M. Tullius Cicero, Pro Archia Poeta, ed. Albert Curtis Clark, 8

Search the Perseus Catalog for:

← Previous Next →

[8] Q. Metellum, familiarissimum suum. si nihil aliud nisi de civitate ac¹ lege dicimus, nihil dico amplius; causa dicta est. quid enim horum infirmari, Gratti², potest? Heracleaene esse tum³ ascriptum negabis? adest vir summa auctoritate et religione et fide, M. Lucullus; qui se non opinari sed scire, non audisse⁴ sed vidisse, non interfuisse sed egisse dicit. adsunt Heraclienses legati, nobilissimi homines, huius⁵ iudici causa cum mandatis et cum publico testimonio venerunt⁶; qui hunc ascriptum Heracliae esse⁷ dicunt. hic tu tabulas⁸ desideras⁹ Heracliensium publicas¹⁰, quas Italico bello incenso tabulario interisse scimus omnes? est ridiculum ad ea quae habemus¹¹ 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.

Pro Archia Poeta. M. Tullius Cicero. ed. Albert Curtis Clark. Oxford. 1911.

Sponsored by Perseus Project, Tufts University.

Funding provided by National Endowment For The Humanities (NEH).

Current edition Perseus

Pro Archia Poeta (Latin) (Cicero. M. Tulli Ciceronis Orationes, Volume 6. Clark, Albert Curtis, editor. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1911.)

Translations (1)

For A.L. Archias Perseus (Cicero. The Orations of Marcus Tullius Cicero, Volume 2. Yonge, Charles Duke, translator. London: Bell, 1856.) — 8 focus

[8] 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. 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.

Notes on the current edition

Pro Archia Poeta

1. ac hac Puteanus

2. Gratti Bücheler ( ita § 12 GEe): gratis (gracche b2: a gracchis ς) codd.

3. tum tamen a: eum c: civem eum k: tu eum Halm

4. audisse GEe: audivisse cett.

5. qui huius Naugerius (2)

6. venerunt del. Mommsen

7. Heracliae esse Lambinus: Heracliensem codd.

8. tabulas ςb1p, Schol.: tabellas cett.

9. desideres Schol.

10. publicas om. Schol.

11. habemus videmus G

Commentary

Commentary on Oration For Archias (Select Orations of Cicero (Allen and Greenough's Edition). Greenough, James Bradstreet; Kittredge, George Lyman, editors. Boston, London: Ginn & Company, 1897.) focus

Grati , the complainant (see Introd., p.154 of text).

religione , conscientiousness .

desideras , call for (lit. miss, feel the want of).

Italico bello , i.e. the Social War: § 424 , d (259, a); G. 394, R.; H. 486 (429); H-B. 439, a, 3.

municipi : since the bestowal of the Roman citizenship, the Italian civitates had become Roman municipia (see Introd., p. liii).

idem , you yourself (lit. the same man).

M. Tullius Cicero Pro Archia Poeta 8

ed. Albert Curtis Clark

Search the Perseus Catalog for:

Current edition Perseus

Notes on the current edition

Commentary

Stable identifiers