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At a time when there was a serious scarcity of grain in Rome 1 he was appointed nominally overseer of the market, 2 but actually supreme master on land and sea, and sailed to Africa, Sardinia, and Sicily. Having got together a great quantity of grain, he was eager to get to Rome. A great storm arose and the pilots were hesitating, when he, going on board first himself, gave orders to weigh anchor, crying out, ‘To sail is a necessity; to live is not a necessity.’ 3

1 In 57 B.C.

2 He was appointed praefectus annonae, for five years.

3 Cf. Plutarch's Life of Pompey, chap. xlix. and l. (645 C-676 A); Dio Cassius, xxxix. 9; Zonaras, x. 5; Cicero, Letters to Atticus, iv. 1. 7.

load focus Greek (Gregorius N. Bernardakis, 1889)
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