26. Would you suppose that he is speaking of Censorinus, or of Ventidius, or of the Antonii themselves? But why should they be unwilling that those men should become powerful, who are not only most excellent and nobly born men, but who are also united with them in the defense of the republic? ““In fact, you look upon the existing circumstances as you did on the former ones.”” What can he mean? ““You used to call the camp of Pompeius the senate.”” Should we rather call your camp the senate? In which you are the only man of consular rank, you whose whole consulship is effaced from every monument and register; and two praetors, who are afraid that they will lose something by us,—a groundless fear. For we are maintaining all the grants made by Caesar; and men of praetorian rank, Philadelphus Annius, and that innocent Gallius; and men of aedilitian rank, he on whom I have spent so much of my lungs and voice, Bestia, and that patron of good faith and cheater of his creditors, Trebellius, and that bankrupt and ruined man Quintus Caelius, and that support of the friends of Antonius Cotyla Varius, whom Antonius for his amusement caused at a banquet to be flogged with thongs by the public slaves: Men of septemviral rank, Lento and Nucula, and then that delight and darling of the Roman people, Lucius Antonius. And for tribunes, first of all two tribunes elect, Tullus Hostilius, who was so full of his privileges as to write up his name on the gate of Rome; and who, when he found himself unable to betray his general, deserted him. The other tribune elect is a man of the name of Viscius; I know nothing about him; but I hear that he is (as they say) a bold robber; who, however, they say was once a bathing-man at Pisaurum, and a very good hand at mixing the water.
26. Censorinum dicere aut Ventidium aut etiam ipsos Antonios. autem nolint potentis esse non modo optimos et nobilissimos viros sed secum etiam in rei publicae defensione coniunctos? “eodem modo haec aspicitis ut priora.” tandem? “Pompei senatum appellatis.” vero tua castra potius senatum appellaremus? in quibus tu es videlicet consularis cuius totus consulatus est ex omni monumentorum memoria evolsus; duo praetores sine causa diffisi se aliquid habituros— nos enim Caesaris beneficia defendimus—praetorii Philadelphus Annius et innocens Gallius; aedilicii, corycus laterum et vocis meae Bestia, et fidei patronus, fraudator creditorum Trebellius, et homo dirutus aere Q. Caelius, columenque amicorum Antoni Cotyla Varius, quem Antonius deliciarum causa loris in convivio caedi iubebat a servis publicis; vii virales Lento, Nucula; tum deliciae atque amores populi Romani L. Antonius; tribuni primum duo designati, Tullus Hostilius qui suo iure in porta nomen inscripsit qua, cum prodere imperatorem suum non potuisset, reliquit; alter est designatus Insteius nescio qui fortis, ut aiunt, latro; quem tamen temperantem fuisse ferunt Pisauri balneatorem.
27. Then there are others too, of tribunitian rank: in the first place, Titus Plancus; a man who, if he had had any affection for the senate, would never have burned the senate-house. Having been condemned for which wickedness, he returned to that city by force of arms from which he was driven by the power of the law. But, however, this is a case common to him and to many others who are very unlike him. But this is quite true which men are in the habit of saying of this. Plancus in a proverbial way, that it is quite impossible for him to die unless his legs are broken. They are broken, and still he lives. But this, like many others, is a service that has been done us by Aquila. There is also in that camp Decius, descended, as I believe, from the great Decius Mus; accordingly he gained the gifts of Caesar. And so after a long interval the recollection of the Decii is renewed by this illustrious man. And how can I pass over Saxa Decidius, a fellow imported from the most distant nations, in order that we might see that man tribune of the people whom we had never beheld as a citizen?
27. alii tribunicii, T. Plancus in primis: qui si senatum dilexisset, numquam curiam incendisset. scelere damnatus in eam urbem rediit armis, unde excesserat legibus. hoc ei commune cum pluribus sui similibus. tamen ⟨non⟩ verum in hoc Planco quod proverbi loco dici solet, perire eum non posse, nisi ei crura fracta essent. sunt et vivit. tamen, ut alia multa, Aquilae referatur acceptum. etiam ibi Decius, ab illis, ut opinor, Muribus Deciis; itaque Caesaris munera arrosit: Deciorum quidem multo intervallo per hunc praeclarum virum memoria renovata est. Saxam vero Decidium praeterire qui possum, hominem deductum ex ultimis gentibus, ut eum tribunum plebis videremus quem civem numquam videramus?
28. There is also one of the Sasernae; but all of them have such a resemblance to one another, that I may make a mistake as to their first names. Nor must I omit Exitius, the brother of Philadelphus the quaestor; lest, if I were to be silent about that most illustrious young man, I should seem to be envying Antonius. There is also a gentleman of the name of Asinius, a voluntary senator, having been elected by himself. He saw the senate-house open after the death of Caesar, he changed his shoes, and in a moment became a conscript father. Sextus Albedius I do not know, but still I have not fallen in with any one so fond of evil-speaking, as to deny that he is worthy of a place in the senate of Antonius. I dare say that I have passed over some names; but still I could not refrain from mentioning those who did occur to me. Relying then on this senate, he looks down on the senate which supported Pompeius, in which ten of us were men of consular rank; and if they were all alive now this war would never have arisen at all. Audacity would have succumbed to authority.
28. quidem alter Saserna: sed omnes tamen tantam habent similitudinem inter se ut in eorum praenominibus errem. vero Extitius, Philadelphi frater, quaestor, praetermittendus est, ne, si de clarissimo adulescente siluero, invidisse videar Antonio. etiam Asinius quidam senator voluntarius, lectus ipse a se. curiam vidit post Caesaris mortem: mutavit calceos; pater conscriptus repente factus est. novi Sex. Albesium, sed tamen neminem tam maledicum offendi qui illum negaret dignum Antoni senatu. me aliquos praeterisse; de eis tamen qui occurrebant tacere non potui. igitur fretus senatu Pompeianum senatum despicit, in quo decem fuimus consulares: qui si omnes viverent, bellum omnino hoc non fuisset; auctoritati cessisset audacia.
29. But what great protection there would have been in the rest may be understood from this, that I, when left alone of all that band, with your assistance crushed and broke the audacity of that triumphant robber. But if Fortune had not taken from us not only Servius Sulpicius, and before him, his colleague Marcus Marcellus,—what citizens! What men! If the republic had been able to retain the two consuls, men most devoted to their country, who were driven together out of Italy; and Lucius Afranius, that consummate general; and Publius Lentulus, a citizen who displayed his extraordinary virtue on other occasions, and especially in the securing my safe return; and Bibulus, whose constant and firm attachment to the republic has at all times been deservedly praised; and Lucius Domitius, that most excellent citizen; and Appius Claudius, a man equally distinguished for nobleness of birth and for attachment to the state; and Publius Scipio, a most illustrious man, closely resembling his ancestors. Certainly with these men of consular rank, the senate which supported Pompeius was not to be despised.
29. quantum praesidi fuerit in ceteris, hinc intellegi potest quod ego unus relictus ex multis contudi et fregi adiuvantibus vobis exsultantis praedonis audaciam. si non fortuna nobis modo eripuisset Ser. Sulpicium eiusque conlegam ante, ⟨M.⟩ Marcellum—quos civis, quos viros!—si duo consules, amicissimos patriae, simul ex Italia eiectos, si L. Afranium, summum ducem, si P. Lentulum, civem cum in ceteris rebus tum in salute mea singularem, si ⟨M.⟩ Bibulum cuius est in rem publicam semper merito laudata constantia, si L. Domitium, praestantissimum civem, si Appium Claudium, pari nobilitate et voluntate praeditum, si P. Scipionem, clarissimum virum maiorumque suorum simillimum, res publica tenere potuisset, certe eis consularibus non esset Pompeianus despiciendus senatus.
30. Which, then, was more just, which was more advantageous for the republic, that Cnaeus Pompeius, or that Antonius the brother who bought all Pompeius's property, should live? And then what men of praetorian rank were with us! the chief of whom was Marcus Cato, being indeed the chief man of any nation in the world for virtue. Why need I speak of the other most illustrious men? you know them all. I am more afraid lest you should think me tedious for enumerating so many, than ungrateful for passing over any one. And what men of aedilitian rank! and of tribunitian rank! and of quaestorian rank! Why need I make a long story of it? so great was the dignity of the senators of our party, so great too were their numbers, that those men have need of some very valid excuse who did not join that camp. Now listen to the rest of the letter. ““You have the defeated Cicero for your general.”” I am the more glad to hear that word “general,” because he certainly uses it against his will; for as for his saying “defeated,” I do not mind that; for it is my fate that I can neither be victorious nor defeated without the republic being so at the same time. ““You are fortifying Macedonia with armies.”” Yes, indeed, and we have wrested one from your brother, who does not in the least degenerate from you. ““You have entrusted Africa to Varus, who has been twice taken prisoner.”” Here he thinks that he is making out a case against his own brother Lucius.
30. Vtrum igitur aequius, utrum melius rei publicae fuit Cn. Pompeium an sectorem Cn. Pompei vivere Antonium? vero praetorii! quorum princeps M. Cato idemque omnium gentium virtute princeps. reliquos clarissimos viros commemorem? Nostis omnis. vereor ne longum me in enumerando quam ne ingratum in praetereundo putetis. aedilicii, qui tribunicii, qui quaestorii! multa? talis senatorum et dignitas et multitudo fuit ut magna excusatione opus eis sit qui in illa castra non venerunt. reliqua attendite. “Ciceronem ducem habuistis.” libentius “ducem” audio quod certe ille dicit invitus; nam de victo nihil laboro. enim meum est sine re publica nec vinci posse nec vincere. “Macedoniam munitis exercitibus.” quidem fratri tuo qui a vobis nihil degenerat extorsimus. “Africam commisistis Varo bis capto.” cum Gaio fratre putat se litigare. “Syriam Cassium misistis.” igitur sentis huic causae orbem terrae patere, te extra munitiones tuas vestigium ubi imprimas non habere? “Cascam tribunatum gerere passi estis.” ergo?
31. ““You have sent Capius into Syria.”” Do you not see then, O Antonius, that the whole would is open to our party, but that you have no spot, out of your own fortifications, where you can set your foot? ““You have allowed Casca to discharge the office of tribune.”” What then? Were we to remove a man, as if he had been Marallus or Caesetius, to whom we own it, that this and many other things like this can never happen for the future? ““You have taken away from the Luperci the revenues which Julius Caesar assigned to them.”” Does he dare to make mention of the Luperci? Does her not shudder at the recollection of that day on which, smelling of wine, reeking with perfumes, and naked, he dared to exhort the indignant Roman people to embrace slavery? ““You, by a resolution of the senate, have removed the colonies of the veterans which had been legally settled.”” Have we removed them, or have we rather ratified a law which was passed in the comitia centuriata? See, rather, whether it is not you who have ruined these veterans (those at least who are ruined), and settled them in a place from which they themselves now feel that they shall never he able to make their escape.
31. ut Marullum, ut Caesetium a re publica removeremus eum per quem ut neque idem hoc posthac neque multa eius modi accidere possent consecuti sumus? “Iuliana Lupercis ademistis.” Lupercorum mentionem facere audet? neque illius diei memoriam perhorrescit quo ausus est obrutus vino, unguentis oblitus, nudus gementem populum Romanum ad servitutem cohortari? “colonias, deductas lege senatus consulto sustulistis.” sustulimus an contra lege comitiis centuriatis lata sanximus? ne tu veteranos, etiam eos qui erant perditi, perdideris in eumque locum deduxeris ex quo ipsi iam sentiunt se numquam exituros.
32. ““You are promising to restore to the people of Marseilles what has been taken from them by the laws of war.”” I am not going to discuss the laws of war. It is a discussion far more easy to begin than necessary. But take notice of this, O conscript fathers, what a born enemy to the republic Antonius is, who is so violent in his hatred of that city which he knows to have been at all times most firmly attached to this republic. ““[Do you not know] that no one of the party of Pompeius, who is still alive, can, by the Hirtian law, possess any rank?”” What, I should like to know, is the object of now making mention of the Hirtian law?—a law of which I believe the framer himself repents no less than those against whom it was passed. According to my opinion, it is utterly wrong to call it a law at all; and, even if it be a law, we ought not to think it a law of Hirtius. ““You have furnished Brutus with money belonging to Apuleius.”” Well? Suppose the republic had furnished that excellent man with all its treasures and resources, what good man would have disapproved of it? For without money he could not have supported an army, nor without an army could he have taken your brother prisoner.
32. “Massiliensibus iure belli adempta reddituros vos pollicemini.” disputo de iure belli—magis facilis disputatio est quam necessaria— illud tamen animadvertite, patres conscripti, quam sit huic rei publicae natus hostis Antonius, qui tanto opere eam civitatem oderit quam scit huic rei publicae semper fuisse amicissimam. “Pompeianum qui vivat teneri lege Hirtia dictitatis.”, quaeso, iam legis Hirtiae mentionem facit? cuius non minus arbitror latorem ipsum quam eos de quibus lata est paenitere. mea quidem sententia legem illam appellare fas non est; et, ut sit lex, non debemus illam Hirti legem putare. “Apuleiana pecunia Brutum subornastis.”? si omnibus suis copiis excellentem virum res publica armasset, quem tandem bonum paeniteret? enim sine pecunia exercitum alere nec sine exercitu fratrem tuum capere potuisset.
33. ““You have praised the execution of Paetus and Menedemus, men who had been presented with the freedom of the city, and who were united by ties of hospitality to Caesar.”” We do not praise what we have never even heard of; we were very likely, in such a state of confusion and such a critical period of the republic, to busy our minds about two worthless Greeklings! ““You took no notice of Theopompus having been stripped, and driven out by Trebonius, and compelled to flee to Alexandria.”” The senate has indeed been very guilty! We have taken no notice of that great man Theopompus! Why, who on earth knows or cares where he is, or what he is doing; or, indeed, whether he is alive or dead? ““You endure the sight of Sergius. Galba in your camp, armed with the same dagger with which he slew Caesar.”” I shall make you no reply at all about Galba; a most gallant and courageous citizen. He will meet you face to face; and he being present, and that dagger which you reproach him with, shall give you your answer. ““You have enlisted my soldiers, and many veterans, under the pretense of intending the destruction of those men who slew Caesar; and then, when they expected no such step, you have led them on to attack their quaestor, their general, and their former comrades!”” No doubt we deceived them; we humbugged them completely! no doubt the Martial legion, the fourth legion, and the veterans had no idea what was going on! They were not following the authority of the senate, or the liberty of the Roman people.—They were anxious to avenge the death of Caesar, which they all regarded as an act of destiny! No doubt you were the person whom they were anxious to see safe, and happy, and flourishing!
33. “percussos Petraeum et Menedemum, civitate donatos et hospites Caesaris, laudastis.” laudavimus quod ne audivimus quidem. enim nobis in tanta perturbatione rei publicae de duobus nequissimis Graeculis cogitandum fuit. “Theopompum, nudum, vi expulsum a Trebonio, confugere Alexandream neglexistis.” Magnum crimen senatus! Theopompo, summo homine, negleximus, qui ubi terrarum sit, quid agat, vivat denique an mortuus sit, quis aut scit aut curat? “Ser. Galbam eodem pugione succinctum in castris videtis.” tibi de Galba respondeo, fortissimo et constantissimo civi: coram aderit; praesens et ipse et ille quem insimulas pugio respondebit. “aut meos aut veteranos contraxistis tamquam ad exitium eorum qui Caesarem occiderant: et eosdem nec opinantis ad quaestoris sui aut imperatoris aut commilitonum suorum pericula impulistis.” verba dedimus, decepimus: ignorabat legio Martia, quarta, nesciebant veterani quid ageretur; non illi senatus auctoritatem, non libertatem populi sequebantur: Caesaris mortem ulcisci volebant, quam omnes fatalem fuisse arbitrabantur; te videlicet salvum, beatum, florentem esse cupiebant.
34. Oh miserable man, not only in fact, but also in the circumstance of not perceiving yourself how miserable you are! But listen to the most serious charge of all. ““In fact, what have you not sanctioned,—what have you not done? what would be done if he were to come to life again, by?—”” By whom? For I suppose he means to bring forward some instance of a very wicked man. ““Cnaeus Pompeius himself?”” Oh how base must we be, if indeed we have been imitating Cnaeus Pompeius! ““Or his son, if he could be at home?”” He soon will be at home, believe me; for in a very few days he will enter on his home, and on his father's villas. ““Lastly, you declare that peace can not be made unless I either allow Brutus to quit Mutina, or supply him with corn.”” It is others who say that: I say, that even if you were to do so, there never could be peace between this city and you. ““What? is this the opinion of those veteran soldiers, to whom as yet either course is open?”” I do not see that there is any course so open to them, as now to begin and attack that general whom they previously were so zealous and unanimous in defending.
34. O miser cum re, tum hoc ipso quod non sentis quam miser sis! maximum crimen audite. “quid non aut probastis aut fecistis quod faciat, si reviviscat”—? credo enim, adferet aliquod scelerati hominis exemplum—“Cn. Pompeius ipse?” O nos turpis, si quidem Cn. Pompeium imitati sumus! “aut filius eius, si modo possit.”, mihi crede: nam paucis diebus et in domum et in hortos paternos immigrabit. “negatis pacem fieri posse, nisi aut emisero Brutum aut frumento iuvero.” Alii istuc negant: ego vero, ne si ista quidem feceris, umquam tecum pacem huic civitati futuram puto. “? hoc placetne veteranis istis? quibus adhuc omnia integra sunt.” vidi tam integrum quam ut oppugnare imperatorem incipiant quem tanto studio consensuque oderint.
35. ““Since you yourselves have sold yourselves for flatteries and poisoned gifts.”” Are those men depraved and corrupted, who have been persuaded to pursue a most detestable enemy with most righteous war? ““But you say, you are bringing assistance to troops who are hemmed in. I have no objection to their being saved, and departing wherever you wish, if they only allow that man to be put to death who has deserved it.”” How very kind of him! The soldiers availing themselves of the liberality of Antonius have deserted their general, and have fled in alarm to his enemy; and if it had not been for them, Dolabella, in offering the sacrifice which he did to the shade of his general, would not have been beforehand with Antonius in propitiating the spirit of his colleague by a similar offering.
35. “iam vos adsentationibus et venenatis muneribus venistis depravaturi.” corrupti sunt quibus persuasum sit foedissimum hostem iustissimo bello persequi? “militibus inclusis opem fertis. moror eos salvos esse et ire quo libet, si tantum modo patiuntur perire eum qui meruit.” benigne! denique usi liberalitate Antoni milites imperatorem reliquerunt et se ad hostem metu perterriti contulerunt: per quos si non stetisset, non Dolabella prius imperatori suo quam Antonius etiam conlegae parentasset.
36. ““You write me word that there has been mention of peace made in the senate, and that five ambassadors of consular rank have been appointed. It is hard to believe that those men, who drove me in haste from the city, when I offered the fairest conditions, and when I was even thinking of relaxing somewhat of them, should now think of acting with moderation or humanity. And it is hardly probable, that those men who have pronounced Dolabella a public enemy for a most righteous action, should bring themselves to spare us who are influenced by the same sentiments as he.”” Does it appear a trifling matter, that he confesses himself a partner with Dolabella in all his atrocities? Do you not see that all these crimes flow from one source? He himself confesses, shrewdly and correctly enough, that those who have pronounced Dolabella a public enemy for a most righteous action (for so it appeal's to Antonius), can not possibly spare him who agrees with Dolabella in opinion.
36. “Concordiae factam esse mentionem scribitis in senatu et legatos esse consularis quinque. est credere, eos ⟨que⟩ qui me praecipitem egerint, aequissimas condiciones ferentem et tamen ex his aliquid remittere cogitantem, putare aliquid moderate aut humane esse facturos. etiam veri simile est, qui iudicaverint hostem Dolabellam ob rectissimum facinus, eosdem nobis parcere posse idem sentientibus.” Parumne videtur omnium facinorum sibi cum Dolabella societatem initam confiteri? cernitis ex uno fonte omnia scelera manare? denique fatetur, hoc quidem satis acute, non posse eos qui hostem Dolabellam iudicaverint ob rectissimum facinus—ita enim videtur Antonio—sibi parcere idem sentienti.
37. What can you do with a man who puts on paper and records the fact, that his agreement with Dolabella is so complete, that he would kill Trebonius, and, if he could, Brutus and Cassius too with every circumstance of torture; and inflict the same punishment on us also? Certainly, a man who makes so pious and fair a treaty is a citizen to be taken care of! He also complains that the conditions which he offered, those reasonable and modest conditions, were rejected; namely, that he was to have the farther Gaul,—the province the most suitable of all for renewing and carrying on the war; that the legionaries of the Alauda should be judges in the third decury; that is to say, that there shall be an asylum for all crimes, to the indelible disgrace of the republic; that his own acts should be ratified, his,—when not one trace of his consulship has been allowed to remain! He showed his regard also for the interests of Lucius Antonius, who had been a most equitable surveyor of private and public domains, with Nucula and Lento for his colleagues.
37. huic facias qui hoc litteris memoriaeque mandarit, ita sibi convenisse cum Dolabella ut ille Trebonium et, si posset, etiam Brutum, Cassium, discruciatos necaret, eadem ipse inhiberet supplicia nobis? O conservandus civis cum tam pio iustoque foedere! etiam queritur condiciones suas repudiatas, aequas quidem et verecundas, ut haberet Galliam ultimam, aptissimam ad bellum renovandum instruendumque provinciam; ut in tertia decuria iudicarent, id est ut perfugium scelerum esset quam turpissimis rei publicae sordibus; ut acta sua rata essent, cuius nullum remanet consulatus vestigium. etiam L. Antonio, qui fuerat aequissimus agri privati et publici decempedator, Nucula et Lentone conlega.
38. ““Consider then, both of you, whether it is more becoming and more advantageous for your party, for you to seek to avenge the death of Trebonius, or that of Caesar; and whether it is more reasonable for you and me to meet in battle, in order that the cause of the Pompeians, which has so frequently had its throat cut, may the more easily revive; or to agree together, so as not to be a laughing-stock to our enemies.”” If its throat had been cut, it never could revive. ““Which,”” says he, ““is more becoming.”” In this war he talks of what is becoming!
38. “ob rem vos potius animadvertite utrum sit elegantius et partibus utilius Treboni mortem persequi an Caesaris, et utrum sit aequius concurrere nos quo facilius reviviscat Pompeianorum causa totiens iugulata, an consentire ne ludibrio simus inimicis.” esset iugulata, numquam exsurgeret: quod tibi tuisque contingat. “Vtrum” inquit “elegantius.” hoc bello de elegantia quaeritur!
39. ““And more advantageous for your party.””—“Parties,” you senseless man, is a suitable expression for the forum, or the senate house. You have declared a wicked war against your country; you are attacking Mutina; you are besieging the consul elect; two consuls are carrying on war against you; and with them, Caesar, the propraetor; all Italy is armed against you; and then do you call yours “a party,” instead of a revolt from the republic? ““To seek to avenge the death of Trebonius, or that of Caesar.”” We have avenged Trebonius sufficiently by pronouncing Dolabella a public enemy. The death of Caesar is best defended by oblivion and silence. But take notice what his object is.—When he thinks that the death of Caesar ought to be revenged, he is threatening with death, not those only who perpetrated that action, but those also who were not indignant at it.
39. “et partibus utilius.”, furiose, dicuntur in foro, in curia. contra patriam nefarium suscepisti; oppugnas Mutinam, circumsedes consulem designatum; bellum contra te duo consules gerunt cumque eis pro praetore Caesar; cuncta contra te Italia armata est. tu partis potius quam a populo Romano defectionem vocas? Treboni mortem quam Caesaris persequimur. Treboni satis persecuti sumus hoste iudicato Dolabella; Caesaris mors facillime defenditur oblivione et silentio. videte quid moliatur. mortem Caesaris ulciscendam putat, mortem proponit non eis solum qui illam rem gesserunt sed eis etiam si qui non moleste tulerunt.
40. ““Men who will count the destruction of either you or me gain to them. A spectacle which as yet fortune herself has taken care to avoid, unwilling to see two armies which belong to one body fighting, with Cicero acting as master of the show; a fellow who is so far happy that he has cajoled you both with the same compliments as those with which he boasted that he had deceived Caesar.”” He proceeds in his abuse of me, as if he had been very fortunate in all his former reproaches of me; but I will brand him with the most thoroughly deserved marks of infamy, and pillory him for the everlasting recollection of posterity. I a ““master of the show of gladiators!”” indeed he is not wholly wrong, for I do wish to see the worst party slain, and the best victorious! He writes that ““whichever of them are destroyed we shall count as so much gain.””
40. “, utri nostrum ceciderint, lucro futurum est, quod spectaculum adhuc ipsa Fortuna vitavit, ne videret unius corporis duas acies lanista Cicerone dimicantis: qui usque eo felix est ut isdem ornamentis deceperit vos quibus deceptum Caesarem gloriatus est.” in me maledicta ⟨dicere⟩, quasi vero ei pulcherrime priora processerint: quem ego inustum verissimis maledictorum notis tradam hominum memoriae sempiternae. lanista? quidem non insipiens: deteriores enim iugulari cupio, meliores vincere. “Vtri ceciderint,” scribit “lucro nobis futurum.”
41. Admirable gain, when, if you, O Antonius, are victorious (may the gods avert such a disaster!) the death of those men who depart from life untortured will be accounted happy! He says that Hirtius and Caesar ““have been cajoled by me by the same compliments.”” I should like to know what compliment has been as yet paid to Hirtius by me; for still more and greater ones than have been paid him already are due to Caesar. But do you, O Antonius, dare to say that Caesar, the father, was deceived by me! You, it was you, I say, who really slew him at the Lupercal games. Why, O most ungrateful of men, have you abandoned your office of priest to him? But remark now the admirable wisdom and consistency of this great and illustrious man.
41. O praeclarum lucrum, cum te victore—quod di omen avertant!—beata mors eorum futura sit qui e vita excesserint sine tormentis. A me “deceptos” ait “isdem ornamentis” Hirtium et Caesarem., quaeso, adhuc a me est tributum Hirtio ornamentum? nam Caesari plura et maiora debentur. autem patrem a me dicere audes?, tu, inquam, illum occidisti Lupercalibus: cuius, homo ingratissime, flaminium cur reliquisti? iam videte magni et clari viri admirabilem gravitatem atque constantiam:
42. ““I am quite resolved to brook no insult either to myself or to my friends; nor to desert that party which Pompeius hated, nor to allow the veterans to be removed from their abodes; nor to allow individuals to be dragged out to torture, nor to violate the faith which I pledged to Dolabella.”” I say nothing of the rest of this sentence, ““the faith pledged to Dolabella,”” to that most holy man, this pious gentleman will by no means violate. What faith? Was it a pledge to murder every virtuous citizen, to partition the city and Italy, to distribute the provinces among, and to hand them over to be plundered by, their followers? For what else was there which could have been ratified by treaty and mutual pledges between Antonius and Dolabella, those foul and parricidal traitors?
42. “quidem constat nec meam contumeliam nec meorum ferre, nec deserere partis quas Pompeius odivit nec veteranos sedibus suis moveri pati nec singulos ad cruciatum trahi nec fallere fidem quam dedi Dolabellae.” alia: fidem Dolabellae, sanctissimi viri, deserere homo pius non potest. fidem? an optimi cuiusque caedis, urbis et Italiae partitionis, vastandarum diripiendarumque provinciarum? quid erat aliud quod inter Antonium et Dolabellam, impurissimos parricidas, foedere et fide sanciretur?
43. ““Nor to violate my treaty of alliance with Lepidus, the most conscientious of men.”” You have any alliance with Lepidus or with any (I will not say virtuous citizen, as he is, but with any) man in his senses! Your object is to make Lepidus appear either an impious man, or a madman. But you are doing no good (although it is a hard matter to speak positively of another), especially with a man like Lepidus, whom I will never fear, but I shall hope good things of him unless I am prevented from doing so. Lepidus wished to recall you from your frenzy, not to be the assistant of your insanity. But you seek your friends not only among conscientious men, but among most conscientious men. And you actually, godlike is your piety, invent a new word to express it which has no existence in the Latin language.
43. “nec Lepidi societatem violare, piissimi hominis.” cum Lepido societas aut cum ullo, non dicam bono civi, sicut ille est, sed homine sano? agis ut Lepidum aut impium aut insanum existimari velis. agis—quamquam adfirmare de altero difficile est—de Lepido praesertim, quem ego metuam numquam; bene sperabo, dum licebit. te a furore Lepidus voluit, non adiutor esse dementiae. porro ne pios quidem, sed piissimos quaeris et, quod verbum omnino nullum in lingua Latina est, id propter tuam divinam pietatem novum inducis.
44. ““Nor to betray Plancus, the partner of my counsels.)“” Plancus, the partner of your counsels? He, whose ever memorable and divine virtue brings a light to the republic (unless, perhaps, you think that it is as a reinforcement to you that he has come with those most gallant legions, and with a numerous Gallic force of both cavalry and infantry); and who, if before his arrival you have not by your punishment made atonement to the republic for your wickedness, will be chief leader in this war. For although the first succors that arrive are more useful to the republic, yet the last are the more acceptable.
44. “nec Plancum prodere participem consiliorum.” Plancum participem? cuius memorabilis ac divina virtus lucem adfert rei publicae—nisi forte eum subsidio tibi venire arbitraris cum fortissimis legionibus, maximo equitatu peditatu⟨que⟩ Gallorum—quique, nisi ante eius adventum rei publicae poenas dederis, ipse huius belli feret principatum. enim prima praesidia utiliora rei publicae sunt, tamen extrema sunt gratiora.
45. However, at last he recollects himself and begins to philosophize. ““If the immortal gods assist me, as I trust that they will, going on my way with proper feelings, I shall live happily; but if another fate awaits me, I have already a foretaste of joy in the certainty of your punishment. For if the Pompeians when defeated are so insolent, you will be sure to experience what they will be when victorious.”” You are very welcome to your foretaste of joy. For you are at war not only with the Pompeians, but with the entire republic. Every one, gods and men, the highest rank, the middle class, the lowest dregs of the people, citizens and foreigners, men and women, free men and slaves, all hate you. We saw this the other day on some false news that came; but we shall soon see it from the way in which true news is received. And if you ponder these things with yourself a little, you will die with more equanimity, and greater comfort.
45. iam se conligit et ad extremum incipit philosophari: “me rectis sensibus euntem di immortales, ut spero, adiuverint, vivam libenter. autem me aliud fatum manet, praecipio gaudia suppliciorum vestrorum. si victi Pompeiani tam insolentes sunt, victores quales futuri sint vos potius experiemini.” licet gaudia: non enim tibi cum Pompeianis, sed cum universa re publica bellum est. te di homines, summi medii infimi, cives peregrini, viri mulieres, liberi servi oderunt. hoc nuper falso nuntio; vero prope diem sentiemus. si tecum ipse recolueris, aequiore animo et maiore consolatione moriere.
46. ““Lastly, this is the sum of my opinion and determination; I will bear with the insults offered me by my friends, if they themselves are willing to forget that they have offered them; or if they are prepared to unite with me in avenging Caesar a death.”” Now that they know this resolution of Antonius, do you think that Aulus Hirtius and Caius Pansa, the consuls, can hesitate to pass over to Antonius? to besiege Brutus? to be eager to attack Mutina? Why do I say Hirtius and Pansa? Will Caesar, that young man of singular piety, be able to restrain himself from seeking to avenge the injuries of his father in the blood of Decimus Brutus? Therefore, as soon as they had read his letter, the course which they adopted was to approach nearer to the fortifications. And on this account we ought to consider Caesar a still more admirable young man; and that a still greater kindness of the immortal gods which gave him to the republic, as he has never been misled by the specious use of his father's name; nor by any false idea of piety and affection. He sees clearly that the greatest piety consists in the salvation of one's country.
46. “summa iudici mei spectat huc ut meorum iniurias ferre possim, si aut oblivisci velint ipsi fecisse aut ulcisci parati sunt una nobiscum Caesaris mortem.” Antoni sententia cognita dubitaturumne A. Hirtium aut C. Pansam consules putatis quin ad Antonium transeant, Brutum obsideant, Mutinam expugnare cupiant? de Pansa et Hirtio loquor? Caesar, singulari pietate adulescens, poteritne se tenere quin D. Bruti sanguine poenas patrias persequatur? fecerunt ut his litteris lectis ad munitiones propius accederent. maior adulescens Caesar, maioreque deorum immortalium beneficio rei publicae natus est, qui nulla specie paterni nominis nec pietate abductus umquam est et intellegit maximam pietatem conservatione patriae contineri.
47. But if it were a contest between parties, the name of which is utterly extinct, then would Antonius and Ventidius be the proper persons to uphold the party of Caesar, rather than in the first place, Caesar, a young man full of the greatest piety and the most affectionate recollection of his parent? and next to him Pansa and Hirtius, who held (if I may use such an expression) the two horns of Caesar, at the time when that deserved to be called a party. But what parties are these, when the one proposes to itself to uphold the authority of the senate, the liberty of the Roman people, and the safety of the republic, while the other fixes its eyes on the slaughter of all good men, and on the partition of the city and of Italy! Let us come at last to the end. ““I do not believe that ambassadors are coming—”” He knows me well. ““To a place where war exists.”” Especially with the example of Dolabella before our eyes ambassadors, I should think, will have privileges more respected than two consuls against whom he is bearing arms; or than Caesar, whose father's priest he is; or than the consul elect, whom he is attacking; or than Mutina, which he is besieging; or than his country, which he is threatening with fire and sword.
47. si partium certamen esset, quarum omnino nomen exstinctum est, Antoniusne potius et Ventidius partis Caesaris defenderent quam primum Caesar, adulescens summa pietate et memoria parentis sui, deinde Pansa et Hirtius, qui quasi cornua duo tenuerunt Caesaris tum cum illae vere partes vocabantur? vero quae sunt partes, cum alteris senatus auctoritas, populi Romani libertas, rei publicae salus proposita sit, alteris caedes bonorum, urbis Italiaeque partitio? aliquando ad clausulam. “venire non credo.” me novit, veniant, proposito praesertim exemplo Dolabellae. erunt, credo, iure legati quam duo consules contra quos arma fert, quam Caesar cuius patris flamen est, quam consul designatus quem oppugnat, quam Mutina quam obsidet, quam patria cui igni ferroque minitatur.
48. ““When they do come I shall see what they demand.” Plagues and tortures seize you! Will any one come to you unless he be a man like Ventidius? We sent men of the very highest character to extinguish the rising conflagration; you rejected them. Shall we now send men when the fire has become so large and has risen to such a height, and when you have left yourself no possible room, not only for peace, but not even for a surrender? I have read you this letter, O conscript fathers, not because I thought it worth reading, but in order to let you see all his parricidal treasons revealed by his own confessions.
48. “venerint, quae postulant cognoscam.” tu abis in malam pestem malumque cruciatum? te quisquam veniat nisi Ventidi similis? Oriens incendium qui restinguerent summos viros misimus; repudiasti: nunc in tantam flammam tamque inveteratam mittamus, cum locum tibi reliquum non modo ad pacem sed ne ad deditionem quidem feceris? ego epistulam, patres conscripti, non quo illum dignum putarem, recitavi, sed ut confessionibus ipsius omnia patefacta eius parricidia videretis.
49. Would Marcus Lepidus, that man so richly endowed with all the gifts of virtue and fortune, if he saw this letter, either wish for peace with this man, or even think it possible that peace should be made? “Sooner shall fire and water mingle,” as some poet or other says; sooner shall any thing in the world happen than either the republic become reconciled to the Antonii, or the Antonii to the republic. Those men are monsters, prodigies, portentous pests of the republic. It would be better for this city to be uplifted from its foundations and transported, if such a thing were possible, into other regions, where it should never hear of the actions or the name of the Antonii, than for it to see those men, driven out by the valor of Caesar, and hemmed in by the courage of Brutus, inside these walls. The most desirable thing is victory; the next best thing is to think no disaster too great to bear in defense of the dignity and freedom of one's country. The remaining alternative, I will not call it the third, but the lowest of all, is to undergo the greatest disgrace from a desire of life.
49. hoc pacem M. Lepidus, vir ornatissimus omnibus et virtutis et fortunae bonis, si haec videret, aut vellet aut fieri posse arbitraretur? “undis flamma,” ut ait poeta nescio quis, prius denique omnia quam aut cum Antoniis res publica aut cum re publica Antonii redeant in gratiam. quaedam ista et portenta sunt et prodigia rei publicae. sedibus huic urbi melius est atque in alias, si fieri possit, terras demigrare, unde Antoniorum “nec facta nec nomen audiat,” quam illos, Caesaris virtute eiectos, Bruti retentos, intra haec moenia videre. est vincere; secundum est nullum casum pro dignitate et libertate patriae non ferendum putare. reliquum est, non est tertium, sed postremum omnium, maximam turpitudinem suscipere vitae cupiditate.
50. Since, then, this is the case, as to the letters and messages of Marcus Lepidus, that most illustrious man, I agree with Servilius. And I further give my vote, that Magnus Pompeius, the son of Cnaeus, has acted as might have been expected from the affection and zeal of his father and forefathers toward the republic, and from his own previous virtue and industry and loyal principles in promising to the senate and people of Rome his own assistance, and that of those men whom he has with him; and that that conduct of his is grateful and acceptable to the senate and people of Rome, and that it shall tend to his own honor and dignity. This may either be added to the resolution of the senate which is before us, or it may be separated from it and drawn up by itself, so as to let Pompeius be seen to be extolled in a distinct resolution of the senate. After the last speech was delivered, Brutus gained great advantages in Macedonia over Caius Antonius, and took him prisoner. He treated him with great lenity, so much so as to displease Cicero, who remonstrated with him strongly on his design of setting him at liberty. He was also under some apprehension as to the steadiness of Plancus's loyalty to the senate; but on his writing to that body to assure them of his obedience, Cicero procured a vote of some extraordinary honors to him, Cassius also about the same time was very successful in Syria, of which he wrote Cicero a full account. Meantime reports were being spread in the city by the partisans of Antonius, of his success before Mutina; and even of his having gained over the consuls. Cicero too was personally much annoyed at a report which they spread of his having formed the design of making himself master of the city and assuming the title of Dictator, but when Apuleius, one of his friends and a tribune of the people, proceeded to make a speech to the people in Cicero's justification, the people all cried out that he had never done any thing which was not for the advantage of the republic. About the same time news arrived of a victory gained over Antonius at Mutina. Pansa was now on the point of joining Hirtius with four pew legions and Antonius endeavored to surprise him on the road before he could effect that junction. A severe battle ensued, in which Hirtius came to Pansa's aid, and Antonius was defeated with great loss. On the receipt of the news, the populace assembled about Cicero's house, and carried him in triumph to the Capitol. The next day Marcus Cornutus, the praetor, summoned the senate to deliberate on the letters received from the consuls and Octavius, giving an account of the victory. Servilius declared his opinion that the citizens should relinquish the sagum, or robe of war; and that a supplication should be decreed in honor of the consuls and Octavius. Cicero rose next and delivered the following speech, objecting to the relinquishment of the robe of war, and blaming Servilius for not calling Antonius an enemy. The measures which he himself proposed were carried. If, O conscript fathers, while I learned from the letters which have been read that the army of our most wicked enemies had been defeated and routed, I had also learned what we all wish for above all things, and which we do suppose has resulted from that victory which has been achieved,—namely, that Decimus Brutus had already quitted Mutina,—then I should without any hesitation give my vote for our returning to our usual dress out of joy at the safety of that citizen on account of whose danger it was that we adopted the robe of war, But before any news of that event which the city looks for with the greatest eagerness arrives, we have sufficient reason indeed for joy at this most important and most illustrious battle; but reserve, I beg you, your return to your usual dress for the time of complete victory. But the completion of this war is the safety of Decimus Brutus. But what is the meaning of this proposal that our dress shall be changed just for today, and that tomorrow we should again come forth in the garb of war? Rather when we have once turned to that dress which we wish and desire to assume, let us strive to retain it forever; for this is not only discreditable, but it is displeasing also to the immortal gods, to leave their altars, which we have approached in the attire of peace, for the purpose of assuming the garb of war.
50. cum ita sint, de mandatis litterisque M. Lepidi, viri clarissimi, Servilio adsentior, et hoc amplius censeo, Magnum Pompeium, Gnaei filium, pro patris maiorumque suorum animo studioque in rem publicam suaque pristina virtute, industria, voluntate fecisse, quod suam eorumque quos secum haberet operam senatui populoque Romano pollicitus esset, eamque rem senatui populoque Romano gratam acceptamque esse, eique honori dignitatique eam rem fore. vel coniungi cum hoc senatus consulto licet vel seiungi potest separatimque perscribi, ut proprio senatus consulto Pompeius conlaudatus esse videatur. , ut ex litteris quae recitatae sunt, patres conscripti, sceleratissimorum hostium exercitum caesum fusumque cognovi, sic, id quod et omnes maxime optamus ⟨et⟩ ex ea victoria quae parta est consecutum arbitramur, D. Brutum egressum iam Mutina esse cognossem, propter cuius periculum ad saga issemus, propter eiusdem salutem redeundum ad pristinum vestitum sine ulla dubitatione censerem. vero quam sit ea res quam avidissime civitas exspectat adlata, laetitia frui satis est maximae praeclarissimaeque pugnae; reditum ad vestitum confectae victoriae reservate. autem huius belli est D. Bruti salus. autem est ista sententia ut in hodiernum diem vestitus mutetur, deinde cras sagati prodeamus? vero cum semel ad eum quem cupimus optamusque vestitum redierimus, id agamus ut eum in perpetuum retineamus. hoc quidem cum turpe est, tum ne dis quidem immortalibus gratum, ab eorum aris ad quas togati adierimus, ad saga sumenda discedere.