books were prohibited among the Greeks. The Romans also for many ages trained up only to a military roughness, 210 resembling most of the Lacedæmonian guise, knew of learning little but what their twelve tables and the Pontific College with their augurs and flamens taught them in religion and law; so unacquainted with other learning, that when Carneades and Critolaus, with the Stoic Diogenes coming Ambassadors to Rome, took thereby occasion to give the City a taste of their philosophy, they were suspected for seducers by no less a man than Cato the Censor, who moved it in the senate to dismiss them speedily, and to banish all such Attic babblers out of Italy. But Scipio and others of the noblest senators withstood 210. guise, style. A doublet 211. Pontific College. Ponti- 212. augurs interpreted future events from the flight of birds. 212. flamens were priests attached to the worship of the various gods. 212, 213. so unacquainted; supply were they.' 213. Carneades; d. 129 B.C. While at Rome he gave two lectures on Justice, in the second of which he opposed the arguments of his first, and so roused the ire of Cato, who called it playing with truth. 214. Critolaus belonged to the "Peripatetic" school. 214. Stoic Diogenes, not the cynic. 214, 215. Ambassadors to Rome. This was in 155 B.C. Milton's spelling is embassadors. They were sent to ask for the release of Athens from a fine imposed upon it by Rome, and their lectures to the Romans had great influence in introducing to Rome the Greek philosophies. 217. Cato the Censor, Marcus Portius Cato, or Cato Major. Cato was not Censor at the time of the embassy. He disliked everything Greek as tending to render the Romans effeminate. 217. moved it, brought forward as a motion. 218. Attic babblers. Athens, the chief city of Attica. Babbler is from Mid. Eng. babelen = to prate. 219. Scipio, the youngerPublius Scipio Africanus-the destroyer of Carthage. Scipio favoured the Greek customs, and was thus opposed to Cato. him and his old Sabine austerity; honoured and admired the 220 men; and the censor himself at last in his old age, fell to the study of that whereof before he was so scrupulous. And yet at the same time Nævius and Plautus, the first Latin comedians, had filled the city with all the borrowed scenes of Menander and Philemon. Then began to be considered there also what was to be done to libellous books and authors; for Nævius was quickly cast into prison for his unbridled pen, and released by the tribunes upon his recantation: We read also that libels were burnt, and the makers punished by Augustus. The like severity no doubt was used, if aught were impiously 230 written against their esteemed gods. Except in these two points, how the world went in books, the magistrate kept no reckoning. And therefore Lucretius without impeachment versifies his Epicurism to Memmius, and had the honour to be set forth the second time by Cicero so great a father to the 220. Sabine. Shortly after the foundation of Rome, the men of Rome attacked the rival and adjacent City of Sabina, and carried off all their women. The two towns afterwards became friendly. Cato had a farm in the Sabine territory, and frequently went there to avoid the extravagant luxury of Rome. The Sabines had a reputation for homeliness and frugality. 221. in his old age. Cato is said to have begun the study of Greek at the age of 80. 223. scrupulous, scrupled so much against, found so much fault with. 223. Nævius and Plautus, two writers of Latin comedy; both flourished about the year 200 B.C. The former was imprisoned for using the same freedom of libel as the early Greek comedians. 225. Menander, Philemon writers of Greek comedy who flourished about 300 B.C. 228. the tribunes were magistrates of Rome elected to watch the interests of the plebeians. They were first elected 494 B.C. 229. Augustus, the first Roman Emperor, ruled from 30 B.C. to 14 A.D. 233. Lucretius, the Roman poet. The poem particularly referred to is De Rerum Natura (On the Nature of Things), and in it he follows and expresses the old philosophy of Epicurus, that virtue is the only happiness. 234. Memmius was praetor of Rome in B.C. 58, and the book of Lucretius was dedicated to him. 235. the second time. This does not seem to have been the case. commonwealth; although himself disputes against that opinion in his own writings. Nor was the satirical sharpness or naked plainness of Lucilius, or Catullus, or Flaccus, by any order prohibited. And for matters of state the story of Titus Livius, 240 though it extolled that part which Pompey held, was not therefore suppressed by Octavius Cæsar of the other faction. But that Naso was by him banished in his old age for the wanton poems of his youth, was but a mere covert of state over some secret cause: and besides, the books were neither banished nor called in. From hence we shall meet with little else but tyranny in the Roman empire, that we may not marvel, if not so often bad, as good books were silenced. I shall therefore deem to have been large enough in producing what among the ancients was punishable to write, save only which, all other 250 arguments were free to treat on. By this time the emperors were become Christians, whose 236. himself, he himself, i.e., Cicero. 237. satirical. Milton spells 237. naked, undisguised. 238. Catullus, a Roman poet, 238. Flaccus. Quintus Horatius Flaccus, better known to us as Horace, the best known of the Latin satirists, wrote during the reign of Augustus. 239. story, history. 239. Titus Livius, died 17 A.D. The well-known Roman historian Livy. 240. Pompey, at first the friend and then the rival of Julius Cæsar, who finally defeated him at Pharsalia, 48 B.C. full title was Caius Julius Cæsar Octavianus Augustus. 241. faction, party, not in the bad sense. 242. Naso, Publius Ovidius Naso, or Ovid, was banished by Augustus to Tomi on the Euxine or Black Sea in A.D. 9, and died there A.D. 18. The reason for the banishment is not known. 242. in his old age. Ovid was 52 when he was banished. 243. covert, pretext. 245. From hence, henceforward. 248. been large enough, dealt at sufficient length. 248. producing, showing examples. 251. emperors. The first Christian emperor was Constantine, who reigned from A.D. 30/3 to A.D. 337. |