26

de re publica: 'concerning the commonwealth', i.e. the ideal or best form of commonwealth.

extremum: this neuter adj. is used as a noun frequently by Cic. as below, 20, p, 34, l. 6; Div. 2, 91 and 103, also by Lucr. 1, 960, Livy, Tacitus, etc.

fuit de: 'treated of'.

animorum: observe the plural, where we use the singular ("the soul') in the abstract sense. Immortalitas animorum also occurs in Cat. m. 78, Leg. 2, 68; aeternitas animorum in Tusc. 1, 80.

quae: as only the last book of the De re publica (comprising the Somnium Scipionis) discussed the immortality of the soul, the neuter quae refers not to the whole work, but merely to the extremum. Quod would have been correct but inelegant. Quae is a sort of explanation of extremum 'the conclusion, I mean such matters as'. For the plural relative referred to a singular antecedent cf. the not uncommon phrases ex eo genere quae (Fin. 3, 70) and ex eo numero qui with plural verb (Arch. 31, where see my n.); also n. on 70, 1. 9 ea. The usage is frequently found in Greek, as Plato, Rep. 554 Α θησαυροποιὸς ἀνὴρ, οὓς δὴ καὶ ἐπαινεῖ τὸ πλῆθος.

27 quiete: somno, a somewhat poetical usage, but occurring pretty frequently in Cicero.

28

visum: here the neut. participle used as noun, not the accus. of visus, us. The latter word occurs in Cic. only in one doubtful passage, viz. N. D. 1, 12.

Africano: sc. maiore.

id si ita est, ut: 'if the truth really is, I mean that'. For the explanatory ut cf. 70, l. 8; also 15, l. 18 hoc ita necesse est.

in morte: 'upon death'; i.e. immediately after death; cf. Lucr. I, III aeternas quoniam poenas in morte timendumst (i.e. punishments ensuing upon or after death).

2.

facillime evolet: cf. reditum expeditissimum above. Volare and its compounds ad- in- e- praeter- volare, with volitare are particularly favourite words with Cic.; see many exx. in Nägelsbach, Stilistik § 132, Evolo implies very rapid and sudden motion; cf. Brut. 272 tantos processus faciebat ut evolare non excurrere videretur; Or. 2, 209; ib. 2, 317. 29 e custodia: cf. Rep. 6, 14 ei vivunt qui e corporum vinclis tamquam e carcere evolaverunt; Tusc. 1, 75 cum illuc ex his vinclis emissi feremur, minus tardabitur cursus animorum; so ib. 1, 118; De Or. 2, 22.

30

cui censemus fuisse: the form of the question is like that in 24, p. 35, 1. 29 quid arbitramur etc. (with which cf. Verr. 3, 156 quid isto fore festivius arbitramur qui etc.). Censetis would have been more usual; in many scores of similar passages in the speeches of Cic. I do not think that the first person censemus once occurs. Cf. Fin. 5, 50 quem enim ardorem studi censetis fuisse in Archimede?

maerere.. eventu: for the constr. cf. Tusc. 1, 30 nemo maerei suo

31

32

I

3

5

7

8

9

ΤΟ

incommodo. If the ablative follows on doleo, maereo, the occurrence is regarded as the occasion for the expression of the sorrow; if the accusative, then as the object of the emotion. Eventu here=fato, as in Verg. Aen. 11, 758 ducis exemplum eventumque secuti, and often in Livy and Caesar.

sin...veriora: the omission of the verb (here sunt) is common with Cicero in short emphatic clauses, especially when the pronoun ille or hic forms part of the clause. Cf. Acad. 2, 86 iam illa praeclara; N. D. 1, 20 iam illa palmaria (so Bait. rightly reads); Acad. 2, 94 si (sc. taces), quia obscura, concedo; Fam. 3, 10, 10 si illa amoris signa; N. D. I, 25 sed haec vestra; Fam. 12, 2, 2 sed haec tolerabilia, illud non ferendum; also Lael. 20, p. 34, l. 6 beluarum hoc quidem extremum; 78, 1. 20; 19, l. 24. For the constr. veriora ut cf. n. on 50, P. 44, 1. 5.

sensu enim amisso etc.: the idea is followed out in Tusc. 1, 87 sq. laetabitur: 'will exult'; laetari is stronger than gaudere.

§ 15.

cum illo...actum optime est: n. on 11, 1. 16.

fuerat: not put for fuisset, and therefore not to be compared with Horace's me truncus illapsus cerebro sustulerat and the like. The pluperfect stands here where the perfect fuit or imperfect erat would have been more usual; fuerat aequius implies it had always been in our eyes more reasonable to expect'. The substitution is pretty common in Latin comedy, as Plaut. Trin. 119 ei rei operam dare te fuerat aliquanto aequius; Terent. Adelph. 685 virginem quam te non ius fuerat tangere; so often in Plaut. and Ter. ut dixeram for ut dixi. Observe that the real subject to fuerat is the whole phrase quem exire de vita, and that in vitam must be supplied after introieram from de vita below. [Fin. 2, 119 erat aequius; Tusc. 2, 12.]

videar: sc. mihi ipse videar; so in l. 16.

quocum : n. on 2, l. 17.

publica re: uses like this shew that the phrase res publica represented to the Romans two words, and not one compound word. Cf. Fam. 1, 9, 12 res ipsa publica; ib. 1, 8, 4 rei totius publicae; 64, l. 15 reque publica; res privatae and res publica are often contrasted as in Att. 9, 7, 5; ib. 1, 18, 1. Cf. n. on 42, 1. 7.

quocum...communis: 'with whom I had a common home and served a common service'. For the collocation of the words cf. n. on 8, 1. 22 cum summi viri tum amicissimi; for the sense § 100.

in quo...amicitiae: 'wherein lies the whole essence of friendship'. Cf. 92, p. 56, 1. 31.

voluntatum...consensio: 'the fullest agreement in policy, taste, and opinion'. The word voluntas in Cic. frequently means inclination in

12

politics. For the definition of friendship here given cf. § 92; also 61, ll. 14, 15, also n. on 20, p. 34, l. I.

commemoravit:=praedicavit, not recordatus est; see my n. on Arch.

§ 29.

falsa praesertim: briefly put for praesertim cum falsa sit; cf. Off. I, 137 deforme est de se ipso praedicare, falsa praesertim; Tusc. 5, 19 propriis argumentis tractanda quaeque res est, tanta praesertim; Lael. 26, 1. 17.

13 quam quod spero: if the former construction had been carried on we should have had quam spes fore etc. The change, however, is of a sort common with Cicero, as Fin. 3, 25 sapientia enim et animi magnitudinem complectitur et iustitiam, et ut omnia quae homini accidant infra se esse iudicet.

14

5

6

8

9

eo mihi magis: for the separation of eo from magis cf. n. on 10, 1. 8 quam id recte; for the phrase eo magis cf. 7, l. 16.

est cordi: for a full discussion of the predicative dative and a list of exx. see Roby's Gram., Pref. to Vol. 2. The name 'predicative' seems unsuitable here, for cordi is the one dative on the list with regard to which the substitution of the nominative (in the predicative sense) is inconceivable. Cf. 43, 1. 8 curae; 70, 1. 12 honori.

vix tria etc.: so Fin. 1, 65 quod quam magnum sit, fictae veterum fabulae declarant in quibus tam multis tamque variis, ab ultima antiquitate repetitis, tria vix amicorum paria reperiuntur, ut ad Orestem pervenias profectus a Theseo. The three pairs are Theseus and Pirithous, Achilles and Patroclus, Orestes and Pylades. The friendship of a fourth pair (Damon and Phintias, of whom perhaps Cic. was thinking in our passage), is celebrated in Off. 3, 45; Fin. 2, 79.

nominantur: 'are quoted'.

quo in genere: sc. amicitiarum.

sperare videor...fore: this clause simply repeats the sense of the words amicitiae...fore in ll. 13, 14. The tautology is illustrated by Seyffert, who qu. Brut. 313 quoniam totum me, non naevo aliquo aut crepundiis, sed corpore omni videris velle cognoscere. For videor mihi videor (19, 1. 21) see above, 1. 7.

§ 16.

=

istuc ita necesse est: the ita is really not pleonastic in phrases of this sort, though often regarded so by editors. The sense here is istuc necesse est, et eo modo quo tu dicis necesse esse. Cf. Arch. 2 hoc ita dici, with my n. A number of similar passages are quoted by Madvig on Fin. 2, 17. So in Plato, Philebus 20 D éπeion toûμ' oûtws elπes.

sumus otiosi: the same reason for the discourse is given in Fin. 1, 14 quoniam nacti te sumus otiosum. According to Roman feeling it was not considered proper for statesmen to discuss philosophical questions except as a relaxation from more serious business. Cf. the exordia of Academica

I and II and also of Fin. III, also n. on Lael. ro, 1. 6. In Acad. 2, 6 Cicero says restat ut eis respondeam qui sermonibus eius modi nolint

R. L.

6

20

21

personas tam gravis illigari. Quasi vero clarorum virorum aut tacitos congressus esse oporteat aut ludicros sermones aut rerum colloquia leviorum! pergratum mihi feceris si etc.: cf. Att. 1, 20, 7 per mihi, per, inquam, gratum feceris si in hoc tam diligens fueris quam soles.

spero item Scaevolae: cf. 7, 1. 14 credo ex hoc item Scaevola.
soles: sc. respondere.

ceteris: cf. n. on 7, 1. 9 reliqua.

cum ex te quaeruntur: for reading see Appendix. For the personal quaeruntur put in the place of the impersonal quaeritur see n. on 35, Trans. 'when questions concerning them are put to you'.

1. 22.

22 disputaris: cf. n. on 1, 1. 6.

23

24

25

26

27

28

29

qualem existimes, quae praecepta des: these two clauses are explanatory of quid. Taking with them the words de amicitia quid sentias the whole may be translated, 'your opinion concerning the theory and practice of friendship'. In cc. v-VII, which correspond to qualem existimes, Laelius gives his view of the nature and definition of friendship; in cc. XI-XXVI he lays down practical rules and maxims concerning it.

mihi vero: this form of emphatic assent is common in Cicero's dialogues; e.g. Academica 1, 14; ib. 25; ib. 41.

id ipsum tecum agere: 'to make the same request of you'. Cf. 4, 1. 4 cum enim saepe mecum ageres.

antevertit: lit. 'turned in front', or 'thrust in front', i.e. his request or his speech. Here trans. 'anticipated me'.

gratum admodum:=pergratum of 1. 19.

§ 17.

non gravarer: 'would raise no objection'; cf. Cluent. 69 primo gravari coepit quod...

praeclara res: cf. 4, 1. 5 digna mihi res visa est.

quis ego sum aut...: for the almost tautological form of the question cf. Acad. 2, 32 nec vero satis constituere possum quod sit eorum consilium aut quid sibi velint; Nepos, Dat. 6, 6 cum quid ageretur aut quare fieret ignorarent. For the sense, cf. Fam. 9, 18, 3 ipsa illa si quae fuit in me facultas orationis; Arch. 13 oratio et facultas. The word facultas implies readiness acquired by practice.

doctorum: here philosophers by profession as in 21, 1. 13; cf. the words below, eis qui ista profitentur.

eaque: Nauck rightly remarks that Graecorum is a substantive and not merely an epithet of doctorum; otherwise Cic. would have written eorumque for eaque. Eaque Kat TaÛTα.

=

ut eis...subito: the practice belonged first to the sophists and rhetoricians, then to the philosophers of the New Academy. Cf. Fin. 2, 1 sophistae...quorum e numero primus est ausus Leontinus Gorgias in conventu poscere quaestionem, id est iubere dicere qua de re quis vellet audire.

339

30

Audax negotium, dicerem impudens, nisi hoc institutum postea translatum ad nostros philosophos esset; De Or. 1, 102 quid? mihi nunc vos tamquam alicui Graeculo otioso et loquaci et fortasse docto atque erudito quaestiunculam de qua meo arbitratu loquar, ponitis; so ib. 3, 127.

quamvis subito: 'however suddenly';= tam subito quam vis.

magnum opus est: so in De Or. 1, 103 Cicero says of Gorgias permagnum quidem suscipere ac profiteri videbatur. For magnum opus=a great task, cf. Academ. 2, 121; Tusc. 3, 79 and 84; Orat. 75.

31 quae disputari de amicitia possunt: this refers to Fannius' words above, 1. 21 de amicitia disputaris. There is a contrast between disputari and hortari; Laelius at first declares himself unable to give a scientific and philosophical discussion of friendship; he can only give some practical directions concerning it.

32

I

2

censeo petatis: censeo is wrongly explained by most editors (as Seyffert, Lahmeyer, Nauck) to be parenthetic, petatis being supposed to be a subjunctive used in the hortative sense. Petatis, however, is directly dependent on censeo, ut being suppressed, as it often is with curo, caveo, sinere, hortari, and many other verbs; cf. also n. on 10, 1. 4 cave; 47, 1.8 necesse. Sometimes the ut is inserted, as in Caes. B. C. 1, 67, 1; Cic. Phil. 3, 37.

P. 33.

anteponatis etc.: for the sense cf. § 104.

nihil est enim: note enim, third word in the clause; had it stood second est would not have been so emphatic. Cf. 50, l. 7.

lam naturae aptum: for the separation of tam from aptum cf. n. on 10, 1. 8 quam id recte. The phrases naturae aptus, ad naturam aptus are common in Cic. (as Fin. 4, 46; Off. 1, 100) and are of Stoic origin. The Stoics defined virtue as being τῇ φύσει ὁμολογουμένως ζῆν (naturae convenienter vivere). Cf. below 19, 1. 21 naturam optimam bene vivendi ducem.

vel secundas vel adversas: so Cic. says of literature (Arch. 16) secundas res ornant, adversis perfugium ac solacium praebent.

§ 18.

3

nisi in bonis: 'except in the case of good men'. Cf. 65, p. 49, 1. 3, where inter bonos corresponds to in bonis here.

neque...reseco: 'nor do I probe the question to its roots', i. e. the question whether only good men can be friends. The Stoics had declared that only perfect men (sapientes, oopol or σrovdaîoi=boni, since none but the copòs is σrovdaîos) could be friends. So Diog. Laert. 7, 124 τὴν φιλίαν ἐν μόνοις τοῖς σπουδαίοις εἶναι λέγουσι, and Aristotle Eth Nic. 8 and 9 passim; also Socrates in Xen. Mem. 2, 6, 20. The phrase ad vivum resecare, literally 'to cut back to the quick', is here identical in meaning with the subtilius disserere that follows, and with the subtilius quaerere of 7,

1. 10.