your consent the vote for the expenses of the consular provinces had
been taken, though I was nervous as to the result of the measure, I yet
hoped that you saw some good reason for it beyond what I could see: but
when I was informed by word of mouth and by letters that this policy of
yours was strongly censured, I was much disturbed, because the hope
which I had cherished, faint as it was, seemed completely destroyed. For
if the tribunes are angry with us, what hope can there be? And, indeed,
they seem to have reason to be angry, since they, who had undertaken my
cause, have not been consulted on the measure; while by your assenting
to it they have been deprived of all the legitimate influence of their
office: and that though they profess that it was for my sake that they
wished to have the vote for the outfit of the consuls under their
control, not in order to curtail their freedom of action, but in order
to attach them to my cause:[371] that as things stand now, supposing
the consuls to choose to take part against me, they can do so without
let or hindrance, but if they wish to do anything in my favour they are
powerless if the tribunes object. For as to what you say in your letter,
that, if your party had not consented, they would have obtained their
object by a popular vote--that would have been impossible against the
will of the tribunes.[372] So I fear, on the one hand, that I have lost
the favour of the tribunes; and on the other, even supposing that favour
to remain, that the tie has been lost by which the consuls were to be
attached. Added to this is another disadvantage, the abandonment of the
weighty resolution--as, indeed, it was reported to me--that the senate
should pass no decree until my case had been decided, and that, too, in
the case of a measure which was not only not urgent, but even contrary
to custom and unprecedented. For I think there is no precedent for
voting the provincial outfit of magistrates when still only designate:
so that, since in a matter like this the firm line[373] on which my
cause had been taken up has been infringed, there is now no reason why
any decree should not be passed. It is not surprising that those friends
to whom the question was referred assented, for it was difficult to find
anyone to express an opinion openly against proposals so advantageous to
two consuls. It would in any case have been difficult not to be
complaisant to such a warm friend as Lentulus, or to Metellus after the
exceedingly kind way in which he put aside his quarrel with me. But I
fear that, while failing to keep a hold on them, we have lost the
tribunes. How this matter has occurred, and in what position the whole
business stands, I would have you write to me, and in the same spirit as
before: for your outspoken candour, even if not altogether pleasant, is
yet what I prefer.
10 December.
[Footnote 371: The phrase _ornare provincias, ornare consules_, etc.,
means the vote in the senate deciding the number of troops, amount of
money, and other outfit that the magistrates going to their provinces
were to have. The provinces to be taken by outgoing consuls were decided
before the elections--in this case they were Cilicia and Spain. But the
_ornatio_ usually took place after the consuls had entered on their
office, _i.e._, after the 1st of January. For this year, however--we
don't know why--it had taken place before the 1st of December, B.C. 58.
The result of this would be that the new tribunes for B.C. 57--entering
on their office 10th December, B.C. 58--would have no voice in the
matter, and would thus lose a great hold on the consuls. Most of these
tribunes were supporters of Cicero, while he was doubtful as to one of
the consuls--Q. Cæcilius Metellus Nepos. He thinks, therefore, that his
cause has lost by this measure, for the tribunes will have less power of
putting force on the consuls to do anything for him, and yet the same
power of stopping them should they wish to do anything of their own
accord. Besides, the new tribunes may be alienated by what they may
think a measure derogatory to their position. These fears came to
nothing; the tribunes were loyal to Cicero, and the consul Piso
forwarded his recall.]
[Footnote 372: Because the tribunes could have vetoed any measure
brought before the people, and so could have forced the consuls to come
to terms.]
[Footnote 373: _I.e._, that the senate would pass no decree prior to one
recalling Cicero.]
LXXXV (A III, 25)
TO ATTICUS (? IN EPIRUS[374])
DYRRACHIUM (DECEMBER)
[Sidenote: B.C. 58, ÆT 48]
After you left me I received a letter from Rome, from which I see
clearly that I must rot away in this state of disfranchisement: for I
can't believe (don't be offended at my saying so) that you would have
left town at this juncture, if there had been the least hope left of my
restoration. But I pass over this, that I may not seem to be ungrateful
and to wish everything to share my own ruin. All I ask of you is what
you have faithfully promised, that you will appear before the 1st of
January wherever I may be.
[Footnote 374: There is no indication in the letter as to where Atticus
is. He left Rome late in B.C. 58, and apparently did not return till
after Cicero's recall. The most natural explanation is that he was in
Epirus, or somewhere in Greece, and that he had visited Cicero at
Dyrrachium on his way. I do not quite see how this should be thought
impossible in view of the last sentence of LXXXV or the next letter.
Cicero asks Atticus to join him, but he might do so whether Atticus were
at Buthrotum, or Rome, or anywhere else.]
LXXXVI (A III, 26)
[Sidenote: B.C. 57. Coss., P. Cornelius Lentulus Spinther, Q. Cæcilius
Metellus Nepos.
The new year found Cicero still at Dyrrachium, waiting for the law
to pass for his recall, which (owing chiefly to the riotous
opposition of Clodius) did not pass till the 5th of August. We have
no letters in the interval between January and August, but a few
lively ones recounting the nature of his return (4th of September),
and four speeches dealing with his position and that of his
property. He seems at once to have attached himself to Pompey, and
to have promoted his appointment as _præfectus annonæ_.
TO ATTICUS (? IN EPIRUS[374])
DYRRACHIUM, JANUARY
[Sidenote: B.C. 57, ÆT. 49]
I have received a letter from my brother Quintus inclosing the decree of
the senate passed concerning me. My intention is to await the time for
legislation, and, if the law is defeated, I shall avail myself of the
resolution of the senate,[375] and prefer to be deprived of my life
rather than of my country. Make haste, I beg, to come to me.
[Footnote 375: On 1st January, B.C. 57, P. Lentulus brought the case of
Cicero before the senate. The prevailing opinion was that his
_interdictio_ having been illegal, the senate could quash it. But
Pompey, for the sake of security, recommended a _lex_. One of the
tribunes, without actually vetoing the _senatus consultum_, demanded a
night for consideration. The question was again debated in succeeding
meetings of the senate, but on the 25th was not decided. Technically an
_auctoritas_ was a decree that had been vetoed by a tribune, and Cicero
(_pro Sest._ § 74) implies that such a veto had been put in, and at any
rate the _noctis postulatio_ was equivalent to a veto.]
LXXXVII (A III, 27)
TO ATTICUS (? AT ROME)
DYRRACHIUM (AFTER 25 JANUARY)
[Sidenote: B.C. 57, ÆT. 49]
From your letter and from the bare facts I see that I am utterly
ruined.[376] I implore you, in view of my deplorable position, to stand
by my family in whatever respect they shall need your help. I shall, as
you say, see you soon.
[Footnote 376: Perhaps he has just heard that the sitting of the senate
on the 25th of January had been interrupted by Clodius's roughs. But
other similar events happened, and there is no certain means of dating
this note. The difficulty, as it stands, is that it implies Atticus's
temporary return to Rome.]
LXXXVIII (F V, 4)
TO Q. METELLUS THE CONSUL (AT ROME)
DYRRACHIUM (JANUARY)
[Sidenote: B.C. 57, ÆT. 49]
A letter from my brother Quintus, and one from my friend Titus
Pomponius, had given me so much hope, that I depended on your assistance
no less than on that of your colleague. Accordingly, I at once sent you
a letter in which, as my present position required, I offered you thanks
and asked for the continuance of your assistance. Later on, not so much
the letters of my friends, as the conversation of travellers by this
route, indicated that your feelings had undergone a change; and that
circumstance prevented my venturing to trouble you with letters. Now,
however, my brother Quintus has sent me a copy which he had made of your
exceedingly kind speech delivered in the senate. Induced by this I have
attempted to write to you, and I do ask and beg of you, as far as I may
without giving you offence, to preserve your own friends along with me,
rather than attack me to satisfy the unreasonable vindictiveness of your
connexions. You have, indeed, conquered yourself so far as to lay aside
your own enmity for the sake of the Republic: will you be induced to
support that of others _against_ the interests of the Republic? But if
you will in your clemency now give me assistance, I promise you that I
will be at your service henceforth: but if neither magistrates, nor
senate, nor people are permitted to aid me, owing to the violence which
has proved too strong for me, and for the state as well, take care
lest--though you may wish the opportunity back again for retaining all
and sundry in their rights--you find yourself unable to do so, because
there will be nobody to be retained.[377]
[Footnote 377: This intentionally enigmatical sentence is meant to
contain a menace against Clodius, who is hinted at in the word _omnium_,
just as he is earlier in the letter in the word _tuorum_. Clodius was a
connexion by marriage of Metellus (through his late brother, the husband
of Clodia), and Cicero assumes that Metellus is restrained from helping
him by regard for Clodius. He knows, however, by this time, that one of
the new tribunes, Milo, is prepared to repel force by force, and he
hints to Metellus that if he countenances Clodius's violence he may some
day find that there is no Clodius to save--if that's his object. In
Letter LXXXIX he shews how early he had contemplated Clodius being
killed by Milo (_occisum iri ab ipso Milone video_).]
LXXXIX (A IV, 1)
TO ATTICUS (IN EPIRUS)
ROME (SEPTEMBER)
[Sidenote: B.C. 57, ÆT. 49]
Directly I arrived at Rome, and there was anyone to whom I could safely
intrust a letter for you, I thought the very first thing I ought to do
was to congratulate you in your absence on my return. For I knew, to
speak candidly, that though in giving me advice you had not been more
courageous or far-seeing than myself, nor--considering my devotion to
you in the past--too careful in protecting me from disaster, yet that
you--though sharing in the first instance in my mistake, or rather
madness, and in my groundless terror--had nevertheless been deeply
grieved at our separation, and had bestowed immense pains, zeal, care,
and labour in securing my return. Accordingly, I can truly assure you of
this, that in the midst of supreme joy and the most gratifying
congratulations, the one thing wanting to fill my cup of happiness to
the brim is the sight of you, or rather your embrace; and if I ever
forfeit that again, when I have once got possession of it, and if, too,
I do not exact the full delights of your charming society that have
fallen into arrear in the past, I shall certainly consider myself
unworthy of this renewal of my good fortune.
In regard to my political position, I have resumed what I thought there
would be the utmost difficulty in recovering--my brilliant standing at
the bar, my influence in the senate, and a popularity with the loyalists
even greater than I desired. In regard, however, to my private
property--as to which you are well aware to what an extent it has been
crippled, scattered, and plundered--I am in great difficulties, and
stand in need, not so much of your means (which I look upon as my own),
as of your advice for collecting and restoring to a sound state the
fragments that remain. For the present, though I believe everything
finds its way to you in the letters of your friends, or even by
messengers and rumour, yet I will write briefly what I think you would
like to learn from my letters above all others. On the 4th of August I
started from Dyrrachium, the very day on which the law about me was
carried. I arrived at Brundisium on the 5th of August. There my dear
Tulliola met me on what was her own birthday, which happened also to be
the name-day of the colony of Brundisium and of the temple of Safety,
near your house. This coincidence was noticed and celebrated with warm
congratulations by the citizens of Brundisium. On the 8th of August,
while still at Brundisium, I learnt by a letter from Quintus that the
law had been passed at the _comitia centuriata_ with a surprising
enthusiasm on the part of all ages and ranks, and with an incredible
influx of voters from Italy. I then commenced my journey, amidst the
compliments of the men of highest consideration at Brundisium, and was
met at every point by legates bearing congratulations. My arrival in the
neighbourhood of the city was the signal for every soul of every order
known to my nomenclator coming out to meet me, except those enemies who
could not either dissemble or deny the fact of their being such. On my
arrival at the Porta Capena, the steps of the temples were already
thronged from top to bottom[378] by the populace; and while their
congratulations were displayed by the loudest possible applause, a
similar throng and similar applause accompanied me right up to the
Capitol, and in the forum and on the Capitol itself there was again a
wonderful crowd. Next day, in the senate, that is, the 5th of September,
I spoke my thanks to the senators. Two days after that--there having
been a very heavy rise in the price of corn, and great crowds having
flocked first to the theatre and then to the senate-house, shouting out,
at the instigation of Clodius, that the scarcity of corn was my
doing--meetings of the senate being held on those days to discuss the
corn question, and Pompey being called upon to undertake the management
of its supply in the common talk not only of the plebs, but of the
aristocrats also, and being himself desirous of the commission, when the
people at large called upon me by name to support a decree to that
effect, I did so, and gave my vote in a carefully-worded speech. The
other consulars, except Messalla and Afranius, having absented
themselves on the ground that they could not vote with safety to
themselves, a decree of the senate was passed in the sense of my motion,
namely, that Pompey should be appealed to to undertake the business, and
that a law should be proposed to that effect. This decree of the senate
having been publicly read, and the people having, after the senseless
and new-fangled custom that now prevails, applauded the mention of my
name,[379] I delivered a speech. All the magistrates present, except one
prætor and two tribunes, called on me to speak.[380] Next day a full
senate, including all the consulars, granted everything that Pompey
asked for. Having demanded fifteen legates, he named me first in the
list, and said that he should regard me in all things as a second self.
The consuls drew up a law by which complete control over the corn-supply
for five years throughout the whole world was given to Pompey. A second
law is drawn up by Messius,[381] granting him power over all money, and
adding a fleet and army, and an _imperium_ in the provinces superior to
that of their governors. After that our consular law seems moderate
indeed: that of Messius is quite intolerable. Pompey professes to prefer
the former; his friends the latter. The consulars led by Favonius
murmur: I hold my tongue, the more so that the pontifices have as yet
given no answer in regard to my house.[382] If they annul the
consecration I shall have a splendid site. The consuls, in accordance
with a decree of the senate, will value the cost of the building that
stood upon it; but if the pontifices decide otherwise, they will pull
down the Clodian building, give out a contract in their own name (for a
temple), and value to me the cost of a site and house. So our affairs
are
"For happy though but ill, for ill not worst."[383]
In regard to money matters I am, as you know, much embarrassed. Besides,
there are certain domestic troubles, which I do not intrust to writing.
My brother Quintus I love as he deserves for his eminent qualities of
loyalty, virtue, and good faith. I am longing to see you, and beg you to
hasten your return, resolved not to allow me to be without the benefit
of your advice. I am on the threshold, as it were, of a second life.
Already certain persons who defended me in my absence begin to nurse a
secret grudge at me now that I am here, and to make no secret of their
jealousy. I want you very much.
[Footnote 378: Reading _ab infimo_.]
[Footnote 379: As backing the decree. The phrase was _aderat scribendo
M. Tullius Cicero_, etc.]
[Footnote 380: _Dederunt_, _i.e._, _contionem_; lit. gave me a meeting,
_i.e._, the right of addressing the meeting, which only magistrates or
those introduced by magistrates could do.]
[Footnote 381: C. Messius, a tribune of the year.]
[Footnote 382: Clodius had consecrated the site of Cicero's house for a
temple of Liberty. The pontifices had to decide whether that
consecration held good, or whether the site might be restored to Cicero.
Hence his speech _de Domo sua ad Pontifices_.]
[Footnote 383: The origin of the Latin line is not known. The English is
Milton's, _P. L._ ii. 224.]
XC (A IV, 2)
TO ATTICUS (IN EPIRUS)
ROME (OCTOBER)
[Sidenote: B.C. 57, ÆT. 49]
If by any chance you get letters less frequently from me than from
others, I beg you not to put it down to my negligence, or even to my
engagements; for though they are very heavy, there can be none
sufficient to stop the course of our mutual affection and of the
attention I owe to you. The fact is that, since my return to Rome, this
is only the second time that I have been told of anyone to whom I could
deliver a letter, and accordingly this is my second letter to you. In my
former I described the reception I had on my return, what my political
position was, and how my affairs were.
"For happy though but ill, for ill not worst."