The Roman Poets of the Republic, 3rd edition

by W. Y. Sellar

The strong tones of Roman fortitude are heard in this grave rebuke; and the lines in which Ulysses, at the point of death, reproves the lamentations of those around him, have the unstudied directness that may be supposed to have characterised the serious speech of the time:—

Conqueri fortunam adversam, non lamentari decet:

Id viri est officium, fletus muliebri ingenio additus[²³].

The following maxim is quoted by Aulus Gellius with the remark 'that a Macedonian philosopher, a friend of his, an excellent man, thought it deserving of being written in front of every temple':—

Ego odi homines ignava opera et philosopha sententia.

There are other fragments the significance of which is political rather than ethical, as for instance the following:—

Omnes qui tam quam nos severo serviunt

Imperio callent dominum imperia metuere.

A passage from his writings was sung at games in honour of Caesar, in order to rouse a feeling of indignation against the conspirators. The prominent words of the passage were,—

Men' servasse ut essent qui me perderent?[²⁴]