402 Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy. ' 



accordingly the bond on which Cicero had to adjudicate. N'ow Cicero 

 had declared, in his provisional edict, that he would not enforce the 

 payment of any interest above 12 per cent, per annum compound 

 interest. But in this last ' renewal ' the Salaminians had contracted 

 to pay 48 per cent. Cicero could not enforce this contract : as that 

 would be at variance with his published edict, and would mean 

 besides the ruin of the municipality, of which, strangely enough, M. 

 Brutus appears to have been patron. The Salaminians were willing 

 to pay down the sum named in the last renewal with 12 per cent, per 

 annum compound interest. Cicero did not insist that Scaptius should 

 accept this offer. He appears to have simply left the matter 

 unsettled. " The Salaminians wanted to lodge the money ; I 

 begged them not to press the matter further. They indeed granted 

 me this favour ; but what will become of them if PauUus succeeds me 

 here? And all this I have done for Brutus's sake" (Att. vi. 1. 7.) 

 It must be confessed that Cicero played a poor part in this business, 

 and he felt it. 



An important question arises as to the transaction. What was the 

 original amount of the loan? Mommsen's view appears to be this : 

 In 56 B.C. Brutus lent the Salaminians 12 talents at 4 per cent, per 

 month compound interest. This, Mommsen says, was the standing 

 rate of interest {])erpetuum fenus.) They paid no interest at all, with 

 the result that in about four years, probably after several 'renewals,' 

 the debt had reached close on 85 talents. About twenty-one months 

 before the investigation at Tarsus, they had made the last ' renewal ' 

 at the old rate. Scaptius stood upon his bond and demanded nearly 

 200 talents, to which something over 84 talents at 4 per cent, per 

 month compound interest would amount in 22 months. The Sala- 

 minans wanted to pay the bond for 85 at the legalised rate of 12 per 

 cent, per annum compound interest. That came to 106 talents. 



The numbers fit most beautifully ; and no overpowering difficulty 

 need be felt at the ' hard and unconscionable ' bargain that appears to 

 have been thereby struck by Brutus. We must remember that the 

 security was very bad. Quite as ruthless contracts made by money- 

 lenders where the security was also very bad, came to light two 

 years ago before Mr. T< W. Eussell's Committee in London. And it 

 must not be supposed that the Eoman Government, corrupt as it was, 

 officially countenanced such extortioil. Apparently about the very 

 time that this affair was before Cicero at Tarsus the Senate had passed 

 a decree (Att. v. 21, 13) fixing the rate of interest for loans at 1 per 

 cent, per month simple interest, — a clear sign that the extortion of the 



