I
reproached
my brother
severely for not recalling me; nor durst he deny the fault.
severely for not recalling me; nor durst he deny the fault.
Marcus Aurelius - Meditations
Marcus gives his nights to reading
when he ought to be sleeping. He exercises himself in verse composition
and on rhetorical themes.
'It is very nice of you,' he writes to Fronto,(1) 'to ask for my
hexameters; I would have sent them at once if I had them by me. The fact
is my secretary, Anicetus-you know who I mean-did not pack up any of my
compositions for me to take away with me. He knows my weakness; he was
afraid that if I got hold of them I might, as usual, make smoke of them.
However, there was no fear for the hexameters. I must confess the truth
to my master: I love them. I study at night, since the day is taken up
with the theatre. I am weary of an evening, and sleepy in the daylight,
and so I don't do much. Yet I have made extracts from sixty books, five
volumes of them, in these latter days. But when you read remember
that the "sixty" includes plays of Novius, and farces, and some little
speeches of Scipio; don't be too much startled at the number. You
remember your Polemon; but I pray you do not remember Horace, who has
died with Pollio as far as I am concerned. (2) Farewell, my dearest
and most affectionate friend, most distinguished consul and my beloved
master, whom I have not seen these two years. Those who say two months,
count the days. Shall I ever see you again? '
Sometimes Fronto sends him a theme to work up, as thus: 'M. Lucilius
tribune of the people violently throws into prison a free Roman citizen,
against the opinion of his colleagues who demand his release. For this
act he is branded by the censor. Analyse the case, and then take both
sides in turn, attacking and defending. '(3) Or again: 'A Roman consul,
doffing his state robe, dons the gauntlet and kills a lion amongst
the young men at the Quinquatrus in full view of the people of Rome.
Denunciation before the censors. '(4) The prince has a fair knowledge of
Greek, and quotes from Homer, Plato, Euripides, but for some reason
Fronto dissuaded him from this study. (5) His Meditations are written in
Greek. He continued his literary studies throughout his life, and after
he became emperor we still find him asking his adviser for copies of
Cicero's Letters, by which he hopes to improve his vocabulary. (6) Pronto
Helps him with a supply of similes, which, it seems, he did not think of
readily. It is to be feared that the fount of Marcus's eloquence was
pumped up by artificial means.
1 Ad M. Caes. , ii. 10.
2 He implies, as in i. 6, that he has ceased to study Horace.
3 Pollio was a grammarian, who taught Marcus.
4 Ad M. Caes. , v. 27,; V. 22.
5 Ep. Gracae, 6.
6 Ad Anton. Imp. , II. 4.
Some idea of his literary style may be gathered from the letter which
follows:(1) 'I heard Polemo declaim the other day, to say something of
things sublunary. If you ask what I thought of him, listen. He seems
to me an industrious farmer, endowed with the greatest skill, who has
cultivated a large estate for corn and vines only, and indeed with
a rich return of fine crops. But yet in that land of his there is
no Pompeian fig or Arician vegetable, no Tarentine rose, or pleasing
coppice, or thick grove, or shady plane tree; all is for use rather
than for pleasure, such as one ought rather to commend, but cares not to
love.
A pretty bold idea, is it not, and rash judgment, to pass censure on a
man of such reputation? But whenas I remember that I am writing to you,
I think I am less bold than you would have me.
'In that point I am wholly undecided.
'There's an unpremeditated hendecasyllable for you. So before I begin to
poetize, i'll take an easy with you. Farewell, my heart's desire, your
Verus's best beloved, most distinguisht consul, master most sweet.
Farewell I ever pray, sweetest soul.
What a letter do you think you have written me I could make bold to
say, that never did she who bore me and nurst me, write anything SO
delightful, so honey-sweet. And this does not come of your fine style
and eloquence: otherwise not my mother only, but all who breathe. '
1 Ad M. Caes, ii. 5.
To the pupil, never was anything on earth so fine as his master's
eloquence; on this theme Marcus fairly bubbles over with enthusiasm.
(1)'Well, if the ancient Greeks ever wrote anything like this, let those
who know decide it: for me, if I dare say so, I never read any
invective of Cato's so fine as your encomtum. O if my Lord(2) could
be sufficiently praised, sufficiently praised he would have been
undoubtedly by you! This kind of thing is not done nowadays. (3) It were
easier to match Pheidias, easier to match Apelles, easier in a word to
match Demosthenes himself, or Cato himself; than to match this finisht
and perfect work. Never have I read anything more refined, anything more
after the ancient type, anything more delicious, anything more Latin.
O happy you, to be endowed with eloquence so great! O happy I, to be
tinder the charge of such a master! O arguments,(4) O arrangement, O
elegance, O wit, O beauty, O words, O brilliancy, O subtilty, O grace,
O treatment, O everything! Mischief take me, if you ought not to have a
rod put in your hand one day, a diadem on your brow, a tribunal raised
for you; then the herald would summon us all-why do I say "us"? Would
summnon all, those scholars and orators: one by one you would beckon
them forward with your rod and admonish them. Hitherto I have had
no fear of this admonition; many things help me to enter within your
school. I write this in the utmost haste; for whenas I am sending you
so kindly a letter from my Lord, what needs a longer letter of mine?
Farewell then, glory of Roman eloquence, boast of your friends,
magnifico, most delightful man, most distinguished consul, master most
sweet.
'After this you will take care not to tell so many fibs of me,
especially in the Senate. A monstrous fine speech this is! O if 1 could
kiss your head at every heading of it! You have looked down on all with
a vengeance. This oration once read, in vain shall we study, in vain
shall we toil, in vain strain every nerve. Farewell always, most sweet
master. '
1 Ad M. Caes. , ii. 3.
2 The Emperor Antoninus Pius is spoken of as dominus vieus.
3 This sentence is written in Greek.
4 Several of these words are Greek, and the meaning is not
quite clear.
Sometimes Fronto descends from the heights of eloquence to offer
practical advice; as when he suggests how Marcus should deal with his
suite. It is more difficult, he admits, to keep courtiers in harmony
than to tame lions with a lute; but if it is to be done, it must be by
eradicating jealousy. 'Do not let your friends,' says Fronto,'(1) 'envy
each other, or think that what you give to another is filched from them.
Keep away envy from your suite, and you will find your friends kindly
and harmonious. '
Here and there we meet with allusions to his daily life, which we could
wish to be more frequent. He goes to the theatre or the law-courts,(2)
or takes part in court ceremony, but his heart is always with his
books. The vintage season, with its religious rites, was always spent by
Antoninus Pius in the country. The following letters give sonic notion
of a day's occupation at that time:(3) 'MY DEAREST MASTER,--I am well.
To-day I studied from the ninth hour of the night to the second hour of
day, after taking food. I then put on my slippers, and from time second
to the third hour had a most enjoyable walk up and down before my
chamber. Then booted and cloaked-for so we were commanded to appear-I
went to wait upon my lord the emperor. We went a-hunting, did doughty
deeds, heard a rumour that boars had been caught, but there was nothing
to see. However, we climbed a pretty steep hill, and in the afternoon
returned home. I went straight to my books. Off with the boots, down
with the cloak; I spent a couple of hours in bed. I read Cato's speech
on the Property of Pulchra, and another in which he impeaches a tribune.
Ho, ho! I hear you cry to your man, Off with you as fast as you can, and
bring me these speeches from the library of Apollo. No use to send: I
have those books with me too. You must get round the Tiberian librarian;
you will have to spend something on the matter; and when I return to
town, I shall expect to go shares with him. Well, after reading these
speeches I wrote a wretched trifle, destined for drowning or burning.
No, indeed my attempt at writing did not come off at all to-day; the
composition of a hunter or a vintager, whose shouts are echoing through
my chamber, hateful and wearisome as the law-courts. What have I said?
Yes, it was rightly said, for my master is an orator. I think I have
caught cold, whether from walking in slippers or from writing badly,
I do not know. I am always annoyed with phlegm, but to-day I seem to
snivel more than usual. Well, I will pour oil on my head and go off to
sleep. I don't mean to put one drop in my lamp to-day, so weary am I
from riding and sneezing. Farewell, dearest and most beloved master,
whom I miss, I may say, more than Rome it~dL'
1 Ad M Caes. , iv. 1.
2 ii. 14
3 iv. 5,6.
'MY BELOVED MASTER,-I am well. I slept a little more than usual for my
slight cold, which seems to be well again. So I spent the time from the
eleventh hour of the night to the third of the day partly in reading in
Cato's Agriculture, partly in writing, not quite so badly as yesterday
indeed. Then, after waiting upon my father, I soothed my throat with
honey-water, ejecting it without swallowing: I might say gargle, but I
won't, though I think the word is found in Novius and elsewhere. After
attending to my throat I went to my father, and stood by his side as he
sacrificed. Then to luncheon. What do you think I had to eat? A bit of
bread so big, while I watched others gobbling boiled beans, onions,
and fish full of roe. Then we set to work at gathering the grapes,
with plenty of sweat and shouting, and, as the quotation runs, "A few
high-hanging clusters did we leave survivors of the vintage. " After the
sixth hour we returned home. I did a little work, and poor work at that.
Then I had a long gossip with my dear mother sitting on the bed. My
conversation was: What do you think my friend Fronto is doing just now?
She said: And what do you think of my friend Gratia? '(1) My turn now:
And what of our little Gratia,(2) the sparrowkin? After this kind of
talk, and an argument as to which of you loved the other most, the gong
sounded, the signal that my father had gone to the bath. We supped,
after ablutions in the oil-cellar-I mean we supped after ablutions, not
after ablutions in the oil-cellar; and listened with enjoyment to the
rustics gibing. After returning, before turning on my side to snore, I
do my task and give an account of the day to my delightful master, whom
if I could long for a little more, I should not mind growing a trifle
thinner. Farewell, Fronto, wherever you are, honey-sweet, my darling, my
delight. Why do I want you? I can love you while far away. '
One anecdote puts Marcus before us in a new light:(3)
1 Fronto's wife.
2 Fronto's daughter
3 Ad M. Caes ii. 12.
'When my father returned home from the vineyards, I mounted my horse as
usual, and rode on ahead some little way. Well, there on the road was a
herd of sheep, standing all crowded together as though the place were
a desert, with four dogs and two shepherds, but nothing else. Then one
shepherd said to another shepherd, on seeing a number of horsemen: 'I
say,' says he, 'look you at those horsemen; they do a deal of robbery. '
When I heard this, I clap spurs to my horse, and ride straight for the
sheep. In consternation the sheep scatter; hither and thither they are
fleeting and bleating. A shepherd throws his fork, and the fork falls
on the horseman who came next to me. We make our escape. ' We like Marcus
none the worse for this spice of mischief.
Another letter(1) describes a visit to a country town, and shows the
antiquarian spirit of the writer 'M. CAESAR to his MASTER M. FRONTO,
greeting.
'After I entered the carriage, after I took leave of you, we made a
journey comfortable enough, but we had a few drops of rain to wet us.
But before coming to the country-house, we broke our journey at Anagnia,
a mile or so from the highroad. Then we inspected that ancient town, a
miniature it is, but has in it many antiquities, temples, and religious
ceremonies quite out of the way. There is not a corner without its
shrine, or fane, or temple; besides, many books written on linen, which
belongs to things sacred. Then on the gate as we came out was written
twice, as follows: "Priest don the fell. "(2) I asked one of the
inhabitants what that word was. He said it was the word in the Hernican
dialect for the victim's skin, which the priest puts over his conical
cap when he enters the city. I found out many other things which I
desired to know, but the only thing I do not desire is that you should
be absent from me; that is my chief anxiety. Now for yourself, when you
left that place, did you go to Aurelia or to Campania? Be sure to write
to me, and say whether you have opened the vintage, or carried a host of
books to the country-house; this also, whether you miss me; I am foolish
to ask it, whenas you tell it me of yourself. Now if you miss me and
if you love me, send me your letters often, which is a comfort and
consolation to me. Indeed I should prefer ten times to read your letters
than all the vines of Gaurus or the Marsians; for these Signian vines
have grapes too rank and fruit too sharp in the taste, but I prefer wine
to must for drinking. Besides, those grapes are nicer to eat dried than
fresh-ripe; I vow I would rather tread them under foot than put my teeth
in them. But I pray they may be gracious and forgiving, and grant me
free pardon for these jests of mine. Farewell, best friend, dearest,
most learned, sweetest master. When you see the must ferment in the vat,
remember that just so in my heart the longing for you is gushing and
flowing and bubbling. Good-bye. '
1 Ad Verum. Imp ii. 1, s. fin.
2 Santentum
Making all allowances for conventional exaggerations, it is clear from
the correspondence that there was deep love between Marcus and his
preceptor. The letters cover several years in succession, but soon after
the birth of Marcus's daughter, Faustina, there is a large gap. It does
not follow that the letters ceased entirely, because we know part of
the collection is lost; but there was probably less intercourse between
Marcus and Fronto after Marcus took to the study of philosophy under the
guidance of Rusticus.
When Marcus succeeded to the throne in 161, the letters begin again,
with slightly increased formality on Fronto's part, and they go on for
some four years, when Fronto, who has been continually complaining of
ill-health, appears to have died. One letter of the later period gives
some interesting particulars of the emperor's public life, which are
worth quoting. Fronto speaks of Marcus's victories and eloquence in the
usual strain of high praise, and then continues. (1) 'The army when you
took it in hand was sunk in luxury and revelry, and corrupted with long
inactivity. At Antiochia the soldiers had been Wont to applaud at the
stage plays, knew more of the gardens at the nearest restaurant than
of the battlefield. Horses were hairy from lack of grooming, horsemen
smooth because their hairs had been pulled out by the roots(2) a rare
thing it was to see a soldier with hair on arm or leg. Moreover, they
were better drest than armed; so much so, that Laelianus Pontius, a
strict man of the old discipline, broke the cuirasses of some of them
with his finger-tips, and observed cushions on the horses' backs. At his
direction the tufts were cut through, and out of the horsemen's saddles
came what appeared to be feathers pluckt from geese. Few of the men
could vault on horseback, the rest clambered up with difficulty by aid
of heel and knee and leg not many could throw a lance hurtling, most did
it without force or power, as though they were things of wool-dicing
was common in the camp, sleep lasted all night, or if they kept watch it
was over the winecup. By what regulations to restrain such soldiers as
these, and to turn them to honesty and industry, did you not learn from
Hannibal's sternness, the discipline of Africanus, the acts of Metellus
recorded in history.
1 Ad Verum. imp. , ii. I, s. fin.
2 A common mark of the effeminate at Rome.
After the preceptorial letters cease the others are concerned with
domestic events, health and sickness, visits or introductions, birth or
death. Thus the empperor writes to his old friend, who had shown some
diffidence in seeking an interview:(1)
'To MY MASTER.
'I have a serious grievance against you, my dear master, yet indeed my
grief is more than my grievance, because after so long a time I neither
embraced you nor spoke to you, though you visited the palace, and the
moment after I had left the prince my brother.
I reproached my brother
severely for not recalling me; nor durst he deny the fault. ' Fronto
again writes on one occasion: 'I have seen your daughter. It was like
seeing you and Faustina in infancy, so much that is charming her face
has taken from each of yours. ' Or again, at a later date:(2) I have seen
your chicks, most delightful sight that ever I saw in my life, so like
you that nothing is more like than the likeness. . . . By the mercy of
Heaven they have a healthy colour and strong lungs. One held a piece of
white bread, like a little prince, the other a common piece, like a true
philosophers son. '
1 Ad Verum. Imp. Aur. Caes. , i. 3.
2 Ad Ant. Imp i. , 3.
Marcus, we know, was devoted to his children. They were delicate in
health, in spite of Fronto's assurance, and only one son survived the
father. We find echoes of this affection now and again in the letters.
'We have summer heat here still,' writes Marcus, 'but since my little
girls are pretty well, if I may say so, it is like the bracing climate
of spring to us. '(1) When little Faustina came back from the valley of
the shadow of death, her father at once writes to inform Fronto. (2)
The sympathy he asks he also gives, and as old age brings more and more
infirmity, Marcus becomes even more solicitous for his beloved teacher.
The poor old man suffered a heavy blow in the death of his grandson, on
which Marcus writes:(3) 'I have just heard of your misfortune. Feeling
grieved as I do when one of your joints gives you pain, what do you
think I feel, dear master, when you have pain of mind? ' The old man's
reply, in spite of a certain self-consciousness, is full of pathos. He
recounts with pride the events of a long and upright life, in which he
has wronged no man, and lived in harmony with his friends and family.
His affectations fall away from him, as the cry of pain is forced from
his heart:--
(4)'Many such sorrows has fortune visited me with all my life long. To
pass by my other afflictions, I have lost five children under the most
pitiful conditions possible: for the five I lost one by one when each
was my only child, suffering these blows of bereavement in such a manner
that each child was born to one already bereaved. Thus I ever lost my
children without solace, and got them amidst fresh grief. . . . . '
The letter continues with reflections on the nature of death, 'more to
be rejoiced at than bewailed, the younger one dies,' and an arraignment
of Providence not without dignity, wrung from him as it were by this
last culminating misfortune. It concludes with a summing-up of his life
in protest against the blow which has fallen on his grey head.
1 Ad M. Caes. , v. 19
2 iv. 11
3 De Nepote Amissa
4 De Nepote Amissa 2
'Through my long life I have committed nothing which might bring
dishonour, or disgrace, or shame: no deed of avarice or treachery have
I done in all my day's: nay, but much generosity, much kindness, much
truth and faithfulness have I shown, often at the risk of my own life.
I have lived in amity with my good brother, whom I rejoice to see in
possession of the highest office by your father's goodness, and by your
friendship at peace and perfect rest. The offices which I have myself
obtained I never strove for by any underhand means. I have cultivated
my mind rather than my body; the pursuit of learning I have preferred to
increasing my wealth. I preferred to be poor rather than bound by any'
man's obligation, even to want rather than to beg. I have never been
extravagant in spending money, I have earned it sometimes because I
must. I have scrupulously spoken the truth, and have been glad to hear
it spoken to me. I have thought it better to be neglected than to fawn,
to be dumb than to feign, to be seldom a friend than to be often a
flatterer. 1 have sought little, deserved not little. So far as I could,
I have assisted each according to my means. I have given help readily
to the deserving, fearlessly to the undeserving. No one by proving to be
ungrateful has made me more slow to bestow promptly all benefits I could
give, nor have I ever been harsh to ingratitude. (A fragmentary passage
follows, in which he appears to speak of his desire for a peaceful
end, and the desolation of his house. ) I have suffered long and painful
sickness, my beloved Marcus. Then I was visited by pitiful misfortunes:
my wife I have lost, my grandson I have lost in Germany:(1) woe is me!
I have lost my Decimanus. If I were made of iron, at this tine I could
write no more. ' It is noteworthy that in his meditations Marcus Aurelius
mentions Fronto only once. (2) All his literary studies, his oratory and
criticism (such as it was) is forgotten; and, says he, 'Fronto taught
me not to expect natural affection from the highly-born. ' Fronto really
said more than this: that 'affection' is not a Roman quality, nor has it
a Latin name. (3) Roman or not Roman, Marcus found affection in Fronto;
and if he outgrew his master's intellectual training, he never lost
touch with the true heart of the man it is that which Fronto's name
brings up to his remembrance, not dissertations on compound verbs or
fatuous criticisms of style.
1 In the war against the Catti.
2 Book I. , 8.
3 Ad Verum, ii. 7
NOTES
THIS being neither a critical edition of the text nor an emended edition
of Casaubon's translation, it has not been thought necessary to add full
notes. Casaubon's own notes have been omitted, because for the most part
they are discursive, and not necessary to an understanding of what is
written. In those which here follow, certain emendations of his
are mentioned, which he proposes in his notes, and follows in the
translation. In addition, one or two corrections are made where he has
mistaken the Greek, and the translation might be misleading. Those which
do not come under these two heads will explain themselves.
The text itself has been prepared by a comparison of the editions of
1634 and 1635. It should be borne in mind that Casaubon's is often
rather a paraphrase than a close translation; and it did not seem worth
while to notice every variation or amplification of the original. In
the original editions all that Casauhon conceives as understood, but
not expressed, is enclosed in square brackets. These brackets are here
omitted, as they interfere with the comfort of the reader; and so have
some of the alternative renderings suggested by the translator. In a few
cases, Latin words in the text have been replaced by English.
Numbers in brackets refer to the Teubner text of Stich, but the
divisions of the text are left unaltered. For some of the references
identified I am indebted to Mr. G. H. Rendall's Marcus Aurelius.
BOOK II "Both to frequent" (4). Gr. to mh, C. conjectures to me. The
text is probably right: "I did not frequent public lectures, and I was
taught at home. "
VI Idiots. . . . philosophers (9). The reading is doubtful, but the meaning
seems to be: "simple and unlearned men"
XII "Claudius Maximus" (15). The reading of the Palatine MS. (now lost)
was paraklhsiz Maximon, which C. supposes to conceal the letters kl as
an abbreviation of Claudius.
XIII "Patient hearing. . . He would not" (16). C. translates his
conjectural reading epimonon ollan. on proapsth Stich suggests a reading
with much the same sense: . . . . . epimonon all antoi "Strict and rigid
dealing" (16). C. translates tonvn (Pal. MS. ) as though from tonoz,
in the sense of "strain. " "rigour. " The reading of other MSS. tonvn is
preferable.
XIII "Congiaries" (13). dianomais, "doles. "
XIV "Cajeta" (17). The passage is certainly corrupt. C. spies a
reference to Chryses praying by the sea-shore in the Illiad, and
supposes M. Aurelius to have done the like. None of the emendations
suggested is satisfactory. At § XV. Book II. is usually reckoned to
begin. BOOK II III. "Do, soul" (6). If the received reading be right,
it must be sarcastic; but there are several variants which show how
unsatisfactory it is. C. translates "en gar o bioz ekasty so par eanty",
which I do not understand. The sense required is: "Do not violence to
thyself, for thou hast not long to use self-respect. Life is not (v. 1.
so long for each, and this life for thee is all but done. "
X. "honour and credit do proceed" (12). The verb has dropt out of the
text, but C. has supplied one of the required meaning.
XI. "Consider," etc. (52). This verb is not in the Greek, which means:
"(And reason also shows) how man, etc. "
BOOK IV XV. "Agathos" (18): This is probably not a proper name, but the
text seems to be unsound. The meaning may be "the good man ought"
XVI. oikonomian (16) is a "practical benefit," a secondary end. XXXIX.
"For herein lieth all. . . . " (~3). C. translates his conjecture olan for
ola.
BOOK V XIV. katorqwseiz (15): Acts of "rightness" or "straightness. "
XXIII. "Roarer" (28): Gr. "tragedian. " Ed. 1 has whoremonger,' ed.
2 corrects to "harlot," but omits to alter' the word at its second
occurrence.
XXV. "Thou hast. . . them" (33): A quotation from Homer, Odyssey, iv. 690.
XXVII. "One of the poets" (33): Hesiod, Op. et Dies, 197.
XXIX and XXX. (36). The Greek appears to contain quotations from sources
not known, and the translation is a paraphrase. (One or two alterations
are here made on the authority of the second edition. ) BOOK VI XIII.
"Affected and qualified" (i4): exis, the power of cohesion shown in
things inanimate; fusiz, power of growth seen in plants and the like.
XVII. "Wonder at them" (18): i. e. mankind.
XXXVII. "Chrysippus" (42): C. refers to a passage of Plutarch De
Communibus Notitiis (c. xiv. ), where Chrysippus is represented as saying
that a coarse phrase may be vile in itself, yet have due place in a
comedy as contributing to a certain effect.
XL. "Man or men. . . " There is no hiatus in the Greek, which means:
"Whatever (is beneficial) for a man is so for other men also. "
XLII. There is no hiatus in the Greek.
BOOK VII IX. C. translates his conjecture mh for h. The Greek means
"straight, or rectified," with a play on the literal and metaphorical
meaning of ortoz.
XIV. endaimonia. contains the word daimwn in composition. XXII.
when he ought to be sleeping. He exercises himself in verse composition
and on rhetorical themes.
'It is very nice of you,' he writes to Fronto,(1) 'to ask for my
hexameters; I would have sent them at once if I had them by me. The fact
is my secretary, Anicetus-you know who I mean-did not pack up any of my
compositions for me to take away with me. He knows my weakness; he was
afraid that if I got hold of them I might, as usual, make smoke of them.
However, there was no fear for the hexameters. I must confess the truth
to my master: I love them. I study at night, since the day is taken up
with the theatre. I am weary of an evening, and sleepy in the daylight,
and so I don't do much. Yet I have made extracts from sixty books, five
volumes of them, in these latter days. But when you read remember
that the "sixty" includes plays of Novius, and farces, and some little
speeches of Scipio; don't be too much startled at the number. You
remember your Polemon; but I pray you do not remember Horace, who has
died with Pollio as far as I am concerned. (2) Farewell, my dearest
and most affectionate friend, most distinguished consul and my beloved
master, whom I have not seen these two years. Those who say two months,
count the days. Shall I ever see you again? '
Sometimes Fronto sends him a theme to work up, as thus: 'M. Lucilius
tribune of the people violently throws into prison a free Roman citizen,
against the opinion of his colleagues who demand his release. For this
act he is branded by the censor. Analyse the case, and then take both
sides in turn, attacking and defending. '(3) Or again: 'A Roman consul,
doffing his state robe, dons the gauntlet and kills a lion amongst
the young men at the Quinquatrus in full view of the people of Rome.
Denunciation before the censors. '(4) The prince has a fair knowledge of
Greek, and quotes from Homer, Plato, Euripides, but for some reason
Fronto dissuaded him from this study. (5) His Meditations are written in
Greek. He continued his literary studies throughout his life, and after
he became emperor we still find him asking his adviser for copies of
Cicero's Letters, by which he hopes to improve his vocabulary. (6) Pronto
Helps him with a supply of similes, which, it seems, he did not think of
readily. It is to be feared that the fount of Marcus's eloquence was
pumped up by artificial means.
1 Ad M. Caes. , ii. 10.
2 He implies, as in i. 6, that he has ceased to study Horace.
3 Pollio was a grammarian, who taught Marcus.
4 Ad M. Caes. , v. 27,; V. 22.
5 Ep. Gracae, 6.
6 Ad Anton. Imp. , II. 4.
Some idea of his literary style may be gathered from the letter which
follows:(1) 'I heard Polemo declaim the other day, to say something of
things sublunary. If you ask what I thought of him, listen. He seems
to me an industrious farmer, endowed with the greatest skill, who has
cultivated a large estate for corn and vines only, and indeed with
a rich return of fine crops. But yet in that land of his there is
no Pompeian fig or Arician vegetable, no Tarentine rose, or pleasing
coppice, or thick grove, or shady plane tree; all is for use rather
than for pleasure, such as one ought rather to commend, but cares not to
love.
A pretty bold idea, is it not, and rash judgment, to pass censure on a
man of such reputation? But whenas I remember that I am writing to you,
I think I am less bold than you would have me.
'In that point I am wholly undecided.
'There's an unpremeditated hendecasyllable for you. So before I begin to
poetize, i'll take an easy with you. Farewell, my heart's desire, your
Verus's best beloved, most distinguisht consul, master most sweet.
Farewell I ever pray, sweetest soul.
What a letter do you think you have written me I could make bold to
say, that never did she who bore me and nurst me, write anything SO
delightful, so honey-sweet. And this does not come of your fine style
and eloquence: otherwise not my mother only, but all who breathe. '
1 Ad M. Caes, ii. 5.
To the pupil, never was anything on earth so fine as his master's
eloquence; on this theme Marcus fairly bubbles over with enthusiasm.
(1)'Well, if the ancient Greeks ever wrote anything like this, let those
who know decide it: for me, if I dare say so, I never read any
invective of Cato's so fine as your encomtum. O if my Lord(2) could
be sufficiently praised, sufficiently praised he would have been
undoubtedly by you! This kind of thing is not done nowadays. (3) It were
easier to match Pheidias, easier to match Apelles, easier in a word to
match Demosthenes himself, or Cato himself; than to match this finisht
and perfect work. Never have I read anything more refined, anything more
after the ancient type, anything more delicious, anything more Latin.
O happy you, to be endowed with eloquence so great! O happy I, to be
tinder the charge of such a master! O arguments,(4) O arrangement, O
elegance, O wit, O beauty, O words, O brilliancy, O subtilty, O grace,
O treatment, O everything! Mischief take me, if you ought not to have a
rod put in your hand one day, a diadem on your brow, a tribunal raised
for you; then the herald would summon us all-why do I say "us"? Would
summnon all, those scholars and orators: one by one you would beckon
them forward with your rod and admonish them. Hitherto I have had
no fear of this admonition; many things help me to enter within your
school. I write this in the utmost haste; for whenas I am sending you
so kindly a letter from my Lord, what needs a longer letter of mine?
Farewell then, glory of Roman eloquence, boast of your friends,
magnifico, most delightful man, most distinguished consul, master most
sweet.
'After this you will take care not to tell so many fibs of me,
especially in the Senate. A monstrous fine speech this is! O if 1 could
kiss your head at every heading of it! You have looked down on all with
a vengeance. This oration once read, in vain shall we study, in vain
shall we toil, in vain strain every nerve. Farewell always, most sweet
master. '
1 Ad M. Caes. , ii. 3.
2 The Emperor Antoninus Pius is spoken of as dominus vieus.
3 This sentence is written in Greek.
4 Several of these words are Greek, and the meaning is not
quite clear.
Sometimes Fronto descends from the heights of eloquence to offer
practical advice; as when he suggests how Marcus should deal with his
suite. It is more difficult, he admits, to keep courtiers in harmony
than to tame lions with a lute; but if it is to be done, it must be by
eradicating jealousy. 'Do not let your friends,' says Fronto,'(1) 'envy
each other, or think that what you give to another is filched from them.
Keep away envy from your suite, and you will find your friends kindly
and harmonious. '
Here and there we meet with allusions to his daily life, which we could
wish to be more frequent. He goes to the theatre or the law-courts,(2)
or takes part in court ceremony, but his heart is always with his
books. The vintage season, with its religious rites, was always spent by
Antoninus Pius in the country. The following letters give sonic notion
of a day's occupation at that time:(3) 'MY DEAREST MASTER,--I am well.
To-day I studied from the ninth hour of the night to the second hour of
day, after taking food. I then put on my slippers, and from time second
to the third hour had a most enjoyable walk up and down before my
chamber. Then booted and cloaked-for so we were commanded to appear-I
went to wait upon my lord the emperor. We went a-hunting, did doughty
deeds, heard a rumour that boars had been caught, but there was nothing
to see. However, we climbed a pretty steep hill, and in the afternoon
returned home. I went straight to my books. Off with the boots, down
with the cloak; I spent a couple of hours in bed. I read Cato's speech
on the Property of Pulchra, and another in which he impeaches a tribune.
Ho, ho! I hear you cry to your man, Off with you as fast as you can, and
bring me these speeches from the library of Apollo. No use to send: I
have those books with me too. You must get round the Tiberian librarian;
you will have to spend something on the matter; and when I return to
town, I shall expect to go shares with him. Well, after reading these
speeches I wrote a wretched trifle, destined for drowning or burning.
No, indeed my attempt at writing did not come off at all to-day; the
composition of a hunter or a vintager, whose shouts are echoing through
my chamber, hateful and wearisome as the law-courts. What have I said?
Yes, it was rightly said, for my master is an orator. I think I have
caught cold, whether from walking in slippers or from writing badly,
I do not know. I am always annoyed with phlegm, but to-day I seem to
snivel more than usual. Well, I will pour oil on my head and go off to
sleep. I don't mean to put one drop in my lamp to-day, so weary am I
from riding and sneezing. Farewell, dearest and most beloved master,
whom I miss, I may say, more than Rome it~dL'
1 Ad M Caes. , iv. 1.
2 ii. 14
3 iv. 5,6.
'MY BELOVED MASTER,-I am well. I slept a little more than usual for my
slight cold, which seems to be well again. So I spent the time from the
eleventh hour of the night to the third of the day partly in reading in
Cato's Agriculture, partly in writing, not quite so badly as yesterday
indeed. Then, after waiting upon my father, I soothed my throat with
honey-water, ejecting it without swallowing: I might say gargle, but I
won't, though I think the word is found in Novius and elsewhere. After
attending to my throat I went to my father, and stood by his side as he
sacrificed. Then to luncheon. What do you think I had to eat? A bit of
bread so big, while I watched others gobbling boiled beans, onions,
and fish full of roe. Then we set to work at gathering the grapes,
with plenty of sweat and shouting, and, as the quotation runs, "A few
high-hanging clusters did we leave survivors of the vintage. " After the
sixth hour we returned home. I did a little work, and poor work at that.
Then I had a long gossip with my dear mother sitting on the bed. My
conversation was: What do you think my friend Fronto is doing just now?
She said: And what do you think of my friend Gratia? '(1) My turn now:
And what of our little Gratia,(2) the sparrowkin? After this kind of
talk, and an argument as to which of you loved the other most, the gong
sounded, the signal that my father had gone to the bath. We supped,
after ablutions in the oil-cellar-I mean we supped after ablutions, not
after ablutions in the oil-cellar; and listened with enjoyment to the
rustics gibing. After returning, before turning on my side to snore, I
do my task and give an account of the day to my delightful master, whom
if I could long for a little more, I should not mind growing a trifle
thinner. Farewell, Fronto, wherever you are, honey-sweet, my darling, my
delight. Why do I want you? I can love you while far away. '
One anecdote puts Marcus before us in a new light:(3)
1 Fronto's wife.
2 Fronto's daughter
3 Ad M. Caes ii. 12.
'When my father returned home from the vineyards, I mounted my horse as
usual, and rode on ahead some little way. Well, there on the road was a
herd of sheep, standing all crowded together as though the place were
a desert, with four dogs and two shepherds, but nothing else. Then one
shepherd said to another shepherd, on seeing a number of horsemen: 'I
say,' says he, 'look you at those horsemen; they do a deal of robbery. '
When I heard this, I clap spurs to my horse, and ride straight for the
sheep. In consternation the sheep scatter; hither and thither they are
fleeting and bleating. A shepherd throws his fork, and the fork falls
on the horseman who came next to me. We make our escape. ' We like Marcus
none the worse for this spice of mischief.
Another letter(1) describes a visit to a country town, and shows the
antiquarian spirit of the writer 'M. CAESAR to his MASTER M. FRONTO,
greeting.
'After I entered the carriage, after I took leave of you, we made a
journey comfortable enough, but we had a few drops of rain to wet us.
But before coming to the country-house, we broke our journey at Anagnia,
a mile or so from the highroad. Then we inspected that ancient town, a
miniature it is, but has in it many antiquities, temples, and religious
ceremonies quite out of the way. There is not a corner without its
shrine, or fane, or temple; besides, many books written on linen, which
belongs to things sacred. Then on the gate as we came out was written
twice, as follows: "Priest don the fell. "(2) I asked one of the
inhabitants what that word was. He said it was the word in the Hernican
dialect for the victim's skin, which the priest puts over his conical
cap when he enters the city. I found out many other things which I
desired to know, but the only thing I do not desire is that you should
be absent from me; that is my chief anxiety. Now for yourself, when you
left that place, did you go to Aurelia or to Campania? Be sure to write
to me, and say whether you have opened the vintage, or carried a host of
books to the country-house; this also, whether you miss me; I am foolish
to ask it, whenas you tell it me of yourself. Now if you miss me and
if you love me, send me your letters often, which is a comfort and
consolation to me. Indeed I should prefer ten times to read your letters
than all the vines of Gaurus or the Marsians; for these Signian vines
have grapes too rank and fruit too sharp in the taste, but I prefer wine
to must for drinking. Besides, those grapes are nicer to eat dried than
fresh-ripe; I vow I would rather tread them under foot than put my teeth
in them. But I pray they may be gracious and forgiving, and grant me
free pardon for these jests of mine. Farewell, best friend, dearest,
most learned, sweetest master. When you see the must ferment in the vat,
remember that just so in my heart the longing for you is gushing and
flowing and bubbling. Good-bye. '
1 Ad Verum. Imp ii. 1, s. fin.
2 Santentum
Making all allowances for conventional exaggerations, it is clear from
the correspondence that there was deep love between Marcus and his
preceptor. The letters cover several years in succession, but soon after
the birth of Marcus's daughter, Faustina, there is a large gap. It does
not follow that the letters ceased entirely, because we know part of
the collection is lost; but there was probably less intercourse between
Marcus and Fronto after Marcus took to the study of philosophy under the
guidance of Rusticus.
When Marcus succeeded to the throne in 161, the letters begin again,
with slightly increased formality on Fronto's part, and they go on for
some four years, when Fronto, who has been continually complaining of
ill-health, appears to have died. One letter of the later period gives
some interesting particulars of the emperor's public life, which are
worth quoting. Fronto speaks of Marcus's victories and eloquence in the
usual strain of high praise, and then continues. (1) 'The army when you
took it in hand was sunk in luxury and revelry, and corrupted with long
inactivity. At Antiochia the soldiers had been Wont to applaud at the
stage plays, knew more of the gardens at the nearest restaurant than
of the battlefield. Horses were hairy from lack of grooming, horsemen
smooth because their hairs had been pulled out by the roots(2) a rare
thing it was to see a soldier with hair on arm or leg. Moreover, they
were better drest than armed; so much so, that Laelianus Pontius, a
strict man of the old discipline, broke the cuirasses of some of them
with his finger-tips, and observed cushions on the horses' backs. At his
direction the tufts were cut through, and out of the horsemen's saddles
came what appeared to be feathers pluckt from geese. Few of the men
could vault on horseback, the rest clambered up with difficulty by aid
of heel and knee and leg not many could throw a lance hurtling, most did
it without force or power, as though they were things of wool-dicing
was common in the camp, sleep lasted all night, or if they kept watch it
was over the winecup. By what regulations to restrain such soldiers as
these, and to turn them to honesty and industry, did you not learn from
Hannibal's sternness, the discipline of Africanus, the acts of Metellus
recorded in history.
1 Ad Verum. imp. , ii. I, s. fin.
2 A common mark of the effeminate at Rome.
After the preceptorial letters cease the others are concerned with
domestic events, health and sickness, visits or introductions, birth or
death. Thus the empperor writes to his old friend, who had shown some
diffidence in seeking an interview:(1)
'To MY MASTER.
'I have a serious grievance against you, my dear master, yet indeed my
grief is more than my grievance, because after so long a time I neither
embraced you nor spoke to you, though you visited the palace, and the
moment after I had left the prince my brother.
I reproached my brother
severely for not recalling me; nor durst he deny the fault. ' Fronto
again writes on one occasion: 'I have seen your daughter. It was like
seeing you and Faustina in infancy, so much that is charming her face
has taken from each of yours. ' Or again, at a later date:(2) I have seen
your chicks, most delightful sight that ever I saw in my life, so like
you that nothing is more like than the likeness. . . . By the mercy of
Heaven they have a healthy colour and strong lungs. One held a piece of
white bread, like a little prince, the other a common piece, like a true
philosophers son. '
1 Ad Verum. Imp. Aur. Caes. , i. 3.
2 Ad Ant. Imp i. , 3.
Marcus, we know, was devoted to his children. They were delicate in
health, in spite of Fronto's assurance, and only one son survived the
father. We find echoes of this affection now and again in the letters.
'We have summer heat here still,' writes Marcus, 'but since my little
girls are pretty well, if I may say so, it is like the bracing climate
of spring to us. '(1) When little Faustina came back from the valley of
the shadow of death, her father at once writes to inform Fronto. (2)
The sympathy he asks he also gives, and as old age brings more and more
infirmity, Marcus becomes even more solicitous for his beloved teacher.
The poor old man suffered a heavy blow in the death of his grandson, on
which Marcus writes:(3) 'I have just heard of your misfortune. Feeling
grieved as I do when one of your joints gives you pain, what do you
think I feel, dear master, when you have pain of mind? ' The old man's
reply, in spite of a certain self-consciousness, is full of pathos. He
recounts with pride the events of a long and upright life, in which he
has wronged no man, and lived in harmony with his friends and family.
His affectations fall away from him, as the cry of pain is forced from
his heart:--
(4)'Many such sorrows has fortune visited me with all my life long. To
pass by my other afflictions, I have lost five children under the most
pitiful conditions possible: for the five I lost one by one when each
was my only child, suffering these blows of bereavement in such a manner
that each child was born to one already bereaved. Thus I ever lost my
children without solace, and got them amidst fresh grief. . . . . '
The letter continues with reflections on the nature of death, 'more to
be rejoiced at than bewailed, the younger one dies,' and an arraignment
of Providence not without dignity, wrung from him as it were by this
last culminating misfortune. It concludes with a summing-up of his life
in protest against the blow which has fallen on his grey head.
1 Ad M. Caes. , v. 19
2 iv. 11
3 De Nepote Amissa
4 De Nepote Amissa 2
'Through my long life I have committed nothing which might bring
dishonour, or disgrace, or shame: no deed of avarice or treachery have
I done in all my day's: nay, but much generosity, much kindness, much
truth and faithfulness have I shown, often at the risk of my own life.
I have lived in amity with my good brother, whom I rejoice to see in
possession of the highest office by your father's goodness, and by your
friendship at peace and perfect rest. The offices which I have myself
obtained I never strove for by any underhand means. I have cultivated
my mind rather than my body; the pursuit of learning I have preferred to
increasing my wealth. I preferred to be poor rather than bound by any'
man's obligation, even to want rather than to beg. I have never been
extravagant in spending money, I have earned it sometimes because I
must. I have scrupulously spoken the truth, and have been glad to hear
it spoken to me. I have thought it better to be neglected than to fawn,
to be dumb than to feign, to be seldom a friend than to be often a
flatterer. 1 have sought little, deserved not little. So far as I could,
I have assisted each according to my means. I have given help readily
to the deserving, fearlessly to the undeserving. No one by proving to be
ungrateful has made me more slow to bestow promptly all benefits I could
give, nor have I ever been harsh to ingratitude. (A fragmentary passage
follows, in which he appears to speak of his desire for a peaceful
end, and the desolation of his house. ) I have suffered long and painful
sickness, my beloved Marcus. Then I was visited by pitiful misfortunes:
my wife I have lost, my grandson I have lost in Germany:(1) woe is me!
I have lost my Decimanus. If I were made of iron, at this tine I could
write no more. ' It is noteworthy that in his meditations Marcus Aurelius
mentions Fronto only once. (2) All his literary studies, his oratory and
criticism (such as it was) is forgotten; and, says he, 'Fronto taught
me not to expect natural affection from the highly-born. ' Fronto really
said more than this: that 'affection' is not a Roman quality, nor has it
a Latin name. (3) Roman or not Roman, Marcus found affection in Fronto;
and if he outgrew his master's intellectual training, he never lost
touch with the true heart of the man it is that which Fronto's name
brings up to his remembrance, not dissertations on compound verbs or
fatuous criticisms of style.
1 In the war against the Catti.
2 Book I. , 8.
3 Ad Verum, ii. 7
NOTES
THIS being neither a critical edition of the text nor an emended edition
of Casaubon's translation, it has not been thought necessary to add full
notes. Casaubon's own notes have been omitted, because for the most part
they are discursive, and not necessary to an understanding of what is
written. In those which here follow, certain emendations of his
are mentioned, which he proposes in his notes, and follows in the
translation. In addition, one or two corrections are made where he has
mistaken the Greek, and the translation might be misleading. Those which
do not come under these two heads will explain themselves.
The text itself has been prepared by a comparison of the editions of
1634 and 1635. It should be borne in mind that Casaubon's is often
rather a paraphrase than a close translation; and it did not seem worth
while to notice every variation or amplification of the original. In
the original editions all that Casauhon conceives as understood, but
not expressed, is enclosed in square brackets. These brackets are here
omitted, as they interfere with the comfort of the reader; and so have
some of the alternative renderings suggested by the translator. In a few
cases, Latin words in the text have been replaced by English.
Numbers in brackets refer to the Teubner text of Stich, but the
divisions of the text are left unaltered. For some of the references
identified I am indebted to Mr. G. H. Rendall's Marcus Aurelius.
BOOK II "Both to frequent" (4). Gr. to mh, C. conjectures to me. The
text is probably right: "I did not frequent public lectures, and I was
taught at home. "
VI Idiots. . . . philosophers (9). The reading is doubtful, but the meaning
seems to be: "simple and unlearned men"
XII "Claudius Maximus" (15). The reading of the Palatine MS. (now lost)
was paraklhsiz Maximon, which C. supposes to conceal the letters kl as
an abbreviation of Claudius.
XIII "Patient hearing. . . He would not" (16). C. translates his
conjectural reading epimonon ollan. on proapsth Stich suggests a reading
with much the same sense: . . . . . epimonon all antoi "Strict and rigid
dealing" (16). C. translates tonvn (Pal. MS. ) as though from tonoz,
in the sense of "strain. " "rigour. " The reading of other MSS. tonvn is
preferable.
XIII "Congiaries" (13). dianomais, "doles. "
XIV "Cajeta" (17). The passage is certainly corrupt. C. spies a
reference to Chryses praying by the sea-shore in the Illiad, and
supposes M. Aurelius to have done the like. None of the emendations
suggested is satisfactory. At § XV. Book II. is usually reckoned to
begin. BOOK II III. "Do, soul" (6). If the received reading be right,
it must be sarcastic; but there are several variants which show how
unsatisfactory it is. C. translates "en gar o bioz ekasty so par eanty",
which I do not understand. The sense required is: "Do not violence to
thyself, for thou hast not long to use self-respect. Life is not (v. 1.
so long for each, and this life for thee is all but done. "
X. "honour and credit do proceed" (12). The verb has dropt out of the
text, but C. has supplied one of the required meaning.
XI. "Consider," etc. (52). This verb is not in the Greek, which means:
"(And reason also shows) how man, etc. "
BOOK IV XV. "Agathos" (18): This is probably not a proper name, but the
text seems to be unsound. The meaning may be "the good man ought"
XVI. oikonomian (16) is a "practical benefit," a secondary end. XXXIX.
"For herein lieth all. . . . " (~3). C. translates his conjecture olan for
ola.
BOOK V XIV. katorqwseiz (15): Acts of "rightness" or "straightness. "
XXIII. "Roarer" (28): Gr. "tragedian. " Ed. 1 has whoremonger,' ed.
2 corrects to "harlot," but omits to alter' the word at its second
occurrence.
XXV. "Thou hast. . . them" (33): A quotation from Homer, Odyssey, iv. 690.
XXVII. "One of the poets" (33): Hesiod, Op. et Dies, 197.
XXIX and XXX. (36). The Greek appears to contain quotations from sources
not known, and the translation is a paraphrase. (One or two alterations
are here made on the authority of the second edition. ) BOOK VI XIII.
"Affected and qualified" (i4): exis, the power of cohesion shown in
things inanimate; fusiz, power of growth seen in plants and the like.
XVII. "Wonder at them" (18): i. e. mankind.
XXXVII. "Chrysippus" (42): C. refers to a passage of Plutarch De
Communibus Notitiis (c. xiv. ), where Chrysippus is represented as saying
that a coarse phrase may be vile in itself, yet have due place in a
comedy as contributing to a certain effect.
XL. "Man or men. . . " There is no hiatus in the Greek, which means:
"Whatever (is beneficial) for a man is so for other men also. "
XLII. There is no hiatus in the Greek.
BOOK VII IX. C. translates his conjecture mh for h. The Greek means
"straight, or rectified," with a play on the literal and metaphorical
meaning of ortoz.
XIV. endaimonia. contains the word daimwn in composition. XXII.
