Narrative in Eighth Book of the " Gallic War" 35 



therefore, that the election occurred July 20 or 22, and that Fain. 

 VIII, 14, was written and entrusted to Acastus not earlier than 

 August 5 and not later than August 10. 



The date arrived at for Fani. VIII, 14, accords well with the 

 history of the feud between Caelius and Appius."^ The election 

 of censors was probably held in July. About this time Caelius 

 applied to Appius for money, regarding the latter as under obliga- 

 tions to him, possibly for services rendered at the time of Appius's 

 trials for treason and bribery in the preceding spring.^^^ Appius's 

 refusal precipitated a quarrel, the bitterness of which may be 

 imagined from the violent characters of the principals. At the 

 inception of the quarrel, Caelius, remembering his own attitude 

 towards Appius in the spring and his advice to Cicero at that time, 

 felt some embarrassment in complaining to Cicero of Appius's 

 conduct.^^* Nevertheless his state of mind is reflected in Fain. 

 VIII, 14, 4: Scis Appiuin Censorem, etc. The earliest of the 

 functions of newly elected censors was the lectio senatus.^^^ Ap- 

 pius, in casting about for some means of attack on Caelius, in 

 conjunction with Domitius, who, as Caelius would have us believe, 

 held the latter chiefly or largely responsible for his discomfiture 

 at the polls, conceived the idea of excluding Caelius from the 

 senate.^^® Caelius, though much against his will, finally appealed 

 for protection to Appius's colleague, Piso, with success. Soon 

 after taking office Appius had issued a number of edicts, among 

 them probably one directed at the scandalous practices legislated 

 against in the lex Scantinia. Prosecutions on the basis of this 

 law were already in progress, under the presidency of Drusus, at 

 the date of Fam. VIII, 14 (cf. §4). Appius, still abetted by 

 Domitius, at last procured an accusation against Caelius under the 

 lex Scantinia, which Caelius promptly answered in kind. The 



"^^Fam. VIII, 12. 



"^^Fam. VIII, 6, i, 3, 5; HI, 10; 11, 1-3. 



"* Cf. Caelius's words in Fam. VIII, 12, i : Pudet me confiteri et qtteri 

 de Appio. 



^'Staatsr., IV, p. 415; Le Senat, I, p. 240; Dio, XL, 63. 



"'In Fam. VIII, 12, i, conlegam should undoubtedly be read instead of 

 conlegium,. 



327 



