1. If any one in times past, O judges, was used to wonder what was the reason why in a republic of such power, and in an empire of such dignity, there were not found any great number of citizens endowed with so fearless and magnanimous a spirit as to dare to expose themselves and their personal safety to danger on behalf of the constitution of the state and of the general liberty; from henceforward he must wonder if he ever sees any virtuous or intrepid citizens, rather than if he occasionally finds one timid, and caring more for his own interests than for those of the republic. For without calling to mind and considering the case of each separate individual, you can see at one survey those men who joined the senate and all virtuous citizens in raising up our afflicted country, and delivering it from a horde of domestic robbers, now with sad countenances and mourning garments struggling as defendants for their freedom, for their characters, for their rights as citizens, for their fortunes, and for their children; and those who have polluted, and attacked, and thrown into confusion, and overturned all divine and human laws, going about the city merry and joyful, and, while they are without any provocation, contriving danger for the bravest and best of the citizens, in no fear whatever for themselves.
1. quis antea, iudices, mirabatur quid esset quod, pro tantis opibus rei publicae tantaque dignitate imperi, nequaquam satis multi cives forti et magno animo invenirentur qui auderent se et salutem suam in discrimen offerre pro statu civitatis et pro communi libertate, ex hoc tempore miretur potius si quem bonum et fortem civem viderit, quam si quem aut timidum aut sibi potius quam rei publicae consulentem. ut omittatis de unius cuiusque casu cogitando recordari, uno aspectu intueri potestis eos qui cum senatu, cum bonis omnibus, rem publicam adflictam excitarint et latrocinio domestico liberarint, maestos sordidatos reos, de capite, de fama, de civitate, de fortunis, de liberis dimicantis; eos autem qui omnia divina et humana violarint vexarint perturbarint everterint, non solum alacris laetosque volitare, sed etiam fortissimis atque optimis civibus periculum moliri, de se nihil timere.
2. And though there is much that is scandalous in such a state of things, yet is there nothing more intolerable than that they now seek to employ not their bands of robbers, not men desperate through want and wickedness, but you yourselves, the best men in the city, for the purpose of bringing us and other most virtuous men into danger. And they now think that, as they were unable to destroy them by stones, and swords, and firebrands, by violence, and personal force, and armed bands, they will be able to effect their purpose through the instrumentality of your authority, your integrity, and your judicial decisions. But, O judges, since I am compelled now to exert that voice in order to ward off danger from them, which I had hoped to be able to devote to returning thanks to, and to commemorating the kindness of those men who have conferred the greatest services on me, I entreat you to allow that voice to be useful to them to whose exertions it is owing that it has been restored at all to myself, and to you and to the Roman people.
2. quo cum multa sunt indigna, tum nihil minus est ferendum quam quod iam non per latrones suos, non per homines egestate et scelere perditos, sed per vos nobis, per optimos viros optimis civibus periculum inferre conantur, et quos lapidibus, quos ferro, quos facibus, quos vi manu copiis delere non potuerunt, hos vestra auctoritate, vestra religione, vestris sententiis se oppressuros arbitrantur. autem, iudices, qua voce mihi in agendis gratiis commemorandoque eorum qui de me optime meriti sunt beneficio esse utendum putabam, ea nunc uti cogor in eorum periculis depellendis, ⟨ut⟩ iis potissimum vox haec serviat quorum opera et mihi et vobis et populo Romano restituta est.
3. And although the case of Publius Sestius has been summed up by Quintus Hortensius, that most illustrious and most eloquent man; and though nothing has been omitted by him which he could possibly urge either in the way of complaint over the condition of the republic, or of argument for the defendant; still I will come forward also to speak for him, lest my exertions in defence should appear to be wanting to that man to whom it is owing that they are not wanting to every one of the citizens. And I consider, O judges, that in this case, and now speaking as I am at the close of it, the part which belongs to me is to argue the matter on grounds of affection, rather than to defend my client by an appeal to the strict law; to employ complaints rather than eloquence, and to display my grief rather than my ability.
3. quamquam a Q. Hortensio, clarissimo viro atque eloquentissimo, causa est P. Sesti perorata, nihilque ab eo praetermissum est quod aut pro re publica conquerendum fuit aut pro reo disputandum, tamen adgrediar ad dicendum, ne mea propugnatio ei potissimum defuisse videatur per quem est perfectum ne ceteris civibus deesset. ego sic statuo, iudices, a me in hac causa atque hoc extremo dicendi loco pietatis potius quam defensionis, querelae quam eloquentiae, doloris quam ingeni partis esse susceptas.
4. And, therefore, if I plead with more vehemence or more freedom than those who have spoken before me, I beg of you to listen to my speech with much indulgence, and to make all the allowance for it that you think is due to pious grief and just indignation. For no man's grief can be more intimately connected with his duty than this present grief of mine, being caused as it is by the peril of a man who has done me the greatest possible services. Nor is any indignation more praiseworthy than that with which I am inflamed by the wickedness of those men, who have thought it their business to declare war against all the defenders of my safety.
4. si aut acrius egero aut liberius quam qui ante me dixerunt, peto a vobis ut tantum orationi meae concedatis quantum et pio dolori et iustae iracundiae concedendum putetis; nam neque officio coniunctior dolor ullius esse potest quam hic meus susceptus ex hominis de me optime meriti periculo, neque iracundia magis ulla laudanda ⟨est⟩ quam ea quae me inflammat eorum scelere qui cum omnibus meae salutis defensoribus bellum esse sibi gerendum iudicaverunt.
5. But since his other counsel have spoken of each separate charge, I will speak of the entire state of the case as affecting Publius Sestius of his conduct throughout his life of his natural disposition, of his habits, of his incredible affection for all good men, of his zeal for the preservation of the general safety and tranquillity; and I will endeavour—if it be only possible for me to succeed—to prevent anything, in all this miscellaneous and general defence, from appearing omitted by me which has any connection either with this investigation before you, or with the defendant, or with the republic. And since the tribuneship of Publius Sestius was placed by fortune itself in the most critical period of the state, and amid the ruins of the overthrown and prostrate republic, I will not approach those most important and serious topics before I have first shown you by what beginnings, and on what foundations, the great glory was built up which he gained under the most trying circumstances.
5. quoniam singulis criminibus ceteri responderunt, dicam ego de omni statu P. Sesti, de genere vitae, de natura, de moribus, de incredibili amore in bonos, de studio conservandae salutis communis atque oti; contendamque, si modo id consequi potero, ut in hac confusa atque universa defensione nihil ab me quod ad vestram quaestionem, nihil quod ad reum, nihil quod ad rem publicam pertineat praetermissum esse videatur. quoniam in gravissimis temporibus civitatis atque in ruinis eversae atque adflictae rei publicae P. Sesti tribunatus est a Fortuna ipsa conlocatus, non adgrediar ad illa maxima atque amplissima prius quam docuero quibus initiis ac fundamentis haec tantae summis in rebus laudes excitatae sint.
6. Publius Sestius, O judges, was born (as most of you know) of a wise and conscientious and strict father, who, after he had been appointed as the first tribune of the people among a number of most noble men and in a prosperous time of the republic, was not so eager to obtain the other honours of the state as to seem worthy of them. By the advice of that father, he married the daughter of a most honourable and thoroughly tried man Caius Albinus by whom he had this boy whom you see here, and a daughter who is now married. My client was so highly esteemed by these two men of the highest class of old-fashioned virtue, that he was beyond all things beloved by and agreeable to both of them. The death of his daughter took away from Albinus the name of his father-in-law, but it did not take away the affection and good-will engendered by that connection. And to this very day he is very fond of him, as you may judge by his constant attendance here, and by his anxiety for him, and by his frequent solicitations to you on his behalf.
6. P. Sestius natus est, iudices, homine, ut plerique meministis, et sapiente et sancto et severo; qui cum tribunus plebis primus inter homines nobilissimos temporibus optimis factus esset, reliquis honoribus non tam uti voluit quam dignus videri. auctore duxit honestissimi et spectatissimi viri, C. Albini, filiam, ex qua hic est puer et nupta iam filia. gravissimis ⟨ac plenissimis⟩ antiquitatis viris sic probatus fuit ut utrique eorum et carus maxime et iucundus esset. Albino soceri nomen mors filiae, sed caritatem illius necessitudinis et benivolentiam non ademit: hodie sic hunc diligit ut vos facillime potestis ex hac vel adsiduitate eius vel sollicitudine et molestia iudicare.
7. He married a second wife, while his father was still alive, the daughter of a most virtuous but most unfortunate man, Caius Scipio. And with respect to this man, the piety of Publius was shown in a most remarkable way, and one acceptable to all men, for he immediately went to Massilia to see and comfort his father-in-law, cast out as he was by the waves of the republic, lying in a foreign land, a man who ought to have stood in the footsteps of his ancestors. And he conducted his daughter to him, in order to induce him, by that unexpected sight and embrace, to lay aside, if not all, at least some part of his sorrow; and as long as he lived he supported with the most unceasing attentions the sorrow of the father and the desolate condition of his daughter. I might here say a great deal about his liberality, his attention to his domestic duties, his conduct as military tribune, and his great moderation in his province in the discharge of the duty of that magistracy; but I keep always in my view the dignity of the republic, which summons me to the consideration of herself, and exhorts me to pass over these minor points.
7. uxorem patre vivo optimi et calamitosissimi viri filiam, L. Scipionis. in hoc P. Sesti pietas exstitit et omnibus grata, quod et Massiliam statim profectus est, ut socerum videre consolarique posset fluctibus rei publicae expulsum, in alienis terris iacentem, quem in maiorum suorum vestigiis stare oportebat, et ad eum filiam eius adduxit, ut ille insperato aspectu complexuque si non omnem at aliquam partem maeroris sui deponeret, et maximis ⟨pro illa necessitudine studiis et⟩ officiis et illius aerumnam, quoad vixit, et filiae solitudinem sustentavit. multa dicere de liberalitate, de domesticis officiis, de tribunatu militari, de provinciali in eo magistratu abstinentia; sed mihi ante oculos obversatur rei publicae dignitas, quae me ad sese rapit, haec minora relinquere hortatur.
8. My client, O judges, was indeed, by lot the quaestor of Caius Antonius, my colleague, but by his sharing in all my counsels he was in effect mine. I am prevented by scruples concerning the pledge of confidence, as I interpret it, under which such duties are performed, from explaining to you how much information he brought to me, and what great foresight he displayed. And of Antonius I will only say this one thing; that in that time of exceeding fear and danger to the state, he never once attempted either to remove by any denial or to allay by any concealment the general apprehensions of all men, or the especial suspicion conceived by some persons with respect to himself. And if you were accustomed with truth, while I was occupied in supporting and restraining that colleague of mine, to praise my indulgence to him, united as it was with the greatest watchfulness over the interests of the republic, almost equal praise ought to be given to Publius Sestius, who kept such a watch on his own consul that he seemed to him to be a good quaestor, and to all of you to be a most excellent citizen.
8. hic C. Antoni, conlegae mei, iudices, fuit sorte, sed societate consiliorum meus. non nullius offici, ut ego interpretor, religione quo minus exponam quam multa P. Sestius, cum esset cum conlega meo, senserit, ad me detulerit, quanto ante providerit. ego de Antonio nihil dico praeter unum: numquam illum illo summo timore ac periculo civitatis neque communem metum omnium nec propriam non nullorum de ipso suspicionem aut infitiando tollere aut dissimulando sedare voluisse. quo conlega sustinendo atque moderando si meam in illum indulgentiam coniunctam cum summa custodia rei publicae laudare vere solebatis, par prope laus P. Sesti esse debet, qui ita suum consulem observavit ut et illi quaestor bonus et nobis omnibus optimus civis videretur.
9. Moreover, when that conspiracy had burst forth from its hiding place and from darkness, and stalked about in arms through the city, he came with the army to Capua; which city we suspected, on account of its exceeding resources and advantages in time of war, was likely to have attempts made on it by that impious and wicked band. And he drove Marcus Aulanus, a military tribune devoted to Antonius, headlong out of Capua; a profligate man, and one who without much disguise had mixed in the intrigues of the conspiracy at Pisaurum, and in other parts of the Gallic territory. He also took care to get rid of Caius Marcellus out of that city, after he had not only come to Capua, but, as if from a fondness for warlike arms, had frequently visited a very numerous troop of gladiators. On which account that illustrious body of Roman settlers which is at Capua, which, on account of the way in which I preserved the safety of that city during my consulship, has adopted me as their only patron, returned the greatest thanks to this Publius Sestius, when he was at my house; and at this very time those same men, changing only their name, and appearing as colonists, and decurions,—most gallant and virtuous men that they are!—come forward to give evidence, and to declare the services done to them by Publius Sestius, and to inform you of their public vote according to which they entreat you to protect him from danger.
9. , cum illa coniuratio ex latebris atque ex tenebris erupisset palamque armata volitaret, venit cum exercitu Capuam, quam urbem propter plurimas belli opportunitates ab illa impia et scelerata manu temptari suspicabamur; C. Mevulanum, tribunum militum Antoni, Capua praecipitem eiecit, hominem perditum et non obscure Pisauri et in aliis agri Gallici partibus in illa coniuratione versatum; idemque C. Marcellum, cum is non Capuam solum venisset, verum etiam se quasi armorum studio in maximam familiam coniecisset, exterminandum ex illa urbe curavit. de causa et tum conventus ille Capuae, qui propter salutem illius urbis consulatu conservatam meo me unum patronum adoptavit, huic apud me P. Sestio maximas gratias egit, et hoc tempore eidem homines nomine commutato coloni decurionesque, fortissimi atque optimi viri, beneficium P. Sesti testimonio declarant, periculum decreto suo deprecantur.
10. Read, I beg, O Publius Sestius, what the decurions of Capua decreed, in order that your childish voice may be able to give some hint to our adversaries what it appears likely to be able to do when it has acquired strength. [The decree of the decurions is read.] I am not having a decree read which has been dictated by any obligations of neighbourhood, or clientship, or relation of public hospitality, or which was passed because of a canvass for it, or because of the recommendation of some powerful man. I am reciting to you the expression of a recollection of dangers which have been passed through, the declaration of a most honourable service done to a people, a present return of kindness, and a testimony of past events.
10. , quaeso, L. Sesti, quid decrerint Capuae decuriones, ut iam puerilis tua vox possit aliquid significare inimicis vestris, quidnam, cum se conroborarit, effectura esse videatur. Decvrionvm decreta. recito decretum officio aliquo expressum vicinitatis aut clientelae aut hospiti publici aut ambitionis aut commendationis gratia, sed recito memoriam perfuncti periculi, praedicationem amplissimi benefici, vocem offici praesentis, testimonium praeteriti temporis.
11. And at that very time when Sestius had released Capua from fear, and the senate and all good men, by the detection and crushing of all domestic enemies, had, under my guidance, delivered the city from the greatest dangers, I sent letters to summon him from Capua with that army which he had at that time with him. And the moment he had read the letters, he flew to the city with inconceivable rapidity. And in order that you may thoroughly call to mind the atrocity of those times, listen to the letters, and stir up your memories to a contemplation of the time that is gone by. [The letters of Cicero, the consul, are read.] By this arrival of Publius Sestius, the attacks and attempts of the new tribunes of the people, who then, in the last days of my consulship, were endeavouring to give me trouble on account of the deeds which I had performed, and all the over violent designs of the conspiracy, were checked.
11. illis temporibus eisdem, cum iam Capuam metu Sestius liberasset, urbem senatus atque omnes boni deprehensis atque oppressis domesticis hostibus me duce ex periculis maximis extraxissent, ego litteris P. Sestium Capua arcessivi cum illo exercitu quem tum secum habebat; quibus hic litteris lectis ad urbem confestim incredibili celeritate advolavit. ut illius temporis atrocitatem recordari possitis, audite litteras et vestram memoriam ad timoris praeteriti cogitationem excitate. Litterae Ciceronis consvlis. adventu P. Sesti tribunorum plebis novorum, qui tum extremis diebus consulatus mei res eas quas gesseram vexare cupiebant, reliquaeque coniurationis impetus et conatus sunt retardati.
12. And after it was perceived that while Cato, as tribune of the people, a most fearless and excellent citizen, defended the republic, the senate and the Roman people by themselves, without any assistance from the military, could easily uphold both their own majesty and the dignity of those men who had defended the general safety at their own personal risk, Sestius with that army of his followed Antonius with the greatest possible rapidity. Here why need I mention by what conduct he stirred up the consul to act with energy? or how many motives for exertion he suggested to that man, desirous, perhaps, of victory, but still too much afraid of the common dangers and chances of warfare and of battle? That would be a very long story; but thus much I will say briefly. If the courage of Marcus Petreius had not been most admirable; if his virtue in state affairs had not been faultless; if his influence among the soldiers had not been overpowering; if his experience in military affairs had not been most surprising; and if, above all, Publius Sestius had not cooperated with him in exciting, encouraging, reproving, and spurring on Antonius,—winter would have overtaken them before the end of that war, and Catiline, when he had emerged from those frosts and snows of the Apennines, and, having the whole summer before him, had begun to plunder the roads of Italy and the folds of the shepherds, would never have been destroyed without enormous bloodshed, and most miserable devastation extending over the whole of Italy.
12. postea quam est intellectum, ⟨M.⟩ Catone tribuno plebis, fortissimo atque optimo cive, rem publicam defendente, per se ipsum senatum populumque Romanum sine militum praesidio tueri facile maiestate sua dignitatem eorum qui salutem communem periculo suo defendissent, Sestius cum illo exercitu summa celeritate est Antonium consecutus. ego quid praedicem quibus hic rebus consulem ad rem gerendam excitarit, quos stimulos admoverit homini studioso fortasse victoriae, sed tamen nimium communem Martem belli casumque metuenti? est ea dicere, sed hoc breve dicam: si M. Petrei non excellens animus et amor rei publicae, non praestans in re publica virtus, non summa auctoritas apud milites, non mirificus usus in re militari exstitisset, neque adiutor ei P. Sestius ad excitandum Antonium, cohortandum, accusandum, impellendum fuisset, datus illo in bello esset hiemi locus, neque umquam Catilina, cum e pruina Appennini atque e nivibus illis emersisset atque aestatem integram nanctus Italiae callis et pastorum stabula praeoccupare coepisset, sine multo sanguine ac sine totius Italiae vastitate miserrima concidisset.
13. These then were the feelings which Publius Sestius brought to his tribuneship that I may forbear to speak of his quaestorship,—and come at last to things nearer to ourselves. Although I must not omit to speak of that singular integrity of his in the province of which I lately saw traces in Macedonia, not lightly imprinted to celebrate something for a short time, but fixed in the everlasting recollection of that province. But, however, we will pass over all these things, though not with out turning back and fixing one last look upon them. Let us come with eager zeal and rapid course to his tribuneship, since that has been for some time inviting us to contemplate it, and since it occupies a large portion of my speech.
13. igitur animum attulit ad tribunatum P. Sestius, ut quaesturam Macedoniae relinquam et aliquando ad haec propiora veniam; quamquam non est omittenda singularis illa integritas provincialis, cuius ego nuper in Macedonia vidi vestigia non pressa leviter ad exigui praedicationem temporis, sed fixa ad memoriam illius provinciae sempiternam. haec ita praetereamus ut tamen intuentes et respectantes relinquamus: ad tribunatum, qui ipse ad sese iam dudum vocat et quodam modo absorbet orationem meam, contento studio cursuque veniamus.
14. And that tribuneship has already been spoken of by Quintus Hortensius in such a way that his speech not only appears to contain a complete defence to every count of the accusation, but would even be worth recollecting as laying down admirable rules for the principles and system on which a man ought to proceed in discharging the duties of a public office. But still since the entire tribuneship of Publius Sestius did nothing but uphold my name and my cause, I think it necessary for me, O judges, if not to discuss the whole matter with precision at all events to speak of it in a tone of lamentation. And if while speaking on this subject I were inclined to inveigh against some men with something like severity, who would not make allowance for my attacking those men with some freedom of expression by whose wickedness and frenzy I had myself been injured? But I will proceed with moderation, and I will be guided rather by what is suitable to the present time than to my indignation. If there be any people who secretly are vexed at my safety, let them conceal themselves; if there be any who have at any time done anything against me and who now are silent and quiet, let us also forget it; if there be any who are puffed up to behave insolently, and who still wish to attack me, we will bear with them as far as they can be borne with, nor shall my language offend any one except those who so put themselves in my way that I shall appear not to have attacked them, but to have run accidentally against them.
14. quo quidem tribunatu ita dictum ⟨est⟩ a Q. Hortensio ut eius oratio non defensionem modo videretur criminum continere, sed etiam memoria dignam iuventuti rei publicae capessendae auctoritatem disciplinamque praescribere. tamen, quoniam tribunatus totus P. Sesti nihil aliud nisi meum nomen causamque sustinuit, necessario mihi de isdem rebus esse arbitror si non subtilius disputandum, at certe dolentius deplorandum. in oratione si asperius in quosdam homines invehi vellem, quis non concederet ut eos, quorum sceleris furore violatus essem, vocis libertate perstringerem? agam moderate et huius potius tempori serviam quam dolori meo: si qui occulte a salute nostra dissentiunt, lateant; si qui fecerunt aliquid aliquando atque eidem nunc tacent et quiescunt, nos quoque simus obliti; si qui se offerunt, insectantur, quoad ferri poterunt, perferemus, neque quemquam offendet oratio mea nisi qui se ita obtulerit ut in eum non invasisse sed incucurrisse videamur.
15. But it is necessary, before I begin to speak of the tribuneship of Publius Sestius, to lay before you all the circumstances of the shipwreck of the republic the preceding year; to the repairing which, and to the restoration of the general safety all the words, and actions, and thoughts of Publius Sestius will be found to have been devoted. That year, the whole republic being in a state of great commotion, and many people being in just fear, had been like a bow bent against me alone, as men ignorant of state affairs used commonly to say; but in reality against the whole republic, by the transference to the common people of a furious and profligate man, angry with me, but a far more zealous enemy to tranquillity and the general safety. This man, that most illustrious of citizens, and, though many tried to alienate him from me, most friendly to me, Cnaeus Pompeius, had bound by every sort of security, and promise, and oath to do nothing during his tribuneship contrary to my interest. But that wicked man, sprung as it were from the very dregs of every sort of wickedness, thought that he should not be doing enough in the way of violating his engagements, unless he terrified the man who was so eager to guard against danger for another, by personal danger to himself.
15. necesse est, ante quam de tribunatu P. Sesti dicere incipiam, me totum superioris anni rei publicae naufragium exponere, in quo conligendo ac reficienda salute communi omnia reperientur P. Sesti facta, dicta, consilia versata. ille annus tam in re publica, iudices,† cum in magno motu et multorum timore intentus ⟨est⟩ arcus in me unum, sicut vulgo ignari rerum loquebantur, re quidem vera in universam rem publicam, traductione ad plebem furibundi hominis ac perditi, mihi irati, sed multo acrius oti et communis salutis inimici. vir clarissimus mihique multis repugnantibus amicissimus, Cn. Pompeius, omni cautione, foedere, exsecratione devinxerat nihil in tribunatu contra me esse facturum: quod ille nefarius ex omnium scelerum conluvione natus parum se foedus violaturum arbitratus ⟨est⟩, nisi ipsum cautorem alieni periculi suis propriis periculis terruisset.
16. This foul and savage brute, hampered as he was by the auspices, tied down by the precedents of our ancestors, fettered by the bonds of holy laws, was on a sudden released by the consul, who, as I imagine, was either won over by entreaties, or, as many people thought, influenced by hostility to me, and to at all events was ignorant and unsuspicious of the impending crimes and misfortunes. And that tribune of the people, if he was successful in his design of throwing the republic into confusion, did not owe it to any energy of his own. For what energy could there be in the life of a man maddened by the infamy of his brother, by his own adultery with his sister, and by every sort of unheard-of licentiousness?
16. taetram immanemque beluam, vinctam auspiciis, adligatam more maiorum, constrictam legum sacratarum catenis, solvit subito lege curiata consul, vel, ut ego arbitror, exoratus vel, ut non nemo putabat, mihi iratus, ignarus quidem certe et imprudens impendentium tantorum scelerum et malorum. tribunus plebis felix in evertenda re publica fuit nullis suis nervis—qui enim in eius modi vita nervi esse potuerunt hominis fraternis flagitiis, sororiis stupris, omni inaudita libidine exsanguis?— sed fuit profecto quaedam illa rei publicae fortuna fatalis, ut ille caecus atque amens tribunus plebis nancisceretur—quid dicam?
17. But that, forsooth, did seem like a fortune appointed for the republic by fate itself, that that blind and senseless tribune of the people should find two—must I call them consuls? must I honour by this name the overthrowers of this empire, the betrayers of your dignity, the enemies of all good men? men who thought that they had been adorned with those fasces, and with all the other insignia of supreme honour and command, for the purpose of destroying the senate, of crushing the equestrian order, and extinguishing all the rights and established principles of our ancestors. And, I beg you in the name of the immortal gods, if you do not yet wish to recall their wickedness and the wounds which they have burnt into the republic, still turn your recollection to their countenances and their gait. Their actions will more easily present themselves to your minds if you bring their faces before your eyes.
17. consules? hocine ut ego nomine appellem eversores huius imperi, proditores vestrae dignitatis, hostis bonorum omnium, qui ad delendum senatum, adfligendum equestrem ordinem, exstinguenda omnia iura atque instituta maiorum se illis fascibus ceterisque insignibus summi honoris atque imperi ornatos esse arbitrabantur?, per deos immortalis, si nondum scelera vulneraque inusta rei publicae vultis recordari, vultum atque incessum animis intuemini: facilius eorum facta occurrent mentibus vestris, si ora ipsa oculis proposueritis.
18. The one reeking with perfume, with curled hair looking with disdain on the agents of his debaucheries and the old plagues of his youthful age, formerly when tossed and driven about by the troops of usurers lest in that Scyllaean state of debt he should be dashed up against the Maenian column, fled into the harbour of the tribuneship. He despised the Roman knights, he threatened the senate, he sold himself to the artisans, and proclaimed openly that they had saved him from being prosecuted for bribery; and he was used to say, moreover, that he hoped to obtain a province from them, even though it were against the will of the senate; and if he did not get a province, he did not think it possible for him to remain in safety.
18. unguentis adfluens, calamistrata coma, despiciens conscios stuprorum ac veteres vexatores aetatulae suae, puteali et faeneratorum gregibus inflatus, a quibus compulsus olim, ne in Scyllaeo illo aeris alieni tamquam [in ] fretu ad columnam adhaeresceret, in tribunatus portum perfugerat, contemnebat equites Romanos, minitabatur senatui, venditabat se operis atque ab iis se ereptum ne de ambitu causam diceret praedicabat, ab isdemque se etiam invito senatu provinciam sperare dicebat; eamque nisi adeptus esset, se incolumem nullo modo fore arbitrabatur.
19. The other, O ye good gods! how horrible was his approach, how savage, how terrible was he to look at! You would say that you were beholding some one of those bearded men,—an example of the old empire, an image of antiquity, a prop of the republic. His garments were rough, made of this purple worn by the common people you see around us, nearly brown; his hair so rough that at Capua, in which he, for the sake of becoming entitled to have an image of himself, was exercising the authority of a decemvir, it seemed as if he would require the whole Seplasia to make it decent. Why need I speak of his eyebrow? which at that time did not seem to men to be an ordinary brow, but a pledge of the safety of the republic. For such great gravity was in his eye, such a contraction was there of his forehead, that the whole republic appeared to be resting on that brow, as the heavens do on Atlas.
19. , o di boni, quam taeter incedebat, quam truculentus, quam terribilis aspectu! unum aliquem te ex barbatis illis, exemplum imperi veteris, imaginem antiquitatis, columen rei publicae diceres intueri. aspere nostra hac purpura plebeia ac paene fusca, capillo ita horrido ut Capua, in qua ipsa tum imaginis ornandae causa duumviratum gerebat, Seplasiam sublaturus videretur. quid ego de supercilio dicam, quod tum hominibus non supercilium, sed pignus rei publicae videbatur? erat gravitas in oculo, tanta contractio frontis, ut illo supercilio annus ille niti tamquam ⟨vade⟩ videretur.
20. This was the common conversation of every one: “He is, however, a great and firm support to the republic; we have some one to oppose to that pollution, to that mud; I declare solemnly by his mere look he will check the licentiousness and levity of his colleague; the senate will have some one this year whom it can follow; good men will not be in want of an adviser and a leader this year.” And men congratulated me most especially, because I was likely to have not only a friend and connection, but also a fearless and dignified consul as an ally against a frantic and audacious tribune of the people. And as to one of them, no one was mistaken in him; for who could suppose it possible for a man rising suddenly from the long darkness of brothels and scenes of debauchery in which he had lain, to hold the helm of so vast an empire, and to undertake the guidance of the republic in so important a voyage, amid such threatening waves?—a man worn out with wine and gluttony, and lewdness and adultery?—a man who, beyond his hopes, had been placed in the highest rank through the influence of others, when his drunken eyes were unable not merely to gaze on the impending storm, but even to stand any unusual glare of light?
20. hic omnium sermo: “est tamen rei publicae magnum firmumque subsidium; habeo quem opponam labi illi atque caeno; vultu me dius fidius conlegae sui libidinem levitatemque franget; habebit senatus in hunc annum quem sequatur; non deerit auctor et dux bonis.” denique homines praecipue gratulabantur, quod habiturus essem contra tribunum plebis furiosum et audacem cum amicum et adfinem tum etiam fortem et gravem consulem. eorum alter fefellit neminem. enim clavum tanti imperi tenere et gubernacula rei publicae tractare in maximo cursu ac fluctibus posse arbitraretur hominem emersum subito ex diuturnis tenebris lustrorum ac stuprorum, vino, ganeis, lenociniis adulteriisque confectum? cum is praeter spem in altissimo gradu alienis opibus positus esset, qui non modo tempestatem impendentem intueri temulentus, sed ne lucem quidem insolitam aspicere posset.
21. But the other did deceive many men in every point; for he was recommended to men's favourable opinion by the fact of his high birth, which is of itself a very powerful recommendation, for all virtuous men naturally look with favour on noble birth, both because it is advantageous for the republic that nobly born men should be worthy of their ancestors, and because the recollection of men who are illustrious, and who have deserved well of the republic, has its influence over us even after they are dead. And because men saw him always morose, always taciturn, always neglectful of his appearance and coarse-looking, and because his name was such that frugality appeared a quality innate in his family, they favoured him, and rejoiced, and in their hopes called him a man fashioned after the model of the integrity of his ancestors, forgetting the family of his mother.
21. multos plane in omnis partis fefellit; erat enim hominum opinioni nobilitate ipsa, blanda conciliatricula, commendatus. boni semper nobilitati favemus, et quia utile est rei publicae nobilis homines esse dignos maioribus suis, et quia valet apud nos clarorum hominum et bene de re publica meritorum memoria, etiam mortuorum. tristem semper, quia taciturnum, quia subhorridum atque incultum videbant, et quod erat eo nomine ut ingenerata familiae frugalitas videretur, favebant, gaudebant, et ad integritatem maiorum spe sua hominem vocabant materni generis obliti.
22. But I, (I will tell the plain truth, O judges,)—I myself never thought that there could be so much wickedness, audacity, and cruelty in any man as, to my own cost and that of the republic, I have experienced that there was in him. I knew the man was worthless inconsistent and that it was a pure mistake that made men think well of him deceived by the appearance of his youth. His disposition, in truth, was concealed by his countenance, and his vices within walls, but this sort of disguise is never continued, nor so well maintained that it cannot be seen through by inquisitive eyes. We saw the course of his life his indolence and sloth; those who were in the least acquainted with him saw his secret licentiousness. Moreover, he gave us, by his conversation, plenty of handles to enable us to grasp and comprehend his inmost feelings.
22. autem,—vere dicam, iudices,— tantum esse in homine sceleris, audaciae, crudelitatis, quantum ipse cum re publica sensi, numquam putavi. esse hominem et levem et falsa opinione [errore ] hominum ab adulescentia commendatum sciebam; etenim animus eius vultu, flagitia parietibus tegebantur. haec obstructio nec diuturna est neque obducta ita ut curiosis oculis perspici non possit. genus vitae, desidiam, inertiam; inclusas eius libidines qui paulo propius accesserant intuebantur; denique etiam sermo nobis ansas dabat quibus reconditos eius sensus tenere possemus.
23. Being a very learned man, he used to praise philosophers,—I don't know which, and indeed he could not tell their names himself;—but still he used to praise those above all others who were said to be beyond all the rest the admirers and panegyrists of pleasures: of what sort of pleasure,—of pleasure enjoyed at what times and in what manner he never inquired but the name itself he devoured with all the energy of his mind and body. And he used to say that those same philosophers were right when they said that wise men do everything for the sake of themselves, that no man in his senses has any business to trouble himself about the government of the republic; that nothing is better than a life of ease, full of, and loaded with, all sorts of pleasures and he used to say that those men who said that men ought to regard their own dignity, and to consult the interests of the republic, and to have a regard in every action of life to duty and not to advantage, that men ought to undergo dangers on behalf of their country, and to encounter wounds and to seek even death for its sake, were crazy and mad.
23. homo doctus philosophos nescio quos, neque eorum tamen nomina poterat dicere, sed tamen eos laudabat maxime qui dicuntur praeter ceteros esse auctores et laudatores voluptatis; cuius et quo tempore et quo modo non quaerebat, verbum ipsum omnibus ⟨viribus⟩ animi et corporis devorarat; eosdemque praeclare dicere aiebat sapientis omnia sua causa facere, rem publicam capessere hominem bene sanum non oportere, nihil esse praestabilius otiosa vita, plena et conferta voluptatibus; eos autem qui dicerent dignitati esse serviendum, rei publicae consulendum, offici rationem in omni vita, non commodi esse ducendam, adeunda pro patria pericula, vulnera excipienda, mortem oppetendam, vaticinari atque insanire dicebat.
24. And from these incessant and daily conversations of his, and because I saw who the men were with whom he lived in the more retired part of his house, and because his house itself (as I may say) smoked so as to emit a steam from his discourse, and to show what he was about, I made up my mind that nothing good was to be looked for from such a trifler; but at the same time certainly that no evil need be feared. But the fact is, O judges, that, if you give a sword to a little child, or to a powerless and decrepit old man, he himself by his own violence cannot injure any one, but still if the sword touches the naked body of even the strongest man, it is possible that he may be wounded by the mere sharpness and power of the weapon; in like manner, when the consulship had been given as a sword to enervated and worn-out men, who, of their own strength, would never be able to wound any one, they, armed with the name of supreme command, murdered the republic. They openly made a treaty with the tribune of the people, to receive from him whatever provinces they chose, and an army, and as much money as they chose, on this condition,—that they themselves were the first to hand over the afflicted republic in fetters to the tribune. And they thought that that treaty could be ratified in my blood.
24. his adsiduis eius cotidianisque sermonibus, et quod videbam quibuscum hominibus in interiore parte aedium viveret, et quod ita domus ipsa fumabat ut multa eius ⟨consorti⟩onis indicia redolerent, statuebam sic, boni nihil ab illis nugis exspectandum, mali quidem certe nihil pertimescendum. ita est, iudices, ut, si gladium parvo puero aut si imbecillo seni aut debili dederis, ipse impetu suo nemini noceat, sin ad nudum vel fortissimi viri corpus accesserit, possit acie ipsa et ferri viribus vulnerare: cum hominibus enervatis atque exsanguibus consulatus tamquam gladius esset datus, qui per se pungere neminem umquam potuissent, ii summi imperi nomine armati rem publicam contrucidarunt. fecerunt cum tribuno plebis palam, ut ab eo provincias acciperent quas ipsi vellent, exercitum et pecuniam quantam vellent, ea lege, si ipsi prius tribuno plebis adflictam et constrictam rem publicam tradidissent: id autem foedus meo sanguine ictum sanciri posse dicebant.
25. And when this matter was divulged, (for such enormous wickedness could not be dissembled or hidden for any length of time,) motions are proposed at one and the same time by the same tribune, concerning my destruction and concerning the provinces of the consuls, allotting them to each of them by name. On this, the senate being anxious, you knights being in a state of great excitement, all Italy being agitated,—in short, all citizens of every sort and of every rank, thought that they must seek help for the republic from the consuls and from the supreme power, while they were the only men, besides that frantic tribune,—those two whirlwinds (so to say) of the republic,—who not only did not come to the assistance of their falling country, but who even grieved that it was falling so slowly. They were every day solicited both by the complaints of all good men, and by the direct entreaties of the senate, to undertake my cause, to act on my behalf, and to bring some proposition before the senate. They attacked all the most eminent men of that body, not only refusing their request but even laughing at it.
25. re patefacta—neque enim dissimulari tantum scelus poterat nec latere—promulgantur uno eodemque tempore rogationes ab eodem tribuno de mea pernicie et de provinciis consulum nominatim. tum senatus sollicitus, vos, equites Romani, excitati, Italia cuncta permota, omnes denique omnium generum atque ordinum cives summae rei publicae a consulibus atque a summo imperio petendum esse auxilium arbitrabantur, cum illi soli essent praeter furiosum illum tribunum duo rei publicae turbines, qui non modo praecipitanti patriae non subvenirent, sed eam nimium tarde concidere maererent. ab his cotidie cum querelis bonorum omnium tum etiam precibus senatus, ut meam causam susciperent, agerent aliquid, denique ad senatum referrent: non modo negando, sed etiam inridendo amplissimum quemque illius ordinis insequebantur.
26. But when on a sudden an incredible multitude from the whole city, and from all Italy, had assembled at the Capitol, they all decided that they should put on mourning garments and defend me in every possible way by their private resources, since the republic was destitute for the time of its public leaders. At the same time the senate was assembled in the temple of Concord, a temple which of itself recalled the recollection of my consulship, when the whole body in tears addressed this curled consul with entreaties; for the other rough and fierce-looking one was keeping himself at home on purpose. With what haughtiness did that filthy fellow, that pest of the republic, reject the prayers of that most honourable body, and the tears of the most illustrious citizens. How did that glutton and devourer of his country scorn me! For why should I say devourer of his patrimony, which he lost while engaged in some sort of trade? You, I say,—you, O Roman knights,—you and all virtuous men changed your garments, and in the cause of my safety threw yourselves at the feet of that most profligate debauchee. You and your prayers were alike trampled on by that robber. A man of extraordinary integrity, magnanimity, wisdom, and firmness, Lucius Ninnius made a motion to the senate concerning the republic and the senate in a full house passed a resolution that they should change their garments for my safety.
26. subito cum incredibilis in Capitolium multitudo ex tota urbe cunctaque Italia convenisset, vestem mutandam omnes meque iam omni ratione, privato consilio, quoniam publicis ducibus res publica careret, defendendum putarunt. eodem tempore senatus in aede Concordiae, quod ipsum templum repraesentabat memoriam consulatus mei, cum flens universus ordo cincinnatum consulem orabat; nam alter ille horridus et severus consulto se domi continebat. tum superbia caenum illud ac labes amplissimi ordinis preces et clarissimorum civium lacrimas repudiavit! me ipsum ut contempsit helluo patriae! nam quid ego patrimoni dicam, quod ille tum cum quaestum faceret amisit? ad senatum, vos, inquam, equites Romani et omnes boni veste mutata, vosque pro meo capite ad pedes lenonis impurissimi proiecistis, cum, vestris precibus ab latrone illo repudiatis, vir incredibili fide, magnitudine animi, constantia, L. Ninnius, ad senatum de re publica rettulit, senatusque frequens vestem pro mea salute mutandam censuit.
27. Alas for that day, O judges, fatal to the senate and to all good men! grievous to the republic! bitter for me as far as my domestic grief was concerned, but glorious as relates to my fame in the eyes of posterity. For what since the first beginning of human memory, can any one produce more splendid than for all good men by their own tacit agreement as individuals and for the whole senate by public resolution to have changed their garments and put on mourning for the sake of a single citizen? And that change of dress was not adopted at that time for the sake of averting a calamity from me by entreaty, but to show their grief at that which had befallen me. For to whom could they address their entreaties, when all were in mourning alike, and when the fact of a man's not having changed his dress was a sufficient proof of his being an ill-disposed person? After this change of garments had taken place, and while the city was in such grief, I say nothing of what that tribune, that plunderer of all things both human and divine, proceeded to do; a fellow who ordered all the most noble youths, and the most honourable Roman knights who were eager to entreat him to ensure my safety, to attend at his house, and who then exposed them to the swords and stones of his troop of artisans. I am speaking now of the consuls, on whose good faith the republic had a right to rely.
27. O diem illum, iudices, funestum senatui bonisque omnibus, rei publicae luctuosum, mihi ad domesticum maerorem gravem, ad posteritatis memoriam gloriosum! enim quisquam potest ex omni memoria sumere inlustrius quam pro uno civi et bonos omnis privato consensu et universum senatum publico consilio mutasse vestem? quidem tum mutatio non deprecationis est causa facta, sed luctus: quem enim deprecarere, cum omnes essent sordidati, cumque hoc satis esset signi esse improbum, qui mutata veste non esset? mutatione vestis facta tanto in luctu civitatis, omitto quid ille tribunus omnium rerum divinarum humanarumque praedo fecerit, qui adesse nobilissimos adulescentis, honestissimos equites Romanos, deprecatores salutis meae iusserit, eosque operarum suarum gladiis et lapidibus obiecerit: de consulibus loquor, quorum fide res publica niti debuit.
28. Frightened out of his wits, he flies from the senate with a mind and countenance less agitated than it would have been a few years before, if he had fallen in with a crowd of his creditors. He convenes an assembly. He, the consul, addresses them in such a speech as even Catiline himself, if he had been victorious, would never have delivered. He said “that men were greatly mistaken if they thought that the senate had any power in the republic; and that the Roman knights should suffer severely for that day on which, in my consulship, they had appeared with their swords on the Capitoline Hill: that the time had come for those who had been in fear” (he evidently meant the conspirators) “to avenge themselves.” If he had said no more than this, he would have been worthy of the last extremity of punishment; for a mischievous speech of a consul can of itself undermine the republic. But see now what he did.
28. evolat ex senatu, non minus perturbato animo atque vultu quam si annis ante paucis in creditorum conventum incidisset; advocat contionem, habet orationem talem consul qualem numquam Catilina victor habuisset: errare homines si etiam tum senatum aliquid in re publica posse arbitrarentur; equites vero Romanos daturos illius diei poenas quo me consule cum gladiis in clivo Capitolino fuissent; venisse tempus iis qui in timore fuissent—coniuratos videlicet dicebat—ulciscendi se. dixisset haec solum, omni supplicio esset dignus; nam oratio ipsa consulis perniciosa potest rem publicam labefactare; quid fecerit videte.
29. In that assembly he banished Lucius Lamia, who was exceedingly attached to me on account of the exceeding intimacy which subsisted between me and his brother and his father, and who was also willing to encounter even death itself for the sake of the republic; and issued an edict that he should remove two hundred miles from the city because he had dared to address solicitations to him on behalf of a citizen,—of a citizen who had deserved well of the state, and who was his own friend,—and on behalf of the republic. What can you do with this man? or for what punishment can you reserve this profligate citizen,—I should rather say this impious enemy? who, to pass over other particulars of his character, and other actions which belong to him in common with his infamous and savage colleague, has this one thing to boast of peculiar to himself, that he expelled from the city and banished (I will not say a Roman knight, I will not say a most accomplished and virtuous man, I will not say a citizen deeply attached to the republic, I will not say a man who was only joining his own lamentations for the calamity of his friend and of the republic to those of the senate and of all good men; it is enough to say that)—he, the consul, banished a Roman citizen without any trial, by his own simple edict.
29. L. Lamiam, qui cum me ipsum pro summa familiaritate quae mihi cum patre eius erat unice diligebat, tum pro re publica vel mortem oppetere cupiebat, in contione relegavit, edixitque ut ab urbe abesset milia passuum ducenta, quod esset ausus pro civi, pro bene merito civi, pro amico, pro re publica deprecari. hoc homine facias, aut quo civem importunum aut quo potius hostem tam sceleratum reserves? qui, ut omittam cetera quae sunt ei cum conlega immani impuroque coniuncta atque communia, hoc unum habet proprium, ut ex urbe expulerit, relegarit non dico equitem Romanum, non ornatissimum atque optimum virum, non amicissimum rei publicae civem, non illo ipso tempore una cum senatu et cum bonis omnibus casum amici reique publicae lugentem, sed civem Romanum sine ullo iudicio ut edicto ex patria consul eiecerit.
30. The Latin allies had never anything worse to submit to than (and it was a case of very rare occurrence) the being ordered by the consul to depart from the city. And they had the power then of returning to their own cities, to their own household gods; and in that general disaster no peculiar ignominy was attached by name to any single individual. But what is the case here? Is the consul to banish, by his edict, Roman citizens from their household gods? is he to expel them from their country? is he to select whom he pleases? to condemn and banish men by name? If he had supposed that you, who are now sitting here, would continue to exist in the republic,—if he had supposed that any image of the courts of justice would remain or that there would be the least vestige of the old constitution left in the state would he even have dared to wipe the senate out of the republic in this way? to reject the prayers of the Roman knights? in short, to overturn the rights and liberties of all the citizens by new and unheard of edicts?
30. acerbius socii et Latini ferre soliti sunt quam se, id quod perraro accidit, ex urbe exire a consulibus iuberi: atque illis erat tum reditus in suas civitates, ad suos Lares familiaris, et in illo communi incommodo nulla in quemquam propria ignominia nominatim cadebat. vero quid est? civis Romanos edicto consul a suis dis penatibus? ex patria? quem volet, damnabit atque eiciet nominatim? si umquam vos eos qui nunc estis in re publica fore putasset, si denique imaginem iudiciorum aut simulacrum aliquod futurum in civitate reliquum credidisset, umquam ausus esset senatum de re publica tollere, equitum Romanorum preces aspernari, civium denique omnium novis et inauditis edictis ius libertatemque pervertere?
31. Although you are listening to me, O judges, with the greatest attention, and with exceeding kindness, still I fear that some of you may, perchance, marvel why I am so prolix, and what is my object in tracing things back so far, or what connection the offences of those men who harassed the republic before the tribuneship of Publius Sestius have with his cause now. But my desire is to show that all the counsels of Publius Sestius, and the whole object of his tribuneship, was to remedy the misfortunes of the afflicted and ruined republic as far as was in his power. And pardon me, if in laying open those wounds, I appear to say rather too much about myself; for you and all good men decided that that disaster which befell me was the heaviest possible blow to the republic. And Publius Sestius is now on his trial, not on his own account, but on mine —for as he devoted all the powers of his tribuneship to the promotion of my safety it is inevitable that I should look upon my own cause in past time as united with the defence which I am now making for him.
31. me attentissimis animis summa cum benignitate auditis, iudices, tamen vereor ne quis forte vestrum miretur quid haec mea oratio tam longa aut tam alte repetita velit, aut quid ad P. Sesti causam eorum qui ante huius tribunatum rem publicam vexarunt delicta pertineant. autem hoc propositum est ostendere, omnia consilia P. Sesti mentemque totius tribunatus hanc fuisse, ut adflictae et perditae rei publicae quantum posset mederetur. si in exponendis vulneribus illis de me ipso plura dicere videbor, ignoscitote; nam et illam meam cladem vos et omnes boni maximum esse rei publicae vulnus iudicastis, et P. Sestius est reus non suo, sed meo nomine: qui cum omnem vim sui tribunatus in mea salute consumpserit, necesse est meam causam praeteriti temporis cum huius praesenti defensione esse coniunctam.
32. The senate then was in grief, the city wore an appearance of mourning, its garments having been changed in accordance with the public resolution of the senate. There was no municipal town in all Italy, no colony, no prefecture, no company of men concerned in farming the public revenues, no guild or council,—no public body, in short, of any kind whatever,—which had not passed most honourable resolutions concerning my safety, when all on a sudden the two consuls issue an edict that the senators are to return to their former dress. What consul ever prohibited the senate from obeying its own decrees? What tyrant ever forbade men who were miserable to mourn? Is it a small thing, O Piso,—for I will say nothing about Gabinius, that you have deceived men to such a degree as to disregard the authority of the senate? to despise the advice of every virtuous man? to betray the republic? to crush a citizen of consular rank? that you must dare also to issue an edict that men are not to mourn for a disaster affecting me, and themselves, and the republic, and are not to show their grief by changing their garments? Whether that change of garment was assumed as a token of grief, or as a form of solicitation, who ever was so cruel before as to forbid any one mourning for himself, or entreating for others?
32. igitur in luctu senatus, squalebat civitas publico consilio veste mutata, nullum erat Italiae municipium, nulla colonia, nulla praefectura, nulla Romae societas vectigalium, nullum conlegium aut concilium aut omnino aliquod commune consilium quod tum non honorificentissime de mea salute decrevisset: cum subito edicunt duo consules ut ad suum vestitum senatores redirent. umquam consul senatum ipsius decretis parere prohibuit? tyrannus miseros lugere vetuit? Parumne est, Piso, ut omittam Gabinium, quod tantum homines fefellisti ut neglegeres auctoritatem senatus, optimi cuiusque consilia contemneres, rem publicam proderes, consulare nomen adfligeres? edicere audebas ne maererent homines meam, suam, rei publicae calamitatem, ne hunc suum dolorem veste significarent? Sive illa vestis mutatio ad luctum ipsorum sive ad deprecandum valebat, quis umquam tam crudelis fuit qui prohiberet quemquam aut sibi maerere aut ceteris supplicare?