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I. QUOD precatus a dis immortalibus sum, iudices, more in- 1 stitutoque maiorum illo die, quo auspicato comitiis centuriatis L. Murenam consulem renuntiavi, ut ea res mihi, fidei magistratuique meo, populo plebique Romanae bene atque feliciter eveniret, idem precor ab isdem dis immortalibus ob eiusdem homi

The

i. 1. quod precatus................] The opening words of the speech post reditum ad Quirites closely resemble these. The MSS. here give deprecatus, which will not make sense. reading indicated by precor and precatus sum following is established by Quint. IX. iv. 107, where this opening is quoted with the remark creticus initiis optimus. The presiding magistrate offered up a formal prayer after the election. cf. Liv. XXXIX. 15, sollemne carmen precationis.

auspicato] The abl. of the perf. participle often stands singly thus. cf. Madv. § 429 obs. 1, Liv. v. 38.

renuntiavi] declared duly elected.' The consuls settled by lot or agreement which should act as returning officer at the elections for the following year.

fidei] A correction of Lambinus, from the fides of some MSS. The word is possibly spurious.

My

'honour,'' trustiness.'

magistratuique] que as often only with the last of the series. Two more instances of this occur in this very section.

populo plebique] This phrase is a survival from a time when the Plebs were a mass of dependent aliens outside the populus = patricii, the latter alone being burgesses and engrossing all political power. We find it elsewhere, as in the title of ad fam. X. 35, and in the latter of the carmina Marciana quoted in Liv. XXV. 12. Cicero is here no doubt giving the exact words of the old prayer. See Mommsen, bk. 1. cc. 5, 6, Dyer, Hist. of Kings of Rome, p. 301.

bene atque feliciter] Also formal. C. Plin. Paneg. 72, nam quod precatus es, ut illa ipsa ordinatio comitiorum bene ac feliciter eveniret, nobis, rei publicae, tibi.

nis consulatum una cum salute obtinendum, et ut vestrae mentes atque sententiae cum populi Romani voluntatibus suffragiisque consentiant eaque res vobis populoque Romano pacem, tranquillitatem, otium concordiamque adferat. quodsi illa sollemnis comitiorum precatio consularibus auspiciis consecrata tantam habet in se vim et religionem, quantam rei publicae dignitas postulat, idem ego sum precatus, ut eis quoque hominibus, quibus hic consulatus me rogante datus esset, ea res fauste, feliciter 2 prospereque eveniret. quae cum ita sint, iudices, et cum omnis deorum immortalium potestas aut translata sit ad vos aut certe communicata vobiscum, idem consul eum vestrae fidei commendat, quem antea dis immortalibus commendavit, ut eiusdem hominis voce et declaratus consul et defensus beneficium populi Romani cum vestra atque omnium civium salute

tueatur.

et quoniam in hoc officio studium meae defensionis ab accusatoribus atque etiam ipsa susceptio causae reprehensa est, ante quam pro L. Murena dicere instituo, pro me ipso pauca dicam, non quo mihi potior hoc quidem in tempore sit officii mei quam huiusce salutis defensio, sed ut meo facto vobis pro

ob_obtinendum] 'now the thing aimed at is to make good'......T. salus='acquittal.'

et ut] refer closely to idem (neut.), then it = precor ut ea res feliciter eveniat et ut......H.

cf.

comitiorum] prayer 'at' elections. Gen. of possession or relation. § 31 victoriae eorum bellorum, § 73 officium necessitudinis, § 56 odio inimicitiarum, § 63 adiumenta doctrinae. See Nägelsb. Stil. § 100, p. 275.

religionem sanctity.' H. cf. pro Rosc. Am. § 66, magnam vim magnam necessitatem magnam possidet religionem paternus maternusque sanguis.

idem ego......]i. e. so solemn is the prayer, that my use of it implies a prayer for the weal of those elected. Z.

me rogante]=me comitia habente. The full phrase is consul populum consulem rogat, cf. Liv. 111. 65 qui plebem Romanam tribunos plebi ro

garet and VI. 42 end of book. H.

2. potestas......] M. cf. pro Rabirio § 5 vos, quirites, quorum potestas proxime ad deorum immortalium numen accedit.

quem] This conj. has been now supported by MS. Lag. 9 and makes much better sense than qui, unless with H. we read above consulem for consul eum.

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beneficium] The distinction just granted him. cf. §§ 3, 86, 90. H. cum] to the preservation of'... cf. Madv. § 257 obs. 5. pro Planc. § 102.

et quoniam....ante quam.....dicam] cf. Madv. § 476 b.

pro me ipso] Cic. is here seeking to secure benevolentia by self-justification. H. cf. de Inventione I. § 22. instituo] For indic. see Madv. § 339, obs. 2 c.

non quo...sed ut] Madv. § 357 b

obs.

bato maiore auctoritate ab huius honore, fama fortunisque omnibus inimicorum impetus propulsare possim.

II. et primum M. Catoni vitam ad certam rationis normam 3 derigenti et diligentissime perpendenti momenta officiorum omnium de officio meo respondebo. negat fuisse rectum [Cato] me et consulem et legis ambitus latorem et tam severe gesto consulatu causam L. Murenae attingere. cuius reprehensio me vehementer movet, non solum ut vobis, iudices, quibus maxime debeo, verum etiam ut ipsi Catoni, gravissimo atque integerrimo viro, rationem facti mei probem. a quo tandem, M. Cato, est aequius consulem defendi quam a consule? quis mihi in re publica potest aut debet esse coniunctior, quam is, cui res publica a me uno traditur sustinenda, magnis meis laboribus et periculis sustentata? dis, quae mancipi sunt, is

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momenta] the relative weight, claims of'...cf. § 18 pari momento sortis. Orator 47 argumentorum momenta, and so rationum, verborum, &c. perpendenti. cf. on $77.

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officio] service,' i. e. the defence of Murena. so § 2 in hoc officio.

rectum] a Stoic word, purposely used here = Kaтópowμa, cf. de Ofï. 1. § 8, de Fin. III. § 24. cf. on §§ 60, 77.

legis] sc. Tulliae de ambitu, passed in this very year. cf. on $$ 46, 47, 67. uno] Lambinus' correction of MSS. una. Cicero had held the election himself, and his colleague G. Antonius Hybrida was away from Rome at this time, fighting Catilina. Hence too we see that the oratorical prolepsis in traditur is not unnatural. Z.

sustentata] sustenta is not used. his] with Z. and all MSS. 'these every-day things.' cf. on § 24.

repetendis] sc. when A claims from B a thing sold by C to B, it not having been the property of C at all, A maintains. The process is

as

quodsi in his rebus repetenpericulum iudicii praestare de

technically called evictio rei venditae. cf. Julius Paullus, Sentent. II. 17.

man

quae mancipi sunt] Res mancipi are things the transfer of which could only be accomplished by mancipato or in iure cessio. cf. on $ 26. cipatio was a form of transfer by a symbolic sham-sale: the price was not paid by number but by weight. A man with a pair of scales (libripens), who must be of full age (impubes libripens esse non potest, Ael. Gallus, fragm. 6) and a small piece of money (negotium per aes et libram) were necessary, and 5 witnesses, Roman citizens of full age. res mancipi are enumerated by Ulpian XIX. I, as praedia in Italico solo, iura praediorum rusticorum, and servi et quadrupedes quae dorso collove domantur. All other things are nec mancipi. As according to Ael. Gallus, fragm. 9 nexum est quodcunque per aes et libram geritur, mancipatio must have been a kind of nexum. cf. Gaius II. 27, M. 'Manilius, fragm. 5, Q. Mucius Scaevola, fragm. 5.

is...qui sc. the venditor who ha‍d to guarantee the title to the property sold. praestare. sc. emptori. Here Cicero is bound to make good the title to the consulship for Murena,

bet, qui se nexu obligavit, profecto etiam rectius in iudicio consulis designati is potissimum, qui consulem declaravit, auctor beneficii populi Romani defensorque periculi esse de4 bebit. ac si, ut nonnullis in civitatibus fieri solet, patronus huic causae publice constitueretur, is potissimum summo honore adfecto defensor daretur, qui eodem honore praeditus non minus adferret ad dicendum auctoritatis quam facultatis. quodsi e portu solventibus ii, qui iam in portum ex alto invehuntur, praecipere summo studio solent et tempestatum rationem et praedonum et locorum, quod natura fert, ut eis faveamus, qui eadem pericula, quibus nos perfuncti sumus, ingrediantur: quo tandem me esse animo oportet, prope iam ex magna iactatione terram videntem, in hunc, cui video maximas tempestates rei publicae esse subeundas? quare, si est boni consulis non solum videre quid agatur, verum etiam providere quid futurum sit, ostendam alio loco, quantum communis salutis intersit duos consules in re publica Kalendis Ianuariis 5 esse. quod si ita est, non tam me officium debuit ad hominis amici fortunas quam res publica consulem ad communem salutem defendendam vocare. III. nam quod legem de ambitu tuli, certe ita tuli, ut eam, quam mihimet ipsi iam pridem tuleram de civium periculis defendendis, non abrogarim. etenim si largitionem factam esse confiterer idque recte factum esse defenderem, facerem improbe, etiam si alius legem tu

to be in fact the auctor secundus. cf. pro Caec. § 27 P. Caesennius auctor fundi. II in Verr. v. § 56.

4. nonnullis] M. refers to the Athenian σύνδικοι, οι συνήγοροι. cf. Hermann Pol. Ant. § 133.

praedonum] cf. Thuc. I. 5, Odyss. III. 71 foll.

qui ingrediantur] = quos ingredi scimus. M.

The passage quodsi......subeundas is quoted by Quintil. V. xi. 23. T. cf. or rationem §§ 35, 76, where it occurs with comitiorum and officioIt the system of... 'how it

rum.

is with

=

the weather.

rei publicae] 'political' storms. H. providere] so de Fin. 1. § 47, nec

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