academica of cicero. - 912 Freedom Library
academica of cicero. - 912 Freedom Library
academica of cicero. - 912 Freedom Library
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which Orelli gives. Rebatur: an old poetical word revived by Cic. De Or. III. 153; cf. Quintil.<br />
Inst. Or. VIII. 3, 26.<br />
§27. Subiectam ... materiam: the ??p??e?µe?? ???? <strong>of</strong> Aristotle, from which our word subjectmatter<br />
is descended. Sine ulla specie: species here = forma above, the e?d?? or µ??f? <strong>of</strong> Arist.<br />
Omnibus without rebus is rare. The ambiguity is sometimes avoided by the immediate succession<br />
<strong>of</strong> a neuter relative pronoun, as in 21 in quibusdam, quae. Expressa: chiselled as by a sculptor<br />
(cf. expressa effigies De Off. III. 69); efficta, moulded as by a potter (see II. 77); the word was<br />
given by Turnebus for MSS. effecta. So Matter is called an e?µa?e??? in Plat. Tim. Quae tota<br />
omnia: these words have given rise to needless doubts; Bentl., Dav., Halm suspect them. Tota is<br />
feminine sing.; cf. materiam totam ipsam in 28; "which matter throughout its whole extent can<br />
suffer all changes." For the word omnia cf. II. 118, and Plat. Tim. 50 B (de?eta? ?a? ?? ta pa?ta),<br />
51 A (e?d?? pa?de?e?). The word pa?de?e? is also quoted from Okellus in Stob. I. 20, 3. Binder<br />
is certainly wrong in taking tota and omnia both as neut.—"alles und jedes." Cic. knew the Tim.<br />
well and imitated it here. The student should read Grote's comments on the passages referred to. I<br />
cannot here point out the difference between Plato's ???? and that <strong>of</strong> Aristotle. Eoque interire: so<br />
MSS.; Halm after Dav. eaque. Faber was right in supposing that Cic. has said loosely <strong>of</strong> the<br />
materia what he ought to have said <strong>of</strong> the qualia. Of course the p??te ????, whether Platonic or<br />
Aristotelian, is imperishable (cf. Tim. 52 A. f???a? ?? p??sde??µe???). Non in nihilum: this is<br />
aimed at the Atomists, who maintained that infinite subdivision logically led to the passing <strong>of</strong><br />
things into nothing and their reparation out <strong>of</strong> nothing again. See Lucr. I. 215—264, and<br />
elsewhere. Infinite secari: through the authority <strong>of</strong> Aristotle, the doctrine <strong>of</strong> the infinite<br />
subdivisibility <strong>of</strong> matter had become so thoroughly the orthodox one that the Atom was scouted<br />
as a silly absurdity. Cf. D.F. I. 20 ne illud quidem physici credere esse minimum, Arist. Physica,<br />
I. 1 ??? est?? e?a??st?? µe?e???. The history <strong>of</strong> ancient opinion on this subject is important, but<br />
does not lie close enough to our author for comment. The student should at least learn Plato's<br />
opinions from Tim. 35 A sq. It is notable that Xenocrates, tripping over the old a?t?fas?? <strong>of</strong> the<br />
One and the Many, denied pa? µe?e??? d?a??et?? e??a? ?a? µe??? e?e?? (R. and P. 245).<br />
Chrysippus followed Aristotle very closely (R. and P. 377, 378). Intervallis moveri: this is the<br />
theory <strong>of</strong> motion without void which Lucr. I. 370 sq. disproves, where see Munro. Cf. also Sext.<br />
Emp. Adv. Math. VII. 214. Aristotle denied the existence <strong>of</strong> void either within or without the<br />
universe, Strato allowed its possibility within, while denying its existence without (Stob. I. 18, 1),<br />
the Stoics did the exact opposite affirming its existence without, and denying it within the<br />
universe (Zeller 186, with footnotes). Quae intervalla ... possint: there is no ultimate space atom,<br />
just as there is no matter atom. As regards space, the Stoics and Antiochus closely followed<br />
Aristotle, whose ideas may be gathered from R. and P. 288, 9, and especially from M. Saint<br />
Hilaire's explanation <strong>of</strong> the Physica.<br />
§28. Ultro citroque: this is the common reading, but I doubt its correctness. MSS. have ultro<br />
introque, whence ed. Rom. (1471) has ultro in utroque. I think that in utroque, simply, was the<br />
reading, and that ultro is a dittographia from utro. The meaning would be "since force plays this<br />
part in the compound," utroque being as in 24 for eo quod ex utroque fit. If the vulg. is kept,<br />
translate "since force has this motion and is ever thus on the move." Ultro citroque is an odd<br />
expression to apply to universal Force, Cic. would have qualified it with a quasi. Indeed if it is<br />
kept I suggest quasi for cum sic. The use <strong>of</strong> versetur is also strange. E quibus in omni natura:<br />
most edd. since Dav. (Halm included) eject in. It is perfectly sound if natura be taken as ??s?a =<br />
existence substance. The meaning is "out <strong>of</strong> which qualia, themselves existing in (being coextensive<br />
with) universal substance (cf. totam commutari above), which is coherent and<br />
continuous, the world was formed." For the in cf. N.D. II. 35, in omni natura necesse est absolvi<br />
aliquid, also a similar use ib. II. 80, and Ac. II. 42. If in utroque be read above, in omni natura<br />
will form an exact contrast, substance as a whole being opposed to the individual quale.<br />
Cohaerente et continuata: the Stoics made the universe much more <strong>of</strong> a unity than any other<br />
school, the expressions here and the striking parallels in N.D. II. 19, 84, 119, De Div. II. 33, De<br />
Leg. fragm. 1. (at the end <strong>of</strong> Bait. and Halm's ed.) all come ultimately from Stoic sources, even if<br />
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