[a] The remark in this place alludes to a passage in the oration
against PISO, where we find a frivolous stroke of false wit. Cicero
reproaches Piso for his dissolute manners, and his scandalous
debauchery. Who, he says, in all that time, saw you sober? Who beheld
you doing any one thing, worthy of a liberal mind? Did you once appear
in public? The house of your colleague resounded with songs and
minstrels: he himself danced naked in the midst of his wanton company;
and while he _wheeled_ about with alacrity in the _circular motion_ of
the dance, he never once thought of THE WHEEL OF FORTUNE. _Quis te
illis diebus sobrium, quis agentem aliquid, quod esset libero dignum?
Quis denique in publico vidit? Cum collegæ tui domus cantu et cymbalis
personaret; cumque ipse nudus in convivio saltaret, in quo ne tum
quidem, cum illum suum_ SALTATORIUM VERSARET ORBEM, FORTUNÆ ROTAM
_pertimescebat. Oratio in Pisonem_, prima pars, s. 22. Delph. edit.
vol. iii.
[b] The passage here alluded to, presents us with a double pun. The
word _Verres_ is the name of a man, and also signifies a _boar pig_,
as we read in Horace, _Verris obliquum meditantis ictum_. Lib. iii.
ode 22. The word _jus_ is likewise of twofold meaning, importing _law_
and _sauce_, or broth; _tepidumque ligurierit jus_. Lib. i. sat. 3. The
objection to Cicero is, that playing on both the words, and taking
advantage of their ambiguous meaning, he says it could not be matter
of wonder that the _Verrian jus_ was such bad HOG-SOUP. The wit (if it
deserves that name) is mean enough; but, in justice to Cicero, it
should be remembered, that he himself calls it frigid, and says, that
the men, who in their anger could be so very facetious, as to blame
the priest who did not sacrifice such a hog (_Verres_), were idle and
ridiculous. He adds, that he should not descend to repeat such sayings
(for they were neither witty, nor worthy of notice in such a cause),
had he not thought it material to shew, that the iniquity of VERRES
was, in the mouth of the vulgar, a subject of ridicule, and a
proverbial joke. _Hinc illi homines erant, qui etiam ridiculi
inveniebantur ex dolore: quorum alii, ut audistis, negabant mirandum
esse_, JUS _tam nequam esse_ VERRINUM: _alii etiam frigidiores erant;
sed quia stomachabantur, ridiculi videbantur esse, cum_ SACERDOTEM
_execrabantur, qui_ VERREM _tam nequam reliquisset, Quæ ego non
commemorarem (neque enim perfacetè dicta, neque porro hac severitate
digna sunt) nisi vos id vellem recordari, istius nequitiam et
iniquitatem tum in ore vulgi, atque communibus proverbiis esse
versatam. In Verrem_, lib. i. pars tertia, s. 121.
[c] Quintilian acknowledges that the words _esse videatur (it seems to
be)_ occur frequently in Cicero's Orations. He adds, that he knew
several, who fancied that they had performed wonders, when they placed
that phrase in the close of a sentence. _Noveram quosdam, qui se
pulchrè expressisse genus illud cælestis hujus in dicendo viri sibi
viderentur, si in clausulâ posuissent esse videatur._ Quintil. lib. x.
cap. 2.
[d] The species of composition, called satire, was altogether of Roman
growth. Lucilius had the honour of being the inventor; and he
succeeded so well, that even in Quintilian's time, his admirers
preferred him not only to the writers who followed in the same way,
but to all poets of every denomination. _Lucilius quosdam ita deditos
sibi adhuc habet imitatores, ut eum non ejusdem modo operis, sed
omnibus poetis præferre non dubitent._ Lib. x. cap. 1. The great
critic, however, pronounces judgement in favour of Horace, who, he
says, is more terse and pure; a more acute observer of life, and
qualified by nature to touch the ridicule of the manners with the
nicest hand. _Multo est tersior, ac purus magis Horatius, et ad
notandos hominum mores præcipuus._
[e] Lucretius is not without his partisans at this hour. Many of the
French critics speak of him with rapture; and, in England, Dr. Wharton
of Winchester seems to be at the head of his admirers. He does not
scruple to say that Lucretius had more spirit, fire, and energy, more
of the _vivida vis animi_, than any of the Roman poets. It is neither
safe nor desirable to differ from so fine a genius as Dr. Wharton. The
passages which he has quoted from his favourite poet, shew great taste
in the selection. It should be remembered, however, that Quintilian
does not treat Lucretius with the same passionate fondness. He places
Virgil next to Homer; and the rest, he says, of the Roman poets
follow at a great distance. MACER and LUCRETIUS deserve to be read:
they have handled their respective subjects with taste and elegance;
but Macer has no elevation, and Lucretius is not easily understood.
_Cæteri omnes longe sequuntur. Nam MACER et LUCRETIUS legendi quidem;
elegantes in suâ quisque materiâ, sed alter humilis, alter
difficilis._ Lib. x. cap. 1. Statius, the poet, who flourished in the
reign of Domitian, knew the value of Lucretius, and, in one line,
seems to have given his true character; _et docti furor arduus
Lucreti_; but had he been to decide between him and Virgil, it is
probable, that he would say to Lucretius, as he did to himself,
----Nec tu divinam Æneida tenta,
Sed longe sequere, et vestigia semper adora.
THEBAIDOS lib. xii. ver. 816.
[f] Aufidius Bassus and Servilius Nonianus were writers of history.
Bassus, according to Quintilian, deserved great commendation,
particularly in his History of the German war. In some of his other
works he fell short of himself. Servilius Nonianus was known to
Quintilian, and, in that critic's judgement, was an author of
considerable merit, sententious in his manner, but more diffuse than
becomes the historic character. See Quintilian, lib. x. cap. 1. The
death of SERVILIUS, an eminent orator and historian, is mentioned by
Tacitus in the _Annals_, b. xiv. s. 19; but the additional name of
NONIANUS is omitted. The passage, however, is supposed to relate to
the person commended by Quintilian. He died in the reign of Nero,
A.U.C. 812; of the Christian æra 59.
[g] Varro was universally allowed to be the most learned of the
Romans. He wrote on several subjects with profound erudition.
Quintilian says, he was completely master of the Latin language, and
thoroughly conversant in the antiquities of Greece and Rome. His works
will enlarge our sphere of knowledge, but can add nothing to
eloquence. _Peritissimus linguæ Latinæ, et omnis antiquitatis, et
rerum Græcarum, nostrarumque; plus tamen scientiæ collaturus, quam
eloquentiæ._ Lib. x. cap. 1.
Sisenna, we are told by Cicero, was a man of learning, well skilled in
the Roman language, acquainted with the laws and constitution of his
country, and possessed of no small share of wit; but eloquence was not
his element, and his practice in the forum was inconsiderable. See _De
Claris Oratoribus_, s. 228. In a subsequent part of the same work,
Cicero says, that Sisenna was of opinion, that to use uncommon words
was the perfection of style. To prove this he relates a pleasant
anecdote. One Caius Rufus carried on a prosecution. Sisenna appeared
for the defendant; and, to express his contempt of his adversary, said
that many parts of the charge deserved to be spit upon. For this
purpose he coined so strange a word, that the prosecutor implored the
protection of the judges. I do not, said he, understand Sisenna; I am
circumvented; I fear that some snare is laid for me. What does he mean
by _sputatilica?_ I know that _sputa_ is spittle: but what is
_tilica?_ The court laughed at the oddity of a word so strangely
compounded. _Rufio accusante Chritilium, Sisenna defendens dixit
quædam ejus SPUTATILICA esse crimina. Tum Caius Rufius, Circumvenior,
inquit, judices, nisi subvenitis. Sisenna quid dicat nescio; metuo
insidias. SPUTATILICA! quid est hoc?_ Sputa _quid sit, scio_; tilica
_nescio. Maximi risus, De Claris Oratoribus_, s. 260. Whether this
was the same Sisenna, who is said in the former quotation to have been
a correct speaker, does not appear with any degree of certainty.
[h] For the character of Secundus, see s. ii. note [c].
[i] Quintilian says, the merit of a fine writer flourishes after his
death, for envy does not go down to posterity. _Ad posteros enim
virtus durabit, nec perveniet invidia._ Lib. iii. c. 1. Envy is always
sure to pursue living merit; and therefore, Cleo observes to
Alexander, that Hercules and Bacchus were not numbered among the gods,
till they conquered the malignity of their contemporaries. _Nec
Herculem, nec Patrem Liberum, prius dicatos deos, quàm vicissent secum
viventium invidiam._ Quintus Curtius, lib. viii. s. 18. Pliny the
younger has a beautiful epistle on this subject. After praising, in
the highest manner, the various works of Pompeius Saturninus, he says
to his correspondent, Let it be no objection to such an author, that
he is still living. If he flourished in a distant part of the world,
we should not only procure his books, but we should have his picture
in our houses: and shall his fame be tarnished, because we have the
man before our eyes? Shall malignity make us cease to admire him,
because we see him, hear him, esteem and love him? _Neque enim debet
operibus ejus obesse, QUOD VIVIT. An si inter eos, quos nunquam
vidimus, floruisset, non solum libros ejus, verum etiam imagines
conquireremus, ejusdem nunc honor præsentis et gratia quasi satietate
languescet? At hoc pravum malignumque est, non admirari hominem
admiratione dignissimum, quia videre, alloqui, audire, complecti, nec
laudare tantum, verum etiam amare contingit._ Lib. i. ep. 16.