BOOK I CH. IL § 6. "3

school to which he belonged was unfairly branded as sceptical. Jt simply maintained the doctrine of Probability in opposition to Stoic dogmatism. 11 § 5—v § 12.
Ch. 111. § 6. fluxisse video : ‘I observe that a rumour has spread far and wide’: so Zusc. 1v 2 Pythagorae doctrina flueret, and manare frequently. [Cf. Nagels. Std. §131,4. J.S. R.]
brevi tempore: C.’s purely philosophical works all belong to the interval between the death of his daughter Tullia, Feb. 45 B.c.,, and the end of 44 B.c. Teuffel arranges them chronologically as follows: de con- solatione, Hortensius, de finibus, Academica, Tusculanae disputationes, Ti- maeus, de natura deorum, Cato, de divinatione, de fato, Laelius, de gloria, de offictis, de virtutibus’. It must further be remembered that Caesar's death occurred about the time of the publication of the present work, March, 44 B.c., and that C. was much occupied with politics from that time until his death, at the age of 65, on Dec. 7, 43 B.c.
quid certi haberemus: ‘what. positive belief I held’. So aliquid certi habere § 14. Livy seems to make cert? predicative (complement) in v 33 st quicquam humanorum certi est, capt Roma non potuerat; cf. the use of penst habere. I do not know of any similar case in C. He generally uses habeo certum or pro certo to express ‘I am positive of a thing’. The word formed a battle-ground between the Stoics, who maintained sapientem nihil opinart, nulla in re falli (Mur. 61), and the Academics, gui nihil affirmant et, quasi desperata cognitione certi, id sequi volunt quodcunque verisimile videatur Fin. 11 48, cf. De Orat. 111 67. [C. is exceedingly fond of the Gen. after quid, ef. Ac. 11 25 quid offict sui sit ‘what belongs to one’s duty’. J.-S. B.]
eam potissimum: ‘that rather than any other’, ‘ precisely that’. Cf. hane potiss, § 9 and 11.
quae lucem eriperet: ‘which in their view &c.’ The charge is one continually made against the Academy : see Acad. 11 16 Arcesilas conatus est clarissimis rebus tenebras obducere ; § 61 eam philosophiam sequere quae confundit vera cum falsis, spoliat nos judicio: ... tantis offusis tenebris ne scintillulam quidem ullam nobis ad dispiciendum reliquerunt; 26 st ista vera sunt, ratio omnis tollitur quasi quaedam lux lumenque vitae 30.
desertae et relictae: so Ac. 113 relictam a te veterem, tractari novam, u 11 prope dimissa revocatur. Cf. § 11 and Ac. 1 129 omitto illa quae relicta jam videntur, ut Herillum. Des. refers to desertion by an adherent, such as Antiochus ; rel. to general neglect.
qua quidem in causa: Heindorf and Schémann have in vain done their best to find some reference for these words in their ordinary position at the beginning of the chapter; and the sentence beginning multum autem
1 Reid (Introd. to Laelius p. 9) more correctly puts Hortensius first, B.c. 46, then the Consolatio and next to that the Academica.
74 BOOK I CH. I § 6.
comes in equally abruptly after repellend?. It appears to me that the natural connexion may be restored by transposing them, so as to make gua guidem—repellendi follow esse susceptam (cf. § 30) : multum autem then be- comes the commencement of a new paragraph in which C. leaves the general subject and proceeds to defend himself against attacks made upon him; causa will refer to the criticism passed upon his philosophical studies, while objurgatores and vituperatores are two classes of critics. [I have always taken these words to mean ‘now in dealing with the case at issue between the dogmatists and Academics, I have an opportunity of soothing my kind reprovers, &c.’ One object C. has in view is to set himself right with the public, cf. § 13 ut omni me invidia liberem. J.S. R.]
benevolos objurgatores placare : ‘pacify friendly critics’.
invidos vituperatores: ‘malicious fault-finders’, We find C. de- fending himself against the same charges in Fin. 11, Div. u 4, Acad. 11 5—9, Of. 1 2—8, Tusc. Iv 4 which should be compared for the whole passage.
refertae ... sententiis: so Drut. 65 (of Cato the Censor) refertae sunt orationes et verbis et rebus ulustribus. In his rhetorical treatises C. recom- mends the study of philosophy as necessary to the orator (De Orat. I 83, Ill 85 seq.) and takes credit in a letter written to Cato, B.c. 50, for in- troducing in forum atque in rem publicam atque tr ipsam aciem that philosophy quae quibusdam otii esse ac desidiae videtur, Fam. xv 4 ad fin, cf. Quintil. x1r 2 § 5 foll, Weidner remarks on the philosophical tone of his youthful treatise De Jnventione in contrast with that of Cormficius on the same subject. Cicero was one of those who led the way in bringing about that transfusion of Roman technicalities by the spirit of Greek philosophy which made Roman law so important a factor in our modern civilization. [Probably C. alludes to such passages as Sest. 3, Balb. 3, Pis. 37, Post red. 14, Pro domo 47, Cael. 39—42, Mur. 63, Phil. x1 28, Detot. 37, Marcell. 19. JS. R.]
floruit: ‘has been honoured’, Nagels. Sti. § 128, 3.
Diodotus the Stoic lived with C. from the year 84 B.c. till his death in 59 B.c. He is spoken of in high terms Ac. 11 115 D. a puero amavi ; mecum vivit tot annos; eum et admiror et diligo; Tuse. v 113 D. Stoicus caecus multos annos nostrae domi vixit; ts vero, cum in philosophia multo etiam magis assidue quam antea versaretur, et cum fidibus Pythagoreorum more uteretur, cumque et libri noctes et dies legerentur ; tum, quod sine oculis fiert posse via videtur, geometriae munus tucbatur, verbis praecipiens discentibus, unde, quo, quamque lineam seriberent. On his death he left C. //S fortasse centies, Att. 11 20. On the other names cf. Jntroduction and Diet. of Biog.
§ 7. referuntur ad vitam: ‘if, as we are agreed, all philosophy has a practical aim (cf. Fin. 111 4 ars est philosophia vitae, 1 42 Madv., Tuse. 1v 5, v 5), I can point to my life as a proof of my philosophy’. The interest in pure speculation hardly survived the death of Aristotle.
praestitisse : ‘to have carried out’, ‘made good’. In praese. we have