1. From the first beginning, O conscript fathers, of this war which we have undertaken against those impious and wicked citizens, I have been afraid lest the insidious proposals of peace might damp our zeal for the recovery of our liberty. For the name of peace is sweet; and the thing itself not only pleasant but salutary. For a man seems to have no affection either for the private hearths of the citizens, nor for the public laws, nor for the rights of freedom, who is delighted with discord and the slaughter of his fellow-citizens, and with civil war; and such a man I think ought to be erased from the catalogue of men, and exterminated from all human society. Therefore, if Sulla, or Marius, or both of them, or Octavius, or Cinna, or Sulla for the second time, or the other Marius and Carbo, or if any one else has ever wished for civil war, I think that man a citizen born for the detestation of the republic.
1. A principio huius belli, patres conscripti, quod cum impiis civibus consceleratisque suscepimus, timui ne condicio insidiosa pacis libertatis recuperandae studia restingueret. enim etiam nomen est pacis, res vero ipsa cum iucunda tum salutaris. nec privatos focos nec publicas leges videtur nec libertatis iura cara habere quem discordiae, quem caedes civium, quem bellum civile delectat, eumque ex numero hominum eiciendum, ex finibus humanae naturae exterminandum puto. sive Sulla sive Marius sive uterque sive Octavius sive Cinna sive iterum Sulla sive alter Marius et Carbo sive qui alius civile bellum optavit, eum detestabilem civem rei publicae natum iudico.
2. For why should I speak of the last man who stirred up such a war; a man whose acts, indeed, we defend, while we admit that the author of them was deservedly slain? Nothing, then, is more infamous than such a citizen or such a man; if indeed he deserves to he considered either a citizen or a man, who is desirous of civil war. But the first thing that we have to consider, O conscript fathers, is whether peace can exist with all men, or whether there be any war incapable of reconciliation, in which any agreement of peace is only a covenant of slavery. Whether Sulla was making peace with Scipio, or whether he was only pretending to do so, there was no reason to despair, if an agreement had been come to, that the city might have been in a tolerable state. If Cinna had been willing to agree with Octavius, the safety of the citizens might still have had an existence in the republic. In the last war, if Pompeius had relaxed somewhat of his dignified firmness, and Caesar a good deal of his ambition, we might have had both a lasting peace, and some considerable remainder of the republic. But what is the state of things now? Is it possible for there to be peace with Antonius? with Censorinus, and Ventidius, and Trebellius, and Bestia, and Nucula, and Munatius, and Lento, and Saxa? I have just mentioned a few names as a specimen; you yourselves see the countless numbers and savage nature of the rest of the host,.
2. quid ego de proximo dicam cuius acta defendimus, auctorem ipsum iure caesum fatemur? igitur hoc cive, nihil hoc homine taetrius, si aut civis aut homo habendus est, qui civile bellum concupiscit. hoc primum videndum est, patres conscripti, cum omnibusne pax esse possit an sit aliquod bellum inexpiabile, in quo pactio pacis lex sit servitutis. cum Scipione Sulla sive faciebat sive simulabat, non erat desperandum, si convenisset, fore aliquem tolerabilem statum civitatis. Cinna si concordiam cum Octavio confirmare voluisset, hominum in re publica sanitas remanere potuisset. bello si aliquid de summa gravitate Pompeius, multum de cupiditate Caesar remisisset, et pacem stabilem et aliquam rem publicam nobis habere licuisset. vero quid est? cum Antoniis pax potest esse? cum Censorino, Ventidio, Trebellio, Bestia, Nucula, Munatio, Lentone, Saxa? causa paucos nominavi: genus infinitum immanitatemque ipsi cernitis reliquorum.
3. Add, besides the wrecks of Caesar's party, the Barbae Cassii, the Barbatii, the Pollios; add the companions and fellow-gamblers of Antonius, Eutrapelus, and Mela, and Caelius, and Pontius, and Crassicius, and Tiro, and Mustela, and Petissius; I say nothing of the main body, I am only naming the leaders. To these are added the legionaries of the Alauda and the rest of the veterans, the seminary of the judges of the third decury; who, having exhausted their own estates, and squandered all the fruits of Caesar's kindness, have now set their hearts on our fortunes.
3. illa naufragia Caesaris amicorum, Barbas Cassios, Barbatios, Polliones; addite Antoni conlusores et sodalis, Eutrapelum, Melam, Pontium, Caelium, Crassicium, Tironem,, Petusium: comitatum relinquo, duces nomino. accedunt ceterique veterani, seminarium iudicum decuriae tertiae, qui suis rebus exhaustis, beneficiis Caesaris devoratis, fortunas nostras concupiverunt.
4. Oh that trustworthy right hand of Antonius, with which he has murdered many citizens! Oh that regularly ratified and solemn treaty which we made with the Antonii! Surely if Marcus shall attempt to violate it, the conscientious piety of Lucius will call him back from such wickedness. If there is any room allowed these men in this city, there will be no room for the city itself. Place before your eyes, O conscript fathers, the countenances of those men, and especially the countenances of the Antonii. Mark their gait, their look, their face, their arrogance; mark those friends of theirs who walk by their side, who follow them, who precede them. What breath reeking of wine, what insolence, what threatening language do you not think there will be there? Unless, indeed, the mere fact of peace is to soften, them, and unless you expect that, especially when they come into this assembly, they will salute every one of us kindly, and address us courteously.
4. O fidam dexteram Antoni qua ille plurimos civis trucidavit, o ratum religiosumque foedus quod cum Antoniis fecerimus! si Marcus violare conabitur, Luci eum sanctitas a scelere revocabit. locus si in hac urbe fuerit, ipsi urbi locus non erit. Ora vobis eorum ponite ante oculos et maxime Antoniorum; incessum, aspectum, voltum, spiritum, latera tegentis alios, alios praegredientis amicos. vini anhelitum, quas contumelias fore censetis minasque verborum! Nisi forte eos pax ipsa leniet maximeque, cum in hunc ordinem venerint, salutabunt benigne, comiter appellabunt unum quemque nostrum.
5. Do you not recollect, in the name of the immortal gods! what resolutions you have given utterance to against those men? You have repealed the acts of Marcus Antonius; you have taken down his laws; you have voted that they were carried by violence, and with a disregard of the auspices; you have called out the levies throughout all Italy; you have pronounced that colleague and ally of all wickedness a public enemy. What peace can there be with this man? Even if he were a foreign enemy, still, after such actions as have taken place, it would be scarcely possible, by any means whatever, to have peace. Though seas and mountains, and vast regions lay between you, still you would hate such a man without seeing him. But these men will stick to your eyes, and when they can, to your very throats; for what fences will be strong enough for us to restrain savage beasts?—Oh, but the result of war is uncertain. It is at all events in the power of brave men, such as you ought to be, to display your valour (for certainly brave men can do that), and not to fear the caprice of fortune.
5. recordamini, per deos immortalis! quas in eos sententias dixeritis? Acta M. Antoni rescidistis; leges refixistis; per vim et contra auspicia latas decrevistis; totius Italiae dilectus excitavistis; conlegam et scelerum socium omnium hostem iudicavistis. hoc quae pax potest esse? Hostis si esset externus, id ipsum vix talibus factis, sed posset aliquo modo. Maria, montes, regionum magnitudines interessent; odisses eum quem non videres. in oculis haerebunt et, cum licebit, in faucibus; quibus enim saeptis tam immanis beluas continebimus? incertus exitus belli. omnino fortium virorum, quales vos esse debetis, virtutem praestare—tantum enim possunt— fortunae culpam non extimescere.
6. But since it is not only courage but wisdom also which is expected from this order (although these qualities appear scarcely possible to be separated, still let us separate them here), courage bids us fight, inflames our just hatred, urges us to the conflict, summons us to danger. What says wisdom? She uses more cautious counsels, she is provident for the future, she is in every respect more on the defensive. What then does she think? for we must obey her, and we are bound to consider that the best thing which is arranged in the most prudent manner. If she enjoins me to think nothing of more consequence than my life, not to fight at the risk of my life, but to avoid all danger, I will then ask her whether I am also to become a slave when I have obeyed all these injunction? If she says, yes; I for one will not listen to that Wisdom, however learned she may be; but if the answer is, Preserve your life and your safety, Preserve your fortune, “Preserve your estate, still, however, considering all these things of less value than liberty; therefore enjoy these things if you can do so consistently with the freedom of the republic, and do not abandon liberty for them, but sacrifice them for liberty, as proofs of the injury you have sustained;”—then I shall think that I really am listening to the voice of Wisdom, and I will obey her as a god.
6. quoniam ab hoc ordine non fortitudo solum verum etiam sapientia postulatur—quamquam vix videntur haec posse seiungi, seiungamus tamen—fortitudo dimicare iubet, iustum odium incendit, ad confligendum impellit, vocat ad periculum: quid sapientia? utitur consiliis, in posterum providet, est omni ratione tectior. igitur censet? parendum est enim atque id optimum iudicandum quod sit sapientissime constitutum. hoc praecipit ne quid vita existimem antiquius, ne decernam capitis periculo, fugiam omne discrimen, quaeram ex ea: “, si erit, cum id fecero, serviendum?” adnuerit, ne ego sapientiam istam, quamvis sit erudita, non audiam. responderit: “vero ita vitam corpusque servato, ita fortunas, ita rem familiarem, ut haec libertate posteriora ducas itaque his uti velis, si libera re publica possis, nec pro his libertatem, sed pro libertate haec proicias tamquam pignora iniuriae,” tum sapientiae vocem audire videar eique uti deo paream.
7. Therefore, if when we have received those men we can still be free, let us subdue our hatred to them, and endure peace; but if there can be no tranquillity while those men are in safety, then let us rejoice that an opportunity of fighting them is put in our power. For so, either (these men being conquered) we shall enjoy the republic victorious, or, if we be defeated, (but may Jupiter avert that disaster), we shall live, if not with an actual breath, at all events in the renown of our valor. But Marcus Lepidus, having been a second time styled Imperator, Pontifex Maximus, a man who deserved excellently well of the republic in the last civil war, exhorts us to peace. No one, O conscript fathers, has greater weight with me than Marcus Lepidus, both on account of his personal virtues, and by reason of the dignity of his family. There are also private reasons which influence me, such as great services he has done me, and some kindnesses which I have done him. But the greatest of his services I consider to be his being of such a disposition as he is toward the republic, which has at all times been dearer to me than my life.
7. si receptis illis esse possumus liberi, vincamus odium pacemque patiamur; sin otium incolumibus eis esse nullum potest, laetemur decertandi oblatam esse fortunam. enim interfectis illis fruemur victrice re publica aut oppressi—quod omen avertat Iuppiter!—si non spiritu, at virtutis laude vivemus. enim nos M. Lepidus, imperator iterum, pontifex maximus, optime proximo civili bello de re publica meritus, ad pacem adhortatur. apud me, patres conscripti, auctoritas maior est quam M. Lepidi vel propter ipsius virtutem vel propter familiae dignitatem. eodem multa privata magna eius in me merita, mea quaedam officia in illum. vero eius beneficium numero quod hoc animo in rem publicam est, quae mihi vita mea semper fuit carior.
8. For when by his influence he inclined Magnus Pompeius, a most admirable young man, the son of one of the greatest of men, to peace, and without arms released the republic from imminent danger of civil war, by so doing he laid me under as great obligations as it was in the power of any man to do. Therefore I proposed to decree to him the most ample honors that were in my power, in which you agreed with me; nor have I ceased both to think and speak in the highest terms of him. The republic has Marcus Lepidus bound to it by many pledges. He is a man of the highest rank, of the greatest honors; he has the most honorable priesthood, and has received numberless distinctions in the city. There are monuments of himself, and of his brother, and of his ancestors; he has a most excellent wife, children such as any man might desire, an ample family estate, untainted with the blood of his fellow-citizens. No citizen has been injured by him; many have been delivered from misery by his kindness and pity. Such a man and such a citizen may indeed err in his opinion, but it is quite impossible for him in inclination to be unfriendly to the republic.
8. cum Magnum Pompeium, clarissimum adulescentem, praestantissimi viri filium, auctoritate adduxit ad pacem remque publicam sine armis maximo civilis belli periculo liberavit, tum me eius beneficio plus quam pro virili parte obligatum puto. et honores ei decrevi quos potui amplissimos, in quibus mihi vos estis adsensi, nec umquam de illo et sperare optime et loqui destiti. Magnis et multis pignoribus M. Lepidum res publica inligatum tenet. nobilitas est, omnes honores, amplissimum sacerdotium, plurima urbis ornamenta, ipsius, fratris maiorumque monumenta; probatissima uxor, optatissimi liberi, res familiaris cum ampla tum casta a cruore civili. ab eo civis violatus, multi eius beneficio et misericordia liberati. igitur vir et civis opinione labi potest, voluntate a re publica dissidere nullo pacto potest. volt M. Lepidus.
9. Marcus Lepidus is desirous of peace. He does well especially if he can make such a peace as he made lately, owing to which the republic will behold the son of Cnaeus Pompeius, and will receive him in her bosom and embrace; and will think, that not he alone, but that she also is restored to herself with him. This was the reason why you decreed to him a statue in the rostra with an honorable inscription, and why you voted him a triumph in his absence. For although he had performed great exploits in war, and such as well deserved a triumph, still for that he might not have had that given to him which was not given to Lucius Aemilius, nor to Aemilianus Scipio, nor to the former Africanus, nor to Marius, nor to Pompeius, who had the conduct of greater wars than he had, but because he had put an end to a civil war in perfect silence, the first moment that it was in his power, on that account you conferred on him the greatest honors.
9. , si talem potest efficere qualem nuper effecit, qua pace Cn. Pompei filium res publica aspiciet suoque sinu complexuque recipiet, neque solum illum, sed cum illo se ipsam sibi restitutam putabit. causa fuit cur decerneretis statuam in rostris cum inscriptione praeclara, cur absenti triumphum. enim magnas res bellicas gesserat et triumpho dignas, non erat tamen ei tribuendum quod nec L. Aemilio nec Aemiliano Scipioni nec superiori Africano nec Mario nec Pompeio, qui maiora bella gesserunt, sed quod silentio bellum civile confecerat, cum primum licuit, honores in eum maximos contulistis.
10. Do you think, then, O Marcus Lepidus, that the Antonii will be to the republic such citizens as she will find Pompeius? In the one there is modesty gravity, moderation, integrity; in them (and when I speak of them I do not mean to omit one of that band of pirates) there is lust and wickedness and savage audacity capable of every crime I entreat of you, O conscript fathers which of you fails to see this which Fortune herself, who is called blind, sees? For, saving the acts of Caesar, which we maintain for the sake of harmony, his own house will be open to Pompeius and he will redeem it for the same sum for which Antonius bought it. Yes, I say the son of Cnaeus Pompeius will buy back his house. O melancholy circumstance! But these things have been already lamented long and bitterly enough. You have voted a sum of money to Cnaeus Pompeius, equal to that which his conquering enemy had appropriated to himself of his father's property in the distribution of his booty.
10. igitur, M. Lepide, qualem Pompeium res publica habitura sit civem, talis futuros in re publica Antonios? altero pudor, gravitas, moderatio, integritas; in illis—et cum hos compello, praetereo animo ex grege latrocini neminem—libidines, scelera, ad omne facinus immanis audacia. vos obsecro, patres conscripti, quis hoc vestrum non videt quod Fortuna ipsa quae dicitur caeca vidit? enim actis Caesaris quae concordiae causa defendimus Pompeio sua domus patebit, eamque non minoris quam emit Antonius redimet; redimet, inquam, Cn. Pompei domum filius. O rem acerbam! haec satis diu multumque defleta sunt. tantam pecuniam Pompeio quantam ex bonis patriis in praedae dissipatione inimicus victor redegisset.
11. But I claim permission to manage this distribution myself, as due to my connection and intimacy with his father. He will buy back the villas, the houses, and some of the estates in the city which Antonius is in possession of. For, as for the silver plate, the garments, the furniture, and the wine which that glutton has made away with, those things he will lose without forfeiting his equanimity. The Alban and Firmian villas he will recover from Dolabella; the Tusculan villa he will also recover from Antonius. And these Ansers who are joining in the attack on Mutina and in the blockade of Decimus Brutus will be driven from his Falernian villa. There are many others, perhaps, who will be made to disgorge their plunder, but their names escape my memory. I say, too, that those men who are not in the number of our enemies, will be made to restore the possessions of Pompeius to his son for the price at which they bought them.
11. hanc mihi dispensationem pro paterna necessitudine et coniunctione deposco: redimet hortos, aedis, urbana quaedam quae possidet Antonius. argentum, vestem, supellectilem, vinum amittet aequo animo, quae ille helluo dissipavit. Albanum, Formianum a Dolabella recuperabit; etiam ab Antonio Tusculanum; eique qui nunc Mutinam oppugnant, D. Brutum obsident, de Falerno Anseres depellantur. alii plures fortasse, sed mea memoria dilabuntur. etiam eos dico qui hostium numero non sunt Pompeianas possessiones quanti emerint filio reddituros.
12. It was the act of a sufficiently rash man, not to say an audacious one, to touch a single particle of that property; but who will have the face to endeavor to retain it, when its most illustrious owner is restored to his country? Will not that man restore his plunder, who, enfolding the patrimony of his master in his embrace, clinging to the treasure like a dragon, the slave of Pompeius, the freedman of Caesar, has seized upon his estates in the Lucanian district? And as for those seven hundred millions of sesterces which you, O conscript fathers, promised to the young man, they will be recovered in such a manner that the son of Cnaeus Pompeius will appear to have been established by you in his patrimony. This is what the senate must do; the Roman people will do the rest with respect to that family which was at one time one of the most honorable it ever saw. In the first place, it will invest him with his father's honor as an augur, for which rank I will nominate him and promote his election, in order that I may restore to the son what I received from the father. Which of these men will the Roman people most willingly sanction as the augur of the all powerful and all great Jupiter, whose interpreters and messengers we have been appointed,—Pompeius or Antonius? It seems indeed, to me, that Fortune has managed this by the divine aid of the immortal gods, that, leaving the acts of Caesar firmly ratified, the son of Cnaeus Pompeius might still be able to recover the dignities and fortunes of his father.
12. inconsiderati fuit, ne dicam audacis, rem ullam ex illis attingere; retinere vero quis poterit clarissimo domino restituto? is non reddet qui domini patrimonium circumplexus quasi thesaurum draco, Pompei servus, libertus Caesaris, agri Lucani possessiones occupavit? illud septiens miliens quod adulescenti, patres conscripti, spopondistis, ita discribetur ut videatur a vobis Cn. Pompei filius in patrimonio suo conlocatus. senatus: reliqua populus Romanus in ea familia quam vidit amplissimam persequetur, in primis paternum auguratus locum, in quem ego eum, ut quod a patre accepi filio reddam, mea nominatione cooptabo. Vtrum igitur augurem Iuppiter cuius interpretes internuntiique constituti sumus, utrum populus Romanus libentius sanciet, Pompeiumne an Antonium? quidem numine deorum immortalium videtur hoc fortuna voluisse ut actis Caesaris firmis ac ratis Cn. Pompei filius posset et dignitatem et fortunas patrias recuperare.
13. And I think, O conscript fathers, that we ought not to pass over that fact either in silence,—that those illustrious men who are acting as ambassadors, Lucius Paullus, Quintus Thermus, and Caius Fannius, whose inclinations toward the republic you are thoroughly acquainted with, and also with the constancy and firmness of that favorable inclination, report that they turned aside to Marseilles for the purpose of conferring with Pompeius, and that they found him in a disposition very much inclined to go with his troops to Mutina, if he had not been afraid of offending the minds of the veterans. But he is a true son of that father who did quite as many things wisely as he did bravely. Therefore you perceive that his courage was quite ready, and that prudence was not wanting to him. And this, too, is what Marcus Lepidus ought to take care of,—not to appear to act in any respect with more arrogance than suits his character.
13. ne illud quidem silentio, patres conscripti, praetereundum puto quod clarissimi viri legati, L. Paulus, Q. Thermus, C. Fannius, quorum habetis cognitam voluntatem in rem publicam eamque perpetuam atque constantem, nuntiant se Pompei conveniendi causa divertisse Massiliam eumque cognovisse paratissimo animo ut cum suis copiis iret ad Mutinam, ni vereretur ne veteranorum animos offenderet. vero eius patris filius qui sapienter faciebat non minus multa quam fortiter. intellegitis et animum ei praesto fuisse nec consilium defuisse. etiam hoc M. Lepido providendum est ne quid adrogantius quam eius mores ferunt facere videatur.
14. For if he alarms us with his army he is forgetting that that army belongs to the senate, and to the Roman people, and to the whole republic, not to himself. “But he has the power to use it as if it were his own.” What then? Does it become virtuous men to do every thing which it is in their power to do? Suppose it to be a base thing? Suppose it to be a mischievous thing? Suppose it be absolutely unlawful to do it? But what can be more base, or more shameful, or more utterly unbecoming, than to lead an army against the senate, against one's fellow-citizens, against one's country? Or what can deserve greater blame than doing that which is unlawful. But it is not lawful for any one to lead an army against his country? if indeed we say that that is lawful which is permitted by the laws or by the usages and established principles of our ancestors. For it does not follow that whatever a man has power to do is lawful for him to do; nor, if he is not hindered, is he on that account permitted to do so. For to you, O Lepidus, as to your ancestors, your country has given an army to be employed in her cause. With this army you are to repel the enemy, you are to extend the boundaries of the empire, you are to obey the senate and people of Rome, if by any chance they direct you to some other object.
14. enim nos exercitu terret, non meminit illum exercitum senatus populique Romani atque universae rei publicae esse, non suum. uti potest pro suo. tum? omniane bonis viris quae facere possunt facienda sunt, etiamne si turpia, si perniciosa erunt, si facere omnino non licebit? autem turpius aut foedius aut quod minus deceat quam contra senatum, contra civis, contra patriam exercitum ducere? quid vero magis vituperandum quam id facere quod non liceat? autem nemini contra patriam ducere exercitum; si quidem licere id dicimus quod legibus, quod more maiorum institutisque conceditur. enim, quod quisque potest, id ei licet, nec, si non obstatur, propterea etiam permittitur. enim exercitum, Lepide, tam quam maioribus tuis patria pro se dedit. tu arcebis hostem, finis imperi propagabis: senatui populoque Romano parebis, si quam ad aliam rem te forte traduxerit.
15. If these are your thoughts, then are you really Marcus Lepidus the Pontifex Maximus, the great-grandson of Marcus Lepidus, Pontifex Maximus, if you judge that every thing is lawful for men to do that they have power to do, then beware lest you seem to prefer acting on precedents set by those who have no connection with you, and these, too, modern precedents, to being guided by the ancient examples in your own family. But if you interpose your authority without having recourse to arms, in that case indeed I praise you more; but beware lest this thing itself be quite unnecessary. For although there is all the authority in you that there ought to be in a man of the highest rank, still the senate itself does not despise itself; nor was it ever more wise, more firm, more courageous. We are all hurried on with the most eager zeal to recover our freedom. Such a general ardor on the part of the senate and people of Rome can not be extinguished by the authority of any one: we hate a man who would extinguish it; we are angry with him, and resist him; our arms can not be wrested from our hands; we are deaf to all signals for retreat, to all recall from the combat. We hope for the happiest success; we will prefer enduring the bitterest disaster to being slaves.
15. si cogitas, es M. Lepidus, pontifex maximus, M. Lepidi, pontificis maximi, pronepos; sin hominibus tantum licere iudicas quantum possunt, vide ne alienis exemplis eisque recentibus uti quam et antiquis et domesticis malle videare. si auctoritatem interponis sine armis, magis equidem laudo, sed vide ne hoc ipsum non sit necesse. enim est tanta in te auctoritas quanta debet in homine nobilissimo, tamen senatus se ipse non contemnit, nec vero fuit umquam gravior, constantior, fortior. omnes rapimur ad libertatem recuperandam; non potest ullius auctoritate tantus senatus populique Romani ardor exstingui; odimus, irati pugnamus, extorqueri manibus arma non possunt; receptui signum aut revocationem a bello audire non possumus; speramus optima, pati vel difficillima malumus quam servire.
16. Caesar has collected an invincible army. Two perfectly brave consuls are present with their forces. The various and considerable reinforcements of Lucius Plancus, consul elect, are not wanting. The contest is for the safety of Decimus Brutus. One furious gladiator, with a band of most infamous robbers, is waging war against his country, against our household gods, against our altars and our hearths, against four consuls. Shall we yield to him? Shall we listen to the conditions which he proposes? Shall we believe it possible for peace to be made with him? But there is danger of our being overwhelmed. I have no fear that the man who can not enjoy his own most abundant fortunes, unless all the good men are saved, will betray his own safety. It is nature which first makes good citizens, and then fortune assists them. For it is for the advantage of all good men that the republic should be safe; but that advantage appears more clearly in the case of those who are fortunate.
16. Caesar confecit invictum exercitum; duo fortissimi consules adsunt cum copiis; L. Planci, consulis designati, varia et magna auxilia non desunt; in D. Bruti salute certatur; unus furiosus gladiator cum taeterrimorum latronum manu contra patriam, contra deos penatis, contra aras et focos, contra quattuor consules gerit bellum. cedamus, huius condiciones audiamus, cum hoc pacem fieri posse credamus? periculum est ne opprimamur. metuo ne is qui suis amplissimis fortunis nisi nobis salvis frui non potest prodat salutem suam. civis primum natura efficit, adiuvat deinde fortuna. enim bonis expedit salvam esse rem publicam. in eis qui fortunati sunt magis id apparet.
17. Who is mere fortunate than Lentulus, as I said before, and who is more sensible! The Roman people saw his sorrow and his tears at the Lupercal festival. They saw how miserable, how overwhelmed he was when Antonius placed a diadem on Caesar's head and preferred being his slave to being his colleague. And even if he had been able to abstain from his other crimes and wickednesses, still on account of that one single action I should think him worthy of all punishment. For even if he himself was calculated to be a slave, why should he impose a master on us? And if his childhood had borne the lusts of those men who were tyrants over him, was he on that account to prepare a master and a tyrant to lord it over our children! Therefore since that man was slain, he himself has behaved to all others in the same manner as he wished him to behave to us.
17. fortunatior Lepido, ut ante dixi, quis eodem sanior? eius maestitiam atque lacrimas populus Romanus Lupercalibus; vidit quam abiectus, quam confectus esset, cum Caesari diadema imponens Antonius servum se illius quam conlegam esse malebat. si reliquis flagitiis et sceleribus abstinere potuisset, tamen unum ob hoc factum dignum illum omni poena putarem. si ipse servire poterat, nobis dominum cur imponebat? et si eius pueritia pertulerat libidines eorum qui erant in eum tyranni, etiamne in nostros liberos dominum et tyrannum comparabat? illo interfecto qualem in nos eum esse voluit, talis ipse in ceteros exstitit.
18. For in what country of barbarians was there ever so foul and cruel a tyrant as Antonius, escorted by the arms of barbarians, has proved in this city? When Caesar was exercising the supreme power, we used to come into the senate, if not with freedom, at all events with safety. But under this arch-pirate (for why should I say tyrant?) these benches were occupied by Itureans. On a sudden he hastened to Brundusium, in order to come against this city from thence with a regular army. He deluged Suessa, a most beautiful town, now of municipal citizens, formerly of most honorable colonists, with the blood of the bravest soldiers. At Brundusium he massacred the chosen centurions of the Martial legion in the lap of his wife, who was not only most avaricious but also most cruel. After that with what fury, with what eagerness did he hurry on to the city, that is to say, to the slaughter of every virtuous man! But at that time the immortal gods brought to us a protector whom we had never seen nor expected.
18. enim ⟨in⟩ barbaria quisquam tam taeter, tam crudelis tyrannus quam in hac urbe armis barbarorum stipatus Antonius? Caesare dominante veniebamus in senatum, si non libere, at tamen tuto. archipirata—quid enim dicam tyranno?—haec subsellia ab Ituraeis occupabantur. subito Brundisium ut inde agmine quadrato ad urbem accederet; lautissimum oppidum nunc municipum honestissimorum, quondam colonorum, Suessam fortissimorum militum sanguine implevit; Brundisi in sinu non modo avarissimae, sed etiam crudelissimae uxoris delectos Martiae legionis centuriones trucidavit. Inde se quo furore, quo ardore ad urbem, id est ad caedem optimi cuiusque rapiebat! tempore di ipsi immortales praesidium improvisum nec opinantibus nobis obtulerunt.
19. For the incredible and godlike virtue of Caesar checked the cruel and frantic onslaught of that robber, whom then that madman believed that he was injuring with his edicts, ignorant that all the charges which he was falsely alleging against that most righteous young man, were all very appropriate to the recollections of his own childhood. He entered the city, with what an escort, or rather with what a troop! when on the right hand and on the left, amid the groans of the Roman people, he was threatening the owners of property, taking notes of the houses, and openly promising to divide the city among his followers. He returned to his soldiers; then came that mischievous assembly at Tibur. From thence he hurried to the city; the senate was convened at the Capitol. A decree with the authority of the consuls was prepared for proscribing the young man; when all on a sudden (for he was aware that the Martial legion had encamped at Alba) news is brought him of the proceedings of the fourth legion. Alarmed at that, he abandoned his intention of submitting a motion to the senate respecting Caesar. He departed not by the regular roads, but by the by-lanes, in the robe of a general; and on that very self-same day he trumped up a countless number of resolutions of the senate; all of which he published even before they were drawn up.
19. Caesaris enim incredibilis ac divina virtus latronis impetus crudelis ac furibundos retardavit: quem tamen ille demens laedere se putabat edictis, ignorans quaecumque falso diceret in sanctissimum adulescentem, ea vere recidere in memoriam pueritiae suae. urbem est quo comitatu vel potius agmine, cum dextra sinistra, gemente populo Romano, minaretur dominis, notaret domos, divisurum se urbem palam suis polliceretur. Eoque ipso die innumerabilia senatus consulta fecit, quae quidem omnia citius delata quam scripta sunt. ad milites; ibi pestifera illa Tiburi contio. Inde ad urbem cursus; senatus in Capitolium; parata de circumscribendo adulescente sententia consularis, cum repente—nam Martiam legionem Albae consedisse sciebat—adfertur ei de quarta nuntius. perculsus abiecit consilium referendi ad senatum de Caesare: egressus est non viis, sed tramitibus paludatus.
20. From thence it was not a journey, but a race and flight into Gaul. He thought that Caesar was pursuing him with the fourth legion, with the Martial legion, with the veterans, whose very name he could not endure for fright. Then, as he was making his way into Gaul, Decimus Brutus opposed him; who preferred being himself surrounded by the waves of the whole war, to allowing him either to retreat or advance; and who put Mutina on him as a sort of bridle to his exultation. And when he had blockaded that city with his works and fortifications, and when the dignity of a most flourishing colony, and the majesty of a consul elect, were both insufficient to deter him from his parricidal treason, then (I call you, and the Roman people, and all the gods who preside over this city, to witness), against my will, and in spite of my resistance and remonstrance, three ambassadors of consular rank were sent to that robber, to that leader of gladiators, Marcus Antonius.
20. eo non iter, sed cursus et fuga in Galliam. Caesarem sequi arbitrabatur cum legione Martia, cum quarta, cum veteranis, quorum ille nomen prae metu ferre non poterat, eique in Galliam penetranti D. se Brutus obiecit, qui se totius belli fluctibus circumiri quam illum aut regredi aut progredi maluit, Mutinamque illi exsultanti tamquam frenos furoris iniecit. cum operibus munitionibusque saepsisset nec eum coloniae florentissimae dignitas neque consulis designati maiestas a parricidio deterreret, tum me— testor et vos et populum Romanum et omnis deos qui huic urbi praesident—invito et repugnante legati missi tres consulares ad latronum et gladiatorum ducem.
21. Who ever was such a barbarian? Who was ever so savage? so brutal? He would not listen to them; he gave them no answer; and he not only despised and showed that he considered of no importance those men who were with him, but still more us, by whom these men had been sent. And afterward what wickedness, or what crime was there which that traitor abstained from? He blockaded your colonists, and the army of the Roman people, and your general, and your consul elect. He lays waste the lands of a nation of most excellent citizens. Like a most inhuman enemy he threatens all virtuous men with crosses and tortures. Now what peace, O Marcus Lepidus, can exist with this man? when it does not seem that there is even any punishment which the Roman people can think adequate to his crimes?
21. tam barbarus umquam, tam immanis, tam ferus? audivit, non respondit; neque eos solum praesentis sed multo magis nos a quibus illi erant missi sprevit et pro nihilo putavit. quod scelus, quod facinus parricida non edidit? colonos nostros, exercitum populi Romani, imperatorem, consulem designatum; agros divexat civium optimorum; hostis taeterrimus omnibus bonis cruces ac tormenta minitatur. hoc, M. Lepide, pax esse quae potest? cuius ne supplicio quidem ullo satiari videtur posse res publica.
22. But if any one has hitherto been able to doubt the fact, that there can be nothing whatever in common between this order and the Roman people and that most detestable beast, let him at least cease to entertain such a doubt, when he becomes acquainted with this letter which I have just received, it having been sent to me by Hirtius the consul. While I read it, and while I briefly discuss each paragraph, I beg, O conscript fathers, that you will listen to me most attentively, as you have hitherto done. ““Antonius to Hirtius and Caesar.”” He does not call himself imperator, nor Hirtius consul, nor Caesar propraetor. This is cunningly done enough. He preferred laying aside a title to which he had no right himself, to giving them their proper style. ““When I heard of the death of Caius Trebonius, I was not more rejoiced than grieved.”” Take notice why he says he rejoiced, why he says that he was grieved; and then you will be more easily able to decide the question of peace. ““It was a matter of proper rejoicing that a wicked man had paid the penalty due to the bones and ashes of a most illustrious man, and that the divine power of the gods had shown itself before the end of the current year, by showing the chastisement of that parricide already inflicted in some cases, and impending in others.”” O you Spartacus! for what name is more fit for you? you whose abominable wickedness is such as to make even Catiline seem tolerable. Have you dared to write that it is a matter of rejoicing that Trebonius has suffered punishment? that Trebonius was wicked? What was his crime, except that on the ides of March he withdrew you from the destruction which you had deserved? Come;
22. si quis adhuc dubitare potuit quin nulla societas huic ordini populoque Romano cum illa importunissima belua posset esse, desinet profecto dubitare his cognitis litteris quas mihi missas ab Hirtio consule modo accepi. dum recito dumque de singulis sententiis breviter disputo, velim, patres conscripti, ut adhuc fecistis, me attente audiatis. “Antonius Hirtio et Caesari.” se imperatorem neque Hirtium consulem nec pro praetore Caesarem. hoc quidem scite: deponere alienum nomen ipse maluit quam illis suum reddere. “morte C. Treboni non plus gavisus sum quam dolui.” quid se gavisum, quid doluisse dicat: facilius de pace deliberabitis. “poenas sceleratum cineri atque ossibus clarissimi viri et apparuisse numen deorum intra finem anni vertentis aut iam soluto supplicio parricidi aut impendente laetandum est.” O Spartace! quem enim te potius appellem, cuius propter nefanda scelera tolerabilis videtur fuisse Catilina? laetandum esse ausus es scribere Trebonium dedisse poenas? sceleratum Trebonium? quo scelere, nisi quod te Idibus Martiis a debita tibi peste seduxit?
23. you rejoice at this; let us see what it is that excites your indignation. ““That Dolabella should at this time have been pronounced a public enemy because he has slain an assassin; and that the son of a buffoon should appear dearer to the Roman people than Caius Caesar, the father of his country, are circumstances to be lamented.”” Why should you be sad because Dolabella has been pronounced a public enemy? Why? Are you not aware that you yourself—by the fact of an enlistment having taken place all over Italy, and of the consuls being sent forth to war, and of Caesar having received great honors, and of the garb of war having been assumed—have also been pronounced an enemy? And what reason is there, O you wicked man, for lamenting that Dolabella has been declared an enemy by the senate? a body which you indeed think of no consequence at all; but you make it your main object in waging war utterly to destroy the senate, and to make all the rest of those who are either virtuous or wealthy follow the fate of the highest order of all. But he calls him the son of a buffoon. As if that noble Roman knight the father of Trebonius were unknown to us. And does he venture to look down on any one because of the meanness of his birth, when he has himself children by Fadia?
23. , hoc laetaris: videamus quid moleste feras. “⟨A senatu⟩ iudicatum hostem populi Romani Dolabellam eo quod sicarium occiderit, et videri cariorem rei publicae filium scurrae quam C. Caesarem, patriae parentem, ingemiscendum est.” ingemiscis? Dolabellam? quid? te non intellegis dilectu tota Italia habito, consulibus missis, Caesare ornato, sagis denique sumptis hostem iudicatum? est autem, scelerate, quod gemas hostem Dolabellam iudicatum a senatu? tu ordinem omnino esse nullum putas, sed eam tibi causam belli gerendi proponis ut senatum funditus deleas, reliqui boni et locupletes omnes summum ordinem subsequantur. scurrae filium appellat. vero ignotus nobis fuerit splendidus eques Romanus, Treboni pater. autem humilitatem despicere audet cuiusquam qui ex Fadia sustulerit liberos.
24. ““But it is the bitterest thing of all that you, O Aulus. Hirtius, who have been distinguished by Caesar's kindness, and who have been left by him in a condition which you yourself marvel at. … ”” I can not indeed deny that Aulus Hirtius was distinguished by Caesar, but such distinctions are only of value when conferred on virtue and industry. But you, who can not deny that you also were distinguished by Caesar, what would you have been if he had not showered so many kindnesses on you? Where would your own good qualities have borne you? Where would your birth have conducted you? You would have spent the whole period of your manhood in brothels, and cook-shops and in gambling and drinking, as you used to do when you were always burying your brains and your beard in the laps of actresses. ““And you too, O boy—”” He calls him a boy whom he has not only experienced and shall again experience to be a man, but one of the bravest of men. It is indeed the name appropriate to his age; but he is the last man in the world who ought to use it, when it is his own madness that has opened to this boy the path to glory. ““You who owe every thing to his name—”” He does indeed owe every thing, and nobly is he paying it.
24. “vero est te, A. Hirti, ornatum beneficiis Caesaris et talem ab eo relictum qualem ipse miraris.” negare non possum a Caesare Hirtium ornatum, sed illa ornamenta in virtute et in industria posita lucent. vero qui te ab eodem Caesare ornatum negare non potes, quid esses, si tibi ille non tam multa tribuisset? ecquo te tua virtus provexisset, ecquo genus? lustris, popinis, alea, vino tempus aetatis omne consumpsisses, ut faciebas, cum in gremiis mimarum mentum mentemque deponeres. “te, o puer.” appellat quem non modo virum sed etiam fortissimum virum sensit et sentiet. istuc quidem nomen aetatis, sed ab eo minime usurpandum qui suam amentiam puero praebet ad gloriam. “omnia nomini debes.” vero solvitque praeclare.
25. For if he was the father of his country, as you call him (I will see hereafter what my opinion of that matter is, why is not this youth still more truly our father, to whom it certainly is owing that we are now enjoying life, saved out of your most guilty hands? ““Are taking pains to have Dolabella legally condemned.”” A base action, truly! by which the authority of this most honorable order is defended against the insanity of a most in' human gladiator. ““And to effect the release of this poisoner from blockade.”” Do you dare to call that man a poisoner who has found a remedy against your own poisoning tricks? and whom you are besieging in such a manner, O you new Hannibal (or if there was ever any abler general than he), as to blockade yourself, and to be unable to extricate yourself from your present position, should you be ever so desirous to do so? Suppose you retreat; they will all pursue you from all sides. Suppose you stay where you are; you will be caught. You are very right, certainly, to call him a poisoner, by whom you see that your present disastrous condition has been brought about. ““In order that Cassius and Brutus may become as powerful as possible.””
25. enim ille patriae parens, ut tu appellas—ego quid sentiam videro— cur non hic parens verior a quo certe vitam habemus e tuis facinerosissimis manibus ereptam? “id agere ut iure deminutus sit Dolabella?” vero actionem, qua defenditur amplissimi auctoritas ordinis contra crudelissimi gladiatoris amentiam! “et ut venefica haec liberetur obsidione?” audes appellare eum virum qui tuis veneficiis remedia invenit? quem ita obsides, nove Hannibal aut si quis acutior imperator fuit, ut te ipse obsideas neque te istinc, si cupias, possis explicare.: undique omnes insequentur; manseris: haerebis. recte veneficam appellas a quo tibi praesentem pestem vides comparatam. “Vt quam potentissimus sit Cassius atque Brutus!”