-- ALIQUID etc.: 'some principle'; in his philosophical works Cicero often confounds the Epicureans by quoting the action of the Decii and others like it, as showing that pleasure is not the end of existence. Cf. especially Fin. 2, 61 _P. Decius cum se devoverat et equo admisso in mediam aciem Latinorum irruebat, aliquid de voluptatibus suis cogitabat?_ Cf. also below, 75. With regard to _natura_ see n. on 5. -- SUA SPONTE: 'for its own sake'; 'on its own account'. Cf. Leg. 1, 45 _vera et falsa sua sponte non aliena iudicantur_, where a few lines later _sua natura_ occurs as equivalent to _sua sponte_. -- EX PETERETUR: em. for _peteretur_ in the MSS. The words _expetere_, _expetendum_ are technically used in Cicero's philosophical works to express the Greek ‛αιρεισθαι, ‛αιρετον as applied to the _finis_ or τελος, the supreme aim of moral action. _Pulchrum_ above is a translation of the Greek καλον, a term constantly applied to the τελος, particularly by the Stoics. -- SPRETA ET CONTEMPTA: the first word is much the stronger of the two; _spernere_ is καταφρονειν, 'to scorn'; _contemnere_ ολιγωρεισθαι, 'to make light of', 'hold of no account'. _Contemnere_ is often no stronger in sense than _omittere_, 'to pass by, neglect'. Cf. 65 _contemni_, _despici_. -- OPTIMUS QUISQUE: see A. 93, _c_; G. 305; H. 458, 1. P. 19. -- 44. CRUDITATE: 'indigestion'. -- INSOMNIIS: 'sleeplessness'; the singular _insomnium_ occurs only once in prose (Tac. Ann. 11, 4). _Insomnia, ae_ is found only in poetry and late prose. -- DIVINE: this word in Cic. often means nothing more than 'splendidly', 'extraordinarily'. -- ESCAM MALORUM: 'an enticement to evil' (_esca_ = _ed-ca_, from the root of _edo_). Plato in the Timaeus 69 D (a dialogue translated into Latin by Cicero, a fragment of whose translation is still preserved) has ‛ηδονην μεγιστον κακου δελεαρ. Cf. also Cic. Hortensius fr. 76 (ed. Halm) _voluptates corporis quae vere et graviter a Platone dictae sunt illecebrae esse atque escae malorum_. -- MODICIS: for the sake of variety Cic. chooses this, not _moderatis_, as the opposite of _immoderatis_. Trans. 'a moderate amount of goodfellowship'. -- M.F. = _Marci filium_. -- DEVICERAT: pluperfect where a modern would incline to use a perfect. The battle referred to is that of Mylae, fought in 260; its memory was perpetuated by the decking of the _forum_ with the _rostra_ of the captured ships; the _columna rostrata_ bore a long inscription, a restored version of which still exists. -- CENA: so best spelt; some good texts still print _caena_, but _coena_ is decidedly wrong, being based on the fiction that the Latin borrowed the Greek word κοινη and turned it into _coena_. -- CEREO FUNALI: 'the torch-light'; _cereo_, the em. of Mommsen for _crebro_; the _funale_ was a torch composed of withs or twigs twisted into a rope (_funis_) and dipped in pitch or oil. -- SIBI ... SUMPSERAT: Cic. seems to think that Duillius assumed these honors on his own authority.