"But why is a Stoic philosopher, upon whom they say no compulsion can be exerted, compelled to utter groans against his will? It is true that no compulsion can be exerted upon a wise man when he has the opportunity of using his reason; but when nature compels, then reason also, the gift of nature, is compelled. Inquire also, if you please, why a man involuntarily winks when someone's hand is suddenly directed against his eyes, why when the sky is lit up by a flash of lightning he involuntarily drops his head and closes his eyes, why as the thunder grows louder he gradually becomes terrified, why he is shaken by sneezing, why he sweats in the heat of the sun or grows cold amid severe frosts.
“Sed cur contra voluntatem suam gemitus facere cogitur philosophus Stoicus, quem nihil cogi posse dicunt? Nihil sane potest cogi vir sapiens, cum est rationi obtinendae locus; cum vero natura cogit, ratio quoque a natura data cogitur. Quaere etiam, si videtur, cur manu alicuius ob oculos suos repente agitata invitus coniveat, cur fulgente caelo a luminis iactu non sua sponte et caput et oculos declinet, cur tonitru vehementius facto sensim pavescat, cur sternumentis quatiatur, cur aut in ardoribus solis aestuet aut in pruinis inmanibus obrigescat.”“Haec enim et pleraque alia non voluntas nec consilium nec ratio moderatur, set naturae necessitatisque decreta sunt.”
For these and many other things are not under the control of the will, the judgment, or the reason, but are decrees of nature and of necessity. “Moreover, that is not fortitude which, like a giant, struggles against nature and goes beyond her bounds, either through insensibility of spirit, or savage pride, or some unhappy and compulsory practice in bearing pain—such as we heard of in a certain savage gladiator of Caesar's school, who used to laugh when his wounds were probed by the doctors—but that is true and noble fortitude which our forefathers called a knowledge of what is endurable and unendurable.
“Fortitudo autem non east, quae contra naturam monstri vicem nititur ultraque modum eius egreditur aut stupore animi aut inmanitate aut quadam misera et necessaria in perpetiendis doloribus exercitatione— qualemn fuisse accepimus ferum quendam in ludo Caesaris gladiatorem, qui, cum vulnera eius a medicis exsecabantur, ridere solitus fuit—sed ea vera et proba fortitudost, quam maiores nostri scientiam esse dixerunt rerum tolerandarum et non tolerandarum.”
From this it is evident that there are some insupportable trials, from the undergoing or endurance of which brave men may shrink.”
“Per quod apparet esse quaedam intolerabilia, a quibus fortes viri aut obeundis abhorreant aut sustinendis.”
When Taurus had said this and seemed to intend to say even more, we reached our carriages and entered them.
Cum haec Taurus dixisset videreturque in eandem rem plura etiam dicturus, perventum est ad vehicula et conscendimus.
6. On the Enigma. THE kind of composition which the Greeks call “enigmas,” some of our early writers called scirpi, or “rushes.” An example is the enigma composed of three iambic trimeters which I recently found— very old, by Jove! and very neat. I have left it unanswered, in order to excite the ingenuity of my readers in seeking for an answer. The three verses are these:I know not if he's minus once or twice,Or both of these, who would not give his place,As I once heard it said, to Jove himself.He who does not wish to puzzle himself too long will find the answer in the second book of Varro's Latin Language, addressed to Marcellus.
6. De aenigmate. QUAE Graeci dicunt “aenigmata,” hoc genus quidam ex nostris veteribus “scirpos” appellaverunt. Quale est quod nuper invenimus per hercle antiquum, perquam lepidum, tribus versibus senariis compositum aenigma, quod reliquimus inenarratum, ut legentium coniecturas in requirendo acueremus. Versus tres hi sunt: Semel minusne an bis minus sit, nescio;An utrumque eorum, ut quondam audivi dicier,Iovi ipsi regi noluit concedere. Hoc qui nolit diutius aput sese quaerere, inveniet quid sit in M. Varronis De Sermone Latino ad Marcellum libro secundo.
7. Why Gnaeus Dolabella, the proconsul, referred to the court of the Areopagus the case of a woman charged with poisoning and admitting the fact. WHEN Gnaeus Dolabella was governing the province of Asia with proconsular authority, a woman of Smyrna was brought before him. This woman had killed her husband and her son at the same time by secretly giving them poison. She confessed the crime, and said that she had reason for it, since her husband and son had treacherously done to death another son of hers by a former husband, an excellent and blameless youth; and there was no dispute about the truth of this statement. Dolabella referred the matter to his council. No member of the council ventured to render a decision in so difficult a case, since the confession of the poisoning which had resulted in the death of the husband and son seemed to call for punishment, while at the same time a just penalty had thereby been inflicted upon two wicked men. Dolabella referred the question to the Areopagites at Athens, as judges of greater authority and experience. The Areopagites, after having heard the case, summoned the woman and her accuser to appear after a hundred years. Thus the woman's crime was not condoned, for the laws did not permit that, nor, though guilty, was she condemned and punished for a pardonable offence. The story is told in the ninth book of Valerius Maximus' work on Memorable Occurrences and Sayings.
7. Quam ob causam Cn. Dolabella proconsul ream mulierem veneficii confitentemque ad Ariopagitas reiecerit. AD Cn. Dolabellam, proconsulari imperio provinciam Asiam obtinentem, deducta mulier Smyrnaea est. Eadem mulier virum et filium eodem tempore venenis clam datis vita interfecerat atque id fecisse se confitebatur dicebatque habuisse se faciendi causam, quoniam idem illi maritus et filius alterum filium mulieris, ex viro priore genitum, adulescentem optimum et innocentissimum, exceptum insidiis occidissent. Idque ita esse factum, controversia non erat. Dolabella retulit ad consilium. Nemo quisquam ex consilio sententiam ferre in causa tam ancipiti audebat, quod et confessum veneficium, quo maritus et filius necat forent, non admittendum inpunitum videbatur et digna tamen poena in homines sceleratos vindicatum fuisset. Dolabella eamear rem Athenas ad Ariopagitas, ut ad iudices graviores exercitatioresque, reiecit. Ariopagitae, cognita causa, accusatorem mulieris et ipsam quae accusabatur centesimo anno adesse iusserunt. Sic neque absolutum mulieris veneficium est, quod per leges non licuit, neque nocens damnata poenitaque quae digna venia fuit. Scripta haec historiast in libro Valerii Maximi Factorum et Dictorum Memorabilium nono.
8. Noteworthy reconciliations between famous men. PUBLIUS AFRICANUS the elder and Tiberius Gracchus, father of Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus, men illustrious for their great exploits, the high offices which they held, and the uprightness of their lives, often disagreed about public questions, and for that reason, or some other, were not friends. When this hostility had lasted for a long time, the feast was offered to Jupiter on the appointed day, and on the occasion of that ceremony the senate banqueted in the Capitol. It chanced that the two men were placed side by side at the same table, and immediately, as if the immortal gods, acting as arbiters at the feast of Jupiter, Greatest and Best of Gods, had joined their hands, they became the best of friends. And not only did friendship spring up between them, but at the same time their families were united by a marriage; for Publius Scipio, having a daughter that was unwedded and marriageable at the time, thereupon on the spot betrothed her to Tiberius Gracchus, whom he had chosen and approved at a time when judgment is most strict; that is, while he was his personal enemy. Aemilius Lepidus, too, and Fulvius Flaccus, men of noble birth, who had held the highest offices, and occupied an exalted place in public life, were opposed to each other in a bitter hatred and enmity of long standing. Later, the people chose them censors at the same time. Then they, as soon as their election was proclaimed by the herald, in the Campus Martius itself, before the assembly was dispersed, both voluntarily and with equal joy, immediately joined hands and embraced each other, and from that day, both during their censorship and afterwards, they lived in continual harmony as loyal and devoted friends.
8. Reditiones in gratiam nobilium virorum memoratu dignae. P. AFRICANUS superior et Tiberius Gracchus, Tiberii et C. GracchorumGracclorum pater, rerum gestarum magnitudine et honorum atque vitae dignitate inlustres viri, dissenserunt saepenumero de republican et ea sive qua alia re non amici fuerunt. Ea simultas cum diu mansisset et sollemni die epulum Iovi libaretur atque ob id sacrificium senatus in Capitolio epularetur, fors fuit ut aput eandem mensam duo illi iunctim locarentur. Tum, quasi diis inmortalibus arbitris in convivio Iovis Optimi Maximi dexteras eorum conducentibus, repente amicissimi facti. Neque solum amicitia incepta, sed adfinitas simul instituta; nam P. Scipio filiam virginem habens iam viro maturam, ibi tunc eodem in loco despondit eam Tiberio Graccho, quem probaverat elegeratque exploratissimo iudicii tempore, dum inimicus esset. Aemilius quoque Lepidus et Fulvius Flaccus, nobili genere amplissimisque honoribus ac summo loco in civitate praediti, odio inter sese gravi et simultate diutina conflictati sunt. Postea populus eos simul censores facit. Atque illi, ubi voce praeconis renuntiati sunt, ibidem in campo statim, nondum dimissa contione, ultro uterque et pari voluntate coniuncti complexique sunt, exque eo die et in ipsa censura et postea iugi concordia fidissime amicissimeque vixerunt.
9. What is meant by “ambiguous” words; and that even honos was such a word. ONE may very often see and notice in the early writings many words which at present in ordinary conversation have one fixed meaning, but which then were so indifferent and general, that they could signify and include two opposite things. Some of these are well known, such as tempestas (weather), valitudo (health), facinus (act), dolus (device), gratia (favour), industria (activity). For it is well-nigh a matter of general knowledge that these are ambiguous and can be used either in a good or in a bad sense. That periculm (trial), too, and venenum (drug) and contagium (contagion) were not used, as they now are, only in a bad sense, you may learn from many examples of that usage. But the use of honor as an indifferent word, so that people even spoke of “bad honour,” signifying “wrong” or “injury,” is indeed very rare. However, Quintus Metellus Numidicus, in a speech which he delivered On his Triumph, used these words: “In this affair, by as much as the whole of you are more important than my single self, by so much he inflicts upon you greater insult and injury than on me; and by as much as honest men are more willing to suffer wrong than to do wrong to another, by so much has he shown worse honour (peiorem honorem) to you than to me; for he wishes me to suffer injustice, Romans, and you to inflict it, so that I may be left with cause for complaint, and you may be open to reproach.” He says, “he has shown worse honour to you than to me,” and the meaning of the expression is the same as when he himself says, just before that, “he has inflicted a greater injury and insult on you than on me.” In addition to the citation of this word, I thought I ought to quote the following saying from the speech of Quintus Metellus, in order to point out that it is a precept of Socrates; the saying in question is: “It is worse to be unjust than to suffer injustice.”
9. Quae dicantur vocabula ancipitia; et quod honoris quoque vocabulum ancipiti sententia fuerit. EST plurifariam videre atque animadvertere in veteribus scriptis pleraque vocabula, quae nunc in sermonibus vulgi unam certamque rem demonstrent, ita fuisse media et communia ut significare et capere possent duas inter se res contrarias. Ex quibus quaedam satis nota sunt, ut “tempestas,” “valitudo,” “facinus,” “dolus,” “gratia,” “industria.” Haec enim fere iam vulgatum est ancipitia esse et utroqueversus dici posse. “Periculum” etiam et “venenum” et “contagium” non, uti nunc dicuntur, pro malis tantum dicta esse, multum exemplorum huiusmodi reperias. Sed “honorem” quoque mediam vocem fuisse et ita appellatum, ut etiam “malus honos” diceretur et significaret iniuriam, id profecto rarissimum. Quintus autem Metellus Numidicus, in oratione quam De Triumpho Suo dixit, his verbis usus est: “Qua in re quanto universi me unum antistatis, tanto vobis quam mihi maiorem iniuriam atque contumeliam facit, Quirites, et quanto probi iniuriam facilius accipiunt quam alteri tradunt, tanto ille vobis quam mihi peiorem honorem habuit; nam me iniuriam ferre, vos facere vult, Quirites, ut hic conquestio, istic vituperatio relinquatur.” “Honorem,” inquit, “peiorem vobis habuit quam mihi”; cuius verbi sententia est quam ipse quoque supra dicit: “maiore vos adfecit iniuria et contumelia quam me.” Praeter huius autem verbi notionem adscribendam esse hanc sententiamsenitentiam ex oratione Quinti Metelli existimavi, ut definiremus Socratis esse decretum: κάκιον εἶναι τὸ ἀδικεῖν ἢ τὸ ἀδικεῖσθαι.
10. That aeditumus is a Latin word. Aeditimus is a Latin word and an old one at that, formed in the same way as finitimus and legilimus. In place of it many to-day say aedituus by a new and false usage, as if it were derived from guarding the temples. This ought to be enough to say as a warning... because of certain rude and persistent disputants, who are not to be restrained except by the citation of authorities. Marcus Varro, in the second book of his Latin Language addressed to Marcellus, thinks that we ought to use aedituus rather than aedituus, because the latter is made up by a late invention, while the former is pure and of ancient origin. Laevius too, in the Protesilaodamia I think, used claustritumum of one who had charge of the fastenings of a door, evidently using the same formation by which he saw that aeditumus, or “one who guards the temples,” is made. In the most reliable copies of Marcus Tullius' Fourth Oration against Verres I find it written: “The custodians (aeditumi) and guards quickly perceive it,” but in the ordinary copies aeditui is read. There is an Atellan farce of Pomponius' entitled Aeditumus. In it is this line:As soon as I attend you and keep your temple-door (aeditumor).Titus Lucretius too in his poem speaks of aedituentes, instead of aeditui.
10. Quod “aeditumus” verbum Latinum sit. “AEDITIMUS” verbum Latinum est et vetus, ea forma dictum qua “finitimus” et “legitimus.” Pro eo a plerisque nunc “aedituus” dicitur nova et commenticia usurpatione, quasi a tuendis aedibus appellatus. Satis hoc esse potuit admonendi gratia dixisse … propter agrestes quosdam et indomitos certatores, qui nisi auctoritatibus adhibitis non comprimuntur. M. Varro in libro secundo Ad Marcellum De Latino Sermone “aeditumum” dici oportere censet magis quam “aedituum,” quod alterum sit recenti novitate fictum, alterum antiqua origine incorruptum. Laevius quoque, ut opinor in Protesilaodamia, “claustritumum” dixit qui claustris ianuae praeesset, eadem scilicet figura qua “aeditumum” dici videbat qui aedibus praeest. In IV in Verrem M. Tullii in exemplaribus fidelissimis ita inveni scriptum: “Aeditumi custodesque mature sentiunt,” in libris autem hoc vulgariis “aeditui” scriptum est. pomponiiPomponi fabula Atellania est quae ita scripta est: Aeditumus. In qua hic versus est:Quí postquam tibi appáreo atque aedítumor intempló tuo. Titus autem Lucretius in carmine suo pro “aedituis” “aedituentes” appellat.
11. That those are deceived who sin in the confident hope of being undetected, since there is no permanent concealment of wrongdoing; and on that subject a discourse of the philosopher Peregrinus and a saying of the poet Sophocles. WHEN I was at Athens, I met a philosopher named Peregrinus, who was later surnamed Proteus, a man of dignity and fortitude, living in a hut outside the city. And visiting him frequently, I heard him say many things that were in truth helpful and noble. Among these I particularly recall the following: He used to say that a wise man would not commit a sin, even if he knew that neither gods nor men would know it; for he thought that one ought to refrain from sin, not through fear of punishment or disgrace, but from love of justice and honesty and from a sense of duty. If, however, there were any who were neither so endowed by nature nor so well disciplined that they could easily keep themselves from sinning by their own will power, he thought that such men would all be more inclined to sin whenever they thought that their guilt could be concealed and when they had hope of impunity because of such concealment. “But,” said he, “if men know that nothing at all can be hidden for very long, they will sin more reluctantly and more secretly.” Therefore he said that one should have on his lips these verses of Sophocles, the wisest of poets:See to it lest you try aught to conceal;Time sees and hears all, and will all reveal. Another one of the old poets, whose name has escaped my memory at present, called Truth the daughter of Time.
11. Errare istos qui spe et fiducia latendi peccent, cum latebra peccati perpetua nulla sit; et super ea re Peregrini philosophi sermo et Sophocli poetae sententia. PHILOSOPHUM nomine Peregrinum, cui postea cognomentum Proteus factum est, virum gravem atque constantem, vidimus, cum Athenis essemus, deversantem in quodam tugurio extra urbem. Cumque ad eum frequenter ventitaremus, multa hercle dicere eum utiliter et honeste audivimus. In quibus id fuit, quod praecipuum auditu meminimus: Virum quidem sapientem non peccaturum esse dicebat, etiamsi peccasse eum dii atque homines ignoraturi forent. Non enim poenae aut infamiae metu non esse peccandum censebat, sed iusti honestique studio et officio. Si qui tamen non essent tali vel ingenio vel disciplina praediti, uti se vi sua ac sua sponte facile a peccando tenerent, eos omnis tunc peccare proclivius existimabat, cum latere posse id peccatum putarent inpunitatemque ex ea latebra sperarent. “At si sciant,” inquit, “homines nihil omnium rerum diutius posse celari, repressius pudentiusque peccabitur.” Propterea versus istos Sophocli, prudentissimi poetarum, in ore esse habendos dicebat:Πρὸς ταῦτα κρύπτε μηδέν, ὡς ἅπανθʼ ὁρῶνΚαὶ πάντʼ ἀκούων πάντʼ ἀναπτύσσει χρόνος. Alius quidam veterum poetarum, cuius nomen mihi nuncnune memoriae non est, Veritatem Temporis filiam esse dixit.
12. A witty reply of Marcus Cicero, in which he strives to refute the charge of a direct falsehood. THIS also is part of a rhetorical training, cunningly and cleverly to admit charges not attended with danger, so that if something base is thrown up to you which cannot be denied, you may turn it off by a jocular reply, making the thing seem deserving of laughter rather than censure. This we read that Cicero did, when by a witty and clever remark he put aside what could not be denied. For when he wished to buy a house on the Palatine, and did not have the ready money, he received a loan of 2,000,000 sesterces privately from Publius Sulla, who was at the time under accusation. But before he bought the house, the transaction became known and reached the ears of the people, and he was charged with having received money from an accused man for the purpose of buying a house. Then Cicero, disturbed by the unexpected reproach, said that he had not received the money and also declared that he had no intention of buying a house, adding: “Therefore, if I buy the house, let it be considered that I did receive the money.” But when later he had bought the house and was twitted in the senate with this falsehood by friends, he laughed heartily, saying as he did so: “You are men devoid of common sense, if you do not know that it is the part of a prudent and careful head of a family to get rid of rival purchasers by declaring that he does not intend to buy something that he wishes to purchase.”
12. Faceta responsio M. Ciceronis, amolientis a se crimen manifesti mendacii. HAEC quoque disciplina rhetorica est, callide et cum astu res criminosas citra periculum confiteri, ut si obiectum sit turpe aliquid quod negari non queat, responsione ioculari eludas et rem facias risu magis dignam quam crimine, sicut fecisse Ciceronem scriptum est, cum id quod infitiari non poterat urbano facetoque dicto diluit. Nam cum emere vellet in Palatio domum et pecuniam in praesens non haberet, a P. Sulla, qui tum reus erat, mutua sestertium viciens tacita accepit. Ea res tamen, priusquam emeret, prodita est et in vulgus exivit, obiectumque ei est quod pecuniam domus emendae causa a reo accepisset. Tum Cicero, inopinata obprobratione permotus, accepisse se negavit ac domum quoque se empturum negavit atque “Adeo,” inquit, “verum sit accepisse me pecuniam, si domum emero.” Sed cum postea emisset et hoc mendacium in senatu ei ab amicis obiceretur, risit satis atque inter ridendum: “Ἀκοινονόητοι,” inquit, “homines estis, cum ignoratis prudentis et cauti patrisfamilias esse, quod emere velit empturum sese negare propter competitores emptionis.”
13. What is meant by the expression “within the Kalends,” whether it signifies “before the Kalends” or “on the Kalends,” or both; also the meaning of “within the Ocean” and “within Mount Taurus” in a speech of Marcus Tullius, and of “within the limit” in one of his letters.
13. “Intra Kalendas” cum dicitur, quid significet, utrum “ante Kalendas” an “Kalendis” an utrumque; atque inibi, quid sit in oratione M. Tulli “intra oceanum” et “intra monte Taurum” et in quadam epistula “intra modum.”
WHEN I had been named by the consuls a judge extraordinary at Rome, and ordered to give judgment “within the Kalends,” I asked Sulpicius Apollinaris, a learned man, whether the phrase “within the Kalends” included the Kalends themselves; and I told him that I had been duly appointed, that the Kalends had been set as the limit, and that I was to give judgment “within” that day.
CUM Romae a consulibus iudex extra ordinem datus pronuntiare “intra Kalendas” iussus essem, Sulpicium Apollinarem, doctum hominem, percontatus sum an his verbis “intra Kalendas” ipsae quoque Kalendae tenerentur, dixique ei me videlicet datum Kalendasque mihi prodictas, ut intra eum diem pronuntiarem. “Cur,” inquit,
“Why,” said he, “do you make this inquiry of me rather than of some one of those who are students of the law and learned in it, whom you are accustomed to take into your counsel when about to act as judge?”
“hoc me potius rogas quam ex istis aliquem peritis studiosisque iuris, quos adhibere in consilium iudicaturi soletis?” Tum illi ego ita respondi:
Then I answered him as follows: “If I needed information about some ancient point of law that had been established, one that was contested and ambiguous, or one that was newly ratified, I should naturally have gone to inquire of those whom you mention.
“Si aut de vetere,” inquam, “iure et recepto aut controverso et ambiguo aut novo et constituto discendum esset, issem plane sciscitatum ad istos quos dicis;”
But when the meaning, use and nature of Latin words is to be investigated, I should indeed be stupid and mentally blind, if, having the opportunity of consulting you, I had gone to another rather than to you.”
“sed cum verborum Latinorum sententia, usus, ratio exploranda sit, scaevus profecto et caecus animi forem, si, cum haberem tui copiam, issem magis ad alium quam ad te.”
“Hear then,” said he, “my opinion about the meaning of the word, but be it understood that you will not act according to what I shall say about its nature, but according to what you shall learn to be the interpretation agreed upon by all, or by very many, men; for not only are the true and proper significations of common words changed by long usage, but even the provisions of the laws themselves become a dead letter by tacit consent.”
“Audi igitur,” inquit, “de ratione verbi quid existimem, sed eo tamen pacto ut id facias, non quod ego de proprietate vocis disseruero, sed quod in ea re omnium pluriumve consensu observari cognoveris; non enim verborum tantum communium verae atque propriae significationes longiore usu mutantur, sed legum quoque ipsarum iussa consensu tacito oblitterantur.”
Then he proceeded to discourse, in my hearing and that of several others, in about this fashion: “When the time,” said he, "is so defined that the judge is to render a decision 'within the Kalends, everyone at once jumps to the conclusion that there is no doubt that the verdict may lawfully be rendered before the Kalends, and I observe that the only question is the one which you raise, namely, whether the decision may lawfully be rendered also on the Kalends.
Tum deinde disseruit, me et plerisque aliis audientibus, in hunchune ferme modum: “Cum dies,” inquit, “ita praefinita est, ut iudex ‘intra Kalendas’ pronuntiet, occupavit iam haec omnes opinio, non esse dubium quin ante Kalendas iure pronuntietur, et id tantum ambigi video quod tu quaeris, an Kalendis quoque iure pronuntietur.”
But undoubtedly the word itself is of such origin and such a nature that when the expression 'within the Kalends' is used, no other day ought to be meant than the Kalends alone.
“Ipsum autem verbum sic procul dubio natum est atque ita sese habet, ut, cum dicitur ‘intra Kalendas,’ non alius accipi dies debeat quam solae Kalendae. Nam tres istae voces ‘intra, citra, ultra,’ quibus certi locorum fines demonstrantur, singularibus apud veteres syllabis appellabantur ‘in, cis, uls.’”
For those three words intra, citra, ultra (within, this side, beyond), by which definite boundaries of places are indicated, among the early writers were expressed by monosyllables, in, cis, uls. Then, since these particles had a somewhat obscure utterance because of their brief and slight sound, the same syllable was added to all three words, and what was formerly cis Tiberim (on this side of the Tiber) and uls Tiberim (beyond the Tiber) began to be called citra Tiberim and ultra Tiberim;
“Haec deinde particulae quoniam parvo exiguoque sonitu obscurius promebantur, addita est tribus omnibus eadem syllaba, et quod dicebatur ‘cis Tiberim’ et ‘uls Tiberim’ dici coeptum est ‘citra Tiberim’ et ‘ultra Tiberim’; item quod erat ‘in,’ accedente eadem syllaba, ‘intra’ factum est.”
and in also became intra by the addition of the same syllable.
“Sunt ergo haec omnia quasi contermina iunctis inter se finibus cohaerentia: ‘intra oppidum,’ ‘ultra oppidum,’ ‘citra oppidum,’ ex quibus ‘intra,’ sicuti dixi, ‘in’ significat;”
Therefore all these expressions are, so to speak, related, being united by common terminations: intra oppidum, ultra oppidum, citra oppidum, of which intra, as I have said, is equivalent to in;
“nam qui dicit ‘intra oppidum,’ ‘intra cubiculum,’ ‘intra ferias,’ non dicit aliud quam ‘in oppido,’ ‘in cubiculo,’ ‘in feriis.’”
for one who says intra oppidum, intra cubiculum, intra ferias means nothing else than in oppido (in the town), in cubiculo (in the room), in feriis (during the festival)."
“‘Intra Kalendas’ igitur non ‘ante Kalendas’ est, sed ‘in Kalendis’; id est, eo ipso die quo Kalendae sunt.”
'Within the Kalends,' then, is not 'before the Kalends,' but 'on the Kalends'; that is, on the very day on which the Kalends fall.
“Itaque secundum verbi ipsius rationem qui iussus est ‘intra Kalendas’ pronuntiare, nisi Kalendis pronuntiet, contra iussum vocis facit;”
Therefore, according to the meaning of the word itself, one who is ordered to give judgment 'within the Kalends,' unless he do so on the Kalends, acts contrary to the order contained in the phrase;
“nam, si ante id fiat, non ‘intra’ pronuntiat, sed ‘citra.’”
for if he does so earlier, he renders a decision not ' within' but ' before the Kalends.'
“Nescio quo autem pacto recepta vulgo interpretatio est absurdissima, ut ‘intra Kalendas’ significare videatur etiam ‘citra Kalendas’ vel ‘ante Kalendas,’ nihil enim ferme interest.”
But somehow or other the utterly absurd interpretation has been generally adopted, that ' within the Kalends' evidently means also ' on this side of the Kalends' or 'before the Kalends'; for these are nearly the same thing.
“Atque insuper dubitatur an Kalendis quoque pronuntiari possit, quando neque ultra neque citra, set, quod inter haec medium est, ‘intra Kalendas,’ id est Kalendis, pronuntiandum sit.”
And, besides, it is doubted whether a decision may be rendered on the Kalends also, since it must be rendered neither beyond nor before that date, but 'within the Kalends,' a time which lies between these;
“Sed nimirum consuetudo vicit, quae cum omnium domina rerum, tum maxime verborum est.”
that is to say, ' on the Kalends.' But no doubt usage has gained the victory, the mistress not only of all things, but particularly of language. After this very learned and clear discussion of the subject by Apollinaris, I then spoke as follows: “It occurred to me,” said I, “before coming to you, to inquire and investigate how our ancestors used the particle in question. Accordingly, I found that Tullius in his Third Oration against Verres wrote thus: 'There is no place within the ocean (intra oceanum) either so distant or so hidden, that the licentiousness and injustice of our countrymen has not penetrated it.'
Ea omnia cum Apollinaris scite perquam atque enucleate disputavisset, tum ego haec dixi: “Cordi,” inquam, “mihi fuit, priusquam ad te irem, quaerere explorareque quonam modo veteres nostri particula ista qua de agitur usi sint, atque ita invenimus Tullium in Tertia in Verrem scripsisse istoc modo: ‘Locus intra oceanum iam nullus est, neque tam longincus neque tam reconditus, quo non per haec tempora nostrorum hominum libido iniquitasque pervaserit.’”
He uses 'within the ocean' contrary to your reasoning; for he does not, I think, wish to say 'in the ocean,' but he indicates all the lands which are surrounded by the ocean and to which our countrymen have access; and these are 'this side the ocean,' not 'in the ocean.' For he cannot be supposed to mean some islands or other, which are spoken of as far within the waters of the ocean itself.”
“‘Intra oceanum’ dicit contra rationem tuam; non enim vult, opinor, dicere ‘in oceano’; terras enim demonstrat omnis quae oceano ambiuntur, ad quas a nostris hominibus adiri potest, quae sunt ‘citra oceanum,’ non ‘in oceano’; neque enim videri potest insulas significare nescio quas, quae penitus esse intra aequora ipsa oceani dicuntur.”
Then with a smile Sulpicius Apollinaris replied: “Keenly and cleverly, by Heaven! have you confronted me with this Ciceronian passage;
Tunc Sulpicius Apollinaris renidens: “Non me hercule inargute,” inquit, “nec incallide opposuisti hoc Tullianum; sed Cicero ‘intra oceanum,’ non, ut tu interpretare,”
but Cicero said ' within the ocean,' not, as you interpret it, ' this side ocean.' What pray can be said to be 'on this side of the ocean,' when the ocean surrounds and encircles all lands on every side? For that which is 'on this side' of a thing, is outside of that thing; but how can that be said to be ' within' which is without? But if the ocean were only on one side of the world, then the land in that part might be said to be 'this side the ocean,' or 'before the ocean.' But since the ocean surrounds all lands completely and everywhere, nothing is on this side of it, but, all lands being walled in by the embrace of its waters, everything which is included within its shore is in its midst, just as in truth the sun moves, not on this side of the heavens, but within and in them.”
“‘citra oceanum’ dixit. Quid enim potest dici ‘citra oceanum’ esse, cum undique oceanus circumscribat omnis terras et ambiat? Nam ‘citra’ quod est, id extra est; qui autem potest ‘intra’ esse dici, quod extra est? Sed si ex una tantum parte orbis oceanus foret, tum quae terra ad eam partem foret, ‘citra oceanum’ esse dici posset vel ‘ante oceanum’; cum vero omnis terras omnifariam et undiqueversum circumfluat, nihil citra eum est, sed, undarum illius ambitu terris omnibus convallatis, in medio eius sunt omnia, quae intra oras eius inclusa sunt, sicuti hercle sol non citra caelum vertitur, sed in caelo et intra caelum.”
At the time, what Sulpicius Apollinaris said seemed to be learned and acute.
Haec tunc Apollinaris scite acuteque dicere visus est.
But later, in a volume of Letters to Servius Sulpicius by Marcus Tullius, I found “within moderation” (intra modum) used in the same sense that those give to “within the Kalends” who mean to say “this side of the Kalends.”
Set postea in libro M. Tullii Epistularum ad Servium Sulpicium sic dictum esse invenimus “intra modum,” ut “intra Kalendas” dicunt qui dicere “citra Kalendas” volunt.
These are the words of Cicero, which I quote: “But yet since I have avoided the displeasure of Caesar, who would perhaps think that I did not regard the present government as constitutional if I kept silence altogether, I shall do this moderately, or even less than moderately (intra modum), so as to consult both his wishes and my own desires.”
Verba haec Ciceronis sunt, quae adposui: “Sed tamen, quoniam effugi eius offensionem, qui fortasse arbitraretur me hanc rem publicam non putare, si perpetuo tacerem, modice hoc faciam aut etiam intra modum, ut et illius voluntati et meis studiis serviam.”“Modice” dixerat “hoc faciam,” id est cum modo aequo et pari;
He first said “I shall do this moderately,” that is, to a fair and temperate degree; then, as if this expression did not please him and he wished to correct it, he added “or even within moderation,” thus indicating that he would do it to a less extent than might be considered moderate;
deinde, quasi hoc displiceret et corrigere id vellet, addit: “aut etiam intra modum,” per quod ostendit minus sese id facturum esse quam quod fieri modice videretur; id est, non ad ipsum modum, sed retro paululum et citra modum.
that is, not up to the very limit, but somewhat short of, or “on this side of” the limit. Also in the speech which he wrote In Defence of Publius Sestius Cicero says “within Mount Taurus” in such a way as to mean, not “on Mount Taurus,” but “as far as the mountain and including the mountain itself.”
In oratione etiam, quam Pro P. Sestio scripsit, “intra montem Taurum” sic dicit, ut non significet “in monte Tauro,” sed “usque ad montem cum ipso monte.”
These are Cicero's own words in the speech which I have mentioned: “Our forbears, having overcome Antiochus the Great after a mighty struggle on land and sea, ordered him to confine his realm 'within Mount Taurus.'
Verba sunt haec ipsius M. Tullii ex ea qua dixi oratione: “Antiochum Magnum illum maiores nostri magna belli contentione terra marique superatum intra montem Taurum regnare iusserunt; Asiam, qua illum multarunt, Attalo, ut is in ea regnaret, condonarunt.”
Asia, which they had taken from him, they gave to Attalus, to be his kingdom.” Cicero says: “They ordered him to confine his realm within Mount Taurus,” which is not the same as when we say “within the room,” unless “within the mountain” may appear to mean what is within the regions which are separated by the interposition of Mount Taurus.
“Intra montem,” inquit, “Taurum regnare iusserunt,” quod non proinde est, ut “intra cubiculum” dicimus, nisi videri potest id esse “intra montem” quod est intra regiones quae Tauri montis obiectu separantur.
For just as one who is “within a room” is not in the walls of the room, but is within the walls by which the room is enclosed, which walls themselves are yet equally in the room, just so one who rules “within Mount Taurus,” not only rules on Mount Taurus but also in those regions which are bounded by Mount Taurus.
Nam sicuti qui “intra cubiculum” est, is non in cubiculi parietibus, sed intra parietes est quibus cubiculum includitur, qui tamen ipsi quoque parietes in cubiculo sunt, ita, qui regnat “intra montem Taurum,” non solum in monte Tauro regnat, sed in his etiam regionibus quae Tauro monte clauduntur.
According therefore to the analogy of the words of Marcus Tullius may not one who is bidden to make a decision “within the Kalends” lawfully make it before the Kalends and on the Kalends themselves? And this results, not from a sort of privilege conceded to ignorant usage, but from an accurate regard for reason, since all time which is embraced by the day of the Kalends is correctly said to be “within the Kalends.”
Num igitur secundum istam verborum M. Tullii similitudinem, qui iubetur “intra Kalendas” pronuntiare, is et ante Kalendas et ipsis Kalendis iure pronuntiare potest? Neque id fit quasi privilegio quodam inscitae consuetudinis, sed certa rationis observatione, quoniam omne tempus, quod Kalendarum die includitur, “intra Kalendas” esse recte dicitur.
14. The meaning and origin of the particle saltem. WE were inquiring what the original meaning of the particle saltem (at least) was, and what was the derivation of the word; for it seems to have been so formed from the first that it does not appear, like some aids to expression, to have been adopted inconsiderately and irregularly. And there was one man who said that he had read in the Grammatical Notes of Publius Nigidius that saltem was derived from si aliter, and that this itself was an elliptical expression, since the complete sentence was si aliter non potest, “if otherwise, it cannot be.” But I myself have nowhere come upon that statement in those Notes of Publius Nigidius, although I have read them, I think, with some care. However, that phrase si aliter non potest does not seem at variance with the meaning of the word under discussion. But yet to condense so many words into a very few letters shows a kind of misplaced subtlety. There was also another man, devoted to books and letters, who said that saltem seemed to him to be formed by the syncope of a medial u, saying that what we call saltem was originally salute. “For when some other things have been requested and refused, then,” said he, “we are accustomed, as if about to make a final request which ought by no means to be denied, to say ' this at least (saltem) ought to be done or given,' as if at last seeking safety salutem, which it is surely most just to grant and to obtain.” But this also, though ingeniously contrived, seems too far-fetched. I thought therefore that further investigation was necessary.
14. “Saltem” particula quam vim habeat et quam originem. “SALTEM” particula quam haberet principem significationem, quaeque vocis istius origo esset, quaerebamus. Ita enim primitus factam esse apparet, ut non videatur, sicuti quaedam subplementa orationis, temere et incondite adsumpta. Atque erat qui diceret legisse se in Grammaticis Commentariis P. Nigidii, “saltem” ex eo dictum quod esset “si aliter,” idque ipsum dici solitum per defectionem, nam plenam esse sententiam, “si aliter non potest.” Sed id nos in isdem commentariis P. Nigidii, cum eos non, opinor, incuriose legissemus, nusquam invenimus. Videntur autem verba ista “si aliter non potest” a significatione quidem voculae huius de qua quaerimus non abhorrere. Set tot verba tamen in paucissimas litteras cludere, inprobae cuiusdam subtilitatis est. Fuit etiam qui diceret, homo in libris atque in litteris adsiduus, “saltem” sibi dictum videri u littera media extrita; “salutem” enimenin ante dictum, quod nos “saltem” diceremus. “Nam cum alia quaedam petita et non impetrata sunt, tum solemus,” inquit, “quasi extremum aliquid petituri quod negari minime debeat, dicere ‘hoc saltem fieri aut dari oportere,’ tamquam salutem postremo petentes, quam impetrari certe et obtineri sit aequissimum.” Sed hoc itidem non inlepide quidem fictum, nimis tamen esse videtur commenticium. Censuimus igitur amplius quaerendum.
15. That Sisenna in his Histories has frequently used adverbs of the type of celatim, vellicatim and saltuatim. WHILE diligently reading the History of Sisenna, I observed that he used adverbs of this form: cursim (rapidly), properatim (hastily), celatim, vellicatim, salluatim. Of these the first two, since they are more common, do not require illustration. The rest are to be found in the sixth book of the Histories in these passages: “He arranged his men in ambush as secretly (celatim) as he could.” Also in another place: “I have written of the events of one summer in Asia and Greece in a consecutive form, that I might not by writing piecemeal or in disconnected fashion (vellicatim aut saltuatim) confuse the minds of my readers.”
15. Quod Sisenna in libris Historiarum adverbis huiuscemodihuinscemodi saepenumerosaepenunero usus est: “celatim,” “vellicatim,” “saltuatim.” CUM lectitaremus Historiam Sisennae adsidue. huiuscemodi figurae adverbia in oratione eius animadvertimus cuimodi sunt haec: “cursim,” “properatim,” “celatim,” “vellicatim,” “saltuatim.” Ex quibus duo prima, quia sunt notiora, exemplis non indigebant, reliqua in Historiarum sexto sic scripta sunt: “Quam maxime celatim poterat, in insidiis suos disponit.” Item alio in loco: “Nos una aestate in Asia et Graecia gesta litteris idcirco continentia mandavimus, ne vellicatim aut saltuatim scribendo lectorum animos impediremus.”