C. Gallum : Gaius Sulpicius Gallus, a man eminent as an astron-

omer. Ile served under L. Aemilius in the campaign against Per- seus, and by his prediction of an eclipse saved the army from panic. In 106 n.c. he filled the oflBce of consul.
20. patris tui : i.e. Aemilius Paulus.
21. describere : i.e. to draw some chart astronomical or geo- graphical.
oppressit : snrprised.
22. quam delectabat eum : how it delighted him! The sub- ject of delectahat is praedicere.
23. multo ante: i.e. long before the actual eclipse.
24. levioribus : less severe.
acutis: i.e. demanding ^e€nnes.s, acumen.
25. bello Pimico Naevius : the allusion is to Naevius's cele- brated epic poem in Saturnian verse on the First Punic War, in which Naevius had taken an active part. Only a few fragnients of this work have come down to us.
quam Truculento Plautus, quam Pseudolo: T. Maccius Plautus, the greatest Komau writer of comedy, lived from 254 to 184 K.c. Aniong tlie twenty plays of Plautus that have been pre- served, the Truculentus takes low rank ; the Pseudohis, on the other hand, is one of tlie best.
26. Vidi etiam senem Livium: I saio Livius too when hewas an old man. Tlie reference is to Livius Andronlcus (283-204 n.c), not to be confounded with tlie historian Livy (Titus Livius Pata- vinus) , who lived more than two centuries later. Livius Andronl-
NOTES 89
cus, though not the first Latni writer, was the real pioneer of Roman literature. Ile had conie to Kome as a slave after the capt- ure of Tarentuni (275 u.c), and in 240 n.c, six years before the birth of Cato, had brought out the first play at Rome. One of his most celebrated works was the translation of the Odyssey into Saturnians.
27. cum fabulam docuisset : having hrought out a play ; another circumstantial CMw-chiuse ; see p. 8, 1. 13 ; fabulam docere^ lit. 'teach a play,' i.e. teach the actors their parts, is the regular phrase for ' bringing out a play.'
29. Quid: lohf/?
30. P. Licini Crassi : see note on p. 12, 1. 20.
31. huius P. Scipionis: the Publius Scipio now living; the reference is to P. Cornelius Scipio Nasica Corculum.
his paucis diebus : a few days ago, lit. in the course of these few days. 22. 1. senes: when old men.
2. M. Cethegum: mentioned p. 5, 1. 18, as a colleague of Tuditanus in the consulship (204 b.c).
Suadae medullam : the quintessence (lit. marroxo) of Persua- sion, i.e. of eloquence. Suadae is a translation of the Greek
3. exerceri : as p. 21, 1. 18.
6. comparandae : sc. sunt, deserve to be compared.
7. prudentibus et bene institutis : in case of wise and well- trained men ; Dative of Reference.
8. honestimi : i.e. does its author credit : honestus when applled to thiiigs often means ' conferring honor.'
illud Solonis quod ait: that observation of Solon, ichich he makes.
9. versiculo quodam: see note on p. 11, 1. 30. The verse was a dactylic pentameter ; hence the diminutive versiculus, as denot- ing a verse shorter than the hexameter.
13. nec : correlative with et after senectute.
14. ad sapientis vitam : i.e. to the (ideal) life of a philosopher. proxime accedere : to make the nearest approach.
15. Habent rationem, etc. : the whole passage abounds in mer- cantile figures: habent rationem, ' keep account' ; mmquam recu-
90 CATO MAIOR DE SENECTUTE
sat imperium, ' never refuses tlieir draft' ; nec umquam sine usura reddit, 'iiever passes a dividentl.' See Critical Appendix.
cum terra : loith Mother Earth ; terra is here pei"sonified, being conceived as the banker witli whom account is kept.
17. alias: liere = somef «hcs, correlative witli the following jj^e- rumque.
19. vis ac natura : power and nature.
20. Quae cum, etc. : explanatory of the foregoing sentence, — for lohen she, etc.
gremio : 07i her l/osom : the ablative is strictly instrumental, though doubtless possessing, even to tlie lloman mind, a sUght locative force.
moUito ac subacto : hroken tip and made mellow, i.e. by plough- ing; hysteron proteron, B. 374, 7 ; II. 630, V. 2.
21. primum occaecatum, etc. : Jiist she holds it in hiding, from which (circumstance) the (process) lohich accomplishes that is called ^ occatio'' (Jiarrowing) . Cicero means that tlie Romans applied the name occatio to harrowing because that operation hid (occaecavit) the seed under the surface of the soil ; but this ety- mology, like so many others suggested by ancient writers, is purely fanciful and phonetically impossible.
22. quae hoc efficit, nominata est : both the relative quae and the subject of nominata est have been attracted into the gender of the predicate noun occatio. Logically we should have expected quod and nominatxim est, but attraction is practically the rule in cases like this.
deinde tepefactum vapore, etc. : then when she has warmed it (the seed) with the heat of her embrace, she makes it expand ; note the hendiadys in vapore et compressu.
23. elicit: hrings forth.
24. herbescentem viriditatem : the green-growing plant, lit. the bladed greenness.
stirpium : we should have expected stirpis.
25. erecta : with reflexive force, — raising itself.
26. vaginis: i.e. each new joint is protected by a sheath or bract.
iam quasi pubescens : tvith the down of youth, so to spenk, already upon it ; pubesco strictly applies to boys whose cheeks are
NOTES 91
just beginning to show the down of youth. Cicero here applies the word to a growing plant, but witli an apology (qitasi) for the boldness of tlie tigure.
e quibus : i.e. froni the vuginae.
27. fiindit: brings forth ; suggesting abundance.
spici ordiue structam: arranged in regular ears, lit. in the orderliness of the ear. Note that Cicero here uses spicum, i; the usual word is spica, ae.
29. Quid: wh)j/
ortus, satus : ortus seems to refer to the springing up of vines, satus to tlieir planting. Observe the use of the plural to denote repeated instances.
30. ut noscatis : not the purpose of satiari, but of Cato's state- raent, — ' this I say that you niay Ivnow.'
32. vim ipsam : i.e. the natural capacity. omnium : neuter ; = omnium rerum ; see note on p. 2, 1. 8. quae generantur e terra : a circumlocution for plants, for whicli Latin has no single word. 23. 1. tantulo : i.e. so tiny as we know them. acini vinaceo : the stone of a grape.
3. procreet : Subjunctive of Cliaracteristic, with accessory notion of cause, — since it brings forth.
Malleoli, plantae, sarmenta, viviradices, propagines : mal- lets, sprouts, cuttings, divisions, layers. A " layer " (propago) is a shoot whose tip, either naturally or artificially, has become em- bedded in tlie earth and has talten root. Our common raspberry propagates itself naturally in this way. A " division " {yiviradix) is the name technically applied to a vertical section of a plant, re- taining a part of tlie stem and root of tlie parent. " Cuttings" (sarmenta) are clipped from terminal twigs ; cf, sarpo, ' prune/ ' clip the ends.' " Sprouts" (plantae) are the slender shoots that spring up about the base of a slirub or tree, or at times appear sporadically on the trunk itself. " Mallets " (tnalleoli) differ from "cuttings" in that they are cut in the particular shape indicated by their name.
4. nonne efficiunt ut delectent : merely a periphrasis for nonne delectant ? Cf. p. 18, 1. 18, invitus feci ttt eicerem.
6. quemvis : i.e. even the least appreciative observer.
92 CATO MAIOR DE SENECTUTE
ciim admiratione delectent: i.e. fill witli admiration and delight.
6. natura caduca est : is naturally trailing. fertur: sinks.
7. eadem : to be taken with vifis, — the vine again.
8. serpentem multiplici cursu et erratico : winding in mani- fold and straggling course.
9. ferro : i.e. the pruning-knife.
10. ars agricolarum : the skilful hushandmen, the abstract for the concrete.
11. nimia : too far.
12. in eis : i.e. in those shoots.
quae relicta sunt : viz. , af ter pruning, hence those shoots which have not been clipped in the pruning process.
tamquam ad articulos : at the joints, so to speak; articulus properly applies to the joint in an animal organism ; hence the necessity of some apologetic particle here.
13. ea quae gemma dicitur : by attraction for id quod gemma dicitur (see note on p. 22, 1. 22) ; gemma meant originally ' out- growth,' 'bud' (gemma for *gen-ma, root gen-, seen in gen-us, genitus) ; the meaning 'gem,' 'jewel,' was a secondary develop- ment. Cicero apparently imagined the reverse to be true.
14. suco : moisture.
16. nec . . . et : correlative, as p. 22, 1. 13.
17. ardores : the plural as in ortus, satus, p. 22, 1. 29.
18. cum . . . tum : either . . . or.
fructu laetius, aspectu pulchrius : pleasanter to enjoy, fairer to behold. Notice that laetus is here transferred in meaning from glad to gladdening ; so below, 1. 32 ; fructu and aspectu are nouns, not supines.
20. adminiculorum ordines : rows of stakes, to support the vines.
21. capitum iugatio : joining the tops of the stakes by cross- pieces, a method still practised in Italian vineyards.
religatio et propagatio : tying up and training ; religatio occurs only here ; propagatio refers to guiding the course of the new growth and giving the fresh shoots the proper direction.
23. aliorum immissio: the allowing others to groio, viz., those
NOTES 93
spoken of above as quae relicta siint; immissio occurs only here in this seuse, but immitto iu the seuse of ' let grow ' is well attested.
24, repastinationesque : i.e. diggiug up the earth with the pastinum, a two-prouged fork.
26. dixi : i.e. about those things.
eo libro, quem de rebus rusticis scripsi : the reference is to Cato's de Agricultura, a work on fanuing, wliich has come down to us. The discussion of nianuriug is in chapter 28 of that treatise.
27. de qua doctus Hesiodus : about ichich Ilesiod, tcith all his learning, said never a icord, thouijh he lorote onfarming. On Hesiod, see note on p. 10, 1. 19. Hesiod's treatinent of farining is found in his Works and Days. Note the fine scorn of Cato at this serious defect in the work of his Greek predecessor.
28. At Homerus : Homer, in Cato's opinion, has done some- what better.
29. multis ante saeculis fuit : lived many generations earlier ; fuit = vixit.
Laertam lenientem desiderium : Laertes endeavoring to as- suage the longing ; couative use of the present participle. The alki- siou seeras to be to the picture of Laertes giveu iu Odyssey, XXIV, 226, but in that passage there is no mention of mauuriug. Laertes is simply represeuted as digging about the roots of tlie plants.
30. quod capiebat e filio : which he felt for his son, viz., the absent Ulysses, lit. ivhich he took from (in consequence of) his son.
colentem et eum stercorantem : tliese show tlie means, — assuaging his longing hy tilling the ground and manuring it. When two verbs goveru the same object, it is unusual to express the pronoun with the second as here.
31. facit : represents.
segetibus : standing crops of grain ; this and the following ablatives denote cause.
32. res rusticae : farm life. laetae : pleasant, as above, 1. 18. 24. 1. hortis : vegetahle gardens.
2. florum omnium : flowers of all kinds.
3. consitiones, insitiones : planting (of trees), grafting.
94 CATO MAIOR DE SENECTUTE
5. Fossum persequi : / might enumemte. The Latin com- monly employs tlie indieative of possitm in cases like this, where the English idiom vvould lead us to expect the subjunctive.
6. ea ipsa : sc. oblectamenta, — these very attractions.
7. longiora : i.e. have been dwelt upon at too great length. Ignoscetis autem : but pardon me ; as frequently, the future
indicative has imperative force.
8. provectus sum : / have been carried on. loquacior : rather talkative.
9. ne videar : see note on ne indixisse videar, p. 20, 1. 16. Ergo in hac vita : the emphasis rests upon the phrase in hac
vita, — this, noio, is the kind of life in which Manius Curius spent the close of his days.
10. Curius : see note on p. 8, 1. 1. de Samnitibus : over the Samnites.
12. Cuius quidem, etc. : the mention of Curius's name irre- sistibly leads Cato to relate a famous incident ilhistrative of Curius's character. That Cato himself feels this to be a digres- sion, is clearly shovvn by the words below (1. 19) : sed venio ad agricolas, ne a me ipso recedam.
15. Samnites . . . repudiati sunt: this incident occurred after tlie subjugation of the Samnites. Curius had become their patronus at Rome, and the gold had been brought as a gift, not as a bribe ; nevertheless hc refused it.
16. non enim : 7ion belongs closely with aurum habere, — fie said it loas not the possession of gold that seemed excellent to him, but commanding those who had it.
18. Poteratne: -ne regularly derives its force from the con- text ; here it is equivalent to num.
19. non iucundum : other than pleasant. Cf. p. 4, 1. 31, non gravis.
20. ne a me ipso recedam : lest I wander from my subject.
In agris: emphatic, — the country in those days tms the home of senators ; tum does not refer to tlie time of Curius, but simply in a general way to the early days. Cincinnatus lived a century and a half before Curius.
21. id est senes : i.e. senator hy its very derivation implies senex.
NOTES 95
si quidem aranti, etc. : aranti is the empliatic word, — ifindeed