lo Frederick Warren Sanford 



Sternkopf finds a contrast between Appius's position as defen- 

 dant under the lex Scantinia and his censorial severity. Another 

 explanation is possible. The words legis Scantiniae indicium 

 apud Drusum fieri, Fain. VIII, 14, 4, seem clearly to involve a 

 contrast between the character of Drusus and his position as pre- 

 siding judge. Otherwise a pud Drusum is pointless. A similar 

 contrast is possibly to be found in Appium de tabulis et signis 

 agere; Appius had displayed no little enthusiasm in appropriating 

 statues and pictures in Greece some years earlier.** That we have 

 two cases of contrast intended between private conduct and official 

 position is suggested also by the chiastic arrangement of the words 

 in the two infinitive clauses. This view of the passage does not 

 exclude the possibility that the f«cffa"M;7t was after all one involving 

 Appius, in which case the thrust at him in Appium de tabulis et 

 signis agere may be doubly pointed. It is possible, however, if 

 iudicium fieri refers to a single trial, that allusion is made to some 

 other person than Appius ; or again, from the nature of the phrase, 

 the reference may be to a docket of cases coming under the le.v 

 Scantinia, in a court or a section of a court presided over by 

 Drusus, perhaps, as Lange suggested,*^ in accordance with an 

 edict issued by Appius. On either of the last two suppositions 

 we have an item of news casually alluded to and otherwise unex- 

 plained. It is not impossible that Faui. VIII, 14, was accom- 

 panied by a commentarium*^ containing all information essential 

 to an understanding of casual allusions in the letter. 



Although other friends than Caelius, whose letters were carried 

 by Acastus, may have reported to Cicero the censor's edict regard- 

 ing statues and pictures, we do not know that they did. We do 

 know that Fam. VIII, 14, contains the information. It is almost 

 certain, therefore, that this letter was one of those which Acastus 

 carried to Cicero whenheleft Rome September 23. If the augural 

 election was held later than the date of Fam. VIII, 12, it must 

 have been held later than September 18, the closing day of the 



** Cic, ae uomo, 43, 111-12; cf. Fain. VIII, 12, 3, praeterea coepi sacet- 

 luni, in domo quod est, ah eo petere. 

 *" Rom. Alt., Ill-, p. 398. 

 '"Fam. VIII, 2, 2; II, 4. 



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