Chapter 22

auctorem habui.' There was also a Latin version, made either by Fabius Pictor or by a namesake (Gell. v. 4, 3).

The same subject was treated by _L. Cincius Alimentus_, who was praetor B.C. 210 (Liv. xxvi. 23, i), and took an active part in the war in Sicily during the next two years (Liv. xxvii. 7, 12, and throughout that Book). He was taken prisoner by Hannibal, and conversed with him: Liv. xxi. 38, 3, 'L. Cincius Alimentus, qui captum se ab Hannibale scribit, maxime auctor moveret ...'

Both Fabius and Cincius wrote in Greek, and both gave a cursory view of the earlier history: Dion. Hal. i. 6, +Romaiôn hosoi ta palaia erga tês poleôs Hellênikê dialektô synegrapsan, hôn eisi presbytatoi Kointos te Phabios kai Leukios Kinkios ... toutôn de tôn andrôn hekateros hois men autos ergois paregeneto, dia tên empeirian akribôs anegrapse, ta de archaia to meta ton ktisin tês poleôs genomena kephalaiôdôs epedramen.+

CATO.

M. Porcius Cato, the Censor (B.C. 234-149), born at Tusculum, of a yeoman stock, was one of the most prominent figures of his time. For the best account of his military and political career, including his advancement to the Consulship (B.C. 195) and Censorship (B.C. 184), and his economic and social reforms, the reader may be referred to Mommsen, _R.H._, vol. ii. _passim_.

Cato was the founder of Latin prose, and the chief opponent of the exaggerated Hellenism that was finding its way into Roman life and literature (cf. his own words quoted by Pliny, _N.H._ xxix. 14, 'Quandoque ista gens suas litteras dabit, omnia corrumpet'); but even he shows traces of Greek influence. Cato is represented now only by (1) his treatise _De Agri Cultura_, the earliest extant work in Latin prose, which, besides giving instruction for the husbandman, deals with housekeeping, cookery, and medicine.

(2) His great work was the _Origines_, the earliest history in Latin prose, the contents of which are enumerated by Nepos, _Cato_, 3, 3, 'Senex historias scribere instituit. Earum sunt libri vii. Primus continet res gestas regum populi Romani, secundus et tertius unde quaeque civitas orta sit Italica (ob quam rem omnes Origines videtur appellasse); in quarto autem bellum Poenicum est primum, in quinto secundum. Atque haec omnia capitulatim sunt dicta. Reliqua quoque bella pari modo persecutus est usque ad praeturam Ser. Galbae, qui diripuit Lusitanos (B.C. 151). Atque horum bellorum duces non nominavit, sed sine nominibus res notavit.[22] In eisdem exposuit quae in Italia Hispaniisque aut fierent aut viderentur admiranda: in quibus multa industria et diligentia comparet, nulla doctrina.'

An attempt has been made by A. Bormann (_M. Porcii Catonis Originum Libri vii._, Brandenburg 1858, p. 38) to prove that the principle of division was geographical, and that history only came in incidentally in connexion with the reduction of provinces; but as Nepos was writing to an eminent authority on antiquities, his account is likely to be right. The period between the kings and the Punic Wars was probably omitted by Cato through want of authorities.

The title _Origines_ fails to indicate the scope of the work, which was chiefly occupied with general history; it was probably taken, as Nepos suggests, from the contents of Books ii. and iii., which seem to have been the most novel and valuable part of the undertaking. (Jordan, however, takes 'Origines' as equivalent, not to the Greek +ktiseis+, but to 'res Romanae ab origine repetitae.')

(3) _Praecepta ad Filium_ was the general title of a didactic work containing rules for medicine, husbandry, and rhetoric (_e.g._ 'Rem tene, verba sequentur'). Cf. Quint. iii. 1, 19, 'Romanorum primus, quantum ego quidem sciam, condidit aliqua in hanc materiam (rhetoric) M. Cato ille Censorius.'

(4) _Speeches._--Fragments of eighty speeches, out of about two hundred and thirty, are collected by Jordan. They are almost equally divided between forensic and deliberative speeches: none is known of earlier date than B.C. 195. Cato incorporated some of them in the _Origines_, _e.g._ For the Rhodians (Gell. vi. 3, 7), and Against Galba (Cic. _Brut._ 89).

Works on civil law are attributed to Cato, and we hear also of +apophthegmata+ (Cic. _de Off._ i. 104), _Liber de re militari_ (Gell. vi. 4, 5), and _Carmen de moribus_ (Gell. xi. 2, 2).

ACCIUS.

(1) LIFE.

The forms Accius and Attius are both found on inscriptions, _e.g._ from Pisaurum; but in the MSS. of Nonius Marcellus, who often quotes Accius, and who is careful about his forms, 'Accius' is always found, and generally in MSS. of other authors.

L. Accius was born B.C. 170 at Pisaurum (of. Pliny, _N.H._ vii. 128, 'Attio Pisaurense').

Jerome yr. Abr. 1878 = B.C. 139, 'L. Accius tragoediarum scriptor clarus habetur, natus Mancino et Serrano coss. (B.C. 170) parentibus libertinis et seni iam Pacuvio Tarenti sua scripta recitavit. A quo et fundus Accianus iuxta Pisaurum dicitur, quia illuc inter colonos fuerat ex urbe deductus.'

This last statement must refer to Accius' father, as the colony of Pisaurum was founded B.C. 184. Jerome's chronology is corroborated by

Cic. _Brut._ 229, 'Accius isdem aedilibus (B.C. 140) ait se et Pacuvium docuisse fabulam, cum ille lxxx., ipse xxx. annos natus esset.'

Accius' friendship and influence with leading men is shown by Cic. _pro Arch._ 27, 'D. Brutus, summus vir et imperator (cons. B.C. 138) Acci amicissimi sui carminibus templorum ac monumentorum aditus exornavit suorum.'

_Auct. ad Herenn._ i. 24, 'Mimus quidam nominatim Accium poetam compellavit in scaena. Cum eo Accius iniuriarum egit'; ii. 19, 'P. Mucius eum qui L. Accium poetam nominaverat condemnavit.'

The above shows his self-consciousness; cf. also Pliny _N.H._ xxxiv. 19, 'Notatum ab auctoribus et L. Accium poetam in Camenarum aede maxima forma statuam sibi posuisse, cum brevis admodum fuisset.'

For Accius' friendship with Pacuvius, see p. 35. Accius must have lived to about B.C. 86, as Cicero (born B.C. 106) talked with him on literary subjects.

Cic. _Brut._ 107, 'D. Brutus M. filius, ut ex familiari eius L. Accio poeta sum audire solitus.'

His _Tereus_ was produced in B.C. 104, as is seen from

Cic. _Phil._ i. 36 (B.C. 44), 'Nisi forte Accio tum plaudi et sexagesimo post anno palmam dari, non Bruto, putabatis.'

(2) WORKS.

1. _Tragedies._--Titles of about forty-five plays, and about seven hundred lines of fragments are extant. The fragments show imitation of Aeschylus as well as of Sophocles and Euripides.

2. _Praetextae._--_Aeneadae_ or _Decius_, and _Brutus_. _Decius_ treated of the self-sacrifice of P. Decius Mus at Sentinum, B.C. 295. Cf. l. 15, 'Patrio exemplo et me dicabo atque animam devoro (= devovero) hostibus.' _Brutus_ treated of the overthrow of Tarquinius Superbus and the establishment of the consulship.

3. _Didascalica_, in at least nine books, a history of Greek and Latin poetry, with special attention to the drama. The few fragments are mostly in Sotadean metre. Cf. Gell. vi. 9, 16, 'L. Accius in Sotadicorum libro I.'

4. _Pragmaticon libri_ (in trochaic tetrameters) on literary subjects.

5. _Praxidica_, on agriculture. Two lines on ploughing are quoted from 'liber parergon,' i., but it is not certain whether this is an independent work.

6. _Annales_, in hexameters.

7. A work in Saturnians.

Accius gave attention to points of language. Cf. Quint. i. 7, 14, 'Semivocales geminare diu non fuit usitatissimi moris, atque e contrario usque ad Accium et ultra porrectas syllabas geminis, ut dixi, vocalibus scripserunt.'

Accius, like Ennius and Pacuvius, attacks superstition. Cf. ll. 169-70,

'Nil credo auguribus, qui auris verbis divitant alienas, suas ut auro locupletent domos.'

That Virgil imitated Accius is mentioned by Macrob. vi. 1, 58, who compares, _e.g._, l. 156,

'Virtuti sis par, dispar fortunis patris,'

and _Aen._ xii. 435-6,

'Disce, puer, virtutem ex me verumque laborem, fortunam ex aliis.'

_Views on Accius._--A few of these may be referred to. Cic. _pro Sest._ 120, 'Summi poetae ingenium.' Ovid. _Am._ i. 15, 19,

'Animosi Accius oris.'

Cf. also Quint. x. 1, 97; Tac. _Dial._ 20; and Hor. _Ep._ ii. 1, 55 (see 'Pacuvius,' p. 37).

Of the prose writers contemporary with Accius, the most important were the annalists _L. Cassius Hemina_ and _L. Calpurnius Piso Frugi_; the orators _Ti._ and _C. Graccus_, and their opponent _C. Fannius_, and _M. Aemilius Scaurus_, the _princeps senatus_, who also wrote an autobiography (Cic. _Brut._ 112). _L. Coelius Antipater_ wrote a history of the Second Punic War in seven Books, making use of Silenus, whose account was favourable to the Carthaginians (Cic. _de Div._ i. 49). His strength lay in style (Cic. _de Or._ ii. 53); though painstaking, he was apt to exaggerate (Liv. xxvii. 27, 12; xxix, 25, 3).

LUCILIUS.

(1) LIFE.

C. Lucilius' dates are given by Jerome as B.C. 148-103.

yr. Abr. 1869 = B.C. 148, 'Lucilius poeta nascitur.'

yr. Abr. 1914 = B.C. 103, 'C. Lucilius satirarum scriptor Neapoli moritur, ac publico funere effertur anno aetatis xlvi.'

If Jerome's notice were correct, Lucilius would have been only thirteen years old at the time of the Numantine War (B.C. 134) in which he served.

Velleius ii. 9, 4, 'Celebre et Lucili nomen fuit qui sub P. Africano Numantino bello eques militaverat.'

It is probable that Jerome has confused the consuls of B.C. 180, A. Postumius Albinus and C. Calpurnius Piso, with those of B.C. 148, Sp. Postumius Albinus and L. Calpurnius Piso, and that Lucilius was born B.C. 180. No reference is found in Lucilius to any event after B.C. 103, so that Jerome may be right in giving that as the year of his death. In Hor. _Sat._ ii. 1, 34, Lucilius is called _senex_, which shows that he lived a long life.

Lucilius was born at Suessa in Campania. He was an _eques_, and was the great-uncle of Pompey. Juv. 1, 19,

'Cur tamen hoc potius libeat decurrere campo, per quem magnus equos Auruncae flexit alumnus, si vacat ac placidi rationem admittitis, edam.'

Porphyr. ad Hor. _Sat._ ii. 1, 75, '"infra Lucili censum": Constat enim Lucilium avonculum maiorem Pompei fuisse: etenim avia Pompei Lucilii soror fuerat.'

Velleius ii. 29, 2, 'Fuit [Cn. Pompeius] genitus matre Lucilia, stirpis senatoriae.' This Lucilia was Lucilius' niece, and her father, Lucilius' brother, was a senator.

Lucilius was very intimate with Africanus the younger and Laelius, and celebrated them in his works. Hor. _Sat._ ii. 1, 71,

'Quin ubi se a volgo et scaena in secreta remorant virtus Scipiadae et mitis sapientia Laeli, nugari cum illo et discincti ludere, donec decoqueretur olus, soliti.'

Schol. Cruq. _ad loc._, 'Scipio Africanus et Laelius feruntur tam fuisse familiares et amici Lucilio, ut quodam tempore Laelio circum lectos triclinii fugienti Lucilius superveniens eum obtorta mappa quasi feriturus sequeretur.'

Hor. _Sat._ ii. 1, 16,

'Attamen et iustum poteras et scribere fortem, Scipiadam ut sapiens Lucilius.'

Lucil. _Sat._ xxx. 5 (of Scipio),

'Sicubi ad auris fama tuam pugnam clarans adlata dicasset.'

Such intimate association could not have existed if Lucilius had been, as Jerome implies, only nineteen at Scipio's death in B.C. 129.

There are many references to Lucilius' attacks on public men. Cf. Hor. _Sat._ ii. 1, 62,

'Quid? cum est Lucilius ausus primus in hunc operis componere carmina morem, detrahere et pellem, nitidus qua quisque per ora cederet, introrsum turpis, num Laelius et qui duxit ab oppressa meritum Carthagine nomen ingenio offensi aut laeso doluere Metello famosisque Lupo cooperto versibus? atqui primores populi arripuit populumque tributim, scilicet uni aequus virtuti atque eius amicis.'

Lucil. lib. incert., ll. 63-4, quoted by Cic. _N.D._ i. 64,

'"Tubulus si Lucius umquam, si Lupus aut Carbo, Neptuni filius,"

ut ait Lucilius, putasset esse deos, tam periurus aut tam impurus fuisset?'

Pers. 1, 114,

'Secuit Lucilius urbem, te Lupe, te Muci, et genuinum fregit in illis.'

Juv. 1, 165,

'Ense velut stricto quotiens Lucilius ardens infremuit, rubet auditor cui frigida mens est criminibus, tacita sudant praecordia culpa.'

_The Saturae._--There were thirty Books altogether, by whom arranged is unknown. Fragments are extant from all the Books, except xxi. and xxiv. (and possibly xxiii. and xxv.). Books i.-xx. and xxx. were in hexameters; xxii. in elegiacs; xxvi.-xxvii. in trochaic septenarii; and the next two in trochaic septenarii, iambic senarii, and hexameters. Books xxvi.-xxix. were published first, then Book xxx. In