[N] [1] Si quid est in me ingeni, iudices, quod sentio quam sit exiguum, aut si qua exercitatio dicendi, in qua me non infitior mediocriter esse versatum, aut si huiusce rei ratio aliqua ab optimarum artium studiis ac disciplina profecta, a qua ego nullum confiteor aetatis meae tempus abhorruisse, earum rerum omnium vel in primis hic A. Licinius fructum a me repetere prope suo iure debet. [2] Nam quoad longissime potest mens mea respicere spatium praeteriti temporis, et pueritiae memoriam recordari ultimam, inde usque repetens hunc video mihi principem et ad suscipiendam et ad ingrediendam rationem horum studiorum exstitisse. [3] Quod si haec vox, huius hortatu praeceptisque conformata, non nullis aliquando saluti fuit, a quo [a Archia] id [vocem] accepimus quo ceteris opitulari et alios servare possemus, huic [Archiae] profecto ipsi, quantum est situm in nobis, et opem et salutem ferre debemus.
[N] [1] Ac ne quis a nobis hoc ita dici forte miretur, quod alia quaedam in hoc [in Archias] facultas sit ingeni, neque haec dicendi ratio aut disciplina: ne nos quidem huic uni studio penitus umquam dediti fuimus. [2] Etenim omnes artes, quae ad humanitatem pertinent, habent quoddam commune vinculum, et quasi cognatione quadam inter se continentur.
[N] [1] Sed ne cui vestrum mirum esse videatur me in quaestione legitima et in iudicio publico, cum res agatur apud praetorem populi Romani, lectissimum virum, et apud severissimos iudices, tanto conventu hominum ac frequentia, hoc uti genere dicendi, quod non modo a consuetudine iudiciorum, verum etiam a forensi sermone abhorreat — [2] quaeso a vobis, ut in hac causa mihi detis hanc veniam, adcommodatam huic reo, vobis, quem ad modum spero, non molestam, ut me pro summo poeta atque eruditissimo homine dicentem, hoc concursu hominum literatissimorum, hac vestra humanitate, hoc denique praetore exercente iudicium, patiamini de studiis humanitatis ac litterarum paulo loqui liberius; [3] et in eius modi persona, quae propter otium ac studium minime in iudiciis periculisque tractata est, uti prope novo quodam et inusitato genere dicendi.
[N] [1] Quod si mihi a vobis tribui concedique sentiam, perficiam profecto ut hunc A. Licinium non modo non segregandum, cum sit civis, a numero civium, verum etiam si non esset, putetis asciscendum fuisse. [2] Nam ut primum ex pueris excessit Archias, atque ab eis artibus quibus aetas puerilis ad humanitatem informari solet, se ad scribendi studium contulit; [3] primum Antiochiae — nam ibi natus est loco nobili — celebri quondam urbe et copiosa, atque eruditissimis hominibus liberalissimisque studiis adfluenti, celeriter antecellere omnibus ingeni gloria contigit. [4] Post in ceteris Asiae partibus cunctaeque Graeciae sic eius adventus celebrabantur, ut famam ingeni exspectatio hominis [superaret], exspectationem ipsius adventus admiratioque superaret.
[N] [1] Erat Italia tunc plena Graecarum artium ac disciplinarum, studiaque haec et in Latio vehementius tum colebantur quam nunc eisdem in oppidis, et hic Romae propter tranquillitatem rei publicae non neglegebantur. [2] Itaque hunc et Tarentini et Regini et Neopolitani civitate ceterisque praemiis donarunt; et omnes, qui aliquid de ingeniis poterant iudicare, cognitione atque hospitio dignum existimarunt. [3] Hac tanta celebritate famae cum esset iam absentibus notus, Romam venit Mario consule et Catulo. [4] Nactus est primum consules eos, quorum alter res ad scribendum maximas, alter cum res gestas tum etiam studium atque auris adhibere posset. [5] Statim Luculli, cum praetextatus etiam tum Archias esset, eum domum suam receperunt. [6] Sic etiam hoc non solum ingeni ac litterarum, verum etiam naturae atque virtutis, ut domus, quae huius adulescentiae prima fuit, eadem esset familiarissima senectuti.
[N] [1] Erat temporibus illis iucundus Metello illi Numidico et eius Pio filio; audiebatur a M. Aemilio; vivebat cum Q. Catulo et patre et filio; a L. Crasso colebatur; Lucullos vero et Drusum et Octavios et Catonem et totam Hortensiorum domum devinctam consuetudine cum teneret, adficiebatur summo honore; [2] quod eum non solum colebant qui aliquid percipere atque audire studebant, verum etiam si qui forte simulabant. [3] Interim satis longo intervallo, cum esset cum M. Lucullo in Siciliam profectus, et cum ex ea provincia cum eodem Lucullo decederet, venit Heracliam, quae cum esset civitas aequissimo iure ac foedere, ascribi se in eam civitatem voluit; idque, cum ipse per se dignus putaretur, tum auctoritate et gratia Luculli ab Heracliensibus impetravit.
[N] [1] Data est civitas Silvani lege et Carbonis:
Si qui foederatis civitatibus ascripti fuissent; si tum, cum lex ferebatur, in Italia domicilium habuissent; et si sexaginta diebus apud praetorem essent professi.Cum hic domicilium Romae multos iam annos haberet, professus est apud praetorem Q. Metellum familiarissimum suum.
[N] [1] Si nihil aliud nisi de civitate ac lege dicimus, nihil dico amplius; causa dicta est. Quid enim horum infirmari, Grati, potest? Heracliaene esse tum ascriptum negabis? Adest vir summa auctoritate et religione et fide, M. Lucullus, qui se non opinari sed scire non audisse sed vidisse, non interfuisse sed egisse dicit. Adsunt Heraclienses legati, nobilissimi homines, huius iudici causa cum mandatis et cum publico testimonio [venerunt]; qui hunc ascriptum Heracliensem dicunt. [2] His tu tabulas desideras Heracliensium publicas, quas Italico bello incenso tabulario interisse scimus omnis. Est ridiculum ad ea quae habemus nihil dicere, quaerere quae habere non possumus; et de hominum memoria tacere, litterarum memoriam flagitare; et, cum habeas amplissimi viri religionem, integerrimi municipi ius iurandum fidemque, ea quae depravari nullo modo possunt repudiare, tabulas, quas idem dicis solere corrumpi, desiderare.
[N] [1] «An domicilium Romae non habuit» is, qui tot annis ante civitatem datam sedem omnium rerum ac fortunarum suarum Romae conlocavit? «At non est professus.» Immo vero eis tabulis professus, quae solae ex illa professione conlegioque praetorum obtinent publicarum tabularum auctoritatem. [2] Nam — cum Appi tabulae neglegentius adservatae dicerentur, Gabini, quam diu incolumis fuit levitas, post damnationem calamitas, omnem tabularum fidem resignasset — Metellus, homo sanctissimus modestissimusque omnium, tanta diligentia fuit, ut ad L. Lentulum praetorem et ad iudices venerit, et unius nominis litura se commotum esse dixerit. In his igitur tabulis nullam lituram in nomine A. Licini videtis.
[N] [1] Quae cum ita sunt, quid est quod de eius civitate dubitetis, praesertim cum aliis quoque in civitatibus fuerit ascriptus? Etenim cum mediocribus multis et aut nulla aut humili aliqua arte praeditis gratuito civitatem in Graecia homines impertiebant, Reginos credo aut Locrensis aut Neapolitanos aut Tarentinos, quod scenicis artificibus largiri solebant, id huic summa ingeni praedito gloria noluisse! Quid? cum ceteri non modo post civitatem datam, sed etiam post legem Papiam aliquo modo in eorum municipiorum tabulas inrepserunt, hic, qui ne utitur quidem illis in quibus est scriptus, quod semper se Heracliensem esse voluit, reicietur?
[N] [1] Census nostros requiris scilicet. Est enim obscurum proximis censoribus hunc cum clarissimo imperatore L. Lucullo apud exercitum fuisse; superioribus, cum eodem quaestore fuisse in Asia; primis Iulio et Crasso nullam populi partem esse censam. Sed — quoniam census non ius civitatis confirmat, ac tantum modo indicat eum qui sit census [ita] se iam tum gessisse pro cive — eis temporibus quibus tu criminaris ne ipsius quidem iudicio in civium Romanorum iure esse versatum, et testamentum saepe fecit nostris legibus, et adiit hereditates civium Romanorum, et in beneficiis ad aerarium delatus est a L. Lucullo pro consule.
[N] [1] Quaere argumenta, si qua potes: numquam enim his neque suo neque amicorum iudicio revincetur. Quaeres a nobis, Grati, cur tanto opere hoc homine delectemur. Quia suppeditat nobis ubi et animus ex hoc forensi strepitu reficiatur, et aures convicio defessae conquiescant. An tu existimas aut suppetere nobis posse quod cotidie dicamus in tanta varietate rerum, nisi animos nostros doctrina excolamus; aut ferre animos tantam posse contentionem, nisi eos doctrina eadem relaxemus? Ego vero fateor me his studiis esse deditum: ceteros pudeat, si qui se ita litteris abdiderunt ut nihil possint ex eis neque ad communem adferre fructum, neque in aspectum lucemque proferre: me autem quid pudeat, qui tot annos ita vivo, iudices, ut a nullius umquam me tempore aut commodo aut otium meum abstraxerit, aut voluptas avocarit, aut denique somnus retardit?
[N] [1] Qua re quis tandem me reprehendat, aut quis mihi iure suscenseat, si, quantum ceteris ad suas res obeundas, quantum ad festos dies ludorum celebrandos, quantum ad alias voluptates et ad ipsam requiem animi et corporis conceditur temporum, quantum alii tribuunt tempestivis conviviis, quantum denique alveolo, quantum pilae, tantum mihi egomet ad haec studia recolenda sumpsero? Atque hoc ideo mihi concedendum est magis, quod ex his studiis haec quoque crescit oratio et facultas; quae, quantacumque in me est, numquam amicorum periculis defuit. Quae si cui levior videtur, illa quidem certe, quae summa sunt, ex quo fonte hauriam sentio.
[N] [1] Nam nisi multorum praeceptis multisque litteris mihi ab adulescentia suasissem, nihil esse in vita magno opere expetendum nisi laudem atque honestatem, in ea autem persequenda omnis cruciatus corporis, omnia pericula mortis atque exsili parvi esse ducenda, numquam me pro salute vestra in tot ac tantas dimicationes atque in hos profligatorum hominum cotidianos impetus obiecissem. Sed pleni omnes sunt libri, plenae sapientium voces, plena exemplorum vetustas: quae iacerent in tenebris omnia, nisi litterarum lumen accederet. Quam multas nobis imagines — non solum ad intuendum, verum etiam ad imitandum — fortissimorum virorum expressas scriptores et Graeci et Latini reliquerunt? Quas ego mihi semper in administranda re publica proponens animum et mentem meam ipsa cognitatione hominum excellentium conformabam.
[N] [1] Quaeret quispiam: «Quid? Illi ipsi summi viri, quorum virtutes litteris proditae sunt, istane doctrina, quam tu effers laudibus, eruditi fuerunt?» Difficile est hoc de omnibus confirmare, sed tamen est certe quod respondeam. Ego multos homines excellenti animo ac virtute fuisse, et sine doctrina naturae ipsius habitu prope divino per se ipsos et moderatos et gravis exstitisse, fateor: etiam illud adiungo, saepius ad laudem atque virtutem naturam sine doctrina quam sine natura valuisse doctrinam. Atque idem ego contendo, cum ad naturam eximiam atque inlustrem accesserit ratio quaedam conformatioque doctrinae, tum illud nescio quid praeclarum ac singulare solere exsistere.
[N] [1] Ex hoc esse hunc numero, quem patres nostri viderunt, divinum hominem Africanum; ex hoc C. Laelium, L. Furium, moderatissimos homines et continentissimos; ex hoc fortissimum virum et illis temporibus doctissimum, M. Catonem illum senem: qui profecto si nihil ad percipiendam [colendam] virtutem litteris adiuvarentur, numquam se ad earum studium contulissent. Quod si non his tantus fructus ostenderetur, et si ex his studiis delectatio sola peteretur, tamen (ut opinor) hanc animi adversionem humanissimam ac liberalissimam iudicaretis. Nam ceterae neque temporum sunt neque aetatum omnium neque locorum: haec studia adulescentiam alunt, senectutem oblectant, secundas res ornant, adversis perfugium ac solacium praebent, delectant domi, non impediunt foris, pernoctant nobiscum, peregrinantur, rusticantur.
[N] [1] Quod si ipsi haec neque attingere neque sensu nostro gustare possemus, tamen ea mirari deberemus, etiam cum in aliis videremus. Quis nostrum tam animo agresti ac duro fuit, ut Rosci morte nuper non commoveretur? qui cum esset senex mortuus, tamen propter excellentem artem ac venustatem videbatur omnino mori non debuisse. Ergo ille corporis motu tantum amorem sibi conciliarat a nobis omnibus: nos animorum incredibilis motus celeritatemque ingeniorum neglegemus?
[N] [1] Quotiens ego hunc Archiam vidi, iudices, —utar enim vestra benignitate, quoniam me in hoc novo genere dicendi tam diligenter attenditis,—quotiens ego hunc vidi, cum litteram scripsisset nullam, magnum numerum optimorum versuum de eis ipsis rebus quae tum agerentur dicere ex tempore! Quotiens revocatum eandem rem dicere, commutatis verbis atque sententiis! Quae vero adcurate cogitateque scripsisset, ea sic vidi probari, ut ad veterum scriptorum laudem perveniret. Hunc ego non diligam? non admirer? non omni ratione defendendum putem! Atque sic a summis hominibus eruditissimisque accepimus, ceterarum rerum studia et doctrina et praeceptis et arte constare: poetam natura ipsa valere, et mentis viribus excitari, et quasi divino quodam spiritu inflari. Qua re suo iure noster ille Ennius sanctos appellat poetas, quod quasi deorum aliquo dono atque munere commendati nobis esse videantur.
[N] [1] Sit igitur, iudices, sanctum apud vos, humanissimos homines, hoc poetae nomen, quod nulla umquam barbaria violavit. Saxa et solitudines voci repondent, bestiae saepe immanes cantu flectuntur atque consistunt: nos, instituti rebus optimis, non poetarum voce moveamur? Homerum Colophonii civem esse dicunt suum, Chii suum vindicant, Salaminii repetunt, Smyrnaei vero suum esse confirmant, itaque etiam delubrum eius in oppido dedicaverunt: permulti alii praeterea pugnant inter se atque contendunt. Ergo illi alienum, quia poeta fuit, post mortem etiam expetunt: nos hunc vivum, qui et voluntate et legibus noster est, repudiabimus? praesertim cum omne olim studium atque omne ingenium contulerit Archias ad populi Romani gloriam laudemque celebrandam? Nam et Cimbricas res adulescens attigit, et ipsi illi C. Mario, qui durior ad haec studia videbatur, iucundus fuit.
[N] [1] Neque enim quisquam est tam aversus a Musis, qui non mandari versibus aeternum suorum laborum facile praeconium patiatur. Themistoclem illum, summum Athenis virum, dixisse aiunt, cum ex eo quaereretur, quod acroama aut cuius vocem libentissime audiret: «Eius, a quo sua virtus optime praedicaretur.» Itaque ille Marius item eximie L. Plotium dilexit, cuius ingenio putabat ea quae gesserat posse celebrari.
[N] [1] Mithridaticum vero bellum, magnum atque difficile et in multa varietate terra marique versatum, totum ab hoc expressum est: qui libri non modo L. Lucullum, fortissimum et clarissimum virum, verum etiam populi Romani nomen inlustrant. Populus enim Romanus aperuit Lucullo imperante Pontum, et regiis quondam opibus et ipsa natura et regione vallatum: populi Romani exercitus, eodem duce, non maxima manu innumerabilis Armeniorum copias fudit: populi Romani laus est urbem amicissimam Cyzicenorum eiusdem consilio ex omni impetu regio atque totius belli ore ac faucibus ereptam esse atque servatam: nostra semper feretur et praedicabitur L. Lucullo dimicante, cum interfectis ducibus depressa hostium classis, et incredibilis apud Tenedum pugna illa navalis: nostra sunt tropaea, nostra monimenta, nostri triumphi. Quae quorum ingeniis efferuntur, ab eis populi Romani fama celebratur.
[N] [1] Carus fuit Africano superiori noster Ennius, itaque etiam in sepulcro Scipionum putatur is esse constitutus ex marmore. At eis laudibus certe non solum ipse qui laudatur, sed etiam populi Romani nomen ornatur. In caelum huius proavus Cato tollitur: magnus honos populi Romani rebus adiungitur. Omnes denique illi Maximi, Marcelli, Fulvii, non sine communi omnium nostrum laude decorantur. Ergo illum, qui haec fecerat, Rudinum hominem, maiores nostri in civitatem receperunt: nos hunc Heracliensem, multis civitatibus expetitum, in hac autem legibus constitutum, de nostra civitate eiciemus?
[N] [1] Nam si quis minorem gloriae fructum putat ex Graecis versibus percipi quam ex Latinis, vehementer errat: propterea quod Graeca leguntur in omnibus fere gentibus, Latina suis finibus, exiguis sane, continentur. Qua re si res eae quas gessimus orbis terrae regionibus definiuntur, cupere debemus, quo manuum nostrarum tela pervenerint, eodem gloriam famamque penetrare: quod cum ipsis populis de quorum rebus scribitur, haec ampla sunt, tum eis certe, qui de vita gloriae causa dimicant, hoc maximum et periculorum incitamentum est et laborum.
[N] [1] Quam multos scriptores rerum suarum magnus ille Alexander secum habuisse dicitur! Atque is tamen, cum in Sigeo ad Achillis tumulum astitisset: «O fortunate» inquit «adulescens, qui tuae virtutis Homerum praeconem inveneris!» Et vere. Nam nisi Illias illa exstitisset, idem tumulus, qui corpus eius contexerat, nomen etiam obruisset. Quid? noster hic Magnus, qui cum virtute fortunam adaequavit, nonne Theophanem Mytilenaeum, scriptorem rerum suarum, in contione militum civitate donavit; et nostri illi fortes viri, sed rustici ac milites, dulcedine quadam gloriae commoti, quasi participes eiusdem laudis, magno illud clamore approbaverunt?
[N] [1] Itaque, credo, si civis Romanus Archias legibus non esset, ut ab aliquo imperatore civitate donaretur perficere non potuit. Sulla cum Hispanos donaret et Gallos, credo hunc petentem repudiasset: quem nos in contione vidimus, cum ei libellum malus poeta de populo subiecisset, quod epigramma in eum fecisset, tantummodo alternis versibus longiusculis, statim ex eis rebus quas tunc vendebat iubere ei praemium tribui, sed ea condicione, ne quid postea scriberet. Qui sedulitatem mali poetae duxerit aliquo tamen praemio dignam, huius ingenium et virtutem in scribendo et copiam non expetisset?
[N] [1] Quid? a Q. Metello Pio, familiarissimo suo, qui civitate multos donavit, neque per se neque per Lucullos impetravisset? qui praesertim usque eo de suis rebus scribi cuperet, ut etiam Cordubae natis poetis, pingue quiddam sonantibus atque peregrinum, tamen auris suas dederet. Neque enim est hoc dissimulandum (quod obscurari non potest) sed prae nobis ferendum: trahimur omnes studio laudis, et optimus quisque maxime gloria ducitur. Ipsi illi philosophi, etiam in eis libellis quos de contemnenda gloria scribunt, nomen suum inscribunt: in eo ipso, in quo praedicationem nobilitatemque despiciunt, praedicari de se ac nominari volunt.
[N] [1] Decimus quidem Brutus, summus vir et imperator, Acci, amicissimi sui, carminibus templorum ac monumentorum aditus exornavit suorum. iam vero ille, qui cum Aetolis Ennio comite bellavit, Fulvius, non dubitavit Martis manubias Musis consecrare. Qua re in qua urbe imperatores prope armati poetarum nomen et Musarum delubra coluerunt, in ea non debent togati iudices a Musarum honore et a poetarum salute abhorrere.
[N] [1] Atque ut id libentius faciatis, iam me vobis, iudices, indicabo, et de meo quodam amore gloriae, nimis acri fortasse verum tamen honesto vobis, confitebor. Nam quas res nos in consulatu nostro vobiscum simul pro salute huiusce imperi et pro vita civium proque universa re publica gessimus, attigit hic versibus atque inchoavit: quibus auditis, quod mihi magna res et iucunda visa est, hunc ad perficiendum adornavi. Nullam enim virtus aliam mercedem laborum periculorumque desiderat, praeter hanc laudis et gloriae: qua quidem detracta, iudices, quid est quod in hoc tam exiguo vitae curriculo [et tam brevi] tantis nos in laboribus exerceamus?
[N] [1] Certe si nihil animus praesentiret in posterum, et si quibus regionibus vitae spatium circumscriptum est, eisdem omnis cogitationes terminaret suas; nec tantis se laboribus frangeret, neque tot curis vigiliisque angeretur, nec totiens de ipsa vita dimicaret. Nunc insidet quaedam in optimo quoque virtus quae noctis ac dies animum gloriae stimulis concitat, atque admonet non cum vitae tempore esse dimittendam commemorationem nominis nostri, sed cum omni posteritate adaequandam.
[N] [1] An vero tam parvi animi videamur esse omnes, qui in re publica atque in his vitae periculis laboribusque versamur, ut, cum usque ad extremum spatium nullum tranquillum atque otiosum spiritum duxerimus, nobiscum simul moritura omnia arbitremur? An statuas et imagines, non animorum simulacra sed corporum, studiose multi summi homines reliquerunt; consiliorum relinquere ac virtutum nostrarum effigiem nonne multo malle debemus, summis ingeniis expressam et politam? Ego vero omnia quae gerebam, iam tum in gerendo spargere me ac disseminare arbitrabar in orbis terrae memoriam sempiternam. Haec vero sive a meo sensu post mortem afutura est sive — ut sapientissimi homines putaverunt — ad aliquam mei partem pertinebit, nunc quidem certe cogitatione quadam speque delector.
[N] [1] Qua re conservate, iudices, hominem pudore eo, quem amicorum videtis comprobari cum dignitate tum etiam vetustate; ingenio autem tanto, quantum id convenit existimari, quod summorum hominum ingeniis expetitum esse videatis; causa vero eius modi, quae beneficio legis, auctoritate municipi, testimonio Luculli, tabulis Metelli comprobetur. Quae cum ita sint, petimus a vobis, iudices, si qua non modo humana, verum etiam divina in tantis ingeniis commendatio debet esse, ut eum qui vos, qui vestros imperatores, qui populi Romani res gestas semper ornavit, qui etiam his recentibus nostris vestrisque domesticis periculis aeternum se testimonium laudis daturum esse profitetur, estque ex eo numero qui semper apud omnis sancti sunt habiti itaque dicti, sic in vestram accipiatis fidem, ut humanitate vestra levatus potius quam acerbitate violatus esse videatur.
[N] [1] Quae de causa pro mea consuetudine breviter simpliciterque dixi, iudices, ea confido probata esse omnibus. Quae autem remota a mea iudicialique consuetudine, et de hominis ingenio et communiter de ipsius studio locutus sum, ea, iudices, a vobis spero esse in bonam partem accepta; ab eo qui iudicium exercet, certo scio.
[1] If there is any natural ability in me, O judges,—and I know how slight that is; or if I have any practice as a speaker,—and in that line I do not deny that I have some experience; or if I have any method in my oratory, drawn from my study of the liberal sciences, and from that careful training to which I admit that at no part of my life have I ever been disinclined; certainly, of all those qualities, this Aulus Licinius is entitled to be among the first to claim the benefit from me as his peculiar right. [2] For as far as ever my mind can look back upon the space of time that is past, and recall the memory of its earliest youth, tracing my life from that starting-point, I see that Archias was the principal cause of my undertaking, and the principal means of my mastering, those studies. [3] And if this voice [of mine], formed by his encouragement and his precepts, has at times been the instrument of safety to others, the man [Archias] from whom we received it [the means, the voice] by which we have been able to help others and save some, to that man [Archias] himself certainly, as much as lies in our power, we ought to bring help and rescue.
[1] And lest any one should, perchance, marvel at this being said by me, as the chief of his [Archias'] ability consists in something else, and not in this system and practice of eloquence[, he must be told that]: even we ourselves have never been wholly devoted exclusively to this study. [2] In truth, all the arts which concern the civilising and humanising of men, have some link which binds them together, and are, as it were, connected by some relationship to one another.
[1] And, that it may not appear marvellous to any one of you, that I, in a formal proceeding like this, and in a regular court of justice, when an action is being tried before a praetor of the Roman people, a most eminent man, and before most impartial judges, before such an assembly and multitude of people as I see around me, employ this style of speaking, which is at variance, not only with the ordinary usages of courts of justice, but with the general style of the language of the Forum— [2] I entreat you in this cause to grant me this indulgence, suitable to this defendant, and as I trust not disagreeable to you, [the indulgence, namely,] of allowing me, when speaking in defence of a most sublime poet and most learned man, before this concourse of highly-educated citizens, before this most polite and accomplished assembly, and before such a praetor as him who is presiding at this trial, to enlarge with a little more freedom than usual on the study of polite literature and refined arts; [3] and, speaking in the character of such a man, who, owing to the tranquillity of his life and the studies to which he has devoted himself, has but little experience of the dangers of a court of justice, to employ a new and unusual style of oratory.
[1] And if I feel that that indulgence is given and allowed me by you, I will soon cause you to think that this Aulus Licinius is a man who not only, now that he is a citizen, does not deserve to be expunged from the list of citizens, but that he is worthy, even if he were not one, of being now made a citizen. [2] For as soon as Archias passed out of boyhood, and [moved on] from those arts by which the age of boyhood is wont to be formed to liberal humanity, he applied himself to the study of writing; [3] first at Antioche—for there he was born to a noble station, once a celebrated and crowded city, and with the most erudite men and liberal studies overflowing—quickly to excel all others in the glory of genius he reached. [4] Thereafter in other parts of Asia and all of Greece so much was his arrival celebrated, that the fame of genius [was surpassed] by the anticipation of the man, [and] the expectation exceeded by the arrival and wonder of [Archias] himself.
[1] Italy was at that time full of Greek science and of Greek systems, and these studies were at that time cultivated in Latium with greater zeal than they now are in the same towns; and here too at Rome, on account of the tranquil state of the republic at that time, they were far from neglected. [2] Therefore, the people of Tarentum, and Rhegium, and Neapolis, presented him with the freedom of the city and with other gifts; and all men who were capable of judging of genius thought him deserving of their acquaintance and hospitality. [3] When, from this great celebrity of his, he had become known to us though absent, he came to Rome, in the consulship of Marius and Catulus. [4] It was his lot to have those men as his first consuls, the one of whom could supply him with the most illustrious achievements to write about, the other could give him, not only exploits to celebrate, but his ears and judicious attention. [5] Immediately the Luculli, though Archias was as yet but a youth, received him in their house. [6] But it was not only to his genius and his learning, but also to his natural disposition and virtue, that it must be attributed that the house which was the first to be opened to him in his youth, is also the one in which he lives most familiarly in his old age.
[1] He at that time gained the affection of Quintus Metellus, [that great man who was the] conqueror of Numidia, and his son Pius. He was eagerly listened to by Marcus Aemilius; he associated with Quintus Catulus—both with the father and the son. He was highly respected by Lucius Crassus; and as for the Luculli, and Drusus, and the Octavii, and Cato, and the whole family of the Hortensii, because he was on terms of the greatest possible intimacy with all of them, he was held by them in the greatest honour. [2] For, not only did every one cultivate his acquaintance who wished to learn or to hear anything, but even every one pretended to have such a desire. [3] Meanwhile, after a sufficiently long interval, since he had gone to Sicily with M. Lucullus, and since he had left that province with the same M. Lucullus, Archias came to Heraclea, which, since it was a city of favorable privilege and treaty, Archias wanted himself enrolled as a citizen of that city, and since he himself by his own abilities was considered worthy, and then also by the authority and favor of Lucullus he obtained it from the Heracliensians.
[1] The freedom of the city was given him in accordance with the provisions of the law of Silvanus and Carbo:
If any men had been enrolled as citizens of the confederate cities, and if, at the time that the law was passed, they had a residence in Italy, and if within sixty days they had made a return or themselves to the praetor.As he had now had a residence at Rome for many years, he returned himself as a citizen to the praetor, Quintus Metellus, his most intimate friend.
[1] If we have nothing else to speak about except the rights of citizenship and the law, I need say no more. The cause is over. For which of all these statements, O Gratius, can be invalidated? Will you deny that he was enrolled, at the time I speak of, as a citizen of Heraclea? There is a man present of the very highest authority, a most scrupulous and truthful man, Lucius Lucullus, who will tell you not that he thinks it, but that he knows it; not that he has heard of it, but that he saw it; not even that he was present when it was done, but that he actually did it himself. Deputies from Heraclea are present, men of the highest rank; they have come expressly on account of this trial, with a commission from their city, and to give evidence on the part of their city; and they say that he was enrolled as a Heraclean. [2] On this you ask for the public registers of the Heracleans, which we all know were destroyed in the Italian war, when the register office was burnt. It is ridiculous to say nothing to the proofs which we have, but to ask for proofs which it is impossible for us to have; to disregard the recollection of men, and to appeal to the memory of documents; and when you have the conscientious evidence of a most honourable man, the oath and good faith of a most respectable municipality, to reject those things which cannot by any possibility be tampered with, and to demand documentary evidence, though you say at the same moment that that is constantly played tricks with.
[1] “But he had no residence at Rome.” What, not he who for so many years before the freedom of the city was given to him, had established the abode of all his property and fortunes at Rome? “But he did not return himself.” Indeed he did, and in that return which alone obtains with the college of praetors, the authority of a public document. [2] For—as the returns of Appius were said to have been kept carelessly, and as the trifling conduct of Gabinius before he was convicted, and his misfortune after his condemnation, had taken away all credit from the public registers—Metellus, the most scrupulous and moderate of all men, was so careful, that he came to Lucius Lentulus, the praetor, and to the judges, and said that he was greatly vexed at an erasure which appeared in one name. In these documents, therefore, you will see no erasure affecting the name of Aulus Licinius.
[1] And as this is the case, what reason have you for doubting about his citizenship, especially as he was enrolled as a citizen in other cities also? In truth, as men in Greece were in the habit wantonly of giving rights of citizenship to many men of very ordinary qualifications, and endowed with no talents at all or with very moderate ones, [it is likely,] I suppose, that the Rhegians, and Locrians, and Neapolitans, and Tarentines should have been unwilling to give to this man, enjoying the highest possible reputation for genius, what they were in the habit of giving even to theatrical artists! What? when other men, who not only after the freedom of the city had been given, but even after the passing of the Papian law, crept somehow or other into the registers of those municipalities, shall he be rejected who does not avail himself of those other lists in which he is enrolled, because he always wished to be considered a Heraclean?
[1] You demand to see our own censor's returns. I suppose no one knows that at the time of the last census he was with that most illustrious general, Lucius Lucullus, with the army; that at the time of the preceding one he was with the same man when he was in Asia as quaestor; and that in the census before that, when Julius and Crassus were censors, no regular account of the people was taken. But, since the census does not confirm the right of citizenship, but only indicates that he, who is returned in the census, did at that time claim to be considered as a citizen, I say that, at that time, when you say, in your speech for the prosecution, that he did not even himself consider that he had any claim to the privileges of a Roman citizen, he more than once made a will according to our laws, and he entered upon inheritances left him by Roman citizens; and he was made honourable mention of by Lucius Lucullus, both as praetor and as consul, in the archives kept in the treasury.
[1] You ask us, O Gratius, why we are so exceedingly attached to this man. Because he supplies us with food whereby our mind is refreshed after this noise in the forum, and with rest for our ears after they have been wearied with bad language. Do you think it possible that we could find a supply for our daily speeches, when discussing such a variety of matters, unless we were to cultivate our minds by the study of literature; or that our minds could bear being kept so constantly on the stretch if we did not relax them by that same study? But I confess that I am devoted to those studies, let others be ashamed of them if they have buried themselves in books without being able to produce anything out of them for the common advantage or anything which may bear the eyes of men and the light. But why need I be ashamed, who for many years have lived in such a manner as never to allow my own love of tranquillity to deny me to the necessity or advantage of another or my fondness for pleasure to distract, or even sleep to delay my attention to such claims?
[1] Who then can reproach me or who has any right to be angry with me, if I allow myself as much time for the cultivation of these studies as some take for the performance of their own business, or for celebrating days of festival and games, or for other pleasures, or even for the rest and refreshment of mind and body, or as others devote to early banquets, to playing at dice, or at ball? And this ought to be permitted to me, because by these studies my power of speaking and those faculties are improved, which, as far as they do exist in me, have never been denied to my friends when they have been in peril. And if that ability appears to any one to be but moderate, at all events I know whence I derive those principles which are of the greatest value.
[1] For if I had not persuaded myself from my youth upwards, both by the precepts of many masters and by much reading, that there is nothing in life greatly to be desired, except praise and honour, and that while pursuing those things all tortures of the body, all dangers of death and banishment are to be considered but of small importance, I should never have exposed myself, in defence of your safety, to such numerous and arduous contests, and to these daily attacks of profligate men. But all books are full of such precepts, and all the sayings of philosophers, and all antiquity is full of precedents teaching the same lesson; but all these things would lie buried in darkness, if the light of literature and learning were not applied to them. How many images of the bravest men, carefully elaborated, have both the Greek and Latin writers bequeathed to us, not merely for us to look at and gaze upon, but also for our imitation! And I, always keeping them before my eyes as examples for my own public conduct, have endeavoured to model my mind and views by continually thinking of those excellent men.
[1] Some one will ask, “What? were those identical great men, whose virtues have been recorded in books, accomplished in all that learning which you are extolling so highly?” It is difficult to assert this of all of them; but still I know what answer I can make to that question: I admit that many men have existed of admirable disposition and virtue, who, without learning, by the almost divine instinct of their own mere nature, have been, of their own accord, as it were, moderate and wise men. I even add this, that very often nature without learning has had more to do with leading men to credit and to virtue, than learning when not assisted by a good natural disposition. And I also contend, that when to an excellent and admirable natural disposition there is added a certain system and training of education, then from that combination arises an extraordinary perfection of character;
[1] such as is seen in that god-like man, whom our fathers saw in their time, Africanus; and in Caius Laelius and Lucius Furius, most virtuous and moderate men; and in that most excellent man, the most learned man of his time, Marcus Cato the elder; and all these men, if they had been to derive no assistance from literature in the cultivation and practice of virtue, would never have applied themselves to the study of it. Though, even if there were no such great advantage to be reaped from it, and if it were only pleasure that is sought from these studies, still I imagine you would consider it a most reasonable and liberal employment of the mind: for other occupations are not suited to every time, nor to every age or place; but these studies are the food of youth, the delight of old age; the ornament of prosperity, the refuge and comfort of adversity; a delight at home, and no hindrance abroad; they are companions by night, and in travel, and in the country.
[1] And if we ourselves were not able to arrive at these advantages, nor even taste them with our senses, still we ought to admire them, even when we saw them in others. Who of us was of so ignorant and brutal a disposition as not lately to be grieved at the death of Roscius? who, though he was an old man when he died, yet on account of the excellence and beauty of his art, appeared to be one who on every account ought not to have died. Therefore, had he by the gestures of his body gained so much of our affections, and shall we disregard the incredible movements of the mind, and the rapid operations of genius? How often have I seen this man. Archias, O judges,—(for I will take advantage of your kindness, since you listen to me so attentively while speaking in this unusual manner,)—how often have I seen him, when he had not written a single word, repeat extempore a great number of admirable verses on the very events which were passing at the moment!
[1] How often have I seen him go back, and describe the same thing over again with an entire change of language and ideas! And what he wrote with care and with much thought that I have seen admired to such a degree, as to equal the credit of even the writings of the ancients. Should not I, then, love this man? should I not admire him? should not I think it my duty to defend him in every possible way? And, indeed, we have constantly heard from men of the greatest eminence and learning, that the study of other sciences was made up of learning, and rules, and regular method; but that a poet was such by the unassisted work of nature, and was moved by the vigour of his own mind, and was inspired, as it were, by some divine wrath. Wherefore rightly does our own great Ennius call poets holy; because they seem to be recommended to us by some especial gift, as it were, and liberality of the gods.
[1] Let then, judges, this name of poet, this name which no barbarians even have ever disregarded, be holy in your eyes, men of cultivated minds as you all are. Rocks and deserts reply to the poet's voice; savage beasts are often moved and arrested by song; and shall we, who have been trained in the pursuit of the most virtuous acts, refuse to be swayed by the voice of poets? The Colophonians say that Homer was their citizen; the Chians claim him as theirs; the Salaminians assert their right to him; but the men of Smyrna loudly assert him to be a citizen of Smyrna, and they have even raised a temple to him in their city. Many other places also fight with one another for the honour of being his birth-place.
[1] For there was no one so disinclined to the Muses as not willingly to endure that the praise of his labours should be made immortal by means of verse. They say that the great Themistocles, the greatest man that Athens produced, said, when some one asked him what sound or whose voice he took the greatest delight in hearing, “The voice of that by whom his own exploits were best celebrated.” Therefore, the great Marius was also exceedingly attached to Lucius Plotius, because he thought that the achievement which he had performed could be celebrated by his genius.
[1] And the whole Mithridatic war, great and difficult as it was, and carried on with so much diversity of fortune by land and sea, has been related at length by him; and the books in which that is sung of, not only make illustrious Lucius Lucullus, that most gallant and celebrated man, but they do honour also to the Roman people. For, while Lucullus was general, the Roman people opened Pontus, though it was defended both by the resources of the king and by the character of the country itself. Under the same general the army of the Roman people, with no very great numbers, routed the countless hosts of the Armenians. It is the glory of the Roman people that, by the wisdom of that same general, the city of the Cyzicenes, most friendly to us, was delivered and preserved from all the attacks of the kind, and from the very jaws as it were of the whole war. Ours is the glory which will be for ever celebrated, which is derived from the fleet of the enemy which was sunk after its admirals had been slain, and from the marvellous naval battle off Tenedos: those trophies belong to us, those monuments are ours, those triumphs are ours. Therefore, I say that the men by whose genius these exploits are celebrated, make illustrious at the same time the glory of the Roman people.
[1] Our countryman, Ennius, was dear to the elder Africanus; and even on the tomb of the Scipios his effigy is believed to be visible, carved in the marble. But undoubtedly it is not only the men who are themselves praised who are done honour to by those praises, but the name of the Roman people also is adorned by them. Cato, the ancestor of this Cato, is extolled to the skies. Great honour is paid to the exploits of the Roman people. Lastly, all those great men, the Maximi, the Marcelli, and the Fulvii, are done honour to, not without all of us having also a share in the panegyric.
[1] For if any one thinks that there is a smaller gain of glory derived from Greek verses than from Latin ones, he is greatly mistaken, because Greek poetry is read among all nations, Latin is confined to its own natural limits, which are narrow enough. Wherefore, if those achievements which we have performed are limited only by the bounds of the whole world, we ought to desire that, wherever our vigour and our arms have penetrated, our glory and our fame should likewise extend. Because, as this is always an ample reward for those people whose achievements are the subject of writings, so especially is it the greatest inducement to encounter labours and dangers to all men who fight for themselves for the sake of glory.
[1] How many historians of his exploits is Alexander the Great said to have had with him; and he, when standing on Cape Sigeum at the grave of Achilles, said—“O happy youth, to find Homer as the panegyrist of your glory!” And he said the truth; for, if the Iliad had not existed, the same tomb which covered his body would have also buried his renown. What, did not our own Magnus, whose valour has been equal to his fortune, present Theophanes the Mitylenaean, a relater of his actions, with the freedom of the city in an assembly of the soldiers?
[1] And those brave men, our countrymen, soldiers and country bred men as they were, still being moved by the sweetness of glory, as if they were to some extent partakers of the same renown, showed their approbation of that action with a great shout. Therefore, I suppose, if Archias were not a Roman citizen according to the laws, he could not have contrived to get presented with the freedom of the city by some general! Sulla, when he was giving it to the Spaniards and Gauls, would, I suppose, have refused him if he had asked for it! a man whom we ourselves saw in the public assembly, when a bad poet of the common people had put a book in his hand, because he had made an epigram on him with every other verse too long, immediately ordered some of the things which he was selling at the moment to be given him as a reward, on condition of not writing anything more about him for the future. Would not he who thought the industry of a bad poet still worthy of some reward, have sought out the genius, and excellence, and copiousness in writing of this man?
[1] What more need I say? Could he not have obtained the freedom of the city from Quintus Metellus Pius, his own most intimate friend, who gave it to many men, either by his own request, or by the intervention of the Luculli? especially when Metellus was so anxious to have his own deeds celebrated in writing, that he gave his attention willingly to poets born even at Cordova, whose poetry had a very heavy and foreign flavour.
[1] Decimus Brutus, that most excellent citizen and consummate general, adorned the approaches to his temples and monuments with the verses of Attius. And lately that great man Fulvius, who fought with the Aetolians, having Ennius for his companion, did not hesitate to devote the spoils of Mars to the Muses. Wherefore, in a city in which generals, almost in arms, have paid respect to the name of poets and to the temples of the Muses, these judges in the garb of peace ought not to act in a manner inconsistent with the honour of the Muses and the safety of poets.
[1] And that you may do that the more willingly, I will now reveal my own feelings to you, O judges, and I will make a confession to you of my own love of glory,—too eager perhaps, but still honourable. For this man has in his verses touched upon and begun the celebration of the deeds which we in our consulship did in union with you, for the safety of this city and empire, and in defence of the life of the citizens and of the whole republic. And when I had heard his commencement because it appeared to me to be a great subject and at the same time an agreeable one, I encouraged him to complete his work. For virtue seeks no other reward for its labours and its dangers beyond that of praise and renown; and if that be denied to it, what reason is there, O judges, why in so small and brief a course of life as is allotted to us, we should impose such labours on ourselves?
[1] Certainly, if the mind had no anticipations of posterity, and if it were to confine all its thoughts within the same limits as those by which the space of our lives is bounded, it would neither break itself with such severe labours, nor would it be tormented with such cares and sleepless anxiety, nor would it so often have to fight for its very life. At present there is a certain virtue in every good man, which night and day stirs up the mind with the stimulus of glory, and reminds it that all mention of our name will not cease at the same time with our lives, but that our fame will endure to all posterity.
[1] Do we all who are occupied in the affairs of the state, and who are surrounded by such perils and dangers in life, appear to be so narrow-minded, as, though to the last moment of our lives we have never passed one tranquil or easy moment, to think that everything will perish at the same time as ourselves? Ought we not, when many most illustrious men have with great care collected and left behind them statues and images, representations not of their minds but of their bodies, much more to desire to leave behind us a copy of our counsels and of our virtues, wrought and elaborated by the greatest genius? I thought, at the very moment of performing them, that I was scattering and disseminating all the deeds which I was performing, all over the world for the eternal recollection of nations. And whether that delight is to be denied to my soul after death, or whether, as the wisest men have thought, it will affect some portion of my spirit, at all events, I am at present delighted with some such idea and hope.
[1] Preserve then, O judges, a man of such virtue as that of Archias, which you see testified to you not only by the worth of his friends, but by the length of time during which they have been such to him, and of such genius as you ought to think is his, when you see that it as been sought by most illustrious men. And his cause is one which is approved of by the benevolence of the law by the authority of his municipality, by the testimony of Lucullus, and by the documentary evidence of Metellus. And as this is the case, we do entreat you, O judges, if there may be any weight attached, I will not say to human, but even to divine recommendation in such important matters, to receive under your protection that man who has at all times done honour to your generals and to the exploits of the Roman people,—who even in these recent perils of our own, and in your domestic dangers, promises to give an eternal testimony of praise in our favour, and who forms one of that band of poets who have at all times and in all nations been considered and called holy, so that he may seem relieved by your humanity, rather than overwhelmed by your severity.
[1] The things which, according to my custom, I have said briefly and simply, O judges, I trust have been approved by all of you. Those things which I have spoken, without regarding the habits of the forum or judicial usage, both concerning the genius of the man and my own zeal in his behalf, I trust have been received by you in good part. That they have been so by him who presides at this trial, I am quite certain.
The toga virilis was assumed at the Liberalia in the month of March; and though no age appears to have been positively fixed for the ceremony, it probably took place, as a general rule, on the feast which next followed the completion of the fourteenth year, though it is certain that the completion of the fourteenth year was not always the time observed. (Smith, Dict. Ant V. Impubes)Even supposing Archias to have been seventeen, it appears rather an early age for him to have established such a reputation as Cicero speaks of, and perhaps, as not being at that time a Roman citizen, he probably did not wear the praetexta at all; the expression is not to be taken literally, but we are merely to understand generally that he was quite a young man.