for ' tota Asia' is there followed by words, it will be ' atque rogant ut
'in civitatibus,' here preceded by ' ci- se etiam magis dignos existimetis, c.
vitates,' with which it is obviously quam cacteros hoc quod, &c.,' i. e.
in apposition. ' nay, they ask you to think them
13. Alium] Glabrio. Introd. 9. more deserving, 6cc, because, &c.'
14. Quod vos] A compliment to But as this seems too presuming for
the sagacity of the Romans. those silent petitioners, we may sup-
15. Quo etiam carent crgrius] ply it thus : atque eos etiam magis
Delph. ' quern magis desiderant cum dignos existimare debemus quam cae-
summa auctoritate.' But, ' quo' teros, &c. ;' and we should deem
refers to ' prope esse,' the want of them even more deserving than other
any good, being more felt the more provincials, in as much as
nearly it is within our reach. Tusc. 19. Audiebant] while he was waging
i. 36. * Carere' est ' egere eo quod the Italian, Sicilian, African, and
habere velis ;' inest enim velle in ca- Spanish wars.
rendo. 20. Temperantia] named first as
16. Maritimum bel.] This, ex- being most opposed to the rapacity of
tending to Cilicia and Mount Ama- other generals. Manut.
nus, placed Pompey within the reach
PRO LEGE MANILIA, Cap. 6.
11
VI. Quare, si propter so-cios, 1 nulla ipsi injuria lacessiti,
ma j ores vestri cum Antiocho, 2 cum Philippo, 3 cum ^Eto-
lis, 4 cum Poenis 5 bella gesserunt : quanto vos studio con-
venit, injuriis provocates, sociorum salutem una cum imperii
vestri dianitate defendere j prsesertim quum de vestris max-
imis vectigalibus agatur ? Nam ceterarum provinciarum
Sec. VI. 1. Propter socios] Ac-
cording to Polybius ii. 12, the first
intercourse between the Greeks and
Romans took place on the conclusion
of the first Illyrian war, a. u. 525,
when the latter sent ambassadors to
Corinth and Athens. The Corin-
thians admitted the Romans to the
Isthmian games; the Athenians de-
clared them citizens of Athens. Zon.
viii.
2. Antiocho'] Antiochus the Great
was descended from Seleucus Nicator,
one of the generals of Alexander the
Great. He possessed all the countries
of Asia, from Media to vEolis and
Ionia, including Cuele-Syria, Phoe-
nicia, and the coast of the Mediter-
ranean, as far as /Egypt. 1 1 is first
appearance in Europe was at Lysi-
machia, a city of Thrace, which he
claimed in right of its founder, Seleu-
cus, and proposed to make the capital
of a kingdom for his son. At the
same tin-.j the .Etolians, dissatisfied
at ti: peace between Philip and the
Romans, (v. next note) instigated Na-
bis, the tyrant of Lacedaemon, to at-
tack the Achaeans, then headed by the
celebrated Philopcemon ; and inviting
Antiochus into Greece, constituted
him general of the /Etolians. The
Romans, of course, were applied to
on the part of the confederates, and
a. u. 562. sent Ac. Glabrio against
Antiochus, who, having destroyed his
whole army at Thermopylae, obliged
himself to retreat to Asia, and the
-<Etolians to surrender at discretion.
The following year his dominions
were invaded by Scipio, who forced
him to accept cf an iguominious
peace.
3. Philippo] Philip was descend-
ed from Antigonus, one of the cap-
tains of Alexander the Great. His
power and abilities made him an
antagonist worthy of the Komans, to
whom he had rendered himself ob-
noxious during the second Punic war,
by making a league with Hannibal.
Subsequently he came to an agree-
ment with Sempronius, (who had
landed a large army in Greece, a.u.
549,) which was ratified by the senate.
But the Athenians, having put to death
two Acarnanians for violating the
mysteries of Certs, Philip, a. u. 552,
joined the latter in invading Atti-
ca. The Athenians, in conjunction
with Attalus and the Rhodians, sent
deputies to Home : Philip did the
same. The senate decided in favor
of the confederates, and the following
year sent the consul, P. Sulpicius
Galba, into Greece. This general
and his successor, Flamininus, obliged
Philip, at the end of four years, to
accept of a peace, whereby full liberty
was secured to the Grecian cities.
4. JEtolis] Vide penult, note. It
was the year following, a. u. 564,
that Fulvius, the patron of Ennius,
(Arch. 11.) reduced them finally,
harder terms of peace being imposed
upon them than on any of the other
states of Greece.
5. Poznis] What Punic war he
alludes to is not specified. If we take
the first, the allies will be the Mamer-
tines, who had seized on the town of
Messina, in Sicily, and invited the
Romans to their support. If the
second, the allies will be the Sagun-
tines. on whom Hannibal made war.
It
M. T. CICERONIS ORATIO
vectigalia, Quirites, tanta 6 sunt, ut iis ad ipsas provincias
tutandas vix contend esse possimus: Asia vero tam opi-
ma 7 est et fertilis, ut et ubertate agrorum, et varietate fruc-
tuum, et magnitudine pastionis, et multitudine earum rerum,
qua3 exportantur, 8 facile omnibus terris antecellat. Itaque
ha?c vobis provincia, Quirites, si et belli utilitatem et pacis
dignitatem sustinere vultis, non modo a calamitate, 9 sed
etiam a metu calamitatis est defendenda. Nam ceteris in
rebus, 10 quum venit calamitas, turn detrimentum 11 accipi-
tur: at in vectigalibus non solum adventus mali, sed etiam
metus ipse affert calamitatem. Nam quum hostium copia?
non longe absunt, etiam si irruptio facta nulla sit, tamen pe-
cora relinquuntur, agricultura deseritur, mercatorum navi-
gatio conquiescit. Ita neque ex portu, 12 neque ex decu-
mis, 13 neque ex scriptura 14 vectigal conservari potest ;
quare saepe totius anni fructus uno rumore periculi, atque
uno belli terrore amittitur. Quo tandem animo esse existi-
matis ant eos, qui vectigalia nobis pensitant, aut eos, qui
exercent atque exigunt, quum duo reges cum maximis copiis
pro|)e adsint ? quum una excursio equitatus perbrevi tempore
6. Tanta] so trifling ; such and
no more. ( ' Tantus' tam parvus ;
vel certe non augens. Forcel.) ' Pra?-
sidii tantum est; ut ne murus qui-
dem cingi potest. Caes. B. G. vi. 35.
7. Opima] from ' ops' and ' uber-
tas' from ' uber' ovOap.
8. Ubertate exportantur.] Al-
luding again to the triple produce
decumae scriptura portorium.
9. Calamitate] from ' calamus'
the effects of a storm on the stulks of
corn.
10. Ceteris in rebus] such as ship-
wreck, fire, &c.
11. Detrimentum'] 1. Loss by fric-
tion ; from ' detero ;' 2. Any loss or
damage.
12. Ex portu] sc. ' vectigal ;' i.e.
'portorium,' and the collectors ' por-
titores.' As this was a highly op-
pressive tax, the ' portitores' were
very unpopular among the pro-
vincials. It is they who in Scrip-
ture are called TtXuivai publi-
cans, of whom St. Matthew was one.
Cic, Verr. ii. 75, speaks of ' portorii
vicesima ;' which seems to intimate
that the customs amounted to one-
twentieth, or five per cent, on the
capital.
13. Decumis] sc. ' partibus ;' i. e. a
tenth of the produce. Hence ' decu-
manus,' the farmer and collector of
' decumae ;' and as agriculture was the
most respectable employment among
the Romans, so the ' decumani' were
* principes et quasi senatus publicano-
rum.'
14. Scriptura] ' the revenue aris-
ing from the public pastures ;' so
called from the written arrangements
entered into by the owners with the
farmers, or ' pecuarii.' ' Neque ex
scriptura' therefore refers to ' pecora
relinquuntur' preceding. ' Scriptura,'
it should be observed, at first included
the whole three classes of revenue.
So. Verr. ii. 70. ' In scriptura Si-
cilian pro magistro estquidam L. Car-
pinatius.' The pasture-tax, however,
retained the name, when the others
acquired distinctive appellations.
PRO LEGE MANILIA, Cap. 7.
13
totius anni vectigal auferre possit ? quum publicani fami-
lias 15 maximas, quas in salinis 13 habent, quas in agris,
quas in portubus atque custodiis, 17 magno periculo se ha-
bere arbitrentur ? Pntatisne vos illis rebus frui posse, nisi eos,
qui vobis fructuosi sunt, conservaveritis, non solum (ut an-
tea dixi) calamitate, sed etiam calamitatis formidine libe-
rates ?
VII. Ac ne illud quidem vobis negligendum est, quod
mihi ego extreminn proposueram, quum essem de belli ge-
nere dicturus, quod ad multorum bona civium Romanorum
pertinet: quorum vobis pro vestra sapientia, Quirites, ha-
benda est ratio diligenter. Nam et 1 publicani, homines et
honestissimi et ornatissimi, 3 suas rationes 3 et copias in
illam |)rovinciam contulerunt: 4 quorum ipsorum per se res
et fortunae curae vobis esse debent. Etenim si vectigalia,
nervos esse rei publico, semper duximus ; eum certe ordi-
nem qui exercet ilia, firmamentum 5 ceterorum ordinum
recte esse dicemus. Deinde ceteris ex ordinibus 6 homines
15. Fumilias] ' Familia' means,
properly, the slaves belonging to
one master ;' here, * the establish-
ment' of a single ' publicanus.'
16. Salinis] sc. ' fodinis.' This is
the reading of all the MSS. Yet it is
hard to conceive why the great Fa-
milies here spoken of, should be so
employed, even admitting the exist-
ence of salt-pits in Asia, of which
there is no proof. V. E. suggests
that the manufacture of salt by eva-
poration would probably employ many
hands, and Pliny, xxxi. 7, shows that
that process was known to the
ancients. But it is in reference to the
taxing, not the manufacture, of salt
that Cic. speaks, which surely would
not require many hands : besides, he
appears to keep in view the preceding
division of revenues, in which in sali-
nis' must answer to 'scriptura' or pas-
tures. Hence, Turneb., Manut., and
Hott., suggest silvis, salictis, and salti-
bus. The first seems the most probable.
So Mil. 9. ' servi quibus silvus pub-
lir.as depopulatus erat.' It may be
added, that during the time of the
kings, salt was sold by license ; but
VOL. I.
on their expulsion this was abolished.
A new tribute was imposed, a. u.
549, by T. Livius, hence called Sa-
linator ; but we read of no such tax
in Asia. Liv. xxix. 37. 4
17. Custodiis'] Places where the
slaves of the ' publicani' kept guard,
lest any goods should pass without
paying custom. Sometimes it ap-
pears to stand for the officers them-
selves. De prov. con. 5.
Skct. VII. 1. Nam et] This et
is answered by 'deinde,' inf.
2. Honestiss. ornatiss.] Primum
ad aestimationem ; alterum ad rem fa-
miliarem refertur. Manut.
3. Rationes] 'resources,' ' pro
perty' not ' accounts,' as explained
by some.
4. Contulerunt] Either ' actually
conveyed,' or, (as 'collocate' su-
jrr. 2.) ' embarked in business.'
5. Firmamentum] Plane. 9. ' Flos
equitum Rom., ornamentum civitatis,
firmamentum reip. publicanorum, or-
dine continetur.'
6. Ceteris ex ordinibus] Sc. the
patrician and plebeian. Some of the
former might at this time follow the
c
14 M. T. CICERONIS ORATIO
gnavi et industrii partim ipsi in Asia negotiantur, quibus vos
absentibus consulere debetis : partim eorum in ea provincia
pecunias magnas collocatas 7 habent. Erit igitur humani-
tatis vestrae, magnum eorum civium numerum calamitate
prohibere : sapient* ae, videre, multorum civium calamita-
tem 8 a republica sejunctam esse non posse. Etenim illud
primum parvi refert, 9 vos publicanis amissa vectigalia pos-
tea victoria recuperare ; neque enim iisdem redimendi 10 fa-
cultas erit, propter calamitatem, neque aliis voluntas, propter
timorem. Deinde, quod nos eadem Asia, atque idem iste
Mithridates initio belli Asiatici 11 docuit ; id quidem certe
calamitate docti memoria retinere debemus. Nam turn,
quum in Asia res magnas permulti amiserant, scimus, Romae,
solutione impedita, fidem 12 concidisse. Non enim possunt
una in civitate multi rem atque fortunas amittere, ut non
plures secum in eandem calamitatem trahant. A quo peri-
culo prohibete rempublicam ; et mihi credite, (id quod ipsi
videtis,) haec fides, atque haec ratio pecuniarum, quae Ro-
nw, quae in foro versatur, 13 implicita est cum illis pecuniis
Asiaticis, et cohaeret. Ruere ilia non possunt, ut haec non
eodem labefactata motu concidant. Quare videte, num du-
bitandum vobis sit, omni studio ad id bellum incumbere, in
quo gloria nominis vestri, salus sociorum, vectigalia max-
im#fortunae plurimorum civium cum republica defendantur.
VIII. Quoniam de genere belli dixi, nunc de magnitudine
pauca dicam. Potest enim 1 hoc dici : belli genus esse ita
lucrative employment of traffic. the bills given by the ' publicani' to
7. Collocatas] This was often the Roman bankers.
done by lending on usury, as we find 13. 7/i foro versatur] The bankers
Brutus did to the Cyprians. Att. vi. had their offices in the forum. Hence
1.3. Cic. calls it * circumforaneum aes ;'
8. Multorum calamitatem, $c] and Liv., xxvi. 11., (Hannibal), ta-
Off. iii. 15. * Singulorura facultates et bernas argentarias, quae circa forum
copiae, divitiae sunt civitatis.' Romanum tunc essent, jussit venire.
9. Parvi refert] It is of little use. Skct. VIII. 1. Enim] i. e. For
10. Redimendi] Often simply, some may admit the necessity of the
1 farming ;' hence * redemptores,' war, yet deny its danger and im-
undertakers. So ' frequens redemp- portance. Cic, therefore, employs
tor.' Hor. Yet the force of re may be the two following sections in answer-
well introduced here, sc. ' farming ing this objection ; i. e. in pointing
anew.' out the principal causes of the war
11. Belli Asiat.] i. e. 'Mithri- being so dangerous ; and very proper-
datici.' Vid. Introd. ly concludes, c. 10., that it is mag-
12. Fidem] public credit; which nitudine periculosum.' Guthrie, how-
now failed, from the non-payment of ever, (whom Duncan follows,) renders
PRO LEGE MANILIA, Cap. 8.
15
necessarium, ut sit gerendum ; non esse ita magnum, ut sit
pertimescendum. In quo 2 maxime laborandum est, 3 ne
forte ea vobis, quae diligentissime providenda 4 sunt, contem-
nenda esse videantur. Atque, ut omnes intelligant, me L.
Lucullo 5 tantum impertire laudis, quantum forti viro, et sa-
pientissimo homini, et magno imperatori debeatur : dico,
ejus adventu 6 maximas Mithridatis copias, omnibus rebus
omatas atque instructas fuisse ; urbemque Asia? clarissimam,
nobisque amicissimam, Cyzicenorum, 7 obsessam esse ab ipso
rege maxima multitudine, et oppugnatam vehementissime ;
quam L. Lucullus virtute, assiduitate, consilio, summis ob-
sidionis periculis liberavit: ab eodem imperatore classem
magnam et ornatam, quae ducibus Sertorianis 8 ad Italiam
studio inflannnata raperetur, 9 superatam esse atque depres-
sam : magnas hostium praeterea copias multis prceliis esse de-
letas: patefactumque nostris legionibus esse Pontum, qui
ante populo Romano ex omni aditu clausus esset: Sino-
pen 10 atque Amisum, 11 quibus in oppidis erant domicilia
it : ' and this I will venture to say,
that though its nature renders it ab-
solutely necessary, yet its greatness
can never render it formidable ;' and
this he conceives Cic. to urge as a
reason why the greatest general ever
Rome had then seen, should be sent
to conduct it !
2. In quo'] i. e. in making out
which point, sc. the importance of the
war.
3. Laborandum est] sc. mihi. He
wishes to rouse their attention to his
statement.
4. Ea qua providenda'] These
he sums up, inf. c. 9, under five par-
ticulars ' quod conjungant reges
potentissimi, &c.' A\. a vobis. But
the prep, is unnecessary. Vid. supr.
2. n. 24.
5. Lucullo] Cic. conceived that
the best introduction to his statement
of the dangers of the war would be,
an apparent candour in detailing the
exploits of Lucullus, the difficulties
which he had surmounted, and the
causes which had prevented his final
success. Vid. Arch. 9.
6. Ejus adventu] Introd. 8.
7. Cyziccn.] Cyzicum was a small
island of the l'ropontis, which Alex-
ander joined to the continent by two
bridges ; at which junction is built
the town of that name. Its founder,
it is said, was Cyzicus, who was
killed by Jason, in an engagement
with the Argonauts.
8. Sertorianis] Introd. 7. 8.
9. Ad Italiam raperetur] That
this fleet was destined to invade Italy,
is asserted by Cic. also in Mur. 15.
The policy of Mithridates, no doubt,
was, like Hannibal, to fight the Ro-
mans on their own soil. The his-
torians do not notice this, and they
place the sea-fight at Lemnos, in-
stead of Tenedos. Arch. 9. But
we may suppose with Graav., that the
battle at Tenedos was followed by
a general engagement at Lemnos,
where Marius, the senator of Serto-
rius, was taken prisoner.
10. Sinopen] The capital of Pontus,
and birth-place of Diogenes, the
Cynic.
11. Amisum] Now Samsoun, a
16 M. T. CICERONIS ORATIO
regis, omnibus rebus ornata atque referta ; ceterasque urbes
Ponti et Capadociae permultas, uno aditu atque adventu esse
captas : regem spoliatum regno patrio atque avito, 12 ad
alios se reges 1J atque ad alias gentes supplicem contulisse :
atque haec omnia, salvis populi Romani soeiis u atque in-
tegris vectigalibus esse gesta. Satis opinor hoc esse laudis ;
atque ita 15 Quirites, ut hoc vos intelligatis, a nullo isto-
rum qui huic obtrectant 16 legi atque causae, L. Lucullum
similiter ex hoc loco esse laudatum.
IX. Requiretur fortasse nunc, quemadmodum, quum haec
ita sint, reliquum possit esse magnum bellum. Cognoscite,
Quirites ; non enim hoc sine causa quaeri videtur. Primum
ex suo regno sic Mithridates profugit, 1 ut ex eodem Ponto
Medea ilia quondam profugisse dicitur : quam praedicant in
fuga, fratris sui 2 membra in iis locis, qua 3 se parens per-
sequeretur, dissipavisse, ut eorum collectio dispersa,* moe-
rorque patrius, celeritatem persequendi retardaret Sic
Mithridates fugiens, maximam vim 5 auri atque argent i, pul-
cherrimarumque rerum omnium, quas et a majoribus acce-
perat, et ipse bello superiore ex tota Asia direptas in suum
regnum congesserat, in Ponto omnem reliquit. Haec dum
nostri colligunt omnia diligent his, rex ipse e manibus ef-
fugit. Ita ilium 6 in jwrseqiiendi studio mceror, hos l.Ttitia
retardavit. Hunc in illo timore et fuga Tigrancs, rex Ar-
menius, excepit ; diffidentemque rebus suis confiimavit; et
afflictum erexit, perditumque recreavit. Cujus in peg-
maritime city of Pontus, on the east Lucullus.
of the river Halys. This city and Sect. IX. I. Profugit] The proper
Sinope Lucullus declared free. term for ' going into exile.' So ' fato
12. Regno avito] Pontus. profugus,' Virg. Profugi incertis sedi-
13. Reges] Tigranes, alone ; un- bus vagabantur. Sail. Cat. 6.
less Cic. alludes to an embassy which 2. Fratris sui] called Absyrtus
Mithridates sent to the king of Parthia. or /Egialeus. He had accompanied
14. Salvis sociis] Except the Medea as far as Pontus, when a ship
slaughter made in Phrygia by Eu- being descried from Colchis, Medea,
machus, a general of Mithridates, suspecting it to carry her father, fled,
during the siege of Cyzicus. App. and strewed the limbs of Absyrtus in
Mithr. 75. the way. Ovid Trist. iii. 9. 27.
15. Ita] sc. 'Satis.' Enough for 3. Qua] per quae loca.
this purpose. Or, ' ita dice ut, &c.' 4. Eorum collectio dispersa] i. e.
16. Obtrectant] The principal op- dispersorum.
ponents of the law were Catulus and 5. Naiimam vim, c\;c] Introd.
Hortensius, who had enlarged in 8. App. 82. Plut. Lucull. 17.
their speeches on the merits of 6. Ilium] JEetes, Medea's father.
PRO LEGE MANILIA, Cap. 9.
17
num 7 posteaquam L. Lucullus cum exercitu venit, plures
etiam gentes 8 contra imperatorem nostrum concitata? sunt.
Erat enim metus injectus iis nationibus, quas nunquam po-
pulus Romanus neque lacessendas bello, neque tentan-
das 9 putavit. Erat etiam alia gravis atque vehemens opi-
nio, quae per animos gentium barbararum pervaserat, fani M
locupletissimi et religiosissimi diripiendi causa in eas oras
nostrum exercitum esse adductum. Ita nationes multa? atque
magna? novo quodam terrore ac metu concitabantur. Noster
autem exercitus, etsi urbem 11 ex Tigranis regno ceperat, et
prceliis usus erat secundis, tamen nimia longinquitate loco-
rum ac desiderio 12 suorum commovebatur. Hie jam plura
non dicam : fuit enim illud extremum, 13 ut ex iis locis a
militibus nostris reditus magis maturus, quam processio lon-
gior quaereretur. Mithridates autem et suam manum 14 jam
confirmarat, et eorum, qui se ex ejus regno collegerant, et
7. Cujus in regnxim, $fc.] In-
trod. 9.
8. Plures gentes] Arabes, Gor-
dyeni, Albani, &c. These were bar-
barous tribes lying to the north of
Armenia and Media.
9. Bello tentandas] to be menaced
with war. ' Tentamini leviter, quo
animo libertatis vestrae diminutionem
ferre possitis.' Agrar. ii. 7. V. E.
10. Fani] There was a celebrated
temple of Bellona at Comana in Cap-
padocia, containing six thousand at-
tendants, and whose high priest
ranked next to the king. This temple
was plundered by Murena, in the
second Mithrid. war, (App. Mithr.
65,) and therefore can hardly be here
intended. Besides Cappadocia was
now under the sway of Ariobarzanes,
an ally of Rome ; but ' eas oras' seems
to intimate barbarous tracts about
Armenia, where the Roman army
then was. This too prevents us from
supposing Comana Pontica, the site
of another temple of Bellona, to be
meant. Cic, therefore, either refers
to some temple about which we are
not informed, or talks widely on a
subject of which he knew the people
were ignorant.
11. Urbem] Tigranocerta. It was
built on a hill, a little above the
Tigris, and was so wealthy that Lu-
cullus (according to Plut.) found in
it eight thousand talents of gold.
Some suppose it alluded to by Hor.
Epist. ii. 2. 30. Artaxata, the old
capital, stood on the Araxes. Plut.
Lucul.26.29.
12. Nimia longinquitute deside-
rio, $c] He does not mention the
disaffection which Gabinius, the crea-
ture of Pompey, and Clodius, the
unprincipled brother-in-law of Lucul-
lus, had diffused through the army.
Hams. R. 20. exercitu Luculli sol-
licitato, &c.
13. Fuit illud extremum'] Introd.
9.
14. Et warn manum] Graev. suum
animum, which is far preferable, as it
is not easy to see how ' suam manum,'
Mithridates's own army and ' eo-
rum qui collegerant,' the forces
collected out of his dominions differ.
Hottom. suggests that the former was
given him by Tigranes. Neither is it
clear whether ' eorum' is governed by
' manum' or copiis,' though the
c 2
18
M. T. CICER0N1S ORATIO
magnis adventitiis multorum regum et nationum 15 copiis
juvabatur. Hoc jam fere 16 sic fieri solere accepimus, ut
regum afflictae fortunae facile multorum opes alliciant ad
misericordiam, maximeque eorum, qui aut reges sunt, aut
yivunt in regno: quod regale iis nomen magnum et sanc-
tum 17 esse videatur. Itaque tantum victus efficere potuit,
quantum incolumis nunquam est ausus optare. Nam quum
se in regnum recepisset suum, non fuit eo contentus, quod ei
praeter spem acciderat, ut illam, posteaquam pulsus erat,
terram unquam attingeret : sed in exercitum vestrum, 18 cla-
rum atque victorem, impetum fecit. Sinite hoc loco, Qui-
rites, (sicut poetae solent, qui res Romanas scribunt,) prae-
terire 19 me nostram calamitatem : quae tanta fuit ut earn ad
aures L. Luculli non ex proelio nuntius, 20 sed ex sermone
rumor afferret. Hie in ipso illo malo, gravissimaque belli
offensione, L. Lucullus, qui tamen aliqua ex parte iis incom-
modis mederi fortasse potuisset, vestro jussu coactus, quod
imperii diuturnitati 21 modum statuendum veteri exem-
pt o 2i putavistis, partem militum, qui jam stipendiis con-
latter is perhaps the better construc-
tion.
15. Regum et nationum] Medes,
Adiabenians, Iberians, from the Cas-
pian Sea ; Arabians, from the Per-
sian Gulf, and Nomades, or Tar-
tars, from the Araxes.
16.. Hoc jam fere, #c] Similarly
yEschyl. Supplic. rote i)toooi yap
nag rig ivvoiaq <p'tpn. Senec. Mi-
sericordia non causam sed fortunam
spectat. Vid. also, Val. Max. v. 3.3.
17. Sunctum] ' a sancio,' i. e. de-
fended by a sanction ; though not de-
voted to a god. So ' sancti legati,'
sanctac leges,' and, Arch. 8. ' sancti
poetae.'
18. In exercitum ve$trum~\ Introd.
9. This statement was calculated to
mislead. It was not the victorious
army of Lucullus, who was then at
Nisibis, in Mesopotamia, that was
defeated, but the troops which had
been intrusted to Fabius, to garrison
Pontus, and the hasty reinforcements
of Triarius.
19. Preeterire'] The law of ora-
tory differed from that of history ;
' ne quid veri dicere non audeat.' De
Or. ii. 15.
20. Non ex pralio nuncius'] An
exaggeration. Had not Mithridates
been wounded in the action it would
have been more nearly the fact. The
slain amounted to seven thousand
men. It was fought near Ziela.
21. Diuturnitati] Lucullus had