transverberatur: transverberare,to pierce through.
142. elephantorum…fuit: we would say “was devoted to….”
143. admiratio: not admiration, but surprise, amazement.
vulgi atque turbae:the vulgar throng; HENDIADYS.
exstitit: exsistere,to stand out, show itself, appear.
144. quin: here, to the contrary.
misericordia: Pliny the Elder in his Natural History (8.21) reports that the terrified elephants seemed to plead with the spectators so pathetically that all the people arose with tears in their eyes and cursed Pompey.
145. esse…societatem: IND. STATE. depending on opinio; the symmetry of the phrase is appropriate to the bond that Cicero suggests was felt between man and beast.
147. forte: abl. of fors as adv., by chance, perhaps.
148. dirupi: dirumpere, to burst, rupture.
paene: adv., nearly, almost; Eng. might say, “I practically killed myself.”
The wild animal hunts.
Reliquae sunt venationes binae per dies quinque, magnificae—nemo negat; sed quae potest homini esse polito delectatio, cum aut homo imbecillus a valentissima bestia laniatur aut 140 praeclara bestia venabulo transverberatur? Quae tamen, si vide-nda sunt, saepe vidisti; neque nos, qui haec spectamus, quicquam novi vidimus. Extremus elephantorum dies fuit. In quo admiratio magna vulgi atque turbae, delectatio nulla exstitit: quin etiam misericordia quaedam consecuta est atque opinio 145 eius modi, esse quandam illi beluae cum genere humane societatem.
Cicero is extremely busy.
Gladiators, Roman mosaic, 3rd century A.D. Galleria Borghese, Rome, Italy
Scala/Art Resource, NY.
His ego tamen diebus (ludis scaenicis), ne forte videar tibi non modo beatus sed liber omnino fuisse, dirupi me paene in iudicio Galli Canini, familiaris tui. Quod si tam facilem populum 150 haberem, quam Aesopus habuit, libenter mehercule artem desinerem tecumque et cum similibus nostri viverem; neque enrm fructum ullum laboris exspecto, et cogor non numquam homines non optime de me meritos rogatu eorum, qui bene meriti sunt, defendere.
155 Itaque quaere causas omnis aliquando vivendi arbitratu meo; teque et istam rationem oti tui et laudo vehementer et probo; quodque nos minus intervisis, hoc fero animo aequiore, quod, si Romae esses, tamen neque nos lepore tuo neque te—si qui est in me—meo frui liceret propter molestissimas occupationes 160 meas; quibus si me relaxaro, te ipsum, qui multos annos nihil aliud commentaris, docebo profecto quid sit humaniter vivere.
149. Galli Canini: Lucius Caninius Gallus was a tribunus plebis in 56 B.C. and a supporter of Pompey, but we know nothing about this trial.
familiaris:friend, associate.
facilem populum:an accommodating public; another joke, since Aesopus’ audience, as Cicero had noted earlier (124–25), were eager to be rid of him.
150. mehercule: interj., by Hercules = good heavens! or so help me!
artem desinerem (151): i.e., to retire.
151. nostri: similis may be followed by either the dat. or the gen.
152. non numquam: common for sometimes.
153. homines…meritos (152): men not deserving very much from me; from mereri, to earn, deserve, merit.
155. causas…vivendi: reasons for living.
aliquando: adv., at some time, at last, finally.
arbitratu: arbitratus,choice, pleasure; ABL. OF ACCORDANCE.
156. oti: = otii; spelling with only one -i the gen. sg. of-ius/-ium nouns was common through the Ciceronian period.
157. quodque: and as to the fact that; the phrase introduced is in appos. with the following hoc.
intervisis: intervisere,to visit from time to time.
158. neque nos…neque te: both are subjs. of frui, for me to enjoy; the entire cl. is highly elliptical, = neque nos lepore tuo frui liceret neque te lepore meo (si qui est lepos in me) frui liceret.
159. qui: indef. adj. after si.
160. quibus: = et eis (occupationibus); ABL. OF SEPARATION.
relaxaro: = relaxavero.
161. commentaris: commentari, to study, consider, practice; with advs. such as iam and expressions of duration of time, such as multos annos here, Lat. uses the pres. where Eng. uses the perf., have been studying.
humaniter: adv., as a man (homo) should, i.e., in a refined manner.
163. sustenta: sustentare, to endure with courage.
