Latin culture class, eleventh lesson. Undicesima lezione di cultura latina

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pp. 35-51
The licence and the demographic problem. An excursus

Augusto enacted laws for promotion of marriages: the lex Iulia de maritandis ordinibus (18 b. C.) fined the unmarrieds and gave a prize to married men. This law aimed at fighting against the sexual licence and the demografic decreasing. The same aims tried to obtain the law against adultery: lex Iulia de adulteriis coërcendis (18 b. C.) and the lex Papia Poppaea (9 a. C.). This last, rather, aggravated the penalties and granted fiscal facilities to the families with at least three sons

 (ius trium liberorum).

 But Tacito remarks that these laws did’ nt change the customs: “prevalida orbitate” (Annales III, 25) because was prevailing the single state.

Seneca in De beneficiis writes that adultery is spreading: "Numquid iam ullus adulterii pudor est, postquam eo ventum est, ut nulla virum habeat, nisi ut adulterum inrītet? Argumentum est deformitatis pudicitia [1]." (III, 16, 3), is there now some shame of adultery since we have come to the point that no women has husband if not for stimulate the lover? The modesty is sign of ugliness.

Giovenale (about 55-130) in the VI satire, maybe the most famous, that one “against women”, writes: “unus Hiberinae vir sufficit? ocius illud/extorquebis, ut haec oculo contenta sit uno " (vv. 53-54 ), only one man is enough for Iberina?[2] Before you will extort that she is satisfied with only one eye

  

Cassio Dione (155-235) writes that Augusto spoke in 9 a. C. to married citizens, a minority, prasing them as well deserving and lucky, because to marry a good wife, temperate, house wife, and wetnurse of the sons is the best, "a[riston gunh; swvfrwn oijkouro;" oijkovnomo" paidotrovfo"" (LVI, 3, 3); besides the community receives benefits by poluplhqiva, LVI, 3, 7), the great number (of workers and soldiers).

Then the emperor spoke to unmarried with hard words of blame. He said that the single state is a treason of the native country and murder of the race.

"a[nqrwpoi gavr pou povli" ejstivn, ajll' oujk oijkivai oujde; stoai; oujd j ajgorai; ajndrw'n kenaiv" (Roman history, LVI, 4, 3), the men are the town, I think , not the houses, nor porches, nor squares empty of men.

This problem, even today current in Italy, was already present in the age of Augusto, but not yet present in Rome at time of Scipioni: Polibio remarks ("ajpaidiva kai; sullhvbdhn ojliganqrwpiva" (XXXVI 17, 5) the lack of children and men in Greece, and vice versa, and instead, the virtue of Roman matrons.

End of excursus

But let’s comeback to Terentio, Adelphoe. Micio inform us about the character and the customs of his brother Demea:  Ille contra haec omnia-ruri agere vitam; semper parce ac duriter-se habere; uxorem duxit; nati filii-duo; inde ego hunc maiorem adoptavi mihi (44-47), he is against all this: he spends his life in the country, treats himself always with frugality and hardness; he got married; two sons were born; I have adopted the elder as mine.

 Micio gave to his nephew a modern education, almost permissive: “do, pratermitto, non necesse habeo omnia-pro meo iure agere; postremo, alii clanculum-patres quae faciunt, quae fert adulescentia,-ea ne me celet consuefeci filium” (51-54), I allow, I let things slide, I do not think necessary that he makes everything in conformity with my right (cf. patria potestas); after all what other sons do secretely, behind father’s back, deeds that youth implies, I have accustomed my son to not hide, to sincerity.

Follows the summa of his pedagogic thought: “Pudore et liberalitate liberos-retinere satius esse credo quam metu.-Haec fratri mecum non conveniunt neque placent” (57-59), I think that is better to keep sons in check with the respect, with the sense of shame and with the generosity, liberality, than with fear. My brother does not like such education and we don’t agree.

Demea rather fears that Micio may corrupt Eschino with his indulgence.

But Micio is convinced of the efficacy of his education: “Hŏc patriumst, potius consuefacere filium-sua sponte recte facere quam alieno metu:- hōc pater et dominus interest. Hŏc qui nequit –fateatur nescire imperare liberis” (74-77), this is up to father, his duty, to accustom his son to behave well, honestly, spontaneously, rather than because of external fear: in this a father is different from a master. Who does not know that, admitt, confess, that he cannot guide the sons.

The rest of the comedy shows tha Micio is right, because Eschino behave much better than his brother Ctesipho. In the epilogue even the catonian Demea will be converted to the ideology of his brother.

So the educational methods and ideas of the circle liberal and philantropical prevails against the conservatism narrow minded and suspicious of catonian party, adverse, opposed to every dangerous change and to greek cultur, even to greek people.

Cato maior, censor in 184 b. C. wrote Origines, the first historiographic work in Latin, just from the origins to 149, the last year of his life. In this book, dedicated to his son Marcus, he writes words very much hostiles to Greeks, their culture, their literture and their medicine. We have only fragments. Let’s read one: “vincam nequissimm et indocile esse genus illorum. Et puta vatem dixisse, quandoque ista gens suas litteras dabit, omnia corrumpet, tum etiam magis, si medicos suos huc mittet. Iurarunt inter se barbaros necare omnis medicina, sed hoc ipsum mercede faciunt, ut fides iis sit et facile disperdant” (fr. 1 Jordan), I shall convince you that they are an evil and unruly race. And think that a prophet has spoken: when this people will give his culture to us, will corrupt everything, and even more if they will send here their doctors. They swore each other to kill all barbarians (people who don’t speak Greek) with medicine; but they make this against payment so as to have credibility et can ruin us easily.

We said that Demea in Adelphoe represents the catonian mentality; so let’s read another fragment (128) by Catone from a self-portrait (De virtututibus suis contra L. Termum): “Ego iam a principio in parsimonia atque duritia atque industria omnem adulescentiam meam abstinui agro colendo”, I since from beginning kept all my youth in parsimony, in hardness, and in activity tilling the soil.

The philantropy. The last excursus

Cicerone (106-43) was an admirer and often recalled the scipionic circle: in the dialogue Laelius de amicitia (44 b. C.) he writes that viri boni, good men, are the person who follow naturam optimam bene vivendi ducem (19) the nature that is the best guide of good living. And nature teaches ita natos esse nos, ut inter nos esset societas quaedam, that we were born in order that between us can be some alliance.

The idea of alliance and brotherhood between all men derives from Panezio who was teacher of Scipione Emiliano and leader of Stoà of middle period.

Cicero in the third book of De Officiis (About duties, 44 b. C.) writes that mankind is one, only body, whose limbs are the men. We must help the persons because we make part of the same body.

(Love your neighbour as yourself, because he is yourself, will write Herman Hesse): "Etenim multo magis est secundum naturam excelsitas animi et magnitudo itemque comitas, iustitia, liberalitas quam voluptas, quam vita, quam divitiae, quae quidem contemnere et pro nihilo ducere comparantem cum utilitate communi magni animi et excelsi est. Detrahere autem de altero, sui commodi causa, magis est contra naturam quam mors, quam dolor, quam cetera generis eiusdem" (Cicero, De officiis, III, 24), in fact is much more in conformity with nature the nobility and the greatness of soul, and likewise the kindness, the liberality, justice, more than even life and the richness, and to despise these things and to value nothing comparing with utility common to everyone is peculiar to a great and noble soul. Instead, to take away something from another man for one’s own profit is more against the nature, than death, than pain and other tings of the same kind.

And, further (III, 25): "ex quo efficitur hominem naturae oboedientem homini nocere non posse", from this results that man obedient to nature cannot damage man.

Marco Aurelio, roman emperor (161-180) and stoic philosopher writes (Memories, II, 1): “we were born for mutual help ("pro;" sunergivan"), as the feet, the hands, the eyelĭds, the two files ot teeth. Therefore that one acts to the detriment of another is against nature ("to; ou\n ajntipravssein ajllhvloi" para; fuvsin"). This idea, born in scipionic circle recurs in saecula seculorum in all the centuries: in Devotions upon Emergent Occasion !624) John Donne (1572-1631) writes:

No man is an island entire of itself; every man

is a piece of the continent, a part of the main;

if a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe

is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as

well as any manner of thy friends or of thine

own were; any man's death diminishes me,

because I am involved in mankind.

And therefore never send to know for whom

the bell tolls[3]; it tolls for thee.

A basic question: what is the happiness? It is to know himself and to be faithul to one’s own nature and identity. Pindaro wrote: “gevnoio oi|o~ ejssiv” (Pitica II v. 72), become what you are.

And Seneca: “supinata testudo inquieta est desiderio naturalis status” (Ep. 121), a tortoise turn upside down is restless for the want of her natural position. We must follow the nature in general and our nature, our bents, predispositions in particular.

“(Naturam) si sequemur ducem numquam aberrabimus" (Cicero De officiis, 1, 100), if we shal follow the Nature as leader, never we’ll deviate.

Seneca thinks that natural is virtue and innatural vices: “omnia vitia contra naturam pugnant” (Ep. 122, 5) all the vices fight against the nature.

And all that is innatural is immoral, vicious: “Non videntur tibi contra naturam vivere qui commutant cum feminis vestem? Non vivunt contra naturam qui spectant ut pueritia splendeat tempore alieno?” (Ep. 122, 7) , don’t you think thal live against nature the men who wear women’s clothing? And those who aim at the shining of youth in unfit age?

A lot of people acts so, but “res sordida est tritā ac vulgari viā vivere” (Ep. 122, 9) it is a thing contemptible to live in a way beate, frequented and vulgar. Cf. Callimaco (310-240) epigram (A. P. XII, 43):

“ejcqaivrw to; poivhma to; kuklikovn, oujde; keleuvqw/ -caivrw, ti" pollou;" w|de kai; w|de fevrei.” I hate the cyclic poem, nor I like any street the brings everybody here and there.

THE END

Bologna, 5 luglio 2017

giovanni ghiselli

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[1] See: "casta est quam nemo rogavit by Ovidio (Amores, I, 8, 44), is chaste that woman to whom nobody made advances.

[2] Perhaps a woman  of spanish origin. In the second century a. C. in  Roma lived a mixture of peoples  

[3] It is the title of a well known novel by Hemingway (1940)