89. He came down to the court to accuse him. Who ever did so, so peculiarly for the sake of the republic? having no private enmity of his own to urge him on, having no reward in prospect being persuaded by no entreaty on the part of any one, nor even by any general expectation that he was going to take such a step. The fellow's courage was shaken. For when such a man as Milo was the prosecutor, he had no hope of such an infamous tribunal as his former one. See now the praetor, the consul, and the tribune of the people, propose new edicts of a new sort: “That no one be brought before the court as a defendant; that no one be summoned before the judges; that no investigations take place; that no one be allowed to make any mention to any one, of judges, or courts of justice.” What was a man to do who was born for virtue, and dignity, and glory, when the violence of wicked men was fortified in this way, by the destruction of all laws and courts of justice? Was tribune of the people to place his life at the mercy of a private individual? was a most virtuous man to hold his life at the will of a most thoroughly wicked one? or, was he to abandon the cause which he had undertaken? was he to keep at home? He thought it would be a base thing to be defeated, or to be frightened from his purpose. In truth, he thought it for the advantage of the republic, since he was not able to employ the laws against him, that he should not show any fear of his violence, with respect either to personal peril to himself, or to the danger of the republic.
89. ad accusandum. umquam tam proprie rei publicae causa, nullis inimicitiis, nullis praemiis, nulla hominum postulatione aut etiam opinione id eum umquam esse facturum? erant animi hominis; hoc enim accusante pristini illius sui iudici turpitudinem desperabat. tibi consul, praetor, tribunus plebis nova novi generis edicta proponunt; “ne reus adsit, ne citetur, ne quaeratur, ne mentionem omnino cuiquam iudicum aut iudiciorum facere liceat!” ageret vir ad virtutem, dignitatem, gloriam natus vi sceleratorum hominum conroborata, legibus iudiciisque sublatis? tribunus plebis privato, praestantissimus vir profligatissimo homini daret? an causam susceptam adfligeret? an se domi contineret? vinci turpe putavit et deterreri ⟨et clam eripi: id egit⟩ ut, quoniam sibi in illum legibus uti non liceret, illius vim neque in suo neque in rei publicae periculo pertimesceret.
90. How, then, can you accuse Sestius with reference to this fact of his having provided himself with a guard, when at the same time you praise Milo? Is it legal for that man to provide himself with a guard who is defending his own house, who is repelling fire and sword from his altars and his fire-side, who seeks to be allowed to present himself with safety in the forum, in the temples of the gods, and in the senate-house; but do you think that man who is warned by the wounds which he sees every day over his whole person, to defend his head, and his neck, and his throat, and his sides, by some protection or other, deserving to be prosecuted for violence?
90. modo igitur hoc in genere praesidi comparati accusas Sestium, cum idem laudes Milonem? qui sua tecta defendit, qui ab aris focis ferrum flammamque depellit, qui sibi licere vult tuto esse in foro, in templo, in curia, iure praesidium comparat: qui vulneribus, quae cernit cotidie toto corpore, monetur ut aliquo praesidio caput et cervices et iugulum ac latera tutetur, hunc de vi accusandum putas?
91. For who of you, O judges, is ignorant that the nature of things has been such, that at one time men, before there was any natural or civil law fully laid down, wandered in a straggling and disorderly manner over the country, and had just that property which they could either seize or keep by their own personal strength and vigour, by means of wounds and bloodshed? Those men, therefore, who showed themselves to be the most eminent for virtue and wisdom, they, having considered the character of men's aptitude for instruction and of their natural disposition, collected into one place those who were previously scattered abroad, and brought them over from their former savage way of life to justice and mildness of manners. Then came those constitutions devised for the utility of man, which we call commonwealths. Then came collections of men which were subsequently called states; then men surrounded with walls sets of houses joined together, which we now call cities, and divine and human laws began to be recognised.
91. enim nostrum, iudices, ignorat ita naturam rerum tulisse ut quodam tempore homines nondum neque naturali neque civili iure descripto fusi per agros ac dispersi vagarentur, tantumque haberent quantum manu ac viribus per caedem ac vulnera aut eripere aut retinere potuissent? igitur primi virtute et consilio praestanti exstiterunt, ii perspecto genere humanae docilitatis atque ingeni dissupatos unum in locum congregarunt eosque ex feritate illa ad iustitiam atque ad mansuetudinem transduxerunt. res ad communem utilitatem, quas publicas appellamus, tum conventicula hominum, quae postea civitates nominatae sunt, tum domicilia coniuncta, quas urbis dicimus, invento et divino iure et humano moenibus saepserunt.
92. And there is no point in which there is so much difference between this manner of life, polished by civilization and that savage one, as in the fact of law being the ruling principle of the one, and violence of the other. If we do not choose to be guided by one we must adopt the other. Do we wish violence to be put an end to? Law must inevitably prevail; that is to say, courts of justice must, for in them all law and justice are comprehended. Do we disapprove of courts of justice, or are they destroyed or suspended? In a moment violence must be supreme. Everybody sees this. Milo saw it and acted in such a manner as to try the power of law and to banish violence. He wished to avail himself of the one, in order that courage and virtue might defeat audacity; he had recourse to the other from compulsion, in order to prevent virtue and courage from being defeated by audacity. And the principle of conduct of Publius Sestius was the same if not in prosecuting Clodius, (for, it does not follow that exactly the same details of conduct are to be pursued by every one,) still at all events in the necessity of defending his safety, and in preparing a defence against force and personal violence.
92. inter hanc vitam perpolitam humanitate et illam immanem nihil tam interest quam ius atque vis. Horum utro uti nolumus, altero est utendum. volumus exstingui, ius valeat necesse est, id est iudicia, quibus omne ius continetur; iudicia displicent aut nulla sunt, vis dominetur necesse est. vident omnes: Milo et vidit et fecit, ut ius experiretur, vim depelleret. uti voluit, ut virtus audaciam vinceret; altero usus necessario est, ne virtus ab audacia vinceretur. ratio fuit Sesti, si minus in accusando—neque enim per omnis fuit idem fieri necesse—at certe in necessitate defendendae salutis suae praesidioque contra vim et manum comparando.
93. O ye immortal gods! what an end do you show to us? what hope of the republic do you hold out to us? How few men will be found of such virtue and courage as to embrace the cause of the republic when it is the justest of causes? and to consult the interests of the virtuous part of the community? and to seek no glory but that which is solid and genuine? when he knows that of those two monsters so nearly fatal to the republic, Gabinius and Piso, one is every day amassing a countless sum of gold from the peaceful and opulent treasuries of Syria; and is waging war on quiet tribes, in order to pour into the deep and bottomless gulf of his lusts their ancient and hitherto untasted and undiminished riches; and is building in a most conspicuous place a villa of such a size, that that villa, of which that very man, when tribune of the people, once unfolded a picture in the assembly of the people, in order (virtuous man and free from all taint of covetousness that he was) to excite odium against a most virtuous and brave citizen, appears now little more than a hut by the side of it.
93. O di immortales! quemnam ostenditis exitum nobis? quam spem rei publicae datis? quisque invenietur tanta virtute vir qui optimam quamque causam rei publicae amplectatur, qui bonis viris deserviat, qui solidam laudem veramque quaerat? cum sciat duo illa rei publicae paene fata, Gabinium et Pisonem, alterum haurire cotidie ex pacatissimis atque opulentissimis Syriae gazis innumerabile pondus auri, bellum inferre quiescentibus, ut eorum veteres inlibatasque divitias in profundissimum libidinum suarum gurgitem profundat, villam aedificare in oculis omnium tantam tugurium ut iam videatur esse illa villa quam ipse tribunus plebis pictam olim in contionibus explicabat, quo fortissimum ac summum civem in invidiam homo castus ac non cupidus vocaret;
94. The other man first of all sold peace for an enormous sum to the Thracians and Dardani. Then, in order that they might be able to make up the money which they were to pay him, he gave up Macedonia to them to ravage and plunder. Moreover, he distributed the property of their creditors, Roman citizens, among their Greek debtors; he exacted immense sums from the people of Dyrrachium, he plundered the Thessalians, he exacted a fixed sum of money from the Achaeans every year; and, above all, in no public or consecrated place has he left one statue, or picture, or ornament. Who, I say, will embrace the cause of the republic when he knows all this, and when he sees that these men are so triumphant who deserve most richly, according to every law in existence, every sort of penalty, and every extremity of punishment? and that these two men whom you see here are brought to trial? I say nothing of Numerius, and Serranus, and Aelius, the mere dregs of the sedition of Clodius; but still, even these go triumphantly about as you behold; nor, as long as ever you are in a state of apprehension for yourselves, will they ever be alarmed for themselves.
94. alterum Thracibus ac Dardanis primum pacem maxima pecunia vendidisse, deinde, ut illi pecuniam conficere possent, vexandam iis Macedoniam et spoliandam tradidisse, eundemque bona creditorum, civium Romanorum, cum debitoribus Graecis divisisse, cogere pecunias maximas a Dyrrachinis, spoliare Thessalos, certam Achaeis in annos singulos pecuniam imperavisse neque tamen ullo in publico aut religioso loco signum aut tabulam aut ornamentum reliquisse; illos sic inludere quibus omne supplicium atque omnis iure optimo poena debetur, reos esse hos duos quos videtis. iam Numerium, Serranum, Aelium, quisquilias seditionis Clodianae; sed tamen hi quoque etiam nunc volitant, ut videtis, nec, dum vos de vobis aliquid timebitis, illi umquam de se pertimescent.
95. For why need I speak of the aedile himself, who has even commenced legal proceedings against Milo, and instituted a prosecution against him for violence? Not that Milo will ever be induced by any injury to himself to repent that he behaved with such virtue, and with such firmness of mind towards the republic; but what will be the thoughts of the young men who see all these things? The man who has attacked and destroyed and burnt the public monuments, and the sacred holdings, and the houses of his enemies; who was constantly escorted by assassins, fenced round by armed guards, and surrounded by a band of informers, of whom there is far too great a plenty; who stirred up even a foreign band of wicked men, and bought a lot of slaves ready for bloodshed, and who in his tribuneship poured the whole contents of the prisons into the forum, now struts about as an aedile, and accuses the man who did to some extent check his exulting frenzy. And the man who has hitherto defended himself in such a manner, that, as a private individual he has been defending his own household gods, and in his public capacity the privileges of his tribuneship and the auspices, has been prevented by the authority of the senate from prosecuting that man with moderation by whom he himself has been prosecuted in a most nefarious manner.
95. quid ego de aedili ipso loquar, qui etiam diem dixit et accusavit de vi Milonem? hic tamen ulla umquam iniuria adducetur ut eum tali virtute tantaque firmitate animi se in rem publicam fuisse paeniteat; sed qui haec vident adulescentes quonam suas mentis conferent? qui monumenta publica, qui aedis sacras, qui domos inimicorum suorum oppugnavit excidit incendit, qui stipatus semper sicariis, saeptus armatis, munitus indicibus fuit, quorum hodie copia redundat, qui et peregrinam manum facinerosorum concitavit et servos ad caedem idoneos emit et in tribunatu carcerem totum in forum effudit, volitat aedilis, accusat eum qui aliqua ex parte eius furorem exsultantem repressit: hic qui se est tutatus sic ut in privata re deos penatis suos, in re publica iura tribunatus atque auspicia defenderet, accusare eum moderate a quo ipse nefarie accusatur per senatus auctoritatem non est situs.
96. This, in truth, is the question which you put to me earnestly and most repeatedly while pleading in behalf of the prosecution,—namely, what I mean by the race of best men? For this is what you said. You ask a question which it is very desirable for the youth of the city to learn and not very difficult for me to explain, and with respect to it, I will, O judges, say a few words. And, as I think what I say will not be wholly unconnected with the advantage of those who hear me nor with my duty, nor with the very case which we are arguing of Publius Sestius. There have always in this city been two kinds of men who have been ambitious of being concerned in affairs of state, and of arriving at distinction by such a course and of these two kinds one wish to be considered popular men and the others wish both to be and to be considered of the party of the best men in the state. Those whose object it was that whatever they did and whatever they said should be agreeable to the multitude, were the popular party; but those who conducted themselves in such a way as to induce all the best men to approve of their counsels were considered of the best party.
96. hoc illud est quod de me potissimum tu in accusatione quaesisti, quae esset nostra “natio optimatium”; sic enim dixisti. quaeris praeclaram iuventuti ad discendum nec mihi difficilem ad perdocendum; de qua pauca, iudices, dicam, et, ut arbitror, nec ab utilitate eorum qui audient, nec ab officio vestro, nec ab ipsa causa P. Sesti abhorrebit oratio mea. genera semper in hac civitate fuerunt eorum qui versari in re publica atque in ea se excellentius gerere studuerunt; quibus ex generibus alteri se popularis, alteri optimates et haberi et esse voluerunt. ea quae faciebant quaeque dicebant multitudini iucunda volebant esse, populares, qui autem ita se gerebant ut sua consilia optimo cuique probarent, optimates habebantur.
97. Who then are they? Every good man. If you ask what are their numbers, they are innumerable. For if they were not, we could not stand. They are the chief men of the public council; they are those who follow their school they are the men of the highest orders of the state to whom the senate house is open; they are the citizens of the municipal towns and Roman citizens who dwell in the country; they are men engaged in business; there are even some freedmen of the best party. The number, as I have said, of this party is widely scattered in various directions; but the entire body (to prevent all mistakes) can be described and defined in a few words. All men belong to the best party, who are not guilty of any crime, nor wicked by nature, nor madmen, nor men embarrassed by domestic difficulties. Let it be laid down, then, that these men (this race, as you call them) are all those who are honest and in their senses, and who are well off in their domestic circumstances. Those who are guided by their wishes, who consult their interests and opinions in the management of the republic, are the partisans of the best men, and are themselves accounted best men, most wise and most illustrious citizens, and chief men in the state.
97. ergo iste optimus quisque?, si quaeris, innumerabiles, neque enim aliter stare possemus; sunt principes consili publici, sunt qui eorum sectam sequuntur, sunt maximorum ordinum homines, quibus patet curia, sunt municipales rusticique Romani, sunt negoti gerentes, sunt etiam libertini optimates., ut dixi, huius generis late et varie diffusus est; sed genus universum, ut tollatur error, brevi circumscribi et definiri potest. optimates sunt qui neque nocentes sunt nec natura improbi nec furiosi nec malis domesticis impediti. igitur ut ii sint, quam tu “nationem” appellasti, qui et integri sunt et sani et bene de rebus domesticis constituti. Horum qui voluntati, commodis, opinionibus in gubernanda re publica serviunt, defensores optimatium ipsique optimates gravissimi et clarissimi cives numerantur et principes civitatis.
98. What then, is the object proposed to themselves by these directors of the republic, which they are bound to keep their eyes fixed upon, and towards which they ought to direct their course? That which is most excellent and most desirable to all men in their senses, and to all good and happy men,—ease conjoined with duty. Those who seek this are all best men; those who effect it are considered the chief leaders in and the preservers of their states. For men ought not to be so elated by the dignity of the affairs which they have undertaken to manage, as to have no regard to their ease; nor ought they to dwell with fondness on any sort of ease which is inconsistent with dignity.
98. est igitur propositum his rei publicae gubernatoribus quod intueri et quo cursum suum derigere debeant? quod est praestantissimum maximeque optabile omnibus sanis et bonis et beatis, cum dignitate otium. qui volunt, omnes optimates, qui efficiunt, summi viri et conservatores civitatis putantur; neque enim rerum gerendarum dignitate homines ecferri ita convenit ut otio non prospiciant, neque ullum amplexari otium quod abhorreat a dignitate. autem otiosae dignitatis haec fundamenta sunt, haec membra, quae tuenda principibus et vel capitis periculo defendenda sunt: religiones, auspicia, potestates magistratuum, senatus auctoritas, leges, mos maiorum, iudicia, iuris dictio, fides, provinciae, socii, imperi laus, res militaris, aerarium.
99. And of this easy dignity these are the foundations, these are the component parts, which ought to he upheld by the chief men, and to be defended even at the hazard of their lives: religious observances, the auspices, the civil power of magistrates, the authority of the senate, the laws, the usages of one's ancestors, the courts of justice, the jurisdiction of the judges, good faith, the provinces, the allies, the glory of the empire, the whole affairs of the army, the treasury. To the defender and advocate of all these things, numerous and important as they are, is a task to employ great courage, great ability, and great firmness. In truth, in such a vast number of citizens, there is a great multitude of those men, who either, from fear of punishment, because they are conscious of their own misdeeds, are anxious for fresh changes and revolutions in the republic; or who, on account of some innate insanity of mind, feed upon the discords and seditions of the citizens; or else who, on account of the embarrassment of their estates and circumstances, had rather burn in one vast common conflagration, than in one which consumed only themselves. And when these men have found instigators, leaders in and promoters of their own objects and vices, their waves are stirred up in the republic, so that those men must watch who have demanded for themselves the helm of the country, and they must strive with all their skill and with all their diligence, in order that they may be able to preserve these things which I have just now called its foundations and component parts, and so keep in their course and reach that harbour of ease and dignity.
99. rerum tot atque tantarum esse defensorem et patronum magni animi est, magni ingeni magnaeque constantiae. in tanto civium numero magna multitudo est eorum qui aut propter metum poenae, peccatorum suorum conscii, novos motus conversionesque rei publicae quaerant, aut qui propter insitum quendam animi furorem discordiis civium ac seditione pascantur, aut qui propter implicationem rei familiaris communi incendio malint quam suo deflagrare. cum tutores sunt et duces suorum studiorum vitiorumque nacti, in re publica fluctus excitantur, ut vigilandum sit iis qui sibi gubernacula patriae depoposcerunt, enitendumque omni scientia ac diligentia ut, conservatis iis quae ego paulo ante fundamenta ac membra esse dixi, tenere cursum possint et capere oti illum portum et dignitatis.
100. If, O judges, I were to deny that this path is rugged and difficult, and full of danger and snares, I should speak falsely, especially as I have not only always been aware that it was so, but have been alive to its perils and labours more than any other man. The republic is attacked by greater forces and more numerous bodies than those by which it is defended because audacious and abandoned men are impelled on by a nod, and are even of their own accord excited by nature to be enemies to the republic. And somehow or other good men are slower in action, and overlooking the first beginnings of things, are at last aroused by necessity itself so that some times through their very delays and tardiness of movement while they wish to retain their ease even without dignity, they, of their own accord, lose both.
100. ego viam, iudices, si aut asperam atque arduam aut plenam esse periculorum aut insidiarum negem, mentiar, praesertim cum id non modo intellexerim semper, sed etiam praeter ceteros senserim. praesidiis et copiis oppugnatur res publica quam defenditur, propterea quod audaces homines et perditi nutu impelluntur et ipsi etiam sponte sua contra rem publicam incitantur, boni nescio quo modo tardiores sunt et principiis rerum neglectis ad extremum ipsa denique necessitate excitantur, ita ut non numquam cunctatione ac tarditate, dum otium volunt etiam sine dignitate retinere, ipsi utrumque amittant.
101. But those who are desirous to be defenders of the republic, if they be fickle men, soon give up the task; if they be at all timid men, they abandon it; and those alone remain and endure everything for the sake of the republic, who are such men as your father was, O Marcus Scaurus, who resisted all seditious men, from the time of Caius Gracchus to that of Quintus Varius, whom no violence, no threats, and no unpopularity ever shook; or such as Quintus Metellus, the uncle of your mother; who, when as censor he had branded a man most flourishing in the popular esteem, Lucius Saturninus, and when he had expunged a pretended Gracchus from the list of the citizens, in spite of the violence of an excited mob, and when he alone had refused to swear obedience to a law which he considered had not been legally enacted, preferred to abandon the city rather than his opinion; or, (to leave off quoting ancient examples, of which there is an abundance worthy of the glory of this empire, while yet I avoid naming any one who is now alive,) such as Quintus Catulus lately was, whom neither the tempest of danger nor the breeze of honour could ever move from his straight course, either by hope or fear.
101. autem rei publicae qui esse voluerunt, si leviores sunt, desciscunt, si timidiores, desunt: permanent illi soli atque omnia rei publicae causa perferunt qui sunt tales qualis pater tuus, M. Scaure, fuit, qui a C. Graccho usque ad Q. Varium seditiosis omnibus restitit, quem numquam ulla vis, ullae minae, ulla invidia labefecit; aut qualis Q. Metellus, patruus matris tuae, qui cum florentem hominem in populari ratione, L. Saturninum, censor notasset, cumque insitivum Gracchum contra vim multitudinis incitatae censu prohibuisset, cumque in eam legem quam non iure rogatam iudicarat iurare unus noluisset, de civitate maluit quam de sententia demoveri; aut, ut vetera exempla, quorum est copia digna huius imperi gloria, relinquam, neve eorum aliquem qui vivunt nominem, qualis nuper Q. Catulus fuit, quem neque periculi tempestas neque honoris aura potuit umquam de suo cursu aut spe aut metu demovere.
102. Imitate those men, I beg you in the name of the immortal gods, you who seek for dignity, and praise, and glory. These examples are honourable; these are godlike; these are immortal; these are celebrated in fame, and are committed to the eternal recollection of our annals, and are handed down to posterity. It is a labour, I do not deny it. The dangers are great, I admit it,—The path of virtuous men is full of snares.That is a most true saying. The poet says further,—But to demand those honours which exciteThe general envy and desire of all,And yet to shun the toil and ceaseless careWhich can alone conduct to such a goal,Is purest ignorance. The same poet says in another place, (a sentence which wicked citizens are inclined to catch at,) “Let them hate me, as long as they fear.” For he gave those admirable precepts to the young men.
102. imitamini, per deos immortalis, qui dignitatem, qui laudem, qui gloriam quaeritis! ampla sunt, haec divina, haec immortalia; haec fama celebrantur, monumentis annalium mandantur, posteritati propagantur. labor, non nego; pericula magna, fateor;múltae insidiae súnt bonisverissime dictum est; sed teíd quod multi invídeant multique éxpetant inscítiast,inquit,póstulare, nísi laborem súmma cum cura écferas.idem alio loco dixisset, quod exciperent improbi cives,óderint, dum métuant;praeclara enim illa praecepta dederat iuventuti.
103. But nevertheless this path and this system of undertaking public affairs was formerly more formidable, as in many particulars the desire of the multitude and the whim of the people were at variance with the interests of the republic. A law for the establishment of the ballot was brought forward by Lucius Cassius. The people thought that its liberties were at stake; the chief men of the state dissented, and in a matter affecting the safety of the nobles, they feared the rashness of the multitude, and the licentiousness of the ballot. Tiberius Gracchus brought forward an Agrarian law. It was very acceptable to the people; the fortunes of the poorer classes appeared likely to be established by it. The nobles strove against it, because they saw that discord was excited by it; and because, as the object of it was to deprive the wealthy men of their ancient possessions, they thought that by it the republic was being deprived of its defenders. Caius Gracchus brought forward a law respecting corn. It was a very pleasing proposal to the common people at Rome; for food was to be supplied to them in abundance without any trouble. The good resisted it because they thought that its effect would be to lead the common people away from industry to idleness, and because the treasury was likely to be drained by such a measure.
103. tamen haec via ac ratio rei publicae capessendae olim erat magis pertimescenda, cum multis in rebus multitudinis studium aut populi commodum ab utilitate rei publicae discrepabat. lex ab L. Cassio ferebatur: populus libertatem agi putabat suam; dissentiebant principes et in salute optimatium temeritatem multitudinis et tabellae licentiam pertimescebant. Ti. Gracchus legem ferebat: grata erat populo; fortunae constitui tenuiorum videbantur; nitebantur contra optimates, quod et discordiam excitari videbant et, cum locupletes possessionibus diuturnis moverentur, spoliari rem publicam propugnatoribus arbitrabantur. legem C. Gracchus ferebat: iucunda res plebei, victus enim suppeditabatur large sine labore; repugnabant boni, quod et ab industria plebem ad desidiam avocari putabant et aerarium exhauriri videbant.
104. There have been also many cases within our own recollection, which I pass over on purpose, in which the desire of the people has been at variance with the wisdom of the nobles. At present there is no subject on which the people need disagree with its chosen magistrates and with the nobles; it is not demanding anything, nor is it eager for a revolution, and it is fond of its own tranquillity, and pleased with the dignity and worth of every eminent man, and with the glory of the whole republic. Therefore seditious and turbulent men, because they cannot at present stir up the Roman people by any bribery, since the common people, having gone through some most violent seditious and discords, appear for the most for ease and tranquillity, now hold packed assemblies, and do not concern themselves about saying or proposing what those men who are present in the assembly may like to hear, but they contrive by bribery and corruption that whatever they say may appear to be what those men wish to hear.
104. etiam nostra memoria, quae consulto praetereo, fuerunt in ea contentione ut popularis cupiditas a consilio principum dissideret. iam nihil est quod populus a delectis principibusque dissentiat: nec flagitat rem ullam neque novarum rerum est cupidus et otio suo et dignitate optimi cuiusque et universae rei publicae gloria delectatur. homines seditiosi ac turbulenti, quia nulla iam largitione populum Romanum concitare possunt, quod plebes perfuncta gravissimis seditionibus ac discordiis otium amplexatur, conductas habent contiones, neque id agunt ut ea dicant aut ferant quae illi velint audire qui in contione sunt, sed pretio ac mercede perficiunt ut, quicquid dicant, id illi velle audire videantur.
105. Do you think that the Gracchi, or that Saturninus, or that any one of those ancient men who were considered devoted to the interests of the people, had ever any hired fellows in their assemblies? No one of those men ever stooped to such a course. For the mere liberality of their proposed laws, and the hope of the advantage which was held out to them, excited the multitude sufficiently without any bribery. Therefore, in those times, those men who set up for friends of the people, were hindered in their plans by wise and honourable men, but they were great men in the opinion of the populace, and received every sort of honour from them. They were applauded in the theatre; they gained whatever they sought for by their suffrages; men loved their names, their language, their countenances, their very gait. But those who opposed this class of men were accounted wise and great men; they had great influence in the senate, great influence among all good men; but they were unpopular with the multitude; their inclinations were frequently thwarted by the suffrages of the populace; and if any one of them at any time received any applause in the theatre, he began to be afraid that he had done something wrong; but at the same time, if there was anything of more than ordinary importance under discussion, then that same populace was chiefly influenced by the authority of those men.
105. vos existimatis Gracchos aut Saturninum aut quemquam illorum veterum qui populares habebantur ullum umquam in contione habuisse conductum? habuit; ipsa enim largitio et spes commodi propositi sine mercede ulla multitudinem concitabat. temporibus illis, qui populares erant, offendebant illi quidem apud gravis et honestos homines, sed populi iudiciis atque omni significatione florebant. in theatro plaudebatur, hi suffragiis quod contenderant consequebantur, horum homines nomen, orationem, vultum, incessum amabant. autem adversabantur ei generi, graves et magni homines habebantur; sed valebant in senatu multum, apud bonos viros plurimum, multitudini iucundi non erant; suffragiis offendebatur saepe eorum voluntas; plausum vero etiam si quis eorum aliquando acceperat, ne quid peccasset pertimescebat. tamen, si quae res erat maior, idem ille populus horum auctoritate maxime commovebatur.
106. Now, unless I am mistaken, the state is in such a condition, that if you take away the artisans who are hired to support the party of these wicked men, everybody in the republic appears to be of the same opinion. In truth, there are three places in which the opinion and inclination of the Roman people may be ascertained in the greatest degree; the assembly, the comitia, and the meetings at the games and at exhibitions of gladiators. What assembly has there been of late years, which has not been a packed and bribed one, but a genuine one, in which the unanimity of the Roman people has not been very perceivable? Many assemblies were held concerning me by that most wicked gladiator, to which no one ever went who was unbribed, no one who was an honest man; no good man could endure to behold that ill-omened countenance, or to listen to that frantic voice. Those assemblies were, I admit that those assemblies of abandoned men were necessarily turbulent.
106. , nisi me fallit, in eo statu civitas est ut, si operas conductorum removeris, omnes idem de re publica sensuri esse videantur. tribus locis significari maxime de ⟨re publica⟩ populi Romani iudicium ac voluntas potest, contione, comitiis, ludorum gladiatorumque consessu. contio fuit per hos annos, quae quidem esset non conducta sed vera, in qua populi Romani consensus non perspici posset? sunt multae de me a gladiatore sceleratissimo, ad quas nemo adibat incorruptus, nemo integer; nemo illum foedum vultum aspicere, nemo furialem vocem bonus audire poterat. illae contiones perditorum hominum necessario turbulentae.
107. Publius Lentulus, too, held an assembly, also about my affairs. There was a vast flocking to it of the whole Roman people; all ranks of society, all Italy stood side by side in that assembly. He argued my cause with the greatest authority, and the greatest fluency of language amid such silent attention and such visible approbation from every one, that nothing so pleasing appeared ever to have fallen on the ears of the Roman people. Cnaeus Pompeius was brought forward by him, who displayed himself then not only as the main author of my safety, but even as a suppliant to the Roman people. His oration also was one of great weight and was pleasing to the assembly. And I assert that no opinion of his ever carried more authority with it; and that no eloquence of his was ever more agreeable. With what silent attention were the other chief men of the city listened to while speaking in my behalf;
107. de eodem me P. Lentulus consul contionem: concursus est populi Romani factus; omnes ordines, tota in illa contione Italia constitit. causam summa cum gravitate copiaque dicendi tanto silentio, tanta adprobatione omnium, nihil ut umquam videretur tam populare ad populi Romani auris accidisse. est ab eo Cn. Pompeius, qui se non solum auctorem meae salutis, sed etiam supplicem populo Romano ⟨praebuit⟩. oratio ut semper gravis et grata in contionibus fuit, sic contendo numquam neque sententiam eius auctoritate neque eloquentiam iucunditate fuisse maiore.
108. whom I do not mention in this place, only lest my speech, if I say too little of any one, should seem ungrateful and if I were to say enough of each individual, interminable. Turn now to the harangue of that same enemy of mine concerning me the same person of whom those great men had been speaking, delivered in the Campus Martins, to a genuine assembly of the people. Who was there who (I will not say approved of it but who) did not think it a most scandalous thing that he should be allowed to live and breathe at all, much less to speak? Who was there who did not think that the republic was polluted by his voice and that he himself, if he only listened to him was implicated in his wickedness?
108. silentio sunt auditi de me ceteri principes civitatis! quos idcirco non appello hoc loco ne mea oratio, si minus de aliquo dixero, ingrata, si satis de omnibus, infinita esse videatur. nunc eiusdem illius inimici mei de me eodem ad verum populum in campo Martio contionem! non modo adprobavit, sed non indignissimum facinus putavit illum non dicam loqui, sed vivere ac spirare? fuit qui non eius voce maculari rem publicam, seque si eum audiret scelere adstringi arbitraretur?
109. I come now to the comitia, whether those for electing magistrates or for enacting laws. We often see many laws passed. I say nothing of those which are passed in such a manner that scarcely five men, and those only of the lowest class, can be found to give a vote for them. He says that at the time of that ruin of the republic he carried a law respecting me, whom he called a tyrant and the destroyer of liberty. Who is there who will confess that he gave a vote when this law was passed against me? But when, in compliance with the same resolution of the senate, a law was passed about me in the comitia centuriata who is there who does not profess that then he was present, and that he gave a vote in favour of my safety? Which cause then, is the one which only to appear popular? that in which everything that is honourable in the city, and every age, and every rank of men agree? or that to the carrying of which some excited enemies fly as if hastening to banquet on the funeral of the republic?
109. ad comitia, sive magistratuum placet sive legum. videmus saepe ferri multas. eas quae feruntur ita vix ut quini, et ii ex aliena tribu, qui suffragium ferant reperiantur. me, quem tyrannum atque ereptorem libertatis esse dicebat illa ruina rei publicae, dicit se legem tulisse. est qui se, cum contra me ferebatur, inisse suffragium confiteatur? Cum autem de me eodem ex senatus consulto comitiis centuriatis ferebatur, quis est qui non profiteatur se adfuisse et suffragium de salute mea tulisse? Vtra igitur causa popularis debet videri: in qua omnes honestates civitatis, omnes aetates, omnes ordines una consentiunt, an in qua furiae concitatae tamquam ad funus rei publicae convolant?
110. Suppose Gellius is present anywhere, a man unworthy of his brother, who is a most illustrious citizen and has been a most excellent consul and of the equestrian order of which he retains the name, though he has squandered the fortune which entitled him to it; will his presence make an assembly a popular one? For, to be sure, he is a man quite devoted to the Roman people. I never saw one more so. Why, even when, in his youth, he might have shared to some extent in the credit arising from the ample honours of that most admirable man, Lucius Philippus, his step-father, he was so far from being fond of the people, that he devoured the whole of his property by himself. Afterwards, from having been a profligate and licentious young man, after he had brought down his paternal property from the easy circumstances in which stupid people take delight, to the strict rule of philosophers, he wished to be considered a man of Greek learning, and a quiet scholar, and on a sudden devoted himself to the study of literature. But his old Greeks did not do him much good; his slaves who read to him, and his books, were often pledged for wine; his appetite was as insatiable as ever; but his resources fell short enough. Therefore he was perpetually occupied with thoughts of revolution; he was growing old and weary of the peace and tranquillity of the republic. Has there ever been any sedition of which he has not been a prime mover? Has there ever been any seditious man with whom he has not been intimate? Has there ever been any turbulent assembly of which he has not been an exciter? Has he ever spoken well of any good man? Spoken well, do I say? Yes, rather, is there any brave and good citizen whom he has not attacked in the most wanton manner? A fellow who—not, I fancy, out of any desire, but merely in order to seem a favourer of the common people—took a freedwoman for his wife.
110. sicubi aderit Gellius, homo et fratre indignus, viro clarissimo atque optimo consule, et ordine equestri, cuius ille ordinis nomen retinet, ornamenta confecit, id erit populare? “enim homo iste populo Romano deditus.” vidi magis; qui, cum eius adulescentia in amplissimis honoribus summi viri, L. Philippi vitrici, florere potuisset, usque eo non fuit popularis ut bona solus comesset; deinde ex impuro adulescente et petulante, postea quam rem paternam ab idiotarum divitiis ad philosophorum reculam perduxit, Graeculum se atque otiosum putari voluit, studio litterarum se subito dedidit. sane ⟨Actaei⟩ iuvabant anagnostae, libelli pro vino etiam saepe oppignerabantur; manebat insaturabile abdomen, copiae deficiebant. semper versabatur in spe rerum novarum, otio et tranquillitate rei publicae consenescebat. seditio umquam fuit in qua non ille princeps? ecqui seditiosus cui ille non familiaris? ecquae turbulenta contio cuius ille non concitator? bene dixit umquam bono? bene dixit? immo quem fortem et bonum civem non petulantissime est insectatus? qui, ut credo, non libidinis causa, sed ut plebicola videretur, libertinam duxit uxorem.
111. He voted concerning me; he was present at the assembly; he was present at all the banquets and mutual congratulations of that parricidal crew. However, he avenged me well when he kissed my enemies with that impure mouth of his. For, just as if it were owing to me that he has lost his property, he is an enemy to me on that very account, because he has nothing left. Have I, O Gellius, taken your patrimony from you, or have you devoured it? What? Were you, you gulf and whirlpool of your patrimony, were you gormandising at my risk, when you wished to prevent me from remaining any longer in the city, because as consul I had defended the republic against you and your associates? There is not one of your family who can bear the sight of you. All men avoid your approach, your conversation, your society. Postumius, the son of your sister, a young man of great prudence and high character, with the judgment of an man, branded you, when amid a great number of guardians he did not appoint you as one of the guardians of his children. But I have been carried away by indignation on my own account and on that of the republic (and I do not know which of us two he hates most) to say more than I need have said against that most frantic and impoverished glutton.
111. de me suffragium tulit, is adfuit, is interfuit epulis et gratulationibus parricidarum; in quo tamen est me ultus, cum illo ore inimicos est meos saviatus. quasi mea culpa bona perdiderit, ita ob eam ipsam causam est mihi inimicus, quia nihil habet. Vtrum ego tibi patrimonium eripui, Gelli, an tu comedisti?? tu meo periculo, gurges ac vorago patrimoni, helluabare, ut, si ego consul rem publicam contra te et gregalis tuos defendissem, in civitate esse me nolles? nemo tuorum videre vult, omnes aditum, sermonem, congressum tuum fugiunt: te sororis filius Postumius, adulescens gravis, senili iudicio, notavit, cum in magno numero tutorem liberis non instituit. elatus odio et meo et rei publicae nomine, quorum ille utri sit inimicior nescio, plura dixi quam dicendum fuit in furiosissimum atque egentissimum ganeonem.
112. I return to my original subject, that, when the proceedings were being carried on against me, while the city was taken and oppressed, Gellius and Firmius and Titius, all Furies of the same class, were the chiefs and leaders of those mercenary bands, while the proposer of the law himself was in no respect free from being implicated in their baseness, and audacity, and iniquity. But when the law was passed for my restoration to my dignity, no one thought that either infirm health or old age supplied him with any reasonable excuse for being absent, there was no one who did not consider that by his vote he was recalling not only me but also the republic at the same time to its ancient position.
112. revertor: contra me cum sit actum, capta urbe atque oppressa, Gellium, Firmidium, Titium, eiusdem modi furias illis mercennariis gregibus duces et auctores fuisse, cum ipse lator nihil ab horum turpitudine, audacia, sordibus abhorreret. cum de dignitate mea ferebatur, nemo sibi nec valetudinis excusationem nec senectutis satis iustam putavit; nemo fuit qui se non rem publicam mecum simul revocare in suas sedis arbitraretur.
113. Let us now consider the comitia held for the election of magistrates. There was lately a college of tribunes, among whom three were considered not at all attached to the party of the people; but three were supposed to be most violently so. Of those who were not considered friends of the people and who were unable to stand before a packed and bribed assembly of that sort, I see that two have been made praetors by the Roman people and as far as I have been able to understand, by the conversation of the common people and by their votes, the Roman people openly alleged that the consistent and illustrious courage exhibited by Cnaeus Domitius in his tribuneship and the good faith and fortitude of Quintus Ancharius, would have been pleasing to them for the mere good-will which it proved even if they had not been able to effect anything. We see, now, what is the opinion which is entertained of Caius Fannius; and what the opinion of the Roman people is likely to be when he seeks for honours, ought to be doubtful to no one.
113. nunc comitia magistratuum. conlegium nuper tribunicium, in quo tres minime, vehementer duo populares existimabantur. iis qui populares non habebantur, quibus in illo genere conductarum contionum consistendi potestas non erat, duo a populo Romano praetores video esse factos; et, quantum sermonibus vulgi et suffragiis intellegere potui, prae se populus Romanus ferebat sibi illum in tribunatu Cn. Domiti animum constantem et egregium et Q. Anchari fidem ac fortitudinem, etiam si nihil agere potuissent, tamen voluntate ipsa gratum fuisse. de C. Fannio quae sit existimatio videmus: quod iudicium populi Romani in honoribus eius futurum sit, nemini dubium esse debet.
114. What more shall I say? How did those two friends of the people fare? One, who however had put some restraint on himself, had proposed no law; he had merely entertained very different sentiments respecting the republic from those which men expected of him as he had been a virtuous and innocent man, and one at all times esteemed by virtuous men; but as in his tribuneship he had shown himself very little able to comprehend what was approved by the genuine body of the people, and because he imagined that that was the Roman people which attended those assemblies, he did not attain that honour at which he would easily have arrived, if he had not hunted so much after popularity. The other, who was so frantic in his desire for popularity, that he thought neither the auspices, nor the Aelian law, nor the authority of the senate, nor the consul, nor his colleagues, nor the estimation of good men, of any importance at all, stood for the aedileship along with some virtuous men of the highest character, but still not men in the first rank for riches and personal influence; and did not get the vote of even his own tribe. He lost also the vote of the Palatine tribe, by the assistance of which it used to be said that all those pests were able to annoy the Roman people; and, indeed, (as was very acceptable to all good men,) he got nothing but repulses at that comitia. You see, therefore, that the very people itself—if I may use such an expression—is not for a seeker after popularity, since it so vehemently rejects those men who are accounted popular characters, and considers those men the most worthy of honour who are the most opposed to that class of men.
114. ? populares illi duo quid egerunt?, qui tamen se continuerat, tulerat nihil, senserat tantum de re publica aliud atque homines exspectabant, vir et bonus et innocens et bonis viris semper probatus, quod parum videlicet intellexit in tribunatu quid vero populo probaretur, et quod illum esse populum Romanum qui in contione erat arbitrabatur, non tenuit eum locum in quem, nisi popularis esse voluisset, facillime pervenisset., qui ita se in populari ratione iactarat ut auspicia, legem Aeliam, senatus auctoritatem, consulem, conlegas, bonorum iudicium nihili putaret, aedilitatem petivit cum bonis viris et hominibus primis sed non praestantissimis opibus et gratia: tribum suam non tulit, Palatinam denique, per quam omnes illae pestes vexare rem publicam dicebantur, perdidit, nec quicquam illis comitiis quod boni viri vellent nisi repulsam tulit. igitur populum ipsum, ut ita dicam, iam non esse popularem, qui ita vehementer eos qui populares habentur respuat, eos autem qui ei generi adversantur honore dignissimos iudicet.
115. Let us now come to the games. For the way in which I see your attention given to me, and your eyes directed towards me makes me think that I may be allowed now to speak in a lighter tone. At times the intimations of opinion which take place in assemblies and comitia are to be depended on; at times they are worthless and corrupt. The crowd of spectators in the theatre and at the gladiatorial games, are said at all times to pour forth their purchased applauses in small and scanty proportion at the caprice of a few directors. But it is easy, when that is the case, to see how it is done, and by whom, and what the entire people are doing. Why need I tell you now what men, or what description of citizens, receive the greatest applause? There is not one of you who is ignorant of this. However, let this be a matter of slight consequence, not that it really is, since it is given to every virtuous man; but, if it be a matter of slight consequence, it is so only to a wise man. But to him who depends on the most trivial circumstances, who (as these men say themselves) is fettered and guided by popular rumour and popular favour, it is inevitable that applause must appear immortality and hissing death.
115. ad ludos; facit enim, iudices, vester iste in me animorum oculorumque coniectus ut mihi iam licere putem remissiore uti genere dicendi. et contionum significationes sunt interdum verae, sunt non numquam vitiatae atque corruptae; theatrales gladiatoriique consessus dicuntur omnino solere levitate non nullorum emptos plausus exilis et raros excitare; ac tamen facile est, cum id fit, quem ad modum et a quibus fiat, et quid integra multitudo faciat videre. ego nunc dicam quibus viris aut cui generi civium maxime plaudatur? vestrum fallit. hoc sane leve, quod non ita est, quoniam optimo cuique impertitur; sed, si est leve, homini gravi leve est, ei vero qui pendet rebus levissimis, qui rumore et, ut ipsi loquuntur, favore populi tenetur et ducitur, plausum immortalitatem, sibilum mortem videri necesse est.
116. I, then, ask you, above all men, O Scaurus, you who have exhibited the most splendid and magnificent games of all men,—whether any one of those popular characters was ever a spectator of your games? whether any one of them ever trusted himself to the theatre and to the Roman people? That very chief buffoon of all that man who was not only spectator, but it the same time actor and spouter,—that man who filled up all his sister's interludes who is introduced into companies of women as a singing-girl,—neither ventured to go to see your games in that furious tribuneship of his, nor any other games either except those from which he had some difficulty in escaping with his life. Once altogether, I say, did that popular man venture to trust himself among the spectators of the games when in the temple of Honour and Virtue honour was paid to virtue and when the monument of Caius Marius, the preserver of this empire had afforded a place in which the citizens could provide for the safety of a man who was a fellow citizen of his own municipal town, and defender of the republic.
116. te igitur, Scaure, potissimum quaero, qui ludos apparatissimos magnificentissimosque fecisti, ecquis istorum popularium tuos ludos aspexerit, ecquis se theatro populoque Romano commiserit. ille maxime ludius, non solum spectator sed actor et acroama, qui omnia sororis embolia novit, qui in coetum mulierum pro psaltria adducitur, nec tuos ludos aspexit in illo ardenti tribunatu suo nec ullos alios nisi eos a quibus vix vivus effugit., inquam, se ludis homo popularis commisit omnino, cum in templo honos habitus esset virtuti, Gaique Mari, conservatoris huius imperi, monumentum municipi eius et rei publicae defensori sedem ad salutem praebuisset.
117. And at that time it was shown plainly enough with reference to both parties what were the real feelings of the Roman people in the first place when, after having heard the resolution of the senate universal applause was given to the proposer of the law and to the senate as a body, though it was not present and secondly, when every individual senator, as he returned from the senate to see the games, was received with loud clapping of hands. But, when the consul himself, who was exhibiting the games, took his seat, then the people stood undertaking him with extended hands, and with tears of joy declared their good will towards and pity for me. But when that furious enemy of mine with his senseless and frantic mind, arrived the Roman people could hardly restrain itself; the men could hardly abstain from wreaking their hatred on his foul and wicked person. Words indeed, and menacing gestures of the hands and loud outcries in the war of abuse and of curses on him were universal But why need I speak of the disposition and courage of the Roman people, looking back on their liberty after their long slavery, as shown by their conduct towards that man, whom, though he was at that time standing for the aedileship, even the actors did not spare to his face.
117. quidem tempore quid populus Romanus sentire se ostenderet utroque in genere declaratum est: primum cum audito senatus consulto rei ipsi atque absenti senatui plausus est ab universis datus, deinde cum senatoribus singulis spectatum e senatu redeuntibus: cum vero ipse qui ludos faciebat consul adsedit, stantes ei manibus passis gratias agentes et lacrimantes gaudio suam erga me benivolentiam ac misericordiam declararunt. cum ille furibundus incitata illa sua vaecordi mente venisset, vix se populus Romanus tenuit, vix homines odium suum a corpore eius impuro atque infando represserunt; voces quidem et palmarum intentus et maledictorum clamorem omnes profuderunt.
118. For as the play being exhibited was one of Roman life,—“The Pretender,” I believe,—the whole troop of actors, speaking in most splendid concert, and looking in the face of this profligate man, laid the greatest emphasis on the words, “To such a life as yours,” and, “The continued course and end of your wicked life.” He sat frightened out of his wits; and he, who formerly used to pack the assemblies which he summoned with bands of noisy buffoons, was now driven away by the voices of these same players. And since I have mentioned the games, I will not omit that circumstance, that amid the great variety of sentences and apophthegms which occur in that play, there was not one passage in which any expression of the poet had any bearing on our times, which either escaped the notice of the main body of the people, or on which particular emphasis was not laid by the actor.
118. quid ego populi Romani animum virtutemque commemoro, libertatem iam ex diuturna servitute dispicientis, in eo homine cui tum petenti iam aedilitatem ne histriones quidem coram sedenti pepercerunt? cum ageretur togata “Simulans”, ut opinor, caterva tota clarissima concentione in ore impuri hominis imminens contionata est:huic, Tite,tua póst principia atque éxitus vitiósae vitae —!exanimatus, et is qui antea cantorum convicio contiones celebrare suas solebat cantorum ipsorum vocibus eiciebatur. quoniam facta mentio est ludorum, ne illud quidem praetermittam, in magna varietate sententiarum numquam ullum fuisse locum, in quo aliquid a poeta dictum cadere in tempus nostrum videretur, quod aut populum universum fugeret aut non exprimeret ipse actor.
119. And I entreat you, while speaking on this topic, O judges, not to think that I am led by any levity of disposition to an unusual description of oratory, if in a court of justice I speak of poets, and actors, and games. I am not, O judges, so ignorant of the forms of proceeding in trials, I am not so inexperienced in speaking, as to hunt for topics of every sort, and to gather and taste every sort of flower from every quarter. I know what is due to your dignity, and to my duty as counsel for the defence, and to this court, and to the character of Publius Sestius, and to the magnitude of his danger, and to my own age and to my own honour. But I have considered that while speaking on this point it was desirable to explain to the youth of the city who were the best men. And in explaining that point it was necessary to show that those men are not all friends of the people who are thought to be so. And that I can do most easily, if I represent to them the genuine and unbribed opinion of the Roman people, and the real inmost feelings of the citizens.
119. quaeso hoc loco, iudices, ne qua levitate me ductum ad insolitum genus dicendi labi putetis, si de poetis, de histrionibus, de ludis in iudicio loquar. sum tam ignarus, iudices, causarum, non tam insolens in dicendo, ut omni ex genere orationem aucuper et omnis undique flosculos carpam atque delibem. quid gravitas vestra, quid haec advocatio, quid ille conventus, quid dignitas P. Sesti, quid periculi magnitudo, quid aetas, quid honos meus postulet. mihi sumpsi hoc loco doctrinam quandam iuventuti, qui essent optimates. ea explicanda demonstrandum est non esse popularis omnis eos qui putentur. facillime consequar, si universi populi iudicium verum et incorruptum et si intimos sensus civitatis expressero.