L. Papirius Pætus.
Another group of letters which are attractive in a different
way are those addressed to L. Papirius
Pætus. They are not the less interesting
that we know nothing about Pætus beyond
what we read in the letters. As in the case
of M. Marius in Volume I. (to whom there is also an interesting
letter in this volume, p. 78), we are content to
regard him simply as a friend of Cicero's, to whom he seems
to write with frankness and affection. He lived at Naples
and was rich and hospitable, and though his sympathies
were Cæsarian, politics play a minor part in the correspondence.
Light banter, social anecdote, historical, literary
and philosophical discussions of a superficial kind fill up a
large proportion of the letters. One letter, on decency in
language and the Stoic rule of calling a spade a spade (pp.
293 ff.), throws a curious light upon the squeamishness of a
society which was far from being over-nice in conduct.
