406 Proceedings of the Royal Iriah Acadeuuj. 



Y. 21, 12. — ' Quid opus est,' inquam, ' quam rationes conf eratis ? ' 



The reading of C. P. W. lliiller, Quid potius est, inquam, quam 

 rationes conferatis, whicli is virtually that of Lambinus (who adds ut 

 before rationes'), is less desirable than that of Mommsen, '■ Quid'^ opus 

 est, inquam, rationes conferatis.'' 



V. 21. 12. — Clamare omnes qui aderant : <alii> nihil impudentius 

 Scaptio qui centesiniis cum anatocismo contentus non 

 esset ; alii nihil stultius. Mihi anteni impudens 

 magis quam stnltus videbatur ; nam aut bono nomine 

 centesimis contentus erat aut non bono quaternas 

 centesimas sperabat. 



Sternkopf adds alii, excellently. His view of the last sentence 

 puts a strange sense on lonum nomen. He supposes (p. 14) that 

 Scaptius had determined, if Cicero would not allow more than 12 per 

 cent., to state that the debt was much greater than it really was : 

 then he takes hono nomine as meaning, ' according to the higher claim,' 

 a very forced interpretation, and not adequately supported by such 

 phrases as hona pars, lona copia. But surely Scaptius must have had 

 some means oi proving such claim, and this could only be done by down- 

 right forgery. And the same objection lies against the view Mr. Tyrrell 

 and I advocated formerly ("Cicero's Correspondence," III., p. 167) 

 that hono nomine meant, ' if the Salarainians allowed his claim,' i.e. 

 the claim that his debt was all but 200 talents. 



1^0 ; honum nomen has its usual meaning of ' good security,' hence 

 * a good pay' (i.e. one who pays), one who owes ' good debts,' cf. Fam. 

 V, 6. 2 ego autem meis rehus gestis hoc sum adsecutus ut lonum nomen 

 existimer: Hor. Epist. ii.1.104 fff^^^s no minibus rectis expendere 

 nummos : Digest, xxxv. 2. 89 pr. Divi Severus et Antoninus rescrihse- 

 runt pecxmiam relictam ad aUmenta puerorum Falcidiae suhiectam esse et 

 ut id idoneis nominihus collocetur p)ecunia ad curam suayn revoca- 

 turum praesidem. provinciae : Columella, i. 7. 2 tJ^Z optima nam in a 

 non ap'pellando fieri mala fenerator Alfius dixisse verissime fertur. But 

 to make sense of the passage we must read co7itentus <non> erat : 

 for Scaptius was ifOT content with 12 per cent, per annum compound 

 interest, which he was offered on the most excellent security of cash 

 down; cf. a few lines before Scaptio qui centesimis cum anatocismo co?ite?i- 

 tus non esset : also vi. 3. 5 Cyprii numerahant ; sed Scaptius centesimis 

 renovato in singulos annos fenore contentus nonfuit: vi. 2. 7 Numera- 

 bantur nummi : noluit Scaptius. Insert then non, and all goes 



