CRITICAL AND EXPLANATORY NOTES ON THE De Amicitia. C. 1. EGO autem a patre ita eram deductus ad Scævolam, sumta virili toga, ut, quoad possem et liceret, a senis latere nunquam discederem. "Deduci ad aliquem dicuntur, qui alicui erudiendi traduntur, aut certe commendantur, ut cum eo versari et ab eo discere possint; mos enim erat Romæ, ut parentes filios adolescentes alicui viro primario commendarent, ex cujus consuetudine proficerent," Ernesti Ind. Latin. "Tacitus in Dialogo de Oratoribus,' Apud majores nostros juvenis ille, qui foro et eloquentiæ parabatur, imbutus jam domestica disciplina, refertus honestis studiis, deducebatur a patre vel propinquis ad eum oratorem, qui principem locum in civitate tenebat: hunc sectari, hunc prosequi, hujus omnibus dictionibus interesse, atque (sic dixerim) pugnare in prælio discere:' ad hunc morem alludit Cato sæpe, de senectute disserens," Aldus Manutius. Cum sæpe multa, tum memini, domi in hemicyclio sedentem, ut solebat, cum et ego essem una, et pauci admodum familiares, in eum sermonem, illum incidere, qui tum fere omnibus erat in ore. Melmoth and Ainsworth interpret the word hemicyclio by a semicircular apartment: Mr. Bell, of Antermony, indeed, says (vol. 1. p. 102,) in his description of a Persian Hall of Audience:-"The farther end of the hall is a semicircle: here sat the shack upon a sofa, raised about a foot from the floor, which was elevated four steps above the rest of the hall." But it should seem that Cicero intended a seat by the expression: In Gesner's Thesaurus we have the following account of the word:"Falluntur, puto, qui hoc ad sellam auguralem referunt, et indicari arbitror lectum, sedem certe pulvinatam, semicirculari forma, majorem, confabulationibus aliquot familiarium rem aptissimam: certe Pollux (6. 9.) ἐφ' ὧν δ' ἔστι κατακεῖσθαι, inquit, καλοίης ἂν κλίνας, ἡμικύκλια, κλιντῆρας: manifeste ergo inter genera lectorum refertur et sedilium." Thus too Ernesti, Ind. Latin.: " Hemicyclium, solium, sella major patris v. c. familias: solium ita vocatur a figura semicirculari. Sid. Apoll. Ep. 2. 2 Solii hemicyclium vide Gronov. ad Suet. de Gramma. c. 17." Grævius says: "Sic recte MSS. inter quos et Pithœaneus, ut et edd. optimæ Langii, Lambini, aliorumque: vulgo, hemyciclo [which Aldus Manutius and Betuleius interpret by corona prudentum]: sed hemicyclia dicebantur mensæ semcirculares, aut etiam sedes semirotundæ, plurium sellarum capaces, in quibus solebant sedere confabulantes, imprimis seniores, unde Plutarchus in Nicia, νέου ἐν παλαίστραις καὶ γέο ροντας ἐν ἐργαστερίοις καὶ ἡμικυκλίοις συγκαθεζομένους: hinc quod Sidon. Apollinar. 1. 2. ep. 2. modo vocavit in cella caldaria solii hemicyclium, paulo post dicit solii sigma, propter figuram hujus literæ, quæ tum sic scribebatur C: quam ob causam mensa quoque semirotunda, ad quam accumbentes epulabantur, sigma dicta est, ut nemo humanior ignorat, et cujus figura in multis antiquitatis monumentis conspicitur: etiam de aliis rebus, quæ forma erant semicirculari, dicitur: Plin. l. v. ep. 6. cum rectum hippodromi limitem in extrema parte hemicyclo frangi scribit, vult eum desinere in formam semirotundam." Quod P. Sulpicio utebare multum. "Cic. pro Rosc. Amer. 62. Et sese ad Cæciliam nepotis filiam, quam honoris causa nomino, contulit, qua pater usus erat plurimum,' int. ad amicitiam et familiaritatem: Id. pro Cluent. 4. c. 16. His Fabricius semper usus est familiarissime:' conf. Idem Fam. 1. 3." Gesner Lat. Thes. C. 2. Unum te sapientem et appellant, et existimant: tribuebatur hoc modo M. Catoni: et scimus L. Atilium apud patres nostros appellatum esse sapientem: sed uterque alio quodam 66 modo; Atilius, quia prudens esse in jure civili putabatur; Cato, quia multarum rerum usum habebat: multa ejus, et in Senatu, et in Foro, vel provisa prudenter, vel acta constanter, vel responsa acute, ferebantur: propterea quasi cognomen jam habebat in senectute sapientis: te autem alio quodam modo non solum natura et moribus, verum etiam studio et doctrina, esse sapientem. This is, certainly, the most difficult passage in these two Tracts; but, if the reader will listen attentively, I hope to be able to make the whole perfectly intelligible to him. The nominative to tribuebatur is nomen, or rather appellatio, which is implied from appellant : after uterque, appellabatur is implied, as is evident from the context: place in a parenthesis all the clause from sed uterque to in senectute sapientis: the sense is then clear. Melmoth says in a note: Cato's proper name was Marcus Priscus [Portius]; Cato being a characteristic addition affixed to it by common consent, from the old Latin term Catus, which signifies Wise. Plut. in Vit. Caton. M." With all due deference to so respectable a scholar, as Mr. Melmoth is, I must observe that Cicero is here alluding to his sirname, not of Catus, but of Sapiens, as is evident from the context, Unum te sapientem et appellant, et existimant; tribuebatur hoc modo M. Catoni:' Cicero would have said in that case, 'tribuebatur hoc modo M. Portio,' not M. Catoni, and again in the subsequent lines not Cato, but Portius: in the words cognomen jam habebat in senectute sapientis, Cicero has expressly told to us that he was called Sapiens. Horace alludes to this sirname of Sapiens, which Lælius enjoyed, when he says, 'Virtus Scipiadæ, et mitis sapientia Læli.' and so does Lucilius, cited by Cicero de Fin. Bonor. et Malor. L. 2. c. 8. 'Præclare Læliu', et recte sophos, illudque vere.' Humanosque casus virtute inferiores putes, that is, as incapable of disturbing the serenity of the virtuous mind.' Ut assolet, scilicet fieri: Justin 39. c. 1. supplies the ellipse, ‹ Dum aliena affectat, ut assolet fieri, propria per defectionem Syriæ amisit: Again Phædrus 3. 9. 5. says, E populo sic nescio quis, ut fieri solet.' Quomodo enim (ut alia omittam) mortem filii tulit? memineram Paulum, videram Gallum: sed hi in pueris; Cato in per fecto et spectato viro. After alia, understand exempla. "Sententia-plana est: sed hi, inquit, quos commemoravi, L. Paullus Macedonicus, et C. S. Gallus, amiserunt filios prætextatos, et puerorum mortem moderate tulerunt, vel, et in puerorum morte moderate ferenda moderatos se præbuerunt: Cato vero in perfecto viro, et prætore designato mortuo moderatus fuit, quod longe majus, admirabilius, et laudabilius, est." Lambinus. We must supply some word after hi from the context. Care Catoni anteponas, that is ne anteponas: Palairet, in his Lat. Ellips. (p. 197.) has produced two instances, where the ellipse is supplied : "Plaut. Merc. 5. 3. 2. ' Cavi, ne quid facerem Terent. Eunuch. 4. 6. 14. At enim cave, ne— amittas." C. 3. Continuo adolescens, that is, immediately from his youth continuo is a very forcible expression: it properly implies both the commencement, and the continuance of a thing; it connects one period of time with another; it signifies the uninterrupted and continued approach of a body from one point to another thus Virgil says in his Georgics Bk. 1. v. 60. "Continuo has leges, æternaque fœdera certis Heyne-"Continuo―est-hic, quod sententiæ docent, statim rerum initio ; nec minus aliena est illa observatiuncula ab aliis locis, ut Ge. 1. 169. 356. 111. 75. iv. 254.: ubique videbis esse principio: in aliis locis est extemplo, confestim." But, agreeably to my interpretation, the word here implies that nature not only originally fixed, but has uniformly maintained these laws through the succession of ages: that this is the meaning of continuo, is evident from the epithet æterna, which the Poet has prefixed to fædera: he says æternaque fædera: Heyne has, however, advanced nearer to the true meaning of the passage than those commentators, who understand continuo in the sense of avríka, when it is used in the beginning of a narration, with the interpretation of exempli gratia, ut statim hoc exemplo utar,'' ut statim hoc commemorem.' 6 C. 4. Profecto. "Adverbium confirmantis, dictum quasi pro facto." Gesner Thes. Triduum disseruit. "Per [is understood] in triduum : Justin. 12. 3. 1. Exercitui suo triduum luctum induxit: Sebisius legit tridui, sed incassum: triduum elliptice est pro per triduum; plene dixit Scribonius 71. 122. 140. Per triduum." Palairet's Lat. Ellips. Pref. Ut prius introieram, sic prius exire de vita, that is introieram in vitam, implied from the context. "Non tum hoc, tum illud, ut in plerisque, sed idem dicebat semper, animos hominum esse divinos, iisque (piisque legendum arbitror), cum e corpore excessissent, reditum in cœlum patere: hoc dixit in Tuscul. I. c. XI. Animos, cum e corporibus excesserint, in cælum quasi in domicilium suum, pervenire, 1. c. 49. Emittique nos e custodia et levari vinclis arbitremur, utin æternam, et plane in nostram domum remigremus." L. C. Valckenaer's Diatr. C. 6. With respect to the conjecture of piis for is, it may be observed that Cicero, indeed, says in his Somnium Scipionis, Quare et tibi, Publi, et piis omnibus retinendus est unimus in custodia corporis ;" and he had said before," Omnibus, qui patriam conservarint, adjuverint, auxerint, certum esse in cælo definitum locum, ubi beati ævo sempiterno fruantur," which seems to confirm the conjecture. C. 5. Neque id ad vivum reseco. "Ad vivum resecare est severe nimis et districte disputare:" Again, under ad: "Usus est pro eo, quod est rem accuratius examinare, et excutere, sicut etiam tonsores, cum capillos, aut ungues resecant, sæpenumero molesti sunt, dum nimium diligentes esse student." Gesner Lut. Thes. Ad vivum sc. unguem: Columella 6. 12. 3, however says: "Si sanguis in inferiore parte ungulæ est, extrema pars ipsius ungulæ ad vivum resecatur." Agamus igitur pingui Minerva, ut aiunt. "Dicitur pinguiore Minerva fieri quid inconditius simpliciusque, quasique indoctius sit; non autem exquisita arte, nec exactissima cura: Hor. Serm. 2, 3. philosophum describens non exactis illis Stoicorum rationibus atque argutiis instructum, sed veluti citra artem, philosophiam moribus exprimentem, neque tam disertum quam simplicem ac sincerum: Rusticus, abnormis sapiens, crassaque Minerva." Gesn. Thes. Hoc præstat amicitia propinquitati, quod ex propinquitate |