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Cicero's Cum Dignitate Otium: a Reconsideration

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 September 2012

Ch. Wirszubski
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Extract

In his political Apologia, the letter Ad Fam. 1, 9, addressed to Lentulus in the year 54 B.C., Cicero observed that, as he had repeatedly preached, the goal at which statesmen like himself and his correspondent ought to aim in the conduct of affairs of State was cum dignitate otium. The obvious example of this preaching is the well-known passage in the Pro Sestio, 96 ff., which is Cicero's fullest extant statement of cum dignitate otium as the aim and purpose of the Optimates. The political import of this statement is, for the modern student at any rate, somewhat vague, its vagueness being due to the variety of different meanings of which both dignitas and otium admit.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Journal of Roman Studies , Volume 44 , Issue 1-2 , November 1954 , pp. 1 - 13
Copyright
Copyright © Ch. Wirszubski 1954. Exclusive Licence to Publish: The Society for the Promotion of Roman Studies

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References

1 Ad Fam., 1,9,21 ‘Accepisti quibus rebus adductus quamque rem causamque defenderim, quique meus in re publica sit pro mea parte capessenda status. De quo sic velim statuas, me haec eadem sensurum fuisse, si mihi integra omnia ac libera fuissent; … numquam enim 〈in〉 praestantibus in re publica gubernanda viris laudata est in una sententia perpetua permansio, sed ut in navigando tempestati obsequi artis est, … sic, cum omnibus nobis in administranda re publica propositum esse debeat, id quod a me saepissime dictum est, cum dignitate otium, non idem semper dicere, sed idem semper spectare debemus.’ Cicero's statement is applicable to statesmen in general. But as the context shows, he is primarily thinking of himself, so that in ‘omnibus nobis’ he has primarily in mind Roman statesmen like himself and his correspondent.

2 Remy, E., ‘Dignitas cum otio,’ Musée Belge, XXXII (1928), 113–27Google Scholar. It is noteworthy that, whereas Cicero's formula is cum dignitate otium, Remy usually quotes it in the form dignitas cum otio or dignitas et otium.

3 o.c., 113.

4 o.c., 117.

5 o.c., 117 f.

6 o.c., 125.

7 Helmut Wegehaupt, Die Bedeutung und Anwendung von dignitas in den Sckriften der republikanischen Zeit. Breslau Dissertation, 1932.

8 ‘In diesem Sinne (viz Grösse in der Behauptung persönlicher Rechte und Ansprüche) steht dignitas der Bedeutung von salus nahe, insofern salus den Zustand eines allgemeinen “Heilseins” bezeichnet, und u.a. auch den Begriff der politischen Freiheit enthält. Dignitas, in ihrer ungestörten Dauer betrachtet, entspricht dem Begriff des otium. Otium cum dignitate ist daher die Abstraktion eines völlig einheitlichen Gedankens, der Zeugnis ablegt von dem stark ausgepragten konservativen Willen des Römers,’ o.c., 53.

9 ‘“Otium cum dignitate” bedeutet die Grösse (dignitas) des Staates in der Behauptung (otium) seiner natürlichen und historisch gewordenen Lebensbedingungen, einen Zustand der natürlichen Vollendung des Staates, — in optima r.p. (de orat. 1, 1), entsprach einem “in imperio ac dignitate” (de leg. agr. 2, 9) — insofern er die Macht vertritt gegen äussere und innere Feinde (s. novarum rerum cupidi) und der Pflicht zur Gerechtigkeit gegen Götter, Bürger und socii unterworfen ist.’ o.c., 63.

10 This has been rightly stressed by P. Boyancé (see next note), 184 f.

11 Boyancé, Pierre, ‘Cum Dignitate Otium,’ RÉA XLIII (1941), 172–191Google Scholar.

12 o.c., 178.

13 o.c., 174–8.

14 o.c., 185–9.

15 o.c., 186.

16 o.c., 183.

17 ‘Ce qui fait que pour notre formule nous pouvons parler sans paradoxe de soutenir en même temps les deux thèses opposées, c'est qu'en fait Cicéron se place à un point de vue plus élevé qui les domine, les rend toutes deux possibles. Il faut se souvenir que Cicéron est philosophe, élève de Platon. Platon identifie totalement dans la République la justice fin de la cité et la justice fin de l'âme. Ordre extérieur et ordre intérieur ne font qu'un. Mais, on va le voir, c'est surtout à Aristote qu'il faut ici songer. Dans le livre VII de la Politique, Aristote, fidèle en cela à Platon, revient plusieurs fois sur l'idée que l'individu et que l'État s'assignent la même fin, et c'est, on va le voir, dans les textes, qui, à l'un comme à l'autre, assignent comme but la σχολή — l'otium,’ o.c., 183–4. See also 189 f.

18 o.c., 190 f.

19 o.c., 191.

20 ‘Comment concilier ce § 138 (the decisive phrase occurs at the beginning of § 139) et notre § 96 ? Si les jeunes gens qui aspirent à suivre la carrière des optimates doivent au § 138 renoncer pour eux au bénéfice de l'otium, cet otium, qui est leur but au § 96, ne saurait être, comme nous le disions, un otium personnel, individuel, et nous nous sommes trompé sur ce point,’ o.c., 186.

21 ibid.

22 Cf. Cic. In Cat. IV, 3: ‘qua re, patres conscripti, consulite vobis, prospicite patriae, conservate vos, … populi Romani nomen salutemque defendite.’

23 See Pro Sest. 100–2.

24 Boyancé, o.c., 178.

25 Bernert, Ernst, ‘Otium,’ Würzburger Jahrbücher für die Altertumswissenschaft, IV (1949–1950), 89–99Google Scholar, is mainly (except p. 91) concerned with the nonpolitical aspect of otium. I have not seen Marianne Kretschmar, Otium, Studia litterarum, Philosophie und βίος θεωρητικός im Leben und Denken Ciceros, Leipzig Dissertation, 1938, and know of it only from a review by Klotz, A., Philol. Wochenschr. LXI (1941), 76–80Google Scholar. Fuchs, H., ‘Augustin und der antike Friedens gedanke’, Neue Philol. Untersuchungen, 3, Berlin, 1926, 185 ff.Google Scholar, is interesting and suggestive.

26 Amph. 206–10.

27 Cic. Pro Caec. 43; Caes. BC 11, 36, 1; Nep. Timol. 3, 2; Hamilc. 2, 5. Cf. also Plautus l.c.; Cic. Ad Att. 1, 20, 5; iv, 6, 2; Liv. III, 32, 4.

28 See Cic. De Leg. agr. 11, 9 where pax externa is distinct from otium domesticum. Cf. ‘ubi militem donis, populum annona, cunctos dulcedine otii pellexit’, Tac. Ann. 1, 2, 1. See also Cic. De Harusp. Resp. 4 ‘videbam illud scelus (viz. Clodius' sacrilege) … non posse arceri oti finibus’.

29 Cic. Ad Att. XV, 2, 3; Ad Fam. 11, 16, 2; Pro Mur. 83; Sall. Hist. 1, 77 (Orat. Phil. ) 11 (M).

30 Plaut. l.c.; Cic. De Leg. agr. 1, 23; 11, 102; 111, 4; Pro Mur. 78; 86; Ad Q. Fr. 111, 5–6, 5; Ad Att. IX, 11a, 1; Phil. 1, 16; V, 41; VIII, 10–11; De Fato, 2. Cf. Comment. Petit. 53. See also Cic. In Pis. 73, Post Red. ad Quir. 20, De Dom. 15 quoted in the following note.

31 Rhet. ad Heren. IV, 15, 21 ‘contentio est, cum ex contrariis rebus oratio conficitur, hoc pacto: … in otio tumultuaris, in tumultu otiosus es’. Cic. Ad Att. II, 1, 4 ‘Ac nunc quidem otium est, sed, si paulo plus furor Pulchelli progredi posset, valde ego te istim excitarem. Verum praeclare Metellus impedit et impediet.’ In Pis. 73 Cicero explains his ‘cedant arma togae’ thus: ‘non dixi hanc togam qua sum amictus, … sed, quia pacis est insigne et oti toga, contra autem arma tumultus atque belli, poetarum more locutus hoc intellegi volui, bellum ac tumultum paci atque otio concessurum.’ Cf. Post Red. ad Quir. 20 ‘quoniam illi arti in bello ac seditione locus est, huic in pace atque otio.’ De Dom. 15 ‘in meo reditu spes oti et concordiae sita videbatur, in discessu autem cotidianus seditionis timor.’ Cf. Pro. Mur. 90; Ad Fam. XII, 1, 1 (as emended by Purser). Sall. Jug. 66, 2 ‘nam volgus, uti plerumque solet et maxime Numidarum, ingenio mobili seditiosum atque discordiosum erat, cupidum novarum rerum, quieti et otio advorsum.’

It is interesting and illuminating to compare with these texts Cicero's statement on the origin of eloquence, Brut. 45: ‘pacis et comes otique socia et iam bene constitutae civitatis quasi alumna quaedam eloquentia’; and Tacitus' rejoinder, Dial. 40, 2: ‘non de otiosa et quieta re loquimur et quae probitate et modestia gaudeat, sed est magna ilia et notabilis eloquentia alumna licentiae … comes seditionum, effrenati populi incitamentum, … quae in bene constitutis civitatibus non oritur.’ These statements show well what kind of associations go with otium by way of similarity and contrast.

32 Cic. De Prov. cons. 24; De Re p. 1, 7; Phil. X, 3. Cf. De Off. 111, 3; Pro Sest. 5; 15.

33 See Cic. Pro Sest. 33; 56; Ascon. 8, 20 f. Clark.

34 Cf. Cic. In Vat. 18 ‘simul etiam illud volo uti respondeas, cum te tribuno plebis esset etiam turn in r.p. lex Aelia et Fufia, quae leges saepe numero tribunicios furores debilitarunt et represserunt’. See also ibid. 23.

35 Ad Att. XIV, 2, 3. In 49 B.C. Matius was regarded as an ‘auctor oti’, Ad Att. IX, 11, 2.

36 Ad Fam. XI, 2, 2 (addressed to M. Antonius, May, 44 B.C.).

37 De Dom. 12; 137; Pro Sest. 15; Phil. X, 3; XI, 36; Ad Att. XIV, 2, 3; Ad Brut. 1, 15, 4. A variation of the same theme is the substitution of fear for hatred: ‘timent otium,’ Ad Att. XIV, 21, 2 and 4; 22, 1; XV, 2, 3.

38 Augustin. Civ. Dei, XIX, 12 (p. 372, 24 f. Dombart-Kalb).

39 I think it is inconsistent with the available evidence to assume that pax and concordia were essentially Optimate slogans (as does H. Fuchs, o.c., 192, n. 2).

40 Sallust's authorship of this speech has been denied, on insufficient grounds, by Lanzani, C., Lucio Cornelio Silla Dittatore, Milano, 1936, 367–73Google Scholar. Against this view see Bolaffi, E., ‘L'orazione di Lepido nelle “Historiae” di Sallustio,’ Rivista Indq-Greco-Italiana, XX (1936), 61–66Google Scholar.

41 De Leg. agr. 1, 23; 11, 9; 102; 111, 4. Cf. In Cat. IV, 17.

42 Pro Mur. 78; 83 (cf. 79; 86; 90.

43 Vilitate edd.; militate M. Vilitas, provided the reading is right, is here used in the same sense as in De Imp. Cn. Pomp. 44. See also De Dom. 14 (sub fin.) f.

44 De Dom. 15; 17.

45 Ad Att. VI, 1, 11; VII, 7, 5; VII, 18, 2; IX, 11, 2; 11a, 1.

46 De Fato 2; Phil. 1, 16. The moderate course advocated by Fufius Calenus for the sake of peace met with Cicero's disapproval, ibid, VIII, 11 f., and provoked him into saying, ibid, X, 3: ‘cur cum te et vita et fortuna tua ad otium, ad dignitatem invitet, ea probas, ea decernis, ea sentis quae sint inimica et otio communi et dignitati tuae ?’ —a remark worth remembering in the interpretation of cum dignitate otium.

47 It does not very much matter for the present purpose whether this passage in its present form was or was not in the speech as delivered in court.

48 See Pro Sest. 132 and Schol. Bob. ad loc.

49 Cf. Schol. Bob. l.c.

50 For the latter see Vatinius ap. Cic. Ad Fam. V, 9, 1.

51 Whether actually so phrased or only implied. It is not certain whether Vatinius actually used the phrase ‘natio optimatium’ or only referred to the Optimates as ‘ista natio’. Pro Sest. 132 is consistent with either. A popularis might avoid calling his opponents ‘optimates’, just as Caesar and Sallust did.

52 Pro Sest. 96: ‘duo genera semper in hac civitate fuerunt eorum qui versari in re publica atque in ea se excellentius gerere studuerunt; quibus ex generibus alteri se popularis, alteri optimates et haberi et esse voluerunt. Qui ea quae faciebant quaeque dicebant multitudini iucunda volebant esse, populares, qui autem ita se gerebant ut sua consilia optimo cuique probarent, optimates habebantur. Cf. De Off. 1, 85 alii populares alii studiosi optimi cuiusque.’

53 A noteworthy parallel expression is otiosa libertas used in 44 B.C. by Trebonius ap. Cic. Ad Fam. XII, 16, 3.

54 See Wegehaupt, o.c., 53; 76.

55 See also Cic. Phil. X, 3, quoted above, n. 46.

56 De Leg. agr. 1, 27.

57 e.g. Pro Sest. 7. The expression is common.

58 In Cat. IV, 15.

59 ‘Iure, lege, libertate, re publica communiter uti oportet; gloria atque honore, quomodo sibi quisque struxit,’ Cato the Elder, Malcovati, Orat. Rom. Frag. 1, 218, no. 249. ‘Libertate esse parem cum ceteris, principem dignitate,’ M. Antonius, the orator, see Cic. Phil. 1, 34. ‘ipsa aequabilitas est iniqua, cum habet nullos gradus dignitatis,’ Cic. De Re p. 1, 43.

60 It is interesting, and sobering, to compare the elements of otiosa dignitas (Pro Sest. 98) with the recital of Clodius’ crimes (ibid. 84. Cf. De Harusp. Resp. 60).

61 See H. Fuchs, o.c., 192.

62 See Ad Att. i, 19, 6–8; ibid. i, 20, 2–3; ibid. ii, 3, 3–4, Ad Fam. i, 7, 7 and 10. cf. De Orat. ii, 334 ‘nemo est enim … posse retineri’; and Ad Fam. i, 9, 21 ‘cum omnibus nobis … sed idem semper spectare debemus’.

63 The tone of this remark is somewhat reminiscent of certain passages in the Oratio Philippi in Sall. Hist. 1, 77, 3 and 5.

64 See De Harusp. Resp. 50 and Ad Fam. 1, 9, 19. For an entirely different view of the significance of Pro Sest. 100 see Büchner, K., ‘Der Tyrann und sein Gegenbild in Ciceros “Staat” ’, Hermes, LXXX (1952), 369Google Scholar.

65 It is interesting that otium has dropped out. Perhaps because he is now addressing especially those who must seek otium for others.

66 Cf. Ad Att. IV, 6, 1 f.; Ad Fam. VIII, 33, 2.

67 Cicero regarded his recall from exile as a reinstatement to his former dignitas, see De Dom. 9, and Pro Sest. 52.

68 See Cic. Brut. 8; Acad. 1, 11; De Off. 11, 2 and 4.

69 Cicero, it is true, says in his letter to M. Marcellus (Ad Fam. IV, 9, 3) ‘honesto otio tenueris et statum et famam dignitatis tuae.’ But if this courteous remark is weighed against Cicero's other utterances it will be found insufficient to bear out the identity of honestum otium and cum dignitate otium. A Roman statesman cannot retain his ‘status dignitatis’ in exile, even if it is voluntary exile, and no one knew it better than Cicero.

70 Ad Att. 1, 17, 5; Ad Fam. IV, 4, 4; IV, 9, 3; VII, 33, 2. Cf. Brut. 8; Acad. 1, 11. Pro Sulla, 26, is very illuminating for the difference between honestum otium and cum dignitate otium.

71 Cf. De Orat. 1, 1 with De Off. III, 2–3.

72 Ad Fam. VII, 33, 2; IV, 4, 4; Acad. 1, 11; De Off. 11, 4.

73 See Boyancé, o.c., 190.

74 See Büchner, o.c., 369.