civil law was also
discussed
in one of the last books When called upon to perform any action we must
De Legibus, but the words of Gellius can apply inquire, 1.
De Legibus, but the words of Gellius can apply inquire, 1.
William Smith - 1844 - Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities - a
A few words are wanting at the bed destiny, and urged him to press steadily forward
ginning of the second book, which runs on with in the path of virtue and of true renown, by an-
occasional blanks, amounting in all to 50 pages, nouncing the reward prepared in a future state for
until we approach the close, which is very defective. those who have served their country in this life
The third book is a mere collection of disjointed with good faith.
scraps; of the fourth the MS. contains but a few The authorities chiefly consulted by Cicero, in
lines, the same is the case with the fifth, and the composing the De Republica, are concisely enume-
sixth is totally wanting.
rated in the first chapter of the second book de Di-
The object of the work w to determine the vinatione. “ Sex de Republica libros scripsin -
best form of government, to define the duties of all Magnus locus philosophiaeque proprius, a Platone,
the members of the body politic, and to investigate Aristotele, Theophrasto totaque Peripateticorum
those principles of justice and morality which familia tractus uberrime. ” To these we must add
must form the basis of every system under which Polybius, from whom many of the most important
a nation can expect to enjoy permanent prosperity opinions are directly derived (e. g. comp. Polyb.
and happiness. We cannot doubt that Cicero was vi. 3, 6, 7).
stimulated to this undertaking by perceiving the The Editio Princeps of the recovered De Repul
destruction which threatened the liberties of his lica was printed, as we have seen above, at Rome,
country; and, in the rain hope of awakening those in 1822, with copious prolegomena and notes by
around him to some sense of their danger, he re- Mai ; this was followed by the edition of Creuzer
solved to place before their eyes a lively represen- and Moser, Frankf. 1826, 8vo. , which is the most
tation of that constitution by which their fore complete that has hitherto appeared. The following
fathers had become masters of the world.
also contains useful matter, “ La République de Ci-
The materials of which this production was ceron, d'après la texte inedit, recemment découvert
formed appear, for we can speak with little cer- et commenté par M. Mai, bibliothécaire de Vatican,
tainty of the last four books, to have been distri- avec une traduction française, un discours prélimi-
buted in the following manner :-
naire et des dissertations historiques, par M. Ville-
The greater part of the prologue to the first book main, de l'Académie française, ü tomes, Paris,
is lost, but we gather that it asserted the supe- Michaud, 1823. ”
riority of an active over a purely contemplative Literature:F. C. Wolf, Observ. Crit. in M. Tull.
After a digression on the uncertainty and Cic. Orat. pro Scauro, et pro Tullio, et librorum De
worthlessness of physical pursuits, the real business Rep. Fragm. 1824 ; Zacharia, Staatswissenschaftliche
of the piece is opened, the meaning of the word Betrachtungen über Ciceros neu aufgefundenes Werk
republic is defined, and the three chief forms of vom Stadte, Heidelberg, 1823.
government, the monarchical, the aristocratical, and The fragments known before the discovery of
the democratical, are analyzed and compared, Mai are included in all the chief editions of the
Scipio awarding the preference to the first, al-collected works, and were published with a French
though, since alì in their simple shape are open to translation by Bernardi, ii tomes, Paris, 1807.
corruption and degeneracy, and contain within
themselves the seeds of dissolution, the ideal of a
2. De Legibus Libri III.
perfect constitution would be a compound of all Three dialogues, in a somewhat mutilated condi-
these three elements mixed in due proportions-a tion, on the nature, the origin, and the perfection of
combination to which the Roman constitution at laws. These have given rise to a series of contro-
one time closely approximated.
versies respecting the real author of the work, the
The subject being pursued in the second book time at wbich it was written, its extent when en-
leads to a history of the origin and progress of the tire, its proper title, the date of publication, the ex-
Roman state ; and, passing from the particular to istence of a prologue, or preface, the sources from
the general, the remainder of the book is occupied wbich the author derived his materials
, and the de-
by an examination of the great moral obligations sign which he proposed to accomplish. On each of
which serve as the foundation of all political union. these points it is necessary to say a few words.
The third book, as we glean from Lactantius and 1. The opinion that Cicero was not the author,
St. Augustin, contained a protracted discussion on rests solely upon the fact that, contrary to his usual
ine famous paradox of Carneades, that justice was practice in such matters, he nowhere makes mention
a visionary delusion.
of these books ; no notice of them is taken in the
The fourth book entered upon the duties of citi- catalogue of his philosophical writings, inserted in
zens in public and private life, and enlarged upon the Dc Divinatione (ii. I), nor in any part of his
general education and moral training,
correspondence with Atticus, which generally con-
career.
a
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those
tains some account of the literary labours ir, which without defining any second limit before which it
he was from time to time engaged, nor in any of must have been composed. When, however, we
passages
where a reference might very natu- remark the evident bitterness of spirit displayed
rally have been expected (e. g. Tusc. iv. 1, Brut. v. towards Clodius and his friends, together with the
19), while the expressions which have been ad-suppressed, but not concealed, dissatisfaction, with
duced as containing indirect allusions, will be found the conduct of Pompey (ii. 16, 41, iii. 9, 21), we
upon examination to be so indistinct, or to leave are led to suppose that these paragraphs were
been so unfairly interpreted, that they throw no penned under the influence of feelings recently ex-
light whatever on the question. (e. g. de Orat. i. cited, such as might have been roused by the pro-
42, ad Atl. xiv. 17. ) On the other hand, “ M. ceedings which distinguished the trial of Milo.
Tullius . . . in libro de legibus primo," and "Cicero We are inclined, therefore, to think that the date
in quinto de legibus,” are the words with which of the action of the drama, and the date of compo-
Lactantius (De Opif. Dei, i. ) and Macrobius (vi. 4) sition, are nearly identical, and that both may be
introduce quotations, and all the best scholars agree assigned to the middle or end of B. c. 52.
in pronouncing that not only is there no internal 3. With regard to the number of books at one
evidence against the authenticity of the treatise, time in existence, we are certain that there wero
but that the diction, style, and matter, are in every more than three, for Macrobius (1. c. ) quotes the
respect worthy of Cicero, presenting no trace of a fifth; but how many there may have been is purely
late or inferior hand, of interpolation, or of forgery. a matter of conjecture. Fabricius, Hülsemann, and
Even if we do not feel quite certain that the sen- Wagner, decide that there were just five; Goerenz
tence in Quintilian (xii. 3), M. Tullius non argues very ingeniously that there must have been
modo inter agendum numquam est destitutus scien- six ; Davis fixes that there were eight.
tia juris, sed etiam componere aliqua de eo coepe- 4. The title Dc Legibus rests on the authority
rat," was intended to indicate the work before us, of nearly all the MSS. One alone exhibits De
yet the word coeperat may be allowed at least to Jure Civili et Legibus, which doubtless arose from a
suggest a solution of the difficulty. Taking into desire to include the supposed contents of the later
account the actual state of these dialoguies as they books. (See de Leg. iii. 5 fin. ; Gell. i. 22. )
have descended to us, remarking the circumstance, 5. If we are correct in our position, that Cicero
which becomes palpable upon close examination, never finished his work, it follows that it was not
that some portions are complete, full, and highly published during his life, and, therefore, remained
polished, while others are imperfect, meagre, and unknown to his contemporaries.
rough, we are led to the conclusion, that the plan 6. As to the existence of a prologue, we should
was traced out and partially executed ; that, while naturally have imagined that this was a question of
the undertaking was advancing, some serious inter- fact, affording no scope for reasoning. Nevertheless
ruption occurred, possibly the journey to Cilicia ; the point also bas been keenly debated. Turnebus,
that being thus thrown aside for a time, the natu- in one commentary, considers that the first few
ral disinclination always felt by Cicero to resume a chapters constitute a regular introduction, but he
train of thought once broken off (comp. de Leg. i. afterwards changed his mind, and, startled by the
3) combined with a conviction that the disorders abruptness with which the conversation opens,
of his country were now beyond the aid of philo- maintained that the exordium had been lost. Goe
sophic remedies, prevented him from ever following renz and Moser, the most judicious editors, adopt
out his original project, and giving the last touches the first conclusion of Turnebus.
to the unfinished sketch. This supposition will 7. In all that relates to external form and deco-
account in a satisfactory manner for the silence ob ration Plato is evidently the model, and the imita.
served regarding it in the De Divinatione, the Bru- tion throughout is most close and accurate. But
tus, and elsewhere; and if it was in progress, as we the resemblance extends no farther than the surface:
shall see is very probable, towards the close of B. C. the definitions, the propositions, the arguments, and
52, we can be at no loss to explain why it makes the whole substance, except what is immediately
no figure in the epistles to Atticus, for no letters connected with Roman law, can be traced to the la-
between the friends are extant for that year,
in con-
bours of the Stoics, especially to the cvolkai dégels,
sequence, perhaps, of both being together at Rome. the nepl kaloû, the repl Olkaloouuns, and above all
Chapman, in his Chronological Dissertation, avoids the repl vóuou of Chrysippus; for the few fragments
the objection altogether by supposing, that the de which have been preserved of these tracts are still
Legibus was not written until after the de Divina- sufficient to shew that not only did Cicero draw his
tione, but from what is said below, it will appear materials from their stores, but in some instances
that this hypothesis is probably erroneous, and, ac- did little more than translate their words. Even in
cording to the view we have given, it is certainly the passages on magistrates the ideas of Plato,
unnecessary
Aristotle, and Theophrastus are presented with tho
2. Since we find in the work allusions to the ele modifications introduced by Dion (Diogenes ? ) and
vation of Cicero to the augurate (ii. 12, iii. 19), an Panaetius. (De Leg. ii. 6. )
event which did not take place until the vacancy 8. The general plan of the work is distinctly
caused by the death of Crassus (B. C. 53) was traced in one of the opening chapters (i. 5, 17).
known at Rome, and also to the death of Clodius It was intended to comprehend an exposition of the
(ii. 17, B. C. 52), and since Cato and Pompey are nature of justice and its connexion with the nature
both named as alive (iii. 18, i. 3, iii. 9), it is mani- of man, an examination of the laws by which states
fest that the action of the drama belongs to some ought to be governed, and a review of the ditferent
epoch between the beginning of the year, B. c. 52, systems of legislation which had been adopted by
and the battle of Pharsalia, B. C. 48 ; but on the different nations.
other hand this evidence will only enable us to de- Accordingly, in the first book we have an inves-
cide that the drama was composed after the 18th of tigation into the sources of justice and virtue. It
January, B. c. 52, the day when Clodius perished, is laid down (1), That the Gods are the ultimate
## p. 731 (#751) ############################################
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CICERO.
source of justice ; (2) That men, being bound
4. Epistola ad Cacsarem de Republica ordinanula.
together by a community of faculties, feelings, and
desires, are led to cultivate social union-and hence Cicero, in a letter to Atticus, (xii. 40,) written
justice, without which social union could not exist. in June, B. C. 45, tells his friend, that he had made
Thus human nature is a second source of justice. several attempts to compose an address to Caesar,
But since human nature is intimately connected in imitation of those of Aristotle and Theopompus
with God by reason and virtue, it follows that God to Alexander, but had hitherto failed (ivubou-
and the moral nature of man are the joint sources
NEUTIKÓv saepe conor: nihil repcrio). A few days
of justice, law being the practical exposition of its later, however, it appears to have been finished
principles. Much more stress is, however, laid (ad Att. xiii. 26), and was soon after sent to At-
upon the second of these two sources than upon the ticus (ad Att. xii. 49), but never forwarded to the
first, which is quickly dismissed and kept out of dictator; for, having been previously submitted to
sight.
his friends for their approbation, they made so many
In the second book the author explains his views objections, and suggested so many alterations, that
of a Model Code, illustrated by constant references Cicero threw it aside in disgust. (Ad Att. xii. 51,
to the ancient institutions of Rome. Attention is 52, xiii. 1, 27, 28, 31. )
first called to the laws which relate to religion and
C. PHILOSOPHY OF MORALS.
sacred observances, which are considered under the
different heads of divine worship in general, inclu-
). De Officiis Libri III.
ding the solemnities to be observed in the perform- A treatise on moral obligations, viewed not so
ance of ordinances, and the classification of the much with reference to a metaphysical investiga-
Gods according to the degrees of homage to which tion of the basis on which they rest, as to the
they are severally entitled ; the celebration of fes practical business of the world and the intercourse
tivals ; the duties of the various orders of priests ; of social and political life. It was composed and
the exhibition of public games; the maintenance published late in the year B. c. 44, certainly after
of ancient rites; the punishment of perjury and the end of August (iii. sub fin. ), and is addressed
impurity; the consecration of holy places and to young Marcus, at that time residing at Athens
things; and the respect to be paid to the spirits of under the care of Cratippus the Peripatetic. This
the departed.
being a work professedly intended for the purposes
The third book treated of Magistrates, com- of instruction, Cicero does not dwell upon the
mencing with a short exposition of the nature and conflicting doctrines of rival sects, but endeavours
importance of their functions as interpreters and rather to inculcate directly those views which he
enforcers of the laws. This is followed by a disser- regarded as the most correct; and, rejecting the
tation on the expediency of having one magistrate form of dialogue, enunciates the different pre-
in a state to whom all the rest shall be subordinate, cepts with the authority of a teacher addressing
which leads to certain reflections on the authority his pupil. The discipline of the Stoics is princi-
of the consuls, as controlled by the tribunes. Here, pally followed. In the first two books, the repl
however, there is a great blank, the part which is raonkortós of Panaetius served as a guide, and
lost having contained, it would appear, an inquiry not a little was borrowed from Diogenes of Babylon,
into the functions of all the chief officers of the Antipater of Tarsus, Hecato, Posidonius, Antipater
Roman republic. What remains consists of three of Tyre, and others enumerated in the commentary
discussions, one on the power exercised by tribunes of Beier and the tract of Lynden on Panaetius.
of the plebeians, a second on the propriety of sup- Notwithstanding the express declaration of Cicero
plying the vacancies in the senate from the number to the contrary, we cannot, from internal evidence,
of those who had held certain appointments, and, avoid the conclusion, that the Greek authorities
thirdly, on the advantages and drawbacks of voting have in not a few passages been translated ver-
by ballot.
batim, and translated not very happily, for the
The scene of these dialogues is laid in the villa unyielding character of the Latin language ren-
of Cicero, in the neighbourhood of his native Ar- dered it impossible to express accurately those nice
pinum, near the point where the Fibrenus joins the gradations of thought and delicate distinctions
Liris. The Editio Princeps forms part of the edi- which can be conveyed with so much clearness
tion of the philosophical works printed at Rome in and precision by the copious vocabulary and grace-
2 vols. fol. by Sweynheym and Pannartz, 1471; see ful flexibility of the sister tongue. (See the essay
above, p. 719, b. The editions of Davis, Camb. of Garve named at the end of the article. ) The
1727-8, containing the notes of the old commentators, third book, which is occupied with questions in
and an improved text, were long held in high esti casuistry, although it lays claim to greater origi-
mation, and frequently reprinted, but is now super- nality than those which precede it, was certainly
seded by those of Goerenz, Leip. 1809, 8vo. , forming formed upon the model of the mepl kaOnkouTÓS
the first volume of the collected philosophical works; of the Stoic Hecato. But while the skeleton of
of Moser and Creuzer, Frankf. 1824, 8vo. , contain the whole work unquestionably of foreign origin,
ing everything that the scholar can desire ; and of the examples and illustrations are taken almost
Bake, Leyden, 1842, 8vo. , which is the most recent. exclusively from Roman history and Roman litera-
3. De Jure Civili in Artem redigendo.
ture, and are for the most part selected with great
judgment and clothed in the most felicitous diction.
A. Gellius quotes a sentence from a work of Cicero In the first book, after a few preliminary re-
which he says bore the above title. The subject of marks, we find a threefold division of the subject.
civil law was also discussed in one of the last books When called upon to perform any action we must
De Legibus, but the words of Gellius can apply inquire, 1. Whether it is honestum, that is, good
only to an independent treatise. See Orelli's Cicero in itself, absolutely and abstractedly good ; 2.
vol. iv. st. ii. p. 478. (Gell. i. 22 ; Quintil. xii. 3. Whether it is utile, that is, good when considered
$ 10; Macrob. V. . 4; Cic. de Leg. iii. 20. ) with reference to external objects ; 3. What course
## p. 732 (#752) ############################################
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CICERO.
CICERO.
we must pursue when the honestum and the utile | Libri II. , Hamb. 1610; R. G. Rath, Ciccro de
are at variance. Moreover, the honestum and the Officiis in brevi conspwctu, Hall. 1803 ; Thorbecke,
utile each admit of degrees which also fall to be Princip. phil. mor. e Ciceronis Op. , Leyden, 1817;
examined in order that we may make choice of the and the remarks which accompany the translation
highest. The general plan being thus sketched, it of Garve, of which a sixth edition was published
is followed out by a discussion of the four consti- at Breslau in 1819.
tuent elements into which the honestum may be
resolved : a. Sapientia, the power of discerning
2. Dc Virtutibus.
truth; 6. Justitia ct Beneficentia, which consist in This work, if it ever existed, which is far from
studying the welfare of those around us, in render- being certain, must have been intended as a sort
ing to every one his own, and in preserving con- of supplement to the De Officiis, just as Aristotle
tracts in violate; c. Fortitudo, greatness and strength added a tract, nepi dpetwv, to his Ethics. (Hieron.
of mind ; d. Temperantia, the faculty of doing and in Zachar. Prophet. Commcnt. i. 2; Charisius, ii.
saying everything in a becoming manner, in the
p. 186. )
proper place, and to the proper extent. Each of
ihese is explained at length, and the book closes
3. Cato Major s. De Scnectute.
with a debate on the degrees of the honestum, that This little tract, drawn up at the end of B. C.
is, the method of deciding, when each of two 45 or the commencement of B. C. 44, for the pur-
lines of conduct is honestum, which is to be pre-pose of pointing out how the burden of old age
ferred as superior (honcstius) to the other. may be inost easily supported, is addressed to
The second book is devoted to the utilc, and Atticus, who was now in his sixty-eighth year,
considers how we may best conciliate the favour of while Cicero himself was in his sixty-second or
our fellow-men, apply it to our own advancement, sixty-third. It is first mentioned in a letter
and thus arrive at wealth and public distinction, written from Puteoli on the 11th of May, B. C. there
enlarging peculiarly on the most pure and judicious (ad Att. xiv. 21, comp. xvii. 1l), and is there
mode of displaying liberality, whether by pecuniary spoken of as already in the hands of his friend.
gifts or by aid of any other description. This is in the short introductory dialogue, Scipio Aemili-
succeeded by a short notice of two utilitates passed anus and Laelius are supposed to have paid a visit
over by Papaetius--the care of the health and the during the consulship of T. Quinctius Flamininus
care of the purse, after which a few words are and M. ' Acilius Balbus (B. c. 150; see c. 5 and
added on the comparison of things expedient with 10) to Cato the censor, at that time 84 years old. .
each other.
Beholding with admiration the activity of body
In the third book it is demonstrated that there and cheerfulness of mind which he displayed, they
never can be any real collision between the hones request him to point out by what means the
tum and the utile; but that when an action is weight of increasing years may be most easily
viewed through a proper medium the homestum will borne. Cato willingly complies, and coinmences a
invariably be found to be inseparable from the dissertation in which he seeks to demonstrate how
utile and the utile from the honestum, a proposition unreasonable are the complaints usually urged re-
which had been briefly enunciated at the beginning garding the miseries which attend the close of a
of book second, but is here fully developed and protracted life. The four principal objections are
largely illustrated. A number of difficult cases stated and refuted in regular succession. It is
are then stated, which serve as exercises in the held that old age is wretched, 1. Because it in-
application of the rules laid down, among which a capacitates men for active business ; 2. Because it
prominent place is assigned to the story of Regulus. renders the body feeble ; 3. Because it deprives
The Editio Princeps of the De Oficiis is one of them of the enjoyment of almost all pleasures ;
the oldest specimens of classical typography in 4. Because it heralds the near approach of death.
existence, having been printed along with the The first three are met by producing examples of
Paradora by Fust and Schöffer at Mayence in many illustrious personages in whom old age was
1465 and again in 1466, both in small 4to. These not attended by any of these evils, by arguing that
are not of excessive rarity, and occur more fre such privations are not real but imaginary mis-
quently upon vellum than upon paper. Next fortunes, and that if the relish for some pleasures
comes an edition in 4to. , without date or name of is lost, other delights of a more desirable and sub-
place or of printer, but generally recognised as from stantial character are substituted. The fourth ob-
the press of Ulric Zell, at Cologne, about 1467, jection is encountered still more boldly, by an
which were followed by that of Ulric Hann, fol. , eloquent declaration that the chief happiness of old
Rome, 1468-9, also without name or date, that of age in the eyes of the philosopher arises from the
Sweynheym and Pannartz, Rome, fol. , 1469, of conviction, that it indicates the near approach of
Vindelin de Spira, Venice, fol. , 1470, and of death, that is, the near approach of the period
Eggesteyn, Strasburg, 4to. , 1770. Many of these when the soul shall be released from its debasing
have given rise to lengthened controversies among connexion with the body, and enter unfettered
bibliographers, the substance of which will be upon the paths of immortality.
found in Dibdin's “ Introduction to the Classics," This piece has always been deservedly esteemed
Lond. 1827. Among the almost countless editions as one of the most graceful moral essays bequeath-
which have appeared since the end of the 15th ed to us by antiquity. The purity of the language,
century, it is sufficient to specify those of Heusinger, the liveliness of the illustrations, the dignity of the
Brunswick, 8vo. , 1783, which first presented a really sentiments, and the tact with which the character
pure text and has been repeatedly reprinted ; of of the strong-minded but self-satisfied and garru-
Gernhard, Leipzig, 80. , 1811 ; and of Beier, 2 lous old man is maintained, have excited universal
vols. 8vo. , Leipzig, 1820-21, which may be con- applause. But however pleasing the picture here
sidered as the best.
presented to us, every one must perceive that it is
Literature :--A. Buscher, Ethicae Ciceronianar |å fancy sketch, not the faithful copy of a scelk
## p. 733 (#753) ############################################
CICERO.
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CICERO.
from naturc. In fact the whole treatise is a tissue served in order to render it permanent and mu:u-
of special pleading on a question which is discussed ally advantageous. The most pleasing feature in
in the same tone of extravagance on the opposite this essay is the simple sincerity with which it is
side by Juvenal in his tenth satire. The logic impressed. The author casts aside the affectation
also is bad, for in several instances general propo- of learning, and the reader feels convinced through-
sitions are attacked by a few specious particular out that he is speaking from his heart.
In giving
cases which are mere exceptions to the rule. No full expression to the most amiable feelings, his
one can doubt the truth of the assertions, that old experience, knowledge of human nature, and sound
age does incapacitate us for active business, that it sense, enabled him to avoid all fantastic exaggera-
does render the body feeble, and that it does blunt tion, and, without sacrificing his dignified tone, or
the keenness of our senses ; but while it is a per- pitching his standard too low, he brings down the
fectly fair style of argument to maintain that these subject to the level of ordinary comprehension, and
are imaginary and not real ills, it is utterly absurd sets before us a model which all may iinitate.
to deny their existence, because history affords a The exordium is taken from the Theaetetus, and
few instances of favoured individuals who have in the 8th chapter we detect a correspondence with
been exempted from their influence.
a passage in the Lysis of Plato; the Ethics of
Cicero appears to have been indebted for the Aristotle, and the Memorabilia of Socrates by Xen-
idea, if not for the plan, of this work to Aristo of ophon afforded some suggestions; a strong resem-
Chios, a Stoic philosopher (c. 1); much has been blance can be traced in the fragments of Theo-
translated almost literally from the Republic of phrastus Tepl Pirías, and some hints are supposed
Plato (see cc. 2, 3, 14), and more freely from the to have been taken from Chrysippus περί φιλίας
Oeconomics and Cyropaedeia of Xenophon. The and Tepl Toù Olká červ. (Kühner, p. 118. )
passage with regard to the immortality of the soul The Editio nceps was printed at Cologne by
is derived from the Tiinaeus, the Phaedon, the Joh. Guldenschaff, the second, which includes the
Phaedrus, and the Menon (see Kühner, p. 116), Paradoxa, at the same place by Ulric Zell; neither
and some editors have traced the observations upon bears any date, but both are older than the collec-
the diseases of young men (c. 19) to Hippocrates. tion of the philosophical works printed at Rome
It must be remarked, that although Cato was a in 2 vols. fol. by Sweynheym and Pannartz, 1471,
rigid follower of the Porch, the doctrines here pro- which contains the Laelius. The best modern
pounded have little of the austerity of that sect, editions are those of Gernhard, Leipzig, 8vo. 18:25,
but savour more of the gentle and easy discipline and of Beier, Leipzig, 12mo. 1828.
of the Peripatetics. (Kühner, l. c. )
5. De Gloria Libri II.
The five earliest editions of the Cato Major
were all printed at Cologne, the first three by Cicero completed a work under the above title,
Ulric Zell, the fourth by Winter de Homborch, in two books dedicated to Atticus, on the 4th of
the fifth by Arnold Therhoernen, not one of which July, B. C. 44. A few words only having been
hears a date, but some of them are certainly older preserved, we have no means of determining the
than the edition of the collected philosophical works manner, or tone in which the subject was handled.
printed at Rome, in 2 vols. fol. , by Sweynbeym Petrarch was in possession of a MS. of the De
and Pannartz, which contains the De Senectute. Gloria, which afterwards passed into the hands of
[See above, p. 719, b. ) The best modern editions Bernardo Giustiniani, a Venetian, and then disap-
S
are those of Gernhard, which include the Paradoxa peared. Paulus Manutius and Jovius circulated a
also, Leipzig, 8v0. , 1819, and of Otto, Leipzig, story that it had been destroyed by Petrus Alcyo-
1830.
nius, who had stolen numerous passages and in-
4. Laelius s. De Amicitia.
serted them in his own treatise De Exilio; but
this calumny has been refuted by Tiraboschi in
This dialogue was written after the preceding, his history of Italian literature. (See Orelli's Ci-
to which it may be considered as forming a com- cero, vol. iv. pt. ii. p. 487: Cic. de of: ii. 9, ad Att.
panion. Just as the dissertation upon old age was xv. 27, xvi. 2. )
placed in the mouth of Cato because he had been
6. De Consolatione s. De Luctu minuendo.
distinguished for energy of mind and body pre
served entire to the very close of a long life, so the
This treatise was written B. C. 45, soon after
steadfast attachment which existed between Scipio the death of his beloved daughter, Tullia, when
and Laelius pointed out the latter as a person pe seeking distraction and relief in literary pursuits.
culiarly fitted to enlarge upon the advantages of We learn from Pliny (praef. H. N. ), that the work of
friendship and the mode in which it might best be Crantor the Academician was closely followed. A
cultivated. To no one could Cicero dedicate such few inconsiderable fragments have been preserved
a treatise with more propriety than to Atticus, the chiefly by Lactantius, and will be found in Orelli's
only individual among his contemporaries to whom Cicero, vol. iv. pt. ii. p. 489. The tract published
he gave his whole heart.
at Venice in 1583 under the title Consolatio Cice-
The imaginary conversation is supposed to have ronis is a notorious forgery, executed, as is gene
taken place between Laelius and his two sons-in- rally believed, by Sigonius or Vianellus. (Cic. al
law, C. Fannius and Q. Mucius Scaevola, a few Att. xii
. 20, 23, Tuscul. iii. 28, 31 ; Augustin, de
days after the death of Africanus (B. c. 129), and Civ. Dei, xix. 4; Hieron. Epitaph.
ginning of the second book, which runs on with in the path of virtue and of true renown, by an-
occasional blanks, amounting in all to 50 pages, nouncing the reward prepared in a future state for
until we approach the close, which is very defective. those who have served their country in this life
The third book is a mere collection of disjointed with good faith.
scraps; of the fourth the MS. contains but a few The authorities chiefly consulted by Cicero, in
lines, the same is the case with the fifth, and the composing the De Republica, are concisely enume-
sixth is totally wanting.
rated in the first chapter of the second book de Di-
The object of the work w to determine the vinatione. “ Sex de Republica libros scripsin -
best form of government, to define the duties of all Magnus locus philosophiaeque proprius, a Platone,
the members of the body politic, and to investigate Aristotele, Theophrasto totaque Peripateticorum
those principles of justice and morality which familia tractus uberrime. ” To these we must add
must form the basis of every system under which Polybius, from whom many of the most important
a nation can expect to enjoy permanent prosperity opinions are directly derived (e. g. comp. Polyb.
and happiness. We cannot doubt that Cicero was vi. 3, 6, 7).
stimulated to this undertaking by perceiving the The Editio Princeps of the recovered De Repul
destruction which threatened the liberties of his lica was printed, as we have seen above, at Rome,
country; and, in the rain hope of awakening those in 1822, with copious prolegomena and notes by
around him to some sense of their danger, he re- Mai ; this was followed by the edition of Creuzer
solved to place before their eyes a lively represen- and Moser, Frankf. 1826, 8vo. , which is the most
tation of that constitution by which their fore complete that has hitherto appeared. The following
fathers had become masters of the world.
also contains useful matter, “ La République de Ci-
The materials of which this production was ceron, d'après la texte inedit, recemment découvert
formed appear, for we can speak with little cer- et commenté par M. Mai, bibliothécaire de Vatican,
tainty of the last four books, to have been distri- avec une traduction française, un discours prélimi-
buted in the following manner :-
naire et des dissertations historiques, par M. Ville-
The greater part of the prologue to the first book main, de l'Académie française, ü tomes, Paris,
is lost, but we gather that it asserted the supe- Michaud, 1823. ”
riority of an active over a purely contemplative Literature:F. C. Wolf, Observ. Crit. in M. Tull.
After a digression on the uncertainty and Cic. Orat. pro Scauro, et pro Tullio, et librorum De
worthlessness of physical pursuits, the real business Rep. Fragm. 1824 ; Zacharia, Staatswissenschaftliche
of the piece is opened, the meaning of the word Betrachtungen über Ciceros neu aufgefundenes Werk
republic is defined, and the three chief forms of vom Stadte, Heidelberg, 1823.
government, the monarchical, the aristocratical, and The fragments known before the discovery of
the democratical, are analyzed and compared, Mai are included in all the chief editions of the
Scipio awarding the preference to the first, al-collected works, and were published with a French
though, since alì in their simple shape are open to translation by Bernardi, ii tomes, Paris, 1807.
corruption and degeneracy, and contain within
themselves the seeds of dissolution, the ideal of a
2. De Legibus Libri III.
perfect constitution would be a compound of all Three dialogues, in a somewhat mutilated condi-
these three elements mixed in due proportions-a tion, on the nature, the origin, and the perfection of
combination to which the Roman constitution at laws. These have given rise to a series of contro-
one time closely approximated.
versies respecting the real author of the work, the
The subject being pursued in the second book time at wbich it was written, its extent when en-
leads to a history of the origin and progress of the tire, its proper title, the date of publication, the ex-
Roman state ; and, passing from the particular to istence of a prologue, or preface, the sources from
the general, the remainder of the book is occupied wbich the author derived his materials
, and the de-
by an examination of the great moral obligations sign which he proposed to accomplish. On each of
which serve as the foundation of all political union. these points it is necessary to say a few words.
The third book, as we glean from Lactantius and 1. The opinion that Cicero was not the author,
St. Augustin, contained a protracted discussion on rests solely upon the fact that, contrary to his usual
ine famous paradox of Carneades, that justice was practice in such matters, he nowhere makes mention
a visionary delusion.
of these books ; no notice of them is taken in the
The fourth book entered upon the duties of citi- catalogue of his philosophical writings, inserted in
zens in public and private life, and enlarged upon the Dc Divinatione (ii. I), nor in any part of his
general education and moral training,
correspondence with Atticus, which generally con-
career.
a
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CICERO.
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those
tains some account of the literary labours ir, which without defining any second limit before which it
he was from time to time engaged, nor in any of must have been composed. When, however, we
passages
where a reference might very natu- remark the evident bitterness of spirit displayed
rally have been expected (e. g. Tusc. iv. 1, Brut. v. towards Clodius and his friends, together with the
19), while the expressions which have been ad-suppressed, but not concealed, dissatisfaction, with
duced as containing indirect allusions, will be found the conduct of Pompey (ii. 16, 41, iii. 9, 21), we
upon examination to be so indistinct, or to leave are led to suppose that these paragraphs were
been so unfairly interpreted, that they throw no penned under the influence of feelings recently ex-
light whatever on the question. (e. g. de Orat. i. cited, such as might have been roused by the pro-
42, ad Atl. xiv. 17. ) On the other hand, “ M. ceedings which distinguished the trial of Milo.
Tullius . . . in libro de legibus primo," and "Cicero We are inclined, therefore, to think that the date
in quinto de legibus,” are the words with which of the action of the drama, and the date of compo-
Lactantius (De Opif. Dei, i. ) and Macrobius (vi. 4) sition, are nearly identical, and that both may be
introduce quotations, and all the best scholars agree assigned to the middle or end of B. c. 52.
in pronouncing that not only is there no internal 3. With regard to the number of books at one
evidence against the authenticity of the treatise, time in existence, we are certain that there wero
but that the diction, style, and matter, are in every more than three, for Macrobius (1. c. ) quotes the
respect worthy of Cicero, presenting no trace of a fifth; but how many there may have been is purely
late or inferior hand, of interpolation, or of forgery. a matter of conjecture. Fabricius, Hülsemann, and
Even if we do not feel quite certain that the sen- Wagner, decide that there were just five; Goerenz
tence in Quintilian (xii. 3), M. Tullius non argues very ingeniously that there must have been
modo inter agendum numquam est destitutus scien- six ; Davis fixes that there were eight.
tia juris, sed etiam componere aliqua de eo coepe- 4. The title Dc Legibus rests on the authority
rat," was intended to indicate the work before us, of nearly all the MSS. One alone exhibits De
yet the word coeperat may be allowed at least to Jure Civili et Legibus, which doubtless arose from a
suggest a solution of the difficulty. Taking into desire to include the supposed contents of the later
account the actual state of these dialoguies as they books. (See de Leg. iii. 5 fin. ; Gell. i. 22. )
have descended to us, remarking the circumstance, 5. If we are correct in our position, that Cicero
which becomes palpable upon close examination, never finished his work, it follows that it was not
that some portions are complete, full, and highly published during his life, and, therefore, remained
polished, while others are imperfect, meagre, and unknown to his contemporaries.
rough, we are led to the conclusion, that the plan 6. As to the existence of a prologue, we should
was traced out and partially executed ; that, while naturally have imagined that this was a question of
the undertaking was advancing, some serious inter- fact, affording no scope for reasoning. Nevertheless
ruption occurred, possibly the journey to Cilicia ; the point also bas been keenly debated. Turnebus,
that being thus thrown aside for a time, the natu- in one commentary, considers that the first few
ral disinclination always felt by Cicero to resume a chapters constitute a regular introduction, but he
train of thought once broken off (comp. de Leg. i. afterwards changed his mind, and, startled by the
3) combined with a conviction that the disorders abruptness with which the conversation opens,
of his country were now beyond the aid of philo- maintained that the exordium had been lost. Goe
sophic remedies, prevented him from ever following renz and Moser, the most judicious editors, adopt
out his original project, and giving the last touches the first conclusion of Turnebus.
to the unfinished sketch. This supposition will 7. In all that relates to external form and deco-
account in a satisfactory manner for the silence ob ration Plato is evidently the model, and the imita.
served regarding it in the De Divinatione, the Bru- tion throughout is most close and accurate. But
tus, and elsewhere; and if it was in progress, as we the resemblance extends no farther than the surface:
shall see is very probable, towards the close of B. C. the definitions, the propositions, the arguments, and
52, we can be at no loss to explain why it makes the whole substance, except what is immediately
no figure in the epistles to Atticus, for no letters connected with Roman law, can be traced to the la-
between the friends are extant for that year,
in con-
bours of the Stoics, especially to the cvolkai dégels,
sequence, perhaps, of both being together at Rome. the nepl kaloû, the repl Olkaloouuns, and above all
Chapman, in his Chronological Dissertation, avoids the repl vóuou of Chrysippus; for the few fragments
the objection altogether by supposing, that the de which have been preserved of these tracts are still
Legibus was not written until after the de Divina- sufficient to shew that not only did Cicero draw his
tione, but from what is said below, it will appear materials from their stores, but in some instances
that this hypothesis is probably erroneous, and, ac- did little more than translate their words. Even in
cording to the view we have given, it is certainly the passages on magistrates the ideas of Plato,
unnecessary
Aristotle, and Theophrastus are presented with tho
2. Since we find in the work allusions to the ele modifications introduced by Dion (Diogenes ? ) and
vation of Cicero to the augurate (ii. 12, iii. 19), an Panaetius. (De Leg. ii. 6. )
event which did not take place until the vacancy 8. The general plan of the work is distinctly
caused by the death of Crassus (B. C. 53) was traced in one of the opening chapters (i. 5, 17).
known at Rome, and also to the death of Clodius It was intended to comprehend an exposition of the
(ii. 17, B. C. 52), and since Cato and Pompey are nature of justice and its connexion with the nature
both named as alive (iii. 18, i. 3, iii. 9), it is mani- of man, an examination of the laws by which states
fest that the action of the drama belongs to some ought to be governed, and a review of the ditferent
epoch between the beginning of the year, B. c. 52, systems of legislation which had been adopted by
and the battle of Pharsalia, B. C. 48 ; but on the different nations.
other hand this evidence will only enable us to de- Accordingly, in the first book we have an inves-
cide that the drama was composed after the 18th of tigation into the sources of justice and virtue. It
January, B. c. 52, the day when Clodius perished, is laid down (1), That the Gods are the ultimate
## p. 731 (#751) ############################################
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CICERO.
source of justice ; (2) That men, being bound
4. Epistola ad Cacsarem de Republica ordinanula.
together by a community of faculties, feelings, and
desires, are led to cultivate social union-and hence Cicero, in a letter to Atticus, (xii. 40,) written
justice, without which social union could not exist. in June, B. C. 45, tells his friend, that he had made
Thus human nature is a second source of justice. several attempts to compose an address to Caesar,
But since human nature is intimately connected in imitation of those of Aristotle and Theopompus
with God by reason and virtue, it follows that God to Alexander, but had hitherto failed (ivubou-
and the moral nature of man are the joint sources
NEUTIKÓv saepe conor: nihil repcrio). A few days
of justice, law being the practical exposition of its later, however, it appears to have been finished
principles. Much more stress is, however, laid (ad Att. xiii. 26), and was soon after sent to At-
upon the second of these two sources than upon the ticus (ad Att. xii. 49), but never forwarded to the
first, which is quickly dismissed and kept out of dictator; for, having been previously submitted to
sight.
his friends for their approbation, they made so many
In the second book the author explains his views objections, and suggested so many alterations, that
of a Model Code, illustrated by constant references Cicero threw it aside in disgust. (Ad Att. xii. 51,
to the ancient institutions of Rome. Attention is 52, xiii. 1, 27, 28, 31. )
first called to the laws which relate to religion and
C. PHILOSOPHY OF MORALS.
sacred observances, which are considered under the
different heads of divine worship in general, inclu-
). De Officiis Libri III.
ding the solemnities to be observed in the perform- A treatise on moral obligations, viewed not so
ance of ordinances, and the classification of the much with reference to a metaphysical investiga-
Gods according to the degrees of homage to which tion of the basis on which they rest, as to the
they are severally entitled ; the celebration of fes practical business of the world and the intercourse
tivals ; the duties of the various orders of priests ; of social and political life. It was composed and
the exhibition of public games; the maintenance published late in the year B. c. 44, certainly after
of ancient rites; the punishment of perjury and the end of August (iii. sub fin. ), and is addressed
impurity; the consecration of holy places and to young Marcus, at that time residing at Athens
things; and the respect to be paid to the spirits of under the care of Cratippus the Peripatetic. This
the departed.
being a work professedly intended for the purposes
The third book treated of Magistrates, com- of instruction, Cicero does not dwell upon the
mencing with a short exposition of the nature and conflicting doctrines of rival sects, but endeavours
importance of their functions as interpreters and rather to inculcate directly those views which he
enforcers of the laws. This is followed by a disser- regarded as the most correct; and, rejecting the
tation on the expediency of having one magistrate form of dialogue, enunciates the different pre-
in a state to whom all the rest shall be subordinate, cepts with the authority of a teacher addressing
which leads to certain reflections on the authority his pupil. The discipline of the Stoics is princi-
of the consuls, as controlled by the tribunes. Here, pally followed. In the first two books, the repl
however, there is a great blank, the part which is raonkortós of Panaetius served as a guide, and
lost having contained, it would appear, an inquiry not a little was borrowed from Diogenes of Babylon,
into the functions of all the chief officers of the Antipater of Tarsus, Hecato, Posidonius, Antipater
Roman republic. What remains consists of three of Tyre, and others enumerated in the commentary
discussions, one on the power exercised by tribunes of Beier and the tract of Lynden on Panaetius.
of the plebeians, a second on the propriety of sup- Notwithstanding the express declaration of Cicero
plying the vacancies in the senate from the number to the contrary, we cannot, from internal evidence,
of those who had held certain appointments, and, avoid the conclusion, that the Greek authorities
thirdly, on the advantages and drawbacks of voting have in not a few passages been translated ver-
by ballot.
batim, and translated not very happily, for the
The scene of these dialogues is laid in the villa unyielding character of the Latin language ren-
of Cicero, in the neighbourhood of his native Ar- dered it impossible to express accurately those nice
pinum, near the point where the Fibrenus joins the gradations of thought and delicate distinctions
Liris. The Editio Princeps forms part of the edi- which can be conveyed with so much clearness
tion of the philosophical works printed at Rome in and precision by the copious vocabulary and grace-
2 vols. fol. by Sweynheym and Pannartz, 1471; see ful flexibility of the sister tongue. (See the essay
above, p. 719, b. The editions of Davis, Camb. of Garve named at the end of the article. ) The
1727-8, containing the notes of the old commentators, third book, which is occupied with questions in
and an improved text, were long held in high esti casuistry, although it lays claim to greater origi-
mation, and frequently reprinted, but is now super- nality than those which precede it, was certainly
seded by those of Goerenz, Leip. 1809, 8vo. , forming formed upon the model of the mepl kaOnkouTÓS
the first volume of the collected philosophical works; of the Stoic Hecato. But while the skeleton of
of Moser and Creuzer, Frankf. 1824, 8vo. , contain the whole work unquestionably of foreign origin,
ing everything that the scholar can desire ; and of the examples and illustrations are taken almost
Bake, Leyden, 1842, 8vo. , which is the most recent. exclusively from Roman history and Roman litera-
3. De Jure Civili in Artem redigendo.
ture, and are for the most part selected with great
judgment and clothed in the most felicitous diction.
A. Gellius quotes a sentence from a work of Cicero In the first book, after a few preliminary re-
which he says bore the above title. The subject of marks, we find a threefold division of the subject.
civil law was also discussed in one of the last books When called upon to perform any action we must
De Legibus, but the words of Gellius can apply inquire, 1. Whether it is honestum, that is, good
only to an independent treatise. See Orelli's Cicero in itself, absolutely and abstractedly good ; 2.
vol. iv. st. ii. p. 478. (Gell. i. 22 ; Quintil. xii. 3. Whether it is utile, that is, good when considered
$ 10; Macrob. V. . 4; Cic. de Leg. iii. 20. ) with reference to external objects ; 3. What course
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CICERO.
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we must pursue when the honestum and the utile | Libri II. , Hamb. 1610; R. G. Rath, Ciccro de
are at variance. Moreover, the honestum and the Officiis in brevi conspwctu, Hall. 1803 ; Thorbecke,
utile each admit of degrees which also fall to be Princip. phil. mor. e Ciceronis Op. , Leyden, 1817;
examined in order that we may make choice of the and the remarks which accompany the translation
highest. The general plan being thus sketched, it of Garve, of which a sixth edition was published
is followed out by a discussion of the four consti- at Breslau in 1819.
tuent elements into which the honestum may be
resolved : a. Sapientia, the power of discerning
2. Dc Virtutibus.
truth; 6. Justitia ct Beneficentia, which consist in This work, if it ever existed, which is far from
studying the welfare of those around us, in render- being certain, must have been intended as a sort
ing to every one his own, and in preserving con- of supplement to the De Officiis, just as Aristotle
tracts in violate; c. Fortitudo, greatness and strength added a tract, nepi dpetwv, to his Ethics. (Hieron.
of mind ; d. Temperantia, the faculty of doing and in Zachar. Prophet. Commcnt. i. 2; Charisius, ii.
saying everything in a becoming manner, in the
p. 186. )
proper place, and to the proper extent. Each of
ihese is explained at length, and the book closes
3. Cato Major s. De Scnectute.
with a debate on the degrees of the honestum, that This little tract, drawn up at the end of B. C.
is, the method of deciding, when each of two 45 or the commencement of B. C. 44, for the pur-
lines of conduct is honestum, which is to be pre-pose of pointing out how the burden of old age
ferred as superior (honcstius) to the other. may be inost easily supported, is addressed to
The second book is devoted to the utilc, and Atticus, who was now in his sixty-eighth year,
considers how we may best conciliate the favour of while Cicero himself was in his sixty-second or
our fellow-men, apply it to our own advancement, sixty-third. It is first mentioned in a letter
and thus arrive at wealth and public distinction, written from Puteoli on the 11th of May, B. C. there
enlarging peculiarly on the most pure and judicious (ad Att. xiv. 21, comp. xvii. 1l), and is there
mode of displaying liberality, whether by pecuniary spoken of as already in the hands of his friend.
gifts or by aid of any other description. This is in the short introductory dialogue, Scipio Aemili-
succeeded by a short notice of two utilitates passed anus and Laelius are supposed to have paid a visit
over by Papaetius--the care of the health and the during the consulship of T. Quinctius Flamininus
care of the purse, after which a few words are and M. ' Acilius Balbus (B. c. 150; see c. 5 and
added on the comparison of things expedient with 10) to Cato the censor, at that time 84 years old. .
each other.
Beholding with admiration the activity of body
In the third book it is demonstrated that there and cheerfulness of mind which he displayed, they
never can be any real collision between the hones request him to point out by what means the
tum and the utile; but that when an action is weight of increasing years may be most easily
viewed through a proper medium the homestum will borne. Cato willingly complies, and coinmences a
invariably be found to be inseparable from the dissertation in which he seeks to demonstrate how
utile and the utile from the honestum, a proposition unreasonable are the complaints usually urged re-
which had been briefly enunciated at the beginning garding the miseries which attend the close of a
of book second, but is here fully developed and protracted life. The four principal objections are
largely illustrated. A number of difficult cases stated and refuted in regular succession. It is
are then stated, which serve as exercises in the held that old age is wretched, 1. Because it in-
application of the rules laid down, among which a capacitates men for active business ; 2. Because it
prominent place is assigned to the story of Regulus. renders the body feeble ; 3. Because it deprives
The Editio Princeps of the De Oficiis is one of them of the enjoyment of almost all pleasures ;
the oldest specimens of classical typography in 4. Because it heralds the near approach of death.
existence, having been printed along with the The first three are met by producing examples of
Paradora by Fust and Schöffer at Mayence in many illustrious personages in whom old age was
1465 and again in 1466, both in small 4to. These not attended by any of these evils, by arguing that
are not of excessive rarity, and occur more fre such privations are not real but imaginary mis-
quently upon vellum than upon paper. Next fortunes, and that if the relish for some pleasures
comes an edition in 4to. , without date or name of is lost, other delights of a more desirable and sub-
place or of printer, but generally recognised as from stantial character are substituted. The fourth ob-
the press of Ulric Zell, at Cologne, about 1467, jection is encountered still more boldly, by an
which were followed by that of Ulric Hann, fol. , eloquent declaration that the chief happiness of old
Rome, 1468-9, also without name or date, that of age in the eyes of the philosopher arises from the
Sweynheym and Pannartz, Rome, fol. , 1469, of conviction, that it indicates the near approach of
Vindelin de Spira, Venice, fol. , 1470, and of death, that is, the near approach of the period
Eggesteyn, Strasburg, 4to. , 1770. Many of these when the soul shall be released from its debasing
have given rise to lengthened controversies among connexion with the body, and enter unfettered
bibliographers, the substance of which will be upon the paths of immortality.
found in Dibdin's “ Introduction to the Classics," This piece has always been deservedly esteemed
Lond. 1827. Among the almost countless editions as one of the most graceful moral essays bequeath-
which have appeared since the end of the 15th ed to us by antiquity. The purity of the language,
century, it is sufficient to specify those of Heusinger, the liveliness of the illustrations, the dignity of the
Brunswick, 8vo. , 1783, which first presented a really sentiments, and the tact with which the character
pure text and has been repeatedly reprinted ; of of the strong-minded but self-satisfied and garru-
Gernhard, Leipzig, 80. , 1811 ; and of Beier, 2 lous old man is maintained, have excited universal
vols. 8vo. , Leipzig, 1820-21, which may be con- applause. But however pleasing the picture here
sidered as the best.
presented to us, every one must perceive that it is
Literature :--A. Buscher, Ethicae Ciceronianar |å fancy sketch, not the faithful copy of a scelk
## p. 733 (#753) ############################################
CICERO.
733
CICERO.
from naturc. In fact the whole treatise is a tissue served in order to render it permanent and mu:u-
of special pleading on a question which is discussed ally advantageous. The most pleasing feature in
in the same tone of extravagance on the opposite this essay is the simple sincerity with which it is
side by Juvenal in his tenth satire. The logic impressed. The author casts aside the affectation
also is bad, for in several instances general propo- of learning, and the reader feels convinced through-
sitions are attacked by a few specious particular out that he is speaking from his heart.
In giving
cases which are mere exceptions to the rule. No full expression to the most amiable feelings, his
one can doubt the truth of the assertions, that old experience, knowledge of human nature, and sound
age does incapacitate us for active business, that it sense, enabled him to avoid all fantastic exaggera-
does render the body feeble, and that it does blunt tion, and, without sacrificing his dignified tone, or
the keenness of our senses ; but while it is a per- pitching his standard too low, he brings down the
fectly fair style of argument to maintain that these subject to the level of ordinary comprehension, and
are imaginary and not real ills, it is utterly absurd sets before us a model which all may iinitate.
to deny their existence, because history affords a The exordium is taken from the Theaetetus, and
few instances of favoured individuals who have in the 8th chapter we detect a correspondence with
been exempted from their influence.
a passage in the Lysis of Plato; the Ethics of
Cicero appears to have been indebted for the Aristotle, and the Memorabilia of Socrates by Xen-
idea, if not for the plan, of this work to Aristo of ophon afforded some suggestions; a strong resem-
Chios, a Stoic philosopher (c. 1); much has been blance can be traced in the fragments of Theo-
translated almost literally from the Republic of phrastus Tepl Pirías, and some hints are supposed
Plato (see cc. 2, 3, 14), and more freely from the to have been taken from Chrysippus περί φιλίας
Oeconomics and Cyropaedeia of Xenophon. The and Tepl Toù Olká červ. (Kühner, p. 118. )
passage with regard to the immortality of the soul The Editio nceps was printed at Cologne by
is derived from the Tiinaeus, the Phaedon, the Joh. Guldenschaff, the second, which includes the
Phaedrus, and the Menon (see Kühner, p. 116), Paradoxa, at the same place by Ulric Zell; neither
and some editors have traced the observations upon bears any date, but both are older than the collec-
the diseases of young men (c. 19) to Hippocrates. tion of the philosophical works printed at Rome
It must be remarked, that although Cato was a in 2 vols. fol. by Sweynheym and Pannartz, 1471,
rigid follower of the Porch, the doctrines here pro- which contains the Laelius. The best modern
pounded have little of the austerity of that sect, editions are those of Gernhard, Leipzig, 8vo. 18:25,
but savour more of the gentle and easy discipline and of Beier, Leipzig, 12mo. 1828.
of the Peripatetics. (Kühner, l. c. )
5. De Gloria Libri II.
The five earliest editions of the Cato Major
were all printed at Cologne, the first three by Cicero completed a work under the above title,
Ulric Zell, the fourth by Winter de Homborch, in two books dedicated to Atticus, on the 4th of
the fifth by Arnold Therhoernen, not one of which July, B. C. 44. A few words only having been
hears a date, but some of them are certainly older preserved, we have no means of determining the
than the edition of the collected philosophical works manner, or tone in which the subject was handled.
printed at Rome, in 2 vols. fol. , by Sweynbeym Petrarch was in possession of a MS. of the De
and Pannartz, which contains the De Senectute. Gloria, which afterwards passed into the hands of
[See above, p. 719, b. ) The best modern editions Bernardo Giustiniani, a Venetian, and then disap-
S
are those of Gernhard, which include the Paradoxa peared. Paulus Manutius and Jovius circulated a
also, Leipzig, 8v0. , 1819, and of Otto, Leipzig, story that it had been destroyed by Petrus Alcyo-
1830.
nius, who had stolen numerous passages and in-
4. Laelius s. De Amicitia.
serted them in his own treatise De Exilio; but
this calumny has been refuted by Tiraboschi in
This dialogue was written after the preceding, his history of Italian literature. (See Orelli's Ci-
to which it may be considered as forming a com- cero, vol. iv. pt. ii. p. 487: Cic. de of: ii. 9, ad Att.
panion. Just as the dissertation upon old age was xv. 27, xvi. 2. )
placed in the mouth of Cato because he had been
6. De Consolatione s. De Luctu minuendo.
distinguished for energy of mind and body pre
served entire to the very close of a long life, so the
This treatise was written B. C. 45, soon after
steadfast attachment which existed between Scipio the death of his beloved daughter, Tullia, when
and Laelius pointed out the latter as a person pe seeking distraction and relief in literary pursuits.
culiarly fitted to enlarge upon the advantages of We learn from Pliny (praef. H. N. ), that the work of
friendship and the mode in which it might best be Crantor the Academician was closely followed. A
cultivated. To no one could Cicero dedicate such few inconsiderable fragments have been preserved
a treatise with more propriety than to Atticus, the chiefly by Lactantius, and will be found in Orelli's
only individual among his contemporaries to whom Cicero, vol. iv. pt. ii. p. 489. The tract published
he gave his whole heart.
at Venice in 1583 under the title Consolatio Cice-
The imaginary conversation is supposed to have ronis is a notorious forgery, executed, as is gene
taken place between Laelius and his two sons-in- rally believed, by Sigonius or Vianellus. (Cic. al
law, C. Fannius and Q. Mucius Scaevola, a few Att. xii
. 20, 23, Tuscul. iii. 28, 31 ; Augustin, de
days after the death of Africanus (B. c. 129), and Civ. Dei, xix. 4; Hieron. Epitaph.
