Cato Maior de Senectute with Introduction and Notes

Notum est totum carmen incisum in sepulcro. Iure igitur gravis, cuius de laudibus omnium esset fama consentiens. Quem virum nuper P. Crassum, pontificem maximum, quem postea M. Lepidum eodem sacerdotio praeditum vidimus! Quid de Paulo aut Africano loquar, aut, ut iam ante, de Maximo? Quorum non in sententia solum, sed etiam in nutu residebat auctoritas. Habet senectus, honorata praesertim, tantam auctoritatem, ut ea pluris sit quam omnes adulescentiae voluptates.

XVIII. 62 Sed in omni oratione mementote eam me senectutem laudare, quae fundamentis adulescentiae constituta sit. Ex quo efficitur id, quod ego magno quondam cum assensu omnium dixi, miseram esse senectutem quae se oratione defenderet. Non cani nec rugae repente auctoritatem arripere possunt, sed honeste acta superior aetas fructus capit auctoritatis extremos. 63 Haec enim ipsa sunt honorabilia, quae videntur levia atque communia, salutari appeti decedi assurgi deduci reduci consuli, quae et apud nos et in aliis civitatibus, ut quaeque optime morata est, ita diligentissime observantur. Lysandrum Lacedaemonium, cuius modo feci mentionem, dicere aiunt solitum Lacedaemonem esse honestissimum domicilium senectutis; nusquam enim tantum tribuitur aetati, nusquam est senectus honoratior. Quin etiam memoriae proditum est, cum Athenis ludis quidam in theatrum grandis natu venisset, magno consessu locum nusquam ei datum a suis civibus, cum autem ad Lacedaemonios accessisset, qui, legati cum essent certo in loco considerant, consurrexisse omnes illi dicuntur et senem sessum recepisse; 64 quibus cum a cuncto consessu plausus esset multiplex datus, dixisse ex eis quendam Atheniensis scire quae recta essent, sed facere nolle. Multa in nostro collegio praeclara, sed hoc de quo agimus, in primis, quod, ut quisque aetate antecedit, ita sententiae principatum tenet, neque solum honore antecedentibus, sed eis etiam, qui cum imperio sunt, maiores natu augures anteponuntur. Quae sunt igitur voluptates corporis cum auctoritatis praemiis comparandae? Quibus qui splendide usi sunt, ei mihi videntur fabulam aetatis peregisse nec tamquam inexercitati histriones in extremo actu corruisse.

65 At sunt morosi et anxii et iracundi et difficiles senes. Si quaerimus, etiam avari; sed haec morum vitia sunt, non senectutis. Ac morositas tamen et ea vitia, quae dixi, habent aliquid excusationis, non illius quidem iustae, sed quae probari posse videatur: contemni se putant, despici, illudi; praeterea in fragili corpore odiosa omnis offensio est; quae tamen omnia dulciora fiunt et moribus bonis et artibus, idque cum in vita tum in scaena intellegi potest ex eis fratribus qui in Adelphis sunt. Quanta in altero diritas, in altero comitas! Sic se res habet: ut enim non omne vinum, sic non omnis natura vetustate coacescit. Severitatem in senectute probo, sed eam, sicut alia, modicam; acerbitatem nullo modo; 66 avaritia vero senilis quid sibi velit, non intellego. Potest enim quicquam esse absurdius quam, quo viae minus restet, eo plus viatici quaerere?

XIX. Quarta restat causa, quae maxime angere atque sollicitam habere nostram aetatem videtur, appropinquatio mortis, quae certe a senectute non potest esse longe. O miserum senem, qui mortem contemnendam esse in tam longa aetate non viderit! Quae aut plane neglegenda est, si omnino exstinguit animum, aut etiam optanda, si aliquo eum deducit ubi sit futurus aeternus. Atqui tertium certe nihil inveniri potest. 67 Quid igitur timeam, si aut non miser post mortem, aut beatus etiam futurus sum? Quamquam quis est tam stultus, quamvis sit adulescens, cui sit exploratum se ad vesperum esse victurum? Quin etiam aetas illa multo pluris quam nostra casus mortis habet: facilius in morbos incidunt adulescentes, gravius aegrotant, tristius curantur. Itaque pauci veniunt ad senectutem; quod ni ita accideret, melius et prudentius viveretur. Mens enim et ratio et consilium in senibus est, qui si nulli fuissent, nullae omnino civitates fuissent. Sed redeo ad mortem impendentem. Quod est istud crimen senectutis, cum id ei videatis cum adulescentia esse commune? 68 Sensi ego in optimo filio, tu in exspectatis ad amplissimam dignitatem fratribus, Scipio, mortem omni aetati esse communem. At sperat adulescens diu se victurum, quod sperare idem senex non potest. Insipienter sperat; quid enim stultius quam incerta pro certis habere, falsa pro veris? At senex ne quod speret quidem habet. At est eo meliore condicione quam adulescens, quoniam id quod ille sperat hic consecutus est: ille volt diu vivere, hic diu vixit. 69 Quamquam, o di boni, quid est in hominis natura diu? Da enim supremum tempus, exspectemus Tartessiorum regis aetatem: fuit enim, ut scriptum video, Arganthonius quidam Gadibus, qui octoginta regnaverat annos, centum viginti vixerat.

Sed mihi ne diuturnum quidem quicquam videtur, in quo est aliquid extremum; cum enim id advenit, tum illud quod praeteriit, effluxit; tantum remanet, quod virtute et recte factis consecutus sis. Horae quidem cedunt et dies et menses et anni, nec praeteritum tempus umquam revertitur nec quid sequatur sciri potest. Quod cuique temporis ad vivendum datur, eo debet esse contentus. 70 Neque enim histrioni, ut placeat, peragenda fabula est, modo in quocunque fuerit actu probetur; neque sapientibus usque ad 'plaudite' veniendum est, breve enim tempus aetatis satis longum est ad bene honesteque vivendum; sin processerit longius, non magis dolendum est, quam agricolae dolent praeterita verni temporis suavitate aestatem autumnumque venisse. Ver enim tamquam adulescentia significat ostenditque fructus futuros; reliqua autem tempora demetendis fructibus et percipiendis accommodata sunt. 71 Fructus autem senectutis est, ut saepe dixi, ante partorum bonorum memoria et copia. Omnia autem, quae secundum naturam fiunt, sunt habenda in bonis; quid est autem tam secundum naturam quam senibus emori? Quod idem contingit adulescentibus adversante et repugnante natura. Itaque adulescentes mihi mori sic videntur, ut cum aquae multitudine flammae vis opprimitur, senes autem sic, ut cum sua sponte, nulla adhibita vi, consumptus ignis exstinguitur, et quasi poma ex arboribus, cruda si sunt, vix evelluntur, si matura et cocta, decidunt, sic vitam adulescentibus vis aufert, senibus maturitas; quae quidem mihi tam iucunda est, ut, quo propius ad mortem accedam, quasi terram videre videar aliquandoque in portum ex longa navigatione esse venturus.

XX. 72 Senectutis autem nullus est certus terminus, recteque in ea vivitur, quoad munus offici exsequi et tueri possit mortemque contemnere, ex quo fit ut animosior etiam senectus sit quam adulescentia et fortior. Hoc illud est, quod Pisistrato tyranno a Solone responsum est, cum illi quaerenti qua tandem re fretus sibi tam audaciter obsisteret respondisse dicitur 'senectute.' Sed vivendi est finis optimus, cum integra mente certisque sensibus opus ipsa suum eadem quae coagmentavit natura dissolvit. Ut navem, ut aedificium idem destruit facillime qui construxit, sic hominem eadem optime quae conglutinavit natura dissolvit. Iam omnis conglutinatio recens aegre, inveterata facile divellitur. Ita fit ut illud breve vitae reliquum nec avide appetendum senibus nec sine causa deserendum sit; vetatque Pythagoras iniussu imperatoris, id est dei, de praesidio et statione vitae decedere. 73 Solonis quidem sapientis est elogium, quo se negat velle suam mortem dolore amicorum et lamentis vacare. Volt, credo, se esse carum suis. Sed haud scio an melius Ennius:

74 Non censet lugendam esse mortem, quam immortalitas consequatur. Iam sensus moriendi aliquis esse potest, isque ad exiguum tempus, praesertim seni: post mortem quidem sensus aut optandus aut nullus est. Sed hoc meditatum ab adulescentia debet esse, mortem ut neglegamus; sine qua meditatione tranquillo animo esse nemo potest. Moriendum enim certe est, et incertum an hoc ipso die. Mortem igitur omnibus horis impendentem timens qui poterit animo consistere? 75 De qua non ita longa disputatione opus esse videtur, cum recorder non L. Brutum, qui in liberanda patria est interfectus, non duos Decios, qui ad voluntariam mortem cursum equorum incitaverunt, non M. Atilium, qui ad supplicium est profectus ut fidem hosti datam conservaret non duos Scipiones, qui iter Poenis vel corporibus suis obstruere voluerunt, non avum tuum L. Paulum, qui morte luit collegae in Cannensi ignominia temeritatem, non M. Marcellum, cuius interitum ne crudelissimus quidem hostis honore sepulturae carere passus est, sed legiones nostras, quod scripsi in Originibus, in eum locum saepe profectas alacri animo et erecto, unde se redituras numquam arbitrarentur. Quod igitur adulescentes, et ei quidem non solum indocti sed etiam rustici contemnunt, id docti senes extimescent? 76 Omnino, ut mihi quidem videtur, rerum omnium satietas vitae facit satietatem. Sunt pueritiae studia certa: num igitur ea desiderant adulescentes? Sunt ineuntis adulescentiae: num ea constans iam requirit aetas, quae media dicitur? Sunt etiam eius aetatis: ne ea quidem quaeruntur in senectute. Sunt extrema quaedam studia senectutis: ergo, ut superiorum aetatum studia occidunt, sic occidunt etiam senectutis; quod cum evenit, satietas vitae tempus maturum mortis affert.

XXI. 77 Non enim video, cur, quid ipse sentiam de morte, non audeam vobis dicere, quod eo cernere mihi melius videor, quo ab ea propius absum. Ego vestros patres, P. Scipio tuque, C. Laeli, viros clarissimos mihique amicissimos, vivere arbitror et eam quidem vitam, quae est sola vita nominanda. Nam dum sumus inclusi in his compagibus corporis, munere quodam necessitatis et gravi opere perfungimur; est enim animus caelestis ex altissimo domicilio depressus et quasi demersus in terram, locum divinae naturae eternitatique contrarium. Sed credo deos immortalis sparsisse animos in corpora humana, ut essent qui terras tuerentur quique caelestium ordinem contemplantes imitarentur eum vitae modo atque constantia. Nec me solum ratio ac disputatio impulit ut ita crederem, sed nobilitas etiam summorum philosophorum et auctoritas.

78 Audiebam Pythagoran Pythagoriosque, incolas paene nostros, qui essent Italici philosophi quondam nominati numquam dubitasse quin ex universa mente divina delibatos animos haberemus. Demonstrabantur mihi praeterea quae Socrates supremo vitae die de immortalitate animorum disseruisset, is qui esset omnium sapientissimus oraculo Apollinis iudicatus. Quid multa? Sic mihi persuasi, sic sentio, cum tanta celeritas animorum sit, tanta memoria praeteritorum futurorumque prudentia, tot artes tantae scientiae, tot inventa, non posse eam naturam, quae res eas contineat, esse mortalem; cumque semper agitetur animus nec principium motus habeat, quia se ipse moveat, ne finem quidem habiturum esse motus, quia numquam se ipse sit relicturus; et cum simplex animi natura esset neque haberet in se quicquam admixtum dispar sui atque dissimile, non posse eum dividi, quod si non posset, non posse interire; magnoque esse argumento homines scire pleraque ante quam nati sint, quod iam pueri, cum artis difficilis discant, ita celeriter res innumerabilis arripiant, ut eas non tum primum accipere videantur, sed reminisci et recordari. Haec Platonis fere. XXII. 79 Apud Xenophontem autem moriens Cyrus maior haec dicit: 'nolite arbitrari, o mihi carissimi filii, me, cum a vobis discessero, nusquam aut nullum fore. Nec enim, dum eram vobiscum, animum meum videbatis, sed eum esse in hoc corpora ex eis rebus quas gerebam intellegebatis. Eundem igitur esse creditote, etiam si nullum videbitis. 80 Nec vero clarorum virorum post mortem honores permanerent, si nihil eorum ipsorum animi efficerent, quo diutius memoriam sui teneremus. Mihi quidem numquam persuaderi potuit animos dum in corporibus essent mortalibus vivere, cum excessissent ex eis emori; nec vero tum animum esse insipientem cum ex insipienti corpore evasisset, sed cum omni admixtione corporis liberatus purus et integer esse coepisset, tum esse sapientem. Atque etiam, cum hominis natura morte dissolvitur, ceterarum rerum perspicuum est quo quaeque discedat, abeunt enim illuc omnia, unde orta sunt; animus autem solus nec cum adest nec cum discessit apparet. Iam vero videtis nihil esse morti tam simile quam somnum. 81 Atqui dormientium animi maxime declarant divinitatem suam; multa enim, cum remissi et liberi sunt, futura prospiciunt; ex quo intellegitur quales futuri sint, cum se plane corporis vinculis relaxaverint. Qua re, si haec ita sunt, sic me colitote,' inquit, 'ut deum, sin una est interiturus animus cum corpore, vos tamen, deos verentes, qui hanc omnem pulchritudinem tuentur et regunt, memoriam nostri pie inviolateque servabitis.'

XXIII. 82 Cyrus quidem haec moriens; nos, si placet, nostra videamus. Nemo umquam mihi, Scipio, persuadebit aut patrem tuum Paulum, aut duos avos Paulum et Africanum, aut Africani patrem aut patruum, aut multos praestantis viros, quos enumerare non est necesse, tanta esse conatos quae ad posteritatis memoriam pertinerent, nisi animo cernerent posteritatem ad ipsos pertinere. Anne censes, ut de me ipse aliquid more senum glorier, me tantos labores diurnos nocturnosque domi militiaeque suscepturum fuisse, si isdem finibus gloriam meam quibus vitam essem terminaturus? Nonne melius multo fuisset otiosam et quietam aetatem sine ullo labore et contentione traducere? Sed nescio quo modo animus erigens se posteritatem ita semper prospiciebat, quasi, cum excessisset e vita, tum denique victurus esset. Quod quidem ni ita se haberet ut animi immortales essent, haud optimi cuiusque animus maxime ad immortalitatis gloriam niteretur. 83 Quid quod sapientissimus quisque aequissimo animo moritur, stultissimus iniquissimo, nonne vobis videtur is animus, qui plus cernat et longius, videre se ad meliora proficisci, ille autem, cuius obtusior sit acies, non videre? Equidem efferor studio patres vestros quos colui et dilexi videndi, neque vero eos solum convenire aveo, quos ipse cognovi, sed illos etiam, de quibus audivi et legi et ipse conscripsi; quo quidem me proficiscentem haud sane quid facile retraxerit, nec tamquam Pelian recoxerit. Et si quis deus mihi largiatur ut ex hac aetate repuerascam et in cunis vagiam, valde recusem, nec vero velim quasi decurso spatio ad carceres a calce revocari. 84 Quid habet enim vita commodi? Quid non potius laboris? Sed habeat sane; habet certe tamen aut satietatem aut modum. Non libet enim mihi deplorare vitam, quod multi et ei docti saepe fecerunt, neque me vixisse paenitet, quoniam ita vixi, ut non frustra me natum existimem, et ex vita ita discedo tamquam ex hospitio, non tamquam e domo; commorandi enim natura divorsorium nobis, non habitandi dedit. O praeclarum diem cum in illud divinum animorum concilium coetumque proficiscar cumque ex hac turba et colluvione discedam! Proficiscar enim non ad eos solum viros, de quibus ante dixi, verum etiam ad Catonem meum, quo nemo vir melior natus est, nemo pietate praestantior, cuius a me corpus est crematum, quod contra decuit ab illo meum, animus vero non me deserens sed respectans, in ea profecto loca discessit quo mihi ipsi cernebat esse veniendum. Quem ego meum casum fortiter ferre visus sum, non quo aequo animo ferrem, sed me ipse consolabar existimans non longinquum inter nos digressum et discessum fore.

85 His mihi rebus, Scipio, id enim te cum Laelio admirari solere dixisti, levis est senectus, nec solum non molesta, sed etiam iucunda. Quod si in hoc erro, qui animos hominum immortalis esse credam, libenter erro nec mihi hunc errorem, quo delector, dum vivo, extorqueri volo; sin mortuus, ut quidam minuti philosophi censent, nihil sentiam, non vereor ne hunc errorem meum philosophi mortui irrideant. Quod si non sumus immortales futuri, tamen exstingui homini suo tempore optabile est. Nam habet natura, ut aliarum omnium rerum, sic vivendi modum. Senectus autem aetatis est peractio tamquam fabulae, cuius defetigationem fugere debemus, praesertim adiuncta satietate.

Haec habui de senectute quae dicerem, ad quam utinam veniatis, ut ea, quae ex me audistis, re experti probare possitis!

NOTES TO CATO MAIOR.

CATO MAIOR DE SENECTUTE (CATO THE ELDER ON OLD AGE). CATO MAIOR was probably intended by Cicero as the principal title. He twice gives the work this name, in Laelius 4 and Att. 14, 21, 1. In the former passage he adds the descriptive words, addressed to Atticus, qui est scriptus ad te de senectute. In a third notice, De Div. 2, 3, he gives the description without the title, liber is quem ad nostrum Atticum de senectute misimus. It is likely that Cicero intended the essay to be known as the CATO MAIOR DE SENECTUTE, the full title corresponding with LAELIUS DE AMICITIA. The word maior was necessary to distinguish the book from Cicero's eulogy of the younger Cato (Uticensis), which seems to have gone by the name of CATO simply.

P. 1 — 1. O Tite etc.: the lines are a quotation from the Annales of Q. Ennius (born at Rudiae in Calabria 239 B.C., died 169), an epic poem in hexameter verse, the first great Latin poem in that metre, celebrating the achievements of the Roman nation from the time of Aeneas to the poet's own days. The incident alluded to in Ennius' verses is evidently the same as that narrated by Livy 32, cc. 9, 10. Titus Quinctius Flamininus, who commanded in 198 B.C. the Roman army opposed to Philip of Macedon, found the king strongly posted on the mountains between Epirus and Thessaly. For forty days Flamininus lingered, hoping to find some path which would give him access to the enemy's quarters. A shepherd who knew every nook of the mountains came before the general, and promised to lead the Roman soldiers to the ground above Philip's camp. This was done, and Flamininus drove the Macedonians into Thessaly. It is the shepherd who in the first line addresses Flamininus by his first name Titus. Cicero here cleverly applies the lines to his life-long friend Titus Pomponius Atticus. He several times takes the two words 'O Tite' to designate the whole treatise; cf. Att. 16, 11, 3 'O Tite' tibi prodesse laetor. — quid: accusative of respect or extent; so nihil in 30, aliquid in 82. A.^[56] 240, a; G. 331, 3; H. 378, 2. — adiŭero: for adiūvero, the long vowel having become short after the falling out of the v between the two vowels. Catullus 66, 18 has iŭerint at the end of a pentameter verse, and the same scanning is found in Plautus and Terence. A. 128, a; G. 151, 1; H. 235. — levasso: a form of levavero, which was originally levaveso. For the formation of this class of future-perfects see Peile, Introduction to Greek and Latin Etymology, p. 295, ed. 3; also Roby, Gram. 1, p. 199, who has a list of examples; he supports a different view from that given above; cf. A. 128, e, 3; G. 191, 5; H. 240, 4. — coquit: 'vexes.' This metaphorical use of coquere occurs in poetry and late prose; cf. Plaut. Trin. 225 egomet me coquo et macero et defetigo; Verg. Aen. 7, 345 quam ... femineae ardentem curaeque iraeque coquebant; Quint. 12, 10, 77 sollititudo oratorem macerat et coquit. — versāt: we have here the original quantity of the vowel preserved, as in ponebāt below, 10; the a in versat was originally as long as the a in versās. Plautus has some parallels to this scanning (see Corssen, Aussprache 11², 488), but it is rarely imitated by poets of the best period. Horace, however, has arāt, Odes 3, 16, 26. A. 375, g, 5; H. 580, III n. 2. — praemi: the genitive in ĭ-ī from nouns in ium only began to come into use at the end of the Republic. A. 40, b; G. 29, Rem. 1; H. 51, 5. — isdem: Cicero may have written isdem or eisdem (two syllables), but he probably did not write the form most commonly found in our texts, iisdem. H. p. 74, foot-note 2. — Flamininum: T. Quinctius Flaminīnus first served against Hannibal during the Second Punic War. He was present at the capture of Tarentum in 209 B. c., and in 208 was military tribune under Marcellus. After being employed on minor business of state, he became quaestor in 199, and, immediately after his year of office, consul, passing over the aedileship and praetorship, and attaining the consulship at the extraordinarily early age of 30. In 197 he won the victory of Cynoscephalae over the Macedonians, which ended the war. At the Isthmian games in the spring of 196 Flamininus made his famous proclamation of freedom to all the Greeks. He returned to Rome in 194 to enjoy a splendid triumph. For the rest of his life was employed chiefly on diplomatic business concerning Greece and the East. One of his embassies was to Prusias, king of Bithynia, call on him to surrender Hannibal, who was living at his court in advanced old age; this led to Hannibal's suicide. Flamininus was censor in 189 (see below, 42), and lived on till some time after 167, in which year he became augur; but the date of his death is unknown. He was a man of brilliant ability both as general and as diplomat, and also possessed much culture and was a great admirer of Greek literature. — ille vir etc.: i.e. the shepherd mentioned in n. on line 1. Livy 32, II, 4 says that Flamininus sent to the master of the shepherd, Charopus, an Epirote prince, to ask how far he might be trusted. Charopus replied that Flamininus might trust him, but had better keep a close watch on the operations himself. — haud magna cum re: 'of no great property'; re = re familiari, as is often the case elsewhere in both verse and prose. Cf. pro Caelio 78 hominem sine re. Cum is literally 'attended by'; it is almost superfluous here, since vir haud magna re would have had just the same meaning. Madvig, Gram. § 258 has similar examples. — plenus: final s was so lightly pronounced that the older poets felt justified in neglecting it in their scanning. It was probably scarcely pronounced at all by the less educated Romans, since it is often wholly omitted in inscriptions, and has been lost in modern Italian. Cicero, Orator 161, says that the neglect to pronounce final s is 'somewhat boorish' (subrusticum), though formerly thought 'very refined' (politius). Even Lucretius sometimes disregards it in his scanning. In the ordinary literary Latin a large number of words has lost an original s; e.g. all the nouns of the -a declension. A. 375, a; G. 722; H. 608, 1, n. 3. — fidēi: this form of the genitive of fides is found also in Plautus, Aulularia 575, and Lucretius 5, 102. Fidĕi as genitive seems only to occur in late poets, but as dative it is found in a fragment of Ennius. Fidē as genitive occurs in Horace and Ovid. H. 585, III. 1; Roby, 357, (c). — quamquam: see n. on 2 etsi. — sollicitari etc.: Cicero probably has not quoted the line as Ennius wrote it. The word sic, at least, is evidently inserted on purpose to correspond with ut before Flamininum. — noctesque diesque: the use of que ... que for et ... et is almost entirely poetical, Sallust being the only prose writer of the best period in whose works the usage is beyond doubt. Noctes is put before dies here, as in noctes diesque (Verr. 5, 112), noctes et dies (Brut. 308 etc.), nodes ac dies (Arch. 29); cf. also Verg. Aen. 6, 127; and νυκτας τε και ημαρ in Iliad 5, 490; but the collocations dies noctesque, dies et noctes are far commoner in Cicero. Madvig (Emend. Liv. p. 487 n., ed 2) says that in writers of Livy's time and earlier, when an action is mentioned which continues throughout a number of days and nights, either dies et noctes and the like phrases are used, or die et nocte and the like, but not diem noctemque or diem et noctem, which expression, he says, would imply that the action continued only throughout one day and one night. But Madvig has overlooked De Or. 2, 162 eandem incu dem diem noctemque tundentibus; also three passages of Caesar: viz. Bell. Gall. 7, 42, 6 and 7, 77, 11; Bell. Civ. 1, 62, 1; to which add a passage in the Bell. Hisp. 38. Though diem noctemque does often mean 'throughout one day and one night' (as e.g. in Nep. Them. 8, 7), yet it would seem that the other sense cannot be excluded. — moderationem ... aequitatem: 'the self-control and even balance of your mind'. Moderatio is in Cic. a common translation of σωφροσυνη. Aequitas is not used here in its commonest sense of 'reasonableness' or 'equity', but as the noun corresponding to aequus in the ordinary phrase aequus animus (Horace, 'aequam memento rebus in arduis servare mentem'), cf. Tusc. 1, 97 hanc maximi animi aequitatem in ipsa morte. said of Theramenes' undisturbed composure before his execution. — animi tui: for the position of these words between moderationem and aequitatem, to both of which nouns they refer (a form of speech called by the Latin grammarians coniunctio), see note on Laelius 8 cum summi viri tum amicissimi. — cognomen: i.e. the name Atticus, which Cicero's friend did not inherit, but adopted. For the word cognomen cf. n. on 5. — deportasse: it should be noted that the verb deportare is nearly always in the best writers used of bringing things from the provinces to Italy or Rome, and not vice versa, the Romans using 'down' (de) of motion towards the capital. Italia deportare occurs in Tacitus and late writers, but only in the sense of banishing a person (cf. Ann 14, 45). So decedere de provincia is common, but not Roma decedere. As to the form deportasse, it may be remarked that Cic. in the vast majority of instances uses the contracted and not the full forms of the infinitives corresponding to perfects in -avi. So putassent in 4. An extensive collection of examples of this and similar contractions may be found in Frohwein, Die Perfectbildungen auf -vi bei Cicero; Gera, 1874. — humanitatem: 'culture', i.e. learning resulting in gentleness and refinement of character. — prudentiam: φρονησιν or practical wisdom. Corn. Nepos (or his imitator) in his life of Atticus 17, 3 says of him principum philosophorum ita percepta habuit praecepta ut his ad vitam agendam non ad ostentationem uteretur. — isdem rebus: i.e. the state of public affairs at the time, see Introd. — quibus me ipsum: strictly speaking the construction is inaccurate, since suspicor commoveri must be supplied, and Cicero does not really mean to say that he merely conjectures himself to be seriously affected by the state of public affairs; ego ipse commoveor would have accurately expressed his meaning. The accusative is due to the attraction of te above. — maior: = difficilior as often; e.g. Lael. 29 quod maius est. — visum est mihi conscribere: = placuit mihi, 'I have determined to write'. The best writers rarely use the impersonal videtur etc. followed by an infinitive. When the usage occurs videtur mihi etc. generally have the meaning (as here) of δοκει μοι κ τ λ = 'I have made up my mind'. Cf. Tusc. 5, 12 Non mihi videtur ad beate vivendum satis posse virtutem; ib. 5, 22 (a curious passage) mihi enim non videbatur quisquam esse beatus posse cum esset in malis; in malis autem sapientem esse posse; Off 3, 71 malitia quae volt illa quidem videri se esse prudentiam ('craft which desires that people should believe it to be wisdom'); Liv. 1, 10, 7 dis visum nec irritam conditoris templi vocem esse ... ('the gods decided that the word of the founder of the shrine should not remain of no effect'). It would be difficult, if not impossible, to find a passage in a writer before silver Latin times where the best texts still exhibit anything like videtur eum facere for is videtur facere. H 534, 1, n. 1; Roby, 1353. — aliquid ad te: 'some work dedicated to you'; so below, 3; cf. also Lael. 4 ut de amicitia scriberem aliquid; ib. Catone maiore qui est scriptus ad te de senectute; Div. 2, 3 liber is quem ad nostrum Atticum de senectute misimus.

2. aut ... aut certe: so often in Cic.; certe, 'at any rate'. — senectutis: at the time the words were written Cic. was 62 years old, Atticus three years older. For the meaning of senectus see n. on 4. — levari volo: the best Latin writers frequently use the passive infinitive after verbs expressing desire, where moderns would incline to the active; here Cic. instead of saying 'I wish to relieve yourself and me of the burden' says 'I wish yourself and me to be relieved'. — etsi: = καιτοι 'and yet'. This use of etsi to introduce a clause correcting the preceding clause, though not uncommon (e.g. below 29; Tusc. 1, 99; 3, 17; 4, 63; 5, 55), is far less common than that of quamquam, which we have in 1, 9, 10, 24, 47, 67, 69. — te quidem: 'you at all events', 'you for one'. — modice ac sapienter: modice recalls moderationem above (modice and moderate are used with exactly the same sense by Cic.), while sapienter recalls aequitatem, since sapientia produces stability and an even balance of the mind. In De Or. 1, 132 we have modice et scienter. — sicut omnia: cf. Fin. 1, 7 facete is quidem sicut alia; also below, 65 sicut alia. — et ferre et laturum esse: Tischer rightly remarks that when a verb is repeated thus with a variation of tense Cic. very nearly always uses et ... et, and not a single et merely. The contrast between the two tenses is thus made more pointed. Cf. 3 et diximus et dicemus. — certo scio: one of the best MSS., followed by some editors, has here certe scio. The latter phrase would mean 'I am sure that I know'(a sense which seems out of place here); the former 'I have certain or sure knowledge'. Observe that certe may be used with all verbs, while certo is only used with scire. A. 151, c. — sed: the idea implied is, 'but though I well know you do not need such consolation, I have yet resolved to address my book to you'. — occurrebas dignus: a condensed construction for occurrebat te digmim esse.

P. 2 — munere ... uteretur: 'a gift such as we both might make use of in company'. — mihi quidem: this forms a correction upon uterque nostrum above: 'whatever you may think of the work, I at least have found the writing of it pleasant'. — confectio: 'composition'; 'completion'; a word scarcely found in the classical Latin except in Cicero's writings. Cf. De Or. 2, 52 annalium confectio; pro. Font. 3 confectio tabularum ('account-books'). — fuit ut absterserit: the sequence of tenses fuit ut abstergeret would have been equally admissible, but the meaning would have been slightly different. With the perfect the sense is 'was so pleasant that it has wiped away'; with the imperfect 'was so pleasant that it did (while I was writing) wipe away'. The metaphor in absterserit is common: e.g. Tusc. 3, 43 luctum omnem absterseris. With this statement of Cicero's concerning the effect the work had on himself contrast Att. 14, 21, 3 legendus mihi saepius est Cato maior ad te missus. Amariorem enim me senectus facit. Stomachor omnia. — omnis: acc. pl. A. 55, c; G. 60, 1; H. 67. — effecerit mollem: so 56 poteratne tantus animus efficere non iucundam senectutem; but 56 conditiora facit haec aucupium. Efficio gives more emphatically than facio the idea of the completion of the action. Cf. Lael. 73 efficere aliquem consulem, 'to carry through a man's election as consul'; facere aliquem consulem being merely 'to vote for a man's election to the consulship'. — satis digne: 'as she deserves', lit. 'in a sufficiently worthy manner.' Some editors have thought digne superfluous and wished to cast it out but we have satis digne elsewhere, as in Verr. Act. II. 1, 82; cf. also Sex. Rosc. 33 pro dignitate laudare satis commode. — qui pareat ... degere: a conditional sentence of irregular form (qui = siquis; cui simply connective, = et ei). Cf. Div. 1, 127 qui enim teneat causas rerum futurarum, idem necesse est omnia teneat quae futura sint; also the examples in Roby's Grammar, 1558. A. 310, a, 307, b; G. 594, 1, 598; H. 507, II. and III. 2. Some, however, make possit a subjunctive of characteristic or of cause with cui, and pareat a subjunctive by attraction. — omne tempus aetatis: 'every season of life'; so in 55 extremum tempus aetatis; 70 breve tempus aetatis. The opposite phrase aetas temporis is very rare; it occurs in Propertius 1, 4, 7.

3. ceteris: neuter adjective used as a noun, equivalent to ceteris rebus 'the other matters'; i.e. the political troubles hinted at above. The best writers do not often use the neuter adjective as noun in the oblique cases unless there is something in the context to show the gender clearly, as in 24 aliis ... eis quae; we have, however, below in 8, isto = ista re; 72, reliquum; 77, caelestium = rerum caelestium; and in 78, praeteritorum futurorumque; see other instances in n. on Lael. 50 similium. The proleptic or anticipatory use of ceteris should also be noticed; its sense is not fully seen till we come to hunc librum; the same use occurs below in 4, 5, 59, 60; so aliis in 24; cf. also n. on Lael. 7 reliqua. — diximus ... dicemus: when a clause or phrase consists of four parts, which go in pairs (as here diximus, dicemus on one side, and multa, saepe on the other), the Latins frequently arrange the words so as to put one pair between the two members of the other pair, as here. This usage is called by grammarians chiasmus. Thus if we denote the four parts by AA' BB', chiasmus requires the order ABB'A' or BAA'B'. See examples in 8, 20, 22, 38, 44, 71. For the more complicated forms of chiasmus consult Nägelsbach, Stil. §§ 167, 169. A. 344, f; G. 684; H. 562. — librum ... misimus: observe the omission of a particle at the beginning of the clause; the contrast between ceteris and hunc librum is made stronger by the omission. For this asyndeton adversativum see n. on Lael. 5 Laelium ... putes. For tense of misimus, 'I send' see A. 282; G. 244, H. 472, 1. — omnem: see n. on 62. — tribuimus: perfect tense like misimus. — Tithono ... Aristo: see Introd. — Cius: Greek Κειος (a native of Ceos), not to be confused with Χιος(a native of Chios), or Κωος (a native of Cos). Cicero generally denotes the Greek diphthong ει by i not e. This Aristo was a Peripatetic. — parum ... auctoritatis: observe how often Cicero takes trouble to separate words which are, grammatically, closely connected. So above, omnis ... molestias; 7 multorum ... senectutem; 9 mirificos ... fructus; 21 civium ... nomina; 33 minus ... virium; 53 multo ... fecundior; etc. etc. See also n. on 15 quam sit iusta. A. 344, c, d, e; H. 561, III. — esset: condition omitted. A. 311; G. 602; H. 510. — maiorem auctoritatem: cf. Lael. 4. — apud quem: 'at whose house'; so 55 a me, 'from my house'. A. 153; G. 417; H. 446, n. 4. — Laelium ... Scipionem: see Introd. — facimus admirantis: 'we represent as expressing astonishment'. For facere, in this sense, Cic. more often uses inducere 'to bring on the stage', as in Lael. 4 Catonem induxi senem disputantem. Cf. however 54 Homerus Laerten colentem agrum facit; also Brut. 218; Orat 85. Instead of facimus we might have expected either fecimus to correspond with misimus and tribuimus above, or faciemus to correspond with videbitur below. On the use of the participle see A. 292, q; G. 536; H 535, I. 4. — eruditius disputare: Cic. not infrequently in his dialogues makes people talk with more learning than they really possessed. He several times confesses this as regards Lucullus and Catulus in the Academica, and as regards Antonius in the De Oratore. — ferat: subjunctive because embodying the sentiment of Laelius and Scipio. Roby, 1744; Madvig, 357; H. 516, 11. — suis libris etc.: for the allusions here to Cato's life, works, and opinions see Introd. — quid opus est plura? sc. dicere. cf. the elliptic phrases quid multa? sc. dicam in 78; also below, 10 praeclare. A 206, c; H. 368, 3, n. 2.

4. saepe numero soleo: 'it is my frequent custom'. Numero is literally 'by the count or reckoning', and in saepe numero had originally the same force as in quadraginta numero and the like; but the phrase came to be used merely as a slight strengthening of saepe. — cum hoc ... cum ceterarum: the use of cum in different senses in the same clause, which seems awkward, is not uncommon; cf. below, 67. The spelling quum was certainly not used by Cicero, and probably by no other Latin writer of the best period. H. 311, foot-note 4. It is worth remarking that cum the conjunction and cum the preposition, though spelt alike, are by origin quite distinct. The former is derived from the pronominal stem ka or kva, and is cognate with qui; the latter comes from the root sak 'to follow', and is cognate with Gk. συν, Lat sequor, etc. See Vanicek, Etymologisches Worterbuch, pp. 96, 984. — rerum ... sapientiam: 'wisdom in affairs'; the objective genitive. — excellentem: in sense much stronger than our 'excellent'; excellentem perfectamque 'pre-eminent and indeed faultless'. — quod ... senserim: this clause takes the place of an object to admirari. The subjunctive is used because the speaker reports his own reason for the wonder, formerly felt, as if according to the views of another person, and without affirming his holding the same view at the time of speaking. Madvig, 357, a, Obs. 1. A 341, d, Rem. — odiosa: this word is not so strong as our 'hateful', but rather means 'wearisome', 'annoying'. In Plautus the frequent expression odiosus es means, in colloquial English, 'you bore me'. Cf. 47 odiosum et molestum; 65 odiosa offensio. — onus Aetna gravius: a proverbial expression with an allusion to Enceladus, who, after the defeat of the Giants by Juppiter, was said to have been imprisoned under Mt. Aetna. Cf. Eurip. Hercules Furens, 637; also Longfellow's poem, Enceladus. — haud sane difficilem: 'surely far from difficult'; cf. 83 haud sane facile. — quibus: a dativus commodi, 'those for whom there is no aid in themselves'. Cf. Lael. 79 quibus in ipsis. — bene beateque vivendum: 'a virtuous and happy life'; 'virtue and happiness'; so bene honesteque below, 70. — qui ... petunt: these are the αυταρκεις, men sufficient for themselves, 'in se toti teretes atque rotundi'. We have here a reminiscence of the Stoic doctrine about the wise man, whose happiness is quite independent of everything outside himself, and is caused solely by his own virtue. Cicero represents the same Stoic theory in Lael. 7. Cf. Juv. Sat. 10, 357-362; also Seneca, De Cons. Sap. VIII, De Prov. I. 5. — a se ipsi: 'themselves from themselves,' so in 78 se ipse moveat ... se ipse relucturus sit; 84 me ipse consolabar. Expressions like a se ipsis are quite uncommon in Cicero. Cf. n. on Lael. 5 te ipse cognosces; also see below, 38 se ipsa 78 se ipse. — naturae necessitas: 'the inevitable conditions of nature.' Cf. 71 quid est tam secundum naturam quam senibus emori? — afferat: subjunctive because nihil quod = nihil tale ut. A 320, a; G. 633, 634; H. 503, I. — quo in genere: sc. rerum; with this phrase the defining genitive is commonly omitted by Cicero. So below, 45 in eo genere. — ut ... adeptam: notice the chiasmus. — eandem: idem is used in the same way, to mark an emphatic contrast in 24, 52, 68, 71. — adeptam: this is probably the only example in Cicero of the passive use of adeptus, which occurs in Sallust, Ovid, Tacitus, etc.; and in this passage the use cannot be looked on as certain, since one of the very best and several of the inferior MSS. read adepti. Cicero, however, uses a good many deponent participles in a passive sense (cf. below, 59 dimensa; 74 meditatum; see also a list, Roby, 734), and some of them occur very rarely. Thus periclitatus, arbitratus, depastus as passives are found each in only one passage. — inconstantia: 'instability', 'inconsistency'. Constantia, unwavering firmness and consistency, is the characteristic of the wise man; cf. Acad. 2, 23 sapientia ... quae ex sese habeat constantiam; also Lael. 8 and 64.

P. 3 — aiunt: sc. stulti. — putassent: the subjunctive is due to the indirect discourse. Where we say 'I should not have thought,' the Latins say, in direct narration, 'non putaram,' i.e. 'I never had thought' (so Off. 1, 81 and often in Cicero's letters). Translate, 'more quickly than they had ever expected'. Cf. Att. 6, 1, 6 accipiam equidem dolorem mihi ilium irasci sed multo maiorem non esse eum talem qualem putassem. See Zumpt, Gram., 518. — falsum putare: 'to form a mistaken judgment'. For falsum as noun equivalent to ψευδος, cf. 6 gratissimum; also n. on 3 ceteris. — qui citius: lit. 'in what way quicker'; cf. Tusc. 5, 89 qui melius. H. 188, II. 2. — adulescentia ... senectus ... pueritia: babyhood was generally at Rome supposed to last till the 17th year (the time for assuming the toga virilis and for beginning military service). Iuventus is usually the age from 17 to 45, during which men were liable to be called on for active service. Ordinarily, in colloquial language, adulescentia is the earlier portion of iuventus, say the years from 17 to 30 (cf. 33), but Cicero seems here to make adulescentia co-extensive with iuventus. From 45 to 60 is the aetas seniorum, the period during which citizens in early Rome might be called out for the defence of the city, but not for active service. Senectus was commonly reckoned as beginning at 60; but in § 60 Cicero includes in senectus the aetas seniorum, and probably intended to include it here. In Tusc. 1, 34 Cic. reckons three ages pueritia adulescentia senectus as here; below in 74, four periods, or five. — quamvis: = quantumvis. — effluxisset: subjunctive because the mood of posset, to which it stands in subordinate relation Cum here is purely temporal. See Roby, 1778; A. 342; G. 666; H. 529, II. — posset: see n. on esset above, 3.

5. si ... soletis ... sumus: the apodosis and protasis do not exactly correspond; the sense really required is 'if that wisdom for which you admire me does exist, it lies in this', etc. — utinam ... esset: esset here gives a greater appearance of modesty than would been expressed by sit: 'would it were, as it certainly is not'. A. 267; G. 253; H. 483, 2. — cognomine: Cato bore the title sapiens, even in his lifetime; see Introd. Cognomen is used in good Latin to denote both the family name and the acquired by-name; in late Latin this latter is denoted by agnomen. — in hoc sapientes: but above, 4 rerum sapientiam, not in rebus. The genitive construction is not found with sapiens used as noun or adjective till late Latin times. — naturam ducem etc.: Cato's claim to the title of sapiens does not rest on any deep knowledge of philosophy, but on practical wisdom or common sense and experience in affairs. Cf. Lael. 6 and 19. In this passage Cicero has put into Cato's mouth phrases borrowed from the Stoic philosophy, which declared the life of virtue to be life in accordance with nature (naturae convenienter vivere or ‛ομολογουμενως τη φυσει ζην). Cf. 71, n. on secundum naturam. — tamquam deum: observe deum not deam, because nature is compared with, and not identified with, a divine being. Cf. Fin. 5, 43 eam (rationem) quasi deum ducem subsequens. — aetatis: here = vitae, life as a whole. Cf. 2 omne tempus aetatis and n.; also 13 aetatis ... senectus; 33, 64, 82. — descriptae: 'composed'; literally 'written out'. The reading discriptae, which many editions give, does not so well suit the passage. Discribere is to map out, plan, arrange, put in order (see 59 discripta and discriptio); the point here lies, however, not in the due arrangement of the different scenes of a play, but in the careful working out of each scene. Ab ea must be supplied after descriptae from a qua above. — actum: the common comparison of life with a drama is also found in 64, 70, 85. — inerti: the sense of 'ignorant' 'inartistic' (in, ars), has been given to this by some editors (cf. Hor. Ep. 2, 2, 126 praetulerim scriptor delirus inersque videri, and Cic. Fin. 2, 115 artes, quibus qui carebant, inertes a maioribus nominabantur), but the meaning 'inactive', 'lazy', 'slovenly' seems to suit neglectum better. — poeta: nature is here the dramatist, the drama is life, the actors are human beings. — sed tamen etc.: 'but for all that it was inevitable that there should be something with the nature of an end'. So 69 in quo est aliquid extremum, 43 aliquid pulchrum. — arborum bacis: the word baca (the spelling bacca has little or no authority) is applied to all fruits growing on bushes or trees, cf. Tusc. 1, 31 arbores seret diligens agricola, quarum aspiciet bacam ipse numquam. — terraeque fructibus: here = cereals, roots, vegetables and small fruits. No sharp distinction can be drawn between fruges and fructus (e.g. in Div. 1, 116 we have fruges terrae bacasve arborum) though fructus as commonly used is the more general word of the two. — maturitate caducum: 'a time of senility, so to speak and readiness to drop, that comes of a seasonable ripeness'. Vietus is literally 'twisted' or bent', being originally the passive participle of viere. The comparison of old age with the ripeness of fruit recurs in 71. Cf. Plin. Ep. 5, 14, 5 non tam aetatis maturitate quam vitae. — ferundum: the form in undus is archaic, and generally used by Cic. in quoting or imitating passages of laws, sacred formulae, and the like. H 239. — molliter: here 'gently', 'with resignation', though molliter ferre often has another meaning, viz. to bear pain or trouble in an unmanly fashion. Cf. facillime ferre below. — quid est aliud etc. The words perhaps imply the rationalistic explanation of myths which the Greeks had begun to teach to the Romans during Cato's lifetime. Trans 'what else but resistance to nature is equivalent to warring against the gods, and not 'what else does warring with the gods mean but to resist nature.' In comparisons of this sort the Latins generally put the things compared in a different order from that required by English idiom. Thus in Div. 2, 78 quid est aliud nolle moneri a Iove nisi efficere ut aut ne fieri possit auspicium aut, si fiat, videri, S. Rosc. 54 quid est aliud iudicio ac legibus ac maiestate vestra abuti ad quaestum ac libidinem nisi hoc modo accusare. Phil. 1, 22, 2, 7, 5, 5, 10, 5. — Gigantum modo: see n. on 4 Aetna gravius — dis: for the form dis see n. on 25.

6. atqui: in the best Latin atqui does not introduce a statement contradicting the preceding statement, but one that supplements it. Here it may be translated 'True, but'. Cf. 66, 81. — gratissimum: equivalent to rem gratissimam. With the thought cf. Rep. 1, 34 gratum feceris si explicaris. Lael. 16 pergratum feceris si disputaris. — ut pollicear: so Acad. 1, 33 nos vero volumus ut pro Attico respondeam. Brut. 122 nobis vero placet, ut pro Bruto etiam respondeam; Lael. 32 tu vero perge, pro hoc enim respondeo A 317, c, H 499, 2, n. — senes fieri: if the infinitive had depended on speramus alone and volumus had not intervened, Cicero would probably have written nos futuros esse senes. — multo ante: sc. quam id factum erit so Balb 41 re denique multo ante (sc. quam factum est) audita, and very often in Cicero. — didicerimus: as this corresponds with feceris,it would have been formally correct to write here nos docueris. — quibus possimus: 'what considerations will enable us most easily to support the growing burden of age'. — futurum est: = μελλει ειναι this form of the future is used in preference to the simple erit because it is desired to represent the event as on the very point of fulfilment, and therefore sure of fulfilment. Erit would have implied much less certainty. Trans. 'I will do so if my action is going to give you pleasure'. Cf. 67 beatus futurus sum, also 81, 85. See Roby, 1494. — nisi molestum est: a common expression of courtesy, like 15 nisi alienum putas, si placet, cf. Hor. Sat. 2, 8, 4 si grave non est. — tamquam longam viam: Cicero here puts into Laelius' mouth almost the very words addressed by Socrates to the aged Cephalus in the introduction to Plato's Republic, 328 E. Observe the succession of similar sounds in tamquam, aliquam, longam, viam. — viam confeceris so pro Quint. 79 conficere DCC milia passuum, conficere iter a common phrase. For mood see A 312, G 604, H 513, II. — quam ... ingrediundum sit: this construction, the neuter of the gerundive with est followed by an accusative case, is exceedingly rare excepting in two writers, Lucretius and Varro. See the full list of examples given by Roby, Gram., Pref. to vol. 2, p LXXII. A 294, c, H 371, I. 2, 2, n. The best texts of Cicero now give only one example of a construction at all resembling this, viz. pro Scauro 13 obliviscendum vobis putatis matrum in liberos, virorum in uxores scelera? The supposition of some scholars, that in this passage Cic. used the construction in imitation of the archaic style of Cato, is not likely to be true, seeing that in Cato's extant works the construction does not once occur. For the form undum see n. on 5 ferundum. — istuc: not adverb, but neuter pronoun, as in 8. The kind of construction, istuc videre quale sit for videre quale istuc sit, is especially common in Cicero.

7. faciam ut potero 'I will do it as well as I can.' Observe the future potero where English idiom would require a present. So Rep. 1, 38 hic Scipio, faciam quod voltis, ut potero. — saepe enim: enim introduces a reason, not for the words ut potero, but for faciam — 'I will grant your request because I have often heard complaints about old age and therefore have thought of the matter.' — pares autem etc.: parenthetical. — vetere proverbio: the saying is as old as Homer, Od. 17, 218 as ‛ως αιει τον ‛ομοιον αγει θεος ‛ως τον ‛ομοιον; cf. also Plat., Rep. 329 A, Symp. 195 B, Phaedr. 240 C.

P. 4 — facillime: 'most cheerfully', 'most eagerly'; a common meaning of the word in Cic., e.g. Fam. 2, 16, 2 in maritimis facillime sum, i.e. 'I find most pleasure in staying by the sea'. — quae: a kind of explanation of querellis. — 'lamentations, viz. such utterances as' etc.; see n. on Lael. 14 quae; cf. Fam. 2, 8, 2 sermonibus de re publica ... quae nec possunt scribi nec scribenda sunt. A. 199, b; G. 616, 3, I.; H. 445, 5. — C. Salinator: probably C. Livius Salinator, praetor in 191 B.C. (Livy 35, 24), who was entrusted with the equipment of the Roman fleets during the war against Antiochus. He was born about 230, and was therefore a little younger than Cato; cf. fere aequales below. Salinator was consul in 188, and died in 170. For the name Salinator cf. n. on 11. — Sp. Albinus: Sp. Postumius Albinus was consul in 186, and was with his colleague appointed to investigate the great Bacchanalian conspiracy of that year (Livy 39, CC. 1 seq.). Albinus died in 180. He was probably a little younger than Salinator. He can scarcely have been fifty years of age at his death. — tum ... tum: 'now ... again'; so in 45. — carerent: see n. on 3 ferat. — vitam nullam putarent: 'they considered life to be not life at all'. For vitam nullam cf. Lael. 86 sine amicitia vitam esse nullam; also the Greek phrase βιος αβιωτος; and below, 77 vitam quae est sola vita nominanda; also 82. A. 239; H. 373, 1, n. 2. Putarent = 'thought, as they said'. — id quod esset accusandum: the subjunctive esset is used because a class of things is referred to, 'nothing of a nature to deserve complaint'; id quod erat, etc. would have meant merely 'that one thing which was matter for complaint'. A. 320; G. 634, Rem. 1; H. 503, I. — usu venirent: the phrase usu venire differs very little in meaning from accidere. Usu is commonly explained as an ablative ('in practice', 'in experience'), but is quite as likely to be a dative of the sort generally called predicative ('to come as matter of experience'); cf. Verg. Aen. 1, 22 venire excidio; Plin. N.H. 28, 106 odio; Caes. B.G. 5, 27 subsidio. — quorum ... multorum: the first genitive is dependent on the second, so that quorum = e quibus. Notice the separation of quorum from multorum and of multorum from senectutem. — sine querella: attribute of senectutem. A. 217, Rem.; H. 359, n. 1, 4), and n. 3. This form of attributive phrase, consisting of a preposition with a noun, is common; cf. 24 ex agro Sabino rusticos Romanos; 40 cum hostibus clandestina colloquia. Querella is better spelling than querela. See Roby, 177, 2. — qui: 'men of such nature as to ...' — et ... nec: Roby 2241. The reason for the departure from the ordinary sequence of particles lies in the words non moleste. Nec ...et is common; see 51, 53. — libidinum vinculis etc.: Cic. is here thinking of the conversation between Socrates and Cephalus in Plato, Rep. 329 D, for which see Introd. — moderati: 'self-controlled'; cf. n. on 1 moderationem; difficiles, 'peevish'; inhumani, 'unkindly'; importunitas, 'perversity'. Importunitas seems to be used as the substantive corresponding in sense with the adjective difficilis. Difficultas, in the sense of 'peevishness', probably occurs only in Mur. 19.

8. dixerit quispiam: 'some one will say presently'; a gentle way of introducing one's own objection. The mood of dixerit is probably indicative, not subjunctive; see the thorough discussion in Roby, Gram., Vol. 2, Pref., p. CIV. et seq. — opes et copias: 'resources and means'. Opes has a wider meaning than copias (mere material wealth) and includes all sources of power, influence, and authority as well as wealth. Thus in Lael. 22 the end of divitiae is said to be enjoyment; of opes, worship (opes ut colare). Dignitas is social position. — id: remark the singular pronoun, which indicates that the preceding clause is now taken as conveying one idea. Trans. 'such fortune'. — contingere: 'to fall to one's lot' is the phrase in English which most closely represents contingere. This verb is not, as is often assumed, used merely of good fortune; it implies in itself nothing concerning the character of events, whether they be good or bad, but simply that the events take place naturally and were to be expected. See n. on Lael. 8, where the word is distinctly used in connection with bad fortune, as it is, strikingly, in 71 below. — est ... omnia: 'your statement indeed amounts to something, but it by no means comprises every consideration'. The phrase esse aliquid, 'to be of some importance', is often used by Cic. both of things and of persons; cf. Tusc. 5, 104 eos aliquid esse, also n. on 17 nihil afferunt. So esse aliquis of persons, as in the well-known passage of Iuvenal, 1, 72 aude aliquid brevibus Gyaris et carcere dignum si vis esse aliquis. For the general sense cf. Tusc. 3, 52 est id quidem magnum, sed non sunt in hoc omnia; so De Or. 2, 215; ib. 3, 221; Leg. 2, 24 in quo sunt omnia. — isto: the use of the neuter pronoun in the oblique case as substantive is noticeable. — Themistocles etc.: Cicero borrows the story from Plato (Rep. 329 E et seq.), but it was first told by Herodotus, 8, 125 who gave a somewhat different version. Themistocles had received great honors at Sparta when Athenian ambassador there; an envious man declaring that the honors were paid really to Athens and not to Themistocles, the statesman answered ουτ αν εγω, εων Βελβινιτης (i.e. an inhabitant of the small island of Belbina lying to the S. of Cape Sunium) ετιμηθην ουτω προς Σπαρτιηρεων, ουτ αν συ, ανθρωπε, εων Αθηναιος. — Seriphio: Seriphus is a small island belonging to the Cyclad group and lying almost due N. of Melos, and due E. of the Scyllaean promontory. Seriphus is often taken by ancient writers as a specimen of an insignificant community (e.g. Aristoph. Acharn. 542; Cic. N.D. 1, 88), but it had the honor of being one of the three island states which refused to give earth and water to the Persian envoys, the other two being the adjacent islands of Melos and Siphnus (Herodotus, 8, 46). — iurgio: iurgium is a quarrel which does not go beyond words; rixa a quarrel where the disputants come to blows. — si ego: but further on, tu si. The contrast would certainly be more perfect if ego si were read, as has been proposed, in place of si ego. — quod eodem modo ... dici: Cic. commonly says quod ita dicendum and the like; see n. on 35 quod ni ita fuisset. Cato means that just as Themistocles' success was due to two things, his own character and his good fortune, so two things are necessary to make old age endurable, viz. moderate fortune and wisdom. He then in 9 insists that of these two conditions wisdom is far the more important. — nec ... levis ... nec ... non gravis: notice the chiasmus.