contractions may be found in Frohwein, Die Perfectbildungen auf -vi bei Cicero; Gera, 1874. -- HUMANITATEM: 'culture', _i.e._ learning resulting in gentleness and refinement of character. -- PRUDENTIAM: φρονησιν or practical wisdom. Corn. Nepos (or his imitator) in his life of Atticus 17, 3 says of him _principum philosophorum ita percepta habuit praecepta ut his ad vitam agendam non ad ostentationem uteretur_. -- ISDEM REBUS: _i.e._ the state of public affairs at the time, see Introd. -- QUIBUS ME IPSUM: strictly speaking the construction is inaccurate, since _suspicor commoveri_ must be supplied, and Cicero does not really mean to say that he merely _conjectures_ himself to be seriously affected by the state of public affairs; _ego ipse commoveor_ would have accurately expressed his meaning. The accusative is due to the attraction of _te_ above. -- MAIOR: = _difficilior_ as often; _e.g._ Lael. 29 _quod maius est_. -- VISUM EST MIHI CONSCRIBERE: = _placuit mihi_, 'I have determined to write'. The best writers rarely use the impersonal _videtur etc._ followed by an infinitive. When the usage occurs _videtur mihi etc._ generally have the meaning (as here) of δοκει μοι κ.τ.λ. = 'I have made up my mind'. Cf. Tusc. 5, 12 _Non mihi videtur ad beate vivendum satis posse virtutem_; ib. 5, 22 (a curious passage) _mihi enim non videbatur quisquam esse beatus posse cum esset in malis; in malis autem sapientem esse posse_; Off. 3, 71 _malitia quae volt illa quidem videri se esse prudentiam_ ('craft which desires that people should believe it to be wisdom'); Liv. 1, 10, 7 _dis visum nec irritam conditoris templi vocem esse_ ... ('the gods decided that the word of the founder of the shrine should not remain of no effect'). It would be difficult, if not impossible, to find a passage in a writer before silver Latin times where the best texts still exhibit anything like _videtur eum facere_ for _is videtur facere_. H 534, 1, n. 1; Roby, 1353. -- ALIQUID AD TE: 'some work dedicated to you'; so below, 3; cf. also Lael. 4 _ut de amicitia scriberem aliquid_; ib. _Catone maiore qui est scriptus ad te de senectute_; Div. 2, 3 _liber is quem ad nostrum Atticum de senectute misimus._