No More Learning

13] that in one particular year "there was scarcely a day throughout the month of April when someone was not giving a public reading. " [tr. Radice. ]
Ennius: Quintus Ennius (239- 169 BCE), the "father of Roman poetry," was a playwright, historian, satirist, philosopher, and poet, highly regarded in his own time and in later times, as the Ciceronian description of him indicates. He referred to himself as a man of three hearts, because he knew Greek,
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. . . whereas other arts need to be based upon study and rules and principles, poets depend entirely on their own inborn gifts and are stimulated by some internal force, a sort of divine spark with the depths of their own souls. Our great Ennius was therefore right to call poets holy, because they seem to bring to us some spe- cial gift and endowment which the gods have accorded them as a passport for this world. Even the most barba- rous of races has never treated the name of poet with dis- respect. How imperative therefore it is that you yourselves, with all your noble culture, should regard it as holy indeed! The very rocks and deserts echo the poet's song. Many is the time when ferocious beasts have been enchanted and arrested in their tracks as these strains come to their ears. Shall we, then, who have been nurtured on everything that is fine, remain unmoved at a poet's voice?
[Next, Cicero reminds his audience that many com- munities--at least seven--claimed that Homer was their own native son, and that Archias had already writ- ten several histories that celebrated the accomplishments and conquests of the Roman armies. Achilles's name would have been buried in the dusts of history had Homer not penned the Iliad, and Alexander the Great would never have been famous were it not for the Archiases of his own time, poets and historians who could record his deeds for posterity; immortality comes via the written word. ]
Cicero's concluding words: "I have made the state- ment of my case as brief and simple as usual; and I have the feeling that it has gained your approbation. I hope my digression . . . to tell you something about my client's talent and about literary studies in general, has been to your taste. To the chairman of this tribunal--I venture to express the conviction--it has proved acceptable enough. " [Tr. Michael Grant. Selected Political Speeches of Cicero (Pro Archia Poeta). Penguin Books, 1977. Reprinted in The Intellectual Journey. Simon & Schuster Custom Publishing, 1998. Page numbers: 12, 13, 16. ]
AFTERMATH
Oddly, it is not known if Cicero won the case, but most scholars who have studied his arguments have assumed that he did indeed triumph. It seems to be an eminently reasonable assumption. Cicero was evidently hoping that Archias would reward him for his legal efforts by writing a laudatory poem about him, but that
An Intellectual Defends the Study of Literature
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? Latin, and a local dialect, Oscan. The famous Roman general Scipio Africanus, conqueror of Hannibal, ordered that a statue of Ennius be placed on his own tomb.
other arts: By "other arts," Cicero pre- sumably means other intellectual activities and/or working within other literary genres. It is almost as if he is suggesting that poets are born, not made.
Roscius: Full Roman name: Quintus Roscius Gallus. Roscius, who died in the same year in which Cicero presented his defense of Archias, was considered the best comic actor of his time. He was a close friend of Cicero, who always spoke of him in the most complimentary terms. His name became prover- bial in the acting profession, so much so that any actor who attained prominence was called a "Roscius. "
Cicero had defended Roscius in a court case a number of years ear- lier; the exact year is uncertain, with dates of 76, 68, and 66 BCE suggested. The gist of the case: a certain Gaius Fannius Chaerea owned a slave by the name of Panurgus. This Fannius entered into an agreement with Roscius, which contained three clauses: that they would jointly own Panurgus; that Roscius would train Panurgus to act; and that Fannius and Roscius would share in any earn- ings that Panurgus might sub- sequently generate through his work as a professional actor. Panurgus was indeed an apt pupil, and this, along with his innate tal- ent, soon translated into success on the stage. Unfortunately, Panurgus was later murdered by a
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seemingly did not happen. "Archias has not written anything about me," Cicero wrote in a letter to his friend Atticus. "I am afraid, now [that] he has written his Greek poem on the Luculli [a prominent Roman family who had befriended Archias], he is turning to . . . drama" [Cicero. Letters to Atticus 1. 16; tr. Winstedt. ].
ASK YOURSELF
1. Do you agree with Cicero's claim that "there is no other occupation [other than literary pursuits] upon earth which is so appropriate to every time and every age and every place"?
2. What do you think of Cicero's belief that writing poetry successfully relies more on inborn talent and divine inspira- tion than it does on training and study?
TOPICS TO CONSIDER
e Cicero admits that that portion of his speech in which he defends literary pursuits is unconven- tional, not the kind of approach that would be expected in a courtroom oration. Research Roman legal procedure to determine what form a conventional speech would take. Was there any- thing in Roman legal tradition that would prohibit Cicero's approach?
e Most authorities agree that polite Roman society scorned actors and treated them with contempt. Comporting in public (as actors obviously did, by the nature of their profession), and receiving pay- ment for it, was frowned upon. Why, then, do you suppose an elegant and sophisticated Roman
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? certain Quintus Flavius, whose motive for so doing was never deter- mined. Roscius sued Flavius, whose homicidal act had deprived Roscius of a profitable source of income. But an out-of-court settlement was reached: Roscius agreed to accept a farm from Flavius as compensation; this farm, which Roscius astutely managed, soon became a money- maker. But in another twist, Fannius, the co-owner of the actor Panurgus, demanded half the pro- ceeds of the farm, arguing that the settlement was not on behalf of Roscius alone but the partnership, and that therefore half the value of the farm belonged to Fannius. Cicero now entered the picture to defend Roscius against the claims of his partner.
you yourselves, with all your noble culture. A direct address to the jury. Cicero was a master at flatter- ing the members of Roman juries, and especially in suggesting that they were men of learning and cul- ture, which presumably, they often were not.
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? HOMER'S HOMETOWN
One of the enduring questions about the famous epic poet Homer is his place of origin. No one seems to know where he was born. And so there arose a kind of competition among many cities in the ancient world, all claim- ing to be Homer's birthplace. A famous epigram lists the front-runners for the honor as the following seven cities: Smyrna, Rhodes, Colophon, Salamis, Chios, Argos, and Athens. Of these, Salamis, Argos, and Athens are in Greece; the rest are situated on or near the western coast of modern Turkey. In his speech, Cicero specifi- cally mentions Colophon, Chios, Salamis, and Smyrna, and notes that the people of the latter city were so cer- tain of their claim that they even constructed a building in Homer's honor, called the Homereum.
Cicero's point is that citizens of all seven of these communities, and also of others that were not named, knew that the fame and prestige of their town could be enhanced by virtue of the town's status as the birthplace and hometown of a famous poet. So it would follow that Rome could receive similar boost by accepting Archias as one of its own.
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gentleman like Cicero would have had such high regard for the actor Roscius and even have defended him in a legal matter?
Further Information
Gutoff, Harold. Cicero's Elegant Style: An Analysis of the Pro Archia. Chicago, 1979. Sherwin-White, Adrian. The Roman Citizenship. Oxford, 1973.
Wood, Neil. Cicero's Social and Political Thought. Berkeley, CA, 1988.
Website
Bibliography: Cicero's "Pro Archia Poeta. " http://www. uga. edu/juro/2004/patrickbib. htm Bibliography for Document
Grant, Michael (tr. ). Selected Political Speeches of Cicero. New York, 1977.
Watts, N. H. (tr. ) Cicero: The Speeches. [LCL] London and New York, 1923.
Winstedt, E. O. (tr. ) Cicero. Letters to Atticus. Volume I. [LCL. ] Cambridge and London,
1912.
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29. AN INTELLECTUAL PAYS TRIBUTE TO HIS UNCLE'S LITERARY OUTPUT
INTRODUCTION
Pliny the Younger (62-114 CE) was a noted diplomat, statesman, author, and epistler. Still extant are 247 letters that he wrote to friends. An additional 121 letters also remain, written to and received from the emperor Trajan while Pliny was serving as his representative in the province of Pontus-Bithynia.
The document consists of the introductory portions of a letter that he wrote to his friend Baebius Macer. This friend had asked Pliny for a "complete list" of all the books that his illustrious uncle, Pliny the Elder, had written. The document is the Younger Pliny's response to this request.
KEEP IN MIND AS YOU READ
1. Many of the letters of Pliny the Younger are not written in a chatty, informal mode, but are more like informational essays. The letter about his uncle's literary accom- plishments clearly falls into the latter category.
2. Pliny, of course, did not have available to him any of the modern technologies that writers make use of today. Books always had to be written out longhand, either by the authors themselves or by scribes to whom they dictated their words.
3. As an educated and well-traveled civil servant, Pliny had many friends and acquaint- ances throughout the Roman world, and so it should come as no surprise that his surviving letters reflect a great deal of variety. Many of the individuals to whom he addressed letters are known to us, but Baebius Macer (the recipient of the letter that provides the text for the fourth document) is unknown to us. This is the only one of the 247 letters that was written to Macer.
Document: How Pliny the Elder Was Able
to Write So Many Books
I am delighted to hear that your close study of my uncle's books has made you wish to possess them all. Since you ask me for a complete list, I will provide a
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bibliography, and arrange it in chronological order, for this is the sort of information also likely to please scholars.
Throwing the Javelin from Horseback . . . a work of industry and talent, written when he was a junior officer in the cavalry.
The life of Pomponius Secundus . . . My uncle was greatly loved by him and felt he owed this as an act of hom- age to his friend's memory.
The German Wars . . . covering all the wars we have ever had with the Germans. He began this during his mili- tary service in Germany, as the result of a dream; in his sleep he saw standing over him the ghost of Drusus Nero, who had triumphed far and wide in Germany and died there. He committed his memory to my uncle's care, begging him to save him from the injustice of oblivion.
The Scholar . . . in which he trains the orator from his cradle and brings him to perfection.
Problems in Grammar . . . This he wrote during Nero's last years [Nero died in 68 CE] when the slavery of the times made it dangerous to write anything at all inde- pendent or inspired.
A Continuation of the History of Aufidius Bassus . . .
A Natural History [Pliny's only surviving work]-- thirty-seven volumes, a learned and comprehensive work as full of variety as nature itself.
You may wonder how such a busy man was able to complete so many volumes, many of them involving detailed study, and wonder still more when you learn that up to a certain age he practiced at the bar, that he died at the age of fifty-five [in 79 CE, in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius], and throughout the intervening years his time was much taken up with the important offices he held and his friendship with the Emperors. But he combined a penetrating intellect with amazing powers of concentra- tion and the capacity to manage with the minimum of sleep.
From the fest of Vulcan onwards he began to work by lamplight, not with any idea of making a propitious start, but to give himself more time for study, and would rise halfway through the night; in winter, it would often be at midnight or an hour later, and two at the latest. Admittedly, he fell asleep very easily, and would often doze and wake up again during his work. Before daybreak, he would visit the Emperor Vespasian [in his role as one of the "friends of the emperor"] (who also made use of his nights), and then go to attend to his official duties. On returning home, he devoted any spare time to his work. [More of his work habits are described next, including an incident that illustrated his near-obsession with using time
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? Aufidius Bassus: This historian lived during the time of the emperor Tiberius, and wrote a history that covered the end of the Roman Republic, down to the reign of the emperor Claudius (reigned 41-54 CE). This was the book that Pliny apparently completed. Quintilian [10. 1. 103] admired the dignity that Bassus brought to the writing of history and said that he was "always praiseworthy. "
Drusus Nero: The stepson of the emperor Augustus (reigned 27 BCE- 14 CE), and brother of the emperor Tiberius (reigned 14-37 CE); Drusus died in 9 BCE.
friendship: It became customary for Roman emperors to gather about them the so-called amici principis--"friends of the emperor"--who constituted a consilium, or "advisory council"; this council offered advice to the emperor on legal and judicial mat- ters, and perhaps on other issues as well. It was a mark of the high esteem in which Pliny the Elder was held that he was selected for this consilium by several emperors.
his official duties: The nature of Pliny's official duties is not known. junior officer: The praefectus alae. The word ala literally means "wing"; in military parlance, it referred to the wing of an army. So a praefectus alae was in charge of one wing of an army, usually composed of cav- alry, as indicated in the document. Pomponius Secundus: He was "the most important tragedian of the time of the Empire, probably the last who wrote for the stage" [Harper's]. He also served as a poli- tician (as consul in 44 CE) and as a military general. Both Tacitus and
Quintilian respected his work.
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wisely. It seems that on one occasion, a passage from a book was being read to Pliny and some of his friends; Pliny took copious notes during the recitation At one point, the reader mispronounced a word, whereupon one of the hearers asked him to go back and correct him- self. Pliny asked his friend whether he had understood the word the first time, and the man replied in the affirmative. "Then why make him go back? " said Pliny. "Your interruption has lost us at least ten lines. "] [Tr. Betty Radice. Pliny: Letters and Panegyricus (3. 5). Volume I. LCL, 1969. Page numbers: 173, 175, 177. ]
AFTERMATH
In the remainder of the letter, Pliny informs us that his uncle's gift
of focused concentration enabled him to work on his writing in
almost any circumstance: while in the country; while traveling from place to place; while being rubbed down after a bath--he dictated to a scribe in that instance! Pliny relates that his uncle often chided him for walking, instead of being transported in a litter, because walk- ing wasted time that could have been devoted to writing. He claims that compared to his uncle, even the most industrious person would seem like an unabashed slacker.
In conclusion, he expresses the hope that the friend to whom he addressed the letter would be motivated to try to "produce something similar. "
ASK YOURSELF
1. What is your impression of the list of the Elder Pliny's published works? Do you notice any similarities among them, or does each one seem quite different and dis- tinct? Is there any way to categorize or classify the letters?
2. What do you think of Pliny's work schedule? Does it seem reasonable? Doable? A little bit extreme?
An Intellectual Pays Tribute to His Uncle's Literary Output
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? Problems in Grammar: Quintilian [3. 1. 21] had a favorable opinion of Pliny's book on grammar, writ- ing that Pliny's book ranks highly because of its accuracy.
Vulcan: "The 23rd of August, when sunrise is about a quarter past five; the date chosen for the first light- ing lamps before daylight, because Vulcan was the god of fire. This was with most persons merely a ceremony . . . but Pliny really began to study. " [Westcott, p. 178]
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? HOW MUCH MONEY FOR A BOOK?
At one point in his letter, Pliny writes that his uncle had left him 160 notebooks, with all text written in very small letters and on both sides of the page--unusual, given that most manuscripts were written on one side only. He also claims that had his uncle wished to sell those notebooks, he would have been able to command a sale price of 400,000 sesterces for them. But how would that figure compare with the sale prices for other works of literature at various times in the history of the ancient world?
The essayist Aulus Gellius writes that although the philosopher Plato was hardly a wealthy man, he once paid 10,000 denarii (the equivalent of 40,000 sesterces) for three books written by the Pythagorean philosopher Philolaus. He also reports that Aristotle bought "a very few books of the philosopher Speusippus" for the equiv- alent of 72,000 sesterces. [3. 17]
On the other hand, John C. Rolfe, in his translation of the essays of Aulus Gellius, states that "the first book of [the Roman poet] Martial's Epigrams, 700 lines, in an elegant form, cost only [20 sesterces], and cheaper edi- tions could be bought for from 6 to 10 sesterces. "
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? TOPICS TO CONSIDER
e The survival rate of the works of ancient authors often presents modern readers with some interesting questions. In the case of Pliny the Elder, for example, why do you suppose that out of his vast array of multivolume books, only one of them, Natural History, survives to the present day? Was this mere coincidence? Or could there be other reasons for the disap- pearance of his other written works?
e Pliny seems to have mastered the art of time management, which in part accounts for his ability to produce so many lengthy books. Do you know of any contemporary, or near-contemporary, prolific authors who observe similarly strict time management rules? (Hint: Research the writing sched- ules of Mark Twain or Charles Dickens for starters. )
e Letter writing is a generally accepted literary genre. Should it be? How would Pliny's letters compare with the letters written by other famous epis- tlers of the ancient world, such as Cicero or St. Paul?
Further Information
Bell, Albert. All Roads Lead to Murder: A Case from the Notebooks of Pliny the Younger. Boone, NC, 2002.
Sherwin-White, A. N. The Letters of Pliny: A Social and Historical Commentary. Oxford, 1966.
Websites
Ancient History Sourcebook: Pliny the Younger (61 or 62-113 CE): Selected Letters, c. 100 CE). http://www. fordham. edu/halsall/ancient/pliny-letters. html
The Letters of Pliny the Younger. http://www. vroma. org/~hwalker/Pliny/
Bibliography for Document
Radice, Betty (tr. ). Pliny. Letters and Panegyricus. Volume I. Cambridge and London, 1969. Westcott, J. H. (ed. ). Selected Letters of Pliny, with an Introduction and Notes. Norman, OK,
new edition 1965.
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POLITICS
Political campaigning, speechmaking, lawyering . . . these were the lifeblood of the public arena in both ancient Greece and Rome. Oratorical skills were highly prized essentials for anyone desiring a career in the sometimes topsy-turvy world of ancient politics. Lawyers and politicians abounded in both societies; we have numerous sources and documents attest- ing to that fact. The four documents selected for this chapter will hopefully be representative of the many that are still available to us.
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30. OUT WITH HIM! AN ATHENIAN METHOD OF RIDDING THE CITY OF TIRESOME POLITICIANS
INTRODUCTION
The ancient Athenians had a unique method of dealing with politicians who became too egotistical, or who seemed dangerously inclined toward dictatorship, or who were viewed as displaying some other seriously inappropriate attitude or behavior pattern: ostracism. Under the Athenian system, ostracism meant something far more severe than simply social isolation, which, of course, is what the word suggests today. An ostracized politician was required to leave the city--to be exiled--for a period of 10 years. A preliminary vote on whether to conduct an ostracism was held every year; if a majority of voters assented, the vote itself was held. As long as at least 6,000 votes were cast, the one politician who received the most was considered ostracized.
The practice was reportedly introduced somewhere around 509 BCE, by the lawgiver Cleisthenes, and first employed early in the fifth century. The last known ostracism occurred in 417.
The intent of an ostracism may have been noble--to protect Athenian democracy from unscrupulous politicians or military leaders who might seek to undermine it--but some- times, decent and honest politicians fell victim to an ostracism vote conducted by an elector- ate with less than honorable motives. Such was the case of the fifth-century BCE politician Aristides. In his biography of Aristides, Plutarch provides not only the details surrounding the ostracism of Aristides, but also a most concise and understandable explanation of how the system worked.
KEEP IN MIND AS YOU READ
1. In the fifth century BCE, the Athenian democracy was in full flower, and great politi- cal debates occurred frequently. The heart of the democracy was the Assembly, which met about 40 times per year; all Athenian citizens were permitted to attend and participate in Assembly meetings. In the Assembly, the major issues of the day were discussed and voted upon, including ostracisms.
2. In ancient Greek (and Roman) times, punishment for criminal behavior was quite different than punishments meted out today. Nowadays, felonious lawbreakers are usually sentenced to prison terms. But although the Greeks and Romans both had places of confinement for criminal defendants, incarceration was generally used only
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to keep these accused persons in custody prior to their trials; prison sentences, as punishments, were virtually unknown. Much more often, a convicted defendant would be executed or fined, or, as in the case with the "winner" of an ostracism vote, exiled.
3. Plutarch, our source for this document, habitually included much anecdotal infor- mation in the biographies he wrote. This kind of information helps to give us a complete picture of the true nature of the individual. The story of Aristides writing his own name on the ostracism ballot--in effect, voting for his own exile! --is an example of how he came to be given the nickname The Just. Most people, in a sim- ilar situation, probably would have greeted such a request with an expletive, or worse. A truly just person, however, would comply with the request.
Document: The Ostracism of a Just Man
This sentence of ostracism was not in itself a punishment for wrongdoing. It was described for the sake of appearan- ces as a measure to curtail and humble a man's power and prestige in cases where these had grown oppressive; but in reality, it was a humane device for appeasing the people's jealousy, which could thus vent its desire to do harm, not by inflicting some irreparable injury, but by a sentence of ten years' banishment. Later on the penalty came to be inflicted on various ignoble creatures, the scum of the political world, and it was then abandoned, the last man to be ostracized being Hyperbolus [in ca. 417 BCE]. Hyperbolus's banishment is said to have been brought about in this way. Alcibiades and Nicias, the two most powerful men in the state, were the leaders of the two opposing parties. So when the people were on the point of carrying out an ostracism and were obviously going to vote against one or the other, the two men came to terms, combined their rival factions and so arranged matters that Hyperbolus was ostracized. The people were enraged at this and felt that the institution of ostracism had been abused and degraded, and so they not only ceased to resort to it but formally abolished the practice.
The procedure, to give a general account of it, was as follows: Each voter took an ostrakon, or piece of earthen- ware, wrote on it the name of the citizen he wished to be banished and carried it to a part of the market-place which was fenced off with a circular paling. Then the archons first counted the total number of votes cast, for if there were less than six thousand, the ostracism was void. After this they sorted the votes and the man who had the most recorded against his name was proclaimed to be exiled for ten years, with the right, however, to receive the income from his estate.
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? Alcibiades and Nicias: As Plutarch notes, these individuals were two of the major players on the Athenian political stage in the late fifth cen- tury. In 415--just two years after the ostracism of Hyperbolus--the two of them locked horns over the question of whether to send an Athenian military expedition to the island of Sicily. Alcibiades was in favor, Nicias opposed. They engaged in a very heated debate about this in the Assembly.