Chapter 26

scripseras, totam Academiam ab hominibus nobilissimis abstuli transtulique ad nostrum sodalem et ex duobus libris contuli in quattuor'). Of this second edition in four Books we possess only Book i. (incomplete), and fragments of the others; the scene is at Cumae. The dedicatory epistle to Varro is still preserved (_ad Fam._ ix. 8).

8. In the five Books of _Tusculanae Disputationes_, conversations between Cicero and a friend at his Tusculan villa, the subject is the chief essentials for happiness. Book i. inculcates the proper attitude towards death, ii. to grief, iii. to pain, iv. to other trials, v. asserts the sufficiency of virtue for happiness. The treatise is dedicated to Brutus, and was finished by B.C. 44, in which year (_ad Att._ xv. 2, 4) the first Book is known to Atticus.

9. _De Natura Deorum_, in three Books, is also addressed to Brutus. The Epicurean, Stoic, and Peripatetic doctrines are represented by C. Velleius, Q. Lucilius Balbus, and C. Aurelius Cotta, respectively. This treatise was written after the _Tusculans_ (_de Div._ ii. 3): in July 45 (_ad Att._ xiii. 39, 2) Atticus is asked for the loan of +Phaidrou peri theôn+ and +peri Pallados+.

10. The essay _De Senectute_, called also _Cato Maior_ after the principal speaker in the dialogue, was addressed to Atticus at the end of 45 or early in 44 (_de Div._ ii. 3; _ad Att._ xiv. 21, 3).

11. To a later date in the same year belongs the _Laelius_, or _De Amicitia_ (_de Am._ 4 mentions the _de Sen._), in which Laelius discourses on friendship. In this book, according to Gell. i. 3, 10-11, Cicero was under obligations to Theophrastus +peri philias+.

12. _De Divinatione_, in two Books, forms a supplement to the _De Natura Deorum_. Cicero and his brother discuss, at Tusculum, the nature and validity of 'divinatio,' which is defined (i. 9) as 'earum rerum quae fortuitae putantur praedictio atque praesensio.' The date is 44.

13. The incomplete essay _De Fato_ was written in 44, after Caesar's death (cf. § 2). The conversation takes place at Puteoli, between Cicero and the consul-designate Hirtius.

14. On 11th July of the same year Cicero sent to Atticus his treatise _De Gloria_, in two Books, now lost (_ad Att._ xvi. 2, 6; _de Off._ ii. 31).

15. The latest of the extant philosophical works is the _De Officiis_, written for the instruction of the author's son. Cicero had completed two Books by November, B.C. 44 (xvi. 11, 4), following the treatment of Panaetius, and discussing in Book i. the issue between vice and virtue, in Book ii. the expediency of a given action. In Book iii. he was indebted to Posidonius, for the discussion of apparent conflict between virtue and expediency.

There are traces of two other treatises, _De Virtutibus_ and _De Auguriis_; and we possess fragments of a translation of Plato's _Protagoras_ and _Timaeus_, which cannot be earlier than B.C. 45 (_de Fin._ i. 7).

Cicero propounds no original scheme of philosophy, claiming only that he renders the conclusions of Greek thinkers accessible to his own countrymen. This sort of work cost him little trouble: _ad Att._ xii. 52, 3, '+apographa+ sunt; minore labore fiunt: verba tantum affero, quibus abundo.' At the same time he is not a mere translator: _de Fin._ i. 6, 'nos non interpretum fungimur munere, sed tuemur ea quae dicta sunt ab eis quos probamus, eisque nostrum iudicium et nostrum scribendi ordinem adiungimus.' His motives for entering upon this task are explained in _De Nat. Deor._ i. 7-9: (1) he desired to do a service to his country: 'ipsius rei publicae causa philosophiam nostris hominibus explicandam putavi'; (2) he sought relief for his own mind: 'hortata etiam est ut me ad haec conferrem animi aegritudo, fortunae magna et gravi conmota iniuria.' Cicero is an eclectic, with a leaning to the New Academy: _Tusc._ iv. 7, 'nullis unius disciplinae legibus adstricti, quibus in philosophia necessario pareamus.' Probability is all that he expects to reach: _ibid._, 'quid sit in quaque re maxime probabile semper requiremus.' The philosophy most attractive to him is that which best called forth the oratorical faculty: _Tusc._ ii. 9, 'mihi semper Peripateticorum Academiaeque consuetudo de omnibus rebus in contrarias partes differendi ... placuit ... quod esset ea maxima dicendi exercitatio.'[29]

(c) Rhetorical Treatises.

1. The earliest of these is _De Inventione_, or _Rhetorica_, in two Books, written probably for the author's own use during Sulla's absence in Asia B.C. 87-83. In his mature years Cicero looked back with contempt on this youthful effort: _de Or._ i. 5, 'quae pueris aut adulescentulis nobis ex commentariolis nostris incohata ac rudia exciderunt.' He borrows much from the _Rhet. ad Herenn._, and frequently mentions and criticises the views of Hermagoras; but all the best writers on rhetoric were laid under contribution: ii. 4, 'omnibus unum in locum coactis scriptoribus, quod quisque commodissime praecipere videbatur, excerpsimus.'

2. The three Books _De Oratore_ were finished in 55: _ad Att._ iv. 13, 2, 'de libris oratoriis factum est a me diligenter: diu multumque in manibus fuerunt: describas licet.' They were written at a time when Cicero's voice was seldom heard: _ad Fam._ i. 9, 23, 'ab orationibus diiungo me fere referoque ad mansuetiores Musas.' The dialogue takes place in B.C. 91, at the Tusculan villa of L. Licinius Crassus; he and the rival orator, M. Antonius, are the chief speakers.

3. The dialogue _Brutus_, or _De Claris Oratoribus_, after a brief survey of Greek oratory, criticises the Roman orators from L. Brutus to Cicero's own time. In spite of his intention to omit living persons (§ 231), he discusses Caesar, M. Marcellus, and himself. The speakers are Brutus, Atticus, and Cicero; and the date is probably 46, for the _Brutus_ is earlier than the _Orator_, which refers to it (§ 23).

4. The _Orator_ or _De Optimo Genere Dicendi_ is a sequel to the _De Oratore_ and the _Brutus_, adding practical rules to the exposition of theory (_de Div._ ii. 4). It was written at the request of Brutus, to whom it is addressed, in the year 46 (_ad Fam._ xii. 17, 2).

5. _Partitiones Oratoriae_ is a catechism on rhetoric, in which the questions are put to Cicero by his son.

6. The _Topica_ was written in response to repeated requests from Trebatius for explanation of Aristotle's _Topics_. It was done by Cicero, without the aid of books, on his voyage from Velia to Rhegium in July, 44 (_Top._ 5; _ad Fam._ vii. 19).

7. The short treatise _De Optimo Genere Oratorum_ was introductory to a version of the speeches of Demosthenes and Aeschines 'on the Crown,' designed to show the Romans what the best Attic oratory was like.

(d) Letters.

Cicero's correspondence begins B.C. 68 with _ad Att._ i. 5, and ends 28th July, B.C. 43. Besides seven hundred and seventy-four letters written by Cicero, we have ninety addressed to him by friends. The collection was made by friends like Tiro and Atticus: cf. _ad Att._ xvi. 5, 5 (B.C. 44), 'Mearum epistularum nulla est +synagôgê+, sed habet Tiro instar septuaginta, et quidem sunt a te quaedam sumendae: eas ego oportet perspiciam, corrigam; tum denique edentur.'

The letters now extant fall into four groups.

1. _Epistulae ad Atticum_, in sixteen Books, belonging to the years B.C. 68-43, and valuable for their thorough frankness (_ad Att._ viii. 14, 2, 'ego tecum tamquam mecum loquor'). Nepos appreciates their supreme importance for the history of Cicero's time, although he dates the commencement of the correspondence wrongly: _Att._ 16, 'xvi. volumina epistularum ab consulatu eius usque ad extremum tempus ad Atticum missarum; quae qui legat, non multum desideret historiam contextam eorum temporum.' Atticus' own letters were not published, though Cicero preserved them: _ad Att._ ix. 10, 4, 'Evolvi volumen epistularum, quod ego sub signo habeo servoque diligentissime.'

2. _Epistulae ad Quintum Fratrem_, in three Books, of the years B.C. 60-54.

3. _Epistulae ad Brutum_, originally in nine Books, of which only two remain. The present Book i. was really Book ix., and Book ii., which contains letters earlier than those in Book i., may have formed part of the original Book viii.

4. _Epistulae ad Familiares_, in sixteen Books, letters to and from friends, written B.C. 62-43. This title is not found in any MS. Late MSS. and old editions have 'Epistulae Familiares': for the title 'Ad Diversos' there is no authority. In the best MSS. the Books are titled separately by the name of the person to whom the first letter in each is written, _e.g._ 'M. Tulli Ciceronis epistularum ad P. Lentulum liber i.'

For the colloquial style of the letters cf. _ad Fam._ ix. 21, 1 (to Paetus), 'Quid tibi ego in epistulis videor? nonne plebeio sermone agere tecum? nec enim semper eodem modo: quid enim simile habet epistula aut iudicio aut contioni? ... epistulas vero cottidianis verbis texere solemus.'

The following works are now lost: (_a_) _Miscellaneous prose writings._--1. Panegyrics on Porcia (_ad Att._ xiii. 37, 3) and Cato, B.C. 45; and funeral orations written for other people to deliver (_ad Q.F._ iii. 8, 5, 'laudavit pater scripto meo').

2. Memoirs of Cicero's consulship, written B.C. 60, in both Greek and Latin (_ad. Att._ i. 19, 10). He took great pains with this book, and was anxious that it should be well circulated (_ad Att._ ii. 1, 1).

3. A secret history, _Anekdota_, mentioned in letters of B.C. 59 and 44 (_ad Att._ ii. 6, 2; xiv. 17, 6).

4. _Admiranda_, a collection of wonders (Pliny, _N.H._ xxxi. 51).

5. _Chorographia_, a book on geography, mentioned by Priscian. The letters to Atticus show that Cicero was studying the subject in B.C. 59.

6. A work on law, _De iure civili in artem redigendo_ (Gell. i. 22, 7).

7. A translation of Xenophon's _Oeconomicus_, made when Cicero was about the age of twenty (_de Off._ ii. 87).

(_b_) _Poems._--1. Cicero's earliest effort in verse was a poem in tetrameters, entitled _Pontius Glaucus_: Plut. _Cic._ 2, +kai ti poiêmation eti paidos autou diasôzetai Pontios Glaukos en tetrametrô pepoiêmenon+.

2. In B.C. 60 he made a verse translation of the astronomical poems of Aratus, _ad Att._ ii. 1, 2, 'Prognostica mea ... propediem exspecta.' Quotations are given in _De Nat. Deor._ ii. 104 _sqq._

3. In the same year he wrote a poem _De Suo Consulatu_, in three Books: _ad Att._ i. 19, 10, 'poema exspectato, ne quod genus a me ipso laudis meae praetermittatur.' A long passage from Book ii., spoken by the Muse Urania, is recited by Q. Cicero in _De Div._ i. 17 _sqq._

4. Another poem in three Books, _De Temporibus Suis_, belonged probably to the year 55. Cicero writes to Lentulus in 54 (_ad Fam._ i. 9, 23), 'scripsi versibus tres libros de temporibus meis, quos iam pridem ad te misissem, si esse edendos putassem.'

5. In the letters to Quintus from June to December, 54, there is frequent mention of a poem _Ad Caesarem_. Quintus is consulted for information about Britain: _ad Q.F._ ii. 15, 2, 'mihi date Britanniam, quam pingam coloribus tuis, penicillo meo.'

6. A poem on Cicero's great townsman Marius is quoted, _De Div._ i. 106.

Among others quoted are _Limon_, in which Terence was praised (see p. 51), and _iocularis libellus_ (Quint. viii. 6, 73). Translations from Greek poets occur in the philosophical works, e.g. _de Fin._ v. 49, from Homer, _Odys._ xii. 184-191; _Tusc._ ii. 23, from various parts of Aeschylus, _Prom. Vinct._

The ancient criticisms on Cicero's poetry are all unfavourable:

_De Off._ i. 77, 'Illud optimum est, in quo invadi solere ab improbis et invidis audio:

"Cedant arma togae, concedat laurea laudi."'

Juv. 10, 122,

'"O fortunatam natam me consule Romam!" Antoni gladios potuit contemnere, si sic omnia dixisset.'

Tac. _Dial._ 21 (quoted p. 111).

Quint. xi. 1, 24, 'In carminibus utinam pepercisset, quae non desierunt carpere maligni.'

_Rhetorica ad Herennium_.--This treatise on rhetoric in four Books, addressed to the author's relative C. Herennius, is usually printed among Cicero's works, and is attributed to him by the MSS. and by Jerome and Priscian. But it is clearly not by Cicero, for (_a_) it does not agree with his own description of his early rhetorical writings as 'incohata ac rudia'; (_b_) the author's position, as described by himself, is not Cicero's. It is generally held that one Cornificius was the author; Quintilian (_e.g._ v. 10, 2) attributes to a person of that name several expressions found in the _ad Herennium_. He may have been the Q. Cornificius who opposed Cicero for the consulship in B.C. 64. The date of the treatise is probably B.C. 86-84.

QUINTUS CICERO.

Q. Tullius Cicero, the brother of the orator, was born probably B.C. 102. He was aedile in 65 (_ad Att._ i. 4, 1); praetor in 62, when he tried the case of Archias; propraetor of Asia 61-58 (_ad Q.F._ i. 1, 2). He acted as _legatus_ of Pompey in Sardinia B.C. 56 (_pro Scauro_, 39); of Caesar in Gaul, taking part in the second invasion of Britain (Caes. _B.G._ v.); and of his brother in Cilicia (_ad Fam._ xv. 4, 8). At the outbreak of the civil war he was with Marcus at Formiae and Capua; but after the death of Pompey there was a breach between them. Being proscribed by the triumvirs he took flight, but was betrayed by his slaves and put to death, B.C. 43 (Plut. _Cic._ 47). His wife was Pomponia, the sister of Atticus.

For the benefit of M. Cicero in his candidature for the consulship, B.C. 64, Quintus wrote the _Commentariolum Petitionis_ (the title in § 58) or _De Petitione Consulatus_. It is in the form of a letter, and is headed in the best MSS. 'Q. M. Fratri S. D.' Quintus writes with special reference to his brother's circumstances, but most of the rules which he lays down are of general application. The authenticity of this treatise has been called in question by Eussner, who ascribes it to a clever imitator, partly on the ground of coincidences of expression with Cicero's speech _in Toga Candida_; but his arguments are refuted by Prof. Tyrrell (_Cicero's Correspondence_, i. pp. 110-121).

There are also extant three letters to Tiro and one to M. Cicero. Quintus' poetry is now represented only by twenty hexameters on the signs of the zodiac; but he wrote an epic poem, _Annales_ (_ad Att._ ii. 16, 4 [Quintus] 'ita remittit ut me roget ut annales suos emendem et edam'), and composed tragedies with great rapidity (_ad Q.F._ iii. 6, 7, 'quattuor tragoedias xvi. diebus absolvisse cum scribas, tu quidquam ab alio mutuaris?'). His admiration for Sophocles and Euripides appears in _De Fin._ v. 3; _ad Fam._ xvi. 8, 2.

TIRO.

M. Tullius Tiro, the freedman of Cicero, who had a high opinion of his worth and ability (_ad Fam._ xvi. 4, 3; _ad Att._ vii. 5, 2), wrote (1) a biography of his patron: Ascon. p. 49, 'ut legimus apud Tironem libertum Ciceronis in libro iiii. de vita eius.'

(2) Editions of Cicero's speeches and letters: Gell. i. 7, 1, 'in oratione Ciceronis v. in Verrem, libro spectatae fidei, Tironiana cura atque disciplina facto.' (See also p. 85.)

(3) A collection of Cicero's witticisms: Quint. vi. 3, 5, 'utinam libertus eius Tiro aut alius, quisquis fuit, qui iii. hac de re libros edidit, parcius dictorum numero indulsissent.'

(4) Grammatical works, as +pandektai+, mentioned by Gell. xiii. 9, 2.

For his system of shorthand, cf. Sueton. p. 136 R., 'Romae primus Tullius Tiro, Ciceronis libertus, commentatus est notas, sed tantum praepositionum.'

T. POMPONIUS ATTICUS (B.C. 109-32).

Author of (1) _Annalis_, a chronological table of the chief events in Roman and foreign history, accompanied by genealogies (Nepos, _Att._ 18, 1). As it was Cicero's _De Re Publica_ that suggested its composition (Cic. _Brut._ 19), its date cannot be earlier than B.C. 54. (2) Family histories, _e.g._ of the Iunii (Nepos, _Att._ 18, 3), published separately. (3) _De Imaginibus_, a collection of inscriptions in verse for the busts of celebrated men (Nepos, _Att._ 18, 5). (4) _De Consulatu Ciceronis_, in Greek (Nepos, _Att._ 18, 6), written B.C. 60 (Cic. _ad Att._ ii. 1, 1).

Atticus is an interesting figure on account of the large publishing business which he conducted (Nepos, _Att._ 13, 3); and the great care with which he sought out good MSS. to reproduce in his establishment makes him important in the history of the preservation of ancient literature.

M. TERENTIUS VARRO.

(1) LIFE.

M. Terentius Varro was born B.C. 116 at Reate in the Sabine country.

Jerome yr. Abr. 1901, 'M. Terentius Varro philosophus et poeta nascitur.' Symmachus, _Ep._ i. 2, calls him 'Terentius Reatinus'; and he owned property in that district: _R.R._ ii. praef. 6, 'ipse pecuarias habui grandes, in Apulia oviarias, et in Reatino equarias.'

Of his family nothing is known except that he had an uncle belonging to the equestrian order (Plin. _N.H._ vii. 176). His philosophical education was received at Athens, where he was a disciple of Antiochus of Ascalon: Cic. _Ac. Post._ 12, 'Aristum Athenis [Brutus] audivit aliquamdiu, cuius tu [Varro] fratrem Antiochum.'

He took part in the war with Sertorius in Spain, B.C. 76 (Sall. _Hist._ ii. fr. 69). In the war with the pirates, B.C. 67, he was one of Pompeius' lieutenants, and received a _corona navalis_ for his services. Varro _R.R._ ii. praef. 7, 'cum piratico bello inter Delum et Ciliciam Graeciae classibus praeessem.' Plin. _N.H._ vii. 115, '[Varroni] Magnus Pompeius piratico ex bello navalem [coronam] dedit.' Probably he was also with Pompeius in the war with Mithradates (Plin. _N.H._ xxxiii. 136, xxxvii. 11; knowledge of the Caspian, vi. 38). To the coalition of Pompeius, Caesar, and Crassus he was originally hostile, going so far as to write one of his satires, +Trikaranos+, against them (Appian _B.C._