[251] When they had conquered the Athenians—At the conclusion of the Peloponnesian war.
[252] Damasippus—"He, in the consulship of Caius Marius, the younger, and Cneius Carbo, was city praetor, and put to death some of the most eminent senators, a short time before the victory of Sylla. See Vell. Paterc. ii. 26." Bernouf.
[253] Ensigns of authority—Insignia magistratum. "The fasces and axes of the twelve lictors, the robe adorned with purple, the curule chair, and the ivory scepter. For the Etrurians, as Dionysius Halicarnassensis relates, having been subdued, in a nine years' war, by Tarquinius Priscus, and having obtained peace on condition of submitting to him as their sovereign, presented him with the insignia of their own monarchs. See Strabo, lib. V.; Florus, i. 5," Kuhnhardt.
[254] Best able to bear the expense—Maxime opibus valent. Are possessed of most resources.
[255] LII. The rest briefly expressed their assent, etc.—Caeteri verbo, alius alii, varie assentiebantur. Verbo assentiebantur signifies that they expressed their assent merely by a word or two, as assentior Silano, assentior Tiberio Neroni, aut Caesari, the three who had already spoken. Varie, "in support of their different proposals."
[256] My feelings, Conscript Fathers, are extremely different, etc.—Longe mihi alia mens est, P. C., etc. The commencement of Cato's speech is evidently copied from the beginning of the third Olynthiac of Demosthenes: [Greek: Ouchi tauta paristatai moi ginoskein, o andres Athaenaioi, otan te eis ta pragmata apoblepso kai otan pros tous logous ous akouo tous men gar logous peri tou timoraesasthai Philippon oro gignomenous, ta de pragmata eis touto proaekonta oste opos mae peisometha autoi proteron kakos skepsasthai deon.] "I am by no means affected in the same manner. Athenians, when I review the state of our affairs, and when I attend to those speakers who have now declared their sentiments. They insist that we should punish Philip; but our affairs, situated as they now appear, warn us to guard against the dangers with which we ourselves are threatened." Leland.
[257] Their altars and their homes—Aris atque focis suis. "When arae and foci are joined, beware of supposing that they are to be distinguished as referring the one (_arae) to the public temples, and the other (foci) to private dwellings. Both are to be understood of private houses, in which the ara belonged to the Dii Penates, and was placed in the impluvium in the inner part of the house; the focus was dedicated to the lares, and was in the hall." Ernesti, Clav. Cic., sub. v. Ara. Of the commentators on Sallust, Kritzius is, I believe, the only one who has concurred in this notion of Ernesti; Langins and Dietsch (with Cortius) adhere to the common opinion that arae are the public altars. Dietsch refers, for a complete refutation of Ernesti, to G. A. B. Hertzberg de Diis Romanorum Penatibus, Halae, 1840, p. 64; a book which I have not seen. Certainly, in the observation of Cicero ad Att., vii. 11, "Non est respublica in parietibus, sed in aris et focis," arae must be considered (as Schiller observes) to denote the public altars and national religion. See Schiller's Lex. v. Ara.
[258] In vain appeal to justice—Frusta judicia implores. Judicia, trials, to procure the inflictions of legal penalties.
[259] Could not easily pardon the misconduct, etc.—Haud facile alterius lubidini malefacta condonabam. "Could not easily forgive the licentiousness of another its evil deeds."
[260] Yet the republic remained secure; its own strength, etc. —Tamen respublica firma, opulentia neglegentiam tolerabat. This is Cortius's reading; some editors, as Havercamp, Kritzius, and Dietsch, insert erat after firma. Whether opulentia is the nominative or ablative, is disputed. "Opulentia," says Allen, "casum sextum intellige, et repete respublica (ad tolerabat)." "Opulentia," says Kritzius, "melius nominativo capiendum videtur; nam quae sequuntur verba novam enunciationem efficiunt." I have preferred to take it as a nominative.