Cato Maior de Senectute by Marcus Tullius Cicero

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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 [Greek: pseudos], 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 Sec. 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 [Greek:
homologoumenos te physei zen]). 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: = [Greek: mellei einai] 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:3 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 t_am_qu_am_, aliqu_am_, long_am_, vi_am_.
-- 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 [Greek:
hos aiei ton homoion agei theos hos ton homoion]; 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 [Greek: bios abiotos]; 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 [Greek: out an ego, eon Belbinites] (_i.e._ an
inhabitant of the small island of Belbina lying to the S. of Cape Sunium)
[Greek: etimethen outo pros Spartiereon, out an su, anthrope, eon
Athenaios]. -- 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.

9. OMNINO: here = [Greek: pantapasi] 'undoubtedly', in a strongly
affirmative sense, as in 76; but in 28 (where see n.) it is concessive. --
CUM DIU MULTUMQUE VIXERIS: literally 'when you have lived long and much',
_i.e._ when you have not only had a long life but have done a great deal in
the course of it. The phrases _diu multumque, multum et diu_ are common in
Cic., as below, 38; Acad. 1, 4; Div. 2, 1; Off 1, 118; Leg. Agr. 2, 88; De
Or. 1, 152. For mood see A. 309, a; H. 518, 2. -- ECFERUNT: _ecferunt_ for
_efferunt_ (_ec_ = _ex_ = _ecs_; so [Greek: ek] = [Greek: ex] = [Greek:
eks]) was old-fashioned in Cicero's time, but forms of the sort, as below,
39 _ecfrenate_, according to the evidence of the best MSS., occur in a good
many passages. See Neue, Formenlehre, Vol. 2, pp. 766 seq., ed. 2. --
NUMQUAM DESERUNT: the omission of the object after _deserunt_ is not
common. With the general sense of this passage cf. Arch. 16 _litterarum
studia adulescentiam alunt, senectutem oblectant, secundas res ornant,
adversis perfugium ac solarium praebent, delectant domi, non impediunt
foris, pernoctant nobiscum, peregrinantur, rusticantur._

P. 5. -- 10. Q. MAXIMUM: the famous Q. Fabius Maximus Verrucosus Ovicula
Cunctator, hero of the Second Punic War. -- EUM ... RECEPIT: this clause
has often been suspected to be an insertion of the writers of MSS. But (1)
the capture of Tarentum in 209 B.C. was Fabius' crowning achievement, and
'captor of Tarentum' was often added to his name as a title of honor; see
De Orat. 2, 273; and (2) there were several other persons of distinction
bearing the name Q. Maximus about the same time, so that some special mark
was wanted for the sake of clearness. Notice _recepit_ 'recovered',
Tarentum having been lost by the Romans to Hannibal in 212 B.C. -- SENEM
ADULESCENS: observe the emphasis given by placing close together the two
words of opposite meaning. -- ERAT ... GRAVITAS: 'that hero possessed
dignity tempered by courtesy'. Expressions like _erat in illo gravitas_ are
common in Cicero; _e.g._ Mur. 58 _erat in Cotta summa eloquentia._ The
metaphor in _condita_, 'seasoned', is also common; cf. Lael. 66
_condimentum amicitiae_. -- QUAMQUAM: 'though indeed', introducing a
necessary correction of the last words _nec senectus mores mutaverat._ For
this corrective _quamquam_ cf. n. on 2. -- CONSUL PRIMUM: B.C. 233. --
GRANDEM NATU: although the phrases _maior, maximus, parvus, minor, minimus
natu_ are of frequent occurrence, yet _magnus natu_ is not Latin, _grandis
natu_ being always used instead. The historians sometimes use _magno natu
esse_ or _in magno natu esse_. -- ANNO POST: the word _unus_ is not usually
attached to _annus_ except where there is a strong contrast between one and
a larger number of years. _Anno post_ must not be translated 'during the
year after'; but either 'a year after', _anno_ being regarded as the
ablative of measure or excess, literally 'later by a year', or 'at the end
of a year', the ablative being one of limitation, and _fuerat_ being
equivalent to _factus erat_ 'had been elected'. So _quinto anno_ below, 'at
the end of the fifth year', _i.e._ 'five years after'. -- ADULESCENTULUS
MILES: See n. on 21 _quemquam senem._ Translate 'when quite a youth I
marched with him to Capua as a private soldier'. G. 324; H. 363, 3, 2).
_Miles_ here = _gregarius miles_. -- QUEM MAGISTRATUM: _sc. quaesturam_, to
be understood from _quaestor_ Cf. Mur. 18 _quaesturam una petiit et sum ego
factus (sc. quaestor) prior_. -- TUDITANO ET CETHEGO: when the _praenomina_
of the consuls are given the names generally stand side by side without
_et_; when they are omitted _et_ is generally inserted. Cf. n. on 50
_Centone Tuditanoque_, etc. -- CUM QUIDEM: the _quidem_ simply adds a
slight emphasis to _cum_; 'at the very time when', [Greek: epeide ge]. --
SUASOR: _suasor legis_ was any person who publicly (_i.e._ before the
senate or people in _contio_ assembled) spoke in favor of a measure,
_dissuasor_ any one who spoke against it. Cf. 14 _suasissem_. -- LEGIS
CINCIAE: a law passed in 204 B.C. by M. Cincius Alimentus, a plebeian
tribune, whereby advocates were forbidden to take fees from their clients,
and certain limitations were placed on gifts of property by private
persons. -- CUM ... ESSET: '_though_ he was'; so below 11, 30, etc. --
GRANDIS: = _grandis natu_. -- IUVENILITER: Hannibal was 29 years of age
when he entered Italy in 218. -- EXSULTANTEM: 'wildly roaming'. The word in
its literal sense is used of a horse galloping at its own will over a
plain. The metaphorical use is common in Cicero; cf. Acad. 2, 112 _cum sit
campus in quo exsultare possit oratio, cur eam tantas in angustias
compellimus?_ -- PATIENTIA: 'endurance', 'persistence'; it is not
equivalent to our 'patience'. -- PRAECLARE: _sc. dicit_; cf. n. on 3. --
FAMILIARIS: see Introd. -- UNUS HOMO etc.: these lines were famous, and
were not only often quoted with the name of Ennius attached (as in Off. 1,
84; Livy 30, 26), but also imitated or adapted without mention of his name,
as, being too familiar to need it; cf. Att. 2, 19, 2; Ovid, Fast. 2, 241;
Verg. Aen. 6, 846; Suet. Tib. 21. -- CUNCTANDO: Cf. Polybius 3, 105, 8. On
Fabius' military policy consult Mommsen, Hist. of Rome, Bk. III. ch. 5. --
REM: here = _rem publicam_. -- NOENUM: the older form from which _non_ is
an abbreviation; = _ne-oinom_, _n-oinom_, literally 'not one thing'; cf.
_nihil_ = _ne-hilum_ 'not a whit', also the rare word _ningulus_ = _ne
oinculus_, 'not even a little one'. -- RUMORES: 'fame', 'public opinion'.
-- PONEB[=A]T: for the long vowel cf. n. on 1, l. 2 _versat_. -- PLUSQUE:
MSS. _postque_; _plusque_is the emendation of Bernays. _Plusque magisque_
is a variation upon the ordinary phrases _plus plusque_, _magis magisque_.

11. SALINATORI: there can be no doubt that Cicero is guilty of a blunder
here, and in De Or. 2, 273 where the story also occurs. Livy (27, 34, 7)
gives M. Livius Macatus as the name of the Roman commander who held the
citadel of Tarentum while Hannibal was in possession of the town. Cicero
probably found the commander described by the annalists merely as M. Livius
(so in Livy 24, 20, 13; 26, 39, 1), and then jumped to tne conclusion that
he was the famous M. Livius Salinator. This man, the father of the
Salinator mentioned in 7, was consul in 219 and subdued the Illyrians, but
was condemned for misappropriation of public moneys and went into exile. In
210 he was induced to return by the desire of the senate. In 207 he became
consul with C. Claudius Nero, and defeated Hasdrubal in the great battle of
the Metaurus. In 204 Livius was censor with Nero as his colleague, and won
his name _Salinator_ by imposing a tax on salt. The title was bestowed in
ridicule, but clung to the family. Salinator was a relative of M. Livius
Macatus. See Liv 27, 34, 7. -- ITA DICENTI etc.: the anecdote is told by
Livy, 27, 25, 5 and Plutarch, Fab. 23. Both, however, refer the story not
to the time at which Tarentum was taken, but to the year after, when
altercations about it took place in the senate. -- TOGA: here put for
'civil life', the _toga_ being replaced in time of war by the _sagum_. Cf.
in Pisonem 73 _pacis est insigne et oti toga, contra autem arma tumultus
atque belli;_ De Or. 3, 167 _'togam', pro 'pace', 'arma', ac 'tela', pro
'bello'._ We have the same contrast between _arma_ and _toga_ in Cicero's
own much-derided verse, _cedant arma togae, concedat laurea laudi_, which
is defended by him, in Pis. 73 and Off. 1, 77. -- CONSUL ITERUM etc.: as
the second consulship of Fabius was in 228 B.C., while the law of Flaminius
was passed in 232 (according to Polybius), it is very difficult to
understand the statement here made. It is possible that Flaminius was one
of the commissioners for executing his own law, and that its execution
lasted over the time of Fabius' second consulship. The Flaminius here
mentioned is the same who fell as consul in 217 at the battle of lake
Trasimenus. He held large and statesman-like views on the policy of
securing Italy by planting Romans and Latins in the territory then recently
taken from the Gauls, in the neighborhood of Ariminum. This particular
measure was carried against the will of the senate, and was the first law
passed, since the _lex Hortensia_ of 287, in defiance of its wishes. It was
also the first agrarian law since the Licinio-Sextian law of 367. Polybius
dates the decline of the Roman constitution from the passing of the _lex
Flaminia_. Cf.'Rheinisches Museum', 1843, p. 573. -- SP. CARVILIO
QUIESCENTE: this Sp. Carvilius was consul in 234 when he conquered the
Corsicans and Sardinians. In 228 he was again consul, and died as augur in
212. He is said, but erroneously, to have been the first Roman who divorced
his wife. In 216, just after the battle of Cannae, he made a most
remarkable proposal, to fill up the gaps which that battle had made in the
numbers of the senate by selecting two members from each of the Latin
communities. It was almost the only occasion in the course of Roman history
when anything like modern representative government was advocated.
Carvilius was not sprung from one of the noble families, who for the most
part monopolized the higher offices of state, it is therefore not
surprising that he should have sympathized with Flaminius. -- CONTRA
SENATUS AUCTORITATEM: 'against the expressed wish of the senate' _Senatus
auctoritas_ is, strictly speaking, an opinion of the senate not formally
embodied in a decree, _senatus consultum_. Cicero, in Invent. 2, 52 says
Flaminius carried his law _contra voluntatem omnium optimatium_. --
DIVIDENTI: 'when he tried to divide'. The participle is here equivalent to
_cum_ with the imperfect indicative (dividebat). So in 54 _lenientem_ A.
290, _a_; G 668; H 549, 1.

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