III. These reasons, so certain and’so evident, are opposed by those who, ‘on the other side, argue that the labours which must necessarily be sustained in maintaining the Common- wealth, form but. a slight impediment, to the — and LGLess ie "pie rut.
‘ ) 4 : i a 4 q ON THE COMMONWEALTH. 287 industrious, and are only a contemptible obstacle in such important affairs, and. even in common. studies, offices, and employments. They add, the peril of life, that base fear of death, which has ever been opposed by brave men, to whom it appears far more miserable to die by the decay of nature and old age, than to be allowed an opportunity of gallantly sacrificing that. life for then country, which must otherwise be yielded. up to nature.: On this point, however, our antagonists: esteem themselves copious: and. eloquent when they collect all the calamities. of" heroic men, and the injuries inflicted: on. them: by their ungrateful countrymen. For on this subject they bring for~ ward those notable examples among the Greeks; and tell us that Miltiades, the vanquisher and.conqueror of the Persians, before even those wounds were healed which he had. received in that most: glorious vietory, wasted away in the chains: of his fellow-citizens that life which had been preserved from the weapons of the enemy. They cite Themistocles, expelled and proscribed by the country which he had rescued, and forced to flee, not to the Grecian,ports which he had pre- — served, but to the bosom of the barbarous power which he had defeated. There is, indeed, no deficiency of examples to illustrate the levity and cruelty of the Athenians to their noblest citizens—examples which, originating and multiply- ing among them, are said at different times to have abounded in our own most august empire. For we are told, of the exile of Camillus, the disgrace of Ahala, the unpopularity of 'Nasica, the expulsion of Lenas,' the condemnation of Opi- mius, the flight of Metellus, the cruel destruction of Caius Marius, the massacre of our chieftains, and the many atro- cious crimes which followed. My own history is by no means free from ‘such calamities; and I imagine, that when they recollect that by my counsel and perils they were preserved in life and liberty, they are led by that consideration to bewail my misfortunes more deeply and affectionately. But I cannot _? It is unnecessary to give an account of the other names here men- tioned; but that of Lenas is probably less known. He was Publius Popillius Leenas, consul, B.c. 132, the year after the death of Tiberius Gracchus, and it became his duty to prosecute the accomplices of Grac- chus, for which he was afterwards attacked by Caius Gracchus with such animosity, that he withdrew into voluntary exile. Cicero pays a tribute to the energy of Opimius, in the first’ Oration against Catiline, ¢. iii,’ 988 ON THE COMMONWEALTH.
tell why those who sail over the seas for the sake of knowledge and experience [should wonder at seeing still greater hazards braved in the service of the Commonwealth].
_ IV. [Since], on my quitting the consulship, I swore in the assembly of the Roman people, who re-echoed my words, that I had saved the Commonwealth, I console myself with this re- membrance for all my cares, troubles, and injuries. Although my misfortune had more of honour than misfortune, and more of glory than disaster; and I derive greater pleasure from the regrets of good men than sorrow from the exultation ‘of the worthless. But even if it had happened otherwise, how could I have complained, as nothing befel me which was either unforeseen, or more painful than I expected, as a return for my illustrious actions? For I was one who, though it was in my power to reap more profit from leisure than most men, on account of the diversified sweetness of my studies, in which I had lived from boyhood,—or, if any public calamity had happened, to have borne no more than an equal share with the rest of my countrymen in the misfortune,—I never- theless did not hesitate to. oppose myself to the most formid- able tempests and torrents of sedition, for the sake of saving my countrymen, and at my own proper danger to secure the common safety of all the rest. For our country did not beget and educate us with the expectation of receiving no support, as I may call it, from us; nor for the purpose of consulting nothing but our convenience, to supply us with a secure refuge for idleness and a tranquil spot for rest; but rather with a view of turning to her own advantage the nobler portion of our genius, heart, and counsel; giving us back for our private service only what she can spare from the public interests.: VY. Those apologies, therefore, in which men take refuge as an excuse for their devoting themselves with more plausibility to mere inactivity, do certainly not deserve to be listened to. When, for instance, they tell us that those who meddle with public affairs are generally good-for-nothing men, with whom it is discreditable to be compared, and miserable and dan- gerous to contend, especially when the multitude is in an excited state. On which account, it is not the part of a wise man to take the reins, since he cannot restrain the insane and unregulated movements of the common people. Nor is it N THE COMMONWEALTH. 289 becoming to a man of liberal birth, say they, thus to contend with such vile and unrefined antagonists, or to subject oneself ‘to the lashings of contumely, or to put oneself in the way of injuries which ought not to be borne by a wise man. As if to virtuous, brave, and magnanimous men there could be a juster reason for seeking the government than this,—to avoid being subjected to worthless men, and to prevent the com- ‘monwealth from being torn to pieces by them; when, even if ‘they were then desirous to save her, they would not have the ‘power. ° VI. But this restriction who can approve, which would interdict the wise man from taking any share in the govern- ment beyond such as the occasion and necessity may compel him to? As if any greater necessity could possibly happen to any man than happened to me. In which, how could I have acted if I had not been consul at the time? and how could I have been a consul, unless I had maintained that course of life from my childhood which raised me from the order of knights, in which I was born, to the very highest station? You cannot produce extempore, and just when you please, the power of assisting a commonwealth, although it may be severely pressed by dangers, unless you have attained the position which enables you legally to do so. And what most surprises me in the discourses of learned men is to hear those ‘persons, who confess themselves incapable of steering the vessel of the state in smooth seas, (which, indeed, they never learnt, and never cared to know,) profess themselves ready to assume the helm amid the fiercest tempests. For those men are accustomed to say openly, and indeed to boast greatly, that they have never learnt, and have never taken the least pains to explain, the principles of either establishing or maintain- ‘Ing a commonwealth; and they look on this practical science as one which belongs not to men of learning and wisdom, but to those who have made it their especial study. How, ‘then, can it be reasonable for such men to promise their assistance to the state, when they shall be compelled to it by ‘necessity, while they are ignorant how to govern the republic ‘when no necessity presses upon it, which is a much more easy task? Indeed, though it were true that the wise man loves not to thrust himself of his own accord into the administration of public affairs, but that, if circumstances DE NAT. ETC. U 290 ON THE COMMONWEALTH, oblige him to it, then he does not refuse the office’; yet I think that this science of civil legislation should in nowise be neglected by the philosopher, because all resources ought to be ready to his hand, which he knows not how soon he may be called on to use. 5 cath:; _ VIL. I have spoken thus at large for this reason, because in - this work I have proposed to myself and undertaken a discus- sion on the government of a state; and in order to render it useful, | was bound in the first place to do away with this pusillanimous hesitation to mingle in public affairs. If there be any, therefore, who are too much influenced by the authority of the philosophers, let them consider the subject for a moment, and be guided by the opinions of those men whose authority and credit are greatest among learned men; whom I look upon, though some of them have not personally governed any state, as men who have nevertheless discharged _ a kind of office in the republic, inasmuch as they have made many investigations into, and left many writings concerning, state affairs. As to those whom the Greeks entitle “ the seven wise men,” I find that they almost all lived in the middle of public business. Nor indeed is there anything in which human virtue can more closely resemble the divine powers, than in establishing new states, or in preserving those already established.: j2 VIII. And concerning these affairs, since it has been our | good fortune to achieve something worthy of memorial in the government of our country, and also to have acquired some facility of explaining the powers and resources of politics, we ean treat of this subject with the weight of personal experience and the habit of instruction and illustration. Whereas before us many have been skilful in theory, though no exploits of theirs are recorded; and many others have been men of con- sideration in action, but unfamiliar with the arts of exposition. Nor indeed is it at all our intention to establish a new and self-invented system of government; but our purpose is rather to recal to memory a discussion of the most illustrious men of their age in our commonwealth, which you and I, in our youth, when at Smyrna, heard mentioned by Publius Rutilius Rufus, who reported to us a conference of many days, in which, in my opinion, there was nothing omitted that could throw light.on political.affairs saci a S ON THE COMMONWEALTH, 291 _ IX. For when, in the year of the consulship of Tuditanus and Aquilius, Scipio Africanus, the son of Paulus Aimilius, formed the project of spending the Latin holidays at his country seat, where his most intimate friends had promised him frequent visits during this season of relaxation; on the first morning of the festival, his nephew, Quintus Tubero, made his appearance; and when Scipio had greeted him heartily and embraced him,—How is it, my dear Tubero, said he, that I see you so early? For these holidays must afford you a capital opportunity of pursuing your favourite studies. Ah! replied Tubero, 1 can study my books at any time, for they are always disengaged; but it is a great privilege, my Scipio, to find you at leisure, especially in this restless period of public affairs. You certainly have found me so, said Scipio, but, to speak truth, I am rather relaxing from business than from study. Nay, said Tubero, you must try to relax from your studies too, for here are several of us,.as we have appointed, all ready, if it suits your convenience, to aid you in getting through this leisure time of yours. I am very willing to consent, answered Scipio, and we may be able to compare notes respecting the several topics that interest us. - _ X. Be itso, said Tubero; and since you invite me to discus- sion, and present the opportunity, let us first examine, before any one else arrives, what can be the nature of the parhelion, or double sun, which was mentioned in the senate. Those that affirm they witnessed this prodigy are neither few nor unworthy of credit, so that there is more reason for investiga- tion than incredulity.’: | Ah! said Scipio, I wish we had our friend Pansetius with us, who is fond of investigating all things of this kind, but especially all celestial phenomena. As for my opinion, Tubero, for I always tell you just what I think, I hardly ' This phenomenon of the parhelion, or mock sun, which so puz zled Cicero’s interlocutors, has been very satisfactorily explained by modern science. The parhelia are formed by the reflection of the sunbeams on a cloud properly situated.; They usually accompany the coronz or luminous circles, and are placed in the same circumference, and at the same height. Their colours resemble that of the rainbow; the red and yellow are towards the side of the sun, and the blue and violet on the other. There are, however, coronze sometimes seen without parhelia, and vice versd. Pharhelia are double, triple, &c., and in 1629, a parhelion of five suns was seen at Rome, and another of six suns at Arles, 1666, or than 94. bay ee U2 999 ON THE COMMONWEALTH.
agree in these subjects with that friend of mine, since, respect- ing things of which we can scarcely form a conjecture as to their character, he is as positive as if he had seen them with his own eyes, and felt them with his own hands. And I cannot but the more admire the wisdom of Socrates, who discarded all anxiety respecting things of this kind, and affirmed that these inquiries concerning the secrets of nature were elther above the efforts of human reason, or were abso- lutely of no consequence at all to human life.
But then, my Africanus, replied Tubero, of what credit is the tradition which states that Socrates rejected all these physical investigations, and confined his whole attention to men and manners? For with respect to him, what better authority can we cite than Plato? in many passages of whose works, Socrates speaks in such a manner, that even when he is discussing morals, and virtues, and even public affairs and politics, he endeavours to interweave, after the fashion of Pythagoras, the doctrines of arithmetic, geometry, and harmonic proportions with them.
That is true, replied Scipio; but you are aware, I believe, that Plato, after the death of Socrates, was induced to visit Egypt by his love of science, and that after that he pro- ceeded to Italy and Sicily, from his desire of understanding the Pythagorean dogmas; that he conversed much with Ar- chytas of T'arentum and Timeeus of Locris; that he collected the works of Philolaus; and that, finding in these places the renown of Pythagoras flourishing, he addicted himself ex- ceedingly to the disciples of Pythagoras, and their studies; therefore, as he loved Socrates with his whole heart, and wished to attribute all great discoveries to him, he interwove the Socratic elegance and subtlety of eloquence, with somewhat of the obscurity of Pythagoras, and with that notorious gravity of his diversified arts.: XI. When Scipio had spoken thus, he suddenly saw Lucius Furius approaching, and saluting him, and embracing him most affectionately, he gave him a seat on his own couch. And as soon as Publius Rutilius, the worthy reporter of the conference to us, had arrived, when he had saluted him, he placed him by the side of Tubero. Then said Furius, What is it that you are about? Has our entrance at all interrupted any conversation of yours? By no means, said Scipio, for ON THE COMMONWEALTH, 293 you yourself tco are in the habit of investigating carefully the subject which Tubero was a little before proposing to examine, and our friend Rutilius, even under the walls of Numantia, was in the habit at times of conversing with me on questions of the same kind, What, then, was the subject of your discussion? said Philus. We were talking, said Scipio, of the double suns that recently appeared, and I wish, Philus, to hear what you think of them.
XII, Justas he was speaking, a boy announced that Leelius was coming to call on him, and that he had already left his house. Then Scipio, putting on his sandals and robes, im- mediately went forth from his chamber, and when he had walked a little time in the portico, he met Lelius, and welcomed him and those that accompanied him, namely, Spurius Mummius, to whom he was greatly attached, and C. Fannius and Quintus Sceevola, sons-in-law of Leelius, two yery intelligent young men, and now of the queestorian age.’
When he had saluted them all he returned through the portico, placing Leelius in the middle; for there was in their friendship a sort of law of reciprocal courtesy, so that in the camp Lelius paid Scipio almost divine honours, on account of his eminent renown in war, and in private life; in his turn Scipio reverenced Leelius, even as a father, because he was older than himself, Then after they had exchanged a few words, as they walked up and down, Scipio, to whom their visit was extremely wel- come and agreeable, wished to assemble them in a sunny corner of the gardens, because it was still winter; and when they had agreed to this, there came in another friend, a learned man, much beloved and esteemed by all of them, M. Manilius, who, after having been most warmly welcomed by Scipio and the rest, seated himself next to Leelius.
XIII. Then Philus, commencing the conversation, said—It does not appear to me that the presence of our new guests need alter the subject of our discussion, but only that it should induce us to treat it more philosophically, and in a manner more worthy of our increased audience. What da you allude to? said Lelius; or what was the discussion we broke in upon? Scipio was asking me, replied Philus, what ’ There is a litile uncertainty as to what this age was; but it was probably about twenty-five, 994 ON THE COMMONWEALTH.
I thought of the parhelion, or mock sun, whose recent ap- parition was so strongly attested.
- Lelius.~Do you say then, my Philus, that we have suf- ficiently examined those questions which concern our own houses and ‘thé Commonwealth, that we begin to ve the celestial mysteries?
. And Philus replied—Do you think, then, that it does not concern our houses to know what happens in that vast home, which is not included in walls of human fabrica- tion, but which embraces the entire universe—a home which the Gods share with us, as the common country of all intelli- gent beings? Especially when, if we are ignorant of these things, there are also many great practical truths which result from them, and which bear directly on the welfare of our race, of which we must be also ignorant. And here I can speak for myself, as well as for you, Leelius, and all men who are ambitious of wisdom, that the knowledge and con-+ Sideration of the facts of nature are by themselves very delightful.
Leelius —I have no objection to the discussion, especially as it is holiday time with us. But cannot we have the plea- sure of hearing you resume it, or are we come too late?, ~ -Philus.—We have not yet commenced the discussion, and since the question remains entire and ‘unbroken, I shall have the greatest pleasure, my Leelius, in handing over the argu- ment to you.
Lelius—No, I had much rather hear you, unless, indeed, Manilius thinks himself able to compromise the suit ‘between the two suns, that they may possess heaven as joint sovereigns without intruding on each other's empire.
Then Manilius said—Are you going, Lzlius, to ridicule a science in which, in the first place, I myself excel; and secondly, without which no one can distinguish what is his own, and what is another’s? But to return to the point. Let us nowat pre- sent listen to Philus, who seems to me to have started a greater. question than any of those that have engaged the attention of either Publius Mucius or myself.
XIV. Then Philus said—I am not about to bring you any- thing new, or anything which has been ‘thought over or discovered by me myself. But I recollect that Caius Sul- picius Gallus, who-was a man of profound learning, as you ON THE COMMONWEALTH. 295 axe aware, when this same thing was reported to’ have taken place in his time, while he was staying in the house-of Marcus. Marcellus, who had been his colleague in the consulship, asked to see a celestial globe, which Marcellus’s grandfather had saved after the capture of Syracuse, from that magnifi- cent and opulent city, without bringing to his own home any other memorial out of so great a booty; which I had often heard mentioned’ on account of the great fame of Archimedes; but its appearance, however, did not seem to me particu- larly striking. For that other is more elegant in form, and, more generally known, which was made by the same Archi- medes, and deposited by the same Marcellus in the Temple of Virtue at Rome. But as soon as Gallus had begun to explain, in a most scientific manner, the principle of this machine, T felt that the Sicilian geometrician must have possessed a genius superior to anything we usually conceive to belong to eur nature. For Gallus assured us that that other solid and compact globe was a very ancient invention, and that the first model had been originally made by Thales of Miletus. That afterwards Eudoxus of Cnidus, a disciple of Plato, had traced on its surface the stars that appear in the sky, and that many years subsequently, borrowing from Hudoxus this beautiful design and representation, Aratus had illus- trated it in his verses, not by any science of astronomy, but by the ornament of poetic description. He added, that the figure of the globe, which displayed the motions of the sun and moon, and the five planets, or wandering. stars, — could not be represented by the primitive solid globe; and that in this, the invention of Archimedes was admirable, because he had calculated how a single revolution should maintain unequal and diversified progressions in dissimilar motions. In fact, when Gallus moved this globe, we observed that the moon succeeded the sun by as many turns of the wheel in the: machine, as days in the heavens. From whence it resulted, that the progress of the sun was marked as in the heavens, and that the moon touched the point where she is obscured by the earth’s shadow at the instant the sun appears opposite.’ * — *. di y 1 Cicero here gives a very exact and correct account of the planetarium of Archimedes, which is so often noticed by the ancient astronomers. It no doubt corresponded ina great measure to our modern Planetarium 296. ON THE COMMONWEALTH,; XV. * **} Thad myself a great affection for this Gallus,. and I know that he was very much beloved and esteemed by my father Paulus. I recollect that when I was very young, when my father, as consul, commanded in Macedonia, and; we were in the camp, our army was seized with a pious terror, because suddenly, in a clear night, the bright and full, moon became eclipsed. And Gallus, who was then our lieu-, tenant, the year before that in which he was elected consul, hesitated not, next morning, to state in the camp that it was no prodigy, and that the phenomenon which had then ap- peared would always appear at certain periods, when the sun. was so placed that he could not affect the moon with his light, _ But do you mean, said Tubero, that he dared to speak thus to men almost entirely uneducated and ignorant?
- Seypio.—He did, and with great * * * for his opinion was no result of insolent ostentation, nor was his language. unbecoming the dignity of so wise a man,—indeed, he per-. formed a very noble action in thus freeing his countrymen. from the terrors of an idle superstition. | XVI. And they relate that in a similar way, in the great war in which the Athenians and Lacedeemonians contended. with such violent resentment, the famous Pericles, the first, man of his country in credit, eloquence, and political genius, observing the Athenians overwhelmed with an excessive alarm, during an eclipse of the sun, which caused a sudden dark- ness, told them what he had learned in the school of Anaxa- goras,—that these phenomena necessarily happened at precise and regular periods when the body of the moon was inter- posed between the sun and the earth, and that if they happened not before every new moon, still they could not possibly happen except at the exact time of the new moon, And when he had proved this truth by his reasonings, he freed the people from their alarms; for, at that period, the doctrine was new and unfamiliar, that the sun was accus- tomed to be eclipsed by the interposition of the moon, which or Orrery, invented by ‘the earl of that name. This elaborate machine, whose manufacture requires the most exact and critical science, is of the greatest service to those who study the revolutions of the stars, for astro- nomic, astrologic, or meteorologic purposes.
_ 1 The end of the fourteenth chapter and the first words of the fifteenth are lost; but it is plain thatin the fifteenth it is Scipio who is speaking.
- ON THE COMMONWEALTH, | 297.
fact they say that Thales of Miletus was the first to discover. Afterwards my friend Ennius appears to have been acquainted with the same theory, who, writing about 350' years after the foundation of Rome, says, “ In the nones of June the sun was covered by the moon and night.” The calculations in the astronomical art have attained such perfection, that from that day, thus described to us by Ennius, and recorded in the pontifical registers, the anterior eclipses of the sun have been computed as far back as the nones of July in the reign of Romulus, when that eclipse took place, in the obscu- rity of which it was affirmed that Virtue bore Romulus to heaven, in spite of the perishable nature which carried him off by the common fate of humanity.
. XVII. Then said Tubero—Do not /you think, Scipio, that this astronomical science, which every day proves so useful, just now appeared in a different light to you,” % * which the rest may see. Moreover, whofcan think anything in human affairs of brilliant importance, who has penetrated this starry empire of the gods? or, who can think anything connected with mankind leng, who has learnt to estimate the nature of eternity? or glorious, who is aware of the insignifi- cance of the size of the earth, even in its whole extent, and espe- cially in the portion which men inhabit? and when we consider: that almost imperceptible point which we ourselves occupy, unknown to the majority of nations, can we still hope that our name and reputation can be widely circulated? And then our estates and edifices, our cattle, and the enormous treasures of our gold and silver, can they be esteemed. or denominated as desirable goods by him who observes their perishable profit, and their contemptible use, and their uncer- tain domination, often falling into the possession of the very: worst men? How happy then ought we to esteem that man, who alone has it in his power, not by the law of the Romans, but by the privilege of philosophers, to enjoy all things as his own; not by any civil bond, but by the common right of nature, which denies that anything can really be possessed, 1 There is evidently some error in the text here, for Ennius was born A.v.c. 515, was a personal friend of the elder Africanus, and died about’ 575 a.v.c., so that it is plain that we ought to read in the text 550, not 350. - 2 Two pages are lost here. Afterwards it is again Scipio who is speaking. j 298 ON THE COMMONWEALTH: by any one but him who understands its true nature and use; who reckons our dictatorships and consulships.rather in the rank of necessary offices than desirable employments, and thinks they must be endured.rather as acquittances of our debt to our country, than sought for the sake of emolument or glory,—the man, in short, who can apply to himself the sentence which Cato tells us my ancestor Africanus loved to repeat, “ that he was never so busy as when ‘he did nothing, and never less solitary than when alone.”. a For who can believe that Dionysius, when after every possible effort he ravished from his fellow-citizens their liberty, had performed a nobler work than Archimedes, when, without appearing to be doing anything, he manufactured the globe which we have just been describing? Who does not see that those men are in reality more solitary, who, in the midst of a crowd, find no one with whom they can. converse’ congenially, than those who, without witnesses,. hold communion with themselves, and enter into the secret counsels of the sagest philosophers, while they delight them- selves in their writings and discoveries? And who would think any one richer than the man who is in want of nothing which nature requires; or more powerful than he who hag attained all that she has need of; or happier than he who is free from all mental perturbation; or more secure in future than he who carries all his property in himself, which is thus: secured from shipwreck? And what power, what magistracy, what royalty can be preferred to a wisdom which, looking down on all terrestrial objects as low and transitory things, incessantly directs its attention to eternal and immu- table verities, and which is persuaded that though others are called men, none are really so but those who are refined by the appropriate acts of humanity? . In this sense an expression of Plato, or some other philoso- pher, appears to me exceedingly elegant; who, when a tem- pest had driven his ship on an unknown country and a desolate shore, during the alarms with which their ignorance of the region inspired his companions, observed, they say, geometrical figures traced in the sand, on which he imme- diately told them to be of good cheer, for he had observed the indications of Man. A conjecture he deduced, not from the cultivation of the soil which he beheld, but from the ON THE COMMONWEALTH, 299 symbols of science. For this reason, Tubero, learning and learned men, and these your favourite studies, have always particularly pleased me.
XVIII. Then Leelius replied—I cannot venture, Scipio, to answer your arguments, or to [maintain the discussion. neeemer against] you, Philus, or Manilius.’
We had a friend in Tubero’s father’s titty, sho 3 in shele respects may serve him as a model.
Sextus so wise, and ever on his guard.
Wise and cautious indeed he was, as Ennius justly describes him—not because he searched for what he could never find, but because he knew how to answer those who prayed for deliverance from cares and difficulties. It is he who, reason- ing against the astronomical studies of Gallus, used gas ot ¥0 repeat these words of Achilles in the Iphigenia: oo They note the astrologic signs of heaven, — Whene’er the goats or scorpions of great Jove, Or other monstrous names of brutal forms, _ Rise in the zodiac; but.not one regards The sensible facts of earth, on which we tread,