Prosa 3

section 1

His: sc. uerbis.
quid: quid . . . non haberes: "you would not have anything to blurt out in return".
hisceres: < hisco, "open the mouth"; subjunctive in indirect question.
non haberes: quid . . . non haberes: "you would not have anything to blurt out in return".
iure: "justifiably."

section 2

oblita: < oblino, "smear, daub."
rhetoricae et musicae: cf. 2P1.8.
tum: tum . . . oblectant: almost parenthetical; should not obscure the contrast: Speciosa . . . sunt . . . sed miseris . . .
oblectant: tum . . . oblectant: almost parenthetical; should not obscure the contrast: Speciosa . . . sunt . . . sed miseris . . .

section 3

contumacis: modified by the adverb adhuc, and governs aduersum curationem.

section 4

ammouebo: "I will apply."
ne: ne . . . uelis: ne with subjunctive for prohibition.
uelis: ne . . . uelis: ne with subjunctive for prohibition.

section 5

Taceo quod: "I say nothing [concerning the fact] that"; cf. sec. 7, praetereo. This stylized mention-by-not-mentioning (praeteritio) was a recognized rhetorical ploy.
summorum: summorum . . . uirorum: Symmachus and his friends.
uirorum: summorum . . . uirorum: Symmachus and his friends.
delectus: "chosen, taken up."
quod: quod . . . genus est: parenthetical, antecedent is the clause to follow.
genus est: quod . . . genus est: parenthetical, antecedent is the clause to follow.

section 6

cum: cum . . . cum . . . tum: "both . . . and . . . and."
cum: cum . . . cum . . . tum: "both . . . and . . . and."
coniugis: Rusticiana, daughter of Symmachus.
tum: cum . . . cum . . . tum: "both . . . and . . . and."
masculae: masculae . . . prolis: B. had two sons, Boethius and Symmachus.
prolis: masculae . . . prolis: B. had two sons, Boethius and Symmachus.

section 7

sumptas: sumptas . . . dignitates: "offices assumed"; dignitas throughout the Consolatio is the specific term for "public office." Adulescentia (the stage between pueritia and iuuentus) could extend as far as age 30 or so. Born c. 480 or shortly after, B. was consul in 510.
dignitates: sumptas . . . dignitates: "offices assumed"; dignitas throughout the Consolatio is the specific term for "public office." Adulescentia (the stage between pueritia and iuuentus) could extend as far as age 30 or so. Born c. 480 or shortly after, B. was consul in 510.

section 8

lucis: here = "day."
quantalibet: quantalibet . . . mole: "however great a mass."
ingruentium: < ingruo, "assail, fall upon."
mole: quantalibet . . . mole: "however great a mass."
duos pariter consules liberos tuos: in 522, just before B.'s rise to the post of magister officiorum. For two westerners to hold the consulship together was unusual at this time; two from the same family had not done so since 395 A.D. This is a sign that B. had friends in high places at Constantinople, where final decisions about the consulship were taken.
alacritate: "exuberant enthusiasm."
curules: sc. sellas, the official consular chairs; object of insidentibus.
regiae laudis: The biographical note about B. in the Ordo Generis Cassiodororum fragment specifies that this speech was in honor of Theoderic (who did not come closer to Rome than Ravenna after one ceremonial visit in 500) rather than the emperor Justin.
in circo: the circus at Rome, as at Constantinople, was still the site of the games and shows that the consuls (or their wealthy and doting fathers) were expected to stage.
duorum medius consulum: "in the middle [between] two consuls."
triumphali: i.e., on a scale worthy of an imperator's triumph.

section 9

Dedisti: Dedisti . . . uerba: "you deceived, you hoodwinked." The idiom dare uerba is classical.
uerba: Dedisti . . . uerba: "you deceived, you hoodwinked." The idiom dare uerba is classical.
dum: dum . . . demulcet, dum . . . fouet: the historical present is common with dum meaning "while."
demulcet, dum: dum . . . demulcet, dum . . . fouet: the historical present is common with dum meaning "while."
fouet: dum . . . demulcet, dum . . . fouet: the historical present is common with dum meaning "while."
nulli: dative.
abstulisti: "carried off."
calculum ponere: "put the stone (on the counting-board)," i.e., "settle accounts," "come to a reckoning."

section 10

liuenti: "envying."
praestrinxit: "touched" (post-classical meaning).
laetorum tristiumue: sc. hominum.

section 11

idcirco: idcirco . . . quoniam: correlative: "for this reason . . . since."
quoniam: idcirco . . . quoniam: correlative: "for this reason . . . since."
non est quod: "there is no reason why."

section 12

reris: < reor, "think."

section 13

fortuitis: "things that come by chance."
manendi fides: see on 2P1.13.
mors quaedam: "a kind of death."
etiam manentis: "that lasts even so long."

section 14

referre: "be important, matter."
tune: -ne . . . an: "whether . . . or."
an: -ne . . . an: "whether . . . or."