5. Therefore, yesterday I summoned Lucius Flaccus and C. Pomtinus, the praetors, brave men and well-affected to the republic. I explained to them the whole matter, and showed them what I wished to have done. But they, full of noble and worthy sentiments towards the republic, without hesitation, and without any delay, undertook the business, and when it was evening, went secretly to the Mulvian bridge, and there so distributed themselves in the nearest villas, that the Tiber and the bridge was between them. And they took to the same place, without any one having the least suspicion of it, many brave men, and I had sent many picked young men of the prefecture of Reate, whose assistance I constantly employ in the protection of the republic, armed with swords.
5. hesterno die L. Lucium Flaccum et C. Gaium Pomptinum praetores, fortissimos atque amantissimos rei publicae viros, ad me vocavi, rem exposui, quid fieri placeret ostendi. autem, qui omnia de re publica praeclara atque egregia sentirent, sine recusatione ac sine ulla mora negotium susceperunt et, cum advesperasceret, occulte ad pontem Mulvium pervenerunt atque ibi in proximis villis ita bipertito fuerunt ut Tiberis inter eos et pons interesset. autem et ipsi sine cuiusquam suspicione multos fortis viros eduxerant, et ego ex praefectura Reatina compluris delectos adulescentis quorum opera utor adsidue in rei publicae praesidio cum gladiis miseram.
6. In the meantime, about the end of the third watch, when the ambassadors of the Allobroges, with a great retinue and Vulturcius with them, began to come upon the Mulvian bridge, an attack is made upon them; swords are drawn both by them and by our people; the matter was understood by the praetors alone, but was unknown to the rest. Then, by the intervention of Pomtinus and Flaccus, the fight which had begun was put an end to; all the letters which were in the hands of the whole company are delivered to the praetors with time seals unbroken; the men themselves are arrested and brought to me at daybreak. And I immediately summoned that most worthless contriver of all this wickedness, Gabinius, as yet suspecting nothing; after him, P. Statilius is sent for, and after him Cethegus; but Lentulus was a long time in coming,—I suppose, because, contrary to his custom, he had been up a long time the night before, writing letters.
6. tertia fere vigilia exacta, cum iam pontem Mulvium magno comitatu legati Allobroges ingredi inciperent unaque Volturcius, fit in eos impetus; ducuntur et ab illis gladii et a nostris. praetoribus erat nota solis, ignorabatur a ceteris. interventu Pomptini atque Flacci pugna quae erat commissa sedatur. Litterae quaecumque erant in eo comitatu integris signis praetoribus traduntur; ipsi comprehensi ad me, cum iam dilucesceret, deducuntur. horum omnium scelerum improbissimum machinatorem, Cimbrum Gabinium, statim ad me nihil dum suspicantem vocavi; deinde item arcessitus est L. Lucius Statilius et post eum Cethegus; tardissime autem Lentulus venit, credo quod in litteris dandis praeter consuetudinem proxima nocte vigilarat.
7. But when those most noble and excellent men of the whole city, who, hearing of the matter, came in crowds to me in the morning, thought it best for me to open the letters before I related the matter to the senate, lest, if nothing were found in them, so great a disturbance might seem to have been caused to the state for nothing, I said I would never so act as shrink from referring matter of public danger to the public council. In truth if, O Romans, these things which had been reported to me had not been found in them, yet I did not think I ought, in such a crisis of the republic, to be afraid of the imputation of over-diligence.
7. summis et clarissimis huius civitatis viris qui audita re frequentes ad me mane convenerant litteras a me prius aperiri quam ad senatum deferri placeret, ne, si nihil esset inventum, temere a me tantus tumultus iniectus civitati videretur, negavi me esse facturum ut de periculo publico non ad consilium publicum rem integram deferrem., Quirites, si ea quae erant ad me delata reperta non essent, tamen ego non arbitrabar in tantis rei publicae periculis esse mihi nimiam diligentiam pertimescendam. frequentem celeriter, ut vidistis, coegi.
8. I quickly summoned a full senate, as you saw; and meantime, without any delay, by the advice of the Allobroges, I sent Caius Sulpicius the praetor, a brave man, to bring whatever arms he could find in the house of Cethegus, whence he did bring a great number of swords and daggers. I introduced Vulturcius without the Gauls. By the command of the senate, I pledged him the public faith for his safety. I exhorted him fearlessly to tell all he knew. Then, when he had scarcely recovered himself from his great alarm, he said: that he had messages and letters for Catiline, from Publius Lentulus, to avail himself of the guard of the slaves, and to come towards the city with his army as quickly as possible; and that was to be done with the intention that, when they had set fire to the city on all sides as it had been arranged and distributed, and had made a great massacre of the citizens, he might be at hand to catch those who fled, and to join himself to the leaders within the city.
8. interea statim admonitu Allobrogum C. Gaium Sulpicium praetorem, fortem virum, misi qui ex aedibus Cethegi si quid telorum esset efferret; ex quibus ille maximum sicarum numerum et gladiorum extulit. Volturcium sine Gallis; fidem publicam iussu senatus dedi; hortatus sum ut ea quae sciret sine timore indicaret. ille dixit, cum vix se ex magno timore recreasset, a P. Publio Lentulo se habere ad Catilinam mandata et litteras ut servorum praesidio uteretur, ut ad urbem quam primum cum exercitu accederet; id autem eo consilio ut, cum urbem ex omnibus partibus quem ad modum descriptum distributumque erat incendissent caedemque infinitam civium fecissent, praesto esset ille qui et fugientis exciperet et se cum his urbanis ducibus coniungeret.
9. But the Gauls being introduced, said that an oath had been administered to them, and letters given them by Publius Lentulus, Cethegus, and Statilius, for their nation; and that they had been enjoined by them, and by Lucius Cassius, to send cavalry into Italy as early as possible; that infantry should not be wanting; and that Lentulus had assured him, from the Sibylline oracles and the answers of soothsayers, that he was that third Cornelius to whom the kingdom and sovereignty over this city was fated to come; that Cinna and Sulla had been before him; and that he had also said that was the year destined to the destruction of this city and empire, being the tenth year after the acquittal of the virgins, and the twentieth after the burning of the Capitol.
9. autem Galli ius iurandum sibi et litteras a P. Publio Lentulo, Cethego, Statilio ad suam gentem datas esse dixerunt, atque ita sibi ab his et a L. Lucio Cassio esse praescriptum ut equitatum in Italiam quam primum mitterent; pedestris sibi copias non defuturas. Lentulum autem sibi confirmasse ex fatis Sibyllinis haruspicumque responsis se esse tertium illum Cornelium ad quem regnum huius urbis atque imperium pervenire esset necesse: Cinnam ante se et Sullam fuisse. dixisse fatalem hunc annum esse ad interitum huius urbis atque imperi qui esset annus decimus post virginum absolutionem, post Capitoli autem incensionem vicesimus.
10. But they said there had been this dispute between Cethegus and the rest,—that Lentulus and others thought it best that the massacre should take place and the city be burnt at the Saturnalia, but that Cethegus thought it too long to wait. And, not to detain you, O Romans, we ordered the letters to be brought forward which were said to have been given them by each of the men. First I showed his seal to Cethegus; he recognised it: we cut the thread; we read the letter. It was written with his own hand: that he would do for the senate and people of the Allobroges what he had promised their ambassadors; and that he begged them also to do what their ambassadors had arranged. Then Cethegus, who a little before had made answer about the swords and daggers which had been found in his house, and had said that he had always been fond of fine arms, being stricken down and dejected at the reading of his letters, convicted by his own conscience, became suddenly silent. Statilius, being introduced, owned his handwriting and his seal. His letters were read, of nearly the same tenor: he confessed it. Then I showed Lentulus his letters, and asked him whether he recognised the seal? He nodded assent. But it is, said I, a well-known seal;—the likeness of your grandfather, a most illustrious man, who greatly loved his country and his fellow-citizens; and it even though silent, ought to have called you back from such wickedness.
10. autem Cethego cum ceteris controversiam fuisse dixerunt quod Lentulo et aliis Saturnalibus caedem fieri atque urbem incendi placeret, Cethego nimium id longum videretur. ne longum sit, Quirites, tabellas proferri iussimus quae a quoque dicebantur datae. ostendimus Cethego: signum cognovit. linum incidimus; legimus. scriptum ipsius manu Allobrogum senatui et populo sese quae eorum legatis confirmasset facturum esse; orare ut item illi facerent quae sibi eorum legati recepissent. Cethegus, qui paulo ante aliquid tamen de gladiis ac sicis quae apud ipsum erant deprehensa respondisset dixissetque se semper bonorum ferramentorum studiosum fuisse, recitatis litteris debilitatus atque abiectus conscientia repente conticuit. Statilius cognovit et signum et manum suam. sunt tabellae in eandem fere sententiam; confessus est. ostendi tabellas Lentulo et quaesivi cognosceretne signum.. “vero” inquam “notum quidem signum, imago avi tui, clarissimi viri, qui amavit unice patriam et civis suos; quae quidem te a tanto scelere etiam muta revocare debuit.”
11. Letters are read of the same tenor to the senate and people of the Allobroges. I offered him leave, if he wished to say anything of these matters: and at first he declined to speak; but a little afterwards, when the whole examination had been gone through and concluded, he rose. He asked the Gauls what he had had to do with them? why they had come to his house? and he asked Vulturcius too. And when they had answered him briefly and steadily, under whose guidance they had come to him, and how often; and when they asked him whether he had said nothing to them about the Sibylline oracles, then he on a sudden, mad with wickedness, showed how great was the power of conscience; for though he might have denied it, he suddenly, contrary to every one's expectation confessed it: so not only did his genius and skill in oratory, for which he was always eminent, but even through the power of his manifest and detected wickedness, that impudence in which he surpassed all men, and audacity deserted him.
11. eadem ratione ad senatum Allobrogum populumque litterae. quid de his rebus dicere vellet, feci potestatem. ille primo quidem negavit; post autem aliquanto, toto iam indicio exposito atque edito, surrexit, quaesivit a Gallis quid sibi esset cum eis, quam ob rem domum suam venissent, itemque a Volturcio. cum illi breviter constanterque respondissent per quem ad eum quotiensque venissent, quaesissentque ab eo nihilne secum esset de fatis Sibyllinis locutus, tum ille subito scelere demens quanta conscientiae vis esset ostendit., cum id posset infitiari, repente praeter opinionem omnium confessus est. eum non modo ingenium illud et dicendi exercitatio qua semper valuit sed etiam propter vim sceleris manifesti atque deprehensi impudentia qua superabat omnis improbitasque defecit.
12. But Vulturcius on a sudden ordered the letters to be produced and opened which he said had been given to him for Catiline, by Lentulus. And though Lentulus was greatly agitated at that, yet he acknowledged his seal and his handwriting; but the letter was anonymous, and ran thus:—“Who I am you will know from him whom I have sent to you: take care to behave like a man, and consider to what place you have proceeded, and provide for what is now necessary for you: take care to associate to yourself the assistance of every one, even of the powerless.” Then Gabinius being introduced, when at first he had begun to answer impudently, at last denied nothing of those things which the Gauls alleged against him.
12. Volturcius vero subito litteras proferri atque aperiri iubet quas sibi a Lentulo ad Catilinam datas esse dicebat. ibi vehementissime perturbatus Lentulus tamen et signum et manum suam cognovit. autem sine nomine, sed ita: “sim scies ex eo quem ad te misi. ut vir sis et cogita quem in locum sis progressus. ecquid tibi iam sit necesse et cura ut omnium tibi auxilia adiungas, etiam infimorum.” Gabinius deinde introductus, cum primo impudenter respondere coepisset, ad extremum nihil ex eis quae Galli insimulabant negavit.
13. And to me, indeed, O Romans, though the letters, the seals, the handwriting, and the confession of each individual seemed most certain indications and proofs of wickedness, yet their colour, their eyes, their countenance, their silence, appeared more certain still; for they stood so stupefied, they kept their eyes so fixed on the ground, at times looking stealthily at one another, that they appeared now not so much to be informed against by others as to be informing against themselves. Having produced and divulged these proofs, O Romans, I consulted the senate what ought to be done for the interests of the republic. Vigorous and fearless opinions were delivered by the chief men, which the senate adopted without any variety; and since the decree of the senate is not yet written out, I will relate to you from memory, O citizens, what the senate has decreed.
13. mihi quidem, Quirites, cum illa certissima visa sunt argumenta atque indicia sceleris, tabellae, signa, manus, denique unius cuiusque confessio, tum multo certiora illa, color, oculi, voltus, taciturnitas. enim obstupuerant, sic terram intuebantur, sic furtim non numquam inter sese aspiciebant ut non iam ab aliis indicari sed indicare se ipsi viderentur. expositis atque editis, Quirites, senatum consului de summa re publica quid fieri placeret. Dictae sunt a principibus acerrimae ac fortissimae sententiae, quas senatus sine ulla varietate est secutus. quoniam nondum est perscriptum senatus consultum, ex memoria vobis, Quirites, quid senatus censuerit exponam.
14. First of all, a vote of thanks to me is passed in the most honourable words, because the republic has been delivered from the greatest dangers by my valour and wisdom, and prudence. Then Lucius Flaccus and Caius Pomtinus, the praetors, are deservedly and rightly praised, because I had availed myself of their brave and loyal assistance. And also, praise is given to that brave man, my colleague, because he had removed from his counsels, and from the counsels of the republic, these who had been accomplices in this conspiracy. And they voted that Publius Lentulus, when he had abdicated the praetorship, should be given into custody; and also, that Caius Cethegus, Lucius Statilius, Publius Gabinius, who were all present, should be given into custody: and the same decree was passed against Lucius Cassius, who had begged for himself the office of burning the city; against Marcus Caparius, to whom it had been proved that Apulia had been allotted for the purpose of exciting disaffection among the shepherds; against Publius Furius, who belongs to the colonies which Lucius Sulla led to Faesulae; against Quintus Manlius Chilo, who was always associated with this man Furius in his tampering with the Allobroges; against Publius Umbrenus, a freedman, by whom it was proved that the Gauls were originally brought to Gabinius. And the senate, O citizens, acted with such lenity, that, out of so great a conspiracy, and such a number and multitude of domestic enemies, it thought that since the republic was saved, the minds of the rest might be restored to a healthy state by the punishment of nine most abandoned men.
14. mihi gratiae verbis amplissimis aguntur, quod virtute, consilio, providentia mea res publica maximis periculis sit liberata. L. Lucius Flaccus et C. Gaius Pomptinus praetores, quod eorum opera forti fidelique usus essem, merito ac iure laudantur. etiam viro forti, conlegae meo, laus impertitur, quod eos qui huius coniurationis participes fuissent a suis et a rei publicae consiliis removisset. ita censuerunt ut P. Publius Lentulus, cum se praetura abdicasset, in custodiam traderetur; itemque uti C. Gaius Cethegus, L. Lucius Statilius, P. Publius Gabinius qui omnes praesentes erant in custodiam traderentur; atque idem hoc decretum est in L. Lucium Cassium qui sibi procurationem incendendae urbis depoposcerat, in M. Marcum Ceparium cui ad sollicitandos pastores Apuliam attributam esse erat indicatum, in P. Publium Furium qui est ex eis colonis quos Faesulas L. Lucius Sulla deduxit, in Q. Quintum Annium Chilonem qui una cum hoc Furio semper erat in hac Allobrogum sollicitatione versatus, in P. Publium Umbrenum, libertinum hominem, a quo primum Gallos ad Gabinium perductos esse constabat. ea lenitate senatus est usus, Quirites, ut ex tanta coniuratione tantaque hac multitudine domesticorum hostium novem hominum perditissimorum poena re publica conservata reliquorum mentis sanari posse arbitraretur.
15. And also a supplication was decreed in my name, (which is the first time since the building of the city that such an honour has ever been paid to a man in a civil capacity,) to the immortal gods, for their singular kindness. And it was decreed in these words, “because I had delivered the city from conflagrations, the citizens from massacre, and Italy from war.” And if this supplication be compared with others, O citizens, there is this difference between them,—that all others have been appointed because of the successes of the republic; this one alone for its preservation. And that which was the first thing to be done, has been done and executed; for Publius Lentulus, though, being convicted by proofs and, by his own confession, by the judgment of the senate he had lost not only the rights of a praetor but also those of a citizen, still resigned his office; so that though Caius Marcius, that most illustrious of men, had no scruples about putting to death Caius Glaucius the praetor against whom nothing had been decreed by name, still we are relieved from that scruple in the case of Publius Lentulus, who is now a private individual.
15. etiam supplicatio dis immortalibus pro singulari eorum merito meo nomine decreta est, quod mihi primum post hanc urbem conditam togato contigit, et his decreta verbis est: “quod urbem incendiis, caede civis, Italiam bello liberassem.” supplicatio si cum ceteris supplicationibus conferatur, hoc interest, quod ceterae bene gesta, haec una conservata re publica constituta est. illud quod faciendum primum fuit factum atque transactum est. P. Publius Lentulus, quamquam patefactis indiciis, confessionibus suis, iudicio senatus non modo praetoris ius verum etiam civis amiserat, tamen magistratu se abdicavit, ut quae religio C. Gaio Mario, clarissimo viro, non fuerat quo minus C. Gaium Glauciam de quo nihil nominatim erat decretum praetorem occideret, ea nos religione in privato P. Publio Lentulo puniendo liberaremur.
16. Now, since, O citizens you have the nefarious leaders of this most wicked and dangerous war taken prisoners and in your grasp, you ought to think that all the resources of Catiline,—all his hopes and all his power, now that these dangers of the city are warded off, have fallen to pieces. And, indeed, when I drove him from the city I foresaw in my mind, O citizens, that if Catiline were removed, I had no cause to fear either the drowsiness of Publius Lentulus, or the fat of Lucius Cassius, or the mad rashness of Cassius Cethegus. He alone was to be feared of all these men, and that, only as long as he was within the walls of the city. He knew everything, he had access to everybody. He had the skill and the audacity to address, to tempt and to tamper with every one. He had acuteness suited to crime; and neither tongue nor hand ever failed to support that acuteness. Already he had men he could rely on chosen and distributed for the execution of all other business and when he had ordered anything to be done he did not think it was done on that account. There was nothing to which he did not personally attend and see to,—for which he did not watch and toil. He was able to endure cold, thirst, and hunger.
16. quoniam, Quirites, consceleratissimi periculosissimique belli nefarios duces captos iam et comprehensos tenetis, existimare debetis omnis Catilinae copias, omnis spes atque opes his depulsis urbis periculis concidisse. quidem ego cum ex urbe pellebam, hoc providebam animo, Quirites, remoto Catilina non mihi esse P. Publii Lentuli somnum nec L. Lucii Cassi adipes nec C. Gaii Cethegi furiosam temeritatem pertimescendam. erat unus timendus ex istis omnibus, sed tam diu dum urbis moenibus continebatur. norat, omnium aditus tenebat; appellare, temptare, sollicitare poterat, audebat. ei consilium ad facinus aptum, consilio autem neque lingua neque manus deerat. ad certas res conficiendas certos homines delectos ac descriptos habebat. vero, cum aliquid mandarat, confectum putabat: nihil erat quod non ipse obiret, occurreret, vigilaret, laboraret; frigus, sitim, famem ferre poterat.
17. Unless I had driven this man, so active, so ready, so audacious, so crafty, so vigilant in wickedness, so industrious in criminal exploits, from his plots within the city to the open warfare of the camp, (I will express my honest opinion, O citizens,) I should not easily have removed from your necks so vast a weight of evil. He would not have determined on the Saturnalia to massacre you he would not have announced the destruction of the republic, and even the day of its doom so long beforehand,—he would never have allowed his seal and his letters, the undeniable witnesses of his guilt, to be taken, which now, since he is absent, has been so done that no larceny in a private house has ever been so thoroughly and clearly detected as this vast conspiracy against the republic. But if Catiline had remained in the city to this day, although, as long as he was so, I met all his designs and withstood them; yet, to say the least, we should have had to fight with him, and should never, while he remained as an enemy in the city, have delivered the republic from such dangers, with such ease, such tranquillity, and such silence.
17. ego hominem tam acrem, tam audacem, tam paratum, tam callidum, tam in scelere vigilantem, tam in perditis rebus diligentem nisi ex domesticis insidiis in castrense latrocinium compulissem — dicam id quod sentio, Quirites — non facile hanc tantam molem mali a cervicibus vestris depulissem. ille nobis Saturnalia constituisset, neque tanto ante exiti ac fati diem rei publicae denuntiavisset neque commisisset ut signum, ut litterae suae testes manifesti sceleris deprehenderentur. nunc illo absente sic gesta sunt ut nullum in privata domo furtum umquam sit tam palam inventum quam haec in tota re publica coniuratio manifesto comprehensa est. si Catilina in urbe ad hanc diem remansisset, quamquam, quoad fuit, omnibus eius consiliis occurri atque obstiti, tamen, ut levissime dicam, dimicandum nobis cum illo fuisset, neque nos umquam, cum ille in urbe hostis esset, tantis periculis rem publicam tanta pace, tanto otio, tanto silentio liberassemus.
18. Although all these things, O Romans, have been so managed by men that they appear to have been done and provided for by the order and design of the immortal gods; and as we may conjecture this because the direction of such weighty affairs scarcely appears capable of having been carried out by human wisdom; so, too, they have at this time so brought us present aid and assistance, that we could almost behold them without eyes. For to say nothing of those things, namely, the firebrands seen in the west in the night time, and the heat of the atmosphere,—to pass over the falling of thunderbolts and the earthquakes,—to say nothing of all the other portents which have taken place in such number during my consulship, that the immortal gods themselves have been seeming to predict what is now taking place; yet, at all events, this which I am about to mention, O Romans, must be neither passed over nor omitted.
18. haec omnia, Quirites, ita sunt a me administrata ut deorum immortalium nutu atque consilio et gesta et provisa esse videantur. cum coniectura consequi possumus, quod vix videtur humani consili tantarum rerum gubernatio esse potuisse, tum vero ita praesentes his temporibus opem et auxilium nobis tulerunt ut eos paene oculis videre possimus. ut illa omittam, visas nocturno tempore ab occidente faces ardoremque caeli, ut fulminum iactus, ut terrae motus relinquam, ut omittam cetera quae tam multa nobis consulibus facta sunt ut haec quae nunc fiunt canere di immortales viderentur, hoc certe, Quirites, quod sum dicturus neque praetermittendum neque relinquendum est.
19. For you recollect, I suppose, when Cotta and Torquatus were consuls, that many towers in the Capitol were struck with lightning, when both the images of the immortal gods were moved, and the statues of many ancient men were thrown down, and the brazen tablets on which the laws were written were melted. Even Romulus, who built this city, was struck, which, you recollect, stood in the Capitol, a gilt statue, little and sucking, and clinging to the teats of the wolf. And when at this time the soothsayers were assembled out of all Etruria, they said that slaughter, and conflagration, and the overthrow of the laws, and civil and domestic war, and the fall of the whole city and empire was at hand, unless the immortal gods, being appeased in every possible manner, by their own power turned aside, as I may say, the very fates themselves.
19. profecto memoria tenetis Cotta et Torquato consulibus compluris in Capitolio res de caelo esse percussas, cum et simulacra deorum depulsa sunt et statuae veterum hominum deiectae et legum aera liquefacta et tactus etiam ille qui hanc urbem condidit Romulus, quem inauratum in Capitolio, parvum atque lactantem, uberibus lupinis inhiantem fuisse meministis. quidem tempore cum haruspices ex tota Etruria convenissent, caedis atque incendia et legum interitum et bellum civile ac domesticum et totius urbis atque imperi occasum appropinquare dixerunt, nisi di immortales omni ratione placati suo numine prope fata ipsa flexissent.
20. Therefore, according to their answers, games were celebrated for ten days, nor was anything omitted which might tend to the appeasing of the gods. And they enjoined also that we should make a greater statue of Jupiter, and place it in a lofty situation, and (contrary to what had been done before) turn it towards the east. And they said that they hoped that if that statue which you now behold looked upon the rising of the sun, and the forum, and the senate-house, that those designs which were secretly formed against the safety of the city and empire would be brought to light so as to be able to be thoroughly seen by the senate and by the Roman people. And the consuls ordered it to be so placed; but so great was the delay in the work, that it was never set up by the former consuls nor by us before this day.
20. illorum responsis tum et ludi per decem dies facti sunt neque res ulla quae ad placandos deos pertineret praetermissa est. iusserunt simulacrum Iovis facere maius et in excelso conlocare et contra atque antea fuerat ad orientem convertere; ac se sperare dixerunt, si illud signum quod videtis solis ortum et forum curiamque conspiceret, fore ut ea consilia quae clam essent inita contra salutem urbis atque imperi inlustrarentur ut a senatu populoque Romano perspici possent. illud signum conlocandum consules illi locaverunt; sed tanta fuit operis tarditas ut neque superioribus consulibus neque nobis ante hodiernum diem conlocaretur.
21. Here who, O Romans can there be so obstinate against the truth, so headstrong, so void of sense, as to deny that all these things which we see, and especially this city, is governed by the divine authority and power of the immortal gods? Forsooth, when this answer had been given, that massacre, and conflagration, and ruin was prepared for the republic; and that, too, by profligate citizens, which, from the enormity of the wickedness, appeared incredible to some people, you found that it had not only been planned by wicked citizens, but had even been undertaken and commenced. And is not this fact so present that it appears to have taken place by the express will of the good and mighty Jupiter, that, when this day, early in the morning, both the conspirators and their accusers were being led by my command through the forum to the Temple of Concord, at that very time the statue was being erected? And when it was set up and turned towards you and towards the senate the senate and you yourselves saw everything which had been planned against the universal safety brought to light and made manifest.
21. quis potest esse tam aversus a vero, tam praeceps, tam mente captus qui neget haec omnia quae videmus praecipueque hanc urbem deorum immortalium nutu ac potestate administrari? cum esset ita responsum, caedis, incendia, interitum rei publicae comparari, et ea per civis, quae tum propter magnitudinem scelerum non nullis incredibilia videbantur, ea non modo cogitata a nefariis civibus verum etiam suscepta esse sensistis. vero nonne ita praesens est ut nutu Iovis factum esse videatur, ut, cum hodierno die mane per forum meo iussu et coniurati et eorum indices in aedem Concordiae ducerentur, eo ipso tempore signum statueretur? conlocato atque ad vos senatumque converso omnia et senatus et vos quae erant contra salutem omnium cogitata inlustrata et patefacta vidistis.
22. And on this account they deserve even greater hatred and greater punishment, for having attempted to apply their fatal and wicked fire, not only to your houses and homes, but even to the shrines and temples of the Gods. And if I were to say that it was I who resisted them, I should take too much to myself and ought not to be borne. He—he, Jupiter, resisted them, He determined that the Capitol should be safe, he saved these temples, he saved this city, he saved all of you. It is under the guidance of the immortal gods, O Romans, that I have cherished the intention and desires which I have, and have arrived at such undeniable proofs. Surely, that tampering with the Allobroges would never have taken place, so important a matter would never have been so madly entrusted, by Lentulus and the rest of our internal enemies, to strangers and foreigners, such letters would never have been written, unless all prudence had been taken by the immortal gods from such terrible audacity. What shall I say? That Gauls, men from a state scarcely at peace with us, the only nation existing which seems both to be able to make war on the Roman people, and not to be unwilling to do so,—that they should disregard the hope of empire and of the greatest success voluntarily offered to them by patricians; and should prefer your safety to their own power—do you not think that that was caused by divine interposition? especially when they could have destroyed us, not by fighting, but by keeping silence.
22. etiam maiore sunt isti odio supplicioque digni qui non solum vestris domiciliis atque tectis sed etiam deorum templis atque delubris sunt funestos ac nefarios ignis inferre conati. ego si me restitisse dicam, nimium mihi sumam et non sim ferendus: ille, ille Iuppiter restitit; ille Capitolium, ille haec templa, ille cunctam urbem, ille vos omnis salvos esse voluit. ego immortalibus ducibus hanc mentem voluntatemque suscepi atque ad haec tanta indicia perveni. vero illa Allobrogum sollicitatio, iam ab Lentulo ceterisque domesticis hostibus tam dementer tantae res creditae et ignotis et barbaris commissaeque litterae numquam essent profecto, nisi ab dis immortalibus huic tantae audaciae consilium esset ereptum. vero? ut homines Galli ex civitate male pacata, quae gens una restat quae bellum populo Romano facere posse et non nolle videatur, spem imperi ac rerum maximarum ultro sibi a patriciis hominibus oblatam neglegerent vestramque salutem suis opibus anteponerent, id non divinitus esse factum putatis, praesertim qui nos non pugnando sed tacendo superare potuerunt?
23. Wherefore, O citizens, since a supplication has been decreed at all the altars, celebrate those days with your wives and children; for many just and deserved honours have been often paid to the immortal gods, but juster ones never. For you have been snatched from a most cruel and miserable destruction, and you have been snatched from it without slaughter, without bloodshed, without an army, without a battle. You have conquered in the garb of peace, with me in the garb of peace for your only general and commander.
23. ob rem, Quirites, quoniam ad omnia pulvinaria supplicatio decreta est, celebratote illos dies cum coniugibus ac liberis vestris. multi saepe honores dis immortalibus iusti habiti sunt ac debiti, sed profecto iustiores numquam. enim estis ex crudelissimo ac miserrimo interitu, erepti sine caede, sine sanguine, sine exercitu, sine dimicatione; togati me uno togato duce et imperatore vicistis.
24. Remember, O citizens, all civil dissensions, and not only those which you have heard of but these also which you yourselves remember and have seen. Lucius Sulla crushed Publius Sulpicius; he drove from the city Caius Marius the guardian of this city; and of many other brave men some he drove from the city, and some he murdered. Cnaeus Octavius the consul drove his colleague by force of arms out of the city; all this place was crowded with heaps of carcasses and flowed with the blood of citizens; afterwards Cinna and Marius got the upper hand; and then most illustrious men were put to death, and the spirits of the state were extinguished. Afterwards Sulla avenged the cruelty of this victory; it is needless to say with what a diminution of the citizens and with what disasters to the republic Marcus Lepidus disagreed with that most eminent and brave man Quintus, Catulus. His death did not cause as much grief to the republic as that of the others.
24. recordamini, Quirites, omnis civilis dissensiones, non solum eas quas audistis sed eas quas vosmet ipsi meministis atque vidistis. L. Lucius Sulla P. Publium Sulpicium oppressit: C. Gaium Marium, custodem huius urbis, multosque fortis viros partim eiecit ex civitate, partim interemit. Cn. Gnaeus Octavius consul armis expulit ex urbe conlegam: omnis hic locus acervis corporum et civium sanguine redundavit. postea Cinna cum Mario: tum vero clarissimis viris interfectis lumina civitatis exstincta sunt. Vltus est huius victoriae crudelitatem postea Sulla: ne dici quidem opus est quanta deminutione civium et quanta calamitate rei publicae. M. Marcus Lepidus a clarissimo et fortissimo viro Q. Quinto Catulo: attulit non tam ipsius interitus rei publicae luctum quam ceterorum.
25. And these dissensions, O Romans, were such as concerned not the destruction of the republic, but only a change in the constitution. They did not wish that there should be no republic, but that they themselves should be the chief men in that which existed; nor did they desire that the city should be burnt, but that they themselves should flourish in it. And yet all those dissensions, none of which aimed at the destruction of the republic, were such that they were to be terminated not by a reconciliation and concord, but only by internecine war among the citizens. But in this war alone, the greatest and most cruel in the memory of man,—a war such as even the countries of the barbarians have never waged with their own tribes,—a war in which this law was laid down by Lentulus, and Catiline, and Cassius and Cethegus that every one, who could live in safety as long as the city remained in safety, should be considered as an enemy, in this war I have so managed matters, O Romans that you should all be preserved in safety; and though your enemies had thought that only such a number of the citizens would be left as had held out against an interminable massacre and only so much of the city as the flames could not devour, I have preserved both the city and the citizens unhurt and undiminished.
25. [illae tamen omnes] dissensiones erant eius modi quae non ad delendam sed ad commutandam rem publicam pertinerent. illi nullam esse rem publicam sed in ea quae esset se esse principes, neque hanc urbem conflagrare sed se in hac urbe florere voluerunt. illae tamen omnes dissensiones, quarum nulla exitium rei publicae quaesivit, eius modi fuerunt ut non reconciliatione concordiae sed internicione civium diiudicatae sint. hoc autem uno post hominum memoriam maximo crudelissimoque bello, quale bellum nulla umquam barbaria cum sua gente gessit, quo in bello lex haec fuit a Lentulo, Catilina, Cethego, Cassio constituta ut omnes qui salva urbe salvi esse possent in hostium numero ducerentur, ita me gessi, Quirites, ut salvi omnes conservaremini, et, cum hostes vestri tantum civium superfuturum putassent quantum infinitae caedi restitisset, tantum autem urbis quantum flamma obire non potuisset, et urbem et civis integros incolumisque servavi.
26. And for these exploits, important as they are, O Romans, I ask from you no reward of virtue, no badge of honour, no monument of my glory, beyond the everlasting recollection of this day. In your minds I wish all my triumphs, all my decorations of honour; the monuments of my glory, the badges of my renown, to be stored and laid up. Nothing voiceless can delight me, nothing silent,—nothing, in short, such as even those who are less worthy can obtain. In your memory, O Romans, my name shall be cherished, in your discourses it shall grow, in the monuments of your letters it shall grow old and strengthen; and I feel assured that the same day which I hope will be for everlasting; will be remembered for ever, so as to tend both to the safety of the city and the recollection of my consulship; and that it will be remembered that there existed in this city at the same time two citizens, one of whom limited the boundaries of your empire only by the regions of heaven, not by those of the earth, while the other preserved the abode and home of that same empire.
26. pro tantis rebus, Quirites, nullum ego a vobis praemium virtutis, nullum insigne honoris, nullum monumentum laudis postulabo praeterquam huius diei memoriam sempiternam. animis ego vestris omnis triumphos meos, omnia ornamenta honoris, monumenta gloriae, laudis insignia condi et conlocari volo. me mutum potest delectare, nihil tacitum, nihil denique eius modi quod etiam minus digni adsequi possint. vestra, Quirites, nostrae res alentur, sermonibus crescent, litterarum monumentis inveterascent et conroborabuntur; eandemque diem intellego, quam spero aeternam fore, propagatam esse et ad salutem urbis et ad memoriam consulatus mei, unoque tempore in hac re publica duos civis exstitisse quorum alter finis vestri imperi non terrae sed caeli regionibus terminaret, alter huius imperi domicilium sedisque servaret.
27. But since the fortune and condition of those exploits which I have performed is not the same with that of those men who have directed foreign wars—because I must live among those whom I have defeated and subdued, they have left their enemies either slain or crushed,—it is your business, O Romans, to take care, if their good deeds are a benefit to others, that mine shall never be an injury to me. For that the wicked and profligate designs of audacious men shall not be able to injure you, I have taken care; it is your business to take care that they do not injure me. Although, O Romans, no injury can be done to me by them,—for there is a great protection in the affection of all good men, which is procured for me for ever; there is great dignity in the republic, which will always silently defend me; there is great power in conscience, and those who neglect it when they desire to attack me will destroy themselves.
27. quoniam earum rerum quas ego gessi non eadem est fortuna atque condicio quae illorum qui externa bella gesserunt, quod mihi cum eis vivendum est quos vici ac subegi, illi hostis aut interfectos aut oppressos reliquerunt, vestrum est, Quirites, si ceteris facta sua recte prosunt, mihi mea ne quando obsint providere. enim hominum audacissimorum sceleratae ac nefariae ne vobis nocere possent ego providi, ne mihi noceant vestrum est providere., Quirites, mihi quidem ipsi nihil ab istis iam noceri potest. Magnum enim est in bonis praesidium quod mihi in perpetuum comparatum est, magna in re publica dignitas quae me semper tacita defendet, magna vis conscientiae quam qui neglegunt, cum me violare volent, se indicabunt.
28. There is moreover that disposition in me, O Romans, that I not only will yield to the audacity of no one, but that I always voluntarily attack the worthless. And if all the violence of domestic enemies being warded off from you turns itself upon me alone, you will have to take care, O Roman; in what condition you wish those men to be for the future, who for your safety have exposed themselves to unpopularity and to all sorts of dangers. As for me, myself; what is there which now can be gained by me for the enjoyment of life, especially when neither in credit among you, nor in the glory of virtue, do I see any higher point to which I can be desirous to climb?
28. enim nobis is animus, Quirites, ut non modo nullius audaciae cedamus sed etiam omnis improbos ultro semper lacessamus. si omnis impetus domesticorum hostium depulsus a vobis se in me unum converterit, vobis erit videndum, Quirites, qua condicione posthac eos esse velitis qui se pro salute vestra obtulerint invidiae periculisque omnibus: mihi quidem ipsi quid est quod iam ad vitae fructum possit adquiri, cum praesertim neque in honore vestro neque in gloria virtutis quicquam videam altius quo mihi libeat ascendere?
29. That indeed I will take care of; O Romans, as a private man to uphold and embellish the exploits which I have performed in my consulship: so that if there has been any unpopularity incurred in preserving the republic, it may injure those who envy me, and may tend to my glory. Lastly, I will so behave myself in the republic as always to remember what I have done, and to take care that they shall appear to have been done through virtue, and not by chance. Do you, O Romans, since it is now night, worship that Jupiter, the guardian of this city and of yourselves, and depart to your homes; and defend those homes, though the danger is now removed, with guard and watch as you did last night, That you shall not have to do so long, and that you shall enjoy perpetual tranquillity, shall, O Romans, be my care. The night after the events mentioned in the argument to the preceding oration, Cicero's wife Terentia, with the vestal virgins was performing at home the mystic rites of the Bona Dea while Cicero was deliberating with his friends on the best mode of punishing the conspirators. Terentia interrupted their deliberations by coming in to inform them of a prodigy which had just happened that after the sacrifice in which she had been engaged was over the fire revived spontaneously; on which the vestal virgins had sent her to him to inform him of it, and to bid him pursue what he was then thinking of and intending for the good of his country, since the goddess had given this sign that she was watching over his safety and glory. The next day the senate ordered public rewards to the ambassadors and to Vulturcius; and showed signs of intending to proceed with extreme rigour against the conspirators when on a sudden rumours arose of plots having been formed by the slaves of Lentulus and Cethegus for their masters' rescue; which obliged Cicero to double all the guards, and determined him to prevent any repetition of such attempts by bringing before the senate without delay the question of the punishment of the prisoners. On which account he summoned the senate to meet the next morning. There were many difficulties in the matter. Capital punishments were unusual and very unpopular at Rome. And there was an old law of Porcius Lecca, a tribune of the people, which granted to all criminals who were capitally condemned an appeal to the people; and also a law had been passed, since his time, by Caius Gracchus, to prohibit the taking away the life of any citizen without a formal hearing before the people. And these considerations had so much weight with some of the senators, that they absented themselves from the senate during this debate, in order to have no share in sentencing prisoners of such high rank to death. The debate was opened by Silanus, the consul elect, who declared his opinion that those in custody, and those also who should be taken subsequently, should all be put to death. Everyone who followed him agreed with him, till Julius Caesar, the praetor elect, (who has been often suspected of having at least to some extent, privy to the conspiracy,) rose, and in an elaborate speech proposed that they should not be put to death, but that their estates should be confiscated, and they themselves kept in perpetual confinement. Cato opposed him with great earnestness. But some of Cicero's friends appeared inclined to Caesar's motion, thinking it a safer measure for Cicero himself; but when Cicero perceived this, he rose himself; and discussed the opinions both of Silanus and Caesar in the following speech, which decided the senate to vote for their condemnation. And as soon as the vote had passed, Cicero went immediately from the senate house, took Lentulus from the custody of his kinsman Lentulus Spinther, and delivered him to the executioner. The other conspirators, Cethegus, Statilius, Gabinius, were in like manner conducted to execution by the praetors; and Cicero was conducted home to his house in triumph by the whole body of the senate and by the knights, the whole multitude following him, and saluting him as their deliverer. I see, O conscript fathers, that the looks and eyes of you all are turned towards me; I see that you are anxious not only for your own danger and that of the republic, but even, if that be removed, for mine. Your good-will is delightful to one amid evils, and pleasing amid grief; but I entreat you, in the name of the immortal gods, lay it aside now, and, forgetting my safety, think of yourselves and of your children. If indeed, this condition of the consulship has been allotted to me, that I should bear all bitterness, all pains and tortures, I will bear them not only bravely but even cheerfully, provided that by my toils dignity and safety are procured for you and for the Roman people. I am that consul, O conscript fathers, to whom neither the forum in which all justice is contained, nor the Campus Martius, consecrated to the consular assemblies, nor the senate house, the chief assistance of all nations, nor my own home, the common refuge of all men, nor my bed devoted to rest, in short, not even this seat of honour, this curule chair has ever been free from the danger of death, or from plots and treachery. I have been silent about many things, I have borne much, I have conceded much, I have remedied many things with some pain to myself amid the alarm of you all. Now if the immortal gods have determined that there shall be this end to my consulship that I should snatch you, O conscript fathers, and the Roman people from miserable slaughter, your wives and children and the vestal virgins from most bitter distress, the temples and shrines of the gods and this most lovely country of all of us, from impious flames, all Italy from war and devastation, then whatever fortune is laid up for me by myself it shall be borne. If, indeed, Publius Lentulus, being led on by soothsayers believed that his name was connected by destiny with the destruction of the republic, why should not I rejoice that my consulship has taken place almost by the express appointment of fate for the preservation of the republic? Wherefore, O conscript fathers, consult the welfare of yourselves, provide for that of the republic; preserve yourselves, your wives, your children, and your fortunes; defend the name and safety of the Roman people; cease to spare me, and to think of me. For, in the first place, I ought to hope that all the gods who preside over this city will show me gratitude in proportion as I deserve it; and in the second place, if anything does happen to me, I shall fall with a contented and prepared mind; and, indeed, death cannot be disgraceful to a brave man, nor premature to one of consular rank, nor miserable to a wise man. Not that I am a man of so iron a disposition as not to be moved by the grief of a most dear and affectionate brother now present, and by the tears of all these men by whom you now see me surrounded. Nor does my fainting wife, my daughter prostrate with fear, and my little son whom the republic seems to me to embrace as a sort of hostage for my consulship, the son-in-law who, awaiting the end of that day, is now standing in my sight, fail often to recall my mind to my home. I am moved by all these circumstances, but in such a direction as to wish that they all may be safe together with you, even if some violence overwhelms me, rather than that both they and are should perish together with the republic.
29. perficiam profecto, Quirites, ut ea quae gessi in consulatu privatus tuear atque ornem, ut, si qua est invidia in conservanda re publica suscepta, laedat invidos, mihi valeat ad gloriam. ita me in re publica tractabo ut meminerim semper quae gesserim, curemque ut ea virtute non casu gesta esse videantur., Quirites, quoniam iam est nox, venerati Iovem illum custodem huius urbis ac vestrum in vestra tecta discedite et ea, quamquam iam est periculum depulsum, tamen aeque ac priore nocte custodiis vigiliisque defendite. ne vobis diutius faciendum sit atque ut in perpetua pace esse possitis providebo, Quirites. , patres conscripti, in me omnium vestrum ora atque oculos esse conversos, video vos non solum de vestro ac rei publicae verum etiam, si id depulsum sit, de meo periculo esse sollicitos. mihi iucunda in malis et grata in dolore vestra erga me voluntas, sed eam per deos immortalis! deponite atque obliti salutis meae de vobis ac de vestris liberis cogitate. si haec condicio consulatus data est ut omnis acerbitates, omnis dolores cruciatusque perferrem, feram non solum fortiter verum etiam libenter, dum modo meis laboribus vobis populoque Romano dignitas salusque pariatur. sum ille consul, patres conscripti, cui non forum in quo omnis aequitas continetur, non campus consularibus auspiciis consecratus, non curia, summum auxilium omnium gentium, non domus, commune perfugium, non lectus ad quietem datus, non denique haec sedes honoris umquam vacua mortis periculo atque insidiis fuit. multa tacui, multa pertuli, multa concessi, multa meo quodam dolore in vestro timore sanavi. si hunc exitum consulatus mei di immortales esse voluerunt ut vos populumque Romanum ex caede miserrima, coniuges liberosque vestros virginesque Vestalis ex acerbissima vexatione, templa atque delubra, hanc pulcherrimam patriam omnium nostrum ex foedissima flamma, totam Italiam ex bello et vastitate eriperem, quaecumque mihi uni proponetur fortuna subeatur. si P. Publius Lentulus suum nomen inductus a vatibus fatale ad perniciem rei publicae fore putavit, cur ego non laeter meum consulatum ad salutem populi Romani prope fatalem exstitisse? re, patres conscripti, consulite vobis, prospicite patriae, conservate vos, coniuges, liberos fortunasque vestras, populi Romani nomen salutemque defendite; mihi parcere ac de me cogitare desinite. primum debeo sperare omnis deos qui huic urbi praesident pro eo mihi ac mereor relaturos esse gratiam; deinde, si quid obtigerit, aequo animo paratoque moriar. neque turpis mors forti viro potest accidere neque immatura consulari nec misera sapienti. tamen ego sum ille ferreus qui fratris carissimi atque amantissimi praesentis maerore non movear horumque omnium lacrimis a quibus me circumsessum videtis. meam mentem non domum saepe revocat exanimata uxor et abiecta metu filia et parvolus filius, quem mihi videtur amplecti res publica tamquam obsidem consulatus mei, neque ille qui exspectans huius exitum diei stat in conspectu meo gener. his rebus omnibus, sed in eam partem uti salvi sint vobiscum omnes, etiam si me vis aliqua oppresserit, potius quam et illi et nos una rei publicae peste pereamus.