Orations |
Translator: C. D. Yonge
|
|
| 307 |
Vt omittam multitudinem , L . Visidio , equiti Romano , homini in primis ornato atque honesto civique semper egregio , cuius ego excubias et custodias mei capitis cognovi in consulatu meo ; qui vicinos suos non cohortatus est solum ut milites fierent sed etiam facultatibus suis sublevavit : huic , inquam , tali viro , quem nos senatus consulto conlaudare debemus , poteritne esse pacatus Antonius ? Quid ? C . Caesari qui illum urbe , quid ? D .
|
To say nothing of the mob, look at Lucius Visidius, a Roman knight, a man of the very highest accomplishments and honor, a citizen always eminent, whose watchfulness and exertions for the protection of my life I felt in my consulship; who not only exhorted his neighbors to become soldiers, but also assisted them from his own resources; will it be possible ever to reconcile Antonius to such a man as this, a man whom we ought to praise by a formal resolution of the senate? What? will it be possible to reconcile him to Caius Caesar, who prevented him from entering the city, or to Decimus Brutus, who has refused him entrance into Gaul? |
| 308 |
Bruto qui Gallia prohibuit ? Iam vero ipse se placabit et leniet provinciae Galliae a qua expulsus et repudiatus est ? Omnia videbitis , patres conscripti , nisi prospicitis , plena odiorum , plena discordiarum , ex quibus oriuntur bella civilia . Nolite igitur id velle quod fieri non potest , et cavete , per deos immortalis ! patres conscripti , ne spe praesentis pacis perpetuam pacem amittatis .
|
Moreover, will he reconcile himself to, or look mercifully on the province of Gaul, by which he has been excluded and rejected? You will see every thing, O conscript fathers, if you do not take care, full of hatred and full of discord, from which civil wars arise. Do not then desire that which is impossible; and beware, I entreat you by the immortal gods, O conscript fathers, that out of hope of present peace you do not lose perpetual peace. |
| 309 |
Quorsum haec omnis spectat oratio ? quid enim legati egerint nondum scimus . At vero excitati , erecti , parati , armati animis iam esse debemus , ne blanda aut supplici oratione aut aequitatis simulatione fallamur . Omnia fecerit oportet quae interdicta et denuntiata sunt , prius quam aliquid postulet : Brutum exercitumque eius oppugnare , urbis et agros provinciae Galliae populari destiterit ; ad Brutum adeundi legatis potestatem fecerit , exercitum citra flumen Rubiconem eduxerit , nec propius urbem milia passuum cc admoverit ; fuerit et in senatus et in populi Romani potestate . Haec si fecerit , erit integra potestas nobis deliberandi ; si senatui non paruerit , non illi senatus , sed ille populo Romano bellum indixerit .
|
What now is the object of this oration? For we do not yet know what the ambassadors have done. But still we ought to be awake, erect, prepared, armed in our minds, so as not to be deceived by any civil or supplicatory language, or by any pretense of justice. He must have complied with all the prohibitions and all the commands which we have sent him, before he can demand any thing. He must have desisted from attacking Brutus and his army, and from plundering the cities and lands of the province of Gaul; he must have permitted the ambassadors to go to Brutus, and led his army back on this side of the Rubicon, and yet not come within two hundred miles of this city. He must have submitted himself to the power of the senate and of the Roman people. If he does this, then we shall have an opportunity of deliberating without any decision being forced upon us either way. If he does not obey the senate, then it will not be the senate that declares war against him, but he who will have declared it against the senate. |
| 310 |
Sed vos moneo , patres conscripti : libertas agitur populi Romani , quae est commendata vobis ; vita et fortunae optimi cuiusque , quo cupiditatem infinitam cum immani crudelitate iam pridem intendit Antonius ; auctoritas vestra , quam nullam habebitis , nisi nunc tenueritis ; taetram et pestiferam beluam ne inclusam et constrictam dimittatis cavete . Te ipsum , Pansa , moneo —quamquam non eges consilio , quo vales plurimum , tamen etiam summi gubernatores in magnis tempestatibus a vectoribus admoneri solent —hunc tantum tuum apparatum tamque praeclarum ne ad nihilum recidere patiare . Tempus habes tale quale nemo habuit umquam . Hac gravitate senatus , hoc studio equestris ordinis , hoc ardore populi Romani potes in perpetuum rem publicam metu et periculo liberare . Quibus de rebus refers , P . Servilio adsentior .
|
But I warn you, O conscript fathers, the liberty of the Roman people, which is entrusted to you, is at stake. The life and fortune of every virtuous man is at stake, against which Antonius has long been directing his insatiable covetousness, united to his savage cruelty. Your authority is at stake, which you will wholly lose if you do not maintain it now. Beware how you let that foul and deadly beast escape now that you have got him confined and chained. You too, Pansa, I warn (although you do not need counsel, for you have plenty of wisdom yourself: but still, even the most skillful pilots receive often warnings from the passengers in terrible storms.), not to allow this vast and noble preparation which you have made to fall away to nothing. You have such an opportunity as no one ever had. It is in your power so to avail yourself of this wise firmness of the senate, of this zeal of the equestrian order, of this ardor of the Roman people, as to release the Roman people from fear and danger forever. As to the matters to which your motion before the senate refers, I agree with Publius Servilius. |
| 311 |
IN M . ANTONIVM ORATIO PHILIPPICA OCTAVA Confusius hesterno die est acta res , C . Pansa , quam postulabat institutum consulatus tui . Parum mihi visus es eos quibus cedere non soles sustinere . Nam cum senatus ea virtus fuisset quae solet , et cum re viderent omnes esse bellum quidamque id verbum removendum arbitrarentur , tua voluntas in discessione fuit ad lenitatem propensior . Victa est igitur propter verbi asperitatem te auctore nostra sententia : vicit L . Caesaris , amplissimi viri , qui verbi atrocitate dempta oratione fuit quam sententia lenior . Quamquam is quidem , ante quam sententiam diceret , propinquitatem excusavit . Idem fecerat me consule in sororis viro quod hoc tempore in sororis filio fecit , ut et luctu sororis moveretur et saluti populi Romani provideret .
|
THE EIGHTH ORATION OF M. T. CICERO AGAINST MARCUS ANTONIUS. CALLED ALSO THE EIGHTH PHILIPPIC. Matters were carried on yesterday, O Caius Pansa, in a more irregular manner than the beginning of your consulship required. You did not appear to me to make sufficient resistance to those men, to whom you are not in the habit of yielding. For while the virtue of the senate was such as it usually is, and while all men saw that there was war in reality, and some thought that the name ought to be kept back; on the division, your inclination inclined to lenity. The course which we proposed therefore was defeated, at your instigation, on account of the harshness of the word war. That urged by Lucius Caesar, a most honorable man, prevailed, which, taking away that one harsh expression, was gentler in its language than in its real intention. Although he, indeed, before he delivered his opinion at all, pleaded his relationship to Antonius in excuse for it. He had done the same in my consulship, in respect of his sister's husband, as he did now in respect of his sister's son; so that he was moved by the grief of his sister, and at the same time he wished to provide for the safety of the republic. |
| 312 |
Atque ipse tamen Caesar praecepit vobis quodam modo , patres conscripti , ne sibi adsentiremini , cum ita dixit , aliam sententiam se dicturum fuisse eamque se ac re publica dignam , nisi propinquitate impediretur . Ergo ille avunculus : num etiam vos avunculi qui illi estis adsensi ? At in quo fuit controversia ? Belli nomen ponendum quidam in sententia non putabant : tumultum appellare malebant , ignari non modo rerum sed etiam verborum : potest enim esse bellum ut tumultus non sit , tumultus autem esse sine bello non potest .
|
And yet Caesar himself in some degree recommended you, o conscript fathers, not to agree with him, when he said that he should have expressed quite different sentiments, worthy both of himself and of the republic, if he had not been hampered by his relationship to Antonius. He, then, is his uncle; are you his uncles too, you who voted with him? But on what did the dispute turn? Some men, in delivering their opinion, did not choose to insert the word “war.” They preferred calling it “tumult,” being ignorant not only of the state of affairs, but also of the meaning of words. |
| 313 |
Quid est enim aliud tumultus nisi perturbatio tanta ut maior timor oriatur ? unde etiam nomen ductum est tumultus . Itaque maiores nostri tumultum Italicum quod erat domesticus , tumultum Gallicum quod erat Italiae finitimus , praeterea nullum nominabant . Gravius autem tumultum esse quam bellum hinc intellegi potest quod bello vacationes valent , tumultu non valent . Ita fit , quem ad modum dixi , ut bellum sine tumultu possit , tumultus sine bello esse non possit .
|
For there can be a “war” without a “tumult,” but there can not be a “tumult” without a “war.” For what is a “tumult,” but such a violent disturbance that an unusual alarm is engendered by it? from which indeed the name “tumult” is derived. Therefore, our ancestors spoke of the Italian “tumult,” which was a domestic one; of the Gallic “tumult,” which was on the frontier of Italy; but they never spoke of any other. And that a “tumult” is a more serious thing than a war may be seen from this, that during a war exemptions from military service are valid; but in a tumult they are not. So that it is the fact, as I have said, that war can exist without a tumult, but a tumult can not exist without a war. |
| 314 |
Etenim cum inter bellum et pacem medium nihil sit , necesse est tumultum , si belli non sit , pacis esse : quo quid absurdius dici aut existimari potest ? Sed nimis multa de verbo : rem potius videamus , patres conscripti , quam quidem intellego verbo fieri interdum deteriorem solere . Nolumus hoc bellum videri .
|
In truth, as there is no medium between war and peace, it is quite plain that a tumult, if it be not a sort of war, must be a sort of peace; and what more absurd can be said or imagined? However, we have said too much about a word, let us rather look to the facts, O conscript fathers, the appreciation of which, I know, is at times injured by too much attention being paid to words. |
| 315 |
Quam igitur municipiis et coloniis ad excludendum Antonium auctoritatem damus ? quam ut milites fiant sine vi , sine multa , studio , voluntate ? quam ut pecunias in rem publicam polliceantur ? Si enim belli nomen tolletur , municipiorum studia tollentur ; consensus populi Romani , qui iam descendit in causam , si nos languescimus , debilitetur necesse est . Sed quid plura ? D . Brutus oppugnatur : non est bellum ? Mutina obsidetur : ne hoc quidem bellum est ? Gallia vastatur : quae pax potest esse certior ? Illud vero quis potest bellum esse dicere ? Consulem , fortissimum virum , cum exercitu misimus , qui , cum esset infirmus ex gravi diuturnoque morbo , nullam sibi putavit excusationem esse oportere , cum ad rei publicae praesidium vocaretur . C . quidem Caesar non exspectavit vestra decreta , praesertim cum illud esset aetatis : bellum contra Antonium sua sponte suscepit . Decernendi enim tempus nondum erat : bellum autem gerendi tempus si praetermisisset , videbat re publica oppressa nihil posse decerni .
|
We are unwilling that this should appear to be a war. What is the object, then, of our giving authority to the municipal towns and colonies to exclude Antonius? of our authorizing soldiers to be enlisted without any force, without the terror of any fine, of their own inclination and eagerness? of permitting them to promise money for the assistance of the republic? For if the name of war be taken away, the zeal of the municipal towns will be taken away too. And the unanimous feeling of the Roman people which at present pours itself into our cause, if we cool upon it, must inevitably be damped. But why need I say more? Decimus Brutus is attacked. Is not that war? Mutina is besieged. Is not even that war? Gaul is laid waste. What peace can be more assured than this? Who can think of calling that war? We have sent forth a consul, a most gallant man, with an army, who, though he was in a weak state from a long and serious illness, still thought he ought not to make any excuse when he was summoned to the protection of the republic. Caius Caesar, indeed, did not wait for our decrees; especially as that conduct of his was not unsuited to his age. He undertook war against Antonius of his own accord; for there was not yet time to pass a decree; and he saw that, if he let slip the opportunity of waging war, when the republic was crushed it would be impossible to pass any decrees at all. |
| 316 |
Ergo illi nunc et eorum exercitus in pace versantur . Non est hostis is cuius praesidium Claterna deiecit Hirtius ; non est hostis qui consuli armatus obsistit , designatum consulem oppugnat , nec illa hostilia verba nec bellica quae paulo ante ex conlegae litteris Pansa recitavit : ‘Deieci praesidium ; Claterna potitus sum ; fugati equites ; proelium commissum ; occisi aliquot .’ Quae pax potest esse maior ? Dilectus tota Italia decreti sublatis vacationibus ; saga cras sumentur ; consul se cum praesidio descensurum esse dixit .
|
They and their arms, then, are now at peace. He is not an enemy whose garrison Hirtius has driven from Claterna; he is not an enemy who is in arms resisting a consul, and attacking a consul elect; and those are not the words of an enemy, nor is that warlike language, which Pansa read just now out of his colleague's letters: “I drove out the garrison.” “I got possession of Claterna.” “The cavalry were routed.” “A battle was fought.” “A good many men were slain.” What peace can be greater that this? Levies of troops are ordered throughout all Italy; all exemptions from service are suspended; the robe of war is to be assumed tomorrow; the consul has said that he shall come down to the senate-house with an armed guard. Is not this war? Yes, it is such a war as has never been. |
| 317 |
Vtrum hoc bellum non est , an est tantum bellum quantum numquam fuit ? Ceteris enim bellis maximeque civilibus contentionem rei publicae causa faciebat . Sulla cum Sulpicio de iure legum quas per vim Sulla latas esse dicebat ; Cinna cum Octavio de novorum civium suffragiis ; rursus cum Mario et Carbone Sulla ne dominarentur indigni et ut clarissimorum hominum crudelissimam puniretur necem . Horum omnium bellorum causae ex rei publicae contentione natae sunt . De proximo bello civili non libet dicere : ignoro causam , detestor exitum .
|
For in all other wars, and most especially in civil wars, it was a difference as to the political state of the republic which gave rise to the contest. Sulla contended against Sulpicius about the force of laws which Sulla said had been passed by violence. Cinna warred against Octavius because of the votes of the new citizens. Again, Sulla was at variance with Cinna and Marius, in order to prevent unworthy men from attaining power, and to avenge the cruel death of most illustrious men. The causes of all these wars arose from the zeal of different parties, for what they considered the interest of the republic. Of the last civil war I can not bear to speak: I do not understand the cause of it; I detest the result. |
| 318 |
Hoc bellum quintum civile geritur —atque omnia in nostram aetatem inciderunt —primum non modo non in dissensione et discordia civium sed in maxima consensione incredibilique concordia . Omnes idem volunt , idem defendunt , idem sentiunt . Cum omnis dico , eos excipio quos nemo civitate dignos putat . Quae est igitur in medio belli causa posita ? Nos deorum immortalium templa , nos muros , nos domicilia sedesque populi Romani , aras , focos , sepulcra maiorum ; nos leges , iudicia , libertatem , coniuges , liberos , patriam defendimus : contra M . Antonius id molitur , id pugnat ut haec omnia perturbet , evertat , praedam rei publicae causam belli putet , fortunas nostras partim dissipet partim dispertiat parricidis .
|
This is the fifth civil war (and all of them have fallen upon our times); the first which has not only not brought dissensions and discord among the citizens, but which has been signalized by extraordinary unanimity and incredible concord. All of them have the same wish, all defend the same objects, all are inspired with the same sentiments. When I say all, I except those whom no one thinks worthy of being citizens at all. What, then, is the cause of war, and what is the object aimed at? We are defending the temples of the immortal gods, we are defending the walls of the city, we are defending the homes and habitations of the Roman people, the household gods, the altars, the hearths and the sepulchers of our forefathers; we are defending our laws, our courts of justice, our freedom, our wives, our children, and our country. On the other hand, Marcus Antonius labors and fights in order to throw into confusion and overturn all these things; and hopes to have reason to think the plunder of the republic sufficient cause for the war, while he squanders part of our fortunes, and distributes the rest among his parricidal followers. |
| 319 |
In hac tam dispari ratione belli miserrimum illud est quod ille latronibus suis pollicetur primum domos ; urbem enim divisurum se confirmat ; deinde omnibus portis quo velint deducturum . Omnes Cafones , omnes Saxae ceteraeque pestes quae sequuntur Antonium aedis sibi optimas , hortos , Tusculana , Albana definiunt . Atque etiam homines agrestes , si homines illi ac non pecudes potius , inani spe ad aquas usque et Puteolos pervehuntur . Ergo habet Antonius quod suis polliceatur . Quid nos ? num quid tale habemus ? Di meliora ! id enim ipsum agimus ne quis posthac quicquam eius modi possit polliceri . Invitus dico , sed dicendum est : hasta Caesaris , patres conscripti , multis improbis et spem adfert et audaciam . Viderunt enim ex mendicis fieri repente divites : itaque semper hastam videre cupiunt ei qui nostris bonis imminent , quibus omnia pollicetur Antonius .
|
While, then, the motives for war are so different, a most miserable circumstance is what that fellow promises to his band of robbers. In the first place our houses; for he declares that he will divide the city among them; and after that he will lead them out at whatever gate and settle them on whatever lands they please. All the Caphons, all the Saxas, and the other plagues which attend Antonius, are marking out for themselves in their own minds most beautiful houses, and gardens, and villas, at Tusculum and Alba; and those clownish men—if indeed they are men, and not rather brute beasts—are borne on in their empty hopes as far as the waters and Puteoli. So Antonius has something to promise to his followers. What can we do? Have we any thing of the sort? May the gods grant us a better fate! for our express object is to prevent any one at all from hereafter making similar promises. I say this against my will, still I must say it;—the auction sanctioned by Caesar, O conscript fathers, gives many wicked men both hope and audacity. For they saw some men become suddenly rich from having been beggars. Therefore, those men who are hanging over our property, and to whom Antonius promises everything, are always longing to see an auction. |
| 320 |
Quid ? Nos nostris exercitibus quid pollicemur ? Multo meliora atque maiora . Scelerum enim promissio et eis qui exspectant perniciosa est et eis qui promittunt : nos libertatem nostris militibus , leges , iura , iudicia , imperium orbis terrae , dignitatem , pacem , otium pollicemur . Antoni igitur promissa cruenta , taetra , scelerata , dis hominibusque invisa , nec diuturna neque salutaria : nostra contra honesta , integra , gloriosa , plena laetitiae , plena pietatis .
|
What can we do? What do we promise our soldiers? Things much better and more honorable. For promises to be earned by wicked actions are pernicious both to those who expect them, and to those who promise them. We promise to our soldiers freedom, rights, laws, justice, the empire of the world, dignity, peace, tranquillity. The promises then of Antonius are bloody, polluted, wicked, odious for gods and men, neither lasting nor salutary; ours, on the other hand, are honorable, upright, glorious, full of happiness, and full of piety. |
| 321 |
Hic mihi etiam Q . Fufius , vir fortis ac strenuus , amicus meus , pacis commoda commemorat . Quasi vero , si laudanda pax esset , ego id aeque commode facere non possem . Semel enim pacem defendi , non semper otio studui ? quod cum omnibus bonis utile est , tum praecipue mihi . Quem enim cursum industria mea tenere potuisset sine forensibus causis , sine legibus , sine iudiciis ? quae esse non possunt civili pace sublata .
|
Here also Quintus Fufius, a brave and energetic man, and a friend of mine, reminds me of the advantages of peace. As if, if it were necessary to praise peace, I could not do it myself quite as well as he. For is it once only that I have defended peace? Have I not at all times labored for tranquillity? which is desirable for all good men, but especially for me. For what course could my industry pursue without forensic causes, without laws, without courts of justice? and these things can have no existence when civil peace is taken away. |
| 322 |
Sed quaeso , Calene , quid tu ? Servitutem pacem vocas ? Maiores quidem nostri non modo ut liberi essent sed etiam ut imperarent , arma capiebant : tu arma abicienda censes ut serviamus ? Quae causa iustior est belli gerendi quam servitutis depulsio ? in qua etiam si non sit molestus dominus , tamen est miserrimum posse , si velit . Immo aliae causae iustae , haec necessaria est . Nisi forte ad te hoc non putas pertinere , quod te socium fore speras dominationis Antoni . In quo bis laberis : primum quod tuas rationes communibus interponis ; deinde quod quicquam stabile aut iucundum in regno putas . Non , si tibi antea profuit , semper proderit .
|
But I want to know what you mean, O Calenus? Do you call slavery peace? Our ancestors used to take up arms not merely to secure their freedom, but also to acquire empire; you think that we ought to throw away our arms, in order to become slaves. What juster cause is there for waging war than the wish to repel slavery? in which, even if one's master be not tyrannical, yet it is a most miserable thing that he should be able to be so if he chooses. In truth, other causes are just, this is a necessary one. Unless, perhaps, you think that this does not apply to you, because you expect that you will be a partner in the dominion of Antonius. And there you make a twofold mistake: first of all, in preferring your own to the general interest; and in the next place, in thinking that there is any thing either stable or pleasant in kingly power. Even if it has before now been advantageous to you, it will not always be so. |
| 323 |
Quin etiam de illo homine queri solebas : quid te facturum de belua putas ? Atque ais eum te esse qui semper pacem optaris , semper omnis civis volueris salvos . Honesta oratio , sed ita si bonos et utilis et e re publica civis : sin eos qui natura cives sunt , voluntate hostes , salvos velis , quid tandem intersit inter te et illos ? Pater tuus quidem , quo utebar sene auctore adulescens , homo severus et prudens , primas omnium civium P . Nasicae qui Ti . Gracchum interfecit dare solebat : eius virtute , consilio , magnitudine animi liberatam rem publicam arbitrabatur .
|
Moreover, you used to complain of that former master, who was a man; what do you think you will do when your master is a beast? And you say that you are a man who have always been desirous of peace, and have always wished for the preservation of all the citizens. Very honest language; that is, if you mean all citizens who are virtuous, and useful, and serviceable to the republic; but if you wish those who are by nature citizens, but by inclination enemies, to be saved, what difference is there between you and them? Your father, indeed, with whom I as a youth was acquainted, when he was an old man,—a man of rigid virtue and wisdom,—used to give the greatest praise of all citizens who had ever lived to Publius Nasica, who slew Tiberius Gracchus. By his valor, and wisdom, and magnanimity he thought that the republic had been saved. |
| 324 |
Quid ? nos a patribus num aliter accepimus ? Ergo is tibi civis , si temporibus illis fuisses , non probaretur , quia non omnis salvos esse voluisset . ‘Quod L . Opimius consul verba fecit de re publica , de ea re ita censuerunt uti L . Opimius consul rem publicam defenderet .’ Senatus haec verbis , Opimius armis . Num igitur eum , si tum esses , temerarium civem aut crudelem putares , aut Q . Metellum , cuius quattuor filii consulares , P . Lentulum , principem senatus , compluris alios summos viros qui cum Opimio consule armati Gracchum in Aventinum persecuti sunt ? quo in proelio Lentulus grave volnus accepit , interfectus est Gracchus et M . Fulvius consularis , eiusque duo adulescentuli filii . Illi igitur viri vituperandi : non enim omnis civis salvos esse voluerunt .
|
What am I to say? Have we received any other doctrine from our fathers? Therefore, that citizen—if you had lived in those times—would not have been approved of by you, because he did not wish all the citizens to be safe. “Because Lucius Opimius the consul has made a speech concerning the republic, the senators have thus decided on that matter, that Opimius the consul shall defend the republic.” The senate adopted these measures in words, Opimius followed them up by his arms Should you then if you had lived in those times have thought him a hasty or a cruel citizen? or should you have thought Quintus Metellus one whose four sons were all men of consular rank? or Publius Lentulus the chief of the senate and many other admirable men who with Lucius Opimius the consul, took arms, and pursued Gracchus to the Aventine? and in the battle which ensued, Lentulus received a severe wound, Gracchus was slain, and so was Marcus Fulvius, a man of consular rank, and his two youthful sons. Those men, therefore, are to be blamed; for they did not wish all the citizens to be safe. |