Book 28
4.14
Some of them hate learning as they do poison, and read with attentive care only Juvenal and Marius Maximus,City prefect under Macrinus (Dio, lxxix. 14, 3) who wrote biographies of the Caesars. On him see Vopiscus, Firmus, 1, 2: homo omnium verbosissimus, qui et mythistoricis se voluminibus implicavit. The association of Juvenal with this writer is a strange one, if the poet is meant. in their boundless idleness handling no other books than these, for what reason it is not for my humble mind to judge.Cf. xxvii. 11, 1.
4.15
Whereas, considering the greatness of their fame and of their parentage, they ought to pore over many and varied works; they ought to learn that Socrates,Cf. Val. Max. viii. 7, Ext. 8; Cic., De Senec. 8, 26; Socrates’ reply is in the words of Solon, about whom a somewhat similar story is told (ἵνα μαθὼν αὐτὸ ἀποθάνω), and perhaps Ammianus confused the two, as Valesius thought. when condemned to death and thrown into prison, asked a musician, who was skilfully rendering a song of the lyric poet Stesichorus, that he might be taught to do this while there was still time. And when the musician asked of what use that could be to him, since he was to die on the following day, Socrates replied: In order that I may know something more before I depart from life.
