^^H ■ ■mi H it ! ■ H tiit if.- 4 m HBUmwrctllf! M. tfll Xfl ■HjiM Bj K&wh Hil H Hi il' 1 '*' ■■ [■ill Rfl WtmH K *H ,f»**i I I 91 IB ■IH HBiiiSfi Hi ■HI Glass 231 — a S ainst CATILINE, ft i sZZjsi vri. j f 1 4- — is? VIII. forL.MUR^ENA, 209 IX. for the Poet ARCHIAS, 28 7 X. - forM. CCELIUS, 307 XI. against L. CALPURPISO, 363 XII. ; — for T. ANNIUS MILO, 435 XIII. — ^ — for M. MARCELLXJS, ;-.. 509 xv, 1 r 1 — 551 -579 — 559 xv. -) w/ r 1 XVI. J- against M. ANTONY, < 2- XVII. J ^ (. 3 A 4 M CICERO'S SELECT ORATIONS #♦ €♦ Ciceroni ORATIONES QUJEDAM SELECTS, ORATIO I. IN O. C^ECILIUM*. I. — SI quis vestrum, Judices, aut eorum qui adsunt, forte wiiratur, me, qui tot annos in causis judiciisque publicis ita sim versatus, ut defenderim multos, lssserim neminem, subita nunc mutata voluntate ad accusandum descendere : is, si mei eonsilii causam rationemque cognoverit, una et id quod facio probabit, et in hac causa profecto neminem praeponendum esse mihi actorem putabit. Cum quaestor in Sicilia fuissem, Judices, Itaque ex ea provincia decessissem, ut Siculis omnibus jucun- dam, diuturnamque memoriam quaesturae, nominisque mei re- linquerem : factum est, uti cum summum in (») veteribus pa- tronis multis, turn nonnullum etiam in me presidium suis for- tunis constitutum esse arbitrarentur : qui nunc populati atque vexati, cuncti ad me publice saepe venerunt, ut suarum fortuna- rum omnium causam, defensionemque susciperem ; me scepe * The occasion of this oration was as follows : Verres having governed Sicily three years with the title of prsetor, distinguished himself in that employment by ever)' art of oppression and tyranny. When his command was at an end, all the people of Sicily, those of Syracuse and Messina excepted, refolved to impeach him upon the law of bribery and corruption, and applied to Gicero, who had formerly been questor among them, that he would manage the prosecution. Gicero, though he had hitherto employed his eloquence only in defence of his friends, yet readily un- dertook the present cause, as it was both just and popular, and gave him an. opportu- nity ofdifplaying his abilities against Hortensius, the only man in Rome that could pretend to rival him in the talent of fpeaking. In the mean time, Quintus Ca> cilius Niger, who had been queflor to Verres, and an accomplice with him in hi? guilt, claimed a preference to Cicero in the task of accusing, and endeavoured to get the cause into his hands in order to betray it. He pretended to have received many 1 perfonal injuries from Verres : that having been questor under him, he was better ac- quainted with his crimes : and lastly, that being a native of Sicily, he had the best right to prosecute the oppressor of his country. Cicero refutes these reasons in the following oration, which is called Dhinatio, because the process to which it relate* was wholly conjectural. For the cause not properly regarding a matter of fact, bur the claim and qualifications of the accusers, the judges, without the help of witnesses, #♦ €♦ Cicero^ SELECT ORATIONS, ORATION I. AGAINST CiECILIUS. Sect. I. — -IF any upon your bench, my Lords, or in this as- sembly, should perhaps wonder that I, whose practice for so many years, in causes and public trials, has been such as to defend many, but attack none ,* now suddenly change from my wonted manner, and descend to the office of an accuser ; I am apt to think, that upon weighing the grounds and rea- sons of my proceeding, he will not only approve of the step I have taken, but own likewise that I deserve the preference to all others, in the management of the present prosecution. When I had finished my questorship in Sicily, my Lords, and was returned from that province, leaving a greateful and lasting remembrance of my name and administration behind me ; it so fell out that the Sicilians, as they placed the highest confidence in many of their ancient patrons, so did they imagine they might repose some in me too for the security of their fortunes. And being at that time grievously harrassed and oppressed, they frequently came to me in a body, publicly solicting me to un- dertake their defence. They put me in mind of my many were to divine, as It were, what was fit to be dons. This happened in the 37th year of, Cicero's age. and the 685th of Rome. The affair was decided in favor of Cicero. (1) Veterihus patronis multis.] The provinces had all their protectors and patrons at Rome, who took care of their interefts, and to whom they applied for a redress of grievances. The choice in this case commonly fell upon the person who had conquer- ed the country, and reduced it into the form of a province. This right of patronage descended to his pofttrity, and was considered as an inheritance of the family. Sciciiy had many powerful patrons at Rome. The family of theMurcelli, sprung from that Mar- cellus, who in the second Punic war conquered Syracuse, The descendants of Scipio Africanus, who after the deftruction of Carthage, carried back in triumph to Sicily all the ornaments of which the Carthaginians had robbed that island Laftly, the Metelli, two of whom viz. Metellus Celer, and Metellus Nepos, impeached Marcus Lepidus on account of his misconduct when prsetor in that province. B 4 -M. T. CICnRONTS ORATlONIS. esse poliicitum, sacpe ostendisse dicebant, si quod tempus acci- disset, quo tempore aliquid a me requirerent, commodis corum- me non defuiiirum. Venisse tempus aiebant, non jam ut com- moda sua, sed ut vitam, salutemque totius provinciae defen- derem : sese jam ne deos quidem in suis urbibus, ad quos con- rugerent, habere : quod eorum simulacra sanctissima, C. Terres ex delubris religiosissimis sustulisset : quas res luxuries in flagitiis, crudeiitas in suppliciis, avaritia in rapinis, superbia in contumeliis effieere potuisset, eas omnes sese hoc uno prae- tore (*) per triennium pertulissc : rogare et orare, ne illos sup- plices aspernarer, quos, me incolumi, nemini supplices esse oporteret. II. Tuli graviter et acerbe, Judices, in eum me locum ad* ductum, ut aut eos homines spes falleret, qui bpem a me atquc auxilium petiissent, aut ego, qui me ad defendendos homines ab ineunte adolescent: a dedissem, tempore atque officio coactus (3) ad accusandum traducerer. Dicebam habere eos actorem Q. Caecilium, qui prassertim qusestor in eacfem provincia post me qusestorem fuisset. Quo ego adjumentosperabam hanc a mc molestiam posse dimoveri, id mihi erat adversarium maxim e : nam ilii multo mihi hoc facilius remisissent, si istum non nos- sent, aut si iste apud eos quaestor non fuisset* Adductus sum, Judices, officio, fide, misericordia, multorum bonorum exemplo veteri consuetudine, institujtoque majorum, ut onus hoc laboris atque officii, non ex meo, sed ex m eorum necessariorum tem- pore mihi suscipiendum putarem. Quo in negotio tamen ilia me res, Judices, consolatur, quod base, quse videtur esse ac- cusatio mea, non potius accusatio quam defensio est existimanda. Defendo enim multos mortales, multas civitates, proviheiam Siciliam totam. Quamobrem si mihi unus est accusandum, propemodiim manere institute meo vide or, et non omnino a de- fendendis hominibus, sublevandisque discedere. Quod si hanc causam tarn idoneam, tarn illustrem, tarn gravem non haberem : (2) Per triennium] Though the provincial governors continued regularly in office But one year, yet many accidents might prolong the time of their command. Arrius had been appointed to succeed Verres, but dying before he reached Sicily, the other was continued in office two years longer. (3) Ad accusandum traducerer.] Cicero had hitherto confined himself only to the de- fence of his friends and clients, which was extremely popular at Rome ; whereas the contrary task of accusing was no less odious. He therefore thinks himself obliged in the beginning of his speech to give some reasons for this seeming change in his con- duct. He observes, that the cause he was now engaged in, though in appearance an accusation, was in reality a defence : That he impeached only one man, but defended a whole people : And that he could not have declined taking part in the present trial, but by renouncing all his engagements with the Sicilians. It may not be amiss tort- mark here, that though accusing in general was a very invidious office at Rome, yit cicero's orations. s promises and declarations, not to be wanting to them in offices of friendship, ' when time or necessity should require. The time, they told me, was now come, when not only their for- tunes, but the very being and safety of the whole province was at stake : That they had not even their gods to fly to for pro- jection ; of whose sacred images, their cities, and most august temples had been rifled by the impiety of Yerres : That v. licit- ever luxury in voluptuousness, cruelty in punishing, avarice in •extortion, or insolence in oppression, could devise to torment a •people, had by this one praetor, during the space of three years, been inflicted upon them : That they therefore requested and conjured me not to disregard their supplications, since, while I was safe, they ought to become suppliants to none. Sect. II. It was with indignation and concern, my Lords,, that I saw myself reduced to the necessity, either of disappoint ing those who applied to me for relief and assistance, or under- taking the disagreeable task of an accuser, after having em- ployed myself from my earliest youth in defending the oppressed. I told them they might have recourse to Q. Csecilius, who seemed the fitter person to manage their cause, as he had been questor after me in the same province* But the very argument by which I hoped to extricate myself from this difficulty, proved a principal obstruction to my design : For they would much more readily have agreed to my proposal, had th~y not known Csecilius, or had he never exercised the office of que-stor among them. I was therefore prevailed upon, my Lords, from a consideration of my duty, my engagements, the compassion due to distress, the examples of many worthy men, the institu- tions of former times, and the practice of our ancestors, to charge myself with a part in which I have not consulted my own inclinations, but the necessities of my friends. It is some •comfort however, my Lords, that my present pleadings cannot so properly be accounted an accusation, as a defence. For I defend a multitude of men, a number of cities, and the whole province of Sicily. If, therefore, I am under a necessity of ar- raigning one, I still seem to act agreeably to my former cha- racter, without deviating from the patronage and defence of mankind. But granting I ccukl not produce such powerful, weighty, and urgent reasons ; granting the Sicilians had not- solicited me to undertake their cause ; or that my connection saa»Si impeaching and bringing to juftice a corrupt magiilrate, was ever accounted hon- * ble, and had frequently been undertaken by men of the mod diftinguifhed charac- the orabh . ters in the ftate. Nay, one of Cicero's principal mo-.ives in charging himfci' with this trial wa>, to recommend himfelf to the favor of the people, and facilitate hia * views of advancement. G M. T. CICERONIS ORATIONES. si aut hoc a mc Siculi non petiissent, aut mihi cum Siculis causa tanise necessitudinis non intercederet, et hoc, quod facio, me rcipub. causa facere profiterer, ut homo singulari cupiditate, audacia, scelere pTspditus, cujus furta atque flagitia non in Sicilii solum, (4) sed in Achaia, Asia, Cilicia, Pamphylia, Romas deniquq ante oculos omnium maxima turpissimaque n6ssemus, mc agente in judicium vocaretur : quis tandem esset, -qui meum factum aut consilium posset reprehendere ? III. Quid est, pro Defim hominumque fidem ! in quo ego* rcip. plus hoc tempore prodesse passim ? Quid est, quod aut populo Rom. gratius esse debeat ? aut sociis, exterisque na^ tionibus optatius esse possit, aut saluti, fortunisque omnium ma* gis accommodatum sit ? Populatae, vexatae, funditus eversaB pro- vincial : socii, stipendiariique populi Romani afflicti miseri, jam non salutis spem, sed exitii solatium quserunt. (*) Qui judicia manere apud ordinem Senatorium volunt, queruntur accusatores se idoneos non habere, qui accusare possunt, judiciorum severi- tatem desiderant. Populus Rom. interea, tametsi multis income modis, difficultatibusque affectus est, tamen nihil eeque in repub. atque illam veterem judiciorum vim, gravitatemque requirit. Judiciorum desiderio, tribunitia potestas efflagitata est : judici- orum levitate, ordo quoque alius ad res judicandas postulatur. Judicum culpa atque dedecore ( CICEP-O's ORATIONS. 1£ their inclination ? "Will you speak in a cause in which you have no concern ? Will you charge yourself with the defence of those, who choose rather to see themselves abandoned by all the world, than trust their defence in your hands ? Will you engage to protect a people, who are persuaded you have neither inclina- tion nor power to serve them r Why would you deprive them of the small hopes of relief they have still left, in the equity of the laws and judges ? Why would you interpose, in opposition to the will of those, for whose benefit the law was chiefly designed ? Whv do you aim at entirely subverting the fortunes of a people, to whom you have rendered yourself so very obnoxious in the province r Why are you for divesting them of the power, not only of prosecuting their rights, but even of deploring their mis- fortunes ? For which of them, do you imagine, would attend the trial under your management, when you know they are la- bouring, not to punish another by your help, but, by means of another, to avenge the wrongs they have received from you ? Sect. VII. But this proves only, that the Sicilians chiefly de- sire me for their advocate. The other point, whom Verres most dreads in the capacity of accuser, may, perhaps, be thought ob- scure. Did ever man struggle more earnestly in a cause where both his honour and life are concerned, than he and his friends, to have my service set aside in the present trial t There are manv things Verres imagines in me, of which he knows you, Caecilius, to be destitute. But of these, and the manner in which they exist in us both, I shall soon have occasion to speak. At present I shall only say, what 3^011 yourself must tacitly allow ; that there is nothing in me which he can contemn ; nothing in you which he ought to dread. Hence his great friend and cham- pion Hortensius solicits for you, and opposes me. He openly demands of the judges, to give you the preference ; and pre- tends, that in this he acts fairly, without jealousy or resentment. I ask not, says he, what I am wont to obtain, when I plead with earnestness : I ask not that the criminal should be acquitted ; but only that he should be impeached by this man, rather than the other. Grant me but this ; grant what is easy 1 , honourable, and safe ; and in so doing, you will, without danger or infamy to yourselves, secure the absolution of him whose cause I espouse. And that fear as well as favour may determine you to a compliance, he says there are certain judges in court, to whom he is resolved the suffrages shall be shown. That this it that is, now liquet, if the cause appeared doubtful. These tablets were delivered to the proper officer, who put them into an urn ; 3nd. after sorting them, declared the major- rity. A 8 to the infamous tablets the author here speaks of ; Asconius tells us, that T/erentius Varro being accused of extortion, and defended by Hortensius, the latte 16 St. T. CICERONIS ORATIONES. uniquique tabellam dari cera legitima, non ilia infami ac ne- faria. Atque is non tarn propter Verrem laborat, quam quod eum minime res tota delectat. Videt enim si a («3) pueris no- bilibus, quos adhuc elusit, si a quadruplatoribus, quos non sine causa contempsit semper, ac pro nihilo putavit, accusandi vo- luntas ad viros forteis, spectatosque homines translata sit, se in judiciis dominari non posse. VIII. Huic ego homini jam ante denuntio, si a me causam hanc vos agi volueritis, rationem illi defendendi totam esse mu- tandam ; et ita tamen mutandam, ut meliore et honestiore con- ditione sit, quam qua ipse esse vult : ut imitetur homines eos, quos ipse vidit amplissimos, L. Crassum, et M. Antonium ; qui nihil se arbitrabantur ad judicia, causasque amicorum praeter fidem & ingenium afferre oportere. Nihil erit, quod, me agente, arbitretur judicium sine magno multorum periculo posse cor- rumpi. Ego in hoc judicio mihi Siculorum causam receptam, populi Rom. susceptam esse arbitror : ut mihi non unus homo improbus opprimendus sit, id quod Siculi petiv&runt : sed om- ni^o omnis improbitas, id quod populus liom. jam diu flagitat, e.r : i^uenda, atque delenda sit. In quo ego quid eniti, aut quid e "c re possim, malo in aliorum spe relinquere, quam in oratione n, a ponere. Tu ver6, Csecili ! quid potes ? quo tempore, aut q a m re, non modo specimen caeteris aliquod dedisti, sed tute t riculum fecisti ? in mentem tibinon venit, quidnegotii sit causam publicum sustinere ? vitam alterius totam explicare, at- que earn non modo in animis judicum, seb etiam in occulis, conspectuque omnium, exponere ? sociorum salutem, commoda provinciarum, vim legum, gravitatem judiciorum defendere ? IX. Cognosce ex me, quoniam hoc primum tcmpus discendi nactus es, quam multa esse oporteat in eo, qui alterum accuse ex quibus si uniim aliquod in te cognoveris, ego jamtibi ipse istuc, quod expetis, mea voluntate concedam. Primum integritatem, atque innocentiam singularem : nihil est enim quod minus feren- found means to corrupt the judges; and to make sure that they fulfilled their engage- ment, contrived to give them tablets covered over with '-ax of different colours, that, by the letters inscribed upon each, he might know whether they voted according to agreement. (13) Pueris nobilibus, — quadruplatoribus.'] This refers to Appius Claudius, and Ccesar, both young men : the one of whom accused Tercntius Varro, the other Dolabella. But by the artful management of Hortensius, who made use of the tickets of different colours mentioned above, they were both acquitted. Hie quadruplatores were officers, whofe business it was to ta'.e cognizance of state crimes, and prepare articles of im- peachment against the offenders^ who, if cast, forfeited a fourth part of their good* i to the accusers. CICERO'S ORATIONS. IT an easy matter, as they give not their votes singly, but jointly and together. That every judge is to have a tablet legitimately waxed over, where artifice and treachery can have no pla^e. jVor is all this anxiety so much for the sake of Verres, as irom his dislike to the whole proceeding. For he sees, that if the business of accusation is taken out of the hands of young men of quality whom he has hitherto baffled, and of pettifoggers whom he has always justly despised and set at nought, and com- mitted to men of courage and reputation, he can no longer do^ mineer in the courts of justice as formerly. Sect. Till. And here I think proper to acquaint this gentle- man beforehand, that if the cause in question is committed to my care, he must resolve upon changing his whole method of defence ; and yet the alteration will be such, as may perhaps tend more to his honour and reputation than he desires ; by obliging him to an imitation of those great men whom he has seen make so distinguished a figure in the Forum, Lucius Crassus, and Marcus Antcnius, who thought themselves at liberty to em- ploy no weapons in defence of their clients, but integrity and eloquence. lie shall have no reason to think, if I am charged with the impeachment, that this bench can be corrupted with- out great peril to many. In the cause now before you, my Lords* though I have indeed undertaken the defence of the Sicilians, yet I consider myself as principally labouring for the Roman people ; as endeavouring to crush, not a single oppressor, which is all the Sicilians have in view, but to exterminate and abolish the very name of oppression ; which is what the Roman people have long desired with earnestness. What my efforts or success may be, I choose rather to leave to the imagination cf others, than insinuate by any expressions of my own. But what are you, Caecilius, able to effect ? On what occasion, or in what cause, have you either given proof of your abilities to others, or so much as made trial of them yourself ? Do you reflect upon the difficulties of managing a public trial ? of unravelling another's whole course of life, and fixing it not only in the minds of the judges, but painting it to the eyes and imagination of all men ? of defending the safety of our allies, the rights of provin- ces, the authority of the laws, and the majesty of justice r Sect. IX. Learn from me, now that an opportunity of in- forming yourself first falls in your way, how many qualifica- tions are required in the man who undertakes a public accusa- tion : and if you can with justice lay claim to anyone of them, I shall frankly give up the point in debate. First, an un- blemished innocence and integrity : for nothing can be more 18 M. T. CICERONIS ORATIONES. dum sit, quam rationem ab altero vitce reposoere cum, qui noa possit suae reddere. Hie ego de te plura non dicam : unum illud credo omnes animadvertere, te adhuc ab nuliis nisi a Siculis potuisse cognosci : Siculos hoc dicere, cum eidem sint irati, cui tu te inimicum esse dicis, sese tamen, te actore, ad judicium non afFuturos. Quare negent, ex me non audies : hos patere id suspicari, quod necesse est. Illi quidem (ut eat hominum genus nimis acutum et suspiciosum) non te ex Sicilia literas in Ycrrem deportare velle arbitrantur, sed cum iisdem Uteris illius praetura et tua quaestura consignata sit, ('4) asportare te velle ex Sicilia literas suspicantur. Deinde accusatorem firmum verumque esse oportet. Eum ego si te putem cupere esse, fa- cile intelligo esse non posse. Nee ea dico, quae si dicam, tamen infirmare non possis, te, antequam de Sicilia decesseris, in gra- tiam rediisse cum Verre : Potamonem scribam, et familiarem tuum. retentum esse a Yerre in provincia, cum tu decederes : M. Caecilium, fratrem tuum, lectissimum atque ornatissimum adolescentem, non modo non adesse, neque tecum tuas injur ias persequi, sed esse cum Yerre, cum illo familiarissime, atque amicissime vivere. Sunt hsec et alia in te falsi accusatoris signa permulta : quibus ego nunc non utor. Hoc dico, te, si maxime cupias, tamen verum accusatorem esse non posse. Yideo enim permulta esse crimina, quorum tibi societas cum Yerre ejusr modi est, ut ea in accusando attingere non audeas. X. Queritur Sicilia tota, C. Yerrem ab aratoribus, cum fru- mentum sibi in cellam imperavissit, et cum esset tritici modius H. S. ii. pro frumento in modios singulos duodenos sestertios exegisse. Magnum crimen ! ingens pecunia ! furtum im- pudens ! injuria non ferenda ! ego hoc uno crimine ilium condemnem necesse est. Tu, Csecili, quid facies ? Utrum hoc tantum crimen praetermittes, an objicics ? Siobjicies, idne alteri crimini dabis, quod eodem tempore in eadem provincia tu ipse fecisti ? Audebis ita accusare alterum, ut quo minus ^ute condemnere, recusare non possis ? Sin prsetermittes, qualis eritista tua accusatio, quse domestici periculi metu, certissimi, et maximi criminis non modo suspicionem, verum esiam mentio- (14) Asportare te velle ex Sicilia literal suspicantur.] When any person was admitted to act as an accuser, the praetor impowered him to seal up and send to Rome ali pa- pers that related to the impeachment. Now. as Caecilius s behaviour during his quses- torship was far from being blameless, and the evidences of Vcrres's guilt would serve likewise to expose his crooked arts; there was reason to suspect, that, instead of carry- ing thtse papers to Rome, he would contrive to destroy them, in order to prevent their being produced afterwards against hirnselk cicero's orations. 19 absurd, than for a man to call in question the life of another, Tv ho is unable to give a good account of his own. I will make no particular application of this to you. One thing I believe is taken notice of by all, that the Sicilians are the only people who have had an opportunity of knowing you ; and yet these very Sicilians declare, that, exasperated as they are at the man to whom you pretend yourself an enemy, were you to be his accuser, not one of them would be present at the trial. The reasons of this refusal I am not willing to repeat. It is evident they suspect, what indeed they cannot avoid suspecting. As they are a shrewd suspicious set of men, they imagine you would not bring testimonies from Sicily against Yerres ; but seeing the acts of his prjstorship and your qusestorship are registered in the same journals, rather suspect you would secrete their records. An accuser ought likewise to be a man of firmness and veracity. Were I disposed to think well of your intentions Ihis way, I easily perceive that no such qualifications can be- long to you. Nor do I mention those circumstances, which, if mentioned, you could not disprove : that, before you left Sicily, you was reconciled to Verres : that Potamo, your secretary and confidant, remained with Yerres in the province after your departure : that Marcus Csecilius, your brother, a most hopeful and accomplished youth, is not only not present aiid not assist- ing in prosecuting your injuries, but is now actually with Yerres, and lives there in the strictest friendship and familiarity. These, and many other presumptions of a suborned accuser, which I omit at present, are to be found in you. This however I maintain, that were your inclinations never so good, it is i&\- possible you should acquit yourself honestly in the present trial. For I perceive a great many crimes, in which you are so much an accomplice with Yerres, that you dare not touch upon them in the impeachment. * Sect. X. All Sicily complains that Yerres, when he had ordered his magazines to be filled, and corn was at two ses- terces a bushel, extorted money of the farmers at the rate ot twelve. An enormous abuse, an exorbitant sum, a barefaced robbery, an insupportable injustice ! This single crime, in my judgment, were sufficient to condemn him. But how do you intend to behave, Csecilius ? Will you object, or pass over thir; erying injustice ? If you object it, do you not charge another with a crime, of which you was yourself guilty at the same time, and in the same province ? Will you venture to accuse another in such manner, as must needs draw the same degree of guilt upon yourself? But if you pass it over, of what nature must that accusation be, which, from an apprehension ef personal danger, dreads not only the suspicion, but the very ■2V M. T. C1CKR0N1S OR AT I ONES-. nem ipsam pertimescat ? ( 1? ) Emptum est ex S. C. frumr turn ab Siculis Praetore Verre, pro quo frumentq pecunia omi soluta not est. Grave est hoc crimen in Yerrem, grave me agente : te accusante nullum* Eras enim tu quaestor : pe- cuniam publicam tu tractabas : ex qua etiamsi cuperet praetor., tamen ne qua deductio fieret, magna ex parte tua potestas erat* Hujus quoque igitur criminis, te accusante, mentio nulla net. Silebitur toto judicio de maximis etnotissimis illius furtis et-in- juriis. JMihi erede, Caecili, non potest in accusando socios vere defendere is, qui cum re© cruiiinum societate conjunetus est. Mancipes a civitatibus pro frumento pecuniam exegerunt. Quid I hoc, Verre Praetore, factum est solum ? non : sed etiam Quaestore Caecilio. Quid igitur ? daturus es huiccrimini, quod et potuisti prohibere ne fieret, et debuisti i an to turn id relin- ques ? Ergo id omnino Verres in judicio suo non audiet, quod cum faciebat,quemadmodum defensurus esset,non repcriebat. XI. Atque ego hsec, quae in medio posita sunt, commemoro. Sunt alia magis occulta furta, quae ille, ut. istius, credo, animos r atque impetus retardaret, cum quaestore suo benignissime com- municavit. Usee tu scis ad me esse delata : quae si velim proferre, facile omnes intelligent, vobis inter vos non modo- voluntatem fuisse conjunctam, sed ne prsedam quidem adhuc esse divisann Quapropter si tibi indicium postulas dari, quod tecum una fece- rit : concedo, si id lege permittitur : sin autem de accusatione dicimus ; concedas oportet iis, qui nullo suo pecato impediuntur, quo minus alterius peccata demonstrare possint. Ac vide, quan- tum interfuturum sit inter meam atque tuam accusationem. Ego, etiam quae tu sine Verre commisisti, Yerri crimini daturus sum, quod te non prohibuerit, cum summam ipse haberet potesta- tern : tu contra, ne quae ille quidem fecit objicies, ne qua parte conjunetus cum eo reperiare. Quid ilia, Caecili i con- temnenda-ne tibi videntur esse, sine quibus causa sustineri, pirc- sertirn tanta, nullo modo potest I aliqua facultas agendi, aliqua dicendi consuetudo, aliqua in foro, judiciis, legibus, aut ratio, aut exercitatio ? Jntelligo quam scopuloso, diffldiique in loco ver- ser : nam cum omnis arrogantia odiosa est, turn ilia ingenii, atque cloquentise multo molestissima. Quamobrem nihil dico de met* ingenio, neque est quod possim dicere, neque si. esset, dicerem : (15) Emptum est ex S. C. frumentum ab Siculis.~\ Sicily paid to the Romans, by way of tribute, a tenth part of her corn. But as the island abounded in grain, and was in a manner the storehouse of Rcme, they were likewise obliged, by a decree of the senate, to allow another tenth for the use of the state ; for which they were to receive a fixed price. Verres, it seems, exacted this tenth ; but, instead of paying for it, as usual, -inverted the money to his own private use; €TC?7lO'S ORATIONS. 2! .mention of a notorious and crying injustice ? By a clc- «ree of the senate, a quantity of corn Vvas bought from the .Sicilians, under the praetorship of Yerres, for which complete payment was never made. This is a heavy article against Yerres ; heavy, if objected by me ; but of no avail, if by you. For you was then quaestor ; you had the management of the public money ; and it depended in a great measure upon you to 'prevent any abatement, supposing even the praetor had desired it. This crime will likewise pass unmentioned in your accusa- tion. His greates and most notorious frauds and exactions, will not be so much as objected to him in the trial. Believe me, Caecilius, he is ill qualified to defend the rights of the allies in an impeachment, who is himself an associate with the accused in his crimes. The farmers of the revenue extorted money from the cities, instead of corn. Was this done only during the prsetorship of Yerres ? No : but also during the quaestorship of Csecilius. Will you then charge him with a crime which you both could and ought to have prevented ? or, will you entirely suppress this article ? Yerres will therefore hear no mention in his trial of a crime, which, at the time of committing it, he was conscious he could not defend. Sect. XI. But I only speak of notorious and known facts. There are others of a more private nature, in which Yerres kindly shared with his quasstor, to stifle his heat and resent- ment. You know I am informed of all these ; and were I to disclose them at this time, it would appear that you were not only confederates in guilt, but that part of the plunder remains yet to be divided. If, therefore, you desire to be admitted an evidence as to these points, I have nothing to object, provided the laws allow it. But if the dispute regards the impeachment, you must leave that to those who are deterred by no crimes of their own, from laying open the guilt of another. Think only of the difference between your accusation and mine. I mean to charge Yerres with the crimes committed by you, without his participation ; because, though the chief command resided in him, he did not prevent them. You, on the con- trary, will not so much as object his personal guilt, lest you should be found in any instance an accomplice with him. But say, Csecilius, do you make no account of these qualifications, without which a cause, especially one so important, cannot be sustained — the practice of the forum — the exercise of speaking — the knowledge of our laws, constitution, and courts of judi- cature ? I know Avliat a rugged and dangerous path I' am got into :' for as arrogance of every kind is hateful, so in a particular manner that of wit and eloquence. ] shall therefore say nothi of my own talents: there is indeed no room for it ; and if it 22 fil. T. CICIRONIS ORATIONES. aut enim id mihi satis est, quod est de me opinionis, quidquid est; aut si id parum est, ego majus id commemorando facere non possum. XII. De te, Caecili, jam mehercule, hoc extra hanc con- tentionem certamenque nostrum familiariter tecum loquar. Tu ipse quemadmodum exisimes, vide etiam atque etiam, et tu te collige, et qui sis, et quid facere possis considera. Putas-ne te posse de maximis, acerbissimisque rebus, cum causam sociorum fortunasque provincial, jus populi Rom. gravitatem judicii legum- que susceperis, tot res, tarn graveis, tarn varias, voce, memoria, consilio, ingenio, sustinere ? Putas-ne te posse, quae C. Verres in quaestura, quae in legatione, quae in praetura, (i «>ual to begin their speech, either by invoking he gods : Pta at us diruos. folio rex injlt ab alto. Or, by reprehending the prevailing vices of the times : Vdl'.m oum primisjieri liforspotuisstl. cicero's orations. 25 Sect. XIII. Though, as all know, my practice in the forum and public trials has been such, that few or none of the same age have been concerned in more causes ; and though I have employed all the time I could spare from the business of my triends, in these studies and occupations, that I might be ex- pert and ready at the practice of the bar, yet may I never enjoy the favour of Heaven, if, as often as I reflect upon the day when I must appear against the accused, I do not feel not only a great anxiety upon my mind, but a trembling in every joint. Already I figure to myself the eagerness and cu- riosity of the public upon this occasion ; what an expectation the importance of the trial will raise ; what crowds of people the infamy of Verres will draw together ; in line, what an attention the detail of his villanies will beget to my discourse* All which when I reflect upon, I am under no small concern, howl shall acquit myself suitable to the importance of the trial, e expectations of the public, and the resentment of those whom he has irritated and provoked by his oppressions. You have no anxiety, apprehension, or trouble about these things : and if you but learn from some antiquated oration, / call to -wit- ness the all-pozverftil yiipiter,OY, my Lords, I could heartily wish y or some such commonplace phrase, you imagine you come abundantly prepared for the trial. It is my opinion, that if no one was to oppose you, you are yet incapable of making good the charge. But now you never so much as reflect, that you are to enter the lists with a man of consummate eloquence, and. thoroughly prepared for his client's defence ; one with whom you must argue, canvass, and . settle every point : whose capacity I praise without dreading it ; and whose eloquence.* I allow, may charm me, but can never impose upon my judgment. Sect. XIV. Never shall his measures disconcert, never his arts baffle me ; nor will he even attempt to weaken and under- mine me by his abilities. I know all his methods of attack, the artifice of his pleading. We have often been con- cerned in the same, often in contrary causes. Great as his abilities are, he will yet oppose me in such a manner, as to show he is not without some dread of his adversary. But as for you, Casciiius, I already figure to myself, in what manner he will disconcert and perplex you. As often as he leaves to your choice, to admit or deny a fact, to agree to or rejec: a proposition, which side soever you take, you will still find it make against you. Immortal Gods ! What confusion, what un- certainty, what darkness will the good man fall into ! How will he be amazed, when his adversary begins to digest the different heads of the accusation, and arrange upon his fingers the several 26 fit. T. CICER0N1S 6RATIONKS. dividcre coeperit (19), et in digitis suis singulas partcis causae con- stituere ? quid, c^m unumquodque transigere, expedire, absol vere ? Ipse profecto metuere incipies, ne innocenti periculum facesseris. Quid, cum commisserari, conqueri, et ex illius invidia" deonerare aliquid, et in te trajicere coeperit ? commemorarc quaestoris cum prastore necessitudinem constitutam ? moren; majorum ? sortis religionem ? poteris-ne ejus orationis subire invidiam ? Vide modo, etiam atque etiam considera ; mihi enim videtur periculum fore, ne ille non modo verbis te bbruat, sed gestu ipso, ac motu corporis prxstringat aciem ingenii tui, teq ab institutis tuis, cogitationibusque abdiicat. Atque hujusce r judicium jam continuo video futurum. Si enim mihi'hodie rc- spondere ad haec quae dico, potueris : si ab istp libro, quem'tibi magister ludi, nescio quis, ex alienis orationibus compositum. dedit, verbo uno discesseris : posse te, et illi quoque judicio non deesse, et causa; atque officio tuo satisfacere arbitrabor. Sin mecum in hac prolusione nihil fueris ; quern te in ipsa pugnar cum acerrimo adversario fore putemus ? XV. Esto : ipse nihil est, nihil potest : at venit paratug (20) cum subscriptoribus exercitatis et disertis. Est tamen hoc aliquid : tametsi noi: est satis. Omnibus enim rebus is, qui prin- ceps in agendo est, ornatissimus et paratissimus esse debet. Ve~ rumtamen L. Apuleium esse video proximum subscriptorein* hominem non aetate, sed usu forensi, atque exercitatione tyro- nem. Deinde, ut opinor, habet Allienum : hunc tamen a sub- selliis : qui quid in dicendo posset, nunquam satis attendi : Ik clamando quidem video eurri esse bene robustum, atque exer- citatum. In hoc spes tuae sunt omnes : hie, si tu eris actor con- stitutus, totum judicium sustincbit. Ac ne is quidem tantum contendet in dicendo, quantum potest : sed consulet laudi et e:*- istimationi tuss, et ex eo quod ipse potest in dicendo, aliquantum remittet, ut tu tandem aliquid esse videare. Ut in auctoribus Graecis fieri) videmus, saepe ilium qui est secundarum, aut ter- (19) Quid? cum accufationes tua membra divider e caperit.] Cicero here carries his faillery againft Caecilius so far, as even to laugh at Hortenfius, who numbered the heads of his defence upon his fingers: A very fhrewd fuccefsful way of rendering a great man ridiculous. (ao) Cum fubscriptoriius exercitatis et difcrtis.] The folicitors were those who affift- «d the accufer to manage the accufation : and none were allowed to take this office upon them, till they had received a power of fo doing from the judges. Cicero here •bserves, that as they had only an under part to act, it was against the rules of propri- ety to see them surpass tke principal manager of the trial ; which yet must happen t© Caecilius, whose abilities were no way equal to the task of conducting an impeachment. Some of those solicitors are named and characterized here ; as Apuleius, of whom we fcave no accounts that can be relied on ; only from Cicero's words we may conclude fhat he was both an old man, and a bad orator. Altienus y another of the solicitors, is CtCE&0*S ORATIONS* &7 j?art5 of the cause ! when he sets himself to examine, prove, and discuss every article ! You will even begin to suspect that you have brought an innocent man into danger. Say, when he shall endeavour to excite pity and compassion, and to throw some of the public odium from Verres upon you ; when he shall urge the sacred tie of quaestor and prsetor ,• the practice of our ancestors ; and the awful decision of the provincial lot : will you be able to bear the load of hatred his discourse must bring upon you I Consider with yourself, reflect again and again : for to me there seems great danger, not only of his disconcerting you with his pleading, but of his confounding your very senses by his action and gesture, and driving you from all your pur- poses and resolves* But I perceive we are soon to have a spe- cimen of what may be expected from you* For if you answer to the purpose what I have advanced against you ; if you de- part one word from that scroll of pilfered pleadings, which I know not what pedagogue has put into your hands ; I shall then allow, that you may acquit yourself well in the present trial, and be equal to the cause and province you have undertaker! to manage. But if in this prelude you should prove nobody, what can we expect from you in the engagement itself against: a formidable adversary ? XV. But*, perhaps, I shall be told : C&cilius indeed is nothing; can do nothing ; but he comes, backed with able and expert solicitors. This, I own, is something : yet it is far from being* sufficient. For, in all affairs, he that holds the first rank ought: to be every way ready and prepared. But I find Lucius Apuleius is his first solicitor, a man in years indeed^ but a mere novice in the practice and business of the forum. His next, I think, is A1- lienus, hitherto concerned only in petty trials ; and whose elo- quence I am very little acquainted with. I perceive, Indeed, that he is well trained and exercised in bawling. All your hopes rest Upon him. If the cause is committed to your management, lie will sustain the whole weight of the prosecution. And yet he will not exert his utmost in pleading, but show a proper regard to your character and reputation, and check in some degree the impetuosity of his eloquence, that you may have an opportunity of shining. As it often happens among the Greek actors ; when described, as one concerned only in petty trials: for according to Nonius,the tribunes, the quarters, and the inferior judges, sat on forms or subsellia, and not in the sella cur* ules, or the Roman chairs of state. Cicero desires the judges to take notice, what kind of trial the present was like to prove, if left to the management of Csecilus ; when ev- en Allienus, a mere pettifogger, and distinguished only by strength of lungs, would yet be necessitated to contract his talents, and check the sallies of his genius, in order that tiie other might preserve some character of distinction in the course of the pleadings, 28 H. ">'• C1CXR0MS ORATIONES. tiarum partitim, cum possit aliquanto clarius dicere, quam ipst primarum, multiim suttimittere, ut ille princeps quam maxime excellat : sic faciei Allienus : tibi serviet, tibi lenocinabitur, mi- nus aliquanto condendet, quam potest* Jam hoc considerate, cujusmodi accusatores in tanto judicio simus habituri : cum et ipse Allienus ex ea facultate, si quam habet, ali quantum detrac- turus sit, et Csecilius turn denique se aliquid futurum putet, si Allienus minus vehemens fuerit, et sibi primas in dicendo par- teis concesserit. Quartum quern sit habiturus, non video, nisi quern forte ex ille grege Oratorum, qui subscriptionem sibi postularunt, cuicumque vos delationcm dedissetis. (* l ) Ex quibus alicnissimis hominibus, ita paratus venis, ut tibi hospes aliquis sit recipiendus. Quibus ego non sum tantum honorem habiturus, ut ad ea quae clixerint, certo loco, aut singulatim unicuique respondeam. Sic breviter, quomam non consulto, sed casu, in coram mentionem incidi, quasi praeteriens, satis- faciam universis. XVI. Tanta-ne vobis inopia videor esse amicorum, ut mihi non ex his, quos mecum adduxerim, sed de populo subscriptor addatur ? vobis autem tanta inopia reorum est, ut mihi causam prasripere conemini potius, quam aliquos (»*) a column a Moenia vestri ordinis reos reperiatis ? Custodem, inquit, Tullio me ap- ponitc Quid I mihi quam multis custodibus opus erit, si te se- mel ad meas capsas admisero ? qui non solum ne quid enunties, sed etiam nc quid auferas, cusdodiendus sis. Sed de isto cus- tode toto sic vobis brevissime respondebo : non esse has tales viros commissuros, ut ad causam tantam a me susceptam, mihi creditara, quisquam sirbscriptor y me invito, aspirare possit. Etenim fides mea custodem repudiat, diligentia speculatorem reformidat. Vcrum, ut ad te, Carcill, redeam, quam multa te deficiant, vides : quam multa sint in te, quae reus nocens in accusatore suo cupiat esse, profecto jam intelligis. Quid ad haec dici potest ? non enim quaero quid tu dicturus sis. 'Video mihr non te, sed hunc librum esse responsurum, quern monitor tuus hie tenet ; qui, si te recte monere volet, suadebit tibi, ut hinc dis~ (ai) Ex quibus alienhsimis, &c ] That is, men unacquainted with the businessof the fa- rum, and strangers to the forms and management of a public trial. Our orator here plays a little with words, and puns upon the name of Allienus, i. estrange ; which he insin- uates expresses the real character of the man, who was indeed a stranger to the business of impeachments. This art of amusing a bench, low and trivial as may appear, seems to have been much in use at Rome, and was often very successful. (zi) A editmna Mania.'] The Mcenian column stood in the forum, and was so call- ed from one Mcenius. who having sold his house to Flaccus and Cato the censors, whose design was to build a temple there, reserved one pillar for himfelf and his pos- terity, as a piace whence they might behold the public shows. At this pillar thieves or servants who bad been guilty of some fault, were punished by the Triumviri. At CICERO'S ORATIONS* 29 s. person appointed to play an inferior character, though capable of eclipsing him that has the first, chooses yet to conceal his art, that the principal parts may appear with all possible advantage. Such will be the conduct of Allienus. He will study to act only an under part in this affair; he will endeavour to set you off to advantage ; and, to that end, will abate a little of his wonted force. Consider then, my Lords, what prosecutors we are like to have in this important trial, where even Allienus will suppress some part of his eloquence, if in truth we can allow him any ; and where Csecilius can only hope to make a figure, if Allienus abates of his usual vehemence, and leaves the principal part to him. Who is to act as fourth solicitor I cannot tell, unless perhaps some one of those common retainers to causes, who watch for employment under the prosecutor, to whomsoever that part is adjudged. And yet with the aid of th&se men, strangers as they are to the business of the forum, you think yourself abundantly prepared to entertain the public. But I shall not honour them so far, as to answer them singly and bv turns. This slight notice, as I mentioned them by accident, not design, shall suffice for them all. Sect. XVI. Am I so very destitute, do you imagine, of friends, as to be obliged to take a solictor, not from among those who now attend me, but from the dregs of the people ? And are you in such want of clients, as rather to aim at wresting this cause out of my hands, than inquire after some criminal of your own rank from the Menian column ? Appoint me, says he, a spy upon Tully. A spy, indeed ! How many must I keep in pay, were you to have access to my cabinet ? Since not your tongue onlv, but your fingers too require to be watched. But as to this whole race of spies, I will thus answer you in short ; that such men as this court is composed of, will never suffer any solictor to aspire at employment under me against my inclination, in a cause of so great importance, undertaken by, and intrusted to me. For my honesty disdains a spy, and my diligence daunts an informer. But to return to you, Csecilius, you see how many are your defects ; you must surely by thi$ time be sensible how many reasons the criminal has to wish you for an accuser. What answer c*an be made to this ? I ask not what answer, vou can make ; for I see it is not from you, but from the book which your prompter holds, that we are to expect an answer. But if it prompts you right, it will advise you to leave this it impeachments were laid against the less notorious offenders ; and it was frequented by the most profligate and abandoned set of wretches. (Ibid.) Custodem, inquit, Tullio me apponiteS\ It was customary among the Roinans to set spies upon the accusers, that so they might not have an opportunity of being cor- rupted or bribed. Of these spies the accused had the nominauoa. SO M. T. CICERONIS ORATIONES. cedas, ncque mihi verbum ullum responcleas. Quid cnim dices ? An id quod dictitas, injuriam tibi fecisse Verrem ? Arbitror; neque enim esset verisimile, cum omnibus Siculis faceret inju- rias, te illi unum eximium, cui consuleret, fuisse. Sed caeteri Siculi ultorem suarum inj uriarum invenerunt : tu, dum tuas in- jurias per te, id quod non potes, persequi conaris, id agls, ut caeterorum quoque injuriae sint impunhae, atque inultae : et hoc te prseteriit, non id solum spectari solere, qui debeat, sed etiam illnd, qui possit ulcisci ; in quo utrumque sit, eum superiorem esse : in quo alterum, in eo non quid is velit, sed quid facere possit, quaeri solere. Quod si ei potissimum censes permitti oportere accusandi potestatem, cui maximam C. Verres injuriam iecerit : utrum tandem censes hos Judices gravius ferre oportere, te ab illo esse lsesum, an provinciam Siciliam esse vexatam, ac perditam ? Opinor, concedis, multo hoc et esse gravius, et ab omnibus ferri gravius oportere. Concede igitur, ut tibi ante- ponatur in accusando provincia ; nam provincia accusat, cum is. agit causam, quern sibi ilia defensorem sui juris, ultorem in-» juriarum, actorem totius cusse adoptavit. XYII. At earn tibi C. Verres fecit injuriam, quae caste* rorum quoque animos posset alieno incommodo commovere. Minime ; nam id quoque ad rem pertinere arbitror, qualis in- juria dicatur ; quae causa inimicitiarum proferatur. Cognoscite ex me : nam itse earn profecto, nisi plane nihil sapit, nun^ quam proferet. Agonis est quaedam, Lilybastana (*3) liberta Veneris Erycinse :~ quse mulier ante hunc qusestorem copiosa plane et locuples fuit. Ab hie (*4) praefectus Antonii quidam symphoniacos servos abducebat per injuriam, quibus se in classe uti velle dicebat. Turn ilia, ut mos in Sicilia est omnium Venereorum, et eorum qui a Venere se liberaverunt, ut prae- fecto illi religionem Veneris, nomenque objiceret, dixit, et se, et omnia sua Veneris esse. Ubi haec Quaestori Caacilio, viro optimo, ct homini aequissimo, nuntiatum est ; vocari ad se Agonidem jubet : judicium datstatim, SI PARElvET, eamse, et sua Vene- (23) Liberta Veneris ErycinaJ] This Agonis is no where mentioned in history, except in the passage now before us. She is said to be enfranchised from the service of Venus, because she had completed the legal term of her priesthood, and was there* fore absolved from the obligation of any farther attendance upon the goddess. Ve- nus Erycina was so called, from Eryx, a high mountain in Sicily, where she had a very rich and celebrated temple. (24) Prafectus Antonii quidam symploniacos'servos abducebat per injuriam, quibus se in classe uti velle dtcibat.) \ he Antor - here spoken of, before the war with the pirates, was appointed to protect the whole iritime coasts of the Roman empire. But as he was a man of profligate character, and had a set of officers under him of the same stamp, he unjustly attacked the Cretans, and by his ill management perished in the attempt, The pretence for seizing the music-servants, was owing to the custom of exercising the rowers by the sound of instruments, which were made use of by the ancients on boa?4 «heir fleets, as the drum is now in military discipline. CICERO'S ORATIONS. 5! place, without offering at one word of reply. For what can you alledge ? Will you fly to the old pretence, that Verres has injured you ? I am ready to grant he did ; for it is by no means likely, when his injuries extended to the whole people of Sicily, that you alone should be exempted on this occasion. But the rest of the Sicilians have found an avenger of their wrongs : you, while vou endeavour to prosecute your own injuries, for which you are no way qualified, are "like to be the cause that those also of others should pass unpunished and unrevenged : for vou ought to consider, that not the right only, but the power also of punishing, demands our regard in a case of this nature. When both these meet in one person, he doubtless is to be pre- ferred ; but where only one of them is found, the choice na- turally falls on him who has the most power, not who has the best will. But if you are of opinion, that the right of the accusa- tion belongs to him who has received the greatest injury, which do you think ought to weigh most with the judges, the wrongs done to you, or the ravages and depredations of a whole pro- vince ? I believe you will allow, that these last are far more crying and obnoxious. Yield then the preference, in this point to the province. For the province then accuses, when the management of the cause is committed to him, whom they have chosen as the patron of their rights, the avenger of their wrongs, and their advocate for redress of grievances. Sect. XVII. But you will tell me, perhaps, that the injury you have received from Verres is of such a nature, as cannot fail to rouse resentment even in the breasts of others. This I deny ; and indeed think it very material to the question in hand, what the nature of the injury is, and what first gave rise to the quarrel. Learn it then of me, my Lords : for he sure will never disclose it, unless lie is quite bereft of understanding, There was at Lilybsum, a lady named Agonis, emancipated from the service of Venus Erycina, and before this man's quse- storsbip, in easy and plentiful circumstances. One of Antony's lieutenants violently carried off spine music-servants of hers, under pretence that they were wanted for the fleet. The lady, as is usual in Sicily to all who are or have been in the service of Venus, that she might awe the captain by the name and au- thority of the goddess, told him, that herself and estate were the property of Venus. When this came to the knowledge of the upright and worthy quaestor, he ordered Agonis to be citied before him, and instantly appointed commissioners to try, whether she had affirmed, th^/herself and estate belonged to Venus. The commissioners, ao* was unavoidable, gave their verdict that she had : For nobody pretended to dispute the fact. The qusestor upon this takes possession of her fortune, ad- 62 M. T. C1CER0NIS ORATIONXs. ris esse dixisse. Judicant recuperatores id, quod necesse erat ; neque enim erat cuiquam dubium, quin ilia dixisset. Iste in possessionem bonorum mulieris mittit : ipsam Veneri in servitu- tem adjudicat : deinde bona vendit, pecuniam redigit. Ita dum pauca mancipia, Veneris nomine, Agonis, ac religione retinere vult, fortunas omneis, libertatemque suam istius injuria perdidit. Lilybaeum Verres venit postea ; rem cognoscit : factum impro- bat : cogit quaestorem suum pecuniam, quam ex Agonidis bonis redegisset, earn mulieri omnem annumerare, et reddere. Est adhuc, id quod vos omneis admirari video, ( 3 i) non Verres, sed Q. Mucius ; quid enim facere potuit elegantius ad hominum ex- istimationem ? aequius ad levandam mulieris calamitatem ? vehe- mentius ad quaestoris libidinem coercendam ? feumme haec omnia mihi videntur esse laudanda. Sed repente e vestigio ex homine ( a6 ) tanquam aliquo Circaeo poculo, factus est Verres : redit a - se, atque ad mores suos : nam ex ilia pecunia magnam par- tem ad se vertit, mulieri reddidit quantulum visum est. XVIII. Hie tu, si laesum te a Verre esse dices ; patiar, et con- cedam : si injuriam tibi factam quereris ; defendam et negabo. Deinde de injuria, quae tibi facta sit, neminem nostrum gravio- rem vindicem esse oportet, quam teipsum, cui facta dicitur. Si tu cum illo postea in gratiam rediisti, si domi illius aliquoties fuisti, si ille apud te postea coenavit, utriim te (27) perfidiosum, ac praevaricatorem existimari mavis ? Video esse necesse alteru- trum. Sed ego tecum in eo non pugnabo, quo minus, utrum velis, eligas. Quid, si ne injuriss quidem, quae tibi ab illo facta -sit, causa remanet ? Quid habes, quod possis dicere, quamobrem non modo mihi, sed cuiquam anteponare ? nisi forte illud, quod dicturum te esse audio, quiestorem illius fuisse. Quae causa gravis esset, si certares mecum,uter nostrum illi amicior esse de- beret. In contentione suscipiendarum inimicitiarum, ridiculum est, putare causam neeessitudinis ad inferendum periculum jus- tam videri oportere. Etenim si plurimas a tuo Praetore injurias accepisses ; tamen eas ferendo majorem laudem, quam ulcis- ctmdo merere. Cum vero nullum illius in vita rectius factum sit, quam id quod tu injuriam appellas ; hi statuent hanc cau- sam, quam ne in alio quidem probarent, in te, justam ad neces- .situdmem violandam videri ? qui si sum 111 am injuriam ab illo (25) Non Verres, sed $K Mucius.] He means, that the praetor acted so far, not like Verres, an unjust magistrate, but with the same integrity that Mucius woui.i have done This Q Muciu>, surnamed Scsevola, was a man of untainted honour, and known goodness ; who, for the space of nine months, governed Asia so much to the satisfaction of the inhabitants, that they kept a day in honour of him, which they cal- led aies Ivlucia. (l6) Tanquam clique Circao poculo factus est Verres.] Cicero here alludes to the fam- ed story of Circe's cup, which her guests had no sooner drunk,, than she touched them with her rod, and by that means changed them into swine. The prsetor'g name gave CICERO'S ORATIONS. S3 judges her the slave of Venus, sells her estate, and puts the money into his pocket. Thus Agonis, in endeavouring to preserve a few slaves under the sanction and authority of Venus, was stripped of all her fortunes and liberty by the injustice of this man. Some time after Verres comes to Lilybseum, takes cogni- zance of the fact, reverses the decree, and obliges his quastor to refund to the lady all the money that had arisen from the sale of her estate. Hitherto I perceive indeed, to your surprise? he is not Verres, but Q. Mucius. For, what could he do more lovely in the eyes of mankind, more equitable for the relief of the distressed lady, or more vigorous to check the avarice of his quasstor ? These, to me, seem all highly worthy of praise. But immediately on the spot, as if he had tasted of some enchanted cup, he sinks from Mucius into Verres. He returns to himself^ and his natural disposition. For he converted the greatest part of the money to his own use, and restored to the lady what little he thought proper. Sect. XVIII. Here, if you say that you suffered by Verres< I admit and own it ; but if you complain that you was injured by him, I dispute and deny it. Besides, it does not belong to any of us to be more keen in prosecuting the injury than your- self, who were the person affected by it. If you was afterwards reconciled to him ; if you sometimes supped with him, and he with you ; whether do yea choose to be thought treacherous or a dissembler . ? One of them you must be. I shall not dispute about the matter, but leave it to your own choice. But if the very cause of the injury which you pretend to have received no longer subsists, what reasons can you offer, not only why you should be preferred to me, but to any person whatsoever I unless perhaps, as I hear you are resolved to do, that you was his qusestor. This indeed would be a good plea, was the con- test who should befriend him most. But in a dispute that re- gards the right of prosecution, it is ridiculous to imagine, that so intimate a tye should be a sufficient reason for your appear- ing against him. Had you even received many injuries- from ) our prsetor, it would yet do }T>u more honour to submit, than to revenge them. But when what you term an injury was one of the most meritorious actions of his whole life, shall what would not be allowed even in an indifferent person, be esteeme i a just ground for your violating the relation of qusestor ? Had occasion to this piece of low wit in the orator : Verres, in Latin, signifying an uncas trated hog. (27 )Perjldiosum. an pravariaatorem-^ Perjidiosus signifies one, who pretends to be a friend when he is indeed an enemy. If therefore Cxcilius be such an one. no trus^t norcor- fidence can be reposed in him, Pra-varicator is a man, who affects the character of an enemy, when in reality he is atrue friend If this be the ca?-e with Cseciiins, he is hy »o means a proper perfon to have the management of the present caase. &4> M. f. eiCEkONIS ORATIONS. Accepisti, tamen quoniam quaestor ejus fuisti, non potts cu*» sine ulla vituperatione accusare ; si vtio nulla libi iacta est in- juria, sine scelere eura accusare non potes. Quare cum incer- tum sit de injuria, quemquam esse horum putas, qui non malit te sine vituperatione, quam cum scelere discedere ! XIX. At vide, quid differat inter meam Opinionem ac tuam. Tu cum omnibus rebus inferior sis, hac una in re te mihi ante j ferri putas oportere, quod quaestor illius fueris J ego, si superior ceteris rebus esses, te hanc unam ob causam accusatorem repu- diari putarem oportere. Sic enim a majoribus nostris aceepimuSf pisetorem quaestori suo parentis loco esse oportere : nullam neque justiorem, neque graviorem causam necessitudinis posse reperiri^ quam conjuncionem sortis, quam provincix, quam officii* quam publicam muneris societatem. Quamobrem, si jure eum possis accusare^ tamen cum is tibi parentis numerofuisset, id piefacere non posses : cum vero neque injur iam acceperis, et praetori tuo periculum crees, fatearis necesse est, te illi injustum impiumque helium inferre conari. Etenim ista quaestura ad earn rem valet* ut elaborandum tibi in ratione reddenda sit, quamobrem eum, cui quaestor fueris, accuses : non, ut ob earn ipsam causam postulan- dum sit, uttibi potissimum accusatio detur. Neque fere unquam venit in contentionem de accusando, qui quaestor fuisst* quin repudiaretur* (28) Itaque neque L. Philoni in C. Servilium no- minis deferendi potestas est data* neque M* Aurelio Scauro lft L. Flaccum, neque Cn.Pompeio inT. Albucium : quorum nemo propter indignitatem repudiatus est : sed n& libido violanc ? ae ne- cessitudinis auctoritatejudicum comprobaretun Atque ille Cn* Pompeius ita cum C* Julio contendit, tit tu mecum. Quaestor enim Albucii fuerat, ut tu Verris* Julius hoc secum auctoritatii ad accusanduni afFerebat, quod ut hoc tempore nos ab Siculis, oic turn ille ab Sardis rogatus ad causam accesserat. Semper haec causa plurimum valuit : semper hsec ratio accusandi fuit hones- tissima, pro sociis, pro salute provinciae, pro exterarum nationunt (18) Itaque neque L. Philoni in C. Servilium,'] The examples here produced ate all of quaestors, who offering to impeach the magistrates under whom they had ferved, ■were refused permission by the people, to whom it seemed a bad precedent. Cicero urges them as an argument against Caecilius's suit, and it mi.st be owned they form z very strong one. Philo was of the plebeian branch of th ; Vent-ian family, and quaes- tor to Servilius Olaucio, the same who perched with the seditious tribune Apuleius. M. Aureliut Scaurus.~\ He was a man of great influence in the Senate, and had » mighty ascendant over the spirit of Marius, whom he determined to attack Servilius, in the sedition before-mentioned. Cn. Pomptiui.~\ He means Pompeius Strabo, the father of Pompey the Great, who brought an accusation against T. Albucius, propraetor of Sardinia. This last example quadrates exactly with the case of Cicero and Caecilius. For Strabo, Albucius s quass- tor, endeavored to wrest the impeachment out of the hands of Julius, who had bee* GlCERO's ORATIONS* oj he injured you in the highest degree, yet to accuse the man un- der whom you was quaestor, would draw after it some censure*- But if he never really wronged you, it were even criminal to accuse him. Since then the injury is by no means evident^ can you expect that the judges will not rather you should depart without blame, than >vith infamy. Sect. XIX. Observe only the difference between your way of thinking and mine. You, though inferior in all respects, ima- gine you ought to have the preference, merely on the score of being his qusestor. I, on the contrary, were you superior in every other qulification, should yet look upon this single cir- cumstance as a sufficient reason for setting you aside. For it is a doctrine transmitted to us from our ancestors, that the prsetor is in place of a parent to his qusestor ; that no tie can be more sacred and binding than an union founded upon an alot- ment of the same province, than a conjunction of office, and the common discharge of a public trust. Should therefore the law admit of your commencing accuser, 3*et as he has been to u in place of a parent, you cannot act such a part consistent with piety. But as he never offered you any real injury, and you yet threaten your prsetor, with a prosecution, you must own irself liable to the charge of a criminal and unjust attack. For the nature of the qussstorship is such, as to require your mg a reason, why you, who filled that office under him, should undertake to become his accuser, but can never be urg- ed as an argument for your having the preference in this trial. Xay, there is hardly an instance of a dispute of this kind, in :he quaestor was not rejected. Accordingly we find, . neither was Lucius Philo admitted to plead against Caius rvilius, nor Marcus Aurelius Scaurus against Lucius Flaccus, nor Cneius Pornpey against Titus Albutius : not that they were excluded on nt of insufficiency ; but to avoid contenancing by the authority of the judges the wanton dissolution of a sacred tie. Yet the dispute between Cneius Pompey and Caius Ju- . was the very same as that between you and me. Pompey quasstorto Albutius, as you to Yerres. Julius, on the other hand, had this plea, that he was solicited to undertake the impeachment by the Sardinians, in like manner as I now am by the Sicilians. This consideration has always had the great- est weight ; it has ever been esteemed an unexceptionable argument in favour of an accuser, when for the interest of the allies^ the safety of a province, and the benefit of foreign na- tions, he has not scrupled to create himself enemies, to expose solicited by the Sardinians to undertake their caufe, in like manner as Cicero was by the Sicilians. F M* T. CICKRONIS OKATTONE.% commodis inimickias suscipcrc, ad periculam accederc, ope- ram, studium, laborem interponer^ XX. Etenim si probabilis est corum causa, qui mjurias suas persequi volunt, qua in re dolori suo, non reipub. commodis serviunt : quanta ilia causa hooestsor, quae non solum probabilis videri, sed etiam grata esse debet, nulla privatim accepta inju- ria, sociorum atque amicorum populi Komani dolore atque in- juriis commoveri ? Nuper, cum in P. Gabmium (29) vir fortis- simus et innocentissimus L. Piso delationem nominis postularet y & contra Q. Cheilitis peteyet, isque se vetcres inimicitias jam- diu susceptas persequi diceret ; cum auctoritas et dignkas Piso- nis valebat plurimum, turn ilia erat causa justissima, quod eum sibi Achaei patronum adoptarant. Etenim, cum lex ipsa de pe- cuniis repetundrs, sociorum atque amicorum populi llomani causa, comparata sit ; iniquum est, non eum legis judiciique ac- torcm idoneum maxime putari, quern actorem causs suse soeii, defensoremque fortunarum suarum potissimum esse voluerunt. An quod ad eommemorandum est honestius, id ad probandum non multo videri debet sequius ? Utra igitur est splendidior, utra illustrior, commemoratio ? Accusavi eum, qukum qusestor fueram, quicum me sors, consuetudoqiae majorum, quicum me Deorum hominumque judicium conjunxerat. An accusavi ro- gatu sociorum, atque amicorum ? delectus sum ab universa pro- vincia, qui ejus jura, fortunasque defenderem. Dubitare quis- quam potest, qirin honestius sit, eorum- causa, apud quos quses- . tor fueris, quam eum cujus quaestor fueris, accusare ? Clarissimi viri nostra civitatis temporibus optimis, hoc sibi amplissimum, pulcherrimumque ducebant, ab hospitibus clientibusque suis, ab exteris nationibus, quae in am ic.it tarn populi Rom*- ditionemque essent, injurius propulsare, eorumque fortunas defendere. (3°) M. Catonem ilium sapicntem, clarissimum virum, et prudentissi- mum, cum multis graveis inimicitias gessisse accepimus propter Hispanorum, apud quos consul fuerat, mjurias. Nuper (3*) Cnv (29)' Vir forthsimvs et innncentissimus L. Piso.'] The Lucius Piso here mentioned was by profession a lawyer, and, when tribune of the people, enacted a Jaw against ex- tortion. He impeached Publius Gabiniusfor maladministration in the government of Asia; and being opposed by Quintus Ctecilius, carried it against him, because it ap- peared that the Achreans themselves had applied to him to undertake their cause. It will be necessary to inform the reader, that the Quintus Ciecilius here spoken of, is not the fame with him who sought a right of accusing Verre9 ; and that though the Greeks in general were called Acbxar.s, yet the word here is only taken for the inhabitants of Pontus, who accused Gabinius of extortion. (30) M. Catonem Mum sapient em. ~\ Cato accused Sergius Galba, for plundering the inhabitants of Lusitania, one of the three provinces into which ancient Spain was divid- ed. He likewise, at the instances of the same people, accused Publius Furius, for set- ting an immoderate price upon corn. By these accusations he procured himself a grea* m?,ny enemies CICERO'S ORATIONS. 37' himself to dangers, and to interpose with all his abilities, zeal 5 and application. Sect. XX. And in truth, if it be justifiable in a man to pro- secute another for private injuries, to which he is only prompt- ed by his personal sufferings, not by any concern for the wel- fare of the state ; how much more noble must it appear, and not only justifiable, but even meritorious, where no private injuries have been received, to be roused by the wrongs and sufferings •of the allies and friends of the Roman people ? Lately, when Lucius Piso, a man of the greatest courage and integrity, im- peached Publius Gabinius ; and Quintus Caecilius endeavoured to wrest the cause from him, under pretence of prosecuting an old injury ; though the reputation and merit of Piso had great weight with the judges, yet the most decisive circumstance in his favour was, that the Achseans had 'adopted him their patron. For, since the law relating to extortion was made in favour of the allies and friends of the people of Rome, it is unreasonable not to suppose him the fittest prosecutor in an impeachment founded on that law, whom those very allies have chosen before all others, for the management of their cause, and the defence of their fortunes. Has not that which carries the most fair and honourable appearance, the justest title to our approbation r Now, which of these declarations is the most illustrious and praise-worthy ? I accuse him to whom I was quaestor ; him with whom I was connected by lot, by the customs of our ancestors, -and the decree of gods and men ; or, I accuse at the request of the allies and friends of the people of Rome ; I am chosen by the whole province, to defend and maintain their rights. Can any one entertain a doubt, whether it be not more honourable to accuse in favour of those among whom you was quaestor, than to accuse a man whose quaestor you was I The most illustrious men, in the best times of the commonwealth, have always con- sidered it as their greatest and noblest commendation, to re- dress the wrongs and defend the properties of strangers., of their own clients, and of foreign nations, the allies and tributaries of Rome. It is recorded of Marcus Cato, so distinguished by hk wisdom, reputation, and prudence, that he drew upon, himself the powerful enmity of many, on account of the injuries done to the Spaniards, amongst whom he had been while consul^ (31.) Cn. Domitium JVf. Silano diem dixisse.^ This Domitius accused M. Silanus, 2. man of consular dignity, on account of some injuries he had done to one Egritomarus ; of whom we have no other account, than what Cicero gives us in this passage. V7c are to take notice here of the difference between diem dnsere, and accv.s-irc. The for- mer was used in respect of magistrates and persons in public office, th.~ latter was ap~ priated to the impeachments brought by private men- J« M. T. CICZRONIS O] IONES. Oomitium scimus M. Silano diem dixisse propter unius honii- nis Egritomari, patemi amici atque hospitis, injurias. XXI. Neque enim magis animos hominum nocentium res un- quam ulla commovit, quam hxc majorum consuetudo, Ion go* intervallo repetita atque relata ; sociorum querimonix delatx ad hominem non inertissimum, susceptx ab eo, qui videbatur eorum fortunas fide, diligentiaque sua posse defendere. Hoc timent homines, hoc laborant : hoc institui, atque adco institutum re- ferri, ac renovari molestc ferunt : putant fore, uti si paulatim hxc consuetudo serpere, ac prodire coeperit, per homines ho- nestissimos, virosque fortissimos, non imperitos adolescentulos, aut illiusmodi quadruplatores, leges, judiciaque administrentur. Cuius consuetudinis, atque instituti patres majoresquc nostros non pcenitebat turn, cum (32) P* Lentulus, is qui princeps senatus fuit, accusabat M. Aquilium, subscriptore C. Rutilio Iiufo, aut cum (33) P. Africanus homo virtute, fortuna, gloria, rebus gestis amplissimus, posteaquam bis consul et censor fuerat, L. Cottam in judicium vocabat. Jure turn florebat populi Ro- mani nomen -.jure auctoritas hujus imperii, civitatisque majes- tas gravis habebatur. Nemo mirabatur in Africano illo, quod in me nunc homine parvis opibus ac facultatibus prxdito, simu- lant sese mirari, cum moleste ferant. (34) Quid sibi iste vult ? accusatoremne se existimari, qui antea defendere consueverat ? nunc prxsertim, ea jam xtate, cum xdiiitatem petat ? Ego vero et xtatis non modo mece, sed mult 6 etiam superioris, et honoris amplissimi puto esse, et accusare improbcs, et miseros calami - tososque defendere. Et profecto aut hoc remedium est xgrotx, ac prope desperatx reipub. judiciisque corruptis, ac contamina- tis paucorum \»itio ac turpitudine, homines ad legum defensio- nem, judiciorumque auctoritatem, quam honestissimos et integer- (3 a) P. Ltntulus^prtnccps senatus, accusabat M. Aquilium.'] This Lentulus was the father of Lentulus Sura, who was strangled in prison, for being embarked in the con- spiracy of Cataline. The dignity of prince of the senate , with which the orator kere in- forms us he was invested, entitled him to the privilede of giving his opinion first in all debates. He was commonly the oldest member in the senate, whose name ap- peared fir»t upon the roll and enjoyed this honour duringlife. M. Aquilius, here men- tioned, was accused by Lentums of extortion, and defended by Antony, who drew a- side his garment, and showed the scars of. those wounds he had received for the repub- in the war with the slaves in Sicily. (53) P. Africanvi L. Cottam in judicium vocabat."] L. Cotta was accused by P. Af- r.^anus, after he had been twice consul and censor. He was defended by Q^Metellus Macedonicus ; and as Cicero informs us in his oration for Murena, wa? ?cquitted by the people, not so much on account of his innocence, as that he might not seem to kave fallen a victim to the power and credit of his adversary. CICERO'S ORATIONS; 89 We all know, that Cneiiis liomitius lately impeached Marcus Sflatitis, for the wrongs offered to a single" person, Egritomafus by name, the friend and host of his father. Sect. XXL Nor indeed has any thing so much of late alarmed the minds of guilty men, as this custom of our ancestors, re- peated and renewed after a long discontinuance. To see the complaints of our allies laid before a man of activity, and their cause undertaken by one likely to defend their interests with integrity and spirit, fills them with dread and terror. They are sorry that a such a custom should ever have taken place, but still more so, that it is revived and repeated. They begin to apprehend, that, should the practice insinuate and gain grounds. the administration of law and justice must pass through the hands of men of integrity and courage, not of beardless boys, and a rabble of mercenary pleaders. Our fathers and forefathers were not ashamed of this institution, when Publius Lentulus, prince of the senate with Caius Rutilius Rufus for his solicitor, accused Marcus Aquilius : or when Publius Africanus, a man eminently distinguished by his virtue, fortune, reputation, and military exploits, after he had been twice consul and censor, impeached Lucius Cotta. The Roman name was then deservedly famous : the dignity of this empire, and the majesty of the republic, were justly held in veneration. Wo one wondered at that in the great Africanus, which they who are dissatisfied with this proceeding, aifect now to treat with surprise in me, a man so much beneath him in rank and fortune. What does he mean ? say they. The man who has hitherto been accustomed to defend, would he now pass 'for an accuser, especially at an age when he is suing for the sedileship ? But I think it an honour not only at my time of life, but even at a much more advanced age, to accuse the wicked, and defend the wretched and miserable. And indeed, either it is a remedy for a languishing and almost incurable administration, groaning under the corruption and vices of few, that menofinte- (34) Quid sil'i isie i)ult?\ The question relating to the accuser of Verres was of more importance than at first sight it may seem. Had it only regarded the point of preference between Cicero and Caecilius, it would have been no hard matter to deter- mine it. But the great men at Rome were for discouraging accusations for mal-ad- ministration in the government of provinces, as being almost all involved in the same guilt. To this end they used their utmost endeavours to hinder impeachments from falling into the hands of able and faithful men, as hoping by this means to render them ineffectual, and bring them into discredit and contempt. This was the real difficulty Cicero had to encounter, of which he fails not to give frequent hints in his fpcech. His adversaries however gave the matter a different turn, affecting to wonder, that one who had hitherto employed himself only in defending causes, should turn accuser, and thereby draw upon himself many powerful enemies ; especially at a time when he was running the career of public honours, having discharged the office of quaestor, and preparing now to eye for the aedilesbip- Bat Cicero despised these insinuations, aa 40 M. T. CICERONIS ORATIONES. rimos diligentissimosque accedere : aut si ne hoc quidem prod- csse poterit, profecto nulla unquam medicina his tot incommo- dis reperietur. Nulla salus reipubl. major est, quam eos, qui alterum, accusant, non minus de laude, de honore, de fama sua, quam illos, qui accusantur, de capite, ac fortunis suis per- timescere. Itaque semper ii diligentissime laboriosissimeque accusarunt, qui se ipsos in discrimen existimationis venire ar- bitral sint. XXII. Quamobrem hoc statuere.,judices, debetis, Q. Cascilium de quo nulla unquam opinio fuerit, nullaque in hoc ipso judicio exspectatio futura sit, qui neque ut ante collectam famam con- servet, neque uti reliqui temporis spem confirmet, laborat, non nimis hanc causam severe, non nimis accurate, non nimis dili- genter acturum. Habet enim nihil, quod in offensione deper- dat : ut turpissime, flagitiosissimeque discedat, nihil (3*) de suis veteribus ornamentis requiret. A nobis multos obsides habet populos Rom. quos ut incolumes conservare, tueri, con- firmare, ac recuperare possimus, omni ratione erit dimicandum ; habet honorem, quern petimus : habet spem, quam propositam nobis habemus ; habet existimationem multo sudore, labore, vi- giliisque collectam : ut, si in hac causa nostrum officium, ac diligentiam probaverimus, hacc, quae dixi, retinere per pop. Rom. incolumia ac salva possimus : si tantulum offensum, titu- batumque sit, ut ea, quae singulatim, ac diu collecta sunt, uno tempore universa perdamus. Quapropter, judices, vestrum est diligere, quern existimetis facillime posse magnitudinem causae, ac judicii sustinere fide, diligentia, consilio, auctoritate. Vos si mihi Q. Caecilium anteposueritis, ego me dignitate super- atum non arbitrabor : populus Romanus ne tarn hoiiestam, tarn severam, diligentemque accusationem, neque vobis placuisse, neque ordini vestro placere arbitretur, providete. knowing that he could not more effectually recommend himself to the favour of the better sort of the Roman people, than by a candid, faithful, and diligent behaviour, in the course of the prosecution he had undertaken to manage. (35) De suis ornamentis , requiret.] Requiret , i. e amis sum sentiet. He can suffer no detriment by betraying the cause, because he has nothing to lose. Cicero uses this as 211 argument againt Cxcilius, and in his own favour. There were no sufficient tiei upon Caecilius, to bind him to fidelity and diligence ; whereas the Romans had many pledges of Cicero : the honour of the adileship, for which he had declared himself a candidate : the hope of the prastorship and consulate, to which he had the ambition to aspire ; the reputation he had already acquired, and the growing expectation of the public in his favour. All these were powerful motives, and could not fail to animate him with uncommon in Justry andzial,ashe was sen*ib1fc that the least slip would en- dinger th-i bis of all he had already acquired, and dcilroy his expectations for the .-.. fn; arg'im;nt, it moil bsowasdj is ftttmg and conclufive. cicero's orations. 41 grity, honour, and application, should take upon them the de- fence of the laws, and the revival of public justice ; or, if even this be found ineffectual, it is in vain any longer to hope for redress. Nothing tends more to the preservation of a state, than for an accuser to be no less tender of his reputation, ho- nour, and fame, than the accused is solicitous about his life and fortunes* Accordingly we find, that such as were the most jealous of their own characters, have always proved the most diligent and indefatigable accusers. Sect. XXII. Therefore, my Lords, yon have reason to be- lieve, that Quintus Csecilius, a man of no reputation, from whom Very little is expected in the present trial, who has neither any fame already acquired to preserve, nor any future expectations? to confirm, will not acquit himself in this cause, with the in- dustry, vigour, and severity it requires. For he can lose no- thing by a repulse. Should we even suppose him shamefully and scandalouslv bafRed, all his former merit will still remain* Of me the Roman people have many pledges,, which I must strive with my utmost indeavours to preserve, to defend, to confirm, and to redeem. They have the honour for which I am now a candidate : they have the hope that animates all my pursuits : they hare a reputation too, acquired with much sweat, watching, and toil. If I give proof of my fidelity and; diligence in this cause, all these will remain sure and inviolable in the hands of my country ; but if I trip or stumble in the least, the acquisitions- of a whole life will be destroyed in one moment. Therefore, my Lords, it remains for you to pitch upon the man whom you think best qualified, by his integrity^ diligence, wisdom, and authority, to sustain the weight of this- prosecution* Should the preference be given to Caecilius, I shall not think mv character in the least affected bv such a sen- tence : but take care that the people of Rome have not too much reason to believe, that so upright, so severe, and so vi- gorous an impeachment, was neither agreeable to you, nor to- those of vour order. ■■ u«_^r _■- -ziin — — ~-r~ i - ■■-■■ ■■■■ » ■ ■«!'■» ORATIO II. PRO LEGE MANILLA*. I. — QCAMQTJAM mini semper frequens conspectus vestcr multo jucundissimus ; (1.) hie autem locus ad agendum amplissimus, ad dicendum ornatissimus est visas, Qui- rites ! ( a ) tamen hoc aditu laudis, qui semper optimo cuique niaxime patuit, non mea me voluntas, sed meas viite rationcs ab ineunte state susceplae prohibuerimt. Nam, cum antea per aetatem nondum hujus auctoritatem loci contingere au- derem ; statueremque, nihil hue, nisi perfectum ingenio, elaboratum industria, afferri oportere ; omne meum tempus amicorum temporibus transmittendum putavi. Tta neque hie lo- i vacuus unquam fuit ab iis qui vestram causani defenderent ; * In the consulship of M. iEmilius and L. Volcatius; L. Lucullus, who in qua- lity of proconful had continued almoftfeven years at the head of the Roman army i» Asia Minor, and obtained many signal victories over Mithridates, was recalled by a decree of the Senate. As the war was not yet finished, there was a neceffity for fend- tng fome other general to fupply his place. C. Manilius, a tribune of the people, propofedalaw, preferring L J ompey to that important commiihon. This propofal met with great opposition, becaufe Pompey having already the command of the piratical war, with a very extensive authority, many Romans of distinction thought it would be dangerous to truft fo much power in the hands of cne perfon. Cicero, who feems to kave entertained a high opinion of Pompey's honour and probity, and confidered hits. as the only man in the commonwealth fit to conduct a war of that importance, was zealous for the passing of the Manilianlaw, and in his fpeech endeavoured to fupport it with all his credit and eloquence. He begins with explaining the nature and importance of the Mithridatic war, and lays every thing that might ferve to animate the people •ontinue and purfue it with vigour. Thence pafsingto the choice of a general, he ch • tert into fo beautiful a detail of Pompey's merit and qualifications, that 1 qucflion whe- ther there be any history where the character of that great man is fo well drawn In the fequel the law paffed, though Catullus and Hortensius, two of the moft confideraible men in Rome, and both confular fenatcrs, were among the number of thofe that oppo- sed it. Fofcipcy was fent againil Mithridates, with a more extensive command than had been granted even to Lucnilus.; Bithynia, and several other provinces, being in- cluded in his commission. He received his orders in Cilicia, where he wi.; employed in puctjng thelaft hand to the war againft the pirates; by the fuccessfui conclu which, he reftored the Roman commonwealth to hcrwonte rarulfp!endor,which&hc *=^— : ORATION" IL FOR THE MANILIAN LAW. Sect. L-^THOUGH your crowded assemblies, Romans, be always a grateful sight to me ; though this place ap- pear tne most conspicuous for counsel, and the most hon- ourable for debate; yet not choice, but the way of life I have been engaged -in from my early youth, have hitherto excluded me from this theatre of praise, ever: open to the worthy and the wise. For as till now I had not reached the age necessary to entitle me to so distinguished • an hon- our, and as I judged nothing Worthy of this tribunal, in which the most consummate genius and industry Were not con- spicuous ; I thought it best to dedicate my whole time to the concerns of my friends. Accordingly this place has always HI conduct of her generals abroad, and the remissness of the administration at home- had of late considerably impaired. This oration was delivered from the tribunal of harangues being the first time of Cicero's appearance in that place ; for hitherto he had pleaded only private causes in the poor's court. It was spoke n in the Shun? tod and eighty-seyenth year cf Rome, and the forty-first of Cicero's age, soon £ his election to the prjetorship. *> ' (i) Hie Ueus,) Cicero here means the rostra, or tribunal of harangues which teat situated ,„ the Forum, and adorned with the beaks of ships, whence^had k name Livy speaking of it m his eighth book, says, Naves AntiaL p aM in ^£ : g£ subducts partim tncens*. : Rostrtsque tarum suggestum in foro extructum adornari placuit rostraaue ,d tmphm appdlatum. This place was set apart for enacting laws, pleading pauses and delivering speeches to the people. Here, none were allowed to peak T u ? men of the first note, and such as bore offices of dignity in the state. In the rost a the speaker addressed mmsejf to the people only, and was obliged to study a very 2££J manner of speaking from that in use before the judges. The people were ro be boih mstructed and pleased which required all the eloquence and ornament, of language - The judges were only to be mformed, and therefore a concise and simple style was" necessary before them. * * rtJ n % irIte 'l ™ S ^ Sn a PP eIlation S Ive » *> ^e Roman people In general from the Curetes, a people that removed to Rome with Tatius, from Cures ! Sabine ch? For a fierce war commencmg between Romulus and Tatius, on occasion of the rape of the Saoine virgins, peace was at length concluded on these terms : That RomulTand Tat.us should reign jointly over both people : that the city should.be called Rome from Romulus ; and the citizens Quirites, from Cures. The word comes originally from * M. T. C ICE RON IS ORATIONES. et meus labor in prrvatorum periculis caste integreque versatn ex vestro judicio fructum est amplissimum consecntus. Nani cum propter dilationem comitiorum (3) ter praetor primus cen- turiis cunctis renimtiatus sum ;' facile intellexi, Quirites, et quid de me judicaretis, et quid aliis prsescribe'retis. Nunc cum et auctoritatis in me tantum sit, quantum vos honoribus mandandis esse voluistis ; et ad agendum facultatis tantum, quantum homini vigilanti exforensi usu prope quotidiana dicendi exercitatio po- tuit afferre : certe, et si quid auctoritatis in me est, ea apud eos utar, qui earn mihi dederunt ; etsi quid etiam dicendo consequi possum, iis ostendam potissimum, qui ei quoque rei fructum sue judicio tribuendum esse censuerunt. Atque illud in primis mihi laetandum jure esse video, quod in hac insolita mihi ex hoc loco ratione dicendi, causa talis oblata est, in qua oratio nemini de- esse potest. IJicendurn est enim de Cn. Pompeii singulari eximiaque virtute : hujus autem orationis difficilius est exitum, quam principium invenire. Itaque non mihi tarn GOpia, quam modus in dicendo qucerendus est. II. Atque ut inde oratio mca proficiscatur, unde hxc omnia causa dicitur ; bellum grave et periculosum vestris vectigalibus atque sociis (4) a duobus potentissimis regibus infertur, Mithri- date, et Tigrane : quorum alter relictus, alter lacessitus, oeca- sionem sibi ad occupandanv Asiam oblatam esse arbitratur. EquitibusRomanis,honestissimis viri$,aiTeruntur ex Asia quotidie literae, quorum magnse res aguntur, in vestris vectigalibus exer- cendis occupat?: ; qui ad me pro necessitudine, quae mihi est cum illo ordine, causam reipublic^, periculaque rerum suarum (3) Ter prator primus ccnturiis cunctis renuntiatus sum.~\ The prsttor was a magift rate, to whom belonged the adminiftration of juftice. At firfl only one was created, then two, in the time of Sylla eight, and laft of all ten. Of thefe prsetors two had the management of private trials committed to them ; one, the city prcetor, who judged between fellow-citizens ; the other the foreign praetor, who took cognizance of the affairs of flrangers. The other eight were criminal judges, and had each hi3 particular province. Two were appointed to decide in cases of murder ; one of extortion ; one of embezzling the public money ; one of corruption ; one of fraud ; one of treafon ; and one of violence. Cicero here tells us, that he was thrice declared firfl praetor by all the centuries. Not that there was any inequality or difference of dignity between the praetors, but he who was firfl chofeu to that office by the people, was judged on that account to have the preference in their favour. Plutarch, in his life of Cicero, tells us, that he had to ftruggle with many candidates of the firfl dignity, from all whom he neverthelefs carrid the honour of the firfl nomination. Hence, in his book de daris aratoribus, fpeakir.g of himfelf, he fays, Atque ut multa omittam, in hoc /patio, et in bis post adilii atem anr.'ts , ct prator primus , et incredibilipopulari 'voluntate sum f actus. (4) A duobus potentissimis regibus. "\ They are defervedly ftyled powerful by the orator, whether we confidcr the extent of their dominions, or their renown in war. Mithri- l.ICLKO S ORATIONS. 4>§ ounded with able pleaders ixi the cause of the republic : and my talents, employed in the defence of private citizens, have by vour suffrages been crowned with a glorious re ward. For wrier-, bv reason of the adjournment of the comiiia, I found myself thrice chosen first praetor by all the centuries, it was easy far me thence to collect, both what your sentiments of me were, and what qualifications you required in others. Xow that I am clothed with all that authority which is annexed to the officer you have honoured me with ; and as my talents for business are sueh as the constant exercise of pleading may produce in a man \ of industry ; be assured, that whatever authority I possesj, shall be exerted in behalf of those from whom I derived it ; and if my eloquence carries any weight, I will display it chiefly to those who have thought it worthy of reward. And here! think I may justly congratulate myself, that, unaccustomed as I am to harangue in this manner, and from this place ; a subject presents itself, on which it is impossible not to be eloquent. 1 am to speak of the singular and amazing virtues of Pompey ; a theme where I shall find it more difficult to know when to stop, than how to begin : and where my principal study must be, not to search for materials, but to set bounds to my orations. Sect. II. But that my discourse may run back to the sourc* -of the present debate ; an important and dangerous war is car- ried on against your tributaries and allies, by two very powerful monarchs, Mithridates and Tigranes : of whom the one being- provoked, and the other not pushed after his defeat ; they think a favourable opportunity oifers to possess themselves of all Asia* Letters are daily brought from that quarter to the Roman knights, men of character and eminence, who have a great in- terest in the collection of your revenues ; and on account of my near connection with their order, have thought proper to lay dates, though originally no more than king of Pontus, found means, by his valour, tc render himself master of all Asia Minor, and great part of Greece. Cicero, in his Lucullus, pronounces him the greatest of kings, nest to Alexander. He was vanquish- ed and restricted to his hereditary dominions by Sylla : but renewing the war again aicer his death, Lucullus was sent against him, who defeated him in several battles, and in the last would infallibly have made him prisoner, had not the soldiers, instead of continuing the pursuit, abandoned themselves to the desire of plunder. This gave him an opportunity of escaping to hi3 son-in-law, Tigranes, who reigned in Armenia, and is by Plutarch styled the kin* of kings. His power was so great, that having driven the Farthians out of Asia, he transplanted the Greek states into Media, and ruled Sy- ria and Palestine. Lucullus notwithstanding summoned him to deliver up Mithri- dates ; and upon his refusal, pushed him so vigorously, that after taking possession of Tigranocerta, the city of his own residence, he twice routed his numerous forces, obliged him to fly into the skirts cf Armenia, , 46 M. T. CICERONI S OK ATIOK.ES. detulerunt : (>') Bithynise, quae nunc vestra provincia est, vice* exustos esse complureis : (6) regnum Ariobarzanis, quod finiti- mum est vestis vectigalibus, totum esse in hostium potestate : Lucullum,magnis rebus gestis, ab eo bello cliscedere : huic qui succurrerit, non satis esse paratum ad tantum bellum adminis- trandum : unum ab omnibus sociis et civibus ad id bellum rm- peratorem deposci, atque expeti : eundem hunc unum ab hos- tibus metui, praeterea neminem. Causa quae sit, videtis : nunc quid agendum sit considerate. Primum mihi videtur de genere belli, deinde de magnitudine, turn de imperatore deligendo esse dicencjum. Genus est enim ejusmodi, quod maxime vestros animos excitare, atque inflammare debet : in quo agitur populi Romani gloria, quss vobis a majoribus cum magna in rebus om- nibus, turn summa in re militari tradita est : agitur salus socio- rum, atque amicorum, pro qua multa majores vestri magna et gravia bella gesserunt : aguntur certissima, populi Romani vecti- galia, et maxima ; quibus amissis, et pacis ornamenta, et subsidia bella requiretis : aguntur bona multorum civium, quibus est a \ obis, et ipsorum, et reipublicse causa consulendum. III. Et quoniam semper appetentes glorias piaster cseteras ^enteis, atque avidi laudis fuistis, delenda est vobis ilia macula. (7) Mithridatico bello superiore suscepta : quae penitus jam in- btrdit, atque inveteravit in populi Romani nomine : quod is, qui uno die, tota Asia, tot in civitatibus, uno nuntio, atque una lite- rarum significatione, cives Romanes necandos trucidandosque denotavit, non modo adhuc pcenam nullam suo dignam scelere suscepit, sedab illo tempore annum jam tertium et vicesimum rcgnat ; et ita regnat, ut se non Ponto, neque Capadociae late- bris occultare velit ; sed emergere e patrio regno, atque in ves- tris vectigalibus, hoc est, in Asiae luce versari. Etenim adhuc (5) JSitbynia, quaultcd them publicly, and violated their character. Cicero says no more than that they treated them in a haughty insolent manner. By this he would insinuate how much greater reason there wa9 to be incensed against Mithridates, who had exercised such unheard of cruelties upon a Roman ambassador of consular dignity. (n) C>im Arrtlocho.cum P/jilippo, cum Penh.) When Anticchus, king of Syria, hai Cicero's orations* 51 ought you to be fired, when you call to mind, that inconse- quence of a single express, so many thousand Roman citizens we. e butchered in one day ? Corinth, the pride and ornament of Greece, was by your ancestors doomed to utter destruction, be- cause of the insolent behaviour of the citizens to their ambassa- dors : and will you suffer the tyrant to escape with impunitv, bv whom a consular sentor of the Roman people was condemned to be bound, scourged, and put to death with the most cruel torments ? Your fathers would not permit the least infringement of their privileges ; and will you tamely overlook the murder of Roman citizens ? These avenged even a verbal insult upon the dignity of their ambassador ; and shall the blood of a Roman senator, shed in the most cruel manner, cry for no vengeance from you ? Beware, citizens, beware, lest, as it was glorious for them to transmit so extensive an empire to posterity, your in- ability to preserve and defend it prove not infamous for you. What, to appear unconcerned when the very safety and being voir allies is at stake I Ariobarzanes, a sovereign prince, the end and confederate of the Roman people, is expelled his do- minions. Two potent kings, the inveterate foes not only of Home, but of every state in amity and alliance with her, threat- en all Asia. The provinces of Greece, and beyond the Helle- sporit, unable to repel the danger, look to you for aid ; but thout daring, or thinking it safe to name the particular gene- ral thev want, because you have already put another into that commission. They see and know, as you do, that there is one man, in whom all great qualities meet ; and are the more un- dent to be without him., as he is so near at hand to undertake their defence : a man, whose very name and approach, though he came onlv vested with a naval commission, they nevertheless - vceive to have checked and retarded the enemies' attempts. And because the} dare not openly proclaim their desires, they tlv implore you to consider them, in common with the Other allied provinces, as worthy of the protection of such a hero. his rtquest is the more reasonable, as we have lately sent tern commanders, who indeed defended them from the enemy, but whose entrance into their cities differed little from taking them bv storm. As to the general now in their eye, they have formerly heard, but at present find him so full of gentleness, moderation, and humanity, that happiest appears the people among whom he longest resides. Slct. VI. If then your ancestors, unprovoked by any injury themselves, and merely for the sake of their allies, engaged in made an alliance with the JEtolian3, and in conjunction with them was waging war upon the • confederate states of Greece ; the Romans, under whose protection they were, and who had honcured them with the title of allies, generously undertook their H 52 AI.T. CICERONIS ORATIOXE3. Poenis bella gesserunt ; quanto vos studio convenit injuriis pre vocatos, sociorum salutem una cum imperii vestri digmitate de- fender, praeseftina cum de vestris maximis vectigalibus agatur ? Nam cieterarum provinciarum vectigalia, Quirites, tanta sunt, ut iis, ad ipsas provincias tutandas, vix contenti esse possimus : Asia vero tarn opima est et fertilis, ut et ubertate agrorum, et varietate fructuum, et. magnitudine pastionis, et multitudine earum rerum quse exportantur, facile omnibus terris antecellaU Itaque haec vobis provincia, Quirites, si ad belli utilitatem, et pacis dignitatem retinere vultis, non modo a calamitate, sed etiam a metu calamitatis est defendenda. Nam cseteris in re- bus cum venit calamitas, turn detrimentum accipitur : at in vec- tigalibus non solum adventus mali, sed etiam metus ipse affert calamitatem. Nam cumhostium copix non longe absunt, eti- amsi irruptio facta nulla sit, tamen pecora relinquuntur, agri- cultura deseritur, mercatorum navigatio conquiescit. Ita (*^) neque ex portu, neque ex decumis, neque ex scriptura. vectigal conservari potest ; quare saepe totius anni fructus uno rumore periculi, at que uno belli terrore amittitur. Quo tandem animo esse existimatis, aut eos qui vectigalia vobis pensitant, aut eos qui exercent atque exigunt, cum duo reges cum maximis copiis prope adsint ? cum una excursio equitatus perbrevi tempore to- tius anni vectigal auferre possit ? cum publicani familias maxi- mas, quas (13) in salmis habent, quas in agris, quas in portubus atque custodiis, magno perieul® se habere arbitrentur ? Putatis- ne vos illis rebus frui posse, nisi eos, qui vobis fructui sunt, con- servaveritis, non solum (ut ante dixi) calamitate, sed etiam ca- lamitatis formidine liberatos ? defence, and Tent Glabrio, at the head of an army, to f import them againft their ene- mies. The Philip here spoken of, muftnot be confounded with the father of Alexan- der the Great. He was, it is true, king of Macedon, but reigned not till Jong after him, and drew upon himfdf the Roman arms, by attacking the Athenians, their al- lies, 'he Carthagenians were engaged in three several wars with the Romans. Cice- ro;, ides doubtlefs to the fecond, which was undertaken on account of theSa-- guntines, the allies of the Roman people, whom the Carthaginians had injurioufly attacked. fit) Neque ex portu, neque ex decumis, neque ex scriptura vectigal conservari potest,^ — There were three kinds o! tributes or taxes, from which the Roman ftate drew very ample revenues The firft was what they called deciw*, or decuma, correfponding to our -.void tythes ; thofe were exacted, not only of all the Romans, but of all the Ro- man allies, either within or without Italy, who farmed public lands : but it is to be ob- served that these were for the most part only laid on corns, wines, oils, and the smaller ^rair.'.. 1 he second was what they called scriptura, a word which, I believe, cannot endered by any one word in our language. We know well enough, however, \-batio'.':t the Romans affixed to it, and in what sense they used it. They meant no y it, than that branch of the revenue which was paid by those who enjoyed the vikge of forests and pasture-grounds belonging to the public. This part of the. CTCER OS ORATIONS. war with Antiochus, Philip, the JEtolians, ar,d Carthaginians : how much more ought you, irritated by a series of personal af- fronts, to exert yourselves warmly in a quarrel, where the dig- nity of your empire is united with the cause of your confede- rates ; more especially as the fairest revenues of the republic are at stake ? For the revenues of the other provinces are such as scarcely to defray the expense of protecting them : but Asia is ■ a country so opulent and fertile, that whether we regard the 'richness of the soil, variety of fruits, its abundant pastures, and the multitude of commodities for exportation, it easily claims the preference to all other climates. And therefore, Romans, if you aspire either at success in war, or dignity in peace, you ■ must not only defend this province from conquest, but even from the apprehension of being invaded. For in others affairs, the los's is felt when the disaster happens : but in what regards the revenues of a state, not only real misfortunes, but the very apprehension of them is productive of mischief. For when an enemy approaches, though no irruption be yet made, the cattle are abandoned, agriculture is neglected, and commerce stagnates. Thus all taxes, whether upon shipping, manufactures, or the fruits of the earth, necessarily cease j insomuch that the bare rumour of danger, the very apprehension of a war, often sinks the re- venues of a whole year* What then may you suppose to be the situation, either of those who pay, or those who collect the pub- lic tributes, when they see themselves threatened with an inva- sion from two formidable monarchs ? when a single incursion of the enemy's cavalry may rifle at once the revenue of an entire year ? when the farmers of the taxes shall perceive, that all the people employed under them, in the forests, in the fields, in sea- ports, and in garrisons, are exposed to imminent danger ? Do you imagine it possible to enjoy the labour of all these, without preserving the labourers themselves, not only from the reality, but, as I said before, from the very dread of danger ? revenue was probably called scriptura, from the sum agreed upon with the masters of the customs for the said privilege being entered in a certain book. The third kind of tax was what they called portorium, v/hich, except in a few minute circumstances, cor- responded to our customs.laid upon goods imported and exported. (13) In salinis, babent.'] The word salinis, here ufed, has occafioned great disputes among commentators.. Indeed we learn from Pliny, lib. 31. cap 7. that taxes on the salt-pits of Rome were appointed by Ancus Martius. But this tribute, upon the ex- pulsion of the kings, wasabolished by a decree of the fenate. And though it was af- terwards renewed by Marcus Livius, the censor, called thence Salinator ; yet we ne- ver read in any period of the Roman hiftory, of its being impofed upon Asia, or any other of the Roman provinces. Besides, Cicero here speaks of three kinds of tributes, but in no pare of his works of that arifing from salt-pits. I am therefore inclined to di:ck, that we ought to read sallsth, as we find it in many editions-; and tb:-r 54 M. T. CICERONIS ORATIONES. VII. Ac nc illn.d quidem vobis negligendum est, quod mini ego extremum proposueram, cum cssem de belli gcnere dicturus, quod ad multorum bona civium llomanorum pertinet : quorum vobis pro vestra sapientia, Quirites, habenda est ratio diligenter. Kam et publicani, homines et honestissimi et ornatissimi, suas rationes et copias in illam provinciam contulerunt : quorum ip- sorum per se res et fortunae, curse vobis esse debent ; etenim si vectigalia nervos esse reipublicae. semper duximus ; eum certe ordinem, qui exercet ilia, firmamentum caeterorum ordinum recte esse dicemus. Deinde cxteris ex ordinibus homines gravi et industrii partim ipsi in Asianegotiantur, quibus vos absentibus consulere debetis ; partim suas, et suorum in ea provineia pe- cunias magiias (*•*) collocatas habent, Erit igitur humanitatis vestrse, magnum eorum civium numerum calamitate prohibere ; sapientise, videre multorutti civium calamitatem, a republica se- junctam esse non posse. Etenim illud primum parvi refcrt, vos publicanis amissa vectigalia postea victoria recuperare ; neque enim iisdem redimendi facultas erit propter calamitatem, neque aiiis voluntas propter timorem. Deinde quod nos eadem Asia, atque idem iste Mithridates initio belli Asiatici docuit, id quidem certe calamitate docti memoria retinere debemus. Nam turn, cum in Asia res magnas permulti amiserant, scimus Romae, so- lutione impedita, lidem concidisse. Non enim possunt una in civitate multi rem atque fortunas amittere, ut non plureis secum in eandem calamitatem trahant. A quo periculo prohibete rempublicam ; et mihi credite, id quod ipsi videtis, hose fides, atque haec ratio pecuniarum, quae Romae, quae in foro versatur, implicita est cum illis pecuniis Asiaticis, et cohseret ; mere ilia non possunt, ut hacc non eodem labefactata motu concidant. Quare videte, num dubitandum vobis sit omni studio ad id bel- lum incumbere, in quo gloria nominis vestri, salus sociorum, vectigalia maxima, fortunae plurimorum civium cum republica defenduntur. VIII. Qiioniam de genere belli dixi, nunc de magnitudine pauca dicam. Potest enini hoc dici, belli genus esse ita necessarium, at sit gerendum : non esse ita magnum, ut sit pertimescendum ; Cicero has here in his eye the pasture-grounds,} which abounded with groves of willows. (14) Collocatui habent.'] Very many citizens had their fortunes lodged in the hands of the trading men, who, in the very nature of the thing, muft suffer by rhe looses of these traders. Plutarch informs us, that in Asia there were a great number of farmers oi the public revenue- and factors, who miserably harrassed thai province ; and that they consifled of all the several orders in Rome, (except the senatorian) especially of the equestrian, of which there were many who were tithe-farmers, labourers. cicero's orations. oj Sect. VII*. Xor ought you to overlook the la^i point 1 pro- posed to mention, in speaking of the nature of the war : I mean what regards the fortunes of main Roman citizens ; to which, mv countrymen, your wisdom ought to pay a particular regai For the farmer* of the revenue, men of worth and rank in the republic, have conveyed all their wealth and effects into that province : and it is incumbent upon you, to bestow your utm< attention u\v-n the preservation of their fortunes. For if we have ever considered the public tributes as the sinews of the State, sure that order of men who are employed in collecting them, may be justly looked upon as the cement and support ol all the other orders. Resides, a number of active and indus- trious men of other denominations, whose interest you ought to take care of in their absence, are some now trading in Asia, while others have laid out their money to a great extent in that province. Humanity therefore requires you, to protect the for- tunes of such a multitude of citizens ; and prudence dictates, that die ruin of so many individuals cannot fail to affect the public prosperity. For it will avail but little to recover by a victory, what the officers of the revenue may have lost ; because such as enjoyed the customs before, will be disabled from re- newing the farm, and others will avoid engaging through fear. Besides, instructed by past misfortunes, we ought sure to keep in mind, what the same province, and the same Mithridatcs, tought us towards the beginning of the Asiatic war. For a number of citizens sustaining at that time great losses in Asia, we know that public credit was at a stand at Rome, from a general stoppage of payment. And indeed, where a multi- tude of invkluals in any state suffer an entire shipwreck of their fortunes, it is impossible but others must be involved in the same calamity. Shield the commonwealth therefore from this danger, and give credit to a principle which experience must have taught you. The public credit at Rome, the circulation of money in the forum, is connected with, and dependent upon the of Asia ; the loss of which must infallibly draw after it the ruin of the other. Judge, then, whether vou ought nor to b; nd all your cares to the vigorous prosecution of a war, in v. huh the glory of your empire, the safety of your allies, the prinripal revenues ol the state, and the properties of manv illus- trious citizens, are connected with the defence of the republic. Sect. VJII. ITaving thus finished what I had to sav concern- ing the nature of the war, it now remains that J speak of its greatness. And this much 1 will venture to affirm ; that it is masters of the customs, ard collectors of the pasturuge and foreu mor.ejr 56 M. T. CICER0N1S OKAl'IONKS. in quo maxime laborandum est, ne forte a vobis quae diligently- *ime providenda sunt, contcmnenda esse videantur. Atque, ut f mines intelligent, me L. Lucullo tantum impcrtiri laudis, quan- tum ford viro, sapientissimo homini, et magno imperatori *e- beatur ; dicu ejus adventu maximas Mithridatis copias omnibus rebus ornatax, atque instructas fuisse, urbemque Asiac clarissi- mam, nobisquc amicissimam, (<5) Cy/.icenorum, obsessam e.sie ab ipso nge maxima muhitudine, et oppugnatam vehementi- sime, quam L. LucuUua virtute, assiduitate, consilio, summit obsidionis periculis libera\ it : ab eodem imperatore classcm magnam et ornatam, quae ducibus Scrtorianis ad Italiam studio inflammato rapcrctur, superatam ess-, atque depressam : mag- nas kostium pretefea copias multis prceUia cse deletas, patefac- tunique nostris legionibus esse l'ontimi, qui ante populo Uom. ezomni adituclausus esset : (*6) Sinopen atque Amisum, quibu* in oppidis erant domicilia regis, omnibus rebus ornata atque re- Jerta, cstcraaque urbeis I'onti, et Cappadocisc permultas unci aditu, atque adventu esse captas : legem spoliatum regno patrio atque avito, ad alios be reges, atque alias gentes supplicem con- tulisse : atque haec omnia, salvis populi Romanii sociis, atque integris vectigalibus, esse gesta. Satis opinor hoc esse laudis : atque ita reputo, ut hoc vos intelligatis, K nullo istoruin qui huic obtrectant legi atque causx, L. Lucullum similiter ex hoc loco esse laudatum. IX. liequiretur foitasse nunc, quemadmodum, cum haec ita sint, rcliquum possit esse magnum bellum ; cognoscite, Qui- ntet; ; non enim hoc sine causa quseri videtur. Primum ex suo regno sic Mithridates prol'ugit, ut ex eodem ponto (*7) Medea ilia quondam profugisse dicitur : quam praedicant in fugi fratris •ui membra in iis locis, qua se parens persequeretur, dissipavisse, (15) Cyxi.enorum.) Cyzicum, one of the finest cities of Asia, was besieged by sea and Und by M'thiidates. with several machines of war, and especially a wooded tow- er an haudred cubits high. But Lucullus having blocked him up on all sides, and cut «fflm provision*, ho was obliged to raise the tiegt. (16) Si moptn atque Ai*uum.\ Sinope is a cky upon the Euxinc sea, which at first »tood out •gainat tne Romans ; bttt bein^ reduced to great extremities, the citizens set fire to their lar^vr vessels, anlbtto'tk themselves to their gallies, the more conveni- ently to nuke their escape. But Lucullot having at last mastered the city, restored i? to its former liber y ; because during the siege, he fancied Antigonus appeared to him in a dream ; who, having formerly accompanied Hercules iu his expedition a- gainst the Amazons, chose this city for himself. Amisus wa< j town in the confines of Paphla^o.iia, ab-mt t buu Ired and thirty miles distant irr>m Sinope. Lucullus having made himself master of thia hut, advanced toward- the other ; which being a- ! bandoned by the inhabitants, was soon taken. He suffered them however to return, and live according to their own laws, bscauv: the city was originally an Athenian co- lony. * cicero's oratioks. indeed a necessary and unavoidable war, yet not so considerable" as to give cause of fear. My principal endeavour therefore, on this occasion, must be, that some particulars which deserve your utmost attention, be not slightly overlooked as searce wor- thy of notice. And here, that every one may be sensible how disposed I am to allow all that praise to Lucullus, which is due to a brave citizen, a wise man, and a greiu general : I readily own, that at his arrival, the numerous forces of M ithridates were provided with every thing necessary or convenient ; that Cyzicum, the noblest city of Asia, .and the best affect- ed to Rome, was invested and vigorously pressed by thejeinj; in person, at the head of a formidable army ; and that the courage, assiduity, and admirable conduct of Lucullus, freed it from the imminent danger to which it was exposed. I must add, that a strong and well appointed fleet, fitted out by Serto- rious's lieutenants, who burned with desire to wreak their ven- geance upon ltalv, Mas by the same general defeated and sunk : that in numberless encounters besides, great bodies of the ene- mies 1 forces were overthrown ; that Pontus, heretofore inaccea ible to the Roman people, was exposed to the depredations of our legions: that Sinope and Amissus, two cities of royal resi- dence, adorned and provided with all the means of defence, with many other towns of Pontus and Capadocia, were taken m one march, and in one approach : that Mithridates himself, despoiled of his hereditary and paternal dominions, was forced to fly a suppliant to other kings and states : and that all these great actions were performed, without loss to our allies, or di- minution of our revenues. This, I think, sufficiently speaks his praise ; and I believe you will readily allow, Romans, that none of the opposers of this law and measure, have so fully enlarged upon the merits of Lucullus from this place. Sect. IX. But now, perhaps, it will be asked, if these things e so, how can so difficult a war still remain ? Let us examine in^ this matter a little : for the question is not without founda- tion. Know then, Romans, that Mithridates fled from this kingdom, just as the famed Medea is said of old to have escaped out of the same l'ontus : whom report feigns to have scattered the limbs of her murdered brother in those places through which her father was to pass, that the care of Collecting them, and (17) Medta Mai] Medea flying from her father ALetes, whom she had betrayed, by assisting Jason to come at the golden fleece : in order to retard his pursuit, cut her brother Absyrtus in piects,,and strewed his limbs in the way ; that the father's grid for the loss of his son, and his concern together up his mangled remains, might employ him so long at to afford her time to escape. $N >t. r. r.ir.r.p.ON'is or.^tioves. it eorum collectio dispersa, mocmrque patrius, celentatem persequendi rtrtardaref : sic Mithridatea fugiens maximum vim auri atqui »nti, jHilcherrimaru'mque renim omnium, quaa i majoribun acceperat, ft ipse bcllo superiore ex toll Vsia direp- in suum regnnm congesserat, in Ponto omnem reliquit; hxc dumnostri colligunt omnia diligentius, rex ipse e manibus effu- : it. i ilium in persetfuendi studio mrxror, hos laetitia retardavit. Ilunc in illo timore et fuga Tigranes rex Armenius excepit j diffidentemque rcl»us suis confirmavit, afflictum erexit, perdi- tumque recreavit ; cujua in regnum poateaquam L. Lucullua cumvxercitu venit, plurea etiam gentea contra imperatorem nostrum concitat* sunt. Eratenim metua injectua iis nationibus, quaa nunquam populua Romanus neque laceaaendaa bcllo, ne- que tentandaa put. o it. Krat etiam alia gravis atquc vehemena opinio, qux per animos gentium Imrtsararum pervaserat, lam upletisaimi et religiosiaaimi diripiendi causa, in eaa oras nos- trum excrcitum esse ndductiim. Ita nationes mult* atque man- ner novo quodam terrore ac metu concitabantur. Nosi r autem exercitus, etsi (18) urbem ex Ttgranis regno ceperat, et pnelija is erat sccundis, tamun nimia longinquitate locorum, ai <;■ derio auorum commovebatur. Ilk jam plura noti dicam. Kuit enim illud extremum, ut ex iis locis a militibus noatria reditua magisiriaturus, quam processio longior qu«reretur. Mithndatca autem 1 I suam manum jam confinr.arat, et eorum, qui se ex cj no collegerant, et magnis adventitiia multorum rcgum et na- ti mum copiia juyabatur. Hoc jam fere aic fieri solere accepi- ut rcguni afflict* fortunae facile multorum opes alliciant ad misericordiam, maximeque coruin, qui aut regea sunt, aut vi- runt in regno: quod regale iis nomen magnum et sanctum « videatur. Itaque tantum \ ictus efficere potuit, quantum mco- lumis nunquam est ausus optare. Nam cuin se hi regnum re- cepisset suum, non fuit eo rontentus, quod eipraiter spem acci- derat, ut ram posteaqam pulsus erat, n 1 ram unquam attin- geret : acd ("0 in excrcitum vestrum clarum atque victor (18) Urhm tx nrraw rf.] Our author here mean, Tipranocorta, the ea- pita of Arm" £ wft built, and called after hi. own nne. I he wa U o* it were fifty cubit, high ; and all the great and wealthy men of the k.ngdom, to test.- £3£r reIrdfortheirprii.ce, had r!Wed thither with .their treasures, and made ,t he raodth.r abode/ Plutarch tell us, that Lucullus found here je«ta *"£*£ lent betide, much other riches It was here too that he defeated the force, of M..hn. iV,Vand Tigranes, coming of two hundred and fifty thousand foot, and filry hot ^ horfc After this overthrow the two kin** assembled another army of lev my thou- tt nd foot, and th.rty-five thousand horse, which w» .gam ^^ L <^' "£ which Tigranei retired farther into %rtnenia, and Mithrtdates made the be. Lu ; talhus lieutenants, who was sent with a new army to succeed Flaccus. Tr.anus hear CTCERo's ORATIONS. '^ paternal grief, might stay the celerity of his pursuit. Thus Mithridates to favour his flight, left in l'ontus an immense col- lection of gold and silver, and other valuable and costly orna- ments, which he had either inherited from his ancestors, <>r got by plunder in the last Asiatic war, and treasured up in his own dominions. While our troops were employed in pillaging these, the person of the king escaped. Thus in the formal uise gri in the latter joy, checked the eager desire oi pursuit. 1 flight, and under the influence of these terror* I -< ; with Tlgranes king of Armenia, who received him kindly, rouzed him from his diffidence, cheered him in hi nd restored him to some degree of hope. Lucullus followed him with his armv intothis princess territories, where he found n nations ready to oppose him, from the dread they entertained of the Koman forces, though they were far from any design cither to provoke or attack them. A prevalent and general persuation had likewise taken hold of the minds of these barba- rians, that the design of pillaging a rich and awful temple, had brought our armv into those parts. Thus many very powerful nations were spirited up against us, by a new kind of terror and dread. Meanwhile our troops, though they took the capital of Tigranes\s kingdom, and routed the enemy in several encoun- ters, were nevertheless dismayed at the distance of the pro- vinces in which thev fought, and seized with a desire ton-turn to their own countrv. Here let me stop : for the issue of all was, that our soldiers discovered a greater inclination to retire, than to advance. 15ut Mithridates had by this time revived the courage of his troops, and found his army greatly increased by multitudes that flocked to him from his own dominions, and the numerous reinforcements of many foreign kings and nations. This we learn from experience to be frequently the case, that the eminent distresses of princes, bv the compassion thev art- apt to excite, raise powerful confederacies in their favour, espe- e tally of such as are either monarchs themselves, or live in sub- jection to monarchv : because to them the name of rovalty sounds great and venerable. Accordingly he was able to effect more after his defeat, than in the very height of his prosperity he durst presume to hope. For when he returned to his own king- dom, not contented with so unexpected a piece of gooei fortune, in recovering the possession of a country whence he thought himself expelled for ever, he even had the boldness to attack yout j)gthat Lucullus was upon the march himself to join the army, and Jesiring to engross "he whole glory of the victory, gave Mithridates battle ; in which he was routed with the U>,t of twenty-four military tribune*, an hundred and fifty centurions and up- war Ji of «cven thousand private men f>o m. !. cichnosfa oka 11 impctum fee If. Smite hoc loco, Quirii icut porta solem, qui res Romanas scribunt) prxtcrire me hoatram calamitatem • qux tantafuit, ut earn ad auvea I** Luculli non ex prwlio nun- tius, st (l i\ Mimont rumor aflerret. Hie in ipso illomalo gra- riaaim&que belli ofTenaione L. lauullus, qui tamen aliqua ex partr iis incommodis mederi fort&sse po( , vestrojuaau co- actus, quod imperii diuturnVtati moduiu statuendura, vcteri ex- emplo putavistis, partem aailitum* qui jam ttipendiii confecti eram, diraiait, partem Glabrioni tradiiit. Multa prstereo con- sult^ : scdea vos conjectura perspicite, quantum illud bellura futurum put* tis, quod conjun^ant re get potentissimi, renovmt agitata? nation* s, suscipiant integra* geates, noviis imperator v" ter accipiat, vetere expulso exercitit. X. Satis mihi multa verba feci&ae videor, quare hoc Ix-llum esset gencre ipso neceasarium, magnitudiite pericutosuftt. Itcstut ut de tmperatore ad id bellum deligendo, ac tantis rebus prxfi- ciendo, dicendum esse vkleatur. I tinain, Qui rites, virorum fortium at que innocentium copiam tantam hahcretis, ut hxc vo- bia deliberatio diilicilis esset, quemnam potissinuun tantis rebus ac tanto bcllo praficicntlum putaretis. \unc vero turn sit unus Cn« Pompeius, qui non mode eorum hominum, qui nunc sunt, gloriain, sed ctiam antiquitatia memoriam \irtute auperavit i qua res est, qua cujusquam animum inhac causa dubium facere nossit ? Ego enim aic exiatimo, in summo imperatore quatuoi has res mease oportere, acientiam rei militant, virtutem, auctori- tatem, felicitatcm. Quis rgkur hoc homine scientior unquam aut fuit, autesse dtbuit ? Quis e ludo atque pauritic disciplina, bello maximo, atque acerrimis hostibus(*°) ad patris exercitum, atque in militia? disclplinam profectua est: qui extrema pueritta miles fuit summi imperatoris, ineunte adolescentia («) maximi ipse exercitus imperator : qui saepiua cum hoateconflixit, quam quisquam cum inimico concertavit ; plura bella gessk, quam Cttteri iegerunt : plureia provincies confecit, quam alii con cup! - vet-tint : cujua adoleacentia ad acientiam rei militarisnon aliei prseceptis, aed auii imperils: c us belli, aed \ic- C i**>) Ad pair'u tr.crc'itum. ] Namely Cn. Pompciu* Strabo, who was Cato's colleague *f the consulship. He served wirh great reputation, as proconsul during the ltn.li • war, and was afterwards general of the army >eut to act against Cinsa ; on which oc- casion hi* son rompty the Great, then but seventeen years old, served under him, a» learn from I'lutarch. (21) Maximi ipse exercitus imperator.} Plutarch and Florus relate, that while he *»-.i« «>nly a private man, and not exceeding three and twenty yean of age, he levied an . rny in Pimnum, and hrin^ joined by the whole body of the nobility, entered Sylla's ' 1 he head of three legion*. In his march, he secured the friendship of several ftar el of lra!y ; ehaJLngcd Scipio and Carbo, the generals of the opposite party, to an eng gement ; an-', upon hi* cooiing up to Sylla, was by him saluted ir-perator t and im- mediately after sent into Ccltibcria, at thehead of an army. CI' \ .. t>) nave and victorious army. Nuffcrme, Rom ins, in this placi the example of tlu- poets, who \vi f your affairs, to suppre the mention of our calamity : a calamity at, that it reached the ears of Lucullus, notby any n cape d from t'n ■ battle, but bv die reports of jiuhlic remour. In this set of distress, and amidst die heavy lo >f so destru< i vi ar, \j. Luculliu, who might in sdme measure, perhaps, ha. a remedy for these evils, c< inod by your ord< tich, in imitation of formertini t bounds to the duration of, hi com- mand, dismissed that part of the army which had completed its legal term of service, and delivered over the other to lilabrio. I designedly pass over many things ; leaving it to your own con- jectures to inform you how important that war Wft/t to prove, ho which, after the defeat of your former army, \tHi are still to oppose, under th- >f a new commander, the confede- racy of two powerful kings, the renewed hostilities of resentful nations, and the entire forces of unsubdued countries* CT. X. Mcthinks I have said enough to prove that this war is in its nature necessary, and by its importance dangerous. Let me now speak of the choice of a general fit to command ; u such a war, and have the charge of so great an undertaking. It' were to be wished, Romans, that this state so abounded with men of courage and probity, as to make it a matter of difficulty to de- termine, to whom chieflv vou should entrust the conduct of so important and dangerous a war. Hut as Ponrpey is univer- sally allowed, not onlv to surpass the generals of the present age, but even those of antiquity, in military fame ; what ison can any man assign, why he should hesitate a moment in the present choice ? To me four qualifications seem requisite to form a complete general: a thorough knowledge of war, va- lour, authoritv, and good fortune. But where is the^man that possesses, or indeed can be required to possess greater abilities in war, than Pompey I One that from ahoy, and the exercises of the school, passed into his father's camp, and began the study oi the military art, during the progress of a raging war, maintained by a furious enera) who, before die period of childhood was elapsed, commenced a soldier under a great general : who, in the very dawn of youth, was himself at the head of a mighty army! who lias fought more pitched battles, than others have maintained personal disputes ; i irricd on wan,, than odi rs have acquired bv knowledge of reading : ced more pro- vinces, than others, have aspired to even in the thought : whose vouth w.is trained to the profession of arms, not b\ pre* I - rived from others, but the highest offices of command ; not b\ personal mistakes in war, but a tr vict not by a series of compaigns, *'"• Sue, what spi * of war can b< name 1, in wh (^ M. T. CICEKONXS ORATIONES. toriih ; non stipendiis, sed triumphis est erudita. Quod do- nique genua belli esse potest, in quo ilium noa egtercuerit for- tuna rcipublux r («) Civile, Africanum, Transalpinura, Hi- spaniense, mistum ex civitatibus atque ex bellicosissimis na- tionibus, servile, navale helium. Varia Ct diversa genera et bdlorum et hostium, non solum gesta ab hoc uno, sed etiam coniccta, nullam rem tsse declarant in usu militari positam, qux hujus vir;>cicntiain fugere possit. XI. Jam vero virtuti Cn. Pompeii qux potest par oratio in veniri ? quid est, quod quisquam aut illo dignum, aut vobis no- vum, aut cuiquam inauditum possit affcrre ? Non tnimillx sunt solac virUiU^;,^mpcratorix, quae vulgo existimantur, labor in negotiis, ibrtitudo in periculis, industria in agendo, celeritas in conficiendo, consilium in providendo : qux tanta sunt in hoc uno, quanta in omnibus reliquis imperatoribus, quos aut vidi- mus, aut audivinuis, non fuerunt. (»i) Testis est Italic quam illo ipse victor L. Sulla hujus virtute et subsidio confessus est liberatam : testis est Sicilia, quam multis undique cinctam peri- culis, non terrore belli, sed celeritate consilii explicavit : testis est Africa, qux magnis oppreasa hostium copiis, eorum ipsorum sanguine redundavit : testis est Gallia, per quam legionibus nostris in ffispaniam iter, Gallorum internecione, pateiactum est : testis est Hispania, qux sxpissime plurimos h<*steis ab hoc superatos prostratosque conspexit : testis est iterum et sxpius Italia, qux, cum servili hello tetro periculosoque premeretur, ab hoc auxihum absente expetivit : quod helium expectatione Pompeii attenuatum atque imminutum est, adventu sublatum ac sc pultum ; testes vero jam omnes orx, atque omnes exterx gentes ac nationes : deni- que maria omnia, turn universa, turn in singulis oris omnes sinus, atque portus. Quis enim toto mari locus per hos annus, auttam firmum habuit presidium, lit tutus esset ? aut tarn luit abditus, ut lateret ? quis navigavit, qui non se, aut mortis, aut servitutis, periculo committcret ? cum aut hieme, aut referto prxdonum (ai) Civile, Africanum, Tra* S jlp,num.~) The orator here represents Pompey as a man consummate in all the parts of war, as having had opportunities of acquiring ex- perience in every kind of it that can happen. He had acted in the civil war between Marius and Sylla ; in the African against Cn. Domitius , in the Transalpine, against the Gauls ; in the Spanish, againft Sertorius ; in the servile, againft Spartacius ; and by sea, againft the pirates. (»3^ Testis est Italia, Sicilia, Africa.} We have here an enumeration of the differ- ent theatre* on which Pompey had displayed hi* military virtues. Italy had beheld him voluntarily raise an army, to support the cause of Sylla and the republic. Sicily was by his arrival, freed from the devastations of Perpenna and Carbo, who, alter quit- ting Italy, had taken position of that inland. Africa saw him victorious over Cn. Do- mkiu*, acd Hiarba kirg of Nmuidia. Gaul had her troops cut in pieces, for opposing bit # CICEfcO S ORATION'S. 60 tune of the republic has not given him an opportunity of ex- ercising bip wV ; tlie civil, the African, die Transalpine, the servile, the naval ; together with that of Spain, in which such a multitude of our own citizens and warlike foreigners were concerned. Soman)' and d liferent wars, against siuh a varict) of foes, not only carried on, hut happily terminated by this one niiin, sufficiently proclaim, that there is no part of military knowledge in which he is not an accomplished master. SfcCT. XI. But where can 1 find expressions equal to the va- lour of I'neus Pompev ? M hat can any one deliver on this sub- ject, cither worthy of him, new to you, or unknown to the moot distum nations ? For these, as common opinion would have it, are not the only virtues of a general ; industry in busi- ness, intrepidity in dangers, vigour in action, promptness in execution, prudence in concerting : all which qualities appear with greater lustre in him, than in all the other generals we ever saw or heard of. Italy is a witness, which the victorious Sv 11a himself owned was delivered by his valour and timely succour. Sicilv is a witness, which he extricated from the many dangers that surrounded her on every side, not by the terror of his arms, but by the promptitude of his counsels. Africa is a witness, which overflowed with the blood of those verv enemies that in numerous swarms laid waste her fields. Gual is a witness, through which a way was laid open for our legions into Spain, by the slaughter of her armies. Spain is a witness, which has ofter beheld multitudes of our enemies over- thrown and cut to pieces by this hero. Italy is again and repeatedlv a witness, which, when oppressed with the cruel and formidable war of the gladiators, implored his assistance in his absence. The very rumour of his approach damped and broke the force of that war, and his rival extinguished and cut it up bv the roots. At present all maritime states, all foreign kingdoms and nations, the whole extent of the ocean, with the most distant bays and harbours on every coast, are so raanv witnesses of his merit. For what sea was of late years so well guarded as to be secure ? so retired as to escape the researches of our enemies I Where was the sailor, that in venturing himself upon the ocean, did not hazard the loss either ofliie or liberty; being obliged to traverse seas covered march into Spain. And Spain, abounding in warlike nations, headed by a general of distinguished reputation, wa» yet unable to withstand this mighty conqueror. In abort, all the nation* of Asia, all the maritime states along the coast of the Mediterra- nean, a. 1 the *cas fcU-fs and havens, which had ot irftc swarmed with pirates, were so many witnejscs of his renown, and ready to bear testimony to hi» victories by sea and land. M. T. CICERONIS ORATlOKTs. iri m*nisraretur. Hoc tantum bellum, tarn lurpe, tarn Vitus, tam late divisum, atque dispcrsum, tjuis unquarrP arbitraretur nit a'» omnibus imperatoribus uno anno, aut omnibus annis ab •no imperatore contici posse ? Quam provim iasn tenuistis a sdonibus Kberam per hoacc annos ? quod vectigal vobis tutum fuit? qucm sorium defcndistis ? cui prssidio cla&sibui restris fuis- iis ? quam multas exi itimatis insulas esse desertas \ quam maltai aut met U rclictas, aut a prstdonibus captas urbeis esse sociorum ? XII. Sed quid cr^o longinqua commemoro ? fuit hoc quon- dam, fuit proprium populi liomani, longc l domo bellarc, pi -opugnaculis imperii sociorum fortunas, non sua tec%a defen- der*. Sociis veatris ego mare cianstrm per hosce annos dtcam fuisse, oum exercitus noatri Brundusio nunquam, nisi summi hieme, transnusermt ? Quid ad uos cum all txtuis tiatkmibus venirent, captos qocrar, cum legati populi Komani redempti ■MM ? mercatoribus tutum marc non fuisse tlicam, cum (*4) duodecim secures in pnedonum potestmem pervenerint ? Quid aut Colophonem aut Samum nobilissimaa urbeis innumerabiks- quc alias capta commemorem, cum vestros portus, atque cos portus, quibus vitam et spiritum ducitis, in prsedonum fuisse potestate sciatis ? An vero ignoratis, portum Caielsi celeberri- mum, atque ptenissimnm navium, inspectante pretore, a prx- donibus esse direptum ? Ex Mbeno a^utem, ejus ipsius liberos, qui cum prxdonibus antes ibi beilum gesserat, a pratdonibua ie sublatos ? Nam quid ego ( x; ) Ostieuse incommodum, atque illam labem, atque ignominiani reipublicc querar, cum prope inspectantibus vobis classis ea, cui consul populi Romani propositus t sset, a prxdonibus capta, atque oppressa est: Pro dii immortales ! tantamnc unius bominis incredibilis, ic divina virtus tam brevi tempore lucein aflferre reipublicss potuit, ut vos, qui modo ante ostium Tiberinum classem hos- tium videbatis, ii nunc nullam intra oceani ostium pratdo- mim nuvem esseaudiatis ? Atque base qua celeritate gesta sint quamquam \ idetis, tamen a me in dicendo prxtcreunda non sunt. Quis enim unquam, aut obeundi negotii, aut conse- (aa) Du.J. He here places the twelve axes, or badges of distinction of :he prxror's offi;c. lor the proctors themselves. The prrctorshad two axe* carried be- fore them in the city, a«d sir in their province*. Hence we learn, from the number ewelve here mentioned, that two pr.ctorr. were made prisoners on this occ.i»ion. These were Seitilius and Bilinus. who, as Plutarch informs us, were seized, together with their badges and solicitor*, by the pirates. (25) Oslieiic i.-icnmmidum.] Olha was a c:'y built by Ancu < M irtius, at the mouth J the 1 »bcT So daring were the pirate? that they lauded at thia town, and burnt and plundered the Roman vessels; and, as if thny entertained no thoughts of returning, hey re nained there, with all their booty, and the prisoners that had e-caped ihugh- >$ in a city belonging to thcmstl CtCERO S ORATir^ with pirates or expose himself to the inclemency oi the winter Who would ever have believed, that a war so considerable, td shameful isting, so various and widely diffused, could ha\c either been finished in one year by all the generals of the com- monweahb, or by one general in the compass of a whole ide What provmc< did you possesa at that time uninfected by pi« rates? What branrh of your revenue was safe I Which of your alius did your arms screen from insult ? What state was pro- tected by your fleets r How many isles were forsakenby their inhabitants ? How many confederate cities were either aban- doned through fear, or became the prey of merciless pirates r Snct. XII. Rut why do I confine myself to the mention oi romote transactions? It was of old, it was, I say, the distin- ishing character of the Roman people, to make war upon stant countries, and employ the forces of the empire, not in ►f their own habitations, but to guard the properties of ir allies. H all I rake notice of the sea's being shut up to rour allies, when the very armies of the republic durst not pass >ver to llrundusium, but in the dead of winter r Shall J com- in of the many prisoners made of foreign nations on their journey to Rome, when a ransom was paid even for the ambas- lors'of the Roman people ? Shall 1 mention how unsafe the as to merchants, when the twelve lictors of yonr chiel trate fell into the hands of pirates? Why should I speak ('nidus, Colophon, or Samos, with innumerable otherstately cities taken by the Corsairs, when you know that your very harbours, those harbours whence you derive your strength and tess, were forced to submit to their sway ? Have you for- >t that the celebrated port of Cajeta, when full of ships, wj in presence of a Homan pt*tor, plundered by pirates.' that the children of the very man, who had formerly foughtthem on it const, were by them carried off from Misenum ? Need I deplore our loss at Ostia, so dishonourable to the common th, when a fleet, commanded by a Romon consul, was taken I destroyed by pirates, almost within view oi Rome itseH i Immortal gods ! could the incredible and astonishing valour ol one man in so short a time, throw such a lustre onthestat that you, who so lately saw a fleet of enemu s in the mouth ot th< Tiber, hear not now of one pirate within the limitsofthe Mediterranean? Nor must I forget with what despatch all ibis was executed, though you yourselves are no strangers to it- Kor what man, either urged by the call .• I I i r prompted by a desire of gain, coukl m so short a rime visit so many ists, and accomplish so many voyages, as (he fleet under thu tnimand of,l*ompey has done in the pursuits of war I Before the season for sailing was come, he touched at Sicily* visited &6 M. T. CICr.ROHU OUATIOVES. quendi» quxstus studio, tarn brevi tempore tpt loca adire, tan- tot cursusccmncere potuit, quam Celeriter, <'*. ^ompeio duce, belli impetus navigsnit : qui, nomhtm tempestivo ad navigan- dum mari, Hiciliam adih, Africam exploravit, inde Sardinian* cum class* venit : atqtu bsoc tria frumentaria subsidia rcipub- lic* firmissimis prasidiis ckuVibusque munivit. Inde se turn m Itaiiam recepisset, duabus Hispaniis, el Oallia Cisalpina prx- sidiis ac navibus confirmata, missis item in oram lliyrici maris et in Achaiam, omnemque (irxciam navibus, Italic duo maria maxim is classibus, firmissimisque prctsidiis adornavit ; ipse au- tem, ut a Hrundusio profectus est, undequinquagesimo die totam ad imperium populi Romani Ciliciam adjunxft : omncs qui ubique pr*dones fuerunt, partim capti interlcctique sunt, partim unius hujua imperioac potestati se dediderunt. Jdcm Oetcnsibus, cum ad euin usque in 1'amphvliam ( 17 the coast of Africa, and thence returning to Sardinia with his fleet, secured tnere three granaries of the republic with strong squadrons and garrisons. After this, having str< ngth- eaed th.* two Spains and Cisalpine Haul with troops and fleets, and sent detachments to Illyricum, A chain, and all the states oj Greece, he bent his course towards Italy ; where leaving pow er- ful squadrons and garrisons behind him, to maintain the rcp< of the Adriatic and Tuscan seas, he, in forty-nine days after ■weighing from Brundusium, added all Cilicia to the Roman empire, and either took, destroyed, or forced to submit to his authoriry, all the pirates that had so long infested the coasts of the Mediterranean. The same general, when the Cretans sent ambassadors to him as far as Pairiphylia, to implore his clemency, did not discourage their hopes of being admitted to a surrender, but ordered them to give hostages. Thus Pom- pcy in the end of winter prepared for, in the beginning ot sping entered upon, and towards the middle of summer finished this formidable war, which had continued so long, and was become so wide and universal, as to involve in its bosom all stales and nations. S CT. XIII. Such is the divine and incredible valour of this general. But what are we to think of those other numberless and astonishing virtues I mentioned before ? For ability in war is riot the only qualification we are to look for in a great and consummate "general. Many other illustrious talents ought to accompany and march in the train of this virtue, f And first, what spotless innocence is required in the character of a ge- neral ! What temperance in all circumstances of life ! What untainted honour ! What affability! What penetration ! What a fund of humanity ! Let us briefly examine how conspicuous all these qualities are in Pompev : for here, Romans, we shall find them in the most exalted degree. But we can never so well know and comprehend them by considering them apart, as when we judge of them in comparison with others. Is that man to be ranked among the number of great generals, in whose army, commissions are bought and sold ? Can he have high and honourable views for the interest ol the state, who emplovs the money furnished out of the treasury, towards the earning on a war, either in bribingthe magistrates to pro- cure him some beniticial province, or in serving the mean purposes of usury at Rome? lour whispers, Romans, dis- cover, that you know the persons chargeable with this re- proach. For my part, I name nobody ; nor can any one take offence, without previously owning himself guilty. Rut which of you is ignorant of the many cruel calamities occa- sioned by this avarice of generals in all places where our armies come ? Call to mind the marches that have of late R 6» If. T. CICRRONIS ORATIONFS. nemincm nomino ; quare irasci mihi nemo potent, nisi qui ante die sc volucrit connteri. Itaquc propter hanc*avaritiam Impera- torum quantas calamitates, quocumque ventum sit, nostri exer*- citus ferant, quis ignorat ? Itinera, quae per hosce annos in Ita- lia, per agros atque oppida civiuxn Romanorum nostri Impcrato- res tecerunt, recordamini : turn facilius statuctis, quod apud ex- teras nationes fieri cxistimetis ; iitiiim plures* arbitramini per hoscc annos mllitum vestrorum armis hostium urbeis, an hiber- nis, sociorum civitates esse deletas ? Nequc enim potest exer- citum is continere Imperator, qui seipsum non continet ; nequ** stverus esse in judicando, qui alios in se severos esse judices non vult. Hie miramur, hunc hominem tantum excellere t catteris, cujus legiones sic in Asiam pervenerunt, ut non modo manus tanti exercitus, sed ne vestigium quidem cuiquam pactita nocu- isse dicatur ? Jam veroquemadmodum milites hiberncnt,quotidic sermoncs ac liter* perferuntur ; non modo ut sumptum faciat in mil item, nemini vis affertur ,* sed ne cupienti quidem cuiquam pcrmittitur ; hiemis enim non avaritiae perfugium Majores nos- tri in sociorum atque amicorum tectis esse voluerunt. XIV. Age vero, ceteris in rebus quali sit temperantia, con- siderate ; unde illam tantam ctleritatem, et tarn incredibilem cursum initum putatis ? non enim ilium eximia vis remigum, aut ars inaudita qucdam gubernandi, aut venti aliqui novi tam celeriter in ultimas terras pertulerunt ; sed h* res, qua? ccteros remorari soknt, non rctardarunt ; non avaritia ab instituto cursu ad prasdam aliquam devocavit, non libido ad voluptatem, non amccnitas ad delectatlonem, non nobilitas urbis ad cognitionem, non denique labor ipse ad quieten* : postremo (*7) signa et tabu- las, carteraquc ornamenta (iraecorum oppidorum, quae caster i tolenda esse arbitrantur, ea sibi ille ne visenda quidem cxistima- vit- Itaque omnes quidem nunc in his locis Cn. Pompeium, sicut aliquem non ex ha<; urbe missum, sed de ccelo delapsum intuentur : nunc denique incipiunt credere, fuisse homines Ro- manos hac quoncLun abstinentia ; quod jam nationibus txteris incredibile, ac falsa memoriae proditum videlxitur. Nunc im- perii nostri splendor illis gentibus lucet : nunc intelligunt, non sine causa Majores suos turn, cum hac temperantia Magistratus habebamus, servire populo Romano, quam imperarfc aliis ma- (17) Sigma et tammiat.) It was uwl with the Roman commanders, when they found »oy pictures or statues of value in acouquered city, to seize and tend them to Rome. This humour became at hut so prevalent, that it proved a plentiful source of oppression to the subjects of the commonwealth. For even the governors of provinces, thinking they might take the same liberty with the cities under their command, rilled them or • cry thing valuable in this kind, without sparing them so much as the statues of thf'r gods. CICF.RO S ORATIONS. 63 years been made by our generals in Italy, through towns and territories belonging to lloman citizens. You will therein' the more easily be enabled to form a judgment of what must have passed in foreign countries. I will even venture to affirm, that ur enemies have suffered less bv the arms of y our troops, than your allies by furnishing them winter-quarters^ "For that general can never restrain his soldiers, who is unable to restrain himself; nor be an impartial judge with regard to others, who declines an impartial trial in his own case. Is it any frontier then that I'ompey should be allowed so far to surpass other j nerals, when his march through Asia was conducted with such order and discipline, that not only the hands, but the very foot- steps ofrhis numerous army, are said to have been without the least offence to the nations at peace with Home ? And as to the moderation at present observed by his troops in their winter- quarters, every day's letters and talk bear witness to it. For so far is any one from being compelled to contribute to the maintenance of his soldiers, that even such as voluntarily offer are not permitted : in which we may behold the true spirit of our ancestors, who considered the houses of their friends and allies, not with an eye to the cravings of avarice, but as places of refuge against the ser verity winter. Sect. XIV. But let us now consider this temperance in other respects. To what think you are ^we to attribute the incredi- ble celerity and despatch of his voyages? For sure neither the extraordinary strength of the rowers, nor the matchless art of the pilots, nor the indulgent breath of new winds, wafted him so swiftly to the ends of the earth. But those indirect aims that are wont to create so many obstacles to others, retarded not him in the prosecution of his design. !No avaricious views diverted him into the pursuit of plunder, no criminal passion seduced him into pleasure, the charms of a country provoked not his delight, the reputation of a city excited not his curiosity, nor could even labour itself sooth him into a desire of repose. In fine, he laid it down to himself as a law, not so much as to visit those paintings, statues, and other ornaments of the Greek cities, which the generals his predecessors thought they might carry off at pleasure. Accordingly all the people in those parts consider Pompey, not as a general sent from Home, but as one descended from heaven : and they now at last begin to believe, that there were formerly among the Romans, men of this heroic moderation ; a tradition, which foreign nations have of late regarded as fabulous, and contrived to impose upon poste- rity. But now the lustre of our empire has spread itself over these countries : now they begin to be sensible, that it was not without reason their ancestors, while we had magistrates of *uch distinguished moderation, choce rather to be subject to 70 M. T, CICIROWIS ORATIONIS. Jam vero ita faciles aditus ad cum privatorum, ita liber* queri- monir de aliorum injuriis esse dicuntur : ut is qui dignitate principihus excelHt, facilitate par mfimis esse videatur. Jam quantum consilio, quantum dicendi gravitate, et copia valcat, in quo ipso inest qua-darn dignitas imperatoris, vos, ijuirites, hoc ipso in loco sepe cognostis. Fidem verb ejus inter socio* quantum existimari pututis, quam hostes omnium gentium sanctissimam i sse judicarint ? Humanitatc jam tanta est, ut difliciie dictu sit, utrum hostes magis virtuttm ejus pugnantes timucrint, an mansuetudinem victi dilexerint. Kt quisquam dubitabit, quin huic tantum bcllum hoc transmittendum sit, qui ad omnia vejtrae memori* bclla conficienda, divino quodam consilio natus esse videatur ? • XV. Et, quoniam auctoritas multum in bellis quoque admi- nistnmdis, atquc impeiio militari valet, ccrte nemini dubium est, quin ea in re idem ille Imperator plurimumpossit ; vehc- menter autcm pertinere ad bella admin istranda, quid hostes, quid socii denlmperatoribus vestris existiment, quis ignorat ? cum sciamus, homines in tantis rebus, ut aut contemnant, aut mutuant, aut oderint, aut ament, opinione non minus famas, qr.am aliqua certa ratione commoveri. Quod igitur nomen un- quam in orbc terrarum clarius fuit ? cujus res gestae pares ? de quo homine vos, id quod maxime iacit auctoritatem, (* 8 ) tanta, et tarn praeclara juditia fecistis ? An vero ullam usquam esse oram tarn desertam putatis, quo non illius diei fama pervaserit, cum universus populus Romanus, refcrto foro, repletisque omnibus templis, ex quibus hie locus conspici potest, unum sibi ad commune omnium gentium bellum Cn. Pompeium Im- peratorem depoposcit ? Itaque, ut plura non' dicam, neque aliorum exemplis confirmem, quantum hujus auctoritas valeat in bello, ab eodem Cn. Pompeio omnium rerum egregiarum exempia sumantur : qui, quo die a vobis maritimo bello piaepo- situs est lmperator, tanta repente vilitas annonae ex summa inopiu et caritate rei frumentariae consecuta est, unius homi< nis spe et nomine, quantam vix ex summa ubertate agrorum diuturna pax tificere potuisset. Jam vero accepta in Ponto calamitate ex eo pi oelio, de quo vos paulo ante invitus admonui : cum socii pertimuissent ; host i urn opes animique crevissent ; cum satis firmum presidium provincia non haberet ; amisissetis (18) Tanta, «t tarn pre tiara judicial] The great expectations the Roman people had formed of Pompey, and their disposition to favour and do him honour, appeared in their decreeing him a triumph, while he wan yet no more than a knight, in their sending him whin quxttor with proconsular authority against Sertorius ; and in their choosing him consul before he had borne any other magistracy. CICERO'S ORATIONS. 71 the Roman people, than to command over others. Besides, he U so easy of access to those in a private station, and so ready to listen to the complaints of the injured, that though indignity he surpasses the greatest princes, in gentleness he appears on a level with the lowest of the people. His prudence in council, his majestic and copious elocution, with that dignity of person which speaks him horn to command, have often been expe- rienced by yourselves, Romans, in this very place. What an to think of his good faith towards his allies, when his very enemies of all nations own it to be without stain ? Such too is his humanity, that it is hard to sav, whether his foes more dread his valour in the field, or are charmed with his modera- tion after conquest. And shall it then admit of a doubt, whe- ther the management of this important war ought to be com- mitted to a man, who seems by divine appointment sent into the world, to put an end to all the wars that harrasjs the present age ? Sect. XV. And because authority is of eminent influence, in the conduct of Mar, and the administration of military command; sure no one can be ignorant, that this is a distinguishing part of our general's character. Every man will allow, that nothing is of greater consequence in war, than the opinion which both friends and foes entertain of your generals ; since it evidently appears, that in the greatest affairs, where love, hatred, fear, or contempt, are often of decisive influence, men are no less apt to be swayed by the reports of fame, than by principles founded on reason. Where then was there ever a name upon earth more renowned than his ? Who has yet equalled him in great actions ? And, to mention what properly constitutes authority, where is the man, of whose merit you have formed so high and advantageous a judgment ? Do you imagine there is in the world a coast so unfrequented, as not to have been reached by the fame of that day, when the whole people of Rome crowded into the forum, and all the temples whence it could be seen, demanded Pompey alone to command in a war, which regarded the common interest of all nations? Therefore, to say no more, nor be obliged to strengthen by examples^ta- ken from others, what I have affirmed of the prevalence of his authority in war ,* let me have recourse to the same Pompey, for instances of whatever is illustrious and great. The day he was named to the command of the piratical war, from the greatest dearth and scarcity of provisions ever known, the very credit of his name sunk their price so much, that they could scarce have been purchased lower in a year of peace and plenty. After the fatal loss sustained in Pontus, in the battle of which I a little before reminded you with reluctance ; while our allies trembled ; while our enemies grew in spirit 72 M. T. CICERONIS ORATIONEs. Asiam, Quiritcs, nisi ad id ipsom tcmporis divinitus Cn. Pom- ptiura ad cm regionea fortuna populi Ilomani attulisset. Hujus adventua et Mitlnidatem inaolita inflammatum victoria conti- nuit, ft Tigranem magnis copiis minitantem Asi* retardavit. Et duisquam dubitabit quid virtute pcrfecturus sit, qui tantum auctoritate perfecerit ? aut quam facile imperio atque exfrcitu socios et vectigalia conservaturus sit, qui ipso nomine ac ru- more defenderit ? XVI. Age vCTO, ilia res quantam dcclarat ejusdem hominis apud hosteis populi Romani auctoritatcm, quod ex locis tain longinquis, tamque diversis, turn brevi tempore omnes huic uni ae dediderunt ? quod Crctensium legati, cum in eorum insula noster Imperator, exercitusque esset, ad Cn. Pcrmpeium in ulti- mas prope terras venerunt, eique se omnefl Cretensium civi- tatesdedcrc vetle dixerunt ? Quid? idem ipse Mithridates, nonne ad eundem Cn. Pompeium legatum usque in Hispantam misit ? eumque Pompeius legatum semper judicavit : n quibus semper era molestum", ad eum potissimum esse missum, specu- latorem quam I gatum judicare malueruiit Poteatis igitur jam constituere, Quirites, banc auctoritatem multis postea rebus gestis,uiagnisque vestrisjudiciis amplincatam, quantum apud fllos Reges, quantum apud exteras nationes valituram esse ex- isting tis. Reltquum est, ut de felicitate, quam praestare dt seipso nemo potest, meminisse, et commemorarc de altero pos- sumus ; sicut xquum est homini, de potentate deorum tinude et pauca dicamus. Kgo enim sic existimo ; (*9) Maximo, Mar- cello, Scipioni, Mario, et ceteris magnis Imperatoribus, non. solum propter virtutem, sed etiam propter ^ fortunam, sxpiu* imperia mandata, atque exercitus esse commissos. Fuit enim profecto quibusdam summis viris quxdam ad amplitudinem et gloriam, et ad res magnas bene gerendas dlvinitua adjuncts Fortuna. De hujus autem hominis felicitate quo dc nunc agimus, hac utar moderatione dicendi, noil ut in illius potestate lortu nam positam esse dicam, sed ut pneterita meminisse, relraqun sperare vidcamur : ne aut invisa diis immortalibus oratio nostra aut ingrataessevideatur. Itaque non sum pr*dicaturus, Qui (io) M*xi~ 9 M*r U lU,8cithm t M*ri:} F*biu$ Mourns was dictator, and 6v time /consul H< is the same, who by his wise i Uyi so effectually disconcerted Han nibal M;c tin was five times consul, defeated the Ga«U, forced the Insubnins tq submit to the republic, routed Hannibal's army at Wola,and tooh Syracuse by storm. &*•■ Af,«NIS OKATTOVES. rites, quanta* illc res domi militiaeque, tcrrl marique, quanta" que felicitate gesserit : ut ejus semper voluntatibus non modo arm assenscrint, socii obfrmperarint, hostcs obedierint, sed etiam venti, tempestatesque obsecundarint. Hoc brevissime dicam, neminem unquam tarn impudentcm fuisse, qui a diis immortalibus tot et tantas res tacitus auderet optare, quot et quantasdii immortales ad Cm Pompeium detukrunt. Quod ut illi proprium ac perpetuum sit, Quirites, cum communis salutis atquc imperii, turn ipsius hominis causa, sicuti facitis, velle et optare debetis. Quare cum et bellum ita necessarium sit ut negligi non possit ; ita magnum, ut accuratissime sit adminis- trandum : et cum ei imperatorem prxficere possitis, in quo sit eximia belli scientia, singularis virtus, clarissima auctoritas, egregia fortuna : dubitabitis, Quirites, quin hoc tantum boni, quod vobis a diis immortalibus oblatum et datum est, in rem- publicam conservandam atque amplificandam conferati XV II. Quod si Romx Cn. Pompeius privatus esse hoc tem- pore, tamen ad tantum bcllum is erat deligendus, atquc mitten- dus ; nunc cum ad caeteras summas utilitates hxc quoque op- portunitas adjungatur, ut in iis ipsis locis adsit, ut habeat exei- citum, ut ab iis, qui habent, accipere statim possit : quid ex- spectamus ? aut cur non, ducibus diis immortalibus, cidem cui ca:tera summa cum salute reipublicx commissa sunt, hoc quo- que bellum Regium committimus ? At enim vir clarissimus, amantissimus reipublirje, vestris bencficiis amplissimis affectus, Q. Catulus ; itemque summis ornamentis honoris, fortunje, vir- tutis, ingenniiprxlitus,Q. Hortensius, ab hac ratione dissentiunt: quorum ego auctoritatem apud \os multis locis plurimum valu- isse, et valere oportere confiteor : scd in hac causa, tametsi cognoscitis auctoritates eontrarias fortissimorum virorum ct i larissimorum ; tamen, omissis auctoritatibus, ipsa re et ratione exquirere possumus veritatem : atque hoc fucilius, quod ea om- nia, quae adhuc a me dicta sunt, iiuVm isti vera esse concedunt, ct necessarium bellum esse, et magnum, et in uno Cn. I'ompe'm summa esse omnia. Quid igitur ait Hortensius ? si uni omnia tribuenda sunt, unum dignissimum esse Pompeium : (?o) sc a ad unum tamen omnia dcicrri non oportere. Obsokvit jam ista oratio, re multo magis, quam verbis refutata. A am tu idem, (39) Sed aJ unum tamen omnia deferri nen ofiortere.) If we credit the relation of Plu- tarch, Manilius » Law imported, that the whole province under the command of Lu- cullu-, together with Bithynia, which had fallen to Glabrio's lot, fhould be transferred to Pompcy . That he fhould have the sole management of the war again ft Mithridatcs and Ttjfrane* : And that the fleet and naval force he had commanded againft the pi- rates, with Phrygia Lycaonia, Galatia.and Cappadocia, Cilicia, the higher Colchis, Armenia, and the army under Lucullui, should likewise be added to his commission ClCERo's ORATIONS. 73 has attended them : A success so great, that not only did his countrymen always concur with, his allies perform, and his ene- mies submit to whatever he desired ; but even the winds and ves seem to have been obsequious to his will. Suffice it in few words to say, that no man was ever yet so presumptuous, as even silently to conceive a wish, that the immortal gods would crown him with so many and distinguished proofs of their favour, as they have bestowed upon Pompey. That these, O Romans, may ever adhere to, and be inseparable from hit person, you ought to pray and wish, as I am confident you do, as well on account of the public prosperity, as out of real regard to the man. As, therefore, this war is so necessary, that it can- not be avoided ; so important, that it must be managed w ith the utmost address : and as you may now commit it into the hands of a general, who to the most consummate knowledge in the art of war, joins eminent courage, an illustrious imputation, and unparalleled success : will ye hesitate, Romans, to employ so favourable an opportunity, presented and put into your hands by the immortal gods, for the preservalio and enlarge- ment of your empire ? Sect. XVII. Were Pompey at this time at Rome, in the sta- tion of a private citizen, he is yet the only person fit to be chosen for the management of so great a war. But now, when with other urgent advantages, this powerful motive likewise concurs ; that he is already upon the spot ; that he is at the head of an arm}', that he can immediately join it to the forces now in those parts : what wait we for . ? Or why do we not, when the gods so clearly discover their pleasure, intrust like- wise this royal war to the care of the man, who has already terminated so many others with the highest advantage to the state ? But Q. Catulus, a man of an illustrious character, a great lover of his country, and distinguished by the most emi- nent proofs of your regard ; and Q. Hortensius, conspicuous bv all the advantages of honour, fortune, virtue, and genius, differ from my opinion. These, 1 own, are men, whose sen- timents have always had great weight with vol:, and doubtL very deservedly : but on this occasion, though some of the best and bravest men in Rome be against me, vet setting authority aside, I think we may come at the truth by reason and in- quiry ; the rather, because my very adversaries agree to all I have advanced, that this war is necessary, and important, and that all the great qualities requisite for conducting it are to be found in Pompey. What then is the argument of Hortensius ? If all important affairs are to pass through the hands of one man, Pompey is doubtless the most deserving : but it were dangerous to trust so much power with one person. This po- sition, refuted rather by facts than by reasoning, is now be- JL / Q. Hf ortenai, mult - tua sumnv dicendi, it an (3*)contra virum fortem A. Gabinium vif tateque dixisti, cum is de uno imperatoi d< em promulgassct : et ex h<: rmulta idem contra >a fccisii. Quid ? turn, | dcos immortaleis, si plus apud populum Romanum a uia,quam i] j Romani salus, et vera causa valuisset, >die banc iue hoc orbis terrae imperium I an tibi turn rmperiura esse hoc videbatur, cum populi Horn an i ati, prsrton s, qu*storesque, capiebantur ? cum i inibus ommeatu, et privato et publico prohibebamur ? cum ita claiis i erant nobis omnia maria, ut neque privatam rem trans- nia, i neque publicam jam obire mus ? Will. Quae civitaa antea unquam fuit, non < Vthcnicn- sium, (jiia- satis late quondam mare tenuisse dicitjjr : non Cartha- aiensium, qui perm ultum classe, maritimisque rebus valuerunt: m Rhodiorum, quorum usque- ad nbstram memoriam discipline navalis, et glrVia remansit : qux civitas antea unquam tarn te- nuis, quae Uim pan a insula fuit, qux non portus SUO it aliquam partem regionis, atque one maritime per e de- fenderet? At, hercle, aliquot annos continuos ante legem Gabi- niam tile populus Roman* cujus usque ad nostram memoriam nomen invictum m navalibus pugnis permanserat, magna et multo maxima parte non modo utilitatis, scd dignitatis atque imperii caruit. Nbs quorum majores Antiochum regem das Persenque superarunt, omnibusque navalibus pugnis Carthaginr- enscs, homines in maritimis rebus exercitatisstmos paratis mosque vicerunt, ii nullo in loco jam prxdonibus pa; teram Nosquoque, qui antea non modo Ftaliam tutam ha- bebamus, sed emneis socios in ultimis oris auctoritate nostri imperii salvos prxstare poteramus, turn, cum insula l>C*OS, tarn procula nobis in ifCgeo mari posita, quo omnes undlque cum mercibus atque oneribns commeobant, referta divitiis, parra, sin id timebat : ikiem non modo provinciis, atque oris J' .lire maritimis, ac portubusnostris, sedetiam(3*) Appiajam via (31) C u ntru mrmm fjrtcn A. GjLinium.] When Gabiniut the tribune of the people preferred a law, conferring the management of the war against the pirate* on Pom- pey ; L 1 rebcllius one of his colleagues, interposed hisnrgative, and su*urcd the se- nate he would sooner die than suft jr it to pass. Ashe still persisted in this resolution, Gabinius threatened to depose hun by a vote of the tribes. TrebellitM upon this ab- *ented himself, but could not he prevailed on to withdraw hi* negative, till he under- stood that seventeen tribes had voted against him. and that the whole people were ol the same mind. The opposition ceasing, Gabinius's law passed, and Pompey was in- ■:4 with the command of the piratical war. Cicero here bestows upon Gabinius the epithet because of the courage he manifested in pribhing his law, notwith- standing the oppofition ti the senate and hiscolka^ . l< (). II with that masterly 'I comin li is peculiar to you, spoke mcl ft j • bune : both putting thv- w: pi- rat >rc that as- sembly : • to th< ►pie. But t !! me, in the name of all * ivailed more with the Roman p. pie, ' Lti on of their own! ' and true int( i in poi nuch glorv, or realrj yed the st. e : For could then be deemed to p - this so> tity, when die am- ba praetors, and quarstors of the Roman people, w< liable to an aptivity ? When we ved of all commini r public or private, with our pro- vinces ? When i tion was ho totally at a stand, that we nld tr: no business beyond sea, whether it regarded the interest of the whole state, or the pro] ' particular persons ■ ct. XV Iff. For was there ever a state, I speak not of the Athenians, who are said to have been once very powerful at sea ; nor of the Carthaginians, renowned for their fleets and naval strength ; nor of the fthodians, the glory of whose maritime expeditions has reached even our flays : but was there, f s; ever a state so inconsiderable, an island so small, that could not of herself defend her own ports and territory, with some part at least of the maritime coast and region ? And vet, for a continued train of years before the Gabinian law, the very pco- pie of Rome, whose reputation in sea-affairs has remained even to our days without stain, were not onl\ divested of far the greatest part of their tramck, but even wounded in their dig- nitv and naval dominion. We, whose ancestors vanquish- ed king Antiochus and Per* at sea, and came off victori- ous in all naval engagements with the Carthaginians, a na- tion thoroughlv expert and practised in maritime affairs : we, I , were then no where a match for a band of pirate . We », who heretofore not only guarded Italy from insults, but bv the very reputation of our strength secured the quiet of our allies in all parts, however remote ; insomuch that the i .land of Delos, distant from Kome so far as the . Kgean sea, the mart of all nations, abounding in wealth, small in circumference, un- protected by walls, had yet nothing to fear : even we, th* very Romans, were then not only • xcludedfrom our provinces, the maritime parts oi Italy, and our harbours on th -coast, (;>z) Appia -via.) The Appian way was so called" from Appius Claudius the cenaot .vhon: it waamadc. It reached at first from Row to Capua, beginning 78 M. T. CICERONIS ORATIONES. carebamus : et his U mporibus non pudcbat magistrtitus populi Romani, in hunc ipsum locum ascendere, cum turn vobit majorcs vestri exuviis nauticis, ctclassium spoliis ornatum reli- quisscnt. \IX. Bono te animo turn, Q. Hbrtensi, populus Romanus, ct trtcros, qui crant incadcm sententii, diccre existimavit in, qux sentiebatis ; scd tamcn in salute communi idem populus Romanus doiori suo maluit, quam auctoritati vestia: obtempe- rare. Itaque una Kx, uinis vir, unus annus, non modo nos ilia miscria, ac turpitudine liberavit ; sed etiam effect! ut ali- quando vtft videremur omnibus gentibus ac nationibus terra manque imperare. Quo mihi etiam indignius videtur octree* tatum esse adhuc, Gabinio dicara, an-ne Pompcio, an utrique (id quod est vcrius) ne legaretur A. (iabinius (n. Pompcio ex- petenti ac postulanti ? Utrum tile qui poetulat legatum ad tan- tum helium, quem vclit, idoneus non est qui hnpetrct, cum cxteri ad cxpilandos socios, diripiendasque provincias, quos voluerunt legatos eduxerint? an ipse, cujus lege salus ac dig- nitas populo Romano atque omnibus gentibus constituta est, expers esse debet glorias ejus Imperatoris, atque ejus ex«rcitus, qui consilio ipsius atque periculo est constitutus ? an C'n. Falci- dius, (). Metellus, Q. C alius Latiniensis, Cn. Lentulus, quos omneis honoris causa nomino, cum Tribuni-pleb. fuisscnt, anno proximo legati esse potuerunt ? in hoc unb (Jabinio sunt turn diligentes, qui in hoc hello, quod lege (lahinia geritur, in hoc Imperatore, atque exercitu, quem per vos ipse constituit, etiam pratcipuo jure esse deberet ? de quo legando spero Consules ad Scnatum relatUTOB : qui si dubitabunt, aut gravabuntur, ego me profiteor relaturum : neque me impediet cujusquam, Quirites, inimicum edictum, quo minus, frctus vobis, vestrum jus benc- ficiumque defendam : neque praster intercessionem, quidquam audiam : de qua (ut arbitror) isti ipsi qui minantur, etiam atque etiam qui id liceat considerabunt. Mei quidem sententia, Quirites, unus A. (iabinius belli maritimi rerumque gestarum auctor, comes C'n. Pompcio adscribitur, propterea quod alter uni id bellum suscipienduin vestris suflragiis detulit : alter dela- turn, susceptumque conlecit. tm Caf>.i) Punicum, Ilispaniense, all uno Imperatore esse confecta : duas urbes potentissimas, qua; Imi<- imperio maxim* minabantur, Carthaginem atque Numantiam, ab eodem Scipionc esse delatas : non commemorabo, nupcr ita vobis, patribusquc vestris esse visum, ut in uno C. Mario spes imperii poneretur; (34) utidem cumJugurtha idem cumCimoris, idem cumTheu- tonis bellum administrarct ; in ipso Cn« Pompeio, in quo novi eonstitui nihil vult <*]• Catulus, quam multa bint nova sumnia Q. Catuli voluntate Constituta, recordaraini. XXI. Quid enim tarn novum, quam adolescentulum privatum, txercitum difRcili reipublicx tempore c«snficere ? confecit : huic prsesse ? praefuit: rem op time ductu suo gerere ? gessit. Quid tarn przter consuetudinem, quam homini pcradolescenti, cujus '■* Senatorio gradu aetaslonge abesset, imperium atque exercitum (33) Punicum^ et IIi.amJens! t ab uno Imperatore este confecta.} This may be applied 82 II. T. CICER0NI8 OKATIOsrs. dari ; Sicilian! ncrmitti, atque Africam, bellumque in ca admi- nistrandum ? F uit in his prov'mciis singular! innocentia, gravi- tatervirtute i helium in Africa maximum confccit, v m ex- crcituin dcportavit. Quid verb tarn inauditum, quam equitem Horn, triumphare ? at earn quoquc rem populus Romanus non modo vidit, scd ctiam studio omni visendam putavit. Quid tam inusitatum quam ut, cum duo Consules clarissimi iortissimique essent, Eques Horn, ad helium maximum, formidolosissimumque pro Consule mittercrur ? missus est. Quo quidom tempore, cum esset non nemo in Senatu, qui dicerit, Non oportere mitti hominem privatum pro Consule ; L. Philippus dixisse di- citur, \on se ilium sua sententia pro Consule, ted (S5) pro Con« sulibus mitttre. Tanta in eo reipublicar hene gercndx spes constituebatur, ut duorum Consulum munus unius adolescentis virtuti committeretur. Quid tam singulare quam ut e\ Scnatus- consulto legibus solutus, Consul ante fieret, quam ullum aliurti Magistratum per leges capere licuisset ? (3$) Quid tam incredi- bile, quam ut iterum Eques Rom. ex s. c. triumpharet ? quae in omnibus hominibus nova post hominum memoriam constituta sunt, ea tam multa non sunt, quam hsec qua: in hoc uno hominc vidimus. Atque haec tot exempla, tanta ac tam nova, profecta sunt in eundem hominem a Q. Catulo, atque a carterorum ejus- dem dignitatis amplissimorum hominum auctoritate. XXII. Quare videant, nc sit pcriniquum, et non ferenduni, illorum auctoritatem de Cn. Pompeii dignitate a vobis compro- batam semper esse : vestrum ah illis de eodem homine judicium, populique Rom. auctoritatem improhari : presertifln cum jam suo jure populus Romanus in hoc homine suam auctoritatem vel (35) Prt coniuliiut mitterc] The two consuls at that time were I.epidus and Catu- lus, men of considerable reputation both in politics and war. It could not therefore but redound much to the honour of Pompey, that in the opinion of so wise and able a senator as L. Phillippus, he was to be entrusted preferably to two such consuls, with the conduct of a dangerous and difficult war. (3°) %*idtam imcrejibilt tjitsm wt ittrum rquet Romanus ex senatut-ctnsulto triumpha- nt f\ Pompey, as we learn from this oration of Cicero, was honoured with two tri- umphs, while he was no m»re than a Roman knight. In tpeaking of the first, he makes no mention of the senate ; and only says of the people, that they expressed their joy by acclamations, and an universal concourse. For Sylla, as dictator, taking upon himself the management of all affairs both public and private, granted Pompey, whom he had sent with a command into Sicily, the honour of a triumph, without consulting the senate, or receiving auy address from the people The second triumph is said to have been in consequence of a decree of the senate, the people no way interposing in the affair. The reason of this is, that Sylla havin.» abolished the trib'initial power, the administration of the commonwealth was wholly in the hands of the senate : in- somuch that the people had no part, either in making law*, or granting triumphs. CtCERO's ORATIONS. &> those parts ? lie behaved notwithstanding with singular in- tegrity, wisdom, and courage I terminated the war in Afri with success : and brought home his army victorious. Wat there ever an instance of a Roman knight honoured with a tri- umph ? yet this sijjht the people of Borne not only beheld, but considered as ot all others the moat desira! le, and worthy their regard. Mas it ever known, when ve had two consuls of dis- tinguished valour and renown, that a Roman knight should be sent in place of one of them, to command in a great and formid- able war? Vet he wis sent } and when some at that time ob- jected in the senate, that a private man ought not to be sent in place of a consul ; L. Phttippus is reported to have said, that it was his opinion he should be sent, not in place of one, but of both the consuls. So well were aJl men persuaded of his capa- city for the administration of public affairs, that though but a vouth, he was entrusted with the functions of two consuls. What could be more extraordinary, than that tin 4 senate should for his sake dispense u ith the laws, and suffer him to be chosen consul, before he was of an age to exercise the lowest magis- tracy ? What could be more incredible, than that, while only a Roman knight, he should be-a second time permitted to triumph by a decree of the senate ? AU the novelties that have happened among men, since the first memory of time, fall short ot those that meet in the person of Pompey alone. And what is still more, all these numerous honours, new and ex- traordinary as they are, were conferred upon him by the ad- vice of <£. Catulus, and other illustrious persons of the same dignity. Sect. XXII. It behoves them therefore to consider*, whether ii may not seem unjust and presumptuous, if after having beta so warmly seconded by you in the design of promoting and ho- nouring Pompey, they should now oppose your judgment, and the authority of the Roman people, in favour of the same person ; especially as you are armed with sufficient power to support your i hoire against all opposition; having already, in spite of their We may observe farther, that in consequence of this abolition of the powar of the tri- bunes, Cicero says a little higher, that the senate, not the people, dispensed with the laws in favour of Pompey, and permitted him to sue for the consulship, before he was qualified to holo* any other magistracy. For, by theVillian law.no man could be con- sul, till he had arrived at the forty-second year of his age : and the Cornelian laws ex- cluded from thi5 office all who had not been quantors and prxtors. Now Pom- pey, though in his thirty-fifth year, had enjoyed neither of thes« dignities. This ex- plains what the orator says, that he was permitted to sue for the consulship, before h; was qualified for holding any other magistracy. For there was a law subsisting, made M fc-i W. T. C1C1 OR ATIOVr contra omnc'm scntnint, possit defendere : prop piocf istis rcclamantibus, vos unum ilium ex omnibus d. is,qtien hello pntdonum prcponeretis. Hoc si tos temere fecistis, et I lublicsi parum consuluistis ; recti isti stadia vestra sutoi coti- •ihisregerc a nantur j sin autem vos plus turn in republics vi- ilistis, ros, his i tibus, per vosmetipsos dignitatem huic imperio, lalutera orbi terrartfm attulistis : aliquando isti prlncf- i, et sibi, « t ceteris, populi Romani universi auctoritati pa- rendum • Ajtquc in hoc bello Asiatlco, el Kegio, n mill t aria ilia virtus, quae est in Cn. Pompeio singula- [uoque virtutes animi multi et magna; reqnmill- tur. Difficile est in tsia, Cilicia, Syria, rcgnisquc interiorum nationunvita versari vestrum Imperatorem, ut nihil aliud quam de hos^e ac de lauclc coghet : deinde etiani si qui sunt pudore ar temperantia modcratiores, tameneoa esse taleis propter mul- titudinem cupidorum hominum nemo arbitrator. Difficile est dictu, Quirites, quanto in odio simua apud externa nationes- propter eoruin quos ad eas per hosannoscum imperio misimus, injuries ac libklmes. Quod enim fanum putatis in illis terris noatris Hagistratibus relrgiosum, quam civitatem sanctam, quam domum satis clausam ac muni tarn fuisse? I rbesjam locupletes ac copsoac rcquiruntur, quibus causa belli propter diripiendi cupiditateni inieratur. Libcnter hac coram cum Q. Catulo et (J. Hortensio disputarem, summis et clarissimis viris ; noverunt enim sociorum vulnera, vident eonun calamitates, querimonias audiunt. Pro sociis vos contra hostes exercitum mitterc putatis, an nostium simulatione contra socio 3 atque ami cos ? Qaec civitas est in Asia, qux non modo unius Tmperatoris, ant Legati, sed unius Tribuni militum animos ac spiritus caperc possit ? Will. Quart?, etiamsi quern habetis, qui, collatia signis, ex ercitus Rcgios superare posse videatur ; tamen nisi erit idem, qni se a pecuniis sociorum, qui ab eorum conjugibus ac liber qui abauro gazaque regis ma. .us, oculos, animum cohibere pos- sit, non «iit, idoneusqui ad bellum Asiatic tin; Kegiumque initta- ' tin. Kcquam putatis civitatem pacatam fuisse, qu^locupl. sit ? ecquam esse lociipletem, qua istis pacata esse videatu Oramarrtima 1 Quifites, Cn. Potnperam non solum propter' rei militaris gloiiam, sed etiam propter animi r ontiaentiam re qui- or us «ome think, only revived by Sylla, declaring all those incapable of standing candidate for any other magistracy, who had not first discharged the ofiice of quxstor. Now Potnpey had never been qu.tstor, and for that reason was only in the order of knights, not of senator* . Tor, by a law tif Sylla the dictator, the qiuestorship was the first d>tmity that entitled to a place in the senate. GICfAo's oratio pndeavour* to prevent it, singled out this man from amongst all your other g. in rals, to command in the war with the pi rat It' you did this rashly, and without due regard to the interests oi' your country, the) have reason to interpose their authority* and endeavour to rectify your deliberations. But if you formed a truer judgment of what was advantage i the state ; if, though opposed bv them, you took thejustest measures for curing the dignity of the empire, and the repose of. the uni- verse ; let these rulers of tin si nate at Length acknowledge, that both they and others ou l submit to the authority of the whole body of the Roman people. But in this Asiatic war against two powerful tings, their is not only occasion for those military talents bo conspicuous in Pompey, but lor many other great and eminent virtues* ftis difficult in Asia, Cilicia, Syria, and other nations so remote from Rome, fc cnera) to behave in such a manner, as that he shall think of nothing but war and conquest, And even where modesty and temper- ance hold some under restraint, yet nobod} ' a it, great is the number of the greed) and rapa It i indt impossible to express, Romans, how odious become among foreign nations, on account of the i d op- pressions of those, whom of late year* we 1 * to govern them. What temple in these lands have our magistrates leit unprofaned ? What city have they held sacred? What house has been free from their violations ? Pretences are sought to at- tack every wealthy and opulent, place, whose plunder promises to gratify the avarice of our commanders ? Willingly would J debate these matters with Q. Catulus, and Q. If orteii* ius, men of eminent worth and dignity. For the} are acquainted with the sufferings of our allies, see their distresses, and hear their com* plaints. Js it against die enemies of Rome, and in defence of your allies, that you send an army ; or are you minded under this pretence to attack your friends and confederates ? W he re is the state in all Asia, that can set hounds to the ambition and trice, 1 will not say of a general, or his lieutenant, but of a single tribune of the arm} « Sect. XX 11 1. Supposing therefore j ou should lur. i a general, who may appear capable of defeating the forces of these two powerful kings in a pitched battle : yet unless he is also one, that can refrain his hands, eyes, and thoughts, from the riches of our allies, from their wives and children, from the orna- ments of their cities and temples, and from the gold and trea- sures of their palaces, he is by no means Jit to command in an Asiatic and a regal war. Is any state suffered to enjoy tranquility, that is known to be rich? Or Was ever any state rich, which your generals permitted to remain in tranquility ? The sea-coast, O Romans ! demanded Pompey, not only opi * 86 M. T. CICKROMS ORATIONES. hi\ it ; vidcbat cnim populus Romanus non locupletari quotannis pecunia pul)lici, prxter paucos : neque eos quidquam aliud icqui classium nomine, nisi ut detriments accipiendis majore aftici tnrpitudinc videremur. Nunc qua cupiditate homines in provincias, quibus jacturis, (}uibus conditionibus proficiscantur, ignorant videlicet isti qui ad unum deferenda esse omnia non arhitrantur, Quasi veroCn. IVmpeium non cum suit* virtutibus, turn etiam alienis \itiis magnum esse videamus. Cjuare nolite dubitaie quin buic mil t redatis omnia, qui inter annos tot unus inventus sit, quem socii in urbeis suas c um excrcitu venissc gau- deant. Quod si au< toritatibus hanc causam, Quirites, confir- niandam putatjl, est vobil auctor, vir, (3*)bellorum omnium maximarumque 1 erum pcritistimua P. Scrvilius: cujus tantae res gestx terra man que exstiterunt, Ut, cam de hello deliberetis, auctor vobisgravioresse nemo debeat : est C. Curio summis ves- tris bene iiciis,m:'.ximisquc rebus gestis,summomgeiiioetpruden- tia pneditus : rstl'n.Lentulus, in quoomncs, pro amplissimisves- tris honoi ibus, summum consilium, summam jrravitatem esse cognoscitis : est C. Cassius iutegritntc, virtute, constantia singu- lar']. Quart videte, ut horura auctoritatibus, illorum orationi qui diisentiunt, respondert posse ^ldeamur. \\I V. Quae cum ita sint, C Man ill, primum (3») istam tuam et legem, ct volunta tern, el sentcntiam laudo, vehementissime- que comprobo : dcinde te hortor ut auctore populo Romano mant as in sententia, neve .cujusquam vim, aut minas pertimes- cas. lVnniim in te satis esse animi, constantixque arbitror : dcindc cum tantam multitudinem cum Canto studio adessevide- amus, quantum non iterum in eodem homins pratficiendo vi- dimus ; quid est, quod aut de re, aut de perficiendi iacultatc dubitemua ? Ego autem, quidquid in me est studii, consilii laboris, ingcnu, quidquid hoc beneficio populi Romani, at que hac potestate prxtoria, quidquid auctoritate, fide, con- stantia possum, id omrie ad banc rem confiriendam tibi et populo Romano poiliceor et detero ; testorque omnes deos, et cos maximc qui buic loco temploque president, qui om : (37) Btllorum omnium maximarumque rtrum feritiuimut P. Strvili*s.~\ This Publius Scrvilius was sent to the piratic war after Antony, and vanquished the enemy with great slaughter But not content with driving them from the seas, he made himself master of Phaselis and Olympus, two very strong cities, the chief repositories of their plunder. He likewise subdued the Isauii in Cilicia, and thence obtained the sur- name of Isauricus. (38) Istam tuam legem, &c] This law was very displeasing to the avowed patriots of those times; not only becaate they thought it an infringement of public liberty, that *>ne man should engross all the military commissions of importance ; but because of the sbght that was thereby put upon Lucullus; whose grca: actions, and love to his coiuv try, merited a very different return. CICKJto's ORATIONS. 87 account of his military glory, but likewise for his known pro- bity and moderation of mind. The Koman people observed, that the public money from vear to year enriched only a few ; and that all the advantag< w e gained by the empty name of n fleet, v as, an increase ofinfam) from repeated losses. An those who oppose the conferring such an extensive command upon one person, ignorant with what avaricious views, through what a prolusion oi bribery, and on what infamous conditions our magistrates now repair to their provinces I Insomuch that l'om- pey appears no l< eat by the contrast of their vices, than by the lustre of his own proper virtues. Therefore hesitate no longer to eoinir.it all to the care of a man, who alone of late irs has so far gained the confidence of your allies, that they rejoice to < him enter their cities at the head of an army. But if you think it likewise needful, Romans, that in a point so material your choice should be backed by authorities ; 1 can name 1\ Servilius, a man eminently skilled in war, and great affairs : one whose exploits by sea and land have acquired him so much reputation, that in all military deliberations, no man's opinion ought to challenge greater regard. I ean name C. Curio, so distinguished by vour signal favours and his own great ac- tions, so illustrious for his matchless abilities and prudence. I can name Cn. Lentulus, in whom you have always lound a capacity and talents, equal to the great honours you have con- ferred upon him. In fine, 1 can name C. Cassius, who for in- tegrity, probity, and firmness, acknowledge no superior. Thus you see how easily, by the authority of so many great men, we can put to silence those who oppose this law. Sect. XXIV. For all these reasons, C. Manilius, I here in the first place declare my entire approbation of your law, your purpose, and your opinion : in the ne^xt place I exhort you, with the assistance of the Roman people, to continue unshaken in this purpose, and to suffer no threats nor violence to daunt you. In fact, 1 have no reason to doubt of your courage and firmness : and as we are supported with a greater zeal and una- nimity, than was ever known in the like case before ; what ground have we, either to distrust the measure itself, or our success in the prosecution of it ? For mv own part, whatever talents I enjoy from nature, or ha\e acquired by application and study ; whatever influence I derive from the favours of the Koman people, and the praetorian dignitv wherewith they have invested me ; whatever I can effect by my authority, fidelity, and perseverance ; I here promise and make it all over to you and my fellow-citizens, for the carrying of this point. 1 attest all the gods, particularly those who preside over this place and temple, and who see into the real designs of all concerned in the administration of public affairs, that I have not undertaken 68 M. T. CICKR9N1S ORATIONCS. omnium menteis eorum, qui ad rempubl. adeunt, maxime per- nniciunt, me hoc neque rogutu facerc cujusquam, neque qui Cn. Pompeii gratiam mihi per hanc r.iusam consiliari putem, neque quo mihi ex cujusquam amplitudine, aut prxsidia peri- culis, aut adjumenta honoribus qucram : proptcrca quod peri- cula facile, ut homincm pnestare oportet, innocentia tecti pel- lemus : honores autem, neque ab uno, neque ex hoc loco, seel eadem nostra ilia lahoriosissima ratione vitae, si vestra voluntas fcret, ronscquemur. Quamobrem quidquid In hac causa mihi susccptuin est, Quiritcs, id r>mnc me re ipublicae causa susce- pisse confirmo : tantuniquc abest ut aliquant bottom gratiam mihi qu«sisse vidcar, ut multasetia/n limukates partim ooacura partim apertas, intelligam mihi non necessarias, vobia nou inuti- lcs suscepisse. 8ed ego me hoc honore preditum, tantis vestrii beneficiis affectum, statui, Quirites, vestram voluntatem, et ret- pubbcac dignitatem, et salutem provinciarum atquc sociorui aseis omnibus commodis et rationibus przferre oportcre. CICE*0 7 S ORATIONS. Of hatei t 8* with part at the solicitations oi any person the view of ingratiating myself with Pompey, nor to procure from any one's greatness, a shelter against dangers, or an in- case of honours : for as to dangers, I shall always easily repel them by my innocence, as it becomes every virtuous man to jo: and in the pursuit of honours, I shall neither trust to one man's favour, nor solicit them from this place, but endeavour to merit them by the same laborious course of life, which I have hitherto followed with your approbation. Whatever therefore. I have done in this cause, Romans, I here afhrm was done with a riew to the good of my country : and so far have 1 been from pursuing any private interest, that I am sensible 1 have drawn much hatred upon myself, partly secret, pardy open, which J. might have avoided, and by which you may profit. But clothed with this honourable office, and indebted as I am to your fa- vours, I consider it as my indispensable duty, to prefer your rminations, the dignity of the commonwealth, and the safety of our provinces and allies, to all partial and particular ws of advantage. V ORATION III. FOR C. RABIRIUS. Sect. I.~A]LTHOUGrH it is not usual with me, Romans, in the beginning of my pleading, to give an account of the reasons that induced me to undertake the defence of my client, because I have always considered my connections with my fellow-citizens, as a sufficient plea for interesting myself in their affairs : yet as the cause I am now engaged in regards the life, the reputation, and the whole fortunes of C. Ra- birius, I think it incumbent upon me to lay before you the motives of my present conduct ; because the same reasons that so powerfully induced me to undertake his defence should no less forcibly urge you to acquit him* For as ancient friendship, the merit of the man, common humanity, and mv constant practice through life, jointly called upon me to defend Rabirius : so the safety of the state, my duty as consul, in fme, the consulship itself, which together with the public tranquility has been entrusted to my care in conjunction with you, compelled me to engage zealously in his cause. For it is not any crtminal imputation^ any jealously of his conduct, or blemish in his -morals ; nor, in short, any old, just and weight) resentment of his fellow^citizens, that have brought Rabirius into the present danger ; but the design of abolishing out of the commonwealth that sovereign preservative of our majesty and empire, which has been handed down to us from age to age by our ancestors, that the authority of the senate, the power of the consuls, and the concurrence of the ho- nest, might henceforth be of no effect against what threatened the utter ruin and subversion of the state. Accordingly, it is 4ectes, which Cicero here calls the great bulwark of the state 92 M. T. CIGERONIS ORATIONES. vitatis valeret : idcirco in his rebus evertendis (») unius hominis senectus, infirmitas, solitudoque tentata est. Quamobrem, si est boni consulis, cum cuncta auxilia reipub. labefactari, convelli- que videat, fei-re opem patriae, succurrere saluti fortunisque communibus, implorare civium fidem, suam salutem posteriorem salute commutii, ducere ; est etiam bonorum et fortium civium, quales vos omnibus reip. temporibus extitistis, intercludere om- nes seditjbnum vias, munire prsesidia reipubl. summum in con- sulibus hnperium, summum in senatu consilium, putare ; ea qui secutus sit, laude potius et honore quam pcena et supplicio dig- num judicare. Quamobrem labor in hoc defendendo prxcipue metis est : studium vero conservandi hominis, commune mini vobiscum esse debebit. II. Sic enim existimare debetis, Quirites, post hominum me- moriam rem nullam majorem, mag-is periculosam, magis ab om- nibus vobis providendam, neque a tribuno pleb. susceptam, ne- que a consult? defensam, neque ad populum Rom. esse delatam. Agitur enim nihil aliud in hac causa, Quirites, quam lit nullum sit posthac in repub. publicum consilium, nulla bonorum con- sensio contra improborum furorem et audaciam ; nullum extre- mis reip. temporibus perfugium et presidium saluti s. Qua; cum ica sint, primuni, quod in tanta dimicatione capitis, famte, fortunarumque omnium fieri necesse est, (3) ab Jove Optimo Max. caeterisque diis deabusque immortaiibus, quorum ope et auxilio multo magis hasc resp. quam vatione hominum et consilio gubernatur, pacem ac veniam peto: precorque ab iis, ut ho- diernum diem et ad hujus salutem conservandam, et ad rem- publ. constituendam, illuxisse patiantur. Deinde vos, Quirites, quorum potestas proxime ad deorum immortalium numen ac- cedit, oro atque obsecro, quoniam uno tempore vita C Ra- birii hominis miserrimi atque innocentissimi, salus reip. vestris manibus suffragiisque permittitur, adhibeatis, in hominis for- tunis misericordiam, in reip. salute sapientiam, quam soletis. (2) Unhs hominis tenectus t infirmity .™//7W0."]Rabirius must certainly have been very old at this time : for the death of Saturnius happened thirty-six years before, and he vas rhen a senator, to which honor no one could be admitted before the age of thirty. We are not therefore to imagine when Cicero speaks of the weak and helpless condi- tion of Kabirius, that he was utterly destitute of friends. He was a man of quality and interest.had been long a member of the senate, and by the zeal with which Cicero, Horrensius, and the whole body of the nobility espoused his cause, appears to have been well supported. But it was a mark of respect which an assembly of the Reman le always expected from those who appeared before them in consequence of a pub- lic accusation, that they should be represented, 'j» the greatest objects of compa (3> Ab fovt Optima Maximo.] It was an established practice, not only among the Greek orators, but a'.^o among the Roman, to invoke the gods in the beginning of iheir speeches. Cicero does it with peculiar grace here : because not a private cause, and the fortunes of a single man ; but the prosperity of the whole Roman empire CICERO'S ORATIONS. 193 \n ith a view to overthrow all these bulwarks of the public safety that an attack is now made upon the old age, weakness, and helpless condition of a skiffle man. If therefore it be the dui:v a provident consul, when he sees the main pillars of tne com- monwealth shaken and almost overturned, to fly to the assistance of his country, to watch orer the safety and fortunes oi the people, to implore the protection of his fellow-citizens, and to iook upon his own safetv as but second to that of the state ; it is no less incumbent upon brave and honest citizens, such as you have approved vourselves in all the exigencies of the common- weal th, to shut up every avenue of sedition, to strengthen the defences of the state, to be persuaded that the whole executr power of the government resides in the consuls, and the whole deliberative in the senate, and to judge that whoever follows these maxims, is more worthy, oi praise and honour, than pains and penalties. The task therefore of defending Jlabirius, faJ principally to my share ; but the zeal an;! concern for his pre- servation ought to be in common to us both. Sect. II. Your sentiments upon this occasion ought to be, Romans, that within the memory of man, no cause more im- portant in itself, more dangerous in its consequences, more worthy of your attention in all its parts, was ever undertaken by a tribune of the commons, defended by a consul, or brought before an assembly of the Roman people. For the thing in ques- tion, citizens, is no less, than that henceforward there be no standing council of the republic ; no union of the honest, against the madness and presumption of the profligate : no refuge or shelter, in the extreme necessities of the commonwealth. "Which being the case : first of all, as becomes me in so mighty a struggle for the safety, honour, and fortunes of every Roman, I implore the forgiveness and favour of the all-powerful and bene- ficent Jupiter, and of the other gods and goddesses, by whose aid and interposition, much more than by any human prudence and foresight, this government is upheld : and' I request that this day ay prove a day of deliverance to Rabirius, and! of preservation to my country. Next, I entreat and conjure you, Romans, whose power approaches the nearest to that of the immortal gods, since at the same time the life of C. Rabirius, the most mnpcent and unfortunate of mankind, and the s of the common- wealth is committed to your care and suffrages, that you will ex- ert that compassion in behalf of the accusal, and thatprudieni ior the preservation of your county, winch is \vi a for v/hich the gods were suppo-ed m-vs immediately interested, was at si is so called, quasi ju-jus pater, and the epithets optitnui^ r, were thn he was always addressed. i. CICBRONIS ORATIONES. Nunc quoniam, {^) T. I/abiene, cliligentise mese, temporis angua- tiis obstitisti, mcque ex comparato et constitute spatio defensio- nis in scmihoise curriculum coegisti, parebhur, et, quodiniquis- simum est, accusatoris conditioni, et quod miserrimum, inimici potcstati. Quamquam in hac prcscriptione semihorse patroni mini parteis reliquisti, consulis ademisti : propterea quod ad de- fendendum propemodum satis erit hoc mini temporis, verum ad conquerendum parura. IVisi forte de locis religiosis, ac de lucis, quos ab hoc violates esse dixisti, pluribus verbis tibi responden- dum putas ; quo in crimine nihil est unquaro abs te dictum, nisi a C. Macro objectum esse crimen id C. Rabirio : in quo ego de- miror, meminisse te, quid objecerit G. Rabirio Macer inimicus ; oblitum esse, quid sequi et jurati Judices judical int. TIT. An de peculatu facto, an (0 de tabulario incenso longa oratio est expromenda - ? quo in crimine propinquus C. Rabirii judicio clarissimo C. Curtius pro virtute sua est honestissime libe- ratus : ipse vero Rabirius non modo in judicium horum crimi- num, zed ne in tenuissimam quidem suspicionem verbo est un- quam vocatus. An de sororis filio diligentius respondendum est, (6) quern ab hoc necatum esse dixisti, cum ad judicii moram familiaris funeris excusatio quaereretur ? Quid enim est tarn veri- simile, quam cariorem huic sororis maritum, quam sororis filium fuisse ? atque ita cariorem, ut alter vita crudelissime privaretur, cum alteri ad prolationem judicii biduum quaereretur ? An de servis alienis (7) contra legem Fabiam retentis, aut de civibus, Rom. contra legem Forciam verberatis, aut necatis, plura di- cendasunt, cumtanto studio C. Rabirius totius Apulias, singu- (4) T. Labicne."] This is the same Labienus who afterwards served with so much re- putation under Cxsar in Gaul, He was tribune of the people the same year that Cicero was consul. The orator here complains, that so little time was granted him by the tribune for answering the charge brought against his client ; for he was conBned to the short space of half an hour, whereas it was usual to allow two hours for the ac- tion, and three for the defence. But from this it would appear, as Minutius ob- serves, that in cases of treason, the person who brought the impeachment had a right to prescribe the length of time allowed to the accused for making his defence. { 5) An de tabulario incenso.) The place where the register and public acts were kept, "When this crime therefore was objected to Rabirius, the true author was not known ; nur Q. Sosius, some time after, confessed himself guilty, (0) GU^emabboc necatum esse dixisti,'] C. Curtius, brother-in-law to Rabirius, wai accused of embezzlement. During the course of the trial his son died ; upon which, he pctioned for a respite of judgment, that he might have time to attend the funeral >?f his fon. But i>uch was the violence of the times, and the malice of Rabirius's pro- r.cutors, that they pretended he had murdered his nephew, with no other view th*n 'o procure a short delay for his brother-in-law. But as Cicero very wcil observes here, it was not likely he would incur so much guilt only to gain two days ; nor could it uppoted his sister's husband, was dearer to him than his sister's son. 311 T I'vO S ORATIONS. 95 i conspicuous in your assemblies. And now, T. Labienus, since you have checked my industry by the narrowness of the time, and contracted the usual space allotted for a defence, to the short compass of half an hour, I shall comply with the terms you have thought fit to prescribe ; which it is highly unjust should come from an accuser, and dangerous to permit to the power of an enemy* For in this limitation of half an hour, though you have indeed left me the part of a pleader, you have taken from me that of a consul ; because the time is sufficient for making my defence, but by no means for entering my com- plaint. Unless, perhaps, you imagine that I am to spend many words in answer to those profanations of temples and hallowed groves, wherewith you charge Rabirius. But touching this ac- cusation you have said nothing, unless that C. Macer had ob- jected it to him. And here I cannot but express my wonder, that you should remember the spiteful reproaches of Macer, aa enemy, and forgot the equitable decision of the judges wh* were upon oath. Sect. III. Must I enlarge on the charge of embezzlement, and burning the register ? A charge of which C. Curtius, a near relation of Rabirius, was most honourably acquitted by an au- thentic judgment, in consideration of his virtue and innocence : for as to Rabirius himself, he not only was never questioned on this article, but never so much as incurred the slightest suspi- cion of guilt. Must I answer particularly with regard to his sister's son, whom you pretend he killed, -that the necessity of attending the funeral of a relation, might furnish a plea for put- ting off the trial ? For what can be more improbable, than that his sister's husband was dearer to him than his sister's son ? And that too in such a degree, that the one was cruelly deprived of life, to procure a delay of the other's trial for only two days ? Am I to enlarge upon die slaves detained in defiance of the Fabian law, or the Roman citizens scourged and put to death con- trary to the I'orcian law ? When the whole country of Apulia, . ith all the states bordering upon Campania, testify so dis- Anguishing a regard for Rabirius, that not only particular men, but whole regions and communities, to a farther extent than the name and limits of neighbourhood require, flock (7) Contra legem Fabiam-— legem Porciam.') The Fabian law provided, that no per- son, against the will, and without the knowledge of the master, ihouid conceal the slave cf another man, cr put him in irons, or artfully entice lam away : the Porcian lav/ was enacted by M. Porcius Cnto, tribune of the people in the consulship of Vale- rius and Apuie.ius. By it no magistrate was permuted to beat a Roman citizen with reds, or put him to death ; whereas it had been the practice before, to strip the party quite naked, tbru«t his neck between the two prongs of a fork, and scourge him to ieath. 9G M. T. CICERON*S ORAT10NES. lari voluntate Campaniae vicinitatis ornetur ? cumque ad ejus propulsandum periculum non modo homines, sed prope regioncs ipsae convenerint, aliquanto etiam latius excitatoc, quam ipsius vicinitatis nomen ac termini postulabant ? ]\am quid ego ad id longam orationem comparem, quod est in eadem (8) multae irro- gatione praescriptum, nunc nee suae, nee aliens pudicitiae peper- cisse ? Quinetiam suspicor, eo mihi semi-horam a Labieno prae- stitutam esse, ut ne plura de pudicitia dicerem. Ergo ad base crimina, quas patroni diligentiam desiderant, intelligis mihi semi-horam istam nimium longam fuisse. 111am alteram partem de nece Saturnini nimis exiguam atque angustam esse voluisti : quae non orationis jngenium, sed consulis auxilium implorat et fiagitat. (9) Nam de perduellionis judicio, quod a me sublatum esse criminari soles, meum crimen est, non Rabirii. Quod uti- nam, Quirites, ego id aut primus, aut solus ex hac rep ub. sus- tulissem ! utinam, quod ille crimen esse vult, proprium testimo- nium meae laudis esset ! Quid enim optari potest, quod ego mal- lem, quam me in consulatu meo carnificem de foro, crucem de campo sustulisse ? Sed ista laus primum est majorum nostrorum, Quirites, qui, expulsis regibus, nullum in libero populo vesti- gium crudelitatis regiae retinuerunt : deinde multorum virorum fortium, qui vestram libertatem non acerbitate suppliciorum in- festam, sed lenitate legum munitam esse voluerunt. IV. Quamobrem uter nostrum tandem, Labiene, popularis est? tu-ne, qui civibus Roman in concione ipsa, carnificem, qui vincula adhiberi putas oportere ? qui in campo Martio, comitiis centuriatis, auspicato in loco, crucem ad civium sup- plicium defigi et constitui jubes ? an ego, qui funestari concio- nem contagione carnificis veto . ? qui expiandum forum pop. Romani ab illis nefarii sceleris vestigiis esse dico ? qui castam concionem, sanctum campum, inviolatum corpus omnium ci- vium Rom. integrum jus libertatis defendo servari oportere ? Popularis vero tribunus-pleb. custos defensorque juris et liber- tatis. Porcia lex virgas ab omnium civium Rom. corpore axnovit : hie misericors flagella retulit. Porcia lex libertatem civium lictori eripuit : Labienus, homo popularis, carnifici tradidit. C. Clracchus legem ttflii, ne de capite civium Rom. (8) Multa irrogatime.] The method of proceeding in cafes of amercement was this: The magiftrate summoned the party to appear before the people on a certain day : he then accused him thr^e times : afterwards, as it was termed, irrogabat mxltam ; that i?, he petitioned the people to confiscate a certain part of his eftate. (9 Nam de perduellionis judicio.] In what respect could Cicero be charged with hav- ing abolifhed the usual forms of proceeding in cafes of treafon ? Not by any law that he had procured to be enaded, but by' prevailing to have Rabirius tried in ihe comitia by centuries, and exercising his eloquence and intereft to get the fentence of the Du- umviri rcverfed. .), CICERO'S ORATIONS. 97 fogether to ward off the danger that threatens him. "Why should I entertain you with a long discourse, in relation to what is con- tained in the act of amercement, that he spared neither his own chastity, nor that of others ? Nay, I am indeed inclined to think, that Labienus has restricted me to the space of half an hour, that I may not enlarge too much upon the subject of chastity. With respect to those points, therefore, that require the exact- ness of a pleader, he thought this half hour rather too long : but as to that other part of the charge, which concerns the death of Saturninus, and which demands not ao much the genius of an orator, as the authority and protection of a consul, he de- signed the half hour as too short and confined. For as to the forms of proceeding against treason, which I am reproached, with having abolished, that accusation lies against me, and not against Rabirius. And indeed, I heartily wish, Romans, that I had been either the first, or the only one, who abolished this out of the eommonwealth ; and that I could claim as my sole and peculiar glory, what he thinks proper to charge me with as a crime* For what is there I should rather desire, than during *ny consulship to have banished an executioner from the forum, and removed a cross out of the field of Mars ? But the merit of this belongs in the first place to our ancestors ; who upon the •expulsion of the kings, would suffer no traces of royal cruelty" to remain among a free people : and in the next, to the wise counsels of many brave citizens, whose aim was, not to infest public liberty by the terror of severe punishments, but to secure it by the discipline of mild and wholesome laws. Sect. T\ . Which then, Labienus, is the more popular man of the two ? you, who in an assembly of the Roman people awe citizens with the terror of an executioner and chains : who in the Campus Martius, on a consecrated spot, and during the comitia by centuries, order a cross to be erected for the pun- ishment of Roman citizens ? or I, who will not suffer an assem- bly to be poluted by the presence of an executioner ? who order the Roman forum to be cleared of all traces of so impious a profanation ? who contend for the purity of our assemblies, the sanctity of the field of Mars, that the bodies of Roman citizens remain inviolate, and their liberties be preserved from infringement? A tribune is chosen to be the protector of the peo- ple, the guardian and defender of their rights and liberties, The Porcian law forbids stripes to be inflicted on the bodies of Roman citizens : this merciful tribune restores the use of the scourge. The Porcian law rescued citizens from the hands of the lictors : the popular Labienus delivers them over to the executioner. Cuius Gracchus passed a law, that no Roman should be capitally tried without your concurrence : this guardian 98 M. T. CICLROKJS ORATIGNJLS. injussu Vf stro judicaretur : hie popularis (*°) a Duumviris^ ' ill jussu vestro, non judicari de cive Rom. sed indicta causa civem Roman, capitis condemnari coegit. Tu mihi etiam legis Porciaf, tu C. Gracchi, tu horum libt:rtatis, tu cujusquam denique ho- minis popvdaris mentionem facis, qui non modo suppliciis inii- sitatis, sed etiam verborum inaudita crudelitate violare liberta- tem hujus populi, tentare mansuetudinem, commutare discipli- nam conatus es ? Namque haec tua, quae te hominem elemen- tcmpopularemquedelectant : I LICTOR,CQLLXGAMANUS : quae non modo hujus libertatis, mansuetudinisque non sunt, sed ne Romuli quidem, aut Numae Pompilii : Sed Tarquinii super- bissimi atque crudelissimi regis (**) ista sunt cruciatus carmina : quae tu homo lenis ac popularis r iibentissime commemoras, CAPUT OBNTJBITO, ARBORI INFELICI SUSPEND1- TO ; quae verba, Quirites, jam pridem in hac repub. non solum tenebris vetustatis, verum etiam luce libertatis oppressa sunt. V. An vero, si actio ista popularis essefo et si ullam partem sequitatis haberet aut juris, C. Gracchus earn reliquisset ? scili- cet tibi graviorem dolorem patrui tuimors attulit, quam C. Grac- cho fratns ; et tibi acerbior ejus patrui mors est, quern nunquam vidisti, quam illi ejusfratris, qufcum concordissime vixerat : et similis viri tu ulcisceris patrui mortem, atque ille persequeretur fratis sui, si ista ratione agere voluisset ? et par desiderium sui reliquit apud populum Romanum Labienus iste, patruus vester, quisquis fuit, ac Tib. Gracchus reliquerat ? An pietas tua major, quam Gracchi ? an animus ? an consilium ? an opes ? an auctoritas ? an eloquentia . ? quae si in illo minima t'uissent, tamen prae tuis facultatibus maxima putarentur. Cum vero his rebus omnibus C. Gracchus omnes viceiit, quantum inter vallum tandem inter te atque ilium inlerjectum putas ? Sed moreretur prius acerbissima morte millies Gracchus, quam in ejus concione carnifex consistcret ; quern non modo foro, sed etiam ccelo hoc ac spiritu censorial leges, afljue urbis domicilio carerc volucrunt. Ilic se popularem dicere audet,. me alienum a (10) A Duumviris.] The Duumviri, as vrc learn from Suetoniu3,in his Life of Car- sar, were firft created by Tullus Hoatilius, fourth King of Rome upon occasion of Horatius's murdering his sister ; but with the liberty of appealing to the people, Ra~ birius'6 cause had been firft tried at this tribunal. Caesar was at that time one of the Duumviri, and appeared so eager to condemn the old man, that, as we are told by the historians of those times, nothing did him greater service with the people, than the visible partiality of hi* judge. ( r i ) Ista sunt cruciatus carmina.'] He means here the form oi words in which the iaw was Conceived. For laws, and the descisions given by the magistrates, are often in Roman authors styled carmina. Thas Livy, in his first book, speaking of this very law, says, Lex borrendi carminis erat. Duumviri Perduellionem judicer.t ; si a I\vumviris flrovocarit, provocation? certato : ti vincent, caput obnubito, arbort infelici rr.ctc susp'mdito : ver- Vtl intra f r/ extra Ptweriunt. The fnrrr law was CICERO'S ORATIOM. S# §t the people's rights compelled the Duumviri, not only to try capitally, but to condemn unheard a Roman citizen, without applying for your consent. Dare you after this mention to me the Porcian law, the name of Caius Gracchus, the liberty of your fellow-citizens, or the example of any eminent patriot ? Yoii, I say, who not only by unprecedented punishments, but hy expressions of unusual barbarity, have attempted to violate the liberties of this people, the mildness of their laws, and the established constitutions of their governments Go, lictor, bind his hands,* are the words that delight your popular and compas- sionate ear : words not only repugnant to liberty, and the cle- mency of the present administration, but such as were not known even to Romulus or Nuffia Pompilius, and suit only the imperious times of Tarquin, the haughtiest and most merciless of tyrants : yet these, like a mild and popular magistrate, you repeat with rapture, Cover his head, nail him to the accursed tree: words, Romans, that in this state have not only been long ago buried under the ruins of antiquity, but even dissipated by th^ rays of liberty. Sect. V* Had this proceeding been popular, had it been in any respect consistent with equity and justice, Caius Grac- chus would never have abolished it. Could the death of an uncle grieve you more, than that of a brother did Caius Cracchus I Was you more afflicted for the loss of an uncle you never saw^ than he for the loss of a brother with whom he lived in the strictest union ? Will you revenge the death of such a man as your uncle, as he would have done that of his brother, had he been disposed to act upon your principles ? Was that uncle of yours, Labienus, whoever we suppose him to be, equally dear to and regretted by the Roman people^, as was Tiberius Grac- chus ? Do you pretend to vie with Caius Gracchus in piety ? in courage ? in prudence ? in interest ? in authority I in eloquence I qualities, which even supposing them to have been but mode- rate in him, yet compared with yours, must appear eminent* JBut as in all these respects Caius Gracchus was the first man of his age, at how vast a distance ought you to place yourself be- hind him ? And yet Gracchus would sooner a thousand times have died the crudest of deaths, than suffered an executioner to be present in an assembly where he presided : one so odious to this state, that the laws of the censors have not only banished him the forum, but adjudged him unworthy of the common be- nefits of light, air, and the shelter of a roof within the city. Dare as follows : " Let the Duumviri judge in matters of treason : If an appeal shall h* •' made to the people, let the cause be tried again before them : If the party shall be ** east, let his head be bound up, let him be hung on the fatal tree : but first let bixfr * be whipped either within or wi^iout the Pomerium. ,> O \1. 1. CICERONIS ORATIONE3. eommodiavestris : cum iste omnes et suppliciorum, et verberum acerbitates, non exmemoria vcstra ac patrum vcstrorum, scd (**) annalium monumentis, atque ex regum commentariis con- qui::ierit : ego omnibus mete opibus, omnibus consiliis, omnibus clictis atque factis repugnarim, et restiterim crudelitati ? Nisi forte banc conditionem vobis esse vultis, quam servi, si libertatis spem propositam non haberent, ferre nullo modo possent. Mi- sera est ignominia judiclorum pubiicorum, misera multatio bo- norum, niisertim exsilium : sed tamen in omni calamitate retine- tur aiiq.uod vestigium libertatis ; mors denique si proponitur, in libertate moriamur ; carnifex vero et obductio capitis, et nomen ipsum crueis, absit, non modo a corpore civium Roman, sed etiam a cogitatione, oculis, auribus. II arum enim omnium re- rum non solum eventus, atque perpessio, sed etiam conditio, expectatio, mentio ipsa denique, indigna cive Romano atque homine libero est. An vero servos nostros horum suppliciorum omnium metu, dominorum benignitas (*3)una vindicta liberabit : nos a verberibus, ab unco, a crucis denique terrore, neque res . gestae, neque acta «tas, neque nostri honores vindicabunt ? Quamobrem fateor, atque etiam, T. Labiene, profiteor, et pra» me fero, te ex ilia, crudeli, importuna, non tribunitia actione, sed regia, meo consilio, virtute, auctoritate esse depulsum. Qua tu in actione, quanquam omnia exempla majorum, omnes leges, omnem auctoritatem Senatus, omnes religiones atque auspicio- rum publica jura neglexisti : tamen a me hsc in hoc tarn exiguo meo tempore non aiidies : liberum tempus nobis dabitur ad istara disceptationem ; nunc de Saturnini crimine ac de clarissi- mi patrui tui morte dicemus, VL Arguis occisum esse a C Rabirio L. Saturninum : et id C. Rabirius multorum testimoniis, Q. Hortensio copiosissime defendente, ante falsum esse docuit. Ego autem, si mihi esset integrum, » susciperem hoc crimen, agnoscerem, confiterer. Utinam hanc mihi facultatem causa concederet, ut possem hoc prsedicare, C Rabirii manu JL. Saturninum hostern populi Ro- (12) E» annalium menumentis, ex regum commentariii.~\ The Romans from the very beginning of their rtate took cart to record all public transactions; appointing the Jiigh-priest to write down yearly every thing that happened worthy of notice. These records, referring every event to its proper year, were termed annals. We learn too ron Livy, honk 1. that the Roman Kings wrote commentaries of what passed during their respective reigns. (13) Una lindicta.] This alludes Jo the ceremony of manumission which was thus performed : The slave was brought before the consul, and in after-times before the . by hie master, who laying his hand upon his servant's head, said to the praetor, IF'tt'c bomfnem liber um eirc "vclo •• e manu emitter e. Then the praetor laying a rod upor .'. led vimthLo t said, Dico evtt \ liberum cse v?ore ^uiritufn. After this the lictor > CICERO'S ORATIONS* 1G\ he assume the name of a popular magistrate, or brand me as an enemy to your interests ; when he is searching for the most ri- gorous precedents for punishing and passing sentences, not to the records of the present or former age, but in the remote an- nals of antiquity, and the distant registers of our kings ; while I employ all my interest and abilities, all my words and actions, co oppose and resist the encroachments of cruelty ? Unless per- haps you are disposed to choose a lot, which slaves themselves could never be brought to endure, unless supported by the pros- pect of liberty. Wretched is the ignominy of public trials ; wretched the confiscation of estate ; wretched the punishment of exile : yet in that whole train of suffering, some footsteps of liberty still remain. Nay, where death itself is proposed as a punishment, we are at least permitted to die free. But an exe- cutioner ; the muffling up of the head ; the dreadful name of the cross j may all these not only never reach the body, but be strangers to the thoughts, eyes, and ears of Roman citizens ! For to say nothing of the presence and feeling of these calami- ties, the dread, the expectation, la fine, the very mention of them, is unworthy a- Roman citizen, and a man nursed in the bosom of liberty* Shall the humanity of a master, by one manumitting blow, deliver our slaves from the terror of all these punishments I And shall neither our great actions, a life spent in the service of our country, nor the honours to which we have been promoted, exempt us from the -scourge, from the ax, x$r from the infamy of the cross ? I therefore confess, proclaim, * and publicly avow, Labienus, that you was defeated in that cruel, malicious, and not popular, but tyrannical purpose, by my authority, credit, and firmness. But though in this pro- ceeding you ran counter to all the precedents of former times :; all the established laws of the state ; the standing authority of the senate; the awful ceremonies of religion ; and the sacred con- stitutions of the Augurs : yet shall you hear nothing from me on this head, because of the short time to which I am restricted^ These points may be resumed at a more convenient season. At present I shall confine myself to the crime ©f Saturninus, and the death of your most illustrious uncle. %. Sect. VI. You accuse C Rabirius of having slain JL. Sa- turninus : and C. Rabirius, by the testimony of many wit- nesses, and the copious defence of Jlortensius, has already pfoved that charge to be false, For my part, was I to choose in this matter, I would own, take with, and avow the crime. Would to heaven I was at liberty to confess, that L. Satur- ninus, the enemy of the Roman people, was killed by the lictor taking the rod cut of the orsetor's hand, struck the servant several blow? 0:1 the head, face, and.back ; and nothing now remained but pifeo donari. to receive a C3p ir* token of liberty, and to have his name entered in the common roll of freeaaen, 'A :> ^- fthe reason of his obtaining that favour. 102 M. T. CICERONIS ORATIONES. mani inierfectum. (m) Nihil me clamor iste commovet, sed consulatur : cum indicat esse quosdam ciyes imperitos, sed non multos ; nunquam, mihi credite, pop. Rom. hie, qui silet, Con- sulemme fecisset, si vestro clamore perturbatum iri arbitraretur. Quanto jam levior est acclamatio ! quin continetis vocem, indi- cem stultitiae vestrce, testem paucitatis ? Libenter, inquam, eon- fkerer, si vere possem, aut etiam si mihi esset integrum, C Ra- birii manu L. Saturninum esse occisum : et id facinus pulcherri- mum esse arbitrarer ; sed quoniam id facere non possum, confi- tebor id, quod ad laudem minus valebit, ad crimen non minus, Confiteor interficiendi Saturnini causa C Rabirium arma cepisse. Quid est, Labiene ? quam a. me graviorem confessionem, aut quod in hunc majus crimen exspectas ? nisi vero interesse aliquid pu- tas inter eum qui hominem occidit, et eum qui cum telo occidendi hominis causa fuit. Si interfici Saturninum nefas fuit, arma sumpta esse contra Saturninum sine scelere non possunt ; si arma jure sumpta concedis, interfectum jure concedas necesse est. VII. (15) FIT S. C. ut C. Marius, L. Valerius Consules adhiberent, Tribunos-plebis et Prsetores, quos eis videretur ; operamque darent, ut imperium populi Rom. majestasque con- servaretur ; adhibent omnes Tribunos-plebis, praeter Saturni- num, Prsetores prater Glauciam : qui rempublicam salvam esse vellent, arma capere, et se sequi jubent. Parent omnes ; ex aedinciis armamentariisque publicis arma populo Romano, C. Mario Consule distribuente, dantur. Hie jam, ut omit- tam csetera, de te ipso, Labiene, quaero : cum Saturninus Capitolium teneret armatus, esset una C. Glaucia, C. Saufeius, etiam (* 6 ) ille ex compedibus atque ergastulo, Gracchus ; (14) Nihil me clamor Iste commovet.'] The clamour raifed upon this cccafion demon» ftrates that the people were in fome meafure offended with Cicero, for calling Satur- ninus the enemy of the Roman people, it wasufual in public affemblies, where any part of the magiftrate's fpeech was particularly grateful to thofe prefent, to receive it with acclamations : and where, on the contrary, it difpleafed, to signify their diflike by confuted murmurs and a tumultuous clamour. Thus, Agrar. 3. video quosdam., tgulrites, strepitu slgnificare nescio quid. Cicero, however, affects to defpife the prefent clamour, as the faint effort of a fmall part of the affembly, which he advifes them to drop, since it betrays only their folly, and the inferiority of their numbers. (15) Fit senatus-consultum ut C. Marius.'] The decree here mentioned was that fa* mous one, by which the consuls were enjoined to take care that the commonwealth received no detriment. This never passed but in times of iminent danger, and was understood to invest the consuls with absolute authority- Cicero therefore,by observing that Rabirius took up arms in consequence of this decree, justifies bim fr om the charge of treason; as it thence appeared, that he acted in obedience to a lawful authority. The tribuned used their utmost endeavors to divest the senate of this power, as it wa» frequently employed to check their own ambitious designs ; but as their succeeding in the attempt would have drawn after it the ruin of the public liberty, they nevgr failed of being vigorously opposed by all the true lovers of their country. (SlCERO^S ORATIONS. 10® liand of C. Kabirius. That clamour disturbs me not, but rather furnishes matter of consolation, as it appears to be no more than the faint effort of a small part of the assembly. The body of the Roman people, who are silent, would never have made me consul, had they thought me capable of being disturbed by so feeble an insult. How the noise sinks ! Drop these vain ef- forts, which serve only to betray your folly, and the inferiority of your numbers. I repeat it again : could I do it consistently with truth, or were I at liberty to make such a declaration, I would gladly confess, that L. Saturninus was killed by the hand of C. Rabirius ; nay, I would even proclaim and boast of it, as an action that merited rewards. But as there is no room for this, I will confess what indeed redowns less to his glory, but does not less answer the purpose of your accusation. I confess that C. Rabirius took up arms, with intent to kill Saturninus. "What ampler confession would you have, Labienus ? What heavier charge against Rabirius ? Unless perhaps you think there is a difference between killing a man, and taking up arms with intent to kill him. If it was a crime to kill Saturninus, it could not but be criminal to, take up arms against him ; but if you allow the lawfulness of taking up arms, you must also al- low that it was lawful to kill him. Sect. VII. A decree passed in the senate, that the consuls C. Marius and L. Valerius should require the assistance of such of the tribunes of die people and praetors, as they thought proper, and take care that the empire and majesty of the people of Rome was preserved inviolate. They called to their aid all the tribunes except Saturninus, all the praetors except Glaucia : and published an edict, that every citizen who wished well to his country, should take up arms and follow them. All obey the summons ,* arms are distributed to the people, from the pub- lic magazines and arsenals, by order of C. Marius the consul. And here, not to mention other particulars, let me put the question to you, Labienus ; when on one side Saturninus had seized the capitol with an armed force, and was joined by (16) Hie ex compedibus afgue ergasfulo, Gracchus.] This was one L. Equitius, wk» pretended to be the son of Gracchus. Valerius Maximus. lib. 9. cap. 7. says, L. Equiti- urn qui se T. Gracchi jilium simulabat,tribunatumque adversus leges cum L Saturnino pete* hat, a C. Mario sextum, contulatum gerente in publicam custodiam ductum fopulus claustrit farceris con-vulsis raptum humerh suis, per summam amimorum alacritatem portavit. " JL. ** Equitius, who p.-erended to be the son of Tiberius Gracchus, and stood for the tri-* - " transship against ali law with C, Saturninus ; being committed to public prison in " die sixth CTr.ukli'p of C. Marius, was set at liberty by the people, who broke open " the bars of the prison, snatched him up upon their shoulders, and carried him off " will, the greatest ecstacy of joy.*' Nay. so dear was the name of Tiberius Grac- chus to the people of Rome, that they actually raised this impostor to the tribune- 4»p- He Was driven along with Saturuinus into the capitol; but, as we learn froia yVprjian, was not killed there. *04- H. T. CIC£RONIS Oil ATI ONES. addam (qnoniam ita vis) eodem Q. Labicnum patruum tuum : in loro autcm C. Marius et L. Valerius Flaccus Coss. post functus Senatus, atque illc Senatus, qucm etiam vos ipsi, qui hos P. conscriptos, qui nunc sunt, in invidiam vocatis, quo fa- < ilius de hoc Senatu detrahere possitis, laudare consuevistis ; cum equestef ordo : at quorum equitum Roman, dii immortales! patrum nostrorum atque ejus actatis, quae turn magnam partem reipubl. atque omnem dignitatem judiciorum tenebat : cum om- nes omnium ordinum homines, qui in salute reipub. sal litem suam repositam esse arbitrabantur, arma cepissent : quid tandem C. Rabirio faciendum fuit ? De te ipso, inquam Labiene, quasro : cum ad arma Consules ex S. «C. vocavissent : cum armatus ('7)M. v&milius, princeps Senates, in comitio constitissct, qui, cum ingredi vix posset, non ad insequendum sibi tarditatem pe- dum, sed ad fugiendum impedimento fore putabat : cum deni- que Q. Scasvola confectus senectute, prxpeditus morbo, mancus et membris omnibus captus ac debilis, hastili nixus, et animi vim et infirmitatem corporis ostenderet : cum L. Metellus, Ser. Galba, C. Serranus, P. Rutilius, C Fimbria, Q. Catulus. omnesque qui turn erant Consulares, pro salute communi arma cepissent : cum omnes Prstores, cuncta nobilitas, ac juventus accurreret, Cn. et L. Domitius, L. Crassus, Q. Mucius, C. Clau- dius, M. Drusus : cum omnes Octavii, Metelli, Julii, Cassii, Catones, Pompeii : cum L. Philippus, L. Scipio, cum M. Lepi- dus, ciim D. Brutus, cum hie ipse P. Servilius quo tu impera- tore, Labiene, meruisti ; cum hie Q. Catulus admodum turn adolescens, ciim hie C. Curio, cum denique omnes clarissimi viri cum Consulibus essent : quid tandem C. Rabirium facere convenit ? utrum inclusum atque abditum latere in occulto, at- que ignaviam suam tenebrarum ac parietum custodiis tegere ? an in Capitolium pergere, atque ibi se cum tuo patruo et cete- ris ad mortem propter vitas turpitudinem confugientibus congre- gare ? an cum Mario, Scauro, Catulo, Metello, Scsvola, cum bonis denique omnibus coire non mode salutis, verum etiam pe- riculi societatem. VI f. Tu denique, Labiene, quid face res tali in re ac tempo- re ? cum ignaviR ratio te in fwgam, atque in latebras impellertt : improbitas et furor Lucii Saturnini in Capitolium arcesseret : (17) M, JEmilius princeps senatus.~\ M. iEmilius Scaurus was by birth a patrician, t of a family which poverty had reduced very much. He raised himself to the firft feonours of the flatc by his eloquence and personal merit. Cicero makes frequent men- •ion of him in his writings, and celebrates particularly his steadiness and solid judg- ment. When he saw a sedition raised in the city by Saturninus, he exhorted Marius, then consul for the sixth time, to undertake the cause of the commonwealth ; and though in an extreme old age, appeared armed, and leaning on his spear, before *M L ■deer of the ienttc-house, cicero's orations. 105 C. Glaucia, C. Sauseius, and that Gracchus who had been drawn from irons and a gaol ; I will add, since you will have it so, Q. Labienus, your uncle : and on the other appeared in the fo- rum C. Marius and L. Valerius Flaccus, the consuls ; behind them the whole body of the senate, that senate you were wont so much to extol, the better to detract from the authority of the present senate, which you endeavour to render odious ; when the Equestrian order too, the same that flourished in the time of our fathers, an age that allowed them so large a share in the administration of affairs, and devolved upon them the whole weight of public judgments : immortal gods, what a body of Roman knights ! in fine, when men of all ranks., who consi- dered their own safety as connected with that of the state, had: taken up arms ; what was C. Rabirius in such a case to do ? Tell me then, I say, Labienus ? when the consuls, in consequence of a decree of the senate, had ordered the people to arms : when M. iEmilius, prince of the senate, appeared armed in the place of assembly, and though scarcely able to walk, much less to pur- sue, yet thought his gouty feet would at least hinder his flying : when Q. Scsevola, spent with age, diseased, lame, feeble, and crippled in all his limbs, leaning on a spear, discovered at once the firmness of his soul, and the weakness of his body : when L. Metellus, Ser. Galba, C. Serranus, P. Rutilius, C. Fimbria^. Q. Catulus, and all the consular senators of that time, took up arms for the common safety : when all the praetors, all the no- bility, and the whole youth of the city ran to join them, Cn* andL. Bomitius, L. Cras.sus, Q. Mucins, C. Claudius, M. I)ru- sus : when all the Octavii, Metelli, Julii, Cassii, CatoV, Pom- pey's : when L. Phillipus, L. Scipio, 1YL Lepidus 7 D. Brutus, and P. Servilius himself, the general under whom you, Labie- nus, first began the trade of war : when Q. Catulus, who was then but very young; when C. Curio ; in short, when all the most eminent of the city flocked to the consuls : what, I say ? did it then become C. Rabirius to do ? Was he to lurk and shut himself up in private, covering his cowardice with darkness and. behind walls ; or repair to the capitol, and there*associate himself with your uncle and his followers, whom the infamy of their lives drove to seek shelter in death ; or jom Marius, Scaurus, Catulus, Metellus, Scsevola, in short, all the honest, party^. sharing with them not only in the means of preservation, but also in the hazard of resistance ? Sect. VIII. And here let me ask you, Labienus, how would you have behaved at such a time, and in such a juncture ? When a motive of cowardice prompted you to skulk and fly : when the profligate fury of Saturninus invited you to the capitol ? when, in fine, the consuls called you to arm in defence of liberty 106* fit. T. C1CER0NIS ORATIONESf. Consules ad patriae' salutem ac libertatem vocarent : quam tancfeftt! auctoritatem, quam vocem, cujus sectam sequi, cujus imperio pa* rere potissimum velles ? Fatru-us, inquit, m-eus cum Saturnino* fuit. Quid, pater quicum ? quid ? propinqui vestri, Equites Ro- mani ? quid ? omnis praefectura, regio, vicinitas v'estra ? quid ? ager Picenus universus, utrum Tribunitium furorem, an Consul- arem auctoritatem secutus est ? Equidem hoc affir'mo, quod tu nunc de tuo patruo praedicas, neminem unquam adhuc de sese esse confessum ; nemo est, inquam, inventus tarn profligatus, tarn perditus, tarn ab omni non modo honestate, sed etiam simula- tione honestatis relictus, qui se in capitolio fuisse cum Saturnino fateretur. At fuit vester patruus, fuerit ; et fuerit nulla despe- ratione rerum suarum, nullis domesticis vulneribus coactus : in- duxerit eum L» Saturnini familiaritas, ut amicitiam patriae prae- poneret : idcirco-ne oportuit C. Rabirium desciscere a republica ? non comparere in ilia armata multitudine bonorum ? Consulum voci atque imperio non obedire ? Atqui videmus, haec in rerum natura tria fuisse, ut aut cum Saturnino esset, aut cum bonis, aut lateret. Latere mortis erat mstar turpissimae : cum Satur- nino esse, furoris et sceleris : virtus et honestas, et piidor, cum consulibus esse cogebat. Hoc tu igitur in crimen vocas, quod cum iis fuerit C. Rabirius, quos, amentissimus, fuisset, si oppug- nasset ; turpissimus, si reliquisset ? IX. (18) At C. Diecianus, de quo tu saepe commemoras, quia, cum hominem omnibus insignem notis turpitudinis P. Furium accusaret, sum-mo studio bonorum omnium, queri est ausus in concione de morte Saturnini, condemnatus est : et Sextus Titius quod habuit imaginem 1j± Saturnini, domi suae, con- demnatus est. Statuerunt Equites Romani illo judicio, im- probum civem esse, et non retinendum in civitate, qui hominis* hostilem in modum seditiosi imagine aut mortem ejus honest- aret, aut desideria imperitorum misericordia commoveret, aut suam significaret imitandae improbitatis voluntatem. Itaque mihi mirum videtur, unde hanc tu, Labiene, imaginem, quam habes, inveneris ; nam Sex. Titio damnato, qui istam habere auderet, inventus est nemo. Quod tu si audisses, aut si per aetatem scire potuisses, nunquam profecto istam imaginem, (18) At C. Declanui Sextlus Titius.} Cicero here intimates that Labienus watf more justly chargeable with treason than Rabirius ; and adds proofs to support the as- sertion. For Decianus was condemned for only bemoning the fate of Saturninus, tho' he was at that time engaged in a prosecution extremely grateful to all good men. And Sextus Titius, a man of eloquence and penetration, as Cicero characterizes him, though' otherwise innocent, and extremely popular by reason of the Agrarian law, was never- theless condemned for having a picture of Saturninus in his house. What therefore might not Labienu3 expect, who had ventured to expose his picture in a public assem- bly of the people. CffiEfco's ORATION. iOf and your country ; whose authority, whose voice, whose party* . whose command, would have then weighed most with you ? * My uncle, you'll say, was with Saturninus. Right : but with whom was your father ? Your friends tOo, the Roman knights, the whole Prefecture, the neighbouring regions, with all the country of Picenum, did they follow the fury of the tribune, or the authority of the consul ? This I will venture to affirm, that no man ever yet confessed of himself, what you scruple not to own publicly of your uncle* No one, I say, has been found so profligate, so lost to all sense of shame, so destitute not only of all honesty, but even of the appearance of honesty, as to confess his having been in the capitol with Saturninus* But your uncle was. 'Tis allowed ; and that too without any constraint from domestic misfortunes, or the desperate state of his affairs. We shall allow that his regard for Saturninus induced him to prefer friendship to the love of his country. But was Rabirius therefore to abandon the commonwealth ? to refuse appearing in arms with the honest party ? to disobey the call and com- mand of the consul? It is evident he had only one of three things to choose : either to join Saturninus, associate with the honest party, or keep himself concealed. But to lie concealed was worse than the vilest death ; to join Saturninus would have been the height of impiety and madness ; virtue, honour, and a regard for his country, contrained him to follow the party of the consuls. And do yoU then object it to Rabirius as a crime, that he sided with those whom it would have been the utmost madness to oppose, and in the highest degree infa- ■ mous to abandon ? Sect. IX. But C. Decianus, whom you so often mention, was condemned for presuming to complain of the death of Saturninus in an assembly of the Roman people ; though at that very time, with the highest satisfaction of all good men, he was ac- cusing P. Furi us, a man branded with every mark of infkmy ; and Sextus Titius, for having a picture of him in his house, met with the same fate. The Roman knights by that judg- ment declared, that he was a bad citizen, and unworthy of the title, who honoured the memory of a seditious and rebellious tribune by having his picture, or endeavoured to raise the pity and regret of the thoughtless multitude, or discovered an in- clination to imitate so profligate an example. I cannot there- fore but wonder, Labienus, where you have procured that pic- ture ,* for after the condemnation of Sextus Titius, no man dared to have one of them in his possession. But if you had ever heard of his fate, or been old enough to know the merits of that cause, you would never sure have produced in the rostra, and before an assembly of the Roman people, a picture that proved P ; 108 M. T. C1CERONIS ORATIONES. quae domi posita pestem atque exilium Sex. • Titio attulisset, in rostra atque, in concionem attulisses, nee tuas unquam rationes ad eos scopulos appulisses, ad quos Sex. Titii afflictam navem, et in quibits C. Deciani naufragium fortunarum videres. Sed in his rebus omnibus imprudentia laberis : causam enim susce- pisti antiquiorem memoria tua : quae causa ante mortua est, quam tu natus esses ; qua in causa tute profecto fuisses, si per actatem esse potuises, earn causam in judicium vocas. An non intelligis primum quos homines, et quales viros mortuos summi sceleris arguas ? deinde quot ex iis qui vivunt, eodem crimine in summum capitis periculum arcessas ? IS am si C. Rabirius fraudem capitalem admisit, quod arma contra L. Saturninum tulit : huic q* .idem afferet aliquam deprecationem periculi setas ilia, qua turn fuit : Q. ver© Catulum patrem hujus, in quo summa sapientia, eximia virtu?, singularis humanitas fuit ; M. Scaurum, ilia gravitate, illo consilio, ilia prudentia, duos Mucios, L. Crassum, M. Antonium, qui turn extra urbem cum praesidio fuit ; quorum in hac civitate longe maxima consilia atque ingenia fuerunt ; caeteros pari dignitate praeditos, eusto- des, gubernatoresque reipub. quemadmodum mortuos defen- demus ? Quid de illis honestissimis viris atque optimis civibus, equitibus Horn, dicemus, qui turn una cum senatu salutem reipuo. defenderunt ? quid de tribunis serariis, cacterorumque ordinum omnium hominibus, qui turn arma pro communi li- bertate ceperunt ? X. Sed quid ego de iis omnibus, qui consulari imperio pa- ruerunt, loquor ? de ipsorum Coss. fama quid futurum est ? L. Flaccum hominem ciim semper in reipub. turn in magistra- tibus gerendis, in sacerdotio caeremoniisque quibus praeerat di- ligentissimum, nefarii sceleris ac parricidii mortuum condemna- bimus ? adjungemus ad hanc labem ignominiamque mortis etiam C. Marii nomen ? ( J 9) C. Marium, quern vere patrem patrioc, parcntem, inquam, vestras libertatis atque hujusce reipub. possumus dicere, sceleris ac parricidii nefarii mortuum condemnabimus ? Etenim si C. Rabirio, quod iit ad arma cru- cem T. Labienus in campo Martio defigendam putavit : quod tandem excogitabitur in eum supplicium, qui vocavit ? ' Ac (19) C. Marium patrem patria.'] Cicero here calls Marius the father of his country, in confideration of the many servises he did her ; but especially when he delivered her from the ruin wherewith she was threatened, by the irruption of the Teutones and Cimbri. It docs not however appear from hiflory, that Marius was so fast a friend to his country, as the title here given him seems to imply. On the contrary, his bound- Jess ambition, and desire of engrossing all commUfions of importance, proved very fatal to his country, and occasioned the civil war between him andSylla, in which so much Roman blood was shed. But as Cicero here defends a man, who was attacked for ta- king up arms at Mariue's command, it was natural for him to represent him it: the €ICERO's ORATIONS, i0§ so fatal 10 Sextus Titius ; nor hazarded yourself among those rocks where he perished, and where C. Decianus suffered a shipwreck of all his fortunes. But in all this you err through imprudence, having undertaken a cause too old for your mem- ory, and that was dead before you was born 5 a cause, which though you now arraign, you would doubtless have embraced yourself, had you been old enough. Have you considered, in the first place how many great and illustrious citizens you accuse, after their death, of the most consummate wickedness ? Have you reflected upon the number of those now living, whom by this accusation you bring into capital danger ? For if C Rabirius has incurred the guilt of treason, by taking up arms against L. Saturninus, his tender age at that time will yet in some measure plead his excuse : but how shall we be able to defend the memory of Q. Catulus, the father of him now pre- sent, a man of consummate wisdom, distinguished virtue, and singular humanity; how that of the grave, judicious, and pru- dent M. Scaurus ; of the two Mucii, L. Crassus, and M. An- tony, who then lay encamped without the city ; men of the first reputation in this state for genius and abilities ; and of many others of equal merit and dignity, the guardians and protectors of this commonwealth ? What shall we say of those honourable and worthy Roman knights, who jointly with the senate stood up for the common safety ? what of the quaestors, tribunes, and citizens of all ranks who took up arms for the public liberty ? Sect. X. But why do I speak of those who obeyed the order of the consuls ? What will become of the reputation of the consuls themselves ? Shall we brand with the imputation of a monstrous wickedness and parricide, the name and memory of L. Flaccus, who in the service of his country, in the exercise of public offices, in the priesthood, and in the ceremonies of religion over which he presided, always approved himself the most indefatigable of men ? Shall we stain likewise the repu- tation of the deceased Marius with the same ignominious re- proach ? Shall we, I say, brand with the imputation of a monstrous villainy and parricide, the memory of C. Marius, whom we may truly style the farther of his country, and the parent of your liberty and this commonwealth : For if C Ra- birius, for taking up arms, was by Labienus deemed worthy of being nailed to a cross in the field of Mars, what suitable fairest light, and draw a veil over Lis infirmities. Besides, 23 Marius was of a plebe- ian family, and declared himself the patron and protector of that order, his cause was dways popular, and his memory still ctear to the multitude. 110 14. T. CICERONIS ORATIONES. (so) si fides Saturnino data est, quod abs te ssepissime dicitur non earn C. Rabirius, sed C Marius dedit : idemque violavit, si in fide non stetit. Quae fides, Labiene, qui potuit sine sena- tusconsulto dari : adeo-ne hospes hujusce urbis, adeo-ne ignarus es disciplinae, consuetudinisque nostras, ut haec nescias ? ut pe- regrinari in aliena civitate, non in tua magistratum gerere vi- deare ? (*i) Quid jam ista C. Mario, inquit, nocere possunt, quoniam sensu et vita caret ? Itane vero ? tantis in laboribus CJ. Marius, periculisque vixisset, si nihil longius, quam vitx termini postulabant, spe atque animO de se et gloria sua cogi- tasset ? at credo, cum innumerabiles hostium copias in Italia fudisset, atque obsidione rempub. liberasset, omnia sua secum una moritura arbitrabatur. Non est ita, Quirites ; neque quis- quam nostrum in reipub. periculis cum laude ac virtute versa- tur, quin spe posteritatis fructuque ducatur. Itaque cum mul- tis aliis de causis, virorum bonorum mentes divinae mihi, atque xternae videntur esse, turn maxime quod optimi et sapientissimi cujusque animus ita prsesentit in posterum, ut nihil, nisi sempi- ternum spectare videatur. Quapropter equidem et C. Marii, ct Caeterorum virorum sapientissimorum, ac fortissimorum ci- vium mentes, quae mihi videntur ex hominum vita ad deorum religionem et sanctimoniam demigrasse, testor, me pro illorum fama, gloria, memoria, non secus ac pro patriis fanis atque de- lubris propugnandum putare ; ac si pro illorum laude mihi arma capienda essent, non minus strenue caperem, quam illi pro communi salute ceperunt. Etenim Quirites, exiguum nobis vitae cirriculum natura circumscripsit, immensum gloriae. XI. Quare si eos, qui jam de vita decesserunt, ornabimus ; justiorem nobis mortis conditionem relinquemus. Sed si illos, Labiene, quos jam videre non possumus, negligis ; ne his quidem, quos vides, consuli putas oportere ? neminem esse dico ex iis omnibus qui illo die Romae fuerint, quern til diem in judicium vocas, pubesque turn fuerint, quin arma ceperit, quin consules secutus sit ; omnes ii, quorum tu ex aetate conjecturam (ao) Sijides Saturnino data est,] Saturninus having retired to the capitol, Marius in- rested it, and the sooner to compel him to a surrender, ordered the pipes that supplied it with water to be cut. This in a short time obliged him to think of submitting to the consul?, who promised t« protect him from violence, and procure him a fair trial. He was for this purpose confined in the senate-house, but the people forcibly breaking m massacrecd him with all his associates. (21) <$u'idjtim ista.} It began to be a prevailing notion at that time, that death was the utter annihilation of man, and that neither honor nor disgrace reached beyond the grave Cicero here declares himself an enemy to these principles, which were first publicly maintained by Epicurus, and found but too many favourers both among the Greeks and Roman*. CICERCTS ORATIONS. Ill punishment can be divised for those who commanded him to«take up arms ? And if the public faith was plighted to Saturninus, as you frequently affirm ; it was plighted, not by C Rabirius, but by.C. Marius ; and to him the violation must be ascribed, if any such can be made appear. But how, Labienus, could the public faith be plighted, without a decree of the senate ? Are you so much a stranger to this city, so unacquainted with our laws and customs, as to be ignorant of the common practice in this respect ? Sure one would take you for a sojourner hi some foreign state, not a person bearing a magistracy in your own. But what harm, says he, can these reproaches do to C Marius, who now ceases to live, and is no more ? And is this in reality your way of thinking ? Would C. Marius have lived in perpetual toils and dangers, if he had conceived no hopes concerning himself and his glory, beyond the limits of this life ? When he defeated those innumerable enemies in Italy, and saved the republic, did he imagine that every thing which re- lated to him would die with him ? No : it is not so, citizens ; there is not one of us who exerts himself with praise and virtue in the dangers of the republic, but is induced to it by the ex- pectation of a futurity. As the minds of men therefore seem to be divine and immortal for many other reasons, so especially for this, that in all the best and the wisest there is so strong a sense of something hereafter, that they seem to relish nothing but what is eternal. I appeal then to the souls of C Marius, and of all those wise and worthy citizens, who, from this life of man, are translated to the honours and sanctity of the gods ; I call them, I say, to witness, that I think myself bound to fight for their fame, glory, and memory, with as much zeal, as for the altars and temples of my country ; and if it were necessary to take arms in defence of their praise, I should take them as strenuously, as they themselves did for the defence of our com- mon safety. For nature has circumscribed life within narrow limits, but proposes to us a boundless race of glory. Sect. XI, If then we honour those who have lived before us, we leave a just claim to be honoured in our turn by posterity. But if, Labienus, you are unconcerned about those whom we can now behold -no more ; ought you not at least to show some regard to those who are present before our eyes ? I will ven- ture to affirm, that of all those in this assembly, who were at Rome on the day which you impeach, and of an age to bear % part in the transactions of it, there is not a man who did not take up arms, and follow the party of the consuls. Yet all these, whose number you may compute from their ages, are capitally impeached by you in the person of C. Rabirius, for iVZ M. T. CICEKONIS ©RATIONES. facere potes, quid turn fecerint, abs te rei capitis, C. Rabirii no- mine citantur. At occidit Saturninum Rabirius ; utinam fecis- set; non supplicium deprecarer, sed premium postularem. Etenim si Scscvae, servo Qu. Crotonis, qui occidit L. Saturninum, libertas data est ; quod Equiti Rom. premium dari par fuisset ? et si C. Marius, quod fistulas, quibus aqua suppeditabatur Jovis Optimi Maximi templis ac sedibus, prxcidi imperarat, quod in clivo.Capitolino improborum civium, 4 . De- $imt^ ut videtur^ non pauca. CICERO'S ORATIONS. 113 what they did that day. But Rabirius gave Saturninus the mortal blow. I wish he had : I should then be soliciting a re- ward, not an exemption from punishment. For if Scaeva, the slave of Q. Croto, was rewarded with freedom for having killed Saturninus ; what recompence might not a Roman knight ex- pect ? And if C Marius, for ordering the pipes to be cut that supplied the temple of the great Jupiter with water, because the capitol was in the hands of profligate citizens, . . . - '.*• The rest of this oration is lost* ORATIO IV. i. IN L. CATILINAM*. I. QUOUSQUE tandem abutere, Catilina, patientia nos- tra ? quamdiu etiam furor iste tuus nos eludet ? quern ad finem sese effrenata jactabit audacia ? nihil-ne (*) nocturnum presidium palatii, nihil urbis vigiliae, nihil timor populi, nihil consensus bonorum omnium, nihil hie munitissimus habendi senatus locus, nihil horum ora vultusque moverunt ? patere tust • L. Sergius Catiline was af Patrician extraction, and kad sided with Sylla, dur- ing the civil wars between him and Marius. Upon the expiration of his prxtorship, he was sent to the government of Africa ; and after his return, was accused of mal-admin- xstration by P. Clodius, under the consulship of M. Emiiius Lepidus, and L. Volcatius Tullus. It is commonly believed, that the design of the conspiracy was formed about this time, three years before the oration Cicero here pronounces against it. Catiline, after his return from Africa, had sued for the consulship, but was rejected. The two following years he likewise stood candidate, but still met with the same fate. It ap- pears that he made a fourth attempt, under the consulship of Cicero, who made use of all his credit and authority to exclude him, in which he succeeded to his wish. After the picture Salust hasdrawn of Cataline, it were needless to attempt his character here ; besides that the four following orations will make the reader sufficiently acquainted with it. The first speech was pronounced in the senate, convened in the temple of Jupiter Stator, on the eighth of November, in the sixth hundred and ninth year of the city, and the forty-fourth of Cicero's age. The occasion of it was as follows : Catiline* and the other conspirators, had met together in the house of one Marcus Lecca; where it was resolved, that a general insurrection should be raised through Italy, the different parts of which were assigned to different leaders ; that Catiline should put him- self at the head of the troops in Etruria ; that Rome should be fired in many place s at once, and a massacre begun at the same time of the whole senate and all their enemies, of whom none were to be spared except the sons of Pompey, who were to be kept as hostages of their peace and reconciliation with the father ; that in the con- sternation of the fire and massacre, Catiline should be ready with his Tuscan army to take the benefit of the public confusion, and make himself master of the city ; where JLentulus in the mean while, as first in dignity, was to preside in their general councils ; Cassius to manage the affair of firing it; Cethegus to direct the massacre. But the vigi- lance of Cicero being the chief obstacle to all their hopes, Catiline was very desirous to see him taken off before he left Rome ; upon which two knights of the company un- dertook to kill him the next morning in his bed, in an early visit on pretence of busi- ness. They were both of his acquaintance, and used to frequent bis house, and knowing kis custom of giving free access to all, made no doubt of being readily admitted, as C. Cornelius, one of the two, afterwards confessed. The meeting was no sooner f senatorial rank, to send hirrfa punctual account of all their deliberations. He pre- sently imparted his intelligence to some of the chiefs of the city, who were assembled that evening, as usual, at his house, informing them not only of the design, but nam- ing the men who were to execute it, and the very hour when they wOuld be at his gate ; all which fell out exactly as he foretold ; for the two knights came before break of day ; but had the mortifkation to find the house well guarded, and all admittance refused to them. Next day Cicero summoned the serrate to the tempie of Jupiter in the capitol, where it was not usually held but in times of public alarm* There had ieen several debates before this on the same subject of Catiline's treasons, and his de- sign of killing the consul; and a decree had passed at the motion of Cicero, to offer a public reward to the first" discoverer of the plot ; ifaslave, his liberty, and eight hun- dred pounds ; if a citizen, his pardon, and sixteen hundred. Yet Catiline, by a pro* found dissimulation, and the constant professions of his innocence, still deceived many of all ranks ^ representi j the whole as the fiction of his enemy Cicero, and offering to> give security for his behaviour, and to deliver himself to the custody of any whom the senate would name ; of M.Lepidus, of the prcetor Metellus, or of Cicero himself : but none of them would receive him ; and Cicero plainly told him, that he should never think himself safe in the same house, when he was in danger by living in the same city with him. Yet he still kept on the mask, and had the confidence to come to this very meeting in the capitol, which so shocked the whole assembly, that none even of hi.* ac- quaintance durst venture to salute him ; and the consular senators quitted that part of the house in which he sat and left the whole bench clear to him. Cicero was so pro- voked by his impudence, that instead of entering upon any business, as he designed, ad- dressing himseif Jirectly to Catiline, he broke out into the present most severe invective agains: him ; and with ail the fire and force of an incensed eloquence, laid open the whole course of his \illanies, and the notoriety of his treasons. (i) Nocturnum presidium paiatii.] The Romans had no standing array at this time, nor any regular guards within the city ; but on the discovery of this conspiracy, they had placed a strong garrison in the Palatium, which was the highest hill in Rome, and served as a citadel. At the same time, they ordered several parties to patrole through the streets, under the command of the jediles, and other inferior magistrates to prevenf. ah* conspirator* setting fire to the city in the ni^ht. 116 M. T. CICERONIS ORATIONES. eonsilianon scntis ? constrictam jam omnium horum conscientil teneri conjurationem tuam non vides . ? quid proxima, quid su- tteriore noctc egeris, ubi fueris, quos convocaveris, quid consi- lii ceperis, quern nostrum ignorare arbitraris ? O tempora ! 6 mores ! Senatus hsec intelligit, consul videt : hie tamen vivit ; vivit ? imo vero etiam in Senatum venit : fit publici consilii par- ticeps : notat, et designat oculis ad caedem unumquemque nos- trum. Nos autem viri fortes satisfacere reipublicx videmur, si istitts furorem ac tela vitemus\ Ad mortem te, Catilina, duci jussu consulis jampridem oportebat: in te conferri pestem istam, quam tu in nos omnes jamdiu machinaris. An vero vir amplis- simus, P. Seipio, pontifex maximus, TibJ Gracchum mediocri- ter iabefactantem statum reipublicae privatus interfecit : Catili- nam vero orbem terras casde atque incendiis vastare cupientem tios consules perferemus ? nam ilia nimis antiqua preetereo, (2) quod Q. Servilius Ahala Sp. Melium novis rebus studentem manu sua occidit. Fuit, fuit ista quondam in hac republic! vir- tus, ut viri fortes acrioribus suppliciis civem perniciosum, quam acerbissimum hostem ccercerent. (3) Habemus enim senatus- ' consultum in te, Catilina, vehemens et grave : non deest reipub- licse consilium, neque auctoritas hujus ordinis : nos, nos, dico aperte, consules desumus. -s ll. Decrevit quondam Senatus ut %j* Opimus Cos. vederet, ne quid respublica detrimenti caperet : nox nulla intercessit ; inter- fectus est propter quasdam seditionum suspiciones C. Gracchus r clarissimo patre natus, avis, majoribus : occisus est cum liberis (4) M. Fulvius^ consularis. Simili senatusconsulto, C. Mario (%) <%uod <$K Servilius Ahala Sp. Melium.'] When the city of Rome was afflicted ■with a great famine, Sp. Melius, a Roman knight, the richest man in the city, bought tip great quantities of corn throughout Tuscany, and freely distributed it among the poorer citizens. This gained their affection, and encouraged Melius to aspire to the sovereign power. T, Quinctius Cincinnatus, being named dictator by the senate, te crufh Melius, sent his general of the horse, Q^ Servilius Ahala, to summon him to appear at his tribunal, to answer the accusations brought against him. Melius refu- sing t» come, and calling the mob to his assistance, Servilius ran him through the bo- dy, and thus stopped his ambitious designs. This happened in the three hundred and fourteenth year of Rome, which was three hundred and seventy-six years before Cice- ro's consulship. (3) Habemus enim senatus consul turn in te, Catilina^ vehemens et grave !\ The Roman con- *uls had a very small share of the executive authority in their hands : they were obli- ged, on every occasion, to lay the afTair before the senate, whose orders they were o* biiged to execute. But in extraordinary cases, the senate made an act, that the consuls ahould take care that the commonwealth received no detriment ; by which words they gave absolute power to the consuls to raise armies, and do whatever they thought pro- per for the public interest, without having recourse to the fenate's advice. By thif they were in effect created dictators; so that Cicero had at this time sufficient power to feiae Catiline and his accomplices, and try them, without calling a fenate: but he- chofe not to exert his authority, to avoid the odium which might be caft, upon him, asd for other rtaCons, laid down in the femiel of this oration. i I CICF.RO'S ORATIONS. 117 nity guar ds ? nothing by the consternation of the people ? no- thing; by the union of all the wise and worthy citizens \ nothing by the senate's assembling in this place of strength ? nothing by the looks and countenances of all here present . ? Seest thou not that all thy designs are brought to light ? that the senators are thoroughly apprized of thy conspiracy I that they are ac- quainted with thy last night's practices; with the practices of the night before ; with the place of meeting, jhe company summoned together, and the measures concerted i^Llas, for our degeneracy! alas, for the depravity of the tinres ! The senate is apprized of all this, the consul beholds it ; yet the traitor Jives. |Lives ! did I say? he even comes into the senate ; he shares in the public deliberations ; he marks us out with his eye for destruction. V~While we, bold in our country's cause! think we have sufficiently discharged our duty to the state, if we can but escape his rage and deadly darts. Long since, O Catiline, ought the consul to have ordered thee for execution ; and pointed upon thy own hjefad that ruin thou hast been long med- itating against us all. /Could that illustrious citizen, Publius Scipio, sovereign pontiff, but invested with no public magistracy, kill Tiberius Gracchus for raising some slight commotions in the commonwealth ; and shall we consuls suffer Catiline to live, who aims at laying waste the world with fire and sword ? /I omit, as too remote, the example of Q. Servilius Ahala, who with his own hand slew Spurius Melius, for plotting a revolu- tion in the state. Such, such was the virtue of this republic in former times, that her brave sons punished more severely a factious citizen, than the most inveterate public enemy. We have a weighty and vigorous decree of the senate against you, Catiline : the commonwealth wants not wisdom, nor this house authority : but we, we the consuls, I speak it openly, are wanting in oar du ) . Sect. II. A decree once -passed in the senate, enjoining the consul L. Opimins to take care that the commonwealth re- ceived no detriment. The very same day Cains Gracchus was killed for some slight suspicions of treason, though descended of a father, grandfather, and ancestors, all eminent for their services to the state. Marcus Fulvius too, a man of consular (4) M. Fulvius^ c-onsirfarh.'] This man, though formerly a consul, joined with Cai- ns Gracchus in his attempt to divide the lands, and was named one of the three com- -missioners for that purpose. They went on for some time, carrying every thing before them in the assemblies of the people, in spite of the your most se- cret counsels are clear as noon-day : as you may easily ga- ther, from the detail I am now to give you.*7 You may remem- ber that on the nineteenth of October lasr, I said publicly in the senate, that before the twenty-fifth of the same month, therefore is, that he order him to be put to death, no sincere lover of his coun- try would ch .-uelty, but r^jher think, he ought to have done it sooncfr 130 tf . T. C1CERONIS OKATIONES. atque administrum tuac ? (7) num me fefellit, Catiliria, non modi res tanta, tarn atrox, tarn incredibilis, verum id quod multo ma- gis est admirandum, dies ? Dixi ego idem in senatu, eaedem te ©ptimatum contulisse in ante diem v.Kal.lN T ovembris,tum, cum fcuilti principes civitatis Roma, non ta«i sui conservandi, quam tuorum consiliorum reprimendorum causa, profugerunt. Num inficiari potes, te illo ipso die meis prssidiis, mea diligentia cir- cumclusum, commovere te contra rempublicam non potuisse, cum tu discessu cseterorum, nostra tamen, qui remansissemus, caede contentum te esse dicebas. Quid ? cum te Praneste Kalend. ipsis Novemb. occupaturum nocturno impetu esse confideres ; sensisti- neillam coloniam meo jussu, meispnesidiis, custodiis, vigiliisque esse munitam ? nihil agis, nihil moliris, nihil cogitas, quod ego , Hon modo non audiam, sed etiam non videam, planeque sentiam. i IV. Recognosce tandem mecum illam superiorem noctem ; jam intelliges multo me vigilare acrius ad salutem, quam te ad pcrniciem reipublic*. Dico te priori nocte venisse (8) inter JPalcarios (non agam obscure) in M. Leccas doraura : convenisse eodem complures ejusdem amentise scelerisqj^e socios ; num ne- gare audes ? quid taces ? convincam, si negas ; video enim esse hie in senatu quosdam, qui tecum una fuere. lO dii immor- tales ! ubinam gentium sumus ? quam rempub. habemus .? in qua urbe vivimus ? hie, hie sunt, in nostro numero, P. C. in hoc orbis terrse sanctissimogravissimoque consilio, qui de meo, nos- trumque omnium intuitu, qui de hujus urbis, atque adeo orbis terrarum exitio cogitefit ; hosce ego yideo consul, et de rep. sententiam rogo : et qubs ferro trucidari oporte-bat, eos non- dum voce vulnero. Fuisti igitur apud Leceam ea nocte, Catilina : distribuisti partes Italie : ,statuisti quo quemque proficisci pla- ceret : delegisti quos Romse relinqueres, quos tecum educeres : tlescripsisti urbis partes ad incendia : connrmasti, te ipsum jam esse exiturum : dixisti paululum tibi esse etiam turn morse, quod ego viverem. (9) Reperti sunt duo equite. Romani qui (7) Nummefefcllit.~\ Cicero here intimates, that he was perfectly acquainted with ill Catiline's de igns ; and we learn from Sallust, that he had his intelligence from Ful- ▼ia. with whom Curius, a conspirator of senatorian rank, had an intrigue, and t© whom he disclosed all the counsels of the conspiracy. (8) Inter Faleatm. J This is by some translated the street of reapers ; by others, the •treet of armourers for venisse inter Falcarios, denotes the same, as venisse in locum ubi sunt Faicarii ; and the word may be interpreted either way. (9) Reperti sunt duo equites Romani.) \uthors differ much as to the names of these two knights. Sallust mentions C. Corneiius a Roman knight, and L, Varguntems a •enator ; in which he disagrees with Cicero, who says they were both knii hts. Plu- tarch. name3 them Marcius and Cethegus. But in this he must certainly have been Kiitaken, since Cicero elsewhere expressly aiiirai?, that Cornelius was one of thsnx i cicero's orations. iJU C Manlius, the confederate and creature of your guilt, would appear in arms. Was I deceived, Catiline, I say not as to this enormous, this detestable, this improbable attempt ; but, which is still more surprising, as to the very day on which it hap- pened ? I said likewise, in the senate, that you had fixed tlwf twenty-sixth of the same month for the massacre of our nobles, which induced many citizens of the first rank to retire from Rome, not so much on account of their own preservation, as with a view to baffle your designs. Can you deny, that on that very same day you was so beset by my vigilance, and the guards I placed about you, that you found it impossible to at- tempt any thing against the state : though you had given out, after the departure of the rest, how you would nevertheless content yourself with the blood of those that remained^ Nay, when on the first of November, you confidently hoped to sur- prise Praeneste by night, did you not find that colony secured by my orders, and the guards, officers, and garrison I had ap- pointed ? There is nothing you either think, contrive, or at-> tempt, but what I both hear, see, and plainly understand. f Sect. IV. Call to mind only, in. conjunction with me, the transactions of last night. You will soon perceive, that I am much more active in watching over the preservation, than you in plotting the destruction of the state. I say then, and say it openly, that last night you went to the house of M. Lecca, iif the street called the Gladiators ; that you was met there by: numbers of your associates in guilt and madness. Dare von deny this ? why are Vou silent ? If you disown the charge, I will prove it : for I see some in this very assembly, who were of your confederacy*^ Immortal gods ! what country do we inhabit ? what city do we belong to ? what government do we live under ? Here, here, conscript fathers, within these walls,, and in this assembly, the most awful and venerable upon earth, there are men who meditate my ruin and yours ; the destruc- tion of this city, and consequently of the world itself. Myself, your consul, behold these men, and ask their opinions on public affairs; and instead of dooming them to immediate execution, do not so much as wound them with my tongue. You went then that night, Catiline, to the house of Lecca ; you cantoned out all Italy ; you appointed the place to which every one was to. repair ; you singled out those who were to be left at Roimr, and those who were to accompany you in person ; you marked out the parts of the city destined to conflagration ; you de- ll i$ true, Cornelius was a name also belonging to Cethegus ; but it is evident that thd. C. Cornelius here spoken of was a quite different person from C- Cornelius Cethegus., For Cethegus was strangled in pmon, but this Cornelius wa« alive at the time when £iccro defended P. Sylla. And here, as it ie sometimes of great importance to detect the e«or6 of learned men, to prevent others from falling into the »me Jsutfakez* I ca«- 122 M. T. CICERONIS ORATIONES. te isia cura liberarent, et sese ilia ipsa noctc paulo ante Ixicem me in meo lectulo interfecturos pollicerentur. Usee ego omnia rix dum etiam ccetu vestro dimisso, comperi : domum meam majoribus prcesidiis muniviy atque firmavi ; exclusi eos, quos tu mane ad me salutatum miseras,- cum illi ipsi venissent, quos «go jam multis viris ad me venturos id temporis esse praeclixeram. V. Quie (*o) cum ita sint, Catilina, perge quo ceepisti : egre-f dere'aliquando ex urbe : patent port?e, proficiscere : nimium diu te imperatorem ilia tua Manliana castra disiderant ; educ tecum etiam omnes tuos ; si minusy quamplurimos : purga urbem ; magno me metu liberabis, dummodo inter me atque te murlis intersit ; nobiscum versari jam diutius non potes : non feram, non patiar, non sinam. Magna diis immortalibua habenda est gratia, atque huic ipsi Jovi Statori, aritiquissimo* custodi hujus urbis, quod hanc tarn tetram, tarn horribilem, tamque infestam reipublicse pestem toties jam effugimus. Non est ssepius in uno homine salus summa periclitanda reipublicstf. Quamdiu mihi, consuli designate, Catilina, insidiaius es, non publico me prsesidio, sed privata diligenti* defendi ; cum proximis comitiis consularibus me consulem in campo, et com- petitores tuos interficere voluisti, compressi tuos nefarios cona- tus amicorum prsesidio et copiis, nullo tumultu publice conci- tato;: denique quotiescumque me petisti, per me tibr obstiti : quamquam videbam perniciem meam cum magna calamitate reipublicse esse conjunctam. IVunc jam aperte rempublicam universam petis ; templa deorum immortalium, tecta urbis, vitam omnium citium, Italiam denique totani, ad exitium et vastitatem vocas, Quare quoniam .idj quod pi i mum, atque hujus imperii, disciplin?eque Majorum proprium est, facere non audeo ; faciam id quod est ad severitatem lenius, et ad com- m-unem salutem utilius ; nam si te interfici jussero, resides bit in republica reliqua conjuratorum manus : sin tu, quod te jamdudum hortor. exieris ; exhaurietur ex urbe tuorum comi* aot forbear observing, that Appian, in his account of this transaction, has committed' three unpardonable blunders. First, he tells us, that this resolution wa3 not taken, till after Catiline had left the city, Secondly, he makes the two persons who under- took to kill Cicero to be P. Lentulus, and C Cethegus. Eut Cicero surely would ne- ver have called them two Roman knights, had Lentulus, at that time prsetor, been one of them. The third error committed by Appian is, in saying that Cethegus was prajtor ; according to which both the assassins must have been of senatorian rank. But it is apparent, that Cethegus Was not pneror at this time, otherwise the formality ob- ved with respect to Lentuluv of obliging him to abdicate that magistracy, before he was put to death, would likewise have been practised in the case of Cethegus. But ;his we no where. readLof; nor was it, 1 believe, ever suggested by any but the above- r»entioned writer. ( io } $>jjg cum ita sint.) The force of the argument lies in this, that as all his coun- ■sis and treasonable designs were discovered, it was to ao purpose for hira ta continue cicero's oratioks. 1&3 dared your purpose of leaving it soon, and said you only Waited a little to see me taken off. Two Roman knights un- dertook to ease you of that care, and assassinate me the same night in bed before day-break. Scarce was your assembly dis- missed, when I was, informed af all this : I ordered an addi- tional guard to attend, to secure my house from assault ; I re- fused admittance to those whom you sent to compliment me in the morning ; and declared to mam worthy persons before- hand, who they were, and at what time I expected them. Sect. V. Since then, Catiline, such is the state of your af- fairs, finish what you have begun ; quit the city ; the gates are open ; nobody opposes your retreat. The troops in Manlius's camp long to put themselves under your command. Carry with you all vour confederates : if not all, at least as many as possible. Purge the city : it will take greatly from my fears, to be divided from you by a wall. You cannot pretend to stay any longer with us : I will not bear, will not suiter, will not al- low of it. .Great thanks are due to the immortal gods, and ciieiny to thee, Jupiter Stator, the ancient protector of this city, for having already so often preserved us from this dangerous, this destructive, this pestilent scourge of his country. The supreme safety of the commonwealth ought not to be again and again exposed to danger for the sake of a single man. While I was only consul elect, Catiline, I contented myself with guarding against your many plots, not by a public guard, but by my private vigilance. When at the last election of consuls, you had resolved to assassinate me, and your competitors in the field ol Mars, I defeated your wicked purpose by the aid of my friends, without disturbing the public peace-. In a word, as often as you attempted my life, I singly opposed your fun" , though I well saw, that my death would necessarily be attended with many signal calamities to the stated J3ut now you openly strike at the very being of the republic. The temples of the immortal gods, the mansions of Rome, the lives of her citizens, and all the provinces of Italy, are doomed to slaughter and devestation. Since therefore I dare not pursue that course, which is most agreeable to ancient discipline, and the genius of the commonwealth, I will follow another, less severe indeed as to the criminal, but more useful in its consequences to the pub- lic. For should I order you to be immediately put to death, the commonwealth would still harbour in its bosom the other con- spirators t but by driving you from the citv, I sin r Rome longer in the city, where he must necessarily expect to sec all his measures d-f The best course therefore he could take, both for his own safety, and to give vigour to his other designs, was to leave the city, where his presence could no Uwiger ^e ol service. Cicero, in this whole expostulation, makes use of short, abrv.brj aud imper- fect sentences ; a language peculiarly adapted to inspire tern*, and give force to com- mand, 124 M. T. CICERONIS ORATIOtfES. turn magna et pcrniciosa sentina reipublkfc. tyuid est, Cati^ fina ? nuiti dubjtas id, me imperante, facere, quod jam tua- sponte faciebas ? exire ex urbe consul hostem jubet j. interrogas me, num in exsilium ? non jubeo : sed, si mc consulis, suadeo. VL (ix) Quirlenim, Catilina, est, quod te jam in hac urbe delcctare pos.sit, in qua nemo est extra islam conjurationem per- ditorum hominum, qui te non metuat, nemo qui te non oderit I quas nota domestical turpitudinis non inusta vit?c tuse est ? quod privatarum rerum dedecus non hairet infamse ? quae libido ab oculis, quod facinus a manibus unquam tuis, quod flagitium a toto corpore abfuit ; cui tu adolescentulo, quern corruptelarum iUecebris irretivisses* non ai.it ad audaciam 'ferrum, aut ad libi- dinem facem pnetulisti ? quid vero ? nuper, cum morte superioris uxoris, novis nuptiis domum vacuam fecisses, non-ne etiam alio incredibili scelere hoc scelus cumulasti ? quod ego prartermitto, et facile patior sileri, ne in hac civitate tanti facinoris immanitas aut extitisse aut non vindicate esse videatur. Prs&termitto ruinas foitunarum tuarum, quas o nines impendere tibi proximis Idibus senties ; ad ilia venio, qu» non ad privatam ignominiam vitiorum tuorum, non ad domesticam tuam difficultatem ac turpitudinem, sed ad summam rempub. atque ad omnium nostrum vitam sa- lutemque pertinent* Potest-ne tibi hsec lux, Catilina, aut hujus coeli spiritus esse jucundus, ciim scias horum esse neminem, qui nesciat te (**) Pridie Kalendas Januar. Lepido et Tullo Coss* stetisse in Comitio cum telo ? manum,, consulum et principum civitatis interficiendoriim. causa, paravisse ? sceleri, ac furori tuo non mentem aliquam, aut timbrem tuum, sed fortunam reipub- licse obstitisse ? Ac jam ilia omitto : neque enim sunt aut ob- scura, aut non multapostea commissa; quoties tumedesignatum, quoties consulem interficere conatus es ? quot ego tuas petitione? ( 1 1 ) Quid enim, Catilina.'] He here lays aside the character of consul, and assume* that of a triend and adviser ; that what he afterwards says may not appear the result of hatred, but to flow from a compassion for Catiiine. He therefore counsels him to leave the city, as he could no longer hope for any real enjoyment of life in a place, where he hated every body, and was himself hated by all ; where he was continually encountering objects that excited his envy; where he was overwhelmed with an in- surmountable load of debt ; and where all the treasonable designs against the common- wealth were fully known. Yet this seeming friendly admonition contains at the same time a very bitter invective against Catiline. (12) Pridie Kalenda* Januariai.] In the consulship of M. Emilius Lepidus and L. Volcatius Tullus, P. Autronius and P. Cornelius Sylia were elected consuls for the year ensuing; but being convicted of bribery, they were deposed, and L. AurehV> Cotta, with L. Munlius Torquatus, chosen in their stead. Catiline, who had been convicted of extortion upon an accusation of P. CJodius, and forbid to stand candidate for the consulship, fired with indignation at the affront he had received, entered into a conspiracy with Autronius, Sylia, and several others of the nobility, to murder the consuls on the last day of December, reinstate those that had been deprived, and as- «nmf. the government of the commonwealth. Euc Crassus, one of the conspirators , CICEKo's ORATIONS. 123 -at once of all the whole baneful tribe of thy accomplices. How, Catiline ? Do you hesitate to do at my command, what you was so lately about to do of vour own accord ? The consul or- ders a public enemy to depart the city. You ask whether this be a real banishment ; I say not expressly so : but was I to ad- vise in the case, 'tis the best course you can take. Sect. TI. For what is there, Catiline' that can now give you pleasure in this city -? wherein, if we except the profligate crew of your accomplices, there is not a man but dreads and abhors you ? Is there a domestic stain from which your character is exempted ? Have you not rendered yourself infamous by every vice that can brand private life ? What scenes of lust have not your eyes beheld, what guilt has not stained your hands, what pollution has net defiled your whole bodv ? What youth, en- tangled by dice in the allurements of debauchery, hast thou not prompted by arms to deeds of violence, or seduced by incen- tives into the snares of sensuality ? And lately, when, by pro- curing the death of your former wife, you had made room is vour house for another, did you not add to the enormitv of that crime, by a new and unparalleled measure of guilt ? But I pass over this, and choose to let it remain in silence, that the memory of so monstrous a piece of wickedness, or at least of its having been committed with impunity, may not descend to posterity, I pass over -too the entire ruin of your fortunes, which you are sensible must befall you the very next month ; and shall proceed to the mention of such particulars, as regard not the infamy of your private character, nor the distresses and turpitude of your domestic life ; but such as concern the very being of the re- public, and the lives and safety of us all. Can the light of life, or the air you breathe, be grateful to you, Catiline ; when vou are conscious there is not a man here present but knows, that on the last of December, in the consulship of Lepidus and Tullus, you appeared in the Commitium with a dagger ? that vou had got together a band of ruffians, to assassinate the consuls, and the most considerable men in Home ? and that this execrable and frantic design was defeated, not by any awe or remorse in you, but by the prevailing good fortune of the people of Rome ? But I pass over those things, as being already well known : there are others of a later date. How many at- tempts have you made upon my life, since 1 was nominated consul, and since I entered upon the actual execution of that not coming to the assembly of the people that day, and Julius Cxsar, who was like- wise in the plot, not thinking proper to give the signal agreed upon, of letting his robe drop from his shoulder, the affair was put off to the fifth of February ; when again the project failed, through the too great eagerness of Catiline, v.b_;> g^ve the signal before all the conspirators were assembled, 126 M, T. CICERONIS ORATIONES. i conjectas, ut vitari posse non viderentur, parva quadam de- clinatione, et, ut aiunt, copore effugi ? nihil agis, nihil asse- queris, nihil moliris, quod mini latere valeat in tempore : neque Linen conari ac velle desistis. Quoties jam tibi extorta est sica , isla de manibus ? quoties vero exeidit casu aliquo, et elapsa est ? tamen ea carere diutius nonpotes; qu?e quidem quibus abs te initiata sacris ac devota sit, nescio, quod earn necesse putas Consulis in corpore defigere. VII. Nunc vero, qure tua est ista vita ? sic enim jam tecum loquar, non ut odio permotus esse videar, quo debeo ; sed ut misericordia, qua? tibi nulla debetur. Venisti paulo ante in Senatum ; quis te ex hac tanta frequentia, ex tot tuis amicis ac necessariis salutavit ? Si hoc post hominum memoriam con- tigit nemini, vocis expectas contumeliam, cum sis gravissimo judicio taciturnitatis oppressus ? Quid, quod adventu tuo ista subsellia vacua facta sunt ? quid, quod omnes consulares, qui tibi perssepe ad credem constituti fuerunt, simulatque assedisti, partem istam subselliorum nudam, atque inanem reliquerunt ? Quo tandem ammo hoc tibi ferendum putas ? Servi, mehercle mei, si me isto pacto metuerent, ut te metuunt omnes cives tui, domum meam relinquendam putarem : tu tibi urbem non ar- bitraris ? et, si me meis civibus injuria suspectum tarn graviter atque infensum viderem, carere me aspectu civium, quam in- festis oculis omnium conspici mallem : tu cum conscientia sce- lermn tuorum agnoscas odium omnium justum, et jam tibi diu bitum, dubitas, quorum mentesu sensusque vulneras, eorum aspectum prsesentiamque vitare ? >8i te parentes timerent, at- que odissent tui, neque eos ulla ratione placare posses, ut opi- nor, ab eorum oculis aliquo concederes : nunc te patria, quae communis est omnium nostrum parens, odit ac metuit ; et jamdiu de te nihil judicat,nisi de parricidio suo, cogitare : hu- jus tu neque auctoritatem verebere, neque judicium sequere, neque vim pcrtimesces ? quse tecum, Catilina, sicagit, et quo- mmodo tacita loquitur : Nullum jam tot annos facinus exstitit, i te : nullum fiagitium sine te : tibi uni multorum civium neces, tibi vexatio direptioque sociorum impunita fuit, ac li- bera : ( J 3) tu non solum ad negligendas leges et qu?estiones, ve- (13) Tu non solum a J negligendas leges — verum cliam ad evertendas.~\ He may be said to neglect the laws who aces directly contrary to them, and is not awed by the pun- C wherewith they threaten offenders. Again, we may confider him as an over- throw er of the laws, who, though manifeftly convicted of breaking them, yet by his credit ar.d addrefs, finds mean <> to fnatch himself from the hands of juftice. Catiline : apd the proofs were very flagrant ; yet both times he had the ad« ft puniibraent. «rci~ & ORATIONS. 127 ©like ? How many thrusts of tiaine, so well aimed that they ceemed unavoidable, have I parried by an artful evasion, and, as they term* it, a gentle deflection of body ? You attempt, you contrive, you set on foot nothing, of which I have not timely information : yet you cease not to concert,/ and enterprise. How often, has that dagger been wrested out of thy hands I How often by some accident, has it dropped before the mo- ment of execution ?■ Yet you cannot resolve to lay it aside. How or with what rites you have consecrated it, is hard to say, that you think yourself thus obliged to lodge it in the bosom of a consul. Sect. VII. "What are we to think of your present situation and conduct ? For I will now address you, not with the detest- ation vour actions deserve, but with a compassion to which you have no just claim. JyYou came some time ago into the senate. Did a single person of this numerous assembly, not excepting vpur most intimate relations and friends, deign to salute you ff If there be no instance of this kind in the memory of man, do you expect that 1 should embitter with reproaches, a doom confirmed by the silent detestation of all present ? Were not the benches where you sit forsaken, as soon as you was observed to approach them ? Hid not all the consular senators, whose destruction you have so often plotted, quit im- mediately the part of the house where you thought proper to place yourself i How are you able to bear all this treatment ? For my own part, were ray slaves to discover such a dread of me, as vour fellow-citizens express of you, I should think it neces- sary to abandon my own house : and do you hesitate about Reaving the city ? Was I even wrongfully suspected, and thereby rendered obnoxious to my countrymen ; I would sooner with- draw myself from public view, than be beheld with looks full of reproach and indignation. And do you, whose conscience tells you that vou are the object of an universal, a just, and a long-merited hatred, delay a moment to escape from the looks and presence of a people, whose eyes and senses can no longer endure you among them ? Should your parents dread and hate vou and be obstinate to all your endeavours to appease .them, vou would doubtless withdraw somewhere from their sight. But now vour country, the common parent of us all, hates and dreads vou, and has long regarded you as a parricide, intent upon the design of destroying her. And will you neither re- spect her authority, submit to her advice, nor stand in awe of her power £>Thus does she reason with you, Catiline ; and thus does she, in some measure, address you by her silence : Not an enormity has happened these many years, but has had thee for its author : not a crime has been perpetrated without thee : the murder of so many of our citizens, the oppression and plunder IfiS M. T. CICi, ->Vj T ' ATI ONES. a; ruin etiam ad evertendas, perrrmgendasque valuisti. Superiw ilia, quamquam ferenda non fudrunt, tamen, utpotui, tuli : nunc vero me totam esse in metu propter te unum : quidquid m.£ft puerit, Catilinam timeri : nullum videri contra me consilium ipiri posse, quod a tuo scelere abhorreat, non est ferendunn Quamobrem discede, atque liunc mi hi timorem eripe : si est verves, ne opprimar ; sin falsus, ut tandem aliquando timcre de- *irtam. Tllj' II fee si tecum, ut dixi,patrialoquatur, nonne impetrarc debeat, etiamsi vim adhibere non possit ? Quid, quod tu te ipse in custodiam dedisti? quid, quodvitandre suspicionis causa, apud M. Lepidum te habitare vellc dixisti ? a quo non receptus, etiam ad me venire ausus es ; atque ut domi mere te asservarem ro- gasti. Cum a me quoque id responsum tulisses, me nullo rnodo posse iisdem parietibus tuto esse tecujjfl, qui magno in periculo essem, quod iisdem moenibus contineremur ; ad Q. Metellum Prsetorem venisti : a quo repudiated, ad sodalcm tuum, virum optimum, M. Marcellum, demigrasti : quern tu videlicet et ad custodiendum te diligentissimum, et ad suspicandum sagacissi- mum, et ad vindicandum fortissimum fore putasti. Sed quam longe videtur a carcere atque a vinculis abesse debere, qui seip- suin jam dignum custodia judicaverit ? Qua? cum ita sint, Cati- lina ; dubitas, si hie emori sequo animo non potes, abire in ali- quas terras, etvitam istammultis suppliciis justis debitisqueerep- tam, fugse solitudinique mandare ? liefer, inquis, ad Senatum (id enim postulas), et, si hie ordo sibi placere decreverit, te ire in exsilium, obtemperaturum te esse dicis. Non referam id quod (m) abhorret a meis moribus : ettameH faciam, ut intel- ligas quid hi de te sentiant. Egredere ex urbe, Catilina, li- bera rempub. metu : in exsilium, si hanc vocem exspectas, pro- iiciscere. Quid est, Catilina ? ecquid attendis ? ecquid ani- madvertis horum silentium ? patiuntur : tacent : quid expectas auctoritatem loquentium, quorum voluntatem tacitorum per- spicis ? At si hoc idem huic adolesccr;ti optimo, P. Sextio, si fortissimo viro M. Marcello dixissem, jam mihi consuli hoc ipso in templo, jure optimo, Scnatus vim et manus intulisset ; de te autem, Catilina, cum quiescunt, probant : cum patiuntur, decernunt : cum tacent, clamant ; nequo hi solum, quorum (14) Abhorret a men moribus'] As Cicero was by his nature extremely averse to eve- ry thing that looked like stverity and cruelty, he industriously avoide ' bringing the matter before the senate, by whom he foresaw Catiline could not fail of being condem- ned. For though no sentence could exceed 'he measure of his crimes, yet our orator depart directly into banishment; By this step yoii will bring upon me an insupportable load of censure ; nor shall I be able to sustain the weight of the public indignation, skouidst thou, by order of the consul, retire into exile* But if you mean to advance my reputation and glory, march off with your abandoned crew of ruffians ; repair to Manlius ; rouze every desperate citizen to rebel ; (separate yourseli irom the worthy ; declare war against your country j triumph in your impious depredations }Hhat it may appear you was not forced by me into a foreign treason, but voluntarily joined your associates. But why should I urge you to this step, when I know you have already sent forward a body of armed men, to wait you at the i"orum Aurelium . ? when I know you have concerted and fixed a day with Manlius? when £ knOw you have sent off the silver eagle, that domestic shrine of vour impieties, which I doubt not will bring ruin upon you and your accomplices ? can you absent yourself longer from an idol to which you had re- course in every blood)' attempt ? and from whose altars that impious right hand was frequently transferred to the murder of your country men I a Itf2 M. T. CICER0NI3 ORATIONES. X. Ibis tandem aliquando, quo te jampridem tua Ista cupid'i- tas efFrenata a'c furiosa rapiebat ; neque enim tibi hsec res affert dolorem, sed quandam incredibilem voluptatein : ad hanc te amentiam natura peperit, voluntas exercuit, fortuna servavit ; nunquam tu non modd otium, sed ne bellum quidem, nisi nefa- rium concupisti ; nactus es ex perditis, atque ab omni non. modo fortuna, verum etiam spederelktis, confiatam improborum manum ; ijic tu qua lsetitia perfruere ? quibus gaudiis exsulta- bis ? quanta in voluptate bacchabere, cum in tanto numero tuorum neque audies virum bonum quemquam, neque videbis ? Ad hujus vita) studium meditati illi sunt, qui feruntur, labores tui : jacere humi non modo ad obsidendum stuprum, verum- etiam ad facinus obeundum : vigilare non solum ad insidiandum somno maritorum, verum etiam bonis occisorum. Habes ubi ostentes illam prseclaram tuam patientiam famis, frigoris, inopise rerum omnium ; quibus te brevi tempore confectum esse senties. Tantum profeci turn, cum te a consulatu repuli, ut exsui po- tius tentare, quam consul vexare rempub. posses : atque ut id, quod esset a te scelerate susceptum > latrocinium potiiis quam bellum nominaretur. XI. Nunc ut a me, P. C. quandam prope justam patriae querimoniam detester ac deprecer ; percipite, qua;so, diligenter quae dicam, et ea penitus animis vestris mentibusque mandate. Etenim si mecum patria, quae mihi vita mea multo est carior, si cuncta Italia, si omnis respub. loquatur : M. Tulli, quid agis l tu-ne eum, quern esse hostem comperisti, quern ducem belli futurum vides, quern exspectari imperatorem in castris hostium sentis, auctorem sceleris, principem conjurationis, evocatorem servorum et civium perditorum, exire patieris, ut abs te non emissus ex urbe, sed immissus in urbem esse videa- tur ? non-ne hunc in vincula duci, non ad mortem rapi, non summo supplicio mactari imperabr? ? Quid tandem imp edit te ? mos-ne majorum ? at perseepe ctfam privati in hac .repub. per- niciosos cives morte multarunt; an leges, qua; de civium Roman- orum supplicio rogata3 sunt l at nunquam in hac urbe ii, qui a repub. delecerunt, civium jura tenuerunt; an invidiam posterita- CICEHO's ORATIONS. :'. , ISS "Sect. X. Thus will you at length repair, whither your fran- tic and unbridled rage has long been hurrying you. Nor does this issue of thy plots give thee pain ; but, on the contrary, fills thee with inexpressible delight. Nature has formed you, inclination trained you, and fate reserved you for this desper- ate enterprize. You never took delight either in peace or war, unless when they were flagitious and destructive. You have got together a band of ruffians and profligates, not only utterly abandoned of fortune, but even without hope. With what pleasure will you enjoy yourself ? how will you exult ? how will you triumph ? when among so great a number of your associates, you shall neither hear nor see an honest man I To attain the enjoyment of such a life, have you exercised yourself in all those toils which are emphatically styled yours : your lying on the ground, not only in pursuit of lewd amours, but of bold and hardy enterprizes : your treacherous watchful- ness, not only to take advantage of the husband's slumber, but to spoil the murdered citizen. Here may you exert all that boasted patience of hunger, cold, and want, by which how- ever you will shortly find yourself undone. So much have I gained by excluding you from the consulship, that you can only, attack your country as an exile, not oppress her as a con- sul ; ?jid your impious treasons will be deemed the efforts, not of an enemy, but of a robber. Sect. XI. And now, conscript fathers, that I may obviate and remove a complaint, which my country might with some appearance of justice urge against me ; attend diligently to what I am about to say, and treasure it up in your minds and hearts. For should my country, which is to me much dearer than life ; should all Italv, should the whole state thus accost me, What are you about, Marcus Tulius ? Will you suffer a man to escape out of Rome, whom you have discovered to be a public enemy ? whom you see ready to enter upon a war against the state ? whose arrival the conspirators wait with impatience, that they may put themselves under his conduct ? the prime author of the treason ; the contriver and manager of the re- volt : the man who enlists all the slaves and ruin©d citizens he can find ; will you suffer him, I say, to escape ; and appear as one rather sent against the city, than driven from it ? will you not order him to be put in irons, to be dragged to execu- tion, and to atone for his guilt by the most rigorous punish- ment ? What restrains you on this occasion ? is it the custom of our ancestors ? But it is well known in this commonwealth, that even persons in a private station have often put pestilent citizens to death. Do the laws relating to the punishment of Roman citizens hold you in awe ? Certainly traitors against their country can have no claim to the privileges of citizens. 134 M« T. CICERONIS ORATION'ES. tis times ? prseclaram vero populo Rom. refers gratiam, qui te hominem per te cognitum, nulla commendatione majorum, tarn 'mature ad summum imperium per onmes honorum gradus ex- tulit, si propter invidiam, aut alicujus periculi metum, salutem civium tuorum negligis, Sed si quis est invidiam metus, num est vehementius severitatis ac fortitudinis invidia, quam inert ise, ac nequitice pertimescenda ? an cum bello vestabitur Italia, vexabuntur urbes, tecta ardebunt ; turn te non existimas invi- diam incendio conflagraturum ? XII. His e*go sanctissimis reipub. vocibus, et corum homi* num, qui idem sentiunt, mentibus pauca respondebo. (16) Kgo si hoc optimum factu judicarem, P. C. Catilinam morte multari, unius usuram horaj gladiatori isti ad vivendum non dedissem ; etenim si summi viri, et clarissimi cives, Saturnini, et Grac- chorum, et Flacci, et superiorum complurium sangine non modo se non contaminarunt, sed etiam honestarunt ; certe veren- dum mihi non erat, ne quid, hoc parricida civium interfecto, invidiam mihi in posteritatem redundaret. Quod si ea mihi maxime impenderet, tamen hoc animo semper fui, ut invidiam vittute partam, gloriam, non invidiam putarem. '(17) Quamquam nonnulli sunt in hoc ordine, qui aut ea qui© imminent, non vi- deant ; aut ea quse vident, dissimulent : qui spem Catilinee mol- libus sententiis aluerunt, conjurationemque nascentem non cre- dendo corroboraverunt : quorum auctoritatem secuti multi, now solum improbi, verum etiam imperiti, si in hunc animadvertis- sem, crudeliter et regie factum esse dicerent. Nunc intelligo, si iste, quo intendit, in Manliana castra pervenerit, neminem tarn stultum fore, qui non videat conjurationem essefactam : neminem tarn improbum, qui non fateatur. Hoc autem uno interfecto, intelligo hanc reip. pestem paulisper reprimi, non in perpetuum comprimi posse. Quod si se ejecerit, secumque suos eduxerit, et eodem cseteros undique collectos naufragos aggregaverit ; exstinguetur, atque delebitur, non modo haeclam adulta reipub!, pestis, verum etiam stirps, ac semen malorum omnium. (16) Ego, si hoc optimum.'] Cicero here explains his conduct, and the reasons on which it was founded. He had two things in his choice, either to put Catiline to death, or oblige him ro leave the city. The first of these, had it been for the interest of the Commonwealth, he declares himself ready to put in execution, whatever consequences might follow • for. says he, I have no reason to apprehend, that so beneficial and salu- tary a measure would draw upon me any envy ; and even supposing the worst to hap* pen, the glory of having preserved my country, would enable me to bear my misfor- tune with patience. But, adds he. there is no need of coming to this extremity; be- cause I hold it the safer way to drive him from the city. For, by putting him to death, I should only check the progress of the conspiracy for a time ; but in obliging him to leave the city, I shall 60on have it in my power to destroy him and all bis ac- complices. (17) ^jiamquam nonnulli sunt in hoc ordine~\ Caesar, Crassus, and others of the first yank, were suspected of being concerned in Catiline's conspiracy, and of wishing th&t CICERO S ORATIOSiS. 155 Are you afraid of the reproaches of poster it)* i A noble proof, indeed, of your gratitude to the Roman people, that you, a new man, who, without any recommendation from your an- cestors, have been raised by them through all the degrees of honour to sovereign dignity, should for the sake of any dan- ger to yourself, neglect the care of the public safety. But if censure be that whereof you are afraid, think which is to be most apprehended, the censure incurred for having acted with firmness and courage ; or that for having acted with sloth and pusillanimity t When Italy shall be laid desolate with war, her cities plundered, her dwellings on fire ; can you then hope to escape the flames of public indignation ? Sect. XII. To this most sacred voice of my country, and t# all those who blame me after the same manner, I shall make this short reply : That if I had thought it the most advisable to put Catiline to death, I would not have allowed that gladiator the use of one moment's life. For if, in former days, our great- est men, and most illustrious citizens, instead of sullying, have done honour to their memories, b}^ the destruction of Saturni- nus, the Gracchi, Flaccus, and many others ; there is no ground to fear, that by killing this parricide, any envy would lie upon me with posterity. Yet if the greatest was sure to befall me, it was always my persuasion, that envy acquired by virtue, was really glory, not envy. But there are some of this very order, who do not either see Hie dangers which hang over us, or else dissemble what they see ; who, by the softness of their votes, cherish Catiline's hopes, and add strength to the conspiracy by not believing it ; whose authority influences many, not only of the wicked, but the weak ; who, if I had punished this man as he deserved, would not have failed to charge me with acting cruelly and tyrannically. Now I am persuaded, that when he is once gone into Manlius's camp, wither he actually designs to go, none can be so silly as not to see^bat there is a plot ; none so wicked as not to acknowledge it s* whereas, by taking off him alone, though this pestilence woukrbe somewhat check- ed, it could not be suppressed ; but when he has thrown him- self into rebellion, and carried out his friends along with him, and drawn together the profligate and desperate from all parts of the empire, not only this ripened plague of the republic, but the very root and seed of all our evils, will be extirpated with him at once. it might succeed. These were cunning enough not to be present at ths meeting of the body of the conspirators, lets they should be discovered ; but they served Catiline, by maintaining that the whole conspiracy was a chimera of the consul's brain, or at most a design to be revenged on Cicero, for disappointing Catiline so often in his standing for jhe consulship 136 H. T. CICERONIS ORATIONlfS. XIII Etenim jamdiu, P. C. in his periculis conjurationis insi- diisque versamur : sed nescio quo pacto omnium scelerum, ac veteris furoris et audacise maturitas in nostri consulates tempus erupit. Quod si ex tanto latrocinio iste unus tolletur, videbi- mur fortasse ad breve quoddam tempus cura et metu esse rele- vati : periculum autem residebit, et erit inclusum penitus in venis, atque in visceribus reipublicee. Ut ssepe homines segri morbo gravi, cum sestu febrique jactantur, si aquam gelidam biberint, primd relevari videntur ; deinde mult 6 gravius vehementiusque afflictantur : sic hie morbus qui est in republica, relevatus istius poena, vehementius, vivis reliquis ingravescet. Quare, P. C. secedant improbi, secernant se a bonis, unum in locum congre- gentur; muro denique, id quod ssepe jam dixi, secernantur a nobis : desinant insidiari domi suae consuli, circumstare tribunal prsetoris urbani, obsidere cum gladiis curiam, malleolos et faces ad incendendam mbem comparare : sit denique inscriptum in fronte uniuscujusque civis, quid de repub* sentiat. Polliceor vobis hoc, P. C. tantam in nobis Coss. fore diligentiam, tantam in vobis auctoritatem, tantam in equitibus Rom. virtutem, tan- tam in omnibus bonis consensionem, ut Catalinse profectione omnia patefacta, illustrata, oppressa, vindicata esse videatis. (*8) Hisce omnibus, Catilina, cum summa reip. salute, et cum tua peste ac pernicie, cumque eorum exitio, qui se tecum omni see- lere, parricidioque junxerunt, proiiciscere ad impium helium ac nefarium. Turn tu, Jupiter, qui iisdein, quibus hsec urbs, auspiciis aRomuloes constitutus, quern Statorem hujus urbis, atque imperii vere nommamus, hunc, et hujus socios a tuis aris, cseterisque templis, a tectis urbis ac moenibus, a vita fortunis- que civium omnium arcebis : et omnes inimicos bonorum, hos- tes patriae, latrones Italise, scelerum feedere inter se ac nefaria societate conjunctos, setemis suppliers, vivos mortuosque mac- tab is. (18) Hitce omniius, Catilina.'] The heathens superstitiously observed whatever wal «aid on their undertaking a journey, or any enterprize. Some of the greatest men have laid aside an undertaking, or been encouraged in the pursuit of it, by a word dropt by chance. All the Roman historians, particularly Livy, are full of this ridiculous con- ceit. This solemn imprecation, therefore, pronounced by the consul, in the temple of "Jupiter Stator, was like the highest excommunication, and vijould be construed a bad omen to Catiline by all those of his audience, who had any regard for the religion of ♦heir country. eiCERO^S ORATIO'tf*- 337 Sect. XIII. It is now a long time, conscript fathers, that w& have trode amidst the dangers and machinations of this con- spiracy ; but I know not how it comes to pass, the full matu- rity of all those crimes, and of this long ripening rage and in- solence, has now broke out during the period of my consul- ship. Should he alone be removed from this powerful band of traitors, it may abate, perhaps, our '"fears and anxieties for a while ; but the danger will still remain^ and continue lurking in the veins and vitals of the republic./ For as men, oppressed with a severe fit of illness, and labouring under the raging heat of a fever, are often at first seemingly relieved by a draught of cold water ; but afterwards find the disease return upon them with redoubled fury : in like manner, this distemper which has seized the commonwealth, eased a littk by the punishment of this traitor, will from his surviving associates soon assume new force. Wherefore, "conscript fathers, let the wicked retire, let them separate themselves from the honest, let them rendez- vous in one place. In fine , as I have often said, let a wall be between them and us : let them cease to lay snares for the con- sul in his own fiouse^ to beset the tribunal of the city prsetor >; to invest the senate-house with armed ruffians, and to prepare fire-balls and torches for burning the city : in short, let every man's sentiments with regard to the public be inscribed on his forehead/ This I engage for and promise, conscript fathers r that by the dilligence of the consuls, the weight of your author- ity, the courage and firmness of the Roman knights, and the unanimity of all the honest, Catiline being driving from the city^ you shall behold all his treasons detected, exposed, crushed, and punished.. With these omens, Catiline, of all prosperity to* the republic, but of destruction to thyself, and all those who have joined themselves with thee in all kinds of parricide, go thy way then to this impious and abominable war : whilst thou, Jupiter, whose religion was established with the foundation of this city, whom we truly call Stator, the stay and prop cf this empire, wilt drive this man and his accomplices from, thy altars and temples, from the houses and walls of the city, from the lives and fortunes of us all ; and wilt destroy with eternal pun- ishments, both living and dead, all the haters of good men,, the enemies of their country, the plunderers of Italy, now confer derated in this detestable league and partnership ofvilxanvj i r-rrrxv-.- ORATIO V. 2. IN L. CATILINAM** I. TANDEM aliquando, QuiriteB, L. CatUiriam furenterrs fiudacia, scelus anhelantem, pestem fratrise nefarie molien* tern, vobis atque liuic urbi ferrum ftammamqu'e minitantem, ex urbe (x) vel ejecimus, vel emisimus, vel ipsum egredientem verbis prosecuti sumus. Abiit, excessit, evaslt, eruplt ; nulla jam pernicies a monstro lllo, atque pr'odig'io mcenibus ipsis intra mcenia comparabitur* Atque hune quideui unum hujus belli domestici duceni sine controversia vicimus ; non jam inter latera nostra sica ilia versabittir : non in campo, non in foro, non in curia, non denique intra domesticos parietes pertimescemus ; loco ille aiotus est, eum est ex urbe d.epuls-us ; pa-lam jam cum hoste, * Catiline, aftonifhed By the thunder of the laft fpeech, had little to fay for himfelf? 5n anfwer to it ; yet, with downcaft looks, and fuppliant voice, he begged of the fa- thers, not to believe too hastily what was faid againft him by an enemy ; that his birth and paft life offered every thing to him that was hopeful ; and it was not to be ima- gined that a man of patrican family, whofe anceftors, as well as himself, had given ma- ny proofs of their affection to the Roman people, fhould want tn overturn the govern- ment ; while Cicero, a ftranger, and late inhabitant of Rome, was fo zealous to pre- serve it. But as he was going on to give foul language, the senate interrupted him by a general outcry, calling him traitor and parricide : upon which, being furious and defperate, he declared again aloud what he had faid before to Cato, that fince he was circumvented and driven headlong by his enemies, he would qtiench the flame which was raifed about hira by the common ruin ; and fo ruflied out of the afTembly, As foon as he was come to his houfe, and began to reflect on what had p3ffed, perceiv- ing it in vain to diflemble any longer, he refolved to enter into action immediately^ before the troops of the republic were increafed, or any new levies made ; so that after a fhort conference with Lentulus, Cethegus, and the reft, about what had been con-" •erted in tho laft meeting, having given frefh orders and aflurances of his fpecdy re- turn at the head of a ftrong army, he left Rome that very night with a fmall retinue, to make the beft of his way towards Etruria. He no sooner difappeared than his friends gave out that he was gone into a voluntary exile at Marseilles ; which was in- dustrioufly spread through the city the next morning, to raife an odium upon Cicero for driving an innocent man into baniftiment, without any previous trial or proof of his guilt." But Cicero was too well informed of his motions to entertain any doubt a- bout his going to Manlius's camp, and into actual rebellion. He knew that he had sent thither already a great quantity of arms, and all the ensigns of military command. CICERO'S ORATIONS. 141 - In driving him from the city, we have forced his most ad- vantageous post. We shall now, without opposition, carry on a just war against an open enemy. We have effectually ruined the man, and. gained a glorious victory, by driving him from his secret plots into open rebellion. But how do you think is he overwhelmed and crushed with regret, at carrying away his -dagger unbathed in blood, at leaving the city before he had effected my death, at seeing the weapons prepared for our de- struction wrested out of his hands ; in a word, that Rome is still standing, and her citizens safe. He is now quite over- thrown, Romans, and perceives himself impotent and tlespised, often casting back his eyes upon this city, which he sees, with regret, rescued from his destructive jaws ; and which seems to me to rejoice for having disgorged, and rid herself of so pestilent a citizen. Sect. II. But if there be any here, who blame me for what lam boasting of, as you all indeed justly may, that 1 did not rather seize than send away so capital an enemy ; that is not my fault, citizens, but the fault of the times. Catiline ought long ago to have suffered the last punishment; the custom of our ancestors, the discipline of the empire, and the republic itself required it : but how many would there have been, who would not have believed what I charged him wkh ? How many who, through weakness, would never have imagined it ? how many who would even have defended him ? how many who, through wickedness, would have espoused his cause ? But had I judged that his death would have put a final period to all your dangers, I would long ago have ordered him to execution, at the hazard not only of public censure., but even of my life. )(But when I saw, that by sentencing him to the death he deserved, and before you were ail fully convinced of his guilt, I should liave drawn upon myself such an odium as would have ren- dered me unable to prosecute his accomplices ; I brought the matter to this point, that you might then openly and vigorously attack Catiline, when he was apparently become a public ene- my. What kind of an enemy I judge him to be, and how peared, that, as far as human caution could reach, he acted with tke utmost prudence in regard as well to his own, as to the public safety. (3) Ssd quam multos fu'use futath.} Cicero here mentions three kinds of men, whose envy and resentment he was like to incur, by proceeding to extremities against Catiline. First, such as looked upon him to be an enemy to Catiline, on account of the com- petition that had arisen between them about the consulship, where our orator had found him a very powerful rival. This induced them to consider what Cicero al- leged against him, as the groundless assertions of a man actuated by a principle of ha- tred. The second sort were those who really believed there was no conspiracy, nay were ready to defend Catiline, and weak enough to imagine him incapable of any such designs. The third sort were the wicked and profligate, wbo-fioped to reap advantage from the overthrow of the state and therefore wished welho the conspiracy, '2 M. T/CICERONIS ORATIONES. quklem ego hostem, Quirites, quam vehementer foris esse ti. r mendum putcm, licet hinc intelligatis, quod illud etiam molest© iero, quod ex urbe parum comitatus exierit. TJtinam ille prunes secum suas copias eduxisset. Tongillum mihi eduxit r quern amare in prsetexta cceperat : Publicium et Munatium, quorum ses alienum contractum in popina nullum reip. motum afferre poterat. I£eliquit quos viros . ? quanto alieno sere ? quam Valentes ? quam nobiles ? III. Itaque ego ilium exercitum, prae Gallicanis legionibus, et hoc delectu (4) quern in agro Piceno et Gallico Q. Metellus ha- buit, et his copiis quss a nobis quotidie comparantur, magno- pere contemno '.; coliectum ex senibus desperatis, ex agresti luxuria, exrusticis mendiculis, ex decoctoribus, ex iis qui va- dimonia deserere, quam ilium exercitum maluerunt : quibus ego non modo si aciem exercitus nostri, verum etiam si edictum prsetoris ostendero, concident. \ Hos, quos video volitare in foro, quos stare ad curiam, quos etiam in senatum venire ; qui nitent unguentis, qui fulgent purpura, mallem secum suos milites eduxisset ; qui si hie permanent, mementote non tarn rcitum ilium esse nobis, quam hos, qui exercitum deserue- runt, per times cendos. Atque hoc etiam magis sunt timendi, quod, quid cogitent, me scire sentiunt, neq'ue tamen permo- ventur. (5) Video, cui Apulia sit attributa, qui habeat Etruriam, qui agrum Ficenum, qui Gallicum, qui sibi has urbanas insidias cfedis, atque incendiorum depoposcerit : Omnia superioris noctis consilia ad me perlata esse sentiunt ; patefeci in senatu hesterno die : Gatilina ipse pertimuit, profugit ; hi quid ex- spectant ? nae illi vehementer errant, si illam me am pristinam, lenitatem perpetuam sperant futuram. IV. Quod exspectavi, jam sum assecutus, ut vos omnes fac-? tarn esse aperte conjurationem contra rempubl. videretis : nisi (4) G>uem inagro Piceno, et Gallico, ^_. Metellus.'] When the design of the conspi- racy came to be known, Q^Pompeius Rufus was sent to Capua, and Q^ Metellus Celea to Picenum, with commission to levy troops, and provide an army sufficient to repel the danger wherewith the state was threatened. This sufficiently explains Ci- cero's meaning with respect to the levies in Picenum. To understand what he far- ther says of the Gallic troops, the reader must be informed, that the senate having de- creed the provinces of Macedonia and Gaul to the two consuls of the present year, Macedonia fell to the lot of Cicero ; which being one of the most lucrative provinces of the empire, our orator resigned it to his colleage Antony ; who being overwhelmed with debt, and on that account suspected of favouring the conspiracy, was by this means drawn off from his old associates, and induced to act the part of a real friend to his country But neither did Cicero accept of Gaul, choosing rather to continue in Rome, and charge himself with the guardianship of the city. He therefore resigned his province to his friend Q^Metellus : and hence it is, that we find ^im so often -ring in his speeches, that he had rejected all the advantages of a provincial com- I, in the view of rendering himself more serviceable to the commonwealth. (5) Viieot cul Apulia sit attributa.} Sallust tells us, that Catiline, some time before, had sent Manlius to Foesulae, and the adjoining parts of Tuscany ; Septimius Camers to Ancona, and C Julius into Apulia, to make levies. But Cicero seems here to mean some persons of greater note , yet in Rome, who were to command in chief in those countries, whose names are net left us by any historians, except that Marcus Cseparius is said, in the third oration against Catiline, to have been named to raise the shepherds in Apulia. Lentulus,Cethegus, Statillus, and Cassius, undertook to fire the city, and mur- der their fiercest enemies ; particularly, Cethegus promised to despatch Cicero, and even ciFered with a small force,to attack the senate-house, and to cut off all the senate at odcs ? CICERCTS ORATIONS. 143 formidable in his attempts, you may learn from hence, citizens, that I am only sorry he went off with so few to attend him. I wish he had taken his whole forces along with him ; he has carried off Tongillus indeed, the object of his criminal passion when a youth ; he has likewise carried off Publicius and Muna- tins, whose tavern debts would never have occasioned any commotions in the state. But how important are the men he has left behind him . ? how oppressed with debt, how powerful, how illustrious by their descent ? Sect. III. When therefore I think of our Gallic legions, and the levies made by Metellus in Picenum and Lombardy, toge- ther with those troops we are daily raising, I hold in utter con- tempt that army of his, composed of wretched old men, of de- bauchees from the country, of rustic vagabonds, of such as have fled from their bail to take shelter in his camp ; men ready to run away, not only at the sight of an army, but of the prse tor's edict.* I could wish he had likewise carried with him those whom I see fluttering in the forum, sauntering about the courts of justice, and even taking their places in the senate : men sleek with perfumes and shining in purple. If these still re- main here, mark what I sav, the deserters from the army are, more to be dreaded than the army itself; and the more so, be- cause they know me to be informed of all their designs, yet are not in the least moved by it. I behold the person to whom Apulia is allotted, to whom Etruria, to whom the territory of Picenum, to whom Cisalpine Caul. I see the man who de- manded the task of setting fire to the city, and filling it with slaughter. Thev know that I am acquainted with all the se- crets of their last nocturnal meeting : I laid them open yester- day in the senate : Catiline himself was disheartened and fled : what then can these others mean l They are much mistaken, if they imagine I shall always use the same lenity. Sect. IV. I have at last gained what I. have hitherto been waiting for, to make you all sensible that a conspiracy is openly formed against the state; unless there be anyone who imagines that such as resemble Catiline may yet refuse to enter into his designs. There is now therefore no more room for clemency, the case itself requires severity. Yet I will still grant them one thing : 144 M. T. tICERONIS ORATIfcNES. vero si quis est, Catilinre similes cum Catilin& sentire no* putet. Non est jam lenitati locus, severitatem res ipsa flagitat; unum etiam nunc concedam : exeant, proficiscantur, ne pa- tiantur desiderio sui Catilinam miserum tabescere : demonstrabo iter : Aurelia via profectus est : si accelerare volent, ad vespe- ram consequentur.\ O fortunatam remp« si quidem hanc sen- tinam hujus urbis ejecerit ! uno mehercule Catilina exhausto, relevata mihi et recrcata resp. videtur. Quid enim mail aut Bceleris fingi aut excogitari potest, quod non ille conceperit I quis tota Italia veneficus, quis gladiator, quis latro, quis sica- rius, quis parricida, quis testamentorum subjector, (6) quis cir- cumscriptor, quis ganeo, quis nepos, quis adulter, quae mulier infamis, quis corruptor juventutis, quis corruptus, quis per- ditus inveniri potest, qui se cum Catilina non familiarissime vixisse fateatur ? quse csedes per foosce annos sine iflo facta est ? quod nefarium stuprum non per ilium ? Jam yjgro quse tanta in ullo unquam homine juventutis illecebra fuit, quanta in illo ? qui alies ipse amabat turpissime, aliorum amori fla- gitiosissime serviebat : aliis fructum libidinum, aliis mortem pa- rentum, non moa*b impellendo, verum etiam adjuvando polli- cebatur. Nunc vero quam subito non solum ex urbe, verum etiam ex agris ingentem numerum perditorum hominum collegerat ? nemo, non modo Romse, sed nee ullo in angulo totius Italian oppressus sere alieno fuit, quern non ad hoc incredibile sceleris fcedus* adsciverit- V. Atque utejus diversa studiain dissimili ratione perspicere possitis, nemo est in ludo gladiatorio paulo ad facinus audacior, qui se non intimum Catilinse esse fateatur : nemo in scena levior et nequior, qui se non ejusdem prope sodalem fuisse comme- moret. Atque idem tamen stuprorum et scelerum exercitatione assuefactus, frigore et fame, et siti ac vigiliis perferendis, fortis ab istis suis sociis prsedicabatur, cum industrial subsidia, atque instrumenta virtutis in libidine audaciaque consumeret^J Hune vero si sui fuerint comites secuti, si ex urbe exierint desperato- rum hominum flagitiosi greges, 6 nos beatos ! 6 rempubl. fortu- jiatam ! 6 prseclaram laudem consulates mei ! Non enim jam sunt mediocres hominum libidines, non humanse audacisc, ac tolerand® : nihil cogitant, nisi ctedem, nisi incendia, nisi rapinas : patrimonia sua profuderunt, fortunas suas obliguri- erunt : res eos jampridem, fides deficere nupercflepit : eadem tamen ilia, quse erat in abundantia, libido permanet. Quod (6) !%uis at cumscriptor ■ quis nefiosJ] Circumscrlptor means one who makes it his business to allure and entice youth into debauchery. This practice was become so com- mon at Rome, that they had eftablished it into a kind of art or profession. Nepos, be- sides its proper signification, is frequently used, as here, for a debauchee and prodi- gal, one who had dissipated his patrimony in luxury and voluptuousness. Sallust des- cribes at large the abandoned profligate crew, from among whom Catiline chose hie companions. c cicero's orations. 145 let them quit the city, let them follow Catiline, nor suffer their miserable leader to languish in their absence. Nay, I will even tell them the way ; it is the Aurelian road : if they make haste, they may overtake him before night. ^ O happy state, were it but once drained of this sink of wickedness ! To me the absence of Catiline alone, seems to have restored fresh beauty and vig- our to the commonwealth. What villainy, what misehief can be devised or imagined, that has not entered into his thought ? What prisoner is to be found in all Italy, what gladiator, what robber, what assassin, what parricide, what forger of wills, what sharper, what debauchee, what squanderer, what adulterer, what harlot, what corrupter of youth, what corrupted wretch, what abandoned criminal, who will not own an intimate fami- liarity with Catiline ? What murder has been perpetrated of late years without him ? What act of lewdness speaks not him for its author ?j Was ever man possessed of such talents for cor- rupting youth ? To some he prostituted himself unnaturally ; for others he 'indulged a criminal passion. Many were allured by the prospect of unbounded enjoyment, many by the pro- mise of their parents' death; to which he not only incited them, but even contributed his assistance. What a prodigious num- ber of profligate wretches has he just now drawn together, not only from the city, but also from the country ! There is not a person oppressed with debt, I will not say in Rome, but in the~ remotest corner of all Italy, whom he has not engaged in this unparalleled confederacy of guilt, j Sect. V. But to make you acquainted with the variety of hi& talents, in all the different kinds of vice ; there is not a gladia- tor in any of our public schools, remarkable for being" audacious- in mischief, who does not own an intimacy with Catiline ; not a player of distinguished impudence and guilt, but openly boasts €>i having been his companion. Yet this man, trained up in the continual exercise of lewdness and villainy, while he was wasting in riot and debauchery the means of virtue, and supplies of industry, was extolled by these his associates for his fortitude and patience in supporting cold, hunger, thirst, and watchiiigs. Would his companions but follow him, would this profligate crew of desperate men but leave the city ; how happy would it be for us, how fortunate for the commonwealth, how glorious for my consulship ! It is not a moderate degree of depravity, a natural or supportable measure of guilt that now prevails. Nothing less than murders, rapines, and conflagrations employ their thoughts. They have squandered away their patrimonies, they have wasted their fortunes in debauchery ; they have long been without money, and now their credit begins to fail them ; yet still they retain the same desires, though deprived of the means of enjoyment. Did they amidst their re vels and gaming, 146 M. T. CICERONIS ©RATIOtfES. si in vino et alea commessationes solum, et scorta qufererent, esscnt illi quidem desperandi, sed tamen essent ferendi : hoc vero quis ferre possit, inertes homines fortissimis viris insidiari, stultissimos prudentissimis, ebriosos sobriis, dormientes vigi- lantibus ? qui mihi accubantes in conviviis, complexi mulieres impudicas, vino languidi, confecti cibo, sertis redimiti, ungu- entis obliti, debilitati stupris, eructant sermonibus suis c?edem. bonorum, atque urbis incendiahvquibus ego confido impenderc fatum aliquod ; et poenas jamdiu improbitati, nequitise, sceleri, libidini debitas, aut instare jam plane, aut certe jam appropin- qare. Quos si meus consulatus, quoniam sanare, non potest, sustulerit ; non breve nescio quod tempus, sed multa ssecula propagarit reipublicse. Nulla est enim natio, quam pertimes- camus : nullus rex, qui bellmn populo Romano inferre possit ; omnia sunt externa, unius virtute, terra marique pacata ; do- mesticum bellum manet : intus insidis sunt ; intus inclusum pe- riculum est : intus est hostis jTum luxuria nobis, cum amentia, cum scelere certandum est. Huic ego me bello ducem profite- er, Quirites : suscipio inimicitias hominum perditorum ; quae sanari poterunt, quacunque ratione sanabo : quse resecanda erunt, non patiar ad perniciem civitatis manare. Proinde aut exeant, aut quiescant : aut, si et in urbe, et in eadem mente permanent ; ea quse merentur, exspectent. \S\1. At etiam'sunt, Quirites, qui dicant a me in exilium ejectum esse Catilinam, quod ego si verbo assequi possem, istos ipsos ejicerem, qui hsec loquuntur ; homo enim videlicet timi- dus, et permodestus, vocem consulis ferre non potuit : simul atque ire in exilium jussus est, paruit. Quid, quod hesterno die cum domi mese pene interfectus essem, Senatum in sedem Jovis Statoris convocavi ? rem omnem ad patres conscriptos de- tuli ? quo cum Catilina venisset, quis eum Senator appellavit I quis salutavit ? quis denique ita aspexit ut perditum civem, ac non potius ut importunissimum hostem ? quin etiam principes ejus ordinis partem illam subselliorum, ad quam ille accesserat, nudam atque inanem reliqueruntjAJIic ego, vehemens ille Con- sul, qui verbo cives in exilium ejrcio, qusesivi a Catilina, an nocturno conventu apud M. Leccam fuisset, necne ; cum ille homo audacissimus, conscientia convictus, primo reticuisset ; patefeci csetera : quid eii necte egisset, ubi fuisset, quid in proximaoi constituisset, quemadmodum esset ci ratio totius belli ciCE'ko f s 0IiATI0N3. 147 tiffed no other pleasures than those of lewdness and feasting-, however desperate their case must appear, it might still not- withstanding- be borne with. But it is altogether insufferable,* that the cowardly should pretend to plot against the brave, the foolish against the prudent, the drunken against the sober, the drowsy against the vigilant ; who lolling at feasts, embracing mistresses, staggering with wine, stuffed with victuals, crowned with garlands, dawbed with perfumes, wasted with intempe- rance, belch in their conversations of massacreing the honest, and firing the city*? Over such, I trust, some dreadful fatality now hangs ; and that the vengeance so long due to their vil- lainy, baseness., guilt, and crimes, is either just breaking, or just read)' to break upon their heads* If my consulship, since it cannot cure should cut off all these, it would add no small period to the duration of the republic. For there is no nation, which we have reason to fear : no king, who can make war upon the Kbman people. All disturbances abroad, both by land and sea, are quelled by the virtue of one man. But a do- mestic war still remains : the treason, the danger, the enemy is within* >Ve are to combat with luxury, with madness, with villainy. In this war I profess myself your leader, and take upon myself all the animosity of the desperate. Whatever can possibly be healed, I will heal ; but what ought to be cut @ff, I will never suffer to spread to the ruin of the city. Let them therefore depart, or be at rest ; but if they are resolved both to remain in the city, and continue their wonted practices, let them look for the punishment they deserve. Sect. VL But some there .are, Itomai.s, who assert, that 1 have driven Catiline into banishment. And indeed, could words compass it, I would not scruple to drive them into exile too* dime, to be sure, was so verv timorous and modest, -that he id not, stand thefwords of the consul ; but being ordered into banishment^ i;n r ly acqueisced and obeyed. Yester- • I ran so great a hazard orfbeing murdered in my own use, I ; senate in the temple of Jupiter Stator,. •indlaid the whole aflair before the conscript fathers* When Catiline crn^e iLkher, cud so much as one senator accost or sa- lute him ? In fine, did they regard him only as a desperate citi- zen, and not lather as an outrageous enemy ? Nay, the consn* lar senators quitted that part of the house where he sate, and left the whole bench clear to him. Here I, that violent consul. who by a single word drive citizens into banishment, demanded of Catiline, wh .ner he had or had not been at the nocturnal meeting in the house of M. Lecca* And when he the most audacious of men, struck dumb by self-conviction, returned no answer, I laid open the whole to the senate ; acquainting them with the transactions of that night, where he had been, what U 14-8 M. T. CICERONIS ORATIOKES. descripta, edocui ; cum hsesitaret, cum teneretur ; qurcsivi quid dubitaret eo proficisci, quo jampridem pararat : cum arma, cum secures, cum fasces, cum tubas, cum signa militaria, cum aqui- lam illam argenteam, cui ille etiam sacrarium scelerum domi suse fecerat, scirem esse prsemissam.^HJn exilium ejiciebam, quern jam ingressum esse in bellum videbam ? Etenim, credo, Manlius iste, centurio, qui in agro Fesulano castra posuit, bel- lum populo Romano suo nomine indixit : et ilia castra nunc non Catilinam ducem exspectant : et ille ejectus in exilium, se (7) Massiliam, utaiunt, non in hsec castra con feret. VII. O conditionem miseram non modo administrandse, ve~ rum etiam conservand?e reipublicse! nunc si L. Catilinacpnsiliis, laborious, periculis meis circumclusus ac debilitatus subito per- timuerit, sententiam mutaverit, deseruerit suos, consilium belli faciendi abjecerit, ex hoc cursu sceleris et belli, iter ad fugam atque exilium converterit ; non ille a me spoliatus armis auda- cise, non obstupefactus ac perterritus mea diligentia, non de spe conatuque depulsus, sed indamnatus, innocens, in exilium ejectus a consule, vi et minis esse dicetur : et erunt, qui ilium, si hoc fecerit, non improbum, sed miserum ; me non diligentis- simum consulem, sed crudelissimum tyrannum existimari ve- lint.^jJ^Est mihi tanti, Quirites, hujus invidiam falsse atque iniquse tempestatem subire, dummodo avobis hujus horribilis belli ac nefarii periculum depellatur. Dicatur sane, ejectus esse 11 me, dummodo eat in exilium ; sed mihi credite, non est iturus. Nunquam ego a Diis immortalibus optabo, Quirites, invidije mese levandfe causa, ut L. Catilinam ducere exercitum hostium, atque in armis volitare audiatis,: sed triduo tamen audietis : multoque magis illud timeo, ne mihi sit, invidiosum aliquando, quod ilium emiserim potius, quam qwod ejecerim* Sed cum sint homines, qui ilium, cum profectus sit, ejectum esse dicant > iidem, si interfectus esset, quid dicerent .njQuanquam isti, qui Catilinam Massiliam ire dictitant, non tarn hoc queruatur, quam. verentur. Nemo est istorum tarn miserirors, qui ilium non ad Manlium, quam ad Massilienses ire malit. Ille autem, si, mdfc- hercule, hoc, quod agit, nunquam ante cogitasset, tamen latro- cinantem se interfici mallet, quam exsulem vivere : nunc vero, (7) Massiliam.] We learn from Sallust, that Catiline, upon his leaving Rome, Wrote letters to some of the most considerable senators, informing them, that being persecuted with false accusations, and finding himself unable to resist the faction of his enemies, he had thought proper to retire to Marseilles ; not from a conciousness of any guilt, but to prevent the disputes that otherwise might be raised on his account. Marseilles was a celebrated cicy of Narbonese Gaul, renowned for the learning and po- liter fs of its inhabitants, and of whofc fidelity and attachment to the Roman common' wealth, Cicero makes ample mention in hia lecond book of Offices. CICERO'S ORATIONS* -* 4 * was reserved for the next, and how he had settled the whole plan of the war. As he appeared disconcerted and speechless 1 asked what hindered his going upon an expedition, w hich he had so long prepared for ; when I knew that he had already ,ent before him arms, axes, rods, trumpets, military ensigns, "and that silver eagle, to which he had raised an "P^»£"" his own house, t Can I be said to have driven into banishment man who had aheadv commenced hostilities agamst his coun- trv » Or is it credible 'that Manlius, an obscure centurion, who L pitched hiscamp upon the plains of FesuUe , wou d d ec are war against the Roman people in his own name : that the forces- under Wm do not now expect Catiline for their general : or that hf submitting to a voluntary banishment, has, as some pretend rehired to Marseilles, and not to the before-mentioned camp * Sect. TIL O* wretched condition, not only of governing, but e^ of preserving the state ! For should Catiline, d.s- coura K ed and disconcerted by my counsels, vigilance, and stren, uous Tare of the republic, be seized with a sudden dr-d chang* his resolution, desert his party, quit his host le *»'8£*?£ alter his course of war and guilt, into that of flight and banish ment fit will not then be said, that I have wrested out of his hands the weapons of insolence, that I have astonished and con- founded him bv my diligence, and that I have driven him from aU his hones and schemes ; but he will be considered as a man innocent Lduncondemned, who has been forced --banish- ment bv the threats and violence of the consul. JN*} there £?Z in this event would think him not wicke hut unh^p- ™- • ind me 'not a vigilant consul, but a cruel tyrant, iSut riit'tle.egSdthbstorm U of bitter and undeserved censure pro- vided I can screen you from the danger of this dreadful and i im- pious war. Let him only go into banishment, and I am conten It be ascribed to my threats. But believe me, he has.no design to go. My desire of avoiding P^VcSwEg shalf never induce me to wish you may hear of Cati me * b mg at the head of an army, and traversing in a host le manner the territories of the republic. But assuredly you , i 1 bear, t m t'nree davs ; and I have much greater reason to teai bem b ceu S for letting, him escape, £. that I forced ^ ao«g^J city. But if men are so perverse as to '°f"P^°£ j£$ driven awar, what would thev have said J^ltad^jputw death > Yet there is not one of those who talk ot his going to M^seilles, but would be sorry for it if it was true ; ana with all the concern they express for him they had much ^ h.a, ot his being in Manlius's camp. As for himself, had .be n« ei ^ fore thought of the project he is now engaged in, >e such £ particular turn of mind, that he would ™*%Jf™^X^ than live as an exile. But now, as nothing has happened con M. T. CICERONIS ORATIONES. rum ci nihil adhuc prater ipsius volunlatem cogitationemque accident, nisi quod vivis nobis Jloma profectus est ; opterni potius, ut cat in exilium, quam qucramur. YIII.J/6ed cur tamdiu de uno hoste loquimur, ct dc eo hoste. qui jam fatetur se esse hostem, et quern, quia., quod semper vo- Jui, munis interest, non timeo : de his qui dissimulant, qui Ro- ma" remanent, qui nobiscum sunt, nihil dicimus ? quos quidem Cgo, si ullo modo fieri posset, non tarn ulcisci studeo, quam sa- narc, et ipsos placare reipub. neque, id quare fieri non possit, bi me audire voluerint, intelligo. Exponam enim vobis, Quiri- tes, ex quibus generibus hominum istse copise comparcntur : deinde singulis medicinam consilii, atque orationis me?e, si quam potero, afferam. ^») Unum genus est eorum, qui magno in sere ftlieno majores etiam possessiones habent, quarum amore ad- ducti dissolvi nullo modo possunt. Horum hominum species est honestisshna ; sunt enim locupletes : voluntas vero, et causa impudentissima. Tu agris, tu ccdificiis, tu argento,tu familia, tu rebus omnibus ornatus et copiosus sis, et dubites aliquid de pos- sessione detrahere, ac fidem acquirere ? quid enim exspectas ? helium ? quid ? ergo in vastatione omnium, tuas possessiones sacrosanctas futuras putas ? an tabulas novas ? Errant qui istas a Catilina exspectant ; meo beneficio tabular nova? proferentur, verum auctionarise. Neque enim isti qui possessiones habent, alia ratione ulla salvi esse possunt. Quod si maturius facere vo- luissent, neque (id quod stultissimum est) certare cum usuris fructibus prsediorum, locupletioribus his, et melioribus civibus uteremur. Sed hosce homines minime puto pertimescendos, quod aut deduci de sententia possunt, aut, si permanebunt, ma- gis mihi videntur vota facturi contra renyp. quam arma laturi. IX-^A.lterum (?) genus est eorum, qui, quanquam premuntur sere alieno, dominationem tamen exspectant ; rerum potiri vo- lunt : honores, quos, quieta repub. desperant, perturbata conse* (8) Unum gcmu est eorum.] Cicero here takes a view of Cataiine's forces; and ob* serves that they were composed of fix different claffes of men, to all whom he gives ad- vice Miited to their circumftances ; and which he fhows will be infinitely more for their advantage, than the desperate measures they had so rafhly engaged in. We fhall treat of them in order. The firft are those, who having large estates, but confid- crably encumbered with debt, would fain get rid of the latter, without divesting themselves of any part of the former. Thefe he advifes to fell part of their poffefiions, and by that means difengage themfelves from the lead of debt they lay under ; promi- sing them all the afilfUnce in his power to bring abontfo falutary an end, which would not only make r hem easy for the present, but eftablifh and ftrengthen their credit for the time to come. (9) Aiieruvi gouts est torumJ\ The fecond cohort of Cataiine's legion, if we may £0 > rprefi ourfel p of men, who being deeply involved in debt, without a- pyeftatesorpofsefsions to answer the demands of their creditors, turned all their cicero's oration. isi trary to his expectation and desire, except that I was left alive when he quitted Some ; let us rather wish he may go into ba- nishment, then complain of it. Sect. VIII. Bat why do I speak so much about one enemy ? Aneiiemy too, who has openly proclaimed himself such: and whom I no longer, dread, since, as I always wished, there is now a v all between us. Shall I say nothing of those who dissemble ir treason, who continue at Rome, and mingle in our assem- blies . ? \l ith regard to these, indeed, I am less intent upon ven- geance, than to reclaim them, if possible, from their errors, and reconcile them to the republic. Nor do I perceive any difficulty in the undertaking, if they will but listen to my advice/For first I will show you, citizens, of what different sorts of men their forces consist, and then apply, to each, as far as I am able, the most powerful remedies of persuasion and eloquence. | The first sort consists of those, who having great debts, but still greater possessions, are so passionately fond of the latter, that they cannot bear the thought of infringing them. . This in ap- pearance is the most honourable class, for they are, rich : but their intention and aim is the most infamous of all.! Art thou distinguished by the possession of an estate, houses, money, slaves, and all the conveniences and superfluities of life ; and dost thou scraipie to take from thy possessions, in order to add to thy creditj For what is it thou expectest ? is it war ? and dost thou hppeury possessions will remain unviolated, amidst an universal invasion of property ? Is it new regulations about debts thou hast in view ? 'Tis an error to expect this from Catiline. /New regulations shall indeed be proffered by my means, but attended with public auctions, which is the only method to preserve those who have estates from ruin. And had they consented to this expedient sooner, nor ': foolishly run out their estates in mortgages, they would have been at this da}' both richer men, and better citizens. But. I have no great dread of this class of men, as believing they may be easily disengaged from the con- spiracy ; or, should they persist, they seem more likely to have recourse to imprecations than arms. Sect. IX. The next class consists of those, who though op- pressed with debt, yet hope for power, and aspire at the chief thoughts to the attainment of honours, dignities, and the command of armies and pro- vinces. This put them upon plotting against the state, in order to create confusion and disorder, as being very sensible, that they could never hope to see the accomplish* jnent of their wishes, while the republic continued in ?, ttare of tranquility. l: M. T. CICERONIS ORATIONES. qui se posse arbitrantur. Quibus hoc prsecipiendum videtur, iiiium scilicet et idem, quod ceteris omnibus, ut desperent se id, quod conantur, consequi posse ; primum omnium me ipsum vigilare, adesse, providere reipub. deinde magnos animos esse in bonis viris,magnamconccrdiam,maximam multitudinem : mag- nas pneterea copias militum : deos denique immortales huic in- victo populo, clarissimo imperio, pulcherrimfe urbi, contra tan- tam vim sceleris, prtesentes auxilium esse laturos. Quod si jam sint id, quod cum summo furore cupiunt, adepti ; num illi in cinere urbis, et sanguine civium, quse mente conscelerata ac nefaria concupierunt, se consules ac dictatores, aut etiam reges sperant futuros ? non vident id se cupere, quod si adepti fuerint, fugi- tivo alicui, aut gladiatori concedi sit necesse . ? Q§) Tertium ge- nus est setate jam confectum, exercitatione robustum : quo ex genere est ipse Manlius, cui nunc Catilina successit. Hi sunt homines ex his coloniis, quas Fesulis Sulla constituit : quas ego universas civium esse optimorum, et fortissimorum virorum sen- tio : sed tamen hi sunt coloni, qui se insperatis repentinisque pecuniis sumptuosius insolentiusque jactarunt,hi dum sedificant tanquam beati, dum prsediis, lecticis, familjis magnis, conviviis, apparatibus delectantur, in tantum ses alienum inciderunt, ut, si salvi esse velint, Sulla sit iis ab inferis excitandus : qui etiam nonnullos agrestes homines tenues atque egent.es, in eandem istam spem rapinarum veterum impulerunt. Quos ego utros- que, Quirites, in eodem genere prsedatorum direptorumque pono. Sed eos hoc moneo, desinant furere, et proscriptiones et dictaturas cogitare. Tantus enim illorum temporum dolor inustus est civitati, ut jam ista non modo homines, sed ne pe* cudes quidem mihi passurse esse videantur ? X. Quartum (") genus est sane varium, et mistum, et turbu- Ientum ; qui jampridem premuntur ; qui nunquam emergent : (10) Tertium genus est.'] The two former classes were mad« up of men, who in- deed wished well to the conspiracy, yet thought not proper to declare themselves o- penly, or appear in arms against the state. The set he now mentions consisted most- ly of old soldiers, who, upon the conclusion of the civil war, had been settled in dif- ferent parts of Italy, where lands were assigned them by Sylla, out of the confiscated estates of those who had opposed him. These having squandered away in riot and excess, what they had acquired by rapine and oppression, desired nothing so much as 2 new civil war, that they might a second time enrich themselves with the spoils of their country. Accordingly they eagerly embraced the present opportunity, and for- med much the greater number of those, who were now in arms in Manlius's camp, (11) Quartum genus. ,j The enumeration Cicero here makes of the conspirators is conceived with great art, and admirably calculated to beget that detestation and hor- ror, with which he meant to inspire the minds of his hearers. First, we have a tribe of men immersed in debt, but rivetted to their possessions. Secondly, men of ruined fortunes, who aspire after honours and commands, that by oppressing the allies and CICERO'S O&ATIQNS. 153 management of public affairs ; imagining they shall obtain those honours by throwing the state into confusion, which they de- spair of during its tranquility. To these I shall give the same advice as to the rest, which is, to quit all hope of succeeding in their attempts. *For; first J myself am watchful, active, and at- tentive to the interest of the ripublic : then there is on the side of the honest party, great couipage, great unanimity, a vast multitude of citizens, and very numerous forces : in fine, the immortal gods themselves \y.ill not fail to interpose in behalf of this unconqured people, thfs Illustrious empire-,this fair city, against the daring attempts of guilty violence. ""And even sup- posing them to accomplish, what they with so much frantic rage desire, do they hope to spring up consuls, dictators, or kings, from the ashes of a city, and blood of her citizens, which with so much treachery and sacrilege they have conspired to spill ? They are ignorant of the tendency of their own desires, and that in case of success, they must themselves fall a prey to some fu- gitive or gladiator. The third class consists of men of advanced age, but hardened in all the exercises of war.. Of this sort is Manlius, whom Catiline now succeeds. The*»e come mostly from the colonies planted by Sylla at Fesuhe ,* which I am readv to allow, consist of the best citizens, and the bravest men : but coming many of them to the sudden and unexpected possession of great wealth, they run into all the excesses of luxury and pro- fusion. These, by building fine houses, by affluent living, splen- did equipages, numerous attendants, and sumptuous entertain- ments, have plunged themselves so deeply in debt, that in order to retrive their affairs, thev must recall Svlla from his tomb. I say nothing of those needy indigent rustics, whom they have gained over to their party, by the hopes of seeing the scheme of rapine renewed : for I consider both in the same light of robbers and plunderers. But advise them to drop their frantic ambi- tion, and think no more of dictatorships and proscriptions. For so deep an impression have the calamities of those times made upon the state, that not only men, but the very beasts would not bear a repetition of such outrages. * Sect. X. The fourth is a mixed, 'motley, mutinous tribe, who have been long ruined beyond hopes of recovery ; and part- ly through indolence, partly through ill management, partly too subjects of the commonwealth, they may in some measure retrive their affairs. Third- ly, Sylla's veteran soldiers, who wanted to renew the rapines and devest arions of the former civil war. Fourthly, a number of town debauchees. Fifthly, a collection of parricides, cut-throats, and ruffians. And lastly, the whole tro^p oTgamsters, whop»~ wasters, and sharpers of every denomination, 154 £; T. Clcfeiitoijte 6RAifONES. qui partim inertia, partim male gerendo ncgotio, partira etiaiti sumptibus, in vetere iere alieno va-cillant : qui vadrmoniis, judi- ciis, proscriptionibus bonorum defatigati, permulti et ex urbe, et ex agris se in ilia castra conferre dicuntur. Hosce ego non tarn milites acres, quam insidia&res ^entos esseere career non possiu) Postremum autem genus est, non solum nu- mero, verum etiam genere ipso, atque vita, quod proprium est Catilime, de ejus delectu, immo vero de complexu ejus ac sinu : quos pexo capilio nitidos, aut imberbes, aut bene barbatos vide- ti§ ; manicatis et talaribus tunicis ; velis amictos, non togis : quorum omnis industria vitse, et vigilandi labor, in antelucanis coenis expromitur.^In his gregibus omnes aleatores, omnes adulteri, omnes impuri, impudicique versantur. Hi pueri tarn lepidi ac delicati, non solum amare, et amari, neque cantare, et saltare, sed etiam sicas vibrare, et spargere venena didicerunt ; qui nisi exeunt, nisi pereunt, . etiam si Catilina perierit, scitote hoc in repub. seminarium Catilinarium futurum. Verumtamen quid sibi isti miseri volunt ? num suas secum mulierculas sunt in castra ducturi ? quemadmodum autem illis carere poterunt, his prasertim jam noctibus ? quo autem pacto ill i Apenninum, atque iilas pruinas ac nives perferent ? nisi idcirco se faciliusjhiemem toleraturos putant, quod nudi in conviviis saltare didicerunt. O bellum magnopere pertimescendum, cum hane sit habiturus Catilina scortatorum (»*) cohortem prsetoriam ! iK/Ki. Instruite nunc, Quirites, contra has tarn prseelaras Catiii^ mss copias vestra prafcsidia, vestrosque exercitus : et primum gla- diatori illi confecto et saucio consul es imperatoresque yestros op- ponite : deinde contra illani naufragorum ejectam ac debiiita-*' tarn manum, fiorem totius Italise ac robur educite. Jam vero fcrbes coloniarum ac municipiorum respondebunt (13) Catilinasr (it) Cohortem pr yet so that neither the city nor neighbour- hood may receive any shock. For I am unable to perceive why, if they cannot live with honour, they should choose to die with infamy : or why they should fancy it less painful to die in company with others, than to perish by themselves. The fifth sort is a collection of parricides, assassins, and ruffians of all kinds > whom I ask not to abandon Catiline, as knowing them to be inseparable,. Let these even perish in their robberies, since their number is so great, that no prison could be found large enough to contain themj^ The last class, not only in this enume- ration, but likewise in character and morals, are Catiline's pe- culiar associates, his choice companions, and bosom friends ; such as you see with curled locks, neat array, beardless, or with beards nicely trimmed ; in full dress, in flowing robes, and wearing mantles instead of gowns ; whose whole labour of life, and industry in watching, are exhausted upon midnight enter- tainments. Under this class we may rank all gamesters, whore- masters, and the lewd and lustful of every denomination. These slim delicate youths, practised in all the arts of raising and al- laying the amorous fire, not only know to sing and dance, but on occasions can aim the murdering dagger and administer the poisonous draught. Unless these depart, unless these perish, know, that was even Catiline himself to fall, we shall still have a nursery of Catilines in the state. But what can this miserable race have in view I Do they propose to carry their wenches along with them to the camp ? Indeed, how can they be with- out them, "these cold winter nights I But have' they considered of the Apenine irosts and snows I or do they imagine they will be the abler to endure the rigours of winter, for having learned to dance naked at revels ? O formidable and tremen- dous war, where Catiline's praetorian guard consists of such a dissolute, effeminate crew ' Sect. XI. Against these gallant troops of your adversary, prepare, O Romans, your garrisons and armies: and first, to that battered and maimed gladiator, oppose your consuls and generals : next against that outcast, miserable crew, lead ford}* the flower and strength of all Italy, The walls of our colonies and free towns will easily resist die efforts of Catiline's rustic troops. But I ought not to run the parallel farther, or compare Bough in Cicero* to call that promheupus multitude cf rustics, assembled together in haste, cu mules silvatrss. 156 K* T. CICEKONIS ORATIONES. tumulis silvestribus ; neque vero cseteras copias, ornamenta r , prsesidia vestra, cum illius latronis inopia atque egestate con- ferfe debeo. Sed si, omissis his rebus omnibus, quibus nos sup- peditamus, eget illc senatu, equitibus Romanis, populo, urbe, a»rario, vectigalibus, cuncta Italia provinciis omnibus, exteris- nationibus : si, inquam, his rebus omissis, ipsas causas, quainter se confligunt, contendere velimus, ex eo ipso, quam valde illi jaceant, intelligere possumus. Ex hac enim parte pudor pugnat, illinc petulantia : hinc pudicitia, illinc stuprum : hinc fides, illinc fraudatio : hinc pietas, illinc scelus : hinc constantia, illinc furor : hinc honestas, illinc turpitudo : hinc continentia, illinc libido : hinc denique sequitas, temperantia, fortitudo, prudentia, virtutes omnes certant cum iniquitate, cum luxuria, cum ig- navia, cum temeritate, cum vitiis omnibus : postremo copiacum egestate, bona ratio cum perdita, mens sana cum. amentia, bona denique spes cum omnium rerum desperatione confligit. In hujusmodi certamine ac proelio, nonne, etiamsi hominum studia deficiant, dii ipsi immortales cogent ab his prpeclarissimis virtu- tibus tot et tanta vitia superari . ? XII. Quse cum ita sint, Quirites ; vos, quemadmodum jam antea dixi, vestra tecta custodiis vigiliisque defendite : mihi, ut nrbi sine vestro motu ac sine ullo tumultu, satis esset prasidii, consultum ac provisum est. Coloni omnes, municipesque ves- tri, certiores a me facti.de hac nocturna excursione Catiline, fa- cile urbes suas, finesque defendent : gladiatores, quam sibi ille maximam manum, et certissimam fore putavit, quanquam me- liore animo sunt, quam pars patriciorum, potestate tamen nostra continebuntur. Q. Metellus, quern ego prospiciens hoc, in agrum Gallicanum Picenumque pra^misi, aut opprimet hominem, aut omnes ejus motus conatusque prombebit ; reliquis autem de rebus constituendis, maturandis, agendis, jam ad senatumrefe- remus, quern vocari videtis. Nuncillos qui in urbe remanserunt, atque adeo qui contra urbis salutem,omniumque vestriim, in urbe a, Catiiina relicti sunt, quanquam sunt hostes, tamen quia nati sunt cives, monitos etiam atque etiam volo. Mea lenitas adhuc si cui solutior visa est T hoc exspectavit, ut id quod latebat, erumperet. Quod reliquum est, jam non possum oblivisci, meam hanc esse patriam, me horum esse consulem : mihi aut cum his vivendum, aut pro his esse moriendum ,* nullus est porta? cus- tos, nullus insidiator vise : si qui exire volunt, consulere sibi CICERO S ORATIONS. ' 137 your other resources, preparations, and . defences, to the in- digence and nakedness of that robber. But if, oiniting all those advantages of which we are provided, and he destitute.; as the senate, the Roman knights, the people, the city, the treasury, the public revenues, all Italy, all the provinces, foreign states : I say, if, omiting all these, we only compare the con- tending parties between themselves, it will soon appear how very low our enemies are reduced. On the one side modesty contends, on the other petulance : here chastity, there pollu- tion .: here integrity, there treachery : here piety, there pro- faneness : here resolution, there rage : here honour, there base- ness : here moderation, there unbridled licentiousness : in short, equity, temperance, fortitude, prudence, struggle with iniquity, luxury, cowardice, rashness ; every virtue with every vice. Lastly, the contest lies between wealth and indigence, sound and depraved reason ; strength of understanding and frenzy ,• in fine, between well-grounded hope, and the most absolute despair. In such a conflict and- struggle as this, was even human aid to fail, will not the immortal gods enable such illustrious virtue to triumph over such complicated vice ? Sect. XII. Such, Romans, being our present situation, do you, as I have before advised, watch and keep guard in your private houses, for as to what concerns the public tranquility, ■and the defence of the city, I have taken care to secure that, without tumult or alarm. The colonies and municipal towns, having received notice from me of Catiline's nocturnal retreat, will be upon their guard against him. The band of gladiators, whom Catiline always depended upon as his best and surest support, though in truth they are better affected than some part of the patricians, are nevertheless taken care of in such a manner, as to be in the power of the republic. Q. Metellus the praetor, whom, foreseeing Catiline's flight, I. sent into Gaul and the district ofPicenum, will either wholly crush the traitor, or bafHe all his motions and attempts. And to settle, ripen, and bring all other matters to a conclusion, I am just going to lay them before the assembly, which you see now assembling. As for those therefore who continue in the city, and were left behind by Cat Uine, for the destruction of it and us all ; though they are enemies, yet as by birth they are likewise fellow- citizens, 1 again and again admonish them, that my lenity, which to some may have rather appeared remissness, has bean waiting only for an opportunity of demonstrating the certainty of the plot. As for the rest, I shall never forget that this is my coun- try, that I am its consul, and that I think it my duty either to live with my countrymen, or die for them. There is no guard upon the gates, none to watch the roads ; if any one has a 8 M. T. CICERONIS ORATIONES. j ossunt : qui vcro in urbc se commovcrit, cujus ego non mod© factum, sed inceptum ullum c.onatumve contra patriam depre- hcndero, scntiet in hac urbe esse consules vigilantes, esse egre- gios magistratus, esse forte. m senatum, esse arma, esse (14) car- cevem : quern vindiceni nefariorum ac manifestorum scelerum majores nostri esse voluerunt. XIII. Atque h»c omnia sic agentur, Quirites, ut res maxims? minimo motu, pericula sumraa nullo tumultu, bellum intesti- num ac domesticum, post hominum memoriam crudelissimum ac maximum, (*5) me uno togato duce et imperatore, sedetur ; quod ego sic administrabo, Quirites, ut, si ullo modo fieri po- tent, ne improbus quidem quisquam in hac urbe poenam sui sceleris sufferat, Sed si vis manifesto audacife, si impendens patria? periculum me necessario de hac animi lenitate dedux- erint, illud profecto perficiam, quod in tanto et tarn insidioso hello vix optandum videtur, ut ne quis bonus intereat, pau- corumque pc&na vps omnes jam salvi esse possitis. Quse qui- dem ego neque mea prudentia, neque humanis consiliis fretus ]X)lliceor vobis, Quirites ; sed multis et (16) non dubiis deorum immortalium significationibus, quibus ego ducibus in hanc spem sententiamque sum ingressus : qui jam non procul, ut quondam solebant, ab extero hoste atque longinquo, sed hie prsesentes suo numine atque auxilio sua templa, atque urbis tecta defendunt : quos vos, Quirites, precari, venerari, atque implorare debetis ; ut quam urbem puicherrimam, florentissimam, potentissimam- que esse voluerunt, hanc omnibus hostium copiis terra marique ^uperatis, a perditissimorum civium nefario scelere defendant. (14) Career em — vindicem nefariorum^ Ulpian tells us, that the prison was built, not for the punishment of bad citizens, but to be a check upon them, and prevent all oc- casions of punishment. Cicero here maintains the direct contrary, and asserts, that the great design of it was, that guilt and impiety might not escape due vengeance. Both these ends are very compatible, and ought doubtless to be considered jointly in the pre- 3ent case. The prison was built in a conspicuous part of the city, that where a prin- ciple of conscience was not sufficient to restrain men, they might be awed by having this object of terror constantly before their eyes. But if notwithstanding so powerful a monitor, they were so far swayed by their corrupt inclinations, as to violate the laws of their country, they thereby rendered themselves obnoxious to the demands of jus- tice : and what was primarily intended only to restrain men, and prevent the commis- sion of crimes, became, after they were committed, a place of suffering and punish- ment. ( 15) Me unotogatt duce et imperatore?^ The consuls, before their setting out on any military expedition, used to put iff their gowns, and put on their military dress, with great ceremony ano public sacrifices. Cicero tells them, his scheme for suppressing the conspiracy was so tfelj laid, that without changing his gown, the dre;s of peace, he would quell aH the disturbance. (16) Non dubiis deotrum immortalium significationibus ?\ Plutarch, in his life of Cicero, tells us. that while Terentia, the orator's wife, with the vestal virgins, and the prineU pal matrons of Rome, were sacrificing, according to annual custom, to the goddess GlCERO'S ORATIONS. 15$ mind to withdraw himself, he may go wherever he pleases. But whoever makes the least stir within the city, so as to be caught not only in any overt-act,- but even in any plot or at- tempt against the republic, he shall know that there are in it, vigilant consuls, excellent magistrates, and a resolute senate ; that there are arms, and a prison, which our ancestors provided as the avenger of manifest and atrocious cimes. Sect. XIII. And all this shall be transacted in such a manner, citizens, that the greatest disorder, shall be quelled without the least hurry; the greatest dangers without any tumult ; a domestic and intestine war, the most cruel and desperate of any in our memory, by me your only leader and general in my gown ; which I will manage so, that, as far as it is possible, not one even of the guilty shall suffer punishment in the city : but if their au- daciousness and my country's danger should necessarily drive me from this mild resolution ; yet I will effect, what in so cruel and treacherous a war could hardly be hoped for, that not one honest man shall fall, but all of you be safe by the punishment of afewc This I promise, citizens, not from any confidence of my own prudence, or from any human counsels, but from the many evident declarations of the gods, by whose impulse I am led into this persuasion ; who assist us, not as they used to do, at a distance, against foreign and remote enemies, but by their present help and protection, defend their temples and our houses. It is your part, therefore, citizens, to worship, implore, and pray to them, that since all our enemies are now subdued both by land and sea, they would continue to preserve this city, which was designed by them for the most beautiful, the most flourishing, and most powerful on earth, from the detestable treasons of its own desperate citizens. Bona, a bright flame issued suddenly from the altar, to the astonishment of.the whole company. Many other prodigies happened during the course of the conspiracy, of all which Cicero makes frequent mention in his speeches : for it was of great use to him, to possess the minds of the people, as strongly as he could, with an apprehension of their danger, for the sake of disposing them the more easily to approve his conduct, and concur with him in whatever measures he should think necessary for the public safety. He also improves this circumstance to animate the people, by representing the gods as interesting themselves particularly in their preservation, and pointing out to them the course they were to pursue, ORATIO VI. 3. IN L. CATILINAM*. I. REMPUBLICAM, Quirites, vitamque omnium ves- trum, bona, fortunas, conjuges, liberosque vestros, atque hoc domicilium clarissimi imperii, fortunatissimampulcherrimamque urbem, hodierno die, deorum immortalium summo erga vos * Cataline, as we have fecn, being forced to leave Rome ; Lentulus, and the reft, who remained in the city, began to prepare all things for the execution of their grand design. They folicited men of all ranks, who feemed likely to favor their caufe, or to be of any ufe to it ; and among the reft, agreed to make an attempt upon the ambas- sadors of the Allobrogians, a warlike, mutinous, faithlefs people, inhabiting the coun- tries now called Savoy and Bauphiny, greatly .disaffected to the Roman power, and al- ready ripe for rebellion. Thefe ambaffadors, who were preparing to return home much out of humour with the senate, and without any redrefs of the grievances which they were fent to complain of, received the propofal atfirftverygreedily,and promifed to engage their nation to afsist the confpirators with what they principally wanted, a good body of horfe, whenever they fhould begin the war : but reflecting afterwards, in their cooler thoughts, on the difficulty of the enterprife, and the danger of involving themfelves and their country in so defperate a caule, they refolved to difeover what they knew to Q^ Fabius Sanga, the patron of their city, who immediately gave intel- ligence of it to the consul. Cicero's inflructions upon it were, that the ambafsadors fhould continue to feign the fame zeal which they had hitherto fhown, and promife eve- ry thing which was required of them, till they had got a full insight into the extent of the plot, with diftinct proofs againft the particular actors in it : upon which, at their next conference with the confpirators, they infisted on having fome credentials from them to fhow to their people at home, without which they would never .be induced to enter into an engagement fo hazardous. This was thought reafonable, and prefently complied with, and Vulturcius was appointed to go along with the ambaffadors, and introduce them to Catiline on their road, in order to confirm the agreement, and ex- change affurances alfo with him ; to whom Lentulus fent at the fame time a particular letter under his own hand and feal, though without his name. Cicero being punctually informed of all thefe facts, concerted privately with the ambaffadors the time and man- ner of their leaving Rome in the night, and that on the Milvian bridge, about a mile from the city, they fhould be arretted with their papers and letters about them, by two of the praetors, L. Flaccus and C. Pontinius, whom he had inflructed for that purpofe, and ordered to lie in ambufh near the place, with a ftrong guard of friends and foldiers : all which was fuccefsfuily executed, and the whole company brought prifoners to Ci- cero's houfe by break of day. The rumour of this accident prefently drew a refort of Cicero's principal friends about him, who advifed him to open the letters before he pro- ORATION VI. S. AGAINST CATILINE. Sect. I. TO-DAY, Romans, you behold the common- wealth, your lives, estates, fortunes, your wives and children,,; the 1 " august seat of this renowned empire, this fair and flour- ishing city, preserved and restored to you, rescued from fire and sword, and almost snatched from the jaws of fate, by the distinguished love of the immortal gods towards you, and by duced them in the senate, lest if nothing of moment were found inthem, it might be thought rash and imprudent to raise an unnecessary terror and alarm through the city. But he was too well informed of the contents, to fear any censure of that kind ; and declared, that in case of public danger, he thought it his duty to lay the matter entire before the public council. He summoned the senate therefore to meet immediately, and sent at the same time for Gabinius, Statilius, Cethegus, and Lentuius, who all came presently to his house, suspecting nothing of the discovery ; and being informed also of a quantity of arms provided by Cethegus for the use of the conspiracy, he order- ed C. Sulpicius, another of the praetors, to go and search his house, where he found a great number of swords and daggers, with other arms, all newly cleaned, and ready for present service. With this preparation he set out to meet the senate in the temple of Concord, with a numerous guard of citizens, carrying the ambassadors and the con- spirators with him in custody : and after he had given the assembly an account of the whole affair, the several parties were called in and examined, and an ample discovery made of the whole pregress of the plot. After the criminals and witnesses were with- drawn, the senate went into a debate upon the state of the republic, and came unani- mously to the following resolutions : That public thanks should be decreed to Cicero in- the amplest manner; by whose vitrue. counsel, and providence, the republic was delivered from the greatest dangers : that Flaccus and Pomtinus, the prsetors, should be thanked iike wise, far their vigorous and punctual execution of Cicero's orders ; that Antonius, the other consul, should be praised for having removed from his counsels all those who were concerned in the conspiracy j that Lentuius, after having abdicated the praetorship, and divested himself of his robes ; and Cethegus, Statilius, and Gabinus, with their other accomplices also, when taken, Cassius, Caeparius Furius. Chilo, Urn- brenus, should be committed to safe custody ; and that a publiG thanksgiving should be appointed in Cicero's name, for his having preserved the city from a conflagration, the citizens from a massacre, and Italy from a war. The senate being dissmissed, Cic- ero went directly into the rostra ; and^ in the following speech, gave the people an ac- count of the discovery that had been made, with the resolutions of the senate conse- quent thereupon. 162 M. T. CICERJNIS ORATlONES. . . 4 que amore, laboribus, consiliis pencuhsque meis, ex flamma at m ferro, ac penc (i) ex faucibus fati ereptam et vobis conservat' ac restitutam vedetis. Et, si non minus nobis jucundi atque il- lustres sunt ii dies, quibus conservamur, quam illi, quibus nasci- mur ; (a) quod salutis certa lsetitia est, nascendi incerta condi- tio ; et quod sine sensu nascimur, cum voluptate conservamur : profecto, quoniam ilium qui hanc urbem condidit, (3) Romulum ad deos immortales benevolentia,famaque sustulimus ; esse apud vos, posterosque vestros in honore debebit is, qui eandem hanc urbem condkam amplificatamque servavit ; nam toti urbi, tem- plis, delubris, tectis ac mcenibus subjectos prope jam ignes, circumdatosque restinximus : iidemque gladios in rempub. re- strictos retudimus, mucronesque eorum a jugulis vestris dejec- imus. V Qua? quoniam in senatu illustrata, patefacta, comperta- que sunt per me, vobis jam exponam breviter, Quirites, ut et quanta, et quam manifesta, et qua ratione investigata et cdm- prehensa sint, vos, qui et ignoratis, et expectatis, scire possitis. Principio, ut Catilina paucis ante diebus erupit ex urbe, cum sceleris sui socios, et hujusce nefarii belli acerrimos duces Roma? reliquisset ; semper vigilavi, et providi, Quirites, quemadmodum in tantis et tarn absconditis insidiis salvi esse possemus. II. Nam turn, cum ex urbe Catilinam ejiciebam (non enim jam vereor hujus verbi invidiam, cum ilia magis sit timenda. quod vivus exierit), sed turn cum ilium exterrninari volebam : aut reliquam corijuratorum manum simul exituram, aut eos qui restitissent, infirmos sine ilia, ac debiles fore putabam. ^ Atque ego, ut vidi, quos maximo furore, et scelere esse infifammato sciebam, eos nobiscum esse, et Roma? remansisse : in eo omnes dies noctesque consumpsi, ut quid agerent, quid molirentur,. sentirem ac viderem : ut, quoniam auribus vestris, propter in- credibilem magnitudinem sceleris, minorem lidem faceret Gra- fr -N {1) Ex faucibus fati,] A metaphorical expression, alluding to the danger incurred by an attack from beasts of prey. Fate, according to the Stoics, was a certain immu- table series of events, which followed one another in train, by such an unavoidable ne- cessity, that even the gods themselves could not hinder their coming to pass. The reason why this word is often used by the ancients, to denote death, or the dissolution of states and kingdoms, may be best derived from a notion which prevailed among them, that at the very moment of a man's birth, the day of his death was irrevocably fixed by fate; and that in all governments, the seeds of dissolution were mixed with their original frame, and never failed to operate when the appointed time came. (2) ^uod salutis certa Ixthia est,] When we escape any imminent danger that threatened us, and under the apprehension of which we were uneasy, we are sensible of our good fortune, and taste the safety we enjoy with the highest relish. Hence a day of preservation is always a day of joy and triumph. But »now the day of our birth is not attended with any such consciousness ; and even supposing it were, yet is the con- dition of human life attended with so much uncertainty, that it is hard tp say whether we have more reason to lament or rejoice. For how often is our present condition so entangled with snares and difficulties, that a wise man would think it rather to be shun- cicero's orations* 163 means of My toils, coun&els, and dangers. And if the days in which we are preserved from ruin, be no less joyous and me- morable than those of our birth ; because the pleasure of deliv- erance is certain, the condition to which we are born uncer- tain ; and because we never enter upon life without conscious- ness, but are always sensible to the joys of preservation : surely, since our gratitude and esteem for Romulus, the founder of this city, has induced us to rank him amongst the immortal gods j he cannot but merit honour with you and posterity, who has preserved the same city, with all its accessions of strength and grandeur. AfForwe have extinguished the flames that were dis-> persed on all sides, and just ready to seize the temples, sanc- tuaries, dwellings;, and walls of this city; we* have blunted the swords that were drawn against the state, an4 turned aside the daggers that were pointed at your throatsfr And as all the s6 particulars have been already explained, cleared, and. fully proved ' 7 me in the senate ; 1 shall now, Romans, lay them briefly before you, that such as are strangers to what has happened, and wait with impatience to be informed, may un- derstand what a terrible and manifest destruction hung over them, how it was traded out, and in what manner discovered. And first, ever since Catiline, a few days ago, fled from Rome ; 1 - he left behind him the partners of his treason, and the boldest champions of this execrable war, I have always been upon the Watch, Romans, and studying how to secure you amidst such dark and complicated dangers. Sect. II. For at that time, when I drove Catiline from Home (for now I dread no reproach from that word, but rather the. censure of having suffered him to escape alive) ; I say, when I forced him to quit Rome, I naturally concluded,' that the rest of his accomplices would either follow him, or, Being deprived of his assistance, Would proceed with less vigour and firmness. But when I found that the most daring and forward of the conspirators still continued with us, and remained in the city ; I employed myself night and day to unravel and fathom all their proceedings and designs : that since my words found less credit, with you, because of the Inconceivable enormity ©f the treason, I might lay the whole so clearly before you } led than coveted? Nay, whole nations have made it a practice to consider the day of a man's nativity, as a day rather of sorrow than joy ; because he then entered into a state of misery and tribulation. (3) Ro77iulum ad deos sustulimus.'] So we learn from Aufelius Victor, cap. %. de viri& lllust. Cum ad Caprecs paludem exercitum lustraret, nusquam comparuit, unde inter patres e£ populum seditione orta, Julius Proculits, vir nobilis, in concionem processit,et jurejurandoji'-*- mavit, Romulum a se in colle Quirinali visum augustiore forma cum ad deos abiret ; eundtm- t[ue prascipere ut seditionibus absti'neren^ virtutem colerent ; futurum ut omnium gentium domi- ni existercnt- Hi/jus aucUritati creditum est, JEdes in colle ^uirinali Romish constitute* , ipse fro deo cultus, ^uirinus est appellatus* 64 Jtt. T. CTCERONTS ©RATTOKF.S. tio iih.i, reig ita comprehenderem, ut turn demum animis sajufj* v estrseprovideretis, cum oculis maleficium ipsum videretis. /Ita- que ut comperi legatos (4) Allobrcgum, (5) belli Transalpim, et tumultuB Crallici excitandi causa, a P. Lentulo esse solicitation, eosquv in Galliam ad suos cives, eodem itinere cum literis man- datisque ad Catilinam esse missos, comitemque iis adjunctum Tulturcium, atque huic datas esse ad Catilinam literas : fa- cuhatem mihi oblatam putavi ut, quod erat dimcillimum, quodque ego semper optabam a diis immortalibus, tota res noil solum a me, sed etiam.a senatu, et a vobis manifesto deprehenderetur. Itaque hesterno die L r Flaccum, et C. Pom- tinum prsetore.s, fortissimos atque amantissimos reipublicse viros, ad me vocavi : rem omnem exposui : quid fieri placeret, ostendi. Illi autem qui omnia de republ. prseclara atque egregia sentireut, sine recusatione, ac sine ulla mora negotium susceperunt, et cum advesperasceret, occulte ad pontem Mil- vium pervenerunt : atque ibi in proximis villis iti bipartiti fuerunt, ut Tiberis inter eos, et pons interesset ; eodem autem et ipsi, sine cujusquam suspicione, multos fortes viros eduxe- runt ; et ego de praefectura Ileatina complures delectos adole- scentes, (6) quorum opera utor assidue in reipublicse prresidio, cum gladiis miseram. Interim (7) tertia fere vigilia exa.cta ; (4) Allobrogum.'] Thefe were Gaub, who passing the Alps, settled on the Italian aide, in thofe parts now called Savoy and Piedmont. They were a brave people and maintained a war with the Romans for a long time ; but before this had been total- ly fubdued, and governed by the Roman praetor, who had the care of Gallia Narbon- ensis. About the time of the breaking out of this conspiracy, they had sent ambafsa- dors to Rome, to complain of the opprefsion and extortion of their govern- or. Lentulus took this opportunity of increasing the strength of the confpiracy, by rromifing the Aliobrogians an abatement of their taxes, if they would rife in favour of Catiline, and afsist him with their forces. The ambafsadors, after some deliberation; refolved to uifcovtr the affair to Qv^ Fabius Sanga, their patron at Rome, who immediately disclofed it to Cicero. The consul advifed them to a- gree with the conlpirators, and get a covenant from them signed by the principal men to carry home to their constituents. This che confpirators consent to, and at the fame time desire them to take Catiline's camp in their way ; for which purpofe they send one of their party, Vulturcius, along with them, with letters to their general. Cice^ ro getting notice of this from the ambafsadors, took the whole party prisoners upon the road, and by this means had full proof againft Lentulus, and the other head3 of the plot, whom he immediately seized. (5) Belli Transalpine ettumultm CuUlcl.'] When the Roman arms were employed in Farther Gaul, this Cicero calls a ivar ; but when Hither Gaul was the fcene of ac- tion, he gives it the name of a t,/?>:ult, tuviulius. The difference between thefe two lies in this, that ivar is a word of a more extensive signification, and was not accounted to formidable as a tumult. For by a tumult the Romans understood fome very danger- our commotion, that threatened the capital of the empire itself, as happening either in the very bosom of Italy, or in Cisalpint Gaul, a country that immediately bordered upon Italy, and whose inhabitants had formerly brought many calamities upon the Ro- wans. But ve cannot better diftinguifh. between helium and tutnultuty than in the C'.ICP.Rcfo ORATIONS. 163' sis to compel you at length to take measures for your own safety, when you could no longer avoid seeing the danger that threatened you. Accordingly, when I found that the ambassa- dors of the Allobrogians had been solicited by P. Lentulus to kindle a war beyond the Alps, and rai.se commotions in Hither Gaul; thai they had been sent to engage, their state in the con- spiracy, with orders to confer with Catiline by the way, to whom they had letters and instructions ; and that Vulturcius was appointed "to accompany them, who was likewise entrusted with letters to Catiline ; I thought a fair opportunity offered, _ not only of satisfying myself with regard to the conspiracy, but like- wise of clearing it up to the senate and you, which had always appeared a matter of the greatest difficulty, and been the con- stant subject of my prayers to the immortal gods. ^Yesterday, therefore^ I sent for the prsetors L. Flaccus and C."Pomtinus ? men of known courage, and distinguished zeal for the republic. I laid the whole'matter before them, and made them acquainted with what I designed. They, full of the noblest and most ge- nerous sentiments with regard to their country, undertook the business without delay or hesitation ; and upon the approach oi night, privately repaired to the Milvian bridge, where they dis- posed themselves in such manner in the neighbouring villages, that they formed two bodies, with the river and bridge between them. "They likewise carried along with them a great number of brave soldiers, wiihout the least suspicion ; and I despatched from the prefecture of Re ate several chosen youths well armed, whose assistance I had frequently used in the defence ol the commonwealth. In the mean- time, towards the^ close of the third watch, as the deputies of the xlllobrogians, accom- panied by Vulturcius, began to pass the bridge with a great re- words of Cicero himself, who thus speaks of them in his eighth Phillip* pick : Potest enim esse belluin sine tumultu, tumuttus esse sine hello non potest. $uid at enim aliud tumultus, nisi perturbatio tqnta ut major timer oriatur f- Unde eUam nomen dictum est tumultus. Itaqut mzjores nostri tumultum Italicum, quod erat a:,mesticus : tumultum Gallkum, quod erat Italia finitunus : preterea nullum tumultum nomtnab,n> t ISTc ^ (6) Quorum operz u'.or assidue in nipublic* presidio, cum gladiis tniseram.l Muretus observes, tuat in some ancient manuscripts of Cicero, the sentence runs thus : Quorum opera utor asuduetnrepub- lica, presidio cum ^ladiis mheram ; According to which way of pointing and reading, pr^stdio # to be joined with miseram, so as to render the construction .f the paragraph miscram preside, not m pre- sidio rnpublice. Of the four first and principal editors of Cicero, Mmbrnus »lene approves th» ern- emJionofMuretus. Gnevius hasadrmttedit into the text itself, but, I am apt to thnik, wUhcut due consideration : for as Buherius judiciously observes, eorum opera uteru VgW^f™ mc °»T clUum advocii ; Opera in rcipublic* pnssidio ab ih ponitur qui manu earn defendu nt. ReaUnos ant em atolescenles illos\ non aMbebat sane ad consulUndum Cicero. Eorum igitur opera nun utebatut u» repub- liC3, sed in prxsidioreipublic^. . , . c ,.„'.]_. i , (7) Tenia fere-oisilia exact* ] The division of the night into four watches by the ancients," is mentioned .by Julius Pollux. « his first book. Sut% cos 166 JI - T - CICERONIS ORATIO.VES. IZi^J^TJT **&? COmitatu ,e S» 5 Allobrogum in- c mt u et nb m U ^T* >ulturc!l ! s » fi t i« eos impetus : edu- cumuj et ab .lbs gladn, et a nostris : res erat pra> oribus not* sobs : jgnorabatur a ceteris. pr-w-onous nota rJ?~- Tum i ? tcrvent " Pomtini atque Flacci, pu uam ad sen;ltl ™ '-eferri place- necusiVka^ v e idl l r VCMUm - ^"^ * me ta " tus '— - injtctus civitati videretur, negavi me esse facturum ut de neri KtEn Quizes" 1 T ^ ***** « 5 "4™m letS i^ternm, y unites, si ea, quas erant ad me delata renerta nn „ went 5 tamenego non arbitrabar iu tantis reip ^eSis es s" mdn mmiam ddie-entiam Dertimp-m l e nl" Dus ex paitibus, quemadmodum descriptum distributumnnV um, ut eqmtatum in Italiam quamprimum mitterem Tecks" masse «f 4t ,s S.byllmifi, haruspkumque respond, se esse X fothat rhc third w a r"ctnetaclvi^" : ^'; 0n J' a ; n ? " ch ° f tfirce ho ""' in ? , iVpofag (he fun to^fe a, fii mdn '£ l 't,and ended about three in the mora. . / ^iCERO*S ORATIONS.^ 171 infatuated rather by the sense of his guilt, he gave a remark- able proof of the great force of conscience : for not only his usual parts and eloquence, but his impudence too, in which he outdid all men, quite failed him ; so that he confessed his crime, to the surprise of the whole assembly. Then Yulturcius desired that the letter to Catiline^ which Lentulus had sent by him, might be opened | where Lentulus again, though greatly disor- dered, acknowledged his hand and seal. It was written with- out any name, but to this effect : " You will know who I am, u from him whom I have sent to you. Take care to show u ^Gurself a man, and recollect in what situation you are, and - l consider what is now necessary for you. Be sure to make " use of the assistance of all, even of the lowest.'* Gabinku. was then introduced, and behaved impudently for a while ; but at last denied nothing of what the ambassadors charged him with. And indeed, Romans, though their letters, seals, hands, and lastly their several voluntary confessions, were strong and convincing evidences of their guilt; yet had I still clearer proofs of it from their looks, change of colour, countenances, and silence. For such was their-amazement, such their downcast looks, such their stolen glances one at another, that they seemed not so much convicted by the information of others, as detected by the consciousness of their Own guilt* Sect. "V.I. The proofs being thus laid open and cleared, I consulted the senate upon the measures proper to be taken for the public safety* The most severe and rigorous resolutions were proposed by the leading men, to which the senate agreed without the least opposition. And as the decree is not yet put into writing, I shall as far as my memory serves, give you an account of the whole proceeding. First of all, public thanks were decreed to me in the amplest manner, for having, by my courage, counsel, and foresight, delivered the republic from the greatest dangers : then the prtetors, X*. Flaccus and C Pom- tinus, were likewise thanked for their vigorous and punctual execution of my orders. My colleague, the brave Antonius, was praised for having removed from his own and the coun- sels of the republic, all those who were concerned in the con- spiracy. They then came to a resolution, that P. Lentulus, after magistracy a second time, til! after an interval often years, it is highly probable that his first proctorship happened when L. Licimus Lucullus and C. Aurelius Cotta were consuls. We are still the more confirmed in this, because after the usual interval of two years, we find him advanced to the consulship, jointly with Cn. Aufidiu? Orestes. During the censorship of Gellius and Lentulus who were remarkable for their severity in the eserci?e of that office, this P. Lentulus, of whom we speak, though at that rime a man of consular dignity, was expelled the senate for the enorniity of his life. When the legal term of his degradation was expired, in order to recover the senatorian dig- nity, he was obliged to put in for being praetor a second time ; during which praetor- ahip, he was put to death for this conspiracy. ITS :vr. t. cickronts oraiiones. diam traderetur : itemque uti C. Cethcgus, L. Statilius, P. Ga> binius, qui omnes prsesentes erant, in custodiam traderentur : atque idem hoc decretum est in L. Cassium, qui sibi procura- tionem incendendse urbis depoposcerat : in M. Crcparium, cui ad solicitandos pastores Apuliamesse attributam erat indicatum : in P. Furium, qui est ex his coloniis quas Fesulas L. Svlla de- duxit : in Q. Magium Chilonem, qui una cum hoc Furio semper erat in hac Allobrogum solicitatione versatus : in P. Umbrenum libertinum hominem, a quo primum Gallos ad Gabinium per- ductos esse coastabat. Atque ea lenitate senatus est usus, Qui- rites, ut ex tanta conjuratione, tantaque vi ac multitudine do- mesticorum hostium novem hominum perditissimorum poena, republ. conservata, reliquorum mentes sanari posse arbitraretur. Atque etiam (12) supplicatio diis immortalibus pro singulari eorum merito, meo nomine decreta est, Quirites : Quod mihi primum post hanc urbem conditam togato contigit: ethis decre- ta verbis est, QUOD U11BEMINCENDIIS, CtEDE GIVES, ITALIAM BELLO LIBERASSEM. Quae supplicatio si cum cameras conferatur, Quirites, hoc interest (*3) quod csetera? bene gesta, hree una conservata repub. constituta est. Atque illud, : quod faciendum primum fu.it, factum atque transactum est; nam P. Lentulus quanquam patefactus indiciis, et confessionibus suis,. judicio senatus, non modo prajtoris jus, verum etiam civis ami»- serat ; tamen magktratuse abdicavit : ut (14) quse religio C.Mario, clarissimo viro, non fuerat, quo minus C. Glauciam, de quo nihil nominatim erat decretum, prtetorem occideret, ea nos re* ligione, in privato P* Lentalo puniendo liberaremur. VII. Nunc, quoniam, Quirites, sceleratissimipericulosissimiquc belli nefarios duces eaptos jam, et comprehensos tenetis ; existi- (12) Supplicatio.] The supplicatio was a folemn jproceffion to the temples of the gods, to return thanks for any vi&ory. After obtaining any fuch remarkable advantage, the general commonly gave the fenate an account of the exploit by letters wreathed a- bout with laurel ; in which, after the account of the fuccefs, he defired the favour of a Amplication, or public thanksgiving. This being granted for a fet number of days, the senate went in a folemn manner to the chief temples, and affisted at the sacrifices proper to the occafion ; holding a feall in the temples to the honour of the refpeiStive deites. In the mean time the whole body of the commonalty kept holiday, and fre- quented the religious afsemblies, giving thanks for the late fuccefs, and imploring a long continuance of the divine favour and affiftance. (13) <^ucd L£tcra acne gesta, bcec una conservata republica constituta est.] The meaning is, that thanksgivings had been decreed to others, for their good fortune and succtfees in war; but to Cicero, for prtferving the commonwealth from ruin, and by his dili- gence defeating the defigns of its enemies without drawing a fword. Cotta, a man of diUing-uifted abilities, and eminent for the great fervices he had done his country propofed this thanksgiving to which the fenate agreed without one diffenting voice. (41) Qua religio } A» MerouilU, the author of the Dauphin edition of Cicero's se- lect orations, gives a different explication of this paffage, from that which I have cho* CICERO^ ORATIONS. 173 having abdicated the pratorship, should be committed to safe custody ; that C. Cethegus, L. Statilius, P. Gabinius, all three then present, should likewise remain in confinement ; and that the same sentence should be extended to L. Cassius, who had offered himself to the task of firing the city ; to M. Ceparius, to whom, as appeared, Apulia had been assigned for raising the shepherds : to P. Furius, who belonged to the colonies settled by Sylla at Fesulfe ; to Q. Magi us Chilo, who had always seconded this Furius, in his application to the deputies of the Allobrogians ; and to P. Umbrenus, the son of a freedman, who was proved to have first introduced the Gauls to Gabinius. The senate chose to proceed with this lenitv, Romans, from a persuasion that though the conspiracy was indeed formidable, and the strength and number of our domestic enemies very great; yet by the punishment of nine of the most desperate, they should be able to preserve the state, and reclaim all the rest. At the same time a public thanksgiving was decreed in my^ name to the immortal gods, for their signal care of the com- monwealth ; the first, Romans, since the building of Rome, that was ever decreed to any man in the gown. It was conceived in these words : " Because I had preserved the city from a con- 4 ' flagration, the citizens from a massacre, and Italy from a " war." A thanksgiving, my countrymen, which if compared with others of the same kind, will be found to differ from them in this ; that all others were appointed for some particular services to the republic, this alone for saving it. What required our first care was first executed and despatched. For P. Len- tulus, though in consequence of the evidence brought against him, and his own confession, the senate had adjudged him to have forfeited not only the prsetorship, but the privileges of a Roman citizen, divested himself of his magistracy : that the consideration of a public character, which yet had no weight with the illustrious C. Marius, when he put to death the prsetor C Glaucia, against whom nothing had been expressly decreed, might not occasion any scruple to us, in punishing. P. Lentulus, now reduced to the condition of a private man. Sect. VII. And now, Romans, as the detestable leaders of this impious and unnatural rebellion are seized, and in custody, you sen to follow in the translation. I shall here transcribe what he says on this subject, that the reader, by comparing both, may be the better able to judge which ought to have the preference, Commendat mum ill ud factum temparatione illius quod a Mario factum est; ham nihil moratui est ilk , quo minus Glauciam intefificeret, qui Saturninum tribunum plebis centra rempublicam molimtem stquutus fuerat. Hulla autem religione tenebatur sic dgere ; at ipse Cicero reli- gione obstringebatur j quia decrelum non solum fuit a senatu, ul •viderent consules, ne quidrespubiica de- 4riminti caperet, verum etiam, ut Lentulum in custodiam traderent. At Marius tantum jvuus est a ten ctn rempublUam conservare, nequeti quicquam de Glaucia demattdatumj'uerat. 1) M. T. CICERONIS ORATIONES. mare debetjs, omnes Catilina* copias, omnes spes, atque opes, his clepulsis urbis periculis, concidisse. Quern quidem ego cum ex urbe pellebam hoc providebam animo. Quirites, rcmoto Catilina, nee mihi esse P. Lentuli somnum, nee L. Cassii adipem nee C. Gethegi furiosam temeritatem pertimescendam. Ille erat unus timendus ex his omnibus, sed tamdiu, dum minibus urbis continebatur ; omnia norat : omnium aditus tenebat : appellare, tentare, solicitare poterat, audebat : erat ei consilium ad facinus aptuirf : consilio autem neque lingua, neque manus deerat ; jam ad cameras res conficiendas certos homines delectos ac descriptos habebat : neque vero cum aliquid mandaverat, confectum putabat : nihil erat, quod non ipse obiret, occurreret, vigilaret, laboraret : frigus, sitim, famem ferre poterat. Hunc ego hominem tarn acrem, tarn paratum, tarn auclacem, tarn callidum, tarn in scelere vigilantcm, tarn in perditis rebus diligentem nisi ex domesticis insidiis in castrense latrocinium compulissem (dicam id, quod sentio, Quirites) non facile banc ta'ntam molem mali a cervicibus vestris depulissem ; non ille vobis Saturnalia constituisset, neque tanto ante cxitium, ac fati diem reipubl. denuntiasset ; neque commisisset, ut signum, ut iiterse sua?, testes denique manifesti sceleris deprehenderentur ; qua? nunc, illo absente, sic gesta sunt, ut nullum in privata domo furtum unquam sit tarn palam inventum, quam ha?c tanta in rempub. conjuratio manifesto inventa atque deprehensa est. Quod si Catilina in urbe ad hanc diem remansisset : quanquam quoad ftlit, omnibus ejus consiliis occurrit atque obstiti, tamen ut levissime dicam, dimicandum nobis cum illo fuisset : neque nos unquam, dum ille in urbe hostis fuisset, tantis periculis rempublicam tanta pace, -tanto otio, tanto silentio liberassemus. VIII. Quanquam ligec omnia, Quirites, ita sunt a. me adminis- trata, ut deorum immortalium nutu atque consilio et gesta et provisaesse videantur; idque cumconjectura consequi possumus, ^uod vix videturhumani consilii tantarum rerum gubernatio esse potuisse : turn yero ita praesentes his temporibus opem et auxilium nobis tulerunt, ut eos pene oculis videre possemus. Nam ut ilia omittam, visas nocturno tempore ab occidente laces, ardoremque co?li, ut iulminumjactus, ut terra? motus, cseteraque, qua? tarn multa, nobis consulibus, facta sunt, ut hsec, qua?, nunc fiunt, canere dii immortales viderentur : hoc certe, Quirites, od sum dicturus, neque pra^termittendum, neque relin- quendum est. Nam profecto memoria tenetis, Cotta et Torquato COSS. complures in capitolio tiirres de ccelo esse •;sas, cum et simulacra deorum immortalium depulsasunt, cicero's orations. its may justly conclude, that Catiline's whole strength, power, and hopes are broken, and the dangers that threatened the citv dis- pelled. For when I was driving him out of the city, Romans, I clearly foresaw, that if he was once removed, there would be nothing to apprehend from the drowsiness of Lentulus, the fat of Cassias, or the rashness of Cethegus. He was the alone for- midable person of the whole number, vet no longer so than while he remained within the walls of the city. He knew every thing ; he had access in all places ; he wanted neither abilities nor boldness te address, to attemp, to solicit. He had a head to contrive, a tongue to. explain, and a hand to execute any undertaking. He" had select and proper agents to be em- ployed in every particular entei*prize ; and never took a thing to be done because he had ordered it, but always pursued, urged, attended, and saw it done himself; declining neither hunger, cold nor thirst. Had I not driven this man, so keen, so resolute, so daring, so crafty, so alert in mischief, so active in desperate designs, from his secret plots within the city, into open rebellion in the fields, I could never so easily, to speak my real thoughts, Romans, have delivered the republic from its dangers. |IIe would not have fixed upon the feast of Saturn, nor named the fatal day for our destruction so long before- hand, nor suffered his hand and seal to be brought against him, as manifest proofs of his guilt. ( Yet air this has been so man- aged in his ahsence, that no theft in any private house was ever more clearly detected than this whole conspiracy. But if Catiline had remained in this city till this day ; .though to the utmost I would have obstructed -*ind opposed all his de- signs ; yet, to say the least, we must have come at last to open force ; nor would we have found it possible, while that traitor was in the city, to have delivered the commonwealth from such threatening dangers, with so much ease, quiet, and tran- quility. Sect. YIIT. Yet all these transactions, Romans, have been so managed by me, as if the whole was the pure effect of a divine influence and foresight. This we may conjecture, not only from the events themselves being above the reach of human counsel, but because the gods have so remarkably in- terposed, in them as to show themselves almost visibly. For not to mention the nightly streams of light from the western sky, the blazing of the heavens, the thunders, the e'arthquakes, with the many other prodigies which have happened in my con- sulship, that seem like the voice of the gods, predicting these events ; surely, Romans, what I am now about to say, ought nei- ther to be omitted, nor pass without notice. For doubtless you must remember, that under the consulship of Cotta and Torqua- tus, several turrets of the capitol were struck down with lightning! that the images of the immortal gods were likewise overthrown, 176 M. T. CICERONrS ORATlONEs. tatuse veterum hominum dejectse, et legum sera liquefacta. Tactus est etiam ille qui hanc urbem condidit, Romulus ; quern inauratum in capitolio parvum atque lactantem, uberibus lupinis inliiantem fuisse rneministis. | Quo quidem tempore, cum (i-')haruspices ex tota Etruria convenissent,c?edes atque in- cendia, et legum interitum, et bellum civile ac domesticum, et totius urbis atque imperii occasum appropinquare dixerunt, nisi dii immortales omni ratione placati suo numine prope fata ipsa flexissent. Itaque ex illorum responsis tunc et ludi decern per dies facti sunt, neque res ulla quse ad placrndum deos pertinerent, prsetermissa est ; iidemque jusserunt simulacrum Jovis facere majus, et in excelso collocare, et contra atque ante fuerat, ad orientem convertere : ac se sperare dixerunt, si illud signum quod videtis, solis ortum et forum curiamque conspiceret, fore, lit ea consilia quse clam essent inita contra salutem urbis atque imperii, illustrarentur, ut a S. P. Q. R. perspici possent. Atque illud ita collocandum consules illi statuerunt : sed tanta fuit operis tarditas, ut neque a superioribus consulibus, neque a no- bis ante hodiernum diem collocaretur. IX. Kic quis potest esse, Quirites, tarn aversus a vero, tarn prseceps, tarn mente captus, qui neget hsec omnia qua? videmus, prsecipueque hanc urbem, deorum immortalium nutu atque potestate administrari ? Etenim cum esset ita responsum, caedes, incendia, interitumque reipublicse comparari, et ea a perditis civibus ; qua; turn propter magnitudinem scelerum nonnullis incredibilia videb'antur, ea non modo cogitata a nefariis civi- bus, verum etiam suscepta esse sensistis. Illud vero nonne ita prfesens est, ut nutu Jovis Optimi Maximi factum esse videatur, ut, cum hodierno die mane per forum meo jussu et r.onjurati, et eorum indices in jedem Concordia; ducerentur, eo ipso tem- pore signum statueretur ? quo collocato, atque ad vos senatum- que converso, omnia et senatus, et vos, quae erant contra salu- tem omnium cogitata, illustrata, et patefacta vidistis. Quo etiam majore sunt isti odio supplicioque digni, qui non solum vestris domiciliis atque tectis, sed etiam deorum templis atque delu- bris sunt funestos ac nefarios ignes inferre conati : quibus ego si me restitisse dicam, nimium mihi sumam, ct non sim feren- dus : ille, ille Jupiter restitit ; ille capitolium, ille ha3c templa, ille hanc urbem, ille vos omnes salvos esse voluit. Diis ego (ij) Harusphes ex tota Etruria.] The art of soothsaying, and predicting future e- vents, from inspecting the entrails of beasts, was held in particular honour among the Tuscans, and cultivated with great care ; being fir;t invented by Tages, who was of that nation. We read in the Roman history, that at first only the natives of Tusca- ny exercised this office at Rome ; but afterwards the senate made an order, that twelve of the sons of the principal nobility should be sent into that country, to be instructed ia the rkei and ceremonies of their religion, of which this secret was a chief part. €XCERO's ORATIONS.- Iff the statues of ancient heroes displaced, and the brazen tables of the laws melted down ; that even Romulus, the founder of this city, escaped not unhurt : whose gilt statue, representing him as an infant sucking a wolf, you may remember to have seen in the capitol. At that time the soothsayers, being called together from all Etruria, declared that fire, slaughter, the overthrow of the laws, civil war, and the ruin of the city and empire were por- tended, unless the gods, appeased by all sorts of means, could be prevailed with to interpose, and bend in some measure the desti- nies themselves. In consequence of this answer, solemn game:? were celebrated for ten days ; nor was any method of pacifying the gods omitted. The same soothsayers likewise ordered a larger statue of Jupiter to be made, and placed on high, in a po- sition contrary to that of the former image, with its face turned towards the east ; intimating, that if his statue, which you now behold, looked towards the rising sun. the forum, and the senate- house ; then all secret machinations against the city and empire would be detected so evidently, as to be clearly seen by the sen- ate and people of Rome. Accordingly the consuls of that year ordered the statue to be placed in the manner directed; but from the slow progress of the work, neither they, nor their successors, nor I myself, could get it finished till that very day. Sect. IX. Can any man, after this, be such an enemy to truth,, so rash, so mad, as to deny, that all things which we see, and above all, that this city is governed by the power and providence of the gods ? For when the soothsayers declared, that messacres, conflagrations, and the entire ruin of the state were then de- vising : crimes, the enormity of whose guilt rendered the pre- diction to some incredible; yet are you now sensible, that all this has been, by wicked citizens, not only devised, but even at- tempted. Can it then be imputed to any thing but the imme- diate interposition of the great Jupiter, that this morning, while the conspirators and witnesses were by my order carried through the forum to the temple of Concord, in that very moment the- statue was fixed in its place ? and being fixed, and turned to look upon you and the senate, both you and the senate saw all the treasonable de signs against the public safety, clearly detected and exposed. The conspirators, therefore, justly merit the greater punishment and detestation, for endeavouring to involve in impious flames, not only your houses and habitations, bur the dwellings and temples of the gods themselves* nor can 1., without intolerable vanity and presumption, lay claim to the merit of having defeated their attempts. It was he, it was Ju • piter himself who opposed them : to him the capitol, to him thw temples, to him the city, to him are you all indebted for your preservation. It was from the immortal gods, Romans, that I derived my resolution and foresight ; and by tlieir providence.. 1 ; M.J. ClCETtONl I f'K) v. immortalibus ducibus hanc mentem^ Quirite .miateiiiqic' suscepi, atque ad ha?c tanta indicia perveni. Jam vero ilia Allobrogum solicitatio, sic a Lentulo cseterisque domesticis hos- tibus, ( l6 ) tanta res, tarn dementef credita et ignotis ct barbaris, commissreque literfe nunquam essent profecto, nisi a diis immor- talibus huic tanta? audaciai concilium esset ereptum. Quid vero ? ut homines Galii ex civitate male pacata, qiue gens una restat qure populo Rom. bellum facere et posse, et non nolle videatur, spem imperii, et rerum amplissimarum ultro sibi a patriciis ho- rn inibus oblatam neglige rent, vestramque salutem suas opibus anteponerent : id nonne divinitus factum esse putatis ? prreser- tim qui nos non pugnando, sed tacendo superare potuerunt. X. Quamobrem, Quirites, quoniam ad omnia pulvinaria sup- plicatio decreta est, celebratote illos dies cum conjugibus ac !i- beris vestris. Nam multi s?epe honores diis immortalibus justl habiti sunt ac debiti, sed profecto justiores nunquam. Erep'd enim estis ex crudelissimo ac miserrimo interitu, et erepti sine cfede, sine sanguine, sine exercitu, sine dimicatione : togati me uno togato duce et imperatore vicistis. Etenim recordammi, Quirites, omnes civiles dissensiones, neque solum eas quas audis- tis, sed et has, quas vosmetipsi meministis et viclistis* L. Sylla P. (17) Sulpicium oppressit; exurbe ejecit C.Marium custodem hu- jus urbis ; multosque fortes viros partim ejecit ex civitate, partim interemit ; Cn. Octavius Cos. armis ex urbe collegam suum ex- pulit : omnis hie locus acervis corporum et civium sanguine re-' dundavit. Superavit postea Cinna cum Mario, turn vero claris- »imis viris interiectis, (*8j iumina civitatis extincta sunt. CJltus (16) Tanta res tam iLmenter.'] There could not be a greater instance ef infatuation, than to impart the design of so dangerous, a conspiracy and war, to strangers and bar- barians : for so our ora'or calls the -\llobrogians ; it being usual with the Romans, to give the name of barbarians to all foreign nations, the Greeks only excepted* (17) Sulpicium oppressit — Marium ejecit — Octavius lollegsm suum exfulit. ] Sylla, by £ decree of vhe senate, having obtained the command in the war against Mithridates ; Marius, who envied him that honour, contrived, by means of Sulpicius, a tribune of the people, to get this order of the senate reversed, and the command conferred upon himself. In the mean time Sylla, who was upon his mar ch to the Mithridatic war, hearing of what passed in the forum, returned with his legions to Rome ; arid having entered it after some resistance, drove Marius and his accomplices to the necessity of •aving themselves by a precipitate flight. This was the beginning of the first civil war, properly so called, which Rome had ever seen, and what gave both the occasion and the example to all the rest that followed. The tribune Sulpicius was slain ; and Marius so warmly pursued, that he was forced to plunge himself into the marches of Minturnum, up to the chin in water ; in which condition fee lay concealed for sonic time, till being discovered and dragged out, he was preserved by the compassion of the inhabitants, who, after refreshing him from the cold and hunger which he had suffer- ed in his flight, furnished him with a vessel, and all necessaries, to transport himself in- to Africa. Cicero calls him here the guardian of the city, a title which was bestowed ipon him after the conclusion of the war with the Teutons and Cimbri. He was. in GICERO'S ORATIONS* 179 that I was enabled to make such important discoveries. The attempt to engage the Ailobrogians in the conspiracy, and the infatuation of Lentulus and his associates, in trusting affairs and letters of such moment to men barbarous and unknown to them^ can never surely be accounted for, but by supposing the gods to have confounded their Understandings. And that the ambassa- dors of the Gauls, a nation so disaffected, and the only one at present that seems both able and willing to make war upon the Roman people, should slight the hopes of empire and dominion, and the advantageous offers of men of patrician rank, and pre- fer your safety to their own interest, must needs be the effect of a divine interposition ; especially when they might have gained their ends, not by fighting, but by holding their tongues. Sect* X. Wherefore, Romans, since a thanksgiving has been decreed at all the shrines of the gods, celebrate the same reli- giously with your wiv^s and children. Many are the proofs of gratitude you have justly paid to the gods on former occasions, but never surely were they more apparently due than at present. You have been snatched from a most cruel and deplorable fate ; and that too without slaughter, without blood, without an army, without fighting. In the habit of citizens, and under me your only leader and conductor in the robe of peajse, you have ob- tained the Victory. For do but call to mind, Romans, all the civil dissensions in which we have been involved ■> not those only you may have heard of, but those too within your own mem- ory and knowledge. L. Sylla destroyed P. Sulpicius ; drove Marius, the guardian of this empire, from Rome ;■ and partly ba- nished, partly slaughtered, a great number of the most deserving citizens. Cn. Octavius, when consul, expelled Ms colleague, by force of arms, from the city. The forum was filled with carcases, and flowed with the blood of the citizens. Cinna afterwards, in conjunction with Marius, prevailed : and then it was that like marmsr with Cicero, a native of Arpinum, and 13 frequently commended by our orator in his speeches. Cn. Octavius was colleague in the consulship with Cornelius Cinna ; which last attempting to reverse all that Sylla had established, was driven out of the city by his colleague, with six of the tribunes, and deposed from the consulship. Upon this he gathered an army, and recalled Marius, who having joined his forces with him, entered Rome in a hostile manner, and, with the most horrible cruelty, put all Sylla's friends to the sword, without regard to age, dignity, er former services. But Sylla soon after returning from the Mithridatic war changed the face of affairs, re-e8-» tablished himself in his former authority, and triumphed over all his enemies. (18) Lumina ci-vitatis extincta sunt.] Upon occasion of the Marian proscription, there fell, among many others of less note, the consul Cn. Octavius; the two brothers L. Csesar, and C. Cassar ; P. Crafsus, and the orator M. Antonius ; whose head, as Cice- ro says, was fixed upon that rostra where he had so ftrenuously defended the republic when consul and preserved the heads of so many citizens ; lamenting as it were omin~ ously, the misery of that fate which happened afterwards to^himself, from the grand* 180 M. T. CICERONIS ORATIONES. esthujus victorias crudelitatem posteaSylla : ne did quidem opus est, ( 10 ) quanta, diminutione civium, et quanta calamitate reipub. ( 20) DissensitM. Lepidus a clarissimo et fortissimo viro Q.Catu- lo ; attulit (»*) non tarn ipsius interims reipub. luctum,.quam cse- terorum. Atque ill?e dissensiones eranthujusmodi, Quirites, quss aon addelendam,sedad commutandamrempub.pertinerent ; non ilii nullam esse rempub. sed in ea quse esset, se esse principes ; neque hanc urbem conflagrare, sed se in hac urbe florere, volue- mnt. Atque illse tamen omnes dissentiones, quarum nulla exi- tium reipub. qusesivit, ejusmodi fuerunt, ut non reconciliatione concordia?, sed internecione civium dijudicatse sint. In hoc au- tcmuno post hominum memoriam maximo crudelissimoque bello (quale helium nulla unquam barbaria cum sua gente gessit ; quo in bello lex haic fuit a llentulo, Catilina, Cassio, Cethego consti- tuta, ut omnes qui salva urbe salvi esse possent, in hostium nu- mero ducerentur) ; ita me gessi, Quirites, ut omnes salvi con- servaremini : et cum hostes vestri tantum civium superfuturum putassenl;, quantum infinite csedi restitisset : tantum autem ur- bis, quantum flamma obire non potuisset : et urbem, et cives in- tegros incolumesque servavi. XI. Quibuspro tantis rebus, Quirites, nullum ego a vobis pre- mium virtutis, nullum insigne honoris, nullum monumentum son of this very Antonius. Q^Catulus also, though he had been Marius's colleague in the consulship, and his victory over the Cimbri, was treated with the same cruelty: for when his friends were interceding for his life, Marius made them no other answer, but, He must die, he must die ; so Jiat he was obliged to kill himself. (19) <$hianta diminutione sivium.'] Sylla having subdued all who were in arms against him, indulged himself in a full revenge on his enemies ; in which, by the detestable me- thod of proscription, of which he was the first author and inventor, he exercised a more infamous cruelty than had ever been practised in cool blood, in that, or perhaps in any other city. The proscription was not confined to Rome, but carried through all the towns of Italy ; where, besides the crime of party, which was pardoned to none, it was fatal to be possessed of money, lands or a pleasant seat : all manner of licence be- ing indulged to an insolent army, of carving to themselves what fortunes they pleased. There perished upon this occasion ninety senators, fifteen of whom were consulars ; and two thousand six hundred Roman knights. We are told, that during the heat and fu- ry of the proscription, Furfidius admonished him not to make a total havock of the Roman people, but to suffer some to remain alive, over whom he might rule. (20) Dissensit M. Lepidus a ^ Catulo.) After the death of Sylla, the old dissensions, that had been smothered a while by the terror of his power, burst out again into a flame between the two factions, supported severally by the two consuls, Q^Catulus and M. Lepidus, who were wholly opposite to each other in party and politics. Le- pidus resolved at all adventures to rescind the acts of Sylla, and recal the exiled Mari- ans. Catulu..'s father, the ablest statesman of his time, and the chief asserter of the a- vi«.tocratical interest, had been condemned to die by Marius ; the son therefore, who inherited his virtues, as well as principles, and was confirmed in them by a resentment of that injury, vigorously opposed, and effectually disappointed all th<3 designs of lis CICERo's ORATIONS. 181 ihe very lights of our country were extinguished by the slaugh- ter of her most illustrious men. Sylla avenged this cruel victo- rv : with what massacre of the citizens, with what calamity to the state, it is needless to relate. M. Lepidus had a difference with Q. Catulus, a man of the most distinguished reputation and merit. The ruin brought upon the former was not so af- flicting to the republic, as that of the rest who perished upon the same occasion, f Yet all these dissensions, Romans, were of such a nature as tended only to a change in the government, not a to- tal destruction of the state. It was not the aim of the persons concerned to extinguish the commonwealth, but to be the lead- ing men in it ; they desired not to see Rome in flames, but to rule in Rome. And vet all these civil differences, none of which tended to the overthrow of the state, were so obstinately kept up, that they never ended in a reconciliation of the partres, but in a massacre of the citizens. \But in this war, a war the fiercest and most implacable ever known, and not to be paral- leled in the history of the most barbarous nations ; a war m which Lentulus Catiline, Cassius and Cethegus, laid it down as a principle to consider all as enemies who had any interest in the well-being of the state ; I have conducted myself in such a manner, Romans, as to preserve you all. And though your enemies imagined that no more citizens would remain than what escaped endless massacre ; nor any more of Rome be left standing than was snatched from a devouring conflagration ; yet have I preserved both city and citizens from harm. Sect. XI. For all these important services, Romans, I desire no other reward of my zeal, no other mark of honour, no other monument of praise, but the perpetual remembrance of this colleague ; who finding himself unable to gain his end without recurring to arms, re- tired to his government of Gaul, where he raifed what forces he could, and returned at the head of a great army, possessing himself of Etruria withont oppoficion, and marching in an hostile manner towards the city, to the demand of a second consulship Catulus, in the mean time, upon the expiration of his office, was vested with procon- sular authority, aad charged with the defence of the government; and Pompeyalso, bv a decree of the senate, was joired with him in the same commission ; who having united their forces before Lepidus could reach the city, came to an engagement with him near the Milvian bridge, within a mile or two from'the walls, where they totally routed and dispersed his whole army. Lepidus himself escaped into Sardinia, where he soon after died of grief. (zi) Non tarn fysius intentus.] It is worth while to observe what caution and pru- dence the orator expresses in this paffage. He does not wholly deny that the death of Lepidus was calamitous to the state ; for this speech was addressed to the people, who considered Lepidus as one of the heads of the Marian party ; which, in fact, they were always disposed tofivour, regarding it as their own. He therefore allows the fall of this leader to be a misfortune ; yet not fo much for his own fake ; as on account ef th ~ R^any eminent patriots who penshed on the fame occasion, 182 M. T. CICERONIS ORATIONES. laudis postulo, pneterquam hujus diei memoriam sempiternam. In animis ego vestris omnes triumphos meos, omnia orna- menta honoris, monumenta glorise, laudis insignia, condi et collocari volo ,* nihil me mutum potest delectare, nihil taciturn, nihil denique hujusmodi, quod etiam minus digni assequipossint. Memoria vestra, Quirites, nostra? res alentur, sermonibus cres- cent, literarum monumentis inveterascent et corroborabuntur : (22) eandemque diem intelligo, quam spero seternam fore, et ad salutem urbis, et ad memoriam consulates mei propagatam : unoque tempore in hac republica duos ciyes extitisse, quorum alter fines vestri imperii, non terrae sed coeli regionibus termi- naret ; alter ejusdem imperii domicilium sedemque servaret. XII. Sed quoniam earum rerum quas ego gessi,non est eadem fortuna atque conditio, quae illorum qui externa bella gesserunt : quod mihi vivendum sit cum illis, quos vici ac subegi : isti hos- tes aut interfectos, aut oppressos reliquerunt : vestrum est, Qui- rites, si cseteris recta sua facta prosunt, mihi mea ne quando obsint, providere > mentes enim hominum audacissimorum sce- leratse ac nefarise ne vobis nocere possent, ego proyidi : ne mihi noceant, vestrum est providere. Quanquam, Quirites, mihi quidem ipsi nihil jam ab istis nocere potest ; magnum enim est i s:ur^ ; ::.. i ^ , .v;v : v— - =^ ; , : ,„ , )1S| , : , u . ;;■ om^p 1 ";,;/- ""Sir 1 'I^VcU^dte R _ '.'■.• -i"- inpcndent^ nisi providetis : non Tib. brace ns, qui iterum tobunus plebis fieri voluit': mm 1 ■. ( ;,,, c - C tm •' " . >,T t:onat u s est : win !,. Satuminus, qui ZLt. '"clwcnmenaliquod.atqu^in vestrw se- ;, t ;" tWlU ; itl1 '-- T«™ qitJadi incen- RomiresSl r^" 1?*™' ; " j ( ^ l, ' ni « n recipiendum „" . ; ' ■ ■ tt '»"^r 1,tel ^ s ^, m;,„„s. denique uni- t. u ■ J r, 4 tT COnflss,< ? : «*«l»tu< Allobro-,, « : sen itia 'xcitan- oL^^V''' 1 "' 11 , 111 / ', 4 eSt ' init «™ coas.hum, ut, interfectis -£2™:;? f d^Iorandum quidem rcip. nomen, atque ..d lamentandain tant. ,mpem calamitatem relinquatur. tis iam V.kI HU ! " detu,erunt > rei wnfessi sunt, vos mul- dniX^l T, J h !CaV1StIS: - pnmUm ' 1" od mihi gn«ias egistis smguUnbus verbis, et ineavirtute atque diligentiii perditorum ' eTm ft' c2HrA Se abdlcaret P^«™ c °egis t is : turn quod cen^uisis ^v ' qmbUS J udicavistis > i« custodiam dandos crevht ',, h m ' qUe ' qU °, d me ° n ° mine SiPplicationem de- crevisas, qui honos togato habitus ante me est nenini : postremu 5 stbTnn ;i Pr!Cm,a kgatiS Anoh ^nm, Titoque YuStaS distis a.nphssima : qua; sunt omnia ejusmodi, ut ii, qui h custo- LteVrut 1 d '/ft t ^ W "^ ad V0S ' R C " tan 1 ua ™ ads^da'nfJl ' 1 uld J udl «tis; et de poena, quid cense- atis ,11a prsedicam, quie sunt consulis. Ego malm in re- FamP^emT! rT' "?? ^ d ™ misCe " « S m a coZraZem f -K^ 8Cd hanC tantam ' tam exitiosam habe " ouocunn ?rtT , lbUS n » n< 3 ua ™ P^ayi. Nunc quidquid est, dun vXs J„T " aenteS WCh r nt ^q^^ntentia,, ( 3 ) statuen- S v detts a, t. n °? tem est - Q« a "tum facinus ad nos delatum 1 ;', ' Pa ? S pUtatis »ffine«-esse, vehementer er- non solu" "' S .T n r 0nedlSSeminatUmest hoc ma!um = man ™t non solum per ltabam, verum etiam transcendit AJpes, et ob- ry for "CttV:tt:tfl' m "c ■) J h Tr" I™™?™ *« »ade it uecefsa- feared that the frLn^nff refol °"°» bcf ° re ni t>' ht ' Firft > bc «" fe * ™ to be hg the nUht Ind at emnt CrS "V* 16 c ° Bfpirators ««>uld raifefome tumult dur. . miffing the Late be47 „"„?"* ^""^ beCaufe there wa ' a "ecefsity for dif- uo decree o the l„t7L ? I j wek >™ ! ">"> Varro in Aulus Gellius, that foresun-rL ! a °° kedup0nas - valid > if '< Ta«ed after fun-set, or be- eiGERo's ORATIONS. 19*1 the issue of this day, often recall my thoughts homewards. All these objects affect me, yet in such a manner that I am chiefly concerned for their preservation and yours, and scruple not to expose myself to any hazard, rather than that they and all of us should be involved in one general ruin, j Wherefore, conscript fathers, apply yourselves wholly to the safety of the state, guard against the storms that threaten us on every side, and which it will require your utmost ^circumspection to avert. It is not a Tiberius Gracchus, caballing for a second tribuneship : nor a Caius Gracchus, stirring up the people in favour of his Agrarian law ; nor a Lucius Saturninus, the murderer of Caius Memmius, who is now in judgment before you, and exposed to the severity of the law : but traitors, who remained at Home to fire the city, to massacre the senate, and to receive Catiline. Their letters, their seals, their hands ; in short, their several confessions arc in your custody, and clearly convict them of soliciting the Allobrogians, spiriting up the slaves, and sending for Catiline. Th'j scheme proposed was to put all without exception to the rcl, that not a soul might remain to lament the fate of the v '^nr:.- -. ,. ^alth, and the overthrow of so mighty an empire. Sect. III. All this has been proved by witnesses, the crimin- als themselves have confessed, and you have already condemned them by several previous acts. First, by returning thanks to me in the most honourable terms, and declaring that by my virtue and vigilance, a conspiracy of desperate men has been laid open. Next, by deposing Lentulus from the prsetorship, and committing him, with the rest of the conspirators, to cus- tody. But chiefly, by decreeing a thanksgiving in my name, an honour which was never before conferred upon any man in the gown. Lastly, you yesterday voted ample rewards to the deputies of the Allobrogians, and Titus Vulturcius : all which proceedings are of such a nature as plainly to make it appear that you already, without scruple, condemn those whom you have by name ordered into custody, i But I have resolved, conscript fathers, to propose to you anew the question both el the fact and punishment, having first premised what I think proper to say as consul. I have long observed a spirit of dis- order working in the state, new projects devising, and perni- cious schemes set on foot ; but never could I imagine that a conspiracy so dreadful and destructive, had entered into the minds of citizens. Now whatever you do, or which ever way your thoughts and voices shall incline, you must come to a re- solution before night. You s.e the heinous nature of the crime laid before you ; and if you think that but few are concerned in it, you are greatly mistaken. The mischief is spread wider than most people imagine, and has not only infected Italy, but Grossed the Alps, and imperceptibly creeping along, seized many ^92 M. T. CICERONIS 0RATI0NE5. scare serpens multas jam provincias occupavit. Id opprim/ sustentando, ac prolatando nullo pacto potest ; quacunque rar tione placet, celeriter vobis vindicandum est. IV. Video duas adhuc esse sententias : imam D. Silani, qui censet eos, qui hsec delere conati sunt, morle esse multandos ; (4) alteram C. Csesaris, qui mortis poenam removet, cseterorum suppliciorum omnes acerbitates amplectitur. Uterque et pro sua dignitate, et pro rerum magnitudine in summa severitate \ ersatur. Alter eos, qui nos omnes, qui populum Romanum vita private conati sunt, qui delere imperium, qui populi Ro- mani nomcn extinguere, punctum temporis frui vita et hoc communi spiritu non putat oportere : atque hoc genus pcense ssepe in improbos cives in hac republ. esse usurpatum recordatur. Alter intelligitj mortem a diis immortalibus non esse supplicii causa constitutam, sed aut necessitatem naturae, aut laborum ac miseriarum quietem esse ; itaque earn sapientes nunquam inviti, fortes etiam ssepe libenter oppetiveruni ; vincula vero, et ea sempiterna, certe ad singularem pcenam nefarii sceleris inventa sunt : itaque municipiis despertiri jubet. Habere videtur ista res iniquitatem, si imperare velis : diificultatem, si rogare : de- cernatur tamen, si placet. Ego enim suscipiam, et, ut spero, Teperiam, qui id, quod salutis omnium causa statueritis, non putet suae dignitatis recusare. Adjungit gravem poenam muni- cipibus, si quis eorum vincula ruperit f horribiles custodias cir- cumdat, et digna scelere hominum perditorum sancit ; ne quis eorum poenam, quos condemnat, aut per senatum, aut per po- yulum levare possit : eripit etiam spem, quae sola hominem in miseriis consolari solet ,• bona prseterea publicari jubet : vitam solam relinquit nefariis hominibus : quam si eripuisset, multas *no dolore animi ac corporis, et omnes scelerum pcenas ademis- aet. Itaque ut aliqua in vita formido improbis esset posita, apud inferos ejusmodi qusedam illi antiqui suppliciaimpiis constituta esse voluerunt ; quod videlicet intelligebant, his remotis, non ckse mortem ipsam pertimescendam. A . Xunc, P. G. ego mea video quid intersit ; si eritis secuti sntentiam C Cresaris, quoniam hanc is in republics* viam, cuse popalaris habetur, secutus est, fortasse minus erunt, hoc ^uctore et cognitore hujusce scntentise, mini populares impetus (4) Alteram C. Claris.] His opinion wa3, as we have already feen, perpetual im- .p ifonment in the free towns of Italy. The fpeech he made upon this occafion, or at kaftthe fubftance of it, is extant in Salluft. This, with his former behaviour, made him be looked upon as a well-wifher to the confpiracy ; fo that the knights, who kept gtard round the fenate-houfe, threatened to kill him, as he came from the houfe ; and Tone fay they would have done it, if Cicero had not protected him, and carried him heme with him. Caefar was fo frightened at this, that he never "tame abroad again, ?*i, he entered upon his office of prxtor the enfuing year. Cicero's orations. 19$ provinces. You can never hope to suppress it by delay and ir- resolution. Whatever course you take, you must proceed with vigour and expedition, j Sect. IV. There are two opinions now before you ; the first, of D. Silanus, who thinks the projectors of so destructive a con- spiracy worthy of death ; the second, of C. Csesar, who, ex- cepting death, is for every other the most rigorous method of punishing. Each, agreeably to his dignity, and the importance of the cause, is for treating them with the last severity. The one thinks, that those who have attempted to deprive us and the Roman people of life, to abolish this empire, and extinguish the very name of Rome, ought not to enjoy a moment's life, or breathe this vital air : and hath showed withal, that this punish- ment has often been inflicted bv this state on seditious citizens. The other maintains, that death was not designed by the immor- tal gods as a punishment, but either as a necessary law of our nature, or a cessation of our toils and miseries ; so that the wise never suffer it unwillingly, the brave often seek it voluntarily : that bonds* and imprisonment, especially if perpetual, are con- trived for the punishment of detestable crimes : that therefore the criminals should, be distributed among the municipal towns. In this proposal there seems to be some injustice, if you impose it Upon the towns ;" or some difficulty, if you only desire it. Yet decree so, if you think fit ; I will endeavour, and I hope I shall be able to find those who will not think it unsuitable to their dignity, to comply with whatever you shall judge necessary for the common safety. He adds a heavy penalty on the municipal towns, if any of the criminals should escape ; he invests them with formidable guards ; and, as the enormity of their guilt de- serves, forbids, under severe penalties, all application to the senate or people for a mitigation of their punishment* He event deprives them of hope, the only comfort of unhappy mortals. He orders their estates also to be confiscated, and leaves them, nothing but life > which if he had taken away, he would by one momentary pang have eased them of much anguish both of mind and body, and all the sufferings due to their Crimes ►■ For it was on this account that the ancients invented those infer- nal punishments of the dead ; to keep the wicked under some awe in this life, who, without them, would have no dread of death itself. Sect. V. Now, conscript fathers, I see how much my in- teret is concerned in the present debate. If vou follow the opinion of C. Ca3sar, who' has always pursued those measures in the state which savour most of popularity, I shall perhaps be less exposed to the arrows of public hatred, when he is known fos rtie author and adviser of this vote. But if you falj in with the 194 MJ, r. CICERONIS ORATIONESS. pertimcscendi : sin illam alteram secuti eritis ; nescio an amplius mihi negotii contraha*tur ; sed tatnen meorum periculorum ra- tioncs utilitas reipublicce vincat. Habemus enim a C. Caesare, sicut ipsius dignitasj et majorum ejus amplitudo postulabat, sententiam, tanquam obsidem perpetuse in rempublicam volun- tatis ; intellectum est quid intersit inter lenitatem (5) conciona- torum, et animum vere popularem, saluti populi consulentem. (6) Video de istis, qui se populares haberi volunt, abesse non neminem, ne de capite videlicet civium Romanorum sententiam ferat ; is et nudiustertius in custodiam cives Romanes Cethegum et P. Lentulum dedit, et supplicationenl mihi decrevit, et indi- ces hesterno die maximis prsemiis affecit. Jam hoc nemini du- bium est, qui reo custodiam, qusesitori gratulationem, indici premium decrevit, quid de tota re et causa judicarit. At vera C. Csesar intelligit (7) legem Semproniam esse de civibus Ro- manis constitutam ; qui autem reipub. sit hostis, eum civem esse nuilo modo posse : denique ipsum latorem legis Sempronipe, jussu populi pcenas reip. dependisse ; idem etiam ipsum Lentu- lum largitorem et prodigum non putat, cum de pernicie reip* et exitio hujus urbis tarn acerbe tamque crudeliter cogitarit, ap- pellari posse popularem. Itaque homo mitissimus atque ienissi- raus non dubitat P. Lentulum seternis tenebris vinculie ... m- dare : e^ sancit in posterum, ne quis hujus supplicio levando st jactare, et in pernicie reipub. posthac popularis esse possit ; ad- jungit etiam publicationem bonorum, ut omnes animi cruciatus et corporis, etiam egestas ac mendicitas consequatur. VI. Quamobrem sive hoc statueritis, dederitis mihi (8) ccmi- tern ad concionem populo Romano carum atque jucundum :/sivr (5) Concionatorum.] This word, for the mod part, implies fome cenfure of the per fons to whom it is applied ; and fo, doybtlefs, we are to underftand it here. For he oppofes thefe declaimers to the truly popular mind, that aims at nothing but the good Of the public. We may therefore very well fuppofe, that he means his as a reproof to thofe turbulent fpeakers, and factious tribunes, who endeavoured, by feditious ha- rangues, to fpirit up the people againfl the nobility and fenate. (6) Video — abijfe non neminem.] We have no light from hiftory as to who the par- ticular perfon here mentioned was. It appears only that he was fome fenator, who had hitherto attended the meetings of that body, and concurred in all their previous votes ; but chofe to abfent himfelf this day, with a view of acquiring the cha- racter of popularity. Cicero here juflly derides the folly of fuch a conduct, fince. if there was any thing exceptionable in condemning the confpirators, he had already in- •»irred that guilt, by contenting to all the previous decrees made againfl them, which eonfidered them as traitors to their, country, and therefore worthy of the ievereft pun- lfhment. (7) Legem Semproniam.] This law was propofed by C. Sempronius Gracchus, and had its name from the perfon who propofed it, as mod other laws had. It decreed, that no Roman citizen fhould be condemned to death by any judge, or even by the* fenate, but «nly by the affembly of the people; and frequently this fentence of death was allowed to be exchanged for banifhment, -which the old Romans thought a fuifici- «u punifhment for any crime, how great foevcr. CICERO'S ORATIONS. 195 motion of D. Silanus, I know not what difficulties it may bring me under. However, let the service of the commonwealth supersede all considerations o,f my danger. Csesar, agreeably to his own dignity, and the merits of his illustrious ancestors, has by this proposal given us a perpetual pledge of his affection to the state, and showed the difference between the affected lenitv of busy declaimers, and a mind truly popular, which seeks noth- ing but the real good of the people. I observe, that one of those who affects the character of popularity, has absented himself from this day's debate, that he may not give a vote upon the life of a Roman citizen. Yet, but the other day, he concurred in sending the criminals to prison, voted me a thansgiving, and yesterday decreed ample rewards to the informers. Now, no one can doubt what his sentiments are on the merits of the cause, who votes imprisonment to the accused, thanks to the dis- coverer of the -conspiracy, and rewards to the informers. But C. Csesar urges the Sempronian law, forbidding to put Roman citizens to deathT? Yet here it ought to be remembered, that those who are adjudged enemies to the state, can no longer be considered as citizens ; and that the author of that law himself suffered death by the order of the people. Neither does Csesar think that the profuse and prodigal Lentulus, who has concerted so many cruel and bloody schemes for the destruction of the Roman people, and the ruin of the city, can be called a popu- lar man. Accordingly this mild and merciful senator makes no scruple of condemning P. Lentulus to perpetual bonds and im- prisonment ; and provides that no one shall henceforward have it in his power to boast of having procured a mitigation of this punishment, or made himself popular by a step so destructive to the quiet of his fellow-citizens. He likewise adds the con- fiscation of their goods, that want and beggary may attend every torment of mind and body. Sect. YI. If therefore you decree according to this opinion* you will give me a partner and companion to the assembly, who is dear and agreeable to the Roman people. Or, if you prefer (8) Comltem ad concionem populo Rowano carum atque jucundum.~\ After the fenate had decreed any thing extraordinary, it was ufual for the perfon who propofed the decree, or him who had the chief hand in promoting it, to give an account of the affair to the people from the rostra, with a defence of the fenate's conduct. This was fomething more than matter of mere compliment, fince the people could reverfe any decree of the fenate. Cicero therefore tells them that if Caefar's opinion was followed, it would be of great fervice to him, in getting fuch a perfon as Ca23ar to appear with him in the affembly of the people : for Csefar, even at this time, was very popular ; and was, by his largeffes, laying a foundation for that height of power, to which he afterward* raifed himfelf, A2 M'. T. CICERONlSORATIONtaTi illam ^ilani sentcntiatn sequi malueritis ; facile mo, atqu? vos & erudehtatis vltuperatione defendetis : atque obtinebo, cam multo uviuremfuisse. Quanquam,P. C. qua? potest esse in tanti see leris immanitate puixienda crudelitas ? Ego enim de meo sensu judico. Nam ita mihi salvft rep, vohiscum perfrui liceat, ut ego, quod in hac causa vehementior sum, non atrocitate animi mo- veor (quis enim est me mitior ?) sed singulari quadam humani- tate et misericordia. Videor enim mihi hanc urbem videre, lucem orbis terrarum, atque arcem omnium gentium, subito uno inceudio concidentem : cerno animo sepulta in patria mi- cros, atque insepultos acervos civium : versatur mihi ante ocu- los aspectus Cethegi, et furor in vestra csede bacchantis. Cum vero mihi proposui regnantem Lentulum, sicut ipse se ex latis yperasse confessus est: purpuratum esse hunc Gabinium ; cum cxercitu venisse Catilinam : tWi lamentationem matrumfamirlias, turn fugam virginum atque puerorum, ac vexationem virginum vestalium perhorresco : et quia mihi vehementer hsec videntur mi sera atque miseranda, idcirco ineos, qui eaperficere voluerunt, me severum vehementemque pi?ebeo. /'JStenim quaero, si quis paterfamilias, liberis suis a servo interfectis, uxore occisa, incensa domo, supplicium de servis non quam acerbissimum sumpserit, utrum is clemens ac mi^ericors, an inhumanus et crudelissimus esse videatur ? mihi vero importunus ac ferreus, qui non dolore ac cruciatu nocentis, suum dolorem crueiatumque lenierit. Sic nos in his hominibus, qui nos, qui conjuges, qui liberos nostros trucidare voluerunt ; qui singulas uniuscujusque nostrum domos, ct hoc universum reipublica^ domicilium delere conati sunt; qui id egerunt (9) ut gentem Allobrogum in vestigiis hujus urbis, atque in cinere defiagrati imperii collocarent : si vehementissimr fuerimus, misericordes habebimur : sinremissiores esse volueri- mus, summse nobis crudelitatis in patriae civiumque pernicie fama subeunda est. (10) Nisi vero cuipiam L. Csesar, vir for- imus ctamantissimusreipub. crudeliornudiustertiusvisus, est (9) Ut gentem Alkhrogum in vestigih hujus urois,"] Catiline's party had made no fuch a* greement with the Allobrogians 4 - they had only promifed an abatement, or perhaps a total abolition of all their taxes, provided they would aflist the conspirators with their feorfe, in which they were reckoned to excel all other nations. But Cicero, like a true orator, reprefents every thing in the worst light, to infpire the fenators with the greater indignation. Indeed it is hard to fay what might have been the confequences oi Catiline's obtaining a victory by the afsistar.ee of the Gaulifh horfe, or how far the Ai- lobrogians might have improved that opportunity to the ruin of both parties. (10) Nisi vero cuipiam L. Ccesar.} Lucius C;efar was uncle to C. Julius Cxfar the. tator, and grandfon of Marcus Fulvius Flaccus. His fister Julia, the widow of Marcus Antonius Criticu3, was at this time married to P, Lentulus the confpirator By her first husband she wa3 the mother of that Mark Antony who was afterwards tnifir, and became -fo famous by his love for Cleopatra, and defeat at Actium HSICERG'S ORATIONS. W7 thai of Silanus, it will be easy still to defend both you and my- self from any imputation ' of cruelty ; nav, and to make appear, :]iat: it is much the gentler punishment of the two. And yet, conscript fathers, what cruelty can be committed in the punish- ment of so enormous a crime ?-jjJ speak according to my reai sense of the matter. For may I never enjoy, in conjunction with von, the benefit of my country's safety, if the eagerness which I show in this cause proceeds from any severity of tem- per, (for no man has less of it) but from pure humanity and clemency. For I seem to behold this city, the light of the uni- verse, and the citadel of all nations, suddenly involved in flames. 1 figure to myself my country in ruins, and the miserable bodies of slaughtered citizens; lying in heaps without burial. The image of Cethegus, furiously revelling in your blood, is now before my eyes. But when T represent to my imagination Lentulus on the throne, as he owns the fates encouraged him to hope ; G abinius clothed in purple ; and Catiline approaching With an army ; then am I struck with horror at the shrieks of .mothers, the flight of children, and the violation of the vestal virgins. And because these calamities appear to me in the highest degree deplorable and dreadful, therefore am I severe and unrelenting towards those who endeavoured to bring them upon usTl For let me ask, should the master of a family, find- ing his "children butchered, his wife murdered, and his house burnt by a slave, inflict upon the offender a punishment that fell short of the highest degree of rigour ; would he be account- ed mild and merciful, or inhuman and cruel ;Qf or my own part, I -should look upon him as hard-hearted and insensible, if he did not endeavour to allay his own anguish and torment, by the tor- ment and anguish of the guilty cause. It is the same with, us in respect of those men who intend to murder us with our wives and children >, who endeavoured to destroy our several dwellings, and this city, the general seat of the commonwealth ; who con- spired to settle the Allobrogians upon the ruins of this state, and raise them from the ashes of our empire. If we punish them with the utmost severity, we shall *be accounted compas- sionate ; but if we are remiss in the execution of justice, we may' deservedly be charged with the greatest cruelty, in ex- posing the republic and our fellow-citizens to ruhj^ Unless any one will pretend to say, that 1L. Caesar, a brave man, and zealous for the interest of his country, acted a cruel part, the other day, when he declared, that the husband of his sister, a lady of distinguished merit, and that too in his own presence and hearing, deserved to suffer death ; alleging the example we believe Plutarch, in his life of Antony, the^punifhment now inflicted upon Lentu- lus, the fource of that enmity which afterwards broke eut with fomuch violence, b#« *ween this very Antony and Cicero, 193 'M. T. CICERONIS ORATIONES. cum sororis suse, foeminse lectissimse, virum prsesentem et audi- entem vita privandum esse dixit ; (u) cum avum jussu Coss.in- terfectum, filiumque ejus impuberem legatum a patre missum, in carcere necatum esse dixit. Quorum quod simile fuit fac- tum ? quod initum delendse reip. consilium ? Largitionis volun- tas turn ib republics versata est, et partium qusedam contentio, Atque illo tempore hujus avus Lentuli, clarissimus vir, arma- tus Gracchum est persecutus, et grave turn vulnus accepit, ne quid de summa dignitate reipub. minueretur : hie ad evertenda fundamentareip. Gallos arcessivit, servitia concitavit, Catilinam evocavit, attribuit nos trucidandos Cethego, cseteros cives inter- ficiendos Gabinio, urbem inflammandam Cassio, totam Italiam vastandam diripiendamque Catilinse, Vereamini, censeo, ne in hoc scelere tarn immani ac nefario, nimis aliquid severe sta^ tuisse videamini : cum multo magis sit verendum, ne remissione poense crudeles magis in patriam, quam ne severitate animadver- sionis nimis vehementes in acerbissimos hostes fuisse videamini, VII. Sed quae exaudio, P. C. dissimulare non possum ; jac- tantur enim voces, quse perveniunt ad aures meas, eorum, qui vereri videntur, ut habeam satis prsesidii ad ea, quse vos statue*- ritis hodierno die, transigenda. Omnia provisa, parata, et con- stituta sunt, P. C. cum mea summa cura atque diligentia, turn multo etiam majore populi Romani ad summum imperium re- tinendum, et ad communes fortunas conservandas voluntate. Omnes adsunt omnium ordinum homines, omnium denique setatum : plenum est forum, plena templa circa forum, pleni omnes aditus hujus loci ac templi. Causa enim est, post urbem conditam hsec inventa sola, in qua omnes sentirent unum atque idem, prseter eos, qui, cum sibi viderent esse pereundum, cum omnibus potius, quam soli perire voluerunt ; hosce ego homines excipio, et secerno libenter ; neque enim in improborum civium, sed in acerbissimorum hostium numero habendos puto. Caeteri vero, dii immortales ! qua frequentia, quo studio, quavirtute ad communem dignitatem, salutemque consentiunt ? Quid ego hie equites Romanos commemorem ? quivobis ita summam ordinis consiliique concedunt, ut vobiscum de amore reipub. certent : quos ex (i») multorum annorum dissensione ad hujus ordinis (ll) Cum avum jussu consults interfectum,Jiliumque ejus, &c.} There is no OCCafion, for any corredlions or alterations in this place. L. Csefar had faid, that Lentulus, his fifters's hufband, deferved death ; and to confirm what he advanced, he mentioned the example of his grandfather, Marcus Falvius Flaccus, who, though far lefs guilty, was yet flain by order of the conful Opimius. Nay, one of the fons of this Flaccus, being fent by his father as an ambafTador to the conful, to propofe an accommodation ; Opir mius fent him back with fevere threatnings, if he fhould dare to return with any pro- pofal, befides that of an immediate furrender. The fon returning to the conful with other propofals, was feized, and, after the defeat of his party, was put to death by the eonful's orders, though but eighteen years old, CICERO S OR'ATIONS. 199 of his grandfather, slain by 0rder of the consul ; who likewise commanded his son, a mere youth, to be executed in prison, for bringing him a message from his father. And yet what was their crime, compared with that now before us ? Had they formed any conspiracy to destroy their country ? A partition of lands was then indeed proprosed, and a spirit of faction began to prevail in the state ; at this time the grandfather of this very Lentulus, an illustrious patriot, attacked Gracchus in arms ;. and in defence of the hoitour and dignity of the commonwealth, received a cruel wound. This his unworthy descendant, to overthrow the very foundations of the state, sends for the Gauls, stirs up the slaves, invites Catiline, assings the murdering of the senate to Cethegus, the massacre of the rest of the citizens to Gabinius ; the care of setting the city on fire to Cassius, and the devestation and plunder of Italy to Catiline. Is it possible you should be afraid of being thought too severe in the punishment of so unnatural and monstrous a treason ; when in reality you have much more cause to dread the charge of cruelty to your coun- try for your too great lenity, than the imputation of severity for proceeding in an exemplary manner against such implacable .enemies ? Sect. VII. But I cannot, conscript fathers, conceal what I hear. Reports are spread through the city, and have reached my ears, tending" to insinuate, that we have not a sufficient force to support and execute what you shall this day decree. But be assured, conscript fathers, that every thing is concerted, regulated, and settled, partly through my extreme care and dil- igence ; but still more by the indefatigable zeal of the Roman people to support themselves in the possession of empire, and preserve their common fortunes. The whole body of the people is assembled for your defence ; the forum, the temples round the forum, and all the avenues of the senate, are possessed by your friends. This, indeed, is the only cause, since the build- ing of Rome, in which all men have been unanimous ; those only excepted, who, finding their own ruin unavoidable, chose, rather to perish in the general wreck of their country, than fall by themselves. These I willingly except, and separate from the rest ; for I consider them not so much in the light of bad citizens, as of implacable enemies. But then as to the rest, immortal gods ! in what crowds, with what zeal, and with what courage do they all unite in defence of the public welfare and dignity \ What occasion is there to speak here of the Roman knights,' w4io without disputing your precedency in rank, and (ia) Multorum annorum disscnsionc?\ The Sempronian law had admitted the judges to be chosen out of the knights ; but L. Sylla again restored this privilege to the sen- ators only. Aurelius Cotta, a few years before this, had readmitted the knights to the right of judicature. This had occasioned a difference between the two orders for 200 M. T. CICRRONIS ORATIONES. societatem concordiamque revocatos, hodicrnus dies \obiscum atque luec causa conjungit ; quam conjunctionem si in consulate confirmatam meo, perpetuam in republica tenuerimus, coiifir- mo vobis, nullum posthac malum civile ac domesticum ad itllarti reipub. partem esse venturum. Pari studio defendendse reipub. convenisse video (*3) tribunos asrarios, fortissimos viros, scribas item universos ; quos cum casu bic dies ad rerarium frcquentas- set, video ab expectatione sortis ad communem salute m esse conversos. Omnis ingenuorum adest multitudo, etiam tenuis >' morum. Quis est enim cui non luec templa, aspectus urbis, pos- sessio libertatis, lux denique hsec ipsa, et boc commune patria* solum, cum sit carum, turn vero dulce atque jucundum ? VIII. Operfe pretium est, I*. C. libertinorum hominum studia- cognoscere, qui sua virtute fortunam civitatis consecuti, hanc vere suam patriam esse judicant : quam quidam hinc nati, et summo nati loco, non patriam suam, sed urbem hostium esse judicaverunt. <{3ed quid ego hujusce ordinis homines comme- morem, quos private fortunse, quos communis respublica, quos- denique libertas ea, qua dulcissima est, ad salutem patriae de- fendendam excitavit ? servuS est nemo, qui modo tolerabili con- ditionesit servitutis, qui non audaciam civium perditorum per- horrescat ; qui non obstare cupiat ; qui non tantum, quantum audet, et quantum potest, conferat ad communem salutem ci- vitatis. Quare si quern vestrum forte commovet hoc, quod audifum est, lenoriem quendam Lentuli concursare circum tabernas, pretio sperantem solicitari posse aiiimos egentium almoft a century ; but no fooner was Cicero entered upon his confulihip, than he for- med the project of uniting the equeftrian order with the fenate in one common party and intereft. The knights, next to the fenators, confifted of the richeft and mo'ft fplen- did families of Rome, who, from the cafe and affluence of their fortunes, were natu* raDy well affected to the prosperity of the republic ; and being alfo the conftant far- mers of all the revenues of the empire, had a great part of the inferior people depen- dent upon them. Cicero imagined, that the united weight of thefe two orders would always be an over-balance to any other power in the ftate, and a fecure barrier againft. any attempt of the popular and ambitious upon the commin liberty- He was the on«- ly man in the city capable of effecting fuch a coalition, being now at the head of the fenate, yet the darling of the knights, who confidercd him as the pride and ornament of their order ; whilft he, to ingratiate himfelf th« more with them, affected always in public to boaft of chat extraction, and to call himfelf an equeftrian j and made it his fpecial care to protect them in all their affairs, and to advance their credit and intereft ; infomuch that it was the authority of his confulihip, that firft diftinguiihed and eftah- lHhed them into a third order of the ftate. This we learn clearly from the elder Pli- ny, in the beginning of his thirty-third book of his natural hiftory. His words are : Cicero demumftabilivit equejire nomen in confulatufuo ; ei fenetum concilians, ex eo fe or dins prcfcBum celebraitSf ct ejus vires peculiar i popularitate quterens. Ab Mo temper e plane hoc itrtrum fiorpus in republica jaSi am eft, ceepitq it adj'iu I uloque Rwjiano cquejltr ofdt. ClCEEO*S ORATION'S. SfOi the administration of affairs, vie with you in their zeal for the re- public ; whom, after a dissension of many years, this day's cause has entirely reconciled and united with you ? And if this union, which my consulship has confirmed, be preserved and perpetu- ated, I am confident, that no civil or domestic evil can ever again disturb this state. The like zeal for the common cause appears among the tribunes of the exchequer, and the whole body of the scribes ; who' happening to assemble this day at the treasury, have dropped all consideration of their private affairs, and turned their whole attention upon the public safety. The whole body of free-born citizens, even the meanest, offer us their assistance. For where is the man, to whom these temples^ the face of the city, the possession of liberty, in short, this very light, and this parent soil, are not both dear and delightful ? Sect. VIII. And here, conscript fathers, let me recommend- to your notice the zeal of those freemen, who having by their merit obtained the privilege of citizens, consider this as their real country : whereas some born within the city, and born too of an illustrious race, treat it not as a mother soil, but as a hostile city. | But why do I speak of men, whom private in- terest, whom the good of the public, whom, in fine the love of liberty, that dearest of all human blessings, have rouzed to the defence of their country I There is not a slave in any tolerable- condition of life, who does not look with horror on this daring attempt of profligate citizens, who is not anxious for the pre- servation of the state ; in fine, who does not contribute all m fiis power to promote the common safety; -i If any of you^ therefore, are shocked by the report of Lentulus's agents run- ning up and down the streets, and soliciting the needy and thoughtless to make some effort for his rescue ; the fact indeed is true, and the thing has been attempted : but not a man was found so desperate in his fortune, so abandoned in his in- The pelicy was certainly very good, and the republic reaped great benefit from it im this very year, through which he had the whole body of knights at his devotion ; wh« with Atticusat their head, confrantly attended his orders, and ferved as a guard to hit perfon. And if the faiae maxim had been purfued by all fucceeding confuls, it might probably have preferved, or would certainly at lead have prolonged, the liberty of the republic. (13) Trlbunoi erarhs, scribasS\ Tie tribuni ararii 'were officers under the quxflor. ettiployed in receiving and deftribttting the public money. The scribes were a very honourable order of men, whofe bufmess it was to record all public acts The o!4 scholiaft tells us, that they were sfsembled on this occafion, to divide among them* felves the oflices of the enfuing year, viz, who mould be fecretary to the confuls ; who to the prsetors, ike this was annually done, and, like the other offices at Rome. ofually determined by lot. While they were bufied about thefe concerns, they faw *.he prifoners brought to the fenatehoufe ; upon which dropping all thought of their er 7 vatc affair*, they came and made »n offer of their assistance. 202 M. T. CICERONIS ORATIONES. atque imperitorum : est id quidem coeptum atque tentatum : sed nulli sunt inventi tarn aut fortuna miseri, aut voluntate perditi, qui non ipsum ilium sellse atque operis, et qusestus quotidiani locum, qui non cubile ac lectulum suum, qui denique non cur- sum hunc otiosum vitfe suse, salvum esse velint. Multo vero maxima pars eorum qui in tabernis sunt, immo vero (id enim potius est dicendum) genus hoc unive^sum amantissimum est otii. Etenim omne eorum instrumentum, omnis opera, ac qusestus, frequentia civium sustinetur, alitur otio : quorum si qusestus, occlusis tabernis, minui solet, quid tandem incensis fu- turum est ? Quse cum ita sint, P. C. vobis populi Rom. prsesidia non desunt : vos ne populo Rom. deesse videamini, providete. IX. Habetis consulem ex plurimis periculis et insidiis, atque ex media morte, non ad vitam suam, sed ad salute m vestram reservatum : omnes ordines ad conservandam rempub. mente, voluntate, studio, virtute, voce consentiunt : obsessa facibus et telis impise conjuration! s, vobis supplex manus tendit patria com- munis : vobis se, vobis vitam omnium civium, vobis arcem et capitolium, vobis aras penatium, vobis ilium ignem Vestse per- petuum ac sempiternum, vobis omnia deorum templa atque de- lubra, vobis muros atque urbis tecta commendat. Prseterea de vestra vita, de conjugum vestrarum ac liberorum anima, de for- tunis omnium, de sedibus, de focis vestris hodierno die vobis judicandum est.? Habetis ducem memorem vestri, oblitum sui % qufe non semper facultas datur : habetis omnes ordines, omnes homines, universum populum Roman um (id quod in civili causa hodierno die primum videmus) unum atque idem sentientem* Cogitate quantis laboribus fundatum imperium, quanta virtute stabilitam libertatem, quanta deorum benignitate auctas exag- geratasque fortunas una nox pene delerit. Id ne unquam post-- hac non modo confici, sed ne cogitari quidem possit, vobis ho- dierno die providendum est. Atque hsec, non ut vos, qui mihi studio pene prsecurritis, excitarem, locutus sum, sed ut mea vox, (i 4 ) qua; debet es3e in repub. princeps, officio functa con- sulari videretur. X. Nunc antequam P. C. ad sententiam redeo, de me p^uca^ dicam. Ego, quanta manus est conjuratorum, quam videtis esse permagnam, tantam me inimicorum multitudinem suscepisse vi- M^* (14) £>urince/>s.~\ It was the conful' immedi- ately to provide for the fafety of the state, and to apply himfe! his alone, during the year. Besides, Cicero had fummoned this meeti e, and it might be expected that he should give his opinion concerning but this he cautiously avoids doing in exprefs words, though it may e; ed which way he inclines. £ICER0 9 S ORATIONS. 20% dinations, who did not prefer the shed in which he worked and earned his daily bread, his little hut and bed in which he slept, and the easy, peaceful course of life he enjoyed, to all the pro- posals made by these enemies of the state. For the greatest part of those who live in shops, or to speak indeed more truly, all of them, are of nothing so fond as peace : for their whole stock, their whole industry and subsistence, depends upon the peace and fulness of the city ; and if their gain would be interrupted by shutting up their shops, how much more would it be so by burning them ? Since then, conscript fathers, the Roman peo- ple are not wanting in their zeal and duty towards you, it is your part not to be wasting to the Roman people. Sect. IX. You have a consul snatched from various snares and dangers, and the jaws of death, not for the propagation of his own life, but of your security. All orders unite in opinion, inclination, zeal, courage, and a professed concern to secure the commonwealth. Your common country, beset with the bands and weapons of an impious conspiracy, stretches out her suppliant hands to you for relief, recommends herself to your care, and beseeches you to take under your protection the lives of the citizens, the citadel, the capitol, the altars of domestic worship, the everlasting fire of Yesta, the shrines and temples of the gods, the walls of the city, and the houses of the citizens. Consider likewise, that you are this day to pass judgment on your own lives, on those of your wives and children, an the fortunes of all the citizens, on your houses and propeities.HjYou have a leader, such as you will not always have, watchful for vou, regardless of himself. You have likewise what was never known before in a case of this kind, all orders, all ranks of men, the whole body of the Roman people, of one and the same mind. Reflect how this mighty empire, reared with so much toil, this liberty established with so much bravery, and this pro- fusion of wealth improved and heightened by such favour and kindness of the gods, were like in one night to have been for ever destroyed. You are this day to provide, that the same thing not only shall never be attempted, but not so much as thought of again by any citizen. All this I h»ave said, not with a view to animate your zeal, in which vou almost surpass me } but that my voice, which ought to lead in what relates to the commonwealth, may not fall short of my duty as consul. Sect. X. But before I declare my sentiments farther, con- script fathers, suffer me to drop a word wi-h regard to myself. I am sensible I have drawn upon myself as many enemies a? there are persons concerned in the conspiracy, whose number £ 2 304 M. T. CICERONIS ORATIONES. deo : sea earn esse judico turpem et infirmam, comernptam e| abjectam. Quod si aliquando alicujus furore et scclere conci- tatamanus ista plus valuerit quam vestraac reipublicae dignitas. me tamen meorum lactorum atque consiliorum nunquam, P. C» pcenitebit. Eteilim mors, quam illi mihi fortasse minitantur, omnibus est parata : vitse tantam laudem, quanta vos me vestris decretis honestastis, nemo est assecutus. Ceteris enim semper bene gestae, mihi uni conservatfe reipublicas gratu- kitionem decrevistis. Sit Scipio clarus, ille, cujus consilio atque virtute Hannibal in Africam redire, atque ex Italia decedere coactus est: ornetur alter eximia laude Africanus, qui duns urbes huic imperio infestissimas, Carthaginem Nu- mautiamque delevit : habeatur vir egregius, L. Paullus ille, cujus currum rex potentissimus quondam et nobilissimus Perses honestavit : sit in seterna gloria Marius, qui bis Ita- liam obsidione et metu servitutis liberavit : anteponatur omnibus Pompeius, cujus res gestae, atque virtutis iisdem, quibus solis rursus, regionibus ac terminis continentur ; erit profecto inter horum laudes aliquid loci nostras glorias : nisi forte majus est, patefacere nobis provincias, quo exire possumus, quam curare, ut etiam illi qui absunt, habeant (*5) quo victores revertantur ; quanquam est uno loco conditio melior externae victorias, quam domesticae : quod hostes alienigenas aut oppressi serviunt, aut recepti beneEcio se obligates putant : qui autem ex numero eivium dementia aliqua depravati, hostes patriae semel esse cce- perunt, eos, cum a pernicie reipublicas repuleris, neque vi coercere, neque beneficio placare possis. Quare mihi cum per- ditis civibus ceternum bellum. susceptum esse video : quod ego restro bonorumque omnium auxilio, memoriaque tantorum peri- culorum, quae non modo in hoc populo, qui servatus est, sed etiam in omnium gentium sermonibus ac mentibus semper hae- rebit, a me, atque a meis facile propulsari posse conndo. Ne> que ulla profecto tanta vis reperietur, qua? conjunctionem ves- tram equitumque Romanorum, et tantam conspirationem bo- norum omnium perfringere et labefactare possit. XT. Quae cum ita sint, patres consci ipti, pro imperio, pro ex- citu, pro provincia quam neglexi, pro triumpho cseterisque iaudis insignibus, quae sunt a me propter urbis vestraeque salutis (15) Ouo -victora revertantur.'} The reflection is just and natural, and admirably calculated to rin wliat he had been advancing, that there was more glory in preserving the st.itc from ruin, in enlarging its bounds by the acquisition of foreign provinces. We are told in the third book of Offices, that Pompey, speakinjt of Cicero's consulship In the fenate, expre:sed kimfelf to thu purpofc : " That it would have little availed him to obtain the honour of a third triumph, had 1 :icero,byhU prudcYii conductat home, preserved him the city wherein to triumph." For wink- » 1 , was employed in quelling the conspiracy at Rome, Pompey was in Asia, struggling wlthtlw viithridatic war. CICERo's ORATIONS. 205 "an see to be very great ; but I look upon them as a base, ab- ject, impotent, contemptible faction. But if, through the mad- ness of any, it shall rise again, so as to prevail against the se- nate *and the republic ; yet never, conscript fathers, shall I re- pent of my present conduct and counsels. For death, with which perhaps they will threaten mej is prepared for all men ; but none ever acquired that glory of life which you have con- ferred upon me by your decrees. For to Others you have de- creed thanks for serving the republic successfully : to me alone, for having saved it. Let Scipio be celebrated, by whose con- duct and valour Hannibal was forced to abandon Italy, and re- turn into Africa : let the other Africanus be crowned with the highest praise, who destroyed Carthage and Numantia, two cities at irreconcileable enmity with Rome : for ever renowned be L. Paulus, whose chariot was graced by the captivity of Perses, a once powerful and illustrious monarch : immortal hon- our be the lot of Mantis, who twice delivered Italy from inva- sion and the dread of servitude : above all others, let PompeyV name oe renowned, whose great actions and virtues know na other limits than those that regulate the course of the sun. Yet surely, among so many heroes, some place will be left for my praise ,* unless it be thought a greater merit to open a way into new provinces, whence we may retire at pleasure, than tg take care that our conquerors may have a home to return to. ] In one circumstance, indeed, the condition of a foreign victory is better than that of a domestic one ;. because a foreign enemy, when conquered, is either quite «rushed and reduced to sla- very, or, obtaining~Tavourable terms, becomes a friend ; but when profligate citizens once turn rebels, and are baffled in their plots, you can neither keep them quiet by force, nor oblige them by favours. I therefore see myself engaged in an eternal war with all traitorous citizens ; but am confident I shall easily repel it from me and mine, through yours and every worthv man's assistance, joined to the remembrance of the mighty dan- gers we have escaped, a remembrance that will not only subsist, among the people delivered from them, but which must for ever cleave to the minds and tongues of all nations. Nor, I trust, will any force be found strong enough to overpower or weaken the present union between you-and the Roman knights, and this general confederacy of all good citizens. Sect. XI. Therefore, conscript fathers, instead of the com- mand of armies and provinces, which I have declined ; instead of a triumph, and other distinctions of honour, which for your preservation, and that of this citv, I have rejected ; instead of attachments and dependences in the provinces, which, by means of my authority, and credit in the city,'! labour no less to support 20ft M. T. CIGERONIS ©RATI0NES. custodians repudiate, pro clientelis hospitiisquc provincialibus, qua? tamen urbanis opibus non minore labore tueor, quam com* paro : pro his igitur omnibus rebus, et pro meis in vos singula ribus studiis, proque hac, quam conspicitis, ad conservandam rempublicam diligentia, nihil aliud a vobis, nisi hujus temporis, totiusque mei consulates memoriam postulo : quse dum erit ves- tris mentibus infixa, iirmissimo me muro septum esse arbitrabor. Quod si meam speni vis improborum fefellerit atque superave- rit, commendo vobis parvum meum filium ; cui profecto satis erit prsesidii non solum ad salutem, verum etiam ad dignitatem, si ejus, qui ruec omnia suo solius periculo conservaverit, ilium esse filium memineritis. Quapropter de summa salute vestra, populique Romani, P. C. de vestris conjugibus ac liberis ; de aris ac focis ; de fanis ac templis ; de totius urbis tectis ac sedi- bus ; de imperio, de libertate, de salute Italia?, deque universa rep. decernite diligenter, ut instituistis, ac fortiter. ( l6 ) Habe- tis enim consulem, qui et parere vestris decretis non dubitet, et ea quse statueritis, quoad vivet, defendere, et per se ipsum pra> stare possit. (i 6) Habet'ts enim consulem, Isfc."] It may not now be improper to acquaint the reader with the is sue of this who's affair. Cicero's speech had the desired effect; and our orator, by discover ing his own inclinatien, gave a turn to the inclination of the senate ; when Cato, one of the new tribunes, rose up, and after extolling Cicero to the skies, and recommending to the assembly the authority of his example and judgment, proceeded to declare, 3gretably to his temper and principles, that he was surprised to see any debate about the punishment of men who had begun an actual war against their country ; that their deliberation fhould be, how to fecure themselves against them, rather than how to punish them ; that other crimes might be punished after commission, but unless this was prevented before its effect, it would be vain to seek a remedy after ; that the debate was not about the public revenues, or the oppressions of the allies, but about their own lives and liberties j not about the dis- cipline or manners of the city, on which he had oft. delivered his mind in that place, nor about the jjreatnefs or prosperity of their empire, but whether they or their enemies should posses that empire ; and in such a case there could be no room for mercy. If they must needs be merciful, let it be to the plunderers of the treasury ; but let them not be prodigal of the blood of citizens, and by sparing a few bad, destroy all the geod. That the flagitious lives of the criminals confuted every argument of mer- cy ; that Catiline was hovering over them with an army, while his accomplices were within the walls, and in the very heart of the city ; so that whatever they determined, it could not be kept secret, which made it the more necessary to determine quickly. Wherefore his opinion was, that simce the criminals had been convicted, both by testimony and their own confession, of a detestable treason a- gainst the republic, they should suffer the punishment of death, according to the custom of their an- cestors. Cato's authority, added to the impression which Cicero had already made, put an end to the debate ; and the senate applauding his vigour and resolution, resolved upon a decree in consequence of it. And although Silanus had first propofed that opinion, and was followed in it by all the consular senators, yet they ordered the decree to be drawn up in Caro's words, because he had delivered him- self more fully and explicitly upon it than any of them. The vote was no sooner passed, that Cicero CICERO'S ORATIONS. %®7 than acquire : for all these services, I say, joined to my singular zeal for your interest, and that unwearied dilligence you see me exert to preserve the state ; I require nothing more of you, than the perpetual remembrance of this juncture, and of my whole consulship. While that continues fixed in your minds, I shall find myself surrounded with an impregnable wail. But should the violence of the factions ever disappoint and get the better of my hopes, I recommend to you my infant son, and trust that it will be a sufficient guard, not only of his safety, but of his dignity, to have it remembered, that he is the son of one who, at the hazard of his own life, preserved you all. Therefore, conscript fathers, let me exhort you to proceed with vigour and resolution in an affair that regards your very being, and that of the people of Rome ; your wives\ and children ; your religion, and properties : your altars, and temples ; the houses and dwellings of this city ; your empire ; your liberty ; the safety of Italy ; and the whole system of the commonwealth. ? For you have a. consul who will not only obey your decrees without hesitation, but. while he lives, will support and execute in person whatever you shall order. refolved to put it in execution, left ike night, which was coming on, mould produce a- ny new difturbance ; he went directly therefore from the fenate, attended by a nume- rous guard of friends and citizens, and took Lentulus from the cnftody of his kinsman Lentulus Spinther, and conveyed him though the forum to the common prjfon, where he delivered him to the executioners, who presently ftrangled him.The other conspira- tors, Cethegus, Statilkis s and Gabinius, were conducted to their execution by their praetors, and put to death in the fame manner, together with Ceparius, the only one of their accomplices who was taken after the examination. When the affair was over, Cicero ■was conducted home in a kind of triumph, by the whole body of the fenate and the knights; the flreets being all illuminated, and the women and children at the win- dows, and on the tops of the houfes, to fee him pafs along through infinite acclamations of the multitude, proclaiming him their faviour and deliverer. As fox' Citiline him- felf, feeing his party in the city deftroyed, he was neceffitated foon after to come to * battle, in which he was defeated and flain, and his whole army cut to piecei. ORATIO VIII. PRO L. MURENA*. I. — QIL33 precatus sum a diis immortalibus, Judices, ■re, institutoque majorum, illo die quo auspicato (i) comitiis cent uriatis L. Mursenam consulem renunciavi, lit ea res mihi # IntheComitU held by Cicero for the election of confuls, D. Junius Silanus, and L. Licinius Murena, were chofen to that magiftracy. Soon after the election was over, a profecution was fet on foot againft Murena, who was charged with having infringed the law againft. bribery and corruption, lately paffed by Cicero. Cato had declared in the fenate, that he would try the force of this law upon one of the confular candidates. And fince Catiline, whom he chiefly aimed at, was now out of his reach, (having fomc time before left the city, and repaired to Manlius's camp,) he refolved to fall upon.Murena ; yet connived at the fame in the other coafal, Silanus, who had married his fifter, though equally guilty with his colleague. He was joined in the accufation by one of the difappoint- ed candidates, S. Sulpicius, a perfon of diflinguifhed worth and character, and the moft 'celebrated lawyer of the age ; for whofefervice, and at whofe inftance, Cicero's law againft bribery was -chiefly provided. Murena was bred a foldier, and had acquired great fame in the Mithridaric war, as lieute- tenant to Lucullus ; and was now defended by three, the greatetl men, as well as the greateft orators in Rome, Crafius, Hortenfius, and Cicero ; fo that there feldom had been a trial ©f more expectation, on account of the dignity of all the parties concerned. The character of the accufers makes it rea- fonable to believe, that there was clear proof of fome illegal practices; yet from this fpeech of Cice- ro, who delivered himfelf after Hortenfius and Crafius, and which, though imperfect, is the only re- maining monument of the tranfaction, it feems probable that they were fuch only as, though ftrictly fpeaking, irregular, were yet warranted by cuftom, and the example of all candidates; and though heinousinthe eyes of a Cato, or an angry comp^ticor, were ufually overlooked by the magistrates, and expected by the people. The reader is to obferve, that Murena, at the time of fpeaking this ora tion, was conful elect, and that it happened jult at the ci ids of Citiline'? confpiracy, and before he was defeated. This Cicero infills mightily upon in his defence, urging the necefiity of having two confuls for the guard of the city at the opening of the new year, and the great imprudence there would be in fetting afide ont vho by a military education, was the belt qualified to defend it in fo dangerous a crifis. This confideration had fuch weight with the judges, that without any deliberation they unanirnonfly acquitted Murena, and would not, as our orator elfewhere tells us, fo much as hear the accufation of men the moft eminent and illuftrious. It may not be amifsno obferve here, that Cicero allthis while had a ftrictir.tima.cy with Sulpicius, whom he had ferved with all his intereft In this very conteft for the confulfhip. He had a great friendfhip alfo with Cato, and the higheft efteem of his integrity; yet he not only defended thiseaufe againft them both, but, to take o/f thr prejudice ORATION VIIL FOR L. MURiENA. Sect. I. MY Lords, the prayer, which according to cus- tom, and the usage of our forefathers, I addressed to the immortal gods, on that day, when with the accustomed ce- of their authority, laboured even to make them ridiculous j rallying the profefsion of Sulpicius as trif- ling and contemptible, the principles of Cato as absurd and impracticable, with fo much humour an A wit, that lie made the whole audience very merry, and forced Cato to cry out, What a facetious, con- iul have we ! But what is more obfervable, the opposition of thefe great men in an affair fo intereft- ing, gave no fort of interruption to their friendship, which continued as firm as ever to the end of their lives : and Cicero, who lived the longed of them, (hewed the real value that he had for them both af- ter their deaths., by procuring public honours for the one, and writing the life and praifes of the other. Murena too, though expofed to fo much danger by the profecution, yet feems to have retained no re- fentment of it ; but, during his confulfhip, paid a great deference to the counfeis of Cato, and employ- ed all his power to fupport him aga'mft the violence of Metellus, his colleague in the. tribunate. This was a greatnef* of mind truly noble, and fuitable to the dignity ©f the perfons ; not to be (hocked by the particular contradiction of their friends, when their general views on both lides were laudable and virtuous: yet this mud not be wholly charged to the virtue of the men, but to the discipline of the republic itfeif, which, by a wife policy, impofeditasa duty on its fubjects to defend their fellow- eltizens in their dangers, without regard to any friendlhips or engagements whatfoever. The exam- ples of this kind will be more orlefs frequent in nates, in proportion as the public good happens to be the ruling principle } for that is a bond of union too firm to be broken by any little differences about the meafures of purfuing it ; but whereprivate ambition and party zeal have the afcendant, there ev- ery oppolition muft neceffarily create animofity, as it obftructs the acquitition of that good which is confidered as the chief end of life, private benefit, and advantage. This oration was ipeken in the latter end of the fix hundred and ninetieth year of Rome, and in the forty- fourth year of cur »» i rhor's age, when he and Antonius wereconfuls. (i) Comitiiicenluriatis.] The Comitia were affemblies of the people, legally convened by magis- trates, of which hiftorians mention three feverai kinds ; tke Cu.Tia.la i Centuriata, and Tribute. The Gomitia curiata were inftituted by Romulus ; the Centuriata, by Servius Tullius ; and the Tribute br the tribunes of the people. They took their names from the manner in which the people voted at th« affemblies. Thus, in the Commitia'.curiata, they voted by curiis ; in the Ceaturiata^by centuries ; and in the Tributa, by tribes. The Camilla by centuries, of which Cicero here fpeaks, owe their origim- al to the inilitution of the Cenfus. For Servius Tullius obliging every one to give a true account of what they were worth, according to thofe accou&ts divided tke people into fix ra»fcc or claffcs, 2-10 M. T. CICERONIS 0RATI0NES. magistratuique meo, ( a )populo, plebique Romanic bene atquft feliciter cvenirct : cad em precor ah iisdem diis immortalibus ob ejusdem hominis consulatum una cam salute obtinendum, et ut vestrse mentes atque sentential cum populi Rom. voluntate suf-» fragiisque consentiant, eaque res vobis populoque Rom. pacem, tranquillitatem, otium, concordiamque afFerat. Quod si ilia so- lemnis comitiorum precatio consularibus auspiciis consecrata, tantam habet in se vim et religioncm, quantam reipublicaj dig- nitas postulat : idem ego sum precatus, ut eis quoque homini- bus quibus hie consulatus, me rogante, datus esset, ea res fauste, feliciter, prospereque eveniret. Quse cum itasint, judices, et cum omnis deorum immortalium potestas, aut translata sit ad vos, aut certe communicata vobiscum : idem consul eum vestrsc fidei commendat, qui antea diis immortalibus commendavit : ut ejus- dem hominis voce et declaratus consul, et defensus, beneficium populi Rom. cum vestra atque omnium civium salute tueatur* Et quoniam in hoc officio studium mea defensionis ab accusal toribus, atque etiam ipsa susceptio causae reprehensa est ; ante- quam pro L. Muraena dicere instituo, pro me ipso pauca dicam : non quo mihi potior hoc quidem in tempore sit officii mei, quam hujusce salutis defensio : sed, ut meo facto vobis probato, ma- jore auctorit.ate ab hujus honore, fama, fortunisque omnibus, inimicorum impetus propulsare possim. II. Et primum M. Catoni, vitam ad certain rationis nor mam dirigenti, et diligentissime perpendendi momenta officiorum omnium, de officio meo respondebo. ..Negat fuisse rectum Cato, me et consulem, et legis ambitus latorem, et tarn severe gesto consulatu, causam L. Munense attingere ; cujus reprehensio me vchementer movet, non solum ut vobis, judices, quibus maxime which he fubdivided into one hundred and ninety-three centimes. The hrfl claf3, containing the km r ht.N and richeit citizens, confuted of ninety-eight centuries. The fecond, taking in tradefmea andmechai.ics, nude up two and twenty centuries. The third, the fame number. .The fourth, twency. The fifth, thirty. And the lalt, filled up with the poorer fort, had hut one century. Theft ■affeirolies by centuries were held for the electing of confuls, censors, and pnetovs; as alio for the ing of pcrfons accused of what they called cr'imm perJuellionis t or actions by which the party had fh wed himfelf an enemy to the itate ; and for the confirmation of foch laws as were propofed by t!. i "" in titrates, who .had the privilege of calling thefe a (limb lies. It is worth while here to ob- it by the inftitution of tliefe Com'itii, Scrvius TulKus fecretly conveyed the whole power from nons; for the centuries of the firfl and richeit claffes being called out tuft, who were three m re in number than all the relt put together, if theyall agreed, as generally they did, the bulinefo ly decided, and the other claffes were needlefs and inlignificant. However, the three laft :e ever came to vote. One thing I cannot forbear raking notice of, as it ferves to give usa high .•• : of the lenity of the Roman laws and government, namely, that though in the election of ma- ■ Ike Utxfi cati o a of law*, the votes of that century whole fiWfragcs were equally divided* I CICERO's ORATION'S. 211 z I declared L. Murena consul in the comitia by centu- ries ; that the choice might prove happy and prosperous for me end my magistracy, for the people and commons of Rome : that very prayer do I now repeat to the same gods, that Mu- rena may enter 'with safety upon the possession of his consul- ship : that your sentiments and decisions may correspond with the :_s and votes of the Roman people ; and that this ma- be an event productive of peace, tranquillity, ease, and concord, to to the commonwealth of Rome. And if that so- ss in the comitia, consecrated by consular auspices, has in it a force and efficacy equal to the dignity of the state : I must likewise be understood to have prayed, that the same might be a happy, joyful, and prosperous event to those per- sons, who, assembly where I presided, were chosen into the consulship, This being the case, my lords, and that all the power o^ the immortal gods is either transferred to, or at least communicated with you, the same consul, who before. recommended Murena to the immortal gods, now recommends him to your protection ; that the very voice by which his elec- tion was proclaimed, being likewise employed to defend htm, he mav preserve the dignity to which he has been raised by the people, with your safety, and that of all the citizens. And be- cause in the trial now under consideration, not only my zeal for the accused, but my very undertaking his defence is cen- sured by the prosecutors, suffer me, before 1 say any thing for' Murena, to sneak a little in behalf of myself : not that I prefer, on the present occasion at least, my own vindication to his defence % but that having once convinced you of the uprightness of my intentions, I mav with the greater authority repulse the attacks iveVsaries, anon his honour, lame and fortunes. Sr.;r. I!. And first I will vindicate my present behaviour to governs his life by the unerring standard of reason, and din- is the motives to every, duiy* He maintains that ii was wrong in me, a consul, the author of the law against bril and corruption, and who have behaved in my consulship ih so inflexible a severity, to charge myself with the defence of Murena. This censure, my lords, is a very powerful mp- j with me, not only to e Lie re^ons of my conduct fignified nothing ; yet in trials of life and death, if the suffrages/; zncicon were equal in number, the person was actually acquitted. (a) Populo, plebiqw; Romar.a.] As this expression frequently occurs in Cicero's ora- tions, it may not hz amifs once for ali to observe, that populus differs ixompUbs, as the gtnus from the spirits. By pcpulus we are to understand the whole body of the Roman citizens, including the senators and patricians. Piths respects only the multitude those of plebeian extraction , in other words, it denotes tht commons of Rome. C-2 ii'S M. T. dCERONIS ORATIONES. debeo, verum etiam utipsi Catoni, gravissimo atque integerrimcr viro, rationem facti mei probem. A quo tandem, M. Cato, est sequius consulem defendi, quam a consul e ? Quis mihi in repub. potest aut debet esse conjunctior, quam is cui respub. a me uno traditur sustinenda, magnis meis laboribus et periculis snstentata I Quod si in iis rebus repetendis, quae mancipi sunt, is periculum judicii prfcstare debet, (3) qui se nexu obligavit : profecto etiam rectius in judicio consulis designati, is potissi- mum consul, qui consulem declaravit, auctor beneficii populi Rom. defensorque periculi esse debebity Ac si, ut nonnullis in civitatibus fieri solet, patronus huic causes publice constituere- tur, is potissime honore affecto defensor daretur, qui eodem ho- nore prseditus non minus afferret ad dicendum auctoritatis quam facultatis. Quod si e portu solventibus ii qui jam in por- tum ex alto invehuntur, prsecipere summo .studio solent et tempestatum rationem, et prsedonum, et locorum ; quod natura affert ut eis faveamus, qui eadem pericula, quibus nos perfuncti iumus, ingrediantur : quo tandem me animo esse oportet prope jam ex magna jactatione terrain videntem, in hunc, cui video maximas reip. tempestates esse subeundas ? Quare, si est boni consulis non solum videre quid agatur, verum etiam providere quid futurum sit, ostendam alio loco, quantum salutis communis intersit, duos consules in republica kalendis Januariis esse. Quod fti ita est ; non tarn me officium debuit ad hominis amici for-* tunas quam respublica consulem ad communem salutem defen- dendam vocar III. (4) Nam quod legem de ambitu tuli, certe ita tuli, ut earn, quam mihimetipsi jampndem tulerim de civium periculis defendendis, non abrogarem. Etenim si largitionem factam esse confiterer, idque recte factum esse defencjerem ; facerem im- probe, etiam si alius legem tulisset : cum vero nihil commissum contra legem esse defendam, quid est quod meamdefensionem la- tio legis impediat ? Negat esse ejusclem severitatis, Catilinam, *-xitium reipub. intra mcenia molientem, verbis, et pene impe*'io (3) Qui se nexu obligavit.} To undeistand this passage aright, the reader must be informed, that (Re person who was to dispose of a property to another, was obliged to give bond, that in case this pro- perty should be evicted in law froim the buyer, by one who had a prior title, then the buyer could tsve recourse for hivindemnification upon the seller. This is properly called dare rem mancipi. The Ktxut is no other than the bond, by which the goods of the seller were liable for the performance. (4) Niun quod legem de ambitu tuli, &c] Cicero had passed a law against bribery and corruption, by which a canditatc, convicted of that offence, was doomed to banishment for ten years. The Cnlphurnian law, which waspriorto that of Cicero, only deprived them of their seat in the senate, and- the privilege of suing for public honours. Now Cato thought it incongruous in Cicero, who had en- S£t**l so severe a law a^aioa bribery, to appear in behalf of one charged with an infraction of that verv €ICER0 9 S ORATIONS. "213 to you, to whom chiefly I owe that mark of respect, but like- wise to Cato himself, a man distinguished for his integrity and wisdom. Say then, M. Cato to whom does the defence of a consul fall more properly than to a consul ? What man in the state can or ought to be dearer to me, than him, into whose hands I resign the care of the commonwealth, preserved by my toils and dangers. For if in any claim upon an estate sold to another he is obliged to defend the validity of the title, who in the conditions of sale warranted it to the buyer ; surely much more in the trial of a consul elect, that consul whose lot it was to declare him so, is bound to support him in his claim, and defend him against all attacks. For if, according to the com- mon practice of some states, the public should appoint a patron, to plead in this cause, the choice would doubtless fall upon a man who, being of equal dignity with the person accused, could bring no less authority than ability to back his defence. And if mariners just returned from avoyage are very earnest to caution those whom they see setting out, in relation to storms, pirates, and shores ; because nature inclines us to be concerned for those who are going to encounter the same dangers we have just escaped : in what manner ought I, who having weathered a violent tempest, begin to have a prospect of land, stand affected towards the man whom I see ready to face the mighty storms of the commonwealth ? If then it be the duty of a good consul, not only to have an eye to present transactions, but to look forward also into futurity % I shall take Occasion to show, in the progress of my discourse, of what importance it is to the common safety, that there be two consuls in the re- public on the first of January. And if so, it will readily be al- lowed, that the voice of my country for the public preservation, calls louder on the present occasion, than my obligation to de- fend the fortunes of my friend. Sect. III. For as to the law which I passed against bribery and corruption, it was never surely meant to abrogate what I had enacted some time before, in relation to myself, to repel the dangers that threatened my fellow-citizens. Indeed, should I admit the charge of bribery, and yet pretend to vindicate it, I should act infamously, even had another been the author of the law. But as I maintain that nothing has been done contrary to the tenor of that law, why should my passing the law bar my defence. Cato says, that it is a deviation from my former se- verity, after having by the force of reproaches, nay, in a man- law. But to this our orator replies, that it was a primary law and rule of his conduct, to undertake the defence of distressed citizens ; and that as Murena was falsely char- ged with corruption, he could not avoid appearing in his behalf, notwithstanding the ^ late law he had passed. 214 II. T. CICERONIS (JRATIONES. uvbe cxpulisse ; et nunc pro L. Murrena dicere. Kgo autem has partes lenitatis et miscricordife, quas me natura ipsa docuit, semper egi libenter : tallam vero gravitatis severitatisque perso- nam non appetivi, sed ab repub. mihi impositam sustmui, sicut hnjus imperii dignitas in summo periculo civium postulabat. Quod si turn, cum respub. vim et severitatem desiderabat, vici naturam, et tarn vehemens fui, quam cogebar, non quam vole- bam l nunc, cum omncs me causae ad misericordiam, atque ad humanitatem vocent, quanto tandem studio debeo naturse mere consuetudinique servire ? Ac de officio defensionis mese, et de ratiane accusationis ture, fortasse etiam alia in parte orationis dicendum nobis eritv Sed me, judices, non minus hominis sa- pientissimi atque ornatissimi Ser. Sulpicii conquestio, quam Ca- tonis accusatio commovebat : qui gravissime et acerbissime se ferre dixit, me familiaritatis necessitudinisque oblitam, causam Jj. Mursenic contra se defendere. * Huic ego, judices, satisfa- cere cupio, vosque adhibere arbitros. Nam cum grave est vere accusari in amicitia, turn etiam, si falso accuseris, non est negligendum. Ego, Ser. Sulpici, me in petitione tua tibi om- nia studia atque officia pro nostra necessitudine, et debuisse confiteor, et prxstitisse arbitror ; nihil tibi consulatum petenti a me defuit, quod esset aut ab amico, aut a gratioso, auta.con- sule postulandum ; abiit illud tenrpus : mutata ratio est : sic ex- istimo, sic mihi persuadeo, me tibi contra honorem L. Murjenra, quantum tu a me postulare ausus sis, tantum debuisse ; contra salutem nihil debere, Neque enim si tibi turn, cum peteres consulatum, affui, idcirco nunc, cum Mursenam ipsum petas, adjutor eodem pacto esse debeo. Atque hoc non modo non laudari, sed ne concedi quidem potest, ut amicis nostris accu- santibus, non etiam alienissimos defendamus. IY. Mihi autem cum Mursena, judices, et vetus, et magna amicitia est, qua} in capitis dimicatione a Ser. Sulpicio non idcir- co obruetur, quod ab eodem in honoris contentione superata est. Qua> si causa non esset ; tamen vel dignitas hominis, vel hono- ris ejus, quern adeptus est, amplitude summam mihi superbise crudelitatisque famam ihussisset, si hominis ( 5 ) et suis, et pop. (5) Et suis et populi Roman! ornamtntis amplissimi. - ] Murena was distinguished by ma- ny honours, that entitled him to Cicero's friendfhip and patronage. He was of an illustrious family, that had long made a figure in the commonwealth. His father had been quasstor and proctor. He himfelf was renowned for his virtue, and had acquired great military fame in the Mithridatic war. The people too had testified their appro- bation of his worth, by advancing him to the xdilefhip, the pratorfhip, and now to the ooiisulfhip. ciCERQ's or.ATiONS. 215 lute command, driven Catiline from the city, /as meditating the destruction of his country within s, to plead now for Jj« Murena. But in fact, I always rtcok with pleasure the parts of gentleness and mercy, to which my nature strongly inclines me ; nor was the rigid and vere character by any means my own choice : yet when the cause of my country forced it upon me, I sustained it with a dignity becoming the majejffcv of this commonwealth, in the im- minent clanger to which her citizens were exposed. But if at that time, when the public good called for severity and vigour, I found means to conquer nature, and put on an inflexibility, not of inclination, but of necessity ; now that all circumstances invite me to humanity and pity, with what ardor ought I to re- turn to my natural disposition and habit ? But possibly I may have occasion, in another part of this speech, to enlarge still farther upon my duty as a defender, and your conduct as an ac- cuser. But, my lords, if Cato's accusation gives me pain, nei- ther am I less hurt by the complaints of the wise and accom- plished Servius Sulpicius, who tells me he sees with infinite re- gret and concern, that I have forgot all former ties of intimacy and friendship, in undertaking against him the defence of Mu- rena. My lords, it is my earnest desire to give him satisfaction in this point, and you shall be umpire between us. For as breach of friendship, if justly objected, is a very heavy charge ; so even where the accusation is groundless, we ought not to seem indif- ferent to the reproach. I readily grant, Servius Sulpicius, that in your suit for the consuls' ip, I owed you, in point of friend- jp, all the zeal and good offices in my power : and I flatter my- self, I have not been wanting in the performance. Nothing was omitted by me, that could be expected from a friend , a man of interest, or a consul. But that period is now past, and things have put on another face. I allow and declare it is my opinion, that I was bound to go all lengths with you, in opposing Murena's pre- ferments ; but then I owe you nothing against his life. Nor do.es it follow, that because I was aiding to you against Murena in your demand of the consulship, I am therefore now also to as- sist you in an attack upon Murena himself. For it is not only net commendable, but even disallowable, to refuse the defence of the merest stranger, though prosecuted by our dearest friends. Sect'. TV. -But, my lords, there has subsisted along and in- timate friendship between me and Murena, which though it gave way to my regard for Sulpicius in a struggle about prefer- ment, must not therefore be stifled in an impeachment that threat- ens his life. And was this even not the case, yet the very dig- nity of the person, and the illustrious rank he holds in the com- monwealth, must have branded my reputation with an indelible itain of pride and cruelty, if in so dangerous an impeachment, 216 M- T. CICERONTS ORATIONES. l?om. ornamentis amplissimi causam tanti periculi repudiassem. Neque enim jam mihi licet, neque est integrum, ut meum la- borem hominum periculis sublevandis non impertiam. Nam cum prtemia mihi tanta pro hac industria sint data, quanta an- tea nemini : labores, per quos ea ceperis, cum adeptus sis, de- ponere, esset hominis et astuti, et ingrati. Quod si licet desi- nere, si te auctore possum, si nulla inertise, nulla superbise tur- pitude, nulla inhumanitatis culpa suscipitur, ego vero libenter desino. Sin autem fuga laboris, desidiam ; repudiatio supplicum, superbiam ; amicorum neglectio, improbitatem coarguit. nimi- rum hsec causa est ejusmodi, quam nee industrius, nee miseri- cors, nee olficiosus deserere possit. Atque hujusce rei conjec- turam de tuo ipsius studio, Servi, facillime ceperis. Nam si tibi necesse putas etiam adversariis amicorum tuorum de jure f onsulentibus respondere ; et, si turpe existimas, te advocato, ilium ipsum, quern contra veneris, causa cadere : noli tarn esse injustus, ut cum tui fontes vel inimicis tuis pateant, nostros ri- tuIos etiam amicis putes clausos esse oportere, Etenim si me tua familiaritas ab hac causa removisset, et si hoc idem Q,. Hor- tensio, M. Crasso clarissimis viris, si item cseteris, a quibus in- tclligo tuam gratiam magni sestimari, accidisset : in ea civitate consul designatus defensorem non haberet, in qua nemini un- quam infimo majores nostri patronum deesse voluerunt. Ego vero, judices, ipse me existimarem nefarium, si amico ; crude- leni, si misero ; superbum, si consuli defuissem. Quare, quod dandum est amicitife, large dabitur a me ; ut tecum agam, iServi, nonsecus, ac si meus esses frater, qui mihi est carissimus : isto in loco quod tribuendum est officio, fidei, religioni, id ita moderabor, ut meminerim me contra amici studium, pro amici periculo dicere. V. Intelligo, judices, tres totius accusationis partes fuisse, et earum imam in reprehensione vitse, alteram in contentione dig- nitatis, tcrtiam in criminibus ambitus esse versatam. Atque harum trium partium prima ilia, quae gravissima esse debebat > ita fuit infirma et levis, ut illos lex magis quasdam accusatoria, quam vera maledicendi facultas de vita L. Murpense dicere ali Cicero's orations. 21? 1 had refused to undertake the defence of a man, equally dis-* tinguished by his own virtues, and the honours conferred on him by the Roman people. For I am not now at liberty to re- fuse my assistance in relieving the distresses of mankind : be- cause having been rewarded for my industry beyond any one that ever went before me : to desist from the toils to which I owe that reward, after obtaining the reward itself, would argue a crafty and ungrateful spirit. Was it indeed allowable for me to repose, could I do it try your advice, without incurring the charge of indolence, the reproach of pride, and the stain of in- humanity, there is no course I would more joyfully embrace. But if repugnance to labour argues supineness ; a refusal of the suppliant, pride ; and a neglect of friends, ingratitude ; this surely is a cause of such a nature as no man possessed of indus- try, compassion, or a sense of duty, can refuse to undertake. Nay, it will be easy for you, Sulpicius, from the consideration, of your own practice, to conjecture how I ought to behave in the present case* For if you look upon yourself as bound to give your opinion, even to the adversaries of your friends, when they consult you upon a point of law ', and if you think it a dis- honour, in such a case, for the very person against whom you appear, to lose his cause, be not so unreasonable as to think, that while tl>e rich springs of your advice are open to your very enemies, the small rivulets of my ability should be shut even to my friends. For if my friendship for you had determined me against undertaking this cause, and if the illustrious €). IXor- tensius and M. Crassus, with others, who I understand set the greatest value upon your esteem, had declined it for the same reason ; a consul elect would have been without a defender, in a city where our ancestors never suffered even the meanest of the people to want a patron. For my own part, my lords, I could not forbear accusing myself of perfidy towards a friend, cruelty towards the unfortunate, and arrogance towards a con- sul, should I be wanting to Murena on this occasion. All that is due to friendship I will most liberally pay, in treating you, Servius, with the same deference and regard, as ifitiy brother himself, who is so dear to me, was acting in your place. What duty, honour, and obligation require of me, shall be conducted in such a manner, as to show me mindful that I am defending the life of one friend, against the resentment of another. Sect. V. I understand, my lords, that the whole accusation- consists of three heads ; the scandal of Murena's life ; the want of dignity in his character and family ; and bribery in the late election. As to those three charges ; the first, which should have been the most weighty, was so weak and trifling, that the common forms of accusation, rather than any real ground of 218 f. T. CICERONIS ORA1T- quid coegerit. Objecta est enini Asia, quae ab hoc non r.J volary tatem et luxuriam expetita est, seel in militari labore peragrat qui si adolescens, ( 6 ) patre suo imperatore, non meruisset ; aiit hostem, aut patris imperium timuisse, aut a parents repudiate videretur ; an, v. urn scJore in equis tfiumphantiura (7) prsetextati potissimum filii soleant, huic donis militaribus patris triumphum decorare fugiendum fuit, ut rebus cemmuniter gestis pen? simul cum patre triumpharet ; Hie vero, judices, et fuit in Asia, et vero fortissimo, parenti suo, magno adjumento in periculis, so- latio in laborious, gratulationi in victoria fuit. Kt si habet Asia suspicionem luxurife quandam, non Asiam nunquam vidisse, sed in Asia continenter vixisse, laudandum est. Quamobrem TiOn Asite nomen objiciendum Mursensefuit, ex qualaus lamilise, memoria generi, honos et gloria nomini constituta est : sed ali- quod aut in Asia susceptum, aut ex Asia deportatum flagitium ac dedecus. Jleruisse vero stipendia in eo bello, quod turn populus Ilornanus non modo maximum, sed etiam solum gere- bat, virtutis : patre imperatore libentissime meruisse, pietatis : finem stipendiorum patris victoriam ac triumphum fuisse, feli- citatis fait. Maledicto quidem idcirco nihil in hisce rebus loci est, quod omnia laus occupavit. VI. Saltatorem appellatL.Munenam Cato. Maledictum est, si vere objicitur, vehementis accusatoris : sin falso, maledici con- viciatoris. Quare, cum ista sis auctoritate, non debes, M, Cato. arripere maledicturn ex trivio, aut ex scurrarum aliquo convicio, (8) neque temere consulem populi Romani saltatorem vocar sed conspiceie, cuibus prieterea vitiis affectum esse necesse s (6) Patre suo imperatore, non meruisset.'] Afia was a country fo delicious, that o:,; who had been long in it, was apt to incur the fufpicion of luxury. ^Cicero with grear addrefs clears Murena of this charge, and obferves, that though he went very early in- to Afia, yet it was not from prepoffeffion or inclination, but in obedience to the com- mands of a parent. For L. Murena, the father of him whom Cicero here defends, was- lieutenant to Sylla in Afia, in the Mithridatic war; and when Sylla, after the peace, returned te Italy, to quiet the commotions that had arifen there during his abfence, Left this Murena, with two legions, to lecure the tranquility of Afia, and oblige Mi: ridatcsto make good his engagements, (7) Pratextati p'.t'tjp.mum jilii.\ Among the Romans, their generals who entered the cicy in triumph, were allowed to have their children and relations of both fexes who were under age, along with them in the chariot ; and if they were pretty well grown for their age, they rode upon the triumphal hori'es : if there was a greater number or them than could be conveniently accommodated either of thofe ways, then they were fuffered to ride behind the chariot, upon fingle horfes. (8) Neque temere consulem populi Rtmani saltatorem vosare.~\ Cicero's defence here IS fomewhat remarkable, and feems manifeftly to imply, that dancing was in the higheft degree difreputable among the Romans. It appears, indeed, from the prefacs-to Cor- nelius Nepos, that though this accomplishment wa3 held in great eftimation among the Greeks, yet the Romans made very little account of it. We are not however from' this to imagine, that they abfolutely condemned all manner of dancing ; for there were feverai forts of dances which they thought contributed both- to the gracefulncfs and' CXCER0 9 S ORATIONS. 2i9 tensure seem to have compelled the prosecutors to touch upon Murena's life. They tell us, he. has been in Asia, a country which he visited not for the purposes of pleasure and luxury, but traversed in a course of military toils. If in his youth he had neglected to serve under his father, whose lot it was to com- mand in those parts, might it not have been presumed^ that he either dreaded the enemy, or his father's discipline, or that his father had rejected him as unfit for the duties of war* Does custom allow sons, even before they take the robe of manhood, to sit with the general m his triumphal car ? and was Murena to decline adorning his father's triumph with military trophies, that, by sharing with him in his exploits, he might be entitled likewise to partake of his honours ? Yes, my lords, Murena was in Asia, and bore a considerable part in encountering the dangers, relieving the fatigues, and congratulating the victories of his gallant father. And if Asia lies under any imputation of luxury, there can be no glory in having never seen if, but in living temperately in it. Therefore the name of Asia ought not to have been objected to Murena, since thence the glory of his family, the fame of hi§ race,' and the renown and lustre of his own character, are derived r but his accusers should have charged him with some disgrace and blemish of life, either Con- tracted in Asia, f or imported from it. For to have served in the greatest, and at that time the only war in which the people of Rome were engaged, to have served with cheerfulness in an army which his father commanded, and to see his services termi- nate in the victory and triumph of his father, are proofs of his courage, his piety, and hjs good fortune. Malice can fasten no censure upon these transactions, seeing they have all an un- doubted claim to praise* Sect. TI. Cato calls L. Murena a dancer. If this reproach be well grounded, it is a weighty accusation ; but if false, it is an' outrageous calumny. Wherefore, M. Cato, as your author- ity carries so much influence with it, you ought never to snatch a charge from the mouths of the rabble, 1 or the slanderous lan- guage of buffoons : nor ought you rashly to call the consul of the Roman people a dancer ; but to consider how many other crimes - a man must needs be guiky of, before that of dancing can activity of body, and rendered men more expfert in handling their arms, and performing all the exercifes of war. I am therefore indued to fubfcribe to Olivet's opinion, who thinks that not dancing itfelf, but the excefspf it, is here condemned. His words are : An erge falrare in -vicio erat t Non magis quant aedificare, loqui. Pituperat'ittum nihilominus continent aedificator locutor : quoniam in his t atque cjut generilnotninibut altit, implicate at mtio immgderationu^ %%< vitif nunquam caret. j 220 M. T. CICERONIS 0RATI0NES. cum, cui verc istud objici possit. Nemo enim fere saltat so* brius, nisi forte insanit ; neque in solitudine, neque in convivio moderato atque hoiiesto. (9) IVmpestivi convivii, amceni loci, multarum deliciarum comes est extrema, saltatio. Tu mihi ar- ripis id, quod necesse est omnium vitiorum esse postremum : re- linquis ilia, quibus remotis, hoc vitium omnino esse non potest ; nullum turpe convivium, non amor, non comissatio, non libido, non sumptus ostenditur. Et cum ea non reperiantur, qua vo» luptatis nomen habent, quseque vitiosa siint ; in quo ipsam luxu- riam reperire non potes, in eo te umbram luxurise reperturum putas ? Nihil igitur in vitam L. Murrense dici potest ? nihil, in- fcniam, omnino, judices ; sic si me consul designatus defenditur, et ejus nulla fraus, nulla avaritia, nulla perfidia, nulla, crudelitas, nullum petulans dictum in vita, proferatur. Bene habet : jacta sunt fundamenta defensionis ; nondum enim nostris laudibus, quibus utar postea, sed prope inimicorum confessione, virum bonum, atque integrum hominem defendimus. VII. Quo constitute facilior est mihi aditus ad contentionem dignitatis ; qua pars altera fuit accusationis* Summam video esse in te, Ser. Sulpici, dignitatem generis, integritatis, indus- trial, cseterorumque ornamentorum omnium, quibus fretum ad consulates petitionem aggredi par est ; paria cognosco esse ista in L^ Murasna, atque ita paria, ut neque ipse dignkate vinci potuerit, neque te dignitate superarit. Contempsi3ti L. Mursenss genus ; extulisti tuum. Quo loco si tibi hocsumis, nisi qui patri- cius sit, neminem bono esse genere lmtum ; facis ut rursus plebs- in Aventinum sevocanda esse videatur. Sin autem suntamplse et honestse familise plebeise ; et proavus L. Mura>naj et avus pi stores fuerunt ; et pater, cum amplissime atque honestissime ex prsetura triumphasset, hoc faciliorem huic gradum consulates- adipiscendi reliquit, quod is jam patri debitus, anlio petebatur. Tua vero nobilitas, Ser. Sulpici, tametsi summa est, tamen ho~ minibus literatis et historicis est notior, populo vero, et suffra- gatoribus obscurior. Pater enim fuit equestri loco, avus nulla illustri laude celebratus ; itaque non ex sermone hominum re- centi, sed ex annalium vetustate eruenda est memoria nobilita- tis tua?. Quare ego te semper in nostrum numerum aggregare soleo, quod virtute, industriaque perfecisti, ut cum eq.uitis Rom. {9) Tempestivi convivii.] Some COm.m<*ntator9 want to read intempesiivi convivii i but Salmasius* has abundantly shown, that no such expression was in use among the Romans. Ttmpestiva convivia were those entertainments that began before the usual time for supper among the P.omans. Sach was that of Marius. taken notice of by Juvenal : Exul ah ectava JVfarius libit. These e3rly [entertainments were accounted scandalous among the Romans* CICERO^S ORATIONS. 221 he truly objected to him. For no body ever dances, even in so- . ade, or a private meeting of friends, who is not either drunk or mad. Dancing is always the last act of riotous banquets, gay- places, and much jollity. You hastily catch at a charge, which must necessarily be the result of all other vices, and yet object to him none of those excesses, without which that vice cannot possibly subsist ; no scandalous feasts, no amours, no nightly re- vels, no lewdness, no extravagant expense. And if no blem- ishes of this kind, which, however they may pass under the name of pleasures, are in reality vices, appear in his character, do you expect to find the shadow of luxury in a man, upon whom 3'ou cannot fasten the imputation of luxury itself. Can •nothing then be objected to the morals of Murena ? Nothing at all, my lords. The consul elect, whose cause I now defend, can be charged with no fraud, no avarice, no perfidy, no cruelty, no petulance, nor indecency of expression. So far is well : you see here the foundation of my defence ; for I have not yet displayed, as I shall afterwards do, almost by the con- fession of his enemies, the praise that belongs to him as a virtu- ous and worthy man. Sect. VII. Having settled this point, it will be the easier for me to enter upon the dispute relating to dignity, which was the second part of the charge. I very well know, Servius Sul- picius, that you are possessed of that eminent dignity of birth, probity, industry, and all other accomplishments, which gives you an undisputed title to aspire to the consulship. I know too that Murena is your equal in all those points ; and so truly your equal, that neither do you surpass him in dignity, nor has he the advantage of surpassing you. You affect, indeed, to de- preciate the family of Murena, and exalt your own. In this case, if you assume it as a principle that none but a patrician is of an honourable race, you seem again to summon the commons of Rome to the Aventine mount. But if there are noble and illustrious families of plebeian rank, then Murena's great-grand- father, and grandfather, were both prretors ; and his father having from the same dignity obtained the honour of a splendid triumph, the accession to the consulship became in this the more easy to the son, that he only demanded for himself, what was before due to his father. As to your nobility, Servius Sulpicius, though it be indeed of the most distinguished kind, yet is it- better known to antiquaries and historians, than to the people and voters at public assemblies. For your,, father never rose higher than the equestrian rank, nor was your grandfather il- lustrious by any of the principal offices of the state ; so that the nobility of your race appears not from the present discourses of men, but must be searched for in the rubbish of old annals. • I have therefore always reckoned you in the same- class with M. T. CICERONIS ORATIONES. .esses fUius, summa tamen amplitudinc dignus putarere ; nee mihi unquam minus in Q. Pompeio novo homine et fortissimo viro, virtutis esse visum est, quam (10) in homine nobilissimo M. ^Emilio, Etenim ejusdem animi atque ingenii est, posteris suis, quod Pompeius fecit, amplitudinem nominis, quam non acceperit, tradere ; et, ut Scaurus, mem.orjam prope intermorr, tuam generis sui, virtute renovare. VIII, Quanquam ego jam putabam, judices, multis viris for? tibus ne ignobilitas objiceretur generis, meo labore esse perfec- tum : qui nonmodo Curiis, Catonibus,Pompeiis, antiquis illis, fortissimis viris, (? x ) novishominibus, sed his recentibus Mariis et Didiis et Cseliis commemorandis jacebant. Cum ego vero tanto intervallo claustra ista nobilitatijs refregissem, ut aditus ad consuhvtum posthac, sicut apud majores nostros fuit, non magis nobilitati, quam virtivti, pateret : non arbitrabar, cum ex familia vetere et illustri consul designatus ab equitis Romani fdio, con- sule, defenderetur, de generis novitate accusatores esse dicturos. Etenim mihi ipsi accidit, ut cum duobus patrieiis, altero impro,- bissimo atque audacissimo, altero modestissimo atque optimo viro peterem : superavi tamen dignitate Catilinam, gratia Galbam- Quod si id crimen homini novo esse deberet ? profecto mihi ner que inimici, neque invidi defuissent. Omittamus igitur de ge r nere dicere, cujus est magna jn utroque dignitas : yideamus csetera, Qusesturam unapetiit, et sum ego factus prior ; non est respondendum ad omnia ; neque enim quemquam vestrum fugit, cum multi pares dignitate fiant, unus autem primum solus possit obtinere, non eundem esse ordinem dignitatis et renun- tiationis ; prppterea quod renuntiatio gradus habeat ? dignitas autem sit perssepe eadem omnium. Seal quosstura utriusque (10) In homine nblilissinf M. JEmMo."] M. JEmilius Scaurus was of an ancient fa* jnily, which yet for feveral ages had made no figure in the commonwealth, insomuch, that he was very juftly looked upon as the architect of his own grandeur and fortune. Asconias speaking of him fays, Scaurus itafuitpatrhius, ut tribus supra eum atatibus ja- eueritdomus ejus fortuna. Nam neque pater, neque avut, neque etiamproavus, ut puto, prop- ter tenues opes,et nullam vitce industriam, honor es adepti sunt. Jtaque Scauro a que ac novo bo- mint laborandum fuit. Cicero in his oration for Dejotarus, calls Scaurus the first man in the state. (n) Novis hominibus.'] As this expression occurs frequently in Cicero's orations, it may not be amifs to give the following explication of it, from Terratius. Hie quaren- dum est, quinam Roma dicer entur novi homines ; res enim non satis per se perspicua videiur. An ii, qui primum in familiam suam consulatum attulissent ? Nequaquam : nam L. Mur~ ana, qui, ui infra habcUt^primus in familiam veterem, primus in municipium antiquis simum y ionsulatum attulerat, mtsquam homo novus dicitur, cum illius pater et avus pratores fuissent. An ii, qui primi ex sua gente adepti es sent magistr stum ? Multo minus : nam infinitum prope illorum numerum extitisse puto, quorum neminem appellatum fuisse 'ovum hominem legimus. $y a $ >r ' J P t * r i quid ad consul&rem dignitatem pervenissent, ex H' ... A familiis , ex quibus anteq CXCERO*S ORATIONS. 223 myself, because though but the son of a Roman knight, you *iave vet by your industry and virtue, opened your way to the .highest honours of your country. Nor did I ever think the merit of the brave Quint us Pompeius, though but a new man, inferior to that of the noble Marcus JEmilius. For it argues no less magnanimity and spirit in Pompeius, to transmit to his descendants a lustre which he received not ; than it does in Scaurus, to have renewed by his virtue, the almost extinct glo- ry of his race. Sect. Till. I had indeed flattered myself, my lords, that in consequence of my toils., obscurity of birth would no longer be an objection to many brave men ; who were not only on the same footing with the Curius's, the Cato's, the Pompeius's, all old Romans, of distinguished courage, and plebeian rank ; but with those too of later date, the Marhis's, the Didius's, and the .Caelius's. For when, after such a distance of time, I had broken through that barricade of nobility, and, as in the days of our ancestors, laid the consulship open to the virtuous, as well as to the noble ; and when a consul elect, of an ancient and illustrious descent, was defended by a consul, the son of a Roman knight ; I never imagined that the accusers would venture to say a word about the novelty of a family. For I myself had two pa- trician competitors, the one a profligate and audacious, the other an excellent and modest man : yet I outdid Catiline in dignity, and Galba in interest. And had success been a crime in a new man, J wanted not enemies and .enviers to object it to me. Let us leave then this subject of their birth in which both are eminent, and let us proceed to the other points. He stood with me, says Sulpicius, for the qusestorship ; and I was first declared. There is no need of answering to every particular. All of you know, that when many of equal dignity are elected into the same office, and only one can obtain the honour of the first nomination, the degree of dignity can be no rule for that of the declaration. For the order of nomination is successive, whereas the parties oftentimes are of equal rank. But the nerno vel magistratum gefserat,, velfuerat senator ; eos detnum novos homines dicebant. Tales fuere quicumque a Cicerone hie recensentur, quorum majores ex plebe, aut ex ordine equestri. ' Scribit Asconius in comment, ad orat, contra competitor. Sex competiteres in confulatlis petitione Cicero habuit, duos patricios, P. Sulpicium Galbam, L. Sergium Catilinana ; quatuor plebeios, ex quibus duos nobiles, C Antonium, et L. Cassium Longinum : \dicuntur nobiles, quia ex illorum major ibus nonnulli consul is fuerant^\ duos, qui tantum non primi ex familiis suis magistratum adepti erant, Q^Cornificium, et C. Licinium sacer- dotem ; (hi neque nobiles erant , nullo gesto a majoribus consulatu, ntque nwi homines , quorum f aires aut avi aliquem magistratum ceperant.J solus Cicero ex competitoribus equestri erat natUS ; adeoque consulatum^adeptus t non tamen ante consulatum novus homa. !4? SL. T. CICERONIS ORATIONES. propemodum pari momento sortis fuit ; habuit hie (i») lege Titiaprovinciam tacitam et quietam : tu illam, cui, cum quses- cores sortiuntur, etiam acclamari solet, Ostiensem, non tarn atiosam et illustrem, quam negotiosam et molestam ; consedit utriusque nomen in qusestura ; nullum enim vobis sors campum dedit, in quo excurrere virtus, cognoscique posset. IX. Reliqui temporis spatium, quod in contentionem vocatur, ab utroque dissimillima ratione tractatum est, Servius hie no- biscum hanc urbanam militiam respondendi, scribendi, cavendi, glenam solicitudinis ac stomachi, secutus est : jus civile didicit : multum vigilavit : laboravit : prfesto multis fuit : multorum stul- titiam perpessus est ; arrogantiam pertulit : difficultatem exsor- buit : vixit ad aiiorum arbitrium, non ad suum. Magna laus, et grata hominibus, unum hominem elaborare in ea scientia, quae sit multis profutura. Quid Mursena interea ? fortissimo et sa- pientissimo viro, summo imperatori legatus L. Lucullo fuit : qua in legatione duxit exercitum, signa contulit, manum con- seruit, magnas copias hostium fudit, urbes partim vi, partim ob- sidione cepit : Asiam istam refertam, et eandem delicatam sic obiit, ut in ea neque avaritise, neque luxurise vestigium re- liquerit : maximo in bello sic est versatus, ut hie multas res et magnas sine imperatore gesserit, nullam sine hoc imperator. Atque hsec, quanquam prsesente L. Lucullo loquar, tamen ne ab ipso propter periculum nostrum concessam videamur habere li- centiam fingendi, publicis Uteris testata sunt omnia : quibus L. JLucullus tantum laudis impertit, quantum neque ambitiosus imperator, neque invidus, tribuere alteri in communicanda glo- ria debuit. Summa in utroque est honestas, summa dignitas : quam ego, si mihi per Servium liceat, pari atque eadem in laude ponam : sed non licet ; agitat rem militarem : insectatur totam hanc legationem : assiduitatis, et operarum harum quo- tidianarum putat esse consulatum. Apud exercitum mihi fueris, Inquit, tot annos ? forum non attigeris ? abfueris tamdiu ? et, cum longo intervallo veneris, cum iis, qui in foro habitarunt, de dignitate contendas ? Primum ista nostra assiduitas, Servi, nescis quantum interdum afferat hominibus fastidii, quantum satietatis : mihi quidem vehementer expediit, positam in oculis esse gra- (12) Lege Titia firevinciam tacifam.] Pighius, in his annals of the Roman common- wealth, upon the year four hundred and eighty-eight, gives it as his opinion, that C Titius, a tribune of the people, paffed that year a law for doubling the number of quxk tors, and affigned them their provinces by lot. This he tells u.>, is the very law which Cicero, in his oration for Murena, diftinguifh.es by the name of the Titian law. Tho' this can be called no more than conjecture, yet it muft be allowed for the moft pro- bable of any that has hitherto been offered for the clearing of this paftage. The pro- vince has here the epithet of taeita given it, becaufe being one of the four Italic pro- vinces, it was remote from the tumults of war, and gave no opportunities for the e$« mion of military talents. cicero's orations. 225 qttjestorship allotted to each was almost of equal importance, Murena had a province easy and quieted by the Titian law. Osti a fell to your share, which, in the allotment of provinces, is gen- erally hollowed by the people, as being attended with more business and fatigue, than power and honour. Neither of you gained any reputation in this office ; because fortune had given you no field, wherein to display and make known your virtues.- Sect. IX. Your conduct since comes now to be examined, which differs according to your different course of life. Servius embarked with me in the city warfare of giving opinions, plead- ing causes, and drawing contracts ; a business full of perplexity and vexation. He applied to the civil law, watched much, la- boured without intermission, was always ready with his advice, bore the impertinence of many, winked at their arrogance- solved all their doubts ; and lived to please others, not himself. Great is the praise, and greatly acceptable to mankind, when one man labours in a science, by which multitudes are to profit. But how was Murena employed in the mean while ? He served as a lieutenant-general to that great commander, the wise and accomplished L. Lucullus ; in which capacity he headed an army, drew up his men, joined battle, defeated the numerous troops of the enemy, and, partly by siege, partly by assault, took a great many of their towns. He traversed the rich and voluptuous country of Asia, so as to leave no traces behind him, either of avarice or luxury ; and behaved in that great war in: such a manner as to perform many and important services with- out his general, while his general did nothing considerable with- out him. But though I speak this in presence of Lucullus, yet lest it should be imagined, that, in consideration of our present danger, he gives me leave to exaggerate matters as I please ; I appeal to the public letters sent to the senate, in which IjucuIIus ascribes more praise to Murena, than any general, biassed either by envy or ambition,, would allow to another in a communica- tion of fame. Both competitors are men of distinguished pro- bity and rank ; and would Servius give me leave, I would place the merits of both upon a level in point of praise : but he will not. He depreciates the military art ; he inveighs against Murena' s lieutenancy ; and considers the consulship as due only to the assiduities of the bar, and the tedious exercise of our daily pleadings. Have you lived, says he, so many years in a camp, without so much as seeing the forum ? Have you been absent so long ? and now that you are at length returned, do you pretend to enter into a competition of dignity with men, to whom the forum has been a place of habitation ? But let me tell you, Servius, you seem not here to consider, how much satiety and disgust this constant appearance of ours sometimes creates among men. It proved indeed of unspeakable advantage tt> 226 M. T. CICERONIS ORATI0NF tiam : sed tamen ego mei satietatem magno meo labore sup< ravi ; et tu idem fortasse : verumtamen utrique nostrum desi - derium nihil obfuisset. Sed ut, hoc omisso, ad studiorum atque artium contcntionem revertamur : qui potest dubitari quin ad consulatum adipiscendum multo plus afferat dignitatis, rei mili- taris, quam juris civilis gloria ? Vigilas tu de nocte, ut tuis con- sultoribus respondeas ; ille, ut, quo intendit, mature cum exer- citu perveniat : te gallorum, iilum bUccinarum cantus exsusci- tat ; tu actionem instituis, ille aciem instruit ; tu caves ne tui consultores, ille ne urbes aut castra capiantur. Ille tenet, et scit, ut hostium copise ; tu ut aquse pluvise arceantur : ille exer- citatus est in propagandis finibus ; tu in regendis. Ac nimirum (dicendum est enim quod sentio) rei militaris virtus prsestat cse- teris omnibus* X. Hsec nomen populo Romano, hsec huic urbi seternam glo= riam peperit : hjee orbem terrarum parere huic imperio coegit ;• omnes urban?e res, omnia hsec nostra prseclara studia, et hsec forensis laus, et industria, latent in tutela ac prsesidio bellicje virtutis ; simulatque increpuit suspicio tumultus, artes illico nostrse conticescunte Et, quoniam mihi videris istam scientiam juris tan quam' filiolam osculari tuam, non patiar te in tanto er- rore versari, ut istud nescio quid, quod tantopere didicisti, prse- clarum aliquid esse arbitrere- Aliis ego te virtutibus, conti- nentise, gravitatis,justitise, fidei, cseteris omnibus, consulatu et omni honore semper dignissimunr judicavi ; quod quidem ju3 civile didicisti ; non die am, operam perdidisti : sed illud dicam, nullam esse in ilia disciplina munitam ad consulatum viam $■ omnes enim artes, quse nobis populi Romani studia conciliant, et admirabilem dignitatem, et pergratam utilitatem debent ha bere. XI. Summa dignitas est in iis, qui militari laude antecellunt ; omnia enim, quee sunt in imperio et in statu civitatis, ab iis de- fendi et firmari putantur ; summa etiam utilitas : siquidem eorun: consilio, et periculo, cum republica, turn etiam nostris rebw rp & ciCero's orations. 227 me that my services were constantly in the eye of the public ; yet was it not without great application, that I conquered the disgust arising from my daily appearance. You perhaps have done the same : yet still I am apt to think, that a little absence would have been no disservice to either of us. But, dropping this, let us return to the comparison of their talents and profes- sions. Can it be a doubt with any one, whether the science of arms gives not more dignity to a candidate for the consulship, than skill in the civil law ? You watch all night long, to have an answer ready for those that come to consult you ; and hey that may arrive betimes at the appointed place with his army. You are awaked by the crowing of the cock ,* he by the sound of trumpets*- You draw up a process ; he marshals an army. You provide against the clangers of your clients y be against those that threaten his towns or camp. He knows how to op- pose and baffle the attempts of his enemies; you can guard against the inconveniences of storms and rams* He is em- ployed in enlarging the bounds of the state ; you in regulating the civil administration. In short, to speak my sentiments freely, the glory of military accomplishments takes place of every other claim to merit. Sect. X. This was what first gave a name to the Komaii people, brought immortal renown to their city, and subdued the world to their empire. All our domestic possessions, all these noble studies of ours, all our reputation and assiduity at the bar, derive their protection and security from marshal virtue alone. The least whisper of any public tumult, puts all those arts of ours immediately to silence. And because you seem to caress this science of the civil law as a fond parent does a dar- ling child, I will not suffer you to continue any longer in so- great a mistake, as to imagine, that this, I can't tell what study, which you have mastered with so much toil, is entitled to any em- inent share of praise. It was from virtues of another stamp, those of moderation, prudence, justice, integrity, and every other desirable quality, that I always judged you most worthy of the consulship, and every distinction of honour. As tp your ability in the civil law, I Will not say it is lost labour ; but this I will say, that it offers no certain prospect of the consulship : for all the arts that serve to conciliate the affections of the Roman people, ought to be eminent for their dignity, and re- commending by their utility. Sect. XI. The men who excel in military accomplishments,. are possessed of the highest dignitv. For all that is great in the empire and common wealth, confessedly owes its establish- ment and continuance to them. Nor are they less eminent E 2 M. T. C1CER0NIS OR AT TONES. , ! pos sumus : gravis etiam ilia est et plena dignitatis dieeudi facultas, quae sstfpe valuit in consule deligendo ; posse consilio [lie oratione, et senalus, etpopuli, et eorum qui res judicant, ntes permovere. Qiucritur consul, qui dicendo nonnunquam eoniprimat tribunitios furores, qui concitatum populum fiectat, qui largitioni resistat. Non mirum, si ob hanc facultatem ho- mines soepe etiam non nobiles consulatum consecuti sunt : prsaser- tim cum hpec eadem res plurimas gratias, firmissimas amicitias, maxima stadia pariat : quorum in isto vestro artificio, Sulpici, nihil est. Primum dignitas in tarn tenui scientia, qu» potest esse ? res enim suntparvse, prope in singulis literis atque inter- mctronibus verborum occupatfe. Deinde etiam, si quid apud majores nostros fuit in isto studio admirationis, id enunciatis yestris mysteriis, totum est contemptum et abjectum. Posset agi lege, necne, pauci quondam sciebant : fastos enim vulgo non habebant : erant in magna potentia, qui consulebantur : a qui- bur> etiam dies tanquam a Chaldseis petebantur ; (13) inventus est scriba quidam Cn. Flavius, qui cornicum oculos confixerit, singulis diebus ediscendos fastos populo proposuerit, et ab ipsis cautis jurisconsultis eorum sapientiam compilarit. Itaque irati illi, quod sunt veriti ne, dierum ratione promulgata et cognita, sine sua opera lege posset agi, notas quasdam compo- suerunt, ut omnibus in rebus ipsi interessent. XII. Cum hoc fieri bellissime posset : Fundus Sabinus metis est : immo meus : deinde judicium : noluerunt. FUNDUS, inquit, QUI EST IN AGRO QUI SABINUS VOCATUR. Satis verbose: cedo, quid postea? ELM EGO EX JURE Q UIR. MEUM ESSE AIO. Quid turn ? INDE IBI EG O T£ EX JUKE MANU CONSERTUM VOCO. Quid huic (13) Inventus est scriba quidam Cn. Flavius, qui cornicum oculosJ] This whole storf may be learnt from Pomponius's Enchiridion, whose words are still extant in the book of Pandects, where they treat of the origin of the civil law. 1 shall here transcribe what relates to the present passage, for the sake of such as are unacquainted with this piece of history. Deinae. says he, est his legibus eodem fere tempore, actionem, cemposita mat, -niibus inter se homines disceptarent j quas actionis,ne populus, ut pellet, institucrit, certas solera- nesqut tsse njoluerunt ; e! appellnbalur hatumid munus populo fuit, ut plebis fieret, et senator, et jfJilis curulii. Hinc liber, qui actiones continet, Gppeliiturjusc'fvUt JtaviaHum. Then almost at the same time actions or forms were composed out of thobe laws, by which men disputed with one another ; which actions, lest the people should ■ them when they pleased, were reduced to stated and solemn terms ; and this the law was called leva actiones, the forms of the law. Thus, almost at on-: €ICER0 ? S ORATION'S, 22 3 lor their utility ; since it is by their counsels and dangers, that we are protected in the possession of public liberty, and private property. Eloquence too has its claim to merit and praise ; and is often of powerful influence in the choice of a consul, by it? address and language to touch the affections of the senate, the people, and the judges. The public requires a consul, who can upon occasions repress the violences oi tribunes, appease the fury of the people, and check the current of corruption. No wonder, then, if this talent has often raised men even of ig- noble birth to the consulship ; especially as it is so admirably calculated to beget the strongest attachments, the most univer- sal good-will, and the firmest friendships : advantages, Sulpi- cius, of which that art you so much value is entirely destitute. For first, what dignity can there be in so trifling a science ? the subjects themselves are minute, almost wholly confined to single letters, and the stops of sentences : and then, whatever admira- tion might have attended this study with our forefathers, no-«f that the whole mystery is divulged, it is fallen into utter disgrace and contempt. But few were able to tell formerly, whether an action could be brought or not ; for in those days there was no public calendar. The persons consulted were in mighty esteem, and resorted to, as the Chaldeans of old, to give notice of the days on which actions were allowed. At last a scribe, one Cn. Flavius, outwitted this tribe of conjurers ; set up a calendar with the proper distinction of days ; and pillaged the very law- yers themselves of their knowledge. They, in great wrath, and fearing; that actions might be brought without them, now the proper court days could be known, set themselves to con- trive certain forms of proceeding, to render their intervention iiecessarv in all causes. Sect. XII. Though it would answer very well in -determin- ing a claim : That Sabine farm is mine : Nay, "'tis mine : Aftr which give judgment : yet this the lawyer will by no means al- low. Thefarm^ says he, which lies in the Sabine country, com- monly so called. 'Verbose enough. But what next ? I claim I the laws of the land as my property. Go on : And therefore- Intn • give you legal warning to quit possession. The defendant, mean - time, thefe three kinds of laws fprang up : the laws of the twelve tables : from them proceeded the civil law ; and from the civil law, the legit aftiones. But the know- ledge of all thefe, with the actions themfelves, was confined to the pontifical college , out of which the judges of private property were every year appointed, and the peo- ple went by this ufage for near ioo years. Afterwards, when Appius Ciaudius had di- geftedand modelled these actions, Cn- Flavius, hi3 fcribe, the fon of a freedman, flo!/* the book, and publifhed it for general ufe. This prefent was fo agreeable to the peo- ple, that he was made tribune of the commons, fenator, and curule aedile, Thence ihe book containing thofc forms, ».3 called the Flavian civil law. 230 W. T. CICERONIS ORATIONES. tarn loquaciter litigioso responderet ille, unde petabatur, non habcbat. Transit idem jurisconsultus tibicinis Latini modo % 1XDE TU ME, inquit, EX JURE MANU CONSERTUM VOCASTI, INDE IBI EGO TE IIEYOCO. Prsetor interea, ne pulchrum se ac beatum putaret, atque aliquid ipse sua sponte loqueretur, ei quoque carmen compositum est, cum cseteris re- bus absurdum, turn veronullousu : UTRISQ.UE SUPERSTI- TIOUS PR^KSENTIBUS: ISTAM VIAM DICO : INITE VI AM ; prsesto aderat sapiens ille, qui inire viam doceret : RE- DITE VIAM ; eodem duce redibant. Usee jam turn apud illos barbatos ridicula, credo, videbantur : homines, cum recte atque in loco constitisscnt, juberi abire, ut, unde abissent, eodem sta- tim redirent. lisdem ineptiis fucata sunt ilia omnia, QUANDO TE IN JURE CONSPICIO ; et hsec, SED ANNE TU DICIS CAUSA VINDICAVERIS ? quse dum erant occulta, necessa- rio ab eis, qui ea tenebant, petebantur : postea vero pervulgata, atque in manibus j aetata et excussa, inanissima prudentise reperta sunt, fraudis autem et stultitise plenissima. Nam cum permulta praeclare legibus essent constituta, ea jureconsultorum ingeniis pleraque corrupta ac depravata sunt. Mulieres omnes propter innrmitaiem consilii majores in tutorum potestate essevoluerunt ; hi invenerunt genera tutorum, qua? potestate mulierum con- tinefentur ; sacra interire illi noluerunt : horum ingenio senes ad coemptioncs facieydas, interimendorum sacrorum causa, re- perti sunt. In omni denique jure civili sequitatem reliquerunt, verba ipsa tenuerunt : ut, quia in alicujus libris, exempli causa, id nomen invenerant, putarunt omnes mulieres, (14) quse co- emp.tionem facerent, Caias vocari. Jam illud rnihi quidem mi- ram videri solet, tot homines, tarn ingeniosos, per tot annos £tiam nunc statuere non potuisse, utrum diem tertium, an peren- dinum ; judicem an arbitrum ; rem an litem dici oporteret. XIII. Itaque, ut dixi, dignitas in ista scientia consularis nunquam fuit, quse totaex rebus fictis commentitiisque constaret : grati:-e vero multo etiam minus. Quod enim omnibus patet, et tequc promptum est mihi et adversario meo, id esse gratum nullo pacto potest. Itaque non modo beneficii collocandi spem, (14) G>u) "de rege Pyrrho triumphus M. Curii : de Philippo, T. Fiaminini : de ^Etolis,M. Fulvii : de rege Perse, L. Pauli : de Pseudopliilippo, Q. Metelli : de Gorin-' thiis, L. Mummii. Sin hrec bella gravissima, victorifeque eorum bellorum gravissimfe fuerunt ; cur Asiaticse nationes, atque ille a te hostis contemnitur ? Atque ex veterum rerum monumentis, vel maximum bellum populum Roman, cum Antiocho gessisse video : cujus belli victor L. Scipio, parta cum Publio fratre glo- ria, quam laudem ille, Africa oppressa, cognomine ipso prse se ferebat, eandem hie sibi ex Asi?e nomine assumpsit. Quo qui- dem in bello virtus enituit egregia M. Catonis, proavi tui. (15) De regt Pyrrho triumphus M. Curii.'] Cicero is here engaged in the Vindication of his client's valour, which, he obferves, was tried in a very formidable war ; a war that could not be made light of, without under-vaiuing fome of the moil important the Romans were ever engaged in. Of this kind he mentions feveral: as fir ft the war with Pyrrhus king of Epirus, which happened in the four hundred and third year of the city, when the Tarentines invited him into Italy to defend them againft the Ro- mans. After a frruggle of five years, he was finally defeated by Curius Dentatus, who was rewarded with the honour of a triumph. Philip engaging in a league with Han- nibal, thereby drew upon himfelf the refentment of the Romans ; who, after the con- clufion of the fecond Punic war, fent T. Flamininus againft him, by whom he was de- feated, and obliged to fue for peace. For this fervice Flamininus was honoured with a triumph ; as wasfoon afcer Fulvius Nobilior, for vanquifhing the iEtoiians, and oblig- ing them to fubmit without referve to the authority of the commonwealth. Perfeus next felt the weight of the Roman power, who was vanquifhed and taken prifoner by Paulus iEmilius, whofe triumph he ferved to adorn : nor did Andrifcus, who pre*' tended he was the Ion of Perfeus, and as fuch took poffeffion of Macedonia, long en- joy the fruit of his ufurpation ; being defeated and taken by Q^Cxcilius Metellus, whc?> thereupon obtained a triumph, and the furname of MjceJonicus. Thre next war the Romans were engaged in with the Greeks, was that under the conducl: of Mummius, who took and facked Corinth, and triumphed over the Achseans. So many triumph* granted for victories over the Greeks, fufficiently demonftrated that the Romans con- iidered them as very formidable enemies. But led this fhould be thought to regard on- ly the European, and no: the Afutic Greeks, our orator mentions alfo the wars with ClCERo's ORATIONS. 22$ &ays, When zvar is declared, not only the wordy counterfeit of good sense, but wisdom herself, the mistress of affairs, quits the Ji eld. Violence bears s~way : and the orator himself, not the tedious and prattling only, but the approved and excellent, falls into contempt. The grim soldier is caressed ; legal proceedings cease ; and claims ore made good, not in the ordinary course of laxv, but by force of arms* If this ,be the case, Sulpicius, in my opinion, the forum must yield to the camp, repose to war, the pen to the sword, and the shade of retirement to the scorching beams of the sun ; in fine, that must always have the first rank in a state, to which the state itself is indebted for its superiority over all others. But Cato pretends that I exaggerate too much the military vir- tues of my friend, and seem to have forgot that the Mithridatic war was little other than a war with women. But I am of a very different opinion, my lords, and must therefore endeavour to set you right in relation to that war, though with all possible :vity, as the stress of my defence rests not here. For if all the wars in which we have been engaged with the Greeks, are to be derided as trifling, what should hinder us from ridiculing* the triumph of M. Curius over king Fyrrhus, of T. Flami- nkius over Philip, of M. "Fulvius over the iEtoiians, of L. Pau- o"cr king Perseus, of Q. Meiellus over the counterfeit Philip, and of L. Mummius over the Corinthians? Buc if these were really considerable wars, and the victories that terminated them important, why do you despise the Asiatic nations, and so formidable an enemy as Mitnridates ? It appears to me, the records of farmer times, that the people of Home had dangerous war to maintain against Antiochus : in hich L. Scipio, sharing the glory of conquest with his bro- :T Pubfius, added the same honour to his name by the re- duction of Asia, as the other had before aom by his victories m. Africa ? It was m this war that your great-grandfather,- , Cato, so eminent! inguished himself by hisj valour. A.nd ;n apt to believe, he was a man of a like character with yourself, I shall never be persuaded lie would have attended :ipio in that war, had he thought they were to have to do onlv with women. Nor ind< ould, the senate have engaged Scipio Africanus to serve as ' ] ler his brother, -thefe Jail ; whofe importance he leaves the reader to collect from the character of the commanders chofen to conduct them, and the precautions ufed to render them fuc- cessful. He concludes with obferving that the Mithridatic war was the longeft, the mofl dangerous, and attended with the greateft variety of fortune, of any the Ro- mans were ever engaged in ; that of courfe it was the best fchool of discipline for ed- ucating a youn^ -warrior, and furnifhed the fairest theatre whereon to difplay his mili- tary accc mpli&rAents. S"2 $3$ W. T. CICERONIS ORATIONEJf. Quo ille, cum esset, ut ego mihi statuo, talis, qualem te $$&& video, nunquam cum Scipione esset profectus, si cummuliercu- lis bellandum esse arbitraretur. Neque vero cum I*. Africand senatus egisset, ut legatus fratri proficisceretur, cum ipse paulo ante Hannibale ex Italia expulso, ex Africa ejecto, Carthagine- oppressa, maximis periculis rempub. liberavisset, nisi illud grave bellum et vehemens putaretur. XT. Atqui, si diligenter, quid Mithridates potuerit, et quid effecerit, etqui virfueiTt, consideraris ; omnibus regibus, quibus- cum populus Ron>. bellum gessit, hunc regem riimirum ante- pones. Quern L. Sylla maximo et fortissimo exercitu, pugna excitatum, non ruois imperator, ut aliud nihil dicam, eum bello invectum totam in Asiam, cum pace dimisit : quern L. Mursena, pater hujusce, vehementissime vigilantissimeque vexatum, re- pressum maxima ex parte, non oppressum reliquit : qui rex, sibi aliquot annis sumptis ad confirmandas rationes et copias belli, tantum ipse opibus conatuque invalult, ut se oceanum* cum Ponto, Sertorii copias cum suis conjuncturum putaret. Ad quod bellum duobus corsulibus ita missis, ut alter Mithridatem persequeretur, alter Bithyniam tuerttur ; alterius res et terra et mari calamitosse, vehementer et opes regis et nomen auxerunt : L. Luculli vero res tant» exstiterunt, ut neque majus bellum commemorari possit, neque majore consilio, et virtute gestum. Nam cum totius impetus belli ad Cyzicenorum mcenia consti- tisset, eamque urbem sibi Mithridates Asi» januam fore puta- visset, qua effracta et revulsa, tota pateret provincia ; perfecta ab Lucullo hsec sunt omnia, Ut urbs fidelissimorum sociorum de- 1 fenderetur, et omnes copise regis diuturnitate obsidionis con- sumerentur. Quid ! illam pugnam navalem ad Tenedum, cum content© cursu, acerrimis ducibus, hostium elassis Italiam spe atque animis inflata, peteret; medicori certamine, et parva di- micatione commissam arbitraris? Mitt© proelia : prsetereo oppug- nationes oppidorum : expulsus regno tandem aliquando, tantum tamen consilio atque auctoritate valuit, ut se, rege Armeniorum adjuncto, novis opibus copiisque renovariu XVI, Ac si mihi nunc de rebus gestis esset nostri exercitus hnperatorisque dicendum, plurima et maxima proeliacommemo- rare possem. Sed non id agimus : hoc dico ; si bellum hoc, si hie hostis, si ille rex contemnendus fuisset ; neque tanta cura senatus et populus Horn. suscipiendumputasset,.neque tot anno? cicero's orations. 237 *when he had so lately driven Hannibal out of Italy, forced him to abandon Africa, crushed the power of Carthage, and deliver- ed the republic from the greatest dangers, had not that been con- sidered as a weighty, and formidable war. Sect. XT. And indeed, if you diligently weigh the power of -Mithridates, his great actions, and the real character of the man, you will find reason to rank him above all the princes with whom the Roman people were ever at war. He was a prince whom L. Sylla, who, to say the least of him, was no raw commander, though at the head of a brave and numerous army, and ready to join batde, yet suffered to depart in peace from Asia, which he had filled with all the calamities of war : a prince whom L. Murena, the father of whom 1 now defend, after ha- rassing him with indefatigable industry and vigour, and reduc- ing him to the greatest straits, found it yet impossible wholly to subdue : a prince who, after taking some years to recruit his revenues and armies, recovered so much power and spirit as to think of joining the ocean with the Pontic sea, and the troops of Sertorious with his own. Two consuls were sent to this war, the one to attack Mithridates, the other to defend Bithinia. The latter miscarrying both by land and sea, rather added to the power and reputation of the king : but Lucullus singnalized himself by so many great actions, that we meet with no war in history, either more important in itself, or managed with greater courage or conduct. For when the whole collected force of the war stood at the walls of Cyzicum, and Mithridates, regarding that city as the gate of Asia, flattered himself that by destroying her bulwarks, he would lay the whole province open to his depre- dations ; Lucullus took his measures so effectually as both to de- fend this city of our faithful allies, and entirely consume the king's army by the length of the siege. What I do you -regard the naval fight at Tenedos as a slight and inconsiderable en- gagement, when the enemy's fleet, with full sail, and under the fiercest leaders, flushed with hope and expectation, was making for the coast of Italy ? I forbear to speak of battles, and the manv sieges that happened during the war. When at length he was driven from his kingdom, so powerful was his au- thority and address, as, by conciliating the king of Armenia to his cause, to re-establish it by a new accession of strength and forces. Sect. XYI. Was it my business to recount here the exploits ■of our army and general, I might give a detail of many very considerable engagements. But that is not the point at present. This, however, 1 will take upon me to say ; that if this war, this enemy, this monarch, had been despicable, the senate and 8 M. T# CICERONIS ORATIONES. ssissetj Deque tanta gloria L. Luculli, neque vero ejus belli conficicndi curam tanto studio populus Romanus ad Cn. Pom- peium detulissct : cujus ex omnibus pugnis, qu?e sunt innume- rabiles, vel acerrima mihi videtur ilia, qua? cum rege eommissa est, et summa contentioue pugnata. Qua ex pugna cum se ille eripuisset, et Bosphorum confugisset, quo exercitus adire non posset, etiam in extrema fortuna et fuga, nomen tamen retinuit regium. Itaque ipse Pompeius, regno possesso, ex omnibus oris, ac notis scdibus hoste pulso, tamen tantum in unius anima posuit, ut cum omnia, quse ille tenuerat, adierat, sperarat, vic- toria possideret ; tamen non ante, quam ilium vita expulit, hel- ium confectum judicarit. Hunc tu hostem, Cato, contemnis, quocum per tot annos, tot prceliis, tot imperatores bella gesse- runt ; cujus expulsi et ejecti vita tanti sestimata est, ut morte ejus nunciata, turn denique bellum confectum arbitraretur ? Hoc igitur in bello L. Mura^nam legatum fortissimi animi, sum- mi consilii, maximi laboris cognitum esse defendimus : et hanc ejus operam non minus ad consulatum adipiscendum,quam hanc nostram forensem industriam dignitatis habuisse. XVII. At enim in prseturse petitione prior renuntiatus est Servius. Pergitisne vos, tanquam ex syngrapha, agere cum populo, ut quern locum semel honoris cuipiam dederit, eundem reliquis honoribus debeat ? Quod enim fretum, quern Euripum tot motus, tantas, tarn varias habere putatis agitationes fluc- tuum, quantas perturbationes et quantos ?estus habet ratio co- mitiorum ? Dies intermissus unus, aut nox interposita, sa^pe perturbat omnia : et totam opinionem parva nonnunquam com- mutat aura rumoris. Ssepe etiam sine ulla aperta causa fit aliud atque existimamus, ut nonnunquam ita factum esse etiam popu- lus admiretui- ; quasi vero non ipse fecerit. Nihil est incertius vulgo, nihil obscurius voluntate hominum, nihil fallacius ratione tota comitiorum. Quis L»* Philippum summo ingenio, opibus, gratia, nobilitate, a M. Herennio superari posse arbitratus est ? quis Q. Catulum humanitate, sapientia, integritate antecellen- tem, a Cn. Manlio ? quis M. Scaurum hominem gravissimum, civetn e,crrcrium, fortissimum senatorcm, a Q. Maximo ? non CICERo's ORATIONS. 239 people of Rome \. ould not have thought it necessary to use so much precaution in their preparations ; never would the war have listed so long : never could Lucullus have returned from it with so much glory ; nor would the Romans have been so ec. to entrust the finishing of it to On. I^ompev : of all whose innumerable battles, none seems to me to have been fiercer than that so obstinately disputed with this king ; who, finding means to escape with some troops, and taking refuge in asphorus, whither our army could not penetrate, supported, even in the lowest ebb of flight and fortune, the name and re- pv : of a monarch. Accordingly Pompev, having taken possession of his kingdom, and driven him from all his known ind territories, made vet so great account of the life oi this one that though bv his victory, he became master of ail that Mithridates held, laid claim to, or aspired after ; he nevertheless did not look upon the war as finished till he had driven I .dates out of the world. And do; you, Cato, de- sp who for so. many years, and in so many bat- tles, has so many of our generals ; whose life, even in expulsion and exile, was so highly accounted of, that the war was never looked upon as finished till the news came of his death ? It is in this war, I contend, that L. Murena, in the char- acter of lieutenant-general, distinguished himself by his un- daunted courage, his consummate prudence, and his indefatiga- ble industry ; nor do these qualities recommend him with less advantage to the consulship, than does our practice at the bar and in the forum. Sect. XYII. But Servius, I am told, was declared first, in the competition for the prfetorship. Do ycu then exact from the people, as if in virtue of some contract, that because they once gave the preferrence to a man in a point of honour, he has therefore a right to it on all succeeding occasions ? What sea, what narrrow strait, is agitated with more fluctuations and changes than are the tossings and tumults of popular assem- blies ? One day intermitted, or one night, often throws all into, confusion: and the least breath of rumour sometimes entirely changes the inclinations of the people. Often without any ? ; p~ rent cruise, the very reverse of what we expected happens, in- somuch that even the people sometimes wonder at the event, as if it did not wholly proceed from themselves. Nothing is more unstable than the multitude, nothing more impenetrable than the mind of men. nothing more fallacious than the issue of elections. "Who could have imagined that L. Phillippus, so eminent for his parts, application, interest, and birth, would have been baffled by M. Herenitts ? or, Q. Catulus, with his known character of humanity, wisdom, and integrity, by Cn. Manlius ? or M. Scaurus, so able a statesman, so worthy a citizen, and so brave £40 M. T. CICERONIS ORATIONES. niodo horum nihil ita fore putatum est, seci ne cum esset factum quidem, quare ita factum esset intelligi potuit. Nam ut tem-^ pestatcs ssepe certo aliquo cceli signo commoventur, ssepe im- proviso nulla ex certa ratione, obscura aliq.ua, ex causa excitan- tur : sic in hac comitiorum tempestate populari, ssepe intelligas, quo signo commota sit 5 ssepe ita obscura est, ut casu excitata esse videatur. XVIII. Sedtamen, si est reddenda ratio, (16) duse res vehe- menter in prsetura desideratse sunt, quse ambse in consulatu turn Muraense profuerunt : una, expectatio muneris, quse et rumore nonnullo, et studiis sermonibusque competitorum creverat : al- tera, quod ii, quos in provincia ac legatione, omnis et liberalita- tis et virtutis suse testes habuerat, nondum decesserant. Horum utrumque ei fortuna ad consulates petitionem reservavit. Nam et L. Luculli exercitus, qui ad triumphum convenerat, idem co- mes L. Murfense prsesto fuit : et munus amplissimum, quod pe- titio prseturse desiderabat, prsetura restituit. Num tibi hsec parva videntur adjumenta et subsidia consulatus ? voluntas mi- litum ? quae cum per se valet multitudine, turn apud suos gratia ; turn verd in consuls declarando multum etiam apud universum populum Rom. auctoritatis habet suffragatio milita- ris : imperatores enim comitiis consularibus, non verborum in- terpretes deliguntur. Quare gravis est ilia oratio. Me saucium recreavit : me prseda donavit : hoc duce castra cepimus, signa contulimus : nunquam iste plus militi laboris imposuit, quam si- bi sumpsit ipse ; cum fortis turn etiam felix. Hoc quanti putas esse ad famam hominum, ac voluntatem ? etenim si tanta illis comitiis religio est, ut adhuc semper omen valuerit prse- rogativum ; quid mirum est, in hoc felicitatis famam sermon- emque valuisse I (16) Du<£ res 'Jcbementer in prtetura dejideratxfunt, qua ambtz in confulatu turn Murana prafuerunt.~\ iwo things were wanting to Murena when he flood candidate for the prrctorfhip, the abfence of which contributed not a little to render him lefs acceptable to the people than his competitor Sulpicius. Both thefe attended him in his fuit for the confulfhip, and enabled him in the end to triumph over his rival. One of thefe was thr expectation of public games, which had bcqp fomented by various rumours, and the ftudied infinuations of his fellow-candidates. Murena had never been aedile, and therefore had no opportunity of recommending himfelf to the favour of the peo» pie. by an exhibition of public games. This was a great disadvantage to him when he fu^d for the praetorfhip ; becaufe the other candidates having enjoyed that magiftra- cy, and the means it furnifhed of becoming popular failed not to boaft of the zeal they had (h.'wn to pieafe the people and encouraged the rumours agaiufl Murena, whom they rcpr^Jented as one that had declined the office out of parfimony His prastorfhip, however reflorcd this opportunity of acq iring popularity ; becaufe it fell to his lot, ^scity praetor, to exhibit the games facred to Apollo, which he did in a moft magnify (SfCERO's ORATION'S. Ml £ sierfator, by Q. Maximus. These great men so little expected such a repulse, that when the affair was over, they could not comprehend how it had happened. For as tempests are often portended by certain appearances of the heaven, and often arise Suddenly and unexpectedly from some obscure cause : so in the storms attending popular elections, you often can perceive whence they take their rise : but often too the cause is so ob- scure, that the whole seems the mere effect of chance. Sect. XVIII. But if we must give a reason for it, two things were conspicuously wanting in Murena's suit for the prsetorship,. which both contributed greatly to his being chosen consul : one, the expectation of public games, which was increased by certain reports, and the affected talk and discourse of his rivals ; the other, that they who had been witnesses to his liberality and bravery while he served as lieutenant in the province , were not yet returned from the province to Rome. Fortune reserved Both these advantages to give weight to his solicitation for the consulship. For the army of Lucullus assembling at Rome to attend that general's triumph, assisted Murena in his applica-* tion ; and in his prsetorship he entertained the people with magnificent public shows, which were wanting when he stood candidate for that dignity. Are these, think you, weak and feeble helps to a consulship ; to be supported by an army, powerful in the number of troops, and of considerable interest by its friends ? besides, that in the election of a consul, the suffrages of the soldiers have always been of great authority with the whole body of the Roman people. For generals, and not interpreters of words, are the successful candidates at a consular election. Accordingly there is much weight in a speech like this : He relieved me when Ixvas wounded ; he en-- ric/ied me with plunder ; under his conduct we stormed the ene- mie's camp, after having- vanquished them in battle ; he imposed no hardships on his saldiers, in which he did not share himself y always brave, ahvays successful. How prevalent must a dis- course of this kind be, to raise a man's reputation, and concil- iate the good-will of the people ! for if the voices of the pre- rogative century are still regarded with religious awe, so as to pass for a favourable presage ; what reason is there to wonder, that the fame and discourse of Murena's good fortune prevailed for him on this occasion ! *ent manner and thereby so effectually ingratiated himself with the people, that when* he stood candidate for the copfukhip, he found his mtereft. greatly increased, and wa* «vcn chofen in preference to Sulpicius. 242 '1. T. CICER0N1S OR AT ION Lo'. XIX. Sed si hrcc leviora ducis, qua; sunt gravissima, ethane* nrbanam suffra-gationera militari anteponis ; noli Iudorum hujus clegantiam, et siiense magnificentiam valde contemnere, qua} huic admodum profucrunt. Nam quid ego dicam populum ac vulgus imperitum ludis magnopere delectari ? minus est miran- duni : quanquam huic causae satis est ; sunt enim populi ac multitudinis comitia. Quare si populo Iudorum magnificentia voluptati est, non est mirandum, earn L. Mufense apud popu- lum profuisse. Sed si nosmetipsi, qui et ab delectatione omni negotiis impedimur, et in ips& occupations delectiones alias multas habere possumus, ludis tamen oblectamur et ducimur ; quid tu admirere de multitudine indocta? (17) L. Otho, vhv for- tis, metis necessarius, equestri ordini restituit, non solum dig- nitatem, sed etiam voluptatem ; itaque lex h?ec, qu?e ad ludos pertinet, est omnium gratissima ; quod honestissimo ordini cum splendore fructus quoque jucunditatis est restitutus. Quare de- lectant homines, mihi crede, ludi, etiam illos qui dissimulant, non solum eos qui iateirtur : quod ego in mea petiticne sensi : nam nos quoque habuimits (*8j scenam competitricem. Quod si ego, qui trinos ludos fed ills f eceram, tamen Antoaii ludis com- (17) L.Otlo vh- firth.~\ L. Rofcius Otho, tribune of the people, publiflied a law, for the affignment of dfUindt feats iri the theatres to theequeftrian order, whcufed be- fore to fit promifcuoufly with the populace : but by this law, fourteen rows of bench- es, next to thofe of the fenators, were to be appropriated to their ufe ; by which he fecured to them, as Cicero fays, both their dignity and their pleafure. The fenate ob- tained the fame privilege of feparate feats about an hundred years before,. in the con- fulfhip of Scipio Africanus, which highly difgufted the people, and gave occafion, fays l.ivy, as all innovations are apt to do, to much debate and cenfure ; for many of the wifer fort condemned all Tuch diftiivftions in a free city, as dangerous to the public peace ; and Scipio himfelf afterwards repented, and blamed himfelf for fuffjring it. Otho's law, we may imagine, gave Mill greater offence, as it was a greater affront to the people to be removed yet farther from what of all things they were fondell of, the fight of plays and Ihow's. It was carried, however, by the. authority of the tribune, and is frequently referred to by the claffic writers,; as an act very memorable, and what made much noife in its time. Some time after, during the confulfhip of Cicero, and while the grudgje was ftiil frefh,Otho happening to come into the theatre, was receiv- ed by the populace with an uiivorfal hil's, hut by the knights with loud applaufe and clapping : both fides redoubled their clamour with great fircenefs, and from reproach- es were proceeding to blows ; till Cicero, informed of the tumult, came immediately to the theatre, and calling the people out into the temple of Bellona, fo tamed and Rung them by the power of his words, and made them fo afhamed of their folly and pcr- verfenefs, that on their return to the theatre thry changed their hiff :s into applaufes, and vied with the knights themfelves in demonft rations of their refpect to Otho. The fpeech was foon after published ; though, from the nature of tne thing, it muft have been made upon the fpot, and flowed extempore from the oecafitm ; and as it was much read and admired for feveral a But what was your allotment ? a sad and savage inquiry into corruption : on the one side filled with tears and nastiness, on the other with chains and evidences. Judges forced to sit on public trials, and detained against their inclination ; a scribe condemned, and the whole order alien- ated : the bounties of Sylla reversed : many brave men, and al- most half of the city disobliged : damages estimated with rigour : to the prsetor, and fignifies no more than the following an action, and granting judges for determining the controversy ; the other is the proper office of the judges allowed by the prEetor, and denotes the actual hearing and deciding of a caufe. (zo) 0:t<£siio peculatus,~\ The inquilltion of criminal matters belonged at firfi: to the kings, an?.{ after the a^ro^at'on of their government, for ibme time, to the confuls : but being taken from them by the Valerian law, it was conferred, as occafiens happened, upon officers deputed by the people, with the title of qu repclundarum, and •vis publica>pe dixi. Petere consulatum nescire te, Servi, perssepe dixi : ct in iis rebus ipsis, quas te magno et forti animo, et agere, et dicere videbam, tibi solitus sum dicere, magis te fortem sena- torem mihi videri, quam sapientem candidatum. Primum (ai) accusandi terrores et minsj quibus tu quotidie uti solebas, sunt -fortis viri ; sed et populi opinionem a spe .adipiscendi avertunt et amicorum studia debilitant ,* nescio quo pacto semper hoc fit : neque in uno aut altero animadversum est, sed jam in pluribus : simulatque candidatus accusationem meditari visus est, ut ho- norem desperasse videatur.. Quid ergo I acceptam injuriam persequi non placet ? immo vehementer placet : sed aliud tem- pus est petendi, aliud prosequendi ; petitorem ego, prtesertim consulates, magna spe, magno animo, magnis copiis in forum et in campum deduci volo ; non placet mihi inquisitio candidati, pramuntia repulsse : non testium potius, quam suffragatorum comparatio : non minse magis, quam blanditise : non declamatio potius, quam persalutatio : pra;sertim cum jam hoc novo more omnes fere domos omnium concursent, et ex vultu candidato- rum conjecturam faciant, quantum quisqtie animi et facultatis habere videatur. Videsne tu ilium tristem, demissum ! jacet p rfccuianai terrores !tmir.a?,~\ Cicero here accuses Sulpicius of want of prudence in his manner ■of suing for the consulship. For by desparin? too hastily of success, and threatn'mg his competitors with a. prosecution, he cooled the zeal of his friends, wlio began to think his cause in a declining way. For when a candidate has recourse to threats, it is a sure sign he has little prospect of succeding in the way of solicitation ; and the people, unwilling to throw away their votes, choose rather to attack -t'.ves to 2 more fortunate competitor: I e pleased, forget ; they thai arc hurt, remember, Last of ail, vou refused to go to your province, I cannot blame vou for luct which I followed myself, both when praetor . . isul : but nei I to omit, that Marena gained many friends and much reputation in his province. In his jour- -rie- ', he mad- a levy in Uflabrifca, where the republic gave him an opportunity of d i rig his liberality ; of which he made -so good an use, as to engage in his interest a great many tribes, which are composed out of the corporations of "fimbria. When he an in person in Gaul, such was his equity and application, he enabled our collectors to recover a great many desperate debts. a. me I am ready to allow, was employed in the service of your friends at Home : but suffer me to put you mind, that there are some friends very apt to cool in their regard towards those hy whom they see provinces des- pisi Shct. XXI. And now, my lords, that I have shown Sulpicius and Murena to have been alike in point of dignitv as candidates for the consulship, but unlike in the destination of their provin- cial concerns: I shall declare more plainly in what my friend Servius was inferior to the other ; and repeat that in vour hear- ing, now the affair is over, which I often told himself in private, Kile the election was depending. I was frequently then wont to tell you, Servius, that you knew not how to make applica- tion for the consulship : and even in those very points, in which I beheld you act and speak with courage and magnanimitv, I 1 not to intimate, that in my opinion, vou made rati a brave senator, than a wise candidate. First the terrors a: 1 threats of an impeachment, of which you was every day so la vish, sufficiently proclaim the man of spirit : but then they also aoate among the people the hopes of a candidate's success, and weaken the zeal of his friends. I know not how, vet this is the case: nor is it found to hold in one or two instances :y, but in many, that as soon as a Candida-.: discovers an in- clination to impeach, he is thought to despair of the honour to ires. But how? would vou have me lav aside all resentment of injuries ? Far from it : but there is a time for so- rting, and a time for prosecuting. I would have a candidate, especially for the consulship, to appear in the forum, and in the Id oi ] with great hopes, a great spirit, and a great party. It locks not well when he is prying after matter for an impeach^- he is procuring witnesses, instead of votes ; when he is th; .ng, instead of flattering ; when he is making decla- mations, instead of paying compliments ; especially as it now be- come a custom for candidates to go the round of all the electors, no from their air and countenance, form a judgment of their >pes and im Did you observe how sad and dispirited 248 *t. T. CICKRONIS ORATIONES. diflidit, abjecit hastas. Serpit hie rumor : scis tu illam accusa- tionem cogitare ? inquirere in competitores ? testes quserere ? alium faciam, quoniam sibi hie ipse desperat. Ejusmodi candi- datorum amici intimi debilitantur, studia deponunt, aut testa- tarn rem abjiciunt, aut suam operam et gratiam judicio et ae- cusationi reservant. XXII. Accedit eodem, ut etiam ipse candidatus totum ani- inura atque omnem curam, operam diligentiamque suam in pe- titione non possit ponere. Adjungitur enim accusationis cogi- tatio, non parva res, sed nimirum omnium maxima. Magnum est enim te comparare ea, quibus possit hominem e civitate, prsesertim non inopem, neque infirmum, exturbare : qui et per se, et per suos, et vero etiam per alienos defendatur ; omnes enim ad pericula propulsanda concurrimus : et qui non aperte inimici sumus, etiam alienissimis, in capitis periculis, amicissi- morum officia et studia prsestamus. Quare ego expertus et pe- tendi, et defendendi, et accusandi molestiam, sic intellexi ; in petendo studium esse acerrimum, in defendendo officium, in ac cusando laborem. Itaque sic statuo, fieri nullo modo posse, ut idem accusationem, etpetitionem consulates diligenter adornet atque instruat ; unum sustinere pauci possunt, utrumque nemo. Tu cum te de curriculo petitionis deflexisses, animumque ad accusandum transtulisses, existimasti te utrique negotio satisfa- cere posse ? vehementer errasti ; quis enim dies fuit, posteaquam in istam accusandi denuntiationem ingressus es, quern tu non to- tum in isUi ratione consumpseris ? XXIII. Legem ambitus flagitasti, quae tibi non deerat ; erat enim severissime (a») scripta Calpurnia ; gestus est mos et volun- tati et dignitati tuse. Sed tota ilia lex accusationem tuam, si ha- beres nocentem reum, fortasse arm asset : petitioni vero refragata est ; poena gravior in plebem tua voce efflagitata est : commoti animi tenuiorum : exsilium in nostrum ordinem ; .concessit (%%) Scripta Calpur-rila.'] C. Calpurnius Pifo, who was conful the fame year with M. Glabrio, paffed a law againft bribery and corruption, by which the criminal was ex- cluded from all public honours, and condemned in a certain fine. But this law appear- ing too mild to Sulpicius, he got another paffed during Cicero's confulship, by which it was enacted, that thofe who fold their votes fhould be fubjeift to a mulct, and that a candidate convicted of bribery fhould be banifhed for ten years. It likewife took away all pretences of abfencti on account of illnefs, that the party impeached might not there- by have au opportunity of protracting or evading his trial. Some explain this lafi article of the people in general, who they fay wore obliged to attead and give their votes at the election of a conful under pain of a fi:>e. CICERO's ORATIONS. 24§ he looked ? why he is quite abashed, he desponds, he gives up the cause. Instantly the rumour creeps round. What, don't you know that he is meditating an impeachment ? that he is prying into the conduct of his competitors . ? that he is searching after witnesses ? I'll give my interest to another ; for this man, evidently despairs of success. The nearest friends of such can- didates are immediately damped : they lose all their zeal ; and either wholly give up a cause which they look upon as desper- ate, or reverse all their influence for the judgment and accusa- tion that is to ensue. Sect. XXII. To this we may add, that the candidate himself cannot employ his whole -spirit, care, attention, and application, towards the promoting his solicitation ; for his mind runs like- wise upon the impeachment, which, far from being a slight af- fair, is perhaps the most important of all others. It is no ea matter to furnish yourself properly for driving a man of wealth and interest out of the city ; one, who by himself, by his friends, nay, and even by strangers, is amply provided with all the means of defence. For we are all very ready to lend our as- sistance in repelling danger ; and where no declared enmity jsubsits, find ourselves prompted to perform the highest offices of friendship to the meerest strangers, when threatened with a. capital indictment. Accordingly having learnt from experience the solicitude attending the function of a candidate, a defender, and an accuser, I find it to be this : that in a candidate there is required an assiduous court, in a defender an anxious zeal, and in an accuser an unremitting industry. I therefore take upon, me to assert, that it is impossible for the same man to acquit himself with ability and address, as a candidate for the consul- ship, and the manager of an impeachment. Few people can pport any one. of these characters with dignity, but no man ibcth. you, Servius, quitted the track of a candidate, and turned your thoughts to the business of accusing, did you cter your ith being equal to both duties ? It was a great mistake if you did : for from the time that you professed your- self an accuser, say if so much as a single day passed, that was aot wholly ingrossed by the concerns of that office. Sect. XXIII. You urged the public for a law against bribery And corruption, fo; which there seemed to be but little occasion-, as the Calpurnian law was already very rigorous and severe. However, a proper regard was shown to your request and dig- nity. But that whole law, which perhaps would have strength- ened your accusation, had the impeached been guilty, was rather prejudicial to your demand of the consulship. A heavier pen- alty was extorted against the people. The poorer sort were* 250 m. ; . . >js'is o senatus postulationi tucc ; sed »on libenter di communi conditionem, te auctorte, constituit. Morbi excite; tioni poena addita est : voluntas offensa multortxm, quibuS aufc contra valctudinis commodum laborandum est, aut incommode*- morbi etiam cseteri vitfe fructus relinqucndi ; quid ergo i bsec quis tulit . ? is qui auctoritati senatus, voluntati tine paruit : de- nique is tulit, cui minim e proderant. Quid ? ilia, qua? mea summa voliintate senatus frequens repudiavit, mediocriteradver- sata tibi esse existimas ? (7.3) confusionem suffragiorum flagitasti, prorogationem legis Manilla;, tequationem gratia?, dignitatis,, suffragiorum. Graviter homines honesti, atque in suis civitati- bus et municipiis gratiosi tulerunt, u tali viro esse pugnatum, ut omnes et dignitatis et gratia? gradus tollerentur. Idem edititios judices esse voluisti, ut odia occulta civium, qua? tacitis nunc discordiis continentur, in fortunas optimi cuj usque erumperent. Ha?c omnia tibi accusandi viam muniebant, adipiscendi obsepi- ebant. Atque ex omnibus ilia plaga est injeeta petkioni tuaBy non tacente me, maxima : de qua ab homine ingeniosissimo et, copiosissimo, Hortensio,. multa gravissime dicta sunt : quo etianr mihi durior locus est dicendidatus : ut cum ante me et ille dix- isset, et vir summa dignitate et diligentia, et facultate dicendi,< M. Crassus, ego in extremo non partem aliqtiam agerem causav sed de tota re dicerem, quod mihi videretur, Itaque in iisdem rebus fere versor, et, quod possum, judices, occurro vestrse*. satictati. XXIY.. Sed tamen, Servi, quam te securim putas injecisse pe-* titioni tu«3, cum tu populum Romanum in eum metum addux - istij utpertimesceret, ne consul Catilina fieret, dum tu accusa~- tionem comparares, deposita atque abjecta petitione ! Etenim te inquirere videbant tristem ipsum : mc&stos amicos, observati-- ones, testificationes, seductiones testium, secessionem subscr torum ammadvrertebaiit : quibus rebus certe ipsi candidatorum vulttis obscuriores videri solent : Catilinam interea alacrem atque lsetum, stipatum choro juventutis, vallatum indiclbus atque' sicariis, infiatum cum spe militum, turn colleg ad** modum dice-bat ipse, promissis, circumfluente col m Arcti-' norum et Fesulanorum exercitu ; quam turbam dissimillimo (13) Cbnfusionem suffrqglotum Jlagitatti^\ I have already taken notice of the great acU> vantage which the distribution of the people into centuries gave to men of property in Rome ; an alteration of the manner of voting feems to be what Cicero here fpeaks of, and that Sulpicius folicited a law, that the votes of ail the centuries mould be gathered indifcnminately, fo that the candidate fhould not know which century was for or which againfl him. It would feem as if there had been a law of one Manlius to this t and that was abrogated, but now reftored by Sulpicius, CICERO ? S ORATIONS. ' 2 J 1 alarmed. Exile was denounced against our order 1 . Tile sen- ate, indeed, yielded to your request : but it was not without reluctance, that in consequence of your importunity, they Were brought to impose rigorous penalties upon those of a midling fortune. A punishment was annexed to ail exeiisos of illness. This offended many, who were either obliged to abandon the consideration of their health, or for its sake relin- quish all the other advantages of life; Hut let me ask you, who proposed these laws : the man who was moved thereto by the authority of the senate, and your entreaties : in short, the man who had no expectation of advantage from them. Do you ima- gine that the proposal of yours, which the senate in a full house rejected to my entire satisfaction, was not considerably preju- dicial to your cause ? You strove to introduce a confusion of votes, a suspension of the Manilian law, and to level all dis- tinctions of interest, power, and dignity. Many persons or worth, and eminently considerable in their own cities and cor- porations, were much displeased that a man of your character -should aim at abolishing all degrees of honour and merit. You was likewise for impowering the prosecutor to nominate judges ; by which the secret animosities of citizens, which are now con- fined within the bounds of silent dislike, would have broke out against the fortunes oi every worthy patriot. AJljEhese regula- tions cleared the way to your impeachment, but obstructed your 'success as a candidate ; and gave that mortal, blow to your pre- tentions, which I was not wanting to warn yd u of. But the in- genious and eloquent Hortensius has already spoke fully and so- lidly to this point ; insomuch that the province assigned me is the more difficult, because coming after him, -and M. Cassius, a man of the greatest dignity, application, and eloquence, I am obliged, as last speaker, not to confine myself to any particular part of the charge, but to give my opinion of the whole matter. Thus am I obliged to run over almost the same heads, and in some measure, my lords, anticipate your judgment. Sect. XXIY. But what a mortal stab, Servius, did vou give to your pretensions, when you raised that terror among the people of Catiline's being chosen consul, by dropping your solicitation, and busying yourself about the impeachment ! For they beheld you with a disconsolate air, collecting inform- ations : they saw the dejected looks of your friends, their pry- ing, 'their affidavits, their closeting witnesses, their cabaUuig with solicitors : all which are apt to throw a gloom over the countenance of a candidate. Meanwhile they observed Cati- line, gay and cheerful, surrounded with a crowd of young men, encompassed by informers and assassins,] flushed with his hopes in the soldiery, and, as he pretended, With the promises 9? my ciHeac as, while a whole army of rustics from Arctium H2 V. T. CICKRONIS ©RATIONS.*. jencVe(*4) ctistingu&bant homines perculsi Syllani temper!* e imitate. v Vultus erat ipsius plenus furoris, oculi sceleris, scrmo arrogantise, sic ut ci jam exploratus, et domi conditus. consulatus videretur. Mursenam contemnebat : Sulpicium ac- cusatorern suum numerabat, non competitorem : ei vim denun- fliabat : reipubiicse minabatur. XXV. Qiiibus rebus, qui timor bonis omnibus injectus sit, quantaque desperado reipublicse, si ille factus esset, nolite a me* commoneri velle : vosmetipsi vobiscum recordamini ; ( 2 5) memi- nistis enim cum illius nefarii gladiatoris voces percrebuissent, quas habuisse in concione domestica dicebatur, cum miserorum fidelem defensorenl negasset inveniri posse, nisi eum qui ipse miser esset : integrorum et fortunatorum promissis saucios et miseros credere non oportere : quare qui consumpta replere, erepta recuperare vellent, spectarent quid ipse deberet, quid possideret} quid auderet : ini'neme timidum, et valde calamito- sum esse oportere eum, qui esset futurus dux etsignifer calami- tosum. Turn igitur, his rebus auditis, meministis fieri senaius- consultum, referente me, ne postero die comitia haberentur, ut de his rebus in senatu agere possemus. Itaque postridie fre- quenti senatu Catilmam excitavi, atque eum de his rebus jussi, si quidveHfet, quse ad me allatre essent, dicere. («6) Atque ille, ut semper fuit apertissimus,. non se purgavit, sea indicavit, at- que induit. Turn enim dixit, duo corpora esse reip. unum de- bile, iniirmo capite ;. alteram firmum, sine capite : huic, cum ita de se meritum esset, caput, se vivo, non defuturum. Conge- muit senatus frequens, neque tamen satis severe pro rei indigni- late decrevit. rfam parti m, ideo fortes in decernendo non erant, (24) Oissimillimo ex genereJ) The diflimilitude confided chiefly in this, that the peo- ple of Ftsula and Arctium had been enriched by the fpoils of the civil war conferred up- on them by Sylla, thefe being colonies of the dictator's own planting. Others again had bren diverted of their eftates and fortunes by Sylla, to fatisfy the cravings of his veterans, to whom he had promifed 3n allotment of lands. Thefc too. in a view of' recovering the poffeffions they had been fo unjuftly deprived of, eagerly joined in the party of Catiline. (25) Meministis enim.'] It is furprifing that this quotation, which our very candid diftnterefted author gives us from Catiline's fpeech, is not to be found in Salluft. I will make no other remark upon it, than that the language he ufes here was very na- tural to a- man in Catiline's circumftances ; and, if the fenate and nobles had at that lime ir.lolently ufurped upon the liberties, and ingroffed the properties of their fellow citizens, very fair and plaufible. (26) Atque ille, \5'c] We learn from Plutarch, that Cicero, on the very day of the co- mitia, informed the fenate of what he had heard relating to Catiline's defigns, and challenged the confpirator himfelf to anfwer to the charge he brought againft him. Upon which Catiline, believing there were many in the fenate who wifhed well to the confpiracy, inflead of endeavouring to difguife his treafon, openly faid : Quid pecco, >i duorum corporum, quorum alter um caput babeat, sed 1 agrum et pertinax ; alterum sine ca- uWr, -id-validum et prapotens ; buis me caput adjicio ? By the firft body, he mean; the J? CTCEWS ORATIONS. 353 -And Fesulse were swarming round him : a motley crowd, and rendered the more conspicuous by the contrast of those who had suffered by the proscriptions of Sylla. The countenance ot Catiline himself was full of fury, his eyes of guilt, and his speech of arrogance, insomuch that he seemed already secure, nay, in actual possession of the consulship. He despised Mu- rena : he regarded Sulpicius, not as his competitor, but his ac- cuser ; he denounced vengeance against him, and threatened his country with ruin. Sect. XXV. Do not expect that I .-should put you in mind of the dread which this occasioned among* all good men, and •how desperate "die condition of the republic would have been, had he succeeded in his demand of the consulship. Your own memory will help you to this reflection. For doubtless you .have not forgot the words which that infamous gladiator Avas universally known to have used in a meeting at his own house, when he affirmed, that the wretched could 'no where hope to find a faithful and able defender, but in one wretched like them- selves : that citizens oppressed with calamities and distresses, ought never to trust to the promises of the prosperous and happy : that therefore such as were willing to repair their ex- hausted fortunes, and recover what had been taken from them, need only to consider how much he was involved, how little he possessed, and what lie dared to do : that the man who aimed at being a leader and protector of the unfortunate, ought indeed to be very miserable, but quite void of fear. When the report of this speech became public, you may remember, that upon my proposing the affair to the consideration of the senate, they thought proper to defer the assembly for the election of con- suls, that they might have time to deliberate on an affair of so great importance. Accordingly the next day, in a full house, I called upon Catiline, and commanded him to clear himself, if lie could, as to those facts of which I had been informed. But fie who was always verv open in those matters, without at- tempting to palliate his behaviour, rather owned and justified the charge. He told us, that^ere were two bodies in the re- public the one of them infirm, with a weak head : the other firm, without a head; which last had so well deserved of him, that it should never want a head while he lived. " The whole body of the senate was heard to groan • yet were their decrees no ways answerable in severity to the indignity of the insult : tor many acted remissly because they thought there Was no danger, and others were held in awe by their fears. He then broke out of the senate with a triumphant joy, though he nate, of which Cicero, a? conful, was the head. By the fecond, the people, of which he now declared himfelfxeady to become the head. M. T. CICERONIS ORATIONES. ihil timebant, partim quia timebant. Turn erupit e se natu triiunphans gaudio, quern omnino vivum illinc exire noi non )rtuerat : prsesertim cum idem ille in eodem ordine paucis diebus ante, Gafoni, fortissimo viro, judicium minitanti, ac de- nuntianti respondisset, si quod esset in suas fortunas incendium excitatum, id se non aqua, sed ruina restincturum, XXTJ. His turn rebus commotus, et quod homines jam turn conjuratos cum gladiis in campum deduci a Catilina sciebam, (if) descend! in campum cum firmissimq prsesidio fortisshnorum virorum, ct cum ilia latfl insignique lorica, non qua*, me tegeret (ctenim sciebam Catilinam non latus, aut vent;em, sed caput et collum, solere petere) verum ut omnes boni animadverterent, et cum in metu et periculo consulem viderent, id quod est fac- tum, ad opem prsesidiumque meum concurrerent, Itaque cum te, Servi, remissiorem in petcndo putarent, Catilinam et spe, et cupiditate inflammatum viderent, omnes qui illam ab repub. pestem depellere cupiebant, ad Mursfcnam se statim contulerunt. Magna est autem comitiis consularibus repentina voluntatum inclinatio ; prresertim cum incubuit ad virum bonum, et. mul- tis aliis adjumentjs petitiotiis ornatum. Qui cum honestissimo patre atque majoribus, modestissima adolescentia, clasissima lc- gatione, prsetura probata in jure, grata in munere, ornata in proviheia, petisset diligenter, et ita petisset, ut neque minanti cederet, neque cuiquam minaretur ; huic mirandumest, magno adjumentp Catilinse subitam spem cons ulat lis adipiscendi fuisse r Nunc mihi tertius ille locus est orationis de ambitus criminibus, perpurgatus ab iis qui ante me dixerunt, a me, quoniam ita Mursena vpliiit, retractandus. Quo in loco, Posthumio familiar] raeo, ornatissimo viro, de divisorum indiciis, et de deprehensis pecuhiis : adolescent! ingenioso et bono, Ser. Sulpicio, de (28) equitum ccnturiis : M. Catoni, homini in omni virtute ex- cellent!, de ipsius accusations, de senatusconsulto, de repub. oondebo. (27) Descen.ii in campum.~\ As Cicero, frorrt the many daring declarations of Catiline, had rcafon to fu.spcct fome violence was intended to his perfon, he thought fit to appear in the field ol Mars, attended by a hand of young noblemen ; and that he might im- print afenfe of his own and of the public danger the more ftrongly, he took care to throw back his gown in the view of the people, and difcovered a fhining breafl-plate which he wort: under it ; by which precaution, as he told Catiline afterwards to his face, he prevented his defign of killing both him and the competitors for the conful- fhip, of whom I). Junius Silanus and L. Licinius Murena were declared confuls elect. (28) Equitum centuriis.) Sulpicius pretended that the centuries of Roman knights had been corrupted by Murena, whofe fon-ui-law, Natta, had, it feems, invited them to an entertainment Here we are to obferve, that Servius Tullius having divided the le Reman people into fix claff-s, and thefe ciaffes into an hundred and ninety-three centuries, ranked the knighfc in the firft clafcj of which they composed eighteen cent ft; cicero's orations. 255 ■ought never to have been suffered to depart from it alive ; espe- cially- as he had declared a few days before in the same house, upon the brave Cato's threatening hhn with an impeachment, that if anv name .should be excited in his fortunes, he would extin- guish it, not with water, but a general ruin. Sect. XXTI. Startled by these declarations, and because I knew that Catiline was to bring a body of armed conspirators into the field of Mars, I likewise repaired thither with a strong guard of brave citizens, and that broad shining breast-plate, which was not so properly intended for defence (for Catiline, I knew, was not accustomed to aim at the side, or the belly, but at the head and neck) as to rouze the attention of the honest and worthv, that when they saw their consul in fear and danger, thev might fly to his protection and assistance, as accordingly happened. Therefore, Servius, when the public saw you abate in the keenness of your solicitations, while Catiline appeared in- flamed with eagerness and hope, all who wished to 1 repel that plague from the republic, immediately declared for Murena. This sudden turn of the inclinations of the people at consular elections is very strong, especially w 7 here it leans, towards a worthy citizen, wiiose suit is backed with many other powerful recommendations. For when a candidate, distinguished by the merit of his father and ancestors, by his modest behaviour in his youth, by the fame he acquired as lieutenant-general, by a prfetorship illustrious in the exercise of justice, grateful in its functions, and crowmed with unspotted reputation in provincial command, petitioned earnestly for the consulship, and in such a manner as to be daunted by no menaces himself, and to be above using menaces to others ; ought we to be surprised, if the sudden hope Catiline conceived of obtaining the consulship, dis- posed the people to unite immediately in such a man's favour ? But now the third head of accusation, relating to the crime of bribery, which has been already so fully cleared up W the gentlemen who spoke before me, must again be touched upon, in compliance with Murena's desire. And here 1 shall take occasion to answer what has been said by my accomplished friend Posthumius, touching an intended distribution of money among the people, and the seizure of it in the hands of those with whom it was deposited, by the ingenious and worthy Servius Sulpicius. with regard to the centuries of Roman knights ; and by M. Cato, a man adorned with every virtue, in relation to his own accusation} the decree of the senate, and the condition of the republic. 25 ft 31. T. CICERO NIS OR ATI ONES. / XXVII. Seel pauca, quse mcum animum repente mov.erunx, prius cle L. Muraenx fortuna conquerar. Nam cum ssepe antea, indices, et ex aliorum miseriis, et ex meis curis laboribusque quotidianis, fortunatos eos homines judicarem, qui remoti a stu- diis ambitionis, otium ac tranquillitatem vitse secuti sunt : turn vero in his L. Muraensc tantis tamque improvisis periculis ita sum animo affectus, ut non queam satis neque communem omnium nostrum conditionem, neque hujus eventum fortunam- que miserari : qui primum dum ex honoribus continuis iamilisc, majorumque suorum, unum ascendere gradum dignitatis cona- tus est, venit in periculum, ne et ea quse relicta, et haec quse ab ipso parta sunt, amittat ; deinde propter studiiim novse laudis, in veteris fortunes discrimen adducitur ; quse cum sunt gravia, judices, turn illud acerhissinmm est, quod habet eos accusatores, non qui odio inimiciciarum ad accusandum, sed qui studio ac- cusandi ad inimicitias descenderent. Nam ut omittam Ser- Sulpicium, quern intelligo non injuria L. Mursense, sed honons contentione permotum ; accusat paternus amicus, Cn. Posthu- mi is, vetus, ut ait ipse, vicinus, ac necessarius, qui necessitudi- nis causas complures protulit, .simtiltatis nullam commemorarc potuit : accusat Ser. Sulpicius, sodalis nlii, cujus ingenio pa- terni omnes necessarii munitioresesse debebant: accusat M.Cato, ■qui quanquam a Murena nulla re unquam alienus fuit, tamen ea conditione nobis erat in hac civitate natus, ut ejus opes et •ingenium praesidio multis etiam alienissimis, exitio vix cuiquam inimico esse deberet. Respondebo igitur Posthumio primum, qui nescio quo pacto mihi videtur, (27) prsetorius candidatus in ■consularem, quasi desultorius in quadrigarum curriculum in- currere. Cujus competitores, si nihil deliquerunt, dignitati eorum concessit, cum petere destitit : sin autem eorum aliquis largitus est, expetendus amicus est, qui alienam potius injuri- am, quam suam persequatur. XXVIII. Venio nunc ad M. Catonem, quod est firmamen- turn ac robur totius accusationis ; qui tamen ita gravis est accu- sator et vehemens, ut multo magis ejus auctoritatem quam (29) Pratorius candidatus i,i confularem, ti'tafi defultorius in quadrigarum curriculum in- turr£re.\ This metaphor is taken from the dexterity of thofe who in horfe-races could vault from one horfe to another without interrupting the courfe. For Pofthumius, a candidate for the praetorfhip, had quitted his pretenfions to that dignity, in the view of impeaching Murena, a canditate for the confulfhip. This was truly matter of fur- prife. For why did he not rather profecute fomeof his fellow-candidate* ? did he ex- pert to fee this tafk undertaken by fome friend, who was to entangle himfelf in a- venging another's injuries ? This, lays Cicero, is as if one of your vaulters, niflead of jumping from one horfe upon another, fhould fpring into a chariot and four, and thereby change the courfe from a horfe to a chariot-race. Livy alludes to. thefe de~ Juftcrii, or vaulterB, in his thirty-third book, when he fays, Dcfulterum in modo binos tra- bentibus c quo; inter aitrrimam ftrpe pucrjtam in pecent&n equum ex fejfo arm&tis tranftt-tftm Cicero's orations. ±5T §ecy. XXVII. But first let me premise somewhat by way of complaint, touching the present hard fortune of Murena, which has made a very sudden impression upon my mind. I have often before this, my lords, from a consideration of the miseries of others, and the daily toils and cares to which I am exposed, been tempted to think those the happiest men, who remote from the pursuits of ambition, courted ease and tranquillity of life ; but now that I behold the great and unexpected dangers- which threaten Murena, I am so struck with concern, that I cannot sufficiently bemoan our common lot, nor the fate and fortune of my friend ; who upon his very first attempt to mount one step above those honours, which have been so long in the possession of his family and ancestors, saAV himself in danger,. not only of losing all he inherited from them, but even the ac- quisitions of his own industry,, insomuch that his pursuit of new praise threatens the entire subversion of his former fortune* These, my lords, are real hardships : but what is still more afflicting in the case of my friend ; his accusers have not been, prompted to this impeachment by any motives of personal re- sentment, but have been drawn into personal resentment by their zeal for impeaching. For not to mention Servius Sulpicius,. whose animosity against Murena flows not from any injurious treatment, but a dispute about preference ; he is accused by Cn. Posthumius, his father's friend, who owns him for his old acquaintance and intimate companion ; and who assigns many reasons why he should love Murena, but can offer none to justify his hatred ; he is accused by Servius Sulpicius, the com- panion of his son, whose amiable character should strengthen the attachment of his father's friends : he is accused by M. Cato % who not only has no particular ground of quarrel with Murena^ but seems born to employ his interest and talents for the pro- tection of the meerest strangers, without suffering them ta prove destructive even to his greatest enemy. I will there- fore first reply to Posthumius, who, though a solicitor for the prsetorship, seems to . me, I can't tell why, to run full against a consular candidate, as if a vaulter on horseback should leap into the seat of a chariot. If his competitors were no way in fault, he has only yielded to their dignity, in drop- ping his pretensions : but if any of them has bribed, a" friend must be sought for, to prosecute another's injuries rather than his own. ....... Sect. XXVIII. I come now to M. Cato's charge, which is the prop and strength of this whole impeachment: and whose xzeal and reputation carry so much weight, that I. am more afraid •f his. authority j than his accusation. And here, my lord s_> give 258 Mi t. cigv.uonIs oRationes. criminationem pertimescam. In quo ego accusatore, judici primum illud deprecabor^ ne quid L. Mura>nse dignitas illius,-. ne quid exspectatio tribunatus, ne quid totius vitse splendor ct gravitas noceat ; denique ne oa soli huic obsint bona M. Catonis, quss ille adeptus est, ut multis prodesse posset. Bis consul fuerat P. Africanus, et duos terrores hujus imperii, Carthaginem Numantiamque deleverat,cumaccusavit L. Cottam. Erat in eo summa eloquentia, summa fides, summa integritas, auctoritas tanta, quanta in ipso imperio populi Romani, quod illius opera tenebatur. Sgepe hoc majores natu dicere audivi,, hanc accusatoris eximiam dignitatem plurimum L. Cottse pro- fuisse. Noluerunt sapientissimi homines, qui turn rem illam judltcabant, ita quemquam cadere in judicio, ut nimiis adver- sari; virions abjectus videretur. Quid? (30) Servium Galbam (nam traditum -memorise est) nonne proavo tuo, fortissimo atque fiorentissimo viro, M. Catoni, incumbenti ad ejus pernicieni po- pulus Romanus eripuit ? Semper in hac civitate nimis magnis accusatorum opibus et popuius universus, et sapientes ac mul- tum in posterum prospicientes judices restiteruht. Nolo accu- sator in judicium potentiam afferat, non vim majorem aliquam, non auctoritatem excellentem, non nimiam gratiam : valeant hac omnia ad salutem hmocentium, ad opem impotentium, ad auxilium calamitcsorum : in periculo ver'o, et in pernicie civium repudientur. Nam si quis hoc forte dicet, Catonem descensus rum ad accusandum non fuisse, nisi prius de causa judieasset : iniquam legem, judices, et miserain conditioner instituet p'eri- culis hominum, si cxistimabit judicium accusatoris in reum pro uliquo pr?ejudkio valere oportere. XXIX. Ego tiwm consilium, Cato, propter singular^ arunii; mei de tua virtute judicium, vituperate non audeo : nonhulla in re forsitan -confirmare, et lev iter emendare possim. J&O'JSF MULT A PECCAS,inquit ille fortissimo viro senior magister : SED, 81 PECCAS, TE REGERE POSSUM. At ego te ve- rissiuae dixerim peccare nihil, neque uila in re te esse hujus--' modi, ut corrigendus potius quam leviter infieGtendus esse vi deare. Einxit enim te ipsa natura ad horiestatent, gravkatem, temperantiam, magnitudinem animi, justitiam, ad omnes deni- que virtutes, magnum hominem et excelsum ; accessit his tot doctrina non moderata nee mitis, sed, ut mihi videtur, paulo (30) Servium Galbam.'] Calba being accufed before an affemhly of the people, by Li- bo, a tribune of the commons, for having, while prxtor in Spain, contrary to the pub- lic faith given, treacheroufly fallen upon the enemy, and put a great number of them to the fword ; offered at no other defence., than by producing his children before the pecple, and recommending them to the protection, and companion of the affembly. This had fo powerful an effect toward militating the public refentment, that he was acquiued of the crime laid to his charge. Cicero's orations. 2o# me leave to intreat, that neither the dignity of the accuser, nor the expectations conceived of his tribuneship, nor the merit and lustre of his whole character, may be of any prejudice to Murena on this occasion ; nor let those many good qualities' of M. Cato, which he possesses for the benefit of mankind, prove hurtful to him alone. Publius Africanus had been twice con- sul, and demolished Carthage and Numantia, those two gre?.t terrors of the Roman empire, when he accused L. Cotta* He was possessed of the most consummate eloquence, the most un- tainted honour, and the most unblemisned integrity ; and his authority was equal to that of the whole empire of the Roman people, which was supported chiefly by his services. And yet I have often heard people of advanced age declare, that this eminent merit of the accuser was of the highest service to L. Cotta. For the judges in that cause, who were men of the most distinguished prudence, thought it dangerous to leave any room to suspect that the criminal had been borne down by the superior weight of his adversary. Did not the people of Rome rescue Surgius Galba (for so tradition informs us) from the hands Of your great-grandfather, M. Cato, a brave and illustrious citi- zen, who was bent upon his destruction ?. It appears in the history of this state, that the people in general, and all wise judges, who had the good of posterity in view, have ever been jealous of the power and interest of an accuser* I like not to see an impeacher appear in court with an overbearing power, with superior interest, with a prevailing authority, and too ex- tensive a credit. Let ;all these advantages prevail, for the safety of the innocent, the protection of the helpless, and the relief oi the miserable : but let their influence be repelled from the dan-' gers and destruction of citizens. For if any one should say, that Cato would not have taken the pains to accuse, if he had not been assured of the crime, he establishes a very unjust law to men in distress, by making the judgment of an accuser to be considered as a prejudice, or previous condemnation of the crim- inal. Sect. XXIX. So great is the opinion I have of your virtue* Cato, that I dare not presume to censure your conduct : in some instances, perhaps, I might be able a little to polish and amend it* Says the aged monitor to his brave pupil, 2ou are not -wrong in rnany things ; but if yon are, I know how to set you, right, But I can with great truth say of you, that you are never in fault, nOr at any time so far deviate from what is right, as to stand in need rather of correction, than a gentle admoni- tion. For nature herself has formed you to honour, wisdom, temperance, magnanimity, justice ; in short, to all the virtues becoming a great and an excellent man. To all these you have added a temper and discipline, not mild and flexible, but, as appears to me, rather rougher and more intractable than either 1.2 160 M. T. CICERONIS ORATI'ONES. asperior et darior, quam aut Veritas aut natura patiatur. Ec quoniam non est nobis hscc oratio habenda, aut cum imperita multitudine, aut in aliquo conventu agrestium, audacius paulo de studiis humahitatis, quse et mihi et vobis nota et juounda sunt, disputabo. Jn M. Catone, judices, haec bona, qu?e vide- mus divina et egregia, ipsius scitote esse propria : quse nonnun- quam requirimus, ea sunt omnia non a natura sed a magistro. Fuit enim quidam suramo ingenio vir, Zeno, cujus inventorum. temuli Stoici nominantur. Hujus sententise sunt et prsecepta ejusmocli : Sapientem gratia nunquam moveri, nunquam cujus- quam delicto agnoscere ; (3 1 ) neminem misericordem esse, nisi stultum et levem ;. viri esse neque exorari, neque placari ; solos sapientcs esse, si distortissimi sint, formosos ; si mendicissimi, divites ; si servitutem serviant, reges : nos autem, qui sapientes non siimus, fugitivos, exsules, hostes, insanos denique esse di- cunt ,* omnia peccata esse paria ; omne delictum scelus esse ne- farium ; nee minus delinquere eum, qui gallum gallinaceum, cum opus non fuerit, quam eum, qui patrem suffocaverit : sapi- entem nihil opinari, nullius rei pecnitere, nulla in re falli, senten- tiam mutare nunquam. £. HaBchomo ingeniosissimus, M. Cato, auctoribus erudi- tjssimis inductus, arripuit ; neque disputandi causa, ut magna pars, sed ita vivendi. Petunt aliquid publicani ? cave quidquam habeat momenti gratia. Supplices aliqui veniunt miseri et ca- lamitosi ? sceleratus et nefarius fueris, si quidquam misericor- dia adductus feceris. Fatetur aliquis se peccasse, et ejus de- licti veniam petit ? nefarium est facinus ignoscere. At leve delictum est ? omnia peccata sunt paria. Dixisti quippiam ? fix- um et statutum est. Non re ductu3 es- r sed opinione ? sapiens nihil opinatur. Errasti aliqtia in re ? maledici putat. Hac ex discipline nobis ilia sunt. (3~) Dixi in senatu, me nomen consular is candidati delaturuni : iratus dixisti;" nunquam, (7,1) Kar.'imm misericordem esse nisi stultum et levem."] Compassion, according to the definition given of it by the Stoics, was a certain difeafe of the mind, arising from a contemplation of the mifery of others labouring under any misfortune. A man there- fore, susceptible cf this feeling, was by them considered as weak, unsteady, and of a- mean foul, incapable of vigorous designs. Hence Seneca, in his epistle to Lucilius, thus expresses himfelf : Stultitia est, cui nihil constat, nihil did placet : that man may de- fer vedly be termed a fool, who discovers no consistency in his behaviour, nor steadi- nefft in his attachments. (32) Dixi in senatu me nomen consularis candidati delaturi/m.~\ What Cicero obferves here, could not fail of contributing greatly to lessen the charge against Murena. Cato accufes him, not that in fact he had done any thing contrary to law, but becaufs he had fiid in the fenatc, that he was refolved to impeach fome confular candidate. Any Other perfon not infected with the obstinacy of Stoicifm, would have made no fcruple to own that he had expressed himfelf fo in anger, and therefore now chofe to drop his icsign. But fuch an acknowledgment was by no means to be expected from Cato* cicero's ORATIONS. 26l ?ir;ture or reason require. And because this speech is not ad- -dressed to an illiterate multitude, or an assembly of rustics, give me leave to enlarge a little with regard to these politer studies which are so well known and grateful both to you and me. ;ixls, that those divine and admirable qualities which liscern in Cato, spring truly and properly from him- self : but that sometimes he appears to be blemished with defects, is not the fault of his nature, but of education.- For there was a man of a. sublime genius, named Zeno, whose disciples and followers are called Stoics. His sentiments and tenets are : that a wise man ought never to be influenced by favour, nor ever to pardon an offence ; that it is an argument of weakness and folly, to be softened by sentiments of compassion ; that a truly manly character is equally inaccessible to entreaties and prayers ; that the wise man alone is beautiful, however distorted in appear- ance ; that he alone is rich, though surrounded with the most abject poverty : and that in the most despicable state of slavery, he only is a king : that we again, who are not entitled to the prize of wisdom, are fugitives, exiles, enemies, and, in short, madmen ; that all crimes are equal ; that every offence is a mortal sin ; that he who smothers a cock, without necessity, is no less guilty than the man who smothers his father : that the wise man never doubts, never repents, is never deceived, and never changes his mind. Sect. XXX. These are the principles which the ingenious M. Cato, induced by the reputation of the inventor and his fol- lowers, had thought proper .to adopt ; not for show and dispu- tation, as is often the case, but to serve as standing rules of behaviour. Do the farmers of the revenue petition for some abatement ? take care that nothing be done merely from a prin- ciple of favour. Are you addressed in suppliant terms by some people overwhelmed with misery and distress ? you are in the highest degree blameable and guilty, if you give the least ear to the dictates of compassion. Does a man acknowledge his fault, and humbly sue for pardon ? it were a crime of the deep- est dye to forgive. But is it a slight offence ? all faults are alike. Have you once said a thing ? it is fixed and unalterable. But you did not decide in the matter, you only gave your opinion ? a wis<; man has no opinion. Does any one pretend you have been mistaken ? this is construed into the highest affront. 'Tis to these doctrines that we are indebted for the present prosecu- tion. I said in the senate, that I would impeach one of thfc consular candidates. But you was in a passion when you said who would thereby feem to deviate from the gravity and firmnefsof a wife man. Mu- Tena therefore mud be impeached, becaufe the Stoics thought anger inconfiftent with ike character ofa wife man, and Cato claimed that character as belonging to himfclf. ri62 M. r. ciceronis oratiokes. inquit, sapiens irascitur. At temporis causa : improbi, inquit, hominis est mendacio fallere ; mutare sententiam, turpe est ; exorari, scelus ; misereri, flagitium. Nostri autem illi (fatebor enim, Cato, me quoque in adolescentia diffisum ingenio meo qusesisse adjumenta doctrinse) ; nostri, inquam, illi a Platone et Aristotele, moderati homines, et temperati, aiunt, apud sapien- tem valere aliquando gratiam j viri boni esse misereri ; distincta genera esse delictorum, et dispares poenas ; esse apud hominem constantem ignoscendi locum ; ipsum sapientem ssepe aliquid opinari, quod nesciat ; irasci nonnunquam ; exorari eundem, et placari ; quod dixerit, interdum, si ita rectius sit, mutare ;■ de sententia decedere aliquando ; omnes yirtutes mediocritate qua- dam esse moderatas. XXXI. Hos ad magistros si qua te fortuna, Cato, cum ista natura detulisset ; non tu quidem vir melior esses, nee fortior, nee temperantior, nee justior (neque enim esse potes), sed paulo ad lenitatem propensior ; non accusares nullis adductus inimici- tiis, nulla lacessitus injuria, prudentissimum hominem, summa dignitate atque honestate prseditum : putares, cum in ejusdem anni custodia, te atque L. Mursenam fortuna posuisset, aliquo te, cum hoc reipub. vinculo esse conjunctum ; quod atrociter in senatu dixisti, aut non dixisses, aut seposuisses, aut mitiorem in partem interpretarere. Ac te ipsum, quantum ego opinione auguror, nunc et animi quodam impetu concitatum, et vi na- turse atque ingenii elatum, et recentibus prseceptorum studiis fiagrantem jam usus flectet, dies leniet, setas mitigabit. Ete- nim isti ipsi mihi videntur vestri prseceptores et virtutis magis- tri (33) fines ofneiorum paulo longius quam natura vellet, protu- lisse ; ut, cum ad ultimum animo contendissemus, ibi tamen, ubi oportet, consisteremus. Nihil ignoveris : immo aliquid, non omnia. Nihil gratia^ causa feceris : immo resistito gratia?, cum ofneium et fides postulabit. Misericordia cemmotus »e (33) I?**'* offiaiorum.'] By this we are to underftand the extreme and ultimate point, as it were of duty ; what the Greeks denoted by the word telos. The metaphor is ta- ken from the boundaries of lands, which ferve to divide and mark their proper limits, Cicero here infinuates, that the Stoics had extended the bounds of virtue beyond what the nature of things would allow, placing the ultimate perfection of goodnefs in a cer- tain rigour and inflexible feverity, that exceeded the reach and condition of human na- ture. Sguando enim, fays Camerarius,ai Mud rectum, quod ipsi katorthoma^nwz/tftar, aut qua; bujus erit usurpatio in convictu et consuetudine hominum ? Fuifse igitur hoc concilium illo- rum Cicero putat, non qutd perveniri ad tantam perfectionem pofse srederept, fedut annitente\ prccedcrent lengiut^ CICERo's ORATIONS 263 -so. A. wise man, returns he, is never in a passion. The parr ticuiar conjuncture, perhaps, required such a declaration. None, but a rogue will deceive by a lie. To altar one's sentiments, is shameful ; to yield to prayers and entreaties, a crime ; and to be compassionate, a scandalous weakness. But the masters that I followed (for I will own to you, Caco, that in my youth' distrusting my own capacity, I too sought assistance from learning), the masters, I say, that I followed, who had formed themselves upon the principles of Plato and Aristotle, and pro- fessed a more moderate and reasonable philosophy, tell me, , that a w T ise man is sometimes swayed by affection ; that com^- passion is essential to the character of a good man ; that faults differ in kind and degree, and ought therefore to differ also in respect to punishment ,* that steadiness is not inconsistent with a : disposition to forgive ; that the sage frequently contents him- self with opinions, where he finds it impossible to arrive at ab- solute certainty ; that he is sometimes liable to anger ; that he may be softened and appeased ; that he scruples not to depart from what he has said, where reason prompts him so to do; that he sometimes changes his mind ,* and that all virtue consists in a certain mediocrity. Sect. XXXI. Had it been j^our fortune, Cato, with that dis- position you inherit from nature, to have studied under masters like these, you would not, mdeed, have been a better, a bolder, a more temperate, or a juster man, for that were impossible : but you would have been a little more inclinable to gentleness. You would not, without either injury or provocation, have ac- cused the most modest man upon earth, and one eminent for liis merit and dignity : you w T ould have thought, as fortune had destined you both to magistracies the same year, that there was a sort of political relation subsisting between you : and as to the invectives you threw out against him in the senate, you either would have suppressed them altogether, or put them off till another time, or at least considerably softened their asperity. But, as far as I am able to judge, experience will bend, age mitigate, and length of time qualify that impetuosity of spirit, that predominant force of nature and genius, which at present, through the recent impressions of philosophy, hurry you on to a kind of savage and stubborn virtue. For in my opinion, your teachers and professors of wisdom have stretched the bounds of moral duty rather beyond what nature requires. Our desires, indeed, should prompt us to aim at the highest perfection ; yet still prudence must determine where it will be proper to stop. You are for pardoning nothing. Many things, it must be owned, are without the reach of pardon, yet some at least have a reasonable claim. You utterly disclaim the in- fluence of favour or affection. By all means stifle these emo- 264; M* T. GICERONIS ORATIONRS. I sis : etiam, in dissolvenda severitate ; sed tamen estlaus aliqua. liumanitatis. In sententia permaneto : vero, nisi senteritia alia vicerit melior. Hujuscemodi Scipio ille fuit. quern non pifini- tebat facere idem, quod tu : habere eruditissimum hominem, et pene devinum domi : cujus oratione et praeceptis, quanquam erant eadem ista quae te delectant, tamen asperior non est fac- tus, sed, ut accepi a senibus, lenissimus. Quis vero C. Laelio comior ? quis jucundior, eodem ex studio Jsto ? quis illo gra- vior ? sapientior . ? (34) Possum de L. Philippo, de C. Gallo di- cere haec eadem : sed te domum jam deducam tuam. Quern- quamne existimas Catone proavo tuo commodiorem, comiorem, moderatiorem fuisse ad omnem rationem humanitatis ? de cujus prsestanti virtute cum vere graviterque diceres, domesticum te habere dixisti exemplum ad imitandum. Est illud quidem ex- emplum tibi propositum domi : sed tamen naturae similitude jllius ad te magis, qui ab illo ortus es, quam ad unumquemque nostrum pervenire potuit : ad imitandum vero tarn mihi propo- situm exemplar illud est, quam tibi. Sed si illius comitatem et facilitatem tuae gravitati severitatique adsperseris, non ista qui^ dem erunt meliora, quae nunc sunt optima, sed certe condita ju- cundius. XXXII. Quare, ut ad id quod institui revertar, tolle mihi causa nomen Catonis : remove, ac praetermitte auctoritatem, quae in judicriis aut nihil valere, aut ad salutem debet valere : congredere mecum criminibus ipsis. Quid accusas, Cato ? quid affers in judicium ? quid arguis I Ambitum accusas ? non de- fendo. Me reprehendis, quod idem defendam, quod lege puni- verim? punivi ambitum, non innocentiam . ambitum vero ip- sum vel tecum accusabo, si voles. Dixisti senatusconsultum, me referente, esse factum. Si mercede corrupti, obviam candi- datis issent, si conducti sectarentur, si gladiatoribus vulgo locus tributim, et item prandia si vulgo essent data : contra legem Calpurniam factum videri. Ergo ita senatus judicat, contra legem facta haec videri, si facta sint : decernit, quod nihil opus est, dum candidatis morem gerit. IS am factum sit, necne, vehe- (34) Pojfum de L Philippo.'] As Manutius ftrongly contends that fome error mud have crept in here, I fhall tranl'cribe his whole note upon this paffage, for the fatisfao» tion of the curious reader : ' Locus unus ex iis, quibus, contra veteres libros, conjectu- * ram libenter fequor. Quisenim hilloriae peritus, de L. Philo, non probabit magis, ' quam de L. Philippo ; Philus do<9rina, et fapientia clarus : itaque conjungitur, item * ut hie, cum Scipione, Lxlio, Catone, in oratione pro Archia.' Cap. 7. EJfe hunc «»- mero. quern patres nojlrividerunt, divinum hominum Africanum ; ex hoc C. Lcelium. I,. JFuri- um, modeftijjimos homines et continentijjimos ; ex hoc fortijjimum virum, et Mis temporilus doc- tiffimum M. Catonem ilium fenem. ' Sic et aliis in locis. At de L. Philippo, tanquam fa- * piente, et docto quae loquitur hiftorifc ?' I cannot, however, but obferve here, in oppofition to the above remark of Manutius, that Cicero, in hrs Brutus, fpeaks of Phi- Uppus as a man perfectly fkilled in the Greek learning. ■ry«-» ar CICERO'S ©RATIONS. 26-: fions, where honour and duty require you so to do. You think it criminal to yield to the dictates of compassion : it is so in cases that require severity ; but on many occasions humanity is. praise-worthy. Persevere in your resolutions. True unless some better resolution offers upon a clearer view of things. Such were the sentiments of the great Scipio ; who, like you, was not ashamed to keep at his house a man of profound learn- ing, and almost approaching to divinity : whose precepts and conversation, though the same with those which you so much admire, were yet so far from rendering him untractable, that, as I have learnt from some of his contemporaries, he was the gentlest of all men. Who was more affable, who more agreea- ble than C. Lselius, though a follower of the same philosophy; At the same time, who was there that equalled him in weight and wisdom ? I might say the same of L. Philippus, and C. Cal- lus : but let me now lead you into your own family. Do you believe that your great-grandfather, Cato, fell short of any man in affability, politeness, complaisance, and the most extensive humanity ? accordingly, when you spoke so fully and feelingly of his eminent virtues, you told us that you had a domestic mo- del for your imitation. He is indeed an unexceptionable mo- del ; but the similarity of genius may be more conspicuous in you, who are so nearly allied to him by descent ; yet still is he no less an example for my imitation than yours. But were you to temper your austerity and gravity, with his affability and po- liteness ; it would not indeed add to the excellency of your vir- tue, which is already perfect ; but it would at least, by a proper seasoning,, render it more agreeable. Sect. XXXII. To return then to the point in question, awaf with the name of Cato from this cause ; think no more of an authority which in a court of justice ought to avail nothing, or at least only to save. Join issue with me upon the crimes them- selves. What is your accusation, Cato ? what do you charge him with before the judges ? upon what does the indictment turn ? Do you impeach him of corruption ? it is a crime that admits of no defence. You blame me for defending a cause which falls under the censure of my own law. That law was made against corruption, not against innocence : nor is corrup- tion less criminal in my eyes, than in yours. You tell me, that a decree passed in the senate at my instance, declaring it an in- fringement of the Calpurnian law, for candidates to procure at- tendants and followers by distributing money, by exhibiting shows of gladiators, or entertaining the populace with dinners. The senate then judges these things, if done, to be contrary to law : but where a candidate yields exact obedience, then no- thing is decreed against him. The great question therefore :_:;., 966 M. T. CICERGNIS 0RATI0NES. menter quseritur ; si factum sit, quin contra legem sit, dubitai c memo potest. Est igitur ridiculum, quod est dubium, id relin- quere incertum : quod nemini dubium potest esse, id judicare* Atque id decernitur ; omnibus postulantibus candidatis : ut ex S. C. neque cujus intersit, neque contra quern sit, intelligi possit. Quare doce, a L. Mursena ilia esse commissa : turn egomet tibi contra legem commissa esse concedam. XXXIII. (35 ( Multi obviam prodierunt de provincia dece- denti, consulatum petenti ; solet fieri ; eccui autem.non proditur revertenti ? quse fuit ista multitudo ? Primiim, si tibi istam ra- tionem non possum reddere, quid habet admirationis, tali viro advenienti, candidato consulari, obviam prodisse multos ? quod nisi esset factum, magis mirandum videretur. Quid si etiam illud addam, quod a consuetudine non abhorret, rogatos esse multos ; num aut criminosum sit aut mirandum, qua in civitate rogati innmorum hominum filios prope de nocte ex ultima ssepe urbe deductum venire soleamus, in ea non esse gravatos homi- nes prodire "hora tertia in campum Martium, prsesertim talis viri nomine rogatos ? Quid, si omnes societates venerunt, qua- rum ex numero multi hie sedent judices ? quid, si multi homi- nes nostri ordinis honestissimi ? quid, si ilia officiosissima, quse neminem patitur non honeste i^n urbem introire, tota natio can- didatorum ? si denique ipse accusator noster Posthumius obviam cum bene magna caterva sua venit ; quid habet ista multitudo admirationis? omitto clientes, vicinos, tribules, excrcitum totum Luculli, qui ad triumphum per eos dies venerat ; hoc dico, fre- quentiam in isto officio gratuitam, non mod© dignitati ullius un- quam, sed ne voluntati q'uidem defuisse. At sectabantur, multi.' Doce, mercede ; concedam esse crimen : hoc quidem remotoy quid reprehendis ? XXXIV. Quid opus est, inquit, sectatoribus ? a me tu id quseris, quid opus sit eo, quo semper usi sumus . ? Homines te- nues unum habent in nostrum ordinem aut promerendi aut pro- ferendi beneficii locum, hanc in nostris petitionibus operam, atque affectationem ; neque enim fieri potest, neque postulan- (35) Multi obviam prodierunt rogatos ejfe multos."] Cicero here produces the ar- guments offered by Cato, to prove that Murena had a6ted contrary to the laws. Firft, a great number of people had gone to meet Murena on his return to Rome. But Cicero obferves, that there could be no reafon to fuppofe from thence they were cor- rupted, iince the thing was cuftomary, and a piece of refpeel always paid to governors of provinces, who had diftinguiihed themfelves by their merit, and the integrity of their adminiftration. A i'econd argument was, that he had folicited a number of friends and followers to attend him to the field of Mars, on the day of eledlion v Cice- ro replies, that this too was a common practice, even in the cafe of perfons'of the meaneft rank ; and therefore could not, with any fhadow of reafon, be denied to a man of the firft authority in the commonwealth. gicero's ORATIONS. 26? Whether the fact was committed ? for, that once proved, there can be no doubt as to the infringement of the law. Now it is ridiculous to leave that which is doubtful without a thorough examination, and to try a point that can admit of no doubt. For it was at the desire of ail the candidates that this decree passed, that it might never be known against whom, or in whose favours, the law was intended. Prove then thatL. Murena was guilty of these overt acts, and I shall, without hesitation, allow that they are expressly contrary to law* Sect. XXXIII. A great many people, you say^ went out to meet him, when he returned from his province, to stand for the consulship. This is no more than common : what man, on his return home, is not met by a multitude of his friends ? But who were those numbers ? First, supposing I was unable to satisfy you in this point, yet what reason is there to wonder, that a great many went to meet a citizen so illustrious for his merit, and a consular candidate I had it been otherwise, the wonder would have been much greater. What if I should even say since the custom is by no means unusual, that a great many were in- vited ; is it either criminal, or a matter of surprise, that in a state where we scruple not upon invitation to attend the sons of the meanest citizen, even before day, and from the most remote parts of the city ; men should think it no trouble to appear in the field of Mars by nine o'clock^ especially when invited in the name of so illustrious a citizen ? What if all the several companies had come, from amongst whom many now sit here as judges ? what if many of the most distinguished men of our order ? what if the whole officious race of candidate*, who never suffer a man to enter the eity without paying him some mark of respect ? if, in short, our accuser himself, Posthumius, had come to meet him at the head of a great retinue ? what is there wonderful in all this multitude of attendants ? I say nothing of his clients, his neighbours, those of the same tribe, nor of the army of Lucullus, which was then ceme to Some to attend the triumph of their general. I will venture to affirm, that this gra- tuitous concourse of friends upon such an occasion, was never wanting to support the dignity, nay, even to answer the desire of whoever required it. But he had a vast train of followers : show them to have been hired, and I'll allow it criminal : but if that does not appear, how can you deem him guilty ? Sect. XXXIV. But what.occaslon, says our adversary, for all that train of followers ? Do you ask me what occasion there is for a practice which has been so long in general use ? Men •1 low condition have only this method of meriting or requiting £2 2f)$ M. T. CICLR0M5 ORATIONES. dum est a nobis, aut ab equitibus Romanis, ut suos necessaries candidatos sectentur totos dies ; a quibus si domus nostra cel^- bratur, si interdum ad forum deducimur, si uno basilicas spatio honestamur, diligenter obscrvari videmur et coli. Tenuiorum et non occupatorum amicqrun* est ista assiduitas, quorum copia bonis et beneficiis deep.se non solet.^ Noli igitur eripere hunc inferior! generi hominum fructum officii, Cato : sine eos, qui omnia a nobis sperant, habere ipsos quoque aliquid, quod nobis tribuere possint; si nihil erit prseter ipsorum suffragium, tenue est ; (36) si, ut suffragantur, nihil'valent gratia ; ipsi denique, ut solent loqui, non dieefe pro nobis, non spondere, non vocare dpmum suain possunt i atque hsec a nobis petunt omnia : neque una re alia, quse a nobis consequuntur, nisi opera sua, compen- sari putant posse,- Itaq«e (37) et legi Fabise, quse est de numero sectatorum, et S. C* quod est X*. Crssare consule factum, restite- runt ; nulla est enira poena, qua? possit observantiam tenuiorum ab hoc vetere institute oliiciorum excludere. At spectacula (36) Si, ut suffragantur, nihil valent gratia.~\ As this feems to be a very obfcure paf^ fage, and has occafioned no fmall trouble to commentators, I fhall for the reader's in- formation, ttanfcribe the remark ofFerratius upon it. ' Manutius, says he, hoc totum * abundare arbitratur, et nihil omnino requiri poll illud : si nihil erit prater ipsorum suf~ ' fragium, tenue est. Ego et necefsarium alterum illud membrum efse judico ad absol- * vendam fententiam, et duobus modis exponi pofse contendo. Nam fuffragari nihil * aliud eft, et ftgnificat, quam suum dare fuffragium, ne ab ipfius verbi notione receda- * tur. Jam conftat, hancfuperioris membri efse approbationem : si nihil erit prater ip- * sorum approbationem, tenue est ; nimirum, si in referenda gratia nobilibus viris, pro tot * ac tantis sibi collatis beneficiis, nihrl tenuiores habeant prseter fuffragium, tenuis ad ^ * modum est compeufatio. Qua de caufa ? si, ut suffragantur, nulla talent gratia : quo- * niam, prout fuffragantur, et in ferendis fuffr3giis, nulla tenuiorum gratia est. Hac * eadem oratione, cap. 23. ubi agitur de poftulatis Sulpicii a fenatu repudiatis : Confu- * sionem suffragiorum Jlagitasii, prorogationetn legis NLanilia, aquationem gratia, dignitatis- * sujfragiorum. Tex Manilla, jam vel abrogata, vel repudiata, jubebat, coufufis om- * liium centuriarum suffrages, eos efse ccnfules (idemque puta dc ceteris magistratibus) * qui plura tulikent. Eadem lex ut reftitueretur, Sulpicius pctebat, cui si fenatus af- ' fenfus fuiffet ; primo nuliius centurix beneficium apparuifset, hinc tollebatur gratia : ' deinde omnes fimul omnium clafsium centurias fuffragium tulifsent ; hinc dignitatem * et jus fuorum fuffragiorum, primal et fecundds claffis centuriae amittebant, a quibus * plerumque abfolvebantur comitia, Habet igitur, duas tantum clafses, ut pJurimum, * gratia valuifse in ferendis fuffragiis, hoc eft in fuffragando, quod fere ab iis abfolveren- ' tur comitia centuriata, de quibus loquimur, antequam reliqux clafses introvocarentur; * proindeque tertia, quarta in quinta, in fuffragando, nulla gratia valebant. Hi erant * tenuiores, de quibus ut pateat vereefte dictum : Si nihil erit prater ipsorum suffragium ' tenue est ; additur ratio : Si (pro quoniam) ut suffragantur (procul suffragium, ferunt) * nulla valent gratia.' Thus Ferratius ; and yet, perhaps, the meaning may be no more than this, that a single vote is all they have to bestoiv, ■which at beji is but a fmall affair, as thsy have no weight, intereft, nor authority, beyond their perfonal fuffrage, (37) EtlegiFabia, et senatusconsulto.] The Fabian law againft corruption, limited the number of followers that were to attend a candidate into the fields of Mars. But %he people ftrenuoufiy oppofed this law, aad could be deterred by no penalties from ex- ' CICERO'S ORATIONS. 26$ the services of us senators, by their assiduity and attendance while we stand candidates for public offices. For it is neither possible, nor indeed to be required of us and the Roman knights, that Ave should attend our friend for whole days together in their demand of public honours. If they frequent our houses, if they sometimes conduct us to the forum, if they give us their company a piazza's length, we seem to be sufficiently' honoured and respected* The assiduity of constant attendance is never expected but from men of ordinary rank, and free from the in- cumbrance of business ; and of these, the good and generous are never without a sufficient number. Do not therefore, Cato, de- prive the lower order oi mankind of this fruit of their good offices. Suffer them who hope every thing from us, to have it likewise in their power to pay us somewhat in return. Had we nothing to expect from them but their votes, it would avail us little, because thev have no great weight in elections. In short, as thev themselves are wont to say, they cannot plead for us, they cannot bail us, thev cannot invite us to their houses ; these are services they expect from us : nor have they any prospect of requiting the good offices we do them, but by the zeal and as- siduity of their attendance. Accordingly they opposed both the Fabian law, which limited the number of attendants, and the de- cree of the senate, wdiich was made in the consulship of L. Cresar : for no penalty has yet been found sufficient to restrain peo- ple of meaner rank from this old method of expressing theis- preffingthis mark of their regard for the great, founded in ancient cuftom. As to the decree of the senate here mentioned, it is to be referred to the year when Cicero de- clared himself a candidate for the confulihip. He had no lefs than fix competitors, P. Sulpicius Galba, L. Sergius Catilline, C. Antonius, L. Cafsius Longinus, Q^ Cornificius, C, Licinius Sacerdos. The two first were patricians, the two next ple- bians, yet noble % the two laft, the sons of fathers who had firfl imported the public honours into their families : Cicero was the only new man among them, or one born of equeftrian rank. In this competition, which happened during the consulfhip of L. Caesar and C. Figulus, the practice of bribing was carried on fo openly and fhameful- ly by Antonius and Catiline, that the senate thought it neceffary to give some check to it by a new and more rigorous law ; but when they were proceeding to publifh it, L. Mucius Oreftinus, one of the tribunes put his negative upon them. This tribune had been Cicero's client,and defended by him in an impeachment of plunder and robbery ; but having now fold himself to his enemies, made it the subject ofalfhis harangues to ridicule his birth and character, as unworthy of the cousulfhip. In the debate therefore, which a- rofe in the fenate upon the merit of his negative, Cicero provoked to find so defperate a confederacy ag2inft him, rofe up, and after some railery and expoftulation with Mu- cius, made a most severe invetftive on the flagacious lives and practices of his two com- petitors, in a speech ufually called in toga Candida, because it was delivered in a white gown, the proper habit of all candidates, and from which the name itself were derived. In this speech he counfels the senate to limit the number of attendants upon a candi- date : but the tribune ftill persifling in his negative, the proposal came to nothing ; so there was no law now in force which Murena could be faid to have infringed. frO M. T. CICERONIS ORATIONES. iunt tributim data, et ad prandium vulgo vocati. Etsi hoc fac- tum a Murfena omnino, judices, non est : ab ejus amicis autem more et modo factum est : tamen admonitus re ipsa, recordor quantum hse qusestiones in senatu habitse punctorum nobis, Servi, detraxerint. Quod enim tempus fuit aut nostra, aut pa- trum nostrorum memoria, quo hsec, sive ambitio est, sive libe- ralitas, non fuerit, ut locus et in circo, et in foro daretur amicis et tribulibus ? hsec homines tenuiores primum, ne dum qui ea suis tribulibus vetere institute assequebantur. XXXV* Prsefectum fabriim semel locum tribulibus suis de- disse : quid statuent in viros primarios, qui in circo tolas taber- nas, tribulium causa, compararunt ? hsec omnia sectatorum, spectaculorum, prandiorutti item crimina a multitudine in tuam nimiam diligentiam, Servi, conjecta sunt ; in quibus tamen Mursena ab senatus auctoritate defenditur. Quid enim ? Sena- tus num obviam prodire crimen putat ? non ; sed mercede * convince : num sectari multos . ? non, sed conductos : doce con- ductos : num locum ad spectandum dare, aut ad prandium in* vitare ? minime ; sed vulgo, passim. Quid est vulgo ? universos: non igitur, si L. Natta summo loco adolescens, qui, et quo animo jam sit, et qualis vir futurus sit, videmus, in equitum centuriis voluit esse, et ad hoc officium necessitudinis, et adre- liquum tempus gratiosus, id erit ejus vitrico fraudi, aut cri- mini : nee si virgo vestalis hujuspropinquaet necessaria, locum suum gladiatorium concessit huic, nonet ilia pie fecit, ethic a culpa est remotus : omnia hsec sunt offtcia necessariorum, com- moda tenuiorum, munia candidatorum. At enim agit mecum austere et stoice Cato ; negat verum esse, allici benevolentiam cibo : negat judicium hominum in magistratibus mandandis corrumpi voluptatibus oportere. Ergo, ad coenam petitionis causa si quis vocat, condemnetur ; quippe, inquit, tumihisum* mum imperium, summam auctoritatem, tu gubernacula reipub. petas fovendis hominum sensibus et deliniendis animis, et adhi- bendis voluptatibus ? utrum lenocinium, inquit, a grege deli* catte juventutis, an orbis terrarum imperium a populo Romano petebas I liorribilis oratio ! sed earn usus, vita, mores, civitas CICERO'S ORATIONS, 2f| atttachment to the great. But public shows were exhibited to the tribes, and dinners were given to the populace. Though this, my lords, was not done by Murena himself, but by his friends, in moderation, and according to custom ; yet now that the thing is suggested to my remembrance, I cannot help de- siring you to reflect, Servius, how many votes are lost, by bringing these inquiries before the senate. For where was the time, either in our own memory, or that of our fathers, when this spirit, whether of ambition or liberality, did not allot a place in the circus and the forum to our friends, and those of our own tribe ? This custom began amongst the lower order of people, and by degrees spread Sect. XXXV. It is known that the master of the artizans once allotted a place to those of his own tribe : what shall we determine then with respect to men of quality, who hire whole booths in the circus for the same purpose ? All these accusa- tions, Servius, regarding retinue, shows, and even etertain- ments, are attributed by the multitude to your over-scrupulous' exactness ; when Murena is even justified in these points by the authority of the senate. For, tell me ; does the senate think it criminal for a pers©n to be met upon his return home ? Mo ; unless he hires people for that purpose. Prove this then upon my client. Does it forbid a multitude of attendants ? only when they are bribed. Make this appear. Are seats at the public shows, or invitations to dinner prohibited ? never but when they are given promiscuously. But how promicuously ? why, to all without exception. IfL. Natta, a youth of distin- guished birth and courage, of whom we justly conceive the highest hopes, inrolled himself in the centuries of knights, to conciliate their favour, and secure their interest for the time to come, ought that to be imputed to his step-father, as a crime or fraudulent step 'i or if a vestal virgin, his relation and friend, resigned to him her seat at a show of gladiators, was it not a proof of affection in her, and a favour he might expect with- out danger of censure ? All these are no more than the duties of friends, the perquisites of inferiors, and the privileges of candidates. But Cato argues with austerity, and in the charac- ter of a Stoic. lie says it is unjust to conciliate favour by giv- ing entertainments to the people ; that, in conferring offices, the votes ought not to be influenced by the allurements of pleasure ; and that if a candidate invites another to supper with this view, his conduct is justly liable to censure. What, says he, do you solicit the chief command, the highest authority, and the admi- nistration of the commonwealth, by pampering the senses, soothing the inclinations, and administering to the pleasures of mankind l Do you aspire to be a master of the revels to a troop of delicate youths, or to obtain the command of the world from the Roman people I An alarming speech ! but refuted 272 M. T. CICERCNIS ORATIONES. ipsa respuit. Neque tamen Lacedsemonii auctores istius vitse, atque orationis, qui quotidianis epulis in robore accumbunt : neque vero Cretes, quorum nemo gustavit unquam Cubans, me- lius quam Romani homines, qui tempora voluptatis laborisque dispertiunt, respublicas suas retinuerunt : quorum alteri uno ad- ventu nostri exercitus deleti sunt, alteri nostri imperii prsesidio disciplinam suam, legesque conservant. XXXVI. Quare noli, Cato, majorum instituta, qua? res ipsa publica, quse diuturnitas imperii comprobat, nimium severa ora- tione reprehendere. (38) Fuit eodem ex studio vir eruditus apud patres nostros, et honestus homo et nobilis, Q. Tubero : is, cum epulum Q,. Maximus, Africani patrui sui nomine, populo Horn, daret, rogatus est a Maximo, ut triclinium sterneret, cum esset Tubero ejusdem Africani sororis filius : atque ille, homo cruditissimus, ac Stoicus,stravit pelliculis hoedinis lectulos Puni- canos, et exposuit vasa Samia : quasi vero esset Diogenes Cyni- cus mortuus, et non divini hominis Africani mors honestaretur : quern cum supremo ejus die Maximus laudaret, gratias egit diis iinmortalibus, quod ille vir in hac republica potissimum natus esset : necesse enim fuisse, ibi esseterrarumimperium,ubi ille es- iset. ITujus in morte celebranda graviter tulit populus Rom. hanc perversam sapientjam Tuberonis ; itaque homo integerrimus, civis optimus, cum esset L. Paulli nepos, P. Africani, ut dixi, sororis filius, his hcedinis pelliculis prsetura dejectus est. Odit populus Rom. privatam luxuriam,publicam magnificentiam dili- git ; non amat profusas epulas ; sordes et inhumanitatem multo minus. Distinguit rationem officiorum ac temporum, vicissitu- dinem laboris ac voluptatis. Nam quod ais, nulla re allici homi- num mentes oportere ad magistratum mandandum, nisi digni- tate : hoc tu ipse, in quo summa est dignitas, non servas ; cur enim quemquam, ut studeat tibi, ut te actjuvet, rogas ? rogas tu me, ut mihi prsesis, ut committam ego me tibi ; quid tandem ? istuc me rogari oportet abs te, an te potius a me, ut pro mea sa- (38) Fuit codcmjludio <%^.Ti4bero.~] Cicero here ridicules the doctrine of the Stoics, (hows the abfurdities int« which it may betray a man, and paints the ill confequences that often arife from it. Q. Tubero, of whom he fpeaks here, had profeffed himfelf a Stoic, and refolved to regulate his condu6l by the tenets of that fe&. Accordingly, in an entertainmeat he gave the Roman people, on occafion of the death of the great Scipio Africanus, he made ufc of plain wooden beds, goat-lkin copiers, and earthen difhes. But this ill-timed parfimony wasfo difp leafing to the Roman people, that when he afterwards flood for the praetorfhip, thty refufed him their fuffrages, though a man of illaftrious birth, and the mod diftinguifhed virtue. cicero's orations. 273 oy our lives, our manners, our practice, and the constitution it- self. For neither the Lacedsemonians, the first institutors of this way of living and talking, who at their daily meals recline upon a hard board ; nor the Cretans, who never indulge them- selves in a lying posture at table, have been more successful in the management of public affairs than the Romans, who divide their time between business and pleasure. Nay, let me add, that the Cretans were destroyed in a single campaign ; and the Lace- dsemonians are indebted to our protection, for the preservation of their laws and constitutions. Sect. XXXTI. Therefore, Cato, censure not too severely - * these customs of our ancestors, which our present nourishing- condition, and the long continuance of our empire, sufficiently justify. Q. Tubero, a man of learning in the days of our fore- fathers, and distinguished by his birth and personal merit, had imbibed the same principles which you follow. When Q,. Max- imus, in memory of his uncle Africanus, was preparing an enter- tainment for the Roman people, he desired this Tubero, who was the son of Africanus's sister, to furnish out a dining-room on the occasion. Upon which this learned stoic covered some plain wooden beds with goat-skins, and loaded them with earthen dishes ; as if they had been commemorating the death of Dio- genes the cynic, and not of the great Africanus : a man so di* vine, that when Maximus pronounced his funeral oration, he thanked the immortal gods for his being a native of this com- monwealth ;' because to whatever place his services were attach- ed, there the empire of the universe could not fail to reside. And indeed the people of Rome highly resented this ill-judged wis- dom of Tubero, in thus celebrating the obsequies of so great a man. Accordingly, this unblemished and excellent citizen, though the grandson of L. Faulus, and the son of Africanus's sister, was tossed in those goat-skins out of the prsetorship. The people of Rome hate private luxury, but are fond of public magnificence ; they do not love profusion in entertainments, but far less a sordid penurious economy : they know how to distinguish times and duties, and the vicissitudes of labour and pleasure. For as to your assertion, that nothing but merit ought to influence the minds of men, in conferring public hon- ours : your own very practice, great as your merit is, runs di- rectly counter to it. For why do you ask any one to favour your pretensions, and promote your suit ? You request me to grant you the command over me, and put myself under your authority. But why so ? does it belong to you to request that of me, or ought not 1 rather earnestly to solicit you to expose yourself to dangers and fatigues for my sake ? What do you mean by keeping a nomenclator ? the thing itself is a mens 974 &* ?• CICERONlS ORATlONEG* lute laborem periculumque suscipias ? (39) Quid, quod habes no ■< menclatorcm ? in eo quidem fallis, et deeipis. Nam si nomine appellari abs te cives tuos honestum est j turpe est eos notiores esse servo tuo quam tibi J sin etiam noris, tamen per monitorem appellandi sunt ?. cur ante petis, quam insusurravit ? aut quid, cum admoneris, tamen quasi tute noris, ita salutas ? quid, pos- teaquam es designates, multo salutas negligentius ? hsec omnia ad rationem civitatis si dirigas, recta sunt : sin perpendere ad discipline prsecepta velis, repeiiantur pravissima. Quare nee plebi Romance eripiendi fructus isti sunt ludorum, gladiatorum, conviviorum ; quce omnia majores nostri comparaverunt ; nee candidatis ista benignitas aclimenda est, quse liberalitatem magis significat, quam largitionem. XXXVll. At enim te ad accusandum respub. adduxit. Credo, Cato, te isto animo, atque ea opinione venisse : sed tu impru- dentia laberis. Ego quod facio, judices, cum amicitise dignita- tisque L. Mursense gratia, facio ; turn me pacis, otii, concordiae* libertatis, salutis, vitre denique omnium vestrum causa facere clamo atque ohtestor. Audite, audite consulem, judices, nihil dicam arrogantius, tantum dicam, totos dies atque noctes de republica cogitantem. Non Usque eo L. Catilina rempublicam despexit atque contempsit, ut ea copia, qitam secum eduxit, se hanc civitatem oppressurum arbitraretur ; latius patet illius sceleris contagio, quam quisquam putat : ad plures pertinet^ (40) Intus, intus, inquam, est equus Trojanus, a quo nunquam, me consule, dormientes opprimemini. Quseris a me, quid ego Catilinam metuam ? Nihil : et curavi me quis metueret : sed copias illius, quas hie video, dico esse metuendas : nee tarn timendus est nunc exercitus L. Catilinse, quam isti, qui ilium exercitum deseruisse dicuntur : non enim deseruerunt ; sed ab illo in speculis atque insidiis relicti, in capite atque in cervicibus nostris restiterunt ,* hi et integrum consulem, et bonum impe» (39) <$>uid, quod habes nomendatorem ?] As at Rome the people had much to give, and therefore expected to be much courted, every man who afpired to any public dignity, made it his bufinefri to learn the name, the place, and the condition of every eminent citizen, what eftate, what friends, and what neighbours he had, For this purpofe he entertained a flave or two in his family, whofe fole employment it was to learn the names and know the perfons of every citizen at fight, fo as to be able to whifper them to his matter as he paffed through the ltreets, that he might be ready to falute them all familiarly, and fhake hands with them as his particular acquaintance. Plutarch fays-, that the ufe of thefe nomenclators was contrary to the laws; and that Cato, for that reafon, in filing for the public offices, would not employ any of them, but. took all that trouble upon himfelf. But that notion is here fully confuted by Cicero, who rallies the abfurd rigour of Cato's floicai principles, and their inconfiftency with common life, from this very circumftanceef his having a nomenclator. As for Cicero himfelf, whatever pains he is faid to have taken in this way, it appears from feverai paffage? cicero's orations, 27£ Che&t. For if it be your duty to call the citizens by their names, it is a shame for your slave to know them better than yourself • but if you really know them, where is the necessity for a mo- nitor ? why do you not speak to them before he has whispered you ? or, after 'he has whispered, why do you salute them, as if you knew them yourself ? or, when you have gained your election, why do you grow careless about saluting them at all ? All this, if examined by (the rules of social life, is right ; but if by the precepts of youif philosophy, very wicked. Therefore neither are the people of/llometo be deprived of the gratification arising from shows, gladiators, and public feasts, all which our ancestors have provided for our entertainment ; nor are candi- dates to be excluded from the privilege of conferring those favours, which are rather marks of generosity than corruption. Sect. XXXVII. But you tell me it was your regard for the commonwealth that induced you to undertake this impeach- ment. I easilv believe, Cato, that you come here with that intention and design ; but you obstruct your own purpose, for want of due reflection. For my own part, my lords, I am far from dissembling, how much friendship, and a concern for Murena's dignity, weigh with me on this occasion ; but at the Same time allow me to declare, nay and in the strongest terms proclaim, that I am no less moved by a regard to the peace, ease, concord, liberty, lives, and safety of us all, Hear, hear your consul, who, not to speak arrogantly, . thinks of nothing day and night but of the republic. Catiline does not despise Us so far as to hope to subdue this city with the force which he has carried out with him. The contagion is spread wider, and has infected more than you imagine. The Trojan horse is within our walls ; which, while I am consul, shall never oppress you in your sleep. If it be asked, then, what reason I have to fear Catiline ? none at all ; and I have taken care that nobody else need fear him : yet I say, that we have cause to fear those troops of his, which I see in this very place. Nor is his army so much to be dreaded, as those who are said to have deserted it : for in truth they have not deserted, but are left by him only as spies upon us, and placed as it were in am- bush to destroy us the more securely* All these want to see a worthy consul, an experienced general, a man both by nature in his letters, that he conftautly had a nomenclator at his elbow on all public occa- fions. (40) Intus,intus ejl equus Trojanus.'} The ftory of the Trojan horfe is fo well known, from the elegant description given of it by Virgil, that there is no occafion to enlarge upon it here. 1 mall therefore content myfelf with obferving,that our orator, by allu- ding to it in this place, means to infinuate, that the danger with whicb the city was threatened, did not arife fromthofe who had followed Catiline, but from thofe whom. he left behind him in Rome, L 2 276 M. T. CICEROXIS ORATIONES. ratorem, et nature et fortuna cum reipub. salute conjunctum** dejici cle urbis prsesidio, et de custodia civitatis vestris sententiis- deturbari volunt. Quorum ego ferrum et audaciam rejeci in campo, debilitavi in foro, compressi etiam, domi mese sa>pe,ju- dices : his vos si alterum consulem tradideritis, plus multo erunt vestris sententiis, quam suis gladiis consecuti. Magni interest, indices, id quod ego multis repugnantibus egi atque perfeci, ossekalendis Januar. inrepub.duos consules. (41) Nolite arbitrari, mediocribus consiliis, aut usitatis viis, aut lege improba, autper- ■iciosalargitione auditum aliquando aliquod malum reipub.quseri. Tnita sunt in hac civitate consilia, judices, urbis delendse, civium truciclandorum,nominis Romani exstinguendi ; atque ha^c cives, cives, inquam, si eos hoc nomine appellari fas est, de patria sua et cogitant, et cogitaverunt ; horum ego quotidie consiliis oc~ curro, audaciam debilito, sceleri resisto, sed vos moneo, judices : in exitu est jam meus consulatus : nolite mihi subtrahere vi- carium mew diligenti* : nolite adimere eum, cui remp. cupio tradere incolumem, ab his tantis periculis defendendam. XXXVIII. Atque adhfcc mala, judices, quid accedat aliud, non videtis ? te, te appello, Cato, nonne prospicis tempestatem anni tui ? jam enim hesterna concione intoniiit vox perniciosa designati [tribuni] collegee tui : contra quern multum tua mens, multum omnes boni providerunt, (4 J ) qui te ad tribunatus pe- tition em vocaverunt. Omnia, qu?e per hoc triennium agitata sunt jam ab eo tempore, quo a L. Catilina, et Cn. Pisone initum consilium senatus interficiendi scitis esse, in hos dies, in hos menses, in hoc tempos erumpunt. Qui locus est, judices ? quod tempus ? qui dies^ qufe nox ? cum ego non ex illorum insidiis ac mucronibus non solum meo, sed multo etiam magis divino consilio eripiar atque evolem ? neque isti me meo no- mine internet, sed vigilantem consulem de reip. prsesidio de- movere volunt ;- nee minus vellent, Cato, te quoque aliqua ( 41) Nolite arbitrari ] Thimumne ? ut earn imaginem clarissimi viri, parentis sui, quam paucis ante diebus laureatam in sua gratulatione conspexit, eandem (■*?) deformatam igno- minia, lugentemque videat ? An ad matrem, quse misera modo consulem osculata filium suum, nunc cruciatur, et solicita est ne eundem paulo post spoliatum omni dignitate conspiciat ? Sed quid ego matrem aut domum appello, quern nova poena legis et domo, et parente, et omnium suorum consuetudine conspectu- que privat ? Ibit igitur in exsilium miser ? quo ? Ad orientisne partes, in quihus annos multos legatus fuit, et exercitus duxit, et res maximas gessit ? at habet magnum dolorem, unde cum honore decesseris, eodem cum ignomini& reverti. An se in* contrariam partem terrarum abdet, ut Gallia Transalpina, quern nuper summo cum imperio libentissime viderit, eundem lugen- j tern, moerentem, exsulem videat ? in ea porro provincia, quo animo C. Mursenam fratrem suum adspiciet ? qui hujus dolor ? qui illius moeror erit . ? quse utriusque lamentatio- ? quanta autenr (47) Deformatam ignominia, lugentemque -videat.'] This is a part of what rhetoricians* call the peroration ; by which they meant a pathetic addrefs to the judges, reprefent- ingthe miferies that would be consequent upon the condemnation of the perfon accu- fed, and endeavouring by a lively defcription to excite compaffion. Cicero, it muft be owned, has fucceeded very happily in this part, and given fo ftriking a picture of the height Murena would fall from, and the diflrefshe would be expofed to, by a ri- gorous fentence, that no heart fufceptible of the feelings of humanity, can poffibly wfthftand the influence of it. CICERo's ORATIONS. 283 consulship* into an old family, and one of the most ancient of the free towns of Italy ; now clothed in sordid apparel, spent with disease, oppressed with tears and sorrow, he is your sup- pliant, my lords ; he sues to you for justice, he implores your compassion, and seeks protection from your power and interest. For heaven's sake, my lords, let not that by which he hoped for an addition to his rank, contribute to divest him of all his for- mer honours, and of his whole dignity and fortune ! For thus my lords, does Murena supplicate and address you ; if he has injured no man, if he never offended either in word or deed, to say the least, he has incurred no man's hatred- in peace or war ; let your tribunal be an assylum to moderation, a refuge to men in distress, and a place of protection to the modest. Great compassion, my lords, is due to the man, who is stripped of the consulship ; for in losing that, he loses his all. But surely in these days there can be little reason for envying any one the possession of that dignity j since he is thereby exposed to the harangues of the seditious, the snares of conspirators, and the attacks of Cataline ;' in short, must singly oppose every danger, and all the attempts of malice. And therefore, my lords, I cannot see what there is in this so much coveted office, who either Murena, or any of us who are or have been possessed of it, should become objects of public envy. As to the many cares and solicitudes attending it, these are even now before my eyes, and cannot fail of being obvious and visible to you* Sect. XLI. If (which heaven forbid !) your descision proves unfavourable, whither shall the unhappy Murena turn him ? Homewards ? to behold the image of his illustrious father de- formed with ignominy and covered with the mark of sorrow,, which he so lately saw adorned with laurel, the object of his con- gratulations ? To his mother ? who having but just embraced her son a consul, is now wracked with fear, and apprehensive of seeing him despoiled of all his dignity ? But why do I mentioa his mother, or his home, when the new penalty annexed to this lav/, deprives him at once of parent, habitation, and the company and conversation of all his friends? Shall then the wretched Mu- rena be banished ? but whither ? To the east, where he for mrny years served ss lieutenant, where he commanded great armies, and where he performed many glorious actions ? Alas ! it is a hard lot to return with ignominy to a country which- we have left with honour. Shall he hide his head in the opposite part of the globe, and appear mournful, dejected, and an exi.* in Transalpine Gaul, which lately with pleasure beheld him clothed with supreme command ? With what eyes can he look upon his brother C. Murena, in that province I what must be the anguish of the one, what the sorrow of the other I aud M2 284- M* T. CICERONIS GRATIONES. perturbatio fortunse atque sermonis, quod, quibus in locis paucis ante diebus factum esse consulem Mursenam nuntii liteneque celebrassent, et unde hospites atque amici gratulatum Romam concurrerint, repente eo accedat ipse nuntius suse calamitatis ? Qu^e si acerba, si misera, si luctuosa sunt, si alienissima a man- suetudine et misericordia vestra, judices ; conservate populi Romani beneficium : reddite reipub. consulem : date hoc ipsius pudori, date patri mortuo, date generi et familise, date etiam Lanuvio, municipio honestissimo, quod in hac causa frequens mcestumque vidistis ; nolite a sacris patriis Junonis Sospitse, cui mones consules facere necesse est, domesticum et suum consulem potissimum avellere. ( 4 s) Quern ego vobis, si quid habet, aut mo- menti commendatio, aut auctoritatis confirmatio mea, consul consulem, judices, ita commendo, ut cupidissimum otii, stu- diosissimum bonorum, accerrimum contra seditionem, fortis- simum in bello, inimicissimum huic conjurationi, quse nunc rem- publicam labefactat, futurum esse promittam et spondeam. {2%) fguem ego — 'Judices^ ita commtndo, ut, &c] We have already had occafion f obferve that Murena was acquitted ; and therefore fhall here only add, that his ad- mmiftration fully anfwered the idea which Cicenun this oration, endeavours to give of it ; he proving an honeft. faithful, and vigorous conful, a zealous oppofer of thofe who fought the ruin of their country, and an irreconciJeable enemy to all factious magis- trates. This oration was fpoken towards the latter end of the six hundred and hiatietk year of the city, in the confulfhip of Cicer© and Antoniua, a little before Murena took £ofsefsion of that high dignity. CICERO'S ORATIONS. 285 liow great the lamentation of both ? What a reverse of for- tune and discourse ! that in the very place in which a few days before accounts arrived of Murena's being raised to the consul- ship, and whence strangers and friends flocked to pay him their compliments at Rome ; there he himself should first arrive with the tidings of his own disgrace ? If this, my lords, appears a hard, a cruel, and a moureful lot, if shocking to your human- ity and compassion ; preserve the favour bestowed by the Ro- man people, restore to the commonwealth her consul ; show this respect to the purity of Murena's virtue, to the memory of his deceased father, to his quality, to his family, and like- wise to Lanuvium, that most honourable corporation, whose disconsolate citizens you have seen attending in crowds during this whole trial. Tear not from the patriotrites of Juno Sospita, which all consuls are obliged to celebrate, a domestic consul, in whom she has so peculiar a right- If my recommenda- tion, my lords, has any weight, if my assurances have any authority, I am ready to promise and engage for Murena, that he will prove a consul zealous for the public tranquility, warm- ly attached to the friends of his country, keen in opposing sedition, brave in all the enterprizes of war, and an irreconcile- aqle enemy to this conspiracy, which now shakes the pillars of the commonwealth. ORATIO IX. PRO ARCHIA POETA*. I. SI quid est in mc ingenii, judices, quod sentio quam sit cxiguum ; aut si qua exercitatio dicendi, in qu& me non in- fitior mediocriter esse yersatum ; aut si hujusce rei ratio aliqua ab optimarum artium studiis, et disciplina profecta, a qua ego nullum confiteor setatis mese tempus abhorruisse : earum rerum omnium yel in primis hie (*) A. Licinius fructum a me repetere prope suo jure debet. Nam quoad longissime potest mens mea respicere spatium prseteriti temporis, et pueritise memoriam re- cordari ultimam, inde usque repetens, hunc yideo mihi prin- cipem, et ad suscipiendam, et ad ingrediendam rationem horum studiorum exstitisse. Quod si h?ec vox hujus hortatu prseceptisque conformata, nonnullis aliquando saluti fuit ; a quo id accepimus, quo cssteris opitulari, et alios seryare 'possemus, huic profecto ipsi, quantum est situm in nobis, et opem et salutem ferre debe- mus. Ac ne quis a nobis hoc ita dici forte miretur, quod alia quredam in hoc facultas sit ingenii, neque hgec dicendi ratio aut disciplina : ne nos quidem huic ( a ) cuncti studio penitus un- quam dediti fuirnus. Etenim o'mnes artes, quse ad humanitatem pertinent, habent quoddam commune vinculum, et quasi cogna- tione quadam inter se continentur. * A. Licinius Archias was a native of Antioch, and a very celebrated poet. He came to Rome when Cicero was about five years old, and was courted by men of the greateft eminence in it, on account of his learning, genius, and politenefs. Among others Lu- cullus was very fond of him, took him into his family, and gave him the liberty of opening a fchool in it, to which many of the young nobility and gentry of Rome were fent for their education. In the confulfhip of M. Pupius Pifo and M. Valerius Mef- fala, one Gracchus, a perfon of obfeure birth, accufed Archias upon the law by which ithofe who were made free of any of the confederated cities, and at the time of pafling the law dwelt in Italy, were obliged to claim their privilege before the praetor within £kty days. Cicero, in this oration, endeavours to prove that Archias was a Roman ORATION IX. FOR THE POET ARCHIAS. Sect. I. IF, my lords, I have any abilities, and I am sensible they are but small ; if, by speaking often, I have ac- quired any merit as a speaker ; i f I have derived a^^ knowl- edge from the study of the liberal arts, which have ever been my delight, A. Licinius may justly claim the fruit of all. For, looking back upon past scenes, and calling to remembrance the earliest part of my life, I find it was he who prompted me first to engage in a course of study, and directed me in it. If m y tongue, then, formed and animated by him, has ever been the means of saving any, I am certainly bound by all the ties of gratitude to employ it in the defence of him who has taught it to assist and defend others. And though his genius and course of study are very different from mine, let no one be surprised at what I advance : for I have not bestowed tha whole of my time on the study of eloquence ; and besides, all the liberal arts are nearly allied to each other, and have, as it were, one common bound of union. iuzen in the senfe of that law ; but dwells chiefly on the praifes of poetry in gene ral and the talents and genius of the defendant, which he difplays with great beauty, ele- gance and fpirit. The oration was made in the forty- fixth year of Cicero's age, and the fix hundred and niety-fecond year of Rome. (i) A. Licinius fructum a me repetere propefuo jure debet."] Cicero was put early under the care of Archias, and applied himself chiefly to poetry, t which he was naturally addicted : he made fuch a proficiency in it that while he wasoftill a boy, he composed and publifhed a poem, called Glaucus Pontius, which was extan tin Plutarch's time. (2) Cuncti.~\ Inftead of cuncti, tome of the commentators are for reading uni, other* zarcs et, either of which would indeed be better : but cunrti is re aioed in almost all the editions of Cicero's works, being fupported by the authority of a /J the manufcripts- 288 M. T. CICERONIS ORATIONES. II. Sed nc cui vestrum mirum esse videatur, me in qusestione legitima, et in judicio publico, cum res agatur apud prsetorem populi Romani, lectissimum virum, et apudseverissimos judices, tanto conventu hominum ac frequentia, hoc uti genere dicendi, quod non modo a consuetudine judiciorum, verum etiam a forensi sermone abhorreat : quseso a vobis, ut in hac causa mihi detis hanc veniam, accommodatum huic reo, vobis, quem- admodum spero, non molestam ; ut me pro summo poeta, at- que eruditissimo homine, dicentem, hoc concursu hominum literatissimorum, hac vestra humanitate, hoc denique prsetore exercente judicium, patiamini de studiis humanitatis ac litera- rum pauloloqui liberius : et in ejusmodi persona, quse propter otium ac studium minime in judiciis periculisque tractata est, uti prope novo quodam et inusitato genere dicendi. Quod si mihi a vobis tribui concedique sentiam ; perficiam profecto, ut hunc A. Licinium, non modo non segregandum, cum sit civis, a numero civium ; verum etiam si non esset, putetis adsciscen- jium fuisse. III. Nam ut primum ex pueris excessit Archias, atg$f ab iis artibus, quibus setas puerilis ad humanitatem informari ciolet, se ad scribendi studium contulit ; primum Antiochse (nam ibi natus est, loco nobili, et celebri quondam urbe et copiosa, atque eruditissimis hominibus liberalissimisque studiis affliienti) celeriter antecellere omnibus ingenii gloria contigit ; post in cseteris Asise partibus, cunctseque Grsecise, sic ejus adventus celebrabatur, ut famam ingenii exspectatio hominis, exspecta- tionem ipsius adventus admiratioque superaret. Erat Italia tunc pLena Grsecarum artium ac disciplinarum : studiaque hsec et in Latio vehementius turn colebantur, quam nunc iisdem in oppidis : et hie Romse propter tranquillitatem reipub. non neg- ligebantur. Itaque hunc et Tarentini, et Rhegini, et Neapo- litani civitate cseterisque prsemiis donarunt : et omnes, qui aliquid de ingeniis poterant judicare, cognitione, atque hospitio dignum existimarunt. Hac tanta celebritate famse cum esset jam absentibus notus, Romam venit, Mario consule, et Catulo ; nactus est primum consules eos, quorum alter res ad scriben- dum maximas, (3) alter cum res gestas, turn etiam studium at- que aures adhibere posset ; statim Luculli, cum praetextatus etiam turn Archias essef eum domum suam receperunt. Sed etiam hoc non solum ir genii ac literarum, verum etiam naturse atque virtutis fuit, ut domus, quse hujus adolescentise prima fuerit, eadem esset familiarissima senectuti. Erat temporibus (3) Alter cum resgejlas, Izfc.) Cicero fpeaks in very high terms of this Catnlus, in his boelu De darts oratoribus, and De oratore* Cicero's orations. 289 Sect. II. But lest it should appear strange, that in a legal proceeding, and a public cause, before an excellent prsetor, the most impartial judges, and so crowded an assembly, I lay aside the usual style of trials, and introduce one very dif- ferent from that of the bar ; I must beg to be indulged in this liberty, which I hope, will not be disagreeable to you, and which seems indeed to be due to the defendant : that whilst I am pleading for an excellent poet, and a man of great erudi- tion, before so learned an audience, such distinguished patrons of the liberal arts, and so eminent a prsetor, you would allow me to enlarge with some freedom on learning and liberal studies ; and to employ an almost unprecedented language for one, who, by reason of a studious and unactive life, has been little con- versat in dangers and public trials. / If this, my lords, is granted me, I shall not only prove that A. Licinius ought not, as he is a citizen, to be deprived of his privileges, but that, if he were not, he ought to be admitted. Sect. III. For no sooner had Archias got beyond the years of childhood, and applied himself to poetry, after finishing those studies by which the minds of youth are usually formed to a taste for polite learning, than his genius showed itself supe- rior to any at Antioch, the place where he was born, of a noble family : once indeed a rich and renowned city, but still famous for liberal arts, and fertile in learned men. He was afterwards received with such applause in the other cities of Asia, and all over Greece, that though they expected more than fame bad promised concerning him, even these expectations were exceeded, and their admiration of him greatly increased. Italy was, at that time, full of the arts and sciences of Greece, which were then cultivated with more care among the Latins than now they are, and were not even neglected at Rome, the public tranquility being favourable to them. Accordingly the inhabitants of Tarentum, Rhegium, and Naples, made him free of their respective cities, and conferred other honours upon him : and all those who had any taste, reckoned him worthy of their acquaintance and friendship. Being thus known by fame to those who were strangers to his person, he came to Rome in the consulship of Marius and Catulus ; the first of whom had, by his glorious deeds, furnished out a noble subject for a poet ; and the other, besides his memorable actions, was both a judge and a lover of poetry. Though he had not yet reached his seventeenth year, yet no sooner was he arrived than the Luculli took him into their family ; which, as it was the first that received him in his youth, so it afforded him freedom of access even in old age ; nor was this owing to his great genius and learning alone, but likewise to his amiable temper and / £90 M. T. CICEPvOKIS 0RATI0NES. illis jucundus Q. Metello illi Numidico, et ejus Pio Alio : audie- batur a M. JEmilio : vivebat cum Q. Catulo, et patre et filio : a L. Crasso colebatur : Lucullus vero, et Drusum, et Octavios, et Catonem, et totam Hortensiorum domum devinctam consue- tudine cum teneret, afficiebatur summo honore, quod eum non solum colebant, qui aliquid percipere aut audire studebant, verum etiam si qui forte simulabant. IV. Interim satis longo intervallo, cum esset cum L. Lueullo in Sicilliam profectus, et cum ex ea provincia cum eodem Lu- cullo decederet, venit Heracleam : quse cum esset civitas sequissimo jure ac foedere, adscribi se in earn civitatem voluit ; idque, cum ipse per se dignus putaretur, turn auctoritate, et gratia Luculli ab Heracliensibus impetravit. Data est civitas Silvani lege, et Carbonis, SI QUI FOEDERATIS CIVITA- TIBUS ADSCRIPTI FUISSENT % SITUM, CUM LEX FEREBATUR, IN ITALIA DOMICILIUM HABUIS- SENT : ET SI SEXAGINTA DIEBUS APUD PR^ETO- REM ES SENT PROFE SSI. Cum hie domicilium Romse multos jam annos haberet, professus est apud prsetorem Q. Me- tellum, familiarissimum suum. Si nihil aliud, nisi de civitate ac lege dicimus, nihil dico amplius : causa dicta est. Quid e- nim horum infirmari, Gracche, potest ? Heraclesene esse eum adscriptum negabis ? adest vir sumraa auctoritate T et religione, etfide, M. Lucullus, qui se non opinari, sed scire ; non audivisse, sed vidisse ; non interfuisse, sed egisse dicit. Adsunt Heracli- enses legati, nobilissimi homines, qui hujus judicii causa cum mandatis et cum publico testimonio venerunt, qui hunc adscrip- tum Heracliensem dicunt. Hie tu tabulas desideras Heraciien- sium publicas, quas Italico bello, incenso tabulario, interisse scimus omnes. Est ridiculum ad ea quse habemus nihil dicere ; quserere quse habere non possumus : et de hominum memoria tacere, literarum memoriam flagitare : et, cum habeas amplissi- mi viri religionem, integerrimi municipii jusjurandum fidemque, ea, quse depravari nullo modo possunt, repudiare ; tabulas quas idem dicis solere corrumpi, desiderare. An domicilium Romse non habuit is, qui tot ahnis ante civitatem datam, sedem omnium rerum ac fortunarum suarum Romse collocavit ? At non est professus ; immo vero iis tabulis professus, quse solse ex ilia \ cicero's orations. 291 virtuous disposition, at that time too, Q. Metellus Numidicus, and his son Pius, were delighted with his conversation ; M« ^Emilius was one of his hearers ; Q. Catulus, both the elder and younger, honoured him with their intimacy ; L. Crassus cour- ted him ; and being united by the greatest familiarity, to the Luculli, Drusus, the Octavii, Cato, and the whole Hortensiari family, it wa6 no small honour to him, to receive marks of the highest regard, not only from those who were really desirous of hearing him, and being instructed by him, but even from those who affected to be so. Sect. IV. A considerable time after he went with L. Lu~ cullus into Sicily, and leaving that province in company with the same Lucullus, came to Heraclea: which being joined with Rome by the closest bonds of alliance, he was desirous of being made free of it jf and obtained his 1 request, both on account of his own merit, and the interest and authority of Lucullus. Strangers were admitted to the freedom of Rome, according to the law of Sylvanus and Carbo, upon the following conditions : If they xvere inr oiled by free cities ; if they had a dwelling in It- aly xuhen the law passed ; and if they declared their inrolment be- fore the pracor within the space of sixty days. Agreeable to this law, Archias, who had resided at Rome for many years, made his declaration before the pnetor Q. Metellus, who was his inti- mate friend. If the right of citizenship and the law is all I have to prove, I have done ; the cause is ended. For which of these things r Gracchus, can you deny ? Will you say that he was not made a citizen of Heraclea at that time ? Why, here is Lucul- lus, a man of the greatest credit, honour, and integrity, who affirms it ; and that not as a thing he believes, but as what he knows ; not as what he heard of, but as what he saw ; not as what he was present at, but as what he transacted. Here are likewise deputies from Heraclea, who affirm the same ; men of the greatest quality, come hither On purpose to give public tes- timony in this cause* But here you'll desire to see the public register of Heraclea, which we all know was burnt in the Ita- lian war, together with the office wherein it was kept. Now^ is it not ridiculous to say nothing to the evidences which we have, and to desire those which we cannot have ; to be silent as to the testimony of men, and to demand the testimony of regis- ters ; to pay no regard to what is affirmed by a person of great dignity, nor to the oath and integrity of a free city of the strict- est honour, evidences which are incapable of being corrupted, and to require those of registers which you allow to be frequent- ly vitiated ? '• But he did not reside at Rome : what ! he who for so manv vears before Silvan us's law made Rome the seat of all his hopes and fortune ? But he did not declare : so far is this from being true, that his declaration is to be seen in that regis- N3 292 M. T. crCERONIS ORATIONES. professione, collegioque prsetorum obtinet publicarum tabularui* auctoritatem. V. Nam cum Appi tabulae negligentius asservatse dicerentur; Gabinii, quamdiu incolumis fuit, le vitas, post damnationem, calamitas, rmnem tabularum fidem resign asset ; Metellus, homo sanctissimus modestissimusque omnium, tanta diligentia iuit, ut ad L. Lentulum prSBtorem et adjudices venerit, et unius nomi- nis liturase commotum esse dixerit. His igitur tabulis nullam lituram in nomen A. Licinii videtis. QuJe cum ita sint, quid est quod de ejus civitate dubitetis, prresertim cum aiiis quoque mcivkatibus merit adscriptus ? Etenim cum mediocribus multis, et aut nulla, aut humili aliqua arte prseditis, gratuito civitatem in Grsecia homines impertiebantur ; Rheginos credo, aut Lo- crenses, aut Neapolkanos, aut Tarentinos, quod scenicis artifi- cibus largiri soleant, id huic summa ingenii prsedito gloria, no- luisse ? Quid ? cum caeteri non modo (4) post civitatem datam, aed etiam (5) post legem Papiam, aliqua modo in eorum muni- cipiorum tabulas irrepserint ; hie, qui nee utitur quidem illis, in quibus est scriptus, quod semper se Heracliensem esse voluit, rejicietur ? Census nostros requiris scilicet. Est enim obscurum, proximis censorious, hunc cum clarissimo imperatore L. laicullo apud exercitumfuisse : superioribus, cum eodem qusestore fuissc in Asia : primis, Julio et Crasso, nullam populi partem esse cen- sam ? Sed quoniam census non jus civitatis confirmat, ac tan- tummodo indicat, eum, qui sit census, ita se jam turn gessisse pro cive : iis temporibus, qua; tu criminaris, ne ipsius quidem. judicio eum in civium Rom. jure esse versatum, et testamentum ssepe fecit nostris legibus, et adiit hsereditates civium Rom. et (6) in beneficiis ad serarium delatus est a L. Lucullo prjetore et consule. VI. Qusere argumenta, si qua potes : nunquam enim hie neque xuo, neque amicorum judicio revincetur. Quseres anobis, Grac- che, cur tantopere hoc homine delectemur ? quia suppeditat nobis, ubi et animus ex hoc forensi strepitu reficiatur, et aures convicio defessse conquiescant. An tu existimas, aut suppetere nobis posse, quod quotidie dicamus in tanta vaHetate rerum, nisi animos nostros doctrina excolamus: aut ferre animostantam (4) Post civitatem datam.] This refers to the law made by Silvanus and Csrbo, which is mentioned before. (5 ) Post legem Papiam.] This law derived its name from one Rapius, a tribune of the people, who reftored the law made by Petronius, whereby flrangers were forbid to en- joy the privi'egesof citizens. (6) In benejiciis adararium delatus est.] Itwas usual for the Roman generals to recom- mend thofe to the treafury. who, in the the courfe of war, had done any confidcr- ablefervice to the ftate ; which recommendation, as it did them no fma!l honour, I contributed noti little to their advancement. CICERO'S ORATIONS. 29.3 lei% which by that very act, and its being in the custody of the college of prsetors, is the only authentic one. Sect. Y. For the negligence of Appius, the corruption of Gabinius before his condemnation, and his disgrace after having destroyed the credit of public records ; Metellus, a man of the greatest honour and modesty, was so very exact that he came before Lentulus the prsetor and the other judges, and declared that he was uneasy at the erazure of a single name. The name of A. Licinius therefore is still to be seen ; and as this is the case, why should you doubt of his being a citizen of Rome, .especially as he was inrolled likewise in other free cities ? For when Greece bestowed the freedom of its cities, without the recommendation of merit, upon persons of little considera- tion, and those who had either no employment at all, or very mean ones, is it to be imagined that the inhabitants of Rhe- gium, Locris, Naples, or Tarentum, would deny to a man so highly celebrated for his genius, what they conferred even upon commedians ? When others, nbt only after Silanus's law, but even after the Papian law, shall have found means to creep into the registers of the municipal cities, shall he be rejected, who, because he was always desirous of passing for an liera- t-iclean, never availed himself of his being inrolled in other cities ! But you desire to see the inrollment of our estate ; as if it were Vnot well known, that under the last censorship, the defendant was with the army commanded by that renowned general L. Lucullus ; that under the censorship immediately preceding he was with the same Lucullus, then quaestor in Asia ; and that when Julius and Crassus were censors, there was no inrol- ment made. But as an enrolment in the censor's books does not confirm the right of citizenship, and only shows that the person inrolled assumed, the character of a citizen, I must tell you that Archias made a will according to our laws, succeeded to the estates of Roman citizens, and was recommended to the treasury by L. Lucullus, both when prsetcr and consul, as one who deserved well of the state, at the very time when you a!« lege that by his own confession, he had no right to the freedom of Rome. Sect. VI. Find out whatever arguments you can, Archias will never be convicted for his own conduct, nor that of his iriends. But you'll no doubt ask the reason, Gracchus, of my being so highly delighted with this man ? Why, it is because he fur- nishes me with what relieves my mind, and charms my ears, after the fatigue and noise of the forum. Do you imagine that I could possibly plead every day on such a variety of subjects, if my mind was not cultivated with science ; or that it could hear being stretched to such a degree, if it were not sometimes 294- M. T, CICERONIS ORATIONE&. posse contentionem, nisi cos doctrina eadem relaxemus ? Ego vcro fateor, me his studiis esse deditum : cseteros pudeat, si qui ita se literis abdiderunt, ut nihil possint ex his neque ad com- munem afferre fructum, neque in adspectum lucemque proferre. Me autem quid pudeat, qui tot annos ita vivo, judices, ut ab nullius unquam me tempore, aut commodum, aut otium meum abstraxerit, autyoluptas avocarit, autdenique somnus retardarit? Quare quis tandem me reprehendat, aut quis mihi jure succen- seat, si, quantum cseteris ad suas res obeundas, quantum ad fes- tos dies ludorum celebrandos, quantum ad alias voluptates, et ad ipsam requiem animi et corporis conceditur temporis 5 quanr turn alii tribuunt (7) tempestivis conviviis, quantum denique alese, quantum pilse ; tantum mihi egomet ad hsec studia reco- lenda sumpsero ? Atque hoc adeo mihi concedendum est magis, quod ex his studiis, hsec quoque crescit oratio, et facultas : quse quantacunque in me est, nunquam amicorum periculis defuit; quae si cui levior yidetur ; ilia quidem certe, quse summa sunt, ex quo fonte hauriam, sentio. Nam nisi multorum prseceptis, multisque literis mihi ab adolescentia suasisem, nihil esse in vitsi magnopere expetendum, nisi laudem atque honestatem ; in ea autem persequenda omnes cruciatus corporis, omnia pericula mortis atque exsilii parvi esse ducenda ; nunquam me pro salute vestra in tot ac tantas dimicationes, atque in hos profligatorum hominum quotidianos impetus objecissem. Sed pleni omnes sunt libri, plense sapientium voces, plena exemplorum vetustas : quse jacerent in tenebris omnia, nisi literarum lumen accederet v Quam multas nobis imagines, non solum ad intuendum, verum etiamad imitandum, fortissimorum virorumexpressas, scriptores et Grseci et Latini reliquerunt ? quas ego mihi semper in ad- ministranda repub. proponens, animum et mentem meam ipsa cogitatione hominum excellentium corformabam. VII. Quseret quispiam, quid ? illi ipsi surami viri, quorum virtutes literis proditse sunt, istane doctrina, quam tu laudibus effers, eruditi fuerunt ? Difficile est hoc de omnibus confirmare : sed tamtn est certum, quid respondeam. Ego multos homines excellenti animo ac virtute fuisse, et sine doctrina, naturse ipsius habitu prope divino, per seipsos et moderatos, et graves exstitisse fateor ; etiam illud adjungo, ssepius ad laudem atque virtutem naturam sine doctrina, quam sine natura valuisse doc- trinam ; atque idem ego contendo, cum ad naturam eximiam atque illustrem accesserit ratio qusedam conformatioque doc- trina; ,♦ turn illud nescio quid prseclarum ac singulare solere ex- sistere. Ex hoc esse hunc numero, quern patres nostri vide- runt, divinum hominem, Africanum : ex hoc C. Labium (7) Tempestivis eonviviis.] Such entertainments as began before the ordinary hour, ^hLh was about nine, or our three o'clock, and were lengthened out till late at night. were called Umptstiva cjnvhia. 1 CICERO'S ORATIONS.n Qri. S95 unbent by the amusement of learning ? I am fond of these studies, I own : let those be ashamed who have buried themselves in learning so as to be of no use to society, nor able to pro- duce any thing to public view ; but why should I be ashamed, who for so many years, my lords, have never been prevented by indolence, seduced by pleasure, nor diverted by sleep, from doing good offices to others ? Who then can censure me, or in justice be angry with me, if those hours which others employ in business, in pleasure, in celebrating public solemnities, in refreshing the body, and unbending the mind; if the time which is spent by some in midnight banquetings, in diversions, and in gaming 5 I employ in reviewing these studies ? And this ap- plication is the more excusable, as I derive no small advantages from it in my profession, in which, whatever abilities I possess, they have always been employed when the dangers of my friends called for their assistance. If they should appear to any to be but^mall, there are still other advantages of a much higher nature, and I am verv sensible whence I derive them. For had I not been convinced from my youth, by much instruc- tion and much study, that nothing is greatly desirable in life but glory and virtue, and that, in pursuit of these, all bodily tortures, and the perils of death and exile are to be slighted and despised, never should I have exposed myself to so many and so great conflicts for your preservation, nor to the daily rage and violence of the most worthless of men. But on this head books are full, the voice of the wise is full, antiquity is full ; all which, were it not for the lamp of learning, would be involved in thick obscurity. How many pictures of the bravest of men have the Greek and Latin writers left us, not only to contemplate, but likewise to imitate ? These illustrious models I always set before rne in the government of the state, and formed my conduct by contemplating their virtues. Sect. VII. But were those great men, it will be asked, who are celebrated in history, distinguished for that kind of learn- ing which you extol so highly ? It were difficult, indeed, to prove this of them all ; but what I shall answer is, however, very certain. I own tU©» that there have been many men of excel- lent dispositions and distinguished virtue, who, without learning, and by the almost divine force of nature herself, have been wise and moderate ; nay, farther, that nature without learning is of greater efficacy towards the attainment of glory and virtue, than learning without nature ; but then I affirm, that when to an excellent natural disposition the embellishments of learn- ing are added, there results from this union something great and extraordinary. Such was that divine man Africanus, whom our fathers saw : Such were C. Lailius and L. Furius, persons of the greatest temperance and moderation : such was old 296 M. T. CICERONIS ORATIONES. L. Furium, modestissimos homines, et continentissimos : ex hoc fortissimum virum, et illis temporibus doctissimum, (s) M. Cato- nem ilium senem ; qui profecto, si nihil ad percipiendam colen- damque virtutem Uteris adjuvarentur, nunquam se ad earum studium contulissent * Quod si non hie tantus fructus osten- deretur, si ex his sudis delectatio sola peteretur : tamen, ut opinor, hanc animiremissionem humanissimam ac liberatissimam judicaretis. Nam csetera, neque temporum sunt, neque setatum omnium, neque locorum : at hsec studia adolescentiam alunt, senectutem oblectant, seeundas res ornant, adversis perfugium ac solatium prsebent ; delectant domi, non impediunt foris ; per- noctant nobiscum, peregrinantur, rusticantur. Quod si ipsi hsec neque attingere, neque sensu nostro gustare possemus, tamen ea mirari deberemus, etiam cum in aliis videremus. VIII. Quis nostrum tarn animo agresti ac duro fm% (9) ut Roscii morte nuper non commoveretur ? qui, cum esset senex, mortuus, tamen propter excellentem artem ac venustatem, vi- debatur omnino mori non debuisse. Ergo ille corporis motu tantum amorem sibi conciliarat .a nobis omnibus : nos animorum incredibiles motus, celeritatemque ingeniorum negligemus ? Quoties ego hunc Archiam vidi, judices, (utar enim vestra be- nignitate, quoniam me in hoc novo genere dicendi'tam diligenter attenditis ;)qnoties ego hunc vidi, cum ly.eram scripsisset nullam, magnum numerum optimorum versuum de his ipsis rebus, quse turn agerentur, dicere extempore ? Quoties revocatum eandem remdicere commutatis verbis atque sententiis ? quse vero accurate cogitateque scripsisset, ea sic vidi probari, ut ad veterum scripto- rum laudem pervenirent. Hunc ego non diligam ? non admirer ? non omni ratione defendendum putem ? Atqui sic a summis ho- minibus eruditissimisque accepimus, cscterarum rerum studia, et doctrina, et prseceptis, et arte constare ; poetam natura ipsa vale- re, et mentis viribus excitari, et quasi divino quodam spiritu infla- ri. Quare suo jure noster ille Ennius sanctos appellat poetas, quod quasi deorum aliquo dono atque munere commendati no- bis esse videantur. Sit igitur, judices, sanctum apud vos, hu- manissimos homines, hoc poetse nomen, quod nulla unquam bar- (8) M. Catonevt ilium tenem.~\ Cicero, in his piece, De claris oratoribus, and in that De senectute, makes frequent mention of the eloquence of this M. Cato, who applied himfelftothe ftudy of the Creek language when very old. (9) Ut Roscii marte nuper non commoveretur.] This was Rofcius the commedian, whofe extraordinary merit in his art had recommended him to the friendfhip and fa- miliarity of the greatest men in Rome. His daily pay for a«5ting isfaid to have been about ihirty pounds. From the character which Cicero gives of him, we cannot but entertain a very high opinion of his merit ; for he tells us, that while he made the firli 6gure on the ftage for his art, he was worthy of the fenate for his virtues. cicero's orations 299 Cato, a man of great bravery, and for the times s j ia ]j we w j t h ing ; who, surely, would never have applied f ectPc i w i tn t he learning, bad they thought it of no service to t k at Homer is sition and improvement of virtue. But^ were. j s theirs the be derived from learning without tfie advantag„ rna a fl^ rm t hat tioned, you must still, I imagine, allow it to edicated a tem- and polite amusement. For other studies are nh er na tions con _ time, to every age, and to every place ; but tJ in youth, and joy in old age ; adorn prosperity port and consolation of adversity ; at home t a er gy^ a fter and abroad they are easy ; at night they are coj shall we reiect we travel they attend us ; and, in our rural r i c li n ation and the not forsake us. Though we ourselves were^g utmost efforts and had no relish for their charms, still we inodo nihil ignoscendum, sed etiam acriter est resistendum. II. Ac mihi quidem videtur, j.udices, hie introitus defensionis, adolescentias M. Coslii maxime convenire, ut ad ea quae accu- satores, deformandi hujus causa,, detrahendae spoliandsequer dignitatis gratia dixerunt, primum respondeam. Objectus est pater varie^ quod aut parum splendidus ipse, aut parum pie tractatus a filio diceretur. De dignitate, Ccelius notis ac ma- joribus natu, etiam sine mea oratione, tacitus facile ipse respon- det; quibus autem propter senectutem, quod jam diu minus in, foro nobiscum versatur, non seque est cognitus ; hi sic habeant :. quaecunque in equite Romano dignitas esse possit, quae certe potest esse maxima, earn semper in M. Ccelio habitam esse sum- mam, hodieque haberi, non solum a suis, sed etiam ab omni- bus, quibus potuerit aliqua de causa esse notus. Equitis autem Romani esse nlium, criminis loco poni ab accusatoribus neque his judicantibusoportuit, neque defendentibus nobis. Nam quod de pietate dixistis, est quidem ista nostra existimatio, sed judi- cium certe parentis : quid nos opinemur, audietis ex juratis ; quid parentes sentiant, lacrymae matris incredibilisque mceror, squalor patris, et hasc presens mcestitia, quam cernitis, luctusque decla- rat. Nam, quod est objectum, municipibus esse adolescentem non probatum suis : nemini unquam praesenti Puteolani majores honores habuerunt, quam absenti M. Ccefio : quern et absen- tem (*) in amplissimum ordinem cooptarunt, et ea non petenti detulerunt, quae multis petentibus denegarunt : iidemque nu»c lectissimos viros, et nostri ordinis, et equites Romanos cum lega- tione ad hoc judicium, et cum gravissima atque ornatissima lau- datione miserunt. Videor mihi jecisse fundamenta defen- »ionis meae : quae firmissima sunt, si nitantur judicio suorum : {%) In amplijfimum ordinem cooptarunt .~\ The municipia were commonly corporation^ ©r infranchiied places, where the natives were allowed the ufe of their old laws and conftitutions, and at the fame time honoured with the privilege of Roman citizens. They had a little fenate, which they called curia, and the fenators were called decurione*. U was into this order Coeiius is here faid to have been enrolled. cicero's orations. 309 would have been an accuser in it but by constraint ; nor, if he had, would have entertained any hopes of success, but from the intolerable humor and furious resentment of some other person. But I pardon Atratinus, who is a young man ©f great humanity and virtue; my friend ; and may plead piety, necessity, or age, in his excuse. If he accused Coelius voluntarily, I impute it to filial piety ; if by command, to necessity ; if from hopes of success, to youth. The other accusers must not only not be par- doned, but they must be opposed vigorously. Sect. II. Now, my lords, the youth of Coelius seems to me to require, that I open my defence by replying to what his ac- cusers have advanced in order to stain his character, to detract from, and deprive him of his dignity. His father is differently represented ; either as not making a genteel figure in life, or as being disrespectfully treated by his son. As to the figure his father makes, I need say nothing; old Coelius himself, to such as know him, and are advanced in years, without opening his mouth, is a sufficient reply. With regard to those who have had but few opportunities of knowing him, as his years have long since obliged him to leave off coming to the forum, let such know, that whatever dignity the character of a Roman knight can admit of, and surely it can admit of the greatest, has ever been thought to be displayed by M. Ccelius in its highest lustre ; and is still, not only by his own relations, but by all who have had occasion to know him. That Coelius is the sorucf a Roman knight, should never have been urged by the prosecutor as an accusation, when you, my lords, were on the bench, or I at the bar. As to what you have alledged in regard to his piety, we may indeed .give our opinion ; but it belongs surely to his parents to determine concerning it. What our sentiments are, you will hear from the evidences on oath ; what those of his parents are, is evident from the tears and in- expressible sorrow of his mother, from that air of dejection in the countenance of his father, and that mourning habit wherein you see him appear. It is farther objected, that this young man is not agreeable to his fellow-citizens : in regard to this, the inhabitants of Puteoli never bestowed greater honours on any one when present, than they have on M. Ccelius when absent ; they have, in his absence, inrolled him into their high- est order, and conferred upon him, unasked, what they h?ivs denied to the solicitations of many ; they have likewise sent to this trial, persons of the greatest distinction, both senators and Roman knights, with the strongest and fullest recommendations. Methinks I have now laid the ground work of my defence ; and a strong one it is, if it rests on the judgment of those with whom Coelius is most intimately connected. Nor could his age 319 M. T. CICERONIS ORATIONES. neque enim vobis satis commendata hujus setas esse posset, si non modo parenti tali viro, verum etiam municipio tarn illustri ac tarn gravi displiceret. III. Equidem, ut ad me revertar, ab his fontibus profluxi ad hominum fa mam : et mens hie forensis labor vitseque ratio dirna- navit ad existimationem hominum paulo latius, commendatione ac judicio meorum. Nam, quod objectum est de pudicitia, quodque omnium accusatorum non criminibus, sed vocibus maledictisque celebratum est, id nunquam tarn acerbe feret M. Ccelius, ut eum pceniteat non deformem esse natum ; sunt enim ista maledicta pervulgata in omnes, quorum in adolescen- tia forma et species fuit liberalis. Sed aliud est maledicere, aliud accusare ; accusatio crimen desiderat, rem ut definiat, hominem ut notet, argumento probet, teste confirmet, male- dictio autem nihil habet propositi, prseter contumeliam : quae si petulantius jactatur, convicium ; si facetius, urbanitas nomina- tur. Quam quidem partem accusationis admiratus sum, et moleste tuli potissimum esse Atratino datam ; neque enim dece- bat, neque aetas ilia postulabat : neque id quod animadvertere poteratis, pudor patiebatur optimi adolescentis, in tali ilium oratione versari. Vellem (3) aliquis ex vobis robustioribus hunc maledicendi locum suscepisset ; aliquanto liberius, et fortius, et magis more nostro refutaremus istam maledicendi licentiam. Tecum, Atratine, agam levius, quod et pudor tuus moderatur orationi mese : et meum erga te, parentemque tuum beneficium tueri debeo. Illud tamen te esse admonitum volo : ^rimum qualis es, talem te esse existimes : ut quantum a rerum turpi- tudine abes, tantum te a verborum libertate sejungas : deinde ut ea in alterum ne dicas, quae cum tibi falso responsa sint, erubescas : quis est enim, cui via ista non pateat ? qui isti setati [atque etiam dignitati] non possit, quam velit petulanter, etiam si sine ulla suspicione, at non sine argumento maledi- •cere ? Sed istarum partium culpa est eorum qui te agere volue- runt : laus pudoris tui, quod ea te invitum dicere videbamus : ingenii, quod ornate polkeque dixisti. IV. Verum ad istam omnem orationem brevis est defensio j nam quoad setas M. Coelii dare potuit isti suspicioni locum, fuit primum Ipsius pudore, deinde etiam patris diligentiii, discipli- (3) Aliquis ex vohis robujlioribus) &c "| By robujiiores, CJcero means Herennius Bal- bus. and others, who had a ih are in this profecution, and were farther advanced in years than Atratinu* CICERO'S ORATIONS 311 have sufficiently recommended him to your favourable regards, had he fallen under the displeasure, not only of such a father, but of so worthy and illustrious a corporation. Sect. III. To return to mvself ; from this source it is that my reputation flows ; my labours at the bar, and the course of life in which I am engaged, have diffused themselves wider among mankind in consequence of the praises and judgment of my friends. As to what is urged against him by all his accusers in regard to chastity, supported indeed not by faxts, but mere assertions and slander ; Ccelius will never feel it so sensibly as to regret that he was not formed ugly by nature ; for such scandal is common against all who have been distinguished in their youth by a graceful air and a genteel figure. But to scandalize is one thing, and to accuse another. An accusation requires a crime, and this crime must be fixed ; it must mark out the person, be proved by arguments, and confirmed by evidences ; scandalizing has nothing in view but contumely ; which if it is urged with pttfulence, becomes abuse ; if pleasant- ly, polite railery. I \f as indeed surprised, and not a little con- cerned, that, this part of the accusation should chiefly fall to Atratinus ; for it was not a part that became him, nor was* it proper for his age ; and as you might have observed, the modesty of the worthy youth would not allow him to treat a subject of so indelicate a nature. I wish some of you veterans had undertaken this province, I should then have given a checly to that wantonness of scandalizing with more strength and free- dom, and more in my usual way ; with you, Atratinus, I shall deal more softly, both because your modesty is a restraint upon me, and because I think it my duty to preserve my friendship for vou and your father. Thus much however, I would put you in mind of: in the first place, to entertain a just sense of your own real character, and to keep as great a distance from all indecent freedom of speech, as you do from every thing that is base and indecent in action ; and, in the next place, never to charge another with what would make yourself blush, were you charged with it unjustly. For who is there that may not tread the path of scandal ? who that may not, with what petu- lence he pleases, scandalize such youth ; and, how blameless soever, make it in some measure appear guiltv ? 33ut the blame of what part you have in this accusation, must fall upon those who imposed it upon you : to the praise of your modesty be it said, that we saw vou speak with reluctance ; and to that of your genius, that you spoke with elegance and politeness. Sect. IY. There is however a short answer to all this ; for as long as the age of Ccelius exposed him to such suspicions, it was guarded first by his own modesty, and then by the vigi- 412 M. T. CICERONIS ORATIONE3. naque munita : qui ut huic virilem togam dedit, nihil dicam hoc loco de me : tantum sit, quantum vos existimatis : hoc dicam (4) hunc a patre continuo ad me esse deductum ; nemo hunc M. Coelium in illo ajtatis flore vidit, nisi aut cum patre, aut mecum, aut in M. Crassi castissima domo, cum artibus hones- tissimus erudiretur. Nam quod Catilinse familiar itas objecta Coelio est, longe ab ilia suspicione abhorrere debet ; hoc enim adolescente, scitis consulatum mecum petisse Catilinam : ad quern si accessit, aut si a me discessit unquam, quamquam multi boni adolescentes illi homini nequam atque improbo studuerunt, turn existimetur Coelius Catilime nimium familkiris fuisse. At enim postea scimus et vidimus esse hunc in illius amicis. Quis negat ? sed ego illud tempus setatis, quod ipsum sua sponte in- firmum, aliorum libidine infestum est, id hoc loco defendo ; fuit assiduus mecum, prsetore me : non nov r erat Catilinam : Africam turn prsetor ille obtinebat : secutus est annus : causam de pecuniis repetundis Catilina dixit ; mecum erat hie : (5) illi ne advocatus quidem venit unquam : deinceps fuit annus, quo ego consulatum petivi : petebat Catilma mecum ; nunquam ad ilium accessit, a me nunquam recessit. <9 V. Tot igitur annos versatus in foro sine suspicione, sine in- famia, studuit Catilinee iterum petenti. Quern ergo ad finem putas custodiendam illam setatem fuisse ? Nobis quidem olim annus erat unus, ad cohibendum brachium toga, constitutes, et ut exercitatione ludoque campestri tunicati uteremur : eadem- que erat, si statim mereri stipendia cceperamus, castrensis ratio ac militaris ; qua in setate, nisi qui se ipse sua gravitate, et castimonia, et cum disciplina domestica, turn etiam naturali quodam bono defenderat ; quoque modo a suis custoditus esset, tamen infamiam veram effugere non poterat. Sed qui prima ilia initia setatis integra atque inviolataprsestitisset ; de ejus fama ac pudicitia, cum is jam-se corroboravisset, ac vir inter viros esset, nemo loquebatur. Studuit Catilinse, cum jam aliquot annos esset, in foro Ccelius, et multi hoc idem ex omni ordine (4) Hunc a patre continuo ad me ejft deductum?^ Of all people the Romans were the meft exail and careful in the education of their children. When young gentlemen hadfinifhed the courfe of their puerile ftudies. it was the cuftom to change the habit of the boy. for what they called the manly goivn ; and on this occafion they were intro- duced into the forum with much loiemnity, attended by all the friends and depend- ents of the family; and after divine rites performed in the capitol, were committed to the fpecial care of fome eminent fenator, diftinguifhed for his eloquence or knowledge of the laws ; to be inftru<5ted by him in the conducl of civ^l affairs, and to form them- felve3 by his example for ufeful members and magiftrates of the republic. Thus Coe- lius was placed under the care of Cicero, who had himfelf, as we are told in his piece Deamicitia, been placed under that of Scaevcla, the principal lawyer, as well as flatef- jnan of that age. (5) Illi nead-vc:atus tju idem venit unjuam."] By advocatus is here meant one who at" CICERO'S ORATIONS, 31 £ lance and instruction cf his father, who as soon as he gave him the manly gown, (I shall say nothing here of myself, my cha- racter is submitted to you ; but) this I will say, he was directly brought by his father to me. No one saw this M. Coeiius in- that bloom of life, but either in company with his father, or with me, or in the chaste house of M. Crassus, where he was instructed in the most liberal arts. As to the familiarity with Catiline which is objected to Coeiius, there is not the least ground for such suspicion. When he was a lad, you know that Catiline stood with me for the consulship : If at that time he ever kept him company,, or if ever he left me (though many worthy young men were attached to that wickecL and abandoned fellow) then let him be thought to have been too familiar with Catiline. We know, however, that he was afterwards among the friends of Catiline, and saw him among them. Who denies it I But I am only defending that period of life, which of itself is naturally weak, and liable to be in- fected by the vices of others. During my prsetorship, he was constantly with me, and did not know Catiline, who was then praetor in Africa^ The year following, Catiline was tried for extortion ; Coeiius was with me, and did not even appear in court for him as a friend. The year after, I stood for the con- sulship ; so did Catiline : Coeiius was never seen with him ; from me he never departed. Sect. V- Having therefore frequented the forum for s6 many years without suspicion, without infamy, he attached himself to Catiline, who stood again for the consulship. How long then do you think that youth is to be watched ? A year was formerly allowed us to learn to keep the arm within the gown, and to perform our exercises and diversions in the field of Mars in our tunics. The same discipline was observed in the camp, and in all military operations, when we began to carry arms. During that period no one could avoid real in- famy, whatever care was taken of him by his friends, who had not a decency and gravity of behaviour to defend his character, and, together with the advantages of private institution, a kind of natural bias to virtue. But whoever passed this early part of life with honour and without reproach, when he grew up, and lived as a man among men, no reflections were ever heard against his reputation or chastity. Coeiius favoured Catiline, after frequenting the forum for several years : why, this was no more than what many others did, of every rank, and of every age. For tended hi? friend at his trial. For it wasu^ual both in public and private trials for the friends 2nd acquaintance of the accused to attend him and to solicit in his behalf. 314 M. T. CICERONIS ORATIONES. atque ex omni ?etate fecerurit ; (6) habuit enim ille, sicuti rne- minisse vos arbitror, permulta maximarum non expressa signa, sed adumbrata'virtutum, :, utebatur hominibus. improbis multis, ct quidem optimis se vins deditum esse simulabat : erant apud ilium illecebrce libidinum multse ; erant etiam industrial quidam stimuli ac laboris : flagrabant vitia libidinis apud ilium ; vige- bant etiam studia rei militaris : neque ego unquam fuisse tale monstrum in terris ullum puto, tarn ex contrariis diversisque inter se pugnantibus^ naturse studiis cupiditatibusque conflatum. VI. Quis clarioribus vins quodam tempore jucundior ? quis turpforibus conjunctior? quis civis meliorum partium aliquando? quis tetrior hostis huic civitati ? quis in voluptatibus inquina- tior ? quis in laboribus patientior ? quis in rapacitate avarior ? quis in largitione efFusior ? Ilia vero, judices, in illo homine mi- rabilia fuerunt, comprehendere multos amicitia, tueri obsequio, cum omnibus communicare quod habebat, servire temporibus suorum omnium, pecunisi, gracia,labore corporis, scelere etiam, si opus esset, et audacia : versare suam naturam, et regere ad tempus, atque hue et illuc torquere et flectere : cum tristibus severe, cum remissis jucunde, cum senibus graviter, cum ju- ventute comiter, cum facinorous audacter, cum libidinosis luxuriose vivere. Hac ille tarn varia multiplicique natura, cum omnes omnibus ex terris homines improbos audacesque college- rat, turn etiam multos fortes viros et bonos, specie quadam vir- tutis assimulatse, tenebat ; neque unquam ex illo delendi hujus imperii tarn consceieratus impetus extitisset, nisi tot vitiorum tanta immanitas quibusdam facilitatis et patientise radicibus ni- teretur. Quare ista conditio, judices, respuatur : nee Catilinse familiaritatis crimen hsereat ; est enim commune cum multis, cum quibusdam etiam bonis. Me ipsum, me, inquam, quondam pene ille decepit : cum et civis mihi bonus, et optimi cujusque cupidus, et firmus amicus ac fidelis videretur : cujus ego faci- nora oculis prius, quam opinione, manibus ante, quam suspicione, deprehendi ; cujus in magnis catervis amicorum si fuit etiam Ccelius, magis est, ut ipse moleste ferat errasse se, sicuti non- nunquam in eodem homine me quoque erroris mei poc-nitet, quam ut istius amicitia? crimen reformidet. VII. Itaque a maledictis pudicitiseadconjurationis invidiam o- ratio est vestra delapsa: posuistis enim, atque idtam'entitubanter (6) Habu'tt enim ille permulta maximarum non expr ejfa ftgna . fed adumbrata virtufum.] Cicero, in feveral parts of his writings, gives us a juffc character of Catiline ; but i* none a more lively and linking picture than in this paftage. CICERO'S ORATIONS. BIS Catiline, as I suppose vou remember, had many sketches, though not finished pictures, of the greatest virtues ; he was familiar with many profligate fellows, and yet affected to be de- voted to men of the greatest worth. His house furnished out several temptations to lewdness, and at the same time several incentives to labour and industry : Jt was a scene of vicious pleasures, and at the same time a school of martial exercises. Nor do I believe there was ever such a monster on earth, com- pounded of inclinations and passions so very different, and so repugnant to each other. Sect. IV. Who was ever more agreeable at one time to the most illustrious citizens ? who more intimate at another with the most infamous ? At one time, what citizen had better principles ? and yet who a fouler enemy to Rome ? Who more intemperate in pleasure ? who more patient in labour . ? Who more rapa- cious in plundering ? who more extravagant in squandering ? Yet this man, my lOrds, had a surprising faculty of engaging many to his friendship, and fixing them by his observance : Sharing with all of them whatever he had, serving them with his money, his interest, his labour, and if occasion required, by the most daring acts of wickedness ; fashioning his nature ac- cording to his purposes, bending and turning it every way at pleasure ; living with the morose, severely ; with the free, merrily ; with the aged, gravely ; with the young, cheerfully ; with the enterprising, audaciously,- with the vicious, luxuriously. By such a variety and complication of character, he had got to- gether from every country all the profligate and audacious, and yet preserved the friendship of many brave and worthy men by the specious show of a pretended virtue ; nor could he ever have made so wicked an attempt to destroy our government, had not the so great enormity of his marty vices had some sup- port from a flexibility and hardiness of temper. Let that park of the accusation then, my lords, be rejected ; nor let the fami- liarity with Catiline be any more urged as a crime, for it is common to Coelius with many others, and even some very worthy men. There was a time when I myself, I say when I was almost deceived by him ; when he appeared to me a good citizen, an admirer of every worthy man, a firm and faithful friend. I was not convinced of his crimes till after I saw them ; nor did I suspect them, before I had felt them. If Coelius made one of the great number of his friends, he has more reason to regret his mistake, as I sometimes do mine in regard to the same person, than to dread being charged with being the friend of Catiline. Sect. VII. Thus from bringing a scandalous accusation of an intrigue against Coelius, you have proceeded t© load him with the O 2 o!6 M. T. CICEROivIS ORATIONES. et strictim, conjuration is hunc, propter amicitiam Catilinse, par ticipem fuisse : in quo non modo crimen non hserebat, sed vix diserti adolescentis cohserebat oratio. Qui enim tantus furor in Coelio ? quod tantum atitfin moribus naturaque vulnus, aut in re atque fortuna ? ubi denique est in ista suspicione Ccelii nomen auditum ? jVimium multa de re minime dubia loquor : hoc ta- men dico, non modo si socius conjurationis, sed nisi inimicissi- inus istius sceleris fuisset, nunquam conjurationis accusatione adolesccntiam suam potissimum commendare voluisset : quod, haud scio, an de ambitu, et de criminibus istius sodalium ac sequestrium, quoniam hue incidi,similiter respondendum putem ; nunquam enim tarn Ccelius amens fuisset, ut si se isto infinite ambitu commaculasset, ambitus alteram accusaret : neque ejus facti in altero suspicionem qusereret, cujus ipse sibi perpetuam licentiam optaret ; nee, si sibi semel periculum ambitus sub- eundum putaret, ipse alterum iterum ambitus crimine arcesseret: quod quanquum nee sapienter, et me invito facit, tamen est ejusmodi cupiditatis, ut, magis insectari alterius innocentiam, quam de se timide cogitare videatur. Nam quod ?es alienum objectum est, sumptus reprehensi, (7) tabulse flagitatse : videte quam pauca respondeam. Tabulas, qui in patris potestate est, nullas conncit. (8) Yersuram nunquam omnino fecit ullam. Sumptus unius generis objectus est, habitationis : triginta milli- bus dixistis eum habitare ; nunc deraum intelligo, (9) P. Clodii insulam esse venalem, cujus hie in sediculis habitet, decern, ut opinor, millibus ; vos autem, durri illi placere vultis, ad tempus ei mendacium vestrum accommodavistis. Reprehendistis, a patre quod semigrarit : quod quidem jam in hac setate minime reprehendendum est ; qui, ciim et ex reipub. causa esset, (i°J mihi quidem molestam, sibi tamen gloriosam victoriam consecutus, et per setatem magistratus petere posset non modo permittente patre, sed etiam suadente, ab eo semigravit : et, cum domus patris a foro longe abesset, quo facilius, et nostras obiire domos, et ipse a suis coli posset, conduxit in Palatio, non magno, domum. (7) Tabula jlagitata.'] It was ufual among the Romans, for matters of families f keep books of accounts, wherein they regularly marked down every day whatever m^ney rhey either received or expended. (8) Verfuram nunquam omnino fecit ullam, .] V erf ur am facers generally fignifies to take up money of one at a #reat interefl, in order to pay a debt to another, or fimplyta change one's creditor ; bur here it fignifies only to borrow money. (9) P. Clodii infulam effe -venalem.) By infula is here meant either feveral houfes joi- ned together, or one houle only, with theflreeton every fide. (10) Mihi quidem moleflam, ftbi tamen gloriofam victoriam conftcutus effct ! What is here referred to is, Coeliu»\s impeachment of Caius Antonius, Cicero'!* colleague in the conlulfhip, and defended by him, but cafl and banifhed. cicero's orations* 31? •dium of being engaged in a conspiracy. For you have alledged. though not without hesitation, and in a superficial manner, that because he was the friend, he was therefore the accomplice of Catiline : an accusation, on which not only no crime could be founded, but scarcely could the eloqaent youth talk coherently when he urged it. Why all this fury in Ceelius ? whence this foul stain in his character and disposition, or distress in his cir- cumstances and fortune ? to add no more, where did Ceelius ever lie under such a suspicion ? But I spend too much time in a matter so very evident. Thus much, however, I will add, that if Ceelius had been engaged in that conspiracy, nay if he had not held it in the utmost abhorrence, he would never have thought of recommending himself in his youth, by bearing a part in impeaching the conspirators. And Jt know not whether I mav not return the same answer to the charge against his am- bition, and the crimes of his companions and associates, now that I am upon that subject. For if Ceelius had brought a stain upon his own character by plunging so deep into corruption, he would never have been so foolish as to accuse another of the same practices ; nor would he have endeavoured to render ano- ther suspected of what he wished that he himself mi orb t always have the liberty of doing ; nor would he have twice accused another of corruption, if he had thought that he himself was once to be tried for it : which though he did both imprudently, and contrary to my inclination, yet such is his temper, that he chooses rather to attack the innocence of another, that to seem afraid for his own. As to the debts which are objected to him, the expenses for which he is blamed, and the books of accounts which are demanded, my answer shall be very short. One who is under the direction of his father, keeps no books of accounts ; as to money he has never borrowed any ; and the only article of expense with which you charge him with is his house, for which you say he pays f.iirty thousand sesterces a year. Now at last I see that the house of Clodius is to be sold, a small part of which Ceelius rents for ten thousand sesterces a year, as I ima- gine : but you, out of a desire of pleasing him, have -made this lie to serve a present purpose. You blame him for taking a se- parate house from his father ; a thing for which, at this time of life, he is far from being blameable. Having, 4n a public cause, gained a victory, to me indeed disagreeable, but to himself glo- rious ; and being of an age to stand for offices, his father not only allowed, but advised him to leave his house ; which being a great way off from the forum, he hired one aj: a moderate rent upon the Palatium, that he might be nearer our houses, and that it might be more convenient for his friends to wait upon him* 518 m. r. cickkonis orationes. VIII. Quo loco possum dicere id, quod vir clarissimutf M. Cr<*~sus, ( IJ: ) cum do adventu regis, Ptolemsei quereretur, paullo ante dixit, Utinam ne hi nemore Pel'io — Ac longius qui- dem mihi contexere hoc carmen liceret: Nam nunquam hera prrans hanc molestiam nobis exhiberet, Medea animo agra, amore $&jq saucza. Sic enim judices, reperietis (quod, cum ad id loci venero, ostendam) (**) hanc Palatinam Medeam, migra- tionemque huic adclescei.ti causam sive malorum omnium, sive potius sermonum fuisse. Quamobi em ilia, quse ex accusatorum oratione prsemuniri jam, et fingi intelligebara, fretus vestra pru- dentia, judices, non pertimesco. Aiebant enim fore testem se- natorem, qui se pontjficiis comitiis pulsatum a Ccelio dicerit ; a quo quseram si prodierit, prjmum cur statim nihil egerit ? dein- de, si id queri, quam agere maluerit, cur productus a vobis po- tius, quam ipse per se ? cur tanto post pctius, quam continuo, queri maluerit ? Si mih: ad hsc acute arguteque respondent ; turn quseram denique, ex quo iste fonte senator emanet ? nam si ipse orietur et nascetur ex sese, fortasse, ut soleo, commovebor ; (*3) sin autem est rivulus arcessitus et ductus ab ipso capite ac- cusationis vestra?, ljetabor, cum tanta gratia tantisque opibus accusatio vestra nitatur, unum senatorem solum esse, qui vobi* gratificari vellet, inventum. Nee tamen illud genus alterum nocturnorum testium pertimesco ; est enim dictum ab illis, fore qui dicerent, uxores suas a ccena redeuntes attrectatas esse a Ccelio. Graves erunt homines, qui hoc jurati dicere audebunt : cum sit his confitendum, nunquam se, ( J 4) ne congressu quidem et constituto, ccepisse cle tantis injuriis experiri. IX. Sed totum genus oppugnationis hujus, judices, et jam prospicitis animis, et, cum inferetur, propulsare debebitis ; non enim ab iisdemaccusatur M. Coeiius, a quibus oppugnatur ; palam in eum tela jaciuntur, clam subministrantur. Neque id ego dico, ut invidiosum sit in eos, quibus gloriosum hoc etiam esse debet ; funguntur officio : defendunt suos : faciunt quod viri fortissimi (il) Cum de adventu regis Ptolemai quereretur.') Ptolemy king of Egypt, being dri- ven out of hi* kingdom, went to Rome to beg help and protection againft his rebel- lious fubje«5ls. who lei* deputies after him, to p'ead their caufe before the fenate, and to explain the reafons of their expelling him ; mod of whom he contrived to have af- faffinated on che road, before they reached the city. But it was obje&ed to Coeiius, that he had beaten thefe deputies at Puteoli ; which part of the accufation when Craf- fu?, who had defended Coeiius before Cicero, was refuting, he complained of Ptole- my s coming to Rome as being the remote caufe of this part of the charge, and took occafion to repeat the following verfc of Enniuo— Utinam ne in nemore P*lio, &c. Where the poet in like manner, mentioned the remote caufe of the pafllon which rui- ned Medea, for it wa> of the trees that grew upon mount Pelion in ThefTaly that the- Hiip Argo wa*> built, wherein Jafon failed. CICERO^S ORATIONS. S19 Sect. VIII. And here I may say what the renowned M. Cras- sus lately said, when complaining of king Ptolemy's arrival ; O thai never in the Pelian xuood 1 might even go on with this poem ; Never then had a 'wandering lady given us this trouble, a love-sick Medea, &c. For you will find, my lords, when I come to speak upon it, I shall prove that this Medea of the Pa- latium, and the removal of this young gentleman, has been the cause of all the evils he has suifered, or rather of all that has been alledged against him. Supported then by your wisdom, my lords, I am not afraid of what I find from the words of the accusers themselves, to be nothing but fiction and contrivance. For they alledged that there will be a senator to give evidence that he was beaten by Ccelius at the election of pontiffs. If such a senator appears, I shall ask him in the first place, why he did not immediately bring an action ? In the next place, if he chose rather to complain than bring an action, why he did it rather at your instigation, than of his own accord ? Why he chose to complain so long after the thing happened, and not directly ? If he answers these questions with shrewdness and subtilty, I shall then inquire, from what source this senator flows ? For if he springs from himself, I shall perhaps be moved, as usual ,* but if he flows like a rivulet, from the fountain-head of vour accu- sation, I shall rejoice that in a charge so powerfully supported, there can only one senator be found, who is willing to oblige you. Neither am I afraid of that other tribe of night- witnesses ; for the accusers say they can produce citizens to prove that Ccelius meddled with their wives, as they were returning from supper. They must be persons of great wisdom, who dare swear to such a fact as this ; since they must confess, that they did not so much as propose a reference for the redress of so great injuries. Sect. IX. But, my lords, you now understand the whole nature of this attack ; and when it is made, it will be incumbent upon you to repulse it. Those who accuse M. Ccelius, are not the persons that attack him : the darts are thrown at him pub- licly, but they are furnished in private. Nor do I say this with a view to bring an odium upon those, to whom it ought to do honour : they do their duty : they defend their friends : they (12) Hanc Palatinam Medeam.') Cicero here means Clodia, who lived upon the Pa- latine hill. He humouroufly calls her Medea, becaufe Arratinus, as w« read in For- tunatianus, called Ccelius the beautiful Jafcn. (13) Sin autem. ut ri"vuius y arcejjitu: et ductus ab ipfo caplte accufationis vejlr*^} Cicerp alluaes here to Clodia, wl.om, by a beautiful metaphor, he calL caput accufationis % the fpring-head of the accufation. (14) A 7 e cengrejfu quidem et ccnflituto ] Before a fuit was commenced, it was ufual for the parties to endeavour to makeup the difference, by means of fome common friend •r friends. 320 M. T. CICERONIS ORATIONE6. solent : lecsi dolent, irati efferuntur, (*5) pugnant lacessiti ; sed vestrse sapientise tamen est, judices, non, si causa justa est viris fortibus oppugnandi M. Coelium, ideo vobis quoque vos causam. putare esse justam, alieno dolori potius, quam vestrse fidei con- sulendi. Quae sit multitudo in foro, quae genera, quae studia, quae varietas hominum, videtis ) ex hac copia, quam multos esse arbitramini, qui hominibus potentibus, gratiosis, disertis, cum aliquid eos velle arbitrentur, ultro se offerre soleant, ope- rant navare, testimonium polliceri ? Hoc ex genere si qui se in hoc judicium forte projecerint, excluditote eorum cupiditatem, judices, sapientia vestra : ut eodem tempore et hujus saluti, et religioni vestrse, et contra periculosissimas hominum potentias conditioni omnium civium providisse videamini. Equidem vos abducam atestibus ; neque hujus judicii veritatem, quse mutari nullo modo potest, in voluntate testium collocari sinam ; quse facillime effingi, nullo negotio fiecti, ac detorqueri potest ,* argu- mentis agemus ; signis omni luce clarioribus crimina refellemus ; res cum re, causa cum causa, ratio cum ratione pugnabit, X. Itaque illam partem causae facile patior graviter et ornate aM. Crasso peroratam, de seditionibus Neapolitanis, de Alex- andrinorum pulsatione Puteolana, de bonis Pallae ; vellem dic- tum esset ab eodem ( l6 ) etiam de Dione : de quo ipso tamen quid est, quod expectetis, qupd is qui fecit, aut non timet, aut etiam fatetur ? Etenim reus, qui dictus est et adjutor fuisse et conscius P. Ascitius, is judicio est liberatus. Quod igitur esthu* jusmodi crimen, ut, qui commisit, non neget ; qui negavit, ab- solutus sit ; id hie pertimescat, qui non modo a facto, verum etiam a conscientise suspicione abfuit ? et, 'si Ascitio causa plus pro fuit quam nocuit invidia, huic oberit tuum maledictum, qui istius facti non modo suspicione, sed ne infamia quidem est ad- spersus ? At prsevarieatione est Ascitius liberatus. Perfacile est isti loco respondere, mihi prsesertim, a quo ilia causa defensa est. Sed Coelius optimam causam Ascitii esse arbjtratur : cujusmodi autem sit, a sua putat esse sejunctam : neque solum Cceiius, sed etiam adolescentes humanissimi et doctissimi rectissimis studiis at- que optimis artibus prsediti,Titus Caiusque Coponii : qui ex omni- bus maxime Dionis mortem doluerunt : qui cum doctrine studio (15) Pugnant lacejfiti.') This probably refers to Atratinus, who was glad to have an opportunity of accufing Coelius, in revenge for his having impeached Atratinus the father. (16) Etiam de Dione.'] Dio was the chief of the Alxandrian embafiy, and was afTa^ finated by Afcitius, for which, however, he was acquitted. cicero's orations. 321 act as men of spirit generally do : being injured, they com- plain ; being provoked, they are in a passion ; and being at- tacked, they fight. But though these brave men may have good reason for attacking M. Ccelius, yet your wisdom, my lords, is concerned, not to think that you have therefore any reason to pay greater regard to their resentment than to your own honour. You see what numbers crowd the forum, and how different their views and dispositions are. Of all this mul- titude, how many do you imagine there are, who, when they think that men of credit, power, and eloquence, have any thing to do, offer themselves, press their services, and promise their evidence ? Should any of such a character thrust themselves into this trial, let your wisdom, my lords, check their forward- ness ; that you may seem at once to have consulted the safety of Ccelius, your own honour, and the interest of all our citizens, against the dangerous influence of power. I will indeed draw you off from testimonies, nor will I suffer the immutable justice of this cause to depend upon the depositions of witnesses which may be fashioned and influenced with the utmost ease. We shall deal in arguments, and shall refute their accusation with proofs clearer than the day : fact shall be opposed to fact, cause to cause, and argument to argument. Sect. X. I am glad, therefore, that M. Crassus defended that part of his cause which relates the seditions at Naples, the beating of the Alexandrian deputies at Puteoli, and the goods of Pallas, with so much force and eloquence. I wish he had likewise spoken to the affair of Dion. Though in regard to that, what is there that could be to your purpose, which he who committed the fact is either afraid of, or denies I For P. Ascitius, who is accused of having been privy to the design, and to have assisted in it, was acquitted. When a crime, there- fore, is of such a nature that he who committed it does not deny it, and he who does not deny it is acquitted, should that person be afraid of being condemned for it, who not only did not com- mit it, but who was not even suspected of having had any knowledge of it t And if that prosecution did more service to Ascitius, than the hatred of nis prosecutors did him harm, shall this scandal hurt the nran, on whom neither the suspicion nor the infamy of such an action ever fell ? But it was owing to col- lusion, it will be said, that Ascitius was acquitted, This objec- tion is very easily answered, especially by me who defended that cause. But Coelius thinks the cause of Ascitius a very good one ; nevertheless, of what kind soever it is, he is of opinion that it is very different from his own : nor does Ccelius only think so, but the Coponii, Titus and Caius, young men of the greatest politeness and learning, of the most honourable in- tentions and best accomplishments, who, of all others, lament- 322 Bf. T. CICERONIS ORATIONES. atque humanitatis, turn eliam hospitio Dionis tenebantur; ria*- bitabat is apud L. Lucceium, ut audistis : fuerat ei cognitus Alexandrite; quid aut. ,hic, aut summo splendore prteditus fratcr ejus, de M. Ccelio existimet, ex ipsis, si producti erunt r audietis. Ergo hsec removeantur, ut aliquundo, in quibus cau- sa nititur, ad ea veniamus. XI. Animadverti enim, judices, audiri a vobis meum fami- liarem L. Herennium perattente ; in quo etsi magna, ex parte ingenio ejus, et dicendi genere quodam tenebamini, tamen nonnunquam verebar ne ilia subtiliter ad criminandum inducta oratio ad animos vestros sensim ac leniter accederet ,* dixit enim multa de luxuria, multa-de libidine, multa de vitiis juventutis, multa de moribus : et qui in reliqua vita mitis esset, et in hac suavitate humanitatis, qua prope jam delectantur homines, ver- sari perjucunde soleret, (17) fuit in hac causa pertristis quidam patruus, censor, magister ; objurgavitM. Coelium, sicutnemi- nem unquam parens : multa de incontinentia, intemperantiaque disseruit. Quid quseritis, judices ? ignoscebam vobis attente audientibus, propterea quod egomet tarn triste illud et tarn as- perum genus orationis horrebam. Ac prima pars fuit ilia, quse me minus movebat, fuisse meo necessario Bestise Coelium fami- liarem,ccenasseapudeum,ventitasse domum, studuisse prseturse. Non me hsec movent, quse perspicue falsa sunt ; etenim eos una ccenasse dicit, qui absunt, aut quibus necesse est idem dicere. Neque vero illud me commovet, (i8j quod sibi in Lupercis so- dalem esse Coelium dixit. Fera qusedam sodalitas, et plane pastoritia atque agrestis germanorum Lupercorum : quorum coitio ilia sylvestris ante est instituta, quam humanitas, atque leges ; siquidem non modo nomina deierunt inter se sodalcs, sed etiam commemorant sodalitatem in accusando, (19) ut ne quis, si id forte nesciat, timere videatur. Sed hsec omittam : ad ilia, quse me rnagis moverunt, respondebo. Deliciarum ob- jurgatio fuit longa, et ea lenior : plusque disputationis habuit, quam atrocitatis ; quo etiam audita est attentius. Nam P. Clo^> (ij) Fuit in hac caufa pertridis quidam patruus. \ Patruus here fignifies a fevere cen- for, like a morofe guardian uncle. In this fenfe it is made ufe of by Horace, Sat. 3d, Book ad. ■ f ive ego prove, Seu recle, hoc volui : ne fis patruus mihi. (l3) Quodftbi in Lupercis fodalem ejd Calium dixit] The LupercaKa was a fcftival inftituted in honour of Pan. Valerius MUximus pretend* that it was no older than the foundation of Rome ; but Livy and Piutarch arepofitive that it was brought out of Greec* by Evander. It was celebrated on the fifteenth of February, chiefly in the vil- lages, with very ridiculous ceremonies. (19) Ut ne quis,ft id forte nefciat, timere videatur.'] It is difficult to afcertain the mean- ing of this pafiage, which is differently underftooi by commentators. The words it* the original in fome editions are, ft quis id forte nefciat timere videatur: Abramiui prc~ CICER0 5 S ORATIONS. 32 eel the death of Dion most, being delighted both with his hos- pitality, and his learning and politeness. Dion, as you have heard, lived with L. Luceius, to whom he was known at Alexandria. What his sentiments are concerning M. Coelius y or those of his brother, a man of the greatest eminence, you may hear from themselves, if they are brought into court. Let these things therefore be set aside, that we may at last corae to those on which the cause principally rests* Sect. XL I observed, my lords, that you heard my friend L. Herennius very attentively ; and though it was his wit, in a great measure, and a certain kind of eloquence that struck you ; yet I was sometimes apprehensive lest this insinuating subtle method of accusation should gradually slide into, and take possession of your breasts. For he spoke much upon luxury, much upon lust, much upon the vices, and much upon the manners of youth ; and he, who on every other occa- sion is so very gentle, and has so much of that engaging, humane, and agreeable manner that charms all mankind, was as rigid in this cause as an old guardian unele, a censor, or a mas- ter ; he reproved M. Goelius more severely than ever a father did a son, and enlarged much upon intemperance and incontinency. Do you ask me what I thought of it, my lords I I could not blame you for hearing it so attentively, though so severe and rigid a manner of speaking, I must confess, somewhat shocked, myself. The first article of accusation, which did not give me great concern, was, that Coelius was intimate with " my friend Bestia ; that he supped with him ; was frequently at his house, and his friend when he stood for the prsetorship. These things, being evidently false, give me no concern : for those whom he gives out to have supped with them, are either absent, or obliged to give the same evidence. Nor does it disturb me when he says that Coelius was his companion at the Lupercal games: for the true Luperci are a savage, rustic and truly clownish fraternity, whose meetings in the forests were instituted before laws or politeness took place among men : since xhey not only accuse each other, but mention the fraternity in their accusations, as if they were afraid lest any one should not discover them to belong to it. But all this I shall pass over, and reply to what gave me more concern. The censure he passed upon the pursuit of pleasure was long, but gende ; and had more declamation in it than severity, so that it was heard the more attentively. As for my friend fersthe following reading to all others, utneqnis id /arte nefciat timere videaniur ; and thefenfe of the pafsage according to him,'is, — They boaft. of their being members of the fraternity whom they accufe as if they were afraid left any one fhould not difcover them to belong to it. R2 £24 M. T. CICERONIS ©RATIONES. dius amicus meus, cum se gravissime vehementissimeque jacta • ret, et oAinia inflammatus ageret tristissimis verbis, voce maxi- ma : tametsi probabam ejus eloquentiam, tamen non pertimes- cebam ; aliquot enim in causis eum videram frustra litigantem. Tibi autem, Balbe, respondebo, primum precario, si licet, si fas est, defendiame eum, qui nullum convivium renuerit, qui unguenta sumpserit, (*°) qui Baias viderit* XII. Equidem multos et vidi in hac civitate, et aujlavi, non modo qui primoribus labris gustassent genus hoc vitse, et extre- mis, ut dicitur, digitis attigissent ; sed qui totam adolescentiam. voluptatibus dedidissent, emersisse aliquando^ et se ad frugem bonam, ut dicitur, recepisse, gravesque homines atque illustre* fuisse. Datur enim concessu omnium huic aliquis ludus setati, et ipsa natura profundit adolescentise cupiditates : quae si ita erumpunt, ut nullius vitam labefactent, nullius doi/.um evertant, faciles et tolerabiles haberi solent. Sed tu mihi videbare ex communi infamia juventutis, aliquam invidiam Coelio velle con- flare ; itaque omne illud silentium, quod est orationi tributuni tuse, fuit ob earn causam, quod uno reo propositio, de multorum vitiis cogitabamus. Facile est accusare luxuriem ; dies jam me deficiet, si, quse dici in earn sententiam possunt, coner expro- mcre ; de corruptelis, de adulteriis, de protervitate, de sumpti- bus, immensa oratio est ut tibi reum neminem, sed vitia pro- ponas ; res tamen ipsa et copiose et graviter accusari potest. Sed vestrse sapientise est, judices, non abduci ab reo : nee quos acu- leos habeat severitas gravitasque vestra, cum eos accusator erex- erit in rem, in vitia r in mores, in tempora, emittere in homi- nerfl, et in reum : cum is non suo crimine, sed multorum vitio sit in quoddam odium injustum vocatus. Itaque severitati tuse, ut oportet, ita respondere won audeo : erat enim meum depre- cari vacationem adolescentise, veniamque petere : non,' inquam T audeo : perfugiis non utor setatis : concessa omnibus jura dimit- to : tantum peto, ut, si qua est invidia communis hoc tempore seris alieni, petulantise, libidinum juventutis, quam video esse magnam, ne huic aliena peccata, ne setatis ac temporum vitia noceant. Atque ego idem, qui hsec postulo, quin criminibus, quee in hunc proprie conferuntur, diligentissime respondeam, non recuse (20) ^ui Baias viderit.'] Baise was in Campania, between Puteoli and Mifenunf. It was frequented at certain feafons of the year, by people of fafhion from all parta of Italy, being famous for fpringsof warm water, where they ufed to bathe. eiCERO^S ORATIONS 3£3 f*. Clodius,(he exerted himself indeed with great vehemence., seemed all on fire, spoke loud, and with great acrimony ; but 1 was under no great apprehensions from what he said, though I was pleased with his eloquence ; for I had seen him in other causes wrangling to no purpose.*) But, with your leave BaJbus, I will answer you first, if 1 may be allowed, if I may take up- on me to defend a man who never refused a banquet of any kind, who deals in perfumes, and who has been at Baize. Sect. XII. I have seen and heard of many in this city, who having not only just tasted this way of life, and, as we say, touched it with their finger-ends ; but having prostituted the whole of their youth to pleasure, have at last extricated them- selves, become, according to the common saying, good hus- bands, and proved men of worth and eminence. Some diver- sions are allowed this age by all ; and nature herself bestows passions on youth with a lavish hand ; which, in their sallies, if they endanger no one's life, demolish no one's house, are looked upon as moderate and tolerable. But from the common vices of youth, you seemed to me to aim at bringing an odium upon Ccelius. Accordingly, all the profound silence with which your speech was heard, was owing to this, that our thoughts were led, from a single instance, to the general corruption of the times. But nothing is more easy than to bring a charge against luxury ; and night would overtake me, should I attempt to advance whatever may be said upon that subject : corruption of manners, adulteries, wantoness, and extravagance, furnish out an ample field for declamation. To attack vice in general, without accusing any person, would be a copious and weighty subject. But your wisdom, my lords, is concerned, not to lose sight of the accused, nor when the prosecutor has given an edge to your severity and gravity against things, against vices, against immoralities, against the times, to point it against a man, against one who is accased before you, and who is brought un- der an unjust odium, not for any personal crime, but for the vices of the multitude. I dare not therefore, return such an answer to your severity as it deserves : for I meant to inter- cede for youth, and to plead for some indulgence to their follies : I say I dare not : I renounce the rights that are al- lowed to all, I shall not avail myself of the privileges of youth ; all I desire is, that, if the contracting of debts, if arrogance, if youthful debaucheries lie at present under a general odium, a« I see they do, the vices of others, nor the depravity of the times, maybe no prejudice to Ccelius. At the same time that I ask this, I am far from refusing to return an exact answer to the personal accusations that are brought against him*) A 26 M. T. CICERONIS ORATIONES, XIII. Sunt autem duo crimina, auri et veneni ; in quibus una atque eadem persona versatur. Aurum sumptum a Clodi& venenum qusesitum, quod Clodise daretur, dicitur ; omnia sunt alia, non crimina, sed maledicta, jurgii petulantis magis, quam publico qusestionis ; adulter, impudicus, sequester, con? vicium est, non accusatio ; nullum est enim fundamentum ho- rum criminum, nulla sedes ; voces sunt contumeliosse, temere ab irato accusatore, nullo auctfcre, emissse. Horum duorum cri- minum video fontem, video auctorem, video certum nomen et caput ; auro opus fuit : sumpsit a Clodia, sumpsit sine teste, ha? buit quamdiu voluit ; maximum video signum cujusdam egre- gise famiiiaritatis ; necare eandem voluit, qusesivit venenum, solicitavit quos potuit, paravit, locum constituit, attulit ; mag- num rursus odium video cum crudelissimo diseidio extitisse, Res est ononis in hac causa nobis, judices, cum Clodia, muliere non solum nobili, sed etiam nota, de qua ego nihil dicam, nisi depellendi criminis causa. Sed intelligis pro tua prsestanti prudentia, Cn. Domiti, cum hac sola rem esse nobis : quse si se aurum Ccelio commodasse non dicit, si venenum ab hoc sib} paratum esse non arguit ; petulanter facimus, ( 2I ) si matrem- familiassecus, quam matronarum sanctitas postulat, nominamus ; sin ista muliere remota, nee crimen ullum, nee opes ad oppugn nandum Coelium illis relinquentur, quid est aliud quod nos pa- troni Facer e debeamus nisi ut eos, qui insectantur, repellamus ? quod quidem facerem vehementius, nisi intercederent mihi ini? micitia? ( az ) cum istius mulieris viro ; fratrem volui dicere : semper hie erro. Nunc agam modice, nee longius progrediar, quam me mea fides, et causa ipsa coget ; neque enim muliebres unquam inimicitias mihi gerendas putavi, prsesertim cum ea, quam omnes semper amicam omnium potius quam cujusquam inimicam putaverunt. XIY. Sed tamen ex ipsa quseram prius, utrum me secum se- vere, et graviter, et prisce agere malit ; an remisse, ac leniter, et urbane ; si illo austero more ac modo : aliquis mihi ab inferis excitandus est, ex barbatis illis, non hac barbula qua ista delec- tatur, sed ilia horrida quam in statuis antiquis et imaginibus vi- demus : qui objurget mulierem, et pro meloquatur, ne ista mihi forte succenseat. Exsistat igitur ex hac ipsa familia aliquis, ac potissimum. (23) Csecus ille ; minimum enim dolorem capiet, qui r (fcl) Si matrem~familias fecus) quam matronarum Janctitas, pojlulat nominamus,~\ Some critics diftinguifh between mater-Jamilias and matrona ; but that they were ufed promifcuoufly among the R.omans, tofignifya lady of a chafte reputation, appears from this, and other places of Cicero's writings. {22) Cum ijlius mulieris viro.] P. Clodius is here meant, an abandoned debauchee^ ?vho according to Plutarch, was guilty of inceft with each of his three fillers. cicero's ORATIONS. ' 322T Sect. XIII. He is charged with two ; one concerning gold, another concerning poison ; and both relate to the same person. It is said that gold was borrowed of Clodia, and that poison was prepared to give her. Whatever else is advanced, is only scan- dal, not accusation, and more proper for a scolding bout than a public trial. To call one an adulterer, a debauchee, a pimp, is to scandalize, not to accuse him ; there is no ground for such accusations : they are abusive terms, rashly thrown out by an angry prosecutor, without any foundation/) As to these two charges, I see the source^ I see the author, I see the true cause and principle of them. Coslius wanted gold ; he borrowed of Clodia ; he borrowed it without witnesses, and kept it as long as he pleased *, these are clear proofs of a great intimacy. He had a mind to kill Clodia ; he looked out for poison ; he solicited every person he could ; he prepared it ; he appointed the place ; he brought it. Here again I can perceive great hatred, with a most violent quarrel. In this cause, my lords, we have only to do with Clodia ; a woman not only noble, but also well known ; concerning whom I shall say nothing but what is ne- cessary for refuting the accusation. But, Cn. Domitius, 'tis easy for one of your great discernment, to see that our business is with her alone : if she says that she lent no gold to Ccelius ,* if she does not accuse him of having prepared poison for her, we are impertinent in mentioning the mother of a family in a manner different from what the honour of matrons requires. But if, setting Clodia aside, our adversaries will have neither an accusation to bring against Codius, nor any means left of attack- ing him, what else is incumbent upon us who are his advocates, but to repulse those who attack us ? And this indeed I would do with vigour, were it not for the animosity that subsists between me and that lady's husband % J meant to say her brother ; I always fall into that mistake. (Now I will act gently, lest I exceed the bounds wliich my duty, and the cause I am defending, prescribe to me : for I have always thought it in- cumbent upon me, to avoid being on bad terms with the ladies, especially with Clodia, who has always had the character of being rather good-natured to every body, than an enemy to any.J Sect. XIV. But first I will ask herself, whether she would have me deal with her in a severe, solemn, old-fashioned man- ner, or in a soft, gentle, and courteous one. If in the austere manner, I must summon up from the shades some of those gen- tlemen with long beards, and not with such a young one as she is fond of, but with a rough one, such as we see in old statues and images, to reprove the lady, and speak in my stead, lest she should happen to be angry with me. {Xet one of her own family then rise up, and blind Appius rather than any other ; 328 M. T. CICERONIS OKATIONES. istam non videbit ; qui profecto si extiterit, sic aget, ct sic lo- quetur : Mulier, quid tibi cum Ccelio ? quid cum homine adole- -scentulo ? quid cum alieno ? cur aut tarn familiaris huic fuisti, ut aurum commodares ; aut tarn inimica, ut venerium timeres ? non .patrem tuum videras ? non patruum, non avum, proavum, atavum audieras consules fiiisse ? non denique modo te Quinti Metelli matrimonium tenuisse sciebas, clarissimi et fortissimi viri, patriseque amantissimi, qui simul ac pedem limine extule- rat, omnes prope cives virtute, gloria, dignitate superabat ? ©cui £um ex amplissimo genere in familiam clarissiman nupsisses, cur tibi Coelius tarn conjunctus fuit ? cognatus ? affinis ? viri tui familiaris ? nihil horum ; quid igitur fuit, nisi qusedam teme- ritas ac libido I nonne te, si nostrae imagines viriles non com- movebant, ne progenies quidem mea (**) Q, ilia Clodia, semu- lam domesticse laudis in gloria muliebri esse admonebat ? non virgp ilia vestalis Clodia, quse patrem complexa triumphantem ab inimico tribuno plebis de curru detrahi passa non est ? cur te fraterna vitia potius, quam bona paterna, et avita, et usque a nobis cum in viris, turn etiam in foeminis repetita moverunt ? (*5) Ideo-ne ego pacem Pyrrhi diremi, ut tu amorum turpissi- morum quotidie fcedera ferires ? (»6) ideo aquam adduxi, ut ea tu inceste uterere ? ideo viam munivi, ut earn tu alienis viris comitata celebrares t XV. Sed cuiid ego, judices, ita gravem personam induxi, ut et verear, ne se idem Appius repente convertat, et Coelium, in- cipiat accusare ilia sua gravitate censoria ? Sed videro hoc pos- terius, atque ita judices, ut vel severissimis diceptatoribus (23) Cacus ille.] Nothing could fet Clodia's infamy in a clearer or ftronger point •f view, or more powerful! y affected the minds of the audience, than the artful man- ner in which Cicero here contrails her character with that of her illuftrious anceftors. Her family was one of the moil confiderable in Rome, and the perfon introduced to expoftulate with her was old Appius Claudius, a famous orator and civilian, who loft his fight in the latter part of his life. (24) Quintet Ma Clodia.'] When Scipio Nafica wet to meet the goddefs Cybele, who w as brought to •Rome towards the end of the fecond Punic war, he was attended by fuch of the ladies of Rome, as were in the higleil veneration for their virtue. Some of the veftals likewife accompanied him, and particularly this Quinta Clodia ; 01 whom it isr #ated, that when the velTel, in which the goddefs was imported, unfortunately ftruck upon a bank of fand near the mouth of the Fyber, and neither the mariners, nor feveral yoke of oxen, were able to move it, (he, pulling it only by her girdle tied to it, eafily fet it afloat. Clodia is faid to have been fufpe&ed of incontinence; and, it is added, that this miracle was wrought in anfwer of her prayer to the goddefs., to give a teftimony of her innocence. (25) Ideo-ne ego facem Pyrrhi diremi.] When Cyneas was fent by Pyrrhus to the Ro- man fenate with propofals of peace, he found feveral of the confeript fathers difpofed to accept them. Appius, who had for fome time retired from all public bufinefs, and confined himfelf wholly to his family, on account of his great age and the lofs of hi* fight, upon hearing the report of what paffed iu the fenate, caufed himfelf to be carried CICERO T S ORATIONS. .129 for, as he catffeot see her, his grief will be the less! Were he to appear, he would behave thus, and address her in the following manner : Woman I what is thy business with Coelius ? what with a boy? what with a stranger? Why was you either so intimate with him as to lend him money, or so much his enemy as to be afraid of being poisoned by him ? hast thou not seen thy father in the consulship ? not heard that thy uncle, thy grand- father, thy great grandfather, and his father were consuls ? Art thou ignorant that Q. Metellus was thy husband, a man of the greatest eminence and bravery, and a distinguished patriot, who no sooner appeared in a public character, than he surpassed almost all his countrymen in glory, merit, and dignity f After being married into so illustrious a family, thyself too nobly de- scended, whv was Coelius so intimate with thee ? Was he thy relation ? thy kinsman ? thy husband's intimate ? He was none of all these. What then could be the reason, but indiscretion and lust I If the images of the men of our family did not move thee, ought not my daughter Q. Clodia to have excited m thy breast an emulation of her domestic virtues, the chief glory of a woman ? Ought not that Clodia, the vestal virgin, who, embracing her father in his triumphal car, would not suffer a: tribune of the people, who was his enemy, to tear him from it ? Why dost thou imitate the vices of a brother, rather than the virtues of a father, a grandfather, of a whole family from me downward, both males and females ? Did I hinder my country from entering into a peace with Pyrrhus, that you might daily enter into engagements of infamous amours I Did I supply the city with water, that you might use it for the purposes of im- purity ? Did I make a high- way to be frequented by you and your gallants I jp Sect. XV. But what's this I am doing, my lords ? I have in- troduced so venerable a character, that I am afraid lest the same Appius should turn against Coelius of a sudden, and accuse him with his censorial gravity. But I shall speak to that by and by ? and in such a manner, my lords, that I natter myself I sail- vin- in the arms of his domeftics to the fenate-houfe, where by an animated fpeech, he f* awakened the Roman fpirit in the fensttors. that without farther debate they unani- imoufly pafsed a decree iuftantly to difmits the ambafrador with this anfwer : That the Romans "would enter into no treaty ivitb king Pyrrhus se long as he continued in Italy ; but with all their firength ivould purfue the war againji him, though he Jhould vanquijh a thouj'and Lavinus s. (lb) Ideoaquam adduxi idea viam munivi ? The firft invention of the Roman aqus- dudts isat'nbutedto Appius, who brought wat^rinro Rome, in the year nf tht cit. 44». by a channel of eleven miles in length. Hehkewife built the famous Via Afpia which took its name from him : a confi ierable part of this extraordinary w>rk Itiil remains, and though it haslafted above two rhoufand years, is, in moil places,for feveral mile^ together, as entire as when it was firfl made. 33d M. T. CICERONIS ORATIONES. # M. Coelii vitam me probaturum esse confidam. Tu vero, mulier; (jam enim ipse tecum nulla persona introducta loqiior ) ; si ea quae facis, quse dicis, quse insimulas, quae moliris, qua? arguis, probare cogitas ; rationem tantse familiaritatis, tantse consue- tudinis, tantse conjunctionis reddas atque exponas necesse est. Accusatores quidem libidines, amores, adulteria, Baias, actas, * convivia, comessationes, cantus, symphonias, navigia jactant : iidemque significant, nihil se y te invita, dicere ; quae tu, quoniam mente nescio qua effrenata atque preecipiti in forum deferri judiciumque voluisti, aut diluas oportet, et falsa esse doceas, aut nihil neque crimini tuo, neque testimonio credendum esse fateare. Sin autem urbanius me agere mavis> sic agam tecum ; removebo ilium senem durum, ae pene agrestem : ex hisqu tuis sumam aliquem, ac potissimum minimum fratrem tuum qui est in isto genere urbanissimus, qui te amat plurimum : qui propter nescio quam, credo, timiditatem, et nocturnos quosdam inanes metus, tecum semper pusio cum majore sorore cubitavit ; cum putato tecum loqui : Quid tumultuaris, soror ? quid insanis ? quid clamore exorsa, verbis parvam rem magnam facis ? vicinum adolescentulum adspexisti : candor hujus te et proceritas, vultus* oculique perpulerunt : ssepius videre voluistr : nonnunquam in iisdem hortis visa nobilis mulier : ilium filium familias patre parco ac tenaci, habere tuis copiis devinctum non potes : cal^ citrat, respuit, non putat tua dona esse tanti ; confer te alio ; habes hortos at Tiberim: ac diligenter eo loco prseparasti, quo omnis juventus natandi causa venit : hinc licet conditiones quo~ tidie legas : cur huic, qui te spernit, molesta es ? XVI. Redeonunc ad te, Coeli, vicissim, ac mihi auctoritatem patriam severitatemque suscipio ; sed dubito, quern patrem potissimum sumam. (2-7) Csecilianum-ne aliquem, vehementem atque durum ? Nunc enim demummihi animus ardet, nunc meum cor cumulatur ira : aut ilium, infelix I seleste I Ferrei sunt isti patres. Ego-ne quid dicam P ego-ne quid velim P qua tu emnia tuis fcedis factis^ ut nequidquam velim. Yix ferenda diceret talis pater. Cur te in istam vicinitatem meretriciam con- tulisti P cur illecebris cognitis non refugisti P cut alienem ullam mulierem nosti P dide ac dissice, per me licebit : si e^gebis y tibi dolebit : mihi sat est> qui cetatis quod reliquum est oblectem mece. Huic tristi ac decrepito seni responderit, Ccelius, se nulla cu- (zj) Cac'dianum-ne aliquem > vehementem atque durum ?\ This Csecilius Was a comic po- et, mott of whofc characters were of the grave and ruorofe kind. Cicero's oration^ S3 4 dicate the character of M. Ocellus, to the satisfaction even of the severest judges. As for you, Clodio, (for I. now speak to you myself, without introducing a feigned character) ; if you think of proving your actings, your words, your accusations, your fictions, your affirmations, there is a necessity for your declaring the cause of .this great familiarity, this great friendship, this great intimacy. Our accusers talk loudly of debaucheries, amours* adulteries, baths, banquets, collations, songs, con- certs, and pleasure-boats : while at the same time they give out, that they saw nothing without your directions. All this, as> your violent and wayward humor has brought you into the forum and before the court, you must either disown and show to be false, or allow that no credit is due either to yOur accu- sation or your testimony. But if you would have me deal more courteously with you, I will do it thus : I will remove that rigid and most savage old man, and make choice of one of these kinsmen of yours ; your youngest brother rather than any other, who is perfectly polite in his way, who is very fond of you, who, from an unaccountable kind of timidity, and being subject, I imagine, to fears in the night-time, has always lain with you, like a little master, as he is, with his eldest sister. Suppose him. then to address you thus : Why do yoti make all this noise and bustle, sister . ? why are you in this fury ? why do you swell such a trifle into a matter of importance by your clamour. You have cast your eyes on a young neighbour ; his complexion, his figure, his air, his eyes have charmed you / you have been fond of seeing him often ; you have been seen sometimes in the same gardens with him, a woman of your distinction ; with all your riches you cannot engage him, though still under the tuition of a griping stingy father :■■ he spurns, he disdains, he slights your presents. Betake yourself to some other place : you have gardens nigh the Tiber, and have been at great pains to fit iny an appartment near the place where all our youth go to bathe ; from thence you have an opportunity every day of gratifying' yourself ; why are you troublesome to one who despises you* Sect. XYI. I come now to you, Coelius, in ycur turn, and assume the authority of a father ; but I know not what father I shall personate : shall it be one of Cseciiius's passionate, rigid fathers ? .-—Now?ny soul is all on fire, and my breast swells -with passion. — Or shall I assume the character of that other . ? O zvretch ! profligate ! These fathers have hearts of steel.— What shall I say P What shall I propose P Tour infamous deeds defeat all my purposes. The reproofs of such a father would be almost intolerable. Why did you go into the neighborhood of a prostitute f Why, knowing her seducing charms did you not retire P Why be familiar with another'* s zvife P Squander and dissipate your for- " S2 S32 M. T. ClCr.PvONIS ORAl'lONES. piditate inductum de via decessisse. Quid signi ? nulli sumptus, nulla jactura, nulla versura. At fuit fama. Quotusquisque istam effugere potest in tarn maledica civitate ? vicinum ejus mulieris miraris male audisse, cujus frater gernfanus sermones iniquorum effugerenon potuit . ? Leni vero et clementi patri, cu- jusmodi ille est : Fores ejf re git P restituentur : discidit vestem f resarcietur. Ccelii causa est expeditissima. Quid enim esset, in quo se non facile defenderet ? Nihil jam in istam mulierem dico : C 2% J sed si esset aliqua dissimilis istius, quse se omnibus pervulgaret, quse haberet palam decretum semper aliquem, cu- jus inhortos, domum, Baias, jure suo libidines omnium comme- ■ rent ; quae etiam aleret adolescentes, et parsimoniam patrum suis sumptibus sustentaret : si vidua libere, proterva petulanter, dives effuse, libidinosa meretricio more viveret ; adulterum ego putarem, si quis hanc paullo liberius salutasset? XVI J. Dicet aliquis, Htec igitur est tua disciplina ? sic tu instituis adolescentes ? ob hanc causam tibi hunc pucrum parens commendavit et tradidit, ut in amore et voluptatibus adole- scentiam suam collocaret ,* et hanc tu vitam atque hsec studia defenderes ? Ego, si quis, judices, hoc robore animi, atque hac indole virtutis ac continentise fuit, ut respueret omnes volup- tates, omnemque vitse suse cursum in labore corporis, atque in' animi contentione conficeret ; quern non quies, non remissio, non sequalium studia, non ludi, non convivia delectarent ; nihil in vit& expetendum putaret, nisi quod esset cum laude et cum dignitate conjunctum ; hunc mea sententia divinis quibusdam bonus instructum atque ornatum puto. Ex hoc genere illos fuisse arbitror (29) Camillos, Fabricios, Curios, omnesque eos qui ha?c ex minimis tanta fecerunt. Verum hsec genera virtutum & on solum in moribus nostris, sed vixjamin libris reperiuntur, (2% J Sedsiejfet aliqua difflmilis istius."] Cicero in this paffage, while he affects t» introduce another character, paints that of Clodia in the ftrongeft colours. (19) Camillos, Fabricios 1 Curios,] Camillus was a captain of great valour and capa- city- He was malicioufly accufed of having taken to his own ufe fome part of the fpoil of the city Veii. and to avoid the difgrace of a condemnation, banifhed himfelf. Not long after, when Rome was burnt by the Gauls, and the capital invejled, this generous Roman, more afflicted at the calamities of his country than at his own banifhment, came to her afsiftance while fhe was treating about a peace, broke off the treaty, and lb totally vanquished and deftroyed the enemy, that not a man was left to carry home the news of their difafter. Fabricius was one of the three ambafsadors fent by the Ro- mans to treat with Pyrrhus, about a releafe of prifoners ; he was a man of diflinguifhed virtue, a brave and able warior, and extremely poor. Curius was remarkable for living in a voluntary poverty ; He triumphed over the Samnites, and in the diftribution of their lands^among thofe Romans who had none of their own, allotted to each man no more than feven acres, and accepted no more himfelf, though a much larger portion was offered him. He laid, that to preferve the Roman frugality, it were to be wifhed fhat qq man had more land than was necei'-.ary for his subfi(le«ce» CICERO'S ORATIONS. 333 tune, you may for me ; if you are reduced to zvant, \ti& yourself must suffer ; as for me, I have enough to render the short remain. der of mij life comfortable. To this severe and decripid old man C celi as might answer, that he had not deviated from the path of his dutv through any irregular passion. But how does this appear ? Why I was not extravagant in my expenses, I sustained no losses, contracted no debts. But it was reported that you had. Who can guard against reports in a city so much addicted to scandal ? Are you surprised that a neighbour of this lady had reputation attacked, when her own brother could not escape : lash of malicious tongues I But before a mild and indulgent father, who should talk in the following manner : Has he broke doors ? let them be repaired : has he torn a garment ? let it mended : the cause of Codius may very easily be defended, ror what article is there, upon which he might not easily vindi- cate himself? I say nothing now against that lady : but should there be one of a different character from hers, who should prostitute herself to all ; who should always have some one or other to bestow her favours upon, and that publicly ; whose houses, gardens, baths, should be thrown open for the purposes of promiscuous lewdness ; nay, who should maintain young men, and employ her money in making amends for the scanty allow- ances of griping fathers y_ if such a lady should live licentiously- in her widowhood, show the lewdness of her disposition by the wantoness of her dehaviour, use her riches for the purposes of extravagance, and if her hist should lead her to prostitution, can that man be thought an adulterer, who shall be pretty free in his addresses to her^ Sect. XVII. But some person will be ready to say, What \ are these then your instructions ? Is it thus you educate youth ? Was it for tnis that Ccelius was recommended to you when & boy, and delivered up to your care by his father, that he might spend his younger years in amours and pleasures I Are you become an advocate for such pursuits, and for such a course of life ? If there is a person, my lords, of such firmness of mind, of such a bias to virtue and temperance, as to reject all pleasures, and make his whole life one continued scene of bodily toils and mental efforts ; one for whom neither repose, nor amusement, nor the pursuits of his equals, nor diversions, nor banquetings, have -any charms ; who thinks nothing de- sirable in life but what is glorious and honourable ; he is, in my opinion, furnished and adorned with qualities more than human. Such, I apprehend, were the Camilli, the Fabricii, the Curii, and all those who have raised this empire to such a height of grandeur from so small a beginning. But such exalted virtues are not to be found in the manners of the present times, 334 M. T. CICERONIS ORATIONS*. chartfe quoque, quse illam pristinam severitatem, continebant obsoleverunt : neque solum apudnos,qui hanc sectam rationem- que vitse, tii magis quam verbis secuti sumus ; sed etiam apud Grsecos, doctissimos homines ; quibus, cum facere non possent, loqui tamen et scribere honeste et magnifice licebat. Alia quse- dam, mutatis Grseciae temporibus, prsecepta exstiterunt. Ita= que (30) alii voluptatis causa omnia sapientes facere dixerunt ; neque ab hac orationis turpitudine eruditi homines refuge- runt ; alii cum voluptate dignitatem conjungendam putaverunt, ut res maxime inter se repugnantes dicendi facultate conjun- gerent. Illud unum ad laudem cum labore directum iter qui probaverunt, probe jam soli in scholis sunt relicti ,* multa enini nobis blandimenta natura ipsa genuit, quibus sopita virtus con- niveret : et interdum multas vias adolescentise lubricas ostendit, quibus ilia insistere, aut ingredi sine casu aliquo aut prolapsione vix posset : et multarum rerum jucundissimarum varietatem de- dit, qua non modo haec setas, sed etiam jam corroborata capere- tur. Quamobrem siquem forte inveneritis, qui aspernetur ocu- lis pulchritudinem rerum, non odore ullo, non tactu, non sapore capiatur, excludat auribus omnem suavitatem ; huic homini ego fortasse et pauci deos propitios, plerique autem iratos putabunt. XVIII. Ergo hssc deserta via, et inculta, atque interclusa jam frondibus et virgultis relinquatur : detur aliquid setati : sit adole- scentia liberior : non omnia voluptatibus denegentur : non semper superet vera ilia et directa ratio : vincat aliquando cupiditas vo- luptasque rationem ; dummodo ilia in hoc genere prsescriptio, moderatioque teneatur : parcat juventus pudicitise suae, ne spo- liet alienam : ne effundat patrimonium, ne fosnore trucidetur, ne incurrat in alterius domum atque famam : ne probrum castis, la- bem integris, infamiam bonis, inferat : ne quern vi terreat : ne intersit insidiis : scelere careat : f3ij postremd, cum paruerit voluptatibus, dederit aliquid temporis ad ludum setatis, atque ad (30) Alii 'voluptatis caufa omnia sapientes facere dixerunt. [The Epicureans are here meant, to whofe doctrines Cicero was a declared enemy, as looking upon it as perni- cious to fociety, and deftructive of morality. (51J Poitrf.tr cum paruerit voluptatibus^ As Cicero may appear toibme to be an ad« vocate for iibertinifm in this oration, and to plead for too much indulgence to the vi- ces and follies of youth, it ought to be confidered that his orations are not always the proper vouchres of his opinions, being moftly of the judicial kind, or the pleadings of an advocate, whofe bufinefs it was to make the beft of his caufe, and to deliver, not fo much what was true, as what was ufeful to his client ; the patronage of truth be- longing in fuch cafes to the judge, and not to the pleader. It would be abfurd there- fore to require a fcrupulous veracity, or ftrict declaration of his fentiments in them; the thing does not admit of it, and he himfelf forbids us to expect it. In his oration for Cluentius, he freely declares the true nature of all his judicial pleadings. That man fays he, is much mistaken, ivbo thinks, that in tbefc judicial pleadings, he has an authentic Jpe- simen of our opinions ; they are the fpeeches of the caufes and the times, not of the men or of ,b; advocates ; if the caufes c.uld fpeak for themfelvet , no body -would emplry an orator ; €ICERO ? S ORATIONS. 335 nay scarce indeed in their writings. The very books that con- tained this ancient severity, are become antiquated, not only among us who have followed this manner of life more by our actions than by our words, but likewise among the Greeks, that very learned nation ; who, when they could not practise such rigid virtue, were still at liberty to praise it highly both in speak- ing and writing. Since this change in Greece, a different set of philosophers has arisen. Some of them maintain, that the wise do every thing for the sake of pleasure ; and even their learned men talk in this shameful manner. Others have thought that honour is to be joined with pleasure, that by their eloquence they might unite things so very opposite in their natures. Those who affirm that labour is the only path that leads to glory, are almost left alone within their schools. |For nature herself \ has furnished us with many allurements which overpower vir- tue, and lull her asleep ; she points out from time to time many slippery paths to youth, in which they, can neither stand nor walk, but they are in danger of falling, or making some false step ,* and such is the variety of delightful objects wherewith she presents us, that not only the early part, but the most ro- bust and confirmed period of life, is liable to be seduced by it. If you happen then to find one whose eye despises beauty, to whom the richest odours can give no delight, who is indifferent to the most exquisite pleasures his sense of feeling renders him capable of, whose palate refuses to be gratified, and whose ears are deaf to harmony ; I perhaps, and a few others, may think that the gods have been favourable to such a person, but the generality will think they have been cruel to him, Sect. XYIII. Let us quit then this unfrequented and rugged path,, which is now covered with briers and bushes; let some allowances be made to youth ; let more liberty be granted it ; let pleasure be sometimes indulged; let not pure and unbiassed reason always prevail; let passion and pleasure sometimes ob- tain the victory, provided they be kept within the bounds of moderation ; let the young man be tender of his own chastity, and not violate that of another ; let him not squander his for- tune, nor ruin himself by mortgages, nor attack the house nor the reputation of another ; let him bring no stain upon the chaste, no reproach upon the uncorrupted, no dishonour upon the worthy ; let him terrify none by open force, nor hurt them by secret contrivances ; let him be free from crimes : and after having indulged in pleasure, and spent some part of his time in the diversions and trifling pursuits of youth, let him at last butive are employed to fpeai, not ivbat ive would undertake to affirm upon our authority , but what is fuggejlcd by the thing andcaufe it/elf. 336 M. T. CICKRONIS ORATIONES. inanes hasce adolescentise cupiditates : revocet se aliquando ad curamrei domestical, rei forensis, reipublicae : ut ea, quse ra- tione antea non perspexerat, satietate abjecisse, experiendo contempsisse videatur. Ac multi et nostra, et patrum, majo- rumque memoria, judices, summi homines, et clarissimi, cives fuerunt, quorum cum adolescentife cupiditates deferbuissent, eximiae virtutes, firmata jam setate, exstiterunt : ex quibus ne- minem mihi necesse est nominare ; vosmet vobiscum recorda- mini ; nolo enim cujusquam fortis atque illustris viri ne mini- mum quidem erratum cum maxima laude conjungere ; quod si facere vellem, multi a me summi atque ornatissimi viri prsedi- carentur, quorum partim nimia libertas in adolescentia, partim profusa luxuries, magnitudo seris alieni, sumptus, libidines no- minarentur : quse multis postea virtutibus obtecta, adolescentise, qui vellet, excusatione defenderet. XIX. At vero in M. Coelio (dicam enim jam confidentius dd studiis ejus honestis, quoniam audeo qusedam fretus vestra sa- pientia libere confiteri) nulla luxuries reperietur, nulli sumptus, nullum ses alienum, nulla conviviorum ac lustrorum libido ; quod quidem vitium ventris et gutturis non modo non minuit jetas hominibus, sed etiam auget. Amores autem, et hae delicise quae vocantur, quae firmiore animo prseditis diutius molestae non solent esse (mature enim et celeriter deflorescunt) nunquam hunc occupatum impeditumque tenuerunt. Audistis, cum pro Be diceret : audistis antea, cum accusaret : defendendi haec cau- sa, non gloriandi loquor ; genus orationis, facultatem, copiam sententiarum atque verborum, quae vestra prudentia est, per- spexistis. Atque in eo non solum ingenium elucere ejus vide- batis ; quod saepe, etiamsi industria non alitur, valet tamen ip- sum suis viribus : sed inerat (nisi me propter benevolentiam forte fallebat) ratio et bonis artibus instituta et cura et virgiliis elaborata. Atque scitote, judices, eas cupiditates quae objici- untur Coelio, atque haec studia de quibus disputo, (3^) non fa- cile in eodem homine esse posse : fieri enim non potest, ut ani- mus libidini deditus, amore, desiderio, cupiditate, saepe nimia copia, inopia, etiam nonnunquam impeditus, hoc quidquid est, quod nos facimus in dicendo, non modo agendo, verum etiam cogitando, possit sustinere. An vos aliam causam esse ullam putatis, cur in tantis praemiis eloquentia?, tanta voluptate dicendi, (^) Non facile in eodem homine ejfe poJfe."\ What is here advanced muft be looked up- •n not as the orator's real fentiments, but as fomething specious thrown out in order to make the beft of his caufe. Had it been neceflary, Cicero could eaftly have produ- ced a variety of characters wherein gallantry and application to ftudy and bufinefs were united : and indeed a moderate acquaintance with the world will (how that tkere is in fa& no inconliftcLce between them. cicero's orations. 337 recall his thoughts to his private concerns, to those of the fo- rum, and to those of the state, that what he had not before viewed with the eye of reason, he may seem to have rejected through satiety, and to have slighted from experience. And indeed there have been many great and eminent men, my lords, in our own days, and in the days of our fathers and forefathers, wha, after the heat of youthful passion has abated, have, in the maturity of age, displayed the most sublime and illustrious vir- tues. It is needless for me to name any of them, you your- selves can recollect them ; for I will not blend even the slightest failing of any brave and illustrious man with his great- est praise. "Were I disposed to do it, I could mention many great and celebrated persons, some of whom, however, were, in the early part of life, very licentious, others profusely lux- ui'ious, some involved in debt, others extravagant and de- bauched : but these miscarriages, being covered afterwards by- many virtues, might be defended by any one, by pleading their youth. Sect. XIX. As to M. Ccelias, (for, now that relying on your wisdom, I have readily acknowledged some of his indiscretions, I will speak with more boldness of his virtuous pursuits), it will be found that he has never been luxurious, never extravagant, never in debt, never passionately fond of voluptuous banquet- ings, or places of bad fame. For lust and intemperance are so far from being diminished, that they are increased by age. But as to amours, and what we call gallantry, which generally do not long disturb those who are endued with any firmness of mind (for they soon decay), these never fettered, never en- grossed him. You heard him when he pleaded his own cause ; you heard him before, when he accused Palla : I say this to de- fend him, and not to boast of him : you observed, such is your discernment, his manner of pleading, his great readiness, and the richness of his sentiments and language. You saw in him, not only the brightness of genius, which is often powerful of it- self without the aids of industry ; but, if my friendship for him does not bias me, there likewise appeared in whit he said, a great deal of judgment and understanding, such a3 showed both an acquaintance with the liberal arts and sciences, and great di- ligence and application. And knew, my lords, that it is scarce possible for such passions as Coelius is charged with and the studies I speak of, to be united in the same person. For it is impossible that a mind abandoned to lewdness, enslaved by amours, by desire, by passion, often embarrassed by too great abundance, and some- times by want, can either exert that activity, 01 bestow thatintense- ness of thought, that is necessary to perform what we do in elo- quence, how little soever it may be. Can any other reason be as- signed, do vou imagine, why the number of those who apply ty 338 ft. T. CICERONIS ORATIONES* tanta laude, tanta gloria, tanto honore, tarn sint pauci, senv perque fuerint, qui in hoc labore versentur ? Omittendse sunt omnes voluptares ; relinquenda studia delectation is ; ludus, jo- cus, convivium, sermo etiam penc omnium familiarium dese- rendus ; quae res in hoc genere homines a labore, studioque dicendi deterret ; non quo aut ingenia deficiant, aut doctrina puerilis. An hie, si sese isti vitse dedisset, consularem homi- nem adraodum adolescens in judicium vocavisset ? hie, si labo- rem fugeret, si obstrictus voluptatibus teneretur, in hac acie quotidie versaretur ? appeteret inimicitias ? in judicium vocaret ? subiret periculum capitis ? ipso inspectante populo Romano, tot menses aut de salute, aut de gloria dimicaret I XX. Nihil igitur ilia vicinitas redolet ? nihil hominum fama ? nihil Baise denique ipsse loquuntur ? Illse vero non loquuntur so- lum, verum etiam personam, hue unius mulieris libidinem esse prolapsam, ut ea non modo solitudinem, ac tenebras, atque hsec flagitiorum integunrenta non quserat, sed in turpissimis re- bus frequeiitissima celebritate et clarissima luce lsetetur. Verum si quis est, (33) qui etiam meretricjis amoribus interdictum ju- ventuti putet, est ille quidem valde severus ; negare non pos- sum ; sed abhorret non modo ab hujus seculi licentia, verum etiam a ma jorum consuetudine, atque concessis, quando enim hoc non factum est ? quando reprehensum ? quando non per- missum ? quando denique fuit, ut, quod licet, non liceret ? Hie ego jam rem deiiniam : mulierem nullam nomihabo ; tantum in medio relinquam. Si quae non nupta mulier domum suam pa- tefecerit omnium cupiditati, palamque sese in meretricia vita col- locarit, virorum alienissimorum conviviis Uti instituerit : si hoc in urbe, si in hortis, si in Baiarum ilia celebritate faciet : si denique ita sese geret, non incessu solum, sed ornatu atque comitatu ; non flagranti a ocidorum, non libertate sermonis, sed etiam complexu, osculatione, aquis, navigatione, conviviis, ut non solum meretrix, sed etiam procax videatur : cum hac si quis adolescens forte fuerit, utrum hie tib?., L. Herenni, adulter, an amator ; expugnare pudi- (33) ^J^t etiam vieretriciis amoribus interdictumjuventuti putet."] This paflage is often quoted by the libertine with abundance of triumph and fatisfaction,as giving a kind of fanction to his debaucheries. But there is no great reafon for triumph : Cicero the o- rator, and Cicero the philofopher, fpeak often very different language ; and whenever this is the cafe, furely the fentiments of the latter are to be preferred to thofe of the former. He is here pleading the caufeof Coeiiu«,whom he knew to be a libertine ; and a great part of what he advances mud be looked upon as mere declamation, fo that no great ftrefs is to be laid upon it : in his Offices, and his other philofophical writing?, he talks in a very different ftrain, as all know who have read them with any degree of at- tention. The deba'ichee therefore, if he would have Cicero for his advocate, mufl take Cicero for his guide, muft renounce the pernicious path of vice and folly, exchange the CICER0 ? S ORATIONS'* 339 thrs study, is at present, and always has been so small, though its rewards, its pleasures, its glory, its honour is so very great ? All pleasures must, be relinquished ; delightful pursuits thrown up ; diversions, mirth, banqueting, nay, almost the conversation of our intimate friends, must be renounced ■: this is what dis- courages men from the laborious study of eloquence, and not the want of genius or education. If Coelius had followed such a course of, life, would he have impeached a peron of consular dignity, when so very young ? , If he were averse to labour, if he were held fast in the chains of pleasure, would he appear every day in this field of battle ? would he be fond of enmity i would he arraign any person ? would he expose his life to dan- ger ? would he contend for so' many months, before the whole people of Rome, either for glory or preservation. Sect. XX. But does the neighborhood of Clodio send forth no odours ? is„the public voice silent? do not the Waters of Baise speak ?( They not only speak, but they bawl out, that the lewdness of, one woman is such, that she does not only look for solitude and darkness, and the like covers for crimes, but takes pleasure in practising the most infamous debaucheries before crowds, and in the face of day. But if any person thinks that free intercourse even with prostitutes is to be denied to youth, such a one is severe indeed: I cannot contradict him; this how- ever, I must say, that lie differs not only from the freedom of the present age, but likewise from what our forefathers prac- tised and allowed.' For was there ever a time when it was not done ? when it was condemned ? when in was not tolerated ? In a word, was there ever a time in which a thing allowable was not allowed ? I will here propose a question ; I shall name no lady, but leave every one to judge for himself: if an unmarried woman should throw her house open to the lusts of all, profess herself openly to be a prostitute, go frequently to entertainments with mere strangers ; if she should do this in the city, in her gardens, and at the Baiee, a place of such resort ; in a word, if she should show herself, not only by her gait,' but by her dress and train, not by the sparkling of her eyes and her indecent conversation, but likewise by her kisses, by her embraces, by her behaviour at the baths, in pleasure-boats, and at entertain- ments, to be not only a prostitute, but an impudent one ; if a voung gentleman should happen to be seen with such a lady, whether, Herennius, would you look upon him as an adulterer,, gratifications of a brute for the pleasures of a man ; in a word, he muft make vimre" his choice, and then happinefs will certainly be his portion. T 2 +0 M. T. CICERONI S OftATIONES. citiam, an explere libidinom voluisse videatur ? ($4) Obliviscor jam injurias, Clodia : depono memoriam doloris mei : quse abs- te crudeliter in meos, me absente, facta sunt, negligo ; ne sint hfec in te dicta quse dixi ; sed ex te ipsa requiro ; quoniam et crimen accusatores abs te, et testem ejus criminis te ipsam di- cunt se habere ; si qua mulier sit hujusmodi, qualem ego paulo ante descripsi, tui dissimilis, vita institutoque meretricio, cum hac aliquid adolescentem hominem habuisse rationis, num tibi perturpe, aut perflagitiosum esse videatur . ? Ea si tu non es, sicut ego malo, quid est quod objiciant Ccelio? sin earn te vo- lunt esse, quid est, cur nos crimen hoc, si tu contemnis, perti- mescamus ? Quare, nobis da viam rationemque defensionis ; nam aut pudor tuus defendet, nihil a M. Coelio petulantius esse factum ; aut impudentia et huic, et cseteris magnam ad se de- fendendum facultatem dabit. XXI. Sed quoniam 6mersisse jam e vadis, et scopulos praeter- f ecta videtur oratio mea, perfacilis mihi reliquus cursus osten- ditur. Duo sunt enim crimina una in muliere summorum fa- cinorum : auri, quod sumptum a Clodia dicitirr : et veneni, quod ejusdem Clodia^ necandse causa parasse Goelium criminan- tur. Aurum sumpsit, ut dkitis, quod L. Lucceii servis daret, per quos Alexandrinus Dio, qui turn apud Lucceium habitabat, necaretur. Magnum crimen vel in legatii insidiandis, vel in servis ad hospitem domi necandum solicitandis : plenum sceleris consilium, plenum audacise. Quo quidem in crimine primum illud requiram, dixerit-ne Clodise, quam ad rem aurum turn sumeret, an non dixerit ? si non dixit, cur dedit ? si dixit, eodem se canscientise scelere devinxit. Tu-ne aurum ex arma- rio tuo promere ausa cs ? tu-ne (3S) Venerem illam tuam spolia- tricem spoliare ornamentis ? Cseterum, cum scires quantum ad facinus aurum hoc qusereretur, ad necem scilicet legati, ad L. Lucceii,sanctissimihominis atqueintegerrimi, labem sceleris sempiterni ; huic facinori tanto tua mens liberalis conscia, tua domus popularis ministra, tua denique hospitalis ilia Venus ad* jutrix esse non debuit. Vidit hoc Balbus : [facinoris tantum] celatam esse Clodiam dixit, atque ita Coelium ad illam attulisse, se ad ornatum lu-dorum aurum quserere. Si tarn familiaris erat Clodise, quam tu esse vis, cum de libidme ejus tarn multa dicis ? dixit profecto, quo vellet aurum : si tarn familiaris non erat, non (H) Oblivifcor jam injurias, Clodia'] Cicero here refers to the injurious treatment he met with from the Clodian family, when he went into banifhment; for an account of which fee his oration for bis oivn houfe. (ZS) Venerem illam tucm fpoliatricem.'] h appears from feveral paffages of the ancients, that it was ufual for proftitutes to have a flatue of Venus in their clofets, which they generally adorned with jewels ; accordingly Clodia is faid to have had a very fine one of gold. €ICER0 5 S ORATIONS, Ml «r a gallant ; as one who wanted to attack chastity, or only to gratify his passion ? £ 1 now forget my wrongs, Clodia ; I lay aside the remembrance of what I suffered ; I pass over your cruelty to my family in my absence. Let not what I have said be applied to you ; but as the prosecutors give out, that you furnished them with this accusation, and that your evidence is to prove the fact, I ask yourself whether, if there is such a wo- man as I have just now described, of a character indeed very un- like yours, but who is a professed prostitute, you would look up- on it to be a very shameful or a very criminal thing for a young gentleman to have any intercourse with her ? If you are not the woman, as I hope you are not, what is it they can object to Coelius ? but if you are, why should we be afraid of an accusa- tion which you despise ? Furnish us then with the means of making our defence ; for either your chastity will prove that Coelius has done nothing infamous, or your impudence will plead strongly in his favour, and in that of others. J Sect. XXI. But as I seem now to have got clear of the shal- lows and rocks that stood in my way, an easy course presents itself for the rest of my cause. Coelius is charged with two enormous crimes against the same lady ; with having borrowed gold of Clodia, and with having prepared poison to kill her : the money he borrowed, according to you, to be given to the slaves of L. Lucceius, by whom he was to murder Dio the Alexandrian, who lived at that time with Lucceius. A weighty charge this, either to lay snares for ambassadors, or to solicit slaves to assassinate their master's guest : a design fraught with guilt, fraught with audaciousness. But here I will ask, in the first place, whether Coelius told Clodia for what purpose he borrowed the money at that time, or whether he did not ? If he did not tell her, why did she give it him ? If he did, she was equally guilty. Did you dare to take gold out of your cabinet ? to strip that plundering Venus of yours of her ornaments ? Be- sides, when you knew for what horrid purposes this money was borrowed ; namely, to assassinate an ambassador, to fix an eternal blot on the character of L. Lucceius, a man of the greatest worth and inteoritv ; your generous heart ought never +.L1 . ^ » » O C_? to nave been privy, your popular roof subservient, nor that hospitable \ enus of yours accessary to so enormous a crimeo Balbus was sensible of this ; accordingly he says, that Clodia knew nothing of the matter, and that Coelius told her he asked the money to defray the expenses of his public sports. If he was so very intimate with Clodia, as you would have us believe, when you enlarge so much upon his debauchery, he certainly told her what he intended to do with the gold ; if he was not so intimate then she did not give it him. If Coelius then, O abandoned woman ! told you the truth, you was conscious M. T. CICERONIS ORATI6NES. lit. Ita, si vcrum i.ibi Ccelius dixit, 6 immoderata mulier I us tu aurum ad facinus dedisti : si non est ausus dicere, non dedisti, XXII. Quid ego nunc argumentis huic crimini, qufe sunt in- numerabilia, resistam ? possum dicere, mores M. Ccelii longis- sime atanti sceleris atrocitate esse disjunctos : minime esse cre- dendum, homini tarn ingenioso tamque prudenti non venisse in mc litem, rem tanti sceleris ignotis alienisque servis non esse credendam. Possum etiam ilia et cseterorum patronorum et mea consuetudine, ab aCcusatore p erquirere, ubi sit congressus cum servis Lucceii Ccelius : qui ei fuerit aditus ; si per se, qua temeritate ! si per alium, per quern ? possum omnes latebras suspicionum peragrare dicendo : non causa, non locus, non facultas, non conscius, non perficiendi, non occultandi male- ficii spes, non ratio ulla, non vestigium maximi facinoris repe- rietur. Sed hsec quae sunt oratoris propria, quae mihi non propter ingenium meum, sed propter hanc exercitationem usumque di- cendi, fructum aliquem ferre potuissent, cum a me Ipso laborata proferri viderentur, brevitatis causa relinquo omnia. Habeo enim, judices, quern vos socium vestrse religionis jurisqiie jurandi facile esse patiemini, (36) L. Lucceium, sanctissimum hominem, et gravissimum testem : qui tantum facinus in famam atque for- tunas suas neque non audisset illatum a Ccelio, neque neglexis- set, neque tulisset. An ille vir, ilia humariitate prseditus, illis studiis, artibus atque doctrina, illiiis ipsius periculum, quern propter hsec ipsa studia diligebat, negligere potuisset ? et quod facinus in alienum hominem illatum severe acciperet, id omisis- set curare" in hospite ; quod, per ignotos actum cum comperisset, doleret 'M a suis tentatum negligeret ? quod in agris, locis-ve publicis factum reprehenderet, id in urbe, ac suse domi cceptum esse leviter ferret ? quod in alicujus agrestis periculo non prse- t'ermitteret, id homo eruditus in insidiis doctissimi hominis dis~ simulan'dum putaret ? Sed cur diutius vos, judices, teneo ? ipsius jurati re lip;ionem, auctoritatemque percipite, atque omnia dili- genter testimonii verba cognoscite. (37) Recita testimonium Luc- ceii. TESTIMONIUM LTJCCEII. Quid exspectatis amplius ? an alitjaam vocem putatis ipsam pro se causam et veritatem ($()) L. Lu;cc'ivm Janci'ijjimum hominem."] This Lucceius was 2 man of great learning and abilities: he wrote the hiftory of the Italic and Marian civil wars, and undertook that of Cicero's confulfhip ; but whether he finifhed it, or not, is uncertain. There is Iterated letter of our orator to this Lucceius, which is often alledged as a proof of his exceffive vanity and love of praife. ( 37 ) Recita teftimonium Lucceii.] Lucceiuswas not prefent hlnifelf at this trial, but fent his evidence, whic£*#as publicly read in court c.icero's orations, 343 .to the crime, and gave him money to perpetrat« it : if he did not dare to tell 5*011, then you did not give it. Sect. XXII. Why now should I refute this accusation by arguments which may be brought without number ? I may say, that the manners of M. Ccelius are at the greatest distance from so enormous a crime : it is not at all credible, that a man of such prudence and penetration could ever have thought of en- trusting an affair so highly criminal to strange and unknown slaves. I may likewise, according to my own custom, and that of other pleaders, ask the accuser where Ccelius -met with the slaves of Lucceius? how he had access to them ? If by himself, what rashness ! if by another, who was the man ? I may enu- merate every possible ground of suspicion., and still affirm, that there is no foundation for this crime ; that Coelius could not be privy to it, could have no opportunity, no means, no hopes of accomplishing, none of concealing it ; in a word, that there is not any shadow of proof, any traces of such atrocious guilt. But all these, which properly belong to an orator, as I might seem to have laboured them with great care, I pass over for the sake of brevity ; though I might have rendered them service- able to me, not through any superiority of genius, but by my practice and experience in pleading. For I have, my lords, the testimony of L. .Lucceius, a man of the strictest honour, and of the greatest authority, whose oath and integrity you will readily allow to be compared with your own ; who must cer- tainly have heard of such an attack made by Ccelius upon his fame and fortune, and if he had, would neither have despised, nor put up with it. Would a man of such politeness, of such erudition, of such knowledge, have neglected the dan r ei» of one who was so dear to him on account of these very accomplish- ments ? And would he not have endeavored to prevent such villany when designed against his guest, which he would have resented so highly if designed against a stranger? Would he have slighted an action attempted by his own domestics, which would have grieved him if committed by those he did not know ? what he would have condemned, if done in the fields, or any public place, would he have been unconcerned at if attempted in the city and in his own house ? Would a man of learning connive at a plot against a man of the greatest learning, when he would not flight the danger of the meanest peasant ? But why, my lords, do I detain you any longer ? consider the integrity and authority of this witness, on his oath, and weigh carefully every word of his evidence. Read the evidence of Lucceius, The evidence of Lucceius. — What more do you expect ? Do you imagine that this cause itself, and that truth can open their mouths, and give evidence for themselves i This is the defence J44 M. T. CICERONIS ORATIONES. posse mittere ? hsec est innocentisc defensio, haec ipsius causae pratio, hsec una vox veritatis : in crimine ipso nulla suspicio est, et in re nihil est argumenti : innegotio, quod actum esse dicitur, nullum vestigium sermonis, loci, temporis : nemo testis, nemo conscius nominatur, totum crimen profertur ex inimica, ex in- fami, ex crudeli, ex facinorosa, ex libidinosa domo : domus au- tern ilia, quse tentata scelere isto nefario dicitqr, plena est inte- gritatis, officii, religionis : ex qua domo recitatur vobis jure- jurando devincta auctoritas : utres minime dubia, tamen in con- tentione ponatur, utrum temeraria, procax, irata mulier finxisse crimen, an gravis, sapiens, moderatusque vir religiose testimo- nium dixisse videatur. XXIII. Reliquum est igitur crimen de veneno : cujus ego neque principium invenire, neque evolvere exitum possum. Quse fuit enim causa, quamobrem isti mulieri venenum vellet dare Ccelius ? ne aurum redderet ? num petivit ? ne crimen hsereret ? num quis objecit ? num quis denique fecisset men- tionem, si hie nemini nomen detulisset ? Quin etiam Herennium dicere audistis, verbo se molestum non futurum fuisse Ccelio, nisi iterum eadem de re suo familiari absoluto nomen hie detu-> lisset. Credibile est igitur, tantum facinus nullam ob causam esse commissum ? et vos non videtis fingi sceleris maximi cri- men, ut alterius causa sceleris suscipiendi fuisse videatur ? Cui denique commisit ? quo adjutore ususest ? quo socio ? quo con- scio? cui tantum facinus, cui se, cui salutem suam credidit ? ser- vis-ne mulieris f sic enim objectum est ; et erat tarn demens hie, cui vos ingenium certe tribuitis, etiamsi csetera inimica oratione detrahitis, ut omnes suas fortunas alienis servis committeret ? at quibus servis ? refert enim magnopere id ipsum : his-ne, quos intelligebat non communi conditione servitutis uti, sed licentius, liberius, familiarius cum domina vivere ? quis enim hoc non videt, judices, aut quis hoc ignorat, in ejusmodi domo, in qua mater-familias meretricio more vivat : in qua nihil geratur, quod foras proferendum sit ; in qua lustra, libidines, luxuries, omnia denique inaudita vitia atque fiagitia versentur ; (38) hie servos non esse servos, quibus omni %com- mittantur, per quos gerantur, qui versentur iisdem in voiupta- tibus, quibus occulta credantur, ad quos aliquantum etiam ex (1%) Hicfervos non ejfefervos,~\ Nothing can be more juft and fenfible than this re- flection of Cicero, that in families where vice and debauchery prevail, fervant* become mafterg. Being privy to whatever is tranfaded, their matters are entirely in their power; they are afraid of punifhing them when they do amifs, and become the obje#8 of their ridicule, of their contempt, and fcorn. CICERo's ORATIONS. 345 of innocence ; this the language of the cause itself ; this the na- tive voice of truth. The charge has no presumption, the crime no argument to support it ; in the business which is said to have been transacted, there is not the least appearance of consultation, of time, or of place j no witness, no accomplice is named : the whole accusation proceeds from the infamous, the cruel, the wicked, the lewd house of an enemy : but the house, on which so foul an imputation is fixed, is full of ho- nour, humanity, and truth : from this house evidence is given upon oath ; so that the matter we are now debating admits of very little doubt, only whether it is more likely that a rash, im- pudent, angry woman should forge an accusation, or that a grave, prudent, and worthy man should have the strictest re- gard to truth in giving his evidence ? Sect. XXIII. All that remains therefore rs the charge of poi- soning, of which I can neither trace the beginning, nor disco- ver the design. For what could prompt Ccelius to attempt poi= soning that lady? That he might not return the gold ? pray did she ask it ? That he might not be charged with it ? did any one charge him ? would any one even have made mention of it, if Ccelius had accused no person ? Besides, you heard Herennius say, that he should never have spoke a word against Ccelius^ if he had not a second time accused his friend of the same crime, after being once acquitted. Is it credible then that so atrocious a crime was committed without any reason ? and do not you see that one enormous piece of villany is pretended to have been committed, that it may seem to have been done in order to commit another? Once more, whom did he employ to execute it ? whom did he make use of as his accom- plice ? whom, as his companion? whom, as his confdent? Whom did he trust with such a crime, whom, with him- self, whom with his own safety ? The slaves of this woman ? for so it is alledged ; and was this man, whom you allow to have capacity, though you deny him every thing else, guilty of such madness as to trust his all to strange slaves ? But to what kind of slaves ? for this is a circumstance of great impor- tance : was it to those whom he knew not to be subject to the common lot of slavery, but who lived in a very free and familiar manner with their mistress ? For who does not see this, my lords ? or, who is ignorant that in a house where the mistress of a family lives like a common prostitute, in which nothing is transacted that can be carried abroad, which is a scene of de- bauchery, lust, luxury ; in a word, every unheard-of scandal- ous excess ; that in such a house, I say, slaves are not slaves : since every thing is committed to them, every thing conducted by them ; since they partake of the same pleasures, are in- trusted with secrets, and have even some share of the daily ex- 346 M. T. CICERONIS ORATTONEg. quotidianis sumptibus ac luxuria redundet ? Id igitur Ccelius- non videbat ? si enim tarn familiaris erat mulieris, quam vos vultis ; istos quoque servos familiares esse dominse sciebat ; sin ei tanta consuetudo, quanta a vobis inducitur, non erat, quae cum servis potuit familiaritas esse tanta ? XXIV. Ipsius autexh veneni quae ratio fingitur ? ubi qusesitum est ? quemadmodum paratum ? quo pacto ? cui, quo in loco tra- ditum ? Habuisse aiunt domi, vimque ejus esse expertum in servo quodam ad rem ipsam parato, cujus perceleri interitu esse ab hoc comprobatum venerium. (39) Pro dii immortales ! cur mterdum in hominum sceleribus maximis, aut connivetis, aut prsesentis fraudis pcenas in diem reservatis ? Vidi enim, vidi, et ilium hausi dolorem vel acerbissimum in vita, cum Q.Metellus abstraheretur e sinu gremioque patrise : cumque ille vir, qui se natum huic imperio putavit, tertio die post, quam in curia, in rostris, in repub. floruisset, integerrima setate, optimo nabitu, miximis vinous, eriperetur indignissime bonis omnibus atque universse civitati ; quo quidem tempore ille moriens, cum jam cseteris ex partibus oppressa mens esset, extremum sensum ad memoriam reip. reservabat : cum me intuens flentem significa- bat, interrupts atque morientibus vocibus, quanta impenderet procella urbi, quanta tempestas civitati : et cum parietem ssepe feriens eum, qui cum Q. Catulo fuerat ei communis, crebo Catulum, ssepe me, ssepissime rempublicam nominabat, lit non tarn se emori, quam spoliari suo prsesidio cum patriam ; turn etiam me doleret. Quern quidem virum si nulla vis re- pentini sceleris sustulisset ; quonam modo ille furenti fratri suo patrueli consularis restitisset, (40) qui consul incipientem fuere atque conantem, sua se manu interfecturum, audiente se- natu dixerit ? Ex hac igitur domo progressa ista mulier de ve- neni celeritate dicere audebit ? nonne ipsam do'mum metuet, ne quam vocem eliciat non parietes conscios, non noctem illam funestam ac luctuosam perhorrescet ? Sed revertar ad crimen ; C 59) Pro dii immortales ! ] Clodia was commonly thought to have poifoned her huf- band, Q^Metellus, who was an excellent magiftrate, and a firm patriot, as well to re- venge his oppofition to the attempts of her brother, as to gain the greater liberty of purfuing her own amours. Accordingly Cicero, interrupting the thread of his argu- ment, in a manner extremely well adapted to move his hearers, inveighs agaiaft her aftonilhing impudence in daring to accufe Coelius of a defign to poifon her, when fhe herfelf lay under the fufpicion of having poifoned her own hufband, on whom, to ren- der her character, if polfible, fliil more odious, the orator bellows very high, and in- deed very juft commendations. (4o) Qui conful incipientem furere % atque conantem, fuafe manu interfeSlurum, audiente fenatu dixerit. j The attempt made by Clodius, in the confulfhip of Metellus, to obtain the tribunate, that he might be enabled to revenge himfelf upon Cicero, is here refer- cicero's orations. 345^ fences and luxury? Did not Coalius then perceive this ? for if he was so familiar with the lady as you give out, he could not but know that these slaves were familiar with their mistress ; but if there was no such intimacy as you charge him v. ith, how could he be so very intimate with her slaves ? Sect. XXIV. But how is this charge in regard to the poison rendered probable ? Where was it got ? how was it prepared ? by what means ? to whom, and where was it delivered ? They say he had it at home, and tried its force on a slave whom he got on purpose, and whose sudden death convinced him of its efficacy. Immortal gods ! why do you sometimes either wink at the most enormous crimes of mankind, or defer the punish- ment of present wickedness ? For I myself saw, and nothing in my whole life ever affected me with deeper sorrow, I saw Q. Metellus torn from the arms and bosom of his country ; saw that man, who thought himself born for this empire, cut off, in the basest manner, from all the virtuous, and from the whole state, in the prime of his days, in perfect health and full vigour, on the third day after he had distinguished himself in the senate, in the rostrum, and in the government. At the time of his death, when every other feeling was extinguished, he reserved his last for his country, and casting his eyes upon me, who was dissolved in tears, intimated with faltering and dying ac- cents,' how great a storm hung over this city, how great a tempest over the state ; and frequently striking the Wall, which was common to Catulus and him, often named Catulus, often me, and very often the republic ; so that death did not give him so much concern, as the thoughts that his country, and that I was deprived of his assistance. If no sudden violence had cut off this man, in what manner would he, when arrived at consular dignity, have opposed the fury of his cousin, when he declared during his consulship, in the hearing of the senate, that he would kill him with his own hand, though Only be- ginning and attempting his furious measures ? Shall a woman then, from that very house, dare to mention the quick efficacy Of poison ? shall she not be afraid lest the house itself should open its mouth against her ? shall she not tremble at the sight of the conscious walls, nor dread the remembrance of that fatal, that mournful night ? But I return to the accusation ; for the fed to. Clodius was a Patrician, and as such, incapable of the tribunate : according- ly his firfl rtep was to make himfelf a plcbian, by the pretence of an adoption into a piebian houfe. When this affair was firft moved to the fenate by Herennius,an ob- fcure, hardy tribune, the case bein? wholly new, and contrary to all the forms, it met with no encouragement. The conful Metellus, though brother-in-law to Clodius, warmlv oppofed it, and declared, That he ivould Jir angle Clodius sooner with his own hands ^ than fujfcr him to bring such a dif grace upon his family. V 2 34S M. T. CICERONlS ORATIONES. ctcnim hsec facta illius clarissimiac fortissimi viri mentio et vo- cem meam fletu debilitavit, et men tern dolore impedivit. XXV. Sed tamen venenum undc fuerit, quemadmodum pa- ratum sit, non dicitur. Datum esse hoc aiunt P. Licinio, pu- denti adolescenti, etbono, Ccelii familiari : constitutum factum esse cum servis, ut venirent ad balneas Xenias : eodem Licinium esse venturum, atque iis veneni pyxidem traditurum. Hie pri- mum illud requiro, quid attinuerit illud ferri in eum locum con- stitutum ? cur illi servi non ad Ccelium domum venerint ? si ma- nebat tanta ilia consuetudo Ccelii cum Clodia, tantaque famili- aritas, quid suspicionis esset, si apud Ccelium mulieris servus visus esset ? Sin autemjam suberat simultas, extincta erat con- suetudo, discidium exstiterat ; hinc illse lacrymse nimirum, et hsec causa est horum omnium scelerum atque criminum. Immo, inquit, cum servi ad dominam rem ktam, et maleficium Ccelii detulissent, mulier ingeniosa prsecepit suis, ut omnia Ccelio pol- licerentur : sed, ut venenum, cum a Licinio traderctur mani- festo comprehendi posset, constitui locum jussit balneas Xenias, ut eo mitteret amicos, qui delitescerent : deinde repente, cum venisset Licinius, ut venenum traderet, prosilirent, hominemquc eomprehenderent. XXVI. Qufe quidem omnia, judices, perfacilem rationem ha- bent reprehendendi ; cur enim balneas publicas potissimum con- stituerat ? in quibus non invenio quae latebra togatis hominibus esse possit ; nam si essent in vestibulo balnearum, non laterent : sin se in intimum conjicere vellent, nee satis commode calceati et vestiti id facere possent, et fortasse non reciperentur : nisi forte mulier potens, (4i) quadrantaria, ilia permutatione, fami- liaris facta erat balneatori. Atque equidem vehementer exspec- tabam, quinam isti viri boni, testes hujus manifesto deprehensi veneni dicerentur ; nulli enim sunt adhunc nominati ; sed non dubito quin sint pergraves, qui primum sint talis fceminse familiares ; deinde earn provinciam susceperint, ut in balneas contruderentur : quod ilia nisi a viris honestissimis, ac plenissi- mis dignitatis, quam velit, si potens, nunquam impetravisset. Sed quid ego de dignitate istorum testium loquor ? virtutem eorum diligentiamque cognoscite : in balneis delituerunt ; testes egregios ! deinde temere prosiluerunt ; homines gravitati dedi- tos ! Sic enim fingunt ; cum Licinius venisset, pyxidem tenerit in (41) Quadrantaria ilia permutatione.'] Plutarch informs us that Clodia was called Quadrantaria , from her having been bilked by one of her young gallants, who gave her a quadrans, or fourth part of an as inftead of a piece of gold. Cicero, by his u- fing the word ilia, probably refers to this, as being a well-known ftory ; but he, no doubt, means to infinuate farther, that fhe was familiar with the bagnio-keeper, and bellowed her favours upon him, inftead of the ouadrans, which he received from eve- ry oae who ufed his bath. CTCERO's ORATIONS. 349 tears I have shed at the mention of that brave and illustrious man have weakened my voice, and my grief has discomposed my mind. Sect. XXV. It is not said, however, whence this poison came, nor how it was prepared. They allege it was given to P. Licinius, a young man of virtue and modesty, and the friend of Ccelius ,* that an appointment was made with the slaves to come to the Senian bath, whither Licinius was likewise to come, and to deliver them a box of poison. Now here I would first ask, what end could be answered by carrying it to the appointed place ? why did not these slaves come to the house of Ccelius ? If there was still so close a connexion, and so great an intimacy betwixt Ccelius and Clodia, what suspicion would one of her slaves being seen at his house have occasioned ? But if there already subsisted a secret aversion, if the intimacy was dissolved and a quarrel arisen, this was the ground of all the concern, this the source from whence all this guilt and all these accusa- tions are derived. Nay, but 'tis said, that when the slaves of Clodia informed her of the matter, and of the wicked designs of Ccelius, this shrewd woman ordered them to promise him every thing ; and, in order to have clear evidence of the poison when delivered by Licinius, desired the Senian bath to be the place appointed, that she might send some of her friends thither to lie in ambush, and, when Licinius should come and deliver the poison, to rush out suddenly and seize him. Sect. XXYI. But all this, my lords, may very easily be re- futed : for why should she particularly make choice of the pub- lic baths, in which I don't see how gentlemen in full dress can possibly be concealed ? for at the entrance of the bath, they must be seen : were they to thrust themselves into the inner part, their shoes and clothes must incommode them ; admittance too might have been denied them, unless perhaps that powerful lady procured it by bestowing her favours on the bagnio-keeper, instead of the price of bathing. And indeed I was very impa- tient to hear the names of these worthy men, who are said to be witnesses of the seizing of this poison ; for as yet none of them have been named. I do not question, however, but they are very considerable persons : in the first place, as they are intimate with such a lady, and in the next, as they undertook to conceal themselves in a bath ; a favour which no degree of power whatever could have procured her, but from men of the greatest honour and dignity. But why do I mention the dig- nity of these witnesses ? Observe their bravery and address. They concealed themselves in a bagnio. Excellent witnesses ! Then they rushed out of a sudden. Grave gentlemen truly! The story is thus told : when Licinius came with the box in his hand. 350 M. T. CICERONIS ORATIONE3. manu, conaretur tradere, nondum tradidisset, turn repente evo- lrsse istos prseclaros testes sine nomine : Licinium autem, cuni jam manum ad tradendam pyxidem porrexisset, retraxisse, atque illo repentino hominum impetu se in fugam conjecisse. O magna vis veritatis, quse contra hominum ingenia, calliditatem, solertiam, contraque fictas omnium insidias facile se per se ipsam defendat ! XXVII. Verum hsec tota fabella veteris et plurimarum fabu- larum poetrise, quam est sine argumento ? quam nullam invenire exitum potest ? Quid enim isti tot viri (nam hecesse est fuisse non paucos, ut et comprehendi Licinius facile posset, et res mul- torum oculis esset tts.atior) cur Licinium de manibus amise- runt ? qui minus enim Licinius comprehendi potuit, cum se retraxit, ne pyxidem traderet, quarri si non retraxisset ? erant enim illi positi, ut comprehenderent Licinium : ut manifesto Licinius teneretur, aut cum retineret venerium aut cum tradi- disset ; hoc fuit totum consilium mulieris, hsec istorum provincia, qui rogati sunt ; quos quidem tu quamobrem temere prosiluisse dicas, atque ante tempus, non reperio ; fuerant hoc rogati ; fuerant ad haric rem collocati Ut venenum, ut insidise, facinus denique ipsum ut manifesto comprehenderetur ; potuerunt-ne meliori tempore prosiiire, quam cum Licinius venissct i cum in manu tenerct veneni pyxidem ? quae si cum jam erat tradita ser- vis, evasissent subito ex balneis mulieris amici, Liciniumque comprehendissent : imploraret hominum fidem, atque ase illam pyxidem traditam perhegaret ; quern quomodo illi reprehende- rent f vidisse se dicerent . ? primum ad se revocarent maximi fa- cinoris crimen : deinde id se vidisse dicerent, quod, quo loco collocati fuissent, non potuissent videre. Tempore igitur ipso se ostenderunt cum Licinius venisset, pyxidem expedirit, ma- num porrigeret, venehuni traderet. (4*) Mimi ergo est jam exitus, non fabulse : in quo cum clausula non invenitur, fugit aliquis e manibus, deinde sc&bella concrepant, aulseum tollitur. XXVIII. Qufero enim, cur Licinium titubantem, hsesitantem, eedentem, fugere conantem, mulieraria manus. ista de manibus emiserit : cur non comprehenderint ? cur non ipsius confessione, multorum oculis, facinoris denique voce, tanti sceleris crimen expresserint ? an timebant, ne tot unum, valentes imbecillum, (4a) Mimi ergo ejl jam exitus non fabula.] Diomedes defines the Mimus to be an ir- reverent ano lafcivious imitation of obfeme acts. It feems to have been a confufed medley of comic drollery on a variety of fubjects, without any confident order or dtfign ; deliv red by one actor and heightened with all the licenfe of obfeene gesticulation. Its befl character, a= practifed by its greateft mailer Laberius was that of being wit- ty in a very bad way, and its fole end and boafl, ti/u diducere rictum. * Tis with great propriety therefore, that Cicero compares thin incoherent ftory of the poifon to the Mmuj, wherein there was no connexion or regular defign. cicero's orations. $51 and endeavoured to give it away, but had not as yet done it ? these noble witnesses without name, rushed out of a sudden ; upon this Licinius, who Had already stretched out his hand to deliver the box, drey/ it back, and, being frightened at the sudden attack of these gentlemen, betook himself to flight. [O the mighty power of truth, which easily defends herself against the contrivances, subtlety, and artifice of mankind, and against all the secret arts of fictionM Sect. XXVII. But all this fable which is invented by a lady that has long dealt in fictions, how void of probability is it ! how unconnected and intricate ! Why did so many men suffer Licinius to escape ? for their number could not be small, both that it might be the easier to seize Licinius, and that the mat- ter might be the better attested. Was it more difficult to seize him when he drew baeik that he might not deliver the box, than if he had not drawn back ? for they were placed there on purpose to seize Licinius, to catch him in the fact, either with the poison about him, or after he had delivered it. This was all the lady proposed ; this was the business of those who were employed by her ; and why you should say that they rushed out rashly, and too soon, I cannot conceive. This was what they were employed for | with this view they were placed there, that the poison, the plot, in a word, the whoje villany, might be clearly discovered* Could they have rushed out more opportunely than when Licinius came in ? when he held the box of poison in his hand ? For if the lady's friends had sallied forth, and seized Licinius after it was delivered to the slaves, he would have called out for assistance, and denied that the box was delivered by him. And in this case, how could they have convicted him ? would they have said they saw him ? Why this, in the first place, must have brought upon them- selves an accusation for a very heinous crime; and, in the next, they must have affirmed that they saw what they could not possibly have seen from the place where they were con- cealed. They showed themselves therefore the very moment that Licinius came, when he was going to give the box, when he was stretching forth his hand, when he. was delivering the poison. (This then is the end of a farce, not of a comedy, in which, when there is no conclusion, some person makes his escape, the benches creak, and the curtain is drawn?) Sect. XXVIII. For I ask, why the lady's troop suffered Li - cinius, while he was in suspence, hesitating, retreating, and endea- vouring to make his escape, to slip out of their hands; why they did not seize him ; why, by his own confession, by the eyes of so many witnesses ; in a word, by the voice of the thing itself, they did not prove so enormous a crime in the clearest manner ? Were S52 M. T. CICERONIS ORATIONKS. alacres perterritum superare non possent ? Nullum argumentum in re, nulla suspicio in causa, nullius exitus criminis reperietur. Itaque hsec causa ab argumentis, a conjectura, ab iis signis, quibus Veritas illustrari solet, ad testes tota traducta est. Quos quidem ego testes, judices, non modo sine ullo timore, sed etiam cum aliquaspe delectationis exspecto; preegestit animus jam videre, primum lautos juvenes, mulieris beatse ac ncbilis familiares : deinde fortes viros, ab imperatrice in insidiis, atque in prsesidio balnearum locatos : ex quibus requiram, quonam modo latuerit, aut ubi : alveus-ne ille, an equus Trojanuc; fuerit, qui tot invictos viros, muliebre bellum gerentes, tulerit et tex- erit ? Illud vero respondere cogam, cur tot viri ac tales hune et unum, et tarn imbec ilium, quam videtis, non aut stantem comprehenderint, aut fugientem consecuti sint ; qui se nun- quam profecto, si istum in locum processerint, explicabunt : (43) quam volent in conviviis faceti, dicaces, nonnunquam etiam ad vinum diserti sint ; alia fori vis est, alia triclinii : alia sub- selliorum ratio, alia lectorum : non idem judicum, commissato- rumque conspectus : lux denique longe alia est solis, et lychno- rum. Quamobrem excutiemus omnes istorum delicias, omnes ineptias, si prodierint ; sed, si me audiant, naventaliam operam, aliam ineant gratiam, in aliis se rebus ostentent : vigeant apud istam mulierem venustate ; dominentur sumptibus ; hsereant, jaceant, deserviant : capiti vero innocentis, et fortunis par- eant. XXIX. An sunt servi illi de cognatorum sententia, nobilissi- morum et clarissimorum hominum, manumissi. Tandem ali- quid invenimus, quod ista mulier de suorum propinquorum^ fortissimorum virorum, sententia atque auctoritate fecisse videa- tur. Sed scire cupio, quid habeat argumenti ista manumissio : in qua aut crimen est Coelio qusesitum, aut qusestio sublevata, aut multarum rerum ©onsciis servis, cum causa prsemium per- solutum. At propinquis placuit ; cur non placeret, cum rem tu te ad eos non ab aliis tibi allatam, sed a te ipsa compertam deferre diceres ? Hie etiam miramur, (44) si illam commeu- (43) Qjam volent in conviviis Jaceti, dicaces, nonnunquam etiam ad vinum diferti ftnt^\ Cicero here reprefents, in a very beautiful manner, the inOgnificance of that giddy- tribe, who fpend their time in perpetual diflipation, in noify mirth, and in infipid gai- ety, when they happen to be engaged in matter^ of importance. (44) Si illam commentitiam pyxidem obfccBHiJJima fit fabula con/ecula.} Our orator her6 alludes to fome infamous and notorious ftory, which took its rife from this box ; but what it was we are no where told. CICERO's ORATIONS. 353 they afraid lest they should not be able to get the better of him ? What f so many against one, the strong against the weak, the bold against the fearful ? The whole matter is without proof, the allegations have no presumptions to support them, the charge has no manner of connexion. This cause, therefore, being destitute of proofs, presumptions, or any of those circumstances by which the truth is usually cleared up, depends solely upon witnesses ; witnesses, my lords, whom I wait for not only with- out the least apprehension, but even with some hopes of being pleased. I long much to see, first, the elegant young gentlemen, the friends of a rich and noble lady, and then those brave men posted by their commandress in ambush, and guarding a bagnio. I will ask them in what manner they were concealed, or where ; whether it was a large bathing-tub, or a Trojan horse, that con- tained and concealed so many invincible men, fighting in the service of a lady ? I will oblige them to declare, why so many and such brave men, having only one person before them, and, as you see, so very unable to resist, did not either seize him as he was standing, or pursue him when he fled. {If they should ap- pear here, I am confident this is what they will never be able to account for, how facetious and talkative soever they may be at entertainments, nay, and eloquent too, sometimes over their bottle. The eloquence of the bar, and of the dining-room, is very different ; the manner of the bench differs widely from that of the couch ; the sight of a judge, and that of a reveller, is far from being the same ; in a word, the light of the sun, and that of a lamp, have very little resemblance. If they appear, there- fore, we shall examine all their jokes, all their pleasantry. But if they follow my advice, they will employ themselves differently, make their court in another manner, and display talents of a different kind. Let them ingratiate themselves with that lady by their politeness ; let them outshine all others in expence ; let them accompany her every where, be always near her, and ever ready to obey her orders ; but let them be tender of the life and fortune of an innocent man. Sect. XXIX. But we are told that these slaves are made free by the advice of relations, men of the highest quality and re- nown. At last we have found something which this lady may seem to have done by the advice and approbation of her relations, who are undoubtedly men of great spirit. But I should be glad to know what is proved by this manu- mission ; by which an accusation is either feigned against Coelius v or an examination by torture prevented, or a just re- ward bestowed upon slaves, who are acquainted with many secrets. The manumission, it is said, pleasedthe relations : how should it do otherwise, when you yourself acknowledged that you communicated the matter to them, not as what others 354 M. : T. CICERONIS ORATIONEs. titiam pyxidem obsccenissima sit fabula consecuta ? Nihil est; quod in ejusmodi mulierem non cadere videatur ; audita [ec pervulgata] percelebrata sermonibus res est. Percipitis ani- mis, judices, jamdudum quid velim, vel potius quid nolim dicere. Quod etiam si est factum, certe a Coelio non est fac- tum ; quid enim attinebat ? est enim ab aliquo fortasse odoles- cente non tarn insulso, quam non verecundo. Sin autem est fictum : non illu'd quidem modestum, sed tamen non est inface- tum mendacium ; quod profecto nunquam hominum sermo, at- que opinio comprobasset, nisi omnia, quse cum turpitudine ali- qua dicerentur, in istam quadrare apte viderentur. Dicta est & me causa, judices, et perorata ; jam intelligitis, quantum judi- cium sustineatis, quanta res sit commissa vobis. De vi quseri- tis ,* quse lex ad imperium, ad majestatem, ad statum patrise, ad salutem omnium pertinet ; quam legem Q. Catulus armata dis- sentione civium, reipublic« pene extremis temporibus tulit : quseque lex, sedata ilia flamma consulatiis mei, fumantis reli- quias conjurationis extinxit. Hac enim lege Ccelii adolescen- tia non ad reipublicse pcenas, sed ad mulieris libidines et delicias deposcitur* XXX. Atque hoc etiam loco (4?) M. Camurti et C. Eserni damnatio prsedicatur. O stultitiam ! stultitiam-ne dicam, an impudentiam singularem ? audetis-ne cum ab ea muliere veni- atis, facere istorum hominum mentionem ? audetis-ne excitare tanti flagitii memoriam, non extinctam illam quidem, sed repres- sam vetustate ? Quo enim illi crimine, peccatoque perierunt ? nempe quod ejusdem mulieris dolorem et injuriam Vettiano ne- fario sunt stupro persecuti. Ergo ut audiretur Vettii nomen in causa, (4 6 ) ut ilia vetus Afrania fabula refricaretur, idcirco Camurti et Eserni causa est renovata . ? qui quanquam lege de vi certe non tenebantur, eo maleficio tamen erat implicati, ut ex nullius legis laqueis emittendi viderentur. M. vero Ccelius cur in hoc judicium vocatur ? cui neque proprium qusestionis crimen objicitur, nee vero aliquid ejusmodi, quod sit a lege se- junctum, etcum vestra seventate conjunctum : cujus prima setas dedita diciplinis fuit, iisque artibus, quibus tnstruimur ad hunc (4 5) Camurti et C. Eferni J.imnatio.) Camurtus and C. Efernus were too wicked in- ftruments employed by Clodia to revenge her upon one Vettius, who would not yield toher folicitations ; and on that account, became the object of her hatred and cruel re- fentment. They were concerned in the affiffination of the Alexandrian ambaffadors, and were condemned for it. (46) Ut ilia vetus Afrania fabula] This either alludes to one Afranius, a poet, who wrote fome plays full of ribaldry, or to an impudent woman called Caia Afrania, men- tioned by Valerius Maximus who informs us that fha was conftantly engaged in law- fuits; that flie always pleaded h-^r own caufe before the praetor ; and that fhe fpoke fo much, and fo loud, that her name became proverbial in the forum. CICERO'S ORATIONS* 8$B fiad told you, but as what you had discovered yourself ? Is it to be wondered at, if a most shameful story arose from this ficti* tious box ? But there is nothing which such a woman may'nt be supposed capable of doing ; the thing is known, and in every body's mouth. You cannot nOw be ignorant, my lords, of what I would, or rather what I would not say. If the thing was done, it certainly was not done by Coelius : for of what advan- tage could it have been to him ? It has been done then, perhaps, by some young fellow who is not so much void of sense as of modesty. But if the whole is a fiction, it is not indeed a mod- est, but it is an humourous one ; it could not however have been talked of publicly, nor believed, Were it not that the character of that lady is such that there is nothing so shameful which does not suit it. I have pleaded the cause Of Coelius, my lords* I have finished my defence : you now see the importance of this trial, and how weighty a matter is to be determined by you. An accusation of violence is now under your consideration, and the law in relation to it concerns our empire, our grandeur, the interest of our country, and the common welfare ,* a law which was made by Q. Catulus, when our citizens were armed against each other, and our liberties almost expiring ; and which, after the flames that broke out in iriy consulship were quenched, ex- tinguished the smoking remains Of a desperate conspiracy. Up- on this law the youth of Ccelius is attacked, not to satisfy the demands of public justice, but to gratify the resentment and wanton humor of a woman. Sect. XXX. Here too the condemnation of M. Camurtus and C. Esernus is mentioned. What folly ! folly shall I say, or unparalleled impudence ? Have you the assurance, you who" came from that woman, to make mention of these men I Dare you renew the remembrance of so enormous a crime, which is only weakened, not extinguished by time ? For what was their guilt, and upon what accusation were they condemned ? Why because they were the instruments of this woman's revenge, by making a shameful sttack upon Vettius. Was it in order to have the name of Vettius mentioned in this cause therefore, and that old comedy of Afranius revived, that the case of Ca- murtus and C* Esernus is brought to our remembrance ? who though their crime did not fall under the law in relation to violence, were yet so highly criminal that they seemed to be condemned by every law. But why is M. Cseliua summoned hither, who is neither charged with any crime th?.t can pro- perly fall under this law, nor indeed with any thing that has any relation to the law, and is subject to your authority ? His early years were devoted to those sciences and that course of study by which we are formed for the bar, for bearing a V 2 356 M. T. CICERONIS ORATlONES. usum forensem, ad capesscndam rempublicam, ad honorem, gloriam, dignitatem : iis autem fuit ami&tiis majorum natu, quorum imitari industriam contentiamque maxime velit : iis jequalium studiis, ut eundem, quern optimi ac nobilissimi, pe- tere cursum laudis videretur. Cum autem paullum jam roboris accessissetfetati, in Africam profectus est, (47) Q. Pompeiopro- consuli contubernalis, castissimo viro atque omnis officii dili- gentissimo : in qua provincia cum res erant et possessiones pa- ternse, turn etiam usus quidam provincialis, non sine causa a majoribus huic setati tributus. Discessit illinc Pompeii judicio probatissimus, ut ipsius testimonio cognoscetis : voluit vetere institute, eorum adolescentium exemplo, qui post in civitate summi viri et clarissimi cives exstiterunt, industriam suam a populo Romano ex aliqufi illustri accusatione cognosci. XXXI. Yellem alio potius eum cupiditas glorise detulisset; sed abiithujus tempus querelse. Accusavit C Antonium, collegam meum : cui misero prseclari in rempublicam beneficii memoria nihil profuit, nocuit opinio maleficii cogitati. Postea nemini concessit sequalium, plus utinforo, plus ut in negotiis versaretur causisque amicorum, plus ut valeret inter suos gratia : quse nisi vigilantes homines, nisi sobrii,nisiindustriiconsequi non possunt, omnia labore et diligentia est consecutus. (48) In hoc flexu quasi setatis (nihil enim occultabo, fretus humanitate ac sapi- entia vestra) fama adolescentis paullum hsesit ad metas notitia nova mulieris, et infelici vicinitate, et insolenti& voluptatum ; qufe cum inclusse diutius, et prima setate compress^, et con- strictse fuerunt, subito se nonnunquam profundunt, atque ejiciunt universse : qua ex vit&, vel dicam, quo ex sermone, nequaquam enim tantum erat, quantum homines loquebantur, reriim ex eo, quidquit erat, emersit, totumque se ejecit atque extulit : tantumque abest ab illius familiaritatis infamia, ut ejus- dem nunc ab sese inimicitias odiumque propulset. Atque ut iste interpositus strmo deliciarum desidiseque moreretur (fecit, me, (4,7) ^ Pompelo procunfuli contubernalis .] This may either fignify, that Coelius lived in the fame tent with the proconful, or that he was under his particular care and in- fpe&ion. (&) In hoc Jicxu quasi atatis fama adolefcentis paulum b'ajit ad metas .] This is a beauti- ful metaphor borrowed from the chariot-races, in which it required great art and dex- terity to avoid the meta handfomely, in making their turns. Now as this turning waa the mod difficult part of the race, Cicero represents that turn of life betwixt youth and manhood as the mod critical and dangerous period of it : and indeed very juftly. Youth being now fet free from the fhackles of difcipline, look abroad into the world with rapture, fee an elyfian region open before them, ftored with delight, and being diftra&ed by different forms of pleafure, vainly imagine that every path will equally lead them to the bowers of blifs. Reafon being now but a feeble guide, and paffion And faacy the (leering principles, no wonder if launching thus into the ocean of life, cicero's orations. 357 share in ths government, and for the attainment of glory, honour, and dignity. He cultivated friendship with those who were more advanced in years than himself, but with those only whose industry and temperance he was most desirous of imi- tating : and in his intimacy with his equals, he seemed to tread the same path of honour with the most worthy and illustrious. \$ hen he was a little farther advanced in life, he went into Africa, and lived in the same tent with the proconsul Q. Pompeius ; a man eminent for his integrity, and a strict ob- server of every moral duty. In this province, where his father had an estate, he acquired that provincial experience which our ancestors justly considered as necessary lor young gentle- men of his age ; and left it highly approved by Pompey, as you shall see by the testimony he gave of him. Me was desirous of giving the ©oman people a proof of his industry, by impeaching some considerable person, according to some ancient usage, and in imitation of those young men who afterwards ar- rived at great eminence, and became illustrious citizens. Sect. XXXI. I wish his passion for glory had led him to something else ; but 'tis too late now to complain of that. He accused my unfortunate colleague, C Antonins, to whom the remembrance of his services to the state was of no avail, and the opinion of his having intended its ruin, of great prejudice. None of his equals afterwards surpassed him in diligence at the ^**~" bar, in the multiplicity of business, in managing the causes of iViends, or in the esteem of relations ; all the advantages which \ can only be obtained bv the vigilant, the temperate, and the industrious, he obtained bv labour and diligence. In this turning of life, as it mav be called, (for I will conceal nothing, as I have the greatest confidence in your goodness and wisdom), his reputation met with a rub at the very goal, by his acquaint- ance with this woman, his unhappy neighbourhood, and his not being accustomed to pleasures ; which when they are long confined, and, in the early part of life, checked and shackled, pour forth sometimes all of a sudden, and throw themselves out all at once. lie has, however, extricated himself from this life, or rather from this report, (for he was far from being what he was said to be) ; but whatever it was, he has raised himself above it, and is now so far. removed from the reproach of her intimacy, that he defends himself against her malice and resent- ment. And that he might put an end to those reports of his sloth and voluptuousness, which clouded his reputation, he ac- cused a friend of mine of corruption, much against my incliua- confident of the soundness of their vtffels, with full fails, and without a p ; U t, tfcey are either betrayed i: '5, or c'.afhed againft ihe recks. 356 M. T f CICERONIS ORATIONES, rnmercule, invito et multum repugnante, sed tamen fecit) no- men amici mei de ambitu detulit ; quern absolutum insequitur, re* vocat : nemini nostrum obtemperat ; est violentior quam vellem. Sed ego non loquor de sapientia, qure non cadit in hanc seta- tern : de impetu animi loquor, de cupiditate vincendi, de ardore mentis ad gloriam : quae studia in his jam setatibus nostris cort- tractiora esse debent : in adolescentia vero, tanquam in herbis, significant, quae virtutis maturitas, et quantse fruges industrise sint futurse. JEtenim semper magno ingenio adolescentes re- frenandi potius a gloria, quam incitandi fuerunt : amputanda plura sunt illi setati, siqaidem efRorescit ingenii laudibus, quam in^ serenda. Quare, si cui nimium efferbuisse videtur hujus, vel in suscipiendis, vel in gerendis inimicitiis, vis, ferocitas, perti- nacia ; siquem etiam minimprum horum aliquid offendit ; si purpura genus, si amkorum catervse, si splendor, si nitor ; jam ista deferbuerint ; jam setas omnia, jam ista dies mitigaret. XXXII. Conservate igitur reipublicse,judices, civem bonarum artium, bonarum parti um, bonorum virorum ; promitto hoc vo T bis, et reipublicae spondee, si modo nos ipsi reipublicse satisfe- cimus, nunquam hunc a nostris rationibus sejunctum fore ; quod cum fretus nostra familiaritate promitto, turn quod durissimis se ipse legibus jam obligarit. Neque enkn potest, qui hominem consularem, quodab eo rempublicam violatam diceret, in judi- cium vocarit, ipse esse in republica civis turbulentus : non po- test, qui ambitu ne absolutum quidem patitur esse absolutum, ipse impune unquam esse largitor. Habet aM. Ccelio respublica, judices duas accusationes velpbsides periculi, vel pignora vo- luntatis. Quare oro, obtestorque vos, judices, ut qua^ in civitate paucis his diebus (49) Sext. Clodius absolutus sit, quern vos per biennium aut ministrum seditionis, aut ducem vidistis ; qui sedes sacras, qui censum populi Romani, qui memoriam publicam suis manibus incendit, hominem sine re, sine fide, sine spe, sine sede, sine fortunis ; ore, lingua, manu, vita omni inquinatum ; qui Catuli monumentum afflixit, meam domum diruit, mei fratris incendit ; qui in palatio atque in urbis oculis servitia ad CJedam et inflammandam urbem incitavit : in ea civitate ne patia», (49) Sextus Clodius abfolutus fit.'] This 19 the perfon of whofe violent behaviour we Itear fo much in the oration for Milo, and that for Cicero's own houfe. cicero's orations. 359 £9oa indeed ; he did it, however, notwithstanding all my en^ deavours to the contrary : after he was acquitted, he renewed the accusation ; he regarded none of us ; and has much more impetuosity than I could wish. But I don't speak of wisdom, which is seldom to be met with in his years ; I speak of the bent of his mind, of his passion for distinguishing himself, and his ardour for glory : all which, in persons of our age, ought to be more moderate ; but in youth, as in vegetables, they only show what is to be expected from their virtue when arrived at its maturity, and what a rich harvest is to spring from their industry. And indeed it has always been more necessary to check young men of great genius in the career of glory, than spur them on ; and at that age much more is to be lopped than ingrafted, as its powers are opened and spread out by applause. If Coelius therefore appears to any to be too impetuous, sanguine, and obstinate either in conceiving or in prosecuting resentment ; if the meanest of those that are here present are in the least of- fended by the purple he wears, the number of his friends, his splendour and elegance ; these things will quickly subside, age and time will soon moderate them all. Sect. XXXII. Preserve therefore to the state, my lords, a citizen of virtuous dispositions, of virtuous principles, and of virtuous friendships. This I promise to you, and engage for it to my country, if I myself have hitherto given satisfaction to the state, that his measures shall never be different from mine : this I promise, both on account of our intimacy, and because he has brought himself under the strongest engagements to per- form it. For it is impossible that he who impeached a person of consular dignity for attempting the ruin of the state, should himself be a seditious citizen : it is impossible that he should ever dare to practice the arts of corruption, who accused another of practising them, after being once acquitted. The state, my lords, has of M. Coelius two impeachments, as hostages that he will never bring her into danger, and as pledges of his affection, In a city, therefore, my lords, where within these few days Sextus Clodius has been acquitted, whom for two years you have seen either the instrument or the leader of sedition ; who, with his own hands, has set fire to the temples, the registers, and the archives of Rome : a man without estate, without honour, without hope, without a dwelling, without any fortune ; whose mouth, whose tongue, whose hands, whose whole life is polr luted ; who demolished the monument of Catulus, threw down my house, and burnt that of my brother ; who, in the Palatium, and before the eyes of all Rome, raised the slaves to butcher our citizens, and set fire to our city ; I intreat and conjure you that you would not suffer him to be acquitted in the same city S6Q M. T. CICERONi* ORATIONES. mini ilium absolutum muliebri gratia, M. Ccelium libidini mu- liebri condonatum : ne eadem mulier cum suo conjuge et fratre, turpissimum latronem eripuisse, et honestissimum adolescentem oppressisse videatur. Quod cum hujus vobis adolescentiam pro- posueritis, (50) constituitote vobis ante oculos hujus etiam miseri senectutem, qui hoc unico filio nititur, in hujus spe requiescit, hujus unius casum pertimescit : quern vos supplicem vestrm misericordise, servum potestatis, abjectum non tarn ad pedes, quam ad mores sensusque vestros, vel recordatione parentum vestrorum, vel liberorum jucunditate sustentate : v ut in alterius dolore, vel pietati, vel indulgentiae vestrse serviatis. Nolite, judices, aut hunc jam natura ipsa occidentem velle maturius ex* stingui vulnere vestro, quam suo fato : aut hunc nunc primum ' fiorescentem nrmata jam stirpe virtutis, tanquam turbine aliquo aut subita tempestate pervertere. Conservate parenti iiiium, parentem nlio, ne aut senectutem jam prope desperatam con- tempsisse, aut adolescentiam plenam spei maxima? non modo non aluisse vos, sed etiam perculisse atque afflixisse videamini. Quern si vobis, si suis, si reipublicse conservatis, addictum, ob- strictum vobis ac liberis vestris habebitis : omniumque hujus nervorum ac laborum vos potissimum, judices, fructus uberes diuturnosque capietis. ($0) Confituitotg vobis ante oculos lujus etiam miferi fenetlutemJ) Scarce any thing can fee of greater efficacy to melt the mind into tendernefs and companion, than the fight of old age overwhelmed with forrow and affliction ; this circumftance, therefore, wrought up with fo much beauty by one who was mailer of all the powers of elo- quence, and knew well all the avenues to the human heart, could not fail of impreff. ing the judges with favourable difpofitions to Ccelius, who accordingly was acquitted, cicero's orations, 361 through the interest, and M. Ccelius to be sacrificed to the lust of a woman ; lest the same person with her husband, I mean her brother, should seem to have saved a most infamous robber, and ruined a young man of the greatest worth. And when you have considered the youth of Ccelius, place before your eyes the old age of this his wretched father, who has no other support but this only son ; who founds all his hopes upon him, and has no fears but upon his account. If your hearts were ever touched with pious sentiments to parents, or with tender affection to children, support him, here prostrate before you, not so much to testify his respect, as to move your compassion ; that the sorrows of both may excite in you every emotion of filial piety and paternal fondness. Let not the one, my lords, who is already sinking into the grave by the weight of years, be cut off by your severity, sooner than by the stroke of nature ; nor the other, now that his virtues have taken deep root, and just begun to blossom, be thrown down as it were, by some violent blast or sudden tempest. Preserve the son to the father, the father to the son, that you may not appear to have despised an old man almost destitute of every hope ; and not only to have refused cherishing a youth of the greatest hopes, but even to have depressed and ruined him. By preserving him to your- selves, to his friends, to his country, you will find you will attach and consecrate him to you and your children ; and you, my lords, will reap the fairest and most lasting fruits of all his abilities, and of all his toils. *.■■ • ■ . r . ** ORATIO XI. IN L. CALPTJRNIUM PISONEM*. I. — (*) JAMNE vides, bellua, jamne sentis, quae sit ho- minum querela frontis tuse ? (a) Nemo queritur Syrum, nescio quem, de grege novitiorum, factum esse consulem ; non enim nos color iste servilis, non pilosse gena?, non dentes putridi deceperunt : oculi, supercilia, frons, vultus denique totus, qui sermo quidam tacitus mentis est, hie in errorem homines impulit : hie eos, quibus erat ignotus, decepit, fefellit, in fraudem induxit. Pauci ista tua lutulenta vitia noveramus : pauci tarditatem ingenii, stuporem debilitatemque linguae ; nunquam erat audita vox in foro : nunquam periculum factum consilii ; nullum non modo illustre, sed ne totum quidem fac- tum, autmilitise autdomi ; obrepsisti ad honores errorehominum y (3) commendation e fumosarum inxiginum. : quarum simile habes nihil prseter colorem. Is mihi etiam gloriabitur, se om- * L. Calpurnius Pifo was confui with Gabinius in the year of Rome 695 ; they were both the profeffed enemies of Cicero, and concurred with Clodius in thofe vio- lent meafures which terminated in his banifhment. Upon the expiration of his con- fulfhip, Pifo went to his government of Macedonia, where his adminiftration was ex- tremely inglorious ; he oppreffed the fubje&s, plundered the allies, and loft the beffc part of his troops againft the neighbouring Barbarians, who invaded and laid waller the country. Cicero, after his return from exile, neglecled no opportunity of bekig re- venged ; upon occafion of a debate in the fenate about the confular provinces, he ex- erted all his authority to get him recalled with fome marks of difgrace, and accord- ingly the fenate decreed his revocation ; when he arrived at Rome, he entered the city obfeurely and ignominioufly, without any other attendance than his own retinue. On his firft appearance in public, trufting to the authority of Caefar, who was his fon-in- law, he had the hardinefs to attack Cicero, and complain to the fenate of his injurious treatment of him. Cicero, provoked by his impudent attack, replied to him upon the fpot in the following oration, which is a fevere invective upon his whole life and con- duct ; and which, if invectives are to be confidered as faithful memoirs, muft tranfmit to all pofterity the moll deteftable character of him. (1) Jamne vides, bellua.) The beginning of this oration is loft, excepting a few frag- ments preferved by Afconius (z) Nemo queritur Syrum, nefcio quem~\ By Syr urn is here meant, a flave ; for it was- nfual to call Haves by the name of the country from whence they came. Some com* ORATION XL AGAINST PISO. Sect. I — DOST thou not see, blockhead, dost thou not now perceive what complaints are made of thy impudence ? No one complains that an obscure Syrian, from amongst a crowd of new bought slaves, is made consul : for his dark complexion, his hairy cheeks, and rotten teeth, would not allow of any imposition ; but here men have been deceived by those eyes, by those brows, by that forehead ; in a word, by that whole vissage, which is a kind of silent language of the heart : these have misled, abused, and imposed upon those, who were strangers to them. There were few of us who knew yOur filthy vices, few who were acquainted with your dullness, with the stupidity and feebleness of your tongue. Your voice was never heard in the forum, nor your opinion in the senate : never was you illustrious, nor even known, for any action either in peace or war ; you have crept into honours by the misteke of mankind, without any thing to recommend you but smoky images, which you resemble in nothing but their colour. And shall he vainly boast even to me, that he has obtained the high- est offices of the state without repulse ? This I indeed may be allowed to say of myself with true glory, on whom, though but a new man, the Roman people have bestowed all their honours. mentators have indeed imagined that Gabinius, who had Syria for his province, is pointed at ; but there feems to be little reafo* for fuch an imagination. ( '$) Commendationa fumofarum imaginum .] The right of ufing pictures or ftatues at Rome. was only allowed to fuch whofeanceflorsorthemfelves had borne fomecurule offi- ce, that is, had been curule aedile. cenfor. prastor, or conful. He that had the pictures or ftatues of his anceftors, was called nobllis : he that had only his own, novus ; he that had neither, ignobilis. It was ufual for the Romans, as Cicero informs us in his book of Offices, to burn frankincenle and wax lights before them upon the diss f.jli ; whence probably they are here called fumofte. W2 56-4 M. T. GICERONIS ORATIONES. ncs magistratus sine repulsa assecutum ? mihi ista licet de me vera cum gloria prsedicare ; omnes enim honores populus Ro- manus mihi ipsi homini novo, detulit. Nam tu cum quaestor es factus, etiam qui te nunquam viderant, ( 4 ) tamen ilium hono- rem nomini mandabant tuo. JEdilis es factus : Piso est a populo Romano factus, non iste Piso. Prsetura item majoribus delata est tuis ; noti erant illi mortui : te vivum nondum noverat quisquam. Me cum (5) qusestorem in primis, sedilem priorem, prsetorem primum cunctis suffragiis populus Romanus faciebat homini ille honorem, non generi ; moribus, non majoribus meis ; virtuti perspecta*, non auditse nobilitati, deferebat. Nam quid ego de consulatu loquar . ? parto vis, anne gesto ? Miserum me ! cum hac me nunc peste, atque labe confero ? sed nihil compa- randi causa loquar ; ac tamen ea quae sunt longissime disjuncta comprehendam. Tu consul es renunciatus (nihil dicam gravius, quam quod omnes fatentur) impeditis reipublicse temporibus, dissidentibus coss. Csesare et Bibulo, cum hoc non recusares, quin ii, a quibus dicebare consul, te luce dignum non putarent, nisinequior, quam Gabinius, exstitisses ; me cuncta Italia, me omnes ordines, me universa civitas, non prius tabella quam voce, priorem consulem declaravit. II. Sed omitto, ut sit factus uterque nostrum ; sit sane fors domina campi ; magnificentius est dicere, quemadmodum ges- serimus consulatum, quam quemadmodum ceperimus. Ego ka- lendis Januar. senatum et bonos omnes legis agrarian maxima- rumque largitionem metu liberavi. Ego agrum Campanum, (6) si dividi non oportuit, conservavi ; si oportuit, melioribus auctoribus reservavi. Ego in C. Rabirio, perduellionis reo (7) XL annis ante me consulem interpositam senatus auctoritatem sustinui contra invidiam, atque defendi. (8) Ego adolescentes bonds et fortes, sed usos ea conditione fortunse, ut, si essent raa- (4) Tamen ilium honorem nomini mandabant tuo,] Cicero reproaches Pifo with being in- debted for his advancement, not to perfonal merit, but to his name. He was descen- ded indeed from one of the moll illuftrious families in Rome, that of Pifo Frugi, who had done many md diftinguifhed fervices to the Roman ftate. Our orator makes very honourable mention of him in kis oration for Fonteius. (5) Quajlorem imprimis."] Cicero obtained the quagftorfhip in the firft year in which he was capable of it by law, the thirty-firft of his age ; and was chofen the firft of all his competitors by the unanimous fuffrages of the tribes. (6) Si dividi non oportuit^ ft oportuit.] Our orator probably makes this diftinction for fear of giving offence to Csefar, who in his confulihip had carried an Agrarian law by violence, for diftributing the lands of Campania to twenty thoufand poor citizens, who had each three children or more. (7) XL annis ante me confulem.] In this, as in feveral other paffages of his orations Cicero is not fcrupuloufly exact in his computations of time ; for from the death of Saturninus to his confulihip, there were only thirty-five years : fo that he muft be un- deritcodas if he had faid, almoft forty years, (8) Ego adoltfcentes boms ev fortes.] What Cicero here refers to, was this. Sylla had by an txprefs law excluded the children of the profcribed from the fenate and all pub- tichonours. The perfons injured by this tyrannical act, being many, and of great ctcero's orations. 565 when you was made quaestor, even those who had never seen you, conferred that honour upon your name. You was made fedile ; But it was a Piso who was then chosen by the Roman people, and not that there Piso. It was on your ancestors too that the prsetorship was bestowed ; these illustrious dead were known to every body ,* but you, though alive, was known by none. But when the Roman people, bv their unanimous suffrages, made me quaestor, sedile, and prsetor, the first of ail my com- petitors, they bestowed those honours upon Cicero, not upon his family ; upon his manners, not upon his ancestors; upon his virtue which they had seen, and not upon bis nobility they had heard of. What shall I say of my consulship ? Shall I show how I obtained it, or how I exercised it ? To what a mis- erable situation am I now reduced, to compare myself with that repraoch, that plague of his country! but I will say nothing by way of comparison, and yet I will join things widely differ- ent from each other. You was declared consul, to say nothing more than what is universally confessed, at a difficult period of the state, while the consuls Cfesarand Bibuluswere at .variance .; and you yorself cannot denv that those who declared you consul, would have deemed you unworty of the light, if you had not surpassed Gabinius in wickedness. But I was declared the first consul by the suffrages and acclamations of all Italy, of all orders men, and of the whole state. Sect. II. I shall not mention the manner, however, in which each of us was made consul,, let chance be supposed to have presided in the field of election : it is more glorious to relate how we conducted ourselves in the consulship, than how we obtained it. On the first of January I delivered the senate and every worthy Roman, from the terror of the Agrarian law, and that of boundless corruption. I preserved the Campanian lands, if it was not proper they should be divided, if it was, I reserved that employment for those that were better qualified to discharge it. In my pleading for C. Rabirius, who was accused of treason, for having killed Saturninus, forty years before my consulship, I supported and defended the authority of the senate when attacked by envy. I excluded from honours a number of brave and worthy young men, but thrown by fortune into so mi- families, used all their interest to get it reverfed. Cicero was of opinion, that their petition was, from the condition of the times, highly unfeafonable however equitable ; fince it was natural to fuppose, that the firft ufe an oppreffgd party would make of the recovery of their power, would be to revenge themselves on their oppreffors. Ac-? cordingly he made it hisbufinefs to prevent that inconvenience, and found means to. perfuade thofe unfortunate men, that to bear their injury was their benefit ; and that tke government itfelf, could not ftand, if Sylla'slaws were then repealed, on whic& $he quiet and order of the republic were efiablifhed. 5sJC6 m. t. ciceronis orationes, gistratus adepti, reipub. statum convulsuri viderentur, meis ini- micitiis, nulla senatus mala gratia, comitiorum ratione privavi ; ego Antonium collegam, cupidum provincise, multa in republica molientem, patientia atque obsequio mco mitigavi, Ego pro- vinciam Galliam senatus auctorijate, exercitu et pecunia in- structam et ornatam, quam cum Antonio communicavi, quod ita existimabam tempora reipubl. ferre, in concione deposui, recla-* mante populo Romano. Ego L, Catilinam, csedem senatus, inte- ritum urbis, non obscure, sed palam molientem, egredi ex urbe jussi : lit, a quo legibus non poteramus, mcenibus tuti esse posse* mus. Ego tela extremo mense consulates mei intenta jugulis ci- vitatis de conjuratorum nefariis manibus extorsi. Ego faces jam accensas adhujusurbisincendiumcomprehendi, protuli, exstinxi. III. Me Q. Catulus princeps hujus ordinis, et auctor publici consilii, frequentissimo senatu, parentem patriae nominavit. Mini hie vir clarissimus, qui propter te sedet, L. Gellius, hid audientibus, civicam coronam deberi a repub. dixit. Mihi togato senatus, non, ut multis, bene gestse, sed ut nemini, con- servatse reipublicse, singulari genere supplicationis, deorum im« mortalium templa patefecit. (9) Ego cum in concione, abiens magistratu, dicere a tribuno plebis prohiberer, quse constitue- ram ; cumque is mihi tantummodo ut jurarem, permitteret ; sine ulla dubitatione juravi, rempubl. atque hanc urbem mea unius opera esse salvam. Mihi populus Romanus universus, ilia in concione, non unius diei gratulationem, sed seternitatem im- mortalitatemque donavit, cum meum jusjurandum tale atque tan- tum, juratus ipse, una voce et consensu approbavit. Quo quidem tempore is meus domum fuit e fororeditus, ut nemo, nisi qui me- cum esset,civium esse in numero videretur. Atque ita est a me con- sulatus peractus, ut nihil sine consilio senatus, nihil non appro- bante populo Romano egerim : ut semper in rostris curiam, in senatu populum defenderim : ut multitudinem cum principibus, Mr. Guthrie in a note upon this paffage, falls foul upon Cicero, whofe conduct, or this occafion he fays, was both impolitic and unjuft, and the apology he makes for it, afneaking one. But the ingenious and learned Dr. Middleton with more judgment obferves, that he acted the part of a wife ftatefmAn, who is often forced to tolerate, and even maintain what he cannot approve, for the fake of the common good ; agree- abl - to what he lays down in his book of Offices thac many things which are naturally right and jufty are yet by certain circumjiances and conjunctures of iimes % made dijboncji and unjujl. (<)) Ego cum in condone, ab'itns magisjlratu, dicere a tribuno pi: bis prohiberer, qua con~ fitueram \ It was ufual to refij. n the confu'fhip in* an affembiy of the people, and to take an oath of having difcharged it ivith fidelity.' This was generally accompanied with a fpeech from the expiring conful ; and after fuch a year, and from fuch a fpeaker, the city was in no fmall expectation of whac Cicero would fay to them ? but Metellus, one of the new tribunes, who generally opened their magiftracy by fome remarkable act as a fpecimen of the meafures they intended to purfue, difappointed both the o- jratpr and the audience : for when Ci»«.ro had mounted the Rojlra % and was ready to cicero's orations. S65T -serable a situation, that if they had obtained power they would probably have employed it to the ruin of the state ; and this by rendering myself only obnoxious, without bringing the senate under any odium. By my patience and complaisance I softened my colleague Anthony, who was desirous of a pro- vince, and was meditating many things against the state. In a public assembly, contrary to the inclination of the Roman people, I resigned the province of Gaul ; which, by the sen- ate's order, was Well furnished with money and troops ; and exchanged it with Anthony, because, I thought the situation of the state required it. L. Catiline who was projecting the murder of the senate, and the destruction of Rome, not se- cretly but openly, I ordered to leave the city ; that, as our laws would not defend us from him, our walls might. In the last month of my consulship, I wrested from the wicked hands of conspirators, the swords which they aimed at the throats of my fellow-citizens. I seized, produced, and extinguished the torches that were lighted up to set fire to the city. Sect. III. Q. Catulus, prince of the senate, and the guide of public deliberations, in a full house declared me the father of my country? L. Gellius, that illustrious senator^ who sits / near you, said in the hearing of the assembly, that a civic crown was due to me from the republic.) The senate by an xtraordinary kind of supplication, opened the temples of the immortal gods to me in my robes of peace, not for having done service to the state which had been the case of many, but for having saved it from ruin, which had happened to none. Upon the expiration of my office, when a tribune of the people hin^ dered me from saying publicly what I intended, and would only allow me to take the oath, I swore without any hesitation, that I alone had ^preserved the commonwealth and this city from de- struction. vThe whole Roman people upon that occasion be- stowed upon me, not the acclamations of a day, but an eternity and immortality of applause ; for with one voice, and with one consent, they confirmed this my solemn and important oath, and swore, themselves that what I said was true : after which my return from the forum to my own house was such, that none DUt those who attended me seemed to be Romans. Such indeed [ , r as my conduct during the whole of my consulship, that I did nothing without the advice of the senate, nothing without the pprobation of the Roman people. From the rostra I always perform this lad a& of his office, he would not fuffer him to fpeafc, or do any thing nore than barely take the oath ; declaring, that beivho had put citizens to death unheard vgbt not t» be permitted to f peak for bimfe'f. M. T. CICERONIS ORATIONES, cquestrem ordinem cum senatu conjunxerim. Exposui brevitcr consulatum meum, IY. Aude nunc, 6 furia, de tuo dicere : cujus fuit initium (10) ludi Compitalitii, turn primum facti post L. Mctellum et Q. Mar- cium coss. contra auctoritatem hujus ordinis : quos Q. Metellus (facio injuriam fortissimo viro mortuo, qui ilium, cujus paucos pares hsec civitas tulit, cum hac importuna bellua conferam) sed ille designatus consul, cum quidem tribunus pleb. suo auxilio magistros, ludos contra senatusconsultum facere jussisset, pri- vatus fieri vetuit : atque id, quod nondum potestate poterat, ob- tinuit auctoritate. Tu, cum, in kalendis Jan. Compitaliorum dies incidisset, Sex. Clodium, qui nunquam antea prsetextatus fuisset, ludos facere, et prsetextatum volitare passus es, homi- nem impurum, atque non modo facie, sed etiam oculo tuo dignissimum. Ergo his fundamentis positis consulates tui, tri^ duo post, inspectante et tacente te, a P. Clodio, fatali por- fento prodigioque reipublicse, lex iElia et Fusia eversa est, propugnacula murique tranquilitatis atque otii. Collegia non ea solum, quae senatus sustulerat, restkuta sunt, sed innumera- bilia qusedam nova ex omni fsece urbis ac servitio constituta. Ab eodem homine in stupris inauditis nefariisque versato, ve- tus ilia magistra pudoris et modestia?, severitas censoria sublata est ; cum tu interim, bustum reipubl. qui te consulem turn Ro- mse dicis fuisse, verbo nunquam significaris sententiam tuam tantis in naufragiis civitatis. \ . Nondum qua3 feceris, sed quse fieri passus sis, dico : neque vero multum interest, preesertim in consule, utrum ipse perni- ciosis legibus, improbis concionibus rempubl. vexet, an alios yexare patiatur.. An potest ulla esse excusatio, non dicam male sentienti, sed sedenti, cunctanti, dormienti in maximo reipub. motu consuli ? centum prope annos legem JEliam et Fusiam te- nueramus : quadringentos judicium, notionemque censoriam ; quas leges ausus est non nemo improbus, potuit quidem nemo unquam, convellere : quam potestatem minuere, quominus de moribus nostris quinto quoque anno judicaretur, nemo tarn ef- fuse petulans conatus est. lJ«c sunt, 6 carnifex,, in gremio se- pulta consulates tui. Persequere connexos his funeribus dies. (lO) Lude Compitalitii.] The Lude Gompitalitii were fo called from the Comffita, or erofs-lanes, where they were iniVituted and celebrated by the rude multitude that was got together, before the building of Rome : after having been laid down for many years, they were revived, and held during the Compitalia, or the feats of Lares, who prefided as well over flreets as houfes. We are told by Suetonius, that Auguftus ordered the Lares to be crowned twice a year at the Cnmpitalitian games, with fpring flowers. This crowning thehoufhould gods, and offering facrifices up and down in the ftreetB, made the greateft part of the folemnity of the feaft. Cft***** Q rx RATIONS. 36* defended the cause of the senate, and in the senate that of the people ; the lower sort of the people I united with the higher, and the equestrian with the senatorian order. Thus have I briefly laid open my consulship. Sect. IV. If thou darest now, detestable fury ! speak of thine, which was begun with the Compitalitian games, then first exhibited since the consulship of L. Metellus and Q. Mar- cius, against the authority of this order. Q. Metellus, when consul elect, (but I do an injury to the memory of that brave man, who has had few equals in this state, when I compare him with this worthless being), forbade, as a private person, these games to be celebrated ; though a tribune of the people, in opposition to a decree of the senate, had ordered it ; and thus effected by his credit, what he could not as yet have done by his power. These games falling upon the first of Ja- nuary, you suffered Sex. Clodius, that beastly fellow, and highly worthy of your countenance and friendship, to celebrate them, and to flutter about in his purple-bordered robe, though till then he had never wore it. Having thus laid the foundation ©fyour consulship, three days after, the iElian and Fusian laws, those walls and bulwarks of the public peace and tranquil- lity, were abolished by P. Clodius, fthat pernicious monster to the state, whilst you looked silently on.^ Those fraternities which the senate destroyed, were not only* ; restored, but num- berless new ones were raised, consisting of slaves, and the very dregs of the city. The same Clodius, who abandoned himself to the most horrible and unheard-of acts of lewdness and debauchery, abolished the severity of the censorship, that antient directress of manners and modesty ; whilst you, the sepulchre of the state, who tells us that you was then consul at Rome, never opened your mouth amidst the so great desolation of your country. Sect. V. I have hitherto mentioned not what you did, but only what you suffered to be done ; though indeed there is little difference, especially in a consul, whether he himself har- rasses the state by pernicious laws and wicked cabals, or allows others to do it. Can any excuse be made, I shall not say for a disaffected consul, but for one who sits still, who loiters and sleeps during the greatest commotions of the state ? The 2Elian and Fusian laws we had observed almost for an hundred years, and the jurisdiction of the censors had subsisted four hundred : these laws one wretch endeavoured, but no man was ever able to shake ; as to the jurisdiction of the censors, no person ever arrived at such a pitch of audaciousness as to endeavour to lessen it, and prevent our manners from being brought under their cognizance every fifth year. All these, thou executioner of the laws, were buried in the bosom of thy consulship. Go on, and inform us of what happened immediately after this desolation 3T0 M. T. eiCM, ^ . ones> Pro Aurelio tribunal!, ne connivente quidem te, \ csset scelus, sed etiam hilarioribus oculis, qam solitus eras, m- tuente, delectus servorum habebatur ab eo, qui nihil sibi un* quam nee facere,nec pati turpe esse duxit ; (") anna in templo Castoris, 6 proditor templbrum omnium ! vidente te, constitue- bantur ab eo latrone, cui templum illud fuit, te consule, arx ci- vium perditoru'm, receptaculum veterum Catilinse militum, castellum forensis latrocinii, bustum legum omnium ac religio- num. Erat non solum domus mea, sed totum Palatium senatu, equitibus Romanis, civitate omni, Italia cuncta refertum : cum tu non modo ad eum Ciceronem (mitto enim domestica, qusfc negari possunt : hsec commemoro, quae sunt paiam), non modo, inquam, ad eum, cui primam commitiis tuis dederas tabulam prferogativas, quern in senatu sententiam rogabas tertium, nun- quam aspirasti : sed omnibus consiliis, quse ad me opprimen- dum parabantur, non interfuisti solum, verum etiam crudelis- sime prsefuisti. VI. Mihi vero ipsi (i*) coram genero meo, propinquo tuo, quae dicere ausus es ? egere, foris esse Gabinium : sine pro- vincia stare non posse : spem habere a tribuno plebis, si tua consiiia cum illo conjunxisses : a senatu quidem desperasse : hujus te cupiditati obsequi, sicuti ego fecissem in collega meo : nihil esse quod presidium consulum implorarem : sibi quern que concuiere oportere. Atque hsec dicere vix audeo : vereor ne qui sit, qui istius insignem nequitiam, frontis involutam in in- tegumentis, nondum cernat ; dicam tamen : ipse certe ag- nosctt, et cum aliquo dolore flagitiorum suorum recordabitur. Meministi-ne, coenum, cum ad te quinta fere hora cum C. Pi- sone venissem, nescio quo e gurgustio te prodire, involuto ca- pite, soleatum ? et, cum isto ore foetido teterrimam nobis po- pinam inhalsses, excusatione te uti valetudinis, quod diceres, vinolentis te quibusdam medicaminibus solere curari ? quam nos causam cum accepissemus (quid enim facers poteramus ?) (n) Arma in templo Cajiorh.) This temple was built by Aulus Pofthumius apoa his vi&ory over the Latins, about the year of Rome 258 : in confequence of a fabulous ftory, which we find related by Dionysius of HalicarnafFus. Two young horfemen, 'ti^fdid, of an extraordinary and majeitic ftature, appeared to Pofthumius during the battle of Reijillus. and fought for the Romans, In the evening after rhe battle, they appeared at Rome in the forum, and after having told the crowd of citizens who fur- rounded them, the firftnews of the vidlory, they difappeared. The next morning the magiftrates receiving letters from Pofthumius, which among other circumftances of the battle, mentioned the fudden appearance of the two young horfemen who fought for the Romans ; it was concluded they were the fame who brought the news to Rome, and that they could be no other than Caftor and Pollux : This fabulous ftory was be- lieved among the Romans, and tranfmitted to pofterity by public monuments, which were ftill fubfifting in the time of Dionyfius. fizj C ram genero meo.'] This was C Pifo Frugi, on whom Cicero beftows a very high character ; and tells us, that for probity, virtue, modefty, and every accomplifh- GlCERO's ORATION3* &7 1 €>f the state. Before the Aurelian tribunal, a levy of slaves wad made by one who never thought any thing too infamous either to do or suffer, whilst you did not affect indeed to look on with indifference, though even this would have been a crime, but beheld it with unusual pleasure. Before thy eyes, thou who hast violated all the temples, arms were placed in the temple of Castor by that robber, who used it as a citadel for abandoned citizens, as a receptable for Catiline's veterans, as the strong hold of civil robberv, as the sepulchre of all laws, and of every thing sacred. Not only my house, but the whole Palatium was filled with senators, with Roman knights, with the citizens of Rome, and the inhabitants of all Italy ; whilst you, /(for I pass by domestic transactions, which may be denied, and confine myself to those that are publicly known)jwhilst you, I say, not only never assisted that Cicero, whom, at your election, you employed to preside over the votes of the leading century, and who was the third whose opinion you asked in the senate ; but whenever any scheme was formed for my destruction, you was present, nay you cruelly presided. Sect. VI. But what was it you had the impudence to say to myself, before my son-in-law, your Own kinsman ? that Gibi- nius was so very poor that he was not able to show his head ; that it was impossible for him to subsist without a province ; that he had some hopes of one from a tribune of the people, if he and you were to join interests, but that he despaired of any thing from the senate ; that you humoured him as I had done my colleague ; that it signified nothing to implore the help of the consuls ; and that every man ought to look to himself. And here there are some things I scarce dare mention. V I am afraid lest there should be any who do not yet perceive the excessive wickedness which is concealed under the folds of that fellow's forehead : I will mention them however. ") He, himself will cer- tainly acknowledge them, and the recollection of his crimes will be attended with some pangs of remorse. Dost thou not re- member, thou filthy wretch ! how that, when C. Piso 2nd I went to you almost at mid-day, we found you coming out from a little hovel, with your sandals on your feet, and your head muffled up ; and when you had almost overwhelmed us with a foetid steam poured forth from your stinking mouth, how you excused yourself on account of your bad health, and alledgedthat you made use of vinous medicines ? After this apology we re- mained a little (for what could we do ?) amidst the stench and smoke of your filthy hovel, whence you forced us away by your ment of a fine gentleman and fine fpeaker, he fcarce had his equal among all the young n«blemea of Rome. X 2 372 M. f. CICERONIS ORATIONES. paullisper stetimus in illo ganearum tuarum nidore atquefumo; unde tunos cum improbissime respondendo,tumturpissime eruc- tando ejecisti. Idem illo fere biduo productus in concionem ab eo, cui sic sequatum prrebebas consulatum tuum, cum esses in- terrogans, quid sentires de consulatu meo ; gravis auctor, Calatinus credo aliquis, aut Afficanus, aut Maximus, et non Csesonius (13) Semi-placcntinus Calventius, respondes, altero ad frontem sublato, altero ad mentum depresso supercilio, crude- litatem tibi non placere. VII. II 1c te ille homo dignissimus tuis laudibus collaudavit. Crudelitatis tu, furcifer, senatum consul in concione condemnas ? non enim me, qui senatui parui ; nam delatio ilia salutaris et diligens fuerat consulis : animadversio quidem et judicium sena- tes ; quse cum reprehendis, ostendis, qualis tu, si ita forte ac- cidesset, fueris illo tempore consul futurus ; stipendio, meher- cule, et frumento Catilinam esse putasses juvandum ; quid enim interfuit inter Catilinam, et eura, cui tu senatus auctoritatem, salutem civitatis, totam rempub. provincse prsemio vendidisti ? Quje enim L. Catilinam conantem consul prohibui, ea P. Clo- dium facientem consules adjuverunt ; voluit ille senatum inter- ficere, vos sustulistis : leges incendere, vos abrogastis : interire patriam, vosadjuvistis. Quid estvobis coss. gestum sine armis ? incendere ilia coajuratorum manus voluit urbem ; vos ejus do- mum, quern propter urbs incensa non est. Ac ne illi quidem, si habuissent vestri similem consulem, de urbis incendio cogitas- sent ; non enim se tectis privare voluerunt : sed his stanti- bus nullum domicilium sceleri suo fore putaverunt ; csedem illi civium, vos servitutem expetistis. Hie vos etiam crude- liores ; huic enim populo ita fuerat ante vos coss. libertas insita, ut emori potius quam servire prsestaret. Illud vero geminum consiliis Catilinse et Lenaili, quod me domo mea expulistis, Cn. fompeium doraum suam compulistis : neque enim, me stante et manente in urbis vigilia, neque resistente Cn. Fompeio omnium gentium victore, unquam se illi rempub- hcam delere posse duxerunt ; a me quidem etiam pcenas expetis- tis, quibus conjuratorum manes mortuorum expiaretis ; omne odi- um inclusum nefariis sensibus impiorum in me profudistis : quo- rum egofurori nisi cessissem,in Catilinsebusto, vobis ducibus,mac- tattts essem. Quod autem majus indicium exspectatis, nihil inter vos et Catilinam interfuisse, quam quod eandem illam manum ex (13) Semi-placeniinusJ\ Pifo is here called Semi-placentinus, becaufe his mother v.-asof Placentia. cicero's ORATIONS. 373 low answers, and infamous belchings. About two days after, being brought into an assembly by him with whom you had shared your consular authority, when you was asked what you thought of my consulship, with an air of gravity, like a Calatinus, an Africanus, or Maximus, and not like a half Placentian, sprung from Csesonius and Calventius, having one brow screwed up to vour forehead, and another hanging down to your chin, you re- plied, that my cruelty did not please you* Sect. VII. Here you was applauded by him who is highlv worthy of celebrating your praises. Dost thou, villain ! dost thou, a consul, charge the senate with cruelty in a full assembly ? As for me, I have no share in the charge ; for I only obeyed the senate. To give salutary and diligent information belonged to me as a consul, but to bring to a trial and to punish belonged to them as a senate ; by blaming which, you plainly show what vou would have done, had you been consul at that time. I make no question but you would have given it as your opinion, that Catiline should be supplied with money and provisions ; for where was the difference between Catiline and him with whom you bartered the authority of the senate, the safety of Rome, and the whole commonwealth, for a province ? For P. Clodius was assisted by the consuls in doing those things, in which I, as a consul, obstructed the attempts of Catiline, He wanted to murder the senate, you have taken away their author rity ; he wanted to burn the laws, you have abrogated them ; he wanted to destroy his country, and you have seconded hi$ impious attempt. What was done during your consulship with^ out arms ? That band of conspirators wanted to set fire to the city, you to the house of him who prevented them. But had I been a consul like you, even they would never .have enter- tained a thought of burning the city, for they would not have cared to destroy their own houses : but whilst such senators remained, they imagined they could have no sanctuary for their crimes. Their aim was to murder their fellow-citizens, your's to enslave them. In this, your cruelty was greater than theirs : for before your consulship, so ardent was the love of liberty in the breast of every Roman, that they would have preferred death to slavery. It was in imitation of the conduct of Catiline and Lentulus that you drove me from my house, and confined Pompey to his ; for they never imagined they could destroy the state, whilst I was safe, and continued in the city as its watchman ; and whilst Pompey, the conqueror of all nations, opposed them. You required my blood to satisfy the manes of the conspirators, and poured forth upon me all the odium that lay concealed in the breasts of the enemies of their country ; to whose fury if I had not yielded, I had, under such leaders as you, been sacri- ficed upon the tomb of Catiline. But what stronger proof can £74 M. T. CI6ER0NIS ORATIOtfES. intermortuis Catilinse reliquiis concitastis ? quod omnes undiqut perditos collegistis ? quod in me carcerem effudistis ? quod con- juratos armastis ? quod eorum ferro ac furori meum corpus, atque omnium bonorum vitam objicere voluistis ? Sed jam redco ad preeclaram illam concionem tuam. VIII. Tu es ille, cui crudelitas displicet ?cui (u) cum sena* tus luctum ac dojorem suum vestis mutatione deciarandum cen- suisset, cum videres mcerere rempublicam amplissimi ordinis luctu, 6 noster misericors ! quid facis ? quod nulla in barbaric quisquam tyrannus ; omitto enim illud, (*5) consulem edirere, ut senatus senatusconsulto ne obtemperet : quo fcedius nee fieri, nee cogitari quidquam potest ; ad misericordiam redeo ejus, cui nimis videtur senatus in conservanda patria fuisse crudelis, Edicere est ausus cum illo suo pari, quem tamen omnibus vitiis superare cupiebat, ut senatus, contra quam ipse censuisset, ad vestitum rediret, Quis hoc fecit ulla in Scythia tyrannus, ut eos, quos luctu afficeret, lugere non sineret ? moerorem relin- quis, mceroris aufers insignia ; eripis lacrymas, non consolando, sed minando. Quod si vestem non publico consilio patres con- scripti, sed privato officio aut misericordia mutavissent ; tamen id iis non licere per interdicta crudelitatis tufe, potestatis erat non ferendse. Cum vero id senatus frequens censuisset, ordines reliqui jam ante fecissent ; tu ex tenebricosa popina consul ex^ tractus, (x°J cum ilia saltatrice tonsa senatum populi Roman* occasum atque interitum reipublicse lugere vetuisti. IX. At quserebat etiam paullo ante de me, quid suo mihi opus fuisset auxilio ? cur non meis inimicis, meis copiis, resti* tissem ? quasi vero non modo ego, qui multis saepe auxilio fuis- sem, sed quisquam tarn inops fuerit unquam, qui, isto non modo propugnatore, tutiorem se, sed advocato aut adstipulatore pa- ratiorem fore putaret. Ego istius pecudis ac putidse carnis con- (l 1) Cum senatus luctum at da/orem svum vestis mutatione deciarandum cenfuijjet.] Whe* Cicero was- reduced to the condition of a criminal, in confequence of one of Clodius'a laws ; he changed his habit upon it, as was ufual in cafe of a public impeachment, and vent about the ftreers in a mourning-gown, to excite the compaffion of his fellow* citizens. The whole body of the knight*, and the young nobility, to, the number of twenty thoufand with young Crafsus at their head, changed their habit likewife ; and ^pon a motion made by the tribune Ninnius, that the fenate too fhould change their habit with the reft cf the city, it was agreed toinftantly by an unanimous vote, (ij) Confulem edicere, ut fenatus fcnatusconfulto ne obtemperet. j When the motion was made by Ninniu. for the fenate to change their habit, Pifo kept his houfe on purpofe : but Gabinius was fo enraged, that he flew out of the fenate into the forum, and de- clared to the people from the roftra. that the knights fhould pay dear for that day's work; and, to confirm the truth of what he faid, he banifhed L. Lamia, a Roman knight, two hundred miles from the city, for his diftinguifhed zeal and activity in Cicero's fervice. this was followed prefently by an edict from both the confuls. for- bidding the fenate to put their late vote in execution, and enjoining them tft reform* H(heir ordinary drtfs, cicero's orations. $75 you de*irc of the similarity of your conduct to that of Catiline, than your raising the same band from the expiring remains of his associates i than your collecting all the abandoned from every quarter i than your pouring forth the very gaols upon me i than vour arming conspirators ? than your exposing my person, and the life of every worthy Roman, to their rage and violence . ? But I now return to that admirable speech of yours, \ Sect. VIII. Are you the person who are shocked at cruelty? What did you, good tender-hearted sir ! when the senate had resolved to signify their concern and affliction, by changing their habit, when you saw the highest order of the state express their sorrow by their mourning ? what the most barbarous tyrant never did. I pass by the orders given by a consul, that the senate should not obey their own decree ; a proceeding, how- ever, than which none can be conceived more infamous ; and return to the compassion of the man who thought the senate too cruel in saving their country. He had the impudence to order, in conjunction with that brother of his, whom yet he was de- sirous to surpass in all manner of wickedness, that the senate, contrarv to their own ordinance, should resume their usual ha- bit. What Scvthian tyrant ever refused the liberty of groaning under the burden himself had imposed I You leave them m affliction, and won't allow them to give marks of it ; you pre- vent their tears, not by consolation, but by menaces. Supposing the conscript fathers had changed their habit, not in conse- quence of a public ordinance, but from a principle of private friendship or compassion, it would still have been an act of ty- rannical power had you cruelly interposed with your edicts to prevent it : but when a full senate had decreed it, when all the other orders of the state had already done it, then you, who was a consul, being dragged out from a dark tavern, with that sleek dancing lady, forbid the senate to lament the fall and ruin of the state. Sect. IX. But not long before he asked me what need I had for his assistance, and why I had not opposed my forces to those of my enemies ? As if I, who had often assisted many, nay, as if the most destitute person alive would think himself more secure under such a protector, or better prepared for his trial with such an advocate aad voucher. I Was I desirous of throwing myself upon the counsels or protection of that filthy lump of brutality ? m ■ ( 16) Cum ilia faltatrice tonfe ] Gabinius is here meant, who is put in the feminine gender to denote his effeminacy, and is called faltatrix, becaufe his joy at Cicero's ba* •iihment is faid to have made him dance naked at a public entertainment. 37(> M. T. CICERONIS ORATIONES. silio scilicet aut prsesidio niti volebam ? ab hoc ejecto cadaverc quidquam mihi aut opis aut ornamenti exspectabam ? Consu- lem ego turn requirebam : consulem, inquam, non ilium quidem, quern in hoc animali invenire non possem, qui tantam reipub. causam gravitate et consilio suo tueretur ; sed qui, tanquam truncus atque stipes, si stetisset modo, possit sustinere tamen ti- tulum consulates. Cum enim esset omnis causa ilia mea consu- lates et senatoria, auxilio mihi opus fuerat et consulis et senatus : quorum alterum etiam ad perniciem meam erat a vobis consuli- bus conversum ; alterum reipublicse penitus ereptum. Ac ta- men, si consilium exquiris meum, neque ego cessissem, et me ipsa suo complexu patria tenuisset, si mihi cum illo bustuario gladiatore, et tecum, et cum collega tuo decerfandum fuisset. Alia enim causa prsestantissimi viri Q. Metelli fuit : quern ego civem meo judicio cum deorum immortalium laude conjungo : qui C. illi Mario fortissimo viro, et coss. et sextum consuli, et ejus invinctis legionibus, ne armis. confligeret, cedendum esse duxit. Quod mihi igitur certamen esset hujusmodi ? cum C. Mario scilicet, aut cum aliquo pari ? (*7) an cum altero bar- bato Epicuro, cum altero Catilinse laternario ? quos neque hercule ego, neque supercilium tuum, neque oollegse tui cymbalaac crotala fugi : neque tarn fui timidus, ut qui in maximis turbinibus ac fluctibus reipublicse navem gubernassem, salvamque in portu collocassem, frontis tuse nubeculam, turn collegse tui contamina- tum spiritum pertimescerem ; alios ego vidi ventos, alias pro- spexi animO procellas, aliis impendentibus tempestatibus non cessi, (*8) sed his unum me pro omnium salute obtuli. Itaque discessu turn meo omnes illi nefarii gladii de manibus crude- lissimis exciderunt : cum quidem tu, 6 vecors et amens, cum omnes boni abditi inclusique moererent, templa gemerent, tecta ipsa urbis lugerent, complexus es illud funestum animal ex ne- fariis stupris, ex civili cruore, ex omnium scelerum importuni- tate et flagitiorum impunitate concretum : atque eodem in tern- plo, eodem et loci vestigio et temporis, arbitria non mei solum, sed patriae funeris abstulisti. (17) An cum altero barbato Epicuro .] Pifo, in his outward carriage, affected the mein and garb of a philofopher, being fevere in his looks, fqualid in his drefs, flow in his fpeech, morofe in his manners, the very picture of antiquity, and a pattern of the an- cient republic ; but under the guife of virtue, he was a dirty, fottifh, ftupid Epicure- an, and wallowed in all the low and filthy pleafures of life. (18) S ed bis unum me pro omnium falute obtuli.] Cicero, in this paffage, and in feveral •therpaffages of his orations, makes a merit of having fubmitted to a voluntary exile, in order to fpare the blood of his fellow-citizens, and preferve the public tranquillity : but his veracity in this feems liable to be juftly questioned. It is certain, he once en- tertained a defign of taking up arms in his own defence, and he is conftantly reproach- ing himfelf in hip letters to Terentia and to Atticus, during his exile, for not having done it ; fo that the patriot motive he fo often afligns, appears to be nothing but the plaufible colouring 01 artful eloquence. Were it to. be admitted that a regard to his CICERO's ORATIONS. 37? Did I expect either assistance or countenance from that rotten carcase ? At that time I wanted a consul : a consul, I say, not such a one indeed as was capable of defending so mighty a state by his wisdom and counsels, for such I could not have found in that animal ; but one who, like a log or trunk of a tree, was able at least, provided he could but stand, to have borne the ti- tle of the consulship. For my cause being wholly consular and senatorian, I wanted the assistance both of a consul and a sen- ate : but the consuls were bent upon my destruction ; and as for the senate, its authority was entirely abolished. If you would have my sentiments upon the matter, however, know that I would not have yielded, and that my country should have held me fast in her embraces, if that murdering gladiator, yourself, and your colleague, had been the only enemies I was to contend with. The case of Q. Metellus, that illustrious citizen, whose glory, in my opinion, is equal to that of the immortal gods,jwas very different, when he thought it advisable to yield, rather than engage with the bravest of men, C. Marius, then in his sixth consulship, and with his invincible legions. What such conflict had I to sustain ? was I to contend with C Marius, or any one equal to him, or with a bearded Epicurean, in conjunc- tion with Catiline's lantern-bearer ? From such, believe me, I never fled ; nor from your haughty looks, nor from the pipes and cymbals of your colleague ; nor after steering the vessel of the republic amidst the most dreadful storms and hurricanes^ and conducting her safe into the harbour of tranquillity, was I so pusillanimous as to dread the clouds of your countenance, or the stinking breath of your colleague. I foresaw other blasts, other storms, to those that had already threatened me I did not yield, but withstood them alone for the sake of the public safety. Accordingly, at my departure, every wicked sword dropped from every inhuman hand ; whilst thou, mad wretch ! at a time when every worthy Roman was lamenting in secret, when our very temples were groaning, when even the dwellings of Rome wore a mournful aspect, embraced that fatal monster, that com- pound of horrid lewdness, of civil murder, of all manner of atrocious crimes and wickedness committed with impunity ; and in the same temple, on the same spot of ground, and at the same instant of time, received the price, not only of my ruin, but of that of your country. country determined him to withdraw from it, he could not, as the ingenious Mr. Mel- moth obferves, with any degree of truth, boaft of his patriotism upon that occafion. Since his warmeft advocates mull needs allow, that he no fooner executed this refolu- tion, than he heartily repented of it. The truth is, his tendernefs for the peace of his country could not be very great, for he exprefcly defired Atticus to raise the mob in his favour, if there were any hopes of making a fuccessful pufh for his reftoration. 378 M. T. CICEROtfIS ORATIONKS. X. Quid ego illorum dierum epulas, quid lfetitiam et grata* lationem tuam, quid cum tuis sordidissimis gregibus intemperan- tissimas perpotationes prsedicem ? quis te illis diebus sobrium, quis agentem aliquid quod esset libero dignum, quis denique in publico vidit ? cum colleges tui domus cantu et cymbalis per- sonaret ; cumque ipse nudus in convivio saltaret : in quo ne turn quidem, cum ilium suum saltatorium versaret orbem, fortun* rotam pertimescebat. Hie autem non tarn concinnus heluo, nee tarn musicus, jacebat in suo Grsecorum fcetore atque vino ; quod quidem istius, in illis reipublicse luctibus, quasi aliquod Lapitharum aut Centaurorum convivium ferebatur : in quo nemo potest dicere, utrum iste plus biberit, an vomuerit, an effuderit, Tu etiam mentionem facies consulates tui ? aut te fuisse Romse consulem dicere audebis ? Quid ! tu in lictoribus, in toga et prsetexta esse consulatum putas ? quae ornamenta etiam in Sex. Clodio, te consule, esse voluisti. Hujus tu Clodiani canis insignibus consulatum declarari putas ? Animo consulem esse oportet, consilio, fide, gravitate, vigilantia, cura, toto de- nique munere consulatus, omni officio tuendo, maximeque, id quod vis nominis prsescribit, reip. consulendo. Ego consulem esse putem, qui senatum esse in republica non putavit ? et sine eo consilio consulem numerem, sine quo Romae ne reges qui- dem esse potuerunt ? Etenim ilia jam omitto : cum servorum de- lectus haberetur in foro, arma in templum Castoris, et luce et palam comportarentur : id autem templum, sublato aditu, re- vulsis gradibus, a conjuratorum reliquiis, atque a Catilinse prae- varicatore quondam, turn ultore, armis teneretur : cum equites Romani relegarentur, viri boni lapidibus e foro pellerentur ; senatui non solum juvare rempublicam, sed ne lugere quidem liceret : cum civis is quern hie ordo, assentiente Italia, cunctis- que gentibus, conservatorem patriae judicaret, nullo judicio, nulla lege, nullo more, servitio atque armis pelleretur, non di- cam auxilio vestro, quod vere licet dicere, sed certe silentio : turn Romas fuisse consules quisquam existimabit ? Qui latroneg igitur, si quidem vos consules ; qui prssdones, qui hostes, qui proditores, qui tyranni nominabuntur ? cicero's oraIions. 3$$ &ECT. X. Why should I mention the feastingsof those days, why your mirth and rejoicing, why your excessive drinking Amidst the infamous tribe of your companions ? Where is the man who ever saw you in your senses at that time ? where the man that saw you employed in any thing becoming a gentle- man ? where, in a word, the man who saw you appear in pub- lic ? whilst the house of your colleague resounded in the mean time with songs and cymbals, whilst he himself danced naked amidst the entertainment, without being taught by the giddy dances he led up, to apprehend the giddiness of fortune. As for this fellow, who is not so elegant and musical a rioter as the other, he contented himself with wallowing in wine, and amidst the impurities of his Greeks ; which entertainment of his, at a time of public sorrow, was said to resemble those of the Lapithse and the Centaurs; nor is it easy to say whether he drank, or vomited, or wasted a greater quantity of wine upon that occa- sion. And will you, notwithstanding this, make mention of your consulship ? Will you have the impudence to say that you was a consul at Rome ? What ! do you imagine that the con- sulship consists in the lictors, in the gown, and in the prsetexta ? ornaments which, when consul, you bestowed even upon Sextus Clodius. Do you think that the consulate is expressed by badges worn by Clodius's dog ? One cannot be a consul without spirit, conduct, honour, gravity, vigilance; care ; without dis- charging, in a word, every duty of his office, by defending, and, above all, by consulting the interest of the state-; which is im- plied in the very name* Shall I. look upon him as a consul, who did not think there was a senate in the republic ? Can I figure to myself a consul, but in conjunction with that assembly, without which even kings could not reign at Rome ? I shall not mention the levies of slaves that were made in the forum ; the arms which were carried publicly, and in the face of day; into the temple of Castor ; the obstructing of the entrance of that temple, the tearing away of the steps that led up to it, its beinr; taken possession of by the remains of the conspirators in arms, and by him who had once been the shani-accuser of Catiline, but then his avenger. At a time when Roman knights were banished, when worthy citizens were stoned out of the forum, when the senate was not allowed, not only to assist their coun- try, but even to mourn over it ; when a citizen, who was de- clared the saviour of his country hy this assembly, by the com- mon Voice of Italy, and of all nations, was expelled by slaves and open violence, I shall not say by your assistance, though I might consistently with truth, but certainly with your connivance, without any trial, without any law, without any precedent ; will any one think there were consuls at Rome ? If you are to be ac- counted consuls, who must be reckoned cut-throats, who robbers ^ who enemies, who traitors, who tyrants ? Y 2 380 M. T. CICER0NIS 0RATI0NES. XT. Magnum nomen est, magna species, magna dignitas, magna majestas consul is ; non capiunt angustisc pectoris tui, non recipit levitas ista, non egestas animi ; non infirmitas in- genii sustinet, non insolentia rerum secundarum tantam perso- nam, tarn gravem, tarn severam. (*9) Seplasia, mehercule, ut dici audiebam, te, ut primum aspexit, Campanum consulem rc- pudiavit. («>) AudieratDecios, Magios, et de Taurea illo Ju- bellio aliquid acceperat : in quibus si moderatio ilia, qua3 in nostris solet esse consulibus, non fuit ; at fuit pompa, fuit spe- cies, fuit incessus, saltern Seplaciadignus et Capua. Gabinium denique si vidissent duumvirum vestriilliunguentarii, citius ag- novissent ; erant illi compti capilli, et madentes cincinnorum fimbria?, et fluentes cerussatseque buccse, dignse Capua, sed ilia vetere ; nam hcec quidem, quse nunc est, splendidissimorum ho- minum, fortissimorum virorum, optimorum civium,*mihique amicissimorum multitudine redundat : quorum Capuse te prse- textatum nemo aspexit,. qui: non gemeret desiderio mei : cujus consilio, cum universam rempublicam, turn illam ipsam urbem meminerant esse servatam : me inaurata statua donarant ; me patrenum unum adsciverant : a me se habere vitam, fortunas, liberos arbitrabantur : me et prsesentem contra latrocinium tuum suis decretis legatisque defenderunt, ct absentem, principe Cn. Pompeio referente, et de corpore reipub. tuorum scelerum tela revellente, revocarunt. An tu eras consul, cum in Palatio m'ea domus ardebat, non casu aliquo, sed ignibus injectis, instigante te ? Ecquod in hac urbe majus unquam incendium fuit, cui non consul subvenerit ? at tu illo ipso tempore apud socrum tuam prope a meis sedibus, cujus domum admeam exhauriendam pa- tefeceras, sedebas, non cxtinctor, sed auctor incendii ; et ar- dentes faces furiis Clodianis pene ipse consul ministrabas. XII. An vero reliquo tempore consulem te quisquam duxit ? quisquam tibi paruit ? quisquam in curiam venienti adsurrexit ? c|r.isquam consulenti respondendum putavit ? numerandus est .u.'j annus denique in republics*-,, cum obmutuisset senatus, judicia conticuissent, mfcrerent boni, vis latrocinii vestri totaurbe voli- taret, neque civis unus ex civitate,sed ipsacivitas tuo et Gabinii flQ J Seplajia, mehercule, ut dici audiebam, te, ut primu. 1 afpexit, Campanum cwfulem repu," diavit. I Csefar in his confulfhip, having fent a colony to Capua, gave the command of it to Pompey and Pifo, with the title of Duumvirs. Pifo not contented with this title, afsumed that of conful : fo that the fense of the passage is this: You nofooner made your appearance in Capua, than Seplasia, or the perfumers' ftreet, conceived so mean an opinion of you, that they thought you unworthy even of the office of duumvir. (lO J Audierat Decios, Magios, et de Taurea illo Jubellio aliquid acceperat.] Thefe are the names of illuftrious Campanians, of whom we find honourable mention made by Livy. CICERo's ORATIONS. 581 Sect. XI. Great is the authority, great is the appearance, great the dignitv, and great the majesty of a consul ; but the narrowness of thy soul cannot admit. these, the levity and mean- ness of tliv spirit cannot receive them ; nor can thy contracted capacity, and thy insolence in prosperity, sustain so important, so weighty, and so venerable a character^ I have been told, I declare, that even the perfumers' street at Capua, rejected you for a Campanian consul, the moment they saw you. They had heard a littie of the Decii, of the Magii, and of Taureas Jubel- lius, who, though they were not possessed of that wisdom which our consuls generally have, had yet pomp, appearance, and a statelv manner, which did honour at least to the perfumer's street, and to the city of Capua. It would, in short, have given greater pleasure to these sellers of perfumes, to have had Gabi- nius in quality of duumvir. { His hair was dressed, his curled locks nicely perfumed, and his cheeks painted in a manner wor- thy of Capua ; I mean of old Capua ; for Capua, at present, abounds with the most illustrious men, the bravest heroes, the best citizens, all my very good friends. There was not a man of these who saw you at Capua, that did not lament the loss of me, by whose counsels they remembered that the whole state, and that very city in particular, had been preserved. Tome they had raised a gilded statue ; me they had taken as their sole pro- tector ,* to me they reckoned themselves indebted for their lives, for their fortunes, and for their children. When I was present, thev had defended me against thy robberies by their decrees and deputies ; and when absent, they recalled me at the motion of Pompey, who tore the weapons of thy villainy from the body of the republic. Was you consul when my house on the Palatium was on fire^ not by accident, but by torches thrown into it at your instigation ? 13 id ever a fire break out in Rome, and the consul not hasten to extinguish it ? But you were sitting all the while near my house, at your mother-in-law's, whose doors you had thrown open to receive what was plundered from me : there you sat, not indeed to extinguish, but to increase the flames ; and, consul as you was, in a manner supplied the furious instruments of Clodius with burning torches. Sect. XII. During the remaining part of your year, did any "man look upon you as consul ? did any man obey you ? did any senator rise up to salute you, when you came into the senate ? did any one give you his opinion, when you asked it i In a word, is that year to be reckoned in the Roman annals, in which the senate was silent, the courts of justice shut up, every worthy man oppressed with affliction, the violence of thy robbery raging over the whole city ; when not only one citizen left Rome, but the city itself gave way to your rage and wickedness, and to that of your colleague ? Yet even then, filthy Cresoniad ! thou / 382 M. T. CICERONIS ORATIONES. sceleri furoriquecessisset? At netumquidememersisti, lutulente Cresonine, ex miserrimis naturse tuse sordibus ; (ai) cum exper- recta tandem virtus clarissimi viri, celeriter et yerum amicum, etoptime meritum civem, et suumpristinum morem requisivit : neque est ille vir passus, in ea republica, quam ipse decorarat atque auxerat, diutius vestrorum scelerum pestem morari : cum tamen ille, qualiscunque est, qui est ab uno te improbitate vic- tus, Gabinius, collegitipse se vix, sed collegit tamen : et contra, suum Clodium primum simulate, deinde non libenter ; (az) ad extremum tamen pro Cn. Pompeio vere vehementerque pugna- vit. Quo quidem in spectaculo mirapopuli Romani sequitas erat : uter eorum perisset, tanquam lanista, in ejusmodi pari, lucrum fieri putabat : immortalem vero qusestum, si uterque cecidisset. Sed ille tamen agebat aliquid : tuebatur auctoritatem summi viri : erat ipse sceleratus, erat gladiator : cum scelerato tamen, et cum pari gladiatore pugnabat. Tu scilicet homo reli- giosus et sanctus, foedus, quod meo sanguine in pactione pro- vinciarum iceras,frangere noluisti ; caveratenim sibi ille sororius adulter, ut, si tibi provinciam, si exercitum, si pecuniam erep- tam ex reipublicse visceribus dedisset, omnium suorum scelerum socium te, adjutoremque praeberes ; itaque in illo tumultu fracti fasces, ictus ipse : quotidie tela, lapides, fugse : deprehensus denique cum ferro ad senatum is, qu^m ad Cn. Pompeium in- terimendum collocatum fuisse constabat. XIII. Et quis audivit non modo actionem aliquam, awt rela? tionem, sed vocem omnino, aut querelam tuam . ? consulem tu te fuisse putas, cujus in imperio, qui rempublicam senatus auctori- tate servarat, idemque in Italia, qui omnes omnium gentium partes tribus triumphis devinxerat, is se in publico tuto statuit esse non posse ? An turn eratis consules, cum quacunque de re verbum facere coeperatis, aut referre ad senatum, cunctus ordo reclamabat, ostendebatque nihil esse vos acturos, nisi prius de (21) Cum experrecta tandem virtus clarijftmi viri '.] Pompey is here meant, whofe en- gagements with Csefar obliged him to fuffer Cicero to be driven into exile ; to ingra- tiate himfelf, however, with the fenate and people, and to correct the infolence of Clo'iius, he favoured his return. So infolent indeed was Clodius grown, upon his vic- tory over Cicero, that even his frierds could not bear him any longer ; for having ba- nifhed Cicero and fedt Cato out of his way, he began to fancy himfelf a match for Po-v.pey ; and, in open defiance of him. fiazed by ftratagem into his hands the fon of king igran* s. whom Pompey had brought with him from the Eaft, and kept a priso- ner at Rome ; and, inftead of delivering him up when Pompey demanded him, un- dertook for a large fum of money to give him his liberty and fend him home. This, affront, which Pompey could not digeft, roufed him to think of recalling Cicero. (ZZ) Ad extremum tamen pro Cn. Pompeio vert vehementerque pugnavit.~\ What Cicero refers to in this paffage, was this : Rome mas alarmed by the rumour of a plot againft Pompey's life, faid to be contrived by Clodiu3 ; one of whofe flave6 was feized at the cicero's orations. S8S didst not emerge from the vile sink of thy nature, when a most illustrious Roman at -last rousing his courage, recalled his sin- cere friend, and a worthy patriot resumed his former spirit, and would not any longer suffer your wickedness to commit ravages in a state which he by his victories had adorned and enlarged : though at that time even Gabinius, whom you alone surpass in yillany, bad as he is, recovered himself ; it was with difficulty indeed, however, he recovered himself, and acted for Cn. Pompey, against his beloved Clodius, at first in appearance only, afterwards faintly, but at last honestly and vigorously. At the sight of this encounter, the Roman people showed great moderation : for, like a master of gladiators, the match being eqaal, they considered themselves as sure of gaining by the fall of either ; and if both should fall, their gain, they thought, . would be immortal. Still, however, Gabinius did something ; he defended the authority of a very great man : he was indeed • himself an abandoned fellow, a gladiator ; but he was matched with one who was equally so. But you, a person of scrupu- lous integrity, no doubt, would not break the league, which, in the convention for the provinces, you had sealed with my ilood. For that incestuous adulterer, Clodius, had bargained for your support and assistance in all his wicked schemes, on :he condition of his giving you a province, an army, and mo- ley torn from the bowels of the republic. Accordingly in the :umult which ensued, his fasces were broke, himself wounded : lothing was to be seen daily, but arms, violence, and flight ; it last one was seized in arms near the senate-house, and it ap- peared plainly he was posted there to murder Pompey? Sect. XIII. Upon that occasion, who ever heard of any iction or remonstrance of yours, nay who ever heard you speak, or complain ? Do you suppose yourself to have been i consul when under your administration, the ' man who lad saved the state, and the authority of the senate, could not )e safe in Italy ; nor he who, by three triumphs, had united all hr. nations of the earth under the Roman power, safe to ap- )ear in public ? Were ye consuls at a time when, the very mo- nent ye began to speak upon any affair, or to propose any hing to the senate, the whole assembly opposed you, and loor of the fenate, with a dagger, which his matter had given him, as he confefsed, o ftab Pompey, Many daring attacks too having been made on Pompey's perfon by ^lodiu.i s mob. he retired from the fenate and the forunv till C;odius was out of his tri- unate, and fhut himfelf up in his own houfe, whither he was ftill purfued, and actual- f bf feiged by Bamio, one of Clodius s freed men. So audacious an outrage as this ould not be overlooked by the magiftrates, who came out with all their forces to feize r drive away Damio ; upon which a general engagement ensued, and Gabinius was Jrced to break his league with Ciodius, and fight for Pompey. 384 M. T. CICERONIS ORATIONES. me retulissctis ? cum vos, quanquam foedere obstricti tenebamini, tamen cupere vos diceretis, sed lege impediri ? qute lex priva- tis hominibus esse lex non videbatur, inusta p§r servos, incisa per vim, imposita per latrocinium, sublato senatu, pulsis e foro bonis omnibus, capta republica contra omnes leges, nullo scripta more : hanc qui se metuere dicerent, consules, non dicam animi hominum, sed fasti ulli ferre possunt ? Nam si illam legem non putabatis, qufe erat contra omnes leges, in- dsmnati civis, atque integri capitis, bonorumque tribunitia pro- scriptio ; hac tamen obstricti pactione tenebamini : quis vps non modo consules, sed liberos fuisse putet, quorum mens f'uerit op- pressa prsemio, lingua adstricta mercede . ? sin illam vos soli le- gem putabatis, quisquam vos consules tunc fuisse, aut nunc esse consulares putet, qui ejus civitatis, in qu& in principum numero vultis esse, non leges, non instituta, non mores, non jura noritis ? An, (33) cum proficiscebamini paludati in provin- cias vel emptas, vel ereptas, consules vos quisquam putavit ? Itaque credo, si minius frequentia sua vestrum egressum or- nando, atque celebrando ; at omnibus saltern bonis, ut consules, non tristissimis, ut hostes, aut proditores prosequebantur. XIV. Tu ne etiam immanissimum ac fcedissimum monstrum, ausus es meum discessum ilium, testem sceleris et crudelitatis tua?, maiedicti et contumelise loco ponere ? Quo quidem tem- pore cepi, P. C. fructum immortalem vestri in me et amoris et judicii ; qui non admurmuratione, sed voce et clamore, abjecti hominis et semivivi furorem petulantiamque fregistis. Tu luc- tum senatus, tu desiderium equestris ordinis, tu squalorem Italian, tu curiae taciturnitatem annuam, tu silentium perpetuum judiciorum ac fori, tu csetera ilia in maiedicti loco pones, qua3 meus discessus reipublicse vulnera inflixit ? qui si calamitosissimus fuisset, tamen misericordia dignior, quam contumelia ; et cam gloria potius esse conjunctus, quam cum probo putaretur : at- que ille, dolor meus duntaxat, vestrum quidem scelus ac de- decus haberetur. Cum vero (forsitan hoc quod dicturus sum, mirabile auditu ess»i videatur ; sed certe id dicam, quod sentio), cum tantis a vobis, P. C. beneiiciis affectus sim, tantis ho- (l$) Cum proficifctbamini paludati in provincias.) It was ufual for the Roman magif- trates, before they fet out for their provinces, to go and pay their devotions in the ca- pitol ; after which they began their march cut of the city, habited in a rich paluda- mentum, which was a robe of purple orfcarlet, interwoven with gold, and were ge» *eraiiy accompanied with a vaft rstinuc of all fexe* and ages. > CICERO's ORATIONS. 385 ieclared that no business should be done till the question was Dut concerning my return ? Were ye consuls, when ye said, though held fast by your convention, that you wished my re- :urn, but that you Were bound up by law ? Is it possible that nen, nay that the public annals, can endure the consuls, who y'ive out that they are afraid of a law, which did not seem to }ind private persons ; a law, with which slaves have branded :he republic, which violence has engraved, which robbers have mposed, when the authority of the senate was abolished, when ?very worthy citizen was driven from the forum, when the state vas in captivity ; a law, in a word, in contradiction to every other law, and passed without any of the usual forms ? For if peu did not think that a law, which contradicted all laws, being )nly a tribunitian proscription of the person and estate of a free md uncondemned citizen, and yet were held fast by this con- tention ; who can reckon you not only consuls, but even free- nen/whose souls were enslaved by corruption, and your tongues lied up by lucre 7\ But if you were the only persons that thought t a law, who can think that you were then consuls, or are now :onsular, when you are ignorant of the laws, the institutions T :he manners, and rights of a state, where you want to be reck- oned amongst its principal citizens ? When you set out in your military robes for the provinces, which you had either bought or extorted, did anv one consider vou as consuls ? and those who iccompanied you to do you honour at your departure, though their number was but small, vet thev attended vou, no doubt, with good wishes as usual to consuls, and not with such impre- cations as are bestowed on enemies and traitors. Sect. XIV. And shalt thou, base and barbarous monster ! dare to reproach me with my departure, that proof of thy guilt and cruelty t Then it was, conscript fathers, that I received the immortal proofs of your love and regard for me, when you checked the fury and petulance of that abject half-dead wretch, not bv murmurs, but loud acclamations. Dost thou reproach me with the grief of the senate, the sorrow of the equestrian order, the mourning of Italy ; with the senators having thrown up all public concerns for the space of a whole year, with the continued silence of our courts and forum, and all the other wounds given the state by my departure ? Allowing it to have been unfortunate, it was still more worthy of compassion than re- proach, rather to be accounted glorious than infamous ; and what was only an affliction to me, covered you with guilt and infamy. What I am going to say will, perhaps, appear somewhat strange, but I shall always speak what I think. Since then, conscript fathers, I have been so highlv favoured and honoured by you, I am so far from looking upon my departure as a calamity «> 386 JJ. Vt CIGERO&IS ORATIONES. noribus ; non modo illam calamitatem esse non duco ; sed, si quid mihi potest a repub* esse sejunctum, quod vix potest* privatim ad meum nomen augendum, optandam duco mihi fuisse illam expetendamque fortunam. Atque ut tuum tetissimum diem cum tristissimo meo conferam, .utrum tandem bono viro et sapi- enti optabilius putas, sic exire e patria, ut omnes sui cives sa- lutem, incolumitatem, reditum precentur, quod mihi aecidit : an, quod tibi proficiscenti evenit, ut omnes execrarentur, male pre- carentur, unam tibi illam viam, et perpetuam esse vellent ? mihi, medius fidius, in tanto omnium mortalium odi®, justo prgesertim et debito, quaevis fuga, potius quam ulla provincia esset optatior. XV. Sed perge porro : nam si illud meum turbulentissimuni tempus profectionis tuo tranquillissimo prsetat, quid conferam reliqua^ quse in te dedecorus plena fuerunt, in me dignitatis ? Me kalendis Januar. (s 4 ) qui dies, post obitum occasumque nos- trum, reipublicse primus illuxit, freqentissimus senatus, con- cursu Italise, referente clarissimo atque fortissimo viro P. Len- tulo, consentiente populo Romano, atque una voce revocavit j me idem senatus exteris nationibus, me legatis magistratibusque nostris auctoritate sua, consularibus literis, non, ut tu Insuber dicere ausus es, orbatum patria, sed ut senatus illo ipso tempore appellavit, civem conservatorem reipubliese commendavit ; ad meam unius salutem senatus auxilium omnium civium cuncta ex Italia, qui rempub. salvam esse vellent, consulis voce et literis implorandum putavit ; mei capitis servandi causa Romam uno tempore, quasi signo data, Italia tota convenit ; de mea salute P. Lentuli, prsestantissimi viri, atque optimi consulis, Cm Pom- peii, clarissimi atque invictissimi civis, cseterorumque principum civitatis, celeberrimre at gratissimss conciones fuerunt ; de me senatus ita decrevit, Cn. Pompeio auctore et ejus sententise prin- cipe, UT, SI QUIS IMPEDISSET REDITUM MEUM, IN II OSTIUM NUMERO PUTARETUR : iisque verbis ea de me senatus auctoritas declarata est, ut nemini sit triumpnus ho- norificentius, quam mihi salus restitutioque perscripta* De me,- cum omnes magistratus promulgassent, praeter unum prsetorem, a quo non fuit postulandum, fratrem inimici mei (*j) prseterque duos de lapkle emptos tribunosplebis, legem comitiis centuriatis tulit P. Lentulus consul de collegse Q. Metelli sentential : quern mecum eadem respublica, quse in tribunatu ejus disjunxerat, in consulatu virtute optimi ac justissimi virisapientiaque conjunxit. (a 4.) <$>ui dicsypofl obitum occafumque nojirum, reipublica primus illuxit.^ Cicero, wh» embraces every opportunity of difplaying his own importance, reprefents himfelf, in thispaffage, as a bright luminary of the ftate; which, during his exile, was involved in darkncfs. ^ (l$) Prteterque duos dt lapide emptos tribunos plcbis.~\ Thefe tribunes were Sex. AttiliUS Serranus, and Num. Quinctius: de lapide emptos t is faid in allufon to the manner of felling flaves. cicero's orations. that it seems to me to have been an event to be wished for, and freatly desired, for the increase of my personal glory, if indeed can have any glory, as I scarce can, separate from that of the state. But to compare the day of my greatest sorrow with that of your greatest joy, which do you think a wise and good man would prefer ; to leave his .country as I did, with the prayers of all his countrymen for his safety, welfare, and re- turn ,* or, as happened to you upon setting out for your pro- vince, to have the curses and imprecations of all, and their wishes that that journey might be your last ? iBy Jove, had I incurred such universal hatred, especially such just and deser- ved hatred, I should have preferred flight at any rate, to any province whatever*, Sect. XV. But to proceed : If my departure, which was the most tempestuous period of my life, be preferable to your calmest days, what comparison will the rest admit of, so full of infamy to you, and of dignity to me ; On the kalends of Jan- uary, the first day that shone upon the state after my eclipse and fall, when all Italy flocked together, a full senate, with the assent of the Roman people, unanimously recalled me, upon a motion made by that renowned and brave citizen P. Lentulus. The same senate, by its own authority, recom- mended me, in consular letters, to foreign nations, to our lieu- tenants and magistrates, not as one banished from his country, as you, Insubrian, used to express yourself, but, to use their own language, as a citizen and the saviour of the state. For my preservation alone, the senate thought proper, by the voice and letters of a consul, to implore the assistance of our fellow- citizens throughout all Italy, who were concerned for the pub- lic welfare. To save my life all Italy flocked to Rome, at one and the same time, as if upon an appointed signal. For my safety, many and weighty were the harangues of P. Lentulus, that worthy man and excellent consul ; of Cn. Pompey, that renowned and invincible Roman ; and of the other leading men in the state. The senate decreed, upon a motion first made by Pompey, that whoever obstructed my return should be reck- oned an enemy to the state ; and in such words was the autho- rity of the senate expressed in regard to me, that never was a triumph declared to any person in more honourable terms, than those wherein my safety and restoration were conceived. "When all the magistrates had published the bill for my return, excepting one praetor, from whom it could not be expected as he v-as brother to my enemy ; and two tribunes of the people, who were bought at common auction ; P. L»entulus the consul, proposed the law in the comitia by centuries, with the consent of his colleague Q. Metellus, whom the interests of the state, which had set us at variance in his tribuneship; united with me in his Z 2 3-88 M. T. eiCERONIS ORATIONES. Qua? lex quemadmodum accepta sit, quid me attinet dicere ? ex vobis audio, nemini civi ullam,quo minus adesset, satis justam excusationemesscvisam : nullis comitiis nnquam, multitudinem hominum tantam, neque splendidiorem fuisse : hoc certe video, quod indicant tftbulse publicse, vos rogatores, vos diribitores, vos custodes fuisse tabularum : et, quod in honoribus vestrorum propinquorum. non facitis, vel jetatis excusatione, vel honoris, id in salute mea, nullo rogante, vos vestrasponte fecistis. XVI. Confer nunc, Epicure noster, ex hara producte, non ex schola; confer, si audes, absentiam tuam cum mea. Obtinuisti provinciam consularem finibus iis, quos lex cupiditatis tuse, non quos lex generi tui pepigerat ; ( 2 6) nam lege Csesaris justissima atque optima, populi liberi, plane et vere erant liberi : lege autem ea, quam nemo legem, prseter te et collegam tuum, pu- tavit, omnis erat tibi Achaia, Thessalia, Athense, cuncta Gra3cja addicta. Habebas exercitum tantum, quantum tibi non senatus, aut populus Romanus dederat, sed quantum tua libido con- scripserat ; serarium exhauseras. Quas res gessisti imperio, ex- ercitu, provincia consulari ? quas res gesserit, qusero ? qui ut venit statim, nondum commemoro rapinas, nondum exactas pecunias, non captas, non imperatas, non neces sociorum, non e?edem hospitum, non perfidiam, non immanitatem, non scelera prsedico : mox, si videbitur, ut cum fure, ut cum sacrilego, ut cum sicario disputabo : nunc meam spoliatam fovtunam confe- ram cum florente fortuna imperatoris ; quis unquam provinciam cum exercitu obtinuit, qui nuilas ad senatum literas miserit ? tantam vero provinciam cum tanto exercitu, Macedoniam prse- sertim, quam tantse barbarorum gentes attingunt, ut semper Macedonicis imperatoribus iidem fines provincial fuerint, qui gladiorum atque pilorum : ex qua aliquot prsstorio imperio, con- sular! quidem nemo rediit, qui incolumis fuerit, qui non tri- umpharit ? est hoc novum : multo illud magis ; appellatus est hie vulturius iflius provincise (si diis placet) imperator. XVII. (27) Xe turn quidem, Paule noster, tab ulas Rom am cum laureamittere audebas ? misi, inquit ; quis unquam recitavit ? quis, ut reciiarentur, postulavit ? nihil enim mea jam refert, utrum tu, (26) Nam lege Cafaris jujiijjima atque optima, populi liberi, plane et vere erant liberi\ The law here referred to, was that made by Casfar in bis connfulfhip, in the year of Rome 694; whereby Achaia, Theffaly, and all Greece were left entirely free. (27) Ne turn quidem, Paule nojler.} L. JEmiHus Paulus obtained a complete vi*:ory over Macedonia, in the year of Rome 585; and as Pifo had Macedonia for his pro- vince, and conducted himfeif in it fo inglorioufly, Cicero, by way of derifion, call* hi in Paulus, CICERO's ORATIONS. 389 consulship, by means of the courage and wisdom of that excel- lent person. In what manner this law was received, it is need- less for me to mention. I learn from yourselves, that no citizen was allowed to be absent upon any pretence whatever; that a grea- ter or more splendid appearance was never seen at any comitia. This I myself know, for 1 find it in the public registers, that you solicited for me, that you distributed the tablets, that you took care to prevent any fraud in collecting the votes ; and that, for my safety, you did, of your own accord, without any solicitation, what your age and dignity exempt you from, even when your kinsmen are candidates for public honors. Sect. XVI. Compare now, thou Epicurean ! brought from the stye, not from the school ; compare, if thou darest, thy ab- sence with mine. You obtained a consular province, under such regulations as were prescribed by your ambition, not such as were fixed by your son-in-law ; for by that just and excel- lent law of Csesar, free nations enjoyed their liberty jn the strict and proper sense ; but by that law, which none besides you and your colleague ever thought a law, all Aehaia, Thessaly, Athens, and Greece, was given up to you. You had an army, not such as the senate and the people of Home gave you, but such as your ambition could raise. The treasury too was exhausted by you. — What exploits did you perform in this command, with this army, with this consular province ? Do I. ask what exploits he performed ? No sooner was he arrived — I shall not yet men- tion his rapines, the money he extorted, took, or exacted, the execution of our allies, the murder of those who entertained him, his perfidy, barbarity and crimes : by and by, if you think proper, I shall dispute with him as with a thief, as with one guilty of sacrilege, as with a cut-throat ; at present I shall con- line myself to compare the ruins of my fortune with the splen- dour of his imperial command. Who ever obtained the govern- ment of a province, with an 'army, that did not send letters to the senate . ? such a province too, and such an army, especially such a province as Macedon, which is surrounded with so many barbarous nations, that our Macedonian governors have never had any other barrier to it, but that of swords and javelins ; a province from which few persons of pnetorian dignity have re- turned without a triumph ; and none of consular dignity, whose honour was without a stain. This is something uncommon : but what is still more so, this vulture of Macedon had the title of emtreror forsooth. ». Sect. XVIL Bid you, even then, my Paulus, presume to send letters to Rome, wrapt in laurel? He says he did. Who ever read them ? win mi hat they should be read ? For it sigi iaes no- jy© M. T. CICERON1S ORATIONES. conscientia oppressus scelerum tuorum, nihil unquam ausus sis scribere ad eum ordinem, quern despexeras, quem afflixeras., quern ddeveras : an amici tui tabulas abdiderint, iidemque silen- tio suo temeritatem atque audaciam tuam condemnarint. Atque haud scio, an malim te videri nullo pudore fuisse in literis mit- tendis, [an] amicos tuos plus habuisse et pudoris et consilii, quant aut te videri pudentiorem fuisse, quam soles, aut tuuna factum non esse condemnatum judicio amicorum. Quod si no] tuis nefariis in hunc ordinem contumeliis in perpetuam tibi cu- riam prseclusisses ; quid tandem erat actum aut gestum in ilia provincia, de quo ad senatum cum gratulatione aliqua scribi abs te oporieret ? vexatio Macedonia ? an oppidprum turpis amissio ? an spciorum direptio ? an agrorum depopulatio I (38) an munitio Thessalonicse ? an obsessio militaris vise ? an ex- ercitus nostri interitus, ferro, fame, frigore, pestilentia , ? Ti vero, qui ad senatum nihil scripseris, ut in urbe nequior inven- tus es, quam Gabinius, sic in provincia pauilo tamen quam ille demissior ; nam ille gurges atque heluo, natus abdomini suo, non laudi atque glorise, cum equites Rom. in provincia, cum publicanos nobiscum et voluntate et dignitate conjunctos, omnes fortunis, multos famavitaque privasset ; cum egisset aliud nihil illo exercitu, nisi ut urbes depopularetur, agros vastaret, ex- hauriretdomos ; ausus est (quid enim ille nonauderet ?) a senatu supplicationem per literas postulate. X\ III. O dii immortales ! tune etiam, atque adeo vos, geminse voragines scopulique reipublicse, vos meam fprtunam depri- mitis ? vestram extollitis ? cum de me ea senatuscpnsulta absente facta sint, ese conciones habitse, is motus fuerit municipiorum et coloniarum omnium, ea decreta publicanorum, ea collegio- rum, ea denique generum ordinumque omnium, quse ego non modo optare nunquam auderem, sed cogitare non possem : vos autem sempiternas fcedissimse turpitudinis notas subieritis. An ego, si te, et Gabinium cruci suffixos viderem, majore afficerer lsetitia ex corporis vestri laceratione, quam afficior ex fama ? nullum est supplicium putandum, quo affici casu aliquo etiam boni viri fortescjue possunt. Atque hoc quidem etiam isti tu* dicunt voluptarii Grseci, quos utinam ita audires, ut erant audiendi ; nunquam te in tot flagitia ingurgitasses. Yerum (28) An munitio Tbejfalonica ; v an obsejjio militaris via P.] This 19 farther explained by eur author in his oration de Prcv. Cons. His words are as follow . ' Macedonia quas 4 erat antea munita plurimorum imperacorum non turribus, led tropaeis, quae muitis ' victoriiserat jamdiu, triumphisque pacata ; lie a barbaris. quibus eft propter avari- 1 tiam pax erepta, vexatur, ut I hcffalonicenfes, pofiti in gremio imperii noftri, rtlin- • quere oppidum, et arceni munire cogantur : ut via ilia noftra, quas per Macedonian* k eft ufque ad Hellespontum militaris, non folum excurfionibus barbarorum lit infefta, I fed etiam caftris Threciis diftin&a, ac notata.' cicero's orations. S9i thing to mc at present, whether, stung by a sense of your crimes, you never presumed to write to that body, which you had slighted, which you had persecuted, which you had abo- lished ; or whether your friends concealed your letters, and thus, by their silence, condemned your rashness and impudence. And indeed I know not whether I had rather you should seem void of all sense of shame . in sending letters, and that your friends should be persons of more modesty and judgment, or that you should seem more modest than usual, and your con- duct be uncondemned by your friends. But supposing you had not, by your cruel outrages, against tjie senate, cut yourself off forever from all favour with it, what was done in that pro- vince upon which you could write to it with any manner of con- gratulation ? Was it the harrassing of Macedon ? the shameful loss of towns ? the plundering of our allies ? the laying waste their lands ? the fortifying Thessalonica ? the blockade of our military causeway ? the destruction of our army, by the sword, by famine, by cold, and by pestilence ? Your writing nothing to the senate shows only, that as you was more wicked in Rome than Gabinius, you was somewhat more modest in your province than he. For that rioter, born for his belly only, and not for glory and honour, after having deprived the Roman knights in his province, and the farmers of the customs, united with us both in inclination and dignity, all of them of their fortunes, and some of them of their reputation and lives ; after having done nothing with his army, but plundered cities, laid waste lands, and pillaged houses ; had the impudence (and indeed what is it he has not the impudence to do ?) to petition the senate, by letters, for a supplication. Sect, XVIII. Immortal Gods ! and shalt thou, shall you, ye twin whirlpools and rocks of the state ! decry my fortune, and extol your own ? you who have borne the indelible marks of the foulest infamy, whilst such decrees of the senate were passed concerning me, even in my absence, such assemblies were held, such commotions happened among all cur municipal cities and colonies, such resolutions were made by the farmers of the re- venue, by the colleges, and, in a word, by all ranks and con- ditions of men, as 1 not only durst never have wished for, but could not even have conceived. Were I to see thee and thy colleague Gabinius fastened to a cross, would the sight of your mangled bodies give me greater pleasure than I feel from the loss of your reputation ? Nothing is to be deemed a punishr ment, which, by some accident or other, may happen even to the brave and virtuous. And this is the doctrine even of your men of pleasure among the Greeks, whom I wish you had heard, as they ought to have been heard : you would never, in that case have plunged into such an abyss of crimes. But 392 W. T. CICER0N1S ORATIONES. audis in prrcsepibus, audis in stupris, audivS in cibo et vino ; sed dicunt ipsi, qui mala dolore, bona voluptate definiunt, sa- pientem, (*9) etiam si in Phalaridis tauro inclusus succensis ig- nibus torreatur, dicturum tamen suave illud esse seseque ne tan- tulum quidem commoveri : tantam virtutis esse vim voluerunt, ut non posset unquam esse vir bonus non beatus ; quse est igi- tur poena ? quod supplicium ? id mea sententia, quod accidere nemini potest, nisi nocenti ; suscepta fraus, impedita et op- pressa mens conscientia, bonorum odium, nota inusta a scnatu, amissio dignitatis. XJXo Nee mihi ille (3°) M. Regulus, quern Carthaginiense? resectis palpebris, illigatum in machina vigilando necaverunt, supplicio videtur aiFectus : nee C. Marius, quern Italia servata ab illo, demersum in Minturnensium paludibus ; Africa devicta ab eodem expuisum et naufragum vidit ; fortunse enim ista tela sunt, non culpa? : supplicium autem est poena peccati ,* neque vero ep;o si unquam vobis mala precarer, quod saepe feci, in quo dii immortales meas preces audiverunt, morbum, aut mor- tem, aut cruciatum precarer. Thyestea ista exsecratio est poetse, vulgi animos, non sapientum moventis : (3 1 ) Ut tu naufragio expulsus, uspiam saxisjixus asperis y evisceratus latere penderes [ut ait ille] saxa spargens tabo, same et sanguine atro. Non ferrem omnino moleste, si ita accidisset : sed id tamen esset humanum. (3a) M. Marcellus, qui ter consul fuit, summa vir- (%<)) Etiam ft in Phalaridis tauro inclufus fuccenjis ignibus torreatur.~\ Phalaris wa9 & cruel tyrant of Agrigentum, fan. us for (hutting up men in a brazen bull, and putting fire under it. This engine of cruelty wa9 made by one Perilltts, who thought it would be a welcome prefent to Phalaris ; and is faid to have been ordered by the ty- rant to be firfl fhut into it, in order to prove his own work. (30 J M. Regulus, quern Cartbaginienfes,mfeclis palpebris, illigatum in mi china wgiland* necaverunt.'] M. Attilius Regulus was conful in the 9th year of the firft Punic war, and defeated the Carthaginians in the memorable fea-fight of Ecnomus ; after which he made a defcent upon Africa, and pufhed on his conquefts with prodigious rapidity. But Xantippus a commander of Greek mercenaries in the fervice of the Carthaginians, by his excellent advice and conduct, gave a wonderful turn to affairs in Africa, totally de- feated the Roman army, and took Regulus himfelf prifoner. The Carthagenians, however, being vanquifhed in a fea-engagement on the coaft of Africa, and having re- ceived a fignal overthrow at land near Panormous, began to think ferioufly of an ac- commodation, and fent Regulus to Rome with fome ambaffadors to negotiate a peace: having firfl taken oath of him to return to Carthage, in cafe there fhould neither be peace nor an exchange of prifoners. Upon his arrival at Rome, he advifed the fenate torefufe the Carthaginian ambaffadors both peace and an exchange of pnfon.rs, for whic:*, at his return into Africa, he was cruelly put to death. Authors, however, are not agreed concerning the particular kind of torment they made him undergo; the moil current opinion is, that they cut off or fewed back his eye-lids, and then bring- ing him out of a dark dungeon, expofed him to f.he fun at mid-day ; that after this they fhut him up in a kind of chefl or pref5, lluck full on the infide with iron fpikes, and there left him to die in torment. This account of the cruel revenge which the Car- thaginians took of Regulus after his return to Carthage, is found In many of the belt CICERO's ORATIONS, 39S you hear them in your stews; you hear them amidst your de- baucheries ; you hear them in your feasts, and over your bottle : even those who define evil by pain, and good by pleasure, give out that a wise man, though he were shut up in the bull of Pha- laris, and broiled with flames applied to it, would still declare that his condition was agreeable, and that he was not in the least moved : such, they alledge, is the power of virtue, that it is im- possible for a good man not to be happy. What then is paini what is punishment ? It is, in my opinion, what can happen to none but the guilty ; premeditated villany ; the pangs and hor- rors of remorse ; the hatred of all the virtuous ; a mark of in- famy inflicted by the senate ; die loss of dignity. Sect. XIX. To me neither M. Regulus, whom the Cartha- ginians, after having cut off his eye-lids, and shut him up bound in a chest, killed by keeping him from sleep, seems to have suf- fered punishment ; nor C. Marius, whom Italy, which he had saved, saw sunk in the marshes of Minturnae ; and Africa, which he had subdued, saw banished and shipwrecked. For these are the blows of fortune, not the consequence of guilt ; but punish- ment is suffering for crimes. Nor would I, were I to imprecate evils upon you, as I have often done, when the gods have heard me, pray for diseases, death, or tortures. That imprecation of Thyestes is only an art of the poet, to move the minds of the vulgar, not those of the wise : May you, after being- shipwreck- ed, hang by your side, with your boxvels dropping out, upon the jlinty rocks, besmearing them with blood and gore. Had such a thing happened to you, I should not have been concerned at it ; but this is what may befal any man. M. Marcellus, who was thrice consul, and eminent for his virtue, piety, and abilities in war, perished on the sea ,* yet he still lives in the annals of fame, crowned with glory. Such a death is be deemed an accident, not a penalty. What then is suffering ? what is punishment ? what are the pointed rocks ? what is the cross ? Behold two corn- Roman authors, and is not exprefsly contradicted by any ancient writer; notwithftand- ing this, Mr, Hooke, in the fecond volume of his Roman History, adduces fonie reafons againft the truth of it ; which, he thinks, may excufe our incredulity, should we look upon it as a mere fiction. (31) Ut tu naufragio ex^ulsusJ] Thi'9 is a paffage from the Thyestes of Ennias. (32) M. MarceHus, qui ter consul fuit.~\ This was not the famous Marcellus, who conquered Syracufe ; but hisgrandfon, who was fhipwrecked in Africa, foon after the beginning of the third Punic war. Afconius gives us an anecdote concerning him, which we fhall here tranferibe: " Hie autem Marcellus, says he, cum statuas, sibi ac pn- tri, itemque avo poneret in monumentis avi sui ad honoris et virtutis sedem, fubferip- sit, III, Marcelli novies Coss. Fuerat autem avus quinquies, pater scmer, ipfc tsr. It-a- que neque mentitus, et apud imperitiores patri* fui fplendorem auxit." 394 M. T. CICERONIS ©RATIONKS. tute. pietats, gloria militari, periit in mari : qui tarn en ob virtu tern gloria et laucle vivit : in fortuna quadam est ilia mors non in poena, putanda. Quse est igitur poena ? quod supplicium ? qua; saxa ? qua; cruces ? Ecce duos duces in provinciis populi Rom. habere exercitus, appellari imperatbres ; horum alterum sic fuisse infirmatum conscientia scelerum et fraudum suarum, ut ex eaprovincia, qua; fuerit ex omnibus una maxime triumphalis, nullas sit ad senatum litcras mittere ausus ; ex qua provincia modo vir omni dignitate ornatissimus L. To'rquatus, magnis re- bus gestis, me reierente, absens imperator est appellatus : unde his paucis annis Cn. Dolabellse, C Curionis, M. Lucnlli, justis- simos triumphos vidimus, ex est, te imperatore, nuntius ad se- natum allatus est nullus ; ab altero allatse literae, recitatse, relatum ad senatum. Dii immortales ! idne ego optarem, ut inimicus meus, e&, qua nemo unquam, ignominia notaretur ? ut senatus is, qui in earn jam benignitatis consuetudinem venit, ut eos, qui bene rempublicam gesserint, novis honoribus afficiat, et nUmero dierum, et genere verborum ; hujus unius literis nuntiantibus non crederet ? postulantibus denegaret f XX. His ego rebus pascor, his detector, his perfuror : quod do vobis hie ordo opinatur non secus, ac de teterrimis hostibus : quod vos equites Rom. quod ca^teri ordines, quod ciincta civitas odit : quod nemo bonus, nemo denique civis est, qui modo se civem esse meminerit, qui vos non oculis fugiat, auribus respuat, animo aspernetur, recordatione denique ipsa consulates vestri perhorrescat. Hsec ego semper de vobis expetivi, hsec optavi, hsec precatus sum ; plura etiam acciderunt, quam vellem ; nam ut amitteritis exercitum, nunquam, mehercule, optavi. Illud etiam accidit prseter optatum meum, sed valde ex voluntate ; mini* enim non venerat in mentem, furorem et insaniam optare vobis, m quam incidistis : atqui fuit optandum ; me tamen fugerat, deorum immortalium has esse in impios et consceleratos pcenas certissimas constitutas. Nolite enim putare, P. C. ut in seen a videtis, homines consceleratos impulsu deorum terreri furiarum tiedis ardentibus : sua quemque fraus, suumfacinus, suum scelus, sua audacia de sanitate ac mente deturbat ,* hse sunt impiorum furise, hse flammse, hse faces. Ego te non vecordem,non furio-" sum, non mente captum, (33) non tragico illo Oreste aut (7> %) Won tragico illo Orejle aut Athamante dementiorem."] Oreftes was the fon of Aga- memnon and Ciytemneftra. He is faid to have killed hisown mother, and iE^ifthus, her adulterer, who had murdered his father. Athamas was the fon of ./Eoius, and king of rheffaly ; he had two children by his wife Nephele. after whofe death he married Ino the daughter of Cadmus, who treated her ftep-children fo ill, that Juno, to pun^ im her, made her hufband run mad. Cicero's orations. 395 manders in the provinces of the Roman people, at the head of armies, with the title of emperors ; yet one of these was so struck with the sense of his guilt and crimes, that he did not even dare to send a letter to the senate, from a province too, of all others the most fertile in triumphs. It is but lately that L. Torquatus, a man of the most distinguished merit, was at my instance, saluted emperor from this province, on account of his glorious actions ; from it too, within these few years, we have seen the well- Won triumphs of Cn. Dolabella, C. Curio, and M. Lucullus ; and yet from this province, during your com-' mand in it, not so much as a messenger was sent to the senate. From Gabinius letters were brought : they were read too, and a motion made upon them in the senate. Immortal gods ! could I even have wished my enemy to be marked with such infamy as none but himself ever suffered ? That the senate, who are now got into such a habit of generosity as to bestow new ho- nours on those who have conducted themselves well in the ad- ministration of public affairs, both by increasing the number of thanksgiving days, and by peculiar terms of respect ; that the senate, I say, should not believe what was contained in the let- ters of this fellow alone ? should deny what he requested in them ? Sect. XX. What gives me the greatest pleasure, delight and satisfaction is, that this order think no otherwise of you than they do of their most inveterate enemies ; that you are hated by the Roman knights, by the Other orders, and by the whole state ; that there is not a worthy man, not a single citi- zen, provided he remembers he is Such, whose eyes do' not shun vou, whose ears are not offended with the very mention of your name, whose soul does not abhor you f and who is not shocked even at the remembrance of your consulship.- This is what I always wished might befal you, what I always desired, what I always prayed for. Nay, more has befallen you than I could have wished ; for that you should lose your army I cer- tainly never wished : this too happened besides my wishes, though Very agreeably to my inclination. For it did not enter into my thoughts to wish you should fall into that phrenzy and madness into which you did fall ; though this I should have wished for. But it had escaped me, that such is the punish- ment irrevocably ordained by the immortal gods against the impious and the guilty. For you must not imagine conscript fathers, that the wicked, as you see in theatrical representations r are haunted by the blazing torches of furies, sent by the gods as instruments of their vengeance, j It is personal villany, per- sonal guilt, personal crimes and presumption, that rob men of the use of reason and soundness of judgment.^ These are the furies, these the flames, these the torches ot the wicked. Am, Hot I to look upon you as a madman, as a fury, as one that ha* A i 395 M. T. CIGERONlS ORATIONES. Athamante dcmentiorem putem, qui sis ausus primum facere (nam id est caput), deinde paullo ante, Torquato, gravissimo et sanctissimo viro premente, confiteri, te provinciam Macedoniam, in quam tantum exercitum transportasses, sine ullo milite reli- quisse ? Mitto de amissa maxima parte exercitiis : sit hoc infeli- citatis tuai : dimittendi vero exercitus quam potes affere eausam; quam potestatcm habuisti ? quam legem ? quod senatusconsul- tum r quod jus ? quod exemplum ? quid est aliud furere, nisi non cognoscere homines, non cognoscere leges, non senatum, non civitatem ? cruentare corpus suum leve est, major hsec est vitae, famse, salutis suse vulneratio ; si familiam tuam dimisisses 1 quod ad neminem, nisi ad ipsum te, pertineret, amici te tui constringendum putarent : presidium tu reipublicse, custodiam provincise, injussu populi senatusque dimisisses, si tuse mentis compos fuisses ? XXI. Ecce tibi alter, effusa jam maxima prseda, quam ex for- tunis publicanorum, ex agris urbibusque sociorum exhauserat, cum partim ejus prsedse profundse libidines devorassent, partim nova qusedam et inaudita luxuries, partim etiam in illis locis, ubi omnia diripuit, emptiones, partim permutationes, ad hunc Tus- culani montem exstruendum, cum jam egeret, cum ilia ejus im- mensa et intolerabilis jedificatio constitisset ; seipsum, fasces suos, exercitum populi Romani, ntimen interdictumque deorum iinmortalium, responsa sacerdotum, auctoritatem senatus, jussa populi, nomen ac dignitatem imperii (34) regi iEgyptio vendi- dit ; cum fines provincial tantos haberet, quantos voluerat, quantos optaverat, quantos mei capitis pretio periculoque erne- rat ; his se tenere non potuit ; exercitum eduxit ex Syria; qui licuit extra provinciam ? tribuit se mercenarium comitem regi Alexandrino ; quid hoc turpius? in iEgyptum venit: signacon- tulit cum Alexandrinis ; quando hoc bellurn, aut hie ordo, aut populus susceperat ? cepit Alexandriam ; quid aliud exspecta- mus a furore ejus, nisi ut ad senatum tantis de rebus gestis litems mittat ? hie si mentis esset suae, nisi poenas patriae diisque im- mortalibus eas, quae gravissimse sunt, furore atque insania pende- f$4j Regi JEzyptio vendiJit.] Ptolemy, being driven out of his kingdom by his own fubje&s, on account of his tyrannical government, went to Rome to beg the afliftance and protection of the fenate. The Sibylline books were confulted upon the occafion, and thefe abfolutely prohibited the Romans from rtftoring an Egyptian prince by force of arms. Gabinius, however, tempted by Ptolemy's gold and the plunder of Egypt, and encouraged alfo, as fome authors fay, by Pompey himfelf, undertook to replace him on the throne with his Syrian army ; which he executed with a high hand, and the deftruction of all the king's enemies, in open defiance of the authority of the fenate, and the direction of the Sibyl. CICERO'S ORA lIONS. 39* lost the use of his reason, as more frantic than Orestes or Atha- mas in the play, for having first dared (for that is the principal thing) to leave the province of Macedonia, into which you had transported so great an armv, without a soldier to defend it, and then not long ago to confess this, when urged to it by Tor- quatus, a man of the greatest w T eight and integrity ? I pass by your having lost the greatest part of your army ; let that be deemed your misfortune : but what reason can you give for having dismissed it ? what authority, what law, what decree ol the senate, what right, what precedent can you alledge for this? what else is madness, but bemg ignorant of men, being ignorant of laws, of the senate, of the constitution ? To mangle one's own body, is an inconsiderable degree of madness, in comparison of this mangling of life, of reputation and safety. Were you to dismiss your family, which belongs to yourself alone, your friends would think you deserved to be put under confinement : and had you been in your senses, would you have dismissed the guards of the Roman people, the defence of the province, without the orders of the senate and people ? Sect. XXI. But what did your other self ? After having squandered that immense plunder which he had drawn from the officers of the revenue, from the lands and cities of our allies : after part of that plunder had been absorded in the abyss of his lusts, another part of it consumed by new and unheard-of refinements in luxury, and part of it by the purchas- es and alterations which he made in those places where he pulled down every thing to raise this Tusculan mount ; being now re- duced to poverty, and a stop put to that enormous and in- sufferable fabric, he sold himself, the badges of his office, the army of the Roman people, the sacred prohibition of the im- mortal gods, the answer of their priests, the authority of the se- nate, the orders of the people, the renown and dignity of their empire, to the Egyptian king. Though the bounds of his pro- vince were enlarged according to his desires, according to his wishes, according to the price and danger at which he has set my head, yet could he not confine himself to these. He brought his army out of Syria. "W hat right had he to bring them out of their own province ? He enlisted himself under the king of Alexandria, as a mercenary attendant : what could be more infamous than this ? he came into Egypt ; he fought against the Alexandrians : when did either this order, or the people of Rome, undertake that war i He took Alexandria : what greater instance of madness can we expect he should be guilty of, unless it be this, that he should send letters to the se- nate with an account of his exploits ? Had he been in his senses, had not his countrv and the immortal gods been avenged of him by the severest of ail punishments, those of fury and madness, 39& M. T. CICERONIS ORATIONES. ret ; ausus esset (mitto exire de provincia) educere exercitum^ bellum sua sponte gerere, in regnum injussu populi aut senatus accedere i quse cum plurimre leges veteres, turn (35) lex Cornelia majestatis, Julia de pecuniis repetundis planissime vetant ; sed hsec omitto. Ille, si non acerrime fureret, auderet, quam pro- vinciam P. Lentulus, amicissimus huic ordini, cum et auctoritatc senatus, et sorte haberet, interposita religione, sine ulla dubita- tione deposuisset, earn sibi turn adsciscere ; cum, etiamsi religio non impediret, mos majorum tamen, et exampla, et gravissimse legum poense yetarent ? XXII. Sed quoniam fortunarum contentionem facere ccepi- mus, de reditu Gabinii omittamus : quern etsi sibi ipse prsecidit, ego tamen, os ut videam hominis, exspecto. Tuum, si placet, reditum cum meo conferamus. Ac meus quidem is fuit, ut a Brundusio usque Romam agmen perpetuum totius Italise vide- rem ; neque enim regio fuit ulla, neque municipium, neque prsefectura, aut colonia, ex qua non publice ad me venerint gra- tulatum. Quid dicam adventus meos ? quid efFusiones hominum ex oppidis ? quid concursum ex agris patrum-familias cum con-? jugibus ac ljberis ? quid eos dies, qui, quasi deorum immorta^ Hum festi atque solemnes, sunt apud omnes adventu meo redi- tuque celebrati ? unus ille dies mini quidem immortalitatis instar fuit, quo in patriam redii ; cum senatum egressum vidi, populumque Romanum universum ; cum mihi ipsa Roma prope convulsa sedibus suis ad complectendum conservatorem suum progredi visa est ; quse me ita accepit, ut non modo omnium generum, setatum, ordinum omnes viri ac mulieres, omnis fortunse ac loci ; sed etiam mcenia ipsa viderentur, et tecta urbis, ac templa laetari. Me consequentibus diebus in ea ipsa domo, qua tu me expuleras, quam expilaras, quam incen- deras, pontinces, consules, patres conscripti collocavtrunt : mihiqu.e, quod ante me nemini, pecunia publica sedificandam. domum censuerunt. Habes reditum meum ; confer nunc vicissim tuum : quandoquidem, amisso exercitu, nihil incolume domum, prater os illud pristinum tuum retulisti ; qui prirnum, qua veneris cum laureatis tuis lictoribus, quis scit i quos turn Mseandros, dum omnes solitudines persequeris, quae diverticula flexionesquc qusesisti ? quod te municipium vidit I quis amicus (35) Lex Cornelia majrjlatis ] This law, the author of which was L. Cornelius Sylla, made it treafon to lead an army out of a province. «r to engage 111 a war without fpe- cial orders, or to endeavour the ingratiating one's felf lo with the army as to make them ready to fcrve his particular interefl ; and affigned the punifhrnent of aqua et ignis in- .'frdictb, to all that fhculd be convicled of any of thefe crimes. CICERO's ORATIONS. 399 would he have dared, I do not say to leave his province, but to draw out his army, to carry on war of himself, to advance into a kingdom without orders from the senate or people ? all which are forbid in the most express terms, by many ancient laws, as well as by the Cornelian law upon treason, and the Julian law upon extortion. But this I pass over. Had he not arrived at the height of madness, would he have dared to take to himself a province, which P. Lentulus, one of the best friends of this order, had, without any hesitation, quitted upon a principle of religion ; though both the authority of the senate, and the lots had bestowed it upon him; a proceeding which, if it had not been contrary to religion, was yet forbid by the practice of our ancestors, by numerous examples in the state, and by the seve- rest penalties of omr laws. Sect. XXII. But since we have begun to compare our for- tunes : let us say nothing concerning the return of Gabinius : Avhich, though he himself has cutoff, yet such is the impudence of the man, that I expect he will return. Let me, if you please, compare }our return with mine. Now such was mine, that all the way from Brundusium to Rome, I beheld all Italy drawn out in one continued body ; nor was there a country, a muni- cipal town, a prefecture, a colony which did not send a depu- tation to pay me their compliments. Need I mention my ap- proaches ? the crowds of people that came from the towns ? the concourse of masters of families, with their wives and chil- dren from the country ? and those days which, on my approach and return, were celebrated all over Italy, as if they had been the festivals and solemnities of the immortal gods ? one day was worth an immortality to me, the day of my return to my coun- trv, when I saw the senate and the whole Roman people come forth to meet me ; when Rome herself seemed to spring forward from her foundations to embrace her deliverer. For such was the manner in which she received me, that not only men and women of all ranks, ages, and conditions, of every fortune and of every place, but even the very walls, the dwellings and tem- ples of the city, seemed to wear the face of joy. In the fol- lowing days, the priests, the consuls, the conscript fathers, put me in possession of that very house from which you had driven me, which you had plundered, which you had set fire to ; and, what had never happened before, they decreed that my house should be rebuilt at the public charge. I have given you an account of my return ; compare it now, in your turn, with your own : when after having lost your army, you brought nothing home entire, but vour brazen front, that old compan- ion oi yours. First of all, who knows which way you came with your laurel'd lictors ? what by-ways, what windings and turnings did you pursue, in your search after every solitude ? 400 M. T. CICERONIS ORATIONES. invitavit ? quis hospes adspexit ? nonne tibi nox erat pro die ? non solitudo pro frequently ? caupona pro oppido ? non ut redire ex Macedonia nobilis imperator, sed ut mortuus infamis referri videretur ? Romam vero ipsam foedavit adventus tuus. XXIII. O families non dicam Calpurnise, sed Calventire ; ne- que hujus urbis, sed Placentini municipii ; neque paterni generis, (36) sed braccatse cognationis dedecus ! quemadmodum venisti ? quis tibi, non dicam horum, ant civium caeterorum, sed tuorum legatorum obviam venit ? mecum enim turn L. Flaccus, vir tua legatione indignissimus, atque iis consiliis, (37) quibus mecum in consulatu meo conjunctus fuit, ad conservandam rempublicam dignior, mecum fuit turn, cum te quidam non longe a porta cum lictoribus errantem visum esse narraret. Scio item virum fortem in primis, belli, ac rei militaris peritum, familiarem me- um, Q. Marcium, quorum tu legatorum prcelio imperator ap- pellatus eras, cum non longe abfuisses, adventu isto tuo domi fuisse otiosum. Sed quid ego enumero, qui tibi obviam non ve- nerint ? qui dico venisse pene neminem, (38) ne de officiosissima quidem natione candidatorum, cum vulgo essent et illo ipso, et multis ante diebus admoniti et rogati ; togulse lictoribus ad por- tam prsesto fuerunt : quibus illi acceptis, sagula rejecerunt, et catervam imperatori suo novam pnebuerunt ; sic iste a tanto ex- ercitu, tanta provincia, trienni© post, Macedonicus imperator in urbem se intulit, ut nullitis negotiatoris obscurissimi reditus unquam fuerit desertior ; in quo me tamen, qui esset paratus ad se defendendum, reprehendit ; cum ego Coelimontana porta introisse dixissem, sponsione me, ni Esquilina introisset, homo promptissimus lacessivit : quasi vero id aut ego scire debuerim, aut vestriim quisquam audierit ; aut ad rem pertineat, qua tu porta introieris, modo ne triumphali : quae porta Macedonicis semper proconsulibus ante te patuit ; tu inventus es, qui con- sulari imperio prseditus ex Macedonia non triumphares. XXIT. At audistis, P. conscripti, philosophi vocem ; negavit se triumph] cupidum unquam fuisse. O scelus ! 6 pestis ! 9 labes ! cum exstinguebas senatum, vendebas auctoritatem (36) Sed braccata cognationis dedecus.] Cicero here means the Gauls, from whom Pi- fowas descended by the mother; part of whofe drefs was the bracca, a kind of trow- fers. (37) Quibus mBLum in confulatu meo conjitntlus fuit.} This L. Flaccus was prsetor in Cicero's confulfhip, and performed no inconfiderable fervices to his country during Catiline's confpiracy: for which he received the thanks of the fenate. (38) Ne de ojficiofijjiina qiidem natione candidatorum.} Thofe who flood candidates for public honours, generally declared their preeenfions about a year before the election : all which time was fpent in gaining and fecuring of friends. For this purpofe, they u- fed all the arts of popularity, making their circuits round the city very often ; and, in their walks, taking the meanefl perfons by the hands, and talking to them in a familiar manner: whence Cicero here calls them, vatio ojficiopjfm*. cicero's orations. 401 what corporation saw you ? what friend invited you ? what host regarded you ? did you not prefer the night to the day ? being alone, to being in company ? an inn to a city ? So that you did not seem to return from Macedonia like a glorious commander, but to be brought back from it like a foul carcase. As for your arrival, it polluted Rome itself. Sect. XXIII. Thou disgrace, not to the Calphurnian family, but even to the Calventian ! not to this city, but to the corpo- ration of Placentia ! not to thy father's race, but to thy trow- sered alliance ! In what manner didst thou come ? was there one, I will not say of these, or our other citizens, but of thy own lieutenants, who came out to meet thee ? For L. Flaccus, a man very unworthy of such a lieutenancy as yours, and more worthy of bearing a part in those measures for preserving the state, in which he was engaged with me during my consulate, was with me when somebody told us that you was seen not far from the gate, strolling about with your lictors. I knew too that my friend Q. Marcius, one of the bravest of men, well skilled in military affairs, one of those lieutenants whose cou- rage in battle procured you the title of emperor, when you was not a great way from Rome, was at his own house doing nothing. But why should I reckon up those who did not come out to meet you ? when scarce one of the officious tribe of can- didates met you, though they were all publicly apprised and invited that very day, and several days before. There were short gowns ready for your lictors at the gate, which they exchanged for their cassocks, and by this means gave a new face to their general's train. Thus a governor of 'Macedonia^ with such an army, and such a province, conveyed himself in- to the city, after three years, in such a manner that no pedlar had ever a more private return. And yet this modest gentle- man, so well prepared for his defence, reproaches me on this head. After I had said that he entered by the Cselimontane gate, like a man of spirit, he offered to lay that he entered by the Esqiline ; as if it had been either incumbent on me to know this, as if any of you had heard of it, or as if it had been of any consequence in the present affair, through what gate you entered, if it was not through the Triumphal ; a gate which, before you, was always open to Macedonian proconsuls. You are the only person with consular authority, who, upon your return from Macedonia, have not been honoured with a triumph. Sect. XXIY. But, conscript fathers, it was a philosopher you hea:.-d speak. He denies that he had ever any passion for a triumph. Thou execrable wretch, thou plague, thou foul reproach of this state ! while you was destroying the senate, exposing to sale the 402 M. T. CICERONIS ORATIONES. hujus ordinis, addicebas tribuno pleb. consulatum tuum, rem*" pub. evertebas, prodebas caput et salutem meam una mercede provinciae : si triumphum non cupiebas, cujus tandem rei te cupiditate arsisse defendes ? ssepe enim vidi, qui et mihi, et cseteris cupidiores provinciae viderentur ; triumphi nomine te- gere atque velare cupiditatem suam ; hoc modo D. Silanus con- sul in hoc ordine, hoc meus etiam collega dicebat ; neque enim quisquam potest exercitum cupere, aperteque petere, ut non pretexat cupiditatem triumphi. Quod si te senatus, si populus Romanus, aut non appetentem, aut etiam recusantem, bel- lum suscipere, exercitum ducere coegisset ; tamen erat angusti animi atque demissi, justi triumphi honorem atque dignitatem contemnere ; nam, ut levitatis est, inanem aucupari rumorem, et omnes umbras etiam falsa glorise consectari : sic levis est animi, lucem splendoremque fugientis, justam gloriam, qui est fructus verge virtutis honestissimus, repudiare. Cum vero non modo non postulante atque cogente, sed invito atque op- presso senatu, non modo nullo populi Romani studio, sed nullo ferente suffragium libero, provincia tibi ista manupretium fuerit non eversse per te, sed perditse civitatis : cumque om- nium tuorum scelerum hsec pactio exstiterit, ut si totam rem- publicam nefariis latronibus tradidisses, Macedonia, tibi ob earn rem, quibus tu finibus velles, redderetur : cum exhaurie- bas serarium, cum orbabas Italiam juventute, cum mare vas- tissimum hieme transibas ; si triumphum contemnebas, quie te, prsedo amentissime, nisi prsedse ac rapinarum cupiditas tarn ca?ca rapiebat ? Kon est integrum Cn. Pompeio consilio jam uti tuo ? erravit enim ; non gustarat istam tuam philosophiam ; ter jam homo stultus triumphavit. Crasse, pudet me tui : quid est quod confecto per te formidolosissimo bello, coronam illam lauream tibi tantopere decerni volueris a senatu ? P. Servili, Q. Metelle, C Curio, P. Africane, cur non hunc audistis tarn doctum hominem, tarn eruditum, prius quam in istum errorem induceremini ? C. ipsi Pontino, necessario meo, jam non est in- tegrum : religionibus enim susceptis impeditur. O stultos Ca- millos, Curios, Fabricios, Calatinos, Scipiones, Marcellos r Maximos ! 6 amentem Paullum ! rusticum Marium ! (39) nullius consilii patres horum amborum consulum, qui triumpharint ! XXV. Sed quoniam prseterita mutare non possumus, quid cessat hie homulls ex argilla et luto fictus, Epicureus, dare hsec prseclara prsecepta sapientise clarissimo et summo impera-' tori genero suo ? fertur ille vir, mihi crede, gloria : fiagrat, ar- ($9) Nullius comilii patres ijlorum amborum confulurrt , qui triumpharint.~\ This oratioa was made in the fecond confulfhip of Pompey and Craffus ; both whofe fathers had ob- tained the honour of a triumph ; Pompey's for his vi&ory over the Picentes, Craflus's for that over the Spaniards. cicero's oratioxs. 403 authority of this order, hiring out your consulate to a tribune of the people, subverting the state, betraying my life and safety, all for the sake of a province ; if you did not aspire after a triumph, with what passion will you pretend that you was ani- mated ? For I have often seen men, who appeared both to me and to others too fond of a province, cover and conceal their ambition with the specious name of a triumph. It was thus that D. Silanus, when consul, and mv colleague too, used to talk in this assembly ; and no person indeed can desire the command of an army, and openly solicit it, without making his desire of a triumph a colour for his ambition. Supposing the senate and people of Rome had obliged you to take the com- mand of an army without your desiring it, nay when you de- clined going to the war, it would still have discovered a narrow and abject spirit, to despise the honour and dignity of a just triumph. For as it is a proof of levity to hunt after empty ap- plause, and to pursue every shadow of false glory, so it shows a mean spirit, that shuns bright renown, to refuse genuine glorv, which is the noblest reward of real virtue. But when that pro- vince was bestowed upon you as the wages, not of having un- hinged, but of having ruined the state, so far from being desired and obliged by the senate, that the senate was forced to give way to it ; so far from being solicited by the Roman people, that not a free suffrage was given in your favour ; when this was the stipulated reward of all your crimes, that if you would deliver the whole commonwealth into the hands of infamous robbers, you should have Macedonia adjudged to you, with whatever bounds you pleased to set to it ; when you drained the treasury, stripped Italy of her youth, passed a great extent of sea in the winter-time, if all this while you slighted a triumph, what blind passion, frantic ruffian ! hurried you on, if it was not a passion for rapine and plunder ? Cn. Pompeius is not now at liberty to follow your advice ; for he has erred. He had no relish for your philosophy ; foolish man ! he has already triumphed three times. CrassusI blush for you; after having finished a most formidable war, what made you so very desirous of having a laurel crown decreedyou by the senate ? P. Servilius, Q. Metellus, C. Curio, P. Africanus, why did you not listen to this very knowing and learned gentleman, before you suffered yourselves to be thus seduced ? Even my friend C. Pontinus, is now at liberty, ha- ving begun the religious rites. Foolish Camilii, Curii, Fabri- cii, Caiatini, Scipiones, Marcelli, Maxim i ! silly Paulus ! stu- pid Marius ! what ignorance it shewed in the fathers of both these our consuls to triumph. Sect. XXV. But since we cannot alter what is past, why does not this Epicurean dwarf, this composition of loam and clay, g^ive these, fine precepts of philosophy to his son-in-law, that B 3 40-1 M. T. CICERONIS ORATIONES. det cupiditate justi et magni triumphi ; non didicit eadem ista, quje tu ; mitte ad eum libellum ; et si jam ipse coram congredi poteris, meditare, quibus verbis incensam illius cupiditatem com- primas atque restinguas ; valebis apud homjnem volitantem gloria; cupiditate, vir moderatus et constans, apud indoctum eruditus, apud generum socer ; dices enim, ut es homo facetus, ad persuadendum concinnus, perfectus, politus e schola : quid est, Csesar, quod te supplicationes toties decretse, tot dierum, tantopere delectent ? in quibus, homines errore ducuntur ; quas dii negligunt ,* qui, ut noster ille divinus dixit Epicurus, neque propitii cuiquam esse solent, neque irati. Non facies fidem scilicet, cum hsec disputabis : tibi enim et esse, et fuisse deos videbis iratos ; vertes te ad alteram scholam : disseres de tri- umpho. Quid tandem habet iste currus . ? quid vincti ante cur- rum duces ? quid simulacra oppidorum ? quid aurum i quid argentum ? quid legati in equis et tribuni I quid clamor mi- litum ? quid tota ilia pompa ? inania sunt ista, mihi crede, delectamenta pene puerorum, captare plausus, vehi per ur- bem, conspici velle, quibus ex rebus, nihil est quod solidum tenere, nihil quod referre ad voluptatem corporis possis ; quin tu me vides, qui ex qua provincia T. Flaminius, L. Paulus, Q. Metellus, T ? Didius, innumerabiles alii, levi cupiditate commoti triumpharunt, ex ea sic redii, ut ad portam Esquili- nam, Macedonicam lauream conculcarim ; ipse cum homini- bus quindecim male vestitis ad portam Coelimontanam sitiens* pervenerim : quo in loco mihi libertus, preeclaro imperatori domum ex hac die biduo ante conduxerat : quae vacua si non fuisset, in campo Martio mihi tabernaculum collocassem ; nummus interea mihi, C?esar, neglectis ferculis triumphali- bus, domi manet et manebit : (40) rationes ad serarium retuli continuo, sicut tua lex jubebat : neque alia ulla in re legi tuse parui, quas rationes si cognoris, intelliges nemini plus, quam mihi literas profuisse : ita enim sunt perscriptse scite et literate, ut scriba, ad serarium qui eas retulit, perscriptis rationibus se- cum ipse caput sinistra manu perfricans communnnratus sit. Ratio (40) Rationes ad ararium retuli lontinui, ficut tua lex jubebat '.] C Julhw Csefar made a law, A. U. 691, whcrtby governors, at the expiiarion of t ! eir < flfice, were obli- ged to ieave the fcheme of their accounts in two cities of their province? and upon their arrival at Rome, to deliver in a copy of the faid accounts at the public treafury. CICERO'S ORATIONS* 46$ great and renowned commander ? Believe me, that gentleman is influenced by glory ; he is hated, he is fired with the desire of a just and noble triumph. He has not received the same lessons that you have done. Send him your instructions in writing. But in the mean time, in case you should happen to meet with him, consider what words you must make use of, to stifle and extinguish the flames of his ambition. You, who are a man of moderation and steadiness, will prevail over one car- ried about on the wings of ambition ; his ignorance will give way to your learning, and the son-in-law will yield to his fa- ther* For, as you are a man of pleasantry, have a graceful manner of persuading, and are just come from the schools thor- oughly accomplished and polite, you will say to him, Pray Caesar what makes you so highly delighted with thanksgivings, so often decreed, and for so many days ? Mankind are cer- tainly in an error as to this ; these things are what the gods neg- lect : for they, as our divine Epicurus says, are neither favour- able to, nor angry with any one. You will never have it in your power to convince Upon this head ; for you shall see that the gods both have been, and are still angry with yOufself. Ac- cordingly you will pass from this to another topic> and talk of a triumph* Now, after all* what is there in that chariot ? in those princes led before it in chains ? in those representations of towns ? What is there in that gold ? in that silver ? in those lieutenants and tribunes on horseback ? in those shouts of the soldiers ? what in all that pomp ? Believe me, the whole is va- nity : all that catching at the acclamations of the people, being Carried in procession through the streets, and gazed at by the mob, are scarce amusements for school-boys : ihere is nothing solid in them, nothing that can contribute to the pleasure of the senses. T. Flaminius, L* Paulus, Q« Metellus, T* Di* dius, and a great many more carried away by a silly ambition tri- umphed upon their return from this province ; but my return you see was of a ve^ different kind. When 1 came to the Esquiline gate, I trode under foot the Macedonian laurel ; with fifteen ran- ged attendants, I came, and very dry indeed I was, to the Cselimon- tane gate, where one of my freed-men had hired a house for me, as renowned a commander as I was, only two days before ; and if that house had not happened to be empty, I should have pitch- ed my tent in the field of Mars* In the mean time, Csssar, des- pising all the pageantry of a triumph, I have and shall have mo- ney lying for me at home. I i mmediately gave in my accounts to the treasury, according to your law : and it was the only thing where- in I obeyed that law : which accounts if you look into, you will see that no person has profited more by arithmetic, than myself; for they are wrote in so nice and masterly a manner, that the clerk, who carried them to the treasury.* after having registered 406 M. T. CICERONIS ORATIOWES. ouidem herclc appdrei, argimtum'ochetai. Hac tu oratione noit ciubito quin ilium jam astendentem in currum possis revocare. XXVI. O tenebrse, 6 luttim, 6 sordes, 6 paterni generis ob- lige, materni vix niembr! ita nescio quid istuc fractum, humile demissum, sordidum, inferius etiam est, quam ut Mediolanensi prrecone, avo tup dignum esse videatur* L. Crassus homo sa- pientissimus nostra crvitatis, spiculis prope scrutatus est Alpes 9 ut, ubi hostis non erat, ibi triumphi causam aliqaam qu?ereret. (4i) Eadem. cupiditate vir summo ingenio prseditus, C. Cotta, nullo certo hoste, flagravit ; eorum neuter triumphavit, quod alteri ilium honorem collega, alteri mors ademit. Irrisa est abs te paullo ante M. Pisonis cupiditas triumphandi, a qua te< longe dixisti abhorrere ; qui etiamsi minus magnum beltum ges- serat, ut abs te dictum est, tamen istum honorem contemnendum non putavit. Tu eruditior quam Piso, prudentior quam Cotta, abundantior consilio, ingenio, sapientia quam Crassus, ea con- temnis, quse illi idiotse, ut tu appellas, prseclara duxerunt. Quod si reprehendis, quod cupidi laurese fuerint, cum bella aut parva, aut nulla gessissent : tu, tantis nationibus subactis, tantis rebus gestis, mmime fructum laborum tuorum, prsemia periculorum, virtutis insignia contemnere debuisti ; neque vera contempsisti, (4 1 ) licet sis Themista sapientior, si os tuum fer- reum senatus convicio verberari notuisti. Jam vides (quando- quidem ita mihimet fui inimicus, ut me tecum compararem) et degressum meum y et absentiam, et reditum ita longe tuo prsesti- lisse, ut mihi ilia omnia immortalem gloriam dederint, tibi sem- piternam turpitudinem infiixerint. Nunc etiam in hac quoti- diana, assidua, urbanaque vita splendorem tuum, gratiam, cele- britatem domesticam, operam forensem, consilium, auxilium r auctoritatem, sententiam senatoriam nobis, aut, ut verius dicam, Guiquam es infimo ac desperatissimo antelaturus I XXVII. Age, senatus odit te, quod eum tu facere jure con- cedis, affiictorem et perditorem non modo dignitatis et auctori- tatis, sed omnino ordinis ac nominis sui : vedere equites Romanr . non possunt, quo ex ordihe vir prsestantissimus, L. JElius est r (41) Eadem cupiditate vir fummo ingenio prteditus 6. CattaJ] Cicero makes frequent mention of this Cotta, in his Dialogue De Orator e, We are told by Ascnnius, that after the fenate had decreed him a triumph, he died the day before it was to be cele- brated! of the breaking out of a wound which he had received feveral years before. (4a) Licet fis Themijla fapientior.] This Thetnifta, according to Laertius, was the wife of one Leouteus, and a very learned lady : ihe was cotemporary with Epicurus, and a great admirer of his philolbphy. CICERO's ORATIONS. 40f them, scratching his head with his left hand, muttered to him* self, The account is here sure enough, but the cash is gone, By this speech, I make no doubt, but you will be able to stop your son-in-law, even though he were mounting his ear* Sect. XXYI.vThou mean, filthy, dirty wretch, who hast for- got thy father's family, and scarce rememberest that of thy mother ! There is something in thee, I know not what, so low, so abject, so worthless, so sordid, that thou art a reproach even to thy grandfather, who was a common cryer at Milan.^) L. Crassus, a man of the greatest Wisdom in our state, traversed almost every foot of the Alps with his javelins, that he might find some subject for a triumph in a place where he could meet with no enemy. The same passion fired C. Cotta, a man of the most distinguished abilities, though without any declared enemy to wage war with. Neither Cotta nor Crassus triumphed, the one being deprived of that honour by his colleague, the other by death. You laughed not long ago at M. Piso's passion for a triumph, a passion, you said, very different from what you was animated with ; but although Piso carried on an incon- siderable war, as you have told us, yet he did not think that honour contemptible. You who have more learning than Piso, more understanding than Cotta, a greater share of abilities, wisdom and genius than Crassus, despise those things, which those idiots, as you call them, deemed glorious. But though you blame them for having been ambitious of laurels, when they had conducted either no wars at all, or very inconsiderable ones ; yet you who have subdued such powerful nations, and per- 1 formed such mighty exploits, ought not to have slighted the fruits of your toils, the rewards of your dangers, the badges of your valour : nor did you slight them indeed, though wiser than Themista ; you was unwilling to have yOur brazen front battered with the reproaches of the senate. You see now, since I have been so far my own enemy as to compare myself with you, that my departure, my absence and return so far surpassed yours, that I derived immortal glory from mine, and you lasting in- famy from yours. And now, as to our daily and constant man- ner of living in town, will you take upon you to prefer your splendour, your interest, the number of your clients> your prac- tice at the bar, your advice, your assistance, your authority, your weight in the senate, to mine ; or, to speak more pro- perly to those of the meanest and most desperate man living ? Sect. XXYII. To begin then; the senate detest you, and just- ly, as you yourself allow, since you have not only subverted and destroyed its dignity and authority, but its very name and order. The Roman knights can't bear the sight of you, since hi your consulship, L. JEJius, the most illustrious man of that 408 i M. T. ClCERONIS ORATIONES, te consule, relegatus : plebs Romana perditum cubit, in ctijua tii infamiam ea qiue per latrones et per servos de me cgeras, conj tulisti : Italia cuncta exsecratur, cujus idem tu superbissime de- creta et preces repudiasti. Fac hujusodii tanti ac tarn universi periculum, si audes. (43) Instant post hominum memoriam ap- paratissimi magnincentissimique ludi, quales non modo nun- quam fuerunt, sed ne quomodo fieri quide.m posthac possint, possum ullo pacto suspicari. Da te populo, committe ludis. Sibilum metuis ? ubi sunt vestrse scholre ? ne acclametur ? ne id quidem est curare philosophi : manus tibi ne afferantur, times ; dolor enim est malum, ut disputas : existimatio, dedecus, infa- mia, turpitudo, verba sunt atque ineptise : sed de hoc non du- bito ; nam non audebit accedere ad ludos ; convivium publicum non dignitatis causa inibit (nisi forte, ut cum P. Clodio, hoc est, cum amoribus suis coenet) sed plane animi sui causa ; ludos nobis idiotis relinquet ; solet enim, in disputationibus suis, ocu- lorum et aurium delectation i abdominis voluptates anteferre ; nam quod vobis iste tantummodo improbus, crudelis olim fu- runculus, nunc vero etiam rapax, quod sordidus, quod contumax, quod superbus, quod fallax, quod perfidiosus, quod impudens, quod audax esse videatur : nihil scitote esse luxuriosius, nihil libidinosius, nihil protervius, nihil nequius. Luxuriam autem in isto nolite hanc cogitare ; est enim qusedam, quanquam om- nis est vitiosa atque turpis, tamen ingenuo ac libero dignior* Nihil apud hunc lautum, nihil elegans, nihil exquisitum, (lauda- bo inimicum) ne magnopore quidem quidquam, prseter libi- dines, sumptuosum ; toreuma nullum : maximi calices ; et hi, ne contemnere suos videatur, Placentini ; extructa men- sa, non conchyliis, aut piscibus, sed multa carne subran- cida ; servi sordidati ministrant, non nulli etiam senes : idem coquus, idem atriensis : pistor domi nullus, nulla cella : panis et vinum a propola, atque de cupa : Grfeci stipati, (44) quini in lectulis, ssepe plures : ipse solus : (4*) bibitur (13) Jnjlant pujl hominum memoriam apparatijjimi tfiagnijicenttjjimique ludi.] The (hows with which Pompey entertained the peopie at the dedication of that grand theatre, which he built at his own charge for the ufe and ornament of the city, are here re- ferred to. According to the accounts we have of them, by Roman authors, they were the mod magnificent that had ever been exhibited in Rome. In the theatre were ftage-plays, prizes of mufic, wredling. and all kinds of bodily exercifes in the circus, horfe-races, and huntings of wild beads for five day* fucceffively, in which five hun- dred lions were killed, and on the laft day twenty elephants : whofe lamentable howl- ing, when mortally wounded, Pliny and Dio tell us raifed fuch a commiferation in the multitude, from a vulgar notion of their great fenfe and love to man, that it deftroyed the whole diverfion of the fhow, and drew curfes on Pompey himfelf, for being the author offo much cruelty. So true it is, what Cicero, in hi- Offices, obferves of this kind of prodija'ity, that there is no real dignity or lading honour in it ; that itfatiates while it pleafes, and is forgotten as foon as it is over. ( \\) <5>uini in leSlulis. fab: plures.'] The ufual number in a bed wa- hree . fometimes indeed there were four, but this happened very fddom : fo that what is mentioned ia this pafL^e was reckoned extremely mean and inelegant. CICERo's orations. 409 order, was banished : the commons of Rome wish your utter ruin, for you made them fall under the infamy of what you did against me by means of slaves and robbers : all Italy curses you, for having, with the utmost arrogance, rejected their de- crees and intreaties. Make trial, if you dare, of so great and universal a hatred. Very soon will be celebrated the most splen- did and magnificent games in the memory of man, such as not only have never heretofore been exhibited, but such as, I firmlv believe, never will hereafter. Show yourself to the people ; trust yourself in the theatre. Are you afraid of being hissed ? what's become of your philosophy ? Do you fear being clapped ? that's below the regard of a philosopher, surely. You are afraid they should lay hands upon you ; for, according to your philo* sophy, pain is an evil ; as for reputation, shame, infamy, dis- grace, they are only empty words : but I am confident he will not dare be present at the games. Nor will he make his appear- ance at the public entertainment, for the sake of the honour that attends it, unless perhaps he come to sup with P. Clodius, I mean, with his dear companions, but merely for his diversion. The games he'll leave to us idiots ; for, in his disputations, he is wont to prefer the pleasures of the belly to whatever gratifies the eyes and ears. For whereas you formerly thought him only a knavish, cruel pick-pocket, and now consider him as rapacious, sordid, obstinate, haughty, deceitful, perfidious, impudent and daring ; you must know, besides, that there is not a more luxurious, lust- ful, worthless, detestable being on earth. Don't imagine, how- ever, that his luxury has any thing of elegance in it ; for though all luxury is base and dishonourable, yet there is a certain species of it more becoming a man of spirit and a gentleman. There is nothing splendid about him, nothing elegant, nothing fine ; and, let me commend my enemy, he is expensive in nothing but in his lusts. There is not a piece of chased plate in his house ; his dishes are of the largest size, and that he may not seem to slight his countrymen, they are Placentine ware : his table is covered, not with delicate fishes of different kinds, but with plenty of salt stinking meat : the servants who wait upon him are all shabby fellows, and some of them old ones ; one person is both cook and porter : there is not a baker in his house, nor a cellar in it ; his bread and his wine are bought from the chandler's shop and and tavern : his Greek guests are crowded together, five, some- times more, in one of his little beds, while he has one wholly (4") Bibitur usque eo, dum de solio ministreiur,] It is not cafy to afcertain the meaning »f this paffage. upon which the commentators are divided. Insttad of de solio. feme are for reading de dolio. Bibitur tamdiu, fays Ernestus, * donee vinum defufum et vc • fustum. non fuppetai amphus, fed etiam vinum recens, daliare, ministrctur.' 410 M. T. CICERONIS ORATIONES. usque eo, dum de solio ministretur (4 6 ) ubi galli cantum audi- vit, avum suum revixisse putat ; mensam tolli jubet. XXVIII. Dicet aliquis ; unde tibi hsec nota sunt ? non,meher- sed tamdiu, quamdiu cum aliis est, aut ipse secum ; is cum istum adolescentem jam turn cum hac diis irata fronte vidisset, non fugit ejus amicitiam, cum esset praesertim appetitus : dedit se in consuetudinem, sic ut prorsus una viveret, nee fere ab isto unquam discederet, Non apud indoctos, sed, ut ego arbi- tror, in hominum eruditissimorum et humanissimornm coetu lo- quor ; audistis profecto dici, (4 8 ) philosophos Epicureos, omnes res, qiue sunt homini expetendse, voluptate metiri : recte an secus, nihil ad nos ; aut si ad nos, nihil ad hoc tempus ; sed ta- men lubricum genus orationis adolescenti non acriter intelligentr est ssepe prseeeps. Itaque admissarius iste, simulatque audivit a philosopho voluptatem tantopere laudari, nihil expiscatus est : sic suos sensus voluptarios omnes incitavit,sic ad illius hanc orationem adhinniit, ut non magistrum virtutis, sed auctorem libidinis a se ilium inventum arbitraretur. Grgecus primo distin- guere, atque dividere ilia, quemadmodum dicerentur ; iste claudus (quomodo aiunt) pilam retinere, quod acceperat testi- ficari, tabtdas obsignare yelle, Epicurum disertum decernere ; (49) et tamen dictum, ut opinor, se nullum bonum intelligerc., posse, demptis corporis voluptatibus. Quid multa ? Grsecus facilis, et valde venustus njmis pugnax; contra senatorem populi Bomani esse noluit, XXIX. Est autem hie, de quoloquor,non philosophic solum, sed. etiam literis, quod fere cseteros Epicureos negligere dicunt, per- politus. Poema porro facit ita festivum, itaconcinnum, ita ele- gans, nihil ut fieri possit argutius ; in quoreprehendat eum licet, si qui volet, modo leviter, non ut impurum, non ut improbum, nou {46) Ubi galli cantum audivity crvum fuum revixijfe putat.] This is a pun upon the worct •alius ; Pifo's grandfather being a Gaul. (47 \ EJi quidem Gracus, qui cum ijlo vivit.) The name of this Oreek was Philode- ttus, an Epicurean philofopher : he is mentioned by Gicero, in his fecond book Deji- *jbuj,as a man of great worth and learning. ^48^ Pbilofopbts Epieureos omnes rex, qua funt homini expetenda voluptate metiri ] The Epicureans held pleafure to be the chief good cf man, and death the extinction of his being: fo that they placed their happinefs in the fecure enjoyment of a pleAfurable life ; efteeming virtue on no other account, than as it was a handmaid to pleafure, and help- ad to infure the poffeffiwn of it, by preicrving health and conciliating friends. Their wife man accordingly had no other duty,but to provide for his own eafe, to decline all ftruggles, to retire from public affairs, and ro imitate the life of their gods, by paffing his day* in a calm, contemplative, undiflurb«d repofe, in the midflof rural fhades and pleafant gardens. €lCER0's ORATIONS. 411 to himself: they drink as long as he serves them from the upper couch ; when he hears the cock crow, he thinks his grandfather- has risen from the dead, and orders the table to be removed. Sect. XXVIII. It will be asked, perhaps, how came you to know this ? "Why, truly, I will draw a character of no person for the sake of abuse, especially of a man of genius and learning ; for such, were I ever so willing, I cannot hate* There lives with this wretch a certain Greek, who, to speak the truth, is an ingenious man, for I know him to be so ; but he shows him- self such only when with other people than him, or when by himself. This person happening to see Piso, when a yOung man, with that severity of aspect which he wore even then, did hot decline his friendship, especially as Piso courted him, but ran into an intimacy with him in such a manner that they lived together, and were almost inseparable. I am not now speaking before illiterate persons, but before an assembly which I know to be composed of men of the greatest learning and politeness* The Epicurean philosophers then, you must have heard^ mea- sure every thing which ought to be the object of human wishes, by pleasure; whether justly or not, does not concern us ; or^ if it does, is nothing to the present purpose : yet such a loose ambiguous Way of talking is often very pernicious to young persons, who have not the nicest discernment. Accordingly this stallion, as soon as he heard pleasure so highly commended by a philosopher, enquired no farther ; but gave a loose to every sensual appetite, and was so tickled w : nner of speaking, that he thought he had found ir "ctor of his morals, but an encourager of his liu % Greek began, by means of divisions and disti. him in what sense these maxims were to be taken, pupil having once caught the ball, as we say, would u he took witnesses, and sealed up their depositions, that E t expressly declared, there Was no real good remaining, if b^ pleasures were taken away. In short, the good-natured, compla. sant Greek,* would not be too obstinate against a Roman Senator. Sect. XXIX. But the person I am speaking of is not only an excellent philosopher, but has likewise a great deal of learn- ing ; which, in general, the Epicureans are said to neglect. He has wrote a poem too, which is so pretty* so full of elegance and humour, that nothing can be more witty and ingenious* If (49) ■£' tamen dictum opmor."] This paffage is very obfcure ; and the commentators, though they have offered feveral conjectures and emendations in order to clear it up, have left it as obfcure as ever. We have nothing fatisfactory to offer upon it, z&A mufl therefore leave our readers to maLe their beft of it- 412 M. T. CICF.R0N1S ORATIOKES. ut audacem, sed ut Greeculum, ut asscntatorem, ut pootam , cfevenit, aut potius incidit in istum eodem deceptus supercilio Gnecus atqne advena, quo tana sapiens et tanta civitas ; revo- care se non poterat, familiaritate implicatus : et simul inconstan- tire famam verebatur : rogatus, invitatus, coactus, ita multa ad istum, de isto quoque, scripsit, ut omnes hominis libidines, omnia stupra, omnia coenarum conviviorumque genera, adul- teria denique ejus delicatissimis versibus exprcsserit ; in quibus si quis velit, possit istius tanquam in speculo vitam intueri : ex quibus multa a multis lecta et audita recitarem, nisi vere- rer ne hoc ipsum genus orationis, quo nunc utor, ab hujus loci more abhorreret : et simul de ipso qui scripsit, detrahi nihil volo : qui, si fuisset in cliscipulo comparando meliore fortune, fortasse austerior et gravior esse potuisset ; sed eum casus in hanc consuetudinem scribendi induxit, phiiosopho valde indig- nam : sign-idem philosophia, ut fertur, virtutis continet, et officii, et bene vivendi disciplinam : quam qui profitetur, gra- vissimam mihi sustinere personam videtur. Sed idem casus ilium ignarum quid profiteretur, cum se philosophum esse dice- ret, istius impurissimae atque intemperantissimse pecudis cceno et sordibus inquinavit : qui modo cum res gestas consulatus^ mei coIIaudAsset (qua quidem laudatio hominis turpissimi mihi ipsi erat pene turpis.) Non ulla tibi, inquit, mvidia nocuit, sed versus tui. Nimis magna poena, te consule, constituta est, sive malo po«tae, sive libero. Scripsistzenim, CEDANT ARMATO- GJE. Quid turn? (50) Krec res tibi fiuctus illos excitavit. At hoc nusquam opinor scriptum fuisse in illo elogio, quod, de consule, in sepulchro reipublicse incisum est. VELITIS, JUBEATIS, UT, quod Marcus Cicero versum fecerit, sed quod vindicarit. ^iXX. Tcrumtamen, quoniam te (5 1 ) non Aristarchum, sed Phalarim grammaticum habemus, qui non notam apponas ad malum versum, sed poetam armis persequare : scire cupio, quid tandem isto in versu reprehendas, CEDANT ARMATOGiE. Turs dicis, inquit, tog-se summum imperatorem esse cessurum. Quid nunc te, asine, literas doceam ? non opus est verbis, sed ($0) H acres tibi Jl actus illos excitevit.] Pifo, upon his return to Rome from his pro- vince truftingtothe authority of his fon- in-law Csefar, had the hardinefs to attack Cicero before the fenate; and, among other things with which he upbraided him, told him, that a fmgle verfe. of his was the caufe of all his calamity> by provoking Pompey to jnake hirn feel how much the power of the general was fuperior to that of the ora- tor. The abfurdity of Piso's application of this verfe, our orator ridicules with great humour. (51 J Non Arif.archum, fed Phalarim grammaticum.'] Ariftarchus was a celebrated gram- marian, and critic : he.fiourifhed at Alexandria about 176 years before Chrift. It is reported of him, that he wrote above a thoufand commentaries upon different authors ; and that when he did not like a verfe of Homer, he marked it with an afteriflc, as bcjnjj fpurioa?. Phalarus was a famous tyrant of Agrigenuvw. CTCERv/s ORATIONS. 413 amy" one has a mind to find fault with this poem, let him, pro- vided he does it without severity ; and treat the author, not as a filthy, wicked, and presumptuous wretch ; but as a Greekling, a flatterer, and a poet, As he was a Greek, and a stranger, he came into the hands of this fellow, or rather happened to faH into them : being imposed upon, as this powerful and wise state had been, by that air of severity. When once he was united to him in so strict an intimacy, he could not disengage himself-; and besides, he was afraid of being charged with inconstancy, ii he should leave him. Being asked, invited, and forced to it, he wrote so much to him, and that on the subject of his wretched self, that he described, in charming verses, all his lusts, all his debaucheries, and, in a word, all his different kinds of suppers and entertainments. Those verses, \2 any one has" a mind to read, he may see Piso's life represented in them, as it were in a mirror : I would repeat some of them, which have been read and heard by many, were I not afraid that the very strain, in which I am now speaking, was inconsistent with the majesty of this place. Besides, I would not detract in the least from the merits of the author, who, if he had been more fortunate in a pupil, would perhaps have been more grave and serious. But chance has led him into this manner of writing, so unworthy or a philosopher ; for philosophy is said to comprehend in it the knowledge of virtue, social duty, and moral conduct ; and who- ever professes it, seems to me to sustain a very important char- acter. Not knowing well what it was he professed, when he took upon him the character of a philosopher, chance, which led him to Piso, plunged him likewise into the mire and filth of that most impure and intemperate brute, who, after having praised mv con- duct in my consulship, if praise from so infamous a fellow is not rather infamy, said to me, It is not envy that has hurt you, but your verses. The punishment which was decreed under vour «/ -■•am r- • •" consulship, was too severe either for a bad poet, or a free citizen. But you wrote — Gedant anna to?'iiult; I spoke in the poetical style, and meant no more than this, that war and tumult must give way to peace and tran- quility. Ask your friend, the Greek Poet ; he will approve of this manner of speaking, own it to be an usual one, nor will he be surprised at your ignorance. But, says he, you stick in the latter part of the verse, Concedat laurea laudi. Why truly Sir, [ am obliged to you ; Here I own, I should have stuck, if you lad not helped me out. For when you, trembling, dastardly fvretch ! with those most rapacious and thievish hands of yours, threw away, at the esquiline gate, the laurel that was taken Tom you bloody fasces ; you declared that the laurel yielded, not only to the highest, but even to the lowest kind of honour. And yet, ruffian ! you would have this understood in such a manner, as if Pompey had become my enemy on account of that verse $ that if the verse has hurt me, my ruin may seem to nave been brought upon me by the person it offended. Not to nention that Pompey was not pointed at in that verse, nor that [ could never intend to affront, by one verse, the person whom, the utmost of my capacity, I had often celebrated in many vritings and speeches, I shall suppose he was offended ; will he aot in the first place, put the many volumes I have wrote in lis praise, in the balance with one silly verse ? Again, sup- posing him somewhat nettled, would he have been so cruel as, for the sake of a trifling verse, to ruin, I do not say an intimate Friend, nor one who had done so much to advance his fame, lor one who had deserved so well of the state, nor one of con- sular dignity, nor a senator, nor a citizen, nor a gentleman, Dut even a man ? Sect. XXXI. Do you know what, do you know before whom^ lo you know of whom you are talking ? You make the most illustrious persons share in the guilt of your crimes, and those }f Gabinius : and you do it openly. You said but just now, :hat I vented my spleen against those whom I despised, and iid not meddle with those who had more power, and with whom I ought to be offended. But though the views of tfrfese persons (for who can be supposed not to know whom you point it X) are not indeed all the same, yet all their views are such as 1 approve of. Cn, Pompeius, though many opposed his zeal ind affection for me, always loved me, always thought me very ivorthy of his intimacy, always studied not only my safety, but my grandeur and glory. Your knavish tricks, your villany, the reports of my plots and his dangers, so maliciously invented 5V you, and by those who abusing their intimacy with him, ryere constantly, at your instigation, filling his ears with the nost scandalous stories, your passion for provinces, made me be 416 M. T. CICERONIS ORATIONES. bus rebus est perfection, utilli plane suo stare judicio nonliceret: cum certi homines non studium ejus a me alienassent, sedauxi- lium retardassent. Non-ne ad te L. t Lentulus, qui turn erat praetor, non Q. Sanga, non L. Torquatus pater, non M. Lucul- Jus venit ? qui omnes ad eum, (53^) multique mortales, oratum in Albanum obsecratumque venerant ne meas fortunas desereret cum reipublicfe salute conjunctas ; quos ille ad te et ad tuum collegam remisit, ut causam publicam susciperetis, ut ad sen a- tum referretis : se contra armatum tribunum pleb. sine consilio publico decertare nolle : consulibus ex S. C rempublicam defen- dentibus, se arma sumpturum. Ecquid infelix recordaris, quid responderis ? in quo illi omncs quidem, sed Torquatus prseter cseteros, furebat contumacia responsi tui ; te non esse tarn for- tem quam ipse Torquatus in consulatu fuisset, aut ego : nihil opus esse armis, nihil contentione : me posse iterum rempub. servare, si cessissem : infinitam csedem fore, si restitissem : de- inde ad extremum, neque te, neque generum, neque collegam tuum, tribuno plebis defuturum ; hie tu hostis ac proditor, aliis mie inimiciorem, quam tibi, debere esse dicis ? XXXII. Ego C. Caesarem non eadem de republica sensisse, quse me, scio : sed tamen, quod jam de eo, his audientibus ssepe dixi, me ille sui totius consulates, ( 54 ) eorumque hono- rum, quos cum proximis communicavit, socium esse voliv't, detulit, invitavit, rogavit ; non sum ego, propter nimiam fortasse constantia? cupiditatem, adductus ad causam : non postulabam ut ei carissimus essem, cujus ego ne benenciis qui- dem sententiam meam tradidissem. Adducta res in certamen, te consule, putabatur (S5) utrum quse superiore anno ille gessis- set, manerent, an rescinderentur ; quid loquar plura ? si tan- tum ille in me esse uno roboris et virtutis putavit, ut ea, quae ipse gesserat, conciderent, si ego restitissem ; cur ei non ignoscam, si anteposuit suam salutem meee ? Sed prpeterita omitto ; me ut (53) Multique mortales, oratum in Albanum obfecratumque venerant!\ The many let- ters and meffages which Pompey received from the confidants of Clodius, and from his pretended friends, all admonifhing him to he on his guard againft the plots of Ci- cero, and to take better care of his life, induced him to withdraw himfelf from Rome to his Alban villa. We are not to imagine, however, that he entertained any appre- henfion of Cicero : the part he adted on this occafion, was more probably owing to his engagements with Crefar. ( 54 J Eorumque honorum, quos cum proximis communicavit ,Jbcium ejfc voluit.~] Cscfar tried all means to induce Cicero to take part in the adtsof his confulfhip; offered him commif- fions and lieutenancies, of what kind, and with what privileges he fhould defire ; and to hold him in the fame rank of friendfhip with Pompey himfelf, as we are told more lully in his oration, De f>rovinciis eonfularihus, ( 55 J Vtrum qua fupcriore anno ille ge£/Jpt, manerent.} Caefar had no fooner laid down his confulfhip, than he began to be attacked and affronted by L. Domitius and C. Mcmmiusj ;wo of the praetors who called in qiitdion the validity of his aits, and cicero's orations. 41 T excluded,' and all those who wished well to me, to his glory, and to the state, be removed from his conversation, and from all ac- cess to him. "Whence it came to pass, that he was not at liberty to follow his own judgment, while certain persons, though they were not able to alienate his affections from me, robbed me of his assistance. Did not L. Lentulus, who was then prsetor, did not Q. Sanga, did not L. Torquatus the elder, did not M. Lu- cullus come to you ? When these, and many others, went to Pompey at his Alban seat, to beg and intreat him not to desert my fortunes, which were inseparably connected with the welfare of the state, he sent them back to you and your colleague, that you might undertake the public cause, and lay it before the sen- ate ; declaring that he would not take the field against an armed tribune of the people, without public authority ; but that, if the consuls would, by a decree of the senate, undertake the defence' of the state, he would take up arms. Do you remember, wretch I what answer you made ? All those persons, but especially Tor- quatus, were provoked even to rage at the rudeness and inso- lence of it : you told them that you was not so stout a consul as Torquatus and I had been ; that there was no occasion for arms, or fighting; that I might save the republic a second time, by with- drawing myself; that my resistance would occasion the loss of an infinite quantity of civil blood : and, in short, that neither you, nor your son-in-law, nor your colleague, would relinquish the party of the tribune. And hast thou yet the impudence, thou public enemy and traitor ! to say that I ought to bear great- er enmity to others than to thee l Sect. XXXII. I know that C. Csesar's political sentiments and mine were different ; but, notwithstanding this, as I have often said of him in this assembly, he desired, he proposed, he invited, he begged of me to share in his consulship, and in those honours which he communicated to his nearest relations, it was perhaps too great a desire of showing the steadiness of my principles, that kept me from joining his party; but I was not fond of entering into a strict intimacy with one whose favours could not even prevail upon me to think as he did. It was de- bated under your consulship, whether his acts of the preceding vear should be confirmed or annulled. What need I say more I If he thought there was so much vigour and courage in me alone, that his acts would be abolished, if I had opposed them ; why should I not pardon him for preferring his own safety to mine :. made feveral efforts in the fenate to get them annulled by public authority. But the. whole ended in fome fruitlefs debates and altercations ; for Casfar always took care, by force of bribes, to fecure the leading magistrates to his intereft. 418 M. T. CICERONIS ORATIONESr Cn.Pompeius omnibus suis studiis, laboribus, vitse peficulis com* plexus est, cum municipia pro me adiret, Italise fidem implora-' ret, P. Lentulo consuli, auctori salutis mesfc, frequens assideret^ senatui sententiam prsestaret, in concionibus non modo se de- fensorem salutis meae, sed etiam supplicem pro me profiteretur ? hujus voluntatis eum, quern mukum posse intelligebat, mihi non inimicum esse cognorat, socium sibi et adjutorem C. Csesarem adjunxit. Jam vides, me tibi non inimicum, sedhostem : illis r quos describis, non modo non iratum, sed etiam amicum esse debere ? quorum alter, id quod meminero semper, seque mihi fuit amicus ac sibi ; alter, id quod obliviscar aliquando, sibi amicior quam mihi. Demde hoc ita fit, ut viri fortes, etiam si ferro inter se cominus decertarint, tamen illud contentionis odium simul cum ipsa pugna armisque ponant. Atqui me ille odisse nunquam potuit, ne turn quidem cum dissidebamus ; habet hoc virtus, quam tu ne de facie quidem nosti, ut viros fortes species ejus et pulchritudo etiam in hoste posita delectet. XXXIII. Equidem dicam ex animo, P. C. quod Sentio, et quod, vobis audientibus, ssepejam dixi : si mihi nunquam ami-, cus C. Csesar fuisset, sed semper iratus ; si aspernaretur amici- tiam meam, seseque mihi implacabilem, inexpiabilemque prs£- beret ; tamen ei, cum tantas res gessisset, gereretque quotidie, non amicus esse non possem, cujus ego imperio non Alpium vallum contra adscensum transgressionemque Gallorum, non Rheni fossam gurgitibus illis redundantem, Germanorum im- manissimis gentibus objicio etoppono ; perfecit ille, utsi montes resedissent, amnes.exaruissent, non naturse prsesidio, sed vic- toria sua rebusque gestis Italiam munitam haberemus. Sed cum me expetat, diligat, omni laude dignum putet ; tu me a tuisr inimicitiis ad simultatem revocabis ? sic tuis sceleribus rerpublicsa prseterita fata refricabis ? quod quidem tu, qui bene nosses con-* junctionem meam et Csesans, eludebas, cum a me trementibus omnino labris, sed tamen, cur tibi nomen non deferrem, requi- rebas. Quanquam, quod ad me attinet, (56) nunquam tstam im~ m'rnuam curam inficiando tibi : tamen est mihi considerandum, quantum illi, tantis reipublicse negotiis, tantoque bello impedito, ego homo amicissimus, solicitudini.s atque oneris imponam ; nee despero tamen, (57) quanquam languet juventus, nee pennde f$6) Nunquam ijlam imminuam curam inficiando tibii] This is a verfe taken from the' Atreus of the poet Accius . it is quoted by Cicero upon another occafion- ( SI ) ^umnquam languet juventus nee perinde atque debeat in laudis et gloria cupiditat? verfatur.] It has been obferved, that the impeachment of corrupt magiftrates was always accounted honorable at Rome, and frequently undertaken by young gentlemen, in order to recommend themfelves to the favor of the people, and thereby facilitate their advancement to the highcfl honours of the ftate. cicero's orations* 419 But, to omit what is pas't ; as Cn. Pompeius espoused my inte- rest with all his zeal, with infinite labour, at the hazard of his life ; as he went round the municipal towns in Order to serve me, implored the assistance of all Italy, was frequently with P. Lentulusthe consul who first proposed my return, was always ready to declare his sentiments upon the matter in the senate, and in assemblies not only professed himself my defender, but even a suppliant for me ; knowing that C. Csesar had great inte- rest, and was withal no enemy of mine, he made him his asso- ciate and assistant in all the services he did me. Do you see now that I had reason not only not to be offended-with those persons you described,- but to have a friendship for them ? One* of them, which I shall never forget, was as much my friend as his own ; the other which I shall forget in time, was more his Own friend than mine. In a word, it was with us as with brave men ; who, though they fight hand to hand, yet, after the combat is over, lay aside their enmity when they lay aside their arms. But Csesar never could hate me, even when we were at variance. For such is the nature of virtue, the very shadow of which you are a stranger to, that the beauty of its appearance even in an enemy captivates the brave. Sect. XXXIII. And indeed, conscript fathers, I will tell you my real sentiments, and what I have often already declared in your hearing. Though C. Csesar had never been my friend, but had always shown a disinclination to me ; though he had slighted my friendship, and acted the part of an intolerable and implaca- ble enemy towards me j yet after the great things he has done, and still continues to do, I could not help loving him. While he commands, we have no need of the rampart of the Alps to guard us against the inroads of the Gauls, nor of the ditch of the Rhine, so full of whirlpools, against those of the savage nations of Ger- many ; were the mountains themselves levelled, and the rivers dried up, Italy, though deprived of all the barriers of nature, would by his victories and exploits alone, be strongly fortified. But as he has the highest esteem and affection for me^ and deems me worthy of all manner of honour ; shall you draw me off from my quarrel with you, to a breach with him ? Shall you thus bv your villanous arts, make the wounds of your country bleed afresh ? Though you well knew my intimcay with Csesar, you af- fected not to know it, when you asked me, though with trembling- lips, why I did not impeach you? As for my part, I shall never rid you of that concern, by denying" it to you : I must consider, howev- er, how much trouble and uneasiness I,who am so zealous a friend, should thereby give one who has so important a war upon his hands, and public concerns of such consequence, to embarrass him. Yet I am not without hopes, notwithstanding the spirit- less inactivity of our young Romans, and their want of due D 3 4&0 5T. T. CICERONIS ORATIONES. atque dcbeat in laudis ct gloria; ctipiditate versatur, futuros ali- quos qui abjecttitn hoc cadaver consularibus spoliis nudare non nolint, prsesertim tarn afKicto, tarn infirmo, tarn enervato reo : qui te ita gesseris, ut timeres ne indignus beneficio videreris, nisi ejus, a quo missus eras, simillimus exstitisses. XXXIV. An vero tu parum putas investigatas esse a nobis labes imperii tiii, stragcsque provincial ? quas quidem nos non vestigiis odorantcs ingressus tuos, sed totis volutationibus corpo- ris et cubilibus persecuti sumus. Notata a nobis sunt et prima ilia scelera in adyentu, cum, acceptapecunia a Dyrrhachinis ob necem hosphis tui Platoris, ejus ipsius domum evertisti, cujus : sanguinem addixeras ; !eumque, servis symphoniacis et alliis muneribus acceptis, timentem, et multum dubitantem confinn- asti, et Thessalonicam fide tua venire jussisti ; (58) quern ne majorum quidem more supplicio affecisti, cum miser ille securi- bus hospitis sui cervices subjicere gestiret : sed ei medico, quern tecum eduxeras, imperasti, ut venas hominis incideret : cum equidem tibi etiam acccssio fuit ad necem Platoris, Pleuratus ejus comes,, quern necasti verberibus, summa senectute confec- tum. Idemque tu Rabocentum, Bessica; gentis principem, cum te trecentis talentis regi Cotto vendidisses, securi percussisti : cum ille ad te legatus in castra venisset, et tibi magna prsesidia et auxilia a Bessis peditum equitumque polliceretur ; neque eum solum, sed etiam cscteros legatos, qui simul venerant : quorum omnium capita regi (Jotto vendidisti. Denseletis, qua; natio semper obediens huic imperio, etiam in ilia omnium barbaro- rum defectione Macedoniea C Sentium prfetorem tutata est, nefarium bellum et crudele kitulisti : eisque cum fidelissimis Eociis uti posses, hostibus uti acerrimis maluisti. Ita perpetuos defensores Macedonia;, vexatores, ac perditores effecisti ; vec- tigalia nostra perturbarunt, urbes cepe.runt, vastarunt agros, socios nostros in servitutem abduxerunt, familias abripuerunt, pecus abegerunt, Tbessalonicenses, cum oppido desperassent^ munire arcem coegerunt. XXXV. (59) A te Jovis Urii fanum antiquissimum barbaro- rum sanctissimumque direptum est ; tua scelera dii immortales in (58) Quern ne majorum quidttn mare fupplicio affecisti."] The ufual way of putting flat* criminals to death, was firft by fcourging them with rods, and then beheading them. (59) A ie Jovis Urii fanum antiquiffimum barbarorum.] This temple, we are told by Arrian, lay betwixt the Thracian Bofphorus and the city of Trebizond. The Jupiter Urius of the Greeks was called by the Romans Jupiter Imperator, as we learn by the following paffage in the fourth book againft Verres. ' Quid? ex jede Liberi fimuia- ' crum Aristci non tuo imperio palam ablatum eft ? Quid ? ex xde Jovis, religiofifli- * mum fimulacrum Jovis lmperatoris, quern Crasci Uiion nominant, puJcherrime fac- 1 t»m, nonne abftulifti V* CICEKO'S ORATIONS. 421 ardour in the pursuit of glory and fame, that there are some among them who will be disposed to strip this despicable carcase of consular spoils; especially when the criminal is so dispirited, so feeble, so enervate a wretch as you, who have conducted yourself in such a manner as to show you was apprehensive of being thought unworthy of the favour conferred upon you, if you did not exactly copy alter this worthy gentleman who sent you. Sect. XXXI Y. Do you imagine that I have slightly traced the stains of your government, and the ravages of your pro- vince ? Xo ; I have not gone upon the scent of them, but have closely pursued you through all your steps into your very lurking holes and wallowing places. The very first villanies you were guilty of upon your arrival, I marked when, after having received a sum of money from the inhabitants of Dyr- rachium for murdering Plator, the person who entertained you, you demolished the house of the man, whose blood you had set to sale ; whom, after receiving musical slaves and other presents from him, you encouraged, when under the most perplexing apprehensions, and ordered indeed to come to Thessalonica, giving him your promise as a pledge of his safety ; whom you did not even put to death according to the custom of your an- cestors, but when the poor wretch begged to yield his neck to the axes of his guest, ordered the physician, whom you carried with you, to open his veins. To the murder of Plator you added that of his companion Pleuratus too, whom you scourged to death, though sinking into the grave with the weight of years. After selling yourself for three hundred talents to king Cottus, you likewise beheaded Rabocentus, a principal per- son among the Bessians ; though he came to your camp as an ambassador, with a premise of assistance, and a large body of auxiliaries both of horse and foot. You waged an unjust and cruel war against the Denseletse, a nation always obedient to our government ; and which, even during the total defection of the barbarians in Macedonia, defended C. Sentius the prse- tor ; and when you might have made use of them as most faithful allies, you chose rather to have them inveterate ene- mies. Thus you rendered those who always defended Macedo- iiia, the ravagers and destroyers of it. They have occasioned the utmost disorder in our revenues, taking our cities, laid waste our lands, reduced our allies to slavery, carried off their slaves, drove away their cattle, and obliged the inhabitants of Thessalonica, when they despaired of being able to defend the city any longer, to fortify themselves in the citadel. Sect. XXXY. By you the temple of Jupiter Urius was plun- dered ; a temple, the most ancient and sacred among the 4-22 M. T. CICERONIS ORATIONES. nostros milites cxpiaverunt : qui cum uno genere morbi afflige- rentur, neque se recreare quisquam posset, qui seruel incidisset ; dubitabat nemo, quin violati hospites, legati necati, pacati at- que socii nefario bello lacessiti, fana vexata, hanc tantam effi- cerent vastitatem; Cognoscis ex particula parva, scelerum et crudelitatis tuse genus uniyersum. Quid avaritiae, quse crimi- nibus infinitis implicata est, summam nunc explicem ? genera- tim ea quse maxim e nota sunt, dicam ; nonne sestertium cen- tics et octogies, quod, quasi vasarii nomine, in venditione, mei capitis adscripseras, ex aerario tibi attributum Romse in quses- tu reliquisti ? nonne cum CC talenta tibi Apolloniatse Romse de- dissent, ne pecunias creditas solyerent, ultrp Fufidium equitem Romanum, hominem ornatissimum, creditorem debitoribus suis addixisti ? nonne, hiberna cum legato prsefectoqiie tuo tradi- disses, eyertisti miseras funditus civitates, qua; non solum bonis sunt exhaustse, sed etiam nefarias libidinum contumelias turpi- tudinesque subierunt ? ( (>°J Qui modus tibi fuit frumenti sesti- mandi ? qui honorarii ? si quidem potest vi et metu extortum honorarium nominari ; quod cum plerseque omnes, turn acer- bissime Bceotii, et Byzantii, Chersonenses, Thessalonica sen- sit : unus tu dominus, unus {estimator, unus venditor tota in provincia per triennium frumenti omnis fuisti. XXXVI. Quid ego rerum capitalium qusestiones, reorum pactiones, redemptiones, acerbissimas daninationes, libidino- sissimas liberationes proferam ? tantum locum aliquem cum mihi uotum esse senseris, tecum ipse licebit, quot in eo ge- nere et quanta sint crimina, recordere. Quid ? illam armorum of- ficinam ecquid recordaris, ciim omni totius provincial pecore compulso, pellium nomine omnem qusestum ilium domesticum paternumque renovasti ? videras enim grandis jam puer, bello Italico, repleri qu»stu vestram domum, cum pater armis fa- ciendis tuus prsefuisset : quid? vectigalem provinciam, singulis rebus, qusecumque venirent, certo portorio imposito, servis tuis publicanis a te factam esse meministi . ? quicl - ? centuriatus palam venditos ? quid ? per tuum servulum ordines assignatos ? (60) Qui modm tih'i fuit frumenti astimandi ?~\ The Roman provinces were obliged to pay a certain quantity of corn, commonly the tenth part of their crop. This corn, the Roman magiftrates had a power of converting into money at a certain valuation, which was afource of grievous oppreffion in the provinces. Cicero, in his third hook againft Verres, tells us, that this conversion was at firft defigned for the eafe of the farmers ; but that it was at laft ahufed by avaricious governors. His words are as fol- low : ■ Hzec aeftimatio nata eft, judices, initio, non ex praetorum aut confulum, fed ex * aratorum atque civitatum commodo. Nemo enim fuit initio tarn impudens, qui, cum ' frumentum deberetur, pecuniam pofecret. Certe hocabaratore primum eft prciec- 1 turn, aut alia civitate, cui imperabatur : cum aut frumentum vendidiffet, aut fervare 1 veliet, aut in cum locum, quo imperabatur, portare nollet : petivit in bepeflcii loco et ' gratia:, ut fibi pro frumento, quanti frumentum effet, dare liceret. Secuti funt ava- 4 riores magistratus -Inftituerunt femper ad ultima ac difficillima loca ad portandum CICERCTS ORATIONS. 433 Barbarians. The immortal gods have avenged themselves for your crimes on the* persons of our soldiers, who being all seized with the same kind of disease, and it proving fatal to every one whom it attacked, nobody questioned but that the violation of the laws of hospitality, the murder of ambassadors, the waging unjust wars against peaceful allies, the plundering of temples, have been the cause of so dreadful a desolation. By this small specimen of your villanies and cruelty, you discover the whole. Need I represent at large thy avarice, which is complicated with an infinite number of other crimes ? I shall only mention, in general, those instances of it that are most notorious. Did you not leave at interest in Rome eighteen millions of sesterces, the sum at which you valued my head, and which was given you out of the treasury for domestic uses ? "When the people of Apollonia gave you two hundred talents at Rome, in order to be excused from paying their debts, did you not deliver up Fusidius, a Roman knight of the most distinguished accom- plishments, into the hands of his debtors ? When you sent your lieutenants with their troops into winter quarters, did you not utterly ruin those wretched cities into which they were sent, and which were not only stripped of their wealth, but obliged to undergo the most infamous outrages of brutal lust ? "What rule did you observe in the valuation of corn ? what in the valuation of the free gift ? if what is extorted by violence and threats, can be properly called a free gift. This was what the inhabitants of most of the cities felt, but especially those people of Boeotia, Byzantium, Chersonesus, and Thessa- lonica. During the space of three years, you was the sole pro- prietor, the sole valuer, the sole retailer of corn throughout the province. Sect. XXXVI. Need I mention your conduct in criminal trials, your bargains and compromises with the accused, your rigorous penalties, and your arbitrary acquittals ? When I have once shewn you that I am no stranger to some parts of your conduct under those heads, you may then recollect how nu- merous and highly aggravated your crimes are upon the whole. To begin then — Do you remember anything' of that magazine of arms, when having got together all the cattle of the pro- vince, you renewed all that profit which was made by your fa- ther and others of your family upon skins ? For being a great boy in the Italian war, you saw your house filled with the pro- fits of that trade, when your father had the direction of the manufacturing of arms. Do you remember how you made a whole province tributary, by laying a certain tax upon all vendible commodities, and farming out that tax to your slaves ? Do you remember how military commissions were exposed to ' frumentum imperare, m vecturse difficultate, ad quam vellent aeftimationem perverv " irent, 4,24 M. T. CICERONIS ORATIONE8. quid ? stipendium hiilitibus per omnes annos a civitatibus, men- sis palam propositis, esse numeratum ? (°i) Quid ilia in Ppn- turn profectio, et conatus tuus ? quid debilitatio atque abjectio animi tui, Macedonia prsetoria nuntiata, cum tu non solum quod tibi succederetur, sed quod Gabinio non succederetur, ex- sanguis et mortuus c©ncidisti ? quid quaestor sedilitius rejectus ? prsepositus legatorum tuorum optimus abs te quisque violatus ? tribuni militum non recepti ? M. Bsebius, vir fortis, interfectu* jussutuo ? Quid, quod tu toties diffidens ac desperans rebus tuis, in sordibus, lamentis, luctuque jacuisti ? (6a) quod populari illi sacerdoti sexcentos ad bestias amicos sociosque misisti ? Quid, quod ciim sustentare vix posses moerorem tuum, doloremque decessionis, Samothraciam te primum, post inde Thasum cum tuis teneris saltatoribus, et cum Autobulo, Athamante et Ti- mode, formosis fratribus, contulisti ? Quid, quod cum inde te recipiens, in villa Euchadise, quae fuit uxor Exegisti, jacuisti, m03rens aliquot dies ; atque inde obsoletus Thessalonicam, om- nibus inscientibus, noctuque venisti ? qui cum concursum plo- rantium, ac tempestatem querelarum ferre non posses, in oppi- dum devium Beroeam profugisti ; quo in oppido cum tibi spe falsa, quod Q. Ancharium non esse successurum putares, ani- mos rumor inflasset ; quo te modo ad tuam intemperamtiam, scelerate, innovasti ? XXXVII, Mitto aurum coronarium, quod te diutissimc tor^ sit ; cum modo velles, modo nolles ; lex enim generi tui et de- cerni, et te accipere vetabat, nisi decreto triumpho ; in quo tu, accepta tamen et devorata pecunia, ut in Achseorum centum talentis, evomere non poteras : vocabula tantum pecuniarum, et genera mutabas, Mitto diplomata tota in provincia passim data : mitto numerum navium, sammamque prsedse : mitto ra- tionem exacti imperatique frumenti : mitto ereptam libertatem populis, ac singulis, qui erant affecti prsemiis nominatim : quo- rum nihil est, quod non sit lege Julia, ne fieri 'liceat, sanci- tum diligenter. JEtoliam, quae procul a barbaris disjuncta (61) Quid ilia in Pontum profectio, et conatus tuus.) There is no mention made in his- tory of what Cicero alledges in this paffage. It is probable, however, that Piso's av- arice prompted him to make an attempt upon Pontus, and that he was repulfed. (bl) Quod populari illi facer dotifexcentos ad beflias amicos fociofque mifijli ? \ Cicero here refers to the mows of wild beafts which Clodius exhibited when he was made curule jedile. He is called sacerdos popularise in allufion to the ftory of his profaning the myfleries of the Bona Dea. cicero's orations, 425" open sale i how the officers had their ranks assigned them by the meanest of your slaves ? how the soldiers pay was raised from the cities every year, offices being publicly erected for that purpose ? What shall I say of your march to, and attempt upon Pontus ? of the dastardly abject spirit you discovered, when, upon being told that Macedonia was declared a prsetorian pro- vince, you dropped down pale and motionless, not only because you had got a successor, but because Gabinius had got none ? of your rejecting a quaestor, who had served as sedile I of the first and ablest of your lieutenants being all wronged by you ? of your rejecting the military tribunes appointed by the people ? of your ordering that brave man, M. Boebius, to be put to death ? What shall I say of your abandoning yourself so often to the most rue- ful despondency, to tears and lamentations, upon a%iew of the desperate situation of your affairs ? what of your sending to that lay-priest six hundred of our friends and allies, to be exposed to wild beasts ? Do you remember how you retired, when almost overwhelmed with sorrow and affliction at your removal, first to Samothrace, and from thence to Tharsus, with your delicate dan- cers, and those beautiful brothers, Autobulus, Athamas, and Ti- mocles ? how, upon your leaving Tharsus, you lay for some days, in the utmost dejection, at the country-seat of Euchadia, the wife of Exegistus, from whence you stole, in a pitiful sorry manner, to Thessalonica, in the night, and without the know- ledge of any body ? how, upon your not being able to bear the tears of the crowds that flocked round you at Thessalonica, and the tempest of their complaints, you fled to Bersea, an out-of- the-way place ; where, being elated with the report and imagin- ation that Q. Ancharius was not to succeed you, you renewed, ruffian that you are ! all your former outrages ■? Sect. XXX VII- I mention not the money for the triumphal crown, which tormented you so long, while you had a mind at one time to take, and at another not to take it. For it was forbid by your son-in-law's statute, that such a crown should be either decreed or accepted, unless when a triumph was decreed. Notwithstanding this, having received and devoured the money, you was no more able to disgorge it, that you was to disgorge the hundred talents belonging to the Achseans. You only alleged another pretence for taking it. I mention not the letters patent that were sent all over the province ; nor the ships that were sent out, and the amount of their prizes ; nor the account of the corn that was exacted and demanded : X pass by your depriving nations of their liberty, together with individuals, though they were expressly entitled to privileges : all which acts of oppression were carefully provided against by the Julian law. At your departure, yoi -^ £lagu# 426 Hi T. CICERONIS ORATIONES. gentibus, in sinu pacis posita, medio fere Grseciae gremio con tinetur (6 poena, ofuria sociorum J) decedens miseram perdidistL (63) Arsinoen, Stratum, Naupactum, ut modo tute indicasti, no- biles urbes atque plenas, fateris ab hostibus esse captas ; quibus autem hostibus ? nempe iis, (64) quos tu Ambracia? sedens, pri- mo tuo adventu (65) ex oppidis Agrinarum atque Dolopum de- migrare, et aras et focos relinquere coegisti. Hoc tu in exitu, prreclare imperator, cum tibi ad pristinas clades accessio fuisset JEtolise repentinus interitus, exercitum dimisisti : neque ullam pcenam, quae tanto facinori deberetur, non maluisti subire, quant numerum tuOrum militum reliquiasque cognoscere. XXXVIII. Atque ut duorum Epicureorum similitudinem in' re militarii imperioque videatis : Albucius, cum in Sardinia triumphasset, Romse damnatus est ; hie cum similem exitum spectaret, in Macedonia tropsea posuit : eaque, quse bellicfe laudis victoriseque omnes gentes insignia et monumenta esse voluerunt, noster hie prseposterus imperator, amissorum oppi- dorum, csesarum legionum, provincial prsesidio et reliquis mili- tibus orbatse, ad sempiternum dedecus sui generis et nominis funesta indicia constituit ; idemque, ut esset, quod in basi tropseorum incidi inscribique posset, Dyrrachium ut venit, dedecens, obsessus est ab iis ipsis militihus, quos paullo ante Torquato respondet beneficii causa abs se esse dimissos ; qui- bus cumjuratus affirmasset, se, quse deberentur, postero die persoluturum, domum se abdidit : inde nocte intempesta, cre- pidatus, veste servili, navem conscendit, Brundusiumque vita- vit, et ultimas Hadriani maris oras petivit : cum interim Dyr- rhachii milites domum, in qua istum esse arbitrabantur, obsi- dere coeperunt, et cum latere, hominem putarent, ignes circum- dederunt ; quo metu commoti Dyrrhachini, profugisse noctu crepidatum imperatorem indicaverunt ; illi autem statuam istius persimilem, quam stare celeberrimo in loco voluerat, ne suavissimi hominis memoria moreretur, deturbant, affli- gunt, comminuunt, dissipant ,* sic odium, quod in ipsum attu- lerant, id in ejus imaginem ac simulacrum profuderunt. Quse cum ita sint, non dubito, quin, cum hsec, quffi excellunt, me nosse videas, non existimes, mediam illam partem et turbam flagitiorum tuorum mihi esse inauditam ; nihil est, quod me hortere ; nihil est, quod invites ; admoneri me satis est ; admo- (&$) Arsinoen, Stratum, Naupactum .] The firfl of thefe is a city of iEtolia, a fmali. country in Achaia ; the fecond of Acarnania in Thrace ; the third, the capital of iEtolia, now Lepanto. (64) Quos tu Ambracia fedens.~\ Ambracia was a famous city of Thefprotia in Epirus, near the river Acheron. After Auguftus had conquered M. Antony, in memory of his victory, he called this city Nicopolis. (fr ) Ex oppidis Agrinarum et Dolopum.] The former of thefe inhabited JEtolia, the latter Epiru*. ClCERo's ORATIONS*. 4£? #f our allies ! you ruined poor^Etolia, which is at a great dis* tance fr non modo, quid gesseris, sed ne quibus in locis quidem fueris, dicere aiides. Ex illo fonte et seminario triumphorum cum arida folia laureae retulisses, cum ea abjecta ad portam reliquisti, turn tu ipse de te (7°) FECISSE VIDERT pror nuntiavisti ; qui si nihil gesseras dignum honore, ubi exercitus ? ubi sumptus ? ubi imperium ? ubi ilia uberrima supplicationibus triumphisque provincia ? sin autem aliquid sperare volueras, si cogitaras id, quod imperatoris nomen, quod laureati fasces, quod ilia tropsea, plena dedecoris et risus, te commentatum esse declarant : quis te miserior ? quis te damnatior, qui neque scri- bere ad senatum a te bene rempublicam esse gestam, neque prsesens dicere ausus es ? XLI. An tu mini (cui semper ita persuasum fuerit, non even- tis, sed factis cuj usque fortunam ponderari, neque in tabellis paucorum judicum, sed in sententiis omnium civium famam nostram fortunamque pendere) te indemnatuni videriputas,quern socii, quern fcederati, quern liberi populi, quern stipendiarii, quern negotiators, quern publicani, quern universa civitas, quern legati, quern tribuni militares, quern reliqui milites, qui ed for bringing him to a trial before the praetor, with a felect bench of judges : but pvery art and inftrument of corruption being employed by the Clodian party, twenty* five of the julges only condemned, while thirry one abfolved him. (69) Acarnania, AmpkHotLia, Perrbabia, Athamanumque gens, venditat.~\ Acarnania was a part of Epirus, now Carnia ; Amphilochia was a fmall country bordering upon Acarnania , Perrhasbia was a town of Macedonia; the Athamanes were a people of -ffitulia. (70) Feeife videri] This is a form of words made ufe of by the judges when they eoademned a criminal. CICERO'S ORATIONS. 451 rour very looks and name are abhorred by every body, and JL "men wished them banished from the commonwealth. The lieu* tenants who accompanied you, have no regard for you ; the military tribunes are your foes ; the centurions, and the soldier* that remain of your great army, if any do remain who were not dismissed, but dispersed by you, hate and abhor you, and pray for plagues to fall upon you. Achia utterly ruined by you, Tnessaly ravaged, Athens torn to pieces, Dyrrachium and Apollonia destroyed, Ambracia pillaged, the Parthini and Bu- lienses abused, Epire demolished, the Locrians, Phocians, and Boeotians burnt out of their dwellings,; Acarnania, Amphilochia, Perrhsebia, and the country of the Athamanians sold , Macedon given up to the barbarians; iEtolia lost ; the Dolopians, and inhabitants of the neighbouring mountains, driven from their towns and lands ; In a word, the Roman citizens who trade in those places, are all sensible that in your single person they found a plunderer, an oppressor, a robber and an enemy. To those so numerous and weighty testimonies against you, is added the testimony of your own conscience, which pronounces your condemnation : your secret approach, your clandestine journey through Italy, your not having a friend to attend you when you entered the city, your sending no letters to the se» nate from your province, no congratulations upon your three summer campaigns, no mention of a triumph ; your not daring to give an account of your actions, nay, nor even of the places where you have been, W hen you brought back your withered laurels from that source and nursery of triumphs, when you threw these away at the gates of Rome, you then pronounced your own condemnation. If you did nothing deserving of ho- nour, where is your army ? where have you spent your money ? what is become of your command I what of your province, so fertile in thanksgivings and triumphs i But if you entertained any hopes, if you had those thoughts, w T hich it is evident you had, from that title of emperor, from those laureled fasces, and those shameful ridiculous trophies, can any person be more miserable than you, can any person fall u»ider greater condem- nation, since you neither durst write to the senate that you had served your country, nor declare it in their presence ? Sect. XLI. Have you the impudence to tell me, who have always been of opinion that every man's fortune is to be weighed, not by events, but by actions ; that our fame and glory does not depend upon the suffrages of a few judges, but upon the sentiments of all our fellow-citizens ? Do you think that you appear to be uncondemned ; you, whom our allies, whom our confederates, whom free nations, whom tributaries, whom traders, whom the officers of the revenue, whom the whole state, whom your lieutenants, whom the military tribunes, whom the remains of our army, that have escaped from the A32 M. T. CICERONIS ORATIONES. ferrum, qui famem, qui mortem effugerunt, omni cruciatu digr nissimum putant ? cui non apud senatum, non apud ullum ordi- nem, non apud equites Romanos, non in urbe, non in Italia maxi- morum scelerum venia ulla ad ignoscendum dari possit? qui se ipsum oderit, qui metuat omnes, qui suam causam nemini com- mittere audeat, qui se ipse condemnet ? Nunquam ego sanguinem expetivi tuum ; nunquam illud extremum, quod posset esse im- probis et probis commune, supplicium legis ac judicii : sed ab- jectum, contemptum, despectum a cseteris, a te ipso desperatum ct relictum, circumspectantem omnia, quidquid increpuisset per- timescentem, diffidentem tuis rebus, sine voce, sine libertate, sine auctoritate, sine ulla specie consulari, horrentem, tremen- tem, adulantem omnes yidere te volui : vidi. Quare si tibi cvenerit, quod metuis, ne accidat ; equidem non moleste feram : sin id tardius forte fiet, fruar tamen tua indignitate : nee minus libenter metuentem videbo, ne reus fias, quam reum : nee mi- nus lsetabor, cum te semper sordidum, quam si paullisper sordi* datum viderem. Cicero's orations. 433 sword, from famine, and from death, think highly worthy of the severest punishment ? You who can never be forgiven your enor- mous crimes, neither by the senate^ nor by the Roman knights, nor by any order of men in the state ; neither in the city, nor in any part of Italy ? You who hate yourself, who fear every body, who dare trust your cause to no person, and who stand condemned by our own judgment ? I never thirsted for your blood, I never wished for that heaviest punishment which is inflicted by our laws, which the virtuous may be exposed to as well as the vi- cious ; but I wished to see you abject, contemptible, despised by others, abandoned by yourself, given over to despair, alarmed at every thing, frightened at the least noise, distrustful of your circumstances, without a voice, without liberty, without autho- rity, without the least shadow of consular dignity, ever fearful, ever trembling, and the servile flatterer of all you meet ; this I wished to see, and this I have seen. If what you dread, there- e, should befal you, I shall not indeed be sorry at it ; but if that should be a slow event, I shall still enjoy your infamy : nor will it give me less pleasure to see you dreading an impeachment, n if I saw you impeached ; nor less joy to see you always 'des-^ picable, than to see you in a sordid habit only for a while. ORATIO XII. PRO T. ANNIO MILONE*. ^t I. — ETSI vereor, judices, ne turf>e sit, pro fortissimo viro dicere incipientem, timere ; minimeque deceat, cum T. Annius [Milo] ipse magis de reipublicse salute, quam de sua perturbetur, me ad ejus causam parem animi magnitudinem afFerre non posse ; (i) tamen hsec novi judicii nova forma terret* oculos : qui quociinque inciderunt, veterem consuetudinem fori, ct pristinum morem judiciorum requirunt : non enim corona consessus vester cfnctus est, ut solebat : non usitata frequentia' stipati sumus ; nam ilia praesidia, qua; pro templis omnibus cernitis, etsi contra vim collocata sunt, non afferunt tameri * This beautiful oration was ma^e in the 55th year of Cicero's age upon the follow- ing occafion. — In the year of Rome 70*, V. Annius Milo, C^MetellusSeipio, and P. Plautius Hypfasu*, flood candidates for the confu!fhip; and according to Plutarch, pufhed on their feveral intereft with fuch open violence and bribery, as if it h«d been to be carried only by money or arms. P. Clodius, MiJo's profeffed enemy, flood at the fame time for tnd prastorfhip, and ufed all hi3 intereft to diappoint Milo. by whofe obtaining the confuiftnp he was fure to be controlled in the exercife Of his magiftracy. The fenate and the better fort were generally in Milo's intereft ; and Cicero, in par- ticular, ferved him with diftinguifhed zeal. Three of the tribunes were violent a- gainft him, the other feven were his fall friends: above all M. Ccelius, who out of regard to Cicero, was vety active in his fervice. But whilft matters were proceeding in a very favourable train for him, and nothing feemed wanting to crown his fuccefs, but to bring on the election, which his adversaries, for that feafon endeavoured to keep back ; all his hopes and fortunea were blafted at once by an unhappy rencounter with Clodius, in which Clodius was killed by his fervants, and by his command. His body was left in the Appian road, where it fell ; but was taken up foon after by Tedi- us, a fenator, who happened to come by, and brought it to Rome ; where it was ex= pofed. all covered with blood and wounds, to the view of the populace, who flocked about it in crowds to lament the miferable fate of their leader. The next day, Sex- tus Clodius. akinfman of the deceafed, and one of his chief incendiaries, together with: the three tribunes, Milo's enemies, employed all the arts of parly and fa<5tion to in- flame the mob, which they did to fuch a height of fury, that, patching up the body, they ran away with it into the fenate-houfe, and, tearing up thV benches, tables, and; every thing combuftible, dreffed up a funeral pile upon the fpot : and, together with the body, burnt the houfe itfelf, with a bajilica or public hall adjoining. Several other outrages were committed ; fo that the fenate were obliged to pafs a decree, that the in- ter-rexyajtjied by tbt tribunes and Ptrnpey^Jbtuld tak$ care that the republic received n» dt~ ORATION XIL FOR T. ANNIUS MILO Sect. I — -THOUGH I am apprehensive, my lords, it may seem a reflection on a person's character to discover any signs of fear, when he is entering on the defence of so brave a man, and particularly unbecoming in me, that when T. Annius Milo himself is more concerned for the safety of the state than his own, I should not be able to maintain an equal greatness of mind in pleading his cause ; yet I must own, the unusal manner in which this new kind of trial is conducted, strikes me with a kind of terror, while I am looking around me, in vain, for the ancient usages of the forum, and the forms that have been hitherto observed in our courts of judicature. Your bench is triment ; and that Pompey in particular, Jhould raife a body of troops for the common fecur it y-^ which he prefently drew together from all parts of Italy. Amidtt this confufion, the rumour of a dictator being induftrioufly fpread, and alarming the fenate., they refotved prefently to create Pompey the fingle conful, whofe election was acccrdingly declared by the intcr-rex, after an inter-regnum of near two months. Pompey applied himfelf immediately to quiet the public diforders, and publifhed Jeveral new laws prepared by him for that purpofe ; one of them was to appoint a fpecial commiffioa to enquire into Ciedius's death, &c. and to appoint an extraordinary judge, of confular rank, to prefide in it. He attended Milo's trial himfelf, with a ftrong guard to preferve peace : the accufers were young Appius, che nephew of Clodius, M. Antonius,and P. Valerius. Cicero was the only advocate on Milo's fide; but as foonas he rofe up to fpeak, he was received with fo rude a clamour by the Clo- dians, that he was much difcompofed and daunted at his firft fetting out : he recovered fpirit enough,' however, to go through his fpeech, which was taken down in writing, and publilhed as it was deliver- ed ; though the copy of it now extant is fuppoled to have been retouched, and corrected by him af- terwards, for a prefent to Milo, who was condemned, and went into exile at Marfeilles, a few days after nis condemnation, » (ij Tamen bac noifi judicii nova forma ferret occulos. ] The reafon why Cicero calls thy anew trial is, becaufe Milo was not tried by the acting praetor, as was ufual ia criminal cafes, b tby *§" a fpecial commiflion and an extraordinary judge. By ihz nova forma he refers to the flrorig guard which Pompey brought to the trial, in order to prevent any violence. F 3 436 M. T. CICERONIS ORATxONES. oratori aliquid, ut in foro et in judicio, quanquam prsesidiis sa- lutaribus et necessariis septi sumus, tamen ne non timere quidem sine aliquo timore possimus ; qure si opposita Miloni putarcm T cederem tempori, judices, nee inter tantam vim armorum exis- timarem oratori locum esse ,; sed me recreat et reficit (2) Cn. Pompeii, sapientissimi et justissimi viri, consilium : qui profecto nee justitise siuc putaret esse, quern reum sententiis judicum tradidissct, eundem telis militum dedere ; nee sapiential, tcmeri- tatem concitatre multitudinis auctoritate publica armare. Quam- obrem ilia arma, centurion.es, cohortes, non periculum nobis-, sed presidium denuntiant : neque solum, ut quieto, sed etiam ut magno amnio simus, hortantur : neque auxilium modo de- fensioni niece, verum etiam silentium pollicentur. (3) Reliqua verd multitude, quae quidem est civium, tota nostra est : neque eorum quisquam, quos undique intuentes ex hoc ipso loco cer- nitis, tmde aliqua pars fori aspici potest, et hujus exitum judicii exspectantes videtis, non ciim virtuti Milonis favet, turn de se* de liberis suis, de patria, de fortunis hodierno die decertari putat* II. XJnum genus est adversum infestumque nobis, eorum quos P. Clodii furor rapinis, incendiis, et omnibus exitiis publicis pavit : (4) qui hestern& etiam concione incitati sunt, ut vobis voce praeirent, quid judicaretis ; quorum clamor si quis forte fuerit, admonere vos debebit, ut eum civem retineatrs, qui semper genus illud hominum, clamoresque maximos pro vestrai sa- lute neglexit. Quamobrem adeste animis, judices, et timo- rem, si quern habetis, deponite* Nam si unqttam de bonis et fortibus viris, si unquam de bene meritis civibus potestas vobis judicandi fuit.: sidenique unquam locus (5) amplissimorum ordinum delectis viris datus est, ubi sua studia erga fortes et bonos cives, quse vultu et verbis seepe significassent, re et sen- tentiis declararent : hoc profecto tempore earn potestatem (a) Cn. Pompeii, fafienttjftmi et jujlijfim^'viri^ Though Pbmpey was not concerned for Clodius's death or the manner of it, but pleafed rather that the republic was freed at any rnte from fo peftilent a demagogue ; yet he refolved to take the benefit of the occafion, for getting rid of Milo too ; from whole ambition and high fpirit, he had reafon to apprehend no lefs trouble. Cicero being fenfible of this, as well as of the great authority and influence of Fompey, endeavours, through the whole of this ora- tion, to remove the efFe&s which they might have upon the minds of the judges. (3) Reliqua vera multitude, qaa quidem ejl civium, tota nojlta eft.) The Clodia^ party confifted principally of a fet of profligate, low, aad abandoned wretches; whom Clo- dius, by his rapines had gained over to his intereft. To thefe Cicero does not allow the name of citizens, on account of their infamous characters, and feditous practices. (4) £$J*i beftcrna etiam concione incitati funt, ut vobis voce prairent, quid judicaretis, ,] Munatius Plancus Burfa, one of the three tribunes in oppofition to Milo, the very day before this oration was delivered, called the people together, and exhorted them to ap- pear in a full body the next day, when judgment was to be given, and to declare their ientiments info public a manner that the criminal might not be fuffered to cfcape ; ■* hich Cicero refle&B upon as an infult on the liberty of the benck. CCCERO'S ORATIONS. 437 siot surrounded with the usual circle ; nor is the crowd such as used to throng us. For those guards you see planted before all the temples, however intended to prevent all violence,, yet strike the orator with terror ; so that even in the forum, and during a trial, though attended with an usual and necessary guard, [ I cannot help being under some apprehensions, at the same tmie I am sensible they are without foundation^ Indeed if I ima- < gined it was stationed there in opposition to Miio, I should give way, my lords, to the times, and conclude there was no room for an orator in the midst of such an armed force. But the pru- dence of Pompey, a man of such dintinguished wisdom and equity, both cheers and relieves me ; whose justice will never suffer him to leave a person exposed to the rage of the soldiery, whom he has delivered up to a legal trial ; nor his wisdom, to give the sanction of public authority to the outrages of a furious mob. Wherefore those arms, those centurions and cohorts, are so far from threatening me with danger, that they assure me of protection ; they not only «banish my fears, but inspire me with courage ; and promise that I shall be heard, not merely with safety, but with silence and attention. As to the rest of the assembly, those, at least, that are Roman citizens, they are all on our side ; nor is there a single person of all that multi- tude of spectators, whom you see on all sides of us, as far as Any part of the forum can be distinguished, waiting the event of the trial, who, while he favours Milo, does not think his own fate, that of his posterity, his country, and his property likewise at stake. Sect. II. There is indeed one set of men our inveterate ene- mies,* they are those whom the madness of P. Clodius has train- ed up, and supported by plunder, firing of houses, and every species of public mischief; who were spirited up by these speech- es of yesterday, to dictate to you what sentence you should pass. If these should chance to raise any clamour, it will only make you cautious how you part with a citizen who always despised that crew, and their loudest threatenings, where your safety was concerned. Act with spirit then, my lords ; and if 3*011 ever entertained any fears, dismiss them all. For if ever you had it in your power to determine in favour of brave and wor- thy men, or of deserving citizens ; in a word, if ever any oc- casion was presented to a number of persons selected from the most illustrious orders., of declaring, by their actions and their rotes, that regard for the brave and virtuous, which they had often expressed by their looks and words ; now is the time for (5 J Amplifsimorum crd'mum deletlis viris.~\ The judges in this trial were chosen from the fenatorian and cqueftrian orders ; and Afconiu» tells us, that they were perfons of great abilities and unqueftionable integrity. M. T. CICERONIS ORATIGNES. omnem ,vos habetis, ut statuatis, utrum nos, qui semper vestry auctoritati dediti fuimus, semper miserilugeamus ,* an diu vexati a perditissimis civibus, aliquando per vos ac vestram fidem, vir? tutem, sapientjamque recreemur. Quid enim nobis duobus, judices, laboriosius . ? quid magis solicitum, magis exercitum dici aut iingi potest ? qui spe amplissimorum prsemiorum acj. rempublicam adducti metu crudelissimorum suppliciorum carere non possumus. Equidem cseteras tempestates et procellas in Jllis duntaxat fluctibus concionum semper putavi Miloni esse subeundas, quod semper pro bonis contra improbos senserat : in judicio vero et in eo cqnsilio, in quo ex cunctis ordinibus amplissimi viri judicarent, nunquam existimavi spem ullam esse habituros Milonis inimicos, ad ejus non salutem modo exstin- guendam, sed etiam glorjam per tales viros infringendam. Quanquam in hac causa, judices. T. Annii tribunatu, rebusque omnibus pro salute reipublicse gestis, ad hujus criminis defen- sionem non obutemur, (6) nisi oculis videritis insidias Miloni a Clodio esse factas : nee deprecaturi sumus, ut crimen hoc nobis, multa propter prseclara in rempublicam merita condonetis : nee postulaturi, ut, si mors P. Clodii salus vestra fuerit, idcirco earn yirtuti Milonis potius quam populi Romani felicitati assignetis } sin illius insidise clariores hac luce fuerint, turn denique obse- crabo obtestaborque vos, judices, si csetera amisimus, hoc sal- tern nobis ut relinquatur, ab inimicorum audacia telisque vitam ut impune liceat defendere, III. Sed antequam ad earn orationem yenio, quae est propia nostra quaestionis, videntur ea esse refutanda, quse et in senatu ab inimicis ssepe jactata sunt, et in condone ssepe ab impro- bis, et jam paullo ante ab accusatoribus ; ut omni errore sub- lato, rem plane, qua3 venit in judicium, videre possitis. (7) Ne- gant intueri lucein esse fas ei, qui a se hominem occisum esse fateatur. In qua tandem urbe hoc homines stultissimi disputant ? nempe in ea, quse primum judicium de capite vidit (8) M. IIo- ratii fortissimi yiri ; qui nondum libera civitate, tamen populi (6) Ntft oculis videritis infidias Mihni a Clodio f actus ^ Several of Milo's friends were of opinion, that he fhould defend himfelf,by avowing the death of Clodius to be an act of public benefit . but Cicero thought that defence too defperate, as jt would difguft the grave and coi.fiderare, by opening fo great a door to licence ; and offend the power- ful, left the precedent fhould be extended to themfelves Accordingly he chofe to rifle the caufe on another iffue, and laboured to fhow that Clodius lay in wait for Mi- lo, and contrived the time and place ; and- that Milo's part was but a neceffary act of felf-defence. He does not preclude himfelf however by this from the other plea, which he frequently takes occafion to infinuate, that if Mil* had really defigned and contri- ved to kill C odius, he would have deferved honours inflead of punifhment, for cutting off fo defperate and dangerous an enemy to the peace and liberty of Rome, (7) Negant intueri lucem ejfe fas ei, qui a fe hominem tccifum ejfe fateatur.] The three tribunes who were in oppofition to Milo, declared for his being put to death : alledging, chat a man who confefles he has killed another fhould not be allowed to live. .Cicera eiCERCTS ORATIONS. 439 .you to exert this power, in determining whether we, who have ever been devoted to your authority, shall spend the remainder of our days in grief and misery 't or after having been so long insulted by the most abandoned citizens, shall at last, through your means, by your fidelity, virtue and wisdom, recover our wonted life and vigour, j For what, my lords, can be mentioned or conceived more grievous to us both, what more vexatious or trying, than that we 5 who entered into the service of our country from the hopes of the highest honours, cannot even be free from the apprehensions of the severest punishments ? For my own part, I always took it for granted, that the other storms and tem- pests which are usually raised in popular tumults would beat upon Milo, because he has constantly approved himself the friend of good men in opposition to the bad ; (but :n a public trial, where the most illustrious persons of all the orders of the state were to sh as judges, I never imagined that Milo*s enemies could have entertained the least hope not only of destroying his safety, while such persons were upon the bench, but even of giving the least stain to his honour.** In this cause, my lords, I shall take no advantage of Annius's tribuneship, nor of his im- portant services to the state during the whole of his life, in order to make out his defence, unless you shall see that Clodius him- self actually lay in wait for hirn ; nor shall I intreatyou to grant a pardon for one rash action, in consideration of the many glo- rious things he has performed for his country ; nor require, that if Clodius's death prove a blessing to you, you should ascribe it rather to Milo's virtue, than the fortune of Home ; But, if it should appear clearer than the day, that Clodius did really lie in wait, then I must beseech and adjure you, my lords, that if we have lost every thing else, we may at least be allowed, without fear of punishment, to defend our lives against the insolent at- tacks of our enemies. Sect. III. But before I enter upon that which is the proper subject of our present inquiry, it will be necessary to confute those notions which have been often advanced by our enemies in the senate, often by a set of worthless fellows, and even latelv by our accusers before an assembly, that having thus re-? moved all ground of mistake, you may have a clearer view of the matter that is to come before you. They say, that a man who confesses he has killed another, ought not to be suffered to live. But where, pray, do these stupid people use this ar- gument ? why, truly, in that very city where the first person that was ever tried for a capital crime was the brave M. Hora- refutes this argument in a very artful manner, by producing fevejal parallel cafes from the hiftory of Rome. (%) M Horatii.fortifsimi viri.) This was theM- Horatius, who. after both his brothers were- slain, killed the three Duriatiiin that famous combat, under the reign of Tullus ilcflilius, which gave Rome the fupcriority over her mother Alba. Ai he was re£ura» 44-0 M. T. CICZR0NIS 0RAT10NE5. Homani comitiis liberatus est, cum sua manii sororem interfeo- tam esse fateretur. An est quisquam qui hoc ignoret, cum de homine occiso qureratur, aut negari solere omnino esse factum ; aut recte ac jure factum esse defendi ? Nisi vero existimatis de- mentem P. Africanum fuisse, qui cum a C. Carbone tribuno plebis in concione (9) seditiose interrogaretur, quid de Tiberii Gracchi morte sentiret, respondit, (**) jure csesum videri. 1M eque cnim posset aut Ahala ille Servilius, aut P. Nasica, aut L. Opi- mius, aut C. Marius, aut me consule, senatus non nefarius ha- beri, sceleratos cives interfici nefas *»sset. Itaque hoc, judices, non sine causa etiam fictis fabulis doctissimi homines memorise prodiderunt, eum, qui patris ulciscendi'causa matrem necavisset, variatis hominum sententiis, non solum divina, sed etiam Dese sapientissimse sententialiberatum. («) Quod si (Juodecim tabulae nocturnum furem quoquo modo : diurnum autem, si se telo de- fenderit, interfici impune voluerunt; quis est, qui, quoquo modo quis interfectus sit, puniendum putet, cum videat aliquando gla- dium nobis ad occidendum hominem ab ipsis porrigi legibus . ? .#l l»" ■ ■ ■■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ; ■ ■■■ ■ - ■ •■ '..W ing afcer fo glorious a victory in a fort of triumph, his temples encircled with a crown the king had put upon his head, and his flioulders loaded with the fpoils of the three Curiatii, to his great furprife, he beheld his fifter unaccompanied by her mother, and without any attendance, hurrying forward in the promifcuous crowd to meet him. One of the Alban champions had been her lover, and was to have been her hufband. Upon the firft report of his being flain, fhe had ftolen from her mother, and was come, running like a diftracted creature, to learn the certainty of his fate ; and when fhe faw the conqueror bearing in triumph her lover's military robe (which fhe had wrought with her own hands) flained with his blood, Ihe tore her hair, beat her breaft, and re- viled her brother in the bittereft expreffions. Horatius, warm with flaughter, and en? ranged at thefe reproaches, and the untimely grief of his fifter, killed her upon the fpot ; and, without fign of pity or remorfe, went flraight on to his father's houfe, who approved of the cruel deed, and refufed to let his daughter be buried in the fe- pulchre of her family. Horatius was arraigned before king Tullus, upon an accufa- tion of murder, and fome of the moft eminent of the citizens concerned themfelves in the profecution. The king to avoid the odium he might bring upon himfelf , by ei- ther acquitting or condemning the criminal, turned the affair into a (late crime, and, calling the people together, named two commiffiopers, or duumviri, to try him asa traitor. The fact of which he was accufed being notorious, and not difowned by him, the duumviri, without delay, pronounced fentence againfthim; and the executioner h3d already laid hold of him, when, by the king's advice, he appealed to an aflem • bly of th« people ; which, through admiration of his courage, rather than for the juf- tice of his caufe, revoked the fentence that had been paffed againft him. However, that the crime might not go wholly unpunifhed, they condemned him to pafs under the yoke, an ignominy to which they ufually fubjecltcd prifoners of war who had cow- ardly furrendered their arms. (9) Setlitiofe interrogaretur.^ C. Papirius Carbo, in his tribunefiiip, warmly espoufed the caufc of the people againft the nobility. One day, in a public aflembly, he called to Scipio Africanus, andafkedhim, what he thought of the death ef Tiberius ? mean- ing probably, by this queftion, to draw an anfwer from him that would hurt his credit cither with the fenate or the people. Scipio without hefitation declared, that, in bis cicero's orations. 441 tius ; who, before the state was in possession if its liberty, was ac- quitted by the comitia of the Roman people, though he confessed he had killed his sister with his own hand. Can any one be so ignorant as not to know, that in cases of bloodshed, the fact is either absolutely denied, or maintained to be just and lawful ? Were it not so, P. Afrkanus must be reckoned out of his senses, who, when he was asked in a seditious manner, by the tribune Carbo, before all the people, what bethought of Gracchus's death,, said, that he deserved to die. Nor can Ahala Servilius, P. Nasica, It* OpimuSy C Marius, or the senate itself, during my consulate, be acquitted of the most enormous guilt, if it be a crime to put wicked citizens to death. It is not without reason therefore, my lords, that learned men have informed us, though in a fabulous manner, how that, when a difference arose in regard to the man who had killed his mother in revenge for his father's death, he was acquitted by a divine decree, nay by a decree of the goddess of Wisdom herself, And if the twelve tables allow a man, with- out fear of punishment, to take away the life of a thief in the night, in whatever situation he finds him ; and, in the day time, if he uses a weapon in his defence ; who can imagine that a person must universally deserve punishment for killing another, when he cannot but see that the laws themselves in some cases put a sword into our hands for this very purpose ? opinion, Tiberius was juftly flain. And when the multitude let him know their dif- pleafure by a loud cry, he boldly returned, ' Ceafe your noife ! do you think by your clamour to frighten me, who am ufed, unterrified, to hear the ihouts of embattled enemies.' (10) Jurecasum the corporate towns are all in mourning, the colonies are overwhelmed with sorrow ; in a word, even the fields themselves lament the loss of so gene- rous, to useful, and so humane a citizen. But this, my lords^ is by no means the reason why Pompey thought himself obliged to appoint a commission for a trial ; being a man of great wis- dom, of deep and almost divine penetration, he tobk a great variety of things into his view. He considered that Clodius had been his enemy, that Milo was his intimate friend, and was afraid that, if he took his part in the general joy, it would ren- der the sincerity of his reconciliation suspected* Many other things he saw, and particularly this, that though he ( had made a severe law, you would act with becoming resolution on the trial. And accordingly, in appointing judges, he selected the greatest ornaments of the most illustrious orders of the state ; nor in making his choice, did he, as some have pretended, set aside my friends. For neither had this person, so eminent for his justice, any such design, nor was it possible for him to have made such a distinction, if only worthv men were chosen, even if he had been desirous of doing it. My influence is not con- fined to my particular friends, my lords, the number of whom cannot be very large, because the intimacies of friendship can extend but to few. If I have any interest, it is owing to this, that the affairs of the state have connected me with the virtuous and worthy members of it ; out of whom when he chose the most deserving, to which he would think himself bound in ho- nour, he could not fail of nominating those who had an affection for me. But in fixing upon you L. Domitus, to preside at this trial, he had no other motive than a regard to justice, dis- interestedness, humanity and honour. He enacted, that the president should be of consular rank : because, I suppose he was of opinion, that men of distinction ought to be proof against the levity of the populace, and the rashness of the aban- doned. And he gave you the preference of all others of the same rank, because you had, from your youth, given the stron- gest proofs of your contempt of popular rage. Sect. IX. Therefore, my lords, to come at last to the Cause itself, and the accusation brought against us ; if it be not unusual in some cases to confess the fact ; if the senate has decreed no- thing with relation to our cause, but what we ourselve^could have wished ; if he who enacted the law, though there was no dispute about the matter of fact, was willing that the lawfulness H 3 452 M. T. CICERONIS ORATIONtS. propositus qusestioni, qui hsec juste sapienterque deccptet : rdi- quum est, ju4ices,ut nihil jam aliud qiuerere debeatis, nisi uter utri insidias fecerit: quod quofacilius argumentisperspicere possitis, rem gestam vobis dum breviter expono, quaeso diligenter atten- dite. P. Clodius, cum statuisset omni scelere in prsetura vexare rempub. (25) videretque ita tracta esse comitia anno superiore, ut non multos menses prseturam gerere posset : qui non honoris gradum spectaret, ut cseteri, sedetL. Paulum collegam efFugere vellet, singulari virtute civem, et annum integrum ad dilace- randam rempubl. qusereret ; subito reliquit annum suum, seque in annum proximum transtulit, non, ut fit, religione aliqua, sed ut haberet, quod ipse dicebat, ad prseturam gerendam, hoc est, ad evertendam rempubl. plenum annum atque integrum ; occurrebat ei, mancam ac debilem prseturam suam futuram, con- sule Milone : eum porro summo consensu populi Romani con- sulem fieri videbat ; contulit se ad ejus competitores ; sed ita, totam ut petitionem ipse solus, etiam invitis, illis, gubernaret : tota Ut comitia suis, ut dictitabat, humeris sustineret ; convo- cabat tribus : se interponebat : Collinam novam, delectu perdi- tissimomm scribebat civium : quanto ille plura miscebat, tanto hie magis in dies convalescebat. Ubi vidit homo ad omne faci- nusparatissimus fortissimum virum, inimicissimumsuum, certis- simum consulem ; idque intellex.it non solum sermombus, sed etiam suffragiis populi Rom. ssepe esse declaratum ; palam agere ccepit, et aperte dicere, occidendum Milonem ; servos agrestes etbarbaros, quibus silvas publicas depopulatus erat, Etruriamque vexarat, ex Appennino deduxerat, quos videbatis ; res erat mi- nime obscura ; etenim palam dictitabat, consulatum Miloni eripi non posse, vitam posse ; significavit hoc seepe in senatu, dixit in concione : quin etiam Favonio, fortissimo viro, qufcrenti ex eo, qua spe fureret Milone vivo ? respondit, triduo, ilium, ad summum quatriduo periturum ; quam vocem'ejus ad hunc M. Catonem statirn Favonius detulit. X. Interim cum sciret Clodius, (neque cnimerat difficile scire,) iter solemne, legitimum necessarium ante diem xi-i i. kalend. Febr. (25) Videretque ita tracta efse cofaitia anno fuperiore ] The fa&ions of the city, and' the feditious conducl of the tribunes, had prevented the election of confute, and 00 cafioned an interregnum of upwards of fix months : fo that Meffala and Calvinus did not hold the confulfhip above five month, which was probably the cafe with the prae- tors too. CICERO'S ORATIONS. * 453 of it should be debated ; if a number of judges have been chosen, and a person appointed to preside at the trial, who might can- vass the affair with wisdom and equity; the only remaining sub- ject of your inquiry is, which of these two parties way-laid the other. And that you may be able the more easily to determine this point, I shall beg the favour of an attentive hearing, while, in a few words, I lay open the whole affair before you. P. Clo- dius being determined, when created prsetor, to harrass his country with every species of oppression ; and finding the co- mitia had been delayed so long the year before, that he could not hold his office many months; not regarding, like the rest, the dignity of the station, but being solicitous both to avoid having 1j. Paulus, a man of exemplary virtue, for his col- league, and to obtain -a whole year for oppressing the state % all on a sudden threw up his own year, and reserved himself to die next ; not from any religious scruple, but that he might have, as he said himself, a full entire year for exercising his praetorship ; that is, for overturning the commonwealth. He was sensible he must be controlled and cramped in the exercise of his praetorian authority under Milo, who, he plainly saw, would be chose consul by the unanimous consent of the Roman people. Accordingly he joined the candidates that opposed Milo, but in such a manner that he over-ruled them in every thing, had the sole management of the election, and, as he used often to boast, bore all the commitiaupon his own shoulders. He assembled the tribes ; he thrust himself into their counsels, and formed a new Collinian tribe of the most abandoned of the citizens. The more confusion and disturbance he made, the more Milo prevailed. When this wretch, who was bent upon all manner of wickedness, saw that so brave a man, and his most inveterate enemy would certainly be consul ; when he perceived this, not only by the discourses, but by the votes of the Itoman people, he began to throw off all disguise, and to declare openly that Milo must be killed. He sent for that rude and barbarous crew of slaves from the Appenines, whom you have seen, with whom he used to ravage the public forests, and harrass Etruria. The thing was not in the least a secret ; for he used openly to say, that though Milo could not be deprived of the consulate, he might of his life. He often intimated this in the senate, and declared it expressly before the people ; in- somuch that when Favonius, that brave man, asked him what prospect he could have of carrying on his furious designs, while Milo was alive ? he replied, that in three or four days at most he should be taken out of the way : which reply Favonius immediately communicated to M. Cato. Sect. X. la the mean time, as soon as Clodius knew (nor in- deed was there any difficulty t© come at the intelligence; that 454 M. T. CICERONIS ORATIONES. Miloni esse (a6) Lanuvium ad Flaminem prodendum, quod erat dictator Lanuvii Milo, Roma subito ipse profectus pridie est, ut ante suum fundum (quod re intellectum est) Miloni insidias col* locaret ; atque ita profectus est, ut concionem turbulentam, in qua ejus furor desideratus est, quse illo ipso die habita est, relin- queret : quam, nisi obire facinoris locum tempusque voluisset, nunquam reliquisset. Milo autem cum in senatu fuisset eo die, quoad senatas dimissus est,domum venit : (37) calceos etvesti^- menta mutavit : paulisper dum se uxor, ut fit, comparat, commoratus est : deinde profectus est id temporis, cum jam Clodius, si quidem eo die Roraam venturus erat, redire po- tuisset ; obviam fit ei Clodius expeditus, in equo, nulla rhedit, nullis impedimentis, fi%J nullis Greeds comitibus, ut solebat ) C 2 9j sine uxore, quod nunquam fere : cum hie insidiator, qui iter illud ad caedem faciendam apparasset, cum uxore vehere- tur in rheda, penulatus, magno et impedito, et muliebri ac de- licato ancillarum puerorumque comitatu ; fit obviam Clodio ante fundum ejus, hora fere undecima, aut non multo secus ; statim complures cum telis in hunc faciunt de loco superiore impetum : adversi rhedarium occidunt : cum autem hie de rheda rejecta penula, desiluisset, seque acrj animo defenderet ; illi, qui erant cum Clodio, gladiis eductis, partim recurrere ad rhedam, ut a tergo Milonem ac-orirentur; partim, quod hunc jam interfectum putarent, cfedere incipiunt ejus servos, qui post erant : ex qui- bus, qui animo fideji in dominum et prsesenti fuerunt, partim occisi sunt, partim cum ad rhedam pugnari viderent, et domino succurrere prohiberentur, Milonemque occisum etiam ex ipso Clodio audirent, et revera putarent ; fecerunt id servi Milonis (dicaro enim non derjvandi criminis causa, sed ut factum est), neque imperante, neque s.ciente, neque pra^septe domino, quod suos quisque servos in tali re faeere voluisset. (a6) Lanuvium ad Flaminem prsdendum.] Lanuvium was a municipal town in the Ap* pian way, about twelve miles from Rome. The famous temple of Juno Sofpita was in it, to officiate in which a prieft was yearly nominated by a magiftrate called the dic- tator, i (27) Calceos it vejlimenta mutavit.'] The Roman fenators were diftinguifhed from al the other citizens by the ornaments of their ordinary drefs and habit, efpecially by their vejl or tunic, and the fafhion of thsir fhoes; of which the old writers make fre- quent mention. The peculiar ornament of their tunic was the latus clavus, as it was called, being a broad Jlripe of pur fie fewed upon the fore part of it, and running down the middle of the breaft, which was the proper diftinction between them and the knights, who wore a much narrower ftripe of the fome colour, and in the fame manner. The fafhion alfo of their fhoes was peculiar, and different from that of the reft of the city. I his .'ifference appeared in the colour, fhape, and ornament of the fhoes. The colour of them was black; the form fomewhat like to a fhort boot reaching up to the middle of the leg, as they are fometime fetn in ancient ftatues and bafs-reliefs ; and the proper ornament of them was, the figure of an half-moon iewed or faftened upon the fore-part of them near the ancles ; defigned, according to fome writers toexprefg the letter C, the numeral mark of an hundred, which was the original number of the fenate when it was firfl inftituted by Romulus. cicero's orations. 455 Milo was obliged, by the eighteenth of January, to be at Lanu- vium, where he was dictator, in order to nominate a priest, a duty which the laws rendered necessary to be performed every year ; he went suddenly from Rome the day before, in order as appears by the event, to way -lay Milo, in his own grounds ; and this at a time when he was obliged to leave a tumultuous assembly, which he had summoned that very day, where his presence was necessary to carry on his mad designs ,* a thing he never would have done, if he had not been desirous to take the advantage of that particular time and place for perpetrating his villanv. But Milo, after having staid in the senate that day till the house was broke up, went home, changed his shoes and clothes, waited a while, as usual, till his wife had got ready to attend him, and then set forward about the time that Clodius, if he had proposed to come back to Rome that day, might have returned. Clodius meets him, equipped for an engagement, on horseback, without either chariot or baggage, without his Grecian servants ; and, what was more extraordinary, without his wife : while this lyer-in-wait, who had contrived the journey on purpose for assassination, was in a chariot with his wife, mumed up in his cloak, encumbered with a crowd of servants, and with a feeble and timid train of women and boys. He meets Clodius near his own estate a little before sun-set, and is immediately attacked by a body of men, who throw their darts at him from an eoiinence, and kill his coachman. Upon which he threw off his cloak, leaped from his chariot, and defended himself with great bravery. In the mean time Clodius's at- tendants drawing their swords, some of them ran back to the chariot, in order to attack Milo in the rear, whilst others, thinking that he was already killed, fell upon his servants who were behind : these being resolute and faithful to their master, were, some of them slain ; whilst the rest, seeing a warm en- gagement near the chariot, being prevented from going to their master's assistance, hearing besides from Clodius himself that Milo was killed, and believing it to be a fact, acted upon this occasion (I mention it not with a view to elude the accusa- tion, but because it was the true state of the case) without the orders, without the knowledge, without the presence of their master, as every man would wish his own servants should act in like circumstances. (i%) Nullis Gracis comttibus.'] It was cuftomary for the richer of the Romans to en- tertain in their houfes fchollars and philofopher^ from Greece, who generally accompa- nied them when they travelled, in order to amufe r»r inftrucl: them. (i<)) Sineuxore.] Clodius had for his wife one Fulvia, who was afterwards married to Antony. She was a perfect fury ; fuch, 'tis faid, was her implacable hatred to Ci- cero, that, after his death, fhe vented her impotent rage upon his head, fpit upon it, an4 thrufl a bodkin through his tongue. 456 M. T. CICER0N1S OUATIONES, XL Hsec, sicut exposui, ita gesta sunt, judices : insidiator su- peratus, vi victa vis, vel potius -oppressa virtute audacia est, Nihil dico, quid respublica consecuta sit, nihil quid vos, nihil quid omnes boni : nihil sane id prosit Miloni, qui hoc fato natus est, ut ne se quidem servare potuerit, quin u«a rempublicam, vosque servare t ; si id jure non posset, nihil habeo quod de- fendaro ; sin hoc et ratio doctis, et necessitas barbaris, et mos gentibus, et feris natura ipsa prsescripsit, ut omnem semper vim, quacunque ope possent, a corpore, a capite, a vita sua propulsarent ; non potestis hoc facinus improbum judicare, quin simul judicetis, omnibus qui inlatrones inciderint, aut illo- rum telis, aut vestris sententiis esse pereundum. Quod si ita putasset ; certe optabilius Miloni fuit dare jugulum P. Clodio, non semel ab illo, neque turn primum petitum ; quam jugulari a vobis, quia £e Uli non jugulandum tradidisset : sin hoc nemo vestriim ita sentit : illud jam in judicium venit, non, occisusne sit, quod fatemur : sed jure, an injuria: quod multis antea in causis jam qusesitum est. Insidias factas esse constat : et id est quod senatus contra rempublicam factum judicavit : ab utro factfe sint, incenum est ; de hoc igitur latum est ut qusereretur. Ita et senatus rem, non hominem notavit, et Pompeius de jure, non de facto, qusestionem tulit. XII. Nunquid igitui aliud in judicium venit, nisi uter utri m* sidias fecerit ? profecto nihil ; si hie llli ; ut ne sit impune : si ille huic ; turn nos scelere solvamur. Quonam igitur pacto probari potest, insidias Miloni fecisse Clodium ? satis est qui- dem in ilia tarn audaci, tarn nefarja bellua docere, magnam ei causam, magnam spem in Milonis morte propositam, magnas utilitates fuisse. (3°) Itaque illud Cassianum, CUI BONO FUERIT ? in his personis valeat ; etsi boni nullo emolumento impelluntur in fraudem, improbi sscpe parvo. Atqui, Milone interfecto, Clodius hoc assequebatur, non modo ut praetor esset non eo consule, quo scelcris nihil facere posset : sed etiam ut his consulibus praetor esset, quil)us si non adjuvantibus, ($o) Itaque illud Cajftanum ] We are told by Afconius, that Caffius was a man of great feverity ; and that when he was examiner in any cafe of murder, he always ex- horted, nay commanded the judges to inquire what profpeel of advantage could arife t» the murderer from the fa<5l. Valerius Maximus, B. 3. chap. 7. fays, that hi^ tribu- nal, on account of his exceffive feverity, was called the rock of criminals. CICERO'S ORATIONS. 45/ Sect. XI. This, my lords, is a faithful account of the matter of fact : the person who lay in wait was himself overcome, and force subdued by force, or rather audaciousness chastised by true valour. I say nothing of the advantage which accrues to the state in general, to yourselves in particular, and to all good men; I am content to wave the argument I might draw from hence in favour of my client, whose destiny was so peculiar, that he could not secure his own safety, without securing yours and that of the republic at the same time. If he could not do it law- fully, there is no room for attempting his defence. But if reason teaches the learned, necessity the barbarian, common custom all in general, and even nature itself instructs the brutes to defend their bodies, limbs, and lives when attacked, by all possible me- thods, you cannot pronounce this action criminal, without deter- mining at the same time, that whoever falls into the hands of a highwayman, must of necessity perish either by his sword or your decisions. Had Milo been of this opinion, he would cer- tainly have chosen to have fallen by the hand of Clodius, who had more than once before this made an attempt upon his life, rather than be executed by your order, because he had not tame- ly yielded himself a victim to his rage. But if none of you are of this opinion, the proper question is, not whether Clodius was killed ? for that we grant : but whether justly or unjustly ? an inquiry, of which many precedents are to be found. That a plot was laid, is very evident ; and this is what the senate decreed to be injurious to the state : but by which of them laid, is uncer- tain. This then is the point which the law directs us to inquire into. Thus, what the senate decreed, related to the action, not the man ; and Pompey enacted, not upon the matter of fact, but of law. Segt. XII. Is nothing else therefore to be determined but this single question, which of them way-laid the other ? Nothing* certainly. If it appears that Milo was the aggressor, we ask no favour ; but if Clodius, you will then acquit us of the crime that has been laid to our charge. "What method then can we take to prove that Clodius lay in wait for Milo ? It is sufficient,, considering what an audacious abandoned wretch he was, to show that he lay under a strong temptation to it, that he formed great hopes, and proposed to himself great advantages from Mi- le's death. Let that question of Cassius therefore, whose inter- est was it P be applied to the present case. For though no con- sideration can prevail upon a good man to be guilty of a base action, yet to a bad man the least prospect of advantage will often be sufficient. By Milo r s death, Clodius not only gained his point of being prsetor, without that restraint which his ad- versary's power as consul would have laid upon his wicked de- signs, but likewise that of being praetor under those consuls, by 458 • M. T. CICUllONIS ORATIONES; at connivcntibus certe sperasset se posse rempublicam eludere i& illis suis cogitatis furoribus ; cujus illi conatus, ut ipse ratiocina* batur, nee si possent, reprimere cuperent, cum tantum beneficium ei se debere arbitrarentur : et, si vellent, fortasse vix possent frangere hominis sceleratissimicorroboratamjam vetustate auda* ciam. An vero,judices, vos soli ignoratis ? vos hospites in hac urbe versamini ? vestrse peregrinantur aures, neque in hoc perva- gato civitatis sermone versantur, quas ille leges (si leges nonii- nandse sunt, ac non fasces urbis et pestes reipublicse) fuerit im- positurus nobis omnibus, atque inusturus . ? Exhibe, quseso, Sexte Clodi, exhibe librarium illud legum vestrarum, quod te aiunt eripuisse e domo, et ex mediisarmis turbaquenocturna, (31) tan- quam Palladium, sustulisse, ut prseclarum videlicet munus ac instrumentum tribunatus ad aliquem, si nactus esses, qui tuo ar- bitrio tribunatum gereret, deferre posses. Et aspexit me qui- dem illis oculis, quibus turn solebat, cum omnibus omnia mina- batur ; (3*) movet me quippe lumen curiae. XIII. Quid ? tu me iratum, Sexte, putas tibi, cujus tu inimi- cissimum multo crudelius etiam puviitus es, quam erat humani- tatis mejc postulare ? Tu P. Clodii cruentum cadaver ejecisti domo : tu in publicum abjecisti : tu ($S) spoliatum imaginibus, exsequiis, pompa, laudatione, infelicissimis lignis semiustula- tum, nocturnis canibus dilaniandum reliquisti ; quam rem etsi necessario fecisti, tamen, quoniam in meo inimico crudelitatem expromsisti tuam, laudare non possum, irasci certe non debeo. P. Clodii pneturam non sine maximo rerum novarum metu proponi, et solutam fore videbatis, nisiJPfeet is consul, qui earn auderet possetque constringere. Euin Milonem esse cum sentiret universus populus Roman us, quis dubitaret suffragio suo,se metu, periculo rempublicam liberare ? At nunc, P. Clodio remoto, usitatis jam rebus enitendftm est Miloni, ut tueatur dignitatem suam ; singularis ilia huic uni concessa gloria, quss quotidie augebatur frangendis furoribus Clodianis, jam morte Clodii cecidit ; vos adepti estis, ne quern civem metueretis : hie ($1) Tanquam Palladium.'] The Palladium was a wooden image of Pallas. The Trojans fancied that it fell from heaven inro an uncovered temple, and were told by the oracle, that Troy could not be taken whilft that image remained there. WhicK being underftood by Diomedes and Ulyfes, they privately dole into the temple, fur- prifed and flew the keepers, aud carried the image away : it was brought to Rome, by whom is uncertain, placed in the temple of Vefta,and refcued from the flames of that edifice by Metellusthe high-prieft. (32) Movet me quippe lumen curia.} Jocil*- in ambigUO,/ry.f Abramius ; innuit enint curias incendium cum Sextum Clodium clariffimum fenatoreni vocare videatur. (33) Spoliatum imaginibus.} We are told by Pliny, that the halls of the great men amongst the Romans, were adorned with the images of their deceafed friends, done in wax; and that when any of the family was to be buried, thefe images were to be carried along with the corpfe. cicero's orations. 459 whose connivances at least, if not assistance, he hoped he should be able to betray the state into the mad schemes he had been forming ; persuading himself, that as they thought themselves under so great an obligation to him, they would have no incli- nation to oppose any of his attempts, even if they should have it in their power ; and that if they were inclined to do it, they would perhaps be scarce able to controul the most profligate of all men who had been confirmed and hardened in his audacious- ness by a long series of villanies. Are you then, my lords, alone ignorant ? are you strangers in this city ? Has the report, which so generally obtains in the town, of those laws (if they are to be called laws, and not rather the scourges of the city, and the plagues of the republic) which he intended to have im- posed and fixed as a brand of infamy upon us all, never reached your ears ? Show us, I beg of you, Sextus Clodius, show us that register of your laws ; which, they say, you rescued out of his house, and carried off like another Palladium, in the midst of an armed force, and a midnight mod ; that you might have an honourable legacy, and ample instructions for some fu- ture tribune, who should hold his office tinder your direction, if such a tribune you could find. Now he casts a look at me, like that he used to assume when he threatened universal ruin* I am indeed struck with that light of the senates Sect. XIII. What Sextus; do you imagine I am angry with you, who have treated my greates enemy with more severity 5 than the humanity of my temper could have allowed me to have required ? You threw the bloody body of P. Clodius out of his house, you exposed it to public view in the streets, you left it, by night a prey to the dogs, half consumed with unhallowed wood, stript of its images, and deprived of the usual enco- miums and funeral pomp. This, though it is true you did it out of mere necessity, I cannot commend ; yet as my enemy was the object of your cruelty, I ought not certainly to be angry with you. You saw there was the greatest reason to dread a revo- lution in the state from the pr?etorship of Clo«ius, unless the man, who hath both courage and power to controul him, were chosen consul. When all the Roman people were convinced that Milo was the man, what citizen could have hesitated a mo- ment about giving him his vote, when by that vote, he at once relieved his own fears, and delivered the republic from the ut- most danger ? But now Clodius is taken off, it requires extra- ordinary efforts in Milo to support his dignity. That singular honour by which he was distinguished, and which daily increased by his repre^gting the outrages of the Clodian faction, vanished- with the death of Clodius. You have gained this advantage,- that there is now no citizen vou have to fear; while Milo- has I 3 460 M. T. CICERONIS 0RATI0NZS. exercitationein virtutis, suffragationem consulatus, fontem peren- nem gloria? suse perdidit. Itaque Milonis consulatus, qui vivo Clodio labefactari non poterat, murtuo denique tentari coeptus est. Non modo igitur nihil prodest, sed obest etiam P. Clodii mors Miloni. At valuit odium : fecit iratus, fecit inimicus, fe- cit ultor injuria, punitor doloris sui ; quid, hsec, nondicoma- jora fuerunt in Clodio quam in Milone, sed in illo maxima, nulla in hoc ? quid vultis amplius ? quid enim odisset Clodium Milo, segetem ac materiam suss gloriae, prseter hoc civile odium, quo omnes improjbos odimus ? ille erat ut odisset, primum defen- sorem salutis mese ; deinde vexatorem furoris, domitorem ar- morum suorum ; postremo etiam accusatorem suum ; reus enim Milonis (34) lege Plotia fuit Clodius, quoad vixit; quo tandem animo hoc tyrannum tulisse creditis ? quantum odium iilius ? et in homine injusto, quam etiam justum esse I XIY. Reliquum est, ut jam ilium natura ipsius consuetudoque defendat ; hunc autcm hsec eadem coarguant ; nihil per vim un- quam Clodius : omnia per vim Milo. Quid ergo, judices ? cum mcerentibus vobis urbe cessi, judicium-ne timui ? (35) non servos, non arma, non vim . ? quae fuisset igitur causa restituendimei, nisi fuisset injusta ejiciendi ? Diem mi hi, credo, dixerat, multam i/- rogarat, actionem perduellionis intenderat ; et mihi videlicet in causa aut mala,- aut mea, non et prteclarissima et vestra, judicium timendum fuit; servorum, e| egentium civium et facinorosorum ai'mis rneoscives,meis consiliis periculisque servatos, pro me ob- jici nolui. Vidi enim, vidi hunc ipsum, (3&) Q. Hortensium, (34) Lege PlotlmPi This law was enacted by P. Plastius, tribune of the people, anno 675, againft: tbofe that attempted any force againft: the ftate or fenate, or ufed any violence to the magiftrates, or appeared armed in public upon any ill defign, or forci- bly expelled any perfon from his lawful pofFeffion. The punifbment affigned to the convicted was aqua et ignis interdictio. (35) Non fervos, non trma, non vim.] When Cicero found himfelf reduced to the condition of a criminal by one of Clodius's laws, he changed his habit upon it, as was- ufual in the cafe of a public impeachment, and appeared about the ftreets in a fordid or mourning gown, to excite the companion of his fellow-citizens ; whjlft Clodius, at the head of his mob, contrived to meet and infult him at every turn, reproaching him for his cowardice and dejeclion, and throwing dirt and ftones at him. (36) ^ Hortenfium, lumen et ornamentum reipublica.') This Hortenfius was a very ce- lebrated orator ; he reigned abfolute in the Roman forum, when Cicero firft entered it ; and as his fuperior fame was the chief fpur to Cicero's induflry, fo the ftiining fpeci- men which Cicero foon gave of himfelf, made Hortenfius likewife the brighter for it, by obliging him to exert all th« force of his genius to maintain his ground againft his young rival. They paffed a great part of their lives in a kind of equal conteft and emulation of each other's merit ; but Hortenfius, by the fuperiority of his years, having firft. paffed through the ufual gradation of public honours, and fatisfied his ambition by obtaining the higheft, began to relax fomewhat of his old contention, and give way to the charms of eafe and luxury, to which his nature ftrongiy inclined him, till he was forced at laft 3 by the general voice of the city to yield the poftof honour to Cicero. He cicero's orations. 461 has lost a fine field for displaying his valour, the interest that supported his election, and a perpetual source of glory. Ac- cordingly, Milo's election to the consulate, which could never have been hurt while Clodius was living, begins now upon his death to be disputed. Milo, therefore, is so far from receiving any benefit from Clodius's death, that he is really a sufferer bv it. But, it may be said that hatred prevailed, that anger and resentment urged him on, that he avenged his own wrongs, and redressed his own grievances. Now if all these particulars may be applied not merely with greater propiety to Clodius than to ?vIilo, but with the utmost propriety to the one, and not the least to the other ; what more can you desire ? For why should Milo bear any other hatred to Clodius, who furnished him with such a rich harvest of glory, but that which every patriot must bear to all bad men ? As to Clodius, he had motives enough for bearing ill-will to Milo : first, as my protector and g'uardian; then, as the opposer of his mad schemes, and the controuler of his armed force ; and lastly, as his accuser. For while he lived, he was liable to be convicted by Milo upon the Plotian law. With what patience, do vou imagine, such an imperious spirit could bear this I How high must his resentment have risen, and with what justice too, in so great an enemy to justice ? Sect. XI Y. It remains now to consider what arguments their natural temper and behaviour will furnish out in defence of the one, and for the conviction of the oth<;r. Clodius never made use of any violence, Milo never carried any point without it. "What then, my lords, when I retired from this city, leaving you in tears for my departure, did I fear standing a trial ? and not rather the insults of Clodius's slaves, the force of arms, and open violence ? What reason could there be for restoring me, if he was not guilty of injustice in banishing me ? He had sum- moned me, I know he had, to appear upon my trial ; had set a fine upon me, had brought an action of treason against me, and I had reason to fear the event of a trial, in a cause that was neither glorious for you, nor very honourable for myself. No, mv lords, this was not the case,* I was un« willing to expose my countrymen, whom I had saved by my counsels, and at the hazard of my life, to the swords of slaves, indi- gent citizens, and a crew of ruffians. For I saw, yes I myself be- held this very Q. Hortensius, the light and ornament of the repub- publiflied feveral orations, which were extant long after his death ; and it were much to be wifhed that they had remained to this day. to enable us to form a judgment of the different talents of thefe twogreatmen : but they arefaidto have ©wed a great part of their credit to the advantage of his action, which yet was thought to have more of art than was neceflary to an orator, fo that his compofitions were not admired fo much by the reader, as they had been by the hearers. He was generally allowed, however, 462 M. T. GI.GERONIS ORATIONEi. lumen et ornamcntum reipublicse, pene interfici servorum manu, cum mihi adesset : qua in turba C. Vibienus senator, vir opti- mus, cum hoc cum esset una, ita est mulcatus, ut vitam amise- rit. Itaque quando illius postea sica ilia, quam a Catilina ac- ceperat, conquievit ? hsec intentata nobis est : huic ego vos objici pro me npn sum passus : hsec insidiata Pompeio est : hsec istam Ap- piam viam, monumentum sui nominis, nece Papirii cruentavit : hjec, hffic eadem longo intervallo conversa rursus est in me i (37) nuper quidem, ut scitis, me ad regiam pene confecit. quid simile Milonis ? cujus vis pmnis hsec semper fuit, ne P. Clodius, cum in judicium detrahi non posset, vi oppressawi ci- vitatem teneret ; quern si interficere voluisset, quantse, quotie^ pccasiones, quam prseclarss fuerunt ? potuit-ne cum domum ac deos penates suos, illo oppugnante, defenderet, jure se ulcisci ? potuit-ne cive egregio et viro fortissimo P. Sextio, collega suo f .vulnerato ? potuit-ne Q. Fabricio, viro optimp, cum de reditu meo legem ferret, pulso, crudelissima in foro csede facta ? po- tuit-ne L. Csecilii, justissimi, fortissimique prsetoris, oppugnat& domo ? potuit-ne illo die, cum est lata lex de me ? cum totius Italics concursus, quern mea salus concitarat, facti illius gloriam libens agnovisset : ut, etiam si id Milo fecisset, cuncta civitas earn laudem pro sua vindicaret ? XV. Atqui erat id temporis clarissimus et fortissimus con- sul, inimicus Clodio, P. Lentulus, ultor sceleris illius, pro- pugnator senatus, defensor vestra^ voluntatis, patronus il- lius publjci consensus, restitutor salutis mese : septem prae- tores, octo tribuni plebis, illius adversarii, defensores mei : Cn. Pompeius auctor et dux mei reditus, illius hostis : cu- jus sententiam senatus pmnis de salute mea gravissimam et prnatissimam secutus est : qui pppulum Romanum cohorta- tus est : qui, (S8) cum de me decretum Gapuse fecisset ipse cunctse Italian cupienti et ejus fidem imploranti signum dedit, ut by the ancients, and by Cicero himfelf, to have poffefled every accomplifhment which could adorn an orator ; elegance of ftyle ; art of compofkion ; fertility of invention ; fweetnefs of elocution ; gracefulnefs of action. The prodigious strenth of his memo- ry is particularly celebrated; a remarkable inftance of it is recorded by the elder Se- neca. He undertook, it feems, as a proof of its force, to attend a whole day, at a pub- lic auction.and give an exact account of every thing that was put up to fale, of the price at which it was fold, and of the name of every particular purchafer : and this he ac- cordingly executed, without failing in a fingle article. Notwishstanding the rivalfhip between our orator and him, there was a mutual friendfhip between them. This har- mony, fo unufual with thofe who contend together for the fame prize, was greatly ow- ing to the good offices of Atticus ; who feems indeed, upon all occafions. to have em- ployed the remarkable influence he had with all parties, in reconciling differences, and cementing friendfhipg. (37) Nuper quidem, ut fcitis, me ad regiam pene confec\t.~\ It is not eafy to determine on what occafion it was that Clodius made this attack upon Cicero. Afconi us imagines that it was under the confulfhip of Domitius and Meffala, when the parties of Hypfaeu* and Milo fought in the fatrtd way, and feveral were killed on the fide of JVJilo. .€ICER0 3 S ORATIONS. 46$ lie, almost murdered by the hands of slaves, while he waited on me ; and it was in the same tumult, that C. Vibienus, a senator of great worth, who was' in his company, was handled so roughly that it cost him his life. When, therefore, has that dagger, which Clodius received from Catiline, rested in its sheath ? it has been aimed at me ; but I would not suffer you to expose yourselves to its rage on my account ; with it he laid in wait for Pompey, and stained the Appian way, that monument of the Clodian family, with the blood of Papirius. The same, the very same weapon was, after along distance of time, again turned against me ; and you know how narrowly I escaped being de- stroyed by it lately at the palace. What now of this kind canr be laid to Miio's charge ? whose force has only been employed to save the state from the violence of Clodius, when he could not be brought to atrial. Had he been inclined to kill him, how often had he the fairest opportunities of doing it ? Might he not legally have revenged himself upon him, when he was de- fending his house and household gods against his assault? Might he not, when that excellent citizen and brave man, P.. Sextius, his coiieague, was wounded ? might he not, when Q. Fabricus, that worthy man, was abused, and a most barbarous slaughter made in the forum^ upon his proposing the law for my resto- ration r might he not when the house of L. Csecilius, that upright and brave prtetor, was attacked I might he not, on that day when the law passed in relation to me 6 , — when a vast concourse of people from all parts of Italy, animated with a concern for my saiety, would, with joyful voice, have celebrated the glory of the action, and the whole city have claimed the honour of what was performed by Milo alone ? Sect. XT. At that time P. Lentulus, a man of distinguished worth and bravery, was consul ; the professed enemy of Clo- dius, the avenger of his crimes, the guardian of the senate, the defender of your decrees, the support of that public union, and the restorer of my safety : there were seven prsetors and ight tribunes of the people in my interest, in opposition to _iim. Pompey, the first mover and patron of my return, was his enemy, whose important and illustrious decree for my re- storation was seconded by the whole senate ; who encouraged the Roman people, and when he passed a decree in my favour at Capua, gave the signal to all Italy, solicitous for my safety, i ($%) Cum de me decretum Capua fecifit.] Pompey prefided in perfon, when the inhab- itants of Capua, where he had planted a colony, wade a decree to Cicero's honour; ho ;ook the trouble likewise of vifiting all the other colonies and chief towns in thefc parts, to appoint them a day of general rendezvous at Rome, to affifl at the promulga- tor, of the law for Cicero's return. ' 464 M. T. CICERONIS ORATIONES. ad me restituendum Romam concurrerent ; omnia turn denique in ilium odia civium ardebant desiderio mei : quern qui turn in- teremisset, non de impunitate ejus, scd de prsemiis cogitaretur. Tamen se Milo continuit, et P. Clodium ad judicium bis, ad vim nunquam vocavit. Quid ? privato Milone, et reo ad popu- lum, accusante P. Clodio, cum in Cn. Pompeium pro Milone dicentem impetus factus est ; quse turn non modo occasio, sed etiam causa illius opprimendi fuit ? Nuper vero (39) cum M. An- tonius summam spem salutis bonis omnibus attulisset, gravissi- mamque adolescens nobilissimus reipub. partem fortissime sus- cepisset, atque illam belluam, judicii laqueos declinantem, jam irretitam teneret : qui locus, quod tempus illud, dii immortales, fuitj* cum se ille fugiens in scalarum tenebras abdidisset, mag- num Miloni fuit conficere illam pestem nulla sua invidia, An- tonii vero maxima gloria ? Quid ? comitiis in campo quoties potestas fuit ? cum ille vi in septa irruisset, gladios distringendos, lapides jaciendos curasset, deinde subito, vultu Milonis perter* ritus, fugeret ad Tiberim, vos et omhes boni vota faceretis, ut Miloni uti virtute sua liberet ? XVI. Quern igitur cum omnium gratia noluit ; hunc voluit cum aliquorum querela ? quern jure, quern loco, quern tem- pore, quern impune non est ausus ; hunc injuria, iniquo loco, alieno tempore, periculo capitis non dubitavit occidere ? prfe- sertim,judices, cum honoris amplissimi contentio, etdies comi- tiorum subesset ; quo quidem tempore (40) (scio enim quam ti- mida sit ambitio, quantaque et quam solicita cupiditas consula- tes) omnia, non modo quse reprehendi palam, sed etiam quse obscure cogitari possunt timemus : rumorem, fabu- lam fictam, falsam perhorrescimus . : ora omnium atque ocu- los intuemur ; nihil enim est tarn molle, tarn tenerum, tarn aut fragile, aut flexibile, quam voluntas erga nos sensusque civium : (Z9) Cum ikf. Antoniusfummam fpem falutis bonis omnibus attulijfet.] It is difficult to fay what part of Antony's conduct Cicero here refers to. Some commentators im A gine, nor is it improbable, that he employed forcible meafures in oppofition to Clodi- U3, when he was forming a new tribe of the fcum of the citizens, and that Cicero refers to this. (4Q) Scio enim quam timida fit ambitio, quantaque et quam foliciia cupiditas ctn/u/atus."] Cicero, in this pafTige, gives a ftrong and lively reprefentation of the anxiety that at- tcns a life of ambition in general ; but what he fays is peculiarly applicable to thofe wh» afpired to any public dignity in Rome. For as the people of Rome had much to give, fo they expected to be much courfed ; and, accordingly, the candidates for public offices were obliged to employ various arts to recommend themfelve* to their favour and to be extremely careful not to mye ^e leafl fhadow of offence. cicero's orations. 465 and imploring his assistance in my behalf, to repair in a body to Rome to have my sentence reversed. In a word, the citizens were then so inflamed with rage against him, from their affection to me, that had he been killed at that juncture, they would not have thought so much of acquitting, as of rewarding the person by whose hand he feel. And yet Milo so far governed his tem- per, that though he prosecuted him twice in a court of judica- ture, he never had recourse to violent measures against him. But what do I say ? while Milo was a private person, and stood accused by Clodius before the people, when Pompey was assault- ed in the midst of a speech he was making in Milo's favour, what a fair opportunity, and I will even add, sufficient reason was there for despatching him ? Again, when Mark Antony had on a late occasion, raised in the minds of all good men, the most lively hopes of seeing the state in a happier condition * when that noble youth had bravely undertaken the defence of his coun- try in a most dangerous quarter, and had actually secured that wild beast in the toils of justice, which he endeavoured to avoid ; immortal gods ! how favourable was the time and place for de- stroying him ? When Clodius concealed himself beneath a dark stair-case, how easily could Milo have destroyed that plague of his country, and thus have heightened the glory of Antony, with- out incurring the hatred of any ? how often was it in his power, while the comitia were held in the field of Mars ? When Clodius ' had forced his way within the inclosure, and his party begun, by his direction, to draw their swords, and throw stones ; and then on a sudden, being struck with terror at the sight of Milo, fled to the Tiber; how earnestly did you, and every good man, wish that Milo had then displayed his valour ? Sect. XVI. Can you imagine then that Milo would choose to incur the ill-will of any, by an action which he forbore when it would have gained him the applause of all ? Would he make no scruple of killing him, at the hazard of his own life, with- out any provocation, at the most improper time* and place, whom he did not venture to attack when he had justice on his side, had so convenient an opportunity, and would have run no risque ? especially, my lords, when his struggle for the su- preme office in the state, and the day of his election was at hand ; at which critical season (for I know by experience how timorous ambition is, and what a solicitous concern there is about the consulate) we dread not only the charges that may openly be brought against us, but even the most secret whis- pers and hidden surmises ; when we tremble at every rumour, every false, forged, and frivolous story ; when we explore the features,, and watch the looks of every one we meet. For no- thing is so changeable, so ticklish, so frail, and so flexible, as ■ the inclinations arid sentiments of our fellow-citizens upon such 466 M. T. CICEROMIS ORATIONES. qui non modo improbitati irascuntur candidatorum, sed etiam in recte factis ssepe fastidiunt. Hunc diem igitur campi speratum atque exoptatum* sibi proponens Milo, cruentis manibus scelus et facinus prse se ferens et confitens, ad ilia augusta centuriarum auspicia veniebat ? quam hoc non credibile in hoc ? quam idem in Clo'dio non dubitandum quin se ille, interfecto Milone, reg- naturum putaretr ? Quid ? quod caput audacise est, jurlices : quis ignorat, maximam illecebram esse peccandi impunitatis spem ? inutro igitur hsecfuit ? in Milone, qui etift.m nunc reus est facti* aut prseclari, aut certe necessarii ? an in Clodio, qui ita judicia pcenamque contempserat, ( 4 i) ut eum nihil delectaret, quod aut per naturam fas esset, aut per leges liceret ? Sed quid ego argu- mentor ? quid plura disputo ? te, Q. Petilii, appello, optimum et fortissimum civem : te, M. Cato, testor : quos mini divina quae- dam sors dedit, judices ; vos ex M. Favonio' audistis, ClOdium sibi dixisse, et audistis, vivo Clodio, periturum Milonem triduo; post diem tertium gesta res est, quam dixerat; cum ille non dubitaret aperire, quid cogitaret : vqs potestis dubitare, quid fecerit ? XVII, Quemadmodum igitur eum dies non fefeflit ? dixr equidem modo. Dictatoris Lanuvini stata sacraficia ndsse, ne- gotii nihil erat ; vidit necesse esse Miloni proficisci Lanuvium' illo ipso, quo profectus est, die ; itaque antevertit ; at quo die ? quo, ut ante dixi, fuit insanissima concio ab ipsius mer- cenario tribuno plebis concitata ; quern diem ille, quam concio- nem, quos clamores, nisi ad cogitatum facinus approperaret* nun quam- reliquisset. Ergo ill! ne causa quidem itineris, etiam T causa manendi : Miloni manendi nulla facultas, exeundi non causa solum, sed etiam necessitas fuit. Quid, si, ut ille scivit Milonem fore eo die in via, sic Clodium Milone Suspicari quidem* potuit ? Primurn quisro, qui scire potuerit ? quod vos idem in Clodio qiiserere non potestis ; ut enimneminem alium, (4a) nisi T. Patinam, familiarissimum suum, rogasset, scire potuit, illo ipso die Lanuvii a dictatore Milone prodi flarninefn necesse esse y (4IJ Ut eum nihil deleflaret, quod aut per naturam fas ejjet. aut per leges liceret~\ What a dreadful picture our orator here draws of Clodius ! And indeed if his character and conduct be duly confidered, there will be no reafon for thinking it drawn beyond the life. He was certainly one of the moft peftilent demagogues that ever difgraced the annals of any ftate ; an open contemner of gods and men : valuing nothing but in pro- portion as it was desperate, and above the reach of others ; in a word, a moft profli- gate libertine, and audacious villain. (42) Nift T. Patinam, familiarijfimumfuum.'] Titus Patinas refided in Lanuvium, and was an intimate acquaintance of Clodius. cIciro's ORATIONS* * 46? Occasions ; they are not only displeased with the dishonourable conduct of a candidate, but are often disgusted with his most worthy fictions. Shall Milo then be supposed, on the very day of election, a day whicn"he had long wished for, and impa- tiently expected, to present himself before that august assembly of the centuries, having his hands stained with blood, publicly acknowledging and proclaiming his guilt ? Who can believe this^-J of the man ? yet who can doubt but that Clodius imagined he should reign without controul, were Milo murdered ? What shall we say, my lords, to that which is the source of all auda- ciousness ? Does not every one know that the hope of impunity is the grand temptation to the commission of crimes ? Now, which of these two were the most exposed to this . ? Milo> who is now upon his trial for an action which must be deemed at least necessary, if not glorious ? or Clodius, who had so thorough a contempt for the authority of the magistrate, and for penalties, that he took delight in nothing that was either agreeable to nature, or consistent with law ? But why should I labour this point so much ? why dispute any longer ? I appeal to you, Q» Petilius, who are a most worthy and excellent citizen ; I call you Marcus Cato, to witness ) both of you placed on that tribunal by a kind of supernatural direction* You were told by M. FavO- cius, that Clodius declared to him, and you were told it in Clodius's life time, that Milo should not live three days longer. In three days til-ne, he attempted what he had threatened : if he then made no scruple of publishing his design, can you entertain any doubt of it when it was actually carried into execution ? Sect* XVII. But how could Clodius be certain as to the day f This I have already accounted for. There was no difficulty in knowing when the dictator of Lanuvium was to perform his stated sacrifices. He saw that Milo was obliged to set out for Lanuvium on that very day. Accordingly he was before-hand with him. But on what day ? that day on which, as I mentioned^ before, a mad assembly was held by his mercenary tribune : which dav, which assembly, which tumult he. would never have left, if he had not been eager to execute his meditated villany. So that he had not the least pretence for undertaking the jour- ney, but a strong reason for staying at home ; while Milo, on the contrary, could not possibly stay, and had not only a suffi- cient reason for leaving the city, but was under an absolute necessity of doing it. Now, what if it appear, that, as Clodius certainly knew Milo would be on the road that day, Milo could not so much as suspect the same of Clodius ? First, then, I ask which way he could come at the knowledge of it ? a question — wj frjch, you cannot put with respect to Clodius : for, had he applied" to no body else, T. Patinas, his intimate friend, could £3 468 M. T. CICERONIS ORATIONES, sed erant permulti alii, ex quibus id facillime scire posset, omncs scilicet Lanuvini. Milo de Clodii reditu unde quresivit ? qure- sierit sane. Yidete, quid vobis largiar ; servum etiam, ut Arrius, meus amicus, dixit, corruperit. Legite testimonia testium ves- trorum ; dixit C. Cassinius, cognomento Scola, Interamnas, familiarissimus et idem comes P. Clodii (cujus jampridem testi- monio Clodius eadem hora (43) Interamnse fuerat et Romse) P, Clodium illo die in Albano mansurum fuisse ; sed subito ei esse nuntiatum, (44) Cyrum architectum esse mortuum : itaque Romam repente constituisse proficisci ; dixit hoc comes itent P. Clodii, C. Clodius. XVIII, Videte, judices, quanta? res his testimonies sint con- fectse. Primum certe liberatur Milo, non eo consilio profectus esse, ut insidiaretur in via Clodio ; quippe qui ei obvius futurus omnino non erat ; deinde (non enim video, cur non meum quoque agam negotium) scitis, judices, fuisse, qui in hac roga- tione suadenda dicerent Milonis manu csedem esse factam, con- silio vero majoris alicujus. Videlicet me latronem ac sicarium abjecti homines et perditi describebant. Jacent suis testibus ii T qui Clodium negant eo die Romam, nisi de Cyro auditum esset, rediturum fuisse. Respiravi : liberatus sum : non vereor, ne, quod ne suspicari quidem potuerim, videar id cogitasse. Nunc persequar csetera ; nam occurrit illud : igitur-ne Clodius quidem de insidiis cogitavit, quoniam fuit in Albano mansurus, si qui- dem exiturus ad csedem e villa non fuisset ; video enim ilium, qui dicitur de Cyri morte nuntiasse, non id nuntiasse, sed Milonem appropinquare ; nam quid de Cyro nuntiaret, quern Clodius Roma proficiscens reliquerat morientem t una fui : testa- mentum simul obsignavi cum Clodio : testamentum autem palam fecerat, et ilium hseredem et me scripserat ; quern pridie hora tertia animam eftlantem reliquisset, eum mortuum postridie horadecima denique ei nuntiabatur ? (43.) Inter amna fuerat] Interamna was a city of Umbria ; and was io called, becaufe it was fituated between two rivers. The moderns call it Term. (44,/ Cyrum architectum ejfe mortuum] Cicero makes mention of this Cyrus in his let' tersto Atticus, and to his brother Quintus; but we have no account of him in hiftory. cicero's orations. 469 have informed him, that Milo as being dictator of Lanuvium, was obliged to create a priest there on that very day. Besides there were many other persons, all the inhabitans of Lanuvium indeed, from whom he might have very easily had this piece of intelligence. But of whom did Milo inquire of Clodius's return ; I shall allow, however, that he did inquire ; nay, J shall grant farther, with my friend Arrius, so liberal am I in my concessions that he corrupted a slave. Read the evidence that is before you : C. Cascinius of Interamna, surnamed Scola, an intimate friend and companion of P. Clodius, who swore on a former occasion that Clodius was at Interamna and at Rome at the same hour, tells you that P. Clodius Intended to have spent that day at his seat near Alba ; but that hearing very unexpect- edly of the death of Cyrus the architect, he determined imedi- ately to return to Rome. The same evidence is given in by (X Clodius, another companion of P. Clodius. Sect. XYIU. Observe, my lords, how much this evidence makes for us. In the first place, it plainly appears, that Milo did not undertake his journey with a design to way-lay Clodius, as he could not have the least prospect of meeting him. In the next place, (for I see no reason why I should not likewise speak for myself,) you know, my lords, there were persons who, in their zeal for carrying on this prosecution, did not scruple to say, that though the murder was committed by the hand of Milo, the plot was laid by a more eminent person. In a word, those worthless and abandoned wretches represented me as a robber and an assassin. But this calumny is confuted by their own witnesses, who deny that Clodius would have rer turned to Rome that day, if he had not heard of the death of Cyrus, Thus I recover my spirits ; I am acquitted, and am under no apprehensions, lest I should seem to have contrived what I could not s~> much as have suspected. Proceed I now to their other objections ; Clodius, say they, had not the least thought of way-laying Milo, because he was to have remained at Albanum, and would never have gone from his country-seat to commit a murder. But I plainly perceive that the person who is pretended to have informed him of Cyrus's death, only informed him of Milo's approach. For why inform him of the death of Cyrus, whom Clodius, when he went to Rome, left expiring ? I was with him, and sealed up his will along with Clodius ; for he had publicly made his will, and appointed Clodius and me his heirs. Was a messenger sent him then by four o'clock the next day, to acquaint him with the death of a person whom, but the day before, about nine in the morning, he had left breathing his last ? 470 M. T. CICERONIS QRATIONES, XIX. Age, sit ita factum : quse causa, cur Romam propera* ret? cur in noctem se conjiceret? quid afferebzft festinatio ? quud hseres erat ? primum erat nihil, cur properato opus esset • deinde, si quid esset, quid tandem erat, quod ea nocte consequi posset ; amitteret autem, si postridie mane Romam venisset ? Atque ut illi nocturnus ad urhem adventus vitandus potius, quam expetendus fuit : sic Miloni, cum insidiator esset, si ilium ad urbem noctu accessurum sciebat, subsistendum atque expectan- dum fuit. Noctu, invidioso et pleno latronum in loco occi- disset ; nemo ei neganti non credidisset, quern esse omnes sal- vum, etiam confitentem, volunt. Sustinuisset hoc crimen prir mum (4s) ipse ille latronum occultator, et receptator locus, dum neque muta solitudo indicasset, neque cseca nox ostendisset Milonem : deinde ibi multi ab illo violati, spoliati, bonis expulsi, multi etiam hsec timentes i,n suspicionem caderent ; tota denique rea citaretur Etruria.' Atque die illo certe Aricia rediens de- vertit Clodius ad Albanum ; quod ut sciret ilium Milo Aricise fuisse, suspicari tamen debuit, eum, etiam si Romam Hlo die reverti veilet, ad villam suam, quae viam tangeret, deversurum ; cur neque ante occurrit, ne in villa resideret ; nee eo in loco subsedit, quo ille noctu venturus esset ? Yideo adhuc constare omnia, judices : Miloni etiam utile fuisse Clodium vivere ; illi, ad ea quae concupierat, optatissimum interitum Milonis fuisse : odium fuisse illius in hunc acerbissimum, in ilium hujus nullum : consuetudinem illius perpetuam in vi inferenda; hujus tantum in repellenda ; mortem ab illo denuntiatam Miloni, et prsedica- tam palam ; nihil unquam auditum ex Milone : profectionis hujus diem illi notum : reditum illius huic ignotum fuisse : hujus iter necessarium ; illius etiam potius alienum ; hunc prse se tulisse se illo die Roma exiturum ; ilium eo die sc dissimu- lasse rediturum : hunc nullius rei mutasse consilium ; ilium causam mutandi consilii linxisse : huic, si insidiaretur, noctem prope urbem exspectandam ; illi, etiam si hunc non timeret, tamen accessum ad urbem nocturnam fuisse metuendum. f-iSj fy se M e latronum occultator, et receptator locus.] In the Appian way flood the tomb of one Bafiliue ; a place which had become famous for the many murders cora* {pitted at it. cicero's orations. 417 Sect. XIX. Allowing it, however, to be so, what reason was there for hurrying back to Rome : for what did he travel in the night time . ? what occasioned all this dispatch ? Was it because he was the heir ? In the first place, this required no hurry ; and K in the next, if it had, what could he have got that night, which he must have lost, had he come to Rome only next morning ? And as a journey to town in the night was rather to be avoided than desired by Clodius, so if Milo had formed any plot against his eneniy> and had known that he was to return to town that evening, he would have stopped and waited for him. He might have killed him by night in a suspicious place, infested with robbers. ~No body could have disbelieved him if he had denied the fact, since even after he has confessed it, every one is con- cerned for his safety. First of all, the place itself would have been charged with it, being a haunt and retreat for robbers, while the silent solitude and shadse of night must have concealed Miio ,* and then, as such numbers had been assaulted and plun- dered by Clodius, and so many others were apprehensive of the like treatment, the suspicion must naturally have fallen upon them ; and, in short, all Etruria might have been prosecuted. But it is certain that Clodius, in his return that day from Aricia, called at Aibanum. Now, though Milo had known that Clodius had left Aricia, yet he had reason to suspect that he would call at his seat, which lies upon the road, even though he was that day to return to Rome. Why then did he not either meet him sooner and prevent his reaching it, or post himself where he was sure Clodius was to pass in the . nightrtime ? Thus far, ray lords, every circumstance concurs to prove that it was for Milo's interest Clodius should live ; that, on the contrary, Milo's death w r as a most desirable event for answering the purposes of Clo- dius ; that on the one side, there was a most implacable hatred, on the other, not the least ; that the one had been continually employing himself in acts of violence, the other only in op- posing them ; that the life of Milo was threatened, and his death publicly foretold by Clodius, whereas nothing of that kind was ever heard from Milo; that the day fixed for Milo's journey was well known to his adversary, while Milo knew nothing when Clodius was to return ; that Milo's journey was necessary, but that of Clodius rather the contrary, that the one openly de- clared his intention of leaving Rome that day, while the other concealed his intention of returning ; that Milo made no alter- ation in his measures, but that Clodius feigned an excuse for altering his ; that if Milo had designed to way-lay Clodius, he would have waited for him near the city till it was dark, but that Clodius, even if he had been under no apprehensions from Milo, ought to have been aL aid of coming to town so late at night. 473 M. T. CICERONIS ORATIONES. XX. Videamus nunc id, quod caput est : locus ad insidias ille ipse, ubi congressi sunt, utri tandem fuerit aptior ? Id vero, ju- dices, etiam dubitandum, et diutius cogitandum est ? ante fun- dum Clodii : quo in fundo propter insanas illas substructiones facile mille hominum versabatur valentium ? edito atque excelso loco superiorem se fore putabat Milo, et ob earn rem eum locum ad pugnam potissimum delegerat ? an in eo loco est potius ex- spectatus ab eo, qui ipsius loci spe facere impetum cogitarat ? Res loquitur, judices, ipsa : quae semper valet plurimum ; si hsec non gesta audiretis, sed picta videretis : tamen appareret, uter esset insidiator, uter nihil cogitaret mali ; cum alter veheretur in rheda penulatus, una sederet uxor ; quid horum non impe- ditissimum ? vestitus, an vehiculum, an comes ? quid minus promptum ad pugnam ? cum penula irretitus, rheda impeditus, uxore pene constrictus esset. Videte nunc ilium, primum egre- dientem e villa subito ; t cur vesperi ? quid necesse est tarde ? qui convenit, prsesertim id temporis ? Devertit in villam Pom- peii. Pompeium ut videret ? sciebat in Alsiensi esse ; villam ut perspiceret ? millies in ea fuerat : quid ergo erat mora? et tergiversationis ? dum hie veniret, locum relinquere noluit. XXI. Age nunc iter expediti latronis cum Milonis impedi- mentis comparate. Semper ille antea cum uxore ; turn sine ea : nunquam non in rheda ; turn in equo : comites Grseculi, quocunque ibat, ( 6) etiam cum in castra Etrusca properabat ; turn nugarum in comitatu nihil. Milo, qui nunquam, turn casu pueros symphoniacos uxoris ducebat et ancillarum gre- ges ; ille qui semper secum scorta, semper exoletos, semper lupas duceret ; turn neminem, nisi ut virum a viro lectum esse diceres. Cur igitur victus est ? quia non semper viator a latrone, nonnunquam etiam latro a viatore occiditur : quia, quanquam paratus in imparatos Clodius, tamen mulier incide- rat in viros ; nee vero sic erat unquam non paratus Milo contra ilium, ut non satis fere esset paratus ; semper ille, et quan- . turn interesset P. Clodii se perire, et quanto illi odio esset, et (46) Etiam cum in caflra Etrufca properabat."] Cicero frequently charges Clodius with having had a fhare in Cataline's confpiracy ; and this is what he refers to here. For Clodius, as we are told by Afconius, left Rome in order to join the camp of Catiline, when it lay at Fefulx in Tufcany ; but after he had fet out, he repented, and return- ed to the city. cicero's orations. 473 Sect. XX. Let us now consider the principal point, whether the place where they encountered was most favourable to Milo, or to Clodius. But can there, my lords, be any room for doubt, or for any farther deliberation upon that ? It was near the estate of Clodius, where at least a thousand able-bodied men were em- ployed in his mad schemes of building. Did Milo think he should have an advantage by attacking him from an eminence, and did he for this reason pitch upon that spot for the engage- ment ? or was he not rather expected in that place by his adver- sary, who hoped the situation would favour his assault ? The thing, my lords, speaks for itself, which must be allowed to be of the greatest importance in determining a question. Were the affair to be represented only by painting, instead of being ex- pressed by words, it would even then clearly appear which was the traitor, and which was free from all mischievous designs ; when the one was sitting in his chariot muffled up in his cloak, and his wife along with him. Which of these circumstances was not a very great incumbrance ? the dress, the chariot, or the companion ? How could he be worse equipped for an en- gagement, when he was wrapt up in a cloak, embarrassed with a chariot, and almost fettered by his wife ? Observe the other now, in the first place, sallying out on a sudden from his seat ; for what reason ? in the evening ; what urged him ? late ; to what purpose, especially at that season ? He calls at Pompey's seat ; with what view ? To see Pompey ? he knew he was at Al- sium. To see his house ? he had been in it a thousand times. What then could be the reason of this loitering and shifting about ? he wanted to be upon the spot when Milo came up. Sect. XXI. Now please to compare the travelling equipage of a determined robber, with that of Milo. — Clodius, before that day, always travelled with his wife ; he was then without ther 1 he never used to travel but in his chariot ; he was then on horse- back : he was attended with Greeks wherever he went, even when he was hurrying to the Tuscan camp ; at that time he had nothing insignificant in his retinue. Milo, contrary to his usual manner, happened then to take with him his wife's singers, and and a whole train of her women : Clodius, who never failed to carry his whores, his Catamites, and his bawds along with him, was then attended by none but those who seemed to be picked out by one another. How came he then to be overcome ? because the traveller is not always killed by the robber, but sometimes the robber by the traveller ; because though Clodius was pre- pared, and fell upon those who were unprepared, yet Clodius was but a woman, and they were men. Nor indeed was Milo ever so little unprepared, as not to be a match for him almost at any time. He was always sensible how much it was Clclius's interest to get rid of him, what an inveterate hatred he bore to 474 M. T. CICERONIS ORATIONfid. turn ille auderet, cogitabat ; quamobrem vitam suam quam maxi- mis prsemiis propbsitam et pene addictam sciebat, nunquam in periculum sine prjesidio et sine custodiaprojiciebat. Adde casus, adde incertos exitus pugnarum, Martemque communem ; qui ssepe spoliantem jam et exsultaritem evertit et perculit ab abjecto ; adde iriscitiam pfansi* poti, oscitantis ducis ; qui cum a tergo hostem interc j.isum feliquisset^ nihil de ejus extremis comitibus cogitavit ; in quos incensos ira vitamque domini des- perantes cum incidisset, hsesit in iis poenis, quas ab eo servi fi deles pro domini vita expetiverunt* (47) Cur igitur eos mssiu- misit ? metuebat scilicet ne indicairent : ne dolorem perferre. non possent : ne tormentis cogerentur, becisum esse a servis Milonis in Appia via P. Clodium confiteri. Quid opus est tor- tore ? quid quseris ? occideritne ? occidit ; jure$ an injuria, nihil adtortorem ; facti enim in equuleo qusestio est, juris, in judicio* XXII. Quod igitur in causa quser'endum est, id agamus hie : quod tormentis invenire vis, id fatemuf « Manu vero cur mise- rit, si id poti us quseris, quam cur parum amplis effecerit prse- miis; nescis inimici factum reprehendere ; dixit enim hie idem* (48) qui omnia semper constanter et fortiter, M. Cato : dixitque in turbulenta concione, quse tamen ejus auctoritate placata est, non iibertate solum, sed etiam omnibus prfemiis dig- nissimos fuisse 5 qui domini caput defendissent. Quod enim premium satis magnum est tarn benevolis, tarn bonis, tarn fidelibus servis, propter quos vivit ? etsi id quidem non tanti est, quam quod propter eosdem non sanguine et vulneribus (47,/ Cur igitur eos manumifit."] The ceremony of manumiflion was thus performed : The flave was brought before the praetor, by his mafter, who, laying his hand upon his fervant's head, faid to the praetor, Hunc hominem liberum eJJ'e vo'lo : and with that let him go out of his hand, which they termed e mann emittere. Then the prsetor, laying a rod upon his head, called vindicta, faid, Dico liberum eJJ'e more Quiritum. Hence Perfius, Vindicta pofiquam meus a pr tutor e recejfi. After this, the lienor, taking therod out of the praetor's hand, ftrucfe the fervant feve* ral blows on the head, face, and back ; and nothing now remained but pileo donari y to receive a cap in token of liberty, and to have his name entered in the common roil of freemen, with the reafon of his obtaining that favour. (48) Gjhti omniafemper conjlanter et fortiter , M. Cato.] The character here given "by our orator, of this illuftrious Roman, is not drawn beyond the life, but copied from na- ture, and founded upon truth and juftice. It will be extremely difficult, if not absolute- ly impoffible, to find, in the whole annals of profane hiftory, a character more eminent- ly diftinguifhed for lleadinefs and confiltency of conduct than that of Cato, who palled the whole of his life in the nobleft occupation of which human nature is capable. All the parts of this great man's condti&, to ufe the words of the ingenious Mr. Melmoth, accord with each other, and are the regular refultof one fteady and invariable princi- ple: ' P atria — impendere vitam ; Necjtbiyfedtetigenitumfe credere mundo. This was the glorious object of his ambition, from his firft appearance in the World, to the lafl moment of his file ; and he undauntedly purfued it through all the various ia- CICEROS 5 ORATIONS; 47$ him, and what audacious attempts he was capable of; and there- fore as he knew that a price was set updn his life, and that it was in a manner devoted to destruction, he never exposed it to any danger without a guard. Add to this the effect of accidents, the uncertain issue of all combats, and the common chance of war, which often turns against the victor, even when ready to plunder and triumph over the vanquished. Add the unskilfulness of a gluttonous, drunken, stupid leader, who, when he had surroun- ded his adversary, never thought of his attendants that were be- hind ; from whom, fired with rage, and despairing of their mas- ters life, he suffered the punishment which those faithful slaves inflicted in revenge for their master's death. Why then did he give them their freedom ? He was afraid* I suppose, lest they should betray him, lest they should not be able to endure pain ^ lest the torture should oblige them to confess that P» Clodius was killed by Milo's servants on the Appian way. But what oc- casion for torture ? what was you to extort ? If Clodius was killed? he was : but whether lawfully or unlawfully, can never be determined by torture. When the question relates to the matter of fact, we may have recourse to the executioner; but when to a point of equity the judge must decide. Sect. XXII. Let us then here examine into what is to be the subject of inquiry in the present case ; for as to what you would extort by torture, we confess it all. But if you ask why he gave them their freedom, rather than why he bestowed so small a reward upon them, it shows that you do not even know how to find fault with this action of vour adversary. For Mv Cato, who sits on this bench, and who always speaks with the utmost resolution and steadiness, said, and said it in a tumultu- ous assembly, which however was quelled by his authority, that those who had defended their master's life, . well deserved not only their liberty, but the highest rewards. For what reward Can be great enough for such affectionate, such worthy and faithful servants, to whom their master is indebted for his life ? and, which is yet a higher obligation, to whom he owes it, that his most inveterate enemy has not feasted his eyes^ and satiated fults and oppofitioti that Csefar, Craflus, and Pdmpey, could contrive to traverfc and perplex his way, ithas been often faid, indeed, that he did not difcover great abilities in the general tenour of his public conduct ; that he did not make fufficieht allowan- ces for the temper of the Romans, among whom luxury had long prevailed, and cor- ruption Was openly practifed ; that he was incapable of employing thofe feeming com- pliances that are reconcileable to the greateft fteadinefs ; and that he treated a crazy conftitutionunlkilfully. How much truth there is in all this, we mail not take upon hs to determine : thus much, however, is unqueftionable, that if hi3 head was not one of the befUhis heart certainly was; that hepoffeffed the potriot virtues in their higheft perfection: and that as Lord Bolingbroke juftly obferve*, if he tonld not favt^ t>* prolonged th- life oflibsrty. 476 M. T. CICERONES ORATIONES. suis crudclissimi inirrici mentem oculosque satlavit ; quos nisi manumisisset, tormentis etiam dedendi fuisseut, conservatoires domini, ultores sceleris, defensores recis. Hie vero nihil habet in his malis, quod minus moleste ferat, quam, etiam si quid ipsi accidat, esse tamen illis meritum prsemium persolutum. Sed qusestiones urgent Milonem, (^ 9 ) qilje sunt habitse nunc in atrio Libertatis ; quibusnam de servis ? rogas ? de P. Clodii ; quis cgs postulavit ? Appius ; quis produxit ? Appius ; unde ? ab Appio. Dii boni ! quid potest agi severius ? de servis nulla qu^estio est in dominum, nisi de incestu, ut fuit in Clodium ; proxime decs accessit Clodius, (5°) propius quam turn, cum ad ipsos penetrarat : cujus de morte, tan quam de cseremoniis vio- latis quseritur. Sed tamen majores nostri in dominum de servo qu?eri noluerunt, non quia non posset verum inveniri, sed quia videbatur indignum esse, et dominis morte ipsa tristius ; inreum de servis accusatoris cum quseritur, verum inveniri potest ? Age vero, qufi> erat, aut qualis qmestio ? heus ubi Ruscio, ubi Casca ? Clodius insidias fecit Miloni i fecit ; certa crux : nullas fecit ; sperata libertas. Quid hac qusestione certius ? subito arrepti in qusestionem, tamen separantur a cseteris, et in areas conjiciun- tur ; ne quis cum iis colloqui possit ; hi centum dies penes accu- satorem cum fuissent, ab eo ipso accusatore producti sunt : quid hac quaestione dici potest integrals r quid incorruptius ? XXIII. Quod si nond urn satis cernitis, cum res ipsa tot tarn claris argumentis signisqueluceat, pura mente atque Integra Milonem, (49 ) ^l fa /unl habitcs nunc in Atrio libertatis .] Cicero, in his fecond book, De natura Deorum, informs us, that the ancient Romans worshipped Liberty as a goddefs, Sem- pronius Gracchus caufed a temple to be erected to her on the Aventine hill, out of the money raifed by fines, as we are told by Livy, /. 24. (50) Propius quam turn, cum ad ipfos penetrarat.] The orator refers here to what he mentions in a variety of places, Clodius's polluting the myfteries of the Bona Dea. Of this goddefs, and the facrifkes offered to her, Cicero fpeaks thus in his oration con- cerning the anfioers of the Arufphes : ' What facrifice is there fo ancient as that which * has been handed down to iis from our firft kings, and is coeval with Rome herfelf ? * what facrifice is there fo private and fecret as that which is concealed, not only from * the eyes of the curious and inquifitive, but from the fight of all men, and whether * neither the moft .profligate wickednefs nor impudence ever yet prefumed to enter ? * This facrifice no man, except Clodius, was ever fo impious as to violate, no man but 4 Clodius ever thought, without the utmoft horror, of affifting at it. This facrifice, * which is performed by the veflal virgins, which is performed for the profperity of * the Roman people, which is performed in the houfe of the chief magiftrate, celebra- * ted with unknown ceremonies, and in honour of a goddefs, whofe very name to * know h facrilege ; this facrifice Clodius profaned,' &c. Plutarch takes the good god- defs to be the fame with the Gyuaeca of the Greeks, that is, with the goddefs of the wo- men ; and adds, that the Phrygians, who claimed a particular title to her, faid fhe was mother to Midas; that the Romans pretended fhe was one of the Dryads and married to Faunus; and that the Greeks affirmed fhe was mother to Bacchus, 1 1 is faid that Cstfar's wife, Pon.pcia, entertained a ftrong inclination for Clodius; and that, beinjj cicero's orations. 477 his wishes with the sight of his mangled bloody corpse ; who if they had not been made free, these deliverers of their master, these avengers of guilt, these defenders of innocent blood, must have been put to the torture. It is matter, however, of no small satisfaction to him under his present misfortunes, to reflect, th t v hatever becomes of himself, he has had it in his power to re- ward them as they deserved. But the torture that is now inflic- ting in the porch of the temple of -Liberty, bears hard upon Mi- io. Upon "whose slaves is it inflicted ? do you ask ? on those oi P. Clodius. Who demanded them ? Appius. Who produced them? Appius. From whence came they ? from Appius. Good gods ! can any thing be more severe ? Servants are never exam- ined against their masters, but in cases of incest, as in the in- stance of Clodius, who now approaches nearer the gods, than when he made his way into their very presence ; for the same inquiry is made into his death, as if their sacred mysteries had been violated. But our ancestors would not allow a slave to be put to the torture for what affected his master, not because the truth could not be thus discovered, but because their masters thought it dishonourable and worse than death itself. Can the truth be discovered when the slaves of the prosecutor are brought 'as witnesses against the person accused ? -Let us hear now what kind of an examination this was. Call in Ruscio, call in Casca. Did Clodius way-lay Milo ? He did : drag them instantly to execution. He did not : let them have their liber* tv. What can be more satisfactory than this method of examin- ation ? They are hurried away on a sudden to the rack ; but are confined separately, and thrown into dungeons, that no person may have an opportunity of speaking to them : at last, after ha- ving been, for an hundred days, in the hands of the prosecutor, he himself produces them... What can be more fair and impar- tial than such an examination ? Sect. XXIII. But if, my lords, you are not yet convinced, though the thing shines out with such strong and full evidence, that Milo returned to Home with an innocent mind, unstained narrowly watched at home by the virtuous Aurelia, Cxfar's mother, and by his lifter Julia, who entertained fome fufpicion of her, fhe could find no other opportunity of meeting him, but at a folemn feaft, which wa3 to be celebrated in her hufband'shoufe, in honour of the Bona Dsa. In order to gain accefs to his miflrefs, Clodius drefsed himfelf in a woman's habit, and, by the benefit of his fmooth face, and the introduction of one of the maids, who was in the fecret., hoped to pass without difcovery : but by fome mi Hake between him and his guide, he loft his way when he came within the houfe, and fell in unluckily among the other female fervants; who detecting him by his voice, alarmed the whole company by their fhrieks, to the great amazement of the matrons; v;ho prefently threw a veil over the facred myfteries, while Clodius found racans to cfcape by the favour of fomt of the damfels. 478 M. T. CICERONIS ORATIONES. nullo scelerc imbutum, nullo metu perterritum, nulla conscien- tin exanimatum Romam revertisse ; rccordamini, per deos im- mortales, quae fuerit celeritas reditus ejus : qui ingressus in forum, ardente curia : quae magnitude* animi : qui vultus : quae pratio. Neque vero se populo solum, sed etiam senatui com- misit : neque senatui modo, sed etiam publicis prsesidiis et ar- mis : neque his tantum, (5»)verum etiam ejus potestati, cui se- natus totam rempublicam, omnem Italise pubem, cuncta populi Rom. arma commiserat ; cu j se nunq uam hie profecto tradidisset, nisi causae suae confideret ; praesertim omnia avidienti, magna metuenti, multa suspicanti, nonnulla credenti. Magna vis est, conscientiae, judices, et magna in utramque partem : ut neque timeant, qui nihil commiserint, et poenam semper ante occulos versari putent, qui peccarint. Neque vero sine rations certa causa Milonis semper a senatu probata est ; videbant enim sa- pientissimi homines facti rationem, praesentiam animi, defensio- nis constantiam. An vero obliti estis judices, recenti illo nun- cio necis Clodianae, non modo inimicorum Milonis sermones et opiniones, sed nonnullorum etiam imperitorum, qui negabant eum Romam esse rediturum ? Sive enim illud animo irato ac percito fecisset, ut incensus odio trucidaret inimicum, arbitra- bantur eum tanti mortem P. Clodii putasse, ut aequo animo pa- tria careret, cum sanguine inimici explesset odium suum : sive etiam illius morte patriam liberare voluisset, non dubitaturum fortem virum, quin, cum suo periculo salutem reipublicae attu- lisset, cederet aequo animo legibus, secum auferret gloriam sem- piternam, nobis haec fruenda relinqueret, quae ipse servasset, Multi etiam Catilinam, atque ilia portenta loquebantur : ERUM- PET, occupabit aliquem locum, bellum patriae faciet ; miseros interdum cives optime de republica meritos, in quibus homines non modo res praeclarissimas obliviscuntur, sed etiam nefarias, suspicantur ! Ergo ilia falsa fuerunt : quae certe vera exstitissent, si Milo admisisset aliquid, quod non posset honeste vereque de- fendere. XXIV. Quid, quae postea sunt in eum congesta ? quae quem- vis etiam mediocdum delictorum conscienti'iperculissent, ut sus- (51) Verum etiam ejus potestati.'] Pompey is here meant, to whom the fenate gave »n unlimited commiffion to fee that the republic fhould received no detriment, either torn Milo, or the Clodian faction. eiCERo's ORATIONS. 47$ with guilt, undisturbed by fear, and free from the accusations of conscience; call to mind, I beseech you by the immortal gods, the expedition with which he came back, his entrance into the forum w T hile the senate-house was in flames, the greatness o«f soul he discovered, the look he assumed, the speech he made on the occasion. He delivered himself up, not only to the people, but even to the senate ; nor to the senate alone, but even to the; guards appointed for the public security ; nor merely to them, but even to the authority of him whom the senate had intrusted with the care of the whole republic, the youth of Italy, and all the ' military force of Rome : to whom he never would have deli- vered himself, if he had not been confident of the goodness of his -cause ; especially as that person heard every report, was apprehensive of very great danger, had many suspicions, and gave credit to some stories. Great, my lords, is the force of conscience ; great both in the innocent and the guilty : the first have no fears, while the other imagine their punishment is con- tinually before their eyes. Nor indeed is it without good rea- son that Milo's cause has ever been approved by the senate ; for those wise men perceived the justice of his cause, his presence of mind, and the resolution with which he made his defence. Have you forgot, my lords, when the new r s of Clodius's death had reached us, what were the reports and opinions that prevail- ed, not only amongst the enemies of Milo, but even amongst some other weak persons, who affirmed that Milo would not re- turn to Rome ? For if he committed the fact in the heat of pas- sion, from a principle of resentment, they imagined he would look upon the death of P. Clodius as of such consequence, that he could be content to go into banishment, after having satiated Jiis revenge with the blood of his enemy \ or if he put him to death with a view to the safety of his country, they were of opin^ ion that the same brave man, after he had saved the state, by ex- posing his own life to danger, would cheerfully submit to the laws, and, leaving us to enjoy the blessings he had preserved, be satisfied himself with immortal glory. Others talked in a more frightful manner, and called him a Catiline : he will break out, said they ; he will seize some strong place ; he w ill make war upon his country. How wretched is often the fate of those citizens who have done the most important services to their country ! their noblest actions are not only forgot, but they are even suspected of the most impious. These suggestions therefore were ground- less : yet they must have proved too well founded, had Milo done anything that could not be defended with truth and justice. Sect. XXIY. Why should I mention the calumnies that were afterwards heaped upon him ? and tho' they were such as 48© M. T. CICERONIS ORATIONES. tinuit ? dii immortales ! sustinuit ? immo vero ut ccmtempsit, ae pro nihilo putavit ? quse neque maximo animo nocens, neque innocens, nisi fortissimus vir, negjigere potuisset ; scutamil*, gladiorum, frenorum, sparorum, pilorumque etiam multitude deprehendi posse judicabatur : nullum in urbe vicum, nullum angiportum esse dicebant, in quo Miloni non esset conducta do- mus : arma in villam Ocriculanam dev r ecta Tiberi : domus in clivo capitolino scutis referta ; (5*) plena omnia malleolor um ad urbis incendia comparatorum. Haec non delata solum, sed pene credita : nee ante repudiata sunt, quam qusesita. (53) Laudabam equidem incredibilem diligentiam Cn. Pompeii : sed dicam, ut sentio, judices ; nimis multa audire coguntur, neque aliter fa- cere possunt ii, quibus tota commissa est respublica ; quin etfcim audiendus sit (54) popa Licinius nescio quis de circo maximo, servos Milonis apud se ebrios iactos, sibi confessos esse, de inter- ficiendo Cn. Pompeio conjurasse : deinde postea se gladio per- cussum esse ab uno de illis, ne indicaret. Pompeio in hortos nuntiavit ; arcessor in primis ; de amicorum sententia rem de- fert ad senatum ; non poteram in illius mei patrifeque custodis tanta suspicione non metu exanimari ; sed mirabar tamen credi popse ; [ebriosorum] confessionem servorum audiri ; vulnus in latere, quod acu punctum videretur, pro ictu gladiatoris probari. Verum tamen, ut intelligo, cavebat magis Pompeius, quam timebat, non ea solum quse timenda erant, sed omnino omnii), ne aliquid vos timeretis. Oppugnata domus C. Csesaris, claris- simi et fortissimi viri, per multas noctis horas nuntiabatur ; (55) nemo audierat tarn celebri loco, nemo senserat : tamea. audie- batur ; non poteram Cn. Pompeium, prsestantissima virtute ci- vem, timidum suspicari : diligentiam, tota republics suscepta, nimiam nullam puiabam. Frequentissimo senatu nuper in ca- pitolio senator inventus est, qui Milonem cum telo esse diceret ; nudavit se in sanctissimo templo, quoniam vita talis et civis et viri iidem non faciebat, ut, eo tacente, res ipsa loqueretur. (5%) Plena omnia mallelorum.'} Malleoli, according to Nonius, were fmall bundles of broom, covered over with pitch ; which being kindled, were thrown on walls, or the roofs of houfes. The word is fometimes ufed in a general fenfe, to fignify any thing combuftible. (5$) Laudabam equidem incredibilem diligentiam Cn. Pompeii.] The beautiful manner in which our orator here fpeaks of the conduct and pretended fears of Pompey, is a clear proof of his talent for fine and mafterly raillery. ( Si,) Popa Licinius nffcio quis de circo maximo.] De circo maximo, id eft, deplebe sacrijl- cirum ;ftc cnimfolebant devilioribus bominibus Icqui : fays the Dauphin annotator. And indeed Suetonius informs us, that there was a fet of abandoned wretches who lived rear the circus maximus, of whom probably this Licinius was one. Popa was a pried, or butcher, who flew the lacrifices, and offered them up wl en flain. (55) Nemo audierat tarn celebri loco.] Csefar, from the time he was made poviifx ttaximus, lived in a large houfe in the viafacra, which was not far from the forum. cicero's orations. 481 Trould have filled any brea^ with terror that had the least con- sciousness of guilt, yet how he bore them ! Immortal gods ! bore them, did I say ? nav, how he despised and set them at nought ! though a guilty person even of the greatest courage, nor an in- nocent person, unless endued with the greatest fortitude, could never have neglected them. It was whispered about, that a vast number of shields, swords, bridles, darts, and javelins might be found ; that there was not a street nor lane in the city, where Milo had not hired a house ; that arms were conveyed down the Tiber to his seat at Ocriculum ? that his house on the capitoline hill was filled with shields ; and that every other place was full of hand-granades for firing the city. These stories were not only reported, but almost believed ; nor were they looked upon as groundless till after a search was made. I could not indeed but applaud the wonderful diligence of Pompey upon the occasion : but, to tell you freely, my lords, what I think ; those who are charged with the eare of the whole republic, are obliged to hear too many stories ; nor indeed is it in .their power to avoid it. He could not refuse an audience to a paltry fellow of a priest, Licinius I think he is called, who gave information that Milo's slaves, having got drunk at his house confessed to him a plot they had formed to murder Pompey ; and that afterwards one of them had stabbed him, to prevent his discovering it. Pompey received this intelligence at his gardens. I was sent for imme- diately, and by the advice of his friends the affair was laid before the senate. I could not help being in the greatest consternation, to see the guardian both of me and my country under so great an apprehension ; yet I could not help wondering that such credit was given to a butcher, that the confessions of a parcel of drunken slaves should be read ; and that a wound in the side, which seemed to be the prick only of a needle, should be taken for the thrust of a gladiator. But, as I understand, Pompey was showing his caution, rather than his fear ; and was dispo- sed to be suspicious of everything, that vou "might have reason to fear nothing. There was a rumour also, that the house of C» Caesar, so eminent for his rank and courage, was attacked for several hours in the night. Nobody heard, nobody perceived any thing of it, though the place was so public ; yet the affair was thought fit to be inquired into. I could never suspect a man of Pompey's distinguished valour, of being timorous ; nor yet think any caution too great in one who has taken upon him- self the defence of the whole republic. A senator too, in a full house, affirmed lately in the capitol, that Milo had a dagger un- der his gown at that very time : upon which he stript himself in that most sacred temple, that, since his life and manners could tot gain him credit, the thing itself might speak for him. 482 H. T. CICERONIS ORATlONfcS. XXV. Omnia falsa atque insidio|e ficta comperta sunt. .Quod si tamen metuitur etiam nunc Milo, non hoc jam Clodianum cri- men timemus, sed tuas, Cn. Pompei, (te enim jam appello ea voce, ut me audire possis), (\$ 6 ) tuas, tuas, inquani, suspiciones perhorrescimus. Si Milonem times, si hunc de tua vita nefarie aut nunc cogitare, aut molitum aliquando aliquid putas ; si Italiae delectus, ut nonnulli conquisitores tui dictitant, si hsec arma, si Capitolinse cohortes, si excubise, si vigilise, si delecta juventus, quae tuum corpus domumque custodit, contra Milonis impetum armata est, atque ilia omnia in hunc unum instituta, parata, intent ta sunt : magna in hoc certe vis, et incredibilis animus, et non unius viri vires atque opes indicantur, siquidem in hunc unum et prsestantissimus dux electus, ettota respublica armata est. Sed quis non intelligit, omnes tibi reipublicse partes, aegras et laban- tes, ut eas his arrnis sanares et confirmares, esse commissas ? Quod si Miloni locus datus esset, probasset profecto tibi ipsiy neminem unquam hominem homini cariorem fuissey quam te sibi : nullum se unquam periculum, pro tua dignitate, fugisse : cum ilia ipsa teterrima peste ssepissime pro tua gloria Contendis- se : tribunatum suum ad salutem meam, quse tibi carissima fuis- set, consiliis tuis gubernatum : se a te postea defensum in pe- riculo capitis, adjutum in petitione prseturse : duos se habere semper amicissimos sperasse, te tuo beneficio, me suo ; quse si non probaret ; si tibi ita penitus insedisset ista suspicio, nullo ut evelli modo posset ; si denique Italia a delectu, urbs ab armis. sine Milonis cladc, n unquam esset conquietura ; use iste hand du- bitans cessisset patria, is, qui itanatus est, et ita consuevit ; te, Magne, tamen an testaretur : quod nunc etiam fack.- (56) Tuas', tuas, inquam, fufpiciones perhorrescimus.'] For the illuftration of this paf-' fage we (hall tranferibe the note of Afconius, which is as follows : ' Diximus in argu- 1 mento orationis hujus, Cn. Pompeium iimulaire fe timere, feu plane timuhTe Milo- * nem, et ideo ne domi quidem lute, fed in hortis fuperioribus ante judicium manfisse, ' ita ut villam quoque prsefidio militum circumdaret. C^ Pompeius tribun us pleb. ' qua fuerat famiiiariflimus omnium P. Clodio, et fectam fuam fequi fe palam profite- c batur, dixeratin concione paucis poft. diebus, quam Clodius erat occifus : Milodedit^ ' quern in curia cremaretis : dabo, quern in capitolio fepeliatis. In eadem concione idem dii- * erat (habuit enim earn a. d. 8. kal. Febr. cum Milo pridie, id eft, 7. kal. Febr. ve- 'nire ad Pompeium in hortos ejus voluiflet) Pompeium ei per hominem propinquum ' miftsse, ne ad fe veniret. Prius etiam quam Pompeius tertium conful crearetur tres ' tribuni, Q^ Pompeius Rufus, C Saluflius Crifpus, T. Munacius Piancus, cum quo- * tidianis concionibus fuis magnam invidiam Miloni propter Clodium excitarent, pro-" * duxerant ad populum Cn. Pompeium, et ab eo qucefierant, num ad cum delatum effet , * illud quoque indicium, fuse vitse infidiari Milonem. Refponderat Pompeius, Licini- * um quendam de plebe, facrificulum, qui folitus effet familias purgare, ad fe detulifTe, ' fervos quofdam Milonis, itemque libertos comparatos effe ad csedem fuam ; nomina * quoque fervorum edidiffe : ad Milonem mifisse, ut eos in poteftate fua : haberet : a * Milone refponfum effe, ex iis fervis, quos nominaffet, partim neminem fe unquam * habuiffe, partim manumiftsse. Dein cum Licinium apud fe haberet, Lucium quen- * dam de plebe ad oorruaipendum judicem veniffe ; qua re cognita, in vincula eum Cicero's orations. 4B3l Sect. XXY. These stories were all discovered to be false, malicious forgeries : but if, after all, Milo must still be feared ; it is no longer the affair of Clodius, but your suspicions, Pom- pey, which we dread : your, your suspicions, I say, and speak it so that you may hear me. If you are afraid of Milo, if you imagine that he is either now forming, or has ever before contri- ved any wicked design against your life; if the forces of Italy, as some of your agents alledge, if this armed force, if the Cap- itoline troops, if these centuries and guards, if the chos,M band of young men that guard your person and your house, is armed against the assaults of Milo ; if all these precautions are ta- ken and pointed against him. great undoubtedly must be his strength, and incredible his valour, far surpassing the forces and p ower of a single man, since the most eminent of all our gene- rals is fixed upon, and the whole republic armed to resist him. But who does net know that all the infirm and feeble parts of the state are committed to your care, to be restored and strengthen- ed by this armed force ? Could Milo have found an opportuni- ty, he would immediately have convinced you that no man ever had a stronger affection for anoth er than he has for you ; that he never declined any danger where your dignity was concerned ; that, to raise your glory, he often encountered that monster Clo- dius ; that his tribunate w^as employed, under your direction, in securing my safety, which you had then so much at heart ; that you afterwards protected him when his life was in danger, and used your interest for him when he stood for the prsetorship ; that there were two persons w r hose warmest friendship he hoped he might always depend upon, yourself on account of the obli- ^ gations you laid him under, and me on account of the fa- vours I received from him. If he had failed in the proof of all this ; if your suspicions had been so deeply rooted as not to be removed; if Italy, in a word, must never have been free from new levies, nor the city from arms, without Milo's destruction, he? w^ould not have scrupled, such is his nature and his principles, to bid adieu to his country : but first he would have called upon, thee, O thou great one ! as he now does. ' pubiica a fe conjectum. Decreverat enim fenatus, ut cum interrege et tr. plebi* * Pompcius daret operam, ne quid res pubiica detriment: caperet. Ob has fufpicionis • Pompeius in fuperioribus hortis fe continuerat, dcinde ex S. C. dele&u per Itaiiant 4 habito cum redifTet, venientem ad se Milonem unum omnium non admiferat. Item, 4 cum fenatus in porticu Pompeii haberetur, ut Pompeius peffet interefle, unum turn ' excuti prius, quam in fenatum intraret, juflerat. Hee funt fufpicie«es, quas dicit fe ' Cicero per timesccre.* U 3 484 M. T. CICERONIS ORATIONES. XXVI. Vide quam sit varia vitre commutabilisquc ratio, quam vaga volubilisque fortuna, quanta? infidelitates in amicis, quam ad tempus aptse simulationes, quantje in periculis fugse proximorum, quanta? timiditates ! e'rit, erit illud profecto tem- pus, et illucescet aliquando ille dies, cum tu salutaribus, ut spero, rebus tuis, sed fortasse motu aliquo communium temporum im- mutatis (qui quam crebro accidat, experti debfcmus scire) et anicissimi benevolentiam, et gravissimi hominis fidem,etunius post he* lines natos fortissimi viri rnagnitudinem animi desi- deres. Quanquam quis hoc credat, Cn. Pompeium, juris pub- lici, moris majorum, rei denique publicac peritissimum, cum se- natus ei commiserit, ut videret, NE QUID RESPUBLICA DETRIMENT! CAPERET (quo uno versiculo satis armati semper consules fuerunt, etiam nullis armis datis) hunc exercitu, hunc delectu data, judicium exspectaturum fuisse in ejus con- siliis vindicandis, qui vel judicia ipsa tolleret ? Satis judicatum est a Pompeio, falso ista conferri in Milonem, qui legem tulit, qua, ut ego sentio, Milonem absolvi a vobis oporteret ; ut omnes confitentur, liceret. Quod vero in illo loco, atque illis publico- rum prajsidiorum copiis circumfusus sedet ,* satis declarat, se non terrorem inferre vobis (quid enim illo minus dignura, quam cogere ut vos eum condemnetis, in quern animadvertere ipse, et more majorum, et suo jure posset ?) sed prsesidio esse : ut intelligatis, contra hesternam concionem illam licere vobis, quod sentiatis, libere judicare. XXVII. Nee vero me, judices, Clodianum crimen movct : nee tarn sum demens, tamque vestri sensus ignarus atque ex- pers, ut nesciam quid de morte Clodii sentiatis ; de qua si jam nollem ita diluere crimen, ut dilui, tamen impune Miloni palam clamare, atque mentiri gloriose liceret : Occidi, occidi non Sp. Mselium qui annonalevanda, jacturisque rei familiaris; quia nimis amplecti plebem putabatur, in suspicionem incidit regni appetendi ; non Tiberium Gracchum, qui collega; magis- tratum per seditionem abrogavit ; quorum interfectores imple- runt orbem terrarum nominis sui gloria : sed eum (auderet enim dicere, cum patriam periculo suo liberasset) cujus ne- fandum adulterium in pulvinaribus sanctissimis nobilissimaj cicero's orations. 485 Sect. XXYL Consider how uncertain and variable the condition of iife is, how unsettled and inconstant a. thing for- tune ; what unfaithfulness is to be found amongst friends ; what disguises suited to times and circumstances ; what desertion, what cowardice in our dangers, even of those who are dearest to us. There will, there will, I say, be a time, and the day will certainly come, when you with safety still, I hope, to your for- tunes, though changed perhaps by some turn of the common times, which as experience shows, will often happen to us all, may want the affection of the friendliest, the fidelity of the wor- thiest, and the courage of the bravest man living. Though who can believe that Pompey, so well skilled in the laws of liome, in ancient usages, and the constitution of his country, when the senate had given it him in charge to see that the public received ho detriment ; a sentence always sufficient for arming the con- suls without assinging them an armed force ; that he, I say, when an army and a chosen band of soldiers were assigned him, should wait the event of this trial, and defend the conduct of *he man who wanted to abolish trials ? It was sufficient that Pompey cleared Milo from those charges that were advanced against him, by enacting a law, according to which, in my opin- ion, Milo ought, and, by the confession of all, might lawfully be acquitted. But by sitting in that place, attended by a nume- rous guard assigned him by public authority, he sufficiently de- clares his intention is not to overawe (for what can be more unworthy a man of his character, than to oblige you to con- demn a person, whom from numerous precedents, and by vir- tue of his own authority, he might have punished himself ?j, but to protect you : he means only to convince you, that notwith- standing yesterday's riotous assembly, you are at full liberty to pass sentence according to your own judgments. Sect. XXVIJ. But, my lords, the Clodiah accusation gives me no concern ; for I am not so stupid, so void of all experi- ence, or so ignorant of your sentiments, as not to know your opinion in relation to the death of Clodius. And though I had not refuted the charge, as I have done, yet Milo might, with safety, have made the following glorious declaration in public, though a false one : I have slain, I have slain, not a Sp. Mselius, who was suspend of aiming at the regal power, because he courted the favour of the people by lowering the price of corn, and be- stowing extravagant presents to the ruin of his own estate ; not a Tiberius Gracchus, who seditiously deposed his colleague from his magistracy ; though even their destroyers have filled the world with the glory of their exploits : but I have slain the man (for he had a right to use this language, who had saved his country at the hazard of his own life) whose abominably 4-85 M. T. CTGERONIS ORATIONES. fceminsa comprehenderunt : eum, cujus supplicio scnatus so- lemnes religiones expiandas saepe censuit ; eum quern cum so- rore germ an a nefarium stuprum fecisse L. Lucullus juratus se, qurestionibus habitis, dixit comperisse : eum, qui civem, quern senatus, quem populus, quern omnes gentes, urbis ac vitse ci- vium conservatorem judicabant, servorum armis exterminavit : (57) eum, qui regna dedit, ademit, orbem terrarum, quibuscum voluit, partitus est : eum, qui plurimis csedibus in foro factis, singulari virtute et gloria civem domum vi et armis compulit ; eum, cui nihil unquam nefas fuit nee in facinore, nee in libidine : eum, (58^) qui sedem nvmpharum incendit, lit memoriam publi- cam recensionis tabulis publieis impressam extingueret : eum denique, cui jam nulla lex erat, nullum civile jus, nulli possessio- num termini ; qui non calumnia litium, non injustis vindiciis ac sacramentis alienos fundos, sed castris, exercitu, signis inferen- dis petebat ; qui non solum Etruscos (eos enim penitus con- tempserat), sed hunc Q. Yarium, virum fortissimum, atque op- timum civem, judicem nostrum pellere possessionibus, armis cas- trisque conatus est; qui cum architects et decempedis villas multorum hortosque peragrabat ; qui Janiculo, etAlpibus spem possessionum terminabat suarum ; qui, cum ab equite Romano, splendido et forti viro, T. Pacavio, non impetrasset, ut insu- lam in la£u pretio venderet, repente lintribus in earn insulam materiam, calcem, cjementa atque arma convexit ; dominoque trans ripam inspectante, non dubitavit sedificium exstruere in alieno : qui huic T. Furfanio, cui viro, dii immortales ! (quid enim ego de muliercula Scantia ? quid de adolescente Apronio clicam ? quorum utrique mortem est minitatus, nisi sibi horto- rum possessione cessisset), sed ausus est Furfanio dicere, si sibi pecuniam, quantam poposcerat, non dedisset, (59) mortuum se in domum ejus illaturum ; qua invidia huic esset tali viro con- flagrandum : qui Appium fratrem, hominem mini conjunctum (57) £um, qui regna dedit, ademit.) Clodius enacted a law againft Ptolemy, king; of Cyprus, to deprive him cf his kingdom, and reduce it to a Roman province, and con- fiscate his whole eftate. This prince was brother to the king of Egypt, and reigned by the fame righ' of hereditary fucceffion ; was in full peace and amity with Rome ; accufed cf no practices, nor fufpected of any defigns against rhe republic. But Clo- dius had an old prudge to him, for refufing to ranfom him when he was taken by th« pirares. arid fending him only the contemptible fum of two talents. Tofacctify this and give it the better face and colour of juftice, Cato was th the executii s of it; which gave Clodius a double pleaiure, by impofing ^*: !>an in Rome. (58) his houfe,becaufL', by a dtu ; boc y's being brought d the proprietor was obiiged to cjuit all his title cicero's orations. 487 adulteries our noblest matrons discovered even in the most sa- cred recesses of the immortal gods : the man, by whose punish- ment the senate frequently determined to attone for the viola- tion of our religious rites : the man whose incest with his own sister, Lucullus swore he had discovered, by due examination : the man who, by the violence of his slaves, expelled a person esteemed by the senate, the people, and all nations, as the pre- server of the city and the lives of the citizens ; the-man who gave and took away kingdoms, and parcelled out the world to whom he pleased: the man who, after having committed sev- eral murders in the forum, by force of arms obliged a citizen of illustrious virtue and character, to confine himself within the walls of his own house : the man who thought ho instance of villany or lust unlawful : the man who fired the temple of the- nvmphs, in order to destroy the public register, which con- tained the censure of his crimes : in a word, the man who go- verned himself by no law, disregarded all civil institutions, and observed no bounds in the division of property ; who never at- tempted to seize the estate of another by quirks of law, sub- orned evidence, or false oaths, but employed the more effectual means of regular troops, encampments, and standards ; who, by his armed forces, endeavoured to drive from their possessions, not only the Tuscans (for them he utterly despised), but Q. Va- rius, one of our judges, that brave man and worthy citizen ; who, with his architects and measurers, traversed the estates and gardens of a great many citizens, and grasped in his own im- agination all that lies between Janiculum and the Alps ; who, when he could not persuade Titus Pacavius, an illustrious and brave Roman knight, to sell an island upon the Pretian lake, immediately coveyed timber, stone, mortar and sand into the island in boats, and made no scruple of building a house on another person's estate, even while the proprietor was viewing" him from the opposite bank ; who had the impudence, immor- tal Gods ! to declare to such a man as Titus Furfanius (for I shall omit the affair relating to the widow Scantia, and the young Apronius, both of whom he threatened with death, if they did not yield to him the possession of their gardens), who had the impudence, I say, to declare to Titus Furfanius, that if he did not give him the sum of money he demanded, he would convey a dead body into his house, in order to expose so eminent a man to the public odium ; who dispossessed his brother Appius of his ett-te in his absence, a man united to me in the closest friend- ship ; who attempted to run a wall through a court-yard be- 488 M. T. CICERONIS ORATIONES. fidissimft gratis, absentem de possessione fundi dejecit : qui pa- rietem sic per vestibulum sororis instituit ducere, sic agere fun- damenta, ut sororem non modo vestibulo privaret, sed omni ad- itu et limine. XXVIII. Quanquam hsec quidemjam tolerabilia videbantnr, etsi sequabiliter in remp. in privates, in longinquos, in propin- quos, in alienos, in suos irruebat : sed nescio quomodo jam usu obduruerat, et percalluerat civitatis incredibilis patientia. Quae vero aderant jam et impendebant, quonam modo ea aut depel- lere potuissetis, aut ferre ? Imperium si ille nactus esset, omitto socios, exteras nationes,reges, tetrarchas : vota enim feceratis, ut in eos se potius mitteret, quam in vestras possessiones, vestra tecta, vestras pecunias : pecunias dico? aliberis, aliberis medius fidius, et a conjugibus vestris nunquam ille effrenatas suas libidines co- hibuisset : fingi hsec putatis, quae patent, quse nota sunt omni- bus, quse tenentur ? servorum exercitus ilium in urbe conscrip- turum fuisse, per quos totam rempub. resque privatas omnium possideret ? Quamobrem si cruentum gladium tenens clamaret T. Annius, ADESTE, quseso, atque audite,cives : P. Clodium interfeci : ejus furores, quos nullis jam legibus, nullis judiciis frenare poteranius, hoc ferro et hac dextera a cervicibus vestris repuli ; per me, ut unum jus, sequitas, leges, libertas, pudor, pudicitia in civitate manerent ; esset vero timendum, quonam modo id [factum] ferret civitas ; nunc enim quis est, qui non probet ? qui non laudet ? qui non unum post hominum merao- riam T. Annium plurimum reipublicse profuisse,'maxima lsetitia populum Romanum, cunctam Italiam, nationes omnes afFecisse, et dicat, et sentiat ? Nequeo vetera ilia populi Romani quanta fuerint guadia judicare ; multas tamen jam summorum impera- torum clarissimas victorias Eetas nostra vidit ; quarum nulla ne- que tarn diuturnam attulit lsetitiam, nee tantam. Mandate hoc memorise, Judices ; spero multa vos liberosque vestros in re- publica bona esse visuros ; in his singulis ita semper existima- bitis, vivo P. Clodio, nihil horum vos visuros fuisse ; in spem maximam, et, quemadmodum confido, verissimam adducti su- mus, hunc ipsum annum, hoc ipso summo viro consule, com- pressa hominum licentia, cupiditatibus fractis, legibus et judiciis constitutis, salutarem civitati fore. Num quis igitur est tarn demens, qui hoc, P. Clodio vivo, contingere potuisse arbitre- tur ? Quid ? ea, qu?e tenetis, privata atque vestra, dominante homine furioso, quod jus perpetuse possessionis habere potuis- se nt . ? CICERO'S ORATIONS. 48# longing to his sister, and to build it in such a manner as not on- ly to render the court-yard useless, but to deprive her of all en- trance and access to her house. Sect. XXVIII. Yet all these violences were tolerated, though committed no less against the commonwealth than against pri- vate persons ; against the remotest as well as the nearest, stran- gers as well as relations ; but the amazing patience of Rome was become, I know not how, perfectly hardened and callous. Yet by what means could you have warded off those dangers that were more immediate and threatening, or how could you have submitted to his government, if he had obtained it ? 1 pass by our allies, foreign nations, kings and princes ; for it was your ardent prayer that he would turn himself loose upon those, rather than upon your estates, your houses and your money : your money did I say ? by heavens, he had never re- strained his unbridled lust from violating your wives and chil- dren. Do you imagine that these things are mere fictions ? are they not evident ? not publicly known ? not remembered by all ? Is it not notorious that he attempted to raise an army of slaves, strong enough to make him master of the whole re- public, and of the property of every Roman ? Wherefore if Milo, holding the bloody dagger in his hand, had cried aloud T Citizens, I beseech you, draw near and attend : I have killed Publius Clodius ; with this right hand, with this dagger, I have saved your lives from that fury, which no laws, no government could restrain. To me alone it is owing, that justice, equity, laws, liberty, modesty, and decency have yet a being in Rome. Could there be any room for Milo to fear how his coun- try would take it ? Who is there now that does not approve and applaud it ? where is the man that does not think and declare it as his opinion, that Milo has done the greatest possible ser- vice to his country, that he has spread joy amongst the inhabi- tants of Rome, of all Italy, and the whole world ? I cannot in- deed determine how high the transports of the Roman people may have risen in former times, this present age, however, has been witness to many signal victories of the bravest generals ; but none of them ever occasioned such real and lasting joy. Commit this, my lords, to your memories ; I hope that you and your children will enjoy many blessings in the republic, and that each of them will be attended with this reflection, that if P. Clodius had lived, you would have enjoyed none of them. We now entertain the highest, and, I trust, the best grounded hopes, that so excellent a person being consul, the licentiousness of men being curbed, their schemes broke, law and justice esta- blished, the present will be a most fortunate year to Rome. But who is so stupid as to imagine this would have been the case had Clodius lived •? How could you possibly have been se- cure in the possession of what belongs to y< \xr own pri- vate property, under the tyranny of such a fury I •490 M. T. CICERONIS ORATIONES. XXIX. Non tirrieo, judices, ne odio inimicitiarum mearum inflammatus, libentias hsec in ilium evomere videar, quam ve- rms ; etenim etsi prsecipuum esse debebat, tamen ita communis erat omnium ille hostis, ut ia-communi odio pene sequaliter ver- saretur odium meum. (60) Non potest dici satis, nee cogitari qui- dem, quantum in illo sceleris, quantum exitii fuerit- Q;iiin sic attendite, judices ; nempe hcec est qurestio de interitu P; -dii ; fingite animis (liberie enim sunt cogitationes nostrie, et, quse vo- lunt, sic intuentur, ut ea cernimus, quse videmus) fingite igitur cogitatione imagine in hujus conditionis meae : si possum re, ut Milonem absolvatis, sed ita, si P. Clodius revixerit. Quid vultu extimuistis ? quonam modo ille vos vivus afficeret, qui mortuus inani cogitatione percussit ? Quid ? si ipse Cn. Pom- peius, qui ea virtute, ac fortuna est, ut ea potuerit semper, quse nemo prteter ilium : si is, inquam, potuisset, aut quiestionem de morte P. Clodii ferre, aut ipsum ab inferis excitare, utrum pu- tatis facturum fuisse ? etiam si propter amiciriam vellet ilium ab inferis revocare, propter rempub. non fecisset. Ejus igitur mor- tis sedetis ultores, cujus vitam si putetis per vos restitui posse, nolitis : et de ejus nece lata qusestio est, qui si eadem lege revi- viscere posset, lata lex nunquam esset. Hujus ergo interfector qui esset, in confitendo ab iisne pcenam timeret, quos libera- visset ? Grseci homines deorum honores tribuunt iis viris, qui tyrannos necaverunt. Qufe ego vidi Athenis ? qure aliis in ur- bibus Gra^ciae ? quas res divinas talibus institutas viris ? quos cantus ? quse carmina ? prope ad immortalitatis et religionem £t memoriam consecrantur. Vos tanti conservatorem populi, tanti sceleris ultorem, non modo honoribus nuilis afficietis, sed ad supplicium rapi etiam patiemini ? Confiteretur, confiteretur, (to) Non potejl dici fails % nee cogitati quidem, quantum in Mo fceleris. quantum exitii fue- riL] It may juftly fcem ftrange, that fo abandoned a wretch, and fo peftilent a citizen, fhould have been iuffered in Rome ; and it would be natural to fufpecT, that we had been deceived in our accounts of him, by taking them from his enemies, did we not find them too firmly fupported by fails to be called in queftion. A little attention, however, to the particular character of Clodius, as well as of the times in which he lived, will enable us to folve the difficulty. Firft, the fplendour of his family, which had borne a principal fhare in all the triumphs of the republic, from the very founda- tion of its liberty, was of great force to protect him in all his extravagancies. Se- condly, his perfonal qualities were peculiarly adapted to endear him to all the mean- er fort ; his bold and ready wit ; his talent at haranguings ; his profuse expenfe, and his being the firft of his family who had purfued popular meafures againft the max- ims of his anceftors, who were all ftern affertors of the arijlocratical poiver. Thirdly, the contrail of oppofite factions, who had each their ends in fupporting him, contribut- ed principally to his fafety : Cnefar, Pornpey, and Craflus willingly permitted and privately encouraged his violences ; to make their own power not only the lefs odious, but even necefTary for. controuling the fury of fuch an incendiary ; and though it was often turned againft themfelves, yet they chofc to bear it, and dif- femble their ability of repelling it, rather than deftroy the man, who was playing CICERO'S ORATIONS. 491 Sect. XXIX. I am not afraid, my lords, that I should seem to let my resentment for personal injuries rise so high as to charge these things upon him with more freedom than truth ; for though it might be expected this should be the principal motive, yet so common an enemy was he to all mankind, that my aversion to him was scarcely greater than that of the whole world. It is impossible to express, or indeed to imagine, what a villain, what a pernicious monster he was. But, my lords, attend to this ; the present trial relates to the death of Clodius : form now in your minds (for our thoughts are free, and repre- sent what they please, just in the same manner as we perceive what we see) ; form, I say, in your minds, the picture of what I shall now describe. Suppose I could persuade you to acquit Milo, on condition that Clodius should revive. Why do your countenances betray those marks of fear ? how would he affect you when living, if the bare imagination of him, though he is dead, so powerfully strikes you ? what ! if Pompey himself, a man possessed of that merit and fortune which enable him to effect what no one besides can ; if he, I say, had it in his power either to appoint Clodius's death to be inquired into, or to raise him from the dead, which do you think he would choose ? Though from a principle of friendship he might be inclined to raise him from the dead, yet a regard to his country would prevent him. You therefore, sit as the avengers of that man's death, whom you would not recall to life if you were able ; and inquiry is made into his death, by a law which would not have passed if it could have brought him to life. If his destroyer then should confess the fact, need he fear to be punished by those whom he has de- livered ? The Greeks render divine honours to those who put tyrants to death. What have I seen at Athens ? what in the other cities of Greece ? what ceremonies were instituted for such heroes ? what hymns ? what songs ? The honours paid them were almost equal to those paid to the immortal gods. And will you not only refuse to pay any honours to the preserver of so great a people, and the avenger of such execrable villanies, but even suffer him to be dragged to punishment ? He would have confessed, I say, had he done the action, he would have their game for them ; and by throwing the republic into confufion, threw it of courfe into their hands. The fenate, on the other fide, whofe chief apprehenfions were from the triumvirate, thought that the rafhnefs of Clodius might be of fome ufe to perplex their meafures, and ftir up the people againft them on proper occafions ; or it humour- ed their fpleen at leaft, to fee him often infu'ting Pompey to his face- Laftly, all who envied Cicero, and defired to leffen his authority, privarely cherifhed an enemy, who employed all his force to drive him from the adminiftration of affairs. This acciden- tal concurrence of circumftances, peculiar to the man and the times, was what prefer- ved Clodius, whofe infolence could never have been endured in any o^uiet and regular, ftate of the city. N 3 492 M. T*CICERONIS OR ATIONES. inquam, si fecisset, et magno animo, et libenter, se fecissc liberta- tis omnium causa : quod ei certenon confitendum modo fuisset, verum etiam prscdicandum. XXX. Etenim si id non negat, ex quo nihil petit, nisi ut ig- noscatur ; dubitaret id fateri, ex quo etiam prsemia laudis essent petenda ? nisi vero gratius putat esse vobis sui se capitis, quam vestri ordinis defensorem fuisse : cum prsesertim in ea confes- sione, si grati esse velletis, honores assequeretur amplissimos : sin factum vobis non probaretur (quanquam qui poterat salus sua cuique non probari ?) sed tamen si minus fortissimi viri virtus civibus grata cecidisset ; magno animo constantique cederet ex ingrata civitate ; nam quid esset ingratius, quam lfetari cseteros, lugere eum solum, propter quern ceeteri lsetarentur ? Quanquam hoc animo semper omnes fuimus in patrise proditoribus oppri- mendis, ut, quoniam nostra futura esset gloria, periculum quo- que et invidiam nostram putaremus : nam quse mihi contribu- enda laus esset ipsi, cum tantum in consulatu meo pro vobis, ac liberis vestris ausus essem, si id, quod conabar, sine maximis dimicationibus meis me esse ausurum arbitrager ? quse mulier 8celeratum ac perniciosum civcm occidere non auderet, si peri- culum non timeret ? Proposita invidia, morte, poena, qui nihilo segnius rempub. defendit, is vir vere putandus est. Populi grati est, praemiis afficere bene meritos de republica cives : viri iortis, ne suppliciis quidem moveri, ut fortiter fecisse pceniteat. Quamobrem uteretur eadem confessione T. Annius, qua Ahala, qua Nasica, qua Opimius, qua Marius, qua nosmetipsi : et, si grata respublica esset, lsetarefcur; si ingrata, tamen in gravi fortu-> na, conscientiasuaniteretur./ Sedhujusbeneficii gratiam,judices, fortuna populi Romani, et vestra felicitas, et dii immortales sibi deberi putant. Nee vero quisquam aliter arbitrari potest, nisi qui nullam vim esse ducit, rmmenve divinum : quern neque, im- perii vestri magnitudo, neque sol ille, nee cseli signorumque motus, ncc vicissitudines rerum atque ordines movent, neque, id quod maximum est, majorum nostrorum sapientia ; qui sacra, qui creremonias, qui auspicia et ipsi sanctissime coluerunt, et nobis suis posteris prodiderunt. XXXI. Est, est profecto ilia via : neque in his corporibus,atque in hac imbecillitate nostra inestquiddam, quod vigeat, et sentiat, CICERo's ORATIONS. . Iv bravely and freely confessed that he did it for the common good ; and indeed he ought not only to have confessed, but to have pro- claimed it. Sect. XXX. For if he does not denv an action for which he desires nothing but pardon, is it likely that he would scruple to confess what he might hope to be rewarded for ; unless he thinks it is more agreeahle^to you, that he should defend his own life than the lives of your order ? especially as, by such a confes- sion, if you were inclined to be grateful, he might expect to ob- tain the noblest honours. But if you had not approved of the action, (though how is it possible that a person can disapprove of his own safety ?) if the courage of the bravest man alive had not been agreeable to his countrymen, he would have departed with steadiness and resolution from so ungrateful a city? For what can show a greater ingratitude than that all should re- joice, while he alone remained disconsolate, who was the cause of all the joy ? Yet, in destroying the enemies of our country, this has been our constant persuasion, that as the glory would be ours, so we should expect our share of odium and danger. For what praise had been due to me, when in my consulate I made so many hazardous attempts for you and your posterity, if I could have proposed to carry my designs into execution without the greatest struggles and difficulties ? What woman woulil not dare to kill the most villanous and outrageous citizen, if she had no danger to fear ? But the man who bravely defends his country with the prospect of public odium, danger, and death, is a man indeed. It is the duty of a grateful people to bestow distinguished honours upon distinguished patriots ; and it is the part of a brave man, not to be induced by the greatest sufferings to repent of having boldly discharged his duty. Milo therefore might have made the confession which Ahala, Nasica, Or'mius, Marius, and I myself formerly made. And had his country been grateful, he might; have rejoiced ; if ungrateful, his conscience must still have supported him under ingratitude, TSut that gratitude is due to him for this favour, my lords, the fortune of Rome, your own preservation, and the immortal gods all declare. Nor is it possible that any man can think other^ wise, but he who denies the existance of an over-ruling power, or divine Providence ; who is unaffected by the majesty of your empire, the sun itself, the revolutions of the heavenly bodies, the changes and laws of nature, asd above all, the wisdom as Appian reports of the funeral of Sylla. The invention of thiscuftom is generally attributed to Valerius Poplicola, foon after the expulfion of the royal family. Plutarch tells us, that, honouring bis colleague's obfe- quies ivith a funeral oration, it so p leafed the Romans j that it became cujlomary for the hejl ~<°.nto celebrate the funerals of great perfons nuith fpeeches in their commendation. 496 M. T. CICERONIS ORATIONES. funere, oblitus cruore et luto, spoliatus illius supremi diei celebri- tate, quam concedere etiam inimici solent, ambureretur abjectus ; non fuisse credo fas, clarissimorum virorum forrnas illi teterrimo parricidal aliquid decoris afferre, neque ullo in loco potius mor- tem ejus lacerari, quam in quo vita esset damnata. Dura mihi, medius fidius, jam fortuna populi Romani et crudelis videbatur, quae tot annos ilium in hanc rempubl. insultare videret et pate- retur; pollueratsUiprosanctissimasreligiones ; senatus gravissima decreta perfregerat : pecunia se palam a judicibus redemerat ; (64) vexarat in tribunatu senatum : ( 6 5) omnium ordinum con- sensu pro salute reipublicae gesta resciderat ; me patria expule- rat ; bona diripuerat ; domum incenderat ; liberos, conjugem meam vexaverat : Cn. Pompeio nefarium bellum indixerat : magistratuum, privatorumque csedes effecerat, domum mei fra- tris incenderat : vastarat Etruriam : multos sedibus ac fortunis ejecerat : instabat : urgebat : cape-re. ejus amentiam civitas, Italia, provincial, regna non poterant ; incidebantur jam domi leges, quse nos nostris servis addicerent ; nihil erat cujusquam, quod quidem ille adamasset, quod non hoc anno suum fore pu- taret. Obstabat ejus cogitationibus nemo, prajter Milonem. Ilium ipsum, qui poterat obstare, Cn. Pompeium, novo reditu in gratiam quasi devinctum arbitrabatur : Csesaris potentiam, suam potentiam esse dicebat : bonorum animos etiam in meo casu contempserat : Milo unus urgebat. XXXIII. Hie dii immortales, ut supra dixi, mentem dede- runt illi perdito ac furioso, ut huic faceret insidias ; aliter perire pestis ilia non potuit ; nunquam ilium resp. suo jure esset ulta. Senatus, credo, prsetorem eum circumscripsisset : ne cum so- lebat quidem id facere in privato eodem hoc, aliquid profe- cerat. An consules in prsetore coercendo fortes fuissent ? pri- mum, Milone occiso, habuisset suos consules ; deinde quis in eo prsetore consul fortis esset, per quern tribunum, virum con- sularem crudelissime vexatum esse meminisset ? omnia posside- ret, teneret : lege nova, qu» est inventa apud eum cum reliquis legibus Clodianis, servos nostros libertos suos fecisset ; postre- mo, nisi eum dii immortales in earn mentem impulissent, ut ho- mo effoeminatus fortissimum virum conaretur occidere, hodie rempubl. nullam haberetis. An ille pnetor, ille vero consul, (64) Vexarat in tribunatu fenatum.] Clodius, the more efle&ually to ruin Cicero, had, in his tribunefhip, decreed provinces to Gabinius and Pifo, contrary to the au- thority of the fenate. (b$) Omnium ordinum confenfu pro falute reipublica gefla re/cider at.] Though the put- ting Catiline's accomplices to death was not done by Cicero's fingle authority, but by a general vote of the fenate, and after a folemn hearing and debate, yet Clodin^ pre- tended it was illegal ; and accordingly puffed a law, importing, that whoever bad taken ibe life of a citizen uneondemned and without trial, Jlauld be prohibited from fire and "water. €ICER0's ORATIONS. 49f •ration in his praise, without the rites of burial, besmeared with gore and dirt, and deprived of that funeral solemnity which is always granted even to enemies. It was inconsistent with piety, I imagine, that the images of such illustrious persons should grace so monstrous a parricide ; nor could he be torn by the dogs, when dead, in a more proper place than that where he had been so often condemned while alive. Truly the fortune of the Roman people seemed to me hard and cruel, which saw and suf- fered him to insult the state for so many years. He defiled with lust our most sacred rites ; violated the most solemn decrees of the senate ; openly corrupted his judges ; harassed the senate in his tribuneship ; abolished those acts which were passed with the concurrence of every order for the safety of the state ; drove me from my country ; plundered my goods ; fired my house ; persecuted my wife and children ; declared an execrable war against Pompey ; assassinated magistrates and citizens ; burnt my brothers house ; laid Tuscany waste ; drove many from their habitations and estates ; was very eager and furious ; nei- ther Rome, Italy, provinces nor kingdoms could confine his fren- zy. In his house laws were hatched, which were to subject us to our own slaves ; there was nothing belonging to any one, which he coveted, that this year he did not think would be his own. None but Milo opposed his designs ; he looked upon Pompey, the man who was best able to oppose him, as firmly attached to his interest, by their late reconciliation. The .power of Csesar he called his own ; and my fall had taught him to despise th* sentiments of all good men : Milo alone resisted him. Sect. XXXIII. In this situation, the immortal gods, as I be- fore observed, inspired that furious miscreant with a design to way-lay Milo. No otherwise could the monster have been de- stroyed ; the state could never have avenged its own cause, is it to be imagined that the senate could have restrained him when he was prsetor : after having effected nothing while he was only in a private station ? Could the consuls have been strong enough to check their prsetor ? In the first place, had Milo been killed, the two consuls must have been of his faction ; in the next place, what consul would have had courage to oppose him when praetor, whom he remembered, while tribune, to have greviously haras- sed a person of consular dignity ? He might have oppressed, seized, and obtained every thing ; by a new law which was found among the other Clodian laws, he would have made our slaves his freed-men. In short, had not the immortal gods in- spired him, effeminate as he was, with the frantic resolution of attempting to kill the bravest of men, you would this day havs had no republic. Had he been prsetor, had he been consul, if in- deed we can suppose that these temples and these walls could 498 M. T. CICERONIS ORATIONES. simodoheec templa, atque ipsa moenia stare, eo viro, tamdiu, ct consulatum ejus exspectare potuissent, ille denique vivus mali nihil fecisset, qui mortuus, uno ex suis satellitibus Sex. Clodio duce, curiam incenderit ? quo quid naiserius, quid acerbius, quid luctuosius vidimus ? templum sanctitatis, amplitudinis, mentis, consilii publici, caput urbis, aram sociorum, portum omniu gentium, sedem ab universo populo Romano concessam uni or dini, inflammari, exscindi, funestari ? neque id fieri a multitu- dine imperita (quanquam esset miserum id ipsum) sed ab uno, qui cum tantum ausus sit ultor pro mortuo, quid signifer pro vivo non esset ausus ? In Curiam potissimum abjecit, ut earn mortuus incenderet, quam vivus everterat. Et sunt, qui de via Appia querantur, taceant, de curia ? et qui ab eo spirante forum putent potuisse defendi, cujus non restiterit cadaveri curia ? Ex- citate, excitate ipsum, si potestis, ab inferis ; frangetis impetum vivi, cujus vixsustinetis furias insepulti ? nisi vero sustinuistis eos qui cum facibus ad curiam concurrerunt, cum falcibus ad Castoris, cum gladiis toto foro volitarunt. Csedi vidistis populum Romanum, concionem gladiis disturbari, (66) cum audiretur si- lentio M. Ccelius tribunus plebis, vir et in repub. fortissimus, (67) et in suscepta causa firmissimus, etbonorum voluntati et aucto- ritati senatus deditus, et in hac Milonis sive invidia, sive for- tuna singulari, divina et incredibili fide. XXXIV. Sed jam satis multa de causa : extra causam etlam nimis fortasse multa. Quid restat, nisi ut orem obtesterque vos, judices, ut earn misericordiam tribuatis fortissimo viro, quam ipse non implorat ; ego autem, repugnante hoc, et imploro, et exposco ? Nolite, si in nostro omnium fletu nullam lacrymam adspexistis Milonis, si vultum semper eundem, si vocem, si ora- tionem stabilem ac non mutatam videtis, hoc ei minus parcere : atque haud scio an multo etiam sit adjuvandus magis. Etenim {66j Cum audiretur filcntio M. Ccelius tribunus plebis. ] As Milo returned to Rome the fame night on which the fenate-houfe was fet on (ire, Coelius, one of the tribunes of the people, having called an affembly of all thofc who favoured Milo, inveiged fe- verely againft Clodius, and enumerated the various inftances of his guilt and villany ; upon which the reft of the tribunes rulhed into the forum, with a body of armed men, and had killed both Coelius and Milo, if they had not dreffed themfelves like flaves, and by that means made their efcape. They killed many of the citizens, thofe efpeciatly who by their drefs feemed to be perfons of diftincl:ion ; and under a pretence of fcarching for Milo, forced their way into many houfes, and plundered them. This account we have from Afconius, who inflead of Ccelius reads Coecilius. (67) Et in suscepta caufajirmijjimus.') Pompey, to calm the public diforders occafion- ed by Clodius's death, published feveral new laws, by one of which the method of trials was altered, and the length of them limited : three days were allowed for the exami- nation of witneflcs, and the fourth for the fentence ; on which the accufer was to have two hours only to enforce the charge ; the criminal three, for his defence, Coeliu*, or cicero's orations. 499 have stood till his consulship, in short, had he been alive, would he have committed no mischief; who, when dead, by the di- rection of Sextus Clodius, one of his dependents, set the senate- house on fire ? Was ever sight more dreadful, more shocking*, and more miserable ? That the temple of holiness, dignity, wisdom, public counsel, the head of this city, the sanctuary of her allies, the refuge of all nations, the seat granted to this order by the unanimous voice of the Roman people, should be fired, erased and defiled ! and not by a giddy mob, though even that would have been, dreadful ; but by one man, who if he dared to commit such havock for his deceased friend as a re- venger, what would he not, as a leader, have done for him when living ? He chose to throw the body of Clodius into the senat -house, that, when dead, he might burn what he had subverted when living. Are there any who complain of the Appian way, and yet are silent as to the senate-house ? Can we imagine that the forum could have been defended against that man, when living, whose lifeless corse destroyed the senate- house ? Raise, raise him if you can from the dead ; will you break the force of the living man, when you can scarce sustain the rage occasioned by his unburied body ? unless you pretend that you sustained the attacks of those who ran to *the senate- house with torches, to the temple of Castor with scythes, and flew all over the forum with swords. You saw the Roman people massacred, an assembly attacked with arms, while they were attentively hearing Marcus Coelius, the tribune of the people ; a man undaunted in the service of the republic ; most resolute in whatever cause he undertakes ; devoted to good men, and to the authority of the senate ; and who has discovered a divine and amazing fidelity to Milo under his present circum- stances • to which he was reduced either by the force of envy, or a singular turn of fortune. Sect. XXXIY. But now I have said enough in relation to the cause, and perhaps taken too much liberty in digressing from the main subject. "What then remains but to beseech and adjure you, mj» lords, -to extend that compassion to a brave man, which he disdains to implore, but which I, even against his con- sent, implore and earnestly intreat. Though you have not seen him shed a single tear while all are weeping around him, though he has preserved the same steady countenance, the same firm- ness of voice and language, do not on this account withhold it from him : indeed I know not whether these circumstances dught Coecilius vigorously opposed to this law, as having no foundation in justice or equity, and being provided particularly against Milo. Ke was obliged to withdraw his neg- ative however, upon Pompey's declaring, that he would support it by force of arms. U 3 500 M. T. CICERONIS ORATIONES. si in gladiatoriis pugnis, ct in infimi generis hominum conditionc atque for tun ft, timidos et supplices, et, ut vivere liceat, obse- crantes, etiam odisse solemus : fortes et animosos, et se acriter ipsos morti offerentes servare cupimus : eorumque nos magis miseret, qui nostram misericordiam non requirunt, quam qui illam efflagitant : quanto hoc magis in fortissimis civibus facere debemus ? Me quidem, judices, exanimant et interimunt hse voces Milonis, quas audio assidue, et quibus intersum quotidie. "Valeant, inquit, valeant cives mei ; sint incolumes, sint fiorentes, sint beati : stet heec urbs prseclara, mihique patria carissima, quoque modo merita de me erit ; tranquilla repub. cives mei, quoniam mihi cum illis non licet, sine me ipsi, sed per me ta- men, perfruantur ; ego cedam, atque abibo ; si mihi republica bona frui non licuerit, at carebo mala : et, quam primum teti- gero bene moratam et liberam civitatem, in ea conquiescam. O frustra, inquit, suscepti mei labores ! 6 spes fallaces ! 6 co- gitationes inanes mese I ego, cum tribunus pleb. repub. oppressa, me senatui dedissem, quern exstinctum acceperam ; equitibus Romanis, quorum vires erant debiles ; bonis viris, qui omnem auctoritatem Clodianis armis abjeeerant ; mihi unquam bonorum presidium defuturum putarem ? Ego, cum te (mecum enim ssepissime loquitur) patriae reddidissem, mihi non futurum.in pa- tria putarem locum ? Ubi nunc senatus est, quern seciiti sumus ? ubi equites Romani illi, illi, inquit, tui ? ubi studia municipio- rum ? ubi ItaKse voces ? ubi denique tua, M. Tulli, quae pluri- mis fuit auxilio, vox et defensio ? mihi-ne ea soli, qui pro te toties morti me obtuli, nihil potest opitulari. XXXV. Nee vero hsec, judices, ut ego nunc, flens, sed hoc eodem loquitur vultu, quo videtis ,* negat enim se, negat ingratis civibus fecisse, quae fecerit ; timidis, et omnia circum- spicientibus pericula, non negat ; plebem et infimam multitu- cicero's orations. 501 ^?iot "to plead with you in his favour. If in the combats of gladiators, where persons of the lowest rank, the very dregs of the people, are engaged, we look with so much contempt or cowards, on those whs meanly beg their lives, and are so fond of saving the brave, the intrepid, and those who cheerfully offer their breasts to the sword ; if, I say, we feel more pity for those who seem above asking our pity, than for those who with earnestness intreat it ; how much more ought we to be thus affected where the interests of our bravest ^citizens are con- cerned ? The words of Milo, my lords, which he frequently utters, and which 1 daily hear, kill and. confound me. May ,my fellow-citizens, says he, flourish ! may they be safe, may they be glorious, may they be happy ! May this renowned city pros- per, and my country, which, shall ever oe dear to me, in what- soever manner she shall please to treat me : since I must not live with my fellow-citizens, let them enjoy peace and tranquility without me ; but then, to me let them owe their happiness. I will withdraw, and retire into exile ; if I cannot be a member o[ a virtuous •ommonwealth, it will be some satisfaction not to live in a bad one ; and, as soon as I set foot within a well-re - guated and free state, there will I fix my abode. Alas, cries he, my fruitless toils ! my falacious hopes J my -vain and empty schemes ! Could I, who in my tribuneship, when the state was under oppression, gave myself up wholly to the service of the senate, which I found almost destroyed ; to the service of the Roman knights, whose strength was so much weakened : to the service of all good citizens, from whom the oppressive arms of Clodius had wrested their due authority ; could I ever have imagined I should want a guard of honest men. to defend me ? When I restored you to your country (for we frequently discourse, together,) could I ever have thought that I should be driven myself into banishment ? Where is now that senate, to whose interest we devoted ourselves ? Where, where, says he^ are those R-sman knights of yours 1 AVhat is become of that warm affection the municipal tov/ns formerly testified in your favour ? What is become of the acclamations of all Italy ? What is be- come of thy art, of thy eloquence, my Tully, which have so often been employed to preserve your fellow-citizens ? Am I the only person, to whom alone they can give no assistance ; I, who have so often engaged my life in your defence ? Sect. XXXV. Nor does he utter such sentiments as these, my lords, as I do now, with tears, but with the same intrepid coun- tenance you now behold. For he denies, he absolutely denies, that his fellow-citizens have repaid his services with ingratitude ; hut he confesses they have been too timorous, too apprehen- sive of danger. lie declares, that in order to insure your safety 9 502 M. T. C1CERONES ORATIONES. dinem, qua, P. Clodio duce, fortunis vestris imminebat, earn, quo tutior esset vita vestra, suam se fecisse commemorat ; ut non modo virtute flecteret, (68) sed etiam tribus suis patrimoniis deliniret : nee timet, ne, cum plebem muneribus placarit, vos non coneiliarit meritis in rempublicam singularibus. Senatus erga se benevolentiamtemporibus his ipsis saepe esse perspectam : vestras vero, et vestrorum ordinum occursationes, studia, ser- mones, quemcunque cursum fortuna dederit, secum se abla- turum esse dicit. Meminit etiam sibi vocem prseconis modo de- fuisse, quam minime desiderarit ; populi. vero ennctis suffragiis,- quod unum cupierit, se consulem declaratum ; nunc denique, si hsec arma contra se sint futura, sibi facinoris suspicionem, non facti crimen obstare. Addit hsec, quse certe vera sunt, FORTES ET SAPIENTES TIROS non tarn prsemia sequi solere recte factorum, quam ipsa recte facta ; se nihil in vita, nisi prsecla- rissime, 'fecisse : siquidem nihil sit prsestabilius viro, quam peri- culis patriam liberare : beatos esse, quibus eares honori fuerita suis civibus : nee tamen, eos miseros, qui beneficio.cives suos vicerint : sed tamen, ex omnibus prsemiis virtutis, si esset har benda ratio prsemiorum, (69) amplissimum esse preemium glo- riam : esse hanc unam, quse brevitatem vitse posteritatis memo- ria consolaretur ; quse efficeret, ut absentes adessemus, mortui viveremus : hanc denique esse, cujus gradibus etiam homines in ccelum videantur ascendere. De me, inquit, semper populus llomanus, semper omnes gentes loquentur, nulla unquam ob- mutescet vetustas ; quin hoc tempore ipso, cum omnes a meis inimicis. faces invidise mese subjtciantur, tamen omni in homi- num coetu, gratiis agendis, et gratulationibus habendis, et omni sermone celebramur. Omitto Etruriae festos et actos, et institutos dies: centesima lux est hfec ab interitu P. Clodii, et, opinor, altera : qua fines imperii populi Romani sunt, ea non solum famajam de illo, sed etiam lsetitia peragravit. (Juamobrem ubi (68) Sed etiam tribus fuis patrimoniis deliniret.'] Milo had three eflates ; one kft him by his racher, another by his mother, and the third by Caius Annius, his grandfather by the mother's fide, by whom he was adopted. All the three he fpert upon largefles and public fports, for which he v/as charged with bribery ; but Cicero fays, thefe lar- geffes were beftowed upon the people by Milo, with no other defign but that the rich might be preferved from being robbed, (69) AmpUJfimum ejfe premium , gloriam.] It will notfeem ftrange toobferve the wi- feftof the ancients pufhing this principle to fo great a length, and confidering glory as the ampieit reward of a well-fpent life, when we reflect that the greateft part of them had no notion of any other reward or futurity; and even thofe who believed a ftatc of happirefs to the good, yet entertained it with fo much diffidence, that they indulged it rather as a wifh, than a well grounded hope ; and were glad, therefore, to lay hold on that which feeintd to be within their reach, a futurity of their own creating ; an immortality of fame and glory from the applaufe of pofteriry. This, by a pleafing fic- tion, they looked upon as a propagation of life, and an eternity of exiftence ; and had cicero's orations. SOS he gained over the common people, all the scum of the popu- lace, to his interests, when under their leader Clodius they threatened your property and your lives ; that he not only curb- ed them by his resolution, but soothed, their rage at the expense of his three inheritances. Arid whale by kis liberality he appeases -the fury of the people, he entertains not the least doubt but that his extraordinary services to the state will procure him your af- fection and favour. Repeated proofs of the senate's esteem, he acknowledges that he has received, even upon the present occa- sion ; and declares, that wherever fortune may convey him. she can never deprive him of those marks of honour, regard and af- fecticjii, conferred upon him by you and the people of Rome. He recollects too that he was declared consul by the universal suffrage of the people, the only thing he valued or desired ; and th?tt, in order to his being invested with that office, the voice of the crier was only wanting ; a matter, in his opinion, of very little importance. But now if these arms are to be turned against him at last, it is a satisfaction to him that it is not owing to his guilt, but to the suspicion of it. Me adds likewise, what is unquestionably true,' that the brave and wise perform great actions, not so much on account of the rewards attending them, as on account of their own intrinsic excellence ; that through his whole course of life, whatever he has done has been nobly done, since nothing can be more truly great, than for a man to rescue his country from impending dangers : that they are without doubt happy, whom their fellow-citizens have re- paid with their due reward of honour, but that neither are those to be esteemed unhappy whose services have exceeded their rewards. Yet should we in the pursuits of virtue have any of its rewards in view he is convinced that the noblest of all is glory; that this alone compensates the shortness of life, by the immortality of fame ; that by this we are still present when ab- sent from the world, and survive even after death ; and that by the steps of glory, in short, mortals seem to mount to heaven. Of me, says he, the people of Rome, all the nations of the earth, shall talk, and my name shall be known to the latest poster! cy. Nay, at this very time, when all my enemies com- bine to inflame an universal odium against me, vet I receive th nks, congratulations, and applauses of every assembly. Not to mention the Tuscan festivals instituted in honour of me, it is now about an hundred days since the death of Clodius ; and yet, I am persuaded, not only the fame of this action, but arising from it, has reached beyond the remotest bounds ^ Roman empire. It is therefore, continues he, of little no (inan comfort in irciaginig. that though the fense of it fhould not reach to theni- felve,-,;^ would extend at leaft to others; aiid that they fhould bedoing good flill whea drad, by leaving the example of their virtues to the imitation of mankind. 504 M. T. GICERONIS ORATIONES. corpus hoc sit, non, inquit, laboro, quoniam omnibus in terris ct jam versatur, et semper habitabit nominis mei gloria. XXXVI. Hsec tu mecum s?epe, his absentibus ; sed iisdem audientibus, hsec ego tecum Milo. Te quidem, quod isto ani- mo es, satis laudare non possum, sed quo est ilia magis divina virtus, eo majore a te dolore divellor. Nee vero, si mihi eri- peris, reliqua est ilia tamen ad consolandum querela, ut his irasci possim, a quibus tantum vulnus accepero ; non enim ini- mici mei te mihi eripient, sed amicissimi : non male aliquando de me meriti, sed semper optime. Nullum unquam, judices, mihi tantun dolorem inuretis (etsi, quis potest esse tantus ?) sed ne hunc quidem ipsum, ut oblivisear, quanti me semper feceri- tis ; quae si vos cepit oblivio, aut si in me aliquid offendistis, cur non id meo capite potius luitur quam Milonis ? Frseclare enim vixero ; si quid mihi acciderit prius, quam hoc tantum mali videro. Nunc me una consolatio sustentat, quod tibi, 6 T. Anni, nullum a me amoris, nullum studii, nullum pietatis officium defuit. (7°) Ego inimicitias potentium pro te appe- tivi : ego meum ssepe corpus et vitam objeci armis inimicorum tuorum : ego me plurimis pro te supplicem abjeci : bona, for- tunas meas ac liberorum meorum. in communionem tuorum temporum contuli : hoc denique ipso die, si qua vis est parata, si qua dimicatio capitis futura, deposco. Quid jam restat ? quid habeo quod dicam, quod faciam pro tuis in me meritis, nisi ut earn fortunam, qusecunque erit tua, dueam meam ? Non recuso, non abnuo : vosque obsecro, judices, ut vestra beneficia, quse in me contulistis, aut in hujus salute augeatis, aut in ejus- dem exitio occasura esse videatis. XXXVII. His lacrymis non movetur Milo ; est quodam in- credibili robore animi : exsilium ibi esse putat, ubi virtu ti non sit locus : mortem naturae finem esse, non poenam. Sit hie ea mente, qua natus est ; quid ? vos judices, quo tandem animo eritis ? memoriam Milonis retinebitis, ipsum ejicietis ? et erit dignior locus in terris ullus, qui hanc virtutem excipiat, quam hie qui procreavit ? Vos, vos appello, fortissimi viri, qui mul- tum pro republica sanguinem effudistis : vos in viri et in civis (70) Ego inimicitias pitentium pro te appetivL'] So warm and ftcady was our orator's friendfhip to Milo, fo great his attachment to him, that neither the number of the Clodian fadion, nor the great power of Pompsy, could deter him from undertaking Tus defence. cicero's orations. 505 importance to me, how this body of mine is disposed of, since the glory of my name already fills, and shall ever possess every region of the earth. Sect. XXXVI. This, Milo, is what you have often talked to me, while these were absent ; and now that they are pre- sent, I repeat it to you. Your fortitude I cannot sufficiently applaud, but the more noble and divine your virtue appears to me, the more distress I feel in being torn from you. Nor when you are separated from me, shall I have the poor consolation of being angry with those who give the wound ! for the separation is not made by my enemies, but by my friends : not by those who have at any time treated me injuriously, but by those to whom I have been always highly obliged. Load me, my lords, with as severe afflictions as you please, even with that I have just mentioned (and none surely can be more severe), yet shall I ever retain a grateful sense of your former favours. But if you have lost the remembrance of these, or if I have fallen under your displeasure, why do not ye avenge yourselves rather upon me, than Milo ? Long and happily enough shall I have lived, could I but die before such a calamity befall me. Now I have only one consolation to support me, the conciousness of having performed for thee, my Slilo, every good office of love and friendship it was in my power to perform. For thee, I have dared the resentment of the great and powerful : for thee, I have often exposed my life to the swords of thy enemies : for thee, I have often prostrated myself as a suppliant : I have em- barked my own and my family's estate, on the same bottom with thine ; and at this very hour, if you are threatened with amy violence, if your life runs any hazard, I demand a share in your danger. What now remains ? what can I say ? what can I do to repay the obligations I am under to you, but embrace your fortune, whatever it shall be, as my own ? I will not refuse ; I accept my share in it : and, my lords, I intreat you either to crown the favours you have conferred upon me by the preser- vation of my friend, or cancel them by his destruction. Sect. XXXVII. Milo, I perceiye, beholds my tears without the least emotion. Incredible firmness of soul ! he thinks him- self in exile there, where virtue has no place ; and looks upon death, not as a punishment, but as the period of our lives. Let him then retain that nobleness of soul, which is natural to him ; but how, my lords, are you to determine ? "Will ye still preserve the memory of Milo, and yet drive his person into banishment ? And shall there be found on earth a place more worthy the residence of such virtue, than that which gave it birth ? On you, on you I call, ye heroes, who have lost so much blood in the service of your country ! to you, ye centu- 506 M. T. CICERONIS ORATIONES. invicti appello pcriculo, centuriones, vosque milites : vobis non modo inspectantibus, sed etiam armatis, et huic judicio prgesi- dentibus, hax tanta virtus ex hac urbe expelletur ? extermina- bitur ? projicietur ? O me miserum ! 6 infelicem ! revocare tu me in patriam, Milo, potuisti per hos ? ego te in patria per eosdem retinere non potero ? Quid respondebo liberis meis, qui te parentem alterum putant ? quid tibi, Q. frater, qui nunc abes, consorti mecum temporum illorum ? me non potuisse Milonis galutem tueri per eosdem, per quos nostram ille ser- vasset ? at in qua causa non potuisse ? quse est grata gentibus ? li quibus non potuisse ? ab iis, qui maxime P. Clodii morte ac- quierunt ; quo deprecante ? me. Quodnam ego concepi tan- tum scelus ? aut quod in me tantum facinus admisi, judices, cum ilia indicia communis exitii indagavi, patefeci, protuli, ex- stinxi ? (71) omnes in me meosque redundant ex fonte illo dolores. Quid me reducem esse voluistis ? an ut, inspectante me, ex- pellerentur ii, per quos essem restitutus ? Nolite, obsecro vos, pati, mihi acerbiorem reditum esse, quam fuerit ille ipse dis- cessus. Nam qui possum ptitare me restitutum esse, si distrahor ab iis, per quos restitutus sum ? XXXVIII. Utinam dii immortales fecissent (pace tua, patria, dixerim : metuo enim ne scelerate dicam in te, quod pro Milone dicam pie) ut P. Clodius non modo viveret, sed etiam pnetor, consul, dictator esset potius, quam hoc spectaculum viderem. O dii immortales ! fortem, et a vobis judices, conservandum virum ! Minime, minime, inquit ; immo vero poenas ille debi- tas luerit : nos subeamus, si ita necesse est, non debitas. Hic- cine vir patriae natus, usquam nisi in patria morietur, aut, si forte, pro patria ? hujus vos animi monumenta retinebitis, cor- poris in Italia nullum sepulcrum esse patiemini ? hunc sua quis- quam sententia ex hac urbe expellct, quern omnes urbes expul- sum a vobis ad se vocabunt ? O terrain illam beatam, quse hunc virum exceperit ! hanc ingratam, si ejecerit ! miseram, si ami- serit ! Sed finis sit ; neque enim prse lacrymis jam loqui possum : et hie se lacrymis defendi vetat ; vos oro obtestorque, judices, ut in sententiis ferendis quod sentietis, id audeatis. Yestram virtutem, justitiam, fidem (mihi credite) is maxime probabit, qui in judicibus legendis optimum et sapientissimum et fortissi- mum quemque legit. (l\) Qftnes in me meosque redundant ex fonte illo dolores.'] Cicero here refers to the con- fpiracy of Cataline ; the putting whofe accomplices to death, he fays, wa& the grand fource of all his calamities. Cicero's orations. S(j? iions, ye soldiers, I appeal in this hour of danger to the best of men, and bravest of citizens ! while you are looking on, while you stand here with arms in your hands, and guard this tribunal, shall virtue like this be expelled, exterminated, cast out with dishonour ? Unhappy, wretched man that I am ! could you, Milo, by these recall me to my country ; and by these shall I not be able to keep you in yours ? What answer shall I make to my children who look on you as another father I What to you, Quintus, my absent brother, the kind partner of all my misfor- tunes ? that I could not preserve Milo by those very instruments which he employed in my preservation ? . In what cause could I not preserve him ? a cause approved of by all; Who have put it out of my power to preserve him ? those who gained most by the death of Clodius. And who solicited for Milo ? 1 myself* What crime, what horrid villany was I guilty of, when those plots that were conceived for our common destruction, were all by my industry traced out, fully discovered, laid open before you, and crushed at once ? From that copious source flow all the calamities which befall me and viine. Why did you desire my return from banishment ? Was it that I might see those very persons who were instrumental in my restoration banished be- fore my face? Make not, I conjure you, my return a greater afflic- tion to me than was my banishment. For how can I think myself truly restored to my country, if those friends who restored me$ are to be torn from me.- Sect. XXXVIII. By the immortal gods I wish (pardon me, O my country ! fori fear what I shall sav out of a pious regard for Milo may be deemed impiety against thee) that Clodius not only lived, but were praetor, consul,- dictator, rather than be witness to such a scene as this.- Immortal gods ! how brave a man is that, and how worthy of being preserved by you ! By MO means, he cries : the ruffian met with the punishment he deserved ; and let me if it must be so, suffer the punishment I have not deserved* Shall this man then, who was born to save his country, die any where but in his country ? Shall he not at least, die in the service of his country ? Will you retain the memorials of his gallant soul, and deny his body a grave in Italy ? Will any person give his voice for banishing a man from this city, whom every city on earth would be proud to receive within its walls ? Happy the country that shall receive him ! un- grateful this, if it shall banish him ! wretched, if it should lose him ! But I must conclude ; my tears will not allow me to pro- ceed, and Milo forbids tears to be employed in his defence. You, my lords, I beseech and adjure, that in your decision, Tou would dare act as you think. Trust me, your fortitude, your justice, your fidelitv will be more especially approved of by him, who, in his choice of judges, has raised to the bench the bravest, tha wisest, and the best of men. ¥2 *wi±: ORATIO XIII. PRO M. MARCELLO*. I — DIUTURNI silentii, P. C. ( x ) quo eram his temporibus usus, non timore aliquo, sed partim dolore, partim verecundia, finem hodiernus dies attulit ; idemque initium, quae vellem, quseque sentirenfc, meo pristino more dicendi. Tantam enim mansuetudinem, tarn inusitatam inauditamque clementianv tantum in summa potestate rerum omnium modum, tarn denique incredibilem sapientiam ac pene divinam tacitus nullo modo prseterire possum, M. enim Marcello vobis, P. C. reique pubL reddito, non solum illius, sed meam etiam vocem et auctorita- tem, et \ v obis et reipublicse conservatam ac restitutam puto» Dolebam enim, P. C. ac vehementer angebar, cum viderem, virum talem, qui in eadem causa esset, in qua ego fuissem, non in eadem esse fortuna : nee mihi persuadere poteram, nee fas esse ducebam, vcrsari me in nostro veteri curriculo, (*) illo semulo atque imitatore studiorum, ac laborum meorum, quasi quo dam socio a me et comite distracto. Ergo et mihi, et mess pristina; vitse consuetudinem, C. Csesar, interclusam * Marcus Marcellus was the head of a family, which, for a fucceffion of maay a- ges, had made the firft figure in Rome ; and was himfeif adorned with all the virtue* that could qualify him to fuftain that dignity, which he derived from his noble anceft- ors. He had formed himfeif in a particular manner for the bar, where he foon ac- quired great fame ; and, of all the orators of his time, feems to have approached the neareft to Cicero himfeif, in the character of a complete fpeaker. His manner of fpeaking was elegant, ftrong, and copious ; with a fwreetnefs of voice, and propriety of action, that added a grace and luftre to every thing he faid. Of all the magiftrates, he was the fiercefl oppofer of Caefar's power, and the moft active to reduce it : hia high fpirit and the ancient glory of his houfe, made him impatient under the thought of receiving a matter ; and when the battle of Pharfalia, where he was prefent on the fide of Pompey, feemed at laft to have impofed one upon them, he retired to Mi- tylene, the ufual refcrt of men of learning ; there to fpend the raft of his days in a fludious retreat, remote from arms, and the hurry of war ; and determined not to feek any grace from the conqueror. The fenate, however, encouraged by the clemen- cy which had been fhown to feveralof the Pompeian chiefs, petitioned Csefarforhi3 pardon, who generoufly granted their requeft, though he ftill fufpected that Marcellus remained his enemy. Cicero, touched with the generofity of this act of grace, and ORATION XIII. FOR M. MARCELLUS. Sect. I. — -THIS day, conscript fathers, puts an end to that long silence which I have observed ; not through any fear, but partly through grief, partly through shame, and puts me again in possession of the happy privilege of speaking my sentiments as they arise, with my usual freedom. I cannot behold so great humanity, such unparalleled and unheard-of cle- mency, so much moderation in the midst of such unlimited power ; in one word, such incredible and almost divine wisdom, and remain in silence. For by the restoration of M. Marcellus, to you and the state, I please myself with the thought, con- script fathers, that not only his, but my voice and authority is secured, and restored to you and the republic* It was matter of great, of inexpressible concern to me, conscript fathers, to find that so eminent a man, who had espoused the same cause with myself, did not partake of the same fortune ; nor could I be satisfied, or think it equitable to enter upon my former course, while my rival, the imitator of my pursuits and toils, and as it were my companion, and partner, was torn from me. You have therefore, Csesar, opened for me the way to my former state of life, and given, as it were, a signal to these fa* pleafed with the favour conferred on his friend, expreffed his thanks in the following oration ; which, though made upon thefpot, yet for elegance of diction, vivacity of fentiment, and politenefs of compliment, is fuperior to any thing extant of the kind in all antiquity. It was delivered in the yearof Rome 707, and in the 61ft of Cicero's age. (1) £>uo tram bis temporibus usvs.~\ Puring the civil war between Pompey and Cae- far there was no fenate held at Rome; for the fenators had retired, fome to one city, fome to another. A great majority of them, indeed followed Pompey, with the bet- ter fort of all ranks; in this number was Cicero, who after his return to Rome, though he received all poflible marks of favour from Casfar, kept himfelf private for fome time, and made no appearance in ths fenate. (a) Illo amulo atque imitatorejiudiorum^ac laborum me»rum.] Marcellus was a COH- ftant admirer and imitator of Cicero; of the fame principles in peace, and on the fame fide in war ; 16 that Cicero lamented his abfence, as the lofs of a companion and partner, in their common ftudies and labours of life. 510 M. T. CICERONIS ORAT10NE&. aperuisti, ct his omnibus ad bene de omni republic^ sperandura, quasi sigrium aliquod sustulisti. Intellectum est eriim mihi qui- P dem in multis, et maxime in me ipso, sed paullo ante omnibus, cum M. Marcellum senatui populoque Romano et reipubiicse .concessisti, (3) commemoratis prsesertim offensionibus, te aucto- ritatem hujus ordinis, dignitatemque reipublicte tuis vel dolori- bus, vel suspicionibus anteferre. Ille quidem fructum omnis anteactffi vitee hodierno die maximum cepit, cum summo con- sensu senatus, turn prfeterea judicio tuo grayissimo et maximo ; ex quo profecto intelligis, quanta in dato beneficio sit laus, cum in accepto tanta sit gloria. Est vero fortunatus ille, cujus ex salute non minor pene ad omnes quam ad ilium venti.ra sit, lae- titia pervenerit. Quod ei quidem merito atque Optimo jure contigit ; quis eaim est illo aut nobilitate, aut probitate, aut op- timarum artium studio, aut innocentia, aut ullo genere laudis prsestantior I II. Nullius tantum est Airmen ingenii ; nulla dieendi aut scri- bendi tanta vis, tanta copia, qute non dicam exornarc, sed enai> rare, C Csesar, res tuas gestas possit ; tamen hoc affirmo, et hoc pace dicam tua, nullam in his esse laudem ampliorem quam earn, quam hodierno die eonsecutus es. Soleo sffipe ante oculos ponere, idque libenter crebris usurpare sermonibus, omnes nos- - 1/ trorum imperatorum, omnes exterarum gentium, potentissimo- rumque populorum, omnes clarissimorum regum res gestae cum tuis nee contentionum magnitudine, (4) nee numero prcc- liorum (5) nee varietate regionum, nee celeritate, conficiendi, nee dissimilitudine bellorum pssse conferri ; nee vero disjunc- tissimas terras citius cujusquam passibus potuisse peragrari, quam tuis, non dicam cursibus, sed victoriis lustratse sunt. Quse quidem ego tQbi tarn magna esse fatear, ut ea vix cujusquam mens aut coguatio capere possit, amens sim : sed tamen sunt (3) Commemoratis frttfertim offcnfionibus.'] Cxfar, after he had put an end to the Gal- lic war, though his commiflion was near expiring, bad no thoughts of giving it up ; pretending that he could not poffibly be fafe, if he parted with his army, while Pom- pey held the province of Spain, prolonged to him for five years. The fenate, to make him ez£y, confented to let him take the confulfhip, without coming to fue for it in perfon ; but that not fatisfying him, Marcellus, who was then conful, moved them to abrogate his command dire&ly, and appoint him a fucceffor ; and fince the war was at an end, to oblige him to difband his troops, and to come likewifein perfon to fue for the confulfhip, nor to allow the freedom of the city to his colonies beyond the Po. This related particularly to a favourite colony, which Czefar had fettled at Comum, at the foot of the Alps, with the freedom of the city granted to it by the Vatinian law. All the other colonies on that fide of the Po, had before obtained from Pompey's father the rights of Latium, that is, the freedom of Rome to thofe who had borne an annual magiftracy in them: but Marcellus, out of a Angular enmity to Csefar, would allow no fuch right to his colony of Comum; and having caught a certain Comenfian ma? cicero's orations. 511 ^Jiers of Rome, to entertain the best hopes for the welfare of -the republic. For when you gave back M. Marcellus to the senate and people of Rome, especially after recounting his of- fence's, you convinced all men of what I had learned before from your conduct to myself in particular, and to many others, that vou had sacrificed your resentments and your suspicions to the authority of this order, and the dignity of the state. The unanimous intercession of the senate, with your solemn and ge- nerous determination in his favour, has this day fully repaid the services of his past life ; whence you may easily infer what a degree of merit must attend the conferring the favour, since there is so much glory in receiving it. Happy is that man in- deed, whose safety aifords no greater joy to himself that to all mankind ! and such is the case of Marcellus, who highly de- serves the fortune that attends him : for who more illustrious than he ? who more upright I who more fond of useful learn- ing ? who more virtuous . ? who possessed of more laudible ac- complishments ? Sect. II. No flow of genius, no force of eloquence, no power of description, is sufficient, Csesar, I will not say to embellish, but even to recount your exploits : yet this I affirm, and this with deference insist upon, that from none of them will you reap greater glory than from that of this day. It has often oc- curred to me, and I have often declared it with pleasure, that none of the achievements of our own commanders, none of foreign nations, none of the most potent people, none of the most illustrious monarchs, are worthy to be compared with yours, either in regard to the importance Of the contests, the number of battles, the variety of countries, the celerity of con- quest, or the diversity of enterprizes. Countries the farthest distant from each other, could not hav r e been sooner travelled through, I will not say than they have been traversed by your armies, but subdued by your victories. These are circumstances so extraordinary, that it were madness not to confess that they are almost too great for human conception ; but there are giflrate who was aSing the citizen at Rome, he ordered him to be felzed and publicly whipt ; an indignity, from whieh all citizens were exempted by law ; , bidding the saan to go and fhow thofe marks of his citizenfhip to Czfar. A) Necnumere fralierum.] We are told by PUny, that Cxfar himfelf used to fay, his conquefts in Gaul had coft about a million and two hundred thoufand lives. If the civil wars are added to the account, this ambitious monfter muft have made greater defolation in the world, than any tyrant that perhaps ever lived in it. f$J Necvatietate regionum.~\ Cxfar had waged war in Spain, Britain, Gaul Egypt, Germany, AGa Africa, and Greece. He overcame Pompey, at Pharfalia ; Ptolemy, in Egypt; Pharnaces the fon of Mithridate6, in Pootus ; Scipio and Juba, in Africa; and the fons of Pornpey, in Spain. 512 M. T. CIGERONIS ORATIONES, alia majora. Nam bellicas laudes solent quidam extenuare verbis, easque detrahere ducibus, communicare cum militibus, ne proprife sint imperatorum ; et certe in armis, militum virtus, locorum opportunitas, auxilia sociorum, classes, commeatus multum juvant ; maximam vero partem quasi suo jure fortuna sibi vindicat, et quidquid est prospere gestum, id pene omne ducit suum. At vero hujus glorise, C. Csesar, quam es paulo ante adeptus, socium habes neminem ; totum hoc quantumcun- que est, quod certe maximum est, totum est, inquam tuum ; / nihil sibi ex ista laude centurio, nihil prsefectus, nihil cohors, [) nihil turma decerpit : quin etiam ilia ipsa rerum humanarum domina fortuna in istius se societatem glorise non offert : tibi cedit ; tuam esse totam, et propriam fatetur ; nunquam enim temeritas cum sapientia commiscetur, nee ad consilium cusus admittitur. III. Domuisti gentes immanitate barbaras, multitudine innu- merabiles, locis infinitas, omni copiarum genere abundantes ; sed ea tamen vicisti, quae et naturam, et conditionem ut vinci pos- sent, habebant ; nulla est enim tanta vis, [tanta copia] qua non ferro ac viribus debilitari frangique possit : verum animum \ ul- cere, iracundiam cohibere, victoriam temperare, adversarium nobilitate, ingenio, virtute prsestantem, non modo extollere ja- centem, sed etiam amplificare ejus pristinam dignitatem ; (6) hsec qui faciat, non ego eum cum summis viris comparo, sed similli- mumDeo judico. Itaque, C. Csesar, bellicse tuse laudes celebra- buntur illse quidem non solum nostris, sed pene omnium gen- tium literis atque linguis : neque ulla unquam setas de tuis laudi- bus conticescet. Sed tamen ejusmodi re's, nescio quomodo, etiam dum audiuntur, aut dum leguntur, obstrepi clamore mi- /} litum videntur, et tubarum sono. At vero cum aliquid clementer, Y () mansuete, juste, moderate, sapienter factum, in iracundia prse- sertim, quse est inimica consilio, et in victoria, quae natura in- solens et superba est, aut audimus, aut legimus ; quo studio in- cendimur, non modo in gestis rebus, sed etiam in fictis, ut eos ssepe, quos nunquam vidimus, diligamus ? Te vero, quern prse- sentem intuemur, cujus mentem sensusque et os cernimus, ut, quidquid belli fortuna reliquum reipub. fecerit, id esse sal- vum velis, quibus laudibus eiferemus ? quibus studiis proseque- mur ? qua benevolentia complectemur ? parietes, medius fidius, (6) Hac qui faciat^ non ego eum cum fammis viris comparo y fed ftmillimum Deo judito.*\ The high compliments paid to Cxfar in this oration, have given fome handle for a charge of infincerity againft Cicero. It ought to be confxdered, however, that he was deliveriag a fpeech of thanks, in the name and at the defire of the fenate, where his fubjedt naturally required the embellHhments of oratory ; befides, it appears from a letter to one of Caefar's principal friends, that he entertained no fmall hopes at this time, that Casfar intended to reflore the republic ; and all his compliments are ground* «d on this fuppofltion. CICZRO'S ORATIONS. $1$ attainments even greater than these. For many are apt to de- preciate military glory, and, lest the commander should assume too much, take part from the officer, and give it to the private soldier. And certainly in war, the bravery of the troops, the advantage of situation, the aid of allies, fleets, and military stores, are of great importance : and after all, fortune, as it were of right, claims the greatest share ; and whatever it attended with success, she for the most part arrogates to herself. But in the glory, Caesar, which you have lately acquired, you have no as- sociate ; how great soeverjt is, and surely nothing can be great- er, it is all your own. i'No commander, no captain, no troop, no battalion robs you flere; nay, even fortune, the goddess who presides over human affairs, claims no share of this honour; to you she resigns it, and acknowledges it is entirely, it is ab- solutely, your own : for rashness never mingles with wisdom, nor chance with counsel.) Sect. III. You have subdued nations fiercely barbarous, im- mensely numerous, at an infinite distance from each other, abounding in every thing necessary for war ; but these were conquests which the nature of things rendered possible. For no force is so great, no power so extensive, but' is capable of being reduced by greater force, of being overcome by more ex- tensive power ; but he who subdues the mind, who suppresses his resentment, who uses victory with moderation, who not only raises an ingenious, an illustrious and brave adversary to the honour from which he was fallen, but heightens and en- larges his former dignity : he who does this, suffers by a com- parison with the greatest of human characters ; for he resembles the Deity himself, c^Your military praises, Csesar, shall be cele- brated ; they, I say, shall be celebrated, not only amongst us, but in every language, in the annals of every nation, and the latest posterity shall proclaim them. The fame of these ex- ploits, however, while we read of them, seems, I know not how, to be drowned amidst the shouts of armies, and the din of w r ar ; but when we read or hear of a compassionate, a gene- rous, a humane, a just, a moderate, a prudent act performeu while in anger, that foe to deliberation, and in the triumph of victory, when men are generally proud and insolent ; with such an ardent affection are we inflamed, that we are frequently in love with persons whom we never saw; and this not only while we contemplate realities, but even while we survey the pictures of the imagination. But with what gratitude shall we embrace, with what veneration approach, with what applause shall we crown you, whom we have constantly among us ; whose disposition, whose inclination, whose countenance seems to promise that whatever has survived the fortune of the late war, shall be again secured to us ! By heavens, I ft Sl4f M. T. ClCKRONtS ORATlONfcS. C. Caesar, ut mihi videtur, hujus curiae tibi gratjas agere gegti- unt, quod brcvi tempore futura sit ilia auctoritas in his majo rum suorum, et suis sedibus. IV* Equidem (7) cum C. Marcelli, viri optimi, et commemo- rabili pietate [ac virtute] praediti lacrymas modo vobiscum vi- derem, omnium Marcellorum meum pectus memoria eftbdit i quibus tu etiam mortuis, M. Marcello conservato, dignitatem suam reddidisti, nobilissimamque familiam, jam ad paucos re-» dactam, pene ab interitu vindicasti. Hunc tu igitur diem (8) tuis maxim is et innumerabilibus gratulationibus jure antepones : haec enim res unius est propria C. Caesaris : caeterae, duce te, gestae, magna? illae quidem, sed tamen multo magnoque comi- iatu ; hujus autem rei tu idem et dux es et comes : quae quidem tanta est, ut tropaeis, monumentisque tuis [nulla unquam] allatura sit finem setas ; nihil enim est opere, aut manu factum, quod aliquando non conficiat et eonsumat vetustas \ at vero haec tua justitia, et lenitas animi florescet quotidie magis, ita ut, quantum operibus tuis diuturnitas detrahet, tantum afferat laudibus. Et caeteros quidem omnes victories bellorum civilium jam ante sequi- tate et misericordia viceras, hodierno vero die te ipsum vicisti. Vereor, ut hoc, quod dicam, perinde intelligi auditu possit, at- que ego ipse cOgitans sentio. Ipsam victoriam vicisse videris, cum ea ipsa, quae ilia erat adepta, victis remisisti ; nam cum ipsius victoria conditione jure omnes victi occidissemus, cle- mentiae tuae judicio cOnservati sumus ; recte igitur unus invictus es, a quo etiam ipsius victoriae conditio visq.ue devicta est. Yr Atque hoc ' C. Caesaris judicium, P. C. quam late pateat, attendite : omnes enim, qui ad ilia arma fato sumus nescio quo' reipublicae misero funestoque compulsi, etsi aliqua culpa te - nemur erroris humani, a scelere certe liberati sumus ; nam 1 cum M. Marcellum, deprecaritibus vobis=, reipublicae conserva-' vit, memet mihi et it^m reipublicce, nullo deprecante, reliquos* amplissimos viros, et sibi ipsos, et patriae reddidit ; quorum et; irequentiam et dignitatem hoc ipso in consessti videtk : non ille hostes induxit in curiam, sed judicavit, ti plerisque ignOratione potius, et falso atque inani metu, quam cupiditate aut cru- delitate bellum esse susceptum ; quo quidem in beilo semper de (7) Cum C. Marcelli, viri optimi, et commemorabili pietate praditi lacrymas modo vo~ biscum >viderem.~) This C. Marcellus was conful with L. Lentulus, in the firft year of the civil war. He was brother to Marcus Marcellus, and addreffed Cafcfar in his be- half, in a very humble and affectionate manner. (8) Tuis mtximis it innumerabilibus gratulationibus .] Caefar, on accour«t of his fuccef- fes in Gaul, had a fuppluation or public thankfgiving of twenty-five days decreed him : an honour which, hehimfelf fays, had never before been granted to any : andf when the civil wars were at an end, according to Dio, forty days were decreed to him for the fame purpofe. CICERO'S ORATIONS. ->15 Csesar, the walls of this court seem with transport to pay their grateful acknowledgments to you ; conscious, as it were, that ere long the authority of our ancestors, shall be again replaced within them?!' Sect. lY. Indeed when I beheld the tears which that singu- larly pious, and best of men, C. Marcellus, poured out before you, the memory of all the Marcelli struck me to the heart ; whose dignity, even after their death, you have restored, by the preservation of M. Marcellus; and rescued that illustrious house, row well nigh extinct, from almost total ruin. Justly therefore may you prefer the glory of this day to that of your numberless heroic deeds ; for this is the act of Caesar alone. Great indeed are the exploits which have been performed under your con- duct ; yet they were performed with great, with powerful as- sistance. In the act of this day you are vourself the conductor, yourself the assistant : /an act so truly great, that time itself shall not consume the trophies and monuments it has reared : all the works of art and labour must be destroyed by age ; but this proof of your justice, and gentleness of disposition, shall daily flourish more and more ; so that in proportion as time shall consume the other monuments of your greatness, it shall heighten the glory of this. You had before risen superior in the virtues of equitv and mercy:, to every other conqueror in our civil wars ; this dav you have risen superior to yourself* But what I say, I am afraid, falls infinitely short of what I feel : permit me therefore to add, that you seem to have triumphed over victory herself, since you have restored to the conquered what you had gained by the conquest. For by the right of arms we might all have been treated as enemies ; but your cle- mency saved us ; you alone therefore, are invincible, since even victory is by you stripped of all her power and privilegejj Sect. Y. And observe, conscript fathers, how widely this clemency of Caesar extends. All of us, who were driven into the war by an unaccountable and destructive fatality of the state, though we are certainly in some degree liable to the im- putation of human infirmity, yet are we evidently acquitted of guilt. For though he has, at your intercession, preserved M. Marcellus to the republic, yet has he, unsolicited, restored me to my self and to the state ; and like wise restored, to themselves and to their country, those illustrious men, whose number and dignity grace this assembly:* he has not brought his enemies within these wails, but generously imagined that most of those who opposed him, engaged in the war rather through ignorance and groundless fears, than from principles of ambition or love of cruelty. In that war, indeed, I thought it always advisable 516 M. T. C1CER0JNIS ORATXONES. pace agendum, audiendumque esse putavi ; scmpcrquc dolui uon modo pacem, sed oration em etiam eivium pacem flagitan- tium repudiate. Neque enim ego ilia, nee ulla unquam secatus sum anna civilia ; semperque mea eons ilia pacis et togse socia, non belli atque armorum fuerunt\ hominein sum secutus privato officio, non publico : (9) tantumque apud me grati animi fidelis memoria valuit, ut nulla non modo cupiditate, sed ne spe qui- dem, prudens et sciens, tanquam ad interitum ruerem volunta- rium. Quod quidem meum consilium minime obscurum fuit ; nam et in hoc ordine, Integra re, multa de pace dixi ; (10) et in ipso bellpi eadem etiam cum capitis mei periculo sensi. Ex. quo jam nemo erit tarn injustus rerum ^estimator, qui dubitet, quae Gsesaris voluntas de bello fuerit, cum pacis auctores conservandos- I ^ statim censuerit, ceteris fuerit iratior. "Atque id minus mirum j ^Z/^/yideretur fortasse turn, cum esset incertus exitus, et anceps for- tuna belli ; qui vero victor pacis auctores diligit, is profecto de- clarat, se maluisse non dimicare, quam vincere. VI. Atque h u jus quidem rei M. Marcello sum testis; nostri enim sensus, ut in pace semper, sic turn etiam in bello' cqngrue- bant: quoties ego eum, et quanto cum clolore vidi, cum inso- lentiam ceribrum hominum, turn etiam ipsius victorise ferocita- tern extimescentem ? Quo gratior tua liberalitas, C. Caesar, no- bis, qui ilia vidimus, debet esse : non enim jam causae sunt inter se, sed victorise comparandse. Vidimus tuam victoriam pruelio- rum exitu terminatam ; gladium vagina vacuum in urbe non vidimus ; quos amisimus cives, eos Martis vis perculit, non ira victorise : ut dubitare debeat nemo, quin multos, si fieri posset, C Csesar ab inferis excitaret ; quoniam ex eadem acie conservat quos potest". Alterius vero partis (n) nihil amplius dicam, quam (<)) Tantumque apud me grati animi fidelis memoria valuit.] Though Cicero certainly preferred the caufe of Pompey to that of Ciefar, yet his perfonal affe&ion for Pom- pey, and his gratitude for favours received, which had ever the greateft weight with him, had no fmall fhare in determining him to join him. For though he was difplea- fedwith Pompey 's management of the war, and had no hopes of his fuccefs ; though he knew him before to be no politician, and foon perceived him to be no general ; yet, with all his faults, he could not endure the thought of deferting him. (10) Et in ipfo bello eadem etiam cum capitis met periculo fenft.) Cicero was not prefent at the battle of Pharfalia, nor was Cato, who ftaid behind alfo in the camp at Dyrra- chium, which he commanded with fifteen cohorts, when JLabienus brought them the news of Pompey 's defeat : upon which Cato offered the command to Cicero, as the fu- perior in dignity ; and upon his refufal of it, as Plutarch tells us, young Pompey was io enraged, that he drew his fwor I, and would have killed him on the fpot, if Cuto 5iad not prevented it. Thou^h.this fact is not mentioned by Cicero, yet it is probable that he refers to it in this paffage. (il) Nihil ampliui dicam, quam id, quod omnes •verebamur, nimis iracundum, fuluram fi'ijft victoriam.) It appears from many of Cicero's letters, that he was frequently fhock- ej when he confidered with what cruelty and effufion of civil blood the fuccef* even- i CICERo's ORATIONS. 517 to hearken to proposals of peace, and was not a little grieved that not onlv an accommodation, but even the petition of the citizens wh© earnestly implored it, was totally rejected. Never was I active in these or any other civil - commotions ; I have al- ways been an advocate for peace and tranquility ; always an enemv to war and bloodshed.,/ I joined Pompey on friendly, not political principles ; and so strongly was I influenced by a grateful sense of my obligations to him, that not only without any ambition, but even without any hope, I rushed voluntarily upon evident destruction. My advice relating to the war, was far from being secret. Before matters came to an extremity, I stated largely the advantages of peace in this assembly ? and during the war I maintained the same opinion, even at the hazard of my life. Whence none can form so unjust an esti- mate of things as to doubt what were the sentiments of Csesar upon this head, since he immediately resolved to preserve those who were the advisers of peace, but behaved with more reGent- mentto the rest. This conduct might not perhaps appear so surprising, when the event of the war was uncertain, and vic- tory doubtful ; but when he who is victorious caressess the friends of peace, he gives the clearest proof that he would rather not have fought than have conquered. Sect. VI. And as to this point, I am an evidence in behalf of M. Marcellus ; for our sentiments were always the same, as well in war as in peace. How often, and with what concern have I seen him trembling at the insolence of some amongst us, and the inhumanity to which victory might transport them ? Hence it is, Caesar, that we who have been witnesses of these things, ought to be the more sensible of your genero- sity : for we are not now weighing the merits of the cause, but the consequences of victory. We have seen your victory close in the field where it was won, and have never seen a sword drawn within our walls. The citizens we lost fell in battle, not bv the insolence of victory : whence there can be no doubt but that if it were possible Cfesar would recall many from the shades, since he now saves all he can from destruc- tion. As to the other party, I shall only add what we were all afraid of, that had they been successful, they would have been of his own friends would certainly be attended. For Pompey, on all occafions, af« fe&ed to imitate Sylla, and was often heard to fay, Could Sylla do fucb a thing, and can- not I do it ? as if deter nined to make Sylla's victory the pattern of his own. He was in much the fame circumftances, in which that conqueror had once been ; fuftaining the caufe of the fenate by his arms, and treated as an enemy by those who poffeffed Ita- ly ; and as he flattervd himfelf with the fame good fortune, fo he was meditating the fame kind of return, and threatening ruin and profcripuon to all his enemies 518 M. T. CICERONIS ORATIONES. id, quod omnes verebamur, nimis iracundam futuram fuisse victoriam ; quidam enim non modo armatis, sed interdum etiam otiosis minabantur : nee, quid quisque sensisset, sed ubi fuisset, cogitandum esse dicebant : ut mihi quidem videantur dii hn- s mortales, etiam si poenas a populo Romano ob aliquod delictum 01/ expetiverunt, qui civile bellum tanturn et tarn luctuosum excita- verunt, vel placati jam, vel etiam satiati aliquando omnem spem galutis ad clementiam victoris et sapientiam ccvntulisse. Quare gaude tuo isto tarn excellenti bono, et fruere cum fortuna et gloria, turn etiam natura etmoribus tiiis: ex quo quidem maximus est fructus jucunditasque sapienti; cetera ciim tua recordabere, etsi perssepe virtuti, tamen plerumque felicitati tuae gratula- bere : de nobis, quos in repub. tecum simul salvos esse voluisti, quoties cogitabis, toties de maximis tuis beneficiis, toties de incredibili liberalitate, toties de singular! sapientia tua cogita- bis : qure non modo summa bona, sed nimirum audebo vel sola dicere ; tantus est enim splendor in laude vera, tanta in mag- nitudine animi et consilii dignitas, ut hsec a virtute donata, ca> tera a fortuna commodata esse videantur. Noli igitur in con- servandis bonis viris defatigari, non cupiditate prsesertim, aut prav it ate ali qua laps is, sed opinione officii, stulta fortasse, certe non improba, et specie quadam reipublicse : non enim tua ulla culpa est, si te ali qui timuerunt ; contraque summa laus, quod plerique minime timendum fuisse senserunt. VII. Nunc vero venio (**) ad gravissimam querelam, et atro- 5? // cissimamsuspicionem tuam ; qusenontibi ipsi magis, quam cum omnibus civibus, turn maxime nobis, qui a te conservati sumus, providenda est ; quam etsi spero esse falsam, mm quam tamen verbis extenuabo : tua enim cautio, nostra cautio est ; ut, si in alterutro peccandum sit, malim videri nimis timidus, quam pa- rum prudens : sed quisnam est iste tarn demens ? de tuisne ? tametsi qui magis sunt tui, quam quibus tu salutem insperanti- bus reddidisti ? an ex eo numero, qui una tecum fuerunt ? non est credibilis tantus in ullo furor, ut, quo duce omnia summa sit adeptus, hujus vitam non anteponat suse. At si tui nihil (l2) Ad jrra'u'ijjimam querelam, et atrecijjimam fufplcionem tuam.~\ When Marcellus's brother threw himfelf at the feet of Casfar, and applied for a pardon in the mofl hum- ble and affectionate manner, Csjfar complained greatly of Marcellus, and faid he fuf- pected that he defined to lay fnaresfor him. CICERO S ORATIONS. £19 outrageous, since some amongst them not only threatened those who were actually in arms, but sometimes even the neutral and inactive, and publicly declared they would not inquire what a man thought, but where he had been : so. that it seems to me as if 'the immortal gods (though they may have raised this destruc- tive, this calamitous civil war to punish the Roman people for some aggravated offence) being appeasedor sufficiently avenged, had at length directed us to hope for safety from the wisdom and compassion of our conqueror. Wherefore rejoice in this amiable quality ; enjoy your fortune and dignity ; enjoy your virtue and noble disposition ; from which the wise derive the highest delight and satisfaction. "When you reflect on the other illustrious actions of your life, though you will find rea- son to attribute much to your bravery, yet more must be attri- buted to your good fortune/but as often as you think of us, whom rou have reserved to enjoy with yourself the happiness of our country, so often shall be revived in your mind the plea- sing remembrance of your extensive beneficence, of your amaz- ing* generosity, and of your unparalleled wisdom : virtues which, I will venture to say, not only constitute the highest, but the only happiness of our natures. So distinguished a lus- tre is there in deserved applause, so great a dignity in magnanimi- ty and true wisdom, that these seem the gift of virtue, wile other blessings are only the temporary loan of fortune. Continue therefore to protect the good, those especially who fell not through ambition or depravity of mind, but erred through an imaginary apprehension of their duty, weak perhaps, surely not criminal, and supported by an appearance of patriotism. If you have been dreaded by any, their fears are not to be charged to your account, on the contrary, it is your highest honour that most men now perceive there was no foundation for thernT) Sect. VII. I now proceed to your heavy charge and dark suspicions ; suspicions that call not more loudly for your cir- cumspection, than for that of every Roman, but more especially for ours who are indebted tdyou for our security : and though I hope they are groundless, yet I will not, by what I shall now say, endeavour to lessen them. For in your precaution con- sists our safety ; so that were I to err in either extreme, I would rather appear timid than imprudent. But where is the man so outrageously desperate ? Is he among your friends ? Who can be more so than those whom, contrary to their own expectations, you rescued from ruin ? Is he among the number of those who accompanied you to the war ? It is not to be suspected that*any of them can be so madly infatuated, as not to prefer to his own life, the life of him under whose command he has risen to everything he could wish for. But though your friends ltd £20 M. T. CICERONIS ORATIONBS. cqoitant scelcris ; cavendum est, ne quid inimici : qui ? omnes enim qui fuerunt, aut sua pertinacia vitam amiserunt, aut tua misericordia retinuerunt : ut aut nulli supersint de inimicis, aut, qui superfuerunt, amicissimi sint. Sed tamen, cum in animis hominum tantfe latebrae sint, et tanti recessus, augeamus sane suspicionem tuam : simul enim augebimus et diligentiam ; nam quis est omnium tarn ignarus rerum, tarn rudis in repub. tarn nihil unquam nee de sua, nee de communi salute cogitans, qui npn intelligat, tua salute contineri suam ? et ex unius tua vitam pendere omnium ? Equidem de te dies noctesque ut debeo, cogitans, casus duntaxat humanos et incertos eventus valetu- dinis, et naturae communis fragilitatem extimesco ; doleoque cum respublica immortalis esse debeat, earn in unius mortalis anima consistere : si vero ad humanos casus, incertosque even- tus valetudinis, sceleris etiam accedat, insidiarumque consensio ; quern deum, etiam si cupiat, opitulari posse reipublicse creda- mus ? VIII. Omnia sunt excitanda tibi, C. Csesar, uni, quse jacere sentis, belli ipsius impetu, quod neccrsse fuit, perculsa atque pro- strata : (13) constituenda judicia, revocanda ikies, comprimendfe libidines, propaganda soboles : omnia, qiue dilapsa defluxerunt, severis legibus vincienda sunt, Non fuit reeusandum in tanto bello civili tantoque animorum ardore et armorum, quin quas- sata respublica, quicunque belli eventus fuisset, multa perderet et ornamenta dignitatis, et prsesidia stabilitatis sua? ; multaque uterque dux faceret armatus, quse idem togntus fieri prohibuis- set ; quse quidem nunc tibi omnia belli vulnera curanda sunt, quibus prjeter te mederi nemo potest. Itaque illam tuam praB- clarissimam et sapientissimam vocem invitus audivi, satis te diu vel naturae vixisse, vel glorias : satis, si ita vis, naturae fortasse ; addo etiam, si placet, gloriae ; at, quod maximum est, patrise certe parum. Quare omitte, quscso, istam doctorum hominum in contemnenda morte prudentiam ; noli nostro periculo sa- piens esse ; sacpe enimvenit ad aures meas, ( J 4) te idem istud (13) Canftituenda judicia, revocanda fides , life] Our orator hsre urges Casfar to re- ftore the Roman conftitution ; and this he does with an honeft freedom and boldnefs, fuch as became a true lover of his country, and, at the fame time, with inimitable ad- drefs. The generofity of the tyrant too is worthy of admiration, who, inftead of re- fenting what Cicero faid, appears to have been pleafad with it. But how much more worthy of admiration would his character have been, had he followed the hontfr. coun- sel that was given him,reftored the republic, employed his power and influence in cor- recting abufes, and fettiing the conftitution-on a firm and foiid bafis; then would his memory have been glorious indeed, whereas now it muft be held in utter abhorrence by every friend to liberty and mankind, who judges impartially of his conduct, without being dazzled by the glare of his victories, and the empty pomp of hi? triumphs. {14J Tc idem ijludni.mis creira dicrre. futis te tibi •v\x'iffe.\ We are informed by Sueto- nius, that Catfar gave fome of his friends good grounds to think, that he did not wife 10 Kve any longer, and that he was not grieved at his enjoying fo bad a flate of health. cicero's orations. 521 meditate no ill, the designs of your enemies ought to be guarded against ; where are they to be found ? All those who were once such, have either lost their lives by their own obstinacy, or owe them to your clemency ; so that none of those who ever were your enemies are now ajive, or if they are, they are now become your firmest friends. (Yet so impenetrable are the secrets of men's hearts, so deep, so dark their designs, that it becomes us to increase your suspicion, that we may at the same time in- crease your circumspection. For who is so void of knowledge, so unacquainted with the affairs of the state, so thoughtless about his own or the public safety, as not to perceive that your preservation includes his own, and that on your life depends the life of every Roman ? ^In truth, while you are day and night, as you ought to be, the subject of my thoughts, I dread the common accidents of life, the precarious enjoyment of health, and the weakness to which human nature is universally subject, and behold with concern this republic, which ought to be im- mortal, depending for its existence on the life of one man ; but if the united force of guilt and treason should be added to the common accidents of life, and the uncertain enjoyment of health, what god, tjiough he was willing, can we depend upon to save our countrv ? J Sect. VIII. By you alone, Csesar, every thing which you now see prostrate and overthrown by the unavoidable shock of war, is to be raised to its former state ; justice must be re-established, public credit retrieved, every inordinate passion suppressed, the propagation of mankind encouraged, and every irregularity, every dissolute practice checked and restrained by the severity of laws. It was not to be expected but that in so calamitous a civil war, amidst the rage of faction and the combustion of arms, the shattered state, whatever was the event of the contest, would lose many of its most graceful ornaments, many of its most powerful supports ; and it may be presumed that the commander of each party did many things in the hurry of war, which, in the calm of peace, he would have condemned. fYou alone are the person who must bind up the wounds which your bleeding coun- try has received from the relentless hand of war ; for none but you can heal them. It was not without concern, therefore, that I heard from your mouth, that celebrated, that philosophic saving, that you had lived long enough for the purposes of nature, or the acquisition of glory- Long enough, if you will, for the pur- poses of nature ; for the acquisition of glory too, perhaps ; but certainly not for the service of your country." Wherefore discard, I beseech you, that stoicism which the learned affect in despising death ; be not a philosopher at our expense. I am often told that you continually repeat that saying, that you have lived long enough for yourself. Tftis I should grant, if you lived 522 M« T. CICERONIS OR ATIOX'ES. nimis crebro dicere, satis te tibi vixisse ; credo : sed turn id audi- rem, si tibi soli viveres, aut si tibi etiam soli natus esses ; nunc, cum omnium salutem civium, cuiictamque rempublicam res tuse gestae complexce sint, tantum abes a perfectione maximorum operum, ut fundamenta, qure cogitas, nondum jeceris. Hie tu modum tuse vitje, non salute reipublicse, sed equitate animi de- finies ? quid, si istud ne gloriae quidem tuse satis est ? cujus te esse avidissimum, quamvis sis sapiens, non negabis. Parumne igitur, inquies, gloriam magnam relinquemus ? immo vero aliis ? quamvis multis, satis ; tibi uni parum ; quidquid enim est, quam- vis amplum sit, id certe parum est turn, cum est aliquid amplius. Quod si rerum tuarum immorialium, C.'Cgesar, hie exitus futu- rus fuit, ut, devictis adversariis, rempublicam in eo statu relin- queres in quo nunc est ; vide quseso, ne tua divina virtus admi- rationis plus sit habitura quam gloriae : si quidem gloria est illus- jlJ-/l) tris ac pervagata multorum et magnorum vel in suos, vel in patriam, vel in omne genus hominum fama meritorum. IX. Hsec igitur tibi reliqua pars est : (15) hie restat actus : in hoc elaborandum est, ut rempublicam constituas, eaque tu in primis, cum summa tranquillitate et otio, perfruare : turn te, si voles, cum et patriae, quocldebes, sol^eris, etnaturam ipsam expleveris satietate vivendi, satis diu vixisse dicito. Quid est enim omnino hoc ipsum !iu, in quo est aliquid extremum, quod cum venerit, omnis voluptas pryeterita pro nihilo est, quia postea nulla futura sit ? quanquam iste tuus animus nunquam his angustiis, quas na- tura nobis ad vivendum dedit contentus fuit : semper immortali- tatis amore flagravit. Nee vero haec tua vita dicenda est, quae corpore et spiritu continetur : ilia inquam, ilia vita est tua, Caesar, quse vigebitmemoriasseculorum omnium, quam posteritas aiet, quam ipsa aeternitas semper tuebitur; huic tu inservias, huic te ostentes oportet : quae quidem qua? miretur jampridem multa habet ; nunc, etiam quae laudet exspectat : cbstupescent posteri certe imperia, provincias, Rhenum, Oceanuin, Nilum, pugnas innumerabiles, incredibiles victorias, ffionmncnta,(*6) mu- nera, triumphos audientes et legentes tuos ; sed nisi haec urbs Stabilita tuis consiliis et institutis erit, vagabitur modo nomen (15) Hie reflat aBus^\ A paffage from one of our orator's letters to his brother Quintus, will llluttrate this manner of expreffion. ' Lllud te ad extremum,'//^/ he, ■ et 1 oro, ethortor, ut, tanquam poetaj boni, et aclores induftrii fulent, tic tu in extrema 1 parte, et conclufione niuneris, acnegotii, tui diHgentiffimus lis, ut hie tcrtius annus * imperii tui, tanquam tertius actus, perfectiffimus atque ornatiffirnus fuiffe v>deatur.* (16) Munera.'] It was cuftomary for the Roman generals, after obtaining a victory, to give fuch ©f their foldiers as had diftinguifhed themfelves by their bravery, a cong'/a* rium, which, among the Romans, was a general name lor all prelcnts given oa that oc- cafion, whether money, corn, &c. lio cicero's orations. 523 for vourself, or were born for vourself alone. But since the safdfcr of every citizen, and the very being of the state, has now a necessary connexion with your conduct, so far are you from having perfected, that you have not yet laid the foundation of that important work you meditate. "Will you measure your life then by the goodness of your own disposition, and not by the happiness of the state ? but what if that should not be enough even for the purposes of glory, which, wise as you are, you must acknowledge to be the leading passion of your soul ? shall I then, say you, leave behind me only an inconsiderable por- tion ef glory ? for others it would be amply sufficient, but for you it is inconsiderable : for how great soever any thing may be in irself, it isjstill but small when compared with what is much greater. (Therefore, if after having conquered your enemies, Csesar, you close the scene of those actions which have rendered you immortal by leaving the state in its present condition, be- ware, I intreat you, lest your divine virtues do not rather excite the admiration of others, than brighten your own glory ; for true glory consists in the honourable and universal reputation of having done many and important services, either to one's friends, his country, or the whole race of mankind. ) Sect. IX. This part of the drama is yet to be exibited ; one scene is yet to open ; you must use your utmost endeavours to settle our constitution, that you may be among the first who en- joy the fruits of it, in the sweets of tranquility and retirement ; then, if you please, when you have paid the debt you owe to your country, and when nature is satiated with living, you may declare that you have lived long enough. But after all, how can even this period be termed long enough, which must have some end, cancelling all past pleasure whenever it arrives, because there is none to succeed ? Your soul has never been satisfied with the narrow limits of life, which nature has prescribed us, but has ever glowed with an ardent longing after immortality. Nor can this be called your life, which consists in the union of the soul and body : that alone, Csesar, that, I sav, is your life, which shall be preserved in the memory of everv succeeding a^e, shall be cherished by posterity, and defended by eternity itself. For these vou must labour, to these vou must approve yourself; many of your past exploits shall excite their admiration ; something now is wanting that shall merit their applause. Future ages will, no doubt, be struck with surprise, when they read, and hear of your com- mands, your provinces, the Rhine, the Ocean, the Nile, your innumerable battles, your incredible victories, your numerous trophies, rich donations, and splendid triumphs ; but unless this city is strengthened by your counsels, and guarded by your laws, vour fame indeed will be scattered throughout the earth, but Ii3 524 M. T. CICERONIS ORATIONES* tuum longe atquc late ; sedem quidam stabilem et domkliura certum non habebit. Erit inter eos etiam, qui nascentur, sicut inter nos fuit, magna dissensio : cum alii laudibus ad cocium res tuas gestas efferent : alii foitasse aliquid requirent, idque vel maximum, nisi belli civiiis incendium salute patriae restinxeris : ut illud fati fuisse videatur, hoc consilii. Servi igitur lis etiam judicibus, qui multis post seculis de te judicabunt, et quidem haud scio an incorruptius, quam nos ; nam et sine amore, et sine cupiditate, et rursus sine odio et sine invidia judicabunt* Id autem (17) etiam si tunc ad te, ut quidam fals*> putant, non pertinebit, nunc certe pertinet, te esse talem, ut tuas Iaudes ob- scuratura nulla unquam sit oblivio. X. Diversse voluntates civium fuerunt, distractseque senten- tise ; non enim consiliis solum et studiis, sed armis etiam et cas- tris dissidebamus. Erat autem obscuritas qusedam, erat certamen inter clarissimos duces : multi dubitabant, quid optimum esset j multi, quid sibi expediref ; multi quid deceret ; nonnulli etiam r quid liceret. Perfuncta respublica est hoc misero fatalique bello : ^ vicit is, qui non fortuna inflammaret odium suum, sed bonitate J $//leniret ; nee qui omnes, quibus iratus esset, eosdem etiam exsilio,, aut morte dignos judicaret: arma ab aliis posita, ab aliis erepta sunt. Ingratus est injustusque civis, qui armorum periculo li- beratus, animum tamen retinet armatum : ut etiam ille sit me- lior, qui in acre cecidit, qui in causa animam profudit ; quaff enim pertinacia est quibusdam, eadem aliis constantia videri potest.. Sed quia jam omnis fracta dissensio est armis, et ex- tincta aequitate victoris ; restat, ut omnes unum velint, qui modo habent aliquid non solum sapientise sed etiam sanitatis. Nisi te> C. C83sar r salvo, et in ista sententia, qua cum antea, turn hodie vel maxime usus es, manente, salvi esse non possumus. Quare omnes te, qui hsec salva esse volumus, et hortamur, et obsecra- mus, ut vitae, ut saluti tuae consulas : omnesque tibi (ut pro aliis etiam loquar, quod de me ipse sentio) quoniam subesse aliquid putas, quod cavendum sit, non modo excubias et custodias, sed etiam latcrum nostrorum oppotitus et corporum pollicemur. XI Sed ut, unde est orsa, in eodem terminetur oratio mea ; maximas tibi gratias agimus, C. Csesar, majores etiam habemus* (17) Etiam ft tunc ad te t ut quidam falfb putant^' non pertinebit.'] According to Sal- luft, Caefar did not believe that the fouls of men were immortal, for which Cicero, in this pafiage gently reprehends him, CICERO^S ORATIONS. 525 it will have no fixed residence, no certain place of abode. Those who shall arise hereafter will, like us, be divided in their opinions ; while some extol your actions to the skies, others perhaps will wish that somewhat, nay, a great deal more, had been done ; unless by restoring liberty to your country, upon the extinction of civil discord, you show that the one 'was the work of fate, the other that of wisdom. Have regard, there- fore, to those who will pass sentence upon your conduct many ages hence; and whose judgment, if I mistake not, will be more impartial thaa ours, as it will be influenced by love, ambition, envy, or resentment. And though as some falsely imagine you should then be unconcerned at all this, yet surely it now concerns you to act such a part as that your glory may never be buried in oblivion. Sect. X. \ariouswere the inclinations of the citizens, and their opinions wholly divided ,* nor did we differ only in senti- ments and wishes, but in arms and in the field. The merits of the cause were dubious, the contest lay betwixt two of our most illustrious leaders : many doubted which was in the right ; many, what was most convenient for themselves ; many, what was decent ; some also, what was lawful. The republic is now freed from this fatal, this destructive war, and victory has fa- voured him whose resentment is not inflamed by success, but softened by clemency ; him who has not adjudged to death or banishment, those who were the objects of his displeasure. Some have quitted their arms ; from others they have been forced. Ungrateful and unjust is that citizen, who being de- livered from the danger of war, retains the wrathful spirit of a warrior ; far more amiable is he, who falls in the field, and pours out his life in defence of the cause he has espoused : for what some will think obstinacy, others will call constancy. Now, since all civil discord is quashed by your arms, or extinguished by your clemency, it remains that all of us, who have any share of prudence, or even common understanding, should unite in our wishes. We can never be safe, Csesar, unless you continue so, and retain the same principles which you have dis- covered on other occasions, but particularly on this day. Therefore all of us who wish the security of our constitution, earnestly desire and intreat you to have a regard to your life and safety ; and all of us (I now speak for others, what are the sen- timents of my own heart) seeing you apprehend some reason to be on your guard, promise not only to protect you by day and night, but offer our own bodies and our own breasts as the shield of your defence. Sect. XI. vBut to close all, as I began : great are the thanks, Caesar, we now return vou ; and greater than these shall you 526 M. T. CICERONES ORATIONES, Nam omnes idem sentiunt, quod ex omnium precibus etlacry- mis sentire potuisti (18) Sed quia non est stantibus omnibus nc- jhy t cesse dicere, a me certe dici volunt, cui necesse est quodam- modo, et quod volunt, et quod, M, Marcello a te huic ordini populoque Romano et reipublicse reddito, prsecipue id a mr fieri debere intelligo ; nam lsetari omnes, non ut de unius solum, sed ut de communi omnium salute, sentio : quod autem summse benevolentise est, quse mea erga ilium omnibus semper nota fuit, ut yix C. Marcello, Optimo et amantissimo fratri, prseter eum quidem cederem nemini ; cum id solicitudine, cura, la- bore, tamdiu prsestiterim, quamdiu est de illius salute dubita- tum ; certe hoc tempore magnis curis, molestiis, doloribus libe- ratus prsestare debeo. Itaque, C. Csesar, sic tibi gratias ago, ut omnibus me rebus a te non conservato solum, sed etiam or- nato, tamen ad tua innumerabilia in me unum merita, quod fieri jam posse non arbitrabar, maximus hoc tuo facto cumulus accesserit. (18) Sed quia non eft Jlantibus omnibus neiejfe dicere.] Whenever any fenator fpoke in the ienate, he rofe up from his .feat, and ftood while he was fpeafcing ; but when he affented only to another's opinion, he continued fitting. cicero's ORATIONS. 52f hereafter receive. Our prayers and tears, on this occasion, are clear proofs of our being all of one mind ,* but as it is not ne- cessary that we should all personally address you, they have al* lotted me that part, who am, as it were indispensably obliged to perform it ; and I am persuaded that it is in a peculiar man- ner incumbent upon me, as I am appointed by the senate, and as M. Marcellus is the man restored to this assembly, to the people of Rome, and to the republic; for I perceive that you all rejoice on this occasion, not for the happiness of one man, but for the general safety. My friendship for him was uni- versally observed to be scarce surpassed by his worthy and af- fectionate brother C. Marcellus, and, except him, certainly by none ; and if by my solicitude, by my care and unwearied pains to serve him while his preservation was doubtful, I shewed this so great regard for him, it is surely a tribute which I ought to pay in an hour when I am freed from so much anxiety, trouble, and concern. Therefore, Caesar, I here return you thanks, not only for the security of my fortune, and the "honours you have conferred upon me, but also for this generous instance of kind* ness, by which you have crowned those innumerable favours ta which I thought nothing could be added, <■:■ ',■■■■ - ' ■ ' - ■, ■ . - - r , ... -j i ORATIO XIV. PRO Q. LIGARIO*. I. — (i) NOVUM crimen, C Csesar, tt ante hunc diem inauwiitum propinquus meus ad te Q. Tubero detulit, Q. Li- garium in Africa fuisse ; idque (*) C. Pansa, prses»:anti vir inge- nio, fretus fortasse ea familiaritate quae est ei tecum, ausus est confiteri. Itaque quo me vertam nescio ; paratus enim veneram cum tu id neque per te scires, neque audire aliunde potuisses, ut ignoratione tua ad hominis miseri salutem abuterer. Sed quo- niam diligentia inimici investigatum est id, quod latebat, confi- tendum est, ut opihior : prsesertim cum meus necessarius C Pansa fecerit, ut id jam integrum non esset : omissaque contro- versia omnis oratio ad misericordiam tuam conferenda est, qua plurimi sunt conservati, cum a te non liberationem culpae, sed errati veniam impetravissent. Habes igitur, Tubero, quod est accusatori maxime optandum, confitentem reum : sed tamen ita confitentem, se in ea parte fuisse, qua te, Tubero, qua virum omni laude dignum, patrem tuum. Itaque prius de vestro de- licto conftteamini necesse est, quam Ligarii ullam culpam repre- hendatis, Q. igitur Ligarius, cum esset adhuc nulla belli suspicio, * Quintus Ligarius had borne a confiderable command in the African war againft Cacfar. His two brothers, however, had always been on Czefar's fide ; and being re* commended by Panfa, and warmly fupported by Cicero, had almoft prevailed for his pardon. But Quintus Tubero, who had an old quarrel with Ligarius, being defirous to obflru<5b his pardon, and knowing Csefar to be particularly exafperated againft all thofe who, through an obftinate averfion to him, had renewed the war in Africa, ac- cused him, in the ufual forms, of an uncommon zeal and violence in profecuting.that war. Caefar privately encouraged the profecution, and ordered the caufe to be tried in the forum, where he fat upon it in perfon, ftrongly prepoffeffed againft the crimi- nal, and determined to lay hold on any plaufible pretence for condemning him : but the pomp and energy of Cicero's eloquence, exerted with all his fkill in a caufe which he had much at heart, is faid by Plutarch to have had fuoh a wonderful effe6t, that it not only made Catfar tremble, but what is ftill more extraordinary, got the better of all his prejudices, and extorted a pardon from him againft his will. Whatever truth there nray be in this ftory, which refts entirely upon the authority of Plutarch, (who does not appear to have copied it from any earlier hiftorian, but to have received it •nly from common tradition), the art and addrefs difplayed in the oration cannot be fufficiently admired. It was delivered in the year of Rome 707, of Cicero's age 6%. ORATION XIV. FOR Q. LIGARIUS. Sect. I. A NEW charge, Csesar, and till this day unheard of, my kinsman Quintus Tubero has laid before you, namely, that Quintus Ligarius was in Africa : and Caius Pansa, a per- son of the greatest abilities, relying perhaps on that share he has in your friendship, has ventured to own it. How to behave, therefore, I know not : for I had come prepared, as you could not possibly know this of yourself, nor learn it from any other person, to have taken advantage of your ignorance in this re- spect, in order to save an unfortunate man ; but as this secret is discovered by the diligence of our adversary, we had best confess it, I think ; especially as my good friend C. Pansa has so ordered matters, that it cannot now be remedied : and omitting all de- bate upon the matter, we must address ourselves entirely to your clemency, by which numbers have been preserved, obtaining at your hands, not absolution from their crimes, but pardon for their error. You have then, Tubero, what is most to be wished for by a prosecutor, the person accused pleading guilty i but pleading that you, Tubero, and your father, a man worthy of the highest praises, acted the same part for which he is now accused : you are under the necessity of confessing your own crimes, therefore, before you can impeach Ligarius. Quintus Ligarius, then, when as yet there was not the least suspicion of a war, set out for Africa with Caius Considius, in quality of lieu- tenant ; in which station he so behaved himself both towards (i) Novum crimen.} It is obvious to obferve what a fine irony runs through the be- ginning of this oration. (l) C. Panfa, prajianti vir ingenio.'] This was C Vibius Panfa, who was conful with Hirtius, in the year of Rome 710. He was zealoufly attached to Casfar, ferved him in all his wars with lingular affe&ion and fidelity ; but being naturally of a humane and companionate temper, he was touched with the miferies of the opprefied Pompsi- ans, and, by his intereft, reftored many of them to the city and their eftaces, whifih rendered him extremely popular. 530 M. T. GICERONIS ORATIONES. legatus in Africam cum proconsule C. Considio profectus -e^t : qua in legatione et civibus et sociis ita se probavit, ut decedens Considius provincia satisfacere hominibus non posset, si quem- quam alium provinciae praefecisset. Itaque Q. Ligarius, cum diu recusans nihil profecisset, provinciam accepit invitus : cui sic praefuit in pace, ut et civibus et sociis gratissima esset ejus integritas et fides. Bellum subito exarsit : quod, qui erant in Africa, ante audierunt geri, quam parari : quo audito, partim cupiditate inconsiderata, partim caeco quodam timore, primo salutis, post etiam studii sui quaerebant aliquem ducem : cum Ligarius domum spectans, et ad suos redire cupiens, nullo se implicari negotio passus est. (3) Interim P. Attius Varus, qui praetor Africam obtinuerat, Uticam venit : ad eum statim con- cursum est ; atque ille non mediocri cupiditate arripuit impe* rium : si illud imperium esse potuit, quod ad privatum, clamore multitudinis imperitae, nullo publico consilio deferebatur. Ita- que Ligarius, qui omne tale negotium cuperet effugere, paullum adventu Vari conquievit. II Adhuc, C. Caesar, Q. Ligarius omni culpa vacat : domo est egressus, non modo nullum ad bellum, sed ne ad minimam qui- dem suspicionem belli : legatus in pace profectus, in provincia pacatissima ita se gessit, ut ei pacem esse expediret. Profectio certe animum tuum non debet offendere : num igitur remansio ? multo minus ; nam profectio voluntatem habuit non turpem, re- mansio etiam necessitatem honestam. Ergohsec duo tempora ca- rent crimine : unum, cum est legatus profectus ; alterum, cum efflagitatus a provincia, propositus Africae est. Tertium est tempus, quo post adventum Vari in Africa restitit ; quod si est criminosum, necessitatis crimen est, non voluntatis. An ille si potuisset illinc ullo modo evadere, Uticae potius quam Romae ; cum P. Attio, quam cum concordissimis fratribus ; cum alienis esse quam cum suis maluisset? cum ipsa legatio plena desiderii ac solicitudinis fuisset, (4) propter incredibilem quendam fra- trum amorem, hie aequo animo esse potuit, belli discidio dis- tractus a fratribus ? Nullum igitur habes, Csesar, adhuc in Q. Ligario signum alienae ate voluntatis ; cujus ego causam ani- madverte, quaeso, qua fide defendam, cum prodo meam. O cle- ($) Interim P. Attius Varus^\ This Varus was the firft who feized Africa on the part of the republic, and, being fupported by all the force of king Juba, Pompey's faft friend, reduced the whole province to his obedience. But, being defeated by Csefar, he fled with Sex. Pompeius and Labienas into Spain, and was killed in the battle of Munda. ( '4 J Propter incredibilem quendam f rat rum amorem.} Cicero, as appears by feveral of his orations, took frequent occafion to move the pafllons by celebrating the private vir- tues of thofe whofe caufe he pleaded. The delicate manner in which he generally pra&ifed this art, gives us an high idea of his abilities, and (hows how well he was ac- quainted with the human heart, and the methods of touching ic fcicuko's ORATIONS, ssi our countrymen and allies,, that Considius, at his departure, could by no means have satisfied the inhabitants if he had given the government of the province to any other person. QumtnS Ligarius, therefore, having long declined it to no purpose, en- tered upon his charge with reluctance ; and such was his admi- nistration in peace, that his integrity and honour greatly en- deared him both to our countrymen and allies* A war suddenly blazed out, which those in Africa -heSrd was already commenced, before they received intelligence that any preparation was made towards it. Upon the news of this, partly from a rash par- tiality, partly from a blind fear, they looked out for a leader : first to protect them, afterwards to favour their inclinations;. All this time, Ligarius turning his eyes towards his native countrv, and being desirous of returning to his friends, did not suffer himself to be involved in any public business whatever* In the mean time, Publius Attius Varus, who, a3 prsetor, had obtained Africa for his province, came to Utica. To him every body immediately ran, and he with no small eagerness took the command upon himself, if that, can be called a command, which was conferred upon a private man by an unthinking multitude, hot by any public decree. Accordingly -Ligarius, who was de- sirous of avoiding all business of that kind, upon the arrival of Varus, gained a little respite* Sect. II. Hitherto, Caius Osesar, Quintus Ligarius is free from reproach. He went from home, not only to no war, but not even with the least suspicion of a war j he went as a lieute- nant in a time of peace, and behaved in such a manner in a very peaceable province, that he had reason to wish for the continuance of peace- His departure surely ought not to give you offence : could then his stay there ? certainly far less. For his departure argued no dishonourable views, and h*j stay Was occasioned by a laudable necessity. During these two periods, therefore, he is free from reproach ; when he departed as lieu- tenant, and when he was set over Africa, at the solicitation of the whole province. There is a third period, namelv, that when he staid in Africa, alter the arrival of Varus. If this was criminal it was owin£ to necessity, not to choice. Would he, if he could by anv means, have escaped from thence, have chosen to stay at Jtica, rather than at .Rome ; with Publius Attius rather than with the most affectionate brothers ; and with strangers rather than v/ith his own kindred I as his gov- ernment had been full of trouble and anxietv, on account of the incredible affection he bore to his brothers, could he be easy in his mind when torn from them by the tumults of war 2 Hitherto, Csesar, you have not the least indication, in Quintus .Ligarius, of his disaffection to you ; whose cause, observe, with What zeal I defend, when I tlftreby betray my own. Admirable clemency ! worthy to be extolled, to be or.i'iimed, to be ce- S 3 532 M. T. CICERONIS ORATlONES. mentiam admirabilcm, atque omni laude, praxlicatione, Uteris, monumentisque decorandam ! M. Cicero apud te defendit, aliumin eavoluntate non fuisse, in quase ipsum confitetur fuisse jf nee tuas tacitas cogitationes extimescit ; nee,- quid tibi de alio" audienti de seipso occurrai, reformidat. III. Tide quam non reformidem : vide quanta lux liberalitatis et sapientne tuse mihi apud 0b dicenti oboriatur ; quantum po- tero, voce contendam, ut hoc populus Ilomanus exaudiat. Susceptto bc:Ilo, Caesar, gesto etiam ex magna parte, nulla vi coactus, judicio meo ac voluntate ad ea arma profectus sum, qiue erant sumpta contra te. Apud quern igitur hoe dico ? nempe apud eum, qui cum hoc sciret, tamen me, ante quam vidit, reipuhlicce reddidit : qui ad me ex iEgypto literas misit f ut essem idem qui fuissem : (5) qui cum ipse imperator in toto imperio populi Roiviani unus esset, esse me alterum passus est : a quo, hoc ipso C. Pansa mihi nuntium preferente, concessosf fasces laureatos tenui, quoad tenendos putavi : qui mihi turn denique se salutem p; tavit reddere, si earn nullis spoliatam or- namentis redderet. Tide, quseso, Tubero, ut qui de meo facto non dubitem dicere, de Ligarii non audeam confiteri. Atque hiec propterea de me dixi, ut mihi Tubero, cum de se eadem dicerem, ignosceret; cujus ego industrise gloria*,que faveo, vel propter propinquam, cognationem, vel quod ejus ingenio studiisque delector, vel quod laudem adolescentis propinqui existimo etiam ad meum aliquem fructum re- dundare. Sed hoc qusro, quis putet esse crimen, fuisse in Africa JLigarium ? nempe is, qui et ipse in Africa esse vo- luit, et prohibitum se a Ligario queritur, et certe contra ipsum Ciesarem est congressus armatus. (6) Quid enim (5) J^wi, cum ipfe imperator in toto imperio populi Romani units ejjet, ejfe me alterum paf- fus ejl } In the eonfulfhip of Servius Sulpiciur, and Marcus Marcellus, Cicero was fent proconful into Cilicia, where he defeated the Armenians,, and took the city of Pin- deniffus : he waged war too againfl the robbers who infefted mount Amanus, on which account he was faluted general by the foldiers. The following year, when L. Pauius and C Marcellus were confuls, he returned from his province to Italy, and came near to Rome : by this time, a civil war had ariftn under the confulate of Len- tuius and Marcellus. But becaufe he did not actually enter' the city, he kept his offi- ce, and remained proconful ; for the governors of provinces, as we learn from Ulpian, retained their office no longer than they entered Rome. We have in the ninth book of the epiftlesto Atticus, an epiftle wrote to Cicero, in the time of the civil war, in which Ba!bus addrefles Cicero thus, L. Cornelius Balbus, Marco Tullio Ciceroni falutem ; an 1 another in the tenth book, where Catfar addreffes him thus: C^far imperator, JrTario Tullio Ciceroni imperaturi falutem. (6) ^uirJe/iim, Tubero, tutu ille diftrictus in acie Pbarfulica gladius agclat~\ This pal- fage is fuppofed to have raifed the flrongeft emotions in Csfar's bredt, and even to have made him tremble. Accordingly the ftory has often been alled^ed in proof ot the power of ancient eloquence,; but the fact feems to be juftly queflionable. For Ci- cero's total lilence in regard to it, feems to furnifh a very ftrong preiunaptive argument to deftroy the credit of it ; being altogether imjjttkiblc, as the ingenious Mr. Melmoth juttly obferves, that a man of Cicero's characte^R>uld have omitted any opportunity of difphiying a circumftance Co exceedingly to the honour of his elocution. Befidcs thfo, cicero's orations. 533 iebrated by public records and monuments. Marcus Cicero pleads before you, that another person had not the same disposition to- wards vou, which he confesses he himself had ; nor does he dread \ our secret thoughts, or fear any reflections you may make upon himself, while you hear him pleading the cause of another. Sect. III. See how undaunted I am ; see what rays of light your wisdom and generosity dart upon me, whilst I am pleads ing before you. I will raise my voice as much as I can, that all Home may hear me. After the war was begun, Csesar, nay and considerably advanced, without any compulsion, from choice and inclination, I joined that party which took arms against you. Before whom do lsay this ? even before him who, though he knew it, yet ere he saw me, restored me safe to my country ; who sent letters to me from Egypt, permitting me to continue in the same character I had formerly sustained ; who, when he was the only person throughout the whole empire of J&ome, that had the title of emperor, allowed me to share thj^ame honour > from whom, this very Caius Pansa bringing *§ue the message, I held the laureled fasces as long as I thought proper ; who, in a word, thought he then only gave me life, when he gave it me stripped of none of its ornaments. Observe, Tubero, I be- seech you, how I, that make no scruple of confessing what was done by myself, yet dare not plead guilty to what was done by Ligarius : and I mentioned these things of myself, that Tubero may forgive me when I say the same of him. He is one whose application and merit I am fond of, both on ac- count of our near relation, the pleasure I receive from his genius and studies, and because I think the reputation of a young kinsman redounds in some measure to my own honour. But I desire to know one thing, Who thinks it a crime in Ligarius that he was in Africa ? the very man who was de^ sirous of being there himself ; who complains that he was hin- dered by Ligarius ; and who is well known to have appeared in arms against Csesar* For what, Tubero, did that naked sword it is very obfervable, that Valerius Maximus, who has a chapter exprefsly to fhow the force of eloquence, and who mentions a particular inftance of this kind with regard to Caefar himfelf, takes not the leaft notice of the fail in queflion ; and it is not to be fup- pofed that he would have omitted it, had he known it to be true, efpecially as it afford- ed him a much ftronger inftance for his purpofe, than any he has thought proper to e- numerate. The only ancient writer who relates the ftory is Plutarch, and he introdu- ces it with a legetai de> which feems to imply that he did not copy it from any earlier hiftorian, but received it only from common tradition. Now fuch a report, as Mr. Melmoth obferves, might have arifen from Caesar's having been feized, during the courfe of this trial, with one of his ufual epileptic fits, which were attended with that change of colour, and trembling of the nerves, that Plutarch afcribes to the force of Cicero's rhetoric. And that this is all that there was of truth in the cafe, is rendered probab'e by the teftimony of Suetonius, who informs us, that Csefar was twice feU zed with thefe fits, when he was engaged in judicial affairs. 554 M. T. CICERONIS ORATIONES. Tubero, tuus ille districtus in acie Pharsalica gladius agebatf cujus latus ille mucro pctebat ? qui sensus erat armorum tuorum j qusc tua mens ? oculi '? manus ? ardor ani mi ? quid cupiebas ? quid optabas ? Nimis urgeo : commoveri videtur adolesccns ; ad me revertar ; (7) iisdem in armis fui, IV. Quid autem ali-»d egimus, Tubero, nisi ut, quod hie po- test, nos possemus ? Quorum igitur impunitas, Caesar, tu?e cle- mentise laus est, ecrum ipsorum ad crudelitatem te acuet ora- tio ? Atque in hac causa nonnihil equidem, Tubero, etiam tuam, sed multo magis patris tui prudentiam desidero. : quod homo cum ingenio, turn etiam doctrina excellens, genus hoc causae quod esset, non viderit ; nam si vidisset, quovis profectu, quam isto modo a te agi maluisset. Arguis fatentem : non est satis ; accusas eum qui causam habet, aut, ut ego dico, meliorem quam tu ; aut, ut tu vis, parem* Haec non modo mirabilia sunt, sed prodigii simile est, quod dicam. Non habet earn vim ista accusatio, ut Q. Ligarius condemnetuiy sed r dt necetur : hoc egit civis Roi^anus ante te nemo : externi isti mores usque ad sanguinem incitaflft solent odium aut lev rum Graecorum, aut im> manium barbarorum. Nam quid aliud agis ? ut Romse ne sit ? ut domo careat ? ne cum optimis fratribus, ne cum hoc T. Broc- cho avunculo suo, ne cum ejus filio consobrino suo, ne nobis- cum vivat ? ne sit in patria ? num est ? num potest magis carcre. his omnibus, quam caret? Italia prohibetur, exsulat. Non tu ergo hunc patria privare, qua caret, sed vita, vis. At istud ne apud eum quidem dictatorem, (8) qui omnes, qups oderat, mor- te multabat, quisquam egit isto modo : ipse jubebat occidi, nullo postulante : praemiis etiam invitabat ; quae tamen crudelitatis ah hoc eodem aliquot annis post, quern tu nunc crudelem esse vis, vindicata est. V. Ego vero istud non postulo, inquies ; ita mehereulc existi- mo, Tubero : novi enim te, novi patrem tuum,'novi domum, no- menque vestrum ; studia denique generis, ac familiae vestrae, vir- tutis, humanitatis,doctrinae plurimarum artium atque pptimarum, nota sunt mihi omnia : itaque certo scio, vos non^petere sangui- (7) Jifdcm in arm'u fui] Cicero was not prefent at ihe battle of Pharfalia, but was Jeft behind at Dyrrachium, much out of humour, as well as out of order ; his difcon.- tent to fee all things going wrong on that fide, and contrary to his advice, had brought upon him an ill habit of body, and weak ftate of health, which made him decline all public command. (8) ^ui omnes, quos oderat, morte multabat .] Our orator here piaysafine compliment to Csefar, who, though he was a dictator, always expreffed the utmoft abhorrence of Sylla's cruelty. Sylla not only exercifed the moft infamous cruelty that had ever beea practifed in cold blood in any city, by the deteflable method of a profcription, of which he wajthe firft author and inventor ; but, as Plutarch informs us,fet a reward CICERO's ORATIONS. 53 $ of yours do in the battle of Pharsalia ? whose breast was its point aimed at? 'what was then the meaning of your arms I \ our spirit ? your eves ? your hands ? your ardour of soul ? what did you desire ? what wish for ? I press the youth too much; he seems disturbed. I^et me return to myself; I too bore arms on the same side. Sect. IT. But what else, Tubero, did we aim at, but the power of doing what Caesar now can do ? Shall those very men then, whose safety, Caesar, is owing to your clemency, by their discourses stir you up to cruelty ? and really in this cause, Tu- bero, I think you have been wanting in point of prudence ; and much more your father, who, though a man of distinguished learning and abilities, could not perceive the nature of this pro- secution ; for if he had, he would have chose to have had it managed in any other manner than this. You accuse a man, who pleads guilty : nor is this all ; you impeach one whose cause is either, as I say, better than yours ,* or as you yourself will have it, as good. What I mention is not only wonderful, but perfectly astonishing; the tendency of this charge of yours is not that Quintus Ligarius should be found guilty, but that he should be put to death ,* a thing which no citizen of Rome be* fore you, ever did. These are exotic manners : the volatile Greeks, or savage barbarians, used to push their resentment even to blood ; and what else are you now doing ? Do you de- sire that Ligarius should be driven from Rome ? that he should be banished from his own house, from his excellent brothers, from Titus Brocchus here, his uncle, his son, and me ? that he should be deprived of his country ? Can he enjoy less of all these comforts than he has at present ? he is forbid Italy, he lives in banishment. Your intent then is, not to deprive him of his country, but of life. A prosecution like this no man ever car* ried on, not even before that dictator who condemned all he hated, to die ; a dictator who ordered persons to be put to death without any impeachment, and who even invited murders by rewards : a cruelty which was revenged some years after, by the very man you would npw perbuade to be cruel. Sect. V. But I do not desire this, you will say ; indeed, Tu* bero^I think you do not. For I know you, I know your father, I know your family and descent ; the manners, in short, of your whole race, their virtue, their humanity, their skill in many, even the most useful arts, are all well known to me. Therefore I am certain you do not aim at blood : but you do not consider. of two talents upon the head of every man who wasprofcribed. Caefar had this fo much in ab- horrence, that he profccuted every man as a murderer, who had touched any part of the public money for killing any perfon that was profcribed. $2G M. T. CICERONIS ORATIONES, jiem : sed parum attenditis ; res enim eo spectat, ut ca pcenfc in qua adhuc Q. Ligarius sit, non videamini esse contenti : quae est igitur alia, prseter mortem ? si enim in exsilio est, sicuti est ; quid amplius postulatis ? an, ne ignoscatur ? hoc vero multo acerbius, multoque est gravius ; quod nos domi petimus preci- bus etlacrymis,prostrati ad pedes, non tarn nostrse causae fiden- tes, quam hujus humanitati, id ne impetremus pagnabis ? et in nostrum fletum irrumpes ? et nos jacentes ad pedes supplicum voce prohibebis ? Si, cum hoc domi faceremus, quod et feci- mus, et, ut spero, non frustra fecimus, tu derepente jrrupisses, et clamare coepisses, C. CJESAR, cave credas, cave ignoscas, cave te fratrum pro fratris salute obsecrantium misereat j nonne omnem humanitatem exuisses ? quanto hoc durius, quod nos do- mi petimus, id a te in foro oppugnari ? et in tali miseria multo- rum, perfugium misericordiae tollere ? Dicam plane, C Csesar, quod sentio : si in hac tanta tua fortuna lenitas tanta nen esset, quantum tu per te, per te, inquain, obtines (intelligo quid lo- quar) acerbissimo luctu redundaret ista victoria ; quam multj enim essent de victorious qui te crudelem esse vellent, cum etiam de victis reperiantur ? quam multi, qui, cum a te nemini ignosci vellent, impedirent dementi am tuam, cum etiam ii, quibus ipse ignovisti, nolint te in alios esse misericordem ? Quod si probare Caesari possemus, in Africa Ligarium omnino non fuisse : si hor nesto et misericordi mendacio saluti civis calamitosi consultum esse veliemus : tamen hominis non esset, in tanto discrimine et pericuio civis, refellere et coarguere nostrum mendacium : et si esset alicujus, ejus certe non esset, qui in eadem causa et for- tuna fuisset. Sed tamen aliud est errare Csesarem nolle, aliud nolle misereri : turn diceres, Cave, Csesar, credas ; fuit in Africa Ligarius ; tulit arma contra te : nunc quid dicis ? Cave ignoscas ? Hsec nee hominis, nee ad hominem vox est : qua qui apud te, C. Cssar, utetur, suam citius abjiciet humanitatem, quam ex- torquebit tuam. VI. Ac primus aditus, et postulatio Tuberonis hsec, ut opi- nor, fuit, yelle se de Q, Ligarii scelere dicere : non dubito, €juin admiratus sis, vel quod de hull'i alio quisquam, vel quod is qui in eadem causa fuisset, vel quidnam novi facinoris adferr ret. Scelus tu illud vocas, Tubero ? ciir ? istq enim nomine ilia adhuc causa carnit : alii errorem appellant, alii timoTem : Cicero's orations. 53T For it appears, that you are dissatisfied with the punishment which Quintus Ligarius now suffers. What other is there then but death ? for if he is in banishment, as he actually is, what more can you require ? that he may not be pardoned ? this is still more cruel, still more grievous. Will you endeavour to prevent our obtaining what we sue for by prayers and tears, by prostrating ourselves at Caesar's feet, relying! not so much on our own cause, as on his clemency ? will you break in upon- our tears ? will you strive to frustrate those prayers, which, prostrate before him, we pour out with the voice of suppliants ? if, while we are doing this at Caesar's house, which we have often done, and, I hope, not ineffectually ? you had suddenly broke in upon us, and cried out, Beware, Caesar, how you pardon ; be- ware how you are moved with compassion towards these bro- thers, imploring a brother's life at your hands ; would you not have divested yourself of all humanity? how much more cruel then is it, for you now to oppose that in the forum, which we implored at his hcuse ? and, in such a general calamity, to take away all refuge for mercy ? I will deliver my sentiments, Caesar, without disguise : if your own clemency were not as great as your fortune, your own, I say, for I know what I speak, your victory would occasion the deepest sorrow. For how many of the victorious party would persuade you to cruelty, when even the conquered do ? how many of those who are against your pardoning any, would prevent your clemency, when those who have been pardoned themselves are unwilling you should be merciful to others ? But if we could make it ap- pear to Caesar, that Ligarius actually was not in Africa ; if we were even desirous of consulting the safety of an unfortunate citizen, by a laudable and good-natured falsehood ; it would be inhuman, when the life of a Roman is in such imminent danger, to convict Us of falsehood : and if any man was to act such a part, it ought not surely to be that man, who was once involved in the same cause and fortune. But it is one thing to wish Caesar not to err ; another to wish him not to be merciful. Then vou would say, Beware, Caesar, how you believe : Ligarius was in Africa ; he bore arms against you. But now what is it you say ? Beware how )^ou pardon him. Is this the language of one man to another? whoever, Caesar, shall address you in this manner, will sooner lay aside his own humanity, than force you out of yours. Sect. VI. But the opening and preliminary of Tubero's pleading, I think, was this, that he intended to speak to the guilt of Quintus Ligarius. I question not but you was at a loss to know, either why nobody else had ever been charged with that crime, or that a man should carry on such a prosecution, who had been engaged in the same cause, or what ntia ? constantiam dico ? nescio an melius patien- tiampossem dicere : quotus enim istud quisque fecisset, ut, a quibus partibus in dissentione civil; non esset receptus, essetquc etiam cum crudelitate ejectus, ad eas ipsas rediret I magni cu- jusdam animi, atque ejus viri est, quern de suscepta causa prc- positaque sententia nulla contumelia, nulla yis, nullum pericu- lum posset clepellere. Ut enim csetera paria Tuberoni cum Varo fuissent, honos, nobilitas, splendor, ingenium, qua ne- quaquam fuerunt ; hoc certe prsscipuum Tuberonis tuit, quod justo cum imperio ex S. C in provinciam suam venerat ; hinc profcibitus, non ad Csesarem, ne iratus ; non domum, ne iners : non aliquam in regionem, ne condemnare causam illam, quam secutus esset, videretur : in Macedoniam ad Cn. Pompeii castra venit, in earn ipsam causam a qua erat rejectus cum injuria. . Quid ? cum ista res nihil commovisset ejus animum, ad quern veneratis, languidiore, credo, studio in causa fv.istis ? tantum- modo in prpesidiis eratis ; animi vero a causa abhorrebant I an, ut fit inbellis civilibus, nee in vobis magis, quam in reliquis, omncs vincendi studio tenebamur ? pacis equidem semper auctor fui : sed turn sero : erat enim amentis, cum ac*em videres, pa- com cogitare. Omnss, in quam, vincere yolebamus : tu certe prfflcipue, qui in eum locum venisscs, ubi tibi esset pcreundum v i \ icisses : quanquam, ut nunc se res habct, non dubito quin nc salutcm anteponas illi victories CICERO'S ORATIONS. .51:'5 U did. You were prevented from Getting your foot in .thi-.t province, and prevented, as you alledge, by the greatest in - justice. Haw did vou bear with this ? to whom did vou make your complaints fqr the injuries you received ? why, to the very man whose authority you acknowledged, pad whose party yon joined in the war. But if you had come upon Csesar J s account to this province, to him certainly you would have gone, when debarred it ; but you went to Pompey. With w T hat face, then, can you complain to Csesar, when you accn.se the man, by whom you complain that you were prevented from making war against 'Csesar ? and this, indeed, though false, I will give you leave to boast of, if you please, that vou intended to have delivered up the province to Csefar, but were prevented by "Varus and some others. Yet I will confess, that the whole blame is to be laid upon Liga- riu£, who deprived you of an opportunity of so much glory. S^ect- IX. But observe, Csesar, I beseech you, the constancy* ot the most accomplished L. Tubero >• a virtue which though I approved of, as I really do, yet .1 should not have mentioned, were it not that I know vou used to extol it above all other vir- tues. Was ever then such great constancy known in any man ? Constancy, do I say ? I know not whether I ought not rather to 11 if a perseverance. For in a civil dissention, wpuld any man, ho is not only not admitted into a party, but even rejected with cruelty, apply again to the same party ? This shows a certain greatness of soul, and is worthy of that man whom no indigni- ties, no power, no danger can drive from the cause he engages in, and the principle he embraces. Supposing, what was far from, being the case, that Tubero was but on an equal footing with Varus, as to dignity, quality, figure, and genius ; in thiscer- inly Tubero had the advantage, that he came into his own pro- vince, invested with a legal command from the senate. When he was driven thence, he did not betake himself to Csesar, lest he should seem to be actuated by resentment ; not heme, lest he should seem unactive ; not to a foreign country, lest he should seem to condemn that cause which he had espoused ; but to Pompey's camp in Macedonia, and to that party by which he had been injuriously rejected. But now, when this made no im- pression on Pompey ? s mind, you were much less zealous in the cause. You were only employed in the garrisons, but had an ut- ter aversion to the party : or, as is generally the case in civil wars, nor more with you than others, were we all possessed with the desire of conquering ? I indeed was always a promoter of peace, but it was then too late ; for it must have been madness to entertain thoughts of peace, when the battle was already set in array. We were all, I say, desirous of conquering; you espe- cially, who came to that camp, where you must either die or con- quer ; though, as the case now stands, I doubt not but you pre- tng safe here, to being victo 544 M. T. CICERONIS ORATIONES. X. Usee ego non dicerem, Tubero, si aut vos constantise ves- trae, aut Csesarem beneficii sui poeniteret. Nunc qusero, utrum vestras injurias, an reipublica? persequamini : si reipublicae ; quid de vestra in ea causa perseverantia respondebitis ? si vestras ; vi- dete ne erretis, qui Csesarem vestris inimicis iratum fore putetis, cum ignoverit suis. Itaque num tibi videor, Csesar, in causa Lagarii occupatus esse ? num deejus facto dicere ? quicquid dixi, ad unam summam referri volo, vel humanitatis, vel clementise, vel misericordise tuse.Causas,Csesar, egi multas (i3j etquidem tecum, (i4)dum te in foro tenuit ratio honorum tuorum : certe nunquam h^c modo : Ignoscite,judices : erravit : lapsus est : nonputavit: si unquam posthac : ad parentem sic agi solet ; ad judices, Non fecit, non cogitav'it, falsi testes, fctum crimen* Die te, Csesar, de facto Ligarii judicem esse*, quibus in prsesidiis fuerit, qusere, taceo : ne hsec quidem colligo, quse fortasse valerent etiam apud judicem : legatus ante bellum profectus, relictus in pace, bello oppressus, in eo non acerbus : turn etiam fuit totus animo et studio tuus. Ad judicem sic agi solet ; sed ego ad parentem loquor, Erravi, temere feci, pcenitet : ad clementiam tuam con- fugio : delicti veniam peto : ut ignoscas oro ; si nemo impetra- vit, arroganter ; si plurimi, tu idem fer opem, qui spem dedisti. An sperandi Ligario causa non sit, cum mihi apud te sit locus etiam pro altero deprecandi ? Quanquam neque in hac oratione spes est posita causae, nee in eorum studiis, qui a te pro Liga- rio petunt, tui necessarii. XI. Vidi enim et cognovi, quidmaxime spectares, cum pro ali- cujus salute multi laborarent : causas apud te rogantium gratiosio- res esse,quampreces: neque te spectare,quamtuus esset necessa- rius is, qui te oraret ; sed quam illius, pro quo laboraret. (*5) Itaque (13) Et quidem tecum."] Caefar is ranked by Cicero among the greatett orators that Rome ever bred. He is faid to have publiflied feveral orations, which were greatly admired for two qualities feldom found together, flrength and elegance, Quintillian fays of him, that hefpoke with the fame force with which he fought ; and that if he had devoted himfelf to the bar, he would have been the only man capable of rivalling Cicero. (14) Dumte in foro tenuit ratio honorum tuorum.'] The forum, or great fquare of the city, was the place where the aflemblies of the people were held, and where all the public pleadings and judicial proceedings were ufually tranfacted. As this, therefore, was the grand fchool of bufinefs and eloquence, the fcene on which all the affairs of the empire were determined,; it was here that thofe who afpired after public dignities laid the foundation of their fortunes. They applied themfelves to pleading of caufes, and to the defence of the innocent in diftrefs, as the furett way to popularity ; and in confequence of that, to power and influence in the ftate. Caefar is faid to have prac- tifed ia this manner from the twenty-firtt to the thirty-ninth year of his age. (15) Itaque tribuis tu qu'-lem tuis itu multa.] This paffage is not a little pe»pkxed, and, if the common reading mutt needs be retained, it will be difficult to find anyjuft con- nexion between this and the preceding fentence. If wc read etsi inftead of itaque^ it cicero's orations. 545 Sect. X. These things I should not have mentioned, Tubero, if either you repented of your constancy, or Csesar of his good- ness. I now ask, whether you carry on this prosecution for your own, or your country's wrongs ? If your country's, how can you account for your steady adherence to that party ? If your own, take care that you do not mistake in thinking that Csesar will retain a resentment against your enemies, after he has pardoned his own. Do you think then, Csesar, that I-mean. here to plead the cause of Ligarius only, and to speak of his conduct ? Whatever I have said, I desire may be understood as relating to the single point, either of your humanity, your cle- mency, or your compassion. I have pleaded many causes, Cse- sar, even with you, while your progress in honours led you to the forum, but never surely in this manner : Pardon him, my lords / he has fallen into an error ; he has made a slip ; he did not think; if he ever offends any more. Thus indeed we are wont to plead before a father : but before the judges, He did not d» it, he had no such intention ; the evidence is false ; the charge is groundless. Pronounce yourself the judge, Csesar, of what is charged upon Ligarius ; inquire in what garrisons he was. I say nothing ; nor shall I urge what might perhaps amount to a full proof before a judge : he went abroad as a lieutenant be- fore the war : he was left in the province in a time of peace : he was overpowered in time of war ; but proved no violent enemy, for his heart was wholly yours. This is the manner of pleading before a judge ; but I am now speaking before a father : I have done amiss : I have acted rashly ; I am sorry for it ; I fly to your clemency ; I beg pardon for my offence ; I beseech you to forgive me. If no one has ever obtained forgiveness at your hands, then am I guilty. of arrogance ; but if many have, do s t ou who have inspired us with hope, likewise grant us re- lief. Shall Ligarius have no room for hope, while even I am permitted to intercede for another ? though my hopes of suc- ceeding in this cause are neither placed in this speech, nor in the solicitations of your friends in favour of Ligarius. Sect. XL For I have seen and know what you chiefly re- gard, when many solicit warmly in favour of one, that the cause of your suppliants has more weight with you than their entreaties ; and that you do not consider how much the person who applies is your friend, but how much he is the friend of him for will, we apprehend, remove the obfeurity ; and tho' we know of no authority for mak- ing this alteration in the text, we have adopted it in the tranflation, leaving the rea- der at liberty to take the paffage in this fenle, or any ocher that may feem more fatif- faAory, as we cannot be certain of having hit upon our orator's meaning. 546 M. T. CICERONIS ORATIONES. tribuis tu quidem tuis ita multa, ut mil)i beatiores illi esse vicfe- antur interdum, qui ma liberalitate fr'uuntur, quam tu ipse, qui illis tarn multa concedis* Sed video tamen apud te causas, ut dixi, rogantium valere plus, quam preces ; ab iisque te moveri maxime, quorum justissimum dolorem videas in petendo. In Q. Ligario cotiservando, multis tu quidem gratum facies neces- sariis tuis : sed hoc, quseso, considera, quod soles. Possum fortissimos viros, Sabinos, tibi probatissimos, totumque agrum Sabinum, fiorem Italise, robur reipublicse proponere ; nosti op- time homines ; animadverte horum omnium moestitiam et dolo- rem ; hujus T# Brocchi, de quo non dubito quid existimes, la- crymas squaloremque ipsius, et filii vkles. Quid de fratribus di- cam ? noli, C&sar, putare, de unius capite nos agere : aut tres tibi Ligarii in civitate retinendi sunt, aut tres ex civitate extern minandi : quodvis exsilium his est optatius, quam patria, quam domus, quam dii penates, uno illo exsulante. Si fraterne, si pie, si cum dolore faciunfc, moveantte horum laSrymse, moveat pietas, moveat germanitas : valeat tua vox ilia, qua? vicit ; te enim dicere audiebamus, nos omiies adversaries puiare, nisi qui nobiscum essent ; te omnes, qui contra te non essent, tuos. Vides-ne igitur hunc splendorem, omnem hanc Brocchorum do- mum, hunc L. Marcium, C. Cseseti-um, L. Corfidium, hosce omnes equites Rom. qui adsunt veste mutata, non solum notos tibi, verum etiam probatos viros, (r6) tecum fuisse ? Atque his [maxime] irascebamur, et hos requirebamus, et his nonnulli etiam minabantur. Conserva igitur tuis suos ,* ut, quemadmo- dum csetera quse dicta sunt a te, sic hoc verissimum reperiatuiv XII. Quod si penitus perspicere posses concordiam Ligario-* rum, omnes fratres tecum judi'cares fuisse. An potest quisquam dubitare, quin, si Q. Ligarius in Italia esse potuisset, in eadem sententia futurus fuisset, in qua fratres fuerunt r quk est, c horum consensum coaspirantem, et pene confiatum, in hac prope sequalitate fraterna non noverit ? qui hoc non sentiat., quidvis prius futurum fuisse, quam ut hi fratres diversas sentei tias fortunasque sequerentur ? Voluntate igitur omnes tecum fuerunt : tempestate abreptus est unus ;' qui si *onsilio id fecissei„ csset eorum similis, quos tu tamen salvos esse voluisti. Sed ierii ad beljum : dissenserit non a te solum, verum etiam a fratribus : hi te orant tui. Equidem cum tuis omnibus negotiis interessem, (16) Tecumfuijfe.'] From what goes before, and from what follows, it appears very evident, that Cicero does not fpeak here of thofe who followed Csefar to the war, but of thofe who chofe to flay at home, and not to join either party : For Caefar reckoned the latter hig friends as well as the former, as we are told in the preceding fentencte* CICERO^ 0RAIT0NS. S4T •vliom he applies; though such is your liberality to vouf friends,- that those who share it seem sometimes mere happy to me than you who dispense it. But yet T perceive, as I said before, that the cause of your suppliants has more weight with you than their entreaties ; and that you are influenced most by those whose grief you observe to be best grounded, in preserving Q. Ligarius, you will indeed do an agreeable thing to many of your friends ; but attend, 1 beseech, you, as you usually do, to one thing. I can produce to your view the Sabines, men of the. greatest bravery, approved by you, together with the whole country, the flower of Italy, and bulwark of the state i you know the men well; observe their grief and sorrow e Your opinion of T. Brocchus here, I am no stranger to ; observe his tears and concern, observe the tears of his son. What shall I say of his brothers ? do not imagine, Cses.ar, that we are now in- terceding for one man's life : three Ligarius's are to be fixed bv you in Rome, or rooted out of it forever : any exile is more eligible to them than their country, than their home, than their household gods, while this one brother is in banishment. If their behaviour is brotherly, if it is pious, if it is affectionate, let their tears, let their piety, let their fraternal regards move you* Let your word prevail, as it has hitherto done ; for we heard you say, that we looked upon all as enemies that were not with us, but that you looked upon all as friends that were not ; gainst you. Must you not acknowledge then, that all this splendid ap- pearance, all this family of theBroG.chi, L. Marcus here, C. Csesa- tius, L. Corfidius, all these Roman knights who are present in mourning apparel, whom you not only know, but know to be worthv men, were all of your party? These are the men we were most offended at; we demanded them, nay some of us even threatened them. Preserve their friends, therefore, that your Veracity may appear in this, as in every thing else you have said. Sect. XII. But if you could thoroughly perceive the har- mony there is among the Ligarii, you would be of opinion they were all of your side. If Q. Ligarius could have been in Italy, can there be anv doubt Whether he would have been in the same way of thinking with his brothers ? who does not know the Irar- rnony, and almost samenes of sentiment of this brotherhood r who is not sensible that any thing may sooner happen, than that these brothers should be divided in their sentiments or fortunes r ail then were with you in inclination : one was borne away by a tempest ,* and though he had been separated from you by design, he would still be on the same footing with then a whom yet you have thought proper to spare. But, allowing that he took up arms, that he separated himself not only from you, but likewise frdm his brethren ; yet these who intercede for him are your friends. Indeed, as I have taken a concern V 3 $48 M. T. CICERONIS ORATIONES. memorial teneo, qualis turn T. Ligarius qusestor urbanus fuerit erga te et dignitatem tuam : sed parum est me hoc meminisse ; spero etiam te, qui oblivisci nihil soles, nisi injurias, quoniam hoc est animi, quoniam etiam ingenii tui, te aliquid de hujus qusestoris officio cogitantem, etiam de aliis quibusdam qusesto- ribus reminiscentem recordari. Hie igitur T. Ligarius, qui turn nihil egit alhid (neque enim hajc divinabat) nisi ut tu eum tui studiosum, et bonum virum judicares, nunc a te supplex fratris salutem petit : quam hujus admonitus officio cum utrisque his dederis, tres fratres optimos et integerrimos, non solum sibi ipsos, neque his tot ac talibus viris, neque nobis necessariis suis, sed etiam reipublicse condonaveris. Fac igitur, quod de homine nobilissimoet clarissimolVLMarcello restituto fecisti nu- per in curia, nunc idem in foro de optimis, et huic omni fre- quentife probatissimis fratribus ; ut concessisti ilium senatui, (*7) sic da hunc populo, cujus voluntatem carissimam semper ha- buisti ! et si ille dies tibi gloriosissimus, populo Romano gratis- simus fuit ,* noli, obsecro, dubitare, C. Csesar, similem illi glo- rise laudem quam ssepissime quserere i nihil est enim tarn popu- lare quam bonitas : nulla de virtutibus tuis plurimis nee gra- tior, nee admirabilior, misericordia est ; homines enim ad deos nulla re propius accedunt, quam salutem hominibus dando : nihil habet nee fortuna tua maj.us, quam ut possis ; nee natura tua melius, quam ut velis conservare quamplurimos. Longio- rem orationem causa forsitan postulat, tua certe natura brevio- rem. Quare, cum utilius esse arbitrer te ipsum, quam me, aut quenquam loqui tecum, finem jam faciam : tantum te ipsum ad- monebo, si illi absenti salutem dederis, prsesentibus his omnibus te daturum. (17) Sic da tunc populo.'] It may not be i mproper to acquaint the reader, that Liga- rius was a man of diftinguifhed zeal for the liberty of his country, andtnat after his return he lived in great confidence with Brutus, who found him a fit perfon to bear a part in the confpiracy againft Csefar. Near the time of his execution, however, he happened to be taken ill : and when Brutus, in a vifit to bim, began to lament that he was fallen fick in a very unlucky hour ; Ligarius, Plutarch tells us, railing himfelf pre- sently upon his elbow, and taking Brutus by the hand, replied, Yet JIM > Brutus , ifyu mean to do any thing "worthy ofyourfelj\ I am ivell. Nor did he difappoint BrutUS'8 opi- aion of him, for we find him afterwards in the lift of the confpiratori. cicero's orations. 549 in all your affairs, I well remember how much T. Ligarius, when city quaestor, was devoted to you and your dignity. But it is to little purpose for me to call this to mind ; I hope that you, whose nature and disposition it is to forget nothing but injuries, will, upon recollection, remember somewhat of his conduct as a qusestor, especially when you call to mind that of some other quaestors. The same T. Ligarius, then, who at that time meant nothing else than to make you believe he was devoted to your service, and a worthy man, (for this he could not foresee) now begs his brother's life at your hands. When you grant this, as a reward of his services, to both the suppliants, you will then restore three brethren of distinguished worth and probity, not only to one another, nor to that numerous and honourable body, nor to us his friends, but to the service of the state. Y/hat you lately did then in the senate by the illustrious M. Marcellus, that do now in the forum, by the best of brothers, men highly approved of by this numerous assembly. As you granted Mar- cellus to the senate, give Ligarius to the people, whose affec- tions you have ever held so dear ! and if that day was glorious to yourself, and delightful to the Roman people, do not hesitate, I beseech you, Csesar, to acquire the like glory as often as pos- sible. For there is nothing so popular as goodness ; not one of your numerous virtues is either more amiable, or more worthy of admiration than your clemency* In nothing do men ap- proach nearer to the gods, than by preserving their fellow- creatures. Your fortune has not any thing more exalted than that you have the power, or your nature any thing more amiable than that vou have the inclination to save numbers. This cause, perhaps requires a longer speech j your disposition, certainly, a shorter one. Wherefore, as I am persuaded that the language of your own heart will have more efficacy than any thing that I, or any other person, can say, I shall here conclude, after putting you in mind, that by preserving the man who is absent, you preserve all who are present, OR ATI O XV. IN M. ANTONIUM PHILIPPICARUM. PHILIPPICA PRIMA. I. — ANTE QU AM de republic^, patres conscripti, dicam ea quie dicenda hoc tempore arbitror, exponam vobis breviter consilium et profectionis, et reversionis mese. (j) Ego, cum sperarem aliquando ad vestrum consilium auctoritatemque rem- publicam esse revocatam, manendum mihi statuebam, quasi in vigilia quadam consulari ac senatorial; nee vero usquam discc- * When Crefar was put to death in the fenate, Mark Antony, who was his colleague in the confulfhip, apprehending fome danger to his own life, (tripped himfelf of hir. confular robes, fled home in difguife, began to fortify his hoilfe, and kept himfelf clofe all that day ; till perceiving the pacific conduct of the confpirators, he recovered his fpirits, and appeared again the next morning in public His folc view was to feizc the government to himfelf, the moment he fhould be in a condition to do it ; and then, on pretence of revenging Caefar's death, to deftroy all thofe who were likely to op- pofe him. Such were his defigns, which he pufhed on with great vigour and addrefs : he made it his bufinefs to gain time by diffembling and deceiving the republican par- ty into a good opinion of him : profeffed a fincere inclination to peace, and no other defire than to fee the republic fettled again on its old bafis. He feemed indeed to be allgoodnefs and moderation ; talked of nothing but healing meafures ; and, for a proof of his fincerity, moved that the confpirators fhould be invited to take part in the pub- lic deliberations, and fent hisfon as an hoftage for their fafety. Upon which they all came down from the capitol, where they had taken refuge : Brutus fupped with Lepi- dus, Caffius with Antony ; and the day ended to the univerfal joy of the city, who ima- gined that their liberty was now crowned with certain peace. On the pretence of public concord, however, there were feveral things artfully propofed and carried, of which he afterwards made a moffc pernicious ufe ; particularly a decree for the confir- mation of all Csefar's acls. He foon let all people fee for what end he had provided this decree, to which the fenate confented for the fake of peace ; for, being rnalter both of Casfar's papers, and of his fecretary Faberius, by whole hand they were written* he had an opportunity of forging and inferring at pleafure whatever he found of ufe to him ; which lie pra&ifcd without any referve or management ; felling publicly for mo- ney, whatever immunities were defired by countries, cities, princes, or private men, oa pretence that they had been granted by Casfar, and entered into his books. He gave feveral other inftances of his violence, which opened the eyes of the confpirators, and convinced them that there was no good to be expected from him, nor from the fenate itfcrlf, which was under his influence. This turn of affairs made Cicero refolve to pro- fecute what he had long been projecting, his voyage to Greece, to fpend a few months with his fon at Athens. He defpaired of any good from the confulfhip of Antony and Dolabella, and intended to fee Rome no more till their fucceffors Panfa and Hirtius ORATION XV. THE FIRST AGAINST M. ANTONY. Sect. I — BEFQJR.E I treat, conscript fathers, of those things relating to the public, which I think necessary to be mentioned on this occasion, I shall explain to you, in a few words, the reason both of my departure and return. When I flattered myself that the government was at length brought again under your direction and authority, I determined with myself to continue hefe on a kind of a consular and senatorian watch ; nor did I once desert my post, or call off my eyes from the entered into office, in whore adminiftraticn he began to place all his hopes. Having prepared every thing necessary for his voyage, he set fail for Greece; but was driven back, by contrary winds to Leucopetra, a promontory near Rhegium, and forced to repose himfelf in the villa of his friend Valerius, and wait for the opportunity of a fair wind. During his flay there, the principal inhabitants of the country came to pay him their compliments, and brought him news of an unexpected turn of affairs at Rome towards a general pacification. This made him prefently drop all thoughts of purfuing his voyage and determine to return to Rome,wherehe arrived on the laft of Augu ft. The fenate met the next morning, to which he was particularly fummoned by Antony ; but excufed himfelf by a civil meiTa^, as being too much indifpofed by the fatigue of his journey. Antony tcok this asan affront, and in great rage threatened openly inthefenate toorder his houfe to be pulled down, if he did not come immediately ; till by the interpofition of the affembly, he was difluaded from ufing any violence. The bufinefs of the day was to decree fome extraordinary honours to the memory ofCasfar, with a religious fupplicatica to him, as to a divinity. Cicero was determined not to concur in it, yet knew that an oppo- fition would not only be fruitlefs but dangerous ; and for that reafon Hayed away. An- tony on theotherhand, was defirous to have him there, fancying that he would either be frightened into a compliance, which would leffen him with his own party, or, by op- pofing what was intended, make him odious to the foldiery ; but, as he was abfent, the decree paffed without any contradiction. The fenate met again thenext day, when Antony thought fie to abfent himfelf, and leave the ftage clear ro Cicero ; who accor-s- diitgly appeared, and delivered this fpeech, being the firft cf those which, in imitation of Demofthenes. were called afterwards his Philippics. It was pronounced in the fixty- third year of his age, and the feven hundred and ninth from the building of the city. (i) Ego, cum fperarem aliquando ad ma word, a reconciliation was conformed- by him and his children with the best of our citizens*- And to this beginning the rest of his conduct was then agreeable. He summoned the principal per- sons of the state, to assist at the consultations, which he held in his own house, concerning public affairs ; laid every matter of importance before this assembly ; answered the questions that Were put to him y with the greatest dignity and firmness ; and nothing was then found in Csesar's register, but what every body knew of. Have any exiles been restored l the answer was, only one. Have any immunities been granted I he answeredy none.- He even wanted us to agree to what was proposed by the illus- trious Ser.- Sulpicius,-that no bills containing either a decree or a grant of Caius Csesar, should be posted up after the ides of March.- I omit many other particulars, and those illustrious ones, and hasten to mention an extraordinary action of Marls Antony's. He utterly abolished the dictatorship, which, for some time, had assumed regal authority : upon which point we did not so much as declare our sentiments. He brought an or- dinance of the senate, ready drawn up in the manner in whicli he wanted it shoukl pass ; upon hearing it read, we complied with the utmost readiness ;. and by another act, returned him thanks ill the most honourable terms. Sect. II. A new light new seemed to break out upon us, being delivered not only from royalty, to which we had ac- tually been subject, but from all apprehensions of its ever^being restored : and great was th»e proof he gave of his being in-= clined that the state should enjoy its libertv, since he utterlv abolished the office of dictator, which had often been legal, on account of the recent memory of its being made perpetual. The senate a few days after seemed to be freed from all apprehensions of bloodshed ; the fugitive who pretended to be related to the fenate, drew up a decree, to abolifh for ever the office arid name of dictator. Th» fenate paffed it, as it were by acclamation, without putting it even to the vote : and decreed the thsnks of the houfe for it to Antot;y ; wlm, as Cicero afterwards toid him, had fixed an indelible infamy by it on Caf.ir,i ^ 'eclaring to the ivorld. thai for the, odiutn */ bis government, fttch a dtcrei wjs becitn bcr'A net- jf ary avd p'p alar. 554 MT. T. CICEKOXlS OJIATIONES. Jjiberatus cse-dis periculo paucis post diebus senatus videbatur ; (6) uncus impactus est fugitive illi, qui in C. Marii nomen in- vaserat ; atqtie haec omnia communiter cum collega. Alia porro propria Dolabellse : quae nisi collega abfuisset, credo eis fuisse futura r.ommunia. Nam cum serperet in urbe infinitum malum, idque manaret in dies latius : iidemque bustuin in foro facerent,- (;) qui illam insepultam sepulturam effecerant; et quotidie magis magisque perditi homines, cum sui similibus servis, tectis ac templis urbis minarentur : (8) talis animadversiofuit Dolabella\ cum in audaces sceleratosque servos, turn in impuros et nefarics liberos, talisque eversio illius exsecratse columns;, ut minim mihi videatur, tarn valde reiiquum tempus ab uno illo die dis- sensisse. Ecce enim kalend. Juniis, quibus ut adesscmus edix- erat, mutata omnia : nihil per senatum, multa et magna per seipsum, et absence populo et invito. Consules designati se au- dere negabant in senatum venire : patriae liberatores urbe care- bant ea, cujus a cervicibus jugum servile dejecerant : quos ta- men ipsi consules et in concionibus et inomnisermone laudabant. (9) Veterani, qui appellabantur, quibus hie ordo diligentissime caverat, non ad conservationem earum rerum, quas habebant, sed ad spem novaruna praedarum incitabantur. (^uae cum au- dire mallem, quam videre, (10) baberemque jus legationis Tibe- rum, eamente discessi, ut adessem kalend. Januariis, quod ini- tium senatus cogendi fore videbatur. III. Exposui, P. C profectionis consilium : ti\mc revcrsionis, qua plus admirationis habct, brevitcr exponatn. Cum ■ Brundu- (6) Uncus impactus ejl fugiti'vo il'i, qui in C. Marti nomen invaferaf.~\ This MarluS, by fome called Chamaces, by others Heraphilus, and by Appian, Amatius, had figna- lizedhimfelf as the chief incendiary at Csefar's funeral, and the fubfequent riots; and thus having ferved Antony's ends, in driving Brutus and his party oir of the city, waa afterwards feized and ftranglcd by his order, his carcafe dragged by a hook to the Sea* l no one thing was done by the senate ; but many, and of great consequence too, by himself, both in the absence, and against the inclinations of the people. The consuls elect declared they durst not venture into the senate ; the deliverers of their country, whom yet the consuls themselves extolled in all their assemblies, and in their common conversation, were banished that city, from whose neck they had torn the yoke of slavery. The vet- terans, as they are called, whom this body had so carefully pro- vided for, were spirited up, not to preserve their present pos- sessions, but to hope for future plunder. As I chose rather to hear of, than to see these things, and had obtained the privilege of an honorary embassy, I departed with a resolution of return- ing to Rome on the kalends of January, which, in all probability, was to be the first day of the senate's meeting. Sect. III. Thus, conscript fathers, have Ilaid before you the reasons of my departure : I shall now briefly acquaint you with the motive of my return, which has in it somewhat more sur- abroad on their private affairs, in order to give them a public character, and a right to be treated as ambaffadors or magistrates; which, by the infolence of thefe great guefts, was a grievous burden upon all the ftates and cities through which they patted. Cicero in his confulfhip, defigned to abolifh it ; but being driven from that by one of the tribunes, he was content to reftrain the continuance of it, which before was un- limited, to the the term of one year. When he had refolved to profecute his voyage to Greece upon the prefent occasion, he wrote to Dolabella to procure him the grant of an honourary legation ; and left Antony fhould think himfelf flighted, he wrote to him too on ths fame fubject. Dolabella immediately named him for one of his own lieutenants, which anfwered his purpose ftill better; for without obliging him to any service, or limiting him to any time, it left him at fullliberty to go wherever hepkafed, V 3 556 M. T- CICERONIS ORATIONES» sium,iterque illud,quod tritum in Grreciam est,(**) non sine causa vitavissem, kalend. Sextilibus veni Syracusas, quod ab urbe ea transmissio in Gneciam laudabatur ; quae tamen urbs mihi con- junctissima, plus una me nocte cupiens retinere, non potuit ; veritus sum, ne metis repentinus ad meos necessarios adventus suspicionis ali quid afferret, si essem commoratus. Cum autem me ex Sicilia ad Leucopetram, quod est promontorium agri Rhegini, venti detulissent, ab eo loco conscendi, ut transmitte- rem : nee ita multum provectus, rejectus austro sum in eum ipsum locum, unde eonscenderam ; cumque inteinpesta nox esset, mansissemque in villa P. Valerii comitis etfamiliaris mei, postridieque apud eundem, ventum exspectans, manerem, mu- nicipes Rhegini complures ad me venerunt, ex his quidam Roma recentes ; a quibus primum accipio M. Antonii concionem, quse ita mihi placuit, ut ea lecta de reversione primum cceperim co- gitare : nee ita multo post, (*a) edictum Rruti adfertur et Cassii ; quod quidemmihi, fortasse quod eos etiam plus reipublicse quam familiaritatis gratia diligo, plenum sequitatis videbatur. Adde- bant prseterea (fit enim plerumque ut ii, qui boni quid volunt adferre, affingant aliquid, quo faciant id, quod nuntiant, lsetius,) rem conventuram : kalend. Sextilibus senatum frequentem fore : Antonium,repudiatis malls suasoribus,remissis Galliis provinciis, ad auctoritatem senatus esse rediturum* o IV. Turn vero tanta sum cupiditate incensus ad reditum, ut mihi nulli neque remi neque venti satisfacerent : non quo me ad tempus occursurum putarem, sed ne tardius, quam cuperem, reipublicse gratularer. ^tque ego celeriter Veliam deveetus Brutum vidi, quanto meo dolore, non dico : turpe mihi ipse vi- debatur, in earn urbem me audere reverti, ex qua Brutus cederet ; et ibi velle tuto esse, ubi ille non posset. Neque vero illum,simili- ter atque ipse eram, commotum esse vidi ; erectus enim maxim i ac pulcherrimi facti sui conscientia, nihil de suo casu, multa de nostro querebatur ; ex quo primum cognovi, (*3) qu?e kalend. Sextilibus in senatu fuisset L. Pisonis oratio : qui quanquam parum erat (id enim ipsum a Bruto audieram) a quibus de- buerat, adjutus : tamen et Bruti testimonio (quo quid potest esse gravius ?) et omnium prredicatione, quos postea vidi, inagnam mihi videbatur gloriam consecutus. Hunc igitur ut (n) Non fme caufa viia- tony had fome legions at Brundufium ; and it is here infwuated, that, having heard of his intention to travel into Greece, they had formed a defign of way-laying him. (llj Edictum Bruti adfertur ct Cajfii.] This relates to an edict drawn up by Brutus and Caflius, in anfwer to one publifhed before by Antony, charging them with acting in oppofitioii to the public welfare. (it,) G>ud> kalendis Sextilibus in fenatu fuijfet L. Pifonis oratio.'] L. Pifo was father- in-law to Ca^far, and had fignalized himfelf by a vigorous fpeech in the fenate, on the £rfl of Auguft, in favour of the public liberty. CTCERo's ORATIONS. 557 prising. When I had, not without reason, avoided going- to Brundusium, and left the high road to Greece, I landed at Sy- racuse about the first of August, because I was told the passage from thence into Greece was the best ; and though I have the greatest regard for that city, I could not be prevailed upon to stay any longer in it than one night. I was afraid lest so sud- den a visit to my friends, if I made any stay with them, should give some handle for suspicion. But when I was driven by contrary winds from Sicily to Leucopetra, a promontory in the territory of Rhegium, I set sail from thence, with a design of passing over. I had not proceeded far, however, when I was driven back by a southerly wind to the same port. As it was late at night, and I had lodged at the house of P. Valerius, my companion and friend, with whom I spent the next day too, waiting for a wind, a great many of the corporation of Rhe- gium, and some of them lately come from Rome, came to see me. These first gave me a copy of Antony's speech, which so delighted me, that I began to entertain thoughts of return- ing. Not long after, the edict of Brutus and Cassius was brought me, which I thought a very equitable one, perhaps be- cause I love them more on a public than on a private account. They told me besides (for it generally happens that those who are desirous of bringing any good news, add something of their own to render it more agreeable) that matters would be made up ; that there would be a -full senate on the first of August ; that Antony, having dismissed his wicked counsellors, and given up his claim to the provinces of Gaul, would return to his alle- giance to the senate. Sect. IY. So ardent upon this was my desire of returning, that neither winds nor oars could satisfy my impatience ; not that I thought I could be here in time, but that I might not be later than I wished in congratulating my country. In a short time I reached Velia, where I saw Brutus ; with how much con- cern, I shall not say. I thought it a dishonour for me to dare to return to that city which Brutus had heen obliged to quit, and to be desirous of remaining in safety in a place where he could not. But he was not affected in the manner that I was ; for, supported by the consciousness of so great and glorious a deed, he complained loudly of our misfortunes, but said nothing of his own. From him I first learned what kind of a speech was delivered in the senate, on the first of August, by L. Piso ; who, though he was but poorly seconded by those whose duty it was (for this too I heard from Brutus) yet both by the testimony of Brutus (and what can be of greater weight ?) and the report of all those I saw afterwards, he appeared to me to have acquired great glory. I made haste, therefore, to second him, who was not seconded by those that were present ; not that I could be of 558 M. T. CICERONIS ORAT10NB5. sequcrer, properavi, quern prsesentes non sunt sccuti : non ut proficerem aliquid (ncque enim sperabam id, ncque prsestare poteram,) sed ut, si quid mihi humanitus accidisset (*4) (multa autem impendere videbantur prseter naturam, prseterque fatum,) hujus tamen diei vocerri hanc testem reipublicse relinquerem mese perpetual erga se voluntatis. Quoniam utriusque consilii causam, patres conscripti, probatam vobis esse confido, prius quam de republica dicere incipio, pauca querar de hestern** M. Antonii injuria, cui sum amicus : idque me nonnullo ejus officio, debere esse, pr.se me semper tuli. V. Quid tandem erat causse, cur in senatum hesterno die tarn acerbe cogerer? solus-ne aberam ? an non ssepe minus frequentes fuistis ? an ea res agebatur, ut etiam segrotos deferri oporteret ? Hannibal, credo, erat ad portas, aut de Pyrrhi pace agebatur : (f 5) ad quam causam etiam Appium ilium et csecum et senem delatum esse, memorise proditum est. De supplicationibus rer- ferebatur : quo in genere senatores deesse non solent ; coguntur enim non pignoribus, sed eorum, quorum de honore agitur, gra- tia ; quod idem fit, cum de triumpbo refertur : ita sine cura consules sunt, ut pene liberum sit senatori non adesse ; qui cum mihi mos notus esset, cumque de via languerem, et mihimet displicerem, misi pro amicitia, qui hoc ei diceret. At ille, vobis audientibus, cum fabris se domum meam venturum esse dixit ; nimis iracunde hoc quidem, et valde intemperanter ; cujus enim maleficii tanta ista poena est, ut dicere in hoc ordine auderet, se publicis operis disturbaturum publice ex senatus sententia sedificatam domum ? quis autem unquam tanto damno /senatorem coegit ? (16) aut quid est ultra pignus, aut mulctam ? qui si scisset, quam sententiam dicturus essem, remisisset aliquid profecto de severitate cogendi. (14) Multa autem impendere videbantur Prater naturam, praterque fatum?, As the commentary of Abramius may throw fome light upon thefe words, we fhall here tranferibe it : Ilia mors y fays he, ejl fecundum naturam, et fecundum fata, qua ex princi- piis natara intrinfecis, et ex pugna quatuor primarum qualitatum^una pravalente contingit. Il- ia prater naturam quidem,fed tamen fecundum fata, qua ab externa caufarum ferie infertur \ utft quis incendhy yel naufragio, v el alio cafu per eat. Ilia prater naturam, praeterque fatum, qua nee aprincipiis natura intrinfecis nee a caufts externis agendi necejjitate conjirictis, fed ab Lominis libertate dependit ; ut cum quis mortem fibi confeifcit, vel alter ius fcelere occiditur. (15) Ad quam caufam etiam Appium ilium, et cacum. et fenem,. &c. ] When Pyrrhus fent Cyneas to Rome to negotiate a peace with the fenate, feveral of the fenators difcover- ed a ftrong inclinatiori to enter into a treaty. A rumour of this difpofition being fpread through the city, came to the ears of Appius Claudius, the famous orator and civilian, who had for fome time, on account of his great age and the lofs of his fight, retired from all public bufinefs, and confined himfelf wholly to his family Upon hearing the report of what pafi'ed in the fenate, he caufed himfelf to be carried in the arms of his domeftics to the doorof the fenate-houfe, where his fons and his fons-in-law net him, and let him into the affembly, which was hufhed into a profound filence the moment he appeared. The firm and honeft fpeech which the venerable old man made CICERo's ORATIONS. 559 any service (for that I neither expected, now was it in my power,) but that if I should happen to share in the common lot of hu- manity (and many things indeed out of the ordinary course of i nature and fate seemed to threatt n,) I might at least bequeath to my country the speech I made on this occasion, as a lasting monument of my affection.'} As I now flatter myself,' conscript fathers, that my conduct in both respects has met with your approbation, before I enter on what concerns the state, I shall beg leave to complain briefly of the injury done me yesterday by M. Antony, whose friend I profess myself to be ; and that I ought to be so, on account of some obligations he has laid me under, I have always been ready to acknowledge. Sect. V. What then was the reason why I was pressed yes- terday in so harsh a manner to assist in the senate ? was I the only person absent ? have not you frequently had a thinner house ? was the business under consideration of such importance that there was a necessity even of carrying the sick thither ? Hannibal, I suppose, was at our gates, or the debate was about a peace with Pyrrhus ; on which occasion we are told, the great Appius was carried to the senate, old and blind as he was. The question was about supplications, in which kind of debates the senators are generally present, not with a view to save their forfeitures, but out of regard to those whose honours are under debate ; which is likewise the case when the question is con- cerning a triumph. So unconcerned on such an occasion are the consuls, that a senator is almost at liberty to be absent. As I was no stranger to this form, fatigued with my journey, and un- easy in my own thoughts, I sent, as a friend, to acquaint him with it. But he, in your hearing, declared that he would come himself to my house with workmen. Too passionately, indeed, and intemperately spoken ! for what crime could deserve such a punishment as could justify his declaring in this assembly, that he would come with the workmen of the public, to pull down a house built by a decree of the senate at the public charge ? Who ever laid a senator under such compulsion? or what pe- nalty is there in such a case beyond a forfeit or a fine ? Had he but known what I had to say, he would certainly have remitted somewhat of his severity. upon the occafion, fo awakened the Roman fpirit in the fenators, that without farther debate, they unanimoufly paffed a decree inflantly to difmifs the ambaffador with this anfwer : that tbe Romans -would enter into no treaty ivith king Pyrrbus, fo long at he conti- nued in Italy ; but tvitb all tbeir Jlrengtb mould purfue tbe tvar againft bim, tbougb be Jhould vanquijb a tboufand Lavinius't. fi6) Aut quid eft ultra pignut, aut mul flam.] In the later times of the republic, the ufual way of calling the feHators wa3 by an edict appointing the time and place, and publifhed feveral days before, that the notice might be more public. Ifanyfenator refufed or negleded to ($ey the fummons, the conful could oblige him to give iurety far the payment of a certain fine, if the tcafons of hi» abfence fliould not be allowed, 56$ M. T CICERONIS QRAT'IONES. } VI. An me censetis, P. C. quod vos inviti secuti estis, decre- turum fuisse, (-17) ut parentalia cum supplicationibus misceren- tur ? ut inexpiabiles religiones in rempublicam inducerentur ? ut decernerentur suppUcationes mortuo ? N ihil dico cui : fuerit ille L. Brutus, qui et ipse regio dominatu rempublicam Iibera- vit, ( x ^) et ad similem virtutem, et simile factum, stirpem jam prope in quingentesimum annum propagavit : adduci tamen non possem, ut quenquam mortuum conjungerem cum deorum im- mortaHum religione ; ut, cujus sepulcrum usquam exstet, ubi parentetur, ei publice supplicetur. Ego vero earn sententiam dixissem, patres conscripti, ut me adversus populum Romanum, si quis accidisset, gravior reipublicse casus, si bellum, si morbus, si fames, facile possem defendere : quae partim jam sunt, par- tim timeo ne impendeant. Sed hoc ignoscant dii immortales, velim, et populo Romano, qui id non probat, et huic ordini, qui decrevit invitus. Quid, de reliquis reipublicse malis licet-ne dicere ? mihi vero licet, et semper licebit, dignitatem tueri, mortem contemnere : potestas mod© veniendi in hunc locum sit, dicendi periculum non recuso. Atque utinam, P. C. kalendis Sextilibus adesse potuissem ! non quo profici potuerit aliquid, sed ne unus modo consularis, quod turn accidit, dignus ilk) ho- nore, dignus republica inveniretur. Qua quidem ex re mag- num accipio dolorem, homines amplissimis populi Romani bene- ficiis usos, L. Pisonem, ducem optimse sentential non secutos. Idcirco-ne nos populus Romanus consules fecit, ut in altissimo amplissimoque gradu dignitatis locati, rempublicam pro nihilo haberemus ? non modo voce nemo L. Pisoni consularis, sed ne vultu quidem assensus est. Quamam (malum !) est ista volun- taria servitus ? fuerit qusedam necessaria ; nee ego hoc ab omni- bus iis desidero, qui sententiam loco consulari dicunt ; alia causa est eorum, quorum silentio ignosco ; alia eorum, quorum vo- cem requiro ; quos quidem doleo in suspicionem populo Ro- mano venire, non modo metus, quod ipsum esset turpe, sed alli- um alia de causa deesse dignitati suae. fljj Ut parentalia cum fupplieationibus mifcerentur."] The parent alt* were only feafts held, and facrifices offered in memory of the dead- They were called parentalia, be- eaufe performed on account of parents and relations. (18) Et adfimilemvirtut€m^etfimilcfaclum, fir pern, \zfc.~\ This account of M. Bru- tus's defcent from L. Brutus, who expelled Tarquin, and gave freedom to Rome, is called in queflion by fome of the ancient writers; and particularly by Dionyfius of Ha- licarnaflus, who alledgesfeveral arguments againft it, which feems to be very plaufi- ble. While Brutus, lived, however, it was univerfally allowed to him : Cicero men- tions it frequently as a fauid? ea lege, qua promulgata est, &.C.] Ca?far had paffed a law, confining the judical power to the fenators and knights, and excluding the Tribuni ASrerii, who before had acted as judges. Antony was now defirous of adding a third order to the two former, to be chofen out of the centurions. (22) Ex legione Maudarum'.\ This legion of the Alaudx wasfirft raifed by Casfar, and cempofed of the native? of Goul, armed and difciplined after the Roman manner, to which he gave the freedom of Rome He called it by a Gallic name, Alauda, which fignified a kind of lark, or little bird, with a tuft or creftrlfing upon its head; in imi- tation of which this legion wore a creft of feathers on the helmet ; from which ori- gin the word wat. adopted into the I .atin tongue. Anthony, out of compliment to thefe troops, and to affure himfelf of their fidelity, made a judiciary law, by which he cre&ed a third clals of judges, to be drawn from the officers of this legion. CTCSRO's ORATIONS. 565 Sect. VIII. Was ever a law of greater importance and utility, or more frequently demanded in the best times of the state, than that the prsetorian provinces should no t be held longer than a vear, nor the consular ione-er than two ? If this law be abolished, can you imagine that Csesar's acts remain in force ? What ! are not all Csesar's judicial laws rendered void, by that which has been promulged in relation to a third decury of judg- es I And do you defend Csesar's acts, who thus abolish his laws ? unless whatever he set down by way of meniorasidurn in his pocket-book, is to be deemed his act, and, how unjust or use- less soever, to be defended ; whilst that which he enacted in the Fullest assemblies of the people, is not to be accounted an act of his. But of whom is this third decurv composed ? of con- turions, says he. How ? by the Julian law ; and before that, by the Pompeian and Aurelian, that order was excluded from all judicial authority. A certain estate, says he, was proscribed. Yes ; and that not only to a centurion, but to a Roman knight. Accordingly the bravest and worthiest men that are at the head of corps still act, and have long acted in a judicial capacity. I mean not these, says he, but let every man that has headed a corps, have a power to judge. But if you were to enact, that whoever had served on horseback, which is the more honourable service, might sit as judge, you would not gain the approbation of a single person ; for in a judge, both his rank and fortune are to be regarded. These, says he, I do not mind ; I am even for creating additional judges out of the subalterns of the Gallic legion : for otherwise, our party say, they cannot be safe. Re- proachful honour to those, whom you thus unexpectedly raise to the seat of justice : for this is the title of the law, that those should act as judges in the third decury who are not at liberty to judge freely. ImmorUil gods ! what an error was this in those who contrived that law ; for in proportion as each shall appear a contemptible tool, the more solicitous will he be to wipe off his infamy by judging with severity, that he may seem to be worthy of being a member in the honourable, rather than to be thrust deservedly into the disgraceful decuries. Sect. IX. There is another law promulged, by which those who are convicted of violence and treason, may appeal, if they please, to the people. Whether bow is this a law, or an abro- gation of all laws ? For what man living is there, whose interest it is that this law should pass ? No one is prosecuted upon these laws, nor any one likely to be ; for men surely will never be brought to a trial for what they have done in arms. But the aud added to tlje other two of the fenators and knights ; for which Cicero often r« proaches him, as being a most infamous prostitution of the dignity of the republic. 366 r M. T. CICERONIS ORATIONES. is aliquid esse populare ; omnes enim jam cives de reipub. salute, una et mente et voce consentiunt. Qua? est igitur ista cupiditas ejus legis ferenda;, quae turpitudinem summrcm habeat gratiam nullam ? quid enim turpius, quam qui majestatem po- puh Komam per vim minuerit, eum damnatum judicio, ad earn ipsam vim reverti, propter quam sit jure damnatus ? Sed quid plura de ege disputo ? quasi vero id agatur, ut quisquam pro- vocet ; id agitur, id fertur, ne quis omnino unquam istis legibus reus nat. Quis enim aut accusator tarn amens reperietur, qui reo condemnato objici se multitudini conducts vel it ? aut judex qui reum damnare audeat, ut ipse ad operas mercenarias statim protranatur ? Non igitur provocatio ista lege datur : sed dua* maxime salutares leges qusestionesque tolluntur. Quid est igi- tur ahud adhortan adolescentes, ut turbulenti, ut seditiosi, ut perniciosi cives velint esse ? quam autem ad pestem furor tri- bunitius impelh non poterit, his duabus quaestionibus, de vi, et de majestate sublatis? Quid, quod obrogatur legibus Csesaris, quse jubent ei, qui de vi, itemque ei, qui majestatis damnatus sit aqua et igni interdici t quibus cum provocatio datur, nonne acta Csesaris rescinduntur ? Qua; quidem ego, P. C. qui ilia nun- quam probavi, ita conservanda concordia? causa arbitratus sum, ut non modo, quas vivus Caesar leges tulisset, infirmandas hoc tempore non putarem, sed ne illas quidem quas post mortem Csesaris prolatas esse et fixas videtis. X. De exsilio reducti a mortuo : civitas data non solum sin- gulis, sed etiam nationibus et provinces universis a mortuo : immunitatibus infinitis sublata vectigalia a mortuo. Ergo hsec uno, verum optimo, auctore domo prolata defendimus : eas leges, quas ipse vobis inspectantibus recitavit, pronuntiavit, tulit, quibus latis gloriabatur, iisque legibus rempublicam con- tineri putabat, de provinciis, dejudiciis, eas, inquam, Ca^saris leges, nos, qui defendimus acta Csesaris, evertendas putamus ? At de us tamen legibus, quse promulgatse sunt, saltern queri possumus : de iis, quae jam latse dicuntur, ne illud quidem hcuit ; lllae enim nulla promulgation latse sunt ante quam scrip- tse. Quserunt quid sit, cur aut ego, aut quisquam vestrum, J\ C. bonis tnbunis plebis leges malas metuat ; paratos habemus cicero's orations. 567 thing is popular. I wish, indeed, he would suffer something to be popular ; for all the citizens of Rome concur now in heart and voice, as to the safety of the state. Whence then arises this eagerness for passing a law, which has every thing infamous, and nothing popular? for what can be more scandalous, than that the man who has by force violated the majesty of the people of Rome, and has been lav/fully condemned for his offence, should have recourse to that violence, of which he had before been legally convicted ? But why need I talk more of this law ? as if the debate now were, that any one might appeal. The inten- tion and import of the whole is, that no man shall ever be pro- secuted on these laws. For where is there either an accuser so frantic to be found, as to be willing to expose himself to a mer- cenary mob, after a criminal is convicted ? or a judge, who would venture to pass sentence upon the party accused, that he himself might be dragged, the next moment, before a parcel of mercenary mechanics ? An appeal then is not the thing granted by this law ; but two other laws and proceedings highly salu- tary are reversed. For what else is it, but an encouragement to young fellows to become seditious, turbulent, and pernicious citizens ? For to what fatal extremities may not the tribunitian power be pushed, if the two laws relating to violence and trea- son are abolished ? What ! shall we render Csesar's laws of none effect, which order that one convicted of violence or treason should be deprived of the benefit of fire and water ? And if such an appeal be allowed, are not Csesar's acts abolished ? Which acts, even I, conscript fathers, who never approved of them, have always thought should be preserved for the sake of peace ; so that I not only disapproved of invalidating at present those laws which C?esar passed in his life-time, but even those which you have seen exposed and posted up since his death, Sect. X. By the dead are exiles recalled : by the dead the freedom of Rome is granted, not to private persons only, but even to whole nations and provinces : by the dead, numbers of corporations have their taxes remitted. What has been pro- duced then from his house, upon a single, but an unquestionable evidence, we defend : and shall we, who confirm Csesar's acts, think of abolishing those laws, which he himself, in our sight, recited, pronounced, enacted ; laws, which he valued himself upon ; laws, in which he thought the whole system of our gov- ernment comprehended ; laws, which effect our provinces and our trials ? Yet of those laws which are only proposed, we are at least at liberty to complain ; as to those which are said to be already passed, we have not even that liberty : for these, with- out being proposed, were passed before they were drawn up. They ask, why either I, or any of you, conscript fathers, should 568 M. T. CICER0NI3 ORATIONES. qui intercedant ; paratos qui rempublicam religione defendant . vacui metu esse debemus. Quas tu mini, inquit, intercessiones, quas religiones nominas ? eas scilicet, quibus reipublicse salus continetur. Negligimus ista, et nimis antiqua, et stulta duci- mus. Forum sepietur : omnes claudentur aditus : armati in prsesidiis multis locis collocabuntur : quid turn ? quod erit ita gestum, id lex erit ? et in ses incidi jubebitis ? cedo, ilia legiti- ma; (*3)CONSULES POPULUM JURE ROGAVERUNT (hocenim amajoribus accepimus jus rogandi)POPULUSQTJE JURES CIVIT : qui populus? isne qui exclusus est ? quo jure ? an eo, quod vi et armis omne sublatum est ? Atque hsec dico de futuris : quod est amicorura, ante dicere ea, qua? vitari possunt : quse si facta non erunt, refelletur oratio mea. Loquor de legi- bus promulgatis, de quibus est integrum vobis ; demonstro vi- tia ; tollite : denuncio vim, arma ; removete. XI. Irasci vos quidem mihi, Dolabella, pro republica dicenti non oportebit ; quanquam te quidem id facturum non arbitror ; novi enim facilitatem tuam. Collegam tuum aiunt in hac sua fortuna quse bona ipsi videtur : mihi, ne gravius quidpiam dicam, ( a 4) avorum et avunculi sui consulatum si imitaretur, fortunatior videretur : sed eum iracundum audio esse factum. Yideo aur tern, quam sit odiosum habere iratumeundem et armatum, cum tanta prsesertim gladiorum sit impunitas : sed proponam jus, ut opinor, sequum ; quod M. Antonium non arbitror repudiaturum. Ego, si quid in vitam ejus autin mores cum contumeliadixero, quo minus mihi inimicissimus sit, non recusabo ; sin consuetu- dinem meam [quam semper in republica habui] tenuero, id est, si libere, quse sentiam, de republica dixero, primum deprecor, ne irascatur : deinde, si hoc non impetro, peto, ut sic irascatur, ut civi : armis utatur, si ita necesse est, ut dicit, sui defendendi causa : iis qui pro republ. quse ipsis visa erunt, dixerint, ista arma ne noceant. Quid hac postulatione dici potest sequius ? Quod, si, ut a quibusdam mihi ejus familiaribus dictum est,omnis eum, qua3 habetur contra voluntatem ejus, oratio graviter ofFen- dit, etiamsi nulla inest contumelia, feremus amici naturam : sed iidem illi itamecum : Non idem tibi adversario Csesaris licebit, quod Pisoni socero : et simul admonent quiddam, quod cavc- (23) Confutes populum jure rogavcrunt.~) Thefe words appear to have been the pre* amble to all the bills which the Roman people pafled. (24) Avorum tt avunculi fui confulatum ft imitaretur^ M.Antony, the celebrated O- rator, was his grandfather, who fell a victim to Marius's cruelty : and the uncle here meant, waa L. Csefar, who had been conful with C. Figulus ; he was a perfon of great integrity, and well affe&ed te the ftate. CICERo's ORAITONS. 56$ ■ i be afraid of bad laws, while we have virtuous tribunes of the people. We have, say they, those who will interpose, those who by oath are ready to defend the state ; therefore we ought to lay aside fear. But what intercessions, what rites, says he r do you tell me of ? why, those on which the safety of our con- stitution depends. These, says he, I despise, and look upon as antiquated and ridiculous, The forum shall be surrounded : all the avenues to it shut up ; and armed men placed in several places, as guards. What then ? whatever is thus carried on shall be law, and you shall see it engraved on brass. Sup- posing the following legal form of words to be inserted : The consuls inform require the consent of the people ; for the right of requiring such consent we received from our ancestors : and the people in form consented, What people ? they who are ex- eluded. By what right ? is it by that which is totally abolished by force and arms ? And this I speak, because it may possibly happen ; as it is the part of a friend to mention beforehand what may be avoided : if the things do not happen, then my speech will be confuted. I speak of the laws that are proposed, which it is yet in your power to prevent passing. I point out faults, amend them ; I speak of force and arms, remove them. Sect. XI. You must not be angry with me, Dolabella, for speaking in my country's cause ; though, indeed, I do not think vou will for I know your good-nature. They tell me, that your colleague, in this his good fortune, as he thinks it, though to me, not to make use of a harsher expression, he would appear more fortunate, were he to imitate the consulate of his uncle and ancestors ; but they tell me that he is angry. I am sensible how undesirable a thing it is that a man should at once be in- censed and armed, especially as the sword can now act with im- punity. But I will propose what appears to me ju«t and rea- sonable ; and this, I imagine, Antony will not reject. If I re- flect upon his life or character, let him become my greatest enemy : but if I speak my sentiments freely, in regard to public affairs, as I have always done, I beg, in the first place, that he would not be angry ; in the next, if he is, that he would show such resentment as becomes one citizen to another. Let him use arms, if they are necessary for the defence of his person, as he «>ays they are ; but let not these arms injure those who speak what they think necessary for the good of the state. What can be more equitable than this request ? but if, as I am informed by some of his acquaintance, every speech that opposes h:r> pleasure, though free from abuse, offends him greatly, we must bear with the humour of a friend. The same persons tell me, however, that the same liberty will not be allowed to me, who am the- enemy of Csesa: was allowed to Piso, his father-hv 570 M. T. CICEKON1S ORATIONES. bimus : nee erit justior, P. C. in senatum non veniendi morbi causa, quam mortis. XII. Sed, per deos immortales ! te enim intuens, Dolabella, qui es mini carissimus, ( a 5) non possum de utriusque vestriim er- rore reticere. Credo enim vos homines nobiles, magna qusedam spectantes, non pecuniam, ut quidam nimis creduli suspicantur, quae semper abamplissimo quoque clarissimoque contempta est ; non opes violentas, et populo Romano minime ferendam poten- tiam, sed caritatem civium, et gloriam concupisse ; est autem gloria, laus recte factorum, magnorumque in rempublicam meri- torurn, quae cum optimi cujusque, turn etiam multitudinis testis monio comprobatur. Dicerem, Dolabella, qui recte facto- rum fructus essefc, nisi te prseter ceteros paulisper esse expertum viderem. Quern potes recordari in vita tibi illuxisse diem Isetio- rem, quam cum, (* 6 ) expiato foro, dissipato concursu impiorum, principibus sceleris poena affectis, urbe incendio et csedis metu liberata, te domum recepisti? cujus ordinis, cujus generis, cu- jus denique fortunse studia turn laudi, et gratulationi tuse non obtulerunt ? Quin miki etiam, quo auctore te in iis rebus uti ar- bitrabantur, et gratias boni viri agebaat, et tuo nomine gratu- labantur. Recordate, quseso, Dolabella, consensum ilium thea- tri, cum omnes earum rerum obliti, (^7) propter quas tibi fue- rant offensi, significarunt se beneficio novo memoriam vetsris do- loris abjecisse. Hanc tu, P. Dolabella, (magno loquor cum do- lore,) hanc tu, inquam, (*%) potuisti sequo animo tantam digni- tatem deponere I XIII. Tu autem, M. Antoni, (absentem enim appello,) (*9) unum ilium diem, quo in aide Telluris senatus fuit, non omni- (25) Non pojfum de utriufque veftrum error! reticere.] Our orator's addrefs to Antony and Dolabella is extremely pathetic, and contains fome noble and exalted fentiments. The path to true glory is fo clearly pointed out, together with the fubftantial fatisfac- tion arifing from the purfuit of it, that one is apt, at firft, to wonder how it could fail to produce fome good effeCt. But a little reflection on human life and characters will be fufficient to convince us, that the dictates of reafon, and the foundeft maxims of philofophy, even when dreffed out in the brighteft colours of eloquence make but flight impreffions upon a mind under the habitual influence of ambition and vitious prejudices. (26) Expiato fore.'] This refers to the demolition of the pillar mentioned above, which was matter of fo great joy to the city, that the whole body of the people at- tended Dolabella to his houfe, and in the theatres gave him the ufual teftimony of their thanks, by the loudeft acclamations. (27) Propter quas tibi fuerant offcnfi.\ In the year of Rome 706, Dolabella had, by' the fiction of an adoption into a plebeian family, obuined the tribunate, and raifed great tumults and diforders in Rome, by a law, which he publifhed, to expunge all debts This was a fourcc of no fm.all affliction to his father-in-law Cicero, who com^ plains heavily oi it, in many of his letters to Atticus; cicero's orations* 571 law. They likewise admonish me of something which I shall guard against ; nor shall sickness, conscript fathers, be a better excuse for not attending this house, than death. Sect. XII. But, by the immortal gods ! while I behold^ you, Dolabella, for whom I have the tenderest regard, I cannot for- bear mentioning the errors of you both. For I take you to be men of noble and exalted views, whose aim, as some who are too credulous suspect, is not money, which the great and illustrious always despise, nor a formidable interest, nor power intolerable to Rome ; but the love of your fellow citizens and glory. Now, true glory is the praise attending virtuous actions, and eminent services performed for our country, confirmed by the voice of every good man, and by that of the public. I would here, Do- labella, mention the fruits of virtuous actions, did I not know that you have tasted a few of them. Can you recollect that any day of your life has given you greater pleasure than that on which you retired to your own house, after having expiated the forum, scattered the assembly of the wicked, punished the ring- leaders of iniquity, and delivered the city from all apprehensions of flames and slaughter ? What rank, what condition, what station did not, with the warmest zeal, applaud and congratu* late you ? Even I, by whose advice these actions were thought to have been performed, received the thanks of the worthy upon that occasion, and Was complimented on your success. Call to mind, I beseech you, Dolabella, that applause of the theatre, when all men, forgetting what you had done to offend them, declared that your late services had made them forgive • your past conduct. Can you, Dolabella, (with deep concern I speak it ;) can you, I say, patiently relinquish such distinguish- ed honour ? Sect. XIII. And do not you Mark Antony, (for I speak to yout though absent,) prefer that one day when the senate met in the' temple of Tellus, to all those months during which some, who" (%%) Animo aquo fotuisti tantam dignitatem dtponere ?] Dolabella having been lon^ *pprefsed with the load of. .his debts, which he had contracted by a life of pleafare and expenfe, was drawn entirely from Cicero and the republican party, into Antony's meaf- ores, by a large furri of money, and the promise of a fhare in the plunder of the em- pire. He left Rome before the expiration ofhisconfulfhip, to take poffeflion of Syria, which had been allotted tohim by Antony's management ; andnpon the news of his putting Trebonius to death, was declared a public enemy, and his estate confiscated. He killed himfelf at'last, at Laodicea, to prevent his falling alive into the hands o( Cafsius, and fufferingthe fame treatment which he had fhown to Trebonius. (iq) Unum ilium diem.] The third, to wit, after Csefar's death, when Antony fum- snoned the fenate, to adjust the conditions of peace, and confirm them by fome foiemf* act. X 3 572 M. T. CICERONIS ORATIONES. bus iis mensibus, quibus te quidam, multum a me dissentientes, beatum putant anteponis ? qure fuit oratio de concordia ? quanta metu veterani, quanta solicitudine civitas turn a te liberata est ? Tuum collegam, (30) depositis inimicitiis, oblitus auspicia, te ipso augure nunciante, illo primum die collegam tibi esse voluisti : reip. tuus parvulus films in capitolium a te missus pacis obses init : quo senatus die laetior? quo populus Romanus ? qui qui- dem nulla in concione unquam frequentior fuit : denique libe- rati per viros fortissimos videbamur : quia, ut illi voluerant, liber- tatem pax consequebatur. Proximo, altero, reliquis consecutis diebus non intermittebas quasi donum aliquod quotidie adferre reipublicre : maximum autem illud, quod dictaturse nomen sustu- listi ; hrec inusta est ate, a te, inquam, mortuo Csesari nota ad ignominiam sempiternam. Ut enim (3*) propter unius M. Manlii scelus, decreto gentis Manlise, neminem patricium M. Manlium vocari licet : sic tu propter unius dictatoris odium, nomen dicta- tons funditus sustulisti. Num hujusce, cum pro salute reipubli- cfe tanta gessisses, fortunse te, num amplitudinis, num claritatis, numgloriae pcenitebat ? Unde igitur subito tanta istamutatio ?non possum adduci, utsuspicer te pecunia captum : licet, quod cuique libet, loquatur ; credere non est necesse ; nihil enim unquam in te sordidum, nihil humile cognovi : (3 .1) quanquam solent domes- tici depravare nonnunquam ; sed novi firmitatem tuam ; atque utinam ut culpam, sic etiam suspicionem vitare potuisses. XIY. Illud magis vereor, ne ignorans verum iter glorise, gloriosum putes, plus te unum posse quam omnes, et metui a civibus tuis, quam' diligi malis. Quod si ita putas, totam ig- noras viam glorias. Carum esse civem, bene de republica me- reri, laudari, coli, diligi, gloriosum est ; metui vero, et in odio esse, invidiosum, detestabile, imbecillum, caducum. (33) Quod videmus etiam in fabula,^ip?i~iilf r ~qui oderint dwn'metuant dix- erit, perniciosum fi>is-$e. Utinam, Antoni, avum tuum memi- nisses : de quo tamen multa audisti ex me, eaque sa^pissime. Putasne ilium immortalitatem mereri voluise, ut propter armo- rum habendorum licentiam metueretur \ ilia erat vita, ilia secun- da fortuna, libertate esse parem cseteris, principem dignitate. Itaque, ut omittam res avi tui prosperas, acerbissimum ejus diem supremum malim, quam L. Cinnse dominatum, a quo ille (30) Depositis inimicitiis, oblitus auspiciorum."] Antony Lad been jealous of Dolabella, a* a rival in Caefar's favour ; and when Cacfar promiled to refign the confulfhip to Do- Jabella, brfore he went to the Parthian war, Antony protefted, that by his authority as augur, he would difturb that election, whenever it fhould be attempted. (31) Propter unius M. Manlii fcelus.] This was the Manlius who had fo bravely de- f.nded the capitol when befieged by the Gauls ; but being fufpected of affecting regal authority, was aftcrwaiV.s thrown off the Tarpeian rock into the Tiber. (32) Quanquam Johnt domefici depravare nonnunquam, ,] Cicero here hints at the ava- rice of Fulvia, Anthony's wife. (33) Quod videmus etiam in fibulis, &c.] A faying frequently made ufe of by Ac- C«i», the poet, it his tragedy of Atreus. CICERo's ORATIONS. ST3 think very differently from me, deem you happy ? what a speech youthen made about concord ? from what apprehensions did you then deliver the veterans, and from what anxiety the city I On that day, laying aside resentment, forgetting the auspices, and acting yourself as augur, you first consented that your col- league should be your colleague. Your little son, delivered by yeur own hands into the capitol, was the pledge of peace. "Was there ever a day of greater joy to the senate ? of greater joy to the people of Rome ? "Was there ever a fuller assembly than that ? It was then we seemed delivered by the bravest of men, because, as they intended, peace followed our deliverance. The next, the following, the third, and some subsequent days, you never failed to make some present, as it were, to your country : but the greatest of all was your abolishing the dictatorship.. This was an indeliable infamy fixed by you, by you I say, on the memory of Caesar : for, as on account of the treason of one per- son, named Marcus Manlius, by a decree of the Manlian family, no patrician can bear that name ; so you, on account of your detestation of one dictator, have utterly abolished the name. When you had done such great things for your country, was you dissatified with the fortune, the dignity, the renown, the glory you had acquired ? whence then this great and sudden change ? I can never suspect that you are influenced by money : let every man speak as he pleases ; there is no necessity to be- lieve him : but I never knew you guilty of any thing that was mean or dirty. Domestics, indeed, are wont sometimes to cor- rupt their masters ; but I know your firmness ; and I wish you would be as free from suspicion as yiou are from guilt. Sect. XIV. I am more afraid, of this, lest, mistaking the true path to glory, you should think it glorious to be more powerful yourself than all men besides ; and choose rather to be feared, than loved by your fellow-citizens. But if these are your sen- timents, you wholly mistake the road to glory. To be dear to our countrymen, to deserve well of the state, to be praised, re- spected, and beloved, is truly glorious ; but to be dreaded, and held in abhorrence, is odious, detestable, weak, and transient. "We find even in the play, that to the man who said, Let them hate while they fear, the maxim proved fatal. I wish, Antony, you would call to mind your grandfather, of whom you have heard me make such frequent mention. Do you think that he would have^ been desirous of purchasing immortality, at the expense of being the dreaded master of lawless arms ? This was his life, his prosperity this, in liberty to be equal, in dignity superior to others. To omit, therefore, the prosperous circumstance of your grandfather's life, I would choose his latter end, violent as it was, rather than Cinna's lawless power, by whom he Was 5?4> M. T. C1CERONIS ORATIONES. crudelissime est interfectus. Sed quid oratione te flectam ? si enim exitus C. Csesaris efficere non potest, ut malis cams esse, quam metui, nihil cujusquam proficiet, nee valebit oratio ; quern, qui beatum fuisse putant, miserrimi ipsi sunt, Beatus est nemo, qui eiji lege vivit, ut non modo impune, sed etiam cum summa interfectoris gloria, interfici possit. Quare flecte te, quseso, et majores tuos respice, atque ita guberna rempublicam, ut natum te esse ciyes tui gaudeant : sine quo nee beatus, nee elarus quis- quam esse potest. XV. Et (34) populi quidem Romani judicia multaambo habe- tis, quibus vos non satis moveri permoleste fero. Quid enim gladiatoribus clamores innumerabilium civium ? quid populi con- cursus •? quid Pompeii statuse plausus infiniti ? (35) quid duobus tribunis plebis qui vobis adversantur ? parum-ne hsec significant incredibiliter consentientem populi Romani universi yoluntatem ? (36) Quid? Apollinaribus ludis plausus, vel testimoniapotius, et judicia populi Romani yobis parya esse videbantur ? O beatos illos, qui, cum adesse ipsis propter vim armorum non licebat, aderant tamen, et in medullis populi Romani ac visceribus haere- bant ! nisi forte Accio turn plaudi, et sexagesimo post anno pal- mam dari putabatis,npnBruto; qui suis ludis ita caruit, ut in illo apparatissimo spectaculo studium populus Romanus tribuerit ab-? senti, desiderium liberatoris sui perpetuo plausu et clamore le- nient. Equidem is sum, qui istos plausus, cum a pc«pularibus ciyibus tribuerentur, semper contempserim : idemque cum a summis, mediis, infimis, cum denique ab universis hoc idem fit ; cumque ii, qui ante sequi populi consensum solebant, fugiunt ; non plausum ilium, sed judicium puto. Sin hsec leviora vobis yidentur, qiue sunt gravissima, num etiam hoc contemnitis, quod sensistis (37) tarn caram populo Romano vitam A. Hirtij fuisse ? satis enim erat, probatum ilium esse populo Romano, ut est : jucundum amicis, in quo vincit omnes : carum suis, quibus ($%) Populi quidem Romani judicia multa amho babetis.'] The violences committed at Rome after Caefar's death, were not owing to the general indignation of the citizent againft the murderers of Caefar ; no, the memory of the tyrant was odious, and Bru- tus and Caffius, the real favourites of the city, as appeared on all occafions, wherever their free and genuine fenfe could be declared ; particulary from their acclamations at the fhows of gladiators exhibited by Brutus, and the repairing of Pompey's ftatue, which had been thrown down in the civil wars. (3-0 Quid ? duobus tribunis plebis."] Thefe two tribunes were Tiberius Canutiusand Ncniu9 Afpemas : the latter of whom oppofed Dolabella in his fuit for the province of Syria ; and the former fet up Octavius, in oppofition to Antony, (36) Quid apollinaribus ludis plausus.] Brutus and Caffius were obliged, as praetors, to exhihit certain games in honour of Apollo, with which the public were annually entertained on the third of July ; but as they had withdrawn themfelves from Rome, thefe games were conducted by the brother of Caffius. (37) Tarn caram populo Romano vitam A. Hirtii fuiJJeJ] Hirtius was then conful elect, and happening to fall fick, the Roman people put up vows for his recovery, as cicero's orations. 57$ roost inhumanly murdered. But why do I endeavour to move vou bv words ? If Csesars fate is not a warning to you, how much better it is to be loved than feared, no man's speeches will avail any thing. As for those who imagine that Csesar was happy, they are themselves most miserable. No man can be happy, who holds life on such terms that it may be taken from him, not only with impunity, but with praise. Relent, there- fore, I beseech you ; look back on your ancestors ; and so go- vern the state, that your fellow-citizens may bless the day that gave you birth ; without which no man can be happy or glorious* Sect. XV. Both of you have had many proofs of the senti- ments of the people of Rome, which I am sorry to see you not sufficiently affected with : for what else were the shouts of in- numerable citizens, at the shows of gladiators ? what the con- course of the people ? what the incessant applauses poured out on Pompey's statue, and on the two tribunes who oppose you ? Do not these things sufficiently declare the incredible unanimity of the whole Roman people ? What ! did the shouts, or rather the testimony and judgment of the Romans at the games of Apollo, seem little in your eyes I Happy those who, when they could not be present in person, on account of an armed force, were nevertheless present, and clung to the very marrow and bowels of the Roman people! unless, perhaps, you think that the applause and the palm was conferred on Accius, sixty years after his death, and not on Brutus ] who, though not personally present at his own shows, yet in that most magnificent enter- tainment, received the most affectionate wishes of the Roman people, who mitigated their sorrow for the absence of their de- liverer by uninterrupted applauses and acclamations. I, indeed, am one of those who have ever despised these acclamations, when bestowed by the populace : but when they are bestowed by the highest, the middlemost, and the lowest ranks ; in short, by the whole collective body : especially when those who were w r ont to court the applause of the people, are forced to hide their heads ; this I term not applause, but approbation. But if these things seem trivial to you, which are, in fact, of the highest importance, will you likewise despise the proof you had, how dear the life of A. Hirtius was to the people of Rome ? It was sufficient to him that he was approved by the Roman people, as he still is agreeable to his friends, in which respect he exceeds all men; dear to his own family, to whom he is for a perfon on whom depended the safety of the ftate. This was the Hirtius who was afterwards slain at Modcna, and whofe death, joined with that of his colleague, is thought to have been of fuch fatal confequence to Rome- 576' M. T. CICERONIS ORATIONES. est ipse carissisimus : tantam tamen solicitudinem bonorum, tan- turn timorem omnium in quo meminimus ? certe in nullo. Quid igitur ? hoc vos, per deos immortales, quale sit, non interpreta- mini ? quid eos de vestra vita cogitare censetis, quibus eorum, quos sperant reipublicse consulturos, vita tarn cara sit ? Cepi fructum, P. C reversionis mese : quoniam ea et dixi, ut, qui- cunque casus consecutus esset, exstaret constantise mese testimo- nium : et sum a vobis benigne ac diligenter auditus. Quae po- testas si mihi ssepius sine meo vestroque periculo fiet, utar : si minus, quantum poterq, non tarn mihi me, quam reipublicse reservabo. Mihi fere satis est, quod vixi, vel ad aetatem, vel ad gloriam ; hue si quid accesserit, non tarn mihi quam vobis, reique public* accesserit. *' , CICERO'S ORATIONS. 577 so in the highest degree : but when have we known the anxiety of good men, and the concern of all, so great as they have been for him ? never surely. 'How then, immortal gods ! are you at a loss what construction to put upon this ? What do you ima- gine they think of your lives, to whom the lives of those are so dear, who, they natter themselves, will consult the interests of their country ? I have now, conscript fathers, reaped the full fruit of my return ; "as I have now said what must in all events be a proof of my constancy, and have been favourably and at- tentively heard by you ; an indulgence which I shall often use, if I can do it with safety to myself and you ; if not, I shall reserve myself as well as I can, not so much for my own sake, as for that of the republic. I have rived almost enough, either for na- ture or for glory ; if any addition is made to either, the advan- tage shall not be so much mine, as yours and my country's. -— 1»« - » ;» • i ... >. ... . y . . s , ^ n ^ _ ORATIO XVI. ■ — ■ -Mfc. K ■ I, ■ fc^ i-V IN M. ANTONIUM PHILIPPICARUM*. PHILIPPICA SECUNDA. ■ . ■ . — . i _ •»—»-. — . .. i , .i * ii. .«— .^j^^^ I. — QUONAM meo fato, P. C. fieri dicam, (i) ut nemtf his annis viginti reipublicse hostis fuerit, qui non bellum eo- dem tempore mihi quoque indixerit ? Nee vero necesse est a me quenquam nominari vobis, cum ipsi recordamini ; mihi poena- rum illi plus, quam optarem, dederunt. Te miror, Antoni y quorum facta imitere, eorum exitus non perhorrescere. Atque hoc in aliis minus mirabar : nemo illorum inimicus mihi fuit voluntarius : omnes a me reipublicse causa lacessiti ; tu, ne verbo quidem violatus, ut audacior quam L. Catilina, furiosior quam P. Clodius viderere, ultro maledictis me lacessisti ; tuamque a me alienationem commendationem tibi dd cives impios fore putavisti. Quid putem ? contemptum-ne me ? non video nee in vita, nee in gratia, nee in rebus gestis, nee in hae mea mediocritate ingenii, quid despicere possit Antonius. An in senatu facillime de me detrahi posse credidit ? qui ordo clarissi- mis civibus bene gestae reipublicse testimonium multis, mihi uni conservatse dedit. An decertare mecum voluit contentione dicendi ? hoc quidem beneficium est ; quid enim plenius, quid uberius, quam mihi et pro me, et contra Antonium dicere ? * Antony, being highly exafperated at the preceding fpeech, fummoned anothef meeting of the fenate, where he again required Cicero's attendance, being refolved to* anfwerhim in perfon, and juftify his own conduit. The fenate met on the appointed day, in the temple of Concord, whither Antony came with a ftrong guard, and in great expectation of meeting Cicero, whom he had endeavoured by artifice to draw thither ; but though Cicero himfelf was ready, and defirous to go, yet his friends over-ruled, and kept him at home, being apprehenfive of fome defign intended againffc his life. Antony's fpeech confirmed their apprehenfions, in which he poured out the overflow- ings of his fpleen with fuch fury againft him, that Cicero alluding to what he had done a little before in public, fays, that he feemed once more rather to fp— w, than to fpeak. As a breach with Antony was now inevitable, Cicero thought it neceffary, for his fe» curity, to remove to fome of his villas near Naples ; where he compefed this oration, by way of reply to Antony; not delivered in the fenate, as the tenour of it feems to imply, but finimed in tho country ; nor intended to be publilbed till thing* were acta- ORATION XVI. THE SECOND AGAINST M. ANTONY. Sf.ct. I. BY what singular fate of mine, conscript fa- thers, shall I say it comes to pass, that for these twenty years there has not beeri an enemy to the public, who has not at the same time declared war also against me ? It is unnecessary for me to mention their names, since you yourselves can so easily recollect them : their punishment has been more grievous than I could have wished. I am surprised, Antony, that you do not dread their fate, as you imitate their conduct; This, in others, however, I less' wondered at ,* for not one of them chose to be my enemy ; all of them were attacked by me, for the sake of the state. But you, without even the provocation of words, that you may appear more audacious than Catiline, and more furious than Clodious, have, of yctir own accord, fallen upon me with you calumnies, and thought a breaking with me would be a recommendation to profligate citizens. What ani I to think of this ? that I am despised ? I see nothing in my life, nor in my reputation, nor in my actions, nor in my capacity, small as ft is,, that Antony can' despise. Did he imagine the senate was the properest place for making a successful attack upon my character ? an assembly which has conferred on many illus- trious citizens the praise of having done great things for the state, but on me alone that of having saved it. Had he a mind to Contend with me in eloquence ? this is, indeed, doing me a kind- ness ; for what more copious, what more fertile subject can I have ally come to an extremity, and the occafions of the republic made it neceflary to render Antony's character and defi'gns as odious as poflible to the people. It is a most bitter invective on his whole life, describing it as a perpetual fcene of lewdnefs, faction, vio- lence, and rapine, heightened with all the colours of wit aHd eloquence ; and (hows, that in the decline of life, Cicero had lost no (hare of that fire andfpirit with which his earlier productions are animated. (i) Ut nemo his ann'u * Sila- nus, and "L. Mursena, who were then consuls elect. The same thing that pleased these consular men, pleased also Marcus Cato, who, as he left the world to avoid many things he fore- saw, never saw thee consul. But above all, did my consulate please Cn. Pompey, who when he first saw me, on his return from Syria, embracing and complimenting- me, owned that he was indebted to my conduct for beholding his country again* But why do I descend to particulars ? So much did it please a full senate, that there was not a man who did not return thanks to me as a father, who did not acknowledge that he owed his life, his children, his fortune, and the safety of the state to me. Sect. VI. But as the public is now bereft of so many and such great men as I have now named, let me proceed to the living ; two of whom, persons of consular dignity, are still alive. Li. Cotta, a man of the greatest abilities and the utmost prudence, in the most honourable terms, decreed a supplication for that very conduct which you now condemn ; to which those men o f consular dignity, whom I have just mentioned, and the whole senate assented : an honour which, since the building of the city, was never conferred upon any man in the robes of peace, besides myself. With what spirit, with what firmness, with what dignity, did L. Csesar, your uncle, pronounce sentence upon his own sister's husband, your step-father ? Him you ought to have made your pattern, the director of all your counsels ; but you chose rather to resemble your step-father than your tvncle. I, though none of his kinsmen, yet followed his advice I 2 588 M. T. CICERONIS ORATIONES. quam avunculi esse maluisti : hujus ego alienus consiliis consul usus sum : tu sororis filius, ecquicl ad eum unquam de republica rctulisti ? At ad quos refert ? dii immortales ! ad eos scilicet, quorum nobis etiam dies natales audiendi sunt. Hodie non de- scendit Antonius : cur ? dat natalitia in hortis ; cui ? neminem nominabo : nutate turn (13) Phormioni alicui, turn Gnathoni, turn Ballioni. O foeditatem hominis flagitiosam ! 6 impudenti- am, nequttiam, lihidinem non ferendam! tu cum principem senatorem, civem singularem, tarn propinquum habeas, ad eum de republ. nihil referas ; ad eos referas, qui suam rem nul- lam habent, tuam exhauriunt I Tuus videlicet salutaris consu- latus, perniciosus meus. \ II. Adeone pudorem cum pudicitia perdidisti, ut hoc in eo templo dicere ausus sis, in quo ego senatum ilium, qui quondam fiorens orbi terrarum prsesidebat, consulebam : tu homines per- ditissimos cum gladiis collocasti ? At etiam ausus es (quid autem est, quod tu non audeas ?) clivum capitolinum dicere, me con- sule, plenum strvorum armatorum fuisse ; ut ilia, credo, nefaria. senatusconsulta fierent, vim adferebam senatui. O miser, sive ilia tibi nota non sunt (nihil enim boni nosti,) sive sunt, qui apud tales viros tarn impudenter loquare ! Quis enim eques Romanus, quis prseter te adolescens nobilis, quis ullius ordinis, qui se civem esse meminisset, cum senatus in hoc templo esset, in clivo capitolino non iuit ? quis nomen non dedit ? quanquam nee scribfe sufficere, nee tabulse nomina illorum capere potue- runt. ICtenim cum homines befarii de patriae parricidio confite- rentur, consciorum indiciis, sua rnanu, voce pene literarum coacti, se urbem inflammare, cives trucidare, vastare Italiam, dclere rcmpublicam cpnsefisisse ; quis esset, qui ad salutem com- muncm defendendani non excltaretur ? prsesertim cum senatus popuiusque Horn anus haberet ducem, qualis siquis nunc esset, tibi idem, quod illis accidit, contigisset. (14) Ad sepulturam corpus vitrici sui negat a me datum. Hoc vero ne P. quidem Clodius dixit unquam : quern, quia jure ei fui inimicus, doleo a te jam omnibus vitiis esse superatum. Quid autem tibi venit in mehtem, rcdigere in memoriam nostram, te domi P. Lentuli esse educatum ? an verebare, ne non putaremus natura te potuisse tarn improbum evadere, nisi accessisset etiam disciplina ? ( 1 ;0 Phormioni alicui, &o] Parasitical characters, put here for parasites in general. Sec Terence and Plautus. (14) Ad sepulturam corpus vitrici sui negat a me datum.] Antony, it seems, had ob- jected to Cicero, that he rcfufed burial to the corpfe of Lentulus Sura; but Plutarch, in his life of Mark Antony, fhows that this charge was groundless. CTCERo's ORATIONS.. 589 while consul ; thou, his sister's son, say, didst thou ever con- sult him upon any thing that related to the public ? Immor- tal gods ! whom does he consult with ? why, with those men whose very birth-days we must hear of. To-day Antony does not appear : why ? he celebrates a birth-day in his gardens : whose ? J shall name nobody : imagine it some buffoon's, pimp's, or parasite's. Detestable meanness ! intollerable impudence, wickedness and lust! Thou, though so near allied to a princi- pal senator, an eminent citizen, never advisest with him about the state ; but advisest with those who, having nothing of their own, consume thy substance. So beneficial is thy consulate to the public, so pernicious was mine. Sect. VII. Art thou so far lost then to shame as well as chas- tity, that thou hast the assurance to affirm this in that very tern- pie where I consulted with the senate which once presided glori- ously over the whole world, but where thou hast now placed the most abandoned villains with swords in their hands ? But thou hast also had the assurance to say (for what is there thou hast not the assurance to say ?) that the mount of the capitol, in mv consulate, was filled with armed slaves; by which I supposed you would insinuate, that I forced the senate into the infamous decree it then made. Despicable wretch, to talk so impudently before this assembly, whether t-*3u art ignorant of those things (but thou art a stranger to every thing that is good,) or art not ignorant of them ! for was there a Roman knight, was there a youth of quality besides thyself, w T as there a man of any rank, who considered himself as a citizen, that was not on the mount of the capitol, when the senate was assembled in this temple ? was there one who did not inlist himself? the clerks could neither write down, nor the registers contain their names. For when abandoned villains confessed their design of being the par- ricides of their country ; when they were forced by informa- tion of their accomplices, their own hand-writing, and the voice of their letters, if I may use the expression, to acknowledge that they had conspired to set fire to the city, to murder the citizens, to lay waste Italy, and overturn the commonwealth, where is the man that must not then have been roused to the defence of the public safety ? especially as the senate and people of Rome had then such a leader, that, had the) 7, now his fellow, the same fate would overtake thee which then befel them. He denies that I delivered the body of his step-father to be buried* Not even P. Ciodius ever said this, whom, as I had reason to be his enemy, I am sorry to see outdone by thee in all manner of wickedness. But what could put it into thy head to remind us that thou wast educated in the house of Lentulus ? wast thou apprehensive that we should imagine nature could not have mad© thee such a monster, without the aid of education ? . J90 M. T. CICERONIS ORATIONES. VIII. Tarn autem eras excors, ut tota in oratione tua tecum. irse pugnarcs : utnonmodo non cohrcrentia inter sc diceres, sod maxime disjuncta, atque contraria : ut non tanta mecum, quanta tecum, tibi esset contentio. Vitricum tuum in tanto fuisse sce- lere fatebare, poena affectum querebare. lta, quod proprie meura est, laudasti ; quod totum senatus est, reprehendisti : nam comprehensio sontium, mea; animadversio, senatus fuit : homo disertus non intelligit eum, quern contra dicit, laudari a se ; eos, apud quos dicit, vituperari. Jam illud cujus est non dico audaciffi fcupit enim se audacem dici), sewi, quod minime xult, stultitise, qua vincit omnes, clivi capitolini mentionem facere, cum inter subsellia nostra versentur armati ? cum in hac cella Concordise, 6 dii immortales ! in qua, me consule, salutares sentential dictse sunt, quibus ad hanc diem viximus, cum gladiis homines collocati stent ? Accusa senatum : accusa equestrem or- dinem, qui turn cum senatii copulatus fuit : accusa omnes ordi- nes, omnes cives ; dum confitearehuncordinem, hoc ipso tempore, (15) ab Ityrreis, circumsederi. Hsec tu non propter audaciam non dicis tarn impudenter, sed quia tantam rerum repugnantiam non videas, nihil profecto sapis ,* quid est enim dementius, quam, cum ipse reipublicae perniciosa arma ceperis, objicere alteri sa- lutaria ? At etiam quodam loco facetus esse voluisti : quam id te, dii boni ! non decebat? in quo est tua culpa nonnulla : aliquid enim salis (16) ab uxore mima trahere potuisti : Cedant arma toga;. quid turn ? nonne cesserunt ? At postea tuis armis cessit toga. Quseramus igitur utrum melius fuerit, libertati populi Roma- ni sceleratorum arma, an libertatem nostram armis tuis ce- dere ? (17) Nee vero tibi de versibus plura respondebo : tan turn dicam breviter ; te neque illos, neque ullas omnino literas nosse : me nee reipublicre, nee amicis unquam defuisse ; et tamen omni genere monumentorum meorum perfecisse ope- ns subsecivis, ut ,mese vigiriae mefeque liters et juventuti utili- (15) Ab Ityrah,circumfgderi,)]evrs (fo called from a province of Palestine having that name), whom Antony, when he ferved under Gabinius, the pro-conful, brought with him to Rome, as perfons every way qualified te execute his brutal and ambitious purpofes. (16) Ab uxore mima tralere poUiisti."] This was Cytheris, one of Antony's mistreffes, whom he i? faid to have carried along with him in his military expeditions. Some commentators think ftic is the fame perfon who is mentioned by Virgil, in thofc lines, Ed. 10th. Calle quid infanis ? inquil : tua cur a Lycoris, Perque ni-ves alium, perque horrida castrafecuta eji. She was called Volumnia too, from Volumnius Eutrapelus, who was acquainted with her before Antony was. She had, indeed, various names, which is no uncommon thing with ladies of her character. (17) Nee vero tibi de verftbus refpandebo.'] This famous difKch has been a fource of perpetual raillery upon Cicero's poetical character ; and two had lines, fays the elegant and ingenious author of his life, picked out by the malice of enemies, and tranfmitted to poller ity, as a ipecimen of the reft, have ferved to damn t'noufands of good ones : An- CICERo's ORATIONS. * 591 Sect. VIII. But so great was thy stupidity, that through the whole of thy discourse, -thou wast at variance with thvself ; in- somuch that what thou saidst, was not only incoherent, but widely different and contradictory ,* so that thou didst not seem xo contend so much with me as with thyself. You owned that your step-father was concerned in that monstrous conspiracy ; but complained that he was punished for it, Thus, what was properly my act, you extolled ; what was wholly the senate's, you condemned ; for, that the guilty were apprehended, was owing to me : that they were punished, to the senate. This orator therefore does not perceive that he is praising the man he speaks against, and condemning those before whom he speaks. Nov/ by whose (I will not say audaciousness, for he loves to be called audacious), but by whose stupidity, and impu- tation he by no means likes, though he exceeds all men in it, shall I say it is, that the mount of the capitol was mentioned, when armed men are posted even amidst our benches ? when in this very temple of Concord, immortal gods ! in which under my consulship, wholesome measures were taken, measures by which we now live, guards are placed with swords in their hands ? Accuse the senate | accuse the equestrian order, which was then connected with the senate, accuse every rank, and every citizen ; but you must confess that this assembly is, at this very instant, beset by barbarians, It is not owing to your au- daciousness that you talk so impudently ; but your not per- ceiving the inconsistency of what you say, shows your extreme stupidity : for what can be more absurd, than to reproach ano- ther with taking up arms for the defence of his country, when thou thyself hast prepared an armed force for its destruction ? But you once had a mind to be witty. Good gods ! how ill did that become you ! and, in some measure, let me tell you, it was your own fault ; for you have a lady who might have in- fused some wit into you. Let arms give place to the gown* How ! and did they not then give place ? but the gown after- wards gave place to thy arms. Let us consider, then, which was best ; that the arms of impious men should yield to the li- berty of the Roman people, or that our liberty should yield to thy arms. But I shall say no more to thee concerning poetry : only observe briefly, that thou art an utter stranger to that and every other branch of literature ; that I have never been want- ing, in what I owe either to the state, or to my friends ; and yet, by the works of every kind which I have composed in my leisure hours, have made my labours and learning contribute somewhat to the advantage of youth, and glory of the Ro- tony, it feems, had been severe upon him in regard to his poetry ; and it is very ob- fervable.that his anfwer is not in thatclegant and polite strain of raillery he was master ©f upon other occafions. 592 SI, T. CICERONIS ORATIONES. tatis, et nomimi Romano laudis aliquid adferrent. Sed hscc non hujus temporis: majcra videamus. IX. P. Clodium meo consiliointerfectum esse, dixisti. Quid- nam homines putarent, si turn occisus esset, cum tu ilium in foro, inspectante populo Romano, gladio stricto insecutus es ; nego- tiumque transegisses, nisi ille se in scalas tabernae librarise con- jecisset, hisque oppilatis impetum tuum compressisset ? Quod quidem ego favisse me tibi fateor, suasisse ne tu quidem dicis ; at Miloni ne favere quidem potui ; prius enim rem trans egit, quam quisquam eurn id facturum suspicaretur. At ego suasi. Scilicet is animus erat Milonis, ut prodesse reipublicse sine sua- $ore non posset. At lsetatus sum ; quid ergo ? in tanta lanitia cunctae civitatis me unum tristem esse oportebat ? Quanquam de morte P. Clodii fuit qusestio non satis prudenter ilia quidem constituta ; quid enim attinebat nova lege quferi de eo, qui ho- minem occidisset, cum esset legibus qusestio constituta \quse- situm est tamen. Quod ergo, cum res agebatur, nemo in me dixit ; id tot annis post tu es inventus, qui diceres ? Quod vero dicere ausus es, idque rnultis verbis, opera mea Pompeium a Csesaris amicitia esse disjunctum, ob eamque causain mea culpa civile bellum esse natum : in eo non tu quidem tota re, sed, quod maximum est, temporibus errasti. X. Ego M. Bibulo, prsestantissimo cive, consule, nihil pr?e- termisi, quantum facere enitique potui, quin Pompeium a Cae- saris conjunctione avocarem : in quo Csesar fuit felicior ; ipse enim Pompeium a mea familiaritate disjunxit. Postea vero quam se totum Pompeius Csesari tradidit, quid ego ilium ab eo distrahere conarer ? stulti erat sperare : suadere impudentis. Duo tamen tempora inciderunt, quibus pJiquid contra Csesarem Pompeio suaserim : ea velim reprehendas, si potes : (18). unum ne quinquennii imperium C«sari prorogaret : alterum, ne pateretur fieri, ut absentis ejus ratio haberetur ; quorum si utrumvis persuasissem, in has miserias nunquam incidisse- mus. Atque idem ego, cum jam omnes cpes et suas, et populi (l%) Unum, ne quinquennii, Iffc. Alterum ne pateretur fieri, utabfentis ejus ratio haberetur .] Pompey, when lie was confulthe third time, in the year 701, procured a law empowering Csefar to offer himfelf as a candidate for the confulfhip, without appearing perfonally at Rome for that purpofe. This was contrary to the fundamental principles of the Roman conftitution, and proved in the event the occafion of its being utterly deftroyed ; as it furniftied Caefar with the only fpecious pretence for turning his arms againft the republic. Cicero affirms here, that he endeavoured to dissuade Pompey from fuffering this law to pafs : but if this affertion be true, he muft have acted a very extra- ordinary part ; for, at the fame time that he diffuaded Pompey from fuffering this law to pafs, he perfuaded Ccelius, who wasone of the tribunes of the people, to promote it, or at lead not to oppofe it, agreeably to a promise which he had given Ca> far for that purpofe- This appears in a paffage of one of his letters to Atticus, where, CICERo's ORATIONS. 593 man name. These things, however, are foreign to our present purpose ; let us proceed, therefore, to what is of greater impor- tance. Sect. "IX. You said that Publius Clodius was killed by my advice. What would men have thought, had he been killed when you pursued him in the forum with your drawn sword, before the whole people of Rome ; and had effected your pur- pose, if he had not thrown himself under the steps of a book- seller's stall, and by barricading it, put a stop to your pur- suit ? . In this, indeed, I confess that I countenanced you ; but you yourself do not say that I advised you to it : as for Milo, I could not possibly countenance him, for he had completed the business before any person suspected that he had undertaken it. Yet it was I who advised him to it; as if Milo could not have done a service to his country without an adviser. But I re- joiced at it. What ! amidst such universal joy, was there any reason why I should be the only dejected person in Rome ? Yet, thought was not so very prudent to do it, atrial was appointed concerning the death of Clodius ; for where was the necessity of trying a man by a new law, for the murder of another, when such a proceeding was authorised by the laws already in being I The trial, however, went on ; and what nobody, while the af- fair was depending, accused rne of, that you have laid to my carge so many years after. But as to what you had the as- surance to say, and that in so many words, that Pompey was separated from Csesar's friendship by my means ; and for that very reason, that the civil war was owing to me ; though you are not altogether in the wrong, yet you are widely mistaken in point of time, which is a point of great importance. Sect. X. While M. Bibulus, that most valuable citizen, was consul, I omitted no means in my power to draw off Pompey from his connection with Caesar : but in this Csesar was more fortunate, for he separated Pompey from my friendship. But after Pompey had given himself up entirely to Csesar, why- should I have endeavoured to disunite them ? To have enter- tained hopes of doing it, had been folly ; to have attempted it, had been impudence. Two occasions, however, there were, on which I advised Pompey to oppose Caesar ; and both these measures you may blame if you can. The first was, that Csesar's five years command should not be prorogued ; the other, that Pompey would not suffer any regard to be paid to Csgsar's absence : in either of which could I have prevailed, we had never fallen into these calamities. Yet when Pompey had fpeaking of C«efar's claim to fue for the confulate, without perfonally attending at Rome, he tells Atticus, ut Mi hoc li:eret t adjuvi : rcgatus ab ipfo Ravenna de Calio tribun* phbis. Ad. Att- 7. i. 594 3*1. T. CICERONIS ORATION£Sr Rom. Pompeius ad Caisarem detulisset, seroque ea sentire cc^ pisset, quai ego ante multo provideram, inferrique patriae bellum nefarium viderem ; pacis, concordiae, compositionis auctor esse non destiti : meaque ilia vox est nota multis, UTINAM, Cn. Pompei, cum C. Cresare societatem aut nunquam coi'sses, aut nunquam diremisses ! fuit alteram gravitatis, alterum pru- dential tuse. Hsec mea, M. Antoni, semper et de Pompeio, et de republica consilia fuerunt : quae si valuissent, respublica staret ; tu tuis flagitiis, egestate, infamia, concidisses. XL Sed hsec Vetera : illud vero recens, Cresarem meo consilio interfectum. Jam vereor, patres conscripti, ne, quod turpis- simum est, praevaricatorem mihi apposuisse videar, qui me non solum meis laudibus ornaret, sed etiam oneraret, alienis ; quis enim metrm in ista societate gloriosissimi facti nomem audivit ? cujus autem qui in eo numero fuisset, nomen est occultatum ? Occultatum, dico ? cujus non statim divulgatum ? citius dixerim jactasse se aliquos, ut fuisse in ea societate viderentur, cum socii non fuissent, quam ut quisquam celari vellet, qui fuissetv Quam verisimile porro est, in tot hominibus purtim obscuris, partim adolescentibus, neminem occultantibus, meum nomen latere potuisse ? Etenim si auctores ad liberandam patriam desiderarentur illis auctoribus, Brutos ego impellerem, quorum nterque L. Bruti imaginem quotidie videret, (*9) alter etiam Ahalse ? Hi igitur his majoribus orti ab alienis potius cosilium peterent, quam a suis ? et foris potius, quam domo ? Quid ! (*°j C Cassius, in ea iamilianatus,qua3 non modo dominatum, sed ne potentiam quidem cujusquam ferre potuit, me aucto- rem, credo desideravit : qui etiam sine his clarissimis viris, banc rem, in Cilicia, ad ostium fiuminis Cydni confecisset, si ille ad earn ripam, quam constituerat, non ad contrariam, naves appulisset. (»i) Cn. Domitium non patris interitus, clarissimi viri, non avunculi mors, non spoliatio dignitatis, ad recuperan- dam libertatem, sed mea auctbritas excitavit ? An C. Trebo- nio ego persuasi, cui ne suadere quidem au&us essem ? quo etiam majorem ei respublica gratiam debet, qui libertatem populi Romani unius amicitiaj prseposuit ; depulsorque domi- natris, quam particeps esse maluit. (*») An L. Tillius Cimber (i*)) Alter etiam Ahalaf] Ahala was one of Brutus's anceftors by the mother's fide : he slew Sp. Melius, a Roman knight, fufpected, on account of his largenefs to to the people, of aiming at the fovereignty. (20J C. Cafius, in ca familia natus, &C 1 , Camus was decended from the great C Caffius who put his own son to death, becaufe fu6pected of forming deugns againft the ftate. (zi) Cn. Domitium non patris interitus, &c] Suetonis gives a very great character to this Domitius. He was son to L. Domitius, who fell in the battle of Pharfalia, and nephew to Cato Uticeifis. (z%) An L. Tillius Cimber me ejt auSlorem secutus ?) Seneca, in hisepiftles to Lucullus, fays that this Cimber was a notorious drunkard; and that, nevertheless, the fecret of Cxfar's death wa3 as much entrufted to him as it was to Caflius, who all his life had drank nothing but water. CICERO's ORATIONS. 595 delivered up all his own power, and that of the Roman people, into Caesar's hands, when he began too late to perceive those evils which I had long before foreseen, and when I saw that an Unnatural war was ready to break out against mv country, I never ceased endeavouring to promote peace, harmony, and a reconciliation. What I said upon that occasion, is well known to many : I wish, Pompey, you had never contracted, or never broke off your friendship with C&sar ; the one had been consistent with your dignity f the other with your prudence. These, Mark Antony, have ever been my counsels, both with regard to Pompey and the state : had thev prevailed, the constitution had stood, and you must have fallen by your crimes, your poverty, and infamy. Sect. XI. But these are instances of an old date : let us pro- ceed to one that is later. You sav, then, that C?esar was killed by my advice. Here I am afraid, conscript fathers, of a most scandalous imputation, since it may seem as if I setup this sham accuser, not only to load me with mv own honours, but with those of others : for who ever head mv name among those who had a share in that most glorious deed ? vet whose name that was concerned in it, was concealed ? Concealed, do I say \ whose, that was not immediately published ? I would sooner say that some boasted of being in that number who were not, than that any who were, desired to be concealed. Besides, how likely is it, that among so manv, partly persens of obscure birth, partly young men, who concealed nobody, my name could possibly lie hid ? For if those heroes had wanted persons to rouse them to the deliverance of their country, needed I to have prompted the two Bruti, each of whom had the statue of L. Brutus daily in his eye, and one of them that of Ahaia be- sides ? oprung from such progenitors, therefore, would these men have asked advice of a stranger rather than of their own family, abroad rather than at home ? What ! C. Cassius, de- scended from a family that not only could not brook sovereignty, but even the superiority of any one ; he, I suppose, wanted my instigation, who, even without the assistance of his illustrious partners, would have done this very thing in Cilicia, at the mouth of the river Cydnus, if Caesar had not landed on a different side from what he intended. It was not the death of his father, that most illustrious man, nor the fate of his uncle, nor the be- ing deprived of his own honours, but mv influence, that roused Cn. Domitius to recover his libertv. "Did I persuade C. Tre- bonius ? a man I would not even have ventured to talk to on such a subject : for which reason the state owes him greatei thanks, because he preferred the liberty of the Roman people to the friendship °f a single person, and chose rather to be the expeller than the partner of usurpation. Was L. Tillius Cimber A 4 596 M. T. CICERONIS ORATIONES. me est auctorem secutus ? quern egomagis fecisse illam rem sum admiratus, quam, lacturum putavi ; admiratus sum autem ob earn causam, quod immemor beneficiorum, memor patriae fuisset. (*3) Quid duos Servilios, Cascas dicam, an Ahalas ? et hos auc- toritace men censes excitatos potius quam caritate reipublicse ? Longum est persequi cseteros ; idque reipublicse praiclarum, fuisse tarn multos, ipsis gloriosum. XII. At quemadmodum me coarguerit honfo acutus, recorda- mini. Csesare interfecto, inquit, statim cruentum alte extollens M. Brutus pugionem, Ciceronem nominatim exclamavit, atque ei recuperata«i libertatem est gratulatus. Cur mihi potissimum ? quod sciebam . ? Vide ne ilia causa fuerit appellandi me, quod cum rem gessisset consimilem rebus iis, quas ipse gesseram, me potissimum testatus est, se semulum mearum laudum exstitisse. Tu autem, omnium stultissime,non intelligis, si id, quod me argui - , voluisse interfic i Csesarem, crimen sit ; etiam la3tatum esse morte Cacsaris crimen esse ? quid enim interest inter suasorem facti, et probatorem ? . aut quid refert utrum voluerim fieri, an gaudeam factum . ? ecquis est igitur, te excepto, et iis qui ilium regnare gaudebant, qui illud aut fieri noluerit, aut factum imbrobarit ? omnes enim in culpa ; etenim omnes boni, quantum in ipsis fuit, Csesarem occiderunt : aliis consilium, aliis animus, aliis oc- casio defuit ; voluntas nemini. Sed stuporem hominis, vel dicam pecudis, attendite ; sic enim dixit: M. BRUTUS, QUEMEGO HONORIS CAUSA NOMINO, f» CRUENTUM PUGIO- NEMTENENS, CICERONEM EXCLAMAVIT : EX QUO INTELLIGI DEBET,EUM CONSCIUM FUISSE.Ergoe- go sceleratus appellor ate, quern tususpicatum aliquidsuspicaris ; ille, qui stillantem prse se pugionem tulit, is a te honoris causa nominatur ? Esto : sit in verbis tuis hie stupor; quanto in rebus sententiisque major ? Constitue hoc consul aliquando : Brutorum, C. Cassii, Cn. Domitii, C. Trebonii, reliquorum quam velis esse causam : edormi crapulam, inquam, et exhala : an faces admo- vendaj sunt, quae te excitent tantai causa? indormientem ? nun- (zt,) <2uiJ duos Ser-vilios ?] PubliUs Servilius, the father, was conful in the year of the city 674 ; and having taken fome towns of the Ifauri, he afTumed the furname of Ifauricus. His (on was twice conful. (24) Cruentum pugionem tenens.] Dr. Akenflde, in his Pleafures of the Imagination^ one of the moft beautiful poems in the Englifh, or perhaps in any other language, ipeaks thus of what is h*re faid of Brutus : Look then abroad thro' nature, to the range Of pianetf, funs, and adamantine fpheres Wheeling unfhaken, thro' the void immenfe; And fpeak. O man ! does this capacious fcene With half that kindling majefty dilate Thy ftrong conception, as when Brutus rofe Refulgent from the ftrokeof Ciefar's fate, ttlCERO's ORATIONS, 597 determined by me ? one whom I was rather surprised to find concerned in such an action, than of opinion that he would un- dertake it ; and the reason of my surprise was, that he could be unmindful of favours, and mindful of his country. Row shall I distinguish the two Servilii ? shall I call them Cascas, or Ahalasf and canst thou think that these were influenced more by my persuasion, than love for their country ? It would be tedious to mention the rest. That there were so many, is an honour to their country, and glorious to themselves. Sect. XII. But observe in what manner this acute reasoner is to convict me. The moment Casar was killed, says he 5 M. Brutus, extending his arm aloft with the bloody dagger, called aloud on Cicero by name, and congratulated him on the recovery of liberty. But why did he congratulate me in parti- cular I because I was privy to the design. Consider whether this was not the reason of his calling upon me, that as he had performed an action of a similar nature with mine, he called me to witness that he appeared there as the rival of my glory. But, dunce, dost thou not perceive, that if a desire of having Cjesar killed, which thou chargest me with, be a crime, it is also a crime to rejoice at his death ? for where is the difference betwixt the adviser and approver of an action? or what matters' it whether I wanted to see it done, or rejoiced at it ? Is there then a man, excepting thyself, and those who rejoiced at his usurpation, who was either averse to its being done, or con- demned it when done ? All men then are criminal -. for all good men, as much as they could, were concerned in the death of Caesar. Some wanted resolution, some spirit, some the oppor- tunity ; but not one the inclination. But observe th^ stupidity of the man, or shall I rather say of the brute — for these were . his words : M. Brutus, zvhom I name with honour, holding ub the bloody dagger, called aloud uponCicero ; whence we may hi- fer, that he was privy to. the design, I therefore am called a vil- lain, because you suspect me to have suspected something ; he that held up the reeking poniard, is mentioned by you with honour. Be it so ; let this stupidity be in thy words ; how much more is there in thy sentiments and actions 1 Determine, my worthy consul, the nature of what the Bruti, C. Cassius, Cn. Domitius, C. Trebonius, and the rest have done. Take my advice, sleep out thy wine, and dispel its fumes. Must torches be ap- plied to rouse thee, nodding over a cause of such importance ? Amid the crowd of patriots ; and his arm Alcft extending, like eternal Jove When guilt brings down the thunder, call'd aloud On Tulley's name, and fhook his crimfon steel, And bade the father of his country, hail ! For lo i the tyrant prostrate on the dust ! And Rome again is free !— — Pleas, oflmag, B. I. 1. 487. yJS M. T. CICERONIG ORATIONES. quam-ne intelliges, statuendum tibi esse, utrum illi, qui istam rem gesserunt, homicidial sint, an vindices libertatis ? XIII. Attende enim paulisper, cogitationemque sobrii homi- nis punctum temporis suscipe : etenim ego, qui sum illorum, ut ipse fateor, familiaris, ut ate arguor, socius, nego quidquam esse medium : connteor eos, nisi Jiberatores populi Romani conser- vatoresque reipublicse sint, plus quam sicarios, plus quam ho- micidas, plus etiam quam parricidas esse : siquidem est atrocius patriae parentem, quam suum occidere. Tu, homo sapiens et considerate, quid dicis . ? Si parricidse ; cur honoris causa a te sunt, et in hoc ordine, et apud populum Romanum, semper ap- pellati ? (25) cur M. Brutus, te referente, legibus est solutus, si ab urbe plus quam decern dies abfuisset ? cur ludi Apollinares incredibili M. Bruti honore celebrati ? cur provincial Cassio et Bruto data; ? cur quaestores additi ? cur legatorum numerus auc- tus ? atque hsec acta per te ! non igitur homicidse : sequitur ut liberatores tuo judicio sint, quandoquidem tertium nihil potest esse. Quid est ? num conturbo te ? non enim fortasse satis, quse distinctius dicuntur, intelligis ; sed tamen hsec est summa conclusionis mea; : quoniam scelere a te liberati sunt, ab eodem te amplissimis prsemiis dignissimi judicati sunt. Itaquejamre- texo orationem meam, scribam ad illos, ut siqui forte, quod a te mihi objectum est, querent, sit-ne verum ; ne cui negent : etenim vereor, aut ne eclat um me ab ipsis, illis non honestum, aut invitatum refugisse, mihi sit turpissimum. Quse enim res unquam (pro sancte Jupiter !) non modo in hac urbe, sed in omnibus terris est gesta major ? quae gloriosior ? quae com- mendatior hominum memorise sempiternal ? In hujus me con- silii societatem, tanquam in equum Trojanum, cum principi- bus includis ? non recuso : ago etiam gratias, quoquo animo facis ; tanta enim res est, ut invidiam istam, quam tu in me vis concitare, cum laude non comparem. Quid enim beatius illis, quos tu expulsos a te praxlicas et relegates ? qui locus est aut tarn desertus, aut tarn inhumanus, qui illos, quo accesserint, non affari atque appetere videatur ? qui homines tarn agres-^ tes, qui se, cum eos adspexerint, non maximum cepisse vita; (25) Cur AT. Brutus, te referente, legibus ejl folutus, Ji ab urbe, plus quam decern dies ebfuijjet.} Brutus and Cafliusberag obliged to quit Rome after Cjefar's death, and not thinking it fafe to return on account of the infolence of the mob, their friends foliated the fe>ate for fome extraordinary employment to be granted to them, to cover the ap- pearance of a flight, and the difgrace of living in baniftiment, when inverted with one of the firft magiftraciesof the republic. As przetors, their refidence was abfolute- ly neceffary at Rome, and could not legally be difpenfed with for above ten days in the year : but Antony readily procured a decree to abfolve them from the laws ; being glad to fee them in a fituation fo contemptible, dripped of their power, fuffering a kind of exile, ar.d depending, as it were, upon him for their protection* By his means com- Cicero's orations. 599 Wilt thou never understand, that it must be determined by thee, whether those who committed that action were murderers, or the assertors of liberty ? Sect. XIII. Yet attend a little, and for one moment think like a sober man. For I who confess myself their friend, and, as you amrm, am their associate, deny that there is any me- dium : I allow, that if they were not the deliverers of the Ro- man people, and the preservers of the state, they are worse than ruffians, worse than murderers, worse even than parricides ; Inasmuch as it is a greater crime to murder the father of one's country, than it is to murder one's natural father. What sayest thou, wise and considerate man ! to all this ( If they are par- ricides, why are they always mentioned by thee with honour, both in this assembly, and before the Roman people ?■ why had M. Brutus, at thy motion, a dispensation from the laws, of being absent from the city above ten days ? why were the Apollinarian games celebrated in so honourable a manner for M. Brutus ? why provinces assigned to Cassius and Brutus ? why quaestors added ? why the number of their lieutenants augmented ? and all this was done bv thee ! they cannot then be murderers ; they are consequently, in thy judgment, deliverers of their country, since there can be no medium. What's the matter I do I dis- concert thee ? perhaps thou dost not thoroughly understand what is so clearly stated. This is the sum of what I have said ; since by thee they have been acquitted of guilt, by thee they have been thought worthy of the greatest rewards. I shall now, therefore, change my discourse : I will write to them, that if any should ask whether there was any truth in what you objected to me, not to deny it ', for I am afraid lest it should be thought di shonourable in them to conceal it from me, or scandalous in me to decline it when invited. For, O sacred Jove ! what greater action was ever performed, not only in this city, but in the whole world ? what more glorious ? what can better deserve being held in eternal remembrance ? Dost thou make me an associate in this design, and shut me up with these he- roes, as it were in the Trojan horse ; I will not disown it : nay I give thee thanks, whatever be thy intention in doing it ; for so glorious is the action, that I would not purchase an exemption from . the malice which thou wouidst now raise against me, at the expense of the honour attending it. Can there be a happier fate, than that of the men whom thou de- clarest thou hast expelled and banished ? what place is there so desert or barbarous, that, when they shall approach it, will not invite and entertain them ? what men so savage ,\s not to missions were granted to them, to buy up corn in Afband Sicily, for the use e f the repub- lic ; which was contrived as an affront to them, being abfolutely belowtheir character. 600 M. T. CICERONIS ORATIONES. fructum putent ? quse vero tarn immemor posteritas, quae tarn ingratse literse reperientur, quse eorum gloriam non immortali- tatis memorid. prosequantur ? Tu vero adscribe me talem in numerum. XIV. Sedunam remvereor, ne non probes ; si enim fuissem, non solum regem, sed regnum etiam de republic^ sustulissem : et si meus stilus ille fuisset (ut dicitur) mihi crede (* 6 ) non solum unum actum, sed totam fabulam confecissem. Quanquam si interfici Csesarem voiuisse crimen est, vide quseso, Antoni, quid tibi futurum sit, (*7) quern et Narbone hoc consilium cum C Trebonio cepisse notissimum est, et ob ejus consilii societa- tern, cum interficeretur Caesar, turn te a Trebonio vidimus se- vocari. Ego autem (vide quam tecum agam non inimice) quod bene cogitasti aliquando, laudo ; quod non indicasti, gratias ago ; quod non fecisti, ignosco ; virum res ilia qu«rebat. Quod si te in judicium quisadducat, usurpetque illud Cassianum, GUI BONO FUERIT, vide, quseso, ne hsereas ; quanqam illud quidem fuit, ut tu dicebas, omnibus bono, qui servire nolebant ; tibi tarn en prsecipue, qui non modo non servis, sed etiam regnas ; qui maximo te sere alieno ad sedem Opis liberasti ; qui per eas- demtabulas innumerabilem pecuniam dissipavisti : (*8) ad quern c domo Csesaris tarn multa delata sunt ; cujus domus qujestuo- sissima est falsorum commentariorumetchirographorum officina, agrorum, oppidorum, immunitatum, vectigalium, flagitiosissimse nundinse. Etenim quse res egestati et fori alieno tuo, prseter mortem Cresaris, subvenire potuisset : nescio quid conturbatus esse mihi videris ; nunquid subtimes, ne ad te hoc crimen perti- nere videatur ? libero te metu ; nemo credet unquam : non est tuum de republica bene mereri : habet istius pulcherrimi facti clarissimos viros respublica auctores : ego te tantiim gaudere dico, fecisse non arguo. Respondi maximis criminibus : nunc etiam reliquis respondendum est. (26) Non solum unum actum , sed totam fabulam confecifsem."] Cicero here declares, that il he had been concerned in the plot againft Csefar, he fhould not have left his work imperfect ; he frequently reproaches the confpirators with having committed a capital miflake, in fparing Antony when they deflroyed Caefar. But it may he affirmed (and upon the authority of Cicero himfelf) that nothing could have been more unjuftifiable than to have rendered Antony a joint victim with Caefar. It is true, there wat an an- cient law fubfifting, by which every one was authorifed to lift up his fword againft the man who fhould difcover any defigns of invading the public liberties. But Antony was fo far from having given indications of this kind at Casfar's death, that Cicero, in a letter written to Atticus foon afterwards, tells him, that he looked upon Antony as a man too much devoted to the indulgences of a luxurious life, to be inclined to form any fchcmes deftructive to the public repofe. $>uem quidem ego, lays he, epularum rxagis at- itror rationem habere, quam quidquam mali cogitare. (zy ) ^uem et Narbone b$c conjtlium turn C. Trebonio cepifse notijjimum ejl.~\ We learn from Plutarch, in his life of Antony, that when the confpirators were deliberating a- 'Among thcmfelves about killing Cxfar, it wat debated among them, whether they CICERO'S ORATIONS, 601 think a sight of them the greatest happiness of their lives ? what posterity shall be found so unmindful, what histories so ungrate- ful, as not to crown their memory with everlasting renown ? do thou set me down in the glorious list* Sect. XIV. But I am afraid of one thing ; namely, that you cannot prove your assertion : for, had I been concerned, I should have rid the state, not only of the tyrant, but of tyranny itself; and had the piece been mine, (if I may be allowed to use the expression) I should not have stopt at one act, but finished the whole play. But if it be a crime to have wished for Csesar's death, what, Antony,, must become of you ? since it is well known that at Narbonne you entered into that plot with C. Tre- bonius, and because you had been once engaged in that design, we saw you, when Csesar was killing, called aside by the same Trebonius. I indeed commend you, (observe how far I am from being an enemy) for having once in your life formed a virtuous purpose ; I return you my thinks for not having be- trayed the cause ; and I forgive you for not acting in it. The affair, indeed, required a man : but if any one should bring you to a trial, and make use of that saying of Cassius, Wliat good purpose could it serve P beware, I beseech you, you be not puzzled : though it was indeed of service, as you yourself said to all who were not willing to be slaves ; and to you in partic- ular, who not only are no slave, but even a king ; who have paid off your immense debts at the temple of Ops ; who, by means of the notes I have mentioned, have squandered away a prodigious sum ; to whom such a treasure was carried from Csesar's house ; you, whose house is the most lucrative office for fictitious notes and writings : the most scandalous mart for lands, towns, immunities, and taxes : for what but Caesar's death could have relieved thy necessities, and cleared thy debts t Thou seemest greatly disconcerted about something. Art thou afraid lest this charge should fall upon thee I I will rid thee of thy fear : nobody will ever believe it : it is not for thee to de- serve well of thy country : those who performed that most glo- rious deed, were the most illustrious persons of the state : I only say, thou didst rejoice at it ; I do not charge thee with com- mitting it. I have answered the most heinous part of my charge : it now remains to reply to the other. fhould invite Antony to affist them in the execution of their defign ; that Trebonius oppofed the motion, alleging that he was no stranger to Antony's fentiments in regard to the affair, fince he had already endeavoured to purfuade him to it, at that time when Csefar was returning from Spain. Trebonius reprefented at the fame time r that Aatony refufed to comply with what he propofed, but that he had neverthelef* kept the fecret faithfully. Cicero gives a different account of the matter; he affirms, that Antony entered into the defign against Caefar, but that he had not courage toafftsc in the execution of it. (zSj Ad quern e demo Cafaris tarn pjulta delata funt.] Calphurnia, Caefar '« tvife after 602 M. T. CICERONIS 0RATI0NES. XV. Castra mihi Pompeii atque omne illud tempus objecisti : quo quidem tempore, si ut dixi, meum consilium auctoritasque valuisset, tu hodie egeres, nos liberi essemus : respublica noil tot duces et exercitus amisisset. Fateor enim, me ( 4 9) cum ea, quae acciderunt, providerem futura, tan'a in mcestitia fuisse, quanta caeteri optimi cives, si idem providissent, fuissent. Dole- bam, dolebam, P. C. rempublicam vestris quondam meisque consiliis conservatam, brevi tempore esse perituram. Neque vero eram tarn indoctus ignarusque rerum, ut frangerer animo propter vitae cupiditatem,quse me manens conficeret angoribus ; dimissa molestiis omnibus liberaret : illos ego prsestantissimos viros, lumina reipublicse, vivere volebam ; tot consulares, tot prsstorios, tot honestissimos senatores, omnem prseterea florem nobilitatis ac juventutis, turn optimorum civium exercitus : qui si viverent, quamvis iniqua cpnditione pacis (mihi enim pax omnis cum civibus bello civili utilior videbatur,) rempublicam hodie teneremus. Quae sententia si valuisset, ac iron ii maxime mihi, quorum ego vitse consulebam, spe victorise elati obstitis- sent ; ut alia omittam, tu certe nunquam in hoc ordine, vel po- tius nunquam in hac urbe mansisses. At vero Cn. Pompeii vo- luntatem a me abalienabat oratio mea ; an ille quenquam plus di- lexit ? cum ullo aut sermones, aut consilia contulit sscpius ? quod quidem erat magnum, de summa rep. dissentientes, in eadem consuetudine amicitise permanere : sed et ego quid ille, et con- tra ille quid ego et sentirem et spectarem videbat ; ego incolu- mitati civium primiim, ut postea dignitati possemus ; ille prae- senti dignitati potius consulebat : quod autem habebat uterque quod sequeretur, idcirco tolerabilior erat nostra dissensio. Quid vero ille singularis vir ac pene divinus de me senserit, sciunt qui eum de Pharsalica fugaPaphum persecuti sunt ; nunquam ala eo mentio de me, nisi honorifica, nisi plena amicissimi desi- derii, cum me vidisse plus fateretur, se speravisse meliora : et ejus viri nomine me insectari audes, cujus me amicum, te secto- rem esse fate are ? XVI. Sed omittatur bellum illud, in quo tunimium felix fuisti. the death of her husband, fled for fhelter to Antony, carrying with her all the money Casfar had left behind him, amounting to near a million fterling. (%$) Cum ea, que decider unt, provider em futura.~\ Cicero's wonderful reach of judg- ment in penetrating far into the confequences of events, is confirmed by the tcftimony of an hiftorian who knew him well; and who affures us, that he pointed out, with a prophetic difcernment, feveral circumftances, that \ver« fulfilled, not ouiy in his cv/p life-time, but after his death. C»r. N*p in Fit. Alt. CICERO'S ORATIONS. 60£ SecT. X^ . You reproached me with being in Pompey's camp, and with my conduct during all that juncture ; a juncture, in which, as I said, if my advice and authority had prevailed, thou hadst still been oppressed with want, and we in possession of our liberty : nor would .the state have lost so many generals and armies. For I confess, that when I foresaw those things, which have since come to pass, I was as much dejected as other good citizens would have been had they foreseen the same. It grieved me, it grieved me, conscript fathers, that this constitution, once preserved by your conduct and mine, was so soon to fall to ruin : not that I was so unexperienced and ignorant of human affairs as to suffer my spirits to sink through a fondness for life ; the continuance of which did but consume me with anguish, while the loss of it would have freed me from my troubles. I wanted those excellent men, the luminaries of the state, to live ; 80 many of consular, so manv of prsetorian dignity, so many illustrious senators, besides the whole flower of our nobility and }*outh, and an army of the most worthy citizens, had these lived, though upon unreasonable conditions of peace, (for to me any peace with my countrymen seemed more eligible than a civil war,) we had still been in possession of the government. Had this advice prevailed, and had not those whose safety I consulted, elated with the hopes of victory, opposed it, to say no more, thou certainly hadst never remained in this order, or rather not in this city. But my discourse alineated Pompey's aftection from me. Did he ever love any man more ? was there a man with whom he conversed or advised more frequently ? which was indeed very extraordinary, that two persons of dif- ferent sentiments in regard to the most important matters of the state, should yet continue the same intercourse of friend- ship. But my sentiments and views were known to him, and his to me. I regarded the safetv of my countrymen, in the first place, that afterwards we might be able to consult their dignity ; he had their immediate dignity rather in view. Thus, as each of us had a different point to pursue, o.ur disagreement was for that reason the more moderate. But what that ex- traordinary, and almost divine person thought of me, those knew who accompained him in his flight from Pharsalia to Paphos. He never mentioned me but with honour, and in terms of the most friendly concern; confessing that I saw fur- ther, but that he had hoped for the best. And hast thou the assurance to insult me bv the mention of that man, while you own that I was his friend, and you the purchaser of his es- tate ? Sect. XVI. But let that war be passed over, in which you was too successful. I shall not evenreplv to those jokes, which B 4 604 M. T. CICEROXIS ORATIONES. (3°) Xe jocis quidem respondebo, quihus me incastris usum esse dixisti : erant ilia quidem castrie plena curse ; verum tamen ho- niries, quamvis in turbidis rebus sint, tamen, si modo homines sunt, interdum animis relaxantur. Quod autem idem moesti- tiam meam reprehendit, idem jocum ; magno argumento est, me in utroque fuisse moderatum. (31) Hsereditates mihi ne- gasti venire. Utinam hoc tuum verum crimen esset ! plures amici mei et neccssarri viverent : sed qui istuc tibi venit in men- tem ? Ego eni-m amplius H. S. ducenties acceptum heereditati- bus retuli. Quanquam in hoc genere fateor feliciorem esse te : me nemo, nisi amicus, fecit hseredem, ut cum ilia commodo, si quod erat, animi quidam dolor jjngeretur ; te is, quern tu vi- clisti nunquam, L. Rubrms Cassinas, fecit hseredem : et quidem vide, quam te amarit is, qui, albus aterve fueris ignorans, fra- tris filium prseteriit : Q. Fusii honestissimi equitis Romani, sui- que amicissimi, quern palam mxredem semper faetitarat, ,ne no- men quidem perscripsk ; te quem nunquam viderat, aut certe nunquam salutaverat, fecit hseredem. Veli'm mihi dicas, nisi molestum est, 1^ Turselius- qua facie fuerit, qua statura, quo municipio, qua tribu ; nihil scio, inquies, nisi qua? prsedia ha- buerit : igitur fratrem exhreredens te faciebat hseredem. In multas pra^terca pecunias alienissimorum hominum, ejectis veris hseredibus tanquam hares esset, invasit. Quanquam hoc maxi- me admiratus sum, mentionem te hacreditatum ausum esse fa- cere, cum ipse hscreditatem patris non adisses. XVII (32) H«3c ut colligeres, homo-amentissime, tot dies in aliena villa declamasti ? quanquam tu quidem (ut tui familiaris- simi dictitant) vini exhalandi, non ingenii acuendi causa decla- mitas. Et vero adhibes joci causa magistrum, suffragio tuo et compotorum tuorum rhetorem t cui concessisti ut inte, qu?e vellet, dicefet : salsum omniao hominem ! sed materia facilis, inte et (30) Nee jocis quidem respondebo, quibus me in caitris usum esse dixistiJ] When CicetV Joined P'ompey, he was greatly diffatisfied with many things in regard to his manage- ment of the war, and thi conduct of the chiefs of his party, who, trufting to the fupe- rior lame and authority of their leader, and dazzled with the fplefidour of £he troops which the princes of the eaft had fent to their afliftance, allured therofelves of victo- ry ; and, without reflecling on the different character of the two armies, would hear of nothing but fighting. Cicero made it his buftnefs to difcourage this wild fpirit ; but finding that his remonftrances were flighted, he refumed his ufual way of raillery, and what he could not difluade by his authority, endeavoured to make ridiculous by hi* jefK Some of his fay ings upon this occafion are preferved by different writers. When Pompey put him in mind of his coming fo late to them : Hoiv can I come late. faid he, ivhen I find nothing in readinefs amimg you ? And on Pompey's asking him sarcas- tically, tvhere his fun-in-laiv, Dolabella, ivas ? He is ivith your falhcr~in-laiv, replied he. To a perfon newly arrived from Italy, and informed them of a ftrong report at Rorre. th'at Pompey ivas blocked up by Cis ejus eft omnis, utfit Tjaldi popularis, ejufque omnis amplitudo eft, ut non majores fpiritus fumat quam cteteri t sed et habittt coporis es vefie et -v'tfendi ratione fimilis cuicunquc civium. Nam pompa confuli eon- ■venit et pr- mates that it took up fifteen days. ( %$) Bencjicio amknrum ejus magijler ejus equitum covjlitueretur.~\ When the news of the battle of Pharfalia.and of Ponipey'a death, reached Rome, Caifar was declared dictator the fecond time in hisabfence, and Antony his mafter of the horse ; which Ci- cero here intimates wasowing to Antony's friends, and thatCaefar knew nothing of the- matter. But Plutarch gives a different account of the affair. See his life of Antony. {Is vomens,fru/!ii esculsntis.] Rollin, in his Belles Lettres, obferves, that there is a deli- cacy in the French, which would not addmit of a translation of this paflage ; and cicero's orations. 619 Sect. XXV. You came to Brundusium, to the very bosom and embraces of your little actress. How ! don't I speak truth ? How wretched it is not to be able to deny what it is shameful to eonfess ! If you were not ashamed to expose yourself thus to the municipal towns, were you not ashamed to expose your- self to your veteran army ? for what soldier was there$ who did not see her at Brundusium? who that was ignorant of her coming so many day 's journey, to give you joy ? who$ that was not sorry he perceived so late what an infamous wretch he fol- lowed ? You made a second tour of Italy, accompained by the same actress : cruel and miserable was the quartering of your soldiers upon the towns ; scandalous the plunder of gold and silver, but chiefly of wine in the city. To this was added, that without the knowledge of Caesar, who was at Alexandria, An- tony, by the favour of his friends, was appointed master of th~ horse. Then he thought he had a right to live publicly with Hippias, and to deliver the tributary horses to Sergius the player. He then chose the house of M« Piso, and not that which he now scandalously possesses. Why should I publish his decrees^ his rapaciousness, the estates he bestowed, and those which he violently seized ? Poverty compelled him to it ; to what hand to turn himself he knew not. He was not as yet in possession of the large estate left him by L. Rubrius, and that left him by L. Tarselius ; he had not as yet become all of a sudden the heir of Pompey, and a great many Others who were absent; He was then obliged to live after the manner of rob- bers, having just as much as he could get by plunder. But let us pass over the instances of his enormous wickedness, and pro- ceed rather to his infamous levity. At the marriage of Hippias, you gorged yourself so with wine, that notwithstanding that throat, those sides, and that Herculean body of yours, you were obliged the next day to Vomit it up in the sight of the people of Rome : an abomination ! the sight or mention of which must create abhorrence* Had you done this at supper, amidst your excessive drinking, who would not have thought it scandalous I but in an assembly of the Roman people, the master of the horse, in whom it would have been thought beastly even to belch, vomited, when transacting public affairs, and filled his own bo- som and the whole tribunal, with indigested morsels, smelling rank of wine. But this he confesses to be one of his blemishes } let us now proceed to the shining parts of his character. Sect. XXVI. Csesar left Alexandria, happy in his own opin- ©n ; but in mine, he who renders his country unhappy, must indeed the painting is fo ftrong, and the ideas so indelicate, that in any language it muft offend the reader. D 4 62$ M. T. CICERONIS ORATIONES. esse non potest: (56) hasta posita (57) pro sede Jovis Statoris, bona Cn. Pompeii (miserum me ! consumptis enim lacrymis, tamcn infixus animo hseret dolor, ) bona, inquam, Pompeii Mag- ni, voci acerbissimse subjecta prseconis : una in ilia re servitutis oblita civitas ingemuit ; servientibusque animis, cum omnia mc- tu tenerentur, gemitus tamen populi Romani liber fuit : ex- pectantibus omnibus, quisnam esset tarn impius, tarn demens, tarn diis hominibusque hostis, qui ad illud scelus sectionis aude- ret accedere, inventus est nemo, preeter x4.ntonium : prsesertim cum tot essent circum hastam illam, qui alia omnia auderent ; anus inventus est, qui id auderet, quod omnium fugisset et re- formidasset audaoia. Tantus igitur te stupor oppressit, vel, ut verius dicam, tantus furor, ut, primum cum sector sis isto loco natus, deinde cum Pompeii sector, non te exsecrandum populo Romano, non detestabilem, non omnes tibi deos, non oranes ho- mines, et esse inimicos, et futuros scias . ? At quam insolenter statim helluo invasit in ejus viri fortunas, cujus virtute terribi- lior erat populus Romanus exteris gentibus, justitia carior ! XXVIIc In ejus igitur viri copias cum se subito ingurgita- visset, exsultabat gaudio, persona de mimo, modo egens, re- pente dives ; sed, ut estapud poetam nescio quern, Male parta, male dilabiintur : incredibile ac simile portenti est, quonam modo ilia tarn multa, quam paucis, non dico mensibus, sed die- bus effuderit : maximus vini numerus fuit, permagnum optimi pondus argenti, pretiosa vestis multa, et lauta supellex, et mag- nifica multis locis, non ilia qurdem luxuriosi hominis, sed tamen abundantis : horum paucis diebus nihil erat. Quse Charybdis tarn v r orax ! Charybdim dico ? (58) qiue si fuit, fuit animal unum : oceanus, medius fidius, vix videtur tot res, tarn dissipatas, tarn distantibus in locis positas, tarn cito absorbere potuisse. Nihil erat clausum, nihil obsignatum, nihil scriptum ; apothecse (56) Hasta posita.'] fn all public au&ions, a spear was set up in the place offale. As it was the common badge and ensign of power among the ancients, Gnevius think* this was done to fignify that they were made by a lawful commifliont ( SI ) PrcmJe Jovis Statoris.] This temple was built by Romulus, upon the follow- ing occafion : The Sabines, in one of their engagements with the Romans, had taken poffeffion of the Capitoline hill ; and rolling great flones from the top of it, one of them hit Romulus upon the head, and ftunned him; fo that falling down fenfelefs, he was carried out of the field into the city. Upon this the Romans were put to flight, and purfued to the very gates of Rome. Romulus, however, recovering his fenfes, rallied his troops, put himfelf again at their head, and drove back the enemy. We are told, that in the mod critical minute of the day, when the Romans were flying be- fore the enemy, Romulus made a vow to Jupiter, in order to obtain his favour for the %eedy rallying of his troops; and that, as fortune would have it, they Hopped at the fight of their general, upon his return to the field of battle. Out of a belief, there- fore, that this was a particular blefllng of heaven, he erected a temple to Jupiter, whom he called Stator, becaufe the Romans, recovering from their fright, made a ftand and faced the enemy. ( 58,/ i^W si fuit, fuit animal unum.'i Charybdis is a dangerous whirlpool in the faaiu wt Sicily, near the ccai't cf Tauromiaiutn, on the eaflern fide of Demo- €ICERo's ORATIONS. 621 be miserable. At a public auction, before the temple of Jupi- ter Stator, the goods of Pompey (oh wretched me ! my tears are indeed exhausted, but my heart is penetrated with grief,) the goods, I say, of Pompey the Great, were put up by the doleful voice of a public crier. In this single instance did the. city groan, forgetting her slavery ; and though all were possess- ed by fear, yet. the groans of the Roman people found a free passage even from enthralled bosoms. While all were filled with expectation to see who would be so impious, so frantic, so great an enemy to gods and men, as to dare to bid at this villainous sale, no one was found to have assurance enough, but Antony : which was the more remarkable, as there were so many then present who had assurance enough to do any thing else : there was only one person who durst venture upon what the most con- summate impudence would have startled at. Did such stupidity, then, or, to speak more properly, such madness possess you, ag not to know that being descended of such a family, by becom- ing a bidder in that place, and a bidder too for Pompey's goods, you rendered yourself odious and detestable to the Roman peo- ple, and incurred not only the present but the future resent- ment both of gods and men ? But how insolently that voracious monster seized upon the goods of that man, whose courage ren- dered the Romans formidable, and whose justice made thena dear, to foreign nations ! Sect. XXVII. Having then, all of a sudden, immersed him- self in the wealth of this great man, he was transported with joy § like the character in the play, he was poor this Instant, and rich the next. Rut, as a certain poet expresses it, I forget who, what slightly comes y slightly goes : it is incredible, it is amazing, how he could possibly squander such immense wealth, I will not say in so few months, but days : prodigious was the quantity of wine, prodigious that of massy plate ; a rich ward- robe ; great variety of elegant and noble furniture, such as be- spoke not luxury, but plenty : yet all was dissipated in a few- days. What Charybdis so voracious ! Charybdis do I say ? if there ever was such a monster, she was only a single one : the ocean itself, by heavens ! seems scarce capable of swallowing up so much wealth, so widely scattered, and situated in so many- distant places, in so short a space of time. There was nothing shut up, nothing sealed, nothing committed to writing. Whole na, over-againft Scylla, a fatal rack. Hence the proverb, Incidlt in Scyllam t cupiens vitare Cbarybdim ; it being very hard for paffengers to avoid the one or other of them. They are reprefented by the poets, as hideous devouring .nonftera. Charybdis is given out to have been a rapacious whore, who, having taken away Her- cules's oxen, was thunder-ilruck by Jupiter, and thrown into the sea, where foe wa» transformed into a devouring whirlpool. Virgil, in the third book of the iEneid, ver. 424, gives us the fabulous defcription of Scylla: She was the daughter of Porcus whoai: Circe is said to have transformed into a monftcr, becaufe ihe was her rival. 622 M. T. CICERONIS ORATIONES. totae nequissimis hominibus condcnabantur : alia mimi rapiebant, a ia mimse : domus erat aleatoribus referta, plena ebriorum : to T tos dies potabatur, atque id locis pluribus : suggerebantur etiam ssepe (non enim semper iste felix) damna aleatoria : conchyliatis Cn. Pompeii peristromatis servorum in cellis lectos stratos vide- res. Quamobrem desinite mirari, hsec tarn celeriter esse con- sum pta ; non mode unius patrimonium, quamvis amplum, ut il- lud fuit, L-ed urbes et regna celeriter tanta nequitia devorare po- tuisset. At ejusdem sedes etiam et hortos. O audaciam imma- nem ! tu etiam ingredi illam domum ausus es ? tu illud Sanctis- simum limen intrare ? tu illarum sedium diis penatibus os im- portunissimum ostendere ? Quam domum aliquamdiu nemo aspicere poterat, nemo sine lacr)~mis praeterire, hac te in do mo tamdiu diyersari non pudet ? in qua, quamvis nihil sapias, ta- men nihil tibi potest esse jucundum. XXVIII. An tu, ilia in vestibulo (59) rostra, spolia cum ad- spexisti, domum tuam te introire putas . ? fieri non potest : quam- vis enim sine mente, sine sensu sis, ut es : tamen et te, et tua, et tuos nosti ; nee vero te unquam neque vigilantem, neque in somnis credo mente posse consistere. Necesse est, quamvis sis, ut es, violentus et furens, cum tibi objecta sit species singularis viri, perterritum te de somno excitari, furere etiam ssepe vigi- lantem. Me quidem miseret parietum ipsorum, atque tectorum : quid enim unquam domus ilia viderat, nisi pudicum, nisi ex op^ timo morte et sanctissima disciplina ? fuit enim ille vir, P. C si- cut scitis, (60) cum foris clarus, turn domi admirandus ; ner que rebus externis magis laudandus, quam institutis domesti- cis : hujus in sedibus pro cubiculis stabula, pro tricliniis popinse sunt: etsi jam negat ; nolite, nolite quserere ; frugi factus est : mi mam iliam suam suas res sibi habere jussit, ex duodecim tar- bulis ; claves ademit, forasque exegit : quam porro spectatus ci- vis, quam probatus ; cujus ex omni vitanihil est honestius,quam (59) Reflra, fpolia cum adfpexisti.] The Romans, it would appear, had a great pride in ornamenting their porches and the avenues to their houfes. Pompey, having been fuccefsful in the war againfl the pirates, had his ornamented with naval fpoils. (60) Cum forts clarus , turn domi admirandus, &o] In Cicero's writings, we fome- tim«s find Pompey's character heightened by the mining colours of eloquence, fome- times depreflcd by the darker ftrokes of refentment : but his true character fecms to have been that of an honeft, grave, and worthy man, as our orator reprefents him in a letter to Atticus. He had early acquired the furname of the great, by that fort of merit, which from the constitution of the Roman republic, neceffarily made him 6reat; a fame and fuccef'6 in war, fuperior to what Rome had ever known, in the mod celebrated of her generals. He had triumphed at three feveral times over the three different parts of the known world, Europe, Afia, Africa ; and by his victories, had almoft doubled the extent, as well as t^e revenues of the Roman dominion ; for, as he had declared to the people on his return from the Mithridatic war, he found the Ltjfer Afiathe boundary, hut left it the middle of the empire. What leifure he found from Jus wars, he employed io the (ludy of pclite letters, and efpeciaHy of eloquence ; ia CTCERO's ORATIONS. €23 cellars of wine were lavished upon the most infamous WTetches ; some things became the plunder of actors, some of actresses ; the house swarmed with gamesters and drunkards ; whole days were consumed in revelling, and that in different places : to these things were frequently added, great losses at gaming ; for Antony himself was not always lucky. There you might have seen the beds of slaves covered with Pompey's purple quilts of rich tapestry. Cease, then, t& wonder, that all these things were so soon dissipated. Such wild profusion must quickly have consumed not only the wealth of one man, how great so- ever, but whole cities and kingdoms. . Even his houses and gardens did this man swallow up. Consummate impudence ! And had you the assurance to enter that house ? to cross that sacred threshold I to present your dauntless front before the household gods of that family I Was you not ashamed to dwell so long in a house which none for a long time could behold, none could pass by, without shedding tears ? a house in which, senseless as you are, not one single thing could afford you pleasure. Sect. XXYIIJ. Did you imagine you was entering your own house, when you beheld the beaks of ships and other naval spoils that adorned its porch ? It is impossible : for, senseless and inconsiderate as you are, yet still you know your friends, your- self, and what belongs to you. Nor indeed do I think it possible that you could, either awake or asleep, enjoy any tranquillity of mind : for, violent and frantic as you are, when the iorm of that extraordinary man presented itself to your imagination, you must have been roused out of your sleep with horror, and even have been often seized with frenzy when awake. As for me, I really pity its very walls and roofs ; for, what did that house ever behold but the greatest modesty, purity, and sanctity of manners ? for Pompey, conscript fathers, as you very well know, was both eminent abroad, and to be admired at home ; nor more to be commended for his public conduct, than for his domestic discipline : yet under his roofs are brothels now instead of bed-chambers, and tippling-shops instead of dining-rooms. But Antony denies all this. Give over, give over making any inquiry : he has now become frugal ; he has divorced his actress, according to the laws of the twelve tables : he has taken away his keys from her, and turned her out of doors. How excellent, how worthy a citizen, the most commendable action of whose whole life is his di- vorcing an actress ! But how often does he talk of his being which he would have acquired great fame, if his genius had not drawn him to the more dazzling glory of arms : yet he pleaded feveral caufe3 with applaufe, in the de- fence of his friends and clients ; and fome of them in conjunction with Cicero. His language i3 faid to have been copious and elevated ; his fentiments just; his voice fweet ; his action noble, and full of dignity. €24 34 M. T. CICERONIS ORATIONES, Minucia fecit : quffi potest esse turpitudinis tantae defensio ? c*i- pio audire ; ut videam, ubi rhetoris tanta merces, ubi campus Leontinus appareat. Sedebat in rostris collega tuus, amictus toga purpurea, in sella aurea, coronatus : adscendis ; accedis ad sellam ; (73) (ita eras lupercus, ut te consulem esse meminisse deberes;) diadema ostendis : gemitus toto foro : unde diadema . non enim abjectum sustuleras, sed attuleras domo meditatum et cogitatum scelus. Tu diadema imponebas cum plangore po- puli : ille cum plausu rejiciebat. Tu ergo unus, scelerate, in- ventus es, qui, cum auctor regni esses, eum, quern collegam ha- bebas, dominum habere velles ; et idem tentares, quid populus Romanus ferre et pati posset. At etiam misericordiam capta- bas : supplex te ad pedes adjiciebas : quid petens ? ut servires ? tibi uni peteres, qui ita a puero vixeras, ut omnia paterere, ut facile servires : a nobis populoque Romano mandatum id certe non habebas. O prfeclaram illam eloquentiam tuam, cum es nudus concionatus ! quid hoc turpius ? quid fcedius ? quid sup- pliers omnibus dignius . ? num expectas, dum te stimulis fodiam ? hsecte, si ullam partem habes sensus, lacerat, hsec cruentat ora- tio. Vereor ne imminuam summorum virorum gloriam : dicam tamen dolore commotus : quid indignius, quam vivere eum qui imposuerit diadema ; ciim omnes fateantur jure interfectum esse, qui abjecerit ? At etiam adscribi jussit in fastis, ad Lupercalia, C. CM SARI, DICTATOR! PERPETUO, M. ANTONIUM CONSULEM, POPULI JUSSU REGNUM DETULISSE, CJESAJIEM UTINOLUISSE. Jam jam minime miror, te otium pertubare ; non modo urbem odisse sed etiam lucem ; cum perditissimislatronibus (74)non solum de die, sed etiam in diem vivere. Ubi enim tu in pace consistes ? qui locus tibi in legibus et in judiciis esse potest, quae tu, quantum in te fuit, dominatu regio sustulisti ? Ideone L. Tarquinius exactus ; Sp. Cassius, Sp. Melius, M. Manlius necati ; ut multis post seculis, a Mr Antonio, quod fas non est, rex Romre constitueretur . ? Sed ad auspicia redeamus. (TS)Ita eras lufiereus.] Caefar received from the fenate the mod extravagant honour^ both human and divine, which flattery could invent. Among the other compliments that were paid to him, there was anew fraternity of Lttperci inftituted to his honour, and called by his name ; of which Antony was the head. Csefar, in his triumphal rcbe,feated himfelf in the roftra, in a golden chair, to fee the diverfion of the running; where, in the midft of their fport, the conful Antony, at the head of his naked crew, made him the offer of a regal diadem, and attempted to put it upon his head. (74) Non folum de die, sed etiam in diem vivere.} Vivere de die flgnifies te feaft and live fumptuously every day ; in diem vivere, to haveno manner of thought or confideration ; to be regardlefs of futurity, and unconcerned aboutthecenfureor applause of the world cicero's orations. 635 scandalous an action ? I should be glad to hear, that I may see what are the fruits of the I/eontine fields, and of the large wages he paid his rhetoric-master. Your colleague sat in the rostra, arrayed in a purple robe, upon a throne of gold, with a crown on his head. You went up to him ,* you approached his throne ; (though you was a lupercal, you ought to have remembered that you was likewise a consul ;) you produced a diadem. A general groan issued from the whole forum. Whence had you that diadem ? you did nOt pick it up in the streets, but brought from home the' premeditated, the concerted mischief. You put it on his head amidst the groans of the people ; he rejected it with universal applause. You then, villain, was the only per- son, who, after having established tyranny, wanted to have your Colleague your master ; and at the same time made trial what the Roman people would endure. But you likewise applied to his compassio^ and threw yourself as a suppliant at his feet : for what favour ? that you might be a slave ? This you should have asked for yourself alone, who have lived from your child- hood in such a manner as to bear any thing, as to serve tamely ; from us, surely, or the people of Rome, voii had no such com- mission. O that inimitable eloquence of yours, when you har- angued the people naked ? what could be more scandalous than this ? what more shameful ? what more worthy of the severest punishment ? Do you expect that I am to sting you ? If you have not lost all feeling, this speech must wound, must harrow up your soul. I am afraid lest I should lessen the glory of the greatest of men : yet the anguish of my soul will not suffer me to be silent : what can be more shameful, than that he should live who bestowed a royal diadem, when all confess that he was (justly slain who rejected it ? He even ordered it to be entered in the public acts, at the time of the Lupercalia, that 31. Antony, the consul, by command of the people, offered kingly power to C. Ccesar, perpetual dictator ; but that Ccesar refused it. Now, in- deed, I am not in the least surprised that you disturb the public tranquillity ; that you not only hate the city, but the light of the sun ,* and that you live with the most abandoned ruffians, not only voluptuously, but without any manner of reflection. For where can you set your foot in time of peace ? what refuge can you have in laws and statutes which you have done your utmost to abolish, by introducing regal authority ? Was L. Tarquinius then banished ; was Sp. Cassius, Sp. Melius, M. Manlius put to death for this ; that so many ages after, contrary to all law, a king should be set up at Rome by M. Antony ? But let us re- turn to the auspices. F 4 636 M. T. CICE.RONIS 0RATI0NE3. XXXY. (76) De quibus rebus idibus Martiis fuit in senatu. Cfesar acturus, qusero turn tu quid e£isses. Audiebam quidem te paratum venisse, quod me de einentitis auspiciis, quibus ta- men parere necesse erat, putares esse dicturum. Sustulit ilium diem fortuna populi Romani : num etiam tuum de auspiciis ju- dicium interims Csesaris sustulit ? Sed incidi in id tempus, quod iis rebus, in quas ingressa erat oratio, prsevertendum est. Quse tua fuga ! quse formido prseclaro illo die ! quse propter conscien- tiam scelerum desperatio vitse, cum ex ilia fuga,beneficio eorum, qui te, si sanus esses, salvum esse voulerunt, clam te domum re- cepisti ! O mea frustra semper verissima auguria rerum futui'a- rum ! dicebam illis in capitolio liberatoribus nostris, cum me ad te ire vellent, ut ad defendendam rempublicam«te adhortarer : quoad metueres, omnia te promissurum ; simul ac timere des- isses, similem te futurum tui. Itaque (77) cum cagieri consulares irent^ redirent, in sententia mansi : neque te^ftlo die neque postero vidi : neque ullam societatem optimis civibus cum im- portunissimo hoste feedere ullo confirmari posse credidi. Post diem iertium veni in sedem Telluris, et quidem invitus, cum o nines aditus armati obsiderent : qui tibi ille dies, Antoni, fuit ! quanquam mihi subito inimicus exstitisti, tamen me tui miseret, quod tibi invideris. XXXYI. Qui tu vir, dii immortales ! et quantus fuisses, si il- lius diei mentem servare potuisses ! pacem haberemus, quae erat facta per obsidem puerum'nobilem [M. Antonii filium] M. Bam- balionis nepotem : quanquam te bonum timor faciebat, non diu- turni magister officii ; improbum fecit ea, qu» dum timor abest, a te non discedit, audacia : etsi turn, cum optimum te puta- • (76) De quibus rehus idibus Martiis fuit in senatu Ctcfar acturvs.~\ When Caefar had prepared every thing for his expedition againft the Parthians, before his departure he refolved to have the regal title conferred upon him by the fen?.te, who were too fenfible of his power, and obfequious to his will, to deny him aay thing ; and to make it the more palatable at the fame time to the people, he caufed a report to be induftrioufly propagated through the city, of ancient prophecies found in the Sibylline books, that the Parthians could not be conquered but by a king ; on the ftrength of which, Cotta, one of the guardians of thefe books, was to move the fenate to decree the tide of king to him. As this was to be part of the fenate's bufmefs on the occafion here men- tioned. Cicero is fuppofed to ask Antony what he would have done in the affair ; but, as Appian tells us, that Cxfar intended to propofe the validity of Dolabella's election to the fenate'6 confederation, it is more probable that Cicero refers to his. (77) Cum cceteri consulares irent, redirent.] Mr. Guthrie, kl a note on this paffage, wbferves, that the commentators have made very botching work of it. Irens, redirent, according: to hirn, signifies no more than that the other confulars altered their ivay of tbiniinv of Attony, fometimes to one -way, sometimes to another ; and by ego in fentent'ax mansi i- meant, he fays, that Cicero still kept in the same ivay of thinking. The atten- tive re-. his having caught him in an attempt to debauch his wife Antonia, the daughter of his uncle, was probably without any foundation, and contrived only to colour his divorce with her, and hia late marriage with Fulvia,the widow of Clodiu*. cicero's orations* 643 not ready to sell. Did Csesar too pass the law concerning exiles which you stuck up ? I insult no man upon his misfortune ; I only complain, in the first place, that they, whose case Csesar thought to be different, have been scandalously put upon a footing as to their return from banishment : in the next place, I cannot perceive why you should not extend this favour to all ; for there are not above three or four excepted : why should not those who are involved in the same calamity, be equally the objects of your compassion ? why do you treat them as you do your uncle, whom you would not pardon, when you pardoned the rest ; whom you urged however to stand for the censorship, and drew up a petition for that purpose, which excited both the ^aughter and indignation of mankind ? But why did not you hold that comitia ? was it because a tribune of the people de- clared that it thundered to the left ? "When yOur own interest is concerned, the auspices are considered as nothing ,* when that of your friends, then you are strictly religious,; What ! did you not desert him, when he put up for being a septemvir ? But he asked for his monev ; what was vou afraid of? lestvou Could not refuse to pay him, I suppose, if he was once restored. You loaded a man with all manner of reproaches, whom you ought to have revered like a father, had you had the least spark of filial piety. His daughter, your own cousin, you turned away, having first looked out and bargained for another match. Yet this was not enough : you defamed a woman of the strictest honour. Could any thing be added to this ? yes, you went farther still. You had the assurance to say, on the first of Jan- uany, in a full senate, where your uncle was present, that the ground of your enmity to Dolabella was your having found out that he attempted to debauch your cousin and wife. Who can determine which was the greatest on this occasion, your impu- dence in the senate, your villainy against Dolabella, your inde- licacy before your father, or your cruelty in using such base and unbecoming language against an unfortunate lady ? Sect. XXXJX. But let us return to the notes of hand. How came you to take these things under your cognizance ? for Csesar's acts were confirmed by the senate, for the sake of peace ; at least what Csesar enacted ; not what Antony says he enacted. Whence are they issued ? by whose authority are they produced ? If fictitious, why are they approved of ? if genuine, why are they exposed to sale ? But it was agreed upon, that, from the first of June, the consuls should, with as- sistants, take cognizance of Csesar's acts. Who were these as- sistants ? whom did you ever summon ? what kalends of June did you wait for ? Those, when, having made a tour through all the coloaies, of the veterans, you returned to Rome, at- tended by arme# men ? What a glorious tour that was of yours, / G 4 644- M. T. CICERONIS ORATIONES. s?tionem tuam mense Aprili atque Maio, turn, (84) cum etiam i'apuam deducerc coloniam conatus es ! quemaclmodum illine Abieris, vel potius pene non abieris, vel potius pene non abieris, scimus : cui tu urbi minitar is ; utinam conere, ut aliquando illud PENE tollatur. At quam nobilis est tua ilia peregrinatio ? quid prandiorum apparatus, quid furiosam vinolentiam tuam pro- feram ? tua ista detrimenta sunt, ilia nostra. Agrum Campa- num, qui cum de vectigalibus eximebatur, ut militibus daretur, tamen infligi magnum reipubiicse vulnus putabamus ; hunc tu compranscribus tuis, et collusoribus dividebas ; mimos dico et mimas, P. C. in agra Campano collocatos. Quid jam querar de agro Leontino ? quandoquidem hse quondam arationes, Cam- pana et Leontina, in populi Romani patrimonio grandi fcenore, et fructnosje ferebantur. Medico tria milia jugerum, quasi te sanum fecisset ; rhetori duo, quasi disertum facere potuisset. Sed ad iter, Italiamque redeamus. XL. Deduxisti coloniam Casilinum, quo Caesar ante dedux- erat. Consuiuisti me per literas de Capua tu quidem (sed idem de Casilino respondissem) possesne, ubi colonia esset, eo coloni- am novam jure deducere : negavi in earn coloniam, quse esset auspicato deducta, dum esset incolumis, coloniam novam jure deduci : colonos novos adscribi posse rescripsi : tu autem, in- solentia elatus, omni auspiciorum jure turbato, Casilinum colo- niam deduxisti, quo erat paucis annis ante deducta, ut vexillum tolleres, et aratrum circumduceres ; cujus quidem vomere por- tam Capuse pene perstrinxisti, ut florentis colonise territorium minueretur, Ab hac perturbatione religionum advolas (85) in M. Varronis, sanctissimi atque integerrimi viri, fundum Cassi- natem : quo jure ? quo ore ? eodem, inquies, quo in hseredum L«. Lubrii, quo in hseredum L. Turselii prsedia, quo in reliquas fnnumerabiles possessiones. Et si ab hasta, valeat hasta, valeant tabular, modo Csesaris, non tuse : quibus debuisti, non quibus tu te liberavisti. Varronis quidem Cassinatem fundum quis veniisse dicit ? quis hastam istius venditionis vidit ? quis vocem prseconis audivit ? misisse te dicis Alexandriam, qui emeret a Csesare; ip- (84) Cum etiam Capuam coloniam deducere conatus esJ] Antony in order to engage the veteran foldiers to his fervice, wanted to give them the Capuan lands, and to fettle a new colony there. He went to Capua, in order to divide the lands; but th« inhabitants made a vigorous refiftance, and had almoft put him to death. (85) In M. Varronis, fanctiflimi atque integerrimi viri.'] Varro was a fenator of the firft Hiftin&ion, both for birth and merit ; Cicero's intimate friend, and efteemed the moft learned man of Rome. He had ferved as Pompey's lieutenant in Spain, in the be- ginning of the war ; but after the defeat of Afranius and Petreius, quitted his arms, and retired to his fludies. cicero's orations. 645 in the months of April and May, when you attempted to settle a colony at Capua ? How you left that place, or rather how near you were never to have left it, we all know. You threaten that city. I wish you would proceed so far as that the near I just now mentioned, may be no longer necessary. But what a noble progress that was of yours ! Why should I mention your grand entertainments, or your excessive drinking ? The one was your loss, the other ours. When the lands of Campania were exempted from taxes, that they might be divided among the soldiers, we thought a deep wound was given to the constitu- tion ; but you divided them among your fellow-debauchees and gamesters. Actors and actresses, I say, conscript fathers, are now settled in the territories of Campania. Why should I now complain of the Leontine lands ? and yet these territories were once a rich inheritance to the Roman people, and brought in a large revenue to the public treasury. Three thousand acres to a physician, as if he could have made you sound ; two thousand to a rhetoric-master, as if he could possibly have made you elo- quent. But let us return to your journey, and to Italy. Sect. XL. You settled a colony at Casilinum, where Csesar had settled one before. You consulted me indeed by letters concerning Capua, (I should have returned you the same answer as to Casilinum,) whether you could lawfully introduce a new colony into a place where a colony had been already settled. I denied that a new colony could lawfully be introduced, while a colony that was settled by proper auspices was unimpaired ; but I wrote you word, that new planters might be added to the former. But you, elated with pride, and disregarding all the laws of auspices, settled a colony at Casilinum, where one had been planted a few years before, that you might raise a stand- ard, and drive round a plough, whose share almost grazed upon the gate of Capua, that you might lessen the territory of a nourishing colony. From this violation of what was sacred, you flew to the Cassinian estate of M. Varro, a man of the greatest honour and integrity. By what right ? with what face ? The same, you will say, with which you seized upon the estates of the heirs of L. Rubriusand L. Turselius ; with which you thrust yourself into a great many other possessions. You bought this estate at a sale, you will say : let the sale be legal, let the bills be legal, provided they be Caesar's, not your own; those by which you was a debtor, not those by which you cleared yourself. But who can say that Varro's Cassinian estates were sold ? who ever saw that sale ? who heard the voice of the auctioneer ? You say that you sent a person to Alexandria, to buy it of Cajsar ; for it would have been too long, it seems, to wait till he himself 646 M. T. CICERONIS ORATIONES. sum enim exspectare magnum fuit : quis vero audivit unquan* (nullius autem salus curse pluribus fuit) de fortunis Varronis rem ullam esse detractam ? Quod si etiam scripsit ad te Csesar,ut red- deres ; quid satis potest dici de tanta impudentia ? Remove gladios illos parumper, quos videmus : jam intelliges, aliam causam esse hastse Csesaris, aliam confideatise et temeritatis tuse ; non enim te dominus modo illis sedibus, sed quivis amicus, vi- cinus ,hospes, procurator arcebit. XLI. At quam multos dies in ea villa turpissime es perbac- chatus ? ab hora tertia bibebatur, ludebatur, vomebatur. O tecta ipsa misera quam dispart domino ! quanquam quomodo iste dominus ? sed tamen quam a dispari tenebantur ! studiorum enim suorum M. Varro voluit esse illud, non libidinum diversorium : quae in ilia villa antea dicebantur ? quse cogitabantur ? quae Uteris mandabantur r jura populi Romani, monumenta majorum, omnis sapientise ratio omnisque doctrina. At verq, te inquilino (non enim domino) personabant omnia vocibus ebriorum : natabant pavimenta vino : madebant parietes : ingenui pueri cum meri- toriis, scorta inter matres-familias versabantur. (86) Cassino sa- lutatum veniebant, Aquino, Interamna : admissus est nemo '; jure id quidem. Inhomine enim turpissimo obsolebant dignitatis insignia. Cum inde Romam proficiscens ad Aquinum accede- ret, obviam ei processit (ut est frequens municipium) magna sane multjtudo ; at iste opcrta lectica latus est per oppidum, ut mortuus. Stulte Aquinates ; sed tamen in via habitabant : quid Anagnini X qui, cum essent devii [obviam ei] descenderant, ut istum, tanquam si esset consul, salutarent : incredibile dictu est; tamen inter omnes constabat neminem esse resalutatum ; prse- sertirn cum duos secum Anagninos haberet, Mustellam et Laco- nem ; quorum alter gladiorum est princeps, alter poculorum. Quid ego illas istius minas contumeliasque commemorem, qui- bus invectus est in Sidicinos ? vexavit Puteolanos, quod C. Cas- sium, quod Brutos patronos adoptassent : magno quidem judi- cio, studio, benevolentia, caritate ; non ut te, (87) ut Basilum, vi et armis, et alios vestri similes, quos clientes nemo habere velit, non modo esse illorum cliens. (%b) Cassino falutatum veniebant, Aquino, I/iteramna.] Cassinum was a town of Cam- pania, now called M.nte Cassino, Aquinum was a town of the Latins, near Samni- um ; it was the place of Juvenal's birth and is now called Aquino, Interamna was a town of Campania, not far from Aquinum; it derived its name from itsfituation between the rivers Melpis and Liris. {&7J Ut Basilum.} This Bafiius, it feems. was aperfon of a very infamous character, and a great temporizer; as appears from his joining Pompey in the civil wars, and afterwards affociating himfelf with Antony. cicero's orations. 647 should come to Rome. But who ever heard (and yet there was no man for whose welfare the public was more concerned) that anv part of Varro's estate was sequestered ? yet if it should appear that Csesar wrote to you to restore it, what can be said bad enough of such monstrous impudence ? Remove those swords a little which "are now before our eyes, and you shall in- stantly see the difference betwixt Csesar's authority for ordering a sale, and your audacious presumption : for, not only the pro- prietor of that estate, but any friend, neighbour, guest, or stew- ard of his, shall have it in his power to drive you from it. Sect. XLI. Yet for how many days did you shamefully re- vel in that villa ? from the third hour there was nothing but drinking, gaming, and vomiting. O unfortunate dwelling, what a dejferent master was there I though how can he be called the master ? yet how unlike its former possessor ! For M. Varro intended it should be a retreat for study, and not a haunt for lewdness. In that villa, what was formerly the subject of con- versation ? what of meditation ? what was committed to writing ? The constitution of Rome ; the monuments of our ancestors ; every subject of learning and philosophy. But while you was tenant there, (for you was not master,) nothing was to be heard but the noise of drunkards ; the pavements floated, the walls were stained with wine ; free-born youths of liberal education were confounded with catamites, and matrons with common strumpets. People came from Cassinum, Aquinum, and In- teramna, to pay you their compliments : not one was admitted. And this indeed was right : for the ensigns of consular dignity were disgraced by so infamous a fellow. Ir. his return from thence to Rome, when he came to Acjuinum, great numbers (for it is a populous town) came out to meet him ; but he was carried through the streets in a covered litter, as if he had been dead. The inhabitants of Aquinum acted foolishly ; yet what could they do ? they lived on the road. But what shall we say of the Anagnini ? who, though they lived off the road, yet came down and complimented him, as if he had been really a consul. It is incredible to relate, yet all agree that he returned no compliments ,* which is the more surprising, as he had two inhabitants of Anagni in his train, Mustella and Laco : the one an excellent fencer, the other an excellent drinker. Why should I mention the threats and abuses he threw out against the Sidi- cinians ? He oppressed the inhabitants of Puteoli, for putting themselves under the patronage of C. Cassias, and the Bruti ; which they certainly did from principle, from inclination, from friendship, and affection ; not from dread and terror, which for- ced them to follow vou and Bassilus, whom nobodv would choose as clients, much less as patrons. 648 M» T. GICERONIS ORATIONES. XLII. Interea dum tu abes, qui dies ille collegae tui fuit, cum illud, quod tu venerari solebas, bustum in foro evertit ? qua re tibi nuntiata, ut constabat inter eos, qui una fuerunt, concidisti : quid evenerit postea, nescio : metum credo valuisse, et arma. Collegam quidem de ccelo detraxisti ; effecistique non tu qiiidem etiam nunc, ut sit similis tui, sed certe ut dissimilis esset sui. Qui vero reditus inde Romam ? quse perturbatio totius urbis ? (88) memineramus Cirinamnimis potentem ; (89) Syllam postea dominantem, Csesarem regnantem videramus : erant fortasse gladii, sed ii absconditi, nee ita multi ; ista vero quae et quanta barbaria est ? agmine quadrato cum gladiis sequuntur milites : scutorum lecticas portari videmus. Atque his quidem jam in- veteratis, P. C. consuetudine obduruimus ; kalendis Juniis, cum in senatum, ut erat constitutum, venire vellemus, metu perter- riti repente diffugimus : at iste, qui senatu non egeret, neque desideravit quemquam, et potius discessu nostro lsetatus est, sta- tim ilia mirabilia facinora effecit : qui chirographa Caesaris de- fendisset lucri sui causa, is leges Csesaris, easque prseclaras, ut rempublicam concutere posset, evertit ; numerum annorum pro- vinces prorogavit ; idemque, cum actorum Csesaris defensor esse deberet, et in publicis, et in privatis rebus acta Csesaris res- cidit. In publicis actis nihil est lege gravius : in privatis firmis- simum est testamentum. Leges alias sine promulgatione sustu^ lit : alias, ut tolleret promulgatas, promulgavit. Testamentum irritum fecit : quod etiam infimis civibus semper optentum est ; (%%) Memineramus Cinnam nimis potentem."] Cinna was a perfon of confular dignity, •otemporary with Sylla, whofe decrees, in his abfence, when he was attempting to re- verfe, he was driven out of Rome by his colleague Octavius > with six of the tribunes, and depofed from the confulfhip Upon this he raifed an army, and recalled Marius, who, having joined his forces with him, entered Rome in a hoftile manner, and with the moft horrible cruelty put all Sylla's friends £0 the fword, without regard to age, dignity, or former fervices. f 8oy Syllam postea dominantem."] Sylla was defcended of a noble and patrician family, which yet, through the indolence of his anceftors, had made no figure in the republic for many generations, and was almoft funk into obfeurity ; till he produced it again into light, by afpiring to the honours of the ftate. Marius and he ferved as lieuten- ants iu the Marfic or focial war, where Sylla diftinguifhed himfelf by his courage and bravery, and, as a reward of his fervices, was raifed to the confulfliip. A civil war breaking out foon after betwixt him and Marius, in which he had the advantage, he revenged himfelf in the mod barbarous manner upon the Marian faction ; and by the deteftable method of a profcription, of which he was the firft author and inventor, ex- ercifed a more infamous cruelty in Rome, than had ever been practifed in cold blood, in that, or perhaps in any other city. As foon as the profcriptions were over, he was declared dictator, without any limitation of time. Being invefted by this office with abfolutc authority, he made many ufeful regulations for the better order of the gov- ernment : and by the plenitude of his power, changed in a great meafure the whole conftitution of it from a democratical to an ariflocratkal form, by advancing the pre- rogative of the fenate, and deprtfling that of the people. That he might net be fuf- pected of aiming at a perpetual tyranny, and a total fubverfion of the republic, he fuffered the confuls to be chofen in the regular manner, and to govern, as ufual, in all «ICERo's ORATIONS. 649 Sect. XLII. In the mean time, during your absence, what a glorious day was that to your colleague, when he demolished that monument in the forum, which you used to worship ? at the news of which, we are told by those who were present, you fainted away. What happened after that, I know not y I sup- pose, fear and the dread of arms then prevailed. You drew your colleague down from that glorious height to which, his merit had raised him, and rendered him so bad as yourself indeed, but surely very unlike to Dolabella. But what was your return from thence to Rome ? what confusion was the whole city thrown into \ We remembered Cinna too powerful ; we had seen Sylla afterwards tyrannising ; and had just beheld the usurpation of Csesar. These had swords perhaps, but they were sheathed, and few in number. But on that occasion, how detestable, and how great were the barbarities you committed ! Battalions of soldiers, with swords in their hands, followed you ; and we saw litters carried along, filled with bucklers. But these objects, conscript fathers, were so frequent and so familiar to us, that we became quite insensible to them. On the first of June, when we would have met in the senate, according to ap- pointment, struck with sudden fear, each of us fled. But he who neither wanted a senate, nor wished for the counsels of any person, but rather rejoiced at our departure, immediately put in execution those wonderful acts of his. He who had defended Csesar's notes while he could gain any thing by it, abolished Caesar's laws, and those salutary ones, that he might overthrow the constitution. He prorogued the number of years for hold- ing provinces ; and this man, who ought to have been the de- fender of Csesar's acts, repealed them 5 both those of a public, and those of a private nature. In public affairs, nothing is of more weight than a law ; in private, nothing of greater force than a will. Some laws he abolished without promulgation ; others he stuck up, that he might abolish those already promulged. He made a will of no effect ; which is always valid even amongst the meanest citizens. The statues and pictures, which Csesar, the ordinary affairs of the city ; whilft he employed himself particularly in reforming the disorders of the flate, by putting his new laws in execution. He afterwards laid down the dictatorfhip, and reftored liberty to the republic ; and with an uncommon greatnefs of mind, lived many months as a private fenator, and with perfect fecurity, in that city where he had exercifed the most bloody tyranny. Cicero, though he had a good opinion of his caufe, yet detefted the inhumanity of his victory ; and never fjieaks of him with refpect, nor of his government but as a proper tyranny ; calling him a mafter •f three most pestilent vices, luxury, avarice and cruelty. A little before his death, he made his own epitaph, the fum of which was, that no man bad ever gone beyond him^in doing good to bis friendly or hurt to bis enemies. 650 M. T. CICER0N1S ORATIONES. signa, tabulas, quas populo Csesar una cum hortis legavit, cas hie partim in hortos Pompeii deportavit, partim in villam Sci- pionis. XLTII. Et tu in Csesaris memoria diligens ? Tu illam amas mortuum ? quern is majorem honorem consecutus erat, quam ut haberet pulvinar, simulacrum, fastigium, flaminem ? Est ergo flamen, et Jovi, ut Marti, ut Quirino, sic Divo Julio Marcus Antonius ? Quid igitur cessds ? cur non inaugurare ? Sume diem : vide, qui te inauguret : college sumus ; nemo negabit. O de- testabilem hominem, sive quod tyranni sacerdos es, sive quod mortui ! Qusero deinceps, num hodiernus dies qui sit ignores ? nescis, heri quartum in Circo diem ludorum Romanorum fuisse ? te autem ipsum ad populum tulisse, ut quintus prseterea dies Csesari ti ibueretur ? (9°) Cur non sumus prsetextati ? cur honorem Csesari tua lege datum deseri patimur . ? An supplicationes ad- dendo diem contaniinari passus es, pulvinaria nolursti ? aut un- ique religionem tolle, aut usquequaque conserva. Quseres ; placeatne mihi pulvinar esse, fastigium, flaminem ? mihi vero nihil istorum placet. Sed tu, qui acta Csesaris defendis, quid potes d icere, cur alia defendas, alia non cures ? nisi forte vis fateri te omnia qusestu tuo, non illius dignitate metiri. Quid ad hsec tandem ? exspecto eloquentiam tuam ; dissertissimum cognovi avum tuum ; (9 1 ) at te etiam apertiorem in dicendo : ille nunquam nudus est concionatus ; tuum hominis simplicis pectus vidimus. Respondebisne ad hsec I aut omnino hiscere audebis ? ecqukl reperies ex tarn longa oratione mea, cui re re- T&< spondere posse confidas ? Sed prseterita omittamus. XLIV. Hunc unum diem, hunc unum, inquam, hodiernum diem, hoc punctum temporis, quo loquor, defende, si potes. Cur armatorum corona senatus septus est ? cur me tui satellites cum gladiis audiunt . ? cur valvre Concordise non patent ? cur homines omnium gentium maxime barbaros, Ityrgeos, cum sagittis deducis in forum ? Prresidii sui causa se facere dicit. Nonne igitur millies perire est melius, quam in sua civitate sine armatorum prsesidio non posse vivere ? Sed nullum est istuc, mihi crede, presidium ,• caritate et benevolentia civium septum oportet esse, non armis. Eripiet, extorquebit tibi ista populum (90) Cur non sumus pratextati ?] Such Roman Senators as were actual maeiftrates of the city, as the confuls, praetor- aediles, tribunes. &c. riunng the year of their ma- giftracy, always wore ikxzpralexta or a gowr> bordered round with a flripe of purple ; in which habit alfo. all th<- st-*'- of the fenate who had already borne those offices, ufed to affift at the public feftival* and folemnitie- {yi) At te niam aptrt'v,rem in dhend. \ C c ro here alludes to Antony's haranguing naked during the feftival of the i»upercalia. There is an ambiguity in the original, which it is fcarce poflible to preferve in an Englifh tranflation. • ICERo's ORATIONS. 651 together with his gardens, had left as a legacy to the Roman people, he carried off, partly to Pompey's gardens, partly to Sci- pio's country seat. Sect. XLIII. And are you watchful over Caesar's memory ? do you love him even in the grave h What higher honour could he possibly attain to, than to have a shrine, an image, a pavi- lion, and a priest ? As Jupiter, as Mars, as Romulus then have their priests, is M. Antony priest to the deified Caesar ? Why do you stop here ? why a--e not you consecrated ? Appoint a clay ; look out for some person to consecrate you : we are colleagues ? nobody will oppose it. Detestable wretch, whether considered as the priest of a tyrant, or of a dead man ! I ask you, then, whether you know what a day this is ? Are you ignorant that- yesterday was the fourth day of the Roman games in the Circus ? that you yourself proposed to the people, that a fifth should be dedicated to Caesar ? W r hy then are we not in our proper robes I why do we suffer an honour conferred on Caesar, by your law, to be neglected ? Can you, who have suffered a day tO be pro* faned by adding supplications, deny him shrines I Either de- stroy religion in every respect, or maintain it in all. You will- ask, perhaps, whether I approve of a shrine, a pavilion, and. a priest ? I approve then of none of them. But you, who defend Caesar's acts, what reason can you assign for defending some, and neglecting others ? unless indeed you confess that you mea- sure every thing by your own interest, not by his dignity. What answer can you make to these things ? I long for a specimen of your oratorical talents. I know that your grandfather was a man of great eloquence : but he was not so perspicuous in speaking as you are. He never harrangued naked ; but such is your plainness and simplicity, that you laid open your very bosom to our view. Will you make no answer to this ? won't you so much as venture to open your mouth ? is there nothing in this long oration of mine, which you think you can answer ? But let us omit what is past. Sect. XLfV. Defend, if you Can, this one day, this present day, I say, this very instant of time, in which I am now speaking. Why is the senate beset with a body of armed men ? why do your guards now hear me with swords in their hands ? why are not the doors of the temple of Concord thrown open ? why do you bring into the forum the Ityreans, armed with darts ; a race the most savage of all mankind ? He answers, that he does it for his own safety. Is it not better then to undergo a thousand deaths, than not to be able to live in your own country without an armed guard ? But, believe me, that is no guard. The hearts and affections of your fellow-citi- ± ens, and not your arms, must be your protection. The people H 4 C52 K. T. CICERONIS ORATIONES. Romanus, utinam salvis nobis ! sed quoquo modo nobiscuflf egeris, dum istis consiliis uteris, non potes esse, mihi crede, diu- turnus ,* etenim ista tua minime avara conjux, quam ego sine con- tumelia describo, (9 a ) nimium debet diu populo Romano tertiam pensionem. Habet populus Romanus ad quos gubernacula rei- publicse deferat ; qui ubicunque terrarum sunt, ibi est omne reipublicse presidium, vel potius ipsa respublica, quae se adhuc tantummodo ulta est, nondum recuperavit : habet quidem certe respublica adolescentes nobilissimos, paratos defensores ; quam volent, illi cedant, otio consulentes ; tam^tt a republic^ revoca- buntur. Et nomes pacis dulce est, et ipsa res salutaris ; sed later pacem et servitutem plurimum interest : pax est tranquilla li- bertas ; servitus malorum omnium postremum,non modo bello,sed morte etiam repellendum.- Quod si seipsos illi nostri liber- atores e conspectu nostro abstulerunt ; at exemplum facti reli- querunt ; illi quod nemo fecerat, fecerunt, Tarquinium Brutus bello est persecutus ; qui tamen rex fuit, cum esse Rom« regem licebat. Sp. Cassias, Sp. Melius, M. Manlius, propter suspi- cionem regni appetendi sunt necati : hi primi cum gladiis, non in regnum appetentem, sed in regnantem impetum fecerunt ; quod cum ipsum factum per &e prseclarum atque divinum est, turn expositum ad imitandum ;' prsesertim cum illi earn gloriam consecuti sint, qute vix coelo capi posse videatur. Etsi enim satis in ipsa conscientia pulcherrimi facti fructus erat, tamer* mortali immortalitatem non arbitror contemnendam. XLV. Recordare igitur ilium, M. Antoni, diem, quo dicta- turam sustulisti : pone ante oculos lsetitiam senatus populique Romani : confer cum hac nummatione tua tuoriimque ; turn intelliges, quantum inter laudem et lucrum intersit. Sed nimi- rum, ut quidam morbo aliquo et sensus stupore suavitatem cibi non sentiunt ; sic libidinosi, avari, facinorosi verse laudis gusta- tum non habent. Sed si te laus allicere ad recte faciendum non potest, ne metus quidem a foedissimis factis potest avocare. Judicia non metuis ; si propter innocentiam, laudo ; si propter vim, non intelligis, ei, qui isto modo judicia non timeat, quid timendum sit ? Quod si non metuis viros fortes, egregiosque cives, quod a corpore tuo prohibentur armis ; tui te, mihi crede, diutius non ferent. Quse est autem vita, dies et noctet (9 1) Nimium debet diu populo Romano tertiam penjionem.] Fulvia, who was Antony'* wife, had three husbands, Clodius, Curio, and Antony. The firft was killed by Mi- lo ; the fecond, being fent by Csefar againft Juba, king of Mauritania, was defeated and killed ; a»d Cicero here prognofticatea the death of her third husband Antony. cicero's orations. 6$$ «jf Rome will take away, will wrest these from your hands, and I hope with safety to us all. But whatever way you deal with us, while you pursue such measures, your reign, believe me, will be but short. For too long has your generous spouse, whom I mention without the least reflection, owed the third debt she has to pay to the Roman people. Borne has those still left, whom she may safely trust with the reins of gov- ernment : in whatever parts of the world they are, there dwells all the safety of this state, or rather the state itself ; which has yet only avenged herself, not recovered her former strength. Our country has indeed youths of the greatest quality, ready to defend her. Though it has been thought expedient for them to retire, out of regard to the public* tranquillity, yet their country will recal them. Even the name of peace is pleasing, and peace herself is salutary ; yet between peace and sarvkude there is a wide difference. Peace is the tranquillity of liberty ; servitude the worst of all evils, to be repelled not only by force, but by death itself. But though these brave deliverers of ours have withdrawn themselves from our sight, yet have they left a glorious example : they have done what no one ever did be- fore. Brutus made war upon Tarquin, who was king at a time when it was agreeable to the Roman constitution to have kings. Sp. Cassius, Sp. Melius, M. Manlius, were put to death on a •suspicion of affecting royalty. But our deliverers are the first who have drawn their swords, not against one who affected royalty, but one who was in actual possession of it : an action, which as it is glorious and divine in itself, so is it worthy of our imitation, especially as the authors of it have acquired such glory as heaven itself seems scarce wide enough to contain. For though the consciousness of a glorious deed is a sufficient reward, yet immortality, I think, ought not to be contemned by a mortal. Sect. XLV. Call to mind then, M. Antony, that day when you abolished the dictatorship : set before your eyes the joy of the senate and people of Rome : compare these objects with the treasures you and yours have hoarded up ; then will you per^ ceive the difference betwixt profit and applause. But as seme persons, through sickness and a stupefaction of the senses, lose all taste for the most savoury food ; so the lustful, the covetous, the wicked have no relish for true glory. But if glory cannot allure thee to virtuous deeds, has fear nothing to restraki thee from the most scandalous actions ? Judiciary proceedings thou dost not regard : if this proceeds from a consciousness of in- nocence, I commend it ; if through a sense of thy power, dost thou not perceive how much the man has to fear who entertains such a disregard ? But if you are above dreading brave men, and good citizens, because your arms protect you ; yet, believe me, your own creatures will not endure you any longer. And £$4 M. T. CICERONIS ORATIONE$. timere a suis ? nisi vero majoribus habes beneficiis obligatos^ quam ille quosdam habuit ex iis, a quibus est interfectus. An tu es ulla re cum eo comparandus ? (93) fuit in illo ingenium, ratio, memoria, literse, cura, cogitatio, diligentia : res bello gesserat, quamvis reipublicte calamitcsas, attamen magnas : multos annos regnare meditatus, magno labore, magnis periculis, quod cpgitarat, effecerat : muneribus, monumentis, congiariis, epulis, multitudinem imperitam delenierat : suos prsemiis, (94) adversaries dementia; specie devinxerat. Quid multa ? at- tulerat jam libera civitati, partim metu, partim patientia ? con- suetudinem seryiendi. * XLVI. Cum illo ego te clominandi cupiditate conferre possum : ceteris vero rebus nullo modo es comparandus. Sed ex pluri- mis malis, qua; ab illo reipublica3 sunt inusta, hoc tamen boni est, quod diaicit jam populus Romanus, quantum cuique crede- ret, quibus se commiteret, a quibus caveret. Hsec igitur non cogitas . ? nee intelligis, satis esse viris fortibus didicisse, quam sit re pukhrum, beneficio gratum, fama gloriosum, tyrannum (93) Fuit in illo ingenium, ratio, memoria, liter*.] We have here a very fine encomium upon Csefar. whom Cicero defcribes as poffeffing many great and noble qualities. Na- ture indeed had formed him to excel in peace, as well as war . he was provident in council ; fearlefs in action ; generous beyond meafure to his friends ; and, for parts, learning, and eloquence, fcarce inferior to any man. His orations were admired for two qualities, which are feldom found together, ftrength and elegance : Cicero ranks him among the greateft orators that Rome ever bred; and Qutntilian fays, that be fptke -with the fame force ivith ivbicb be fought ; and if be bad devoted bimfelf to the bar •would have been the only man capable of rivaling Cicero. Nor was he a mafter only of the politer arts; but converfant alfo with the moft abftrufe and critical parts of learning ; and among other works which he publifhed, addreffed two books to Cicero, on the a- nalogy of language, or the art of fpeaking and writing correctly, He was a moft libe- ral patron of wit and learning, wherefoever they were found ; and out of his love of thofe talents, would readily pardon thofe who had employed them againft himfelf ; rightly judging, that by making fuch men his friends, he fhould draw praifes from the fame fountain from which he had been afperfed. His capital paffions were ambition and love of pleafure, which he indulged in their turns to the greateft excefs : yet the fii ft was always predominant ; to which he couhi eafily facrifice all the charms of the fecond,and draw pleafure even from toils and dangers, when they miniftered to his glo- ry. For he thought tyranny, as Cicero fays, the greatejl of goddtffes ; and had frequent- ly in his mouth a verfe of Euripides, which expriffcd the image of his foul, that if riplt and jif.ice tvere ever to be violated, they tvere % be violated fur the fake of reigning. This was rhc chief end and purpofe of his life, the fcheme that he had formed from his early youth ; fo that, as Cato truly declared of him, became ivith fobriety and medi- ation to the fubverfon of the republic. He ufed to fay, that there were two things ncetjfarg to acquire and ' fupport poiver, foldiers and money ; which yet depended mutually on each O- ther : with money, therefore, he provided foldiers ; and with foldiers he extorted mo- ney : and was of ali men the moft rapacious in plundering both friends and foes; fpa- ring neither prince nor ftate, nor temple, nor even private pcrfons, who where known CICERO S ORATIONS. 655 wtiat a life is it to be under continual apprehensions, night ancj day, from your own party ? unless they are under greater obli- gations to you, than those who put Csesar to death were to him* But are you in any respect to be compared with Csesar ? He had genius, sense, memory, learning, foresight, consideration, and activity : his achievements in war, though destructive to his country, were yet great in themselves : having mediated usurpation for many years, at length, with great toil and many dangers, he accomplished his design : with presents, shows, largesses, and entertainments, he soothed the thoughtless mul- titude ; his friends he obliged by his generosity, and his enemies by a show of clemency. In a word, partly by fear, partly by patience, he brought a free state to a habit of slavery. Sect. XLYI. j^s to the lust of power, indeed, you may be compared with him, though in no other respect will the compa- rison hold. But, from the numberless evils he brought upon his country, this advantage still arises, that the people of Rome have now learnt how far any man is to be trusted, into whose hands they may commit themselves, and whom they ought to be upon their guard against. Do you not reflect on these things? do you not perceive that it is enough for brave men to have learm , that the most beautiful action in itself, the most delightful in its consequences, and the most illustrious in fame, is that of killing a tyrant ? When they could not bear with him, will they, bear with you ? Believe me, men will now run eagerly into such an enterprise, nor will they wait for slow opportu^ nity. I beseech you, then, M> Antony, cast your eye at last upon your country. Consider those you are descended from, not to poffefs any fhare of treasure. His great abilities would neceffarily have made him one of the first citizens of Rome ; but, difdaining the condition of a fubject, he could never rest till he had made himfelf a monarch. In acting this last part, his ufual pru- dence feernedto fail him ; as if the height, to which he was mounted, had turned his head, and made him giddy : for by a vain oilentation of his power, he deftroyed the /lability of it ; and as men fhorten life by living too faft, fo by an intemperance of reigning, he brought his reign to a violent end. (94) Adiicrfarios dementi £ fpecie devinxerat.'] Caefar has often been highly celebrated by his flatterers for clemency ; which feems, however, to have been affumed, and not a real quality in him. Whoever attentively ccnfiders his character, will find it very difficult, we apprehend, to perfuade himfelf, that he who was guilty of the greateft cru- elty in making war upon, and enllaving his country, would have rclinquifhed his mad fchemes of ambition, if gentle methods had failed him, rather than have recourfeto acts of blood and vengeance. After having feen how Marius and Sylla were hated for their perfonal cruelties, no wonder that he fhould put on the appearance of this, as well as of other virtues. But that clemency was not his natural character, we have the ex- prefs teftimony of his, friend Curio, who well knew him ; Ccelius too, one of his par- tizans, freely fays of him, in a letter to Cicero, that he mediated nothing but what was violent and tragical, nor even fpoke in any other ftrain. €56 M- T. CICERONIS ORATIONES. occidere ? an, cum ilium homines non tulerint, te ferent ? cer- tatim posthac, mihi crede, ad hoc opus curretur, nee occasionis ^ tarditas exspectabitur. Respice, quseso, aliquando rempublicam, M. Antoni : quibus ortus sis, non quibuscum vivas, considera : mecum, ut voles ; cum republic^, redi in gratiam. Sed de te tu ipse videris : ego de me ipso profitebor ; defendi rempublicam adolescens, non deseram senex ; contempsi Catilinse gladios, non pertimescam tuos. Quin e fhouldera in the dictator's triumph, and. then depofited w CICERo's ORATIONS. 661 suddenly, left the embassy maimed and imperfect. But if due honours have ever been decreed to any ambassador after his death, they can be due to none more than to Ser. Sulpicius. Others, who have died during their embassy, left Rome without any certain hazard of their lives, without any apprehensions ol death : Ser. Sulpicius set out with some hopes of reaching M.An- tony, but with no hopes of returning. Though he was in so bad a state of health, that he even despaired of himself if he should add the fatigue of a journey to his indisposition, yet he refused not to try, if with his last breath he could be of any ser- vice to his country. Accordingly, neither the rigour of the winter, the snow, the length of the journey, the roughness of the roads, nor his increasing indisposition could retard him ; and when he had reached the person to whom he was sent, he died the very moment he was going to enter into a conference with him, and discharge his commission. On this, therefore, C Pansa, as well as on all other occasions, you have acted nobly, by exhorting us to honour the memory of Ser. Sulpicius, and by speaking so copiously in his praise. To what you have said I should add nothing, and only declare my assent, were it not that 1 think it necessary to reply to P. Servilus, who has deli- vered it as his opinion, that the honour of a statue is only due to those who have been killed by violence in the discharge of their embassy. But, in. my opinion, conscript fathers, it was not the manner, but the cause of the death that our ancestors re- garded : for they granted a monument to him whose death was caused by his embassy, that in dangerous wars men might un- dertake the office of ambassador with greater cheerfulness. We are not to seek precedents then from our ancestors, but explain the intentions of those from whom those very precedents sprung. Sect. If. Lar Tolumius, king of the Yeientes, put to death, at Fidense, four ambassadors of the Roman people, whose statues I remember to have seen in the rostra.' And this honour was due to them ; for as they had suffered death on account of their country, our ancestors, for the life they had lost, a life short at best rendered their memory lasting. The statue of Ch. Octa- vius, an illustrious and great mam who first introduced the con- sulship into that family, which has since been fruitful in the bravest of men, we still behold in the rostra. No one, at that time, envied new men ; virtue was honoured by all. But such was the embassy of Octavius, that there was not the least sus- them in .he temple of Jupiter Feretrius. They were the fecond of the fort known m Rome : Uje firft -were borne by Romulus, who killed king Acron in fingle combat. 662 M. T. CICEHONIS ORATIONES. cum csset missus a scnatu ad animos regum perspiciendos libe- rorumque populorum, (*) maximeque ut nepotem Antiochi re- gis, ejus qui cum majoribus nostris bellum gesserat, clashes ha- bere, elephantos alere prohiberet, Laodicse in gymnasio a quo- dam Leptine est intcrfectus. Reddita est ei turn a majoribus statua pro vita, quae multos per annos progeniem ejus honestaret, nunc ad tanta? familiar memoriam sola restaret. Atqui et huic, ct Tullo Chivio, et Luci<-> lloscio, et Sp. Antonio, et C. Fulci- nio, qui a Veientium rege csesi sunt, non sanguis, qui est profu- sus in morte, sed ipsa mors ob rempublicam obita, honori fuit. III. Itaque, P. C. si Ser. Sulpicio casus mortem attulisset, doierem quidem tanto reipublicse vulnere, mortem vero ejus non monumentis, sed luctu publico, esse honorandam putarem, Nunc autem quis dubitat, quin ei vitam abstuledt ipsa legatio ? secum enim ille mortem extulit ; quam, si nobiscum remansis- set, su& cura, optimi iilii, fidelissimseque conjugis diligentia vi- tare potuisset. At ille, cum videret, si vestrse auctoritati non paruisset, dissimilem se futurum sul ; sin paruisset, munus sibi illud pro republica susceptum vitas iinem fore ; maluitni maxi- mo reipublicje discrimine emori, quam minus, quam potuisset, videri reipublicse profuisse. Multis illi in urbibus, qua iter fa- ciebat, reiiciendi se et curandi potestas fuit : aderat hospitum invitatjo liberalis pro dignitate summi viri, et eorum hortatio, qui una erant missi, ad requiescendum, et vitse consulendirm. At ille properans, festmans, mandata vestra conficere cupiens, in hac constantia, morbo adversante, perseveravit. Cujus cum adventu maxime perturbatus esset Antonius, quod ea, quse sibi jussu vestro denunciarentur, auctoritate erant et sen- tentia Ser. Sulpicji constituta; declaravit quam odisset senatum, cum auctorein senatus exstinctum lsete atque insolenter tulit. Non igitur magis Octavium Leptines, nee \eientium rex eos, quos modo nominavi, quam Ser. Sulpicium occidit Antonius. Is enim profecto mortem attulit, qui causa mortis fuit, Quocirca ad posteritatis etiam memoriam pertinere arbitror, exstare, (z) Ut nepotem AntiocIA regit, &c] This was Antiochus Eupator, grandfon of An- tiochus, furnamtd the Great. At the death of his father Antiochus Epiphanes, he was only ni^e years old and left under the guardiauihip of Lyfus. When the news of Epiphancs's death came to Rome, the fenate difpatched Cn. Octavius and two others, to aflame the administration of the government of Syria; and to thefe they gave in- ' ftrudtions to burn all the decked fhips, difable the elephants, and, Ai a word, weaken as much as poffible the forces of the kingdom. Octavius, in his journey, paffed through Cappadocia, where king Ariarathes offered him an army, to efcort him into Syria, and to keep the people of that country in awe, while he performed hiscommif- fion. But he, confiding in the majefty of the Roman name, difdained all other pro- tection. At JLaodicea, he began to put the orders of the fenate in execution ; burning the fhips, and difablingthe elephants. His pretence was the treaty made with Antio- chus the Great, in which it had been ftipulated that the Syrians (hould not have above a eicERo's ORATION'S.. , 663 picion of danger in it ; for being sent by the senate to penetrate into the intentions of kings and free nations, but chiefly to for- bid the grandson of that Antiochus, who had waged war with our ancestors, to maintain fleets, or bring up elephants, he was slain by one Leptines, in the gymnasium at Laodicea. A statue was then bestowed upon him by our ancestors, for the life he had lost ,* which, for many years after, did honour to his descend- ants, and at present is the only monument extant to the mem- oir of that illustrious family. But it was not the blood which v/as poured forth in death, but death itself, undergone for the sake of the republic, that procured this honour to him, and to Tuilus Cluvius, L. Roscius, Sp. Antius, and C. Fulcinius, who were killed by the. king of the Yeientes. Sect. III. If therefore, conscript fathers, Serv. Sulpicius had lost his life by any accident, I should have been deeply con- cerned indeed for the loss my country had sustained ; and should have thought that his memory ought to be honoured, not by monuments but by public mourning. But, now, can there be an}" doubt that the embassy killed him ? He carried death out along with him, which, had he staid at home, he might have escaped by his own care, by the tenderness of an excellent son, and most faithful wife. But when he saw, that if he did not obey your authority, he should be unlike himself ; and if he did obey, that the office he had undertaken for his country, would put an end to his life ; he chose, in so critical a state of the republic, rather to die, than seem to decline any service which he could possibly do. In many of the cities through which he passed, he had opportunities of refreshing and reposing himself. His hosts generously offered him every thing that was suitable to the dignity of so great a man, and joined with his colleagues in pressing him to rest, and consult his own life ; but in spite of his distemper, he persevered in the resolution of urging hi3 journey, and hastening to perform the commands of the senate. His arrival greatly disconcerted Antony, be- cause what was declared to him by your orders, was settled by the authority and advice of Servius Sulpicius ; and he showed how much he hated the senate, when he expressed such inso- lent jcy at the death of so illustrious a senator. Ser, Sulpicius then was as truly killed by Antony, as Octavius was by Lep- tines ; or those I have just now mentioned, by the king of the Yeientes : for he certainly killed him, who was the cause of his death. For which reason, I think, we ought to leave to posterity some monument of the opinion of the certain number of fhips of war, nor tame any elephants. This defpetic manner of pro- ceeding highly exafperatedthe people ; and one Leptines, fuppofed to be hired by Ly£ as, afiaffinated Octavius in the Gymnafwm, 664- M. T. CICEllONIS ORATIONES, quod fuerit de hoc bdlo judicium senatus ; erit enim statua ipsa testis, bellum tarn grave fuisse, ut legati interitus honoris me- moriam consecutus sit. IV. Quod si excusationem Ser. Sulpicii, P. C. legatonis obe- undse recordari volueritis, nulla dubitatio relinquetur, quin ho- nore mortui, quam vivo injuriam fecimus, sarciamus. Vos enim, P. C. (grave dictu est, sed dicendum tamen,) vos inquam, Ser. Sulpicium vita privastis. Quern cum videretis re magis morbum, quam oratione excusantem, non vos quidem crudeles fuistis (quid enim minus in hunc ordinem convenit ?) sed cum seperaretis nihil esse, quod non illius auctoritate et sapientia effici posset, vehementius excusationi obstitistis ; atqueeum, qui sem- per vestrum consensum gravissimum judicavisset, de sententia dejecistis. Ut vero Pansfe consulis accessit cohortatio gravior quam aures Ser. Sulpicii ferre didicissent, turn vero denique nlium, meque seduxit, atque ita locutus est, ut auctoritatem vestram vitse susese diceret anteferre : cujusnos virtutem admirati non ausi sumus adversari voluntati : movebatur singulari pietate fili us ; non multum ejus perturbationi meus dolor concedebat ; sed uterque nostrum cedere cogebatur magnitudini animi, ora- tionisque gravitati ; cum quidem ille maxima laude et gratula- tione omnium vestrum pollicitus est, se quod velletis esse fac- turum, nequeejussententise periculum vitaturum,cujus ipse auc- tor fuisset : quern exsequi mandata vestra' ? properantem mane postridie prosecuti sumus ; qui quidem discedens mecum ita locutus est, ut ejus oratio omen fati videretur. V. Reddite igitur, P. C. ei vitam, cui ademistis ; vita enim mortuorum in memoria vivorum est posita: perficite ut is, quern vos inscii ad mortem misistis, immortalita^em habeat a vobis : cui statuam in rostris decreto vestro statueritis, nulla ejus lega- tionem posteritatis obscurabit oblivio ; nam reliquaSer. Sulpicii vita multis erit prieclarisque monumentis ad omnem memoriam commendata : semper illius gravitatem, constantiam, fidem, prsestantem in republica tuenda curam atque prudentiam, om- nium mortalium fama celebrabit. Nee vero silebitur admira- bilis quredam et incredibilis, (3) ac pene divina ejus in legibus interpretandis, sequitate explicanda, scientia. Omnes ex omni (3) At ptne divina ejus In legibus interpretandis sciential] The old lawyers tell a re- markable ftory of the origin of Sulpicius's fame and skill in the laW : that going one day to confult Mucius Scsevola about some point, he was so dull in apprehending the meaning of Mucius's answer, that after explaining it to him twice or thrice, Mucius etuld not forbear faying, It is ajbamefer a mbleman and a patrisian,and a pleader o/eau/es, ClCERo's ORATIONS. 685 senate concerning this war ; and this statue will bear witness, that it was so important a war, that the death of one who was em- ployed in it as an ambassador had honours paid to it. Sect. IV. If you will but recollect, conscript fathers, how Ser. Sulpicius endeavoured to excuse himself from undertaking the embassy, you must needs be convinced, that this honour to him when dead, is but a necessary amends for the injury done to him when living. For you, conscript fathers, (it is a harsh saying, but I must say it), you were the persons who deprived Ser. Sulpicius of life. When you saw that his excuse was grounded not on a pretended, but on a real indisposition, you were not indeed cruel, (for nothing can be more compassionate than this order ;) but as you flattered yourselves that there was nothing which his authority and wisdom could not effect, you over-ruled his excuse, and obliged him, who always thought your sentiments of the greatest weight, to yield to your remon- strances. And when the consul Pansa joined his exhortation with a gravity and force of speech which the ears of Ser. Sulpi- cius had not learnt to bear, he then took his son and me aside, and professed that he could not help preferring your authority to his own life. We, through admiration of his virtue, durst not venture to oppose his will. His son was tenderly moved, nor was my concern much less ; yet both of us were obliged to give way to the greatness of his mind, and the force of his rea- soning ; when, to the great joy, and with the great applause of you all, he promised that he would do whatever you prescribed, nor would decline the danger of that vote, of which he himself had been the proposer. Next morning we saw him set out, eager to execute your orders : we accompained him part of the way ; and the words^which he spoke to me at parting, seemed a presage of his fate. Sect. V. Restore life then, conscript fathers, to him, from whom you have taken it away : for the life, of the dead is in the memory of the living. Take care that he, whom you unwillingly sent to his death, receive an immortality from you. Ifvou decree a statue to him in the rostra, the remem- brance of his embassy will remain to ail posterity : for the *ther actions of Ser. Sulpicius's life will have many glorious monuments to perpetuate their memory. His gravity, steadi- ness, honour, great care, and prudence in defending the state, will be for ever celebrated among mankind ,* nor will his ad- mirable, incredible, and almost divine skill in interpreting the laws, and explaining them according to the principles of to be ignorant of that lain ivhich he proftjja to underhand. The reproach ftung him to the quick, and made him apply himfelf to his ftudies, with fuch induflry, 666 M. T. CICERONIS orattoves. aetate, qui in hac civitate mtclligentiam juris habuer'unt, *i u .'.»>• in locum conlerantur, cum Sec, Sulpicio non sunt comparandi. Neqe enim ille magis juris coiisultus, quam justitise fait. Ita ea, quae proficiscebantur a. legibus, et a jure civili, semper ad facilitatem aequitatemque referebut : neque instituere litium ac- tiones malebat, quam con trovers i as tollere. Ergo hoc statute monumento non eget ; Iiabet alia majora : haec enim statua mor- tis honestse testis erit; ilia, memoria vitre gloriosse ; ut hoc magis monumentum grati senatiis, quam clariviri futurum sit. Mul- tum etiaravaluisse ad patris honorem pietas filii videbitur .; qui quanquam afflictus luctu non adest, tamen sic animati esse dc- betis, ut si ille adesset : est autem ita affectus, ut nemo unquam unici filii mortem magis doluerit, quam ille moeret patris. Et quidem etiam ad famam Ser. Sulpicii filii arbitror pertinere, ut videatur honorem debitum patri prsestitisse ; quanquam nullum monumentum clarius Ser. Sulpicius relinquere potuit, quam effigium morum suorum, virtutis, constantiae, pietatis, ingenii filium ; cujus luctus aut hoc honore vestro, aut nullo solatio le- vari potest. VI. Mihi autem recordanti Ser. Sulpicii multos in familiari- tate nostra sermones, gratior illi videtur, si quis est sensus in morte, aenea statua futura, et ea pedestris, quam inaurata eques- tris ; (4) qualis est L. Syllre prima statua : mirifice enim Ser, Sulpicius majorum continentiamdiligebat; hujnsseculi insolenti-* am vituperabat. Ut igitur si ipsum consulam quid velit, sic pedes- trem ex sere statuam, tanquam e?: ejus auctoritate et vo- luntate decerno : quae quidem magnum civium dolorem et d'e- siderium honore monumenti minuet et lenieU Atque hanc meam sententiam, P. C. P. Servilii sententia comprobari necesse est, qui sepulcrum publice decernendum St£ . Sulpicio censuit, statuam non censuit. Nam si mors legati sine csede atque ferro nullum honorem desiderat, cur decernit honorem sepultiirsp, qui maximus haberi potest mortuo ? Sin id tribuit Ser. Sulpicio, quod non est datum Cn. Octavio ; cur, quod illi datum est, huic dandum esse non censet ? Majores quidem nostri statuas multis that he became the ablest lawyer in Rome, and left behind him near an hundred aao:' eighty books, written by himfelf, cn nice and difficult queftionsof law. Digeft. L. I Tit. i. Parag. 43. ( 1) Qjalis ejl L. Sytla.] Sylla had three ftatues erected to hJm in the rostra ; the firft according to Pliny,, was a pedetiriaa tfat*e of brafs, the other two eqneftrian CICERO's ORATIONS. 667 equity, be buried in silence. Though all those who have ever applied themselves to the study of the law in this state, were to fee brought together into one place, they would not deserve to be compared with Servius Sulpicius. Nor was he less ac- quainted with the principles of universal equity, than he was with the laws of his country. Accordingly, in every point re- lating to the civil law and the ordinances of the state, he made equity the rule of his decisions ,* and was always better pleased to put an amicable end to a controversy, than to direct a pro- cess at law. These things, therefore, do not stand in need of a statue to perpetuate their memory ; there remain other more glorious monuments of them, which will bear testimony to the glory of his life : whereas the statue will only testify his honour- able death, and be rather a monument of the gratitude of the senate, than of the fame of the man. The piety of the son too will contribute not a little to the glory of the father ; who, though he is prevented by excessive grief from being present, yet ought you to be as favourablv disposed as if he were. So great indeed is his concern, that no one ever grieved more for the death of an only son, than he does for that of his father. It likewise concerns the reputation of Servius Sulpicius the son, that he pay all due honours to his father; though Servius Sul- picius could leave no more illustrious monument behind him than a son, the image of his manners, of his virtue, steadiness, piety, and genius ; whose grief can be softened by your thus honouring his father, or he is utterly inconsolable. Sect. VI. When I recollect the many conversations which my intimacy with Ser. Sulpicius gave me an opportunity of en- joying, I am persuaded, that if he is sensible of any thing after death, a pedestrain statue in brass, such as Sylla's first statue, will be more agreeable to him than a gilt equestrain statue, for Servius Sulpicius was a great admirer of the modesty of our an- cestors, and condemned the haughty extravagance of the pre- sent times. As if I had consulted himself, therefore, upon what would be most agreeable to him, as the interpreter of his plea- sure, I declare for a pedestrain statue of brass ; which honour- able monument will alleviate and lessen the sorrow of his fellow- citizens for his loss. And what I sav, conscript fathers, must needs be approved of by P. Servilius, who delivered it as his opin- ion, that a sepulchre ought publicly to be decreed to Ser. Sulpi- cius ; but not a statue. For if the death of an ambassador with- out blood or violence requires no honours, why does he decree the honour of a sepulchre, which may be reckoned the greatest that can be conferred on the dead ? But if he grants that to Ser. Sulpicius, which was not granted to Cn. Octavius, why does he refuse to the former vvh it was. granted to the latter ? Ourances- "' IT i A*, -i- A (568 M. T. CICERONIS OHATIONES. decreverunt, sepulcra paucis : sed statuse intereunt tempcstate, vi, vetustate ; sepulcrorum autem sanctitas in ipso solo est, quod nulla vi moveri neque deleri potest ; atque ut csetera exstingu- untur, sic sepulcra sanctiora fiunt vetustate. Augeatur igitur isto etiam honore is vir, cui nullus honor tribui non debitus po- test : grati simus in ejus morte decoranda, cui nullanr jam aliam gratiam rel'erre possumus : notetur etiam M. Antonii, nefarium bellum gerentis, scelerata audacia ; his enim honoribus habitis Ser. Sulpicio, repudiate rejectseque legationis ab Antonio ma- nebit testificatio sempiterna. VII. (5) Quas ob res ita censeo ; (6) CUM Ser. Sulpicius Q. F. Lemcnia r Rufus, difficillimo reipublicse tempore gravi peri- culosque morbo affectus, auctoritatem senatus salutemque po- puli Romani vits& suse prseposuerit, contraque vim gravitatemque morbi contenderit, ut in castra Antonii, quo senatus eum mise- rat, perveniret; isque cum jam prope castra venisset, vi morbi oppressus vitam amiserit in maximo reipublicse munere: ejusquc mors consentanea'vitse fuerit sanctissime honestissimeque actse, id qua sa^pe magno usui reipublicse Ser. Sulpicius et privatus et in magistratibus fuerit : cum talis vir ob rempublicam in lega- tione morbo obierit ; senatui placere, Ser. Sulpicio statuam pe- destrem seneam in rostris ex hujus ordinis sententia statui, circumque earn statuam locum gladiatoribus ludisque liberos posterosque ejus quoquoversus pedes quinque habere, quod is ob rempublicam mortem obierit, eamque causam in basi in- scribi : utique C. Pansa, A. Hirtius consules, alter, ambove, si iis videbitur, qusestoribus urbanis imperent, ut earn basim, sta- tuamque faciendam et in rostris statuendam locent ; quantique locaverint, tantam pecuniam redemptori attribuendam solven- damque curet : cumque antea senatus auctoritatem suam in virorum fortium funeribus ornamentisque ostenderit ; placere, eum quam amplissime supremo die suo efferri : et cum Ser. Sul- picius, Q. F. Lemonia, Rufus, ita de republicameritus sit, ut his ornamentis decorari debeat : senatum censere, atque e republica (5) Qa as °b r " lta cenfeo.'] What the majority of the Roman fenate approved, was drawn up into a decree, which was generally conceived in words prepared and dictated by the firft mover of the queftion, or the principal fpeaker in favour of it; who, after he had fpoken upon it, what he thought fufficient to recommend it to the fenate, ufed to conclude his fpeech by fumming up his opinion in the form of fucha decree as he de- fired to obtain in confequence of it. Thus Cicero's orations againil Antony, which were fpoken at different times in the fenate, on points of the greateft importance, generally conclude with the form of fuch a decree as he was recommending on each particular occafion : qua cum itafunt ; or, quss ob res ita cenfeo. See Pbil. 3, 5> 8, IO, I3i M- cicero's orations. 669 tors have granted statues to many ; but sepulchres only to a few. Statues perish by violence, and the injuries of time : but the sanctity of sepulchres is in the ground itself, which no vio- lence can shake or overthrow; and time, which destroys other things, renders them only the more venerable. Let Sulpicius, therefore, to whom no unmerited honour can be paid, receive this additional honour likewise. Let us show ourselves grate- ful, in honouring the death of the man on whom we can now bestow no other mark of our regard. Let the audaciousness ol M. Antony too, who is now waging an impious war against his country, be branded with infamy ; for these honours paid to the memory of Ser. Sulpicius, will remain an eternal testimony of Antony's having slighted and rejected our embassy. Sect. VII. For which reason my opinion is, that, t whereas 4 Ser. Sulpicius Rufus, the son of Quintusj of the Lemonian 4 tribe, in a critical juncture of the state, when he himself 4 laboured under a dangerous -indisposition, preferred the au- * thority of the senate, and the welfare of the state, to his * own life ; and strove against the violence and obstinacy of 4 his distemper, to reach Antony's camp, whither the senate 4 had sent him ; and when he had almost got thither, over- 4 come by the violence of his indisposition, lost his life in the 4 discharge of the most weighty employment of the state ; 4 and his death was such as became a life of the strictest in- ' tegrity and honour ; during which Ser- Sulpicius was often 4 of great service to his country, both in a private and a public 4 capacity : whereas so great a man died, for the sake of the 4 state, in the discharge of his embassy, the senate is pleased 4 to decree, that a pedestrian statue of brass should be erected 4 to him in the rostra, with an area of five feet on all sides of 4 it, for his children and posterity to see the shows of gladia- 4 tors, and with this inscription on the base of the statue, that 4 he died in the service of the republic.'' It is farther decreed by the senate, that C. Pansa, and A. Hirtius, the consuls, shall either, or both of them, if they think proper, give orders to the city qusestors to agree for this base and statue, to see that it be erected in the rostra, and to pay the contractor what- ever sum they agree for. And whereas the senate has here- tofore displayed its dignity in the funerals of brave men ; it is likewise decreed, that his funeral-obsequies be celebrated with the utmost magnificence. And whereas Ser. Sulpicius Rufus, me son of Quintus, of the Lemonian tribe, has done so many im- (6) Cum Ser. Sulpicius, Lem»nia y &c] The Lemonian tribe was fo called from a village of that name, near the Ptrta Catena, in the Latine road. 67* M. T. C1CER0NIS ORATIONES. existimare, sediles curules edictum, quod de funeribus habeant, Ser. Sulpicii, Q. F. Lemonia, Run, funeri mittere : utique lo- cum sepulchro in campo Esquilino C Pansa consul, seu quo in loco videbitur, pedes triginta quoquoversus adsignet, quo Ser, Sulpicius inferatur; quod sepulchrum, ipsius, liberorum, pos- terorumque ejus sit, uti quod optimo jure sepulchrum publice datum est. FINIS. CICERo's ORATIONS. 671 portant services to his country, that he deserves all manner of honours, the senate decrees, and thinks it for the honour of the state, that the curule sediles expend upon the funeral of Sulpi- cius, what is appointed by the edicts relating to public funerals ; and that the consul C. Pansa assign him a place of burial in the Esquiline field, or any other place that shall be thought proper, with an area of thirty feet every way, to be granted publicly, ac- cording to the forms of law, as a sepulchre for him, his children, and posterity. THE END. 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