Chapter II: The Ciceronian Age (1)

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.