C. Salinator: naval commander in the war against Antiochus,

191 15.0.
Sp. Albinus : consul in 180 n.c.
5. tum . . . tum: partly . . . partly.
6. sine quibus . . . putarent : loithout wh\ch (Jthey said) they
NOTES 46
thought Ufe loas not life; subjunctive in iraplied indirect dis- course.
7. spernerentur : not as strong in meaning as our 'spurn,' 'despise/ but niore nearly equivalent to our 'neglect,' ' sliglit.'
8. essent soliti : subjunctive by attraction.
Qui, etc. : note tlie adversative force of this sentence, — hxit thcse men dkl not seem to me to blame, etc.
id quod esset accusandum : practically a subordinate clause in indirect discourse, non id accusare videbantur being equivalent to non eos id arrusare putabam ; hence the subjunctive.
10. usu venirent : woidd happen, lit. would come by experience.
12. cognovi: here, I have Icnoion.
sine querela : the prepositional phrase is used as an adjective modifier of senectutem.
qui . . . non moleste ferrent : loho by no means regretted, lit. tcho bore it not ill. The object of ferrent is se hixatos esse. Note the litotes in non moleste; except for this \ve should liave had nec (correlative with nec following) instead of e^ . . . non.
15. non in aetate: not in the time oflife.
moderati : o/ selfcontrol ; moderati homines are those qui sibi modorantur.
1(). difficiles : churlish ; hard to manage or hard to please.
inhumani: i.e. devoid of culture {humanitas).
17. importunitas, inhrmaanitas : the.se words convey in sub- stantive form the ideas contained in difficiles and inhumani respec- tively.
omni aetati : to every period of life.
10. dixerit quispiam : some one may say ; potential subjunctive. The perfect subjunctive was originally an aorist, and traces of its aoristic force may frequently be noted, as here.
20. opes : resources, and so influence.
copias : wealth.
dignitatem: high standing, both political and social.
23. sed nequaquam in isto sunt omnia: i.e. the whole case is by no means comprised in that.
^4. ut fertur: the story is taken from PIato's Republic, I, 329 E.
Themistocles : the famous Athenian statesraan, coramander of the Greeks at Salamis.
46 CATO MAIOR DE SENECTUTE
25. Seriphio cuidam : a certain Seriphian. Seriphos, one of the Cyclades, was so small and rocky that it became proverbial in antiquity for its iusignificance and barrenness.
ille: i.e. the Seriphian.
27. Nec hercule : supply in sense clarus fuissem.
29. Quod : referring loosely to the lesson of the story just nar- rated.
30. levis: t.e. easy to bear.
ne . . . quidem : ne . . . quidem, as frequently, merely repeats and intensifies the negative idea. A. & G. 209, a, 1 ; B. 347, 2 ; H. 553, 2.
31. nec insipienti, etc. : nor to a fool can it fail to be burden- some, even in the midst of the greatest plenty. Note the chiastic arrangement in nec levis ne sapienti quidem on the one hand, and nec insipienti non gravis on the other.
32. Aptissima omnino . . . arma : altogether the most suit- able weapons; senectutis is a Possessive Genitive, i.e. weapons for old age to use.
5. 1. artes exercitationesque virtutum : liberal arts and the practice of the virtues; artes is here used in the sense of artes liberales. Notice the use of the plural in exercitationes ; repeated instances are thought of.
2. quae : referring to virtutes.
cum diu multumque vixeris : when you have had a long and eventful life ; vixeris is in the perfect subjunctive. Note the indefi- nite second singular. B. 356, 3. Subordinate clauses containing tliis indefinite second person singular stand regularly in the sub- junctive. Cf. p. 12, 1. 11, quicquid agas.
3. ecierunt : equivalent to efferunt, which latter was the current form in Cicero^s day. B. App. § 58, c.
4. deserunt : used absolutely.
6. id quidem : that, of course.
6. conscientia bene actae vitae : the consciousness of having spent one's life well ; cf. post urbem conditam ' after the founding of the city.'
bene factorum : good deeds ; benefacta is often used as a sub- stantive.
8. Q. Maximimi : Qiiintus Fabius Maximus, surnamed Cuncta- tor from his policy of avoiding a pitched battle with Hannibal.
NOTES 47
f Tarentiim recepit : Tarentum had been captured by Hannibal
in 212 ij.c, but Fabius recovered it three years later,
9. senem adulescens : in Latin contrasted words are often put in juxtaposition.
erat enim : for there was.
10. condita : tempered, lit. seasoned (condio).
11. quamquam : corrective, as p. 1, 1. 7.
12. non admodum grandem, etc. : when not so very old, yet well along in life.
13. anno post . . . quam ego natus sum : a year after Iwas born, i.e. in 233 u.c. ; post . . . quam for postquam, as often. Cato's point had been nierely to cite Fabius as an illustration of how ' liberal arts and the practice of the virtues ' make old age pleasant and easy to bear ; but, with an old nian's tendency to indulge in digression, he begins to recount his own experiences as a soldier under Maximus, althougli the recital of these incidents does not in the least serve to illuminate the question at issue. Such digressions, especially in the way of personal reminiscences on Cato's part, meet us frequently in the de Senectute, and consti- tute a striking feature of the art with which Cicero has depicted the character of the aged Cato. Cf. p. 11, 1. 9 ff. ; p. 19, 1. 26 ff.
14. quartum consule : consiil for thefourth time. This was in 214 B.c.
15. adulescentulus : when a young man ; Cato was twenty years old at the time.
ad Capuam : to the neighborhood of Capua.
17. quem magistratum: in English, an office which.
18. cum . . . fuit : the indicative is used to denote the point of time at which.
19. suasor : a supporter.
legis Cinciae : so called f rom the name of the tribune who introduced it, M. Cincius Alimentus. The chief feature of this law was that it forbade advocates to receive fees for professional ser- vice. This provision reraained a principle of Roman law until the reign of Claudius, when it was slightly modified.
21. plane grandis : quite old, implying less, liowever, than admo- dum senex. Tiie time referred to is that previous to Fabius's support of the lex Cincia, which was in 204 ii.c, the year before his death.
48 CATO MAIOR DE SENECTUTE
iuveniliter exsultantem : i.e/ exulting in the enthusiasm of young manhood, as opposed to Fabius, who was plane grandis. Hannibal was only thirty-two years old at the time (215 b.c).
22. patientia : endurnnce, persistence.
23. familiaris noster : my intimate friend ; noster for meus, as nos for ego.
Ennius : as verb of the sentence, supply ait, or some such word.
24. Unus homo nobis : the quotation is from the Annals. Virgil imitates this line in Aeneid, VI, 846.
Tu Maximus ille es Unus qui nobis cunctando restituis rem.
restituit : implying that when Fabius took the field the Roman fortunes were at a low ebb. This was particularly the case on the occasion of Fabius's second command, in 215 b.c, the year after the disastrous defeat at Cannae.
25. Noenum : not. The word is best explained as compounded of *noi (a 'byform' of ne, ni) and the enclitic 7ium ; non is a different forinfftion. See Critical Appendix.
rumores: i.e. the popular report that Fabius's avoidance of a direct engagement with Hannibal was prompted by cowardice.
ponebat : note the preservation of the original quantity of the final a ; cf. note on versat, p. 1, 1. 2.
26. plusque magisque : with adjectives and verbs plus denotes a higher degree of intensity, magis, a wider extent of application ; thus here, plus claret = ' has a greater brilliancy ' ; magis claret, = ' diffuses a wider radiance.'
claret : the word is poetical and rare.
27. Tarentum: made emphatic by its position, — in case of Tarentum, noio.
28. Salinatori : Cicero's memory is probably inaccurate in this reference to Salinator, It was Titus Livius Macatus who lost Tarentum. The same error occurs also in Cicero's de Oratore, II, 273.
30. Mea opera : through my instrumentality ; the chief empha- sis rests upon mea.
6. 1. praestantior : supply em^ in toga : i.e. in peace, civil life.
NOTES 49
2. qui consul iterum : for he, when consnl a second time (228 B.c.) ; the relative clause begins a justification of the statement just made.
quiescente : i.e. taking no side in the niatter.
3. C. Flaminio: in 232 b.c, in opposition to the expressed policy (auctoritas) of the senate, Flaminius had secured the pas- sage of an agrarian law providing for the distribution of certain lands in northern Italy among the citizens of Rome. Cicero seems to be in error in making Fabius and Carvilius coUeagues in 232 B.c. Their consulship v/as in 228 b.c, but the fact of Fabius's sturdy opposition to Flaminius's law is beyond question.
4. agrum Picentem et Gallicum: the Ficene lands lay near the Adriatic, east of Umbria and north of the Sabine territory ; the ager Gallicns was slightly further north.
contra senatus auctoritatem : an auctoritas senatus wassimply an expression of opinion by way of formal resolution ; it had no binding force.
5. dividenti : i.e. trying to secure the division ; the participle has a conative force.
6. optimis auspiciis : under most favorable auspices ; ablative of Attendant Circumstance. B. 221.
7. ferrentur : were proposed ; legem ferre is the technical phrase for introducing a bill for enactment.
8. Multa : eraphatic, — many are the excellent qualities which I came to know in that hero.
9. nihil admirabilius : nothing worthier of admiration ; supply cognovi.
quam quo modo : than the way in which ; cf. quem magistratum gessi, 'an office which Iheld,' p. 5, 1. 17.
10. mortem fili : this son, who also bore the name Q. Fabius Maximus, had been consul in 213 b.c, and died about 205, shortly before his aged father.
11. in manibus: in circulation, i.e. may still be read. This phrase, however, sometimes has another meaning. See, for ex- ample, p. 10, 1. 15, quam in manihus hahebat, ' which he had in hand,' i.e. was engaged upon.
laudatio: i.e. landatio funehris, the funeral eulogy. quam cum legimus : and lohen loe read it.
50 CATO MAIOR DE SENECTUTE
12. contemnimus : regard as insignificant {in coniparison) ; contemno is usually less strong than the P]nglish 'despise.'
in luce atque in oculis civium : in the public vieio and before the cyes of his fellow-citizens ; lux in the sense of ' publicity ' is a frequent figure in Latin,
13. magnus : supply erat ; ct praestantior, above, p. 6, 1. 1 intus domique : in the privacy of his home ; liendiadys.
14. quae praecepta : ichat good advice !
15. notitia : familiarity.
scientia: theoretical knoidedge, knowledge of the principles.
16. Multae litterae: i.e. much knowledge of books or litera- ture.
ut in homine Romano : for a Boman ; ut is here restrictive. In such cases the expression is elliptical. Tlius here we might supply litterae inveniuntur, — ' so far as literary knowledge is found in a Roman»' Cicero evidently recognizes that as a class his countrymen were not conspicuous for a profound knowledge of books. Such preeminence was never a prevalent ideal with the Romans.
omnia : with hella.
17. domestica: /.e. wars in which Romans were engaged.
18. externa: wars which other nations waged. Cuius : = et eius.
ita : ita does not modify cupide, h\it fjniebar, and simply serves to anticipate the quasi-clause.
19. illo exstincto : Fabius died in 203 b.c.
20. fore, unde discerem, neminem : / sJiould have nobody to learnfrom; unde, by a common idiom, is here equivalent to a quo ; the clause unde discerem is a relative clause of purpose. Special emphasis rests upon neminem^ as is shown by its unusual position at Lhe eud of the sentence.
2 1 . Quorsus : why ?
igitur : now, — a mere particle of transition, as frequently. haec tam multa : object of dixi or some similar verb to be supphed.
22. quiaprofecto : because, ofcourse. nefas dictu : an outrageous thing to say.
miseram fuisse talem senectutem : the emphasis rests equally
NOTES 51
upon talem senectutem, and miseram. We may render : that wretchedness characterized such an old age. Grammatically fuisse is the subject of esse, but logically it is difficult to dissociate it from the notion of saying involved in dictu. In fact, Cicero would probably have written dicere instead of dictu, except that this would have given us an awkward succession of infinitives, esse, dicere, fuisse.
23. Nec = et . . . non.
24. Scipiones aut Mazimi : i.e. men like Scipio or Maximus. This generic use of the plural of proper names is common. Cf. p. 8, 1. 1, Fabricii, Curii, Coruncanii. In making Cato refer thus cordially to Scipio here and elsewhere in the de Senectute, Cicero apparently forgets the bitter feeling which had existed between the two men.
ut, ut, ut, ut : notice the emphasis gained by the repetition of the particle, — anaphora.
25. pedestres : on land ; for terrestres, as often,
26. Est etiam : there is also, i.e. as well as the old age of men who, like Fabius, have beeu active in the field, there is also the peaceful old age of those who have passed a life of devotion to literature or philosophy.
quiete et pure atque eleganter actae : qniete is opposed to the stir and activity of a public life ; pure refers to the refined character of the pursuits aUuded to, while eleganter implies that they call for the exercise of taste and discrimination.
27. placida ac lenis senectus : a tranquil and peaceful old age. The thought of this sentence is somewhat condensed. Two ideas are combined in a single expression : (1) There is also the old age of a life spent in retired pursuits. (2) Such an old age is peaceful and tranquil.
qualem accepimus Platonis : abbreviated for qualem accepi- mus fuisse senectutem Platonis. Plato, pupil of Socrates and founder of the Athenian Academy, lived from 429 to 347 b.c.
28. imo et octogesimo : unus for primus as often in such combinations.
29. scribens est mortuus : best taken literally. Another ac- count reports him to have died at a wedding feast. Petrarch and Leibnitz also are said to have died pen in hand.
52 CATO MAIOR DE SENECTUTE
Isocratis : orator and rhetorician (436-338 u.c). He is said to have trained more famous orators than any other rhetorician of antiqiiity.
30. librum : speech, as often.
Panathenaicua : this oration, delivered at the Panathenaic festival, was a defeiice and eulogy of Athens as the great civilizing force of Ilellas.
32. Leontinus Gorgias : Goi^gias of Leontini (in Sicily), 480- 373 B.c. He was a fanious sophist and rhetorician.
centum et septem complevit annos : i.e. rounded out the sum of one hundred and seven years.
7. 2. cur tam diu vellet esse in vita : implying that he might have terminated life by suicide, a step which was lield by the Stoics and Epicureans to be justifiable under certain circum- stances.
3. Nihil habeo quod accusem : / have no reason to hlaine. The exact nature of the subjunctive after nihil habeo quod and nihil est qnocl is uncertain.
4. Praeclarum responsum : in apposition with the previous sentence.
5. docto homine : a scholar.
Sua enim vitia, etc. : the emphasis rests upon sua and suam^ — for ^tis their own defects and their ownfaults that fools lay to the charge of old age.
G. quod : i.e. he did not lay his own defects to old age.
8. Sicut fortis equos, etc. : cited from the Annals.
fortis equos : a gallant steed; equos was the spelling of Ennius, and continued regularly in vogue till about the time of Cicero's death. Cicero, accordingly, probably wrote equos, equom (not equus, equum), although editors hesitate to introduce this spelling into our texts. See B. App. § 57.
spatio supremo : in the final lap. In the Greek stadium the chariots raced seven times around the course.
9. Vicit Olumpia : has loon an Olympic victory ; Cognate Accusa- tive, A. & G. 238, a; B. 170, 4, a ; H. 371, II. The expression is an imitation of the Greek 'OMfnna vlkSlv. In words borrowed from the Greek, i; was transliterated by Latin u in Ennius's day, and in fact for a century after his death. B. App. §1,6.
NOTES 63
confectus quiescit : the final s does not 'make position.' See note on plenns, p. 1, 1. 6.
10. victoris : liere used as an adjective. suam : sc. senectutem.
11. Quem meminisse : wlien used of persons in tlie sense of 'recall,' memini regularly takes the accusative.
probe : = bene.
12. hi consules : the present co7isuls, i.e. those for the year 150 B.C., when the conversation is represented to have taken place.
T. Flamininus: not the Titus Flamininus mentioned p. 1, 1. 1.
13. M' : the apostrophe is probably a relic of an early 31 made with five strokes which occasionally appears in archaic inscrip- tions (/W).
14. iterum : this applies to Philippo only. Gaepio and Philip- pus were colleagues in 169 b.c.
15. legem Voconiam : so called from the tribune Quintus Voconius Saxa, who introduced it. The purpose of the law was to restrict tlie amount of money bequeathed to women, and so to check tlieir extravagance, as well as to prevent the growing ten- dency toward the alienation of property from the great families. Cato's speech in support of tliis law seems to liave been mucli read in antiquity, and was still extant in Livy's tiine.
16. bonis lateribus : Insttj lungs.
20. Etenim : grammatically etenim introduces repterio, — for., lohen I think it over, I Jind four reasons lohy old age seems loretched. Logically, however, it anticipates the clause Earum . . . videamus, which practically means 'No one of these four reasons is sound ' ; so that the paragi-aph as a whole might be loosely paraphrased thus : ' For of the four reasons which, upon consider- ation, I find advanced in support of the wretchedness of old age, — of these four reasons not one is sound.' This brings the thouglit into close connection with tlie assertion that Ennius actually seemed to enjoy old age, and furnislies the transition from the introductory portion of the essay to the discussion proper.
complector : in this figurative sense the phrases complector animo, complector mente are regularly combined with a direct object; here we may supply in sense rem, ' the subject.'
54 CATO MAIOR DE SENECTUTE
21. quod avocet, quod faciat, etc. : the subjunctive indicates that the reason is not the speaker's, but exists in the mind of some one else, viz. of those who think old age wretched.
22. alteram : = secimdam, as often.
25. quamque iusta : quamque = et quam.
CHAPTERS VI.-VIII.
The first charge against old age : It withdraws men from active pursuits. Trtie, hut not from all, as shown in the lives of Fabri- cius, Curius, Coruncanius, Appius Claudius, and others. '■'■Old men for counsel; young menfor action.'''' . Nor is loss of memory a necessary result of old age : xoitness Sophocles. 3Iany old men even continue the personal supervision of their farms. Old men may continue their earlier studies, or begin neio studies; Cato cites himself as an instance.
27. A rebus gerendis senectus abstrahit: merely a state- ment of the first objection brought against old age.
Quibus : with omission of the preposition, which has just been expressed with rebus. "VVith relatives and interrogatives, such omission is frequent.
28. an eis : is it not merely from those? When, by ellipsis of the tirst member of a double question, an stands alone, its force must be determined according to tlie content of the omitted member. Here we may supply utrum omnibus, — is it from all matters or (simply) from those?
iuventute et viribus : the strength of youth, — hendiadys.
2J). igitur : merely inferential, — are there, then, no pursuits, etc. ?
quae . . . administrentur : which are performed, — not may be or can be. The subjunctive is one of Characteristic.
vel infirmis corporibus : even though the body is feeble ; vel is intensive.
30. tamen : i. e. in spite of f eeble bodies. But to us the thought seems sufficiently clear without this particle.
nihil, ergo, agebat, etc. : was it nothing, then, that Maximus did ? Notice the anaphora in nihil, nihil, nihil.
31. L. Paulus, pater tuus : Lucius Aemilius Paulus, conqueror
NOTES 55
of the Macedonian king Perseus at Pydna in 108 u.c. Scipio was the son of this Paulus, and received the naine of Scipio as a result of his adoption by L. Cornelius Scipio, son of the conqueror of Hannibal. To the name of his adoptive father, Scipio added the cognomen Aemilianus, taken from the gentile name (Aemilius) of his actual father, Paulus.
8. 1. fili mei: Cato's son, Marcus Porcius Cato, married Aemilia, Paulus's daughter. He died wlien praetor elect in 152 B.O., and is touchingly alluded to again uear the close of this dia- logue, p. 36, 1. 6 ff.
ceteri senes: i.e. the other old men whom every one at once recalls.
Fabricii, Curii, Coruncanii : tlie generic plural, as Scipiones, Maximi, p. 6, 1. 24, i.e. Fabricius, Curius, Coruncanius, and men of that stamp. Fabricius, famous for the simplicily and integrity of his character, was especially conspicuous in the war against Pyrrhus (281-275 n.c). Curius was a contemporary of Pabricius, and like him served with distinction in the war against Pyrrhus. Coruncanius, though the least famous of tlie three men here men- tioned, was accounted one of the niost remarkable cliaracters of his day (consul 280 n.c), and achieved success in war with the Etruscans, as well as against Pyrrhus.
2. cum . . . defendebant: the c?nn-clause here seems to be 'explicative,' like Cicero's cum tacent, clamant, ' their silence is a shout' ; so here, was their defence of the state inactivity (nihil agebant) !
3. Ad Appi Claudi, etc. : Appius Claudius, hesides being old, was also blind ; lit. to the old age of Ap^pins it toas added that he voas blind. Appius was censor in 312 h.c, and consul in 306 and 295. The Appia Via was constructed under his supervision.
5. ad pacem . . . faciendum : faciendum is to be taken with pacem as well as with foedus.
7. persecutus est : has set forth.
8. Quo vobis, etc. : the citation is from the Annals ; vohis is the so-called Ethical Dative.
rectae quae stare solebant: rectae seems here used figiira- tively for sound, sane, and to be contrasted with dementes in the next liuc.
56 CATO MAIOR DE SENECTUTE
9. Antehac : liere dlssyllabic by synezesis.
dementes : with adverbial force, — senselessly ; mentes dementes illustrates the figure called oxymoron (' contradiction '), sense^ess senses.
viai : archaic genitive, dependent upon quo, — lit. whither of the warj.
10. ceteraque : i.e. the other poiuts of Appius's speech. gravissime : most impressively.
carmen : the poem, passage.
11. et tamen: and apart from that, i.e. apart from Ennius's account, Appius's own speecli is also preserved. It was still extant a liundred years later in Cicero's day.
13. cimi . . . interfuissent censorque . . . fuisset : we have here an illustration of the most extreme development of the cum- clause of situation or circumstance. All temporal notion has van- ished, and only the circumstantial force is left. The nearest English equivalent is the awkward nominative absolute, — twelve years having intervened hetween the two consulships, and the censor- ship having preceded his first consulship. Other instances of the same use of cum may be seen p. 13, 1. 15, cum pontifex maximus factus esset, 'having been made pontifex maximus' ; p. 18, 1, 9, cum ei sermoni interfuisset Flato, ' riato having been present at that conversation.'
14. ex quo intellegitur: from lohich it is (readily) under- stood.
15. Pyrrhibello: Ablative of Time.
grandem sane: qnite an old man; he had been elected to the censorship in 312 b.c. As the oflfice of censor was one of great dignity, it is unlikely that Appius was less than forty years of age at the time he filled it. This would make him over seventy years old at the time referred to.
16. sic : viz. that he was able to determine the public policy at this advanced age.
nihil afferunt: adduce no argument, i.e. no argument that proves old age wretched.
17. similesque sunt ut si qui . . . dicant: the diction is clumsy and unusual ; evidently Cicero has combined two forms of expressing the same idea :
NOTES r>7
(1) They are like those who say (eornm similes sunt qui ilicnnt).
(2) As if any persoiis shouUl say (nt si qui dicant) See Criti- cal Apppiidix.
scandant, cursent, ezhauriant, sedeat : tlie subjunctives are due to the indirect discourse.
21. quietus : without movinrj (from his place). non facit : sc. senec.tus.
22. non viribus aut velocitate, etc. : these phrases are made eniphatic by their position, — His not by strength of body, or by speed of movement or swiftness, that grent matters are accomplished ; corporum limits viribus as well as vclocitate and celeritate.
24. consilio, auctoritate, sententia: deliberation, injluence, judyment.
quibus, etc. : an illustratiou of the construction called dirb koivoO ('in common'), by which a single word or phrase is made to Umit two different words, each in a different construction. Thus here qnibus is Ablative of Separation with orbari, but Ablative of Specification with augeri, lit. (qualities) of which old age is not only not loont to be deprived, but in respect to which it is even wont to be increased (i.e. more liberally endowed), See Critical Appendix.
26. Nisi forte : this phrase regularly, as here, implies that the supposition is absurd.
miles et tribunus et legatus et consul: note the emphasis gained by the polysyndeton, et . . . et . . . et . . . et. There were six tribuni militum in a legion ; they commanded in turn, each for two months. The legatus stood next to the commander- in-chief, and was under his immediate supervision ; the consnl, when he took the field, was the commanding general.
27. vario genere : the English idiom is varioiis kinds.
28. nunc videor, etc. : join rmnc closely with cnm, — now that. 30. male iam diu cogitanti: which has long been plotting
mischief
bellum multo ante denuntio : Cato means tliat he declares war against Carthage long before the actual commencement of hostilities. He saw the approaching confiict, and did his best to precipitate it, regularly ending his speeches in the Senate with the declaration : censeo Karthaqinem esse delendam.
58 CATO MAIOR DE SENECTUTE
9. 1. Quam palmam: this glory, i.e. of destroying Carthage. Cicero cleverly utilizes tlie subsequent overtiirow and destruction of Carthage by Scipio in 140 u.c. (four years after the date of tliis dialogue).
2. ut . . . persequare : explsinsitory oipalmain, — of complet- ing ichat \joiir grandfather left undone; the reference in avi is to the elder Scipio, the hero of the Second Punic War.
3. tertius et tricesimus amius : tliis is inaccurate. Scipio died in 185 h.c, thirty-five years before the date of the dialogue.
excipient: lit. take np, i.e. one after anotlier, and so transmit, perpetuate. Cf. Livy, XXXVIII, 22. 3, pugnam excipere.
6. cum . . . creatus esset : having been chosen consul a second time in my consulship. Tlie ci(m-clause is like cum . . . inter- fuissent, p. 8, 1. 13.
7. Num igitur, etc. : igitur as p. 7, 1. 29.
8. paeniteret: referring to present time, — icould he now be regretling? Had Scipio lived to his liundredth year, he would have been eighty-four at tlie time of the dialogue ; hence the use of the imperfect tense.
9. nec enim . . . uteretur : no ! for he xoould not be making use.
excursione, saltu: i.e. in mihtary operations.
10. consilio, ratione, sententia : see note on p. 8, 1. 24, con- silio, auctoritate, sententia ; ratio is reason, i.e. the exercise of the reasoning faculties.
11. quae nisi essent, etc. : unless these qualities loere in old men.
12. simamum consilium : the highest deliberative body.
13. quidem: infact.
14. ut sunt : just as they are (old men). The reference is to the yipovres or councillors (lit. old me7i), who formed the so-called yepovala. Cicero's point is that, while the Roraans called their councillors senatores (a word suggesting senex), the Lacedaemo- nians callcd their councillors senes outright.
15. Quodsi voletis : if you loill (only), — not so strong as loish in this instance.
16. ezterna : foreign history.
18. cedo : tell me. The verse is an iambic tetrameter (or
NOTES 69
octonarius) and consists of four iainbic dipodies, or in all eight feet. Its scansion is :
Cedo qui | vestram | rem pii | blicam | tantam a | misis | tis tam | cito
Its metrical scherae is :
ww^l |_Z.|v^_ll_^| |_^|w_.
As may be seen from this sclieme, the spondee and anapaest {kj Kj Z.) may be used in place of the iambus (v^ _£ )• The so- called ictus is prominent only in alternate feet.
qui: how?
19. in Naevi poetae Lupo: in '-The Wolf ofthe poet Haevius. Naevius was one of the very earliest Latin writers (269-199 b.c). Of his numerous works, Bellum Punicum (a poem in Saturnian measure on the First Punic War), tragedies and comedies, only a few brief fragments have come down to us. The play from which the above line is quoted was also called the Alimonia Romuli et Remi, and dealt witli tlie story of the twins. It belongs to the class of plays known as fabulae praetextae or historical dramas, of which Naevius is known to have composed tliree. It lias been conjectured that the words above cited were addressed by Amulius to the ambassadors of the Veientian King Vibe, wlio was a refugee at the Alban court. The answer to the question is given in the words : Proveniebant oratores, etc. See Critical Appendix.
respondentur et alia et hoc in pritnis : other replies are given, but this in particidar.
21. Froveniebant oratores, etc: also an iambic tetrameter. The scansion is:
Proveni | ebant | ora | tores || novi | stult' adu | lesce'n | tuli
The metrical scheme is :
_^^w| |_/.| l|v^^|_ww|_^|w_
In the first and sixth feet, a dactyl is substituted for the normal iarabus.
stulti, adulescentuli : fools, boys. The point is not that these particular youths were fools, but that youths who undertake to
60 CATO MAIOR DE SENECTUTE
wrest tlie control of government froui older men, are fools as a class (Meissner).
22. Temeritas est videlicet, etc. : rashness, it is plain to see, is a characteristic of tjonth (Jlorentis aetatis).
24. At memoria miiiuitur: hut, it is alleged, memory is im- pairexl. This use of at to introduce the view of an opponent is very common in argumentation.
Credo : I sitppose so ; not ironical.
nisi eam exerceas: nnless you exercise it; the second singu- lar is used of an indefinite subject precisely like our English 'you.'
25. natura tardior : naturally rather dull.
26. perceperat : kneio^ lit. had acquired.
27. qui Aristides esset, etc. : to rjreet Aristides as Lysimachus. As object of salutare understand e^im, to which Lysimachum stands in the relation of predicate accusative. There is a certain dry humor in the .illustration chosen by Cato. The rivalry between Themistocles and Aristides had been so keen that Themistocles was hardly likely to forget his old opponent or to confuse him with another man. Lysimachus was Aristides's father.
28. Equidem: while not etymologically connected with ego, this word in Cicero is regularly equivalent to ego quidem, ' I for my part,' 'I at least,' etc.
29. qui sunt : loho are still living.
30. nec sepulcra legens, etc. : nor am I afraid of losing my memory by reading epitaphs, as they say.
quod aimit : quod refers loosely for its antecedent to the idea suggested by the context, viz. : Those who read epitaphs, lose their memory. Doubtless this saying was largely true, in so far, at least, as those who were found engaged in studying the tombstones were already old men of waning faculties.
31. his ipsis legendis : by reading these very tombstones.
10. 1. quemquam senem : ariy old man. The use of quisquam (for ullus) as an adjective, though not frequent, is well attested for Cicero, e.g. de Ofiftciis, III, 101, civi cuiquam.
2. omnia quae curant : all things in which they take interest.
3. vadimonia constituta : the bail they have given, lit, the bail Jixed, viz., by the court.
NOTES 61
4. Quid iuriB consulti, etc. : senes belongs witli all these nomi- natives, — hoio is it in cnse of affcd Imcyers, aged pontiffs, aged augiirs, aged philosophers, lit. jnrists as old men, augxirs as old men, etc. Some verb is to be supplied in sense with these words, fecerunt, for exaniple.
6. Quam multa meminenmt: Jioio many things they (are obliged to) remember ; i.e. the very nature of their profession obliges them to possess retentive memories.
G. Manent: emphatic by position.
ingenia : facnlties.
modo permaneat, etc. : provided only interest and industry continne.
8. honoratis : this word does not here mean lionored, but designates men distinguished by holding public offices, honores.
9. Sophocles : the greatest of the Greek tragedians. He lived from 496-406 b.c. Seven of his tragedies have come down to us.
10. quod propter studium cimi . . . videretur : and ichen in conseqiience of this pursuit he seemed.
11. a filiis: the common account attributes this action to a single son, lophon ; but the whole story is apocryphal.
12. quem ad modum male rem gerentibus, etc. : jnst as fathers loho mismanage their estates are wont to be removed from
(control of) their property, lit. it is icont to be interdicted to fathers from their property ; patribus is dative of reference ; boiiis, ablative of separation. A. & G. 225, d, N. 1 ; B. 188, 1, a.
nostro more : this Roman custom was legally recognized in the Laws of the Twelve Tables (about450 u.c).
13. quasi desipientem : as being in his dotage.
15. eamfabulam: the play.
quam in manibus habebat : which he had in hand, on which he was engaged. For another sense of in manibns, see p. 0, 1. 11.
16. et proxime scripserat : and upon which he had just been writing. The pluperfect here, in addition to its usual force, seems to denote the act as in process.
Oedipum Coloneimi : the Oedipus at Coldnus. Coloneus is an adjective. The play lias come down to us, and represents the aged Oedipus arriving in his wanderings at the Attic deme of Colonus. The tradition is that the passage chosen by the poet for recitation
62 CATO MAIOR DE SENECTUTE
on the occasion referred to was the magnificent choral ode in praise of Athens (verses 668-719), a part of which runs as follows:
Of all the lands far famed for goodly steeds, Thou com'st, O stranger, to the uoblest spot,
Colonos, glistening bright, Where, evermore, in thickets freshly green,
The clear-voiced nightiugale
Still haunts, and pours her song,
By purpUng ivy hid, And the thick leafage sacred to the God.
— Plumptre's Translation.
17. num illud carmen, etc: whether that poem seemed (the toork) of a dotard.
18. sententiis : votes.
liberatus : in the judicial sense, — acquitted.
19. Homerum, Hesiodum, etc. : the enumeration of distin- gulshed names embraces three classes ; poets (Homer, Hesiod, Simonides, Stesichorus) , rhetoricians (Isocrates, Gorgias), philoso- phers (Pythagoras, Democritus, etc), It should be borne in mind that Cato here mentions only those poets, rhetoricians, and philoso- phers who lived to an advanced age.
Hesiodum : Hesiod, a native of Ascra in Boeotia, flourished about 750 n.c, His greatest work, the Works and Days ('E/)7o Kal 'lifx^pai.) suggested much to Virgil in the composition of the Georgics.
20. Simonides : Simdnides. There were two poets of this name, — Simonidcs of Amorgos and Simonides of Ceos. The latter was the more famous of the two ; he flourished at the time of the Per- sian wars (490-480 b,c,), and composed the extant epigram in honor of the Spartans who fell at Thermopylae.
Stesichorum : Stesichorus, a famous lyric poet of Hfmera in Sicily. He flourished about600 b.c. All his works are lost barring a few fragments. It is said that a nightingale sang upon his lips at his birth.
Isocraten, Gorgian : see note on p. 6, 11, 29, 32. Isocrates, though of the 8d declension, forms its accusative after the analogy of Greek nouns in -es of the Ist declension. Similarly Xeno- craten below.
NOTES 63
21. Pythagoram : PytMgoras of Samos, foiinder of the Pythag- or^an school. He fiourished in the latter half of the sixth century B.c. Mysticisin was a pronounced feature in his system ; his most famous doctrine was the tlieory of transmigration of souls (Metempsychosis) .
22. Democritum : Demdcritus, of Abd6ra in Thrace, 460-361 B.c, one of the earliest representatives of the atomic theory.
Xenocraton: Xen6c7'ates, of ChalcMon, 396-314 b.c, a pupil of Plato, and one of his successors in the presidency of the Academy, — a post which he occupied for twenty-five years.
23. Zenonem: Zeno, of Citium in Cyprus, about 350-250 b.c. He was founder of the Stoic school, of which he was for nearly sixty years the president.
Cleanthem: Cleanthes, of Assos, 300-220 b.c, a Stoic and a disciple of Zeno.
24. Diogenem Stoicum : Di6rjenes, the Stoic, not to be con- founded with Diogenes, the Cynic. He had visited Rome in 155 B.c, five years previous to the time of this dialogue, and was evi- dently an old man at that time, though the years of his birth and death are unknown. He had come to Rome in company with Carneades and Critolaus as an ambassador, and during his stay had begun to expound his philosophical vievvs. Cato's opposition to Greek ideas was so deeply rooted that he took the lead in securing Diogenes's departure from the city. The enthusiasm, therefore, with which Cicero makes Cato refer to Diogenes is not in keeping with the facts.
26. Age : come !
27. ista divina studia : viz., poetry, philosophy, etc.
ex agro Sabino rusticos : farmers in the Sahine territory.
29. numquam fere : scarceli/ ever.
30. maiora: important, lit., greater (tlian ordinary).
non serendis, etc. : not in the loay of planting, gathering, or storing the crops. Notice tlie zeugma in serendis fructihus ; accuracy would call for some such word as seminihus. The use of the ablative here without in is extremely peculiar ; most scholars explain the construction as an ablative absolute. Observe that non here does not counteract the negative force of numqxiam, but repeats and emphasizes it. A. & G. 209, a, 2 ; B. 347, 2 ; H. 653, 2.
64 CATO MAIOR DE SENECTUTE
31. inaliis: in other things ; aliis is here contrasted with the following quae sciunt nihil ad se omnino pertinere, and hence prac- tically means : in matters that concern them. On the use of neuter adjectives as substantives in oblique cases, see note on p. 2, 1. 8.
32. senex : here with adjective force.
11. 1. idem : nominative plural, — they also.
2. pertinere : in the sense of vitally concern.
3. Serit arbores, etc. : this hne is a Bacchlac Tetrameter :
By a metrical license the i of serit is here long. Note that a long syllable may be substituted for the short of the Bacchlus.
quae . . . prosint : to benejit, — relative clause of purpose.
alteri saeclo : the next (lit. the other) generation. Note that saeclum is the original form of this word, whence saeculum by the development of a parasitic vowel. B. App. § 91.
4. Statius : Caecilius Statius, by birth an Insubrian Gaul. He was a comic poet, and lived about 220-166 b.c. Only fragments of his works remain.
in Synephebis : in his Synephebi, the title of a play. Tlie original was by the Greek poet Menander ; Caecilius translated and adapted it for Koman audiences.
5. quamvis sit senez : however old he may be. quaerenti : to (the person) inquiring.
9. melius : supply some such verb as dicit., — Caecilius gives us a better sentiment (lit. says better) loith regard to the old man, etc. The passage from et melius to sed videtis, sixteen lines below, is really a digression from the point at present under discussion. Cato is endeavoring to show that old men even superintend the work on their own farms. In developing this point he quotes two passages from Statius in support of his contention. These two citations lead to others, which, though they are concerned with the general subject of old age, are nevertheless not germane to tlie present topic, viz., the allegation that old age withdraws men from active occupation. See the note on p. 5, 1. 13.
10. quam illud idem ; than he does in lohat follows, lit. than the same (Caecilius says) the following.
11. Edepol, senectuB, etc. : these lines are quoted from Sta-
NOTES 65
tius's Plocium (The Necklace), Like the couplet below, they are lainbic Trimeter (Senarii). The metrical scheme is :
v^v^-^|w — I ^l |v_/wj1|w
_^|__|_^| v^_| _ A. I w_
_^|__|_Jl| w_| _ ^ I w_
Anapaests and spondees are freely substituted for the iambus in all feet except the last ; in the last line diu makes one syllable by synezesis. nil . . . viti: no other evil ; Q-^itc^jmw is redundant.
12. Apportes : shotikl bring.
quom : the earlier form of cum, and possibly still in common use when Cicero wrote the de Senectute. sat : sat for satis is coramon in archaic Latin,
13. quae non volt, vldet: the subject is general, — one sees many things that one does not icish; volt, the early form of vult, may have been still the prevailing form in Cicero's day. In the next two lines voU is written by most editors, on the assumption that Cicero intentionally reproduces the diction of Caecilius.
15, IUud vero, etc, : biU the following utterance of the same Caecilius is still icorse, lit. the same Caecilius (says) the following icorse.
17. Tum equidem, etc. : quoted from Caecilius's Ephesio. The metrical scheme is :
ww^lv^ — I ^l w |wj1|v-/
_^|w_|_ji|_ww|_Z.|w_
The dactyl replaces the iambus in the fourth foot of the second line ; eumpse is read as a dissyllable by synezesis,
senecta : poetical and post-Augustan for senectus.
deputo : ante- and post-classical for puto.
18. ea aetate : at that time of life; tlie phrase limits sentire. eumpse: i.e. eum + pse (B. App. § 190), archaic for ipsinn;
cf, ipse for *is;pse ; eumpse is the subject of esse, and is equivalent to se ipsum, 'oneself,'
odiosum : a bore.
alteri: sc. aetati, i.e. to the young, lit, to the other period of life. See Critical Appendix,
Q6 CATO MAIOR DE SENECTUTE
19. lucundum potius quam odiosum : preserve the ellipsis in translation.
24. nec minus intellego : the inaccuracy of expression is identical with that noted p. 1,1. 11, te suspicor eisdem rebus qui- bus me ipsum commoveri. What Cato really nieans is : / see that I am no less agreeable to you than you actualhj are to me. Strictly the Latin should be : nec minus intellego me vobis esse iucundum quam mihi vos estis.
25. Sed videtis : Cato here returns froin his somewhat lengthy digression (see above on 1. 9), and resumes the point under dis- cussion, viz., the activity of old men.
ut senectus, etc, : hoio old age, etc. ; indirect question.
26. verum etiam : bitt even.
27. agens et moliens : doing and undertaking ; this predicate use of the present participle is rare.
tale scilicet, etc. : some such thing^ of course, as, etc. The occupation of the old man will depend upon his earlier pursuits.
28. Quid? etc. : what ofthose toho, etc. ?
29. ut et Solonem versibus gloriantem videmus : et before Solonem is correlative with the et before ego below, but should not be rendered in English translation. Solon is the famous Athenian lawgiver, 638-558 b.c. He was a poet as well as a states- man, and numerous fragments of his works have come down to us. The line here referred to by Cicero is cited by Plutarch in his life of Solon, c. 31, yrjpdaKb} d' alel TroXXd 5i5a(TK6/j.€vos. On glovi- antem videmus, see A. & G. 292, e ; B. 337, 3 ; H. 535, 4.
12. 1. et ego feci: and (jiist as) I have done. senex : rvhfni an old man.
2. sic avide : so eagerly. See Critical Appendix.
3. nota essent : became known, familiar.
quibus me nxmc exemplis uti videtis : which you now see me using as examp^les ; exernplis stands in predlcate relation to quibus, which depends directly upon uti. The passage is some- what apologetic. Cicero evidently feels that his picture of Cato attributes to the old Roman a greater familiarity with Greek thought and letters than he actually possessed ; hence the attempt to account for the origin of the alleged learning. See Introd. §4, a.
NOTES 67
4. quod cum . . . audirem : qnod refere to the idea of con-
stantly adding to one's knowhnlge or acconipli.shnients.
5. in fidibus : in case of the Ujre.
vellem : apodosis of a conditional sentence of the contrary-to- fact type, with omitted protasis.
6. discebant fidibus: used to learn the lyre, lit. learn xcith the lyre. B. 218, 7. Many scholars suggest supplying canere, ' play,' here.
in litteris certe : on literature at any rate, i.e. if not on any- thing else.
CHAPTERS IX. -XI.
The second charae: Old aae /^^frff ^^^ styp^^ir^th nf yniith. Bnt old age does not need great strength. Moreover, by temperance one can preserve one''^ youthfiil vigor even to an advanced old age, as shown by numerous instances, — Cyrus, Metelhis, Masi- nissa.
8. desidero : feel the need of, the lack of.
9. locusalter: the second point.
10. non plus : the negative as p. 4, 1. 30.
11. Quod est : xohat you have ; the antecedent of qnod is eo. On the use of the oblique cases of pronouns in the neuter, see p. 2, 1. 8.
quicquid agas : clauses introduced by indefinite relatives (quis- quis quicumque, etc.) ordinarily stand in the indicative ; but all subordinate clauses expressed in the indefinite second singular regularly take the subjunctive.
12. Quaevoz: what utterance ?
13. Milonis Crotoniatae : Milo of Crotdna, in southern Italy, a fatnous atlilete of the sixth century b.c. He won repeated victories in the Olympic and Pythian games.
qui cum, etc. : for when he was, etc.
16. hi quidem : almost these, alas !
17. isti : sc. sunt mortui.
ex lateribus : in consequence of yotir wind ; latera is used as above, p. 7, 1. 10, lungs.
19. Nihil, nibil, nihil : note tlie anaphora.
68 CATO MAIOR DE SENECTUTE
Sex. AeliuB : Sextus Aelins, consul 198 b.c, famous as a jurist and an orator. He wrote a commentary on tlie Twelve Tables.
20. Ti. Coruncanius : see note on p. 8, 1. 1.
modo : recently.
P. Crassus : the use of modo would suggest that the reference is to some one nearer the present time than either Coruncanius or Aelius. Publius Licinius Crassus, consul in 171 n.c, naturally sug- gests himself as the person Cicero has in mind. That Crassus, how- ever, was not eminent as a jurist, and Cicero has probably confused him with P. Licinius Crassus Dives, pontifex maximus in 212 b.c. and consul in 205, a man famed for his knowledge of pontifical law.
iura praescribebantur : laios icere interpreted.
22. est provecta : continued. prudentia : xoisdom.
Orator metuo ne languescat : as the order of the words shows, Orator is here empliatic, — as regards the orator, Ifear Jie may become feehle.
23. senectute : causal. munus eius : his function.
24. Omnino canorum illud, etc. : to be sure that melodious qualiti/ in the voice somehov) even improves in old age. Note the mixed metaphor in canor\tm . . . splendescit ; splendesco properly applies only to what presents itself to the eye. Omnino is con- trasted with sed tamen, — ' to be sure the voice improves ; yet apart from that an old man's talk is often engaging.'
27. et videtis annos : though grammatically co-ordinate with what precedes, this clause is logically subordinate, being equiva- lent to ' old though I am ' or ' in spite of my years.'
sed tamen est, etc. : but yet the quiet and unimpassioned con- versation of an old man has a grace about it.
28. quietus et remissus : quietus = ' witliout movement,' as contrasted with the lively gesticulation of the orator ; remissus = • without passion,' i.e. without the mental and moral excitement of the orator.
facit sibi audientiam : gains itself a hearing.
29. compta et mitis : smooth and easy.
Quam si • . . nequeas : if you shotild be unable to practise this ; quam refers to oratio.
NOTES 69
30. Scipioni et Laelio:
31. seuectute stipata studiis iuventutis : an old age thronged with eager youths, lit. loith the eagerness of youth ; the ab.stract for the concrete. Notice the alliteratiou iii senecttite stipata studiis.
32. An ne illas quidem vires, etc. : or do we leave to old age not even the strength to teach young men; illas vires is explained by the foUowing ?/f-clauses.
13. 1. instituat : instruct.
2. ad omne offici mtmus : for the performance of every duty, lit. for all performance of duty.
instruat: prepare, equip; cf. instrumentum, ' outfit,' 'equip- ment,' instructus, ' fitted out,' 'equipped.'
quo quidem, etc. : and than this task xohat can be more glorious !
3. Cn. et P. Scipiones : these were respectively the uncle and father of the elder Africanus. They both rendered iniportant ser- vices in the earlier lialf of the Second Punic War, and fell in Spain in 212 b.c. Note the plural in Scipiones ; this is usual when two persons of the same family are combined by a copulative conjunction.
4. avi tui duo, L. Aemilius et P. Africanus : Lucius Aemilius (Paulus), the father of Lucius Aemilius Paulus Macedonicus, the conqueror of Perseus, was the actual grandfather of the younger Scipio ; Publius Africanus was his adoptive grandfather.
6. bonarum artitmi : liheral arts.
non beati putandi : are to he thought other than happy ; cf. p. 4, 1. 31, non gravis ; sunt is to be supplied with. putandi.
7. quamvis consenuerint vires, etc. : however much their strength may have loaned and failed.
8. Etsi: corrective.
10. effetum : best taken as in predicate relation to corpus, — hands the body over to old age all worn out, i.e. in a state of exhaustion.
11. Cyrus: Cyrus the Elder, king of Persia, the liero of Xeno- phon's Cyropaedfa. He lived from 599 to 529 b.c. The conversa- tion here referred to is given in Cyropaedia, VIII, 7, 6.
apud Xenophontem: in Xenophon, i.e. in his writings, — a common use of apud.
70 CATO MAIOR DE SENECTUTE
14. Metellum: consul in 251 n.c, in the First Punic War ; he died in 221.
15. memini puer: the expression is inexact. Cicero has evi- dently combined two ideas :
(1) ' As a boy, I noticed that Metellus was strong.'
(2) ' I now remember that Metellus was strong.' English admits the same form of expression, however.
cum factus esset : the mm-claase is purely circumstantial, — having heen made pontifex maximus ; see note on p. 8, 1. 13.
17. esse : the present infinitive occurs repeatedly with memini where in Engli.sh we should expect the perfect.
19. nihil necesse est : it is not at all necessary.
20. id quidem : i.e. to speak of one's self. senile : characteristic of old men.
22. Videtisne : donH you see ; when appended to the verb, -ne frequently has the force of nonne. A, & G. 210 ; B. 162, 2, c.
ut: how, as above, p. 11, 1. 25.
23. praedicet : here, boasts.
24. nec erat ei verendum : 7ior did he have occasion to fear.
25. vera praedicans : iyi telling the trnth.
26. insolens aut loquax : arrogant or garrulous.
ex eius lingua melle dulcior, etc : from Ilomer, Iliad i. 249, ToO Kai (XTrb yXucrcrrjs /xAiros yXvKlwv phv avSr].
27. quam ad suavitatem : for which eloqiience.
28. et tamen : i.e. in spite of his lack of bodily strength.
29. dux ille Graeciae : the reference is to Agamemnon ; ille when following a substantive regularly means, as here, thatfamous, that well-knoion.
nusquam : i.e. nowhere in Ilomer. ut . . . habeat : the clause is the object of optat. Aiacis similes : in Cicero similiSy when governing words desig- nating persons, is regularly foilowed by the genitive.
30. sed ut Nestoris : elliptical for sed ut decem Nestoris similes habeat. Agamemnon's longing for ten warriors like Nestor is found in Iliad ii. 371.
quod si sibi acciderit : if thisfortune should be his ; acciderit is in the subjunctive by attraction to sit peritura.
NOTES 71
14. 1. vellem equidem idem possem gloriari : tconld that I could make the same boast; vellem is \n the subjunctive as express- iiig thie apodosis of a contrary-to-fact conditional sentence, the protasis of which is omitted, — / loould wish (were it possible) ; possem is logically the object of vellem, being developed froni an original optative subjunctive, — icould I were ahle ; ut is, accord- ingly, regularly absent in this idiom. B, 200, 1, a. .
idem : ' Accusative of Result.' A. & G. 238 h ; B. 17G, 2, a.
sed tamen hoc queo dicere, etc: the thought is inaccurately expressed ; what Cato means is : ' Though I am not as strong as I once was, yet I can say that old age has not entirely shattered rae.' Instead of this, the clause me . . . esse is made principal instead of subordinate, while afflixit and desiderat are put in the indicative instead of in the infinitive. Logically the thought demanded : hoc queo dicere, cum eis virihus non sim quihus fuerim, tamen me non afflixisse senectutem, non curiam desiderare. Note that queo unac- companied by a negative is rare.
2. eis viribus : Ablative of Quality.
3. miles bello Punico: in 217 b.c. quaestor eodem bello : in 204 b.c.
4. consul in Hispania : in 195 b.c. In honor of Cato's suc- cesses here, the Senate decreed a three days' thanksgiving. Cato declared that he had captured more cities in Spain than he had spent days in the province.
5. tribunus militaris: this was in 191 b.c, in the war against Antiochus.
cum depugnavi : cum with the indicative to denote the point of time at which ; depugno is ' to fight it out,' ' fight to the end.'
7. non, non, etc. : observe the emjDhasis produced by the repe- tition of the non.
9. clientes : including not only his political followers at Rome, but also those foreign nations or cities whose protector he was. Cicero (Brutus 20, 80) tells us that Cato in the la.st year of his life publicly spoke in defence of his clients, the Lusitanians, who had been the victims of the treachery of Servius Galba.
hospites : (juest-friends ; strangers at Rome who had relations of hospitality with Cato.
Nec enim : nor indeed.
72 CATO MAIOR DE SENECTUTE
11. mature fieri senem, etc. : the saying obviously means: ' Begin early to exercise the discretion of age, if you would live to a good old age.' Cato's criticism of the proverb is based upon a misinterpretation of its real significance. Ile takes it as though it were intended to mean : 'Begin early to cultivate the inactivity of age, if you would reniain an old man long.' The infinitive with moneo is less common than a subjunctive clause, but is admis- sible wlien moneo lacks a personal object.
12. me senem esse mallem: volo, nolo, malo more com- monly take the infinitive without subject accusative to denote another action of the same subject ; mallem here represents the apodosis of a contrary-to-fact conditional sentence, the protasis of which is omitted, — / should prefer (were I hold enough to express a preference). Cf. the use of vellem, above, 1. 1.
13. ante quam essem : subjunctive by attraction. convenire me : = to have an interview with me.
14. cui fuerim occupatus : lit. to whom I have been engaged, i.e. whom I have refused to see. The subjunctive is one of Char- acteristic.
At minus habeo : at, as above, p. 9, I. 24, introduces the view of an opponent, — biit, you may urge, etc.
15. T. Ponti centurionis : the centurions were usually men of great strength and stature. Nothing further is known of the Pontius here referred to.
17. praestantior : a better man.
Moderatio modo virium adsit : let there only be a control over one^s strength. The subjunctive is Jussive, with the acces- sory force of a Proviso.
18. ne ille : such a man, 1 assure ijou ; this is the asseverative ne. In its use it is restricted to combination with pronouns, — personal, demonstrative, and possessive. It regularly precedes the vvord which it emphasizes.
non desiderio tenebitur : will not be possessed with longing for, i.e. vvill not feel the lack of. Cf. desidero, above, p. 12, 1. 8.
19. Olympiae per stadium, etc. : according to the story Milo had carried the animal daily as it grew. Quintilian, I, 9. 5.
20. cum sustineret bovem : carrying an ox ; another circum- stantial cHW-clause ; see note ou p. 8, 1. 13.
NOTES 73
21. igitur : merely transitional, as p. 7, 1. 29. has corporis : sc. vires.
Pythagorae : Pythagoras was a townsnian of Milo, a fact wliich lends additional force to the coniparison.
22. utare : tlie comniand is general ; hence the indefinite second singuhir. A. & G. 206, a ; B. 350, 8 ; H. 484, IV, n. 2.
23. dum adsit, cum absit : tlie subjunctive is the result of attraction. Notice the chiastic arrangement in :
utare, dum adsit : ciim absit, ne requiras.
ne requiras : this form of proliibition is unusual in prose ; noli with the infinitive is far commoner. The subject of reqniras is geueral, just as was the case with utare.
nisi forte : see note on p. 8, 1. 26.
24. pueritiam, adulescentiam : boyhood, yonmj manhood. paululum aetate progressi: referring to those in middle life.
25. Cursus est certus aetatis : there is a regular course of life.
26. suaque . . . tempestivitas : and to each part of life its proper character (lit. seasonableness) is allotted.
27. infirmitas puerorum : the helplessness of children.
28. ferocitas : impetuosity. gravitas : steadiness.
iam constantis : already settled, i.e. middle (life).
29. naturale quiddam : a certain natural {prodnct), as shown by percipi, ' to be reaped.'
30. quod debeat : Subjunctive of Characteristic.
31. hospes tuus avitus : the guest-friend ofyour grandfather, i.e. of the elder Africanus, between whom and Masinissa there existed a strong friendship.
32. Masinissa : king of the Numidians. In the Second Punic War he was at the outset an ally of the Carthaginians, but later became a supporter of tlie Romans.
hodie: i.e. still. 15. 1. pedibus : onfoot.
omnino non ascendere : does not mount at all. 3. imbri : imber is not properly an i-stem, but has taken on the i-stem inflection in the ablative singular. capite operto : Ablative of Quality.
74 CATO MAIOR DE SENECTUTE
4, siccitatem : soundness ; siccUas, lit. 'dryness,' is opposed to that pliysical state in which the body is affected with unwhole- some humors.
6. officia et mirnera : functions and duties ; a favorite phrase with Cicero. The two words are hei*e closely synonymous, and illustrate Cicero's fondness for grouping synonyms in pairs.
Fotest, etc. : as the position indicates, potest is specially emphatic, — it is possihle, therefore, for exercise and self-control to preserve, etc,
8. Ne sint, etc. : granting that there is not strength in old age, lit. let there not be strength.
9. a senectute : of old age.
10. muneribus eis quae, etc. : military service is meant.
11. non modo : here used for non modo non. This occurs regularly when the idea modified by non modo (non) is reserved for a second member introduced by ne . . . quidem.
quod non possumus : as antecedent of qxiod, understand id, Accusative of llesult with cogimur. A. & G. 238, b ; B. 176, 2, b ; H. 371, II.
13. At multi : at is here again used to introduce the view of an imaginary opponent ; but below in at id quidem, at introduces Cato's own reply.
14. nullum offici aut omnino vitae munus exsequi : no function of duty or any function of life at all. Under ofjici munera would fall obligations to the state, to one's family, or friends ; under vitae munera, the ordinary care of oue's person and attention to one's personal wants.
16. valetudinis : primarily health, but unless accompanied by some such word as bo7ia, it ordinarily means poor health; so here.
P. Africani : son of the elder Africanus ; his feeble health pre- vented his entering public life.
18. Quod ni ita fuisset : imless this had been so ; on ni for nisi, see note on p. 29, 1. 10.
alterum lumen : the second light ; the elder Africanus was the first.
illud: he (i.e. Africanifilius), attracted from ille by the neuter predicate noun, lumen.
exstitisset: lit. loould have stoodforth.
NOTES 75
10. paternam : his father'' s.
21. in senibus : in case of old men.
22. Resistendum : emphatic, as shown by the positiou, — the thing to do, Laeliiis and Scipio, is to resist old age.
24. pugnandum : sc. est. tamquam, sic : just as, so. 20. utendum : one must use. tantum cibi: {only) so much food.
27. ut reficiantur vires, non opprimantur : Subjunctive of Kesult.
28. subveniendum est : we must come to the relief of.
29. menti atque animo : wlien used with precisiou mens refers to the iutellect, animus to the feelings and will ; together the two words embrace all the mental and moral faculties.
haec quoque : i.e. mens and animus.
30. nisi tamquam, etc. : tamquani (• apologetic' ; see note on p. 3, 1. 19) modifies the entire phrasc lumini oleum instilles, — 'unless, so to speak, one keeps pouring oil into the lamp,' i.e. the oil of study and reflection into the lamp of the mind ; on instilles, cf. p. 14, 1. 22, with note.
31. corpora quidem : quidem serves merely to emphasize coi'- pora, and so to heighten the antithesis between corpora ingrave- scunt and aninii levantur.
32. exercendo : by exercising them. Ordinarily the subject of the gerund is the same as tliat of the verb with which tlie gerund is gram- matically connected. Xot so here ; the subject of levantur is animi ; while the subject of exercendo is general, ' by a man's using them.'
16. 1. quos ait, etc. : (those) whom Caecilius characterizes as foolish old men, fit subjects for comedy ; ait here takes tlie construction (unusual for this verb) of two accusatives, direct object and predicate accusative.
comicos, stultos senes : the quotation is from Caecilius's Epiclerus ('The Heiress').
hos significat, etc. : hy these he means, etc. ; lit. he means these (as being) credulous, etc. ; here again we have two accusa- tives, direct object and predicate accusative, a construction not elsewhere found with significo ; but cf. Cic. de Finibus, II, 14, 45, Honestum igitur id intellegimus.
76 CATO MAIOR DE SENECTUTE
2. credulos: the credulous father is a stock figure of Latin coiuedy.
disBolutos : shattered, hroken doion.
quae vitia: faults which ; cf. qiiem magistratum, p. 5, 1. 17.
3. inertis, ignavae : iners iuiplies merely a lack of activity, iynaviis refers rather to the dislncliuatiou to be active.
4. petulantia, libido : imntomiess, Inst.
6. sed non proborum : bict (merely) of those who are not upright; non prohorum is less abrupt than improborum would have been.
seniles : = senum, — tlie adjective for the genitive of the sub- stantive, as often in Latin.
7. deliratio : dotage.
9. tantam, tantas : i.e. so great, as is well known, hence nearly equivaleut to magnam, permagnam.
Appius : Appius Claudius Caecus ; see p. 8, 1. 3.
10. intentum : stretched.
11. languescens : the participle has tlie force of an adverb, — feeblij.
12. auctoritatem : referring possibly to the patria potestas, whicli gave the father absolute control over his children.
imperium : stronger thau auctoritas; technically imperium designated the absolute power with whicli tlie higher Roman magistrates (consul and praetor) were formally invested by the Comitia Curiata. Tlie word is here figuratively applied to a pri- vate individual.
13. verebantur : reverenced.
14. patrius : inherited from thefathers, i.e. 'the good old.' mos : in Euglish we sliould employ the phiral.
15. Ita enim: for on this condition ; ita is explained by the following si-clauses.
honesta : honorable, held in honor.
IG. emancipata est: is in hondage, lit. is sold; emancipare l)rimarily meant ' to transfer,' and was used not only of property and slaves, but also of freemen. Later it came to be used of the formal act of sale by wliich slaves were Hberated, and so acquired the meaning set free, — the exact opposite of the meaning in our ge.
NOTES 77
18. senile aliqiiid : « tonch of Ihe old man.
20. quod qui sequitur : he who makett this his ohject.
21. septimus liber Originum : Cato's Origines was an histori- cal work. The second aud third books treated of the origin and settlement of the Italian towns, whence the title of the work. Of the remaining books, the first dealt with the regal period, the fourth and fifth with the First and Second Punic wars ; the sixth and seventh brought the history down to Cato's own day.
est in manibus : i. e. is uncler way ; cf . habebat in manibus, p. 10, 1. 15.
23. nunc cum maxime: noio especially^ just now. This ex- pression, which is fairly frequent, results from an ellipsis ; thus here the full thought would have been expressed by nunc conjicio cum maxime conficio, ' I am now preparing, at a time when I am especially preparing,' i.e. 'I am preparing now especially.' Some- times cum maxime alone stands in the same sense.
24. conficio : i.e. prepare for publication. One hundred and fifty of Cato's speeches were known to Cicero, as he himself else- where tells us, Brntus, 17, 65.
ius augurium, pontificium, civile : ins augurinm was the codc of the augurs ; the ius pontificinm emanated from the pontifices, who had the oversight and direction of the religious observances of the state ; ins civile seems here to be contrasted with ius augurium and ius j)ontificium, i.e. the secular jurisprudence is opposed to the religious.
25. multum utor : make mttch use. On this adverbial use of multum, originally an Accusative of Ilesult, see A. «& G. 238, a ; B. 170, 3.
Pythagoreorum more : in the so-called 'Golden Verses' (xpvo-a eTrrj), formerly attributed to Pythagoras, occur the Unes :
fjL^5' vTTVop fjLaXaKOiaiv iir' ^fifxaa-i. irpoaSi^affdai irplv tQv T}iM€pivCjv epyujv rpli ^Kaarov iireXOeiv ' rri] irapi^r]v ; tL 8' epe^a; tL fwt 5iov ovk iTeXiaOr) ; dp^dfxevos 5' 6.Tr6 irpwTov iwi^idi Kal fieTiireiTa SetXA fiiv iKirpri^as iinTcXrfaaeo XP^*'"'"^ 5^ Tfpirov.
26. ezercendae memoriae gratia : to be taken only with com- memoro, not with Pythagoreorum more.
78 CATO MAIOR DE SENECTUTE
28. Haec : imusual form for hae, but found occasionally else- where in Cicero.
exercitationes ingeni : intellectual pursuits are contrasted with athletic training.
haec curricula mentis: as contrasted with the wrestling- or boxing-ground.
29. desudans : de- is intensive, as in depugnavi, p. 14, 1. 5.
30. desidero : as p. 12, 1. 8.
Adsum amicis : 7 assist my friends ; adesse is used especially in the sense of rendering legal assistance.
31. ultroque : o/ my own motion. The Roman senators in debate were not held closely to tlie question before the house. Cato, therefore, simply means tliat when he addressed the senate he exercised his parliamentary privilege, and brought up such matters as he saw fit.
32. easque tueor : Imaintain them, defend them, i.e. in debate. 17. 1. Quas exsequi nequirem : see note on p. 12, 1. 29,
qiiam si exsequi nequeas. lectulus : a sort of reading-couch or sofa.
2. ea ipsa cogitantem : planning those very things.
quae iam agere non possem : even tho7igh I could not carry them into execution; quae possem is a relative clause denoting a condition contrary to fact.
3. ut possim : emphatic by position, — that I can do so, is the result of my past life.
4. viventi : agreeing with ei understood, which is Dative of Agent witli i7itellegitur, — for hy a man living constantly in these pursuits and lahor, it is not noticed, etc.
5. Ita sensim, etc. : so gradually does life wane ; this is the ' retrospective ' ita ; i.e. the particle looks back to the preceding sentence, of which it furnishes a justification ; obBerve the alliter- ation in sensim sine sensu senescit.
CHAPTERS XII. -XVIII.
The third charge : Old age is devoid of pleasures. So much thlTheiter. 'FlmsWe reaiiy a oane, and the source of all evil. Condemnation of Epicurus^s theory that voluptas is the summum
NOTES 79
bonum. This ideal un-Roman. Ohl men not excluded from moderate physical enjoyment. Possibilities of intellectual pleas- ures, — literatnre, law, etc. The deli others. Cato''^ own enthusiasm for the life of the farm. Xeno- pho7i^s endorsement. The satisfaction of loielding personal injlu- ence. The respect accorded old men of character.
0. quod . . . dicunt, etc. : the fact that they say it is devoid of pleasnres ; explanatory of tertia vituperatio. voluptatibus : i.e. bodily pleasures.
10. aetatis : here, old age.
11. accipite enim . . . veterem orationem : for listen to the loords uttered long ago.
12. Archytae: Archytas, of Tarentum, a famous Pythagorean philosopher who flourished about 400 n.c. He was eminent also as a mathematician, statesman, and general.
14. adulescens : as a young man ; in apposition with the sub- ject of essem.
Tarenti cum Q. Maximo : see p. 5, 1. 16.
16. a natura : nature is here personified ; hence the employ- raent of the preposition.
cuius voluptatis avidae : through eagerness for which, lit. eager for lohich pleasure ; but the repetition of the antecedent in the relative clause cannot be reproduced in English.
17. temere: blindly ; temere was originally the locative of a lost nominative temus, meaning ' darkness ' ; hence ' in the dark,' 'blindly,' later 'rashly,' ' heedlessly.'
ad potiendum ; for attaining it ; i.e. pleasure.
20. malum facinus : evil deed ; facinus here has its original force of 'act,' 'deed,' which is regular in early Latin. Cicero usually employs it in the sense of ' crime.'
22. impelleret : sc. homines.
23. flagitiimi: the voot Jlag-, appearing also in flagro, flamma, means ' to burn ' ; hence flagitium was primarily ' a burning shame.'
nisi : than, except.
24. cumque : a7id while. homini: i.e. mankind.
80 CATO MAIOR DE SENECTUTE
sive natura sive quis deus : he it nature or some god ; Cato does not attempt to deterinine which it was.
26. muneri ac dono : hoon and gift. The two words are here closely synonymous. When used with precision, donum is the general terni, mu7ius is more specific, being restricted to gracious gifts, or gifts bestowed for a special purpose.
27. libidine dominante: the ablative absolute here denotes both time and circumstance, — ' while lust is master' or 'under the rule of lust.'
temperantiae : Dative of Possession, — self-control has no place. neque omnino, etc. -. nor can virtue gain a footing at all in the realm of pleasure.
29. fingere animo : to imagine, conceive of; animo is ablative.
30. tanta, quanta, etc. ; just as much pleasure as coukl pos- sihltj he enjoyed; observe the emphasis secured by the position of maxima at the end of its clause.
32. tam diu dum : so long as ; an unusual form of expression for tam diu quam diu, or quam diu alone ; yet tam diu dum occurs in Cat. III, 16.
ita gauderet: took enjoyment in thisway, i.e. in unrestrained self-indulgence.
agitare : pursue.
18. 1. ratione : to be joined with conse^wi.
3. siquidem : here in the secondary meaning of since ; it is used differently above, p. 17, 1. 10.
maior atque longinquior : more intense and longer continued.
5. C. Pontio : his fuU name was Gaius Pontius Herennius. Ilis son, Gaius Pontius Telesinus, defeated the Komans at the battle of the Caudine Forks.
Caudino proelio : this disastrous defeat of the Roman arms occurred in the Second Samnite War, 321 b.c. The Roman army was forced to go ' under the yoke.'
7. locutum Arcbytam: supply esse ; the infinitive depends upon accepisse.
Nearchus : a philosopher of the Pythagorean school. hospes noster : noster for meus, as frequently.
8. qui . . . permanserat : ?(?/ Roman people. Many of the Tarentines, through jealousy of
NOl-ES 81
Rome, had sympathized with the Carthaginians and had handed the city over to Hannibal in 212 n.c.
9. cum . . . interfuisset : Plato the Athenian having heen present at that conversation ; here again cmjh is entirely devoid of temporal force, and the clause is purely circumstantial ; see note on p. 8, 1. 13. The ctim-clause is to be taken, of course, only with locutum (esse).
11. L. Camillo, Ap. Claudio consulibus : this was in the year 349 b.c. Plato's last visit to Italy is said to have occurred in 361 n.c. Cicero, therefore, is probably in error here.
12. Quorsus hoc : supply dixi or some such word.
ut intellegeretis : the imperfect is used because the M is felt as depending upon dixi or some other verb of saying to be supplied, — / said this in order that ijou might understand. Hence also the other subordinate subjunctives in this passage are in the imperfect. In English we should use the present.
13. magnam . . . gratiam : great gratitude ought to be enter- tained toward old age.
14. quae efficeret, etc. : the relative clause has causal force, — lit. since it brings it about that that is not pleasant, lohich ought not (to be).
15. liberet : from libet.
16. ut ita dicam : so to speak ; the phrase is introduced as an apology for the unusual metaphor mentis oculos.
18. invitus feci ut eicerem : a periphrasis for invitus eieci. Special emphasis rests upon invitus, — it loas unwiUingly that I removed.
T. Flaminini : already mentioned p. 1, 1. 1.
19. L. Flamininiun : he had served under his brother in the Macedonian War..
e senatu eicerem : this was in 184 n.c. The censors possessed the right of degrading any citizen whose conduct in their opinion raerited punishment.
20. post quam consul fuisset: the subjunctive here is due entirely to attraction, the clause being felt as an integral part of the thought begun in ut eicerem. Flaraininus had been consul in 192 B.c. Hence the interval was really eight years, not seven, as stated by Cicero.
82 CATO MAIOR DE SENECTUTE
notandam : notare was the technical term for designating the official action of the censors in rebuking the conduct of a citizen, just as nota was used of the ' mark ' or ' brand ' put upon him.
21, libidinem : imntonness.
cum esset consul in Gallia : when he was in Gaul in his consulship. GalUa in Cato's time applied only to cis-Alpine Gaul, i.e. northern Italy.
22. a scorto : according to the account given by Livy XXXIX, 42, the scortitm referred to was not a woman, but a young lad with whom Flaniinirms sustained immoral relations. Livy further adds that the man executed was a noble Boian who had fled to Flami- ninus for protection.
securi feriret : behead, lit. strike with the axe. Livy says Flamininus stabbed the Boian with his own hand.
24. Tito censore : in 189 b.c. The censors were chosen every five years, but held office for eighteen months only.
25. elapsus est : i.e. escaped punishment.
mihi et Flacco : Cato and Flaccus were censors in 184 b.c. In 195 they had been colleagues in the consulship.
27. quae coniimgeret : Clause of Characteristic with accessory notion of cause, since itjoined.
imperi dedecus: disgrace to the imperium, with which the consul had been formally invested. See note on p. 16, 1. 12.
30. porro : in turn, lit. further on. More commonly porro looks forward to the future.
mirari : i.e. express his wonder.
81. Fabricium : see note on p. 8, 1. 1.
apud Pyrrhum: i.e. at Pyrrhus's headquarters. In 281 b.c. Pyrrlius had crossed over from Epirus to Italy to assist the Tarcn- tines in war against the Romans.
32, Cinea : Cineas, a valued adviser of Pyrrhus. He had been a pupil of Demosthenes, and was distinguisliod as an orator.
quendam : the reference is to Epicurus, founder of the philo- sophical school that bears his name. Epicurus was bom at Samos 342 B.c, and taught at Athens from 306 till his death in 270 b.c. He did not, however, as here intimated, make sensual pleasure the chief end of life. It was happiness in the sense of the high- est bodily, mental, and spiritual tranquillity (dra^a^fa) that he
NOTES 88
declared to be the snmimm bonnm. Yet his doctrines easily came to be iiiisunderstood and perverted, so that ultimately Epicurean- ism becauie synonymous with pliysical self-indulgence.
19. 1. se sapientem profiteretur : sH np for a philosopher.
2. ad voluptatem : i.e. to pleasure as a standard or ideal.
3. Curium, Conmcanium : see p. 8, 1. 1. optare : i.c to express tlie wish.
4. ut id Samnitibus . . . persuaderetur : that the Samnites and Pijrrhus himself miyht he convinced of this ; id is the Accusa- tive of Result retained in the passive.
G. Vixerat : i.e. had been intimate.
P. Decio : his f uU name was PubUus Decius Mus.
7. eum : i.e. Curius.
8. se devoverat : this was in 295 n.c. at the Battle of Sentlnum, in which the Romans defeated the combined forces of the Gauls and Samnites. Decius's grandfather, P. Decius Mus, had previ- ously offered his life in the same way at the Battle of Veseris, 340 B.c. The act of devotio was a formal one, and was accom- panied by a regular ceremonial. The citizen who thus 'devoted himself ' put on the cinctiis Gabimis, and mounting a charger rode to death in the midst of the enemy. The sacrifice was believed to propitiate the gods of the lower world, and thus to ensure victory.
9. cum . . . tum : 7iot only . . . but also.
ex eius, quem dico, Deci facto : from the act of him tohom I mention, viz., Decius.
10. natura pulchrum atque praeclarum : naturally noble and glorious.
11. quod sua sponte peteretur, etc. : to be songhtfor its oim sake, and for all the best men to pursne, scorning and despising pleasure; the subjunctives are not merely subordinate clauses in indirect discourse, but are relative clauses of purpose as well, and would be in the subjunctive even in direct statement.
13. Quorsus: elliptical, as p. 6, 1. 21.
14. vituperatio nulla: i.e. constitutes no ground of blarae.
16. Caret . . . caret : in the first caret the idea of deprivation is prominent, in the second tlie idea of avoiding.
17. frequentibus poculis : round after ronnd of cups.
18. si aliquid dandimi est: if some concession must be made.
84 CATO MAIOR DE SENECTUTE
20. divine : hardly stronger than the English^neZi/ or admirably. escam malonim: the hait of sin; nialorum is Possessive Geni-
tive. Cf. Plato, Timaeus, 09 I), tjSovtjv fjL^ia-Tov KaKov di\eap.
21. quod videlicet : evidently because.
24. C. Duellium: he had defeated tlie Carthaginian fleet off Mylac, a town on the nortli coast of Sicily, in 200 b.c.
25. senem : Duellius was probably seventy-five years old when Cato was a lad of ten.
20. delectabatur : Cato began by citing Duellius as an illustra- tion of liis assertion that old men can enjoy moderate banciuets, but having once mentioned DuelHus he goes on after tlie rambling fashion of an old man to relate other circumstances whicli have no connection whatever witli the point at issue. Cf. the similar digressions, p. 5, 1. 13 ; p. 11, 1. 9 ; p. 24, 1. 23.
nuUo exemplo : icithout precedent, lit. in accordance tcith no example.
27. privatus : as a private citizen.
28. alios : supply commemorem, or some such word. iam : straightway.
29. Primiun: in the first place ; primum leads us to expect deinde later on, instead of which the second point is introduced by ego quoque, p. 20, 1. 10.
sodales : this corresponds approximately to our ' club-friends ' ; a sodalis was a member of a sodalitas, a club organized sometimes for social purposes only, at other times, as here, for the mainten- ance of a special ritual. In either case banqueting seems to have been a recognized feature of the organization.
30. Magnae Matris : i.e. in honor of the Great Mother of the gods, Cybele. Ilcr Greek designation of /xeydXr] fnfjTrfp suggested the name of tlie Mcgalesian Games (Ludi Megalenses).
me quaestore : 204 n.c.
31. sacris Idaeis acceptis : the ablative absolute here denotes time, — at the time the Idaean worship was introduced. The wor- ship of Cybele is called Idaean because one of her chief sanctuaries was situated on Mount Ida in the Troad. The cult of Cybele was introduced in accordance with the directions of an oracle, which had bidden the Romans to bring to the city a meteoric stone wor- shippcd as thc image of Cybele atPessTnus in Galatia.
Epulabar igitur : igitur is merely transitional, as p. 7, 1. 29.
NOTES 86
32. omnino modice : moderately loithal.
aetatis: \\qvg, of youth.
20. 1. qua progrediente : and as life advances ; qtia, thougli referring to aetatis, does not refer to it in the sense of youth, — the meaning which aetatis lias in coiniection witli fervor, — but in the general sense of life.
omnia fiunt mitiora : i.e. all pleasures grow less keen, lose their edge.
3. coetu amicorum et sermonibus : the logical contrast is not so inuch between voluptatibus and coetu et sermonihus, as between corporis and coetu et sermonibus. Cato means to say that he gauged his enjoyments not so mucli by pleasures of the body as by those derived from meeting his friends and talking with them.
4. Bene enim, etc. : for our fathers did well in calling the reclining of friends at table a ^- convivium,' because it involved a living together.
7. tum compotationem, tum concenationem : noto a dnnk- ing together, now an eating together; the Greek designations referred to are a-vfnrSa-iov and avp8enrvov.
8. quod in eo genere minimum est : ichat is of least conse- quence in that sort (of thing), i.e. the niere satisfaction of the appetite as opposed to the delights of social intercourse.
11. tempestivis conviviis : protracted banquets ; a convivium tempesfivum was one that began early, before tlie usual time (2 or 3 P.M.), and so lasted long.
12. qui pauci admodum: very few of ichom; for quorum pauci admodnm.
cum vestra aetate : i.e. witli those of your time of life.
14. quae auxit : the relative clause here has causal force, — since it has increased.
auxit, sustulit : note the adversative asyndeton, — has in- creased, . . but has removed. B. 340, b.
IG. ne videar : explaining the purpose of the assertion.
omnino : i.e. war to the knife, lit. allogether.
17. cuius est . . . naturalis modus: a certain measure of which, perhaps, isjustijied by natnre.
18. ne in istis quidem ipsis voluptatibus : even in those very pleasures; ne . . . quidem after a negative, as p. 4, 1. 30.
86 CATO MAIOR DE SENECTUTE
sensu: feeJuKj.
19. magisteria : lit. presidencies^ i.e. the custom of having a presiding officer {magister hibendi) at a banquet to direct the drinking and the talk. The magisCer bibendi was usually chosen by a throvv of the dice.
20. qui a summo adhibetur in poculo : lohich is held over the loine, beyinning at the head ofthe table, lit. from the top.
22. minuta atque rorantia : rorantia defies translation ; the word is here used by Cicero to render the Greek ^Trt^eKcifw of Xenophon, Syinposium, ii. 26. L.iterally roro means 'to bedew,' 'moisten' ; here it suggests the few drops (as of dew) which the cups contained.
refrigeratio aestate : a cool apartment in summer ; the temporal ablative aestate serves (quite irregularly) as an attributive modifier of refrigeratio, corresponding to hibernus with sol and ignis.
23. sol aut ignis hibemus : sun or fire in lointer. quae quidem : a programme which, in fact.
24. in Sabinis : on my Sabine farm. Sabinis is masculine. By a peculiar idiom the llomans used the name of a people dwell- ing in a district to designate an estate situated there ; hence mei Sabini, mei Tusci, lit. my JSabines, my Tuscans, in the sense of 'my Sabine estate,' ' my Tuscan estate.'
conviviiun vicinorum compleo : fi.ll up the feast with my neighbors. Verbs of filling are more commonly construed wlth the ablative, but occasionally take the genitive after the analogy of jylenus.
25. ad multam noctem quam maxime possumus: as far into the night as possible.
27. quasi titillatio: titillatio properly means 'tickling' ; here it is transferred to denote keenness of sensation ; hence the ' apolo- getic' quasi; see note on p. 3, 1. 19.
28. desideratio : longing ; the word does not occur elsewhere in this sense.
nihil autem est molestum, etc. : the thought is inaccurately expressed. Cicero really means : ' the lack of a thing that you do not want, is not annoying.'
20. Bene Sophocles : sc. dixit.
31. uteretume rebus veneriis : enjoyed the delights of love.
NOTES 87
Di meliora: elliptical for di meliora duint (= dent), — Ueaven forhid ! 'V\\g quotation is f rom Plato, Republic, I, 329 C.
32. istinc : i.e. ab istis rebns veneriis.
21. 2. satiatis et expletis : the two words are closely synony- mous ; see note on p. 15, 1. 5.
3. Quamquam: corrective; see p. 1, 1. 7.
4. hoc non desiderare: this absence of longing ; hoc limits the substantive iilea represented by the intinitive.
5. bona aetas : i.e. youth.
6. libentius : with greater zest. primum : in the first place {I will say).
7. potitur : apparently used to avoid the repetition of frtiitur, which has already occurred twice in the sentence.
8. Turpione Ambivio : Ambivius Turpio, an actor and theat- rical manager of the time of Terence, in whose plays he often apijeared. When the praenomen is omilted the two other names are occasionally transposed as here. Such transposition is rela- tively rare in Cicero, but occurs with great frequency in later writers, especially Tacitus.
9. in prima cavea : in the front part of the theatre ; the name cavea, lit. hollow space, was applied to the sloping rows of seats in a theatre.
spectat : used absoUitely, — looks on.
delectatur tamen, etc. : yet he also is pleased xoho looks on from the back part (of the theatre) ; supply cavea with ultima, and spectat with qui.
11. propter: adverbial, — (from) near at hand.
12. tantum quantum sat est: modifying delectatur ; the ex- pression is periphrastic for the simple satis, ' sufficiently ' ; sat, for satis, is archaic.
13. At illa quanti sunt animum . . . secum esse, etc. : but what a precious thing it is for the mind to be with itself, etc. lUa is explained by the foUowing appositional inflnitives esse and vivere. The singular, illud, might have been used instead of illa ; quanti is Genitive of Value.
14. tamquam emeritis stipendiis libidinis: having finished the service of lust, so to speak ; stipendia emereri lit. means to $erve out oiie^s campaigns, i.e. to serve the number prescribed by
88 CATO MAIOR DE SENECTUTE
law. The boldness of the figure calls forth the ' apologetic ' particle tamqtiam. The Roniau writers are particularly foncl of military figures.
15. secumque, ut dicitur, vivere : iit dtcitur, like quod aiunt, p. 9, 1. 30, indicates that tlie expression was a current or proverbial one.
16. aliquod tamquam pabulum, etc. : some food for study, so to speak ; pahulum is properly fodder for animals ; hence the 'apologetic' tamquam.
18. otiosa : i.e. free frora public service or responsibility.
- Exerceri : engaged. On the reading see Critical Appendix.
19. paene : limiting caeli et terrae.