The specific Latin sentence where Cicero mocks Gellius's pretension of being a "Greek" is located in Pro Sestio, Section 110. [1]

🏛️ The Original Latin

"...deinde ex impuro adulescente et petulante, postea quam rem paternam ab idiotarum divitiis ad philosophorum reculam perduxit, Graeculum se atque otiosum putari voluit, studio litterarum se subito dedidit." [1]

🇬🇧 Word-for-Word Translation

• deinde ex impuro adulescente et petulante... = "then, from a filthy and reckless youth..."
• postea quam rem paternam... perduxit = "after he had reduced his paternal estate..."
• ab idiotarum divitiis ad philosophorum reculam... = "...from a fortune (as laymen/ordinary people reckon it) to a pittance worthy of philosophers..."
• Graeculum se atque otiosum putari voluit... = "he wanted to be thought a proper Greekling of leisure..."
• studio litterarum se subito dedidit. = "...and suddenly devoted himself to the study of letters." [1, 2]

💡 Contextual Meaning

Cicero uses the highly derogatory Latin diminutive Graeculus ("little Greek" or "Greekling") to insult Gellius. In Roman political rhetoric, calling someone a Graeculus meant accusing them of being a phony intellectual, overly talkative, lazy, and morally weak, as opposed to possessing traditional, rugged Roman virtues. [1, 2, 3, 4]

Cicero's joke here is that Gellius didn't become a philosopher out of wisdom. Instead, because he spent all his money on gluttony and debauchery, his empty bank account left him with the meager lifestyle of a starving philosopher by default. [1, 2]

If you would like to explore more of Cicero's rhetorical attacks, I can break down how he used the concept of otium (leisure) as an insult, or share his additional jokes about Gellius pawning his library for alcohol. Which direction should we take? [1, 2, 3]