2. Here now you have a pair equal in wickedness; unprecedented, unheard of, savage, barbarous. Therefore those men whose vehement mutual hatred and quarrel you recollect a short time ago, have now been united in singular unanimity and mutual attachment by the singularity of their wicked natures and most infamous lives. Therefore, that which Dolabella has now done in a case in which he had the power, Antonius threatens many with. But the former, as he was a long way from our counsels and armies, and as he was not yet aware that the senate had united with the Roman people, relying on the forces of Antonius, has committed those wicked actions which he thought were already put in practice at Rome by his accomplice in wickedness.
2. tibi geminum in scelere par, invisitatum, inauditum, ferum, barbarum. quorum summum quondam inter ipsos odium bellumque meministis, eosdem postea singulari inter se consensu et amore devinxit improbissimae naturae et turpissimae vitae similitudo. id quod fecit Dolabella in quo potuit multis idem minatur Antonius. ille cum procul esset a consulibus exercitibusque nostris neque dum senatum cum populo Romano conspirasse sensisset, fretus Antoni copiis ea scelera suscepit quae Romae iam suscepta arbitrabatur a socio furoris sui.
3. What else then do you think that this man is contriving or wishing, or what other object do you think he has in the war? All of us who have either entertained the thoughts of freemen concerning the republic, or have given utterance to opinions worthy of ourselves, he decides to be not merely opposed to him, but actual enemies. And he plans inflicting bitterer punishments on us than on the enemy; he thinks death a punishment imposed by nature, but torments and tortures the proper inflictions of anger. What sort of enemy then must we consider that man who, if he be victorious, requires one to think death a kindness if he spares one the tortures with which it is in his power to accompany it? Wherefore, O conscript fathers, although you do not need any one to exhort you (for you yourself have of your own accord warmed up with the desire of recovering your freedom), still defend, I warn you, your freedom with so much the more zeal and courage, in proportion as the punishments of slavery with which you see the conquered are threatened are more terrible.
3. ergo hunc aliud moliri, quid optare censetis aut quam omnino causam esse belli?, qui libere de re publica sensimus, qui dignas nobis sententias diximus, qui populum Romanum liberum esse voluimus, statuit ille quidem non inimicos, sed hostis: maiora tamen in nos quam in hostem supplicia meditatur: mortem naturae poenam putat esse, iracundiae tormenta atque cruciatum. igitur hostis habendus est is a quo victore, si cruciatus absit, mors in benefici parte numeretur? ob rem, patres conscripti, quamquam hortatore non egetis—ipsi enim vestra sponte exarsistis ad libertatis recuperandae cupiditatem— tamen eo maiore animo studioque libertatem defendite quo maiora proposita victis supplicia servitutis videtis.
4. Antonius has invaded Gaul; Dolabella, Asia; each a province with which he had no business whatever. Brutus has opposed himself to the one, and at the peril of his own life has checked the onset of that frantic man wishing to harass and plunder every thing, has prevented his farther progress, and has cut him off from his return. By allowing himself to be besieged he has hemmed in Antonius on each side. The other has forced his way into Asia. With what object! If it was merely to proceed into Syria, he had a road open to him which was sure, and was not long. What was the need of sending forward some Marsian, they call him Octavius, with a legion; a wicked and necessitous robber; a man to lay waste the lands, to harass the cities, not from any hope of acquiring any permanent property, which they who know him say that he is unable to keep (for I have not the honor of being acquainted with this senator myself), but just as present food to satisfy his indigence?
4. Galliam invasit Antonius, in Asiam Dolabella, in alienam uterque provinciam. se Brutus obiecit impetumque furentis atque omnia divexare ac diripere cupientis vitae suae periculo conligavit, progressu arcuit, a reditu refrenavit, obsideri se passus ex utraque parte constrinxit Antonium. in Asiam inrupit.? ut in Syriam, patebat via et certa neque longa; ⟨sin ut ad Trebonium,⟩ quid opus fuit cum legione? Marso nescio quo Octavio, scelerato latrone atque egenti, qui popularetur agros, vexaret urbis non ad spem constituendae rei familiaris, quam tenere eum posse negant qui norunt—mihi enim hic senator ignotus est—sed ad praesentem pastum mendicitatis suae, consecutus est Dolabella.
5. Dolabella followed him, without any one having any suspicion of war. For how could any one think of such a thing? Very friendly conferences with Trebonius ensued; embraces, false tokens of the greatest good-will, were there full of simulated affection; the pledge of the right hand, which used to be a witness of good faith, was violated by treachery and wickedness; then came the nocturnal entry into Smyrna, as if into an enemy's city—Smyrna, which is a city of our most faithful and most ancient allies; then the surprise of Trebonius, who, if he were surprised by one who was an open enemy, was very careless; if by one who up to that moment maintained the appearance of a citizen, was miserable. And by his example fortune wished us to take a lesson of what the conquered party had to fear. He handed over a man of consular rank, governing the province of Asia with consular authority, to an exiled armorer; he would not slay him the moment that he had taken him, fearing, I suppose, that his victory might appear too merciful; but after having attacked that most excellent man with insulting words from his impious mouth, then he examined him with scourges and tortures. Concerning the public money, and that for two days together. Afterward he cut off his head, and ordered it to be fixed on a javelin and carried about; and the rest of his body, having been dragged through the street and town, he threw into the sea.
5. suspicione belli —quis enim id putaret?—secutae conlocutiones familiarissimae cum Trebonio; complexus summae benevolentiae falsi indices exstiterunt in amore simulato; dexterae quae fidei testes esse solebant sunt perfidia et scelere violatae: nocturnus introitus Zmyrnam quasi in hostium urbem, quae est fidissimorum antiquissimorumque sociorum; oppressus Trebonius, si ut ab eo qui aperte hostis esset, incautus; si ut ab eo qui civis etiam tum speciem haberet, miser. quo nimirum documentum nos capere fortuna voluit quid esset victis extimescendum. hominem consulari imperio provinciam Asiam obtinentem Samiario exsuli tradidit: interficere captum statim noluit, ne nimis, credo, in victoria liberalis videretur. verborum contumeliis optimum virum incesto ore lacerasset, tum verberibus ac tormentis quaestionem habuit pecuniae publicae, idque per biduum. cervicibus fractis caput abscidit, idque adfixum gestari iussit in pilo; reliquum corpus tractum atque laniatum abiecit in mare.
6. We, then, have to war against this enemy by whose most foul cruelty all the savageness of barbarous nations is surpassed. Why need I speak of the massacre of Roman citizens! of the plunder of temples? Who is there who can possibly deplore such circumstances as their atrocity deserves? And now he is ranging all over Asia, he is triumphing about as a king, he thinks that we are occupied in another quarter by another war, as if it were not one and the same war against this outrageous pair of impious men. You see now an image of the cruelty of Marcus Antonius in Dolabella; this conduct of his is formed on the model of the other. It is by him that the lessons of wickedness have been taught to Dolabella. Do you think that Antonius, if he had the power, would be more merciful in Italy than Dolabella has proved in Asia? To me, indeed, this latter appears to have gone as far as the insanity of a savage man could go; nor do I believe that Antonius either would omit any description of punishment, if he had only the power to inflict it.
6. hoc hoste bellandum est cuius taeterrima crudelitate omnis barbaria superata est. loquar de caede civium Romanorum, de direptione fanorum? est qui pro rerum atrocitate deplorare tantas calamitates queat? nunc tota Asia vagatur, volitat ut rex; nos alio bello distineri putat: quasi vero non idem unumque bellum sit contra hoc iugum impiorum nefarium. M. Antoni crudelitatis in Dolabella cernitis: ex hoc illa efficta est; ab hoc Dolabellae scelerum praecepta sunt tradita. leniorem quam in Asia Dolabella fuit in Italia, si liceat, fore putatis Antonium? quidem et ille pervenisse videtur quoad progredi potuerit feri hominis amentia, neque Antonius ullius supplici adhibendi, si potestatem habeat, ullam esse partem relicturus.
7. Place then before your eyes, O conscript fathers, that spectacle, miserable indeed, and tearful, but still indispensable to rouse your minds properly: the nocturnal attack upon the most beautiful city in Asia; the irruption of armed men into Trebonius's house, when that unhappy man saw the swords of the robbers before he heard what was the matter; the entrance of Dolabella, raging,—his ill-omened voice, and infamous countenance,—the chains, the scourges, the rack, the armorer who was both torturer and executioner; all which they say that the unhappy Trebonius endured with great fortitude. A great praise, and in my opinion indeed the greatest of all, for it is the part of a wise man to resolve beforehand that whatever can happen to a brave man is to be endured with patience if it should happen. It is indeed a proof of altogether greater wisdom to act with such foresight as to prevent any such thing from happening; but it is a token of no less courage to bear it bravely if it should befall one.
7. igitur ante oculos, patres conscripti, miseram illam quidem et flebilem speciem, sed ad incitandos nostros animos necessariam: nocturnum impetum in urbem Asiae clarissimam, inruptionem armatorum in Treboni domum, cum miser ille prius latronum gladios videret quam quae res esset audisset; furentis introitum Dolabellae, vocem impuram atque os illud infame, vincla, verbera, eculeum, tortorem carnificemque Samiarium: quae tulisse illum fortiter et patienter ferunt. Magna laus meoque iudicio omnium maxima. enim sapientis, quicquid homini accidere possit, id praemeditari ferendum modice esse, si evenerit. omnino est consili providere ne quid tale accidat, animi non minoris fortiter ferre.
8. And Dolabella was indeed so wholly forgetful of the claims of humanity (although, indeed, he never had any particular recollection of it), as to vent his insatiable cruelty, not only on the living man, but also on the dead carcass, and, as he could not sufficiently glut his hatred, to feed his eyes also on the lacerations inflicted, and the insults offered to his corpse. O Dolabella, much more wretched than he whom you intended to be the most wretched of all men! Trebonius endured great agonies; many men have endured greater still, from severe disease, whom, however, we are in the habit of calling not miserable, but afflicted. His sufferings, which lasted two days, were long; but many men have had sufferings lasting many years; nor are the tortures inflicted by executioners more terrible than those caused by disease are sometimes.
8. Dolabella quidem tam fuit immemor humanitatis—quamquam eius numquam particeps fuit —ut suam insatiabilem crudelitatem exercuerit non solum in vivo, sed etiam in mortuo; atque in eius corpore lacerando atque vexando, cum animum satiare non posset, oculos paverit suos. O multo miserior Dolabella quam ille quem tu miserrimum esse voluisti! “Trebonius pertulit magnos.” ex morbi gravitate maiores, quos tamen non miseros, sed laboriosos solemus dicere. “fuit dolor.”, at compluribus annorum saepe multorum. vero graviora sunt carnificum cruciamenta quam interdum tormenta morborum.
9. There are other tortures,—others, I tell you, O you most abandoned and insane man, which are far more miserable. For in proportion as the vigor of the mind exceeds that of the body, so also are the sufferings which rack the mind more terrible than those which are endured by the body. He, therefore, who commits a wicked action is more wretched than he who is compelled to endure the wickedness of another. Trebonius was tortured by Dolabella; and so, indeed, was Regulus by the Carthaginians. If on that account the Carthaginians were considered very cruel for such behavior to an enemy, what must we think of Dolabella, who treated a citizen in such a manner? Is there any comparison? or can we doubt which of the two is most miserable? he whose death the senate and Roman people wish to avenge, or he who has been adjudged an enemy by the unanimous vote of the senate? For in every other particular of their lives, who could possibly, without the greatest insult to Trebonius, compare the life of Trebonius to that of Dolabella? Who is ignorant of the wisdom, and genius, and humanity, and innocence of the one, and of his greatness of mind as displayed in his exertions for the freedom of his country? The other, from his very childhood, has taken delight in cruelty; and, moreover, such has been the shameful nature of his lusts, that he has always delighted in the very fact of doing those things which he could not even be reproached with by a modest enemy.
9. Alia sunt, alia, inquam, o perditissimi homines et amentissimi, multo miseriora. quo maior vis est animi quam corporis, hoc sunt graviora ea quae concipiuntur animo quam illa quae corpore. igitur qui suscipit in se scelus quam is qui alterius facinus subire cogitur. est a Dolabella Trebonius: et quidem a Carthaginiensibus Regulus. re cum crudelissimi Poeni iudicati sint in hoste, quid in cive de Dolabella iudicandum est? vero hoc conferendum est aut dubitandum uter miserior sit, isne cuius mortem senatus populusque Romanus ulcisci cupit, an is qui cunctis senatus sententiis hostis est iudicatus? ceteris quidem vitae partibus quis est qui possit sine Treboni maxima contumelia conferre vitam Treboni cum Dolabellae? consilium, ingenium, humanitatem, innocentiam, magnitudinem animi in patria liberanda quis ignorat? a puero pro deliciis crudelitas fuit; deinde ea libidinum turpitudo ut in hoc sit semper ipse laetatus, quod ea faceret quae sibi obici ne ab inimico quidem possent verecundo.
10. And this man, O ye immortal gods, was once my relation! For his vices were unknown to one who did not inquire into such things: nor perhaps should I now be alienated from him if he had not been discovered to be an enemy to you, to the walls of his country, to this city, to our household gods, to the altars and hearths of all of us,—in short, to human nature and to common humanity. But now, having received this lesson from him, let us be the more diligent and vigilant in being on our guard against Antonius. Indeed, Dolabella had not with him any great number of notorious and conspicuous robbers. But you see there are with Antonius, and in what numbers. In the first place, there is his brother Lucius—what a fire-brand, O ye immortal gods! what an incarnation of crime and wickedness! what a gulf, what a whirlpool of a man! What do you think that man incapable of swallowing up in his mind, or gulping down in his thoughts? Who do you imagine there is whose blood he is not thirsting for? who on whose possessions and fortunes he is not fixing his most impudent eyes, his hopes, and his whole heart? What shall we say of Censorinus? who, as far as words go, said indeed that he wished to be the city praetor; but who, in fact, was unwilling to be so.
10. hic, di immortales! aliquando fuit meus. enim erant vitia non inquirenti. nunc fortasse alienus ab eo essem, nisi ille nobis, nisi moenibus patriae, nisi huic urbi, nisi dis penatibus, nisi aris et focis omnium nostrum, nisi denique naturae et humanitati inventus esset inimicus. A quo admoniti diligentius et vigilantius caveamus Antonium. Dolabella non ita multos secum habuit notos atque insignis latrones: at videtis quos et quam multos habeat Antonius. Lucium fratrem: quam facem, di immortales, quod facinus, quod scelus, quem gurgitem, quam voraginem! eum non sorbere animo, quid non haurire cogitatione, cuius sanguinem non bibere censetis, in cuius possessiones atque fortunas non impudentissimos oculos spe et mente defigere?
11. What of Bestia, who professes that he is a candidate for the consulship in the place of Brutus? May Jupiter avert from us this most detestable omen! But how absurd is it for a man to stand for the consulship who can not be elected praetor! unless, indeed, he thinks his conviction may be taken as an equivalent to the praetorship Let this second Caesar, this great Vopiscus, a man of consummate genius, of the highest influence, who seeks the consulship immediately after having been aedile, be excused from obedience to the laws. Although, indeed, the laws do not bind him, on account, I suppose, of his exceeding dignity. But this man has been acquitted five times when I have defended him. To win a sixth city victory is difficult, even in the case of a gladiator. However, this is the fault of the judges; not mine. I defended him with perfect good faith; they were bound to retain a most illustrious and excellent: citizen in the republic; who now, however, appears to have no other object except to make us understand that those men whose judicial decisions we annulled, decided rightly and in a manner advantageous to the republic.
11. Censorinum? qui se verbo praetorem esse urbanum cupere dicebat, re certe noluit. Bestiam? qui consulatum in Bruti locum se petere profitetur. hoc quidem detestabile omen avertat Iuppiter! quam absurdum autem, qui praetor fieri non potuerit, petere eum consulatum? nisi forte damnationem pro praetura putat. Caesar Vopiscus ille summo ingenio, summa potentia, qui ex aedilitate consulatum petit, solvatur legibus: quamquam leges eum non tenent propter eximiam, credo, dignitatem. hic me defendente quinquiens absolutus est: sexta palma urbana etiam in gladiatore difficilis. haec iudicum culpa, non mea est. defendi fide optima: illi debuerunt clarissimum et praestantissimum senatorem in civitate retinere. tamen nunc nihil aliud agere videtur nisi ut intellegamus illos quorum res iudicatas inritas fecimus bene et e re publica iudicavisse.
12. Nor is this the case with respect to this man alone; there are other men in the same camp honestly condemned and shamefully restored; what counsel do you imagine can be adopted by those men who are enemies to all good men, that is not utterly cruel? There is besides a fellow called Saxa; I don't know who he is; some man whom Caesar imported from the extremity of Celtiberia and gave us for a tribune of the people. Before that, he was a measurer of ground for camps; now he hopes to measure out and value the city. May the evils which this foreigner predicts to us fall on his own head, and may we escape in safety! With him is the veteran Capho; nor is there any man whom the veteran troops hate more cordially: to these men, as if in addition to the dowry which they had received during our civil disasters, Antonius had given the Campanian district, that they might have it as a sort of nurse for their other estates. I only wish they would be contented with them! We would bear it then, though it would not be what ought to be borne; but still it would be worth our while to bear any thing, as long as we could escape this most shameful war. What more? Have you not before your eyes those ornaments of the camp of Marcus. Antonius?
12. hoc in hoc uno est: sunt alii in isdem castris honeste condemnati, turpiter restituti. horum consilium qui omnibus bonis hostes sunt nisi crudelissimum putatis fore? Saxa nescio quis, quem nobis Caesar ex ultima Celtiberia tribunum plebis dedit, castrorum antea metator, nunc, ut sperat, urbis: a qua cum sit alienus, suo capiti salvis nobis ominetur. hoc veteranus Cafo, quo neminem veterani peius oderunt. quasi praeter dotem quam in civilibus malis acceperant agrum Campanum est largitus Antonius, ut haberent reliquorum nutriculas praediorum. utinam contenti essent! ferremus, etsi tolerabile non erat, sed quidvis patiendum fuit, ut hoc taeterrimum bellum non haberemus.
13. In the first place, these two colleagues of the Antonii and Dolabella, Nucula and Lento, the dividers of all Italy according to that law which the senate pronounced to have been carried by violence; one of whom has been a writer of farces, and the other an actor of tragedies. Why should I speak of Domitius the Apulian? whose property we have lately seen advertised, so great is the carelessness of his agents. But this man lately was not content with giving poison to his sister's son, he actually drenched him with it. But it is impossible for these men to live in any other than a prodigal manner, who hope for our property while they are squandering their own. I have seen also an auction of the property of Publius Decius, an illustrious man; who, following the example of his ancestors, devoted himself for the debts of another. But at that auction no one was found to be a purchaser. Ridiculous man to think it possible to escape from debt by selling other people's property! For why should I speak of Trebellius? on whom the furies of debts seem to have wreaked their vengeance; for we have seen one table avenging another.
13. ? illa castrorum M. Antoni lumina, nonne ante oculos proponitis? duos conlegas Antoniorum et Dolabellae, Nuculam et Lentonem, Italiae divisores lege ea quam senatus per vim latam iudicavit; quorum alter commentatus est mimos, alter egit tragoediam. dicam de Apulo Domitio? cuius modo bona proscripta vidi. procuratorum est neglegentia. hic nuper sororis filio infudit venenum, non dedit. non possunt non prodige vivere qui nostra bona sperant, cum effundant sua. etiam P. Deci auctionem, clari viri, qui maiorum exempla persequens pro alieno se aere devovit. tamen in ea auctione inventus est nemo. ridiculum qui se exserere aere alieno putet posse, cum vendat aliena.
14. Why should I speak of Plancus? whom that most illustrious citizen Aquila has driven from Pollentia,—and that too with a broken leg; and I wish he had met with that accident earlier, so as not to be liable to return hither. I had almost passed over the light and glory of that army, Caius Annius Cimber, the son of Lysidicus, a Lysidicus himself in the Greek meaning of the word, since he has broken all laws, unless perhaps it is natural for a Cimbrian to slay a German. When Antonius has such numbers with him, and those too men of that sort, what crime will he shrink from, when Dolabella has polluted himself with such atrocious murders without at all an equal troop of robbers to support him?
14. quid ego de Trebellio dicam? quem ultae videntur Furiae debitorum; vindicem enim novarum tabularum novam tabulam vidimus. de T. Planco? quem praestantissimus civis, Aquila, Pollentia expulit et quidem crure fracto: quod utinam illi ante accidisset, ne huc redire potuisset! et decus illius exercitus paene praeterii, T. Annium Cimbrum, Lysidici filium, Lysidicum ipsum, quoniam omnia iura dissolvit, nisi forte iure Germanum Cimber occidit. hanc et huius generis copiam tantam habeat Antonius, quod scelus omittet, cum Dolabella tantis se obstrinxerit parricidiis nequaquam pari latronum manu et copia?
15. Wherefore, as I have often at other times differed against my will from Quintus Fufius, so on this occasion I gladly agree with his proposition. And from this you may see that my difference is not with the man, but with the cause which he sometimes advocates. Therefore, at present I not only agree with Quintus Fufius, but I even return thanks to him; for he has given utterance to opinions which are upright, and dignified, and worthy of the republic. He has pronounced Dolabella a public enemy; he has declared his opinion that his property ought to be confiscated by public authority. And though nothing could be added to this (for, indeed, what could he propose more severe or more pitiless?), nevertheless, he said that if any of those men who were asked their opinion after him proposed any more severe sentence, he would vote for it. Who can avoid praising such severity as this?
15. , ut invitus saepe dissensi a Q. Fufio, ita sum eius sententiae libenter adsensus: ex quo iudicare debetis me non cum homine solere, sed cum causa dissidere. non adsentior solum sed etiam gratias ago Fufio: dixit enim severam, gravem, re publica dignam sententiam: iudicavit hostem Dolabellam; bona censuit publice possidenda. cum addi nihil potuisset —quid enim atrocius potuit, quid severius decernere?—dixit tamen, si quis eorum qui post se rogati essent graviorem sententiam dixisset, in eam se iturum. severitatem quis potest non laudare?
16. Now, since Dolabella has been pronounced a public enemy, he must be pursued by war. For he himself will not remain quiet. He has a legion with him; he has troops of runaway slaves, he has a wicked band of impious men; he himself is confident, intemperate, and bent on falling by the death of a gladiator. Wherefore since as. Dolabella was voted an enemy by the decree which was passed yesterday, war must be waged, we must necessarily appoint a general. Two opinions have been advanced; neither of which do I approve. The one, because I always think it dangerous unless it be absolutely necessary; the other, because I think it wholly unsuited to the emergency.
16. , quoniam hostis est iudicatus Dolabella, bello est persequendus. enim quiescit; habet legionem, habet fugitivos, habet sceleratam impiorum manum; est ipse confidens, impotens, gladiatorio generi mortis addictus. ob rem, quoniam Dolabella hesterno die hoste decreto bellum gerendum est, imperator est deligendus. dictae sunt sententiae quarum neutram probo: alteram quia semper, nisi cum est necesse, periculosam arbitror; alteram quia alienam his temporibus existimo.
17. For an extraordinary commission is a measure suited rather to the fickle character of the mob; one which does not at all become our dignity or this assembly. In the war against Antiochus, a great and important war, when Asia had fallen by lot to Lucius Scipio as his province, and when he was thought to have hardly spirit and hardly vigor enough for it; and when the senate was inclined to entrust the business to his colleague Caius Laelius, the father of this Laelius, who was surnamed the Wise; Publius Africanus, the elder brother of Lucius Scipio, rose up, and entreated them not to cast such a slur on his family, and said that in his brother there was united the greatest possible valor, with the most consummate prudence; and that he too, notwithstanding his age, and all the exploits which he had performed, would attend his brother as his lieutenant. And after he had said this, nothing was changed in respect to Scipio's province; nor was any extraordinary command sought for any more in that war than in those two terrible Punic wars which had preceded it, which were carried on and conducted to their termination either by the consuls or by dictators; or than in the war with Pyrrhus, or in that with Philippus, or afterward in the Achaean war, or in the third Punic war; for which last the Roman people took great care to select a suitable general, Publius Scipio, but at the same time it appointed him to the consulship in order to conduct it.
17. extraordinarium imperium populare atque ventosum est, minime nostrae gravitatis, minime huius ordinis. Antiochino magno et gravi, cum L. Scipioni provincia Asia obvenisset, parumque in eo putaretur esse animi, parum roboris, senatusque ad conlegam eius, C. Laelium, illius patrem, negotium deferret, surrexit P. Africanus, frater maior L. Scipionis, et illam ignominiam a familia deprecatus est, dixitque et in fratre suo summam virtutem esse summumque consilium neque se ei legatum, id aetatis eisque rebus gestis, defuturum. cum ab eo esset dictum, nihil est de Scipionis provincia commutatum; nec plus extraordinarium imperium ad id bellum quaesitum quam duobus antea maximis Punicis bellis quae a consulibus aut a dictatoribus gesta et confecta sunt, quam Pyrrhi, quam Philippi, quam post Achaico bello, quam Punico tertio; ad quod populus Romanus ita sibi ipse delegit idoneum ducem, P. Scipionem, ut eum tamen bellum gerere consulem vellet.
18. War was to be waged against Aristonicus in the consulship of Publius Licinius and Lucius. Valerius. The people consulted as to whom it wished to have the management of that war. Crassus, the consul and Pontifex Maximus, threatened to impose a fine upon Flaccus his colleague, the priest of Mars, if he deserted the sacrifices. And though the people remitted the fine, still they ordered the priest to submit to the commands of the pontiff. But even then the Roman people did not commit the management of the war to a private individual; although there was Africanus, who the year before had celebrated a triumph over the people of Numantia; and who was far superior to all men in martial renown and military skill; yet he only gained the votes of two tribunes. And accordingly the Roman people entrusted the management of the war to Crassus the consul rather than to the private individual Africanus. As to the commands given to Cnaeus Pompeius, that most illustrious man, that first of men, they were carried by some turbulent tribunes of the people. For the war against Sertorius was only given by the senate to a private individual because the consuls refused it; when Lucius Philippus said that he sent the general in the place of the two consuls, not as proconsul.
18. Aristonico bellum gerendum fuit P. Licinio L. Valerio consulibus. est populus quem id bellum gerere placeret. Crassus consul, pontifex maximus, Flacco conlegae, flamini Martiali, multam dixit, si a sacris discessisset: quam multam populus Romanus remisit; pontifici tamen flaminem parere iussit. ne tum quidem populus Romanus ad privatum detulit bellum, quamquam erat Africanus qui anno ante de Numantinis triumpharat; qui, cum longe omnis belli gloria et virtute superaret, duas tamen tribus solas tulit. populus Romanus consuli potius Crasso quam privato Africano bellum gerendum dedit. Cn. Pompei imperiis, summi viri atque omnium principis, tribuni plebis turbulenti tulerunt. Sertorianum bellum a senatu privato datum est, quia consules recusabant, cum L. Philippus pro consulibus eum se mittere dixit, non pro consule.
19. What then is the object of these comitia? or what is the meaning of this canvassing which that most wise and dignified citizen, Lucius Caesar, has introduced into the senate? He has proposed to vote a military command to one who is certainly a most illustrious and unimpeachable man, but still only a private individual. And by doing so he has imposed a heavy burden upon us. Suppose I agree; shall I by so doing countenance the introduction of the practice of canvassing into the senate-house? Suppose I vote against it; shall I appear as if I were in the comitia to have refused an honor to a man who is one of my greatest friends? But if we are to have the comitia in the senate, let us ask for votes, let us canvass; let a voting-tablet be given us, just as one is given to the people. Why do you, O Caesar, allow it to be so managed that either a most illustrious man, if your proposition be not agreed to, shall appear to have received a repulse, or else that one of us shall appear to have been passed over, if, while we were men of equal dignity, we are not considered worthy of equal honor?
19. igitur haec comitia, aut quam ambitionem constantissimus et gravissimus civis, L. Caesar, in senatum introduxit? viro atque innocentissimo decrevit imperium, privato tamen: in quo maximum nobis onus imposuit. ero, ambitionem induxero in curiam; negaro, videbor suffragio meo, tamquam comitiis, honorem homini amicissimo denegavisse. si comitia placet in senatu haberi, petamus, ambiamus, tabella modo detur nobis, sicut populo data est. committis, Caesar, ut aut praestantissimus vir, si tibi non sit adsensum, repulsam tulisse videatur aut unus quisque nostrum praeteritus, si, cum pari dignitate simus, eodem honore digni non putemur?
20. But (for this is what I hear is said), I myself gave by my own vote an extraordinary commission to Caius Caesar. Yes, indeed, for he had given me extraordinary protection; when I say me, I mean he had given it to the senate and to the Roman people. Was I to refuse giving an extraordinary military command to that man from whom the republic had received protection which had never even been thought of, but that still was of so much consequence that without it she could not have been safe? There were only the alternatives of taking his army from him, or giving him such a command. For on what principle or by what means can an army be retained by a man who has not been invested with any military command? We must not, therefore, think that a thing has been given to a man which has, in fact, not been taken away from him. You would, O conscript fathers have taken a command away from Caius Caesar, if you had not given him one. The veteran soldiers, who, following his authority and command and name, had taken up arms in the cause of the republic, desired to be commanded by him. The Martial legion and the fourth legion had submitted to the authority of the senate, and had devoted themselves to uphold the dignity of the republic, in such a way as to feel that they had a right to demand Caius Caesar for their commander. It was the necessity of the war that invested Caius Caesar with military command; the senate only gave him the ensigns of it. But I beg you to tell me, O Lucius. Caesar,—I am aware that I am arguing with a man of the greatest experience,—when did the senate ever confer a military command on a private individual who was in a state of inactivity, and doing nothing? However, I have been speaking hitherto to avoid the appearance of gratuitously opposing a man who is a great friend of mine, and who has showed me great kindness. Although, can one deny a thing to a person who not only does not ask for it, but who even refuses it?
20. enim—nam id exaudio—C. Caesari adulescentulo imperium extraordinarium mea sententia dedi. enim mihi praesidium extraordinarium dederat: cum dico mihi, senatui dico populoque Romano. A quo praesidium res publica, ne cogitatum quidem, tantum haberet ut sine eo salva esse non posset, huic extraordinarium imperium non darem? exercitus adimendus aut imperium dandum fuit. est enim ratio aut qui potest fieri ut sine imperio teneatur exercitus? igitur, quod ereptum non est, id existimandum est datum. C. Caesari, patres conscripti, imperium, nisi dedissetis. veterani qui illius auctoritatem, imperium, nomen secuti pro re publica arma ceperant volebant sibi ab illo imperari; legio Martia et legio quarta ita se contulerant ad auctoritatem senatus et rei publicae dignitatem ut deposcerent imperatorem et ducem C. Caesarem. C. Caesari belli necessitas, fascis senatus dedit. vero et nihil agenti privato, obsecro te, L. Caesar—cum peritissimo homine mihi res est—quando imperium senatus dedit? de hoc quidem hactenus, ne refragari homini amicissimo ac de me optime merito videar. quis potest refragari non modo non petenti verum etiam recusanti?