Chapter XII: Part II: Rashness justly punished (8)
+Context.+ In 49 B.C. Curio was sent by Caesar to wrest the corn-province of Africa from the Pompeians. He won a signal success over Varus (allied with Juba) at Utica, but allowed himself to be surprised on the plain of the Bagradas, and, when all was lost, died sword in hand.
[Linenotes:
800. +tribunicia arce+ = _from the citadel of the tribune_, i.e. the
inviolability of the office and the right of veto. As tribune Curio
played an all-important part in the crisis of 50 B.C.
801. +prodita iura senatus+, i.e. of the right of the senators to
appoint governors of the provinces. --Haskins.
802. +gener atque socer:+ by the early death of Julia (54 B.C.)--a
beloved wife and daughter--the personal relation between Pompeius
and Caesar was broken up.
812. +senium+ (_senex_) = _decay_ (of lapse of time).
813. +digna ... vitae+ = _such a panegyric_ (+praeconia+) _as thy
life deserves_. --H.
815-818. As tribune Curio for a time played the part of an
independent republican, till his talent induced Caesar to buy him
up.
819. +momentum+ (= _movi + mentum_) +rerum+ = _that which turned the
scale of history_. --H.
824. +vendidit+: perh. referred to by Verg. _Aen._ vi. 621-2:
_Vendidit hic auro patriam dominumque potentem
Imposuit; fixit leges pretio atque refixit._]
B55
CIVIL WAR, 49-45 B.C. (6)
_Dyrrachium. Caesar's line of circumvallation, 48 B.C._
Erat nova et inusitata belli ratio cum tot castellorum numero tantoque spatio et tantis munitionibus et toto obsidionis genere, tum etiam reliquis rebus. Nam quicumque alterum obsidere conati sunt, perculsos atque infirmos hostes adorti aut proelio superatos {5} aut aliqua offensione permotos continuerunt, cum ipsi numero equitum militumque praestarent; causa autem obsidionis haec fere esse consuevit, ut frumento hostes prohiberent. At tum integras atque incolumes copias Caesar inferiore militum {10} numero continebat, cum illi omnium rerum copia abundarent; cotidie enim magnus undique navium numerus conveniebat, quae commeatum supportarent, neque ullus flare ventus poterat, quin aliqua ex parte secundum cursum haberent. Ipse autem consumptis {15} omnibus longe lateque frumentis summis erat in angustiis. Sed tamen haec singulari patientia milites ferebant. Recordabantur enim eadem se superiore anno in Hispania perpessos labore et patientia maximum bellum confecisse, meminerant ad {20} Alesiam magnam se inopiam perpessos, multo etiam maiorem ad Avaricum maximarum se gentium victores discessisse.
CAESAR, _de B. C._ iii. 47.
+Context.+ In Jan. (48 B.C.) Caesar set sail from Brundisium and landed safely in Epirus. After a junction with Antonius, who followed him from Brundisium with reinforcements, Caesar established himself close to Dyrrachium (Durazzo), the key of the whole military situation. Pompeius refused to fight, and encamped on a hill close to the sea at Petra, a short distance S. of Dyrrachium, where his fleets could bring him supplies. Caesar now determined to hem him in by a line of circumvallation.
[Linenotes:
2. +tanto spatio+: eventually the whole circuit of circumvallation
covered at the least 16 miles: to this was afterwards added, just as
before Alesia, an outer line of defence.
6. +aut aliqua offensione permotos+ = _or demoralised by some other
mishap_ (+offensione+, lit. _stumbling_, and so _failure_).
12-15. Pompeius still had undisputed command of the sea.]
+Caesar's lines broken.+ Pompeius was informed by Celtic deserters that Caesar had not yet secured by a cross wall the beach between his two chains of entrenchment on his left (200 yards apart), leaving it possible to land troops from the sea into the unprotected space. Troops were landed by night: Caesar's outer line of defence was carried, and his lines broken through. 'Like Wellington at Burgos in 1812, Caesar failed from want of a sufficient force. In each case the only safe course was a retreat: in each case the retreat was conducted with admirable skill.' --W. F.
B56
CIVIL WAR, 49-45 B.C. (7)
_The Eve of Pharsalus. Dream of Pompeius._
At nox, felicis Magno pars ultima vitae,
Sollicitos vana decepit imagine somnos.
Nam Pompeiani visus sibi sede theatri
Innumeram effigiem Romanae cernere plebis, 10
Attollique suum laetis ad sidera nomen
Vocibus, et plausu cuneos certare sonantes.
Qualis erat populi facies clamorque faventis,
Olim cum iuvenis primique aetata triumphi
Post domitas gentes quas torrens ambit Hiberus, 15
Et quaecumque fugax Sertorius impulit arma,
Vespere pacato, pura venerabilis aeque
Quam currus ornante toga, plaudente senatu,
Sedit adhuc Romanus eques: seu fine bonorum
Anxia venturis ad tempora laeta refugit, 20
Sive per ambages solitas contraria visis
Vaticinata quies magni tulit omina planctus,
Seu vetito patrias ultra tibi cernere sedes
Sic Romam fortuna dedit. Ne rumpite somnos.
Castrorum vigiles, nullas tuba verberet aures. 25
Crastina dira quies et imagine maesta diurna
Undique funestas acies feret undique bellum.
Unde pares somnos populi noctemque beatam?
O felix, si te vel sic tua Roma videret.
LUCAN, _Pharsalia_, vii. 7-29.
[Linenotes:
9. +Pompeiani theatri.+ Pompeius built the first stone theatre at
Rome, near the Campus Martius, capable of holding 40,000 people.
10. +Innumeram ... plebis+ = _the image of the countless Roman
people_. +innumeram+ which belongs to +plebis+ is transferred to
+effigiem+.--Haskins.
14. +Olim ... triumphi+, i.e. over Africa 79 B.C. when only 24, and
+adhuc Romanus eques+ (l. 19). It was not until 71 B.C. that he
triumphed over Spain, after the murder of Sertorius. Lucan confuses
the two triumphs.
16. +impulit+ = _set in motion_ (lit. _drive forward_).
17-18. +pura venerabilis ... toga+ = _no less worshipful in pure
white gown than_ (he would have been) _in that which usually adorns
the car of triumph_, i.e. the _toga picta_. --H.
20. +anxia+ (sc. _quies_) = _his repose full of anxiety for the
future_. --H.
21-22. +solitas ... vaticinata+ = _foretelling the opposite of his
visions_ i.e. by the +plausus+ of which he dreamed, the +planctus+
which was in store for him was foreshadowed. --H.
25. +nullas+ = _at all_. Cf. Cic. _Ep._: _nullus venit_ = _he never
came_.
26. +Crastina ... diurna+ = _to-morrow's night of horror haunted by
the sad image of the day's events_. --H.
29. +sic+, i.e. in dreams.]
+The Dream of Pompeius.+ Macaulay says 'I hardly know an instance of so great an effect produced by means so simple.'
B57
CIVIL WAR, 49-45 B.C. (8)
_Pompeius ill-advised at Pharsalus, 48 B.C._
Inter duas acies tantum erat relictum spatii, ut satis esset ad concursum utriusque exercitus. Sed Pompeius suis praedixerat, ut Caesaris impetum exciperent neve se loco moverent aciemque eius distrahi paterentur; idque admonitu C. Triarii {5} fecisse dicebatur, ut primus excursus visque militum infringeretur aciesque distenderetur atque in suis ordinibus dispositi dispersos adorirentur; leviusque casura pila sperabat in loco retentis militibus, quam si ipsi immissis telis occucurrissent, simul fore, ut {10} duplicato cursu Caesaris milites exanimarentur et lassitudine conficerentur. Quod nobis quidem nulla ratione factum a Pompeio videtur, propterea quod est quaedam animi incitatio atque alacritas naturaliter innata omnibus, quae studio pugnae incenditur. {15} Hanc non reprimere, sed augere imperatores debent; neque frustra antiquitus institutum est, ut signa undique concinerent clamoremque universi tollerent: quibus rebus et hostes terreri et suos incitari existimaverunt. {20}
CAESAR, _de Bello Civili_, iii. 92.
+Context.+ Caesar made for Apollonia, where he left his wounded, and then marched S.E. into Thessaly, where he joined Domitius Calvinus. (He had been sent with two legions E. into Macedonia, to stop reinforcements for Pompeius under Scipio, Pompeius' father-in-law.) Pompeius followed Caesar, and encamped on the slope of a hill facing Caesar's position near Pharsalus. Here he offered battle, his better judgment overruled by the clamorous Senators in his camp.
[Linenotes:
4-5. +aciem ... paterentur+ = _so as to allow their_ (advancing)
_line to become disorganised_ (+distrahi+), by the force of its
onset.
7. +in suis ... dispositi+ = _by maintaining their proper
distances_.]
+Scene of the Fight.+ The battle was fought near the town of _Pharsalus_, while the territory of the town was named _Pharsalia_. Cf. Catull. lxiv. 37:
+Pharsalum+ _coeunt_, +Pharsalia+ _late frequentant_.
+The Battle.+ Pompeius had 47,000 infantry and 7000 cavalry against Caesar's 22,000 infantry and 1000 cavalry. Pompeius stationed his cavalry and archers on his left, and confidently expected to outflank his enemy's right. But Caesar, foreseeing the defeat of his cavalry, had stationed behind it in reserve 2000 of his best legionaries. When Caesar's cavalry fell back outnumbered, this reserve ran forward at the charge, not discharging their _pila_, but using them as spears, and driving them against man and horse. Taken aback by so unusual an infantry attack, the Pompeian cavalry wavered and fled. Caesar's third line (forming a rear-guard) was now sent forward to support the two front lines, and this decided the battle. --+Result.+ Submission of the East to Caesar.
B58
CIVIL WAR, 49-45 B.C. (9)
A. _Pharsalus and Cannae compared._
Non aetas haec carpsit edax monimentaque rerum
Putria destituit: crimen civile videmus
Tot vacuas urbes. Generis quo turba redacta est
Humani? Toto populi qui nascimur orbe 400
Nec muros implere viris nec possumus agros;
Urbs nos una capit. Vincto fossore coluntur
Hesperiae segetes, stat tectis putris avitis
In nullos ruitura domus, nulloque frequentem
Cive suo Romam, sed mundi faece repletam 405
Cladis eo dedimus, ne tanto in tempore bellum
Iam posset civile geri. Pharsalia tanti
Causa mali. Cedant feralia nomina Cannae
Et damnata diu Romanis Allia fastis.
Tempora signavit leviorum Roma malorum: 410
Hunc voluit nescire diem.
LUCAN, _Pharsalia_, vii. 397-411.
[Linenotes:
397-398. +monimentaque ... destituit+ = _and has abandoned to decay
the monuments of the past_. --Haskins.
402. +vincto fossore+ = _by a chained digger_ (delver), in
consequence of the dearth of free labour. Cf. Juv. xi. 80 _squalidus
in magna ... compede fossor_.
404. +in nullos ruitura+ = _ready to fall, but on the heads of
none_. --H.
405. +faece+ = _dregs_. Cf. Juv. iii. 60, 61 _Non possum ferre
Quirites_ | _Graecam urbem_ (a Greek Rome); _quamvis_ (and yet)
_quota portio_ (how small a fraction) _faecis Achaei_?
406-407. +ne tanto ... geri+ = lit. _so that during the long time
since, it is impossible to wage_ +civil+ _war_, i.e. from the dearth
of genuine Roman soldiers.
409. +Allia+: 390 B.C. Cf. Vergil. _Aeneid_, vii. 717 _quosque
secans infaustum interluit Allia nomen_.
411. +nescire+ = _to ignore_.]
B. _The Battlefields of Pharsalus and Philippi._
Ergo inter sese paribus concurrere telis
Romanas acies iterum videre Philippi; 490
Nec fuit indignum superis, bis sanguine nostro
Emathiam et latos Haemi pinguescere campos.
Scilicet et tempus veniet, cum finibus illis
Agricola, incurvo terram molitus aratro,
Exesa inveniet scabra robigine pila, 495
Aut gravibus rastris galeas pulsabit inanes,
Grandiaque effossis mirabitur ossa sepulchris.
VERGIL, _Georg._ i. 489-497.
[Linenotes:
489. +Ergo+ = _therefore_, in fulfilment of the terrible warnings at
the death of Caesar.
490. +iterum+, i.e. at Philippi 42 B.C.; the first time at
Pharsalus.]
B59
CIVIL WAR, 49-45 B.C. (10)
_How Pompeius died, 48 B.C._
Pompeius, deposito adeundae Syriae consilio, et aeris magno pondere ad militarem usum in naves imposito, duobusque milibus hominum armatis, Pelusium pervenit. Ibi casu rex erat Ptolemaeus, puer aetate, magnis copiis cum sorore Cleopatra {5} bellum gerens, quam paucis ante mensibus per suos propinquos atque amicos regno expulerat; castraque Cleopatrae non longo spatio ab eius castris distabant. Ad eum Pompeius misit, ut pro hospitio atque amicitia patris Alexandria reciperetur atque illius opibus in {10} calamitate tegeretur. Sed, qui ab eo missi erant, confecto legationis officio, liberius cum militibus regis colloqui coeperant eosque hortari, ut suum officium Pompeio praestarent, neve eius fortunam despicerent. His tunc cognitis rebus amici regis, {15} qui propter aetatem eius in procuratione erant regni, sive timore adducti, ne Pompeius Alexandriam Aegyptunique occuparet, sive despecta eius fortuna, iis, qui erant ab eo missi, palam liberaliter responderunt eumque ad regem venire iusserunt: ipsi, {20} clam consilio inito, Achillan, praefectum regium, singulari hominem audacia, et L. Septimium, tribunum militum, ad interficiendum Pompeium miserunt. Ab his liberaliter ipse appellatus naviculam parvulam conscendit cum paucis suis, et ibi {25} ab Achilla et Septimio interficitur.
CAESAR, _de Bello Civili_, iii. 103, 104 (sel.)
+Context.+ After the battle of Pharsalus, Pompeius, closely pursued by Caesar, had thoughts of going to Parthia and trying to form alliances there. While in Cyprus he heard that Antioch (in Syria) had declared for Caesar and that the route to the Parthians was no longer open. So he altered his plan and sailed to Egypt, where a number of his old soldiers served in the Egyptian army.
[Linenotes:
4. +Pelusium+, on the E. side of the easternmost mouth of the Nile.
5. +cum sorore Cleopatra.+ By his father's will, Ptolemy ruled
jointly with his sister for three years, 51-48 B.C., when he
expelled her. Cleopatra raised an army in Syria and invaded Egypt.
The two armies were encamped opposite each other when Pompeius
landed to seek the help of Ptolemy.
15. +amici regis+, e.g. Achillas, l. 21, and espec. Ptolemy's
guardian Pothinus, the _de facto_ ruler of Egypt.]
'On the same day (28 Sept.) on which he had triumphed over Mithridates (61 B.C.) Pompeius died on the desert sands of the inhospitable Casian shore by the hands of one of his old soldiers (Septimius).'--M.
B60
CN. POMPEIUS MAGNUS, 106-48 B.C. (11)
_Cato's Eulogy on Pompeius._
'Civis obit,' inquit, 'multum maioribus impar 190
Nosse modum iuris sed in hoc tamen utilis aevo,
Cui non ulla fuit iusti reverentia; salva
Libertate potens, et solus plebe parata
Privatus servire sibi, rectorque senatus,
Sed regnantis, erat. Nil belli iure poposcit, 195
Quaeque dari voluit, voluit sibi posse negari.
Immodicas possedit opes, sed plura retentis
Intulit: invasit ferrum, sed ponere norat;
Praetulit arma togae, sed pacem armatus amavit;
Iuvit sumpta ducem, iuvit dimissa potestas. 200
Casta domus luxuque carens corruptaque numquam
Fortuna domini. Clarum et venerabile nomen
Gentibus, et multum nostrae quod proderat urbi.
. . . . . . .
O felix, cui summa dies fuit obvia victo, 208
Et cui quaerendos Pharium scelus obtulit enses!
Forsitan in soceri potuisses vivere regno.
Scire mori sors prima viris sed proxima cogi.' 211
Vocibus his maior, quam si Romana sonarent 215
Rostra ducis laudes, generosam venit ad umbram
Mortis honos.
LUCAN, _Pharsalia_, ix. 190-217.
[Linenotes:
190-191. +multum ... iuris+ = _far inferior to our ancestors in
recognising the due bounds of power_. --Haskins.
193. +solus+ (sc. _ex proceribus_) ... +servire sibi+ = _alone (of the
chief men of the State) acting the private citizen when the populace
were ready to be his slaves_, i.e. acting unlike Sulla or Caesar.
--H.
195. +sed regnantis.+ 'Pompeius came forward as the duly installed
general of the Senate against the Imperator of the street, once more
to save his country.' --M.
198. +Intulit+, sc. _in aerarium_. Cf. Shaksp. _Jul. C._ III. ii.
(Mark Antony of Caesar) 'He hath brought many captives home to Rome
| Whose ransoms did the general coffers fill.' 'Caesar devoted the
proceeds of the confiscations (the property of defeated opponents)
entirely to the benefit of the State.' --M.
208. +cui summa dies ... victo+ = _whom the day of death met when he
was vanquished_, i.e. without his having to seek it himself. --H.
209. +Pharium+ = _Egyptian_, lit. of _Pharos_ (= Faro), an island
near Alexandria, famous for its lighthouse.
211. One of Lucan's famous _sententiae_ (#gnômai#, _maxims_).]
+Pompeius.+ 'Even in his own age he would have had a clearly defined and respectable position, _had he contented himself with being the general of the Senate_, for which he was from the outset destined.' --M.
B61
CIVIL WAR, 49-45 B.C. (12)
_The Grave of Pompeius. His Roll of Fame._
Tunc ne levis aura retectos
Auferret cineres, saxo compressit harenam: 790
Nautaque ne bustum religato fune moveret,
Inscripsit sacrum semiusto stipite nomen:
HIC SITUS EST MAGNUS. . . .
Quod si tam sacro dignaris nomine saxum, 806
Adde actus tantos monimentaque maxima rerum,
Adde truces Lepidi motus Alpinaque bella
Armaque Sertori revocato consule victa,
Et currus quos egit eques, commercia tuta 810
Gentibus et pavidos Cilicas maris: adde subactam
Barbariem gentesque vagas et quidquid in Euro
Regnorum Boreaque iacet. Die semper ab armis
Civilem repetisse togam, ter curribus actis
Contentum patriae multos donasse triumphos. 815
Quis capit haec tumulus? Surgit miserabile bustum
Non ullis plenum titulis, non ordine tanto
Fastorum, solitumque legi super alta deorum
Culmina et exstructos spoliis hostilibus arcus
Haud procul est ima Pompei nomen harena, 820
Depressum tumulo, quod non legat advena rectus,
Quod nisi monstratum Romanus transeat hospes.
LUCAN, _Pharsalia_, viii. 789-793, 806-822.
+Subject.+ Cordus, whom Lucan calls _infaustus Magni comes_ (or according to Plutarch Philippus the faithful freedman of Pompeius), finds the cast-up body of Pompeius and gives it honourable burial.
[Linenotes:
793. +HIC SITUS EST+ = #enthade keitai#, the regular inscription on
a tombstone.
808. +truces Lepidi motus.+ Cf. page 178, last note on page.
809. +revocato consule+, i.e. Metellus. Cf. page 180, A., l. 12.
[[Selection B21, "Metello"]]
811. +pavidos Cilicas maris+ = _the Cilicians scared from the sea_.
--Jebb. _Pompeius effecit ut piratae timerent maria quibus ipsi ante
grassabantur_ (= they sailed at will).--Schol.
813-814. +dic semper ... togam+, e.g. after his triumph over Spain
71 B.C., and over Mithridates and the East in 61 B.C.
814-815. +ter curribus ... triumphos+ = (tell how) _content with
thrice driving the_ (triumphal) _car he made a present to his
fatherland of many triumphs_, i.e. he did not claim them when he
might have done so.
817-818. +Non ordine tanto Fastorum+ = _storied with no majestic
annals_. --Jebb.
819. +arcus+ = _triumphal arches_, orig. temporary structures of
wood, but under the Empire built of marble, e.g. of Septimius
Severus.
821. +Depressum ... rectus+ = _sunk low upon a tomb, which the
stranger cannot read without stooping_ (+rectus+).--Haskins.]
B62
CIVIL WAR, 49-45 B.C. (13)
_Atrox Animus Catonis, 46 B.C._
Complures interim ex fuga Uticam perveniunt. Quos omnes Cato convocatos una cum trecentis, qui pecuniam Scipioni ad bellum faciendum contulerant, hortatur, ut servitia manumitterent, oppidumque defenderent. Quorum cum partem assentire, partem {5} animum mentemque perterritam atque in fugam destinatam habere intellexisset, amplius de ea re agere destitit, navesque eis attribuit, ut in quas quisque partes vellet proficisceretur. Ipse, omnibus rebus diligentissime constitutis, liberis suis L. Caesari, {10} qui tum ei pro quaestore fuerat, commendatis et sine suspicione, vultu atque sermone, quo superiore tempore usus fuerat, cum dormitum isset, ferrum intro clam in cubiculum tulit, atque ita se traiecit. Qui cum anima nondum exspirata concidisset, et, {15} impetu facto in cubiculum ex suspicione, medicus familiaresque continere atque vulnus obligare coepissent, ipse suis manibus vulnus crudelissime divellit, atque animo praesenti se interemit.
ASINIUS POLLIO, _de B. Africo_, 88.
+Context.+ After Pharsalus and the flight of Pompeius, we finally part company with Caesar as an author. The _Bellum Alexandrinum_ (Caesar's perils in Egypt and his settlement of the East 48-47 B.C.), the _B. Africum_ (Thapsus 46 B.C.), the _B. Hispaniense_ (Munda 45 B.C.), are the work of eyewitnesses and officers of his army. After a delay of fifteen precious months Caesar landed in Africa (Jan. 46), and by investing Thapsus tempted Scipio (Pompeius' father-in-law) to try to save the city by a battle. His troops were quickly arranged as at Pharsalus, and by a single impetuous charge won a complete victory. The slaughter was terrible: the survivors fled to Utica, where Cato in vain tried to organise a defence and to restore order, and then in despair died by his own sword.
[Linenotes:
1. +Uticam:+ second in importance to Carthage.
19. +animo praesenti+ = _deliberately_.]
+After Thapsus.+ 'Caesar left Africa in June 46 B.C., and celebrated a magnificent triumph, not over Roman citizens, but over Gauls and Egyptians, Pharnaces and Juba. As Dictator he remained in Rome several months, in which more permanently valuable work was done than was ever achieved in the same space of time, unless it were by Cromwell in 1653-4. The senseless outbreak of the Pompeian party in Spain under Labienus and the two sons of Pompeius took him away from Rome: but the victory of Munda (45 B.C.) closed the civil strife. Caesar returned to Rome in September, and six months more of life was all that was left to him.' --W. F.
B63
CIVIL WAR, 49-45 B.C. (14)
_Cato Uticensis, 46 B.C._
A. Hic genitus proavo M. Catone, principe illo familiae Porciae, homo Virtuti simillimus et per omnia ingenio diis quam hominibus propior, qui nunquam recte fecit, ut facere videretur, sed quia aliter facere non potuerat, cuique id solum visum {5} est rationem habere, quod haberet iustitiae, omnibus humanis vitiis immunis semper fortunam in sua potestate habuit.
VELL. PATERC. ii. 35.
[Linenote:
1. +M. Catone+, the famous Censor of 184 B.C.
+principe+ = _founder_.]
B.
Ut primum tolli feralia viderat arma,
Intonsos rigidam in frontem descendere canos 375
Passus erat maestamque genis increscere barbam:
Uni quippe vacat studiis odiisque carenti
Humanum lugere genus . . .
Hi mores, haec duri immota Catonis 380
Secta fuit, servare modum finemque tenere
Naturamque sequi patriaeque impendere vitam
Nec sibi sed toti genitum se credere mundo.
Huic epulae, vicisse famem; magnique penates,
Summovisse hiemem tecto; pretiosaque vestis, 385
Hirtam membra super Romani more Quiritis
Induxisse togam . . .
Iustitiae cultor, rigidi servator honesti, 389
In commune bonus: nullosque Catonis in actus
Subrepsit partemque tulit sibi nata voluptas.
LUCAN, _Pharsalia_, ii. 374-391 (sel.)
[Linenotes:
377. +uni+ (sc. _Catoni_), as the only true representative of the
wise man of the Stoics. --Haskins.
381. +secta+ (sc. _via_, lit. _a beaten way_) here = _disciplina_ =
_principles_.
381-383. +servare modum ... mundo.+ These expressions are Stoic
maxims. Lucan (the nephew of Seneca) depicts the Stoic idea of
virtue in the character of Cato.
382-383. +patriaeque ... mundo.+ Cato's aim is +patriae impendere
vitam+. His devotion to the service of humanity is complete; it is
his part +toti genitum se credere mundo+. But this humanity includes
Rome in the first place, the rest of the world in a quite secondary
sense. --H.
386-387. +hirtam togam+ = _a coarse_ (lit. _hairy_) _toga_.
389. +honesti+ = #tou kalou#. Cicero defines +honestum+ as _aut ipsa
virtus, aut res gesta virtute_.]
+Cato Uticensis.+ 'He was like Caesar alone in this, that he had clear political convictions and acted on them not only with consistency but with justice and humanity. It is "his vain faith and courage" that alone lights up the dark hours of the falling Commonwealth:--
'Victrix causa deis placuit, sed victa Catoni.' --W. F.
B64
GAIUS IULIUS CAESAR. (5)
_Caesar dines with Cicero, Dec. 19, 45 B.C._
O hospitem mihi tam gravem #ametamelêton#! fuit enim periucunde. Sed cum secundis Saturnalibus ad Philippum vesperi venisset, villa ita completa militibus est, ut vix triclinium, ubi cenaturus ipse Caesar esset, vacaret; quippe hominum CI[C] CI[C]. {5} Sane sum commotus, quid futurum esset postridie; at mihi Barba Cassius subvenit: custodes dedit. Castra in agro, villa defensa est. Ille tertiis Saturnalibus apud Philippum ad h. VII, nec quemquam admisit: rationes opinor cum Balbo. Inde ambulavit {10} in litore; post h. VIII in balneum; unctus est, accubuit. Et edit et bibit #adeôs# et iucunde, opipare sane et apparate, nec id solum, sed
_bene cocto,
condito, sermone bono et, si quaeri', libenter._ 15
Praeterea tribus tricliniis accepti #hoi peri auton# valde copiose. Libertis minus lautis servisque nihil defuit: nam lautiores eleganter accepti. Quid multa? homines visi sumus. Hospes tamen non is, cui diceres: 'amabo te, eodem ad me, cum revertere': semel {20} satis est. #Spoudaion ouden# in sermone, #philologa# multa. Quid quaeris? delectatus est et libenter fuit. Puteolis se aiebat unum diem fore, alterum ad Baias. Habes hospitium sive #epistathmeian#, odiosam mihi, dixi, non molestam. {25}
CICERO, _Ep. ad Att._ xiii. 52.
+Subject.+ We here catch a glimpse of Caesar as he really was. He had spent a night near Puteoli (where Cicero also had a villa) with Philippus, the step-father of Octavianus. The Dictator proposed a visit, and Cicero in this memorable letter describes to Atticus what happened.
[Linenotes:
1. +O hospitem ...+ #ametamelêton#! = _Oh, what a formidable guest
to have had, and yet I have had no reason to repent of it_
(#ametamelêton#).
10. +rationes+ (sc. _conferebat_) ... +Balbo+ = _he was settling
accounts with Balbus, I suppose_. L. Cornelius Balbus, a native of
Gades (Cadiz), was Caesar's confidential secretary and faithful
friend. He was the first enfranchised foreigner who attained to the
highest magistracy (Consul 40 B.C.).
14-15.
'Though the cook was good,
'Twas Attic salt (+sermone bono+) that flavoured most the food.'
--Jeans.
18-19. +homines visi sumus+ = _I showed myself a man of taste_, i.e.
as host.
21. #Spoudaion ouden# = lit. _nothing serious_, i.e. _nothing
political_. #philologa# = _literary chat_.
24-25. #epistathmeian# = _billeting_, as Caesar's offer to dine with
Cicero was equivalent to a command. +odiosam ... molestam+ =
_unwelcome, though not disagreeable_.]
B65
GAIUS IULIUS CAESAR. (6)
_The Death of Caesar, 44 B.C._
Assidentem conspirati specie officii circumsteterunt; ilicoque Cimber Tillius, qui primas partes susceperat, quasi aliquid rogaturus propius accessit, renuentique et gestu in aliud tempus differenti ab utroque umero togam apprehendit; deinde clamantem: {5} _Ista quidem vis est_, alter e Cascis aversum vulnerat, paulum infra iugulum. Caesar Cascae brachium arreptum graphio traiecit, conatusque prosilire alio vulnere tardatus est; utque animadvertit undique se strictis pugionibus peti, toga caput {10} obvolvit, simul sinistra manu sinum ad ima crura deduxit, quo honestius caderet etiam inferiore corporis parte velata. Atque ita tribus et viginti plagis confossus est, uno modo ad primum ictum gemitu sine voce edito; etsi tradiderunt quidam {15} Marco Bruto irruenti dixisse: #Kai su teknon#; Exanimis, diffugientibus cunctis, aliquamdiu iacuit, donec lecticae impositum, dependente brachio, tres servoli domum rettulerunt. Nec in tot vulneribus, ut Antistius medicus existimabat, letale ullum {20} repertum est, nisi quod secundo loco in pectore acceperat.
SUETONIUS, _Divus Iulius_, 82.
+Context.+ After his return from Spain (Sept. 45 B.C.), Caesar was busy with the reconstruction of the Senate, the completion of his vast buildings in Rome, and with other far-reaching projects. But during these months the clouds of ill-will were gathering and threatening him on every side. A conspiracy was formed, of which C. Cassius, 'a lean and hungry man,' of a bitter and jealous disposition, seems to have been the real instigator. He persuaded Brutus, a student of life chiefly in books, that liberty could only be gained by murder, and at last it was resolved that the deed should be done on the Ides (15th) of March.
[Linenotes:
8. +graphio+ (#graphion# = _scriptorium_) = _a writing-style_.
12. +quo honestius caderet+, cf. Ovid, _Fasti_ ii. 833 (of
Lucretia): [Hallam II. 675]
_Tunc quoque iam moriens ne non procumbat honeste
Respicit, haec etiam cura cadentis erat._
16. #Kai su teknon#; there seems to be no authority for attributing
the words _Et tu Brute?_ to Caesar. Shakespeare found them in an
earlier play.]
+The Murder of Caesar.+ 'It is the most brutal and the most pathetic scene that profane history has to record; it was, as Goethe has said, the most senseless deed that ever was done. It was wholly useless, for it did not and could not save Rome from monarchy. The deed was done by a handful of men, who, pursuing a phantom liberty and following the lead of a personal hatred, slew +the one man who saw the truth of things+.' --W. F.
B66
GAIUS IULIUS CAESAR. (7)
'_There may be many Caesars
Ere such another Julius._'--Cymbeline.
A. Fuit in illo ingenium, ratio, memoria, litterae, cura, cogitatio, diligentia; res bello gesserat quamvis rei publicae calamitosas, at tamen magnas; multos annos regnare meditatus magno labore multis periculis quod cogitarat effecerat; muneribus, monumentis, {5} congiariis, epulis multitudinem imperitam delenierat: suos praemiis, adversarios clementiae specie devinxerat.
CICERO, _Philippica_, ii. 45.
[Linenotes:
4. +regnare meditatus.+ For Caesar monarchy meant the liberation of
the Empire.
5. +muneribus+ (sc. +gladiatoriis+) = _gladiatorial shows_.
+monumentis+ = _public buildings_, e.g. his forum, amphitheatre,
Temple of Venus Genetrix, and other public works begun (e.g. the
_Curia Iulia_) and planned.
6. +congiariis+ (sc. _donis_), orig. a _gift of wine_ (a _congius_
= about 6 pints), then = _wine-money_ (Ger. _Trinkgeld_), and so of
any largess.
7-8. +clementiae specie.+ Cic. himself refutes this ungrateful taunt
in his _pro Marcello_: _Recte igitur unus invictus est, a quo etiam
ipsius victoriae condicio visque devicta est_.]
B.
Sed non in Caesare tantum
Nomen erat nec fama ducis, sed nescia virtus
Stare loco, solusque pudor non vincere bello.
Acer et indomitus, quo spes quoque ira vocasset, 145
Ferre manum et numquam temerando parcere ferro.
Successus urguere suos, instare favori
Numinis, impellens quidquid sibi summa petenti
Obstaret, gaudensque viam fecisse ruina. 150
LUCAN, _Pharsalia_, i. 143-150.
[Linenotes:
143-144. +tantum nomen+ = _not a mere name alone_, in contrast to
Pompeius:--_Stat magni nominis umbra._ -- Haskins.
146. +temerando parcere ferro+ = _shrink from dyeing his sword_ (in
blood).--H.]
_Apotheosis of Caesar._
C. Periit sexto et quinquagesimo aetatis anno atque in deorum numerum relatus est, non ore modo decernentium sed et persuasione volgi. Si quidem ludis, quos primos consecrato ei heres Augustus edebat, {20} stella crinita per septem continuos dies fulsit, exoriens circa undecimam horam, creditumque est animam esse Caesaris in caelum recepti; et hac de causa simulacro eius in vertice additur stella.
SUET. _Div. Iul._ 88.
[Linenotes:
21. +stella crinita+ (= #komêtês#); cf. Verg. _Georg._ iv. 466-8:
_Ille_ (= the sun) _etiam exstincto miseratus Caesare Romam
Cum caput obscura nitidum ferrugine_ (= gloom) _texit,
Impiaque aeternam timuerunt saecula noctem._]
'FACTA DUCIS VIVENT, OPEROSAQUE GLORIA RERUM.' --_OVID._
'THE HERO'S DEEDS AND HARD-WON FAME SHALL LIVE.'
Caesar was the sole creative genius produced by Rome, and the last produced by the ancient world, which accordingly moved on in the path that he marked out for it until its sun went down.
Whatever he undertook and achieved was pervaded and guided by the cool sobriety which constitutes the most marked peculiarity of his genius. To this he owed the power of living energetically in the present, undisturbed either by recollection or by expectation: to this he owed the capacity of acting at any moment with collected vigour, and of applying his whole genius even to the smallest and most incidental enterprise. Gifts such as these could not fail to produce a statesman.
+Caesar as a statesman.+--From early youth Caesar was a statesman in the deepest sense of the term, and his aim was the +political, military, intellectual, and moral regeneration of his own deeply decayed nation, and of the still more deeply decayed Hellenic nation intimately akin to his own+. According to his original plan, he had proposed to reach his object, like Pericles and Gaius Gracchus, without force of arms, until, reluctantly convinced of the necessity for a military support, he, when already forty years of age, put himself at the head of an army.
+His talent for organisation was marvellous.+--No statesman has ever compelled alliances, no general has ever collected an army out of unyielding and refractory elements with such decision, and kept them together with such firmness, as Caesar displayed in constraining and upholding his coalitions and his legions; never did regent judge his instruments and assign each to the place appropriate for him with so accurate an eye.
+He was monarch; but he never played the king.+--'I am no king, but Caesar.' Even when absolute lord of Rome, he retained the deportment of the party-leader; perfectly pliant and smooth, easy and charming in conversation, complaisant towards everyone, it seemed as if he wished io be nothing but the first among his peers.
Caesar ruled as king of Rome for five years and a half, not half as long as Alexander: in the intervals of seven great campaigns, which allowed him to stay not more than fifteen months altogether in the capital of his empire, +he regulated the destinies of the world for the present and the future+. The outlines were laid down, and thereby the new State was defined for all coming time: the boundless future alone could complete the structure. But precisely because the building was an endless one, the master so long as he lived restlessly added stone to stone, with always the same dexterity and always the same elasticity busy at work. Thus he worked and created as never did any man before or after him: and as a worker and creator he still, after well-nigh two thousand years, lives in the memory of the nations--the first and withal unique Imperator Caesar.
MOMMSEN.
B67
CICERO AND ANTONIUS.
A. _Peroration of the Second Philippic, 44 B.C._
Respice, quaeso, aliquando rem publicam, M. Antoni: quibus ortus sis, non quibuscum vivas considera: mecum, uti voles: redi cum re publica in gratiam. Sed de te tu videris: ego de me ipso profitebor. Defendi rem publicam adulescens, non {5} deseram senex: contempsi Catilinae gladios, non pertimescam tuos. Quin etiam corpus libenter obtulerim, si repraesentari morte mea libertas civitatis potest: ut aliquando dolor populi Romani pariat, quod iam diu parturit. Etenim si abhinc {10} annos prope viginti hoc ipso in templo negavi posse mortem immaturam esse consulari, quanto verius nunc negabo seni? Mihi vero, patres conscripti, iam etiam optanda mors est, perfuncto rebus eis quas adeptus sum quasque gessi. Duo modo haec {15} opto: unum, ut moriens populum Romanum liberum relinquam--hoc mihi maius ab dis immortalibus dari nihil potest,--alterum, ut ita cuique eveniat ut de re publica quisque mereatur.
CICERO, _Phil._ ii. 46.
[Linenotes:
2. +quibus ortus sis+: espec. his grandfather M. Antonius, the
famous orator, whom Cicero held in great esteem.
5. +adulescens+, i.e. in 63 B.C., when he was in his 44th year.
8. +repraesentari+ = _be realised, won now and here_. --Jebb.
11. +templo+, i.e. _Concordiae_. Cic. refers to _In Catil._ iv.
+The Peroration.+ 'Such a passage speaks to us with a living impression of unity and directness which we acknowledge without question. We admire and ask for nothing more.' --Nettleship.
B. _On the Murder of Cicero, by order of Antonius._
Par scelus admisit Phariis Antonius armis:
Abscidit voltus ensis uterque sacros.
Illud, laurigeros ageres cum laeta triumphos,
Hoc tibi, Roma, caput, cum loquereris, erat. 4
Antoni tamen est peior quam causa Pothini:
Hic facinus domino praestitit, ille sibi.
MARTIAL, _Epig._ III. lxvi.
[Linenotes:
1. +Par Phariis armis+ = _which matches (that committed by) the
armed hand of an Egyptian_, i.e. Pothinus (the guardian of the young
king) who planned the murder of Pompeius, when he fled to Egypt
48 B.C.
+sacros+: _consecrated_ to Rome from their public services.
3-4. +Illud caput+ = Pompeius. +hoc caput+ = Cicero. Cf. _Epig._
v. lxix: _Quid gladium demens_ +Romana+ _stringis_ +in ora+?
6. +domino+, sc. Ptolemaeus, King of Egypt, jointly with Cleopatra.]
B68
CICERO.
A. _Cicero as Orator and Poet._
Eloquium ac famam Demosthenis aut Ciceronis
Incipit optare et totis Quinquatribus optat 115
Quisquis adhuc uno parcam colit asse Minervam,
Quem sequitur custos angustae vernula capsae.
Eloquio sed uterque perit orator, utrumque
Largus et exundans leto dedit ingenii fons.
Ingenio manus est et cervix caesa, nec umquam 120
Sanguine causidici maduerunt rostra pusilli.
'O fortunatam natam me consule Romam':
Antoni gladios potuit contemnere, si sic
Omnia dixisset. Ridenda poemata malo
Quam te, conspicuae divina Philippica famae, 125
Volveris a prima quae proxima.
JUVENAL, _Satires_, x. 114-126.
[Linenotes:
114-117. Boys at school long to be a Demosthenes or a Cicero.
115. +totis Quinquatribus+, i.e. during all the five days of the
Quinquatria, an annual feast of Minerva, March 19-23: it was always
a holiday time at schools, and the school year began at the close
of it.
116. +parcam Minervam+ = _a cheap kind of learning_, and +uno asse+
= _an entrance fee of one_ +as+. But Duff says +as+ here = +stips+,
i.e. the boy's contribution to the goddess of wisdom, who can make
him wise, and +parcam+ (= _economical_), transferred from +asse+ to
+Minervam+.
117. +vernula+ = _a little home-born slave_, +capsa+ a circular box
of beech-wood, used for the transport of books.
121. +causidici pusilli+ = _of a petty pleader_, as opposed to
orator.
122. From Cicero's poem _de suo consulatu_. Another line quoted in
the 2nd Philippic is _Cedant arma togae, concedat laurea laudi_.
124. +Ridenda poemata malo+, i.e. they are better as being safer.
Juvenal himself refutes this argument:
_Summum crede nefas animam praeferre pudori
Et propter vitam vivendi perdere causas._]
B. _Cicero as Advocate._
Disertissime Romuli nepotum,
Quot sunt quotque fuere, Marce Tulli,
Quotque post aliis erunt in annis,
Gratias tibi maximas Catullus
Agit pessimus omnium poeta, 5
Tanto pessimus omnium poeta
Quanto tu optimus omnium patronus.
CATULLUS, xlix.
[Linenotes:
2. +Marce Tulli+: the formal address suits the formal expression of
thanks to a _patronus_ (= _advocate_).
5. +pessimus omnium poeta:+ the self-depreciation heightens the
praise of the last line. --Merrill.]
B69
CICERO.
_His Death, by order of Antonius, 43 B.C._
M. Cicero sub adventum triumvirorum urbe cesserat pro certo habens id quod erat, non magis se Antonio eripi quam Caesari Cassium et Brutum posse: primo in Tusculanum fugerat, inde transversis itineribus in Formianum ut ab Caieta navem {5} conscensurus proficiscitur. Unde aliquoties in altum provectum cum modo venti adversi retulissent, modo ipse iactationem navis caeco volvente fluctu pati non posset, taedium tandem eum et fugae et vitae cepit, regressusque ad superiorem villam, quae paulo {10} plus mille passibus a mari abest, 'moriar,' inquit, 'in patria saepe servata.' Satis constat servos fortiter fideliterque paratos fuisse ad dimicandum; ipsum deponi lecticam et quietos pati quod sors iniqua cogeret iussisse. Prominenti ex lectica praebentique {15} immotam cervicem caput praecisum est. Nec satis stolidae crudelitati militum fuit: manus quoque scripsisse aliquid in Antonium exprobrantes praeciderunt. Ita relatum caput ad Antonium iussuque eius inter duas manus in rostris positum, ubi {20} ille consul, ubi saepe consularis, ubi eo ipso anno adversus Antonium quanta nulla umquam humana vox cum admiratione eloquentiae auditus fuerat: vix attollentes prae lacrimis oculos homines intueri trucidati membra civis poterant. Vixit tres et sexaginta {25} annos, ut si vis afuisset, ne immatura quidem mors videri possit.
LIVY, _Fr. ap. Sen. Rh. Suas._ vii.
[Linenotes:
1. +triumvirorum+, sc. Antonius, Octavianus, and Lepidus. These
three allies (about the end of Oct. 43 B.C.) held their famous
meeting on an island in the R. Rhenus (a tributary of the Padus)
near Bononia (Bologna), at which they constituted themselves a
commission of three with absolute powers for five years. This was
followed by a proscription of their principal opponents, of whom
seventeen, including Cicero (sacrificed to Antonius), were at once
put to death.
4. +in Tusculanum+, i.e. to his villa at Tusculum, richly adorned
with pictures and statues.
5. +in Formianum+, i.e. to his villa at Formiae, on the Appian Way,
in the innermost corner of the beautiful Gulf of Caieta (Gaëta).
Near this villa Cicero was murdered.]
+The Death of Cicero.+ Cicero's work was over, and the tragedy of his death was the natural outcome of his splendid failure. The restoration of the Commonwealth of the Scipios was but a dream; still it was a beautiful dream, and Cicero gave his life for it. --Tyrrell.
B70
_In Praise of Cicero._
A. Nihil tamen egisti, M. Antoni, nihil, inquam, egisti mercedem caelestissimi oris et clarissimi capitis abscisi numerando, auctoramentoque funebri ad conservatoris quondam rei publicae tantique consulis irritando necem. Rapuisti tum Ciceroni lucem {5} sollicitam et aetatem senilem et vitam miseriorem te principe quam sub te triumviro mortem, famam vero gloriamque factorum atque dictorum adeo non abstulisti, ut auxeris. Vivit vivetque per omnem saeculorum memoriam, dumque hoc vel forte vel {10} providentia vel utcumque constitutum rerum naturae corpus, quod ille paene solus Romanorum animo vidit, ingenio complexus est, eloquentia illuminavit, manebit incolume, comitem aevi sui laudem Ciceronis trahet omnisque posteritas illius in te scripta mirabitur, {15} tuum in eum factum exsecrabitur citiusque e mundo genus hominum quam Ciceronis memoria cedet.
VELLEIUS PATERCULUS, ii. 66.
[Linenotes:
3-4. +auctoramentoque funebri irritando+ = lit. _and by stimulating
(provoking) by a fatal reward_ (+auctoramento+) _the death_. . . .
10-15. +dumque ... trahet+, in reference to Cicero's philosophical
works, in which Cicero propounds no original scheme of philosophy,
claiming only that he renders the conclusions of Greek thinkers
accessible to his own countrymen.]
B. Ingenium et operibus et praemiis operum felix; ipse fortunae diu prosperae et in longo tenore felicitatis {20} magnis interim ictus vulneribus, exilio, ruina partium pro quibus steterat, filiae exitu tam tristi tamque acerbo, omnium adversorum nihil ut viro dignum erat tulit praeter mortem, quae vere aestimanti minus indigna videri potuit, quod a victore {25} inimico nil crudelius passurus erat quam quod eiusdem fortunae compos victo fecisset. Si quis tamen virtutibus vitia pensaret, vir magnus ac memorabilis fuit, et in cuius laudes exsequendas Cicerone laudatore opus fuerit. {30}
LIVY, _Fr. ap. Sen._
[Linenote:
21-22. +ruina ... steterat+, i.e. the restoration of the
Commonwealth of the Scipios.]
+Cicero.+ 'It happened many years after that Augustus once found one of his grandsons with a work of Cicero's in his hands. The boy was frightened, and hid the book under his gown; but Caesar took it from him, and, standing there motionless, he read through a great part of the book; then he gave it back to the boy, and said "This was a great orator, my child; a great orator, and a man who loved his country well."'--Plutarch, _Cicero_, 49.
B71
LAUS ITALIAE.
Si te forte iuvant Helles Athamantidos urbes,
Nec desiderio, Tulle, movere meo,
Tu licet aspicias caelum omne Atlanta gerentem,
Sectaque Persea Phorcidos ora manu, 8
Geryonis stabula et luctantum in pulvere signa
Herculis Antaeique Hesperidumque choros,
Tuque tuo Colchum propellas remige Phasim,
Peliacaeque trabis totum iter ipse legas, 12
Qua rudis Argoa natat inter saxa columba
In faciem prorae pinus adacta novae,
Et siqua Ortygii visenda est ora Caystri,
Et quae septenas temperat unda vias; 16
Omnia Romanae cedent miracula terrae;
Natura his posuit, quicquid ubique fuit.
Armis apta magis tellus, quam commoda noxae:
Famam, Roma, tuae non pudet historiae. 20
Nam quantum ferro, tantum pietate potentes
Stamus: victrices temperat illa manus.
Hic Anio Tiburne fluis, Clitumnus ab Umbro
Tramite, et aeternum Marcius umor opus, 24
Albanus lacus et foliis Nemorensis abundans,
Potaque Pollucis lympha salubris equo. 26
Haec tibi, Tulle, parens, haec est pulcherrima sedes; 39
Hic tibi pro digna gente petendus honos;
Hic tibi ad eloquium cives, hic ampla nepotum
Spes et venturae coniugis aptus amor. 42
PROPERTIUS, III. (IV.) xxii. 5-26, 39-42.
+Subject.+ Go where thou wilt, my Tullus, know that all the sights and marvels of all lands, from West to East, are outdone by those of thine own Italy. A truly famous land! A land ever victorious, ever merciful; full of fair lakes and streams. Here, Tullus, is thy true abode: here seek a life of honour and a home.
[Linenotes:
8. +Phorcidos ora+ = _the head of Medusa_, the daughter of Phorcus.
15. +Ortygii Caystri.+ Ortygia, an old name for Ephesus, near the
mouth of the R. Cayster: the haunt of _quails_ (_Ortygia_, #ortux#).
16. +temperat septenas vias+ = _moderates its seven channels_, of
the delta of the Nile. --Ramsay.
19-22. Cf. Verg. _Aen._ vi. 853 _Parcere subiectis et debellare
superbos._
19. +commoda noxae+ = _disposed to harm_. --North Pinder.
24. +Marcius umor+, i.e. the aqueduct of Q. Marcius Rex; built
145 B.C.
25. The Alban and Arician Lakes (+Nemorensis+ = mod. _Nemi_) are
close together.
26. i.e. the well Iuturna in the Forum ('the well that springs by
Vesta's fane') at which the Dioscuri washed their horses after their
hot ride from Lake Regillus.
41. +ad eloquium cives+ = _citizens to hear and profit by your
eloquence_. --N. P.]
B72
LAUS ROMAE.
Haec est in gremium victos quae sola recepit 150
Humanumque genus communi nomine fovit
Matris, non dominae ritu: civesque vocavit
Quos domuit, nexuque pio longinqua revinxit.
Huius pacificis debemus moribus omnes
Quod veluti patriis regionibus utitur hospes: 155
Quod sedem mutare licet: quod cernere Thulen
Lusus, et horrendos quondam penetrare recessus:
Quod bibimus passim Rhodanum, potamus Orontem;
Quod cuncti gens una sumus. Nec terminus unquam
Romanae dicionis erit. Nam cetera regna 160
Luxuries vitiis odiisque superbia vertit.
Sic male sublimes fregit Spartanus Athenas
Atque idem Thebas cecidit. Sic Medus ademit
Assyrio, Medoque tulit moderamina Perses:
Subiecit Macedo Persen, cessurus et ipse 165
Romanis. Haec auguriis firmata Sibyllae,
Haec sacris animata Numae: huic fulmina vibrat
Iuppiter: hanc tota Tritonia Gorgone velat.
Arcanas huc Vesta faces, huc orgia Bacchus
Transtulit, et Phrygios genetrix turrita leones. 170
Huc defensurus morbos Epidaurius hospes
Reptavit placido tractu, vectumque per undas
Insula Paeonium texit Tiberina draconem.
CLAUDIAN, _de Consulatu Stilichonis_, iii. 150-173.
[Linenotes:
153. +nexuque ... revinxit+ = _and has linked far places in a bond
of love_. --Jebb.
156. +Thulen:+ cf. Vergil's _ultima Thule_, of the northernmost
island known, variously identified with the Shetlands, Iceland, or
Norway.
158. +Orontem+: the largest river of Syria, whence Juvenal, iii. 62,
uses it of the Syrian people--
_Iam pridem Syrus in Tiberim defluxit Orontes._
159. +Quod cuncti ... sumus+ = _that the whole earth is one people_.
164. +moderamina+ = _the reins of power_; lit. _a means of
managing_.
168. +hanc tota ... velat+ = _she it is above whom Pallas spreads
the whole shadow of the aegis_ (+tota Gorgone+). Cf. Verg. _Aen._
viii. 435-8:
_Aegidaque horriferam, turbatae Palladis arma,
Certatim squamis serpentum auroque polibant,
Connexosque angues ipsamque in pectore divae
Gorgona, desecto vertentem lumina collo._
170. +genetrix turrita+, i.e. Cybele, the goddess of settled life.
171. +Epidaurius hospes+, i.e. Asclepius (Aesculapius), who had a
famous temple at Epidaurus (in Argolis), whence his worship was
introduced into Rome to avert a pestilence 293 B.C.
172. +reptavit placido tractu+ = _came gently gliding on his voyage_.
--Jebb. --For +reptavit+ cf. _repo_, #herpô#, and our _creep_.
173. +Paeonium draconem+ = _the serpent of the healer_. Cf. #Paiôn#.]
B73
'QUOD CUNCTI GENS UNA SUMUS.' --CLAUDIAN.
Vis dicam, quae causa tuos, Romane, labores
In tantum extulerit, quis gloria fotibus aucta
Sic cluat, impositis ut mundum frenet habenis? 585
Discordes linguis populos et dissona cultu
Regna volens sociare Dens, subiungier uni
Imperio, quidquid tractabile moribus esset,
Concordique iugo retinacula mollia ferre
Constituit, quo corda hominum coniuncta teneret 590
Relligionis amor: nec enim fit copula Christo
Digna, nisi implicitas societ mens unica gentes. 592
Ius fecit commune pares et nomine eodem 608
Nexuit et domitos fraterna in vincla redegit.
Vivitur omnigenis in partibus, haud secus ac si
Cives congenitos concludat moenibus unis
Urbs patria atque omnes lare conciliemur avito. 612
En ades omnipotens, concordibus influe terris: 634
Iam mundus te, Christe, capit, quem congrege nexu
Pax et Roma tenent: capita haec et culmina rerum
Esse iubes, nec Roma tibi sine pace probatur:
Et pax ut placeat, facit excellentia Romae,
Quae motus varios simul et dicione coercet
Et terrore premit. 640
PRUDENTIUS, _contra Symmachum_, ii. 583-640 (sel.).
+Subject.+ In a remarkable passage, Prudentius (circ. 400 A.D.) views the victorious empire of Rome as preparing the way for the coming of Christ. The triumphs of the Romans were not, he says, the gifts of false gods, grateful for sacrifices, but were designed by Providence to break down the barriers between the jarring nationalities of the world, and familiarise them with a common yoke, by way of disciplining them for a common Christianity. An "universal peace is struck through sea and land," and Law, Art, Commerce, and Marriage constitute the world one city and one family. Thus the way was paved for the coming of Christ by the unity of the empire and the civilisation of the individual subject. --North Pinder.
[Linenotes:
584. +fotibus+ (cf. _fotum_, _foveo_) = _cherishings_, _supports_,
post-classical.
585. +sic cluat+ = _is so famed_, for _cluo_ (ante and post-class.)
cf. #kleos#.
590-591. +quo+ (sc. _iugo_) ... +amor+, i.e. hearts once knit
together by a common yoke would best be held together by a common
faith. --N. P.
609. +fraterna in vincla+ = _in the bonds of brotherhood, not those
of slavery, as_ +domitos+ _would naturally suggest_.
634. +concordibus+ = _now they are in harmony and peace_, emphatic.
635. +capit+ = _is fit to receive thee_.]
MISCELLANEOUS PASSAGES
PROPEMPTICON VERGILIO.[36]
_The Perils of the Deep._
A.
Sic te diva potens Cypri,
Sic fratres Helenae, lucida sidera,
Ventorumque regat pater
Obstrictis aliis praeter Iapyga, 4
Navis, quae tibi creditum
Debes Vergilium, finibus Atticis
Reddas incolumem precor
Et serves animae dimidium meae. 8
Illi robur et aes triplex
Circa pectus erat, qui fragilem truci
Commisit pelago ratem
Primus, nec timuit praecipitem Africum 12
Decertantem Aquilonibus
Nec tristes Hyadas nec rabiem Noti,
Quo non arbiter Hadriae
Maior, tollere seu ponere vult freta. 16
Quem mortis timuit gradum,
Qui siccis oculis monstra natantia,
Qui vidit mare turbidum et
Infames scopulos Acroceraunia? 20
Nequiquam deus abscidit
Prudens Oceano dissociabili
Terras, si tamen impiae
Non tangenda rates transiliunt vada. 24
[Footnote 36: A 'God-speed' to Vergil's ship.]
'_Nought is there for man too high._'
B.
Audax omnia perpeti
Gens humana ruit per vetitum nefas:
Audax Iapeti genus
Ignem fraude mala gentibus intulit; 28
Post ignem aetheria domo
Subductum macies et nova febrium
Terris incubuit cohors
Semotique prius tarda necessitas 32
Leti corripuit gradum.
Expertus vacuum Daedalus aera.
Pinnis non homini datis;
Perrupit Acheronta Herculeus labor. 36
Nil mortalibus arduist;
Caelum ipsum petimus stultitia neque
Per nostrum patimur scelus
Iracunda Iovem ponere fulmina. 40
HORACE, _Od._ I. iii.
PROPEMPTICON MAECIO CELERI.
_A Prayer for his friend's safety._
A.
Di, quibus audaces amor est servare carinas
Saevaque ventosi mulcere pericula ponti,
Sternite molle fretum placidumque advertite votis
Concilium, et lenis non obstrepat unda precanti:
Grande tuo rarumque damus, Neptune, profundo 5
Depositum. Iuvenis dubio committitur alto
Maecius atque animae partem super aequora nostrae
Maiorem transferre parat. Proferte benigna
Sidera et antemnae gemino considite cornu,
Oebalii fratres; vobis pontusque polusque 10
Luceat; Iliacae longe nimbosa sororis
Astra fugate, precor, totoque excludite caelo.
Vos quoque caeruleum ponti, Nereides, agmen
Quis honor ei regni cessit fortuna secundi,
Dicere quae magni fas sit mihi sidera ponti, 15
Surgite de vitreis spumosae Doridos antris
Baianosque sinus et feta tepentibus undis
Litora tranquillo certatim ambite natatu,
Quaerentes ubi celsa ratis, quam scandere gaudet
Nobilis Ausoniae Celer armipotentis alumnus. . . . 20
_His Prayer is heard. Man's audacity._
B.
Et pater, Aeolio frangit qui carcere ventos 42
Cui varii flatus omnisque per aequora mundi
Spiritus atque hiemes nimbosaque nubila parent,
Artius obiecto Borean Eurumque Notumque 45
Monte premat: soli Zephyro sit copia caeli,
Solus agat puppes summasque supernatet undas
Assiduus pelago; donec tua turbine nullo
Laeta Paraetoniis assignet carbasa ripis. . . .
Audimur. Vocat ipse ratem nautasque morantes 50
Increpat. Ecce meum timido iam frigore pectus
Labitur et nequeo, quamvis movet ominis horror,
Claudere suspensos oculorum in margine fletus. . . . 53
Quis rude et abscissum miseris animantibus aequor 61
Fecit iter solidaeque pios telluris alumnos
Expulit in fluctus pelagoque immisit hianti
Audax ingenii? nec enim temeraria virtus
Illa magis, summae gelidum quae Pelion Ossae 65
Iunxit anhelantemque iugis bis pressit Olympum.
STATIUS, _Silvae_, II. ii. 1-20, 42-53, 61-66.
SENECA.
_For those 'qui corporis cura mentem obruerunt.'_
A. Stulta est enim, mi Lucili, et minime conveniens litterato viro occupatio exercendi lacertos et dilatandi cervicem, ac latera firmandi. Cum tibi feliciter sagina cesserit, et tori creverint: nec vires unquam opimi bovis, nec pondus aequabis. Adice nunc, quod maiore corporis sarcina animus eliditur, et minus agilis est. Itaque, quantum potes circumscribe corpus tuum, et animo locum laxa. Multa sequuntur incommoda huic deditos curae. Primum exercitationes, quarum labor spiritum exhaurit, et inhabilem intentioni ac studiis acrioribus reddit; deinde copia ciborum subtilitas animi impeditur. Accedunt pessimae notae, mancipia in magisterium recepta, homines inter oleum et vinum occupati: quibus ad votum dies est actus, si bene desudaverunt, si in locum eius quod effluxit, multum potionis altius ieiuno gutture regesserunt. Bibere et sudare, vita cardiaci est. Sunt exercitationes et faciles et breves, quae corpus et sine mora laxent, et tempori parcant: cuius praecipua ratio habenda est. Cursus, et cum aliquo pondere manus motae, et saltus, vel ille qui corpus in altum levat, vel ille qui in longum mittit, vel ille (ut ita dicam) saliaris, aut (ut contumeliosius dicam) fullonius. Quodlibet ex his elige, usu fit facile. Neque ego te iubeo semper imminere libro, aut pugillaribus. Dandum et aliquod intervallum animo: ita tamen ut non resolvatur, sed remittatur.
SENECA, _Ep._ xv. 8.
'_They needs must die._'
B.
Incognitum istud facinus, ac dirum nefas
A me quoque absit. Quod scelus miseri luent?
Scelus est Iason genitor, et maius scelus
Medea mater. Occidant: non sunt mei.
Pereant? mei sunt. Crimine et culpa carent.
Sunt innocentes, fateor: et frater fuit.
Quid, anime, titubas? ora quid lacrimae rigant?
Variamque nunc huc ira nunc illuc amor
Diducit? anceps aestus incertam rapit.
SENECA, _Medea_, 920.
CRITICISM OF POETS.
_An Estimate of early Roman Dramatists._
A.
Ennius, et sapiens et fortis et alter Homerus, 50
Ut critici dicunt, leviter curare videtur,
Quo promissa cadant et somnia Pythagorea.
Naevius in manibus non est et mentibus haeret
Paene recens? Adeo sanctum est vetus omne poema.
Ambigitur quotiens uter utro sit prior, aufert 55
Pacuvius docti famam senis, Accius alti,
Dicitur Afrani toga convenisse Menandro,
Plautus ad exemplar Siculi properare Epicharmi,
Vincere Caecilius gravitate, Terentius arte.
Hos ediscit et hos arto stipata theatro 60
Spectat Roma potens, habet hos numeratque poetas
Ad nostrum tempus Livi scriptoris ab aevo.
HOR. _Ep._ II. i. 50-62.
'_Teréntio non símilem dices quémpiam._'
B.
Tu quoque tu in summis, o dimidiate Menander,
Poneris, et merito, puri sermonis amator.
Lenibus atque utinam scriptis adiuncta foret vis,
Comica ut aequato virtus polleret honore
Cum Graecis neve hac despectus parte iaceres!
Unum hoc maceror ac doleo tibi deesse, Terenti.
CAESAR, _ap._ SUETON. _vit. Ter._
_Ovid on his Contemporaries._
C.
Temporis illius colui fovique poetas,
Quotque aderant vates, rebar adesse deos.
Saepe suas volucres legit mihi grandior aevo,
Quaeque nocet serpens, quae iuvat herba, Macer. 44
Saepe suos solitus recitare Propertius ignes,
Iure sodalicio qui mihi iunctus erat.
Ponticus heroo, Bassus quoque clarus iambis
Dulcia convictus membra fuere mei; 48
Et tenuit nostras numerosus Horatius aures,
Dum ferit Ausonia carmina culta lyra.
Vergilium vidi tantum: nec amara Tibullo
Tempus amicitiae fata dedere meae. 52
Successor fuit hic tibi, Galle, Propertius illi;
Quartus ab his serie temporis ipse fui:
Utque ego maiores, sic me coluere minores,
Notaque non tarde facta Thalia mea est. 56
OVID, _Tr._ IV. x. 41-56.
Cf. OVID, _Am._ I. xv. 9-30; _Am._ III. ix. 38-68; _Rem. Am._ 65-388; QUINT. X. i. 85-90.
STORMS BY SEA AND LAND.
_Ovid describes a Storm at Sea._
A.
Comments
Log in to leave a comment.
Helps to Latin Translation at SightChapter XII: Part II: Rashness justly punished (8)
0%34 min left in chapter