Orations |
Translator: C. D. Yonge
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| 253 |
Venio ad C . Caesarem , patres conscripti , qui nisi fuisset , quis nostrum esse potuisset ? Advolabat ad urbem a Brundisio homo impotentissimus , ardens odio , animo hostili in omnis bonos cum exercitu Antonius . Quid huius audaciae et sceleri poterat opponi ? Nondum ullos duces habebamus , non copias ; nullum erat consilium publicum , nulla libertas ; dandae cervices erant crudelitati nefariae ; fugam quaerebamus omnes , quae ipsa exitum non habebat .
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I come now to Caius Caesar, O conscript fathers; if he had not existed, which of us could have been alive now? That most intemperate of men, Antonius, was flying from Brundusium to the city, burning with hatred, with a disposition hostile to all good men, with an army. What was there to oppose to his audacity and wickedness? We had not as yet any generals, or any forces. There was no public council, no liberty; our necks were at the mercy of his nefarious cruelty; we were all preparing to have recourse to flight, though flight itself had no escape for us. |
| 254 |
Quis tum nobis , quis populo Romano obtulit hunc divinum adulescentem deus ? qui , cum omnia ad perniciem nostram pestifero illi civi paterent , subito praeter spem omnium exortus prius confecit exercitum quem furori M . Antoni opponeret quam quisquam hoc eum cogitare suspicaretur . Magni honores habiti Cn . Pompeio , cum esset adulescens , et quidem iure . Subvenit enim rei publicae , sed aetate multo robustior et militum ducem quaerentium studio paratior et in alio genere belli . Non enim omnibus Sullae causa grata . Declarat multitudo proscriptorum , tot municipiorum maximae calamitates .
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Who was it—what god was it; who at that time gave to the Roman people this godlike young man, who, while every means for completing our destruction seemed open to that most pernicious citizen, rising up on a sudden, beyond every one's hope, completed an army fit to oppose the fury of Marcus Antonius before any one suspected that he was thinking of any such step? Great honors were paid to Cnaeus Pompeius when he was a young man and deservedly, for he came to the assistance of the republic but he was of a more vigorous age and more calculated to meet the eager requirements of soldiers seeking a general. He had also been already trained in other kinds of war. For the cause of Sulla was not agreeable to all men. The multitude of the proscribed, and the enormous calamities that fell on so many municipal towns show this plainly. |
| 255 |
Caesar autem annis multis minor veteranos cupientis iam requiescere armavit ; eam complexus est causam quae esset senatui , quae populo , quae cunctae Italiae , quae dis hominibusque gratissima . Et Pompeius ad L . Sullae maximum imperium victoremque exercitum accessit : Caesar se ad neminem adiunxit , ipse princeps exercitus faciendi et praesidi comparandi fuit . Ille adversariorum partibus agrum Picenum habuit inimicum : hic ex Antoni amicis sed amicioribus libertatis contra Antonium confecit exercitum . Illius opibus Sulla regnavit : huius praesidio Antoni dominatus oppressus est .
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But Caesar, though many years younger, armed veterans who were now eager to rest; he has embraced that cause which was most agreeable to the senate, to the people, to all Italy,—in short, to gods and men. And Pompeius came as a reinforcement to the extensive command and victorious army of Lucius Sulla, Caesar had no one to join himself to. He of his own accord was the author and executor of his plan of levying an army, and arraying a defense for us. Pompeius found the whole Picene district hostile to the party of his adversaries; but Caesar has levied an army against Antonius from men who were Antonius's own friends, but still greater friends to liberty. It was owing to the influence of Pompeius that Sulla was enabled to act like a king. It is by the protection afforded us by Caesar that the tyranny of Antonius has been put down. |
| 256 |
Demus igitur imperium Caesari sine quo res militaris administrari , teneri exercitus , bellum geri non potest : sit pro praetore eo iure quo qui optimo . Qui honos quamquam est magnus illi aetati , tamen ad necessitatem rerum gerendarum , non solum ad dignitatem valet . Itaque illa quaeramus quae vix hodierno die consequemur .
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Let us then confer on Caesar a regular military command, without which the military affairs can not be directed, the army can not be held together, war can not he waged. Let him be made propraetor with all the privileges which have ever been attached to that appointment. That honor, although it is a great one for a man of his age, still is not merely of influence as giving dignity, but it confers powers calculated to meet the present emergency. Therefore, let us seek for honors for him which we shall not easily find at the present day. |
| 257 |
Sed saepe spero fore huius adulescentis ornandi et nobis et populo Romano potestatem ; hoc autem tempore ita censeo decernendum : ‘quod C . Caesar , Gai filius , pontifex , pro praetore , summo rei publicae tempore milites veteranos ad libertatem populi Romani cohortatus sit eosque conscripserit , quodque legio Martia quartaque summo studio optimoque in rem publicam consensu C . Caesare duce et auctore rem publicam , libertatem populi Romani defendant , defenderint , et quod C . Caesar pro praetore Galliae provinciae cum exercitu subsidio profectus sit , equites , sagittarios , elephantos in suam populique Romani potestatem redegerit , difficillimoque rei publicae tempore saluti dignitatique populi Romani subvenerit , ob eas causas senatui placere , C . Caesarem , Gai filium , pontificem , pro praetore , senatorem esse sententiamque loco praetorio dicere , eiusque rationem , quemcumque magistratum petet , ita haberi ut haberi per leges liceret , si anno superiore quaestor fuisset .’ Quid est enim ,
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But I hope that we and the Roman people shall often have an opportunity of complimenting and honoring this young man. But at the present moment I give my vote that we should pass a decree in this form: “As Caius Caesar, the son of Caius, pontiff and propraetor, has at a most critical period of the republic exhorted the veteran soldiers to defend the liberty of the Roman people, and has enlisted them in his army; and as the Martial legion and the fourth legion, with great zeal for the republic, and with admirable unanimity, under the guidance and authority of Caius Caesar, have defended and are defending the republic and the liberty of the Roman people; and as Caius Caesar, propraetor, has gone with his army as a reinforcement to the province of Gaul; has made cavalry, and archers, and elephants, obedient to himself and to the Roman people, and has, at a most critical time for the republic, come to the aid of the safety and dignity of the Roman people;—on these accounts, it seems good to the senate that Caius Caesar, the son of Caius, pontiff and propraetor, shall be a senator, and shall deliver his opinions from the bench occupied by men of praetorian rank; and that, on occasion of his offering himself for any magistracy, he shall be considered of the same legal standing and qualification as if he had been quaestor the preceding year.” |
| 258 |
patres conscripti , cur eum non quam primum amplissimos honores capere cupiamus ? Legibus enim annalibus cum grandiorem aetatem ad consulatum constituebant , adulescentiae temeritatem verebantur : C . Caesar ineunte aetate docuit ab excellenti eximiaque virtute progressum aetatis exspectari non oportere . Itaque maiores nostri veteres illi admodum antiqui leges annalis non habebant , quas multis post annis attulit ambitio , ut gradus essent petitionis inter aequalis . Ita saepe magna indoles virtutis , prius quam rei publicae prodesse potuisset , exstincta est .
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For what reason can there be, O conscript fathers, why we should not wish him to arrive at the highest honors at as early an age as possible? For when, by the laws fixing the age at which men might be appointed to the different magistracies, our ancestors fixed a more mature age for the consulship, they were influenced by fears of the precipitation of youth; Caius Caesar at his first entrance into life, has shown us that, in the case of his eminent and unparalleled virtue, we have no need to wait for the progress of age. Therefore our ancestors, those old men in the most ancient times, had no laws regulating the age for the different offices; it was ambition which caused them to be passed many years afterwards, in order that there might be among men of the same age different steps for arriving at honors And it has often happened that a disposition of great natural virtue has been lost before it had any opportunity of benefiting the republic |
| 259 |
At vero apud antiquos Rulli , Decii , Corvini multique alii , recentiore autem memoria superior Africanus , T . Flamininus admodum adulescentes consules facti tantas res gesserunt ut populi Romani imperium auxerint , nomen ornarint . Quid ? Macedo Alexander , cum ab ineunte aetate res maximas gerere coepisset , nonne tertio et tricesimo anno mortem obiit ? quae est aetas nostris legibus decem annis minor quam consularis . Ex quo iudicari potest virtutis esse quam aetatis cursum celeriorem .
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But among the ancients, the Rulli, the Decii, the Corvini, and many others and in more modern times the elder Africanus and Titus Flaminius were made consuls very young, and performed such exploits as greatly to extend the empire of the Roman people, and to embellish its name What more? Did not the Macedonian Alexander, having begun to perform mighty deeds from his earliest youth, die when he was only in his thirty-third year? And that age is ten years less than that fixed by our laws for a man to be eligible for the consulship. From which it may be plainly seen that the progress of virtue is often swifter than that of age. |
| 260 |
Nam quod ei qui Caesari invident simulant se timere , ne verendum quidem est ut tenere se possit , ut moderari , ne honoribus nostris elatus intemperantius suis opibus utatur . Ea natura rerum est , patres conscripti , ut qui sensum verae gloriae ceperit quique se ab senatu , ab equitibus Romanis populoque Romano universo senserit civem carum haberi salutaremque rei publicae , nihil cum hac gloria comparandum putet . Vtinam C . Caesari , patri dico , contigisset adulescenti ut esset senatui atque optimo cuique carissimus ! Quod cum consequi neglexisset , omnem vim ingeni , quae summa fuit in illo , in populari levitate consumpsit . Itaque cum respectum ad senatum et ad bonos non haberet , eam sibi viam ipse patefecit ad opes suas amplificandas quam virtus liberi populi ferre non posset . Eius autem fili longissime diversa ratio est : qui cum omnibus carus est , tum optimo cuique carissimus . In hoc spes libertatis posita est ; ab hoc accepta iam salus ; huic summi honores et exquiruntur et parati sunt .
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For as to the fear which those men, who are enemies of Caesar, pretend to entertain, there is not the slightest reason to apprehend that he will be unable to restrain and govern himself, or that he will be so elated by the honors which he receives from us as to use his power without moderation. It is only natural, O conscript fathers, that the man who has learned to appreciate real glory, and who feels that he is considered by the senate and by the Roman knights and the whole Roman people a citizen who is dear to, and a blessing to the republic, should think nothing whatever deserving of being compared to this glory. Would that it had happened to Caius Caesar—the father, I mean—when he was a young man, to be beloved by the senate and by every virtuous citizen, but, having neglected to aim at that, he wasted all the power of genius which he had in a most brilliant degree, in a capricious pursuit of popular favor. Therefore, as he had not sufficient respect for the senate and the virtuous part of the citizens, he opened for himself that path for the extension of his power, which the virtue of a free people was unable to bear. But the principles of his son are widely different; who is not only beloved by every one, but in the greatest degree by the most virtuous men. In him is placed all our hope of liberty; from him already has our safety been received; for him the highest honors are sought out and prepared. |
| 261 |
Cuius igitur singularem prudentiam admiramur , eius stultitiam timemus ? Quid enim stultius quam inutilem potentiam , invidiosas opes , cupiditatem dominandi praecipitem et lubricam anteferre verae , gravi , solidae gloriae ? An hoc vidit puer : si aetate processerit , non videbit ? ‘At est quibusdam inimicus clarissimis atque optimis civibus .’ Nullus iste timor esse debet . Omnis Caesar inimicitias rei publicae condonavit ; hanc sibi iudicem constituit , hanc moderatricem omnium consiliorum atque factorum . Ita enim ad rem publicam accessit ut eam confirmaret , non ut everteret . Omnis habeo cognitos sensus adulescentis . Nihil est illi re publica carius , nihil vestra auctoritate gravius , nihil bonorum virorum iudicio optatius , nihil vera gloria dulcius .
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While therefore we are admiring his singular prudence, can we at the same time fear his folly? For what can be more foolish than to prefer useless power, such influence as brings envy in its train, and a rash and slippery ambition of reigning, to real, dignified, solid glory? Has he seen this truth as a boy, and when he has advanced in age will he cease to see it? “But he is an enemy to some most illustrious and excellent citizens.” That circumstance ought not to cause any fear. Caesar has sacrificed all those enmities to the republic; he had made the republic his judge; he has made her the directress of all his counsels and actions. For he is come to the service of the republic in order to strengthen her, not to overturn her. I am well acquainted with all the feelings of the young man: there is nothing dearer to him than the republic, nothing which he considers of more weight than your authority; nothing which he desires more than the approbation of virtuous men; nothing which he accounts sweeter than genuine glory. |
| 262 |
Quam ob rem ab eo non modo nihil timere sed maiora et meliora exspectare debetis , neque in eo qui ad D . Brutum obsidione liberandum profectus sit timere ne memoria maneat domestici doloris quae plus apud eum possit quam salus civitatis . Audeo etiam obligare fidem meam , patres conscripti , vobis populoque Romano reique publicae ; quod profecto , cum me nulla vis cogeret , facere non auderem pertimesceremque in maxima re periculosam opinionem temeritatis . Promitto , recipio , spondeo , patres conscripti , C . Caesarem talem semper fore civem qualis hodie sit qualemque eum maxime velle esse et optare debemus .
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Wherefore you not only ought not to fear any thing from him, but you ought to expect greater and better things still. Nor ought you to apprehend with respect to a man who has already gone forward to release Decimus Brutus from a siege, that the recollection of his domestic injury will dwell in his bosom, and have more weight with him than the safety of the city. I will venture even to pledge my own faith, O conscript fathers, to you, and to the Roman people, and to the republic, which in truth, if no necessity compelled me to do so, I would not venture to do, and in doing which on slight grounds, I should be afraid of giving rise to a dangerous opinion of my rashness in a most important business; but I do promise, and pledge myself, and undertake, O conscript fathers, that Caius Caesar will always be such a citizen as he is this day, and as we ought above all things to wish and desire that he may turn out. |
| 263 |
Quae cum ita sint , de Caesare satis hoc tempore dictum habebo . Nec vero de L . Egnatuleio , fortissimo et constantissimo civi amicissimoque rei publicae , silendum arbitror ; sed tribuendum testimonium virtutis egregiae , quod is legionem quartam ad Caesarem adduxerit , quae praesidio consulibus , senatui populoque Romano reique publicae esset : ob eam causam placere uti L . Egnatuleio triennio ante legitimum tempus magistratus petere , capere , gerere liceat . In quo , patres conscripti , non tantum commodum tribuitur L . Egnatuleio quantus honos : in tali enim re satis est nominari .
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And as this is the case, I shall consider that I have said enough at present about Caesar. Nor do I think that we ought to pass over Lucius Egnatuleius, a most gallant and wise and firm citizen, and one thoroughly attached to the republic, in silence; but that we ought to give him our testimony to his admirable virtue, because it was he who led the fourth legion to Caesar, to be a protection to the consuls, and senate, and people of Rome, and the republic. And for these acts I give my vote: “That it be made lawful for Lucius Egnatuleius to stand for, and be elected to, and discharge the duties of any magistracy, three years before the legitimate time.” And by this motion, O conscript fathers, Lucius Egnatuleius does not get so much actual advantage as honor. For in a case like this it is quite sufficient to be honorably mentioned. |
| 264 |
De exercitu autem C . Caesaris ita censeo decernendum : ‘senatui placere , militibus veteranis qui Caesaris pontificis pro praetore auctoritatem secuti libertatem populi Romani auctoritatemque huius ordinis defenderint atque defendant ipsis liberisque eorum militiae vacationem esse , utique C . Pansa A . Hirtius consules , alter ambove , si eis videretur , cognoscerent qui ager eis coloniis esset quo milites veterani deducti essent , qui contra legem Iuliam possideretur , ut is militibus veteranis divideretur ; de agro Campano separatim cognoscerent inirentque rationem de commodis militum veteranorum augendis , legionique Martiae et legioni quartae et eis militibus qui de legione secunda , tricesima quinta ad C . Pansam A . Hirtium consules venissent suaque nomina edidissent , quod eis auctoritas senatus populique Romani libertas carissima sit et fuerit , vacationem militiae ipsis liberisque eorum esse placere extra tumultum Gallicum Italicumque : easque legiones bello confecto missas fieri placere ; quantamque pecuniam militibus earum legionum in singulos C . Caesar , pontifex , pro praetore pollicitus sit , tantam dari placere ; utique C . Pansa A . Hirtius consules , alter ambove , si eis videretur , rationem agri haberent qui sine iniuria privatorum dividi posset , eisque militibus , legioni Martiae et legioni quartae ita darent , adsignarent ut quibus militibus amplissime dati , adsignati essent .’ Dixi ad ea omnia , consules , de quibus rettulistis : quae si erunt sine mora matureque decreta , facilius apparabitis ea quae tempus et necessitas flagitat . Celeritate autem opus est : qua si essemus usi , bellum , ut saepe dixi , nullum haberemus .
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But concerning the army of Caius Caesar, I give my vote for the passing of a decree in this form: “The senate decrees that the veteran soldiers who have defended and are defending of Caesar, pontiff and the authority of this order should and their children after them, have an exemption from military service. And that Caius Pansa and Aulus Hirtius the consuls, one or both of them, as they think fit, shall inquire what land there is in those colonies in which the veteran soldiers have been settled which is occupied in defiance of the provisions of the Julian law, in order that that may be divided among these veterans. That they shall institute a separate inquiry about the Campanian district, and devise a plan for the advantages enjoyed by these veteran soldiers, and with respect to the Martial legion, and to the fourth legion and to those soldiers of the second and thirty fifth legions who have come over to Caius Pansa and Aulus Hirtius, the consuls, and have given in their names, because the authority of the senate and the liberty of the Roman people is and always has been most dear to them, the senate decrees that they and their children shall have exemption from military service, except in the case of any Gallic and Italian sedition; and decrees further, that those legions shall have their discharge when this war is terminated; and that whatever sum of money Caius Caesar, pontiff and propraetor, has promised to the soldiers of those legions individually shall be paid to them. And that Caius Pansa and Aulus Hirtius the consuls, one or both of them, as it seems good to them, shall make an estimate of the land which can be distributed without injury to private individuals; and that land shall be given and assigned to the soldiers of the Martial legion and of the fourth legion, in the largest shares in which land has ever been given and assigned to soldiers.” I have now spoken, O consuls, on every point concerning which you have submitted a motion to us; and if the resolutions which I have proposed be decreed without delay, and seasonably, you will the more easily prepare those measures which the present time and emergency demand. But instant action is necessary. And if we had adopted that earlier, we should, as I have often said, now have no war at all. |
| 265 |
IN M . ANTONIVM ORATIO PHILIPPICA SEXTA Audita vobis esse arbitror , Quirites , quae sint acta in senatu , quae fuerit cuiusque sententia . Res enim ex Kalendis Ianuariis agitata paulo ante confecta est , minus quidem illa severe quam decuit , non tamen omnino dissolute . Mora est adlata bello , non causa sublata . Quam ob rem , quod quaesivit ex me P . Apuleius , homo et multis officiis mihi et summa familiaritate coniunctus et vobis amicissimus , ita respondebo ut ea quibus non interfuistis nosse possitis . Causa fortissimis optimisque consulibus Kalendis Ianuariis de re publica primum referendi fuit ex eo quod a . d . xiii . Kalendas Ianuarias senatus me auctore decrevit .
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THE SIXTH ORATION OF M. T. CICERO AGAINST MARCUS ANTONIUS. CALLED ALSO THE SIXTH PHILIPPIC. ADDRESSED TO THE PEOPLE. I imagine that you have heard, O Romans, what has been done in the senate and what has been the opinion delivered by each individual. For the matter which has been in discussion ever since the first of January, has been just brought to a conclusion; with less severity indeed than it ought to have been, but still in a manner not altogether unbecoming. The war has been subjected to a delay, but the cause has not been removed. Wherefore, as to the question which Publius Appuleius,—a man united to me by many kind offices and by the closest intimacy, and firmly attached to your interests—has asked me, I will answer in such a manner that you may be acquainted with the transactions at which you were not present. |
| 266 |
Eo die primum , Quirites , fundamenta sunt iacta rei publicae : fuit enim longo intervallo ita liber senatus ut vos aliquando liberi essetis . Quo quidem tempore , etiam si ille dies vitae finem mihi adlaturus esset , satis magnum ceperam fructum , cum vos universi una mente atque voce iterum a me conservatam esse rem publicam conclamastis . Hoc vestro iudicio tanto tamque praeclaro excitatus ita Kalendis Ianuariis veni in senatum ut meminissem quam personam impositam a vobis sustinerem . Itaque bellum nefarium inlatum rei publicae cum viderem , nullam moram interponendam insequendi M . Antonium putavi , hominemque audacissimum qui multis nefariis rebus ante commissis hoc tempore imperatorem populi Romani oppugnaret , coloniam vestram fidissimam fortissimamque obsideret , bello censui persequendum : tumultum esse decrevi ; iustitium edici , saga sumi dixi placere , quo omnes acrius graviusque incumberent ad ulciscendas rei publicae iniurias , si omnia gravissimi belli insignia suscepta a senatu viderent .
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The cause which prompted our most fearless and excellent consuls to submit a motion on the first of January, concerning the general state of the republic, arose from the decree which the senate passed by my advice on the nineteenth of December. On that day, O Romans were the foundations of the republic first laid. For then, after a long interval, the senate was free in such a manner that you too might become free. On which day, indeed,—even if it had been to bring to me the end of my life—I received a sufficient, reward for my exertions, when you all with one heart and one voice cried out together, that the republic had been a second time saved by me. Stimulated by so important and so splendid a decision of yours in my favor, I came into the senate on the first of January, with the feeling that I was bound to show my recollection of the character which you had imposed upon me, and which I had to sustain. Therefore, when I saw that a nefarious war was waged against the republic, I thought that no delay ought to be interposed to our pursuit of Marcus Antonius, and I gave my vote that we ought to pursue with war that most audacious man, who, having committed many atrocious enemies before, was at this moment attacking a general of the Roman people and besieging your most faithful and gallant colony; and that a state of civil war ought to be proclaimed; and I said farther, that my opinion was that a suspension of the ordinary forms of justice should be declared, and that the garb of war should be assumed by the citizens, in order that all men might apply themselves with more activity and energy to avenging the injuries of the republic, if they saw that all the emblems of a regular war had been adopted by the senate. |
| 267 |
Itaque haec sententia , Quirites , sic per triduum valuit ut , quamquam discessio facta non esset , tamen praeter paucos omnes mihi adsensuri viderentur . Hodierno autem die spe nescio qua eis obiecta remissior senatus fuit . Nam plures eam sententiam secuti sunt ut , quantum senatus auctoritas vesterque consensus apud Antonium valiturus esset , per legatos experiremur .
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Therefore, this opinion of mine, O Romans, prevailed so much for three days, that although no division was come to, still all, except a very few, appeared inclined to agree with me. But today—I know not, owing to what circumstance—the senate was more indulgent. For the majority decided on our making experiment, by means of ambassadors, how much influence the authority of the senate and your unanimity will have upon Antonius. |
| 268 |
Intellego , Quirites , a vobis hanc sententiam repudiari , neque iniuria . Ad quem enim legatos ? ad eumne qui pecunia publica dissipata atque effusa per vim et contra auspicia impositis rei publicae legibus , fugata contione , obsesso senatu , ad opprimendam rem publicam Brundisio legiones arcessierit ; ab eis relictus cum latronum manu in Galliam inruperit , Brutum oppugnet , Mutinam circumsedeat ? Quae vobis potest cum hoc gladiatore condicionis , aequitatis , legationis esse communitas ? Quamquam , Quirites , non est illa legatio , sed denuntiatio belli , nisi paruerit : ita enim est decretum ut si legati ad Hannibalem mitterentur . Mittuntur enim qui nuntient ne oppugnet consulem designatum , ne Mutinam obsideat , ne provinciam depopuletur , ne dilectus habeat , sit in senatus populique Romani potestate . Facile vero huic denuntiationi parebit , ut in patrum conscriptorum atque in vestra potestate sit qui in sua numquam fuerit ! Quid enim ille umquam arbitrio suo fecit ? Semper eo tractus est quo libido rapuit , quo levitas , quo furor , quo vinolentia ; semper eum duo dissimilia genera tenuerunt , lenonum et latronum ; ita domesticis stupris , forensibus parricidiis delectatur ut mulieri citius avarissimae paruerit quam senatui populoque Romano .
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I am well aware, O Romans, that this decision is disapproved of by you; and reasonably too. For to whom are we sending ambassadors? Is it not to him who, after having dissipated and squandered the public money, and imposed laws on the Roman people by violence and in violation of the auspices,—after having put the assembly of the people to flight and besieged the senate, sent for the legions from Brundusium to oppress the republic? who, when deserted by them; has invaded Gaul with a troop of banditti? who is attacking Brutus? who is besieging Mutina? How can you offer conditions to, or expect equity from, or send an embassy to, or, in short, have any thing in common with, this gladiator? Although, O Romans, it is not an embassy, but a denunciation of war if he does not obey. For the decree has been drawn up as if ambassadors were being sent to Hannibal. For men are sent to order him not to attack the consul elect, not to besiege Mutina, not to lay waste the province, not to enlist troops, but to submit himself to the power of the senate and people of Rome. No doubt he is a likely man to obey this injunction, and to submit to the power of the conscript fathers and to yours, who has never even had any mastery over himself. For what has he ever done that showed any discretion, being always led away wherever his lust, or his levity, or his frenzy, or his drunkenness has hurried him? He has always been under the dominion of two very dissimilar classes of men, pimps and robbers; he is so fond of domestic adulteries and forensic murders, that he would rather obey a most covetous woman than the senate and people of Rome. |
| 269 |
Itaque , quod paulo ante feci in senatu , faciam apud vos . Testificor , denuntio , ante praedico nihil M . Antonium eorum quae sunt legatis mandata facturum ; vastaturum agros , Mutinam obsessurum , dilectus qua possit habiturum . Is est enim ille qui semper senatus iudicium et auctoritatem , semper voluntatem vestram potestatemque contempserit . An ille id faciat quod paulo ante decretum est , ut exercitum citra flumen Rubiconem , qui finis est Galliae , educeret , dum ne propius urbem Romam cc milia admoveret ? Huic denuntiationi ille pareat , ille se fluvio Rubicone et cc milibus circumscriptum esse patiatur ?
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Therefore, I will do now before you what I have just done in the senate. I call you to witness, I give notice, I predict beforehand, that Marcus. Antonius will do nothing whatever of those things which the ambassadors are commissioned to command him to do; but that he will lay waste the lands, and besiege Mutina, and enlist soldiers, wherever he can. For he is a man who has at all times despised the judgment and authority of the senate, and your inclinations and power. Will he do what it has been just now decreed that he shall do,—lead his army back across the Rubicon, which is the frontier of Gaul, and yet at the same time not come nearer Rome than two hundred miles? Will he obey this notice? will he allow himself to be confined by the river Rubicon, and by the limit of two hundred miles? |
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Non is est Antonius ; nam si esset , non commisisset ut ei senatus tamquam Hannibali initio belli Punici denuntiaret ne oppugnaret Saguntum . Quod vero ita avocatur a Mutina ut ab urbe tamquam pestifera flamma arceatur , quam habet ignominiam , quod iudicium senatus ! quid , quod a senatu dantur mandata legatis ut D . Brutum militesque eius adeant eisque demonstrent summa in rem publicam merita beneficiaque eorum grata esse senatui populoque Romano eisque eam rem magnae laudi magnoque honori fore ? Passurumne censetis Antonium introire Mutinam legatos , exire inde tuto ? Numquam patietur , mihi credite . Novi violentiam , novi impudentiam , novi audaciam .
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Antonius is not that sort of man. For if he had been, he would never have allowed matters to come to such a pass, as for the senate to give him notice, as it did to Hannibal at the beginning of the Punic war not to attack Saguntum. But what ignominy it is to be called away from Mutina, and at the same time to be forbidden to approach the city as if he were some fatal conflagration! what an opinion is this for the senate to have of a man! What? As to the commission which is given to the ambassadors to visit Decimus Brutus and his soldiers, and to inform them that their excellent zeal in behalf of, and services done to the republic, are acceptable to the senate and people of Rome, and that that conduct shall tend to their great glory and to their great honor; do you think that Antonius will permit the ambassadors to enter Mutina? and to depart from thence in safety? He never will allow it, believe me. I know the violence of the man, I know his impudence, I know his audacity. |