In Defense of the Proposed Manilian Law (M. Tullius Cicero)

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	In Defense of the Proposed Manilian Law Author: M. Tullius Cicero	Translator: C. D. Yonge
41	cuius legiones sic in Asiam pervenerint ut non modo manus tanti exercitus sed ne vestigium quidem cuiquam pacato nocuisse dicatur ? iam vero quem ad modum milites hibernent cotidie sermones ac litterae perferuntur ; non modo ut sumptum faciat in militem nemini vis adfertur sed ne cupienti quidem quicquam permittitur . hiemis enim non avaritiae perfugium maiores nostri in sociorum atque amicorum tectis esse voluerunt .	Do we wonder now that this man should be so far superior to all others, when his legions arrived in Asia in such order that not only no man's hand in so numerous an army, but not even any man's footstep was said to have done the least injury to any peaceful inhabitant? But now we have daily rumours—yes, and letters too—brought to Rome about the way in which the soldiers are behaving in their winter quarters; not only is no one compelled to spend money on the entertainment of the troops, but he is not permitted to do so, even if he wish. For our ancestors thought fit that the houses of our allies and friends should be a shelter to our soldiers from the winter, not a theatre for the exercise of their avarice.
42	age vero , ceteris in rebus quae sit temperantia considerate . Vnde illam tantam celeritatem et tam incredibilem cursum inventum putatis ? non enim illum eximia vis remigum aut ars inaudita quaedam gubernandi aut venti aliqui novi tam celeriter in ultimas terras pertulerunt , sed eae res quae ceteros remorari solent non retardarunt . non avaritia ab instituto cursu ad praedam aliquam devocavit , non libido ad voluptatem , non amoenitas ad delectationem , non nobilitas urbis ad cognitionem , non denique labor ipse ad quietem ; postremo signa et tabulas ceteraque ornamenta Graecorum oppidorum quae ceteri tollenda esse arbitrantur , ea sibi ille ne visenda quidem existimavit .	Come now, consider also what moderation he has displayed in other matters also. How was it, do you suppose, that he was able to display that excessive rapidity, and to perform that incredible voyage? For it was no unexampled number of rowers, no hitherto unknown skill in navigation, no new winds, which bore him so swiftly to the most distant lands; but those circumstances which are wont to delay other men did not delay him. No avarice turned him aside from his intended route in pursuit of some plunder or other; no lust led him away in pursuit of pleasure; no luxury allured him to seek its delights; the illustrious reputation of no city tempted him to make its acquaintance; even labour did not turn him aside to seek rest. Lastly, as for the statues, and pictures, and other embellishments of Greek cities, which other men think worth carrying away, he did not think them worthy even of a visit from him.
43	itaque omnes nunc in eis locis Cn . Pompeium sicut aliquem non ex hac urbe missum sed de caelo delapsum intuentur ; nunc denique incipiunt credere fuisse homines Romanos hac quondam continentia , quod iam nationibus exteris incredibile ac falso memoriae proditum videbatur ; nunc imperi vestri splendor illis gentibus lucem adferre coepit ; nunc intellegunt non sine causa maiores suos tum cum ea temperantia magistratus habebamus servire populo Romano quam imperare aliis maluisse . iam vero ita faciles aditus ad eum privatorum , ita liberae querimoniae de aliorum iniuriis esse dicuntur , ut is qui dignitate principibus excellit facilitate infimis par esse videatur .	And, therefore, every one in those countries looks upon Cnaeus Pompeius as some one descended from heaven, not as some one sent out from this city. Now they begin to believe that there really were formerly Romans of the same moderation; which hitherto has seemed to foreign nations a thing incredible, a false and ridiculous tradition. Now the splendour of your dominion is really brilliant in the eyes of those nations. Now they understand that it was not without reason that, when we had magistrates of the same moderation, their ancestors preferred being subject to the Roman people to being themselves lords of other nations. But now the access of all private individuals to him is so easy, their complaints of the injuries received from others are so little checked, that he who in dignity is superior to the noblest men, in affability seems to be on a par with the meanest.
44	iam quantum consilio , quantum dicendi gravitate et copia valeat , in quo ipso inest quaedam dignitas imperatoria , vos , Quirites , hoc ipso ex loco saepe cognostis . fidem vero eius quantam inter socios existimari putatis quam hostes omnes omnium generum sanctissimam iudicarint ? humanitate iam tanta est ut difficile dictu sit utrum hostes magis virtutem eius pugnantes timuerint an mansuetudinem victi dilexerint . et quisquam dubitabit quin huic hoc tantum bellum permittendum sit qui ad omnia nostrae memoriae bella conficienda divino quodam consilio natus esse videatur ?	How great his wisdom is, how great his authority and fluency in speaking,—and that too is a quality in which the dignity of a general is greatly concerned,—you, O Romans, have often experienced yourselves in this very place. But how great do you think his good faith must have been towards your allies, when the enemies of all nations have placed implicit confidence in it? His humanity is such that it is difficult to say, whether the enemy feared his valour more when fighting against him, or loved his mildness more when they had been conquered by him. And will any one doubt, that this important war ought to be entrusted to him, who seems to have been born by some especial design and favour of the gods for the express purpose of finishing all the wars which have existed in their own recollection?
45	et quoniam auctoritas quoque in bellis administrandis multum atque in imperio militari valet , certe nemini dubium est quin ea re idem ille imperator plurimum possit . vehementer autem pertinere ad bella administranda quid hostes , quid socii de imperatoribus nostris existiment quis ignorat , cum sciamus homines in tantis rebus ut aut metuant aut contemnant aut oderint aut ament opinione non minus et fama quam aliqua ratione certa commoveri ? quod igitur nomen umquam in orbe terrarum clarius fuit , cuius res gestae pares ? de quo homine vos , id quod maxime facit auctoritatem , tanta et tam praeclara iudicia fecistis ?	And since authority has great weight in conducting wars, and in discharging the duties of military command, it certainly is not doubtful to any one that in that point this same general is especially preeminent. And who is ignorant that it is of great importance in the conduct of wars, what opinion the enemy, and what opinion the allies have of your generals, when we know that men are not less influenced in such serious affairs, to despise, or fear, or hate, or love a man by common opinion and common report, than by sure grounds and principles? What name, then, in the whole world has ever been more illustrious than his? whose achievements have ever been equal to his? And, what gives authority in the highest degree, concerning whom have you ever passed such numerous and such honourable resolutions?
46	an vero ullam usquam esse oram tam desertam putatis quo non illius diei fama pervaserit , cum universus populus Romanus referto foro completisque omnibus templis ex quibus hic locus conspici potest unum sibi ad commune omnium gentium bellum Gnaeum Pompeium imperatorem depoposcit ? itaque ut plura non dicam neque aliorum exemplis confirmem quantum auctoritas valeat in bello , ab eodem Cn . Pompeio omnium rerum egregiarum exempla sumantur . qui quo die a vobis maritimo bello praepositus est imperator , tanta repente vilitas ex summa inopia et caritate rei frumentariae consecuta est unius hominis spe ac nomine quantam vix in summa ubertate agrorum diuturna pax efficere potuisset .	Do you believe that there is anywhere in the whole world any place so desert that the renown of that day has not reached it, when the whole Roman people, the forum being crowded, and all the adjacent temples from which this place can be seen being completely filled,—the whole Roman people, I say, demanded Cnaeus Pompeius alone as their general in the war in which the common interests of all nations were at stake? Therefore, not to say more on the subject, nor to confirm what I say by instances of others as to the influence which authority has in war, all our instances of splendid exploits in war must be taken from this same Cnaeus Pompeius. The very day that he was appointed by you commander-in-chief of the maritime war, in a moment such a cheapness of provisions ensued, (though previously there had been a great scarcity of corn, and the price had been exceedingly high,) owing to the hope conceived of one single man, and his high reputation, as could scarcely have been produced by a most productive harvest after a long period of peace.
47	iam accepta in Ponto calamitate ex eo proelio de quo vos paulo ante invitus admonui , cum socii pertimuissent , hostium opes animique crevissent , satis firmum praesidium provincia non haberet , amisissetis Asiam , Quirites , nisi ad ipsum discrimen eius temporis divinitus Cn . Pompeium ad eas regiones Fortuna populi Romani attulisset . huius adventus et Mithridatem insolita inflatum victoria continuit et Tigranen magnis copiis minitantem Asiae retardavit . et quisquam dubitabit quid virtute perfecturus sit qui tantum auctoritate perfecerit , aut quam facile imperio atque exercitu socios et vectigalia conservaturus sit qui ipso nomine ac rumore defenderit ?	Now, too, after the disaster which befell us in Pontus, from the result of that battle, of which, sorely against my will, I just now reminded you, when our allies were in a state of alarm, when the power and spirits of our enemies had risen, and the province was in a very insufficient state of defence, you would have entirely lost Asia, O Romans, if the fortune of the Roman people had not, by some divine interposition, brought Cnaeus Pompeius at that particular moment into those regions. His arrival both checked Mithridates, elated with his unusual victory, and delayed Tigranes, who was threatening Asia with a formidable army. And can any one doubt what he will accomplish by his valour, when he did so much by his authority and reputation? or how easily he will preserve our allies and our revenues by his power and his army, when he defended them by the mere, terror of his name?
48	age vero illa res quantam declarat eiusdem hominis apud hostis populi Romani auctoritatem , quod ex locis tam longinquis tamque diversis tam brevi tempore omnes huic se uni dediderunt ! quod a communi Cretensium legati , cum in eorum insula noster imperator exercitusque esset , ad Cn . Pompeium in ultimas prope terras venerunt eique se omnis Cretensium civitates dedere velle dixerunt ! quid ? idem iste Mithridates nonne ad eundem Gnaeum Pompeium legatum usque in Hispaniam misit ? eum quem Pompeius legatum semper iudicavit , ei quibus erat molestum ad eum potissimum esse missum speculatorem quam legatum iudicari maluerunt . potestis igitur iam constituere , Quirites , hanc auctoritatem multis postea rebus gestis magnisque vestris iudiciis amplificatam quantum apud illos reges , quantum apud exteras nationes valituram esse existimetis .	Come, now; what a great proof does this circumstance afford us of the influence of the same man on the enemies of the Roman people, that all of them, living in countries so far distant from us and from each other, surrendered themselves to him alone in so short a time? that the ambassadors of the Cretans, though there was at the time a general and an army of ours in their island came almost to the end of the world to Cnaeus Pompeius, and said, all the cities of the Cretans were willing to surrender themselves to him? What did Mithridates himself do? Did he not send an ambassador into Spain to the same Cnaeus Pompeius? a man whom Pompeius has always considered an ambassador, but who that party, to whom it has always been a source of annoyance that he was sent to him particularly, have contended was sent as a spy rather than as an ambassador. You can now, then, O Romans, form an accurate judgment how much weight you must suppose that this authority of his—now, too, that it has been further increased by many subsequent exploits, and by many commendatory resolutions of your own—will have with those kings and among foreign nations.
49	reliquum est ut de felicitate quam praestare de se ipso nemo potest , meminisse et commemorare de altero possumus , sicut aequum est homines de potestate deorum , timide et pauca dicamus . ego enim sic existimo , maximo , Marcello , Scipioni , Mario ceterisque magnis imperatoribus non solum propter virtutem sed etiam propter fortunam saepius imperia mandata atque exercitus esse commissos . fuit enim profecto quibusdam summis viris quaedam ad amplitudinem et ad gloriam et ad res magnas bene gerendas divinitus adiuncta fortuna . de huius autem hominis felicitate quo de nunc agimus hac utar moderatione dicendi , non ut in illius potestate fortunam positam esse dicam sed ut praeterita meminisse , reliqua sperare videamur , ne aut invisa dis immortalibus oratio nostra aut ingrata esse videatur .	It remains for me timidly and briefly to speak of his good fortune, a quality which no man ought to boast of in his own case, but which we may remember and commemorate an happening to another, just as a man may extol the power of the gods. For my judgment is this, that very often commands have been conferred upon, and armies have been entrusted to Maximus, to Marcellus, to Scipio, to Marius, and to other great generals, not only on account of their valour, but also on account of their good fortune. For there has been, in truth, in the case of some most illustrious men, good fortune added as some contribution of the gods to their honour and glory, and as a means of performing mighty achievements. But concerning the good fortune of this man of whom we are now speaking, I will use so much moderation as not to say that good fortune was actually placed in his power, but I will so speak as to appear to remember what is past, to have good hope of what is to come; so that my speech may, on the one hand, not appear to the immortal gods to be arrogant, nor, on the other hand, to be ungrateful.
50	itaque non sum praedicaturus quantas ille res domi militiae , terra marique quantaque felicitate gesserit , ut eius semper voluntatibus non modo cives adsenserint , socii obtemperarint , hostes oboedierint , sed etiam venti tempestatesque obsecundarint ; hoc brevissime dicam , neminem umquam tam impudentem fuisse qui ab dis immortalibus tot et tantas res tacitus auderet optare quot et quantas di immortales ad Gnaeum Pompeium detulerunt . quod ut illi proprium ac perpetuum sit , Quirites , cum communis salutis atque imperi tum ipsius hominis causa , sicuti facitis , et velle et optare debetis .	Accordingly, I do not intend to mention, O Romans, what great exploits he has achieved both at home and in war, by land and by sea, and with what invariable felicity he has achieved them; how, not only the citizens have always consented to his wishes,—the allies complied with them,—the enemy obeyed them, but how even the winds and weather have seconded them. I will only say this, most briefly,—that no one has ever been so impudent as to dare in silence to wish for so many and such great favours as the immortal gods have showered upon Cnaeus Pompeius. And that this favour may continue his, and be perpetual, you, O Romans, ought to wish and pray (as, indeed, you do), both for the sake of the common safety and prosperity, and for the sake of the man himself
51	qua re cum et bellum sit ita necessarium ut neglegi non possit , ita magnum ut accuratissime sit administrandum , et cum ei imperatorem praeficere possitis in quo sit eximia belli scientia , singularis virtus , clarissima auctoritas , egregia fortuna , dubitatis , Quirites , quin hoc tantum boni quod vobis ab dis immortalibus oblatum et datum est in rem publicam conservandam atque amplificandam conferatis ? quod si Romae Cn .	Wherefore, as the war is at the same time so necessary that it cannot be neglected, so important that it must be conducted with the greatest care; and since you have it in your power to appoint a general to conduct it, in whom there is the most perfect knowledge of war, the most extraordinary valour, the most splendid personal influence, and the most eminent good fortune, can you hesitate, O Romans, to apply this wonderful advantage which is offered you and given you by the immortal gods, to the preservation and increase of the power of the republic?
52	Pompeius privatus esset hoc tempore , tamen ad tantum bellum is erat deligendus atque mittendus ; nunc cum ad ceteras summas utilitates haec quoque opportunitas adiungatur ut in eis ipsis locis adsit , ut habeat exercitum , ut ab eis qui habent accipere statim possit , quid exspectamus ? aut cur non ducibus dis immortalibus eidem cui cetera summa cum salute rei publicae commissa sunt hoc quoque bellum regium commendamus ?	But, if Cnaeus Pompeius were a private individual at Rome at this present time, still he would be the man who ought to be selected and sent out to so great a war. But now, when to all the other exceeding advantages of the appointment, this opportunity is also added,—that he is in those very countries already,—that he has an army with him,—that there is another army there which can at once be made over to him by those who are in command of it,—why do we delay? or why do we not, under the guidance of the immortal gods themselves, commit this royal war also to him to whom all the other wars in those parts have been already entrusted to the greatest advantage, to the very safety of the republic?
53	at enim vir clarissimus , amantissimus rei publicae , vestris beneficiis amplissimis adfectus , Quintus Catulus , itemque summis ornamentis honoris , fortunae , virtutis , ingeni praeditus , Quintus Hortensius , ab hac ratione dissentiunt . quorum ego auctoritatem apud vos multis locis plurimum valuisse et valere oportere confiteor ; sed in hac causa , tametsi cognostis auctoritates contrarias virorum fortissimorum et clarissimorum , tamen omissis auctoritatibus ipsa re ac ratione exquirere possumus veritatem , atque hoc facilius quod ea omnia quae a me adhuc dicta sunt idem isti vera esse concedunt , et necessarium bellum esse et magnum et in uno Cn .	But, to be sure, that most illustrious man, Quintus Catulus, a man most honestly attached to the republic, and loaded with your kindness in a way most honourable to him; and also Quintus Hortensius, a man endowed with the highest qualities of honour, and fortune, and virtue, and genius, disagree to this proposal. And I admit that their authority has in many instances had the greatest weight with you, and that it ought to have the greatest weight; but in this cause, although you are aware that the opinions of many very brave and illustrious men are unfavourable to us, still it is possible for us, disregarding those authorities, to arrive at the truth by the circumstances of the case and by reason. And so much the more easily, because those very men admit that everything which has been said by me up to this time is true,—that the war is necessary, that it is an important war, and that all the requisite qualifications are in the highest perfection in Cnaeus Pompeius.
54	Pompeio summa esse omnia . quid igitur ait Hortensius ? si uni omnia tribuenda sint , dignissimum esse Pompeium , sed ad unum tamen omnia deferri non oportere . obsolevit iam ista oratio re multo magis quam verbis refutata . nam tu idem , Quinti Hortensi , multa pro tua summa copia ac singulari facultate dicendi et in senatu contra virum fortem , Aulum Gabinium , graviter ornateque dixisti , cum is de uno imperatore contra praedones constituendo legem promulgasset , et ex hoc ipso loco permulta item contra eam legem verba fecisti .	What, then, does Hortensius say? “That if the whole power must be given to one man, Pompeius alone is most worthy to have it, but that, nevertheless, the power ought not to be entrusted to one individual.” That argument, however, has now become obsolete, having been refuted much more by facts than by words. For you, also, Quintus Hortensius, said many things with great force and fluency (as might be expected from your exceeding ability, and eminent facility as an orator) in the senate against that brave man, Aulus Gabinius, when he had brought forward the law about appointing one commander-in-chief against the pirates; and also from this place where I now stand, you made a long speech against that law.
55	quid ? tum , per deos immortalis ! si plus apud populum Romanum auctoritas tua quam ipsius populi Romani salus et vera causa valuisset , hodie hanc gloriam atque hoc orbis terrae imperium teneremus ? an tibi tum imperium hoc esse videbatur cum populi Romani legati quaestores praetoresque capiebantur , cum ex omnibus provinciis commeatu et privato et publico prohibebamur , cum ita clausa nobis erant maria omnia ut neque privatam rem transmarinam neque publicam iam obire possemus ?	What then? By the immortal gods, if your authority had had greater weight with the Roman people than the safety and real interests of the Roman people itself, should we have been this day in possession of our present glory, and of the empire of the whole earth? Did this, then, appear to you to be dominion, when it was a common thing for the ambassadors, and praetors, and quaestors of the Roman people to be taken prisoners? when we were cut off from all supplies, both public and private, from all our provinces? when all the seas were so closed against us, that we could neither visit any private estate of our own, nor any public domain beyond the sea?
56	quae civitas umquam fuit antea , non dico Atheniensium quae satis late quondam mare tenuisse dicitur , non Carthaginiensium qui permultum classe ac maritimis rebus valuerunt , non Rhodiorum quorum usque ad nostram memoriam disciplina navalis et gloria permansit , quae civitas , inquam , antea tam tenuis aut tam parvola fuit quae non portus suos et agros et aliquam partem regionis atque orae maritimae per se ipsa defenderet ? at hercules aliquot annos continuos ante legem Gabiniam ille populus Romanus , cuius usque ad nostram memoriam nomen invictum in navalibus pugnis permanserit , magna ac multo maxima parte non modo utilitatis sed etiam dignitatis atque imperi caruit .	What city ever was there before this time,—I speak not of the city of the Athenians, which is said formerly to have had a sufficiently extensive naval dominion; nor of that of the Carthaginians, who had great power with their fleet and maritime resources; nor of those of the Rhodians, whose naval discipline and naval renown has lasted even to our recollection,—but was there ever any city before this time so insignificant, if it was only a small island, as not to be able by its own power to defend its harbours, and its lands, and some part of its country and maritime coast? But, forsooth, for many years before the Gabinian law was passed, the Roman people, whose name, till within our own memory remained invincible in naval battles, was deprived not only of a great, aye, of much the greatest part of its usefulness, but also of its dignity and dominion.
57	nos quorum maiores Antiochum regem classe Persenque superarunt omnibusque navalibus pugnis Carthaginiensis , homines in maritimis rebus exercitatissimos paratissimosque , vicerunt , ei nullo in loco iam praedonibus pares esse poteramus . nos qui antea non modo Italiam tutam habebamus sed omnis socios in ultimis oris auctoritate nostri imperi salvos praestare poteramus , tum cum insula Delus tam procul a nobis in Aegaeo mari posita , quo omnes undique cum mercibus atque oneribus commeabant , referta divitiis , parva , sine muro nihil timebat , idem non modo provinciis atque oris Italiae maritimis ac portibus nostris sed etiam Appia iam via carebamus . et eis temporibus nonne pudebat magistratus populi Romani in hunc ipsum locum escendere , cum eum nobis maiores nostri exuviis nauticis et classium spoliis ornatum reliquissent !	We, whose ancestors conquered with our fleets Antiochus the king, and Perses, and in every naval engagement defeated the Carthaginians, the best practiced and best equipped of all men in maritime affairs; we could now in no place prove ourselves equal to the pirates. We, who formerly had not only all Italy in safety, but who were able by the authority of our empire to secure the safety of all our allies in the most distant countries, so that even the island of Delos, situated so far from us in the Aegean sea, at which all men were in the habit of touching with their merchandise and their freights, full of riches as it was, little and unwalled as it was, still was in no alarm; we, I say, were cut off, not only from our provinces, and from the sea-coast of Italy, and from our harbours, but even from the Appian road; and at this time, the magistrates of the Roman people were not ashamed to come up into this very rostrum where I am standing, which your ancestors had bequeathed to you adorned with nautical trophies, and the spoils of the enemy's fleet.
58	bono te animo tum , Quinti Hortensi , populus Romanus et ceteros qui erant in eadem sententia dicere existimavit et ea quae sentiebatis ; sed tamen in salute communi idem populus Romanus dolori suo maluit quam auctoritati vestrae obtemperare . itaque una lex , unus vir , unus annus non modo vos illa miseria ac turpitudine liberavit sed etiam effecit ut aliquando vere videremini omnibus gentibus ac nationibus terra marique imperare .	When you opposed that law, the Roman people, O Quintus Hortensius, thought that you, and the others who held the same opinion with you, delivered your sentiments in a bold and gallant spirit. But still, in a matter affecting the safety of the commonwealth, the Roman people preferred consulting its own feelings of indignation to your authority. Accordingly, one law, one man, and one year, delivered us not only from that misery and disgrace, but also caused us again at length to appear really to be the masters of all nations and countries by land and sea.
59	quo mihi etiam indignius videtur obtrectatum esse adhuc , Gabinio dicam anne Pompeio an utrique , id quod est verius , ne legaretur Aulus Gabinius Gnaeo Pompeio expetenti ac postulanti . Vtrum ille qui postulat ad tantum bellum legatum quem velit idoneus non est qui impetret , cum ceteri ad expilandos socios diripiendasque provincias quos voluerunt legatos eduxerint , an ipse cuius lege salus ac dignitas populo Romano atque omnibus gentibus constituta est expers esse debet eius imperatoris atque eius exercitus qui consilio ac periculo illius est constitutus ? an C .	And on this account the endeavour to detract, shall I say from Gabinius, or from Pompeius, or (what would be truer still) from both? appears to me particularly unworthy; being done in order that Aulus Gabinius might not be appointed lieutenant to Cnaeus Pompeius, though he requested and begged it. Is he who begs for a particular lieutenant in so important a war unworthy to obtain any one whom he desires, when all other generals have taken whatever lieutenants they chose, to assist them in pillaging the allies and plundering the provinces? or ought he, by whose law safety and dignity has been given to the Roman people, and to all nations, to be prevented from sharing in the glory of that commander and that army, which exists through his wisdom and was appointed at his risk?
60	Falcidius , Quintus Metellus , Quintus Caelius Latiniensis , Cn . Lentulus , quos omnis honoris causa nomino , cum tribuni plebi fuissent , anno proximo legati esse potuerunt ; in uno Gabinio sunt tam diligentes qui in hoc bello quod lege Gabinia geritur , in hoc imperatore atque exercitu quem per vos ipse constituit , etiam praecipuo iure esse debebat ? de quo legando consules spero ad senatum relaturos . qui si dubitabunt aut gravabuntur , ego me profiteor relaturum ; neque me impediet cuiusquam iniquitas quo minus vobis fretus vestrum ius beneficiumque defendam , neque praeter intercessionem quicquam audiam , de qua , ut ego arbitror , isti ipsi qui minitantur etiam atque etiam quid liceat considerabunt . mea quidem sententia , Quirites , unus Aulus Gabinius belli maritimi rerumque gestarum Gnaeo Pompeio socius ascribitur , propterea quod alter uni illud bellum suscipiendum vestris suffragiis detulit , alter delatum susceptumque confecit .	Was it allowed to Caius Falcidius, to Quintus Metellus, to Quintus Caelius Laterensis, and to Cnaeus Lentulus, all of whom I name to do them honour, to be lieutenants the year after they had been tribunes of the people; and shall men be so exact in the case of Gabinius alone, who, in this war which is carried on under the provisions of the Gabinian law, and in the case of this commander and this army which he himself appointed with your assistance, ought to have the first right of any one? And concerning whose appointment as lieutenant I hope that the consuls will bring forward a motion in the senate; and if they hesitate, or are unwilling to do so, I undertake to bring it forward myself; nor, O Romans, shall the hostile edict of any one deter me from relying on you and defending your privileges and your kindness. Nor will I listen to anything except the interposition of the tribunes; and as to that, those very men who threaten it, will, I apprehend, consider over and over again what they have a right to do. In my own opinion, O Romans, Aulus Gabinius alone has a right to be put by the side of Cnaeus Pompeius as a partner of the glory of his exploits in the maritime war; because the one, with the assistance of your votes, gave to that man alone the task of undertaking that war, and the other, when it entrusted to him, undertook it and terminated it.