Section XIII.

[a] The rural delight of Virgil is described by himself:

Rura mihi et rigui placeant in vallibus amnes; Flumina amem, sylvasque inglorius. O ubi campi, Sperchiusque, et virginibus bacchata Lacaenis Taygeta! O quis me gelidis sub montibus Haemi Sistat, et ingenti ramorum protegat umbra? GEORGICA, lib. ii. ver. 485.

Me may the lowly vales and woodland please, And winding rivers, and inglorious ease; O that I wander'd by Sperchius' flood, Or on Taygetus' sacred top I stood! Who in cool Haemus' vales my limbs will lay, And in the darkest thicket hide from day? WHARTON'S VIRG.

Besides this poetical retreat, which his imagination could command at any time, Virgil had a real and delightful villa near Naples, where he composed his Georgics, and wrote great part of the AEneid.

[b] When Augustus, or any eminent citizen, distinguished by his public merit, appeared in the theatre, the people testified their joy by acclamations, and unbounded applause. It is recorded by Horace, that Maecenas received that public honour.

——Datus in theatro Cum tibi plausus, Care Maecenas eques, ut paterni Fluminis ripae, simul et jocosa Redderet laudes tibi Vaticani Montis imago. Lib. i. ode 20.

When Virgil appeared, the audience paid the same compliment to a man whose poetry adorned the Roman story. The letters from Augustus, which are mentioned in this passage, have perished in the ruins of ancient literature.

[c] Pomponius Secundus was of consular rank, and an eminent writer of tragedy. See Annals, b. ii. s. 13. His life was written by Pliny the elder, whose nephew mentions the fact (book iii. epist. 5), and says it was a tribute to friendship. Quintilian pronounces him the best of all the dramatic poets whom he had seen; though the critics whose judgement was matured by years, did not think him sufficiently tragical. They admitted, however, that his erudition was considerable, and the beauty of his composition surpassed all his contemporaries. Eorum, quos viderim, longe princeps Pomponius Secundus, quem senes parum tragicum putabant, eruditione ac nitore praestare confitebantur. Lib. x. cap. 1.

[d] Quintilian makes honourable mention of Domitius Afer. He says, when he was a boy, the speeches of that orator for Volusenus Catulus were held in high estimation. Et nobis pueris insignes pro Voluseno Catulo Domitii Afri orationes ferebantur. Lib. x. cap 1. He adds, in another part of the same chapter, that Domitius Afer and Julius Africanus were, of all the orators who flourished in his time, without comparison the best. But Afer stands distinguished by the splendour of his diction, and the rhetorical art which he has displayed in all his compositions. You would not scruple to rank him among the ancient orators. Eorum quos viderim, Domitius Afer et Julius Secundus longe praestantissimi. Verborum arte ille, et toto genere dicendi praeferendus, et quem in numero veterum locare non timeas. Lib. x. cap. 1. Quintilian relates, that in a conversation which he had when a young man, he asked Domitius Afer what poet was, in his opinion, the next to Homer? The answer was, Virgil is undoubtedly the second epic poet, but he is nearer to the first than to the third. Utar enim verbis, quae ex Afro Domitio juvenis accepi; qui mihi interroganti, quem Homero crederet maxime accedere: Secundus, inquit, est Virgilius, propior tamen primo quam tertio. Lib. x. cap. 1. We may believe that Quintilian thought highly of the man whose judgement he cites as an authority. Quintilian, however, had in view nothing but the talents of this celebrated orator. Tacitus, as a moral historian, looked at the character of the man. He introduces him on the stage of public business in the reign of Tiberius, and there represents him in haste to advance himself by any kind of crime. Quoquo facinore properus clare cere. He tells us, in the same passage (Annals, b. iv. s. 52), that Tiberius pronounced him an orator in his own right, suo jure disertum. Afer died in the reign of Nero, A.U.C. 812, A.D. 59. In relating his death, Tacitus observes, that he raised himself by his eloquence to the first civil honours; but he does not dismiss him without condemning his morals. Annals, b. xiv. s. 19.

[e] We find in the Annals and the History of Tacitus, a number of instances to justify the sentiments of Maternus. The rich found it necessary to bequeath part of their substance to the prince, in order to secure the remainder for their families. For the same reason, Agricola made Domitian joint heir with his wife and daughter. Life of Agricola, section 43.

[f] By a law of the Twelve Tables, a crown, when fairly earned by virtue, was placed on the head of the deceased, and another was ordered to be given to his father. The spirit of the law, Cicero says, plainly intimated, that commendation was a tribute due to departed virtue. A crown was given not only to him who earned it, but also to the father, who gave birth to distinguished merit. Illa jam significatio est, laudis ornamenta ad mortuos pertinere, quod coronam virtute partam, et ei qui peperisset, et ejus parenti, sine fraude lex impositam esse jubet. De Legibus, lib. ii. s. 24. This is the reward to which Maternus aspires; and, that being granted, he desires, as Horace did before him, to waive the pomp of funeral ceremonies.

Absint inani funere naeniae, Luctusque turpes et querimoniae; Compesce clamorem, ac sepulchri Mitte supervacuos honores. Lib. ii. ode 20.

My friends, the funeral sorrow spare, The plaintive song, and tender tear; Nor let the voice of grief profane, With loud laments, the solemn scene; Nor o'er your poet's empty urn With useless idle sorrow mourn. FRANCIS'S HORACE.

Section XIV.

[a] Vipstanius Messala commanded a legion, and, at the head of it, went over to Vespasian's party in the contention with Vitellius. He was a man of illustrious birth, and equal merit; the only one, says Tacitus, who entered into that war from motives of virtue. Legioni Vipstanius Messala praeerat, claris majoribus, egregius ipse, et qui solus ad id bellum artes bonas attulisset. Hist. lib. iii. s. 9. He was brother to Regulus, the vile informer, who has been mentioned. See Life of Agricola, section 2. note a, and this tract, s. xii. note [b]. Messala, we are told by Tacitus, before he had attained the senatorian age, acquired great fame by pleading the cause of his profligate brother with extraordinary eloquence, and family affection. Magnam eo die pietatis eloquentiaeque famam Vipstanius Messala adeptus est; nondum senatoria aetate, ausus pro fratre Aquilio Regulo deprecari. Hist. lib. iv. s. 42. Since Messala has now joined the company, the Dialogue takes a new turn, and, by an easy and natural transition, slides into the question concerning the causes of the decline of eloquence.

[b] This is probably the same Asiaticus, who, in the revolt of the provinces of Gaul, fought on the side of VINDEX. See Hist. b. ii. s. 94. Biography was, in that evil period, a tribute paid by the friends of departed merit, and the only kind of writing, in which men could dare faintly to utter a sentiment in favour of virtue and public liberty.

[c] In the declamations of Seneca and Quintilian, we have abundant examples of these scholastic exercises, which Juvenal has placed in a ridiculous light.

Et nos ergo manum ferulae subduximus, et nos Consilium dedimus Syllae, privatus ut altum Dormiret. Sat. i. ver. 15.

Provok'd by these incorrigible fools, I left declaiming in pedantic schools; Where, with men-boys, I strove to get renown, Advising Sylla to a private gown. DRYDEN'S JUVENAL.

Section XV.

[a] The eloquence of Cicero, and the eminent orators of that age, was preferred by all men of sound judgement to the unnatural and affected style that prevailed under the emperors. Quintilian gives a decided opinion. Cicero, he says, was allowed to be the reigning orator of his time, and his name, with posterity, is not so much that of a man, as of eloquence itself. Quare non immerito ab hominibus aetatis suae, regnare in judiciis dictus est: apud posteros vero id consecutus, ut Cicero jam non hominis, sed eloquentiae nomen habeatur. Lib. x. cap. 1. Pliny the younger professed that Cicero was the orator with whom he aspired to enter into competition. Not content with the eloquence of his own times, he held it absurd not to follow the best examples of a former age. Est enim mihi cum Cicerone aemulatio, nec sum contentus eloquentia saeculi nostri. Nam stultissimum credo, ad imitandum non optima quaeque praeponere. Lib. i. epist. 5.

[b] Nicetes was a native of Smyrna, and a rhetorician in great celebrity. Seneca says (Controversiarum, lib. iv. cap. 25), that his scholars, content with hearing their master, had no ambition to be heard themselves. Pliny the younger, among the commendations which he bestows on a friend, mentions, as a praise-worthy part of his character, that he attended the lectures of Quintilian and Nicetes Sacerdos, of whom Pliny himself was at that time a constant follower. Erat non studiorum tantum, verum etiam studiosorum amantissimus, ac prope quotidie ad audiendos, quos tunc ego frequentabam, Quintilianum et Niceten Sacerdotem, ventitabat. Lib. vi. epist. 6.

[c] Mitylene was the chief city of the isle of Lesbos, in the AEgean Sea, near the coast of Asia. The place at this day is called Metelin, subject to the Turkish dominion. Ephesus was a city of Ionia, in the Lesser Asia, now called Ajaloue by the Turks, who are masters of the place.

[d] Domitius Afer and Julius Africanus have been already mentioned, section xiii. note [d]. Both are highly praised by Quintilian. For Asinius Pollio, see s. xii. note [e].

Section XVI.

[a] Quintilian puts the same question; and, according to him, Demosthenes is the last of the ancients among the Greeks, as Cicero is among the Romans. See Quintilian, lib. viii. cap. 5.

[b] The siege of Troy is supposed to have been brought to a conclusion eleven hundred and ninety-three years before Christian aera. From that time to the sixth year of Vespasian (A.U.C. 828), when this Dialogue was had, the number of years that intervened was about 1268; a period which, with propriety, may be said to be little less than 1300 years.

[c] Demosthenes died, before Christ 322 years, A.U.C. 432. From that time to the sixth of Vespasian, A.U.C. 828, the intervening space was about 396 years. Aper calls it little more than 400 years; but in a conversation-piece strict accuracy is not to be expected.

[d] In the rude state of astronomy, which prevailed during many ages of the world, it was natural that mankind should differ in their computation of time. The ancient Egyptians, according to Diodorus Siculus, lib. i. and Pliny the elder, lib. vii. s. 48, measured time by the new moons. Some called the summer one year, and the winter another. At first thirty days were a lunar year; three, four, and six months were afterwards added, and hence in the Egyptian chronology the vast number of years from the beginning of the world. Herodotus informs us, that the Egyptians, in process of time, formed the idea of the solar or solstitial year, subdivided into twelve months. The Roman year at first was lunar, consisting, in the time of Romulus, of ten months. Numa Pompilius added two. Men saw a diversity in the seasons, and wishing to know the cause, began at length to perceive that the distance or proximity of the sun occasioned the various operations of nature; but it was long before the space of time, wherein that luminary performs his course through the zodiac, and returns to the point from which he set out, was called a year. The great year (annus magnus), or the PLATONIC YEAR, is the space of time, wherein the seven planets complete their revolutions, and all set out again from the same point of the heavens where their course began before. Mathematicians have been much divided in their calculations. Brotier observes, that Riccioli makes the great year 25,920 solar years; Tycho Brahe, 25,816; and Cassini, 24,800. Cicero expressly calls it a period of 12,954 years. Horum annorum, quos in fastis habemus, MAGNUS annos duodecim millia nonagentos quinquaginta quatuor amplectitur solstitiales scilicet. For a full and accurate dissertation on the ANNUS MAGNUS, see the Memoirs of the Academy of Belles Lettres, tom. xxii. 4to edit. p. 82.

Brotier, in his note on this passage, relates a fact not universally known. He mentions a letter from one of the Jesuits on the mission, dated Peking, 25th October 1725, in which it is stated, that in the month of March preceding, when Jupiter, Mars, Venus, and Mercury were in conjunction, the Chinese mathematicians fancied that an approximation of Saturn was near at hand, and, in that persuasion, congratulated the emperor YONG-TCHING on the renovation of the world, which was shortly to take place. The emperor received the addresses of the nobility, and gave credit to the opinion of the philosophers in all his public edicts. Meanwhile, Father Kegler endeavoured to undeceive the emperor, and to convince him that the whole was a mistake of the Chinese mathematicians: but he tried in vain; flattery succeeded at court, and triumphed over truth.

[e] The argument is this: If the great year is the measure of time; then, as it consists, according to Cicero, of 12,954 solar years, the whole being divided by twelve, every month of the great year would be clearly 1080 years. According to that calculation, Demosthenes not only lived in the same year with the persons engaged in the Dialogue, but, it may be said, in the same month. These are the months to which Virgil alludes in the fourth eclogue:

Incipient magni procedere menses.

Section XVII.

[a] Menenius Agrippa was consul A.U.C. 251. In less than ten years afterwards, violent dissensions broke out between the patrician order and the common people, who complained that they were harassed and oppressed by their affluent creditors. One Sicinius was their factious demagogue. He told them, that it was in vain they fought the battles of their country, since they were no better than slaves and prisoners at Rome. He added, that men are born equal; that the fruits of the earth were the common birth-right of all, and an agrarian law was necessary; that they groaned under a load of debts and taxes; and that a lazy and corrupt aristocracy battened at ease on the spoils of their labour and industry. By the advice of this incendiary, the discontented citizens made a secession to the MONS SACER, about three miles out of the city. The fathers, in the meantime, were covered with consternation. In order, however, to appease the fury of the multitude, they dispatched Menenius Agrippa to their camp. In the rude unpolished style of the times (prisco illo dicendi et horrido modo, says Livy), that orator told them:

"At the time when the powers of man did not, as at present, co-operate to one useful end, and the members of the human body had their separate interest, their factions, and cabals; it was agreed among them, that the belly maintained itself by their toil and labour, enjoying, in the middle of all, a state of calm repose, pampered with luxuries, and gratified with every kind of pleasure. A conspiracy followed, and the several members of the body took the covenant. The hand would no longer administer food; the mouth would not accept it, and the drudgery of mastication was too much for the teeth. They continued in this resolution, determined to starve the TREASURY of the body, till they began to feel the consequences of their ill-advised revolt. The several members lost their former vigour, and the whole body was falling into a rapid decline. It was then seen that the belly was formed for the good of the whole; that it was by no means lazy, idle, and inactive; but, while it was properly supported, took care to distribute nourishment to every part, and having digested the supplies, filled the veins with pure and wholesome blood."

The analogy, which this fable bore to the sedition of the Roman people, was understood and felt. The discontented multitude saw that the state of man described by Menenius, was like to an insurrection. They returned to Rome, and submitted to legal government. Tempore, quo in homine non, ut nunc, omnia in unum consentiebant, sed singulis membris suum cuique consilium, sum sermo fuerat, indignatas reliquas partes, sua cura, suo labore, ac ministerio, ventri omnia quaeri; ventrem in medio quietum, nihil aliud, quam datis voluptatibus frui; conspirasse inde, ne manus ad os cibum ferrent, nec os acciperit datum, nec dentes conficerent. Hac ira dum ventrem fame domare vellent, ipsa una membra, totumque corpus ad extremam tabem venisse. Inde apparuisse, ventris quoque haud segne ministerium esse; nec magis ali quam alere eum; reddentem in omnes corporis partes hunc, quo vivimus vigemusque, divisum, pariter in venas, maturum confecto cibo sanguinem. Livy, lib. ii. s. 32. St. Paul has made use of a similar argument;

"The body is not one member, but many: if the foot shall say, Because I am not the hand, I am not of the body; is it, therefore, not of the body? and if the ear shall say, Because I am not the eye, I am not of the body; is it, therefore, not of the body? If the whole body were an eye, where were the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where were the smelling? But now hath God set the members everyone of them in the body, as it hath pleased him. And if they were all one member, where were the body? But now are they many members, yet but one body: and the eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of thee; nor again, the head to the feet, I have no need of you. And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it." First Epistle to the Corinthians, chap. xii.

This reasoning of St. Paul merits the attention of those friends of innovation, who are not content with the station in which God has placed them, and, therefore, object to all subordination, all ranks in society.

[b] Caesar the dictator was, as the poet expresses it, graced with both Minervas. Quintilian is of opinion, that if he had devoted his whole time to the profession of eloquence, he would have been the great rival of Cicero. The energy of his language, his strength of conception, and his power over the passions, were so striking, that he may be said to have harangued with the same spirit that he fought. Caius vero Caesar si foro tantum vacasset, non alius ex nostris contra Ciceronem nominaretur. Tanta in eo vis est, id acumen, ea concitatio, ut illum eodem animo dixisse, quo bellavit, appareat. Lib. x. cap. 1. To speak of Cicero in this place, were to hold a candle to the sun. It will be sufficient to refer to Quintilian, who in the chapter above cited has drawn a beautiful parallel between him and Demosthenes. The Roman orator, he admits, improved himself by a diligent study of the best models of Greece. He attained the warmth and the sublime of Demosthenes, the harmony of Plato, and the sweet flexibility of Isocrates. His own native genius supplied the rest. He was not content, as Pindar expresses it, to collect the drops that rained down from heaven, but had in himself the living fountain of that copious flow, and that sublime, that pathetic energy, which were bestowed upon him by the bounty of Providence, that in one man eloquence might exert all her powers. Nam mihi videtur Marcus Tullius, cum se totum ad imitationem Graecorum contulisset, effinxisse vim Demosthenis, copiam Platonis, jucunditatem Isocratis. Nec vero quod in quoque optimum fuit studio consecutus est tantum, sed plurimas vel potius omnes ex se ipso virtutes extulit immortalis ingenii beatissima ubertate. Non enim pluvias (ut ait Pindarus) aquas colligit sed vivo gurgite exundat, dono quodam providentiae genitus, in quo vires suas eloquentia experiretur. Lib. x. cap. 1.

[c] Marcus Caelius Rufus, in the judgement of Quintilian, was an orator of considerable genius. In the conduct of a prosecution, he was remarkable for a certain urbanity, that gave a secret charm to his whole speech. It is to be regretted that he was not a man of better conduct and longer life. Multum ingenii in Caelio, et praecipue in accusando multa urbanitas; dignusque vir, cui et mens melior, et vita longior contigisset. Quint, lib. x. cap. 1. His letters to Cicero make the eighth book of the Epistolae ad Familiares. Velleius Paterculus says of him, that his style of eloquence and his cast of mind bore a resemblance to Curio, but raised him above that factious orator. His genius for mischief and evil deeds was not inferior to Curio, and his motives were strong and urgent, since his fortune was worse than even his frame of mind. Marcus Caelius, vir eloquio animoque Curioni simillimus, sed in utroque perfectior; nec minus ingeniose nequam, cum ne in modica quidem servari posset, quippe pejor illi res familiaris, quam mens. Vell. Patere. lib. ii. s. 68.

Licinius Macer Calvus, we are told by Seneca, maintained a long but unjust contention with Cicero himself for the palm of eloquence. He was a warm and vehement accuser, insomuch that Vatinius, though defended by Cicero, interrupted Calvus in the middle of his speech, and said to the judges, "Though this man has a torrent of words, does it follow that I must be condemned?" Calvus diu cum Cicerone iniquissimam litem de principatu eloquentiae habuit; et usque eo violentus accusator et concitatus fuit, ut in media actione ejus surgeret Vatinius reus, et exclamaret, Rogo vos, judices, si iste disertus est, ideo me damnari oportet? Seneca, Controv. lib. iii. cap. 19. Cicero could not dread him as a rival, and it may therefore be presumed, that he has drawn his character with an impartial hand. Calvus was an orator more improved by literature than Curio. He spoke with accuracy, and in his composition shewed great taste and delicacy; but, labouring to refine his language, he was too attentive to little niceties. He wished to make no bad blood, and he lost the good. His style was polished with timid caution; but while it pleased the ear of the learned, the spirit evaporated, and of course made no impression in the forum, which is the theatre of eloquence. Ad Calvum revertamur; qui orator fuisset cum literis eruditior quam Curio, tum etiam accuratius quoddam dicendi, et exquisitius afferebat genus; quod quamquam scienter eleganterque tractabat, nimium tamen inquirens in se, atque ipse sese observans, metuensque ne vitiosum colligeret, etiam verum sanguinem deperdebat. Itaque ejus oratio nimia religione attenuata, doctis et attente audientibus erat illustris, a multitudine autem, et a foro, cui nata eloquentia est, devorabatur. De Claris Orat. s. 288. Quintilian says, there were, who preferred him to all the orators of his time. Others were of opinion that, by being too severe a critic on himself, he polished too much, and grew weak by refinement. But his manner was grave and solid; his style was chaste, and often animated. To be thought a man of attic eloquence was the height of his ambition. If he had lived to see his error, and to give to his eloquence a true and perfect form, not by retrenching (for there was nothing to be taken away), but by adding certain qualities that were wanted, he would have reached the summit of his art. By a premature death his fame was nipped in the bud. Inveni qui Calvum praeferrent omnibus; inveni qui contra crederent eum, nimia contra se calumnia, verum sanguinem perdidisse. Sed est et sancta et gravis oratio, et castigata, et frequenter vehemens quoque. Imitator est autem Atticorum; fecitque illi properata mors injuriam, si quid adjecturus, non si quid detracturus fuit. Quintil. lib. x. cap. 1.

[d] This was the famous Marcus Junius Brutus, who stood forth in the cause of liberty, and delivered his country from the usurpation of Julius Caesar. Cicero describes him in that great tragic scene, brandishing his bloody dagger, and calling on Cicero by name, to tell him that his country was free. Caesare interfecto, statim cruentum alte extollens Marcus Brutus pugionem, Ciceronem nominatim exclamavit, atque ei recuperatam libertatem est gratulatus. Philippic, ii. s. 28. The late Doctor Akenside has retouched this passage with all the colours of a sublime imagination.

Look then abroad through nature, through the range Of planets, suns, and adamantine spheres, Wheeling unshaken through the void immense, And speak, O man! does this capacious scene With half that kindling majesty dilate Thy strong conception, as when Brutus rose Refulgent from the stroke of Caesar's fate, Amid the crowd of patriots, and his arm Aloft extending, like eternal Jove When guilt brings down the thunder, call'd aloud On Tully's name, and shook his crimson steel, And bade the Father of his Country hail! For, lo! the tyrant prostrate in the dust, And Rome again is free. PLEASURES OF IMAG. b. i. ver. 487.

According to Quintilian, Brutus was fitter for philosophical speculations, and books of moral theory, than for the career of public oratory. In the former he was equal to the weight and dignity of his subject: you clearly saw that he believed what he said. Egregius vero multoque quam in orationibus praestantior Brutus, suffecit ponderi rerum; scias eum sentire quae dicit. Quintil. lib. x. cap. 1.

For Asinius Pollio and Messala, see section xii. note [e].

[e] Hirtius and Pansa were consuls A.U.C. 711; before the Christian aera 43. In this year, the famous triple league, called the TRIUMVIRATE, was formed between Augustus, Lepidus, and Antony. The proscription, or the list of those who were doomed to die for the crime of adhering to the cause of liberty, was also settled, and Cicero was one of the number. A band of assassins went in quest of him to his villa, called Astura, near the sea-shore. Their leader was one Popilius Laenas, a military tribune, whom Cicero had formerly defended with success in a capital cause. They overtook Cicero in his litter. He commanded his servants to set him down, and make no resistance; then looking upon his executioners with a presence and firmness which almost daunted them, and thrusting his neck as forward as he could out of the litter, he bade them do their work, and take what they wanted. The murderers cut off his head, and both his hands. Popilius undertook to convey them to Rome, as the most agreeable present to Antony; without reflecting on the infamy of carrying that head, which had saved his own. He found Antony in the forum, and upon shewing the spoils which he brought, was rewarded on the spot with the honour of a crown, and about eight thousand pounds sterling. Antony ordered the head to be fixed upon the rostra, between the two hands; a sad spectacle to the people, who beheld those mangled members, which used to exert themselves, from that place, in defence of the lives, the fortunes, and the liberties of Rome. Cicero was killed on the seventh of December, about ten days from the settlement of the triumvirate, after he had lived sixty-three years, eleven months, and five days. See Middleton's Life of Cicero, 4to edit. vol. ii. p. 495 to 498. Velleius Paterculus, after mentioning Cicero's death, breaks out in a strain of indignation, that almost redeems the character of that time-serving writer. He says to Antony, in a spirited apostrophe, you have no reason to exult: you have gained no point by paying the assassin, who stopped that eloquent mouth, and cut off that illustrious head. You have paid the wages of murder, and you have destroyed a consul who was the conservator of the commonwealth. By that act you delivered Cicero from a distracted world, from the infirmities of old age, and from a life which, under your usurpation, would have been worse than death. His fame was not to be crushed: the glory of his actions and his eloquence still remains, and you have raised it higher than ever. He lives, and will continue to live in every age and nation. Posterity will admire and venerate the torrent of eloquence, which he poured out against yourself, and will for ever execrate the horrible murder which you committed. Nihil tamen egisti, Marce Antoni (cogit enim excedere propositi formam operis erumpens animo ac pectore indignatio): nihil, inquam, egisti; mercedem caelestissimi oris, et clarissimi capitis abscissi numerando; auctoramentoque funebri ad conservatoris quondam reipublicae tantique consulis irritando necem. Rapuisti tu Marco Ciceroni lucem sollicitam et aetatem senilem, et vitam miseriorem te principe, quam sub te triumviro mortem. Famam vero, gloriamque factorum atque dictorum adeo non abstulisti, ut auxeris. Vivit, vivetque per omnium saeculorum memoriam; omnisque posteritas illius in te scripta mirabitur, tuum in eum factum execrabitur. Vell. Paterc. lib. ii. s. 66.

[f] Between the consulship of Augustus, which began immediately after the destruction of Hirtius and Pansa, A.U.C. 711, and the death of that emperor, which was A.U. 767, fifty-six years intervened, and to the sixth of Vespasian (A.U.C. 828), about 118 years. For the sake of a round number, it is called in the Dialogue a space of 120 years.

[g] Julius Caesar landed in Britain in the years of Rome 699 and 700. See Life of Agricola, s. 13. note a. It does not appear when Aper was in Britain; it could not be till the year of Rome 796, when Aulus Plautius, by order of the emperor Claudius, undertook the conquest of the island. See Life of Agricola, s. 14. note a. At that time, the Briton who fought against Caesar, must have been far advanced in years.

[h] A largess was given to the people, in the fourth year of Vespasian, when Domitian entered on his second consulship. This, Brotier says, appears on a medal, with this inscription: CONG. II. COS. II. Congiarium alterum, Domitiano consule secundum. The custom of giving large distributions to the people was for many ages established at Rome. Brotier traces it from Ancus Martius, the fourth king of Rome, when the poverty of the people called for relief. The like bounty was distributed by the generals, who returned in triumph. Lucullus and Julius Caesar displayed, on those occasions, great pomp and magnificence. Corn, wine, and oil, were plentifully distributed, and the popularity, acquired by those means, was, perhaps, the ruin of the commonwealth. Caesar lavished money. Augustus followed the example, and Tiberius did the same; but prodigality was not his practice. His politic genius taught him all the arts of governing. The bounties thus distributed, were called, when given to the people, CONGIARIA, and, to the soldiers, DONATIVA. Whoever desires to form an idea of the number of Roman citizens who, at different times, received largesses, and the prodigious expence attending them, may see an account drawn up with diligent attention by Brotier, in an elaborate note on this passage. He begins with Julius Caesar; and pursues the enquiry through the several successive emperors, fixing the date and expence at every period, as low down as the consulship of Constantius and Galerius Maximianus; when, the empire being divided into the eastern and western, its former magnificence was, by consequence, much diminished.

[i] The person here called Corvinus was the same as Corvinus Messala, who flourished in the reign of Augustus, at the same time with Asinius Pollio. See s. xii. note [e].

Section XVIII.

[a] Servius Sulpicius Galba was consul A.U.C. 610, before the Christian aera 144. Cicero says of him, that he was, in his day, an orator of eminence. When he spoke in public, the natural energy of his mind supported him, and the warmth of his imagination made him vehement and pathetic; his language was animated, bold, and rapid; but when he, afterwards, took his pen in hand to correct and polish, the fit of enthusiasm was over; his passions ebbed away, and the composition was cold and languid. Galbam fortasse vis non ingenii solum, sed etiam animi, et naturalis quidam dolor, dicentem incendebat, efficiebatque, ut et incitata, et gravis, et vehemens esset oratio; dein cum otiosus stilum prehenderat, motusque omnis animi, tanquam ventus, hominem defecerat, flaccescebat oratio. Ardor animi non semper adest, isque cum consedit, omnis illa vis, et quasi flamma oratoris extinguitur. De Claris Orat. s. 93. Suetonius says, that the person here intended was of consular dignity, and, by his eloquence, gave weight and lustre to his family. Life of Galba, s. iii.

[b] Caius Papirius Carbo was consul A.U.C. 634. Cicero wishes that he had proved himself as good a citizen, as he was an orator. Being impeached for his turbulent and seditious conduct, he did not choose to stand the event of a trial, but escaped the judgement of the senate by a voluntary death. His life was spent in forensic causes. Men of sense, who heard him have reported, that he was a fluent, animated, and harmonious speaker; at times pathetic, always pleasing, and abounding with wit. Carbo, quoad vita suppeditavit, est in multis judiciis causisque cognitus. Hunc qui audierant prudentes homines, canorum oratorem, et volubilem, et satis acrem, atque eundem et vehementem, et valde dulcem, et perfacetum fuisse dicebant. De Claris Orat. s. 105.

[c] Calvus and Caelius have been mentioned already. See s. xvii. note [c].

[d] Caius Gracchus was tribune of the people A.U.C. 633. In that character he took the popular side against the patricians; and, pursuing the plan of the agrarian law laid down by his brother, Tiberius Gracchus, he was able by his eloquence to keep the city of Rome in violent agitation. Amidst the tumult, the senate, by a decree, ordered the consul, Lucius Opimius, to take care that the commonwealth received no injury; and, says Cicero, not a single night intervened, before that magistrate put Gracchus to death. Decrevit senatus, ut Lucius Opimius, consul, videret, ne quid detrimenti respublica caperet: nox nulla intercessit; interfectus est propter quasdam seditionum suspiciones Caius Gracchus, clarissimo patre natus, avis majoribus. Orat. i. in Catilinam. His reputation as an orator towers above all his contemporaries. Cicero says, the commonwealth and the interests of literature suffered greatly by his untimely end. He wishes that the love of his country, and not zeal for the memory of his brother, had inspired his actions. His eloquence was such as left him without a rival: in his diction, what a noble splendour! in his sentiments, what elevation! and in the whole of his manner, what weight and dignity! His compositions, it is true, are not retouched with care; they want the polish of the last hand; what is well begun, is seldom highly finished; and yet he, if any one, deserves to be the study of the Roman youth. In him they will find what can, at once, quicken their genius, and enrich the understanding. Damnum enim, illius immaturo interitu, res Romanae, Latinaeque literae fecerunt. Utinam non tam fratri pietatem, quam patriae praestare voluisset. Eloquentia quidem nescio an habuisset parem: grandis est verbis, sapiens sententiis, genere toto gravis. Manus extrema non accessit operibus ejus; praeclare inchoata multa, perfecta non plane. Legendus est hic orator, si quisquam alius, juventuti; non enim solum acuere, sed etiam alere ingenium potest. De Claris Orat. s. 125, 126.

[e] This is the celebrated Marcus Portius Cato, commonly known by the name of Cato the censor. He was quaestor under Scipio, who commanded against the Carthaginians, A.U.C. 548. He rose through the regular gradations of the magistracy to the consulship. When praetor, he governed the province of Sardinia, and exerted himself in the reform of all abuses introduced by his predecessors. From his own person, and his manner of living, he banished every appearance of luxury. When he had occasion to visit the towns that lay within his government, he went on foot, clothed with the plainest attire, without a vehicle following him, or more than one servant, who carried the robe of office, and a vase, to make libations at the altar. He sat in judgement with the dignity of a magistrate, and punished every offence with inflexible rigour. He had the happy art of uniting in his own person two things almost incompatible; namely, strict severity and sweetness of manners. Under his administration, justice was at once terrible and amiable. Plutarch relates that he never wore a dress that cost more than thirty shillings; that his wine was no better than what was consumed by his slaves; and that by leading a laborious life, he meant to harden his constitution for the service of his country. He never ceased to condemn the luxury of the times. On this subject a remarkable apophthegm is recorded by Plutarch; It is impossible, said Cato, to save a city, in which a single fish sells for more money than an ox. The account given of him by Cicero in the Cato Major, excites our veneration of the man. He was master of every liberal art, and every branch of science, known in that age. Some men rose to eminence by their skill in jurisprudence; others by their eloquence; and a great number by their military talents. Cato shone in all alike. The patricians were often leagued against him, but his virtue and his eloquence were a match for the proudest connections. He was chosen CENSOR, in opposition to a number of powerful candidates, A.U.C. 568. He was the adviser of the third Punic war. The question occasioned several warm debates in the senate. Cato always insisted on the demolition of Carthage: DELENDA EST CARTHAGO. He preferred an accusation against Servius Sulpicius Galba on a charge of peculation in Spain, A.U.C. 603; and, though he was then ninety years old, according to Livy (Cicero says he lived to eighty-five), he conducted the business with so much vigour, that Galba, in order to excite compassion, produced his children before the senate, and by that artifice escaped a sentence of condemnation. Quintilian gives the following character of Cato the censor: His genius, like his learning, was universal: historian, orator, lawyer, he cultivated the three branches; and what he undertook, he touched with a master-hand. The science of husbandry was also his. Great as his attainments were, they were acquired in camps, amidst the din of arms; and in the city of Rome, amidst scenes of contention, and the uproar of civil discord. Though he lived in rude unpolished times, he applied himself, when far advanced in the vale of years, to the study of Greek literature, and thereby gave a signal proof that even in old age the willing mind may be enriched with new stores of knowledge. Marcus Censorius Cato, idem orator, idem historiae conditor, idem juris, idem rerum rusticarum peritissimus fuit. Inter tot opera militiae, tantas domi contentions, ridi saeculo literas Graecas, aetate jam declinata didicit, ut esset hominibus documento, ea quoque percipi posse, quae senes concupissent. Lib. xii. cap. 11.

[f] Lucius Licinius Crassus is often mentioned, and always to his advantage, by Cicero DE CLARIS ORATORIBUS. He was born, as appears in that treatise (sect. 161), during the consulship of Laelius and Caepio, A.U.C. 614: he was contemporary with Antonius, the celebrated orator, and father of Antony the triumvir. Crassus was about four and thirty years older than Cicero. When Philippus the consul shewed himself disposed to encroach on the privileges of the senate, and, in the presence of that body, offered indignities to Licinius Crassus, the orator, as Cicero informs us, broke out in a blaze of eloquence against that violent outrage, concluding with that remarkable sentence: He shall not be to me A CONSUL, to whom I am not A SENATOR. Non es mihi consul, quia nec ego tibi senator sum. See Valerius Maximus, lib. xli. cap. 2. Cicero has given his oratorical character. He possessed a wonderful dignity of language, could enliven his discourse with wit and pleasantry, never descending to vulgar humour; refined, and polished, without a tincture of scurrility. He preserved the true Latin idiom; in his selection of words accurate, with apparent facility; no stiffness, no affectation appeared; in his train of reasoning always clear and methodical; and, when the cause hinged upon a question of law, or the moral distinctions of good and evil, no man possessed such a fund of argument, and happy illustration. Crasso nihil statuo fieri potuisse perfectius: erat summa gravitas; erat cum gravitate junctus facetiarum et urbanitatis oratorius, non scurrilis, lepos. Latine loquendi accurata, et, sine molestia, diligens elegantia; in disserendo mira explicatio; cum de jure civili, cum de aequo et bono disputaretur, argumentorum et similitudinum copia. De Claris Orat. s. 143. In Cicero's books DE ORATORE, Licinius Crassus supports a capital part in the dialogue; but in the opening of the third book, we have a pathetic account of his death, written, as the Italians say, con amore. Crassus returned from his villa, where the dialogue passed, to take part in the debate against Philippus the consul, who had declared to an assembly of the people, that he was obliged to seek new counsellors, for with such a senate he could not conduct the affairs of the commonwealth. The conduct of Crassus, upon that occasion, has been mentioned already. The vehemence, with which he exerted himself, threw him into a violent fever, and, on the seventh day following, put a period to his life. Then, says Cicero, that tuneful swan expired: we hoped once more to hear the melody of his voice, and went, in that expectation, to the senate-house; but all that remained was to gaze on the spot where that eloquent orator spoke for the last time in the service of his country. Illud immortalitate dignum ingenium, illa humanitas, illa virtus Lucii Crassi morte extincta subita est, vix diebus decem post eum diem, qui hoc et superiore libra continetur. Illa tanquam cycnea fuit divini hominis vox, et oratio, quam quasi expectantes, post ejus interitum veniebamus in curiam, ut vestigium illud ipsum, in quo ille postremum institisset, contueremur. De Orat. lib, iii. s. 1. and 6. This passage will naturally call to mind the death of the great earl of Chatham. He went, in a feeble state of health, to attend a debate of the first importance. Nothing could detain him from the service of his country. The dying notes of the BRITISH SWAN were heard in the House of Peers. He was conveyed to his own house, and on the eleventh of May 1778, he breathed his last. The news reached the House of Commons late in the evening, when Colonel BARRE had the honour of being the first to shed a patriot tear on that melancholy occasion. In a strain of manly sorrow, and with that unprepared eloquence which the heart inspires, he moved for a funeral at the public expence, and a monument to the memory of virtue and departed genius. By performing that pious office, Colonel BARRE may be said to have made his own name immortal. History will record the transaction.

[g] Messala Corvinus is often, in this Dialogue, called Corvinus only. See s. xii. note [e].

[h] Appius Claudius was censor in the year of Rome 442; dictator, 465; and, having at a very advanced age lost his sight, he became better known by the name of Appius Caecus. Afterwards, A.U. 472, when Pyrrhus, by his ambassador, offered terms of peace, and a treaty of alliance, Appius, whom blindness, and the infirmities of age, had for some time withheld from public business, desired to be conveyed in a litter to the senate-house. Being conducted to his place, he delivered his sentiments in so forcible a manner, that the fathers resolved to prosecute the war, and never to hear of an accommodation, till Italy was evacuated by Pyrrhus and his army. See Livy, b. xiii. s. 31. Cicero relates the same fact in his CATO MAJOR, and further adds, that the speech made by APPIUS CAECUS was then extant. Ovid mentions the temple of Bellona, built and dedicated by Appius, who, when blind, saw every thing by the light of his understanding, and rejected all terms of accommodation with Pyrrhus.

Hac sacrata die Tusco Bellona duello Dicitur, et Latio prospera semper adest. Appius est auctor, Pyrrho qui pace negata Multum animo vidit, lumine caecus erat. FASTORUM lib vi. ver. 201.

[i] Quintilian acknowledges this fact, with his usual candour. The question concerning Attic and Asiatic eloquence was of long standing. The style of the former was close, pure, and elegant; the latter was said to be diffuse and ostentatious. In the ATTIC, nothing was idle, nothing redundant: the ASIATIC swelled above all bounds, affecting to dazzle by strokes of wit, by affectation and superfluous ornament. Cicero was said by his enemies to be an orator of the last school. They did not scruple to pronounce him turgid, copious to a fault, often redundant, and too fond of repetition. His wit, they said, was the false glitter of vain conceit, frigid, and out of season; his composition was cold and languid; wire-drawn into amplification, and fuller of meretricious finery than became a man. Et antiqua quidem illa divisio inter Asianos et Atticos fuit; cum hi pressi, et integri, contra, inflati illi et inanes haberentur; et in his nihil superflueret, illis judicium maxime ac modus deesset. Ciceronem tamen et suorum homines temporum incessere audebant ut tumidiorem, et Asianum, et redundantem, et in repetitionibus nimium, et in salibus aliquando frigidum, et in compositione fractum, exultantem, ac pene (quod procul absit) viro molliorem. Quintil. lib. xii. cap. 10. The same author adds, that, when the great orator was cut off by Marc Antony's proscription, and could no longer answer for himself, the men who either personally hated him, or envied his genius, or chose to pay their court to the, triumvirate, poured forth their malignity without reserve. It is unnecessary to observe, that Quintilian, in sundry parts of his work, has vindicated Cicero from these aspersions. See s. xvii. note [b].

[k] For Calvus, see s. xvii. note [c]. For Brutus, see the same section, note [d]. What Cicero thought of Calvus has been already quoted from the tract De Claris Oratoribus, in note [c], s. xvii. By being too severe a critic on himself, he lost strength, while he aimed at elegance. It is, therefore, properly said in this Dialogue, that Cicero thought Calvus cold and enervated. But did he think Brutus disjointed, loose and negligent—otiosum atque disjunctum? That he often thought him disjointed is not improbable. Brutus was a close thinker, and he aimed at the precision and brevity of Attic eloquence. The sententious speaker is, of course, full and concise. He has no studied transitions, above the minute care of artful connections. To discard the copulatives for the sake of energy was a rule laid down by the best ancient critics. Cicero has observed that an oration may be said to be disjointed, when the copulatives are omitted, and strokes of sentiment follow one another in quick succession. Dissolutio sive disjunctio est, quae conjunctionibus e medio sublatis, partibus separatis effertur, hoc modo: Gere morem parenti; pare cognatis; obsequere amicis; obtempera legibus. Ad Herennium, lib. iv. s. 41. In this manner, Brutus might appear disjointed, and that figure, often repeated, might grow into a fault. But how is the word OTIOSUS to be understood? If it means a neglect of connectives, it may, perhaps, apply to Brutus. There is no room to think that Cicero used it in a worse sense, since we find him in a letter to Atticus declaring, that the oratorical style of Brutus was, in language as well as sentiment, elegant to a degree that nothing could surpass. Est enim oratio ejus scripta elegantissime, sententiis et verbis, ut nihil possit ultra. A grave philosopher, like Brutus, might reject the graces of transition and regular connection, and, for that reason, might be thought negligent and abrupt. This disjointed style, which the French call style coupe, was the manner cultivated by Seneca, for which Caligula pronounced him, sand without lime; arenam sine calce. Sueton. Life of Calig. s. 53. We know from Quintilian, that a spirit of emulation, and even jealousy, subsisted between the eminent orators of Cicero's time; that he himself was so far from ascribing perfection to Demosthenes, that he used to say, he often found him napping; that Brutus and Calvus sat in judgement on Cicero, and did not wish to conceal their objections; and that the two Pollios were so far from being satisfied with Cicero's style and manner, that their criticisms were little short of declared hostility. Quamquam neque ipsi Ciceroni Demosthenes videatur satis esse perfectus, quem dormitare interdum dicit; nec Cicero Bruto Calvoque, qui certe compositionem illius etiam apud ipsum reprehendunt; ne Asinio utrique, qui vitia orationis ejus etiam inimice pluribus locis insequuntur. Quintil. lib. xii. cap. 1.

Section XIX.

[a] Cassius Severus lived in the latter end of the reign of Augustus, and through a considerable part of that of Tiberius. He was an orator, according to Quintilian, who, if read with due caution, might serve as a model worthy of imitation. It is to be regretted, that to the many excellent qualities of his style he did not add more weight, more strength and dignity, and thereby give colour and a body to his sentiments. With those requisites, he would have ranked with the most eminent orators. To his excellent genius he united keen reflection, great energy, and a peculiar urbanity, which gave a secret charm to his speeches. But the warmth of his temper hurried him on; he listened more to his passions than to his judgement; he possessed a vein of wit, but he mingled with it too much acrimony; and wit, when it misses its aim, feels the mortification and the ridicule which usually attend disappointed malice. Multa, si cum judicio legatur, dabit imitatione digna CASSIUS SEVERUS, qui, si caeteris virtutibus colorem et gravitatem orationis adjecisset, ponendus inter praecipuos foret, Nam et ingenii plurimum est in eo, et acerbitas mira, et urbanitas, et vis summa; sed plus stomacho quam consilio dedit; praeterea ut amari sales, ita frequenter amaritudo ipsa ridicula est. Lib. x. cap. 1. We read in Suetonius (Life of Octavius, s. 56), that Cassius had the hardiness to institute a prosecution for the crime of poisoning against Asprenas Nonius, who was, at the time, linked in the closest friendship with Augustus. Not content with accusations against the first men in Rome, he chose to vent his malevolence in lampoons and defamatory libels, against the most distinguished of both sexes. It was this that provoked Horace to declare war against Cassius, in an ode (lib, v. ode 6), which begins, Quid immerentes hospites vexas, canis. See an account of his malevolent spirit, Annals, b, i. s. 72. He was at length condemned for his indiscriminate abuse, and banished by Augustus to the isle of Crete. But his satirical rage was not to be controlled. He continued in exile to discharge his malignity, till, at last, at the end of ten years, the senate took cognizance of his guilt, and Tiberius ordered him to be removed from Crete to the Rock of Seriphos, where he languished in old age and misery. See Annals, b. iv. s. 21. The period of ancient oratory ended about the time when Cassius began his career. He was the first of the new school.

[b] These two rhetoricians flourished in the time of Augustus. Apollodorus, we are told by Quintilian (b. iii. chap. 1), was the preceptor of Augustus. He taught in opposition to Theodorus Gadareus, who read lectures at Rhodes, and was attended by Tiberius during his retreat in that island. The two contending masters were the founders of opposite sects, called the Apollodorean and Theodorian. But true eloquence, which knows no laws but those of nature and good sense, gained nothing by party divisions. Literature was distracted by new doctrines; rhetoric became a trick in the hands of sophists, and all sound oratory disappeared. Hermagoras, Quintilian says, in the chapter already cited, was the disciple of Theodorus.

Section XX.

[a] Doctor Middleton says, "Of the seven excellent orations, which now remain on the subject of VERRES, the first two only were spoken; the one called, The Divination; the other, The first Action, which is nothing more than a general preface to the whole cause. The other five were published afterwards, as they were prepared and intended to be spoken, if Verres had made a regular defence: for as this was the only cause in which Cicero had yet been engaged, or ever designed to be engaged, as an accuser, so he was willing to leave those orations as a specimen of his abilities in that way, and the pattern of a just and diligent impeachment of a great and corrupt magistrate." Life of Cicero, vol. i. p. 86, 4to edit.

[b] The Digest enumerates a multitude of rules concerning exceptions to persons, things, the form of the action, the niceties of pleading, and, as the phrase is, motions in arrest of judgement. Formula, was the set of words necessary to be used in the pleadings. See the Digest, lib. xliv. tit. 1. De Exceptionibus, Praescriptionibus, et Praejudiciis. See also Cujacius, observat. xxiii.

[c] The oration for Marcus Tullius is highly praised by Macrobius, but is not to be found in Cicero's works. The oration for Aulus Caecina is still extant. The cause was about the right of succession to a private estate, which depended on a subtle point of law, arising from the interpretation of the praetor's interdict. It shews Cicero's exact knowledge and skill in the civil law, and that his public character and employment gave no interruption to his usual diligence in pleading causes. Middleton's Life of Cicero, vol. i. p. 116, 4to edit.

[d] Roscius, in the last period of the republic, was the comedian, whom all Rome admired for his talents. The great esteemed and loved him for his morals. AEsop, the tragedian, was his contemporary. Horace, in the epistle to Augustus, has mentioned them both with their proper and distinctive qualities.

——Ea cum reprehendere coner Quae GRAVIS AESOPUS, quae DOCTUS ROSCIUS egit.

A certain measured gravity of elocution being requisite in tragedy, that quality is assigned to the former, and the latter is called DOCTUS, because he was a complete master of his art; so truly learned in the principles of his profession, that he possessed, in a wonderful degree, the secret charm that gave inimitable graces to his voice and action. Quintilian, in a few words, has given a commentary on the passage in Horace. Grief, he says, is expressed by slow and deliberate accents; for that reason, AEsop spoke with gravity; Roscius with quickness; the former being a tragedian, the latter a comedian. Plus autem affectus habent lentiora; ideoque Roscius citatior, AEsopus gravior fuit, quod ille comoedias, his tragoedias egit. Lib. xi. cap. 1. Cicero was the great friend and patron of Roscius. An elegant oration in his behalf is still extant. The cause was this: One FANNIUS had made over to Roscius a young slave, to be formed by him to the stage, on condition of a partnership in the profits which the slave should acquire by acting. The slave was afterwards killed. Roscius prosecuted the murderer for damages, and obtained, by composition, a little farm, worth about eight hundred pounds, for his particular share. FANNIUS also sued separately, and was supposed to have gained as much; but, pretending to have recovered nothing, he sued ROSCIUS for the moiety of what he had received. One cannot but observe, says Dr. Middleton, from Cicero's pleading, the wonderful esteem and reputation in which Roscius then flourished. Has Roscius, says he, defrauded his partner? Can such a stain stick upon such a man; a man who, I speak it with confidence, has more integrity than skill, more veracity than experience? a man whom the people of Rome know to be a better citizen than he is an actor; and, while he makes the first figure on the stage for his art, is worthy of a seat in the senate for his virtue. Quem populus Romanus meliorem virum quam histrionem esse arbitratur; qui ita dignissimus est scena propter artificium, ut dignissimus sit curia propter abstinentiam. Pro Roscio Comoedo, s. 17 In another place, Cicero says, he was such an artist, as to seem the only one fit to appear on the stage; yet such a man, as to seem the only one who should not come upon it at all. Cum artifex ejusmodi sit, ut solus dignus videatur esse qui in scena spectetur; tum vir ejusmodi est, ut solus dignus videatur, qui eo non accedat. Pro Publ. Quinctio, s. 78. What Cicero has said in his pleadings might be thought oratorical, introduced merely to serve the cause, if we did not find the comedian praised with equal warmth in the dialogue DE ORATORE. It is there said of Roscius, that every thing he did was perfect in the kind, and executed with consummate grace, with a secret charm, that touched, affected, and delighted the whole audience: insomuch, that when a man excelled in any other profession, it was grown into a proverb to call him, THE ROSCIUS OF HIS ART. Videtisne, quam nihil ab eo nisi perfecte, nihil nisi cum summa venustate fiat? nihil, nisi ita ut deceat, et uti omnes moveat, atque delectet? Itaque hoc jam diu est consecutus, ut in quo quisque artificio excelleret, is in suo genere Roscius diceretur. De Orat. lib. i. s. 130. After so much honourable testimony, one cannot but wonder why the DOCTUS ROSCIUS of Horace is mentioned in this Dialogue with an air of disparagement. It may be, that APER, the speaker in this passage, was determined to degrade the orators of antiquity; and the comedian was, therefore, to expect no quarter. Dacier, in his notes on the Epistle to Augustus, observes that Roscius wrote a book, in which he undertook to prove to Cicero, that in all the stores of eloquence there were not so many different expressions for one and the same thing, as in the dramatic art there were modes of action, and casts of countenance, to mark the sentiment, and convey it to the mind with its due degree of emotion. It is to be lamented that such a book has not come down to us. It would, perhaps, be more valuable than the best treatise of rhetoric.

Ambivius Turpio acted in most of Terence's plays, and seems to have been a manager of the theatre. Cicero, in the treatise De Senectute, says: He, who sat near him in the first rows, received the greatest pleasure; but still, those, who were at the further end of the theatre, were delighted with him. Turpione Ambivio magis delectatur, qui in prima cavea spectat; delectatur tamen etiam qui in ultima.

[e] ACCIUS and PACUVIUS flourished at Rome about the middle of the sixth century from the foundation of the city. Accius, according to Horace, was held to be a poet of a sublime genius, and Pacuvius (who lived to be ninety years old) was respected for his age and profound learning.

Ambigitur quoties uter utro sit prior, aufert PACUVIUS docti famam senis, ACCIUS alti. EPIST. AD AUG. ver. 56.

Velleius Paterculus says, that ACCIUS was thought equal to the best writers of the Greek tragedy. He had not, indeed, the diligent touches of the polishing hand, which we see in the poets of Athens, but he had more spirit and vigour. Accius usque in Graecorum comparationem erectus. In illis limae in hoc pene plus videri fuisse sanguinis. He is often quoted by Cicero in his book De Natura Deorum. But after all, it is from the great critic, who gives the best account of the Roman poets, orators, and historians, that we are to take the genuine character of ACCIUS and PACUVIUS, since their works are lost in the general mass of ancient literature. They were both excellent tragic poets: elevation of sentiment, grandeur of expression, and dignity of character, stamped a value on their productions; and yet, we must not expect to find the grace and elegance of genuine composition. To give the finishing hand to their works was not their practice: the defect, however, is not to be imputed to them; it was the vice of the age. Force and dignity are the characteristics of ACCIUS; while the critics, who wish to be thought deep and profound, admire PACUVIUS for his extensive learning. Tragoediae scriptores Accius atque Pacuvius, clarissimi sententiarum verborumque pondere, et auctoritate personarum. Caeterum nitor, et summa in excolendis operibus manus, magis videri potest temporibus, quam ipsis defuisse. Virium tamen Accio plus tribuitur; Pacuvium videri doctiorem, qui esse docti affectant, volunt. Quintil. lib. x. cap. 1. It was the fashion in Horace's time to prefer the writers of the old school to the new race that gave so much lustre to the Augustan age. In opposition to such erroneous criticism, the poet pronounces a decided judgement, which seems to be confirmed by the opinion of Quintilian.

Si quaedam nimis antique, si pleraque dure Dicere credit eos, ignave multa fatetur, Et sapit, et mecum facit, et Jove judicat aequo. EPIST. AD AUGUST. ver. 66.

But that sometimes their style uncouth appears, And their harsh numbers rudely hurt our ears; Or that full flatly flows the languid line, He, who owns this, has Jove's assent and mine. FRANCIS'S HORACE.

[f] Lucan was nephew to Seneca, and a poet of great celebrity. He was born, in the reign of Caligula, at Corduba in Spain. His superior genius made Nero his mortal enemy. He was put to death by that inhuman emperor, A.U.C. 818, in the twenty-seventh year of his age. See the Annals, b. xv. s. 70. As a writer, Quintilian says, that he possessed an ardent genius, impetuous, rapid, and remarkable for the vigour of his sentiments: but he chooses to class him with the orators, rather than the poets. Lucanus ardens, et concitatus, et sententiis clarissimus; et, ut dicam quod sentio, magis oratoribus quam poetis annumerandus. Lib. x. cap. 1. Scaliger, on the other hand, contends that Lucan was a true poet, and that the critics do but trifle, when they object that he wrote history, not an epic poem. STRADA in his Prolusions, has given, among other imitations, a narrative in Lucan's manner; and, though he thinks that poet has not the skill of Virgil, he places him on the summit of Parnassus, managing his Pegasus with difficulty, often in danger of falling from the ridge of a precipice, yet delighting his reader with the pleasure of seeing him escape. This is the true character of Lucan. The love of liberty was his ruling passion. It is but justice to add, that his sentiments, when free from antithesis and the Ovidian manner, are not excelled by any poet of antiquity. From him, as well as from Virgil and Horace, the orator is required to cull such passages as will help to enrich his discourse; and the practice is recommended by Quintilian, who observes, that Cicero, Asinius Pollio, and others, frequently cited verses from Ennius, Accius, Pacuvius, and Terence, in order to grace their speeches with polite literature, and enliven the imagination of their hearers. By those poetic insertions, the ear is relieved from the harsh monotony of the forum; and the poets, cited occasionally, serve by their authority to establish the proposition advanced by the speaker. Nam praecipue quidem apud Ciceronem, frequenter tamen apud Asinium etiam, et caeteros, qui sunt proximi, vidimus ENNII, ACCII, PACUVII, TERENTII et aliorum inseri versus, summa non eruditionis modo gratia, sed etiam jucunditatis; cum poeticis voluptatibus aures a forensi asperitate respirent, quibus accedit non mediocris utilitas, cum sententiis eorum, velut quibusdam testimoniis, quae proposuere confirmant. Quintil. lib. i. cap. 8.

Section XXI.

[a] There is in this place a blunder of the copyists, which almost makes the sentence unintelligible. The translator, without entering into minute controversies, has, upon all such occasions, adopted what appeared, from the context, to be the most probable sense. It remains, therefore, to enquire, who were the several orators here enumerated. CANUTIUS may be the person mentioned by Suetonius De Claris Rhetoribus. Cicero says of ARRIUS, that he was a striking proof of what consequence it was at Rome to be useful to others, and always ready to be subservient to their honour, or to ward off danger. For, by that assiduity, Arrius raised himself from a low beginning to wealth and honours, and was even ranked in the number of orators, though void of learning, and without genius, or abilities. Loco infimo natus, et honores, et pecuniam, et gratiam consecutus, etiam in patronorum, sine doctrina, sine ingenio, aliquem numerum pervenerat. De Claris Orat. s. 243. FURNIUS may be supposed, not without probability, to be the person with whom Cicero corresponded. Epist. ad Familiares, lib. x. ep. 25, 26. With regard to Terrianus we are left in the dark. The commentators offer various conjectures; but conjecture is often a specious amusement; the ingenious folly of men, who take pains to bewilder themselves, and reason only to shew their useless learning.

[b] The puny orators are said to be in an infirmary, like sickly men, who were nothing but skin and bone. These, says Cicero, were admirers of the Attic manner; but it were to be wished that they had the wholesome blood, not merely the bones, of their favourite declaimers. Attico genere dicendi se gaudere dicunt; atqui utinam imitarentur nec ossa solum, sed etiam et sanguinem. Cicero De Claris Oratoribus.

[c] What is here said of Calvus is not confirmed by the judgement of Quintilian. See s. xvii. note [c]. His orations, which were extant at the time of this Dialogue, are now totally lost.

[d] For Quintilian's opinion of Caelius, see s. xvii. note [c].

[e] Here again Quintilian, that candid and able judge, has given a different opinion. See s. xvii. note [b]. It may be proper to add the testimony of Velleius Paterculus. Caesar, he says, had an elevation of soul, that towered above humanity, and was almost incredible; the rapid progress of his wars, his firmness in the hour of danger, and the grandeur of his vast conceptions, bore a near affinity to Alexander, but to Alexander neither drunk, nor mad with passion. Animo super humanam et naturam, et fidem evectus, celeritate bellandi, patientia periculorum, magnitudine cogitationum; magno illi Alexandro, sed sobrio neque iracundo, simillimus. Vel. Patercul. lib. ii. s. 41. Even Cicero tells us, that, of all the eminent orators, he was the person who spoke the Latin language in the greatest purity, and arrived at that consummate perfection by study, by diligent application, and his thorough knowledge of all polite literature. Illum omnium fere oratorum Latine loqui elegantissime: ut esset perfecta illa bene loquendi laus, multis litteris, et iis quidem reconditis et exquisitis, summoque studio et diligentia est consecutus. De Claris Orat. s. 252.

[f] Caesar's speech for Decius the Samnite, and all his other productions (except the Commentaries), are totally lost.

[g] This speech of Brutus is also lost with his other works. Cicero says, he heard him plead the cause of Dejotarus with great elegance, and a flow of harmonious periods. Causam Dejotari, fidelissimi atque optimi regis, ornatissime et copiosissime a Bruto me audisse defensam. De Claris Orat. s. 21. He tells us in another place, that Caesar observed of Brutus, that whatever he desired, he desired with ardour; and therefore, in the cause of Dejotarus, he exerted himself with warmth, with vehemence, and great freedom of language. Quidquid vult, valde vult; ideoque, cum pro rege Dejotaro dixerit, valde vehementer eum visum, et libere dicere. Ad Attic. lib. xiv. ep. 1. The same Dejotarus was afterwards defended by Cicero before Caesar himself. See the Oration pro Rege Dejotaro.

[h] See what is said of Asinius Pollio, s. xii. note [e].

[i] Pliny the younger has the same metaphorical allusions, which we here find in the Dialogue. Speaking of the difference between the oratorial and historical style; the latter, he says, may be content with the bones, the muscles, and the nerves; the former must have the prominence of the flesh, the brawny vigour, and the flowing mane. Habent quidem oratio et historia multa communia, sed plura diversa in his ipsis, quae communia videntur. Narrat sane illa, narrat haec, sed aliter. Huic pleraque humilia, et sordida, et ex medio petita: illi omnia recondita, splendida, excelsa conveniunt. Hanc saepius ossa, musculi, nervi; illam tori quidam, et quasi jubae decent. Lib. v. ep. 8.

[k] Messala Corvinus has been often mentioned. See for him s. xii. note [e].

Section XXII.

[a] The words sententia and sensus were technical terms with the critics of antiquity. Quintilian gives the distinct meaning of each, with his usual precision. According to the established usage, the word sensus signified our ideas or conceptions, as they rise in the mind: by sententia was intended, a proposition, in the close of a period, so expressed, as to dart a sudden brilliancy, for that reason called lumen orationis. He says, these artificial ornaments, which the ancients used but sparingly, were the constant practice of the modern orators. Consuetudo jam tenuit, ut mente concepta, SENSUS vocaremus; lumina autem, praecipueque in clausulis posita, SENTENTIAS. Quae minus crebra apud antiquos, nostris temporibus modo carent. Lib. viii. cap. 5. These luminous sentences, Quintilian says, may be called the eyes of an oration; but eyes are not to be placed in every part, lest the other members should lose their function. Ego vero haec lumina orationis velut oculos quosdam esse eloquentiae credo: sed neque oculos esse toto corpore velim, ne caetera membra suum officium perdant. Lib. viii, cap. 5. As Cowley says,

Jewels at nose and lips but ill appear; Rather than all things, wit let none be there.

[b] In order to form a good style, the sentence should always be closed with variety, strength, and harmony. The ancient rhetoricians held this to be so essentially requisite, that Quintilian has given it a full discussion. That, he says, which offends the ear, will not easily gain admission to the mind. Words should be fitted to their places, so that they may aptly coalesce with one another. In building, the most ill shapen stones may be conveniently fixed; and in like manner, a good style must have proper words in proper places, all arranged in order, and closing the sentence with grace and harmony. Nihil intrare potest in affectum, quod in aure, velut quodam vestibulo, statim offendit. Non enim ad pedes verba dimensa sunt; ideoque ex loco transferuntur in locum, ut jungantur quo congruunt maxime; sicut in structura saxorum rudium etiam ipsa enormitas invenit cui applicari, et in quo possit insistere. Felicissimus tamen sermo est, cui et rectus ordo, et apta junctura, et cum his numerus opportune cadens contingit. Quintil. lib. ix. cap. 4.

Section XXIII.

[a] The remark in this place alludes to a passage in the oration against PISO, where we find a frivolous stroke of false wit. Cicero reproaches Piso for his dissolute manners, and his scandalous debauchery. Who, he says, in all that time, saw you sober? Who beheld you doing any one thing, worthy of a liberal mind? Did you once appear in public? The house of your colleague resounded with songs and minstrels: he himself danced naked in the midst of his wanton company; and while he wheeled about with alacrity in the circular motion of the dance, he never once thought of THE WHEEL OF FORTUNE. Quis te illis diebus sobrium, quis agentem aliquid, quod esset libero dignum? Quis denique in publico vidit? Cum collegae tui domus cantu et cymbalis personaret; cumque ipse nudus in convivio saltaret, in quo ne tum quidem, cum illum suum SALTATORIUM VERSARET ORBEM, FORTUNAE ROTAM pertimescebat. Oratio in Pisonem, prima pars, s. 22. Delph. edit. vol. iii.

[b] The passage here alluded to, presents us with a double pun. The word Verres is the name of a man, and also signifies a boar pig, as we read in Horace, Verris obliquum meditantis ictum. Lib. iii. ode 22. The word jus is likewise of twofold meaning, importing law and sauce, or broth; tepidumque ligurierit jus. Lib. i. sat. 3. The objection to Cicero is, that playing on both the words, and taking advantage of their ambiguous meaning, he says it could not be matter of wonder that the Verrian jus was such bad HOG-SOUP. The wit (if it deserves that name) is mean enough; but, in justice to Cicero, it should be remembered, that he himself calls it frigid, and says, that the men, who in their anger could be so very facetious, as to blame the priest who did not sacrifice such a hog (Verres), were idle and ridiculous. He adds, that he should not descend to repeat such sayings (for they were neither witty, nor worthy of notice in such a cause), had he not thought it material to shew, that the iniquity of VERRES was, in the mouth of the vulgar, a subject of ridicule, and a proverbial joke. Hinc illi homines erant, qui etiam ridiculi inveniebantur ex dolore: quorum alii, ut audistis, negabant mirandum esse, JUS tam nequam esse VERRINUM: alii etiam frigidiores erant; sed quia stomachabantur, ridiculi videbantur esse, cum SACERDOTEM execrabantur, qui VERREM tam nequam reliquisset, Quae ego non commemorarem (neque enim perfacete dicta, neque porro hac severitate digna sunt) nisi vos id vellem recordari, istius nequitiam et iniquitatem tum in ore vulgi, atque communibus proverbiis esse versatam. In Verrem, lib. i. pars tertia, s. 121.

[c] Quintilian acknowledges that the words esse videatur (it seems to be) occur frequently in Cicero's Orations. He adds, that he knew several, who fancied that they had performed wonders, when they placed that phrase in the close of a sentence. Noveram quosdam, qui se pulchre expressisse genus illud caelestis hujus in dicendo viri sibi viderentur, si in clausula posuissent esse videatur. Quintil. lib. x. cap. 2.

[d] The species of composition, called satire, was altogether of Roman growth. Lucilius had the honour of being the inventor; and he succeeded so well, that even in Quintilian's time, his admirers preferred him not only to the writers who followed in the same way, but to all poets of every denomination. Lucilius quosdam ita deditos sibi adhuc habet imitatores, ut eum non ejusdem modo operis, sed omnibus poetis praeferre non dubitent. Lib. x. cap. 1. The great critic, however, pronounces judgement in favour of Horace, who, he says, is more terse and pure; a more acute observer of life, and qualified by nature to touch the ridicule of the manners with the nicest hand. Multo est tersior, ac purus magis Horatius, et ad notandos hominum mores praecipuus.

[e] Lucretius is not without his partisans at this hour. Many of the French critics speak of him with rapture; and, in England, Dr. Wharton of Winchester seems to be at the head of his admirers. He does not scruple to say that Lucretius had more spirit, fire, and energy, more of the vivida vis animi, than any of the Roman poets. It is neither safe nor desirable to differ from so fine a genius as Dr. Wharton. The passages which he has quoted from his favourite poet, shew great taste in the selection. It should be remembered, however, that Quintilian does not treat Lucretius with the same passionate fondness. He places Virgil next to Homer; and the rest, he says, of the Roman poets follow at a great distance. MACER and LUCRETIUS deserve to be read: they have handled their respective subjects with taste and elegance; but Macer has no elevation, and Lucretius is not easily understood. Caeteri omnes longe sequuntur. Nam MACER et LUCRETIUS legendi quidem; elegantes in sua quisque materia, sed alter humilis, alter difficilis. Lib. x. cap. 1. Statius, the poet, who flourished in the reign of Domitian, knew the value of Lucretius, and, in one line, seems to have given his true character; et docti furor arduus Lucreti; but had he been to decide between him and Virgil, it is probable, that he would say to Lucretius, as he did to himself,

——Nec tu divinam AEneida tenta, Sed longe sequere, et vestigia semper adora. THEBAIDOS lib. xii. ver. 816.

[f] Aufidius Bassus and Servilius Nonianus were writers of history. Bassus, according to Quintilian, deserved great commendation, particularly in his History of the German war. In some of his other works he fell short of himself. Servilius Nonianus was known to Quintilian, and, in that critic's judgement, was an author of considerable merit, sententious in his manner, but more diffuse than becomes the historic character. See Quintilian, lib. x. cap. 1. The death of SERVILIUS, an eminent orator and historian, is mentioned by Tacitus in the Annals, b. xiv. s. 19; but the additional name of NONIANUS is omitted. The passage, however, is supposed to relate to the person commended by Quintilian. He died in the reign of Nero, A.U.C. 812; of the Christian aera 59.

[g] Varro was universally allowed to be the most learned of the Romans. He wrote on several subjects with profound erudition. Quintilian says, he was completely master of the Latin language, and thoroughly conversant in the antiquities of Greece and Rome. His works will enlarge our sphere of knowledge, but can add nothing to eloquence. Peritissimus linguae Latinae, et omnis antiquitatis, et rerum Graecarum, nostrarumque; plus tamen scientiae collaturus, quam eloquentiae. Lib. x. cap. 1.

Sisenna, we are told by Cicero, was a man of learning, well skilled in the Roman language, acquainted with the laws and constitution of his country, and possessed of no small share of wit; but eloquence was not his element, and his practice in the forum was inconsiderable. See De Claris Oratoribus, s. 228. In a subsequent part of the same work, Cicero says, that Sisenna was of opinion, that to use uncommon words was the perfection of style. To prove this he relates a pleasant anecdote. One Caius Rufus carried on a prosecution. Sisenna appeared for the defendant; and, to express his contempt of his adversary, said that many parts of the charge deserved to be spit upon. For this purpose he coined so strange a word, that the prosecutor implored the protection of the judges. I do not, said he, understand Sisenna; I am circumvented; I fear that some snare is laid for me. What does he mean by sputatilica? I know that sputa is spittle: but what is tilica? The court laughed at the oddity of a word so strangely compounded. Rufio accusante Chritilium, Sisenna defendens dixit quaedam ejus SPUTATILICA esse crimina. Tum Caius Rufius, Circumvenior, inquit, judices, nisi subvenitis. Sisenna quid dicat nescio; metuo insidias. SPUTATILICA! quid est hoc? Sputa quid sit, scio; tilica nescio. Maximi risus, De Claris Oratoribus, s. 260. Whether this was the same Sisenna, who is said in the former quotation to have been a correct speaker, does not appear with any degree of certainty.

[h] For the character of Secundus, see s. ii. note [c].

[i] Quintilian says, the merit of a fine writer flourishes after his death, for envy does not go down to posterity. Ad posteros enim virtus durabit, nec perveniet invidia. Lib. iii. c. 1. Envy is always sure to pursue living merit; and therefore, Cleo observes to Alexander, that Hercules and Bacchus were not numbered among the gods, till they conquered the malignity of their contemporaries. Nec Herculem, nec Patrem Liberum, prius dicatos deos, quam vicissent secum viventium invidiam. Quintus Curtius, lib. viii. s. 18. Pliny the younger has a beautiful epistle on this subject. After praising, in the highest manner, the various works of Pompeius Saturninus, he says to his correspondent, Let it be no objection to such an author, that he is still living. If he flourished in a distant part of the world, we should not only procure his books, but we should have his picture in our houses: and shall his fame be tarnished, because we have the man before our eyes? Shall malignity make us cease to admire him, because we see him, hear him, esteem and love him? Neque enim debet operibus ejus obesse, QUOD VIVIT. An si inter eos, quos nunquam vidimus, floruisset, non solum libros ejus, verum etiam imagines conquireremus, ejusdem nunc honor praesentis et gratia quasi satietate languescet? At hoc pravum malignumque est, non admirari hominem admiratione dignissimum, quia videre, alloqui, audire, complecti, nec laudare tantum, verum etiam amare contingit. Lib. i. ep. 16.

Section XXIV.

[a] In the Dialogues of Plato, and others of the academic school, the ablest philosophers occasionally supported a wrong hypothesis, in order to provoke a thorough discussion of some important question.

[b] Cicero was killed on the seventh of December, in the consulship of Hirtius and Pansa, A.U.C. 711; before Christ, 43. From that time to the sixth of Vespasian the number of years is exactly 117; though in the Dialogue said to be 120. See s. xvii. note [e].

Section XXV.

[a] See Plutarch's Lives of Lysias, Lycurgus, Demosthenes, and Hyperides. See also the elegant translation of the Orations of Lysias, by Dr. Gillies.

[b] For Quintilian's opinion of Caesar's eloquence, see s. xvii. note [b]. To what is there said may be added the authority of Cicero, who fairly owns, that Caesar's constant habit of speaking his language with purity and correctness, exempted him from all the vices of the corrupt style adopted by others. To that politeness of expression which every well-bred citizen, though he does not aspire to be an orator, ought to practise, when Caesar adds the splendid ornaments of eloquence, he may then be said to place the finest pictures in the best light. In his manner there is nothing mechanical, nothing of professional craft: his voice is impressive, and his action dignified. To air these qualities he unites a certain majesty of mien and figure, that bespeaks a noble mind. Caesar autem rationem adhibens, consuetudinem vitiosam et corruptam pura et incorrupta consuetudine emendat. Itaque cum ad hanc elegantiam verborum Latinorum, quae etiam si orator non sis, et sis ingenuus civis Romanus, tamen necessaria est, adjungit illa oratorio, ornamenta dicendi; tum videtur tanquam tabulas bene pictas collocare in bono lumine. Hanc cum habeat praecipuam laudem in communibus, non video cui debeat cedere. Splendidam quamdam, minimeque veteratoriam rationem dicendi tenet, voce, motu: forma etiam magnifica, et generosa quodammodo. De Claris Oratoribus, s. 261.

For Caelius, see s. xvii. note [c]; and for Brutus, the same section, note [d].

[c] Servius Galba has been already mentioned, s. xviii. note [a]. Caius Laelius was consul A.U.C. 614; before the Christian aera, 140. He was the intimate friend of Scipio, and the patron of Lucilius, the first Roman satirist. See Horace, lib. ii. sat. i. ver. 71.

Quin ubi se a vulgo et scena in secreta remorant Virtus Scipiadae, et mitis sapientia Laeli, Nugari cum illo, et discincti ludere, donec Decoqueretur olus, soliti.

When Scipio's virtue, and of milder vein When Laelius' wisdom, from the busy scene And crowd of life, the vulgar and the great. Could with their favourite satirist retreat, Lightly they laugh'd at many an idle jest, Until their frugal feast of herbs was drest. FRANCIS'S HORACE.

It is probable, that the harsh manner of Lucilius, durus componere versus, infected the eloquence of Laelius, since we find in Cicero, that his style was unpolished, and had much of the rust of antiquity. Multo tamen vetustior et horridior ille quam Scipio, et, cum sint in dicendo variae, voluntates, delectari mihi magis antiquitate videtur, et lubenter verbis etiam uti paulo magis priscis Laelius. De Claris Oratoribus, s. 83.

Section XXVI.

[a] For an account of Caius Gracchus, see s. xviii. note [d].

[b] For Lucius Crassus, see s. xviii. note [f].

[c] The false taste of Maecenas has been noted by the poets and critics who flourished after his death. His affected prettinesses are compared to the prim curls, in which women and effeminate men tricked out their hair. Seneca, who was himself tainted with affectation, has left a beautiful epistle on the very question that makes the main subject of the present Dialogue. He points out the causes of the corrupt taste that debauched the eloquence of those times and imputes the mischief to the degeneracy of the manners. Whatever the man was, such was the orator. Talis oratio quails vita. When ancient discipline relaxed, luxury succeeded, and language became delicate, brilliant, spangled with conceits. Simplicity was laid aside, and quaint expressions grew into fashion. Does the mind sink into languor, the body moves reluctantly. Is the man softened into effeminacy, you see it in his gait. Is he quick and eager, he walks with alacrity. The powers of the understanding are affected in the same manner. Having laid this down as his principle, Seneca proceeds to describe the soft delicacy of Maecenas, and he finds the same vice in his phraseology. He cites a number of the lady-like terms, which the great patron of letters considered as exquisite beauties. In all this, says he, we see the man who walked the streets of Rome in his open and flowing robe. Nonne statim, cum haec legis, occurrit hunc esse, qui solutis tunicis in urbe semper incesserit? Seneca, epist. cxiv. What he has said of Maecenas is perfectly just. The fopperies of that celebrated minister are in this Dialogue called CALAMISTRI; an allusion borrowed from Cicero, who praises the beautiful simplicity of Caesar's Commentaries, and says there were men of a vicious taste, who wanted to apply the curling-iron, that is, to introduce the glitter of conceit and antithesis in the place of truth and nature. Commentarios quosdam scripsit rerum suarum, valde quidem probandos: nudi enim sunt, et recti, et venusti, omni ornatu orationis, tanquam veste, detracto. Ineptis gratum fortasse fecit, qui volunt illa CALAMISTRIS inurere. Cicero De Claris Orat. s. 262.

[d] Who Gallio was, is not clearly settled by the commentators. Quintilian, lib. iii. cap. 1, makes mention of Gallio, who wrote a treatise of eloquence; and in the Annals, b. xv. s. 73, we find Junius Gallio, the brother of Seneca; but whether either of them is the person here intended, remains uncertain. Whoever he was, his eloquence was a tinkling cymbal. Quintilian says of such orators, who are all inflated, tumid, corrupt, and jingling, that their malady does not proceed from a full and rich constitution, but from mere infirmity; for,

As in bodies, thus in souls we find, What wants in blood and spirits, swell'd with wind.

Nam tumidos, et corruptos, et tinnulos, et quocumque alio cacozeliae genere peccantes, certum habeo, non virium, sed infirmitatis vitio laborare: ut corpora non robore, sed valetudine inflantur. Quintil. lib. ii. cap. 3.

[e] Pliny declares, without ceremony, that he was ashamed of the corrupt effeminate style that disgraced the courts of justice, and made him think of withdrawing from the forum. He calls it sing-song, and says that nothing but musical instruments could be added. Pudet referre, quae quam fracta pronunciatione dicantur; quibus quam teneris clamoribus excipiantur. Plausus tantum, ac sola cymbala et tympana, illis canticis desunt. Pliny, lib. ii. epist. 14. The chief aim of Persius in his first satire is levelled against the bad poets of his time, and also the spurious orators, who enervated their eloquence by antithesis, far-fetched metaphors, and points of wit, delivered with the softest tone of voice, and ridiculous airs of affectation.

Fur es, ait Pedio: Pedius quid? Crimina rasis Librat in antithetis; doctus posuisse figuras Laudatur. Bellum hoc! hoc bellum! an Romule ceves? Men' moveat quippe, et, cantet si naufragus, assem Protulerim? Cantas, cum fracta te in trabe pictum Ex humero portes? PERSIUS, sat. i. ver. 85.

Theft, says the accuser, to thy charge I lay, O Pedius. What does gentle Pedius say? Studious to please the genius of the times, With periods, points, and tropes, he slurs his crimes. He lards with flourishes his long harangue: 'Tis fine, say'st thou. What! to be prais'd, and hang? Effeminate Roman! shall such stuff prevail, To tickle thee, and make thee wag thy tail? Say, should a shipwreck'd sailor sing his woe, Wouldst thou be mov'd to pity, and bestow An alms? What's more prepost'rous than to see A merry beggar? wit in misery! DRYDEN'S PERSIUS.

[f] For Cassius Severus, see s. xix. note [a].

[g] Gabinianus was a teacher of rhetoric in the reign of Vespasian. Eusebius, in his Chronicon, eighth of Vespasian, says that Gabinianus, a celebrated rhetorician, was a teacher of eloquence in Gaul. Gabinianus, celeberrimi nominis rhetor, in Gallia docuit. His admirers deemed him another Cicero, and, after him, all such orators were called CICERONES GABISTIANI.

Section XXVIII.

[a] In order to brand and stigmatise the Roman matrons who committed the care of their infant children to hired nurses, Tacitus observes, that no such custom was known among the savages of Germany. See Manners of the Germans, s. xx. See also Quintilian, on the subject of education, lib. i. cap. 2 and 3.