In the Senate after his Return (M. Tullius Cicero)

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	In the Senate after his Return Author: M. Tullius Cicero	Translator: C. D. Yonge
33	quibus autem officiis T . Anni beneficia remunerabor ? cuius omnis ratio , cogitatio , totus denique tribunatus nihil aliud fuit nisi constans perpetua fortis invicta defensio salutis meae . quid de P . Sestio loquar ? qui suam erga me benivolentiam et fidem non solum animi dolore sed etiam corporis vulneribus ostendit . vobis vero , patres conscripti , singulis et egi et agam gratias : universis egi initio , quantum potui , satis ornate agere nullo modo possum . et quamquam sunt in me praecipua merita multorum , quae sileri nullo modo possunt , tamen huius temporis ac timoris mei non est conari commemorare beneficia in me singulorum ; nam difficile est non aliquem , nefas quemquam praeterire . ego vos universos , patres conscripti , deorum numero colere debeo . sed ut in ipsis dis immortalibus non semper eosdem atque alias alios solemus et venerari et precari , sic in hominibus de me divinitus meritis : omnis erit aetas mihi ad eorum erga me merita praedicanda atque recolenda ,	And by what services can I requite the kindness of Titus Annius to me? all whose actions, the whole of whose conduct and thoughts, the whole of whose tribuneship, in short, was nothing else except a consistent, continual, gallant, unwearied advocacy of my safety. Why need I speak of Publius Sextius? who showed his good-will and faithful attachment to me, not only by his grief of mind, but even by the wounds which he received on his person. But to you, O conscript fathers, and to each individual of you, I have both declared, and I will continue to declare my gratitude. I declared it at the beginning to your whole body, as well as I could; to declare it with sufficient eloquence is what I am totally unable to do. And although I have received special favours from many persons, about which it is impossible for me to keep silence, still it is impossible at the present time, and with the apprehensions which I feel, to endeavour to enumerate the kindnesses which I have received from individuals. For it is difficult to avoid passing over some, and yet it would be impious to forget any one. I, O conscript fathers, ought to reverence every one of you as I do the immortal gods. But as, even in the case of the immortal gods themselves, we are wont not always to pay worship and to offer prayers to the same deities, but sometimes we pray to one and sometimes to another; so in the case of the men who have behaved to me with such godlike service, my whole life shall be devoted to celebrating their kindness towards me, and showing my reverent sense of it.
34	hodierno autem die nominatim a me magistratibus statui gratias esse agendas , et de privatis uni , qui pro salute mea municipia coloniasque adisset , populum Romanum supplex obsecrasset , sententiam dixisset eam quam vos secuti mihi dignitatem meam reddidistis . vos me florentem semper ornastis , laborantem mutatione vestis et prope luctu vestro , quoad licuit , defendistis . nostra memoria senatores ne in suis quidem periculis mutare vestem solebant : in meo periculo senatus veste mutata fuit , quoad licuit per eorum edicta qui mea pericula non modo suo praesidio sed etiam vestra deprecatione nudarunt .	But on this day I have thought that it became me to return thanks especially to the different magistrates by name, and also to one private individual, who for the sake of my safety, had visited all the municipal towns and colonies, had as a suppliant addressed his entreaties to the Roman people, and had declared that opinion which you followed when you restored me to my dignities. You always distinguished me when I was prosperous; when I was in distress you defended me to the extent of your power, by the change of your garments, and your general mourning, There have been times within our own recollection when senators did not dare to change their robes even in their own personal dangers; but in my danger the whole senate changed its garments as far as it was allowed to do without interruption from the edicts of those men who wished to deprive me in my peril not only of all protection from them, but of even the benefit of your prayers in my behalf.
35	quibus ego rebus obiectis , cum mihi privato confligendum viderem cum eodem exercitu quem consul non armis sed vestra auctoritate superaram , multa mecum ipse reputavi .	And when I was in such circumstances as these, when I saw that I as a private individual had to contend with the same array which as consul I had defeated, using not arms but your authority, I deliberated much with myself.
36	dixerat in contione consul se clivi Capitolini poenas ab equitibus Romanis repetiturum ; nominatim alii compellabantur , alii citabantur , alii relegabantur ; aditus templorum erant non solum praesidiis et manu verum etiam demolitione sublati . alter consul , ut me et rem publicam non modo desereret sed etiam hostibus rei publicae proderet , pactionibus se suorum praemiorum obligarat . erat alius ad portas cum imperio in multos annos magnoque exercitu , quem ego inimicum mihi fuisse non dico , tacuisse , cum diceretur esse inimicus , scio .	The consul had said that he would make the Roman knights pay for the scenes on the Capitoline Hill. Some were summoned by name, others were prosecuted, some were banished. All access to the temples was prevented, not merely by their being garrisoned or occupied with a strong force, but by their being demolished. The other consul, not content with only abandoning me and the republic, unless he could also betray us to the enemies of the republic, had bound those enemies to him by promising them the rewards which they coveted. There was another man at the gates with a command given to him for many years, and with a large army. I do not say that he was an enemy of mine, but I do know that he did nothing when he was stated to be my enemy.
37	duae partes esse in re publica cum putarentur , altera me deposcere propter inimicitias , altera timide defendere propter suspicionem caedis putabatur . qui autem me deposcere videbantur , in hoc auxerunt dimicationis metum , quod numquam infitiando suspicionem hominum curamque minuerunt . qua re cum viderem senatum ducibus orbatum , me a magistratibus partim oppugnatum , partim proditum , partim derelictum , servos simulatione conlegiorum nominatim esse conscriptos , copias omnis Catilinae paene isdem ducibus ad spem caedis et incendiorum esse revocatas , equites Romanos proscriptionis , municipia vastitatis , omnis caedis metu esse permotos , potui , potui , patres conscripti , multis auctoribus fortissimis viris me vi armisque defendere , nec mihi ipsi ille animus idem meus vobis non incognitus defuit . sed videbam , si vicissem praesentem adversarium , nimium multos mihi alios esse vincendos ; si victus essem , multis bonis et pro me et mecum etiam post me esse pereundum , tribuniciique sanguinis ultores esse praesentis , meae mortis poenas iudicio et posteritati reservari .	As there were thought to be two parties in the republic, the one was supposed, out of its enmity to me, to demand that I should be given up to it; the other, to defend me, but timidly out of fear of bloodshed. But those who seemed to require me to be given up to them increased the fear of a contest by their conduct as they never diminished the suspicions and anxieties of men by denying what they were suspected of. Wherefore, when I saw the senate deprived of leaders, and myself attacked by some of the magistrates, betrayed by some, and abandoned by others; when I saw that slaves were being enlisted by name under some pretence of forming guilds; that all the troops of Catiline were recalled to their original hopes of massacre and conflagration under almost the same leaders as before; that the Roman knights were under the same fear of proscription as before; that the municipal towns were in dread of being pillaged, and every one in fear of his life; I might—I might, I say, O conscript fathers, still have been able to defend myself by force of arms, and many wise and brave men advised me to do so; nor was I wanting in the same courage which I had shown before, and which was not unknown to you. But I saw that if I defeated my present enemy, I had still too many others behind who must also be defeated; that if I were beaten myself; many virtuous men would fall for my sake, and with me, and even after me; and that the avengers of the blood of the tribunes were present, but that all satisfaction for my death must he exacted by the slow progress of the law, and reserved for posterity.
38	nolui , cum consul communem salutem sine ferro defendissem , meam privatus armis defendere , bonosque viros lugere malui meas fortunas quam suis desperare ; ac , si solus essem interfectus , mihi turpe , si cum multis , rei publicae funestum fore videbatur . quod si mihi aeternam esse aerumnam propositam arbitrarer , morte me ipse potius quam sempiterno dolore multassem . sed cum viderem me non diutius quam ipsam rem publicam ex hac urbe afuturum , neque ego illa exterminata mihi remanendum putavi , et illa , simul atque revocata est , me secum pariter reportavit . mecum leges , mecum quaestiones , mecum iura magistratuum , mecum senatus auctoritas , mecum libertas , mecum etiam frugum ubertas , mecum deorum et hominum sanctitates omnes et religiones afuerunt . quae si semper abessent , magis vestras fortunas lugerem quam desiderarem meas ; sin aliquando revocarentur , intellegebam mihi cum illis una esse redeundum .	I did not choose, after I had as consul maintained the general safety of the state without having recourse to arms, to take arms as a private individual in my own cause; I preferred that virtuous men should grieve for my fortune rather than despair of their own; and if I were slain by myself; that I thought would be a shameful end for me; but if I were slain with many others, that I thought would be fatal to the republic. If I had supposed that eternal misery was before me, I would rather have endured death than everlasting agony. But I felt sure that I should not be absent from this city any longer than the constitution itself was, and, while that was banished, I thought it no longer desirable for myself that I should remain in it; and in accordance with my expectation, as soon as ever the constitution was restored, it brought me back in triumph as its companion. The laws were all banished as well as I, the courts of justice were banished as well as I; the prerogatives of the magistrates, the authority of the senate, the liberty of the citizens, even the fruitfulness of the land, all piety and all religion, whether it was with respect to men or gods, were all banished from the state when I was banished. And if they had been lost to you for ever, I should mourn over your fortunes rather than regret the loss of my home amongst you; but if they were ever restored, I was quite sure that I should be enabled to return with them.
39	cuius mei sensus certissimus testis est hic idem qui custos capitis fuit , Cn . Plancius , qui omnibus provincialibus ornamentis commodisque depositis totam suam quaesturam in me sustentando et conservando conlocavit . qui si mihi quaestor imperatori fuisset , in fili loco fuisset ; nunc certe erit in parentis , cum fuerit consors non imperi sed doloris mei .	And of these feelings of mine, he who was the protector of my life is also my most indisputable witness, namely Cnaeus Plancius, who, disregarding all the distinctions and emoluments which might have been derived from a province, devoted his whole quaestorship to supporting and preserving me. If he had been my quaestor when I was commander-in-chief; he would have stood in the relation of a son to me; now he surely shall be looked upon by me as a parent, since he has been my quaestor, not while in authority, but in grief.
40	quapropter , patres conscripti , quoniam in rem publicam sum pariter cum re publica restitutus , non modo in ea defendenda nihil minuam de libertate mea pristina , sed etiam adaugebo .	Wherefore, O conscript fathers, since I have been restored to the republic at the same time with the constitution of the republic, in whatever I do for the defence of it, I will not only not in the slightest degree abridge my former liberty, but I will even increase it.
41	etenim si eam tum defendebam cum mihi aliquid illa debebat , quid nunc me facere oportet cum ego illi plurimum debeo ? nam quid est quod animum meum frangere aut debilitare possit , cuius ipsam calamitatem non modo nullius delicti , sed etiam divinorum in rem publicam beneficiorum testem esse videatis ? nam importata est quia defenderam civitatem , et mea voluntate suscepta est , ne a me defensa res publica per eundem me extremum in discrimen vocaretur .	In truth, if I defended the republic at a time when it was under some obligations to me, what ought I to do now when I owe everything to it? For what is there that can crush or even weaken my spirit, when you see that calamity itself is in my case not a witness of any error; but of most extraordinary services rendered to the republic? For these disasters were brought on me by my defence of the state; they were undergone by me of my own free will, in order that the republic which had been defended by me should not be brought into the very extremity of peril.
42	pro me non ut pro P . Popilio , nobilissimo homine , adulescentes filii , non propinquorum multitudo populum Romanum est deprecata , non ut pro Q . Metello , summo et clarissimo viro , spectata iam adulescentia filius , non L . et C . Metelli , consulares , non eorum liberi , non Q . Metellus Nepos , qui tum consulatum petebat , non Luculli , Servilii , Scipiones , Metellarum filii flentes ac sordidati populo Romano supplicaverunt ; sed unus frater , qui in me pietate filius , consiliis parens , amore , ut erat , frater inventus est , squalore et lacrimis et cotidianis precibus desiderium mei nominis renovari et rerum gestarum memoriam usurpari coegit . qui cum statuisset , nisi per vos me reciperasset , eandem subire fortunam atque idem sibi domicilium et vitae et mortis deposcere , tamen numquam nec magnitudinem negoti nec solitudinem suam nec vim inimicorum ac tela pertimuit .	It was not in my case, as in that of Publius Popillius, a most noble man, my young sons, or a multitude of my relations that entreated the Roman people in my behalf; it was not in my case, as in the case of Quintus Metellus, a most admirable and most illustrious man, a youthful son of proved virtue who strove for me; it was not Lucius and Caius Metellus, men of consular rank, nor their sons; nor Quintus Metellus Nepos, who was at that very moment a candidate for the consulship, nor the Luculli or Servilii, or Scipios, sons of the Metelli, who with tears and in mourning garments addressed their supplications to the Roman people; but one single brother, who behaved to me with the dutiful affection of a son, who fortified me like a parent with his counsels, and loved me like a brother (as indeed he was), by his mourning robe and his tears and daily prayers kept alive the regret of me which existed, and the recollection of my name and services; and while he had made up his mind, that unless by your votes he could recover me here, he would encounter the same fortune himself, and choose the same abode both in life and death, still he never was alarmed either at the greatness of the business, or at his own solitary and unassisted condition, nor at the violence and warlike measures of my adversaries.
43	alter fuit propugnator mearum fortunarum et defensor adsiduus , summa virtute et pietate , C . Piso gener , qui minas inimicorum meorum , qui inimicitias adfinis mei , propinqui sui , consulis , qui Pontum et Bithyniam quaestor prae mea salute neglexit . nihil umquam senatus de P . Popilio decrevit , numquam in hoc ordine de Q . Metello mentio facta est : tribuniciis sunt illi rogationibus interfectis inimicis denique restituti , cum alter eorum senatui paruisset , alter vim caedemque fugisset . nam C . quidem Marius , qui hac hominum memoria tertius ante me consularis tempestate civili expulsus est , non modo a senatu non est restitutus , sed reditu suo senatum cunctum paene delevit . nulla de illis magistratuum consensio , nulla ad rem publicam defendendam populi Romani convocatio , nullus Italiae motus , nulla decreta municipiorum et coloniarum exstiterunt .	There was another upholder and assiduous defender of my fortunes, Caius Piso, my son-in-law, a man of the greatest virtue and piety, who disregarded the threats of my enemies, the hostility of my connection, and his own near relation, the consul; who, as quaestor, passed over Pontus and Bithynia for the sake of ensuring my safety. The senate never decreed anything respecting Publius Popillius; no mention was ever made in this assembly of Quintus Metellus. They were restored by motions made by the tribunes, after their enemies had been slain, and, above all, they were not restored by the interposition of any authority on the part of the senate, though one of them had done what he did in obedience to the senate, the other had fled from violence and bloodshed. For Caius Marius, the only man of consular dignity in the memory of man who was ever driven from the city in times of civil discord before me, was not only not restored by the senate, but by his return almost destroyed the senate. There was no unanimity of magistrates in their cases,—no summoning of the Roman people to come to the defence of the republic,—no commotion throughout Italy,—no decrees of municipalities and colonies in their favour.
44	qua re , cum me vestra auctoritas arcessierit , populus Romanus vocarit , res publica implorarit , Italia cuncta paene suis umeris reportarit , non committam , patres conscripti , ut , cum ea mihi sint restituta quae in potestate mea non fuerunt , ea non habeam quae ipse praestare possim , praesertim cum illa amissa reciperarim , virtutem et fidem numquam amiserim .	Wherefore, since your authority has summoned me,—since the Roman people his recalled me,—since the republic has begged me to return,—since almost all Italy has brought me back in triumph on its shoulders, I will take care, O conscript fathers, now that those things have been restored to me, the restoration of which did not depend on myself, not to appear wanting in those qualities with which I can provide myself; I will take care, now that I have recovered those things which I had lost, never to lose my virtue and loyal attachment to you.