ATTICUS, Titus POMPONIUS CJEctLIUs, was. descended of one of the most ancient families in Rome. He was of the equestrian order ; and whether we consider him as an.intimate associate of the great, a prudent politician, or:a dignified man of letters, he is one of the most honourable men tliat his country ever produced. He was born during the. hitter period of the republic : a time when the convulsimr.of a mighty state, now on the verge of dissolution, necessarily dis closed the real characters of men, and compelled the mind.to exert to the utmost all the faculties bestowed upon it by nature. Hence it was that, at-this me morable period, there arose such a constellation of geniuses, both in arts and in arms, as the world in all. probability will never again witness.
His father being distinguished for his attention both to his domestic affairs and to the study of let ters ; two of the greatest of human advantages, for tune and education, were thus secured to young At ticus. When yet a child, he is said to have discover ed undoubted signs of natural talent. He is descri bed as possessing, at that tender age, a most engaging manner, a quick apprehension, and a peculiar grace fulness of cadence and elocution ; qualities which, while they commanded the respect of his companions, inspired them not a little with secret jealousy. It will give the reader a higher idea of the excellence of his parts than any description could produce, to be informed, that those youths, who were thus- mortified at the 'superiority of Atticus, were L. Torquatus, the younger Marius, and the great orator Cicero. Such, however, were his gentleness and conciliating manner, that while he excited the juvenile emulation of hia cpmpani9ns, he, at the same time, was their chief fa vourite, and retained their friendship to the end of life.
Having lost his father when young, and the civil commotions now beginning, between the parties of China and Sylla, in which he had already lost an un cle ; Atticus resolved when yet a youth, to abandon, for a time, the scene of tumult and danger, and to re tire with the greater part of his fortune to Athens, then the asylum of learning and refinement. Here, amid the groves of the Academy, he indulged the ele gant propensities of his genius, and made such distin guished progress in his acquaintance with the Greek language, that he wrote and spoke it with the same propriety as a native. It was from this circumstance,
together with his long residence at Athens, that he obtained the surname of Atticus, a designation of which lie seems to have been proud, and that by which the children of his friends were taught to speak of him. Cicero ends one of his letters to him thus : Kixicen o cto-n-aCireci Ahncsor : " The little Cicero salutes Titus the Athenian." The amiable qualities of his heart soon endeared Atticus to the Athenian people. His deportment was such, that while accessible to the humblest, he lost nothing of his dignity, but was on a level with the highest. His prudence was so well known, that his advice was solicited by the magistrates ; while his purse was open to all, and the poorest of the people hailed him as their benefactor. He frequently re lieved the embarrassments of the state, by advancing large sums of money without interest ; thus saving the public from falling into the hands of usurers and extortioners ; and on some occasion he distributed among the people large quantities of corn, with a li berality truly magnificent. Having continued for many years at Athens, dividing his time between the duties of his household, the pursuits of literature, the affairs of thmity, and the interest of his friends, to many of wk:m he extended assistance when absent, lie at last found the opportunity, which he had long desired, of retuning to his native country.
On the return of tranquillity, accordingly, he took his departure from Athens. On this occasion, he re ceived one of the finest compliments ever paid to a private individual ; for the whole Athenian people assembled to witness his departure, and testified by their tears the genuine sorrow with which they were moved ; and in his absence they did, what he had prevented with much difficulty while present ; they erected statues in honour of him and his wife Pilia, in the most sacred parts'of the city. This honour, it is probable, was not conferred on him till many years after his departure, since he was turned of 50 before he was married.