34. AUDIRE TE ARBITROR: 'I think that news reaches you'. -- HOSPES: see n. on 28 _orator_. -- AVITUS: there was a strong friendship between the elder Africanus and Masinissa, king of Numidia, who in 206 B.C. passed over from the Carthaginian alliance to that of the Romans. He was richly rewarded by Scipio, and remained loyal to Rome till his death. He lived to welcome the younger Scipio in Africa during the last Punic war, and to see the utter ruin of Carthage. See Sall. Iug. 5, 4. For the expression _hospes tuus avitus_ cf. Plautus, Miles 135 _paternum suom hospitem_. -- CUM INGRESSUS etc.: _i.e._ protracted exercise of one kind did not weary him. -- CUM ... EQUO: though Cic. says _in equo vehi, esse, sedere_ etc. the preposition here is left out because a mere ablative of manner or means is required to suit the similar ablative _pedibus_. So Div. 2, 140 _equus in quo vehebar_, 'the horse on which I rode'; but ib. 1, 58 _equo advectus ad ripam_, 'brought to the bank _by the aid_ of a horse'. -- SICCITATEM: 'wiriness', literally 'dryness' or freedom from excessive perspiration, colds and the like; cf. Tusc. 5, 99 _siccitatem quae consequitur continentiam in victu_; Catull. 23, 12 _corpora sicciora cornu_. -- REGIS: here = _regia_. -- OFFICIA ET MUNERA: see n. on 29. -- NE SINT: 'grant that age has no strength'. This formula of concession for argument's sake is frequent in Cicero, who often attaches to it _sane_. A. 266, _d_; G. 610; H. 515, III. -- SENECTUTE = _senibus_: see n. on 26. -- LEGIBUS ET INSTITUTIS: 'by statute and precedent'. -- MUNERIBUS EIS etc.: chiefly military service. -- NON MODO ... SED NE QUIDEM: when a negative follows _non modo_ these words have the force of _non modo non_, a negative being borrowed from the negative in the subsequent clause. But often _non modo non_ is written; the negative after modo is then more emphatic, being independent. Here _non modo non quod non_ would have had a harsh sound. A. 149, _e_; G. 484, 3 and Rem. 1.; H. 552, 2. -- QUOD: adv. acc. (see n. on 1 _quid_). Cf. Liv. 6, 15 _sed vos id cogendi estis_. 35. AT: as in 21, where see n. In his reply Cato adopts the same form as that in which the objection is urged, _at id quidem_ etc. So in 68 _at senex ... at est ..._