τοῐς κείνων πειθόμενοι νομίμοις.
25
This was expressed in the Greek verses,
Ἀρχὴς μὲν μὴ φῦναι ἐπιχθονίοισιν ἄριστον,φύντα δ’ ὅπως ὤκιστα πύλας Ἀΐδϋο περῆσαιwhich by some authors are attributed to Homer.
26
This is the first fragment of the Cresphontes.—Ed. Var. vii., p. 594.
Ἔδει γὰρ ἡμᾶς σύλλογον ποιουμένουςΤὸν φύντα θρηνεῖν, εἰς ὅσ’ ἔρχεται κακά.Τὸν δ’ αὖ θανόντα καὶ πόνων πεπαυμένονχαίροντας εὐφημοῖντας ἐκπέμειν δόμων27
The Greek verses are quoted by Plutarch:
Ἤπου νήπιε, ἠλίθιοι φρένες ἀνδρῶνΕὐθύνοος κεῖται μοιριδίῳ θανάτῳΟὐκ ἠν γὰρ ζώειν καλὸν αὐτῷ οὔτε γονεῦσι.28
This refers to the story that when Eumolpus, the son of Neptune, whose assistance the Eleusinians had called in against the Athenians, had been slain by the Athenians, an oracle demanded the sacrifice of one of the daughters of Erechtheus, the King of Athens. And when one was drawn by lot, the others voluntarily accompanied her to death.
29
Menœceus was son of Creon, and in the war of the Argives against Thebes, Teresias declared that the Thebans should conquer if Menœceus would sacrifice himself for his country; and accordingly he killed himself outside the gates of Thebes.
30
The Greek is,
μήδε μοι ἄκλαυστος θάνατος μόλοι, ἀλλὰ φίλοισιποιήσαιμι θανὼν ἄλγεα καὶ στοναχάς.32
The lines quoted by Cicero here appear to have come from the Latin play of Prometheus by Accius; the ideas are borrowed, rather than translated, from the Prometheus of Æschylus.
34
Each soldier carried a stake, to help form a palisade in front of the camp.
35
Insania—from in, a particle of negative force in composition, and sanus, healthy, sound.
36
The man who first received this surname was L. Calpurnius Piso, who was consul, 133 b.c., in the Servile War.
37
The Greek is,
Ἀλλά μοι οἰδάνεται κραδίη χόλῳ ὅπποτ’ ἐκείνουΜνήσομαι ὅς μ’ ἀσύφηλον ἐν Ἀργείοισιν ἔρεξεν.—Il. ix. 642.I have given Pope’s translation in the text.
38
This is from the Theseus:
Ἐγὼ δὲ τοῦτο παρὰ σοφοῦ τινος μαθὼνεὶς φροντίδας νοῦν συμφοράς τ’ ἐβαλλόμηνφυγάς τ’ ἐμαυτῷ προστιθεὶς πάτρας ἐμῆς.θανάτους τ’ ἀώρους, καὶ κακῶν ἄλλας ὁδοὺςὡς, εἴ τι πάσχοιμ’ ὠν ἐδόξαζόν ποτεΜή μοι νέορτον προσπεσὸν μᾶλλον δάκοι.39
Ter. Phorm. II. i. 11.
40
This refers to the speech of Agamemnon in Euripides, in the Iphigenia in Aulis,
Ζηλῶ σε, γέρον,ζηλῶ δ’ ἀνδρῶν ὃς ἀκίνδυνονβίον ἐξεπέρασ’, ἀγνὼς, ἀκλεής.—v. 15.41
This is a fragment from the Hypsipyle:
Εφυ μὲν οὐδεὶς ὅστις οὐ πονεῖ βροτῶνθάπτει τε τέκνα χἄτερ’ αὖ κτᾶται νεὰ,αὐτός τε θνήσκει. καὶ τάδ’ ἄχθονται βροτοὶεἰς γῆν φέροντες γῆν ἀναγκαίως δ’ ἔχειβίον θερίζειν ὥστε κάρπιμον στάχυν.42
Πολλὰς ἐκ κεφαλῆς προθελύμνους ἕλκετο χαίτας.—Il. x. 15.43
Ἤτοι ὁ καππέδιον τὸ Ἀληΐον οἶος ἀλᾶτοὅν θυμὸν κατεδὼν, πάτον ἀνθρώπων ἀλεείνων.—Il. vi. 201.44
This is a translation from Euripides:
Ὥσθ’ ἵμερος μ’ ὑπῆλθε γῇ τε κ’ οὐρανῷλέξαι μολούσῃ δεῦρο Μηδείας τύχας.—Med. 57.45
Λίην γὰρ πολλοὶ καὶ ἐπήτριμοι ἤματα πάνταπίπτουσιν, πότε κέν τις ἀναπνεύσειε πόνοιο;ἀλλὰ χρὴ τὸν μὲν καταθαπτέμεν, ὅς κε θάνησι,νηλέα θυμὸν ἔχοντας, ἔπ’ ἤματι δακρυσάντας.—Hom. Il. xix. 226.46
This is one of the fragments of Euripides which we are unable to assign to any play in particular; it occurs Var. Ed. Tr. Inc. 167.
Εἰ μεν τόδ’ ἦμαρ πρῶτον ἦν κακουμένῳκαὶ μὴ μακρὰν δὴ διὰ πόνων ἐναυστόλουνεἰκὸς σφαδάζειν ἦν ἂν, ὡς νεόζυγαπῶλον, χάλινον ἀρτίως δεδεγμένοννῦν δ’ ἀμβλύς εἰμι, καὶ κατηρτυκὼς κακῶν.47
This is only a fragment, preserved by Stobæus:
Τοὺς δ’ ἂν μεγίστους καὶ σοφωτάτους φρενὶτοιούσδ’ ἴδοις ἂν, οἶός ἐστι νῦν ὅδε,καλῶς κακῶς πράσσοντι συμπαραινέσαιὅταν δὲ δαίμων ἀνδρὸς εὐτυχοῦς τὸ πρὶνμάστιγ’ ἐπίσῃ τοῦ βίου παλίντροπον,τὰ πολλὰ φροῦδα καὶ κακῶς εἰρημένα. 