Auctoritas, Dignitas, OtiumAuthor(s): J. P. V. D. Balsdon Source: The Classical Quarterly, New Series, Vol. 10, No. 1 (May, 1960), pp. 43-50 Published by: Cambridge University Press on behalf of The Classical Association Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/637589 Accessed: 22/10/2010 15:54 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use, available at http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp. JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use provides, in part, that unless you have obtained prior permission, you may not download an entire issue of a journal or multiple copies of articles, and you may use content in the JSTOR archive only for your personal, non-commercial use. Please contact the publisher regarding any further use of this work. Publisher contact information may be obtained at http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=cup. Each copy of any part of a JSTOR transmission must contain the same copyright notice that appears on the screen or printed page of such transmission. JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. Cambridge University Press and The Classical Association are collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to The Classical Quarterly. http://www.jstor.org Lucullus (De dom. 4). I.132).iii. 2. and was the consiliumof the magistrates. OTIUM was naturally one of Cicero's favourite concepts. So Cicero paid tribute to the assistance which he had received in 63 from the 'consilium et auctoritas' of L.A senior senator who spoke and. i. Cicero thought five years later. Cicero had been listened to in early 49. It reflected the will and intention of a majority of the senatorspresent and voting on a specific resolution. by his own later account. potestaswould lie with the magistrates.D. 7. but it was a resolution to which effect could not constitutionally be given. 2). ('Huius ordinis auctoritate uti magistratus et quasi ministros gravissimi consilii esse voluerunt (maioresnostri)'. was. IL. 8. the three auctoritates reported by Caelius in October 51 (Adfam. 6-8) or because of some procedural irregularity. 7. could not be expressedin Greek-was an ineffective resolutionof the Senate. ProSest. Dio tells us (55. made the early in the debate spoke with auctoritas side on which he spoke the winning side. Dessau. DIGNITAS. 6. togati potius potentiam (Caesaris) quam armati victoriam subissemus' (Ad fam. 6579. however.) But the Senate was no more than the sum of its members. x There is a nice municipal parallel for this meaning of 'auctoritas' from Veii in A.2. 'an indefinite word. 3. I. either because one of the tribunes had vetoed it after it was passed (Adfam. . libertaswith the people. 8. 3)-' The Senate gave the sanction of its auctoritasto the decisions of the people. was that the 'consilium et auctoritas' of the consul Ser. 26.which was the Senate's function in government. De leg. but still auctoritaswould be the property of the Senate. 5. Alternatively. Apart from Dio's statement. n. If. 28). and Livy frequently wrote of laws whose initiation lay in a senatorial decree as introduced 'ex auctoritate patrum'. This auctoritas. 57). 137. an effective resolution of the Senate was a senatusconsultum. 2. In the ideal 'AucTORITAS' with the Senate ('Cum potestas republic power lay with the people. 'in principum consilio' (De rep. in particular of the senior senators who spoke first and whose opinions could be expected to sway the House. auctoritas in populo.S. and a letter of Cicero in the same year (Ad Att. evading strict definition'. Anyone who spoke in the Senate gave consilium. Lucullus (Acad. 2. in a balanced state. as Mommsen said. 4.3. so that the exercise of auctoritasand consiliumwas the function of the individual senator.who were themselves 'in auctoritate senatus'. while senatusauctoritas in the strict technical sense-which.5). 3) and of P. Staatsr. Rome's tragedy in 51.3 I033. 8. 4 ff. Servilius Vatia and M. auctoritas in senatu sit'.AUCTORITAS. if things went properly. Sulpicius Rufus went unheeded: 'cuius si essemus et auctoritatem et consilium secuti. By the end of the Republic. 8. 6).). and was indeed recorded as such in the Journal of the Senate. Yet the senior senator'sauctoritas did not depend on his success in carrying the House with him. Instructions went out to priests and others 'auctoritate senatus' (Mommsen. the only evidence for senatusauctoritasin the sense of 'a resolution made ineffective through tribunician veto' is supplied by Cicero's correspondenceand is both late and sparse-a vetoed decree on the restoration of Ptolemy Auletes in 56 (Adfam. Io7) and once in Valerius Maximus (7. .6). there were hooligans about.2. Tacitus' 'dignitas'. 5 ff. and voted as the consulars had voted (Dion.c. even if given the opportunity. 'Primum dico senatoris esse boni semper in senatum venire nec cum his sentio qui statuunt minus bonis temporibus in senatum ipsum non venire. 12. I. Plutarch. so possibly is dignitas. 10. they were all there: 'omnes consulares nihil Pompeio postulanti negarunt. 7. grew. V.In the interval between the election and the end of the year the consuls-designate spoke first. 4. no more. If auctoritasis <dlwjia in Greek. 'Cum dominatu unius omnia tenerentur neque esset usquam consilio aut auctoritati locus' (De offic. tors. so before I January they had auctoritasas consuls-designate. he said. This Caesar effectively abolished. P. The roll call ofconsulares in Ad Att. 'sed victa est auctoritas mea' (Adfam. Suet. 4. of our two main authorities. D.the praeAfter the consuls-designate. were so easily frightened from discharging it. 2 (46 B. admittedly. 47-. ingeni. 12.In the good old days junior senatorsdid not presume to speak. and if the expression 'dignitate praestans'does not exist in surviving Latin.when Caesar was alive. ext. lunius Silanus spoke as consul-designatewhen he opened the debate on the punishment of Catiline's associateson the Nones..) . Cic. auctoritate. and the praetorii. I.' Again in early 43 we hear the same story: 'erat firmissimussenatus. I7). 'Praestitiauctoritate. since. as we know. had no more use for the only arms which he knew how to wield. 2. 'quod tuto se negarent posse sententiam dicere'. 5. 6. The senatorial order's dignitaswas greater than that of the equestrian order (De dom. It was a feature and in part a cause of the failure of republicanismat the end that the repositories of auctoritasin the Senate were so little fitted for their responsibilityor. 4. There were 'gradus dignitatis' (De rep. M. in the Brutus. when the issue was already settled and the danger was evidently over.De dom. and advanced' (Hist.' . On the following day. 2).' no consular.after as consuls. 2 I1. 13. I is a roll call.' 'Auctoritate praestans' is a phrase which occurs at least once in Cicero (Pro Cluent. But. the greater your auctoritas. 'Dic. it seems.the consulares. on the current problems of the day. in ea nunc his quidem omnibus caremus' (Ad.fam.J. In the first debate on the food crisis on 7 September 57-when. 6). auctoritatis arma' (Brutus7). 'consili. I January imperium Then the praetors-elect. and it was Sallust's object to minimize the importance of other speeches in order to emphasize the importance of that comparatively junior senator. 6. 6. There is more evidence than Mommsen's faulty restoration of the Latin of the Res Gestaeto establish the very close relationshipof the two concepts. 2. Vesp. Hal. that is no more than an accident. 'In qua urbe modo gratia. Cicero's interest does not extend beyond himself. ). 74. I). 8. Catulus perhaps excepted. The state. cf. 21. The world of the dictator was one in which there was no more place for 'consilium' and 'auctoritas'.' The whole essence of republicanism lay in free senatorial debate.) The earlier you spoke in a senatorial debate. throwing stones2--only three consulares-out of a possible number of about seventeen-attended (Ad Att. Tulli. alternatively. exceptis consularibus'(Adfam. They acknowledged the greater wisdom of Age. So Cicero wrote when Caesar was dead. BALSDON 44 Pompey would have gone to Spain and Caesar would have been allowed to stand in absence for the consulship. the tribune-elect Cato. 2). 2). had anything important to say. 9. He wrote the same in 46. We do not know how well D. 'started. gloria floruimus. with the seniors taking the lead. nullum senatum. so the three combined. 1. In January 55 Cicero wrote sadly to tell Lentulus Spinther that his dream of life as an elder statesman-'dignitas in sententiis dicendis. 2 and 24.DIGNITAS.4 Cicero could not complain of such extravagant language.c. 166 Cicero had put it the other way about: 'dignitas est alicuius honesta et cultu et honore et verecundia digna auctoritas'. iI. Florus rightly trumpeted the word when he was describing the first association of the three dynasts in 59 B.. 4 Cf. the one static. Gell. 53. Hirtius. 4. Augustus could perfectly well have written 'dignitate omnibus praestiti'.Marcellus staked the whole of his reputation on his success in turning people's feelings against Caesar. I.' The emotional strength of Caesar's appeal to the claim of dignitascould not possibly have been heightened. I f. was the expression of a man's dignitas-though in his early De Auzctoritas inventione 2. The acquittal of Gabinius in October 54 drove him to tell Quintus. he says. Caesar at once made tremendousplay with his own dignitaswhen the Senate sought to deny him the advantages promised by the legislation of 52. This is evident from all three contemporarieswho constitute our primary sources for the clash-Caesar himself. drove Pompey to prepare defences (praesidia)for his dignitas. 3- . 3 B.R. O.C. 8. it was at least untarnished. 19. Caesarwas a man strong enough in the worldly adjunctsof power to fight for his own dignitas. 187 f. 2) that magistrates and administrators lost nothing of their auctoritasin Trajan's presence. 4. OTIUM 45 I. i on his dignitasin Rome in and after 51. 7. only he did not. 3). I. In politics a man's dignitaswas his good name-that 'bona aestimatio' on which Gaius Gracchus laid such stress.F. I). 8. who started the agitation for Caesar's recall from Gaul. I. 4. The concept was one of overwhelming importance to every outstanding politician of the late Republic. Pompeio retinere cupientibus' (2. nullam in ullo nostrum dignitatem' (Ad Q. I.G. he had spoken in similar terms (ProSest. 53). 8. defending Sestius.G. libertas in re publica capessenda'-was shattered (Adfam. (Aul. 'Caesare dignitatem comparare. 43).. 61.C. 4.3and Cicero.he declared in negotiation with Pompey's first envoys at Ariminum at the start of 49. 1.and to uphold it. M. wealth. mid-January 49). 'sibi omnem dignitatem ex Caesaris invidia quaerebat': so Hirtius wrote (B. io). 52. Ii.AUCTORITAS.2. Crassus was well-buttressed with birth. Pliny states (Pan.48) of his own conduct in 58: 'cum omnia semper ad dignitatem rettulissemnec sine ea quicquam expetendum esse homini in vita putassem . His dignitas.. 50. Crasso augere.C. As a word. and you could speak of 'princepsdignitate' (Phil. 4). 6. consul in 51. that it was in dignitasthat he overshadowed them.2It was his reputation and standing. was something on which he would stake his life: 'sibi semperprimam fuissedignitatem vitaque potiorem' (B. Ten years later Caesar's complaint of Pompey was that he wanted nobody to be his equal in dignitas(B. 'nullam esse rem publicam.' It was perhaps because of the very strong association of 'dignitas' with Caesar's 'treason'in 49 that Augustus did not like the word. Not so Cicero. Cicero's evidence is best of all (Ad Att. and found 'auctoritas' an acceptable alternative. 7. and dignitas. nulla iudicia. Cato's intransigence. 8. 13. 4 on Caesar's care for his own dignitas in Gaul. Marcellus. 2).' The two words were very closely linked. 34).f 3. the other dynamic.. B. 9. In 56. 9-1 I). 2 The phrase occurs three times in his speech against the lex Aufeia. 7. 'atque haec ait omnia facere se dignitatis causa. in March 56. with a survey of the differing views of earlier scholars. dignitaswas restored. as I often do. 21). 9.' Cicero used it three times.fam. P. 'desideriopristinae dignitatis'. A supplicatio and a triumph would have made full amends for 58 and 56. 'As I have said on a large number of occasions..). Cicero's earliest association of the two words in what survives of his writing x For the latest discussion of this concept. I.4. cf. 2). even auctoritas. I3 M.9 and 25 M. as he sometimes did. he wrote of this period a little later in the De officiis(2. finished in 55. But in September 46 he broke silence with his rapturously intemperateProMarcelloand later in the year he spoke successfullyfor Ligarius. as it seems to me. 48. as it seemed. He secured the first. and could hold steadily to a course which enabled them as they pleased to be safe and active--"in negotio sine periculo"-or "in otio cum dignitate". BALSDON His augurship came in 53. 4. 14-. 4. he remarked. and for a few months. V. in 51. Wirszubski.S. Cicero's sententious utterances? Or did Lepidus in fact use those expressions in 78? In which case Cicero will have made play with a familiarform of expression in 56 and later. 6. indeed. may even have spoken of 'cum dignitate otium' before he did. to the three years 56-54. All 'dignitatisgradus' were destroyed. 'Otium cum libertate' and 'otium cum servitio' are expressionsfound in Sallust'sversion of the speech made by the consul Lepidus in 78 (Hist. Others. In Pro Sestio98. There followed the horror of dynastic rule. 4. J. Hence his feverish anxiety for both. But what of 'dignitas' and 'otium' in conjunction? What of 'otiosa dignitas'? What of 'cum dignitate otium' ? In view of the excitement which this latter phrase has caused its appearanceis surprisinglyinfrequent. the second vanished in the humiliating suspenseof living almost under open arrestin south Italy in the winter of 48/47 before Caesar's return. 6. he had written a little earlier to Ligarius (Adfam. were highly distinguished for the officeswhich they had held and for the fame of their achievements.46 J. living when governmentwas at its best.R. From Corcyra Cn. 'And so I have. 'Cicero's Cum Dignitate Otium: a reconsideration'. but if in dignitas you include the power of translating those loyal feelings into action or of defending them with complete freedom. io. 55.' 'Imago veteris meae dignitatis'. in between. 13. Was Sallust having fun. the battle of mons Amanus.' Cicero replied. cf. and. Plancius wrote to congratulate him on the recovery of his dignitas:'me meam pristinamdignitatem obtinere' (Adfam. xliv (1954).' Its three appearances belong. 'if loyal feeling for the state and winning good men's approval of those loyal feelings is all that dignitasamounts to. the men above all others to be envied. 'When I think over the old days and recall them to my mind. 1-13- . and to explain particularly the change in Cicero's own position within that political world since Lentulus' departure three years earlier (Adfam. So much for 'dignitas'. D. Caesar was killed. ). 65). see Ch. he said that it was the object and duty of the statesmen of the Optimates to direct their course like steersmen to the attainment of 'cum dignitate otium'.44). then "ne vestigium quidem ullum est reliquum nobis dignitatis". the goal of all us politicians should be "cum dignitate otium" '. are those who. He had resolved. In the famous letter which he wrote more than two years later to Lentulus Spinther to explain the state of the political world to which in a few months' time Lentulus would be returning from Cilicia. at the very beginning of the De Oratore. in parodying 3. he wrote. then. I. to speak no more in public (Ad. salutem. it was concerned not with 'dignitas'but with 'voluptas' (ProSest. ad Pro Sest.).DIGNITAS. Lepidus declared in 78. was 'honestum otium'. 2.' From this it was not a long step to using the word for acceptance of the statusquo. Praising Pompey's part in securing his restoration. 9)-'salus communis atque otium' (Pro Sest. I6). 3. When used of individuals. Acceptance of existing conditions. 7. 55. The 'otium' of idle self-indulgencewas discreditable.AUCTORITAS. 'mihi unus uni privato amico eadem omnia dedit quae universae rei publicae. For to desert active life for scholarship and writing. 82. (B. and illogical. In public life 'otium' stood for peace and freedom from disturbance. provinciae. II.4. 4. 4. dignitatem' (Post red. cit. as opposed to 'active public life'.4. cf. in Cicero's writing. aerarium' (Pro Sest. That change and reform is a function of organic life in any Adfam. op. iudicia.acceptance of existing political and social conditions. 4-6 for further references to the use of 'otium'. certainly. cf. unique. OTIUM 47 was in the speech which he made to the people on the day after his return to Rome. It lacked dignitas.it was also freedomfrom internal disorder. iuris dictio. of the period following the end of the great wars of the second century B. of 'religiones. 'Deus nobis haec otia fecit. res militaris. This is the theme of an important section of the Pro Sestiowhere. 'Otium'. So Sallust wrote. Bob. he said. agr. 3 Schol. agr. . and it was also the state of the man who had played his full part in public life and retired from it. 137). asperiusacerbiusque fuit. postquam adepti sunt. It was the state of the man who turned his back on public life.g. In Adfam. socii. 137)Placid acceptance of the existing r6gime was naturally viewed differentlyby the supportersand beneficiariesof that regime-the 'natio Optimatium' in the language of Clodius and the late-republicanPopulares(ProSest. mos maiorum. I. 3. 2. potestates magistratuum. muddled. I.96. 'otium' was 'otium cum servitio' (Hist.an assurance to the proletariat that all was for the best in the best of all possible worlds. Sallust'slate-developingmoral sense austerelyforbade him to devote his retirement from public life to farming or hunting ('servilia officia'). De leg.' And if 'otium'was freedomfrom external assault. The retort of the conservativepolitician was the retort of Maitre Pangloss.c. 4. imperi laus.33. 2I. 132 (139 St. was dereliction of duty. 8. 5. could have more than one meaning.I.2It was relief after war. was tantamount to the abandonment of liberty. See Wirszubski. fides. from 'tumultus' and civil war. when a free choice was open to you. in Sallust's version of his speech. 25 M. 'Quod in advorsisrebus optaverantotium. ProSest. 'Otio prodimur'. op.3. on 5 September 57. ad pop. this was 'otium domesticum' (De leg. brave.) says that the phrase 'natio Optimatium' was Vatinius' invention. 98. leges. like 'dignitas'. 8.2. This equation was made frequently by Cicero from 63 onwards (e.138). 137)3and by its enemies and critics. De offic. 2. otium. auspicia. 2 the use of 'honestum otium' is different and. I. senatus auctoritas. This.4). 4). Acad. cit. Cicero hides under an ornamental profusionof fine oratory the political barrennessof his own thought and the thought of his political friends. but approved of his becoming a historian (Cat. 'Cuius studio a rebus gerendis abduci contra officium est' (De offic. 41.' But for Cicero this was only a second-best life. as the younger Pliny was later to say (Pan. in fact. 'otium ab hostibus'. it was 'private' or 'retired'. 9). 5 and I5). As such. 19 and 69-7I). it was either creditable or discreditable-'honestum' or 'inhonestum'. 2 See Wirszubski. Cicero uses the same epithet frequently of his own absorption in scholarly writing in the years in which he was forced to withdraw from public life. and when a real crisis arose. Against this background we view Cicero's pipe dream of the contemporary political world. and Catulus--opposed that kind of genuinely 'popular' politician. Populares and Optimates were. he claimed. The so-called Populareswho preached revolution were. The political world is divided sharply into good men and bad. which they followed.' The people had no demands to make. 'Cum dignitate otium' stood out in contrast to 'otium sine dignitate'. P.' 'Et otio suo et dignitate optimi cuiusque et universae rei publicae gloria delectatur' (Io4). they lost 'otium' and 'dignitas'too (Ioo). Cato. 'Omnes optimates sunt qui neque nocentes sunt nec natura improbi nec malis domesticis impediti' (97)-all who are honest and solvent. and rarely won it (I40 f. for the sake of momentary peace (otium). then in strikingparadox it could be said. Bribery was the convenient differential. 'otium quod abhorreat a dignitate' (98). 'Nec flagitat rem ullam neque novarum rerum est cupidus. The best men even of the proletariat are Optimates by decent instinct. Wisely Cicero contents himself with making this extraordinary claim.77) .). and does not illustrate it by a single example. 'ficte et fallaciter populares' (De dom. BALSDON healthy society. 'populum ipsum non esse popularem'. This is the 'cum dignitate ' What today might be called 'the Munich spirit'. All are Optimates who respect the constitution and love peace (98 f. idem ille populus horum auctoritate maxime commovebatur' (ProSest.made concessionsto them rather than face a show-down. 136). the 'propugnatoresreipublicae' (ProSest. properly considered. Here was a crux indeed. IO5). 'Multitudinis studium aut populi commodum ab utilitate rei publicae discrepabat' (Pro Sest.48 J. when all the fuss and bother of these popular reformswas over. People and optimate politicians. they achieved 'otium sine dignitate (Ioo). of course. 'Iam nihil est quod populus a dilectis principibusque dissentiat.one and the same. At the top level of political society were the political leaders of this great army of good men. si quae res erat maior.). and that a great many reforms were urgently needed in the corrupt hooligan world of Clodius. and Cicero did his poor best to solve it. with their policy. These were men who did not seek popular applause. and that in fact the great prototypesof optimate politicians-Scaurus.' When. therefore. . IO3). If they woke up altogether too late. too late. Metellus Numidicus.). C. saw eye to eye. and it did not want civil war. it was to these same optimate 'principes'that the people turned for advice-advice. A man like Clodius had no hope of securingpolitical support unless he paid for it. The optimate politicians were right in their opposition andwe can hardly believe the evidence of our ears here-the people admitted the fact because. Were the Gracchi then Optimates? It had to be admitted that they were not. How were the facts of recent history to be squeezed into this extraordinary mould ? First the false 'populares'of Cicero's political world had to be distinguished from such men as the Gracchi. good men (boni)woke up to the existence of sinister plotting on the part of seditious 'populares' and. Who could imagine the Gracchi buying votes? Support for them had been genuine support (104 f. or. o10). the 'principes' (138). 'Ac tamen. and the heroic Milo is not as much as suggested. such men abound at every social level. moreover. if they lay debased claim to the title. the 'consilium principum' (cf. from freedmen upwards. Optimates and criminals. V. D. the prince of gangsters. The meaning must be that no one should pursue careerism (as Caesar was to do in 49) to the detriment of the country's peace. and applied by Cicero to himself. In all the five surviving speeches delivered by Cicero in this winter following his recall from exile there is. cit. 2). But with the readjustmentin Cicero's own position in politics two or three months after the Pro Sestiowas delivered. With the restoration of what at least by contrast seemed settled conditions.' The 'dignitas' of the government. and so the young man for whose inspirationthis tract for the times was inserted into Sestius' defence was reminded that the Senate was open to merit. This influence was his dignitas. op. OTIUM 49 otium' of the Pro Sestio-freedom from disturbance (otium). one of those Fathers of the House whose sententia. explicit or implied. 46. op. 'oti illum portum et dignitatis' (98 f. 'cum dignitate otium' (Pro Sest. 'Neque rerum gerendarum dignitate homines ecferri ita convenit ut otio non prospiciant'.effective.).and respect for the government and its members.87). Guiding the ship of state through the stormy seas stirred up by the 'seditiosi'. It is a mistake to make a problem of Cicero's saying 'dignitate optimi cuiusque' instead of 'dignitate senatus' or 'dignitate rei publicae'. not themselves (139.the effective exercise of 'consilium' and 'auctoritas'. ab aliis prodita' (De dom. 'Otium' had disappeared during his exile. the stern. 'rerum gerendarum' is an intrusion. delivered at a very early stage in a senatorial debate. 98).which was finished in 55. the banishment of Cicero and of the Republic with him (De dom. and the prolonged triumph of gangsterdomwhich followed his exile.ab aliis deserta.25). without insult to the office. who themselves deserve respect. you could not call consuls (De dom. the 'novus dominatus' (De dom. dignitas in ' See Wirszubski. p. Wirszubski.68). introduces the new conception. and so had the 'dignitas' of government. was the 'dignitas' of its members-'dignitatem rei publicae sustinent' (De dom. 98.3 'Otium' is now retirement. His active political life. cit. that was snatched from Cicero when he made his capitulation in 56. his consulshipsand proconsulshipsare at an end. I). a contrast between orderly government. A peaceful and contented populace. to talk of 'otium' and 'dignitas' was no more a mockery. Post red. 9. 'cui salus esse in otio nulla posset'. That is what in the Pro Sestio 'cum dignitate otium' meant. ad pop. and respected government-that was 'otiosa dignitas'. in particular of the Senate.)-while in his own recall there lay 'spes oti et concordiae'. to hold on course and make for harbour. such as he thought to have been restored (De dom. could have such a powerful influence in swaying the vote of the House. 'Quae enim proposita fuerat nobis. The opening remark of the De Oratore. he had said of him in the De domo(i 2 f. and the complete breakdown of government in 58 under two men whom. On this. cum et honoribus amplissimis et laboribus maximis perfuncti essemus. 3 Videsupra. the condition of the elder statesman. He is 'consularis'. whatever their origins (Pro Sest. to all citizens. In Pro Sest. a responsible. 91). 2 E . 9 f. 62. The 'otium' which they sought was for others. to his own 'otium' and his own 'dignitas'. hardworking and dutiful 'principes'were determined to jettison none of the traditional institutions of the Republic. Clodius. the phrase was given a new twist. I37).DIGNITAS.AUCTORITAS. It was this life of influential and independent elder-statesmanship. was the enemy of peaceful government-'oti et pacis hostis'. 'in republica ab aliis oppressa. 3)--especially its senior members. nec mihi magis quam omnibus'. BALSDON This paper was read to the Oxford branch of the Classical Association in January 1959. to descend to the retirementof the author and scholar. where Cicero revives. Hawthorn of Bradfield College. V. ea sublata totast. 'Otium' he might hope still to enjoy. id quod a me saepissime dictum est. In the Pro Sestio he stayed on course. D. 9. libertas in re publica capessenda. This. I. 'Neque delendum.steering the ship of state. 8. 9. battling through the stormy seas of popular agitation to reach harbour. 'cum dignitate otium'.Oxford J. 3 f. He revives the image of the statesman-gubernator. it must be the 'cum dignitate otium' of the Pro Sestio-'peace in our time and respect for the government'-that. and he must change course: 'in navigando tempestati obsequi artis est. Here in Adfam. promote 'cum dignitate otium'. etiam si id fieri posset. V. but it was acceptable only faute de mieux. for the Roman world at large. There is finally the appearance of 'cum dignitate otium' in Adfam. but one which will give the same good shelter.The whole plan and purpose of the letter makes his meaning clear. he has changed course in order to secure. He had to justify to Spinther his change of political front in 56.50 J. D. I. with a sad and sinister difference. and I have been helped both by discussion which followed the paper then and by comments by Mr. 'Dignitatem quidem illam consularem fortis et constantis senatoris nihil est quod cogitemus. by his capitulation in 56. As he had already told Lentulus. but not 'dignitas'. BALSDON sententiis dicendis. J. refusal to recognize the undeniable power of the dynasts. This was 'honestum otium'. P. would not. he had lost the hope of 'dignitas' as an active retired politician for himself.' He had. R. . summorum civium principatum'. cum dignitate otium. the language of the Pro Sestio. Cicero has done. P.' ExeterCollege.' He must make for a different harbour. 'cum dignitate otium'. therefore. persistencein oppositionwhich was doomed to ineffectiveness. who read it in typescript. at whatever sacrifice to himself. he wrote to Spinther in early 55 (Adfam. 21 is the same steersmanwith the same object in view: 'cum omnibus nobis in administranda re publica propositum esse debeat. I. 21.' But this time the seas are too strong.It was not the retired statesman's choice.).