expedition (B.c. 54), and landed with him at Deal on the coast of Kent.

Quintus wrote several letters to Marcus from Britain (Ad Q. Fr. iii. 1 and 3). In the winter of this year (B.C. 54) Quintus was with his legion in the country of the Nervii, and he bravely defended his camp against an unexpected attack of the Gauls, until Caesar came to his help (Caesar, De Bell. Gall. v. 39, &c.). The extant correspondence of Cicero with his brother does not extend beyond the time when he was quartered in the country of the Nervii (Ad Q. Fr. iii. 8); but where the country of the Nervii was, Marcus says that he does not know. The subsequent history of Quintus is not material for the present purpose. He perished in the proscription with his brother B.C. 43.

There are extant three books of the letters of Marcus to Quintus. This, the first of the first book, is less of a letter than an admonitory address. It has more of the character of Cicero's oratorical writings than of his epistolary correspondence, which is easily explained when we see the nature of the subject. Quintus was governor of Asia, the richest of the Roman provinces. We may collect from the letter that he expected to stay only a year in Asia; but Marcus, as the letter shows, had contrived that his brother should have two years, and it happened that he stayed three. He gives some intimation of his motives for this; he seems, as Süpfle says, to have wished that his brother should make amends by a second year's probation for certain hasty proceedings and want of temper in his first year. The object of the elder brother was to maintain and strengthen his family in the high rank to which he had raised it, and accordingly to make this governorship of Asia honourable to Quintus and to himself. The Roman province of Asia, which Quintus administered,

comprehended Mysia with the Hellespontus and Troas, Aeolis, Ionia, Doris, Lydia, Caria, and Phrygia (Cicero, Pro Flacco, c. 27); a traċt full of rich towns and a cultivated population. The usual residence of the governor was Ephesus. This letter was written B.C. 60, in the consulship of L. Afranius and Q. Caecilius Metellus Celer.

When any part of a Roman writer is read, the main object of the teacher is to explain the language; but for this purpose, it is necessary sometimes to study the matter also. From this letter some notion may be got of the Roman provincial administration. There is little use in boys' reading Roman history in the usual way in a short sketch or outline: they generally get as many false notions as true. If the teacher will take the pains to master well each part of an author that he explains to his pupils, his oral instruction on a subject of limited extent will make more impression on the pupils, and produce better results than the loose reading of the common histories. With the view of helping a teacher or diligent student, I have added a few notes to the text of this letter. I have used the notes in the Variorum edition, and the commentary of P. Manutius; but there is little in them. For this second edition I have also used the notes in K. F. Süpfle's 'M. Tullii Ciceronis Epistolae Selectae,' Karlsruhe, 1849; and I have sometimes found them useful.

EPISTOLA AD QUINTUM FRATREM.

MARCUS Q. FRATRI S.

I. 1. Etsi non dubitabam quin hanc epistolam multi nuntii, fama denique esset ipsa sua celeritate superatura, tuque ante ab aliis auditurus esses annum tertium accessisse desiderio nostro et labori tuo; tamen existimavi a me quoque tibi hujus molestiae nuntium perferri oportere. Nam superioribus litteris non unis sed pluribus, quum jam ab aliis desperata res esset, tamen tibi ego spem maturae decessionis afferebam; non solum ut quam diutissime te jucunda opinione oblectarem, sed etiam quia tanta adhibebatur et a nobis et a praetoribus contentio ut rem posse confici non diffiderem. 2. Nunc quoniam ita accidit ut neque praetores suis opibus neque nos nostro studio quidquam proficere possemus, est omnino difficile non graviter id ferre; sed tamen nostros animos maximis in rebus et gerendis et sustinendis exercitatos frangi et de

1. Etsi-tamen] This is a common form of sentence in Cicero.'Dubitabam :' we say, though I do not doubt.' See Ep. Lib. i. II: 'erat-quum haec scribebam;' and the note.

Litteris non unis] 'Litterae unae,' one epistle, 'binae,' two, and so on. See Key's Grammar, 1062, on 'unus' in the plural.

Decessionis] 'Decedo,' not 'dis

cedo,' is the word used to signify a governor's leaving his province at the expiration of his term.

Ex' or 'de provincia' is sometimes joined with the verb; sometimes it is omitted. The word which is applied to the successor in the government is 'succedo.' Tacitus, Agric. 7, 'decessor,'' suc

cessor.'

bilitari molestia non oportet. Et quoniam ea molestissime ferre homines debent quae ipsorum culpa contracta sunt, est quiddam in hac re mihi molestius ferendum quam tibi. Factum est enim mea culpa, contra quam tu mecum et proficiscens et per litteras egeras, ut priore anno non succederetur. Quod ego, dum saluti sociorum consulo, dum impudentiae nonnullorum negotiatorum resisto, dum nostram gloriam tua virtute augeri expeto, feci non sapienter: praesertim quum id commiserim ut ille alter annus etiam tertium posset adducere. 3. Quod quoniam peccatum meum esse confiteor, est sapientiae atque humanitatis tuae curare et perficere ut hoc minus sapienter a me provisum diligentia tua corrigatur. Ac si te ipse vehementius ad omnes partes bene audiendi excitaris, non ut cum aliis sed ut tecum jam ipse certes; si omnem tuam mentem, curam, cogitationem, ad excellentem in omnibus rebus laudis cupiditatem incitaris, mihi crede, unus annus additus labori tuo multorum annorum laetitiam nobis, gloriam vero etiam posteris nostris afferet. 4. Quapropter hoc te primum rogo ne contrahas ac demittas animum, neve te obrui tamquam fluctu sic magnitudine negotii sinas; contraque erigas ac resistas sive etiam ultro occurras negotiis.

Contra quam] In Orelli's and other editions a comma is placed between these words; and yet editors write 'postquam,' 'praeterquam' as one word. (Comp. Cicero, In Pis. c. 8; Liv. xxx. 19.) It may not be easy to explain how this form of expression originated, but it is certain that 'contra quam' must go together.

Id commiserim] Ernesti thinks that 'id' should be 'ita.' Perhaps it should be omitted. To put together' is used here and in many other cases to act in such way that a certain consequence follows.'

Bene audiendi] "And if you

will rouse yourself more vigorously to earn a good repute in every thing." "Bene audire," "to be well spoken of," "male audire," "minus commode audire," are Roman expressions, like the Greek εὖ or κακῶς ἀκούειν.

Ultro] See De Sen. c. 11, note. We cannot translate 'ultro' by 'even' in this passage, for Cicero says 'etiam ultro,' &c. The sense is clear, though it may not be easy to express. Quintus is told to 'resist,' which implies standing one's ground; but Cicero adds, and even go to meet trouble;' where

Neque enim ejusmodi partem rei publicae geris in qua fortuna dominetur, sed in qua plurimum ratio possit et diligentia. Quod si tibi bellum aliquod magnum et periculosum administranti prorogatum imperium viderem, tremerem animo, quod eodem tempore esse intelligerem etiam fortunae potestatem in nos prorogatam. 5. Nunc vero ea pars tibi rei publicae commissa est in qua aut nullam aut perexiguam partem fortuna tenet, et quae mihi tota in tua virtute ac moderatione animi posita esse videatur. Nullas, ut opinor, insidias hostium, nullam praelii dimicationem, nullam defectionem sociorum, nullam

'ultro' shows that the direction is used that the subjunctive is used; 'forward.'

Ejusmodi] See Verr. ii. 1, c. 33. This is a form which Cicero uses very often, where some case of 'talis' would seem to express the same thing. Comp. c. 4, "haec oratio mea non est ejusmodi," &c.

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Prorogatum imperium] The time of the 'imperium' was prolonged. Cicero says (Ad Att. v. 11) 'ne provincia nobis prorogetur," which means the time in the province; and (Verr. ii. 1, c. 38) impetrat a Senatu ut dies sibi prorogaretur." Rogare' is a word of Roman legislation, as 'rogare legem,' to propose a law, that is, to ask the assent of the Quirites, in doing which the word 'rogo was used. The formula is preserved by Gellius (v. 19). Besides the compound 'prorogo,' which is not said of a 'lex,' but of something else, there are 'abrogo,' 'derogo,'' subrogo,' 'obrogo,' all of which are said of a 'lex.'

Tenet,-videatur.] Both these tenses may be right; and if they are, they are an example of the flexibility of the Roman language in expressing a slight difference: It is not owing to videor' being

for videor' expresses a man's opinion or the common opinion. When a Roman lawyer gives a 'responsum,' he generally uses the word 'videtur' to express what we call the better opinion; as in Dig. 15, tit. 3, s. 16, and numerous other places; and in Cicero (Verr. ii. 2, c. 38, 'corrupisse videri ').

Sociorum, &c.] The meaning of the term 'socii,' as applied to the Italians, requires an historical explanation. (De Am. c. 3, rote.) It is here used to signify the native inhabitants of a Roman province. They are called ' genus humanissimum' because these Asiatic cities had long been the seat of an intelligent people, who cultivated commerce and all the arts.

The 'publicani' or farmers of the revenue were a powerful body in the Roman state. They were the monied men of the times, and formed almost an order of their own. They belonged to the equestrian class, from which Cicero sprung, and he had always defended their interests and endeavoured to keep them on good terms with the senate. The functions of the 'publicani' were the same as

L