Chapter 28

'Democritus Abderites physicus philosophus,' etc.

For views on Laberius cf. Hor. _Sat._ i, 10, 5,

'Nam sic et Laberi mimos ut pulchra poemata mirer.'

Cic. _ad Fam._ xii. 18, 2 (written B.C. 46), 'Equidem sic iam obdurui ut ludis Caesaris nostri animo aequissimo viderem T. Plancum, audirem Laberi et Publili poemata.'

Contemporaries of Laberius were the satirist Abuccius, and Egnatius, who wrote a didactic poem _de rerum natura_.

M. FURIUS BIBACULUS.

According to Jerome, Bibaculus was born B.C. 103, but, as he laughs at the old age of the grammarian Orbilius (114-c. 17 B.C.), authorities put the date twenty years later.

Jerome yr. Abr. 1914, 'M. Furius poeta cognomento Bibaculus Cremonae nascitur.'

Sueton. _Gramm._ 9, '[Orbilius] vixit prope ad centesimum aetatis annum, amissa iam pridem memoria, ut versus Bibaculi docet,

"Orbilius ubinam est, litterarum oblivio?"'

Bibaculus wrote poems against the monarchical party; these are referred to as _iambi_ by Quintilian, x. 1, 96.

Tac. _Ann._ iv. 34, 'Carmina Bibaculi et Catulli referta contumeliis Caesarum leguntur: sed ipse divus Iulius, ipse divus Augustus et tulere ista et reliquere.'

Two epics, _Aethiopis_ and _Bellum Gallicum_ (on Iulius Caesar's exploits), are probably referred to by Hor. _Sat._ i. 10, 36,

'Turgidus Alpinus iugulat dum Memnona, dumque diffingit Rheni luteum caput.'

Acron _ad loc._, 'Bibaculum quemdam poetam Gallum tangit.'

Cf. Hor. _Sat._ ii. 5, 40,

'Seu pingui tentus omaso Furius hibernas cana nive conspuet Alpes.'

Acron _ad loc._, 'Furius Bibaculus in pragmatia belli Gallici: Iuppiter hibernas,' etc.

It is probably from this epic that Macrob. _Saturn._ vi. 1, 31-4, quotes passages imitated by Virgil. So, 'Furius in primo annali "Interea Oceani linquens Aurora cubile."' (Cf. Virg. _Aen._ iv. 585.)

Bibaculus also wrote a prose work _Lucubrationes_. (Pliny _N.H._ xxiv. praef.)

CAESAR.

(1) LIFE.

The main facts of C. Iulius Caesar's life are found in a compendious form in the Life by Suetonius. The ancient authorities, who are unanimous in stating that at the time of his death (15th March, B.C. 44) Caesar was in his fifty-sixth year (Sueton. _Iul._ 88, Appian _B.C._ ii. 149, Plut. _Caes._ 69), must have placed his birth in B.C. 100. But if this date were correct Caesar must have held the various magistracies two years before the legal time--a fact nowhere mentioned, and in itself improbable; it is therefore natural to hold that he was born in B.C. 102 (Mommsen, _R.H._ iv., p. 15, note). His birthday was 12th July (Macrob. _Saturn._ i, 12, 34).

His father, C. Iulius Caesar, was praetor in B.C. 84, and died in the same year; Aurelia, his mother, took great interest in his education (Tac. _Dial._ 28). From the first Caesar was connected with the leaders of the democratic party in the State. Marius, who had married his father's sister Julia, conferred on him the office of _flamen Dialis_ before he was sixteen years of age; and his first wife was Cornelia, daughter of Cinna. His refusal to divorce her at the bidding of Sulla drew down upon him the enmity of the dictator; and he fled in disguise to the Sabine mountains, where he remained until Sulla reluctantly consented to spare his life.

Caesar obtained his first experience of military service as a member of the staff of M. Thermus, propraetor of Asia, who conferred on him the _civica corona_ for saving the life of a fellow-soldier at the siege of Mytilene. After serving for a short time under Servilius Isauricus against the pirates in Cilicia, he returned to Rome on the news of Sulla's death in 78, and in the following year commenced his career as an orator with the prosecution of Cn. Cornelius Dolabella, proconsul of Macedonia, for extortion.

Towards the end of that year Caesar left Rome for Rhodes--on his way thither being captured by pirates near Miletus--and studied for a year under the famous rhetorician Molo, taking part also in some operations on the mainland against one of the officials of Mithradates. Having been elected one of the _pontifices_ in the room of his uncle, C. Aurelius Cotta, he returned to Rome in 74, and soon became a _tribunus militum_. In the agitation for the restoration of the powers of the tribunes of the _plebs_, Caesar took a prominent part; he also supported the _Lex Aurelia_ of 70, which gave the _equites_ a share in the _iudicia_, and the _Lex Plautia_, granting an amnesty to the adherents of Lepidus and Sertorius.

The year 68 he spent as quaestor in Farther Spain, and on his return to Rome strenuously advocated the claims of the Transpadane Gauls to the Roman franchise. His first wife having died, he married Pompeia, daughter of Q. Pompeius Rufus, and granddaughter of Sulla, whom he divorced five years later on account of her alleged adultery with P. Clodius. In 67 and 66 the bills of Gabinius and Manilius, conferring extensive military powers upon Pompey, were supported by Caesar and the other leading democrats.

Whether Caesar was concerned in the abortive attempt of Catiline at revolution in 65, is a moot point. He was now aedile, and acquired great popularity by the splendid shows which he gave to the people, and by his restoration of the statue and trophies of Marius. In 64, as president of the _quaestio de sicariis_, he condemned some of the most active agents in Sulla's proscriptions. In 63 he supported the _lex agraria_ of P. Servilius Rullus, and brought about the prosecution of C. Rabirius for the murder of the tribune Saturninus. On the re-enactment of the _Lex Domitia de sacerdotiis_, Caesar was elected _pontifex maximus_. He was again suspected, probably with good ground, of complicity with Catiline's designs; he certainly proposed in the Senate that the conspirators should be punished with imprisonment instead of death. Praetor in 62, he worked in Pompey's cause by proposing that the charge of rebuilding the Capitoline temple should be transferred to him from the aristocratic champion Catulus, and by supporting the bill of the tribune Metellus Nepos for electing Pompey consul in absence. Next year Caesar was propraetor of Farther Spain, where he conquered the Lusitanians and Gallaecians, and amassed considerable wealth. His coalition with Pompey and Crassus procured for him the consulship of 59, rendered notable by the _Leges Iuliae_; and before he went out of office his position was secured by the _Lex Vatinia_, conferring on him the government of Cisalpine Gaul and Illyricum for five years, with the command of three legions; Transalpine Gaul and another legion were added by the Senate. The following nine years (58-50) were occupied with the subjugation of Gaul and the two invasions of Britain (55 and 54). At the conference at Luca, in the winter of 57-56, it was agreed that Caesar should be continued in office for a second period of five years, and be allowed to increase the number of his legions to ten. In 50, realizing the danger of his position if he returned to Rome as a private person, he was anxious to be a candidate for the consulship _in absentia_; but Pompey thwarted his plan. Caesar refused to disband his army at the bidding of the Senate, and crossed the Rubicon early in 49. Italy soon submitted; he defeated the Pompeians in Spain, captured Massilia, and secured Sicily and Sardinia. Landing in Epirus in 48, he was defeated at Dyrrhachium, and retreated to Thessaly, where he overthrew Pompey at Pharsalus. Then followed his victories over the king of Egypt in the Alexandrian war (48), Pharnaces in Asia Minor (47), the Pompeians and Juba at Thapsus (46), and C. and Sex. Pompeius at Munda (45).

He had been created dictator in 49 and 48, with the tribunician power in perpetuity; and on his return to Rome in 45 he was made consul for ten years, dictator, and _praefectus morum_, with the title of _imperator_ for life. In the intervals between his campaigns he carried out numerous reforms, including the rectification of the calendar, B.C. 46 (see p. 110). His assassination by Brutus and Cassius and the other conspirators took place on 15th March, B.C. 44.

(2) WORKS.

1. _De Bello Gallico_, in seven Books. The title used by Caesar himself was probably _Commentarii rerum suarum_ (as in Cic. _Brut._ 262, and Sueton. _Iul._ 56; cf. Strabo, iv. 1, 1 +hypomnêmata+), although this does not appear in the best MSS., which give variously _libri_, _historiae_, or _ephemeris rerum gestarum belli Gallici_.

The work describes Caesar's operations in Gaul, Germany, and Britain during the years B.C. 58-52, the events of each year occupying a separate Book. It was written and published as a whole, not in parts at the end of each year's campaign. Otherwise it is difficult to see why Cicero should not have heard of it from his brother Quintus or his friend Trebatius, both of whom were with Caesar; or why Hirtius should have spoken of the rapidity with which the work was composed (_B.G._ viii. praef. 6, 'Ceteri quam bene atque emendate, nos etiam quam facile atque celeriter eos perfecerit, scimus'). This view is corroborated by the statement of Asinius Pollio, that there were mistakes in the work due to defective memory (Sueton. _Iul._ 56, 'quae ... memoria lapsus perperam ediderit'); and by some expressions in the earlier Books pointing forward to events mentioned later (i. 28 compared with vii. 9, and iv. 21 with vii. 76).

The time of composition was probably the winter after the last campaign narrated in the Book (B.C. 52-51). It was certainly published before B.C. 46, the date of Cicero's _Brutus_, and probably before the rupture with Pompey, of whom Caesar speaks with approbation (vii. 6, 'Cum iam ille urbanas res virtute Cn. Pompei commodiorem in statum pervenisse intellegeret').

The aim of the book was twofold: (1) to provide material for professed historians: Hirt. _B.G._ viii. praef. 5, 'qui sunt editi, ne scientia tantarum rerum scriptoribus deesset'; (2) to furnish a defence of the author's own conduct--an object carefully kept in the background. It has been proved that Caesar suppressed facts which would have told against him at Rome (_e.g._ his rapacity, Sueton. _Iul._ 54), and the plausible motives which he assigns for some of his actions cannot be accepted as genuine. Cf. the criticism of Asinius Pollio, Sueton. _Iul._ 56, 'Pollio Asinius parum diligenter parumque integra veritate compositos putat, cum Caesar pleraque et quae per alios erant gesta temere crediderit, et quae per se vel consulto vel etiam memoria lapsus perperam ediderit, existimatque rescripturum et correcturum fuisse.' The style is remarkable for its brevity, directness, and the absence of ornament and emotion (Cic. _Brut._ 262, 'Nudi sunt, recti et venusti, omni ornatu orationis, tamquam veste, detracto').

Among the materials used by Caesar in writing the _Commentarii_ were his own despatches to the Senate (ii. 35, iv. 38, vii. 90) and the reports of his _legati_. Late writers speak of his +ephêmerides+ (_e.g._ Plut. _Caes._ 22), but there is no ground for supposing that he kept a regular diary. He depended to a great extent on his own memory (cf. Pollio's criticism, above).

2. _De Bello Civili_, in three Books, similar in plan to the _Bell. Gall._ Book iii. ends abruptly with an event of no great importance, and, as the death of Pompey would have formed a natural ending, we must suppose that Caesar had intended to continue the narrative with the Alexandrian, Spanish, and African wars, but was prevented from carrying out his plan. The work was published after his death, without undergoing revision (Sueton. _Iul._ 56, 'Pollio existimat rescripturum et correcturum fuisse').

_Other works in the Corpus Caesarianum._--Sueton. _Iul._ 56 says, 'Alexandrini Africique et Hispaniensis [belli] incertus auctor est. Alii Oppium putant, alii Hirtium, qui etiam Gallici belli novissimum imperfectumque librum suppleverit.'

Suetonius evidently believed that Hirtius was the author of _B.G._ viii., for he introduces a quotation from the preface to that Book with the words, 'Hirtius ita praedicat' (_ibid._). Hirtius is also mentioned in the MSS. as the author of _B.G._ viii., and there is no reason to doubt that this is the case. That he is the author of any of the others is rendered doubtful by the fact that his bad health (which lasted to November, B.C. 44) and his position as consul would leave him little time for literature between the death of Caesar (15th March, B.C. 44) and his own death at Mutina (27th April, B.C. 43). Hirtius was thus able to carry out only the first part of the plan sketched in _B.G._ viii. praef. 2, 'Caesaris nostri commentarios rerum gestarum, non cohaerentibus superioribus atque insequentibus eius scriptis, contexui, novissimumque imperfectum ab rebus gestis Alexandriae confeci usque ad exitum non quidem civilis dissensionis, cuius finem nullum videmus, sed vitae Caesaris.'

G. Landgraf, _Untersuchungen zu Caesar und seinen Fortsetzern_ (Erlangen, 1888), arrives at the following conclusions:

1. In the _Bellum Africum_ we possess the notes of Asinius Pollio, who took part in the war. That the work partook of the nature of a journal is shown by the style; _e.g._ _interim_ is used about eighty times as a connecting link, and dates and hours of the day are given carefully. Landgraf supports his position by instancing similarities of expression in the _Bell. Afr._ and in three letters from Pollio to Cicero (_ad Fam._ x. 31; 32; 33).

2. Ch. 48-64 of the _Bell. Alex._ on events in Spain in B.C. 48-7 were sent to Hirtius by Pollio, who was governor of Hispania Ulterior in B.C. 45, and as such was best acquainted with these incidents.

3. On the death of Hirtius, Pollio, on searching for his own papers (which he had lent Hirtius to help him in his work), found Hirtius' _Bell. Gall._ viii., and made some additions.

4. The _Bell. Civ._ was in Hirtius' possession unedited at his death. Hirtius evidently intended to publish it along with _B.G._ viii. The third Book had been left unfinished by Caesar, whose notes, some of which were very brief, Hirtius had extended, and filled up the gaps in the narrative. There were also some notes on the _Bell. Alex._ The _Bell. Alex._ in the narrower sense (cc. 1-33) Hirtius began with, and in the early chapters contented himself with making small additions. In the later parts are found considerable additions both by Hirtius and by Pollio. Landgraf attempts to distinguish the work of the two: cc. 34-41, on the Bellum Ponticum, being mostly by Pollio, and cc. 65-76, on the wars in Illyria and against Pharnaces, mostly by Hirtius.

5. The authorship of the _Bellum Hispaniense_, which in style is far below the _Bellum Africum_, Landgraf leaves an open question.

E. Wölfflin (_Sitzungsberichte der k. b. Akad. der Wissenschaften zu München_, 1889, pp. 323 _sqq._, and ed. of the _Bell. Afr._, 1889) holds the same views as Landgraf, and gives many instances of difference in diction between _Bell. Afr._ on the one hand, and _Gall._ viii. and _Alex._ on the other; _e.g._

_Bell. Afr._ _Bell. Gall._ viii.; _Bell. Alex._ _suppetiae_, - 7 times - never. _convallis_, - 5 " - _vallis_, 10 times. _convulnero_, - 9 " - _vulnero_ (as in Caesar). _contendo_ + infin., 20 " - never. _adorior_, - 14 " - only in _Gall._ viii. 34. _adgredior_, - never - 14 times. _grandis_, - 7 times - _magnus_. _subito_, - 22 " - never. _repente_, - never - 16 times. _postquam_, - 34 " - not in _Gall._ viii. hist. infin., - 24 " - never.

On the other hand, Widmann, _Philologus_, L. (1891), p. 565, proves that the author of the note-book worked up in the _Bell. Afr._ was an officer of the 5th legion, that Pollio was not connected with the 5th legion, and probably did not go through the whole African war, as the author clearly must have done. This, of course, also proves that Hirtius cannot have been the author.

On the whole, we think it proved that the _Bell. Afr._ was not written by the author of _B. Gall._ viii. and _B. Alex._, and that the author was not in any case Pollio. The _B. Alex._ is probably worked up from note-books written by several hands. The attempt to distinguish the work of Hirtius and another hand in _B. Gall._ viii. is against the evidence of Suetonius; and though several hands have co-operated in _B. Alex._, it is hardly possible to distinguish them precisely.

The _Bell. Hisp._ is evidently the work of an eye-witness, cf. c. 29, 'nostri ad dimicandum procedunt, id quod adversarios existimabamus esse facturos.' He is apt to be bombastic (c. 5, 'hic alternis non solum morti mortem exaggerabant, sed tumulos tumulis exaequabant'), and makes a ridiculous show of learning (quoting the combat of Achilles and Memnon, c. 25, and Ennius, c. 23, 'nostri cessere parumper'; c. 31, 'pes pede premitur, armis teruntur arma.')

(3) CAESAR'S LOST WORKS.

1. _De Analogia_, a treatise on grammar in two Books, dedicated to Cicero (Cic. _Brut._ 253) and composed in the interval between two of the campaigns in Gaul. Sueton. _Iul._ 56, 'Reliquit et de Analogia duos libros ... In transitu Alpium, cum ex citeriore Gallia conventibus peractis ad exercitum rediret ... fecit.' It supported the view that _analogia_, not _anomalia_, should be the governing principle in grammar, _i.e._ that order should be introduced into the chaos of varying usages. Gellius i. 10, 4 has a notable quotation from the first Book, 'Habe semper in memoria atque in pectore, ut tamquam scopulum sic fugias inauditum atque insolens verbum.'

2. _De Astris_, a book on astronomy, written apparently in connexion with the rectification of the calendar, B.C. 46, perhaps in Greek. Suetonius says nothing about it, but it was known to Macrobius, _Saturn._, i. 16, 39, 'Iulius Caesar ... siderum motus, de quibus non indoctos libros reliquit, ab Aegyptiis disciplinis hausit.' The _liber de computatione_ and _liber fastorum_, attributed to Caesar by the Scholiast on Lucan, x. 185, 187, may have formed part of the _De Astris_.

3. _Anticatones_, written B.C. 45, in reply to Cicero's panegyric on Cato, with flattering references to Cicero himself. Sueton. _Iul._ 56, 'Reliquit et de Analogia duos libros et Anticatones totidem. ... Sub tempus Mundensis proelii fecit.' Cicero expresses himself as highly pleased with the book, _ad Att._ xiii. 51, 'bene existimo de illis libris, ut tibi coram'; but his tone is different in _Topica_, 94, 'quibus omnibus generibus usus est nimis impudenter Caesar contra Catonem meum.'

4. _Apophthegmata_, a collection of notable sayings, probably growing out of the _Dicta Collectanea_ of Sueton. _Iul._ 56, and completed B.C. 46-5. Cic. _ad Fam._ ix. 16, 4, 'audio Caesarem, cum volumina iam confecerit +apophthegmatôn+, si quod afferatur ad eum pro meo, quod meum non sit, reicere solere.'

5. _Letters._--In the time of Suetonius, Caesar's official despatches to the Senate were extant, and also private letters to Cicero and other friends, _e.g._ his confidants Balbus and Oppius. In these a cypher was, where necessary, employed. Cf. Sueton. _Iul._ 56, and Gell. xvii. 9, 1.

6. _Speeches._--About a dozen titles of speeches are known, but only a few detached words and phrases survive. As an orator, Caesar stood in the front rank (Sueton. _Iul._ 55). For encomiums on his style see Cic. _Brut._ 252, and Quintilian, x. 1, 114, who considered him second only to Cicero, and remarkable for _vis_, _acumen_, _concitatio_, and _elegantia_. The language of Tac. _Dial._ 21 is less complimentary, 'Nisi forte quisquam aut Caesaris pro Decio Samnite aut Bruti pro Deiotaro rege ceterosque eiusdem lentitudinis ac teporis libros legit, nisi qui et carmina eorumdem miratur.'

7. _Poems._--Caesar in his youth composed a poem in praise of Hercules, and a tragedy, _Oedipus_. Plutarch (_Caes._ 2) speaks of him as reciting poems of his own composition to the pirates who took him prisoner. On his journey from Rome to Spain, B.C. 46, he wrote a descriptive poem with the title of _Iter_.

Sueton. _Iul._ 56, 'Reliquit ... poema quod inscribitur Iter ... [fecit] dum ab urbe in Hispaniam ulteriorem quarto et vicensimo die pervenit ... Feruntur et a puero et ab adulescentulo quaedam scripta, ut Laudes Herculis, tragoedia Oedipus, item Dicta Collectanea: quos omnes libellos vetuit Augustus publicari, in epistula quam brevem admodum ac simplicem ad Pompeium Macrum, cui ordinandas bibliothecas delegaverat, misit.'

Pliny the younger mentions Caesar as a love poet (_Ep._ v. 3, 5). His poetry is spoken of by Tacitus in no flattering terms, _Dial._ 21, 'fecerunt enim [Caesar et Brutus] et carmina et in bibliothecas rettulerunt, non melius quam Cicero, sed felicius, quia illos fecisse pauciores sciunt.'

The only extant lines are those on Terence (_q.v._).

C. ASINIUS POLLIO.

C. Asinius Pollio (B.C. 76-A.D. 5), governor of Farther Spain B.C. 44, consul B.C. 40, retired from public life after his Dalmatian triumph, B.C. 39. He was famous as an orator, and was the author of (1) A history of the civil wars from B.C. 60 (Hor. _Od._ ii. 1, 1 _sqq._). (2) Tragedies (Verg. _Ecl._ 8, 10; Hor. _Sat._ i. 10, 42; _Od._ ii. 1, 9 _sqq._) and love poems (Plin. _Ep._ v. 3, 5). (3) A work in which the style of Sallust was criticized (Sueton. _Gramm._ 10). His remarks on Caesar, Cicero, and Livy may be from the same book (Sueton. _Iul._ 56; Quint. xii. 1, 22; i. 5, 56).

For Pollio's style, cf. Quint. x. 1, 113, 'A nitore et iucunditate Ciceronis ita longe abest ut videri possit saeculo prior.' Pollio founded the first public library at Rome, in the _Atrium Libertatis_, B.C. 38 (Plin. _N.H._ xxxv. 10), For his intimacy with the poet Cinna, who wrote the _Propempticon Pollionis_ in his honour, see p. 142; and for his patronage of Virgil and Horace, see Verg. _Ecl._ 3, 84; 8, 6-13; Hor. _Sat._ i. 10, 42. Pollio, of course, belongs to the Augustan Age, but is mentioned here because of his connexion with the _Corpus Caesarianum_.

CORNELIUS NEPOS.

(1) LIFE.

The praenomen of Cornelius Nepos is unknown. In Pliny, _N.H._ iii. 127, he is called 'Padi adcola,' and in Pliny, _Ep._ iv. 28, 1 (to Vibius Severus), he is mentioned as a townsman of T. Catius, 'Imagines municipum tuorum, Cornelii Nepotis et T. Cati.' Now T. Catius was an Insubrian (Cic. _ad Fam._ xv. 16, 1), and as the only Insubrian town on the Padus was Ticinum, Nepos was probably born there.

There is no direct evidence as to the date of his birth but we may infer from the following facts that he was born not long before B.C. 100.

1. Jerome puts his literary activity under B.C. 40 = yr. Abr. 1977, 'Cornelius Nepos scriptor historicus clarus habetur.'

2. A son of his died B.C. 44 while a boy, and unknown to Cicero.

Cic. _ad Att._ xvi. 14, 4, 'Male narras de Nepotis filio: valde mehercule moveor et moleste fero; nescieram omnino esse istum puerum.'

3. The respect with which he looks up to Atticus, who was born B.C. 109.

4. A fragment of his _Exempla_ quoted by Pliny, _N.H._ ix. 136, regarding the changes of fashion in purple robes: 'Nepos Cornelius, qui divi Augusti principatu obiit, "Me," inquit, "iuvene violacea purpura vigebat, ... nec multo post rubra Tarentina. Huic successit dibapha Tyria... Hac P. Lentulus Spinther aedilis curulis (B.C. 63) primus in praetexta usus improbabatur. Qua purpura quis non iam," inquit, "triclinaria facit?"'

Nepos held no public office, but confined himself to literature, in which he was associated with Atticus. Their intimacy must have begun after B.C. 65, when Atticus returned to Rome from Athens, where he had lived more than twenty years.

Pliny, _Ep._ v. 3, 6, 'P. Vergilius, Cornelius Nepos ... Non quidem hi senatores.'

Nep. _Att._ 13, 7, 'Atque hoc non auditum, sed cognitum praedicamus: saepe enim propter familiaritatem domesticis rebus interfuimus.'

Nepos knew Cicero, doubtless, through Atticus, but there is no evidence that they were intimate, except Gell. xv. 28, 1, who is probably mistaken, 'Cornelius Nepos ... M. Ciceronis ut qui maxime amicus familiaris fuit.' A fragment of a letter from Cicero to Nepos is quoted by Sueton. _Iul._ 55; from Nepos to Cicero by Lactant. _inst. div._ iii. 15, 10; and Fronto (p. 20, ed. Naber) speaks of a collection of Cicero's works revised by Nepos and Atticus.

Nepos was on intimate terms with Catullus, whom, as coming from Verona, he may have known in early life. Catullus, who is mentioned by Nepos (_Att._ 12, 4), dedicated a collection of poems to him (Catull. 1). Nepos was alive in B.C. 29, in which, or the following year, he completed the life of Atticus.

As regards Nepos' character and views, Pliny, _Ep._ v. 3, 6, attributes to him _sanctitas morum_. The words of Cicero, _ad Att._ xvi. 5, 5, imply only a playful compliment, 'Et ais, "+met' amymona+." Tu vero +amymôn+, ille [Nepos] quidem +ambrotos+.'

Nepos' slight regard for philosophy is shown by a letter to Cicero quoted by Lactant. _inst. div._ iii. 15, 10, 'Tantum abest, ut ego magistram esse putem vitae philosophiam beataeque vitae perfectricem, ut nullis magis existimem opus esse magistris vivendi quam plerisque, qui in ea disputanda versantur.'

Cf. also Cic. _ad Att._ xvi. 5, 5, 'Nepotis epistulam exspecto. Cupidus ille meorum? qui ea, quibus maxime +gaurio+, legenda non putet.'

Philosophy, according to Nepos, ought to be practical.

Nep. _Att._ 17, 3, 'Nam principum philosophorum ita percepta habuit praecepta, ut his ad vitam agendam, non ad ostentationem uteretur.'

Nepos, as is shown by his works, supported government by the Senate.

(2) WORKS.

1. Erotic poems; mentioned by Pliny, _Ep._ v. 3, 6.

2. _Chronica_, in three books, embracing universal history. Catull. 1,

'Quoi dono lepidum novom libellum arida modo pumice expolitum? Corneli, tibi; namque tu solebas meas esse aliquid putare nugas iam tum, cum ausus es unus Italorum omne aevom tribus explicare chartis, doctis, Iuppiter, et laboriosis.'

It is clear, from the above, that Nepos had mentioned Catullus in the work. That the mythical period was treated of is shown by Ausonius, _Ep._ 16, 'Apologos Titiani et Nepotis chronica quasi alios apologos (nam et ipsa instar sunt fabularum) ... misi ... ad institutionem tuorum.'

From Catullus we may possibly infer that the _Chronica_ were written before B.C. 63[31]; _unus Italorum_ would imply that they were written before the similar works of Varro and Atticus.

3. _Exempla_, in at least five Books, treating of the history of Roman manners.

Gell. vi. 18, 11, 'Cornelius Nepos in libro exemplorum quinto.'

4. _Life of the elder Cato_.

Nep. _Cat._ 3, 5, 'Huius de vita et moribus plura in eo libro persecuti sumus, quem separatim de eo fecimus rogatu T. Pomponii Attici. Quare studiosos Catonis ad illud volumen delegamus.'

5. _Life of Cicero_, written after his death (B.C. 43). Gell. xv. 28, 2, 'in primo librorum, quos de vita illius composuit.'

6. _A geographical work_, referred to by Pliny, _N.H._ v. 4, etc. All the above works are lost.

7. _De Viris Illustribus_, his last work, was dedicated to Atticus (praef. i); an addition to the life of Atticus was made after his death.

_Att._ 19, 1, 'Hactenus Attico vivo edita a nobis sunt. Nunc, quoniam fortuna nos superstites ei esse voluit, reliqua persequemur.'

From _Att._ 12, 1-2, we may conclude that the publication took place between B.C. 35 and 33. The addition to the life of Atticus was written at some time between B.C. 31 and 27, as in _Att._ 19, 2, Octavian is called _imperator_, but not _Augustus_, a title which he received in the last-mentioned year.

The work contained at least sixteen Books: cf. Charis. _G.L._ i. 141 (ed. Keil), 'Cornelius Nepos illustrium virorum libro xvi.'; and was divided into sections of two Books each, the first on distinguished foreigners, the second on distinguished Romans of the same class. We possess the book _de excellentibus ducibus exterarum gentium_; from _de historicis Latinis_ the lives of Cato the Censor and Atticus, and fragments of the letters of Cornelia, mother of the Gracci. There are also mentioned the books _de regibus_ (Nep. _de reg._ 1, 1; 3, 5); _de excellentibus ducibus Romanorum_ (Nep. _Hann._ 13, 4); _de historicis Graecis_ (Nep. _Dion,_ 3, 2); _de poetis_ (Sueton. p. 31 R.); _de grammaticis_ (Sueton. p. 103 R.). The work probably dealt also with _iurisconsulti_, _oratores_, and _philosophi_. The book is biographical rather than historical, and is designed to compare foreigners with Romans, and to please, as well as instruct, those ignorant of Greek culture.

_Pel._ 1, 1, 'Vereor ... ne non vitam eius enarrare, sed historiam videar scribere.'

_Hann._ 13, 4, 'Tempus est ... Romanorum explicare imperatores, quo facilius collatis utrorumque factis, qui viri praeferendi sint, possit iudicari.'

_Pel._ 1, 1, 'Medebor cum satietati tum ignorantiae lectorum.'

_Praef._ 2, 'Hi erunt fere, qui expertes litterarum Graecarum,' etc.

Besides tradition and his own recollection, Nepos mentions the following sources: Thucydides (_Them._ 1, 4, etc.); Xenophon (_Ag._ 1, 1); Plato's _Symposium_ (_Alc._ 2, 2); Theopompus (_Alc._ 11, 1); Dinon (_Con._ 5, 4); Timaeus (_Alc._ 11, 1); Silenus, Sosilus, Polybius, Sulpicius Blitho, Atticus (_Hann._ 13, 1 and 3); the writings of Hannibal (_Hann._ 13, 2); Speeches and _Origines_ of Cato (_Cat._ 3, 2); Cicero's works, especially _Epp. ad Att._ (_Att._ 16, 3). The book contains lives of twenty Greek generals from the Persian wars to the time of Alexander's successors; a short article on Persian and Macedonian kings who were also generals; and the lives of Hamilcar and Hannibal, Cato and Atticus. The work possesses little independent value, and the following are the chief faults:

1. There are many mistakes in history and geography.

2. The biographies, and the events recorded in them, are badly arranged; eulogy is employed indiscriminately, and petty anecdotes are too frequent.

3. Important names, as Cimon and Lysander, are dismissed too briefly; others, as Atticus and Datames, are treated too fully. Many are left out altogether, as some of the leaders in the Peloponnesian war.

4. Important authorities are not used: so Herodotus, for Miltiades, Themistocles, and Pausanias. No use is made of the _Hellenica_ of Xenophon.

For views on Nepos, cf. Gell. xv. 28, 1, 'Cornelius Nepos rerum memoriae non indiligens.'

Pliny, _N.H._ v. 4, 'Portentosa Graeciae mendacia ... quaeque alia Cornelius Nepos avidissime credidit.'

Nepos is not mentioned by Quintilian in his list of Roman historians.

In the MSS. only the _Atticus_ and the _Cato_ are ascribed to Nepos, the rest being entitled _Liber Aemilii Probi de excellentibus ducibus exterarum gentium_. It has been suggested that this arose from a misapprehension of _em_(_endavi_) _Probus_. There is an epigram by this Probus in the MSS., referring to poems of his and standing after the Life of Hannibal, which informs us that he was a contemporary of Theodosius (probably Theodosius I., A.D. 379-395). That the work cannot be by him is shown by the political references, which suit only the beginning of the empire, by the mention of Atticus in the preface, and by the correspondence in style between the book and the lives of Atticus and Cato, admittedly the work of Nepos; also by the fact that L. Ampelius, who probably wrote before the time of Diocletian, used the work in his _Liber Memorialis_.

LUCRETIUS.

Our information about Lucretius' life is very scanty. Jerome yr. Abr. 1922 = B.C. 95, 'T. Lucretius poeta nascitur, qui postea amatorio poculo in furorem versus, cum aliquot libros per intervalla insaniae conscripsisset, quos postea Cicero emendavit, propria se manu interfecit anno aetatis xliiii.' (B.C. 52 or 51).

Donatus, _vit. Verg._ 2, 'Initia aetatis Cremonae egit [Vergilius] usque ad virilem togam, quam xv. anno natali suo accepit isdem illis consulibus iterum duobus quibus erat natus, evenitque ut eo ipso die Lucretius poeta decederet' (October 15).

Teuffel thinks xliiii. is wrong, and would read xlii., thus giving the dates as B.C. 96-55, as he thinks that Jerome has fixed the date of birth one year too late. Munro (vol. ii. p. 1) accepts xliiii., but thinks that Jerome (as elsewhere) is a few years wrong in the date of Lucretius' birth, and gives the dates as B.C. 99-55. It is impossible to decide as to the date of birth, but most authorities agree on B.C. 55 as the date of death, a view which is supported by the only contemporary reference to the poet: Cic. _ad Q.F._ ii. 11, 4 (written in February, B.C. 54), 'Lucreti poemata, ut scribis, ita sunt: multis luminibus ingeni, multae tamen artis; sed cum veneris. Virum te putabo, si Sallusti Empedoclea legeris, hominem non putabo.'

The above extract is given in the reading of the MSS. Some editors read _non_ before _multis_, others _non_ before _multae_, but it is best to follow the MSS. (with Tyrrell), translating "But when you come (we shall talk about it). I shall consider you a hero, if you read Sallust's _Empedoclea_; I shall not consider you a human being."

As regards Lucretius' madness, there is no absolute impossibility in the story. Munro (vol. ii. pp. 2, 3) accepts Jerome's account of Cicero's editorship; others, less probably, believe that Q. Cicero was editor. The first view is rendered probable by the high opinion Lucretius had of Cicero, as seen from the frequency with which he imitates his _Aratea_ (Munro on Lucr. v. 619), and from the knowledge Cicero shows of Lucretius' work, as in _Tusc._ i. 48.

The poet's full name is given in the MSS. as T. Lucretius Carus.

This is all the direct evidence regarding Lucretius' life.[32] The _de rerum natura_ is addressed to C. Memmius.[33] From Cic. _ad Fam._