THE LETTERS OF

CICERO

THE WHOLE EXTANT CORRESPONDENCEIN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER

TRANSLATED INTO ENGLISH

BY

EVELYN S. SHUCKBURGH, M. A. 

LATE FELLOW OF EMMANUEL COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGEAUTHOR OF A TRANSLATION OF POLYBIUS, A HISTORY OF ROME, ETC

IN FOUR VOLUMES

VOL. I. B. C. 68-52

LONDONGEORGE BELL AND SONS1899

CHISWICK PRESS:--CHARLES WHITTINGHAM AND CO. TOOKS COURT, CHANCERY LANE, LONDON. 

PREFACE

The object of this book is to give the English-speaking public, in aconvenient form, as faithful and readable a copy as the translator wascapable of making of a document unique in the literature of antiquity. Whether we regard the correspondence of Cicero from the point of view ofthe biographer and observer of character, the historian, or the lover of_belles lettres_, it is equally worthy of study. It seems needless todwell on the immense historical importance of letters written byprominent actors in one of the decisive periods of the world's history, when the great Republic, that had spread its victorious arms, and itslaw and discipline, over the greater part of the known world, was in thethroes of its change from the old order to the new. If we wouldunderstand--as who would not?--the motives and aims of the men who actedin that great drama, there is nowhere that we can go with better hope ofdoing so than to these letters. To the student of character also thepersonality of Cicero must always have a great fascination. Statesman, orator, man of letters, father, husband, brother, and friend--in allthese capacities he comes before us with singular vividness. In everyone of them he will doubtless rouse different feelings in differentminds. But though he will still, as he did in his lifetime, excitevehement disapproval as well as strong admiration, he will never, Ithink, appear to anyone dull or uninteresting. In the greater part ofhis letters he is not posing or assuming a character; he lets us onlytoo frankly into his weaknesses and his vanities, as well as hisgenerous admirations and warm affections. Whether he is weeping, orangry, or exulting, or eager for compliments, or vain of his abilitiesand achievements, he is not a phantasm or a farceur, but a human beingwith fiercely-beating pulse and hot blood. 

The difficulty of the task which I have been bold enough to undertakeis well known to scholars, and may explain, though perhaps not excuse, the defects of my work. One who undertakes to express the thoughts ofantiquity in modern idiom goes to his task with his eyes open, and hasno right at every stumbling-block or pitfall to bemoan his unhappy fate. So also with the particular difficulties presented by the great founderof Latin style--his constant use of superlatives, his doubling andtrebling of nearly synonymous terms, the endless shades of meaning insuch common words as _officium_, _fides_, _studium_, _humanitas_, _dignitas_, and the like--all these the translator has to take in theday's work. Finally, there are the hard nuts to crack--often veryhard--presented by corruption of the text. Such problems, though, relatively with other ancient works, not perhaps excessively numerous, are yet sufficiently numerous and sufficiently difficult. But besidesthese, which are the natural incidents of such work, there is thespecial difficulty that the letters are frequently answers to otherswhich we do not possess, and which alone can fully explain the meaningof sentences which must remain enigmatical to us; or they refer tomatters by a word or phrase of almost telegraphic abruptness, with whichthe recipient was well acquainted, but as to which we are reduced toguessing. When, however, all such insoluble difficulties are allowedfor, which after all in absolute bulk are very small, there should (ifthe present version is at all worthy) be enough that is perfectly plainto everyone, and generally of the highest interest. 

I had no intention of writing a commentary on the language of Cicero orhis correspondents, and my translation must, as a rule, be taken for theonly expression of my judgment formed after reading and weighing thearguments of commentators. I meant only to add notes on persons andthings enabling the reader to use the letters for biographical, social, and historical study. I should have liked to dedicate it by the words_Boswellianus Boswellianis_. But I found that the difficulties of thetext compelled me to add a word here and there as to the solution ofthem which I preferred, or had myself to suggest. Such notes are veryrare, and rather meant as danger signals than critical discussions. Ihave followed in the main the chronological arrangement of the lettersadopted by Messrs. Tyrrell and Purser, to whose great work myobligations are extremely numerous. If, as is the case, I have notalways been able to accept their conclusions, it is none the less truethat their brilliant labours have infinitely lightened my task, andperhaps made it even possible. 

I ought to mention that I have adopted the English mode of dating, writing, for instance, July and August, though Cicero repudiated theformer and, of course, never heard of the latter. I have also refrainedgenerally from attempting to represent his Greek by French, partlybecause I fear I should have done it ill, and partly because it is notin him as in an English writer who lards his sentences with French. Itis almost confined to the letters to Atticus, to whom Greek was a secondmother-tongue, and often, I think, is a quotation from him. It does notreally represent Cicero's ordinary style. 

One excuse for my boldness in venturing upon the work is the fact thatno complete translation exists in English. Mr. Jeans has published abrilliant translation of a selection of some of the best of the letters. But still it is not the whole. The last century versions of Melmoth andHerbenden have many excellences; but they are not complete either (theletters to Brutus, for instance, having been discovered since), andneed, at any rate, a somewhat searching revision. Besides, with manygraces of style, they may perhaps prove less attractive now than theydid a century ago. At any rate it is done, and I must bear with whatequanimity nature has given me the strictures of critics, who doubtlesswill find, if so minded, many blemishes to set off against, and perhapsoutweigh, any merit my translation may have. I must bear that as well asI may. But no critic can take from me the days and nights spent in closecommunion with Rome's greatest intellect, or the endless pleasure ofsolving the perpetually recurring problem of how best to transfer agreat writer's thoughts and feelings from one language to another:

 "Cæsar in hoc potuit iuris habere nihil. "

LETTERS IN VOLUME I

 Number in this Translation

Fam. I. 1 94 " 2 95 " 3 96 " 4 97 " 5 98 " 5b 102 " 6 103 " 7 113 " 8 118 " 9 152 " 10 161Fam. II. 1 165 " 2 167 " 3 168 " 4 174 " 5 175 " 6 176Fam. III. 1 180Fam. V. 1 13 " 2 14 " 3 112 " 4 88 " 5 17 " 6 15 " 7 12 " 8 130 " 12 108 " 17 178 " 18 179Fam. VII. 1 126 " 2 181 " 5 133 " 6 135 " 7 136 " 8 139 " 9 144 " 10 160 " 11 166 " 12 169 " 13 170 " 14 171 " 15 173 " 16 156 " 17 145 " 18 172 " 23 125 " 26 93Fam. XIII. 6a 114 " 6b 115 " 40 128 " 41 54 " 42 53 " 49 162 " 60 163 " 73 164 " 74 127 " 75 177Fam. XIV. 1 81 " 2 78 " 3 83 " 4 61Fam. XVI. 10 p. 386 " 13 p. 384 " 14 p. 385 " 16 p. 387Q. Fr. I. 1 29 " 2 52 " 3 65 " 4 71Q. Fr. II. 1 92 " 2 99 " 3 101 " 4 104 " 5 105 " 6 116 " 7 119 " 8 122 " 9 131 " 10 132 " 11 134 " 12 138 " 13 140 " 14 141 " 15 146Q. Fr III. 1 147 " 2 149 " 3 150 " 4 151 " 5} 154 " 6} " 7 155 " 8 158 " 9 159Petit. Cons. P. 367Att. I. 1 10 " 2 11 " 3 8 " 4 9 " 5 1 " 6 2 " 7 3 " 8 5 " 9 4 " 10 6 " 11 7 " 12 16 " 13 18 " 14 19 " 15 20 " 16 21 " 17 22 " 18 23 " 19 24 " 20 25Att. II. 1 26 " 2 27 " 3 28 " 4 30 " 5 31 " 6 32 " 7 33 " 8 34 " 9 35 " 10 37 " 11 38 " 12 36 " 13 39 " 14 40 " 15 41 " 16 42 " 17 43 " 18 44 " 19 45 " 20 46 " 21 47 " 22 48 " 23 49 " 24 50 " 25 51Att. III. 1 58 " 2 56 " 3 55 " 4 57 " 5 59 " 6 60 " 7 62 " 8 63 " 9 64 " 10 66 " 11 67 " 12 68 " 13 70 " 14 69 " 15 72 " 16 73 " 17 74 " 18 75 " 19 76 " 20 77 " 21 79 " 22 80 " 23 82 " 24 84 " 25 85 " 26 86 " 27 87Att. IV. 1 89 " 2 90 " 3 91 " 4a 100 " 4b 106 " 5 107 " 6 109 " 7 110 " 8a 111 " 8b 117 " 9 121 " 10 120 " 11 123 " 12 124 " 13 129 " 14 137 " 15 143 " 16} 142, 148, 157 " 17} " 18 153

INTRODUCTION

[Sidenote: Ground covered by the Correspondence. ]

The correspondence of Cicero, as preserved for us by his freedman Tiro, does not open till the thirty-ninth year of the orator's life, and is sostrictly contemporary, dealing so exclusively with the affairs of themoment, that little light is thrown by it on his previous life. It doesnot become continuous till the year after his consulship (B. C. 62). There are no letters in the year of the consulship itself or the year ofhis canvass for the consulship (B. C. 64 and 63). It begins in B. C. 68, and between that date and B. C. 65 there are only eleven letters. Wehave, therefore, nothing exactly contemporaneous to help us to form ajudgment on the great event which coloured so much of his after life, the suppression of the Catilinarian conspiracy and the execution of theconspirators, in the last month of his consulship. But setting aside thefirst eleven letters, we have from that time forward a correspondenceillustrating, as no other document in antiquity does, the hopes andfears, the doubts and difficulties, of a keen politician living throughthe most momentous period of Roman history, the period of the fall ofthe Republic, beginning with Pompey's return from the East in B. C. 62, and ending with the appearance of the young Octavian on the scene andthe formation of the Triumvirate in B. C. 43, of whose victims Cicero wasone of the first and most illustrious. It is by his conduct and speechesduring this period that Cicero's claim to be a statesman and a patriotmust be judged, and by his writings in the same period that his place inliterature must chiefly be assigned. Before B. C. 63 his biography, if wehad it, would be that of the advocate and the official, no doubt withcertain general views on political questions as they occurred, but notyet committed definitely to a party, or inclined to regard politics asthe absorbing interest of his life. In his early youth his hero hadbeen his fellow townsman Marius, in whose honour he composed a poemabout the time of taking the _toga virilis_. But it was as thesuccessful general, and before the days of the civil war. And though heserved in the army of Sulla in the Marsic war (B. C. 90-88), he alwaysregarded his cruelties with horror, however much he may have afterwardsapproved of certain points of his legislation. It was not till theconsulship that he became definitely a party man[1] and an Optimate, andeven then his feelings were much distracted by a strongbelief--strangely ill-founded--that Pompey would be as successful as astatesman as he had been fortunate as a general. For him he had also awarm personal attachment, which never seems to have wholly died out, inspite of much petulance of language. This partly accounts for thesurrender of B. C. 56, and his acquiescence in the policy of thetriumvirs, an acquiescence never hearty indeed, as far as Cæsar andCrassus were concerned, but in which he consoled himself with the beliefthat nothing very unconstitutional could be done while Pompey waspractically directing affairs at Rome. 

[Sidenote: The various nature of the Correspondence. ]

It is through this period of political change and excitement that thecorrespondence will take us, with some important gaps indeed, but on thewhole fullest when it is most wanted to shew the feelings and motivesguiding the active politicians of the day, or at any rate the effectwhich events had upon one eager and acute intellect and sensitive heart. One charm of the correspondence is variety. There is almost every sortof letter. Those to Atticus are unstudied, spontaneous, and reflect thevarying moods of the writer. At times of special excitement they followeach other day by day, and sometimes more than once in the same day; andthe writer seems to conceal nothing, however much it might expose him toridicule, and to the charge of fickleness, weakness, or even cowardice. Those addressed to other friends are sometimes familiar and playful, sometimes angry and indignant. Some of them are careful and elaboratestate papers, others mere formal introductions and recommendations. Business, literature, and philosophy all have their share in them; and, what is so rare in ancient literature, the family relations of thewriter, his dealings with wife, son, and daughter, brother and nephew, and sons-in-law, are all depicted for us, often with the utmostfrankness. After reading them we seem to know Cicero the man, as well asCicero the statesman and orator. The eleven letters which precede theconsulship are happily, from this point of view, addressed to Atticus. For it was to Atticus that he wrote with the least concealment, and withthe confidence that any detail, however small, which concerned himselfwould be interesting to his correspondent. It is well, therefore, that, though we thus come into his life when it was more than half over, weshould at once hear his genuine sentiments on whatever subjects he maybe speaking. Besides his own, we have about ninety letters to Cicerofrom some of the chief men of the day--Pompey, Cæsar, Cato, Brutus, Antony, and many others. They are of very various excellence. The bestof them are by much less known men. Neither Pompey nor Cæsar were goodletter-writers, or, if the latter was so, he was too busy to use hispowers. 

[Sidenote: Cicero's position previous to the beginning of theCorrespondence in B. C. 68. ]

[Sidenote: Quæstor, B. C. 75. ]

The letters begin, then, in B. C. 68, when Cicero was in histhirty-seventh year. He was already a man of established reputation bothas a pleader and a writer. Rhetorical treatises (B. C. 86), translationsfrom Xenophon and Plato (B. C. 84), and from the poems of Aratus (B. C. 81), had given evidence of a varied literary interest and a promise offuture eminence, while his success as an advocate had led to the firststep in the official _cursus honorum_ by his becoming a quæstor in B. C. 75. The lot assigned Lilybæum as his sphere of work, and though theduties of a quæstor in Sicily were not such as to bring a man's namemuch before the Roman public, Cicero plumes himself, as was not unusualwith him, on the integrity and energy which he displayed in hisadministration. He has indeed the honesty to tell against himself thestory of the acquaintance who, meeting him at Puteoli on his returnjourney, asked him what day he had left Rome and what was the newsthere. When he answered rather crossly that he had just come fromSicily, another acquaintance put in with "Why, of course. Didn't youknow he has just been quæstor _at Syracuse_!" At any rate he had donesufficiently well in Lilybæum to give him his next step, the ædileshipto which he was elected B. C. 70, and to induce the Sicilians to apply tohim, when in that year they desired the prosecution of the extortionateVerres. His energy and success in this business raised him, withoutquestion, to the first rank of advocates, and pledged him to a righteouspolicy in regard to the government of the provinces. 

[Sidenote: Cicero's Boyhood and Education. ]

Still Cicero was a _novus homo_, and the jealous exclusiveness of thegreat families at Rome might yet prevent his attainment of the highestoffice of all. When the correspondence opens he is a candidate for theprætorship, which he obtained without difficulty, at the head of thepoll. But his birth might still be a bar to the consulship. His father, M. Tullius, lived at Arpinum, an ancient city of the Volscians andafterwards of the Samnites, which had long enjoyed a partial, and fromB. C. 188 a complete, Roman franchise, and was included in the Corneliantribe. Cicero's mother's name was Helvia, of whom we know nothing butthe one anecdote told by Quintus (_Fam. _ xvi. 26), who says that sheused to seal the wine jars when they were emptied, so that none might bedrained without her knowing it--a testimony to her economy and carefulhousewifery. His father had weak health and resided almost entirely inhis villa at Arpinum, which he had considerably enlarged, much devotedto study and literature (_de Leg. _ ii. 1). But though he apparentlypossessed considerable property, giving him equestrian rank, and thoughCicero says that his family was very ancient, yet neither he nor any ofhis ancestors had held Roman magistracies. Marcus and his brotherQuintus were the first of their family to do so, and both had to dependon character and ability to secure their elections. But though thefather did nothing for his sons by holding curule office himself, he didthe best for their education that was possible. Cicero calls him_optimus et prudentissimus_, and speaks with gratitude of what he haddone for his sons in this respect. They were sent early to Rome to thehouse of C. Aculeo, a learned jurisconsult, married to a sister ofHelvia; and attended--with their cousins, the sons of Aculeo--the bestschools in the city. [2] The young Marcus shewed extraordinary abilityfrom the first, and that avidity for reading and study which neverforsook him. As a young man he diligently attended the chambers ofrenowned jurisconsults, especially those of the elder and youngerScævola, Crassus, and Antonius, and soon found that his calling in lifewas oratory. It was not till he was twenty-eight years old, however--when he had already written much and pleaded many cases--thathe went on a visit of between two and three years to Greece, Asia, andRhodes, to study in the various schools of rhetoric and philosophy, andto view their famous cities (B. C. 79-77). It was after his return fromthis tour that his age (he was now thirty-one) made the seeking ofoffice at Rome possible. From that time his election to the severaloffices--quæstorship, ædileship, prætorship, consulship--followedwithout any repulse, each in the first year of his age at which he waslegally capable of being elected. 

He had doubtless made the acquaintance of Titus Pomponius, afterwardscalled Atticus, early in life. But it seems that it was their intimacyat Athens (B. C. 79), where Atticus, who was three years his senior, hadbeen residing for several years, that began the very close and warmfriendship which lasted with nothing but the slightest and most passingof clouds till his death. His brother Quintus was married to Pomponia, asister of Atticus; but the marriage turned out unfortunately, and was astrain upon the friendship of Cicero and Atticus rather than anadditional bond. This source of uneasiness meets us in the very firstletter of the correspondence, and crops up again and again till thefinal rupture of the ill-assorted union by divorce in B. C. 44. Nothing, however, had apparently interrupted the correspondence of the twofriends, which had been going on for a long time before the first letterwhich has been preserved. 

[Sidenote: Cicero the successful Advocate. ]

[Sidenote: Death of Cicero's Father. ]

The eleven letters, then, which date before the consulship, shew usCicero in full career of success as an advocate and rising official, not as yet apparently much interested in party politics, but with hismind, in the intervals of forensic business, engaged on the adornment ofthe new villa at Tusculum, the first of the numerous country residenceswhich his growing wealth or his heightened ideas of the dignity of hisposition prompted him to purchase. Atticus is commissioned to search inAthens and elsewhere for objects of art suitable for the residence of awealthy Roman, who at the same time was a scholar and man of letters. Heis beginning to feel the charm of at any rate a temporary retreat fromthe constant bustle and occupations of the city. Though Cicero lovedRome, and could hardly conceive of life unconnected with its businessand excitements, [3] and eagerly looked for news of the city in hisabsence, yet there was another side to his character. His interest inliterature and philosophy was quite as genuine as his interest in theforum and senate-house. When the season came for temporarily withdrawingfrom the latter, he returned to the former with eager passion. ButTusculum was too near Rome to secure him the quiet and solitudenecessary for study and composition. Thus, though he says (vol. I. , p. 4), "I am so delighted with my Tusculan villa that I never feel reallyhappy till I get there, " he often found it necessary, when engaged inany serious literary work, to seek the more complete retirement ofFormiæ, Cumæ, or Pompeii, near all of which he acquired properties, besides an inheritance at Arpinum. [4] But the important achievements inliterature were still in the future. The few letters of B. C. 68-67 arefull of directions to Atticus for the collection of books or works ofart suitable to his house, and of matters of private interest. They arealso short and sometimes abrupt. The famous allusion to his father'sdeath in the second letter of this collection, contained in a singleline--_pater nobis decessit a. D. 111 Kal. Decembris_--followed bydirections to Atticus as to articles of _vertu_ for his villa, has muchexercised the minds of admirers, who do not like to think Cicero capableof such a cold-hearted sentence. It is certainly very unlike his usualmanner. [5] He is more apt to exaggerate than understate his emotions;and in the first letter extant he speaks with real feeling of the deathof a cousin. Elsewhere--as we have seen--he refers to his father withrespect and gratitude. How then are we to account for such a coldannouncement? Several expedients have been hit upon. First, to change_decessit_ to _discessit_, and to refer the sentence to the father'squitting Rome, and not life; in which case it is not easy to see why theinformation is given at all. Second, to suppose it to be a mere answerto a request for the information on the part of Atticus; in which casethe date must refer to some previous year, or the letter must be placedconsiderably later, to allow of time for Atticus to hear of the deathand to write his question. In favour of the first is the fact thatAsconius (§ 82) says that Cicero lost his father when he was a candidatefor the consulship (B. C. 64). Some doubt has been thrown upon thegenuineness of the passage in Asconius; and, if that is not trustworthy, we have nothing else to help us. On the whole I think we must leave theannouncement as it stands in all its baldness. Cicero's father had longbeen an invalid, and Atticus may have been well aware that the end wasexpected. He would also be acquainted with the son's feelings towardshis father, and Cicero may have held it unnecessary to enlarge uponthem. It is possible, too, that he had already written to tell Atticusof the death and of his own feelings, but had omitted the date, which hehere supplies. Whatever may be the true explanation--impossible now torecover--everything we know of Cicero forbids us to reckon insensibilityamong his faults, or reserve in expressing his feelings among hischaracteristics. 

[Sidenote: The Prætorship, B. C. 66. ]

In the next year (B. C. 67) we find Cicero elected to the prætorship, after at least two interruptions to the _comitia_, which, though notaimed at himself, gave him a foretaste of the political troubles to comea few years later. He is, however, at present simply annoyed at theinconvenience, not yet apprehensive of any harm to the constitution. Thedouble postponement, indeed, had the effect of gratifying his vanity:for his own name was returned three times first of the list of eight. His prætorship (B. C. 66) passed without any startling event. The twosomewhat meagre letters which remain belonging to this year tell ushardly anything. Still he began more or less to define his politicalposition by advocating the _lex Manilia_, for putting the Mithridaticwar into the hands of Pompey; and one of his most elaborate forensicspeeches--that for Cluentius--was delivered in the course of the year:in which also his brother Quintus was elected to the ædileship. 

[Sidenote: B. C. 65-64. Preparations for the Consulship. ]

So far Cicero had risen steadily and without serious difficulty up theofficial ladder. But the stress was now to come. The old families seemnot to have been so ready to oppose the rise of the _novus homo_ to theprætorship. It was the consulship on which they tried to keep a tighthand. Accordingly, immediately after the year of his prætorship, we findhim anxiously looking out for support and inquiring who are likely to behis competitors. The interesting point in regard to this is hisconnexion with Catiline. In his speech in the senate delivered in thefollowing year (_in toga candida_, B. C. 64) he denounced Catiline in themost violent language, accusing him of every conceivable crime; yet inB. C. 65 he not only contemplated being elected with him without anyexpression of disgust, but even considered whether he should notundertake his defence on some charge that was being brought againsthim--perhaps for his conduct during the Sullan proscriptions. Towhitewash Catiline is a hopeless task; and it throws a lurid light uponthe political and moral sentiments of the time to find Cicero evencontemplating such a conjunction. 

After this, for two years, there is a break in the correspondence. Atticus had probably returned to Rome, and if there were letters toothers (as no doubt there were) they have been lost. A certain light isthrown on the proceedings of the year of candidature (B. C. 64) by theessay "On the duties of a candidate, " ascribed to his brother Quintus, who was himself to be a candidate for the prætorship in the next year(B. C. 63). We may see from this essay that Pompey was still regarded asthe greatest and most influential man at Rome; that Catiline's characterwas so atrocious in the eyes of most, that his opposition was not to befeared; that Cicero's "newness" was a really formidable bar to hiselection, and that his chief support was to be looked for from theindividuals and companies for whom he had acted as counsel, and whohoped to secure his services in the future. The support of the nobleswas not a certainty. There had been a taint of _popularity_ in some ofCicero's utterances, and the writer urges him to convince the consularsthat he was at one with the Optimates, while at the same time aiming atthe conciliation of the equestrian order. This was, in fact, to beCicero's political position in the future. The party of theOptimates--in spite of his disgust at the indifference and frivolity ofmany of them--was to be his party: his favourite constitutional objectwas to be to keep the equites and the senate on good terms: and hisgreatest embarrassment was how to reconcile this position with hispersonal loyalty to Pompey, and his views as to the reforms necessary inthe government of the provinces. 

[Sidenote: The Consulship, B. C. 63. ]

For the momentous year of the consulship we have no letters. His brotherQuintus was in Rome as candidate and then prætor-designate; Atticus wasalso in Rome; and the business, as well as the dignity of a consul, wereagainst anything like ordinary correspondence. Of the earlier part ofthe consulship we have little record. The speeches against Rullus weredelivered at the beginning of the year, and commit Cicero prettydefinitely to a policy as to the _ager publicus_--which was, to hisdisgust, entirely reversed by the triumvirs in B. C. 59--but they do notshew any sense of coming trouble. Cicero, however, throughout hisconsulship took a very definite line against the _populares_. Not onlydid he defend Rabirius Postumus, when accused by Cæsar of theassassination of Saturninus, and address the people against offeringviolence to L. Roscius on account of the unpopular _lex theatralis_, [6]but he even resisted the restoration to their civil rights of the sonsof the men proscribed by Sulla, avowedly on the ground of the necessityof maintaining the established order, though he knew and confessed thejustice of the proposal. [6]

[Sidenote: The Conspiracy of Catiline. ]

Any movement, therefore, on the side of the popular party had now hisopposition with which to reckon. He professes to have known very earlyin his year of office that some more than usually dangerous movement wasin contemplation. We cannot well decide from the violent denunciation ofCatiline contained--to judge from extant fragments--in the speech _intoga candida_, how far Cicero was really acquainted with any definitedesigns of his. Roman orators indulged in a violence of language soalien from modern ideas and habits, that it is difficult to drawdefinite conclusions. But it appears from Sallust that Catiline had in asecret meeting before the elections of B. C. 64, professed an intentionof going all lengths in a revolutionary programme and, if that was thecase, Cicero would be sure to have had some secret information on thesubject. But his hands were partly tied by the fact that the _comitia_had given him a colleague--C. Antonius--deeply implicated in Catiline'spolicy, whatever it was. Pompey, whom he regarded as the champion of lawand order, was in the East: and Catiline's candidature--and it wassupposed his policy also--had had the almost open support of the richestman in Rome, M. Licinius Crassus, and of the most influential man of the_populares_, C. Iulius Cæsar. In the house of one or the other of them, indeed, the meeting at which Catiline first unfolded his purposes wasbelieved to have been held. Still Catiline had not been guilty of anyovert act which enabled Cicero to attack him. He had, indeed, beeninformed, on very questionable authority, that Catiline had made a plotto assassinate him while holding the elections, and he made aconsiderable parade of taking precautions for his safety--letting it beseen that he wore a cuirass under his toga, and causing his house to beguarded by the younger members of his party. The elections, accordingto Plutarch, had at least been once postponed from the ordinary time inJuly, though this has been denied. [7] At any rate it was not till theyhad taken place and Catiline had been once more rejected, that anydefinite step is alleged to have been taken by him, such as Cicero couldlay hold of to attack him. On the 20th of October, in the senate, Ciceromade a speech warning the Fathers of the impending danger, and on the21st called upon Catiline for an explanation in their presence. But, after all, even the famous meeting of the 5th of November, in the houseof M. Porcius Læca, betrayed to Cicero by Fulvia, the mistress of Q. Curius, would not have sufficed as grounds for the denunciation of thefirst extant speech against Catiline (7th of November), if it had notbeen for something else. For some months past there had been rumours ofrisings in various parts of Italy; but by the beginning of November itwas known that C. Manlius (or Mallius) had collected a band ofdesperadoes near Fæsulæ, and, having established there a camp on the27th of October, meant to advance on Rome. Manlius had been a centurionin Sulla's army, and had received an allotment of confiscated land inEtruria; but, like others, had failed to prosper. The movement was oneborn of discontent with embarrassments which were mostly brought aboutby extravagance or incompetence. But the rapidity with which Manlius wasable to gather a formidable force round him seems to shew that therewere genuine grievances also affecting the agricultural classes inEtruria generally. At any rate there was now no doubt that a formidabledisturbance was brewing; the senate voted that there was a _tumultus_, authorized the raising of troops, and named commanders in the severaldistricts affected. It was complicity in this rising that Cicero nowsought to establish against Catiline and his partisans in Rome. Thereport of the meeting in the house of Læca gave him the pretext for hisfirst step--a fiery denunciation of Catiline in the senate on the 7th ofNovember. Catiline left Rome, joined the camp of Manlius, and assumedthe ensigns of _imperium_. That he was allowed thus to leave the cityis a proof that Cicero had as yet no information enabling him to act atonce. It was the right of every citizen to avoid standing a trial bygoing into exile. Catiline was now under notice of prosecution for_vis_, and when leaving Rome he professed to be going to Marseilles, which had the _ius exilii_. But when it was known that he had stoppedshort at Fæsulæ, the senate at once declared both him and Manlius_hostes_, and authorized the consuls to proceed against them. Theexpedition was intrusted to Antonius, in spite of his known sympathywith Catiline, while Cicero was retained with special powers to protectthe city. The result is too well known to be more than glanced at here. Catiline's partisans were detected by letters confided to certain envoysof the Allobroges, which were held to convict them of the guilt oftreason, as instigating Catiline to march on Rome, and the senate of theAllobroges to assist the invasion by sending cavalry to Fæsulæ. 

[Sidenote: Execution of the conspirators, December, B. C. 63. Its legalgrounds and consequences. ]

The decree of the senate, _videant consules, etc. _, had come to beconsidered as reviving the full _imperium_ of the consul, and investinghim with the power of life and death over all citizens. Cicero acted onthis (questionable) constitutional doctrine. He endeavoured, indeed, toshelter himself under the authority of a senatorial vote. But the senatenever had the power to try or condemn a citizen. It could only recordits advice to the consul. The whole legal responsibility for thecondemnation and death of the conspirators, arrested in consequence ofthese letters, rested on the consul. To our moral judgment as toCicero's conduct it is of primary importance to determine whether or notthese men were guilty: to his legal and constitutional position itmatters not at all. Nor was that point ever raised against him. Thewhole question turns on whether the doctrine was true that the _senatusconsultum ultimum_ gave the consul the right of inflicting death uponcitizens without trial, _i. E. _, without appeal to the people, on theanalogy of the dictator _seditionis sedandæ causa_, thus practicallydefeating that most ancient and cherished safeguard of Roman liberty, the _ius provocationis_. The precedents were few, and scarcely such aswould appeal to popular approval. The murder of Tiberius Gracchus hadbeen _ex post facto_ approved by the senate in B. C. 133-2. In the caseof Gaius Gracchus, in B. C. 121, the senate had voted _uti consul Opimiusrempublicam defenderet_, and in virtue of that the consul had authorizedthe killing of Gaius and his friends: thus for the first time exercising_imperium sine provocatione_. Opimius had been impeached after his yearof office, but acquitted, which the senate might claim as a confirmationof the right, in spite of the _lex_ of Gaius Gracchus, which confirmedthe right of _provocatio_ in all cases. In B. C. 100 the tribuneSaturninus and the prætor Glaucia were arrested in consequence of asimilar decree, which this time joined the other magistrates to theconsuls as authorized to protect the Republic: their death, however, wasan act of violence on the part of a mob. Its legality had been impugnedby Cæsar's condemnation of Rabirius, as _duovir capitalis_, but to acertain extent confirmed by the failure to secure his conviction on thetrial of his appeal to the people. In B. C. 88 and 83 this decree of thesenate was again passed, in the first case in favour of Sulla againstthe tribune Sulpicius, who was in consequence put to death; and in thesecond case in favour of the consuls (partisans of Marius) against thefollowers of Sulla. Again in B. C. 77 the decree was passed inconsequence of the insurrection of the proconsul Lepidus, who, however, escaped to Sardinia and died there. 

In every case but one this decree had been passed against the popularparty. The only legal sanction given to the exercise of the _imperiumsine provocatione_ was the acquittal of the consul Opimius in B. C. 120. But the jury which tried that case probably consisted entirely ofsenators, who would not stultify their own proceedings by condemninghim. To rely upon such precedents required either great boldness (nevera characteristic of Cicero), or the most profound conviction of theessential righteousness of the measure, and the clearest assurance thatthe safety of the state--the supreme law--justified the breach of everyconstitutional principle. Cicero was not left long in doubt as towhether there would be any to question his proceeding. On the last dayof the year, when about to address the people, as was customary, onlaying down his consulship, the tribune Q. Cæcilius Metellus Neposforbade him to speak, on the express ground that he "had put citizens todeath uncondemned"--_quod cives indemnatos necavisset_. Cicero consoledhimself with taking the required oath as to having observed the laws, with an additional declaration that he had "saved the state. "Nevertheless, he must have felt deeply annoyed and alarmed at the actionof Metellus, for he had been a _legatus_ of Pompey, and was supposed torepresent his views, and it was upon the approbation and support ofPompey, now on the eve of his return from the East, that Ciceroparticularly reckoned. 

[Sidenote: Letters after B. C. 63. ]

The letters in our collection now recommence. The first of the year(B. C. 62) is one addressed to Pompey, expressing some discontent at thequalified manner in which he had written on recent events, and affirminghis own conviction that he had acted in the best interests of the stateand with universal approval. But indeed the whole correspondence to theend of Cicero's exile is permeated with this subject directly orindirectly. His quarrel with Metellus Nepos brought upon him aremonstrance from the latter's brother (or cousin), Metellus Celer(Letters XIII, XIV), and when the correspondence for B. C. 61 opens, wefind him already on the eve of the quarrel with Publius Clodius whichwas to bring upon him the exile of B. C. 58. 

[Sidenote: Publius Clodius Pulcher. ]

P. CLODIUS PULCHER was an extreme instance of a character not uncommonamong the nobility in the last age of the Republic. Of high birth, andpossessed of no small amount of ability and energy, he belonged byorigin and connexion to the Optimates; but he regarded politics as agame to be played for his personal aggrandizement, and public office asa means of replenishing a purse drained by boundless extravagance andself-indulgence. His record had been bad. He had accompanied hisbrother-in-law Lucullus, or had joined his staff, in the war withMithridates, and had helped to excite a mutiny in his army in revengefor some fancied slight. He had then gone to Cilicia, where anotherbrother-in-law, Q. Marcus Rex, was proprætor, and while commanding afleet under him had fallen into the hands of pirates, and when freedfrom them had gone--apparently in a private capacity--to Antioch, wherehe again excited a mutiny of Syrian troops engaged in a war against theArabians (B. C. 70-65). On his return to Rome he attempted to makehimself conspicuous by prosecuting Catiline, but accepted a bribe towithdraw. In B. C. 64, on the staff of the governor of GalliaNarbonensis, he is accused of having enriched himself with plunder. Fora time after that he was still acting as a member of the party of theOptimates; seems to have supported Cicero during the Catilineconspiracy; and in B. C. 62 stood for the quæstorship and was elected. His violation of the mysteries was alleged to have been committed inDecember of that year, and before he could go to the province allottedto him as quæstor in Sicily he had to stand a trial for sacrilege. Suchan offence--penetrating in disguise into the house of the PontifexMaximus, when his wife was engaged in the secret rites of the BonaDea--would place him under a curse, and not only prevent his enteringupon his quæstorship, but would disfranchise and politically ruin him. Clodius would seem not to have been a person of sufficient character orimportance to make this trial a political event. But not only had hepowerful backers, but his opponents also, by proposing an innovation inthe manner of selecting the jurors for trying him, had managed to give aspurious political importance to the case. One of the most brilliant ofthe early letters (XV, p. 37) gives us a graphic picture of the trial. Clodius was acquitted and went to his province, but returned in B. C. 60, apparently prepared for a change of parties. Cicero and he hadquarrelled over the trial. He had said sarcastic things about the sacredconsulship, and Cicero had retaliated by bitter speeches in the senate, and by giving evidence at the trial of having seen Clodius in Rome threehours before he professed to have been at Interamna, on the day of thealleged sacrilege. It is perhaps possible that his alibi may have beentrue in substance, for he may have been well out of Rome on his way toInteramna after seeing Cicero. But, however that may be, he nourished agrudge against Cicero, which he presently had an opportunity ofsatisfying. The year of his return to Rome from Sicily (B. C. 60) was thesame as that of Cæsar's return from Spain. Pompey--who had returned theyear before--was at enmity with the senate on account of thedifficulties raised to the confirmation of his _acta_ and the allotmentsfor his veterans. Cæsar had a grievance because of the difficulties putin the way of his triumph. The two coalesced, taking in the millionaireCrassus, to form a triumvirate or coalition of three, with a view togetting measures they desired passed, and offices for themselves ortheir partisans. This was a great blow to Cicero, who clung feverouslyto Pompey as a political leader, but could not follow him in a coalitionwith Cæsar: for he knew that the object of it was a series of measuresof which he heartily disapproved. His hope of seeing Pompey coming toact as acknowledged leader of the Optimates was dashed to the ground. Hecould not make up his mind wholly to abandon him, or, on the other hand, to cut himself adrift from the party of Optimates, to whose policy hehad so deeply committed himself. Clodius was troubled by no suchscruples. Perhaps Cæsar had given him substantial reasons for his changeof policy. At any rate, from this time forward he acts as an extreme_popularis_--much too extreme, as it turned out, for Pompey's taste. Asa patrician his next step in the official ladder would naturally havebeen the ædileship. But that peaceful office did not suit his presentpurpose. The tribuneship would give him the right to bring forwardmeasures in the _comitia tributa_, such as he desired to pass, and wouldin particular give him the opportunity of attacking Cicero. Thedifficulty was that to become tribune he must cease to be a patrician. He could only do that by being adopted into a plebeian gens. He had aplebeian ready to do it in B. C. 59. But for a man who was _sui iuris_ tobe adopted required a formal meeting of the old _comitia curiata_, andsuch a meeting required the presence of an augur, as well as some kindof sanction of the pontifices. Cæsar was Pontifex Maximus, and Pompeywas a member of the college of augurs. Their influence would besufficient to secure or prevent this being done. Their consent was, itappears, for a time withheld. But Cæsar was going to Gaul at the end ofhis consulship, and desired to have as few powerful enemies at Romeduring his absence as possible. Still he had a personal feeling forCicero, and when it was known that one of Clodius's objects in seekingto become a plebeian and a tribune was to attack him, Cæsar offered himtwo chances of honourable retreat--first as one of the commissioners toadminister his land law, and again as one of his _legati_ in Gaul. ButCicero would not accept the first, because he was vehemently opposed tothe law itself: nor the second, because he had no taste for provincialbusiness, even supposing the proconsul to be to his liking; and becausehe could not believe that P. Clodius would venture to attack him, orwould succeed if he did. Cæsar's consulship of B. C. 59 roused his worstfears for the Republic; and, though he thought little of thestatesmanship or good sense of Cæsar's hostile colleague Bibulus, he wasthoroughly disgusted with the policy of the triumvirs, with thecontemptuous treatment of the senate, with the high-handed disregard ofthe auspices--by means of which Bibulus tried to invalidate the laws andother _acta_ of Cæsar--and with the armed forces which Pompey broughtinto the _campus_, nominally to keep order, but really to overawe the_comitia_, and secure the passing of Cæsar's laws. Nor was it in hisnature to conceal his feelings. Speaking early in the year in defence ofhis former colleague, C. Antonius, accused of _maiestas_ for his conductin Macedonia, he expressed in no doubtful terms his view of thepolitical situation. Within a few hours the words were reported to thetriumvirs, and all formalities were promptly gone through for theadoption of Clodius. Cæsar himself presided at the _comitia curiata_, Pompey attended as augur, and the thing was done in a few minutes. Eventhen Cicero does not appear to have been alarmed, or to have been fullyaware of what the object of Publius was. While on his usual spring visitto his seaside villas in April (B. C. 59), he expressed surprise athearing from the young Curio that Clodius was a candidate for thetribuneship (vol. I. , p. 99). His surprise no doubt was more or lessassumed: he must have understood that Clodius's object in the adoptionwas the tribunate, and must have had many uneasy reflexions as to theuse which he would make of the office when he got it. Indeed there wasnot very much doubt about it, for Publius openly avowed his intentions. We have accordingly numerous references, in the letters to Atticus, toCicero's doubts about the course he ought to adopt. Should he acceptCæsar's offer of a legation in Gaul, or a free and votive legation?Should he stay in Rome and fight it out? The latter course was the oneon which he was still resolved in July, when Clodius had been, or was onthe point of being, elected tribune (p. 110). He afterwards wavered (p. 113), but was encouraged by the belief that all the "orders" werefavourable to him, and were becoming alienated from the triumvirs (pp. 117, 119), especially after the affair of Vettius (pp. 122-124), and bythe friendly disposition of many of the colleagues of Clodius in thetribuneship. With such feelings of confidence and courage the letters ofB. C. 59 come to an end. 

[Sidenote: The Exile, April, B. C. 58--August, B. C. 57. ]

The correspondence only opens again in April of B. C. 58, when the worsthas happened. Clodius entered upon his tribuneship on the 10th ofDecember, B. C. 59, and lost little time in proposing a law to the_comitia_ for the trial of any magistrate guilty of putting citizens todeath without trial (_qui cives indemnatos necavisset_). The wording ofthe law thus left it open to plead that it applied only to such act asoccurred after its enactment, for the pluperfect _necavisset_ in thedependent clause answers to the future perfect in a direct one. And thiswas the interpretation that Cæsar, while approving the law itself, desired to put upon it. [8] He again offered Cicero a legation in Gaul, but would do nothing for him if he stayed in Rome; while Pompey, who hadbeen profuse in promises of protection, either avoided seeing Cicero, ortreated his abject entreaties with cold disdain. [9] Every citizen, by ahumane custom at Rome, had the right of avoiding a prosecution byquitting the city and residing in some town which had the _ius exilii_. It is this course that we find Cicero already entered upon when thecorrespondence of the year begins. In the letters of this year of exilehe continually reproaches himself with not having stayed and evensupported the law, in full confidence that it could not be applied tohimself. He attributes his having taken the less courageous course tothe advice of his friends, who were actuated by jealousy and a desireto get rid of him. Even Atticus he thinks was timid, at the best, inadvising his retirement. It is the only occasion in all thecorrespondence in which the least cloud seems to have rested on theperfect friendship of the two men. Atticus does not appear to have shewnany annoyance at the querulous remarks of his friend. He steadilycontinued to write, giving information and advice, and made nodifficulty in supplying his friend with money. During Cicero's absenceAtticus became still more wealthy than before by inheriting the estatesof his cross-grained uncle Cæcilius. But he was always careful as to theinvestment of his money and he would not, perhaps, have been so ready totrust Cicero, had he not felt confidence in the ultimate recovery of hiscivil status. Still his confidence was peculiarly welcome at a timewhich would have been otherwise one of great pressure. For Clodius hadfollowed up Cicero's retirement with the usual _lex_ in regard topersons leaving Rome to avoid a trial--a prohibition "of fire and water"within a fixed distance from Italy, which involved the confiscation ofall his property in Italy. His villas were dismantled, his town housepulled down, and a vote of the people obtained by Clodius for theconsecration of its site as a _templum_ dedicated to Liberty, and ascheme was formed and the work actually commenced for occupying part ofit by an extension of an existing porticus or colonnade (the _porticusCatuli_) to contain a statue of Liberty. That this consecration wasregular is shewn by the pleas by which it was afterwards sought toreverse it. [10] When Cicero was recalled the question came before thepontifices, who decided that the consecration was not valid unless ithad been done by the "order of the people. " It could not be denied onthe face of it that there had been such an order. Cicero was obliged toresort to the plea that Clodius's adoption had been irregular andinvalid, that therefore he was not legally a tribune, and could not takean order of the people. Finally, the senate seems to have decided thatits restoration to Cicero was part of the general _restitutio inintegrum_ voted by the _comitia centuriata_; and a sum of money wasassigned to him for the rebuilding of the house. Clodius refused torecognize the validity of this decree of the senate, and attempted byviolence to interrupt the workmen engaged on the house. We have a livelypicture of this in Letter XCI (vol. I. , pp. 194-196). 

[Sidenote: Letters of the Exile (Letters LV-LXXXVIII). ]

The letters from Cicero as an exile are painful reading for those whoentertain a regard for his character. It was not unnatural, indeed, thathe should feel it grievously. He had so completely convinced himself ofthe extraordinary value of his services to the state, of the importanceof his position in Roman politics, and of the view that the Optimateswould take of the necessity of retaining him, that to see himselftreated like a fraudulent or unsuccessful provincial governor, of noimportance to anyone but himself, was a bitter blow to his self-esteem. The actual loss was immense. His only means were now the amount of moneyhe had been able to take with him, or was able to borrow. All was goneexcept such property as his wife retained in her own right. He was adependent upon her, instead of being her support and the master of hisown household. The services of freedmen--readily rendered when he wasprosperous--would now be a matter of favour and personal attachment, which was not always sufficient to retain them. The "life and light" ofthe city, in which no man ever took a more eager interest and delight, were closed to him. He was cut off from his family, and from familiarintercourse with friends, on both of which he was much dependent forpersonal happiness. Lastly, wherever he lived, he lived, as it were, onsufferance, no longer an object of respect as a statesman, or the sourceof help to others by his eloquence. But, disagreeable as all this was toa man of Cicero's sensitive vanity, there was something still worse. Even in towns which were the legal distance from Italy he could notsafely stay, if they were within the jurisdiction of one of his personalenemies, or contained other exiles, who owed him an ill turn. He wasprotected by no law, and more than one instance of such a man's fallinga victim to an enemy's dagger is recorded. Cicero's first idea was to goto Malta: but Malta was for some purposes in the jurisdiction of thegovernor of Sicily, and the governor of Sicily (C. Vergilius[11])objected to his passing through Sicily or staying at Malta. We have noreason for supposing Vergilius personally hostile to Cicero, but he mayhave thought that Cicero's services to the Sicilians in the case ofVerres would have called out some expression of feeling on their part inhis favour, which would have been awkward for a Roman governor. Cicerotherefore crossed to Epirus, and travelled down the Egnatian road toThessalonica. This was the official capital of the province ofMacedonia, and the quæstor in Macedonia, Gnæus Plancius, met Cicero atDyrrachium, invited him to fix his residence there with him, andaccompanied him on his journey. Here he stayed till November in a stateof anxiety and distress, faithfully reflected in his letters, waiting tohear how far the elections for B. C. 57 would result in putting hisfriends in office, and watching for any political changes that wouldfavour his recall: but prepared to go still farther to Cyzicus, if theincoming governor, L. Calpurnius Piso, who, as consul in B. C. 58 withGabinius, had shewn decided animus against him, should still retain thatfeeling in Macedonia. Events, however, in Rome during the summer andautumn of B. C. 58 gave him better hopes. Clodius, by his violentproceedings, as well as by his legislation, had alienated Pompey, andcaused him to favour Cicero's recall. Of the new consuls Lentulus washis friend, and Q. Cæcilius Metellus Nepos (who as tribune in B. C. 63-62had prevented his speech when laying down his consulship) consented towaive all opposition. A majority of the new tribunes were alsofavourable to him, especially P. Sestius and T. Annius Milo; and inspite of constant ups and downs in his feelings of confidence, he had onthe whole concluded that his recall was certain to take place. Towardsthe end of November he therefore travelled back to Dyrrachium, a _liberacivitas_ in which he had many friends, and where he thought he might besafe, and from which he could cross to Italy as soon as he heard of thelaw for his recall having been passed. Here, however, he was keptwaiting through many months of anxiety. Clodius had managed to make hisrecall as difficult as possible. He had, while tribune, obtained anorder from the people forbidding the consuls to bring the subject beforethe senate, and Piso and Gabinius had during their year of officepleaded that law as a bar to introducing the question. 

[Sidenote: The Recall, August, B. C. 57. ]

The new consuls were not, or did not consider themselves, so bound, andLentulus having brought the subject forward, the senate early passed aresolution that Cicero's recall was to take precedence of all otherbusiness. In accordance with the resolution of the senate, a law wasproposed by the consul Lentulus in the _comitia centuriata_, andprobably one by Milo to the _tributa_. But Clodius, though no longerarmed with the tribuneship, was not yet beaten. He obtained the aid ofsome gladiators belonging to his brother Appius, and more than onceinterrupted and dispersed an assembly of the _comitia_. In the riotsthus occasioned blood was shed on both sides, and Cicero's brotherQuintus on one occasion nearly lost his life. This was the beginning ofthe series of violent contests between Clodius and Milo, only ended bythe murder of the former on the Appian road in B. C. 52. But Clodius wasa candidate for the ædileship in this year (B. C. 57), and could bebarred from that office legally by a prosecution for _vis_, of whichMilo gave notice against him. It was, perhaps, a desire to avoid this, as much as fear of Milo's counter exhibition of violence, that at lengthcaused him to relax in his opposition, or at any rate to abstain fromviolently interrupting the _comitia_. Accordingly, on the 4th of August, the law proposed by both consuls, and supported by Pompey, was passedunanimously by the centuries. Cicero, we must presume, had receivedtrustworthy information that this was to be the case (shewing that someunderstanding had been come to with Clodius, or there would have been nocertainty of his not violently dispersing the _comitia_ again), for onthat same day he set sail from Dyrrachium and landed at Brundisium onthe 5th. His triumphant return to Rome is described in the eighty-ninthletter of this collection. For Pompey's share in securing it heexpressed, and seems really to have felt, an exaggerated gratitude, which still influenced him in the unhappy months of B. C. 49, when he washesitating as to joining him beyond seas in the civil war. 

But though Clodius had somehow been prevented from hindering his recall, he by no means relaxed his hostility. He not only tried to excite thepopulace against him by arguing that the scarcity and consequent highprice of corn, from which the people were at that time suffering, was insome way attributable to Cicero's policy, but he also opposed therestoration of his house; and when a decree of the senate was passed inCicero's favour on that point, brought his armed ruffians to prevent theworkmen from going on with the rebuilding, as well as to molest Cicerohimself (vol. I. , p. 195). This was followed by a determined oppositionby Milo to the holding of the elections for B. C. 56, until hisprosecution of Clodius _de vi_ should have been tried. Clodius, however, was acquitted, [12] and, being elected ædile, immediately commenced acounter accusation against Milo for _vis_. He impeached him before the_comitia_ in February (B. C. 56), on which occasion Pompey spoke inMilo's defence in the midst of a storm of interruptions got up by thefriends of Clodius (vol. I. , pp. 214, 217). Milo was also acquitted, andthe rest of Clodius's ædileship seems to have passed without fartheracts of open violence. 

[Sidenote: Cicero and the Triumvirs. ]

But Cicero had now other causes of anxiety. He had spoken in favour ofthe commission offered to Pompey in B. C. 57 for superintending thecorn-supply of Rome (_cura annonæ_). Pompey was to have fifteen legates, a good supply of ships and men, and considerable powers in allcorn-growing countries in the Mediterranean. Cicero supported this, partly from gratitude to Pompey, but partly also from a wish to promotehis power and influence against the ever-increasing influence and fameof Cæsar. He secretly hoped that a jealousy might grow up between them;that Pompey would be drawn closer to the Optimates; and that the unionof the triumvirate might be gradually weakened and finally disappear. Pompey was thoroughly offended and alarmed by the insults offered him bythe Clodian mob, and by Clodius's own denunciations of him; and if hecould be convinced that these were suggested or approved by Cæsar orCrassus, it would go far to withdraw him from friendship with either ofthem. With Crassus, indeed, he had never been on cordial terms: it wasonly Cæsar's influence that had caused him to form any union with him. Cæsar, on the other hand, was likely to be uneasy at the great powerswhich the _cura annonæ_ put into Pompey's hands; and at the possiblesuggestion of offering him the dictatorship, if the Clodian riots becamequite intolerable. On the whole, Cicero thought that he saw the elementof a very pretty quarrel, from which he hoped that the result might be"liberty"--the orderly working of the constitution, that is, without theirregular supremacy of anyone, at any rate of anyone of the popularparty. He had, however, a delicate part to play. He did not wish or dareto break openly with Cæsar, or to speak too openly to Pompey; and he wasconscious that the intemperance, folly, or indifference of many of theOptimates made it difficult to reckon on their support, and made thatsupport a very questionable benefit if accorded. But though his lettersof this period are full of expressions indicating doubt of Pompey andirritation with him, yet he seems still to have spoken of him withwarmth on public occasions, while he avoided mentioning Cæsar, or spokeof him only in cold terms. 

[Sidenote: Renewal of the Triumvirate at Luca, April, B. C. 56, andCicero's change of policy. ]

[Sidenote: Quintus Cicero in Gaul. ]

The hope, however, of detaching Pompey from Cæsar was dashed by themeeting at Luca in April, B. C. 56, at which a fresh arrangement was madefor the mutual advantage of the triumvirs. Cæsar got the promise of theintroduction of a law giving him an additional five years of command inGaul, with special privileges as to his candidature for the consulshipof B. C. 48; while Pompey and Crassus bargained for a second consulshipin B. C. 55, and the reversion of the Spains (to be held as a singleprovince) and Syria respectively, each for five years. The care takenthat none of the three should have _imperium_ overlapping that of theothers was indeed a sign of mutual distrust and jealousy. But thebargain was made with sufficient approval of the members of the partycrowding Luca to secure its being carried out by the _comitia_. Theunion seemed stronger than ever; and Cicero at length resolved on agreat change of attitude. Opposition to the triumvirs had beenabandoned, he saw, by the very party for whom he had been incurring theenmity of Pompey and Cæsar. Why should he hold out any longer? "Sincethose who have no power, " he writes to Atticus in April, "refuse metheir affection, let me take care to secure the affection of those whohave power. You will say, 'I could have wished that you had done sobefore. ' I know you did wish it, and that I have made a real ass ofmyself. "[13] This is the first indication in the letters of the change. But it was soon to be publicly avowed. The opposition to the consulshipof Pompey and Crassus was so violent that no election took place duringB. C. 56, and they were only elected under the presidency of _interreges_at the beginning of February, B. C. 55. But by the _lex Sempronia_ thesenate was bound to name the consular provinces--_i. E. _, the provincesto be governed by the incoming consuls after their year ofoffice--before the elections, and in his speech on the subject (_deProvinciis Consularibus_), delivered apparently in July, B. C. 56, Cicero, while urging that Piso and Gabinius should have successorsappointed to them in Macedonia and Syria, took occasion to announce anddefend his own reconciliation with Cæsar, and to support his continuancein the governorship of Gaul. Shortly afterwards, when defending thecitizenship of L. Cornelius Balbus, he delivered a glowing panegyric onPompey's character and services to the state. This was followed by acomplete abstention from any farther opposition to the carrying out ofCæsar's law for the allotment of the Campanian land--a subject which hehad himself brought before the senate only a short time before, and onwhich he really continued to feel strongly. [14] Cicero's most elaboratedefence of his change of front is contained in a long letter to P. Lentulus Spinther, written two years afterwards. [15] The gist of it ismuch the same as the remark to Atticus already quoted. "Pompey andCæsar were all-powerful, and could not be resisted without civilviolence, if not downright civil war. The Optimates were feeble andshifty, had shewn ingratitude to Cicero himself, and had openly favouredhis enemy Clodius. Public peace and safety must be the statesman's chiefobject, and almost any concession was to be preferred to endangeringthese. " Nevertheless, we cannot think that Cicero was ever heartilyreconciled to the policy, or the unconstitutional preponderance of thetriumvirs. He patched up some sort of reconciliation with Crassus, andhis personal affection for Pompey made it comparatively easy for him togive him a kind of support. Cæsar was away, and a correspondence filledon both sides with courteous expressions could be maintained withoutseriously compromising his convictions. But Cicero was never easy underthe yoke. From B. C. 55 to B. C. 52 he sought several opportunities for aprolonged stay in the country, devoting himself--in default ofpolitics--to literature. The fruits of this were the _de Oratore_ andthe _de Republica_, besides poems on his own times and on hisconsulship. Still he was obliged from time to time to appear in theforum and senate-house, and in various ways to gratify Pompey and Cæsar. It must have been a great strain upon his loyalty to this new politicalfriendship when, in B. C. 54, Pompey called upon him to undertake thedefence of P. Vatinius, whom he had not long before attacked so fiercelywhile defending Sestius. Vatinius had been a tribune in B. C. 59, actingentirely in Cæsar's interests, and Cicero believed him to have been hisenemy both in the matter of his exile and in the opposition to hisrecall. He had denounced him in terms that would have made it almostimpossible, one would think, to have spoken in his defence in any causewhatever. At best he represented all that Cicero most disliked inpolitics; and on this very election, to the prætorship, for which he wascharged with bribery (_de sodalitiis_), Cicero had already spoken instrongly hostile terms in the senate. For now undertaking his defence hehas, in fact, no explanation to give to Lentulus (vol. I. , p. 319), andhe was long sore at having been forced to do it. Through B. C. 54 and 53he was busied with his _de Republica_, and was kept more in touch withCæsar by the fact that his brother Quintus was serving as _legatus_ tothe latter in Britain and Gaul, and that his friend Trebatius(introduced by himself) was seeking for promotion and profit in Cæsar'scamp. But even his brother's service with Cæsar did not eventuallycontribute to the formation of cordial feeling on his part towardsCæsar, whom he could not help admiring, but never really liked. ForQuintus, though he distinguished himself by his defence of his camp inthe autumn of B. C. 54, lost credit and subjected himself to grave rebukeby the disaster incurred in B. C. 53, near Aduatuca (_Tongres_), broughtabout by disregarding an express order of Cæsar's. There is no allusionto this in the extant correspondence, but a fragment of letter fromCæsar to Cicero (_neque pro cauto ac diligente se castriscontinuit_[16]), seems to shew that Cæsar had written sharply to Ciceroon his brother's _faux pas_, and after this time, though Cicero metCæsar at Ravenna in B. C. 52, and consented to support the bill allowinghim to stand for the consulship in his absence, [17] there is apparent inhis references to him a return to the cold or critical tone of formertimes. But of course there were other reasons. 

[Sidenote: Pompey's third Consulship and the trial of Milo, B. C. 52. ]

Pompey's six months' sole consulship of B. C. 52 ("that divine thirdconsulship"), the rumour of his dictatorship, and the growingdetermination of the Optimates to play off Pompey against Cæsar (Crassushaving disappeared) and to insist on Cæsar resigning his province andarmy before the end of his ten years' tenure, and before standing for asecond consulship, caused Cicero's hope of a final dissolution of theunconstitutional compact to revive again; and made him draw more andmore closely to Pompey as the chief hope of the _boni_. In the beginningof the year he had found himself in opposition, or quasi-opposition, toPompey in regard to the prosecution of Milo for the murder of Clodius. But though in the previous year he had declared that the election ofMilo to the consulship was of the utmost importance to his own positionand the safety of the state, [18] now that it was rendered impossible byMilo's condemnation, he seems to have placed all his hopes on Pompey. Unfortunately, there is here a break in the correspondence. There is noletter of the last six months of B. C. 53, and only four (perhaps onlythree) of B. C. 52. [19] So that the riots which prevented Milo'selection, the death of Clodius and the riots following it, and theconsequent sole consulship of Pompey, with the latter's new legislationand the trial of Milo--all have to be sought for elsewhere. The lastletter of this volume and of this year, addressed to M. Marius inDecember, B. C. 52, alludes to the condemnation of Milo, and to thenumerous prosecutions following it. "Here, in Rome, I am so distractedby the number of trials, the crowded courts, and the new legislation, that I daily offer prayers that there may be no intercalation. "[20]

[Sidenote: Cicero appointed Proconsul of Cilicia, B. C. 51-50. ]

When the correspondence opens again in the spring of B. C. 51 an eventhas happened, of no particular importance in itself, but of supremeinterest to Cicero, and very fortunate for the readers of thecorrespondence. One of Pompey's new laws ordained that no one was totake a province till the fifth year after laying down his consulship orprætorship. Pompey broke his own law by keeping his province, theSpains--his position in regard to them was altogether exceptional--but, in order to carry out the law in other cases, the senate arranged thatex-consuls and ex-prætors who had not been to provinces should in turndraw lots for vacant governorships. Cicero and Bibulus appear to havebeen the senior _consulares_ in that position, and with much reluctanceCicero allowed his name to be cast into the urn. He drew Cilicia andBibulus Syria. He says that his motive was a desire to obey the wishesof the senate. Another motive may have been a desire to be away fromRome while the controversy as to Cæsar's retirement from his provincewas settled, and to retrieve a position of some political importance, which he had certainly not increased during the last few years. When itcame to the actual start, however, he felt all the _gêne_ of thebusiness--the formation and control of his staff, the separation fromfriends, and the residence far from the "light and life" of Rome, amongofficials who were certainly commonplace and probably corrupt, andamidst a population, perhaps acute and accomplished, but certainlyservile and ill content, and in some parts predatory and barbarous. Atthe best, they would be emphatically provincial, in a dreary sense ofthe word. He felt unequal to the worry and bore of the whole business, and reproached himself with the folly of the undertaking. Of course, this regret is mingled with his usual self-congratulation on the puritywith which he means to manage his province. But even that feeling is notstrong enough to prevent his longing earnestly to have the period ofbanishment as short as possible, or to prevent the alarm with which hehears of a probable invasion by the Parthians. One effect of his almosttwo years' absence from Rome was, I think, to deprive him of the powerof judging clearly of the course of events. He had constant intelligenceand excellent correspondents--especially Cælius--still he could notreally grasp what was going on under the surface: and when he returnedto find the civil war on the point of breaking out, he was, after all, taken by surprise, and had no plan of action ready. This, as well as hisgovernment of the province, will be fully illustrated in the next volumeof the correspondence. 

 * * * * *

[Sidenote: Cicero's Correspondents. ]

The persons to whom the chief letters are addressed in this volume, besides Atticus, are Cicero's brother Quintus and P. Lentulus Spinther. There are two excellent letters to M. Marius, and one very interesting, though rather surprising, epistle to L. Lucceius. Others of more thanaverage interest are to Terentia, M. Fadius Gallus, C. Scribonius Curio, and Tiro. 

[Sidenote: Titus Pomponius Atticus. ]

ATTICUS (B. C. 109-32) is a man of whom we should be glad to know morethan we do. He was the friend of all the leading men of the day--Pompey, Cæsar, Cicero, Antony, Brutus--father-in-law of Agrippa, and survived tobe a constant correspondent of Augustus, between B. C. 43 and his deathin B. C. 32. He was spared and respected by both sides in the civilwars, from Sulla to the Second Triumvirate. The secret of his successseems to have been that he was no man's rival. He resolutely declinedall official employment, even on the staff of his brother-in-law QuintusCicero. He committed himself to no side in politics, and, not being inthe senate, had no occasion by vote or speech to wound the feelings ofanyone. So, too, though he cared for literature, it was rather as afriendly critic of others than as an author. He did, it is true, compilesome books on Roman history, on historical portraits, and certain familybiographies; but they were not such as made him a rival of any of hiscontemporaries. They were rather the productions of a rich amateur, whohad leisure to indulge a quasi-literary taste, without any thought ofjoining the ranks of professed writers. Thirdly, he had great wealth, partly inherited, partly acquired by prudent speculation in the purchaseof town properties, or in loans to states or public bodies on fairterms: and this wealth was at the service of his friends, but not in thelavish or reckless manner, which often earns only ingratitude withoutbeing of any permanent service to the recipients. He lent money, butexpected to be repaid even by his brother-in-law. And this prudencehelped to retain the confidence, while his sympathetic temperamentsecured the liking, of most. Again, he had the valuable knack ofconstantly replenishing the number of his friends among men junior tohimself. His character attracted the liking of Sulla, who wastwenty-seven years his senior, and he remained the close friend of hiscontemporaries Hortensius and Cicero (the former five years his senior, the latter three years his junior) till the day of their death. But wealso find him on intimate terms with Brutus, twenty-four, and Octavian, forty-six years junior to himself. Lastly, he was not too much at Rome. More than twenty years of his earlier manhood (B. C. 87-65) were spent inGreece, principally at Athens, partly in study and partly in business. And Athens at this time, long deprived of political importance, hadstill the charm not only of its illustrious past, but also of itssurviving character as the home of culture and refinement. When he atlength returned to Rome in B. C. 65, he had already purchased a propertyin Epirus, near Buthrotum (see p. 3), where he built a villa, in whichhe continued to spend a considerable part of his remaining years. Thiswas sufficiently remote, not only from Rome, but from the summerresidences of the Roman nobles, to secure his isolation from theintrigues and enmities of Roman society. He did not indeed--as whodoes?--always escape giving offence. At the very beginning of thecorrespondence we hear of his vain attempts to mollify the anger of L. Lucceius--how incurred we do not know; and Quintus Cicero, of whosesharp temper we hear so much, was on more than one occasion on the pointof a rupture with him. But his family life was generally as pleasing ashis connexion with his friends. With his mother, who lived to a greatage, he boasted that he had never been reconciled, because he had neverquarrelled. He was the only one who could get on with the crusty uncleCæcilius. In the delicate matter of his sister Pomponia's differenceswith her husband Quintus Cicero, he seems to have acted with kindness aswell as prudence; and though he married late in life (B. C. 56, when hewas in his fifty-third year), he appears to have made an excellenthusband to Pilia and a very affectionate father to his daughter. Hisunwearied sympathy with the varied moods of Cicero--whether ofexultation, irritation, or despair--and the entire confidence whichCicero feels that he will have that sympathy in every case, arecreditable to both. It is only between sincere souls that one can speakto the other as to a second self, as Cicero often alleges that he doesto Atticus. 

[Sidenote: Quintus Tullius Cicero. ]

Of QUINTUS CICERO, the next most important correspondent in this volume, we get a fairly clear picture. Four years younger than his famousbrother (b. B. C. 102), he followed him at the due distance up the ladderof official promotion to the prætorship, to which he was elected in theyear of his elder's consulship. There, however, Quintus stopped. Henever seems to have stood for the consulship. He had no oratoricalgenius to give him reputation in the forum, nor were his literaryproductions of any value, either for style or originality. His abilitiesfor administration, as shewn in his three years' government of Asia, appear to have been respectable, but were marred by faults of temper, which too often betrayed him into extreme violence of language. Inmilitary command he shewed courage and energy in defending his camp inthe rising of the Gauls in the winter of B. C. 54-53; but he spoilt thereputation thus gained by the mistake committed in the autumn of B. C. 53, which cost the loss of a considerable number of troops, and all butallowed the roving Germans to storm his camp. He remained another yearin Gaul, but did nothing to retrieve this mistake. In military affairsfortune rarely forgives. In politics he seems to have contented himselfgenerally with saying ditto to his brother. And this continued to be thecase up to Pharsalia. After that, finding himself on the losing side, heturned somewhat fiercely upon the brother, whom he regarded as havingmisled him; and for a time there was a miserable breach between them, which, however, did not last very long. When the end came it found thebrothers united in heart as in misfortune. His private happiness wasmarred by an uncongenial marriage. Pomponia--sister of Atticus--seems tohave been as high-tempered as her husband, and less placable. Theconstant quarrels between them exercised the patience both of Cicero andAtticus, and crops up all through the correspondence. One effect of themwas the loss of all control over their son, who, being called upon tosmooth over the differences between father and mother, naturally took upat an early age a line of his own, and shewed a disposition to actindependently of his elders. 

[Sidenote: Terentia. ]

The letters to TERENTIA do not fill much space in the correspondence, and are rarely interesting. Married about B. C. 80, Cicero seems to havelived in harmony with her at least till the time of his return fromexile, during which unhappy period he acknowledges the activity of herexertions in support of his recall, and the drain which his ruin wasmaking upon her resources. Terentia had a large private fortune, andapparently used it liberally in his service. Nevertheless, immediatelyon his return from exile, there seems to have been some cause ofcoldness between the husband and wife. He darkly alludes to certaindomestic troubles in the first letter to Atticus written from Rome (voli. , p. 189), and repeats the hint in the next (p. 193). When he landedat Brundisium it was Tullia, not Terentia, who came to meet him (p. 187), and for some time after she appears to be presiding in his houserather than Terentia (see pp. 224, 257). Whatever the cause of thiscoldness was, however, it appears to have been removed for a time. Hekept up a correspondence with her while he was in Cilicia (B. C. 51-50), and though he does not seem pleased at her having arranged the marriageof Tullia with Dolabella, he addresses her warmly when about to return, and was met by her on landing. During the five or six months thatfollowed, before Cicero left Italy to join Pompey, there is noindication of any alienation: but the short notes from Pompey's camp, and in the first half of B. C. 47, are cold and conventional, and on hisreturn to Brundisium after Pharsalia, and during his lengthened staythere, he appears to have declined to allow her to come and see him. Soon after his return to Rome, in September, B. C. 47, matters came to aclimax. Perhaps some of the mischief was caused by the mismanagement ordishonesty of Terentia's steward, Philotimus, of whom we hear a gooddeal in the letters from Cilicia: but whatever was the origin of thequarrel, Cicero asserts that on his return he found his affairs in astate of utter disorder. It may well have been that, like otheradherents to the losing cause, he had to suffer from loss of anyproperty that could be easily laid hands on in Rome, and that Terentiahad had no power to save it. But Cicero, rightly or wrongly, attributedthe embarrassment which he found awaiting him to his wife. He says in aletter to Gnæus Plancius:[21] "I should not have taken any new step at atime of such general disaster had I not on my return found my privateaffairs in as sorry a position as the public. The fact is, that when Isaw that, owing to the criminal conduct of those to whom my life andfortunes ought, in return for my never-to-be-forgotten services, to havebeen their dearest object, there was nothing safe within the walls of myhouse, nothing that was not the subject of some intrigue, I made up mymind that I must arm myself by the faithful support of new marriageconnexions against the perfidy of the old. " This is a lame excuse for aman of sixty separating from the companion of his whole manhood, and inthe eyes of Roman Society it was rendered still more questionable by aprompt marriage with a young girl, rich, and his own ward: from whom, however, he soon again divorced himself, angered, it is said, by herwant of feeling at the death of Tullia. Terentia long survived herhusband, living, we are told, to be over a hundred years old. Divorcewas, of course, not regarded in these days of the Republic as it hadonce been, or as it is now among ourselves; still we should have beenglad, both for his fame and his happiness, if the few years remaining tohim had not had this additional cloud. A man of sixty embarking on suchmatrimonial enterprise is not a dignified spectacle, or one pleasing togods and men. 

The other correspondents may be dismissed in few words. 

[Sidenote: P. Cornelius Lentulus Spinther. ]

P. CORNELIUS LENTULUS SPINTHER, to whom some of the longest letters areaddressed, represents the high aristocracy, to which Cicero wished tocommend himself, though seeing keenly the weakness which underlay theirmagnificence. The part played by Lentulus in politics had been showy, but never founded on steadfast principle. He owed his earlier promotionsto Cæsar's influence, but in his consulship of B. C. 57 had taken theside of the aristocracy in promoting the recall of Cicero, though he hadgone against their sentiment by supporting Pompey's appointment to the_cura annonæ_. But as he was going to Cilicia in B. C. 56, Lentuluswished to have the lucrative task of restoring Ptolemy Auletes to thethrone of Egypt, from which he had been righteously driven by hissubjects. Therefore it was all to the good that Pompey should havebusiness at home preventing him from taking this in hand. How Lentuluswas baulked in this desire will appear in the letters. He no doubt hadhis full share of the _Lentulitas_ distinguishing his family. But allwas forgiven by Cicero to a man who had promoted his recall, and hetakes great pains to justify to Lentulus his own change of policy inregard to the triumvirs after B. C. 56. When the civil war began Lentulusjoined Domitius at Corfinium, and with him fell into Cæsar's hands, andwas dismissed unharmed. He afterwards joined Pompey in Epirus, intent onsucceeding Cæsar as Pontifex Maximus, as soon as the latter had beensatisfactorily disposed of. After Pharsalia he sought refuge at Rhodes, but was refused sanctuary by the islanders, and was eventually put todeath, though we do not know by whom (_Att. _ xi. 13; _Fam. _ ix. 18). 

[Sidenote: M. Fadius Gallus, M. Marius, L. Lucceius, C. ScriboniusCurio, C. Trebatius Testa. ]

M. FADIUS GALLUS, the Epicurean, and M. MARIUS, the valetudinarian andwit, were among friends valued for their personal and agreeablequalities rather than for any public or political importance attachingto them. The same may be said of L. LUCCEIUS, of whose Roman historyCicero thought so well, that he wrote a remarkable letter begging for anhonourable place in it for his consulship, as Pliny did to Tacitus. [22]C. SCRIBONIUS CURIO, son of a great friend of Cicero, after a _jeunesseorageuse_, returned to Rome from his quæstorship in Asia, in B. C. 53, totake up the inheritance of his father, which he quickly dissipated. Cicero seems to have had a high idea of his abilities, and to havebelieved him capable of taking the lead of the Optimates. But in histribuneship of B. C. 51-50 he disappointed all such hopes by openlyjoining Cæsar's party, and resisting all attempts to recall him. Hejoined Cæsar at Ravenna as soon as his tribuneship was out, and urgedhim to march on Rome. In B. C. 49 he was sent to secure Sicily andAfrica. The first he did, but in the second he perished in battleagainst the senatorial governor and king Iuba. Cicero's relation to C. TREBATIUS TESTA, a learned jurisconsult, was apparently that of a patronor tutor, who, thinking that he has found a young man of ability, endeavours to push him. He sent him with a letter of introduction toCæsar, who was good-natured, though rather sarcastic as to the scope forlegal abilities to be found in Gaul. He gave him, however, a militarytribuneship, without exacting military duties, and apparently kept ongood terms with him, for he employed him in B. C. 49 to communicate hiswish to Cicero as to his remaining at Rome. Cicero's letters to him, though numerous, are not among the most interesting. They are full ofbanter of a rather forced and dull kind; and Cicero was evidentlyannoyed to find that his scheme for advancing Trebatius in Cæsar'sprovince had not been very successful. The friendship, however, survivedthe civil war, and we find Cicero in B. C. 44 dedicating his _Topica_ toTrebatius. 

[Footnote 1: That Cicero up to the time of his consulship had beenconnected rather with the _populares_ is illustrated by Quintus (_dePetit. _ i. ) urging him to make it clear that he had never been ademagogue, but that if he had ever spoken "in the spirit of the popularparty, he had done so with the view of attracting Pompey. "]

[Footnote 2: _De Orat. _ ii. §§ 1, 2. ]

[Footnote 3: "The city, the city, my dear Rufus--stick to that, and livein its full light. Residence elsewhere--as I made up my mind early inlife--is mere eclipse and obscurity to those whose energy is capable ofshining at Rome. "--_Fam. _ ii. 12 (vol. Ii. , p. 166). ]

[Footnote 4: Even at these he found troublesome people to interrupt him. See vol. I. , pp. 102, 104. ]

[Footnote 5: Yet the announcement of the birth of his son (p. 16) and ofthe dangerous confinement of Tullia (vol. Ii. , p. 403) are almostequally brief. ]

[Footnote 6: See _Att. _ ii. 1, vol. 1. , p. 62; Plut. _Cic. _ 13; Cic. _inPis. _ § 4. ]

[Footnote 7: _Die Entstchungsgeschichte der catilinarischenVerschwörung_, by Dr. Constantin John, 1876. I am still of opinion thatPlutarch's statement can be strongly supported. ]

[Footnote 8: Cæsar said, οὺ μὴν καὶ προσήκειν ἐπὶ τοῐς παρεληλυθόσιτοιοῠτόν τινα νόμον συγγράφεσθαι (Dio, xxxviii. 17). ]

[Footnote 9: "The man who did not so much as raise me up, when I threwmyself at his feet. "--_Att. _ x. 4 (vol. Ii. , p. 362). Similar allusionsto Pompey's conduct to him on the occasion often occur. ]

[Footnote 10: See vol. I. , p. 190. ]

[Footnote 11: See vol. I. , pp. 129, 138; cp. _pro Planc. _ §§ 95-96. ]

[Footnote 12: _Fam. _ i. 9, 15 (vol. I. , p. 316). ]

[Footnote 13: Letter CVII, vol. I. , pp. 219, 220. ]

[Footnote 14: Ever since its capture in the second Punic War, Capua hadceased to have any corporate existence, and its territory had been _agerpublicus_, let out to tenants (_aratores_). Cæsar had restored itscorporate existence by making it a _colonia_, and much of the land hadbeen allotted to veterans of his own and Pompey's armies. The state thuslost the rent of the land, one of the few sources of revenue from Italynow drawn by the exchequer of Rome. ]

[Footnote 15: Letter CLII, vol. I. , pp. 310-324. ]

[Footnote 16: Quoted by Flavius Charisius, _Ars Gramm. _ i. , p. 126 (ed. Kiel). ]

[Footnote 17: Vol. Ii. , p. 204. ]

[Footnote 18: Vol. I. , p. 357. ]

[Footnote 19: CLXXVIII-CLXXXI. The date of the letter to P. Sittius(CLXXVIII) is not certain. ]

[Footnote 20: Vol. I. , p. 366. ]

[Footnote 21: Letter DXXXIII (_Fam. _ iv. 14), about October, B. C. 46. ]

[Footnote 22: Vol. I. , p. 226; Pliny, _Ep. _, vii. 33. ]

 "TULLIUS, of all the sons of royal Rome That are, or have been, or are yet to come, Most skilled to plead, most learned in debate, -- Catullus hails thee, small as thou art great. Take thou from him his thanks, his fond regards, The first of patrons from the least of bards. "

CATULLUS, xlix. (J. E. S. )

CICERO'S LETTERS

ERRATA IN VOL. I. 

Page 107, note 3, last line, _dele_ note of interrogation after "expenses. " " 193, note 4, last line, _for_ B. C. 45 _lege_ B. C. 46. " 253, Letter CXXII, _for_ A IV, 1, _lege_ A IV, 2. 

CICERO'S LETTERS

I (A I, 5)

[Sidenote: B. C. 68. Coss. , L. Cæcilius Metellus, Q. Marcius Rex. ]

 This opening of the correspondence finds Cicero, now in his thirty-ninth year, in the midst of his official career. He had already been quæstor (B. C. 75) and ædile (B. C. 69), and was looking forward to his election to the prætorship in the next year (B. C. 67). He had already risen almost to the highest place in his profession as advocate, and had partly delivered, partly published his great indictment of Verres only a year ago. He is married to Terentia (B. C. 80), and has one daughter, Tullia or Tulliola, born on August 5, probably the next year (B. C. 79). His intimacy with T. Pomponius Atticus (three years his senior), perhaps begun at school, had lasted at least eleven years, from the time when he met him at Athens (B. C. 79), and with him had been initiated in the Eleusinian mysteries (_de Leg. _ 2, § 36). There too they had both seen much of the writer's cousin Lucius, whose death he deplores in this letter (_de Fin. _ 5, § 1). Atticus had lived abroad in Athens and Epirus, with occasional visits home from B. C. 88 to B. C. 65, in which latter year he seems to have returned for a more lengthened stay (Nep. _Att. _ 4). The two friends have already corresponded frequently, but this is the first letter preserved. 

TO ATTICUS (AT ATHENS)

ROME

[Sidenote: B. C. 68, ÆT. 38]

We are such intimate friends that more than almost anyone else you canappreciate the grief as well as the actual public and private loss thatthe death of my cousin Lucius is to me. There is absolutely nogratification which any human being can receive from the kindlycharacter of another that I have not been accustomed to receive fromhim. I am sure, therefore, that you will share my grief. For, in thefirst place, whatever affects me affects you; and in the second place, you have yourself lost in him a friend and connexion of the highestcharacter and most obliging disposition, who was attached to you frompersonal inclination, as well as from my conversation. 

As to what you say in your letter about your sister, [23] she willherself bear me witness what pains I have taken that my brother Quintusshould show her proper affection. Thinking him somewhat inclined to beangry with her, I wrote to him in such a way as I thought would not hurthis feelings as a brother, while giving him some good advice as myjunior, and remonstrating with him as being in the wrong. The result isthat, from frequent letters since received from him, I feel confidentthat everything is as it ought and as we should wish it to be. 

As to the frequency of my letters you have no ground for your complaint. The fact is our good sister Pomponia never informed me of there being acourier ready to take a letter. Farthermore, I never chanced to know ofanyone going to Epirus, [24] and I was not till recently informed of yourbeing at Athens. 

Again, as to the business of Acutilius which you had left in my hands. Ihad settled it on my first visit to Rome after your departure. But itturned out that, in the first place, there was no urgency in the matter, and, in the second place, as I felt confidence in your judgment, Ipreferred that Peducæus[25] rather than myself should advise you byletter on the subject. For having submitted my ears to Acutilius forseveral days (and I think you know his style), I should scarcely haveregarded it as a hardship to write you a letter describing hisgrumblings after patiently enduring the bore (and it _was_ rather abore, I can tell you) of hearing them. Moreover, though you find faultwith me, allow me to observe that I have had only one letter from you, though you had greater leisure for writing, and more opportunity ofsending letters. 

As to what you say in your letter, "Even if anyone is inclined to beoffended with you, I ought to bring him to a better mind"--I understandto what you allude, and I have not neglected the matter. But the truthis that the extent of his displeasure is something surprising. However, I have not omitted to say anything there was to say in your behalf: buton what points I am to hold out your wishes, I consider, ought to be myguide. If you will write me word distinctly what they are, you will findthat I have had no desire to be more exacting, and in the future shallbe no more yielding, than you wish. [26]

As to the business of Tadius. He tells me that you have written him wordthat there was no need of farther trouble, since the property is securedby prescription. I am surprised that you do not know that in the case ofa statutory wardship of an unmarried girl prescription cannot bepleaded. [27]

I am glad you like your purchase in Epirus. What I commissioned you toget for me, and anything you see suitable to my Tusculan villa, I shouldbe glad if you will, as you say in your letter, procure for me, onlydon't put yourself to any inconvenience. The truth is, there is no otherplace that gives me complete rest after all my worries and hard work. 

I am expecting my brother Quintus every day. Terentia has a severeattack of rheumatism. She is devoted to you, to your sister, and yourmother, and adds her kindest regards in a postscript. So does my petTulliola. Love me, and be assured that I love you as a brother. 

[Footnote 23: Pomponia, married to Cicero's younger brother Quintus. Weshall frequently hear of this unfortunate marriage. Quintus was fouryears younger than his brother, who had apparently arranged the match, and felt therefore perhaps somewhat responsible for the result (Nep. _Att. _ 5). ]

[Footnote 24: Atticus had estates and a villa near Buthrotum inEpirus, --_Butrinto_ in Albania, opposite Corfu. ]

[Footnote 25: This is probably Sext. Peducæus the younger, an intimatefriend of Atticus (Nep. _Att. _ 21); his father had been prætor in Sicilywhen Cicero was quæstor (B. C. 76-75), the son was afterwards a partisanof Cæsar in the Civil War, governor of Sardinia, B. C. 48, and proprætorin Spain, B. C. 39. ]

[Footnote 26: The person alluded to is L. Lucceius, of whom we shallhear again. See Letters V, VII, VIII, CVIII. What his quarrel withAtticus was about, we do not know. ]

[Footnote 27: Prescriptive right to property was acquired by possession(_usus_) of two years. But no such right could be acquired to theproperty of a girl under guardianship (_pro Flacco_, § 84). ]

II (A I, 6)

TO ATTICUS (AT ATHENS)

ROME, DECEMBER

[Sidenote: B. C. 68, ÆT. 38]

I won't give you any excuse hereafter for accusing me of neglecting towrite. It is you that must take care that with all your leisure you keepup with me. 

Rabirius's house at Naples, [28]for the improvement of which you havedesigns drawn out and completed in imagination, has been bought by M. Fonteius[29] for 130, 000 sesterces (about £1, 040). I wished you to knowthis in case you were still hankering after it. 

We may be quite satisfied, I think, with my brother's feelings towardsPomponia. He is with her at present in his villa at Arpinum, and hasDecimus Turanius with him, who is great in _belles lettres_. 

The date of my father's death was the 28th of November. 

That is about all my news. If you light on any articles of _vertu_suitable for a gymnasium, which would look well in the place you wotof, [30] please don't let them slip. I am so delighted with my Tusculanvilla that I never feel really happy till I get there. Let me knowexactly what you are doing and intending to do about everything. 

[Footnote 28: C. Rabirius, whom Cicero defended in B. C. 63, whenprosecuted by Cæsar for his share in the murder of Saturninus (B. C. 100). He lived, we know, in Campania, for his neighbours came to giveevidence in his favour at the trial. ]

[Footnote 29: M. Fonteius made a fortune in the province of Gaul beyondthe Alps, of which he was proprætor, B. C. 77-74. In B. C. 69 he had beenaccused of malversation, and defended by Cicero. After his acquittal heseems to be buying a seaside residence in Campania, as so many of themen of fashion did. ]

[Footnote 30: Cicero's "gymnasium" was some arrangement of buildings andplantations more or less on the model of the Greek gymnasia, at hisTusculan villa. ]

III (A I, 7)

TO ATTICUS (AT ATHENS)

ROME, DECEMBER

[Sidenote: B. C. 68, ÆT. 38]

All's well at your mother's, [31] and I keep an eye on her. I haveundertaken to pay L. Cincius 20, 400 sesterces[32] to your credit on theIdes of February. Pray see that I receive at the earliest possibleopportunity what you say in your letters that you have bought andsecured for me. I should also be very much obliged if you would, as youpromised, think over the means of securing the library for me. My hopeof getting the one enjoyment which I care for, when I come to retire, depends entirely on your kindness. 

[Footnote 31: The mother of Atticus lived to be ninety, dying in B. C. 33, not long before Atticus himself, who at her funeral declared that"he had never been reconciled to her, for he had never had a word ofdispute with her" (Nep. _Att. _ 17). ]

[Footnote 32: This sum (about £163) is for the works of art purchasedfor the writer by Atticus. ]

IV (A I, 9)

[Sidenote: B. C. 67. Coss. , C. Calpurnius Piso, M. Acilius Glabrio. ]

 The year of Cicero's election to the prætorship. It is the year also of Pompey's great commission by the _lex Gabinia_ against the Pirates. But Cicero does not seem as yet much concerned with "foreign politics. "

TO ATTICUS (AT ATHENS)

ROME

[Sidenote: B. C. 67, ÆT. 39]

I get letters from you far too seldom considering that you can much moreeasily find people starting for Rome than I to Athens: considering, too, that you are more certain of my being at Rome than I of your being atAthens. For instance, it is owing to this uncertainty on my part thatthis very letter is somewhat short, because not being sure as to whereyou are, I don't choose my confidential talk to fall into strange hands. The Megaric statues and the Hermæ, which you mentioned in your letters, I am waiting for impatiently. Anything you have of the same kind whichmay strike you as worthy of my "Academia, " do not hesitate to send, andhave complete confidence in my money-chest. My present delight is topick up anything particularly suitable to a "gymnasium. " Lentuluspromises the use of his ships. I beg you to be zealous in these matters. Thyillus begs you (and I also at his request) to get him some writingsof the Eumolpidæ. [33]

V (A I, 8)

TO ATTICUS (AT ATHENS)

ROME

[Sidenote: B. C. 67, ÆT. 39]

All well at your house. Your mother and sister are regarded withaffection by me and my brother Quintus. I have spoken to Acutilius. Hesays that he has not heard from his agent, and professes surprise thatyou should make any difficulty of his having refused to guarantee youagainst farther demands. As to the business of Tadius, the announcementin your letter that you have settled the matter out of court I sawgratified and pleased him very much. That friend of mine[34]--a mostexcellent man, upon my honour, and most warmly attached to me--is veryangry with you. If I could but know how much you care about it, I shouldbe able to decide how much trouble I am to take in the matter. I havepaid L. Cincius the 20, 400 sesterces for the Megaric statues inaccordance with your letter to me. As to your Hermæ of Pentelic marblewith bronze heads, about which you wrote to me--I have fallen in lovewith them on the spot. So pray send both them and the statues, andanything else that may appear to you to suit the place you wot of, mypassion, and your taste--as large a supply and as early as possible. Above all, anything you think appropriate to a gymnasium and terrace. Ihave such a passion for things of this sort that while I expectassistance from you, I must expect something like rebuke from others. IfLentulus has no vessel there, put them on board anyone you please. Mypet Tulliola claims your present and duns me as your security. I amresolved, however, to disown the obligation rather than pay up for you. 

[Footnote 33: Thyillus (sometimes written Chilius), a Greek poet livingat Rome. See Letters XVI and XXI. The Eumolpidæ were a family of priestsat Athens who had charge of the temple of Demeter at Eleusis. The πάτριαΕὐμολπιδῶν (the phrase used by Cicero here) may be either books ofritual or records such as priests usually kept: πάτρια is an appropriateword for such rituals or records handed down by priests of one race orfamily. ]

[Footnote 34: Lucceius, as in the first letter and the next. ]

VI (A I, 10)

TO ATTICUS (AT ATHENS)

TUSCULUM

[Sidenote: B. C. 67, ÆT. 39]

"Being in my Tusculan villa" (that's for your "being in theCeramicus")--however, I being there, a courier sent by your sisterarrived from Rome and delivered me a letter from you, announcing at thesame time that the courier who was going to you started that veryafternoon. The result is that, though I do send _an_ answer, I am forcedby the shortness of the time to write only these few words. First, as tosoftening my friend's feeling towards you, or even reconciling himoutright, I pledge you my word to do so. Though I have been attemptingit already on my own account, I will now urge the point more earnestlyand press him closer, as I think I gather from your letter that you areso set upon it. This much I should like you to realize, that he is verydeeply offended; but since I cannot see any serious ground for it, Ifeel confident that he will do as I wish and yield to my influence. Asfor my statues and Hermeracles, pray put them on board, as you say inyour letter, at your very earliest convenience, and anything else youlight upon that may seem to you appropriate to the place you wot of, especially anything you think suitable to a palæstra and gymnasium. Isay this because I am sitting there as I write, so that the very placeitself reminds me. Besides these, I commission you to get me somemedallions to let into the walls of my little entrance-court, and twoengraved stone-curbs. Mind you don't engage your library to anyone, however keen a lover you may find; for I am hoarding up my littlesavings expressly to secure that resource for my old age. As to mybrother, I trust that all is as I have ever wished and tried to make it. There are many signs of that result--not least that your sister is_enceinte_. As for my election, I don't forget that I left the questionentirely to you, and I have all along been telling our common friendsthat I have not only not asked you to come, but have positivelyforbidden you to do so, because I understood that it was much moreimportant to you to carry through the business you have now in hand, than it is to me to have you at my election. I wish you therefore tofeel as though you had been sent to where you are in my interests. Nay, you will find me feeling towards you, and hear of it from others, exactly as though my success were obtained not only in your presence, but by your direct agency. 

Tulliola gives notice of action against you. She is dunning me as yoursurety. 

VII (A I, 11)

TO ATTICUS (AT ATHENS)

ROME

[Sidenote: B. C. 67, ÆT. 39]

I was doing so before spontaneously, and have been since greatly stirredby your two letters, with their earnest expressions to the same effect. Besides, Sallustius has been always at my side to prompt me to spare nopains to induce Lucceius to be reconciled to you. But after doingeverything that could be done, not only did I fail to renew his oldfeelings towards you, but I could not even succeed in eliciting thereason of his alienation. On his part, however, he keeps harping on thatarbitration case of his, and the other matters which I knew very wellbefore you left Rome were causing him offence. Still, he has certainlygot something else fixed deeper in his mind; and this no letters _from_you, and no commissioning of me will obliterate as easily as you will doin a personal interview, I don't mean merely by your words, but by theold familiar expression of your face--if only you think it worth while, as you will if you will listen to me, and be willing to act with yourhabitual kindness. Finally, you need not wonder why it is that, whereasI intimated in my letters that I felt hopeful of his yielding to myinfluence, I now appear to have no such confidence; for you can scarcelybelieve how much more stubborn his sentiment appears to me than Iexpected, and how much more obstinate he is in this anger. However, allthis will either be cured when you come, or will only be painful to theparty in fault. 

As to the sentence in your letter, "you suppose by this time I amprætor-elect, " let me tell you that there is no class of people at Romeso harassed by every kind of unreasonable difficulty as candidates foroffice; and that no one knows when the elections will be. [35] However, you will hear all this from Philadelphus. Pray despatch at the earliestopportunity what you have bought for my "Academia. " I am surprisinglydelighted with the mere thought of that place, to say nothing of itsactual occupation. Mind also not to let anyone else have your books. Reserve them, as you say in your letter, for me. I am possessed with theutmost longing for them, as I am with a loathing for affairs of everyother kind, which you will find in an incredibly worse position thanwhen you left them. [36]

[Footnote 35: The _comitia_ were twice postponed this year. Apparentlythe voting for Cicero had in each case been completed, so that he isable to say that he was "thrice returned at the head of the poll by anunanimous vote" (_de Imp. Pomp. _ § 2). The postponement of the electionswas probably connected with the struggles of the senate to hinder thelegislation (as to bribery) of the Tribune, Gaius Cornelius (Dio, 36, 38-39). ]

[Footnote 36: The first allusion in these letters to the disturbedposition of public affairs. See the passage of Dio quoted in theprevious note. There were so many riots in the interval between theproclamation and the holding of the elections, not without bloodshed, that the senate voted the consuls a guard. ]

VIII (A I, 3)

[Sidenote: B. C. 66. Coss. , M. Æmilius Lepidus, L. Volcatius Tullus. ]

 In this year Cicero was prætor, and delivered his first extant public speech (_apud populum_) in support of the _lex Manilia_, which gave Pompey the command in the Mithridatic War with the provinces of Asia and Bithynia. The strict Optimates opposed it. Cicero supported it on the grounds of the importance of the war and the proofs Pompey had already given of military ability, courage, personal prestige, and good fortune. He takes occasion to point out the mischief done to the Roman name by oppressive or fraudulent governors and imperators. In this same year he delivered one of his ablest speeches in court in defending A. Cluentius Habitus on a charge of poisoning. At the consular elections this year the two first elected were disabled for bribery. 

TO ATTICUS (AT ATHENS)

ROME, JANUARY

[Sidenote: B. C. 66, ÆT. 40]

I have to inform you of the death of your grandmother from pining atyour long absence, and at the same time because she was afraid that theLatin towns would revolt and fail to bring the victims up the AlbanMount. I presume that L. Saufeius will send you a letter of condolenceon the subject. [37] I am expecting you here in the course of January--isit a mere rumour or does it come from letters of yours to others? For tome you have not mentioned the subject. The statues which you got for mehave been landed at Caieta. I haven't seen them, for I have been unableto leave Rome. I have sent a man to clear the freightage. I amexceedingly obliged to you for having taken so much trouble to get them, and so reasonably. As to your frequent remarks in your letters aboutpacifying my friend, I have done everything I could and tried everyexpedient; but he is inveterate against you to a surprising degree, onwhat suspicions, though I think you have been told, you shall yet learnfrom me when you come. I failed to restore Sallustius[38] to his oldplace in his affections, and yet he was on the spot. I tell you thisbecause the latter used to find fault with me in regard to you. Well, hehas found by personal experience that _he_ is not so easy to pacify, andthat on my part no zeal has been lacking either on his or your behalf. Ihave betrothed Tulliola to C. Piso Frugi, son of Lucius. [39]

[Footnote 37: The point of this frigid joke is not clear. Was thegrandmother really dead? What was she to do with the Latin _feriæ_? Mr. Strachan Davidson's explanation is perhaps the best, that Cicero meansthat the old lady was thinking of the Social War in B. C. 89, when theloyalty of the Latin towns must have been a subject of anxiety. She isin her dotage and only remembers old scares. This is understanding_civitates_ with _Latinæ_. Others understand _feriæ_ or _mulieres_. Saufeius, a Roman eques, was an Epicurean, who would hold death to be noevil. He was a close friend of Atticus, who afterwards saved hisproperty from confiscation by the Triumvirs (Nep. _Att. _ 12). ]

[Footnote 38: Cneius Sallustius, a learned friend of Cicero's, of whomwe shall often hear again. ]

[Footnote 39: C. Calpurnius Piso, quæstor B. C. 58, died in B. C. 57. Themarriage took place in B. C. 63. ]

IX (A I, 4)

TO ATTICUS (AT ATHENS)

ROME

[Sidenote: B. C. 65, ÆT. 41]

You keep on making me expect you again and again. Only the other day, when I thought you on the point of arriving, I was suddenly put off byyou till Quintilis (July). Now, however, I _do_ think that you shouldcome at the time you mention if you possibly can. You will thereby be intime for my brother Quintus's election, will pay me a long-deferredvisit, and will settle the dispute with Acutilius. This latter Peducæusalso suggested my mentioning to you, for I think it is full time thatyou settled that affair. My good offices are at your service and alwayshave been so. Here at Rome I have conducted the case of Gaius Macer witha popular approval surpassing belief and unparalleled. Though I had beeninclined to take a lenient view of his case, yet I gained much moresubstantial advantage from the popular approval on his condemnationthan I should have got from his gratitude if he had been acquitted. [40]I am very glad to hear what you say about the Hermathena. It is anornament appropriate to my "Academia" for two reasons: Hermes is a signcommon to all gymnasia, Minerva specially of this particular one. So Iwould have you, as you say, adorn the place with the other objects also, and the more the better. The statues which you sent me before I have notyet seen. They are in my villa at Formiæ, whither I am at this momentthinking of going. I shall get them all transferred to my Tusculanvilla. If I find myself with more than I want there I shall beginadorning Caieta. Please reserve your books, and don't despair of mybeing able to make them mine. If I succeed in that, I am superior toCrassus in wealth and look down on everybody's manors and pastures. [41]

[Footnote 40: The annalist C. Licinius Macer was impeached _derepetundis_ (he was prætor about B. C. 70 or 69, and afterwards had aprovince), and finding that he was going to be condemned, committedsuicide. He was never therefore condemned regularly (Val. Max. Ix. 127;Plut. _Cic. _ 9). Cicero presided at the court as prætor. ]

[Footnote 41: The books must have been a very valuable collection, orCicero would hardly have made so much of being able to buy them, considering his lavish orders for statues or antiques. ]

X (A I, 1)

[Sidenote: B. C. 65. Coss. , L. Aurelius Cotta, L. Manlius Torquatus. ]

 The election to the consulship is not till the next year (B. C. 64), but Cicero is already making preparation for it, and looking out for support. In July his only son was born. He does not refer to the so-called "first Catilinarian conspiracy, " but mentions Catiline as a possible competitor, and even contemplates defending him on some charge brought against him to prevent his standing for the consulship. 

TO ATTICUS (AT ATHENS)

ROME, JULY

[Sidenote: B. C. 65, ÆT. 41]

The state of things in regard to my candidature, in which I know thatyou are supremely interested, is this, as far as can be as yetconjectured. The only person actually canvassing is P. SulpiciusGalba. [42] He meets with a good old-fashioned refusal without reserve ordisguise. In the general opinion this premature canvass of his is notunfavourable to my interests; for the voters generally give as a reasonfor their refusal that they are under obligations to me. So I hope myprospects are to a certain degree improved by the report getting aboutthat my friends are found to be numerous. My intention was to begin myown canvass just at the very time that Cincius[43] tells me that yourservant starts with this letter, namely, in the _campus_ at the time ofthe tribunician elections on the 17th of July. My fellow candidates, tomention only those who seem certain, are Galba and Antonius and Q. Cornificius. [44] At this I imagine you smiling or sighing. Well, to makeyou positively smite your forehead, there _are_ people who actuallythink that Cæsonius[45] will stand. I don't think Aquilius will, for heopenly disclaims it and has alleged as an excuse his health and hisleading position at the bar. Catiline will certainly be a candidate, ifyou can imagine a jury finding that the sun does not shine at noon. Asfor Aufidius and Palicanus, [46] I don't think you will expect to hearfrom me about them. Of the candidates for this year's election Cæsar isconsidered certain. Thermus is looked upon as the rival of Silanus. [47]These latter are so weak both in friends and reputation that it seems_pas impossible_ to bring in Curius over their heads. But no one elsethinks so. What seems most to my interests is that Thermus should getin with Cæsar. For there is none of those at present canvassing who, ifleft over to my year, seems likely to be a stronger candidate, from thefact that he is commissioner of the _via Flaminia_, and when that hasbeen finished, I shall be greatly relieved to have seen him electedconsul this election. [48] Such in outline is the position of affairs inregard to candidates up to date. For myself I shall take the greatestpains to carry out all the duties of a candidate, and perhaps, as Gaulseems to have a considerable voting power, as soon as business at Romehas come to a standstill I shall obtain a _libera legatio_ and make anexcursion in the course of September to visit Piso, [49] but so as not tobe back later than January. When I have ascertained the feelings of thenobility I will write you word. Everything else I hope will go smoothly, at any rate while my competitors are such as are now in town. You mustundertake to secure for me the _entourage_ of our friend Pompey, sinceyou are nearer than I. Tell him I shall not be annoyed if he doesn'tcome to my election. [50] So much for that business. But there is amatter for which I am very anxious that you should forgive me. Youruncle Cæcilius having been defrauded of a large sum of money by P. Varius, began an action against his cousin A. Caninius Satyrus for theproperty which (as he alleged) the latter had received from Varius by acollusive sale. He was joined in this action by the other creditors, among whom were Lucullus and P. Scipio, and the man whom they thoughtwould be official receiver if the property was put up for sale, LuciusPontius; though it is ridiculous to be talking about a receiver at thisstage in the proceedings. Cæcilius asked me to appear for him againstSatyrus. Now, scarcely a day passes that Satyrus does not call at myhouse. The chief object of his attentions is L. Domitius, [51] but I amnext in his regard. He has been of great service both to myself and tomy brother Quintus in our elections. I was very much embarrassed by myintimacy with Satyrus as well as that with Domitius, on whom the successof my election depends more than on anyone else. I pointed out thesefacts to Cæcilius; at the same time I assured him that if the case hadbeen one exclusively between himself and Satyrus, I would have done whathe wished. As the matter actually stood, all the creditors beingconcerned--and that too men of the highest rank, who, without the aid ofanyone specially retained by Cæcilius, would have no difficulty inmaintaining their common cause--it was only fair that he should haveconsideration both for my private friendship and my present situation. He seemed to take this somewhat less courteously than I could havewished, or than is usual among gentlemen; and from that time forth hehas entirely withdrawn from the intimacy with me, which was only of afew day's standing. [52] Pray forgive me, and believe that I wasprevented by nothing but natural kindness from assailing the reputationof a friend in so vital a point at a time of such very great distress, considering that he had shewn me every sort of kindness and attention. But if you incline to the harsher view of my conduct, take it that theinterests of my canvass prevented me. Yet, even granting that to be so, I think you should pardon me, "since not for sacred beast or oxhideshield. "[53] You see in fact the position I am in, and how necessary Iregard it, not only to retain but even to acquire all possible sourcesof popularity. I hope I have justified myself in your eyes, I am at anyrate anxious to have done so. The Hermathena you sent I am delightedwith: it has been placed with such charming effect that the wholegymnasium seems arranged specially for it. [54] I am exceedingly obligedto you. 

[Footnote 42: One of the judices rejected by Verres on his trial, apontifex and augur. ]

[Footnote 43: Agent of Atticus. ]

[Footnote 44: C. Antonius (uncle of M. Antonius) was elected withCicero. Q. Cornificius had been tr. Pl. In B. C. 69. See Letter XVIII. ]

[Footnote 45: M. Cæsonius, Cicero's colleague in the ædileship. He hadlost credit as one of the _Iunianum concilium_ in the trial ofOppianicus. ]

[Footnote 46: Aufidius Lurco, tr. Pl. B. C. 61. M. Lollius Palicanus, tr. Pl. Some years previously. ]

[Footnote 47: L. Iulius Cæsar, actually consul in B. C. 64, brother-in-law of Lentulus the Catilinarian conspirator, was afterwards_legatus_ to his distant kinsman, Iulius Cæsar, in Gaul. A. MinuciusThermus, defended by Cicero in B. C. 59, but the identification is notcertain. D. Iunius Silanus got the consulship in the year after Cicero(B. C. 62), and as consul-designate spoke in favour of executing theCatilinarian conspirators. ]

[Footnote 48: The text is corrupt in all MSS. I have assumed a reading, something of this sort, _quæ cum erit absoluta, sane facile ac libentereum nunc fieri consulem viderim_. This at any rate gives nearly therequired sense, which is that Cicero regards the influence which Thermuswill gain by managing the repair of the _Flaminia_ as likely to make hima formidable candidate, and therefore he would be glad to see himelected in the present year 65 (_nunc_) rather than wait for the next, his own year. ]

[Footnote 49: C. Calpurnis Piso, consul in B. C. 67, then proconsul ofGallia Transalpina (Narbonensis). He was charged with embezzlement inhis province and defended by Cicero in B. C. 63. There were no votes inTransalpine Gaul, but Cicero means in going and coming to canvass theCispadane cities. ]

[Footnote 50: Pompey was this year on his way to take over theMithridatic War. But Cicero may have thought it likely that he or someof his staff would pass through Athens and meet Atticus. ]

[Footnote 51: L. Domitius Ahenobarbus, prætor in B. C. 58, and consulB. C. 54, fell at Pharsalia, fighting against Cæsar. ]

[Footnote 52: Q. Cæcilius, a rich uncle of Atticus, so cross-grainedthat no one but Atticus could get on with him, to whom he accordinglyleft his large fortune (Nep. _Att. _ 5). ]

[Footnote 53: Hom. _Il. _ xxii. 159, Achilles pursuing Hector:

 "Since not for sacred beast or oxhide shield They strove, --man's guerdon for the fleet of foot: Their stake was Hector's soul, the swift steed's lord. "]

[Footnote 54: Reading _eius_ ἀνάθημα, and taking the latter word in thecommon sense of "ornament": the Hermathena is so placed that the wholegymnasium is as it were an ornament to it, designed to set it off, instead of its being a mere ornament to the gymnasium. ProfessorTyrrell, however, will not admit that the words can have this or anymeaning, and reads, ἡλίου ἄναμμα, "sun light"--"the whole gymnasiumseems as bright as the sun"--a curious effect, after all, for one statueto have. ]

XI (A I, 2)

TO ATTICUS (AT ATHENS)

ROME, JULY

[Sidenote: B. C. 65, ÆT. 41]

I have to inform you that on the day of the election of L. Iulius Cæsarand C. Marcius Figulus to the consulship, I had an addition to my familyin the shape of a baby boy. Terentia doing well. 

Why such a time without a letter from you? I have already written to youfully about my circumstances. At this present time I am consideringwhether to undertake the defence of my fellow candidate, Catiline. [55]We have a jury to our minds with full consent of the prosecutor. I hopethat if he is acquitted he will be more closely united with me in theconduct of our canvass; but if the result be otherwise I shall bear itwith resignation. Your early return is of great importance to me, forthere is a very strong idea prevailing that some intimate friends ofyours, persons of high rank, will be opposed to my election. To win metheir favour I see that I shall want you very much. Wherefore be sure tobe in Rome in January, as you have agreed to be. 

 * * * * *

[Sidenote: B. C. 62. Coss. , D. Iunius Silanus, L. Licinius Murena. ]

 We have no letters to or from Cicero in the years B. C. 64 and 63, [56] partly, no doubt, because Atticus was in Rome a great deal during these years. We take up the correspondence, therefore, after an interval of two years, which in many respects were the most important in Cicero's life. In B. C. 64 he attained his chief ambition by being elected to the consulship, but we have little trace of his public actions that year, only the fragments of one speech remaining, in defence of Q. Gallius on a charge of _ambitus_. The animus of the popular party, however, is shewn by the prosecution of some surviving partisans of Sulla on charges of homicide, among them Catiline, who by some means escaped conviction (Dio, xxxvii. 10). In the year of the consulship (B. C. 63) some of Cicero's most important speeches were delivered. The three on the agrarian proposals of Rullus present him to us for the first time as discussing an important question of home politics, the disposal of the _ager publicus_, a question which had become again prominent owing to the great additions made to it by the confiscations of Sulla. He also defended C. Rabirius, prosecuted by Iulius Cæsar for the murder of Saturninus as long ago as B. C. 100, and later in the year defended Murena on a charge of _ambitus_. Finally, the three Catilinarian speeches illustrate the event which coloured the whole of Cicero's life. In B. C. 62 his brother Quintus was prætor and Cicero defended in his court P. Sulla, accused of complicity with Catiline. On the 29th of December (B. C. 63) the tribune Q. Cæcilius Metellus Nepos prevented Cicero from making a speech when laying down his consulship, and went on to propose summoning Pompey to Rome, "to protect the lives of the citizens. " This led to scenes of violence, and Metellus fled to Pompey, who reached Italy late in the year B. C. 62 from the East. 

[Footnote 55: Asconius assigns this to the accusation of embezzlement inAfrica. But that seems to have been tried in the previous year, orearlier in this year. The new impeachment threatened seems to have beenconnected with his crimes in the proscriptions of Sulla (Dio, xxxvii, 10). Cicero may have thought of defending him on a charge relating to sodistant a period, just as he did Rabirius on the charge of murderingSaturninus (B. C. 100), though he had regarded his guilt in the case ofextortion in Africa as glaring. ]

[Footnote 56: The essay on the duties of a candidate attributed toQuintus is hardly a letter, and there is some doubt as to itsauthenticity. I have therefore relegated it to an appendix. ]

XII (F V, 7)

TO CN. POMPEIUS MAGNUS

ROME

_M. Tullius Cicero, son of Marcus, greets Cn. Pompeius, son of Cneius, Imperator. _

[Sidenote: B. C. 62. ÆT. 44]

If you and the army are well I shall be glad. From your officialdespatch I have, in common with everyone else, received the liveliestsatisfaction; for you have given us that strong hope of peace, of which, in sole reliance on you, I was assuring everyone. But I must inform youthat your old enemies--now posing as your friends--have received astunning blow by this despatch, and, being disappointed in the highhopes they were entertaining, are thoroughly depressed. Though yourprivate letter to me contained a somewhat slight expression of youraffection, yet I can assure you it gave me pleasure: for there isnothing in which I habitually find greater satisfaction than in theconsciousness of serving my friends; and if on any occasion I do notmeet with an adequate return, I am not at all sorry to have the balanceof kindness in my favour. Of this I feel no doubt--even if myextraordinary zeal in your behalf has failed to unite you to me--thatthe interests of the state will certainly effect a mutual attachment andcoalition between us. To let you know, however, what I missed in yourletter I will write with the candour which my own disposition and ourcommon friendship demand. I did expect _some_ congratulation in yourletter on my achievements, for the sake at once of the ties between usand of the Republic. This I presume to have been omitted by you from afear of hurting anyone's feelings. But let me tell you that what I didfor the salvation of the country is approved by the judgment andtestimony of the whole world. You are a much greater man than Africanus, but I am not much inferior to Lælius either; and when you come home youwill recognize that I have acted with such prudence and spirit, thatyou will not be ashamed of being coupled with me in politics as well asin private friendship. 

XIII (F V, I)

Q. METELLUS CELER TO CICERO

CISALPINE GAUL

_Q. Metellus Celer, son of Quintus, proconsul, greets M. TulliusCicero. _[57]

[Sidenote: B. C. 62. ÆT. 44]

If you are well I am glad. I had thought, considering our mutual regardand the reconciliation effected between us, that I was not likely to beheld up to ridicule in my absence, nor my brother attacked by you in hiscivil existence and property for the sake of a mere word. If his ownhigh character was not a sufficient protection to him, yet either theposition of our family, or my own loyal conduct to you and the Republic, ought to have been sufficient to support him. As it is, I see that hehas been ruined and I abandoned by the last people in the world whoought to have done so. I am accordingly in sorrow and wearing mourningdress, while actually in command of a province and army and conducting awar. And seeing that your conduct in this affair has neither beenreasonable nor in accordance with the milder methods of old times, youmust not be surprised if you live to repent it. I did not expect to findyou so fickle towards me and mine. For myself, meanwhile, neither familysorrow nor ill-treatment by any individual shall withdraw me from theservice of the state. 

[Footnote 57: Q. Metellus Celer had been prætor in B. C. 63 and was now(B. C. 62), as proconsul in Gallia Cisalpina, engaged against the remainsof the Catilinarian conspiracy. Meanwhile his brother (or cousin) Q. Cæcilius Metellus Nepos, a tribune, after trying in vain to bring Ciceroto trial for the execution of the conspirators, at last proposed tosummon Pompey to Rome to prevent danger to the lives of citizens. Thisattempt led to riots and contests with Cato, and Nepos finally fled fromRome to Pompey. By leaving Rome he broke the law as to the tribunes, andthe senate declared his office vacant, and this letter would even seemto shew that the senate declared him a public enemy. This letter ofremonstrance is peremptory, if not insolent, in tone, and the readerwill observe that the formal sentences, dropped in more familiarletters, are carefully used. ]

XIV (F V, 2)

TO Q. METELLUS (IN CISALPINE GAUL)

ROME

_M. Tullius, son of Marcus, to Q. Metellus Celer, son of Quintus, proconsul, wishes health. _

[Sidenote: B. C. 62, ÆT. 44]

If you and the army are well I shall be glad. You say in your letterthat you "thought, considering our mutual regard and the reconciliationeffected between us, that you were not likely to be held up to ridiculeby me. " To what you refer I do not clearly understand, but I suspectthat you have been informed that, while arguing in the senate that therewere many who were annoyed at my having saved the state, I said thatyour relations, whose wishes you had been unable to withstand, hadinduced you to pass over in silence what you had made up your mind youought to say in the senate in my praise. But while saying so I alsoadded this--that the duty of supporting the Republic had been so dividedbetween us that I was defending the city from internal treachery and thecrime of its own citizens, you Italy from armed enemies and covertconspiracy;[58] yet that this association in a task so noble and soglorious had been imperilled by your relations, who, while you had beencomplimented by me in the fullest and most laudatory terms, had beenafraid of any display of mutual regard on your part being put to mycredit. As this sentence betrayed how much I had looked forward to yourspeech, and how mistaken I had been in that expectation, my speechcaused some amusement, and was received with a moderate amount oflaughter; but the laugh was not against you, it was rather at mymistake, and at the open and _naïve_ confession of my eagerness to becommended by you. Surely it cannot but be a compliment to you that inthe hour of my greatest triumph and glory I yet wished for sometestimony of approval from your lips. As to your expression, "considering our mutual regard"--I don't know your idea of what is"mutual" in friendship; mine is an equal interchange of good feeling. Now if I were to mention that I passed over a province for your sake, you might think me somewhat insincere; for, in point of fact, it suitedmy convenience, and I feel more and more every day of my life theadvantage and pleasure which I have received from that decision. Butthis I do say--the moment I had announced in public meeting my refusalof a province, I began at once thinking how I might hand it on to you. Isay nothing as to the circumstances of your allotment: I only wish youto suspect that nothing was done in that matter by my colleague withoutmy cognizance. Recall the other circumstances: how promptly I summonedthe senate on that day after the lots had been drawn, at what a length Ispoke about you. You yourself said at the time that my speech was notmerely complimentary to you, but absolutely a reflexion on yourcolleagues. Farther, the decree of the senate passed on that day hassuch a preamble that, so long as it is extant, there can never be anydoubt of my services to you. Subsequently, when you had gone out oftown, I would have you recall my motions in the senate, my speeches inpublic meetings, my letters to yourself. And having reviewed all thesetogether, I would like you to judge yourself whether you think that yourapproach to Rome the last time you came quite shewed an adequate returnfor all these services. [59] Again, as to your expression, "thereconciliation effected between us"--I do not understand why you speakof "reconciliation" in the case of a friendship that had never beenbroken. As to what you say, that your brother Metellus ought not "tohave been attacked by me for a mere word, " in the first place I wouldlike to assure you that your feeling and fraternal partiality--so fullof human kindness and natural affection--meet with my warmestapprobation; in the next place I must claim your indulgence if I have inany matter opposed your brother in the interests of the Republic, for mydevotion to the Republic is paramount. If, however, it is my personalsafety that I have defended against a most ruthless assault of his, Ithink you should be content that I make no complaint even to you of yourbrother's injurious conduct. Now, when I had become aware that he wasdeliberately making every preparation to use his tribunician office tomy ruin, I appealed to your wife Claudia[60] and your sister Mucia[61](of whose kindness to me for the sake of my friendship with Pompey I hadsatisfied myself by many instances) to deter him from that injuriousconduct. And yet, as I am sure you have heard, on the last day ofDecember he inflicted upon me--a consul and the preserver of mycountry--an indignity such as was never inflicted upon the most disloyalcitizen in the humblest office: that is to say, he deprived me whenlaying down my office of the privilege of addressing the people--anindignity, however, which after all redounded to my honour. For, uponhis forbidding me to do anything but take the oath, I pronounced an oathat once the most absolutely true and the most glorious in a loudvoice--an oath which the people swore also in a loud voice to beabsolutely true. Though I had actually suffered this signal indignity, Iyet on that same day sent common friends to Metellus to persuade him toalter his resolution; to whom he answered that he was no longer free todo so. And, in fact, a short time previously he _had_ said in a publicmeeting that a man who had punished others without trial ought nothimself to be allowed the privilege of speech. What a model ofconsistency! What an admirable citizen! So he deemed the man who hadsaved the senate from massacre, the city from the incendiary, Italy fromwar, deserving of the same penalty as that inflicted by the senate, withthe unanimous approval of all loyal citizens, upon those who hadintended to set fire to the city, butcher magistrates and senate, andstir up a formidable war! Accordingly, I did withstand your brotherMetellus to his face: for on the 1st of January, in the senate, Imaintained a debate with him on the state of the Republic, such astaught him that he had to contend with a man of courage and firmness. Onthe 3rd of January, [62] on again opening the debate, he kept harping onme and threatening me at every third word of his speech; nor could anyintention be more deliberate than his was to overthrow me by any meansin his power, not by calm and judicial argument, but by violence andmere browbeating. If I had not shewn some boldness and spirit inopposing his intemperate attack, would not everyone have concluded thatthe courage I had displayed in my consulship was the result of accidentrather than design? If you did not know that Metellus was contemplatingthese measures in regard to me, you must consider that you have beenkept in the dark by your brother on matters of the utmost importance:if, on the other hand, he did intrust any part of his designs to you, then surely I ought to be regarded by you as a man of placable andreasonable temper for not addressing a word of reproach to you even onsuch occurrences as these. Understanding then that it was by no "mereword" (as you express it) of Metellus that I was roused, but by hisdeliberate policy and extraordinary animosity towards me, next observemy forbearance--if "forbearance" is the name to be given to irresolutionand laxity under a most galling indignity. I never once delivered a votein a speech against your brother: every time a motion was before thehouse I assented without rising to those whose proposal appeared to meto be the mildest. I will also add that, though in the circumstancesthere was no obligation upon me to do so, yet so far from raisingobjections I actually did my best to secure that my enemy, because hewas your brother, should be relieved from penalties by a decree of thesenate. [63] Wherefore I have not "attacked" your brother, but onlydefended myself from your brother's attack; nor have I been "fickle" (toquote your word), but, on the contrary, so constant, that I remainedfaithful to my friendship to you, though left without any sign ofkindness from you. For instance, at this moment, though your letteramounts almost to a threat, I am writing back an answer such as you see. I not only pardon your vexation, I even applaud it in the highestdegree; for my own heart tells me how strong is the influence offraternal affection. I ask you in your turn to put a liberalconstruction upon my vexation, and to conclude that when attacked byyour relatives with bitterness, with brutality, and without cause, I notonly ought not to retract anything, but, in a case of that kind, shouldeven be able to rely upon the aid of yourself and your army. I havealways wished to have you as a friend: I have taken pains to make youunderstand that I am a warm friend to you. I abide by that sentiment, and shall abide by it as long as _you_ will let me; and I shall morereadily cease to be angry with your brother for love of you, than Ishall from anger with him abate in the smallest degree my kindness foryou. 

[Footnote 58: Metellus had been employed with Antonius against the campat Fæsulæ, but was now engaged against some Alpine tribes. ]

[Footnote 59: When Metellus was commanding against Catiline, it issuggested that he marched towards Rome to support his brother, but thisis conjecture. ]

[Footnote 60: Sister of P. Clodius. Of this famous woman we shall hearoften again. She is believed to be the Lesbia of Catullus, and she isthe "Palatine Medea" of the speech _pro Cælio_. Yet, in spite ofCicero's denunciations of her, he seems at one time to have been so fondof her society as to rouse Terentia's jealousy. ]

[Footnote 61: Wife of Pompey--divorced by him on his return from theEast. ]

[Footnote 62: On the next meeting of the senate. The second was a _diescomitialis_ on which the senate usually did not meet (Cæs. _B. Civ. _ i. I). ]

[Footnote 63: For the riots caused by his contests with Cato (on whichthe senate seems to have passed the _senatus consultum ultimum_), andfor his having left Rome while tribune. ]

XV (F V, 6)

TO P. SESTIUS[64] (IN MACEDONIA)

ROME, DECEMBER

[Sidenote: B. C. 62, ÆT. 44]

Decius the copyist has been to see me, and begged me to try and securethat no successor should be appointed to you this turn. Though Iregarded him as a man of good character and attached to you, yet, remembering the tenor of your previous letter to me, I could not feelcertain that the wishes of a cautious man of the world like yourself hadundergone so complete a change. But after your wife Cornelia had calledon Terentia, and I had had a conversation with Q. Cornelius, I took careto be present at every meeting of the senate, and found that thegreatest trouble was to make Fufius the tribune, and the others to whomyou had written, believe me rather than your own letters. The wholebusiness has, after all, been postponed till January, but there is nodifficulty about it. Roused by your congratulations--for in a lettersometime ago you wished me good luck on the completion of my purchase ofa house from Crassus--I have bought that very house for 3, 500 sestertia(about £28, 000), a good while subsequent to your congratulation. Accordingly, you may now look upon me as being so deeply in debt as tobe eager to join a conspiracy if anyone would admit me! But, partly frompersonal dislike they shut their doors in my face and openly denounce meas the punisher of conspiracy, partly are incredulous and afraid that Iam setting a trap for them! Nor do they suppose that a man can be shortof money who has relieved the money-lenders from a state of siege. Inpoint of fact, money is plentiful at six per cent. , and the success ofmy measures has caused me to be regarded as a good security. Your ownhouse, and all the details of its construction, I have examined andstrongly approve. As for Antonius, [65] though everyone notices his wantof attention to my interests, I have nevertheless defended him in thesenate with the utmost earnestness and persistence, and have made astrong impression on the senate by my language as well as by my personalprestige. Pray write to me more frequently. 

[Footnote 64: P. Sestius was serving as proquæstor in Macedonia underGaius Antonius. As tribune in B. C. 57 he worked for Cicero's recall, butwas afterwards prosecuted _de vi_, and defended by Cicero. ]

[Footnote 65: Gaius Antonius, Cicero's colleague in the consulship. Hehad the province of Macedonia after the consulship, Cicero havingvoluntarily withdrawn in his favour to secure his support againstCatiline. Scandal said that he had bargained to pay Cicero large sumsfrom the profits of the province. He governed so corruptly andunsuccessfully that he was on his return condemned of _maiestas_. ]

XVI (A I, 12)

[Sidenote: B. C. 61. Coss. , M. Papius Piso, M. Valerius Messalla. ]

 The letters of this year are much concerned with the sacrilege of P. Clodius, who, it was alleged, had been detected in disguise in the house of the Pontifex Maximus Iulius Cæsar, when his wife was celebrating the mysteries of the Bona Dea, from which males were excluded. His trial was made the occasion of bitter party struggles, and by giving evidence in contradiction of Clodius's alibi Cicero incurred his enmity, and eventually, therefore, his own exile. Quintus is proprætor in Asia, Cæsar in Spain. Pompey reached Rome early this year. The _ordo equester_ is much irritated with the senate on the question of the contracts for the collection of the Asiatic taxes. 

TO ATTICUS (IN EPIRUS)

ROME, 1 JANUARY

[Sidenote: B. C. 61, ÆT. 45]

The Teucris[66] business hangs fire, and Cornelius has not called onTerentia since. I suppose I must have recourse to Considius, Axius, andSelicius:[67] for his nearest relations can't get a penny out ofCæcilius[68] under twelve per cent. But to return to my first remark: Inever saw anything more shameless, artful, and dilatory. "I am on thepoint of sending my freedman, " "I have commissioned Titus"--excuses anddelays at every turn! But perhaps it is a case of _l'homme propose_, [69]for Pompey's advance couriers tell me that he means to move in thesenate that a successor to Antonius ought to be named, and the prætorintends to bring the proposal before the people at the same time. Thefacts are such that I cannot defend him in view of the opinion eitherof the aristocrats or the people, and, what is more than anything else, that I have no wish to do so. For a thing has happened into the truth ofwhich I charge you to look thoroughly. I have a freedman, who is aworthless fellow enough; I mean Hilarus, an accountant and a client ofyour own. The interpreter Valerius gives me this information about him, and Thyillus writes me word that he has been told the same story: thatthe fellow is with Antonius, and that Antonius, in exacting moneypayments, frequently remarks that a part is being collected for me, andthat I have sent a freedman to look after our common interests. I feltexceedingly disturbed, and yet could not believe it; but at any ratethere has been some gossip of the sort. Pray look into the whole matter, learn the truth, find out the author, and get the empty-headed idiot outof the country, if you possibly can. Valerius mentions Cn. Plancius asthe origin of this gossip. I trust you thoroughly to investigate andfind out what is at the bottom of it. I have good reason to believe thatPompey is most kindly disposed to me. His divorce of Mucia is stronglyapproved. [70] I suppose you have heard that P. Clodius, son of Appius, was caught in woman's clothes at Gaius Cæsar's house, while the statefunction was going on, and that he was saved and got out by means of amaid-servant; and that the affair is causing immense scandal. I feelsure you will be sorry for it. [71] I have nothing else to tell you. And, indeed, at the moment of writing, I am in considerable distress: for adelightful youth, my reader Sosthenes, has just died, and his death hasaffected me more than that of a slave should, I think, do. Pray writeoften. If you have no news, write just what comes uppermost. 

1 January, in the consulship of M. Messalla and M. Piso. 

[Footnote 66: From expressions in the following letters it seems certainthat this refers to money expected from Gaius Antonius; but we have nomeans of deciding whether or no Teucris is a pseudonym for some agent. Cicero had undertaken to be the advocate and supporter of Antonius, andthough as an actual _patronus_ in court he could not take money, he mayhave felt justified in receiving supplies from him. Still, he knew thecharacter of Antonius, and how such wealth was likely to be got, and itis not a pleasant affair. ]

[Footnote 67: Money-lenders. ]

[Footnote 68: The rich and cross-grained uncle of Atticus. See LetterX. ]

[Footnote 69: Cicero quotes half a Greek verse of Menander's, ταὐτόματονἡμῶν, leaving Atticus to fill up the other two words, καλλίω βουλεύεται, "Chance designs better than we ourselves. "]

[Footnote 70: Mucia was suspected of intriguing with Iulius Cæsar. ]

[Footnote 71: The chief festival of the Bona Dea (Tellus) was in May. The celebration referred to here took place on the night between the 3rdand 4th of December. It was a state function (_pro populo_), and wascelebrated in the presence of the Vestals and the wife of the consul orprætor urbanus, _in ea domo quæ est in imperio_. As Cæsar was PontifexMaximus, as well as prætor urbanus, it took place in the _Regia_, thePontiff's official house (Plutarch, _Cic. _ 19; Dio, xxxvii. 35). ]

XVII (F V, 5)

TO C. ANTONIUS (IN MACEDONIA)

ROME, JANUARY

_M. Cicero wishes health to Gaius Antonius, son of Marcus, Imperator. _

[Sidenote: B. C. 61, ÆT. 45]

Though I had resolved to write you nothing but formal letters ofintroduction (not because I felt that they had much weight with you, butto avoid giving those who asked me for them an idea that there had beenany diminution in our friendship), yet since Titus Pomponius is startingfor your province, who knows better than anyone else all that I feel andhave done for you, who desires your friendship and is most devotedlyattached to me, I thought I must write something, especially as I had noother way of satisfying Pomponius himself. Were I to ask from youservices of the greatest moment, it ought not to seem surprising toanyone: for you have not wanted from me any that concerned yourinterests, honour, or position. That no return has been made by you forthese you are the best witness: that something even of a contrary naturehas proceeded from you I have been told by many. I say "told, " for I donot venture to say "discovered, "[72] lest I should chance to use theword which people tell me is often falsely attributed to me by you. Butthe story which has reached my ears I would prefer your learning fromPomponius (who was equally hurt by it) rather than from my letter. Howsingularly loyal my feelings have been to you the senate and Romanpeople are both witnesses. How far you have been grateful to me you mayyourself estimate: how much you owe me the rest of the world estimates. I was induced to do what I did for you at first by affection, andafterwards by consistency. Your future, believe me, stands in need ofmuch greater zeal on my part, greater firmness and greater labour. [73]These labours, unless it shall appear that I am throwing away andwasting my pains, I shall support with all the strength I have; but if Isee that they are not appreciated, I shall not allow you--the veryperson benefited[74]--to think me a fool for my pains. What the meaningof all this is you will be able to learn from Pomponius. In commendingPomponius to you, although I am sure you will do anything in your powerfor his own sake, yet I do beg that if you have any affection for meleft, you will display it all in Pomponius's business. You can do me nogreater favour than that. 

[Footnote 72: The word (_comperisse_) used by Cicero in regard to theCatilinarian conspiracy; it had apparently become a subject of rathermalignant chaff. ]

[Footnote 73: Cicero is hinting at the danger of prosecution hangingover the head of Antonius. ]

[Footnote 74: Reading _tibi ipsi_ (not _ipse_), with Tyrrell. ]

XVIII (A 1, 13)

TO ATTICUS (IN EPIRUS)

ROME, 27 JANUARY

[Sidenote: B. C. 61, ÆT. 45]

I have now received three letters from you--one by the hands of M. Cornelius, which you gave him, I think, at Three Taverns; a second whichyour host at Canusium delivered to me; a third dated, according to you, from on board your pinnace, when the cable was already slipped. [75] Theywere all three, to use a phrase from the schools of rhetoric flavouredwith the salt of learning, and illumined with the marks of affection. Inthese letters, indeed, I am urgently pressed by you to send answers, butwhat renders me rather dilatory in this respect is the difficulty offinding a trustworthy carrier. How few of these gentry are able toconvey a letter rather weightier than usual without lightening it byskimming its contents! Besides, I do not always care to send[76]whenever anyone is starting for Epirus: for I suppose that, havingoffered victims before your Amaltheia, [77] you at once started for thesiege of Sicyon. And yet I am not even certain when you start to visitAntonius or how much time you are devoting to Epirus. Accordingly, Idon't venture to trust either Achæans or Epirotes with a letter somewhatmore outspoken than usual. Now some events _have_ occurred since youleft me worth my writing to you, but they must not be trusted to therisk of a letter being lost, opened, or intercepted. 

Well, then, to begin with: I was not called upon to speak first, and thepacifier of the Allobroges[78] was preferred to me, and though this metwith some murmurs of disapprobation from the senate, I was not sorry itwas done. For I am thereby freed from any obligation to shew respect toan ill-conditioned man, and am at liberty to support my position in theRepublic in spite of him. Besides, the second place has a dignity almostequal to that of _princeps senatus_, and does not put one under too muchof an obligation to the consul. The third called on was Catulus; thefourth, if you want to go still farther, Hortensius. The consulhimself[79] is a man of a small and ill-regulated mind, a mere buffoonof that splenetic kind which raises a laugh even in the absence of wit:it is his face rather than his facetiousness[80] that causes merriment:he takes practically no part in public business, and is quite alienatedfrom the Optimates. You need expect no service to the state from him, for he has not the will to do any, nor fear any damage, for he hasn'tthe courage to inflict it. His colleague, however, treats me with greatdistinction, and is also a zealous supporter of the loyalist party. Forthe present their disagreement has not come to much; but I fear thatthis taint may spread farther. For I suppose you have heard that whenthe state function was being performed in Cæsar's house a man in woman'sdress got in, [81] and that the Vestals having performed the rite again, mention was made of the matter in the senate by Q. Cornificius--he wasthe first, so don't think that it was one of us consulars--and that onthe matter being referred by a decree of the senate to the [Virgins and]pontifices, they decided that a sacrilege had been committed: that then, on a farther decree of the senate, the consuls published a bill: andthat Cæsar divorced his wife. On this question Piso, from friendship forP. Clodius, is doing his best to get the bill promulgated by himself(though in accordance with a decree of the senate and on a point ofreligion) rejected. Messalla as yet is strongly for severe measures. Theloyalists hold aloof owing to the entreaties of Clodius: bands ofruffians are being got together: I myself, at first a stern Lycurgus, ambecoming daily less and less keen about it: Cato is hot and eager. Inshort, I fear that between the indifference of the loyalists and thesupport of the disloyal it may be the cause of great evils to theRepublic. However, your great friend[82]--do you know whom I mean?--ofwhom you said in your letter that, "not venturing to blame me, he wasbeginning to be complimentary, " is now to all appearance exceedinglyfond of me, embraces me, loves and praises me in public, while in secret(though unable to disguise it) he is jealous of me. No good-breeding, nostraightforwardness, no political morality, no distinction, no courage, no liberality! But on these points I will write to you more minutely atanother time; for in the first place I am not yet quite sure about them, and in the next place I dare not intrust a letter on such weightymatters to such a casual nobody's son as this messenger. 

The prætors have not yet drawn their lots for the provinces. The matterremains just where you left it. The description of the scenery ofMisenum and Puteoli which you ask for I will include in my speech. [83] Ihad already noticed the mistake in the date, 3rd of December. The pointsin my speeches which you praise, believe me, I liked very much myself, but did not venture to say so before. Now, however, as they havereceived your approval, I think them much more "Attic" than ever. To thespeech in answer to Metellus[84] I have made some additions. The bookshall be sent you, since affection for me gives you a taste forrhetoric. What news have I for you? Let me see. Oh, yes! The consulMessalla has bought Antonius's house for 3, 400 sestertia (about£27, 200). What is that to me? you will say. Why, thus much. The pricehas convinced people that I made no bad bargain, and they begin tounderstand that in making a purchase a man may properly use his friends'means to get what suits his position. The Teucris affair drags on, yet Ihave hopes. Pray settle the business you have in hand. You shall have amore outspoken letter soon. 

27 January, in the consulship of M. Messalla and M. Piso. 

[Footnote 75: _Ora soluta. _ Or, if _ancora sublata_ be read, "when theanchor was already weighed. " In either case it means "just as you werestarting. " Atticus wrote on board, and gave the letter to a carrier totake on shore. ]

[Footnote 76: A word lost in the text. ]

[Footnote 77: See end of Letter XXI. Cicero playfully supposes thatAtticus only stayed in his villa in Epirus to offer sacrifices to thenymph in his gymnasium, and then hurried off to Sicyon, where peopleowed him money which he wanted to get. He goes to Antonius first to gethis authority for putting pressure on Sicyon, and perhaps even somemilitary force. ]

[Footnote 78: C. Calpurnius Piso (consul B. C. 67), brother of the consulof the year, had been governor of Gallia Narbonensis (B. C. 66-65), andhad suppressed a rising of the Allobroges, the most troublesome tribe inthe province, who were, in fact, again in rebellion. ]

[Footnote 79: M. Pupius Piso. ]

[Footnote 80: "By the expression of his face rather than the force ofhis expressions" (Tyrrell). ]

[Footnote 81: See p. 27, note 2. ]

[Footnote 82: Pompey. ]

[Footnote 83: Or, "inclose with my speech"; in both cases the dative_orationi meæ_ is peculiar. No speech exists containing such adescription, but we have only two of the previous year extant (_proFlacco_ and _pro Archia Poeta_). Cicero was probably sending it, whichever it was, to Atticus to be copied by his _librarii_, andpublished. Atticus had apparently some other works of Cicero's in hand, for which he had sent him some "queries. "]

[Footnote 84: Apparently the speech in the senate referred to in LetterXIV, p. 23, spoken on 1st January, B. C. 62. Metellus had prevented his_contio_ the day before. ]

XIX (A I, 14)

TO ATTICUS (IN EPIRUS)

ROME, 13 FEBRUARY

[Sidenote: B. C. 61, ÆT. 45]

I fear it may seem affectation to tell you how occupied I have been; butI am so distracted with business that I have only just found time forthis short letter, and that has been stolen from the most urgentengagements. I have already described to you Pompey's first publicspeech--it did not please the poor, nor satisfy the disloyal, nor findfavour with the wealthy, nor appear sound to the loyalists; accordingly, he is down in the world. [85] Presently, on the instigation of the consulPiso, that most insignificant of tribunes, Fufius, brought Pompey on tothe platform. The meeting was in the _circus Flaminius_, and there wasin the same place that day a crowd of market people--a kind of _tiersétat_. [86] He asked him to say whether he approved of the jurymen beingselected by the prætor, to form a panel for the prætor himself toemploy. That was the regulation made by the senate in the matter ofClodius's sacrilege. Thereupon Pompey made a highly "aristocratic"speech, and replied (and at great length) that in all matters theauthority of the senate was of the greatest weight in his eyes and hadalways been so. Later on the consul Messalla in the senate asked Pompeyhis opinion as to the sacrilege and the bill that had been published. His speech in the senate amounted to a general commendation of alldecrees of the house, and when he sat down he said to me, "I think myanswer covers your case also. "[87] When Crassus observed that Pompey hadgot a cheer from the idea in men's minds that he approved my consulship, he rose also to his feet and delivered a speech in the mostcomplimentary terms on my consulship, going so far as to say that heowed it to me that he was still a senator, a citizen, nay, a free man;and that he never beheld wife, home, or country without beholding thefruits of my conduct. In short: that whole topic, which I am wont topaint in various colours in my speeches (of which you are theAristarchus), the fire, the sword--you know my paint-pots--he elaboratedto the highest pitch. I was sitting next to Pompey. I noticed that hewas agitated, either at Crassus earning the gratitude which he hadhimself neglected, or to think that my achievements were, after all, ofsuch magnitude that the senate was so glad to hear them praised, especially by a man who was the less under an obligation to praise me, because in everything I ever wrote[88] my praise of Pompey waspractically a reflexion on him. This day has brought me very close toCrassus, and yet in spite of all I accepted with pleasure anycompliment--open or covert--from Pompey. But as for my own speech, goodheavens! how I did "put it on" for the benefit of my new auditor Pompey!If I ever did bring every art into play, I did then--period, transition, enthymeme, deduction--everything. In short, I was cheered to the echo. For the subject of my speech was the dignity of the senate, its harmonywith the equites, the unanimity of Italy, the dying embers of theconspiracy, the fall in prices, the establishment of peace. You know mythunder when these are my themes. It was so loud, in fact, that I maycut short my description, as I think you must have heard it even inEpirus. The state of things at Rome is this: the senate is a perfectAreopagus. You cannot conceive anything firmer, more grave, or morehigh-spirited. For when the day came for proposing the bill inaccordance with the vote of the senate, a crowd of our dandies withtheir chin-tufts assembled, all the Catiline set, with Curio's girlishson at their head, and implored the people to reject it. Moreover, Pisothe consul, who formally introduced the bill, spoke against it. Clodius's hired ruffians had filled up the entrances to the votingboxes. The voting tickets were so manipulated that no "ayes" weredistributed. Hereupon imagine Cato hurrying to the rostra, delivering anadmirable invective against the consul, if we can call that an"invective" which was really a speech of the utmost weight andauthority, and in fact containing the most salutary advice. He isfollowed to the same effect by your friend Hortensius, and manyloyalists besides, among whom, however, the contribution of Favonius wasconspicuous. By this rally of the Optimates the _comitia_ is dissolved, the senate summoned. On the question being put in a full house--in spiteof the opposition of Piso, and in spite of Clodius throwing himself atthe feet of the senators one after the other--that the consuls shouldexhort the people to pass the bill, about fifteen voted with Curio, whowas against any decree being passed; on the other side there were fullyfour hundred. So the vote passed. The tribune Fufius then gave in. [89]Clodius delivered some wretched speeches to the people, in which hebestowed some injurious epithets on Lucullus, Hortensius, C. Piso, andthe consul Messalla; me he only charged with having "discovered"everything. [90] In regard to the assignation of provinces to theprætors, the hearing legations, and other business, the senate votedthat nothing should be brought before it till the bill had been broughtbefore the people. There's the state of things at Rome for you. Yet praylisten to this one thing more which has surpassed my hopes. Messalla isa superlatively good consul, courageous, firm, painstaking; he praises, shows attachment to, and imitates me. That other one (Piso) is the lessmischievous because of one vice--he is lazy, sleepy, unbusiness-like, anutter _fainéant_, but in intention he is so disaffected that he hasbegun to loathe Pompey since he made the speech in which some praise wasbestowed on the senate. Accordingly, he has alienated all the loyaliststo a remarkable degree. And his action is not dictated by love forClodius more than by a taste for a profligate policy and a profligateparty. But he has nobody among the magistrates like himself, with thesingle exception of the tribune Fufius. The tribunes are excellent, andin Cornutus we have a quasi-Cato. Can I say more?

Now to return to private matters. "Teucris" has fulfilled herpromise. [91] Pray execute the commission you undertook. My brotherQuintus, who purchased the remaining three-fourths of the house in theArgiletum for 725 sestertia (about £5, 800), is now trying to sell hisTusculan property, in order to purchase, if he can, the town house ofPacilius. Make it up with Lucceius! I see that he is all agog to standfor the consulship. I will do my best. Be careful to let me know exactlyhow you are, where you are, and how your business goes on. 

13 February. 

[Footnote 85: The letter giving this description is lost. I think_frigebat_ is epistolary imperfect--"_he_ is in the cold shade, " not, "_it_ fell flat. "]

[Footnote 86: πανήγυρις. Cicero uses the word (an honourable one inGreek) contemptuously of the rabble brought together at a market. ]

[Footnote 87: Pompey's general commendation of the decrees of the senatewould include those regarding the Catiline conspirators, and hetherefore claimed to have satisfied Cicero. ]

[Footnote 88: _Meis omnibus litteris_, the MS. Reading. Prof. Tyrrell'semendation, _orationibus meis, omnibus litteris_, "in my speeches, everyletter of them, " seems to me even harsher than the MS. , a grossexaggeration, and doubtful Latin. _Meis litteris_ is well supported by_literæ forenses et senatoriæ_ of _de Off. _ 2, § 3, and though it is anunusual mode of referring to speeches, we must remember that they werenow published and were "literature. " The particular reference is to thespeech _pro Imperio Pompeii_, in which, among other things, the wholecredit of the reduction of Spartacus's gladiators is given to Pompey, whereas the brunt of the war had been borne by Crassus. ]

[Footnote 89: Fufius, though Cicero does not say so, must have vetoedthe decree, but in the face of such a majority withdrew his veto. Thepractice seems to have been, in case of tribunician veto, to take thevote, which remained as an _auctoritas senatus_, but was not a _senatusconsultum_ unless the tribune was induced to withdraw. ]

[Footnote 90: _Comperisse_. See Letter XVII, note 1, p. 28. ]

[Footnote 91: See Letters XVI and XVIII, pp. 26, 32. ]

XX (A I, 15)

TO ATTICUS (IN EPIRUS)

ROME, 15 MARCH

[Sidenote: B. C. 61, ÆT. 45]

You have heard that my dearest brother Quintus has got Asia; for I donot doubt that rumour has conveyed the news to you quicker than a letterfrom any of us. Now then, considering how desirous of a good reputationhe and I have ever been, and how unusually Philhellenic we are and havethe reputation of being, and considering how many there are whose enmitywe have incurred for the sake of the Republic, "call to mind all yourvalour, "[92] to secure us the praise and affection of all concerned. Iwill write at greater length to you on these points in the letter whichI shall give to Quintus himself. [93] Please let me know what you havedone about the business I confided to you, and also in your own affair;for I have had no letter from you since you left Brundisium. I am veryanxious to hear how you are. 

15 March. 

[Footnote 92: παντοίης ἀρέτης μιμνήσκεο (Hom. _Il. _ xxii. 8)]

[Footnote 93: The allotment of provinces had been put off (see lastletter) till the affair of Clodius's trial was settled; consequentlyQuintus would not have much time for preparation, and would soon setout. He would cross to Dyrrachium, and proceed along the _via Egnatia_to Thessalonica. He might meet Atticus at Dyrrachium, or go out of hisway to call on him at Buthrotum. ]

XXI (A I, 16)

TO ATTICUS

ROME (MAY)

[Sidenote: B. C. 61, ÆT. 45]

You ask me what has happened about the trial, the result of which was socontrary to the general expectation, and at the same time you want toknow how I came to make a worse fight of it than usual. I will answerthe last first, after the manner of Homer. [94] The fact is that, so longas I had to defend the authority of the senate, [95] I battled with suchgallantry and vigour that there were shouts of applause and crowds roundme in the house ringing with my praise. Nay, if you ever thought that Ishewed courage in political business, you certainly would have admiredmy conduct in that cause. For when the culprit had betaken himself topublic meetings, and had made an invidious use of my name, immortalgods! What battles! What havoc! What sallies I made upon Piso, Curio, onthe whole of that set! How I fell upon the old men for theirinstability, on the young for their profligacy! Again and again, so helpme heaven! I regretted your absence not only as the supporter of mypolicy, but as the spectator also of my admirable fighting. However, when Hortensius hit on the idea of a law as to the sacrilege beingproposed by the tribune Fufius, in which there was no difference fromthe bill of the consul except as to the kind of jurymen--on that point, however, the whole question turned--and got it carried by sheerfighting, because he had persuaded himself and others that _he_ couldnot get an acquittal no matter who were the jurymen, I drew in my sails, seeing the neediness of the jurors, and gave no evidence beyond what wasso notorious and well attested that I could not omit it. [96] Therefore, if you ask the reason of the acquittal--to return at length to theformer of the two questions--it was entirely the poverty and lowcharacter of the jury. But that this was possible was entirely theresult of Hortensius's policy. In his alarm lest Fufius should veto thelaw which was to be proposed in virtue of a senatorial decree, he failedto see that it was better that the culprit should be left under a cloudof disgrace and dishonour than that he should be trusted to thediscretion of a weak jury. But in his passionate resentment he hastenedto bring the case into court, saying that a leaden sword was good enoughto cut _his_ throat. But if you want to know the history of the trial, with its incredible verdict, it was such that Hortensius's policy is nowblamed by other people after the event, though I disapproved of it fromthe first. When the rejection of jurors had taken place, amidst loudcheers and counter-cheers--the accuser like a strict censor rejectingthe most worthless, the defendant like a kind-hearted trainer ofgladiators all the best--as soon as the jury had taken their seats, theloyalists at once began to feel distrust. There never was a seedier lotround a table in a gambling hell. Senators under a cloud, equites out atelbows, tribunes who were not so much made of money as "collectors" ofit, according to their official title. [97] However, there were a fewhonest men in the panel, whom he had been unable to drive off it byrejection, and they took their seats among their uncongenial comradeswith gloomy looks and signs of emotion, and were keenly disgusted athaving to rub elbows with such rascals. Hereupon, as question afterquestion was referred to the panel in the preliminary proceedings, theseverity of the decisions passes belief: there was no disagreement invoting, the defendant carried none of his points, while the accuser goteven more than he asked. He was triumphant. Need I say more? Hortensiuswould have it that he was the only one of us who had seen the truth. There was not a man who did not think it impossible for him to stand histrial without being condemned a thousand times over. Farther, when I wasproduced as a witness, I suppose you have been told how the shouts ofClodius's supporters were answered by the jury rising to their feet togather round me, and openly to offer their throats to P. Clodius in mydefence. This seemed to me a greater compliment than the well-knownoccasion when your fellow citizens[98] stopped Xenocrates from taking anoath in the witness-box, or when, upon the accounts of MetellusNumidicus[99] being as usual handed round, a Roman jury refused to lookat them. The compliment paid me, I repeat, was much greater. Accordingly, as the jurymen were protecting me as the mainstay of thecountry, it was by their voices that the defendant was overwhelmed, andwith him all his advocates suffered a crushing blow. Next day my housewas visited by as great a throng as that which escorted me home when Ilaid down the consulship. Our eminent Areopagites then exclaimed thatthey would not come into court unless a guard was assigned them. Thequestion was put to the whole panel: there was only one vote against theneed of a guard. The question is brought before the senate: the decreeis passed in the most solemn and laudatory terms: the jurymen arecomplimented: the magistrates are commissioned to carry it out: no onethought that the fellow would venture on a defence. "Tell me, ye Muses, now how first the fire befell!"[100] You know Bald-head, the Nanneianmillionaire, [101] that panegyrist of mine, whose complimentary orationI have already mentioned to you in a letter. In two days' time, by theagency of a single slave, and one, too, from a school of gladiators, hesettled the whole business--he summoned them to an interview, made apromise, offered security, paid money down. Still farther, good heavens, what a scandal! even favours from certain ladies, and introductions toyoung men of rank, were thrown in as a kind of _pourboire_ to some ofthe jurors. Accordingly, with the loyalists holding completely aloof, with the forum full of slaves, twenty-five jurors were yet found socourageous that, though at the risk of their lives, they preferred evendeath to producing universal ruin. There were thirty-one who were moreinfluenced by famine than fame. On seeing one of these latter Catulussaid to him, "Why did you ask us for a guard? Did you fear being robbedof the money?" There you have, as briefly as I could put it, the natureof the trial and the cause of the acquittal. 

Next you want to know the present state of public affairs and of my own. That settlement of the Republic--firmly established by my wisdom, as youthought, as I thought by God's--which seemed fixed on a sure foundationby the unanimity of all loyalists and the influence of myconsulship--that I assure you, unless some God take compassion on us, has by this one verdict escaped from our grasp: if "verdict" it is to becalled, when thirty of the most worthless and dissolute fellows in Romefor a paltry sum of money obliterate every principle of law and justice, and when that which every man--I had almost said every animal--knows tohave taken place, a Thalna, a Plautus, and a Spongia, and other scum ofthat sort decide not to have taken place. However, to console you as tothe state of the Republic, rascaldom is not as cheerful and exultant inits victory as the disloyal hoped after the infliction of such a woundupon the Republic. For they fully expected that when religion, morality, the honour of juries, and the prestige of the senate had sustained sucha crushing fall, victorious profligacy and lawless lust would openlyexact vengeance from all the best men for the mortification which thestrictness of my consulship had branded in upon all the worst. And it isonce more I--for I do not feel as if I were boasting vaingloriously whenspeaking of myself to you, especially in a letter not intended to beread by others--it was I once more, I say, who revived the faintingspirits of the loyalists, cheering and encouraging each personally. Moreover, by my denunciations and invectives against those corruptjurors I left none of the favourers and supporters of that victory aword to say for themselves. I gave the consul Piso no rest anywhere, Igot him deprived of Syria, which had been already plighted to him, Irevived the fainting spirit of the senate and recalled it to its formerseverity. I overwhelmed Clodius in the senate to his face, both in a setspeech, very weighty and serious, and also in an interchange ofrepartees, of which I append a specimen for your delectation. The restlose all point and grace without the excitement of the contest, or, asyou Greeks call it, the ἀγών. Well, at the meeting of the senate on the15th of May, being called on for my opinion, I spoke at considerablelength on the high interests of the Republic, and brought in thefollowing passage by a happy inspiration: "Do not, Fathers, regardyourselves as fallen utterly, do not faint, because you have receivedone blow. The wound is one which I cannot disguise, but which I yet feelsure should not be regarded with extreme fear: to fear would shew us tobe the greatest of cowards, to ignore it the greatest of fools. Lentuluswas twice acquitted, so was Catiline, a third such criminal has now beenlet loose by jurors upon the Republic. You are mistaken, Clodius: it isnot for the city but for the prison that the jurors have reserved you, and their intention was not to retain you in the state, but to depriveyou of the privilege of exile. Wherefore, Fathers, rouse up all yourcourage, hold fast to your high calling. There still remains in theRepublic the old unanimity of the loyalists: their feelings have beenoutraged, their resolution has not been weakened: no fresh mischief hasbeen done, only what was actually existing has been discovered. In thetrial of one profligate many like him have been detected. "--But what amI about? I have copied almost a speech into a letter. I return to theduel of words. Up gets our dandified young gentleman, and throws in myteeth my having been at Baiæ. It wasn't true, but what did that matterto him? "It is as though you were to say, " replied I, "that I had beenin disguise!" "What business, " quoth he, "has an Arpinate with hotbaths?" "Say that to your patron, " said I, "who coveted thewatering-place of an Arpinate. "[102] For you know about the marinevilla. "How long, " said he, "are we to put up with this king?" "Do youmention a king, " quoth I, "when Rex[103] made no mention of you?" He, you know, had swallowed the inheritance of Rex in anticipation. "Youhave bought a house, " says he. "You would think that he said, " quoth I, "you have bought a jury. " "They didn't trust you on your oath, " said he. "Yes, " said I, "twenty-five jurors did trust me, thirty-one didn't trustyou, for they took care to get their money beforehand. " Here he wasoverpowered by a burst of applause and broke down without a word to say. 

My own position is this: with the loyalists I hold the same place aswhen you left town, with the tagrag and bobtail of the city I hold amuch better one than at your departure. For it does me no harm that myevidence appears not to have availed. Envy has been let blood withoutcausing pain, and even more so from the fact that all the supporters ofthat flagitious proceeding confess that a perfectly notorious fact hasbeen hushed up by bribing the jury. Besides, the wretched starvelingmob, the blood-sucker of the treasury, imagines me to be high in thefavour of Magnus--and indeed we have been mutually united by frequentpleasant intercourse to such an extent, that our friends the booncompanions of the conspiracy, the young chin-tufts, speak of him inordinary conversation as Gnæus Cicero. Accordingly, both in the circusand at the gladiatorial games, I received a remarkable ovation without asingle cat-call. There is at present a lively anticipation of theelections, in which, contrary to everybody's wishes, our friend Magnusis pushing the claims of Aulus's son;[104] and in that matter hisweapons are neither his prestige nor his popularity, but those by whichPhilip said that any fortress could be taken--if only an ass laden withgold could make its way up into it. Farthermore, that precious consul, playing as it were second fiddle to Pompey, [105] is said to haveundertaken the business and to have bribery agents at his house, which Idon't believe. But two decrees have already passed the house of anunpopular character, because they are thought to be directed against theconsul on the demand of Cato and Domitius[106]--one that search shouldbe allowed in magistrates' houses, and a second, that all who hadbribery agents in their houses were guilty of treason. The tribune Lurcoalso, having entered on his office irregularly in view of the Ælian law, has been relieved from the provisions both of the Ælian and Fufian laws, in order to enable him to propose his law on bribery, which hepromulgated with correct auspices though a cripple. [107] Accordingly, the _comitia_ have been postponed to the 27th of July. There is thisnovelty in his bill, that a man who has promised money among the tribes, but not paid it, is not liable, but, if he has paid, he is liable forlife to pay 3, 000 sesterces to each tribe. I remarked that P. Clodiushad obeyed this law by anticipation, for he was accustomed to promise, and not pay. But observe! Don't you see that the consulship of which wethought so much, which Curio used of old to call an apotheosis, if thisAfranius is elected, will become a mere farce and mockery? Therefore Ithink one should play the philosopher, as you in fact do, and not care astraw for your consulships!

You say in your letter that you have decided not to go to Asia. For mypart I should have preferred your going, and I fear that there may besome offence[108] given in that matter. Nevertheless, I am not the manto blame you, especially considering that I have not gone to a provincemyself. I shall be quite content with the inscriptions you have placedin your Amaltheium, [109] especially as Thyillus has deserted me andArchias written nothing about me. The latter, I am afraid, havingcomposed a Greek poem on the Luculli, is now turning his attention tothe Cæcilian drama. [110] I have thanked Antonius on your account, and Ihave intrusted the letter to Mallius. I have heretofore written to youmore rarely because I had no one to whom I could trust a letter, and wasnot sure of your address. I have puffed you well. If Cincius shouldrefer any business of yours to me, I will undertake it. But at presenthe is more intent on his own business, in which I am rendering him someassistance. If you mean to stay any length of time in one place you mayexpect frequent letters from me: but pray send even more yourself. Iwish you would describe your Amaltheium to me, its decoration and itsplan; and send me any poems or stories you may have aboutAmaltheia. [111] I should like to make a copy of it at Arpinum. I willforward you something of what I have written. At present there isnothing finished. 

[Footnote 94: ὕστερον πρότερον Ὁμηρικῶς. ]

[Footnote 95: That is, the resolution of the senate, that the consulsshould endeavour to get the bill passed. ]

[Footnote 96: Cicero deposed to having seen Clodius in Rome three hoursafter he swore that he was at Interamna (ninety miles off), thusspoiling his alibi. ]

[Footnote 97: The difficulty of this sentence is well known. The jurieswere now made up of three _decuriæ_--senators, equites, and _tribuniærarii_. But the exact meaning of _tribuni ærarii_ is not known, beyondthe fact that they formed an _ordo_, coming immediately below theequites. Possibly they were old tribal officers who had the duty ofdistributing pay or collecting taxes (to which the translation supposesa punning reference), and as such were required to be of a _census_immediately below that of the equites. I do not profess to be satisfied, but I cannot think that Professor Tyrrell's proposal makes matters mucheasier--_tribuni non tam ærarii, ut appellantur, quam ærati_; for histranslation of _ærati_ as "bribed" is not better supported, and is aless natural deduction than "moneyed. "]

[Footnote 98: _I. E. _, the Athenians. Xenocrates of Calchedon (B. C. 396-314), residing at Athens, is said to have been so trusted that hisword was taken as a witness without an oath (Diog. Laert. IV. Ii. 4). ]

[Footnote 99: Q. Cæcilius Numidicus, consul B. C. 109, commanded againstIugurtha. The event referred to in the text is said to have occurred onhis trial _de repetundis_, after his return from a province which he hadheld as proprætor (Val. Max. II. X. 1). ]

[Footnote 100: Hom. _Il. _ xvi. 112:

 ἕσπετε νῦν μοι, Μοῦσαι, Ὀλύμπια δώματ' ἔχουσαι ὅππως δὴ πρῶτον πῦρ ἔμπεσε νηυσὶν Ἀχαίων. ]

[Footnote 101: The reference is to Crassus. But the rest is very dark. The old commentators say that he is here called _ex Nanneianis_ becausehe made a large sum of money by the property of one Nanneius, who wasamong those proscribed by Sulla. His calling Crassus his "panegyrist" isexplained by Letter XIX, pp. 33-34. ]

[Footnote 102: C. Curio, the elder, defended Clodius. He had bought thevilla of Marius (a native of Arpinum) at Baiæ. ]

[Footnote 103: Q. Marcius Rex married a sister of Clodius, and dying, left him no legacy. ]

[Footnote 104: L. Afranius. ]

[Footnote 105: Reading _deterioris histrionis similis_, "like aninferior actor. "]

[Footnote 106: Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus, married to Cato's sister. Consul B. C. 54. A strong aristocrat and vehement opponent of Cæsar. ]

[Footnote 107: Aufidius Lurco had apparently proposed his law on briberybetween the time of the notice of the elections (_indictio_) and theelections themselves, which was against a provision of the _leges Æliaet Fufia_. What his breach of the law was in entering on his officeoriginally we do not know: perhaps some neglect of auspices, or hispersonal deformity. ]

[Footnote 108: _I. E. _ to Quintus Cicero, now proprætor in Asia, whoapparently wished his brother-in-law to come to Asia in some officialcapacity. ]

[Footnote 109: Some epigrams or inscriptions under a portrait bust ofCicero in the gymnasium of Atticus's villa at Buthrotum. Atticus had ataste for such compositions. See Nepos, _Att. _ 18; Pliny, _N. H. _ 35, §11. ]

[Footnote 110: Cicero had defended Archias, and Thyillus seems also tohave been intimate with him: but he says Archias, after complimentingthe Luculli by a poem, is now doing the same to the Cæcilii Metelli. The"Cæcilian drama" is a reference to the old dramatist, Cæcilius Statius(_ob. _ B. C. 168). ]

[Footnote 111: Of Amaltheia, nurse of Zeus in Crete, there were plentyof legends. Atticus is making in his house something like what Cicerohad made in his, and called his academia or gymnasium. That of Atticuswas probably also a summer house or study, with garden, fountains, etc. , and a shrine or statue of Amaltheia. ]

XXII (A I, 17)

TO ATTICUS (IN EPIRUS)

ROME, 5 DECEMBER

[Sidenote: B. C. 61, ÆT. 45]

Your letter, in which you inclose copies of his letters, has made merealize that my brother Quintus's feelings have undergone manyalternations, and that his opinions and judgments have varied widelyfrom time to time. [112] This has not only caused me all the pain whichmy extreme affection for both of you was bound to bring, but it has alsomade me wonder what can have happened to cause my brother Quintus suchdeep offence, or such an extraordinary change of feeling. And yet I wasalready aware, as I saw that you also, when you took leave of me, werebeginning to suspect, that there was some lurking dissatisfaction, thathis feelings were wounded, and that certain unfriendly suspicions hadsunk deep into his heart. On trying on several previous occasions, butmore eagerly than ever after the allotment of his province, to assuagethese feelings, I failed to discover on the one hand that the extent ofhis offence was so great as your letter indicates; but on the other Idid not make as much progress in allaying it as I wished. However, Iconsoled myself with thinking that there would be no doubt of his seeingyou at Dyrrachium, or somewhere in your part of the country: and, ifthat happened, I felt sure and fully persuaded that everything would bemade smooth between you, not only by conversation and mutualexplanation, but by the very sight of each other in such an interview. For I need not say in writing to you, who know it quite well, how kindand sweet-tempered my brother is, as ready to forgive as he is sensitivein taking offence. But it most unfortunately happened that you did notsee him anywhere. For the impression he had received from the artificesof others had more weight with him than duty or relationship, or theold affection so long existing between you, which ought to have been thestrongest influence of all. And yet, as to where the blame for thismisunderstanding resides, I can more easily conceive than write: since Iam afraid that, while defending my own relations, I should not spareyours. For I perceive that, though no actual wound was inflicted bymembers of the family, they yet could at least have cured it. But theroot of the mischief in this case, which perhaps extends farther thanappears, I shall more conveniently explain to you when we meet. As tothe letter he sent to you from Thessalonica, [113] and about the languagewhich you suppose him to have used both at Rome among your friends andon his journey, I don't know how far the matter went, but my whole hopeof removing this unpleasantness rests on your kindness. For if you willonly make up your mind to believe that the best men are often thosewhose feelings are most easily irritated and appeased, and that thisquickness, so to speak, and sensitiveness of disposition are generallysigns of a good heart; and lastly--and this is the main thing--that wemust mutually put up with each other's gaucheries (shall I call them?), or faults, or injurious acts, then these misunderstandings will, I hope, be easily smoothed away. I beg you to take this view, for it is thedearest wish of my heart (which is yours as no one else's can be) thatthere should not be one of my family or friends who does not love youand is not loved by you. 

That part of your letter was entirely superfluous, in which you mentionwhat opportunities of doing good business in the provinces or the cityyou let pass at other times as well as in the year of my consulship: forI am thoroughly persuaded of your unselfishness and magnanimity, nor didI ever think that there was any difference between you and me except inour choice of a career. Ambition led me to seek official advancement, while another and perfectly laudable resolution led you to seek anhonourable privacy. In the true glory, which is founded on honesty, industry, and piety, I place neither myself nor anyone else above you. In affection towards myself, next to my brother and immediate family, Iput you first. For indeed, indeed I have seen and thoroughly appreciatedhow your anxiety and joy have corresponded with the variations of myfortunes. Often has your congratulation added a charm to praise, andyour consolation a welcome antidote to alarm. Nay, at this moment ofyour absence, it is not only your advice--in which you excel--but theinterchange of speech--in which no one gives me so much delight as youdo--that I miss most, shall I say in politics, in which circumspectionis always incumbent on me, or in my forensic labour, which I formerlysustained with a view to official promotion, and nowadays to maintain myposition by securing popularity, or in the mere business of my family?In all these I missed you and our conversations before my brother leftRome, and still more do I miss them since. Finally, neither my work norrest, neither my business nor leisure, neither my affairs in the forumor at home, public or private, can any longer do without your mostconsolatory and affectionate counsel and conversation. The modestreserve which characterizes both of us has often prevented my mentioningthese facts; but on this occasion it was rendered necessary by that partof your letter in which you expressed a wish to have yourself and yourcharacter "put straight" and "cleared" in my eyes. Yet, in the midst ofall this unfortunate alienation and anger, there is one fortunatecircumstance--that your determination of not going to a province wasknown to me and your other friends, and had been at various times beforedistinctly expressed by yourself; so that your not being his guest maybe attributed to your personal tastes and judgments, not to the quarreland rupture between you. And so those ties which have been broken willbe restored, and ours which have been so religiously preserved willretain all their old inviolability. 

At Rome I find politics in a shaky condition; everything isunsatisfactory and foreboding change. For I have no doubt you have beentold that our friends, the equites, are all but alienated from thesenate. Their first grievance was the promulgation of a bill on theauthority of the senate for the trial of such as had taken bribes forgiving a verdict. I happened not to be in the house when that decree waspassed, but when I found that the equestrian order was indignant at it, and yet refrained from openly saying so, I remonstrated with thesenate, as I thought, in very impressive language, and was very weightyand eloquent considering the unsatisfactory nature of my cause. But hereis another piece of almost intolerable coolness on the part of theequites, which I have not only submitted to, but have even put in asgood a light as possible! The companies which had contracted with thecensors for Asia complained that in the heat of the competition they hadtaken the contract at an excessive price; they demanded that thecontract should be annulled. I led in their support, or rather, I wassecond, for it was Crassus who induced them to venture on this demand. The case is scandalous, the demand a disgraceful one, and a confessionof rash speculation. Yet there was a very great risk that, if they gotno concession, they would be completely alienated from the senate. Hereagain I came to the rescue more than anyone else, and secured them afull and very friendly house, in which I, on the 1st and 2nd ofDecember, delivered long speeches on the dignity and harmony of the twoorders. The business is not yet settled, but the favourable feeling ofthe senate has been made manifest: for no one had spoken against itexcept the consul-designate, Metellus; while our hero Cato had still tospeak, the shortness of the day having prevented his turn being reached. Thus I, in the maintenance of my steady policy, preserve to the best ofmy ability that harmony of the orders which was originally my joiner'swork; but since it all now seems in such a crazy condition, I amconstructing what I may call a road towards the maintenance of ourpower, a safe one I hope, which I cannot fully describe to you in aletter, but of which I will nevertheless give you a hint. _I cultivateclose intimacy with Pompey_. I foresee what you will say. I will use allnecessary precautions, and I will write another time at greater lengthabout my schemes for managing the Republic. You must know that Lucceiushas it in his mind to stand for the consulship at once; for there aresaid to be only two candidates in prospect. Cæsar is thinking of comingto terms with him by the agency of Arrius, and Bibulus also thinks hemay effect a coalition with him by means of C. Piso. [114] You smile?This is no laughing matter, believe me. What else shall I write to you?What? I have plenty to say, but must put it off to another time. If youmean to wait till you hear, let me know. For the moment I am satisfiedwith a modest request, though it is what I desire above everything--thatyou should come to Rome as soon as possible. 

5 December. 

[Footnote 112: Cicero is evidently very anxious as to themisunderstanding between Quintus and his brother-in-law Atticus, caused, as he hints, or at any rate not allayed, by Pomponia. The letter is verycarefully written, without the familiar tone and mixture of jest andearnest common to most of the letters to Atticus. ]

[Footnote 113: At the end of the _via Egnatia_, which started fromDyrrachium. ]

[Footnote 114: The election in question is that to be held in B. C. 60for the consulship of B. C. 59. Cæsar and Bibulus were elected, andapparently were the only two candidates declared as yet. They were, ofcourse, extremists, and Lucceius seems to reckon on getting in byforming a coalition with either one or the other, and so getting thesupport of one of the extreme parties, with the moderates, for himself. The bargain eventually made was between Lucceius and Cæsar, the formerfinding the money. But the Optimates found more, and carried Bibulus. Arrius is Q. Arrius the orator (see Index). C. Piso is the consul ofB. C. 67. ]

XXIII (A I, 18)

[Sidenote: B. C. 60. Coss. , Q. Cæcilius Metellus Celer, L. Afranius. ]

 This was the year in which Cæsar, returning from his proprætorship in Spain, found Pompey in difficulties with the senate (1) as to the confirmation _en bloc_ of his _acta_ in the East, (2) as to the assignation of lands to his veterans; and being met with opposition himself as to the triumph that he claimed, and his candidatureship for the consulship, he formed with Pompey and Crassus the agreement known as the first triumvirate. Cicero saw his favourite political object, the _concordia ordinum_, threatened by any opposition to the triumvirate, which he yet distrusted as dangerous to the constitution. We shall find him, therefore, vacillating between giving his support to its policy or standing by the extreme Optimates. P. Clodius is taking measures to be adopted into a plebeian gens, in order to stand for the tribuneship. Quintus is still in Asia. Pompey's triumph had taken place in the previous September. 

TO ATTICUS (IN EPIRUS)

ROME, 20 JANUARY

[Sidenote: B. C. 60, ÆT. 46]

Believe me there is nothing at this moment of which I stand so much inneed as a man with whom to share all that causes me anxiety: a man tolove me; a man of sense to whom I can speak without affectation, reserve, or concealment. For my brother is away--that most open-heartedand affectionate of men. Metellus is not a human being, but

 "Mere sound and air, a howling wilderness. "

While you, who have so often lightened my anxiety and my anguish of soulby your conversation and advice, who are ever my ally in public affairs, my confidant in all private business, the sharer in all my conversationsand projects--where are you? So entirely am I abandoned by all, that theonly moments of repose left me are those which are spent with my wife, pet daughter, and sweet little Cicero. For as to those friendships withthe great, and their artificial attractions, they have indeed a certainglitter in the outside world, but they bring no private satisfaction. And so, after a crowded morning _levée_, as I go down to the forumsurrounded by troops of friends, I can find no one out of all that crowdwith whom to jest freely, or into whose ear I can breathe a familiarsigh. Therefore I wait for you, I long for you, I even urge on you tocome; for I have many anxieties, many pressing cares, of which I think, if I once had your ears to listen to me, I could unburden myself in theconversation of a single walk. And of my private anxieties, indeed, Ishall conceal all the stings and vexations, and not trust them to thisletter and an unknown letter-carrier. These, however--for I don't wantyou to be made too anxious--are not very painful: yet they arepersistent and worrying, and are not put to rest by the advice orconversation of any friend. But in regard to the Republic I have stillthe same courage and purpose, though it has again and again of its ownact eluded treatment. [115] For should I put briefly what has occurredsince you left, you would certainly exclaim that the Roman empire cannotbe maintained much longer. Well, after your departure our first scene, I think, was the appearance of the Clodian scandal, in which having, asI thought, got an opportunity of pruning licentiousness and keeping ouryoung men within bounds, I exerted myself to the utmost, and lavishedall the resources of my intellect and genius, not from dislike to anindividual, but from the hope of not merely correcting, but ofcompletely curing the state. The Republic received a crushing blow whenthis jury was won over by money and the opportunity of debauchery. Seewhat has followed! We have had a consul inflicted upon us, whom noneexcept us philosophers can look at without a sigh. What a blow that is!Though a decree of the senate has been passed about bribery and thecorruption of juries, no law has been carried; the senate has beenharassed to death, the Roman knights alienated. So that one year hasundermined two buttresses of the Republic, which owed their existence tome, and me alone; for it has at once destroyed the prestige of thesenate and broken up the harmony of the orders. And now enter thisprecious year! It was inaugurated by the suspension of the annual ritesof Iuventas;[116] for Memmius initiated M. Lucullus's wife in some ritesof his own! Our Menelaus, being annoyed at that, divorced his wife. Yetthe old Idæan shepherd had only injured Menelaus; our Roman Paristhought Agamemnon as proper an object of injury as Menelaus. [117] Nextthere is a certain tribune named C. Herennius, whom you, perhaps, do noteven know--and yet you may know him, for he is of your tribe, and hisfather Sextus used to distribute money to your tribesmen--this person istrying to transfer P. Clodius to the plebs, and is actually proposing alaw to authorize the whole people to vote in Clodius's affair in the_campus_. [118] I have given him a characteristic reception in thesenate, but he is the thickest-skinned fellow in the world. Metellus isan excellent consul, and much attached to me, but he has lowered hisinfluence by promulgating (though only for form's sake) an identicalbill about Clodius. But the son of Aulus, [119] God in heaven! What acowardly and spiritless fellow for a soldier! How well he deserves to beexposed, as he is, day after day to the abuse of Palicanus![120]Farther, an agrarian law has been promulgated by Flavius, a poorproduction enough, almost identical with that of Plotius. But meanwhilea genuine statesman is not to be found, even "in a dream. " The man whocould be one, my friend Pompey--for such he is, as I would have youknow--defends his twopenny embroidered toga[121] by saying nothing. Crassus never risks his popularity by a word. The others you knowwithout my telling you. They are such fools that they seem to expectthat, though the Republic is lost, their fish-ponds will be safe. Thereis one man who does take some trouble, but rather, as it seems to me, with consistency and honesty, than with either prudence orability--Cato. He has been for the last three months worrying thoseunhappy _publicani_, who were formerly devoted to him, and refuses toallow of an answer being given them by the senate. And so we are forcedto suspend all decrees on other subjects until the _publicani_ have gottheir answer. For the same reason I suppose even the business of theforeign embassies will be postponed. You now understand in what stormywater we are: and as from what I have written to you in such strongterms you have a view also of what I have not written, come back to me, for it is time you did. And though the state of affairs to which Iinvite you is one to be avoided, yet let your value for me so farprevail, as to induce you to come there even in these vexatiouscircumstances. For the rest I will take care that due warning is given, and a notice put up in all places, to prevent you being entered on thecensus as absent; and to get put on the census just before thelustration is the mark of your true man of business. [122] So let me seeyou at the earliest possible moment. Farewell. 

20 January in the Consulship of Q. Metellus and L. Afranius. 

[Footnote 115: Reading (mainly with Schutz) _animus præsens et voluntas, tamen etiam atque etiam ipsa medicinam refugit_. The verb _refugit_ isvery doubtful, but it gives nearly the sense required. Cicero is readyto be as brave and active as before, but the state will not do its part. It has, for instance, blundered in the matter of the law againstjudicial corruption. The senate offended the equites by proposing it, and yet did not carry the law. I think _animus_ and _voluntas_ mustrefer to Cicero, not the state, to which in his present humour he wouldnot attribute them. ]

[Footnote 116: The temple of Iuventas was vowed by M. Livius after thebattle of the Metaurus (B. C. 207), and dedicated in B. C. 191 by C. Licinius Lucullus, games being established on the anniversary of itsdedication (Livy, xxi. 62; xxxvi. 36). It is suggested, therefore, thatsome of the Luculli usually presided at these games, but on thisoccasion refused, because of the injury done by C. Memmius, who wascurule ædile. ]

[Footnote 117: By Agamemnon and Menelaus Cicero means Lucius and MarcusLucullus; the former Memmius had, as tribune in B. C. 66-65, opposed inhis demand for a triumph, the latter he has now injured in the person ofhis wife. ]

[Footnote 118: A man who was _sui iuris_ was properly adopted before the_commitia curiata_, now represented by thirty lictors. What Herenniusproposed was that it should take place by a regular _lex_, passed by the_comitia tributa_. The object apparently was to avoid the necessity ofthe presence of a pontifex and augur, which was required at the _comitiacuriata_. The concurrent law by the consul would come before the_comitia centuriata_. The adopter was P. Fonteius, a very young man. ]

[Footnote 119: L. Afranius, the other consul. ]

[Footnote 120: M. Lollius Palicanus, "a mere mob orator" (_Brutus_, §223). ]

[Footnote 121: The _toga picta_ of a triumphator, which Pompey, byspecial law, was authorized to wear at the games. Cicero uses thecontemptuous diminutive, _togula_. ]

[Footnote 122: To be absent from the census without excuse rendered aman liable to penalties. Cicero will therefore put up notices inAtticus's various places of business or residence of his intention toappear in due course. To appear just at the end of the period was, itseems, in the case of a man of business, advisable, that he might berated at the actual amount of his property, no more or less. ]

XXIV (A I, 19)

TO ATTICUS (IN EPIRUS)

ROME, 15 MARCH

[Sidenote: B. C. 60, ÆT. 46]

It is not only if I had as much leisure as you, but also if I chose tosend letters as short as yours usually are, should I easily beat you andbe much the more regular in writing. But, in fact, it is only one moreitem in an immense and inconceivable amount of business, that I allow noletter to reach you from me without its containing some definite sketchof events and the reflexions arising from it. And in writing to you, asa lover of your country, my first subject will naturally be the state ofthe Republic; next, as I am the nearest object of your affection, I willalso write about myself, and tell you what I think you will not beindisposed to know. Well then, in public affairs for the moment thechief subject of interest is the disturbance in Gaul. For the Ædui--"ourbrethren"[123]--have recently fought a losing battle, and the Helvetiiare undoubtedly in arms and making raids upon our province. [124] Thesenate has decreed that the two consuls should draw lots for the Gauls, that a levy should be held, all exemptions from service be suspended, and legates with full powers be sent to visit the states in Gaul, andsee that they do not join the Helvetii. The legates are Quintus MetellusCreticus, [125] L. Flaccus, [126] and lastly--a case of "rich unguent onlentils"--Lentulus, son of Clodianus. [127] And while on this subject Icannot omit mentioning that when among the consulars my name was thefirst to come up in the ballot, a full meeting of the senate declaredwith one voice that I must be kept in the city. The same occurred toPompey after me; so that we two appeared to be kept at home as pledgesof the safety of the Republic. Why should I look for the "bravos" ofothers when I get these compliments at home? Well, the state of affairsin the city is as follows. The agrarian law is being vehemently pushedby the tribune Flavius, with the support of Pompey, but it has nothingpopular about it except its supporter. From this law I, with the fullassent of a public meeting, proposed to omit all clauses which adverselyaffected private rights. I proposed to except from its operation suchpublic land as had been so in the consulship of P. Mucius and L. Calpurnius. [128] I proposed to confirm the titles of holders of those towhom Sulla had actually assigned lands. I proposed to retain the men ofVolaterræ and Arretium--whose lands Sulla had declared forfeited buthad not allotted--in their holdings. There was only one section in thebill that I did not propose to omit, namely, that land should bepurchased with this money from abroad, the proceeds of the new revenuesfor the next five years. [129] But to this whole agrarian scheme thesenate was opposed, suspecting that some novel power for Pompey wasaimed at. Pompey, indeed, had set his heart on getting the law passed. I, however, with the full approval of the applicants for land, maintained the holdings of all private owners--for, as you know, thelanded gentry form the bulk of our party's forces--while I neverthelesssatisfied the people and Pompey (for I wanted to do that also) by thepurchase clause; for, if that was put on a sound footing, I thought thattwo advantages would accrue--the dregs might be drawn from the city, andthe deserted portions of Italy be repeopled. But this whole business wasinterrupted by the war, and has cooled off. Metellus is an exceedinglygood consul, and much attached to me. That other one is such a ninnythat he clearly doesn't know what to do with his purchase. [130] This isall my public news, unless you regard as touching on public affairs thefact that a certain Herennius, a tribune, and a fellow tribesman ofyours--a fellow as unprincipled as he is needy--has now begun makingfrequent proposals for transferring P. Clodius to the plebs; he isvetoed by many of his colleagues. That is really, I think, all thepublic news. 

For my part, ever since I won what I may call the splendid and immortalglory of the famous fifth of December[131] (though it was accompanied bythe jealousy and hostility of many), I have never ceased to play my partin the Republic in the same lofty spirit, and to maintain the position Ithen inaugurated and took upon myself. But when, first, by the acquittalof Clodius I clearly perceived the insecurity and rotten state of thelaw courts; and, secondly, when I saw that it took so little to alienatemy friends the _publicani_ from the senate--though with me personallythey had no quarrel; and, thirdly, that the rich (I mean your friendsthe fish-breeders) did not disguise their jealousy of me, I thought Imust look out for some greater security and stronger support. So, tobegin with, I have brought the man who had been too long silent on myachievements, Pompey himself, to such a frame of mind as not once onlyin the senate, but many times and in many words, to ascribe to me thepreservation of this empire and of the world. And this was not soimportant to me--for those transactions are neither so obscure as toneed testimony, nor so dubious as to need commendation--as to theRepublic; for there were certain persons base enough to think that somemisunderstanding would arise between me and Pompey from a difference ofopinion on these measures. With him I have united myself in such closeintimacy that both of us can by this union be better fortified in hisown views, and more secure in his political position. However, thedislike of the licentious dandies, which had been roused against me, hasbeen so far softened by a conciliatory manner on my part, that they allcombine to show me marked attention. In fine, while avoidingchurlishness to anyone, I do not curry favour with the populace or relaxany principle; but my whole course of conduct is so carefully regulated, that, while exhibiting an example of firmness to the Republic, in my ownprivate concerns--in view of the instability of the loyalists, thehostility of the disaffected, and the hatred of the disloyal towardsme--I employ a certain caution and circumspection, and do not allowmyself, after all, to be involved in these new friendships so far butthat the famous refrain of the cunning Sicilian frequently sounds in myears:[132]

 "Keep sober and distrust: these wisdom's sinews!"

Of my course and way of life, therefore, you see, I think, what may becalled a sketch or outline. Of your own business, however, youfrequently write to me, but I cannot at the moment supply the remedy yourequire. For that decree of the senate was passed with the greatestunanimity on the part of the rank and file, [133] though without thesupport of any of us consulars. For as to your seeing my name at thefoot of the decree, you can ascertain from the decree itself that thesubject put to the vote at the time was a different one, and that thisclause about "free peoples" was added without good reason. It was doneby P. Servilius the younger, [134] who delivered his vote among the last, but it cannot be altered after such an interval of time. Accordingly, the meetings, which at first were crowded, have long ceased to be held. If you have been able, notwithstanding, by your insinuating address toget a trifle of money out of the Sicyonians, I wish you would let meknow. [135] I have sent you an account of my consulship written in Greek. If there is anything in it which to a genuine Attic like yourself seemsto be un-Greek or unscholarly, I shall not say as Lucullus said to you(at Panhormus, was it not?) about his own history, that he hadinterspersed certain barbarisms and solecisms for the express purpose ofproving that it was the work of a Roman. No, if there is anything ofthat sort in my book, it will be without my knowledge and against mywill. When I have finished the Latin version I will send it to you; andthirdly, you may expect a poem on the subject, for I would not have anymethod of celebrating my praise omitted by myself. In this regard praydo not quote "Who will praise his sire?"[136] For if there is anythingin the world to be preferred to this, let it receive its due meed ofpraise, and I mine of blame for not selecting another theme for mypraise. However, what I write is not panegyric but history. My brotherQuintus clears himself to me in a letter, and asserts that he has neversaid a disparaging word of you to anyone. But this we must discuss faceto face with the greatest care and earnestness: only _do_ come to see meagain at last! This Cossinius, to whom I intrust my letter, seems to mea very good fellow, steady, devoted to you, and exactly the sort of manwhich your letter to me had described. 

15 March. 

[Footnote 123: A special title given to the Ædui on their applicationfor alliance. Cæsar, _B. G. _ i. 33. ]

[Footnote 124: The migration of the Helvetii did not actually begin tillB. C. 58. Cæsar tells us in the first book of his _Commentaries_ how hestopped it. ]

[Footnote 125: Consul B. C. 69, superseded in Crete by Pompey B. C. 65. Triumphed B. C. 62. ]

[Footnote 126: Prætor B. C. 63, defended by Cicero in an extant oration. ]

[Footnote 127: Cn. Cornelius Lentulus Clodianus, consul in B. C. 72. Cicero puns on the name Lentulus from _lens_ (pulse, φακή), and quotes aGreek proverb for things incongruous. See Athenæus, 160 (from the_Necuia_ of Sopater):

 Ἴθακος Ὀδυσσεὺς, τὸ ἐκὶ τῇ φακῇ μύρον πάρεστι· θάρσει, θυμέ. ]

[Footnote 128: B. C. 133, the year before the agrarian law of TiberiusGracchus. The law of Gracchus had not touched the public land inCampania (the old territory of Capua). The object of this clause (whichappears repeatedly in those of B. C. 120 and 111, see Bruns, _FontesIuris_, p. 72) is to confine the allotment of _ager publicus_ to suchland as had become so subsequently, _i. E. _, to land made "public"principally by the confiscations of Sulla. ]

[Footnote 129: That is, he proposed to hypothecate the _vectigalia_ fromthe new provinces formed by Pompey in the East for five years. ]

[Footnote 130: The consulship. The bribery at Afranius's election isasserted in Letter XXI. ]

[Footnote 131: The day of the execution of the Catilinarianconspirators. ]

[Footnote 132: Epicharmus, twice quoted by Polybius, xviii. 40; xxxi. 21. νᾶφε καὶ μέμνας' ἀπιστεῖν, ἄρθρα ταῦτα τῶν φρενῶν. ]

[Footnote 133: _Pedarii_ were probably those senators who had not heldcurule office. They were not different from the other senators in pointof legal rights, but as ex-magistrates were asked for their _sententia_first, they seldom had time to do anything but signify by word theirassent to one or other motion, or to cross over to the person whom theyintended to support. ]

[Footnote 134: P. Servilius Vatia Isauricus, son of the conqueror of theIsaurians. As he had not yet been a prætor, he would be called on afterthe _consulares_ and _prætorii_. He then moved a new clause to thedecree, and carried it. ]

[Footnote 135: The decree apparently prevented the recovery of debtsfrom a _libera civitas_ in the Roman courts. Atticus would thereforehave to trust to the regard of the Sicyonians for their credit. ]

[Footnote 136: A son must be hard up for something to say for himself ifhe is always harping on his father's reputation; and so must I, if Ihave nothing but my consulship. That seems the only point in thequotation. I do not feel that there is any reference to praise of hisfather in Cicero's own poem. There are two versions of the proverb:

 τίς πατέρ' αἰνήσει εἰ μὴ κακοδαίμονες υἱοί

and

 τίς πατέρ' αἰνήσει εἰ μὴ εὐδαίμονες υἱοί. ]

XXV (A I, 20)

TO ATTICUS (IN EPIRUS)

ROME, 13 MAY

[Sidenote: B. C. 60, ÆT. 46]

On my return to Rome from my villa at Pompeii on the 12th of May, ourfriend Cincius handed me your letter dated 13th February. It is thisletter of yours which I will now proceed to answer. And first let me sayhow glad I am that you have fully understood my appreciation ofyou;[137] and next how excessively rejoiced I am that you have been soextremely reasonable in regard to those particulars in which youthought[138] that I and mine had behaved unkindly, or with insufficientconsideration for your feelings: and this I regard as a proof of nocommon affection, and of the most excellent judgment and wisdom. Wherefore, since you have written to me in a tone so delightful, considerate, friendly and kind, that I not only have no call to pressyou any farther, but can never even hope to meet from you or any otherman with so much gentleness and good nature, I think the very bestcourse I can pursue is not to say another word on the subject in myletters. When we meet, if the occasion should arise, we will discuss ittogether. 

As to what you say about politics, your suggestions indeed are bothaffectionate and wise, and the course you suggest does not differsubstantially from my own policy--for I must neither budge an inch fromthe position imposed upon me by my rank, nor must I without forces of myown enter the lines of another, while that other, whom you mention inyour letter, has nothing large-minded about him, nothing lofty, nothingwhich is not abject and time-serving. However, the course I took was, after all, perhaps not ill-calculated for securing the tranquillity ofmy own life; but, by heaven, I did greater service to the Republic than, by suppressing the attacks of the disloyal, I did to myself, when Ibrought conviction home to the wavering mind of a man of the mostsplendid fortune, influence and popularity, and induced him todisappoint the disloyal and praise my acts. Now if I had been forced tosacrifice consistency in this transaction, I should not have thoughtanything worth that price; but the fact is that I have so worked thewhole business, that I did not seem to be less consistent from mycomplacency to him, but that he appeared to gain in character by hisapprobation of me. In everything else I am so acting, and shall continueso to act, as to prevent my seeming to have done what I did do by merechance. My friends the loyalists, the men at whom you hint, and that"Sparta" which you say has fallen to my lot, [139] I will not only neverdesert, but even if I am deserted by her, I shall still stand by myancient creed. However, please consider this, that since the death ofCatulus I am holding this road for the loyalists without any garrison orcompany. For as Rhinton, I think, says:

 "Some are stark naught, and some care not at all. "[140]

However, how our friends the fish-breeders[141] envy me I will write youword another time, or will reserve it till we meet. But from thesenate-house nothing shall ever tear me: either because that course isthe right one, or because it is most to my interests, or because I amfar from being dissatisfied with the estimation in which I am held bythe senate. 

As to the Sicyonians, as I wrote to you before, [142] there is not muchto be hoped for in the senate. For there is no one now to lay acomplaint before it. Therefore, if you are waiting for that, you willfind it a tedious business. Fight some other way if you can. At the timethe decree was passed no one noticed who would be affected by it, andbesides the rank and file of the senators voted in a great hurry forthat clause. For cancelling the senatorial decree the time is not yetripe, because there are none to complain of it, and because also manyare glad to have it so, some from spite, some from a notion of itsequity. Your friend Metellus is an admirable consul: I have only onefault to find with him--he doesn't receive the news from Gaul of therestoration of peace with much pleasure. He wants a triumph, I suppose. I could have wished a little less of that sort of thing: in otherrespects he is splendid. But the son of Aulus behaves in such a way, that his consulship is not a consulship but a stigma on our friendMagnus. Of my writings I send you my consulship in Greek completed. Ihave handed that book to L. Cossinius. My Latin works I think you like, but as a Greek you envy this Greek book. If others write treatises onthe subject I will send them to you, but I assure you that, as soon asthey have read mine, some how or other they become slack. To return tomy own affairs, L. Papirius Pætus, an excellent man and an admirer ofmine, has presented me with the books left him by Servius Claudius. Asyour friend Cincius told me that I could take them without breaking the_lex Cincia_[143], I told him that I should have great pleasure inaccepting them, if he brought them to Italy. Wherefore, as you love me, as you know that I love you, do try by means of friends, clients, guests, or even your freedmen or slaves, to prevent the loss of a singleleaf. For I am in urgent need of the Greek books which I suspect, and ofthe Latin books which I know, that he left: and more and more every dayI find repose in such studies every moment left to me from my labours inthe forum. You will, I say, do me a very great favour, if you will be aszealous in this matter as you ever are in matters in which you supposeme to feel strongly; and Pætus's own affairs I recommend to yourkindness for which he thanks you extremely. A prompt visit from yourselfis a thing which I do not merely ask for, I advise it. 

[Footnote 137: Contained in Letter XXII, pp. 46-47. ]

[Footnote 138: Reading _tibi_ for _mihi_, as Prof. Tyrrell suggests. ]

[Footnote 139: Σπάρτην ἔλαχες κείνην κοσμεῖ. "Sparta is your lot, do itcredit, " a line of Euripides which had become proverbial. ]

[Footnote 140: οἱ μὲν παρ' οὐδέν εἰσι, τοῖς δ' οὐδεν μέλει. Rhinton, adramatist, _circa_ B. C. 320-280 (of Tarentum or Syracuse). ]

[Footnote 141: See pp. 52, 56, 65. ]

[Footnote 142: See p. 57. ]

[Footnote 143: The _lex Cincia_ (B. C. 204) forbade the taking ofpresents for acting as advocate in law courts. ]

XXVI (A II, 1)

TO ATTICUS (IN GREECE)

ROME, JUNE

[Sidenote: B. C. 60, ÆT. 46]

On the 1st of June, as I was on my way to Antium, and eagerly gettingout of the way of M. Metellus's gladiators, your boy met me, anddelivered to me a letter from you and a history of my consulship writtenin Greek. [144] This made me glad that I had some time before deliveredto L. Cossinius a book, also written in Greek, on the same subject, totake to you. For if I had read yours first you might have said that Ihad pilfered from you. Although your essay (which I have read withpleasure) seemed to me just a trifle rough and bald, yet its veryneglect of ornament is an ornament in itself, as women were once thoughtto have the best perfume who used none. My book, on the other hand, hasexhausted the whole of Isocrates's unguent case, and all the paint-boxesof his pupils, and even Aristotle's colours. This, as you tell me inanother letter, you glanced over at Corcyra, and afterwards I supposereceived it from Cossinius. [145] I should not have ventured to send itto you until I had slowly and fastidiously revised it. However, Posidonius, in his letter of acknowledgment from Rhodes, says that as heread my memoir, which I had sent him with a view to his writing on thesame subject with more elaboration, he was not only not incited towrite, but absolutely made afraid to do so. In a word, I have routed theGreeks. Accordingly, as a general rule, those who were pressing me formaterial to work up, have now ceased to bother me. Pray, if you like thebook, see to there being copies at Athens and other Greek towns;[146]for it may possibly throw some lustre on my actions. As for my poorspeeches, I will send you both those you ask for and some more also, since what I write to satisfy the studious youth finds favour, it seems, with you also. [For it suited my purpose[147]--both because it was inhis Philippics that your fellow citizen Demosthenes gained hisreputation, and because it was by withdrawing from the merecontroversial and forensic style of oratory that he acquired thecharacter of a serious politician--to see that I too should havespeeches that may properly be called _consular_. Of these are, first, one delivered on the 1st of January in the senate, a second to thepeople on the agrarian law, a third on Otho, a fourth for Rabirius, afifth on the Sons of the Proscribed, a sixth when I declined a provincein public meeting, a seventh when I allowed Catiline to escape, which Idelivered the day after Catiline fled, a ninth in public meeting on theday that the Allobroges made their revelation, a tenth in the senate onthe 5th of December. There are also two short ones, which may be calledfragments, on the agrarian law. This whole cycle I will see that youhave. And since you like my writings as well as my actions, from thesesame rolls you will learn both what I have done and what I have said--oryou should not have asked for them, for I did not make you an offer ofthem. ]

You ask me why I urge you to come home, and at the same time youintimate that you are hampered by business affairs, and yet say that youwill nevertheless hasten back, not only if it is needful, but even if Idesire it. Well, there is certainly no absolute necessity, yet I dothink you might plan the periods of your tour somewhat moreconveniently. Your absence is too prolonged, especially as you are in aneighbouring country, while yet I cannot enjoy your society, nor youmine. For the present there is peace, but if my young friendPulcher's[148] madness found means to advance a little farther, I shouldcertainly summon you from your present sojourn. But Metellus is offeringhim a splendid opposition and will continue to do so. Need I say more?He is a truly patriotic consul and, as I have ever thought, naturally anhonest man. That person, however, makes no disguise, but avowedlydesires to be elected tribune. But when the matter was mooted in thesenate, I cut the fellow to pieces, and taunted him with hischangeableness in seeking the tribuneship at Rome after having given outat Hera, in Sicily, [149] that he was a candidate for the ædileship; andwent on to say that we needn't much trouble ourselves, for that he wouldnot be permitted to ruin the Republic any more as a plebeian, thanpatricians like him had been allowed to do so in my consulship. Presently, on his saying that he had completed the journey from thestraits in seven days, and that it was impossible for anyone to havegone out to meet him, and that he had entered the city by night, [150]and making a great parade of this in a public meeting, I remarked thatthat was nothing new for him: seven days from Sicily to Rome, threehours from Rome to Interamna![151] Entered by night, did he? so he didbefore! No one went to meet him? neither did anyone on the otheroccasion, exactly when it should have been done! In short, I bring ouryoung upstart to his bearings, not only by a set and serious speech, butalso by repartees of this sort. Accordingly, I have come now to rallyhim and jest with him in quite a familiar manner. For instance, when wewere escorting a candidate, he asked me "whether I had been accustomedto secure Sicilians places at the gladiatorial shows?" "No, " said I. "Well, I intend to start the practice, " said he, "as their new patron;but my sister, [152] who has the control of such a large part of theconsul's space, wont give me more than a single foot. " "Don't grumble, "said I, "about one of your sister's feet; you may lift the other also. "A jest, you will say, unbecoming to a consular. I confess it, but Idetest that woman--so unworthy of a consul. For

 "A shrew she is and with her husband jars, and not only with Metellus, but also with Fabius, [153] because she isannoyed at their interference in this business. [154] You ask about theagrarian law: it has completely lost all interest, I think. You ratherchide me, though gently, about my intimacy with Pompey. I would not haveyou think that I have made friends with him for my own protection; butthings had come to such a pass that, if by any chance we had quarrelled, there would inevitably have been violent dissensions in the state. Andin taking precautions and making provision against that, I by no meansswerved from my well-known loyalist policy, but my object was to makehim more of a loyalist and induce him to drop somewhat of histime-serving vacillation: and he, let me assure you, now speaks in muchhigher terms of my achievements (against which many had tried to incitehim) than of his own. He testifies that while he served the state well, I preserved it. What if I even make a better citizen of Cæsar, [155] whohas now the wind full in his sails--am I doing so poor a service to theRepublic? Farthermore, if there was no one to envy me, if all, as theyought to be, were my supporters, nevertheless a preference should stillbe given to a treatment that would cure the diseased parts of the state, rather than to the use of the knife. As it is, however, since theknighthood, which I once stationed on the slope of the Capitoline, [156]with you as their standard-bearer and leader, has deserted the senate, and since our leading men think themselves in a seventh heaven, if thereare bearded mullets in their fish-ponds that will come to hand for food, and neglect everything else, do not you think that I am doing no meanservice if I secure that those who have the power, should not have thewill, to do any harm? As for our friend Cato, you do not love him morethan I do: but after all, with the very best intentions and the mostabsolute honesty, he sometimes does harm to the Republic. He speaks andvotes as though he were in the Republic of Plato, not in the scum ofRomulus. What could be fairer than that a man should be brought to trialwho has taken a bribe for his verdict? Cato voted for this: the senateagreed with him. The equites declared war on the senate, not on me, forI voted against it. What could be a greater piece of impudence than theequites renouncing the obligations of their contract? Yet for the sakeof keeping the friendship of the order it was necessary to submit to theloss. Cato resisted and carried his point. Accordingly, though we havenow had the spectacle of a consul thrown into prison, [157] of riotsagain and again stirred up, not one of those moved a finger to help, with whose support I and the consuls that immediately followed me wereaccustomed to defend the Republic. "Well, but, " say you, "are we to paythem for their support?" What are we to do if we can't get it on anyother terms? Are we to be slaves to freedmen or even slaves? But, as yousay, _assez de sérieux!_ Favonius[158] carried my tribe with bettercredit than his own; he lost that of Lucceius. His accusation ofNasica[159] was not creditable, but was conducted with moderation: hespoke so badly that he appeared when in Rhodes to have ground at themills more than at the lessons of Molon. [160] He was somewhat angrywith me because I appeared for the defence: however, he is now making upto me again on public grounds. I will write you word how Lucceius isgetting on when I have seen Cæsar, who will be here in a couple of days. The injury done you by the Sicyonians you attribute to Cato and hisimitator Servilius. [161] Why? did not that blow reach many excellentcitizens? But since the senate has so determined, let us commend it, andnot be in a minority of one. [162] My "Amaltheia"[163] is waiting andlonging for you. My Tusculan and Pompeian properties please meimmensely, except that they have overwhelmed me--me, the scourge ofdebt!--not exactly in Corinthian bronze, but in the bronze which iscurrent in the market. [164] In Gaul I hope peace is restored. My"Prognostics, "[165] along with my poor speeches, expect shortly. Yetwrite and tell me what your ideas are as to returning. For Pomponia senta message to me that you would be at Rome some time in July. That doesnot agree with your letter which you wrote to me about your name beingput on the census roll. Pætus, as I have already told you, has presentedme with all books left by his brother. This gift of his depends uponyour seeing to it with care. Pray, if you love me, take measures fortheir preservation and transmission to me. You could do me no greaterfavour, and I want the Latin books preserved with as much care as theGreek. I shall look upon them as virtually a present from yourself. Ihave written to Octavius:[166] I had not said anything to him about youby word of mouth; for I did not suppose that you carried on yourbusiness in that province, or look upon you in the light of generalmoney-lender: but I have written, as in duty bound, with allseriousness. 

[Footnote 144: Nep. _Att. _ c. 18. ]

[Footnote 145: Atticus seems to have seen a copy belonging to some oneelse at Corfu. Cicero explains that he had kept back Atticus's copy forrevision. ]

[Footnote 146: Cicero evidently intends Atticus to act as a publisher. His _librarii_ will make copies. See p. 32, note 1. ]

[Footnote 147: The passage in brackets is believed by some, not on verygood grounds, to be spurious. Otho is L. Roscius Otho, the author of thelaw as to the seats in the theatre of the equites. The "proscribed" arethose proscribed by Sulla, their sons being forbidden to hold office, adisability which Cicero maintained for fear of civil disturbances. See_in Pis. _ §§ 4-5. ]

[Footnote 148: Pulchellus, _i. E. _, P. Clodius Pulcher, the diminutive ofcontempt. ]

[Footnote 149: Where he had been as quæstor. Hera is said to be anothername for Hybla. Some read _heri_, "only yesterday. "]

[Footnote 150: Clodius is shewing off his modesty. It was usual forpersons returning from a province to send messengers in front, and totravel deliberately, that their friends might pay them the compliment ofgoing out to meet them. Entering the city after nightfall was anothermethod of avoiding a public reception. See Suet. _Aug. _ 53. ]

[Footnote 151: See p. 37, note 3. ]

[Footnote 152: Clodia, wife of the consul Metellus. See p. 22, note. ]

[Footnote 153: We don't know who this is; probably a _cavaliereservente_ of Clodia's. ]

[Footnote 154: _I. E. _, in the business of her brother Clodius's attemptto get the tribuneship. ]

[Footnote 155: Though Cæsar has been mentioned before in regard to hiscandidature for the consulship, and in connexion with the Clodius case, this is the first reference to him as a statesman. He is on the eve ofhis return from Spain, and already is giving indication of his coalitionwith Pompey. His military success in Spain first clearly demonstratedhis importance. ]

[Footnote 156: During the meeting of the senate at the time of theCatilinarian conspiracy (2 _Phil. _ § 16). ]

[Footnote 157: The consul Cæcilius Metellus was imprisoned by thetribune Flavius for resisting his land law (Dio, xxxvii. 50). ]

[Footnote 158: M. Favonius, an extreme Optimate. _Ille Catonis æmulus_(Suet. _Aug. _ 13). He had a bitter tongue, but a faithful heart (Plut. _Pomp. _ 60, 73; Vell. Ii 73). He did not get the prætorship (which hewas now seeking) till B. C. 49. He was executed after Philippi (Dio. 47, 49). ]

[Footnote 159: P. Scipio Nasica Metellus Pius, the future father-in-lawof Pompey, who got the prætorship, was indicted for _ambitus_ byFavonius. ]

[Footnote 160: Ἀπολλόνιος Μόλων of Alabanda taught rhetoric at Rhodes. Cicero had himself attended his lectures. He puns on the name Molon and_molæ_, "mill at which slaves worked. "]

[Footnote 161: See pp. 57, 60. ]

[Footnote 162: Reading _discessionibus_, "divisions in the senate, " withManutius and Tyrrell, not _dissentionibus_; and _deinde ne_, but not_st_ for _si_. ]

[Footnote 163: His study, which he playfully calls by this name, inimitation of that of Atticus. See p. 30. ]

[Footnote 164: See Letter XV, p. 25. ]

[Footnote 165: His translation of the _Prognostics_ of Aratus. ]

[Footnote 166: Gaius Octavius, father of Augustus, governor ofMacedonia. ]

XXVII (A II, 2)

TO ATTICUS (ON HIS WAY TO ROME)

TUSCULUM (DECEMBER)

[Sidenote: B. C. 60, ÆT. 46]

Take care of my dear nephew Cicero, I beg of you. I seem to share hisillness. I am engaged on the "Constitution of Pellene, " and, by heaven, have piled up a huge heap of Dicæarchus at my feet. [167] What a greatman! You may learn much more from him than from Procilius. His"Constitution of Corinth" and "Constitution of Athens" I have, I think, at Rome. Upon my word, you will say, if you read these, "What aremarkable man!" Herodes, if he had any sense, would have read himrather than write a single letter himself. [168] He has attacked me byletter; with you I see he has come to close quarters. I would havejoined a conspiracy rather than resisted one, if I had thought that Ishould have to listen to him as my reward. As to Lollius, you must bemad. As to the wine, I think you are right. [169] But look here! Don'tyou see that the Kalends are approaching, and no Antonius?[170] That thejury is being empanelled? For so they send me word. That Nigidius[171]threatens in public meeting that he will personally cite any juror whodoes not appear? However, I should be glad if you would write me wordwhether you have heard anything about the return of Antonius; and sinceyou don't mean to come here, dine with me in any case on the 29th. Mindyou do this, and take care of your health. 

[Footnote 167: The roll being unwound as he read and piled on theground. Dicæarchus of Messene, a contemporary of Aristotle, wrote on"Constitutions" among other things. Procilius seems also to have writtenon polities. ]

[Footnote 168: Herodes, a teacher at Athens, afterwards tutor to youngCicero. He seems to have written on Cicero's consulship. ]

[Footnote 169: These remarks refer to something in Atticus's letter. ]

[Footnote 170: Gaius Antonius, about to be prosecuted for _maiestas_ onhis return from Macedonia. ]

[Footnote 171: P. Nigidius Figulus, a tribune (which dates the letterafter the 10th of December). The tribunes had no right of summons(_vocatio_), they must personally enforce their commands. ]

XXVIII (A II, 3)

TO ATTICUS (ON HIS WAY TO ROME)

ROME (DECEMBER)

[Sidenote: B. C. 60, ÆT. 46]

First, I have good news for you, as I think. Valerius has beenacquitted. Hortensius was his counsel. The verdict is thought to havebeen a favour to Aulus's son; and "Epicrates, "[172] I suspect, has beenup to some mischief. I didn't like his boots and his whiteleggings. [173] What it is I shall know when you arrive. When you findfault with the narrow windows, let me tell you that you are criticisingthe Cyropædeia. [174] For when I made the same remark, Cyrus used toanswer that the views of the gardens through broad lights were not sopleasant. For let α be the eye, βγ the object seen, δ and ε the rays . .. You see the rest. [175] For if sight resulted from the impact ofimages, [176] the images would be in great difficulties with a narrowentrance: but, as it is, that "effusion" of rays gets on quite nicely. If you have any other fault to find you won't get off without an answer, unless it is something that can be put right without expense. 

I now come to January and my "political attitude, " in which, after themanner of the Socratics, I shall put the two sides; at the end, however, as they were wont to do, the one which I approve. It is, indeed, amatter for profound reflexion. For I must either firmly oppose theagrarian law--which will involve a certain struggle, but a struggle fullof glory--or I must remain altogether passive, which is about equivalentto retiring to Solonium[177] or Antium; or, lastly, I must actuallyassist the bill, which I am told Cæsar fully expects from me without anydoubt. For Cornelius has been with me (I mean Cornelius Balbus, [178]Cæsar's intimate), and solemnly assured me that he meant to availhimself of my advice and Pompey's in everything, and intended toendeavour to reconcile Crassus with Pompey. [179] In this last coursethere are the following advantages: a very close union with Pompey, and, if I choose, with Cæsar also; a reconciliation with my politicalenemies, peace with the common herd, ease for my old age. But theconclusion of the third book of my own poem has a strong hold on me:

 "Meanwhile the tenor of thy youth's first spring, Which still as consul thou with all thy soul And all thy manhood heldest, see thou keep, And swell the chorus of all good men's praise. "[180]

These verses Calliope herself dictated to me in that book, whichcontains much written in an "aristocratic" spirit, and I cannot, therefore, doubt that I shall always hold that

 "The best of omens is our country's cause. "[181]

But let us reserve all this for our walks during the Compitalia[182]. Remember the day before the Compitalia. I will order the bath to beheated, and Terentia is going to invite Pomponia. We will add yourmother to the party. Please bring me Theophrastus _de Ambitione_ from mybrother's library. 

[Footnote 172: "The Conqueror, " _i. E. _, Pompey. Aulus's son is L. Afranius. ]

[Footnote 173: _I. E. _, his military get-up. ]

[Footnote 174: Cyrus was Cicero's architect; his argument or theory hecalls Cyropædeia, after Xenophon's book. ]

[Footnote 175: He supposes himself to be making a mathematical figure inoptics:

[Illustration]]

[Footnote 176: The theory of sight held by Democritus, denounced asunphilosophical by Plutarch (_Timoleon_, Introd. ). ]

[Footnote 177: Apparently a villa in the _Solonius ager_, nearLanuvium. ]

[Footnote 178: The Cornelius Balbus of Gades, whose citizenship Cicerodefended B. C. 56 (consul B. C. 40). He was Cæsar's close friend andagent. ]

[Footnote 179: Cicero was apparently not behind the scenes. Thecoalition with Pompey certainly, and with Crassus probably, had beenalready made and the terms agreed upon soon after the elections. IfCicero afterwards discovered this it must have shewn him how little hecould trust Pompey's show of friendship and Cæsar's candour. Cæsardesired Cicero's private friendship and public acquiescence, but wasprepared to do without them. ]

[Footnote 180: From Cicero's Latin poem on his consulship. ]

[Footnote 181: εἶς οἰωνός ἄριστος ἀμύνεσθαι περὶ πάτρης (Hom. _Il. _ xii. 243). ]

XXIX (Q FR I, 1)

 Quintus Cicero was prætor in B. C. 62. In B. C. 61 (March) he went out to "Asia" as proprætor; his first year of office would be up in March, B. C. 60, but his governorship was, as was very common, extended till March, B. C. 59. Towards the end of B. C. 60 the senate seems to have arranged not to appoint his successor, that is, he would be left in office till about March, B. C. 58. It is in view of this third year of office that Cicero writes this essay-letter to him on the duties of a provincial governor. Apparently Quintus had faults of temper which had caused some scandals to reach Rome. We have seen how he was one of the few who managed to quarrel with Atticus; and in B. C. 48 we shall find how fiercely he resented the exercise of his brother's influence which had led him to take the losing side, which from his attachment to Cæsar he may have been half inclined to think the wrong side. His constant squabbles with his wife (though the fault was evidently in great part hers) also go towards forming our conclusion about him that, with some ability and honesty, he was _un peu difficile_. 

TO HIS BROTHER QUINTUS (IN ASIA)

ROME (DECEMBER)

[Sidenote: B. C. 60, ÆT. 46]

I. Though I have no doubt that many messengers, and even common rumour, with its usual speed, will anticipate this letter, and that you willalready have heard from others that a third year has been added to myloss and your labour, yet I thought you ought to receive from me alsothe news of this tiresome circumstance. For not in one, but in severalof my previous letters, in spite of others having given up the idea indespair, I gave you hope of being able at an early date to quit yourprovince, not only that I might as long as possible cheer you with apleasurable belief, but also because I and the prætors took such painsin the matter, that I felt no misgiving as to the possibility of itsbeing arranged. As it is, since matters have so turned out that neitherthe prætors by the weight of their influence, nor I by my earnestefforts, have been able to prevail, it is certainly difficult not to beannoyed, yet our minds, practised as they are in conducting andsupporting business of the utmost gravity, ought not to be crushed orweakened by vexation. And since men ought to feel most vexed at what hasbeen brought upon them by their own fault, it is I who ought in thismatter to be more vexed than you. For it is the result of a fault on mypart, against which you had protested both in conversation at the momentof your departure, and in letters since, that your successor was notnamed last year. In this, while consulting for the interests of ourallies, and resisting the shameless conduct of some merchants, and whileseeking the increase of our reputation by your virtues, I actedunwisely, especially as I made it possible for that second year toentail a third. And as I confess the mistake to have been mine, it lieswith your wisdom and kindness to remedy it, and to see that myimprudence is turned to advantage by your careful performance of yourduties. And truly, if you exert yourself in every direction to earnmen's good word, not with a view to rival others, but henceforth tosurpass yourself, if you rouse your whole mind and your every thoughtand care to the ambition of gaining a superior reputation in allrespects, believe me, one year added to your labour will bring us, nay, our posterity also, a joy of many years' duration. Wherefore I begin byentreating you not to let your soul shrink and be cast down, nor toallow yourself to be overpowered by the magnitude of the business asthough by a wave; but, on the contrary, to stand upright and keep yourfooting, or even advance to meet the flood of affairs. For you are notadministering a department of the state, in which fortune reignssupreme, but one in which a well-considered policy and an attention tobusiness are the most important things. But if I had seen you receivingthe prolongation of a command in a great and dangerous war, I shouldhave trembled in spirit, because I should have known that the dominionof fortune over us had been at the same time prolonged. As it is, however, a department of the state has been intrusted to you in whichfortune occupies no part, or, at any rate, an insignificant one, andwhich appears to me to depend entirely on your virtue and self-control. We have no reason to fear, as far as I know, any designs of our enemies, any actual fighting in the field, any revolts of allies, any default inthe tribute or in the supply of corn, any mutiny in the army: thingswhich have very often befallen the wisest of men in such a way, thatthey have been no more able to get the better of the assault of fortune, than the best of pilots a violent tempest. You have been grantedprofound peace, a dead calm: yet if the pilot falls asleep, it may evenso overwhelm him, though if he keeps awake it may give him positivepleasure. For your province consists, in the first place, of allies of arace which, of all the world, is the most civilized; and, in the secondplace, of citizens, who, either as being _publicani_, are very closelyconnected with me, or, as being traders who have made money, think thatthey owe the security of their property to my consulship. 

II. But it may be said that among even such men as these there occurserious disputes, many wrongful acts are committed, and hotly contestedlitigation is the result. As though I ever thought that you had notrouble to contend with! I know that the trouble is exceedingly great, and such as demands the very greatest prudence; but remember that it isprudence much more than fortune on which, in my opinion, the result ofyour trouble depends. For what trouble is it to govern those over whomyou are set, if you do but govern yourself? That may be a great anddifficult task to others, and indeed it is most difficult: to you it hasalways been the easiest thing in the world, and indeed ought to be so, for your natural disposition is such that, even without discipline, itappears capable of self-control; whereas a discipline has, in fact, beenapplied that might educate the most faulty of characters. But while youresist, as you do, money, pleasure, and every kind of desire yourself, there will, I am to be told, be a risk of your not being able tosuppress some fraudulent banker or some rather over-extortionatetax-collector! For as to the Greeks, they will think, as they behold theinnocence of your life, that one of the heroes of their history, or ademigod from heaven, has come down into the province. And this I say, not to induce you to act thus, but to make you glad that you are actingor have acted so. It is a splendid thing to have been three years insupreme power in Asia without allowing statue, picture, plate, napery, slave, anyone's good looks, or any offer of money--all of which areplentiful in your province--to cause you to swerve from the mostabsolute honesty and purity of life. What can be imagined so striking orso desirable as that a virtue, a command over the passions, aself-control such as yours, are not remaining in darkness and obscurity, but have been set in the broad daylight of Asia, before the eyes of afamous province, and in the hearing of all nations and peoples? That theinhabitants are not being ruined by your progresses, drained by yourcharges, agitated by your approach? That there is the liveliest joy, public and private, wheresoever you come, the city regarding you as aprotector and not a tyrant, the private house as a guest and not aplunderer?

III. But in these matters I am sure that mere experience has by thistime taught you that it is by no means sufficient to have these virtuesyourself, but that you must keep your eyes open and vigilant, in orderthat in the guardianship of your province you may be considered to vouchto the allies, the citizens, and the state, not for yourself alone, butfor all the subordinates of your government. However, you have in thepersons of your _legati_ men likely to have a regard for their ownreputation. Of these in rank, position, and age Tubero is first; who, Ithink, particularly as he is a writer of history, could select from hisown Annals many whom he would like and would be able to imitate. Allienus, again, is ours, as well in heart and affection, as in hisconformity to our principles. I need not speak of Gratidius: I am surethat, while taking pains to preserve his own reputation, his fraternalaffection for us makes him take pains for ours also. [183] Your quæstoris not of your own selection, but the one assigned you by lot. He isbound both to act with propriety of his own accord, and to conform tothe policy and principles which you lay down. But should any one ofthese adopt a lower standard of conduct, you should tolerate suchbehaviour, if it goes no farther than a breach, in his private capacity, of the rules by which he was bound, but not if it goes to the extent ofemploying for gain the authority which you granted him as a promotion. For I am far from thinking, especially since the moral sentiments of theday are so much inclined to excessive laxity and self-seeking, that youshould investigate every case of petty misconduct, and thoroughlyexamine every one of these persons; but that you should regulate yourconfidence by the trustworthiness of its recipient. And among suchpersons you will have to vouch for those whom the Republic has itselfgiven you as companions and assistants in public affairs, at leastwithin the limits which I have before laid down. 

IV. In the case, however, of those of your personal staff or officialattendants whom you have yourself selected to be about you--who areusually spoken of as a kind of prætor's cohort--we must vouch, not onlyfor their acts, but even for their words. But those you have with youare the sort of men of whom you may easily be fond when they are actingrightly, and whom you may very easily check when they shew insufficientregard for your reputation. By these, when you were raw to the work, your frank disposition might possibly have been deceived--for the bettera man is the less easily does he suspect others of being bad--now, however, let this third year witness an integrity as perfect as the twoformer, but still more wary and vigilant. Listen to that only which youare supposed to listen to; don't let your ears be open to whisperedfalsehoods and interested suggestions. Don't let your signet ring be amere implement, but, as it were, your second self: not the minister ofanother's will, but a witness of your own. Let your marshal hold therank which our ancestors wished him to hold, who, looking upon thisplace as not one of profit, but of labour and duty, scarcely everconferred it upon any but their freedmen, whom they indeed controlledalmost as absolutely as their slaves. Let the lictor be the dispenser ofyour clemency, not his own; and let the fasces and axes which they carrybefore you constitute ensigns rather of rank than of power. Let it, infact, be known to the whole province that the life, children, fame, andfortunes of all over whom you preside are exceedingly dear to you. Finally, let it be believed that you will, if you detect it, be hostilenot only to those who have accepted a bribe, but to those also who havegiven it. And, indeed, no one will give anything, if it is made quiteclear that nothing is usually obtained from you through those whopretend to be very influential with you. Not, however, that the objectof this discourse is to make you over-harsh or suspicious towards yourstaff. For if any of them in the course of the last two years has neverfallen under suspicion of rapacity, as I am told about Cæsius andChærippus and Labeo--and think it true, because I know them--there is noauthority, I think, which may not be intrusted to them, and noconfidence which may not be placed in them with the utmost propriety, and in anyone else like them. But if there is anyone of whom you havealready had reason to doubt, or concerning whom you have made somediscovery, in such a man place no confidence, intrust him with noparticle of your reputation. 

V. If, however, you have found in the province itself anyone, hithertounknown to us, who has made his way into intimacy with you, take carehow much confidence you repose in him; not that there may not be manygood provincials, but, though we may hope so, it is risky to bepositive. For everyone's real character is covered by many wrappings ofpretence and is concealed by a kind of veil: face, eyes, expression veryoften lie, speech most often of all. Wherefore, how can you expect tofind in that class[184] any who, while foregoing for the sake of moneyall from which we can scarcely tear ourselves away, [185] will yet loveyou sincerely and not merely pretend to do so from interested motives? Ithink, indeed, it is a hard task to find such men, especially if wenotice that the same persons care nothing for almost any man out ofoffice, yet always with one consent shew affection for the prætors. Butof this class, if by chance you have discovered any one to be fonder ofyou--for it may so happen--than of your office, such a man indeed gladlyadmit upon your list of friends: but if you fail to perceive that, there is no class of people you must be more on your guard againstadmitting to intimacy, just because they are acquainted with all theways of making money, do everything for the sake of it, and have noconsideration for the reputation of a man with whom they are notdestined to pass their lives. And even among the Greeks themselves youmust be on your guard against admitting close intimacies, except in thecase of the very few, if such are to be found, who are worthy of ancientGreece. As things now stand, indeed, too many of them are untrustworthy, false, and schooled by long servitude in the arts of extravagantadulation. My advice is that these men should all be entertained withcourtesy, but that close ties of hospitality or friendship should onlybe formed with the best of them: excessive intimacies with them are notvery trustworthy--for they do not venture to oppose our wishes--and theyare not only jealous of our countrymen, but of their own as well. 

VI. And now, considering the caution and care that I would shew inmatters of this kind--in which I fear I may be somewhatover-severe--what do you suppose my sentiments are in regard to slaves?Upon these we ought to keep a hold in all places, but especially in theprovinces. On this head many rules may be laid down, but this is at oncethe shortest and most easily maintained--that they should behave duringyour progresses in Asia as though you were travelling on the Appian way, and not suppose that it makes any difference whether they have arrivedat Tralles or Formiæ. But if, again, any one of your slaves isconspicuously trustworthy, employ him in your domestic and privateaffairs; but in affairs pertaining to your office as governor, or in anydepartment of the state, do not let him lay a finger. For many thingswhich may, with perfect propriety, be intrusted to slaves, must yet notbe so intrusted, for the sake of avoiding talk and hostile remark. Butmy discourse, I know not how, has slipped into the didactic vein, thoughthat is not what I proposed to myself originally. For what right have Ito be laying down rules for one who, I am fully aware, in this subjectespecially, is not my inferior in wisdom, while in experience he is evenmy superior? Yet, after all, if your actions had the additional weightof my approval, I thought that they would seem more satisfactory toyourself. Wherefore, let these be the foundations on which your publiccharacter rests: first and foremost your own honesty and self-control, then the scrupulous conduct of all your staff, the exceedingly cautiousand careful selection in regard to intimacies with provincials andGreeks, the strict and unbending government of your slaves. These arecreditable even in the conduct of our private and everyday business: insuch an important government, where morals are so debased and theprovince has such a corrupting influence, they must needs seem divine. Such principles and conduct on your part are sufficient to justify thestrictness which you have displayed in some acts of administration, owing to which I have encountered certain personal disputes with greatsatisfaction, unless, indeed, you suppose me to be annoyed by thecomplaints of a fellow like Paconius--who is not even a Greek, but inreality a Mysian or Phrygian--or by the words of Tuscenius, a madman anda knave, from whose abominable jaws you snatched the fruits of a mostinfamous piece of extortion with the most complete justice. 

VII. These and similar instances of your strict administration in yourprovince we shall find difficulty in justifying, unless they areaccompanied by the most perfect integrity: wherefore let there be thegreatest strictness in your administration of justice, provided onlythat it is never varied from favour, but is kept up with impartiality. But it is of little avail that justice is administered by yourself withimpartiality and care, unless the same is done by those to whom you haveintrusted any portion of this duty. And, indeed, in my view there is novery great variety of business in the government of Asia: the entireprovince mainly depends on the administration of justice. In it we havethe whole theory of government, especially of provincial government, clearly displayed: all that a governor has to do is to shew consistencyand firmness enough, not only to resist favouritism, but even thesuspicion of it. To this also must be added courtesy in listening topleaders, consideration in pronouncing a decision, and painstakingefforts to convince suitors of its justice, and to answer theirarguments. It is by such habits that C. Octavius has recently madehimself very popular;[186] in whose court, for the first time, [187] thelictor did not interfere, and the marshal kept silence, while everysuitor spoke as often and as long as he chose. In which conduct he wouldperhaps have been thought over-lax, had it not been that this laxityenabled him to maintain the following instance of severity. Thepartisans of Sulla were forced to restore what they had taken byviolence and terrorism. Those who had made inequitable decrees, while inoffice, were now as private citizens forced to submit to the principlesthey had established. This strictness on his part would have beenthought harsh, had it not been rendered palatable by many sweeteninginfluences of courtesy. But if this gentleness was sufficient to makehim popular at Rome, where there is such haughtiness of spirit, suchunrestrained liberty, such unlimited licence of individuals, and, infine, so many magistrates, so many means of obtaining protection, suchvast power in the hands of the popular assembly, and such influenceexercised by the senate, how welcome must a prætor's courtesy be inAsia, in which there is such a numerous body of citizens and allies, somany cities, so many communities, all hanging on one man's nod, and inwhich there are no means of protection, no one to whom to make acomplaint, no senate, no popular assembly! Wherefore it requires anexalted character, a man who is not only equitable from natural impulse, but who has also been trained by study and the refinements of a liberaleducation, so to conduct himself while in the possession of such immensepower, that those over whom he rules should not feel the want of anyother power. 

VIII. Take the case of the famous Cyrus, portrayed by Xenophon, not asan historical character, but as a model of righteous government, theserious dignity of whose character is represented by that philosopher ascombined with a peculiar courtesy. And, indeed, it is not without reasonthat our hero Africanus used perpetually to have those books in hishands, for there is no duty pertaining to a careful and equitablegovernor which is not to be found in them. Well, if _he_ cultivatedthose qualities, though never destined to be in a private station, howcarefully ought those to maintain them to whom power is given with theunderstanding that it must be surrendered, and given by laws under whoseauthority they must once more come? In my opinion all who govern othersare bound to regard as the object of all their actions the greatesthappiness of the governed. That this is your highest object, and hasbeen so since you first landed in Asia, has been published abroad byconsistent rumour and the conversation of all. It is, let me add, notonly the duty of one who governs allies and citizens, but even of onewho governs slaves and dumb animals, to serve the interests andadvantage of those under him. In this point I notice that everyoneagrees that you take the greatest pains: no new debt is being contractedby the states, while many have been relieved by you from a heavy andlong-standing one. Several cities that had become dilapidated and almostdeserted--of which one was the most famous state in Ionia, the other inCaria, Samus and Halicarnassus--have been given a new life by you: thereis no party fighting, no civil strife in the towns: you take care thatthe government of the states is administered by the best class ofcitizens: brigandage is abolished in Mysia; murder suppressed in manydistricts; peace is established throughout the province; and not onlythe robberies usual on highways and in country places, but those morenumerous and more serious ones in towns and temples, have beencompletely stopped: the fame, fortunes, and repose of the rich have beenrelieved of that most oppressive instrument of prætorialrapacity--vexatious prosecution; the expenses and tribute of the statesare made to fall with equal weight on all who live in the territories ofthose states: access to you is as easy as possible: your ears are opento the complaints of all: no man's want of means or want of friendsexcludes him, I don't say from access to you in public and on thetribunal, but even from your house and chamber: in a word, throughoutyour government there is no harshness or cruelty--everywhere clemency, mildness, and kindness reign supreme. 

IX. What an immense benefit, again, have you done in having liberatedAsia from the tribute exacted by the ædiles a measure which cost me someviolent controversies! For if one of our nobles complains openly thatby your edict, "No moneys shall be voted for the games, " you have robbedhim of 200 sestertia, what a vast sum of money would have been paid, hada grant been made to the credit of every magistrate who held games, ashad become the regular custom! However, I stopped these complaints bytaking up this position--what they think of it in Asia I don't know, inRome it meets with no little approval and praise--I refused to accept asum of money which the states had decreed for a temple and monument inour honour, though they had done so with the greatest enthusiasm in viewboth of my services and of your most valuable benefactions; and thoughthe law contained a special and distinct exception in these words, "thatit was lawful to receive for temple or monument"; and though again themoney was not going to be thrown away, but would be employed ondecorating a temple, and would thus appear to have been given to theRoman people and the immortal Gods rather than to myself--yet, in spiteof its having desert, law, and the wishes of those who offered the giftin its favour, I determined that I must not accept it, for this reasonamong others, namely, to prevent those, to whom such an honour wasneither due nor legal, from being jealous. Wherefore adhere with allyour heart and soul to the policy which you have hitherto adopted--thatof being devoted to those whom the senate and people of Rome havecommitted and intrusted to your honour and authority, of doing your bestto protect them, and of desiring their greatest happiness. Even if thelot had made you governor of Africans, or Spaniards, orGauls--uncivilized and barbarous nations--it would still have been yourduty as a man of feeling to consult for their interests and advantage, and to have contributed to their safety. But when we rule over a race ofmen in which civilization not only exists, but from which it is believedto have spread to others, we are bound to repay them, above all things, what we received from them. For I shall not be ashamed to go sofar--especially as my life and achievements have been such as to excludeany suspicion of sloth or frivolity--as to confess that, whatever I haveaccomplished, I have accomplished by means of those studies andprinciples which have been transmitted to us in Greek literature andschools of thought. Wherefore, over and above the general good faithwhich is due to all men, I think we are in a special sense under anobligation to that nation, to put in practice what it has taught usamong the very men by whose maxims we have been brought out ofbarbarism. 

X. And indeed Plato, the fountain-head of genius and learning, thoughtthat states would only be happy when scholars and philosophers beganbeing their rulers, or when those who were their rulers had devoted alltheir attention to learning and philosophy. It was plainly this union ofpower and philosophy that in his opinion might prove the salvation ofstates. And this perhaps has at length fallen to the fortune of thewhole empire: certainly it has in the present instance to your province, to have a man in supreme power in it, who has from boyhood spent thechief part of his zeal and time in imbibing the principles ofphilosophy, virtue, and humanity. Wherefore be careful that this thirdyear, which has been added to your labour, may be thought a prolongationof prosperity to Asia. And since Asia was more fortunate in retainingyou than I was in my endeavour to bring you back, see that my regret issoftened by the exultation of the province. For if you have displayedthe very greatest activity in earning honours such as, I think, havenever been paid to anyone else, much greater ought your activity to bein preserving these honours. What I for my part think of honours of thatkind I have told you in previous letters. I have always regarded them, if given indiscriminately, as of little value, if paid from interestedmotives, as worthless: if, however, as in this case, they are tributesto solid services on your part, I hold you bound to take much pains inpreserving them. Since, then, you are exercising supreme power andofficial authority in cities, in which you have before your eyes theconsecration and apotheosis of your virtues, in all decisions, decrees, and official acts consider what you owe to those warm opinionsentertained of you, to those verdicts on your character, to thosehonours which have been rendered you. And what you owe will be toconsult for the interests of all, to remedy men's misfortunes, toprovide for their safety, to resolve that you will be both called andbelieved to be the "father of Asia. "

XI. However, to such a resolution and deliberate policy on your part thegreat obstacle are the _publicani_: for, if we oppose them, we shallalienate from ourselves and from the Republic an order which has done usmost excellent service, and which has been brought into sympathy withthe Republic by our means; if, on the other hand, we comply with them inevery case, we shall allow the complete ruin of those whose interests, to say nothing of their preservation, we are bound to consult. This isthe one difficulty, if we look the thing fairly in the face, in yourwhole government. For disinterested conduct on one's own part, thesuppression of all inordinate desires, the keeping a check upon one'sstaff, courtesy in hearing causes, in listening to and admittingsuitors--all this is rather a question of credit than of difficulty: forit does not depend on any special exertion, but rather on a mentalresolve and inclination. But how much bitterness of feeling is caused toallies by that question of the _publicani_ we have had reason to know inthe case of citizens who, when recently urging the removal of theport-dues in Italy, did not complain so much of the dues themselves, asof certain extortionate conduct on the part of the collectors. Wherefore, after hearing the grievances of citizens in Italy, I cancomprehend what happens to allies in distant lands. To conduct oneselfin this matter in such a way as to satisfy the _publicani_, especiallywhen contracts have been undertaken at a loss, and yet to preserve theallies from ruin, seems to demand a virtue with something divine in it, I mean a virtue like yours. To begin with, that they are subject to taxat all, which is their greatest grievance, ought not to be thought so bythe Greeks, because they were so subject by their own laws without theRoman government. Again, they cannot despise the word _publicanus_, forthey have been unable to pay the assessment according to Sulla'spoll-tax without the aid of the publican. But that Greek _publicani_ arenot more considerate in exacting the payment of taxes than our own maybe gathered from the fact that the Caunii, and all the islands assignedto the Rhodians by Sulla, recently appealed to the protection of thesenate, and petitioned to be allowed to pay their tax to us rather thanto the Rhodians. Wherefore neither ought those to revolt at the name ofa _publicanus_ who have always been subject to tax, nor those to despiseit who have been unable to make up the tribute by themselves, nor thoseto refuse his services who have asked for them. At the same time letAsia reflect on this, that if she were not under our government, thereis no calamity of foreign war or internal strife from which she would befree. And since that government cannot possibly be maintained withouttaxes, she should be content to purchase perpetual peace andtranquillity at the price of a certain proportion of her products. 

XII. But if they will fairly reconcile themselves to the existence andname of publican, all the rest may be made to appear to them in a lessoffensive light by your skill and prudence. They may, in making theirbargains with the _publicani_, not have regard so much to the exactconditions laid down by the censors as to the convenience of settlingthe business and freeing themselves from farther trouble. You also maydo, what you have done splendidly and are still doing, namely, dwell onthe high position of the _publicani_, and on your obligations to thatorder, in such a way as--putting out of the question all considerationsof your _imperium_ and the power of your official authority anddignity--to reconcile the Greeks with the _publicani_, and to beg ofthose, whom you have served eminently well, and who owe you everything, to suffer you by their compliance to maintain and preserve the bondswhich unite us with the _publicani_. But why do I address theseexhortations to you, who are not only capable of carrying them out ofyour own accord without anyone's instruction, but have already to agreat extent thoroughly done so? For the most respectable and importantcompanies do not cease offering me thanks daily, and this is all themore gratifying to me because the Greeks do the same. Now it is anachievement of great difficulty to unite in feeling things which areopposite in interests, aims, and, I had almost said, in their verynature. But I have not written all this to instruct you--for your wisdomrequires no man's instruction--but it has been a pleasure to me whilewriting to set down your virtues, though I have run to greater length inthis letter than I could have wished, or than I thought I should. 

XIII. There is one thing on which I shall not cease from giving youadvice, nor will I, as far as in me lies, allow your praise to be spokenof with a reservation. For all who come from your province do make onereservation in the extremely high praise which they bestow on yourvirtue, integrity, and kindness--it is that of sharpness of temper. Thatis a fault which, even in our private and everyday life, seems toindicate want of solidity and strength of mind; but nothing, surely, canbe more improper than to combine harshness of temper with the exerciseof supreme power. Wherefore I will not undertake to lay before you nowwhat the greatest philosophers say about anger, for I should not wish tobe tedious, and you can easily ascertain it yourself from the writingsof many of them: but I don't think I ought to pass over what is theessence of a letter, namely, that the recipient should be informed ofwhat he does not know. Well, what nearly everybody reports to me isthis: they usually say that, as long as you are not out of temper, nothing can be pleasanter than you are, but that when some instance ofdishonesty or wrong-headedness has stirred you, your temper rises tosuch a height that no one can discover any trace of your usual kindness. Wherefore, since no mere desire for glory, but circumstances and fortunehave brought us upon a path of life which makes it inevitable that menwill always talk about us, let us be on our guard, to the utmost of ourmeans and ability, that no glaring fault may be alleged to have existedin us. And I am not now urging, what is perhaps difficult in humannature generally, and at our time of life especially, that you shouldchange your disposition and suddenly pluck out a deeply-rooted habit, but I give you this hint: if you cannot completely avoid this failing, because your mind is surprised by anger before cool calculation has beenable to prevent it, deliberately prepare yourself beforehand, and dailyreflect on the duty of resisting anger, and that, when it moves yourheart most violently, it is just the time for being most careful torestrain your tongue. And that sometimes seems to me to be a greatervirtue than not being angry at all. For the latter is not always a markof superiority to weakness, it is sometimes the result of dullness; butto govern temper and speech, however angry you may be, or even to holdyour tongue and keep your indignant feelings and resentment undercontrol, although it may not be a proof of perfect wisdom, yet requiresno ordinary force of character. And, indeed, in this respect they tellme that you are now much more gentle and less irritable. No violentoutbursts of indignation on your part, no abusive words, no insultinglanguage are reported to me: which, while quite alien to culture andrefinement, are specially unsuited to high power and place. For if youranger is implacable, it amounts to extreme harshness; if easilyappeased, to extreme weakness. The latter, however, as a choice ofevils, is, after all, preferable to harshness. 

XIV. But since your first year gave rise to most talk in regard to thisparticular complaint--I believe because the wrong-doing, thecovetousness, and the arrogance of men came upon you as a surprise, andseemed to you unbearable --while your second year was much milder, because habit and reflexion, and, as I think, my letters also, renderedyou more tolerant and gentle, the third ought to be so completelyreformed, as not to give even the smallest ground for anyone to findfault. And here I go on to urge upon you, not by way of exhortation oradmonition, but by brotherly entreaties, that you would set your wholeheart, care, and thought on the gaining of praise from everybody andfrom every quarter. If, indeed, our achievements were only the subjectof a moderate amount of talk and commendation, nothing eminent, nothingbeyond the practice of others, would have been demanded of you. As itis, however, owing to the brilliancy and magnitude of the affairs inwhich we have been engaged, if we do not obtain the very highestreputation from your province, it seems scarcely possible for us toavoid the most violent abuse. Our position is such that all loyalistssupport us, but demand also and expect from us every kind of activityand virtue, while all the disloyal, seeing that we have entered upon alasting war with them, appear contented with the very smallest excusefor attacking us. Wherefore, since fortune has allotted to you such atheatre as Asia, completely packed with an audience, of immense size, ofthe most refined judgment, and, moreover, naturally so capable ofconveying sound, that its expressions of opinion and its remarks reachRome, put out all your power, I beseech you, exert all your energies toappear not only to have been worthy of the part we played here, but tohave surpassed everything done there by your high qualities. 

XV. And since chance has assigned to me among the magistracies theconduct of public business in the city, to you that in a province, if myshare is inferior to no one's, take care that yours surpasses others. Atthe same time think of this: we are not now working for a future andprospective glory, but are fighting in defence of what has been alreadygained; which indeed it was not so much an object to gain as it is nowour duty to defend. And if anything in me could be apart from you, Ishould desire nothing more than the position which I have alreadygained. The actual fact, however, is that unless all your acts and deedsin your province correspond to my achievements, I shall think that Ihave gained nothing by those great labours and dangers, in all of whichyou have shared. But if it was you who, above all others, assisted me togain a most splendid reputation, you will certainly also labour morethan others to enable me to retain it. You must not be guided by theopinions and judgments of the present generation only, but of those tocome also: and yet the latter will be a more candid judgment, for itwill not be influenced by detraction and malice. Finally, you shouldthink of this--that you are not seeking glory for yourself alone (andeven if that were the case, you still ought not to be careless of it, especially as you had determined to consecrate the memory of your nameby the most splendid monuments), but you have to share it with me, andto hand it down to our children. In regard to which you must be on yourguard lest by any excess of carelessness you should seem not only tohave neglected your own interests, but to have begrudged those of yourfamily also. 

XVI. And these observations are not made with the idea of any speech ofmine appearing to have roused you from your sleep, but to have rather"added speed to the runner. " For you will continue to compel all in thefuture, as you have compelled them in the past, to praise your equity, self-control, strictness, and honesty. But from my extreme affection Iam possessed with a certain insatiable greed for glory for you. However, I am convinced that, as Asia should now be as well-known to you as eachman's own house is to himself, and since to your supreme good sense suchgreat experience has now been added, there is nothing that affectsreputation which you do not know as well as possible yourself, andwhich does not daily occur to your mind without anybody's exhortation. But I, who when I read your writing seem to hear your voice, and when Iwrite to you seem to be talking to you, am therefore always best pleasedwith your longest letter, and in writing am often somewhat prolixmyself. My last prayer and advice to you is that, as good poets andpainstaking actors always do, so you should be most attentive in thelast scenes and conclusion of your function and business, so that thisthird year of your government, like a third act in a play, may appear tohave been the most elaborated and most highly finished. You will do thatwith more ease if you will think that I, whom you always wished toplease more than all the world besides, am always at your side, and amtaking part in everything you say and do. It remains only to beg you totake the greatest care of your health, if you wish me and all yourfriends to be well also. 

Farewell. 

[Footnote 182: A country festival and general holiday. It was a _feriæconceptivæ_, and therefore the exact day varied. But it was about theend of the year or beginning of the new year (_in Pis. _ § 4; Aul. Gell. X. 24; Macrob. _Sat. _ i. 4; _ad Att. _ vii. 5; vii. 7, § 2). ]

[Footnote 183: Of the persons mentioned, L. Ælius Tubero is elsewherepraised as a man of learning (_pro Lig. _ § 10); A. Allienus (prætor B. C. 49) was a friend and correspondent; M. Gratidius is mentioned in _proFlacco_, § 49, as acting in a judicial capacity, and was perhaps acousin of Cicero's. ]

[Footnote 184: The class of Romans who have practically becomeprovincials. ]

[Footnote 185: Rome and its society and interests. ]

[Footnote 186: Father of Augustus, governor of Macedonia, B. C. 60-59. But he seems to refer to his prætorship (B. C. 61) at Rome; at any rate, as well as to his conduct in Macedonia. ]

[Footnote 187: Reading _primum_; others _primus_, "his head lictor. "]

XXX (A II, 4)

[Sidenote: B. C. 59. Coss. , C. Iulius Cæsar, M. Calpurnius Bibulus. ]

 This year was a crucial one in the history of the Republic, and also of Cicero particularly. It witnessed the working of the agreement entered into in the previous year between Pompey, Cæsar, and Crassus, to secure their several objects, commonly called the First Triumvirate. The determined enmity of the consuls to each other, the high-handed conduct of Cæsar in regard to the senate, his ultimate appointment to the unusual period of five years' government of the Gauls and Illyricum, were so many blows at the old constitution; and scarcely less offensive to the Catonian Optimates were the agrarian laws passed in favour of Pompey's veterans, the forcing of his _acta_ through the senate, and the arrangement whereby he too was eventually to have the consulship again, and an extended period of provincial government. Cicero was distracted by hesitation. He had pinned his faith on Pompey's ultimate opposition to Cæsar, and yet did not wholly trust him, and was fully aware of the unpracticable nature of Cato and the weakness of the Optimates. The triumvirs had an instrument for rendering him helpless in Clodius, but Cicero could not believe that they would use it, or that his services to the state could be so far forgotten as to make danger possible. We shall find him, then, wholly absorbed in the question as to how far he is to give into or oppose the triumvirs. It is not till the end of the year that he begins to see the real danger ahead. We have one extant oration of this year--_pro Flacco_--which was not much to his credit, for Flaccus had evidently been guilty of extortion in Asia. He also defended the equally guilty C. Antonius in a speech which brought upon him the vengeance of the triumvirs, but it is happily lost. 

TO ATTICUS (AT ROME)

TUSCULUM (APRIL)

[Sidenote: B. C. 59, ÆT. 47]

I am exceedingly obliged to you for sending me Serapio's book, of whichindeed, between you and me, I scarcely understood a thousandth part. Ihave ordered the money for it to be paid you at once, that you may notput it down to the cost of presentation copies. But as I have mentionedthe subject of money, I will beg you to try to come to a settlement withTitinius in any way you can. If he doesn't stand by his own proposal, what I should like best is that what he bought at too dear a rate shouldbe returned, if that can be done with Pomponia's consent: if that too isimpossible, let the money be paid rather than have any difficulty. Ishould be very glad if you would settle this before you leave Rome, withyour usual kindness and exactness. 

So Clodius, you say, is for Tigranes? I only wish he would go--on thesame terms as the Skepsian![188] But I don't grudge him the job; for amore convenient time for my taking a "free legation" is when my brotherQuintus shall have settled down again, as I hope, into private life, andI shall have made certain how that "priest of the Bona Dea"[189] intendsto behave. Meanwhile I shall find my pleasure in the Muses with a mindundisturbed, or rather glad and cheerful; for it will never occur to meto envy Crassus or to regret that I have not been false to myself. As togeography, I will try to satisfy you, but I promise nothing forcertain. [190] It is a difficult business, but nevertheless, as you bidme, I will take care that this country excursion produces something foryou. Mind you let me know any news you have ferreted out, and especiallywho you think will be the next consuls. However, I am not very curious;for I have determined not to think about politics. I have examinedTerentia's woodlands. What need I say? If there was only a Dodonean oakin them, I should imagine myself to be in possession of Epirus. Aboutthe 1st of the month I shall be either at Formiæ or Pompeii. [191] If Iam not at Formiæ, pray, an you love me, come to Pompeii. It will be agreat pleasure to me and not much out of the way for you. About thewall, I have given Philotimus orders not to put any difficulty in theway of your doing whatever you please. I think, however, you had bettercall in Vettius. [192] In these bad times, when the life of all the bestmen hangs on a thread, I value one summer's enjoyment of my Palatine_palæstra_ rather highly; but, of course, the last thing I should wishwould be that Pomponia and her boy should live in fear of a fallingwall. 

[Footnote 188: That is, if it ends in his death, for Meliodorus ofSkepsis was sent by Mithridates to Tigranes to urge him to go to warwith Rome, but privately advised him not to do so, and, in consequence, was put to death by Mithridates (Plut. _Luc. _ 22). The word _Scepsii_(Σκηψίου) was introduced by Gronovius for the unintelligible word_Syrpie_ found in the MSS. , which so often blunder in Greek names. ]

[Footnote 189: Clodius, alluding to his intrusion into the mysteries. ]

[Footnote 190: Atticus has asked Cicero for a Latin treatise ongeography--probably as a publisher, Cicero being the prince ofbook-makers--and to that end has sent him the Greek geography ofSerapio. ]

[Footnote 191: In his Formianum or Pompeianum, his villas at Formiæ andPompeii. ]

[Footnote 192: An architect, a freedman of Cyrus, of whom we have heardbefore. ]

XXXI (A II, 5)

TO ATTICUS (AT ROME)

ANTIUM (APRIL)

[Sidenote: B. C. 59, ÆT. 47]

I wish very much, and have long wished, to visit Alexandria, and at thesame time to get away from here, where people are tired of me, andreturn when they have begun to feel my loss--but at such a time and atthe bidding of such statesmen![193]

 "I fear to face the men of Troy And Trojan matrons with their trailing robes. "[194]

For what would my friends the Optimates say--if there are such personsleft? That I had accepted a bribe to change my views?

 "Polydamas the first would lay the charge. "

I mean my friend Cato, who is as good as a hundred thousand in my eyes. What, too, will history say of me six hundred years hence? I am muchmore afraid of that than of the petty gossip of the men of to-day. But, I think, I had better lie low and wait. For if it is really offered tome, I shall be to a certain extent in a position of advantage, and thenwill be the time to weigh the matter. There is, upon my word, a certaincredit even in refusing. Wherefore, if Theophanes[195] by chance hasconsulted you on the matter, do not absolutely decline. What I amexpecting to hear from you is, what Arrius says, and how he enduresbeing left in the lurch, [196] and who are intended to be consuls--is itPompey and Crassus, or, as I am told in a letter, Servius Sulpicius withGabinius?--and whether there are any new laws or anything new at all;and, since Nepos[197] is leaving Rome, who is to have the augurship--theone bait by which those personages could catch me! You see what a highprice I put on myself! Why do I talk about such things, which I am eagerto throw aside, and to devote myself heart and soul to philosophy. That, I tell you, is my intention. I could wish I had done so from the first. Now, however, that I have found by experience the hollowness of what Ithought so splendid, I am thinking of doing business exclusively withthe Muses. In spite of that, please give me in your next some moredefinite information about Curtius and who is intended to fill hisplace, and what is doing about P. Clodius, and, in fact, take your timeand tell me everything as you promise; and pray write me word what dayyou think of leaving Rome, in order that I may tell you where I amlikely to be: and send me a letter at once on the subjects of which Ihave written to you. I look forward much to hearing from you. 

[Footnote 193: The triumvirs. The mission to Egypt was in the affairs ofPtolemy Auletes (father of Cleopatra), who was this year declared a"friend and ally. " He soon got expelled by his subjects. ]

[Footnote 194: _Il. _ vi. 442; xxii. 100. Cicero's frequent expressionfor popular opinion, or the opinion of those he respects--his Mrs. Grundy. ]

[Footnote 195: Theophanes, a philosopher of Mitylene, a close friend ofPompey's, in whose house he frequently resided. He took charge ofPompey's wife and children in B. C. 48-47. ]

[Footnote 196: Q. Arrius, an orator and friend of Cæsar's, by whose helphe had hoped for the consulship. See p. 49. ]

[Footnote 197: Q. Cæcilius Metellus Nepos (consul B. C. 57). His brother, the consul of B. C. 60, had just died and made a vacancy in the collegeof augurs. ]

XXXII (A II, 6)

TO ATTICUS (AT ROME)

ANTIUM (APRIL)

[Sidenote: B. C. 59, ÆT. 47]

As to my promise to you in a former letter that there should be someproduct of this country excursion, I cannot confirm it to any greatextent: for I have become so attached to idleness that I cannot be tornfrom its arms. Accordingly, I either enjoy myself with books, of which Ihave a delightful stock at Antium, or I just count the waves--for therough weather prevents my shrimping! From writing my mind positivelyrecoils. For the geographical treatise, upon which I had settled, is aserious undertaking: so severely is Eratosthenes, whom I had proposed asmy model, criticised by Serapio and Hipparchus: what think you will bethe case if Tyrannio[198] is added to the critics? And, by Hercules, thesubject is difficult of explanation and monotonous, and does not seem toadmit of as much embellishment as I thought, and, in short--which is thechief point--any excuse for being idle seems to me a good one: for I ameven hesitating as to settling at Antium and spending the rest of mylife there, where, indeed, I would rather have been a duovir[199] thanat Rome. You, indeed, have done more wisely in having made yourself ahome at Buthrotum. But, believe me, next to that free town of yourscomes the borough of the Antiates. Could you have believed that therecould be a town so near Rome, where there are many who have never seenVatinius? Where there is no one besides myself who cares whether one ofthe twenty commissioners[200] is alive and well? Where no one intrudesupon me, and yet all are fond of me? This, this is the place to play thestatesman in! For yonder, not only am I not allowed to do so, but I amsick of it besides. Accordingly, I will compose a book of secret memoirsfor your ear alone in the style of Theopompus, or a more acrid onestill. [201] Nor have I now any politics except to hate the disloyal, andeven that without any bitterness, but rather with a certain enjoyment inwriting. But to return to business: I have written to the city quæstorsabout my brother's affair. See what they say to it, whether there is anyhope of the cash in _denarii_, or whether we are to be palmed off withPompeian _cistophori_. [202] Farthermore, settle what is to be done aboutthe wall. Is there anything else? Yes! Let me know when you are thinkingof starting. 

[Footnote 198: A captive brought by Lucullus, who became a friend ofCicero and tutor to his son and nephew. ]

[Footnote 199: One of the two yearly officers of a colony--they answerto the consuls at Rome. Therefore Cicero means, "I wish I had been aconsul in a small colony rather than a consul at Rome. "]

[Footnote 200: For distribution of land under Cæsar's law. P. Vatiniuswas a tribune this year, and worked in Cæsar's interests. ]

[Footnote 201: Theopompus of Chios, the historian (_Att. _ vi. 1, § 12). Born about B. C. 378. His bitterness censured by Polybius, viii. 11-13. ]

[Footnote 202: The money due from the treasury to Q. Cicero in Asia. Hewants it to be paid in Roman currency (_denarii_), not in Asiatic coins(_cistophori_), a vast amount of which Pompey had brought home anddeposited in the treasury. So an Indian official might like sovereignsinstead of rupees if he could get them. ]

XXXIII (A II, 7)

TO ATTICUS (AT ROME)

ANTIUM (APRIL)

[Sidenote: B. C. 59, ÆT. 47]

About the geography I will think again and again. But you ask for two ofmy speeches, one of which I did not care to write out because I hadended it abruptly, the other because I did not want to praise the man Idid not like. But that, too, I will see about. At all events, somethingshall be forthcoming to prevent your thinking that I have beenabsolutely idle. I am quite delighted to hear what you tell me aboutPublius; pray ferret out the whole story, and bring it to me when youcome, and meanwhile write anything you may make out or suspect, andespecially as to what he is going to do about the legation. For my part, before reading your letter, I was anxious that the fellow should go, not, by heaven, in order to avoid his impeachment--for I am wonderfullykeen to try issues with him--but it seemed to me that, if he had securedany popularity by becoming a plebeian, he would thereby lose it. "Well, why did you transfer yourself to the Plebs? Was it to make a call onTigranes? Tell me: do the kings of Armenia refuse to receivepatricians?" In a word, I had polished up my weapons to tear thisembassy of his to pieces. But if he rejects it, and thus moves the angerof those proposers and augurs of the _lex curiata_, [203] it will be afine sight! By Hercules, to speak the truth, our friend Publius is beingtreated a little contemptuously! In the first place, though he was oncethe only man at Cæsar's house, he is not now allowed to be one intwenty:[204] in the next place, one legation had been promised him andanother has been given. The former fine fat one[205] for the levying ofmoney is reserved, I presume, for Drusus of Pisaurum or for the gourmandVatinius: this latter miserable business, which might be very well doneby a courier, is given to him, and his tribuneship deferred till itsuits them. Irritate the fellow, I beg you, as much as you can. The onehope of safety is their mutual disagreement, the beginning of which Ihave got scent of from Curio. Moreover, Arrius is fuming at beingcheated out of the consulship. Megabocchus and our blood-thirsty youngmen are most violently hostile. May there be added to this, I pray, maythere be added, this quarrel about the augurate! I hope I shall oftenhave some fine letters to send you on these subjects. But I want to knowthe meaning of your dark hint that some even of the _quinqueviri_[206]are speaking out. What can it be? If there is anything in it, there ismore hope than I had thought. And I would not have you believe that Iask you these questions "with any view to action, "[207] because my heartis yearning to take part in practical politics. I was long ago gettingtired of being at the helm, even when it was in my power. And now that Iam forced to quit the ship, and have not cast aside the tiller, but havehad it wrenched out of my hands, my only wish is to watch theirshipwreck from the shore: I desire, in the words of your favouriteSophocles, "And safe beneath the roof To hear with drowsy ear the plash of rain. "

As to the wall, see to what is necessary. I will correct the mistake ofCastricius, and yet Quintus had made it in his letter to me 15, 000, while now to your sister he makes it 30, 000. [208] Terentia sends you herregards: my boy Cicero commissions you to give Aristodemus the sameanswer for him as you gave for his cousin, your sister's son. [209] Iwill not neglect your reminder about your Amaltheia. [210] Take care ofyour health. 

[Footnote 203: As he was a man _sui iuris_, Clodius's adoption into anew gens (_adrogatio_) would have to take place before the _comitiacuriata_ (now represented by thirty lictors), which still retained thisformal business. The ceremony required the presence of an augur and apontifex to hold it. Cicero supposes Pompey and Cæsar as intending toact in that capacity. Pompey, it seems, did eventually attend. ]

[Footnote 204: One of the twenty commissioners under Cæsar's agrarianlaw. Cicero was offered and declined a place among them. The "only man, "of course, refers to the intrusion on the mysteries. ]

[Footnote 205: To Egypt. ]

[Footnote 206: This seems also to refer to the twenty agrariancommissioners, who, according to Mommsen, were divided into committeesof five, and were, therefore, spoken of indifferently as _quinqueviri_and _vigintiviri_. But it is somewhat uncertain. ]

[Footnote 207: κατὰ τὸ πρακτικόν. ]

[Footnote 208: Castricius seems to have been a _negotiator_ or banker inAsia. We don't know what mistake is referred to; probably as to somemoney transmitted to Pomponia. ]

[Footnote 209: It is suggested that Aristodemus is some teacher of thetwo young Ciceros, to whom the young Marcus wishes to apologize for hisabsence or to promise some study. ]

[Footnote 210: Perhaps some inscription or other ornament for Atticus'sgymnasium in his villa at Buthrotum. ]

XXXIV (A II, 8)

TO ATTICUS (AT ROME)

ANTIUM, APRIL

[Sidenote: B. C. 59, ÆT. 47]

When I had been eagerly expecting a letter from you as usual tillevening, lo and behold a message that slaves have come from Rome. Isummon them: I ask if they have any letters. "No, " say they. "What doyou say, " said I, "nothing from Pomponius?" Frightened to death by myvoice and look, they confessed that they had received one, and that ithad been lost on the journey. Need I say more? I was intensely annoyed. For no letter has come from you for the last few days without somethingin it important and entertaining. In these circumstances, if there wasanything in the letter, dated 15th April, worth telling, pray write atonce, that I may not be left in ignorance; but if there was nothing butbanter, repeat even that for my benefit. And let me inform you thatyoung Curio has been to call on me. What he said about Publius agreedexactly with your letter. He himself, moreover, wonderfully "holds ourproud kings in hate. "[211] He told me that the young men generally wereequally incensed, and could not put up with the present state of things. If there is hope in them, we are in a good way. My opinion is that weshould leave things to take their course. I am devoting myself to mymemoir. However, though you may think me a Saufeius, [212] I am reallythe laziest fellow in the world. But get into your head my severaljourneys, that you may settle where you intend to come and see me. Iintend to arrive at my Formian house on the Parilia (21st April). Next, since you think that at this time I ought to leave out luxuriousCrater, [213] on the 1st of May I leave Formiæ, intending to reach Antiumon the 3rd of May. For there are games at Antium from the 4th to the 6thof May, and Tullia wants to see them. Thence I think of going toTusculum, thence to Arpinum, and be at Rome on the 1st of June. Be surethat we see you at Formiæ or Antium, or at Tusculum. Rewrite yourprevious letter for me, and add something new. 

[Footnote 211: A verse from Lucilius. "Young Curio" is the futuretribune of B. C. 50, who was bribed by Cæsar, joined him at Ravenna atthe end of that year, was sent by him in B. C. 49 to Sicily and Africa, and fell in battle with the Pompeians and King Iuba. ]

[Footnote 212: L. Saufeius, the Epicurean friend of Atticus (see LetterII). He seems to mean, "as indefatigable as Saufeius. " But Prof. Tyrrellpoints out that it might mean, "at the risk of your thinking me asEpicurean and self-indulgent as Saufeius, I say, " etc. ]

[Footnote 213: The bay of Misenum, near which was Cicero's Pompeianum. ]

XXXV (A II, 9)

TO ATTICUS (AT ROME)

ANTIUM, MAY

[Sidenote: B. C. 59, ÆT. 47]

Cæcilius[214] the quæstor having suddenly informed me that he wassending a slave to Rome, I write these hurried lines in order to get outof you the wonderful conversations with Publius, both those of which youwrite, and that one which you keep dark, and assert that it would be toolong to write your answer to him; and, still farther, the one that hasnot yet been held, which that Iuno of a woman[215] is to report to youwhen she gets back from Solonium. I wish you to believe that there canbe nothing I should like more. If, however, the compact made about me isnot kept, I am in a seventh heaven to think that our friend theJerusalemitish plebeian-maker[216] will learn what a fine return he hasmade to my brilliant speeches, of which you may expect a splendidrecantation. For, as well as I can guess, if that profligate is infavour with our tyrants, he will be able to crow not only over the"cynic consular, "[217] but over your Tritons of the fish-pondsalso. [218] For I shall not possibly be an object of anybody's jealousywhen robbed of power and of my influence in the senate. If, on the otherhand, he should quarrel with them, it will not suit his purpose toattack me. However, let him attack. Charmingly, believe me, and withless noise than I had thought, has the wheel of the Republic revolved:more rapidly, anyhow, than it should have done owing to Cato's error, but still more owing to the unconstitutional conduct of those who haveneglected the auspices, the Ælian law, the Iunian, the Licinian, theCæcilian and Didian, [219] who have squandered all the safeguards of theconstitution, who have handed over kingdoms as though they were privateestates to tetrachs, [220] and immense sums of money to a small coterie. I see plainly now the direction popular jealousy is taking, and where itwill finally settle. Believe that I have learnt nothing from experience, nothing from Theophrastus, [221] if you don't shortly see the time of ourgovernment an object of regret. For if the power of the senate wasdisliked, what do you think will be the case when it has passed, not tothe people, but to three unscrupulous men? So let them then make whomthey choose consuls, tribunes, and even finally clothe Vatinius's wenwith the double-dyed purple[222] of the priesthood, you will see beforelong that the great men will be not only those who have made no falsestep, [223] but even he who did make a mistake, Cato. For, as to myself, if your comrade Publius will let me, I think of playing the sophist: ifhe forces me, I shall at least defend myself, and, as is the trick of mytrade, I publicly promise to

 "Strike back at him who first is wroth with me. "[224]

May the country only be on my side: it has had from me, if not more thanits due, at least more than it ever demanded. I would rather have a badpassage with another pilot than be a successful pilot to such ungratefulpassengers. But this will do better when we meet. For the present takean answer to your questions. I think of returning to Antium from Formiæon the 3rd of May. From Antium I intend to start for Tusculum on the 7thof May. But as soon as I have returned from Formiæ (I intend to be theretill the 29th of April) I will at once inform you. Terentia sendscompliments, and "Cicero the little greets Titus the Athenian. "[225]

[Footnote 214: Q. Cæcilius Bassus, probably quæstor at Ostia. Antiumwould be in his district. ]

[Footnote 215: βοῶπις, _sc. _ Clodia. She is to talk to her brother aboutCicero. She is "Iuno" perhaps as an enemy--as Bacon called the Duchessof Burgundy Henry VII. 's Iuno--or perhaps for a less decent reason, as_coniux sororque_ of Publius. ]

[Footnote 216: Pompey, who was proud of having taken Jerusalem. _Traductor ad plebem_, said of the magistrate presiding at the _comitia_for adoption. ]

[Footnote 217: Cicero himself. Clodius may have called him this from hisbiting repartees. Prof. Tyrrell, "Tear 'em. "]

[Footnote 218: The nobility, whom Cicero has before attacked as idle andcaring for nothing but their fish-ponds (_piscinarii_, cp. P. 59). ]

[Footnote 219: The _lex Ælia_ (about B. C. 150) was a law regulating thepowers of magistrates to dissolve _comitia_ on religious grounds, suchas bad omens, _servata de cœlo, etc. _ Cicero (who could have had verylittle belief in the augural science) regards them as safeguards of thestate, because as the Optimates generally secured the places in theaugural college, it gave them a hold on elections and legislation. Bibulus tried in vain to use these powers to thwart Cæsar this year. The_lex Cæcilia Didia_ (. B. C. 98) enforced the _trinundinatio_, or threeweeks' notice of elections and laws, and forbade the proposal of a _lexsatura_, _i. E. _, a law containing a number of miscellaneous enactments. Perhaps its violation refers to the _acta_ of Pompey in the East, whichhe wanted to have confirmed _en bloc_. The senate had made difficulties:but one of the fruits of the triumvirate was a measure for doing it. The_lex Iunia et Licinia_ (B. C. 62) confirmed the _Cæcilia Didia_, andsecured that the people knew what the proposed laws were. ]

[Footnote 220: As Pompey did in Asia, _e. G. _, to Deiotarus of Galatia, and about ten others. It is curious that Cicero speaks of the _pauci_just as his opponent Cæsar and Augustus after him. Each side looks onthe other as a coterie (Cæsar, _B. C. _ i. 22; Monum. Ancyr. I. § 1)]

[Footnote 221: Theophrastus, successor of Aristotle at the Lyceum, Athens (p. 70). ]

[Footnote 222: The purple-bordered toga of the augur. Vatinius did notget the augurship. He had some disfiguring swelling or wen. ]

[Footnote 223: Himself. ]

[Footnote 224: ἄνδρ' ἀπαμύνεσθαι, ὅτε τις πρότερος χαλεπήνῃ (Hom. _Il. _xxiv. 369). ]

[Footnote 225: Written in Greek, perhaps by the boy himself. ]

XXXVI (A II, 12)

TO ATTICUS (AT ROME)

TRES TABERNÆ, 12 APRIL

[Sidenote: B. C. 59, ÆT. 47]

Are they going to deny that Publius has been made a plebeian? This isindeed playing the king, and is utterly intolerable. Let Publius sendsome men to witness and seal my affidavit: I will take an oath that myfriend Gnæus, the colleague of Balbus, told me at Antium that he hadbeen present as augur to take the auspices. Two delightful letters fromyou delivered at the same time! For which I do not know what I am to payyou by way of reward for good news. That I owe you for them I candidlyconfess. But observe the coincidence. I had just made my way from Antiumon to the _via Appia_ at Three Taverns, [226] on the very day of theCerealia (18th April), when my friend Curio meets me on his way fromRome. At the same place and the same moment comes a slave from you withletters. The former asked me whether I hadn't heard the news? I said, "No. " "Publius, " says he, "is a candidate for the tribuneship. " "Youdon't mean it?" "Yes, I do, " says he, "and at daggers drawn with Cæsar. His object is to rescind his acts. " "What says Cæsar?" said I. "Hedenies having proposed any _lex_ for his adoption. " Then he poured forthabout his own hatred, and that of Memmius and Metellus Nepos. I embracedthe youth and said good-bye to him, hastening to your letters. A fig forthose who talk about a "living voice"! What a much clearer view I got ofwhat was going on from your letters than from his talk! About thecurrent rumours of the day, about the designs of Publius, about "Iuno's"trumpet calls, about Athenio who leads his roughs, about his letter toGnæus, about the conversation of Theophanes and Memmius. Besides, howeager you have made me to hear about the "fast" dinner party which youmention! I am greedy in curiosity, yet I do not feel at all hurt at yournot writing me a description of the symposium: I would rather hear it byword of mouth. As to your urging me to write something, my materialindeed is growing, as you say, but the whole is still in a state offermentation--"new wine in the autumn. " When the liquor has settled downand become clarified, I shall know better what to write. And even if youcannot get it from me at once, you shall be the first to have it: onlyfor some time you must keep it to yourself. You are quite right to likeDicæarchus; he is an excellent writer, and a much better citizen thanthese rulers of ours who reverse his name. [227] I write this letter atfour o'clock in the afternoon of the Cerealia (12th April), immediatelyafter reading yours, but I shall despatch it, I think, to-morrow, byanyone I may chance to meet on the road. Terentia is delighted with yourletter, _et Cicéron le philosophe salue Titus l'homme d'état_. 

[Footnote 226: Where the road from Antium joins the Appia. Cicero seemsto be on his way to Formiæ, where he had intended to arrive on the 21st. He must be going very leisurely. ]

[Footnote 227: Δικαίαρχος and ἀδικαίαρχοι, a pun on a name notreproducible in English: "just-rulers" and "unjust-rulers. "]

XXXVII (A II, 10)

TO ATTICUS (AT ROME)

APPII FORUM, [228] APRIL

[Sidenote: B. C. 59, ÆT. 47]

Please admire my consistency. I am determined not to be at the games atAntium: for it is somewhat of a solecism to wish to avoid all suspicionof frivolity, and yet suddenly to be shewn up as travelling for mereamusement, and that of a foolish kind. Wherefore I shall wait for youtill the 7th of May at Formiæ. So now let me know what day we shall seeyou. From Appii Forum, ten o'clock. I sent another a short time ago fromThree Taverns. 

[Footnote 228: On the _via Appia_. Cicero halts at Appii Forum and atonce despatches a short note, probably by some one he finds there goingto Rome, to announce a change of plan. He had meant to get back toAntium on 6th May, because Tullia wanted to see the games. See LetterXXXIV, p. 96. ]

XXXVIII (A II, 11)

TO ATTICUS (AT ROME)

FORMIÆ, APRIL

[Sidenote: B. C. 59, ÆT. 47]

I tell you what it is: I feel myself a downright exile since arriving atFormiæ. For at Antium there was never a day that I didn't know what wasgoing on at Rome better than those who were there. For your lettersused to shew me not only what was doing at Rome, but the actualpolitical situation also--and not only that, but also what was likely tohappen. Now, unless I snatch a bit of news from some passing traveller, I can learn nothing at all. Wherefore, though I am expecting you inperson, yet pray give this boy, whom I have ordered to hurry back to meat once, a bulky letter, crammed not only with all occurrences, but withwhat you think about them; and be careful to let me know the day you aregoing to leave Rome. I intend staying at Formiæ till the 6th of May. Ifyou don't come there by that day, I shall perhaps see you at Rome. Forwhy should I invite you to Arpinum?

 "A rugged soil, yet nurse of hardy sons: No dearer land can e'er my eyes behold. "[229]

So much for this. Take care of your health. 

[Footnote 229: Homer, _Odyss. _ ix. 27. ]

XXXIX (A II, 13)

TO ATTICUS (AT ROME)

FORMIÆ, APRIL

[Sidenote: B. C. 59, ÆT. 47]

What an abominable thing! No one gave you my letter written on the spotat Three Taverns in answer to your delightful letters! But the fact isthat the packet into which I had put it arrived at my town house on thesame day as I wrote it, and has been brought back to me to Formiæ. Accordingly, I have directed the letter meant for you to be taken backagain, to shew you how pleased I was with yours. So you say that thetalk has died out at Rome! I thought so: but, by Hercules, it hasn'tdied out in the country, and it has come to this, that the very countrycan't stand the despotism you have got at Rome. When you come to"Læstrygonia of the distant gates"[230]--I mean Formiæ--what loudmurmurs! what angry souls! what unpopularity for our friend Magnus! Hissurname is getting as much out of fashion as the "Dives" of Crassus. Believe me, I have met no one here to take the present state of thingsas quietly as I do. Wherefore, credit me, let us stick to philosophy. Iam ready to take my oath that there is nothing to beat it. If you have adespatch to send to the Sicyonians, [231] make haste to Formiæ, whence Ithink of going on the 6th of May. 

[Footnote 230: τηλέπυλον Λαιστρυγονίην, whose king Lamus (_Odyss. _ x. 81) was supposed to have founded Formiæ (Horace, _Od. _ iii. 17). ]

[Footnote 231: A despatch from senate or consuls. See Letter XXIV, p. 60. ]

XL (A II, 14)

TO ATTICUS (AT ROME)

FORMIÆ, APRIL

[Sidenote: B. C. 59, ÆT. 47. ]

How you rouse my curiosity as to what Bibulus says, as to yourconversation with "Iuno, " and even as to your "fast" dinner party!Therefore make haste to come, for my ears are thirsty for news. However, there is nothing which I think is now more to be dreaded by me than thatour dear Sampsiceramus, finding himself belaboured by the tongues ofall, and seeing these proceedings easy to upset, should begin strikingout. For myself, I have so completely lost all nerve, that I prefer adespotism, with the existing peace, to a state of war with the besthopes in the world. As to literary composition, to which you frequentlyurge me, it is impossible! My house is a basilica rather than a villa, owing to the crowds of visitors from Formiæ. But (you'll say) do Ireally compare the Æmilian tribe to the crowd in a basilica?[232] Well, I say nothing about the common ruck--the rest of them don't bother meafter ten o'clock: but C. Arrius is my next door neighbour, or rather, he almost lives in my house, and even declares that the reason for hisnot going to Rome is that he may spend whole days with me herephilosophizing! And then, lo and behold, on my other side is Sebosus, that friend of Catulus! Which way am I to turn? By heaven, I would startat once for Arpinum, only that I see that the most convenient place toawait your visit is Formiæ: but only up to the 6th of May! For you seewith what bores my ears are pestered. What a splendid opportunity, withsuch fellows in the house, if anyone wanted to buy my Formianproperty![233] And in spite of all this am I to make good my words, "Letus attempt something great, and requiring much thought and leisure"?However, I _will_ do something for you, and not spare my labour. 

[Footnote 232: _At comparem_ for _at quam partem_. _At_ has its usualforce of introducing a supposed objection. I can't, say you, compare theÆmilian tribe, the Formiani, to a crowd in a court-house! They are notso bad as that, not so wasteful of time! I take _basilica_ to mean thesaunterers in a basilica, as we might say "the park" for the company init, "the exchange" for the brokers in it. I feel certain that Prof. Tyrrell is wrong in ascribing the words _sed--sunt_ to a quotation fromAtticus's letter. What is wanted is to remove the full stop after_sunt_. The contrast Cicero is drawing is between the interruption toliterary work of a crowd of visitors and of one or two individualsalways turning up. The second is the worse--and here I think all workerswill agree with him: the crowd of visitors (_vulgus_) go at the regularhour, but individuals come in at all hours. ]

[Footnote 233: Because he would be inclined to sell it cheap in hisdisgust. ]

XLI (A II, 15)

TO ATTICUS (AT ROME)

FORMIÆ, APRIL

[Sidenote: B. C. 59, ÆT. 47]

As you say, things are as shifting (I see) in public affairs as in yourletter; still, that very variety of talk and opinion has a charm for me. For I seem to be at Rome when I am reading your letter, and, as is theregular thing in questions of such importance, to hear something firston one side and then on the other. But what I can't make out isthis--what he can possibly hit upon to settle the land question withoutencountering opposition. Again, as to Bibulus's firmness in putting offthe _comitia_, it only conveys the expression of his own views, withoutreally offering any remedy for the state of the Republic. Upon my word, my only hope is in Publius! Let him become, let him become a tribune byall means, if for no other reason, yet that you may be brought back fromEpirus! For I don't see how you can possibly afford to miss him, especially if he shall elect to have a wrangle with me! But, seriously, if anything of the sort occurs, you would, I am certain, hurry back. Buteven supposing this not to be the case, yet whether he runs amuck orhelps to raise the state, I promise myself a fine spectacle, if only Imay enjoy it with you sitting by my side. [234] Just as I was writingthese words, enter Sebosus! I had scarcely got out a sigh when "Goodday, " says Arrius. This is what you call going out of town! I shallreally be off to

 "My native mountains and my childhood's haunts. "[235]

In fine, if I can't be alone I would rather be with downrightcountryfolk than with such ultra-cockneys. However, I shall, since youdon't say anything for certain, wait for you up to the 5th of May. Terentia is much pleased with the attention and care you have bestowedon her controversy with Mulvius. She is not aware that you aresupporting the common cause of all holders of public land. Yet, afterall, _you_ do pay something to the _publicani_; she declines to pay eventhat, [236] and, accordingly, she and Cicero--most conservative ofboys--send their kind regards. 

[Footnote 234: The spectacle Cicero hopes for is Clodius's contests withthe triumvirs. ]

[Footnote 235: To Arpinum (see last letter). The verse is not known, andmay be a quotation from his own poem on Marius. He often quoteshimself. ]

[Footnote 236: This is not mentioned elsewhere. The explanation seems tobe that for the _ager publicus_ allotted under the Sempronian laws asmall rent had been exacted, which was abolished by a law of B. C. 111(the name of the law being uncertain). But some _ager publicus_ stillpaid rent, and the _publicanus_ Mulvius seems to have claimed it fromsome land held by Terentia, perhaps on the ground that it was land (suchas the _ager Campanus_) not affected by the law of Gracchus, andtherefore not by the subsequent law abolishing rent. ]

XLII (A II, 16)

TO ATTICUS (AT ROME)

FORMIÆ, 29 APRIL

[Sidenote: B. C. 59, ÆT. 47]

On the day before the Kalends of May, when I had dined and was justgoing to sleep, the letter was delivered to me containing your newsabout the Campanian land. You needn't ask: at first it gave me such ashock that there was no more sleep for me, though that was the result ofthought rather than pain. On reflexion, however, the following ideasoccurred to me. In the first place, from what you had said in yourprevious letter--"that you had heard from a friend of his[237] that aproposal was going to be made which would satisfy everybody"--I hadfeared some very sweeping measure, but I don't think this is anything ofthe sort. In the next place, by way of consolation, I persuaded myselfthat the hope of a distribution of land is now all centred on theCampanian territory. [238] That land cannot support more than 5, 000, soas to give ten _iugera_ apiece:[239] the rest of the crowd of expectantsmust necessarily be alienated from them. Besides, if there is anythingthat more than another could inflame the feeling of the aristocrats, whoare, I notice, already irritated, it is this; and all the more that withport-dues in Italy abolished, [240] and the Campanian land divided, whathome revenue is there except the five per cent. On manumissions? Andeven that, I think, it will only take a single trumpery harangue, cheered by our lackeys, to throw away also. What our friend Gnæus canbe thinking of I can't imagine--

 "For still he blows, and with no slender pipe, But furious blasts by no mouth-band restrained"--

to be induced to countenance such a measure as that. For hitherto he hasfenced with these questions: "he approved Cæsar's laws, but Cæsar mustbe responsible for his proceedings in carrying them"; "he himself wassatisfied with the agrarian law "; "whether it could be vetoed by atribune or no was nothing to do with him"; "he thought the time had comefor the business of the Alexandrine king to be settled"; "it was nobusiness of his to inquire whether Bibulus had been watching the sky onthat occasion or no"; "as to the _publicani_, he had been willing tooblige that order"; "what was going to happen if Bibulus came down tothe forum at that time he could not have guessed. "[241] But now, mySampsiceramus, what will you say to this? That you have secured us arevenue from the Antilibanus and removed that from the Campanian land?Well, how do you mean to vindicate that? "I shall coerce you, " says he, "by means of Cæsar's army. " You won't coerce me, by Hercules, by yourarmy so much as by the ingratitude of the so-called _boni_, who havenever made me any return, even in words, to say nothing of substantialrewards. But if I had put out my strength against that coterie, I shouldcertainly have found some way of holding my own against them. As thingsare, in view of the controversy between your friend Dicæarchus and myfriend Theophrastus--the former recommending the life of action, thelatter the life of contemplation--I think I have already obeyed both. For as to Dicæarchus, I think I have satisfied his requirements; atpresent my eyes are fixed on the school which not only allows of myabstaining from business, but blames me for not having always done so. Wherefore let me throw myself, my dear Titus, into those noble studies, and let me at length return to what I ought never to have left. 

As to what you say about Quintus's letter, when he wrote to me he wasalso "in front a lion and behind a ----. "[242] I don't know what to sayabout it; for in the first lines of his letter he makes such alamentation over his continuance in his province, that no one could helpbeing affected: presently he calms down sufficiently to ask me tocorrect and edit his Annals. However, I would wish you to have an eye towhat you mention, I mean the duty on goods transferred from port toport. He says that by the advice of his council he has referred thequestion to the senate. He evidently had not read my letter, in whichafter having considered and investigated the matter, I had sent him awritten opinion that they were not payable. [243] If any Greeks havealready arrived at Rome from Asia on that business, please look into itand, if you think it right, explain to them my opinion on the subject. If, to save the good cause in the senate, I can retract, I will gratifythe _publicani_: but if not, to be plain with you, I prefer in thismatter the interests of all Asia and the merchants; for it affects thelatter also very seriously. I think it is a matter of great importanceto us. But you will settle it. Are the quæstors, pray, still hesitatingon the _cistophorus_ question?[244] If nothing better is to be had, after trying everything in our power, I should be for not refusing eventhe lowest offer. I shall see you at Arpinum and offer you countryentertainment, since you have despised this at the seaside. 

[Footnote 237: Cæsar. ]

[Footnote 238: The old territory of Capua and the Stellatian Plain hadbeen specially reserved from distribution under the laws of the Gracchi, and this reservation had not been repealed in subsequent laws: _adsubsidia reipublicæ vectigalem relictum_ (Suet. _Cæs. _ 20; cp. Cic. 2_Phil. _ § 101). ]

[Footnote 239: According to Suetonius 20, 000 citizens had allotments onthe _ager publicus_ in Campania. But Dio says (xxxviii. 1) that theCampanian land was exempted by the _lex Iulia_ also. Its settlement wasprobably later, by colonies of Cæsar's veterans. A _iugerum_ isfive-eighths of an acre. ]

[Footnote 240: See Letter XXIX, p. 82. They were abolished B. C. 60. ]

[Footnote 241: This and the mention of Cæsar's "army" (a bodyguard) isexplained by Suet. _Cæs. _ 20: "Having promulgated his agrarian law, Cæsar expelled his colleague, Bibulus, by force of arms from the Forumwhen trying to stop proceedings by announcing bad omens . .. And finallyreduced him to such despair that for the rest of his year of office heconfined himself to his house and only announced his bad omens by meansof edicts. " Bibulus appears to have been hustled by the mob also. ]

[Footnote 242: πρόσθε λέων ὄπιθεν δὲ ----. Cicero leaves Atticus, as heoften does, to fill up the rest of the line, δράκων, μέσση δὲ χίμαιρα(Hom. _Il. _ vi. 181). He means, of course, that Quintus isinconsistent. ]

[Footnote 243: The question seems to be as to goods brought to a portand paying duty, and then, not finding a sale, being transferred toanother port in the same province. The _publicani_ at the second portdemanded the payment of a duty again, which Cicero decides againstthem. ]

[Footnote 244: Schutz takes this to mean, "Are the quæstors now doubtingas to paying _even cistophori_?" _i. E. _, are they, so far from paying inRoman _denarii_, even hesitating to pay in Asiatic? But if so, what isthe _extremum_ which Cicero advises Quintus to accept? Prof. Tyrrell, besides, points out that the quæstors could hardly refuse to payanything for provincial expenses. It is a question between _cistophori_and _denarii_. See p. 92. ]

XLIII (A II, 17)

TO ATTICUS (AT ROME)

FORMIÆ, MAY

[Sidenote: B. C. 59, ÆT. 47]

I quite agree with your letter. Sampsiceramus is getting up adisturbance. We have everything to fear. He is preparing a despotism andno mistake about it. For what else is the meaning of that suddenmarriage union, [245] the Campanian land affair, the lavish expenditureof money? If these measures were final, even then the mischief had beenvery great; but the nature of the case makes finality impossible. Forhow could these measures possibly give them any pleasure in themselves?They would never have gone so far as this unless they had been pavingthe way for other fatal steps. Immortal Gods!--But, as you say, atArpinum about the 10th of May we will not weep over these questions, lest the hard work and midnight oil I have spent over my studies shallturn out to have been wasted, but discuss them together calmly. For I amnot so much consoled by a sanguine disposition as by philosophic"indifference, "[246] which I call to my aid in nothing so much as in ourcivil and political business. Nay, more, whatever vanity or sneakinglove of reputation there is lurking in me--for it is well to know one'sfaults--is tickled by a certain pleasurable feeling. For it used tosting me to the heart to think that centuries hence the services ofSampsiceramus to the state would loom larger than my own. That anxiety, at least, is now put to rest. For he is so utterly fallen that, incomparison with him, Curius might seem to be standing erect after hisfall. [247] But all this when we meet. Yet, as far as I can see, you willbe at Rome when I come. I shall not be at all sorry for that, if youcan conveniently manage it. But if you come to see me, as you say inyour letter, I wish you would fish out of Theophanes how"Arabarches"[248] is disposed to me. You will, of course, inquire withyour usual zeal, and bring me the result to serve as a kind ofsuggestion for the line of conduct I am to adopt. From his conversationwe shall be able to get an inkling of the whole situation. 

[Footnote 245: The marriage of Pompey with Cæsar's daughter Iulia. ]

[Footnote 246: ἀδιαφορία, a word taken from the Stoies, _huic_[_Zenoni_] _summum bonum est in his rebus neutram in partem moveri, quæἀδιαφορία ab ipso dicitur_ (_Acad. _ ii. § 130). ]

[Footnote 247: C. Curius, one of the Catiline set, who had beenignominiously expelled from the senate. ]

[Footnote 248: Another nickname of Pompey, from the title of the head ofthe Thebais in Egypt. Like Sampsiceramus and the others, it is meant asa scornful allusion to Pompey's achievements in the East, and perhapshis known wish to have the direction of affairs in Egypt. ]

XLIV (A II, 18)

TO ATTICUS (ON HIS WAY TO EPIRUS)

ROME

[Sidenote: B. C. 59, ÆT. 47]

I have received several letters from you, which shewed me with whateagerness and anxiety you desired to know the news. We are bound hardand fast on every side, and are no longer making any difficulty as tobeing slaves, but fearing death and exile as though greater evils, though they are in fact much smaller ones. Well, this is theposition--one unanimously groaned over, but not relieved by a word fromanyone. The object, I surmise, of the men in power is to leave nothingfor anyone to lavish. The only man who opens his mouth and openlydisapproves is the young Curio. He is loudly cheered, and greeted in theforum in the most complimentary manner, and many other tokens ofgoodwill are bestowed on him by the loyalists; while Fufius[249] ispursued with shouts, jeers, and hisses. From such circumstances it isnot hope but indignation that is increased, for you see the citizensallowed to express their sentiments, but debarred from carrying them outwith any vigour. And to omit details, the upshot is that there is now nohope, I don't say of private persons, but even of the magistrates beingever free again. Nevertheless, in spite of this policy of repression, conversation, at least in society and at dinner tables, is freer than itwas. Indignation is beginning to get the better of fear, though thatdoes not prevent a universal feeling of despair. For this Campanianlaw[250] contains a clause imposing an oath to be taken by candidates inpublic meeting, that they will not suggest any tenure of public landother than that provided in the Julian laws. All the others take theoath without hesitation: Laterensis[251] is considered to have shewnextraordinary virtue in retiring from his canvass for the tribuneship toavoid the oath. But I don't care to write any more about politics. I amdissatisfied with myself, and cannot write without the greatest pain. Ihold my own position with some dignity, considering the generalrepression, but considering my achievements in the past, with lesscourage than I should like. I am invited by Cæsar in a very gentlemanlymanner to accept a legation, to act as _legatus_ to himself, and even an"open votive legation" is offered me. But the latter does not givesufficient security, since it depends too much on the scrupulousness ofPulchellus[252] and removes me just when my brother is returning;[253]the former offers better security and does not prevent my returning whenI please. I am retaining the latter, but do not think I shall use it. However, nobody knows about it. I don't like running away; I am itchingto fight. There is great warmth of feeling for me. But I don't sayanything positive: you will please not to mention it. I am, in fact, very anxious about the manumission of Statius[254] and some otherthings, but I have become hardened by this time. I could wish, or ratherardently desire, that you were here: then I should not want advice orconsolation. But anyhow, be ready to fly hither directly I call for you. 

[Footnote 249: See Letter XIX, p. 35. ]

[Footnote 250: _I. E. _, Cæsar's _agrarian law_, by which some of theCampanian _ager publicus_ was to be divided. ]

[Footnote 251: M. Iuventius Laterensis. See Letter L, p. 123. ]

[Footnote 252: Pulchellus, _i. E. _, P. Clodius Pulcher. The diminutive isused to express contempt. Cicero, since his return to Rome, is beginningto realize his danger. ]

[Footnote 253: A _libera legatio_ was really a colourable method of asenator travelling with the right of exacting certain payments for hisexpenses from the Italian or provincial towns. Sometimes it was simply a_legatio libera_, a sinecure without any pretence of purpose, sometimesit was _voti causa_, enabling a man to fulfil some vow he was supposedto have made. It was naturally open to much abuse, and Cicero as consulhad passed a law for limiting it in time. Clodius would become tribuneon 10 December, and this _libera legatio_ would protect Cicero as longas it lasted, but it would not, he thinks, last long enough to outstaythe tribuneship: if he went as _legatus_ to Cæsar in Gaul, he would besafe, and might choose his own time for resigning and returning toRome. ]

[Footnote 254: Statius, a slave of Quintus, was unpopular in theprovince. See p. 125. ]

XLV (A II, 19)

TO ATTICUS (IN EPIRUS)

ROME (JULY)

[Sidenote: B. C. 59, ÆT. 47]

I have many causes for anxiety, both from the disturbed state ofpolitics and from the personal dangers with which I am threatened. Theyare very numerous; but nothing gives me more annoyance than themanumission of Statius: "To think that he should have no reverence formy authority! But of authority I say nothing--that he should have nofear of a quarrel with me, to put it mildly!"[255] But what I am to do Idon't know, nor indeed is there so much in the affair as you would thinkfrom the talk about it. For myself, I am positively incapable of beingangry with those I love deeply. I only feel vexed, and that to asurprising degree. Other vexations are on really important matters. Thethreats of Clodius and the conflicts before me touch me only slightly. For I think I can either confront them with perfect dignity or declinethem without any embarrassment. You will say, perhaps, "Enough ofdignity, like the proverb, 'Enough of the oak':[256] an you love me, take thought for safety!" Ah, dear me, dear me, why are you not here?Nothing, certainly, could have escaped you. I, perhaps, am somewhatblinded, and too much affected by my high ideal. I assure you therenever was anything so scandalous, so shameful, so offensive to allsorts, conditions and ages of men alike, as the present state ofaffairs. It is more so, by Hercules, than I could have wished, but notmore than I had expected. Your _populares_ have now taught even usuallyquiet men to hiss. Bibulus is praised to the skies: I don't know why, but he has the same sort of applause as his

 "Who by delays restored alone our State. "[257]

Pompey--the man I loved--has, to my infinite sorrow, ruined his ownreputation. They hold no one by affection, and I fear they will beforced to use terror. I, however, refrain from hostility to their causeowing to my friendship for him, and yet I cannot approve, lest I shouldstultify my own past. The feeling of the people was shewn as clearly aspossible in the theatre and at the shows. For at the gladiators bothmaster and supporters were overwhelmed with hisses. At the games ofApollo the actor Diphilus made a pert allusion to Pompey, in the words:

 "By our misfortunes thou art--Great. "

He was encored countless times. When he delivered the line, "The time will come when thou wilt deeply mourn That self-same valour, "

the whole theatre broke out into applause, and so on with the rest. Forthe verses do seem exactly as though they were written by some enemy ofPompey's to hit the time. "If neither laws nor customs can control, "etc. , caused great sensation and loud shouts. Cæsar having entered asthe applause died away, he was followed by the younger Curio. The latterreceived an ovation such as used to be given to Pompey when theconstitution was still intact. Cæsar was much annoyed. A despatch issaid to have been sent flying off to Pompey at Capua. [258] _They_ areoffended with the equites, who rose to their feet and cheered Curio, andare at war with everybody. They are threatening the Roscian law, [259]and even the corn law. [260] There has been a great hubbub altogether. For my part, I should have preferred their doings being silentlyignored; but that, I fear, won't be allowed. Men are indignant at whatnevertheless must, it seems, be put up with. The whole people haveindeed now one voice, but its strength depends rather on exasperationthan anything to back it up. Farthermore, our Publius is threatening me:he is hostile, and a storm is hanging over my head which should bringyou post haste to town. I believe that I am still firmly supported bythe same phalanx of all loyal or even tolerably loyal men whichsupported me when consul. Pompey displays no common affection for me. Healso asserts that Clodius is not going to say a word about me. In whichhe is not deceiving me, but is himself deceived. Cosconius having died, I am invited to fill his place. [261] That would indeed be a case of"invited to a dead man's place. " I should have been beneath contempt inthe eyes of the world, and nothing could be conceived less likely tosecure that very "personal safety" of which you speak. For thosecommissioners are disliked by the loyalists, and so I should haveretained my own unpopularity with the disloyal, with the addition ofthat attaching to others. Cæsar wishes me to accept a legateship underhim. This is a more honourable method of avoiding the danger. But Idon't wish to avoid it. What do I want, then? Why, I prefer fighting. However, I have not made up my mind. Again I say, Oh that you were here!However, if it is absolutely necessary I will summon you. What else isthere to say? What else? This, I think: I am certain that all is lost. For why mince matters any longer? But I write this in haste, and, byHercules, in rather a nervous state. On some future occasion I willeither write to you at full length, if I find a very trustworthy personto whom to give a letter, or if I write darkly you will understand allthe same. In these letters I will be Lælius, you Furius; the rest shallbe in riddles. Here I cultivate Cæcilius, [262] and pay him assiduousattention. I hear Bibulus's edicts have been sent to you. Our friendPompey is hot with indignation and wrath at them. [263]

[Footnote 255: Terence, _Phorm. _ 232. ]

[Footnote 256: ἅλις δρυός, _i. E. _, feeding on acorns is a thing of thepast, it is out of date, like the golden age when they fed on wild fruit_et quæ deciderant patula Iovis arbore glandes_ (Ovid, _Met. _ i. 106);and so is dignity, it is a question of _safety_ now. ]

[Footnote 257: Ennius on Q. Fabius Maximus Cunctator. ]

[Footnote 258: Pompey was in Campania acting as one of the twenty landcommissioners. ]

[Footnote 259: The _lex Roscia theatralis_ (B. C. 67), which gavefourteen rows of seats to the equites. ]

[Footnote 260: That is, the law for distribution of corn among poorercitizens. There were many such. Perhaps the most recent was the _lexCassia Terentia_ (B. C. 73). Cæsar, who, when in later years he becamesupreme, restricted this privilege, may have threatened to do so now. ]

[Footnote 261: _I. E. _, as one of the twenty land commissioners. The nextclause seems to refer to some proverbial expression, "to be invited to aplace at Pluto's table, " or some such sentence. Cicero means that hisacceptance would be equivalent to political extinction, either from theobscurity of Cosconius or the inconsistency of the proceeding. ]

[Footnote 262: The uncle of Atticus. See p. 15. ]

[Footnote 263: After the scene of violence in which Bibulus, onattempting to prevent the agrarian law being passed, was driven from therostra, with his lictors' fasces broken, he shut himself up in his houseand published edicts declaring Cæsar's acts invalid, and denouncing theconduct of Pompey (Suet. _Cæs. _ 20; Dio, xxxviii. 6). ]

XLVI (A II, 20)

TO ATTICUS (IN EPIRUS)

ROME (JULY)

[Sidenote: B. C. 59, ÆT. 47]

I have done everything I could for Anicatus, as I understood was yourwish. Numestius, in accordance with your earnestly expressed letter, Ihave adopted as a friend. Cæcilius I look after diligently in all wayspossible. Varro[264] does all I could expect for me. Pompey loves me andregards me as a dear friend. "Do you believe that?" you will say. I do:he quite convinces me. But seeing that men of the world in allhistories, precepts, and even verses, are for ever bidding one be onone's guard and forbidding belief, I carry out the former--"to be on myguard"--the latter--"to disbelieve"[265]--I cannot carry out. Clodius isstill threatening me with danger. Pompey asserts that there is nodanger. He swears it. He even adds that he will himself be murdered byhim sooner than I injured. The negotiation is going on. As soon asanything is settled I will write you word. If I have to fight, I willsummon you to share in the work. If I am let alone, I won't rout you outof your "Amaltheia. " About politics I will write briefly: for I am nowafraid lest the very paper should betray me. Accordingly, in future, ifI have anything more to write to you, I shall clothe it in covertlanguage. For the present the state is dying of a novel disorder; foralthough everybody disapproves of what has been done, complains, and isindignant about it, and though there is absolutely no difference ofopinion on the subject, and people now speak openly and groan aloud, yetno remedy is applied: for we do not think resistance possible without ageneral slaughter, nor see what the end of concession is to be exceptruin. Bibulus is exalted to the skies as far as admiration and affectiongo. His edicts and speeches are copied out and read. He has reached thesummit of glory in a novel way. There is now nothing so popular as thedislike of the popular party. I have my fears as to how this will end. But if I ever see my way clearly in anything, I will write to you moreexplicitly. For yourself, if you love me as much as I am sure you do, take care to be ready to come in all haste as soon as I call for you. But I do my best, and shall do so, to make it unnecessary. I said Iwould call you Furius in my letters, but it is not necessary to changeyour name. I'll call myself Lælius and you Atticus, but I will useneither my own handwriting nor seal, if the letter happens to be such asI should not wish to fall into the hands of a stranger. Diodotus isdead; he has left me perhaps 1, 000 sestertia. Bibulus has postponed theelections to the 18th of October, in an edict expressed in the vein ofArchilochus. [266] I have received the books from Vibius: he is amiserable poet, [267] but yet he is not without some knowledge nor whollyuseless. I am going to copy the book out and send it back. 

[Footnote 264: M. Terentius Varro, "the most learned of the Romans, " andauthor of very large numbers of books. He was afterwards one of Pompey's_legati_ in Spain. He survived most of the men of the revolutionaryera. ]

[Footnote 265: See Letter XXIV, p. 56. ]

[Footnote 266: _I. E. _, in biting language. _Archilochum proprio rabiesarmavit iambo_ (Hor. _A. P. _ 79). ]

[Footnote 267: The _Cosmographia_ of Alexander of Ephesus. See LetterXLVIII, p. 120. ]

XLVII (A II, 21)

TO ATTICUS (IN EPIRUS)

ROME (JULY)

[Sidenote: B. C. 59, ÆT. 47]

Why should I write to you on the Republic in detail? It is utterlyruined; and is, so far, in a worse state than when you left it, thatthen a despotism seemed to be oppressing it which was popular with themultitude, and though offensive to the loyalists, yet short of actualmischief; but now all on a sudden they have become so universally hated, that I tremble to think what will be the end of it. For we have hadexperience of those men's resentment and violence, who have ruinedeverything in their anger against Cato; yet they were employing suchslow poisons, that it seemed as though our end might be painless. Now, however, I fear they have been exasperated by the hisses of the crowd, the talk of the respectable classes, and the murmurs of Italy. For mypart, I was in hopes, as I often used actually to say to you, that thewheel of the state chariot had made its revolution with scarcely anynoise and leaving scarcely any visible rut; and it would have been so, if people could only have waited till the storm had blown over. Butafter sighing in secret for a long time they all began, first to groan, and at last to talk and shout. Accordingly, that friend of ours, unaccustomed to being unpopular, always used to an atmosphere of praise, and revelling in glory, now disfigured in body and broken in spirit, does not know which way to turn; sees that to go on is dangerous, toreturn a betrayal of vacillation; has the loyalists his enemies, thedisloyal themselves not his friends. Yet see how soft-hearted I am. Icould not refrain from tears when, on the 25th of July, I saw him makinga speech on the edicts of Bibulus. The man who in old times had beenused to bear himself in that place with the utmost confidence anddignity, surrounded by the warmest affection of the people, amidstuniversal favour--how humble, how cast down he was then! How ill-contentwith himself, to say nothing of how unpleasing to his audience! Oh, what a spectacle! No one could have liked it but Crassus--no one else inthe world! Not I, for considering his headlong descent from the stars, he seemed to me to have lost his footing rather than to have beendeliberately following a path; and, as Apelles, if he had seen hisVenus, or Protogenes his Ialysus daubed with mud, would, I presume, havefelt great sorrow, so neither could I behold without great sorrow a man, portrayed and embellished with all the colours of my art, suddenlydisfigured. Although no one thought, in view of the Clodius business, that I was bound to be his friend, yet so great was my affection forhim, that no amount of injury was capable of making it run dry. Theresult is that those Archilochian edicts of Bibulus against him are sopopular, that one can't get past the place where they are put up for thecrowd of readers, and so deeply annoying to himself that he is piningwith vexation. To me, by Hercules, they are distressing, both becausethey give excessive pain to a man whom I have always loved, and becauseI fear lest one so impulsive and so quick to strike, and so unaccustomedto personal abuse, may, in his passionate resentment, obey the dictatesof indignation and anger. I don't know what is to be the end of Bibulus. As things stand at present he is enjoying a wonderful reputation. For onhis having postponed the _comitia_ to October, as that is a measurewhich is always against the popular feeling, Cæsar had imagined that theassembly could be induced by a speech of his to go to Bibulus's house;but after a long harangue full of seditious suggestions, he failed toextract a word from anyone. In short, they feel that they do not possessthe cordial goodwill of any section: all the more must we fear some actof violence. Clodius is hostile to us. Pompey persists in asserting thathe will do nothing against me. It is risky for me to believe that, and Iam preparing myself to meet his attack. I hope to have the warmestfeelings of all orders on my side. I have personally a longing for you, and circumstances also demand your presence at that time. I shall feelit a very great addition to my policy, to my courage, and, in a word, tomy safety, if I see you in time. Varro does all I can expect. Pompeytalks like an angel. I have hopes that I shall come off with flyingcolours, or at any rate without being molested. Be sure and tell me howyou are, how you are amusing yourself, and what settlement you have cometo with the Sicyonians. 

XLVIII (A II, 22)

TO ATTICUS (IN EPIRUS)

ROME (JULY)

[Sidenote: B. C. 59, ÆT. 47]

How I wished you had stayed at Rome! I am sure you would have stayed ifyou had foreseen what was going to happen. For then we should have hadno difficulty in keeping "Pulchellus" in order, or at least should haveknown what he was going to do. As things are, he darts about, talks likea madman, never sticks to anything: threatens now this one and now that:seems likely, in reality, to do whatever turns up. When he sees howunpopular the present state of things is, he seems to intend an attackupon the authors of it; but when he again recalls their power andarmies, he transfers his hostility to the loyalists. Me personally hethreatens at one time with violence, at another with impeachment. Withhim Pompey has remonstrated, and, as he tells me himself--for I have noother evidence--has urgently remonstrated, pointing out that he wouldhimself lie under the extreme imputation of perfidy and unprincipledconduct, if any danger to me were created by the man whom he had himselfarmed by acquiescing in his becoming a plebeian: that both he andAppius[268] had pledged themselves in regard to me: if Clodius did notrespect that, he should shew such annoyance that everyone wouldunderstand that he valued my friendship above everything. Having saidthis and much else to the same effect, he told me that the fellow atfirst argued against it at great length and for a long time, buteventually gave way and declared that he would do nothing against hiswishes. Nevertheless, he has not ceased since then speaking of me withthe greatest bitterness. But even if he had not done so, I should havefelt no confidence in him, but should have been making everypreparation, as in fact I am doing. As it is, I am so conducting myselfthat every day the affections of people towards me and the strength ofmy position are enhanced. I don't touch politics in any shape or way; Iemploy myself with the greatest assiduity in pleading causes and in myregular forensic business. [269] And this I feel is extremely gratifying, not only to those who enjoy my services, but also to the peoplegenerally. My house is crowded; I am met by processions; the memory ofmy consulship is renewed; men's feelings are clearly shewn: my hopes areso raised, that the struggle hanging over me seems at times one fromwhich I need not shrink. Now is the time that I need your advice, yourlove and fidelity. Wherefore come post haste! Everything will be easyfor me if I have you. I can carry on many negotiations through ourfriend Varro, which will be on firmer ground with you to back them up; agreat deal can be elicited from Publius himself, and be brought to myknowledge, which cannot possibly be kept concealed from you; a greatdeal also--but it is absurd to enumerate particulars, when I want youfor everything. I would like you to be convinced of this above all, thateverything will be simplified for me if I see you: but it all turns onthis coming to pass _before_ he enters on his office. I think that ifyou are here while Crassus is egging on Pompey--as you can get out ofClodius himself, by the agency of "Iuno, "[270] how far they are actingin good faith--we shall escape molestation, or at any rate not be leftunder a delusion. You don't stand in need of entreaties or urgency fromme. You understand what my wish is, and what the hour and the importanceof the business demand. As to politics, I can tell you nothing exceptthat everybody entertains the greatest detestation for those who aremasters of everything. There is, however, no hope of a change. But, asyou easily understand, Pompey himself is discontented and extremelydissatisfied with himself. I don't see clearly what issue to expect: butcertainly such a state of affairs seems likely to lead to an outbreak ofsome sort. Alexander's books[271]--a careless writer and a poor poet, and yet not without some useful information--I have sent back to you. Ihave had pleasure in admitting Numerius Numestius to my friendship, andI find him a man of character and good sense, worthy of yourrecommendation. 

[Footnote 268: Appius Claudius Pulcher, elder brother of P. Clodius. ]

[Footnote 269: The speeches known to us of this year are those for hiscolleague, C. Antonius, A. Thermus, and L. Flaccus. The two former arelost, but we know from his own account that he had not avoided touchingon politics in the speech for Antonius, but had so offended Pompey andCæsar that they at once carried out the adoption of Clodius (_de Domo_, § 41). ]

[Footnote 270: Βοῶπις, _i. E. _, Clodia. See Letters XXXV, XL. _Crassourgente_ is difficult. Cicero must mean that while Crassus (whom healways regards as hostile to himself) is influencing Pompey, he cannottrust what Pompey says, and must look for real information elsewhere. ]

[Footnote 271: Alexander of Ephesus. See Letter XLVI, p. 115. ]

XLIX (A II, 23)

TO ATTICUS (IN EPIRUS)

ROME (JULY OR AUGUST)

[Sidenote: B. C. 59, ÆT. 47]

I don't think you have ever before read a letter of mine not written bymy own hand. You will be able to gather from that how I am distractedwith business. For as I had not a moment to spare and was obliged totake a walk in order to refresh my poor voice, I have dictated thiswhile walking. The first thing, then, which I wish you to know is thatour friend "Sampsiceramus" is exceedingly dissatisfied with hisposition, and desires to be restored to the place from which he hasfallen; that he confides his annoyance to me, and is without disguiseseeking for a remedy--which I don't think can be found. The second thingis that all on that side, whether promoters or mere hangers-on, arefalling out of fashion, though no one opposes them: there never was agreater unanimity of feeling or talk everywhere. For myself (for I amsure you wish to know it) I take part in no political deliberations, andhave devoted myself entirely to my forensic business and work. Thereby, as may easily be understood, I have frequent occasion to refer to mypast achievements and to express my regret. But the brother of our"Iuno" is giving utterance to all kinds of alarming threats, and, whiledisclaiming them to "Sampsiceramus, " makes an open avowal and parade ofthem to others. Wherefore, loving me as much as I know you do, if youare asleep, wake up; if you are standing, start walking; if you arewalking, set off running; if you are running, take wings and fly. Youcan scarcely believe how much I confide in your advice and wisdom, andabove all in your affection and fidelity. The importance of theinterests involved perhaps demands a long disquisition, but the closeunion of our hearts is contented with brevity. It is of very greatimportance to me that, if you can't be at Rome at the elections, youshould at least be here after his election is declared. [272] Take careof your health. 

[Footnote 272: _I. E. _, between the time of his election and of hisentering on his office. The tribunes entered on their office on the 10thof December; the elections usually took place in July, but werepostponed till October this year by Bibulus. See Letter XLVI, p. 115. ]

L (A II, 24)

TO ATTICUS (IN EPIRUS)

ROME (JULY OR AUGUST)

[Sidenote: B. C. 59, ÆT. 47]

In the letter which I delivered to Numestius I begged you to come back, in the most urgent and vehement terms it was possible to use. To thespeed which I then enjoined even add something if you possibly can. Andyet do not be agitated, for I know you well, and am not ignorant of "howlove is all compact of thought and fear. " But the matter, I hope, isgoing to be less formidable in the end than it was at its beginning. That fellow Vettius, our old informer, promised Cæsar, as far as I canmake out, that he would secure young Curio being brought under somesuspicion of guilt. Accordingly, he wormed his way into intimacy withthe young man, and having, as is proved, often met him, at last went thelength of telling him that he had resolved by the help of his slaves tomake an attack upon Pompey and assassinate him. Curio reported this tohis father, the latter to Pompey. The matter was reported to the senate. Vettius, on being brought in, at first denied that he had ever had anyappointment with Curio. However, he did not long stick to that, butimmediately claimed the protection of the state as giving information. There was a shout of "no" to this;[273] but he went on to state thatthere had been a confederacy of young men under the leadership of Curio, to which Paullus had at first belonged, and Q. Cæpio (I meanBrutus[274]) and Lentulus, son of the flamen, with the privity of hisfather: that afterwards C. Septimius, secretary to Bibulus, had broughthim a dagger from Bibulus. That made the whole thing ridiculous, asthough Vettius would have been at a loss for a dagger unless the consulhad given him one; and it was all the more scouted because on the 5th ofMay Bibulus had told Pompey to be on his guard against plots; on whichoccasion Pompey had thanked him. Young Curio, being brought into thesenate, spoke in answer to the allegations of Vettius; and on thisparticular occasion the strongest thing against Vettius was his havingsaid that the plan of the young men was to attack Pompey in the forum, with the help of Gabinius's gladiators, [275] and that in this thering-leader was Paullus, who was ascertained to have been in Macedoniaat that time. A decree of the senate is passed that "Vettius, havingconfessed to having 'worn a dagger, '[276] should be cast into prison;that anyone releasing him would be guilty of treason to the state. " Theopinion generally held is that the whole affair had been arranged. Vettius was to be caught in the forum with a dagger, and his slaves alsowith weapons, and he was then to offer to lay an information; and thiswould have been carried out, had not the Curios given Pompey previousinformation. Presently the decree of the senate was read in publicassembly. Next day, however, Cæsar--the man who formerly as prætor hadbidden Q. Catulus[277] speak on the ground below--now brought Vettius onto the rostra, and placed him on an elevation to which Bibulus, thoughconsul, was prevented from aspiring. Here that fellow said exactly whathe chose about public affairs, and, having come there primed andinstructed, first struck Cæpio's name out of his speech, though he hadnamed him most emphatically in the senate, so that it was easy to seethat a night and a nocturnal intercession[278] had intervened: next henamed certain men on whom he had not cast even the slightest suspicionin the senate: L. Lucullus, by whom he said that C. Fannius was usuallysent to him--the man who on a former occasion had backed a prosecutionof Clodius; L. Domitius, whose house had been agreed on as theheadquarters of the conspirators. Me he did not _name_, but he said that"an eloquent consular, who lived near the consul, had said to him thatthere was need of some Servilius Ahala or Brutus being found. "[279] Headded at the very end, on being recalled by Vatinius after the assemblyhad been dismissed, that he had been told by Curio that my son-in-lawPiso was privy to these proceedings, as M. Laterensis also. At presentVettius is on trial for "violence" before Crassus Dives, [280] and whencondemned he intends to claim the impunity of an informer; and if heobtains that, there seem likely to be some prosecutions. I don't despisethe danger, for I never despise any danger, but neither do I much fearit. People indeed shew very great affection for me, but I am quite tiredof life: such a scene of misery is it all. It was only the other daythat we were fearing a massacre, which the speech of that gallant oldman Q. Considius prevented:[281] now this one, which we might havefeared any day, has suddenly turned up. In short, nothing can be moreunfortunate than I, or more fortunate than Catulus, both in thesplendour of his life and in the time of his death. However, in themidst of these miseries I keep my spirit erect and undismayed, andmaintain my position in a most dignified manner and with great caution. Pompey bids me have no anxiety about Clodius, and shews the most cordialgoodwill to me in everything he says. I desire to have you to suggest mypolicy, to be the partner in my anxieties, and to share my everythought. Therefore I have commissioned Numestius to urge you, and I nowentreat you with the same or, if possible, greater earnestness, toliterally fly to us. I shall breathe again when I once see you. 

[Footnote 273: _Reclamatum est. _ The MSS. Have _haud reclamatum est_, "it was not refused. "]

[Footnote 274: Marcus Iunius Brutus, the future assassin of Cæsar, adopted by his uncle, Q. Servilius Cæpio. The father of Lentulus was_flamen Martialis_ (L. Lentulus), _in Vat. _ § 25. Paullus is L. ÆmiliusPaullus, consul B. C. 50. ]

[Footnote 275: _Cum gladiatoribus. _ Others omit _cum_, in which case themeaning will be "at the gladiatorial shows of Gabinius. " As some _date_is wanted, this is probably right. ]

[Footnote 276: Under the _lex de sicariis_ of Sulla carrying a weaponwith felonious intent was a capital crime, for which a man was tried_inter sicarios_. See 2 _Phil. _ §§ 8, 74. ]

[Footnote 277: Q. Lutatius Catulus, who died in the previous year, B. C. 60, had been a keen opponent of Cæsar, who tried to deprive him of thehonour of dedicating the restored Capitoline temple, and beat him in theelection of Pontifex Maximus. ]

[Footnote 278: Servilia, mother of Brutus, was reported to be Cæsar'smistress. As Cicero is insinuating that the whole affair was got up byCæsar to irritate Pompey with the _boni_, this allusion will beunderstood. ]

[Footnote 279: If Vettius did say this, he at any rate successfullyimitated Cicero's manner. These names are always in his mouth. See 2_Phil. _ §§ 26, 87; _pro Mil. _. §§ 8, 82, etc. For a farther discussionof Vettius, see Appendix B. ]

[Footnote 280: Probably a prætor, not the triumvir. ]

[Footnote 281: Q. Considius Gallus, who, according to Plutarch (_Cæs. _13), said in the senate that the attendance of senators was smallbecause they feared a massacre. "What made you come, then?" said Cæsar. "My age, " he replied; "I have little left to lose. "]

LI (A II, 25)

TO ATTICUS (IN EPIRUS)

ROME (JULY OR AUGUST)

[Sidenote: B. C. 59, ÆT. 47]

When I have praised any one of your friends to you I should like youtell him that I have done so. For instance, you know I lately wrote toyou about Varro's kindness to me, and that you wrote me back word thatthe circumstance gave you the greatest delight. But I should havepreferred your writing to him and saying that he was doing all I couldexpect--not because he was, but in order that he might do so. For he isa man of astonishing whims, as you know, "tortuous and nowise----. "[282] But I stick to the rule "Follies of those in power, "etc. [283] But, by Hercules, that other friend of yours, Hortalus--withwhat a liberal hand, with what candour, and in what ornate language hashe praised me to the skies, when speaking of the prætorship of Flaccusand that incident of the Allobroges. [284] I assure you nothing couldhave been more affectionate, complimentary, or more lavishly expressed. I very much wish that you would write and tell him that I sent you wordof it. Yet why write? I think you are on your way and are all but here. For I have urged you so strongly to come in my previous letters. I amexpecting you with great impatience, longing for you very much; nor do Icall for you more than circumstances themselves and the state of thetimes. Nothing can be more desperate than the position of politics, nothing more unpopular than the authors of it, I--as I think, hope, andimagine--am safe behind a rampart of goodwill of the strongest kind. Wherefore fly to me: you will either relieve me from all annoyance orwill share it. My letter is all the shorter because, as I hope, I shallbe able in a very short time to talk over what I want to say face toface. Take care of your health. 

[Footnote 282:

 ἑλικτὰ κοὐδὲν ὑγιὲς ἀλλὰ πᾶν πέριξ φρονοῦντες. 

Eur. _Androm. _ 448. 

 "With tortuous thoughts, naught honest, winding all. "]

[Footnote 283:

 τὰς τῶν κρατούντων ἀμαθίας φέρειν χρεών. 

Eur. _Phœn. _ 393. 

 "Follies of those in power we needs must bear. "]

[Footnote 284: L. Valerius Flaccus, as prætor in B. C. 63, had assistedCicero in the Catiline conspiracy. He was now being tried forembezzlement in Asia, and was defended by the famous Q. Hortensius(Hortalus) and Cicero--the only extant speech of this year. ]

LII (Q FR I, 2)

TO HIS BROTHER QUINTUS (IN ASIA)

ROME, 26 OCTOBER

[Sidenote: B. C. 59, ÆT. 47]

Statius arrived at my house on the 25th October. His arrival gave meuneasiness, because you said in your letter that you would be plunderedby your household in his absence. However, I thought it a very happycircumstance that he anticipated the expectation of his arrival, and thecompany that would have assembled to meet him, if he had left theprovince with you, and had not appeared before. For people haveexhausted their remarks, and many observations have been made and donewith of the "Nay, but I looked for a mighty man"[285] kind, which I amglad to have all over before you come. But as for the motive for yoursending him--that he might clear himself with me--that was not at allnecessary. For, to begin with, I had never suspected him, nor in what Iwrote to you about him was I expressing my own judgment; but since theinterest and safety of all of us who take part in public businessdepends, not on truth alone, but on report also, I wrote you word ofwhat people were saying, not what I thought myself. How prevalent andhow formidable that talk was Statius ascertained himself on his arrival. For he was present when certain persons at my house gave vent to somecomplaints on that very subject, and had the opportunity of perceivingthat the observations of the malevolent were being directed at himselfespecially. But it used to annoy me most when I was told that he hadgreater influence with you, than your sober time of life and the wisdomof a governor required. How many people, do you suppose, have solicitedme to give them a letter of introduction to Statius? How often, do yousuppose, has he himself, while talking without reserve to me, made suchobservations as, "I never approved of that, " "I told him so, " "I triedto persuade him, " "I warned him not to"? And even if these things shewthe highest fidelity, as I believe they do, since that is your judgment, yet the mere appearance of a freedman or slave enjoying such influencecannot but lower your dignity: and the long and short of it is--for I amin duty bound not to say anything without good grounds, nor to keep backanything from motives of policy--that Statius has supplied all thematerial for the gossip of those who wished to decry you; that formerlyall that could be made out was that certain persons were angry at yourstrictness; but that after his manumission the angry had something totalk about. 

Now I will answer the letters delivered to me by L. Cæsius, whom, as Isee you wish it, I will serve in every way I can. One of them is aboutZeuxis of Blaundus, whom you say was warmly recommended to you by methough a most notorious matricide. In this matter, and on this subjectgenerally, please listen to a short statement, lest you should by chancebe surprised at my having become so conciliatory towards Greeks. Seeing, as I did, that the complaints of Greeks, because they have a genius fordeceit, were allowed an excessive weight, whenever I was told of any ofthem making complaint of you, I appeased them by every means in mypower. First, I pacified the Dionysopolitans, who were very bitter:whose chief man, Hermippus, I secured not only by my conversation, butby treating him as a friend. I did the same to Hephæstus of Apameia; thesame to that most untrustworthy fellow, Megaristus of Antandrus; thesame to Nicias of Smyrna; I also embraced with all the courtesy Ipossessed the most trumpery of men, even Nymphôn of Colophôn. And allthis I did from no liking for these particular people, or the nation asa whole: I was heartily sick of their fickleness and obsequiousness, offeelings that are not affected by our kindness, but by our position. 

But to return to Zeuxis. When he was telling me the same story as youmention in your letter about what M. Cascellius had said to him inconversation, I stopped him from farther talk, and admitted him to mysociety. I cannot, however, understand your virulence when you say that, having sewn up in the parricide's-sack two Mysians at Smyrna, youdesired to display a similar example of your severity in the upper partof your province, and that, therefore, you had wished to inveigle Zeuxisinto your hands by every possible means. For if he had been brought intocourt, he ought perhaps not to have been allowed to escape: but therewas no necessity for his being hunted out and inveigled by soft words tostand a trial, as you say in your letter--especially as he is one whom Ilearn daily, both from his fellow citizens and from many others, to be aman of higher character than you would expect from such an obscure townas his. [286] But, you will say, it is only Greeks to whom I amindulgent. What! did not I do everything to appease L. Cæcilius? What aman! how irritable! how violent! In fact, who is there exceptTuscenius, [287] whose case admitted of no cure, have I not softened? Seeagain, I have now on my hands a shifty, mean fellow, though ofequestrian rank, called Catienus: even he is going to be smoothed down. I don't blame you for having been somewhat harsh to his father, for I amquite sure you have acted with good reason: but what need was there of aletter of the sort which you sent to the man himself? "That the man wasrearing the cross for himself from which you had already pulled him offonce; that you would take care to have him smoked to death, and would beapplauded by the whole province for it. " Again, to a man named C. Fabius--for that letter also T. Catienus is handing round--"that youwere told that the kidnapper Licinius, with his young kite of a son, wascollecting taxes. " And then you go on to ask Fabius to burn both fatherand son alive if he can; if not, to send them to you, that they may beburnt to death by legal sentence. That letter sent by you in jest to C. Fabius, if it really is from you, exhibits to ordinary readers aviolence of language very injurious to you. Now, if you will refer tothe exhortations in all my letters, you will perceive that I have neverfound fault with you for anything except harshness and sharpness oftemper, and occasionally, though rarely, for want of caution in theletters you write. In which particulars, indeed, if my influence had hadgreater weight with you than a somewhat excessive quickness ofdisposition, or a certain enjoyment in indulging temper, or a facultyfor epigram and a sense of humour, we should certainly have had no causefor dissatisfaction. And don't you suppose that I feel no commonvexation when I am told how Vergilius is esteemed, and your neighbourC. Octavius?[288] For if you only excel your neighbours farther upcountry, in Cilicia and Syria, that is a pretty thing to boast of! Andthat is just the sting of the matter, that though the men I have namedare not more blameless than yourself, they yet outdo you in the art ofwinning favour, though they know nothing of Xenophon's Cyrus orAgesilaus; from which kings, in the exercise of their great office, noone ever heard an irritable word. But in giving you this advice, as Ihave from the first, I am well aware how much good I have done. [289]

Now, however, as you are about to quit your province, pray do leavebehind you--as I think you are now doing--as pleasant a memory aspossible. You have a successor of very mild manners; in other respects, on his arrival, you will be much missed. In sending letters ofrequisition, as I have often told you, you have allowed yourself to betoo easily persuaded. Destroy, if you can, all such as are inequitable, or contrary to usage, or contradictory to others. Statius told me thatthey were usually put before you ready written, read by himself, andthat, if they were inequitable, he informed you of the fact: but thatbefore he entered your service there had been no sifting of letters;that the result was that there were volumes containing a selection ofletters, which were usually adversely criticised. [290] On this subject Iam not going to give you any advice at this time of day, for it is toolate; and you cannot but be aware that I have often warned you invarious ways and with precision. But I have, on a hint from Theopompus, intrusted him with this message to you: do see by means of personsattached to you, which you will find no difficulty in doing, that thefollowing classes of letters are destroyed--first, those that areinequitable; next, those that are contradictory; then those expressed inan eccentric or unusual manner; and lastly, those that containreflexions on anyone. I don't believe all I hear about these matters, and if, in the multiplicity of your engagements, you have let certainthings escape you, now is the time to look into them and weed them out. I have read a letter said to have been written by your nomenclator Sullahimself, which I cannot approve: I have read some written in an angryspirit. But the subject of letters comes in pat: for while this sheet ofpaper was actually in my hands, L. Flavius, prætor-designate and a veryintimate friend, came to see me. He told me that you had sent a letterto his agents, which seemed to me most inequitable, prohibiting themfrom taking anything from the estate of the late L. Octavius Naso, whoseheir L. Flavius is, until they had paid a sum of money to C. Fundanius;and that you had sent a similar letter to the Apollonidenses, not toallow any payment on account of the estate of the late Octavius till thedebt to Fundanius had been discharged. It seems to me hardly likely thatyou have done this; for it is quite unlike your usual good sense. Theheir not to take anything? What if he disowns the debt? What if hedoesn't owe it at all? Moreover, is the prætor wont to decide whether adebt is due?[291] Don't I, again, wish well to Fundanius? Am I not hisfriend? Am I not touched with compassion? No one more so: but in certainmatters the course of law is so clear as to leave no place for personalfeeling. And Flavius told me that expressions were used in the letter, which he said was yours, to the effect that you would "either thank themas friends, or make yourself disagreeable to them as enemies. " In short, he was much annoyed, complained of it to me in strong terms, and beggedme to write to you as seriously as I could. This I am doing, and I dostrongly urge you again and again to withdraw your injunction toFlavius's agents about taking money from the estate, and not to lay anyfarther injunction on the Apollonidenses contrary to the rights ofFlavius. Pray do everything you can for the sake of Flavius and, indeed, of Pompey also. I would not, upon my honour, have you think me liberalto him at the expense of any inequitable decision on your part: but I doentreat you to leave behind you some authority, and some memorandum of adecree or of a letter under your hand, so framed as to support theinterests and cause of Flavius. For the man, who is at once veryattentive to me, and tenacious of his own rights and dignity, is feelingextremely hurt that he has not prevailed with you either on the groundsof personal friendship or of legal right; and, to the best of my belief, both Pompey and Cæsar have, at one time or another, commended theinterests of Flavius to you, and Flavius has written to you personally, and certainly I have. Wherefore, if there is anything which you thinkyou ought to do at my request, let it be this. If you love me, takeevery care, take every trouble, and insure Flavius's cordial thanks bothto yourself and myself. I cannot use greater earnestness in making anyrequest than I use in this. 

As to what you say about Hermias, it has been in truth a cause of muchvexation to me. I wrote you a letter in a rather unbrotherly spirit, which I dashed off in a fit of anger and now wish to recall, having beenirritated by what Lucullus's freedman told me, immediately after hearingof the bargain. For this letter, which was not expressed in a brotherlyway, you ought to have brotherly feeling enough to make allowance. As toCensorinus, Antonius, the Cassii, Scævola--I am delighted to hear fromyou that you possess their friendship. The other contents of that sameletter of yours were expressed more strongly than I could have wished, such as your "with my ship at least well trimmed"[292] and your "dieonce for all. "[293] You will find those expressions to be unnecessarilystrong. My scoldings have always been very full of affection. Theymention certain things for complaint, [294] but these are not important, or rather, are quite insignificant. For my part, I should never havethought you deserving of the least blame in any respect, considering theextreme purity of your conduct, had it not been that our enemies arenumerous. Whatever I have written to you in a tone of remonstrance orreproach I have written from a vigilant caution, which I maintain, andshall maintain; and I shall not cease imploring you to do the same. Attalus of Hypæpa has begged me to intercede with you that you shouldnot prevent his getting the money paid which has been decreed for astatue of Q. Publicius. In which matter I both ask as a favour and urgeas a duty, that you should not consent to allow the honour of a man ofhis character, and so close a friend of mine, to be lowered or hinderedby your means. Farthermore, Licinius, who is known to you, a slave of myfriend Æsopus, has run away. He has been at Athens, living in the houseof Patron the Epicurean as a free man. Thence he has made his way toAsia. Afterwards a certain Plato of Sardis, who is often at Athens, andhappened to be at Athens at the time that Licinius arrived there, havingsubsequently learnt by a letter from Æsopus that he was an escapedslave, arrested the fellow, and put him into confinement at Ephesus; butwhether into the public prison, or into a slave mill, we could notclearly make out from his letter. But since he is at Ephesus, I shouldbe obliged if you would trace him in any manner open to you, and withall care either [send him] or bring him home with you. Don't take intoconsideration the fellow's value: such a good-for-nothing is worth verylittle; but Æsopus is so much vexed at his slave's bad conduct andaudacity, that you can do him no greater favour than by being the meansof his recovering him. 

Now for the news that you chiefly desire. We have so completely lost theconstitution that Cato, [295] a young man of no sense, but yet a Romancitizen and a Cato, scarcely got off with his life because, havingdetermined to prosecute Gabinius for bribery, when the prætors could notbe approached for several days, and refused to admit anyone to theirpresence, he mounted the rostra in public meeting and called Pompey an"unofficial dictator. " No one ever had a narrower escape of beingkilled. From this you may see the state of the whole Republic. People, however, shew no inclination to desert my cause. They make wonderfulprofessions, offers of service, and promises: and, indeed, I have thehighest hopes and even greater spirit--so that I hope to get the betterin the struggle, and feel confident in my mind that, in the presentstate of the Republic, I need not fear even an accident. However, thematter stands thus: if Clodius gives notice of an action against me, thewhole of Italy will rush to my support, so that I shall come off withmany times greater glory than before; but if he attempts the use ofviolence, I hope, by the zeal not only of friends but also of opponents, to be able to meet force with force. All promise me the aid ofthemselves, their friends, clients, freedmen, slaves, and, finally, oftheir money. Our old regiment of loyalists is warm in its zeal andattachment to me. If there were any who had formerly been comparativelyhostile or lukewarm, they are now uniting themselves with the loyalistsfrom hatred to these despots. Pompey makes every sort of promise, and sodoes Cæsar: but my confidence in them is not enough to induce me to dropany of my preparations. The tribunes-designate are friendly to us. Theconsuls-designate make excellent professions. Some of the new prætorsare very friendly and very brave citizens--Domitius, Nigidius, Memmius, Lentulus[296]--the others are loyalists also, but these are eminentlyso. Wherefore keep a good heart and high hopes. However, I will keep youconstantly informed on particular events as they occur from day to day. 

[Footnote 285: ἀλλ' αἰεί τινα φῶτα μέγαν καὶ καλὸν ἐδέγμην, "but I everexpected some big and handsome man" (Hom. _Odyss. _ ix. 513). Statius hadbeen manumitted by Quintus Cicero, and there had been much talk aboutit, as we have already heard. See XLIV, p. 109, and XLV, p. 111. ]

[Footnote 286: Reading _quam pro civitate sua_ for _prope quam civitatemsuam_. I think _prope_ and _pro_ (_pr_) might easily have been mistakenfor each other, and if the order of _quam_ and _pro_ (mistaken for_prope_) were once changed, the case of _civitate_ would follow. Prof. Tyrrell, who writes the town _Blandus_, would read _molliorem_ for_nobiliorem_, and imagines a pun on the meaning of _Blandus_. But thename of the town seems certainly _Blaundus_, Βλαῦνδος, or Μλαῦνδος(Stephanus, Βλαῦδος); see Head, _Hist. Num. _ p. 559: and Cicero, thoughgenerally punning on names, would hardly do so here, where he is makinga grave excuse. ]

[Footnote 287: Whom he called (Letter XXIX) "a madman and a knave. "]

[Footnote 288: C. Vergilius Balbus, proprætor in Sicily (_pro Planc. _ §95; Letter XXIX). C. Octavius (father of Augustus), in Macedonia (see p. 78). L. Marcius Philippus was proprætor of Syria B. C. 61-59. Thegovernor of Cilicia in the same period is not known; probably some oneleft in charge by Pompey. ]

[Footnote 289: I have endeavoured to leave the English as ambiguous asthe Latin. Cicero may mean that he has done some good, for at the end ofLetter XXIX he says that Quintus has improved in these points, and hadbeen better in his second than in his first year. On the other hand, thecontext here seems rather to point to the meaning "how _little_ good Ihave done!"--impatiently dismissing the subject of temper. ]

[Footnote 290: These "requisitionary letters" were granted by aprovincial governor to certain persons requiring supplies, payment ofdebts, or legal decisions in their favour in the provinces, or otherprivileges, and, if carelessly granted, were open to much abuse. Cicero, in his own government of Cilicia, boasted that he had signed none suchin six months. The ill-wishers of Quintus had apparently got hold of anumber of these letters signed by him (having been first written out bythe suitors themselves and scarcely glanced at by him), and a selectionof them published to prove his injustice or carelessness. ]

[Footnote 291: The governor of a province would stand in such a matterin the place of the prætor in Rome, _i. E. _, he would decide on questionsof law, not of fact, as, whether a debt was due or not. However, Quintusperhaps only erred in the form of his injunction. He might forbid thedeceased's estate being touched till the question of Fundanius's debtwas decided; but in his letter he assumed (as he had no right to do)that the claim was good. Substantially it seems to me that Quintus wasright, and certainly in his appeal to him Cicero does not follow his owninjunction to disregard personal feelings. ]

[Footnote 292: ὀρθὰν τὰν ναῦν. Quintus had written, it seems, defiantlyabout the slanders afloat against him, and had quoted two Greekproverbial sayings. The first is found in Stobæus, 108 (extract fromTeles): "It was a fine saying of the pilot, 'At least, Poseidon, a shipwell trimmed, '" _i. E. _, if you sink my ship, she shall at least go downwith honour. Quintus means, "Whatever my enemies may do afterwards, Iwill keep my province in a sound state as long as I am here. "]

[Footnote 293: ἅπαξ θανεῖν, perhaps "Better to die once for all thangive in to every unjust demand. " The editors quote Æschylus, _Pr. V. _769:

 κρεῖσσον γὰρ εἰσάπαξ θανεῖν ἢ θὰς ἁπάσας ἡμέρας πάσχειν κακῶς. 

But I don't feel sure that this is the passage alluded to. ]

[Footnote 294: Reading _queruntur_ for _quæ sunt_. ]

[Footnote 295: Gaius Cato, tribune B. C. 56. ]

[Footnote 296: L. Domitius Ahenobarbus, who as prætor threatened Cæsarwith impeachment, and as consul (B. C. 54) tried to get him recalled. Hewas, in 50-49, appointed Cæsar's successor in Gaul, defended Marseillesagainst him, and eventually fell in the battle of Pharsalia. P. NigidiusFigulus supported Cicero during the Catiline conspiracy. Gaius Memmius, ædile B. C. 60 (see p. 51). Lucretius dedicated his poem to him. L. Cornelius Lentulus Crus, consul B. C. 49, accused Clodius in B. C. 61, murdered in Africa after Pompey, B. C. 48. ]

LIII (F XIII, 42)

TO L. CULLEOLUS (IN ILLYRICUM)

ROME[297]

[Sidenote: B. C. 59, ÆT. 47]

My friend L. Lucceius, [298] the most delightful fellow in the world, hasexpressed in my presence amazingly warm thanks to you, saying that youhave given most complete and liberal promises to his agents. Since yourwords have roused such gratitude in him, you may imagine how grateful hewill be for the thing itself, when, as I hope, you will have performedyour promise. In any case the people of Bullis have shewn that theyintend to do Lucceius right according to the award of Pompey. But wehave very great need of the additional support of your wishes, influence, and prætorian authority. That you should give us these I begyou again and again. And this will be particularly gratifying to me, because Lucceius's agents know, and Lucceius himself gathered from yourletter to him, that no one's influence has greater weight with you thanmine. I ask you once more, and reiterate my request, that he may findthat to be the case by practical experience. 

[Footnote 297: There is no direct means of dating these letters, as wehave no other information as to the proconsulship of Culleolus. Illyricum was not always a separate government, but was sometimes underthe governor of Macedonia, sometimes under the governor of Gaul. Theindications of date are (1) Pompey is at home and often seen by Cicero, therefore it is not between the spring of B. C. 67 and the end of 62; (2)it is not later than March, B. C. 58, because from that time for tenyears Cæsar was governor of Illyricum, and before he ceased to be soPompey had left Italy, never to return. Even if Culleolus was notgovernor of Illyricum, but of Macedonia, the same argument holds good, for C. Antonius was in Macedonia B. C. 63-60, and Octavius from B. C. 60to March, B. C. 59. That is, Culleolus could not have been in Macedoniawhile Pompey was in Italy till after March, B. C. 59. ]

[Footnote 298: L. Lucceius, whom we have heard of before as a candidatefor the consulship with Cæsar, and whom we shall hear of again as theauthor of a history of the social and civil wars (Sulla and Marius), andas being asked to write on Cicero's consulship. He was a close friend ofPompey, and took his side in B. C. 49 (Cæs. _B. C. _ iii. 18). The peopleof Bullis owed Lucceius money, and Cicero asks for "mandatory letters"from Culleolus to get it. ]

LIV (F XIII, 41)

TO L. CULLEOLUS (IN ILLYRICUM)

ROME

[Sidenote: B. C. 59, ÆT. 47]

In what you have done for the sake of L. Lucceius, I wish you to befully aware that you have obliged a man who will be exceedinglygrateful; and that, while this is very much the case with Lucceiushimself, so also Pompey as often as he sees me--and he sees me veryoften--thanks you in no common terms. I add also, what I know will beexceedingly gratifying to you, that I am myself immensely delighted withyour kindness to Lucceius. For the rest, though I have no doubt that asyou acted before for my sake, so now, for the sake of your ownconsistency, you will abide by your liberal intentions, yet I reiteratemy request to you with all earnestness, that what you first gave usreason to hope, and then actually carried out, you would be so good asto see extended and brought to a final completion by your means. Iassure you, and I pledge my credit to it, that such a course will beexceedingly gratifying to both Lucceius and Pompey, and that you will bemaking a most excellent investment with them. About politics, and aboutthe business going on here, and what we are all thinking about, I wroteto you in full detail a few days ago, and delivered the letter to yourservants. Farewell. 

LETTERS IN EXILE

[Sidenote: B. C. 58. Coss. , L. Piso, A. Gabinius. ]

 We have no record in Cicero's correspondence of the final measures taken by Clodius against him. We find him when the correspondence for this year opens on his way to exile: all his boasts of staying and fighting have been thrown to the winds. Clodius, indeed, had not simply done what Cicero expected at the worst--impeached him. He had gone more systematically to work. Among other measures calculated to win popularity, he proposed a modification of the _lex Ælia Fufia_, declaring it illegal for a magistrate to stop legislative _comitia_ by "watching the sky. " Thus freed from one hindrance, he next proposed and carried a law for the prosecution of any magistrate who had put a citizen to death without trial (_qui indemnatos cives necavisset_). Cicero at once recognized his danger: if the people voted this law, a jury could scarcely fail to condemn. The triumvirs would do nothing. Pompey, after all his promises, avoided seeing Cicero as much as possible: Cæsar offered him a _legatio_ again; and though he spoke against giving the law a retrospective effect, he could not consistently object to the law itself, and shewed no sign of desiring to shelter Cicero, except on his consenting to leave Rome. Cicero then adopted the course which was open to all citizens threatened with a prosecution--that of going away from Rome--and started apparently with the view of going to Malta. Whether it was wise or not, Cicero afterwards lamented having taken this course, and thought that he had better have braved the danger and stood his trial. It at any rate facilitated the next move of Clodius, who proposed and carried a bill forbidding Cicero "fire and water" within 500 (afterwards reduced to 400) miles of Italy, and confiscating his property. Accordingly, Cicero had to go much farther than he had intended. He crossed from Brundisium to Dyrrachium, and proceeded along the _via Egnatia_ to its terminus at Thessalonica, where he spent the autumn, B. C. 58. In November, B. C. 58, he returned to Dyrrachium, ready for the recall which he heard was imminent. Meanwhile his town house was destroyed, its site made a _templum_, and a statue of Liberty set up in it, and his villas at Tusculum and Antium dismantled. The dangers of his position are not exaggerated in his letters, and may account for much of their melancholy tone. He had lost the protection of the laws, and any one of his many enemies meeting him might have killed him with practical impunity. He seems to have left Rome in April. 

LV (A III, 3)

TO ATTICUS (AT ROME)

VIBO, APRIL

[Sidenote: B. C. 58, ÆT. 48]

I hope I may see the day when I shall thank you for having compelled meto remain alive! At present I thoroughly repent it. But I beg you tocome and see me at Vibo at once, to which town I have for severalreasons directed my journey. [299] But if you will only come there, Ishall be able to consult you about my entire journey and exile. If youdon't do so, I shall be surprised, but I feel sure you will. 

[Footnote 299: Mod. _Monte Leone_, on the road to Rhegium, from which atthis time Cicero meant to cross to Sicily, and thence to Malta. ]

LVI (A III, 2)

TO ATTICUS (AT ROME)

NARES LUCANÆ, [300] APRIL

[Sidenote: B. C. 58, ÆT. 48]

The reason for having come this journey is that there was no place whereI could be independent except on Sica's estate, [301] especially till thebill is emended, [302] and at the same time because I find that from thisspot I can reach Brundisium, if you were only with me, but without you Icannot stay in those parts owing to Autronius. [303] At present, as Isaid in my previous letter, if you will come to me, we shall be able toform a plan for the whole business. I know the journey is troublesome, but the whole calamity is full of troubles. I cannot write more, I am soheart-broken and dejected. Take care of your health. 

From Nares Lucanæ, 8 April. 

[Footnote 300: Nares Lucanæ (_Monte Nero_), near the River Silarus, andon the _via Popilia_ (south-western branch of the _Appia_). Cicero hastherefore come north again from Vibo, having given up the idea ofRhegium and Sicily, and making for Beneventum, and so by the _via Appia_for Brundisium. ]

[Footnote 301: A friend of Cicero's, of whose death at Brundisium weafterwards hear (_Fam. _ xiv. 4, § 6). ]

[Footnote 302: The bill originally named 500 miles as the distance fromItaly. Before passing it had to be put up in public three weeks(_trinundinæ_), and meanwhile might be amended, and was amended to 400. ]

[Footnote 303: P. Autronius Pætus, one of Catiline's confederates, whowould injure Cicero if he could. Cicero would not be able to reachEpirus without coming within his reach; for he had been condemned for_ambitus_, and was in exile there or in Achaia. _Illas partes_=Epirus. ]

LVII (A III, 4)

TO ATTICUS (AT ROME)

NEAR VIBO, APRIL

[Sidenote: B. C. 58, ÆT. 48]

I hope you will attribute my sudden departure from Vibo, whither I hadasked you come, to my unhappiness rather than to fickleness. A copy ofthe bill for my ruin was brought to me, in which the correction of whichI had been told was to the effect that I might legally remain anywherebeyond 400 miles. Since I was not allowed to go yonder, [304] I set outtowards Brundisium before the day for carrying the bill had come, bothto prevent Sica, in whose house I was staying, from being ruined, [305]and because I was prevented from residing at Malta. So now make haste tocatch me up, if only I shall find any welcome there. [306] At present Ireceive kind invitations. But about the rest of my journey I am nervous. Truly, my dear Pomponius, I am very sorry I consented to live: in whichmatter you exercised the chief influence with me. But of these thingswhen we meet. Only be sure and come. 

[Footnote 304: To Malta. The proprætor of Sicily, C. Vergilius, opposedhis going to Malta, which was in the province of Sicily, though it had a_primus_ of its own (_Planc. _ 40; Plut. _Cic. _ 32). ]

[Footnote 305: Because of entertaining the condemned man, a specialproviso in this law (Dio, xxxviii. 17). ]

[Footnote 306: In Epirus, believing that Atticus will understand thathis going to Brundisium means that he will go to Epirus: and as Atticuslives there, he naturally asks him to come to meet him. Epirus was, forcertain purposes at least, in the province of Macedonia, and it dependedon the governor, L. Appuleius Saturninus, what reception he would meet. His friend Plancius was quæstor. ]

LVIII (A III, 1)

TO ATTICUS (AT ROME)

FROM THE NEIGHBOURHOOD OF THURIUM, ON THE WAY TO BRUNDISIUM, APRIL

[Sidenote: B. C. 58, ÆT. 48]

I always thought that it was of great importance to me that you shouldbe with me: but when I read the bill, then, indeed, I understood thatthere could be nothing more desirable for me than that you shouldovertake me as soon as possible, in order that, if after quitting ItalyI should have to travel through Epirus, I might avail myself of yourprotection and that of your friends; or, if I had to adopt any otherplan, I might come to some definite resolution in accordance with youropinion. Wherefore I beg you to do your best to overtake me promptly, which will be easier for you to do since the law about the province ofMacedonia has now been passed. [307] I would urge you at greater lengthwere it not that with you facts speak for me. 

[Footnote 307: One of Clodius's concessions to the consuls, to keep themquiet, was to get Macedonia assigned by a _lex_ to L. Calpurnius Piso. As Atticus lived in what was practically part of the province, and hadmuch business there, it was important to him to be on the spot, and tryto influence the choice of a governor. That being over, he would nothave so much to detain him in Rome. ]

LIX (A III, 5)

TO ATTICUS (AT ROME)

THURIUM, 10 APRIL

[Sidenote: B. C. 58, ÆT. 48]

Terentia thanks you frequently and very warmly. That is a great comfortto me. I am the most miserable man alive, and am being worn out with themost poignant sorrow. I don't know what to write to you. For if you areat Rome, it is now too late for you to reach me; but if you are on theroad, we shall discuss together all that needs to be discussed when youhave overtaken me. All I ask you is to retain the same affection for me, since it was always myself you loved. For I am the same man: my enemieshave taken what was mine, they have not taken myself. Take care of yourhealth. 

From Thurium, 10 April. 

LX (A III, 6)

TO ATTICUS (AT ROME)

ON THE WAY TO TARENTUM, 18 APRIL

[Sidenote: B. C. 58, ÆT. 48]

I had felt certain of seeing you at Tarentum or Brundisium, and that wasof importance to me in many respects: among others, as to my being ableto stay in Epirus and consult you about the future. My disappointment inthis is only another item in the long list of my misfortunes. [308] Imean to go to Asia, to Cyzicus for choice. I commend my family to you. Iam very wretched and can scarcely support my life. 

From near Tarentum, 17 April. 

[Footnote 308: We suppose that Cicero has heard from Atticus that he isnot going to be at Tarentum or Brundisium, for he writes before arrivingat either. ]

LXI (F XIV, 4)

TO TERENTIA, TULLIOLA, AND YOUNG CICERO (AT ROME)

BRUNDISIUM, 29 APRIL

[Sidenote: B. C. 58, ÆT. 48]

Yes, I do write to you less often than I might, because, though I amalways wretched, yet when I write to you or read a letter from you, I amin such floods of tears that I cannot endure it. Oh, that I had clungless to life! I should at least never have known real sorrow, or notmuch of it, in my life. Yet if fortune has reserved for me _any_ hope ofrecovering at any time any position again, I was not utterly wrong to doso: if these miseries are to be permanent, I only wish, my dear, to seeyou as soon as possible and to die in your arms, since neither gods, whom you have worshipped with such pure devotion, nor men, whom I haveever served, have made us any return. I have been thirteen days atBrundisium in the house of M. Lænius Flaccus, a very excellent man, whohas despised the risk to his fortunes and civil existence in comparisonto keeping me safe, nor has been induced by the penalty of a mostiniquitous law to refuse me the rights and good offices of hospitalityand friendship. May I some time have the opportunity of repaying him!Feel gratitude I always shall. I set out from Brundisium on the 29th ofApril, [309] and intend going through Macedonia to Cyzicus. What a fall!What a disaster! What can I say? Should I ask you to come--a woman ofweak health and broken spirit? Should I refrain from asking you? Am I tobe without you, then? I think the best course is this: if there is anyhope of my restoration, stay to promote it and push the thing on: butif, as I fear, it proves hopeless, pray come to me by any means in yourpower. Be sure of this, that if I have you I shall not think myselfwholly lost. But what is to become of my darling Tullia? You must see tothat now: I can think of nothing. But certainly, however things turnout, we must do everything to promote that poor little girl's marriedhappiness and reputation. Again, what is my boy Cicero to do? Let him, at any rate, be ever in my bosom and in my arms. [310] I can't writemore. A fit of weeping hinders me. I don't know how you have got on;whether you are left in possession of anything, or have been, as I fear, entirely plundered. Piso, as you say, I hope will always be our friend. As to the manumission of the slaves you need not be uneasy. To beginwith, the promise made to yours was that you would treat them accordingas each severally deserved. So far Orpheus has behaved well, besides himno one very markedly so. With the rest of the slaves the arrangement isthat, if my property is forfeited, they should become my freedmen, supposing them to be able to maintain at law that status. [311] But if myproperty remained in my ownership, they were to continue slaves, withthe exception of a very few. But these are trifles. To return to youradvice, that I should keep up my courage and not give up hope ofrecovering my position, I only wish that there were any good grounds forentertaining such a hope. As it is, when, alas! shall I get a letterfrom you? Who will bring it me? I would have waited for it atBrundisium, but the sailors would not allow it, being unwilling to losea favourable wind. For the rest, put as dignified a face on the matteras you can, my dear Terentia. Our life is over: we have had our day: itis not any fault of ours that has ruined us, but our virtue. I have madeno false step, except in not losing my life when I lost my honours. Butsince our children preferred my living, let us bear everything else, however intolerable. And yet I, who encourage you, cannot encouragemyself. I have sent that faithful fellow Clodius Philhetærus home, because he was hampered with weakness of the eyes. Sallustius seemslikely to outdo everybody in his attentions. Pescennius is exceedinglykind to me; and I have hopes that he will always be attentive to you. Sica had said that he would accompany me; but he has left Brundisium. Take the greatest possible care of your health, and believe me that I ammore affected by your distress than my own. My dear Terentia, mostfaithful and best of wives, and my darling little daughter, and thatlast hope of my race, Cicero, good-bye!

29 April, from Brundisium. 

[Footnote 309: Reading _prid. Kal. _ instead of _a. D. II. Kal. _, whichTyrrell calls _audacius_ in Schutz. But absolute nonsense is not to bekept even for a MS. 

(1) Cicero says that he has been thirteen days at Brundisium. In thenext letter he tells Atticus he arrived on the 17th. That, in the Romanway of counting, brings it to _prid. _ (29th). 

(2) Either the date at the end of the letter is wrong, or _prid. _ mustbe used here

(3) There is no such date properly as _a. D. II. Kal. _ The day before_prid. _ is _a. D. III_. 

In regard to dates we must remember that Cicero is using the præ-Juliancalendar, in which all months, except February, March, May, July, andOctober, had twenty-nine days. These last four had thirty-one andFebruary twenty-eight. ]

[Footnote 310: Cicero does not mean that young Marcus is to come to himat once, but that, when Tullia's marriage portion is settled, Terentiais to bring him with her if she comes. Really he didn't mean any of themto come, at any rate for a long while. Piso is Tullia's husband. ]

[Footnote 311: If Cicero's property was confiscated, it might be heldthat the slaves went with it, and would be sold with it, and that hismanumission of them was an evasion, which could not hold good at law. Ifhis property was not confiscated, they were to remain in their status asslaves. See Letter CXCII. ]

LXII (A III, 7)

TO ATTICUS (AT ROME)

BRUNDISIUM, 29 APRIL

[Sidenote: B. C. 58, ÆT. 48]

I arrived at Brundisium on the 17th of April. On that day your slavesdelivered me your letter, and some other slaves, on the next day butone, brought me another. As to your invitation and advice to stay atyour house in Epirus, your kindness is most gratifying, and far frombeing a novelty. It is a plan that would have exactly suited my wishes, if I might have spent all my time there: for I loathe a crowd ofvisitors, I can scarcely bear the light, and that solitude, especiallyin a spot so familiar, would have been the reverse of disagreeable. Butto put up there as a mere stage in my journey! In the first place it isfar out of my way, and in the next it is only four days from Autroniusand the rest, and in the third place you are not there. Had I been goingto reside permanently, a fortified castle would have been an advantage, but to one only passing through it is unnecessary. Why, if I had notbeen afraid, I should have made for Athens[312]--there werecircumstances that made me much wish to go--but as it is, I have enemiesin the neighbourhood, you are not there, and I fear they[313] might holdeven that town not to be the legal distance from Italy, nor do youmention by what day I am to expect you. As to your urging me to remainalive, you carry one point--that I should not lay violent hands uponmyself: the other you cannot bring to pass--that I should not regret mypolicy and my continuance in life. For what is there to attach me to it, especially if the hope which accompanied me on my departure isnon-existent? I will not attempt to enumerate all the miseries intowhich I have fallen through the extreme injustice and unprincipledconduct, not so much of my enemies, as of those who were jealous of me, because I do not wish to stir up a fresh burst of grief in myself, orinvite you to share the same sorrow. I say this deliberately--that noone was ever afflicted with so heavy a calamity, that no one had evergreater cause to wish for death; while I have let slip the time when Imight have sought it most creditably. Henceforth death can never heal, it can only end my sorrow. [314] In politics I perceive that you collectall circumstances that you think may inspire me with a hope of a change:and though they are insignificant, yet, since you will have it so, letus have patience. In spite of what you say, you will catch us up if youmake haste. For I will either come into Epirus to be near you, or I willtravel slowly through Candavia. [315] My hesitation about Epirus is notcaused by vacillation on my part, but by the fact that I do not knowwhere I am likely to see my brother. As to him, I neither know how I amto see him, nor how I shall let him go. That is the greatest and mostdistressing of all my distresses. I would indeed have written to youoftener, and at greater length, had it not been that sorrow, while ithas affected all parts of my intellect, has above all entirely destroyedmy faculty for this kind of writing. I long to see you. Take care ofyour health. 

Brundisium, 29 April. 

[Footnote 312: He means that had it not been for enemies in Greece andEpirus, he should not only have gone as far south as Epirus, butfarther--to Athens. There is a good deal to be said for Schutz'sreading, _Achaiam_ for _Athenas_, but as the MS. Reading can beexplained, it is safer to keep it. ]

[Footnote 313: The Clodian party at Rome. "That town" is Athens. ]

[Footnote 314: "I have lost my chance of dying with honour; henceforthdeath may end my grief, but cannot heal my damaged reputation. " _Reliquatempora_, _i. E. _, other opportunities of suicide. ]

[Footnote 315: A mountain range in Illyria, over which the _via Egnatia_passes (mod. _Elbassán_). ]

LXIII (A III, 8)

TO ATTICUS (AT ROME)

THESSALONICA, 29 MAY

[Sidenote: B. C. 58, ÆT. 48]

I wrote to you at Brundisium, when on the point of starting, the reasonsfor my not going to Epirus: namely, the proximity of Achaia, which wasfull of enemies of the most unscrupulous character, and secondly, thedifficulty of leaving it when I wished to resume my journey. Added tothis, while I was at Dyrrachium two messages reached me: the first, thatmy brother was coming from Ephesus to Athens by ship; the second, thathe was coming through Macedonia by land. Accordingly, I sent a messageto meet him at Athens, telling him to come thence to Thessalonica. Imyself continued my journey, and arrived at Thessalonica on the 23rd ofMay, but have no certain intelligence about his journey except that hehad left Ephesus some time ago. At present I am feeling very nervous asto what steps are being taken at Rome. Although you say in one of yourletters, dated the 15th of May, that you hear that he will be vigorouslyprosecuted, in another you say that things are calming down. But thenthe latter is dated a day before the former; which makes me all the moreanxious. So while my own personal sorrow is every day tearing my heartand wearing out my strength, this additional anxiety indeed scarcelyleaves me any life at all. However, the voyage itself was verydifficult, and he perhaps, being uncertain where I was, has taken someother course. For my freedman Phaetho saw nothing of him. Phaetho wasdriven by the wind from Ilium[316] to Macedonia, and met me at Pella. How formidable other circumstances are I am fully aware, and I don'tknow what to say to you. I fear everything, nor is there any miserywhich would not seem possible in my present unfortunate position. Miserable as I still am in the midst of my heavy trials and sorrows, nowthat this anxiety is added to them, I remain at Thessalonica in a stateof suspense without venturing upon any step whatever. 

Now to answer you. I have not seen Cæcilius Trypho. I comprehend fromyour letter what you and Pompey have been saying. That any movement inpolitics is impending I cannot see as clearly as you either see, orperhaps only suggest for my consolation. For, as the case of Tigraneswas passed over, all hope of a rupture is at an end. [317] You bid methank Varro: I will do so; also Hypsæus. [318] As to your advice not togo farther off till the _acta_[319] of the month of May reach me, Ithink I shall do as you suggest. But where to stay? I have not yet cometo any decision. And indeed my mind is so uneasy about Quintus, that Ican determine on nothing. However, I will let you know immediately. Fromthe incoherent nature of my letters I think you will understand theagitation of my mind, caused not so much by my misery, though I havebeen overwhelmed by an incredible and unparalleled calamity, as by therecollection of my blunder. For by whose unprincipled advice I was eggedon and betrayed you certainly now perceive, [320] and oh that you hadperceived it before, and had not given your whole mind to lamentationalong with me! Wherefore, when you are told that I am prostrate andunmanned with grief, consider that I am more distressed at my own follythan at the result of it, in having believed a man whom I did not thinkto be treacherous. My writing is impeded both by the recollection of myown disasters, and by my alarm about my brother. Yes, pray look afterand direct all the affairs you mention. Terentia expresses the warmestgratitude to you. I have sent you a copy of the letter which I havewritten to Pompey. 

Thessalonica, 29 May. 

[Footnote 316: Reading _ab Ilio_ with Madvig for _ab illo_. ]

[Footnote 317: Tigranes, a son of the king of Armenia, was brought toRome by Pompey to adorn his triumph, and put under the care of LuciusFlavius. This prince was, for a bribe, released by Clodius by a trick, and the attempt to get him away led to a scuffle in which lives werelost. Pompey regarded this as a slight upon himself, and his partisan, the consul Gabinius, attempted to prevent it. But both were hustled inthe forum and treated with insults. The hope of a breach in thetriumvirate arose from the supposition that Clodius had the support ofCæsar in his high-handed proceeding (Dio, xxxviii. 30; Plut. _Pomp. _ 48;Ascon. 47). ]

[Footnote 318: P. Plautius Hypsæus, who had been Pompey's quæstor and onintimate terms with him. He had been, it seems, interesting himself onCicero's behalf. ]

[Footnote 319: The gazette of public transactions and measures passed inthe senate, which was sent round to the provinces. We shall hear of itagain. ]

[Footnote 320: The next letter shews that he means Hortensius. Theblunder which he complains of having committed, by the advice ofHortensius, is that of having left Rome, rather than stay and brave theimpeachment. ]

LXIV (A III, 9)

TO ATTICUS (AT ROME)

THESSALONICA, 13 JUNE

[Sidenote: B. C. 58, ÆT. 48]

My brother Quintus having quitted Asia before the 1st of May, andarrived at Athens on the 15th, he would have to make great haste toprevent proceedings being commenced against him in his absence, supposing there to be some one who was not content with the misfortuneswe have already sustained. Accordingly, I preferred that he should hurryon to Rome rather than come to me; and at the same time--for I will tellyou the truth, and it will give you a notion of the extent of mywretchedness--I could not make up my mind to see him, devotedly attachedto me as he is, and a man of most tender feelings, or to obtrude uponhim my miseries and ruin in all their wretchedness, or to endure theirbeing seen by him. And I was besides afraid of what certainly would havehappened--that he would not have had the resolution to leave me. I hadever before my eyes the time when he would either have to dismiss hislictors, [321] or be violently torn from my arms. The prospect of thisbitter pain I have avoided by the other bitter pain of not seeing mybrother. It is all you, who advised me to continue living, that haveforced me into this distressful position. Accordingly, I am paying thepenalty of my error. However, I am sustained by your letter, from whichI easily perceive how high your own hopes are. This did give me someconsolation, but only, after all, till you passed from the mention ofPompey to the passage beginning "Now try and win over Hortensius andmen of that sort. " In heaven's name, my dear Pomponius, don't you yetperceive by whose means, by whose treachery, by whose dishonest advice, I have been ruined? But all this I will discuss with you when we meet. Iwill only say this much, which I think you know: it is not my enemies, but my jealous rivals, that have ruined me. Now, however, if things arereally as you hope, I will keep up my spirits, and will rely upon thehope on which you bid me rely. But if, as I myself think, this provesillusory, what I was not allowed to do at the best time shall be done ata worse. [322] Terentia often expresses her gratitude to you. For myselfone of my miseries also consists in fear--the business of my unhappybrother. If I could only know how it stands, I should know what I oughtto do. Personally, the hope of the advantages and of the letters youmention keeps me still, as you advise, at Thessalonica. If I get anynews, I shall know what I ought to do about the rest. Yes, if, as yousay in your letter, you left Rome on the 1st of June, you will soon seeus. I have sent you a letter which I wrote to Pompey. 

Thessalonica, 15 June. 

[Footnote 321: Because, though a provincial governor retained hislictors till he reached Rome, he was bound to go straight home ordismiss them. ]

[Footnote 322: _I. E. _, suicide. ]

LXV (Q FR I, 3)

TO HIS BROTHER QUINTUS (ON HIS WAY TO ROME)

THESSALONICA, 15 JUNE

[Sidenote: B. C. 58, ÆT. 48]

Brother! Brother! Brother! did you really fear that I had been inducedby some angry feeling to send slaves to you without a letter? Or eventhat I did not wish to see you? I to be angry with you! Is it possiblefor me to be angry with you? Why, one would think that it was you thatbrought me low! Your enemies, your unpopularity, that miserably ruinedme, and not I that unhappily ruined you! The fact is, the much-praisedconsulate of mine has deprived me of you, of children, country, fortune;from you I should hope it will have taken nothing but myself. Certainlyon your side I have experienced nothing but what was honourable andgratifying: on mine you have grief for my fall and fear for your own, regret, mourning, desertion. _I_ not wish to see you? The truth israther that I was unwilling to be seen by you. For you would not haveseen your brother--not the brother you had left, not the brother youknew, not him to whom you had with mutual tears bidden farewell as hefollowed you on your departure for your province: not a trace even orfaint image of him, but rather what I may call the likeness of a livingcorpse. And oh that you had sooner seen me or heard of me as a corpse!Oh that I could have left you to survive, not my life merely, but myundiminished rank! But I call all the gods to witness that the oneargument which recalled me from death was, that all declared that tosome extent your life depended upon mine. In which matter I made anerror and acted culpably. For if I had died, that death itself wouldhave given clear evidence of my fidelity and love to you. As it is, Ihave allowed you to be deprived of my aid, though I am alive, and withme still living to need the help of others; and my voice, of all others, to fail when dangers threatened my family, which had so often beensuccessfully used in the defence of the merest strangers. For as to theslaves coming to you without a letter, the real reason (for you see thatit was not anger) was a deadness of my faculties, and a seeminglyendless deluge of tears and sorrows. How many tears do you suppose thesevery words have cost me? As many as I know they will cost you to readthem! Can I ever refrain from thinking of you or ever think of youwithout tears? For when I miss you, is it only a brother that I miss?Rather it is a brother of almost my own age in the charm of hiscompanionship, a son in his consideration for my wishes, a father in thewisdom of his advice! What pleasure did I ever have without you, or youwithout me? And what must my case be when at the same time I miss adaughter: How affectionate! how modest! how clever! The express image ofmy face, of my speech, of my very soul! Or again a son, the prettiestboy, the very joy of my heart? Cruel inhuman monster that I am, Idismissed him from my arms better schooled in the world than I couldhave wished: for the poor child began to understand what was going on. So, too, your own son, your own image, whom my little Cicero loved as abrother, and was now beginning to respect as an elder brother! Need Imention also how I refused to allow my unhappy wife--the truest ofhelpmates--to accompany me, that there might be some one to protect thewrecks of the calamity which had fallen on us both, and guard our commonchildren? Nevertheless, to the best of my ability, I did write a letterto you, and gave it to your freedman Philogonus, which, I believe, wasdelivered to you later on; and in this I repeated the advice andentreaty, which had been already transmitted to you as a message from meby my slaves, that you should go on with your journey and hasten toRome. For, in the first place, I desired your protection, in case therewere any of my enemies whose cruelty was not yet satisfied by my fall. In the next place, I dreaded the renewed lamentation which our meetingwould cause: while I could not have borne your departure, and was afraidof the very thing you mention in your letter--that you would be unableto tear yourself away. For these reasons the supreme pain of not seeingyou--and nothing more painful or more wretched could, I think, havehappened to the most affectionate and united of brothers--was a lessmisery than would have been such a meeting followed by such a parting. Now, if you can, though I, whom you always regarded as a brave man, cannot do so, rouse yourself and collect your energies in view of anycontest you may have to confront. I hope, if my hope has anything to goupon, that your own spotless character and the love of your fellowcitizens, and even remorse for my treatment, may prove a certainprotection to you. But if it turns out that you are free from personaldanger, you will doubtless do whatever you think can be done for me. Inthat matter, indeed, many write to me at great length and declare thatthey have hopes; but I personally cannot see what hope there is, sincemy enemies have the greatest influence, while my friends have in somecases deserted, in others even betrayed me, fearing perhaps in myrestoration a censure on their own treacherous conduct. But how mattersstand with you I would have you ascertain and report to me. In any caseI shall continue to live as long as you shall need me, in view of anydanger you may have to undergo: longer than that I cannot go on in thiskind of life. For there is neither wisdom nor philosophy with sufficientstrength to sustain such a weight of grief. I know that there has been atime for dying, more honourable and more advantageous; and this is notthe only one of my many omissions, which, if I should choose to bewail, I should merely be increasing your sorrow and emphasizing my ownstupidity. But one thing I am not bound to do, and it is in factimpossible--remain in a life so wretched and so dishonoured any longerthan your necessities, or some well-grounded hope, shall demand. For I, who was lately supremely blessed in brother, children, wife, wealth, andin the very nature of that wealth, while in position, influence, reputation, and popularity, I was inferior to none, howeverdistinguished--I cannot, I repeat, go on longer lamenting over myselfand those dear to me in a life of such humiliation as this, and in astate of such utter ruin. Wherefore, what do you mean by writing to meabout negotiating a bill of exchange? As though I were not now whollydependent on your means! And that is just the very thing in which I seeand feel, to my misery, of what a culpable act I have been guilty insquandering to no purpose the money which I received from the treasuryin your name, [323] while you have to satisfy your creditors out of thevery vitals of yourself and your son. However, the sum mentioned in yourletter has been paid to M. Antonius, and the same amount to Cæpio. Forme the sum at present in my hands is sufficient for what I contemplatedoing. For in either case--whether I am restored or given up indespair--I shall not want any more money. For yourself, if you aremolested, I think you should apply to Crassus and Calidius. I don't knowhow far Hortensius is to be trusted. Myself, with the most elaboratepretence of affection and the closest daily intimacy, he treated withthe most utter want of principle and the most consummate treachery, andQ. Arrius helped him in it: acting under whose advice, promises, andinjunctions, I was left helpless to fall into this disaster. But thisyou will keep dark for fear they might injure you. Take care also--andit is on this account that I think you should cultivate Hortensiushimself by means of Pomponius--that the epigram on the _lexAurelia_[324] attributed to you when candidate for the ædileship is notproved by false testimony to be yours. For there is nothing that I am soafraid of as that, when people understand how much pity for me yourprayers and your acquittal will rouse, they may attack you with all thegreater violence. Messalla I reckon as really attached to you: Pompey Iregard as still pretending only. But may you never have to put thesethings to the test! And that prayer I would have offered to the gods hadthey not ceased to listen to prayers of mine. However, I do pray thatthey may be content with these endless miseries of ours; among which, after all, there is no discredit for any wrong thing done--sorrow is thebeginning and end, sorrow that punishment is most severe when ourconduct has been most unexceptionable. As to my daughter and yours andmy young Cicero, why should I recommend them to you, my dear brother?Rather I grieve that their orphan state will cause you no less sorrowthan it does me. Yet as long as you are uncondemned they will not befatherless. The rest, by my hopes of restoration and the privilege ofdying in my fatherland, my tears will not allow me to write! Terentiaalso I would ask you to protect, and to write me word on every subject. Be as brave as the nature of the case admits. 

Thessalonica, 13 June. 

[Footnote 323: See pp. 92, 107. ]

[Footnote 324: Quintus was a candidate in B. C. 66 for the ædileship ofthe following year. The _lex Aurelia_, which divided the juries betweenthe senators, equites, and _tribuni ærarii_, was passed in Pompey'sfirst consulship, B. C. 70. As this was the compromise in the matter ofthe _iudicia_ favoured by Pompey, Hortensius, and the like, an attack onit would be likely to give offence. ]

LXVI (A III, 10)

TO ATTICUS (AT ROME)

THESSALONICA, 17 JUNE

[Sidenote: B. C. 58, ÆT. 48]

The public transactions up to the 25th of May I have learnt from yourletter. I am waiting for the rest, as you advised, at Thessalonica; andwhen they arrive I shall be better able to decide where to be. For ifthere is any reason, if any action is being taken, if I shall see anyhopes, I shall either wait in the same place or go to your house; butif, as you say, these hopes have vanished into air, I shall look out forsomething else. At present you do not give me any indication except thedisagreement of those friends of yours, which, however, arises betweenthem on every kind of subject rather than myself. Therefore I don't seewhat good it is to me. However, as long as you all will have me hope, Ishall obey you. For as to your scoldings so frequent and so severe, andyour saying that I am faint-hearted, I would ask you what misery isthere so heavy as not to be included in my disfranchisement? Did anyoneever fall from such a high position, in so good a cause, with suchendowments of genius, wisdom and popularity, with such powerful supportsfrom all loyalists? Can I forget what I was, and not feel what I am? Ofwhat honour, of what glory, of what children, of what means, of what abrother I am deprived? This last, indeed, to draw your attention to anew kind of disaster--though I valued him, and always had done so, morethan myself--I have avoided seeing, lest I should behold his grief andmourning, or lest I--whom he had left in the highest prosperity--shouldobtrude myself upon him in a state of ruin and humiliation. I pass overthe other particulars that are past bearing: for I am prevented by mytears. And here, let me ask, am I to be blamed for my grief, or for theunfortunate mistake of not retaining these advantages (and I couldeasily have done so, had not a plot for my destruction been hatchedwithin my own walls), or at least of not losing them without losing mylife at the same time? My purpose in writing these words is that youshould rather console me, as you do, than think me deserving ofcorrection or chiding; and the reason of the comparative brevity of myletters is, in the first place, that I am hindered by outbursts ofsorrow, and, in the second place, that I have news to expect from Romerather than any to communicate myself. But when that news arrives I willlet you know my plans. Pray, as you have done hitherto, write to me onas many subjects as possible, that I may not be ignorant of any possiblething there is to know. 

Thessalonica, 17 June. 

LXVII (A III, 11)

TO ATTICUS (AT ROME)

THESSALONICA, 27 JUNE

[Sidenote: B. C. 58, ÆT. 48]

I have been kept at Thessalonica up to this time as well by your letterand some good news (which, however, did not rest on the best authority), and the expectation of hearing from you all at Rome, as by the fact thatyou advised my doing so. When I receive the letters which I expect, ifthere turns out to be the hope which rumour brings me, I shall go toyour house;[325] if otherwise, I will inform you of what I have done. Pray go on, as you are doing, and help me by your exertions, advice, andinfluence. Cease now consoling me, but yet don't chide me; for when youdo that, I fail to recognize your affection and regret! Yet I believeyou to be so distressed yourself at my wretchedness, that it is notwithin anyone's power to console you. Give your support to Quintus, mybest and kindest of brothers. Pray write to me fully on everything. 

27 June. 

[Footnote 325: _I. E. _, to the house of Atticus at Buthrotum. ]

LXVIII (A III, 12)

TO ATTICUS (AT ROME)

THESSALONICA, 17 JULY

[Sidenote: B. C. 58, ÆT. 48]

Well, you argue earnestly as to what hope is to be entertained, andespecially through the action of the senate, and yet you mention thatthe clause of the bill is being posted up, in virtue of which thesubject is forbidden to be mentioned in the senate. Accordingly, not aword is said about it. In these circumstances you find fault with me fordistressing myself, when the fact is I am already more distressed thananybody ever was, as you know very well. You hold out hope as aconsequence of the elections. What hope can there be with the same mantribune, and a consul-designate who is my enemy?[326] But you have dealtme a blow in what you say about my speech having got abroad. [327] Praydo your best to heal that wound, as you express it. I did indeed writeone some time ago, in a fit of anger at what he had first composedagainst me; but I had taken such pains to suppress it, that I thought itwould never get into circulation. How it has leaked out I cannot think. But since the occasion never arose for my having a word of dispute withhim, and since it appears to me to be more carelessly written than myother speeches, I think it might be maintained not to be by me. Praylook after this if you think I can do anything to remedy the mischief;but if my ruin is inevitable, I don't so much care about it. I am stilllying idle in the same place, without conversation, without being ableto think. Though, as you say, I have "intimated" to you my desire thatyou should come to me, yet it is now clear to me[328] that you are doingme useful service where you are, but could not give me even a word ofrelief here. I cannot write any more, nor have I anything to say: I amrather waiting to hear from you all. 

Thessalonica, 17 July. 

[Footnote 326: Clodius was not re-elected, and Q. Cæcilius MetellusNepos, who had as tribune (B. C. 63-62) been hostile to Cicero, now asconsul supported Pompey in befriending Cicero. ]

[Footnote 327: The speech in the senate _in Curionem et Clodium_, _i. E. _, against the elder C. Curio, who had been Clodius's advocate inB. C. 61 on the charge _de incesto_. Fragments only of it are preserved. They are sufficiently violent. Cicero suggests repudiating theauthorship, because the speech had never been delivered, and thereforewas not necessarily intended for publication. There is no special reasonfor abusing Cicero's character on this account. If some enemy had gothold of the MS. And published it without his consent, it was not reallythe expression of his deliberate sentiments. ]

[Footnote 328: Reading _nunc tamen intellego_ for _si donatam utintellego_, which is meaningless. There may be latent in _si donatam_some proper name, as _Dodonam_ or _Macedoniam_, but it is not possibleto extract it now. _Istic_, as usual, means "where you are, " _i. E. _, atRome. ]

LXIX (A III, 14)

TO ATTICUS (AT ROME)

THESSALONICA, 21 JULY

[Sidenote: B. C. 58, ÆT. 48]

From your letter I am full of anxiety to hear what Pompey's view is ofmy case, or what he professes to be his view. The elections, I presume, are over; and when they were over you say that he was of opinion that mycase should be mooted. If I seem foolish to you for entertaining hopes, it is at your bidding that I do so: yet I know that you have in yourletters been usually inclined rather to check me and my hopes. Now praywrite distinctly what your view is. I know that I have fallen into thisdistress from numerous errors of my own. If certain accidents have inany degree corrected those errors, I shall be less sorry that Ipreserved my life then and am still living. Owing to the constanttraffic along the road[329] and the daily expectation of politicalchange, I have as yet not removed from Thessalonica. But now I am beingforced away, not by Plancius--for he, indeed, wishes to keep mehere--but by the nature of the place, which is not at all calculated forthe residence of a disfranchised man in such a state of sorrow. I havenot gone to Epirus, as I had said I would, because all of a sudden themessages and letters that arrived have all indicated it to beunnecessary for me to be in the immediate neighbourhood of Italy. Fromthis place, as soon as I have heard something about the elections, Ishall set my face towards Asia, but to what particular part I am not yetcertain: however, you shall know. 

Thessalonica, 21 July. 

[Footnote 329: The _via Egnatia_, the road across Macedonia, which wasone of the great channels of communication between Rome and the East, and which terminated at Thessalonica. ]

LXX (A III, 13)

TO ATTICUS (AT ROME)

THESSALONICA, 5 AUGUST

[Sidenote: B. C. 58, ÆT. 48]

As to my having written you word that I meant to go to Epirus, I changedmy plan when I saw that my hope was vanishing and fading away, and didnot remove from Thessalonica. I resolved to remain there until I heardfrom you on the subject mentioned in your last letter, namely, thatthere was going to be some motion made in the senate on my caseimmediately after the elections, and that Pompey had told you so. Wherefore, as the elections are over and I have no letter from you, Ishall consider it as though you had written to say that nothing has comeof it, and I shall not feel annoyed at having been buoyed up by a hopewhich did not keep me long in suspense. But the movement, which you saidin your letter that you foresaw as likely to be to my advantage, peoplearriving here tell me will not occur. [330] My sole remaining hope is inthe tribunes-designate: and if I wait to see how that turns out, youwill have no reason to think of me as having been wanting to my owncause or the wishes of my friends. As to your constantly finding faultwith me for being so overwhelmed by my misfortune, you ought to pardonme when you see that I have sustained a more crushing blow than anyoneyou have ever seen or heard of. As to your saying that you are told thatmy intellect in even affected by grief, that is not so; my intellect isquite sound. Oh that it had been as much so in the hour of danger! whenI found those, to whom I thought my safety was the dearest object oftheir life, most bitterly and unfeelingly hostile: who, when they sawthat I had somewhat lost my balance from fear, left nothing undone whichmalice and treachery could suggest in giving me the final push, to myutter ruin. Now, as I must go to Cyzicus, where I shall get lettersmore rarely, I beg you to write me word all the more carefully ofeverything you may think I ought to know. Be sure you are affectionateto my brother Quintus: if in all my misery I still leave him with rightsundiminished, I shall not consider myself utterly ruined. 

5 August. 

[Footnote 330: The probable split among the triumvirs, alluded to inLetter LXIII. ]

LXXI (Q FR I, 4)

TO HIS BROTHER QUINTUS (AT ROME)

THESSALONICA, AUGUST

[Sidenote: B. C. 58, ÆT. 48]

I beg you, my dear brother, if you and all my family have been ruined bymy single misfortune, not to attribute it to dishonesty and bad conducton my part, rather than to short-sightedness and the wretched state Iwas in. I have committed no fault except in trusting those whom Ibelieved to be bound by the most sacred obligation not to deceive me, orwhom I thought to be even interested in not doing so. All my mostintimate, nearest and dearest friends were either alarmed for themselvesor jealous of me: the result was that all I lacked was good faith on thepart of my friends and caution on my own. [331] But if your own blamelesscharacter and the compassion of the world prove sufficient to preserveyou at this juncture from molestation, you can, of course, observewhether any hope of restoration is left for me. For Pomponius, Sestius, and my son-in-law Piso have caused me as yet to stay at Thessalonica, forbidding me, on account of certain impending movements, to increase mydistance. But in truth I am awaiting the result more on account of theirletters than from any firm hope of my own. For what can I hope with anenemy possessed of the most formidable power, with my detractors mastersof the state, with friends unfaithful, with numbers of people jealous?However, of the new tribunes there is one, it is true, most warmlyattached to me--Sestius--and I hope Curius, Milo, Fadius, Fabricius;but still there is Clodius in violent opposition, who even when out ofoffice will be able to stir up the passions of the mob by the help ofthat same gang, and then there will be found some one also to veto thebill. 

Such a state of things was not put before me when I was leaving Rome, but I often used to be told that I was certain to return in three dayswith the greatest _éclat_. "What made you go, then?" you will say. What, indeed! Many circumstances concurred to throw me off my balance--thedefection of Pompey, the hostility of the consuls, and of the prætorsalso, the timidity of the _publicani_, the armed bands. The tears of myfriends prevented me seeking refuge in death, which would certainly havebeen the best thing for my honour, the best escape from unbearablesorrows. But I have written to you on this subject in the letter I gaveto Phaetho. Now that you have been plunged into griefs and troubles, such as no one ever was before, if the compassion of the world canlighten our common misfortune, you will, it seems, score a successbeyond belief! But if we are both utterly ruined--ah me!--I shall havebeen the absolute destruction of my whole family, to whom I used to beat least no discredit! But pray, as I said in a previous letter to you, look into the business, test it thoroughly, and write to me with thecandour which our situation demands, and not as your affection for mewould dictate. I shall retain my life as long as I shall think that itis in your interest for me to do so, or that it ought to be preservedwith a view to future hope. You will find Sestius most friendly to us, and I believe that Lentulus, the coming consul, will also be so for yoursake. However, deeds are not so easy as words. You will see what iswanted and what the truth is. On the whole, supposing that no one takesadvantage of your unprotected position and our common calamity, it is byyour means, or not at all, that something may be effected. But even ifyour enemies have begun to annoy you, don't flinch: for _you_ will beattacked by legal process, not by swords. However, I hope that this maynot occur. I beg you to write me back word on all subjects, and tobelieve that though I have less spirit and resource than in old times, Ihave quite as much affection and loyalty. 

[Footnote 331: Reading _defuit_ for _fuit_. ]

LXXII (A III, 15)

TO ATTICUS (AT ROME)

THESSALONICA, 17 AUGUST

[Sidenote: B. C. 58, ÆT. 48]

On the 13th of August I received four letters from you: one in which youurge me in a tone of reproof to be less weak; a second, in which you saythat Crassus's freedman has told you about my anxiety and leanness; athird, in which you describe the proceedings in the senate; a fourth onthe subject of Varro's assurances to you as to the friendly feelings ofPompey. 

To the first my answer is this: though I do grieve, yet I keep all mymental faculties, and it is precisely that which vexes me--I have noopportunity and no one with whom to employ so sound an intellect. For ifyou cannot find yourself separated from one individual like myselfwithout sorrow, what do you think must be my case, who am deprived bothof you and of everyone else? And if you, while still in possession ofall your rights, miss me, to what an extent do you think those rightsare missed by me? I will not enumerate the things of which I have beendespoiled, not only because you are not ignorant of them, but also lestI should reopen my own sorrow. I only assert this, that never did anyonein an unofficial position possess such great advantages, or fall intosuch great miseries. Moreover, lapse of time not only does not softenthis grief, it even enhances it. For other sorrows are softened by age, this one cannot but be daily increased both by my sense of presentmisery and the recollection of my past life. For it is not only propertyor friends that I miss, but myself. For what am I? But I will not allowmyself either to wring your soul with my complaints, or to place myhands too often on my wounds. For as to your defence of those whom Isaid had been jealous of me, and among them Cato, I indeed think that hewas so far removed from that crime, that I am above all things sorrythat the pretended zeal of others had more influence with me than hishonesty. As for your excuses for the others, they ought to be excusedin my eyes if they are so in yours. But all this is an old story now. Crassus's freedman, I think, spoke without any real sincerity. In thesenate you say that the debate was satisfactory. But what about Curio?Hasn't he read that speech? I can't make out how it got intocirculation! But Axius, in describing the proceedings of the same day, does not speak so highly of Curio. [332] But he may be omittingsomething; I know you have certainly not written anything except whatactually occurred. Varro's talk gives me some hope of Cæsar, and wouldthat Varro himself would throw himself into the cause! Which hecertainly will do, both of his own accord and under pressure from you. For myself, if fortune ever grants me the enjoyment of you all and of mycountry, I will at least take care that you shall, above all the rest ofmy friends, have cause to be glad: and I will so discharge all theduties of affection and friendship, which (to confess the truth) havenot heretofore been conspicuous, that you shall regard me as restored toyourself as much as to my brother and my children. If I have in any waysinned in my conduct to you, or rather since I have done so, pardon me. For I have sinned more grievously against myself. And I do not writethis to you because I know you not to feel deeply for my misfortune: butcertainly if it had been a matter of _obligation_ with you, and hadalways been so, to love me as much as you do and have done, you wouldnever have allowed me to lack that judgment with which you are so wellsupplied, [333] nor would you have allowed me to be persuaded that thepassing of the bill for the "colleges" was to our advantage. [334] Butyou did nothing but weep over my sorrow, as though you were my secondself. This was indeed a sign of your affection: but what might have beendone, if I had earned it at your hands--the spending by you of days andnights in thinking out the course I ought to have pursued--that wasomitted, owing to my own culpable imprudence, not yours. Now if, I don'tsay you only, but if there had been anyone to urge me, when alarmed atPompey's ungenerous answer, [335] not to adopt that most degradingcourse--and you are the person that, above all others, could have doneit--I should either have died honourably, or we should have been livingto-day triumphant. In this you must forgive me. For I find much greaterfault with myself, and only call you in question afterwards, as at oncemy second self and the sharer in my error; and, besides, if I am everrestored, our mistake will seem still less in my eyes, and to you atleast I shall be endeared by your own kindness, since there is none onmy side. [336] There is something in the suggestion you mentioned ashaving been made in your conversation with Culleo as to a_privilegium_, [337] but by far the better course is to have the lawrepealed. For if no one vetoes it, what course can be safer? But ifanyone is found to prohibit its passing, he will be equally able to vetoa decree of the senate. Nor is there need for the repeal of anythingelse. For the previous law did not touch me: and if, on its publication, I had chosen to speak in its favour, or to ignore it, as it ought tohave been ignored, it could not have done me any harm at all. [338] Itwas at this point first that my judgment failed to assist me, nay, evendid me harm. Blind, blind, I say, was I in laying aside my senator'stoga, and in entreating the people; it was a fatal step to take beforesome attack had been begun upon me by name. [339] But I am harping on thepast: it is, however, for the purpose of advising you, if any action isto be taken, not to touch that law, in which there are many provisionsin the interests of the people. But it is foolish for me to be layingdown rules as to what you are to do and how. I only wish that somethingmay be done! And it is on that point that your letter displays muchreserve: I presume, to prevent my being too much agitated by despair. For what action do you see possible to be taken, or in what way? Throughthe senate? But you yourself told me that Clodius had fixed upon thedoorpost of the senate-house a certain clause in the law, "that it mightneither be put to the house nor mentioned. "[340] How couldDomitius, [341] therefore, say that he would bring it before the house?How came it about also that Clodius held his tongue, when those youmention in your letter both spoke on the subject and demanded that amotion should be brought in? But if you go to the people--can it becarried except with the unanimous approval of the tribunes? What aboutmy property? What about my house? Will it be possible to have itrestored? Or, if that cannot, how can I be? Unless you see thesedifficulties on the way to be solved, what is the hope to which youinvite me? But if, again, there is no hope, what sort of life is therefor me? So I await at Thessalonica the gazette of the proceedings of the1st of August, in accordance with which I shall decide whether to takerefuge on your estate, in order at once to avoid seeing people I don'twant to see, to see you, according to your letter, and to be nearer athand in case of any motion being made (and this I understand is inaccordance with your view and that of my brother Quintus), or to departfor Cyzicus. Now, my dear Pomponius, since you imparted to me none ofyour wisdom in time to save me, either because you had made up your mindthat I had judgment enough of my own, or that you owed me nothing beyondbeing by my side; and since, betrayed, beguiled, and hurried into asnare as I was, I neglected all my defences, abandoned and left Italy, which was everywhere on the _qui vive_ to defend me, and surrenderedmyself and mine into the hands of enemies while you looked on and saidnothing, though, even if you were not my superior in mental power, youwere at least in less of a fright: now, if you can, raise the fallen, and in that way assist me! But if every avenue is barred, take care thatI know that also, and cease at length either to scold me or to offeryour kindly-meant consolations. If I had meant to impeach your goodfaith, I should not have chosen your roof, of all others, to which totrust myself: it is my own folly that I blame for having thought thatyour love for me was exactly what I could have wished it to be:[342] forif that had been so, you would have displayed the same good faith, butgreater circumspection; at least, you would have held me back whenplunging headlong into ruin, and would not have had to encounter thelabours which you are now enduring in saving the wrecks of my fortunes. Wherefore do be careful to look into, examine thoroughly, and writefully everything that occurs, and resolve (as I am sure you do) that Ishall be _some one_, since I cannot now be the man I was and the man Imight have been; and lastly, believe that in this letter it lis not you, but myself that I have accused. If there are any people to whom youthink that letters ought to be delivered in my name, pray compose themand see them delivered. 

17 August. 

[Footnote 332: Or, as Prof. Tyrrell suggests, "does not quote Curio tothat effect. " I think, however, that Cicero does not use _laudo_ in thissense except in connexion with _auctorem_, _auctores_, and even thengenerally with a subsense, at least, of commendation. The speech wascomposed to be delivered against the elder Curio and Clodius (see p. 155), but was never delivered. Its personal tone made it dangerous now. ]

[Footnote 333: Cicero means that Atticus acted with the emotionspontaneously arising from his affection, but not with the caution whichhe would have shewn in doing a thing which he was under some obligationto do. ]

[Footnote 334: The ancient "colleges" or "clubs" had been graduallyincreasing, and a decree of the senate in B. C. 64 had declared certainof them unlawful. But Clodius had overridden this decree by a _lex_early in B. C. 58, and many new ones were formed, which he used for hispolitical purposes (_pro Sest. _ § 55; Dio, xxxviii. 13). ]

[Footnote 335: That he could do nothing against the wishes of Cæsar(_Att. _ x. 4, § 3; cp. _in Pis. _ § 77). According to Plutarch, Pompeyavoided a personal interview (_Cic. _ 31). ]

[Footnote 336: The kindness has been all on the side of Atticus, whowill therefore be attached to the object of it--for the benefactor lovesmore than the benefited. ]

[Footnote 337: A _privilegium_ was a law referring to a particularperson, which was forbidden by the twelve tables, and if it was shewn tobe unconstitutional a decree of the senate could declare it void. ButCicero seems to think that such a proceeding of the senate would give apossibility of raising the question afresh. ]

[Footnote 338: The first bill named no one, but enacted that "anyone whohad put a citizen to death uncondemned should be forbidden fire andwater. " The second, "that M. Tullius be forbidden fire and water. "Cicero says that the former did not touch him, I suppose, because itcould not be retrospective. This is in accordance with the view ofCæsar, who approved of the law, but said that old sores ought not to beripped up--οὐ μὴν καὶ προσήκειν ἐπὶ παρεληλυθόσι τοιοῦτόν τινα νόμονσυγγράφεσθει (Dio, xxxviii. 17). ]

[Footnote 339: Because it shewed that he considered himself as comingunder the new law. ]

[Footnote 340: Letter LXVIII, p. 154. ]

[Footnote 341: L. Domitius Ahenobarbus, who was a prætor this year. ]

[Footnote 342: Though Cicero uses _tantum . .. Quantum_ here, he does notmean that Atticus failed to love him enough--that would have been toounreasonable. In a certain way he means that he loved him too much. Heallowed his spontaneous feelings full vent, without acting with the coolwisdom which he would have shewn in fulfilling a duty or moralobligation. It is more fully expressed above. Still, it was a difficultthing to say, and he doesn't succeed in making it very clear. ]

LXXIII (A III, 16)

TO ATTICUS (AT ROME)

THESSALONICA, 19 AUGUST

[Sidenote: B. C. 58, ÆT. 48]

My whole journey is in suspense till I receive letters from you all ofthe 1st of August. For if there turns out to be any hope, I am forEpirus: if not, I shall make for Cyzicus or some other place. Yourletter is cheerful[343] indeed, but at the same time, the oftener I readit, the more it weakens the suggested ground for hope, so that it iseasy to see that you are trying to minister at once to consolation andto truth. Accordingly, I beg you to write to me exactly what you knowand exactly what you think. 

19 August. 

[Footnote 343: Reading _lætæ_ for _lectæ_. ]

LXXIV (A III, 17)

TO ATTICUS (AT ROME)

THESSALONICA, 4 SEPTEMBER

[Sidenote: B. C. 58, ÆT. 48]

News of my brother Quintus of an invariably gloomy nature reached mefrom the 3rd of June up to the 29th of August. On that day, however, Livineius, a freedman of Lucius Regulus, came to me by the direction ofRegulus himself. [344] He announced that absolutely no notice whateverhad been given of a prosecution, but that there had, nevertheless, beensome talk about the son of C. Clodius. [345] He also brought me a letterfrom my brother Quintus. But next day came the slaves of Sestius, whobrought me a letter from you not so positive in regard to this alarm asthe conversation of Livineius had been. I am rendered very anxious inthe midst of my own endless distress, and the more so as Appius[346] hasthe trial of the case. As to other circumstances mentioned in the sameletter by you in connexion with my hopes, I understand that things aregoing less well than other people represent them. I, however, since weare now not far from the time at which the matter will be decided, willeither go to your house or will still remain somewhere in thisneighbourhood. My brother writes me word that his interests are beingsupported by you more than by anyone else. Why should I urge you to dowhat you are already doing? or offer you thanks which you do not expect?I only pray that fortune may give us the opportunity of enjoying ourmutual affection in security. I am always very anxious to get yourletters, in which I beg you not to be afraid of your minuteness boringme, or your plain speaking giving me pain. 

4 September. 

[Footnote 344: L. Livineius Regulus, whom Cicero (_F. _ xiii. 60) calls avery intimate friend, and says that his freedman Trypho stood his friendin the hour of need. He seems to have been condemned (in B. C. 56?) forsomething, but he afterwards served under Iulius Cæsar (_B. Afr. _ § 9). The freedman's full name was L. Livineius Trypho. ]

[Footnote 345: About Appius acting as prosecutor of Quintus. He was anephew of P. Clodius. See Letter CCXXII. ]

[Footnote 346: Appius Claudius Pulcher, brother of P. Clodius, wasprætor-designate for B. C. 57, and had allotted to him the _quæstio derebus repetundis_ (_pro Sest. _ § 78). He was consul B. C. 54. ]

LXXV (A III, 18)

TO ATTICUS (AT ROME)

THESSALONICA (SEPTEMBER)

[Sidenote: B. C. 58, ÆT. 48]

You raised no little flutter in my mind when you said in your letterthat Varro had assured you as a friend that Pompey would certainly takeup my case, and that as soon as he had received a letter from Cæsar, which he was expecting, he would even name some one to formally carryout the business. Was that all mere talk, or was the letter from Cæsarhostile? Is there some ground for hope? You mentioned, too, that Pompeyhad also used the expression "after the elections. " Pray, as you canconceive the severity of the troubles by which I am prostrated, and asyou must think it natural to your kindness to do so, inform me fully asto the whole state of my case. For my brother Quintus, dear good fellow, who is so much attached to me, fills his letters with hopefulexpressions, fearing, I suppose, my entirely losing heart. Whereas yourletters vary in tone; for you won't have me either despair or cherishrash hopes. I beseech you to let me know everything as far as you candetect the truth. 

LXXVI (A III, 19)

TO ATTICUS (AT ROME)

THESSALONICA, 15 SEPTEMBER

[Sidenote: B. C. 58, ÆT. 48]

As long as my letters from you all continued to be of such a nature asto keep expectation alive, I was bound to Thessalonica by hope and eagerlonging: afterwards, when all political measures for this year appearedto me to be over, I yet determined not to go to Asia, both because acrowd of people is disagreeable to me, and because, in case any movementwas set on foot by the new magistrates, I was unwilling to be far off. Accordingly, I resolved to go to your house in Epirus, not because thenatural features of the country mattered to me, shunning as I do thelight of day altogether, but because it will be most grateful to myfeelings to set out from a harbour of yours to my restoration; and, ifthat restoration is denied me, there is no place where I shall withgreater ease either support this most wretched existence or (which ismuch better) rid myself of it. I shall be in a small society: I shallshake off the crowd. Your letters have never raised me to such a pitchof hope as those of others; and yet my hopes have always been less warmthan your letters. Nevertheless, since a beginning has been made in thecase, of whatever sort and from whatever motive, I will not disappointthe sad and touching entreaties of my best and only brother, nor thepromises of Sestius and others, nor the hopes of my most afflicted wife, nor the entreaties of my most unhappy Tulliola, as well as your ownloyal letter. Epirus will furnish me with a road to restoration or tothat other alternative mentioned above. I beg and entreat of you, TitusPomponius, as you see that I have been despoiled by the treachery of menof all that most adds splendour to life, of all that can most gratifyand delight the soul, as you see that I have been betrayed and cast awayby my own advisers, as you understand that I have been forced to ruinmyself and my family--help me by your compassion, and support my brotherQuintus, who is still capable of being saved; protect Terentia and mychildren. For myself, if you think it possible that you may see me atRome, wait for me; if not, come to see me if you can, and make over tome just so much of your land as may be covered by my corpse. Finally, send slaves to me with letters as soon and as often as possible. 

15 September. 

LXXVII (A III, 20)

TO ATTICUS (AT ROME)

THESSALONICA, 4 OCTOBER

_Cicero greets Q. Cæcilius Pomponianus Atticus, son of Quintus. _[347]

[Sidenote: B. C. 58, ÆT. 48]

That this is now the case, and that your uncle has done what he ought tohave done, I approve in the strongest manner possible: I will say I am"glad, " when circumstances shall admit of my using such a word. Ah me!how well everything would have been going if my own spirit, my ownjudgment, and the good faith of those on whom I relied had not failedme! But I won't review these circumstances lest I increase my sorrow. Yet I feel sure that it occurs to your mind what a life ours was, howdelightful, how dignified. To recover this, in the name of fortune, bestow all your energies, as I know you do, and take care that I keepthe birthday of my return in your delightful house with you and myfamily. For this hope and expectation, though now put before me as beingvery strong, I yet wished to wait in your home in Epirus; but my lettersare such as to make me think it better not to be in the sameneighbourhood. What you say in your letter about my town house and aboutCurio's speech is exactly true. Under the general act of restoration, ifonly that is accorded me, everything will be included, of which I carefor nothing more than for my house. But I don't give you any preciseinjunction, I trust myself wholly to your affection and honour. I amvery glad to hear that you have extricated yourself from everyembarrassment in view of so large an inheritance. As to your promise toemploy your means in securing my restoration, though I am in all pointsassisted by you above all others, yet I quite see what a support thatis, and I fully understand that you are undertaking and can carry onmany departments of my cause, and do not need to be asked to do so. Youtell me not to suspect that your feelings have been at all affected byacts of commission or omission on my part towards you--well, I will obeyyou and will get rid of that anxiety; yet I shall owe you all the morefrom the fact that your kind consideration for me has been on a higherlevel than mine for you. Please tell me in your letters whatever yousee, whatever you make out, whatever is being done in my case, andexhort all your friends to help in promoting my recall. The bill ofSestius[348] does not shew sufficient regard for my dignity orsufficient caution. For the proposed law ought to mention me by name, and to contain a carefully expressed clause about my property. Pray seeto it. 

Thessalonica, 4 October. 

[Footnote 347: Cicero gives Atticus his full name, rather playfully, asit was a new acquisition. His uncle, Q. Cæcilius, dying this year, lefthim heir to a large fortune, and adopted him in his will (Nep. _Att. _5). He therefore, according to custom, took his uncle's _prænomen_ and_nomen_, Q. Cæcilius, retaining his own _nomen_ in an adjectival form(Pomponianus) as a _cognomen_, just as C. Octavius became, by hisuncle's will, _C. Iulius Cæsar Octavianus_. His additional name ofAtticus remained as before, and in ordinary life was his usualdesignation. See p. 15. ]

[Footnote 348: Sestius, tribune-elect for B. C. 57, would come intooffice 10th December, B. C. 58. He means to bring a bill before thepeople for Cicero's recall, and a draft of it has been sent to Cicero, who criticises it as not entering sufficiently into details, though hehad before said that a general _restitutio in integrum_ coveredeverything; but perhaps this bill only repealed the Clodian law as a_privilegium_, without mentioning anything else. ]

LXXVIII (F XIV, 2)

TO TERENTIA (AT ROME)

THESSALONICA, 5 OCTOBER

[Sidenote: B. C. 58, ÆT. 48]

Greetings to Terentia, and Tulliola, and Cicero. Don't suppose that Iwrite longer letters to anyone else, unless some one has written atunusual length to me, whom I think myself bound to answer. For I havenothing to write about, and there is nothing at such a time as this thatI find it more difficult to do. Moreover, to you and my dear Tulliola Icannot write without many tears. For I see you reduced to the greatestmisery--the very people whom I desired to be ever enjoying the mostcomplete happiness, a happiness which it was my bounden duty to secure, and which I should have secured if I had not been such a coward. Ourdear Piso I love exceedingly for his noble conduct. I have to the bestof my ability encouraged him by letter to proceed, and thanked him, as Iwas bound to do. I gather that you entertain hopes in the new tribunes. We shall have reason to depend on that, if we may depend on Pompey'sgoodwill, but yet I am nervous about Crassus. I gather that you havebehaved in every respect with the greatest courage and most loyalaffection, nor am I surprised at it; but I grieve that the positionshould be such that my miseries are relieved by such heavy ones on yourpart. For a kind friend of ours, Publius Valerius, has told me in aletter which I could not read without violent weeping, how you had beendragged from the temple of Vesta to the Valerian bank. [349] To think ofit, my dear, my love! You from whom everybody used to look forhelp![350] That you, my Terentia, should now be thus harassed, thusprostrate in tears and humiliating distress! And that this should bebrought about by my fault, who have preserved the rest of the citizensonly to perish myself! As to what you say about our town house, orrather its site, I shall not consider myself fully restored, until ithas also been restored for me. However, these things are not yet withinour grasp. I am only sorry that you, impoverished and plundered as youare, should be called upon to bear any part of the present expenses. Ofcourse, if the business is successfully accomplished we shall geteverything back: but if the same evil fortune keeps us down, will you beso foolish as to throw away even the poor remains of your fortune?[351]I beseech you, my life, as far as expense goes, allow others to bear it, who are well able if they are only willing to do so; and do not, as youlove me, try your delicate constitution. For I have you day and nightbefore my eyes: I see you eagerly undertaking labours of every kind: Ifear you cannot endure them. Yet I see that everything depends on you!Wherefore, to enable us to attain what you hope and are striving for, attend carefully to your health. _I_ don't know to whom to write exceptto those who write to me, or to those about whom you say something inyour letters. I will not go farther off, since that is your wish, butpray send me a letter as often as possible, especially if there isanything on which we may safely build our hope. Good-bye, my loves, good-bye!

Thessalonica, 5 October. 

[Footnote 349: Terentia, whose half-sister was a Vestal, seems to havetaken sanctuary with the Vestals, as did the mother and sister ofAugustus in B. C. 43. The special indignity of which Cicero complains isthat she had been forced to leave the sanctuary and appear at the bankof Valerius, but for what purpose we cannot now tell. It is suggestedthat it was to make some solemn declaration as to her husband'sproperty, some of which she may be supposed to have tried to conceal. The term _ducta esses_ is that applied to prisoners led through thestreets, but we may regard it as used _ad invidiam_. ]

[Footnote 350: In securing her husband's advocacy. ]

[Footnote 351: Mention is made of Terentia's separate estate in LettersXXX and LXXXI. ]

LXXIX (A III, 21)

TO ATTICUS (AT ROME)

THESSALONICA, 28 OCTOBER

[Sidenote: B. C. 58, ÆT. 48]

It is exactly thirty days to the writing of this letter since I haveheard from you. Well, my present intention is, as I have told you, to gointo Epirus and there by preference to await whatever may turn up. I begyou to write to me with the utmost openness whatever you perceive to bethe state of the case, and whether it is for good or evil, and also tosend a letter, as you say, in my name to whomsoever you think itnecessary. 

28 October. 

LXXX (A III, 22)

TO ATTICUS (AT ROME)

THESSALONICA AND DYRRACHIUM, 27 NOVEMBER

[Sidenote: B. C. 58, ÆT. 48]

Though my brother Quintus and Piso have given me a careful account ofwhat has been done, yet I could have wished that your engagements hadnot hindered you from writing fully to me, as has been your custom, whatwas on foot and what you understood to be the facts. Up to the present, Plancius[352] keeps me here by his generous treatment, though I haveseveral times already made an effort to go to Epirus. He has conceived ahope, which I do not share, that we may possibly quit the provincetogether: he hopes that that may redound greatly to his credit. But assoon as news shall come that soldiers are on their way hither, [353] Ishall have to insist on quitting him. And as soon as I do that I willat once send you word, that you may know where I am. Lentulus, [354] inhis own peculiar zeal for my cause, which he manifests by action andpromises and writings, gives me some hope of Pompey's friendly feelings. For you have often told me in your letters that the latter was whollydevoted to him. As to Metellus, [355] my brother has written me word thatby your agency as much has been accomplished as he had hoped. My dearPomponius, fight hard that I may be allowed to live with you and my ownfamily, and write me everything that occurs. I am heavy with sorrow andregret for all my dear ones, who have always been dearer to me thanmyself. Take care of your health. 

 * * * * *

Dyrrachium, 27 November. As, if I went through Thessaly into Epirus, Ishould have been likely to be a very long time without any intelligence, and as I have warm friends in the people of Dyrrachium, I have come tothem, after writing the former part of this letter at Thessalonica. WhenI turn my face from this town towards your house I will let you know, and for your part I would have you write me everything with the utmostparticularity, whatever its nature. I am now expecting some definitestep or the abandonment of all hope. 

[Footnote 352: Cn. Plancius, quæstor in Macedonia, whose kindness Cicerolauds highly when defending him in B. C. 54. ]

[Footnote 353: The forces of the new governor, L. Calpurnius Piso, whowas to have Macedonia after his consulship, and would be sending histroops on before him. ]

[Footnote 354: P. Cornelius Lentulus, consul-designate for B. C. 57. ]

[Footnote 355: Q. Cæcilius Metellus Nepos, consul-designate for B. C. 57. See pp. 22-23. ]

LXXXI (F XIV, 1)

TO TERENTIA

PARTLY WRITTEN AT THESSALONICA, PARTLY AT DYRRACHIUM, 28 NOVEMBER

[Sidenote: B. C. 58, ÆT. 48]

Greetings to his Terentia, Tulliola, and Cicero. I learn, both from theletters of many and the conversation of all whom I meet, that you areshewing a virtue and courage surpassing belief; and that you give nosign of fatigue in mind or body from your labours. Ah me! To think thata woman of your virtue, fidelity, uprightness, and kindness should havefallen into such troubles on my account! And that my little Tulliashould reap such a harvest of sorrow from the father, from whom she usedto receive such abundant joys! For why mention my boy Cicero, who fromthe first moment of conscious feeling has been made aware of thebitterest sorrows and miseries? And if, as you say, I had thought thesethings the work of destiny, I could have borne them somewhat moreeasily, but they were really all brought about by my own fault, inthinking myself beloved by those who were really jealous of me, and innot joining those who really wanted me. [356] But if I had followed myown judgment, and had not allowed the observations of friends, who wereeither foolish or treacherous, to have such great influence with me, weshould have been living at the height of bliss. As it is, since friendsbid us hope, I will do my best to prevent my weakness of health fromfailing to second your efforts. I fully understand the magnitude of thedifficulty, and how much easier it will turn out to have been to stay athome than to get back. However, if we have all the tribunes on our side, if we find Lentulus as zealous as he appears to be, if, finally, we havePompey and Cæsar, there is no reason to despair. About our slaves, [357]we will do what you say is the opinion of our friends. As to this place, by this time the epidemic has taken its departure; but while it lasted, it did not touch me. Plancius, the kindest of men, desires me to staywith him and still keeps me from departing. I wanted to be in a lessfrequented district in Epirus, to which neither Hispo[358] nor soldierswould come, but as yet Plancius keeps me from going; he hopes that hemay possibly quit his province for Italy in my company. And if ever Isee that day, and come once more into your arms, and if I ever recoveryou all and myself, I shall consider that I have reaped a sufficientharvest both of your piety and my own. Piso's[359] kindness, virtue, andaffection toward us all are so great that nothing can surpass them. Ihope his conduct may be a source of pleasure to him, a source of glory Isee clearly that it will be. I did not mean to find fault with you aboutmy brother Quintus, but I wished that you all, especially consideringhow few there are of you, should be as closely united as possible. Thosewhom you wished me to thank I have thanked, and told them that myinformation came from you. As to what you say in your letter, my dearTerentia, about your intention of selling the village, alas! in heaven'sname, what will become of you? And if the same ill-fortune continues topursue us, what will become of our poor boy? I cannot write the rest--soviolent is my outburst of weeping, and I will not reduce you to the sametearful condition. I only add this: if my friends remain loyal to me, there will be no lack of money; if not, you will not be able to effectour object out of your own purse. In the name of our unhappy fortunes, beware how we put the finishing stroke to the boy's ruin. If he hassomething to keep him from absolute want, he will need only moderatecharacter and moderate luck to attain the rest. See to your health, andmind you send me letter-carriers, that I may know what is going on andwhat you are all doing. I have in any case only a short time to wait. Give my love to Tulliola and Cicero. Good-bye. 

Dyrrachium, [360] 27 November. 

 * * * * *

P. S. --I have come to Dyrrachium both because it is a free state, verykindly disposed to me, and the nearest point to Italy. [361] But if thecrowded condition of the place offends me, I shall take myself elsewhereand I will write you word. 

[Footnote 356: The party of the triumvirs. ]

[Footnote 357: See Letter LXI, p. 142. ]

[Footnote 358: A centurion or other officer in the army of Piso crossingto Macedonia. But the name is otherwise unknown, and some have thoughtthat it is an intentional disguise for the name of _Piso_ himself. ]

[Footnote 359: Cicero's son-in-law. ]

[Footnote 360: The greater part of this letter was evidently written atThessalonica. Cicero appears to have put the date and place of departureto it after arriving at Dyrrachium, and then added a postscript toexplain why he had come there. ]

[Footnote 361: As a _libera civitas_ Dyrrachium had the _ius exilii_, and would not be filled with Roman officials. The crowded state of thetown--by which Cicero means crowded with Romans--would arise from itsbeing the usual place of disembarkation from Rome across the north ofthe Greek peninsula to the East. There was doubtless always a largetraffic between it and Brundisium, but at this time of year, whensailing would be, if possible, avoided, he might hope to find itsomewhat less crowded. ]

LXXXII (A III, 23)

TO ATTICUS (AT ROME)

DYRRACHIUM, 29 NOVEMBER

[Sidenote: B. C. 58, ÆT. 48]

On the 26th of November I received three letters from you, one dated25th of October, in which you exhort me to await the month of Januarywith a good heart, and write at length on such topics as you think tendto encourage my hopes--as to the zeal of Lentulus, the goodwill ofMetellus, and the general policy of Pompey. In the second letter, contrary to your usual custom, you append no date, but give sufficientindication of the time of its writing. For the law having been publishedby the eight tribunes, you mention that you wrote this letter on thevery same day, that is, the 29th of October, [362] and you say what goodyou think that publication has done. In regard to which, if myrestoration is to be despaired of along with this law, I would have youthink in your affection for me that my fruitless exertions are pitiablerather than foolish: but if there is any ground for hope, try and securethat my cause may be hereafter supported with greater attention todetails by the new magistrates. For this bill of the old tribunes[363]had three clauses, of which the one relating to my return was carelesslydrafted. For nothing is restored to me except my citizenship andsenatorial rank: which, in the circumstances of my position, sufficesme, but it does not escape your observation what special provisions willhave to be made, and in what manner. The second clause is the usualone--"If anything be done in virtue of this law against otherlaws. "[364] But observe, my dear Pomponius, what the object of the thirdclause is, and by whom it has been put in. For you know that Clodiusprovided that it should be scarcely possible, or rather altogetherimpossible, for his law to be deprived of validity either by senate orpeople. But you must see that the penal provisions of such laws as arerepealed have never been observed. For in that case hardly any law couldbe repealed at all--for there is no law which does not hedge itself inby trying to make repeal difficult--but when a law is repealed, so isthe clause meant to prevent its repeal. Now, though this is in truth thecase, since it has been the universal doctrine and practice, our eighttribunes introduced the following clause: _If any provision is containedin this bill which, in view of existing laws or plebiscites_ (_i. E. _, Clodius's law), _it is not lawful without incurring penalty, now orheretofore, whether to publish, repeal, amend, or supersede, or wherebyhe who has so published or amended would be liable to penalty orfine--such provision is not enacted by this law_. And observe that thiscontingency did not touch the case of those eight tribunes, for theywere not bound by a law emanating from their own body. [365] Which makesone the more suspicious of some evil intention, since they have added aclause which did not affect themselves, but was against my interests: sothat the new tribunes, if they happened to be somewhat timid, wouldthink it still more necessary to employ the clause. [366] And Clodius didnot fail to notice this. For he said in the public meeting of Novemberthe third, that by this clause a limit to their legal powers was laiddown for the tribunes-designate; and yet it cannot escape your noticethat in no law is there a clause of the sort: whereas, if it had beennecessary, everybody would have employed it in repealing a law. How thispoint came to escape Ninnius[367] and the rest, pray find out, and whointroduced the clause, and how it was that the eight tribunes did nothesitate to bring my case before the senate--which implies that they didnot think that clause of the law binding--and were yet so cautious intheir proposal for its repeal, as to be afraid (though not personallyliable) of what need not be taken into consideration, even by those whoare bound by the law. This clause I would not have the new tribunespropose; however, let them only carry something, no matter what: I shallbe content with the single clause recalling me, so long only as thebusiness is done. I have for some time been feeling ashamed of writingat such length; for I fear by the time you read this it will be all upwith any hopes, so that this minute criticism of mine may seem pitiableto you and ridiculous to others. But if there is any ground for hope, pray look at the law which Visellius[368] drafted for T. Fadius. I likeit very much: for that of our friend Sestius, which you say has yourapprobation, I don't like. 

The third letter is dated 12th of November, in which you explain withwisdom and care what the circumstances are which seem to cause apostponement of my affair, and about Crassus, Pompey, and the rest. Accordingly, I beg you, if there is any hope that the matter can besettled by the zeal of the loyalists, by the exertion of influence, andby getting numbers on our side, to endeavour to break through alldifficulties at a rush, to throw your whole weight into the attempt, andincite others to do the same. But if, as I perceive from yourconjectures as well as my own, there is no hope left, I beg and imploreyou to cherish my brother Quintus, whom I to our mutual misery haveruined, and not allow him to do anything to himself which would be tothe detriment of your sister's son. My little Cicero, to whom, poor boy!I leave nothing but prejudice and the blot upon my name, pray protect tothe best of your power. Terentia, that most afflicted of women, sustainby your kindness. I shall start for Epirus as soon as I have receivednews of the first days of the new tribunate. [369] Pray describe fully tome in your next letter what sort of a beginning is made. 

29 November. 

[Footnote 362: This bill for Cicero's recall would, of course, be vetoedby Clodius, and could not therefore be passed, but it would probablyinfluence the action of the new tribunes for B. C. 57. ]

[Footnote 363: _I. E. _, the tribunes of B. C. 58. ]

[Footnote 364: _I. E. _, securing indemnity to the proposers if there is atechnical breach of existing laws, something like the commonclause--"all statutes to the contrary notwithstanding. "]

[Footnote 365: The Clodian law. ]

[Footnote 366: Because they would not be protected as the previoustribunes were by the fact of the Clodian law (which alone wascontravened) having emanated from their own _collegium_. ]

[Footnote 367: L. Quadratus Ninnius, tribune-elect. On the 1st of Junenext he brought forward the question of Cicero's restoration in thesenate. ]

[Footnote 368: Cicero's cousin, C. Visellius Varro, a learnedjurisconsult (_Brut. _ § 264; 1 _Verr. _ § 71). ]

[Footnote 369: The tribunes came into office on the 10th of December, nearly three weeks before the consuls, prætors, etc. , who entered officeon the 1st of January. ]

LXXXIII (F XIV, 3)

TO TERENTIA (AT ROME)

DYRRACHIUM, 29 NOVEMBER

[Sidenote: B. C. 58, ÆT. 48]

Greetings to his Terentia, Tulliola, and Cicero. I have received threeletters from the hands of Aristocritus, which I almost obliterated withtears. For I am thoroughly weakened with sorrow, my dear Terentia, andit is not my own miseries that torture me more than yours--and yours, mychildren! Moreover, I am more miserable than you in this, that whereasthe disaster is shared by us both, yet the fault is all my own. It wasmy duty to have avoided the danger by accepting a legation, [370] or toresist it by careful management and the resources at my command, or tofall like a brave man. Nothing was more pitiful, more base, or moreunworthy of myself than the line I actually took. Accordingly, it iswith shame as well as grief that I am overpowered. For I am ashamed ofnot having exhibited courage and care to a most excellent wife and mostdarling children. I have, day and night, before my eyes the mourningdresses, the tears of you all, and the weakness of your own health, while the hope of recall presented to me is slender indeed. Many arehostile, nearly all jealous. To expel me had been difficult, to keep meout is easy. However, as long as you entertain any hope, I will not giveway, lest all should seem lost by my fault. As to your anxiety for mypersonal safety, that is now the easiest thing in the world for me, foreven my enemies desire me to go on living in this utter wretchedness. Iwill, however, do as you bid me. I have thanked the friends you desiredme to thank, and I have delivered the letters to Dexippus, and havementioned that you had informed me of their kindness. That our Piso hasshewn surprising zeal and kindness to us I can see for myself, buteverybody also tells me of it. God grant that I may be allowed, alongwith you and our children, to enjoy the actual society of such ason-in-law! For the present our one remaining hope is in the newtribunes, and that, too, in the first days of their office; if thematter is allowed to get stale, it is all over with us. It is for thatreason that I have sent Aristocritus back to you at once, in order thatyou may be able to write to me on the spot as to the first officialsteps taken, and the progress of the whole business; although I havealso given Dexippus orders to hurry back here at once, and I have sent amessage to my brother to despatch letter-carriers frequently. For theprofessed object of my being at Dyrrachium at the present juncture isthat I may hear as speedily as possible what is being done; and I am inno personal danger, for this town has always been defended by me. When Iam told that enemies are on their way here I shall retire into Epirus. As to your coming to me, as you say you will if I wish it--for my part, knowing that a large part of this burden is supported by you, I shouldlike you to remain where you are. If you succeed in your attempt I mustcome to you: but if, on the other hand--but I needn't write the rest. From your first, or at most, your second letter, I shall be able todecide what I must do. Only be sure you tell me everything with thegreatest minuteness, although I ought now to be looking out for somepractical step rather than a letter. Take care of your health, andassure yourself that nothing is or has ever been dearer to me than youare. Good-bye, my dear Terentia, whom I seem to see before my eyes, andso am dissolved in tears. Good-bye!

29 November. 

[Footnote 370: Either the _libera legatio_ or the acting _legatio_ inGaul, both of which Cæsar offered him. ]

LXXXIV (A III, 24)

TO ATTICUS (AT ROME)

DYRRACHIUM, 10 DECEMBER

[Sidenote: B. C. 58, ÆT. 48]

When, some time ago, I received letters from you all stating that withyour consent the vote for the expenses of the consular provinces hadbeen taken, though I was nervous as to the result of the measure, I yethoped that you saw some good reason for it beyond what I could see: butwhen I was informed by word of mouth and by letters that this policy ofyours was strongly censured, I was much disturbed, because the hopewhich I had cherished, faint as it was, seemed completely destroyed. Forif the tribunes are angry with us, what hope can there be? And, indeed, they seem to have reason to be angry, since they, who had undertaken mycause, have not been consulted on the measure; while by your assentingto it they have been deprived of all the legitimate influence of theiroffice: and that though they profess that it was for my sake that theywished to have the vote for the outfit of the consuls under theircontrol, not in order to curtail their freedom of action, but in orderto attach them to my cause:[371] that as things stand now, supposingthe consuls to choose to take part against me, they can do so withoutlet or hindrance, but if they wish to do anything in my favour they arepowerless if the tribunes object. For as to what you say in your letter, that, if your party had not consented, they would have obtained theirobject by a popular vote--that would have been impossible against thewill of the tribunes. [372] So I fear, on the one hand, that I have lostthe favour of the tribunes; and on the other, even supposing that favourto remain, that the tie has been lost by which the consuls were to beattached. Added to this is another disadvantage, the abandonment of theweighty resolution--as, indeed, it was reported to me--that the senateshould pass no decree until my case had been decided, and that, too, inthe case of a measure which was not only not urgent, but even contraryto custom and unprecedented. For I think there is no precedent forvoting the provincial outfit of magistrates when still only designate:so that, since in a matter like this the firm line[373] on which mycause had been taken up has been infringed, there is now no reason whyany decree should not be passed. It is not surprising that those friendsto whom the question was referred assented, for it was difficult to findanyone to express an opinion openly against proposals so advantageous totwo consuls. It would in any case have been difficult not to becomplaisant to such a warm friend as Lentulus, or to Metellus after theexceedingly kind way in which he put aside his quarrel with me. But Ifear that, while failing to keep a hold on them, we have lost thetribunes. How this matter has occurred, and in what position the wholebusiness stands, I would have you write to me, and in the same spirit asbefore: for your outspoken candour, even if not altogether pleasant, isyet what I prefer. 

10 December. 

[Footnote 371: The phrase _ornare provincias, ornare consules_, etc. , means the vote in the senate deciding the number of troops, amount ofmoney, and other outfit that the magistrates going to their provinceswere to have. The provinces to be taken by outgoing consuls were decidedbefore the elections--in this case they were Cilicia and Spain. But the_ornatio_ usually took place after the consuls had entered on theiroffice, _i. E. _, after the 1st of January. For this year, however--wedon't know why--it had taken place before the 1st of December, B. C. 58. The result of this would be that the new tribunes for B. C. 57--enteringon their office 10th December, B. C. 58--would have no voice in thematter, and would thus lose a great hold on the consuls. Most of thesetribunes were supporters of Cicero, while he was doubtful as to one ofthe consuls--Q. Cæcilius Metellus Nepos. He thinks, therefore, that hiscause has lost by this measure, for the tribunes will have less power ofputting force on the consuls to do anything for him, and yet the samepower of stopping them should they wish to do anything of their ownaccord. Besides, the new tribunes may be alienated by what they maythink a measure derogatory to their position. These fears came tonothing; the tribunes were loyal to Cicero, and the consul Pisoforwarded his recall. ]

[Footnote 372: Because the tribunes could have vetoed any measurebrought before the people, and so could have forced the consuls to cometo terms. ]

[Footnote 373: _I. E. _, that the senate would pass no decree prior to onerecalling Cicero. ]

LXXXV (A III, 25)

TO ATTICUS (? IN EPIRUS[374])

DYRRACHIUM (DECEMBER)

[Sidenote: B. C. 58, ÆT 48]

After you left me I received a letter from Rome, from which I seeclearly that I must rot away in this state of disfranchisement: for Ican't believe (don't be offended at my saying so) that you would haveleft town at this juncture, if there had been the least hope left of myrestoration. But I pass over this, that I may not seem to be ungratefuland to wish everything to share my own ruin. All I ask of you is whatyou have faithfully promised, that you will appear before the 1st ofJanuary wherever I may be. 

[Footnote 374: There is no indication in the letter as to where Atticusis. He left Rome late in B. C. 58, and apparently did not return tillafter Cicero's recall. The most natural explanation is that he was inEpirus, or somewhere in Greece, and that he had visited Cicero atDyrrachium on his way. I do not quite see how this should be thoughtimpossible in view of the last sentence of LXXXV or the next letter. Cicero asks Atticus to join him, but he might do so whether Atticus wereat Buthrotum, or Rome, or anywhere else. ]

LXXXVI (A III, 26)

[Sidenote: B. C. 57. Coss. , P. Cornelius Lentulus Spinther, Q. CæciliusMetellus Nepos. 

 The new year found Cicero still at Dyrrachium, waiting for the law to pass for his recall, which (owing chiefly to the riotous opposition of Clodius) did not pass till the 5th of August. We have no letters in the interval between January and August, but a few lively ones recounting the nature of his return (4th of September), and four speeches dealing with his position and that of his property. He seems at once to have attached himself to Pompey, and to have promoted his appointment as _præfectus annonæ_. 

TO ATTICUS (? IN EPIRUS[374])

DYRRACHIUM, JANUARY

[Sidenote: B. C. 57, ÆT. 49]

I have received a letter from my brother Quintus inclosing the decree ofthe senate passed concerning me. My intention is to await the time forlegislation, and, if the law is defeated, I shall avail myself of theresolution of the senate, [375] and prefer to be deprived of my liferather than of my country. Make haste, I beg, to come to me. 

[Footnote 375: On 1st January, B. C. 57, P. Lentulus brought the case ofCicero before the senate. The prevailing opinion was that his_interdictio_ having been illegal, the senate could quash it. ButPompey, for the sake of security, recommended a _lex_. One of thetribunes, without actually vetoing the _senatus consultum_, demanded anight for consideration. The question was again debated in succeedingmeetings of the senate, but on the 25th was not decided. Technically an_auctoritas_ was a decree that had been vetoed by a tribune, and Cicero(_pro Sest. _ § 74) implies that such a veto had been put in, and at anyrate the _noctis postulatio_ was equivalent to a veto. ]

LXXXVII (A III, 27)

TO ATTICUS (? AT ROME)

DYRRACHIUM (AFTER 25 JANUARY)

[Sidenote: B. C. 57, ÆT. 49]

From your letter and from the bare facts I see that I am utterlyruined. [376] I implore you, in view of my deplorable position, to standby my family in whatever respect they shall need your help. I shall, asyou say, see you soon. 

[Footnote 376: Perhaps he has just heard that the sitting of the senateon the 25th of January had been interrupted by Clodius's roughs. Butother similar events happened, and there is no certain means of datingthis note. The difficulty, as it stands, is that it implies Atticus'stemporary return to Rome. ]

LXXXVIII (F V, 4)

TO Q. METELLUS THE CONSUL (AT ROME)

DYRRACHIUM (JANUARY)

[Sidenote: B. C. 57, ÆT. 49]

A letter from my brother Quintus, and one from my friend TitusPomponius, had given me so much hope, that I depended on your assistanceno less than on that of your colleague. Accordingly, I at once sent youa letter in which, as my present position required, I offered you thanksand asked for the continuance of your assistance. Later on, not so muchthe letters of my friends, as the conversation of travellers by thisroute, indicated that your feelings had undergone a change; and thatcircumstance prevented my venturing to trouble you with letters. Now, however, my brother Quintus has sent me a copy which he had made of yourexceedingly kind speech delivered in the senate. Induced by this I haveattempted to write to you, and I do ask and beg of you, as far as I maywithout giving you offence, to preserve your own friends along with me, rather than attack me to satisfy the unreasonable vindictiveness of yourconnexions. You have, indeed, conquered yourself so far as to lay asideyour own enmity for the sake of the Republic: will you be induced tosupport that of others _against_ the interests of the Republic? But ifyou will in your clemency now give me assistance, I promise you that Iwill be at your service henceforth: but if neither magistrates, norsenate, nor people are permitted to aid me, owing to the violence whichhas proved too strong for me, and for the state as well, take carelest--though you may wish the opportunity back again for retaining alland sundry in their rights--you find yourself unable to do so, becausethere will be nobody to be retained. [377]

[Footnote 377: This intentionally enigmatical sentence is meant tocontain a menace against Clodius, who is hinted at in the word _omnium_, just as he is earlier in the letter in the word _tuorum_. Clodius was aconnexion by marriage of Metellus (through his late brother, the husbandof Clodia), and Cicero assumes that Metellus is restrained from helpinghim by regard for Clodius. He knows, however, by this time, that one ofthe new tribunes, Milo, is prepared to repel force by force, and hehints to Metellus that if he countenances Clodius's violence he may someday find that there is no Clodius to save--if that's his object. InLetter LXXXIX he shews how early he had contemplated Clodius beingkilled by Milo (_occisum iri ab ipso Milone video_). ]

LXXXIX (A IV, 1)

TO ATTICUS (IN EPIRUS)

ROME (SEPTEMBER)

[Sidenote: B. C. 57, ÆT. 49]

Directly I arrived at Rome, and there was anyone to whom I could safelyintrust a letter for you, I thought the very first thing I ought to dowas to congratulate you in your absence on my return. For I knew, tospeak candidly, that though in giving me advice you had not been morecourageous or far-seeing than myself, nor--considering my devotion toyou in the past--too careful in protecting me from disaster, yet thatyou--though sharing in the first instance in my mistake, or rathermadness, and in my groundless terror--had nevertheless been deeplygrieved at our separation, and had bestowed immense pains, zeal, care, and labour in securing my return. Accordingly, I can truly assure you ofthis, that in the midst of supreme joy and the most gratifyingcongratulations, the one thing wanting to fill my cup of happiness tothe brim is the sight of you, or rather your embrace; and if I everforfeit that again, when I have once got possession of it, and if, too, I do not exact the full delights of your charming society that havefallen into arrear in the past, I shall certainly consider myselfunworthy of this renewal of my good fortune. 

In regard to my political position, I have resumed what I thought therewould be the utmost difficulty in recovering--my brilliant standing atthe bar, my influence in the senate, and a popularity with the loyalistseven greater than I desired. In regard, however, to my privateproperty--as to which you are well aware to what an extent it has beencrippled, scattered, and plundered--I am in great difficulties, andstand in need, not so much of your means (which I look upon as my own), as of your advice for collecting and restoring to a sound state thefragments that remain. For the present, though I believe everythingfinds its way to you in the letters of your friends, or even bymessengers and rumour, yet I will write briefly what I think you wouldlike to learn from my letters above all others. On the 4th of August Istarted from Dyrrachium, the very day on which the law about me wascarried. I arrived at Brundisium on the 5th of August. There my dearTulliola met me on what was her own birthday, which happened also to bethe name-day of the colony of Brundisium and of the temple of Safety, near your house. This coincidence was noticed and celebrated with warmcongratulations by the citizens of Brundisium. On the 8th of August, while still at Brundisium, I learnt by a letter from Quintus that thelaw had been passed at the _comitia centuriata_ with a surprisingenthusiasm on the part of all ages and ranks, and with an incredibleinflux of voters from Italy. I then commenced my journey, amidst thecompliments of the men of highest consideration at Brundisium, and wasmet at every point by legates bearing congratulations. My arrival in theneighbourhood of the city was the signal for every soul of every orderknown to my nomenclator coming out to meet me, except those enemies whocould not either dissemble or deny the fact of their being such. On myarrival at the Porta Capena, the steps of the temples were alreadythronged from top to bottom[378] by the populace; and while theircongratulations were displayed by the loudest possible applause, asimilar throng and similar applause accompanied me right up to theCapitol, and in the forum and on the Capitol itself there was again awonderful crowd. Next day, in the senate, that is, the 5th of September, I spoke my thanks to the senators. Two days after that--there havingbeen a very heavy rise in the price of corn, and great crowds havingflocked first to the theatre and then to the senate-house, shouting out, at the instigation of Clodius, that the scarcity of corn was mydoing--meetings of the senate being held on those days to discuss thecorn question, and Pompey being called upon to undertake the managementof its supply in the common talk not only of the plebs, but of thearistocrats also, and being himself desirous of the commission, when thepeople at large called upon me by name to support a decree to thateffect, I did so, and gave my vote in a carefully-worded speech. Theother consulars, except Messalla and Afranius, having absentedthemselves on the ground that they could not vote with safety tothemselves, a decree of the senate was passed in the sense of my motion, namely, that Pompey should be appealed to to undertake the business, andthat a law should be proposed to that effect. This decree of the senatehaving been publicly read, and the people having, after the senselessand new-fangled custom that now prevails, applauded the mention of myname, [379] I delivered a speech. All the magistrates present, except oneprætor and two tribunes, called on me to speak. [380] Next day a fullsenate, including all the consulars, granted everything that Pompeyasked for. Having demanded fifteen legates, he named me first in thelist, and said that he should regard me in all things as a second self. The consuls drew up a law by which complete control over the corn-supplyfor five years throughout the whole world was given to Pompey. A secondlaw is drawn up by Messius, [381] granting him power over all money, andadding a fleet and army, and an _imperium_ in the provinces superior tothat of their governors. After that our consular law seems moderateindeed: that of Messius is quite intolerable. Pompey professes to preferthe former; his friends the latter. The consulars led by Favoniusmurmur: I hold my tongue, the more so that the pontifices have as yetgiven no answer in regard to my house. [382] If they annul theconsecration I shall have a splendid site. The consuls, in accordancewith a decree of the senate, will value the cost of the building thatstood upon it; but if the pontifices decide otherwise, they will pulldown the Clodian building, give out a contract in their own name (for atemple), and value to me the cost of a site and house. So our affairsare

 "For happy though but ill, for ill not worst. "[383]

In regard to money matters I am, as you know, much embarrassed. Besides, there are certain domestic troubles, which I do not intrust to writing. My brother Quintus I love as he deserves for his eminent qualities ofloyalty, virtue, and good faith. I am longing to see you, and beg you tohasten your return, resolved not to allow me to be without the benefitof your advice. I am on the threshold, as it were, of a second life. Already certain persons who defended me in my absence begin to nurse asecret grudge at me now that I am here, and to make no secret of theirjealousy. I want you very much. 

[Footnote 378: Reading _ab infimo_. ]

[Footnote 379: As backing the decree. The phrase was _aderat scribendoM. Tullius Cicero_, etc. ]

[Footnote 380: _Dederunt_, _i. E. _, _contionem_; lit. Gave me a meeting, _i. E. _, the right of addressing the meeting, which only magistrates orthose introduced by magistrates could do. ]

[Footnote 381: C. Messius, a tribune of the year. ]

[Footnote 382: Clodius had consecrated the site of Cicero's house for atemple of Liberty. The pontifices had to decide whether thatconsecration held good, or whether the site might be restored to Cicero. Hence his speech _de Domo sua ad Pontifices_. ]

[Footnote 383: The origin of the Latin line is not known. The English isMilton's, _P. L. _ ii. 224. ]

XC (A IV, 2)

TO ATTICUS (IN EPIRUS)

ROME (OCTOBER)

[Sidenote: B. C. 57, ÆT. 49]

If by any chance you get letters less frequently from me than fromothers, I beg you not to put it down to my negligence, or even to myengagements; for though they are very heavy, there can be nonesufficient to stop the course of our mutual affection and of theattention I owe to you. The fact is that, since my return to Rome, thisis only the second time that I have been told of anyone to whom I coulddeliver a letter, and accordingly this is my second letter to you. In myformer I described the reception I had on my return, what my politicalposition was, and how my affairs were. 

 "For happy though but ill, for ill not worst. "

The despatch of that letter was followed by a great controversy about myhouse. I delivered a speech before the pontifices on the 29th ofSeptember. I pleaded my cause with care, and if I ever was worthanything as a speaker, or even if I never was on any other occasion, onthis one at any rate my indignation at the business, and the importanceof it, did add a certain vigour to my style. [384] Accordingly, therising generation must not be left without the benefit of this speech, which I shall send you all the same, even if you don't want it. [385] Thedecree of the pontifices was as follows: "If neither by order of thepeople nor vote of the plebs the party alleging that he had dedicatedhad been appointed by name to that function, nor by order of the peopleor vote of the plebs had been commanded to do so, we are of opinion thatthe part of the site in question may be restored to M. Tullius withoutviolence to religion. " Upon this I was at once congratulated--for no onedoubted that my house was thereby adjudged to me--when all on a suddenthat fellow mounts the platform to address a meeting, invited to speakby Appius, [386] and announces at once to the people that the pontificeshad decided in his favour, [387] but that I was endeavouring to takeforcible possession; he exhorts them to follow himself and Appius todefend their own shrine of Liberty. [388] Hereupon, when even thosecredulous hearers partly wondered and partly laughed at the fellow's madfolly, I resolved not to go near the place until such time as theconsuls by decree of the senate had given out the contract for restoringthe colonnade of Catulus. [389] On the 1st of October there was a fullmeeting of the senate. All the pontifices who were senators were invitedto attend, and Marcellinus, [390] who is a great admirer of mine, beingcalled on to speak first, asked them what was the purport of theirdecree. Then M. Lucullus, speaking for all his colleagues, answered thatthe pontifices were judges of a question of religion, the senate of thevalidity of a law: that he and his colleagues had given a decision on apoint of religion; in the senate they would with the other senatorsdecide on the law. Accordingly, each of them, when asked in their properorder for their opinion, delivered long arguments in my favour. When itcame to Clodius's turn, he wished to talk out the day, and he went onendlessly; however, after he had spoken for nearly three hours, he wasforced by the loud expression of the senate's disgust to finish hisspeech at last. On the decree in accordance with the proposal ofMarcellinus passing the senate against a minority of one, Serranusinterposed his veto. [391] At once both consuls referred the question ofSerranus's veto to the senate. After some very resolute speeches hadbeen delivered--"that it was the decision of the senate that the houseshould be restored to me": "that a contract should be given out for thecolonnade of Catulus": "that the resolution of the house should besupported by all the magistrates": "that if any violence occurred, thesenate would consider it to be the fault of the magistrate who vetoedthe decree of the senate"--Serranus became thoroughly frightened, andCornicinus repeated his old farce: throwing off his toga, he flunghimself at his son-in-law's feet. [392] The former demanded a night forconsideration. They would not grant it: for they remembered the 1st ofJanuary. It was, however, at last granted with difficulty on myinterposition. Next day the decree of the senate was passed which I sendyou. Thereupon the consuls gave out a contract for the restoration ofthe colonnade of Catulus: the contractors immediately cleared thatportico of his away to the satisfaction of all. [393] The buildings of myhouse the consuls, by the advice of their assessors, valued at 2, 000, 000sesterces (about £16, 000). [394] The rest was valued very stingily. MyTusculan villa at 500, 000 sesterces (about £4, 000): my villa at Formiæat 250, 000 sesterces (about £2, 000)--an estimate loudly exclaimedagainst not only by all the best men, but even by the common people. Youwill say, "What was the reason?" They for their part say it was mymodesty--because I would neither say no, nor make any violentexpostulation. But that is not the real cause: for that indeed in itselfwould have been in my favour. [395] But, my dear Pomponius, those verysame men, I tell you, of whom you are no more ignorant than myself, having clipped my wings, are unwilling that they should grow again totheir old size. But, as I hope, they are already growing again. Onlycome to me! But this, I fear, may be retarded by the visit of your andmy friend Varro. Having now heard the actual course of public business, let me inform you of what I have in my thoughts besides. I have allowedmyself to be made _legatus_ to Pompey, but only on condition thatnothing should stand in the way of my being entirely free either tostand, if I choose, for the censorship--if the next consuls hold acensorial election--or to assume a "votive commission" in connexionwith nearly any fanes or sacred groves. [396] For this is what falls inbest with our general policy and my particular occasions. But I wishedthe power to remain in my hands of _either_ standing for election, _or_at the beginning of the summer of going out of town: and meanwhile Ithought it not disadvantageous to keep myself before the eyes of thecitizens who had treated me generously. Well, such are my plans inregard to public affairs; my domestic affairs are very intricate anddifficult. My town house is being built: you know how much expense andannoyance the repair of my Formian villa occasions me, which I canneither bear to relinquish nor to look at. I have advertised my Tusculanproperty for sale; I don't much care for a suburban residence. [397] Theliberality of friends has been exhausted in a business which brought menothing but dishonour: and this you perceived though absent, as didothers on the spot, by whose zeal and wealth I could easily haveobtained all I wanted, had only my supporters allowed it. [398] In thisrespect I am now in serious difficulty. Other causes of anxiety aresomewhat more of the _tacenda_ kind. [399] My brother and daughter treatme with affection. I am looking forward to seeing you. 

[Footnote 384: The speech _de Domo sua ad Pontifices_. The genuinenessof the existing speech has been doubted. But it may very well be saidthat no one but Cicero could have written it. It is not certainly one ofhis happiest efforts, in spite of what he says here; but he is notunaccustomed to estimate his speeches somewhat highly, and to mistakeviolence for vigour. ]

[Footnote 385: He will send it to Atticus to get copied by his_librarii_, and published. ]

[Footnote 386: Appius Claudius Pulcher, brother of P. Clodius, was aprætor this year. ]

[Footnote 387: It is not clear that Clodius was wrong; the pontificesdecided that for a valid consecration an order of the people wasrequisite, and, of course, Clodius could allege such an order. Cicerodevoted the greater part of his speech, therefore, to shewing (1) thatClodius's adoption was invalid, and that he was therefore no tribune, and incapable of taking an order of the people; (2) that the law was a_privilegium_, and therefore invalid. The pontifices did not considereither of these points, which were not properly before them, or withintheir competence; they merely decided the religious question--thatunless there had been a _iussus populi_ or _plebis scitus_ there was novalid consecration. ]

[Footnote 388: Or perhaps only "statue of Liberty, " as the temple wasnot yet completed. ]

[Footnote 389: A portico or colonnade, built by Q. Catulus, theconqueror of the Cimbri, on the site of the house of M. Flaccus, who waskilled with Saturninus in B. C. 100. It was close to Cicero's house, andwhat Clodius appears to have done was to pull down the portico, andbuild another, extending over part of Cicero's site, on which was to bea temple for his statue of Liberty. ]

[Footnote 390: Cn. Cornelius Lentulus Marcellinus was called on first asconsul designate for B. C. 56. ]

[Footnote 391: Sext. Attilius Serranus, a tribune. He had been a quæstorin Cicero's consulship, but had opposed his recall. ]

[Footnote 392: Cn. Oppius Cornicinus, the father-in-law of Serranus, issaid in _p. Red. At Quir. _ § 13 to have done the same in the senate onthe 1st of January, when Serranus also went through the same form of"demanding a night" for consideration. ]

[Footnote 393: Prof. Tyrrell brackets _porticum_. But I do notunderstand his difficulty, especially as he saw none in the last letter. Cicero (_de Domo_, § 102) certainly implies that Clodius had, at anyrate, partly pulled down the _porticus Catuli_, in order to buildsomething on a larger scale, which was to take in some of Cicero's site. This was now to come down, and so leave Cicero his _area_, and, Ipresume, the old _porticus Catuli_ was to be restored. ]

[Footnote 394: Cicero had given Crassus 3, 500, 000 for it (about£28, 000). See Letter XVI. ]

[Footnote 395: _I. E. _, my modest reserve. There does not seem any reasonfor Tyrrell's emendation of _num_ for _nam_. ]

[Footnote 396: I have translated Klotz's text. That given by Prof. Tyrrell is, to me at any rate, quite unintelligible. Cicero's _legatio_under Pompey appears to have been, in fact, honorary, or _libera_, forhe doesn't seem to have done anything. He wishes to reserve the right ofresigning it to stand for the censorship (censors were elected in thefollowing year), or of turning it into a _votiva legatio_, to visitcertain sacred places on the plea of performing a vow, thus getting theopportunity, if he desired it, of retiring temporarily from Rome in adignified manner. The force of _prope_ seems to be "almost any, I carenot what. " It was not likely that a man with his stormy past would dofor the delicate duties of the censorship, and he would save appearancesby going on a _votiva legatio_. See Letter XLIV. ]

[Footnote 397: _Facile careo_, others read _non facile_, "I don't likebeing without a suburban residence. "]

[Footnote 398: The thing which brought him "nothing but dishonour" washis quitting Rome, and the consequent expenses connected with winningover friends, or paying for Milo's bravoes to face those of Clodius. Inthe last part of the sentence he seems to mean that, had his supportersbacked him properly, he would have got everything necessary to make goodhis losses from the liberality of the senate. Others explain that_defensores_ really means Pompey only. ]

[Footnote 399: This and the omission of his wife in the next clause, asthe similar hint at the end of the last letter, seem to point to somemisunderstanding with Terentia, with whom, however, a final rupture waspostponed for nearly twelve years (B. C. 46. )]

XCI (A IV, 3)

TO ATTICUS (IN EPIRUS)

ROME, 24 NOVEMBER

[Sidenote: B. C. 57, ÆT. 49]

I am very well aware that you long to know what is going on here, andalso to know it from me, not because things done before the eyes of thewhole world are better realized when narrated by my hand than whenreported to you by the pens or lips of others, but because it is from myletters that you get what you want--a knowledge of _my_ feelings inregard to the occurrences, and what at such a juncture is the state ofmy mind, or, in a word, the conditions in which I am living. On the 3rdof November the workmen were driven from the site of my house by armedruffians: the _porticus Catuli_, [400] which was being rebuilt on acontract given out by the consuls, in accordance with a decree of thesenate, and had nearly reached the roof, was battered down: the house ofmy brother Quintus[401] was first smashed with volleys of stones thrownfrom my site, and then set on fire by order of Clodius, firebrandshaving been thrown into it in the sight of the whole town, amidst loudexclamations of indignation and sorrow, I will not say of theloyalists--for I rather think there _are_ none--but of simply everyhuman being. That madman runs riot: thinks after this mad prank ofnothing short of murdering his opponents: canvasses the city street bystreet: makes open offers of freedom to slaves. For the fact is that upto this time, while trying to avoid prosecution, [402] he had a case, difficult indeed to support, and obviously bad, but still a case: hemight have denied the facts, he might have shifted the blame on others, he might even have pleaded that some part of his proceedings had beenlegal. But after such wrecking of buildings, incendiaries, and wholesalerobberies as these, being abandoned by his supporters, he hardly retainson his side Decimus the marshal, [403] or Gellius; takes slaves into hisconfidence; sees that, even if he openly assassinates everyone he wishesto, he will not have a worse case before a court of law than he has atpresent. Accordingly, on the 11th of November, as I was going down theSacred Way, he followed me with his gang. There were shouts, stone-throwing, brandishing of clubs and swords, and all this without amoment's warning. I and my party stepped aside into Tettius Damio'svestibule: those accompanying me easily prevented his roughs fromgetting in. He might have been killed himself. [404] But I am now on asystem of cure by regimen: I am tired of surgery. The fellow, seeingthat what everybody called for was not his prosecution but his instantexecution, has since made all your Catilines seem models ofrespectability. [405] For on the 12th of November he tried to storm andset fire to Milo's house, I mean the one on Germalus:[406] and so openlywas this done, that at eleven o'clock in the morning he brought menthere armed with shields and with their swords drawn, and others withlighted torches. He had himself occupied the house of P. Sulla[407] ashis headquarters from which to conduct the assault upon Milo's. Thereupon Q. Flaccus led out some gallant fellows from Milo's otherhouse (the _Anniana_): killed the most notorious bravoes of allClodius's gang: wanted to kill Clodius himself; but my gentleman tookrefuge in the inner part of Sulla's house. The next thing was a meetingof the senate on the 14th. Clodius stayed at home: Marcellinus[408] wassplendid: all were keen. Metellus[409] talked the business out by anobstructive speech, aided by Appius, and also, by Hercules! by yourfriend on whose firmness you wrote me such a wonderfully true letter!Sestius[410] was fuming. Afterwards the fellow vows vengeance on thecity if his election is stopped. Marcellinus's resolution having beenexposed for public perusal (he had read it from a written copy, and itembraced our entire case--the prosecution was to include his violentproceedings on the site of my house, his arson, his assault on mepersonally, and was to take place before the elections), he put up anotice that he intended to watch the sky during all comitial days. [411]Public speeches of Metellus disorderly, of Appius hot-headed, ofPublius stark mad. The upshot, however, was that, had not Milo servedhis notice of bad omens in the _campus_, the elections would have beenheld. On the 19th of November Milo arrived on the _campus_ beforemidnight with a large company. Clodius, though he had picked gangs ofrunaway slaves, did not venture into the _campus_. Milo stopped theretill midday, [412] to everybody's great delight and his own infinitecredit: the movement of the three brethren[413] ended in their owndisgrace; their violence was crushed, their madness made ridiculous. However, Metellus demands that the obstructive notice should be servedon him next day in the forum: "there was no need to come to the _campus_before daybreak: he would be in the _comitium_ at the first hour of theday. "[414] Accordingly, on the 20th Milo came to the forum beforesunrise. Metellus at the first sign of dawn was stealthily hurrying tothe _campus_, I had almost said by by-lanes: Milo catches our friend up"between the groves"[415] and serves his notice. The latter returnedgreeted with loud and insulting remarks by Q. Flaccus. The 21st was amarket day. [416] For two days no public meeting. I am writing thisletter on the 23rd at three o'clock in the morning. Milo is already inpossession of the _campus_. The candidate Marcellus[417] is snoring soloud that I can hear him next door. I am told that Clodius's vestibuleis completely deserted: there are a few ragged fellows there and acanvas lantern. [418] His party complains that I am the adviser of thewhole business: they little know the courage and wisdom of that hero!His gallantry is astonishing. Some recent instances of his superhumanexcellence I pass over; but the upshot is this: I don't think theelection will take place. I think Publius will be brought to trial byMilo--unless he is killed first. If he once puts himself in his way in ariot, I can see that he will be killed by Milo himself. The latter hasno scruple about doing it; he avows his intention; he isn't at allafraid of what happened to me, for _he_ will never listen to the adviceof a jealous and faithless friend, nor trust a feeble aristocrat. Inspirit, at any rate, I am as vigorous as in my zenith, or even more so;in regard to money I am crippled. However, the liberality of my brotherI have, in spite of his protests, repaid (as the state of my financescompelled) by the aid of my friends, that I might not be drained quitedry myself. What line of policy to adopt in regard to my position as awhole, I cannot decide in your absence: wherefore make haste to town. 

[Footnote 400: See last letter. The _porticus Catuli_ had been, at anyrate, partly demolished by Clodius to make way for his larger scheme ofbuilding, which was to take in part of Cicero's "site. " See _pro Cæl. _§79. ]

[Footnote 401: Next door to Cicero's own house. ]

[Footnote 402: He would avoid prosecution _de vi_ by getting elected tothe ædileship for B. C. 56, for actual magistrates were rarelyprosecuted; but he, in this case, actually avoided it by getting aconsul and tribune to forbid it by edict (_pro Sest. _ § 89). ]

[Footnote 403: _Designatorem. _ This may mean (1) an official who shewedpeople to their places in the theatre; (2) an undertaker's man, whomarshalled funerals. To the latter office a certain _infamia_ wasattached. We know nothing more of Decimus (see _pro Domo_, § 50). Gellius was an eques and a stepson of L. Marcius Philippus. Heafterwards gave evidence against Sestius for _vis_ (see _pro Sest. _ §110). Cicero calls him the mover of all seditions (_in Vatin. _ § 4), andone of Clodius's gang (_de Har. Resp. _ § 59). See next letter. ]

[Footnote 404: Perhaps by M. Antonius. See 2 _Phil. _ § 21; _pro Mil. _ §40. ]

[Footnote 405: Lit. "made all Catilines _Acidini_. " Acidinus was thecognomen of several distinguished men. In _Leg. Agr. _ ii. § 64, Ciceroclasses the _Acidini_ among men "respectable not only for the publicoffices they had held, and for their services to the state, but also forthe noble way in which they had endured poverty. " There does not, however, seem any very good reason known for their becoming proverbialas the antithesis to revolutionaries. ]

[Footnote 406: A slope of the Palatine. Milo's other house (p. 196). ]

[Footnote 407: P. Cornelius Sulla, nephew of the dictator. Cicerodefended him in B. C. 62, but he had taken the part of Clodius in thetime of Cicero's exile. ]

[Footnote 408: Cn. Cornelius Lentulus Marcellinus, the consul-designatefor the next year. In that capacity he would be called on for his_sententia_ first. ]

[Footnote 409: Q. Cæcilius Metellus Nepos, the consul. Though he had notopposed Cicero's recall, he stood by his cousin, P. Clodius, in regardto the threatened prosecution. Appius is Appius Claudius, brother of P. Clodius. ]

[Footnote 410: P. Sestius, the tribune favourable to Cicero, afterwardsdefended by him. ]

[Footnote 411: Mr. Purser's reading of _nisi anteferret_ before_proscripsit_ seems to me to darken the passage. What happened was this. Marcellinus's _sententia_ was never put to the vote, because Metellus, Appius, and Hortensius (Cicero seems to mean him) talked out thesitting. Accordingly, Marcellinus published it, _i. E. _, put it upoutside the Curia to be read: and under it he (or some other magistratewhose name has dropped out of the text) put a notice that he was goingto "watch the sky" all the _dies comitiales_, so as to prevent theelection being held. But this had been rendered inoperative by Clodius'samendment of the _lex Ælia Fufia_ (see 2 _Phil. _ § 81)--or at any rateof doubtful validity--and, accordingly, the only thing left was the_obnuntiatio_ by a magistrate, which Milo proceeded to make. The rule, however was that such _obnuntiatio_ must be made before the _comitia_were begun (2 _Phil. Ib. _), which again could not begin till sunrise. Hence Milo's early visit to the _campus_. For the meaning of _proposita_see Letter XLVII. ]

[Footnote 412: After which the _comitia_ could not be begun. ]

[Footnote 413: P. Clodius, his brother Appius, and his _cousin_ MetellusNepos. ]

[Footnote 414: Metellus means that he shall take the necessary auspicesfor the _comitia_ in the _comitium_, before going to the _campus_ totake the votes. ]

[Footnote 415: Generally called _inter duos lucos_, the road down theCapitolium towards the Campus Martius, originally so called as beingbetween the two heads of the mountain. It was the spot traditionallyassigned to the "asylum" of Romulus. ]

[Footnote 416: On the _nundinæ_ and the next day no _comitia_ and nomeeting of the senate could be held. ]

[Footnote 417: Candidate for the ædileship, of whom we know nothing. ]

[Footnote 418: Apparently a poor lantern, whose sides were made ofcanvas instead of horn. ]

XCII (Q FR II, 1)

TO HIS BROTHER QUINTUS (IN SARDINIA[419])

ROME (10 DECEMBER)

[Sidenote: B. C. 57, ÆT. 49]

The letter which you have already read I had sent off in the morning. But Licinius was polite enough to call on me in the evening after thesenate had risen, that, in case of any business having been done there, I might, if I thought good, write an account of it to you. The senatewas fuller than I had thought possible in the month of December justbefore the holidays. Of us consulars there were P. Servilius, M. Lucullus, Lepidus, Volcatius, Glabrio: the two consuls-designate; theprætors. We were a really full house: two hundred in all. [420] Lupus hadexcited some interest. [421] He raised the question of the Campanian landin considerable detail. He was listened to in profound silence. You arenot unaware what material that subject affords. He omitted none of thepoints which I had made in this business. [422] There were some sharpthrusts at Cæsar, some denunciations of Gellius, some appeals to theabsent Pompey. After concluding his speech at a late hour, he said thathe would not ask for our votes lest he might burden us with a personalcontroversy; he quite understood the sentiments of the senate from thedenunciations of past times and the silence on the present occasion. Milo spoke. Lupus begins the formula of dismissal, [423] when Marcellinussays: "Don't infer from our silence, Lupus, what we approve ordisapprove of at this particular time. As far as I am concerned, and Ithink it is the same with the rest, I am only silent because I do notthink it suitable that the case of the Campanian land should be debatedin Pompey's absence. " Then Lupus said that he would not detain thesenate. [423] Racilius rose and began bringing before the house the caseof the proposed prosecutions. He calls upon Marcellinus, of course, first;[424] who, after complaining in serious tones of the Clodianincendiaries, massacres, and stonings, proposed a resolution that"Clodius himself should, under the superintendence of the prætorurbanus, have his jury allotted to him; that the elections should beheld only when the allotment of jurors[425] had been completed; thatwhoever stopped the trials would be acting against the interests of thestate. "[426] The proposal having been received with warm approval, GaiusCato[427]--as did also Cassius--spoke against it, with very emphaticmurmurs of disapprobation on the part of the senate, when he proposed tohold the elections before the trials. Philippus supported Lentulus. [428]After that Racilius called on me first of the unofficial senators for myopinion. [429] I made a long speech upon the whole story of P. Clodius'smad proceedings and murderous violence: I impeached him as though hewere on his trial, amidst frequent murmurs of approbation from the wholesenate. My speech was praised at considerable length, and, by Hercules!with no little oratorical skill by Antistius Vetus, who also supportedthe priority of the legal proceedings, and declared that he shouldconsider it of the first importance. The senators were crossing thefloor in support of this view, [430] when Clodius, being called on, begantrying to talk out the sitting. He spoke in furious terms of having beenattacked by Racilius in an unreasonable and discourteous manner. Thenhis roughs on the Græcostasis[431] and the steps of the house suddenlyraised a pretty loud shout, in wrath, I suppose, against Q. Sextiliusand the other friends of Milo. At this sudden alarm we broke up withloud expressions of indignation on all sides. Here are the transactionsof one day for you: the rest, I think, will be put off to January. Ofall the tribunes I think Racilius is by far the best: Antistius alsoseems likely to be friendly to me: Plancius, of course, is wholly ours. Pray, if you love me, be careful and cautious about sailing in December. 

[Footnote 419: Quintus Cicero was in Sardinia as Pompey's _legatus_ assuperintendent of the corn-supply, to which office he had been appointedin August. The letter is written not earlier than the 10th of December, for the new tribunes for B. C. 56 have come into office, and not laterthan the 16th, because on the 17th the Saturnalia began. Perhaps as thesenate is summoned and presided over by Lupus, it is on the 10th, theday of his entrance upon office. ]

[Footnote 420: "Full, " that is, for the time of year. A "full house" iselsewhere mentioned as between three and four hundred. ]

[Footnote 421: P. Rutilius Lupus, one of the new tribunes. ]

[Footnote 422: This refers to Cicero's attempts to exempt the _agerpublicus_ in Campania from being divided (see Letter XXIV, p. 55); andnot only to his speeches against Rullus. It was because Cæsardisregarded the ancient exception of this land from such distributionthat Cicero opposed his bill, and refused to serve on the commission. ]

[Footnote 423: _Nihil vos moramur_ were the words used by the presidingmagistrate, indicating that he had no more business to bring before thesenate. If no one said anything, the senate was dismissed; but anymagistrate, or magistrate-designate, could speak, and so continue thesitting up to nightfall, when the house stood adjourned. ]

[Footnote 424: Because consul-designate. L. Racilius, one of the newtribunes. ]

[Footnote 425: The _sortitio iudicum_ was performed by the prætordrawing out the required number of names from the urn, which containedthe names of all liable to serve. The accused could, however, challengea certain number, and the prætor had then to draw others. ]

[Footnote 426: The formula whereby the senate declared its opinion thatso and so was guilty of treason. It had no legal force, but themagistrates might, and sometimes did, act on it. ]

[Footnote 427: C. Porcius Cato, distant relation of Cato Uticensis, oneof the new tribunes. ]

[Footnote 428: _I. E. _, Marcellinus (Cn. Cornelius Lentulus). ]

[Footnote 429: The senators not in office only spoke when called on(_rogati_). The consuls-designate (if there were any) were always calledfirst, and then the consulars in order. To be called _first_ was asubject of ambition, and an opportunity for the presiding magistrate topay a compliment or the reverse. ]

[Footnote 430: They went and sat or stood near the speaker they wishedto support. It was not, however, a formal division till the speechesended, and the presiding magistrate counted. Still, it made the divisioneasier. ]

[Footnote 431: A platform outside the senate-house, whererepresentatives originally of Greek and then of other states wereplaced. It was apparently possible to hear, or partly hear, the debatesfrom it. It was a _locus substructus_ (Varro, _L. L. _ v. 155). There isno evidence that it was a building to lodge ambassadors in, as Prof. Tyrrell says. ]

XCIII (F VII, 26)

TO M. FADIUS GALLUS (AT ROME)

TUSCULUM[432] (? DECEMBER)

[Sidenote: B. C. 57, ÆT. 49]

Having been suffering for nine days past from a severe disorder of thebowels, and being unable to convince those who desired my services thatI was ill because I had no fever, I fled to my Tusculan villa, afterhaving, in fact, observed for two days so strict a fast as not even todrink a drop of water. Accordingly, being thoroughly reduced by weaknessand hunger, I was more in want of your services than I thought minecould be required by you. For myself, while shrinking from allillnesses, I especially shrink from that in regard to which the Stoicsattack your friend Epicurus for saying that "he suffered from stranguryand pains in the bowels"--the latter of which complaints they attributeto gluttony, the former to a still graver indulgence. I had been reallymuch afraid of dysentery. But either the change of residence, or themere relaxation of anxiety, or perhaps the natural abatement of thecomplaint from lapse of time, seems to me to have done me good. However, to prevent your wondering how this came about, or in what manner I letmyself in for it, I must tell you that the sumptuary law, supposed tohave introduced plain living, was the origin of my misfortune. Forwhilst your epicures wish to bring into fashion the products of theearth, which are not forbidden by the law, they flavour mushrooms, _petits choux_, and every kind of pot-herb so as to make them the mosttempting dishes possible. [433] Having fallen a victim to these in theaugural banquet at the house of Lentulus, I was seized with a violentdiarrhœa, which, I think, has been checked to-day for the first time. And so I, who abstain from oysters and lampreys without any difficulty, have been beguiled by beet and mallows. Henceforth, therefore, I shallbe more cautious. Yet, having heard of it from Anicius[434]--for he sawme turning sick--you had every reason not only for sending to inquire, but even for coming to see me. I am thinking of remaining here till I amthoroughly restored, for I have lost both strength and flesh. However, if I can once get completely rid of my complaint, I shall, I hope, easily recover these. 

[Footnote 432: The year of this letter has been inferred from themention of Lentulus's augural banquet. For P. Cornelius LentulusSpinther, son of the consul of B. C. 57, was in this year elected intothe college of augurs. Yet as we know that Cicero's Tusculan villa wasdismantled by Clodius, and was advertised for sale (though not sold), itseems rather extraordinary that Cicero should have gone there for hishealth. The _Fadii Galli_ were a family of Cicero's native place, Arpinum. ]

[Footnote 433: There were several sumptuary laws. Those which maypossibly be referred to here are (1) the _lex Licinia_ (? B. C. 103), which defined certain foods as illegal at banquets, but excepted _quodex terra vite arbore ve sit natum_ (Macrobius, _Sat. _ iii. 17, 9; Gell. Ii. 24, 7); (2) the _lex Æmilia_ (B. C. 68), which also defined both thequantity and quality of food allowable at banquets (Gell. Ii. 24, 12). ]

[Footnote 434: C. Anicius, a senator and intimate friend of Cicero's. ]

XCIV (F I, I)

[Sidenote: B. C. 56. Coss. , Cn. Cornelius Lentulus Marcellinus, L. Marcius Philippus. ]

 In the year B. C. 56 the growing differences between the triumvirs were temporarily composed at the meeting at Luca, and Cicero made up his mind that the only course for him to pursue was to attach himself to them, as the party of the _boni_ had not, as he hoped, taken advantage of those differences to attach Pompey to themselves as a leader against Cæsar. His recantation is indicated in the speeches _de Provinciis Consularibus_ and _pro Balbo_, in which he practically supports part, at least, of the arrangements of Luca. 

TO P. LENTULUS SPINTHER[435] (IN CILICIA)

ROME, 13 JANUARY

[Sidenote: B. C. 56, ÆT. 50]

Whatever attention or affection I may shew you, though it may seemsufficient in the eyes of others, can never seem sufficient in my own. For such has been the magnitude of your services to me that, inasmuch asyou never rested till my affair was brought to a conclusion, while Icannot effect the same in your cause, [436] I regard my life as a burden. The difficulties are these. The king's agent, Hammonius, is openlyattacking us by bribery. The business is being carried out by means ofthe same money-lenders as it was when you were in town. Such people aswish it done for the king's sake--and they are few--are all forintrusting the business to Pompey. The senate supports the trumped-upreligious scruple, not from any respect to religion, but fromill-feeling towards him, and disgust at the king's outrageous bribery. Inever cease advising and instigating Pompey--even frankly finding faultwith and admonishing him--to avoid what would be a most discreditableimputation. [437] But he really leaves no room for either entreaties oradmonitions from me. For, whether in everyday conversation or in thesenate, no one could support your cause with greater eloquence, seriousness, zeal, and energy than he has done, testifying in thehighest terms to your services to himself and his affection for you. Marcellinus, you know, is incensed with his flute-playing majesty. [438]In everything, saving and excepting this case of the king, he professesthe intention of being your champion. We take what he gives: nothing canmove him from his motion as to the religious difficulty, which he madeup his mind to bring, and has, in fact, brought several times before thesenate. The debate up to the Ides (for I am writing early in the morningof the Ides[439]) has been as follows: Hortensius and I and Lucullusvoted for yielding to the religious scruple as far as concerned thearmy, [440] for otherwise there was no possibility of getting the matterthrough, but, in accordance with the decree already passed on your ownmotion, were for directing you to restore the king, "so far as you maydo so without detriment to the state": so that while the religiousdifficulty prohibits the employment of an army, the senate might stillretain you as the person authorized. Crassus votes for sending threelegates, not excluding Pompey: for he would allow them to be selectedeven from such as are at present in possession of _imperium_. [441]Bibulus is for three legates selected from men without _imperium_. Theother consulars agree with the latter, except Servilius, who says thathe ought not to be restored at all: and Volcatius, who on the motion ofLupus votes for giving the business to Pompey: and Afranius, who agreeswith Volcatius. This last fact increases the suspicion as to Pompey'swishes: for it was noticed that Pompey's intimates agreed withVolcatius. We are in a very great difficulty: the day seems goingagainst us. The notorious colloguing and eagerness of Libo and Hypsæus, and the earnestness displayed by Pompey's intimates, have produced animpression that Pompey desires it; and those who don't want him to haveit are at the same time annoyed with your having put power into hishands. [442] I have the less influence in the case because I am under anobligation to you. Moreover, whatever influence I might have had isextinguished by the idea people entertain as to Pompey's wishes, forthey think they are gratifying him. We are in much the same position aswe were long before your departure: now, as then, the sore has beenfomented secretly by the king himself and by the friends and intimatesof Pompey, and then openly irritated by the consulars, till the popularprejudice has been excited to the highest pitch. All the world shallrecognize my loyalty, and your friends on the spot shall see myaffection for you though you are absent. If there were any good faith inthose most bound to shew it, we should be in no difficulty at all. 

[Footnote 435: Consul of B. C. 57, who had gone at the end of hisconsulship to be governor of Cilicia. ]

[Footnote 436: When Ptolemy Auletes first appealed to the senate (B. C. 57) to restore him to the throne of Egypt, it appears that a resolutionwas passed authorizing the proconsul of Cilicia to do so; but as Pompeywished to have the business, the senate found itself in a difficulty, not wishing to put him in military command, or daring to offend him byan open refusal (Dio, xxxix. 12). The tribune C. Cato found up aSibylline oracle forbidding the employment of an army for the purpose, which served the senate as a decent excuse. The commission to Lentuluswas eventually withdrawn by an _auctoritas senatus_, and Lentulus didnot venture to do it. Ptolemy, finding that he could not succeed ingetting Pompey commissioned, retired to Ephesus, and afterwardssucceeded by an enormous bribe in inducing Gabinius, the proconsul ofSyria, to do it (B. C. 55). ]

[Footnote 437: Of having been induced by greed or ambition to undertakethe restoration of Ptolemy. ]

[Footnote 438: Reading _tibicini_ for the unmeaning _tibi_. It is notcertain, but it makes good sense. Ptolemy was called _Auletes_(flute-player), of which the Latin _tibicen_ is a translation, meant, nodoubt, somewhat jocosely. ]

[Footnote 439: _I. E. _, before going to the senate on the Ides of January(13th). See next letter. ]

[Footnote 440: The Sibylline oracle forbade restoring the king "with amultitude. "]

[Footnote 441: Pompey had at this time _imperium_ as _curator annonæ_. ]

[Footnote 442: Because it was on Lentulus's motion that Pompey had beenmade _curator annonæ_, and so in possession of _imperium_ with naval andmilitary forces. ]

XCV (F I, 2)

TO P. LENTULUS SPINTHER (IN CILICIA)

ROME, 15 JANUARY

[Sidenote: B. C. 56, ÆT. 50]

Nothing was done on the 13th of January in the senate, because the daywas to a great extent spent in an altercation between the consulLentulus and the tribune Caninius. On that day I also spoke atconsiderable length, and thought that I made a very great impression onthe senate by dwelling on your affection for the house. Accordingly, next day we resolved that we would deliver our opinions briefly: for itappeared to us that the feelings of the senate had been softened towardsus--the result not only of my speech, but of my personal appeal andapplication to individual senators. Accordingly, the first proposition, that of Bibulus, having been delivered, that three legates shouldrestore the king: the second, that of Hortensius, that you shouldrestore him without an army: the third, that of Volcatius, that Pompeyshould do it, a demand was made that the proposal of Bibulus should betaken in two parts. [443] As far as he dealt with the religiousdifficulty--a point which was now past being opposed--his motion wascarried; his proposition as to three legates was defeated by a largemajority. The next was the proposition of Hortensius. Thereupon thetribune Lupus, on the ground that he had himself made a proposal aboutPompey, starts the contention that he ought to divide the house beforethe consuls. His speech was received on all sides by loud cries of "No":for it was both unfair and unprecedented. The consuls would not give in, and yet did not oppose with any vigour. Their object was to waste theday, and in that they succeeded:[444] for they saw very well that manytimes the number would vote for the proposal of Hortensius, althoughthey openly professed their agreement with Volcatius. Large numbers werecalled upon for their opinion, and that, too, with the assent of theconsuls: for they wanted the proposal of Bibulus carried. This disputewas protracted till nightfall, and the senate was dismissed. I happenedto be dining with Pompey on that day, and I seized the opportunity--thebest I have ever had, for since your departure I have never occupied amore honourable position in the senate than I had on that day--oftalking to him in such a way, that I think I induced him to give upevery other idea and resolve to support your claims. And, indeed, when Iactually hear him talk, I acquit him entirely of all suspicion ofpersonal ambition: but when I regard his intimates of every rank, Iperceive, what is no secret to anybody, that this whole business hasbeen long ago corruptly manipulated by a certain coterie, not withoutthe king's own consent and that of his advisers. 

I write this on the 15th of January, before daybreak. To-day there is tobe a meeting of the senate. We shall maintain, as I hope, our positionin the senate as far as it is possible to do so in such an age ofperfidy and unfair dealing. As to an appeal to the people on thesubject, we have, I think, secured that no proposition can be broughtbefore them without neglect of the auspices or breach of the laws, or, in fine, without downright violence. [445] The day before my writingthese words a resolution of the senate on these matters of the mostserious character was passed, and though Cato and Caninius vetoed it, itwas nevertheless written out. [446] I suppose it has been sent to you. Onall other matters I will write and tell you what has been done, whateverit is, and I will see that everything is carried out with the mostscrupulous fairness as far as my caution, labour, attention to details, and influence can secure it. 

[Footnote 443: The proposal of Bibulus to send "three legates" implied aconcession to the Sibylline verse, in not sending "an army. " It wastherefore to be voted on as two questions--(1) Shall the Sibylline versebe obeyed, and an army not sent? (2) Shall three legates be sent?]

[Footnote 444: That is, the debate went off on the side issue as to whohad the prior right of dividing the house. Lupus said _he_ had, becausethe proposal of Volcatius was really made before the others, _i. E. _, inthe previous day's debate (see last letter). The consuls were only tooglad thus to avoid having the main question brought to a vote, and letthis technical point be spun out in a languid debate. ]

[Footnote 445: Because they had magistrates ready to stop the _comitia_by declaring bad omens, and tribunes ready to veto any proposal. ]

[Footnote 446: A _senatus consultum_ vetoed by a tribune was writtenout, with the names of its proposers and backers, and a statement at theend as to the tribunes vetoing it. It was thus on record as an_auctoritas senatus_, "resolution of the senate, " not a _senatusconsultum_. A perfect specimen is given in Letter CCXXIII. This_auctoritas_ was to the effect that no one was to undertake therestoration. See Letter CXIII. ]

XCVI (F I, 3)

TO P. LENTULUS SPINTHER (IN CILICIA)

ROME (? JANUARY)

_M. Cicero presents his compliments to P. Lentulus, proconsul. _

[Sidenote: B. C. 56, ÆT. 50]

Aulus Trebonius, who has important business in your province, both ofwide extent and sound, is an intimate friend of mine of many years'standing. As before this he has always, both from his brilliant positionand the recommendations of myself and his other friends, enjoyed thehighest popularity in the province, so at the present time, trusting toyour affection for me and our close ties, he feels sure that this letterof mine will give him a high place in your esteem. That he may not bedisappointed in that hope I earnestly beg of you, and I commend to youall his business concerns, his freedmen, agents, and servants; andspecially that you will confirm the decrees made by T. Ampius in hisregard, and treat him in all respects so as to convince him that myrecommendation is no mere ordinary one. [447]

[Footnote 447: This is a specimen of the short letter of introduction toa provincial governor which were given almost as a matter of course bymen of position at Rome. We shall have many of them in the course of thecorrespondence: and Cicero elsewhere warns the recipient of such lettersnot to pay attention to them unless he expressly indicates his wish bysome less formal sentence (see Letter CXIV). T. Ampius was thepredecessor of Lentulus in Cilicia. ]

XCVII (F I, 4)

TO P. LENTULUS SPINTHER (IN CILICIA)

ROME, JANUARY

[Sidenote: B. C. 56, ÆT. 50]

Though in the senate of the 15th of January we made a most gloriousstand, seeing that on the previous day we had defeated the proposal ofBibulus about the three legates, and the only contest left was with theproposal of Volcatius, yet the business was spun out by our opponents byvarious obstructive tactics. For we were carrying our view in a fullsenate, in spite of the multifarious devices and inveterate jealousy ofthose who were for transferring the cause of the king from you to someone else. That day we found Curio very bitterly opposed, Bibulus muchmore fair, almost friendly even. Caninius and Cato declared that theywould not propose any law before the elections. By the _lex Pupia_, asyou know, no senate could be held before the 1st of February, nor infact during the whole of February, [448] unless the business of thelegations were finished or adjourned. However, the Roman people aregenerally of opinion that the pretext of a trumped-up religious scruplehas been introduced by your jealous detractors, not so much to hinderyou, as to prevent anyone from wishing to go to Alexandria with a viewof getting the command of an army. However, everyone thinks that thesenate has had a regard for your position. For there is no one that isignorant of the fact that it was all the doing of your opponents that nodivision took place: and if they, under the pretext of a regard for thepeople, but really from the most unprincipled villainy, attempt to carryanything, I have taken very good care that they shall not be able to doso without violating the auspices or the laws, or, in fact, withoutabsolute violence. I don't think I need write a word either about my ownzeal or the injurious proceedings of certain persons. For why should Imake any display myself--since, if I were even to shed my blood indefence of your position, I should think that I had not covered a titheof your services to me? Or why complain of the injurious conduct ofothers, which I cannot do without the deepest pain? I cannot at allpledge myself to you as to the effect of open violence, especially withsuch feeble magistrates; but, open violence out of the question, I canassure you that you will retain your high position, if the warmestaffections both of the senate and the Roman people can secure it to you. 

[Footnote 448: _I. E. _, no meeting of the senate for ordinary business. During the month of February the senate usually devoted all its time tohearing and answering deputations from the provinces or foreign states. The _lex Pupia_ forbade the meeting of the senate on _dies comitiales_, and after the 14th the days in January were all _comitiales_: butanother law (_lex Vatinia_) ordered it to meet every day in February forthe business of the legations. If this business was concluded ordeferred it remained a moot point whether a magistrate was not stillbound or, at least, allowed to summon it for other business (_ad Q. Fr. _ii. 13). ]

XCVII (F I, 5)

TO P. LENTULUS SPINTHER (IN CILICIA)

ROME, FEBRUARY

[Sidenote: B. C. 56, ÆT. 50]

Though the first wish of my heart is that my warmest gratitude to youshould be recognized first of all by yourself and then by everybodyelse, yet I am deeply grieved that such a state of things has followedyour departure as to give you occasion, in your absence, to test theloyalty and good disposition towards you both of myself and others. Thatyou see and feel that men are shewing the same loyalty in maintainingyour position as I experienced in the matter of my restoration, I haveunderstood from your letter. Just when I was depending most securely onmy policy, zeal, activity and influence in the matter of the king, therewas suddenly sprung on us the abominable bill of Cato's, [449] to hamperall our zeal and withdraw our thoughts from a lesser anxiety to a mostserious alarm. However, in a political upset of that kind, though thereis nothing that is not a source of terror yet the thing to be chieflyfeared is treachery: and Cato, at any rate, whatever happens, we have nohesitation in opposing. As to the business of Alexandria and the causeof the king, I can only promise you thus much, that I will to the utmostof my power satisfy both you, who are absent, and your friends who arehere. But I fear the king's cause may either be snatched from our handsor abandoned altogether, and I cannot easily make up my mind which ofthe two alternatives I would least wish. But if the worst comes to theworst, there is a third alternative, which is not wholly displeasingeither to Selicius[450] or myself--namely, that we should not let thematter drop, and yet should not allow the appointment, in spite of ourprotests, to be transferred to the man to whom it is now regarded aspractically transferred. [451] We will take the utmost care not to omitstruggling for any point that it seems possible to maintain, and not topresent the appearance of defeat if we have in any case failed tomaintain it. You must shew your wisdom and greatness of mind byregarding your fame and high position as resting on your virtue, yourpublic services, and the dignity of your character, and by believingthat, if the perfidy of certain individuals has deprived you of any ofthose honours which fortune has lavished on you, it will be moreinjurious to them than to you. I never let any opportunity slip eitherof acting or thinking for your interests. I avail myself of the aid ofQ. Selicius in everything: nor do I think that there is any one of allyour friends either shrewder, or more faithful, or more attached to you. 

[Footnote 449: That of the tribune C. Cato for the recall of Lentulus. ]

[Footnote 450: A money-lender, and friend of Lentulus Spinther. ]

[Footnote 451: Pompey. ]

XCIX (Q FR II, 2)

TO HIS BROTHER QUINTUS (IN SARDINIA)

ROME, 18 JANUARY

[Sidenote: B. C. 56, ÆT. 50]

It was not from the multiplicity of business, though I am very muchengaged, but from a slight inflammation of the eyes that I was inducedto dictate this letter, and not, as is my usual habit, write it with myown hand. And, to begin with, I wish to excuse myself to you on the verypoint on which I accuse you. For no one up to now has asked me "whetherI have any commands for Sardinia"--I think you often have people whosay, "Have you any commands for Rome?" As to what you have said in yourletters to me about the debt of Lentulus and Sestius, I have spoken withCincius. [452] However the matter stands, it is not the easiest in theworld. But surely Sardinia must have some special property for recallingone's memory of the past. For just as the famous Gracchus--asaugur--after arriving in that province remembered something that hadhappened to him, when holding the elections in the Campus Martius, inviolation of the auspices, so you appear to me to have recalled at yourease in Sardinia the design of Numisius and the debts due to Pomponius. As yet I have made no purchase. Culleo's auction has taken place: therewas no purchaser for his Tusculan property. If very favourable termswere to be offered, I should perhaps not let it slip. About yourbuilding I do not fail to press Cyrus. [453] I hope he will do his duty. But everything goes on somewhat slowly, owing too the prospect of thatmadman's ædileship. [454] For it seems that the legislative assembly willtake place without delay: it has been fixed for the 20th of January. However, I would not have you uneasy. Every precaution shall be taken byme. In regard to the Alexandrine king, a decree of the senate was passeddeclaring it dangerous to the Republic that he should be restored "witha host. " The point remaining to be decided in the senate being whetherLentulus or Pompey should restore him, Lentulus seemed on the point ofcarrying the day. In that matter I did justice to my obligations toLentulus marvellously well, while at the same time splendidly gratifyingPompey's wishes: but the detractors of Lentulus contrived to talk thematter out by obstructive speeches. Then followed the comitial days, onwhich a meeting of the senate was impossible. What the villainy of thetribunes is going to accomplish I cannot guess; I suspect, however, thatCaninius will carry his bill by violence. [455] In this business I cannotmake out what Pompey really wishes. What his _entourage_ desireeverybody sees. Those who are financing the king are openly advancingsums of money against Lentulus. There seems no doubt that the commissionhas been taken out of Lentulus's hands, to my very great regret, although he has done many things for which I might, if it were not forsuperior considerations, be justly angry with him. I hope, if it isconsistent with your interests, that you will embark as soon aspossible, when the weather is fair and settled, and come to me. Forthere are countless things, in regard to which I miss you daily in everypossible way. Your family and my own are well. 

18 January. 

[Footnote 452: Agent or steward of Atticus. ]

[Footnote 453: The architect. See Letter XXVIII, p. 68. ]

[Footnote 454: Clodius, who was ædile this year. ]

[Footnote 455: For commissioning Pompey with two lictors to restorePtolemy. ]

C (A IV, 4 a)

TO ATTICUS (RETURNING FROM EPIRUS)

ROME, 28 JANUARY

[Sidenote: B. C. 56, ÆT. 50]

I was charmed to see Cincius when he called on me on the 28th of Januarybefore daybreak. For he told me that you were in Italy and that he wassending slaves to you. I did not like them to go without a letter fromme; not that I had anything to say to you, especially as you are all buthere, but that I might express merely this one thing--that your arrivalis most delightful and most ardently wished for by me. Wherefore fly tous with the full assurance that your affection for me is fullyreciprocated. The rest shall be reserved for our meeting. I write ingreat haste. The day you arrive, mind, you and your party are to dinewith me. 

CI (Q FR II, 3)

TO HIS BROTHER QUINTUS (IN SARDINIA)

ROME, 12 FEBRUARY

[Sidenote: B. C. 56, ÆT. 50]

I have already told you the earlier proceedings; now let me describewhat was done afterwards. The legations were postponed from the 1st ofFebruary to the 13th. On the former day our business was not brought toa settlement. On the 2nd of February Milo appeared for trial. Pompeycame to support him. Marcellus spoke on being called upon by me. [456] Wecame off with flying colours. The case was adjourned to the 7th. Meanwhile (in the senate), the legations having been postponed to the13th, the business of allotting the quæstors and furnishing the outfitof the prætors was brought before the house. But nothing was done, because many speeches were interposed denouncing the state of theRepublic. Gaius Cato published his bill for the recall of Lentulus, whose son thereupon put on mourning. On the 7th Milo appeared. Pompeyspoke, or rather wished to speak. For as soon as he got up Clodius'sruffians raised a shout, and throughout his whole speech he wasinterrupted, not only by hostile cries, but by personal abuse andinsulting remarks. However, when he had finished his speech--for heshewed great courage in these circumstances, he was not cowed, he saidall he had to say, and at times had by his commanding presence evensecured silence for his words--well, when he had finished, up gotClodius. Our party received him with such a shout--for they haddetermined to pay him out--that he lost all presence of mind, power ofspeech, or control over his countenance. This went on up to twoo'clock--Pompey having finished his speech at noon--and every kind ofabuse, and finally epigrams of the most outspoken indecency were utteredagainst Clodius and Clodia. Mad and livid with rage Clodius, in the verymidst of the shouting, kept putting the questions to his claque: "Whowas it who was starving the commons to death?" His ruffians answered, "Pompey. " "Who wanted to be sent to Alexandria?" They answered, "Pompey. " "Who did they wish to go?" They answered, "Crassus. " Thelatter was present at the time with no friendly feelings to Milo. Aboutthree o'clock, as though at a given signal, the Clodians began spittingat our men. There was an outburst of rage. They began a movement forforcing us from our ground. Our men charged: his ruffians turned tail. Clodius was pushed off the rostra: and then we too made our escape forfear of mischief in the riot. The senate was summoned into the Curia:Pompey went home. However, I did not myself enter the senate-house, lestI should be obliged either to refrain from speaking on matters of suchgravity, or in defending Pompey (for he was being attacked by Bibulus, Curio, Favonius, and Servilius the younger) should give offence to theloyalists. The business was adjourned to the next day. Clodius fixed theQuirinalia (17 of February) for his prosecution. On the 8th the senatemet in the temple of Apollo, that Pompey might attend. Pompey made animpressive speech. That day nothing was concluded. On the 9th in thetemple of Apollo a decree passed the senate "that what had taken placeon the 7th of February was treasonable. " On this day Cato warmlyinveighed against Pompey, and throughout his speech arraigned him asthough he were at the bar. He said a great deal about me, to my disgust, though it was in very laudatory terms. When he attacked Pompey's perfidyto me, he was listened to in profound silence on the part of my enemies. Pompey answered him boldly with a palpable allusion to Crassus, and saidoutright that "he would take better precautions to protect his lifethan Africanus had done, whom C. Carbo had assassinated. "[457]Accordingly, important events appear to me to be in the wind. For Pompeyunderstands what is going on, and imparts to me that plots are beingformed against his life, that Gaius Cato is being supported by Crassus, that money is being supplied to Clodius, that both are backed by Crassusand Curio, as well as by Bibulus and his other detractors: that he musttake extraordinary precautions to prevent being overpowered by thatdemagogue--with a people all but wholly alienated, a nobility hostile, asenate ill-affected, and the younger men corrupt. So he is making hispreparations and summoning men from the country. On his part, Clodius israllying his gangs: a body of men is being got together for theQuirinalia. For that occasion we are considerably in a majority, owingto the forces brought up by Pompey himself: and a large contingent isexpected from Picenum and Gallia, to enable us to throw out Cato's billsalso about Milo and Lentulus. 

On the 10th of February an indictment was lodged against Sestius forbribery by the informer Cn. Nerius, of the Pupinian tribe, and on thesame day by a certain M. Tullius for riot. [458] He was ill. I went atonce, as I was bound to do, to his house, and put myself wholly at hisservice: and that was more than people expected, who thought that I hadgood cause for being angry with him. The result is that my extremekindness and grateful disposition are made manifest both to Sestiiushimself and to all the world, and I shall be as good as my word. Butthis same informer Nerius also named Cn. Lentulus Vatia and C. Corneliusto the commissioners. [459] On the same day a decree passed the senate"that political clubs and associations should be broken up, and that alaw in regard to them should be brought in, enacting that those who didnot break off from them should be liable to the same penalty as thoseconvicted of riot. "

On the 11th of February I spoke in defence of Bestia[460] on a charge ofbribery before the prætor Cn. Domitius, [461] in the middle of the forumand in a very crowded court; and in the course of my speech I came tothe incident of Sestius, after receiving many wounds in the temple ofCastor, having been preserved by the aid of Bestia. Here I took occasionto pave the way beforehand for a refutation of the charges which arebeing got up against Sestius, and I passed a well-deserved encomium uponhim with the cordial approval of everybody. He was himself very muchdelighted with it. I tell you this because you have often advised me inyour letters too retain the friendship of Sestius. I am writing this onthe 12th of February before daybreak: the day on which I am to dine withPomponius on the occasion of his wedding. 

Our position in other respects is such as you used to cheer mydespondency by telling me it would be--one of great dignity andpopularity: this is a return to old times for you and me effected, mybrother, by your patience, high character, loyalty, and, I may also add, your conciliatory manners. The house of Licinius, near the grove ofPiso, [462] has been taken for you. But, as I hope, in a few months'time, after the 1st of July, you will move into your own. Some excellenttenants, the Lamiæ, have taken your house in Carinæ. [463] I havereceived no letter from you since the one dated Olbia. I am anxious tohear how you are and what you find to amuse you, but above all to seeyou yourself as soon as possible. Take care of your health, my dearbrother, and though it is winter time, yet reflect that after all it isSardinia that you are in. [464]

15 February. 

[Footnote 456: Milo impeached by Clodius before the _comitia tributa_for his employment of gladiators. Dio (xxxix. 18) says that Clodius thusimpeached Milo, not with any hope of securing his conviction against thepowerful support of Cicero and Pompey, but to get the chance ofinsulting these latter. Marcellus was one of the candidates for theædileship with Clodius. See Letter XCI. ]

[Footnote 457: In B. C. 129, after making a speech in favour of theclaims of the Italians for exemption from the agrarian law of Gracchus, Scipio Æmilianus, the younger Africanus, was found dead in his bed. Thecommon report was that he had been assassinated by Carbo, or with hisprivity, but it was never proved (see _de Orat. _ ii. § 170). Cicero doesnot here assume the truth of the story, he merely repeats Pompey'swords. ]

[Footnote 458: M. Tullius Albinovanus. It was on this charge _de vi_that Cicero defended Sestius in the extant speech. The charge of briberydoes not appear to have been proceeded with. ]

[Footnote 459: _Adlegatos_, probably commissioners named to receive andreport on a deposition of an informer before the senate acted. ]

[Footnote 460: L. Calpurnius Piso Bestia, a candidate in the lastelection of ædiles. ]

[Footnote 461: Cn. Domitius Calvinus, consul B. C. 53. In the Civil Warhe sided with Pompey, and perished at sea after Thapsus (B. C. 46). ]

[Footnote 462: _Ad lucum Pisonis_. The place is not known, but there isnot sufficient reason for the change to _ad lacum Pisonis_, a placeequally unknown. ]

[Footnote 463: A part of Rome on the slope of the Mons Oppius. ]

[Footnote 464: _I. E. _, get out of it as soon as you can. ]

CII (F I, 5 b)

TO P. LENTULUS SPINTHER (IN CILICIA)

ROME (FEBRUARY)

[Sidenote: B. C. 56, ÆT. 50]

What is being done and has been done here I imagine you know fromletters of numerous correspondents and from messengers: but what arestill matters for conjecture, and seem likely to take place, I think Iought to write and tell you. After Pompey had been roughly treated withshouts and insulting remarks, while speaking before the people on the7th of February in defence of Milo, and had been accused in the senateby Cato in exceedingly harsh and bitter terms amidst profound silence, he appeared to me to be very much upset in his mind. Accordingly, heseems to me to have quite given up any idea of the Alexandrinebusiness--which, as far as we are concerned, remains exactly where itwas, for the senate has taken nothing from you except what, owing to thesame religious difficulty, cannot be granted to anyone else. My hope andmy earnest endeavour now is that the king, when he understands that hecannot obtain what he had in his mind--restoration by Pompey--and that, unless restored by you, he will be abandoned, and neglected, should payyou a visit. [465] This he will do without any hesitation, if Pompeygives the least hint of his approval. But you know that man's deliberateways and obstinate reserve. However, I will omit nothing that maycontribute to that result. The other injurious proceedings instituted byCato I shall, I hope, have no difficulty in resisting. I perceive thatnone of the consulars are friendly to you except Hortensius andLucullus; the rest are either hostile, without openly shewing it, orundisguisedly incensed. Keep a brave and high spirit, and feel confidentthat the result will be to utterly repulse the attack of a mostcontemptible fellow, and to retain your high position and fame. 

[Footnote 465: Ptolemy was at Ephesus. ]

CIII (F I, 6)

TO P. LENTULUS SPINTHER (IN CILICIA)

ROME (FEBRUARY)

[Sidenote: B. C. 56, ÆT. 50]

What is going on you will learn from Pollio, [466] who not only wasengaged in all the transactions, but was the leader in them. In my owndeep distress, occasioned by the course your business has taken, [467] Iam chiefly consoled by the hope which makes me strongly suspect that thedishonest practices of men will be defeated both by the measures of yourfriends and by mere lapse of time, which must have a tendency to weakenthe plans of your enemies and of traitors. In the second place, I derivea ready consolation from the memory of my own dangers, of which I see areflexion in your fortunes. For though your position is attacked in aless important particular than that which brought mine to the ground, yet the analogy is so strong, that I trust you will pardon me if I amnot frightened at what you did not yourself consider ought to causealarm. But shew yourself the man I have known you to be, to use a Greekexpression, "since your nails were soft. "[468] The injurious conduct ofmen will, believe me, only make your greatness more conspicuous. Expectfrom me the greatest zeal and devotion in everything: I will not falsifyyour expectation. 

[Footnote 466: The famous C. Asinius Pollio. ]

[Footnote 467: The postponement of the Egyptian commission. ]

[Footnote 468: ἐξ ἀπαλῶν ὀνύχων, _i. E. _, "from your earliest youth. "Others explain it to mean "from the bottom of your heart, " or"thoroughly, " from the idea that the nerves ended in the nails. ἔξ αὐτῶντῶν ὀνύχων, "thoroughly, " occurs in late Greek, and similar usages inthe Anthology. ]

CIV (Q FR II, 4 AND PART OF 6)

TO HIS BROTHER QUINTUS (IN SARDINIA)

ROME, MARCH

[Sidenote: B. C. 56, ÆT. 50]

Our friend Sestius was acquitted on the 11th of March, and, what was ofgreat importance to the Republic--that there should be no appearance ofdifference of opinion in a case of that sort--was acquitted unanimously. As to what I had often gathered from your letters, that you were anxiousabout--that I should not leave any loophole for abuse to an unfriendlycritic on the score of my being ungrateful, if I did not treat with theutmost indulgence his occasional wrong-headedness--let me tell you thatin this trial I established my character for being the most grateful ofmen. For in conducting the defence I satisfied in the fullest mannerpossible a man of difficult temper, and, what he above all thingsdesired, I cut up Vatinius (by whom he was being openly attacked) justas I pleased, with the applause of gods and men. And, farther, when ourfriend Paullus[469] was brought forward as a witness against Sestius, heaffirmed that he would lay an information against Vatinius[470] ifLicinius Macer hesitated to do so, and Macer, rising from Sestius'sbenches, declared that he would not fail. Need I say more? That impudentswaggering fellow Vatinius was overwhelmed with confusion and thoroughlydiscredited. 

That most excellent boy, your son Quintus, is getting on splendidly withhis education. I notice this the more because Tyrannio[471] gives hislessons in my house. The building of both your house and mine is beingpushed on energetically. I have caused half the money to be paid toyour contractor. I hope before winter we may be under the same roof. Asto our Tullia, who, by Hercules, is very warmly attached to you, I hopeI have settled her engagement with Crassipes. [472] There are two daysafter the Latin festival which are barred by religion. [473] Otherwisethe festival of Iuppiter Latiaris has come to an end. 

The affluence which you often mention I feel the want of to a certainextent; but while I welcome it if it comes to me, I am not exactlybeating the covert for it. [474] I am building in three places, and ampatching up my other houses. I live somewhat more lavishly than I usedto do. I am obliged to do so. If I had you with me I should give thebuilders full swing for a while. [475] But this too (as I hope) we shallshortly talk over together. 

The state of affairs at Rome is this: Lentulus Marcellinus is splendidas consul, and his colleague does not put any difficulty in his way: heis so good, I repeat, that I have never seen a better. He deprived themof all the comitial days; for even the Latin festival is beingrepeated, [476] nor were thanksgiving days wanting. [477] In this way thepassing of most mischievous laws is prevented, especially that ofCato, [478] on whom, however, our friend Milo played a very pretty trick. For that defender of the employment of gladiators and beast-fighters hadbought some beast-fighters from Cosconius and Pomponius, and had neverappeared in public without them in their full armour. He could notafford to maintain them, and accordingly had great difficulty inkeeping them together. Milo found this out. He commissioned anindividual, with whom he was not intimate, to buy this troop from Catowithout exciting his suspicion. As soon as it had been removed, Racilius--at this time quite the only real tribune--revealed the truth, acknowledged that the men had been purchased for himself--for this iswhat they had agreed--and put up a notice that he intended to sell"Cato's troop. " This notice caused much laughter. Accordingly, Lentulushas prevented Cato from going on with his laws, and also those whopublished bills of a monstrous description about Cæsar, with no tribuneto veto them. Caninius's proposal, indeed, about Pompey has died anatural death. For it is not approved of in itself, and our friendPompey is also spoken of with great severity for the breach of hisfriendship with Publius Lentulus. He is not the man he was. The fact isthat to the lowest dregs of the populace his support of Milo gives someoffence, while the aristocrats are dissatisfied with much that he omitsto do, and find fault with much that he does. This is the only point, however, in which I am not pleased with Marcellinus--that he handles himtoo roughly. Yet in this he is not going counter to the wishes of thesenate: consequently I am the more glad to withdraw from thesenate-house and from politics altogether. In the courts I have the sameposition as I ever had: never was my house more crowded. One untowardcircumstance has occurred owing to Milo's rashness--the acquittal ofSext. Clodius[479]--whose prosecution at this particular time, and by aweak set of accusers, was against my advice. In a most corrupt panel hisconviction failed by only three votes. Consequently the people clamourfor a fresh trial, and he must surely be brought back into court. Forpeople will not put up with it, and seeing that, though pleading beforea panel of his own kidney, he was all but condemned, they look upon himas practically condemned. Even in this matter the unpopularity of Pompeywas an obstacle in our path. For the votes of the senators were largelyin his favour, those of the knights were equally divided, while the_tribuni ærarii_ voted for his condemnation. But for this _contretemps_I am consoled by the daily condemnations of my enemies, among whom, tomy great delight, Servius[480] got upon the rocks: the rest are utterlydone for. Gaius Cato declared in public meeting that he would not allowthe elections to be held, if he were deprived of the days for doingbusiness with the people. Appius has not yet returned from his visit toCæsar. I am looking forward with extraordinary eagerness to a letterfrom you. Although I know the sea is still closed, yet they tell me thatcertain persons have, nevertheless, arrived from Olbia full of yourpraises, and declaring you to be very highly thought of in the province. They said also that these persons reported that you intended to cross assoon as navigation became possible. That is what I desire: but althoughit is yourself, of course, that I most look forward to, yet meanwhile Ilong for a letter. Farewell, my dear brother. 

[Footnote 469: L. Æmilius Paullus, prætor B. C. 53, consul B. C. 50, astrong Optimate and friend of Cicero's. ]

[Footnote 470: P. Vatinius, the tribune of B. C. 59, who had supportedCæsar and proposed the law for his five years' command in Gaul. Cicerospoke against him for perjury; but afterwards we shall find themostensibly reconciled. ]

[Footnote 471: A Greek grammarian and geographer, of whom we have heardbefore, and shall hear of again in connexion with Cicero's library. ]

[Footnote 472: P. Furius Crassipes. Tullia's first husband, C. Calpurnius Piso Frugi, died, it seems, before Cicero returned from exilein B. C. 57. This second marriage (or, perhaps, only betrothal) wasshortly ended by a divorce. ]

[Footnote 473: _I. E. _, on which the _sponsalia_ could not take place. ]

[Footnote 474: Not going the right way to work to get it. ]

[Footnote 475: At the end of the next letter he says that, pendingQuintus's arrival, he has stopped some of his building. ]

[Footnote 476: On some alleged informality the _feriæ Latinæ_ were helda second time (_instauratæ_), really, Cicero implies, in order to barsome additional days for public business, and prevent legislation, aslater on the election of Pompey and Crassus was prevented (Dio, xxxix. 30). ]

[Footnote 477: At the end of B. C. 57, or the beginning of 56, fifteendays of _supplicatio_ were decreed in consequence of Cæsar's success inGaul (Cæs. _B. G. _ ii. 35). ]

[Footnote 478: Gaius Cato the tribune, who proposed to recall Lentulus. ]

[Footnote 479: A _scriba_ or public clerk, and a client of the patricianClodii. ]

[Footnote 480: Unknown. Cicero's words seem to imply that he nearly gotconvicted, but not quite. ]

CV (Q FR II, 5 AND PARTS OF 6 AND 7)

TO HIS BROTHER QUINTUS (IN SARDINIA)

ROME, 8 APRIL

[Sidenote: B. C. 56, ÆT. 50]

I have already sent you a letter containing the information of mydaughter Tullia having been betrothed to Crassipes on the 4th of April, and other intelligence public and private. The following are the eventssince then. On the 5th of April, by a decree of the senate, a sum ofmoney amounting to 40, 000 sestertia (about £320, 000) was voted to Pompeyfor the business of the corn-supply. But on the same day there was avehement debate on the Campanian land, the senators making almost asmuch noise as a public meeting. The shortness of money and the highprice of corn increased the exasperation. Nor will I omit the following:the members of the colleges of the Capitolini and the Mercuriales[481]expelled from their society a Roman knight named M. Furius Flaccus, aman of bad character: the expulsion took place when he was at themeeting, and though he threw himself at the feet of each member. 

On the 6th of April, the eve of my departure from town, I gave abetrothal party to Crassipes. That excellent boy, your and my Quintus, was not at the banquet owing to a very slight indisposition. On the 7thof April I visited Quintus and found him quite restored. He talked agood deal and with great feeling about the quarrels between our wives. What need I say more? Nothing could have been pleasanter. Pomponia, however, had some complaints to make of you also: but of this when wemeet. After leaving your boy I went to the site of your house: thebuilding was going on with a large number of workmen. I urged thecontractor Longilius to push on. He assured me that he had every wish tosatisfy us. The house will be splendid, for it can be better seen nowthan we could judge from the plan: my own house is also being built withdespatch. On this day I dined with Crassipes. After dinner I went in mysedan to visit Pompey at his suburban villa. I had not been able to callon him in the daytime as he was away from home. However, I wished to seehim, because I am leaving Rome to-morrow, and he is on the point ofstarting for Sardinia. I found him at home and begged him to restore youto us as soon as possible. "Immediately, " he said. He is going to start, according to what he said, on the 11th of April, with the intention ofembarking at Livorno or Pisa. [482] Mind, my dear brother, that, as soonas he arrives, you seize the first opportunity of setting sail, providedonly that the weather is favourable. I write this on the 8th of Aprilbefore daybreak, and am on the point of starting on my journey, with theintention of stopping to-day with Titus Titius at Anagnia. To-morrow Ithink of being at Laterium, [483] thence, after five days in Arpinum, going to my Pompeian house, just looking in upon my villa at Cumæ on myreturn journey, with the view--since Milo's trial has been fixed for the7th of May--of being at Rome on the 6th, and of seeing you on that day, I hope, dearest and pleasantest of brothers. I thought it best that thebuilding at Arcanum[484] should be suspended till your return. Take goodcare, my dear brother, of your health, and come as soon as possible. 

[Footnote 481: In B. C. 357 a "college" was established for celebratingthe _ludi Capitolini_, in celebration of the failure of the Gauls totake it. It consisted of men living on the Capitoline (Livy, v. 50). The_Mercuriales_ were a "college" or company of merchants who celebratedthe _fête_ of the consecration of the temple of Mercury (B. C. , 495) onthe Ides of May (Livy, ii. 27; Ov. _F. _ v. 669; C. _I. L. _ i. P. 206). ]

[Footnote 482: It was on this journey that Pompey visited Luca tomeetCæsar and Crassus. ]

[Footnote 483: The name of a property of Quintus at Arpinum. ]

[Footnote 484: Another property of Quintus near Mintumæ. ]

CVI (A IV, 4 b)

TO ATTICUS (RETURNING FROM EPIRUS)

ANTIUM (APRIL)

[Sidenote: B. C. 56, ÆT. 50]

It will be delightful if you come to see us here. You will find thatTyrannio has made a wonderfully good arrangement of my books, theremains of which are better than I had expected. Still, I wish you wouldsend me a couple of your library slaves for Tyrannio to employ asgluers, and in other subordinate work, and tell them to get some fineparchment to make title-pieces, which you Greeks, I think, call"sillybi. " But all this is only if not inconvenient to you. In any case, be sure you come yourself, if you can halt for a while in such a place, and can persuade Pilia[485] to accompany you. For that is only fair, andTullia is anxious that she should come. My word! You have purchased afine troop! Your gladiators, I am told, fight superbly. If you hadchosen to let them out you would have cleared your expenses by the lasttwo spectacles. But we will talk about this later on. Be sure to come, and, as you love me, see about the library slaves. 

[Footnote 485: The recently married wife of Atticus. See p. 216. ]

CVII (A IV, 5)

TO ATTICUS (AT ROME)

ANTIUM (APRIL)

[Sidenote: B. C. 56, ÆT. 50]

Do you really mean it? Do you think that there is anyone by whom Iprefer to have what I write read and approved of before yourself? "Why, then, did I send it to anyone before you?" I was pressed by the man towhom I sent it, and had no copy. And--well! I am nibbling at what Imust, after all, swallow--my "recantation"[486] did seem to me a triflediscreditable! But good-bye to straightforward, honest, and high-mindedpolicy! One could scarcely believe the amount of treachery there is inthose leaders of the state, as they wish to be, and might be, if theyhad any principle of honour in them. I had felt it, known it--taken in, abandoned, and cast aside by them, as I had been! and yet my purposestill was to stick by them in politics. They were the same men as theyever had been. At last, on your advice, my eyes have been opened. Youwill say that your advice only extended to action, not to writing also. The truth is that I wanted to bind myself to this new combination, thatI might have no excuse for slipping back to those who, even at a timewhen I could claim their compassion, never cease being jealous of me. However, I kept within due limits in my subject, when I did put pen topaper. I shall launch out more copiously if _he_ shews that he is gladto receive it, and those make wry faces who are angry at my possessingthe villa which once belonged to Catulus, without reflecting that Ibought it from Vettius: who say that I ought not to have built a townhouse, and declare that I ought to have sold. But what is all this tothe fact that, when I have delivered senatorial speeches in agreementwith their own views, their chief pleasure has yet been that I spokecontrary to Pompey's wishes? Let us have an end of it. Since those whohave no power refuse me their affection, let us take care to secure theaffection of those who have power. You will say, "I could have wishedthat you had done so before. " I know you did wish it, and that I havemade a real ass of myself. But now the time has come to shew a littleaffection for myself, since I can get none from them on any terms. 

I am much obliged to you for frequently going to see my house. Crassipes[487] swallows up my money for travelling. Tullia will gostraight to your suburban villa. [488] That seems the more convenientplan. Consequently she will be at your town house the next day: for whatcan it matter to you? But we shall see. Your men have beautified mylibrary by making up the books and appending title-slips. Please thankthem. 

[Footnote 486: παλινφδία--something he had apparently written and sentto Pompey or Cæsar, giving in his adhesion to the policy of thetriumvirs. It can hardly have been the speech _de ProvinciisConsularibus_ or the _oratio pro Balbo_, which had probably not yet beendelivered, for the arrangement recommended in the former speech was notthat of the conference of Luca, while in the latter, though he speaksrespectfully of Cæsar, there is nothing in the shape of a palinode ingeneral politics. ]

CVIII (F V, 12)

TO L. LUCCEIUS[489]

ARPINUM (APRIL)

[Sidenote: B. C. 56, ÆT. 50]

I have often tried to say to you personally what I am about to write, but was prevented by a kind of almost clownish bashfulness. Now that I anot in your presence I shall speak out more boldly: a letter does notblush. I am inflamed with an inconceivably ardent desire, and one, as Ithink, of which I have no reason to be ashamed, that in a historywritten by _you_ my name should be conspicuous and frequently mentionedwith praise. And though you have often shewn me that you meant to do so, yet I hope you will pardon my impatience. For the style of yourcomposition, though I had always entertained the highest expectations ofit, has yet surpassed my hopes, and has taken such a hold upon me, orrather has so fired my imagination, that I was eager to have myachievements as quickly as possible put on record in your history. Forit is not only the thought of being spoken of by future ages that makesme snatch at what seems a hope of immortality, but it is also the desireof fully enjoying in my lifetime an authoritative expression of yourjudgment, or a token of your kindness for me, or the charm of yourgenius. Not, however, that while thus writing I am unaware under whatheavy burdens you are labouring in the portion of history you haveundertaken, and by this time have begun to write. But because I saw thatyour history of the Italian and Civil Wars was now all but finished, andbecause also you told me that you were already embarking upon theremaining portions of your work, I determined not to lose my chance forthe want of suggesting to you to consider whether you preferred to weaveyour account of me into the main context of your history, or whether, asmany Greek writers have done--Callisthenes, the Phocian War; Timæus, thewar of Pyrrhus; Polybius, that of Numantia; all of whom separated thewars I have named from their main narratives--you would, like them, separate the civil conspiracy from public and external wars. For mypart, I do not see that it matters much to my reputation, but it doessomewhat concern my impatience, that you should not wait till you cometo the proper place, but should at once anticipate the discussion ofthat question as a whole and the history of that epoch. And at the sametime, if your whole thoughts are engaged on one incident and one person, I can see in imagination how much fuller your material will be, and howmuch more elaborately worked out. I am quite aware, however, what littlemodesty I display, first, in imposing on you so heavy a burden (for yourengagements may well prevent your compliance with my request), and inthe second place, in asking you to shew me off to advantage. What ifthose transactions are not in your judgment so very deserving ofcommendation? Yet, after all, a man who has once passed the border-lineof modesty had better put a bold face on it and be frankly impudent. Andso I again and again ask you outright, both to praise those actions ofmine in warmer terms than you perhaps feel, and in that respect toneglect the laws of history. I ask you, too, in regard to the personalpredilection, on which you wrote in a certain introductory chapter inthe most gratifying and explicit terms--and by which you shew that youwere as incapable of being diverted as Xenophon's Hercules byPleasure--not to go against it, but to yield to your affection for me alittle more than truth shall justify. But if I can induce you toundertake this, you will have, I am persuaded, matter worthy of yourgenius and your wealth of language. For from the beginning of theconspiracy to my return from exile it appears to me that amoderate-sized monograph might be composed, in which you will, on theone hand, be able to utilize your special knowledge of civildisturbances, either in unravelling the causes of the revolution or inproposing remedies for evils, blaming meanwhile what you think deservesdenunciation, and establishing the righteousness of what you approve byexplaining the principles on which they rest: and on the other hand, ifyou think it right to be more outspoken (as you generally do), you willbring out the perfidy, intrigues, and treachery of many people towardsme. For my vicissitudes will supply you in your composition with muchvariety, which has in itself a kind of charm, capable of taking a stronghold on the imagination of readers, when you are the writer. For nothingis better fitted to interest a reader than variety of circumstance andvicissitudes of fortune, which, though the reverse of welcome to us inactual experience, will make very pleasant reading: for the untroubledrecollection of a past sorrow has a charm of its own. To the rest of theworld, indeed, who have had no trouble themselves, and who look upon themisfortunes of others without any suffering of their own, the feeling ofpity is itself a source of pleasure. For what man of us is notdelighted, though feeling a certain compassion too, with the death-sceneof Epaminondas at Mantinea? He, you know, did not allow the dart to bedrawn from his body until he had been told, in answer to his question, that his shield was safe, so that in spite of the agony of his wound hedied calmly and with glory. Whose interest is not roused and sustainedby the banishment and return of Themistocles?[490] Truly the merechronological record of the annals has very little charm for us--littlemore than the entries in the _fasti_: but the doubtful and variedfortunes of a man, frequently of eminent character, involve feelings ofwonder, suspense, joy, sorrow, hope, fear: if these fortunes are crownedwith a glorious death, the imagination is satisfied with the mostfascinating delight which reading can give. Therefore it will be more inaccordance with my wishes if you come to the resolution to separate fromthe main body of your narrative, in which you embrace a continuoushistory of events, what I may call the drama of my actions and fortunes:for it includes varied acts, and shifting scenes both of policy andcircumstance. Nor am I afraid of appearing to lay snares for your favourby flattering suggestions, when I declare that I desire to becomplimented and mentioned with praise by you above all other writers. For you are not the man to be ignorant of your own powers, or not to besure that those who withhold their admiration of you are more to beaccounted jealous, than those who praise you flatterers. Nor, again, amI so senseless as to wish to be consecrated to an eternity of fame byone who, in so consecrating me, does not also gain for himself the glorywhich rightfully belongs to genius. For the famous Alexander himself didnot wish to be painted by Apelles, and to have his statue made byLysippus above all others, merely from personal favour to them, butbecause he thought that their art would be a glory at once to them andto himself. And, indeed, those artists used to make images of the personknown to strangers: but if such had never existed, illustrious men wouldyet be no less illustrious. The Spartan Agesilaus, who would not allow aportrait of himself to be painted or a statue made, deserves to bequoted as an example quite as much as those who have taken troubleabout such representations: for a single pamphlet of Xenophon's inpraise of that king has proved much more effective than all theportraits and statues of them all. And, moreover, it will more redoundto my present exultation and the honour of my memory to have found myway into your history, than if I had done so into that of others, inthis, that I shall profit not only by the genius of the writer--asTimoleon did by that of Timæus, Themistocles by that of Herodotus--butalso by the authority of a man of a most illustrious andwell-established character, and one well known and of the first reputefor his conduct in the most important and weighty matters of state; sothat I shall seem to have gained not only the fame which Alexander onhis visit to Sigeum said had been bestowed on Achilles by Homer, butalso the weighty testimony of a great and illustrious man. For I likethat saying of Hector in Nævius, who not only rejoices that he is"praised, " but adds, "and by one who has himself been praised. " But if Ifail to obtain my request from you, which is equivalent to saying, ifyou are by some means prevented--for I hold it to be out of the questionthat you would _refuse_ a request of mine--I shall perhaps be forced todo what certain persons have often found fault with, write my ownpanegyric, a thing, after all, which has a precedent of many illustriousmen. But it will not escape your notice that there are the followingdrawbacks in a composition of that sort: men are bound, when writing ofthemselves, both to speak with greater reserve of what is praiseworthy, and to omit what calls for blame. Added to which such writing carriesless conviction, less weight; many people, in fine, carp at it, and saythat the heralds at the public games are more modest, for after havingplaced garlands on the other recipients and proclaimed their names in aloud voice, when their own turn comes to be presented with a garlandbefore the games break up, they call in the services of another herald, that they may not declare themselves victors with their own voice. Iwish to avoid all this, and, if you undertake my cause, I shall avoidit: and, accordingly, I ask you this favour. But why, you may well ask, when you have already often assured me that you intended to record inyour book with the utmost minuteness the policy and events of myconsulship, do I now make this request to you with such earnestness andin so many words? The reason is to be found in that burning desire, ofwhich I spoke at the beginning of my letter, for something _prompt_:because I am in a flutter of impatience, both that men should learn whatI am from your books, while I am still alive, and that I may myself inmy lifetime have the full enjoyment of my little bit of glory. What youintend doing on this subject I should like you to write me word, if nottroublesome to you. For if you do undertake the subject, I will puttogether some notes of all occurrences: but if you put me off to somefuture time, I will talk the matter over with you. Meanwhile, do notrelax your efforts, and thoroughly polish what you have already on thestocks, and--continue to love me. 

[Footnote 487: That is, the dowry and expenses of Tullia's betrothal toCrassipes. ]

[Footnote 488: _Tullia de via recta in hortos_, for _tu_, etc. , and _adte postridie_. This may not be right, but no other suggestions as to themeaning of these abrupt clauses have been made which are in the leastconvincing. We must suppose that Atticus has asked Tullia to stay withhim and his wife Pilia, and Cicero is describing her journey fromAntium. ]

[Footnote 489: L. Lucceius, of whom we have heard before, as having somequarrel with Atticus. His work has not survived. No letter of thecorrespondence has brought more adimadversion on Cicero, and yetlog-rolling and the appealing to friends on the press to review one'sbook are not wholly unknown even in our time. ]

[Footnote 490: Cicero appears by a slip to have written Themistoclesinstead of Aristeides. The dramatic return of the latter just before thebattle of Salamis is narrated in Herodotus: whereas the former neverreturned, though his dead body was said to have been brought to Athens. ]

CIX (A IV, 6)

TO ATTICUS (AT ROME)

FROM THE COUNTRY (APRIL-MAY)

[Sidenote: B. C. 56, ÆT. 50]

Of course I am as sorry about Lentulus as I am bound to be: we have losta good patriot and a great man, one who to great strength of characterunited a culture equally profound. My consolation is a miserable one, but still it is a consolation--that I do not grieve on his account: Idon't mean in the sense of Saufeius and your Epicurean friends, but, byHercules, because he loved his country so deeply, that he seems to me tohave been snatched away by a special favour of providence from itsconflagration. For what could be more humiliating than the life we areliving, especially mine? For as to yourself, though by nature apolitician, you have yet avoided having any servitude peculiar toyourself: you merely come under an appellation common to us all. [491]But _I_, who, if I say what I ought about the Republic, am looked on asmad, if what expediency dictates, as a slave, and if I say nothing, asutterly crushed and helpless--what must I be suffering? Suffer, indeed, I do, and all the more keenly that I cannot even shew my pain withoutappearing ungrateful. Again: what if I should choose a life ofinactivity and take refuge in the harbour of retired leisure?Impossible! Rather war and the camp! Am I to serve in the ranks afterrefusing to be a general? I suppose I must. For I perceive you, too, think so, you whom I wish that I had always obeyed. All that is left tome now is, "You have drawn Sparta: make the best of it!" But, byheavens, I can't: and I feel for Philoxenus, [492] who preferred a returnto gaol. However, in my present retirement I am thinking over how toexpress my rejection of the old policy, and when we meet you willstrengthen me in it. 

I notice that you have written to me at frequent intervals, but Ireceived all the letters at once. This circumstance increased my grief. For I had read three to begin with, in which the report of Lentulus wasthat he was a little better. Then came the thunderbolt of the fourth. But it is not he, as I said, who is to be pitied, but we who are socallous as to live on. [493] You remind me to write that essay onHortensius: I have digressed into other subjects, but have not forgottenyour charge. But, by heaven, at the first line I shrank from the task, lest I, who seem to have acted foolishly in resenting his intemperateconduct as a friend, should once more be foolishly rendering hisinjurious treatment of me conspicuous, if I wrote anything; and at thesame time lest my high _morale_, manifested in my actions, should besomewhat obscured in my writing, and this mode of taking satisfactionshould seem to imply a certain instability. But we shall see. Only besure to write me something as often as possible. I sent a letter toLucceius asking him to write the history of my consulship: be sure youget it from him, for it is a very pretty bit of writing, and urge him touse despatch, and thank him for having written me an answer saying thathe would do so. Go and see my house as often as you can. Say somethingto Vestorius:[494] for he is acting very liberally in regard to me. 

[Footnote 491: Reading _communi fueris nomine_. After all, the meaningis very doubtful. ]

[Footnote 492: Philoxenus, who, having been sent to the quarries byDionysius of Syracuse, for criticising the tyrant's poetry, was givenanother chance. After reading a few lines he turned away silently. "Where are you going?" said Dionysius. "Back to the quarries, " saidPhiloxenus. For Σπαρταν ἔλαχες, ταύτην κοσμεῖ, see p. 59. ]

[Footnote 493: _Ferrei_. The true meaning of the word here seems to meto be shewn by _de Am. _ § 87, _quis tam esset ferreus, qui eam vitamferre posset, cuique non auferret fructum voluptatum omnium solitudo_?There is an intentional play on the words _ferreus_ and _ferre_. Othershave altered it to _servi_, and others have explained it as an allusionto the iron age, in both cases spoiling the antithesis--he died, weremain--and in the latter using the word in a sense not elsewhere found. Lentulus is L. Cornelius Lentulus. See Letter L. ]

[Footnote 494: A money-lender. ]

CX (A IV, 7)

TO ATTICUS (AT ROME)

ARPINUM (APRIL-MAY)

[Sidenote: B. C. 56, ÆT. 50]

Nothing could be better timed than your letter, which much relieved theanxiety I was feeling about that excellent boy, our Quintus. Two hoursearlier Chærippus had arrived: his news was simply awful. As to what yousay about Apollonius, why, heaven confound him! a Greek and turnbankrupt! Thinks he may do what Roman knights do! For, of course, Terentius is within his rights! As to Metellus--_de mortuis_, etc. [495]--yet there has been no citizen die these many years past who----. Well, I am willing to warrant your getting the money: for whathave you to fear, whomsoever he made his heir, unless it were Publius?But he has, in fact, made a respectable man his heir, though he washimself ----! Wherefore in this business you will not have to open yourmoney-chest: another time you will be more cautious. Please see to myinstructions about my house: hire some guards: give Milo a hint. [496]The Arpinates grumble amazingly about Laterium. [497] Well, what can Isay? I was much annoyed myself, but "to words of mine he gave noheed. "[498] For the rest, take care of young Cicero and love him asalways. 

[Footnote 495: οὐχ ὁσίη φθιμένοισιν, leaving Atticus, as often, to fillin the words ἐπ' ἀνδράσιν εὐχετάασθαι (Hom. _Od. _ xxii. 412, where theword is κταμένοισιν). Terentius is some eques who has stopped payment. ]

[Footnote 496: Because Clodius was attempting to pull down Cicero'snew-built house on the ground that the site was still consecrated. Hewas prevented by Milo (Dio, xxxix. 20). ]

[Footnote 497: Something that Quintus had done, perhaps about water, onhis estate which annoyed his fellow townsmen. ]

[Footnote 498: ὁ δ' οὐκ ἐμπάζετο μύθων (Hom. _Od. _ i. 271). ]

CXI (A IV, 8 a)

TO ATTICUS (AT ROME)

ANTIUM (APRIL-MAY)

[Sidenote: B. C. 56, ÆT. 50]

There were many things in your letter which pleased me, but nothing morethan your "dish of cheese and salt fish"![499] For as to what you sayabout the sale, "Boast not yourself before you see the end, "[500]

I can find nothing in the way of a building for you in theneighbourhood. In the town there is something of the sort, though it isdoubtful whether it is for sale, and, in fact, close to my own house. Let me tell you that Antium is the Buthrotum of Rome, just what yourButhrotum is to Corcyra. Nothing can be quieter, cooler, orprettier--"be this mine own dear home. "[501] Moreover, since Tyranniohas arranged my books for me, my house seems to have had a soul added toit; in which matter your Dionysius and Menophilus were of wonderfulservice. Nothing can be more charming than those bookcases of yours, since the title-slips have shewn off the books. Good-bye. I should likeyou to write me word about the gladiators, but only if they fight well, I don't want to know about them if they were failures. 

[Footnote 499: We must suppose Atticus to have mentioned some money loss(see last letter), and to have added that, though a ruinous one, histastes were simple, and he could live on simple fare. Cicero laughs atthe affectation of the rich Atticus. _Raudusculum_, "a piece of bronze, "was the ancient term for the piece of bronze money used in sales, _peræs et libram_ (Varro, _L. L. _ v. 163). ]

[Footnote 500: μήπω μέγ' εἴπης πρὶν τελευτήσαντ' ἴδῃς, "Do not boasttill you see a man dead"--a well-known line from a lost play ofSophocles, containing a sentiment elsewhere often repeated, especiallyin Herodotus's account of the interview of Solon and Crœsus. ]

[Footnote 501: εἴη μοὶ οὖτος φίλος οἶκος, according to a probablerestoration of the Greek words (instead of εἴη μισητὸς φίλος οἶκος, "Imight even hate my town house in comparison"); cp. Hor. _Od. _ ii. 6, 7. ]

CXII (F V, 3)

FROM Q. METELLUS NEPOS (IN SPAIN)

[Sidenote: B. C. 56, ÆT. 50]

The insults of a most outrageous person, with which he loads me infrequent public speeches, are alleviated by your kind services to me;and as they are of little weight as coming from a man of that character, they are regarded by me with contempt, and I am quite pleased by aninterchange of persons to regard you in the light of a cousin. [502] HimI don't wish even to remember, though I have twice saved his life in hisown despite. Not to be too troublesome to you about my affairs, I havewritten to Lollius as to what I want done about my provincial accounts, with a view to his informing and reminding you. If you can, I hope youwill preserve your old goodwill to me. 

[Footnote 502: _Fratris_. The mother of Clodius, Cæcilia, was a daughterof Q. Cæcilius Metellus Balearicus (consul B. C. 123), father of thewriter of this letter. ]

CXIII (F I, 7)

TO P. LENTULUS SPINTHER (IN CILICIA)

ROME (OCTOBER)

[Sidenote: B. C. 56, ÆT. 50]

I have read your letter in which you say that you are obliged for thefrequent information I give you about all current events, and for theclear proof you have of my kindness to yourself. The latter--theregarding you with warm affection--it is my duty to do, if I wish tomaintain the character which you desired for me; the former it is apleasure to do, namely, separated as we are by length of space and time, to converse with you as frequently as possible by means of letters. Butif this shall occur less frequently than you expect, the reason will bethat my letters are of such a kind that I dare not trust them toeverybody promiscuously. As often as I get hold of trustworthy personsto whom I may safely deliver them, I will not omit to do so. As to yourquestion about each particular person's loyalty and friendly feelingstowards you, it is difficult to speak in regard to individuals. I canventure on this one assertion, which I often hinted to you before, andnow write from close observation and knowledge--that certain persons, and those, above all others, who were most bound and most able to helpyou, have been exceedingly jealous of your claims: and that, though thepoint in question is different, your present position is exceedinglylike what mine was some time ago in this, that those whom you hadattacked on public grounds now openly assail you, while those whoseauthority, rank, and policy you had defended, are not so much mindful ofyour kindness as enemies to your reputation. In these circumstances, asI wrote you word before, I perceive that Hortensius is very warmly yourfriend, Lucullus anxious to serve you: while of the magistrates L. Racilius shews special loyalty and affection. For my taking up thecudgels for you, and advocating your claims, would seem in the eyes ofmost people to be the measure of my obligation to you rather than of mydeliberate opinion. Besides these I am, in fact, not able to bearwitness to any one of the consulars shewing zeal or kindness or friendlyfeeling towards you. For you are aware that Pompey, who is veryfrequently accustomed, not on my instigation but of his own accord, toconfide in me about you, did not often attend the senate during thesediscussions. It is true your last letter, as I could easily conceive, was very gratifying to him. To me, indeed, your reasonableness, orrather your extreme wisdom, seemed not only charming, but simplyadmirable. For by that letter you retained your hold on a man of loftycharacter, who was bound to you by the signal generosity of your conducttowards him, but who was entertaining some suspicions that, owing tothe impression prevailing among certain persons as to his own ambitiousdesires, you were alienated from him. I always thought that he wished tosupport your reputation, even in that very dubious episode of Caninius'sproposal;[503] but when he had read your letter, I could plainly seethat he was thinking with his whole soul of you, your honours, and yourinterests. Wherefore look upon what I am going to write as written afterfrequent discussions with him, in accordance with his opinion, and withthe weight of his authority. It is this: "That, since no senatorialdecree exists taking the restoration of the Alexandrine king out of yourhands, and since the resolution written out upon that restoration(which, as you are aware, was vetoed) to the effect that no one was torestore the king at all, [504] has rather the weight of a measure adoptedby men in anger than of a deliberate decision of the senate--you canyourself see, since you are in possession of Cilicia and Cyprus, [505]what it is within your power to effect and secure; and that, ifcircumstances seem to make it possible for you to occupy Alexandria andEgypt, it is for your own dignity and that of the empire that, afterhaving first placed the king at Ptolemais or some neighbouring place, you should proceed with fleet and army to Alexandria, in order that, when you have secured it by restoring peace and placing a garrison init, Ptolemy may go back to his kingdom: thus it will be brought aboutthat he is restored at once by your agency, as the senate originallyvoted, and without a 'host, ' as those who are scrupulous about religionsaid was the order of the Sibyl. "

But though both he and I agreed in this decision, we yet thought thatmen would judge of your policy by its result: if it turns out as we wishand desire, everybody will say that you acted wisely and courageously;if any hitch occurs, those same men will say that you acted ambitiouslyand rashly. Wherefore what you really can do it is not so easy for us tojudge as for you, who have Egypt almost within sight. For us, our viewis this: if you are certain that you can get possession of thatkingdom, you should not delay: if it is doubtful, you should not makethe attempt. I can guarantee you this, that, if you succeed, you will beapplauded by many while abroad, by all when you return. I see greatdanger in any failure, on account of the senatorial resolution and thereligious scruple that have been introduced into the question. But forme, as I exhort you to snatch at what is certain to bring you credit, soI warn you against running any risks, and I return to what I said at thebeginning of my letter--that men will judge all you do, not so much fromthe policy which prompted it as from its result. But if this method ofprocedure appears to you to be dangerous, our opinion is that, if theking fulfils his obligations to those of your friends, who throughoutyour province and sphere of government have lent him money, you shouldassist him both with troops and supplies: such is the nature andconvenient situation of your province, that you either secure hisrestoration by giving him aid, or hinder it by neglecting to do so. Incarrying out this policy you will perceive better and more easily thananyone else what the actual state of affairs, the nature of the case, and the circumstances of the hour admit: what our opinion was I thoughtthat I was the person, above all others, to tell you. 

As to your congratulations to myself on my present position, on myintimacy with Milo, on the frivolity and impotency of Clodius--I am notat all surprised that, like a first-rate artist, you take pleasure inthe brilliant works of your own hands. However, people'swrong-headedness--I don't like to use a harsher word--surpasses belief;they might have secured me by their sympathy in a cause in which theywere all equally interested, yet they have alienated me by theirjealousy: for by their carping and most malicious criticisms I must tellyou that I have been all but driven from that old political standpointof mine, so long maintained, not, it is true, so far as to forget myposition, but far enough to admit at length some consideration for mypersonal safety also. Both might have been amply secured if there hadbeen any good faith, any solidity in our consulars: but such is thefrivolity of most of them, that they do not so much take pleasure in mypolitical consistency, as offence at my brilliant position. I am themore outspoken in writing this to you, because you lent your support, not only to my present position, which I obtained through you, but alsolong ago to my reputation and political eminence, when they were, so tospeak, but just coming into existence; and at the same time because Isee that it was not, as I used formerly to think, my want of curulepedigree that excited prejudice: for I have noticed in your case, one ofthe noblest of the land, a similar exhibition of base jealousy, andthough they did not object to class you among the _noblesse_, they wereunwilling that you should take any higher flight. I rejoice that yourfortune has been unlike mine: for there is a great difference betweenhaving one's reputation lowered and one's personal safety abandoned tothe enemy. In my case it was your noble conduct that prevented me frombeing too much disgusted with my own; for you secured that men shouldconsider more to have been added to my future glory than had been takenfrom my present fortune. As for you--instigated both by your kindness tomyself and my affection for you, I urge you to use all your care andindustry to obtain the full glory, for which you have burned with suchgenerous ardour from boyhood, and never, under anyone's injuriousconduct, to bend that high spirit of yours, which I have always admiredand always loved. Men have a high opinion of you; they loudly praiseyour liberality; they vividly remember your consulship. You must surelyperceive how much more marked, and how much more prominent thesesentiments will be, if backed up by some considerable repute from yourprovince and your government. However, in every administrative act whichyou have to perform by means of your army and in virtue of your_imperium_, I would have you reflect on these objects long before youact, prepare yourself with a view to them, turn them over in your mind, train yourself to obtain them, and convince yourself that you can withthe greatest ease maintain the highest and most exalted position in thestate. This you have always looked for, and I am sure you understandthat you have attained it. And that you may not think this exhortationof mine meaningless or adopted without reason, I should explain that theconsideration which has moved me to make it was the conviction that yourequired to be warned by the incidents, which our careers have had incommon, to be careful for the rest of your life as to whom to trust andagainst whom to be on your guard. 

As to your question about the state of public affairs--there is the mostprofound difference of opinion, but the energy is all on one side. Forthose who are strong in wealth, arms, and material power, appear to meto have scored so great a success from the stupidity and fickleness oftheir opponents, that they are now the stronger in moral weight as well. Accordingly, with very few to oppose them, they have got everythingthrough the senate, which they never expected to get even by the popularvote without a riot: for a grant for military pay and ten legates havebeen given to Cæsar by decree, [506] and no difficulty has been made ofdeferring the nomination of his successor, as required by the Sempronianlaw. [507] I say the less to you on this point, because this position ofpublic affairs is no pleasure to me: I mention it, however, in order tourge you to learn, while you can do so without suffering for it, thelesson which I myself, though devoted from boyhood to every kind ofreading, yet learnt rather from bitter experience than from study, thatwe must neither consider our personal safety to the exclusion of ourdignity, nor our dignity to the exclusion of our safety. 

In your congratulations as to my daughter and Crassipes I am obliged toyou for your kindness, and do indeed expect and hope that this connexionmay be a source of pleasure to us. Our dear Lentulus, a young man whogives such splendid promise of the highest qualities, be sure youinstruct both in those accomplishments which you have yourself ever beenforward in pursuing, and also, above all, in the imitation of yourself:he can study in no better school than that. He holds a very high placein my regard and affection, as well because he is yours, as because heis worthy of such a father, and because he is devoted to me, and hasalways been so. 

[Footnote 503: See Letter XCV. ]

[Footnote 504: See Letter CII. ]

[Footnote 505: Joined to the province of Cilicia by Cato in B. C. 58-57. What Cicero is recommending is a clear evasion. Lentulus is not to_take_ Ptolemy back, but to go to Egypt and make it ready for him. ]

[Footnote 506: Cicero says elsewhere that he supported this (_proBalbo_, §61; _de Prov. Cons. _ §28; cp. Dio, xxxix. 25). ]

[Footnote 507: The law of Gaius Gracchus (B. C. 123) enacting that thesenate should name before the elections the provinces to be held by thenext consuls. ]

CXIV (F XIII, 6 a)

Q. VALERIUS ORCA (PROCONSUL IN AFRICA)

ROME (MAY)

[Sidenote: B. C. 56, ÆT. 50]

If you are well I shall be glad. I am quite well. I presume that youwill remember that, when escorting you on the commencement of yourofficial journey, [508] I mentioned to you in the presence of PubliusCuspius, and also afterwards urged you privately at some length, thatwhomsoever I might recommend to you as connexions of his, you shouldregard as among connexions of my own. You, as was to be expected fromyour extreme regard and uninterrupted attentions to me, undertook to dothis for me with the utmost liberality and kindness. Cuspius, who ismost careful in his duties towards all connected with him, takes asurprising interest in the well-being of certain persons of yourprovince, because he has been twice in Africa when presiding over thevery large concerns of his revenue-company. Accordingly, this patronageof his, which he exercises on their behalf, I am accustomed as far as Ican to back up by such means and influence as I possess. Wherefore Ithought it necessary to explain to you in this letter why I give lettersof introduction to all the friends of Cuspius. In future letters I willmerely append the mark[509] agreed upon between you and me, and at thesame time indicate that he is one of Cuspius's friends. But therecommendation which I have resolved to subscribe to in this presentletter, let me tell you, is more serious than any of them. For P. Cuspius has pressed me with particular earnestness to recommend LuciusIulius to you as warmly as possible. I appear to be barely able tosatisfy his eagerness by using the words which I generally use when mostin earnest. He asks for something out of the common way from me, andthinks I have a special knack in that style of writing. I have promisedhim to produce a masterpiece of commendation--a specimen of my choicestwork. Since I cannot reach that standard, however, I would beg you tomake him think that some astonishing effect has been produced by thestyle of my letter. You will secure that, if you treat him with all theliberality which your kindness can suggest and your official power makefeasible--I don't mean merely in the way of material assistance, butalso in words and even in looks: and what influence such things have ina province I could have wished that you had already learnt byexperience, though I have an idea that you soon will do so. This manhimself, whom I am recommending to you, I believe to be thoroughlyworthy of your friendship, not only because Cuspius says so (though thatshould be enough), but because I know the keenness of his judgment ofmen and in the selection of his friends. I shall soon be able to judgewhat has been the effect of this letter, and shall, I feel certain, havereason to thank you. For myself, I shall with zeal and care see to allthat I think to be your wish or to concern your interests. Take care ofyour health. 

[Footnote 508: _Paludatum_, lit. Dressed in the _paludamentum_, themilitary dress in which provincial governors left Rome with _imperium_. ]

[Footnote 509: _Notam_, some cipher, which he had agreed upon withValerius to indicate that the _commendatio_ was not to be looked upon asa mere matter of course. ]

CXV (F XIII, 6 b)

TO Q. VALERIUS ORCA (PROCONSUL IN AFRICA)

ROME (MAY)

[Sidenote: B. C. 56, ÆT. 50]

P. Cornelius, who delivers you this letter, has been recommended to meby P. Cuspius, for whose sake you are thoroughly informed from me howmuch I desire and am bound to do. I earnestly beg you that Cuspius mayhave as great, early, and frequent occasion as possible to thank me forthis introduction. 

CXVI (Q FR II, 6)

TO HIS BROTHER QUINTUS (RETURNING FROM SARDINIA)

ROME, MAY

[Sidenote: B. C. 56, ÆT. 50]

How delighted I was to get your letter! It had been expected by me atfirst, it is true, only with longing, but recently with alarm also. And, in fact, let me tell you that this is the only letter which has reachedme since the one brought me by your sailor and dated Olbia. But leteverything else, as you say, be reserved till we can talk it overtogether. One thing, however, I cannot put off: on the 15th of May thesenate covered itself with glory by refusing Gabinius a _supplicatio_. Procilius[510] vows that such a slight was never inflicted on anyone. Out of doors there is much applause. To me, gratifying as it is on itsown account, it is even more so because it was done when I was not inthe house. For it was an unbiassed[511] judgment of the senate, withoutany attack or exercise of influence on my part. The debate previouslyarranged for the 15th and 16th, namely, the question of the Campanianland, did not come on. In this matter I don't quite see way. [512] But Ihave said more than I meant to say: for it is best reserved till wemeet. Goodbye, best and most longed-for of brothers! Fly to me. Our boysboth share my prayer: of course, you will dine with me the day of yourarrival. 

[Footnote 510: One of the tribunes. He was convicted of _vis_ in B. C. , 54. Gabinius was governor of Syria B. C. 57-54. He had been engaged insome warlike affairs in Iudæa, for which, or for some successes over theArabs, he claimed the _supplicatio_. ]

[Footnote 511: εἰλικρινές, "pure, " "clear. "]

[Footnote 512: _Mihi aqua hæret_, "there's a stoppage in my watercourse. "]

CXVII (A IV, 8 b)

[Sidenote: B. C. 55. Coss. , Cu. Pompeius Magnus, M. Licinius Crassus. ]

 In this year Cicero devoted much of his time and energy to the composition of the _de Oratore_. He was glad to be away from Rome, for though he had resolved to give up his opposition to the triumvirs, he was never really happy in supporting or even witnessing their policy, and the first letter betrays his sentiments as to the way in which the consuls had secured their election. His fear of an autocracy, however, seems now to be directed rather to Pompey than Cæsar; nor was he at all charmed by the splendour of the games given at the opening of Pompey's new theatre. The only extant speech is that against L. Calpurnius Piso (consul B. C. 58) who had been recalled from Macedonia. 

TO ATTICUS (AT ROME)

TUSCULUM[513] (JANUARY)

[Sidenote: B. C. 55, ÆT. 51]

Apenas had scarcely left me, when your letter came. Really? Do yousuppose he won't propose his law?[514] Pray speak a little louder: Iseem scarcely to have caught what you said. But let me know it at once, if it is all the same to you, that is! Well, since an additional day hasbeen assigned to the games, I am all the more content to spend that daywith Dionysius. About Trebonius I cordially agree with you. AboutDomitius, [515]

 "I swear by Ceres that no single fig Was e'er so like another, "

as his case to mine, either in the sameness of persons, theunexpectedness of it, or the futility of the loyalists. There is onedifference--he has brought it upon himself. For as to the misfortuneitself, I rather think mine is the less grievous. For what could be moremortifying than that a man, who has been consul-designate, so to speak, ever since he was born, should fail in securing his election? Especiallywhen he is the only (plebeian) candidate, or at most had but oneopponent. If it is also the fact, which I rather think it is, that_he_[516] has in the register of his pocket-book some equally long pagesof future, no less than of past consuls, what more humiliating positionthan our friend's, except that of the Republic? My first informationabout Natta[517] was from your letter: I couldn't bear the man. As toyour question about my poem: what if it is all agog to escape from myhands? Well? Would you permit it? About Fabius Luscus--I was just goingto speak of him: the man was always very cordial to me, and I never hadany cause to dislike him; for he is intelligent, very well-behaved, andserviceable enough. As I was seeing nothing of him, I supposed him to beout of town: but was told by this fellow Gavius of Firmum, that he wasat Rome, and had never been away. It made a disagreeable impression onme. "Such a trifle as that?" you will say. Well, he had told me a gooddeal of which there could be no doubt as to these brothers of Firmum. What it is that has made him hold aloof from me, if he has done so, Ihave no idea. 

As to your advice to me to act "diplomatically" and keep to the "outsidecourse"--I will obey you. But I want still more worldly wisdom, forwhich, as usual, I shall come to you. Pray small things out fromFabius, [518] if you can get at him, and pick the brains of your guest, and write me word on these points and all others every day. When thereis nothing for you to write, write and say so. Take care of your health. 

[Footnote 513: The letter appears to be from Tusculum, because Ciceroasks for a letter every day, which he could hardly expect if he werefarther off. This year Cicero was much away from Rome, and yet hiscorrespondence is meagre compared with other years. So far as this isnot due to accident in the preservation of his letters, it may beaccounted for by the fact that he was working at his _de Oratore_--sohard, that even his brother Quintus had scruples in breaking in uponhim. ]

[Footnote 514: This may refer to the laws of Trebonius, giving Pompeyand Crassus Spain and Syria respectively, and Cæsar an additional fiveyears in Gaul, or to some of Pompey's own legislation. ]

[Footnote 515: L. Domitius Ahenobarbus, a candidate for the consulshipof B. C. 55, but whose election had never come off. By variouscontrivances the _comitia_ were prevented, so that the new year openedwith an _interregnum_; and Pompey and Crassus were elected under thepresidency of an _interrex_ (Dio, xxxix. 31). ]

[Footnote 516: Pompey. ]

[Footnote 517: L. Natta, a brother-in-law of Clodius, a pontifex who hadpresided at the _consecratio_ of Cicero's house. He seems to have justdied. ]

[Footnote 518: A friend of Pompey's. I think "your guest" must be Pompeyhimself, whom Atticus is about to entertain at dinner. ]

CXVIII (F I, 8)

TO P. LENTULUS SPINTHER (IN CILICIA)

ROME (JANUARY)

[Sidenote: B. C. 55, ÆT. 51]

What debates have taken place in the senate, what determination has beencome to in your business, and what Pompey has undertaken to do, all thisyou will best learn from Marcus Plætorius, who has not only been engagedin these matters, but has even taken the lead in them, and left nothingundone which the greatest affection for you, the greatest good sense, and the greatest care could do. From the same man you will ascertain thegeneral position of public affairs, which are of such a nature as is noteasy to put in writing. They are, it is true, all in the power of ourfriends, and to such an extent that it does not seem probable that thepresent generation will witness a change. For my part, as in duty bound, as you advised, and as personal affection and expediency compel, I amattaching myself to the fortunes of the man whose alliance you thoughtyou must court when my fortunes were in question. But you must feel howdifficult it is to put away a political conviction, especially when ithappens to be right and proved up to the hilt. However, I conform myselfto the wishes of him from whom I cannot dissent with any dignity: andthis I do not do, as perhaps some may think, from insincerity; fordeliberate purpose and, by heaven! affection for Pompey are so powerfulwith me, that whatever is to his interest, and whatever he wishes, appears to me at once to be altogether right and reasonable. Nor, as Ithink, would even his opponents be wrong if, seeing that they cannotpossibly be his equals, they were to cease to struggle against him. Formyself I have another consolation--my character is such that all theworld thinks me justified beyond all others, whether I support Pompey'sviews, or hold my tongue, or even, what is above everything else to mytaste, return to my literary pursuits. And this last I certainly shalldo, if my friendship for this same man permits it. For those objectswhich I had at one time in view, after having held the highest officesand endured the greatest fatigues--the power of intervening with dignityin the debates of the senate, and a free hand in dealing with publicaffairs--these have been entirely abolished, and not more for me thanfor all. For we all have either to assent to a small clique, to theutter loss of our dignity, or to dissent to no purpose. My chief objectin writing to you thus is that you may consider carefully what line youwill also take yourself. The whole position of senate, law courts, andindeed of the entire constitution has undergone a complete change. Themost we can hope for is tranquillity: and this the men now in supremepower seem likely to give us, if certain persons[519] shew somewhat moretolerance of their despotism. The old consular prestige, indeed, of acourageous and consistent senator we must no longer think of: that hasbeen lost by the fault of those who have alienated from the senate bothan order once very closely allied to it, and an individual of the mostillustrious character. But to return to what more immediately affectsyour interests--I have ascertained that Pompey is warmly your friend, and with him as consul, to the best of my knowledge and belief, you willget whatever you wish. In this he will have me always at his elbow, andnothing which affects you shall be passed over by me. Nor, in fact, shall I be afraid of boring him, for he will be very glad for his ownsake to find me grateful to him. I would have you fully persuaded thatthere is nothing, however small, affecting your welfare that is notdearer to me than every interest of my own. And entertaining thesesentiments, I can satisfy myself indeed, as far as assiduity isconcerned, but in actual achievement I cannot do so, just because Icannot reach any proportion of your services to me, I do not say byactual return in kind, but by any return even of feeling. There a reportthat you have won a great victory. [520] Your despatch is anxiouslyawaited, and I have already talked to Pompey about it. When it arrives, I will shew my zeal by calling on the magistrates and members of thesenate: and in everything else which may concern you, though I shallstrive for more than I can achieve, I shall yet do less than I ought. 

[Footnote 519: The extreme Optimates, such as Cato. ]

[Footnote 520: Against the predatory and piratic inhabitants ofCilicia. ]

CXIX (Q FR II, 7)

TO HIS BROTHER QUINTUS (IN THE COUNTRY)

ROME (FEBRUARY)

[Sidenote: B. C. 55, ÆT. 51]

I thought you would like my book:[521] that you like it as much as yousay I am greatly delighted. As to your hint about my Urania and youradvice to remember the speech of Iupiter, [522] which comes at the end ofthat book, I do indeed remember it, and that whole passage was aimed atmyself rather than at the rest of the world. Nevertheless, the day afteryou started I went long before daybreak with Vibullius to call onPompey; and upon addressing him on the subject of the works andinscriptions in your honour, [523] he answered me very kindly, gave megreat hopes, said he would like to talk to Crassus about it, and advisedme to do so too. I joined in escorting Crassus to is house on hisassuming the consulate: he undertook the affair, and said that Clodiuswould at this juncture have something that he wanted to get by means ofhimself and Pompey: he thought that, if I did not baulk Clodius's views, I might get what I wanted without any opposition. I left the matterentirely in his hands and told him that I would do exactly as he wished. Publius Crassus the younger was present at this conversation, who, asyou know, is very warmly attached to me. What Clodius wants is anhonorary mission (if not by decree of the senate, then by popular vote)to Byzantium or to Brogitarus, or to both. [524] There is a good deal ofmoney in it. It is a thing I don't trouble myself about much, even if Idon't get what I am trying to get. Pompey, however, has spoken toCrassus. They seem to have taken the business in hand. If they carry itthrough, well and good: if not, let us return to my "Iupiter. "

On the 11th of February a decree passed the senate as to bribery on themotion of Afranius, against which I had spoken when you were in thehouse. To the loudly expressed disapprobation of the senate the consulsdid not go on with the proposals of those who, while agreeing withAfranius's motion, added a rider that after their election the prætorswere to remain private citizens for sixty days. [525] On that day theyunmistakably threw over Cato. In short, they manage everything their ownway, and wish all the world to understand it to be so. 

[Footnote 521: His poem "On his own Times. "]

[Footnote 522: In his poem _de Consulatu suo_, the second book of which(Urania) ends with a speech of Iupiter, who recommends his leavingpolitics for literature. ]

[Footnote 523: A statue in the temple of Tellus. ]

[Footnote 524: Brogitarus was a Galatian and connexion of Deiotarus. Clodius, as tribune, had done some services to Byzantium, and had alsogot Brogitarus the office of high priest of Cybele. He wants now to goand get his money for these favours. ]

[Footnote 525: The prætorian elections, like the consular, had been putoff till February. Those elected would therefore enter on their officeat once, and so escape prosecution, to which they would have been liableif, as in ordinary years, they had been "prætors-designate" from July toJanuary. Afranius's motion seems to have been for suspending the briberylaws _pro hac vice_. Cato had been beaten: if there had been anopportunity of impeaching his rivals he might have got in. ]

CXX (A IV, 10)

TO ATTICUS (AT ROME)

CUMÆ, 20 APRIL

[Sidenote: B. C. 55, ÆT. 51]

At Puteoli there is a great report that Ptolemy has been restored. Ifyou have any more certain news, I should like to know it. I am heredevouring the library of Faustus. [526] Perhaps you thought I wasfeasting on the beauties of Puteoli and the Lucrine lake. Well, I havethem too. But I declare to heaven that the more I am debarred from theenjoyment of ordinary pleasures, owing to the political situation, themore do I find support and refreshment in literature; and I would ratherbe sitting in that charming seat of yours, under your bust of Aristotle, than in _their_[527] curule chair, and be taking a stroll with yourather than with the great man[528] with whom I see I shall have towalk. But as to that walk, let fortune look to it, or god, if there isany god who cares for such things. I wish, when possible, you would comeand see my walk and Spartan bath, and the buildings planned by Cyrus, and would urge Philotimus to make haste, that I may have something tomatch with yours in that department. [529] Pompey came to his Cumanproperty on the Parilia (19th April). He at once sent a man to me withhis compliments. I am going to call on him on the morning of the 20th, as soon as I have written this letter. 

[Footnote 526: Son of the dictator Sulla, who is known to have broughtback from Athens a famous Aristotelian library. ]

[Footnote 527: Pompey and Crassus, the consuls. ]

[Footnote 528: Pompey, as the context shews. In the next clause_ambulatio_ has a double meaning of physical walking and of a politicalcourse of conduct. ]

[Footnote 529: Philotimus, a freedman of Terentia's, seems to have beenengaged at Rome in the reconstruction of Cicero's house. The Spartanbath (_Laconicum_) was a hot-air bath, like a Turkish bath. ]

CXXI (A IV, 9)

TO ATTICUS (AT ROME)

CUMÆ, 28 APRIL

[Sidenote: B. C. 55, ÆT. 51]

I should much like to know whether the tribunes are hindering the censusby stopping business with their bad omens[530] (for there is a rumour tothat effect), and what they are doing and contriving as to thecensorship altogether. I have had an interview with Pompey here. Hetalked a good deal to me about politics. He is not at all satisfied withhimself, to judge from what he says--one is obliged to put in thatproviso in his case. He thinks very little of Syria as a province; talksa good deal about Spain--here, too, I must add, "to judge from what hesays, " and, I think, his whole conversation requires that reservation, and to be ticketed as Phocylides did his verses--καὶ τόδεΦωκυλίδου. [531] He expressed gratitude to you for undertaking toarrange the statues:[532] towards myself he was, by Hercules, mosteffusively cordial. He even came to my Cuman house to call on me. However, the last thing he seemed to wish was that Messalla should standfor the consulship: that is the very point on which I should like tohear what you know. I am much obliged by your saying that you willrecommend my fame to Lucceius, and for your frequent inspection of myhouse. My brother Quintus has written to tell me that, as you have thatdear boy, his son Quintus, staying with you, he intends coming to yourhouse on the 7th of May. I left my Cuman villa on the 26th of April. That night I spent at Naples with Pætus. I write this very early on the27th, on my road to my Pompeian house. 

[Footnote 530: The tribunes had no _veto_ against the censors, theycould only hinder them by the indirect method of _obnuntiatio_, declaring that the omens were bad, and so preventing business. ]

[Footnote 531: This also is Phocylides's. ]

[Footnote 532: In Pompey's new theatre. ]

CXXII (Q FR II, 8)

TO HIS BROTHER QUINTUS (AT ROME)

CUMÆ (APRIL)

[Sidenote: B. C. 55, ÆT. 51]

Afraid that you will interrupt me--you? In the first place, if I were asbusy as you think, do you know what interruption means? Have you taken alesson from Ateius?[533] So help me heaven, in my eyes you give _me_ alesson in a kind of learning which I never enjoy unless you are with me. Why, that you should talk to me, interrupt me, argue against me, orconverse with me, is just what I should like. Nothing could be moredelightful! Never, by Hercules, did any crazy poet read with greaterzest his last composition than I listen to you, no matter what businessis in hand, public or private, rural or urban. But it was all owing tomy foolish scrupulousness that I did not carry you off with me when Iwas leaving town. You confronted me the first time with an unanswerableexcuse--the health of my son: I was silenced. The second time it wasboth boys, yours and mine: I acquiesced. [534] Now comes a delightfulletter, but with this drop of gall in it--that you seem to have beenafraid, and still to be afraid, that you might bore me. I would go tolaw with you if it were decent to do so; but, by heaven! if ever I havea suspicion of such a feeling on your part, I can only say that I shallbegin to be afraid of boring _you_ at times, when in your company. [Iperceive that you have sighed at this. 'Tis the way of the world: "Butif you lived on earth" . .. I will never finish the quotation and say, "Away with all care!"[535] Marius, [536] again, I should certainly haveforced into my sedan--I don't mean that famous one of Ptolemy thatAnicius got hold of:[537] for I remember when I was conveying him fromNaples to Baiæ in Anicius's eight-bearer sedan, with a hundred armedguards in our train, I had a real good laugh when Marius, knowingnothing of his escort, suddenly drew back the curtains of the sedan--hewas almost dead with fright and I with laughing; well, this same friend, I say, I should at least have carried off, too secure, at any rate, thedelicate charm of that old-fashioned courtesy, and of a conversationwhich is the essence of culture. But I did not like to invite a man ofweak health to a villa practically without a roof, and which even now itwould be a compliment to describe as unfinished. It would indeed be aspecial treat to me to have the enjoyment of him here also. For I assureyou that the neighbourhood of Marius makes the sunshine of that othercountry residence of mine. [538] I will see about getting him put up inthe house of Anicius. For I myself, though a student, can live withworkpeople in the house. I get this philosophy, not from Hymettus, butfrom Arpinum. [539] Marius is feebler in health and constitution. As tointerrupting my book[540]--I shall take from you just so much time forwriting as you may leave me. I only hope you'll leave me none at all, that my want of progress may be set down to your encroachment ratherthan to my idleness! In regards to politics, I am sorry that you worryyourself too much, and are a better citizen than Philoctetes, who, onbeing wronged himself, was anxious for the very spectacle[541] that Iperceive gives you pain. Pray hasten hither: I will console you and wipeall sorrow from your eyes: and, as you love me, bring Maruis. But haste, haste, both of you! There is a garden at my house. [542]

[Footnote 533: Some bore, unknown to us. ]

[Footnote 534: The two boys seem to be receiving their educationtogether at this time in the house of Quintus. ]

[Footnote 535: It is all but impossible to explain these words. Someeditors transfer them to the sentence after _de Republica_. But they arescarcely more in place there. The Greek quotation is not known. ]

[Footnote 536: M. Marius, to whom Letter CXXVI is addressed. ]

[Footnote 537: C. Anicius, a senator, seems to have obtained fromPtolemy Auletes, by gift or purchase, his state sedan and itsattendants. ]

[Footnote 538: The Pompeianum. ]

[Footnote 539: An unintellible word, meant apparently for Greek (perhaps_arce_ Ψυρίᾳ, see _Att. _ xvi. 13), is in the text. The most probableconjecture refers it in some way to Arpinum, Cicero's hardy mountainbirthplace. ]

[Footnote 540: The _de Oratore_. ]

[Footnote 541: The ruin of his country. ]

[Footnote 542: For us to walk and converse in. It hardly refers to asupply of vegetables, as some suggest. ]

CXXIII (A IV, 11)

TO ATTICUS (AT ROME)

CUMÆ (APRIL)

[Sidenote: B. C. 55, ÆT. 51]

I was delighted with your two letters which I received together on the26th. Go on with the story. I long to know all the facts of what youwrite about. Also I should like you to find out what this means: you cando so from Demetrius. Pompey told me that he was expecting Crassus inhis Alban villa on the 27th: that as soon as he arrived, they were goingat once to Rome to settle accounts with the _publicani_. I asked, "During the gladiatorial exhibitions?" He answered, "Before they werebegun. " What that means I wish you would send me word either at once, ifyou know, or when he has reached Rome. I am engaged here in devouringbooks with the aid of that wonderful fellow Dionysius, [543] for, byHercules, that is what he seems to me to be. He sends compliments to youand all your party. 

 "No bliss so great as knowing all that is. "

Wherefore indulge my thirst for knowledge by telling what happened onthe first and on the second day of the shows: what about thecensors, [544] what about Appius, [545] what about that she-Appuleius ofthe people?[546] Finally, pray write me word what you are doingyourself. For, to tell the truth, revolutions don't give me so muchpleasure as a letter from you. I took no one out of town with me exceptDionysius: yet I am in no fear of wanting conversation--so delightful doI find that youth. Pray give my book to Lucceius. [547] I send you thebook of Demetrius of Magnesia, [548] that there may be a messenger on thespot to bring me back a letter from you. 

[Footnote 543: A learned freedman of Atticus's. ]

[Footnote 544: See p. 250. Censors were elected this year, but thepowers of the censorship had been much curtailed by a law of Clodius inB. C. 58. ]

[Footnote 545: Apius Claudius (brother of Clodius) was a candidate forthe consulship of B. C. 54. ]

[Footnote 546: Clodius, a revolutionary, like Appuleius Saturninus. Thefeminine gender is an insult. ]

[Footnote 547: Either his poem "On his own Times, " or the notes ofevents which he had promised in Letter CVIII, p. 231. ]

[Footnote 548: A treatise on union (περὶ ὁμονοίας). The rhetoricianDionysius of Magnesia had been with Cicero during his tour in Asia. ]

CXXIV (A IV, 12)

TO ATTICUS (AT ROME)

CUMÆ, APRIL

[Sidenote: B. C. 55, ÆT. 51]

Egnatius[549] is at Rome. But I spoke strongly to him at Antium aboutHalimetus's business. He assured me that he would speak seriously toAquilius. [550] You will see the man therefore, if you please. I think Ican scarcely be ready for Macro:[551] for I see that the auction atLarinum is on the Ides and the two days following. Pray forgive me forthat, since you think so much of Macro. But, as you love me, dine withme on the 2nd, and bring Pilia. You must absolutely do so. On the 1st Ithink of dining at Crassipes' suburban villa as a kind of inn. I thuselude the decree of the senate. Thence to my town house after dinner, soas to be ready to be at Milo's in the morning. [552] There, then, I shallsee you, and shall march you on with me. My whole household sends yougreeting. 

[Footnote 549: L. Egnatius, who owed Q. Cicero money. ]

[Footnote 550: C. Aquilius Gallus, Cicero's colleague in the prætorship, and a busy advocate. See p. 13. ]

[Footnote 551: Apparently a money-lender. ]

[Footnote 552: Perhaps at his _sponsalia_, as he was married towards theend of the year. ]

CXXV (F VII, 23)

TO M. FADIUS GALLUS

ROME (MAY)

[Sidenote: B. C. 55, ÆT. 51]

I had only just arrived from Arpinum when your letter was delivered tome; and from the same bearer I received a letter from Arrianus, [553] inwhich there was this most liberal offer, that when he came to Rome hewould enter my debt to him on whatever day I chose. Pray put yourself inmy place: is it consistent with your modesty or mine, first to prefer arequest as to the day, and then to ask more than a year's credit? But, my dear Gallus, everything would have been easy, if you had bought thethings I wanted, and only up to the price that I wished. However, thepurchases which, according to your letter, you have made shall not onlybe ratified by me, but with gratitude besides: for I fully understandthat you have displayed zeal and affection in purchasing (because youthought them worthy of me) things which pleased yourself--a man, as Ihave ever thought, of the most fastidious judgment in all matters oftaste. Still, I should like Damasippus[554] to abide by his decision:for there is absolutely none of those purchases that I care to have. But you, being unacquainted with my habits, have bought four or five ofyour selection at a price at which I do not value any statues in theworld. You compare your Bacchæ with Metellus's Muses. Where is thelikeness? To begin with, I should never have considered the Muses worthall that money, and I think all the Muses would have approved myjudgment: still, it would have been appropriate to a library, and inharmony with my pursuits. But Bacchæ! What place is there in my housefor them? But, you will say, they are pretty. I know them very well andhave often seen them. I would have commissioned you definitely in thecase of statues known to me, if I had decided on them. The sort ofstatues that I am accustomed to buy are such as may adorn a place in a_palæstra_ after the fashion of gymnasia. [555] What, again, have I, thepromoter of peace, to do with a statue of Mars? I am glad there was nota statue of Saturn also: for I should have thought these two statues hadbrought me debt! I should have preferred some representation of Mercury:I might then, I suppose, have made a more favourable bargain withArrianus. You say you meant the table-stand[556] for yourself; well, ifyou like it, keep it. But if you have changed your mind I will, ofcourse, have it. For the money you have laid out, indeed, I would ratherhave purchased a place of call at Tarracina, [557] to prevent my beingalways a burden on my host. Altogether I perceive that the fault is withmy freedman, whom I had distinctly commissioned to purchase certaindefinite things, and also with Iunius, whom I think you know, anintimate friend of Arrianus. I have constructed some new sitting-roomsin a miniature colonnade on my Tusculan property. I want to ornamentthem with pictures: for if I take pleasure in anything of that sort itis in painting. However, if I am to have what you have bought, I shouldlike you to inform me where they are, when hey are to be fetched, and bywhat kind of conveyance. For if Damasippus doesn't abide by hisdecision, I shall look for some would-be Damasippus, [558] even at aloss. 

As to what you say about the house, as I was going out of town Iintrusted the matter to my daughter Tullia:[559] for it was at the veryhour of my departure that I got your letter. I also discussed the matterwith your friend Nicias, because he is, as you know, intimate withCassius. On my return, however, before I got your last letter, I askedTullia what she had done. She said that she had approached Licinia[560](though I think Cassius is not very intimate with his sister), and thatshe at once said that she could not venture, in the absence of herhusband (Dexius is gone to Spain), to change houses without his beingthere and knowing about it. I am much gratified that you should valueassociation with me and my domestic life so highly, as, in the firstplace, to take a house which would enable you to live not only near me, but absolutely with me, and, in the second place, to be in such a hurryto make this change of residence. But, upon my life, I do not yield toyou in eagerness for that arrangement. So I will try every means in mypower. For I see the advantage to myself, and, indeed, the advantages tous both. If I succeed in doing anything, I will let you know. Mind youalso write me word back on everything, and let me know, if you please, when I am to expect you. 

[Footnote 553: C. Arrianus Evander, a dealer in statues, it seems, fromwhom Fadius had bought some for Cicero. He offers to let the debt forthem (and so the interest) run from any day Cicero pleases. ]

[Footnote 554: A well-known connoisseur, mentioned by Horace, _Sat. _ ii. 3, 64, _seq. _. He seems to have offered to take the bargain off Cicero'shands. ]

[Footnote 555: That is, for his _palæstra_ or gymnasium, as he calls it, in his Tusculanum. See Letters I, II, VII. ]

[Footnote 556: An ornamental leg or stand for table or sideboard(_abacus_). See picture in Rich's _Dictionary of Antiquities_. ]

[Footnote 557: On the _via Appia_, where the canal across the marshesbegan. Cicero stops there a night between Formiæ and Pomptina Summa(_Att. _ vii. 5). ]

[Footnote 558: One who professes to be an amateur of art likeDamasippus. ]

[Footnote 559: As in Letter CVI, Tullia, not Terentia, seems to be inCicero's confidence and presiding in his house. Terentia must alreadyhave been on bad terms with him, and perhaps was residing on her ownproperty. ]

[Footnote 560: Half-sister of Gaius Cassius. ]

CXXVI (F VII, I)

TO M. MARIUS (AT CUMÆ)

ROME (OCTOBER?)

[Sidenote: B. C. 55, ÆT. 51]

If some bodily pain or weakness of health has prevented your coming tothe games, I put it down to fortune rather than your own wisdom: but ifyou have made up your mind that these things which the rest of the worldadmires are only worthy of contempt, and, though your health would haveallowed of it, you yet were unwilling to come, then I rejoice at bothfacts--that you were free from bodily pain, and that you had the soundsense to disdain what others causelessly admire. Only I hope that somefruit of your leisure may be forthcoming, a leisure, indeed, which youhad a splendid opportunity of enjoying to the full, seeing that you wereleft almost alone in your lovely country. For I doubt not that in thatstudy of yours, from which you have opened a window into the Stabianwaters of the bay, and obtained a view of Misenum, you have spent themorning hours of those days in light reading, while those who left youthere were watching the ordinary farces[561] half asleep. The remainingparts of the day, too, you spent in the pleasures which you had yourselfarranged to suit your own taste, while we had to endure whatever had metwith the approval of Spurius Mæcius. [562] On the whole, if you care toknow, the games were most splendid, but not to your taste. I judge frommy own. For, to begin with, as a special honour to the occasion, thoseactors had come back to the stage who, I thought, had left it for theirown. Indeed, your favourite, my friend Æsop, was in such a state that noone could say a word against his retiring from the profession. On thebeginning to recite the oath his voice failed him at the words "If Iknowingly deceive. " Why should I go on with the story? You know allabout the rest of the games, which hadn't even that amount of charmwhich games on a moderate scale generally have: for the spectacle was soelaborate as to leave no room for cheerful enjoyment, and I think youneed feel no regret at having missed it. For what is the pleasure of atrain of six hundred mules in the "Clytemnestra, " or three thousandbowls in the "Trojan Horse, " or gay-coloured armour of infantry andcavalry in some battle? These things roused the admiration of thevulgar; to you they would have brought no delight. But if during thosedays you listened to your reader Protogenes, so long at least as he readanything rather than my speeches, surely you had far greater pleasurethan any one of us. For I don't suppose you wanted to see Greek or Oscanplays, especially as you can see Oscan farces in your senate-house overthere, while you are so far from liking Greeks, that you generally won'teven go along the Greek road to your villa. Why, again, should I supposeyou to care about missing the athletes, since you disdained thegladiators? in which even Pompey himself confesses that he lost histrouble and his pains. There remain the two wild-beast hunts, lastingfive days, magnificent--nobody denies it--and yet, what pleasure can itbe to a man of refinement, when either a weak man is torn by anextremely powerful animal, or a splendid animal is transfixed by ahunting spear? Things which, after all, if worth seeing, you have oftenseen before; nor did I, who was present at the games, see anything theleast new. The last day was that of the elephants, on which there was agreat deal of astonishment on the part of the vulgar crowd, but nopleasure whatever. Nay, there was even a certain feeling of compassionaroused by it, and a kind of belief created that that animal hassomething in common with mankind. [563] However, for my part, during thisday, while the theatrical exhibitions were on, lest by chance you shouldthink me too blessed, I almost split my lungs in defending your friendCaninius Gallus. [564] But if the people were as indulgent to me as theywere to Æsop, I would, by heaven, have been glad to abandon myprofession and live with you and others like us. The fact is I was tiredof it before, even when both age and ambition stirred me on, and when Icould also decline any defence that I didn't like; but now, with thingsin the state that they are, there is no life worth having. For, on theone hand, I expect no profit of my labour; and, on the other, I amsometimes forced to defend men who have been no friends to me, at therequest of those to whom I am under obligations. Accordingly, I am onthe look-out for every excuse for at last managing my life according tomy own taste, and I loudly applaud and vehemently approve both you andyour retired plan of life: and as to your infrequent appearances amongus, I am the more resigned to that because, were you in Rome, I shouldbe prevented from enjoying the charm of your society, and so would youof mine, if I have any, by the overpowering nature of my engagements;from which, if I get any relief--for entire release I don't expect--Iwill give even you, who have been studying nothing else for many years, some hints as to what it is to live a life of cultivated enjoyment. Onlybe careful to nurse your weak health and to continue your present careof it, so that you may be able to visit my country houses and makeexcursions with me in my litter. I have written you a longer letter thanusual, from superabundance, not of leisure, but of affection, because, if you remember, you asked me in one of your letters to write yousomething to prevent you feeling sorry at having missed the games. Andif I have succeeded in that, I am glad: if not, I yet console myselfwith this reflexion, that in future you will both come to the games andcome to see me, and will not leave your hope of enjoyment dependent onmy letters. [565]

[Footnote 561: _Communis_, which is not satisfactory. But neither is theemendation proposed, _cominus_. For _communis_, "common, " "vulgar, " see_de Off. _ ii. § 45. ]

[Footnote 562: Whom Pompey employed to select the plays to be exhibitedin his new theatre. ]

[Footnote 563: Pliny (_N. H. _ viii. § 21) says that the people were somoved that they loudly cursed Pompey. ]

[Footnote 564: L. Caninius Gallus (see p. 210). What he was accused ofdoes not appear. ]

[Footnote 565: I do not like to think this letter a mere rhetoricalexercise, as has been suggested, rather than a true account of Cicero'sfeelings as to the theatre and amphitheatre. He often expresses his wantof interest in the latter. The vulgar display in the theatre, unlike thesevere simplicity of Greek art, was an old evil (see Polyb. Xxx. 14). ]

CXXVII (F XIII, 74)

TO Q. PHILIPPUS (PROCONSUL IN ASIA)

ROME

[Sidenote: B. C. 55, ÆT. 51]

Though, considering your attention to me and our close ties, I have nodoubt of your remembering my recommendation, yet I again and againrecommend to you the same L. Oppius, my intimate friend who is now inRome, and the business of L. Egnatius, my very intimate friend who isnow abroad. With the latter my connexion and intimacy are so strong, that I could not be more anxious if the business were my own. WhereforeI shall be highly gratified if you take the trouble too make him feelthat I have as high a place in your affections as I think I have. Youcannot oblige me more than by doing so: and I beg you warmly to do it. 

CXXVIII (F XIII, 40)

TO Q. ANCHARIUS (PROCONSUL IN MACEDONIA)

ROME

[Sidenote: B. C. 55, ÆT. 51]

Lucius and Gaius, sons of Lucius Aurelius, with whom, as with theirexcellent father, I am most intimately acquainted, I recommend to youwith more than usual earnestness, as young men endowed with the bestqualities, as being very closely allied to myself, and as being in thehighest degree worthy of your friendship. If any recommendations of minehave ever had influence with you, as I know that many have had much, Ibeg you to let this one have it. If you treat them with honour andkindness, you will not only have attached to yourself two very gratefuland excellent young men, but you will also have done me the verygreatest favour. 

CXXIX (A IV, 13)

TO ATTICUS (AT ROME)

TUSCULUM, 15 NOVEMBER

[Sidenote: B. C. 55, ÆT. 51]

I see that you know of my arrival at Tusculum on the 14th of November. Ifound Dionysius there. I wish to be at Rome on the 17th. Why do I say"wish"? Rather I am forced to be so. Milo's wedding. There is some ideaof an election. Even supposing that to be confirmed, [566] I am glad tohave been absent from the wrangling debates which I am told have takenplace in the senate. For I should either have defended him, which wouldhave been against my opinion, or have deserted him whom I was bound todefend. But, by Hercules, describe to me to the utmost of your powerthose events, and the present state of politics, and how the consulsstand this bother. I am very ravenous for news, and, to tell you thetruth, I feel no confidence in anything. Our friend Crassus indeed, people say, started in his official robes with less dignity than in theold times did L. Paullus, [567] at the same time of life as he is, and, like him, in his second consulship. What a sorry fellow! About myoratorical books, I have been working hard. They have been long in handand much revised: you can get them copied. [568] I again beg of you anoutline sketch of the present situation, that I may not arrive in Romequite a stranger. 

[Footnote 566: _Ego, ut sit rata_, Schutz's reading, which seems thebest for the unintelligible _ergo et si irata_ of the MSS. It wouldmean, "though I regret not having been back for Domitius's election (ifit has taken place), I am glad to have been away from the previouswrangling in the senate. "]

[Footnote 567: Crassus starts for Syria; he compares him to L. ÆmiliusPaullus starting for the war with Perses (B. C. 168). Paullus was, likeCrassus, sixty years old, and in his second consulship. Paullus set outwith good omens, Crassus with a curse, denounced by the tribune C. Ateius Capito (_de Div. _ i. § 29; Plutarch, _Crass. _ 16). ]

[Footnote 568: By his _librarii_. Atticus was again acting as hispublisher. ]

CXXX (F V, 8)

[Sidenote: B. C. 54. Coss. , L. Domitius Ahenobarbus, Ap. ClaudiusPulcher. ]

 During this year politics were comparatively uneventful. Crassus was gone to Syria. Pompey should have gone to Spain, but at the request of the senate he stayed near Rome, and in the autumn his wife Iulia died, thus breaking one strong tie between him and Cæsar. Quintus Cicero went as _legatus_ to Cæsar and accompanied him to Britain. Cicero himself kept up a correspondence with Cæsar, and seems to nurse his friendship with him with an almost feverish eagerness, which, however, lacks spontaneity. He was engaged this year in composing his treatise on the Republic. 

TO M. LICINIUS CRASSUS (ON HIS WAY TO SYRIA)

ROME (JANUARY)

[Sidenote: B. C. 54, ÆT. 52]

I have no doubt all your friends have written to tell you what zeal Idisplayed on the ----[569] in the defence, or you might call it thepromotion, of your official position. For it was neither half-heartednor inconspicuous, nor of a sort that could be passed over in silence. In fact, I maintained a controversy against both the consuls and manyconsulars with a vehemence such as I have never shewn in any causebefore, and I took upon myself the standing defence of all your honours, and paid the duty I owed to our friendship--long in arrear, butinterrupted by the great complexity of events--to the very utmost. Not, believe me, that the will to shew you attention and honour was everwanting to me; but certain pestilent persons--vexed at another'sfame--did at times alienate you from me, and sometimes changed myfeelings towards you. But I have got the opportunity, for which I hadrather wished than hoped, of shewing you in the very height of yourprosperity that I remember our mutual kindness and am faithful to ourfriendship. For I have secured not only that your whole family, but thatthe entire city should know that you have no warmer friend than myself. Accordingly, that most noble of women, your wife, as well as your twomost affectionate, virtuous, and popular sons, place full confidence inmy counsel, advice, zeal, and public actions; and the senate and Romanpeople understand that in your absence there is nothing upon which youcan so absolutely count and depend as upon my exertions, care, attention, and influence in all matters which affect your interests. What has been done and is being done in the senate I imagine that youare informed in the letters from members of your family. For myself, Iam very anxious that you should think and believe that I did not stumbleupon the task of supporting your dignity from some sudden whim or bychance, but that from the first moment of my entering on public life Ihave always looked out to see how I might be most closely united to you. And, indeed, from that hour I never remember either my respect for you, or your very great kindness and liberality to me, to have failed. Ifcertain interruptions of friendship have occurred, based rather onsuspicion than fact, let them, as groundless and imaginary, be uprootedfrom our entire memory and life. For such is your character, and such Idesire mine to be, that, fate having brought us face to face with thesame condition of public affairs, I would fain hope that our union andfriendship will turn out to be for the credit of us both. Wherefore howmuch consideration should in your judgment be shewn to me, you willyourself decide, and that decision, I hope, will be in accordance withmy position in the state. I, for my part, promise and guarantee aspecial and unequalled zeal in every service which may tend to yourhonour and reputation. And even if in this I shall have many rivals, Ishall yet easily surpass them all in the judgment of the rest of theworld as well as that of your sons, for both of whom I have a particularaffection; but while equally well-disposed to Marcus, I am more entirelydevoted to Publius for this reason, that, though he always did so fromboyhood, he is at this particular time treating me with the respect andaffection of a second father. 

I would have you believe that this letter will have the force of atreaty, not of a mere epistle; and that I will most sacredly observe andmost carefully perform what I hereby promise and undertake. The defenceof your political position which I have taken up in your absence I willabide by, not only for the sake of our friendship, but also for the sakeof my own character for consistency. Therefore I thought it sufficientat this time to tell you this--that if there was anything which Iunderstood to be your wish or for your advantage or for your honour, Ishould do it without waiting to be asked; but that if I received a hintfrom yourself or your family on any point, I should take care toconvince you that no letter of your own or any request from any of yourfamily has been in vain. Wherefore I would wish you to write to me onall matters, great, small, or indifferent, as to a most cordial friend;and to bid your family so to make use of my activity, advice, authority, and influence in all business matters--public or private, forensic ordomestic, whether your own or those of your friends, guests, orclients--that, as far as such a thing is possible, the loss of yourpresence may be lessened by my labour. 

[Footnote 569: The date has been lost. ]

CXXXI (Q FR II, 9)

TO HIS BROTHER QUINTUS (IN THE COUNTRY)

ROME (FEBRUARY)

[Sidenote: B. C. 54, ÆT. 52]

Your note by its strong language has drawn out this letter. For as towhat actually occurred on the day of your start, it supplied me withabsolutely no subject for writing. But as when we are together we arenever at a loss for something to say, so ought our letters at times todigress into loose chat. Well then, to begin, the liberty of theTenedians has received short shrift, [570] no one speaking for themexcept myself, Bibulus, Calidius, and Favonius. A complimentaryreference to you was made by the legates from Magnesia and Sipylum, theysaying that you were the man who alone had resisted the demand of L. Sestius Pansa. [571] On the remaining days of this business in thesenate, if anything occurs which you ought to know, or even if there isnothing, I will write you something every day. On the 12th I will notfail you or Pomponius. The poems of Lucretius are as you say--with manyflashes of genius, yet very technical. [572] But when you return, . .. Ifyou succeed in reading the _Empedoclea_ of Sallustius, I shall regardyou as a hero, yet scarcely human. 

[Footnote 570: Lit. "has been beheaded with the axe of Tenes, " mythicalfounder and legislator of Tenedos, whose laws were of Draconianseverity. A _legatio_ from Tenedos, heard as usual in February, hadasked that Tenedos might be made a _libera civitas_. ]

[Footnote 571: Some _publicanus_ who had made a charge on the Magnesianswhich they considered excessive. ]

[Footnote 572: Lucretius seems to have been now dead, according toDonatus 15 October (B. C. 55), though the date is uncertain. I havetranslated the reading _multæ tamen artis_, which has been changed bysome to _multæ etiam artis_. But the contrast in the criticism seems tobe between the fine poetical passages in the _de Rerum Natura_ and themass of technical exposition of philosophy which must have repelled the"general reader" at all times. It suggests at once to Cicero to mentionanother poem on a similar subject, the _Empedoclea_ of Sallustius, ofwhich and its writer we know nothing. It was not the historian. ]

CXXXII (Q FR II, 10)

TO HIS BROTHER QUINTUS (IN THE COUNTRY)

ROME (FEBRUARY)

[Sidenote: B. C. 54, ÆT. 52]

I am glad you like my letter: however, I should not even now have hadanything to write about, if I had not received yours. For on the 12th, when Appius had got together a thinly-attended meeting of the senate, the cold was so great that he was compelled by the general clamour[573]to dismiss us. As to the Commagenian, because I have blown thatproposition to the winds, Appius makes wonderful advances to me bothpersonally and through Pomponius; for he sees that if I adopt a similarstyle of discussion in the other business, February will not bring himanything in. And certainly I did chaff him pretty well, and not onlywrenched from his grasp that petty township of his--situated in theterritory of Zeugma on the Euphrates[574]--but also raised a loud laughby my satire on the man's purple-edged toga, which he had been grantedwhen Cæsar was consul. [575] "His wish, " said I, "for a renewal of thesame honour, to save the yearly re-dying of his purple-edged toga, I donot think calls for any decree of the house; but you, my lords, whocould not endure that the Bostrian[576] should wear the _toga prætexta_, will you allow the Commagenian to do so?" You see the style of chaff, and the line I took. I spoke at length against the petty princeling, with the result that he was utterly laughed out of court. Alarmed bythis exhibition, as I said, Appius is making up to me. For nothing couldbe easier than to explode the rest of his proposals. But I will not goso far as to trip him up, lest he appeal to the god of hospitality, andsummon all his Greeks--it is they who make us friends again. I will dowhat Theopompus wants. I had forgotten to write to you about Cæsar: forI perceive what sort of letter you have been expecting. But the fact is, he has written word to Balbus that the little packet of letters, inwhich mine and Balbus's were packed, had been so drenched with rain thathe was not even aware that there was a letter from me. He had, however, made out a few words of Balbus's letter, to which he answered asfollows: "I perceive that you have written something about Cicero, whichI have not fully made out: but, as far I could guess, it was of a kindthat I thought was more to be wished than hoped for. " Accordingly, Iafterwards sent Cæsar a duplicate copy of the letter. Don't be put offby that passage about his want of means. In answer to it I wrote backsaying that he must not stop payment from any reliance on my moneychest, and descanted playfully on that subject, in familiar terms andyet without derogating from my dignity. His good feeling towards us, however, according to all accounts, is marked. The letter, indeed, onthe point of which you expect to hear, will almost coincide with yourreturn:[577] the other business of each day I will write on condition ofyour furnishing me with letter-carriers. However, such cold weather isthreatening, [578] that there is very great danger that Appius may findhis house frost-bitten and deserted![579]

[Footnote 573: Retaining _populi convicio_, and explaining _populus_ tohave the general meaning of the crowd, including senators andspectators. Cicero uses _populus_ in this vague way elsewhere. ]

[Footnote 574: Zeugma I take to mean the "territory of Zeugma, " a townon the Euphrates, part of the Roman province of Syria, and close to thefrontier of Commagene. Antiochus had asked that some stronghold shouldbe reckoned as his rather than as belonging to the province. ]

[Footnote 575: Appius, he insinuates, hoped to make money by grantingthe request of Antiochus, left king of Commagene by Pompey, for somespecial privileges, among which was the right of wearing the _togaprætexta_, which symbolized some position with a shadow of Roman_imperium_, while at the same time conveying a compliment to the Romansuzernainty. See Polyb. Lib. Xxvi. ; xxx. 26; Suet. _Aug. _ 60. ]

[Footnote 576: Some petty prince of Bostra (_Bozra_), in Arabia, of whomwe know nothing. ]

[Footnote 577: Quintus was expecting, what he got, the offer of servingunder Cæsar as _legatus_. Cæsar was preparing for his second invasion ofBritain. ]

[Footnote 578: Which will prevent meetings of the senate, and so give meno news to send you. ]

[Footnote 579: There is a _double entendre_. Cold weather will preventthe meetings of the senate actually, but metaphorically politics will bealso cold and dull, and that dullness will probably be nowhere soevident as in the deserted state of the consul Appius's house, which inall probability will miss its usual bevy of callers. Thisexplanation--put forward by Prof. Tyrrell--is not wholly satisfactory, yet it is the best that has been given. ]

CXXXIII (F VII, 5)

TO CÆSAR (IN GAUL)

ROME (FEBRUARY)

[Sidenote: B. C. 54, ÆT. 52]

Cicero greets Cæsar, _imperator_. Observe how far I have convincedmyself that you are my second self, not only in matters which concern mepersonally, but even in those which concern my friends. It had been myintention to take Gaius Trebatius with me for whatever destination Ishould be leaving town, in order to bring him home again honoured asmuch as my zeal and favour could make him. But when Pompey remained athome longer than I expected, and a certain hesitation on my part (withwhich you are not unacquainted) appeared to hinder, or at any rate toretard, my departure, [580] I presumed upon what I will now explain toyou. I begin to wish that Trebatius should look to you for what he hadhoped from me, and, in fact, I have been no more sparing of my promisesof goodwill on your part than I had been wont to be of my own. Moreover, an extraordinary coincidence has occurred which seems to support myopinion and to guarantee your kindness. For just as I was speaking toour friend Balbus[581] about this very Trebatius at my house, with morethan usual earnestness, a letter from you was handed to me, at the endof which you say: "Miscinius Rufus, [582] whom you recommend to me, Iwill make king of Gaul, or, if you choose, put him under the care ofLepta. Send me some one else to promote. " I and Balbus both lifted ourhands in surprise: it came so exactly in the nick of time, that itappeared to be less the result of mere chance than somethingprovidential. I therefore send you Trebatius, and on two grounds, firstthat it was my spontaneous idea to send him, and secondly because youhave invited me to do so. I would beg you, dear Cæsar, to receive himwith such a display of kindness as to concentrate on his single personall that you can be possibly induced to bestow for my sake upon myfriends. As for him I guarantee--not in the sense of that hackneyedexpression of mine, at which, when I used it in writing to you aboutMilo, you very properly jested, but in good Roman language such as sobermen use--that no honester, better, or more modest man exists. Added tothis, he is at the top of his profession as a jurisconsult, possesses anunequalled memory, and the most profound learning. For such a man I askneither a tribuneship, prefecture, nor any definite office, I ask onlyyour goodwill and liberality: and yet I do not wish to prevent yourcomplimenting him, if it so please you, with even these marks ofdistinction. In fact, I transfer him entirely from my hand, so to speak, to yours, which is as sure a pledge of good faith as of victory. Excusemy being somewhat importunate, though with a man like you there canhardly be any pretext for it--however, I feel that it will be allowed topass. Be careful of your health and continue to love me as ever. 

[Footnote 580: Pompey had two functions at this time: he was governor ofSpain and _præfectus annonæ_. The latter office, as being extraordinary, might be, perhaps, held with the other without an actual breach of law, but it was certainly against the spirit of the constitution. Ciceroknows that Pompey's staying in Italy and governing his province by_legati_ will not be acceptable to Cæsar, and he alludes to it incarefully guarded terms. He had been named his _legatus_ when Pompeyfirst undertook the care of the corn-supply, but it does not seem as ifhe ever seriously contemplated going on actual service. ]

[Footnote 581: L. Cornelius Balbus, whom Cicero defended, and who actedas Cæsar's agent. ]

[Footnote 582: The name of the person jocosely referred to by Cæsar isuncertain, from corruption of the text. Q. Lepta is Cæsar's _præfectusfabrum_. ]

CXXXIV (Q FR II, 11 [13])

TO HIS BROTHER QUINTUS (IN THE COUNTRY)

ROME (15 FEBRUARY)

[Sidenote: B. C. 54, ÆT. 52]

Your "black snow"[583] made me laugh, and I am very glad that you are ina cheerful frame of mind and ready for a joke. As to Pompey, I agreewith you, or rather you agree with me. For, as you know, I have longbeen singing the praises of your Cæsar. Believe me, he is very close tomy heart, and I am not going to let him slip from his place. Now for thehistory of the Ides (13th). It was Cælius's tenth day. [584] Domitius hadnot obtained a full panel. I am afraid that foul ruffian, Servius Pola, will appear for the prosecution. For our friend Cælius has a dead setmade at him by the Clodian gens. There is nothing certain as yet, but Iam afraid. On the same day there was a full house for the case of theTyrians: the _publicani_ of Syria appeared in large numbers againstthem. Gabinius was abused roundly:[585] the _publicani_ were alsodenounced by (the consul) Domitius for having escorted him on his starton horseback. Our friend Lucius Lamia was somewhat insolent: for onDomitius saying, "It is your fault, equites of Rome, that such thingshave happened: for you give verdicts laxly, " he said, "Yes, we giveverdicts, but you senators give evidence of character. "[586] Nothing wasdone that day: the house stood adjourned at nightfall. On the comitialdays which follow the Quirinalia (17th February), Appius holds the viewthat he is not prevented by the _lex Pupia_ from holding a meeting ofthe senate, and that by the _lex Gabinia_ he is even compelled to have ameeting for the legations from the 1st of February to the 1st ofMarch. [587] And so the elections are supposed to be put off till March. Nevertheless, on these comitial days the tribunes say that they willbring forward the case of Gabinius. [588] I collect every item ofintelligence, that I may have some news to tell you: but, as you see, Iam short of material. Accordingly, I return to Callisthenes andPhilistus, in whom I see that you have been wallowing. Callisthenes is acommonplace and hackneyed piece of business, like a good many Greeks. The Sicilian is a first-rate writer, terse, sagacious, concise, almost aminor Thucydides;[589] but which of his two books you have--for theseare two works--I don't know. That about Dionysius is my favourite. ForDionysius himself is a magnificent intriguer, and was familiarly knownto Philistus. But as to your postscript--are you really going in forwriting history? You have my blessing on your project: and since youfurnish me with letter-carriers, you shall hear to-day's transactions onthe Lupercalia (15th February). Enjoy yourself with our dear boy to yourheart's content. 

[Footnote 583: We cannot tell the allusion, not having the letter ofQuintus. But he seems to have used the expression for somethingincongruous either in politics, or in regard to his contemplatedservices with Cæsar. ]

[Footnote 584: _I. E. _, the day he had to appear for trial, usually fixedby the prætor on the tenth day from the notice of prosecution. Cæliushad been acqiuitted in B. C. 56, when Cicero defended him; this secondtrial appears to have in some way fallen through. The prætor Domitius issaid to be Cn. Domitius Ahenobarbus, son of Lucius, but he was much tooyoung to have been prætor this year. The former trial of Cælius (B. C. 56) had been before Cn. Comitius Calvinus, hence a difficulty about thispassage. For the prætor Domitius of this year is not known. DomitiusCalvinus was prætor B. C. 56. ]

[Footnote 585: The _publicani_ of Syria were enraged with Gabinius forneglecting his province while going to Egypt, thus allowing the piratesso to plunder that they could not collect enough dues to recoup them fortheir bargain to the state (Dio, xxxix. 59). ]

[Footnote 586: L. Ælius Lamia, an eques, appears to have been one of thedeputation of _publicani_ who attended the senate to accuse Gabinius. ]

[Footnote 587: The prætorian elections were again postponed from theprevious year to the early months of B. C. 54. Appius Claudius foundmeans to put them off till March by holding meetings of the senate eachday--the electoral _comita_ not being able to meet on the same day asthe senate. ]

[Footnote 588: The tribune C. Memmius was prosecuting Gabinius (LetterCXLVII). The judicial _comita_ could meet, though not the electoral. ]

[Footnote 589: Callisthenes of Olynthus wrote (1) a history of theTrojan war; (2) an account of Alexander the Great. Philistus of Syracuse(1) a history of Sicily; (2) a life of Dionysius the elder; (3) a lifeof Dionysius the younger. He imitated Thucydides (_de Orat. _ § 17). ]

CXXXV (F VII, 6)

TO C. TREBATIUS TESTA (IN GAUL)

CUMÆ (APRIL)

[Sidenote: B. C. 54, ÆT. 52]

In all my letters to Cæsar or Balbus there is a sort of statutoryappendix containing a recommendation of you, and not one of the ordinarykind, but accompanied by some signal mark of my warm feeling towardsyou. See only that you get rid of that feeble regret of yours for thecity and city ways, and carry out with persistence and courage what youhad in your mind when you set out. We, your friends, shall pardon yourgoing away for that purpose as much as

 "The wealthy noble dames who held the Corinthian peak"

pardoned Medea, whom, with hands whitened to the utmost with chalk, shepersuaded not to think ill of her for being absent from her fatherland:for

 "Many have served themselves abroad and served the state as well; Many have spent their lives at home to be but counted fools. "

In which latter category you would have certainly been, had I not forcedyou abroad. But I will write more another time. You who learnt to lookout for others, look out, while in Britain, that you are not yourselftaken in my the charioteers; and, since I have begun quoting the_Medea_, remember this line:

 "The sage who cannot serve himself is vainly wise I ween. "

Take care of your health. [590]

[Footnote 590: Trebatius is going to join Cæsar, who is about to sail toBritain; hence the jest about the _essedarii_, drivers of Gallic andBritish war-chariots. Letter CXXXIII recommended him to Cæsar. The linesquoted are from the _Medea_ of Ennius, adapted or translated fromEuripides. I date these two letters from Cumæ, because he speaks ofwriting to Balbus, who was at Rome (p. 267). ]

CXXXVI (F VII, 7)

TO C. TREBATIUS TESTA (ON HIS WAY TO GAUL)

CUMÆ (APRIL OR MAY)

[Sidenote: B. C. 54, ÆT. 52]

For my part, I never cease recommending you, but I am eager to know fromyou how far my recommendation is of service. My chief hope is in Balbus, to whom I write about you with the greatest earnestness and frequency. It is often excites my wonder that I don't hear from you as often asfrom my brother Quintus. In Britain I am told there is no gold orsilver. If that turns out to be the case, I advise you to capture awar-chariot and hasten back to us at the earliest opportunity. Butif--letting Britain alone--we can still obtain what we want, take careto get on intimate terms with Cæsar. In that respect my brother will beof much use to you, so will Balbus, but most of all, believe me, yourown modesty and industry. You have an _imperator_ of the most liberalcharacter, your age is exactly the best one for employment, and yourrecommendation at any rate is quite unique, so that all you have to fearis not doing yourself full justice. 

CXXXVII (A IV, 14)

TO ATTICUS (ON A JOURNEY)

CUMÆ (MAY)

[Sidenote: B. C. 54, ÆT. 52]

Our friend Vestorius[591] has informed me by letter that you arebelieved to have left Rome on the 10th of May--later than you said thatyou intended--because you had not been very well. If you are now betterI rejoice indeed. I wish you would write to your town house, orderingyour books to be at my service just as if you were at home, especiallythose of Varro. For I have occasion to use some passages of those booksin reference to those which I have in hand, and which, I hope, will meetwith your strong approval. [592] Pray, if by chance you have any news, principally from my brother Quintus, next from Cæsar, and, finally, anything about the elections or about politics--for you have anexcellent nose for such things--write and tell me about them: if youhave no news, nevertheless write something. For a letter from you neveryet seemed to me either ill-timed or too long-winded. But above all Ibeg that, when your business and your whole tour has been concluded toyour mind, you will come back to us as soon as possible. Give mycompliments to Dionysius. Take care of your health. 

[Footnote 591: A banker at Puteoli. ]

[Footnote 592: The six books on the Republic. ]

CXXXVIII (Q FR II, 12 [14])

TO HIS BROTHER QUINTUS (IN GAUL)

CUMÆ (MAY)

[Sidenote: B. C. 54, ÆT. 52]

I have up to now received two letters from you, one just as I wasleaving town, the other dated Ariminum: others which you say in yourletter that you have sent I have not received. I am having a fairlypleasant time (except that you are not here) at Cumæ and Pompeii, andintend staying in these parts till the 1st of June. I am writing thetreatise of which I spoke to you, "On the Republic, " a very bulky andlaborious work. But if it turns out as I wish, it will be labour wellbestowed, and if not I shall toss it into the very sea which I havebefore my eyes as I write, and set to work on something else; since todo nothing is beyond my power. I will carefully observe your instructionboth as to attaching certain persons to myself and not alienatingcertain others. But my chief care will be to see your son, or ratherour son, if possible, every day at any rate, and to watch the progressof his education as often as possible; and, unless he declines my help, I will even offer to be his instructor, a practice to which I havebecome habituated in the leisure of these days while bringing my ownboy, the younger Cicero, on. Yes, do as you say in your letter, what, even if you had not said so, I know you do with the greatestcare--digest, follow up, and carry out my instructions. For my part, when I get to Rome, I will let no letter-carrier of Cæsar go without aletter for you. During these days you must excuse me: there has been noone to whom I could deliver a letter until the present bearer M. Orfius, a Roman knight, a man that is my friend as well from personalconsideration as because he comes from the _municipium_ of Atella, [593]which you know is under my patronage. Accordingly, I recommend him toyou with more than common warmth, as a man in a brilliant position inhis own town and looked up to even beyond it. Pray attach him toyourself by your liberal treatment of him: he is a military tribune inyour army. You will find him grateful and attentive. I earnestly beg youto be very friendly to Trebatius. 

[Footnote 593: A _municipium_ of Campania nine miles from Naples. ]

CXXXIX (F VII, 8)

TO C. TREBATIUS TESTA (IN GAUL)

ROME (JUNE)

[Sidenote: B. C. 54, ÆT. 52]

Cæsar has written me a very courteous letter saying that he has not yetseen as much of you as he could wish, owing to his press of business, but that he certainly will do so. I have answered his letter and toldhim how much obliged I shall be if he bestows on you as much attention, kindness, and liberality as he can. But I gathered from your lettersthat you are in somewhat too great a hurry: and at the same time Iwondered why you despised the profits of a military tribuneship, especially as you are exempted from the labour of military duty. I shallexpress my discontent to Vacerra and Manilius: for I dare not say a wordto Cornelius, [594] who is responsible for your unwise conduct, since youprofess to have learnt legal wisdom from him. Rather press on youropportunity and the means put into your hands, than which none betterwill ever be found. As to what you say of the jurist Precianus, I nevercease recommending you to him; for he writes me word that you owe himthanks. Be sure to let me know to what that refers. I am waiting for aletter from you dated "Britain. "[595]

[Footnote 594: Vacerra, Manilius, Cornelius, well-known lawyers orjurists of the day. ]

[Footnote 595: We shall afterwards see that Trebatius did not go toBritain. ]

CXL (Q FR II, 13)

TO HIS BROTHER QUINTUS (IN GAUL)

ROME (3 JUNE)

[Sidenote: B. C. 54, ÆT. 52]

On the 2nd of June, the day of my return to Rome, I received your letterdated Placentia: then next day another dated Blandeno, along with aletter from Cæsar filled full of courteous, earnest, and pleasantexpressions. These expressions are indeed valuable, or rather _most_valuable, as tending very powerfully to secure our reputation andexalted position in that state. But believe me--for you know myheart--that what I value most in all this I already possess, that is, first of all, your active contribution to our common position; and, secondly, all that warm affection of Cæsar for me, which I prefer to allthe honours which he desires me to expect at his hands. His letter too, despatched at the same time as your own--which begins by saying whatpleasure your arrival and the renewed memory of our old affection hadgiven him, and goes on to say that he will take care that, in the midstof my sorrow and regret at losing you, I shall have reason to be gladthat you are with him of all people--gave me extraordinary delight. Wherefore you, of course, are acting in a truly brotherly spirit whenyou exhort me, though, by heaven, I am now indeed forward enough to doso, to concentrate all my attentions upon him alone. Yes, I will do so, indeed, with a burning zeal: and perhaps I shall manage to accomplishwhat is frequently the fortune of travellers when they make great haste, who, if they have got up later than they intended, have, by increasingtheir speed, arrived at their destination sooner than if they had wakedup before daylight. Thus I, since I have long overslept myself incultivating that great man, though you, by heaven, often tried to wakeme up, will make up for my slowness with horses and (as you say he likesmy poem) a poet's chariots. Only let me have Britain to paint in colourssupplied by yourself, but with my own brush. But what am I saying? Whatprospect of leisure have I, especially as I remain at Rome in accordancewith his request? But I will see. For perhaps, as usual, my love for youwill overcome all difficulties. For my having sent Trebatius to him heeven thanks me in very witty and polite terms, remarking that there wasno one in the whole number of his staff who knew how to draw up arecognizance. I have asked him for a tribuneship for M. Curtius--sinceDomitius (the consul) would have thought that he was being laughed at, if my petition had been addressed to him, for his daily assertion isthat he hasn't the appointment of so much as a military tribune: he evenjested in the senate at his colleague Appius as having gone to visitCæsar, [596] that he might get from him at least one tribuneship. But myrequest was for next year, for that was what Curtius wished. Whateverline you think I ought to take in politics and in treating my opponents, be sure I shall take, and shall be "gentler than any ear-lap. " Affairsat Rome stand thus; there is some hope of the elections taking place, but it is an uncertain one. There is some latent idea of adictatorship, [597] but neither is that confirmed. There is profound calmin the forum, but it is rather the calm of decrepitude than content. The opinions I express in the senate are of a kind to win the assent ofothers rather than my own:

 "Such the effects of miserable war. "[598]

[Footnote 596: At Luca in the year B. C. 56. ]

[Footnote 597: _Comitia habendi causa_. No such had been appointed sinceB. C. 202, and the irregular dictatorship of Sulla in B. C. 82 made theidea distasteful. Pompey was understood to wish for the appointment, nowand later on. See pp. 326, 335. ]

[Footnote 598: τοιαῦθ' ὁ τλήμων πόλεμος ἐξεργάζεται (Eur. _Supp. _ 119). ]

CXLI (Q FR II, 14 [15 b])

TO HIS BROTHER QUINTUS (IN GAUL)

ROME (JULY)

[Sidenote: B. C. 54, ÆT. 52]

Well! this time I'll use a good pen, well-mixed ink, and superfinepaper. For you say you could hardly read my previous letter, for which, my dear brother, he reason was none of those which you suppose. For Iwas not busy, nor agitated, nor out of temper with some one: but it isalways my way to take the first pen that turns up and use it as if itwere a good one. But now attend, best and dearest of brothers, to myanswer to what you wrote in this same short letter in such a verybusiness-like way. On this subject you beg that I should write back toyou with brotherly candour, without concealment, or reserve, orconsideration for your feelings--I mean whether you are to hasten home, as we had talked of, or to stay where you are, if there is any excusefor doing so, in order to extricate yourself from your embarrassments. If, my dear Quintus, it were some small matter on which you were askingmy opinion, though I should have left it to you to do what you chose, Ishould yet have shewn you what mine was. But on this subject yourquestion amounts to this--what sort of year I expect the next to be?Either quite undisturbed as far as we are concerned, or at any rate onethat will find us in the highest state of preparation for defence. Thisis shewn by the daily throng at my house, my reception in the forum, thecheers which greet me in the theatre. My friends feel no anxiety, because they know the strength of my position in my hold upon thefavour both of Cæsar and Pompey. These things give me entireconfidence. But if some furious outbreak of that madman occurs, everything is ready for crushing him. This is my feeling, my deliberateopinion: I write to you with entire confidence. I bid you have nodoubts, and I do so with no intention of pleasing you, but withbrotherly frankness. Therefore, while I should wish you to come at thetime you arranged, for the sake of the pleasure we should have in eachother's society, yet I prefer the course you yourself think the betterone. I, too, think these objects of great importance--ample means foryourself and extrication from your load of debt. Make up your mind tothis, that, free from embarrassments, we should be the happiest peoplealive if we keep well. For men of our habits the deficiency is small, and such as can be supplied with the greatest ease, granted only that wekeep our health. 

There is an enormous recrudescence of bribery. Never was there anythingequal to it. On the 15th of July the rate of interest rose from four toeight per cent. , owing to the compact made by Memmius with the consulDomitius:[599] I wish Scaurus could get the better of it. Messalla isvery shaky. I am not exaggerating--they arrange to offer as much as10, 000 sestertia (about £80, 000) for the vote of the first century. Thematter is a burning scandal. The candidates for the tribuneship havemade a mutual compact--having deposited 500 sesteria (about £4, 000)apiece with Cato, they agree to conduct their canvass according to hisdirection, with the understanding that anyone offending against it is tobe condemned by him. If this election then turns out to be pure, Catowill have been of more avail than all laws and jurors put together. 

[Footnote 599: For the nature of this compact, see p. 300. ]

CXLII (A IV, 16 AND PART OF 17)

TO ATTICUS (IN EPIRUS OR ON HIS JOURNEY TO ASIA)

ROME (? 24 JUNE)

[Sidenote: B. C. 54, ÆT. 52]

The bare fact of my letter being by the hand of an amanuensis will be asign of the amount of my engagements. I have no fault to find with youas to the number of your letters, but most of them told me nothingexcept where you were, or at most shewed by the fact that they came fromyou that no harm had happened to you. Of this class of letters therewere two which gave me very great pleasure, dated by you from Buthrotumalmost at the same time: for I was anxious to know that you had had afavourable crossing. But this constant supply of your letters did notgive me so much pleasure by the richness of their contents as by theirfrequency. The one which your guest, M. Paccius, delivered to me wasimportant and full of matter. I will therefore answer it. And this isthe first thing I have to say: I have shewn Paccius, both by word anddeed, what weight a recommendation from you has: accordingly, he isamong my intimate friends, though unknown to me before. Now for therest. Varro, of whom you write, shall be got in somewhere, if I can butfind a place for him. [600] But you know the style of my Dialogues: justas in those "On the Orator, " which you praise to the skies, a mention ofanyone by the interlocutors was impossible, unless he had been known toor heard of by them, so in the "Dialogue on the Republic, " which I havebegun, I have put the discussion in the mouths of Africanus, Philus, Lælius, and Manilius. I have added two young men, Q. Tubero and P. Rutilius, and the two sons-in-law of Lælius, Scævola and Fannius. So Iam thinking how (since I employ introductions to each book, asAristotle does in what he calls his "Exoterics") to contrive somepretext for naming your friend in a natural way, as I understand is yourwish. May I only be enabled to carry out my attempt! For, as you cannotbut observe, I have undertaken a subject wide, difficult, and requiringthe utmost leisure--the very thing that, above all others, I lack. Inthose books which you commend you complain of the absence of Scævolaamong the speakers. Well, I did not withdraw him without a set purpose, but I did exactly what that god of our idolatry, Plato, did in hisRepublic. When Socrates had come to the Piræus on a visit to Cephalus, awealthy and cheerful old man, during all the introductory conversationthe old man takes part in the discussion; then, after having himselfmade a speech very much to the point, he says that he wants to go awayto attend on the religious rites, and does not return again. I believePlato hardly thought that it would be quite natural, if he kept a man ofthat age any longer in a conversation so protracted. I thought that Iwas bound to be still more careful in the case of Scævola, who was atthe age and with the broken health as you remember he then was, and whohad enjoyed such high offices, that it was scarcely in accordance withetiquette for him to be staying several days in the Tusculan villa ofCrassus. Besides, the conversation in the first book was not unconnectedwith Scævola's special pursuits: the other books, as you know, contain atechnical discussion. In such I was unwilling that that facetiousveteran, as you know he was, should take part. 

As to Pilia's business, which you mention, I will see to it. For thematter is quite clear, as you say, from the information supplied byAurelianus, and in managing it I shall have also an opportunity ofglorifying myself in my Tullia's eyes. I am supporting Vestorius: for Iknow that it gratifies you, and I am careful that he would understandthat to be the case. But do you know the sort of man he is? Though hehas two such good-natured people to deal with, nothing can exceed hisimpracticability. Now as to what you ask about Gaius Cato. You know thathe was acquitted under the _lex Iunia Licinia_:[601] I have to tell youthat he will be acquitted under the _lex Fufia_, [602] and not so much tothe satisfaction of his defenders as of his accusers. However, he hasbecome reconciled to myself and Milo. Drusus has had notice ofprosecution by Lucretius. The 3rd of July is the day fixed forchallenging his jurors. About Procilius[603] there are sinisterrumours--but you know what the courts are. Hirrus is on good terms withDomitius. [604] The senatorial decree which the present consuls havecarried about the provinces--"whoever henceforth, etc. "--does not seemto me likely to have any effect. 

As to your question about Messalla, I don't know what to say: I havenever seen candidates so closely matched. Messalla's means of supportyou know. Scaurus has had notice of prosecution from Triarius. If youask me, no great feeling of sympathy for him has been roused. Still, hisædileship is remembered with some gratitude, and he has a certain holdon the country voters from the memory of his father. The two remainingplebeian candidates have compensating advantages which make them aboutequal: Domitius Calvinus is strong in friends, and is farther supportedby his very popular exhibition of gladiators; Memmius finds favour withCæsar's veterans and relies on Pompey's client towns in Gaul. If thisdoes not avail him, people think that some tribune will be found to pushoff the elections till Cæsar comes back, especially since Cato has beenacquitted. 

I have answered your letter brought by Paccius: now for the rest. Frommy brother's letter I gather surprising indications of Cæsar's affectionfor me, and they have been confirmed by a very cordial letter from Cæsarhimself. The result of the British war is a source of anxiety. For it isascertained that the approaches to the island are protected byastonishing masses of cliff. Moreover, it is now known that there isn'ta pennyweight of silver in that island, nor any hope of booty exceptfrom slaves, among whom I don't suppose you can expect any instructedin literature or music. 

Paullus has almost brought his basilica in the forum to the roof, usingthe same columns as were in the ancient building: the part for which hegave out a contract he is building on the most magnificent scale. [605]Need I say more? Nothing could be more gratifying or more to his glorythan such a monument. Accordingly, the friends of Cæsar--I mean myselfand Oppius, though you burst with anger--have thought nothing of 60, 000sestertia (about £480, 000) for that monument, which you used to speak ofin such high terms, in order to enlarge the forum and extend it right upto the Hall of Liberty. The claims of private owners could not besatisfied for less. We will make it a most glorious affair. For in theCampus Martius we are about to erect voting places for the _comitiatributa_, of marble and covered, and to surround them with a loftycolonnade a mile in circumference: at the same time the _Villa Publica_will also be connected with these erections. [606] You will say: "Whatgood will this monument do me?" But why should I trouble myself aboutthat? I have told you all the news at Rome: for I don't suppose you wantto know about the lustrum, of which there is now no hope, [607] or aboutthe trials which are being held under the (Cincian) law. [608]

Now allow yourself to be scolded, if you deserve it. For you say in theletter from Buthrotum, delivered to me by C. Decimus, that you think youwill have to go to Asia. There did not, by Hercules, seem to me to beanything that made it matter in the least whether you did the businessby agents or in person; or anything to make you go so often and so farfrom your friends. But I could have wished that I had urged this on youbefore you had taken any step. For I certainly should have had someinfluence on you. As things are, I will suppress the rest of myscolding. May it only have some effect in hastening your return! Thereason of my not writing oftener to you is the uncertainty I am in as towhere you are or are going to be. However, I thought I ought to givethis letter to a chance messenger, because he seemed to be likely to seeyou. Since you think you really will go to Asia, pray tell me by whattime we may expect you back, and what you have done about Eutychides. 

[Footnote 600: That is, as an interlocutor in the dialogue "On theRepublic, " which Cicero was engaged in writing. ]

[Footnote 601: A law re-enacting the _lex Didia_, and enacting underpenalties that no law was to be brought forward without due publicationbeforehand. ]

[Footnote 602: A law which enabled the magistrates and tribunes to stoplegislation by _obnuntiatio_. ]

[Footnote 603: Procilius had been condemned _de vi_ (p. 280). Therumours, I suppose, were as to the jury having been corrupted. ]

[Footnote 604: The consul L. Domitius Ahenobarbus and C. LucceiusHirrus, the latter a warm partisan of Pompey, who was supposed to beagitating for a dictatorship. ]

[Footnote 605: L. Æmilius Paullus (consul B. C. 50) restored the basilicabuilt by his ancestor M. Æmilius Lepidus in B. C. 179, and appears tohave added largely to it, or even built a new one. ]

[Footnote 606: These works seem to have been contemplated by the censorsand senate, and Cicero speaks of himself and Oppius as doing thembecause they supported the measure. They were partly carried out byCæsar but not completed till the time of Augustus. ]

[Footnote 607: Because the tribunes stopped it--the formal act at theend of the Censor's office--by _obnuntiationes_. ]

[Footnote 608: The name of the law mentioned here is uncertain. The _lexCincia de munuibus_ forbade advocates taking fees for pleading. ]

CXLIII (A IV, 15)

TO ATTICUS (IN EPIRUS)

ROME, 27 JULY

[Sidenote: B. C. 54, ÆT. 52]

I am glad about Eutychides, who, using your old _prænomen_ and your new_nomen_, will be called Titus Cæcilius, just as Dionysius, from acombination of your names and mine, is Marcus Pomponius. I am, byHercules, exceedingly gratified that Eutychides has had cause to knowyour kindness to me, and that the sympathy he shewed me in the time ofmy sorrow was neither unnoticed at the time nor afterwards forgotten byme. I suppose you were obliged to undertake your journey to Asia. Foryou never would have been willing, without the most urgent cause, to beso far from so many persons and things which you love so much, and whichgive you so much delight. But the speed of your return will shew yourkindness and love for your friends. Yet I fear lest the rhetoricianClodius, by his charms, and Pituanius, that excellent scholar, as he issaid to be, and now, indeed, so wholly devoted to Greek letters, maydetain you. But if you would shew the feelings of a man, come back to usat the time you promised. You will, after all, be able to enjoy theirsociety at Rome, when they get there safe. You say you desire somethingin the way of a letter from me: I have written, and, indeed, on manysubjects--everything detailed like a journal--but, as I conjecture fromyour not having, as it seems, remained long in Epirus, I suppose it hasnot reached you. Moreover, my letters to _you_ are generally of such akind, that I don't like to put them in anyone's hands, unless I can feelcertain that he will deliver them to you. 

Now for affairs at Rome. On the 4th of July Sufenas and Cato wereacquitted, Procilius condemned. From which we have learnt that ourtreble-distilled Areopagites care not a rush for bribery, elections, _interregnum, lèse majesté_, or, in fact, for the state generally; butthat they would rather that a father of a family were not murdered onhis own hearth-stone--and even that preference not very decided. Therewere twenty-two votes for acquittal, twenty-nine for condemnation![609]Publius, no doubt by an eloquent peroration in his speech for theprosecution, had quickened the feelings of the jurors! Herbalus[610] wasin the case, and behaved as usual. I said never a word. For my littlegirl, who is unwell, was afraid of offending Publius's feelings. Afterthis was over the people of Reate conducted me to their Tempe, to pleadtheir cause against the people of Interamna before the consul and tencommissioners, because the Veline Lake, which had been drained by ManiusCurius by cutting away the mountain, flowed into the Nar, by which meansthe famous Rosia has been reclaimed from the swamp, though still fairlymoist. [611] I lived with Axius, who took me also to visit Seven Waters. I returned to Rome on the 9th of July for the sake of Fonteius. Ientered the theatre. At first I was greeted with loud and generalapplause--but don't take any notice of that, I was a fool to mentionit--then I turned my attention to Antiphon. He had been manumittedbefore being brought on to the stage. Not to keep you in suspense, hebore away the palm. But there never was anything so dwarfish, sodestitute of voice, so---- But keep this to yourself. However, in the_Andromache_ he was just taller than Astyanax: among the rest he had notone of his own height. You next ask about Arbuscula: she had a greatsuccess. The games were splendid and much liked. The wild-beast hunt wasput off to a future occasion. Next follow me into the _campus_. Briberyis raging: "and I a sign to you will tell. "[612] The rate of interestfrom being four percent, on the 15th of July has gone up to eightpercent. You will say, "Well, _I_ don't mind that. "[613] What a man!What a citizen! Memmius is supported by all Cæsar's influence. Theconsuls have formed a coalition between him and Domitius (Calvinus) onterms which I dare not commit to paper. Pompey rages, remonstrates, backs Scaurus, but whether only ostensibly or from the heart peopledon't feel sure. No one takes the lead: money reduces all to the samelevel. Messalla's chance is at a low ebb: not because he is wanting inspirit or friends, but because this coalition of the consuls, as well asPompey's opposition, stands in his way. I think the result will be apostponement of the elections. The tribunician candidates have taken anoath to conduct their canvass according to the direction of Cato. Theyhave deposited with him 500 sestertia apiece, on condition that whoeverCato condemns should forfeit it, and that it should be paid over to hiscompetitors. I write this the day before the elections are to takeplace. But on the 28th of July, if they have taken place, and if theletter-carrier has not started, I will write you an account of the whole_comitia_: and, if they are conducted without corruption, Cato byhimself will have been more efficacious than all laws and jurors puttogether. I have undertaken to defend Messius, who has been recalledfrom his legation: for Appius had named him _legatus_ to Cæsar. Servilius ordered his attendance in an edict. His jurors are to be fromthe tribes Pomptina, Velina, and Mæcia. It is a sharp fight: however, itis going fairly well. After that I have to prepare myself for Drusus, then for Scaurus. Very high-sounding title-slips are being prepared formy speeches! Perhaps even the consuls-designate will be added to thelist of my clients: and if Scaurus is not one of them, he will findhimself in serious difficulties in this trial. Judging from my brotherQuintus's letter, I suspect that by this time he is in Britain. I awaitnews of him with anxiety. We have certainly gained one advantage--manyunmistakable indications enable us to feel sure that we are in thehighest degree liked and valued by Cæsar. Please give my compliments toDionysius, and beg and exhort him to come as soon as possible, that hemay continue the instruction of my son and of myself as well. 

[Footnote 609: M. Nonius Sufenas and C. Cato were charged with briberyand other illegal proceedings during their tribuneship: Procilius forriot (_de vi_) when some citizen was killed. ]

[Footnote 610: Q. Hortensius, the great orator. ]

[Footnote 611: This refers to the famous waterfall of Terni. Anartificial cutting drained the River Velinus (which otherwise coveredthe high valley as a lake) into the Nar, which is in the valley below. What was good for the people of Reate was, of course, dangerous for thepeople of Interamna living below. M. Curius Dentatus was consul B. C. 290. ]

[Footnote 612: σἠμα δἐ τοι ἐρέω (Hom. _Il. _ xxiii. 326). ]

[Footnote 613: Because Atticus lent money. ]

CXLIV (F VII, 9)

TO C. TREBATIUS TESTA (IN GAUL)

ROME (SEPTEMBER)

[Sidenote: B. C. 54, ÆT. 52]

It is a long time since I heard how you were getting on: for you don'twrite, nor have I written to you for the last two months. As you werenot with my brother Quintus I did not know where to send a letter, or towhom to give it. I am anxious to know how you are and where you mean towinter. For my part, my opinion is that you should do so with Cæsar; butI have not ventured to write to him owing to his mourning. [614] I wouldrather you put off your return to us, so long as you come with fullerpockets. There is nothing to make you hurry home, especially since"Battara"[615] is dead. But you are quite capable of thinking foryourself. I desire to know what you have settled. There is a certain Cn. Octavius or Cn. Cornelius, a friend of yours, "Of highest race begot, a son of Earth. "

He has frequently asked me to dinner, because he knows that you are anintimate friend of mine. At present he has not succeeded in getting me:however, I am much obliged to him. 

[Footnote 614: For the death (in September) of his daughter Iulia, wifeof Pompey. ]

[Footnote 615: A nickname, it is said, of Vacerra (perhaps because hestuttered), who had been a teacher of Trebatius. ]

CXLV (F VII, 17)

TO C. TREBATIUS TESTA (IN GAUL)

ROME (SEPTEMBER)

[Sidenote: B. C. 54, ÆT. 52]

From what I gather from your letter I have thanked my brother Quintus, and can besides at last heartily commend you, because you at length seemto have come to some fixed resolution. For I was much put out by yourletters in the first months of your absence, because at times you seemedto me--pardon the expression--to be light-minded in your longing for thecity and city life, at others timid in undertaking military work, andoften even a little inclined to presumption--a thing as unlike yourusual self as can be. For, as though you had brought a bill of exchange, and not a letter of recommendation to your commander-in-chief, you wereall in a hurry to get your money and return home; and it never occurredto you that those who went to Alexandria[616] with real bills ofexchange have as yet not been able to get a farthing. If I looked onlyto my own interests, I should wish, above all things, to have you withme: for I used to find not only pleasure of no ordinary kind in yoursociety, but also much advantage from your advice and active assistance. But since from your earliest manhood you had devoted yourself to myfriendship and protection, I thought it my duty not only to see that youcame to no harm, but to advance your fortunes and secure your promotion. Accordingly, as long as I thought I should be going abroad to aprovince, I am sure you remember the voluntary offers I made you. Afterthat plan had been changed, perceiving that I was being treated by Cæsarwith the highest consideration, and was regarded by him with unusualaffection, and knowing as I did his incredible liberality andunsurpassed loyalty to his word, I recommended you to him in theweightiest and most earnest words at my command. And he accepted thisrecommendation in a gratifying manner, and repeatedly indicated to me inwriting, and shewed you by word and deed, that he had been powerfullyaffected by my recommendation. Having got such a man as your patron, ifyou believe me to have any insight, or to be your well-wisher, do notlet him go; and if by chance something at times has annoyed you, whenfrom being busy or in difficulties he has seemed to you somewhat slow toserve you, hold on and wait for the end, which I guarantee will begratifying and honourable to you. I need not exhort you at any greaterlength: I only give you this warning, that you will never find a betteropportunity, if you let this slip, either of securing the friendship ofa most illustrious and liberal man, or of enjoying a wealthier provinceor a more suitable time of life. "Quintus Cornelius concurred, " as yousay in your law books. I am glad you didn't go to Britain, because youhave been saved some hard work, and I the necessity of listening to yourstories about that expedition. Pray write to me at full length as towhere you are going to winter, and what your hopes and present positionare. 

[Footnote 616: To Ptolemy Auletes, who had agreed to pay large sums tocertain persons for supporting his interests in the senate. ]

CXLVI (Q FR II, 15)

TO HIS BROTHER QUINTUS (IN BRITAIN)

ROME (SEPTEMBER)

[Sidenote: B. C. 54, ÆT. 52]

When you receive a letter from me by the hand of an amanuensis, you maybe sure that I have not even a little leisure; when by my own--a little. For let me tell you that in regard to causes and trials in court, I havenever been closer tied, and that, too, at the most unhealthy season ofthe year, and in the most oppressively hot weather. But these things, since you so direct me, I must put up with, and must not seem to havecome short of the ideas and expectations which you and Cæsar entertainof me, especially since, even if it were somewhat difficult not to dothat, I am yet likely from this labour to reap great popularity andprestige. Accordingly, as you wish me to do, I take great pains not tohurt anyone's feelings, and to secure being liked even by those very menwho are vexed at my close friendship with Cæsar, while by those who areimpartial, or even inclined to this side, I may be warmly courted andloved. When some very violent debates took place in the senate on thesubject of bribery for several days, because the candidates for theconsulship had gone to such lengths as to be past all bearing, I was notin the house. I have made up my mind not to attempt any cure of thepolitical situation without powerful protection. The day I write thisDrusus has been acquitted on a charge of collusion by the _tribuniærarii_, in the grand total by four votes, for the majority of senatorsand equites were for condemnation. On the same day I am to defendVatinius. That is an easy matter. The _comitia_ have been put off toSeptember. Scaurus's trial will take place immediately, and I shall notfail to appear for him. I don't like your "Sophoclean Banqueters" atall, though I see that you played your part with a good grace. [617] Icome now to a subject which, perhaps, ought to have been my first. Howglad I was to get your letter from Britain! I was afraid of the ocean, afraid of the coast of the island. The other parts of the enterprise Ido not underrate; but yet they inspire more hope than fear, and it isthe suspense rather than any positive alarm that renders me uneasy. You, however, I can see, have a splendid subject for description, topography, natural features of things and places, manners, races, battles, yourcommander himself--what themes for your pen! I will gladly, as yourequest, assist you in the points you mention, and will send you theverses you ask for, that is, "An owl to Athens. "[618] But, look you! Ithink you are keeping me in the dark. Tell me, my dear brother, whatCæsar thinks of my verses. For he wrote before to tell me he had read myfirst book. Of the first part, he said that he had never read anythingbetter even in Greek: the rest, up to a particular passage, somewhat"careless"[619]--that is his word. Tell me the truth--is it thesubject-matter or the "style" that he does not like? You needn't beafraid: I shall not admire myself one whit the less. On this subjectspeak like a lover of truth, and with your usual brotherly frankness. 

[Footnote 617: In the "Banqueters" (σύνδειπνοι) of Sophocles, Achillesis excluded from a banquet in Tenedos. Some social mishap seems to haveoccurred to Quintus in camp. ]

[Footnote 618: Sending coals to Newcastle. ]

[Footnote 619: ῥαθυμότερα. ]

CXLVII (Q FR III, 1)

TO HIS BROTHER QUINTUS (IN BRITAIN)

ARPINUM AND ROME, 28 SEPTEMBER

[Sidenote: B. C. 54, ÆT. 52]

After extraordinarily hot weather--I never remember greater heat--I haverefreshed myself at Arpinum, and enjoyed the extreme loveliness of theriver during the days of the games, having left my tribesmen under thecharge of Philotimus. [620] I was at Arcanum on the 10th of September. There I found Mescidius and Philoxenus, and saw the water, for whichthey were making a course not far from your villa, running quite nicely, especially considering the extreme drought, and they said that they weregoing to collect it in much greater abundance. Everything is right withHerus. In your Manilian property I came across Diphilus outdoing himselfin dilatoriness. Still, he had nothing left to construct, except baths, and a promenade, and an aviary. I liked that villa very much, becauseits paved colonnade[621] gives it an air of very great dignity. I neverappreciated this till now that the colonnade itself has been all laidopen, and the columns have been polished. It all depends--and this Iwill look to--upon the stuccoing being prettily done. The pavementsseemed to be being well laid. Certain of the ceilings I did not like, and ordered them to be changed. As to the place in which they say thatyou write word that a small entrance hall is to be built--namely, in thecolonnade--I liked it better as it is. For I did not think there wasspace sufficient for an entrance hall; nor is it usual to have one, except in those buildings which have a larger court; nor could it havebedrooms and apartments of that kind attached to it. As it is, from thevery beauty of its arched roof, it will serve as an admirable summerroom. However, if you think differently, write back word as soon aspossible. In the bath I have moved the hot chamber to the other cornerof the dressing-room, because it was so placed that its steampipe wasimmediately under the bedrooms. A fair-sized bedroom and a lofty winterone I admired very much, for they were both spacious andwell-situated--on the side of the promenade nearest to the bath. Diphilus had placed the columns out of the perpendicular, and notopposite each other. These, of course, he shall take down; he will learnsome day to use the plumb-line and measure. On the whole, I hopeDiphilus's work will be completed in a few months: for Cæsius, who waswith me at the time, keeps a very sharp look-out upon him. 

Thence I started straight along the _via Vitularia_ to your Fufidianum, the estate which we bought for you a few weeks ago at Arpinum for100, 000 sesterces (about £800). I never saw a shadier spot insummer--water springs in many parts of it, and abundant into thebargain. In short, Cæsius thought that you would easily irrigate fifty_iugera_ of the meadow land. For my part, I can assure you of this, which is more in my line, that you will have a villa marvellouslypleasant, with the addition of a fish-pond, spouting fountains, a_palæstra_, and a shrubbery. I am told that you wish to keep thisBovillæ estate. You will determine as you think good. Calvus said that, even if the control of the water were taken from you, and the right ofdrawing it off were established by the vendor, and thus an easement wereimposed on that property, we could yet maintain the price in case wewished to sell. He said that he had agreed with you to do the work atthree sesterces a foot, and that he had stepped it, and made it threemiles. It seemed to me more. But I will guarantee that the money couldnowhere be better laid out. I had sent for Cillo from Venafrum, but onthat very day four of his fellow servants and apprentices had beencrushed by the falling in of a tunnel at Venafrum. On the 13th ofSeptember I was at Laterium. I examined the road, which appeared to meto be so good as to seem almost like a high road, except a hundred andfifty paces--for I measured it myself from the little bridge at thetemple of Furina, in the direction of Satricum. There they had put downdust, not gravel (this shall be changed), and that part of the road is avery steep incline. But I understood that it could not be taken in anyother direction, particularly as you did not wish it to go through theproperty of Locusta or Varro. The latter alone had made the road verywell where it skirted his own property. Locusta hadn't touched it; but Iwill call on him at Rome, and think I shall be able to stir him up, andat the same time I shall ask M. Taurus, who is now at Rome, and whom Iam told promised to allow you to do so, about making a watercoursethrough his property. I much approved of your steward Nicephorius, and Iasked him what orders you had given about that small building atLaterium, about which you spoke to me. He told me in answer that he hadhimself contracted to do the work for sixteen sestertia (about £128), but that you had afterwards made many additions to the work, but nothingto the price, and that he had therefore given it up. I quite approve, byHercules, of your making the additions you had determined upon; althoughthe villa as it stands seems to have the air of a philosopher, meant torebuke the extravagance of other villas. Yet, after all, that additionwill be pleasing. I praised your landscape gardener: he has so coveredeverything with ivy, both the foundation-wall of the villa and thespaces between the columns of the walk, that, upon my word, those Greekstatues seemed to be engaged in fancy gardening, and to be shewing offthe ivy. Finally, nothing can be cooler or more mossy than thedressing-room of the bath. That is about all I have to say about countrymatters. The gardener, indeed, as well as Philotimus and Cincius arepressing on the ornamentation of your town house; but I also often lookin upon it myself, as I can do without difficulty. Wherefore don't be atall anxious about that. 

As to your always asking me about your son, of course I "excuse you";but I must ask you to "excuse" me also, for I don't allow that you lovehim more than I do. And oh that he had been with me these last few daysat Arpinum, as he had himself set his heart on being, and as I had noless done! As to Pomponia, please write and say that, when I go out oftown anywhere, she is to come with me and bring the boy. I'll do wonderswith him, if I get him to myself when I am at leisure: for at Rome thereis no time to breathe. You know I formerly promised to do so fornothing. What do you expect with such a reward as you promise me? I nowcome to your letters which I received in several packets when I was atArpinum. For I received three from you in one day, and, indeed, as itseemed, despatched by you at the same time--one of considerable length, in which your first point was that my letter to you was dated earlierthan that to Cæsar. Oppius at times cannot help this: the reason isthat, having settled to send letter-carriers, and having received aletter from me, he is hindered by something turning up, and obliged todespatch them later than he had intended; and I don't take the troubleto have the day altered on a letter which I have once handed to him. Youwrite about Cæsar's extreme affection for us. This affection you must onyour part keep warm, and I for mine will endeavour to increase it byevery means in my power. About Pompey, I am carefully acting, and shallcontinue to act, as you advise. That my permission to you to stay longeris a welcome one, though I grieve at your absence and miss youexceedingly, I am yet partly glad. What you can be thinking of insending for such people as Hippodamus and some others, I do notunderstand. There is not one of those fellows that won't expect apresent from you equal to a suburban estate. However, there is no reasonfor your classing my friend Trebatius with them. I sent him to Cæsar, and Cæsar has done all I expected. If he has not done quite what _he_expected himself, I am not bound to make it up to him, and I in likemanner free and absolve you from all claims on his part. Your remark, that you are a greater favourite with Cæsar every day, is a source ofundying satisfaction to me. As to Balbus, who, as you say, promotes thatstate of things, he is the apple of my eye. I am indeed glad that youand my friend Trebonius like each other. As to what you say about themilitary tribuneship, I, indeed, asked for it definitely for Curtius, and Cæsar wrote back definitely to say that there was one at Curtius'sservice, and chided me for my modesty in making the request. If I haveasked one for anyone else--as I told Oppius to write and tell Cæsar--Ishall not be at all annoyed by a refusal, since those who pester me forletters _are_ annoyed at a refusal from me. I like Curtius, as I havetold him, not only because you asked me to do so, but from thecharacter you gave of him; for from your letter I have gathered the zealhe shewed for my restoration. As for the British expedition, I concludefrom your letter that we have no occasion either for fear or exultation. As to public affairs, about which you wish Tiro to write to you, I havewritten to you hitherto somewhat more carelessly than usual, because Iknew that all events, small or great, were reported to Cæsar. I have nowanswered your longest letter. 

Now hear what I have to say to your small one. The first point is aboutClodius's letter to Cæsar. In that matter I approve of Cæsar's policy, in not having given way to your request so far as to write a single wordto that Fury. The next thing is about the speech of Calventius"Marius. "[622] I am surprised at your saying that you think I ought toanswer it, particularly as, while no one is likely to read that speech, unless I write an answer to it, every schoolboy learns mine against himas an exercise. My books, all of which you are expecting, I have begun, but I cannot finish them for some days yet. The speeches for Scaurus andPlancius which you clamour for I have finished. The poem to Cæsar, whichI had begun, I have cut short. I will write what you ask me for, sinceyour poetic springs are running dry, as soon as I have time. 

Now for the third letter. It is very pleasant and welcome news to hearfrom you that Balbus is soon coming to Rome, and so wellaccompanied![623] and will stay with me continuously till the 15th ofMay. As to your exhorting me in the same letter, as in many previousones, to ambition and labour, I shall, of course, do as you say: butwhen am I to enjoy any real life?

Your fourth letter reached me on the 13th of September, dated on the10th of August from Britain. In it there was nothing new except aboutyour _Erigona_, and if I get that from Oppius I will write and tell youwhat I think of it. I have no doubt I shall like it. [624] Oh yes! I hadalmost forgotten to remark as to the man who, you say in your letter, had written to Cæsar about the applause given to Milo--I am notunwilling that Cæsar should think that it was as warm as possible. Andin point of fact it was so, and yet that applause, which is given tohim, seems in a certain sense to be given to me. [625]

I have also received a very old letter, but which was late in cominginto my hands, in which you remind me about the temple of Tellus and thecolonnade of Catulus. Both of these matters are being actively carriedout. At the temple of Tellus I have even got your statue placed. So, again, as to your reminder about a suburban villa and gardens, I wasnever very keen for one, and now my town house has all the charm of sucha pleasure-ground. On my arrival in Rome on the 18th of September Ifound the roof on your house finished: the part over the sitting-rooms, which you did not wish to have many gables, now slopes gracefullytowards the roof of the lower colonnade. Our boy, in my absence, did notcease working with his rhetoric master. You have no reason for beinganxious about his education, for you know his ability, and I see hisapplication. Everything else I take it upon myself to guarantee, withfull consciousness that I am bound to make it good. 

As yet there are three parties prosecuting Gabinius: first, L. Lentulus, son of the _flamen_, who has entered a prosecution for _lèsemajesté_;[626] secondly, Tib. Nero, with good names at the back of hisindictment; thirdly, C. Memmius the tribune in conjunction with L. Capito. He came to the walls of the city on the 19th of September, undignified and neglected to the last degree. But in the present stateof the law courts I do not venture to be confident of anything. As Catois unwell, he has not yet been formally indicted for extortion. Pompeyis trying hard to persuade me to be reconciled to him, but as yet he hasnot succeeded at all, nor, if I retain a shred of liberty, will hesucceed. I am very anxious for a letter from you. You say that you havebeen told that I was a party to the coalition of the consularcandidates--it is a lie. The compacts made in that coalition, afterwardsmade public by Memmius, were of such a nature that no loyal man ought tohave been a party to them;[627] nor at the same time was it possible forme to be a party to a coalition from which Messalla was excluded, who isthoroughly satisfied with my conduct in every particular, as also, Ithink, is Memmius. To Domitius himself I have rendered many services, which he desired and asked of me. I have put Scaurus under a heavyobligation by my defence of him. It is as yet very uncertain both whenthe elections will be and who will be consuls. 

Just as I was folding up this epistle letter-carriers arrived from youand Cæsar (20th September) after a journey of twenty days. How anxious Iwas! How painfully I was affected by Cæsar's most kind letter![628] Butthe kinder it was, the more sorrow did his loss occasion me. But to turnto your letter. To begin with, I reiterate my approval of your stayingon, especially as, according to your account, you have consulted Cæsaron the subject. I wonder that Oppius has anything to do with Publius, for I advised against it. Farther on in your letter you say that I amgoing to be made _legatus_ to Pompey on the 13th of September: I haveheard nothing about it, and I wrote to Cæsar to tell him that neitherVibullius nor Oppius had delivered his message to Pompey about myremaining at home. Why, I know not. However, it was I who restrainedOppius from doing so, because it was Vibullius who should take theleading part in that matter: for with him Cæsar had communicatedpersonally, with Oppius only by letter. I indeed can have no "secondthoughts"[629] in matters connected with Cæsar. He comes next after youand our children in my regard, and not much after. I think I act in thiswith deliberate judgment, for I have by this time good cause for it, yet warm personal feeling no doubt does influence me also. 

Just as I had written these last words--which are by my own hand--yourboy came in to dine with me, as Pomponia was dining out. He gave me yourletter to read, which he had received shortly before--a trulyAristophanic mixture of jest and earnest, with which I was greatlycharmed. [630] He gave me also your second letter, in which you bid himcling to my side as a mentor. How delighted he was with those letters!And so was I. Nothing could be more attractive than that boy, nothingmore affectionate to me!--This, to explain its being in anotherhandwriting, I dictated to Tiro while at dinner. 

Your letter gratified Annalis very much, as shewing that you took anactive interest in his concerns, and yet assisted him with exceedinglycandid advice. Publius Servilius the elder, from a letter which he saidhe had received from Cæsar, declares himself highly obliged to you forhaving spoken with the greatest kindness and earnestness of his devotionto Cæsar. After my return to Rome from Arpinum I was told thatHippodamus had started to join you. I cannot say that I was surprised athis having acted so discourteously as to start to join you without aletter from me: I only say this, that I was annoyed. For I had longresolved, from an expression in your letter, that if I had anything Iwished conveyed to you with more than usual care, I should give it tohim: for, in truth, into a letter like this, which I send you in anordinary way, I usually put nothing that, if it fell into certain hands, might be a source of annoyance. I reserve myself for Minucius andSalvius and Labeo. Labeo will either be starting late or will stay herealtogether. Hippodamus did not even ask me whether he could do anythingfor me. T. Penarius sends me a kind letter about you: says that he isexceedingly charmed with your literary pursuits, conversation, and aboveall by your dinners. He was always a favourite of mine, and I see a gooddeal of his brother. Wherefore continue, as you have begun, to admit theyoung man to your intimacy. 

From the fact of this letter having been in hand during many days, owingto the delay of the letter-carriers, I have jotted down in it manyvarious things at odd times, as, for instance, the following. TitusAnicius has mentioned to me more than once that he would not hesitate tobuy a suburban property for you, if he found one. In these remarks ofhis I find two things surprising: first, that when you write to himabout buying a suburban property, you not only don't write to me to thateffect, but write even in a contrary sense; and, secondly, that inwriting to him you totally forget his letters which you shewed me atTusculum, and as totally the rule of Epicharmus, "Notice how he hastreated another":[631] in fact, that you have quite forgotten, as Ithink, the lesson conveyed by the expression of his face, hisconversation, and his spirit. But this is your concern. As to a suburbanproperty, be sure to let me know your wishes, and at the same time takecare that that fellow doesn't get you into trouble. What else have I tosay? Anything? Yes, there is this: Gabinius entered the city by night onthe 27th of September, and to-day, at two o'clock, when he ought to haveappeared on his trial for _lèse majesté_, in accordance with the edictof C. Alfius, he was all but crushed to the earth by a great andunanimous demonstration of the popular hatred. Nothing could exceed hishumiliating position. However, Piso comes next to him. So I think ofintroducing a marvellous episode into my second book[632]--Apollodeclaring in the council of the gods what sort of return that of the twocommanders was to be, one of whom had lost, and the other sold his army. From Britain I have a letter of Cæsar's dated the 1st of September, which reached me on the 27th, satisfactory enough as far as the Britishexpedition is concerned, in which, to prevent my wondering at notgetting one from you, he tells me that you were not with him when hereached the coast. To that letter I made no reply, not even a formalcongratulation, on account of his mourning. Many, many wishes, dearbrother, for your health. 

[Footnote 620: That is, to get them seats at the games. See Letter XXVI, p. 63. ]

[Footnote 621: The _porticus_ is a kind of cloister round the_peristylium_ or _atrium_. ]

[Footnote 622: Calventius is said to stand for L. Calpurnius PisoCæsoninus, the consul of B. C. 58, against whom Cicero's speech wasspoken in B. C. 55 in the senate. He calls him Calventius from hismaternal grandfather, and Marius because--as he had said, in the speech, § 20--he had himself gone into exile rather than come to open fight withhim; just as Q. Metellus had done in B. C. 100, when, declining to takethe oath to the agrarian law of Saturninus, rather than fight Marius, who had taken the oath, he went into exile. This seems rather aroundabout explanation; but no better has been proposed, and, of course, Quintus, who had lately read the speech, would be able better tounderstand the allusion. ]

[Footnote 623: _I. E. _, with money. ]

[Footnote 624: This tragedy of Quintus's never reached Cicero. It waslost in transit. Perhaps no great loss. ]

[Footnote 625: Milo was ædile and had just given some splendid games. ]

[Footnote 626: _Maiestas. _ He would be liable to this charge, under alaw of Sulla's, for having left his province to interfere in Egypt. ]

[Footnote 627: See p. 300. ]

[Footnote 628: Apparently referring to the death of his daughter Iulia. ]

[Footnote 629: δευτέρας φροντίδας from Eurip. _Hipp. _ 436, αἱ δευτέραιπως φροντίδες σοφωτέραι. ]

[Footnote 630: Or, "as kindly and critical at once as Aristophanes (ofByzantium), " as though Quintus had written a Caxtonian criticism of hisson's style. ]

[Footnote 631: γυῶθι πῶς ἄλλω κέχρηται. ]

[Footnote 632: Of his poem "On his own Times. " Piso in Macedonia, wherehe had been unsuccessful with border tribes: Gabinius in going to Egyptto support Ptolemy. He left many of his soldiers there. ]

CXLVIII (A IV, 17 AND PARTS OF 16)

TO ATTICUS (ABROAD)

ROME, 1 OCTOBER

[Sidenote: B. C. 54, ÆT. 52]

You think I imagine that I write more rarely to you than I used to dofrom having forgotten my regular habit and purpose, but the fact isthat, perceiving your locality and journeys to be equally uncertain, Ihave never intrusted a letter to anyone--either for Epirus, or Athens, or Asia, or anywhere else--unless he was going expressly to you. For myletters are not of the sort to make their non-delivery a matter ofindifference; they contain so many confidential secrets that I do not asa rule trust them even to an amanuensis, for fear of some jest leakingout in some direction or another. 

The consuls are in a blaze of infamy because Gaius Memmius, one of thecandidates, read out in the senate a compact which he and his fellowcandidate, Domitius Calvinus, had made with the consuls--that both wereto forfeit to the consuls 40 sestertia apiece (in case they werethemselves elected consuls), if they did not produce three augurs todepose that they had been present at the passing of a _lex curiata_, which, in fact, had not been passed; and two consulars to depose tohaving helped to draft a decree for furnishing the consular provinces, though there had not even been a meeting of the senate at all. [633] Asthis compact was alleged not to have been a mere verbal one, but tohave been drawn up with the sums to be paid duly entered, formal ordersfor payment, and written attestations of many persons, it was, on thesuggestion of Pompey, produced by Memmius, but with the namesobliterated. It has made no difference to Appius--he had no character tolose! To the other consul it was a real knock-down blow, and he is, Iassure you, a ruined man. Memmius, however, having thus dissolved thecoalition, has lost all chance of election, and is by this time in aworse position than ever, because we are now informed that hisrevelation is strongly disapproved of by Cæsar. Our friend Messalla andhis fellow candidate, Domitius Calvinus, have been very liberal to thepeople. Nothing can exceed their popularity. They are certain to beconsuls. But the senate has passed a decree that a "trial with closeddoors" should be held before the elections in respect to each of thecandidates severally by the panels already allotted to them all. Thecandidates are in a great fright. But certain jurors--among themOpimius, Veiento, and Rantius--appealed to the tribunes to prevent theirbeing called upon to act as jurors without an order of the people[634]. The business goes on. The _comitia_ are postponed by a decree of thesenate till such time as the law for the "trial with closed doors" iscarried. The day for passing the law arrived. Terentius vetoed it. Theconsuls, having all along conducted this business in a half-hearted kindof way, referred the matter back to the senate. Hereupon--Bedlam! myvoice being heard with the rest. "Aren't you wise enough to keep quiet, after all?" you will say. Forgive me: I can hardly restrain myself. But, nevertheless, was there ever such a farce? The senate had voted that theelections should not be held till the law was passed: that, in case of atribunician veto, the whole question should be referred to them afresh. The law is introduced in a perfunctory manner: is vetoed, to the greatrelief of the proposers: the matter is referred to the senate. Upon thatthe senate voted that it was for the interest of the state that theelections should be held at the earliest possible time!

Scaurus, who had been acquitted a few days before, [635] after a mostelaborate speech from me on his behalf--when all the days up to the 29thof September (on which I write this) had one after the other beenrendered impossible for the _comitia_ by notices of ill omens put in byScævola--paid the people what they expected at his own house, tribe bytribe. But all the same, though his liberality was more generous, it wasnot so acceptable as that of the two mentioned above, who had got thestart of him. I could have wished to see your face when you readthis;[636] for I am certain you entertain some hope that thesetransactions will occupy a great many weeks! But there is to be ameeting of the senate to-day, that is, the 1st of October--for day isalready breaking. There no one will speak his mind except Antius andFavonius, [637] for Cato is ill. Don't be afraid about me: nevertheless, I make no promises. Is there anything else you want to know? Anything?Yes, the trials, I think. Drusus and Scaurus[638] are believed not tohave been guilty. Three candidates are thought likely to be prosecuted:Domitius Calvinus by Memmius, Messalla by Q. Pompeius Rufus, Scaurus[639] by Triarius or by L. Cæsar. "What will you be able to sayfor them?" quoth you. May I die if I know! In those books[640]certainly, of which you speak so highly, I find no suggestion. 

[Footnote 633: The object of the existing consuls in making such abargain was to get to their provinces without difficulty, with_imperium_, which had to be bestowed by a formal meeting of the old_comitia curiata_. But that formality could be stopped by tribunes orother magistrates "watching the sky, " or declaring evil omens: and justas these means were being resorted to to put off the elections, so theywere also likely to be used in this matter. If it was thus put off intothe next year, Domitius and Appius, not being any longer consuls, wouldhave still greater difficulty. Corrupt as the arrangement was, it seemsnot to have come under any existing law, and both escaped punishment. Appius went as proconsul to Cilicia, in spite of the _lex curiata_ notbeing passed, but Domitius Ahenobarbus seems not to have had a province. The object of Domitius Calvinus and Memmius in making the compact was tosecure their own election, which the existing consuls had many means ofassisting, but it is not clear what Memmius's object in disclosing itwas. Perhaps anger on finding his hopes gone, and an idea that anythingthat humiliated Ahenobarbus would be pleasing to Cæsar. He also seems tohave quarrelled with Calvinus. Gaius Memmius Gemellus is not to beconfounded with Gaius Memmius the tribune mentioned in the next letter. ]

[Footnote 634: There is considerable uncertainty as to the exact natureof _iudicium tacitum_, here rendered "a trial with closed doors, " on theanalogy of the _senatus consultum tacitum_ described by Capitolinus, _inGordian_. Ch. Xii. It is not, I think, mentioned elsewhere (_iudiciistacitis_ of 2 _Off. _ § 24, is a general expression for "anonymousexpressions of opinion"), and the passage in Plutarch (_Cato min. _ 44)introduces a new difficulty, for it indicates a court in whichcandidates _after_ election are to purge themselves. Again, _quæ erantomnibus sortita_ is very difficult. Cicero nowhere else, I believe, usesthe passive _sortitus_. But, passing that, what are the _consilia_meant? The tense and mood shew, I think, that the words are explanatoryby the writer, not part of the decree. I venture, contrary to alleditors, to take _omnibus_ as dative, and to suppose that the _consilia_meant are those of the _album iudicum_ who had been selected to trycases of _ambitus_, of which many were expected. There is no proof thatthe _iudices_ in a _iudicium tacitum_ had to be senators, and the namesin the next sentence point the other way. The senate proposed that thelaw should allow this selection from the _album_ to form the _iudiciumtacitum_, which would give no public verdict, but on whose report theycould afterwards act. ]

[Footnote 635: M. Æmilius Scaurus was acquitted on the 2nd of Septemberon a charge of extortion in Sardinia. The trial had been hurried on lesthe should use the Sardinian money in bribing for the consulship. Hencehe could not begin distributing his gifts to the electors till afterSeptember 2nd, and his rivals Domitius and Messalla got the start ofhim. See Asconius, 131 _seq. _]

[Footnote 636: He means that Atticus--as a lender of money--would beglad of anything that kept the rate of interest up (see p. 286). He is, of course, joking. ]

[Footnote 637: Antius is not known. Favonius was a close imitator ofCato's Stoicism. He was now opposing both Pompey and Cæsar strenuously, but on the Civil War breaking out, attached himself strongly to Pompey. He was put to death by Augustus after the battle of Philippi (Suet. _Aug. _ 13). He had a very biting tongue. See Plut. _Pomp. _ 60. ]

[Footnote 638: Drusus was probably Livius Drusus, the father of Livia, wife of Augustus; he was accused by Lucretius of _prævaricatio_, "collusion. "]

[Footnote 639: This time for _ambitus_. ]

[Footnote 640: The _de Oratore_. ]

CXLIX (Q FR III, 2)

TO HIS BROTHER QUINTUS (IN GAUL)

ROME, OCTOBER

[Sidenote: B. C. 54, ÆT. 52]

In the evening of the 10th of October Salvius started on board ship forOstia with the things you wished sent to you from home. On that same dayMemmius[641] gave Gabinius such a splendid warming in public meetingthat Calidius couldn't say a word for him. To-morrow (which is strictlythe day after to-morrow, for I am writing before daybreak) there is atrial before Cato for the selection of his prosecutor between Memmius, Tiberius Nero, and Gaius and Lucius, sons of M. Antonius. I think theresult will be in favour of Memmius, though a strong case is being madeout for Nero. In short, he is in a fairly tight fix, unless our friendPompey, to the disgust of gods and men, upsets the whole concern. Let megive you a specimen of the fellow's impudence, and extract _something_amusing from the public disasters. Gabinius having given out wherever hecame that he was demanding a triumph, and having suddenly, theexcellent general! invaded the city of his enemies by night, [642] didnot venture to enter the senate. Meanwhile, exactly on the tenth day, onwhich he was bound to report the number of the enemy and of his ownsoldiers who had been killed, he slunk into the house, which was verythinly attended. When he made as if to go out, he was stopped by theconsuls. The _publicani_ were introduced. The fellow was assailed onevery side, and my words stinging him more than all, he lost patience, and in a voice quivering with anger called me "Exile. "Thereupon--Heavens! I never had such a compliment paid me in all mylife!--the senate rose up to a man with a loud shout and made a menacingmovement in his direction: the _publicani_ made an equal noise and asimilar movement. In fine, they all behaved exactly as you would havedone. It is the leading topic of conversation out of the house. However, I refrain from prosecuting, with difficulty, by Hercules! yet refrain Ido: either because I don't want to quarrel with Pompey--the impendingquestion of Milo is enough in that direction--or because we have nojurors worthy of the name. I fear a fiasco: besides, there is theill-will of certain persons to me, and I am afraid my conducting theprosecution might give him some advantage: besides, I do not despair ofthe thing being done both without me and yet partly through myassistance. All the candidates for the consulships have had prosecutionsfor bribery lodged against them: Domitius Calvinus by Memmius (thetribune), Memmius (the candidate) by Q. Acutius, an excellent young manand a good lawyer, Messalla by Q. Pompeius, Scaurus by Triarius. Theaffair causes great commotion, because it is a plain alternative betweenshipwreck for the men concerned or for the laws. Pressure is beingapplied to prevent the trials taking place. It looks like an_interregnum_ again. The consuls desire to hold the _comitia_: theaccused don't wish it, and especially Memmius, because he hopes thatCæsar's approach[643] may secure him the consulship. But he is at avery low ebb. Domitius, with Messalla as his colleague, I think is acertainty. Scaurus has lost his chance. Appius declares that he willrelieve Lentulus even without a curiate law, [644] and, indeed, hedistinguished himself amazingly that day (I almost forgot to mention it)in an attack upon Gabinius. He accused him of _lèse majesté_, and gavethe names of his witnesses without Gabinius answering a word. That isall the public news. At home all is well: your house itself is beingproceeded with by the contractors with fair expedition. 

[Footnote 641: C. Memmius, a tribune of this year, not the same as theC. Memmius Gemellus of the last letter. ]

[Footnote 642: Referring to the fact that Gabinius, on his arrivaloutside Rome, without the usual procession of friends which met areturning proconsul, skulked about till nightfall, not venturing toenter Rome (the city of his enemies!) in daylight. By entering Rome hegave up his _imperium_ and could no longer ask a triumph. ]

[Footnote 643: Cæsar was accustomed to come to North Italy (GalliaCisalpina) for the winter to Ravenna or Luca, and there he could becommunicated with and exercise great influence. ]

[Footnote 644: That is, he would go to his province of Cilicia on thestrength of his nomination or allotment by the senate. There was somedoubt as to the question whether such allotment did not give _imperium_even without a _lex curiata_. Besides, the consul had already_imperium_, and he might consider it to be uninterrupted if he left Romeimmediately. However, as there was always an interval between the end ofthe consulship and the quitting Rome _paludatus_, the _lex curiata_ hadgenerally been considered necessary (Cæs. _B. C. _ i. 6). After B. C. 52the _lex Pompeia_ enacted a five years' interval, when, of course, a lawwould be necessary. ]

CL (Q FR III, 3)

TO HIS BROTHER QUINTUS (IN GAUL)

ROME (OCTOBER)

[Sidenote: B. C. 54, ÆT. 52]

The writing of an amanuensis must shew you the amount of my engagements. I assure you that no day passes without my appearing for the defence ofsome one. Accordingly, all composition or reflexion I reserve for thehour of my walk. So stands my business: matters at home, however, areeverything I could wish. Our boys are well, diligent in their studies, and affectionate to me and each other. The decoration of both of ourhouses is still in hand: but your rural works at Arcanum and Lateriumare now completed. For the rest, as to the water and the road, I wentinto the case thoroughly, in a certain letter of mine, without omittinganything. But, in truth, the anxiety which is now giving me greatuneasiness and pain is that for a period of fifty days I have heardnothing from you or from Cæsar--nothing has found its way from thoseparts, either in the shape of a letter, or even of a rumour. Moreover, both the sea and land out there make me uneasy, and I never ceaseimagining, as one does when one's affections are deeply involved, allthat I least desire. Wherefore I do not, indeed, for the present ask youto write me an account of yourself and your doings, for that you neveromit doing when possible, but I wish you to know this--that I havescarcely ever been so anxious for anything as at the moment of writing Iam for a letter from you. Now for what is going on in politics. One dayafter another for the _comitia_ is struck out by notices of bad omens, to the great satisfaction of all the loyalists: so great is the scandalin which the consuls are involved, owing to the suspicion of theirhaving bargained for a bribe from the candidates. The four candidatesfor the consulship are all arraigned: their cases are difficult ofdefence, but I shall do my best to secure the safety of our friendMessalla--and that is inseparable from the acquittal of the others. Publius Sulla has accused Gabinius of bribery--his stepson Memmius, hiscousin Cæcilius, and his son Sulla backing the indictment. L. Torquatusput in his claim to the conduct of the prosecution, and, to everybody'ssatisfaction, failed to establish it. You ask, "What will become ofGabinius?" We shall know in three days' time about the charge of _lèsemajesté_. In that case he is at a disadvantage from the hatredentertained by all classes for him; witnesses against him as damaging ascan be: accusers in the highest degree inefficient: the panel of jurorsof varied character: the president a man of weight and decision--Alfius:Pompey active in soliciting the jurors on his behalf. What the resultwill be I don't know; I don't see, however, how he can maintain aposition in the state. I shew no rancour in promoting his destruction, and await the result with the utmost good temper. That is nearly all thenews. I will add this one item: your boy (who is mine also) isexceedingly devoted to his rhetoric master Pæonius, a man, I think, ofgreat experience in his profession, and of very good character. But youare aware that my method of instruction aims at a somewhat morescholarly and philosophical style. [645] Accordingly I, for my part, amunwilling that his course of training should be interrupted, and the boyhimself seems to be more drawn to that declamatory style, and to like itbetter; and as that was the style in which I was myself initiated, letus allow him to follow in my path, for I feel sure it will eventuallybring him to the same point; nevertheless, if I take him with mesomewhere in the country, I shall guide him to the adoption of my systemand practice. For you have held out before me a great reward, which itcertainly shall not be my fault if I fail to fully obtain. I hope youwill write and tell me most carefully in what district you are going topass the winter, and what your prospects are. 

[Footnote 645: θετικώτερον. From θέσις, a philosophical proposition orthesis. In _Paradox. Præf. _ he uses θετικά of subjects suited to suchtheses. ]

CLI (Q FR III, 4)

TO HIS BROTHER QUINTUS (IN GAUL)

ROME, 24 OCTOBER

[Sidenote: B. C. 54, ÆT. 52]

Gabinius has been acquitted. Nothing could be more absolutely futilethan his accuser, Lentulus, and the backers of the indictment, or morecorrupt than the jury. Yet, after all, had it not been for incredibleexertions and entreaties on Pompey's part, and even an alarming rumourof a dictatorship, he would not have been able to answer even Lentulus;for even as it was, with such an accuser and such a jury, he hadthirty-two votes out of seventy recorded against him. This trial isaltogether so scandalous, that he seems certain to be convicted in theother suits, especially in that for extortion. But you must see that theRepublic, the senate, the law courts are mere cyphers, and that not oneof us has any constitutional position at all. What else should I tellyou about the jurors? Two men of prætorian rank were on thepanel--Domitius Calvinus, who voted for acquittal so openly thateverybody could see; and Cato, who, as soon as the voting tablets hadbeen counted, withdrew from the ring of people, and was the first totell Pompey the news. Some people--for instance, Sallust--say that Iought to have been the prosecuting counsel. Was I to have exposed myselfto such a jury as this? What would have been my position, if he hadescaped when I conducted the case? But there were other considerationswhich influenced me. Pompey would have looked upon it as a contest withme, not for that man's safety, but for his own position: he would haveentered the city;[646] it would have become a downright quarrel; Ishould have seemed like a Pacideianus matched with the SamniteÆserninus[647]--he would, perhaps, have bitten off my ear, [648] and atleast he would have become reconciled to Clodius. For my part, especially if you do not disapprove of it, I strongly approve my ownpolicy. That great man, though his advancement had been promoted byunparalleled exertions on my part, and though I owed him nothing, whilehe owed me all, yet could not endure that I should differ from him inpolitics--to put it mildly--and, when in a less powerful position, shewed me what he could do against me when in my zenith. At this time ofday, when I don't even care to be influential, and the Republiccertainly has no power to do anything, while he is supreme ineverything, was I to enter upon a contest with him? For that is what Ishould have had to have done. I do not think that you hold me bound tohave undertaken it. "Then, as an alternative, " says the grave Sallust, "you should have defended him, and have made that concession to Pompey'searnest wish, for he begged you very hard to do so. " An ingenious friendis Sallust, to give me the alternative of a dangerous quarrel or undyinginfamy! I, however, am quite pleased with the middle course which I havesteered; and another gratifying circumstance is that, when I had givenmy evidence with the utmost solemnity, in accordance with my honour andoath, the defendant said that, if he retained his right to remain in thecity, he would repay me, and did not attempt to cross-question me. 

As to the verses which you wish me to compose, it is true that I amdeficient in industry in regard to them, which requires not only time, but also a mind free from all anxiety, but I am also wanting ininspiration. For I am not altogether without anxiety as to the comingyear, though without fear. At the same time, and, upon my word, I speakwithout irony, I consider you a greater master of that style of writingthan myself. As to filling up your Greek library, effecting interchangesof books, and purchasing Latin books, I should be very glad that yourwishes should be carried out, especially as they would be very useful tome. But I have no one to employ for myself in such a business: for suchbooks as are really worth getting are not for sale, and purchases cannotbe effected except by an agent who is both well-informed and active. However, I will give orders to Chrysippus and speak to Tyrannio. I willinquire what Scipio has done about the treasury. I will see that whatseems to be the right thing is done. As to Ascanio, do what you like: Ishall not interfere. As to a suburban property, I commend your not beingin a hurry, but I advise your having one. I write this on the 24th ofOctober, the day of the opening of the games, on the point of startingfor my Tusculan villa, and taking my dear young Cicero with me as thoughto school (a school not for sport, but for learning), since I did notwish to be at any greater distance from town, because I purposedsupporting Pomptinus's[649] claim of a triumph on the 3rd of November. For there will be, in fact, some little difficulty; as the prætors, Catoand Servilius, [650] threaten to forbid it, though I don't know what theycan do. For he will have on his side Appius the consul, some prætors andtribunes. Still, they do threaten--and among the foremost Q. Scævola, "breathing war. "[651] Most delightful and dearest of brothers, take goodcare of your health. 

[Footnote 646: Pompey was outside the _pomœrium_ (_ad Romam_) ashaving _imperium_. ]

[Footnote 647: Two gladiators, one incomparably superior to the other. ]

[Footnote 648: A proverbial expression, cp. "snapped my nose off. "]

[Footnote 649: C. Pomptinus, prætor in B. C. 63 (when he had supportedCicero), was afterwards employed against the Allobroges as proprætor ofNarbonensis (B. C. 61). He had been, ever since leaving his province (?B. C. 58), urging his claim to a triumph. He obtained it now by thecontrivance of the prætor Serv. Sulpicius Galba, who got a vote passedby the _comitia_ before daybreak, which was unconstitutional (Dio, 39, 65). ]

[Footnote 650: P. Servilius Vatia Isauricus (consul B. C. 48) was anadmirer of Cato. See p. 112. ]

[Footnote 651: Ἄρη πνέων. ]

CLII (F I, 9)

TO P. LENTULUS SPINTHER (IN CILICIA)

ROME (OCTOBER)

[Sidenote: B. C. 54, ÆT. 52]

M. Cicero desires his warmest regards to P. Lentulus, _imperator_. [652]Your letter was very gratifying to me, from which I gathered that youfully appreciated my devotion to you: for why use the word kindness, when even the word "devotion" itself, with all its solemn and holyassociations, seems too weak to express my obligations to you? As foryour saying that my services to you are gratefully accepted, it is youwho in your overflowing affection make things, which cannot be omittedwithout criminal negligence, appear deserving of even gratitude. However, my feelings towards you would have been much more fully knownand conspicuous, if, during all this time that we have been separated, we had been together, and together at Rome. For precisely in what youdeclare your intention of doing--what no one is more capable of doing, and what I confidently look forward to from you--that is to say, inspeaking in the senate, and in every department of public life andpolitical activity, we should together have been in a very strongposition (what my feelings and position are in regard to politics I willexplain shortly, and will answer the questions you ask), and at any rateI should have found in you a supporter, at once most warmly attached andendowed with supreme wisdom, while in me you would have found anadviser, perhaps not the most unskilful in the world, and at least bothfaithful and devoted to your interests. However, for your own sake, ofcourse, I rejoice, as I am bound to do, that you have been greeted withthe title of _imperator_, and are holding your province and victoriousarmy after a successful campaign. But certainly, if you had been here, you would have enjoyed to a fuller extent and more directly the benefitof the services which I am bound to render you. Moreover, in takingvengeance on those whom you know in some cases to be your enemies, because you championed the cause of my recall, in others to be jealousof the splendid position and renown which that measure brought you, Ishould have done you yeoman's service as your associate. However, thatperpetual enemy of his own friends, who, in spite of having beenhonoured with the highest compliments on your part, has selected you ofall people for the object of his impotent and enfeebled violence, hassaved me the trouble by punishing himself. For he has made attempts, thedisclosure of which has left him without a shred, not only of politicalposition, but even of freedom of action. [653] And though I should havepreferred that you should have gained your experience in my case alone, rather than in your own also, yet in the midst of my regret I am gladthat you have learnt what the fidelity of mankind is worth, at no greatcost to yourself, which I learnt at the price of excessive pain. And Ithink that I have now an opportunity presented me, while answering thequestions you have addressed to me, of also explaining my entireposition and view. You say in your letter that you have been informedthat I have become reconciled to Cæsar and Appius, and you add that youhave no fault to find with that. But you express a wish to know whatinduced me to defend and compliment Vatinius. In order to make myexplanation plainer I must go a little farther back in the statement ofmy policy and its grounds. 

Well, Lentulus! At first--after the success of your efforts for myrecall--I looked upon myself as having been restored not alone to myfriends, but to the Republic also; and seeing that I owed you anaffection almost surpassing belief, and every kind of service, howevergreat and rare, that could be bestowed on your person, I thought that tothe Republic, which had much assisted you in restoring me, I at leastwas bound to entertain the feeling which I had in old times shewedmerely from the duty incumbent on all citizens alike, and not as anobligation incurred by some special kindness to myself. That these weremy sentiments I declared to the senate when you were consul, and you hadyourself a full view of them in our conversations and discussions. Yetfrom the very first my feelings were hurt by many circumstances, when, on your mooting the question of the full restoration of my position, Idetected the covert hatred of some and the equivocal attachment ofothers. For you received no support from them either in regard to mymonuments, or the illegal violence by which, in common with my brother, I had been driven from my house; nor, by heaven, did they shew thegoodwill which I had expected in regard to those matters which, thoughnecessary to me owing to the shipwreck of my fortune, were yet regardedby me as least valuable--I mean as to indemnifying me for my losses bydecree of the senate. And though I saw all this--for it was notdifficult to see--yet their present conduct did not affect me with somuch bitterness as what they had done for me did with gratitude. Andtherefore, though according to your own assertion and testimony I wasunder very great obligation to Pompey, and though I loved him not onlyfor his kindness, but also from my own feelings, and, so to speak, frommy unbroken admiration of him, nevertheless, without taking any accountof his wishes, I abode by all my old opinions in politics. [654] WithPompey sitting in court, [655] upon his having entered the city to giveevidence in favour of Sestius, and when the witness Vatinius hadasserted that, moved by the good fortune and success of Cæsar, I hadbegun to be his friend, I said that I preferred the fortune of Bibulus, which he thought a humiliation, to the triumphs and victories ofeverybody else; and I said during the examination of the same witness, in another part of my speech, that the same men had prevented Bibulusfrom leaving his house as had forced me from mine: my wholecross-examination, indeed, was nothing but a denunciation of histribuneship;[656] and in it I spoke throughout with the greatestfreedom and spirit about violence, neglect of omens, grants of royaltitles. Nor, indeed, in the support of this view is it only of late thatI have spoken: I have done so consistently on several occasions in thesenate. Nay, even in the consulship of Marcellinus and Philippus, [657]on the 5th of April the senate voted on my motion that the question ofthe Campanian land should be referred to a full meeting of the senate onthe 15th of May. Could I more decidedly invade the stronghold of hispolicy, or shew more clearly that I forgot my own present interests, andremembered my former political career? On my delivery of this proposal agreat impression was made on the minds not only of those who were boundto have been impressed, but also of those of whom I had never expectedit. For, after this decree had passed in accordance with my motion, Pompey, without shewing the least sign of being offended with me, started for Sardinia and Africa, and in the course of that journeyvisited Cæsar at Luca. There Cæsar complained a great deal about mymotion, for he had already seen Crassus at Ravenna also, and had beenirritated by him against me. It was well known that Pompey was muchvexed at this, as I was told by others, but learnt most definitely frommy brother. For when Pompey met him in Sardinia, a few days afterleaving Luca, he said: "You are the very man I want to see; nothingcould have happened more conveniently. Unless you speak very strongly toyour brother Marcus, you will have to pay up what you guaranteed on hisbehalf. "[658] I need not go on. He grumbled a great deal: mentioned hisown services to me: recalled what he had again and again said to mybrother himself about the "acts" of Cæsar, and what my brother hadundertaken in regard to me; and called my brother himself to witnessthat what he had done in regard to my recall he had done with theconsent of Cæsar: and asked him to commend to me the latter's policy andclaims, that I should not attack, even if I would not or could notsupport them. My brother having conveyed these remarks to me, andPompey having, nevertheless, sent Vibullius to me with a message, begging me not to commit myself on the question of the Campanian landtill his return, I reconsidered my position and begged the state itself, as it were, to allow me, who had suffered and done so much for it, tofulfil the duty which gratitude to my benefactors and the pledge whichmy brother had given demanded, and to suffer one whom it had everregarded as an honest citizen to shew himself an honest man. Moreover, in regard to all those motions and speeches of mine which appeared to begiving offence to Pompey, the remarks of a particular set of men, whosenames you must surely guess, kept on being reported to me; who, while inpublic affairs they were really in sympathy with my policy, and hadalways been so, yet said that they were glad that Pompey wasdissatisfied with me, and that Cæsar would be very greatly exasperatedagainst me. This in itself was vexatious to me: but much more so was thefact that they used, before my very eyes, so to embrace, fondle, makemuch of, and kiss my enemy--mine do I say? rather the enemy of the laws, of the law courts, of peace, of his country, of all loyal men!--thatthey did not indeed rouse my bile, for I have utterly lost all that, butimagined they did. In these circumstances, having, as far as is possiblefor human prudence, thoroughly examined my whole position, and havingbalanced the items of the account, I arrived at a final result of all myreflexions, which, as well as I can, I will now briefly put before you. 

If I had seen the Republic in the hands of bad or profligate citizens, as we know happened during the supremacy of Cinna, and on some otheroccasions, I should not under the pressure, I don't say of rewards, which are the last things to influence me, but even of danger, by which, after all, the bravest men are moved, have attached myself to theirparty, not even if their services to me had been of the very highestkind. As it is, seeing that the leading statesman in the Republic wasPompey, a man who had gained this power and renown by the most eminentservices to the state and the most glorious achievements, and one ofwhose position I had been a supporter from my youth up, and in myprætorship and consulship an active promoter also, and seeing that thissame statesman had assisted me, in his own person by the weight of hisinfluence and the expression of his opinion, and, in conjunction withyou, by his counsels and zeal, and that he regarded my enemy as his ownsupreme enemy in the state--I did not think that I need fear thereproach of inconsistency, if in some of my senatorial votes I somewhatchanged my standpoint, and contributed my zeal to the promotion of thedignity of a most distinguished man, and one to whom I am under thehighest obligations. In this sentiment I had necessarily to includeCæsar, as you see, for their policy and position were inseparablyunited. Here I was greatly influenced by two things--the old friendshipwhich you know that I and my brother Quintus have had with Cæsar, andhis own kindness and liberality, of which we have recently had clear andunmistakable evidence both by his letters and his personal attentions. Iwas also strongly affected by the Republic itself, which appeared to meto demand, especially considering Cæsar's brilliant successes, thatthere should be no quarrel maintained with these men, and indeed toforbid it in the strongest manner possible. Moreover, while entertainingthese feelings, I was above all shaken by the pledge which Pompey hadgiven for me to Cæsar, and my brother to Pompey. Besides, I was forcedto take into consideration the state maxim so divinely expressed by ourmaster Plato--"Such as are the chief men in a republic, such are everwont to be the other citizens. " I called to mind that in my consulship, from the very 1st of January, such a foundation was laid ofencouragement for the senate, that no one ought to have been surprisedthat on the 5th of December there was so much spirit and such commandinginfluence in that house. I also remember that when I became a privatecitizen up to the consulship of Cæsar and Bibulus, when the opinionsexpressed by me had great weight in the senate, the feeling among allthe loyalists was invariable. Afterwards, while you were holding theprovince of hither Spain with _imperium_ and the Republic had no genuineconsuls, but mere hucksters of provinces, mere slaves and agents ofsedition, an accident threw my head as an apple of discord into themidst of contending factions and civil broils. And in that hour ofdanger, though a unanimity was displayed on the part of the senate thatwas surprising, on the part of all Italy surpassing belief, and of allthe loyalists unparalleled, in standing forth in my defence, I will notsay what happened--for the blame attaches to many, and is of variousshades of turpitude--I will only say briefly that it was not the rankand file, but the leaders, that played me false. And in this matter, though some blame does attach to those who failed to defend me, no lessattaches to those who abandoned me: and if those who were frighteneddeserve reproach, if there are such, still more are those to be blamedwho pretended to be frightened. At any rate, my policy is justly to bepraised for refusing to allow my fellow citizens (preserved by me andardently desiring to preserve me) to be exposed while bereft of leadersto armed slaves, and for preferring that it should be made manifest howmuch force there might be in the unanimity of the loyalists, if they hadbeen permitted to champion my cause before I had fallen, when after thatfall they had proved strong enough to raise me up again. And the realfeelings of these men you not only had the penetration to see, whenbringing forward my case, but the power to encourage and keep alive. Inpromoting which measure--I will not merely not deny, but shall alwaysremember also and gladly proclaim it--you found certain men of thehighest rank more courageous in securing my restoration than they hadbeen in preserving me from my fall: and, if they had chosen to maintainthat frame of mind, they would have recovered their own commandingposition along with my salvation. For when the spirit of the loyalistshad been renewed by your consulship, and they had been roused from theirdismay by the extreme firmness and rectitude of your official conduct;when, above all, Pompey's support had been secured; and when Cæsar, too, with all the prestige of his brilliant achievements, after beinghonoured with unique and unprecedented marks of distinction andcompliments by the senate, was now supporting the dignity of the house, there could have been no opportunity for a disloyal citizen of outragingthe Republic. 

But now notice, I beg, what actually ensued. First of all, that intruderupon the women's rites, who had shewn no more respect for the Bona Deathan for his three sisters, secured immunity by the votes of those menwho, when a tribune wished by a legal action to exact penalties from aseditious citizen by the agency of the loyalists, deprived the Republicof what would have been hereafter a most splendid precedent for thepunishment of sedition. And these same persons, in the case of themonument, which was not mine, indeed--for it was not erected from theproceeds of spoils won by me, and I had nothing to do with it beyondgiving out the contract for its construction--well, they allowed thismonument of the senate's to have branded upon it the name of a publicenemy, and an inscription written in blood. That those men wished mysafety rouses my liveliest gratitude, but I could have wished that theyhad not chosen to take my bare safety into consideration, like doctors, but, like trainers, my strength and complexion also! As it is, just asApelles perfected the head and bust of his Venus with the most elaborateart, but left the rest of her body in the rough, so certain persons onlytook pains with my head, and left the rest of my body unfinished andunworked. Yet in this matter I have falsified the expectation, not onlyof the jealous, but also of the downright hostile, who formerlyconceived a wrong opinion from the case of Quintus Metellus, son ofLucius--the most energetic and gallant man in the world, and in myopinion of surpassing courage and firmness--who, people say, was muchcast down and dispirited after his return from exile. [659] Now, in thefirst place, we are asked to believe that a man who accepted exile withentire willingness and remarkable cheerfulness, and never took any painsat all to get recalled, was crushed in spirit about an affair in whichhe had shewn more firmness and constancy than anyone else, even than thepre-eminent M. Scaurus himself![660] But, again, the account they hadreceived, or rather the conjectures they were indulging in about him, they now transferred to me, imagining that I should be more than usuallybroken in spirit: whereas, in fact, the Republic was inspiring me witheven greater courage than I had ever had before, by making it plainthat I was the one citizen it could not do without; and by the fact thatwhile a bill proposed by only one tribune had recalled Metellus, thewhole state had joined as one man in recalling me--the senate leadingthe way, the whole of Italy following after, eight of the tribunespublishing the bill, a consul putting the question at the centuriateassembly, all orders and individuals pressing it on, in fact, with allthe forces at its command. Nor is it the case that I afterwards made anypretension, or am making any at this day, which can justly offendanyone, even the most malevolent: my only effort is that I may not faileither my friends or those more remotely connected with me in eitheractive service, or counsel, or personal exertion. This course of lifeperhaps offends those who fix their eyes on the glitter and show of myprofessional position, but are unable to appreciate its anxieties andlaboriousness. 

Again, they make no concealment of their dissatisfaction on the groundthat in the speeches which I make in the senate in praise of Cæsar I amdeparting from my old policy. But while giving explanations on thepoints which I put before you a short time ago, I will not keep till thelast the following, which I have already touched upon. You will notfind, my dear Lentulus, the sentiments of the loyalists the same as youleft them--strengthened by my consulship, suffering relapse at intervalsafterwards, crushed down before your consulship, revived by you: theyhave now been abandoned by those whose duty it was to have maintainedthem: and this fact they, who in the old state of things as it existedin our day used to be called _Optimates_, not only declare by look andexpression of countenance, by which a false pretence is easiestsupported, but have proved again and again by their actual sympathiesand votes. Accordingly, the entire view and aim of wise citizens, suchas I wish both to be and to be reckoned, must needs have undergone achange. For that is the maxim of that same great Plato, whom Iemphatically regard as my master: "Maintain a political controversy onlyso far as you can convince your fellow citizens of its justice: neveroffer violence to parent or fatherland. "[661] He, it is true, allegesthis as his motive for having abstained from politics, because, havingfound the Athenian people all but in its dotage, and seeing that itcould not be ruled by persuasion, or by anything short of compulsion, while he doubted the possibility of persuasion, he looked uponcompulsion as criminal. My position was different in this: as the peoplewas not in its dotage, nor the question of engaging in politics still anopen one for me, I was bound hand and foot. Yet I rejoiced that I waspermitted in one and the same cause to support a policy at onceadvantageous to myself and acceptable to every loyalist. An additionalmotive was Cæsar's memorable and almost superhuman kindness to myselfand my brother, who thus would have deserved my support whatever heundertook; while as it is, considering his great success and hisbrilliant victories, he would seem, even if he had not behaved to me ashe has, to claim a panegyric from me. For I would have you believe that, putting you aside, who were the authors of my recall, there is no one bywhose good offices I would not only confess, but would even rejoice, tohave been so much bound. 

Having explained this matter to you, the questions you ask aboutVatinius and Crassus are easy to answer. For, since you remark aboutAppius, as about Cæsar, "that you have no fault to find, " I can only saythat I am glad you approve my policy. But as to Vatinius, in the firstplace there had been in the interval a reconciliation effected throughPompey, immediately after his election to the prætorship, though I had, it is true, impugned his canditature in some very strong speeches in thesenate, and yet not so much for the sake of attacking him as ofdefending and complimenting Cato. Again, later on, there followed a verypressing request from Cæsar that I should undertake his defence. But myreason for testifying to his character I beg you will not ask, either inthe case of this defendant or of others, lest I retaliate by asking youthe same question when you come home: though I can do so even before youreturn: for remember for whom you sent a certificate of character fromthe ends of the earth. However, don't be afraid, for those same personsare praised by myself, and will continue to be so. Yet, after all, therewas also the motive spurring me on to undertake his defence, of which, during the trial, when I appeared for him, I remarked that I was doingjust what the parasite in the _Eunuchus_ advised the captain to do:

 "As oft as she names Phædria, you retort With Pamphila. If ever she suggest, 'Do let us have in Phædria to our revel:' Quoth you, 'And let us call on Pamphila To sing a song. ' If she shall praise _his_ looks, Do you praise _hers_ to match them: and, in fine, Give tit for tat, that you may sting her soul. "

So I asked the jurors, since certain men of high rank, who had also doneme very great favours, were much enamoured of my enemy, and often undermy very eyes in the senate now took him aside in grave consultation, nowembraced him familiarly and cheerfully--since these men had theirPublius, to grant me another Publius, in whose person I might repay aslight attack by a moderate retort. [662] And, indeed, I am often as goodas my word, with the applause of gods and men. So much for Vatinius. Nowabout Crassus. I thought I had done much to secure his gratitude inhaving, for the sake of the general harmony, wiped out by a kind ofvoluntary act of oblivion all his very serious injuries, when hesuddenly undertook the defence of Gabinius, whom only a few days beforehe had attacked with the greatest bitterness. Nevertheless, I shouldhave borne that, if he had done so without casting any offensivereflexions on me. But on his attacking me, though I was only arguing andnot inveighing against him, I fired up not only, I think, with thepassion of the moment--for that perhaps would not have been so hot--butthe smothered wrath at his many wrongs to me, of which I thought I hadwholly got rid, having, unconsciously to myself, lingered in my soul, itsuddenly shewed itself in full force. And it was at this precise timethat certain persons (the same whom I frequently indicate by a sign orhint), while declaring that they had much enjoyed my outspoken style, and had never before fully realized that I was restored to the Republicin all my old character, and when my conduct of that controversy hadgained me much credit outside the house also, began saying that theywere glad both that he was now my enemy, and that those who wereinvolved with him would never be my friends. So when their ill-naturedremarks were reported to me by men of most respectable character, andwhen Pompey pressed me as he had never done before to be reconciled toCrassus, and Cæsar wrote to say that he was exceedingly grieved at thatquarrel, I took into consideration not only my circumstances, but mynatural inclination: and Crassus, that our reconciliation might, as itwere, be attested to the Roman people, started for his province, itmight almost be said, from my hearth. For he himself named a day anddined with me in the suburban villa of my son-in-law Crassipes. On thisaccount, as you say that you have been told, I supported his cause inthe senate, which I had undertaken on Pompey's strong recommendation, asI was bound in honour to do. 

I have now told you with what motives I have supported each measure andcause, and what my position is in politics as far as I take any part inthem: and I would wish you to make sure of this--that I should haveentertained the same sentiments, if I had been still perfectlyuncommitted and free to choose. For I should not have thought it rightto fight against such overwhelming power, nor to destroy the supremacyof the most distinguished citizens, even if it had been possible; nor, again, should I have thought myself bound to abide by the same view, when circumstances were changed and the feelings of the loyalistsaltered, but rather to bow to circumstances. For the persistence in thesame view has never been regarded as a merit in men eminent for theirguidance of the helm of state; but as in steering a ship one secret ofthe art is to run before the storm, even if you cannot make the harbour;yet, when you can do so by tacking about, it is folly to keep to thecourse you have begun rather than by changing it to arrive all the sameat the destination you desire: so while we all ought in theadministration of the state to keep always in view the object I havevery frequently mentioned, peace combined with dignity, we are not boundalways to use the same language, but to fix our eyes on the same object. Wherefore, as I laid down a little while ago, if I had had as free ahand as possible in everything, I should yet have been no other than Inow am in politics. When, moreover, I am at once induced to adopt thesesentiments by the kindness of certain persons, and driven to do so bythe injuries of others, I am quite content to think and speak aboutpublic affairs as I conceive best conduces to the interests both ofmyself and of the Republic. Moreover, I make this declaration the moreopenly and frequently, both because my brother Quintus is Cæsar'slegate, and because no word of mine, however trivial, to say nothing ofany act, in support of Cæsar has ever transpired, which he has notreceived with such marked gratitude, as to make me look upon myself asclosely bound to him. Accordingly, I have the advantage of hispopularity, which you know to be very great, and his material resources, which you know to be immense, as though they were my own. Nor do I thinkthat I could in any other way have frustrated the plots of unprincipledpersons against me, unless I had now combined with those protections, which I have always possessed, the goodwill also of the men in power. Ishould, to the best of my belief, have followed this same line of policyeven if I had had you here. For I well know the reasonableness andsoberness of your judgment: I know your mind, while warmly attached tome, to be without a tinge of malevolence to others, but on the contraryas open and candid as it is great and lofty. I have seen certain personsconduct themselves towards you as you might have seen the same personsconduct themselves towards me. The same things that have annoyed mewould certainly have annoyed you. But whenever I shall have theenjoyment of your presence, you will be the wise critic of all my plans:you who took thought for my safety will also do so for my dignity. Me, indeed, you will have as the partner and associate in all your actions, sentiments, wishes--in fact, in everything; nor shall I ever in all mylife have any purpose so steadfastly before me, as that you shouldrejoice more and more warmly every day that you did me such eminentservice. 

As to your request that I would send you any books I have written sinceyour departure, there are some speeches, which I will give Menocritus, not so very many, so don't be afraid! I have also written--for I am nowrather withdrawing from oratory and returning to the gentler Muses, which now give me greater delight than any others, as they have donesince my earliest youth--well, then, I have written in the Aristotelianstyle, at least that was my aim, three books in the form of a discussionin dialogue "On the Orator, " which, I think, will be of some service toyour Lentulus. For they differ a good deal from the current maxims, andembrace a discussion on the whole oratorical theory of the ancients, both that of Aristotle and Isocrates. I have also written in verse threebooks "On my own Times, " which I should have sent you some time ago, ifI had thought they ought to be published--for they are witnesses, andwill be eternal witnesses, of your services to me and of myaffection--but I refrained because I was afraid, not of those who mightthink themselves attacked, for I have been very sparing and gentle inthat respect, but of my benefactors, of whom it were an endless task tomention the whole list. Nevertheless, the books, such as they are, if Ifind anyone to whom I can safely commit them, I will take care to haveconveyed to you: and as far as that part of my life and conduct isconcerned, I submit it entirely to your judgment. All that I shallsucceed in accomplishing in literature or in learning--my old favouriterelaxations--I shall with the utmost cheerfulness place before the barof your criticism, for you have always had a fondness for such things. As to what you say in your letter about your domestic affairs, and allyou charge me to do, I am so attentive to them that I don't like beingreminded, can scarcely bear, indeed, to be asked without a very painfulfeeling. As to your saying, in regard to Quintus's business, that youcould not do anything last summer, because you were prevented by illnessfrom crossing to Cilicia, but that you will now do everything in yourpower to settle it, I may tell you that the fact of the matter is that, if he can annex this property, my brother thinks that he will owe to youthe consolidation of this ancestral estate. I should like you to writeabout all your affairs, and about the studies and training of your sonLentulus (whom I regard as mine also) as confidentially and asfrequently as possible, and to believe that there never has been anyoneeither dearer or more congenial to another than you are to me, and thatI will not only make you feel that to be the case, but will make all theworld and posterity itself to the latest generation aware of it. 

Appius used some time back to repeat in conversation, and afterwardssaid openly, even in the senate, that if he were allowed to carry a lawin the _comitia curiata_, he would draw lots with his colleague fortheir provinces; but if no curiatian law were passed, he would make anarrangement with his colleague and succeed you: that a curiatian law wasa proper thing for a consul, but was not a necessity: that since he wasin possession of a province by a decree of the senate, he should have_imperium_ in virtue of the Cornelian law until such time as he enteredthe city. I don't know what your several connexions write to you on thesubject: I understand that opinion varies. There are some who think thatyou can legally refuse to quit your province, because your successor isnamed without a curiatian law: some also hold that, even if you do quitit, you may leave some one behind you to conduct its government. Formyself, I do not feel so certain about the point of law--although thereis not much doubt even about that--as I do of this, that it is for yourgreatest honour, dignity, and independence, which I know you alwaysvalue above everything, to hand over your province to a successorwithout any delay, especially as you cannot thwart his greedinesswithout rousing suspicion of your own. I regard my duty as twofold--tolet you know what I think, and to defend what you have done. 

P. S. --I had written the above when I received your letter about the_publicani_, to whom I could not but admire the justice of your conduct. I could have wished that you had been able by some lucky chance to avoidrunning counter to the interests and wishes of that order, whose honouryou have always promoted. For my part, I shall not cease to defend yourdecrees: but you know the ways of that class of men; you are aware howbitterly hostile they were to the famous Q. Scævola himself. However, Iadvise you to reconcile that order to yourself, or at least soften itsfeelings, if you can by any means do so. Though difficult, I think itis, nevertheless, not beyond the reach of your sagacity. 

[Footnote 652: Cicero gives him this title, by which he had been greetedby his soldiers after some victory over the predatory tribes in Cilicia. This letter is Cicero's most elaborate apology for his change of policyin favour of the triumvirs. ]

[Footnote 653: Cicero has been variously supposed to refer to C. Cato(who proposed the recall of Lentulus), to Appius the consul, and finallyto Pompey. The last seems on the whole most likely, though theexplanation is not without difficulties. In that case the "disclosure"will refer to Pompey's intrigues as to the restoration of PtolemyAuletes, of which he wished to have the management. ]

[Footnote 654: _I. E. _, to keep in with the Optimates, who were at thistime suspicious of, and hostile to Pompey. ]

[Footnote 655: At the trial of Sestius. ]

[Footnote 656: B. C. 59, when Vatinius proposed the law for Cæsar's fiveyears' rule in Gaul. ]

[Footnote 657: B. C. 56. ]

[Footnote 658: Pompey is only speaking metaphorically. Quintus hadguaranteed Cicero's support. Pompey half-jestingly speaks as though hehad gone bail for him for a sum of money. ]

[Footnote 659: Q. Cæcilius Metellus Numidius, expelled from the senateand banished B. C. 100 for refusing the oath to the agrarian law ofSaturninus, but recalled in the following year. Cicero is fond ofcomparing himself with him. See Letter CXLVII. ]

[Footnote 660: M. Æmilius Scaurus, consul B. C. 115 and 108, censor 109, and long _princeps senatus_. Cicero comments elsewhere on his_severitas_ (_de Off. _ § 108). ]

[Footnote 661: Plato, _Crit. _ xii. ]

[Footnote 662: Like the character in the play (Terence, _Eun. _ 440), ifthe nobles annoyed Cicero by their attentions to P. Clodius, he wouldannoy them by his compliments to Publius Vatinius. ]

CLIII (A IV, 18)

TO ATTICUS (IN ASIA)

ROME, OCTOBER

[Sidenote: B. C. 54, ÆT. 52]

. .. As it is, [663] to tell you my opinion of affairs, we must put upwith it. You ask me how I have behaved. With firmness and dignity. "Whatabout Pompey, " you will say, "how did he take it?" With greatconsideration, and with the conviction that he must have some regard formy position, until a satisfactory atonement had been made to me. "How, then, " you will say, "was the acquittal secured?" It was a case of meredummies, [664] and incredible incompetence on the part of theaccusers--that is to say, of L. Lentulus, son of Lucius, who, accordingto the universal murmur, acted collusively. In the next place, Pompeywas extraordinarily urgent; and the jurors were a mean set of fellows. Yet, in spite of everything, there were thirty-two votes for conviction, thirty-eight for acquittal. There are the other prosecutions hangingover his head: he is by no means entirely free yet. You will say, "Well, then, how do _you_ bear it?" With the best air possible, by heaven! andI really do plume myself on my behaviour. We have lost, my dearPomponius, not only all the healthy sap and blood of our oldconstitution, but even its colour and outward show. There is no Republicto give a moment's pleasure or a feeling of security. "And is that, then, " you will say, "a satisfaction to you?" Precisely that. For Irecall what a fair course the state had for a short time, while I was atthe helm, and what a return has been made me! It does not give me a pangthat one man absorbs all power. The men to burst with envy are those whowere indignant at my having had some power. There are many things whichconsole me, without my departing an inch from my regular position; and Iam returning to the life best suited to my natural disposition--toletters and the studies that I love. My labour in pleading I console bymy delight in oratory. I find delight in my town house and my countryresidences. I do not recall the height from which I have fallen, but thehumble position from which I have risen. As long as I have my brotherand you with me, let those fellows be hanged, drawn, and quartered forall I care: I can play the philosopher with you. That part of my soul, in which in old times irritability had its home, has grown completelycallous. I find no pleasure in anything that is not private anddomestic. You will find me in a state of magnificent repose, to whichnothing contributes more than the prospect of your return. For there isno one in the wide world whose feelings are so much in sympathy with myown. But now let me tell you the rest. Matters are drifting on to an_interregnum_; and there is a dictatorship in the air, in fact a gooddeal of talk about it, which did Gabinius also some service with timidjurors. All the candidates for the consulship are charged with bribery. You may add to them Gabinius, on whom L. Sulla had served notice, feeling certain that he was in a hopeless position--Torquatus having, without success, demanded to have the prosecution. But they will all beacquitted, and henceforth no one will be condemned for anything excepthomicide. This last charge is warmly pressed, and accordingly informersare busy. M. Fulvius Nobilior has been convicted. Many others have hadthe wit to abstain from even putting in an appearance. Is there any morenews? Yes! After Gabinius's acquittal another panel of jurors, in a fitof irritation, an hour later condemned Antiochus Gabinius, some fellowfrom the studio of Sopolis, a freedman and orderly officer of Gabinius, under the _lex Papia_. Consequently he at once remarked, "So theRepublic will not acquit me under the law of treason as it didyou!"[665]

Pomptinus wants to celebrate a triumph on the 2nd of November. He isopenly opposed by the prætors Cato and Servilius and the tribune Q. Mucius. For they say that no law for his _imperium_ was evercarried:[666] and this one too was carried, by heaven, in a stupid way. But Pomptinus will have the consul Appius on his side. [667] Cato, however, declares that he shall never triumph so long as he is alive. Ithink this affair, like many of the same sort, will come to nothing. Appius thinks of going to Cilicia without a law, and at his ownexpense. [668] I received a letter on the 24th of October from my brotherand from Cæsar, dated from the nearest coasts of Britain on the 26th ofSeptember. Britain done with . .. Hostages taken . .. No booty . .. Atribute, however, imposed; they were on the point of bringing back thearmy. Q. Pilius has just set out to join Cæsar. If you have any love forme or your family, or any truth in you, or even if you have any tasteleft, and any idea of enjoying all your blessings, it is really time foryou to be on your way home, and, in fact, almost here. I vow I cannotget on without you. And what wonder that I can't get on without _you_, when I miss Dionysius so much? The latter, in fact, as soon as the daycomes, both I and my young Cicero will demand of you. The last letter Ihad from you was dated Ephesus, 9th of August. 

[Footnote 663: The beginning of the letter is lost, referring to theacquittal of Gabinius on a charge of _maiestas_. ]

[Footnote 664: γοργεῖα γυμνά, "mere bugbears. "]

[Footnote 665: Antiochus Gabinius was tried, not for treason(_maiestas_), but under the _lex Papia_, for having, though a_peregrinus_, acted as a citizen; but he says "will not acquit me of_treason_, " because he means to infer that his condemnation was reallyin place of Gabinius, whose acquittal had irritated his jury; thereforehe was practically convicted of _maiestas_ instead of his patronGabinius. I have, accordingly, ventured to elicit the end of a hexameterfrom the Greek letters of the MS. , of which no satisfactory account hasbeen given, and to read _Itaque dixit statim "respublica legemaiestatis_ οὐ σοί κεν ἄρ' ἶσα μ' ἀφείη (or ἀφιῇ). " The quotation is notknown. Antiochus Gabinius was doubtless of Greek origin and naturallyquoted Greek poetry. Sopolis was a Greek painter living at Rome (Pliny, _N. H. _ xxxv. §§ 40, 43). ]

[Footnote 666: Pomptinus had been waiting outside Rome for some years toget his triumph (see p. 309). The _negant latum de imperio_ must referto a _lex curiata_ originally conferring his _imperium_, which hisopponents alleged had not been passed. The _insulse latum_ refers to thelaw now passed granting him the triumph in spite of this. This latterwas passed by the old trick of the prætor appearing in the _campus_before daybreak to prevent _obnuntiatio_. The result was that thetribunes interrupted the procession, which led to fighting and bloodshed(Dio, 39, 65). ]

[Footnote 667: Because he wanted to go to his province himself in spiteof having failed to get a _lex curiata_ (p. 324). ]

[Footnote 668: _I. E. _, without waiting for the senate to vote the usualoutfit (_ornare provinciam_). ]

CLIV (Q FR III, 5-6)

TO HIS BROTHER QUINTUS (IN GAUL)

TUSCULUM (OCTOBER)

[Sidenote: B. C. 54, ÆT. 52]

You ask me what I have done about the books which I begun to write whenin my Cuman villa: I have not been idle and am not being idle now; but Ihave frequently changed the whole plan and arrangement of the work. Ihad already completed two books, in which I represented a conversationtaking place on the Novendialia held in the consulship of Tuditanus andAquilius, [669] between Africanus, shortly before his death, and Lælius, Philus, Manilius, P. Rutilius, Q. Tubero, and Lælius's sons-in-law, Fannius and Scævola; a conversation which was extended to nine days andthe same number of books "On the best Constitution of the State" and "Onthe best Citizen. " The work was excellently composed, and the rank ofthe speakers added considerable weight to the style. But when thesebooks were read to me in the presence of Sallustius at Tusculum, it wassuggested to me by him that a discourse on such subjects would come withmuch greater force if I were myself the speaker on the Republic, especially as I was a no mere Heraclides Ponticus, [670] but anex-consul, and one who had been engaged in the most important affairs inthe state: that when I put them in the mouth of men of such ancient datethey would have an air of unreality: that I had shewn good taste in mybooks about the science of rhetoric in keeping the dialogue of theorators apart from myself, and yet had attributed it to men whom I hadpersonally seen: and, finally, that Aristotle delivers in the firstperson his essays "On the Republic" and "On the Eminent Man. " I wasinfluenced the more by this from the fact that I was unable to touch onthe most important commotions in our state, because they were subsequentto the age of the speakers. Moreover, my express object then was not tooffend anyone by launching into the events of my own time: as it is, Ishall avoid that and at the same time be the speaker with you. Nevertheless, when I come to Rome I will send you the dialogues as theyoriginally stood. For I fancy that those books will convince you thatthey have not been abandoned by me without some chagrin. 

I am extremely gratified by Cæsar's affection of which you write to me. The offers which he holds out I do not much reckon on, nor have I anythirst for honours or longing for glory; and I look forward more to thecontinuation of his kindness than to the fulfilment of his promises. Still, I live a life so prominent and laborious that I might seem to beexpecting the very thing that I deprecate. As to your request that Ishould compose some verses, you could hardly believe, my dear brother, how short of time I am: nor do I feel much moved in spirit to writepoetry on the subject you mention. Do you really come to me fordisquisitions on things that I can scarcely conceive even inimagination--you who have distanced everybody in that style of vivid anddescriptive writing? Yet I would have done it if I could, but, as youwill assuredly not fail to notice, for writing poetry there is need of acertain freshness of mind of which my occupations entirely deprive me. Iwithdraw myself, it is true, from all political anxiety and devotemyself to literature; still, I will hint to you what, by heaven, Ispecially wished to have concealed from you. It cuts me to the heart, mydearest brother, to the heart, to think that there is no Republic, nolaw courts, and that my present time of life, which ought to have beenin the full bloom of senatorial dignity, is distracted with the laboursof the forum or eked out by private studies, and that the object onwhich from boyhood I had set my heart, "Far to excel, and tower above the crowd, "[671]

is entirely gone: that my opponents have in some cases been leftunattacked by me, in others even defended: that not only my sympathies, but my very dislikes, are not free: and that Cæsar is the one man in theworld who has been found to love me to my heart's content, or even, asothers think, the only one who was inclined to do so. However, there isnone of all these vexations of such a kind as to be beyond the reach ofmany daily consolations; but the greatest of consolations will be ourbeing together. As it is, to those other sources of vexation there isadded my very deep regret for your absence. If I had defended Gabinius, which Pansa thought I ought to have done, I should have been quiteruined: those who hate him--and that is entire orders--would have begunto hate me for the sake of their hatred for him. I confined myself, as Ithink with great dignity, to doing only that which all the world saw medo. And to sum up the whole case, I am, as you advise, devoting all myefforts to tranquillity and peace. As to the books: Tyrannio is aslow-coach: I will speak to Chrysippus, but it is a laborious businessand requires a man of the utmost industry. I find it in my own case, for, though I am as diligent as possible, I get nothing done. As to theLatin books, I don't know which way to turn--they are copied and exposedfor sale with such a quantity of errors! However, whatever can possiblybe done I will not neglect to do. Gaius Rebilus, as I wrote to youbefore, is at Rome. He solemnly affirms his great obligations to you, and reports well of your health. [672] I think the question of thetreasury was settled in my absence. When you speak of having finishedfour tragedies in sixteen days, I presume you are borrowing from someone else? And do _you_ deign to be indebted to others after writing the_Electra_, and the _Troades_? Don't be idle; and don't think theproverbial γνῶθι σεαυτόν was only meant to discourage vanity: it meansalso that we should be aware of our own qualities. But pray send methese tragedies as well as the _Erigona_. I have now answered your lasttwo letters. 

[Footnote 669: B. C. 129. The _Novendialia_ was a nine days' festival onthe occasion of some special evil omens or prodigies; for an instance(in B. C. 202), see Livy, 30, 38. The book referred to is that "On theRepublic. "]

[Footnote 670: _I. E. _, a mere theorist like Heraclides Ponticus, a pupilof Plato's, whose work "On Constitutions" still exists. ]

[Footnote 671: Hom. _Il. _ vi. 208. ]

[Footnote 672: Reading _qui omnia adiurat debere tibi et te valererenuntiat_. The text, however, is corrupt. ]

CLV (Q FR III, 7)

TO HIS BROTHER QUINTUS (IN GAUL)

TUSCULUM (NOVEMBER)

[Sidenote: B. C. 54, ÆT. 52]

At Rome, and especially on the Appian road as far as the temple of Mars, there is a remarkable flood. The promenade of Crassipes has been washedaway, pleasure grounds, a great number of shops. There is a great sheetof water right up to the public fish-pond. That doctrine of Homer's isin full play:

 "The days in autumn when in violent flood Zeus pours his waters, wroth at sinful men"--

for it falls in with the acquittal of Gabinius--

 "Who wrench the law to suit their crooked ends And drive out justice, recking naught of Gods. "[673]

But I have made up my mind not to care about such things. When I getback to Rome I will write and tell you my observations, and especiallyabout the dictatorship, and I will also send a letter to Labienus andone to Ligurius. I write this before daybreak by the carved woodlamp-stand, in which I take great delight, because they tell me that youhad it made when you were at Samos. Good-bye, dearest and best ofbrothers. 

[Footnote 673: Hom. _Il. _ xvi. 385. ]

CLVI (F VII, 16)

TO C. TREBATIUS TESTA (IN GAUL)

ROME (NOVEMBER)

[Sidenote: B. C. 54, ÆT. 52]

In the "Trojan Horse, " just at the end, you remember the words, "Toolate they learn wisdom. "[674] You, however, old man, were wise in time. Those first snappy letters of yours were foolish enough, and then----! Idon't at all blame you for not being over-curious in regard to Britain. For the present, however, you seem to be in winter quarters somewhatshort of warm clothing, and therefore not caring to stir out:

 "Not here and there, but everywhere, Be wise and ware: No sharper steel can warrior bear. "

If I had been by way of dining out, I would not have failed your friendCn. Octavius; to whom, however, I did remark upon his repeatedinvitations, "Pray, who are you?" But, by Hercules, joking apart, he isa pretty fellow: I could have wished you had taken him with you! Let meknow for certain what you are doing and whether you intend coming toItaly at all this winter. Balbus has assured me that you will be rich. Whether he speaks after the simple Roman fashion, meaning that you willbe well supplied with money, or according to the Stoic dictum, that "allare rich who can enjoy the sky and the earth, " I shall know hereafter. Those who come from your part accuse you of pride, because they say youwon't answer men who put questions to you. However, there is one thingthat will please you: they all agree in saying that there is no betterlawyer than you at Samarobriva![675]

[Footnote 674: By Livius Andronicus or Nævius. Tyrrell would write theproverb _in extremo sero sapiunt_, "'tis too late to be wise at thelast. " There was a proverb, _sero parsimonia in fundo_, something likethis, Sen. _Ep. _ i. 5, from the Greek (Hes. _Op. _ 369), δειλὴ δ' ἐνπυθμένι φειδώ. ]

[Footnote 675: In Gallia Belgica, mod. _Amiens. _]

CLVII (A IV, 17)

TO ATTICUS (ON HIS WAY TO ROME)

ROME (NOVEMBER)

[Sidenote: B. C. 54, ÆT. 52]

At last the long-expected letter from you! Back to Italy, howdelightful! What wonderful fidelity to your promise! What a charmingvoyage! About this last, by Hercules, I was very nervous, rememberingthe fur wrappers of your former crossing. But, unless I am mistaken, Ishall see you sooner than you say in your letter. For I believe youthought that your ladies were in Apulia, and when you find that not tobe the case, what can there be to detain you there? Are you bound togive Vestorius some days, and must you go through the stale banquet ofhis Latin Atticism again after an interval? Nay, fly hither and visit(the remains) of that genuine Republic of ours!. .. [676] Observe mystrength of mind and my supreme indifference to the Felician[677]one-twelfth legacy, and also, by heaven, my very gratifying connexionwith Cæsar--for this delights me as the one spar left me from thepresent shipwreck--Cæsar, I say, who treats your and my Quintus, heavens! with what honour, respect, and favours! It is exactly as if Iwere the _imperator_. The choice was just lately offered him ofselecting any of the winter quarters, as he writes me word. Wouldn't yoube fond of such a man as that? Of which of your friends would you, ifnot of him? But look you! did I write you word that I was _legatus_ toPompey, and should be outside the city from the 13th of January onwards?This appeared to me to square with many things. But why say more? Iwill, I think, reserve the rest till we meet, that you may, after all, have something to look forward to. My very best regards to Dionysius, for whom, indeed, I have not merely kept a place, but have even builtone. In fine, to the supreme joy of your return, a finishing stroke willbe added by his arrival. The day you arrive, you and your party will, Ientreat you, stay with me. 

[Footnote 676: There are some words here too corrupt to be translatedwith any confidence. They appear to convey a summary of news alreadywritten in several letters as to the bribery at the elections, theacquittal of Gabinius, and the rumour of a dictatorship. ]

[Footnote 677: A legacy of a twelfth left by a certain Felix to Ciceroand Quintus had been rendered null by a mistake as to the will. See theletter to Quintus, p. 338. ]

CLVIII (Q FR III, 8)

TO HIS BROTHER QUINTUS (IN GAUL)

ROME (NOVEMBER)

[Sidenote: B. C. 54, ÆT. 52]

The earlier of your two letters is full of irritability andcomplainings, and you say you gave another of the same sort the daybefore to Labienus, who has not yet arrived--but I have nothing to sayin answer to it, for your more recent letter has obliterated all traceof vexation from my mind. I will only give you this hint and make thisrequest, that in the midst of your vexations and labours you shouldrecall what our notion was as to your going to Cæsar. For our object wasnot the acquisition of certain small and unimportant gains. For what wasthere of that kind which we should have thought worth the price of ourseparation? What we sought was the strongest possible security for themaintenance of our entire political position by the countenance of a manof the highest character and most commanding influence. Our interest isnot so much in the acquisition of sums of money, as in the realizationof this hope: all else that you get is to be regarded only as a securityagainst actual loss. [678] Wherefore, if you will frequently turn yourthoughts back upon what we originally proposed to ourselves and hoped todo, you will bear with less impatience the labours of military serviceof which you speak and the other things which annoy you, and, nevertheless, will resign them whenever you choose. But the right momentfor that step is not yet come, though it is now not far off. Farthermore, I give you this hint--don't commit anything at all towriting, the publication of which would be annoying to us. There aremany things that I would rather not know than learn at some risk. Ishall write at greater length to you with a mind less preoccupied, whenmy boy Cicero is, as I hope he will be, in a good state of health. Praybe careful to let me know to whom I should give the letter which I shallthen send you--to Cæsar's letter-carriers, for him to forward themdirect to you, or to those of Labienus? For where your Nervii dwell, andhow far off, I have no idea. [679] I derived great pleasure from yourletter describing the courage and dignity displayed (as you say) byCæsar in his extreme sorrow. You bid me finish the poem in his honourwhich I had begun; and although I have been diverted from it bybusiness, and still more by my feelings, yet, since Cæsar knows that Idid begin something, I will return to my design, and will complete inthese leisure days of the "supplications, "[680] during which I greatlyrejoice that our friend Messalla and the rest are at last relieved fromworry. In reckoning on him as certain to be consul with Domitius, youare quite in agreement with my own opinion. I will guarantee Messalla toCæsar: but Memmius cherishes a hope, founded on Cæsar's return to Italy, in which I think he is under a mistake. He is, indeed, quite out of ithere. Scaurus, again, has been long ago thrown over by Pompey. Thebusiness has been put off: the _comitia_ postponed and postponed, tillwe may expect an _interregnum_. The rumour of a dictator is not pleasingto the aristocrats; for myself, I like still less what they say. But theproposal, as a whole, is looked upon with alarm, and grows unpopular. Pompey says outright that he doesn't wish it: to me previously he usednot personally to deny the wish. Hirrus seems likely to be the proposer. Ye gods! what folly! How in love with himself and without--a rival! Hehas commissioned me to choke off Cælius Vinicianus, a man much attachedto me. Whether Pompey wishes it or not, it is difficult to be sure. However, if it is Hirrus who makes the proposal, he will not convincepeople that he does not wish it. There is nothing else being talkedabout in politics just now; at any rate, nothing else is being done. Thefuneral of the son of Serranus Domesticus took place in very melancholycircumstances on the 23rd of November. His father delivered the funeraloration which I composed for him. Now about Milo. Pompey gives him nosupport, and is all for Gutta, saying also that he will secure Cæsar onhis side. Milo is alarmed at this, and no wonder, and almost gives uphope if Pompey is created dictator. If he assists anyone who vetoes thedictatorship by his troop and bodyguard, [681] he fears he may excitePompey's enmity: if he doesn't do so, he fears the proposal may becarried by force. He is preparing games on a most magnificent scale, ata cost, I assure you, that no one has ever exceeded. It is foolish, ontwo or even three accounts, to give games that were not demanded--he hasalready given a magnificent show of gladiators: he cannot afford it: heis only an executor, and might have reflected that he is now anexecutor, not an ædile. That is about all I had to write. Take care ofyourself, dearest brother. 

[Footnote 678: Cicero means, "the substantial gain to be got from yourserving under Cæsar in Gaul is the securing of his protection in thefuture: all other gains, such as money etc. , are merely to be regardedas securing you from immediate loss in thus going to Gaul: they don'tadd anything fresh to our position and prospects. "]

[Footnote 679: Quintus had his winter quarters among the Nervii, in atown near the modern Charleroi. In this winter he was in great dangerfrom a sudden rising of the Nervii and other tribes (Cæs. _B. G. _ v. 24-49). ]

[Footnote 680: Twenty days of _supplicatio_ had been decreed in honourof Cæsar's campaigns of B. C. 55 (Cæs. _B. G. _ iv. 38). ]

[Footnote 681: His gladiators, which he kept in training for the gameshe was going to give in honour of a deceased friend. ]

CLIX (Q FR III, 9)

TO HIS BROTHER QUINTUS (IN GAUL)

ROME (NOVEMBER OR DECEMBER)

[Sidenote: B. C. 54, ÆT. 52]

In regard to Gabinius, I had not to carry out any of the measures whichyou suggested with such affectionate solicitude. "May the earth swallowme rather, etc. !"[682] I acted with very great dignity and also with thegreatest consideration. I neither bore hardly on him nor helped him. Igave strong evidence, in other respects I did not stir. The disgracefuland mischievous result of the trial I bore with the utmost serenity. Andthis is the advantage which, after all that has happened, has accrued tome--that I am not even affected in the least by those evils in the stateand the licentious conduct of the shameless, which used formerly to makeme burst with indignation: for anything more abandoned than the men andthe times in which we are living there cannot be. Accordingly, as nopleasure can possibly be got from politics, I don't know why I shouldlose my temper. Literature and my favourite studies, along with theretirement of my country houses, and above all our two boys, furnish myenjoyments. The one man who vexes me is Milo. But I hope an end will beput to my anxieties by his getting the consulship: and to obtain thisfor him I shall struggle as hard as I did for my own, and you, I amsure, will continue to give assistance from over there. In his caseother things are all secure, unless it is snatched from his grasp bydownright violence: it is about his means that I am frightened:

 "For he is now beyond all bearing mad, "[683]

to spend 1, 000, 000 sesterces (about £8, 000) on his games. His want ofprudence in this one particular I shall put up with as well as I can, and you should be strong-minded enough to do the same. In mentioning thechanges to be expected next year, I didn't mean you to understand me torefer to domestic alarms: the reference was wholly to the state of theRepublic, in which, though not charged with any actual duty, I canscarcely discharge myself from all anxiety. Yet how cautious I wouldhave you be in writing you may guess from the fact that I do not mentionin my letters to you even open acts of disorder in the state, lest myletter should be intercepted and give offence to the feelings of anyone. Wherefore, as far as domestic affairs are concerned, I would have you bequite easy: in politics I know how anxious you always are. I can seethat our friend Messalla will be consul, if by means of an _interrex_, without any prosecution, if by that of a dictator, without danger ofconviction. He is not disliked by anyone. Hortensius's warm support willstand him in good stead. Gabinius's acquittal is looked upon as ageneral act of indemnity. _En passant_: nothing has, after all, beendone as yet about a dictatorship. Pompey is out of town; Appius isintriguing darkly; Hirrus is paving the way: there are many tribunescalculated on to veto it: the people are indifferent: the leading mendisinclined to it: I don't stir a finger. I am exceedingly obliged foryour promises as to slaves, and I am indeed, as you say, short-handedboth at Rome and on my estates. But pray do nothing for my convenienceunless it entirely suits your own, and your means. About the letter ofVatinius I laughed heartily. But though I know I am being watched byhim, I can swallow his hatred and digest it too. You urge me to"finish": well, I have finished what, in my own opinion at least, is avery pretty "epic" on Cæsar, but I am in search of a trustworthyletter-carrier, lest it should share the fate of your_Erigona_[684]--the only personage who has missed a safe journey fromGaul during Cæsar's governorship. 

What? because I had no good stone was I to pull down the wholebuilding?--a building which I like better every day of my life: thelower court especially and the chambers attached to it are admirable. Asto Arcanum, it is a building worthy of Cæsar, or, by heaven, of some oneeven more tasteful still. For your statues, _palæstra_, fish-pond, andconduit are worthy of many Philotimuses, and quite above yourDiphiluses. But I will visit them personally, as well as sending men tolook after them and giving orders about them. As to the will of Felix, you will complain more when you know all. For the document which hebelieved himself to have sealed, in which your name was most certainlyentered as heir to a twelfth, this, by a mistake of his own and of hisslave Sicura, he did not seal: while the one which he did not intend toseal he did seal. But let it go hang, so long as we keep well! I am asdevoted to your son Cicero as you can wish, and as he deserves, and as Iam bound to be. However, I am letting him leave me, both to avoidkeeping him from his teachers, and because his mother is leaving, without whom I am very much alarmed as to the boy's large appetite. Yet, after all, we see a great deal of each other. I have now answered allyour letters. Dearest and best of brothers, good-bye. 

[Footnote 682: _I. E. _, rather than defend him. τότε μοι χάνοι (εὐρεῖαχθών), Hom. _Il. _ iv. 182. ]

[Footnote 683: ὁ δὲ μαίνεται οὐκ ἔτ' ἀνεκτῶς (Hom. _Il. _ viii. 355). Thenumerals seem doubtful. According to some MSS. The amount would be10, 000, 000, _i. E. _, £80, 000. ]

[Footnote 684: The tragedy written by Quintus and lost in transit. ]

CLX (F VII, 10)

TO C. TREBATIUS TESTA (IN GAUL)

ROME (NOVEMBER)

[Sidenote: B. C. 54, ÆT. 52]

I have read your letter which informs me that our Cæsar considers you agreat lawyer. You must be glad to have found a country where you havethe credit of knowing something. But if you had gone to Britain also, Ifeel sure that there would not have been in all that great island anyonemore learned in the law than you. However--you won't mind my laughing, for you invited me to do so--I am becoming positively a little jealousof you! That you should have been actually sent for by a man whom otherpeople--not because of his pride, but of his many engagements--cannotventure to approach!

But in that letter you told me nothing about your success, which, byheaven, is of no less concern to me than my own. I am very much afraidyou may be frozen in your winter quarters: and therefore I think youought to use a good stove. Mucius and Manilius "concur" in this opinion, especially on the ground of your being short of military cloaks. However, I am told that you are having a sufficiently warm time of itwhere you are--news which made me much alarmed for you. [685] However, inmilitary matters you are much more cautious than at the bar, seeing thatyou wouldn't take a swim in the ocean, fond of swimming as you are, andwouldn't take a look at the British charioteers, though in old time Icould never cheat you even out of a blind-folded gladiator. [686] Butenough of joking. You know how earnestly I have written to Cæsar aboutyou; I know how often. Yet, in truth, I have lately ceased doing so, lest I should appear to distrust the kindness of a man who has been mostliberal and affectionate to me. However, in the very last letter I wroteI thought he ought to be reminded. I did so. Please tell me what effectit had, and at the same time tell me about your position in general andall your plans. For I am anxious to know what you are doing, what youare expecting, how long your separation from us you think is to last. Iwould wish you to believe that the one consolation, enabling me to bearyour absence, is the knowledge that it is for your advantage. But ifthat is not so, nothing can be more foolish than both the one and theother of us: me for not inducing you to come back to Rome--you for notflying thither. By heavens, our conversation, whether serious orjesting, will be worth more not only than the enemy, but even than our"brothers" the Hædui. [687] Wherefore let me know about everything assoon as possible:

 "I'll be some use by comfort, rede, or pelf. "[688]

[Footnote 685: He seems to refer to the rising of the Nervii against theRoman winter quarters (Cæs. _B. G. _ v. 39 _seq_). ]

[Footnote 686: _Andabatam_, a gladiator with a closed helmet coveringthe face, who thus fought without seeing his adversary. ]

[Footnote 687: A title granted to the Hædui by the senate (Cæs. _B. G. _i. 33; Tac. _Ann. _ xi. 25). ]

[Footnote 688: Terence, _Heautont_. 86. ]

CLXI (F I, 10)

TO L. VALERIUS (IN CILICIA)

ROME

[Sidenote: B. C. 54, ÆT. 52]

M. Cicero wishes heath to L. Valerius, learned in the law. For why Ishould not pay you this compliment I don't know, especially consideringthat in these times one may employ impudence to supply the place oflearning. I have written to our friend Lentulus, thanking him earnestlyin your name. But I could wish that you would now cease using my letterof introduction and at last come back to us, and prefer a city where youare of some account, to a place where you appear to be the only man oflegal learning. However, those who come from where you are either sayyou are proud because you give no "opinions, " or insulting because yougive bad ones. [689] But I am now longing to crack a joke with you faceto face. So come as soon as ever you can, and don't go and visit yournative Apulia, that we may have the joy of welcoming your safe return. For if you go there, like another Ulysses, you will not recognize any ofyour friends. [690]

[Footnote 689: Cicero perhaps means that Valerius's "opinions" are tooright to suit such a set as are to be found in the province. Valeriuswill not mind people there thinking him a bad lawyer. "At Rome you areconsidered a good lawyer, in Cilicia they don't think so!"]

[Footnote 690: _Cognosces tuorum neminem. _. Others read _cognosceretuorum nemini_, "you will not be recognized by any of your friends, "which agrees better with Homer's account of the return of Ulysses. Butperhaps the exact comparison is not to be pressed. ]

CLXII (F XIII, 49)

TO M. CURIUS (A PROCONSUL)

ROME

[Sidenote: B. C. 54, ÆT. 52]

Q. Pompeius, son of Sextus, has become my intimate friend from manycauses of long standing. As he has often in the past been accustomed todefend his material interests, as well as his reputation and influence, by my recommendations, so on the present occasion assuredly, with you asgovernor of the province, he ought to be able to feel that he has neverhad a warmer recommendation to anyone. Wherefore I beg you with morethan ordinary earnestness that, as you ought in view of our closefriendship to regard all my friends as your own, you would give thebearer so high a place in your regard, that he may feel that nothingcould have been more to his interest and honour than my recommendation. Farewell. 

CLXIII (F XIII, 60)

TO C. MUNATIUS (IN A PROVINCE)

ROME

[Sidenote: B. C. 54, ÆT. 52]

L. Livineius Trypho is to begin with a freedman of my most intimatefriend L. Regulus (whose disaster makes me more than ever anxious to dohim some service--for as far as feeling goes I could not be warmer): butI also am attached to his freedman on his own account, for he shewed mevery great kindness at that time in my career, when I was best able tosee men's real goodwill and fidelity. I recommend him to you with allthe warmth that one who is grateful and not oblivious should use inrecommending those who have done him good service. You will have greatlygratified me if he is made to feel that in confronting many dangers formy security, and often undertaking voyages in the depths of winter, hehas also put you under an obligation in view of your kind feelingtowards me. 

CLXIV (F XIII, 73)

TO Q. PHILIPPUS (PROCONSUL OF ASIA)

ROME

[Sidenote: B. C. 54, ÆT. 52]

I congratulate you on your safe return to your family from yourprovince, without loss to your reputation or to the state. But if I hadseen you at Rome I should also have thanked you for having looked afterL. Egnatius, my most intimate friend, who is still absent, and L. Oppius, who is here. With Antipater of Derbe I have become not merely onvisiting terms, but really very intimate. I have been told that you areexceedingly angry with him, and I was very sorry to hear it. I have nomeans of judging the merits of the case, only I am persuaded that a manof your character has done nothing without good reason. However, I dobeg of you again and again that, in consideration of our old friendship, you will, for my sake if for anyone's, grant his sons, who are in yourpower, their liberty, unless you consider that in doing so yourreputation may be injured. If I had thought that, I would never havemade the request, for your fame is of more importance in my eyes thanany friendship with him. But I persuade myself--though I may possibly bemistaken--that this measure will bring you honour rather than abuse. What can be done in the matter, and what you _can_ do for my sake (foras to your willingness I feel no doubt), I should be obliged by yourinforming me, if it is not too much trouble to you. 

CLXV (F II, 1)

[Sidenote: B. C. 53, Coss. , M. Domitius Calvinus, M. Valerius Messalla. ]

 This was the year in which Crassus was defeated and killed in Parthia, making thus the first break in the triumvirate, when already the ties between Pompey and Cæsar were weakened by the death of Iulia in the previous year. Cæsar, however, had been in great difficulties in Gaul. At the end of the previous year a fresh rising of the Nervii destroyed a Roman legion and put Q. Cicero in great danger. In the present year Quintus met with his disaster at the hands of the Sigambri. The chief event to Cicero personally was his election into the college of augurs, in place of the younger Crassus. Atticus appears to be in Rome, for there are no letters to him. There was a series of _interregna_ this year owing to partisan conflicts, lasting till July, and when the consuls were at length appointed, they failed to hold the elections for B. C. 52. 

TO C. SCRIBONIUS CURIO[691] (IN ASIA)

ROME (JANUARY OR FEBRUARY)

[Sidenote: B. C. 53, ÆT. 53]

Though I am sorry that you have suspected me of neglect, yet it was notso annoying to me to have my lack of attention found fault with, asdelightful to have it missed by you; especially as in the particularpoint on which you accuse me I happen to be innocent, while in shewingthat you miss a letter from me, you avow an affection for me, of which, indeed, I was fully aware, but which, nevertheless, is very soothing andgratifying to my feelings. The fact is that I have never let anyone go, so long, that is, as I thought him likely to reach you, without givinghim a letter. Why, was there ever such an untiring correspondent as I?From you, however, I have received two, or at the most threeletters--and those extremely brief. Wherefore, if you are a harsh judgeof me, I shall find you guilty on precisely the same charge. But if youdon't want me to do that, you will have to be considerate to me. However, enough about writing; for I am not afraid of failing to satiateyou with my correspondence, especially if you shew a just appreciationof my zeal in that department. I have been grieved on the one hand atyour long absence from us, because I have lost the advantage of a mostdelightful intimacy; and yet on the other hand I rejoice at it, becausewhile on this foreign service you have gained all your objects withinfinite credit to yourself, and because in all you have undertakenfortune has answered to my wishes. There is one injunction, a very shortone, which my unspeakable affection for you compels me to give you. Suchlofty expectations are entertained of your spirit, shall I say? or ofyour ability, that I cannot refrain from imploring and beseeching you toreturn to us with a character so finished, as to be able to support andmaintain the expectations which you have excited. And since no loss ofmemory will ever obliterate my recollection of your services to me, Ibeg you not to forget that, whatever increase of fortune or position maybefall you, you would not have been able to attain it, had you not as aboy obeyed my most faithful and affectionate counsels. [692] Wherefore itwill be your duty to shew me such affection, that my age--now on thedecline--may find repose in your devotion and youth. 

[Footnote 691: The younger Curio was now quæstor to C. Clodius, brotherof Publius and Appius, in Asia. He was tribune in B. C. 50, when hesuddenly changed sides and joined Cæsar, who purchased his adhesion bypaying his immense debts. ]

[Footnote 692: Curio had supported Cicero against Clodius, and hadworked for his recall. He seems to have attended at Cicero's house forthe study of rhetoric or legal practice, as was the fashion for youngmen to do. He presently married Fulvia, the widow of Clodius, who afterhis death in Africa (B. C. 48) married Antony. ]

CLXVI (F VII, 11)

TO C. TREBATIUS TESTA (IN GAUL)

ROME (JANUARY OR FEBRUARY)

[Sidenote: B. C. 53, ÆT. 53]

If you had not left Rome before, you certainly would have left it now. For who wants a lawyer when there are so many _interregna_? I shalladvise all defendants in civil suits to ask each _interrex_ for twoadjournments for obtaining legal assistance. [693] Do you think that Ihave taken a pretty good hint from you as to civil procedure? But come!How are you? What is happening? For I notice in your letter a tendencyto be even jocose. These are better signs than the _signa_ in myTusculan villa. [694] But I want to know what it means. You say, indeed, that you are consulted by Cæsar, but I should have preferred hisconsulting _for_ you. If that is taking place, or you think it likely totake place, by all means persevere in your military service and stay on:I shall console myself for my loss of you by the hope that it will beyour gain: but if, on the other hand, things are not paying with you, come back to us. For either something will turn up sooner or later here, or, if not, one conversation between you and me, by heaven, will beworth more than all the Samobrivæ[695] in the world. Finally, if youreturn speedily, there will be no talk about it; but if you stay awaymuch longer without getting anything, I am in terror not only ofLaberius, but of our comrade Valerius also. For it would make a capitalcharacter for a farce--a British lawyer![696] I am not laughing thoughyou may laugh, but, as usual, when writing to you, I jest on the mostserious subject. Joking apart, I advise you in the most friendly spirit, that if you hold a position for yourself worthy of my introduction, youshould put up with the loss of my society and farther your own careerand wealth: but if things are stagnant with you there, come back to us. In spite of everything you will get all you want, by your own goodqualities certainly, but also by my extreme affection for you. 

[Footnote 693: The _interregna_ lasting this year till July. No legalbusiness could be done, as the law courts were closed during an_interregnum_. But Cicero jestingly says that he advises clients toapply to each _interrex_ (who only held office for five days) for twoadjournments, whereby he would get his case postponed indefinitely: forif each adjournment was to the third day, the two would cover each_interregnum_. Of course he is only jesting, for in any case the causewould not come on. ]

[Footnote 694: There is a play on the double meaning of _signa_, "signs"and "statues. " Cicero did not like the statues in his Tusculanum. SeeLetter CXXV. ]

[Footnote 695: Samobriva (Amiens), where Trebatius was, or had been, inCæsar's camp. Cæsar spells it Samarobriva. ]

[Footnote 696: Laberius is a rival jurisconsult, Valerius a writer ofmimes. Though Cicero jests at the supposed comic character, "a lawyer inBritain" (as we might say, "a lawyer among the Zulus"), it does notappear that Trebatius went to Britain with Cæsar. ]

CLXVII (F II, 2)

TO C. SCRIBONIUS CURIO (IN ASIA)

ROME (? FEBRUARY)

[Sidenote: B. C. 53, ÆT. 53]

I have been deprived of a strong witness to my extreme affection for youin the person of your most illustrious father: who would have beenfortunate above the common lot, both in his own memorable achievementsand in the possession of such a son as yourself, had it been granted himto see you before his departure from life. But I hope our friendshipstands in no need of witnesses. Heaven bless your inheritance to you!You will at least have in me one to whom you are as dear and as preciousas you have been to your father. 

CLXVIII (F II, 3)

TO C. SCRIBONIUS CURIO (IN ASIA)

ROME (? FEBRUARY)

[Sidenote: B. C. 53, ÆT. 53]

Rupa[697] was not backward in his wish to promise an exhibition ofgladiators in your name, but neither I nor any of your friends approvedof anything being done in your absence which would tie your hands whenyou returned. For my part, I will either write you my opinion at greaterlength later on, or, to give you no opportunity of preparing an answerto it, I will take you unprepared and state my view by word of mouthagainst yours. I shall thus either bring you over to my opinion, or atleast leave in your mind a record of my view, so that, if at any time(which heaven forbid!) you may see cause to repent of your decision, youmay be able to recall mine. Briefly, be assured that your return willfind the state of things to be such, that you may gain the highestpossible honours in the state more easily by the advantages with whichyou are endowed by nature, study, and fortune, than by gladiatorialexhibitions. The power of giving such things stirs no feeling ofadmiration in anyone; for it is wholly a question of means, and not ofcharacter; and there is nobody who is not by this time sick and tired ofthem. But I am not acting as I said I would do, for I am embarking on astatement of the reasons for my opinion. So I will put off this entirediscussion to your arrival. Believe me, you are expected with thegreatest interest, and hopes are entertained of you such as can only beentertained of the highest virtue and ability. If you are as preparedfor this as you ought to be--and I feel certain you are--you will bebestowing on us, your friends, on the whole body of your fellowcitizens, and on the entire state, the most numerous and most excellentof exhibitions. You will certainly become aware that no one can bedearer or more precious than you are to me. 

[Footnote 697: A freedman and agent of Curio's. The question is offuneral games and an exhibition of gladiators in honour of Curio'sfather. Curio gave them, and involved himself in huge debt inconsequence. ]

CLXIX (F VII, 12)

TO C. TREBATIUS TESTA (IN GAUL)

ROME (? FEBRUARY)

[Sidenote: B. C. 53, ÆT. 53]

I was wondering what had made you cease writing to me. My friendPansa[698] has informed me that you have become an Epicurean! What awonderful camp yours must be! What would you have done if I had sent youto Tarentum[699] instead of Samobriva? I was already a little doubtfulabout you, when I found you supporting the same doctrine as my friendSelius![700] But on what ground will you support the principles of civillaw, if you act always in your own interest and not in that of yourfellow citizens? What, too, is to become of the legal formula in casesof trust, "as should be done among honest men"? For who can be calledhonest who does nothing except on his own behalf? What principle willyou lay down "in dividing a common property, " when nothing can be"common" among men who measure all things by their own pleasure?[701]How, again, can you ever think it right to swear by _Iupiter lapis_, when you know that Iupiter cannot be angry with anyone?[702] What is tobecome of the people of Ulubræ, [703] if you have decided that it is notright to take part in civic business? Wherefore, if you are really andtruly a pervert from our faith, I am much annoyed; but if you merelyfind it convenient to humour Pansa, I forgive you. Only _do_ write andtell us how you are, and what you want me to do or to look after foryou. 

[Footnote 698: C. Vibius Pansa had been in Gaul, and was now home tostand for the tribuneship, which he obtained for B. C. 52-51. ]

[Footnote 699: Where he would have been in luxury. ]

[Footnote 700: A follower of the new academy, with which Cicero was morein sympathy than with the Epicurean ethics, but apparently only partlyso. The leading doctrine was the denial of the possibility of knowledge, and, applied to ethics, this might destroy all virtue. ]

[Footnote 701: All these jesting objections to a lawyer being anEpicurean are founded on the Epicurean doctrine that individual feelingis the standard of morals, and the _summum bonum_ is the good of theindividual. The logical deduction that a man should therefore hold alooffrom politics and social life, as involving social obligations andstandards, was, of course, evaded in practice. ]

[Footnote 702: For the Epicureans believed the gods to exist, but not totrouble themselves with the affairs of men. In taking an oath by_Iupiter lapis_ the swearer took a stone in his hand and said, "If Iabide by this oath may he bless me: but if I do otherwise in thought ordeed, may all others be kept safe, each in his own country, under hisown laws, in enjoyment of his own goods, household gods, and tombs--mayI alone be cast out, even as this stone is now. " Then he throws down thestone. This passage from Polybius (iii. 25) refers to treaties, but thesame form seems to have been used in suits about land. ]

[Footnote 703: Ulubræ--like other _municipia_--had a _patronus_ at Rometo look after its interests. If Trebatius (who was its _patronus_) wouldtake no part in politics, he would be of no use to the Ulubrani. πολιτεύεσθαι, "to act as a citizen, " "to act as a member of a politicalbody. "]

CLXX (F VII, 13)

TO C. TREBATIUS TESTA (IN GAUL)

ROME, 4 MARCH

[Sidenote: B. C. 53, ÆT. 53]

Did you suppose me to be so unjust as to be angry with you from the ideathat you were not sufficiently persevering and were too eager to return, and do you think that that is the reason of my long silence? I wascertainly annoyed by the uneasiness of your spirits, which your firstletters conveyed to me; but there was absolutely no other reason for theinterruption of my own, except my complete ignorance of your address. Are you still, at this time of day, finding fault with me, and do yourefuse to accept my apology? Just listen to me, my dear Testa! Is itmoney that is making you prouder, or the fact that yourcommander-in-chief consults you? May I die if I don't believe that suchis your vanity that you would rather be consulted by Cæsar thangilded[704] by him! But if both reasons are true, who will be able toput up with you except myself, who can put up with anything? But toreturn to our subject--I am exceedingly glad that you are content to bewhere you are, and as your former state of mind was vexatious, so yourpresent is gratifying, to me. I am only afraid that your specialprofession may be of little advantage to you: for, as I am told, in yourpresent abode

 "They lay no claim by joining lawful hands, But challenge right with steel. "[705]

But you are not wont[706] to be called in to assist at a "forcibleentry. " Nor have you any reason to be afraid of the usual proviso in theinjunction, "into which you have not previously made entry by force andarmed men, " for I am well assured that you are not a man of violence. But to give you some hint as to what you lawyers call "securities, " Iopine that you should avoid the Treviri; I hear they are real _tresviricapitales_--deadly customers: I should have preferred their being_tresviri_ of the mint![707] But a truce to jesting for the present. Pray write to me in the fullest detail of all that concerns you. 

4 March. 

[Footnote 704:

 "I will make fast the doors and _gild_ myself With some more ducats. "--SHAKESPEARE. . ]

[Footnote 705: Ennius, _Ann. _ 275. The phrase _manum consertum_ in legallanguage meant to make a joint claim by the symbolical act of eachclaimant laying a hand on the property (or some representation of it) incourt. But it also meant "to join hands in war. " Hence its equivocal usein this passage. _Consertum_ is a supine, and some such word as _eunt_must be understood before it. ]

[Footnote 706: Reading _at tu non soles_. I cannot explain Prof. Tyrrell's reading _et tu soles_ in connexion with what follows. ]

[Footnote 707: This elaborate joke is founded on a pun upon the name ofthe Gallic _Treviri_ and the commissioners in Rome: (1) the _III viricapitales_, who had charge of prisons, executions, etc. ; (2) the _IIIviri auro argento æri flando feriundo_, "the commissioners for coininggold, silver, and bronze. " Also there is a reference to the meaning of_capitalis_, "deadly, " "affecting the life or citizenship. "]

CLXXI (F VII, 14)

TO C. TREBATIUS TESTA (IN GAUL)

ROME (? MARCH)

[Sidenote: B. C. 53, ÆT. 53]

Chrysippus Vettius, a freedman of the architect Cyrus, made me thinkthat you had not quite forgotten me; for he has brought me a greeting inyour words. You have grown a mighty fine gentleman, that you can't takethe trouble of writing a letter to me--a man, I might almost say, ofyour own family! But if you have forgotten how to write, all the fewerclients will lose their causes by having you as their advocate! If youhave forgotten me, I will take the trouble of paying you a visit whereyou are, before I have quite faded out of your mind. If it is a terrorof the summer camp that is disheartening you, think of some excuse toget off, as you did in the case of Britain. I was glad to hear one thingfrom that same Chrysippus, that you were on friendly terms with Cæsar. But, by Hercules, I should have preferred, as I might fairly haveexpected, to be informed of your fortunes as frequently as possible fromyour own letters. And this would certainly have been the case, if youhad been more forward to learn the laws of friendship than of suits incourt. But this is all jest in your own vein, and to some degree in minealso. I love you very dearly, and I both wish to be loved by you andfeel certain that I am. 

CLXXII (F VII, 18)

TO C. TREBATIUS TESTA (IN GAUL)

A VILLA IN THE AGER POMPTINUS, 8 APRIL

[Sidenote: B. C. 53, ÆT. 53]

I have received several letters from you at the same time, written atvarious times, in which everything else gave me great pleasure; for theyshewed that you were now sustaining your military service with a bravespirit, and were a gallant and resolute man. These are qualities whichfor a short time I felt to be lacking in you, though I attributed youruneasiness not so much to any weakness of your own spirit, as to yourfeeling your absence from us. Therefore go on as you have begun: endureyour service with a stout heart: believe me, the advantages you willgain are many; for I will reiterate my recommendation of you, though Ishall wait for the right moment of doing so. Be assured that you are notmore anxious that your separation from me should be as profitable aspossible to yourself than I am. Accordingly, as your "securities" aresomewhat weak, I have sent you one in my poor Greek, written by my ownhand. [708] For your part, I should wish you to keep me informed of thecourse of the war in Gaul: for the less warlike my informant, the moreinclined I am to believe him. 

But to return to your letters. Everything else (as I said) is prettilywritten, but I do wonder at this: who in the world sends severalidentical letters, when he writes them with his own hand? For yourwriting on paper that has been used before, I commend your economy: butI can't help wondering what it was that you preferred to rub out of thisbit of paper rather than not write such poor stuff as this--unless itwere, perhaps, some of your legal formulas. For I don't suppose you rubout my letters to replace them with your own. Can it mean that there isno business going on, that you are out of work, that you haven't even asupply of paper? Well, that is entirely your own fault, for taking yourmodesty abroad with you instead of leaving it behind here with us. Iwill commend you to Balbus, when he starts to join you, in the good oldRoman style. Don't be astonished if there is a somewhat longer intervalthan usual between my letters: for I intend being out of town in April. I write this letter in the Pomptine district, having put up at the villaof M. Æmilius Philemo, from which I could hear the noise of my clients, I mean those you confided to me! For at Ulubræ it is certain that anenormous mass of frogs have bestirred themselves to do me honour. Takecare of your health. [709]

8 April, from the Ager Pomptinus. 

P. S. --Your letter which I received from L. Arruntius I have torn up, though it didn't deserve it; for it had nothing in it which might nothave been safely read in a public meeting. But not only did Arruntiussay that such were your orders, but you had appended a similarinjunction to your letter. Well, be it so! I am surprised at your nothaving written anything to me since, especially as you are in the midstof such stirring events. [710]

[Footnote 708: _Græculam tibi misi cautionem chirographi mei. _ Variousinterpretations have been given to this: (1) "a truly Greek security, "_i. E. _, "not to be depended on"; (2) referring to a poem in Greek, perhaps the one in praise of Cæsar's achievements, mentioned before (p. 338), in which some compliment to Trebatius was introduced; (3) Prof. Tyrrell would make it refer to this letter itself, which he supposes tohave been written in Greek, and afterwards translated by Tiro. But thisletter does not read like a translation, and, after all, is not of anature to shew as a "commendation. " It is conceived in too jocular avein. I have taken it to refer to some inclosure written in Greek whichhe might use in this way, and the mention of his "own handwriting" torefer to the fact that he would naturally have employed a Greeksecretary to write Greek. The diminutive _Græculam_ I take to beapologetic for the Greek. But it is not at all certain. ]

[Footnote 709: On his journey along the _via Appia_ to one of hisseaside villas Cicero has put up at a friend's house (a freedman ofLepidus), near the Pomptine marshes, as was his wont (_Att. _ vii. 5). Itwas near Ulubræ, of which he was deputy _patronus_ in the absence ofTrebatius, and he jestingly pretends that the frogs which he hearscroaking in the marshes are frogs of Ulubræ turning out to do himhonour, as though they were the citizens of the town. Ulubræ was a verydull and decaying town. ]

[Footnote 710: The great rising in Gaul in B. C. S4-53, and the secondexpedition across the Rhine. ]

CLXXIII (F VII, 15)

TO C. TREBATIUS TESTA (IN GAUL)

ROME

[Sidenote: B. C. 53, ÆT. 53]

How wayward people are who love may be gathered from this: I wasformerly annoyed that you were discontented at being where you are: now, on the contrary, it stings me to the heart that you write that you arequite happy there. For I did not like your not being pleased at myrecommendation, and now I am vexed that you can find anything pleasantwithout me. But, after all, I prefer enduring your absence to your notgetting what I hope for you. However, I cannot say how pleased I am thatyou have become intimate with that most delightful man and excellentscholar, C. Matius. [711] Do your best to make him as fond of you aspossible. Believe me, you can bring nothing home from your province thatwill give you greater pleasure. Take care of your health. 

CLXXIV (F II, 4)

TO C. SCRIBONIUS CURIO (IN ASIA)

ROME (? MAY)

[Sidenote: B. C. 53, ÆT. 53]

You are aware that letters are of many kinds; but there is one kindwhich is undeniable, for the sake of which, indeed, the thing wasinvented, namely, to inform the absent of anything that is to theinterest of the writer or recipient that they should know. You, however, certainly don't expect a letter of that kind from me. For of yourdomestic concerns you have members of your family both to write and toact as messengers. Besides, in my personal affairs there is reallynothing new. There are two other kinds of letters which give me greatpleasure: the familiar and sportive, and the grave and serious. Which ofthese two I ought least to employ I do not understand. Am I to jest withyou by letter? Upon my word, I don't think the man a good citizen whocould laugh in times like these. Shall I write in a more serious style?What could be written of seriously by Cicero to Curio except publicaffairs? And yet, under this head, my position is such that I neitherdare write what I think, nor choose to write what I don't think. Wherefore, since I have no subject left to write about, I will employ mycustomary phrase, and exhort you to the pursuit of the noblest glory. For you have a dangerous rival already in the field, and fully prepared, in the extraordinary expectation formed of you; and this rival you willvanquish with the greatest ease, only on one condition--that you make upyour mind to put out your full strength in the cultivation of thosequalities, by which the noble actions are accomplished, upon the gloryof which you have set your heart. In support of this sentiment I wouldhave written at greater length had not I felt certain that you weresufficiently alive to it of your own accord; and I have touched upon iteven thus far, not in order to fire your ambition, but to testify myaffection. 

[Footnote 711: The friendship between Trebatius and Matius remained aslong as we know anything about them. Cicero afterwards acknowledges(_F. _ ii. 27) the great services Matius had done him with Cæsar, to whomMatius remained attached to the end. ]

CLXXV (F II, 5)

TO C. SCRIBONIUS CURIO (ON HIS WAY FROM ASIA)

ROME (? JUNE)

[Sidenote: B. C. 53, ÆT. 53]

The state of business here I dare not tell even in a letter. And though, wherever you are, as I have told you before, you are in the same boat, yet I congratulate you on your absence, as well because you don't seewhat we see, as because your reputation is placed on a lofty andconspicuous pinnacle in the sight of multitudes both of citizens andallies; and it is conveyed to us by neither obscure nor uncertain talk, but by the loud and unanimous voice of all. There is one thing of whichI cannot feel certain--whether to congratulate you, or to be alarmed foryou on account of the surprising expectation entertained of your return;not because I am at all afraid of your not satisfying the world'sopinion, but, by heaven, lest, when you do come, there may be nothingfor you to preserve: so universal is the decline and almost extinctionof all our institutions. But even thus much I am afraid I have been rashto trust to a letter: wherefore you shall learn the rest fromothers. [712] However, whether you have still some hope of the Republic, or have given it up in despair, see that you have ready, rehearsed andthought out in your mind, all that the citizen and the man should haveat his command who is destined to restore to its ancient dignity andfreedom a state crushed and overwhelmed by evil times and profligatemorals. 

[Footnote 712: In these vague though ominous sentences Cicero isreferring to the constant and violent hindrances to the election ofmagistrates, that is, to the orderly working of the constitution, whichwere occurring. No consuls were elected till September. ]

CLXXVI (F II, 6)

TO C. SCRIBONIUS CURIO (ARRIVED IN ITALY)

ROME (? JULY)

[Sidenote: B. C. 53, ÆT. 53]

News had not yet reached me of your arrival in Italy when I sent Sext. Villius, an intimate of my friend Milo, with this letter to you. Butnevertheless, since your arrival was thought to be approaching, and itwas ascertained that you had already started from Asia Rome-wards, theimportance of my subject made me dismiss any fear of being premature insending you this letter, for I was exceedingly anxious that it shouldreach you as soon as possible. If the obligations, Curio, had only beenon your side, and as great as they are usually proclaimed by you ratherthan as valued by me, I should have been more shy of coming to you forany request of importance which I might have to make. For it is verydisagreeable to a modest man to ask a great favour from one whom hethinks under an obligation to himself, lest he should seem rather todemand than to ask what he is seeking, and to regard it more in thelight of a debt than of a favour. But since your kindnesses to me wereknown to the whole world, or rather I should say were made especiallyprominent and valuable by the very novelty of my circumstances; andsince it is the mark of a generous heart to be willing, when much isowed, to reckon the debt at its highest; I did not hesitate to preferto you by letter a petition for what was of the highest importance andmost vital consequence to me of anything in the world. For I was notafraid of being unable to support your kindnesses to me, even thoughthey were beyond calculation: especially as I felt confident that therewas no amount of favour for which my heart was incapable of finding roomwhen receiving it, or for which in repayment it could not make a fulland brilliant return. I have concentrated and embarked all my zeal, allmy efforts, all the care and industry of which I am capable, my everythought, in fact, my whole heart and soul, on securing Milo'sconsulship; and I have made up my mind that in this matter I ought tolook not merely for the profit arising from an act of kindness, but alsofor the credit of disinterested affection. Nor do I think that anyonewas ever so anxious about his own personal safety and his own fortunesas I am for his election, on which I have made up my mind that all myinterests depend. To him I see clearly that, if you choose, you canrender such substantial help that we need ask for nothing else. We haveon our side all these advantages: the favour of the loyalists won sincehis tribunate on account of his supporting me (as I hope youunderstand); that of the common multitude on account of the splendour ofhis gladiatorial exhibitions and the liberality of his disposition; thefavour of the young men and of those influential in securing votes, wonby his own eminent powers of captivation, shall I call it? or hisdiligence in that department; lastly, my own electoral support, which, if it is not very powerful, is at any rate regarded as only right, dueand proper, and on that account is perhaps influential also. What wewant is a leader, and what I may call a controller, or, so to speak, apilot of those winds which I have described: and if we had to select onesuch out of the whole world, we should have no one to compare with you. Wherefore, if (as I am sure you can) you can regard me as a grateful, asan honest man, from the mere fact that I am thus eagerly exerting myselffor Milo, if, in fine, you think me worthy of your kindness, I do askyou this favour--that you come to the rescue of this anxiety of mine andthis crisis in my reputation, or, to put it with greater truth, that youwill devote your zeal to what is all but a question of life and death tome. As to Titus Annius[713] himself, I promise you this much--that ifyou resolve to embrace his cause, you will never have anyone of greaterspirit, solidity, firmness, or affection to yourself. While to me youwill have given so much additional honour and prestige, that I shallhave no difficulty in acknowledging you to have been as effective insupporting my reputation as you were in securing my safety. 

Did I not know that you must be fully aware, while writing this letterto you, under what a weight of obligation I am labouring, how strongly Iam bound to work in this election for Milo, not only with every kind ofexertion, but even with downright fighting, I should have written atgreater length. As it is, I hand over and commit the business, thecause, and myself wholly and entirely into your hands. Of one thing besure: if I obtain this help from you, I shall owe you almost more than Iowe Milo himself; for my personal safety, in which I have beenconspicuously aided by him, has not been as dear to me as the sacredduty of returning the favour will be delightful. That object I feelconfident that your aid, and yours alone, will enable me to secure. 

[Footnote 713: Milo. His full name is T. Annius Milo Papianus;originally of the _gens Papia_, he had been adopted by his maternalgrandfather, T. Annius. ]

CLXXVII (F XIII, 75)

TO TITUS TITIUS, A LEGATUS[714]

ROME

[Sidenote: B. C. 53, ÆT. 53]

Though I have no doubt that my first introduction retains its full valuein your eyes, I yet yield to the request of a man with whom I am veryintimate, C. Avianius Flaccus, for whose sake I not only desire, but amin duty bound to secure every possible favour. In regard to him I bothspoke earnestly to you in a personal interview--on which occasion youanswered me with the greatest kindness--and have written with fullparticulars to you on a previous occasion; but he thinks it to hisinterest that I should write to you as often as possible. Wherefore Iwould have you pardon me if, in compliance with his wishes, I shallappear to be at all forgetful of the stability of your character. What Ibeg of you is this--that you would accommodate Avianius as to the placeand time for landing his corn: for which he obtained by my influence athree years' licence whilst Pompey was at the head of that business. Thechief thing is--and you can therein lay me under the greatestobligation--that you should have convinced Avianius that I enjoy youraffection, since he thinks himself secure of mine. You will greatlyoblige me by doing this. 

[Footnote 714: Pompey was _præfectus annonæ_ B. C. 57-52. As such he hada number of _legati_, of whom this Titus Titius was one; but there isnothing to shew in which of the corn-supplying countries he wasemployed. Avianius is a corn merchant, and wants concessions as to theimportation of his cargoes. ]

CLXXVIII (F V, 17)

[Sidenote: B. C. 52. Coss. , from V. Kal, Mart. , Cn. Pompeius Magnus(alone); from 1st August, with Q. Metellus Scipio. ]

 This year again, owing to the riots in the previous year excited by Clodius to prevent the election of Milo, began with a series of _interregna_ lasting nearly three months, January, February, and the intercalary month. On the 17th of January Clodius was killed near Bovillæ by Milo's servants, and by his order. Riots followed in Rome, the body was burnt in the Curia, which caught fire and was destroyed. Cicero undertook Milo's defence under a new law _de vi_ brought in by Pompey, but broke down, and Milo was condemned (April). Later in the year he successfully prosecuted T. Munatius Plancus Bursa, who as tribune had promoted the riots after the death of Clodius, and who had also supported the plan of making Pompey dictator. 

TO P. SITTIUS[715] (IN EXILE)

ROME

[Sidenote: B. C. 52, ÆT. 54]

It was not because I had forgotten our friendship, or had any intentionof breaking off my correspondence, that I have not written to you oflate years. The reason is that the earlier part of them was a period ofdepression owing to the disaster which had befallen the Republic andmyself, while the later period, with your own most distressing andundeserved misfortune, has made me reluctant to write. Since, however, asufficiently long period has now elapsed, and I have recalled withgreater distinctness your high character and lofty courage, I thought itnot inconsistent with my purposes to write this to you. For my part, mydear P. Sittius, I defended you originally, when an attempt was made inyour absence to bring you into odium and under a criminal charge; andwhen a charge against you was involved in the accusation and trial ofyour most intimate friend, [716] I took the very greatest care tosafeguard your position and justify you. And, again also, on this lastoccasion, soon after my return to Rome, though I found that your casehad been put on a footing far different from what I should have advised, if I had been there, still I omitted nothing that could contribute toyour security. And though on that occasion the ill-feeling arising fromthe price of corn, the hostility of certain persons, not only toyourself, but to all your friends as well, the unfairness of the wholetrial, and many other abuses in the state, had greater influence thanthe merits of your case or than truth itself, I yet did not fail toserve your son Publius with active assistance, advice, personalinfluence, and direct testimony. Wherefore, as I have carefully andreligiously fulfilled all the other offices of friendship, I thought Iought not to omit that of urging upon you and beseeching you to rememberthat you are a human being and a gallant man--that is, that you shouldbear philosophically accidents which are common to all and incalculable, which none of us mortals can shun or forestall by any means whatever:should confront with courage such grief as fortune brings: and shouldreflect that not in our state alone, but in all others that haveacquired an empire, such disasters have in many instances befallen thebravest and best from unjust verdicts. Oh that I were writing untrulywhen I say, that you are exiled from a state in which no man offoresight can find anything to give him pleasure! As for your son, again, I fear that, if I write nothing to you, I may seem not to haveborne testimony to his high qualities as they deserve; while on theother hand, if I write fully all I feel, I fear that my letter mayirritate the smart of your regret. But, after all, your wisest coursewill be to regard his loyalty, virtue, and steady conduct as being inyour possession, and as accompanying you wherever you may be: for, intruth, what we embrace in imagination is no less ours than what we seebefore our eyes. Wherefore not only ought his brilliant qualities andextreme affection for you to afford you great consolation, but so alsoought I and others of your friends who value you, and always will do so, not for your position, but your worth; and so, above all else, oughtyour own conscience, when you reflect that you have not deservedanything that has befallen you, and when you consider besides that thewise are distressed by guilt, not by mischance--by their own ill-doing, not by the misconduct of others. For my part, I shall omit noopportunity either of consoling or alleviating your present position;for the recollection of our old friendship, and the high character andrespectful attentions of your son, will keep me in mind of that duty. Ifyou, on your part, will mention by letter anything you want, I will takecare that you shall not think that you have written in vain. 

[Footnote 715: The letter in some MSS. Is inscribed to Sextius orSestius. Of P. Sittius of Nuceria we hear in the speech _pro Sulla_, §§56, 58. Sulla (who was accused of assisting Catiline) had sent P. Sittius on a mission to Spain, as it was alleged, to raise a rebellionthere in support of Catiline. It does not, however, appear that hiscondemnation took place then. It seems to have been just previous toCicero's return from exile (August, B. C. 57), and it is suggested thatit was after his ædileship of the previous year, when a scarcity of cornhad contributed to his unpopularity. The date of the letter isuncertain. ]

[Footnote 716: P. Sulla. Sittius was not, it seems, brought to trialwith Sulla, but his journey to Spain formed part of the allegationsagainst Sulla. ]

CLXXIX (F V, 18)

TO T. FADIUS[717] (IN EXILE)

ROME

[Sidenote: B. C. 52, ÆT. 54]

Although I too, who am desirous of consoling you, stand in need ofconsolation myself--for nothing for a long time past has so deeplyafflicted me as your disaster--nevertheless I do strongly not onlyexhort, but even beg and implore you, with all the earnestness that myaffection dictates, to summon all your energies, to shew a manlycourage, and to reflect under what conditions all mortals, and in whattimes we particularly, have been born. Your virtue has given you morethan fortune has taken away: for you have obtained what not many "newmen" have obtained; you have lost what many men of the highest rank havelost. Finally, a state of legislation, law courts, and politicsgenerally appears to be imminent, such that the man would seem to be themost fortunate who has quitted such a republic as ours with the lightestpossible penalty. As for you, however--since you retain your fortune andchildren, with myself and others still very closely united to you, whether by relationship or affection--and since you are likely to havemuch opportunity of living with me and all your friends--and since, again, your condemnation is the only one out of so many that isimpugned, because, having been passed by one vote (and that a doubtfulone), it is regarded as a concession to a particular person'soverwhelming[718] power--for all these reasons, I say, you ought to beas little distressed as possible at the inconvenience that has befallenyou. My feeling towards yourself and your children will always be suchas you wish, and such as it is in duty bound to be. 

[Footnote 717: Titus Fadius Gallus had been a quæstor in Cicero'sconsulship (B. C. 63), and a tribune in B. C. 58, when Cicero reckoned himamong those on whom he depended to resist Clodius. He also, amongothers, had a motion prepared for Cicero's recall, of which Cicerospeaks with approbation (p. 178). We do not know on what charge he hadbeen condemned, but a number of prosecutions followed the death ofClodius and Pompey's legislation as to violence and corruption ofjuries. ]

[Footnote 718: Pompey. He uses the word _potentia_, as he generallydoes, in an invidious sense of "tyrannical, or, unconstitutional power, "as opposed to _auctoritas_, "legitimate influence. "]

CLXXX (F III, 1)

TO APPIUS CLAUDIUS PULCHER[719] (IN CILICIA)

ROME

[Sidenote: B. C. 52, ÆT. 54]

Cicero to Appius, _imperator_. Could the Republic itself speak and tellyou of its state, you would not learn it more easily from its own lipsthan from your freedman Phania: he is a man of such clear insight, aswell as (in a good sense) of such keen curiosity! Wherefore he shallexplain everything to you: for that will suit me best by enabling me tocurtail my letter, and will be more prudent for me in view of othercircumstances. But in regard to my good feeling towards you, though youcan learn it from this same Phania, yet I think that I also havepersonally something I ought to say on the subject. For assure yourselfof this--that you are exceedingly dear to me, from the many attractionsof your character, your kindness, and the goodness of your heart, butalso because from your letter, as well as from the remarks of many, Iunderstand that all my conduct towards you has been most warmlyappreciated by you. And since that is so, I will take means to make upfor the great loss of time, which we have sustained from thisinterruption of our intercourse, by the liberality, the frequency, andthe importance of my services; and that I think I shall do, since youwould have it be so, by no means against the grain, or as the phrase is, "against the will of Minerva"--a goddess by the way whom, if I shallchance to get possession of a statue of her from your stock, I shall notsimply designate "Pallas, " but "Appias. "[720] Your freedman Cilix wasnot well known to me before, but when he delivered me your kind andaffectionate letter, he confirmed the courteous expressions of thatletter by his own words. I was much gratified by his speech, when hedescribed to me your feelings and the remarks which you were dailymaking about me. In short, within two days he became my intimate friend, without, however, my ceasing to regret Phania deeply. When you send thelatter back to Rome, which I imagine you intend speedily to do, praygive him instructions as to all matters which you wish to be transactedor looked after by me. 

I commend L. Valerius the lawyer to you very strongly; not, however, inhis capacity of lawyer: for I wish to take better precautions for himthan he does for others. I am really fond of the man: he is one of myclosest and most intimate friends. In a general way he expresses nothingbut gratitude to you; but he also says that a letter from me will havevery great influence with you. I beg you again and again that he may notfind himself mistaken. 

[Footnote 719: Brother of Cicero's enemy, P. Clodius. He had been consulin B. C. 54, and was now proconsul in Cilicia, in which government Cicerowas to succeed him. His relations with Cicero had been varied, andthough Cicero speaks warmly to him, he does not do so often of him, andhis compliments are evidently not really sincere. ]

[Footnote 720: "I shall, in compliment to your accomplishments, call thegoddess of learning and wisdom 'Appias, '" _i. E. _, the "Appian Goddess. "But the meaning of the elaborate and dull joke or compliment is far fromclear, especially the phrase _si forte de tuis sumpsero_. Was Ciceroexpecting a present of a bust of Minerva, or intending to purchase onefrom Appius's collection? Or does he allude, as has been suggested, tothe Minerva he had himself dedicated before his exile, and which hadprobably fallen into the hands of the Appian family?]

CLXXXI (F VII, 2)

TO M. MARIUS (IN CAMPANIA)

ROME (DECEMBER)

[Sidenote: B. C. 52, ÆT. 54]

I will look after your commission carefully. But, sharp man that youare, you have given your commission to the very person above all otherswhose interest it is that the article should fetch the highest possibleprice! However, you have been far-sighted in fixing beforehand how far Iam to go. But if you had left it to me, I am so much attached to youthat I would have made a bargain with the heirs: as it is, since I knowyour price, I will put up some one to bid rather than let it go forless. But a truce to jesting! I will do your business with all care, asin duty bound. I feel sure you are glad about Bursa[721], but yourcongratulations are too half-hearted. For you suppose, as you say inyour letter, that, owing to the fellow's meanness, I don't look upon itas a matter of much rejoicing. I would have you believe that I am morepleased with this verdict than with the death of my enemy. For, in thefirst place, I would rather win by legal process than by the sword; inthe second place, by what brings credit to a friend than by whatinvolves his condemnation. [722] And, above all, I was delighted that thesupport of the loyalists was given to me so decisively against theinfluence exerted to an incredible degree by a most illustrious andpowerful personage. Finally--though, perhaps, you won't think itlikely--I hated this man much more than the notorious Clodius himself. For the latter I had attacked, the former I had defended. The latter, too, though the very existence of the Republic was to be risked in myperson, had yet a certain great object in view; nor was it wholly on hisown initiative, but with the support of those who could not be safe aslong as I was so. But this ape of a fellow, in sheer wantonness, hadselected me as an object for his invectives, and had persuaded certainpersons[723] who were jealous of me that he would always be a readyinstrument for an attack upon me. Wherefore I bid you rejoice with allyour heart: a great stroke has been struck. Never were any citizens morecourageous than those who ventured to vote for his condemnation, in theteeth of the immense power of the man by whom the jurors had themselvesbeen selected. And this they never would have done had not my grievancebeen theirs also. Here, in Rome, I am so distracted by the number oftrials, the crowded courts, and the new legislation, [724] that I dailyoffer prayers that there may be no intercalation, [725] so that I may seeyou as soon as possible. 

[Footnote 721: The condemnation of T. Munatius Plancus Bursa, who, beingtribune in B. C. 52, had promoted the riots following the death ofClodius, especially in regard to burning his body in the Curia, and had, after his office terminated (10th December), been prosecuted _de vi_ byCicero successfully. Bursa, with others, had supported Pompey's wish forthe dictatorship, as well as his legislation, and accordingly, inattacking him, Cicero had against him the weight of Pompey's influence. He therefore looks upon it as a great triumph. ]

[Footnote 722: The condemnation of Bursa was a point in favour of Milo, whereas Milo's murder of Clodius only brought his ultimate condemnationand exile. Milo's trial had taken place in April. ]

[Footnote 723: Pompey and his friends. ]

[Footnote 724: The new laws introduced by Pompey _de vi_, _demagistratibus_, _de pecunia ob iudicium_. ]

[Footnote 725: The intercalary month was inserted between the 23rd and24th of February. Whether it was to be inserted or not depended on thepontifices, who kept their secret jealously. If it is inserted, Cicerowill be kept all the longer in town with senatorial and legal business, and so be prevented from seeing Marius, who lived near his Pompeianvilla. ]

APPENDIX A

DE PETITIONE CONSULATUS

[This is rather an essay than a letter, and is not generally included inany of the books of the correspondence. To my mind there are indicationsof its being a later composition, the exercise of some one who wished toshew the nature of canvassing at the time. Still, there are manyarguments in favour of regarding it as the composition of Quintus, andat any rate it is a contribution to the picture of the times. ]

Q. CICERO TO HIS BROTHER MARCUS (AT ROME)

I. Although you have all the accomplishments within the reach of humangenius, experience, or acuteness, yet I thought it only consistent withmy affection to set down in writing what occurred to my mind whilethinking, as I do, day and night on your canvass, not with theexpectation that you would learn anything new from it, but that theconsiderations on a subject, which appeared to be disconnected andwithout system, might be brought under one view by a logicalarrangement. 

Consider what the state is: what it is you seek: who you are that seekit. Almost every day as you go down to the forum you should say toyourself, "I am a _novus homo_, " "I am a candidate for the consulship, ""This is Rome. " For the "newness" of your name you will best compensateby the brilliancy of your oratory. That has ever carried with it verygreat political distinction. A man who is held worthy of defendingconsulars cannot be thought unworthy of the consulship. Wherefore, sinceyour reputation in this is your starting-point, since whatever you are, you are from this, approach each individual case with the persuasionthat on it depends as a whole your entire reputation. See that thoseaids to natural ability, which I know are your special gifts, are readyfor use and always available; and remember what Demetrius wrote aboutthe hard work and practice of Demosthenes; and, finally, take care thatboth the number and rank of your friends are unmistakable. For you havesuch as few _novi homines_ have had--all the _publicani_, nearly thewhole equestrian order, many municipal towns specially devoted to you, many persons who have been defended by you, men of every order, many_collegia_, and, besides these, a large number of the rising generationwho have become attached to you in their enthusiasm for rhetoric, and, finally, your friends who visit you daily in large numbers and with suchconstant regularity. See that you retain these advantages by remindingthese persons, by appealing to them, and by using every means to makethem understand that this, and this only, is the time for those who arein your debt to show their gratitude, and for those who wish for yourservices in the future to place you under an obligation. It also seemspossible that a "new man" may be much assisted by the fact that he hasthe good wishes of men of high rank, and especially of consulars. It isa point in your favour that you should be thought worthy of thisposition and rank by the very men to whose position and rank you arewishing to attain. All these men must be canvassed with care, agentsmust be sent to them, and they must be convinced that we have alwaysbeen at one with the Optimates in our political sentiments, that we havenever been demagogues in the very least: that if we seem ever to havesaid anything in the spirit of that party, we did so with the view ofattracting Cn. Pompeius, that we might have the man of the greatestinfluence either actively on our side in our canvass, or at least notopposed to us. [726] Farthermore, take pains to get on your side theyoung men of high rank, or retain the affection of those you alreadyhave. They will contribute much to your political position. You havevery many; make them feel how much you think depends on them: if youinduce those to be positively eager who are merely not disinclined, theywill be of very great advantage to you. 

II. It is also a great set-off to your "newness, " that the nobles whoare your competitors are of a such a kind that no one can venture to saythat their nobility ought to stand them in greater stead than your highcharacter. For instance, who could think of P. Galba and L. Cassius, though by birth of the highest rank, as candidates for the consulship?You see, therefore, that there are men of the noblest families, who fromdefect of ability are not your equals. But, you will say, Catiline andAntonius are formidable. Rather I should say that a man of energy, industry, unimpeachable character, great eloquence, and high popularitywith those who are the ultimate judges, should wish for suchrivals--both from their boyhood stained with blood and lust, both ofruined fortunes. Of one of them we have seen the property put up forsale, and actually heard him declare on oath that at Rome he could notcontend with a Greek or obtain an impartial tribunal. [727] We know thathe was ejected from the senate by the judgment of genuine censors: inour prætorship we had him as a competitor, with such men as Sabidius andPanthera to back him, because he had no one else to appear for him atthe scrutiny. Yet in this office he bought a mistress from the slavemarket whom he kept openly at his house. Moreover, in his canvass forthe consulship, he has preferred to be robbing all the innkeepers, underthe disgraceful pretext of a _libera legatio_, rather than to be in townand supplicate the Roman people. But the other! Good heavens! what ishis distinction? Is he of equally noble birth? No. Is he richer? No. Inmanliness, then? How do you make that out? Why, because while the formerfears his own shadow, this man does not even fear the laws!--A man bornin the house of a bankrupt father, nurtured in the society of anabandoned sister, grown to manhood amidst the massacre of fellowcitizens, whose first entrance to public life was made by the slaughterof Roman knights! For Sulla had specially selected Catiline to commandthat band of Gauls which we remember, who shore off the heads of theTitinii and Nannii and Tanusii: and while with them he killed with hisown hands the best man of the day, his own sister's husband, QuintusCæcilius, who was a Roman eques, a man belonging to no party, alwaysquiet by inclination, and then so from age also. 

III. Why should I speak of him as a candidate for the consulship, whocaused M. Marius, a man most beloved by the Roman people, to be beatenwith vine-rods in the sight of that Roman people from one end of thecity to the other--forced him up to the tomb--rent his frame with everykind of torture, and while he was still alive and breathing, cut off hishead with his sword in his right hand, while he held the hairs on thecrown of his head with his left, and carried off his head in his ownhand with streams of blood flowing through his fingers?[728] A man whoafterwards lived with actors and gladiators on such terms that theformer ministered to his lust, the latter to his crimes--who neverapproached a place so sacred or holy as not to leave there, even if noactual crime were committed, some suspicion of dishonour founded on hisabandoned character--a man whose closest friends in the senate were theCurii and the Annii, in the auction rooms the Sapalæ and Carrilii, inthe equestrian order the Pompilii and Vettii--a man of such consummateimpudence, such abandoned profligacy, in fine, such cunning and successin lasciviousness, that he corrupted young boys when almost in thebosoms of their parents? Why should I after this mention Africa to you, or the depositions of the witnesses? They are well known--read themagain and again yourself. Nevertheless, I think that I should not omitto mention that he left that court in the first place as needy as someof the jurors were before the trial, and in the second place the objectof such hatred, that another prosecution against him is called for everyday. His position is such that he is more likely to be nervous even ifyou do nothing, than contemptuous if you start any proceedings. 

What much better fortune in your canvass is yours than that which notlong ago fell to the lot of another "new man, " Gaius Cælius![729] He hadtwo men of the highest rank as competitors, but they were of such acharacter that their rank was the least of their recommendations--geniusof the highest order, supreme modesty, very numerous public services, most excellent methods of conducting a canvass, and diligence incarrying them out. And yet Cælius, though much inferior in birth, andsuperior in hardly anything, beat one of them. Wherefore, if you do whatyour natural ability and studies, which you have always pursued, enableyou to do, what the exigencies of your present position require, whatyou are capable of doing and are bound to do, you will not have adifficult struggle with competitors who are by no means so conspicuousfor their birth as notorious for their vices. For what citizen can therebe found so ill-affected as to wish by one vote to draw two daggersagainst the Republic?

IV. Having thus set forth what advantages you have and might have to setagainst your "newness, " I think I ought now to say a word on theimportance of what you are trying for. You are seeking the consulship, an office of which no one thinks you unworthy, but of which there aremany who will be jealous. For, while by birth of equestrian rank, [730]you are seeking the highest rank in the state, and yet one which, thoughthe highest, reflects much greater splendour on a man of courage, eloquence, and pure life than on others. Don't suppose that those whohave already held that office are blind to the political position youwill occupy, when once you have obtained the same. I suspect, however, that those who, though born of consular families, have not attained theposition of their ancestors, will, unless they happen to be stronglyattached to you, feel some jealousy. Even "new men" who have beenprætors I think, unless under great obligations to you, will not like tobe surpassed by you in official rank. Lastly, in the populace itself, Iam sure it will occur to you how many are envious, how many, from theprecedents of recent years, are averse to "new men. " It must also needsbe that some are angry with you in consequence of the causes which youhave pleaded. Nay, carefully consider this also, whether, seeing thatyou have devoted yourself with such fervour to the promotion of Pompey'sglory, you can suppose certain men to be your friends on thataccount. [731] Wherefore, seeing that you are seeking the highest placein the state, and at the same time that there do exist sentimentsopposed to you, you must positively employ every method, and all yourvigilance, labour, and attention to business. 

V. Again, the canvass for office resolves itself into an activity of twokinds, of which one is concerned with the loyalty of friends, the otherwith the feelings of the people. The loyalty of friends must be securedby acts of kindness and attention, by length of time, and by an easy andagreeable temper. But this word "friends" has a wider application duringa canvass than in other times of our life. For whosoever gives any signof an inclination to you, or habitually visits at your house, must beput down in the category of friends. But yet the most advantageous thingis to be beloved and pleasant in the eyes of those who are friends onthe more regular grounds of relationship by blood or marriage, ofmembership of the same club, or of some close tie or other. Farther, youmust take great pains that, in proportion as a man is most intimate andmost closely connected with your household, he should love you anddesire your highest honour--as, for instance, your tribesmen, neighbours, clients, and finally your freedmen and even your slaves; fornearly all the talk which forms one's public reputation emanates fromdomestic sources. In a word, you must secure friends of every class: forshow--men conspicuous for their office or name, who, even if they do notgive any actual assistance in canvassing, yet add some dignity to thecandidate; to maintain your just rights--magistrates, consuls first andthen tribunes; to secure the votes of the centuries--men of eminentpopularity. Those who either have gained or hope to gain the vote of atribe or century, or any other advantage, through your influence, takeall pains to collect and secure. For during recent years men of ambitionhave exerted themselves with all their might and main to become sure ofgetting from their tribesmen what they sought. Do you also do your verybest, by every means in your power, to make such men attached to youfrom the bottom of their hearts and with the most complete devotion. If, indeed, men were as grateful as they ought to be, all this should beready to your hand, as I trust in fact that it is. For within the lasttwo years you have put under an obligation to you four clubs of men whohave the very greatest influence in promoting an election, those of C. Fundanius, Q. Gallius, C. Cornelius, C. Orchivius. [732] When theycommitted the defence of these men to you, I am acquainted with whattheir clubsmen undertook and promised you to do, for I was present atthe interview. Wherefore you must insist at the present juncture onexacting from them your due by reminding them, appealing to them, solemnly assuring them, and taking care that they thoroughly understandthat they will never have any other opportunity of shewing theirgratitude. I cannot doubt that these men, from hope of your services inthe future as well as from the benefits recently received, will beroused to active exertions. And speaking generally, since yourcandidature is most strongly supported by that class of friendshipswhich you have gained as a counsel for the defence, take care that toall those, whom you have placed under this obligation to you, their dutyshould in every case be clearly defined and set forth. And as you havenever been in any matter importunate with them, so be careful that theyunderstand that you have reserved for this occasion all that youconsider them to owe you. 

VI. But since men are principally induced to shew goodwill and zeal atthe hustings by three considerations--kindness received, hope of more, personal affection and good feeling--we must take notice how best totake advantage of each of these. By very small favours men are inducedto think that they have sufficient reason for giving support at thepoll, and surely those you have saved (and their number is very large)cannot fail to understand that, if at this supreme crisis they fail todo what you wish, they will never have anyone's confidence. And thoughthis is so, nevertheless they must be appealed to, and must even be ledto think it possible that they, who have hitherto been under anobligation to us, may now put us under an obligation to them. Those, again, who are influenced by hope (a class of people much more apt to bescrupulously attentive) you must take care to convince that yourassistance is at their service at any moment, and to make themunderstand that you are carefully watching the manner in which theyperform the duties they owe you, and to allow no mistake to exist as toyour clearly perceiving and taking note of the amount of support comingfrom each one of them. The third class which I mentioned is that ofspontaneous and sincere friends, and this class you will have to makemore secure by expressions of your gratitude; by making your words tallywith the motives which it shall appear to you influenced them in takingup your cause; by shewing that the affection is mutual; and bysuggesting that your friendship with them may ripen into intimacy andfamiliar intercourse. In all these classes alike consider and weighcarefully the amount of influence each possesses, in order to know boththe kind of attention to pay to each, and what you are to expect anddemand from each. For certain men are popular in their ownneighbourhoods and towns; there are others possessed of energy andwealth, who, even if they have not heretofore sought such popularity, can yet easily obtain it at the moment for the sake of one to whom theyowe or wish to do a favour. Your attention to such classes of men mustbe such as to shew them that you clearly understand what is to beexpected from each, that you appreciate what you are receiving, andremember what you have received. There are, again, others who eitherhave no influence or are positively disliked by their tribesmen, andhave neither the spirit nor the ability to exert themselves on the spurof the moment: be sure you distinguish between such men, that you maynot be disappointed in your expectation of support by placing over-muchhope on some particular person. 

VII. But although you ought to rely on, and be fortified by, friendshipsalready gained and firmly secured, yet in the course of the canvassitself very numerous and useful friendships are acquired. For among itsannoyances a candidature has this advantage: you can without loss ofdignity, as you cannot in other affairs of life, admit whomsoever youchoose to your friendship, to whom if you were at any other time tooffer your society, you would be thought guilty of an eccentricity;whereas during a canvass, if you don't do so with many, and take painsabout it besides, you would be thought to be no use as a candidate atall. Moreover, I can assure you of this, that there is no one, unless hehappens to be bound by some special tie to some one of your rivals, whom you could not induce, if you took pains, to earn your affection byhis good services, and to seize the opportunity of putting you under anobligation--let him but fully understand that you value him highly, thatyou really mean what you say, that he is making a good investment, andthat there will accrue from it not only a brief and electioneeringfriendship, but a firm and lasting one. There will be no one, believeme, if he has anything in him at all, who will let slip this opportunityoffered of establishing a friendship with you, especially when by goodluck you have competitors whose friendship is one to be neglected oravoided, and who not only are unable to secure what I am urging you tosecure, but cannot even make the first step towards it. For how shouldAntonius make the first step towards attaching people to himself, whenhe cannot even call them, unaided, by their proper names? I, for one, think that there can be no greater folly than to imagine a mansolicitous to serve you whom you don't know by sight. Extraordinaryindeed must be the fame, the political position and extent of the publicservices of that man whom entire strangers, without supporters to backhim, would elect to office. That a man without principle or energy, without doing any good service, and without ability, lying under a cloudof discredit, and without friends, should beat a man fortified with thedevotion of a numerous circle and by the good opinion of all, cannotpossibly occur except from gross negligence. 

VIII. Wherefore see that you have the votes of all the centuries securedto you by the number and variety of your friends. The first and mostobvious thing is that you should embrace the Roman senators and knights, and the active and popular men of all the other orders. There are manycity men of good business habits, there are many freedmen engaged in theforum who are popular and energetic: these men try with all your mightboth personally and by common friends, as far as you can, to make eagerin your behalf; seek them out, send agents to them, shew them that theyare putting you under the greatest obligation. After that review theentire city, all colleges, districts, neighbourhoods. If you attach toyourself the leading men of these, you will by their means easily keep ahold upon the multitude. When you have done that, take care to have inyour mind a chart of all Italy laid out according to the tribe of eachtown, and learn it by heart, so that you may not allow any _municipium_, colony, prefecture, or, in a word, any spot in Italy to exist, in whichyou have not a sufficient foothold. Inquire also for and trace outindividuals in every region, inform yourself about them, seek them out, strengthen their resolution, secure that in their own neighbourhoodsthey shall canvass for you, and be as it were candidates in yourinterest. They will wish for you as a friend, if they once see thattheir friendship is an object with you. Make sure that they _do_understand this by directing your speech specially to this point. Men ofcountry towns, or from the country, think themselves in the position offriends if we of the city know them by name: if, however, they thinkthat they are besides securing some protection for themselves, they donot let slip the opportunity of being obliging. Of such people others intown, and above all your rivals, don't so much as know the existence:you know about them and will easily recognize them, without whichfriendship is impossible. Nor is such recognition enough (though it is agreat thing) unless some hope of material advantage and activefriendship follows, for your object is not to be looked upon as a mere"nomenclator, " but as a sincere friend also. So when you have both gotthe favour of these same men in the centuries, who from the means theyhave taken to secure their personal objects enjoy most popularity amongtheir fellow tribesmen; and have made those all desirous of your successwho have influence in any section of their tribe, owing toconsiderations attaching to their municipality or neighbourhood orcollege, then you may allow yourself to entertain the highest hopes. 

Again, the centuries of the knights appear to me capable of being wonover, if you are careful, with considerably more ease. Let your firstcare be to acquaint yourself with the knights; for they arecomparatively few: then make advances to them, for it is much easier togain the friendship of young men at their time of life. Then again, youhave on your side the best of the rising generation, and the mostdevoted to learning. Moreover, as the equestrian order is yours, theywill follow the example of that order, if only you take the trouble toconfirm the support of those centuries, not only by the general goodaffection of the order, but also by the friendships of individuals. Finally, the hearty zeal of the young in canvassing for votes, appearingat various places, bringing intelligence, and being in attendance on youin public are surprisingly important as well as creditable. 

IX. And since I have mentioned "attendance, " I may add that you shouldbe careful to see large companies every day of every class and order;for from the mere number of these a guess may well be made as to theamount of support you are likely to have in the _campus_ itself. Suchvisitors are of three kinds: one consists of morning callers who come toyour house, a second of those who escort you to the forum, a third ofthose who attend you on your canvass. In the case of the morningcallers, who are less select and, according to the prevailing fashion, come in greater numbers, you must contrive to make them think that youvalue even this slight attention very highly. Let those who shall cometo your house see that you notice it; shew your gratification to suchof their friends as will repeat it to them; frequently mention it to thepersons themselves. It often happens that people, when they visit anumber of candidates, and observe that there is one who above the restnotices these attentions, devote themselves to him; leave off visitingthe others; little by little become devoted to one instead of beingneutral, and from sham turn out real supporters. Farthermore, carefullyremember this, if you have been told or have discovered that a man whohas given you his promise is "dressing for the occasion, " as the phrasegoes, make as though you had neither heard it nor knew it; if any offersto clear himself to you, because he thinks himself suspected, assertroundly that you have never doubted his sincerity and have no right todoubt it. For the man who thinks that he is not giving satisfaction cannever be a friend. You ought, however, to know each man's real feeling, in order to settle how much confidence to place in him. 

Secondly, of those who escort you to the forum: since this is a greaterattention than a morning call, indicate and make clear that it is stillmore gratifying to you, and as far as it shall lie in your power go downto the forum at fixed times. The daily escort by its numbers produces agreat impression and confers great personal distinction. The third classis that of numbers perpetually attending you on your canvass. See thatthose who do so spontaneously understand that you regard yourself as forever obliged by their extreme kindness: from those, on the other hand, who owe you this attention, frankly demand that, as far as their age andbusiness allow, they should constantly be in personal attendance, andthat those who are unable to accompany you in person should findrelations to take their place in performing this duty. I am veryanxious, and think it extremely important, that you should always besurrounded by large numbers. Besides, it confers a great reputation andgreat distinction to be accompanied by those who by your exertions havebeen defended, preserved, and acquitted in the law courts. Put thisdemand fairly before them, that, since by your means and without anypayment some have retained their property, others their honour, otherstheir civil existence and entire fortunes, and since there will never beany other time at which they can show their gratitude, they shouldremunerate you by this service. 

X. And since the point now in discussion is entirely a question of theloyalty of friends, I must not, I think, pass over one caution. Deception, intrigue, and treachery are everywhere. This is not the timefor a formal disquisition on the indications by which a true friend maybe distinguished from a false: all that is in place now is to give you ahint. Your exalted character has compelled many to pretend to be yourfriends while really jealous of you. Wherefore remember the saying ofEpicharmus, "the muscle and bone of wisdom is to believe nothingrashly. " Again, when you have got the feelings of your friends in asound state, you must then acquaint yourself with the attitude andvarieties of your detractors and opponents. There are three: first, those whom you have attacked; second, those who dislike you withoutdefinite reason; third, those who are warm friends of your competitors. As to those attacked by you while pleading a friend's cause againstthem, frankly excuse yourself; remind them of the ties constraining you;give them reason to hope that you will act with equal zeal and loyaltyin their cases, if they become your friends. As for those who dislikeyou without reason, do your best to remove that prejudice either by someactual service, or by holding out hopes of it, or by indicating yourkindly feeling towards them. As for those whose wishes are against youowing to friendship for your competitors, gratify them also by the samemeans as the former, and, if you can get them to believe it, shew thatyou are kindly disposed to the very men who are standing against you. 

XI. Having said enough about securing friendships, I must now speak onanother department of a candidate's task, which is concerned with theconciliation of the people. This demands a knack of remembering names, insinuating manners, constant attendance, liberality, the power ofsetting a report afloat and creating a hopeful feeling in the state. First of all, make the faculty you possess of recognizing peopleconspicuous, and go on increasing and improving it every day. I don'tthink there is anything so popular or so conciliatory. Next, if naturehas denied you some quality, resolve to assume it, so as to appear to beacting naturally. Although nature has great force, yet in a businesslasting only a few months it seems probable that the artificial may bethe more effective. For though you are not lacking in the courtesy whichgood and polite men should have, yet there is great need of a flatteringmanner which, however faulty and discreditable in other transactions oflife, is yet necessary during a candidateship. For when it makes a manworse by truckling, it is wrong; but when only more friendly, it doesnot deserve so harsh a term; while it is absolutely necessary to acandidate, whose face and expression and style of conversation have tobe varied and accommodated to the feelings and tastes of everyone hemeets. As for "constant attendance, " there is no need of laying down anyrule, the phrase speaks for itself. It is, of course, of very greatconsequence not to go away anywhere; but the real advantage of suchconstant attendance is not only the being at Rome and in the forum, butthe pushing one's canvass assiduously, the addressing oneself again andagain to the same persons, the making it impossible (as far as yourpower goes) for anyone to say that he has not been asked by you, andearnestly and carefully asked. Liberality is, again, of wideapplication; it is shewn in regard to the management of your privateproperty, which, even if it does not actually reach the multitude, yet, if spoken of with praise by friends, earns the favour of the multitude. It may also be displayed in banquets, which you must take care to attendyourself and to cause your friends to attend, whether open ones or thoseconfined to particular tribes. It may, again, be displayed in givingpractical assistance, which I would have you render available far andwide: and be careful therein to be accessible to all by day and night, and not only by the doors of your house, but by your face andcountenance, which is the door of the mind; for, if that shews yourfeelings to be those of reserve and concealment, it is of little good tohave your house doors open. For men desire not only to have promisesmade them, especially in their applications to a candidate, but to havethem made in a liberal and complimentary manner. Accordingly, it is aneasy rule to make, that you should indicate that whatever you are goingto do you will do with heartiness and pleasure; it is somewhat moredifficult, and rather a concession to the necessities of the moment thanto your inclination, that when you cannot do a thing you should [eitherpromise] or put your refusal pleasantly: the latter is the conduct of agood man, the former of a good candidate. For when a request is madewhich we cannot grant with honour or without loss to ourselves, forinstance, if a man were to ask us to appear in a suit against a friend, a refusal must be given in a gentlemanly way: you must point out to himthat your hands are tied, must shew that you are exceedingly sorry, mustconvince him that you will make up for it in other ways. 

XII. I have heard a man say about certain orators, to whom he hadoffered his case, "that he had been better pleased with the words of theone who declined, than of the one who accepted. " So true it is that menare more taken by look and words than by actual services. [This lattercourse, however, you will readily approve: the former it is somewhatdifficult to recommend to a Platonist like you, but yet I will haveregard for your present circumstances. ] For even those to whom you areforced by any other tie to refuse your advocacy may yet quit youmollified and with friendly feelings. But those to whom you only excusea refusal by saying that you are hindered by the affairs of closerfriends, or by cases more important or previously undertaken, quit youwith hostile feelings, and are one and all disposed to prefer aninsincere promise to a direct negative from you. C. Cotta, a master inthe art of electioneering, used to say that, "so long as the request wasnot directly contrary to moral duty, he used to promise his assistanceto all, to bestow it on those with whom he thought it would be mostadvantageously invested: he did not refuse anyone, because somethingoften turned up to prevent the person whom he promised from availinghimself of it, and it often also occurred that he himself was lessengaged than he had thought at the time; nor could anyone's house befull of suitors who only undertook what he saw his way to perform: bysome accident or other the unexpected often happens, while business, which you have believed to be actually in hand, from some cause or otherdoes not come off: moreover, the worst that can happen is that the manto whom you have made a false promise is angry. " This last risk, supposing you to make the promise, is uncertain, is prospective, andonly affects a few; but, if you refuse, the offence given is certain, immediate, and more widely diffused. For many more ask to be allowed toavail themselves of the help of another than actually do so. Whereforeit is better that some of them should at times be angry with you in theforum, than all of them perpetually at your own house: especially asthey are more inclined to be angry with those who refuse, than with aman whom they perceive to be prevented by so grave a cause as to becompatible with the desire to fulfil his promise if he possibly could. But that I may not appear to have abandoned my own classification, sincethe department of a candidate's work on which I am now dilating is thatwhich refers to the populace, I insist on this, that all theseobservations have reference not so much to the feelings of friends as topopular rumour. Though there is something in what I say which comesunder the former head--such as answering with kindness, and givingzealous assistance in the business and the dangers of friends--yet inthis part of my argument I am speaking of the things which enable you towin over the populace: for instance, the having your house full ofvisitors before daybreak, the securing the affection of many by givingthem hope of your support, the contriving that men should leave you withmore friendly feelings than they came, the filling the ears of as manyas possible with the most telling words. 

XIII. For my next theme must be popular report, to which very greatattention must be paid. But what I have said throughout the foregoingdiscourse applies also to the diffusion of a favourable report: thereputation for eloquence; the favour of the _publicani_ and equestrianorder; the goodwill of men of rank; the crowd of young men; the constantattendance of those whom you have defended; the number of those frommunicipal towns who have notoriously come to Rome on your account; theobservations which men make in your favour--that you recognize them, address them politely, are assiduous and earnest in canvassing; thatthey speak and think of you as kind and liberal; the having your housefull of callers long before daybreak; the presence of large numbers ofevery class; that your look and speech give satisfaction to all, youracts and deeds to many; that everything is done which can be done byhard work, skill, and attention, not to cause the fame arising from allthese displays of feeling to reach the people, but to bring the peopleitself to share them. You have already won the city populace and theaffections of those who control the public meetings by your panegyric ofPompey, by undertaking the cause of Manilius, by your defence ofCornelius. [733] We must not let those advantages be forgotten, whichhitherto no one has had without possessing at the same time the favourof the great. We must also take care that everyone knows that Cn. Pompeius is strongly in your favour, and that it emphatically suits hispurpose that you should win your election. Lastly, take care that yourwhole candidature is full of _éclat_, brilliant, splendid, suited to thepopular taste, presenting a spectacle of the utmost dignity andmagnificence. See also, if possible, that some new scandal is startedagainst your competitors for crime or looseness of life or corruption, such as is in harmony with their characters. 

Above all in this election you must see that the Republic entertains agood hope and an honourable opinion of you. And yet you must not enterupon political measures in senate-house and public meeting while acandidate: you must hold such things in abeyance, in order that fromyour lifelong conduct the senate may judge you likely to be thesupporter of their authority; the Roman knights, along with theloyalists and wealthy, judge you from your past to be eager for peaceand quiet times; and the people think of you as not likely to be hostileto their interests from the fact that in your style of speaking inpublic meetings, and in your declared convictions, you have been on thepopular side. 

XIV. This is what occurred to me to say on the subject of these twomorning reflexions, which I said you ought to turn over in your mindevery day as you went down to the forum: "I am a _novus homo_, " "I am acandidate for the consulship. " There remains the third, "This is Rome, "a city made up of a combination of nations, in which many snares, muchdeception, many vices enter into every department of life: in which youhave to put up with the arrogant pretensions, the wrong-headedness, theill-will, the hauteur, the disagreeable temper and offensive manners ofmany. I well understand that it requires great prudence and skill for aman, living among social vices of every sort, so many and so serious, toavoid giving offence, causing scandal, or falling into traps, and in hissingle person to adapt himself to such a vast variety of character, speech, and feeling. Wherefore, I say again and again, go onpersistently in the path you have begun: put yourself above rivalry ineloquence; it is by this that people at Rome are charmed and attracted, as well as deterred from obstructing a man's career or inflicting aninjury upon him. And since the chief plague spot of our state is that itallows the prospect of a bribe to blind it to virtue and worth, be surethat you are fully aware of your own strength, that is, understand thatyou are the man capable of producing in the minds of your rivals thestrongest fear of legal proceeding and legal peril. Let them know thatthey are watched and scrutinized by you: they will be in terror of yourenergy, as well as of your influence and power of speech, and above allof the affection of the equestrian order towards you. But though I wishyou to hold out this before them, I do not wish you to make it appearthat you are already meditating an action, but to use this terror so asto facilitate the gaining of your object: and, in a word, in thiscontest strain every nerve and use every faculty in such a way as tosecure what we seek. I notice that there are no elections so deeplytainted with corruption, but that some centuries return men closelyconnected with them without receiving money. Therefore, if we are asvigilant as the greatness of our object demands, and rouse ourwell-wishers to put forth all their energies; and if we allot to men ofinfluence and zeal in our service their several tasks; if we put beforeour rivals the threat of legal proceedings; if we inspire their agentswith fear, and by some means check the distributors, it is possible tosecure either that there shall be no bribery or that it shall beineffectual. 

These are the points that I thought, not that I knew better than you, but that I could more easily than you--in the pressing state of yourpresent engagements--collect together and send you written out. Andalthough they are written in such terms as not to apply to allcandidates for office, but to your special case and to your particularelection, yet I should be glad if you would tell me of anything thatshould be corrected or entirely struck out, or that has been omitted. For I wish this little essay "on the duties of a candidate" to beregarded as complete in every respect. 

[Footnote 726: It is to be observed that at this time Pompey is reckonedas inclined to the _populares_. His legislation in B. C. 70 had beensomewhat in their favour; but he had not, as a fact, ever declaredhimself either way. ]

[Footnote 727: C. Antonius, impeached by Cæsar for plundering Macedonia, _appellavit tribunos iuravitque se forum eiurare, quod æquo iure uti nonposset_ (Ascon. § 84). His offences in Macedonia, where he had been leftby Sulla, were in B. C. 83-80; his impeachment, B. C. 76; his expulsionfrom the senate, B. C. 70. ]

[Footnote 728: M. Marius Gratidianus (Ascon. § 84). These denunciationsof Antonius and Catiline seem to be taken from the oration _in togacandida_. ]

[Footnote 729: Cælius, consul B. C. 94 with Cn. Domitius Ahenobarbus. ]

[Footnote 730: Cicero, of course, was now a senator, but he was thefirst of his family who had been so. The others who came forward for theconsulship were two patricians, P. Sulpicius Galba, L. Sergius Catilina;four plebeians, C. Antonius, L. Cassius Longinus, whom Asconius calls_nobiles_, _i. E. _, members of families who had held curule office; andQ. Cornificius and C. Licinius Sacerdos, whose families had onlyrecently risen to this position, _tantum non primi ex familiis suismagistratum adepti erant_ (Asc. )]

[Footnote 731: He hints, I think, at Cæsar, who supported Antonius andCatiline, and also the Luculli, who were opponents of Pompey. ]

[Footnote 732: C. Fundanius, defended by Cicero B. C. 66, fr. P. 216. Q. Gallius, defended by Cicero on _ambitus_ B. C. 64, fr. P. 217 (_Brut. _ §277). C. Cornelius, quæstor of Pompey, tr. Pl. B. C. 67, defended byCicero B. C. 65 (Ascon. § 56 _seq. _) C. Orchivius, Cicero's colleague inprætorship B. C. 66 (_Or. _ § 160). We don't know on what charge Cicerodefended him. The passage in _pro Cluent. _ § 147, does not mean that hewas accused of _peculatus_, but that he presided over trials of_peculatus_ as prætor. ]

[Footnote 733: Manilius, tr. Pl. B. C. 66, proposed the law forappointing Pompey to supersede Lucullus in the East. After his year ofoffice he was accused of _maiestas_, and later on of _repetundæ_, butapparently neither case came on. C. Cornelius, tr. Pl. B. C. 57, wasaccused of _maiestas_ in B. C. 55, and defended by Cicero. He had becomealienated from the senate by its opposition to his legislation againstusury in the provinces, and the case made a great sensation. ]

APPENDIX B

L. VETTIUS (LETTER L, A II, 24)

L. Vettius, a kind of Titus Oates, was like the witness in "GreatExpectations, " prepared to swear "mostly anything. " The interestattaching to such a sordid person is confined to the question whether hewas really acting with the connivance of, or under an agreement with, any of the leading politicians of the day. If the principle of _cuibono_ is applied, it is evident that the gainers were the party of thetrumvirs, whose popularity would be increased by a belief being createdthat their opponents the Optimates were prepared to adopt extrememeasures to get rid of them. It would give them just the advantage whichthe Rye House plot gave Charles II. This is Cicero's view, it seems, ofthe matter, as insinuated in this letter and in his speech againstVatinius (§§ 24-26; cp. _pro Sest. _ § 132). In the letter, however, hisinsinuations seem directed against Cæsar: in the speech Vatinius is thescape-goat. But Vettius was not only a liar, but a bad liar. He madeblunders; and when he brought in the name of Bibulus, he was not awarethat Bibulus had got scent of something going on, and had securedhimself by giving Pompey warning. He also did not tell consistentstories, mentioning names (such as that of Brutus) at one time, andwithdrawing them at another. He was accordingly wholly discredited, andcould therefore expect no protection from Cæsar, who had been carefulnot to commit himself; and he had nothing for it but suicide, likePigott at the time of the Parnell Commission. 

Cicero, then, would have us believe that Vettius had been instigated byVatinius (acting for Cæsar) to name Bibulus, L. Lucullus, Curio (fatherand son), L. Domitius Ahenobarbus, L. Lentulus, L. Paullus, Cicerohimself, his son-in-law Piso, and M. Laterensis, as having been all moreor less privy to the plot to murder Pompey and Cæsar. That there wasabsolutely no such plot, and that Vettius broke down hopelessly whenquestioned. That the object was, (1) to irritate Pompey with theOptimates and so confirm him in his alliance with Cæsar, (2) todiscredit the Optimates generally. 

It may be well to state briefly the views put forward by our otherauthorities for this period. 

(1. ) Suetonius (_Cæs. 20_) appears to attribute the instigation ofVettius to Cæsar, as also the murder of Vettius in prison, after hebroke down so flagrantly. The text of this passage, however, is somewhatdoubtful. 

(2. ) Appian (_B. C. _ ii. 12) describes the scene as happening at thetime that Cæsar's agrarian law was being passed, and Bibulus was hustledin the forum. Vettius, with a drawn dagger, rushed into the crowd cryingout that he had been sent by Bibulus, Cicero, and Cato to assassinateCæsar and Pompey, and that an attendant of Bibulus had given him thedagger. Vettius was arrested, put into prison to be questioned the nextday, and was murdered during the night. Cæsar meanwhile addressed thepeople and excited their anger; but after the death of Vettius thematter was hushed up. 

(3. ) Plutarch (_Lucull. _ 42) says that the "Pompeians, " annoyed atfinding the union with Cæsar opposed by the leading Optimates, inducedVettius to accuse Lucullus and others of a plot to assassinate Pompey;and that the corpse of Vettius shewed evident signs of violence. 

(4. ) Dio Cassius (38-39) says bluntly that Vettius was employed byLucullus and Cicero to assassinate Pompey, and was got rid of in prison. He adds that Vettius was discredited by bringing in the name of Bibulus, who (as Cicero also says) had secured himself by giving Pompey warning. 

The conclusions seem to be (though in such a tangled skein of lies it isimpossible to be sure), (1) that there was no plot, properly so called, though many of the Optimates, and Cicero among them, had used incautiouslanguage; (2) that Vettius was suborned by some person or party ofpersons to make the people believe that there was one; (3) thatCæsar--though there is not sufficient evidence to shew that he had beenthe instigator--was willing to take advantage of the prejudice createdby the suspicions thus aroused; (4) that though Vettius had servedCicero in his capacity of spy in the days of the Catilinarianconspiracy, and was able to report words of his sufficientlycharacteristic, yet this letter to Atticus exonerates Cicero fromsuspicion, even if there were a plot, and even if we could believe thathe could have brought himself to plot the death of Pompey. 

APPENDIX C

 The following letters to Tiro, with one from Quintus in regard to his manumission, are given here because of the difficulty of dating them. The indications of time are as follows. I. Those addressed to Tiro are earlier than that of Quintus, because they refer to a promised emancipation, while that of Quintus speaks of it as accomplished. II. The letter of Quintus is after the emancipation of his own freedman Statius, which apparently took place B. C. 59. III. Quintus is at a distance from Italy, and is looking forward to rejoin his brother and family. IV. Cicero is engaged on some more than ordinary literary work. V. Pompey is visiting Cicero in his Cuman villa. Now after his return from Asia (B. C. 58), Quintus was only twice thus distant, in B. C. 57-56 in Sardinia, and in B. C. 54-53 in Britain and Gaul. In both of these periods Cicero was engaged on literary work; in the former on the _de Oratore_, in the latter on the _de Republica_. There is really no means of deciding between these two. It is even possible that they might be placed some time during the proprietorship of Quintus in Asia (B. C. 62-59), during which Cicero was engaged, among other things, on a poem on his own times and a history of his consulship. Tiro--or M. Tullius Tiro, as he was called after his emancipation--was not a young man, and may well have been emancipated even in B. C. 59. According to Hieronymus, he died in B. C. 5 in his hundredth year. He was therefore little more than a year younger than Cicero himself. The illness of Tiro must have been an earlier one than that of which we shall hear much in B. C. 50-49. 

I (F XVI, 13)

TO TIRO

(CUMÆ) 10 APRIL

I shall consider that I have everything possible from you, if I see youin good health. I am awaiting the arrival of Andricus, whom I sent toyou, with the utmost anxiety. Do take pains to recover, if you love me:and as soon as you have thoroughly re-established your health, come tome. Good-bye. 

10 April. 

II (F XVI, 14)

TO TIRO

(CUMÆ) 11 APRIL

Andricus arrived a day later than I expected him, and accordingly I hada night of terror and unhappiness. Your letter does not make me at allmore certain of your state, and yet it did revive me. I can takepleasure in nothing; can employ myself in no literary work, which Icannot touch till I have seen you. Give orders to promise the doctor anyfee he chooses to ask. I wrote to that effect to Ummidius. I am toldthat your mind is ill at ease, and that the doctor says this is whatmakes you ill. If you care for me, rouse from their sleep your studiesand your culture, which make you the dearest object of my affection. Itis your mind that requires strengthening now, in order that your bodymay also recover. Pray do it both for your own and my sake. Keep Acastuswith you to help to nurse you. Preserve yourself for me. The day for thefulfilment of my promise is at hand, and I will be true to it, if youonly come. Good-bye, good-bye!

11 April, noon. 

III (F XVI, 15)

TO TIRO

(CUMÆ) 12 APRIL

Ægypta arrived on the 12th of April. Though he brought the news that youwere entirely without fever and were pretty well, yet he caused meanxiety by saying that you had not been able to write to me: and all themore so because Hermia, who ought to have arrived on the same day, hasnot done so. I am incredibly anxious about your health. If you willrelieve me from that, I will _liberate_ you from every burden. I wouldhave written at greater length, if I had thought that you were nowcapable of taking any pleasure in reading a letter. Concentrate yourwhole intelligence, which I value above everything, upon preservingyourself for your own and my benefit. Use your utmost diligence, Irepeat, in nursing your health. Good-bye. 

P. S. --When I had finished the above Hermia arrived. I have your letterwritten in a shaky hand, and no wonder after so serious an illness. I amsending Ægypta back to stay with you, because he is by no means withoutfeeling, and seems to me to be attached to you, and with him a cook foryour especial use. Good-bye!

IV (F XVI, 10)

TO TIRO

CUMÆ, 19 MAY

I of course wish you to come to me, but I dread the journey for you. Youhave been most seriously ill: you have been much reduced by a low dietand purgatives, and the ravages of the disease itself. After dangerousillnesses, if some mistake is made, drawbacks are usually dangerous. Moreover, to the two days on the road which it will have taken you toreach Cumæ, there will have to be added at once five more for yourreturn journey to Rome. I mean to be at Formiæ on the 30th: be sure, mydear Tiro, that I find you there strong and well. My poor studies, orrather _ours_, have been in a very bad way owing to your absence. However, they have looked up a little owing to this letter from youbrought by Acastus. Pompey is staying with me at the moment of writingthis, and seems to be cheerful and enjoying himself. He asks me to readhim something of ours, but I told him that without you the oracle wasdumb. Pray prepare to renew your services to our Muses. My promise shallbe _performed_ on the day named: for I have taught you the etymology of_fides_. [734] Take care to make a complete recovery. I shall be with youdirectly. Good-bye. 

19 May. 

[Footnote 734: From _fio_, according to Cicero, _credamusque quia "fiat"quod dictum est, appellatam fidem_ (_de Off. _ i. § 23). He is referringto his promise to emancipate Tiro on a particular day. ]

V (F XVI, 16)

Q. CICERO TO HIS BROTHER

(GAUL?)

As I hope to see you again, my dear Marcus, and my own son Cicero, andyour Tulliola and your son, I am delighted about Tiro. He was much toogood for his position, and I am truly glad that you preferred that heshould be our freedman and friend rather than our slave. Believe me, when I read your letter and his I jumped for joy, and I both thank andcongratulate you: for if the fidelity and good character of my ownStatius is a delight to me, how much more valuable must those samequalities be in your man, since there is added to them knowledge ofliterature, conversational powers, and culture, which have advantageseven over those useful virtues! I have all sorts of most conclusivereasons for loving you: and here is another one, either for what youhave done, or, if you choose, for your perfect manner of announcing itto me. Your letter shewed me your whole heart. I have promised Sabinus'sservants all they asked, and I will perform my promise. 

END OF VOL. I.