ORATION FOR ARCHIAS.

ARGUMENT.

CHAP. I. Exordium. Cicero's obligations to Archias. -2. He justifies the unusual tone of his argument. - Narratio. 3. Early career of

Archias he is enrolled as a citizen of Heraclia.

Confirmatio. 4. His technical claim: his registry, acts of citizenship, domicile. — 5. Argument from the public records. - 6. The case is now closed. Further argument is unnecessary. Literature an indispensable relaxation, and also a source of moral strength.-7. All famous men have been devoted to letters. 8, 9. Great artists are of themselves worthy of admiration. The poet is especially sacred he is the herald of fame. - -10. Greek is a surer passport to fame than Latin. Men inferior to Archias have been honored with citizenship. II, 12. Fame is the strongest motive to acts of public virtue. Literature is the most enduring of monuments. - Peroratio. 12 (sect. 31). Appeal to the court to protect Archias the poet in his rights.

EXORDIUM (§§ 1-3).

Sects. 1-3. Cicero's obligations to Archias make it a duty to undertake his defence. The unusual tone of the argument justified. PAGE 154. LINE 1. (SECT. 1.) judices, i.e. the members of a special court (quaestio) established by the Lex Papia (see Introd. to the oration, p. 154) to inquire into cases arising under that law.

154 3 versatum: cf. the date of the defence of Roscius and the opening passage of that oration. — hujusce rei, i.e. dicendi.

155. 1 ratio, knowledge, i.e. theoretic acquaintance, contrasted with exercitatio, practice.

155 3 A. Licinius: following the custom of naturalized foreigners, as well as freedmen, Archias had taken the gentile name of his noble friends and patrons, the Luculli. Cicero's motive in always speaking of him by his Roman name is obvious.

155 6 inde usque, from as far back as that, I say. 1557 principem, master.

155 8 rationem, course.

word see Vocab.

For the connection of the meanings of this

155 10 a quo relates to huic, which is dat. after ferre; quo relates to id: surely, to the man himself from whom I have received that whereby, etc. 155 11 ceteris, all the rest [of my fellow-citizens], i.e. other than Archias.alios, some of them.

155 12 opem corresponds to opitulari; salutem, to salvare. 155 14 (SECT. 2.) neque, and not.

155 15 dicendi ratio aut disciplina, art or science of oratory.· - ne nos quidem, etc., i.e. not even I, though by profession an orator, have devoted myself to oratory alone.

1. I.

155 20 (SECT. 3.) quaestione legitima: see note on judices, p. 154,

155 22 severissimos, i.e. before men of the old Roman stamp, who might not be favorably impressed by such praise of literature.

155 24 forensi sermone is not used here in its special meaning, "the language of the courts," but in its wider sense, the language of the Forum, i.e. the ordinary tone of practical affairs (the Forum being the centre of Roman business and politics).

155 27 ut ... patiamini, a purp. clause in appos. with veniam (1. 25).

155 28 hoc concursu, loc. abl. expressing the circumstances; so also hac vestra humanitate, with men of your cultivation.

155 29 hoc praetore: Q. Cicero was himself a poet and man of critical taste.

155 30 paulo... liberius, with somewhat unusual freedom (§ 93, a ; G. 297; H. 444, 1).

155 31 otium ac studium, a quiet life of study (almost hendiadys); so judiciis periculisque, below.

Sects. 4-6. Earlier career of Archias. His celebrity in Asia and elsewhere. His removal to Rome and his distinguished patrons there. He becomes a citizen of Heraclia.

156. 3 (SECT. 4.) cum, causal, but best translated when.

156 4 esset for tense, see § 337, b, I; G. 597, R.; H. 527, iii.

156 5 asciscendum fuisse: in the direct, asciscendus erat (§ 308, d; G. 597, R. a; H. 511, 2); cf. note on Pompey's Mil. Command, sect. 49 (p. 88, 1. 32), erat deligendus.

156 9 urbe § 184, c ; G. 411, R.3; H. 363, 42.

156 12 contigit: sc. ei, i.e. Archais. — post, afterwards.

156 15 (SECT. 5.) tunc, at that time. This was the long period of comparative quiet between the Gracchan disturbances (B.C. 133-121) and the tribunate of Drusus (B.C. 91), which was followed by the Social War and the civil wars of Marius and Sulla.

156 16 Latio: not the geographical Latium merely, but all towns

which at that time possessed Latin citizenship; that is, the Latin colonies, such as Venusia, the birthplace of the poet Horace.

156 21 de ingeniis, i. e. could form some opinion about the talents of literary men.

156 23 absentibus, people at a distance. - Mario et Catulo (coss. B.C. 102); of these, Marius was renowned for his exploits, while Catulus was a good officer, and also a man of culture.

156 25 nactus est, etc., he happened to find holding the consulship.— eos quorum alter, men of such a kind that one of them, etc. This would not only furnish him with themes for his poetry but insure appreciation of his genius.

156 27 Luculli: Lucius, the one who fought against Mithridates, and his brother Marcus: both of them belonged to the highest ranks of the aristocracy, and were men of distinguished taste and culture.

156 29 ingeni, pred. gen. after an understood erat: this was [a proof] not only of his genius, etc.

156 30 ut... esset, result clause in app. with hoc (1. 29).

157. 1 (SECT. 6.) jucundus, etc. : ever since the introduction of Greek culture at Rome, it had been customary for cultivated Romans of high rank to entertain Greek men of letters in their houses, partly as tutors and partly as companions. Such associates frequently accompanied their patrons on their journeys and even on their campaigns. — Metello Numidico: the most distinguished member of this family. He was predecessor of Marius in the war against Jugurtha, and from this service in Numidia received his agnomen.

157 2 Aemilio, i.e. M. Æmilius Scaurus (cos. B.C. 115), for many years princeps senatus.

157 3 Catulo : see note, sect. 5.-L. Crasso: the most distinguished orator of his time, a man of genius and culture (see Introd., ch. ii.): he died B.C. 91.

157 4 Drusum (M. Livius), tribune B.C. 91, a distinguished orator and statesman, who lost his life in a vain attempt to reconcile the aristocratic and democratic factions in the republic. - Octavios: see Cat. iii., sect. 24. - Catonem: probably the father of the famous Cato of Utica is meant. 157 5 Hortensiorum: the most eminent of these was Q. Hortensius, the rival of Cicero and his opponent in the case of Verres.

157 8 si qui forte, those (if there were any) who, etc.

157 11 Heracliam: an important Greek city, on the southern coast of Lucania. In the war with Pyrrhus it had fought on the side of the Romans, and, B.C. 278, it entered into an alliance of the closest and most favorable character (aequissimo jure ac foedere).

Sects. 7-11. Archias received Roman citizenship under the Lex Plautia-Papiria, complying with all the provisions of that law. The evidence of this cannot be shaken; the testimony of the census is unnecessary. No further argument is needed: the case is closed.

157 15 (SECT. 7.) Silvani lege, etc., i.e. the Lex Plautia-Papiria, of the tribunes M. Plautius Silvanus and C. Papirius Carbo (not to be confounded with his infamous cousin Cneius, the Marian leader after the death of Cinna), extended the Roman citizenship to all Italian communities which had not yet received it. These towns now exchanged their independence for Roman citizenship, and became incorporated with the republic; though many of them, as Heraclia, hesitated about making the change, and did it with great reluctance. They lost all rights of independent government (such as that of coining money, the jus exsilii, etc.). Latin became the official language; justice was administered by Roman law; and in most cases their government was organized on the model of Rome, having duumviri for consuls, and a curia for the Senate. The passage here given from the Plautian-Papirian Law contains its application to citizens of foreign birth, like Archias. —si qui, etc. the law is quoted in indir. disc., but the main clause is omitted, being implied in data est (see $341, c; G. 663, 2, b).

157 18 essent professi, should have declared their intention.

157 19 Q. Metellum [Pium], prætor, B.C. 89: the most eminent living member of this family, and one of the leaders of the aristocracy.

157 22 (SECT. 8.) Grati, the complainant (see Introd., p. 154 of text). 158.

religione, conscientiousness.

158 6 desideras, call for (lit. miss, feel the want of).—Italico bello (§ 259, a; G. 394, R.; H. 429), i.e. the Social War.

158 11 municipi: since the bestowal of the Roman citizenship, the Italian civitates had become Roman municipia (see Introd., p. liii).

158 12 idem, you yourself (lit. the same man).

158 15 (SECT. 9.) In sect. 8 Cicero shows that Archias was a citizen of Heraclia and so came under the first requirement of the law; in sect. 9 he claims that his client had also complied with the other two requirements (domicilium and professio). - civitatem datam, i.e. by the law

before cited.

158 17 professione, list of declarations.

158 18 conlegio: the prætors, when regarded as a whole, could be spoken of as a "board."

158 19 cum, while.

Appi, i.e. Appius Claudius, husband of Cæcilia (the friend of Roscius: see Rosc. Am., sect. 50) and father of the infamous Clodius.

158 20 Gabini: see Introd. to Pompey's Military Command.

158 21 damnationem: he was condemned, B.C. 54, for extortion on complaint of the Achæans.

158 23 L. Lentulum: nothing further is known of him; he probably presided over a court (judices) to determine cases involving citizenship under the new law.

158 29 (SECT. 10.) multis and praeditis are dat. after impertiebant; arte, abl. after praeditis.

158 30 Graecia, i.e. Magna Græcia, the Greek cities of Italy.

158 31 credo (ironical), I suppose. — Locrensis: Locri Epizephyrii, a Greek city near Rhegium.

158 32 quod relates to id, which is governed by largiri understood. 159. 1 ingeni limits gloria, which depends on praedito.

159 2 civitatem datam, i.e. by the Lex Plautia-Papiria.

159 3 legem Papiam: see Introd. to the Oration, p. 154 of text. 159 4 illis, sc. tabulis, i.e. of Tarentum, Rhegium, and Naples.

159 6 (SECT. II.) census: the lists of citizens made out by the censors for purposes of taxation. These were, of course, excellent evidence on a question of citizenship; but they were not needed in this case. requiris cf. desideras in the same sense in sect. 8 (p. 158, 1. 6).

1597 est obscurum (ironical), it is not generally known. — proximis, abl. of time: translate by under. The censors referred to were L. Gellius and Cn. Lentulus (B.C. 70).—clarissimo: observe the art with which Cicero here again calls attention to the connection of Archias with the distinguished Romans any one of whom could at any moment have procured him the citizenship if he had not already possessed it.

159 8 apud exercitum, i.e. in the war against Mithridates (see Oration for the Manilian Law). — superioribus, sc. censoribus. New censors were regularly appointed every five years: those here referred to were Q. Marcius Philippus and M. Perperna (B.C. 86). In the present instance the succession had been interfered with by Sulla but restored in B.C. 70.

159 9 in Asia: this was in the First Mithridatic War, in which Lucullus served as quæstor to Sulla. —primis, i.e. the first after the passage of the Lex Plautia-Papiria: these were L. Julius Cæsar and P. Crassus (B.C. 89).

159 14 esse versatum (sc. eum), had availed himself of: this clause is the obj. of criminaris. — testamentum, etc., acts which no foreigner could do.