26

si prius dixero: cf. Acad. 2, 64 aggrediar igitur si pauca ante quasi de mea fama dixero. [Mr Shilleto (in MS note): 'si quum sive postquam: cf. Plaut. Capt. 2, 1, 1'. The words (1. 248) are iam ego revortar, si ex his quae volo exquisiero.]

28 vocem: ' utterance'; a word particularly applied to any speech which is startling or remarkable.

inimiciorem amicitiae: oxymoron, for which see 23, 1. 7.

29 esset osurus: the subject of the verb is the same as the unexpressed subject (Twà) of the infinitive amare; cf. 62, 1. 32; 82, 1. 20 ipsum; also n. on p. 47, 1. 3 sibi; n. on 48, 1. 27; 39, p. 40, l. 32. mistakenly wishes to read esses here.

30 adduci: by a common idiom, a positive supplied from negabat above.

31

32

quem ad modum putaretur: sc. dictum esse.

Cobet

verb (dicebat) must be

Biante: the saying is ascribed to Bias of Priene by Aristotle Rhet. 2, 13, 23 (whence Cic., who knew the Rhetoric well, probably took it) and Diog. Laert. 1, 87, but to Chilon, another of the seven, by Gellius, Noct. Att. I, 3, 30. The sentiment was put by Sophocles into the mouth of Ajax in the lines quoted on 45, l. 19, and is repeated by Demosth. Aristoc. p. 660.

septem: n. on 7, 1. 9.

impuri: asyndeton adversativum, n. on 13, l. 16.

omnia ad potentiam revocantis: cf. 32, 1. 14 ad voluptatem omnia referunt; 'one who regarded everything as it affected his own influence'.

I amicus ei: n. on 39, 1. 25.

2

P. 47.

cupere et optare: 'to desire and pray'. For optare see n. on 18, 1. 8. 3 peccet: n. on 37, p. 40, l. 15.

sibi: the person meant is the same as the unexpressed subject of the infinitives cupere and optare; see above, p. 46, l. 29. It is rather remarkable to find sibi following immediately on a verb the subject to which is a different person.

tamquam: qualifies the metaphor in ansas; cf. n. on 3, p. 28, 1. 2 quasi.

rei.

ansas ad: the usual construction is ansam dare, or praebere alicuius

4 ad reprehendendum: 'for criticism'; it is possible however that reprehendendum has here the literal sense to catch hold of' as in Acad. 2, 139 revocat virtus vel potius reprehendit manu.

§ 60.

6 ad tollendam amicitiam valet: 'has the effect of sweeping away friendship'.

7

8

IO

II

13

15

17

18

19

20

praecipiendum fuit: sc. ei cuiuscumque est hoc praeceptum.

ut eam diligentiam ut: for the very inelegant, but common subordination of one ut-clause to another see my n. on pro Balbo 20.

comparandis: so Fin. 1, 66 amicitias comparare.

ut ne: n. on 42, 1. 26.

minus felices: euphemism for infelices; so minus iustae in 61, 1. 16; nec facillime in 99, p. 58, l. 29.

ferendum: Diog. Laert. 1, 60 quotes a saying of Solon: povs μὴ ταχὺ κτῶ· οὓς δ ̓ ἂν κτήσῃ, μὴ ἀποδοκίμαζε. Seyffert qu. Isocr. ad Demon. βραδέως μὲν φίλος γίγνου, γενόμενος δὲ πειρῶ διαμένειν. Aristot. Eth. Nic. 9, 3 discusses the causes which may justify the dissolution of friendships.

=

tempus: kaipov, an occasion.

Trans. thought that we should

put up with it rather than devise an occasion for a quarrel'.

§ 61.

his igitur etc.: 'I think then we must adopt such limits as that...'. sine ulla exceptione communitas: n. on 20, p. 34, 1. 2.

aut caput agatur aut fama: for the arrangement of the words cf. n. on 8, 1. 21. Caput is status; the cases alluded to are those which might lead to deminutio capitis. In fama the reference is to trials involving infamia as part of the punishment which may result from

them.

declinandum de via sit: on the nice question of casuistry, how far one is to condone the wrong doings of a friend, Laelius is conveniently vague, as Gellius in his criticism of this passage (Noct. Att. 1, 3, 14) complains. The passage becomes the more unsatisfactory when we go back to Laelius' first principle in § 18 nisi in bonis amicitiam esse non posse. Aristotle's discussion of the matter is more careful though still vague : Eth. Nic. 9, 4, 3 ἆρ ̓ οὖν εὐθὺς διαλυτέον, ἢ οὐ πᾶσιν, ἀλλὰ τοῖς ἀνιάτοις διὰ τὴν μοχθηρίαν ; ἐπανόρθωσιν δ ̓ ἔχουσι, μᾶλλον βοηθητέον εἰς τὸ ἦθος, ἢ τὴν οὐσίαν... δόξειε δ ̓ ἂν ὁ διαλυόμενος οὐδὲν ἄτοπον ποιεῖν. Roman popular morality required a man to go much greater lengths in assisting a friend than would be allowed even by the popular morality of our time; this is expressed in the words modo ne summa turpitudo sequatur.

est quatenus: cf. est ubi, est cum and the like; also n. on 29, 1. 28.

nec vero etc.: it is not at first sight easy to see the connexion of the whole of this sentence with what goes before. Nor, however, must we be careless of our reputation [i.e. in our anxiety to serve a friend], nor yet must we suppose that the goodwill of our fellow-countrymen is an unimportant weapon in the conduct of public affairs [i.e. we must not by going too great lengths in compliance with a friend run the risk of losing the goodwill of our fellow-countrymen and of so becoming useless as public servants], though it is disgraceful to earn that goodwill by wheedling and flattery [i. e. we may pay too high a price for public favour]: we must by no means spurn virtue [i.e. in our desire

to help a friend], which has affection for its constant attendant [i. e. if we stick to virtue we shall have our reward].

telum: in Fam. 7, 16, 1 Cic. quotes an old line: usquequaque sapere oportet: id erit telum acerrimum.

22 blanditiis et assentando: it is not often that Cic. makes the gerund thus range with a noun, though the usage is exceedingly common in Tacitus and his contemporaries. Cf. Fin. 3, 34 bonum non accessione neque crescendo aut cum ceteris comparando sentimus; also, a little lower, genere non crescendo.

§ 62.

cuius omnis sermo erat de amicitia: 'from whom entirely proceeded the discourse concerning friendship'; not 'whose whole discourse was of friendship'.

diligentiores: 'more painstaking', i.e. 'than in friendship'.

capras et ovis: imitated from Xenoph. Mem. 2, 4, 4 opâv ëøn Tods πολλοὺς τῶν μὲν ἄλλων κτημάτων, καὶ πάνυ πολλῶν ὄντων, τὸ πλῆθος εἰδότας, τῶν δὲ φίλων, ὀλίγων ὄντων, ἀγνοοῦντας; ib. 2, 4, 1 ἐπιμελομένους δὲ παντὸς μᾶλλον ὁρᾶν ἔφη τοὺς πολλοὺς ἢ φίλων κτήσεως.

non posse dicere: n. on 19, l. 28; cf. also 73, 1. : potuit...non potuit. in amicis: asyndeton; cf. n. on 13, 1. 16.

quasi signa quaedam et notas: a tentative translation of the Greek σnμelov or kρitýρtov, which Cic. elsewhere renders by iudicium (Academ. passim) or nota merely (Acad. 2, 84); cf. also N. D. 1, 12 certa iudicandi et assentiendi nota. In Xen. Mem. 2, 6 Socrates describes the signs that should lead to the choosing of a friend.

firmi etc. these adjectives describe the vir gravis, gravitas being the chief part of the ideal Roman character.

expertum: n. on 59, p. 46, l. 29 osurus.
praecurrit: plável, 'outstrips the judgment'.

§ 63. P. 48.

sustinere: to check the kindly impulse as one would a headlong race'. For sustinere to pull up' cf. Acad. 2, 94 ut agitator callidus equos sustinebo; Att. 13, 21, 3; Fam. 9, 8, I me sustinebam. Cf. 35, 1. 18.

quo etc. in order that we may find the characters of our friends thoroughly tested by partial friendship (i.e. before we enter on full friendship) like well-broken steeds'. Notice the following points: (1) periclitatis, though from a deponent verb, is used in a passive sense, like meditatus and a large number of other deponent participles, the usage being particularly common in Cicero; (2) amicitia is an ablative of the means, dependent on periclitatis; (3) ex aliqua parte is a phrase qualifying amicitia, for which usage cf. n. on 20, p. 34, 1. 2.

utamur...temptatis: cf. 68, 1. 29 utatur...intractato. The editors here quote Theognis 119 οὐ γὰρ ἂν εἰδείης ἀνδρὸς νόον οὔτε γυναικὸς,

5

6

8

IO

II

13

14

16

17

19

20

21

22

πρὶν πειραθείης ὥσπερ υποζυγίου. Cf. also Arist. Eth. Nic. 8, 3, 8 ἔτι δὲ προσδεῖται χρόνου καὶ συνηθείας. The Latins wrote tempto rather than tento.

in: as in 9, p. 30, 1. 3.

perspiciuntur: see n. on 56, p. 45, 1. 30 constituendi sunt qui sint fines; also on 35, 1. 22.

23

quam sint leves: n. on 10, l. 8 quam id recte.

movere non potuit: 'could not have changed'. For this sense of movere (=de statu movere) cf. pro Scauro fragm. 45 quem purpura regalis non commovit, eum Sardorum mastruca mutavit?

sin vero: a rare combination of particles; Cic. nearly always says si vero.

honores magistratus: not essentially different from imperia potestates, for which see 54, l. 18.

ius amicitiae: 'the law of friendship'.

imbecilla etc.: 'nature shews weakness when called on to renounce power'.

obscuratum iri: 'they think their fault will be forgotten' (i.e. in the blaze of their prosperity).

amicitia: the repetition is made for the sake of emphasis.

§ 64.

ubi invenias: i. e. si quaeras (cf. n. on 5, 1. 24) but above 1. 8 ubi inveniemus; with the future the search is looked on as likely to take place, with the subjunctive, as not likely.

quid: n. on 50, 1. 2.

haec ut omittam: observe the fondness of Cic. for placing ut second word in the clause or sentence. He nearly always says nihil ut, non ut,

sic ut and the like and not vice versa. Cf. 87, 1. 4.

descendant: cf. descendere in certamen, also in causam (Cic. Phil. 8, 4), and the similar uses with decurrere, devenire.

recte: the omission of a verbum dicendi is particularly common in quotations; so Off. 2, 62 praeclare Ennius; cf. also n. on 1, l. 10.

amicus etc.: the line is only known from this passage. It appears to be imitated from Euripides, Hecuba 1226 ἐν τοῖς κακοῖς γὰρ ἁγαθοὶ σαφέστατοι φίλοι.

levitatis et infirmitatis: 'changefulness and instability'.

aut si...aut: the omission of the second si is exceedingly awkward, and I have been able to find no parallel. Possibly cum has fallen out after the second aut; cf. Fin. 2, 15 si aut...aut cum. Madvig in Fin. I, 33 rejects aut ut...aut (where a second ut is needed) and reads ut aut ...aut, as some here have proposed to read si aut...aut.

in bonis rebus: sc. suis; in malis: sc. amicorum.

contemnunt: sc. amicos.

utraque in re...in amicitia: somewhat careless writing.

24

260

28

29

30

31

32

I

3

4

6

7

gravem: cf. 62, p. 47, 1. 30.

ex maxime raro genere iudicare: sc. esse; to belong to (lit. 'to be from') a very exceptional class of men'. For the omission of esse see n. on 18, 1. 7.

§ 65.

firmamentum etc.: 'the foundation of firmness and stability is the loyalty of him whom we seek to acquire as a friend'. For the reading see Appendix. For eius quem in amicitia quaerimus cf. Orat. 69 erit igitur eloquens-hunc enim auctore Antonio quaerimus; ib. 100 tenemus, igitur, Brute, quem quaerimus.

simplicem: 'frank', 'open'.

communem: 'sociable'; cf. Nep. Milt. 8, 4 summa humanitas, mira communitas; so koivòs, for which see Liddell and Scott.

consentientem etc.: 'sympathetic; I mean one likely to be touched by the same interests'.

isdem: so written in Republican Latin (or eisdem), not iisdem.
elegi: so rightly spelt, not eligi.

par est: =aecum est in 26, 1. 18. Cf. 82, 1. 20.

fidelitatem: no distinction in sense can be drawn between this word and fides above.

multiplex: here 'deceitful', but often a word of praise, as in Acad. I, 17 Platonis qui varius et multiplex ('many-sided') et copiosus fuit. Cf. Plato Repub. 397 Ε ἀνὴρ διπλοῦς καὶ πολλαπλούς, where πολλαπλοῦς has the same meaning as multiplex in our passage. Cf. also below, 88, 1. 25; 92, 1. 33.

tortuosum: this word is generally used of complicated logical arguments, as in Acad. 2, 98; cf. Tusc. 3, 22 contortius; ib. 2, 42 contortis conclusiunculis.

neque vero: n. on 42, p. 41, 1. 28.

P. 49.

ut ne: n. on 42, p. 41, l. 25.

inferendis...oblatis: observe the chiasmus for which see n. on 23, 1.10. fit: 'is shewn to be'.

quod...dixi: § 18.

boni viri...sapientem: cf. closely §§ 18, 100.

ne quid sit: 'to see that there be not'.

fictum...simulatum: the same words in 26, 1. 29.

aperte vel odisse: 'to go openly the length of hatred'; for vel cf. 43, 1. 6 vel bellum.

ingenui: here in the same sense as in Vergil's line ingenui voltus puer ingenuique pudoris—‘frank'.

occultare: stronger than celare; implies deliberate and habitual concealment.

R. L.

9