of Caesar, by Cato, in the following chapter.

[243] Such I know to be his character, such his discretion--_Eos
mores, eam modestiam viri cognovi_. I have translated _modestiam,
discretion_, which seems to be the proper meaning of the word. Beauzee
renders it _prudence_, and adds a note upon it, which may be worth
transcription. "I translate _modestia_," says he, "by _prudence_, and
think myself authorized to do so. _Sic definitur a Stoicis_, says
Cicero (De Off. i. 40), _ut modestia sit sicentia earum rerum, quae
agentur, aut dicentur, loco suo collocandarum_; and shortly afterward,
_Sic fit ut modestia scientia sit opportunitatis idoneorum ad agendum
temporum_. And what is understood in French by prudence? It is,
according to the Dictionary of the Academy, 'a virtue by which we
discern and practice what is proper in the conduct of life.' This is
almost a translation of the words of Cicero".

[244] That--death is a relief from suffering, not a torment, etc.
--This Epicurean doctrine prevailed very much at Rome in Caesar's, and
afterward. We may very well suppose Caesar to have been a sincere
convert to it. Cato alludes to this passage in the speech which
follows; as also Cicero, in his fourth Oration against Catiline, c. 4.
See, for opinions on this point, the first book of Cicero's Tusculan
Questions.

[245] The Porcian Law--_Lex Porcia_. A law proposed by P. Porcius
Loeca, one of the tribunes, A.U.O. 454, which enacted that no one
should bind, scourge or kill a Roman citizen. See Liv., x. 9; Cic.
pro. Rabir., 3, 4: Verr., v 63; de Rep., ii, 31.

[246] Other laws--_Aliae leges_. So Caesar says below, "Tum lex