Plutarch's Lives Volume III Part 38

[Footnote 653: Cato was a cognomen of the Porcia Gens, which was Plebeian. The name Cato was first given to M. Porcius Cato Censorius, who was consul B.C. 195 and censor B.C. 184. The father of the Cato whose life is here written was M. Porcius Cato, a Tribunus Plebis, who married Livia, a sister of the tribune M. Livius Drusus. This Cato, the tribune, was the son of M. Porcius Cato Salonia.n.u.s, who was the son of Cato the Censor. Cato the Censor was therefore the great-grandfather of the Cato whose life is here written. See the _Life of Cato the Censor_ by Plutarch, c. 24. 97. This Cato was born B.C. 95.]

[Footnote 654: The text of Plutarch says that Livius Drusus was the uncle of Cato's mother, but this is a mistake, and accordingly Xylander proposed to read [Greek: theio men onti pros tes metros] ?e??

?? ??t? p??? t?? ?t???. But Sintenis supposes that Plutarch may have misunderstood the Roman expression "avunculus maternus." Cato's father had by his wife Livia a daughter Porcia, who married J. Domitius Ahen.o.barbus. Livia's second husband was Q. Servilius Caepio, by whom she had a son Q. Servilius Caepio, whom Plutarch calls Cato's brother, and two daughters, named Servilia, one of whom married M. Junius Brutus, the father of the Brutus who was one of Caesar's a.s.sa.s.sins, and the other married L. Licinius Lucullus (Life of Lucullus. c. 38).]

[Footnote 655: The word is [Greek: anamnestikous] ??a??st?????. The meaning of Plutarch is perhaps not quite clear. See the note in Schaefer's edition.]

[Footnote 656: These were the Roman Socii, or Italian states, which were in a kind of alliance with and subordination to Rome. They had to furnish troops for the wars, and to share the burdens of the Roman State in return for which they claimed the citizenship (Life of Marius, c. 32).]

[Footnote 657: Or Silo (Life of Marius, c. 33).]

[Footnote 658: There is obviously an error here in Plutarch's text, as Sintenis observes. The real meaning of what Pompaedius said appears from the context, and from a pa.s.sage of Valerius Maximus (3. 1, 2), who tells the same story.]

[Footnote 659: This sham fight was according to an old tradition established by aeneas. It is described by Virgil, _aeneid_, v. 553, &c.

See Tacitus, _Annal._ xi. 11; and Dion Ca.s.sius, 43. c. 23, and 49. c.

43. These games (ludi) were also celebrated under the early Emperors.]

[Footnote 660: The text is literally "a place for the impious," not _the_ place. But Plutarch may allude to the tortures of the wicked in the regions below, according to the popular notions.]

[Footnote 661: The possession of a priestly office by a person who also discharged the functions of civil life was common among the Romans. The effect of this political inst.i.tution was more extensive than at first sight may appear, but the examination of such a question belongs, as Plutarch sometimes observes, to another place.]

[Footnote 662: He is mentioned by Cicero (_De Offic._ ii. 24), but some suppose that there were two Tyrian philosophers of that name.]

[Footnote 663: See Plutarch's Life of Cato the Censor, c. 19. This, the first Roman Basilica, was erected B.C. 182 (Livy, 39. c. 44). A basilica was a place for law business and the meeting of traders and the like.]

[Footnote 664: The highest cast with four dice of six sides was twenty-four points, and it was called Venus. The lowest cast was four points, and it was called Canis. This is one explanation. But the Venus is also explained to be the throw which resulted in all the dice turning up with different faces. See the notes in Burmann's edition of Suetonius, _Octav. Augustus_, c. 71. It is said that sometimes they played with four-sided dice, sometimes with six-sided. The subject is somewhat obscure, and the investigation not suited to all people.]

[Footnote 665: Probably C. Memmius Gemellus, tribune of the Plebs, B.C. 66. See the Life of Lucullus, c. 37.]

[Footnote 666: This was Q. Caecilius Metellus Pius Scipio, the son of P. Cornelius Scipio Nasica, praetor B.C. 94. He was the adopted son of Q. Metellus Pius, consul B.C. 80, who is mentioned in the Life of Sulla, c. 28. This rival of Cato was the Metellus who was defeated by Caesar at the battle of Thapsus, and is often mentioned in this Life.

It is not said what legal process Cato could have inst.i.tuted for the loss of his promised marriage.]

[Footnote 667: This Greek poet, who was probably born about the close of the eighth century B.C. at Paros, was noted for his biting Iambics, which became proverbial.

"Archilochum proprio rabies armavit iambo."

HORAT. _Ars Poet._, v. 79.]

[Footnote 668: This was of course a gentile name. The name Sora.n.u.s should be Sera.n.u.s or Serra.n.u.s.]

[Footnote 669: C. Laelius, the friend of the elder Scipio Africa.n.u.s, is probably meant.]

[Footnote 670: The history of this insurrection of Spartacus is told in the Life of Cra.s.sus, c. 8, &c. As to Gellius, see the Life of Cra.s.sus, c. 9.]

[Footnote 671: Nomenclators, literally, "persons who called or addressed others by name," were slaves and sometimes perhaps other persons, whose business it was to know every man's name, to attend a candidate in his canva.s.s, and to inform him of the names of those whom he was going to address, in order that he might appear to be acquainted with them; for in accordance with a feeling, which all men have in some degree, a desire to be known, a voter was pleased to find himself addressed by a candidate as if his face and name were familiar. This kind of notice from people who are above another in rank and station is peculiarly gratifying to those who are conscious that they have no real merit, and the pleasure which such attention gives to those who receive it is the exact measure of their own real opinion of their insignificance. I say their real opinion, for such persons have a true opinion of themselves, though they attempt to conceal it from themselves, and also to conceal it from others, in neither of which attempts are they quite successful. It makes no difference if a man knows that the great man who affects to know him really does not know him, for he knows that the great man does not know everybody and cares for very few; but the mere pretence of knowing, the mere show of knowing and recognising, which the great man a.s.sumes, he is willing to take for what he knows that it is not, a mark of respect; and mainly, that others, as he hopes, may be deceived by the false appearance, and take him to be what he knows that he is not.

Cato's tribuneship was a military tribuneship (tribunus militum).]

[Footnote 672: He was a native of Tarsus in Cilicia, and at the time of Cato's visit to him he had the care of the library at Pergamus.

Strabo (p. 674, ed. Casaub.) says that he died in Cato's house at Rome.]

[Footnote 673: aenus was a small town at the mouth of the river Hebrus, now the Maritza. The island of Thasos, now Thaso, contains marble. The monument was a costly memorial, if the Attic talent was meant, which we must presume. Talents of silver are of course intended.]

[Footnote 674: The allusion is to the Anticato of Caesar (Life of Caesar, c. 54). How the matter really was, no one can tell; but such a story is not likely to be a pure invention.]

[Footnote 675: He is mentioned as being an old man in B.C. 54 (Life of Cra.s.sus c. 17). Deiotarus was a friend of the Romans in their Asiatic wars against Mithridates, and the senate conferred on him the t.i.tle of king. He knew what kind of people he had to deal with when he showed such attention to Cato's train (c. 15). His history is closely connected with that of Caesar, and of Cicero, who made a speech in his defence before Caesar at Rome B.C. 45 (Pro Rege Deiotaro).]

[Footnote 676: The story about Demetrius, the contemptible favourite of Pompeius, is told by Plutarch in his Life of Pompeius, c. 40.

Plutarch makes the visit to Asia precede Cato's quaestorship, upon which see the remarks of Drumann, _Geschichte Roms_, v. 157. The narration of Plutarch is evidently confused as will appear from the fourteenth and fifteenth chapters.]

[Footnote 677: Either C. Scribonius Curio who was consul B.C. 76, or his son the tribune, an adherent of Caesar; but probably the father is meant.]

[Footnote 678: See the Life of Marius, c. 17.]

[Footnote 679: Cato's quaestorship was in the year B.C. 65.]

[Footnote 680: Lutatius Catulus, censor B.C. 65, was the son of Catulus who with Marius defeated the Cimbri at Vercellae B.C. 101.

(Life of Marius, c. 25.)]

[Footnote 681: This pasange, which has been supposed by some translators to mean that Catulus ran the risk of being degraded from his office, is correctly translated and explained by Kaltwa.s.ser. Cato hinted that the officers of the Court would turn Catulus out, if he continued to act as he did. Plutarch has told the same story in his treatise [Greek: peri dusopias] pe?? d?s?p?a?, _De Vitioso Pudore_ c.

13, to which Kaltwa.s.ser refers.]

[Footnote 682: He may be C. Claudius Marcellus afterwards consul B.C.

50, or his cousin of the same name who was consul B.C. 49.]

[Footnote 683: The parentage of Terentia, Cicero's wife, is unknown.

The mother of Terentia must have married a Fabius, by whom she had this Fabia, the half sister of Terentia. Fabia was a woman of rank.

Though a vestal virgin, she did not escape scandal, for she was tried B.C. 73 for s.e.xual intercourse with Catilina: Fabia was acquitted (Drumann, _Geschichte Roms_, v. 392).

There is a mistake in the text: "charges" (p. 25) is a misprint, and should be "changes;" in place of "Cicero's wide, he was in great danger, but he involved Clodius," it should be "Cicero's wife, and she was in great danger, he involved Clodius."

Therefore in place of "he was," line 10 from bottom, read "and she was;" and in the same line omit "but." In line 13 from the bottom read "changes" for "charges."]

[Footnote 684: Probably the name is corrupted. The expression is attributed to Cato, in the Life of Lucullus, c. 40.]

[Footnote 685: Q. Metellus Nepos was serving under Pompeius in Asia in B.C. 64. He came to Rome in B.C. 63 to be a candidate for the tribuneship.]

[Footnote 686: D. Junius Sila.n.u.s, who was consul with Licinius Murena, B.C. 62, was now the husbaud of Servilia, who had been the wife of D.

Junius Brutus.]

[Footnote 687: He was the son of L. Licinius Murena, who served under Sulla in Greece. The son served under his father in B.C. 83 against Mithridates. After the consular election in B.C. 63 he was prosecuted for bribery (ambitus). Cicero's speech in defence of Murena is extant.]

[Footnote 688: The affair of Catiline is spoken of in the Life of Caesar, c. 17, and in the Life of Cicero, c. 10, &c.]

[Footnote 689: This Servilia was now the wife of Sila.n.u.s the consul.

Lucullus the husband of the other Servilia had his triumph in the year of Cicero's consulship B.C. 63 (Life of Lucullus, c. 37). He was probably the husband of Servilia at this time.]

[Footnote 690: Short-hand writers were called by the Romans "actuarii"

and "notarii," of which last word Plutarch's word ([Greek: semeiographoi] s?e????af??) is a translation. It is not likely that short-hand writing was invented for the occasion, as Plutarch says.

Under the empire short-hand writers are often mentioned.]