For M. Fonteius (M. Tullius Cicero)

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	For M. Fonteius Author: M. Tullius Cicero	Translator: C. D. Yonge
39	Exstat oratio hominis , ut opinio mea fert , nostrorum hominum longe ingeniosissimi atque eloquentissimi , C . Gracchi ; qua in oratione permulta in L . Pisonem turpia ac flagitiosa dicuntur . At in quem virum ! qui tanta virtute atque integritate fuit ut etiam illis optimis temporibus , cum hominem invenire nequam neminem posses , solus tamen Frugi nominaretur . Quem cum in contionem Gracchus vocari iuberet et viator quaereret , quem Pisonem , quod erant plures : ' cogis me , ' inquit , ' dicere inimicum meum Frugi . ' Is igitur vir quem ne inimicus quidem satis in appellando significare poterat , nisi ante laudasset , qui uno cognomine declarabatur non modo quis esset sed etiam qualis esset , tamen in falsam atque iniquam probrorum insimulationem vocabatur ; M .	There is an oration extant of a man, by far (in my opinion, that is,) the ablest and most eloquent of all our countrymen, Caius Gracchus; in which oration Lucius Piso is accused of many base and wicked actions. What a man to be so accused! A man who was of such virtue and integrity, that even in those most admirable: times, when it was not possible to find a thoroughly worthless man, still he alone was called Thrifty. And when Gracchus was ordering him to be summoned before the assembly, and his lictor asked him which Piso, because there were many of the name, “You are compelling me,” says he, “to call my enemy, Thrifty.” That very man then, whom even his enemy could not point out with sufficient clearness without first praising him; whose one surname pointed not only who he was, but what sort of man he was; that very man was, nevertheless, exposed to a false and unjust accusation of disgraceful conduct.
40	Fonteius ita duabus actionibus accusatus est ut obiectum nihil sit quo significari vestigium libidinis , petulantiae , crudelitatis , audaciae possit ; non modo nullum facinus huius protulerunt sed ne dictum quidem aliquod reprehenderunt .	Marcus Fonteius has been accused in two trials, in such a way, that nothing has been alleged against him from which the slightest taint of lust, or caprice, or cruelty, or audacity can be inferred. They not only have not mentioned any atrocious deed of his, but they have not even found fault with any expression used by him.
41	Quod si aut quantam voluntatem habent ad hunc opprimendum aut quantam ad male dicendum licentiam , tantum haberent aut ad ementiendum animi aut ad fingendum ingeni , non meliore fortuna ad probra non audienda M . Fonteius quam illi de quibus antea commemoravi fuisset . Frugi igitur hominem , iudices , frugi , inquam , et in omnibus vitae partibus moderatum ac temperantem , plenum pudoris , plenum offici , plenum religionis videtis positum in vestra fide ac potestate , atque ita ut commissus sit fidei , permissus potestati . Videte igitur utrum sit aequius hominem honestissimum , virum fortissimum , civem optimum dedi inimicissimis atque immanissimis nationibus an reddi amicis , praesertim cum tot res sint quae vestris animis pro huius innocentis salute supplicent , primum generis antiquitas , quam Tusculo , ex clarissimo municipio , profectam in monumentis rerum gestarum incisam ac notatam videmus , tum autem continuae praeturae , quae et ceteris ornamentis et existimatione innocentiae maxime floruerunt , deinde recens memoria parentis , cuius sanguine non solum Asculanorum manus , a qua interfectus est , sed totum illud sociale bellum macula sceleris imbutum est , postremo ipse cum in omnibus vitae partibus honestus atque integer , tum in re militari cum summi consili et maximi animi , tum vero usu quoque bellorum gerendorum in primis eorum hominum qui nunc sunt exercitatus .	But if they had either had as much courage to tell a lie, or as much ingenuity to invent one, as they feel eagerness to oppress Fonteius, or as they have displayed licence in abusing him; then he would have had no better fortune, as far as relates to not having disgraceful acts alleged against him, than those men whom I have just mentioned. You see then another Thrifty,—a thrifty man, I say, O judges, and a man moderate and temperate in every particular of his life; a man full of modesty, full of a sense of duty, full of religion, depending on your good faith and power, and placed in your power in such a way as to be committed wholly to the protection of your good faith. Consider, therefore, whether it is more just that a most honourable and brave man, that a most virtuous citizen, should be given up to the most hostile and ferocious nations, or restored to his freedom, especially when there are so many circumstances which cooperate in entreating your favourable disposition in aid of this man's safety. First of all, there is the antiquity of his family, which we are aware proceeds from Tusculum, a most illustrious municipality, and whose fame is engraved and handed down on monuments of the exploits of its members; secondly, there have been continual praetorships in that family, which have been distinguished by every sort of honour, and especially by the credit of unimpeachable innocence; besides that, there is the recent memory of his father, by whose blood, not only the troop of Asculum, by whom he was slain, but the whole of that social war has been stained with the deep dye of wickedness; lastly, there is the man himself, honourable and upright in every particular of his life, and in military affairs not only endued with the greatest wisdom, and the most brilliant courage, but also skillful through personal experience in carrying on war, beyond almost any man of the present age.
42	Qua re si etiam monendi estis a me , iudices , quod non estis , videor hoc leviter pro mea auctoritate vobis praecipere posse , ut ex eo genere homines quorum cognita virtus , industria , felicitas in re militari sit diligenter vobis retinendos existimetis . Fuit enim maior talium tum virorum in hac re publica copia ; quae cum esset , tamen eorum non modo saluti sed etiam honori consulebatur . Quid nunc vobis faciendum est studiis militaribus apud iuventutem obsoletis , fortissimis autem hominibus ac summis ducibus partim aetate , partim civitatis discordiis ac rei publicae calamitate consumptis , cum tot bella aut a nobis necessario suscipiantur aut subito atque improvisa nascantur ? nonne et hominem ipsum ad dubia rei publicae tempora reservandum et ceteros studio laudis ac virtutis inflammandos putatis ?	Wherefore, if you do require to be reminded at all by me, O judges, (which, in truth, you do not,) it seems to me I may, without presuming too much on my authority, give you this gentle hint,—that you ought to consider that those men are carefully to be preserved by you, whose valour, and energy, and good fortune in military affairs have been tried and ascertained. There has been a greater abundance of such men in the republic than there is now; and when there was, people consulted not only their safety, but their honour also. What, then, ought you to do now, when military studies have become obsolete among our youth, and when our best men and our greatest generals have been taken from us, partly by age, and partly by the dissensions of the state and the ill fortune of the republic? When so many wars are necessarily undertaken by us, when so many arise suddenly and unexpectedly, do you not think that you ought to preserve this man for the critical occasions of the republic, and to excite others by his example to the pursuit of honour and virtue?
43	Recordamini quos legatos nuper in bello Italico L . Iulius , quos P . Rutilius , quos L . Cato , quos Cn . Pompeius habuerit ; scietis fuisse tum M . Cornutum , L . Cinnam , L . Sullam , praetorios homines , belli gerendi peritissimos ; praeterea C . Marium , P . Didium , Q . Catulum , P . Crassum , non litteris homines ad rei militaris scientiam , sed rebus gestis ac victoriis eruditos . Age vero , nunc inferte oculos in curiam , introspicite penitus in omnis rei publicae partis ; utrum videtis nihil posse accidere ut tales viri desiderandi sint , an , si acciderit , eorum hominum copia populum Romanum abundare ? Quae si diligenter attendetis , profecto , iudices , virum ad labores belli impigrum , ad pericula fortem , ad usum ac disciplinam peritum , ad consilia prudentem , ad casum fortunamque felicem domi vobis ac liberis vestris retinere quam inimicissimis populo Romano nationibus et crudelissimis tradere et condonare maletis .	Recollect what lieutenants Lucius Julius, and Publius Rutilius, and Lucius Cato, and Cnaeus Pompeius have lately had in war. You will see that at that time there existed also Marcus Cornutus, Lucius Cinna, and Lucius Sulla, men of praetorian rank, and of the greatest skill in war; and, besides them, Caius Marius, Publius Didius, Quintus Catulus, and Publius Crassus, men not learned in the science of war through books, but accomplished and renowned by their achievements and their victories. Come now, cast your eyes over the senate house, look thoroughly into every part of the republic; do you see no possible event in which you may require men like those? or, if any such event should arise, do you think that the Roman people is at this moment rich in such men? And if you carefully consider all these circumstances, you will rather, O judges, retain at home, for yourselves and for your children, a man energetic in undertaking the toils of war, gallant in encountering its dangers, skillful in its practice and its discipline, prudent in his designs, fortunate and successful in their accomplishment, than deliver him over to nations most hostile to the Roman people, and most cruel, by condemning him.
44	At infestis prope signis inferuntur Galli in M . Fonteium et instant atque urgent summo cum studio , summa cum audacia . Video , iudices ; sed multis et firmis praesidiis vobis adiutoribus isti immani atque intolerandae barbariae resistemus . Primum obicitur contra istorum impetus Macedonia , fidelis et amica populo Romano provincia ; quae cum se ac suas urbis non solum consilio sed etiam manu M . Fontei conservatam esse dicat , ut ipsa per hunc a Thraecum adventu ac depopulatione defensa est , sic ab huius nunc capite Gallorum impetus terroresque depellit .	But the Gauls are attacking Fonteius with hostile standards as it were; they pursue him, and press upon him with the most extreme eagerness, with the most extreme audacity. I see it. But we, O judges, you being our helpers, with many and strong defences, will resist that savage and intolerable band of barbarians. Our first bulwark against their attacks is Macedonia, a province loyal and well affected to the Roman people, which says, that itself and its cities were preserved, not only by the wisdom, but even by the hand of Fonteius, and which now repels the attacks and dangers of the Gauls from his head, as it was defended itself from the invasion and desolation of the Thracians.
45	Constituitur ex altera parte ulterior Hispania , quae profecto non modo religione sua resistere istorum cupiditati potest sed etiam sceleratorum hominum periuria testimoniis ac laudationibus suis refutare . Atque ex ipsa etiam Gallia fidelissima et gravissima auxilia sumuntur . Venit huic subsidio misero atque innocenti Massiliensium cuncta civitas , quae non solum ob eam causam laborat ut huic , a quo ipsa servata est , parem gratiam referre videatur sed etiam quod ea condicione atque eo fato se in eis terris conlocatam esse arbitratur ne quid nostris hominibus istae gentes nocere possint .	On the opposite side stands the further Spain, which is able in this case not only to withstand the eagerness of the accusers by its own honest disposition, but which can even refute the perjuries of wicked men by its testimonies and by its panegyrics. And even from Gaul itself most faithful and most important assistance is derived. As an assistance to this unhappy and innocent man, the city of the Massilians has come forward, which is labouring now, not only in order to appear to requite with proper gratitude the exertions of the man by whom it has been preserved, but which also believes that it has been placed in those districts for that very object, and with that express destiny, to prevent those nations from being able to injure our countrymen.
46	Propugnat pariter pro salute M . Fontei Narbonensis colonia , quae per hunc ipsa nuper obsidione hostium liberata nunc eiusdem miseriis ac periculis commovetur . Denique ut oportet bello Gallico , ut maiorum iura moresque praescribunt , nemo est civis Romanus qui sibi ulla excusatione utendum putet ; omnes illius provinciae publicani , agricolae , pecuarii , ceteri negotiatores uno animo M . Fonteium atque una voce defendunt .	The colony of Narbonne fights equally on behalf of the safety of Marcus Fonteius, which, having been lately delivered from the blockade of the enemy by this man, is now moved at his misery and danger. Lastly, as is right in a Gallic war—as the principles and customs of our ancestors enjoin—there is not one Roman citizen who thinks he requires any excuse for being eager in this man's behalf. All the publicans of that province, all the farmers, all the graziers, all the traders, with one heart and one voice, defended Marcus Fonteius.
47	Quod si tantas auxiliorum nostrorum copias Indutiomarus ipse despexerit , dux Allobrogum ceterorumque Gallorum , num etiam de matris hunc complexu , lectissimae miserrimaeque feminae , vobis inspectantibus avellet atque abstrahet ? praesertim cum virgo Vestalis ex altera parte germanum fratrem complexa teneat vestramque , iudices , ac populi Romani fidem imploret ; quae pro vobis liberisque vestris tot annos in dis immortalibus placandis occupata est ut ea nunc pro salute sua fratrisque sui animos vestros placare possit . Cui miserae quod praesidium , quod solacium reliquum est hoc amisso ? Nam ceterae feminae gignere ipsae sibi praesidia et habere domi fortunarum omnium socium participemque possunt ; huic vero virgini quid est praeter fratrem quod aut iucundum aut carum esse possit ? Nolite pati , iudices , aras deorum immortalium Vestaeque matris cotidianis virginis lamentationibus de vestro iudicio commoneri ; prospicite ne ille ignis aeternus nocturnis Fonteiae laboribus vigiliisque servatus sacerdotis vestrae lacrimis exstinctus esse dicatur .	But if Induciomarus himself, the leader of the Allobroges, and of all the rest of the Gauls, despise such powerful aid as this which we have, shall he still tear and drag away this man from the embrace of his mother, a most admirable and most miserable woman, and that, too, while you are looking on? especially when a vestal virgin on the other side is folding her own brother in her embraces, and imploring, O judges, your good faith, and that of the Roman people; she who has been, on behalf of you and of your children, occupied for so many years in propitiating the immortal gods, in order now to be able to propitiate you when supplicating for her own safety and that of her brother. What protection, what comfort, will that unhappy maiden have left, if she loses this her brother? For other women can bring forth protectors for themselves—can have in their homes a companion and a partner in all their fortunes; but to this maiden, what is there that can be agreeable or dear, except her brother? Do not, O judges, allow the altars of the immortal gods, and of our mother Vesta, to be reminded of your tribunal by the daily lamentations of a holy virgin. Beware lest that eternal flame, which is now preserved by the nightly toils and vigils of Fonteia, should be said to have been extinguished by the tears of your priestess.
48	Tendit ad vos virgo Vestalis manus supplices easdem quas pro vobis dis immortalibus tendere consuevit . Cavete ne periculosum superbumque sit eius vos obsecrationem repudiare cuius preces si di aspernarentur , haec salva esse non possent . Videtisne subito , iudices , virum fortissimum , M . Fonteium , parentis et sororis commemoratione lacrimas profudisse ? Qui numquam in acie pertimuerit , qui se armatus saepe in hostium manum multitudinemque immiserit , cum in eius modi periculis eadem se solacia suis relinquere arbitraretur quae suus pater sibi reliquisset , idem nunc conturbato animo pertimescit ne non modo ornamento et adiumento non sit suis sed etiam cum acerbissimo luctu dedecus aeternum miseris atque ignominiam relinquat .	A vestal virgin is stretching out towards you her suppliant hands, those same hands which she is accustomed to stretch out, on your behalf, to the immortal gods. Consider how dangerous, how arrogant a deed it would be for you to reject her entreaties, when, if the immortal gods were to despise her prayers, all these things which we see around us could not be preserved. Do not you see, O judges, that all of a sudden, Marcus Fonteius himself, brave as he is, is moved to shed tears at the mention of his parent and his sister?—he who never has known fear in battle, he who in arms has often thrown himself on the ranks and numbers of the enemy, thinking, while he was facing such dangers, that he left behind him the same consolation to his relatives that his own father had left to him; yet now, for all that, is agitated and alarmed, lest he should not only cease to be an ornament and an assistant to his family, but lest he should even leave them eternal disgrace and ignominy, together with the bitterest grief.
49	O fortunam longe disparem , M . Fontei , si deligere potuisses ut potius telis tibi Gallorum quam periuriis intereundum esset ! Tum enim vitae socia virtus , mortis comes gloria fuisset ; nunc vero qui est dolor victoriae te atque imperi poenas ad eorum arbitrium sufferre qui aut victi armis sunt aut invitissimi paruerunt ! A quo periculo defendite , iudices , civem fortem atque innocentem ; curate ut nostris testibus plus quam alienigenis credidisse videamini , plus saluti civium quam hostium libidini consuluisse , graviorem duxisse eius obsecrationem quae vestris sacris praesit quam eorum audaciam qui cum omnium sacris delubrisque bella gesserunt . Postremo prospicite , iudices , id quod ad dignitatem populi Romani maxime pertinet , ut plus apud vos preces virginis Vestalis quam minae Gallorum valuisse videantur .	Oh how unequal is thy fortune, O Marcus Fonteius! If you could have chosen, how much would you have preferred perishing by the weapons of the Gauls rather than by their perjuries! For then virtue would have been the companion of your life, glory your comrade in death; but now, what agony is it for you to endure the sufferings caused by their power and victory over you, at their pleasure, who have before now been either conquered by your arms, or forced to submit against their will to your authority. From this danger, O judges, defend a brave and innocent citizen: take care to be seen to place more confidence in our own witnesses than in foreigners; to have more regard for the: safety of our citizens than for the pleasure of our enemies; to think the entreaties of her who presides over your sacrifices of more importance than the audacity of those men who have waged war against the sacrifices and temples of all nations. Lastly, take care, O judges, (the dignity of the Roman people is especially concerned in this,) to show that the prayers of a vestal virgin have more influence over you than the threats of Gaul.