# Stories from Aulus Gellius Being Selections And Adaptations From The Noctes Atticae

## xxxiv. 1): to have continued his studies at Athens, where he lived on

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terms of familiarity with Herodes Atticus, Calvisius Taurus, Peregrinus Proteus, and other famous philosophers of that day: and after the lapse of many years to have returned to Rome, and devoted the remaining years of his life to literary pursuits and the society of a large circle of friends. The dates of his birth and death are unknown, but from the names of his teachers and friends it is certain that he lived during the reigns of Hadrian, Antoninus Pius, and Marcus Aurelius, 117-180 A.D.

The only work of A. Gellius that has reached us, possibly the only one that he wrote, is the “Noctes Atticae,” so called because it was begun during the long nights of winter in a country house in Attica (_longinquis per hiemen noctibus in agro terrae Atticae_). It consists of numerous extracts from Greek and Roman writers on subjects connected with history, philosophy, philology, and antiquities, illustrated by abundant criticisms and discussions. These extracts are thrown together without any attempt at order or arrangement, and divided into twenty books. He had been accustomed whilst reading, he says, to make notes upon anything which struck him as worth remembering. These notes he embodied with little change in his work, in the same haphazard order in which they had been made (_usi autem sumus ordine rerum fortuito quem antea in excerpendo feceramus_).

Naturally the various parts of such a ‘Miscellany’ vary greatly in quality. Some portions of it are highly valuable and interesting. For instance, many quotations are preserved from ancient authors whose works have perished, some of which throw light upon questions of constitutional and antiquarian interest, which would otherwise have remained obscure; many literary and historical anecdotes are given which are valuable in themselves; and some important grammatical usages and theories are noted. But the author’s appetite was omnivorous. He is as eager to tell the story of a marvellous African serpent, 120 feet in length, whose destruction required the utmost efforts of a whole Roman army, with their _ballistae_ and _catapultae_ (_magna totius exercitus conflictione, ballistis atque catapultis diu oppugnatum._ --_N. A._ vii. 3), or to discuss some absurd etymology, such as that of _avarus_ from _avidus aeris_, as to preserve some really valuable detail of senatorial procedure, or record the use and origin of obscure constitutional phrases. His own criticisms, moreover, are as a rule worthless, and his translations are feeble; but in spite of all these defects his work is exceedingly interesting, and we could ill afford to lose it.

His Latin style shows the defects of his age, an age in which the Romans had ceased to feel the full meaning of the words which they used, and endeavoured to gain emphasis by employing obscure phrases and unnatural turns of expression. But these peculiarities are even more noticeable in the writings of his contemporaries.

STORIES FROM AULUS GELLIUS.

I. VERGIL AND HIS POEMS.

_Vergil, who spent much labour in polishing his verses, used to compare himself to a bear, which licks its cubs into shape._

Dicebat P. Vergilius, ut amici eius familiaresque ferunt, se parere versus more ursino. “Namque ut illa bestia” inquit, “fetum edit informem lambendoque postea conformat et fingit, sic ingenii quoque mei partus primum rudes et inperfecti sunt, sed tractando corrigendoque reddo iis oris et vultus liniamenta.” {6}

II. MENANDER AND PHILEMON.

_The poet Menander, meeting his successful rival Philemon, asked him if he did not feel ashamed to defeat him._

Menander a Philemone, nequaquam pari scriptore, in certaminibus comoediarum ambitu gratiâque saepenumero vincebatur. Ei forte obviam factus est Menander, et “Quaeso” inquit, “Philemo, bonâ veniâ dic mihi, cum me vincis, nonne erubescis?” {5}

III. THE PALM TREE.

_The palm has been made the emblem of victory, because its wood does not yield, when heavy weights are placed upon it._

Rem hercle mirandam Aristoteles et Plutarchus dicunt. “Si super palmae arboris lignum” inquiunt “magna pondera imponis, non deorsum palma cedit nec intra flectitur, sed adversus pondus resurgit et sursum recurvatur; propterea in certaminibus palma signum victoriae facta est, quoniam urgentibus opprimentibusque non cedit.” {7}

IV. SOCRATES AND HIS WIFE.

_Socrates, when asked why he endured his quarrelsome wife, replied that to bear her temper was good discipline._

Xanthippe, Socratis philosophi uxor, admodum morosa et litigiosa fuisse fertur, irisque muliebribus per diem perque noctem scatebat. Quam rem in maritum Socraten Alcibiades demiratus, “Cur mulierem” inquit “tam acerbam domo non exigis?” “Quoniam,” respondit Socrates, “cum illam domi talem perpetior, insuesco et exerceor, ut ceterorum quoque foris petulantiam et iniuriam facilius feram.” {8}

V. THE SELF-DISCIPLINE OF SOCRATES.

_Socrates used to train himself to bear fatigue by standing motionless for twenty-four hours at a time. His health was always perfect._

Inter labores voluntarios corporis firmandi causâ id quoque accepimus Socraten facere insuevisse: stabat per diem perque noctem a lucis ortu ad solem alterum orientem immobilis, iisdem in vestigiis, et ore atque oculis eundem in locum directis, cogitans, tamquam quodam secessu mentis atque animi facto a corpore. {7}

Temperantiâ quoque tantâ fuisse traditus est, ut omnem fere vitam valitudine integrâ vixerit. In eâ etiam pestilentiâ, quae in belli Peloponnensiaci principiis Atheniensium civitatem depopulata est, dicitur vigorem corporis retinuisse. {12}

VI. ALEXANDER AND BUCEPHALAS.

_How Alexander obtained his famous charger Bucephalas, how it saved his life in battle, and how the King showed his gratitude._

Equus Alexandri regis nomine Bucephalas fuit. Emptum Chares scripsit talentis tredecim et regi Philippo donatum; hoc autem aeris nostri summa est sestertia trecenta duodecim. De hoc equo haec memoriâ digna accepimus. {5} Ubi ornatus erat armatusque ad proelium, haud umquam inscendi sese ab alio, nisi ab rege passus est. Bello Indico cum insidens in eo Alexander facinora faceret fortia, in hostium cuneum, non satis sibi providens, inmisit. Coniectis undique in Alexandrum telis, vulneribus altis in cervice atque in latere equus perfossus est. {11} Moribundus tamen ac prope iam exanguis e mediis hostibus regem citato cursu retulit atque, ubi eum extra tela extulerat, ilico concidit et, domini iam superstitis securus, animam expiravit. Tum rex Alexander, partâ eius belli victoriâ, oppidum in iisdem locis condidit idque ob equi honores Bucephalon appellavit. {17}

VII. ALCIBIADES AND THE PIPES.

_Alcibiades, when a boy, refused to learn to play the pipes, because they distorted the player’s mouth._

Alcibiades Atheniensis apud avunculum Periclen educatus est, qui artibus ac disciplinis liberalibus puerum docendum curavit. Inter alios magistros tibicinem arcessi iussit, ut eum canere tibiis doceret, quod honestissimum tum videbatur. Traditas sibi tibias Alcibiades ad os adhibuit inflavitque; sed ubi oris deformitatem vidit, abiecit infregitque. Cum ea res percrebuisset, omnium tum Atheniensium consensu disciplina tibiis canendi desita est. {9}

VIII. FABRICIUS AND THE SAMNITE GOLD.

_Fabricius refused rich presents, which the Samnites offered him, saying that, while he retained command over his senses, he had all that he needed._

Legati a Samnitibus ad C. Fabricium, imperatorem populi Romani, venerunt et, memoratis multis magnisque rebus, quae bene post redditam pacem Samnitibus fecisset, dono grandem pecuniam obtulerunt. “Quae facimus” Samnites inquiunt, “quod multa ad splendorem domus atque victus defieri videmus.” {6} Tum Fabricius manus ab auribus ad oculos et infra deinceps ad nares et ad os et ad gulam deduxit, et legatis ita respondit: “Dum his omnibus membris, quae attigi, imperare possum, numquam quicquam mihi deerit; quamobrem hanc pecuniam, quâ nihil mihi est usus, a vobis, qui eâ uti scitis, non accipio.” {12}

IX. HANNIBAL’S JEST.

_Antiochus, proud of his army, asked Hannibal if they were ‘enough for the Romans.’ ‘Quite enough,’ replied Hannibal, ‘however greedy the Romans are.’_

Antiochus ostendebat Hannibali in campo copias ingentis, quas bellum populo Romano facturus comparaverat, convertebatque exercitum insignibus argenteis et aureis micantem; inducebat etiam currus cum falcibus et elephantos cum turribus equitatumque frenis, ephippiis, monilibus, phaleris fulgentem. {6} Atque ibi rex Hannibalem aspicit et “Putasne” inquit “satis esse Romanis haec omnia?” Tum Poenus, eludens ignaviam militum eius tam pretiose armatorum, “Satis, plane satis esse credo Romanis haec omnia, etiamsi avarissimi sunt.” {11}

X. THE DEATH OF MILO.

_Milo, when enfeebled by age, tried to tear a tree open, but the wood closed on his hands and he perished miserably._

Milo Crotoniensis, athleta inlustris, exitum habuit e vita miserandum et mirandum. Cum iam natu grandis artem athleticam desisset iterque faceret forte solus in locis Italiae silvestribus, quercum vidit proxime viam rimis in parte mediâ hiantem. {5} Tum experiri etiam tunc volens, an ullae sibi vires adessent, inmissis in cavernas arboris digitis, diducere et rescindere quercum conatus est. Ac mediam quidem partem discidit divellitque; quercus autem in duas diducta partis, cum ille manus laxasset, rediit in naturam, manibusque eius retentis inclusisque dilacerandum hominem feris praebuit. {12}

XI. A HOAX:--THE STORY OF PAPIRIUS PRAETEXTATUS.

_The young Papirius, pressed by his mother to reveal the secret proceedings of the Senate, told her that they had debated whether it was better for one husband to have two wives, or one wife two husbands._

Mos antea senatoribus Romae fuit, in curiam cum praetextatis filiis introire. Forte res maior quaepiam consultata et in diem posterum prolata est, placuitque ut eam rem ne quis enuntiaret, priusquam decreta esset. Sed mater Papirii pueri, qui cum patre suo in curiâ fuerat, percontata est filium, quidnam in senatu patres egissent. {7} Puer respondit tacendum esse neque id dici licere. Mulier autem fit audiendi cupidior, ac tandem puer matre urgente lepidi mendacii consilium capit. Actum in senatu dixit, utrum videretur utilius exque republicâ esse, unusne ut duas uxores haberet, an ut una duobus nupta esset. {12}

XII. THE RESULT OF THE HOAX.

_The consternation of the Roman Matrons, the bewilderment of the Senators, the confession of Papirius, and the reward for his discretion._

Ubi illa hoc audivit, domo trepidans egreditur, ad ceteras matronas se adfert. Pervenit ad senatum postridie matrum familias caterva. Lacrimantes atque obsecrantes orant, ut una potius duobus nupta fieret quam ut duae uni. Senatores in curiam ingredientes mirabantur, quae illa mulierum insania et quid sibi postulatio istaec vellet. {7} Puer Papirius in medium curiae progressus, quid mater audire institisset, quid ipse matri dixisset, denarrat. Senatus fidem atque ingenium pueri laudat et consultum facit, uti posthac pueri cum patribus in curiam ne introeant, praeter illum unum Papirium, cui postea cognomen honoris gratiâ datum “Praetextatus.” {13}

XIII. SERTORIUS.

_The extraordinary influence that Sertorius exercised over the minds of his soldiers, and the means by which he maintained this influence._

Sertorius, vir acer egregiusque dux, et utendi et regendi exercitus peritus fuit. Is in temporibus difficillimis et mentiebatur ad milites, si mendacium prodesset, et litteras compositas pro veris legebat, et somnium simulabat, et falsas religiones conferebat, si quid istae res eum apud militum animos adiuvabant. {6} Haec hominum barbarorum credulitas Sertorio in magnis rebus magno usui fuit. Memoria prodita est, neminem umquam ex his nationibus, quae cum Sertorio faciebant, cum multis proeliis superatus esset, ab eo descivisse, quamquam id genus hominum esset mobilissimum. {12}

XIV. SERTORIUS AND THE DOE.

_Sertorius pretended that divine revelations were made to him through a white doe. This doe once ran away, but was soon found again. The use which Sertorius made of this incident._

Huic Sertorio cerva alba eximiae pulchritudinis et celeritatis a Lusitano quodam dono data est. Hanc persuasit omnibus, oblatam sibi divinitus et instinctam Dianae numine, conloqui secum et monere et docere, quae utilia factu essent, ac, si quid durius videbatur, quod imperandum militibus foret, a cervâ sese monitum praedicabat. {7} Id cum dixerat, universi, tamquam si deo, libentes ei parebant. Ea cerva quodam die, cum incursio hostium esset nuntiata, tumultu consternata in fugam se proripuit atque in palude proximâ delituit, et postea requisita periisse credita est. Neque multis diebus post inventam esse cervam Sertorio nuntiatur. {12} Tum eum qui nuntiaverat iussit tacere ac, ne cui palam diceret, interminatus est praecepitque, ut eam postero die repente in eum locum, in quo ipse cum amicis esset, inmitteret. {16} Admissis deinde amicis postridie, cervam ait, quae periisset, visam esse in quiete ad se reverti et, ut prius consuerat, quod opus esset facto praedicere; tum servo quod imperaverat significat, cerva emissa in cubiculum Sertorii introrupit, clamor factus et orta admiratio est. {21}

XV. TARQUIN AND THE SIBYLLINE BOOKS.

_A Sibyl offered to sell King Tarquin nine books for a large sum. On his scornful refusal she burnt three, and offered the remaining six for the same sum, but he again refused. She burnt three more and offered the remaining three for the same sum: these the King bought and deposited in the ‘Sacristy.’_

In antiquis annalibus haec memoria de libris Sibyllinis prodita est: Anus hospita atque incognita ad Tarquinium Superbum regem adiit, novem libros ferens, quos divina oracula esse dicebat; eos velle vendere. Tarquinius pretium percontatus est. Mulier nimium atque inmensum poposcit: rex, quasi anus aetate desiperet, derisit. {7} Tum illa foculum coram cum igni apponit, tris libros ex novem deurit et, ecquid reliquos sex eodem pretio emere vellet, regem interrogavit. Sed enim Tarquinius id multo magis risit, dixitque anum iam procul dubio delirare. Mulier ibidem statim tris alios libros exussit atque id ipsum denuo placide rogat, ut tris reliquos eodem illo pretio emat. {14} Tarquinius ore iam serio atque attentiore animo fit, eam constantiam confidentiamque non contemnendam intellegit, libros tris reliquos mercatur nihilo minore pretio, quam quod erat petitum pro omnibus. Sed ea mulier tunc a Tarquinio digressa postea nusquam loci visa est. Libri tres, in sacrarium conditi, “Sibyllini” appellati; ad eos quasi ad oraculum quindecimviri adeunt, cum di immortales publice consulendi sunt. {22}

XVI. SCIPIO AFRICANUS IMPEACHED: HIS ANSWER.

_Scipio was accused of having received bribes from Antiochus. Scorning to answer such a charge, he reminded the people that this was the anniversary of his great victory at Zama, and called upon them to follow him to the Capitol and there return thanks to the gods._

M. Naevius tribunus plebis accusavit Scipionem ad populum, dixitque eum accepisse a rege Antiocho pecuniam, ut condicionibus mollibus pax cum eo populi Romani nomine fieret, et quaedam item alia indigna tali viro addidit. Tum Scipio pauca praefatus, quae dignitas vitae suae atque gloria postulabat, {6} “Memoriâ” inquit, “Quirites, repeto, diem esse hodiernum, quo Hannibalem Poenum, imperio vestro inimicissimum, magno proelio in terrâ Africâ vici, pacemque et victoriam vobis peperi praeclaram. Non igitur simus adversum deos ingrati et, censeo, relinquamus nebulonem hunc, eamus hinc protinus Iovi optimo maximo gratulatum.” {13} Id cum dixisset, avertit et ire ad Capitolium coepit. Tum contio universa, quae ad sententiam de Scipione ferendam convenerat, relicto tribuno Scipionem in Capitolium comitata, atque inde ad aedes eius cum laetitiâ et gratulatione sollemni prosecuta est. {18}

XVII. SCIPIO AFRICANUS: ANOTHER IMPEACHMENT.

_Scipio on another occasion was accused of embezzling the money paid by Antiochus as a war indemnity: he answered the charge by tearing his accounts in pieces before the eyes of the Senators._

Item aliud est factum eius praeclarum. Petilii quidam tribuni plebis a M., ut aiunt, Catone, inimico Scipionis, comparati in eum atque inmissi, desiderabant in senatu, ut pecuniae Antiochinae praedaeque in eo bello captae rationem redderet: fuerat enim L. Scipioni Asiatico, fratri suo, imperatori in eâ provinciâ legatus. {7} Ibi Scipio exurgit et, prolato e sinu togae libro, rationes in eo scriptas esse dixit omnis pecuniae omnisque praedae; allatum, ut palam recitaretur et ad aerarium deferretur. “Sed enim id iam non faciam” inquit, “nec me ipse afficiam contumeliâ,” eumque librum statim coram discidit suis manibus, aegre passus, quod, cui salus imperii ac reipublicae accepta referri deberet, ab eo ratio praedae posceretur. {14}

XVIII. SCIPIO AFRICANUS AND THE GODS.

_Scipio believed that he was a special favourite of the gods: before entering on any important work he used to spend hours of quiet meditation in the temple on the Capitol. A story is given showing his power of foreseeing the future._

Id etiam dicere haut piget, quod ii, qui de vitâ et rebus Africani scripserunt, litteris mandaverunt. Solitus est noctis extremo ante primam lucem in Capitolium ventitare ac iubere aperiri cellam Iovis, atque ibi solus diu demorari, quasi consultans de republicâ cum Iove. {6} Aeditumi eius templi saepe admirati, quod in eum solum id temporis in Capitolium ingredientem canes, semper in alios saevientes, neque latrarent neque incurrerent. Has volgi de Scipione opiniones confirmare atque approbare videbantur dicta factaque eius pleraque admiranda. Ex quibus est unum huiuscemodi. {12} Assidebat oppugnabatque oppidum in Hispaniâ situm, moenibus defensoribusque validum et munitum, re etiam cibariâ copiosum, nullaque eius potiundi spes erat. Quodam die ius in castris sedens dicebat, atque ex eo loco id oppidum procul visebatur. {17} Tum quispiam e militibus, qui in iure apud eum stabant, interrogavit ex more, in quem diem locumque vadimonium promitti iuberet: et Scipio manum ad ipsam oppidi, quod obsidebatur, arcem protendens, perendie sese sistere illo in loco iussit. Atque ita factum: die tertio, in quem vadari iusserat, oppidum captum est eodemque eo die in arce eius oppidi ius dixit. {24}

XIX. DUTY AND FRIENDSHIP.

_How a man, when trying a friend who was guilty, succeeded in reconciling the claims of duty and of friendship, by himself voting for condemnation, but persuading his fellow iudices to vote for acquittal._

Super amici capite iudex cum duobus aliis fui. Ita lex fuit, uti eum hominem condemnari necesse esset. Aut amico igitur caput perdendum aut adhibenda fraus legi fuit. Multa cum animo meo ad casum tam ancipitem medendum consultavi; tandem hoc, quod feci, visum est optimum. Ipse tacitus ad condemnandum sententiam tuli, iis qui simul iudicabant, ut absolverent, persuasi. Sic mihi et iudicis et amici officium in re tantâ salvum fuit. {9}

XX. AVOID OBSOLETE LANGUAGE.

_Favorinus rebuked a young man, who affected the use of archaic language, by telling him to hold his tongue altogether if he did not wish to be understood: if he admired the purity of the good old times he should imitate their ways, not their words._

Favorinus philosophus adulescenti, veterum verborum cupidissimo et plerasque voces nimis priscas et ignotas in cotidianis sermonibus expromenti, “Curius” inquit “et Fabricius et Coruncanius, antiquissimi viri, et his antiquiores Horatii illi trigemini plane ac dilucide cum suis locuti sunt, neque Auruncorum aut Sicanorum aut Pelasgorum, qui primi coluisse Italiam dicuntur, sed aetatis suae verbis usi sunt; {8} tu autem, proinde quasi cum matre Euandri nunc loquare, sermone abhinc multis annis iam desito uteris, quod neminem vis scire atque intellegere quae dicas. Nonne, homo inepte, ut quod vis abunde consequaris, taces? {12} Sed antiquitatem tibi placere ais, quod honesta et bona et sobria et modesta sit. Vive ergo moribus praeteritis, loquere verbis praesentibus: atque id, quod a C. Caesare scriptum est, habe semper in memoriâ atque in pectore, ut tamquam scopulum sic fugias insolens verbum.” {18}

XXI. TORQUATUS AND THE GAUL:--THE CHALLENGE.

_In one of the struggles between the Romans and the Gauls in 361 B.C. a gigantic Gaul challenged the Romans to send out a champion to meet him: all held back except the young T. Manlius._

Titus Manlius summo loco natus fuit. Ei cognomen factum est Torquatus. Causa cognomenti fuisse dicitur torquis, quam ex hoste, quem occiderat, detractam induit. Quis hostis fuerit et qualis pugna ita accepimus. {5}

Galli contra Romanos pugnabant, cum interim Gallus quidam nudus praeter scutum et gladios duos, torque atque armillis decoratus, qui et viribus et magnitudine et adulescentiâ et virtute ceteros praestabat, processit et manu significare coepit utrisque, ut quiescerent. Extemplo silentio facto voce maximâ conclamat, si quis secum depugnare vellet, uti prodiret. {12} Nemo audebat propter magnitudinem atque inmanem faciem. Deinde Gallus inridere coepit atque linguam exertare. Doluit Titus Manlius, tantum flagitium civitati adcidere, e tanto exercitu neminem prodire. Processit ipse scuto pedestri et gladio Hispanico cinctus et contra Gallum constitit. {18}

XXII. TORQUATUS AND THE GAUL:--THE BATTLE.

_In the struggle which followed Manlius disconcerted the Gaul by suddenly with his shield dashing him back from his posture of defence; he then came to close quarters with the Gaul, and slew him. He put on his own neck the necklace which the Gaul had worn; hence he was named Torquatus. This same Manlius executed his son for disobeying orders and slaying an enemy who had challenged him._

Metu magno ea congressio in ipso ponte, utroque exercitu inspectante, facta est. Constitit Gallus suâ disciplinâ scuto proiecto cunctabundus; Manlius, animo magis quam arte confisus, scuto scutum percussit atque statum Galli conturbavit. {5} Dum se Gallus iterum eodem pacto constituere studet, Manlius iterum scuto scutum percutit atque de loco hominem iterum deiecit; eo pacto ei sub Gallicum gladium successit atque Hispanico pectus hausit; deinde continuo umerum dextrum incidit neque recessit usquam, donec subvertit. Ubi eum evertit, caput praecidit, torquem detraxit eamque sanguinulentam sibi in collum inponit. Quo ex facto ipse posterique eius Torquati sunt cognominati. {13}

Ab hoc Tito Manlio imperia et aspera et immitia Manlia dicta sunt, quoniam postea, cum bello adversum Latinos esset consul, filium suum securi percussit, qui speculatum ab eo missus, pugnâ interdictâ, hostem, a quo provocatus fuerat, occiderat. {18}

XXIII. VALERIUS CORVINUS:--THE ORIGIN OF HIS NAME.

_On another occasion the young Valerius accepted the challenge of a gigantic Gaul. During the fight a raven aided the Roman by attacking his enemy with its talons; thus helped Valerius slew the Gaul, and received the name of Corvinus._

Copiae Gallorum ingentes agrum Pomptinum insederant instruebanturque acies a consulibus. Dux interea Gallorum, vastâ proceritate armisque auro praefulgentibus, manu telum vibrans incedebat perque contemptum et superbiam circumspicit despicitque omnia, et venire iubet et congredi, si quis pugnare secum ex omni Romano exercitu auderet. {7} Tum Valerius adulescens, tribunus iam militaris, ceteris inter metum pudoremque ambiguis, impetrat a consulibus, ut in Gallum pugnare sese permitterent, et progreditur intrepidus obviam. Et congrediuntur et consistunt et conserebantur iam manus. {12} Atque ibi vis quaedam divina fit: corvus repente advolat et super galeam tribuni insistit atque inde in adversarii os atque oculos pugnare incipit, eius manum unguibus laniabat atque, ubi satis saevierat, revolabat in galeam tribuni. Sic tribunus, spectante utroque exercitu, et suâ virtute nixus et operâ, alitis adiutus, ducem hostium ferocissimum vicit interfecitque, atque ob hanc causam cognomen habuit Corvinum. {20}

Statuam Corvino isti divus Augustus in foro suo statuendam curavit. In eius statuae capite corvi simulacrum est, rei pugnaeque, quam diximus, monimentum.

XXIV. AESOP.

_Aesop in his fables gives good advice in a pleasant way, and hence men attend to him. An instance of this is his fable of the lark, which has been put into verse by Ennius._

Aesopus ille e Phrygia fabularum scriptor haud inmerito sapiens existimatus est; quae enim utilia monitu suasuque erant, non severe praecepit, ut philosophis mos est, sed hilares iucundosque apologos commentus, in mentes hominum cum audiendi quâdam inlecebrâ induit. {6} Velut haec eius fabula de parvae avis nidulo lepide praemonet spem fiduciamque rerum, quas efficere quis possit, haut umquam in alio, sed in semetipso habendam. Hunc Aesopi apologum Q. Ennius in satiris versibus quadratis composuit, quorum duo postremi hi sunt: {11}

Hóc erit tibi árgumentum sémper in promptú situm, Né quid expectés amicos, quód tute agere póssies. {13}

XXV. A FABLE OF AESOP:--THE LARK AND THE REAPERS.

_A certain lark found the corn, in which it had built, ripe for cutting before its young were fledged. It therefore ordered them to report anything unusual which might happen in its absence. The first day they announced that the master had been to the field and had sent to ask his friends to help him to reap the corn. On hearing this the mother said that there was no immediate need for them to leave the field._

Avis est parva, nomen est cassita. Habitat in segetibus, id ferme temporis ut appetat messis pullis iam iam plumantibus. Ea cassita in sementes forte congesserat tempestiviores; propterea frumentis flavescentibus pulli etiam tunc inplumes erant. {5} Dum igitur ipsa iret cibum pullis quaesitum, monet eos, ut, si quid ibi rei novae fieret dicereturve, animadverterent idque sibi, ubi rediisset, nuntiarent. Dominus postea segetum illarum filium adulescentem vocat et “Videsne” inquit “haec maturuisse et manus iam postulare? idcirco cras, ubi primum dilucescit, fac amicos eas et roges, ut veniant operamque mutuam dent et in hac messi nos adiuvent.” {13} Haec ubi ille dixit, et discessit. Atque ubi redit cassita, pulli tremibundi orare matrem, ut iam statim properet inque alium locum sese asportet: “Nam dominus” inquiunt “misit, qui amicos roget, uti luce oriente veniant et metant.” Mater iubet eos otioso animo esse: “Si enim dominus” inquit “messim ad amicos reiicit, cras seges non metetur, neque necesse est hodie uti vos auferam.” {20}

XXVI. THE LARK AND THE REAPERS (_Continued_).

_Next day the young ones reported that the master, finding his friends had not come, had sent to ask the aid of his relations. The mother still tells them to be in no fear, and next day again goes out to seek food. This time the young ones report that the master, finding his relations lingered, had determined to cut the corn himself. On hearing this the mother announces that they must go at once._

Die postero mater in pabulum volat. Dominus, quos rogaverat, opperitur. Sol fervit, et fit nihil; it dies, et amici nulli eunt. Tum ille rursum ad filium “Amici isti” inquit “cessatores sunt. Quin potius imus et cognatos adfinesque nostros oramus, ut adsint cras ad metendum?” {6} Itidem hoc pulli pavefacti matri nuntiant. Mater hortatur, ut tum quoque sine metu ac sine curâ sint; cognatos adfinesque nullos ferme tam faciles esse ait, ut ad laborem capessendum nihil cunctentur et statim dicto oboediant: “Vos modo” inquit “advertite, si modo quid denuo dicetur.” Aliâ luce ortâ avis in pastum profecta est. {12} Cognati et adfines operam, quam dare rogati sunt, neglexerunt. Ad postremum igitur dominus filio “Valeant” inquit “amici cum propinquis. Afferes primâ luce falces duas; unam egomet mihi et tu tibi capies alteram et frumentum nosmetipsi manibus nostris cras metemus.” {17} Id ubi ex pullis dixisse dominum mater audivit, “Tempus” inquit “est cedendi et abeundi; fiet nunc dubio procul quod futurum dixit. In ipso enim iam vertitur cuia res est, non in alio, unde petitur.” Atque ita cassita e nido migravit, seges a domino demessa est. {23}

XXVII. PYRRUS AND FABRICIUS.

_A friend of King Pyrrus came to the Roman general Fabricius and offered to poison the King for a bribe. Fabricius reported the matter to the Senate, who warned Pyrrus to be on his guard. Pyrrus showed his gratitude by sending back all the Roman prisoners._

Cum Pyrrus rex in terrâ Italiâ esset et unam atque alteram pugnas prospere pugnasset et pleraque Italia ad regem descivisset, tum Ambraciensis quispiam Timochares, regis Pyrri amicus, ad C. Fabricium consulem furtim venit ac praemium petivit et, si de praemio conveniret, promisit se regem venenis necaturum; idque facile esse factu dixit, quoniam filius suus pocula in convivio regi ministraret. {8} Eam rem Fabricius ad senatum scripsit. Senatus ad regem legatos misit mandavitque, ut de Timochare nihil proderent, sed monerent, uti rex cautius ageret atque a proximorum insidiis salutem tutaretur. Quamobrem Pyrrus populo Romano laudes atque gratias scripsisse dicitur captivosque omnes, quos tum habuit, vestivisse et reddidisse. {15}

XXVIII. ANDROCLUS AND THE LION: SCENE IN THE CIRCUS.

_At the games in the Circus a lion of gigantic size was seen to fawn upon one of the condemned slaves exposed in the arena._

In circo maximo venationis pugna populo dabatur. Multae ibi ferae, sed praeter alia omnia leo corpore vasto terrificoque fremitu et sonoro animos oculosque omnium in sese converterat. Introductus erat inter compluris ceteros ad pugnam bestiarum datos servus viri consularis; ei servo Androclus nomen fuit. {6} Hunc ille leo ubi vidit procul, repente quasi admirans stetit ac deinde sensim atque placide, tamquam familiaris, ad hominem accedit. Tum caudam more adulantium canum blande movet cruraque et manus hominis, prope iam exanimati metu, linguâ leniter demulcet. {11} Homo Androclus inter illa tam atrocis ferae blandimenta amissum animum recuperat, paulatim oculos ad contuendum leonem refert. Tum quasi mutuâ recognitione factâ laetos et gratulantes videres hominem et leonem. {16}

XXIX. ANDROCLUS AND THE LION:--THE SLAVE’S STORY.

_When questioned by the Emperor the slave explained that he had fled from his master into the African desert, that he had by accident taken refuge in this lion’s cave, and, when the lion had returned to its home lame, he had extracted a thorn from its foot._

Haec tam mira res maximos populi clamores excitat et Caesar Androclum vocat quaeritque causam, cur illi uni atrocissimus leo pepercisset. Ibi Androclus rem mirificam atque admirandam narrat. {4} “Cum provinciam” inquit “Africam proconsulari imperio meus dominus obtineret, ego ibi iniquis eius et cotidianis verberibus ad fugam sum coactus et, quo mihi a domino, terrae illius praeside, tutiores latebrae forent, in locos desertos et remotos concessi ac, si defuisset cibus, consilium fuit mortem aliquo pacto quaerere. {10} Tum die medio sole flagrante specum quemdam nanctus remotum latebrosumque, in eum me recondo. Neque multo post ad eundem specum venit hic leo, debili uno et cruento pede, gemitus edens et murmura ob dolorem cruciatumque vulneris. {15} Atque illic primo quidem conspectu advenientis leonis territus et pavefactus sum; sed postquam introgressus leo videt me procul delitescentem, mitis et mansuetus accessit et sublatum pedem ostendere mihi et porrigere quasi opis petendae gratiâ visus est. {20} Ibi ego stirpem ingentem, vestigio pedis eius haerentem, revelli conceptamque saniem volnere intimo expressi et sine magnâ iam formidine siccavi penitus atque detersi cruorem. Illâ tunc meâ operâ levatus, pede in manibus meis posito, recubuit et quievit.” {25}

XXX. ANDROCLUS AND THE LION:--THE SLAVE’S STORY (_continued_).

_For three years he and the lion had lived together. At last he had grown weary of the savage life, but as soon as he had returned to the haunts of men he had been captured, condemned, and sent to Rome to be exposed to the wild beasts in the circus. Androclus was pardoned and the lion was given to him._

“Ex eo die triennium totum ego et leo in eodem specu eodemque et victu viximus. Nam, quas venabatur feras, membra opimiora ad specum mihi ferebat, quae ego, ignis copiam non habens, meridiano sole torrens edebam. {5} Sed ubi me vitae illius ferinae iam pertaesum est, leone in venatum profecto, reliqui specum et, viam ferme tridui permensus, a militibus visus adprehensusque sum et ad dominum ex Africâ Romam deductus. Is me statim rei capitalis damnandum dandumque ad bestias curavit. Intellego autem” inquit “hunc quoque leonem me tunc separato captum, gratiam mihi nunc beneficii et medicinae referre.” {13}

Haec dixit Androclus; quae cum scripta essent circumlataque populo et declarata, cunctis petentibus dimissus Androclus et poenâ solutus et leone suffragiis populi donatus. Postea Androclus et leo, loro tenui revinctus, urbe totâ circum tabernas ibat: donatus est aere Androclus, floribus sparsus est leo, omnesque ubique obvii exclamant, “Hic est leo hospes hominis, hic est homo medicus leonis.” {21}

XXXI. THE ACTOR POLUS.

_Polus, having to act the part of Electra soon after his only son had died, appeared on the stage holding the urn which contained the remains of his son, and over this he wept the tears of real grief._

Histrio in terrâ Graeciâ fuit famâ celebri, cui nomen erat Polus. Is unice amatum filium morte amisit, sed ubi cum satis visus est luxisse, rediit ad quaestum artis. {4}

Eo tempore Athenis Electram Sophoclis acturus, gestare urnam quasi cum Oresti ossibus debebat. Ita compositum fabulae argumentum est ut, veluti fratris reliquias ferens, Electra comploret interitum eius existimatum. {9} Igitur Polus, lugubri habitu Electrae indutus, ossa atque urnam e sepulcro tulit filii et, quasi Oresti amplexus, opplevit omnia non simulacris sed luctu atque lamentis veris. Itaque cum agi fabula videretur, dolor actus est. {13}

XXXII. A GREEK ORATOR IS BRIBED, AND GLORIES IN HIS SHAME.

_A Greek orator--some say Demosthenes, others Demades--at first opposed a request of the Milesians for aid, but took a bribe to withdraw his opposition. When the matter was again discussed he announced that he was suffering from an inflamed throat, and so could not speak. He afterwards openly boasted that he had been paid to hold his tongue._

Legati Mileto auxilii petendi causâ venerunt Athenas. Tum qui pro sese verba facerent advocaverunt; hi, uti erat mandatum, verba pro Milesiis ad populum fecerunt, sed Demosthenes Milesiorum postulatis acriter respondit; neque Milesios auxilio dignos neque ex republicâ id esse contendit. Res tandem in posterum diem prolata est. {7} Tum legati ad Demosthenen venerunt oraveruntque, uti contra ne diceret. Is pecuniam petivit et quantam petiverat abstulit. Postridie, cum res agi denuo coepta esset, Demosthenes, lanâ multâ collum circumvolutus, ad populum prodit et dixit se synanchen pati; eo contra Milesios loqui non quire. Tum e populo quidam exclamavit, non synanchen eum pati sed argyranchen. {14}

Ipse etiam Demosthenes non id postea celavit, quin gloriae quoque hoc sibi adsignavit. Nam cum interrogasset Aristodemum, actorem fabularum, quantum mercedis, uti ageret, accepisset, et Aristodemus talentum respondisset, “At ego plus” inquit “accepi, ut tacerem.” {20}

Quod hic diximus de Demosthene, id nonnulli scriptores in Demaden contulerunt. {22}

XXXIII. CICERO.

_Cicero once borrowed money to buy a house, but afterwards denied that he had ever taken the money or had intended to purchase the property. He did buy the house, and, when reminded of what he had said, replied that a prudent man always concealed his intended purchases._

Cicero cum emere vellet in Palatio domum neque pecuniam in praesens haberet, a P. Sulla, qui tum reus erat, mutua sestertium viciens tacita accepit. Ea res tamen, priusquam emeret, prodita est et in vulgus exivit, obiectumque ei est, quod pecuniam domus emendae causâ a reo accepisset. {6} Tum Cicero inopinatâ obprobratione permotus accepisse se negavit ac domum quoque se empturum negavit. Sed cum postea emisset et hoc mendacium in senatu ei ab amicis obiiceretur, risit satis atque inter ridendum: “ἀκοινονόητοι” inquit “homines estis, cum ignoratis prudentis et cauti patrisfamilias esse, quod emere velit, empturum sese negare propter competitores emptionis.” {13}

XXXIV. FIRES AT ROME:--A REMEDY.

_“Property in Rome,” said a friend, “would be worth far more if the risk from fire were not so great.” “Archelaus,” replied Julianus, “preserved his defensive outworks from fire by covering them with alum.”_

Declamaverat Antonius Iulianus rhetor quam felicissime, eumque nos familiares eius circumfusi undique prosequebamur domum, cum subeuntes montem Cispium conspicimus insulam quandam multis, arduisque tabulatis editam, igni occupatam et propinqua iam omnia flagrare vasto incendio. {6} Tum quispiam ibi ex comitibus Iuliani, “Magni” inquit “reditus urbanorum praediorum, sed pericula sunt longe maxima. Si quid autem posset remedii fore, ut ne tam adsidue domus Romae arderent, venum hercle dedissem res rusticas et urbicas emissem.” Atque illi Iulianus “Si annalem” inquit “undevicensimum Q. Claudi legisses, docuisset te profecto Archelaus, regis Mitridati praefectus, quo remedio ignem defenderes. {14} In eo enim libro scriptum inveni, cum obpugnaret L. Sulla in terrâ Atticâ Piraeum et contra Archelaus regis Mitridati praefectus ex eo oppido propugnaret, turrim ligneam defendendi gratiâ structam, cum ex omni latere circumplexa igni foret, ardere non quisse, quod alumine ab Archelao oblita fuisset.” {20}

XXXV. ARION AND THE DOLPHIN.

1. THE ROBBERY.

_Arion, having gained much money in Italy and Sicily, took ship to return to Corinth, but was robbed and made to leap overboard by the sailors._

Vetus et nobilis cantor Arion fuit. Is oppido Methymnaeus, terrâ Lesbius fuit. Eum Arionem rex Corinthi Periander amicum habuit artis gratiâ. Is inde a rege proficiscitur, ut terras praeclaras Siciliam atque Italiam viseret. Ubi eo venit aures omnium mentesque in utriusque terrae urbibus delectavit, et postea grandem pecuniam adeptus Corinthum instituit redire. {8} Navem igitur et navitas, ut notiores amicioresque sibi, Corinthios delegit. Sed ei Corinthii, homine accepto navique in altum provectâ, praedae pecuniaeque cupidi, consilium de necando Arione ceperunt. Tum ille pecuniam ceteraque sua eis dedit vitam modo sibi ut parcerent oravit. {13} Navitae per vim suis manibus eum non necaverunt, sed imperaverunt, ut iam statim coram desiliret praeceps in mare. Homo ibi territus, spe omni vitae perditâ, id unum postea oravit, ut, priusquam mortem obpeteret, induere permitterent sua sibi omnia et fides capere et canere carmen. {19} Quod oraverat impetrat, atque ibi mox de more cinctus, amictus, ornatus stansque in summâ puppi, carmen, quod “orthium” dicitur, voce sublatissimâ cantavit. Ad postrema cantus cum fidibus ornatuque omni, sicut stabat canebatque, iecit sese procul in profundum. {24}

XXXVI. ARION AND THE DOLPHIN.

2. THE RESCUE.

_A dolphin carried him safely to Taenarum; thence he travelled to Corinth, and told his adventure to the King. The sailors on their arrival were confronted by Arion and convicted of their crime._

Navitae, hautquaquam dubitantes, quin periisset, cursum, quem facere coeperant, tenuerunt. Sed novum et mirum et pium facinus contigit. Delphinus repente inter undas adnavit, fluitantique sese homini subdidit, et dorso super fluctus edito vectavit incolumique eum corpore et ornatu Taenarum in terram Laconicam devexit. {7} Tum Arion prorsus ex eo loco Corinthum petivit talemque Periandro regi, qualis delphino vectus fuerat, inopinanti sese optulit, eique rem, sicuti acciderat, narravit. Rex istaec parum credidit, Arionem, quasi falleret, custodiri iussit, navitas inquisitos, ablegato Arione, dissimulanter interrogavit, ecquid audissent in his locis, unde venissent, de Arione? {14} Dixerunt hominem, cum inde irent, in terrâ Italiâ fuisse et illic bene agere. Tum inter haec eorum verba Arion cum fidibus et indumentis, cum quibus se in salum deiecerat, extitit, navitaeque stupefacti convictique ire infitias non quiverunt. Hanc fabulam dicunt Lesbii et Corinthii, atque fabulae argumentum est quod simulacra duo aenea ad Taenarum visuntur, delphinus vehens et homo insidens. {21}

XXXVII. THE THRACIAN HUSBANDMAN.

_A Thracian having heard that trees required cutting and pruning, proceeded to chop the tops off his vines and olives, and thus in his ignorance destroyed all his property._

Homo Thracus ex ultimâ barbariâ ruris colendi insolens, cum in terras cultiores migrasset, fundum mercatus est oleo atque vino consitum. Qui nihil admodum de vite aut arbore colendâ sciret, videt forte vicinum rubos alte atque late obortas excidentem, fraxinos ad summum prope verticem deputantem, suboles vitium e radicibus super terram fusas revellentem, stolones in pomis aut in oleis proceros amputantem; {9} acceditque prope et cur tantam ligni atque frondium caedem faceret, percontatus est. Et vicinus ita respondit: “Ut ager” inquit “mundus purusque fiat, eius arbor atque vitis fecundior.” {12} Discedit ille a vicino gratias agens et laetus, tamquam adeptus rei rusticae disciplinam. Tum falcem ac securim capit; atque ibi homo miser imperitus vites suas sibi omnis et oleas detruncat, comasque arborum laetissimas uberrimosque vitium palmites decidit, et virgulta simul omnia, pomis gignendis felicia, cum sentibus et rubis purgandi agri gratiâ convellit. {19}

XXXVIII. MITRIDATES.

_Mitridates by the use of antidotes made himself proof against poisons: hence when he wished to kill himself he had to use his sword. He could speak perfectly the languages of the twenty-two nations over which he ruled._

Mitridates ille Ponti rex medicinae rei et remediorum sollers erat, quorum adsiduo usu a clandestinis epularum insidiis cavebat; quin et ultro ostentandi gratiâ venenum rapidum et velox saepenumero hausit, atque id tamen sine noxâ fuit. Quamobrem postea, cum proelio victus in ultima regni refugisset et mori decrevisset, venena festinandae necis causâ frustra expertus, suo se ipse gladio transegit. {8}

Quintus Ennius tria corda sese habere dicebat, quod loqui Graece et Osce et Latine sciret. Mitridates autem duarum et viginti gentium, quas sub dicione habuit, linguas percalluit, earumque omnium gentium viris haut umquam per interpretem conlocutus est, sed linguâ et oratione cuiusque, non minus scite quam si gentis eius esset, locutus est. {15}

XXXIX. THE PHILOSOPHER AND HIS PUPIL.

_Euathlus agreed to pay Protagoras a certain sum of money on the day when he won his first case. He never undertook one, so at last Protagoras brought an action against him to recover the money. “You are in this dilemma,” said the philosopher: “if you lose this action, the court will award me the money; if you win it, you will have won your first case, and will owe me the fee according to our agreement.” “Nay,” replied the pupil, “if I win the action, I shall owe you nothing according to the sentence of the court; if I lose, I shall owe you nothing according to our agreement.”_

Euathlus, adulescens dives, eloquentiae discendae causarumque orandi cupidus fuit. Is in disciplinam Protagorae sese dedit daturumque promisit mercedem grandem pecuniam, quantam Protagoras petiverat, dimidiumque eius dedit iam tunc pepigitque, ut reliquum dimidium daret, quo primo die causam apud iudices orasset et vicisset. {7} Postea cum diu auditor Protagorae fuisset, causas tamen non reciperet, tempusque iam longum transcurreret et facere id videretur, ne relicum mercedis daret, capit consilium Protagoras, ut tum existimabat, astutum: petere institit ex pacto mercedem, litem cum Euathlo contestatur. {12}

Cum ad iudices venissent, tum Protagoras sic exorsus est: “Disce,” inquit “stultissime adulescens, utroque id modo fore, uti reddas quod peto, sive contra te pronuntiatum erit sive pro te. Nam, si contra te lis data erit, merces mihi ex sententiâ debebitur, quia ego vicero; sin vero secundum te iudicatum erit, merces mihi ex pacto debebitur, quia tu viceris.” {20}

Ad ea respondit Euathlus: “Disce igitur tu quoque, magister sapientissime, utroque modo fore, uti non reddam quod petis, sive contra me pronuntiatum fuerit sive pro me. Nam, si iudices pro causâ meâ senserint, nihil tibi ex sententiâ debebitur, quia ego vicero; sin contra me pronuntiaverint, nihil tibi ex pacto debebo, quia non vicero.” {27}

Tum iudices hoc inexplicabile esse rati, causam in diem longissimam distulerunt. Sic ab adulescente discipulo magister doctissimus suo ipse argumento confutatus est. {31}

XL. ROMAN RESPECT FOR AN OATH; THE STORY OF THE TEN CAPTIVES.

_Hannibal after the battle of Cannae sent ten captives to Rome to propose an exchange of prisoners, but bound the ten by an oath to return, if the Senate did not accept his offer. The Senate rejected it, and eight out of the ten returned, but two, yielding to the entreaties of their friends, and alleging that they had by a trick freed themselves from the obligation of the oath, remained behind. These two were treated with such scorn that they found life unbearable and committed suicide._

Post proelium Cannense Hannibal ex captivis nostris electos decem Romam misit, mandavitque eis pactusque est, ut, si populo Romano videretur, permutatio fieret captivorum et pro his, quos alteri plures acciperent, darent argenti pondo libram et selibram. Hoc, priusquam proficiscerentur, iusiurandum eos adegit, redituros esse in castra Poenica, si Romani captivos non permutarent. {8}

Veniunt Romam decem captivi. Mandatum Poeni imperatoris in senatu exponunt. Permutatio senatui non placet. Parentes, cognati adfinesque captivorum amplexi eos postliminio in patriam redisse dicebant, statumque eorum integrum incolumemque esse, ac, ne ad hostes redire vellent, orabant. {14} Tum octo ex his postliminium iustum non esse sibi responderunt, quoniam iure iurando vincti forent, statimque, uti iurati erant, ad Hannibalem profecti sunt. {17} Duo reliqui Romae manserunt solutosque se esse ac liberatos religione dicebant, quoniam, cum egressi castra hostium fuissent, commenticio consilio, tamquam ob aliquam fortuitam causam, eodem regressi sunt, atque ita rursum iniurati abissent. {22} Haec eorum fraudulenta calliditas tam esse turpis existimata est, ut contempti vulgo sint censoresque eos postea omnibus ignominiae notis adfecerint. {25}

Multis autem in senatu placuit, ut datis custodibus ad Hannibalem deducerentur, sed ea sententia numero plurium, quibus id non videretur, superata. Usque adeo tamen invisi erant, ut taedio vitae necem sibi conscivissent. {30}

NOTES.

I.

1. +P. Vergilius Maro+, the greatest of Roman epic poets, was born 70 B.C. near Mantua, in the N. of Italy, and died 19 B.C. at Brundusium, in the S.E. of Italy. His chief works were the _Būcŏlĭcă_ (βου-κολέω, I tend cattle), or _Eclŏgae_ (‘Selections,’ from ἐκ-λέγω, I choose out), a series of short poems, chiefly pastoral; the _Gĕorgĭcă_ (γῆ ἔργον), a poetical treatise on agriculture; and the _Aenēïs_, or story of Aenēas, a poem in twelve books, relating the adventures of Aeneas after the fall of Troy.

2. +se parere versus+, ‘that he produced his verses like a bear,’ lit. ‘in a bear-like manner.’

+părĕre+, from _părio_. Distinguish three words, (1) _păro, -avi, -atum, -are_, ‘I prepare,’ (2) _pāreo, -ui, -itum, -ēre_, ‘I obey,’ gov. dat. case, (3) _părio, pĕpĕri, partum_, or _parĭtum, -ĕre_, ‘I bring forth.’

3. +lambendo+, abl. of the gerund, ‘by licking it’; so +tractando corrigendoque+, ‘by polishing and correcting them.’

5. +partus+, nom. pl., best translated by the English sing., ‘the offspring of...’

6. +reddo+, compound of +re+ and +do+. _Rĕd_ is used for _re_ in _redămo_, _redarguo_, _reddo_, _redeo_, _redhibeo_, _redigo_, _redimo_, _redoleo_, _redundo_. In composition the _re_ is short except in ... +rēligio+ (often spelt _relligio_), +rēliquiae+ (often spelt _relliquiae_), and the perfects of _rĕpello_, _rĕperio_, and _rĕfero_, viz., +rēpuli+ (or _reppuli_), +rēperi+ (or _repperi_), and +rētuli+ (or _rettuli_). +Rēfert+, the impersonal verb, ‘it concerns,’ is a compound of _res-fert_: _rĕfero_, makes 3rd sing, _rĕfert_. +Re+ or _red_ in composition has two principal meanings, (1) ‘back’ or ‘backward,’ as _redeo_, ‘I go back,’ (2) ‘again,’ as _reficio_, ‘I make again, repair.’ It also frequently denotes (3) ‘duty’ or ‘obligation,’ so _reddo_ here means ‘I give as is due,’ ‘render.’

II.

1. +Menander+ (342-291 B.C.), an Athenian comic poet, famous as the model of Roman dramatists, especially Terence.

+Philemon+, also an Athenian comic poet, the contemporary and rival of Menander.

2. +in certaminibus comoediarum+. In Athens dramas were represented at the great festivals in honour of Dionysus, at which “every citizen was present, as a matter of course, from daybreak to sunset” (Donaldson). Judges were appointed by lot to decide upon the merits of the rival plays. The successful poet was crowned with ivy, and his name was proclaimed before the audience.

+ambitus+, ‘bribery,’ from _ambio_; properly a ‘going round’ to canvass for votes, etc., especially by bribery. _Ambitio_, from the same verb, is used both in this sense and also as ‘a desire for power,’ etc., our ‘ambition.’

4. +quaeso+, used parenthetically like our ‘pray!’

+bonâ veniâ+, ‘apologizing for the question’; lit. ‘with your good leave...’ _i.e._ ‘pardon me, but...’

5. +nonne+ introduces a question expecting the answer ‘Yes,’ e.g. _nonne erubescis_, ‘do you not blush?’ +Num+ introduces a question expecting the answer ‘No,’ e.g. _num erubescis_, ‘you do not blush, do you?’ +-ne+ is used when the answer is doubtful, e.g. _erubescisne_, ‘do you blush?’

+erubesco+. The termination _-sco_ shows that the verb is inceptive or inchoative, _i.e._ denotes the beginning (_inceptum_) of an action or state. Such verbs are always of the 3rd conjugation, and form their perfects and supines (if they have supines, but in most inceptives the supine is wanting) from the simple verb or stem from which they spring, e.g. _pallesco_ (from _palleo_), _pallui_, (no supine), _pallescere_, I begin to grow pale; _vĕtĕrasco_ (from old form _vĕter_, classical _vĕtus_, _-ĕris_), _-ravi_, no sup., _veterascĕre_, ‘I grow old.’

III.

1. +Aristoteles+, the Greek philosopher, was born at Stagīra, in Macedonia, 384 B.C. He lived for twenty years at Athens, where he was a pupil of Plato; afterwards he returned to Macedonia, and became the tutor of Alexander. When Alexander succeeded to the throne, Aristotle again went to Athens and taught philosophy for 13 years in the Lyceum, a gymnasium sacred to Apollo Lyceus. He died in 322 B.C. at Chalcis in Euboea. Many of his writings upon logic, moral and political philosophy, natural history, etc., have reached us.

+Plutarchus+ was born at Chaeronea in Boeotia about 50 A.D. He came to Rome at an early age, and spent many years there and in other parts of Italy. In his old age he returned to Chaeronea, where he died at an unknown date. His works were written in Greek: the most famous of them is the _Parallel Lives_ of forty-six Greeks and Romans, arranged in pairs, a Greek and a Roman together (_e.g._ Alexander and Caesar, Demosthenes and Cicero), the life of each pair being followed by a short discussion of their comparative merits.

+hercle+ is a nominative form; the similar exclamations _mehercules_, _mehercule_, _mehercle_, _hercules_, _hercule_, and _hercle_ are all abbreviations for ‘_me Hercules juvet!_’ ‘may Hercules help me!’ Cf. the interjectional phrase, ‘_medius fidius_,’ for ‘_me deus Fidius juvet_’, ‘so help me the God of Faith!’

2. +si super ...+, the order is ‘_si imponis magna pondera super lignum palmae arboris_.’

3. +non deorsum+, the wood does not yield and bend inwards beneath the weight, but rises up against it and bends outwards.

6. +urgentibus opprimentibusque+, dat. after cedit, ‘it does not yield to....’

IV.

1. +Socrates+ was born at Athens 469 B.C. His father was a statuary, and in early life Socrates followed the same profession, but he soon abandoned it and devoted himself entirely to philosophy. He did not follow the usual custom of giving public lectures or opening a school, but went about in the city talking to men wherever he met them, and endeavouring to awake in them a love of true knowledge. By his attacks upon the popular theories and his free discussion of religious questions he roused a strong antagonism; at last he was impeached on the three charges of corrupting the Athenian youth, despising the gods of the State, and introducing new deities, and was executed by a draught of hemlock poison, 399 B.C. He left no written works, so that our knowledge of him is derived from the writings of his pupils and contemporaries, chiefly Plato and Xenophon.

3. +iris ... scatebat+, lit. ‘bubbled over with,’ ‘overflowed with ...’ Cf. Hor. _Od._ iii. 27, 26, ‘_scatentem beluis pontum_,’ ‘the ocean teeming with monsters’; and Aulus Gellius, _N. A._ l. 15, uses ‘_scatere verbis_.’

+quam rem ... demiratus+, ‘having expressed his astonishment at this fact to her husband Socrates.’

4. +Alcibiades+, 450-404 B.C., was a brilliant but unprincipled Athenian statesman, who became famous during the Peloponnesian war. He enjoyed the friendship of Socrates, was saved by Socrates at the battle of Potidaea, 432 B.C., and saved the life of Socrates at the battle of Delium, 424 B.C.

5. +ăcerbum+, _ăcer-bus_ from _ācer_, as _sŭper-bus_ from _sŭper_. Usually words retain the quantity of the word from which they are derived, but there are many exceptions, e.g. _hŏmo_ and _hūmanus_, _nōtus_ and _cog-nĭtus_, so _rex_, gen. _rēgis_, but _rĕgo_, _dux_, gen. _dŭcis_, but _dūco_.

7. +insuesco+. Cf. note on _erubesco_, ii. 5.

+exerceor+, in a middle sense, ‘I exercise myself.’ Cf. _faciunt idem, cum exercentur, athletae_ (Cic. _Tusc._ ii. 23, 56), ‘athletes do the same when they exercise themselves.’ Many Latin passives have thus a ‘middle’ force; cf. _vertor_, I turn myself; _lavor_, I wash myself; and the deponents _glorior_, I boast myself; _vescor_, I feed myself, etc.

8. +ut ... feram+, ‘so that I bear more easily.’ _Ut_ used in a consecutive sense, _i.e._ denoting the consequence or result.

V.

1. +corporis firmandi causâ+, ‘(undergone) for the sake of strengthening his body’--the gerundive attraction. Cf. note xiii. 1.

3. +ad solem alterum orientem+, ‘till the next sunrise.’ _Sol oriens_ is used for sunrise, _i.e._ the rising of the sun, as ‘_summus mons_’ for ‘the top of the mountain,’ _Caesar mortuus_ for ‘the death of Caesar,’ etc.

5. +tanquam ... facto+, lit. a certain withdrawal, as it were, of mind and feeling from the body having taken place, _i.e._ ‘mind and feeling having, as it were, left his body.’ He stood in seeming unconsciousness. _Animus_, when contrasted with _mens_, is the mind as the seat of the passions, etc.; _mens_ the higher reasoning faculty, the intellect.

9. +valitudine integra+, the abl. absolute, ‘in unimpaired health.’

_Ablative Absolute_, ‘absolute’ (_absolutus_, fr. _ab·solvo_, ‘I release’) here means ‘released’ from government by any word in the principal sentence.

The construction is one of many varieties of the adverbial ablative; _e.g._ the abl. of time, the abl. of place where, the abl. of manner, etc.; but it differs from these ablatives--

(1) In being equivalent to a complete clause, e.g. _Caesar hoc dixit, convocatis militibus_ is equivalent to _cum milites convocati essent_.

(2) Or, to express the same fact in another way, it consists of two words each in the ablative, one of which stands to the other in the relation of predicate to subject; the ‘subject’ being a substantive or pronoun, the ‘predicate’ a participle, adjective, substantive, or, more rarely, a pronoun.

_Exceptions:_ But (_a_) sometimes the subject is not expressed, and a participle is used impersonally by itself in the abl. absol.--the participle here being equivalent to a clause containing an impersonal verb, e.g. _mihi_, _errato_, _nulla venia_, ‘there is no pardon for me, if I blunder’ (_errato = si erratum erit a me_).

(_b_) Sometimes a whole clause is substituted for the abl. of the ‘subject’: e.g. _excepto quod non simul esses, cetera laetus_, ‘happy in all respects, except the fact that you were not with me’ (lit. ‘the fact that you were not with me being excepted’).

_Examples:_ (1) Subst. and participle, _Tullio regnante vixerunt_, ‘they lived whilst Tullius was king.’ (2) Subst. and adj., _Hannibale vivo Romani semper Poenos timuerunt_, ‘the Romans always feared the Carthaginians whilst Hannibal lived.’ (3) Subst. and subst., _Nil desperandum Teucro duce_, ‘there is no cause for despair whilst Teucer is our leader.’ (4) Subst. and pron., _quid hoc populo obtineri potest_, ‘what can be maintained with such a people as this?’ (5) Pron. and participle, _eis occisis ceteri domum redierunt_, ‘when those men had been slain the rest returned home.’ (6) Pron. and adj., _me invito id fecit_, ‘he did it contrary to my wishes.’ (7) Pron. and subst., _eo rege tuti erant_, ‘they were safe whilst he was king.’

_Note._--(1) The abl. absolute sometimes expresses merely time (_e.g._ _inita aestate_, ‘at the beginning of summer’), but more often attendant circumstances, or cause.

(2) The abl. absol. cannot be used when the ‘subject’ of the clause is the same as the subject or object of the principal clause. This rule is sometimes, but rarely, violated.

(3) In Greek the genitive is the absolute case: in most modern languages the nom. is thus used: but the acc. is sometimes used absolutely in German, and in Old English the accusative (representing the dative of Anglo-Saxon) was used absolutely. Milton uses both nom. and acc.: cf. “Us dispossessed,” _Par. L._, vii. 140; “I extinct,” id. ix. 994.

10. +pestilentia+, the famous plague of Athens, which raged during the second and third years of the +Peloponnesian war+. This was a war between Athens with her allies and Sparta with her allies, which lasted for 28 years, from 431 to 404 B.C., and ended in the defeat of Athens and the loss of her maritime supremacy.

VI.

1. +Alexander III+. (356-323 B.C.), surnamed the Great, ascended the throne of Macedonia on the death of his father Philip, 336 B.C. In the 13 years of his reign he conquered the greater part of Eastern Europe and Asia Minor, and marched even into Northern India and Egypt. The incident here mentioned happened in his Indian campaign. In 327 he crossed the Indus, entered the Punjaub, defeated and captured the Indian king Porus in a great battle on the banks of the Hydaspes, and founded there two towns--Bucephalon and Nicaea. He continued his progress as far as the banks of the Hyphasis, but here his wearied troops mutinied and refused to advance any further.

+Būcĕphălās+ (βουκεφάλας, βοῦς κεφαλή), ‘ox-head,’ so called from the breadth of its forehead.

2. +emptum+, ‘Chares has stated that it was bought for 13 talents.’ _talentis_, abl. of price.

+Chares+ was an officer at Alexander’s court, who wrote a series of anecdotes about the life and exploits of the king.

3. +hoc autem+, the order _is hoc est nostri aeris summa trecenta duodecim sestertia_, ‘this is in (lit. of) our money the sum (of) 312 sestertia.’ Sestertium = 1,000 sestertii, about £8 at this time. Therefore 312 sestertia = £312 x 8 = £2,496. For _sestertium_ cf. xxxiii. 2.

6. +haud unquam+, etc., ‘it never allowed itself to be mounted by any one except the king.’

8. +faceret+, subj. after _cum_.

_Cum_ (= when), like other temporal conjunctions, takes as a rule the indic. mood; but the subj. is required when the time of the _cum_ clause is regarded as depending on the time of the principal clause. This is usually the case in past time, hence the rule is that _cum_ in past time requires the imperf. or plup. subj., unless (1) it is used in a frequentative sense, _e.g._ ‘as often as’ (but later writers, _e.g._ Livy, often use the subj. even in this sense), e.g. _cum palam ejus anuli ad palmam converterat, a nullo videbatur_ (Cic. _Off._), ‘as often as he turned the bezel of that ring to his palm, he was seen by no one,’ cf. xiv. 7, _id cum dixerat_, ‘as often as he had said that’; (2) it is simply equivalent to _et tum_, e.g. _castra ibi posita, cum subito advenere Samnitium legiones_ (Livy), ‘the camp had been pitched there, when the Samnite legions suddenly arrived’; (3) the two clauses mark strictly contemporaneous events, _tum_ being often added in the principal clause to mark this fact, e.g. _vos tum paruistis cum paruit nemo_ (Cic. _p. Lig._ 7), ‘you were obedient at a time when no one (else) was obedient.’

9. +non satis sibi providens+, ‘without sufficient forethought.’

+inmisit+ used absolutely, _i.e._ without an object; this, if expressed, would be ‘_equum_,’ ‘spurred it forward against.’

11. +moribundus+. The termination _bundus_, or _cundus_, denotes fulness, e.g. _vagabundus_, ‘wandering’; _iracundus_, ‘wrathful.’ Cf. _L. Primer_, p. 58, § 70 E.

12. +e mediis hostibus+, ‘from the midst of the enemy.’ In many phrases the adj. is used in Latin where in English we use a subst. with another subst. depending on it, and _vice versa_: e.g. _summus mons_, ‘the top of the mountain’; but _animi dolor_, ‘mental pain’; cf. v. 3, _sol oriens_.

14. +domini iam superstitis securus+, ‘relieved from anxiety for its master, now safe.’ For the genitive _domini_ after _securus_, cf. _sēcūră fŭtūri_, Ovid; _sēcūrus pĕlăgi atque mei_, Verg.

VII.

1. +Alcibiades+. Cf. iv. 4. note.

+Pericles+ was a great Athenian statesman. He was born about 490 B.C. (the year of the battle of Marathon), and first took part in public affairs in 469, when Athens was beginning to develop rapidly after the Persian wars. From this time till his death in 429 he was the recognised leader of the democratic party. Under his guidance Athens became the most powerful state and the most beautiful city in Greece.

+ăvuncŭlus+ (deminutive of _ăvus_, a grandfather) is an uncle on the mother’s side--a mother’s brother; _pătruus_ (_pā̆ter_), an uncle on the father’s side--a father’s brother.

3. +puerum docendum curavit+, ‘had the boy educated.’ This use of the gerundive in a final sense, as ‘+an oblique predicate+’ with the direct object of certain transitive verbs, e.g. _curo_, _do_, _suscipio_, etc., is common in Latin writers, especially Caesar. Cf. _pontem faciendum curavit_, ‘he had a bridge made’; _agros eis habitandos dedit_, ‘he gave them lands to dwell in’; _me dandum ad bestias curavit_ (xxx.), ‘he had me given to the wild beasts.’ Cf. Note xiii. 1. iv., on the Gerundive.

4. +canere tibiis+, ‘to play on the pipes.’ Both Greeks and Romans usually played on a double pipe, composed of two instruments not unlike flageolets, joined at the mouth-piece, and spreading out in the form of a V; hence the plural _tibiae_. _Tibia_ means originally the shin bone, and then a musical instrument, pipes or flutes being at first made of bone.

VIII.

1. +C. Fabricius+ Luscīnus was one of the most popular heroes in Roman history. He was regarded as the type of the old-fashioned honest warrior, who was proof against the luxury and corruption of the rising generation. In his first consulship, 282 B.C., he defeated the Lucanians, Bruttians, and Samnites; in 280-278 B.C. he served with distinction against Pyrrus (cf. xxvii.).

The +Samnites+ were a powerful people living to the east of Rome. The Romans first came into contact with them in 343 B.C.; for 50 years there was war between the two nations; at last the Samnites were conquered, but they still maintained their love of freedom, and once more proved formidable opponents to Rome in the Social War, 90 B.C.

2. +memoratis ... rebus+, abl. absolute, ‘after mentioning the many great services which he had rendered (_rebus quae bene fecisset_) to the Samnites after the restoration of peace....’

3. +post redditam pacem+. _Pax reddita_, ‘the restoration of peace.’ Cf. _sol oriens_, ‘the rising of the sun,’ v. 3. note.

4. +dono+, as a gift, the predicative dative, or dative of purpose used as a complement. Cf. Hor. _exitio est avidum mare nautis_, ‘the greedy sea is [as] a destruction to sailors.’

11. +quâ+, abl. after _usus_, ‘for which I have no use.’

IX.

1. +Hannibal+, the famous general of the Carthaginians in the second Punic war, was born in 247 B.C. In 218 he began his march from Spain into Italy, crossed the Alps, and defeated the Romans in N. Italy on the Ticinus and the Trebia; then followed the great victories at Lake Trasimenus, 217, and Cannae, 216. In 203 Hannibal was compelled to return to Africa to oppose Scipio, who had defeated the Carthaginian troops and their ally Syphax. A decisive battle was fought at Zama, October 19th, 202, in which Scipio gained a great victory over Hannibal. In the following year peace was made. Hannibal now set to work to prepare Carthage for a fresh struggle, but his political enemies denounced his designs to the Romans, and he was compelled in 193 B.C. to take refuge at the court of +Antiochus+ the Great, King of Syria, who was on the eve of war with Rome. On the defeat of Antiochus the surrender of Hannibal was made one of the conditions of peace; but he fled to Prusias, King of Bithynia, 188 B.C. The Romans still pursued him, and sent messengers to Prusias demanding his surrender. Fearing that Prusias would be unable to resist this demand, and not knowing whither to flee to escape the vengeance of his enemies, he took poison, 183 B.C.

2. +ingentis+. The acc. pl. of _-i_ nouns of the 3rd decl. varies in the mss. between _-īs_, _-eis_, and _ēs_. All three forms seem to have been used till the Augustan age, after which period the form in _-es_ prevailed. A nom. pl. also in _-is_ and _-eis_ is found sometimes in the mss. of Plautus and Lucretius and in old inscriptions.

+populo Romano+, dat. of the ‘Remoter Object’ after _facturus_, the ‘nearer object’ being _bellum_.

4. +currus cum falcibus+. The wheels of these chariots were armed with projecting scythes or hooks, which kept the enemy at a distance, or cut them down, as the charioteers drove at full speed through their ranks. These war chariots were in use among the Assyrians, Persians, Medes, and Syrians in Asia, and in Europe among the Gauls and Britons. Some have supposed that these are the ‘chariots of iron’ referred to in the books of Joshua and Judges; but Xenophon (_Cyrop._, vi. i. 30) says that ‘scythe chariots’ were not introduced into Asia Minor till the time of Cyrus.

5. +elephantos cum turribus+, small turrets placed on the backs of the elephants, and carrying a few soldiers.

6. +frenis+. The bits were sometimes made of silver and gold, and the bridles decorated with jewels, etc.

+ephippiis+. The saddles in use among Eastern nations, the Greeks and the Romans, consisted sometimes of a mere skin or cloth, sometimes of a wooden frame, upon which padded cloth, etc., was stretched; from either side cloths hung down, often dyed with bright colours, and decorated with fringes, etc.

+monilibus+, necklets used as ornaments for horses, as well as for men and women.

+phaleris+, bosses of metal attached as ornaments to the harness of horses and the armour of men. They were sometimes hung as pendants to the horse’s saddle, and jangled loudly as it charged forward against the enemy. For these military ornaments cf. the well-known passage in Verg.,_ Aen._ vii. 276--

_Omnibus extemplo Teucris jubet ordine duci_ _Instratos ostro alipedes pictisque tapetis;_ _Aurea pectoribus demissa monilia pendent;_ _Tecti auro, fulvum mandunt sub dentibus aurum._

7. +putasne+. Cf. ii. 5. note.

8. +Poenus+ (_Poenĭcus_ or _Pūnĭcus_), properly Phoenician, but applied by Roman writers especially to the inhabitants of Carthage, which was founded about 850 B.C. by Phoenician colonists, who came probably from Tyre.

X.

1. +Milo+ was the most famous wrestler in Greece; he was six times victor in wrestling at the Olympic games and seven times at the Pythian games. Many stories are told about his great strength: he is said to have carried a heifer four years old on his shoulders through the stadium (or race course, a distance of about 40 yards), to have then killed it with a blow of his fist, and eaten the whole of it the same day. He was a pupil of the great philosopher Pythagoras, at Crotona. One day the pillar on which the roof of the school rested suddenly gave way, but Milo supported the whole weight of the building, and gave the philosopher and his disciples time to escape.

+Crotona+ was a Greek city on the S.E. coast of Italy, founded 740 B.C. by the Achaeans. It became the most important city in S. Italy, owing to its trade with the E. Mediterranean. It attained its greatest power in 510 by the defeat of its neighbour and rival Sybaris: on this occasion Milo commanded the army of Crotona.

+Crotoniensis+. Note the use of the adj. where we employ a subst. and prep., ‘Milo of Crotona’; so _pugna Cannensis_ (xl. 1.), ‘the Battle of Cannae,’ etc.

3. +artem athleticam desisset+, ‘had given up athletics.’ The acc. after _desino_ is rare, and chiefly poetical; but Cicero (_Fam._ vii. 1. 4) uses _artem desinere_.

5. +rimis in parte mediâ hiantem+, lit. ‘gaping open with cracks in the middle.’

6. +an ullae ... adessent+. _Adessent_ is the subj. after the dependent interrogative word _an_; the construction is called the Indirect or Dependent Question, _Interrogatio Obliqua_. Thus ‘who are you?’ is ‘_quis es?_’ but ‘I ask you who you are’ is ‘_interrogo quis sis_.’

+ullae+. _Quisquam_ (pronoun) and _ullus_ (adjective) are used for ‘any’ in comparative and negative sentences, in questions expecting the answer No, and in hypothetical sentences.

11. +rediit in naturam+, ‘returned to its natural (_i.e._ former) position.’

12. +feris+, dat. after _praebuit_, ‘gave the man to the beasts to tear to pieces.’ For this use of the gerundive cf. xiii. 1. note.

XI.

1. +Romae+, ‘at Rome,’ the locative case. This case, which had almost died out in classical Latin, originally ended in _-i_ for the singular and _-s_ for the plural. In some forms it still survived, viz., (1) in such words as _militiae_ (earlier _militiai_), _belli_, ‘in the field,’ ‘at the war’; _domi_, at home; _humi_, ‘on the ground’; _vesperi_ (or _-e_), ‘in the evening’; _ruri_, ‘in the country’; _luci_, ‘in the light’; and the adverbs _ubi_, ‘in which place’; _ibi_, ‘in that place,’ etc.; (2) in the names of towns--_Romae_ (earlier _Romai_), ‘at Rome’; _Tarenti_, ‘at Tarentum’; _Carthagini_ (or _Carthagine_), ‘at Carthage,’ etc.; (3) in such phrases as _animi angor_, ‘I am vexed in mind’; _maturus aevi_, ‘advanced in age,’ etc.

+Curiam+. The word Curia is connected with Cŭres, the chief town of the Sabines, and Quĭrītes (or Cŭrītes), the inhabitants of Cŭres. It originally denoted one of the 30 divisions into which the Romans and Sabines were divided when they united in one community. The word was then applied to the building used for the religious service of a Curia, and afterwards especially to the building in which the Senate met.

2. +praetextatis+, _i.e._ wearing the _toga praetexta_, a white toga with a broad purple border, worn under the Republic by the higher magistrates, by persons engaged in paying vows, and by free-born children. It is said to have been adopted from the Etruscans, and made the royal robe by Tullus Hostilius; and to have been worn with the _bulla_ by boys after the reign of Tarquinius Priscus, whose son at the age of fourteen slew an enemy with his own hand in the Sabine war, and was allowed as a reward to wear the royal robe.

+maior+, more important than usual.

4. +placuitque ut eam rem ne quis...+. ‘It was resolved that no one should mention the matter until a decision had been arrived at’ (lit. until it had been decreed).

+ut ... ne quis+, or _ne quis_, ‘that no one,’ is always used in a final sentence instead of _ut nemo_; so _ne quid_, _ne ullus_, and _ne unquam_, instead of _ut nihil_, _ut nullus_, _ut nunquam_. The indefinite pronoun _quis_ is, as a rule, used for ‘any’ or ‘some’ in relative sentences, and after _si_, _nisi_, _num_, _ne_, and _cum_; but _aliquis_ is sometimes found after _si_, more rarely after _ne_.

5. +decreta esset+. The subj. is required, because this is a dependent sentence forming part of the _Oratio Obliqua_ after _placuit_.

7. +egissent+, subj. after the dependent interrogative _quidnam_. Cf. x. 6. note. For the same reason _videretur_, line 11, is in subj.

9. +lepidi mendacii consilium capit+, ‘bethought himself of an amusing falsehood.’

10. +utrum ... unusne ... an...+. The _-ne_ is ‘pleonastic,’ _i.e._ more than is required, for the sentence would be complete without it--_utrum videretur utilius ut unus ... an (videretur utilius) ut una...._ This idiom is chiefly ante-classical (found often in Plautus), but Cicero uses it, ‘_est etiam illa distinctio, utrum illudne non videatur aegre ferendum ... an ..._’ (Cic. _Tusc._ iv. 27, 59). Translate ‘He said the Senate had discussed whether it seemed more useful and advantageous to the State that one man should have two wives, or that one woman should be married to two men.’

XII.

3. +matrum familias+, gen. plur. of _mater familias_. When _familia_ is compounded with _pater_, _mater_, _filius_, and _filia_, the old gen. sing. _famili_+as+ is usually found, but _familiae_ also is frequently used by Cicero and other writers, by Livy always. In Sallust and later writers even _patres familiarum_ is found.

4. +una potius ... duae+. The order is _ut una (uxor) nupta fieret duobus viris potius quam ut duae (uxores nuptae fierent) uni (viro)_.

6. +esset, vellet+, subj. after the dept. interrogatives _quae_ and _quid_; so +institisset+ and +dixisset+. Cf. x. 6. note.

+quid sibi postulatio istaec vellet+, ‘what that demand of theirs meant.’ _Quid sibi res vult_, ‘what does the thing mean?’ lit. ‘what does it wish for itself?’ ‘what is its object or drift?’ so _quid tibi vis_, ‘what do you mean, or want?’ and, more rarely, _quid mihi volo_, ‘what do I mean, or want?’

XIII.

1. +Sertorius+ was a Roman general, who first distinguished himself in Gaul. On the outbreak of civil war in 88 B.C. between Marius and Sulla he joined the former. At first the Sullan party were victorious, but when their leader went to the East to fight against Mitridates they were defeated, and from 87-82 the Marian party were supreme. In 83 (or, according to another writer, 82) Sertorius was sent to Spain as governor in the Marian interest. Finding himself unable to hold his ground against the Sullan generals, he crossed to Africa, and gained various successes there. The Lusitani, who inhabited the western part of the Spanish peninsula, then invited him to become their leader against the Romans. He returned with a small force of 2,600 men, one third of whom were Libyans, and then by his extraordinary influence over the natives, and his great powers of organisation, succeeded in forming an army which for years set at defiance every effort made by the generals of the Sullan party, which was now in the ascendant. In 76 Pompeius was sent to Spain with a large army to reinforce the Sullan generals, but for five years more Sertorius held his ground. At last, in 72 B.C., he was assassinated by Perperna and other of his own Roman officers, who were jealous of his power.

+et utendi et regendi exercitus+, the gerundial attraction. When an object is expressed after a gerund, the construction called the gerundial, or +gerundival attraction+ is preferred. In this construction the object is attracted (if it differs) into the case of the gerund, and the gerund, taking adjectival inflections (and then called the gerundive), is made to agree adjectivally with the object in number and gender.

Examples:--

_a._ The Acc., _praemisit milites ad Gallos insequendos_, ‘he sent the soldiers forward to pursue the Gauls.’

_b._ The Gen., _causâ urbis delendae_, ‘for the sake of destroying the city.’

_c._ The Dat., _bello gerendo me praefecistis_, ‘you placed me in command of the management of the war.’

_d._ The Abl., _in vestigiis persequendis operam consumpsi_, ‘I spent labour in following their tracks.’

The Gerundival Attraction is of course only used with transitive verbs which govern a direct object in the acc. case. The words _fungor_, _fruor_, _utor_, _vescor_, _potior_ are exceptions; they are used both in this construction and in the constructions explained in ii. and iii. below, because they were originally transitive, and governed an acc.

The +gerunds+ and +gerundives+ are the substantival and adjectival forms respectively of a participle in _-ndus_. Under the gerund are included the substantival forms in _-ndum, -ndi, -ndo_; under the gerundive the full adjectival declension in _-ndus, a, um_, etc.

+The uses of the gerund and gerundive+ may be divided under four headings.