Chapter IV: Book I: I (2)

Vereor, ne putidum sit scribere ad te, quam sim occupatus, sed tamen ita distinebar, ut huic vix tantulae epistulae tempus habuerim atque id ereptum e summis occupationibus. Prima contio Pompei qualis fuisset, scripsi ad te antea, non iucunda miseris, inanis improbis, beatis non grata, bonis non gravis; itaque frigebat. Tum Pisonis consulis impulsu levissimus tribunus pl. Fufius in contionem producit

little to my reply to Metellus. I’ll send the book to you since your affection for me has given you a taste for rhetoric.

Is there any news to tell you? Let me see—yes. The consul Messalla has bought Autronius’ house for £1200.[15] What business is that of mine, you will ask. Only that it proves that my house was a good investment, and is beginning to open people’s eyes to the fact that it is quite legitimate to make use of a friend’s pocket to buy a place that gives one a social position. That Teucris is a slow coach; but it is not hopeless yet. Mind you get your part finished. I’ll write less guardedly soon.

Jan. 25, in the consulship of M. Messalla and M. Piso.

XIV

CICERO TO ATTICUS, GREETING.

[Sidenote: _Rome, Feb. 13_, B.C. _61_]

I’m afraid you’ll be heartily sick of my pleas of business, but I’m so driven from pillar to post that I can hardly find time for these few lines, and even that I have to snatch from important business. I have already written and told you what Pompey’s first public speech was like. The poor did not relish it, the socialists thought it pointless, the rich were not pleased with it, and the conservatives were dissatisfied: so it fell flat. Then at the instance of the consul Piso, an untrustworthy tribune, Fufius, must

Footnote 15:

There seems to be some mistake about the numeral, as £1,200 (134,000
sesterces) is too little for a house which could be compared with
Cicero’s, which cost £30,000. If it is supposed to stand for ¯CXXXIV¯
(i.e. 13,400,000 sesterces) it would be too large. Tyrrell suggests
reading ¯XXXIV¯ (i.e. 3,400,000 sesterces), about £30,000.

Pompeium. Res agebatur in circo Flaminio, et erat in eo ipso loco illo die nundinarum πανήγυρις. Quaesivit ex eo, placeretne ei iudices a praetore legi, quo consilio idem praetor uteretur. Id autem erat de Clodiana religione ab senatu constitutum. Tum Pompeius μάλ’ ἀριστοκρατικῶς locutus est senatusque auctoritatem sibi omnibus in rebus maximam videri semperque visam esse respondit et id multis verbis. Postea Messalla consul in senatu de Pompeio quaesivit, quid de religione et de promulgata rogatione sentiret. Locutus ita est in senatu, ut omnia illius ordinis consulta γενικῶς laudaret, mihique, ut adsedit, dixit se putare satis ab se etiam “de istis rebus” esse responsum. Crassus posteaquam vidit illum excepisse laudem ex eo, quod suspicarentur homines ei consulatum meum placere, surrexit ornatissimeque de meo consulatu locutus est, cum ita diceret, “se, quod esset senator, quod civis, quod liber, quod viveret, mihi acceptum referre; quotiens coniugem, quotiens domum, quotiens patriam videret, totiens se beneficium meum videre.” Quid multa? totum hunc locum, quem ego varie meis orationibus, quarum tu Aristarchus es, soleo pingere, de flamma, de ferro (nosti illas ληκύθους), valde graviter pertexuit. Proximus Pompeio sedebam. Intellexi hominem moveri, utrum Crassum inire eam gratiam, quam ipse

needs trot out Pompey to deliver an harangue. This happened in the Circus Flaminius, where there was the usual market-day gathering of riff-raff. Fufius asked him whether he agreed with the proposal that the praetor should have the selection of the jurymen and then use them as his panel. That of course was the plan proposed by the Senate in Clodius’ trial for sacrilege. To this Pompey replied _en grand seigneur_ that he felt and always had felt the greatest respect for the Senate’s authority; and very long-winded he was about it. Afterwards the consul Messalla asked Pompey in the Senate for his opinion on the sacrilege and the proposed bill. He delivered a speech eulogizing the Senate’s measures _en bloc_, and said to me as he sat down at my side, that he thought he had given a sufficiently clear answer to “those questions.” Crassus no sooner saw that he had won public appreciation, because people fancied that he approved of my consulship, than up he got and spoke of it in the most complimentary way. He said that he owed his seat in the House, his privileges as a citizen, his freedom and his very life, to me. He never saw his wife’s face, or his home, or his native land, without recognizing the debt he owed to me. But enough. He worked up with great effect all that purple patch which I so often use here and there to adorn my speeches, to which you play Aristarchus[16]—the passage about fire and sword—you know the paints I have on my palette. I was sitting next to Pompey, and noticed that he was much affected, possibly at seeing Crassus

Footnote 16:

An Alexandrine grammarian noted especially for his criticism of the
Homeric poems, in which he detected many spurious lines.

praetermisisset, an esse tantas res nostras, quae tam libenti senatu laudarentur, ab eo praesertim, qui mihi laudem illam eo minus deberet, quod meis omnibus litteris in Pompeiana laude perstrictus esset. Hic dies me valde Crasso adiunxit, et tamen ab illo aperte tecte quicquid est datum, libenter accepi. Ego autem ipse, di boni! quo modo ἐνεπερπερευσάμην novo auditori Pompeio! Si umquam mihi περίοδοι, si καμπαί, si ἐνθυμήματα, si κατασκευαί suppeditaverunt, illo tempore. Quid multa? clamores. Etenim haec erat ὑπόθεσις, de gravitate ordinis, de equestri concordia, de consensione Italiae, de intermortuis reliquiis coniurationis, de vilitate, de otio. Nosti iam in hac materia sonitus nostros. Tanti fuerunt, ut ego eo brevior sim, quod eos usque istinc exauditos putem.

Romanae autem se res sic habent. Senatus Ἄρειος πάγος; nihil constantius, nihil severius, nihil fortius. Nam, cum dies venisset rogationi ex senatus consulto ferendae, concursabant barbatuli iuvenes, totus ille grex Catilinae, duce filiola Curionis et populum, ut antiquaret, rogabant. Piso autem consul lator rogationis idem erat dissuasor. Operae Clodianae pontes occuparant, tabellae ministrabantur ita, ut nulla daretur “VTI ROGAS.” Hic tibi in rostra Cato advolat,

snap up the chance of winning popularity, which he had thrown away, and perhaps at realizing the importance of my achievements, when he saw that praise of them met with the Senate’s entire approval, especially coming from one who had all the less necessity to praise me, because in every one of my works he has been censured for Pompey’s benefit. To-day has done a great deal to cement my friendship with Crassus: but still I gladly received any crumbs Pompey let fall openly or covertly.[17] As for me, ye gods, how I showed off before my new listener Pompey! Then, if ever, my flow of rounded periods, my easy transitions, my antitheses, my constructive arguments stood me in good stead. In a word, loud applause! For the gist of it was the importance of the Senatorial order, its unison with the knights, the concord of all Italy, the paralysed remains of the conspiracy, peace and plenty. You know how I can thunder on a subject like that. This time my thunders were so loud that I forbear to say any more about them. I expect you heard them right over there.

Well, there you have the news of the town. The Senate is a perfect Areopagus, all seriousness, steadfastness and firmness. For when the time came for passing the Senate’s measure, all those callow youths, Catiline’s cubs, met under the leadership of Curio’s feminine son, and asked the people to reject it. The consul Piso had to propose the law, but spoke against it. Clodius’ rowdies held the gangways; and the voting papers were so managed that no _placet_ forms were given out. Then you have Cato flying to the

Footnote 17:

Or “let fall with obvious covertness”; or “I openly received what he
covertly gave.”

commulcium Pisoni consuli mirificum facit, si id est commulcium,[18] vox plena gravitatis, plena auctoritatis, plena denique salutis. Accedit eodem etiam noster Hortensius, multi praeterea boni; insignis vero opera Favoni fuit. Hoc concursu optimatium comitia dimittuntur, senatus vocatur. Cum decerneretur frequenti senatu contra pugnante Pisone, ad pedes omnium singillatim accidente Clodio, ut consules populum cohortarentur ad rogationem accipiendam, homines ad quindecim Curioni nullum senatus consultum facienti adsenserunt, ex altera parte facile CCCC fuerunt. Acta res est. Fufius tribunus tum concessit. Clodius contiones miseras habebat, in quibus Lucullum, Hortensium, C. Pisonem, Messallam consulem contumeliose laedebat; me tantum “comperisse” omnia criminabatur. Senatus et de provinciis praetorum et de legationibus et de ceteris rebus decernebat, ut, antequam rogatio lata esset, ne quid ageretur.

Habes res Romanas. Sed tamen etiam illud, quod non speraram, audi. Messalla consul est egregius, fortis, constans, diligens, nostri laudator, amator, imitator. Ille alter uno vitio minus vitiosus, quod iners, quod somni plenus, quod imperitus, quod ἀπρακτότατος, sed voluntate ita καχέκτης, ut Pompeium

Footnote 18:

Commulticium _M_: convicium _M in the margin_. _But as Schmidt points
out_, commulcium, _which is the reading of Z in the first case, and of
Z M in the second case, is probably a genuine vulgar Latin word._

rostrum and giving Piso a slap in the face, if one can say “slap in the face” of an utterance full of dignity, full of authority, and full of saving counsel. Our friend Hortensius joined him too, and many other loyalists, Favonius particularly distinguishing himself for his energy. This rally of the conservatives broke up the meeting, and the Senate was called together. In a full house a resolution was passed that persuasion should be used to induce the people to accept the measure, though Piso opposed it and Clodius went down on his knees to us one by one. Some fifteen supported Curio’s rejection of the bill, while the opposite party numbered easily 400. That settled the matter. Funfius the tribune collapsed. Clodius delivered some pitiful harangues, in which he hurled reproaches at Lucullus, Hortensius, C. Piso, and the consul Messalla: me he only twitted with my sensational discoveries.[19] The Senate decided that no action was to be taken as to the distribution of provinces among the praetors, hearing of legations or anything else, till this measure was passed.

There you have the political situation. But there is one piece of news I must tell you, as it is better than I expected. Messalla is an excellent consul, resolute, reliable and energetic: for me he expresses admiration and respect, and shows it by imitating me. That other fellow has only one redeeming vice, laziness, sleepiness, ignorance, and _fainéance_: but at heart he is such a _mauvais sujet_ that he began to

Footnote 19:

Cicero had contented himself at the time he unmasked Catiline with
declaring-that he had “discovered” (_comperisse_) full details without
making them public. Hence the phrase was frequently cast in his teeth.
Cf. _Fam._ v. 5. 2.

post illam contionem, in qua ab eo senatus laudatus est, odisse coeperit. Itaque mirum in modum omnes a se bonos alienavit. Neque id magis amicitia Clodi adductus fecit quam studio perditarum rerum atque partium. Sed habet sui similem in magistratibus praeter Fufium neminem. Bonis utimur tribunis pl., Cornuto vero Pseudocatone. Quid quaeris?

Nunc ut ad privata redeam, Τεῦκρις promissa patravit. Tu mandata effice, quae recepisti. Quintus frater, qui Argiletani aedificii reliquum dodrantem emit HS ¯DCCXXV¯, Tusculanum venditat, ut, si possit, emat Pacilianam domum. Cum Lucceio in gratiam redii. Video hominem valde petiturire. Navabo operam. Tu quid agas, ubi sis, cuius modi istae res sint, fac me quam diligentissime certiorem. Idibus Febr.

XV

CICERO ATTICO SAL.

[Sidenote: _Scr. Romae Id. Mart. a. 693_]

Asiam Quinto, suavissimo fratri, obtigisse audisti. Non enim dubito, quin celerius tibi hoc rumor quam ullius nostrum litterae nuntiarint. Nunc, quoniam et laudis avidissimi semper fuimus et praeter ceteros φιλέλληνες et sumus et habemur et multorum odia atque inimicitias rei publicae causa suscepimus. παντοίης ἀρετῆς μιμνήσκεο curaque, effice, ut ab omnibus et laudemur et amemur. His de rebus plura ad te in ea epistula scribam, quam ipsi Quinto

detest Pompey after that speech of his in praise of the Senate. So he is at daggers drawn with all the patriotic party. It was not so much friendship for Clodius that induced him to act like this as a taste for knaves and knavery. But there are none of his kidney in office except Fufius. Our tribunes of the people are all sound men, and Cornutus is Cato’s double. Can I say more?

Now for private affairs. Teucris has kept her promise. Do you carry out the commissions you received. My brother Quintus has bought the remaining three-quarters of his house on the Argiletum for £6000,[20] and is selling his place at Tusculum to buy Pacilius’ house, if he can. I’ve made it up with Lucceius. I see he’s got the office-seeking complaint badly. I’ll do my best for him. Please keep me posted up in your doings, your address and the progress of our affairs. 13 Febr.

XV

CICERO TO ATTICUS, GREETING.

[Sidenote: _Rome, March 15_, B.C. _61_]

You have heard that that good brother of mine, Quintus, has Asia assigned him as his province. I’ve no doubt a rumour of it has reached you before any of our letters. We have always had a keen regard for our reputation, and both are and are considered unusually Philhellenic, and our public services have won us a host of ill-wishers. So now is the time for you to “screw your courage to the sticking-place,” [Sidenote: Iliad xxii, 8] and help us to secure universal applause and approval. I will write further about it in a letter which I shall

Footnote 20:

725,000 sesterces.

dabo. Tu me velim certiorem facias, quid de meis mandatis egeris atque etiam quid de tuo negotio; nam, ut Brundisio profectus es, nullae mihi abs te sunt redditae litterae. Valde aveo scire, quid agas. Idibus Martiis.

XVI

CICERO ATTICO SAL.

[Sidenote: _Scr. Romae m. Quint. a. 693_]

Quaeris ex me, quid acciderit de iudicio, quod tam praeter opinionem omnium factum sit, et simul vis scire, quo modo ego minus, quam soleam, proeliatus sim. Respondebo tibi ὕστερον πρότερον Ὁμηρικῶς. Ego enim, quam diu senatus auctoritas mihi defendenda fuit, sic acriter et vehementer proeliatus sum, ut clamor concursusque maxima cum mea laude fierent. Quodsi tibi umquam sum visus in re publica fortis, certe me in illa causa admiratus esses. Cum enim ille ad contiones confugisset in iisque meo nomine ad invidiam uteretur, di immortales! quas ego pugnas et quantas strages edidi! quos impetus in Pisonem, in Curionem, in totam illam manum feci! quo modo sum insectatus levitatem senum, libidinem iuventutis! Saepe, ita me di iuvent! te non solum auctorem consiliorum meorum, verum etiam spectatorem pugnarum mirificarum desideravi. Postea vero quam Hortensius excogitavit, ut legem de religione Fufius tribunus pl. ferret, in qua nihil aliud a consulari rogatione differebat nisi iudicum genus (in eo autem erant omnia), pugnavitque, ut ita fieret, quod et sibi et aliis persuaserat nullis illum iudicibus effugere

give to Quintus himself. Please let me know which of my orders you have carried out, and how your own affairs are getting on. I haven’t had a single letter from you since you left Brundisium: and I badly want to know how you are. March 15.

XVI

CICERO TO ATTICUS, GREETING.

[Sidenote: _Rome, June_ B.C. _61_]

You ask what can have happened about the trial to give it such an unexpected ending, and you want to know, too, why I showed less fight than usual. Well! In my answer I’ll put the cart before the horse like Homer. So long as I had to defend the Senate’s decree, I fought so fiercely and doughtily, that cheering crowds rallied round me enthusiastic in my applause. You would certainly have marvelled at my courage on this occasion, if ever you credited me with any courage in my country’s defence. When Clodius fell back on speechifying and took my name in vain, didn’t I just show fight, didn’t I deal havoc! How I charged Piso, Curio, and all that crowd! Didn’t I rate the old men for their frivolity, the young for their wanton passions! Heaven is my witness, I often wanted you not only to prompt my plans, but also to be a spectator of my doughty deeds. But when Hortensius had conceived the idea of letting Fufius bring in his bill about the sacrilege, which only differed from the consular measure in the method of choosing the jury—though that was the point on which everything turned—and fought for his own way, under the impression, which he had also conveyed to others, that no conceivable

posse, contraxi vela perspiciens inopiam iudicum, neque dixi quicquam pro testimonio, nisi quod erat ita notum atque testatum, ut non possem praeterire. Itaque, si causam quaeris absolutionis, ut iam πρὸς τὸ πρότερον revertar, egestas iudicum fuit et turpitudo. Id autem ut accideret, commissum est Hortensi consilio, qui dum veritus est, ne Fufius ei legi intercederet, quae ex senatus consulto ferebatur, non vidit illud, satius esse illum in infamia relinqui ac sordibus quam infirmo iudicio committi, sed ductus odio properavit rem deducere in iudicium, cum illum plumbeo gladio iugulatum iri tamen diceret.

Sed iudicium si quaeris quale fuerit, incredibili exitu, sic uti nunc ex eventu ab aliis, a me tamen ex ipso initio consilium Hortensi reprehendatur. Nam, ut reiectio facta est clamoribus maximis, cum accusator tamquam censor bonus homines nequissimos reiceret, reus tamquam clemens lanista frugalissimum quemque secerneret, ut primum iudices consederunt, valde diffidere boni coeperunt. Non enim umquam turpior in ludo talario consessus fuit, maculosi senatores, nudi equites, tribuni non tam aerati quam, ut appellantur, aerarii. Pauci tamen boni inerant, quos reiectione fugare ille non potuerat, qui maesti inter sui dissimiles et maerentes sedebant et contagione

jury could acquit Clodius, I drew in a reef or two, not being blind to the impecuniosity of the jurymen. I confined my testimony to points so thoroughly well-known and attested that I could not omit them. So, to come at last to the “horse,” if you want to know the reason for his acquittal, it lay in the jury’s lack of pence and of conscience. But it was Hortensius’ plan that made such a result possible. In his fright that Fufius might veto the Senate’s measure, he overlooked the fact that it would be better for Clodius to be kept in disgrace with a trial hanging over his head, than for the case to come before an unsound court. Spurred on by hatred, he rushed the matter into court, saying that a leaden sword was sharp enough to cut Clodius’ throat.

If you want to know about the trial, the result of it was so incredible that now after the event everybody agrees with my forebodings and blames Hortensius. The challenging of the jury took place amidst an uproar, since the prosecutor like a good censor rejected all the knaves, and the defendant like a kind-hearted trainer of gladiators set aside all the respectable people. And as soon as the jury took their seats, the patriotic party began to have grave misgivings: for never did a more disreputable set of people get together even in a gambling hell. Senators with a past, knights without a penny, tribunes whose only right to a title implying pay lay in their readiness to take it.[21] The few honest folk among them, that he had not managed to remove in his selection, sat as woe-begone as fish out of water,

Footnote 21:

Or keeping the ordinary sense of “aerarii”: “cashiered rather than
rich in cash.” But the sense both of “aerati” and of “aerarii” here is
very doubtful.

turpitudinis vehementer permovebantur. Hic, ut quaeque res ad consilium primis postulationibus referebatur, incredibilis erat severitas nulla varietate sententiarum. Nihil impetrabat reus, plus accusatori dabatur, quam postulabat; triumphabat (quid quaeris?) Hortensius se vidisse tantum; nemo erat, qui illum reum ac non miliens condemnatum arbitraretur. Me vero teste producto credo te ex acclamatione Clodi advocatorum audisse quae consurrectio iudicum facta sit, ut me circumsteterint, ut aperte iugula sua pro meo capite P. Clodio ostentarint. Quae mihi res multo honorificentior visa est quam aut illa, cum iurare tui cives Xenocratem testimonium dicentem prohibuerunt, aut cum tabulas Metelli Numidici, cum eae, ut mos est, circumferrentur, nostri iudices aspicere noluerunt. Multo haec, inquam, nostra res maior. Itaque iudicum vocibus, cum ego sic ab iis ut salus patriae defenderer, fractus reus et una patroni omnes conciderunt; ad me autem eadem frequentia postridie convenit, quacum abiens consulatu sum domum reductus. Clamare praeclari Areopagitae se non esse venturos nisi praesidio constituto. Refertur ad consilium. Una sola sententia praesidium non desideravit. Defertur res ad senatum. Gravissime ornatissimeque decernitur; laudantur iudices; datur negotium magistratibus. Responsurum hominem nemo arbitrabatur.

Ἔσπετε νῦν μοι, Μοῦσαι —
ὅππως δὴ πρῶτον πῦρ ἔμπεσε

sadly upset and bemoaning their contact with infamy. At the preliminary proceedings, as point after point was put before the jury, their strict and unanimous uprightness was extraordinary. The defendant never won a point, and the prosecution were granted more than they asked for. It goes without saying that Hortensius was triumphant at his penetration; and no one regarded Clodius so much as a man on his trial as one that had been condemned a thousand times over.

You have no doubt heard how the jury rose in a body to protect me, when I stepped into the witness-box and Clodius’ supporters began to hoot: and how they offered their throats to Clodius’ sword in defence of me. Thereby, to my mind they paid me a far higher compliment than your fellow-citizens paid Xenocrates, when they refused to let him take the oath before giving his testimony, or our Roman jury paid Metellus Numidicus, when they would not look at the accounts which he passed round as is usual in such cases. I repeat, the honour shown me was far greater. The shouts of the jury, proclaiming me as the saviour of the country crushed and annihilated the defendant and all his supporters. And on the next day a crowd as great as that which conducted me home at the end of my consulship gathered round me. Our noble Areopagites declared they would not come without a guard. The votes of the court were taken, and there was only one person who voted a guard unnecessary. The point was laid before the Senate, who passed a decree in the strongest and most complimentary terms, thanking the jury and referring the matter to the magistrates. No one thought Clodius would defend his case. “Tell me [Sidenote: Iliad xvi, 112] now, ye Muses, how first the fire fell.”

Nosti Calvum ex Nanneianis illum, illum laudatorem meum, de cuius oratione erga me honorifica ad te scripseram. Biduo per unum servum et eum ex ludo gladiatorio confecit totum negotium; arcessivit ad se, promisit, intercessit, dedit. Iam vero (o di boni, rem perditam!) etiam noctes certarum mulierum atque adulescentulorum nobilium introductiones non nullis iudicibus pro mercedis cumulo fuerunt. Ita summo discessu bonorum, pleno foro servorum XXV iudices ita fortes tamen fuerunt, ut summo proposito periculo vel perire maluerint quam perdere omnia. XXXI fuerunt, quos fames magis quam fama commoverit. Quorum Catulus cum vidisset quendam, “Quid vos,” inquit, “praesidium a nobis postulabatis? an, ne nummi vobis eriperentur, timebatis?” Habes, ut brevissime potui, genus iudicii et causam absolutionis.

Quaeris deinceps, qui nunc sit status rerum et qui meus. Rei publicae statum illum, quem tu meo consilio, ego divino confirmatum putabam, qui bonorum omnium coniunctione et auctoritate consulatus mei fixus et fundatus videbatur, nisi quis nos deus respexerit, elapsum scito esse de manibus uno hoc iudicio, si iudicium est triginta homines populi Romani

You know Baldpate of Nanneian fame,[22] my late panegyrist, whose complimentary speech in my honour I have already mentioned in my letters; well, he managed the whole job in a couple of days with the help of one slave and that an ex-prizefighter. He sent for everybody, made promises, gave security, paid money down. Good heavens, what a scandal there was! Even the favours of certain ladies and introductions to young men of good family were given to some of the jury to swell the bribe. All honest men withdrew entirely from the case and the forum was full of slaves. Yet five and twenty of the jury were brave enough to risk their necks, preferring death to treachery: but there were thirty-one who were more influenced by famine than fame. Catulus meeting one of these latter remarked to him: “Why did you ask for a guard? For fear of having your pocket picked?” There you have as short a summary as possible of the trial and the reason for the acquittal.

You want to know next what is the present state of public affairs, and how I am getting on. We thought that the condition of the Republic had been set on a firm footing, you by my prudence, I by divine interposition: and that its preservation was secured and established by the combination of all patriots and by the influence of my consulship. But, let me tell you, unless some god remembers us, it has been dashed from our grasp by this one trial, if one can call it a trial, when thirty of the

Footnote 22:

Crassus; but why _ex Nanneianis_ is uncertain. Manutius says he bought
up the property of Nanneius, who was among those proscribed by Sulla,
and gave in his name as Licinius Calvus; but this is probably only a
guess.

levissimos ac nequissimos nummulis acceptis ius ac fas omne delere et, quod omnes non modo homines, verum etiam pecudes factum esse sciant, id Talnam et Plautum et Spongiam et ceteras huius modi quisquilias statuere numquam esse factum. Sed tamen, ut te de re publica consoler, non ita, ut sperarunt mali, tanto imposito rei publicae vulnere, alacris exsultat improbitas in victoria. Nam plane ita putaverunt, cum religio, cum pudicitia, cum iudiciorum fides, cum senatus auctoritas concidisset, fore ut aperte victrix nequitia ac libido poenas ab optimo quoque peteret sui doloris, quem improbissimo cuique inusserat severitas consulatus mei. Idem ego ille (non enim mihi videor insolenter gloriari, cum de me apud te loquor, in ea praesertim epistula, quam nolo aliis legi) idem, inquam, ego recreavi adflictos animos bonorum unum quemque confirmans, excitans; insectandis vero exagitandisque nummariis iudicibus omnem omnibus studiosis ac fautoribus illius victoriae παρρησίαν eripui, Pisonem consulem nulla in re consistere umquam sum passus, desponsam homini iam Syriam ademi, senatum ad pristinam suam severitatem revocavi atque abiectum excitavi, Clodium praesentem fregi in senatu cum oratione perpetua plenissima gravitatis tum altercatione huius modi; ex qua licet pauca degustes; nam cetera non possunt habere eandem neque vim neque venustatem remoto illo studio contentionis, quem ἀγῶνα vos appellatis. Nam, ut Idibus Maiis in senatum convenimus, rogatus ego sententiam multa dixi de summa re publica, atque

most worthless scoundrels in Rome have blotted out right and justice for filthy lucre, and when Hodge and John a Nokes and Tom a Styles and all the riff-raff of that description have declared a thing not to have happened which every man—man did I say?—nay, every beast of the field, knows for a fact. Still—to give you some consolation about politics—the country has not received so serious a blow as traitors wished, nor is iniquity vaunting itself so rampantly on its victory. For they clearly thought that, when religious and moral scruples, judicial honour and the Senate’s authority had been destroyed, iniquity and lust would triumph openly, and would wreak their vengeance on all honest folk for the brand that had been stamped on vice by my consulship. I was the man—I don’t think I am boasting unduly in saying so to you privately, especially in a letter which I would rather you didn’t read to anyone—I was the man who revived the fainting courage of the patriots, encouraging and cheering them one by one. I attacked and routed that venal jury; and I did not leave the victorious party and its supporters a word to say for themselves. The consul Piso I did not leave an inch to stand on. Syria, which had been promised him as his province, I wrested from him. The Senate I aroused from its despondency, recalling it to its former uprightness. Clodius I bearded and crushed in the Senate with a set speech full of dignity, and then with a cross-examination, of which I will give you a taste. The rest would lose both its verve and its wit, when the fire of battle is out, and the tug-of-war, as you Greeks call it, past. When I entered the House on the 15th of May, and was asked for my opinion, I discussed politics at length, and by a

ille locus inductus a me est divinitus, ne una plaga accepta patres conscripti conciderent, ne deficerent; vulnus esse eius modi, quod mihi nec dissimulandum nec pertimescendum videretur, ne aut ignorando stultissimi aut metuendo ignavissimi iudicaremur; bis absolutum esse Lentulum, bis Catilinam, hunc tertium iam esse a iudicibus in rem publicam immissum. “Erras, Clodi; non te iudices urbi, sed carceri reservarunt, neque te retinere in civitate, sed exsilio privare voluerunt. Quam ob rem, patres conscripti, erigite animos, retinete vestram dignitatem. Manet illa in re publica bonorum consensio; dolor accessit bonis viris, virtus non est imminuta; nihil est damni factum novi, sed, quod erat, inventum est. In unius hominis perditi iudicio plures similes reperti sunt.” Sed quid ago? paene orationem in epistulam inclusi. Redeo ad altercationem. Surgit pulchellus puer, obicit mihi me ad Baias fuisse. Falsum, sed tamen quid hoc? “Simile est,” inquam, “quasi in operto dicas fuisse.” “Quid,” inquit, “homini Arpinati cum aquis calidis?” “Narra,” inquam, “patrono tuo, qui Arpinatis aquas concupivit”; nosti enim Marinas.[23] “Quousque,” inquit, “hunc regem feremus?” “Regem appellas,” inquam, “cum Rex tui mentionem nullam fecerit?”; ille autem Regis hereditatem spe

Footnote 23:

Marianas _Rom. and many editors_.

happy inspiration introduced this passage: “The Senate must not be crushed by a single blow, they must not be faint-hearted. The wound is such that it cannot be disguised, yet it must not be feared, lest by our fear we prove ourselves abject cowards, or by ignoring it, very fools. Lentulus twice obtained an acquittal, and Catiline as often, and this is the third criminal let loose on the country by a jury. But you are mistaken, Clodius. The jury saved you for the gallows, not for public life: their object was not to keep you in the country, but to keep you from leaving it. Keep up your hearts, then, senators, and preserve your dignity. The feelings of all patriots are unchanged; they have suffered grief, but their courage is undiminished. It is no new disaster that has befallen us, we have merely discovered one that existed unnoticed. The trial of one villain has revealed many as guilty as himself.” But there, I’ve nearly copied the whole speech. Now for our passage of arms. Up gets this pretty boy and reproaches me with spending my time at Baiae. It was a lie: and anyhow what did it matter? “One would think,” said I, “you were accusing me of spending my time in hiding.” “What need has a man of Arpinum to take the waters?” asks Clodius: and I answered: “You should talk like that to your patron[24] who wanted to take the waters of a man of Arpinum,”—you know about the sea-water baths. “How long are we going to let this man king it over us?” says he. “I wonder you mention the word king,” I replied, “since King[25] did not mention you.” He had

Footnote 24:

C. Scribonius Curio the elder, who bought the villa of Marius at Baiae
in the Sullan proscription.

Footnote 25:

Q. Marcius Rex, brother-in-law to Clodius.

devorarat. “Domum,” inquit, “emisti.” “Putes,” inquam, “dicere: Iudices emisti.” “Iuranti,” inquit, “tibi non crediderunt.” “Mihi vero,” inquam, “XXV indices crediderunt, XXXI, quoniam nummos ante acceperunt, tibi nihil crediderunt.” Magnis clamoribus adflictus conticuit et concidit.

Noster autem status est hic. Apud bonos iidem sumus, quos reliquisti, apud sordem urbis et faecem multo melius nunc, quam reliquisti. Nam et illud nobis non obest, videri nostrum testimonium non valuisse; missus est sanguis invidiae sine dolore atque etiam hoc magis, quod omnes illi fautores illius flagitii rem manifestam illam redemptam esse a iudicibus confitentur. Accedit illud, quod illa contionalis hirudo aerarii, misera ac ieiuna plebecula, me ab hoc Magno unice diligi putat, et hercule multa et iucunda consuetudine coniuncti inter nos sumus usque eo, ut nostri isti comissatores coniurationis barbatuli iuvenes illum in sermonibus “Cn. Ciceronem” appellent. Itaque et ludis et gladiatoribus mirandas ἐπισημασίας sine ulla pastoricia fistula auferebamus.

Nunc est exspectatio comitiorum; in quae omnibus invitis trudit noster Magnus Auli filium atque in eo neque auctoritate neque gratia pugnat, sed quibus Philippus omnia castella expugnari posse dicebat, in quae modo asellus onustus auro posset ascendere. Consul autem ille deterioris histrionis similis suscepisse

been dying to inherit Kind’s money. “You have bought a house,” he says. “You seem to think it is the same as buying a jury,” I answer. “They did not credit you on your oath,” he remarks. To which I answer: “Twenty-five jurymen credited me: the other thirty-one gave you no credit, but took care to get their money first.” There was loud applause, and he collapsed without a word, utterly crushed.

My own position is this. I have retained the influence I had, when you left, over the conservative party, and have gained much more influence over the sordid dregs of the populace than I had then. That my testimony was not accepted does me no harm. My unpopularity has been tapped like a dropsy and painlessly reduced, and another thing has done me even more good: the supporters of that crime confess that that open scandal was due to bribery. Besides that blood-sucker of the treasury, the wretched and starveling mob, thinks I am a prime favourite with the “great man” Pompey, and upon my soul we are upon terms of very pleasant intimacy—so much so indeed that these bottle-conspirators, these youths with budding beards in common table-talk call him Gnaeus Cicero. So both at the games and at the gladiatorial shows, I have been the object of extraordinary demonstrations without hisses or catcalls.

Now every one is looking forward to the elections. Our “great” Pompey is pushing Aulus’ son amidst general disapproval: and the means he is using are neither authority nor influence, but those which Philip said, would storm any fort to which an ass laden with money could climb. Piso is said to be playing second fiddle to Pompey and to have bribery-agents

negotium dicitur et domi divisores habere; quod ego non credo. Sed senatus consulta duo iam facta sunt odiosa, quod in consulem facta putantur, Catone et Domitio postulante, unum, ut apud magistratus inquiri liceret, alterum, cuius domi divisores habitarent, adversus rem publicam. Lurco autem tribunus pl., qui magistratum insimul cum[26] lege alia iniit, solutus est et Aelia et Fufia, ut legem de ambitu ferret, quam ille bono auspicio claudus homo promulgavit. Ita comitia in a. d. VI Kal. Sext. dilata sunt. Novi est in lege hoc, ut, qui nummos in tribu pronuntiarit, si non dederit, impune sit, sin dederit, ut, quoad vivat, singulis tribulibus HS CIↃ CIↃ CIↃ debeat. Dixi hanc legem P. Clodium iam ante servasse; pronuntiare enim solitum esse et non dare. Sed heus tu! videsne consulatum illum nostrum, quem Curio antea ἀποθέωσιν vocabat, si hic factus erit, fabam[27] mimum futurum? Quare, ut opinor, φιλοσοφητέον, id

Footnote 26:

_Munro’s suggestion_ insimulatum _“impugned by” is perhaps the best of
the many suggested emendations._

Footnote 27:

Fabam _or_ Famam mimum _Orelli_: fabae hilum _Hoffmann_: fabae midam
_Brooks_.

in his house: but I don’t believe it. But two decrees have been passed on the proposal of Cato and Domitius, which are unpopular because they are thought to be directed against the consul; one, making it lawful to search the house of any magistrate, and the other making it a treasonable offence to have bribery agents in one’s house. The tribune Lurco, who entered on his office under another law,[28] has been freed from the obligations of the Aelian and Fufian laws, so that he may propose his law about bribery. He had luck in publishing it in spite of his deformity. Accordingly the elections have been postponed till the 27th of July. The new point about this law is that a mere promise to bribe the tribesmen counts for nothing, if it is not fulfilled; but, if it is fulfilled, the man who made it is liable for life to a fine of £27[29] per tribe. I remarked Clodius had kept this law before it was passed: for he is always promising and not paying. But, I say, if he[30] gets in, that consulship of mine which Curio used to call a deification will become an absolute farce.[31] So, I suppose I must take to philosophy

Footnote 28:

Lurco’s proposal was irregular because it was made between the notice
of the elections and the elections themselves, which was forbidden by
the _leges Aelia et Fufia_ (153 B.C.).

Footnote 29:

3,000 sesterces.

Footnote 30:

Afranius.

Footnote 31:

Supposed to allude to the election of a king by boys at the
Saturnalia, using beans to vote with; but it is rather dubious Latin.
In Seneca’s _Apocolocyntosis_ 9 the same proverbs seem to be referred
to in the phrase “_olim” inquit “magna res erat deum fieri: iam famam
mimum fecisti_”: whence it has been suggested that _Faba_ or _Fama_
was the name of some well-known farce. Cf. _Laserpiciarius mimus_
(Petronius 33).

quod tu facis, et istos consulatus non flocci facteon.

Quod ad me scribis te in Asiam statuisse non ire, equidem mallem, ut ires, ac vereor, ne quid in ista re minus commode fiat; sed tamen non possum reprehendere consilium tuum, praesertim cum egomet in provinciam non sim profectus.

Epigrammatis tuis, quae in Amaltheo posuisti, contenti erimus, praesertim cum et Thyillus nos reliquerit, et Archias nihil de me scripserit. Ac vereor, ne, Lucullis quoniam Graecum poema condidit, nunc ad Caecilianam fabulam spectet. Antonio tuo nomine gratias egi eamque epistulam Mallio dedi. Ad te ideo antea rarius scripsi, quod non habebam idoneum, cui darem, nec satis sciebam, quo darem. Valde te venditavi. Cincius si quid ad me tui negotii detulerit, suscipiam; sed nunc magis in suo est occupatus; in quo ego ei non desum. Tu, si uno in loco es futurus, crebras a nobis litteras exspecta; ast plures etiam ipse mittito. Velim ad me scribas, cuius modi sit Ἀμαλθεῖον tuum, quo ornatu, qua τοποθεσίᾳ, et, quae poemata quasque historias de Ἀμαλθείᾳ habes, ad me mittas. Lubet mihi facere in Arpinati. Ego tibi aliquid de meis scriptis mittam. Nihil erat absoluti.

XVII

CICERO ATTICO SAL.

[Sidenote: _Scr. Romae Non. Dec. a. 693_]

Magna mihi varietas voluntatis et dissimilitude opinionis ac iudicii Quinti fratris mei demonstrate est ex litteris tuis, in quibus ad me epistularum illius exempla misisti. Qua ex re et molestia sum tanta

like yourself, and not give a button for consulships.

You write that you have made up your mind not to go to Asia. I would rather you did go, and I am afraid it may cause unpleasantness if you do not. But I cannot blame your determination, especially as I have refused to go to a province.

I shall be contented with the inscriptions you have put in your Amaltheum, especially as Thyillus has deserted me and Archias has not written anything about me. I am afraid, now he has written his Greek poem on the Luculli, he is turning to the Caecilian drama. I have thanked Antonius on your behalf, and given that letter to Mallius. My letters to you up to now have been fewer than they should have been, as I had no trusty messenger nor any certain address to send them to. I have sung your praises loudly. If Cincius delegates any of your business to me, I will undertake it. But just at present he is more concerned with his own, in which I am ready to assist him. Expect frequent letters from me, if you are settled: and send me even more. Please write me a description of your Amaltheum, its adornment and situation; and send me any poems and tales you have about Amalthea. I should like to make one too in my place at Arpinum. I will send you some of my writings: but there is nothing finished.

XVII

CICERO TO ATTICUS, GREETING.

[Sidenote: _Rome, Dec. 5_, B.C. _61_]

Your letter and the enclosed copy of one of my brother Quintus’ letters show me that he has continually changed his mind and wavered in his opinion and judgement. I am exceedingly disturbed

adfectus, quantam mihi meus amor summus erga utrumque vestrum adferre debuit, et admiratione, quidnam accidisset, quod adferret Quinto fratri meo aut offensionem tam gravem aut commutationem tantam voluntatis. Atque illud a me iam ante intellegebatur, quod te quoque ipsum discedentem a nobis suspicari videbam, subesse nescio quid opinionis incommodae sauciumque esse eius animum et insedisse quasdam odiosas suspiciones. Quibus ego mederi cum cuperem antea saepe et vehementius etiam post sortitionem provinciae, nec tantum intellegebam ei esse offensionis, quantum litterae tuae declararant, nec tantum proficiebam, quantum volebam. Sed tamen hoc me ipse consolabar, quod non dubitabam, quin te ille aut Dyrrachi aut in istis locis uspiam visurus esset; quod cum accidisset, confidebam ac mihi persuaseram fore ut omnia placarentur inter vos non modo sermone ac disputatione, sed conspectu ipso congressuque vestro. Nam quanta sit in Quinto fratre meo comitas, quanta iucunditas, quam mollis animus et ad accipiendam et ad deponendam offensionem, nihil attinet me ad te, qui ea nosti, scribere. Sed accidit perincommode, quod eum nusquam vidisti. Valuit enim plus, quod erat illi non nullorum artificiis inculcatum, quam aut officium aut necessitudo aut amor vester ille pristinus, qui plurimum valere debuit. Atque huius incommodi culpa ubi resideat, facilius possum existimare quam scribere; vereor enim, ne, dum defendam meos, non parcam tuis. Nam sic intellego, ut nihil a domesticis

about it, as indeed I could not help being, considering my affection for both of you, and I wonder what can have happened to cause my brother Quintus such grave offence and to make him change his mind so extraordinarily. I grasped some time ago, what I think you were beginning to suspect, when you left, that at the bottom of it must be some idea of an insult, and that his feelings were wounded and some unpleasant suspicions had taken deep root. Though I often before sought to heal the wound, and redoubled my efforts after the allotment of his province, I could neither find that he was as much annoyed as your letter makes out, nor yet make as much headway with him as I wished. However, I used to console myself with the thought that he would be sure to see you either at Dyrrachium or somewhere thereabout. And I had quite made up my mind that when that occurred, all the difficulties between you would be smoothed over as much by the mere sight of one another and the pleasure of meeting as by conversation and discussion. For I need not tell you, who know it yourself, how amiable and kindly my brother Quintus is, and how sensitive he is and ready both to take offence and to forget it. But it has happened most unfortunately that you have not seen him anywhere. For the impression he has received from some designing persons has had more weight with him than either his duty or your old intimacy and affection which ought to have had the greatest weight of all. Where the blame for this unpleasantness rests, it is easier for me to imagine than to write. For I am afraid that in defending my relatives I may not spare yours. For my view is that, even if no wound was inflicted

vulneris factum sit, illud quidem, quod erat, eos certe sanare potuisse. Sed huiusce rei totius vitium, quod aliquanto etiam latius patet, quam videtur, praesenti tibi commodius exponam. De iis litteris; quas ad te Thessalonica misit, et de sermonibus, quos ab illo et Romae apud amicos tuos et in itinere habitos putas, ecquid tantum causae sit, ignore, sed omnis in tua posita est humanitate mihi spes huius levandae molestiae. Nam, si ita statueris, et irritabiles animus esse optimorum saepe hominum et eosdem placabiles et esse hanc agilitatem, ut ita dicam, mollitiamque naturae plerumque bonitatis et, id quod caput est, nobis inter nos nostra sive incommoda sive vitia sive iniurias esse tolerandas, facile haec, quem ad modum spero, mitigabuntur; quod ego ut facias te oro. Nam ad me, qui te unice diligo, maxime pertinet neminem esse meorum, qui aut te non amet aut abs te non ametur.

Illa pars epistulae tuae minime fuit necessaria, in qua exponis, quas facilitates aut provincialium aut urbanorum commodorum et aliis temporibus et me ipso consule praetermiseris. Mihi enim perspecta est et ingenuitas et magnitudo animi tui; neque ego inter me atque te quicquam interesse umquam duxi praeter voluntatem institutae vitae, quod me ambitio quaedam ad honorum studium, te autem alia minime reprehendenda ratio ad honestum otium duxit. Vera quidem laude probitatis, diligentiae, religionis neque me tibi neque quemquam antepono, amoris vero erga

by members of the family, they could certainly have healed the one which existed. But the real fault of the whole matter, which is of rather wider extent than it appears, I can explain to you more conveniently when we meet. As to the letter which he sent to you from Thessalonica and the language which you think he used about you both to your friends at Rome and on his journey, I cannot see any sufficient cause for them; but all my hope of removing this unpleasantness lies in your kindness. For if you can persuade yourself that the best of men are often those whose feelings are easy to arouse and easy to appease, and that this nimbleness, if I may use the word, and sensitiveness of disposition are generally signs of a good heart, and—what is the main point—that we must put up with one another’s unpleasantnesses and faults and insults, then, as I hope, all this can be smoothed over easily. This I beg of you to do. For, as I hold you in such peculiar esteem, it is my dearest wish that there may not be any of my people who either does not love you or is not loved by you.

That part of your letter in which you mention the chances of preferment in the provinces or in town, which you neglected in my consulship and at other times, was most unnecessary, for I am thoroughly persuaded of your disinterestedness and magnanimity, and I have never thought that there was any difference between you and me, except our choice of a career. A touch of ambition led me to seek for distinction, while another perfectly laudable motive led you to honourable ease. But in the real glory which consists in uprightness, industry and piety, there is no one I place above you, not even myself, and as

me, cum a fraterno amore domesticoque discessi, tibi primas defero. Vidi enim, vidi penitusque perspexi in meis variis temporibus et sollicitudines et laetitias tuas. Fuit mihi saepe et laudis nostrae gratulatio tua iucunda et timoris consolatio grata. Quin mihi nunc te absente non solum consilium, quo tu excellis, sed etiam sermonis communicatio, quae mihi suavissima tecum solet esse, maxime deest—quid dicam? in publicane re, quo in genere mihi neglegenti esse non licet, an in forensi labore, quem antea propter ambitionem sustinebam, nunc, ut dignitatem tueri gratia possim, an in ipsis domesticis negotiis, in quibus ego cum antea tum vero post discessum fratris te sermonesque nostros desidero? Postremo non labor meus, non requies, non negotium, non otium, non forenses res, non domesticae, non publicae, non privatae carere diutius tuo suavissimo atque amantissimo consilio ac sermone possunt.

Atque harum rerum commemorationem verecundia saepe impedivit utriusque nostrum; nunc autem ea fuit necessaria propter eam partem epistulae tuae, per quam te ac mores tuos mihi purgatos ac probatos esse voluisti. Atque in ista incommoditate alienati illius animi et offensi illud inest tamen commodi, quod et mihi et ceteris amicis tuis nota fuit et abs te aliquanto ante testificata tua voluntas omittendae provinciae, ut, quod una non estis, non dissensione ac discidio vestro, sed voluntate ac iudicio tuo factum esse videatur. Quare et illa, quae violata, expiabuntur,

regards affection to myself, after my brother and my immediate connections, I give you the palm. For I have seen time after time, and have had thorough experience of your sorrow and your joy in my changing fortunes. I have often had the pleasure of your congratulations in times of triumph and the comfort of your consolation in hours of despondency. Nay at this very moment your absence makes me feel the lack not only of your advice, which you excel in giving, but of the interchange of speech, which I enjoy most with you. I hardly know if I miss it most in politics, where I dare not make a slip; or in my legal work, which I used to undertake for advancement’s sake and now keep up to preserve my position through popularity; or in my private concerns. In all of them I have felt your loss all along and especially since my brother’s departure. Finally, neither my work nor my recreation, neither my business nor my leisure, neither my legal affairs nor my domestic, my public life or my private, can do without your most agreeable and affectionate advice and conversation any longer.

The modesty of both of us has often prevented me from mentioning these facts: but now it was forced upon me by that part of your letter in which you say you want yourself and your character cleared and vindicated in my eyes. There is one good thing as regards the unpleasantness caused by his alienation and anger, that your determination not to go to the province was known to me and other friends of yours, as you told us some time before; so the fact that you are not with him cannot be attributed to your quarrel and rupture, but to your choice and plans already fixed. So amends will be made for

et haec nostra, quae sunt sanctissime conservata, suam religionem obtinebunt.

Nos hic in re publica infirma, misera commutabilique versamur. Credo enim te audisse nostros equites paene a senatu esse diiunctos; qui primum illud valde graviter tulerunt, promulgatum ex senatus consulto fuisse, ut de eis, qui ob iudicandum accepissent, quaereretur. Qua in re decernenda cum ego casu non adfuissem, sensissemque id equestrem ordinem ferre moleste neque aperte dicere, obiurgavi senatum, ut mihi visus sum, summa cum auctoritate, et in causa non verecunda admodum gravis et copiosus fui. Ecce aliae deliciae equitum vix ferendae! quas ego non solum tuli, sed etiam ornavi. Asiam qui de censoribus conduxerunt, questi sunt in senatu se cupiditate prolapses nimium magno conduxisse, ut induceretur locatio, postulaverunt. Ego princeps in adiutoribus atque adeo secundus; nam, ut illi auderent hos postulare, Crassus eos impulit. Invidiosa res, turpis postulatio et confessio temeritatis. Summum erat periculum, ne, si nihil impetrassent, plane alienarentur a senatu. Huic quoque rei subventum est maxime a nobis perfectunique, ut frequentissimo senatu et libentissimo uterentur multaque a me de ordinum dignitate et concordia dicta sunt Kal. Decembr. et postridie. Neque adhuc res confecta est, sed voluntas senatus perspecta; unus enim contra dixerat

the breach of friendship; and the ties between us, which have been so religiously preserved, will retain their inviolability.

The political position here is wretched, rotten and unstable. I expect you have heard that our friends the knights have almost had a rupture with the Senate. The first point that seriously annoyed them was the publication of a senatorial decree for an investigation into any cases of bribery of jurymen. As I did not happen to be present when the decree was passed, and noticed that the knights were annoyed though they did not openly say so, I remonstrated with the Senate very impressively, I think, and spoke with great weight and fluency, considering how shameless the case was. Here is another intolerable piece of petulance on the part of the knights! Yet I have not only put up with it, but forwarded their cause. The people who farmed the province of Asia from the censors, complained in the Senate that their avariciousness had led them to pay too high a price for it, and requested to have the lease annulled. I was their chief supporter, or rather the second, for it was Crassus who encouraged them to venture on the demand. It is a scandalous affair, a disgraceful request and a confession of foolhardiness. There was considerable danger, that, if they met with a refusal, they might have severed their connection with the Senate entirely. In this case too I was the main person who came to the rescue, and obtained for them a hearing in a very full and friendly House, and discoursed freely on the dignity and harmony of the two orders both on the first of December and the following day. The matter is not yet settled: but the Senate’s inclination is clear. For one person

Metellus consul designatus. Atqui erat[32] dicturus, ad quem propter diei brevitatem perventum non est, heros ille noster Cato. Sic ego conservans rationem institutionemque nostram tueor, ut possum, illam a me conglutinatam concordiam. Sed tamen, quoniam ista sunt tam infirma, munitur quaedam nobis ad retinendas opes nostras tuta, ut spero, via; quam tibi litteris satis explicare non possum, significatione parva ostendam tamen. Utor Pompeio familiarissime. Video, quid dicas. Cavebo, quae sunt cavenda, ac scribam alias ad te de meis consiliis capessendae rei publicae plura.