non sint facti consules. Ex hoc enim loco quæ Villianæ legis vis fuerit, quum patricius aut consularis ex antiquo genere consulatum peteret, intelligi non potest. Certe Dolabella, caso Cæsare, 'anno non suo, quippe XXV annos natus, teste Appiano, consulatum invasit, qua de re Dio Cass. lib. xliv. § 22. Ὁ Δολοβέλλας ἐς τὴν ὕπαῖον ἀρχὴν, καὶπερ μηδέπω οἱ προσήκουσαν ἐσήλθε. Et Suetonius, c. 18. tantum non diserte memorat Julio contra leges aliquid fuisse concessum: sed cum edictis jam Comitiis, ratio ejus haberi non posset, nisi pricatus introisset urbem, et ambienti ut legibus solveretur, multi contradicerent, coactus est triumphum, ne consulatu excluderetur, dimittere. Quam in rem etiam apud Dionem Cass. libr. xliv. Antonius in oratione funebri diserte hæc memorat: Toyάptor xai τὰ ἐπινίκια αὐτῷ διὰ τοῦτ' (scil. ob expeditionem His panicam) us what was the force of Villius's law, when the candidates were patricians of ancient family, or men of consular dignity. Dolabella certainly, after Cæsar's murder, seized the consulship, when only twenty-five years old, as we are informed by Appian: on which subject Dio Cassius, lib. xliv. § 22, says, that Dolabella intruded himself into the consulship, though in nowise belonging to him; and Suetonius insinuates, that Julius obtained something to which he was not by law entitled." As the Comitia were already proclaimed, his demand could not be attended to, unless he entered the city as a private person; and many opposing his being indulged with any favour to which he was not legally entitled, he chose to postpone his claim to a triumph, lest he should be excluded from the consulship." Sueton. lib. i. c. 18. Nearly to the same purpose Anthony, in Cæsar's funeral oration, in the forty-fourth book of Dio Cassius, says, "For this reason, (his success ἐδώκατε. panicam) εψηφίσασθε καὶ τήν ἀρχὴν τὴν ὕπαῖον ΕΥΘΥΣ -Triumpho omisso, cum res urgeret, actisque vobis pro eo honore, quem sibi ad gloriam satis esse ducebat, gratiis, consulatum accepit. Ita quum vix annus deesset, quominus consulatum petere liceret Julio, aliquid fuisse ei concessum, ut triumphum dimitteret, manifestum est: quod si etiam ex lege annali consulatu excludere eum voluissent, non intelligo, qua ratione ipsi, quod ad triumphi honorem attinet, repulsam dare potuis sent. Oblatas animadversiones in Salchlini libellum Museo Helv. inferendas, quanquam Gallico idiomate conscriptas, cupide exciperem; nisi Musei illius cursus ad tempus foret inhibitus; nec dum constat utrum, et quando, typographo licuerit aut placuerit, isthoc opus novo aliquo tomo augere. Vale, success in Spain,) you granted to him a triumph, and immediately appointed him consul. In the urgency of his affairs he postponed his triumph; and accepting the consulship, thanked you for that honour, which he thought sufficient for his own glory." It is therefore plain, that by deferring his claim to a triumph, he obtained the consulship, though a year younger than the age required for holding that office. Had the Romans intended to enforce against him the Villian law, there would not have been any reason to withhold from him the honour of a triumph. I should willingly admit your remarks, though written in French, on Salchlini's little work, into the Museum Helveticum, were not that publication interrupted at present; and it is uncertain when the printer will be allowed, or will have inclination, to publish a new volume.. Vale, Vir Nobilissime, rem tuam ex animi sententia age, meque ama hominem ad omnia humanitatis officia paratissimum, CHEZ les Romains, ce peuple généreux, qui nous a laissé tant de choses à admirer et à imiter, les vieux jurisconsultes, que leurs longs travaux avoient rendus les oracles du barreau, ne se croyoient pas inutiles à la république, lorsqu'ils cherchoient à développer, à former des talens naissans, et à se donner de dignes successeurs. Je voudrois la rétablir Farewell, my noble Sir, and prosper; and love me as a man devoted to every kind duty. ZURICH, March 1, 1757. SIR, Mr. GIBBON to Mr. GESNER. BREITINGER. AMONG the Romans, that generous people, who had so many institutions worthy of being admired and imitated, the most respectable old lawyers, whose long labours had rendered them the oracles of the bar, did not think their time useless to the community, when it was employed in forming the talents of youth, and in providing for themselves worthy successors. This excellent custom rétablir cette coutume excellente, et la transporter même dans les autres sciences. Quiconque connoît tant soit peu vos ouvrages et votre réputation, ne vous refusera pas, je pense, le titre d'un des premiers littérateurs du siècle, et je ne crois pas qu'une folle présomption m'égare, lorsque je m'attribue quelques dispositions à réussir dans les Belles Lettres. Votre commerce pourroit m'être d'une grande utilité. Voilà mon seul titre pour vous le demander. Dans l'espérance qu'il pourra vous engager à me l'accorder, je vais vous demander des éclaircissemens sur quelques difficultés, et des décisions sur quelques conjectures qui se sont offertes à mon esprit. 1. Qui étoit ce Pison le Père, à qui Horace addresse son art poétique? M. Dacier croit que c'étoit ce L. Pison le pontife qui triompha pour ses exploits en Thrace, et qui mourut préfet de la Ville custom ought to be adopted, and extended to other sciences. Whoever is acquainted with your reputation and your works, will not deny you the title of one of the most learned men of the age; and I hope that my foolish presumption does not deceive me, when I ascribe to myself some natural aptitude for succeeding in the pursuits of literature. Your correspondence would be highly useful to me. On this ground only I request it. In the hope that it will not be refused, I proceed to beg your explanation of some difficulties that I have met with, and your opinion of some conjectures that have occurred to my mind. 1. Who was that Piso, the father, to whom Horace addresses his Art of Poetry? Mr. Dacier supposes him to have been the high-priest who obtained a triumph for his exploits in Thrace, and who died præfect of the city in the seven hundred and eighty-fifth Ville A. U. C. 785.* Mais il est évident que ce ne fut point lui. Horace écrivit son art poétique avant l'an 734, puisqu'il y parle de Virgile, qui mourut dans cette année, d'une façon à faire bien comprendre qu'il étoit encore vivant.† Or dans un autre endroit du même art poétique, il s'addresse à l'ainé des fils de ce Pison comme à un jeune homme qui avoit l'esprit déjà formé. O major juvenum, quamvis et voce paternâ Ce qui ne peut guères convenir qu'à un jeune homme de dix huit à vingt ans. Mais ce L. Pison ne pouvoit point avoir dans ce tems là un fils aussi agé. Il mourut en 785, agé de quatre-vingt ans. § I naquit donc en 705, et il n'avoit que trente ans tout au plus, quand cette épître fut écrite. Je vois assez clairement, que ce ne pou voit year of Rome. But that could not be the man; for Horace's Art of Poetry was written before the year seven hundred and thirty-four, since it makes mention of Virgil (who died that year) in terms which shew that he was still alive and in another part of the poem, Horace addresses the eldest of Piso's sons, as a young man of cultivated talents; which implies that he was not less than eighteen or twenty years of age. But L. Piso, the highpriest, could not surely have a son so old. He himself died at the age of fourscore,§ in the seven hundred and eighty-fifth year of Rome. He was born, then, in seven hundred and five; and was not above thirty when the Art of Poetry was written. It is clear, Tacit. Annal. vi. c. 10. Flor. Hist. Rom. L. iv. c. 12. T. Liv. Epit. L. c. ‡ Ibid. v. 366. § Tacit. ubi, supra. therefore, |