in order himself to escape, nor burn off a hand, in order to frighten
Porsenna, but by his cleverness and consummate skill he put an end to
the tyranny of Caesar better than any spear of Decius and better than the
sword of Brutus. [-20-] But you, Cicero, what did you effect in your
consulship, not to mention wise and good things, that was not deserving
of the greatest punishment? Did you not throw our city into uproar and
party strife when it was quiet and harmonious, and fill the Forum and
Capitol with slaves, among others, that you had called to your aid? Did
you not ruin miserably Catiline, who was overanxious for office, but
otherwise guilty of no violence? Did you not pitiably destroy Lentulus
and his followers, who were not guilty, not tried, and not convicted, in
spite of the fact that you are always and everywhere prating interminably
about the laws and about the courts? If any one should take these phrases
from your speeches, there is nothing left. You censured Pompey because
he conducted the trial of Milo contrary to legalized precedent: yet you
afforded Lentulus no privilege great or small that is enjoined in these
cases, but without a speech or trial you cast him into prison, a man
respectable, aged, whose ancestors had given many great pledges that he
would be friendly to his country, and who by reason of his age and his
character had no power to do anything revolutionary. What trouble did he
have that would have been cured by the change of condition? What blessing
did he possess that would not certainly be jeopardized by rebellion? What
arms had he collected, what allies had he equipped, that a man who had
been consul and was praetor should be so pitilessly and impiously cast
into a cell without being allowed to say a word of defence or hear a
single charge, and die there like the basest criminals? For this is what
this excellent Tullius most of all desired,--that in [the Tullianum,] the
place that bears his name, he might put to death the grandson of that
Lentulus once became the head of the senate. [-21-] What would he
have done if he had obtained authority to bear arms, seeing that he
accomplished so many things of such a nature by his words alone? These
are your brilliant achievements, these are your great exhibitions of
generalship; and not only were you condemned for them by the rest, but
you were so ready to vote against your own self in the matter that you
fled before your trial came on. Yet what greater demonstration of your
bloodguiltiness could there be than that you came in danger of perishing
at the hands of those very persons in whose behalf you pretended you had
done this, that you were afraid of the very ones whom you said you had
benefited by these acts, and that you did not wait to hear from them or
say a word to them, you clever, you extraordinary man, you aider of other
people, but secured your safety by flight as if from a battle? And you
are so shameless that you have undertaken to write a history of these
events that I have related, whereas you ought to have prayed that no
other man even should give an account of any of them: then you might at
least derive this advantage, that your doings should die with you and no
memory of them be transmitted to posterity. Now, gentlemen, if you want
to laugh, listen to his clever device. He set himself the task of writing
a history of the entire existence of the city (for he pretends to be a
sophist and poet and philosopher and orator and historian), and he began
not from the founding of it, like the rest are similarly busied, but from
his own consulship, so that he might proceed backwards, making that the
beginning of his account, and the kingdom of Romulus the end.
[-22-] "Tell me now, you who write such things and do such things, what
the excellent man ought to say in popular address and do in action: for
you are better at advising others about any matter whatsoever than at
doing your own duty, and better at rebuking others than at reforming
yourself. Yet how much better it were for you instead of reproaching
Antony with cowardice to lay aside yourself that effeminacy both of
spirit and of body, instead of bringing a charge of disloyalty against
him to cease yourself from doing anything disloyal or playing the
deserter, instead of accusing him of ingratitude to cease yourself from
wronging your benefactors! For this, I must tell you, is one of his
inherent defects, that he hates above all those who have done him any
favor, and is always fawning upon somebody else but plotting against
these persons. To leave aside other instances, he was pitied and
preserved by Caesar and enrolled among the patricians, after which he
killed him,--no, not with his own hand (he is too cowardly and womanish),
but by persuading and making ready others who should do it. The men
themselves showed that I speak the truth in this. When they ran out into
the Forum with their naked blades, they invoked him by name, saying
'Cicero!' repeatedly, as you all heard. His benefactor, Caesar, then, he
slew, and as for Antony from whom he obtained personally safety and
a priesthood when he was in danger of perishing at the hands of the
soldiers in Brundusium, he repays him with this sort of thanks, by
accusing him for deeds with which neither he himself nor any one else
ever found any fault and attacking him for conduct which he praises in
others. Yet he sees this Caesar, who has not attained the age yet to hold
office or have any part in politics and has not been chosen by you, sees
him equipped with power and standing as the author of a war without our
vote or orders, and not only has no blame to bestow, but pronounces
laudations. So you perceive that he investigates neither what is just
with reference to the laws nor what is useful with reference to the
public weal, but simply manages everything to suit his own will,
censuring in some what he extols in others, spreads false reports against
you, and calumniates you gratuitously.[-23-] For you will find that all
of Antony's acts after Caesar's demise were ordered by you. To speak about
the disposition of the funds and the examination of the letters I deem to
be superfluous. Why so? Because first it would be the business of the one
who inherited his property to look into the matter, and second, if there
was any truth in the charge of malfeasance, it ought to have been
stopped then on the moment. For none of the transactions was carried on
underhandedly, Cicero, but they were all recorded on tablets, as you
yourself affirm. If Antony committed his many wrongs so openly and
shamelessly as you say, and plundered the whole of Crete on the pretext
that in accord with Caesar's letters it had been left free after the
governorship of Brutus, though the latter was later given charge of it by
us, how could you have kept silent and how could any one else have borne
it? But these matters, as I said, I shall pass over; for the majority of
them have not been mentioned individually, and Antony is not present,
who could inform you exactly of what he has done in each instance. As to
Macedonia and Gaul and the remaining provinces and legions, yours are
the decrees, Conscript Fathers, according to which you assigned to the
various governors their separate charges and delivered to Antony Gaul,
together with the soldiers. This is known also to Cicero. He was there
and helped vote for all of them just like you. Yet how much better it
would have been for him then to speak in opposition, if any item of
business was not going as it should, and to instruct you in these matters
that are now brought forward, than to be silent at the time and allow
you to make mistakes, and now nominally to censure Antony but really to
accuse the senate!
[-24-] "Any sensible person could not assert, either, that Antony forced
you to vote these measures. He himself had no band of soldiers so as to
compel you to do anything contrary to your inclinations, and further the
business was done for the good of the city. For since the legions had
been sent ahead and united, there was fear that when they heard of
Caesar's assassination they might revolt, put some inferior man at their
head, and begin to wage war again: so it seemed good to you, taking a
proper and excellent course, to place in command of them Antony the
consul, who was charged with the promotion of harmony, who had rejected
the dictatorship entirely from the system of government. And that is the
reason that you gave him Gaul in place of Macedonia, that he should stay
here in Italy, committing no harm, and do at once whatever errand was
assigned him by you.
[-25-] "This I have said to you that you may know that you decided
rightly. For Cicero that other point of mine was sufficient,--namely,
that he was present during all these proceedings and helped us to pass
the measures, though Antony had not a soldier at the time and could not
have brought to bear on us pressure in the shape of any terror that would
have made us neglect a single point of our interest. But even if you were
then silent, tell us now at least: what ought we to have done under the
circumstances? Leave the legions leaderless? Would they have failed
to fill both Macedonia and Italy with countless evils? Commit them to
another? And whom could we have found more closely related and suited
to the business than Antony, the consul, the director of all the city's
affairs, the one who had taken such good care of harmony among us, the
one who had given countless examples of his affection for the State? Some
one of the assassins, perhaps? Why, it wasn't even safe for them to live
in the city. Some one of the party opposed to them? Everybody suspected
those people. What other man was there surpassing him in esteem,
excelling him in experience? Or are you vexed that we did not choose you?
What kind of administration would you have given? What would you not have
done when you got arms and soldiers, considering that you occasioned so
many and so great instances of turmoil in your consulship as a result of
these elaborate antitheses, which you have made your specialty, of which
alone you were master. [-26-] But I return to my point that you were
present when it was being voted and said nothing against it, but assented
to all the measures as being obviously excellent and necessary. You did
not lack opportunity to speak; indeed you roared out considerable that
was beside the purpose. Nor were you afraid of anybody. How could you,
who did not fear the armed warrior, have quailed before the defenceless
man? Or how have feared him alone when you do not dread him in the
possession of many soldiers! Yes, you also give yourself airs for
absolutely despising death, as you affirm.
"Since these facts are so, which of the two, senators, seems to be in the
wrong, Antony, who is managing the forces granted him by us, or Caesar,
who is surrounded with such a large band of his own? Antony, who has
departed to take up the office committed to him by us, or Brutus, who
prevents him from setting foot in the country? Antony, who wishes to
compel our allies to obey our decrees, or they, who have not received the
ruler sent them by us but have attached themselves to the man who was
voted against? Antony, who keeps our soldiers together, or the soldiers,
who have abandoned their commander? Antony, who has introduced not one of
these soldiers granted him by us into the city, or Caesar, who by money
persuaded those who had long ago been in service to come here? I think
there is no further need of argument to answer the imputation that he
does not seem to be managing correctly all the duties laid upon him by
us, and to show that these men ought to suffer punishment for what they
have ventured on their own responsibility. Therefore you also secured the
guard of soldiers that you might discuss in safety the present situation,
not on account of Antony, who had caused no trouble privately nor
intimidated you in any way, but on account of his rival, who both had
gathered a force against him and has often kept many soldiers in the city
itself.
[-27-] "I have said so much for Cicero's benefit, since it was he who
began unfair argument against us. I am not generally quarrelsome, as he
is, nor do I care to pry into others' misdeeds, as he continually gives
himself airs for doing. Now I will tell you what advice I have to give,
not favoring Antony at all nor calumniating Caesar or Brutus, but planning
for the common advantage, as is proper. I declare that we ought not yet
to make an enemy of either of these men in arms nor to enquire exactly
what they have been doing or in what way. The present crisis is not
suitable for this action, and as they are all alike our fellow-citizens,
if any one of them fails the loss will be ours, or if any one of them
succeeds his aggrandizement will be a menace to us. Wherefore I believe
that we ought to treat them as friends and citizens and send messengers
to all of them alike, bidding them lay down their arms and put themselves
and their legions in our hands, and that we ought not yet to wage war on
any one of them, but after their replies have come back approve those who
are willing to obey us and fight against the disobedient. This course is
just and expedient for us,--not to be in a hurry or do anything rashly,
but to wait and after giving the leaders themselves and their soldiers an
opportunity to change their minds, then, if in such case there be need of
war, to give the consuls charge of it.
[-28-] "And you, Cicero, I advise not to show a womanish sauciness nor
to imitate Bambalio even in making war[18] nor because of your private
enmity toward Antony to plunge the whole city publicly again into danger.
You will do well if you even become reconciled to him, with whom you have
often enjoyed friendly intercourse. But even if you continue embittered
against him, at least spare us, and do not after acting as the promoter
of friendship among us then destroy it. Remember that day and the speech
which you delivered in the precinct of Tellus, and yield a little to this
goddess of Concord under whose guidance we are now deliberating, and
avoid discrediting those statements and making them appear as if not
uttered from a sincere heart, or by somebody else on that occasion. This
is to the advantage of the State and will bring you most renown. Do not
think that audacity is either glorious or safe, and do not feel sure
of being praised just for saying that you despise death. Such men all
suspect and hate as being likely to venture some deed of evil through
desperation. Those whom they see, however, paying greatest attention to
their own safety they praise and laud, because such would not willingly
do anything that merited death. Do you, therefore, if you honestly
wish your country to be safe, speak and act in such a way as will both
preserve yourself and not, by Jupiter, involve us in your destruction!"
[-29-] Such language from Calenus Cicero would not endure. He himself
always spoke his mind intemperately and immoderately to all alike, but he
never thought he ought to get a similar treatment from others. On this
occasion, too, he gave up considering the public interest and set himself
to abusing his opponent until that day was spent, and naturally for
the most part uselessly. On the following day and the third many other
arguments were adduced on both sides, but the party of Caesar prevailed.
So they voted first a statue to the man himself and the right to
deliberate among the ex-quaestors as well as of being a candidate for the
other offices ten years sooner than custom allowed, and that he should
receive from the City the money which he had spent for his soldiers,
because he had equipped them at his own cost for her defence: second,
that both his soldiers and those that had abandoned Antony should have
the privilege of not fighting in any other war and that land should be
given them at once. To Antony they sent an embassy which should order him
to give up the legions, leave Gaul, and withdraw into Macedonia--and to
his followers they issued a proclamation to return home before a given
day or to know that they would occupy the position of enemies. Moreover
they removed the senators who had received from him governorships over
the provinces and resolved that others should be sent in their place.
These measures were ratified at that time. Not long after, before
learning his decision, they voted that a state of rebellion existed,
changed their senatorial garb, gave charge of the war against him to the
consuls and Caesar (a kind of pretorian office), and ordered Lepidus and
Lucius Munatius Plancus, who was governing a portion of Transalpine Gaul,
to render assistance.
[-30-] In this way did they themselves furnish an excuse for hostility
to Antony, who was without this anxious to make war. He was pleased to
receive news of the decrees and forthwith violently reproached the envoys
with not treating him rightly or fairly as compared with the youth
(meaning Caesar). He also sent others in his turn, so as to put the blame
of the war upon the senators, and make some counter-propositions which
saved his face but were impossible of performance by Caesar and those who
sided with him. He intended not to fulfill one of their demands, well
aware that they too would not take up with anything that he submitted. He
promised, however, that he would do all that they had determined, that he
himself might have a refuge in saying that he would have done it, while
at the same time his opponent's party would be before him in becoming
responsible for the war, by refusing the terms he laid before them. In
fine, he said that he would abandon Gaul and disband his legions, if they
would grant these soldiers the same rewards as they had voted to Caesar's
and would elect Cassius and Marcus Brutus consuls. He brought in the
names of these men in his request with the purpose that they should
not harbor any ill-will toward him for his operations against their
fellow-conspirator Decimus.
[-31-] Antony made these offers knowing well that neither of them would
be acted upon. Caesar would never have endured that the murderers of his
father should become consuls or that Antony's soldiers by receiving the
same as his own should feel still more kindly toward his rival. Nor, as a
matter of fact, were his offers ratified, but they again declared war
on Antony and gave notice to his associates to leave him, appointing a
different day. All, even such as were not to take the field, arrayed
themselves in military cloaks, and they committed to the consuls the care
of the city, attaching to the decree the customary clause "to the end
that it suffer no harm." And since there was need of large funds for the
war, they all contributed the twenty-fifth part of the property they
owned and the senators also four asses[19] per tile of all the houses in
the city that they themselves owned or dwelt in belonging to others. The
very wealthy besides donated no little more, while many cities and
many individuals manufactured gratuitously weapons and other necessary
accoutrements for a campaign. The public treasury was at that time so
empty that not even the festivals which were due to fall during that
season were celebrated, except some small ones out of religious scruple.
[-32-] These subscriptions were given readily by those who favored Caesar
and hated Antony. The majority, however, being oppressed by the campaigns
and the taxes at once were irritated, particularly because it was
doubtful which of the two would conquer but quite evident that they would
be slaves of the conqueror. Many of those, therefore, that wished Antony
well, went straight to him, among them tribunes and a few praetors: others
remained in their places, one of whom was Calenus, but did all that they
could for him, some things secretly and other things with an open defence
of their conduct. Hence they did not change their costume immediately,
and persuaded the senate to send envoys again to Antony, among them
Cicero: in doing this they pretended that the latter might persuade him
to make terms, but their real purpose was that he should be removed from
their path. He too reflected on this possibility and becoming alarmed
would not venture to expose himself in the camp of Antony. As a result
none of the other envoys set out either.
[-33-] While this was being done portents of no small moment again
occurred, significant for the City, and for the consul Vibius himself.
In the last assembly before they set out for the war a man with the
so-called sacred disease[20] fell down while Vibius was speaking. Also a
bronze statue of him which stood at the porch of his house turned around
of itself on the day and at the hour that he started on the campaign, and
the sacrifices customary before war could not be interpreted by the seers
by reason of the quantity of blood. Likewise a man who was just then
bringing him a palm slipped in the blood which had been shed, fell, and
defiled the palm. These were the portents in his case. Now if they had
befallen him when a private citizen, they would have pertained to him
alone, but since he was consul they had a bearing on all alike. They
included the following incidents: the figure of the Mother of the Gods on
the Palatine formerly facing the east turned around of its own accord
to the west; that of Minerva held in honor near Mutina, where the most
fighting was going on, sent forth after this a quantity of blood and
milk; furthermore the consuls took their departure just before the Feriae
Latinae; and there is no case where this happened that the forces fared
well. So at this time, too, both the consuls and a vast multitude of the
people perished, some immediately and some later, and also many of the
knights and senators, including the most prominent. For in the first
place the battles, and in the second place the assassinations at home
which occurred again as in the Sullan régime, destroyed all the flower of
them except those actually concerned in the murders.
[-34-] Responsibility for these evils rested on the senators themselves.
For whereas they ought to have set at their head some one man of superior
judgment and to have coöperated with him continuously, they failed to do
this, but made protégés of a few whom they strengthened against the
rest, and later undertook to overthrow these favorites as well, and
consequently they found no one a friend but all hostile. The comparative
attitude of men toward those who have injured them and toward their
benefactors is different, for they remember a grudge even against their
wills but willingly forget to be thankful. This is partly because they
disdain to appear to have been kindly treated by any persons, since
they will seem to be the weaker of the two, and partly because they are
irritated at the idea that they will be thought to have been injured by
anybody with impunity, since that will imply cowardice on their part.
So those senators by not taking up with some one person, but attaching
themselves to one and another in turn, and voting and doing now something
for them, now something against them, suffered much because of them
and much also at their hands. All the leaders had one purpose in the
war,--the abolition of the popular power and the setting up of a
sovereignty. Some were fighting to see whose slaves they should be, and
others to see who should be their master; and so both of them equally
wrought havoc, and each of them won glory according to fortune, which
varied. The successful warriors were deemed shrewd and patriotic, and the
defeated ones were called both enemies of their country and pestilential
fellows.
[-35-] This was the state that the Roman affairs had at that time
reached: I shall now go on to describe the separate events. There seems
to me to be a very large amount of self-instruction possible, when one
takes facts as the basis of his reasoning, investigates the nature of
the former by the latter, and then proves his reasoning true by its
correspondence with the facts.