Note 166 — BOOK V.

The passage in the original, in the generality of editions, is read as follows: ut eam invidium lenire, quàm minimo suo privato incommodo publicoque, populo Romano liceret: i. e. that both himself and the Roman people may get over the evil consequences of the jealousy of the gods with as little detriment as possible to either: populi Romani seems preferable here: i. e. "that it might be allowed to lighten that jealousy, by the least possible injury to his own private interest, and to the public interests of the Roman people." There were certainly two persons concerned in the invidia and incommodum here, Camillus himself, and the Roman people; to whom respectively the damnatio, and elades captæ urbis, afterwards mentioned, obviously refer. Some editions read, invidiam lenire suo privato incommodo, quàm minimo publico populi Romani liceret. This is the reading adopted by Crevier; i. e. "to appease the jealousy by his own private loss, rather than the least public loss." This is more in accordance with the account given of Camillus by Plutarch, and contains a sentiment certainly more worthy both of Livy and of Camillus. Sentiments ascribed by Plutarch to Camillus, will have suo privato incommodo, quam minimo publico P. R., giving him the patriotic wish to render light the odium by his own private loss, rather than the least public loss; or, by his own private loss, but if not, by as small a public loss as possible. Pop-li R-i, better than o, o, as liceret would, in the latter case, apply only to one of the parties; in the former both are understood.