que prope silvas et jam humano cultu digniora loca. Ibi jumenta in pabulum missa, et quies muniendo fessis hominibus data triduo. Inde ad planum descensum, etiam locis mollioribus et accolarum ingeniis.'-xxi. 37.

The words are here arranged almost in their natural order, and very much as they would stand in English. His style varies no less remarkably in the speeches interwoven with the thread of his history. Euphony is always studied in the arrangement of the words, but perspicuity is also a prominent feature of the composition; the sentences frequently ending with a dependent clause, when the finite verb is far removed from its subject, or when the number and arrangement of the intermediate clauses would endanger involution, if the principal finite verb were to terminate the period.

THE EPISTOLARY STYLE.

Ease, simplicity, and freedom, and the absence of any semblance of meditation or design, are the main characteristics of Cicero's epistolary style. Accordingly, the words are generally arranged nearly in their grammatical order; the verb is rarely placed at the end of a sentence, which repeatedly terminates with a subordinate or dependent clause. The following extract, taken at random from Tully's Letters to Atticus, Lib. xi. Ep. 25, will exemplify this:

'Facile assentior tuis literis; quibus exponis pluribus verbis, nullum te habere consilium, quo a te possim juvari. Consolatio certe nulla est, quæ levare possit

dolorem meum.'

This is especially the case in the more easy and familiar letters, such as those addressed to Trebatius. Even in more important communications, however, as Zumpt has shewn, the style is generally characterised by the same attributes. He specifies a 'passage in Cicero's letter to

Lucceius (ad Fam. v. 12), which is written with great care, but purposely with the ease and frankness of a man of the world: genus enim scriptorum tuorum, etsi erat semper a me vehementer expectatum, tamen vicit opinionem meam, meque ita vel cepit vel incendit, ut cuperem quam celerrimè res nostras monumentis commendari tuis. In a narrative it would be expressed thus: genus enim scriptorum Lucceii, etsi semper ab eo vehementer expectatum erat, tamen opinionem ejus ita vicit, ut quam celerrimè res suas illius monumentis illustrari cuperet.'-SCHMITZ's Zumpt, p. 528.

A familiar style is usually elliptical; and in Tully's letters we constantly find such omissions as the absence of the verb substantive, the copulative conjunctions, etc. 'The epistolary style in Latin,' says Madvig, 'has this peculiarity, that the writer often has in his eye the time when the letter will be read, and therefore, instead of the present and perfect, uses the imperfect and pluperfect where the receiver would use these tenses, viz., of that which is said with reference to the time of writing: nihil habebam quod scriberem; neque enim novi quidquam audieram et ad tuas omnes epistolas rescripseram pridie; erat tamen rumor, comitia dilatum iri (Cic. ad Att. ix. 10). On the contrary, everything which is said in general terms, and without particular reference to the time of composing the letter, must be put in the usual tense: Ego te maximi et feci et facio. Pridie Idus Januarias hæc scripsi ante lucem (simply of the letter written thus far, which was afterwards continued; the receiver would say, Hæc Cicero scripsit ante lucem); eo die eram cœnaturus apud Pomponium (Cic. ad Q. Fr. ii. 3). The other form, too, is frequently not used when it might have been adopted.'-Latin Grammar, p. 295.

THE DIDACTIC STYLE.

In this branch of composition, Cicero's style varies mate

rially in harmony with the character of his theme.

6

Thus,

the treatise De Officiis,' written in the form of a letter to his son, is pervaded by an uniform simplicity of style and structure. In the Tusculan Disputations,' the exordium is ornate and elaborate; the brief dialogue, or rather the crossexamination of the Auditor,' by Cicero, at § 5, terse and colloquial in the De Oratore,' the diction is elaborate. throughout, taking its tone and colour from the topic under discussion while in the 'De Naturâ Deorum,' the most florid and poetical exuberance adorns those phases of the subject, to which such qualities of style are congenial.

:

Such, especially, is the exposition of the argument from design, drawn from the Constitution of the World, particularly the beautiful passage commencing at ch. xxxix. B. II. On the whole, however, the style best adapted to philosophical speculation, whether ethical, physical, or political, may be generally described as holding an intermediate position between the easy colloquial vein of epistolary composition, and the compact structure and elaborate modulation of the historical period. The verb is often placed at the beginning, often in the middle of the sentence, comparatively rarely at the end.

In point of Style, Tacitus has no pretensions to rival Livy; but as passages are frequently set both in schools and universities for translation in his style, which has peculiar merits of its own, I here subjoin a sketch of its most salient characteristics, condensed from the valuable 'Lexicon Taciteum' of Bötticher. It may also be useful in pointing out to the notice of students many peculiarities of expression and of structure which they ought to avoid, unless specially enjoined to imitate the style of Tacitus.

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ON THE STYLE OF TACITUS.

Independently of the large proportion of words which are peculiar to Tacitus, and of those which are used by him in a peculiar sense, the chief characteristics of his style may be classified with Bötticher under the following heads: I. Peculiar syntactical usages. II. The expedients to which he resorts to give-1. Variety; 2. Brevity; 3. A Poetical colouring, to his style.

I. SYNTAX, GENITIVE CASE. Peculiar use of the objective genitive; e.g. Nostri origo: nostri initia. Use of the genitive to express what is customary, e.g. Officia venerantium, i. e. quæ præstari solent ab iis qui venerantur. Supplicia civium, i.e. quibus cives affici solent. Use of the

genitive with relative adjectives and participles, e.g. Versus animi-primus luenda pana-segnis occasionum-temperans potestatis, etc. Peculiar use with certain verbs, such as monere, urgere, adipisci.

ABLATIVE. Omission of the preposition, e.g. trecenti opibus [ex op. secundum op.] aut sapientiâ delecti. Unusual use of the ablative in the phrase, 'Invidere alicui aliquá rẻ.

ACCUSATIVE. Omission of preposition, e.g. Involare castra, scenam incedere. Singular constructions, e.g. Pannoniam præsidere, Germani regnantur. Constant use of the prepositions ad and in in such phrases as the following: ad præsens, in falsum augere, etc. etc.—cunctante ad ea Mithridate, lata in rempublicam munia.

DATIVE, use of, to express purpose, e.g. Recreando defectioni cibum adferre. Use of subjective dative with verbs passive, instead of the ablative with the preposition a; e.g. Nox Neroni per vinolentiam trahebatur.

ADJECTIVE. Absolute or pregnant sense of the relative adjective; e.g. Per alios gesta avidus intercepit, i.e. per avi

ditatem gloriæ. Constant use of neuter adjectives instead of substantives, with genitives; e.g. asperrimo hyemis, extrema imperii, vana rumoris, dubia præliorum. Use of adjectives with substantives, instead of the genitive of the substantive; e.g. Senilis adoptio, muliebres offensiones. Poetical use of adjectives for adverbs; e.g. Occulti lætantur, aderat citus equo, subitus irrupit. Peculiar use of comparative adjectives; e.g. Vehementius quàm cautè, i.e. cautius, quanto inopina tanto majora, etc.

PRONOUNS. Omission of personal and relative pronouns ; e.g. Si vellet imperium, promptos [se] ostentavere. Gnarus præferocem [eum esse]. Piso pontifex, rarum [id quod erat] in tanta claritudine, fato obiit.

VERB. Absolute use of verb very common in Tacitus; e.g. Expedire, i.e. Expeditionem suscipere. Ducere for sortiri, etc. TENSES. Imperfect for pluperfect; Quod nisi properè subvenisset, amissa Britannia foret. Use of perfect as an aorist; e. g. Haud semper errat fama, aliquando et elegit.

MOODS. Indicative for subjunctive; e.g. Trudebantur in paludem, ni Cæsar instruxisset. Ni properavisset verterat pernicies in accusatorem. Prope in prælium exarsere, ni admonuisset. And even in the oratio obliqua; e.g. Se cum cohorte, cui præerat, Canninefatem tumultum compressurum.

Use of subjunctive to express disposition, necessity; e.g. Tiberio etiam in rebus quas non occuleret—obscura verba.

Use of infinitives for substantives: constant use of the historical infinitive: infinitive used with many verbs instead of the particles, 'ut,' 'ne,'' quominus,' 'quod'; e.g. Pepigere fraudem inimicorum ulcisci.

PARTICIPLE. Tacitus imitates the Greek use of the participle; e.g. Incusabatur facile toleraturus exsilium, legiones secuturæ sperabantur. He uses it absolutely for the substantive; e.g. Præsidentes. He also uses the participle perfect passive, with more freedom than other classical