development mark a very noticeable advance upon the thoughtladen lines of Lucretius or the artificial hexameters of Catullus. I have been unable to discover any authority for Andresen's statement that Cicero's poetry found no favor among his contemporaries. Cp. on the contrary, de leg. I 1.

29 sed felicius quia illos fecisse pauciores sciunt: It is in such epigrammatic phrases as this and others (e. g. c. 18 8 27 12 12 13 15 18 15 23 17 27 11 37 28. 38 40 25) that we may recognise the future author of the Histories and Annals. Cp. Proleg. xlii n. 82.

30 videtur mihi inter Menenios et Appios studuisse: On the style of Asinius Pollio, cf. the very similar observation of Quint. X 1, 113 a nitore et iucunditate Ciceronis ita longe abest ut videri potest saeculo prior. It is remarkable that Asinius, not unlike Seneca in this respect, was so blind to his own faults as to censure others for the very stylistic peculiarities which were conspicuous in his own writings. Cf. Sueton. de gramm. p. 108 de eodem (sc. Ateio Philologo) Asinius Pollio in libro quo Sallustii scripta reprehendit ut nimia priscorum verborum adfectatione oblita. The remark of Livy, preserved by Sen. Contr. IX 25, 26, on certain orators 'qui verba antiqua et sordida consectantur et orationis obscuritatem severitatem putent,' has not unreasonably been supposed to refer to Asinius.

31 Menenios et Appios: The rhetorical plural of proper names denoting a class, a kind of antonomasia, is extremely frequent in all periods of the language (cp. Kühner II p. 50 Gerber, Sprache als Kunst II 38) but rarely used, as here, by way of censure. Cf. e. g. Cic. Brut. 69, 244 non putabam te usque ad Stalenos ... esse venturum Sen. Ep. 97, 10 omne tempus Clodios, non omne Catones feret Tac. H. I 37 plus rapuit Icelus quam Polycliti et Vatinii et Aegiali II, 95 libertus Vitellii Asiaticus Polyclitos Patrobios et vetera (perhaps 'cetera,' see following passage) odiorum nomina Ann. XII 60 Matios posthac et Vedios et cetera. . . praevalida nomina. Elsewhere in Tac. in the ordinary sense. Cf. H. IV 8 Ann. I 10, 28 II 33 VI 2 XV 14 XVI 22. In c. 37 11 we have a genuine plural. studuisse 'to study' is post-Aug. usage. So

c. 32 8 34 10.

-

33 durus = 'asper, insuave, Tpaɣú, dvopovov.' Cf. Sen. Ep. 100, 7 compositio Asinii salebrosa et exsiliens et, ubi minime expectas, relictura. Hor. Ep. II 1, 66 dure dicere Quint. X 1, 93 durior

Gallus.

siccus='aridus, exilis, inanis, ieiunus, strigosus έnpós' opposed to uber, plenus.' Cf. Quint. XI 1, 32 siccum et sollicitum et contractum dicendi propositum Gell. XIV 1, 32 sicca et incondita et propemodum ieiuna and Quint. X 2, 17 tristes et ieiuni Pollionem aemulantur. Although Aper does not shrink from exaggeration and misrepresentation, if it suits his purpose, I cannot believe that he here intends to say that Asinius faithfully reproduced the style and manner of the old poets throughout his orations no less than in his tragedies. It seems much more natural and plausible to assume that his contention, be it true or false, was this: In the tragedies of Asinius, Pacuvius and Accius live over again and even in his speeches we constantly find the same archaic flavor.

All that is necessary to bring out this meaning is the insertion of 'in' before orationibus,' which easily dropped out owing to the preceding 'm.' The capricious change from an instrumental abl. to a prepositional phrase, though peculiarly characteristic of Tacitus, is still rare in the minor writings. Cp. Kučera, Die tacit. Inconcinnität p. 16 Dr. Stil § 105. The present instance, however, as well as c. 31 35, is not a case in point, for in both these passages a difference of meaning is involved. Cf. crit. note c. 13 20.

oratio autem sicut corpus hominis: A beautifully elaborated metaphor. On the favorite characterisation of stylistic or rhetorical qualities by terms relating to the human body, see note c. 21 4. To the parallel instances there cited, add c. 31 19 f. orator . . . tenebit venas animorum et . . . adhibebit manum et temperabit orationem Cic. de orat. I 52, 223 orator teneat oportet venas cuiusque generis Plin. Ep. V 8, 10 hane (sc. historiam) saepius ossa, musculi, nervi, illam (sc. orationem) tori quidam . . . decent.

37 nec per ipsum stetit: cannot even be held responsible in his own person,' a common idiom usually followed by 'quominus,' rarely by 'quin' or 'ne.' Nec ne- quidem as in c. 8 26, where see note. Cp. also G. 6 Ann. XI 30 XII 43 XIV 55 and Dr. H. S. II 73.

39 videmus enim quam: 'for we observe, how little.' This signification of quam,' especially after videre' is also idiomatic and frequent in Cicero. Cf. Rhet. ad Her. IV 20 videt...quam conveniat Cic. de orat. II 31, 133 ut videatis quam sit genus hoc (how unimportant.' Wilkins less justly, it would seem, reads quale with codd. mutili) 42, 180 vide quam sim . . . deus 'how far I am from being a god in such matters' III 14, 51 vides quam alias res agamus

...

...

'how little attention we pay' pro Sull. 11, 33 attende. . . quam ego defugiam (where see Halm's note) Liv. XXVIII 42, 20 quam compar consilium tuum . . . reputa. The meaning of the entire passage is clearly this. The absence of stylistic brilliancy so noticeable in the speeches of Corvinus is not so much due to ignorance of the requirements of a proper oratorical style but rather to his mediocre abilities which prevented him from carrying out whatever of good intentions he may have had. But want of natural talents is, in Aper's opinion, a less justifiable cause for censure than mistakes of taste or judgment which imply a lack of proper training. The truth of the criticism itself, is only partially confirmed by other passages. Quint. X 1, 113, does indeed deny vigor to Corvinus (viribus minor) but the author of Ep. ad Brut. I 15, 1 has a high opinion of Messalla's genius and sound judgment. ita gravi iudicio multaque arte se exercuit in verissimo genere dicendi. Tanta autem industria est tantumque evigilat in studio, ut non maxima ingenio quod in eo summum est, gratia habenda videatur Sen. Contr. II 12, 8 (cited 18, 1) praises the purity of his style which Quint. 1. c. and I 7, 35 distinguishes by the epithet 'nitidus,' a synonym of ornatus' and finally Aper himself, in apparent self-contradiction, had characterised his diction (c. 18 11) as being 'dulcior et magis elaboratus' than Cicero's. The entire passage furnishes an example of the rhetorical figure commonly known as apádays or praeteritio. Cp. G. Gebauer, de praeterit. formis apud oratt. Att. Zwickau 1874 Straub, 1. c. p. 102-104 and G. Gerber, Spr. als Kunst II2 p. 276 f.

6

The interpretation given above is based upon the easy and evident emendation of John (Correspbl. p. 10-12) who clearly showed that the videmus clause' must be causal, furnishing the reason for the alleged oratorical deficiency of Corvinus. Peter, followed by Andresen, assumed two coördinate statements, (1) Corvinus was but a child of his day and as such under the controlling influence of the prevailing taste and culture. (2) His natural endowments did not keep pace with his better judgment. John has observed that the former of these assertions was equally applicable as an apology for the shortcomings of all the orators whom Aper had no scruples in condemning, and that there is no necessary logical connection between the two remarks in any case. This is true, but it should also have been added, that not even the idea itself, though the antithesis is common enough (e. g. Sen. Fragm. 112 non fuit Ciceronis hoc vitium sed temporis Ep. 97, 1 hominum sunt ista non temporum), is in reality contained in the words of the text; for they simply express a concrete statement of an alleged lack of stylistic embellishment in the speeches of Corvinus.

22. 1 eadem pugna: referring to Cicero's polemical encounters with Calvus and his school, who professed to follow the model of the Attic orators (designated by 'antiquos' immediately below). Cf. Sen. Cont. VII 4 (19) 6 Calvus qui diu cum Cicerone iniquissimam litem de principatu eloquentiae habuit, and in general Blass Griech. Bereds . . . bis auf Aug. p. 75–148.

3 suorum temporum eloquentiam anteponebat, i. e. The Rhodian and to a certain extent also some of the less exaggerated Asianic types of oratory.

The X class of MSS. here followed by all editors with the exception of Baehrens, reads 'oratores aetatis eiusdem' (Peter: orat. eiusd. aet.) but this collocation is a flagrant violation of Tacitean usage, for out of nearly 500 examples of an attributive idem' and its inflected forms, it is placed after the substantive to which it belongs in but five passages of the Annals, viz., Ann. II 14 nox eadem XIII 17 nocte eadem necem XIV 9 nocte eadem (but H. III 10 eadem nocte) III 69 viro quondam ordinis eiusdem VI 32 Tiridatem sanguinis eiusdem aemulum. Again, 'eiusdem' and its noun, with the solitary exception just cited, invariably precedes the substantive which it modifies. Cf. e. g. 34 14 eiusdem aetatis patronos 25 14 eorundem temporum disertos 28 17 eiusdem familiae suboles G. 39 eiusdem sanguinis populi Ann. II 84 eiusdem fastigii viro III 76 eiusdem nobilitatis nomina.

5 primus excoluit orationem: 'generally improved upon oratorical composition.' In the succeeding statements these improvements are severally specified. — On the expression itself, cf. Quint. VIII 3, 86 sunt multi ac varii excolendae orationis modi, and in general the discussion in Sen. Ep. 100.- primus verbis delectum adhibuit: This corresponds to ἐκλογὴ τῶν ὀνομάτων which consists in the careful selection of an idiomatic and appropriate vocabulary and the avoidance of archaic or obsolete terms. Cf. Dion. Halic. De compos. verb. 1, 8 ἐκλογῇ χρήσεσθαι καθαρῶν ἅμα καὶ γενναίων ὀνομάτων 9 ἐὰν δὲ ἐγγένηταί μοι σχολὴ καὶ περὶ τῆς ἐκλογῆς τῶν ὀνομάτων ἑτέραν ¿¿oíσw σoɩ ypaþýv Cic. de orat. III 37, 150 in propriis igitur verbis illa laus oratoris ut abiecta atque obsoleta fugiat, lectis atque inlustribus utatur . . . in hoc verborum genere propriorum delectus est habendus sqq. It was this subject that formed the principal topic of Caesar's work de analogia. Cf. the fragment in Gell. I 10, 4 habe semper in memoria et in pectore ut tamquam scopulum, sic fugias inauditum atque insolens verbum. - Concerning the justice of the statement itself, see the passage from the Orator quoted below. On the orthography of 'delectus,' corrected throughout

to 'dilectus' by the scribe of the cod. Mediceus cp. Pfitzner, Die Ann... krit. beleuchtet p. 48 and Wilkins, de orat. 1. c.

6 compositioni: On the meaning of 'compositio,' see note c. 21 17 and on Cicero's theory and practice, cp. G. Wuest, Dissert. Argentorat. Vol. V (1882) p. 227 ff. E. Müller, De numero Ciceroniano, Berlin 1886 (Kiel Diss.) and in general, G. Amsel De vi... rhythmorum quid veteres indicaverint Breslau 1887.- Concerning both the requirements here mentioned, cp. Quint. X 3, 5 delectus enim rerum verborumque agendus est et pondera singulorum examinanda. Post subeat ratio collocandi versenturque omni modo numeri, non ut quodque se proferet verbum occupet locum etc. locos quoque laetiores attentavit: laetus as a rhetorical term is equivalent to 'ornatus' av@npós. On the implied metaphor, see Sandys' Cic. Orat. 24, 81. Cp. also Amm. Marc. XXIX 2, 8 figurarum commentis splendida loca attentare. May not this be one

of the many Tacitean reminiscences of this author?

7 sententias: Cf. note c. 20 16. - - On the entire passage, cf. Quint. XI 1, 49 reum. . . fictis aut repetitis ex vetustate verbis, compositione quae sit maxime a vulgari usu remota, decurrentibus periodis quam laetissimis locis sententiisque dicentem.

8 senior iam et iuxta finem vitae composuit: e. g. pro Milone (51 B. C.) pro Ligario (50 B. c. Cf. Plut. Cic. 39) pro Deiotaro (44) B. C.), Philippica (44/43 B. c.).- iuxta='sub,' designating approach in time, is a. eip. It must be noted, however, that this particular preposition is also elsewhere in Tacitus used in very singular significations. Cf. G. 21 periculosiores sunt inimicitiae iuxta libertatem in proportion to' 30 velocitas iuxta formidinem is not far removed from.'On the thought, see Cic. Brut. 2, 8 cumque ipsa oratio iam nostra canesceret haberetque suam quandam maturitatem et quasi senectutem.

The two classes of our MSS are here again pitted against each other, as in 1. 4, the one reading 'iam senior' and the other senior iam.' Tacitean usage again compels us to decide in favor of Y, for omitting such stereotyped collocations as iam vero, iam pridem, iam dudum,' and observing that 'iam' shows a very strong tendency to combine with 'et, ac, ut, non, nisi, si, que' and the like, I find that the postpositive use of iam is the rule in the Dialogus. Cf. c. 3 11 7 17 8 17 17 14 18 7 19 19 20 9. 18 31 27 32 30 33 9 34 2. See Am. Jour. Phil. XII 446 f.

postquam magis profecerat: postquam with the pluperf. ind. seems to be more frequent in Tac. (28 times) than in other writers.