Laudator Temporis Acti

Cicero, On the Laws 2.3 (tr. Clinton W. Keyes)

M. Indeed, whenever it is possible for me to be out of town for several days, especially at this time of the year, I do come to this lovely and healthful spot; it is rarely possible, however. But I suppose that the place gives me additional pleasure on account of a circumstance which cannot have the same effect on you.

A. What circumstance is that?

M. To tell you the truth, this is really my own fatherland, and that of my brother, for we are descended from a very ancient family of this district; here are our ancestral sacred rites and the origin of our race; here are many memorials of our forefathers. What more need I say? Yonder you see our homestead as it is now—rebuilt and extended by my father’s care; for, as he was an invalid, he spent most of his life in study here. Nay, it was on this very spot, I would have you know, that I was born, while my grandfather was alive and when the homestead, according to the old custom, was small, like that of Curius in the Sabine country. For this reason a lingering attachment for the place abides in my mind and heart, and causes me perhaps to feel a greater pleasure in it; and indeed, as you remember, that exceedingly wise man is said to have refused immortality that he might see Ithaca once more.

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M. Ego vero, cum licet pluris dies abesse, praesertim hoc tempore anni, et amoenitatem hanc et salubritatem sequor; raro autem licet. Sed nimirum me alia quoque causa delectat, quae te non attingit ita.

A. Quae tandem ista causa est?

M. Quia si verum dicimus, haec est mea et huius fratris mei germana patria; hinc enim orti stirpe antiquissima sumus, hic sacra, hic genus, hic maiorum multa vestigia. Quid plura? Hanc vides villam ut nunc quidem est, lautius aedificatam patris nostri studio, qui cum esset infirma valetudine, hic fere aetatem egit in litteris; sed hoc ipso in loco, cum avus viveret et antiquo more parva esset villa, ut illa Curiana in Sabinis, me scito esse natum. Quare inest nescioquid et latet in animo ac sensu meo, quo me plus hic locus fortasse delectet, siquidem etiam ille sapientissimus vir, Ithacam ut videret, immortalitatem scribitur repudiasse.

Richard Wilson (1713-1782), The orator Cicero and his brother Quintus show their ancestral estate to Atticus: E. T. Salmon, "Arpinum Revisited," Echos du monde classique 3.1 (January 1958) 1:

Today at the junction of the Fibrenus and the Liris there stands a strikingly handsome Cistercian church, whose solid and beautifully weathered stonework includes a large number of ancient blocks, some of which are covered with bas reliefs. One of the columns of the crypt purports to be an inverted Roman milestone, and the northwest corner of the church incorporates the remains of a Roman building whose masonry appears to date from republican times: doubtless only the eye of faith could recognize this as part of that villa lautius aedificata where Cicero's invalid father passed his days in study and where both Marcus and Quintus Cicero were born, but in the golden sunlight of a warm autumn day it was pleasant to think so. What an Australian poet has called the searching hand of time has somewhat altered the ancient appearance of the Fibrenus: today the stream has been harnessed to serve a small hydroelectric installation. But it is still possible to imitate Cicero, Quintus and Atticus and wander under the trees that line the banks of the Liris at this point; and if the alders of their day have been replaced by poplars, the shade at least is still the same, very charming even if not very dense (umbracula is Cicero's word), and the waters of the Fibrenus are still icy cold. After a ramble over the site and a perusal of appropriate passages from the De Legibus we proceeded to Arpinum itself, which is still a flourishing town whose extensive polygonal walls stretch right up to a lofty citadel whence one obtains a fantastic panorama over some lovely Apennine valleys. No one can say with certainty exactly when the walls were built, but everyone agrees that they were there in Cicero's day. Possibly it is a sign of sentimental romanticism, but one does feel a thrill as one gazes in wonderment on the huge, many-shaped lime stone blocks and reflects that over two thousand years ago the youthful Tully too had stood on that very spot and marvelled at them.

Cistercian church at Arpino: Today is Cicero's birthday.

Hat tip: Eric Thomson.