Orations (M. Tullius Cicero)

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	Orations Author: M. Tullius Cicero	Translator: C. D. Yonge
469	Ac ne illud quidem silentio , patres conscripti , praetereundum puto quod clarissimi viri legati , L . Paulus , Q . Thermus , C . Fannius , quorum habetis cognitam voluntatem in rem publicam eamque perpetuam atque constantem , nuntiant se Pompei conveniendi causa divertisse Massiliam eumque cognovisse paratissimo animo ut cum suis copiis iret ad Mutinam , ni vereretur ne veteranorum animos offenderet . Est vero eius patris filius qui sapienter faciebat non minus multa quam fortiter . Itaque intellegitis et animum ei praesto fuisse nec consilium defuisse . Atque etiam hoc M . Lepido providendum est ne quid adrogantius quam eius mores ferunt facere videatur .	And I think, O conscript fathers, that we ought not to pass over that fact either in silence,—that those illustrious men who are acting as ambassadors, Lucius Paullus, Quintus Thermus, and Caius Fannius, whose inclinations toward the republic you are thoroughly acquainted with, and also with the constancy and firmness of that favorable inclination, report that they turned aside to Marseilles for the purpose of conferring with Pompeius, and that they found him in a disposition very much inclined to go with his troops to Mutina, if he had not been afraid of offending the minds of the veterans. But he is a true son of that father who did quite as many things wisely as he did bravely. Therefore you perceive that his courage was quite ready, and that prudence was not wanting to him. And this, too, is what Marcus Lepidus ought to take care of,—not to appear to act in any respect with more arrogance than suits his character.
470	Si enim nos exercitu terret , non meminit illum exercitum senatus populique Romani atque universae rei publicae esse , non suum . At uti potest pro suo . Quid tum ? omniane bonis viris quae facere possunt facienda sunt , etiamne si turpia , si perniciosa erunt , si facere omnino non licebit ? Quid autem turpius aut foedius aut quod minus deceat quam contra senatum , contra civis , contra patriam exercitum ducere ? quid vero magis vituperandum quam id facere quod non liceat ? Licet autem nemini contra patriam ducere exercitum ; si quidem licere id dicimus quod legibus , quod more maiorum institutisque conceditur . Neque enim , quod quisque potest , id ei licet , nec , si non obstatur , propterea etiam permittitur . Tibi enim exercitum , Lepide , tam quam maioribus tuis patria pro se dedit . Hoc tu arcebis hostem , finis imperi propagabis : senatui populoque Romano parebis , si quam ad aliam rem te forte traduxerit .	For if he alarms us with his army he is forgetting that that army belongs to the senate, and to the Roman people, and to the whole republic, not to himself. “But he has the power to use it as if it were his own.” What then? Does it become virtuous men to do every thing which it is in their power to do? Suppose it to be a base thing? Suppose it to be a mischievous thing? Suppose it be absolutely unlawful to do it? But what can be more base, or more shameful, or more utterly unbecoming, than to lead an army against the senate, against one's fellow-citizens, against one's country? Or what can deserve greater blame than doing that which is unlawful. But it is not lawful for any one to lead an army against his country? if indeed we say that that is lawful which is permitted by the laws or by the usages and established principles of our ancestors. For it does not follow that whatever a man has power to do is lawful for him to do; nor, if he is not hindered, is he on that account permitted to do so. For to you, O Lepidus, as to your ancestors, your country has given an army to be employed in her cause. With this army you are to repel the enemy, you are to extend the boundaries of the empire, you are to obey the senate and people of Rome, if by any chance they direct you to some other object.
471	Haec si cogitas , es M . Lepidus , pontifex maximus , M . Lepidi , pontificis maximi , pronepos ; sin hominibus tantum licere iudicas quantum possunt , vide ne alienis exemplis eisque recentibus uti quam et antiquis et domesticis malle videare . Quod si auctoritatem interponis sine armis , magis equidem laudo , sed vide ne hoc ipsum non sit necesse . Quamquam enim est tanta in te auctoritas quanta debet in homine nobilissimo , tamen senatus se ipse non contemnit , nec vero fuit umquam gravior , constantior , fortior . Incensi omnes rapimur ad libertatem recuperandam ; non potest ullius auctoritate tantus senatus populique Romani ardor exstingui ; odimus , irati pugnamus , extorqueri manibus arma non possunt ; receptui signum aut revocationem a bello audire non possumus ; speramus optima , pati vel difficillima malumus quam servire .	If these are your thoughts, then are you really Marcus Lepidus the Pontifex Maximus, the great-grandson of Marcus Lepidus, Pontifex Maximus, if you judge that every thing is lawful for men to do that they have power to do, then beware lest you seem to prefer acting on precedents set by those who have no connection with you, and these, too, modern precedents, to being guided by the ancient examples in your own family. But if you interpose your authority without having recourse to arms, in that case indeed I praise you more; but beware lest this thing itself be quite unnecessary. For although there is all the authority in you that there ought to be in a man of the highest rank, still the senate itself does not despise itself; nor was it ever more wise, more firm, more courageous. We are all hurried on with the most eager zeal to recover our freedom. Such a general ardor on the part of the senate and people of Rome can not be extinguished by the authority of any one: we hate a man who would extinguish it; we are angry with him, and resist him; our arms can not be wrested from our hands; we are deaf to all signals for retreat, to all recall from the combat. We hope for the happiest success; we will prefer enduring the bitterest disaster to being slaves.
472	Caesar confecit invictum exercitum ; duo fortissimi consules adsunt cum copiis ; L . Planci , consulis designati , varia et magna auxilia non desunt ; in D . Bruti salute certatur ; unus furiosus gladiator cum taeterrimorum latronum manu contra patriam , contra deos penatis , contra aras et focos , contra quattuor consules gerit bellum . Huic cedamus , huius condiciones audiamus , cum hoc pacem fieri posse credamus ?	Caesar has collected an invincible army. Two perfectly brave consuls are present with their forces. The various and considerable reinforcements of Lucius Plancus, consul elect, are not wanting. The contest is for the safety of Decimus Brutus. One furious gladiator, with a band of most infamous robbers, is waging war against his country, against our household gods, against our altars and our hearths, against four consuls. Shall we yield to him? Shall we listen to the conditions which he proposes? Shall we believe it possible for peace to be made with him?
473	At periculum est ne opprimamur . Non metuo ne is qui suis amplissimis fortunis nisi nobis salvis frui non potest prodat salutem suam . Bonos civis primum natura efficit , adiuvat deinde fortuna . Omnibus enim bonis expedit salvam esse rem publicam . Sed in eis qui fortunati sunt magis id apparet . Quis fortunatior Lepido , ut ante dixi , quis eodem sanior ? Vidit eius maestitiam atque lacrimas populus Romanus Lupercalibus ; vidit quam abiectus , quam confectus esset , cum Caesari diadema imponens Antonius servum se illius quam conlegam esse malebat . Qui si reliquis flagitiis et sceleribus abstinere potuisset , tamen unum ob hoc factum dignum illum omni poena putarem . Nam si ipse servire poterat , nobis dominum cur imponebat ? et si eius pueritia pertulerat libidines eorum qui erant in eum tyranni , etiamne in nostros liberos dominum et tyrannum comparabat ? Itaque illo interfecto qualem in nos eum esse voluit , talis ipse in ceteros exstitit .	But there is danger of our being overwhelmed. I have no fear that the man who can not enjoy his own most abundant fortunes, unless all the good men are saved, will betray his own safety. It is nature which first makes good citizens, and then fortune assists them. For it is for the advantage of all good men that the republic should be safe; but that advantage appears more clearly in the case of those who are fortunate. Who is mere fortunate than Lentulus, as I said before, and who is more sensible! The Roman people saw his sorrow and his tears at the Lupercal festival. They saw how miserable, how overwhelmed he was when Antonius placed a diadem on Caesar's head and preferred being his slave to being his colleague. And even if he had been able to abstain from his other crimes and wickednesses, still on account of that one single action I should think him worthy of all punishment. For even if he himself was calculated to be a slave, why should he impose a master on us? And if his childhood had borne the lusts of those men who were tyrants over him, was he on that account to prepare a master and a tyrant to lord it over our children! Therefore since that man was slain, he himself has behaved to all others in the same manner as he wished him to behave to us.
474	Qua enim in barbaria quisquam tam taeter , tam crudelis tyrannus quam in hac urbe armis barbarorum stipatus Antonius ? Caesare dominante veniebamus in senatum , si non libere , at tamen tuto . Hoc archipirata — quid enim dicam tyranno ?— haec subsellia ab Ituraeis occupabantur . Prorupit subito Brundisium ut inde agmine quadrato ad urbem accederet ; lautissimum oppidum nunc municipum honestissimorum , quondam colonorum , Suessam fortissimorum militum sanguine implevit ; Brundisi in sinu non modo avarissimae , sed etiam crudelissimae uxoris delectos Martiae legionis centuriones trucidavit . Inde se quo furore , quo ardore ad urbem , id est ad caedem optimi cuiusque rapiebat ! Quo tempore di ipsi immortales praesidium improvisum nec opinantibus nobis obtulerunt .	For in what country of barbarians was there ever so foul and cruel a tyrant as Antonius, escorted by the arms of barbarians, has proved in this city? When Caesar was exercising the supreme power, we used to come into the senate, if not with freedom, at all events with safety. But under this arch-pirate (for why should I say tyrant?) these benches were occupied by Itureans. On a sudden he hastened to Brundusium, in order to come against this city from thence with a regular army. He deluged Suessa, a most beautiful town, now of municipal citizens, formerly of most honorable colonists, with the blood of the bravest soldiers. At Brundusium he massacred the chosen centurions of the Martial legion in the lap of his wife, who was not only most avaricious but also most cruel. After that with what fury, with what eagerness did he hurry on to the city, that is to say, to the slaughter of every virtuous man! But at that time the immortal gods brought to us a protector whom we had never seen nor expected.
475	Caesaris enim incredibilis ac divina virtus latronis impetus crudelis ac furibundos retardavit : quem tamen ille demens laedere se putabat edictis , ignorans quaecumque falso diceret in sanctissimum adulescentem , ea vere recidere in memoriam pueritiae suae . Ingressus urbem est quo comitatu vel potius agmine , cum dextra sinistra , gemente populo Romano , minaretur dominis , notaret domos , divisurum se urbem palam suis polliceretur . Eoque ipso die innumerabilia senatus consulta fecit , quae quidem omnia citius delata quam scripta sunt . Rediit ad milites ; ibi pestifera illa Tiburi contio . Inde ad urbem cursus ; senatus in Capitolium ; parata de circumscribendo adulescente sententia consularis , cum repente — nam Martiam legionem Albae consedisse sciebat — adfertur ei de quarta nuntius . Quo perculsus abiecit consilium referendi ad senatum de Caesare : egressus est non viis , sed tramitibus paludatus .	For the incredible and godlike virtue of Caesar checked the cruel and frantic onslaught of that robber, whom then that madman believed that he was injuring with his edicts, ignorant that all the charges which he was falsely alleging against that most righteous young man, were all very appropriate to the recollections of his own childhood. He entered the city, with what an escort, or rather with what a troop! when on the right hand and on the left, amid the groans of the Roman people, he was threatening the owners of property, taking notes of the houses, and openly promising to divide the city among his followers. He returned to his soldiers; then came that mischievous assembly at Tibur. From thence he hurried to the city; the senate was convened at the Capitol. A decree with the authority of the consuls was prepared for proscribing the young man; when all on a sudden (for he was aware that the Martial legion had encamped at Alba) news is brought him of the proceedings of the fourth legion. Alarmed at that, he abandoned his intention of submitting a motion to the senate respecting Caesar. He departed not by the regular roads, but by the by-lanes, in the robe of a general; and on that very self-same day he trumped up a countless number of resolutions of the senate; all of which he published even before they were drawn up.
476	Ex eo non iter , sed cursus et fuga in Galliam . Caesarem sequi arbitrabatur cum legione Martia , cum quarta , cum veteranis , quorum ille nomen prae metu ferre non poterat , eique in Galliam penetranti D . se Brutus obiecit , qui se totius belli fluctibus circumiri quam illum aut regredi aut progredi maluit , Mutinamque illi exsultanti tamquam frenos furoris iniecit . Quam cum operibus munitionibusque saepsisset nec eum coloniae florentissimae dignitas neque consulis designati maiestas a parricidio deterreret , tum me — testor et vos et populum Romanum et omnis deos qui huic urbi praesident — invito et repugnante legati missi tres consulares ad latronum et gladiatorum ducem .	From thence it was not a journey, but a race and flight into Gaul. He thought that Caesar was pursuing him with the fourth legion, with the Martial legion, with the veterans, whose very name he could not endure for fright. Then, as he was making his way into Gaul, Decimus Brutus opposed him; who preferred being himself surrounded by the waves of the whole war, to allowing him either to retreat or advance; and who put Mutina on him as a sort of bridle to his exultation. And when he had blockaded that city with his works and fortifications, and when the dignity of a most flourishing colony, and the majesty of a consul elect, were both insufficient to deter him from his parricidal treason, then (I call you, and the Roman people, and all the gods who preside over this city, to witness), against my will, and in spite of my resistance and remonstrance, three ambassadors of consular rank were sent to that robber, to that leader of gladiators, Marcus Antonius.
477	Quis tam barbarus umquam , tam immanis , tam ferus ? Non audivit , non respondit ; neque eos solum praesentis sed multo magis nos a quibus illi erant missi sprevit et pro nihilo putavit . Postea quod scelus , quod facinus parricida non edidit ? Circumsedet colonos nostros , exercitum populi Romani , imperatorem , consulem designatum ; agros divexat civium optimorum ; hostis taeterrimus omnibus bonis cruces ac tormenta minitatur .	Who ever was such a barbarian? Who was ever so savage? so brutal? He would not listen to them; he gave them no answer; and he not only despised and showed that he considered of no importance those men who were with him, but still more us, by whom these men had been sent. And afterward what wickedness, or what crime was there which that traitor abstained from? He blockaded your colonists, and the army of the Roman people, and your general, and your consul elect. He lays waste the lands of a nation of most excellent citizens. Like a most inhuman enemy he threatens all virtuous men with crosses and tortures.
478	Cum hoc , M . Lepide , pax esse quae potest ? cuius ne supplicio quidem ullo satiari videtur posse res publica . Quod si quis adhuc dubitare potuit quin nulla societas huic ordini populoque Romano cum illa importunissima belua posset esse , desinet profecto dubitare his cognitis litteris quas mihi missas ab Hirtio consule modo accepi . Eas dum recito dumque de singulis sententiis breviter disputo , velim , patres conscripti , ut adhuc fecistis , me attente audiatis . ‘ Antonius Hirtio et Caesari .’ Neque se imperatorem neque Hirtium consulem nec pro praetore Caesarem . Satis hoc quidem scite : deponere alienum nomen ipse maluit quam illis suum reddere . ‘ Cognita morte C . Treboni non plus gavisus sum quam dolui .’ Videte quid se gavisum , quid doluisse dicat : facilius de pace deliberabitis . ‘ Dedisse poenas sceleratum cineri atque ossibus clarissimi viri et apparuisse numen deorum intra finem anni vertentis aut iam soluto supplicio parricidi aut impendente laetandum est .’ O Spartace ! quem enim te potius appellem , cuius propter nefanda scelera tolerabilis videtur fuisse Catilina ? laetandum esse ausus es scribere Trebonium dedisse poenas ? sceleratum Trebonium ? quo scelere , nisi quod te Idibus Martiis a debita tibi peste seduxit ?	Now what peace, O Marcus Lepidus, can exist with this man? when it does not seem that there is even any punishment which the Roman people can think adequate to his crimes? But if any one has hitherto been able to doubt the fact, that there can be nothing whatever in common between this order and the Roman people and that most detestable beast, let him at least cease to entertain such a doubt, when he becomes acquainted with this letter which I have just received, it having been sent to me by Hirtius the consul. While I read it, and while I briefly discuss each paragraph, I beg, O conscript fathers, that you will listen to me most attentively, as you have hitherto done. “Antonius to Hirtius and Caesar.” He does not call himself imperator, nor Hirtius consul, nor Caesar propraetor. This is cunningly done enough. He preferred laying aside a title to which he had no right himself, to giving them their proper style. “When I heard of the death of Caius Trebonius, I was not more rejoiced than grieved.” Take notice why he says he rejoiced, why he says that he was grieved; and then you will be more easily able to decide the question of peace. “It was a matter of proper rejoicing that a wicked man had paid the penalty due to the bones and ashes of a most illustrious man, and that the divine power of the gods had shown itself before the end of the current year, by showing the chastisement of that parricide already inflicted in some cases, and impending in others.” O you Spartacus! for what name is more fit for you? you whose abominable wickedness is such as to make even Catiline seem tolerable. Have you dared to write that it is a matter of rejoicing that Trebonius has suffered punishment? that Trebonius was wicked? What was his crime, except that on the ides of March he withdrew you from the destruction which you had deserved? Come;
479	Age , hoc laetaris : videamus quid moleste feras . ‘ A senatu iudicatum hostem populi Romani Dolabellam eo quod sicarium occiderit , et videri cariorem rei publicae filium scurrae quam C . Caesarem , patriae parentem , ingemiscendum est .’ Quid ingemiscis ? Hostem Dolabellam ? quid ? te non intellegis dilectu tota Italia habito , consulibus missis , Caesare ornato , sagis denique sumptis hostem iudicatum ? Quid est autem , scelerate , quod gemas hostem Dolabellam iudicatum a senatu ? Quem tu ordinem omnino esse nullum putas , sed eam tibi causam belli gerendi proponis ut senatum funditus deleas , reliqui boni et locupletes omnes summum ordinem subsequantur . At scurrae filium appellat . Quasi vero ignotus nobis fuerit splendidus eques Romanus , Treboni pater . Is autem humilitatem despicere audet cuiusquam qui ex Fadia sustulerit liberos .	you rejoice at this; let us see what it is that excites your indignation. “That Dolabella should at this time have been pronounced a public enemy because he has slain an assassin; and that the son of a buffoon should appear dearer to the Roman people than Caius Caesar, the father of his country, are circumstances to be lamented.” Why should you be sad because Dolabella has been pronounced a public enemy? Why? Are you not aware that you yourself—by the fact of an enlistment having taken place all over Italy, and of the consuls being sent forth to war, and of Caesar having received great honors, and of the garb of war having been assumed—have also been pronounced an enemy? And what reason is there, O you wicked man, for lamenting that Dolabella has been declared an enemy by the senate? a body which you indeed think of no consequence at all; but you make it your main object in waging war utterly to destroy the senate, and to make all the rest of those who are either virtuous or wealthy follow the fate of the highest order of all. But he calls him the son of a buffoon. As if that noble Roman knight the father of Trebonius were unknown to us. And does he venture to look down on any one because of the meanness of his birth, when he has himself children by Fadia?
480	' Acerbissimum vero est te , A . Hirti , ornatum beneficiis Caesaris et talem ab eo relictum qualem ipse miraris .’ Equidem negare non possum a Caesare Hirtium ornatum , sed illa ornamenta in virtute et in industria posita lucent . Tu vero qui te ab eodem Caesare ornatum negare non potes , quid esses , si tibi ille non tam multa tribuisset ? ecquo te tua virtus provexisset , ecquo genus ? In lustris , popinis , alea , vino tempus aetatis omne consumpsisses , ut faciebas , cum in gremiis mimarum mentum mentemque deponeres . ‘ Et te , o puer .’ Puerum appellat quem non modo virum sed etiam fortissimum virum sensit et sentiet . Est istuc quidem nomen aetatis , sed ab eo minime usurpandum qui suam amentiam puero praebet ad gloriam . ‘ Qui omnia nomini debes .’ Debet vero solvitque praeclare .	“But it is the bitterest thing of all that you, O Aulus. Hirtius, who have been distinguished by Caesar's kindness, and who have been left by him in a condition which you yourself marvel at. ” I can not indeed deny that Aulus Hirtius was distinguished by Caesar, but such distinctions are only of value when conferred on virtue and industry. But you, who can not deny that you also were distinguished by Caesar, what would you have been if he had not showered so many kindnesses on you? Where would your own good qualities have borne you? Where would your birth have conducted you? You would have spent the whole period of your manhood in brothels, and cook-shops and in gambling and drinking, as you used to do when you were always burying your brains and your beard in the laps of actresses. “And you too, O boy—” He calls him a boy whom he has not only experienced and shall again experience to be a man, but one of the bravest of men. It is indeed the name appropriate to his age; but he is the last man in the world who ought to use it, when it is his own madness that has opened to this boy the path to glory. “You who owe every thing to his name—” He does indeed owe every thing, and nobly is he paying it.
481	Si enim ille patriae parens , ut tu appellas — ego quid sentiam videro — cur non hic parens verior a quo certe vitam habemus e tuis facinerosissimis manibus ereptam ? ‘ id agere ut iure deminutus sit Dolabella ?’ Turpem vero actionem , qua defenditur amplissimi auctoritas ordinis contra crudelissimi gladiatoris amentiam ! ‘ et ut venefica haec liberetur obsidione ?’ Veneficam audes appellare eum virum qui tuis veneficiis remedia invenit ? quem ita obsides , nove Hannibal aut si quis acutior imperator fuit , ut te ipse obsideas neque te istinc , si cupias , possis explicare . Recesseris : undique omnes insequentur ; manseris : haerebis . Nimirum recte veneficam appellas a quo tibi praesentem pestem vides comparatam . ‘ Vt quam potentissimus sit Cassius atque Brutus ! '	For if he was the father of his country, as you call him (I will see hereafter what my opinion of that matter is, why is not this youth still more truly our father, to whom it certainly is owing that we are now enjoying life, saved out of your most guilty hands? “Are taking pains to have Dolabella legally condemned.” A base action, truly! by which the authority of this most honorable order is defended against the insanity of a most in' human gladiator. “And to effect the release of this poisoner from blockade.” Do you dare to call that man a poisoner who has found a remedy against your own poisoning tricks? and whom you are besieging in such a manner, O you new Hannibal (or if there was ever any abler general than he), as to blockade yourself, and to be unable to extricate yourself from your present position, should you be ever so desirous to do so? Suppose you retreat; they will all pursue you from all sides. Suppose you stay where you are; you will be caught. You are very right, certainly, to call him a poisoner, by whom you see that your present disastrous condition has been brought about. “In order that Cassius and Brutus may become as powerful as possible.”
482	Putes Censorinum dicere aut Ventidium aut etiam ipsos Antonios . Cur autem nolint potentis esse non modo optimos et nobilissimos viros sed secum etiam in rei publicae defensione coniunctos ? ‘ Nimirum eodem modo haec aspicitis ut priora .’ Quae tandem ? ‘ Castra Pompei senatum appellatis .’	Would you suppose that he is speaking of Censorinus, or of Ventidius, or of the Antonii themselves? But why should they be unwilling that those men should become powerful, who are not only most excellent and nobly born men, but who are also united with them in the defense of the republic? “In fact, you look upon the existing circumstances as you did on the former ones.” What can he mean? “You used to call the camp of Pompeius the senate.”
483	An vero tua castra potius senatum appellaremus ? in quibus tu es videlicet consularis cuius totus consulatus est ex omni monumentorum memoria evolsus ; duo praetores sine causa diffisi se aliquid habituros — nos enim Caesaris beneficia defendimus — praetorii Philadelphus Annius et innocens Gallius ; aedilicii , corycus laterum et vocis meae Bestia , et fidei patronus , fraudator creditorum Trebellius , et homo dirutus aere Q . Caelius , columenque amicorum Antoni Cotyla Varius , quem Antonius deliciarum causa loris in convivio caedi iubebat a servis publicis ; vii virales Lento , Nucula ; tum deliciae atque amores populi Romani L . Antonius ; tribuni primum duo designati , Tullus Hostilius qui suo iure in porta nomen inscripsit qua , cum prodere imperatorem suum non potuisset , reliquit ; alter est designatus Insteius nescio qui fortis , ut aiunt , latro ; quem tamen temperantem fuisse ferunt Pisauri balneatorem . Sequuntur alii tribunicii , T . Plancus in primis : qui si senatum dilexisset , numquam curiam incendisset . Quo scelere damnatus in eam urbem rediit armis , unde excesserat legibus . Sed hoc ei commune cum pluribus sui similibus . Illud tamen non verum in hoc Planco quod proverbi loco dici solet , perire eum non posse , nisi ei crura fracta essent . Fracta sunt et vivit . Hoc tamen , ut alia multa , Aquilae referatur acceptum .	Should we rather call your camp the senate? In which you are the only man of consular rank, you whose whole consulship is effaced from every monument and register; and two praetors, who are afraid that they will lose something by us,—a groundless fear. For we are maintaining all the grants made by Caesar; and men of praetorian rank, Philadelphus Annius, and that innocent Gallius; and men of aedilitian rank, he on whom I have spent so much of my lungs and voice, Bestia, and that patron of good faith and cheater of his creditors, Trebellius, and that bankrupt and ruined man Quintus Caelius, and that support of the friends of Antonius Cotyla Varius, whom Antonius for his amusement caused at a banquet to be flogged with thongs by the public slaves: Men of septemviral rank, Lento and Nucula, and then that delight and darling of the Roman people, Lucius Antonius. And for tribunes, first of all two tribunes elect, Tullus Hostilius, who was so full of his privileges as to write up his name on the gate of Rome; and who, when he found himself unable to betray his general, deserted him. The other tribune elect is a man of the name of Viscius; I know nothing about him; but I hear that he is (as they say) a bold robber; who, however, they say was once a bathing-man at Pisaurum, and a very good hand at mixing the water. Then there are others too, of tribunitian rank: in the first place, Titus Plancus; a man who, if he had had any affection for the senate, would never have burned the senate-house. Having been condemned for which wickedness, he returned to that city by force of arms from which he was driven by the power of the law. But, however, this is a case common to him and to many others who are very unlike him. But this is quite true which men are in the habit of saying of this. Plancus in a proverbial way, that it is quite impossible for him to die unless his legs are broken. They are broken, and still he lives. But this, like many others, is a service that has been done us by Aquila.
484	Est etiam ibi Decius , ab illis , ut opinor , Muribus Deciis ; itaque Caesaris munera arrosit : Deciorum quidem multo intervallo per hunc praeclarum virum memoria renovata est . Saxam vero Decidium praeterire qui possum , hominem deductum ex ultimis gentibus , ut eum tribunum plebis videremus quem civem numquam videramus ? Est quidem alter Saserna : sed omnes tamen tantam habent similitudinem inter se ut in eorum praenominibus errem . Nec vero Extitius , Philadelphi frater , quaestor , praetermittendus est , ne , si de clarissimo adulescente siluero , invidisse videar Antonio . Est etiam Asinius quidam senator voluntarius , lectus ipse a se . Apertam curiam vidit post Caesaris mortem : mutavit calceos ; pater conscriptus repente factus est . Non novi Sex . Albesium , sed tamen neminem tam maledicum offendi qui illum negaret dignum Antoni senatu . Arbitror me aliquos praeterisse ; de eis tamen qui occurrebant tacere non potui . Hoc igitur fretus senatu Pompeianum senatum despicit , in quo decem fuimus consulares : qui si omnes viverent , bellum omnino hoc non fuisset ; auctoritati cessisset audacia .	There is also in that camp Decius, descended, as I believe, from the great Decius Mus; accordingly he gained the gifts of Caesar. And so after a long interval the recollection of the Decii is renewed by this illustrious man. And how can I pass over Saxa Decidius, a fellow imported from the most distant nations, in order that we might see that man tribune of the people whom we had never beheld as a citizen? There is also one of the Sasernae; but all of them have such a resemblance to one another, that I may make a mistake as to their first names. Nor must I omit Exitius, the brother of Philadelphus the quaestor; lest, if I were to be silent about that most illustrious young man, I should seem to be envying Antonius. There is also a gentleman of the name of Asinius, a voluntary senator, having been elected by himself. He saw the senate-house open after the death of Caesar, he changed his shoes, and in a moment became a conscript father. Sextus Albedius I do not know, but still I have not fallen in with any one so fond of evil-speaking, as to deny that he is worthy of a place in the senate of Antonius. I dare say that I have passed over some names; but still I could not refrain from mentioning those who did occur to me. Relying then on this senate, he looks down on the senate which supported Pompeius, in which ten of us were men of consular rank; and if they were all alive now this war would never have arisen at all. Audacity would have succumbed to authority.
485	Sed quantum praesidi fuerit in ceteris , hinc intellegi potest quod ego unus relictus ex multis contudi et fregi adiuvantibus vobis exsultantis praedonis audaciam .	But what great protection there would have been in the rest may be understood from this, that I, when left alone of all that band, with your assistance crushed and broke the audacity of that triumphant robber.
486	Quod si non fortuna nobis modo eripuisset Ser . Sulpicium eiusque conlegam ante , M . Marcellum — quos civis , quos viros !— si duo consules , amicissimos patriae , simul ex Italia eiectos , si L . Afranium , summum ducem , si P . Lentulum , civem cum in ceteris rebus tum in salute mea singularem , si M . Bibulum cuius est in rem publicam semper merito laudata constantia , si L . Domitium , praestantissimum civem , si Appium Claudium , pari nobilitate et voluntate praeditum , si P . Scipionem , clarissimum virum maiorumque suorum simillimum , res publica tenere potuisset , certe eis consularibus non esset Pompeianus despiciendus senatus . Vtrum igitur aequius , utrum melius rei publicae fuit Cn . Pompeium an sectorem Cn . Pompei vivere Antonium ? Qui vero praetorii ! quorum princeps M . Cato idemque omnium gentium virtute princeps . Quid reliquos clarissimos viros commemorem ? Nostis omnis . Magis vereor ne longum me in enumerando quam ne ingratum in praetereundo putetis . Qui aedilicii , qui tribunicii , qui quaestorii ! Quid multa ? talis senatorum et dignitas et multitudo fuit ut magna excusatione opus eis sit qui in illa castra non venerunt . Nunc reliqua attendite .	But if Fortune had not taken from us not only Servius Sulpicius, and before him, his colleague Marcus Marcellus,—what citizens! What men! If the republic had been able to retain the two consuls, men most devoted to their country, who were driven together out of Italy; and Lucius Afranius, that consummate general; and Publius Lentulus, a citizen who displayed his extraordinary virtue on other occasions, and especially in the securing my safe return; and Bibulus, whose constant and firm attachment to the republic has at all times been deservedly praised; and Lucius Domitius, that most excellent citizen; and Appius Claudius, a man equally distinguished for nobleness of birth and for attachment to the state; and Publius Scipio, a most illustrious man, closely resembling his ancestors. Certainly with these men of consular rank, the senate which supported Pompeius was not to be despised. Which, then, was more just, which was more advantageous for the republic, that Cnaeus Pompeius, or that Antonius the brother who bought all Pompeius's property, should live? And then what men of praetorian rank were with us! the chief of whom was Marcus Cato, being indeed the chief man of any nation in the world for virtue. Why need I speak of the other most illustrious men? you know them all. I am more afraid lest you should think me tedious for enumerating so many, than ungrateful for passing over any one. And what men of aedilitian rank! and of tribunitian rank! and of quaestorian rank! Why need I make a long story of it? so great was the dignity of the senators of our party, so great too were their numbers, that those men have need of some very valid excuse who did not join that camp. Now listen to the rest of the letter.