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AUTHOR: BYRNE, ALICE HILL TITLE: TITUS PO ATTICUS; PONIUS PLACE: BYRN MAWR, PA DA TE : 1920 Master Negative # COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES PRESERVATION DEPARTMENT BTBTTOGRAPHTr MTCROFnRM TARGET Original Material as Filmed - Existing Bibliographic Record .„-'■' - ^DB fmS Byrne, Alice H^^^' fj'; „j,^pters of a biography^ A dissertation ... oy "^ I Bryn liawr, 19.20' I viii. 102 p. 23 cm. 1 The8iB.(Ph.D.)BrynWawr, I I K .G3404 O Restrictions on Use: tech1^icXl~m1croformdatX film size: >3 ^ ^__ reduction ratio: ]_!_?_ IMAGE PLACEMENT: IA~^A, IB IIB . DATE FILMED: ___I__i.l INITIALS IH HLMEDBY: RESEARCH PUBLICATIONS. INC WOODBRIDGE. CT c Association for Information and Image Management 1100 Wayne Avenue. 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PENNSYLVANIA 1920 /' rJM.r:.j-;:;'.:- |.JU.-)I,T;..' •;:-: pKcss or TMf •'«''"*. MI-TIIMl COMMHV LANCAtTEN, M. r^ ^ CONTENTS. PAGE Introduction y Chapter I. Atticus as Man of Business i Chapter II. Atticus as Man of Letters 23 Chapter III. Atticus in Politics 52 *> .^^. li \\ S INTRODUCTION. In attempting a biography of Atticus, I have considered his life under its more significant aspects. The collection and col- lation from Cicero's letters of facts concerning his life has been admirably done by Drumann, and it would be super- fluous to give the results of an independent study where these coincide with results already pubhshed. Atticus figures in the life of his time as a representative of the propertied classes with business interests, as a typical man of leisure and culture, a promoter of intellectual activity and himself a producer of a work in historical method, and, most significantly, as the political adviser of a man of greater genius than he, to whom he was able to supply balance and insight. In the chapter on Atticus as a man of letters, I have thought it proper to introduce many of the conjectures made by scholars as to the scope and influence of Atticus' literary work. While few of these can be established, the impression made by the sum of them is probably a fairer representation of Atticus' position in the intellectual world than could be reached by con- sidering only the facts susceptible of proof. The original sources for a life of Atticus are the brief biog- raphy of Nepos, the letters of Cicero to Atticus and certain dialogues of Cicero.^ These, with some mention of Atticus found in Cicero's letters to other correspondents,^ two letters from Brutus,^ three references in the work of Nepos outside the biography,* Varro's presentation of the Epirot stock farmer in De Re Riistica, and the brief references of Valerius Maxi- 1 De Legibus, Brutus, Orator, Academica, De Finibus, De Senectute, De Amicitick ,^^ ,,t,t 2 Ad Fam. V. 4, i ; 5 ; VII. 30, 2; 31. 2; IX. 8, i ; 26, i ; XI. 29; XIII. i; 17; 18; XIV, 10; 14, 2; 19; XVI. 23; Ad. Q. F. 11. 10, 2. » Ad Brut. I. 16, i; 17. * Vitae, Dedication; 24, 3. 5 ; 23, I3, I, V \\ ¥1 INTRODUCTION. mus,*^ Seneca,^ Pliny/ Asconius,« Quintilian,« Tacitus,^'* Sue- tonius," Fronto,^- Censorinus,^^ Solinus" and Charisius^^ con- stitute the testimony of antiquity on the subject.'* The biography of Nepos was a complimentary monograph, written largely during the lifetime of Atticus. It has many of the characteristics of the modern journalistic write-up. It be- trays the defects of Nepos* biographical work in general, care- lessness in the presentation of facts,'^ lack of psychological penetration, undiscriminating laudation.'* Nepos had a first- hand knowledge of Atticus and of some of his friends, and thus had a foundation of truth for the facts that he presents to an extent that he could not claim for any other biography, but his general statements are not always to be taken literally ; in fact, the sweeping negative statement is one of his manner- isms, and is often rhetorical rather than accurate."* Both his facts and his characterizations must be discounted when they conflict with the evidence of the letters. Nevertheless there are passages in the biography that seem to be echoes of con- versation with Atticus, and may convey his own statement of motive or his own comments on his life.^* » VII. 8, 5. • Ep. Mot, 21 and 97. l^- ^' XJXV. II ; List of Sources for VII. and XXXIII. » 0» Pro Cornelio, p. 60 Stangl ; On In Pisonem, p. 18 Stangl. •VI. 3. 109; VIII. 3, 32. ^^ Annals II. 43. " De Grammaticis 14 and 16; Tiberius 7. "£^. I. 7, Naber, p. 20. ''■* De Die Natali 2. ^* Collectanea Rerum Memorahilium I. 27. i» I. 12. 6 Keil. ' 16 Plutarch mentions the correspondence of Brutus with Atticus Cicero, 45. ^»«.i."-u3, nf'L^lL'TJ'^^^ '*^- ^°"^ ^?" ?*'*'"^ *^^*^^^°'« »«« is sufficient evidence ///^XV %''"^'' *" '^^ **" ^^^*' ^^'^'y ascertainable (Gellius. Noct. ^ -*Cf. Schanz pm. Utf, I. 2. 160. Ein adaquates Lebensbild zu schaffcn, dazu fehlte es ihm an phifosophische Begabung ^°^"^°"'' ^" nr !, «nT.f *^ acrpama, 14. i, may be as dubious as Nulla lex, 18, 2, or as untrue as ommsque ejus pecuniae reditus 14 3 =«»E.g. 2, 5; 3, 3; 6, though in the last there are'general statements that arc too sweepmg. k'^wciai »iaicmcnts ff i i{' I'H ^%^ INTRODUCTION. Vll The letters of Cicero constitute evidence of the h.ghest value both for fact and for characterization. Many quotaUoj^ from Atticus' own letters may be gleaned from them;" many m Terences as to Atticus' point of view may fairly be drawn from heTplanations. protests or apologies that Cicero eels con- strained to make to him. The urbanity proper to the corre spoTdence of two men of the world, the natural tendency o Stenin letter writing the significance of all that belongs to the correspondent, must be taken into --f -^"'^ made S conclusions.; but when alWue -- ^ ^ made.^the letters remam one of the most smccrc '"re'XToffered by Atticus' speeches in the dialogues of Cicero carries less weight and may be counted as conv.nong only when it reinforces conclusions drawn from the letters^ Yet'thecare that Cicero used in choosing interlocutors the effort Mhat he made to assign to each man a P^" -nsonant -th h^ ideas and not too far beyond his capacities." ^^ded to the ^^ that in the case of a living interlocutor a venous ^-^P^;^^*;^^ tion of reality would have aroused unfavorable ^n^-^^^J^^J^^ it a fair inference that Atticus was not made the mouthpiece of ideal at variance with his own and that the experiences to which he refers may be accepted as facts The studies of Atticus by HuUeman" and S<:hneider pre ceded the work of Drumann. Drumann's chapter on Atticus s a monument of painstaking erudition, -alf j^^^^^^^^^^^ but of small value as an interpretation. J^« ^'^^^^^^^^^ Ungherini" and the chapter on Atticus by Boissier are . A collection of these has been made by Consoli. Attici EpUtularun, ad Ciceronem K^'*«"">« have been seventy-seven in March of 33, and hence was born in iia 2 All 2 2 — s So 'Sihler. p. 30; cf. Drumann, V. 7- ^ 4 Acrrtnius On In Toaa Candida, p. 09 btangi. c„it* 5Fer™ Hellemsiic Athens. The colonies were restored by Sulla in ^X?h; commercial activity of the decade 100^ did not revive. 1 ■« TITUS POMPONIUS ATTICUS. to make loans to municipalities and to men resident outside their own towns, with the assurance that the Roman officials would permit or enable them to enforce their contracts "• Nepos' account of Atticus' life during this period conveys the Idea of a man of wealth and leisure, devoting himself generously of h.s counsel and support to the unfortunate Athenians. According to Nepos. Atticus lent money to the Athenian state, which could not get easy rates on the market refusing interest but insisting on prompt repayment of the prin- cipal, furnished free grain to the city, giving more than a bushel to each citizen, and acted as the state's unofficial adviser consulted on all questions concerning the common weal.' Now the patrimony that Nepos assigns to Atticus, 2,000,000 ses- terces," does not warrant the munificence chronicled. Unless Atticus inherited a larger sum or increased his patrimony by active and successful business, he must have been unable to make large loans or to give donations to municipalities.* There is little information about Atticus' business affairs in the letters of 68 to 65. Besides a residence at Athens," he had a house in Rome, occupied by his mother and sister and the latter's husband, Quintus Cicero." Shortly before or during 68. he bought land in Epirus, near Buthrotum." In 67, he con- sidered buying a Neapolitan estate, but was anticipated in the purchase." The letters show friends in Rome acting for him in personal and business aflfairs— Cicero," Sextus Peducaeus," • Ibid., p. 404. ■ Ait. 14, 2. J»Near^the liissus; De Fin. V. g6; De Leg. I. 3. ihlldJiJi^ruf^V^'' P"'-<^h'/^ "« only an addition to an estate already in Atticus possession; if Varro avoids anachronism in D,^, ^-Jhca, Atticus had a well stocked farm and authoritative eLneriJc, IB farming in 67, the year to which Book II. is ascnW ''''*""'« A* 0| 1, "I, 5. 4 and 5; 8, i; etc. " T e ^ .. • r 0' > ATTICUS AS MAN OF BUSINESS. » Sallustius>«-and an agent, Cincius, handling his money." There is a question of inheritance that involves Tadius,' and a long discussion and controversy with Acutilius over some matter of bargain and sale.- The only sign of Atticus own activity is in his purchases for Cicero's Tusculan villa.' Cicero thought Atticus, as compared with himself, a man of leisure ; and yetin 67;.thol.gh he wanted Atticus' assistance in R^me-m his candidacy for the praetorship, he felt that his friend s busi- ness affairs in Greece were too important to be left. The presumption from the evidence for these years, taken together with what we know of Atticus' activities after he left Athens, is that while he was pursuing the liberal arts in that city incidental friendly loans to Athenians or to Italians travel- ling abroad gradually led him to develop a banking business. Doubtless his financial interests were furthered by the prestige that his knowledge of both the Greek and the Romarv world conferred on him, and by his ability to advise m matters of law and business. During this same period he was investing in landed estates. • . In buying an estate in Epirus, Atticus chose retiremei^t and simplicity Buthrotum was oflE the main routes of travel," and A^icus"^ estate was sheltered even from such currents of for- eign intercourse as agitated Corcyra." The region was not^ for the growing of fruit and the breeding of horses and cattle. The place became a center of activity, probably not only as a Hi- ?• iril'llh^m's t^me oufof harmony with the general tenor ^» I. 5» o » ». ^ » " -uo* A f+iriic was advisine the defrauding of a misunderstood him. ^oL^ch: VAo';s'*45-49; it is likely that Atticus made further pur- chases for Cicero in his trip of 61-60 (II. i, lU- "I. 5. 4; 6, I. 22 1. 10, 6. " I- 5r 3. „ 2* III. 7, 1 ; IV. 8, I. 25 Pliny, H. N. XV. 15 ; Oeof. I. 59- A ■■III „ »■ / « TITUS POMPONIUS ATTICUS. farm,*« but also as a station for extending the banking busi- iiess.2^ While Buthrotum was not traversed by the Roman legions on their way to Macedonia and Asia, it was a harbor and lay on one of the Roman coast roads, and thus gave facil- ities for reaching out into an unexploited neighborhood. At- ticus eventually made this estate his place of residence while in Greece, but seems still to have lived in Athens during the winter of 68^72* and to have spent some time there in 65.2» After 65, his residences were in Italy and Epirus.^<» He may have intended to spend most of his life in Epirus, making occasional trips to Italy as he had done from Athens, but the desire of the two Ciceros for his political assistance kept him in Rome during much of the years 66-63 ; possibly he became so much involved during those years in business and personal relations as to spend more of his subsequent life in Rome than he had planned to do. However, he lived in Epirus for a large part of the time before he inherited his uncle's property; thereafter his enlarged fortunes doubtless enabled him to live in Rome according to his liking.^^ 2«In R R. II. Varro assigns A., among other stock, eight hundred mead of sheep— no large flock for an Epirot farm. 2^ Cf. the agents in Corcyra, V. 9, i. 2« Cicero's commissions presuppose a residence in Athens. ^^ I. I, 2, quoniam propius abes. ^0 Nepos states his impression that Atticus went to Rome to live in 65 {AH. 4, 5). He had planned to go to Rome in January, 66, but post- poned gomig (I. 3. 2). Later, Cicero urged him to hold to his plan of coming m July, to assist in Quintus' canvass for the praetorship (I. 4, I). As his friend Lucius Torquatus was standing for the consulship at the same time, it is likely that he went. There are no letters between tfie first half of 66 and the middle of 65 ; Atticus was probably in Rome during much of that time. In the summer of 65, Cicero asked him to come to Rome to help in the consular canvass, and he planned to be m Rome by January (L 2, 2). It is likely that he finally gave up resi- dence m Athens in the latter half of 65. " Atticus' movements, so far as discoverable, may be summarized as tollows: h.1^2. ^*''" ^KV^P^i^'^^^U ^ ^^- '3» .^ * *^^- ^2' 4) ; returned. Decem- ber, 60, probably (I. 18, i; IL 2. 3; 3, 4). #TT 1 °'' ^P'*'"* 'tt-?' ^^^'^^ ¥^y ^"- ^^' ') ' returned near end of 50 Tw^fii'i,^' ^^' ^'^At u^'i' '^?fr ^^ coUegiis). I cannot find that Tjjrell has ground for heading III. 9, to Atticus on his way to Greece. Atticus seems not to have made the trip he planned for June i. Made n M ATTICUS AS MAN OF BUSINESS. He announced and adhered to ^ Pf ^y ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ the great Political-comrneraal pr.z^ of th^^^^ offices." The higher positions were "°t °Pen - _ through a political career, but he ^ad at ^- -Jus^ .ta P ^^ tions that he could have ^^^^^^^^ :nrichm^^^ in the ''• '' ''''7t Ro^: t^r'Slowed to pass by. Even provinces and at Rome, that ne ^^^^^^ ^^ ^^^ ^^^ in 63, when he had ^t h. «"^^ ^^^ ^^_ powerful magistracy m t^^Jf^'^^^^ y ^e refused a cepted any P"^^" ^VnJitus Ckero when the latter went to f-- ::Z::^r'' S::Tr2Z ^s^. as acero said. Asia as propraeioi. x^v- ^^ for a life of honoraWe re«nt^ business interests in the Nevertheless he was not w ^ ^^^.^^^^ ^^.^ ^^^^ provinces. Early ^^^''^^^^^Zn until the end of 60. The ^P'™^ Zl ofthi tip waT he ' siege of Sicyon." that is. the major object of this trip w „robably to the municipal- collection of money ^-^ '"^^f^f f;^^^^^^^^^ ease or one of many i,y,s Whether this loan was an iso ^ ^ ^^ ^^^ brief visit to Dyrrachium Decemb , s8JHl^Ji'^„es TulUanae p. 86. is to be retained. Sjogren retains >t^ (cessation of letters as evi- \^^ ;"Jn!rr.i'stf f In ^-tUer (IV. . O = was in Italy ^•^rarul'alVl^alnor. May 10. 54 (IV. x. x) ; returned. November, 54. (1^- ^.V.Ln. end of 5i (V. i8, i ; ^9, i ; 2^' ^ 5 V^' ^' ^^ Probably was m Epirus during m X. 5, 3; 17. 4). . . ^5 (XIII. 25, 3). J"^' 44 (XVI. 2, t», Planned trip to ^pinis, jmy, 4:? v but did not get away j^^^T^^J^^^y^.. 5 32 1. 16, 14; 17. 5 and 7; Ncp. ^J*'^' ^ge^ed him by way of com- S3 Nep. Att 6, 4 ; he accepted prefectures oner pliment. but refused f ^ive service^^ ^^^^^ Mebantur (I. »* I. 17. 5 ; Tyrrell, comment ng on guturF ^omplam of m the 20, I), says, " Atticus certamly did see som^^^^^^^^ .^^^^ ^^ Cicero induct of Cicero, else why did he recapmaaie referred SSd the chances that he had lost for h^s sake^ ^ J^^^^ • ^^ It m I i TTTUS POMPONIUS ATTICUS. provincial investments, whether it represented Atticus' capital or that of his uncle or some other capitalist, we cannot say. Atticus started on his journey armed with a letter from Cicero to Antonius, proconsul of Macedonia, containing a re- quest for assistance to Atticus in his business. The assumption that the business referred to was the collection of the Sicyonian debt is open to question :" in the first place, Cicero's letter was so contemptuous and menacing as to make it probable that it was intended primarily as an expostulation and a warning to Antonius, Atticus' business being only an excuse for presenting the letter through an effective mediary f in the second place, as Cicero assumed that Atticus would go straight from Epirus to Sicyon and later, at some indefinite time, to Macedonia,'** the letter to Antonius was evidently not Atticus' prime reliance in the matter of the debt. It may be that Atticus had business in Macedonia in which he wanted Antonkis' help. In 60, he asked Cicero to speak in his behalf to Octavius, the successor of Antonius, but again there is no evidence that the subject was Sicyon. Cicero answered that he had written to Octavius but had not interviewed him, because he felt that the business in question was not really a matter for a governor's considera- tion, and did not class his friend among the small usurers who were wont to be importunate for proconsular assistance.** »«Achaia was probably erected into a province by Julius Caesar shortly before 45 (see Mommsen, //<»rm«, 1893,603). The Greek states were not formally subordinated to Macedonia before 57, when the Clodian law put them under the control of the Macedonian governor, at least for the period of Piso's administration {In Pisonem, 37 and 95; De Domo. 60). Before that date, their position was ambiguous; theoretically, they were autonomous, but some of them paid tribute to Rome and their courts were probably controlled by the governor of Macedonia (so Hatzfeld, B. C. H. 1909, 222-225. Colin, Rome ct la Greece, 668 f., ascribes to them a greater financial and judicial inde- pendence, while Groebe, Ath. Mitth, 1908, 135 ff-. says without qualifi- cation that Achaia and Athens, in the early part of the century, belonged to Macedonia). 3T Ad Fam. V. 5. So Schichc, Z. G. 1904, 11. 419. »®II. I, 12. As objections to the traditional interpretation of this passage presented by Tyrrell may be offered ( i ) putabam and habebam should be treated as epistolary tenses; Tyrrell's translation would be ■MlMMil i '% iit. ATTICUS AS MAN OF BUSINESS. Whether on the same or on other business. Atticus st^ wanted to keep in touch with the governor of Macedonia m 58. In the to keep in 10 ^^^^ ^^ ^^^^,j ^^^ i^ave E t^m a^pUing the new proconsul had been ''XScus' experience with the Sicyonian debt shows that there watrLe Quarters of the -- a tender ---ew^^^^ «,rA to Greece " Shortly before March of 60, bervuius, one S Capo's Sowing, managed to insert quietly in a loiig decree 'c^uTe thai ::;dl'tly cut'off some resource '^^^^^fj^^^. ^onev lenders in the collection of debts from the free states rius at once found the collection of his money more difficult. fnansverrhis complaints, Cicero advised him not to hope for any r peal of the measure, for while there had been some mee^- i:S^:t^:^^^^ was too sman for elective . 43 " Auic» now h.d no r„.»r„. wrote Ckero, s.v= his own matter by no means occupied all his time. ^'''J- ,, j Atucus' iife at this period as one of abundant f-^'J^ .ore nature, fnr a P'«P-^-M (a> Jie Uan^^^^^^^ Strained; money lending in ^^^'^^^^^l-ZVar Sicyon; (3) it is highly TXullioi^^^^^^ for'wh^t objects Atticus improbable that Cicero d,id not too w aen y ^^^ interpretation of wanted his influence with Octavius usea ^^.^^^.^ promnctalts provincialia given above see f^ Q^ t L i.^^ ,^ ^^ ^^ ^. p^^ ^est knowledge proper to a provincial govcn 7 and 13, /" ^«^- 35- *• 111- ^' 1 ) ,h. Treek States as having been the property 41 In 57. Cicero speaks of ^i^^.^J^^T^lY^^^^^^ them into the hands of the whole Roman ^^^5^^efore G^abmms gav^^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ of Piso {De Domo, 60, ^"^.^;!,^^^ the Hghts of the so-called free Julius Caesar's expressly confirmea tne ng ;» states {In Pis. 37)- . . _„^ .u^,^ the decree forbade provincial 42 Tyrrell on I. 19, 9. ^°"J^"V^'ff:i^,ior debfag^^^ free states, governors to take cognizance of cla^^^^^^ {""Ulfattr^ues with Lambinus 43 1. 19, 9; 20 4; m tlie^atte; passage l rea ^^^ not reached believing on other grounds that Atticus answe ^ y ^^ ^^ Cicero when II. i was written. Lt. 11. i, *"• 44 1. 19,9. 45 1.19,1. TITUS POMPONIUS ATTICUS. • / ^! was a strong interest, and he was reluctant to leave Greece without having accomplished the object of his journey.** He was compelled to do so, but after reaching Rome he set on foot a new effort, probably that of obtaining from the senate letters advising the Sicyonians to pay. He had not yet obtained these in April of 59.*^ Perhaps he had them before he left for Greece in the course of that year.*' There is no evidence to sihow whether he collected the debt ; in the year 58, however, Sicyon is known to have surrendered certain pictures from its public buildings because of insolvency.** Cicero realized that his friend was becoming more and more involved in financial matters. In urging him to come home, he warned him jestingly that to arrive for the census just at the end of the period was too much like the act of a mere business man.**** From an early date the two Ciceros and Atticus were iden- tified in their class consciousness with the equites and were especially bound by professional and business interests to those members of their order who were engaged in tax-farming or in money lending in the provinces.''^ It is likely that Atticus, with his long period of foreign residence and his numerous connections abroad, was of service to Cicero in building up his provincial clientage. His influence in the world of provincial business is indicated by Cicero's request for help in a matter that threatened, in 59, to embroil him either with the tax col- lectors or with the traders in Quintus' province. He asked Atticus to see the Greek traders, if they should come to Rome to protest against paying port duties on unsold goods, and to IXw If ^ *«II,2I,6. *» Pliny, N, H 35, 127. Mahafly (Silver Age of Greece) is not justi- fied m stating that it was Atticus who forced the lien on these pictures which were a part of the extravagant display of the aedile Scaurus. but the inference is tempting. 5« L 18, 8. *» II. I, 10; VI. I, 5 and 10, iuum veterem gregem, and 15 ; XIV. 12, i. |i \\ II *> y Ci ATTICUS AS MAN OF BUSINESS. if I'll ,\ explain to them that Cicero did not think them liable for these ^^Irllv as 59, Atticus had money invested in public lands and chatnidf on his own and others' behalf what seemed to him excessive demands of the tax collectors. "TtrpoSle that during this period Atticus had some sh^re in managing the investments of his uncle Caeal.us, who wa wont on occasion to lend money in Rome at h,gh mtere^^ NeoLTestifies that while Caecilius repelled most people by his SabiSy and harshness, he found his nephew compla.san^ and Ob Sng- The direction of a fortune larger than h,s own would ?e^ to account for the scope of AttKUs' busmess 'Tfhe latter half of 58. Atticus became the heir of ti.r- fourths of Caecilius' property, a fortune ^^ ^^°'««'°°°f ^"^?. and a house on the Quirinal. noted for the beauty of Us park. He seems to have occupied the house at once By 54. at latest, he had investments m As>a. On May 10 ot , that yea; he left Rome for Epirus, hopmg to direct all h.s af- fairs in the Ea.t from that base, as he had agents m Asm Findine that his Asiatic affairs needed his personal attention, he Finding mat nib rv ,. „„_t- Athens." H s business was started eastward, passing through Atnens. » Cicero himself promised to advocf their ^^^^^^^ 'L^Ux co&?f, if it should prevail to "^^^''''f.^f'^iVlatter effort, he would remain confessing that if he should fail mftel^^^^^^ ^ ^j,;^^ ^„„,d content with the goodw.U of the P{f^^"»"'*^£f3 interpretation of the be of value to him and Qum us (11. ^^^4;^^ ^^ ^^^ ^ptxrna '^''^^l^^^rZ'^S^l^^ C'o^ Tyrrell. For discussion, see Tyrrell ad loc. ""■i2!*.tcf.Val.M«.Vn.8.S. 5» Nep. Att. 5. 1 ; cf. Ad Q. f- i- 2. ^ p Uq. I. i, 3- An " III 20, I ; Nep. Att. 13, 2; <:/• Xn. 45. ]'^'^\%^) sho^s that inscription found in the ^'f '">* "P^^Tnot ^^^ course Tdescendant- l^StrlidiS^yTn-Tr^irnTCHj^^^^^^^^ ToPo.rapHie der fl'^thaWirCn-t' ^^rth' on" fe^avtlRomTwith chances of seeing Caesar and Quintus. It / 10 TITUS POMPONIUS ATTICUS. I i I 1 1 I quickly concluded; on August 9, he wrote from Ephesus; towards the end of November, he was nearing Rome on his homeward journey.*® Slight indications of Atticus' transactions are found in the visits and commissions mentioned by Cicero during the jour- neys to and from his province. He was entertained by Atticus' agents at Corcyra and the Sybotian Islands.** In Athens, he visited the Epicurean Xeno, who appears later as Atticus' agent.*** On reaching Ephesus, he interviewed Thermus, the propraetor, in Atticus' behalf, commending to his good offices Seius,*^ Xeno of Apollonia and Philogenes, Atticus* freed- man.«=^ He found that agents of Atticus had been in Ephesus before his arrival and had received assurances of good will from Thermus.*^ He investigated, apparently for Atticus, the financial standing of Egnatius of Side.** The letters of the year show that Atticus had a number of slaves on commissions On his journey to Cilicia, Cicero saw at Delos accounts de- posited there by Atticus, a further proof of business transac- tions in the lands around the eastern Mediterranean.'® During the spring and summer of 51, Atticus kept planning a trip to Epirus*^ and Athens ;«« this was postponed from time to time and not begun until late in the year.*' Replying to a letter of the early summer, Cicero took for granted that one cause for the delay was that Atticus wanted to see Pompey, whose return from Ariminum he was awaiting.^** Whether his 58 IV. 18, 5 ; 19, 1. «» V. 9, 1 ; VII. 2, 3. •«V. 10, 5; XV. 21, 2; XVI. I, 5; 3. 2. «» Probably a Roman knight; cf. XII. 11; Ad Fam, IX. 7. i. ««For Philogenes as Atticus' representative in Asia, cf. V. 13, 2; 20, 8; VI. 2, I. «* V. 13, 2. «* VI. 1, 23. *»VI.i,i3. •• V. 12, 1 ; IX. 9, 4. «• VI. 1, 24. •"V. 20, 8 and 9; cf. VI. i, i ; Tyrrell seems to be wrong in his note on IX. 9, 4 ; Cicero saw merely the accounts. »*V. 19, 1. I- i\ ^ 1 } ATTICUS AS MAN OF BUSINESS. 11 business with Pompey had to do with Cicero's affairs or with his own we can not say. 1 «r « niii#*f This trip was made at least in part for the sake of a qmet filter residence." It included a visit to Ath«,s. w»^ere Muc^ „.ade a gift of grain to the -''^^\'''''"ll'^Z'^^^ l^ ing protest that acts open to the charge of d^^^^gjff ^;"" ^ no' in favor with the two friends, but -needed tl-^ ^he^g. might be regarded simply as the courtesy of a guest ""In'the meantime. Atticus built up a ^--^-^'^^^'^j, Rome. The first indication is a reference to a d-strous l^n a few other loans are mentioned, notably one of "^y^^;"? JJ Caesar" and a small one to Quintus the -o^-^^^^T^J^ll ..r«c tn have been peculiarly irntatmg to Atticus , nowever, re"e are f r fewe? reference's to Atticus' debtors than to those of Cicero whose numerous loans show that money lending was ot uicero, w. hinkers " More light on the bank- by no means «"fi"^^;<'.;~;,"„,es to AttiL' handling of ing busmess IS gamed ^'''J"''^J^^^ jebts," supervising other people's pecuniary affairs— couectmg a u , ^ T. nualitv of coin in payments," witnessmg and executmg the quality oi li/ui y j makin? ourchases or in- wills," attending or conducting sales, "T'^.f J^jng bills of ^e^„.pnt i |i;t* ATTICUS AS MAN OF BUSINESS. 13 'ti: { ipurchase of farms. He owned one near Nomentmn, just out- Ee Rome, and one at Arretium" the place at F.culae men- ' t oned by Gcero in planning a visit may have been the same a he Nomentanum of Nepos - The assertion of Nepc« hat Atticus had no other source of revenue than h.s estates m Epirus and his property in Rome- .s mcorrect. as .exclude the banking business and is otherwise at variance with the ,m Son of the letters. In 56. he was looking for a coun ry tZ, wifh a house, at Antium." Discussing an abortive p^an of Atticus- for buying a place at Lanuvium, Cicero mentions hs habitual caution in buying farms, his q^^tJi^r xh income to be expected and the productivity of the soil. The "n of the Lger at Delos suggests ^f j'e -as ^^«.^ buv land in the East as well as in Italy ; if so. his purchasies nrS>ably en ered in Epirus and were practically an extension rSgTal estate the're ; whenCicero said that Atticus could °lve whomever he pleased in charge of Thesprotia and Cha- oTa.' he was of course exaggerating the size of the domain buUt is not improbable that Atticus had extensive possessions both north and south of the Thyamis." The importance of this estate as a source of income is shown bv the kngth and frequency of Atticus' visits to it. and by the ™ntTattention^hat the Epirus mail and the reports of hk steward Alexio claimed from him.** In he merchandise that passed through Atticusjands, «e find" L 56. a number of gladiators and fight^s w, h b^sU. Atticus and Cosconius sold some of these to Cato for use as a b^dy^ard.- They evidently had still others, m whose success »i Nep. AtU 14. 3. •2X11.34,1. "Nep. Att. 14, 3- M IV. 8, 1. «5 IX. 9, 4- »« VI. 3, 2. 97 De Leg. II. 7- M XII. 53 ; XIII. 25. 3. rJS Rli 4. 5. This was C. Cato, the tribune of 56. k{ ■71 II , i ♦ I I I , jam. ' \m 14 TITUS POMPONIUS ATTICUS. they were interested after they had sold them for exhibition.^** They seem not to have contemplated keeping the lot in their possession and letting- them for exhibition.^'*^ One of Atticus' sources of profit was the breeding and train- ing of slaves for skilled employment. Nepos says that the num- ber was small, limited to those bred on his own estates, but that not one of these was left without training in some art or trade ; that while some of this training aimed at the care of his houses and estates, his specialty was readers and librarians.*'** In spite of Nepos' statement, it is likely that Atticus bought some slaves; the transaction in gladiators shows that human com- modities sometimes came into his possession in the course of business; besides, Cicero ascribes to him an interest in the market for slaves of exceptional musical or literary ability.**** Among those trained for Atticus* immediate service were the agents who transacted his business in Italy, Greece and Asia, and the messengers who acted as subordinates to these. The agents were usually freedmen, emancipated in recognition of services. Philogenes, after travelling widely in Asia as Atticus' agent, appears later acting as agent in Rome.***^ Eutychides, who was emancipated in 54, was acting as a steward in Epirus in 51.**** The literary slaves were trained first as readers ; Salvius was one of the slaves preferred for reading to the guests at din- ner.***^ Possibly Atticus let out his readers to furnish enter- tainment at other people's dinners, but there is no evidence. Some of the slaves were so highly cultivated as to be com- panions and assistants in literary and historical work. Alexis, who was Atticus' secretary and amanuensis, must have had marked literary ability, as Cicero compared him to Tiro.**** »oi IV. 8, 2. "2 IV. 4a, 2. »«» Ncp. Att 13, 3. !<»« IV. 17, 6. "•VII. 5, 3; 7. 2. i»« IV. 15, I ; V. 9, I. i«^ XVI. 2, 6. ^wvn.2,3;Xii. 10. ^ •• I I ATTICUS AS MAN OF BUSINESS. 16 I I I'l ,> I IIIV li '^'■h' Nicanor was given over to Cicero for secretar.al work dumg the Matter's proconsulate.- Dionysius. emancipated some time beforrEutychides. also accompanied Cicero to Ciliaa as tutor of the young Ciceros and as a literary companion for he pro- consul himsdf. who had already recognized h.s ab.httes m w-xrm tributes "» Thallumetus shared with Atticus the read- CS itt FuWica." Syrus. Satyrus and Antiochus we^e capable of assisting in historical research by booking J ^mt , of detail "' Athenodorus Calvus, a freedman, drew up for Cicero, when the De Officiis was in preparation, an abstract ot Posidonius' work on a like subject."' From an early period, certain slaves were trained m the care of books. Atticus began collecting books while living in Greece, and by 67 had accumulated a library that a oused Cicero's envy, evidently with the intention of selling it.^ He St up " tLe a la.ge library of his own. but -y a^soj-- " bLht books for others."' His slaves were expert librarians, bought DooKs 10 Servius Qaudius. In 60, on receiving by gift the iiorary 01 c Cicero commissioned Atticus to have the manuscripts trans- Z tnWs house "• In 56, Atticus' workmen were employed ^ t L ,>1 thriibrai of Cicero at Antium after the latter's to rehabilitate the library ot^ ^^^ Menophilus return from exUe. Ty~' J^ „f ^^^^ ^hat was directed the work, and we Know ui uov:3;3';IV. I5.i;8a. i;i5. 10. Ill V. 12, 2. 112x11.22, 2; XIII. 33, 3. ^ °UT3 VdtS t^a^r ?eserv^rd until he could buy him and returned the original (II. 20, 6, 22. 7;. ;"kran'i/eyficLtio„ of this Tyrannic .vith the scholarly freedman of LucuUus, see Usener, Unser Platonlext. •Ills, ^ y 16 TITUS POMPONIUS ATTICUS. doubtless true of the other two, that he was qualified by his wide acquaintance with literature to arrange a library."* Certain slaves were expert in the copying of manuscripts; in fact, the copying establishment amounted to an independent business ; it is impossible to say how early it was organized. It may have been an outgrowth of work done in the early col- lecting of Greek manuscripts, or it may have grown out of Atticus* interest in the circulation of Cicero*s works. These works were regularly submitted to Atticus for crit-l icism, but at the outset it is not certain that he was their pub-| lisher. In 6i, we find him reading and criticizing a collection of Cicero's orations; these had been put into book form, pos- sibly by Cicero's slaves, for the benefit of the younger genera- tion of orators, and were perhaps already in circulation."* Further works were promised later, orations and the Prognos- liVo.**** In 60, in sending the memoir on his consulate, Cicero made Atticus responsible for the sale of it in Greece ; as he had already sent a copy to Posidonius, it seems improbable that Atticus was the editor."^ In 57, however, Cicero said, in promising to Atticus the manuscript of De Donto, that it should be put at once into the hands of the students of oratory ;^^^ the presumption that Atticus was to attend to the work of copying and distribution is very strong. He seems to have controlled the publication of Cicero's work in 56, when Cicero asked whether he would permit the circulation of a recent poem ;'^^ the question may, however, imply nothing more than that he was an authority on the political expediency of such publication. The first conclusive evidence that Atticus published books is in a letter of 55, in which Cicero told him that he might pro- ceed with the copying of De Oratore; even this might conceiv- ably mean only that Atticus made a copy for himself .^^* I *" IV. 4a. I ; 5. 3 ; 8. 2. '*•!. I3f 5; I4f 3; II. If 3. »2*»I. 16, 18; II. I, 3 and 11. ^^i j. jg^ 10; II. i, 2. i«2 IV, 2, 2. i2> IV. 8a, 5. *2* IV. 13, 2. In September of 54, Cicero in writing to Quintus said that any work of his was destined to be known among the very school- boys, showing that all his work was published {Ad Q. F. III. i, 11). / I ' ii % ! I ATTICUS AS MAN OF BUSINESS. 17 For the next decade, there is adequate evidence for Atticus' publication of contemporary works. In 46, he reviewed and published the Oratory-^ In May of 45, Cicero sent him two books of the Academica and one of De Finibus; in June, on changing the plan of the Academica, he asked to have the first edition abandoned and a new one begun.^^e j^^ j^j^^ Atticus had three copyists, Pharnaces, Antaeus and Salvius, making a number of copies of the Pro Ligario; Cicero asked to have the three instructed as to a correction.^" j^ July of 44, Cicero sent the manuscript of De Gloria, which he asked to have copied out in handsome style on large sheets ; two weeks later, he realized that he had sent with it a preface that he had used in the Academica, and asked Atticus, taking for granted that by the time his letter reached Atticus from Vibo, the early part of the work would be done, to dry off the preface from the roll and glue on another one.^^s i^ October, he sent the second Philippic, with the agreement that it should not be published while Antony's power was unimpaired; in November, he and Atticus were discussing corrections to be made in the original."** The only work other than Cicero's which we are certain that Atticus published is Hirtius* Anti-Cat 0,. the mansucript of which was sent directly to his copyists by Cicero.^^^ Possibly Brutus' Cato had already been put out by the same establish- ment, ^^i Atticus may have published the recent speech of his kinsman Quintus Celer which Cicero asked to have forwarded to him in Asia.^^^ The volume of portraits published by Atticus^" was doubt- "!H!!- ^' * correction in all copies was entrusted to his slaves. «« XIII. S2, 3 ; 13, I. Ill ^lll- ^J* ^^ correction was not made (Pro Ligario, 33). "8 XVI. 2, 6; 3, I ; 6, 4. "» XV. 13, I and 7; XVI. II. I and 2. "0 XII. 40, I ; 48. I. "1 Atticus reviewed it, sending his criticisms to the author ; Cicero's comments on the ensumg correspondence may imply that Brutus had n™.i A"*^^*^*" ^"'*'"' ^? .a.P"bIishej rather than a critic and conse- quently did not welcome criticism (XII. 21, i). i« VI. 3, 10. 183 Pliny, H. N. 35, 11. V- iniiiiHi f TITUS POMPONIUS ATTICUS. less the work of his own copyists. Proceeding from this as- sumption, Leo ascribes to Atticus' publishing house such works as the illustrated manuscripts of Terence and the Vatican illus- trations of Vergil."* Atticus evidently had competitors in the business of publish- ing. Cicero praised his astuteness in promoting the sale of the Pro Ligario and promised to entrust all further works to his auctioning;"* this does not sound as if Atticus had previously held a monopoly contract for the publication and sale of Cicero's works. Moreover, when Cicero discovered that a tentative edition of De Finibus which was in Atticus* hands had been copied by Balbus and that Caerellia had also procured a copy, doubtless from the same source, he showed in his protest that there were other places at which his writings might be pub- lished, and that Atticus* establishment was simply the preferred one of its class."* There is no evidence as to the distribution of profits between author and publisher. Probably the author got no money ; on the other hand, he seems to have taken no risks ; when the first edition of the Academica was condemned, Cicero apparently assumed that Atticus would bear the loss."^ Our only measure of Atticus' standards of honor in business must be taken from Cicero's estimate. While Cicero spent money freely and had a tendency to run into debt, he had a strong sense of the elementary business obligations; he con- 114 Rkein. Mus, 38, 317-347. ^•» XIII. 12, 2. "•Atticus apologized for this indiscretion, excusing himself on the ground of the pressure from Balbus, whom he could hardly disoblige ; Cicero recognized this excuse as valid. About the provenience of Caerellia's copy, or indeed about the existence of the copy, we know nothing. XIII. 21a, i and 2; 22, 3. *»^ For the value of a manuscript that Atticus had edited, cf. Fronto, Ep. 1, 7. Naber, p. 20. For identification of Atticus with the Atticus of Lucian, irpdt t6v dvalSevrof^ 2 and 24, and for a theory that Atticus edited Demosthenes, Isocrates and Plato, using the library of Aristotle that Sulla brought to Rome, and issuing a text to compete with that issued in Alexandria, see Usener, Unser Phtontext. Gott. Nachr., 1892. igS. For bibliography of the discussion, see Dziatzko, P. W„ 'ArrUiavi,. J^jLmJlllllI'll, unjk /...,„ % '' I • II • ATTICUS AS MAN OF BUSINESS. sidered it a disgrace for him not to pay his debts and for other people not to pay theirs ; he wished not to get the better of the other side in his business relations and he dreaded the ap- pearance of doing so. In several cases where he felt that he was in danger on the latter point, he committed the affair to Atticus* management, asking that his interests should be sac- rificed rather than his honor called in question. He assumed that Atticus' anxiety on this point was at least equal to his 138 own. The financial aspect of the lifelong connection between Cicero and Atticus calls for special mention. Cicero was indebted to Atticus for long years of business services, some of them doubtless paid by commission, but many of them representing a personal sacrifice of time and toil. Atticus was indebted to Cicero for the reinforcement of his efforts, in times when his financial interests were at the mercy of official decisions, by all the prestige of the consular.^^*' However, Atticus* stewardship of Cicero's aflFairs was on a business basis. Nepos says that when Cicero was exiled Atticus gave him 2,500,000 ses- terces ;^*° this may be true ; it is certainly true that on coming into his inheritance, Atticus begged Cicero to draw on this for- tune to any extent and to prefer his assistance to that of any one else,^*^ that at that time and always afterwards, Cicero felt that if ever his own resources really failed him, Atticus stood ready to help him, that in 48, when Pliilogejies' peculations threatened his credit, he realized that if a legacy had not saved the situation, Atticus would have done so,^*^ that when Tullia's fortunes were involved by his losses, he committed her to At- ticus* care.^*'^ Yet there is abundant evidence in the letters that, apart from political crises involving utter helplessness, Cicero did not ask nor avail himself of Atticus' generosity, but "» V. 8, 2 and 3 ; XII. 19, 4; 21, 3, cut tu es conscius; cf. I. 17, 5. i3» Cf. the Buthrotum affair. 1*0^//. 4,4- i« III. 20, 2. "2 XI. 2, I ; cf. 24, 3. "3X1. 7, 6; 9; 3; 17; 25, 3. 20 TITUS POMPONIUS ATTICUS. maintained his financial integrity even when he felt himself sorely pressed for money. The letters of 51 furnish direct evidence on Atticus* attitude towards thost great fields of exploitation, the provinces. His program for Cicero's administration of Cilicia shows that he was eager to see these run on a sound business basis. While Cicero claimed that he had strong convictions on the subject himself, cherished indeed and professed through many years,"* and that the practice of the required virtues gave him unex- ampled pleasure,"* he still constantly referred to Atticus as the inspirer and critic of his efforts."* It was under Atticus' advice that he decided not to grant a prefecture to anyone en- gaged in money lending in the province, a rule observed even in the face of requests from Pompey and others with a strong personal claim upon him."^ Atticus' ideas may be further drawn from the accounts that Cicero rendered to him: in travelling through the province, he and all his staff refused, with a single slight exception, to accept from the provincials even the provision allowed by the Julian law, itself strict ;"» his administration of the courts was just, serious and merci- ful ;"* and the whole system of closet influence was done away with ;"<* Ariobarzanes, the client prince of Cappadocia, was so protected from the harpies preying upon him and so stimulated to the payment of his just debts as to become quite a respectable figure in his kingdom ;"i no requisitionary letters were sent to the citizens of the province, no soldiers were billeted, no money was extorted by the threat of billeting; the grateful provincials were allowed to express their enthusiasm only in words, statues and shrines being forbidden as a drain on their resources."^ "* Cf. Ad Q. F. I. I, and the orations passim. "* V. 9, I ; 20, 6. "•V. 15. 2; 22, 6; VI. I, 8; 2, 8. "»VI. 1.6. "«V. 16,3; 21,5; etc. "» V. 20, I. "0 VI. 2, s "1 V. 20, d 182 V. 21, 7. 4» M*' ATTICUS AS MAN OF BUSINESS. 21 After one such enumeration Cicero expressly said, "Endure my recital of my merits, for it was you that wished me to act thus."i^3 With like confidence in Atticus' satisfaction he wrote about his treatment of the various foreign elements in the prov- ince: after the failure of the harvest, by the weight of his prestige and by his persuasive eloquence, without commands or threats, he induced the Greeks and Romans who had cor- nered the market to relax their hold on the grain ;^" the Greeks were allowed to have courts of their own under their own laws, and felt as if they were autonomous ;^'^'^ the piiblicani were humored and kept within bounds, so as to injure no one; they were the creditor class, against whom Cicero was struggling to keep down interest to 12 per cent., but he followed a policy of compromise that might have been a leaf from Atticus' own book, pronouncing that debts paid within a certain time should bear a 12 per cent, interest, while those running on should be subject to whatever interest was written in the contract ;^^' the Greek magistrates were persuaded by a friendly pressure to Reimburse the state for their peculations of the preceding dec- ade, thus making possible the payment of taxes long in arrears ; Cicero anticipated Atticus' pleasure in the deliverance or par- tial relief of the cities from their crushing weight of debt."^ Atticus responded enthusiastically to these accounts, showing an anxious interest in the practicability of such high ideals.^^* The position that Atticus took during this very year in the Sala'minian affair seems to belie these honorable sentiments; in his eagerness to see Brutus enabled to collect a debt from the Salaminians, he recommended that Cicero should assign a troop of horse to Brutus' agent, the ruffian who under Appius* proconsulate had laid siege to the senate of Salamis and starved five of the members to death.^^* However, Atticus did not "»V.^i,7. "4 V. 21, 8. »5VI. MS. . - "•VI. X, 16. 1" VI. 2, 4 and s. »« VII. I, 5 ; 3, 8. »»VI. I, 6;2, 8. 22 TITUS POMPONIUS ATTICUS. know the facts ; his information came from Brutus, who was probably himself ill informed as to the character and proceed- ings of his middleman, and dependent for his estimate of the situation on the representations of unscrupulous agents; he may have been somewhat ashamed of his 48 per cent, bond and somewhat ambiguous about it, for when Cicero first wrote of the Salaminian affair he did not know that Brutus was a principal in the transaction. Writing on February 24, he put Atticus in possession of all the facts ; there is no indication that Atticus protested after he learned these.^*"* The testimony of these letters gives weight to Nepos' state- ments about the conduct of Atticus toward the Athenians. He evidently had a humane interest in the provinces and dependent cities, as well as the interest of a sound business man in their prosperity, and believed their salvation to lie in bringing them- selves— or, i f the initial steps were too difficult, in being brought —into a condition of financial integrity and responsibility. — 1*** Y^aI:-^' ?' *^ *^ ^^*^5 ^^^^ Cicero wrote a second letter of protest igamst Atticus request, but it is most unlikely that he had received from Atticus any answer to his letter of February 24 before writing ^n F.h^«a^"L^^^''' J^- ^ ^" J""S Cicero answered, for example, ^nrf fhn«t/f*t ?. ^^^^Ti^' ^ *^"^u' ^'.^'^ ^"^*^"s ^^^^d December 29 and though a letter could cover the longer distance from Rome to Cybistra m 47 days (V. 19, i), it is likely that letters between Atticus m tpirus, often removed from the routes of travel, and Cicero in Cilicia took two months to reach their destination. The internal evi- dence of the letters makes it practically certain that Cicero had no aunswcr from Atticus on the subject before writing VI. 2 and 3- if there had been an mtervening letter from Atticus, so long a letter as rLff^r vl'^'n """17<^"s evidences of it, whereas it gives none. Contra. Gurhtt a P. W„ 1900, 1422, with intent to account for varia- tions between VI. I, 5. and VI. 2, 7, on the ground that Cicero made two different propositions. Gurlitt takes Ais Brutum cupere aliquid jerifer^ as proof that Brutus sent a message through Atticus after the two had discussed the subject on the basis of Cicero's representations- tne context at this point seems to me especially to preclude the idea of an exchange of comment on the subject. J y-.. I ATTICUS AS MAN OF LETTERS. The father of Atticus was a man of scholarly pursuits and intellectual associations^ who considered his son's education a matter of prime importance.^ Among the schoolmates of Atticus, Nepos mentions Lucius Torquatus, Gains Marius the younger and Marcus Cicero.' It is safe to attribute to the education of Atticus a considerable similarity to that of Cicero, and there are many points at which the training of the two proves to be identical. The instruction under schoolmasters included the subjects set forth by Cicero in De Oratore, music, mathematics, poetry, history, elocution, debate.* A few more specific details may be gathered. There is no direct evidence that Atticus studied under Stilo, but as Stilo added to his grammatical, literary and philosoph- ical studies a strong interest in Roman legal antiquities,^ the references made by Cicero in De Legihus to common boyhood studies in this field,* together with the antiquarian interest in Roman law ascribed to Atticus as interlocutor in the same book,' are strong presumptive evidence that Atticus shared with Cicero® the instruction of Stilo, and that he like Varro drew from Stilo his interest in Roman antiquities, l^al, his- torical and literary.® The boys learned by rote the Twelve * A work on civil law was dedicated to him by his friend Junius {De Leg, III. 49), commonly identified with the Junius Gracchanus of Pliny, N, H. XXXIII. 35, and by Cichorius with Junius Congus, whom he considers idehtical with Gracchanus. Untersuchungen su LuciUus, 125-124.) 2 Att I, 2. ^Att. I, 4. * I. 187 ; for a presentation of the evidence on Cicero's education, see Sihler, Cicero of Arpinum, ch. I. » He edited the Axamenta Saliorum and the Twelve Tables. • II. 9 and 59 ; cf . Brut. 99. MI. 45, 48; III. 47 ff. • Brut. 20/7. » Ihid, 205-207. 23 r 24 TITUS POMPONIUS ATTICUS. ATTICUS AS MAN OF LETTERS. 25 Tables, a practice out of date forty years later.^° They read such speeches of Roman statesmen as were extant, even learn- ing some by heart. In this connection there are mentioned speeches of Fannius," Curio," Galba," Fimbria.^* From references less definitely assigned to boyhood may be added those of Cato, Lepidus, Africanus, Carbo," Crassus^« and Scaevola*^ This course of reading probably extended beyond the years of study under Stilo. Besides ancient Roman ora- tory, the boys studied Greek oratory. Atticus' enthusiasm for Lysias" may go back to this period. Hierocles and Menocles, models of the late and florid Asiatic school, were also set before them.^* Atticus undoubtedly shared with Cicero, probably under Stilo's teaching, that enthusiastic study of Ennius, Naevius and Lucilius which had recently become a feature in education. He may also have drawn nearer to the drama of the elder day through conversation with Accius.^® It was probably in the group of Stilo's pupils that Atticus showed the superiority in declamation mentioned by Nepos,^^ and doubtless here was formed his lasting preference for the literature of the Greeks. On the evidence of the Brutus, Atticus attended the courts in his youth to hear the great orators plead. As interlocutor in that dialogue, he discusses the cultivation, voice, pronunciation, choice of words and gestures of Titus Flamininus, Catulus, Cotta, Sisenna" and passes judgment from his own impres- »« De Leg. II. 59, " Brut. 99. "Ibid. 122. *»Ibid. 127. "Ibid. 129. *» Ibid. 292 ff. " Ibid. 161. " Ibid. 164. *' Ibid. 293. »» Brut, 325. l^Suet., De Gram. 2; Brut. 107. " Att. I, 3. « Brut. 258 ff. sions on Crassus and Antony, and, doubtless with the same basis, on Sulpicius and Caelius.=^» He counted Sisenna among his personal friends.^* Like Cicero, Atticus frequented the house of the augur Scae- vola,2» who admitted young men to his audiences that they might build up a knowledge of law from his answers to those who consuhed him.2« As his attendance on Scaevola was at least in part contemporaneous with that of Cicero, which b^an about 89,27 we may suppose that he was pursuing the study of law at nineteen or twenty. It is likely that with Cicero he lis- tened daily in 88 to the speeches of his kinsman by marriage, the tribune Sulpicius.^® As the lectures of the philosopher Philo in Rome began before the end of 88, it is possible that Atticus attended them with Cicero before leaving Italy for Greece.^* In Athens, Atticus probably developed at once that enthu- siasm for the monuments and traditions of the city which Cicero ascribes to him,^^ and steadily widened his acquaintance with Greek literature and antiquities.^^ Sulla, who was in Athens during the winter of 84-^3, was charmed with his reci- tation from the Greek and Latin poets.^^ Sometime before 79, Atticus began to frequent the gardens of Epicurus, where Phaedrus and Zeno were then lecturing.^' The Epicureans had at the time small social recognition ; they had never enjoyed a high repute as men of letters.** Phaedrus was doubtless a man of outstanding ability among them.*^ If 2» Brut. 292 ff . 2* Brut. 260. 25 De Leg. I. 13. 2« Brut. 306. 27 De Amicitia, i. Brut, 306. 28 Brut. 306. 20 n'^f '^T?'- ^'a^^^." ?"^ '2' c^- Reiki's Introduction. ^^De Leg. II. 4; De Fm. V. 4; De Sen. 1. llAdFam. VII. 31. 2; XlU.Xs. ^2 Nep. Att. 41 34 T^ ^% ^- ^' ''.^/ ^;?- y- 3 ' ^^^- ^'^''- 1- 21. 59. II l^'i''^^' 7 V^ ^'^^ ^^'^^ XV. 19, 2; In Pis. 70. «5 Nat. Deor. I. 93 ; Phil. V. 13. 2e TITUS POMPONIUS ATTICUS. Cicero's early admiration for Phaedrus, tempered later by at- tendance on the lectures of Philo,'* grew out of hearing Phae- drus lecture in Rome, as has been supposed,'^ then it is most probable that Atticus also heard him in Rome and that the en- thusiasm then awakened led him to enroll himself among the Epicureans in Athens. In 79 there was gathered in Athens a group of fiyt young Romans,^® Marcus Cicero, his brother Quintus, his cousin Lucius, Marcus Pupius Piso and Titus Pomponius, who was even then so far an Athenian in spirit that Cicero, writing of the time, said that he was likely to have bestowed on him the cognomen Atticus.^* The five attended in the Ptolemaeum the lectures of Antiochus of Ascalon, the disciple and successor of Philo in the Academic school.*** Cicero testifies that his own attendance on the lectures lasted six months.*^ In De Legibus, he makes Atticus confess to having been almost led away from the Epicurean gardens by the teaching of Antiochus, with whom he formed a warm friendship.*' Both Atticus and Cicero were initiated into the Eleusinian mysteries. Atticus is represented in De Legibus*^ as defend- ing the mysteries — at least as practised at Athens — from the imputations of the writers of comedy, and eliciting from Cicero a tribute to their spiritual import. In 67, he was consulted by the poet Thyillus about the customs of the priestly family of the Eumolpidae.** By 67, the second year represented in the extant correspond- ence, he had become a connoisseur in objects of art. He se- lected for Cicero*s Tusculan villa Megaric seals,** herms of ^•AdFam. XIII. 1,2. *^ So, e.g., Tyrrell on Ad Fam. XIII. i, 2. »8 De Fin. V. i. •• De Fin. V. 4. *• De Fin. V. i. « Brut. 315. «I. 54. *' II. 35-36. ** I. 9, 2 ; 16, 15, «l4.3. ATTICUS AS MAN OF LETTERS. 27 Pentelic marble with bronze heads,** bas reliefs,*^ embossed well covers,** a Hermathena.*« He was a student of landscape gardening and developed his grounds at Buthrotum, preserving the natural beauty of its streams and plane trees, and dedicating a part of the gardens to the nymph Amalthea,^** so as to arouse the emulation of Cicero, who pressed for instructions as to how he should make an Amaltheum at Arpinum.*^ He was a master too in the arrangement of a library ; his system of well- ordered shelves, probably his own device,^^ ^^^d of title cards attached to the rolls, served both convenience and beauty.'^' In 55, he was called upon to arrange the statues and pictures in the theatre that Pompey was about to dedicate f* about twenty years later, Augustus employed him to restore the temple of Jupiter Feretrius.^* Atticus had stored in his house on the Quirinal a library which Cicero used in the composition of his philosophical works.°« Doubtless both men's libraries contained the older Greek classics ; Cicero seems to have drawn upon Atticus espe- cially for Alexandrian and contemporary writers. The fol- lowing books are mentioned in the correspondence : Atticus received from Cicero T07ro$€(ria Miseni et Puteolorum (I. 13, 5). Demetrius Magnes (IV. 11, 2). Cicero received from Atticus *• I. 8, 2. *^ I. 10, 3. *® I. 10, 3. *• I. 4, 3. »o On the question whether the Amaltheum was a small basilica or ? u ^j ^ R^^^ °/ }^^ gardens adorned with statues, etc.. see O E Schmidt, Neue Jahrb 111, 1899. 340 ff.; Schiche, Z.Gi^Usyc I^'^^T^f/ ^T" ?iLorenzina Cesano; F. G. Moore, cSJ?. Phiil. e^'e Wernicke, P. W. I. 1723, considers the Amaltheum an " I.* 16, 18. f! lYr' ^' ^' '"'' Pegmaia; so Tyrrell. " IV. 4a, I ; 8, 2. " IV. 9, I. *5 Nep. Att. 20, 4. " IV. 14, I ; XV. 27, 2; De Fin. II. 67. 28 TITUS POMPONIUS ATTICUS. Poems or histories about Amalthea (I. i6, i8). Serapion on geography (II. 4, i ; 6, i). Poems of Alexander of Ephesus on geography (II. 20, 6; 22, 7). Writings of Varro: a work not specified (IV. 14, i) ; a laudatio (XIII. 48, 2) ; a dialogue (XV. 13, 3). Demetrius Magnes* On Concord (VIII. 11, 7; 12, 6; IX. 9,2). Tyrannio's On Accents (XII. 2, 2; 6, 2). Dicaearchus' On the Soul and The Descent (XIII. 31, i ; 32,2). Brutus* epitome of Caelius Antipater (XIII. 8). Panaetius* wepi irp^voias (XIII. 8). Phaedrus' On the Gods (XIII. 39). Cotta's historical monograph (XIII. 44, 3). Cicero discusses with Atticus or refers to Dicaearchus' On Pallene, Corinth, Athens (II. 2, 2). Procilius' On Geography (II. 2, 2). Theophrastus' On Ambition (II. 3, 4). Eratosthenes, Hipparchus, Tyrannio on geography (II. 6, I). Vennonius' Annals (XII. 3, i). Antisthenes* Cyrus (XII. 38a, 2). Aristotle's letter to Alexander (XII. 40^. 2). Theopompus* letter to Alexander (XII. 40, 2). Varro's v€wXoypaia XVI. II, 3. Annals of Libo and Casca XIII. 44, 3. Panaetius and Posidonius on Duty XVI. 11, 4. From the nature of the comments it may be concluded that Atticus also read most of the books on these lists. He was a diligent reader of Timaeus" and of Dicaearchus, whom he championed in his advocacy of the life of action against Cicero's favorite Theophrastus, who praised the life of reflection.'^* »' Cicero calls Timaeus tuus familiaris in writing to Atticus, VI. 1, 18. 58 II. 16, 3; VI. 2, 3. The debate was purely academic, as both men led busy lives and it was Cicero who had chosen the career allowing less leisure. ATTICUS AS MAN OF LETTERS. 29 References imply that he was familiar with the politico-philo- sophical works of Theopompus''* and Heraclides.®** His use of Apollodorus in matters of chronology is stated in the letters," that of Polybius implied.®^ As the references to books in the letters are nearly all con- nected with Cicero's literary labors, they are limited to philos- ophy, politics and history. . Atticus* own reading seems to have been especially in the realm of politics and history.®' Further evidence on the scope of his historical reading may be gathered from the dialogues. These imply that he was widely read in the Greek historians; Cicero makes him speak with .enthusiasm of Philistius, Thucydides and the orator Lysias,*** and criticize Stratocles and Clitarchus for their romantic tendency, citing the superior authority of Thucydides.®* Again, he appears as a reader and critic of the Roman annalists ; Cicero assigns to him a series of brief comments on these, including Fabius Pictor, Cato, Piso, Fannius, Vennonius, Caelius Antipater, Claudius, Asellio, Licinius Macer and Sisenna;*® these com- ments give him opportunity to express his strong preference for the style of the Greek historians. In De Legibus, he refers to his reading of augural books.®^ The dialogues give evidence of Atticus* deep enthusiasm for Plato, whom he upholds against the criticism of the Epicurean school®* and whose irony he discusses with keen appreciation." Evidence for the range of Atticus in the field of poetry and the drama may be found in the quotations that Cicero makes in 5» II. 6. 2. «o XV. 4. 3. «i XII. 23, 2. •2XIII. 30, 2; cf. De Rep. II. 27. «3 E.g., he seems not to have read the works of Posidonius and Panaetius referred to in XVI. 11, 4. ^*Brut. 293 f. «5 Brut. 41 ff. «« De Leg. I. 5 ff. •^ II. 32. «8 De Leg. III. i. ^^ Brut. 20)2, 2gg; cf.Hirzcl, Untersuchung su Ciceros Philosophischen Schriften II. 367-369. so TITUS POMPONIUS ATTICUS. ATTICUS AS MEN OF LETTERS. 31 the letters, most of them without reference to the author, many of them so brief as to require a knowledge of the context in order to catch their implication. Of these quotations eighteen are from the Iliad and twelve from the Odyssey, in both cases from the whole range of the poems. There are besides quota- tions from Hesiod, Stesichorus, Archilochus, Epicharmus, Pin- dar, three, Aristophanes, Sophocles, at least three, Euripides, twelve, Strattis, Rhinthon, Menander, Leonidas of Tarentum, Ennius, four, Lucilius, five, Pacuvius, Atilius, Afranius, Ter- ence, three. Other quotations in the letters have not been placed, and there are numerous proverbs both Latin and Greek. Cicero especially mentions the admiration of Atticus for Sopho- cles.^" Atticus seems to have detected the incorrect citation of Eupolis for Aristophanes in the Orator.'^ Atticus was a lover of learning. Cicero addressed him as the companion and inspirer of that life of study and philosophic calm with which he tried to solace himself on his enforced with- drawal from political life."'^ He ascribes to him in the di- alogues broad and profound ideas; in De Legibus, Atticus appreciates and seconds the attempt to reach a philosophical basis for jurisprudence ;" in his disparagement of the Latin historians it is evidently not only the grand manner of the Greeks but also their philosophical treatment of the subject that he misses.^* At the same time, he was a careful worker in details ; to his patience and care was entrusted such chrono- logical and genealogical investigation as Cicero needed in his writing.'* The letters show Atticus a purist in speech, passing judg- ^0 II. 7. 4. " XII. 6, 3- T2II. i6, 3; 17. I. " I. IS, 17' T« De Leg. I. 5 ff. "XII. 5b; 20, 2; 22,2; 23, 2; 24, 2; XIII. 30, 2; 32, 3; 4. i; 5. i; 6a; 33f 3; XVI. 13b, 2; VI. 2, 3. Atticus is found in error in VL i, 18; XII. 5b. Editors comment on the fact that the elliptical question about Scrvius Galba (XII. 5b) presupposed great familiarity with the subject on the part of Atticus. ^ .:^V' i I -^ ment especially on the form of Greek names used in Latin writing'* and on the selection of Latin equivalents for Greek philosophical terms.^^ Occasionally he contested with Cicero the use of a Latin word or the choice of a cadence.''* In the dialogues, his judgment is invoked for approval of the Latin used in philosophical treatises drawn from the Greek f^ in an encomium on the oratory of Caesar he appears as the champion of purity, freshness and distinction in speech.®** , Cicero expressed his appreciation of Atticus' style in letter writing — of the realism that reproduced the very shifting of ideas and of talk®^ and brought Rome before the eyes more vividly than the living voice of a lively young guest could do,®* of the graciousness of correction and advice in letters that were enhanced in value by their length as were the ianftbics of Archilochus in the eyes of Aristophanes of Byzantium,®* of the distinguished and polished style of others.®* His most convincing tribute to Atticus* ability and discretion as a letter writer was his request that Atticus send letters in his name whenever he thought it advisable.®** Cicero employed Atticus as the constant critic of his writ- ings, usually before their publication. He found his orations nearer to their Attic models if they were approved by Atticus,®* whom he counted as his Aristarchus ;®^ even in the last years of his life he professed to feel uneasy about his work until it had passed the censorship of Atticus with credit.®® Brutus also 7« VI. 2, 3 ; VII. 3. 10. "XII. 52,3; XVI. 11,4; 14.3. 78X111.21,3; XVI. 11,2. « De Fin. V. 96. 80 Brut. 252-261. ®i II. IS, I. 82 II. 12, 2; Cf. 12, 4. 88XVL1I, 2. 8* XVI. 13a, I. ««IIL 15. 8; 21; XL 5. 3; 7,7; 12,4. ®* L 13, 5. 8» I. 14, 3 ; cf. II. I, I, end. 88 XVI. II, I. Atticus* criticisms were concerned with historical ve- racity and political discretion as well as with style. For a mistake that escaped his notice, see Gellius, Noct. Att. XV. 6, Ajax for Hector in I ! I 32 TITUS POMPONIUS ATTICUS. submitted work to Atticus for approval, but seems not to have welcomed general criticism and perhaps wanted only the veri- fication of his facts.** Much literary work was produced in the circle of Atticus' friends, no small part of it under his advice and stimulus. At his dinners there was no other entertainment offered, says Nepos, than the reading of masterpieces by a well trained slave.®** The presentation on such occasions of carefully chosen excerpts from contemporary work must have served as a powerful incentive to the author's assembled friends.** The speeches of Atticus as interlocutor exhibit him as eager to have Cicero turn his abilities to the composition of history, the subject in which he was most interested and in which he felt most keenly the poverty of Roman production »^ He urged historical writing upon Nepos and suggested subjects ; a monograph on Cato, distinct from that in the Lives, was written by Nepos at his request.*** He probably exhorted Brutus and other friends to the same effect. In the case of Cicero, however, the letters show that Atticus recommended writing sometimes as an escape from mental unrest, chiefly as a substitute for political action when the latter was out of the question ; the work that he suggested was in most cases of a political sort designed to influence contemporary thought and to promote Cicero's career or enforce his ideas when other means to that end were lacking." His enthusiasm over De Re Puhlica doubtless arose from its bearing on ques- the sceond book of De Gloria, For a conjecture as to another error. rectified in composition but not in publication, see Norden, Aus Ciceros Werkstatt, Sits, Pr. Ak, 19151 ^3- •» XII. 21, I ; cf. ch. I. n. 131. »• Att. 14 I. •»XII. 4,2; XVI. 2,6. •2 De Leg. I. 5-7. »3 Ncp. Vit 24, 3, 5. •* The geographical work that he suggested in 59 does not yet show this tendency, and seems rather a makeshift to distract Cicero; it was probably suggested to Atticus by his reading in Dicaearchus. by his prac- tical interest in topography, or by the previous work of Varro in the same field. i W / II fl f ATTICUS AS MAN OF LETTERS. 33 tions of statesmanship. His suggestions for the historical background of one political treatise show that he was scrupu- lous about historical accuracy in dealing with the speakers and that he had applied imagination to the past, investing its char- acters with personality.®^ In the last decade of his life, the literary and historical re- sources of Atticus were drawn upon by Augustus, who is said in his absences from Rome to have corresponded assiduously with Atticus, consulting him as an authority on antiquities and poetry.®* Of the literary monuments with which writers were wont to compliment their friends, Atticus had his share. Demetrius Magnes dedicated to him his work On Concord before the out- break of the Civil War.®^ Cicero introduced him into a num- ber of his dialogues. In De Legibiis, the first draft of which was probably written in 52, Atticus appears with Marcus and Quintus Cicero, and has assigned to him some quite lively dis- course on philosophy and politics together with a critical re- view of Roman historical writing. In the Brutus, written in 46, in which he appears with the author and Brutus, he crit- icizes Roman oratory both ancient and contemporary and is referred to as an authority on chronology. While he is asso- ciated with Cicero and Varro in the second draft of the Aca- demica, written in 45, he has practically no share in the di- alogue in the extant part of this work.®® He forms one of the group of fivt young students in the fifth book oi De Finibus, written in 45, but again he has no considerable share in the dialogue. Cicero dedicated to him De Senectute and De Ami- citia, written in 44. Varro dedicated to him his four books De Vita Populi Romani^^ and his book De Numeris,^^^ and made •5 See n. 243. »« Nep. Att. 20, 1-3. 87 VIII. II, 7; 12, 6. 88X111. 14, 1; ig, 3; 22, I ; Ad Fam. IX. 8, i. Hirzel, Der Dialog, I. 522, conjectures that Atticus may have given in Acad. Post, the expo- sitions of Epicureanism suggested in Acad. Pr. 19, 79, 80, 82, loi, 106. 88Charisius, Gram. Lat. I. 126 (Keil). 100 Censorinus, De Die Natali, 2. ) TITUS POMPONIUS ATTICUS. him an interlocutor in the second book De Re Rustka, where he appears among a group of Epirot stock farmers as an au- thority on sheep rearing and herd dogs. Tyrannio dedicated to him his book On Accents in 46.^**^ Nepos, within a few years of Atticus' death, dedicated to him his De Illustribus Viris, departing from precedent in including a biography of Atticus in the book. Atticus had some influence in deciding the dedications and interlocutors of Cicero's works. As early as 54 he urged that Varro be introduced in a dialogue***^ and renewed the recom- mendation nine years later with such effect that Cicero worked over the Academka, which was already in course of publica- tion, to make Varro a principal speaker and to dedicate the work to him.*'»« He suggested Cotta for the expression of sceptical thought, but Cicero did not act on this suggestion. ^°* It was at Atticus* request that De Finibus was dedicated to Brutus,^**^ and doubtless the admiration of Atticus for Brutus accounts in part for the great number of Cicero's works dedi- cated to the young Stoic during the years 46 to 44.^*** The group to which Atticus belonged represented all shades of philosophical opinion. Torquatus and SaJfeius, among his friends, were exponents of Epicureanism. The nature of Atticus' attachment to Epicureanism is matter of debate. In writing to Memmius, Cicero disclaimed for Atticus any strict adherence to the school, claiming that his friend's studies had been too liberal to permit such an alignment, and representing his attachment as personal, a result of his affection for Patro and his devotion to the memory of Phaedrus.^**^ In the di- alogues, and the letters, he is always quizzical about Atticus* Epicureanism, sometimes recognizing it as a sort of tag,^**' 101 XII. 6. 2. 102 IV. 16, 2. 10s XII. 44, 4 ; XIII. 12, 3 ; 13. I ; 14. I ; 16. i ; 19. 3 and 5. 10* XIII. 19. 3. 105 XIII. 12, 3. 106 Brutus, Orator, Paradoxa Stokorum, De Finibus, Tusculanae Dis- putationes, De Natura Deorutn. lOT Ad. Fam. XIII. i, 5. "8IV.6, i;XIV.20,5;XV.4. 2. ' vU r n ATTICUS AS MAN OF LETTERS. 35 sometimes referring to it as a discipleship to Phaedrus ;^*** he takes pleasure in making Atticus, as interlocutor, subscribe to non-Epicurean doctrines, such as the immanence of the gods,*^** or take issue with his school, as in regard to Plato.^^^ He in- dulges in a skit on the scientific writing of the Epicureans,* ^- but he really joins battle with them on the doctrine of self- interest, which he makes the cardinal point of all their teach- ing."* From the absence of all real controversy between the friends on this point,*^* as well as from the tributes that Cicero pays to Atticus' moral enthusiasm,"^ it is clear that he did not classify Atticus with the confessed hedonists that he counted as representative of the school. Yet Atticus himself was doubtless quite serious in his pro- fession of Epicureanism. The scientific interpretation of the universe, doing away with the polytheistic idea of divine " in- terruption and interference " probably appealed to his practical and rationalistic mind. Unquestionably the teaching of Epi- curus concerning personal life, with " its strict checks on ambi- tion, its stern repression of sensual desire, its insistence on the supreme duty of preserving tranquillity of soul," had com- manded Atticus' allegiance in his youth and thereafter gov- erned the whole course of his life. Cicero shows that Atticus* consistent aloofness from the struggles imposed by ambition resulted from the adoption of a principle : " I have never felt that there was a difference between you and me except in our chosen course of life, in that I am led by ambition — if you wish 109/?^ Leg. I. 53; De Fin. V. 3; cf. Atticus' own expression, si a Phaedro nostra esses, XVI. 7, 4. 110 De Leg. I. 21, where Atticus* assent is qualified by a jesting pro- test; in De Leg. II. 32-33, the assent is given probably only to the latter and more sceptical part of the discussion on the validity of divination. 1" De Leg. III. i ; Brut. 292. "2 II. 3» 2. 11* VII. 2, 4, and the dialogues passim. "♦ Cf. XIII. 38. I. 115 I. 17^ 5. I recognize and appreciate the nobility, the generosity of your nature. ... In integrity, in devotion to duty, I count neither myself nor anyone else superior to you. Cf. XIII. 20, 4, Atticus* de- fence of a good conscience as against reputation. 36 TITUS POMPONIUS ATTICUS. lii to name it so— to the pursuit of a political career, and you by a different but not less elevated theory of life to an honorable abstinence from politics."*^* Atticus' Epicureanism was less a matter of dialectic than a rule of practice. So far as the controversy of the schools was concerned, he probably had, as Cicero represents, a tolerant spirit and an open mind. Literary Works. Inscnptwns.—Attkus' first literary production of which wc have any knowledge is a series of epigrammatic verses on Cicero placed in the Amaltheum in 6i or 6o;^>^ there may have been also verses on other distinguished men. These verses may be identical with the metrical eulogies which Nepos speaks of as composed by Atticus and placed under the portraits of the subjects, setting forth the achievements and magistracies of these in not more than four or five verses each.^*** To this identification the objection is made that Cicero's mention of Thyillus and Archias in connection with Atticus' verses is evi- dence that the latter were written in Greek, while the presump- tion is that the metrical eulogies were in Latin. ^^» The Imagines.— Atticus published a volume of portraits which may with more probability be identified with the work mentioned by Nepos, the more so as Varro's volume, spoken of by Pliny in connection with that of Atticus, was a combina- tion of portraits and biography.^^a The Memoir.— During his stay in Epirus in the winter of 61-60, Atticus composed a Greek memoir on Cicero's consulate, which he despatched to Cicero at the moment when Cicero was "«I. 17. 5. For the Epicurean attitude toward the life of ambition, cf. Lucretius Z)^ Rer Nat. II. 1-61 ; cf. Nep. Att. 6, i, which I take to be an echo of Atticus own conversation. »" I. 16, 15. "! ?l^P- ^''- '^' 5 : so Drumann, Gesch. Roms V. 87. "» Moore, Class. Phil. I. 1906, 121 ff. "0 Pliny, jv. H XXXV. II ; for theory that Atticus merely published the Imagines of Varro, see Usener, Unser Platontevt p 201 ATTICUS AS MAN OF LETTERS. 37 V sending a similar work to him. The only extant comment on it is Cicero's acknowledgment: "Your style seems to me to lack smoothness and elegance, yet it has, after all, the merit of simplicity."^2i ^\\^y cites Atticus as one of the authorities that he used for books VII. and XXXIII. of the Natural His- tory, and it seems likely that the succinct and significant ac- count of Cicero's consulship in VII. 116-117 and the emphasis on Cicero's membership in the equestrian class and his services to the class during his consulate in XXXIII. 34, were drawn either from the memoir or from a brief summary thereof ap- pearing in the Annals of Atticus. Genealogies. — According to Nepos, Atticus made family trees for several Romans of distinguished stock, indicating not only the names of ancestors but also the magistracies held by these, with dates.^-^ The family tree of the Marcelli was made at the request of a Claudius Marcellus ;"^ this was doubtless the Gains Marcellus who was consul in 50, the brother-in-law of Augustus.^^* At- ticus' work may have been used by Augustus in his ftmeral speech for the son of this Marcellus, which began with praise of the race.^^^ The genealogies of the Fabii and Aemilii were made at the request of Cornelius Scipio and Fabius Maximus.^^* These probably formed, as Nepos' statement implies, one elaborate work, including the Fabii, Aemilii, Scipios and Metelli, for Fabius Maximus represented the Fabii, the Cornelii and the Aemilii, and Cornelius Scipio, commonly known as Metellus Scipio, was the last scion of the Cornelian Scipios and had 121 II. I, I ; Nepos mentions this memoir, Att. 18, 6. 122 ^f/. 18,3. "3 Ibid. 18, 4. ^2* So Nipperdey, Nepos, ad loc., arguing that Nepos failed to distin- guish this Marcellus from the other consular Marcelli because at the time when the genealogy was made he was the only survivor; this theory dates the composition between 45 and 40; see Schanz, I. 2, 123. ^25 So Miinzer, who compares also Plut. Marcellus 30, Hor. Carm. I. 12, 45, Prop. III. 18, 33, Aeneid VI. 855 ff. i2« Nep. Att. 18, 4. (I \ \ '%.M VO TITUS POMPONIUS ATTICUS. been adopted by the Metelli."' Cicero may have drawn upon this genealogy in Brutus 212; if he used it also in De Domo 123, delivered in 57, the passage may be taken also as evidence that Atticus traced maternal as well as paternal ancestors.*^" The genealogy of the Junian family was made at the request of Marcus Brutus;*^* it was doubtless the <^iXoT€xvi;fio that Cicero speaks of seeing in the " Parthenon," in which Ahala and the elder Brutus appeared in the ancestral line.*^*^ It has been charged that these genealogies padded or falsi- fied the meager ancient records for the sake of flattering the subjects with a long tradition of illustrious ancestry, and made in some instances an unwarranted connection between the con- temporary scion of a plebeian family and ancient patrician bearers of the same name.^'** This charge, which involves all **^ Miinzer, as cited below, 93-100, where he also supports the as- sumption that after the elections of 58, Metellus and Fabius employed Atticus to write up their ancestors, whom they wished to glorify during their curule aedileship in 57; in this case, however, it is strange that Metellus in his consulate in 52 should have made the mistake of ascrib- ing a censorship to his greatgrandfather (VI. 1, 17). Bibliographical Note.— On the literary work of Atticus and the ques- tions of chronology and genealogy arising from it, see Moramsen, Romische Chronologic. 2nd, 145-148, and ch. VIII.; Matzat, Romische Chronologic, 1883, 147-150; Seeck, Kalendartafel der Pontifices, 1885, 83-99; Cichorius, Leipzigcr Studien, 1887, De Fastis Consularibus Anii- qmisMfms, 249-259 ; Soltau, Romische Chronologic, 1889, 424-429 ; Unger, Der Glaubwurdigkeit der Capitolinischen Consultafeln, Jahrbuch, 1891 ; Wachsmuth, Einleitung in das Studium der Altcrthums Geschichie, i&)5, 142-145, 300-391. 630-635; Miinzer, Hermes, 1905, 50-100, Atticus als GescMchtschreiber: Peter, Historicorum Romanorum Reliquiae, 1906, 11. 20-29 ; Wahrheit und Kunst, 191 1 : Lcuze, Die Romische Jahrzdhlung, 1009; Frick,5. F. ^''.,1910-1911, Varroniana; Kornemann, Klio, 11, Die Altesie Form der Pontificalannalen ; Holzapfel, Klio, 1912, Zu Romische Chronologic; Schanz, Litteraturgeschichie, under Atticus ; Schon, Pauly- Wissmm, Fasti, and articles listed in the notes. *«« So Miinzer, loc. cit. «• Nep. Alt. 18. 4. 130 XIII. 40, I ; the Junian tree, if referred to here, was made before the summer of 45- Munzer places it late, saving that Atticus came into close relation with Brutus only after the civil war, but VI. i, 3, shows that Atticus' enthusiasm for Brutus antedated Cicero's departure for his province in 51 : cf. Ad Fam, III. 4, 2. Drumann is probably right in stipposmg that Atticus' friendship with Brutus dates from the latter's marriage mfo the family of Clodius in 54. The monograph may be dated between 54 and 45. "» So Seeck, Matzat, Cichorius, Wachsmuth, Schon. ATTICUS AS MAN OF LETTERS. 39 of Atticus' genealogical work, including that in the Annals, is especially urged against the Junian genealogy."* In this very case, however, it is demonstrable that the tradition connecting the later Bruti with the consul of 509 dated back several gene- rations ; it was recognized in the time of Decimus Brutus, con- sul in 138, in whose honor Accius wrote his tragedy Brutus ;"• it was publicly cited as a reproach against the dissolute son of Decimus Brutus by the orator Crassus;"* by the time of Atticus it had a prescriptive right which no historian of that day would have challenged in a genealogical work. While Atticus can not be credited with originating the con- nection between his friend and the enemy of kings, it is quite possible that he influenced the career of Brutus and the course of history by bringing the connection into new prominence in the public mind. As none of the genealogies can be dated with certainty, it is impossible to say whether they preceded or followed the An- nals,^^^ In either case, it is certain that Atticus in his genea- logical work had access to valuable unpublished materials that widened his knowledge of Roman history. Families such as the Fabii and the Scipios had records of the magistracies of their ancestors, copies of laws issued during those magistracies, laudations pronounced at funerals, inscriptions belonging to their ancestral images. Whether or not the Annales Maximi had been published, they must have been comparatively dif- ficult of access, and it may have been in connection with his genealogical work that Atticus first used them. They certainly *'*E.g., Miinzer, who thinks that XIII. 40, i, and Brutus 62 may be quips on the elaborate and not strictly historical production. *3« Scholium on Archias XI. 27 (Stangl, 179). It is evident that in 59 the elder Brutus and Servilius Ahala were used as names to conjure with in revolutionary circles (II. 24, 3). ^^*De Oratore, 225; Cichorius' conjecture that Posidonius, whom Plutarch (Brutus, i) cites as his authority in tracing the connection, used the genealogy of Atticus, is therefore superfluous. '35 Schon, loc. cit, conjectures that the genealogies were gifts made by Atticus in return for the kindness of members of old families who opened their archives to him to further his studies for the Annals. ./ 40 TITUS POMPONIUS ATTICUS. ATTICUS AS MAN OF LETTERS. 41 formed a background for his more extensive work, the An- The Annals. Atticus had made so careful a study of antiquity, says Nepos, that he set it forth in its whole course in the volume in which he listed the magistrates in their order, there was no law, no treaty of peace, no war, no illustrious act pertaining to Rome that was not therein noted at its proper time; an element of the work exacting still more research was the tracing of fam- ily lines, showing the descendants of the great men of the past."' Nepos* statement is doubtless exaggerated as to the content of the Annals, but as to their scope it is well sustained by other references to them and by such traces of them as may be found. Cicero gives the following characterizations of the Annals: The book in which Atticus has included, briefly and ac- curately, the entire record of history."* The book offered me much that was new, and gave me this practical advantage, which I was in search of, that with the epochs of the past set in order, I could see everything at a glance."® The orator should acquire knowledge of great events and of the traditions of the past in chronological order, not only those of our own state but those also of imperial peoples and illus- trious kings ; this labor Atticus has lightened for us by his own labor, since in investigating and recording chronology he has presented the record of seven hundred years without omitting any illustrious events.^*" 136 Seeck, loc. cit., p. 89, discusses as follows the use of the Annales Maximi in antiquity: Varro and writers who compiled from him, Cen- sorinus, Macrobius, Solinus, do not mention the Annales Maximi. Cicero and Verrius Flaccus are the only writers to show a first-hand knowledge of them. Quintilian's reference may be traced to Cicero, those of Festus, the Vergilian commentators and their derivatives to Flaccus. Both these streams may be traced back to Atticus. "T Att. 18. 1-2. ^^^Brut. 14. i3»Bri#f. 15. ^*^ Orator, 120. Till I These references add to the account of Nepos the facts that Atticus limited his work to the period of Roman history and yet recorded important events in the history of other peoples.^" The first must be qualified by the testimony of a scholiast to the effect that Atticus agreed with Varro in saying that Aeneas carried his father from burning Troy, but differed about the Penates, which he said came to Italy from Samothrace ;^*^ the Annals must then have contained, by way of introduction, a reference to the origin of the Roman race. By direct testimony, we know that the Annals contained the following events, with their dates: the founding of Rome,^" the death — or some event late in the life — of Coriolanus,^** the death of Hannibal,"^ the embassy of the philosophers from Athens in 155;^**^ and the following facts, doubtless in connec- tion with dates : Aeneas saved his father from burning Troy ; the Penates were brought into Italy from Samothrace ;^*^ two tribunes were chosen at the time of the first secession of the plebs ;^*^ the son of king Antiochus, when a hostage in Rome, had a house built for him at the public expense.^*® In addi- tion, we have the testimony of Pliny that Atticus was one of the sources that he drew upon for the seventh and thirty-third books of the Natural History}^^ For less direct but yet con- 1*1 A comparison of De Rep. II. 28, De Or. II. 154, and Brut. 40, leads Miinzer to the conclusion that the facts on Homer and Lycurgus were drawn in these three instances from the same source, Timaeus; that is, that Cicero could not use the Annals for the period antedating 753 ; so Wachsmuth, loc. cit., I. ch. IV. From the fact that the Chro- nographer of 354 says of the year 49, " Up to this point there were dictators," Cichorius conjectures that the Annals, which he takes to be the source of the Chronograph, ended with 49 ; it seems probable enough that they ended with the Civil War. ^*^Schol. Veron. ad Aen. II. 717; the scholiast does not refer ex- plicitly to the Annals. 1*3 Brut. 72 ; Solinus I. 27. ^**Brut. 41-42. 1*5 Nep. Hann. 13, i. "« XII. 23, 2. **^ See note 3. 1*8 Asconius, On Pro Comelio, p. 60, Stangl. i*» Asconius, On In Pisonem, p. 18, Stangl. "•* See p. 37. 42 TITUS POMPONIUS ATTICUS. vincing testimony, we have the evidence of those works of Cicero that were written after the appearance of the Annals. It is a reasonable inference that Atticus* work on the Annals followed the publication of De Re Publica in 51. As inter- locutor in the Brutus, Atticus says that the De Re Publica had aroused and stimulated him to a comprehensive presentation of the facts of Roman history."* He read De Re Publica in Rome in the summer or fall of 51 ;"* he went to Greece at the end of the year and was absent from Italy until September of 50; it is likely that he did not begin work on the Annals until after his return, as he could not command materials for re- search outside of Rome. The book must have been finished before the end of 47, as Cicero seems to have received it at about the same time as a letter from Brutus^ ''^ which reached him in mid-September of that year.*^* Probably Atticus' work was a part of that literary movement which after 48 formed a refuge for the Pompeians, excluded as they were from political life."* This approximate dating at least shows in what works of Cicero's traces of the Annals may be looked for.*^' Before the appearance of the Annals Cicero had written De Orator e, De Re Publica and De Finibus. Oi De Re Publica less than half is extant. De Oratore is rhetorical, De Finibus philosophical in its interest, so that historical material is not to be demanded in either. Yet when a comparison is made with the later works of the same type, it becomes apparent that in his later writing Cicero developed a pleasure in historical di- gression not manifest in the earlier works ; these show too an "1 Brut. 19. "2V. 12, 2; VI. 1.8. "»Brii/. II. *'* The date is a well-founded inference of Schmidt's, Briefwechsel, 32 f . and 230. ^^^ Compare Cicero's exhortation to Varro in 46 {Ad Fam. IX. 2, 5). To this period probably belong Brutus* epitomes of Fannius and Caelius. Unger, loc. cit, comments on Cicero's citation of Cotta, Libo and Casca (XIII. 44, 3), three Pompeians who had laid down the sword for the pen. »5« For this study of material from the Annals in the dialogues, I am greatly indebted to the article of Miinzer's cited above. ATTICUS AS MAN OF LETTERS. i " I, 43 absence of the dates and synchronisms that appear in the later works. The writer must have had at hand, in the later period, a manual which made it easy to place people and events chrono- logically and to reckon the interval between events. In a few instances,"^ the dates or facts can be traced directly to the Annals; in others we can only say that nothing else seems so probable a cause for the change in Cicero's manner as the pos- session of the Annals.^^^ In De Re Publica, Cicero accepts the Polybian date for the founding of Rome, 750, and acknowledges Polybius as his au- thority in chronology ;^'® in the Brutus he uses 753 as the date of founding, expressly referring to Atticus as his authority in chronology.^®** In De Re Publica,^^^ De Oratore^^^ and the Tusculan Dispu- tations,^^^ Cicero speaks of the embassy of Athenian philos- ophers without indicating the date; in the Academica,^^* in relating an anecdote from Clitomachus, he dates the embassy by the consuls of the year and adds the praetorship, the subse- quent consulship and the historical monograph of Albinus. The date of the embassy he learned from the Annals,^^^ and it is likely that the facts about Albinus were found there also."* ^57 See p. 41. ^s^For bibliography of discussion on individual works see Schanz and Miinzer. The latter, calling attention to the great difference in historical material between De Oratore and De Senectute, both with speakers of an earlier generation, conjectures that De Senectute was dedicated to Atticus as the return for the Annals promised in Brutus 15, and that its wealth of allusion is a tribute to the value of Atticus* work. "»Z)^ Rep. II. 18; cf. 27, and Dion. Hal. I. 74, 3. loo^rM^ 72; cf. Solinus, I. 27, Romam placet conditam. . . . Pom- Ponio Attico et Marco Tullio Olympiadis sextae anno tertio. "1 III. 9. i«2 II. 154 f. i«3 IV. 5. "* II. 137. i6» XII. 23, 2. "« On learning from Atticus that Aulus Postumus Albinus was one of Mummius legates, Cicero promptly placed him as colleague in the consulship of Lucius LucuIIus (XIII. 32, 3), doubtless from the Annals, which he then had at hand. He must also have known then that Albinus was the writer of a Greek monograph on Roman history 1^ 44 TITUS POMPONIUS ATTICUS. In De Re Pnblica,^^^ Cicero refers to Plato's visit to Archy- tas of Tarentum ; in De Senectute,^^^ he dates the visit by the consuls of the year and brings in a reference to the battle of the Caudine Forks, dating that also by consuls. In the orations against Verres, Cicero refers to the Cal- purnian law de repetundis without mentioning the date;^"* in the Brutus,^'''* the law is dated by consuls ; in De Officiis,^^^ it is dated as i lo years after the speech of Pontius that is so care- fully dated in De Senectiite}'- From Cicero's easy manner of reckoning from one event to another, it may be concluded that the Annals contained dates at frequent intervals, such as the ten year intervals of the Con- sular Fasti."* A comparison of the sketch of Greek oratory in De Ora- tore^^* with that in the Brutiis^''^ shows in the latter the addi- tion of Solon, Peisistratus, Kleisthenes, Themistocles and Kleon, a better arrangement of the later orators and less cer- tainty about the survival of Pericles' speeches. These new points are probably drawn from synchronistic notes in the Annals. If these differences between the earlier and the later works are due to the Annals, it is reasonable to suppose that other his- torical allusions with a chronological element found in the later books are drawn from the same source. An analysis of the {Brut 8i; Acad. II. 137). as he rejoiced in finding a legate so well adapted to a scholarly discussion of politics (XIII. 32, 3; 30, 2) ; his reiteration of the point indicates that it was a bit of special knowledge ; it probably came from the Annals, as the writing of a Greek memoir by a Roman would be of special interest to Atticus. Cicero may have drawn the notice of Albinus' praetorship from Libo. i«7 I. 16. W839, 41. i«9III. 195; IV. 56. 170 I. 106. 1" II. 75- 172 III. 39, 41, by the speech of Archytas. 173 Miinzer, loc. cit., citing De Sen. 14, and De Am. 96. "MI. 93-95. 175 II. 26-37. f A r^£ ATTICUS AS MAN OF LETTERS. 45 material to be found in passages to be referred with more or less certainty to the Annals is submitted:"® Important events, Brut. 60. Campaigns, De Sen. 10. Battles, De Sen. 10. Repeated consulships, De Sen. 10, 14, 19. Censorships,"^ De Sen. 42 ; Brut. 60. Laws, De Sen. 10 and 14; De Am. 96. Names of advocates or opposers of laws, De Sen. 14 ; De Off. III. 109. Speeches, De Sett. 14; De Off. III. 109. Biographical notes. Minor magistracies.^^* Cognomina."® Filiation.^**« Literary notices.^®^ Birth of Ennius, Brut. y2. Birth of Naevius and Plautus, Brut. 60. 176 Compiled from Miinzer's article. Miinzer assumes that where Cicero digresses from pure pleasure in historical names and dates, where he easily reckons time between two events, where he shows exact m formation on the genealogies or magistracies of distinguished men, use of the Annals may be predicated. If out of a group of passages that show signs of interdependence, one contains a point that may surely be traced to the Annals, he assumes that the material of the others may be assigned to the same sources; he does not claim the validity of proof for the evidence thus offered. 177 Two at least are given, perhaps all. They would be in place be- cause of their chronological significance. 178 Probably given only incidentally and by reason of special signifi- cance or biographical interest. There is no complete list of praetors or tribunes, for Cicero was often at a loss about these after he began using the Annals (XII. 5b; XVI. 13b, 2; XIII. 30, 2; 32, 3). 179 Cf. the citation of Nepos, Hann. 13, i. 180 If Brut. 78 was drawn from Varro, there are no convincing in- stances. Brutus 77 and 79, however, give' genealogical notes showing special knowledge and probably drawn from filiation in the Annals. 181 The dating of Livius' first play is the result of a critical study and correction of the testimony of Accius on the subject; as the same matter is presented by Gellius (Noct. Att. XVII. 21, 42 f.) and ascribed by him to Varro, the critical study was probably made by Varro and used by Atticus. The other literary notices showing the use of dida- scalta were perhaps also the result of Varro's investigations. 46 TITUS POMPONIUS ATTICUS. li Date of Livius Andronicus* first play, Brut. 72 ; De Sen. 50. Production, of the Thyesies and death of Ennius, Brut. 78. Synchronisms,*®'* De Sen. 39 ff. ; Brut. 39-49; De Am. 42. The most significant well attested fact about the Annals is that they departed from the chronology previously accepted, and published, perhaps for the first time, the chronology of the so-called Varronian Era, the distinguishing feature of which was the adoption of 753, instead of the Polybian 750, as the date of the founding of Rome.^*** Priority in the fixing of this date has been variously ascribed to Varro and Atticus. So far as extant reference shows it first appeared in the Annals of Atticus. However, Varro was work- ing on chronology at this period,^** and the Julian calendar was being prepared.**** Solinus in his Collectanea Rertim Memora- biiium,^^^ cites Atticus and Cicero as authorities for the date 753 ; Censorius, in De Die Natali, cites Varro's work De Nu- meris, and again refers to Varro's system.^" It is not only in the date for the founding of the city that Atticus and Varro agree; such scant references as are extant seem to indicate like reckonings for the duration of the king- ship and the dating of events.*®* The two must have worked, 1*2 Except for Plato's visit, these synchronisms are merely approxi- mate and could have been taken over from Greek writers without idaptation. Atticus was interested in such synchronisms (Brut. 42 f.). "•Up to the middle of the first century B.C., the Polybian date was in use; the Chronica of Nepos, adapted from Apollodorus, published before 54, reckoned from it. Cicero's change to an earlier date and the substantial harmony of Cicero, Livy and the Capitoline Fasti there- ifter, show that some important work must have appeared to modify the accepted chronology (Mommsen, loc. cit., Matzat, loc. cit.). "4 Acad. Post I. 9. "» Unger, Matzat and Seeck claim a determining influence for the investigations of Tarutius ; Leuze shows that all the citations concern- ing Tarutius imply merely that he calculated constellations for a given year, the year being probably supplied by someone else ; so also Momm- sen, loc. cit. Cicero refers to Tarutius* calculations in 51 (De Rep. I. 25, by implication), but without being affected by any conclusions thereby reached, and again in 44, when he had ascribed the new dating to Atticus (De Div. II. 98). "« I. 27. i"I. 2; 21, 4-7. 1*® Miinzer, loc. cit. ATTICUS AS MAN OF LETTERS. 47 ^ IP'" .A either independently or together, over the discrepancies of the traditional chronology, assembling the evidence afforded by the existing annals and fasti, the tradition of the founding of the Capitoline temple, the records drawn from the claves, and the Greek synchronisms, agreeing finally upon a method of re- ducing the material to a system. The personal and literary friendship between the two, together with the absence from the letters of any reference to controversy, makes it probable that they did some work in common. It is likely that Varro, with his wide antiquarian range and his less diversified occupation, took the lead, and that Atticus was the first publisher.^®® For some years before he began work on the Annals, Atticus had felt that there was an obligation upon Romans to con- tribute to the writing of history. Rome was increasingly con- scious of a great destiny, and consequently increasingly moved to recall her own past; such consciousness of race was prob- ably increased in Atticus by his years of foreign residence and of contact with a race to a high degree conscious of its own history. Passages in the letters and the dialogues serve to show what conception of history and of the use of sources At- ticus brought to his work as an analyst. As to the standards that he set for investigation, we have mis meticulous criticism of Cicero's work,^^^ his painstaking research in preparation for the dialogues. The criticism of the early analysts in De Legibus is rhetorical rather than historical, perhaps Ciceronian rather than Attican.^**^ In the Brutus, however, Atticus criticizes with pleasant irony that system of fabrication by which a great man's story was given a romantic turn, or the fate of an ancient 189 Mommsen, Soltau and Matzat assumed that Atticus fixed the date and that Varro adopted his conclusions in the work De Gente Populi Romani, published not earlier than 43; Sanders, A. J. P., 1902, 3oflF., called attention to Acad. Post. I. 9, showing that Varro had worked on chronology before that time; the point has been develgped by Leuze and Frick. Leuze assumes the priority of Varro. Frick argues uncon- vincingly for Atticus. The conclusion given above is that of Holzapfel, Klio, 1912. i»o VI. I, 8, etc. i»i I. 5 ff. ; cf . p. 26. f i J il * I ! 4S TITUS POMPONIUS ATTICUS. Roman made to match that of an ancient Greek.^®^ As Atticus was Cicero's authority in matters of chronology, it is fair to refer to his influence a passage like Brutus i6, in which Cicero bewails the duplicated consulships and fictitious triumphs that had crept into the historical lists. He refers to Atticus as a most scrupulous authority on Roman history.^^*^ At the begin- Bing of De Legibus, in the dialogue on Marius' oak tree, he seems to satirize in his friend a too great literalness, an ex- cessive devotion to fact. We should infer from this testimony that Atticus worked with the object of handing down a pure tradition and straight- ening out confusiions. On the other hand, it was his purpose to present a systematic and complete record; if his sources were confused and contradictory, he had to make choices or combinations; if they were defective, he had either to leave gaps or to fill them in with the conjecture offering most prob- ability."** While Atticus represented a protest against the romantic and moralizing tendencies that had been operating for more than a generation to turn history into fiction, and while, like Varro, he strove to restore a pure and sound tradition by working upon such antiquities as survived in his day, he was probably more susceptible than Varro to the personal element in the his- torical interests of his own generation ; among men who had lived through the civil wars, a new significance was attached to i92 42ff. At illc ridens, * Tuo, vero/ inquit, 'arbitratu; quoniam quidem concessum est rhetoribus ementiri in historiis, ut aliquid dicere possint argutius; . . . banc enim mortem rhetorice et tragice ornare potuerunt, ilia mors volgaris nullam praebebat materiem ad ornandum. . . . .* * Sit sane,* inquam, ' ut libet, de isto; et ego cautius posthac historiam attingam te audiente, quern rerum Romanarum auctorem laudare possum religiosissimum.' i9« Brut, 44. »»*Soltau {W. K. F., 1910, 526-534) and Schwarz (Pauly-Wissowa, Dtodorus) ascribe the fabrication of the dictator years to an older tra- dition; Niese, to Varro and Atticus; Leuze contends that the dictator years did not appear in chronology before the time of Varro and At- ticus. but that these scholars, finding the records defective, merely left gaps which were filled in with the dictatorships by less learned or less scrupulous writers. II f ' i« • I III, ^ ^ \ ATTICUS AS MAN OF LETTERS. 49 the individual career; the class consciousness of the nobles grew with the growth of the powers that defied them, and led them to emphasize the claims of the antiquity and the illustrious services of their families. Atticus responded to the resulting demand for the conservation of the personal and hereditary element in Roman history by his work on genealogy, filiation and magistracies. In this field he must again have met con- fusions, contradictions, and double versions. As to his method of settling them, there is no conclusive evidence.^®^ The last extant citation made from the Annals by name oc- curs in Asconius. They had perhaps disappeared by the time of Suetonius, who refers to Atticus not as an author but as the correspondent of Cicero.^''** Evidences of the use of the book may be traced with more or less certainty for a few genera- tions after its publication. Cichorius and Matzat have revived in this generation the conjectured**^ that the Annals of Atticus were the source of the Capitoline Fasti, which were carved upon the marble wall of the Regia between 36 and 30 B.C. Cichorius cites the follow- ing features as common to the Annals and the Fasti : Names of dictators, magistri equitum and censors included as well as names of consuls ; praetors and tribunes omitted. Cognomina given, sometimes two or three. Genealogical notes. Notes on rise of acquired cognomina. Mention of events, e. g., wars. Dates ab iirbe condita every ten years. Date of founding of Rome, 753. It is clear that one purpose of the Fasti was to establish a chronology ,^®® and this chronology seems consonant with that ^85 Cichorius remarks, Neque tamen malo dolo fecisse putandus est redactor, sed bona fide ut utriusque memoriae haheret rationem gettU' nata cognomina effecit. i9«Z)^ Grammaticis 16; Tiberius 7; so Schanz; however Pliny, who cited Atticus as an authority, refers to him merely as Atticus ille Ciceronis (H. N. XXXV. 11). 19^ Advanced earlier by Pighe and Voss. ^^^ So Schon and Wachsmuth. 50 TITUS POMPONIUS ATTICUS. of Atticus. However, too many of the conclusions about the contents of the Annals are conjectural to permit the founding of a further conclusion upon them.^*"* It is suggested that the chronological and genealogical work of Atticus and Varro may have been transmitted to Livy through Tubero, one of their circle.^**** The special knowledge of chronology and history shown by Verrius Flaccus may be traced to Atticus.^®^ Flaccus is sup- posed to be the author of the Fasti Triumphorum,'^' and is known to have published a calendar. It is probable that the library of Atticus was inherited by his daughter and hence was accessible to Flaccus, who was the tutor of Caecilia's grand- son. 203 Efforts have been made to trace influences from Atticus in the work of Velleius Paterculus.-*^* Fernice,^**^ following the work of Kritz, listed a number of genealogical notices***** and some bits of special information-'"^ which may have been drawn from the genealogies of Atticus. Hirschfeld^*** would like to trace to Atticus a passage in which Velleius defends the con- i'*^ Matzat remarks that of the list of contents given for the Annals by Nepos, only two, leges and paces, are wanting in the Capitoline Fasti. Peter i^Hist. Rom. Rel.) reserves judgment on the derivation of the Fasti from the Annals of Atticus. 200 Soltau, Neue Jahrb., 1897, 415-417. 201 Seeck, Kalenderiafel, 88 ff. 202 Seeck, loc. cit. 92 ; Schon, loc. cit 203 The library doubtless passed through the hands of Agrippa's heirs into the imperial library, where Seneca had access to the letters (Seeck). 20* Sauppe, Schweiserisches Museum, 1837, 133-181, does not mention Atticus as a source used by Velleius, but refers to Atticus' genealogical work as developing in history the personal note that was overworked by Velleius. 205 De M. V. P. Fide Historica Commentatio, Leipsic, 1862. Kaiser, De fontibus V. P., 1884, cited by Maurenbrecher, C. SallusH Crispi Historiarum Reliquiae, 1901, 12, decides that Velleius used Atticus for the republican period up to II. 48. Maurenbrecher agrees, but thinks that Livy was also used. For bibliography, see Maurenbrecher and Hirschfeld, Kleine Schriften. 2oeiI. I, 4; 2, i; 3, i; 8, 2; 10, 2. 3; 16, 2; 17, 2; 21, 5; 29, 2; 41, 2; 59. 2. 20T II. 5, I, 2 ; 8, I. 208 Kleine Schriften, 77^779. JK jjk^ ATTICUS AS MAN OF LETTERS. 61 duct of the Romans in Athens at the time when the city was besieged by Sulla.-^** It is conceivable that the affection of At- ticus for his adopted city and his desire to promote a good understanding between Athens and Rome moved him to insert such a passage in the Annals. The question arises how a work so convenient and so val- uable as Atticus' handbook fell so soon into oblivion, and that too without having stimulated the production of others of its kind. Peter answers it by saying that the rapid rise of Rome to world dominion so widened the scope of historical interest as to withdraw attention from a book of so narrow a range.^^® It may be added that Roman history so soon fulfilled the hopes of Atticus by taking its place as a literary form that in the midst of stylistic interests, imitations and rivalries, a meager and un- adorned work like the Annals might easily fail of appreciation. 2o»II. 23. Schoene, Die Elogien des Augustusforum und der liber de viris illustribus, 1895, cited by Schanz under Aurelius Victor, con- jectures that Augustus employed Atticus for the composition of the elogia inscribed under the statues that he placed in the Forum, and that 47 chapters of De Viris Illustribus may be traced to this source. The source of this work, however, is a matter of much controversy, and Schon is not supported in tracing it to Atticus. See Schanz, loc. cit. See also Schanz, Atticus, for Hirschf eld's suggestion of traces of At- ticus in Florus. 210 IVahrheit und Kunst. ATTICUS IN POLITICS. \ Atticus was born to equestrian rank and never rose to a higher station. The corruption and violence of the poHtical world of his youth made him decide that it was the part of dig- nity and prudence to turn away from that path of advance- ment/ The choice may have been instinctive, based on a con- sciousness of his own strength and weakness, but it was doubt- less reinforced by his study of the teachings of Epicurus.^ It by no means involved indifference to the fortunes of his coun- try, nor did it preclude a lively interest in the political career of Cicero. He must have listened daily, as Cicero did in 88, to the public speeches of Sulpicius, whose fortunes were the more in- teresting to him because of a family connection.^ Because of this connection, the tribune's fall caused him alarm as well as sorrow, and probably was, as Nepos implies, the strongest factor in his decision to leave Italy.* In Athens, he refused the citizenship offered to him but was none the less energetic in facing the financial and administrative problems of the city, making himself by his services an inval- uable member of the community.** On his return from the East by way of Athens, Sulla saw in the cultivated and courteous young knight a desirable adherent and pressed him to return to Rome. Atticus, not dazzled by the invitation, begged that he should not be forced to align him- self against his friends of the anti-Sullan party, pleading that ^I. 17, 5; Nepos, 6; Boissier is wrong in pronouncing this choice a defection from patriotic duty. Cicero uses the same word for the pohtical position of the knights in general as for that of Atticus, otium Pro. Rab. Post. 7, 16. 2 See p. 35. ^Brut 306. ^Ait. 2, 2. ^ Nep. Att. 2 and 3. 52 . t ATTICUS IN POLITICS. 53 he had left Rome to avoid joining those very friends against Sulla. His excuses were amiably accepted, and he was loaded with gifts on Sulla's departure.® During his long residence abroad, Atticus kept up an inti- ,mate connection with men and affairs in Rome. He probably returned regularly for the census, in order to keep his status as a citizen.^ The fact that after twenty years of foreign resi- dence he was urged and expected to come to Rome to assist his friends in their canvasses for office shows that he had retained his position as a prominent member of the equestrian order and that through personal ties and business interests he had maintained a sphere of influence.* Besides his visits to Rome, his residence in Athens gave him opportunities for making or renewing friendships with Romans ; the knights with financial interests in Asia, the provincial governors with their quaestors, prefects, secretaries, the army officers quartered in the eastern provinces, must have kept up a stream of travel through the Aegean. Well adapted as Atticus was by temperament, expe- rience and enthusiasm to serve as guide and host in Athens and as adviser to those embarking on financial ventures in the East, he must have been sought out by many of those who went through Athens on their journey.* 65-58. " My candidacy for the consulship, which I know is a matter of supreme interest to you," Cicero wrote in a letter of 65.^** He was justified in the assumption; it was probably this in- terest that restored Atticus to Rome as a resident citizen. At- ticus maintained this interest throughout Cicero's life, acting as counsellor at every point and finding in his friend's activity an expression for his own political ideas. It is almost entirely « Nep. Att. 4, I and 2. TCf. I. 18, 8; II. I, II. 8 I. 10, 6; 4, I ; Nep. Att. 4, 3-5. » Cf. I. I, 2. 10 I. I. I. 54 TITUS POMPONIUS ATTICUS. ATTICUS IN POLITICS. 55 through his exchange of ideas with Cicero that his Hfe as a citizen must be studied. Cicero hoped to have in his pohtical career the support of the equites, Atticus' class and his own. He stood for the consulate at a time when the equites were conscious of power and had heavy interests lying under the arbitrament of the government. Their policy centered in the support of Pompey, who had proved himself a complacent friend ; he had been instrumental in restoring the juries to them in 70, and in reinstating in the province of Asia essential features of that Gracchan system of taxation which had proved so profitable to them before the re- forms of Sulla ;" he was at this time engaged in a war which they hoped would— as it actually did— add Syria to the Roman provinces and open there a similar field for investment. Cicero had made himself their spokesman in support of the democratic movement for the appointment of Pompey to the command in this war. Since that time, the democratic party had begun to show elements of radicalism and sedition that tended to estrange the equites, and Cicero with them. The class formed a middle party between optimates and democrats, holding the balance of power. The critical question for Cicero was whether he was able really to lead them, or whether his policy would prevail with them only so far as they thought it in harmony with their immediate interests. With this class Atticus was identified, but not in an exclusive or narrowly partisan spirit. During his candidacy, Cicero asked him to exert his influence among those who were travel- ling between Italy and the East in connection with Pompey's campaigns." These were probably for the most part members of his own class, but it was with his friends among the opti- mates that Cicero wanted him to work when he urged him to come to Rome for the year 64.^^ Atticus' personal friendships among the nobles accordingly date back to the time of his resi- " Frank, Roman Imperialism, 311. " I. I. 2. JL* 4Cf m>» 1^ I f dence in Greece, some of them, perhaps, to his school days. There is record of his intimacy with Hortensius" and with the Claudian family,^^ there are traces of friendship with the Lu- culli. and it is inherently probable that these great connoisseurs in literature and the arts valued his learning and his fine dis- crimination.^' As Cicero, writing of his consulate in the years immediately following, ascribed to Atticus a large share in the framing and upholding of his policies," the developments of the consulate ought to throw light on Atticus' political tendencies. These developments were not so much the outcome of a constructive policy as a reaction to events. The revolutionary elements in the democratic party came increasingly to the fore during the course of the year, which was inaugurated with the agrarian bill of Rullus, in Cicero's eyes nothing else than a measure of spoliation, and closed with Catiline's abortive attempt at mas- sacre and proscription. Cicero, who had hoped to keep on friendly terms with all parties, was forced by the end of the year to rely upon a coalition of senators and equites for the defense of the government. It cannot be doubted that Atticus, whose dread of disorder and violence had in his youth driven him to expatriation, was profoundly influenced by these reve- lations, presented in the first years of his political life in Rome, of the destructive tendencies inherent in the democratic party. Whatever his attitude to that party may have been before 63, he regarded it afterwards with deep distrust. As interlocutor in De Legibus, he gives a scarcely qualified assent to Quintus' diatribe against the tribunate and professes a lifelong dislike for all popular movements ;^® these words doubtless expressed his true sentiments. 1* Nep. Att. 5, 5 ; II. 25, i ; V. 2, i ; 9, 2. " II. 7, 2; 9, I and 3; II. 22, 4 and 5. "L. Lucullus was a friend of Caecilius (Nep. Att. 5; Val. Max. VII. 8, 5) ; he is mentioned in De Legibus as a friend of the interlocu- tors. For M. Lucullus, cf. I. 19, 10. "I. 17, 6 and 10; 18, i. " III. 26 and 37. 56 TITUS POMPONIUS ATTICUS, ATTICUS IN POLITICS. 67 I' The events that estranged Cicero from the democracy ce- mented more closely his connection with his own class. It may be demonstrated that neither Cicero nor Atticus contemplated such a policy of leadership as would secure the devotion of the eqttites by unscrupulous class legislation/* and if the field had been open for an aggressive policy on the part of that class, the year might have estranged them from their consular represen- tative. As it was, he was brought to look upon them as the upholders of government and they upon him as the defender of property ;=^** under his leadership, they broke completely with the democracy and formed with the senate the union known as the Concordia. In the formation of the concordia Atticus undoubtedly played an important part ; his warm friendships and his business con- nections among both the component elements must have given him great influence in promoting harmony ; his long absence from Rome and consequent aloofness from the quarrels that had divided the two orders further qualified him for media- tion, while his natural tendency to compromise and conciliation inevitably disposed him to enthusiasm for a movement to unite the two social classes that bounded his sympathy and his in- terests. Cicero pictures him as standing on the slope of the CapitoHne on that memorable Nones of December, "the stand- ard-bearer of the eqttites,"-^ It seems to have been the only occasion in his life when his political feelings developed heat enough to produce a public demonstration ; it was probably the only opportunity ever afforded him to support with some pros- pect of success a cause in which he thoroughly believed. Thenceforth the political life of Atticus was destined to be a fruitless opposition, so that it is interesting to inquire what his program was at this period when he held a real leadership in his party. Combining the evidence of 63 and 62 with that of i»Cf. 11. I, 7 and 8. 201. 19. 4; II. I. 8 and 11; Ad Fam. V. 6, 2; Ad Q. F, I. i, 6; cf. PHny, H. N. XXXIII. 34. 4 51, a year in which he again had occasion to express positive ideas,22 we should conclude that his governmental ideals had to do with sound administration rather than with constructive reform. He believed in just administration, in legislation pro- moting commerce without arousing class antagonism by fa- voritism, in the cultivation of contentment and a spirit of peace among all classes. In his leadership of the equites, he doubt- less urged a policy of moderate demands, efficient public serv- ice, honest gains. On the other hand, his distrust of demo- cratic tendencies cut him off from investigating the causes of discontent and from considering methods of economic reform; we have no evidence as to how he was affected by the misery of the poor in Rome, but we know that on grounds both of humanity and of sound business he deprecated the unhappy condition of the provinces. His program for amelioration, however, was limited to a correction of abuses under the ex- isting system. He believed that much could be done for the ailing members of the body politic by teaching them and ap- plying to them honest and vigorous business methods. He wxnt no further. Atticus believed in the right of private property and in the duty of the government to defend that right. Doubtless to him as to Cicero, schemes for the relief of debtors that were based on repudiation, schemes for the relief of poverty that were based on confiscation or heavy taxation, seemed immoral and subversive of the ends of government.^s His adherence to this economic position made him a conservative and a defender of the existing system. For a statement of the political theory to which Cicero and Atticus had now committed themselves, with its attendant ad- vantages, we may quote Cicero's summary of a speech that he made in the senate in February of 61 : " The authority of the senate, harmony with the equites, cordial support from Italy, 22 See end of ch. i. " For a statement of this position, see De Officiis, II. 72-^5. 58 TITUS POMPONIUS ATTICUS. the suppression of anarchy, low prices, peace— such was the substance of my thunderings."^* To Atticus' poHtical and patriotic interests^' we owe the in- formation on political subjects that filled Cicero's letters to him. The letters are especially rich in discussion for the period of Atticus' long absence in 6i and 60, when the friends still hoped for the perpetuation of the concordia and analyzed ac- cordingly every influence that became manifest in the field of politics. The burning question was how Pompey, the erstwhile cham- pion of democrats and equites, would face the new alignment of parties on his return. Both Cicero and Atticus were looking eagerly for the iroXimos dvtjp, the genuine statesman.^* Atticus seems to have been sceptical from the beginning. Before the end of January, 61, he expressed his opinion that Pompey had given public approval to Cicero's consulate only after realizing that unfavorable criticism would be impolitic.-^ Cicero's own impression was disappointing ; he found the great general feel- ing his way, timid about espousing any cause, slow and secre- tive in forming plans, unwilling to pronounce upon measures taken in his absence.^* Cicero was not, of course, Atticus' only informant on affairs at Rome, and often assumed that Atticus had earlier news than that in his letters.^® At any rate, by the end of the year, Atticus seems to have made up his mind not to put his trust in Pompey. Cicero had written to him in July that there was, to all appearance, a close alliance between him- self and Pompey, implying that it went no farther, on his part, than the producing of an effect on the public f"* he showed in this letter his despair of an effective championship of the coii- cordia,^^ We do not know Atticus' answer, but when, in De- 2* 1. 14. 4. For Atticus' devotion to the concordia, see De Leg. Ill, zi- " I. 16, 7 ; 19, I. 2« I. 18. 6. " I. 13, 4. " I. 13, 4. 2»I. 12.3; 16,4; 17,8; II. 19,5. 8<»I. 16, II. " I. 16. 6. ATTICUS IN POLITICS. 69 ' cember, Cicero confessed to a real approximation toward Pom- pey for the sake of security, he added, " I anticipate your warnmg and I shall guard against the dangers involved "^^ He received the expected protest at the end of May, 60, in a letter that Atticus wrote on February 15 : " As to affairs of state, you write at once like a friend and like a wise counsellor. My own chosen course is not at variance with your recommendations. It is true that I ought to maintain the dignity of my own posi- tion, that I ought not to entrust my honor and safety to an- other's hands, and that he of whom you write has no adequate and elevated policy, and is of a temper to receive orders and to bid for popular approval." He defended his closer relation with Pompey on the ground that he exerted the greater influ- ence and did more than Pompey to stamp their joint policy, thus benefiting the state by elevating Pompey toward his own level." He had already, in a letter of March 15, advanced the plea that his union with Pompey was determined by patriotic motives.^* We do not know what effect this plea had upon Atticus, for when Cicero wrote to the same effect in June, he was answering a letter written before even the letter of March 15 was received.^^ During the spring of 60 there is indicated for the first time in the letters a quotation from Euripides that Atticus used a number of times in charging Cicero not to forsake his peculiar post in the state — %naprav cXaxcs, raxrrav #co^ IV, 6, 3. 102 I V. 9, I, m/ loquebatur. »03 IV. 13, 2. ^«>*IV. 13, I. 105 IV. 17, 3 and 5. io« IV. 18, 4. 507 IV, 18, I and 2. "8 IV. IS, 10. ATTICUS IN POLITICS. 73 about Cicero's gratified but dignified response, but both are obscure. "And so Caesar's friends — Oppius and I, I mean, though you may burst with scorn " — Cicero wrote in October, but the scorn imputed to Atticus may refer not to Cicero's con- nection with Caesar but to his cooperation with the parvenu Oppius.^®* Toward the end of the year, after extolling Caesar's generous friendship as the one plank that he had saved from the shipwreck, Cicero exclaimed, "Will you not love him? Whom then will you choose to love?"^^° This is in line with what he revealed later as to the feeling of Atticus — that he valued Caesar only for his power to help or hurt, and had no liking for him.*^^ Atticus was again left in charge of Cicero's political in- terests during the latter's proconsulate. His first activity was to promote the passage of a bill for the increase of the military quotas in Syria and Cilicia, by influencing the consul Mar- cellus, whose colleague was blocking the bill.^" He used his influence to further Cicero's desire for a prompt return, notably with Hortensius, who had recently been reconciled to Cicero.*^* He still kept track of Pompey's plans through Varro."* He passed upon Cicero's letters to the senate before they were presented."'* Cicero placed the greatest confidence in his in- fluence, and insisted that everything depended on his presence in Rome.^^' The first letters of this period show that both Cicero and Atticus realized how seriously the state was menaced by the threatened break between Caesar and the senate.^^^ While in io» IV. 17, 7. 110 IV. 19, 2. "1 VII. I, 2. "2V. 4.2; Ad Fatn. III. 3. i. "» V. 2, i; 9, 2; VI. I, 13. "*V. 11,3. "» V. 18, I. "• V. 15, 3 ; 18, 3 ; 20, 7. "^V. 2, 3; 3, I ; 4, 4. 74 TITUS POMPONIUS ATTICUS. ^\ 54 Atticus had urged Cicero to cultivate the friendship of Caesar, in 51 his effort was to withdraw him from that con- nection, and he seems to have ranged himself definitely among the friends of Pompey. Cicero himself showed at this time a greater confidence in Pompey than he had felt at any time since the latter's return from the Mithradatic war. During the three days of daily visits before he left for his province, he was really edified by Pompey's conversation on matters of state, and wrote as if he expected Atticus to share his enthusiasm with none of the earlier scepticism."® In fact, he suggested, apropos of a tribute paid by Atticus to Pompey, that they with- draw their charge of insincerity."® "Our Pompey," Cicero wrote during this year, and notably, in contrast to his refer- ences to Caesar, "ours," without mention of Pompey's name."® Atticus postponed his trip to Epirus in the summer to await Pompey's return from Ariminum; in the latter part of 50, he called on Pompey at Naples to sound him on the sub- ject of Cicero*s interests and on affairs of state, and had a most satisfactory conversation.*'^ Both Atticus and Cicero had come definitely to regard Caesar as dangerous; the first letters after Cicero's departure asked anxiously about Caesar's movements, and Cicero assured At- ticus that Pompey was commendably ready to resist the threat- ened attack on the state."^ By the beginning of 50, Atticus felt that all hope of peace lay in Pompey."* In the late sum- mer, he wrote of Caesar's expected arrival at Placentia with four l^ions, expressing an alarm that Cicero fully shared."* In accordance with this new position Atticus urged Cicero to pay a debt of 800,000 sesterces that he owed to Caesar, and took on himself the raising of the money. "** All the pressure "« V. 6. I ; 7 ; VI. 2, 10. "•VI. I, II. "•VI. I, 3; V. 11,2. »" V. ig, I ; VII. 2, 5. ««V.2.3;7. "»VI. I, II. "*VII. I, I. "*V. 5, 2; 4.3. ATTICUS IN POLITICS. 75 f for payment seems to have come from the side of Atticus and Cicero, for Caesar would probably have been glad to keep Cicero in his debt. Part of the debt was still unpaid when Cicero returned, and both he and Atticus were more than ever eager to be quit of it, definitely speaking of Caesar as a polit- ical opponent and wanting to remove every obstacle to inde- pendence of action."® Atticus had great hopes that the relegation of Cicero to a province would prove to be the opening for him of a new ave- nue of advance, that the just and merciful administration which he had reason to expect from Cicero would win him new friends both in his province and at Rome and arouse old en- thusiasms."^ The administration was all that he could desire, but he must have realized long before Cicero came back that the political field was for the present closed to that form of achievement. He was ambiguous on the question of Cicero's applying for a triumph, probably fearing a rebuff."* He had some reason to fear that Cicero would spoil the good report of his administration by handing over his post to the irascible Quintus, but his guarded warning was so reinforced by Cicero's own misgivings that the plan was at once abandoned."* October, 5o-December, 50. The letters that Cicero received from Atticus at various points on his journey homeward showed that conflict between Caesar and Pompey was imminent, and challenged him to a de- cision."** His first impulse was to assure Atticus that he would ultimately take the side of Pompey ; he did so in terms implying that the strong moral feelings of Atticus were on that side. He went back to the quotation that meant to him always the vindication of his honor before the world, alBw/uu TpSnis, 126 VII. 3, 11; 8, 5. "T VI. I, 7 and 8; et passim. "*vi.3.3;6,4;9,2; VII.3, 2. "•VI. 6, 3; 9, 3. "0 VII. I, 3. 76 TITUS I'OMroMlS ATTKUS. assigning to Atticus the role of sternest critic once assigned to Cato."^ Atticus* first advice was of a practical sort, that Cicero should keep the imperium that he was then holding with a view to a triumph, whether for the sake of his personal safety or in the hope of his playing such a pacificatory part as Cicero fondly prefigured for himself.^^- It may be that Cicero was overstraining the indications of Atticus* preference for Pompey, but the citations from the letters show that Atticus was at least arguing against Caesar. While assuring Cicero that he had the utmost confidence in his patriotism, he combatted the personal claims of Caesar by suggesting that his favors to Cicero were after all slight in comparison with his powers and Cicero's deserts.^^"* He depre- cated the influence of Caelius upon Cicero, setting over against the young man's heady Caesarianisni the weight of two con- sulars."* Finally, he referred to the statue of Minerva that Cicero had placed in the Capitol, using it as a reminder of his duty toward his country. ^^'* A week or two later he was still urging upon Cicero the authority of the optimates in Rome, declaring that they placed great hopes in him and did not doubt his allegiance to their cause.'^** Cicero felt the pressure of Atticus* question, " How shall you vote in the senate ? '* On December i6 he answered, " I shall vote for nothing without your approval,"^^^ and on the next day, " I really disapprove of opposing Caesar, but my vote shall go with Pompey,"^"® and a few days later he phrased his decision thus, ** I vote with Gnaeus Pompey, that is, with Titus Pomponius.**^^* "iVII. 1.4; cf. II. 5. I. i8» vil. 3, 2 and 3. "» VII. 3, 3. 1" VII. 3, 3 and 6; whether Volcacius and Sulpicius had declared for Pompey or merely for neutrality wc cannot tell; their later course leaned toward neutrality. "» VII. 3. 3. t«« VII. 7. S- "7 VII. 5. 5. i3«VII 6,2. »3» VII. 7, 7. ATTICUS IN POLITICS. 77 Unfortunately the letters of December were nearly all written before news could have reached Rome of the investing of Pompey with unlimited military authority by Marcellus,'*® so that they do not show whether Atticus was shocked by the readiness of the Pompeian side to resort to arms or merely thought that the crisis deinanded extra constitutional meas- ures. The only letter written after he knew of these develop- ments was one in which he asked Cicero, who was to have an interview with Pompey, whether there was hope of peace. After the interview Cicero replied that there was not even the desire for it.^*^ January, 49-FEBRUARy, 49. For a period of three weeks, the last days of December and the first half of January, Cicero was apparently near Rome with his lictors and in communication with Atticus. During this interval Caesar presented his demands to the senate and was refused, was declared an enemy by a senattis consultum ultimtim and began his march against Rome. The correspond- ence was resumed when Cicero was swept along with the rush of the senate and consuls from the city, following Pompey's refusal to defend it on January 17. Cicero's first letter is a cry of disgust over the movement, at once stupid and reckless, in which he was involved.^*- He wrote later that he had seen Pompey *s display of timidity on the seventeenth of January, and that he had never been satisfied with him since. ^'*'^ It is probable that his displeasure was heightened by the fact **** Holzapfel, Die Anfdnge des Burgerkrieges, Klio, 1903, and Nissen, cited by Holzapfel, date this not later than December 2, considering that the news was conveyed by Atticus in a letter that Cicero received on December 6 (cf. VII. 3, i); internal evidence of this is lacking. Schmidt, Cicero heim Ausbruch des Burgerkrieges, Neue Jahrh., 1891, 1 21-130, argues convincingly for a date after the installation of the tribunes. He places Pompey's assumption of command at Luceria about December 16, and the arrival of the news in Rome about Decem- ber 19. "1 VII. 8, 4. 1*2 VII. 10. ^'-^ IX. 10, 2. 78 TITUS POMPONIUS ATTICUS. that Pompey's action invalidated the moves toward peace in which Cicero was already active. There is testimony to the effect that he had urged the acceptance of the terms that Caesar had proposed to the senate through Curio on January 7,^" and that he later moved in the senate the sending of an embassy to Caesar.'*^ From the time of his return he had been approached by Caesar with conciliatory messages/*' which he discounted as mere blandishments ; in the second week of January, however, he had had a night visit from Caelius, who came as Caesar's representative.'*^ He and Atticus must in- evitably have been influenced in their decisions of the next few months by the fact that Caesar had in a sense summoned Cicero to the position of peacemaker and had tried to use his influence with the senate, whereas Pompey had taken the direc- tion of affairs out of the hands of the senate and had prevented negotiations between the senate and Caesar."* The fact that Pompey abandoned Rome and the suspicion that he would leave Italy seem to have affected the attitude of Atticus also. On January 21 he wrote, " Let us see what Gnaeus does and how he frames his plans. If he leaves Italy, he will act wrongly and to my mind very foolishly. In that case— but not before that time— we must form other plans."'*' His advice on this point remained consistent, though the tor- tured conscience of Cicero sometimes read into his friend's letters a reproof of his absence from Pompey. Following the correspondence from January 17 through the fall of Corfinium to Pompey's withdrawal from Luceria to Brundisium, we get some light on Atticus' estimate of Caesar, on his attitude toward Pompey's policy, and on his plan— tenta- tive and undeveloped, but still a plan— for Cicero. "* Plut. Caes, 31 ; Pomp, 59- ,, ^ ^t t r 1 1 •» *i,- 1 *u«* 1*5 Plut. Pomp, 60; App. B. C. II. 36; Holzapfel, loc. cit., thinks that this refers to the second embassy. H8VII. 3. ". i« Ad. ham, VIII. 17. I. 1*8 Holzapfel, loc. cit. "» IX. 10. 4- ATTICUS IN POLITICS. 79 As previous letters indicated, he distrusted Caesar pro- foundly, fearing that he would prove an unbridled despot, a Phalaris."^ In early February, he wrote of dreading proscrip- tions ;^" a week or two later he seems to have put the question to Cicero, " Could you bear to look upon the tyrant? "—though Cicero was mistaken in thinking the question a counsel to flight ; " the body of this death," " this sink of filth," so he spoke by anticipation of the coimtry destined to fall into the hands of Caesar and his ravenous crew.'" Both he and Cicero were influenced in their judgment of Caesar by their scorn for the flighty and venal young men of their acquaintance who had joined Caesar, in whose truculent talk, moreover, the nature and purposes of Caesar were misrepresented, and also by that association of base elements with revolutionary movements which had remained fixed in their minds since the days of the Catilinarian conspiracy."' But the conduct of Caesar after the capture of Corfinium made a deep impression on Atticus. On March 5, while Caesar was marching down the coast to Brundisium and Cicero was shuddering at the thought of Pom- pey's being intercepted, Atticus wrote, " If Caesar continues to act as he has begun, with honesty, moderation and discretion, I shall review the situation and consider carefully what is to our advantage.""* For Pompey's withdrawal before Caesar, he had nothing but condemnation. It is probable that, like Cicero, he failed to appreciate the military advantage that Ponipey would derive from a base of operations in the East. The idea of abandoning Italy seemed to him mere senseless folly, of a piece with the withdrawal from Rome ; he thought of it usually not as a strategic measure but as a flight. " If he leaves Italy, what end will there be of wandering?""^ He warned' Cicero not to involve himself in an uncertain and perilous flight, 150 VII. 12, 2. 151 VII. 22, I. 152 IX. 10,9; cf. 2a, 2. 153 Cf. VII. 3, 5. 154 IX. 10,9; cf. 2a, 2. 155 IX. 10, 4- 156 VII. 23, 2. 166 ^ I 80 TITUS POMPONIUS ATTICUS. and protested that it was base for the optimates to consider flight"' When he did consider the withdrawal as a war meas- ure, his condemnation was even more severe ; it amounted to nothing else, he thought, than setting the world on fire. "If Pompey remains in Italy," he wrote late in January, "and efforts at peace fail, the conflict will be, I think, all too long ; but if he leaves Italy, he will to my mind be saddling an atro- cious war on our posterity. "^'^^ The advice that Atticus gave to Cicero shows him prudent, as always, watching the turn of events, but, more than that, clinging tenaciously, in the teeth of circumstances, to his old idea of Cicero's holding an independent position of influence. On January 23 he expressed his opinion that if Pompey left Italy Cicero should return to Rome."* On February 7, in ad- vising against a participation in Pompey's flight, he wrote, " To go would be to incur the utmost danger without benefiting the state, and you can be of service to the state later on, if you stay."^**** Cicero appreciated the canny element in Atticus' ad- vice, and at times, in his unrest and distress, took a perverse pleasure in emphasizing it.^*^ At other times he estimated more fairly the large idea that lay under Atticus' caution.^'*^ ^^^ IX. 10, 6; this was written on February 11, when Atticus still hoped that Pompey would advance to the relief of Domitius. Cf. VIII. 12 f 3* »»•» IX. 10, 5. *o»IX. 10, 4; the phrase did not then mean to him gratifying Caesar. i«o IX. 10, 5. '•» VIII. 12, 5. ^^^ In fact it was from the conscience of Atticus that he most feared judgment upon his own caution. A chance expression from Atticus would set him to condemning his politic course. Atticus seems to have suggested that there was some danger in staying in Italy, in case Pom- pey should be victorious (Jovi ipsi iniquum, VIII. 15, 2) ; Cicero con- cluded at once that Atticus thought that his duty lay with Pompey. He charged himself, in his moments of remorse, with a calculating motive in staying. This motive was a most justifiable bit of prudence and might well have proceeded from Atticus, though it seems not to have done so. In fact, Cicero confessed it to him somewhat shamefacedly, though he had avowed it manfully to Pompey (VIII. iiD, 7) : he did not wish to be caught again at enmity with one of the dynasts in case the two came to terms with each other (X. 8, 5). A difficulty with regard to Cicero's position at this period arises from I ) gjjL '^Hjjjjjjjh. ATTICUS IN POLITICS. 81 "Your advice approves itself to me," he wrote on February 23, " as honorable and at the same time safe. I am not influ- enced by the decisions of Lepidus and TuUus. Their past does not demand from them what mine does from me. But your counsel influences me profoundly, for there is in it a chance of security in the present and of reestablishment in the future."^" On February 28, in asking for advice, he wrote, " Tell me what part you think it seemly for me to play, where you feel I could be of most service to the state, whether there is room for a peacemaker or whether the whole field is filled by war."*** On March i, moved doubtless by the clemency of Caesar at Cor- finium, Atticus wrote that he still had hopes of an interview between Caesar and Pompey with peace as its result.^**^ Atticus had no desire to see Cicero remain in Rome alone and unsupported ; he wanted him to represent an idea and head the apparent contradiction between Ad Fam. XVI. 11, 3; Ad Att. VII. II, 5, and IX. iiA, 2. The passages bearing on this have been studied by Sternkopf {Quaestiones Chronologicae 46, and W. K. P., 1899, 480), O. E. Schmidt {Briefwechsel, 116, Neue Jahrh., 1891, 121-130), Bardt (Ausgewdhlte BnV/(?, 1896), Sjogren {Charitcs, Adnotattones Crtttcae), with fairly uniform results. Ad Fam. XVI. n, 3, refers to a command conferred by the senate at the time of the senatus consultum ulttmum and laid down by Cicero at the time of the decretum tumultus, when the retention of such a command would have been equivalent to an acceptance of war. "Cicero rejected Capua, after January 17, in the interests of peace, making it his object to reconcile Caesar and Pom- pey."— Sjogren. The passages VII. 11, 5; I4, 3; VIII. iiB, i ; Ad Fam, XVI. 12, 5, refer to an oversight of the western coast, hardly military. VIII. iiD, 3, and 12, 2, refer to a summons from Pompey to come to Capua and take part in recruiting. Cicero complied so far as to go to Capua, but not to recruit (so Sjogren). He was therefore justified in telling Caesar that he had not joined either side after the outbreak of war (IX. 1 1 A, 2) and in claiming afterwards that he had made unre- mitting efforts for peace {Ad Fam. VI. 6, 5; Phil. II. 23-24; Brut. 266). It is notable that Caesar kept trying until Pompey actually left Italy to get an interview with him, and that Cicero wrote to Caesar about March 19 urging peace, not knowing that Pompey had already sailed. Atticus and Cicero were not then indulging impractical speculations when they hoped that there was still a chance for Cicero to mediate. i«svill. 9, 3; cf. IX. 12, I. 164 VIII. 12, 4. 165 VIII. 15', 3 ; cf. Atticus* advice to Cicero to let the ladies of his family remain in Rome and not to send the boys away (VII. 16, 3; 17, I). \ S2 TITUS POMPONIUS ATTICUS. a following, not to bear witness to a cause by martyrdom. In spite of illness, he kept in touch with such optimates as were left in the city and watched over Cicero's reputation among them.**' He was apprehensive lest Cicero's inactivity should be construed as favorable to Caesar.**^ He told Cicero of crit- icisms of his course that circulated among the optimates,**** but spared him the comments of the extremists.*®* His hope was that a stand for peace could be made within the optimate party. There was no wavering in his adherence to that party."° He did not think of Cicero's stay in Italy as an ultimate acqui- escence in Caesar's triumph. He wrote on February 22, "If Lepidus and Volcacius are staying, I think that you should stay too, with this idea, that if Pompey makes his escape and makes a stand sofnewhere, you should leave this carrion and choose defeat in battle with him rather than power at Caesar's side in the sink of filth which we can foresee here."*" Again, on March 5, he wrote of the possibility of Cicero's joining Pom- pey later if there were need of it : *' Your coming will be all the more welcome to him then."*" Atticus had reached Rome in September of 50 ill with fever, and remained subject to attacks of quartan ague throughout the winter.*" This illness must have simplified decision about i«« VIII. 2, I ; II, 7 ; 12, 6; etc. 1" VII. 26, 2. 168 VIII. 2, 2; Cicero construed the letter here quoted into an unqual- ified advocacy of the cause of Pompey and an admonition to join him (VIII. 2, 2 and 4). He was wrong in both interpretations, especially in the second, for Atticus reiterated in his letters his disapproval of the 'flight.* On February 19 he wrote, "Nulla epistula significavi, si Gnaeus Italia cederet, ut tu una cederes, aut si significavi, non dico fui inconstans, sed demens" (IX. 10. 6) ; cf. IX. 10, 8; VIII. 11, 4; IX. 10, g, with their dates ; these prove that (Ticero is again wrong when he says on February ^3 that Atticus thinks his duty is with Pompey (VIII. 7. 2). *«» Cicero was shocked when he learned these from Philotimus (VIII. 16. I). *^<*Cf. VII. 25, litteras hilariores; 26, i, Quotiens exorior; 23, i, In quo tu quoque ingemiscis. *^i IX. 10, 7 ; this was written before Atticus knew of the clemency displayed at Corfinium. "« IX. 10, 9. "» VI. 9, i; VII. 12, 6; VIII, 11, 7; IX. 7. 7; X. 16. 6. ^^|i ATTICUS IN POLITICS. 83 his own course of conduct. Cicero, however, on January 22, challenged him to a decision : " You and Peducaeus must con- sider what you are going to do. You hold, both of you, a posi- tion of such prominence and dignity that you have the same obligations as the most illustrious men in the state.""* In a letter of March 3, Atticus seems to have discussed the possi- bility of leaving Rome, but the text is obscure."' After hear- ing the news from Corfinium, however, he was content to await Caesar's further action with suspended judgment. March, 49. After Pompey's withdrawal to the coast, Atticus still kept postponing the moment of decision for Cicero by urging him to await the outcome of events at Brundisium."' As Cicero said, there was nothing to await but Pompey's flight and Caesar's return to Rome,"^ but Atticus seems to have hoped that chance would make some break in the dreadful impasse by which he felt his friend confronted. He evidently expressed his sense of the hopelessness of the situation in a long and com- prehensive letter that Cicero answered on March 13, in words that summarize Atticus* estimate of the crisis : " I cannot say that your letter gave me new life, but it did the next best thing, for I no longer aim at a happy outcome of these events. I see clearly that while Caesar and Pompey are alive— nay, even if Caesar survives alone— there is no hope for the republic ; and so I have ceased to hope for a life of peace. I am ready to face disappointment and hardship. My only fear is lest I may act ignobly— lest I have acted ignobly.""' In the meantime, Atticus gave practical advice for the imme- diate situation. He consistently recommended Cicero to stay at Formiae"* and occupy a position of genuine neutrality. He 17* VII. 13, 3- „.,,.. ^Tv 1" VIII. IS, I. He planned a trip to Epirus for this spring (IX. 7, 7; X. 16, 6). "« IX. 13, 2 ; IS, 3. 1" VIII. 16. 2. 1" IX. 7, I. "»IX. 2a, i; 7, 2; 9, I. % 84 TITUS POMPONIUS ATTICUS. tried to fortify him against the remorse he felt at not being with Pompey, reiterating his own approval and that of Sex- tus/®** admitting apparently that Pompey was likely to feel aggrieved at his absence,**^ but combatting that exaggerated sense of obligation by which Cicero felt at times over- whelmed.^^2 Even in praising Cicero for putting away all bit- terness in remembering the wrongs that Pompey had done him, he made a list of those wrongs longer than Cicero's own.^" On the other hand, he wished Cicero to make no concession to Caesar. He disapproved of Cicero's proposal to go to Arpi- num, where he would be off the path of Caesar's victorious return to Rome.^*** While he recognized that even by staying in Formiae Cicero incurred the danger of pleasing Caesar too well, and being reckoned his friend, he thought it better than running away.*"'' He never considered the possibility of Cicero's going to Rome and lending himself to Caesar's de- signs ; it would be base, he said, for Cicero even to be present in a senate that legislated to Pompey's hurt, criminal for him to sanction such legislation."* His suggestion was that Cicero should ask for Caesar's consent to his staying away from the city and holding a non-partisan attitude, abstaining from op- posing Pompey as he had abstained from opposing Caesar.***^ In a letter of March 13, he adjured Cicero, when it came to a meeting with Caesar, to treat with him on an equal footing, without undue recognition of Caesar's power and with con- fidence in his own position."* In a significant but too com- pressed passage written on the same day, Cicero refers to the i*** IX. 2a, I ; 7f 2 ; 10, 10. ***IX. 7. 4; 13. 3; Cicero's own family thought that it was disgraceful for him to be away from Pompey (IX. 6, 4), and it is probably true that it was Atticus' consistent and confident advice that held him at Formiae (IX. 10). »«» IX. 9, I. "* IX. 6, I ; 7. 2. JjtV* jCcLi^ !• "' IX. 7, 3 ; 9. I. 188 IX. 9. 2. .1^^ 'Hi' '^^B "% ATTICUS IN POLITICS. 85 plan that Atticus suggested in case Caesar should refuse to allow him an independent position. The plan seems to be that Cicero should take upon himself the responsibility of nego- tiating for peace with Caesar in the name of the Pompeian party. Cicero realized the danger of the step, as he knew that his views concerning peace would not please Pompey, but he felt that of all the dangers confronting him it was the one to be incurred with honor. ^®® In the meantime, Atticus continued to discuss the possibiHties of Cicero's escape from Italy, largely by way of pointing out the impracticability of an immediate departure, yet recogniz- ing escape, apparently, as the ultimate choice.^"® Atticus' intercourse was largely with the optimates in Rome,^®^ and his sympathies were with their cause. Cicero quoted Atticus' own phrase when he wrote that with the with- drawal of Pompey from Italy the sun seemed to have fallen from heaven.^'*^ It is probably excessive sensitiveness to the criticism circulating among the optimates, themselves inactive and irresolute, that is reflected in Atticus' comment on the man- ful letter in which Cicero expressed to Caesar his hope of peace and offered to act as mediator ;^"^ they considered a men- tion of Caesar's "admirable wisdom" unduly flattering, and felt that Cicero had betrayed his own side in admitting that Caesar had been wronged.^®* As to Caesar, Atticus* feeling seems still to show the modi- fication produced by the * clemency ' of Corfinium. He still feared the greedy and unscrupulous pack who were helping to win Caesar's victories, ^''^ but he had less distrust of the victor himself. He was confident that Caesar would acquiesce in 189 IX. 7, 3. 190 IX. 5, 1 ; 7, 5 ; 9, 1 ; 12, i. 1" IX. 3. 1 ; 5, 3 ; etc. 192 IX. 10, 3. 193 IX. 1 1 A. 194 VIII. 9, I ; for the dating of this letter, about March 29 instead of February 25, see Bardt, Festschrift fur O. Hirschfeld, 1903, 11-15; Schiche, Z. G., 1908, II. 6; Sternkopf, Bursian, 1908, 28. . 195 IX. 9, 4. I i i ff S6 TITUS POMPONIUS ATTICUS. Cicero's neutrality^®* and he probably hoped that peace would be forwarded by an interview between the two, and for that reason insisted on their meeting. He by no means gave Caesar a full confidence, however, for Cicero felt that there was some- thing less than frank in the intention of such good optimates as Atticus and Peducaeus to go out as far as the fifth mile- stone to meet the returning Caesar. "I do not criticise you," he wrote, "but in these days there is confusion among the standards whereby we are wont to tell genuine goodwill from pretence."*" The suspense of the month had its climax for both friends in the meeting between Cicero and Caesar at Formiae on March 28. Cicero congratulated himself on having followed the ad- vice of Atticus in both its important points: he had been so little complaisant as to deserve Caesar's respect rather than his gratitude, and he had maintained his refusal to go to Rome.^'** He had found no complaisance in Caesar; Atticus' hope for the victor's consent to an independent stand was completely disappointed. It remained for Cicero to challenge Atticus anew for that decisive word which he had postponed until they should know the result at Brundisium.^®' April-May, 49. Atticus cheered Cicero with cordial praise, both from him- self and from Peducaeus, for his conduct in the interview with Caesar.^**** Cicero's answering compliment on his friends' con- duct in the crisis, " You and Sextus have held the same digni- fied position as you prescribed for me," makes it doubtful whether they had gone out to meet Caesar, as they had once considered doing.**^ i»« IX. 2a. I ; 18, I. "7VIII. 9, 2. »« IX. 18, I ; 19, 4. iw IX. 18, 4. 2<*®X I I 2oiX,'i*4';cf. VIII. 9, 2. ATTICUS IN POLITICS. 87 The demand for a decision found Atticus still reluctant. He asked Cicero to wait to see what action Caesar's first senate would take.-®- Though he seems to have regarded Caesar's initial measures with censure and alarm,-®^ and to have dis- trusted the projects for peace negotiations,^*** he still hoped — with no evidence, as he admitted, except his own feelings — that Cicero would be summoned to Rome to act as mediator.^**^ With Caesar's failure to secure his position by constitu- tional means and his departure for Gaul on April 6, Atticus' hopes of a composition were ended, and yet he was reluctant to see Cicero leave Italy ; he now urged him to wait until some- thing decisive happened in Spain.^**® Even when he planned a departure for Cicero, he did not feel it imperative that he should join Pompey ; and while Cicero fluctuated between join- ing Pompey and expatriating himself in Athens, Epirus or Malta, there is no sign that Atticus tried to determine his de- cision.^**^ In fact, he found out through Balbus whether Caesar would favor Cicero's retiring to Malta.^**® We have no letters between April 22 and May 2, and after that interval there are constant veiled reference to a plan of action that Atticus wanted Cicero to carry out after leaving Italy. It was to be such a stroke as would redeem in the eyes of the optimates and in his own Cicero's long hesitation.**^® Sicily seems to have been the field proposed for it,***^ and it is likely that the cooperation of Curio was hoped for, especially in case Caesar should not be successful in Spain.*^^ A stand- ard was to be set up, and Atticus advised a bold and open initial movement.^*^ Great secrecy had to be preserved while Cicero 202 X. I. 2. 203 X. I, 2. **»*X. 1,4. 2WX,I, 3. 2WX. 8. I. 20T IX. 7, 7; 12, I ; X. I, 2; 7, I ; 9, I ; 18, 2. 208 X. 18. 2. 209 X. 12a. 2. 210 X. 12, 2. "* X. 7, 3; 10, 3; 12, 2; 13, 3; cf. for Curio's friendship, X. 4, 7^10. 2«X. 15, 2. 88 TITUS POMPONIUS ATTICUS. .cus. however, was deeply interested in seeing it tried -' ^ t' the scheme never matured Rv n,» *• r- . "' Atticus had for some time considered going to F„irus»'= =.nH probably carried out his plan in the summer While i„ Rome he accommodated himself to the Cae^W.n - '" ^ome, on Caesar at fh„ „ .c . . «-aesarian regime and called know!- '^ '"^''' P''^*^'- "•^'^ ^•'^^ object we do not 48-47- tremysT?om"Ly1 ^' ^'^ ^ ^^'"^' '^''"^'' ^"'^ ^ fic^,*- r ^"""P^y * '^a'"? were threaten ng him with con fiscat,on of h,s estates for his failure to join thenT-^ I„T: late autumn, after the defeat of Pompey 011 l?! returned unaccomoanieH t„ r T- " ''esperation Caesar's mer.v T. ^'■""d.s.um, to cast himself on uaesar s mercy. Atticus seems to have been startled by this th cP^' at't^sa"' Cicero's cause with the Caesarian i'n^ an,on"^he optil^et^^ H? Js'TJ^ ^^T"'^ ^^"^~ TiVAr^'o f . ^^ ^^^">^ powerless to advance Cicero s reconciliation with Caesar. Neoos sav. thJr was so grateful to Atticus for his passTv^^^TuH '^^^^^^^^^ war that he spared hi. the requisitionaiy Jers whi'ch he n f reedo^^^^^^^^^^ "' '^ "" ^' ^^^^^-' -^— -n gamh eir freedom to Quintus and his son.-- The evidence of the letters 2,3 X. 15, 3. ^ icuers, mri^v'"^' '^^' '5.2; 16,4. 2i»XI 6 2' ^' '' ^' ' ^""^ ^' '^ ^' '7a. 2; 18, 2. "0 ^«. 7, 3. ATTICUS IN POLITICS. 89 however, shows that Atticus did not feel free to ask favors directly from Caesar."^ His policy was now one of concilia- tion ; he no longer counselled independence, but talked of the necessity of adapting countenance and speech to changed cir- cumstances and reminded Cicero of the passive acquiescence that had been necessary to secure one's life in the days of Sulla."2 ^ On his return to Italy in September, Caesar welcomed the advances of Cicero, who at once journeyed toward Rome."' 4M5. The letters of 46 and 45 show that Atticus lived on cordial terms with the victorious Caesarians without becoming a par- tisan of Caesar.224 j^e fact is that the world was Caesarian. With Brutus holding a military and Varro a literary commis- sion under Caesar, Atticus would have been hard put to it to form a circle of steadfast Pompeians from among his old friends. While it is still apparent that he could not make the claims of a party man on Caesar's favor,"^ the urgency of his interest in the threatened confiscation of land from Buthrotum prompted him to prepare a petition which Cicero presented to Caesar. This was cordially received ; a requisition was substi- tuted for the confiscation. Atticus advanced to the Buthro- tians the money that they needed to meet this requisition."* When he discovered that colonists were nevertheless gathering for Buthrotian lands, he expressed his anxiety to Caesar, and received reassurance that after the colonists were out of Italy they would be directed to another spot for settlement."^ 221x1. 12,4; 18,2; 25, I. 222X1.16, i;24, 5;2i, 3. 223 cf Phil II 5 225 VtIv^' ^' ^ ^' ^"^- 7; 14, 4; 19, 2; 47a. I. 225 XIII. 20, I ; 21, I ; 45, 2. 226 XII. 6, 4 ; XVI. i6a, 4 and 5 ; the loan was probably an act of com- Passimi on the part of Atticus, as Cicero represents it. 227 XVI. 16a, S. 90 TITUS POMPONIUS ATTICUS. . His attitude on various questions with a political bearing shows that he no longer concerned himself anxiously about opinion among the Pompeians, but was on his guard, though not to the point of subserviency, against the disapproval of the Caesarians.-^'* Atticus was not willing to have Cicero retire from public life. Scarcely a month after the death of Tullia, he began try- ing to arouse him from the despair into which his loss plunged him, urging upon him statesmanship as his iyyvp-nn^t the em- ployment of his old age, and warning him that his political leadership might suffer through excessive indulgence in grief.*^* Failing to persuade his friend to return to the Forum, At- ticus suggested that he should write political articles, advising first a letter of counsel to Caesar, such as Aristotle and Theo- pompus had written to Alexander, and acquiescing, apparently, when that plan failed,^'** in the substitution of a literary essay, the letter on Caesar's Anti-CatoP^ He next helped Cicero to plan a political treatise in dialogue form, but this project also was abandoned.^*^ Considering, besides these abortive at- tempts, the works actually produced in 46, the Brutus and the Cato, with their fearless expression of republican sentiment,^^* one may feel that Atticus* ideal for Cicero's writing is well ex- pressed in Cicero's words to Varro, written in the spring of the same year, " Let us be ready, in case we are summoned, to work, whether as architects or merely as masons, on the struc- 228X11. 7, i; 45, 2; XIII. 10, 2; 39, 2; 42, I. In deciding how to treat Dolabella and the younger Quintus it was necessary to consider the political situation. M»XII. 14, 3; 20, I ; 21, 5; 38a, I ; 40, 2; see Tyrrell, ad loc, with comparison of XII. 29, 2, and Plut. Cato, 24. "oXII. 40, 2; XIII. 26, 2; 27, I ; 28, 2 and 3. 2" XIII. 47; 50, i; cf. 19, 2. "2 XIII. 30, 2; 32, 3; 33. 3; 6a; for the significance of this projected work and for bibliography on it, see Miinzer, Hermes, 1914, pp. 204-210. 2M Cf . Tyrrell's citations and his discussion on Schmidt's theory {Prog, on M. Brutus, p. 172), also Brut. 4-6, 21, 157, 248, 250 f., 266, 280, 324, 328 ff. Cf. also Cicero's defense of himself against the impli- cation of subserviency in his letter to Caesar (XIII. 51, i). ATTICUS IN POLITICS. 91 ■> ture of the state; but if there is no call for our services, let us write or read on political subjects, and in literary works, if not in the senate house and in the Forum, let us, like the most learned ancients, guide the state and be its pathfinders in ques- tions of morals and law.'*^** We have unfortunately no record of Atticus' opinions for the period when Cicero's faith in Caesar was at its highest, the autumn of 46. From the letters of 45, it appears that Cicero was more restive than Atticus under the limitations imposed on free speech and free political action ;"5 but Atticus was subject to alarm, filled with distrust.^^^ The two friends, however, discussed without bitterness Cicero's plan for meeting Caesar on his return from Spain ; they had settled down to limited expectations.^*^ 44. The next letters to Atticus follow the assassination of Caesar. Whatever may have been the first reaction of Atticus to the shock of that event, he joined the group of those who openly rejoiced in it,^^^ and was apparently present at the early con- ferences at which further plans for the tyrannicides were dis- cussed. He favored a bold stand, and exclaimed that if a pub- lic funeral was accorded to Caesar, the cause was lost.^*® Later on, in his discontent with the precarious amnesty under which the tyrannicides were livii^ in uneasy passivity, he found fault with the first action of the senate,^**' the compro- mise by which, on March 7, amnesty was granted to the tyran- nicides and the acta of Caesar were declared valid. When Cicero, by pushing responsibility farther back, forced him to 23* Ad Fam. IX. 2, 5. 23« XIII. 44, I ; 10, I. 2*^X111. 50, 4; their hopes might be expressed in Cicero's summing up of Caesar s visit, Zrov^otoF omy, in sermone, i>t\6\oya tnulta f XIII 52. 2). "«XIV. 22, 2; so 13, 2. 289 XIV. 10, I ; 14, 3. a*»XIV. 10, I. 92 TITUS POMPONIUS ATTICUS. i! a defense of the Bruti and Cassius, Atticus insisted, evidently, that the friends of the conspirators should either have absented themselves on that day or have spoken freely. Cicero re- minded him that the senate had been beset by Caesar's vet- erans.**^ After it became evident that no positive action or leadership was to be expected from Brutus, he watched the course of events, looking for signs of public or official favor or hostility toward the " heroes.""* Before the end of April, he adopted Cicero's formula of resignation, " We must be con- tent with the great deed itself."*** Yet he did not give himself up to inaction. After Brutus, in mid-April, went into semi-retirement at Lanuvium, Atticus ran down often from the city to confer with him and Cassius on the next steps to be taken.*** He realized that the safety of Brutus depended on the tolerance of Antony.**^ Perceiving that Antony was really hostile, he was glad to see him opposed by any one in a less precarious position than Brutus.*** Whether it was action or caution that he recommended to Brutus at this time, he did what lay in his power to rally a party around him. His first effort was of course to bring about a close com- bination between Brutus and Cicero. When Brutus and Cas- sius were preparing the edict which they were to put forth, in accordance with their agreement with Antony, to disperse the groups of partisans gathered in the towns for their support, Atticus tried to bring Cicero into cooperation by getting him to prepare a draft for the edict**^ and to outline a policy to be «« XIV. 14. 2. »«XIV. I, I ; 2, I ; 3,2; 5, I ; 6. i. "» XIV. 14. 3. 2** XIV. 20. I ; 21, I ; 22, 2; XV. 4, 2; 9, 2; 20. 2; for Atticus' coopera- tion with Brutus at a still earlier time, see XIV. 8, 2. 2" XIV. 6, I ; 7. I ; 8. I ; 10, I ; 14, 7; XV. 9, I. 2*« XIV. 15, I and 2; cf. Phil. I. 5 and 30; XIV. 16, 2; ig, 1; 20, 4; Ad Fam. XII. I. 2«XIV. 20, I and 3; Brutus followed his own plan rather than Cicero's, but as Atticus wrote from Lanuvium it is likely that he passed upon the edict before it was issued. ATTICUS IN POLITICS. 93 followed after the publication.^** About a week later, writing that the courteous tone of the edicts gave him confidence and hope,2*» he sent a request from Brutus that Cicero meet and advise him before June i,^^*^ the day appointed for the meeting of the senate. He tried to persuade Cicero to further the cause by political writing, advising first a history of the times, ex- posing to posterity the ruthless masters of the state,"^ next the embodiment of the same material in a book of anecdotes,"- next a contio for the use of Brutus, and, when Cicero pointed out the thanklessness of that task,^^^ an ideal oration purport- ing to be spoken by Brutus after the assassination of Caesar."* Upon Cicero's protest that such an oration would be a reflec- tion on the speech that Brutus had actually delivered and had afterwards circulated, Atticus only pressed his request for a piece of writing more strongly, varying the terms ; " something in the manner of Heracleides," he urged.^^'^ Cicero promised to consider such a pamphlet, but asked leave to wait until he was less out of humor with the political situation.^^* Atticus must have accepted the postponement with regret, since it was just because the times were "out of joint" that he wanted Cicero to write. At parting from Atticus in July, Cicero prom- ised to begin work on the pamphlet on reaching Brundisium.^"^ Besides, Atticus kept in touch with his old friends among the Caesarians,*" and doubtless seconded, if he did not sug- gest, the efforts of Brutus and Cassius to form a party among them."* He seems finally to have assented, however, to the 2« XIV. 20, 4. 2*9 XV. I, 3 ; the plural shows that Antony had replied. 2«oXV. I, 5. 2" XIV. 14, 5. 252 XIV. 17, 6. 2" XIV. 20, 3 ; XV. 2, 2. 2«*XV. 3, 2;cf. la. 2. 286 XV. 4. 3. 256 XV. 4, 3. 2" XV. 27, 2. 258 XVI. 2, 5 ; 3, 5 ; Ad Fam. XI. 29. 260 XIV. 20, 4; XV. 5, I ; 6, I ; for Atticus advising Cassius, see XIV. 19, I. h I 94 TITUS POMPONIUS ATTICUS. judgment that Cicero passed upon them, specifically upon Hir- tius and Balbus, "They are afraid of peace"— a phrase aptly conveying the essential instability of a state in which large property holdings rested on confiscation.^®'' During the latter part of April and the whole of May, such reports of Antony's plans-®^ were current that toward the end of May Atticus confessed that he could not advise the tyran- nicides,2«2 ^nd Cicero, when appealed to, wrote that he also was devoid of counsel.^®^ The pacific protest of Brutus and Cas- sius^"* brought them no reassurance from Antony, and they did not venture to appear in Rome. After the ineffectual meet- ing of the senate on June i and the pushing through of An- tony's designs on Gaul in the assembly on June 2, when it began to be reported that the provinces of Brutus and Cassius would be discussed in the senate on June 5, Atticus was sum- moned to a special conference at Lanuvium, but was unable to go.^®* He was not present at the conference of the same sort that Cicero attended at Antium on June 8, where the question was discussed whether Brutus and Cassius should allow them- selves to be removed from Italy as commissioners of grain.'-*** One result of these conferences was that Brutus decided to celebrate his praetorial games, in order to keep his cause before the public. As his friends thought it too imprudent for him to appear in Rome, the preparations and the actual production had to be administered by others, and for these Atticus was largely responsible. He spared no labor, as Brutus spared no expense, in his efforts to interest and please the spectators. He watched the production and its effect, and sent accounts to Cicero at Puteoli and to Brutus, who was tarrying in the island 2«o XIV. 6, 1 : 10, 2; 21, 2 and 4; XV. 2, 3 ; 22. «" XIV. 14, 4; 21, 2; 22, 2; XV. 4, I. ««» XV. 4, 2. »«»XV. 5. I. "* Ad Fam. XI. 2. ^•*XV. 9, 2; 10, I. t««XV. 9, I ; II, I ; Atticus and Cicero were at Lanuvium together at least once during this period (XV. 20, 2). ATTICUS IN POLITICS. 95 of Nesis hoping that the games would produce some mani- festation in his favor.-®" In the meantime, the position of Atticus was complicated by the recurrence of the Buthrotian trouble. Caesar's death had left uncompleted the plan to deflect th^ colonists to another place of settlement, and the matter had to be taken up afresh with those in control of affairs. The case was clear and well attested and its equity w^as evident,^®* but there was reason to fear that much depended on the caprice of the consuls. At- ticus' fortune, as well as his reputation for influence in the politico-financial world, was at stake,^®^ and he consequently feared to antagonize Antony. It was probably on account of Buthrotum that Cicero, who answered Atticus' earnest appeals by protesting an equal interest in the cause,^^^ in late April gave a favorable reply to Antony's request about the return of Sex- tus Clodius, deeply as he disapproved of Antony's action."^ Atticus hoped for action in the senate on June i, and urged Cicero to attend even after Cicero pointed out the impossibility of accomplishing anything in the senate when Antony was steadily gathering troops.^^^ Atticus evidently gave up the hope of senatorial action during the last days of May, fior Cicero in those days decided against going to Rome, though he held himself in readiness, until the last moment, to start at a summons from Atticus.^^' After the execution of Caesar's acta was put into the hands of the consuls by the plebescite of June 2,^^* Atticus submitted to them the case of Buthrotum; they gave a favorable answer at once.^^* 2«TXV. 10, i; II, 2; cf. 12, i; 18, 2; 21, 2; 24; 28; XVI. I, i; 2, 3; 5. 3 ; Phil. I. 36. 2«» XIV. 12, I. 2«» Cf . XVI. 16A, 7. 2T0XIV. io,3;XV. 2, i;4,3. *^* XIV. 13, 6 * XV. I 2. "i XIV. 14, 6; 17, 2; 19, 4; 20, 2; XV. I, 2; 2, 2; 4, I and 3. 2T»XV. 8, I. 2T4XVI. 16C, II. "»See XV. 12, I, written on June 9 or 10; in his first letter to Plancus (XVI. 16A, 6), Cicero says that the case was submitted to the consuls and favorably passed on by them after they had been entrusted 9v TITUS POMPON lUS ATTICUS. By the middle of June, however, when Atticus was already burdened with the preparation for Brutus* games, he found that Lucius Antony was obstructing the settlement of the Buthrotian aflFair, and, later, that the case had to be referred to a decemvirate of land commissioners ;"« he confessed that he was in despair. He and Cicero brought every possible influ- ence to bear upon the consuls, and Cicero wrote repeatedly to Plancus, the leader of the colonists, to members of Plancus' suite, and to Oppius.^" About the end of the first week in July, Atticus was able to report that the matter was settled.^'* A week or two later, he met Antony at Tibur, and pocketing all the grievances that he cherished on behalf of his friends, thanked him warmly for his assistance in the affair of Buthro- tum. He wrote apologetically of this dissimulation to Cicero, who answered with unqualified approval : " As you say, our fortunes will be with us when the constitution has fallen to pieces.***^* Atticus now planned a trip to Epirus.^so and Cicero and Brutus were both considering retiring to Greece. Cicero sub- mitted to Atticus the question whether it was honorable, pos- sible and expedient for him to leave the country, declaring his willingness to stay until he had done all in his power for Brutus.^" It was agreed between them that Cicero might well go, with the proviso that he should return by January i, when Antony's consulate would be ended and there might be hope for constitutional government.^" He left during the last week in July.*®^ with the execution of the acta by a senatus consultum, i.e., after March 17; the evidence of the letters shows that the statement to Capito is more accurate. "«XV. IS, i; 19, I. Ill SXv '7' I ; 19, 1 ; 14. 2; 27. 2; XVI. 2, 5 ; 16. A-F. 2T8 XVI. 2, I and 5. "• XVI. 3, I. "•XV. 27, 2; XVI. 2, 6. Ill ^lYr' 7» 2; 13. 4; 14. 7; 15, 2; 16, 3. "2 XVI. I, 3; 2, 4 and 6; 6. 2. "»XV.27.2;XVI.6. P ^ P ) > r f ATTICUS IN POLITICS. 97 As it turned out, neither Brutus nor Atticus left Italy at that time. When Cicero, thrown back upon Italy by contrary winds, came into contact with Roman affairs again, he found that the position of the tyrannicides wore a more positive and promis- ing aspect.^®* It was a most unwelcome surprise to him to find Atticus criticising his absence from the country, saying that Cato would hardly have approved it. He answered that At- ticus would have served as his Cato, then as always, if he had only expressed such opinions earlier.^^® Evidently either Cicero had misinterpreted Atticus* letters informing him of public sentiment in favor of his going, not sufficiently weigh- ing, in his eagerness, the persistence of certain reservations that Atticus had expressed at the first, or Atticus had been in- fluenced, during Cicero's absence, by sentiment in the circle of Brutus* friends — where there seems indeed to have been a new activity — and had really changed his mind about Cicero's right to be absent. When Cicero returned he declared against assuming political leadership, as Brutus wanted him to do.^®® Two months later he opened a letter by concurring with Atticus' decision, " Our role is, not to lead a party or even to form one, but to co- operate where we can.** The same letter committed the sec- ond Philippic to the care of Atticus, leaving with him the de- cision as to when it should be published. Atticus was still postponing a break with Antony. He even talked of an under- standing between him and Cicero, but Cicero felt that silence, i. e., the temporary suppression of the second Philippic, was a more feasible policy. Both felt that they would gain by wait- ing until Antony was no longer consul, and that in the mean- time events might favor them. The progress of Sextus Pom- pey in Spain still gave foundation for hope, but Antony was "♦XVI. 7, I and 7; Ad Fam. XI. 3; Phil. I. 10. 285 XVI. 7, 2-5. In view of this letter, one must take the magna hir-fi of XVI. 5, 4, as simply the facts given in Atticus' letter, showing the dangers gathering in Italy. 28«XVI. 7, 7;cf. P;ji7. V. 20. I * 1 98 TITUS POMPONIUS ATTICUS. landing legions from the East; it was no moment to defy him. Cicero felt a strong impetus to write the Heracleidean pam- phlet, and asked Atticus, who still desired it eagerly, to decide on its nature and plan.^®^ One reason, doubtless, why Atticus held back from action was that he questioned the wisdom of using the one instru- ment against Antony that was at hand, Octavian. In spite of the conspicuous deference which that youth had shown to Cicero from the time of his arrival in Italy in April,2»» Atticus remained sceptical. He had disliked Octavian's first contio, delivered in May, had disapproved of his games in honor of the victory of Pharsalia.^*** and had been pleased when his efforts to display insignia of Caesar were thwarted and con- demned.2»« Cicero at first suspended judgment,-"^ but by No- vember Octavian's assiduity in consulting him forced him into a reluctant sponsorship for the young man's advance to Rome with his soldiers.=*"2 jj^ realized that the absence of Brutus left the opponents of Antony dependent on Octavian for de- fense.-**^ Atticus still resisted this conviction.-^* Though Octavian showed an admirable intention to defer to the sen- ate^M and constantly urged the leadership of his party on Cicero,^*® Atticus, even while recognizing that the battle was on between Octavian and Antony and that the issue pressed for a decision,^^^ warned Cicero that Octavian's accession to power would mean an even more unassailable ratification of Caesar's acta than Antony had achieved, and that the result ««T XV. 13. 188 XIV. II, 2; 12, 2. "• XV. 2, 3. «» XV. 3. 2. »«XV. I2,2;XVI. 8, i;9. 2»2XVI. 8, 2; cf. 9, consilio tuo, «•» XVI. 8, I and 2. «»* Cicero was probably influenced by Atticus in his desire not to commit himself to Octavian's cause without good backing. Cf. XVI. 9, Nil sine Pansa tuo volo. «»*XVI. 9; 11,6. 2WXVI. 9: II. 6. 2"Cf. XVI. 13a, 2; 14, I. P '# ATTICUS IN POLITICS. 99 would be pernicious for Brutus.^®* A contio in which Octa- vian praised Caesar added to his distrust.^®^ He besought Cicero to move slowly, cautiously,^**" reminding him that the overthrow of Antony would not in itself guarantee a free state, and calling his attention to the fact that Casca's candidacy for the tribunate, on which Octavian wx)uld have to take a stand by December 13, offered them an adequate test of his real in- tentions with regard to the tyrannicides.^®^ When Cicero submitted to Atticus the question of his com- ing to Rome before January i, alleging again and again his fear that some valiant stroke would be struck while he was ingloriously absent,^*'^ Atticus first deflected him from his in- tention of reaching Rome on November 15,^**^ sending him down to Arpinum instead,^"* and in early December was still holding him there^*^^ until the issue of events should be more clear. * It seems, however, that he had outlined a policy which was merely postponed until the time should be ripe, a policy in which Cicero promised to follow his lead, depending upon his assistance.^**^ Curiously enough, Cicero closed the last letter to Atticus with a despairing abnegation of all patriotic interests, and a declaration that his only concern was for his threatened finan- cial reputation.^*^^ This letter, dated early in December, was followed by his return to Rome and by that struggle against Antony in which he proved his patriotism by the activities of 298 XVI. 14, I. 2M XVI. 15, 3. «o« XVI. 14, 2. 801 XVI. 15, 3 ; Cicero had already, in conversation with Oppius, post- poned a decision until this test should be applied (XVI. 15, 3). If Ad Brut, I. 16 and 17 be counted as genuine, and if in 17, 6, Octavius be read for Antonius, there is evidence that by May of 43 Atticus was willing to vouch for the sincerity of Octavian's professions. 802 XVI. 12; 10; 13b, I. »o» XVI. 13, 2. »o* XVI. 13, 2. »o5 XVI. 15, 6. 806 XVI. 13, I. SOT XVI. 15, 4-6. 100 TITUS POMPONIUS ATTICUS. his last days. The return to Rome, which took place on De- cember 9,3«« was necessitated by business difficulties,^"^ but it is likely that Atticus gave the signal for the opening of the struggle. Antony had left Rome on November 28, and news must soon have reached the capital of his failure to regain con- trol of his mutinous troops. The publication of the second Philippic was Cicero's declaration of war."" On the later years of Atticus information is very slight. Nepos says that he never financed a political movement, and that even when the friends of Brutus proposed raising a fund to support the cause of the tyrannicides, Atticus refused to co- operate."* No conclusion can be drawn from this instance, as we do not know who were the proposers nor what was Atticus' estimate of their ability to handle money, yet it is probable that the determination not to stake his fortune on a political hazard was a part of the program of neutrality that Atticus had adopted for his personal course early in life, and that nothing but a combination of belief in a party and confidence in its management such as was vouchsafed to him only once would have tempted him to depart from his rule. Another principle that Atticus adopted early and adhered to tenaciously was that of political amnesty. Even after the death of Cicero and Brutus, Atticus lived on good terms with the victors.^'- If this was due partly to regard for his own safety, it was doubtless partly determined by the conviction, formed in his earliest experience in Rome and strengthened by his ob- servation in Greece, that a state which suffered the perpetua- »<«y|rf. Faiff. XI. 5. I. 8o» XVI. 15, 5 and 6. "0 Our only information on Atticus' position during the rest of Cicero's hfe IS the evidence of Ad Brut. 16 and 17. If these are genuine, At- ticus was still trying to promote harmony between his friends and urging on Brutus the support that he owed to Cicero. Ill ii*; ^' ?• ^^ was Flayius who asked Atticus to head the movement. »" At least eventually ; Nep.^«. 19; the betrothal of Caecilia through Antony s mediation probably took place in 36. It may have been An- tony s expression of gratitude for Atticus' kindness to Fulvia. Dru- mann, V. 89. Groebe conjectures 37 as the date of the betrothal. It must have come before the final break between Antony and Octavius ^ 1 v**' # I* / ^ ATTICUS IN POLITICS. 101 tion of political grievances was neither fit to live in nor des- tined to survive. His quiescence was not servile. He always maintained his privilege of serving the vanquished. Nepos gives a long list of victims of party defeat whom Atticus assisted with money — the younger Marius in his flight from Rome,^^^ Cicero at the time of his exile,'^" Brutus on his withdrawal from Italy ,^" various Antonians, among them Fulvia, after the battle of Mutina,^^® the expatriated republicans after Philippi.*^^ It satisfied not only his generosity but also his fastidious sense of honor to prove the disinterestedness of his friendship by serv- ing those whom it was unprofitable and perhaps dangerous to serve.^^* Atticus' counsel, like his money, served best in hours of de- feat. Cicero felt that he could rely on the shrewdness of At- ticus to measure the difficulties of a situation and to decide whether it called for action or submission. He trusted Atticus* insight in regard to character and motive. In a great measure this confidence was justified, yet the judgment of Atticus was by no means unerring. He was sometimes influenced by sen- timent, though less so than Cicero. In the case of Caesar, his estimate seems to have been too much determined by old dis- trust, second-hand impressions, rumors, too little by an open minded observation of the man's development. While he ad- mired bold initiative action, his temperamental caution kept him from recommending it ; even at times when he longed to see it tried, he could not make large or effective plans for it. The greatest value of his counsel lay in its constant moral stimulus. If he could not advise great action, he could advise great renimciations. Whether he could have steeled himself to recommending martyrdom if he had thought cause and oc- »i3 Ati. 2, 2. »i* Ibid. 4, 4. 315 Ibid. 8, 6. '!« Ibid. 9, 3 and 4. »i^ Ibid. II, I ; cf. 12, 3 and 5. 318 Ibid. 2, 3-5. 102 TITUS POMPONIUS ATTK I S. ,| ^11 casion worthy it is not possible to say : he certainly did net want C icero to suffer niartyrdoni for the sake of Ponipey nor Brutus at the hands of Antony. lUit there was in him stren^nh *V^^7'' ^ "'*^^ *'^ ^'"^ ^^^^"^ proffered advancement for the sake of principle, to insist on work in smaller splieres when he had thus closed to himself the g^rcat avenues to prosperity and honors, and throuR-h years of sudi work to supply him' witli patience, courage and a sense of accomplishment. VITA. I was born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, August 28, 1876. My father was John Mill Byrne, my mother Mary Reinhold Byrne. I received my early education in the public schools of Lancaster and the Millersville State Normal School, from which I was graduated in 1894. In the summer of 1904 I took courses in Latin and Greek at Cornell University under Professor Bennett, Mr. Durham and Professor Bristol. In November, 1906, I received permission througli a special ruling of the Council of Wellesley College to pass off courses by examination. After completing three years of work by the presentation of papers and by examina- tion, I entered the college as a resident student in September, ic)07, and was graduated with the degree of Bachelor of Arts in June, 1908. I taught various subjects, principally Greek and Latin, in the Union 1 ligh School, Coleraine, Pennsylvania, 1 894-1896, 1899- 1900, in Mrs. Blackwood's School, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, i896-i89(}. 1900-1901, in Miss Stahr's School, afterwards the Shippen School, Lancaster, 1901-1909, in Miss Hills' School, Philadelphia, 1909-1911, and in the Baldwin School, Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, 1911-1917. In the year 1917-1918 I have been Associate Professor of Latin and Greek in the West- ern College for Women, Oxford, Ohio. During the years 1909-1916, I studied at Bryn Mawr Col- lege, taking graduate courses in Latin under Dr. Wheeler and Dr. Frank, in Greek under Dr. Sanders and Dr. Wright. To all these professors I wish to express my indebtedness. The work on my dissertation has been done under the direction of Dr. Frank, to w^hom especially I owe gratitude for stimulus and counsel. I took the preliminary examinations required of candidates for a doctorate of philosophy in December, 191 5 and January, 191 6, the final examination in June, 19 18. 103 '( i Ml f COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY lIBnARlES I ,,lj| ' f 10 4 l> OD ^ flD 00 O mull " ii'".,»ii#. ,*l