he
doubling of the number of cubic feet in his altars; this done, he said,
the inhabitants of the island would be delivered from an offence against
religion.

14. Archytas solved it by his figure of the semi-cylinders;
Eratosthenes, by means of the instrument called the mesolabe.

Noting all these things with the great delight which learning gives, we
cannot but be stirred by these discoveries when we reflect upon the
influence of them one by one. I find also much for admiration in the
books of Democritus on nature, and in his commentary entitled [Greek:
Cheirokmeta], in which he made use of his ring to seal with soft wax the
principles which he had himself put to the test.

15. These, then, were men whose researches are an everlasting
possession, not only for the improvement of character but also for
general utility. The fame of athletes, however, soon declines with their
bodily powers. Neither when they are in the flower of their strength,
nor afterwards with posterity, can they do for human life what is done
by the researches of the learned.

16. But although honours are not bestowed upon authors for excellence of
character and teaching, yet as their minds, naturally looking up to the
higher regions of the air, are raised to the sky on the steps of
history, it must needs be, that not merely their doctrines, but even
their appearance, should be known to posterity through time eternal.
Hence, men whose souls are aroused by the delights of literature cannot
but carry enshrined in their hearts the likeness of the poet Ennius, as
they do those of the gods. Those who are devotedly attached to the poems
of Accius seem to have before them not merely his vigorous language but
even his very figure.

17. So, too, numbers born after our time will feel as if they were
discussing nature face to face with Lucretius, or the art of rhetoric
with Cicero; many of our posterity will confer with Varro on the Latin
language; likewise, there will be numerous scholars who, as they weigh
many points with the wise among the Greeks, will feel as if they were
carrying on private conversations with them. In a word, the opinions of
learned authors, though their bodily forms are absent, gain strength as
time goes on, and, when taking part in councils and discussions, have
greater weight than those of any living men.

18. Such, Caesar, are the authorities on whom I have depended, and
applying their views and opinions I have written the prese