Purser — Cicero' h Correspondence during the Proconsulate. 413 



<quis> qui. (The order in Att. vii. 17. 2 is Quis autem tu es qui.) 

 Sternkopf (p. 23) <IIeus> tu ! Qui ais Brutum cwpere aliquid perdere ? 

 Perhaps more simply noluit Scct/ptius ; tuque ais Brutum cupere aliquid 

 perdere. "We should, I think, put " Quaternas . . . syngrapha" in 

 inverted commas, as the supposed answer of Atticus, the strict man of 

 business. 



yi. 2. 8. — Tu me rogas praefectus ut Scaptius sit ? Alias hoc 

 statueramus, ut negotiatorem neminem, idque Bruto 

 probamus. 



So the MSS. : but editors vnostXj sltex io proharamus. Even so, 

 the statement is not quite satisfactory ; for in the other passages 

 (v. 21. 10 : vi. 1. 6) there is no mention that Brutus approved of 

 Cicero's determination, rather the contrary in vi. 1. 6 si praefecturam 

 negotiatori denegatam quereretur. So that, I think, we must either 

 read Torquato for Brido : or hetter prohahimus for prolamus. For many 

 such corruptions of the future into the present, see C. F. "W". Miiller 

 on Fam. iii. 3. 2. 



vi. 2. 9. — Nimis, inquam, in isto Brutum amasti, dulcissime 

 Attice, nos vereor ne parum. Atque haec scripsi 

 ego ad Brutum scripsisse te ad me. 



There is no necessity to repeat nimis before inquam, with Bosius : 

 -cf. Q,. Fr. iii. 8. 6 : Verr. v. 84 : also Schmalz, Antibarbarus, i. 687 ; 

 Madvig, Opusc. Acad. 351 (ed. 2). 



The antithesis in the next sentence would be better marked by 

 reading '^i(g^<^. ' And yet ' (though I do not approve of the position 

 you and Brutus have taken up) ' I have written to him to say how 

 strongly you have advocated his case.' 



vi. 3. 5. — Aut Scaptius qui in Cappadocia fuit puto esse satis- 

 f actum. 



Manutius and most editors omit Aut, and read Scaptio. Madvig 

 suggested, Alteri e Seaptiis. Perhaps, " At Scaptius, quiin Cappadocia 

 fuit?^^ Puto esse <ei> satisf actum. The former sentence may be 

 supposed to be a question of Atticus. 



vi. 6. 3. — Puero tradere ? fratri autem ? illud non utile nobis. 



Cicero, in the letters of this period, is very fond of using the cor- 

 rective autem, ' do you say' ' quotha' : e.g. Att. v. 13. 3 quid in rep. fiat. 

 Hat autem'i vi. 2. 1 <prolari>. Prolari autem ? 2. 8 quid tandem isti 



