Cic. Academica, I, VIII, 34

Latin Learning Latin
1

Context: Academica is a dialogue. Cicero, speaking through the character Varro, is giving a quick history of Greek philosophy. As I understand it, the line of influence in this snip runs from Aristotle, to Theophrastus, to Strato. Strato is the subject of the sentence under study.

Nam Strato eius auditor quamquam fuit acri ingenio tamen ab ea disciplina omnino semovendus est; qui cum maxime necessariam partem philosophiae, quae posita est in virtute et in moribus, reliquisset totumque se ad investigationem naturae contulisset, in ea ipsa plurimum dissedit a suis.

My effort at a translation:

In fact, Strato, a student of Theophrastus, although he possessed a sharp intellect, nevertheless from that teaching [of Theophrastus] should be kept distinct; although certainly an indispensable part of philosophy is placed in virtue and character, he [Strato] left that [part] behind, and devoted himself entirely to the study of natural science; in this way he greatly dissented from his school.

Particular questions:

  1. fuit acri ingenio: I need a grammatical rationale for the ablative here (or dative?)

  2. The clause beginning qui cum maxime necessariam: I have translated this by what I think it means, but I’m not sure of the grammar.

I’ll be grateful for a critique of my effort.

2

Hi Hugh.

I’ve become foggier and foggier on grammatical terminology, but acri ingenio is an ablative of characteristic (someone will supply the right term and grammar citation). You’ve translated it correctly.

qui cum … reliquisset … contulisset is a ‘cum clause’ of cause/circumstances: “in that he had abandoned the by far most necessary part of philosophy, that part which is based in virtue and ethics, and had given himself over entirely to natural philosophy”. Your translation doesn’t seem to get this right.

3

Many thanks, Randy, for the critique. Your explanation helps me see what I had missed in that cum clause.