virtutis opinione: 'supposed virtue'. The same phrase occurs in a different sense in 37, 1. 16. esse quam videri: Lahmeyer quotes Aeschyl. Sept. 574 ov yap dokeîv äpioтos d' elvai éλei, and Sall. Cat. 54, 5 esse quam videri bonus malebat. voluntatem: cf. 93, 1. 3. vanam: here='false'; so KEVÓS. 16 18 20 23 testimonium laudum suarum: 'evidence of their own merits'; so Arch. 31 aeternum se testimonium laudis daturum esse profitetur. For laus, meaning not praise but that which deserves it, cf. Verg. Aen. 5, 355 primam merui qui laude coronam. nulla est: cf. 86, 1. 32 vitam esse nullam. essent: the subject of this verb is unexpressed=ei quibus parasiti assentantur. milites gloriosi: like the well-known miles gloriosus of Plautus and Thraso in Terence's Eunuchus, from which the line that follows is taken (3, 1, 1 or 1. 391). Thraso has sent by his parasite Gnatho a present to Thais, and is listening to Gnatho's report of the manner in which she received the present. magnas agere: the line in Terence is really not in the form of a question but of an exclamation: 'to think that, etc.' The remark of Gnatho is therefore not the answer to a question, as Cicero supposes, but is a correction of the word magnas: 'great? you ought to have said enormous'. volt esse: n. on 29, l. 30. § 99. animadvertant: n. on 8, 1. 21. 26 29 30 31 32 nec facillime: euphemistic for difficillime; so De Or. 1, 115 non optima; ib. 2, 7 non doctissimum. litigare se simulans: 'pretending that he has a quarrel'. det manus: 'gives in'; from the signal used in asking for quarter on the field of battle. Sometimes tollere manus (åvaσelei тàs Xépas) is used for dare manus. Seyffert quotes Att. 2, 22, 2 aiebat illum primo sane diu multa contra, ad extremum autem manus dedisse et affirmasse nihil se contra eius voluntatem esse facturum; Caes. B. G. 5, 31, 3 res disputatione ad mediam noctem perducitur. Tandem dat Cotta permotus manus: superat sententia Sabini. plus vidisse: to have been more farsighted'. pecially in the letters) this and similar phrases, rimum, parum, tantum videre (sometimes sapere). me vidisse plus fateretur. as Cicero often uses (esnihil, multum, pluCf. Phil. 2, 39 cum quid turpius: for omission of est, cf. n. on 22, 1. 20 quid dulcius. 2 magis: 'all the more', i.e. because illudi is turpe. ut: for this use see Roby § 1708. The mode of expression is really elliptic=num credibile est ut so that the subjunctive is like that after ul in 14, 1. 32 where see n. |