THE CICERONIAN AGE.
CICERO.
(1) LIFE.
M. Tullius Cicero, the son of a Roman knight, was born at Arpinum on
3rd January, B.C. 106. Jerome yr. Abr. 1911, 'M. Tullius Cicero Arpini
nascitur matre Helvia, patre equestris ordinis ex regio Volscorum
genere.' Cic. _ad Att._ xiii. 42, 3, 'Diem meum scis esse iii. Non.
Ian.'
He gives an account of his education in _Brut._ 306 _sqq._ In civil
law he was a pupil, in B.C. 89, of Q. Scaevola the Augur, and
afterwards of the pontifex of the same name (_de Am._ 1). In B.C. 88
he studied philosophy under Philo the Academic, and rhetoric under
Molo of Rhodes. Dialectic he practised with the Stoic Diodotus, who
lived and died in Cicero's house (B.C. 87-5). Other teachers of Cicero
were the poet Archias (_pro Arch._ 1), the orator Antonius (_de Or._
ii. 3), the actors Roscius and Aesopus (Plut. _Cic._ 5), the
rhetorician M. Antonius Gnipho (Sueton. _Gramm._ 7), and the
philosophers Phaedrus and Zeno.
After establishing a reputation at the bar by his defence of Quinctius
and of Roscius of Ameria, he visited Asia to recruit his health and
improve his oratorical style. On his way to the East he stayed six
months at Athens, where he renewed his philosophical studies under
Antiochus the Academic. In Asia he attended the leading rhetoricians,
especially his old teacher Molo at Rhodes, who endeavoured to chasten
the exuberance of his manner. At Rhodes he also made the acquaintance
of the famous Stoic Posidonius (_de Fin._ i. 6). After an absence of
two years he returned to Rome B.C. 77, and shortly afterwards married
Terentia.
Cicero, who had served in the Social War, B.C. 89 (_Phil._ xii. 27),
began his official career in 75 as quaestor of the district of
Lilybaeum in Sicily, where he won golden opinions from all classes
(_pro Planc._ 64). He headed the poll at the election of aediles for
69, and of praetors for 66 (_in Pis._ 2); as praetor he presided over
the court for the trial of cases of _repetundae_ (_pro Clu._ 147). His
canvass for the consulship of 63 began as early as July 65 (_ad Att._
i. 1, 1); he was returned with C. Antonius as his colleague (_in Pis._
3). His services to the State in 63 in the crushing of the
Catilinarian conspiracy need not be dwelt on here: his activity as an
orator in that year was great, and he passed a law against undue
influence by candidates, 'Lex Tullia de ambitu' (_in Vat._ 37). He
waived his right to a province, allowing Metellus Celer to take Gaul.
In 58 the hostility of P. Clodius effected Cicero's banishment, on the
ground that he had put the Catilinarian conspirators to death without
trial. Retiring at first to Vibo, in Lucania, he moved successively to
Sicily, Thurii, Tarentum, Brundisium, Dyrrhachium, Thessalonica, and
Athens. At Dyrrhachium he resided from November 58 to August 57, when,
after several unsuccessful efforts by his friends, a law was passed
for his recall.
In 53 he was chosen augur in succession to the younger Crassus (Plut.
_Cic._ 36), and two years later was appointed proconsul of Cilicia,
under the new arrangement providing for an interval of five years
between office in Rome and the government of a province. There he
carried on a petty warfare with the mountaineers, and captured the
fort of Pindenissus (a success for which the Senate decreed a
_supplicatio_), occupying the winter with judicial business in the
towns. His absence from the centre of affairs, though it lasted only a
year, was most distasteful to him; cf. _ad Att._ v. 11, 1, 'Ne
provincia nobis prorogetur, per fortunas! dum ades, quidquid provideri
potest, provide: non dici potest quam flagrem desiderio urbis, quam
vix harum rerum insulsitatem feram.' For his just dealing with the
provincials, cf. _ad Att._ v. 21, 5.
In November, 50, Cicero returned to Italy, to find a crisis imminent,
and finally cast in his lot with the senatorial party. He left Rome
with the consuls and the leading _optimates_, and for some time had
charge of the district of Capua (_ad Fam._ xvi. 11, 3, 'nos Capuam
sumpsimus'). On 7th June, B.C. 49, he embarked to join Pompey in
Epirus, though far from enthusiastic for his leadership (_ad Fam._
vii. 3, 2, 'mei facti poenituit... Nihil boni praeter causam.') The
chiefs of the party looked upon him with suspicion, and he was not
present at the battle of Pharsalus. After Pompey's overthrow he
returned to Brundisium, and in 47 was allowed by Caesar to return to
Rome (_ad Fam._ xiv. 23). His mode of life at this time he thus
describes (_ad Fam._ ix. 20, 3), 'Ubi salutatio defluxit, litteris me
involvo, aut scribo aut lego. Veniunt etiam qui me audiant quasi
doctum hominem, quia paullo sum quam ipsi doctior.'
In 46 he divorced his wife Terentia, of whose neglect he complains,
_ad Fam._ iv. 14, 3; and married Publilia, with whom he parted in the
following year. In 45 he lost his only daughter Tullia, who had been
thrice married; he tried to drown his grief by close application to
literary work, moving about from villa to villa, and it is to this
period that most of his philosophical works belong. In 44 he appeared
once more in Rome, and took a prominent part in the proceedings which
followed upon Caesar's death. April to July he spent at his various
villas (_ad Att._ xiv. _passim_), and then decided to visit Athens,
where his son (born B.C. 65) was studying. On 1st August he reached
Syracuse, but hearing at Leucopetra that his presence was required at
Rome, he gave up his plan of travel and returned to the city. With the
series of _Philippics_ against Antony (44-3) Cicero's career closes.
In the proscription agreed on by the triumvirs he was marked out as
one of the chief victims. A fragment of Livy, quoted by Seneca,
_Suas._ 6, 17, states that he fled first to Tusculum, then to Formiae,
and took ship from Caieta, but returned to land, exclaiming, 'Moriar
in patria saepe servata.' On his way from the shore to his villa he
was slain by a party of Antony's soldiers, and his head was carried to
Rome and exposed on the Rostra. The date of the assassination was 7th
December, B.C. 43 (Tiro quoted by Tac. _Dial._ 17).
(2) WORKS.
(a) Speeches.
1. The earliest extant speech is that _Pro Quinctio_, delivered B.C.
81 (Gell. xv. 28, 3) in an action before a iudex for restitution of
property. This was not Cicero's first appearance as an advocate: § 4,
'quod mihi consuevit in ceteris causis esse adiumento.'
2. Next year (cf. Gell. _ibid._) Cicero made his first speech in a
criminal case, defending Sex. Roscius of Ameria on a charge of
parricide. By so doing he incurred the risk of Sulla's enmity, but at
the same time established his own position. _De Off._ ii. 51, 'contra
L. Sullae dominantis opes pro S. Roscio Amerino'; _Brut._ 312, 'prima
causa publica, pro Sex. Roscio dicta, tantum commendationis habuit, ut
non ulla esset quae non digna nostro patrocinio videretur.' In later
years he criticized the 'iuvenilis redundantia' of this speech
(_Orat._ 108).
3. The speech _Pro Roscio Comoedo_, usually assigned to B.C. 76, was a
defence of the famous actor in a civil case.
4. The year 70 B.C. is memorable for the group of speeches
('accusationis vii. libri,' _Orat._ 103), against Verres, accused of
_repetundae_ by the Sicilians, at whose urgent entreaty Cicero
undertook the prosecution. The preliminary question, who should
conduct the prosecution, is argued in the _Divinatio in Caecilium_. Q.
Caecilius Niger, Verres' quaestor, claimed the right to prosecute, but
this manoeuvre failed. Of the six speeches _in Verrem_ only one, the
_Actio Prima_, was delivered: Cicero, seeing that the other side were
anxious to carry the trial over into the next year, confined himself
to this short introductory speech (on 5th August, cf. § 31), after
which he called his witnesses. Their evidence was so damaging that
Hortensius[25] threw up the defence, and Verres was sentenced to
banishment and his property confiscated. The five Books of the _Actio
Secunda_ were published afterwards in order that the facts might be
thoroughly known.
5. _Pro M. Fonteio_ (incomplete), for Fonteius, propraetor of Gallia
Narbonensis B.C. 75-3, on a charge of _repetundae_. This trial perhaps
took place B.C. 69, certainly after the equites had been placed on the
_iudicia_ by the Lex Aurelia of 70 (cf. § 26).
6. To the same year probably belongs the speech _Pro Caecina_ in a
civil case.
7. In B.C. 66 Cicero made his first political speech, _Pro Lege
Manilia_, or _De Imperio Cn. Pompei_, in support of the bill of the
tribune Manilius for conferring on Pompey the command against
Mithradates.
8. In the same year he defended Cluentius, charged with murder, in the
speech _Pro A. Cluentio Habito_. The date is fixed as the year of
Cicero's praetorship by § 147, 'mea quaestio de pecuniis repetundis.'
9. The three speeches _De Lege Agraria_ are concerned with the bill of
P. Servilius Rullus for the appointment of _decemviri_ with full power
to buy and sell land and to establish colonies. The first speech
(incomplete) was made in the Senate on 1st January, the second and
third before _contiones_.
10. The speech _Pro C. Rabirio perduellionis reo_ was delivered on
behalf of Rabirius, charged before the _comitia_ with the murder of
the tribune Saturninus in B.C. 100. The prosecution had been
instituted by the democratic party to vindicate the old right of
_provocatio ad populum_, and to establish the inviolability of the
tribunes.
11. Of the four speeches _In Catilinam_, i. was delivered in the
Senate on 8th November, and followed by Catiline's flight from Rome;
ii. to the people on 9th November; iii. to the people on 3rd December,
when the Allobroges gave their evidence about the conspiracy; iv. in
the Senate, on 5th December, calling for the capital punishment of the
conspirators.[26]
12. In this crisis Cicero made one of his most graceful and witty
speeches, the _Pro Murena_. The defendant was charged with bribery in
his candidature for the consulship, and among the prosecutors was
Cato.
13-14. In B.C. 62 Cicero defended P. Sulla, who was accused of
complicity with Catiline (_Pro Sulla_), and delivered the speech _Pro
Archia_ in support of his friend's title to the Roman citizenship.
15. In B.C. 59 L. Flaccus was accused of _repetundae_ as propraetor of
Asia 62-60, and defended by Cicero in the speech _Pro Flacco_.
16-19. After Cicero's return from exile he returned thanks to the
Senate in the speech _Cum Senatui gratias egit_, 5th September B.C. 57
(_ad Att._ iv. 1, 5), delivered from manuscript ('propter rei
magnitudinem dicta de scripto,' _Pro Planc._ 74). The genuineness of
the corresponding speech to the people, _Cum populo gratias egit_, is
suspected; it is mentioned by Dio. xxxix. 9, 1, but not by Cicero
himself. On 30th September (_ad Att._ iv. 2, 2) the speech _De Domo
Sua_ was delivered before the _pontifices_, who decided that the site
of Cicero's house, which Clodius had consecrated, should be restored
to its owner. Connected with this is the speech _De Haruspicum
Responsis_, of the year 56, rebutting the argument of Clodius that the
declaration of the _haruspices_, 'loca sacra et religiosa profana
haberi' (§ 9) referred to the restitution of Cicero's house.
20. The speech _Pro Sestio_ is in defence of one of Cicero's friends
who, as tribune, had worked energetically for his recall from exile,
and was now accused _de vi_ at the instigation of Clodius. Sestius was
acquitted in March, B.C. 56 (_ad Q.F._ ii. 4, 1).
21. The _Interrogatio in P. Vatinium testem_ was a successful attack
on the credibility of Vatinius, who had been one of the chief
witnesses against Sestius.
22. _Pro M. Caelio_.--The prosecution of Caelius on a charge of
poisoning was instigated by his former mistress, Clodia; it took place
in B.C. 56, for Cn. Domitius, who tried the case (§ 32), was praetor
in that year (_ad Q.F._ ii. 3, 6).
23. The speech _De Provinciis Consularibus_, B.C. 56, argues that
Caesar should be allowed to continue as proconsul of Gaul, and that
Syria and Macedonia should be taken away from Gabinius and Piso.
Mommsen[27] regards it as the +palinôdia+ of _ad Att._ iv. 5,
1, and contrasts Cicero's tone to Caesar in this speech with his
attitude in the _Pro Sestio_, _In Vatinium_, and _De Haruspicum
Responsis_.
24. The speech _Pro Balbo_ deals with a case similar to that of
Archias. L. Cornelius Balbus, a native of Gades, and the trusted
friend of Caesar, had received the _civitas_ from Pompey, and this
speech is in defence of his right thereto (B.C. 56).
25. _In Pisonem_, an attack on Cicero's enemy (consul B.C. 58),
delivered in the Senate B.C. 55.
26. _Pro Plancio_, B.C. 54, on behalf of Cn. Plancius, accused of
organizing clubs to secure by bribery his election to the aedileship.
27. _Pro Rabirio Postumo_, B.C. 54. Rabirius was charged with
extortion in Egypt.
28. _Pro Milone_.--At the trial of Milo _de vi_ in B.C. 52 Cicero was
so intimidated by the uproar of the rabble that his speech was a
failure, and Milo was condemned. The speech now extant was written by
Cicero at his leisure. Both were known to Asconius,[28] who supplies a
valuable introduction.
29. For six years we have no speech; but in 46 Cicero broke his rule
of silence ('in perpetuum tacere,' _ad Fam._ iv. 4, 4), and in the
speech _Pro Marcello_ thanked Caesar for allowing Marcellus, the
consul of B.C. 51, to return to Rome.
30. On 26th November B.C. 46 he pleaded before Caesar the cause of Q.
Ligarius (_Pro Ligario_).
31. In the latter part of B.C. 45 he delivered in Caesar's house the
speech _Pro Rege Deiotaro_ on behalf of his 'hospes vetus et amicus,'
the tetrarch of Galatia, accused of treachery to Caesar.
32. Cicero's oratorical career closes with the fourteen speeches
against Antony, called _Philippics_, after the speeches of
Demosthenes. This title was suggested by the author himself; cf. the
letter of Brutus (_ad Brut._ ii. 5, 4), 'iam concedo ut vel
Philippicae vocentur, quod tu quadam epistula iocans scripsisti.' It
was the usual title in antiquity, though Gellius (xiii. 1, 1) uses the
alternative _Antonianae_. The _Philippics_ cover the period from 2nd
September 44 to 22nd April 43. They were all delivered in the Senate,
except iv. and vi., which are _contiones_, and ii., which was never
spoken, but published as a political pamphlet after Antony had left
Rome: for its fame cf. Juv. 10, 125,
'Te conspicuae, divina Philippica, famae,
volveris a prima quae proxima.'
There are fragments of about twenty speeches, and the titles of thirty
others are known. The invective _in Sallustium_, and the speech
_Pridie quam in exilium iret_, are undoubtedly spurious.
Many of the speeches were to a large extent extempore, the heads only
being committed to writing. These notes were afterwards collected by
Tiro (Quint. x. 7, 30-1). In publishing, Cicero occasionally omitted
some passages of the spoken oration, _e.g._ in _Pro Mur._ 57 only the
headings appear, 'De Postumi criminibus.' 'De Servi adulescentis': cf.
Plin. _Ep._ i. 20, 7, 'ex his apparet illum permulta dixisse, cum
ederet omisisse.' For the practice of reporting his speeches in
shorthand cf. Ascon. _in Mil._ 'manet illa quoque excepta eius oratio'
(his speech at Milo's trial). The only case in which Cicero appeared
for the prosecution was that of Verres: the part of an accuser was
generally distasteful to him; cf. _De Off._ ii. 50, 'duri hominis vel
potius vix hominis videtur, periculum capitis inferre multis.'
(b) Philosophical Works.
1. _De Re Publica_, a discussion of the ideal state and the ideal
citizen, was published before B.C. 51, for Caelius writes to Cicero in
Cilicia, 'tui politici libri omnibus vigent' (_ad Fam._ viii. 1, 4).
In this treatise Cicero made use of Plato, and of Aristotle,
Theophrastus, and other Peripatetics (_de Div._ ii. 3). There were six
Books; but until 1822 the _Somnium Scipionis_, extracted by Macrobius
from Book vi., was the only portion of the work known to exist, with
the exception of a few fragments. In that year Mai published at Rome,
from a Vatican palimpsest, remains which make up about one-third of
the whole.
2. The _De Legibus_ succeeded the _De Re Publica_, as Plato's _Laws_
came after the _Republic_. The speakers in this dialogue are Atticus,
Cicero, and his brother Quintus. Book i. expounds the Stoic position
that the laws of the ideal state are made by the wise man in
accordance with the mind of God; this position is worked out in Book
ii. in the regulations for religion, and in iii. on the duties of
magistrates. The treatise was never completed, and was perhaps a
posthumous publication: it is not mentioned in the list in _De
Divinatione_ ii. 1-3, and there is no preface, though Cicero says (_ad
Att._ iv. 16, 2) 'in singulis libris utor prooemiis.' Certainly it had
not appeared in B.C. 46, the year of the _Brutus_ (_Brut._ 19). It was
composed after the murder of Clodius in January, B.C. 52 (ii. 42), and
in Pompey's lifetime (iii. 22): probably in 52, as the government of
Cilicia and the civil war left Cicero no time for literature during
the years 51-48.
3. In the spring of 46 was written the short tract _Paradoxa_, a
discussion of six Stoic paradoxes (_e.g._ that the wise man alone is
free). It was addressed to Brutus, and was later than the dialogue
which bears his name; cf. the preface, 'accipies hoc parvum opusculum,
lucubratum his iam contractioribus noctibus, quoniam illud maiorum
vigiliarum munus in tuo nomine apparuit.'
4. The death of Tullia in February, 45, led Cicero to write, at
Astura, a _Consolatio_, of which only fragments survive. Plin. _N.H._
praef. 22, quotes Cicero as saying that he here followed the Greek
philosopher, Crantor, +peri penthous+. It contained notices of
the deaths of great men, _De Div._ ii. 22, 'clarissimorum hominum
nostrae civitatis gravissimos exitus in Consolatione collegimus.'
5. In the _Hortensius_ Cicero appeared as the champion of philosophy:
_De Fin._ i. 2, 'philosophiae vituperatoribus satis responsum est eo
libro, quo a nobis philosophia defensa et collaudata est, cum esset
accusata et vituperata ab Hortensio.' It cannot be traced beyond the
seventh century, and is now represented by a few fragments. In the
Middle Ages it was confounded with the _Prior Academics_, the speakers
in both dialogues being the same. The _Hortensius_ seems to have been
written before Cicero went to Astura in March, B.C. 45: there is no
allusion to it in his letters.
6. The treatise _De Finibus Bonorum et Malorum_ discusses various
theories of the _summum bonum_--the Epicurean in Books i.-ii., the
Stoic in iii.-iv., the Peripatetic in v. The scene of the dialogue
changes from Cumae to Tusculum and then to the Academy at Athens. The
work was dedicated to Brutus in June, 45 (_ad Att._ xiii. 12, 3).
7. The _Academics_ appeared in two editions. Of the original edition
Book ii., entitled _Lucullus_, has survived; the speakers in it are
Lucullus, Catulus, Hortensius, and Cicero, and the scene, Hortensius'
villa. Cicero was not satisfied with this arrangement (_ad Att._ xiii.
12, 3, 'homines nobiles illi quidem, sed nullo modo philologi, nimis
acute locuntur'), and after provisionally transferring the parts of
Lucullus, Catulus, and Hortensius, to Cato and Brutus, he finally
adopted the suggestion of Atticus to gratify Varro by giving him a
share in the dialogue together with Atticus and himself (_ad Att._
xiii. 13, 1, 'commotus tuis litteris, quod ad me de Varrone
scripseras, totam Academiam ab hominibus nobilissimis abstuli
transtulique ad nostrum sodalem et ex duobus libris contuli in
quattuor'). Of this second edition in four Books we possess only Book
i. (incomplete), and fragments of the others; the scene is at Cumae.
The dedicatory epistle to Varro is still preserved (_ad Fam._ ix. 8).
8. In the five Books of _Tusculanae Disputationes_, conversations
between Cicero and a friend at his Tusculan villa, the subject is the
chief essentials for happiness. Book i. inculcates the proper attitude
towards death, ii. to grief, iii. to pain, iv. to other trials, v.
asserts the sufficiency of virtue for happiness. The treatise is
dedicated to Brutus, and was finished by B.C. 44, in which year (_ad
Att._ xv. 2, 4) the first Book is known to Atticus.
9. _De Natura Deorum_, in three Books, is also addressed to Brutus.
The Epicurean, Stoic, and Peripatetic doctrines are represented by C.
Velleius, Q. Lucilius Balbus, and C. Aurelius Cotta, respectively.
This treatise was written after the _Tusculans_ (_de Div._ ii. 3): in
July 45 (_ad Att._ xiii. 39, 2) Atticus is asked for the loan of
+Phaidrou peri theôn+ and +peri Pallados+.
10. The essay _De Senectute_, called also _Cato Maior_ after the
principal speaker in the dialogue, was addressed to Atticus at the end
of 45 or early in 44 (_de Div._ ii. 3; _ad Att._ xiv. 21, 3).
11. To a later date in the same year belongs the _Laelius_, or _De
Amicitia_ (_de Am._ 4 mentions the _de Sen._), in which Laelius
discourses on friendship. In this book, according to Gell. i. 3,
10-11, Cicero was under obligations to Theophrastus +peri philias+.
12. _De Divinatione_, in two Books, forms a supplement to the _De
Natura Deorum_. Cicero and his brother discuss, at Tusculum, the
nature and validity of 'divinatio,' which is defined (i. 9) as 'earum
rerum quae fortuitae putantur praedictio atque praesensio.' The date
is 44.
13. The incomplete essay _De Fato_ was written in 44, after Caesar's
death (cf. § 2). The conversation takes place at Puteoli, between
Cicero and the consul-designate Hirtius.
14. On 11th July of the same year Cicero sent to Atticus his treatise
_De Gloria_, in two Books, now lost (_ad Att._ xvi. 2, 6; _de Off._
ii. 31).
15. The latest of the extant philosophical works is the _De Officiis_,
written for the instruction of the author's son. Cicero had completed
two Books by November, B.C. 44 (xvi. 11, 4), following the treatment
of Panaetius, and discussing in Book i. the issue between vice and
virtue, in Book ii. the expediency of a given action. In Book iii. he
was indebted to Posidonius, for the discussion of apparent conflict
between virtue and expediency.
There are traces of two other treatises, _De Virtutibus_ and _De
Auguriis_; and we possess fragments of a translation of Plato's
_Protagoras_ and _Timaeus_, which cannot be earlier than B.C. 45 (_de
Fin._ i. 7).
Cicero propounds no original scheme of philosophy, claiming only that
he renders the conclusions of Greek thinkers accessible to his own
countrymen. This sort of work cost him little trouble: _ad Att._ xii.
52, 3, '+apographa+ sunt; minore labore fiunt: verba tantum affero,
quibus abundo.' At the same time he is not a mere translator: _de
Fin._ i. 6, 'nos non interpretum fungimur munere, sed tuemur ea quae
dicta sunt ab eis quos probamus, eisque nostrum iudicium et nostrum
scribendi ordinem adiungimus.' His motives for entering upon this task
are explained in _De Nat. Deor._ i. 7-9: (1) he desired to do a
service to his country: 'ipsius rei publicae causa philosophiam
nostris hominibus explicandam putavi'; (2) he sought relief for his
own mind: 'hortata etiam est ut me ad haec conferrem animi aegritudo,
fortunae magna et gravi conmota iniuria.' Cicero is an eclectic, with
a leaning to the New Academy: _Tusc._ iv. 7, 'nullis unius disciplinae
legibus adstricti, quibus in philosophia necessario pareamus.'
Probability is all that he expects to reach: _ibid._, 'quid sit in
quaque re maxime probabile semper requiremus.' The philosophy most
attractive to him is that which best called forth the oratorical
faculty: _Tusc._ ii. 9, 'mihi semper Peripateticorum Academiaeque
consuetudo de omnibus rebus in contrarias partes differendi ...
placuit ... quod esset ea maxima dicendi exercitatio.'[29]
(c) Rhetorical Treatises.
1. The earliest of these is _De Inventione_, or _Rhetorica_, in two
Books, written probably for the author's own use during Sulla's
absence in Asia B.C. 87-83. In his mature years Cicero looked back
with contempt on this youthful effort: _de Or._ i. 5, 'quae pueris aut
adulescentulis nobis ex commentariolis nostris incohata ac rudia
exciderunt.' He borrows much from the _Rhet. ad Herenn._, and
frequently mentions and criticises the views of Hermagoras; but all
the best writers on rhetoric were laid under contribution: ii. 4,
'omnibus unum in locum coactis scriptoribus, quod quisque commodissime
praecipere videbatur, excerpsimus.'
2. The three Books _De Oratore_ were finished in 55: _ad Att._ iv. 13,
2, 'de libris oratoriis factum est a me diligenter: diu multumque in
manibus fuerunt: describas licet.' They were written at a time when
Cicero's voice was seldom heard: _ad Fam._ i. 9, 23, 'ab orationibus
diiungo me fere referoque ad mansuetiores Musas.' The dialogue takes
place in B.C. 91, at the Tusculan villa of L. Licinius Crassus; he and
the rival orator, M. Antonius, are the chief speakers.
3. The dialogue _Brutus_, or _De Claris Oratoribus_, after a brief
survey of Greek oratory, criticises the Roman orators from L. Brutus
to Cicero's own time. In spite of his intention to omit living persons
(§ 231), he discusses Caesar, M. Marcellus, and himself. The speakers
are Brutus, Atticus, and Cicero; and the date is probably 46, for the
_Brutus_ is earlier than the _Orator_, which refers to it (§ 23).
4. The _Orator_ or _De Optimo Genere Dicendi_ is a sequel to the _De
Oratore_ and the _Brutus_, adding practical rules to the exposition of
theory (_de Div._ ii. 4). It was written at the request of Brutus, to
whom it is addressed, in the year 46 (_ad Fam._ xii. 17, 2).
5. _Partitiones Oratoriae_ is a catechism on rhetoric, in which the
questions are put to Cicero by his son.
6. The _Topica_ was written in response to repeated requests from
Trebatius for explanation of Aristotle's _Topics_. It was done by
Cicero, without the aid of books, on his voyage from Velia to Rhegium
in July, 44 (_Top._ 5; _ad Fam._ vii. 19).
7. The short treatise _De Optimo Genere Oratorum_ was introductory to
a version of the speeches of Demosthenes and Aeschines 'on the Crown,'
designed to show the Romans what the best Attic oratory was like.
(d) Letters.
Cicero's correspondence begins B.C. 68 with _ad Att._ i. 5, and ends
28th July, B.C. 43. Besides seven hundred and seventy-four letters
written by Cicero, we have ninety addressed to him by friends. The
collection was made by friends like Tiro and Atticus: cf. _ad Att._
xvi. 5, 5 (B.C. 44), 'Mearum epistularum nulla est +synagôgê+, sed
habet Tiro instar septuaginta, et quidem sunt a te quaedam sumendae:
eas ego oportet perspiciam, corrigam; tum denique edentur.'
The letters now extant fall into four groups.
1. _Epistulae ad Atticum_, in sixteen Books, belonging to the years
B.C. 68-43, and valuable for their thorough frankness (_ad Att._ viii.
14, 2, 'ego tecum tamquam mecum loquor'). Nepos appreciates their
supreme importance for the history of Cicero's time, although he dates
the commencement of the correspondence wrongly: _Att._ 16, 'xvi.
volumina epistularum ab consulatu eius usque ad extremum tempus ad
Atticum missarum; quae qui legat, non multum desideret historiam
contextam eorum temporum.' Atticus' own letters were not published,
though Cicero preserved them: _ad Att._ ix. 10, 4, 'Evolvi volumen
epistularum, quod ego sub signo habeo servoque diligentissime.'
2. _Epistulae ad Quintum Fratrem_, in three Books, of the years B.C.
60-54.
3. _Epistulae ad Brutum_, originally in nine Books, of which only two
remain. The present Book i. was really Book ix., and Book ii., which
contains letters earlier than those in Book i., may have formed part
of the original Book viii.
4. _Epistulae ad Familiares_, in sixteen Books, letters to and from
friends, written B.C. 62-43. This title is not found in any MS. Late
MSS. and old editions have 'Epistulae Familiares': for the title 'Ad
Diversos' there is no authority. In the best MSS. the Books are titled
separately by the name of the person to whom the first letter in each
is written, _e.g._ 'M. Tulli Ciceronis epistularum ad P. Lentulum
liber i.'
For the colloquial style of the letters cf. _ad Fam._ ix. 21, 1 (to
Paetus), 'Quid tibi ego in epistulis videor? nonne plebeio sermone
agere tecum? nec enim semper eodem modo: quid enim simile habet
epistula aut iudicio aut contioni? ... epistulas vero cottidianis
verbis texere solemus.'
The following works are now lost: (_a_) _Miscellaneous prose
writings._--1. Panegyrics on Porcia (_ad Att._ xiii. 37, 3) and Cato,
B.C. 45; and funeral orations written for other people to deliver (_ad
Q.F._ iii. 8, 5, 'laudavit pater scripto meo').
2. Memoirs of Cicero's consulship, written B.C. 60, in both Greek and
Latin (_ad. Att._ i. 19, 10). He took great pains with this book, and
was anxious that it should be well circulated (_ad Att._ ii. 1, 1).
3. A secret history, _Anekdota_, mentioned in letters of B.C. 59 and
44 (_ad Att._ ii. 6, 2; xiv. 17, 6).
4. _Admiranda_, a collection of wonders (Pliny, _N.H._ xxxi. 51).
5. _Chorographia_, a book on geography, mentioned by Priscian. The
letters to Atticus show that Cicero was studying the subject in B.C.
59.
6. A work on law, _De iure civili in artem redigendo_ (Gell. i. 22,
7).
7. A translation of Xenophon's _Oeconomicus_, made when Cicero was
about the age of twenty (_de Off._ ii. 87).
(_b_) _Poems._--1. Cicero's earliest effort in verse was a poem in
tetrameters, entitled _Pontius Glaucus_: Plut. _Cic._ 2, +kai
ti poiêmation eti paidos autou diasôzetai Pontios Glaukos en
tetrametrô pepoiêmenon+.
2. In B.C. 60 he made a verse translation of the astronomical poems of
Aratus, _ad Att._ ii. 1, 2, 'Prognostica mea ... propediem exspecta.'
Quotations are given in _De Nat. Deor._ ii. 104 _sqq._
3. In the same year he wrote a poem _De Suo Consulatu_, in three
Books: _ad Att._ i. 19, 10, 'poema exspectato, ne quod genus a me ipso
laudis meae praetermittatur.' A long passage from Book ii., spoken by
the Muse Urania, is recited by Q. Cicero in _De Div._ i. 17 _sqq._
4. Another poem in three Books, _De Temporibus Suis_, belonged
probably to the year 55. Cicero writes to Lentulus in 54 (_ad Fam._ i.
9, 23), 'scripsi versibus tres libros de temporibus meis, quos iam
pridem ad te misissem, si esse edendos putassem.'
5. In the letters to Quintus from June to December, 54, there is
frequent mention of a poem _Ad Caesarem_. Quintus is consulted for
information about Britain: _ad Q.F._ ii. 15, 2, 'mihi date Britanniam,
quam pingam coloribus tuis, penicillo meo.'
6. A poem on Cicero's great townsman Marius is quoted, _De Div._ i.
106.
Among others quoted are _Limon_, in which Terence was praised (see p.
51), and _iocularis libellus_ (Quint. viii. 6, 73). Translations from
Greek poets occur in the philosophical works, e.g. _de Fin._ v. 49,
from Homer, _Odys._ xii. 184-191; _Tusc._ ii. 23, from various parts
of Aeschylus, _Prom. Vinct._
The ancient criticisms on Cicero's poetry are all unfavourable:
_De Off._ i. 77, 'Illud optimum est, in quo invadi solere ab improbis
et invidis audio:
"Cedant arma togae, concedat laurea laudi."'
Juv. 10, 122,
'"O fortunatam natam me consule Romam!"
Antoni gladios potuit contemnere, si sic
omnia dixisset.'
Tac. _Dial._ 21 (quoted p. 111).
Quint. xi. 1, 24, 'In carminibus utinam pepercisset, quae non
desierunt carpere maligni.'
_Rhetorica ad Herennium_.--This treatise on rhetoric in four Books,
addressed to the author's relative C. Herennius, is usually printed
among Cicero's works, and is attributed to him by the MSS. and by
Jerome and Priscian. But it is clearly not by Cicero, for (_a_) it
does not agree with his own description of his early rhetorical
writings as 'incohata ac rudia'; (_b_) the author's position, as
described by himself, is not Cicero's. It is generally held that one
Cornificius was the author; Quintilian (_e.g._ v. 10, 2) attributes to
a person of that name several expressions found in the _ad Herennium_.
He may have been the Q. Cornificius who opposed Cicero for the
consulship in B.C. 64. The date of the treatise is probably B.C.
86-84.
QUINTUS CICERO.
Q. Tullius Cicero, the brother of the orator, was born probably B.C.
102. He was aedile in 65 (_ad Att._ i. 4, 1); praetor in 62, when he
tried the case of Archias; propraetor of Asia 61-58 (_ad Q.F._ i. 1,
2). He acted as _legatus_ of Pompey in Sardinia B.C. 56 (_pro Scauro_,
39); of Caesar in Gaul, taking part in the second invasion of Britain
(Caes. _B.G._ v.); and of his brother in Cilicia (_ad Fam._ xv. 4, 8).
At the outbreak of the civil war he was with Marcus at Formiae and
Capua; but after the death of Pompey there was a breach between them.
Being proscribed by the triumvirs he took flight, but was betrayed by
his slaves and put to death, B.C. 43 (Plut. _Cic._ 47). His wife was
Pomponia, the sister of Atticus.
For the benefit of M. Cicero in his candidature for the consulship,
B.C. 64, Quintus wrote the _Commentariolum Petitionis_ (the title in §
58) or _De Petitione Consulatus_. It is in the form of a letter, and
is headed in the best MSS. 'Q. M. Fratri S. D.' Quintus writes with
special reference to his brother's circumstances, but most of the
rules which he lays down are of general application. The authenticity
of this treatise has been called in question by Eussner, who ascribes
it to a clever imitator, partly on the ground of coincidences of
expression with Cicero's speech _in Toga Candida_; but his arguments
are refuted by Prof. Tyrrell (_Cicero's Correspondence_, i. pp.
110-121).
There are also extant three letters to Tiro and one to M. Cicero.
Quintus' poetry is now represented only by twenty hexameters on the
signs of the zodiac; but he wrote an epic poem, _Annales_ (_ad Att._
ii. 16, 4 [Quintus] 'ita remittit ut me roget ut annales suos emendem
et edam'), and composed tragedies with great rapidity (_ad Q.F._ iii.
6, 7, 'quattuor tragoedias xvi. diebus absolvisse cum scribas, tu
quidquam ab alio mutuaris?'). His admiration for Sophocles and
Euripides appears in _De Fin._ v. 3; _ad Fam._ xvi. 8, 2.
TIRO.
M. Tullius Tiro, the freedman of Cicero, who had a high opinion of his
worth and ability (_ad Fam._ xvi. 4, 3; _ad Att._ vii. 5, 2), wrote
(1) a biography of his patron: Ascon. p. 49, 'ut legimus apud Tironem
libertum Ciceronis in libro iiii. de vita eius.'
(2) Editions of Cicero's speeches and letters: Gell. i. 7, 1, 'in
oratione Ciceronis v. in Verrem, libro spectatae fidei, Tironiana cura
atque disciplina facto.' (See also p. 85.)
(3) A collection of Cicero's witticisms: Quint. vi. 3, 5, 'utinam
libertus eius Tiro aut alius, quisquis fuit, qui iii. hac de re libros
edidit, parcius dictorum numero indulsissent.'
(4) Grammatical works, as +pandektai+, mentioned by Gell. xiii.
9, 2.
For his system of shorthand, cf. Sueton. p. 136 R., 'Romae primus
Tullius Tiro, Ciceronis libertus, commentatus est notas, sed tantum
praepositionum.'
T. POMPONIUS ATTICUS (B.C. 109-32).
Author of (1) _Annalis_, a chronological table of the chief events in
Roman and foreign history, accompanied by genealogies (Nepos, _Att._
18, 1). As it was Cicero's _De Re Publica_ that suggested its
composition (Cic. _Brut._ 19), its date cannot be earlier than B.C.
54. (2) Family histories, _e.g._ of the Iunii (Nepos, _Att._ 18, 3),
published separately. (3) _De Imaginibus_, a collection of
inscriptions in verse for the busts of celebrated men (Nepos, _Att._
18, 5). (4) _De Consulatu Ciceronis_, in Greek (Nepos, _Att._ 18, 6),
written B.C. 60 (Cic. _ad Att._ ii. 1, 1).
Atticus is an interesting figure on account of the large publishing
business which he conducted (Nepos, _Att._ 13, 3); and the great care
with which he sought out good MSS. to reproduce in his establishment
makes him important in the history of the preservation of ancient
literature.
M. TERENTIUS VARRO.
(1) LIFE.
M. Terentius Varro was born B.C. 116 at Reate in the Sabine country.
Jerome yr. Abr. 1901, 'M. Terentius Varro philosophus et poeta
nascitur.' Symmachus, _Ep._ i. 2, calls him 'Terentius Reatinus'; and
he owned property in that district: _R.R._ ii. praef. 6, 'ipse
pecuarias habui grandes, in Apulia oviarias, et in Reatino equarias.'
Of his family nothing is known except that he had an uncle belonging
to the equestrian order (Plin. _N.H._ vii. 176). His philosophical
education was received at Athens, where he was a disciple of Antiochus
of Ascalon: Cic. _Ac. Post._ 12, 'Aristum Athenis [Brutus] audivit
aliquamdiu, cuius tu [Varro] fratrem Antiochum.'
He took part in the war with Sertorius in Spain, B.C. 76 (Sall. _Hist._
ii. fr. 69). In the war with the pirates, B.C. 67, he was one of
Pompeius' lieutenants, and received a _corona navalis_ for his services.
Varro _R.R._ ii. praef. 7, 'cum piratico bello inter Delum et Ciliciam
Graeciae classibus praeessem.' Plin. _N.H._ vii. 115, '[Varroni] Magnus
Pompeius piratico ex bello navalem [coronam] dedit.' Probably he was
also with Pompeius in the war with Mithradates (Plin. _N.H._ xxxiii.
136, xxxvii. 11; knowledge of the Caspian, vi. 38). To the coalition of
Pompeius, Caesar, and Crassus he was originally hostile, going so far as
to write one of his satires, +Trikaranos+, against them (Appian _B.C._
ii. 9); but in 59 he was a member of the commission appointed to
establish Caesar's veterans in Campania: Plin. _N.H._ vii. 176, 'Varro
auctor est xx. viro se agros dividente Capuae,' etc. He also held the
office of tribune (Gell. xiii. 12, 6), and was aedile with Murena (Plin.
xxxv. 173).
When the civil war broke out he was one of Pompeius' lieutenants in
Farther Spain, and resisted Caesar without success (Caes. _B.C._ ii.
17-20). From Spain he withdrew to Epirus, where he was coldly received
by the Pompeians (Cic. _ad Fam._ ix. 6, 3, 'crudeliter otiosis
minabantur, eratque eis et tua invisa voluntas et mea oratio'). We
hear of him at Corcyra (_R.R._ i. 4), and at Dyrrhachium a few days
before the battle of Pharsalus (Cic. _de Div._ i. 68). After Caesar's
victory he lived quietly at his Tusculan villa (Cic. _ad Fam._ ix. 6,
4, 'his tempestatibus es prope solus in portu ... equidem hos tuos
Tusculanenses dies instar esse vitae puto'). He was more easily
reconciled than Cicero to the new government, and was made librarian
by Caesar: Sueton. _Iul._ 44, 'Destinabat bibliothecas Graecas
Latinasque quas maximas posset publicare, data M. Varroni cura
comparandarum ac digerendarum.' This, however, did not prevent him
writing a funeral oration on Cato's sister Porcia (Cic. _ad Att._
xiii. 48, 2).
After Caesar's death Varro was exposed to the persecution of Antonius,
whose raid on his villa at Casinum is vividly described by Cicero
(_Phil._ ii. 103 _sqq._). He was proscribed, but the devotion of his
friends secured his escape (Appian _B.C._ iv. 47).
His old age was spent in peace, the literary activity for which his
whole life was remarkable being maintained to the end. At the age of
eighty-three he was still writing: Plin. _N.H._ xxix. 65, 'Cunctarer
in proferendo ex his remedio, ni M. Varro lxxxiii vitae anno
prodidisset,' etc.
Varro's death took place in B.C. 27, in his ninetieth year. Jerome yr.
Abr. 1990, 'M. Terentius Varro philosophus prope nonagenarius moritur.'
(2) WORKS.
Cicero (_ad Att._ xiii. 18) calls Varro 'homo +polygraphôtatos+,'
and Varro himself said that he had written four hundred and ninety
Books by the end of his seventy-seventh year: Gell. iii. 10, 17,
'Addit se quoque iam duodecimam annorum hebdomadam ingressum esse et
ad eum diem septuaginta hebdomadas librorum conscripsisse.' A letter
of Jerome[30] gives a list of thirty-nine works in four hundred and
ninety Books, admitting at the same time that these were only half of
the total number ('vix medium descripsi indicem'). The titles of
twenty-one other works are known from various sources.
1. _Agriculture._--Of this enormous number only one has survived in a
complete form, the treatise _De Re Rustica_ in three Books, in the
form of a dialogue. Book i. treats of agriculture; ii. of
stock-raising; iii. of poultry, game, and fish. It was written B.C.
37-6: _R.R._ i. 1, 1, 'Annus octogesimus admonet me ut sarcinas
colligam ante quam proficiscar e vita.'
2. _Grammar._--Of the twenty-five books _De Lingua Latina_, only v.-x.
have been preserved, but the scope of the whole is known from Varro's
own words. Book i. was introductory; ii.-vii. dealt with etymology;
viii.-xiii. with inflexions; xiv.-xxv. with syntax. Varro's
derivations are ridiculed by Quintilian i. 6, 37, 'Sed cui non post
Varronem sit venia, qui _agrum_ quia in eo _agatur_ aliquid, et
_graculos_ quia _gregatim_ volent dictos voluit persuadere Ciceroni?'
From Book v. onwards the work was dedicated to Cicero, in return for
his _Academics_; it is announced in Cic. _Ac._ i. 2, where Varro says,
'Habeo opus magnum in manibus, idque iam pridem: ad hunc enim ipsum
(me autem dicebat) quaedam institui, quae et sunt magna sane et
limantur a me politius.' The date of publication was probably B.C.
45-3.
Of the minor works on grammar, some at least were prior to the _De
Lingua Latina_: Cic. _Ac._ i. 9, 'Plurimum poetis nostris omninoque
Latinis et litteris luminis et verbis attulisti.' The titles known
are, _De sermone Latino_, _De origine linguae Latinae_, _De
similitudine verborum_, _De utilitate sermonis_, _De antiquitate
litterarum_, +Peri charaktêrôn+.
3. _Roman History and Antiquities._ Varro's great work in this
department was the _Antiquitates rerum divinarum humanarumque_, in
forty-one Books. The arrangement, according to Augustine _De Civ.
Dei_, vi. 3, was as follows: (_a_) i.-xxv. _res humanae_; i.
introductory, ii.-vii. history of Rome down to its capture by the
Gauls, viii.-xiii. geography of Italy, xiv.-xix. Roman Calendar, with
dates of the chief historical events, xx.-xxv. Roman institutions, (_b_)
xxvi.-xli. _res divinae_; the persons who sacrifice, the places, the
times, the rites, and the gods were discussed in three Books each,
xxvi. being introductory. The second part, at least, was addressed to
Caesar as _pontifex maximus_. As it is mentioned by Cic. _Ac._ i. 9,
it must have been published before B.C. 45.
Minor works under this head were _Annales_, _Res urbanae_, _De gente
populi Romani_, _De vita populi Romani_, _De familiis Troianis_,
_Tribuum Liber_; _Aetia_ (+aitia+), explaining Roman usages, in the
form of a catechism; +Eisagôgikos+ to Pompey on the duties of a
consul (B.C. 71), Gell. xiv. 7, 1; _De Pompeio_, _Legationum Libri_,
_De sua vita_.
4. _Geography._-(_a_) _Ephemeris navalis_, addressed to Pompey before
his departure for Spain about B.C. 77, a weather almanack for sailors;
_Ephemeris rustica_ or _agrestis_, for farmers. (_b_) _Libri navales_,
perhaps identical with the above, (_c_) _De ora maritima_.
5. _Law._--_De iure civili_ in fifteen Books.
6. _Rhetoric._--_Rhetorica_.
7. _Philosophy._-_De Forma Philosophiae_, _De Philosophia_.
8. _Mathematics_, etc.-_De mensuris_, _Mensuralia_, _De principiis
numerorum_, _Libri numerorum_, _De geometria_, _De astrologia_.
9. _Disciplinae_ in nine Books, forming a complete course of education
in the liberal arts.
10. _History of Literature and the Drama._--_De poetis_, _De
poematis_, _De lectionibus_, _De bibliothecis_, _De proprietate
scriptorum_, _De personis_, _De descriptionibus_, _De actis scenicis_,
_De scenicis actionibus_, _De originibus scenicis_, _Quaestiones
Plautinae_. In the _Hebdomades_ or _Imaginum Libri_ xv. Varro gave
short accounts in prose and verse of seven hundred famous Greeks and
Romans, with their portraits (Plin. _N.H._ xxxv. 11), the title being
derived from the arrangement in groups of seven. Aristotle's +Peplos+
had dealt similarly with the heroes of the Trojan War, and the
'+Peplographia+ Varronis' of Cic. _ad Att._ xvi. 11, 3 is usually
identified with the _Hebdomades_.
11. +Logistorikoi+, in seventy-six Books, were probably not a
mixture of fable and history, but essays enlivened by historical
examples. The titles were double, the chief speaker being named as
well as the subject of the essay, _e.g._ _Catus de liberis educandis_.
To this work Cicero probably refers, _Ac._ i. 9, 'Philosophiam multis
locis incohasti, ad impellendum satis, ad edocendum parum.'
12. Varro's poetical works are now represented only by fragments of
the _Saturae Menippeae_, a medley of prose and verse in one hundred
and fifty books (Cic. _Ac._ i. 9, 'Varium et elegans omni fere numero
poema fecisti'). They were so called by Varro himself (Gell. ii. 18,
7, 'In satiris quas alii Cynicas, ipse appellat Menippeas'), being
founded on the dialogues of Menippus, the Cynic of Gadara, of the
third century B.C. Their object was to present philosophy in a popular
dress: Cic. _Ac._ i. 8, 'Quae cum facilius minus docti intellegerent,
iucunditate quadam ad legendum invitati.' From the way in which they
are spoken of in the same passage ('in illis veteribus nostris'), most
of them must have been among Varro's earliest writings. The titles are
extremely curious, _e.g._ '+Dis paides hoi gerontes+,' 'Longe
fugit qui suos fugit.' Quintilian considers Varro as the founder of a
type of satire distinct from that of Lucilius, Horace, and Persius: x.
1, 95, 'Alterum illud etiam prius satirae genus sed non sola carminum
varietate mixtum condidit Terentius Varro, vir Romanorum
eruditissimus.' His other poetical works were ten books of _Poemata_,
four of _Satires_, and six of _Pseudotragoediae_ (tragi-comedy).
13. _Oratory._--Varro left twenty-two Books of _Orationes_ and three
of _Suasiones_, but he had no fame as an orator: Quint. x. 1, 95,
'Plus scientiae collaturus quam eloquentiae.'
14. _Letters._--Of these there seem to have been two collections: (_a_)
_Epistulae Latinae_, real letters to acquaintances; (_b_) _Epistolicae
Quaestiones_, discussing in epistolary form points of history,
grammar, etc.
The collection of maxims which passes under the name _Sententiae
Varronis_ is of uncertain authenticity.
LABERIUS.
The date of D. Laberius' birth is got from Sueton. _Iul._ 39, 'Ludis
D. Laberius eques Romanus mimum suum egit.' This event took place in
B.C. 45, and in the prologue to the piece (quoted below), l. 109,
Laberius says he is sixty years old; hence he was born about B.C. 105.
He died in January, B.C. 43.
Jerome yr. Abr. 1974 = B.C. 43, 'Laberius mimorum scriptor decimo
mense post C. Caesaris interitum Puteolis moritur.'
In B.C. 45 Laberius, although an _eques_, was, as a punishment for his
political opinions, compelled by Caesar to perform in one of his own
mimes, and was beaten by Publilius Syrus.
Macrob. _Saturn._ ii. 7, 2 _sqq._, 'Laberium asperae libertatis
equitem Romanum Caesar quingentis milibus invitavit, ut prodiret in
scaenam et ipse ageret mimos, quos scriptitabat. Sed potestas non
solum si invitet sed etiam si supplicet cogit, unde se et Laberius a
Caesare coactum in prologo testatur his versibus:
"Necessitas, cuius cursus transversi impetum
voluerunt multi effugere, pauci potuerunt,
quo me detrusit paene extremis sensibus!
Quem nulla ambitio, nulla umquam largitio,
nullus timor, vis nulla, nulla auctoritas
movere potuit in iuventa de statu:
ecce in senecta ut facile labefecit loco
viri excellentis mente clemente edita
summissa placide blandiloquens oratio!
Etenim ipsi di negare cui nil potuerunt,
hominem me denegare quis posset pati?
Ego bis tricenis annis actis sine nota
eques Romanus e Lare egressus meo
domum revertar mimus," etc.
In ipsa quoque actione subinde se, qua poterat, ulciscebatur inducto
habitu Syri, qui velut flagris caesus praeripientique similis
exclamabat
"Porro Quirites libertatem perdimus"
et paulo post adiecit
"Necesse est multos timeat quem multi timent."
Quo dicto universitas populi ad solum Caesarem oculos et ora
convertit, notantes inpotentiam eius hac dicacitate lapidatam. Ob haec
in Publilium vertit favorem ... [Publilius Syrus] cum mimos componeret
ingentique adsensu in Italiae oppidis agere coepisset, productus Romae
per Caesaris ludos, omnes qui tunc scripta et operas suas in scaenam
locaverant provocavit ut singuli secum posita in vicem materia pro
tempore contenderent. Nec ullo recusante superavit omnes, in quis et
Laberium. Unde Caesar adridens hoc modo pronuntiavit
"Favente tibi me victus es, Laberi, a Syro"
statimque Publilio palmam et Laberio anulum aureum cum quingentis
sestertiis dedit.'
We have forty-three titles of mimes by Laberius, and about one hundred
and fifty lines of fragments. From the above we see that Laberius
criticized contemporary society with great vigour. Other features are
(_a_) His invention of words.
Gell. xvi. 7, 1, 'Laberius in mimis, quos scriptitavit, oppido quam
verba finxit praelicenter.' Examples are _manuatus est_ for _furatus
est_; _abluvium_ for _diluvium_.
(_b_) His use of plebeian expressions.
Gell. xix. 13, 3, 'quae a Laberio ignobilia nimis et sordentia in usum
linguae Latinae intromissa sunt.'
(_c_) His references to philosophy.
Cf. l. 17,
'nec Pythagoream dogmam doctus';
l. 72,
'Democritus Abderites physicus philosophus,' etc.
For views on Laberius cf. Hor. _Sat._ i, 10, 5,
'Nam sic
et Laberi mimos ut pulchra poemata mirer.'
Cic. _ad Fam._ xii. 18, 2 (written B.C. 46), 'Equidem sic iam obdurui
ut ludis Caesaris nostri animo aequissimo viderem T. Plancum, audirem
Laberi et Publili poemata.'
Contemporaries of Laberius were the satirist Abuccius, and Egnatius,
who wrote a didactic poem _de rerum natura_.
M. FURIUS BIBACULUS.
According to Jerome, Bibaculus was born B.C. 103, but, as he laughs at
the old age of the grammarian Orbilius (114-c. 17 B.C.), authorities
put the date twenty years later.
Jerome yr. Abr. 1914, 'M. Furius poeta cognomento Bibaculus Cremonae
nascitur.'
Sueton. _Gramm._ 9, '[Orbilius] vixit prope ad centesimum aetatis
annum, amissa iam pridem memoria, ut versus Bibaculi docet,
"Orbilius ubinam est, litterarum oblivio?"'
Bibaculus wrote poems against the monarchical party; these are
referred to as _iambi_ by Quintilian, x. 1, 96.
Tac. _Ann._ iv. 34, 'Carmina Bibaculi et Catulli referta contumeliis
Caesarum leguntur: sed ipse divus Iulius, ipse divus Augustus et
tulere ista et reliquere.'
Two epics, _Aethiopis_ and _Bellum Gallicum_ (on Iulius Caesar's
exploits), are probably referred to by Hor. _Sat._ i. 10, 36,
'Turgidus Alpinus iugulat dum Memnona, dumque
diffingit Rheni luteum caput.'
Acron _ad loc._, 'Bibaculum quemdam poetam Gallum tangit.'
Cf. Hor. _Sat._ ii. 5, 40,
'Seu pingui tentus omaso
Furius hibernas cana nive conspuet Alpes.'
Acron _ad loc._, 'Furius Bibaculus in pragmatia belli Gallici:
Iuppiter hibernas,' etc.
It is probably from this epic that Macrob. _Saturn._ vi. 1, 31-4,
quotes passages imitated by Virgil. So, 'Furius in primo annali
"Interea Oceani linquens Aurora cubile."' (Cf. Virg. _Aen._ iv. 585.)
Bibaculus also wrote a prose work _Lucubrationes_. (Pliny _N.H._ xxiv.
praef.)
CAESAR.
(1) LIFE.
The main facts of C. Iulius Caesar's life are found in a compendious
form in the Life by Suetonius. The ancient authorities, who are
unanimous in stating that at the time of his death (15th March, B.C.
44) Caesar was in his fifty-sixth year (Sueton. _Iul._ 88, Appian
_B.C._ ii. 149, Plut. _Caes._ 69), must have placed his birth in B.C.
100. But if this date were correct Caesar must have held the various
magistracies two years before the legal time--a fact nowhere
mentioned, and in itself improbable; it is therefore natural to hold
that he was born in B.C. 102 (Mommsen, _R.H._ iv., p. 15, note). His
birthday was 12th July (Macrob. _Saturn._ i, 12, 34).
His father, C. Iulius Caesar, was praetor in B.C. 84, and died in the
same year; Aurelia, his mother, took great interest in his education
(Tac. _Dial._ 28). From the first Caesar was connected with the
leaders of the democratic party in the State. Marius, who had married
his father's sister Julia, conferred on him the office of _flamen
Dialis_ before he was sixteen years of age; and his first wife was
Cornelia, daughter of Cinna. His refusal to divorce her at the bidding
of Sulla drew down upon him the enmity of the dictator; and he fled in
disguise to the Sabine mountains, where he remained until Sulla
reluctantly consented to spare his life.
Caesar obtained his first experience of military service as a member
of the staff of M. Thermus, propraetor of Asia, who conferred on him
the _civica corona_ for saving the life of a fellow-soldier at the
siege of Mytilene. After serving for a short time under Servilius
Isauricus against the pirates in Cilicia, he returned to Rome on the
news of Sulla's death in 78, and in the following year commenced his
career as an orator with the prosecution of Cn. Cornelius Dolabella,
proconsul of Macedonia, for extortion.
Towards the end of that year Caesar left Rome for Rhodes--on his way
thither being captured by pirates near Miletus--and studied for a year
under the famous rhetorician Molo, taking part also in some operations
on the mainland against one of the officials of Mithradates. Having
been elected one of the _pontifices_ in the room of his uncle, C.
Aurelius Cotta, he returned to Rome in 74, and soon became a _tribunus
militum_. In the agitation for the restoration of the powers of the
tribunes of the _plebs_, Caesar took a prominent part; he also
supported the _Lex Aurelia_ of 70, which gave the _equites_ a share in
the _iudicia_, and the _Lex Plautia_, granting an amnesty to the
adherents of Lepidus and Sertorius.
The year 68 he spent as quaestor in Farther Spain, and on his return
to Rome strenuously advocated the claims of the Transpadane Gauls to
the Roman franchise. His first wife having died, he married Pompeia,
daughter of Q. Pompeius Rufus, and granddaughter of Sulla, whom he
divorced five years later on account of her alleged adultery with P.
Clodius. In 67 and 66 the bills of Gabinius and Manilius, conferring
extensive military powers upon Pompey, were supported by Caesar and
the other leading democrats.
Whether Caesar was concerned in the abortive attempt of Catiline at
revolution in 65, is a moot point. He was now aedile, and acquired
great popularity by the splendid shows which he gave to the people,
and by his restoration of the statue and trophies of Marius. In 64, as
president of the _quaestio de sicariis_, he condemned some of the most
active agents in Sulla's proscriptions. In 63 he supported the _lex
agraria_ of P. Servilius Rullus, and brought about the prosecution of
C. Rabirius for the murder of the tribune Saturninus. On the
re-enactment of the _Lex Domitia de sacerdotiis_, Caesar was elected
_pontifex maximus_. He was again suspected, probably with good ground,
of complicity with Catiline's designs; he certainly proposed in the
Senate that the conspirators should be punished with imprisonment
instead of death. Praetor in 62, he worked in Pompey's cause by
proposing that the charge of rebuilding the Capitoline temple should
be transferred to him from the aristocratic champion Catulus, and by
supporting the bill of the tribune Metellus Nepos for electing Pompey
consul in absence. Next year Caesar was propraetor of Farther Spain,
where he conquered the Lusitanians and Gallaecians, and amassed
considerable wealth. His coalition with Pompey and Crassus procured
for him the consulship of 59, rendered notable by the _Leges Iuliae_;
and before he went out of office his position was secured by the _Lex
Vatinia_, conferring on him the government of Cisalpine Gaul and
Illyricum for five years, with the command of three legions;
Transalpine Gaul and another legion were added by the Senate. The
following nine years (58-50) were occupied with the subjugation of
Gaul and the two invasions of Britain (55 and 54). At the conference
at Luca, in the winter of 57-56, it was agreed that Caesar should be
continued in office for a second period of five years, and be allowed
to increase the number of his legions to ten. In 50, realizing the
danger of his position if he returned to Rome as a private person, he
was anxious to be a candidate for the consulship _in absentia_; but
Pompey thwarted his plan. Caesar refused to disband his army at the
bidding of the Senate, and crossed the Rubicon early in 49. Italy soon
submitted; he defeated the Pompeians in Spain, captured Massilia, and
secured Sicily and Sardinia. Landing in Epirus in 48, he was defeated
at Dyrrhachium, and retreated to Thessaly, where he overthrew Pompey
at Pharsalus. Then followed his victories over the king of Egypt in
the Alexandrian war (48), Pharnaces in Asia Minor (47), the Pompeians
and Juba at Thapsus (46), and C. and Sex. Pompeius at Munda (45).
He had been created dictator in 49 and 48, with the tribunician power
in perpetuity; and on his return to Rome in 45 he was made consul for
ten years, dictator, and _praefectus morum_, with the title of
_imperator_ for life. In the intervals between his campaigns he
carried out numerous reforms, including the rectification of the
calendar, B.C. 46 (see p. 110). His assassination by Brutus and
Cassius and the other conspirators took place on 15th March, B.C. 44.
(2) WORKS.
1. _De Bello Gallico_, in seven Books. The title used by Caesar
himself was probably _Commentarii rerum suarum_ (as in Cic. _Brut._
262, and Sueton. _Iul._ 56; cf. Strabo, iv. 1, 1 +hypomnêmata+),
although this does not appear in the best MSS., which give variously
_libri_, _historiae_, or _ephemeris rerum gestarum belli Gallici_.
The work describes Caesar's operations in Gaul, Germany, and Britain
during the years B.C. 58-52, the events of each year occupying a
separate Book. It was written and published as a whole, not in parts
at the end of each year's campaign. Otherwise it is difficult to see
why Cicero should not have heard of it from his brother Quintus or his
friend Trebatius, both of whom were with Caesar; or why Hirtius should
have spoken of the rapidity with which the work was composed (_B.G._
viii. praef. 6, 'Ceteri quam bene atque emendate, nos etiam quam
facile atque celeriter eos perfecerit, scimus'). This view is
corroborated by the statement of Asinius Pollio, that there were
mistakes in the work due to defective memory (Sueton. _Iul._ 56, 'quae
... memoria lapsus perperam ediderit'); and by some expressions in the
earlier Books pointing forward to events mentioned later (i. 28
compared with vii. 9, and iv. 21 with vii. 76).
The time of composition was probably the winter after the last
campaign narrated in the Book (B.C. 52-51). It was certainly published
before B.C. 46, the date of Cicero's _Brutus_, and probably before the
rupture with Pompey, of whom Caesar speaks with approbation (vii. 6,
'Cum iam ille urbanas res virtute Cn. Pompei commodiorem in statum
pervenisse intellegeret').
The aim of the book was twofold: (1) to provide material for professed
historians: Hirt. _B.G._ viii. praef. 5, 'qui sunt editi, ne scientia
tantarum rerum scriptoribus deesset'; (2) to furnish a defence of the
author's own conduct--an object carefully kept in the background. It
has been proved that Caesar suppressed facts which would have told
against him at Rome (_e.g._ his rapacity, Sueton. _Iul._ 54), and the
plausible motives which he assigns for some of his actions cannot be
accepted as genuine. Cf. the criticism of Asinius Pollio, Sueton.
_Iul._ 56, 'Pollio Asinius parum diligenter parumque integra veritate
compositos putat, cum Caesar pleraque et quae per alios erant gesta
temere crediderit, et quae per se vel consulto vel etiam memoria
lapsus perperam ediderit, existimatque rescripturum et correcturum
fuisse.' The style is remarkable for its brevity, directness, and the
absence of ornament and emotion (Cic. _Brut._ 262, 'Nudi sunt, recti
et venusti, omni ornatu orationis, tamquam veste, detracto').
Among the materials used by Caesar in writing the _Commentarii_ were his
own despatches to the Senate (ii. 35, iv. 38, vii. 90) and the reports
of his _legati_. Late writers speak of his +ephêmerides+ (_e.g._ Plut.
_Caes._ 22), but there is no ground for supposing that he kept a regular
diary. He depended to a great extent on his own memory (cf. Pollio's
criticism, above).
2. _De Bello Civili_, in three Books, similar in plan to the _Bell.
Gall._ Book iii. ends abruptly with an event of no great importance,
and, as the death of Pompey would have formed a natural ending, we
must suppose that Caesar had intended to continue the narrative with
the Alexandrian, Spanish, and African wars, but was prevented from
carrying out his plan. The work was published after his death, without
undergoing revision (Sueton. _Iul._ 56, 'Pollio existimat rescripturum
et correcturum fuisse').
_Other works in the Corpus Caesarianum._--Sueton. _Iul._ 56 says,
'Alexandrini Africique et Hispaniensis [belli] incertus auctor est.
Alii Oppium putant, alii Hirtium, qui etiam Gallici belli novissimum
imperfectumque librum suppleverit.'
Suetonius evidently believed that Hirtius was the author of _B.G._
viii., for he introduces a quotation from the preface to that Book
with the words, 'Hirtius ita praedicat' (_ibid._). Hirtius is also
mentioned in the MSS. as the author of _B.G._ viii., and there is no
reason to doubt that this is the case. That he is the author of any of
the others is rendered doubtful by the fact that his bad health (which
lasted to November, B.C. 44) and his position as consul would leave
him little time for literature between the death of Caesar (15th
March, B.C. 44) and his own death at Mutina (27th April, B.C. 43).
Hirtius was thus able to carry out only the first part of the plan
sketched in _B.G._ viii. praef. 2, 'Caesaris nostri commentarios rerum
gestarum, non cohaerentibus superioribus atque insequentibus eius
scriptis, contexui, novissimumque imperfectum ab rebus gestis
Alexandriae confeci usque ad exitum non quidem civilis dissensionis,
cuius finem nullum videmus, sed vitae Caesaris.'
G. Landgraf, _Untersuchungen zu Caesar und seinen Fortsetzern_
(Erlangen, 1888), arrives at the following conclusions:
1. In the _Bellum Africum_ we possess the notes of Asinius Pollio, who
took part in the war. That the work partook of the nature of a journal
is shown by the style; _e.g._ _interim_ is used about eighty times as a
connecting link, and dates and hours of the day are given carefully.
Landgraf supports his position by instancing similarities of
expression in the _Bell. Afr._ and in three letters from Pollio to
Cicero (_ad Fam._ x. 31; 32; 33).
2. Ch. 48-64 of the _Bell. Alex._ on events in Spain in B.C. 48-7 were
sent to Hirtius by Pollio, who was governor of Hispania Ulterior in
B.C. 45, and as such was best acquainted with these incidents.
3. On the death of Hirtius, Pollio, on searching for his own papers
(which he had lent Hirtius to help him in his work), found Hirtius'
_Bell. Gall._ viii., and made some additions.
4. The _Bell. Civ._ was in Hirtius' possession unedited at his death.
Hirtius evidently intended to publish it along with _B.G._ viii. The
third Book had been left unfinished by Caesar, whose notes, some of
which were very brief, Hirtius had extended, and filled up the gaps in
the narrative. There were also some notes on the _Bell. Alex._ The
_Bell. Alex._ in the narrower sense (cc. 1-33) Hirtius began with, and
in the early chapters contented himself with making small additions.
In the later parts are found considerable additions both by Hirtius
and by Pollio. Landgraf attempts to distinguish the work of the two:
cc. 34-41, on the Bellum Ponticum, being mostly by Pollio, and cc.
65-76, on the wars in Illyria and against Pharnaces, mostly by
Hirtius.
5. The authorship of the _Bellum Hispaniense_, which in style is far
below the _Bellum Africum_, Landgraf leaves an open question.
E. Wölfflin (_Sitzungsberichte der k. b. Akad. der Wissenschaften zu
München_, 1889, pp. 323 _sqq._, and ed. of the _Bell. Afr._, 1889)
holds the same views as Landgraf, and gives many instances of
difference in diction between _Bell. Afr._ on the one hand, and
_Gall._ viii. and _Alex._ on the other; _e.g._
_Bell. Afr._ _Bell. Gall._ viii.; _Bell. Alex._
_suppetiae_, - 7 times - never.
_convallis_, - 5 " - _vallis_, 10 times.
_convulnero_, - 9 " - _vulnero_ (as in Caesar).
_contendo_ + infin., 20 " - never.
_adorior_, - 14 " - only in _Gall._ viii. 34.
_adgredior_, - never - 14 times.
_grandis_, - 7 times - _magnus_.
_subito_, - 22 " - never.
_repente_, - never - 16 times.
_postquam_, - 34 " - not in _Gall._ viii.
hist. infin., - 24 " - never.
On the other hand, Widmann, _Philologus_, L. (1891), p. 565, proves
that the author of the note-book worked up in the _Bell. Afr._ was an
officer of the 5th legion, that Pollio was not connected with the 5th
legion, and probably did not go through the whole African war, as the
author clearly must have done. This, of course, also proves that
Hirtius cannot have been the author.
On the whole, we think it proved that the _Bell. Afr._ was not written
by the author of _B. Gall._ viii. and _B. Alex._, and that the author
was not in any case Pollio. The _B. Alex._ is probably worked up from
note-books written by several hands. The attempt to distinguish the
work of Hirtius and another hand in _B. Gall._ viii. is against the
evidence of Suetonius; and though several hands have co-operated in
_B. Alex._, it is hardly possible to distinguish them precisely.
The _Bell. Hisp._ is evidently the work of an eye-witness, cf. c. 29,
'nostri ad dimicandum procedunt, id quod adversarios existimabamus
esse facturos.' He is apt to be bombastic (c. 5, 'hic alternis non
solum morti mortem exaggerabant, sed tumulos tumulis exaequabant'),
and makes a ridiculous show of learning (quoting the combat of
Achilles and Memnon, c. 25, and Ennius, c. 23, 'nostri cessere
parumper'; c. 31, 'pes pede premitur, armis teruntur arma.')
(3) CAESAR'S LOST WORKS.
1. _De Analogia_, a treatise on grammar in two Books, dedicated to
Cicero (Cic. _Brut._ 253) and composed in the interval between two of
the campaigns in Gaul. Sueton. _Iul._ 56, 'Reliquit et de Analogia
duos libros ... In transitu Alpium, cum ex citeriore Gallia
conventibus peractis ad exercitum rediret ... fecit.' It supported the
view that _analogia_, not _anomalia_, should be the governing
principle in grammar, _i.e._ that order should be introduced into the
chaos of varying usages. Gellius i. 10, 4 has a notable quotation from
the first Book, 'Habe semper in memoria atque in pectore, ut tamquam
scopulum sic fugias inauditum atque insolens verbum.'