[Footnote 54:  There is some difficulty here.  Many editors propose to read “offen lerint” which Orellius thinks would hardly be Latin.  He says, “Antonius is here speaking of those veterans who had deserted him indeed but who, at the time of his writing this letter, had not acted against him”.  Therefore, he says it is open to them to become reconciled to him again (wishing to conciliate them, and to alarm his enemies).  On the other hand, Cicero replies, Nothing is so open to them now as to do what their duty to the republic requires.  That is to say, openly to attack you, whose party they have already abandoned.]

[Footnote 55:  There were two wine feasts, Vinalia, at Rome:  the vinalia urbano, celebrated on the twenty-third of April; and the vinalia rustica, on the nineteenth of October.  This was the urbana vinalia; on which occasion the wine casks which had been filled in the autumn were tasted for the first time.]

[Footnote 56:  There is much dispute as to who is meant here.  Some say Cicero refers to Amphion, some to Orpheus, and some to Mercury; the Romans certainly did attribute the civilization of men to Mercury, as Horace says—­

    Qui feros cultus hominum recenti
    Voce formasti catus I. 9, 2.]

[Footnote 57:  This is very frequently quoted by Cicero; the Latin lines being the opening of the Medea of Ennius, translated from the first lines of the Medea of Euripides.]

[Footnote 58:  The Talysus was a hunter at Rhodes, of whom Protogenes had made an admirable picture, which was afterwards brought to Rome, and placed in the temple of Peace.]

[Footnote 59:  Brutus was at present propraetor in Gaul.]

[Footnote 60:  Theophrastus’s real name was Tyrtamus, but Aristotle, whose pupil he was, surnamed him Theophrastus, from the Greek words [Greek:  Theos], God and [Greek:  phrazo], to speak.]

[Footnote 61:  He refers to the Menexenus.]

[Footnote 62:  Cape si vis.]

[Footnote 63:  “Assiduus.  Prop, sitting down, seated, and so, well to do in the world, rich.  The derivation ab assis duendis is therefore to be rejected.  Servius Tullius divided the Roman people into two classes, assidui, i. e. the rich, who could sit down and take their ease, and proletarii, or capite censi, the poor.”—­Riddle, in voc. Assiduus, quoting this passage.  One does not see, however, why aelius and Cicero should not understand the meaning and derivation of a Latin word.  Smith’s Dict.  Ant. takes no notice of the word at all.]

[Footnote 64:  See chap. x.]