L I E E AND LETTERS OE CICERO. LONDON: A. and G. A. SPOTTISWOODE, New-street- Square. AN ACCOUNT OF THE LIFE AND LETTERS OP CICERO: TRANSLATED FROM THE GERMAN OF BERNARD RUDOLF ABEKEN. EDITED CHARLES BY MEEIVALE, AUTHOR B.D. OF " T H E HISTORY OP T H E ROMANS," ETC. LONDON: LONGMAN, BROWN, GREEN, AND LONGMANS. 1854. PREFACE. EVERY author who sets about his work with serious pur- pose, has a class of readers in view to whom he hopes to be of particular service. The present work is principally designed for the teachers of higher classes in schools, whose duties require them to be well acquainted with Cicero and his writings. As long as ancient Rome is deemed a subject worthy of men's attention, and the study of the Greeks and Romans is considered the best groundwork for a liberal education, the works of this writer will be read and explained in schools, however fashion or individual taste may lead to the occasional neglect of this or that author and the substitution of another in his place. The study of Cicero's writings however, setting aside the assistance it affords in the acquirement of the Latin language, has not been altogether productive of so much good as might have been expected. The teacher too fre- quently contents himself with explaining some of the philosophical or rhetorical treatises, or some favourite A 3 vi PKEFACE. oration, and, unless he has a peculiar power of making his lesson interesting, it probably seems dry enough to the student, in whom the taste for philosophy is as yet, generally speaking, dormant; whilst the speeches are calculated to strengthen the presumption of many., in whose minds a prejudice against the great man already exists, which coupled with their ignorance about him, leads them to speak with culpable levity of his foibles — especially his vanity, and to form a low estimate of his general character. They have not viewed him as a whole, or considered him in his relation to his age and surrounding circumstances. The author can remember the perplexity he himself felt, when as a school-boy he read, amongst others, the speech for Milo, never imagining the connexion in which it stands with the history of Cicero and of Rome. The idea has thus suggested itself to him, of arranging all the letters of the great Roman in a manner which will render it easy to the teacher who has to explain them to his pupils, but has neither leisure nor inclination for a close study of them, to compare them together, and illustrate them by the light of contemporary events. Cicero's other works will be perused with far greater advantage, and the admiration due to him will be more certainly accorded by the discerning scholar, when a careful study of the letters has been established in schools, especially among the more advanced classes. Those who recognize in the want of reverence for what is great and admirable a principal cause of the degeneracy of PREFACE. Vll our times will allow the first-rate importance of implanting in the youthful breast the sentiments of love and veneration. [The foregoing sentences taken from the commencement of the author's preface succinctly explain the simple object which he set before himself in the following pages. The remainder contains suggestions to masters and scholars as to the best method of using the epistles of Cicero, and concludes with an apology for the imperfections which, as he apprehends, may be discovered in his work. These few paragraphs it has not been thought necessary to retain. A similar liberty of omission has been occasionally exercised in the body of the work; the author's remarks have sometimes been condensed, and his references to the views of writers among his own countrymen, such as Wieland and others, disregarded, where they seemed to have no interest for the English reader. A topographical disquisition on Cicero's birthplace, supplied to the work by the author's nephew, H. Abeken, has also been retrenched. Some apology is due for a further liberty which has been taken with the work before us, in altering its title. « Cicero in his Letters," the designation which the author bestowed upon it, is brief, clear and to the purpose; but to our ears it seems, I know not why, to sound strangely, and we must allow that there are some exceptions to the dictum of Lucretius, that utility is the legitimate parent of PREFACE. Vlll language.* I shrink from attempting to naturalize such a title; and in despair of finding one which should be at the same time more English and equally expressive, have been reduced to adopt one which evidently requires an explanation and an excuse. The "Account of the Life and Letters of Cicero," here presented to the English reader, is simply an analysis of the great orator's correspondence, which, as is well known, embraces, with a few brief interruptions, the whole course of his public life, and illustrates almost every particular of his conduct. Such an analysis, connected and occasionally completed by the running commentary of the author, does in fact supply an account both of the life and letters of its illustrious subject. I t presents us with a distinct outline of his political action, and of the motives which directed it, as far as any man's motives may be gathered from his own statements and confessions. These confessions, in Cicero's case, are peculiarly valuable, from the manifest unreserve with which his communications, especially those to Atticus, are made, and perhaps the more so from the different standard of personal honour and morality of his time from ours, which allows him to acknowledge, without scruple, failings which modern delicacy and self-respect would certainly have impelled him to conceal. I t is to be remarked, however, that Cicero speaks but little in his letters of his labours in ethical, political, and oratorical * Utilitas expressit nomina rerum. V. 1028, PREFACE. IX science; and the reader must not look to this account of his life for the means of estimating his qualities as the greatest master of Roman Eloquence and Speculation. Of Cicero's character, however, as a political moralist and statesman, the work before us seems to me to furnish a faithful and useful analysis. I t is a character about which there will always be some difference of opinion, and a curious history might be written of the fluctuations to which it has been subject in this respect. There has never been a human mind the materials for estimating which have been so ample, so complete, I may say, until we come to quite modern times, as Cicero's; and so imperishable is the charm of this familiar knowledge, that now, after the lapse of nineteen centuries, we can hardly draw the attention of our contemporaries to it without raising again the hosts of his worshippers and his critics, as eager to do justice to it or upon it, as if he were still alive. I t will be sufficient, however, to introduce this work with the remark that the reader will find a much truer portraiture of Cicero in his letters than in his oratorical works. Nevertheless, it is from the latter that the popular idea of his character is most commonly drawn; and it is too frequently forgotten that we have no contemporary testimony, except that of Sallust, on a single point, to correct it. The other ancient writers who give us de- tailed accounts of Cicero's career lived two hundred years X PREFACE. after him; and if Plutarch were not too good-natured, Dion too ill-natured, and Appian too careless to be much relied on, we should still be ignorant how far the historical traditions of their time were themselves derived from the statements of Cicero himself, which continued probably from the first to outweigh, in general acceptation, the histories of Pollio and even of Livy. For my own part, I cannot quite agree with Abeken, if I understand him rightly to argue, in the extract I have given from his preface, that the common reading of the orations rather than of the letters tends unduly to lower our opinion of the illustrious author. The study of Cicero's correspondence will undoubtedly enhance our appreciation of the goodness of his heart and his lofty ideas of honour and virtue ; but it can hardly fail, I think, to correct the overweening estimate of his political wisdom and earnestness of purpose, to which we might be led by the perusal of his oratorical and philosophical works only. His letters reveal to us that the sage and statesman of the expiring Republic excelled none of his most eminent contemporaries either in candour or foresight. If it cannot be said of him that he rose above the prejudices of his class and position, — the idola tribus which test the genuineness of every pretension to superior wisdom, — what benefit did he derive from all the lessons of philosophy he learned and taught? What did he gain from revolving the comments of Aristotle upon the hundred and fifty polities of antiquity, PREFACE. XI if they failed to teach him that the crisis of the Roman free-state was inevitable; that wisdom and patriotism might temper, but should hardly have desired to avert it; if they did not lead him to distinguish names from things, and discriminate between the living and active constitution of the sixth century, and the stately ruin of the seventh? I t is humiliating to the pretensions of human genius, but it not the less becomes us to acknowledge it, that after all his efforts to purge his mental vision of the films of prejudice, Cicero was blind to the real fact, that his devotion to the Commonwealth was grounded not so much upon his conviction of its actual merits, as of its fitness for the display of his own abilities. It was no part of the intention of the author of this work to lead his readers to such views as these, and it is very possible that their study of it may bring them to a different conclusion. However that may be, the following pages seem to me to represent the facts of the case with lucidity and fairness, and in sufficient detail for forming an accurate conception of the man and his times. This translation has accordingly been made, at my suggestion, as a help to the English student of the most important era of antiquity. A few notes added by myself are dis- tinguished from the author's by brackets, but no opinion has been expressed, except in one or two cases, on the views of the writer. These may not be uniformly identical with my own, but they are always sensible and honourable; xil PREFACE. and I trust that the consideration of them will prove as serviceable to others as it has been to myself. The double references In the margin are to the chronological numeration of Schiitz, and to the ordinary arrangement. Billerbeck's arrangement is identical with Schiitz's, except that he affixes the numbers 568, 569. to Div. v. 14, 15./ which Schiitz had marked 568a, 568b. From this point the numeration of the former continues always one in advance of that of the latter. C. MERIVALE. Lawford, Feb. 15th, 1854.] AN ACCOUNT OF THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF CICEEO. INTRODUCTION, A SHORT CHRONOLOGICAL SUMMARY OF THE LIFE OF CICERO, AND OF CONTEMPORARY EVENTS, UP TO THE PERIOD WHEN HIS LETTERS BEGIN. T H E period at which Cicero was born was in itself one of momentous importance, and the more so from its bearing within it the seeds of those great events which were destined to overturn the Roman commonwealth, and to elevate the City of the Seven Hills to entire sovereignty over the then known world, yet eventually also to bring on the gradual decline and final ruin of that stupendous power. At this epoch, the war occasioned by the migration of the Cimbri and Teutones was still raging: in the year before Cicero's birth, the Consul L. Cassius Longinus had suffered a severe defeat from the Helvetian tribe of the Tigurini; in the year that he was born the Jugurthine war had been terminated by Marius and his Quaestor Sulla. The same year witnessed the commencement of the jealousy between those two personages, which, at a later period, produced B 2 LIEE AND LETTEES OF CICERO. so terrible a civil war; a war, however, which was only the prelude to a party struggle yet more important and more extensive in its consequences, and which proved ultimately decisive of the fate of Rome. Pompeius, the future chief of one of these parties, was born in the same year with Cicero. Marius had shown with what success an able and enterprising captain could sway the mass of the people for his own ambitious ends; and, though he subsequently gave way before the conquering fortunes of Sulla, any unprejudiced person must have foreseen that the Aristocracy or Optimates of this period would be forced to succumb, if brought into collision with a second and a greater Marius. A.U. 648. B.C. 106. Cic. MT. I. Cicero was born in the year of the City 648*, in the \ciQ.Brut. consulate of C. Atilius Serranus and L. Servilius Caepio1, 2 j?p.65i.2., on the 3rd of January 2 , on an estate in the neighbourhood 296.3. (AtL . \ , ° . xiii. 42., vii. of Arpmum, a municipality or the ancient Volscian territory. His father, after whom he was named Marcus, was content to reside in the country on account of the weakness of his health, and there devoted himself to literature. He must have been a man of some wealth and consideration, as his family was of long standing in Arpmum, and s^p.437. belonged to the Equestrian order 3 , and he was himself io.)?2)"pW#.able to increase his estate and to provide handsomely for the education of his two sons, of whom Quintus was about * The chronology of the present work follows that of Znmpt's Annals [Annates veterum Regnorum et Populoram'], which place the building of Home in the year 753 B.C., according to the system of Varro. [This is the system generally followed. See Clinton, Fasti Hellen. et Roman.; Fischer, Romische Zeittafeln; Orelli, Mem. Vit. Cic; Billerbeck, Cic. Epist. But Schiitz, in his edition of Cicero's letters, follows the Fasti Capitolini, making the A.u. 1 = B.C. 752, and A.c. 1 = B.C. 106 = A.TJ. 647.] A. u. 648. B.C. 106. cic. 1. 3 two or three years younger than Marcus.* He was, moreover, a well-disposed and sensible man, and of independent character. The mother, Helvia f, seems to have been of a good family. Cicero was surrounded by relations both on her side and that of his father, who exercised a great influence over his active mind. Lucius, his father's brother, was nearly connected with the great orator AntoniusJ; and his mother's sister was married to Aculeo, one of the most distinguished lawyers of his time, and an intimate friend of Crassus, wThose reputation as an orator equalled that of Antonius.§ The young Ciceros were brought up with the sons of Aculeo from the time they wTere removed to Rome. The son of his uncle Lucius, who bore the same name, was amongst the number of Marcus's most intimate friends.1 His paternal grandfather was still living at the^o. \.(A time of his birth, and appears to have been also an able ' man, of the ancient austere school, and possessed of some influence in Arpinum. His grandson mentions him with great respect in many passages of his works.2 The coun-].f^f^ try seat at Arpinum was very pleasantly situated, so that 0 r a i ' l u Gt>' Cicero's youth was most favourably endowed both morally and physically with the requisites for happiness. In his second Book de Oratore, he notices the effect produced upon his mental culture by the characters of his surrounding relatives. * Haze est mea et hujus fratris met germqna patina; hinc enim orti stirpe mitiquissima sumus; hie sacra, hie genus, hie majorum multa vestigia.—De Legg., ii. 1. This chapter, with de Orat, i. 43., ii. 1., is the principal source of the above, and of part of the following. f Q. Cicero, Mp. 855., (Div. xii. 26.) tells an odd anecdote of her, which represents her as a good housewife of the ancient stamp. J The grandfather of the triumvir. § Both orators are commemorated in Cicero's books de Oratore. See .also Brut 37. foil. 13 2 4 L I F E AND LETTERS OF CICERO. A. IT. 649. B.C. 105. Cic. 2. Consuls: P. RUTILIUS RUFUS ; CN. MALUUS MAXIMUS. The second year of Cicero's life is marked by the severe defeat which the Consular Q. Caepio and the Consul Mallius sustained in Gaul from the Cimbri. A.U. 650. B.C. 104. Cic. 3. C. MARIUS II.; C. FLAVIUS FIMBRIA. Marius celebrates his triumph over Jugurtha on January 1st, and then prepares for war against the Cimbri. A.U. 651. B.C. 103. Cic. 4. C. MARIUS I I I . ; L. AURELIUS ORESTES. A new servile war breaks out in Sicily (the first, under the slave king Eunus, had lasted from 619 to 623); and the insurgent chief Athenio defeats the Praetor C. Servilius Casca. The celebrated orator Antonius is sent against the Cilician pirates. He goes to Cilicia with consular power, and takes with him Lucius, the uncle of orat.ii. Cicero.1 Marius remains with his army in Transalpine Gaul, still occupied in preparations for a desperate struggle with the migratory nations, A.U. 652. B.C. 102. Cic. 5. 0. MARIUS IV.; Q. LUTATIUS CATULUS. Marius completely defeats the Teutones and Ambrones at Aquae Sextiae, whilst the Cimbri are advancing in the direction of Italy, In this year the poet Archias comes to Rome. A.IT. 653. B.C. 101- Cic. 6. C. MARIUS V.; M'. AQUILLIUS. Marius comes to the assistance of the Proconsul Ca~ A.u. 654. B.C. 100. cic. 7. D tulus, and they both defeat the Cirabri near Verona; so that Rome is now secured from the attack of the Germans. A.U. 654. B.C. 100. MAKIUS VI.; Cic. 7. L. VALERIUS FLACCUS. This year is marked by the disturbances excited by the Tribune L. Saturninus and the Praetor Glaucia. These daring men were at first secretly encouraged by Marius, but afterwards shaken off by him, and fell victims to their own rashness. Then also Q. Metelius displayed the aristocratic firmness which afterwards served Cicero so often for Vpattern and ideal.* I t may probably have been in this year that Cicero took up his residence in Rome, for in his speech for Archias he says, " as far as he can look back into his boyish years, he finds this man his guide to learning." The ftither, no doubt, had early become aware of the talents of his sons, and he hastened to procure for them the proper cultivation in Rome, where he possessed a house of his own. The orator Crassus conducted their iucation as well as that of their cousins the Aculeos 1 , * Deorat u. and provided tutors for them, of whose information he availed himself also. Antonius bestowed some attention on the boy Cicero, • and willingly answered the questions of the young enquirer after knowledge 2 , whose extraordinary talents soon * z« omt. a. > began to excite astonishment in a wider circle. When (A. U. 660) L. Plotius Gallus, an eminent rhetorician, opened a Latin school, and Cicero was desirous of enjoy&ig the advantages of his instruction, he was prevented by the authority of men of learning, who pronounced Greek * Q. Metelius Numidicus refused to swear obedience to the agrarian . law of Saturmnus, and retired into voluntary exile. Cicero refers to this magnanimous act on several occasions. See particularly pro Sest. 47. ; pro Piano. 36.; de Rep. i. 3. 6. B 3 G L I F E AND LETTERS O F CICERO. Kuct.<*« exercises to be a better training for the mind.1 Cicerc 2.,ctQuintii". was instructed in the art of poetry by Archias. I t is noi Inst.i. 1.; , i ^ ^ Geii. xv. 11. certain to what years these circumstances should be specially assigned. A. U. 655. B. C. 99. Cic. 8. M. ANTONITTS (the Orator) ; A. POSTUMIUS ALBINUS. The Proconsul M. Aquillius puts an end to the Servile war. The Optimates obtain a triumph in the recall o( Metellus. B u t the same year witnesses the birth of the man who was destined to give the Roman world a new form, by the hands of the Romans themselves, and t5 raise himself to supreme power,—Caius Julius Caesar. A. U. 656. B. C. 98. Cic. 9. Q. C/5CILIUS METELLUS N E P O S ; T. DIDITFS. The Lex Ccecilia Didia is passed: scil. de Legibus per trinvndinum promulgandis.* A.U. 657. B.C. 97. Cic. 10. CN. CORNELIUS LENTULUS; P . LICINIUS CRASSUS. The Censors L, Valerius Flaccus and M. Antonius the Orator take the census. The Proconsul T. Didius, under wThom Q. Sertorius serves as Tribune, maintains a severe struggle against the Celtiberians in Spain. A.U. 658. B.C. 96. Cic. 11. CN. DOMITIUS AHENOBARBUS ; C. CASSIUS LONGINUS. Ptolemy Apion having in his will appointed the Romafrpeople heirs to his kingdom of Cyrene, the Senate declares it a free state. * Seo the Sohol. Bob. ad Cic. pro Scst. p. 310. Orcll. Scsiio, 64.; fro Domo, 16.; Philipp. v. 3. 8. Coinp, Cic. pro A. u. 659. B.C. 95. cic. 12. 7 A.U. 659. B.C. 95, Cic. 12. L. LICJNIUS CRASSUS (the Orator); L. Mucius SC^EVOLA (Pout. Max.). The Lex Licinhts Mitcia de civibus regundis gives occasion remotely to the Social war.* A.U. 660. B.C. 94. Cic. 13. C. CJISLITJS CALDUS J L, DOMITIUS AHENOBARBUS. C. Norbanus is accused of treason, after the expiration of his tribunate, by P . Sulpicius Rufus, but is defended by M. Antonius the Orator, and though guilty is acquitted. A.U. 661. B.C. 93. Cic. H . C. VALERIUS FLACCUS; M. HERENNIUS. L. Sulla is Praetor. Didius and P . Crassus triumph as conquerors of the two provinces of Spain. A.U. 662. B.C. 92. Cic. 15. C. CLAUDIUS PULCHER ; M. PERPERNA. L. Sulla, Propraetor in Asia, reinstates Ariobarzanes on the throne of Cappadocia, which country had been invaded by Mithridates, king of Pontus. A.U. 663. B.C. 91. Cic. 16. L. MARCIUS PHILIPPUS; SEXT. JULIUS CJESAR. M. Livius, Tribune of the people, excites disturbances by an attempt to revive the laws of the Gracchi. H e is Jailed while endeavouring to carry a law " de civitate sociis * [A&conhis in Cornel, p. 67. Gum summa cupiditate civitatis jRomana Italici populi tenerentur} et oh ill magna pars cor urn pro civibus liomanis so gereret, necessaria lex vis'a est, lit in sua quisque civitatis jus rcdigcrctur. Vcnim ca lege ita alienati sunt animi princvpum Ilalicorum populorum, ut ea vel maxima causa belli Italici, quod 2iost triennium exortum est, t'uerit.] B 4 8 L I F E AND L E T T E R S OP CICERO. clanda" This gives occasion to the war which breaks on in this year. Cicero places in this year the conversation which i contained in his books de Oratore. A t this time also die the orator Crassus, an event which is finely described ii 1 De Orat. iii. t h a t 12. a WOrk.1 Although Cicero occupied himself much with the art o pint,CTC2. poetry (his poem of Pontius Glaucus 2 is to be referred t< this period*), he did not withdraw himself from severe studies. A.U. 664. B.C. 90. Cic. 17. L. JULIUS CJESAB; P, RUTILIUS LUPUS. The social war is prosecuted with great vigour on botl sides. The Lex Julia gives the right of citizenship to the Latins and some cities of Etruria. Mithridates invades Cappadocia and Bithynia, but is driven back by the legates M \ Aquillius and Manilius Mancinus. 3 Brut. 88. In his Brutusz, Cicero says " Hortensiojlorente, Crassm est mortuus, Cotta pulsus, judicia intermissa helloy nos v$ forum venimus" Crassus died on the 20th September of * De orat. iii. the preceding year.4 C. Cotta was excluded from the Tribunate a few days after, and at the end of two months found himself compelled to leave the city. All this took place, therefore, at the end of the year 663, or in the beginning of 664 ; in which latter year the courts of justice were suspended. From this it appears probable that Cicero received the Toga Virilis in January of the year 664, on the completion of his sixteenth year, agree-, ably to custom, and that he began to attend the Forum at the commencement of his seventeenth year. His father now introduced him to the celebrated lawyer Quintus * Probably also his heroic poem in praise of Marhis. Be Legg. i. 1. A. u. 665. B. c. 89. c i o . 18. 9 Mucius Scaevola the Augur 1 , whom he never quitted. ' ^Amicit to x ' 1 ; Hrut. 81) After his death he first attached himself to the equally celebrated Pontifex Maximus of the same name. I t must have been at this time that Cicero translated the Phenomena and Prognostica of Aratus into Latin verse. We still possess some fragments of this composition.2 * lhNtL.L The Epic poem, of which Marius was the hero 3 , was l0^ mvin . certainly composed at a later period, but hardly posterior 47to the death of Sulla.* The Epicurean Phsedrus was the teacher of philosophy most beloved by Cicero in the earliest years of his education.4 \Ki>- M- -•; &• J Die. x m . 1. A.U. 665. B.C. 89. Cic. 18. CN. POMPEIUS STRABO ; L. PORTIUS CATO. The Lex Plautia Papiria confers the right of citizenship on the allied cities of Italy, with the exception of those of Samnium and Lucania. Meanwhile Mithridates has conquered and driven away Nicomedes, king of Bithynia. How various were the branches of education considered "necessary to the youth of Rome, with regard to their public duties alone, we gather from the fact, that Cicero this year performed military service in the Social war, and in the army of the Consul Cngeus Pompeius, whose sou was afterwards so famous. In one of the Philippics, he mentions a scene at which he was present in this war.f * Of Cicero's poetry Quintilian says, Carminibus utinam pepercisset, qzus non desierunt carpere maligni. Quint. Inst. Orat. xii. 1. 21. f [Memini colloquia et cum acerrimis kostibus et cum gravissime dissentientibus civibiis. Cn. Pompems Sexti filius, consul, me prcesente, cum essem tiro in ejus exercitu, cum P. Vettio Scato?ie, duce Marsorum, inter bina castra collocutus est. Quo quidem memini Sex. Pompeium, fratrem consulis, ad colloquium ipsum Roma venire; quern quum Scato salutasset, Quern te appellem? inquit. At ille, Voluntate hospitem, necessitate hostem. Erat in illo colloquio cequitas; nidlus timorf nulla suberat >suspicio ; mediocre etiam odium.—Philipp. xii. 11.] B 5 10 L I F E AND L E T T E R S OF CICERO. The duration of his service, however, was probably but Biui.w. short; for in his Brutus1, he says expressly, that in the year before the Consulate of Sulla and Pompeius (§§§\ he was diligently employed in the study of the civil lawunder the tuition of Scaevola. x A.U. 666. B.C. 88. Cic. 19. L. CORNELIUS SULLA; L. POMPEIUS RUFUS. The Social war is continued by L. Pompaedius Silo, who, however, is defeated, with the Samnite army, by Servius Sulpicius. Partly in consequence of this victory,* and partly also because the anxiety inspired by Mithridates induces the Romans to extend the franchise to all Jtaly, the war is brought to an end. The Consul Sulla is entrusted with the province of Asia, and with the prosecution of the Mithridatic war. The tribune P . Sulpicius obtains, by violent means, a decree for enrolling the new citizens among all the thirty-five tribes. He deprives Sulla of his province and command, and trans-* fers them both to Marius. Sulla flies to his army, leads it against Rome, and overthrows the Sulpician enactments. Sulpicius is killed. Marius and his son are proscribed, and take to flight. Sulla now marches against Mithridates, who has made himself master of nearly the whole province of Asia. In this year the Academician Philo, with many Athenians of distinction flying from the disturbances consequent upon the Mithridatic war, comes to Rome, where Cicero devotes himself entirely to him, having embraced the study of philosophy with great ardour, since the ordia Jirut.B9.i nary forms of judicial process seemed to be entirely i,%.;ddMu. destroyed. 2 Meanwhile the harangues of the Tribune Sulpicius, which he heard daily, were important to him A. u. 667. B. c. 87. c i c . 20. 11 from the insight they gave him into the arts of Demal Bi ut 89 gogues.* l ' A. U. 667. B. C. 87. Oic. 20. CN. OCTAVIUS ; L. CORNELIUS CINNA. Archelaus, the admiral of Mithridates, was received with joy in Athens. Whilst Sulla consumes the whole year in the siege of this city and its harbours, the Consul Cinna follows out the designs of Sulpicius, but is expelled from Rome by his colleague Octavius, who stands at the head of the Optimates. Cinna raises an army in the south of Italy, joins Marius, and returns with him to Rome. In the proscription that follows, among other distinguished men, the orators M. Antonius, Q. Catulus, and C. Julius, are cruelly murdered. 2 Cicero's lamenta- *r>rut. so. tion on this event merits attention. 3 H e himself was 3 D& omt m. 3. destined to experience the fate of M. Antonius, at the hands of the murdered man's grandson. During this period of terror, Cicero remained quiet, and (attended the lessons of the rhetorician Molo, of Rhodes, actorem summarn causarum et magis&um.4 In order to l nmt. 89,90. perfect his style, he also continued to make translations from the Greek, as, for instance, from the CEconomicus of s Xenophon. 5 *>* Q^n. 24. A.U. 668. B.C. 86. Cic. 21. L. CORNELIUS CINNA I I . ; C. MARIUS VII. Sulla reduces Athens on the 1st of March. Afterwards he defeats the army of Mithridates, at Chasronea. Marius * [Cicero himself throws no such disparagement upon them. His words are, Turn Sulpicii in tribunatu quotidie concionantis totum genus dioendi penitus cognovimus. Notwithstanding the defection of Sulpicius from tho ranks of the Optimates, Cicero always speaks of his oratorical powers with the highest admiration. Seo particularly, do Orat. i. 29.; iii. 8 ; do Har. resp. 19.; Brut. 49. 55.] » 0 12 LIFE AND LETTERS OF CICERO. dies at the beginning of the year. The Consul substituted in his place, L. Valerius Flaccus, goes to Greece in order to extort the command from Sulla, who had already begun to treat with Archelaus. About this time Cicero began to write upon the theory of the art of speaking, and it was perhaps as early as this that he composed the books de Inventione (more correctly Rhetorica), of which, at a later period, he disapproved. He is believed to speak of these in the de Orat i. 2. [ Quce pueris aut adolescentulis nobis ex commentariolis nostris inchoata de medio conciderunt.~\ They form the beginning of a more comprehensive work, which, however, was never completed.* A.U. 669. B.C. 85. Cic. 22. L. CORNELIUS CINNA I I I . ; CN. PAPIBIUS CARBO. The consuls prepare at Rome for a contest with Sulla. Many of the principal inhabitants fly to Greece to join him. Flaccus being killed by his mutinous soldiery, C. Fimbria conducts the war against Mithridates, on th^ part of the Marians, and with success. A. U. 670. 3. 0. 84. Cic. 23. CN. PAPIRIUS CARBO I I . ; L. CORNELIUS CINNA IV. The Consul Cinna being about to sail to Asia, to * See Ersch and Griiber's Encycl. art. Cicero, pp. 207, 208., which contains also the judgment of the learned on the four books ad Herennium which were formerly ascribed by some to Cicero. Hand, the writer of this article, esteems it probable that these books and those de Inventione, which have much in common, are mutually borrowed from a teacher's compendium, the teacher being some Latin.rhetorician; the books ad Herennium he supposes, from iv. 54., to be composed after the other. Schiitz, in his Prolegomena to Cicero's Rhetorical Works, imagines that they may be attributed to Gruipho. (Suet, de cl. Gramm. 7.) [The English reader is referred upon this and similar questions to Prof. Ramsay's article on Cicere in Smith's Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography.] A.u. 671. B.O. 83. cic. 24. 13 oppose Sulla, is put to death by his soldiers at Ancona. Sulla concludes a peace with Mithridates in Asia, and then passes over into Greece. Cicero prosecutes his studies with great diligence. H e applies himself in particular to Dialectics 1 under t h e 1 tuition of the Stoic Diodotus, whom he takes into his own house (where Diodotus afterwards died 2 ). H e never * passed a day without exercising himself in oratory. He declaimed chiefly in Greek, but occasionally also in his mother tongue. A . U . 671. L. B . C . 83. CORNELIUS SCIPIO ; C. Cic. 24. J U L I U S NORBANUS. Sulla lands at Brundisium, the Consuls with Sertorius and the younger Marius having meanwhile assembled a powerful army against him. H e defeats the Consul Norbanus at Canusium; the army of Scipio goes over to him, and Pompeius brings him troops which he has raised ift' Picenum. The Capitol is struck by lightning and consumed. A. U . 672. B. C. 82. Cic. 25. C. M A R I U S ; C N . P A P I R I U S CARBO III. Sulla is completely victorious over the Marians, in Italy, while Pompeius, taking his side, defeats Carbo in Gaul, and captures and puts him to death in Sicily ; (the following year Pompeius is in Africa, where he conquers Cn. Domitius Ahenobarbus). The Consul Marius, son of C. Marius, at the age of twenty-six, kills himself in Proeneste, and this city surrenders. Sulla proscribes the Marians, and is made dictator for life. Pompeius becomes his son-in-law. 14 L I F E AND L E T T E R S OE CICERO. A.U. 673. B.C. 81. Cic. 26. M. TUIXIUS DECULA; CN. CORNELIUS DOLABELLA. Brut. 90. Leges etjudicia constituta ; recuperata respuhlica} Sulla restores the judicia to the senate; limits the power of the Tribunes ; triumphs over Mithridates. About this time Cicero makes his first appearance as a legal advocate ; he delivers in causa privata the speech for P . Quintius which we still possess. A. U. 674. 13. C. 80. L. CORNELIUS SULLA I I . ; Cic. 27. Q,. C^ECILIUS METELLUS PIUS. Nola surrenders, having been till now defended by the Samnites ; and thus the civil war is ended. Sulla founds twenty-three colonies for his veterans. Sertorius maintains the Marian cause in Spain. Pompeius triumphs over Hiarbas of Numidia, who had given assistance to Domitius. Cicero defends Sextus Roscius of Ameria, accused of parricide. Prima causa publica, pro Sex. Rondo dicing tantum commendationis habuit, ut non ulla esset, qua non *n>vt.w. digna nostro patrocinio videretur.2 We are in possession of this speech, and the treatise de Off. ii. 14. may be referred to in proof of its boldness.* * [" Cicero's courage in defending and obtaining the acquittal of Roscius, under the circumstances in which it was undertaken, was applauded by the whole city. By this public opposition to the avarice of the agent of Sulla, who was then in the plenitude of his power, and by the energy with which he resisted the oppressive proceeding, he fixed his character for a fearless and zealous patron of the injured, as much as for an accomplished orator,; The defence of Roscius, which acquired him so much reputation in his" youth, was remembered by him with such delight in his old age, that he recommends to his son, as the surest path to true honour, to defend those who are unjustly oppressed, as he himself had done in many causes, but particularly in that of Roscius of Ameria, whom he had protected against Sulla himself in the height of his authority."—Dunlop, Hist, of Bom. Lit. ii. 279.] A. u. 675. B.C. 79. cic. 29. 15 To the same epoch should perhaps be referred the speech for the murderer Varrenus, who, however, was not acquitted. W e have only fragments of it. Cicero again attends the Rhodian Molo, who was come as ambassador from his city, to procure from the senate a l reward for its fidelity.1 Brut oo A. U. G75. B. 0. 79. Cic. 29. L. SEKVILIUS VATIA ; APPIUS CLAUDIUS PUI CILEU. Sulla resigns the dictatorship. A t this time, or at all events before his journey into Greece, Cicero defended the cause of a woman of Arretium, who had been refused the enjoyment of complete citizenship, against Cotta, the most renowned advocate of the day. 2 Here, as in the defence of Roscius, he exposed *P/vCivc.23 himself to the displeasure of Sulla; for the suit was connected with the circumstance of Sulla having deprived the Arretines of the right of Roman civitas. After this Cicero took a journey into Greece, not, as Plutarch asserts 3 , from fear of Sulla, for his speech in 3riut. cic 3. favour of Roscius is a proof to the contrary, but in order to perfect himself in his art, and to acquire a manner of delivery which might adapt itself to his want of bodily vigour.*4 H e came to Athens, and first devoted himself *Bmt.di. for six months to philosophy, under Antiochus of Ascalon, * [Erat co tempore in nobis summa gracilitas et infirmitas corporis; procerum et tcnue collum: qui habitus et quce figura non procul abcsse mriatur a viue periculo si acccdit labor et laterum magna contentio. Eoque magis hoc eos quibus eram cants commovebat, quod omnia sine remissione, sine varietate, vi summa vocis et totius corporis contentione dicebam. Itaque quum me et amici et medici hortarentur, ut causas agere desistercm, quodvis potius periculum mihi adeundum quam a spirata diccndi g?o>ia disccdeoidum putavi. Scd quum censcrem remissione et modcratiouc vocis, et commutatogenere dicendi, me et periculum vitarep>osse et tempcratius dieere, ut consuetudinem dicendi mutarem ea causa mihiiu Asiam proficisccndi fwit. \ 16 L I F E AND LETTERS OP CICEBO. itfr«*.i.c; the most eminent teacher of the old academy.1 F-lut. Ctc. 4. . . . . His . brother Quintus, his cousin Lucius, and T* Pomponius *DeF(n.v.i. Atticus studied there with him.2 At the same time he sjfoitf.i.c. practised oratory under Demetrius Syrus. 3 He also attended the lectures of the Epicureans Zeno and Phasdrus, in order to gain a deeper insight into their system, and «^i)tf!V».i.5.)for the sake of Atticus, who attached himself to it.4 A.IT. 676. B.C. 78. Cio. 29. M. JEMILIUS LEPIDUS ; Q. LUTATIUS CATULUS. Sulla dies at the age of sixty. The consul, M. Lepidus, attempts to change his ordinances, but is prevented by his colleague, and retires to his province of Transalpine Gaul, where he threatens war. Q. Metellus carries on war against Sertorius, who has well nigh succeeded in establishing an independent kingdom in Spain. Cicero travels through Asia, and practises his art under Menippus of Stratonice, at that time the most famous orator of that country ; at the same time he visits Dionysius of Magnesia, iEschylus of Cnidus, and Xenocles of Adramyttium, whom he reckons amongst the best rhetori* Brut. 9i. cians of Asia.5 After this he practises once more under Molo of Rhodes, with whose assistance he rids himself of the youthful exaggeration and redundancy of ornament «Brut* i. c which still adhered to his style.6 He attends also at > DeNat. Rhodes the Stoic Posidonius.7 Plut. Cic> 4. A.U. 677. B.C. 77. Cic. 30. D. JUNIUS BRUTUS ; MAM. JEMILIUS LEPIDUS. At the Milvian bridge, Q. Catulus, as proconsul, defeats M. Lepidus, who was marching against Rome. Defeated a second time in Etruria, he is compelled to retreat into Sardinia, where he soon after dies* A portion of his A . u . 678. B.C. 76. cic. 31. 17 army goes over to Sertorius, in Spain. Pompeius is sent thither, equal in authority with Metellus, but at first is not successful. Cicero returns to Rome, non modo exercitatior, sed prope mutatusy physically as well as mentally. 1 At that time l £r«*. 91. Cotta and Hortensius were distinguishing themselves beyond all other orators* in Rome. 2 The latter was eight 2srut. 91. years older than Cicero. In this year, probably, Cicero married Terentia; a person, apparently, of good family. Her sister Fabia was 3 one of the vestal Virgins. 3 Ascon. at ° Or. in Togt cand. A.U. 678. B.C. 76. Cic. 31. CN. OCTAVIUS ; C. SCRIBONIUS CURIO. Sertorius, supported by the inhabitants of the country, holds out valiantly in Spain against Metellus and Pompeius. The Tribunes, especially Sicinius, endeavour to Tecover the powers of which Sulla had deprived them. The Consuls and the Senate resist them. Sicinius is slain in a tumult. Cicero delivers several orations 4 , and among others4Brut.$2. one, which is still extant, in defence of Roscius the comedian, from whom, as well as from the tragedian ^Esopus, he had taken lessons in delivery.5 Then, having arrived 3 piut. ck. at the age fixed by law {anno suo*), he is appointed * [These words are not quoted from Cicero, but are Abeken's own explanation. Wex, in the Rhein. Mus. 1844, translated in the Class. Mus. No. 10., supposes the phrase to refer to the statutable interval between the different offices, rather than the age at which each might be held. It is not clear what was the statutable age for each of the great offices under the republic ; but if, according to the analogy of the offices in the municipia, which is ascertained from the tabula Heracleensis, the cctas qucestoria was thirty years "complete, Cicero became quaestor at the earliest time allowed by law, being in his thirty-first year (complete all but three days) on Jan. 1, 679. He afterwards entered upon the sedileship, prsetorship, and 18 L I F E AND LETTEES OF CICEEO. Quaestor, and the province of Lilybaeum, in Sicily, falls to i Brut. i. c. him by lot. Hortensius obtains the JEdileship.1 A.U. 679. B.C. 75. Cic. 32. L . OCTAVIUS ; C. AtJRELIUS COTTA. The Tribunes recover the right of suing for the chief magistracies. Bithynia, bequeathed to the Romans by its King Mithridates, is constituted a province. P . Servilius annexes Cilicia to the Republic by force of arms. The contest with Sertorius is continued. Mithridates prepares to renew the war. Cicero administers the quaestor's/?* verr. ship under the Prsetor Sext. Peducseus.2 Act. 2. lib. v. r 14.; Brut. 29. A. U. 680. B. C. 74. Cic. 33. L. LICINIUS LUCULLUS ; M. AURELIUS COTTA. Mithridates invades Asia with a large force. The war against him is entrusted to the consul Lucullus by land, and to his colleague by sea. Metellus and Pompeius are almost compelled by Sertorius to abandon Spain. Mithridates besieges Cyzicus, but is blockaded by Lucullus. Cicero returns to Rome 3 Pro pianc. from Sicily. 3 2G, 27. A.U. 681. B.C. 73. Cic. 34. M. TERENTIUS VARRO ; C. CASSIUS VARUS. Mithridates, having lost nearly the whole of his army by consulship in succession, in his thirty-seventh, fortieth, and forty-third year respectively ; and as he speaks of these as being held each nostro anno, we may deduce from them both the legal intervals and the legal age. The consular age he fixes to the forty-third year by a passage in his Philipp. v. 17.: Macedo Alexander nonne tertio et vicesimo anno mortem obiit quce est cetas nostris legihus decern minor quam consularis. The Lex ViUia Annalis which assigned these epochs was A. u. 574. But that this law was not strictly adhered to appears from the case of Julius Cassar, who was born 655, praetor 692, set. 37, consul 695, ast. 40.] A.u. 682. B.C. 72. cic. 35. 19 famine, flies to the sea, where his fleet is destroyed by a storm. The Servile war breaks out in Italy, under the conduct of Spartacus. C. Verres, in this and the two next years, carries on, as Propraetor, his maladministration of Sicily. Cicero, during the same period, is actively enengaged in the Forum. A. tJ. 682. B. C. 72. Cic. 35. L. GELLIUS POPLICOLA ; CN. CORNELIUS LENTULUS CLODIANUS. Successes of Spartacus. Sertorius is murdered by his mutinous soldiers, after maintaining himself for eight years. Perperna, succeeding to his position, is overcome and killed by Pompeius. Lucullus enters Pontus, and besieges Amisus. Cotta besieges Heraclea. A.U. 683. B.C. 71. Cic. 36. CN. AUFIDIUS ORESTES ; P. CORNELIUS LENTULUS SURA. M. Crassus, as Praetor, is successful against the slaves. Spartacus is slain, and the remnant of his followers destroyed soon afterwards by Pompeius, on his return from Spain. M. Antonius (father of the Triumvir), abusing the authority committed to him for the defence of the coast, is defeated by the Cretans and slain. Lucullus, having left Murena behind at Amisus, engages Mithridates in Cappadocia. He is unsuccessful at first; but defeats the enemy while making his retreat. Triumph of Metellus and Pompeius over Spain. A.U. 684. B.C. 70. Cic. 37. M. LICINIUS CRASSUS ; CN. POMPEIUS MAGNUS Qegibus solutus *). The consuls restore the tribunitian power. By the * [Pompeius was exempted from the Lex Annalls, and became consul in his thirty-seventh year, having served none of the curule magistracies, and 20 L I F E AND LETTERS OF CICERO. Lex Aurelia, the Senate, the Knights, and the serarian Tribunes acquire equal participation in the Judicia publico,. Lucullus takes Amisus and Sinope, together with some other cities. Cotta reduces Heraclea, and gives it up to plunder. Mithridates flies to Tigranes, king of Armenia, at that time ruler of the greatest part of Syria. Cicero, elected ^Edile, impeaches Verres as patron of the Sicilians; thus, for the first and only time, appearingv in the character of accuser. By his speech entitled Divinatioy he succeeded in setting aside another accuser in the person of Q, Caecilius, and thus got the entire management of the cause into his own hands. He placed great confidence in his oratorical skill, which he considered now to 1 Brut. 92. have attained its maturity. 1 He made a journey into Sicily in order to prepare for this most important process, and visited every part of the island. On the 7th of August he opened the cause, in a speech of which we only possess the introduction, briefly pointing out the crimes of Verres. The accused, being deserted by his patron Hortensius, suddenly withdrew into voluntary exile; and Cicero, for his own justification, detailed his charges at 3 orator. 29. length in five books,* which are still extant. 2 62 • In this year Virgil was born. A. II. 685. B. C. 69. Cic. 38. Q. HORTENSIUS ; Q. C^CILIUS METELLUS CRETICUS. Lucullus crosses the Euphrates, and besieges Tigranocerta, the capital of Tigranes. The latter advances to its relief, and is signally defeated. Tigranocerta is taken. The temple of Jupiter Capitolinus having been rebuilt, is dedicated by Q. Catulus. not obtained thereby a place in the Senate : adhuc Romanus eques.—Lucan, Phars. vii. init. He was born A. u. 648, in the same year as Cicero, but nine months later.] A.u. 685. B.C. 69. cic. 38. 21 Cicero, being JEdile this year, gives the customary games in a style of moderate display.1 H e defends M. \[r.°^u/^ Fonteius, accused on the ground of illegal conduct in the i u 17province of Gaul. W e possess fragments only of this speech. Probably to this year also belongs the speech for Csecina in causa civili; and also that for P . Oppius. [The speech for M. Tullius is assigned by Dvumann, Gesch. ^Roms, v. 258., to A. u. 683, B. C. 71.] BOOK I. LETTERS OF CICERO, WRITTEN BEFORE HIS CONSULATE, IN THE TEAKS 686 TO 689. CICERO ASPIRING TO POLITICAL EMINENCE. BOOK I. SURVEY OF HISTORICAL EVENTS. A. U. 686. B. C. 68. CiC 39. L. C^CILIUS METELLUS ; Q. MARCUS REX. L U C U L L U S besieging Artaxata is stopped in his opera^ tions by a mutiny in his camp. He retreats, takes Nisibis, and, whilst he remains there in winter quarters, Mithridates reconquers Lesser Armenia. The Proconsul Q. Metellus subdues Crete. Cicero's letters begin with this year, A.U. 687. B.C. 67. &o. 40. C. CALPURNIUS PISO ; M'. ACILIUS GLABRIO. Mithridates enters Pontus, defeats the legate Triarius, and resumes possession of his kingdom. Lucullus turns his arms against Tigranes, but is deserted by his army on the approach of his newly appointed successor, the Consul M \ Glabrio. The soldiers, however, refuse to obey Glabrio likewise, and he gives proofs of incapacity. The Tribune Gabinius passes a law conferring on Pompeius, who was then in Asia, the command of the war against the Pirates, with very extensive powers. A.U. 688. B.C. 66. Cic. 41. M. JEMILIUS LEPIDUS ; L. VOLGATIUS TULLUS. This war with the pirates, begun only in the spring, is c 26 L I F E AND L E T T E R S OF CICERO. brought to a speedy conclusion in the summer. In accordance with the lex Manilia, Pompeius now receives the command of the Mithridatic war, and the aspect of affairs soon changes. Mithridates, defeated on the banks of the Euphrates, at the place called afterwards Nicopolis, takes refuge in Colchis. Tigranes submits to Pompeius and recovers his kingdom with some diminution. In this year Cicero was Praetor. A. U. 689. B. C. 65. Cio. 42. L . AUREUUS COTTA ; L . MANLIUS ToRQUATUS. Pompeius pursues Mithridates, who retires to his kingdom on the Bosphorus. He conquers the Albanians. He then returns to Pontus, which he constitutes a province. Deiotarus, Tetrarch in Galatia, receives the Lesser Armenia. Horace is born this year. The eleven letters of Cicero which have come down to us, belonging to this period, are all addressed to his friend Atticus, who was then residing partly in Epirus, where he possessed considerable estates in the neighbourhood of Buthrotum, partly in his favourite city of Athens. He was in the latter place in the year with which these letters l £/>..i,3. commence.1 The Commonwealth was approaching nearer and nearer to the catastrophe which was destined to subject it to the dominion of a single man, the ambitious Caesar, marked but alike by nature and circumstances to be the ruler of Rome. Pompeius was as yet unconscious 2 A.u.r»84. that, by the measure of his first Consulate 2 ' in favour of, the Tribunes, whose importance had been so much diminished by Sulla, he had restored to them a power which his greater adversary would one day turn to his destruction. In the year 686 the reverses experienced by : Lucullus in Asia gave scope to.the rising popularity A. u. 689. B.C. 65. e r a 42. 27 of lEompeiiis, who had already, in early life, received from Sulla the surname of "the Great" and who, up to this period, and long after, might well be designated the child o£J&>rtune. The law of the Tribune Gabinius had already invested him with command over the entire Mediterranean, together with the coasts far inland, to enable him to prosecute with vigour the war against the pirates, who at that time disturbed the peace and welfare of the State. The following year, this authority received yet further extension, the conduct of operations against Mithridates being entrusted to him by the law of another Tribune, Manilius. The Tribunes had indeed every motive for gratitude towards one who was the restorer of their power, and from whom there was yet much to hope; while for the same reason, Hortensius, Catulus, and other chiefs of the Senate set themselves to oppose the measure.1 Cicero, however,1 PH>LCI who was at that time Praetor, and Caesar also, exerted all compare Cass xxx their influence in its support; and Cicero's speech on the20occasion proves that Pompeius could have wished for no ^fibler patron. In fact, it was on Pompeius that Cicero ^rested his own hopes of advancement, of whom he says in his speech, that the gods had bestowed him on the Born an world by an act of special favour. He was drawn towards Pompeius by a feeling of personal attachment, which, ill as it was often requited, frequent as were the shocks it sustained, was yet never wholly extinguished in him. Moreover, he regarded him as a main support of the public welfare; and great indeed was the military lustre by which at that time Pompeius was surrounded. The restoration of the tribunitian power, it is true, could not have given Cicero any satisfaction; for his utmost efforts had been directed to bind the equestrian and senatorial ranks more closely together, in order to counterbalance the influence c 2 2& L I F E AND LETTERS OF CICERO, of the people, and he had highly approved of the law of » A. u. 6sr. L . Roscius Otho *, which gave the knights reserved seats 2 p>o Mur, of honour in the theatre. 2 He might, besides, already fore" see, that Pompeius would have no power to crush the Tribunes, should they eventually turn against him, Thi8 is intimated in the grounds he subsequently adduces in favour of the restorer of the tribunitian power, against the arguments of his brother Quintus, in his book De * D^Leg. M-Leyibus3; but he there suppresses the circumstance that the assistance of the Tribunes and of the people was necessary to Pompeius for his own advancement. Cicero's principles, however, were perhaps not fixed before the period of his Consulate; and it is certain that in many instances he courted the people as long as that highest dignity was still the object of his ambition. He was besides well assured that, should an open struggle again take place between the people and the men of wealth and consideration, Pompeius would stand on the side of those who still cherished a sense of the ancient dignity of the Repub(^Vn84n ^c*4 ^ n * s conviction he did in effect see justified at jy later period, but under circumstances which must needs'^ have overthrown the hopes he had built upon it. Meanwhile, in judging of the speech in support of Manilius, we must not forget that Pompeius was in truth the man whom Rome then needed for the successful termination of the war against Mithridates. Lucullus had been deserted by his soldiers, and was hated by the democrats in Rome, Mithridates and Tigranes were again in possession of their states, and as powex-ful as ever, whilst Glabrio, who had been appointed by the Senate in the preceding year to succeed Lucullus, and was now in Asia, was no match for them. But Pompeius, present there in the full eplendour of .his fame, and idolized by his army, wTas regarded as a sure pledge of victory. A. u. 689. B.C. 65, cic. 42. 29 The eleven letters of this period contain nothing relating to public aiFairs, with the exception of the measures taken by Cicero in his suit for the Consulship. To this object he was impelled by his natural aspirations for greatness, with which was closely associated his love for his country; and these motives were powerful enough to outweigh the distaste for public life produced by the progressive de^ terioration of the age, and his strong predilection for ease and for literary occupations. The strength of this latter feeling is vividly depicted in the letters above referred to. " Sell," he writes to Atticus 1 , in the year 687, "sell tol£/>.7,3. 9 . none but me the books you have had transcribed; keep them, as you have promised, for me alone. .Books I love above all things, and I begin to loathe public affairs. It is scarcely credible how much these have changed for the worse during the short period of your absence." We need not here stop to describe in what this general deterioration consisted, and how by cabals and intrigues all the relations of the State had become so disorganized, that it jyas no longer possible, by law, to check the licence, rapine and violence universally prevailing. The tale has often been told, and the collective letters of Cicero furnish the most striking evidence of the corruption of the times in which they were written. This corruption is peculiarly apparent in the administration of justice: how for this had gone, is proved by the law, issued in the year 687, by the Tribune C. Cornelius, which was the foundation of the edicta perpetual This Tribune, already noted as the author of a law against bribery in canvassing, and for his endeavours to check the practice of usury in the provinces, had shortly * Namely, that the Praetors should not deviate in the administration of civil law from the form promulgated by themsehes on their entrance into office. Ascon. in Cornel, p. 58. j. Orell., Dio Cass, xxxvi. 23. c 3 (-M. i. no 30 L I F E AND LETTERS OF CICERO. before struck at the heart'of the nobles, by an edict enacting that the power of suspending the laws in particular cases, hitherto arbitrarily wielded by the Senate, should in future be exercised only with the consent of the people. This, in fact, had been the original rule ; but of late so far had the abuse gone, that a small number of senators only was deemed sufficient to decree the suspension of a law. We are astonished to find that, in the year 689, this same Cornelius was accused of treason. Hortensius, L. Catulus, L. Lucullus, Metellus Pius and M. Lepidus gave testimony against him, and this under pretence of upholding the tribunitian power, to which it was said Cornelius had given a blow. We see to what means the aristocrats were forced to resort, in order to support themselves against the growing strength of the demagogues. Cornelius no doubt had aroused their apprehensions. Cicero defended him for four successive days, and afterwards published his defence in two treatises (actiones*), mentioned both by himi Quint, iwt. self and by Quintilian with great praise.1 But we are ell' oa ; 6 ^mpted to ask whether Cicero, after he had gained thg 7 70 Consulship, would not rather have ranged himself on the side of the Tribune's opponents. In his speech against Vatinius, he certainly gives us to understand that his defence contributed greatly to the successful issue of hik a 3 In Valin. 2. Own £f i7'!! Sllit.2 He had now practical experience of the cabals by which the candidates for public office were harassed. He thus complains, in the year when he was preparing to solicit for the Pra3torship: " No people in Rome are more worried in these clays than the candidates; every kind of injustice is permitted towards them." 3 We need only call to mind Unfortunately these are lost, with the exception of a few fragments preserved by Asconius. The argument, as given by this commentator, is a very important document. A. u. 689. B.C. 65. cic. 42. 31 the wealth amassed in Italy by so many conquests, and confined to si few possessors only, together with the violence and rapacity of the provincial governors*; it is well known, also, in what condition Lucullus found Asia but a few years before.f How fatally these evils must have reacted upon Rome, is evident; nor can we fail to perceive, that the needy and licentious multitude must have become continually an easier instrument in the hands of the rich and powerful, while the misleaders themselves could have been no better than the misled. And even thus does Cicero at the outset describe l the * Ep 7,2. stage on which we are to see him feel, think, act and suffer, Numerous letters, and those to Atticus especially, evince more powerfully than even his books and speeches, how painfully he felt the diseased state of his country. He was grieved also to find that, in order to accomplish ends which were, generally speaking, pure and noble, he had to make common cause with men for the most part greatly his inferiors, sometimes even with such as were utterly worthless; a circumstance from which alone the impossibility of his success might have been augured. * From numerous passages it is sufficient to select a single one referring ^to this period. See pro Leg. Manil. 22.; comp. 13. f [See Plut. Lucul. iv. 7. 20. " Lucullus now turned to the cities of Asia, in order that, while he had leisure from military operations, he might pay some attention to justice and the law, which the provinces had now felt the want of for a long time ; and the people had endured unspeakahle and incredible calamities, being plundered and reduced to slavery by the puhlicani and the money-lenders, so that individuals were compelled to "sell their handsome sons and virgin daughters, and the cities to sell their sacred offerings, pictures, and statues. The lot of the citizens was at last to be condemned to slavery themselves Such evils as these Lucullus discovered in the cities, and in a short time he relieved the sufferers from all of them The lenders, however, considered themselves very ill used, and they raised an outcry against Lucullus at Komc, and endeavoured to bribe some of the demagogues to attack him, &c."] c 4 32 LIFE AND LETTERS OF CICERO. In order to form an unprejudiced judgment of the Roman world at this time, we must always bear in mind the vast, we may say unwieldy, proportions which the State had by degrees obtained* Now, when Rome had pressed forward victoriously in the south, east, and west, and when she had tested the feebleness of the princes of Africa, and when Asiatic despots with all their pomp bowed down before her, was it to be wondered at, that a Roman general or senator, a proconsul, or even a legate, should feel himself exalted above the level of kings ? The Roman citizen had become a prince, and issued his commands with an authority more unlimited than that of our monarchs. Cato himself thought it but reasonable that Antioch should greet him as a king when he entered it on foot, although the honour was one he despised for its own sake. He was only displeased that the city should have lavished a similar mark of respect upon a freedman of > piut. cat. Pompeius. 1 We shall see in the course of our narrative, with what dignity Cicero's office as proconsul entitled him to appear before the ruler of Cappadocia, and other^ princes. The wealth which was now poured into Rome exceeds all our ideas: it ministered to an unbounded luxury and ostentation; for the Roman was destitute of that fine sense of art and proportion which characterized the Greeks ; it ministered, above all, to the ambitious efforts of individuals to acquire power and sovereignty. The circumstance that commerce was held to be dishonourable explains why the whole trade of Rome was transacted by foreigners, while the hoards amassed by knights and senators through extortion and plunder were withdrawn from all the channels by which production is stimulated, and the common stores of mankind increased. We must not, however, leave unnoticed the brighter side of A i. \0) e Comp. (MY'T u) J n ^ ^ S S P 0 ^ s o favoured by nature, as often as his public duties permitted, Gicero forgot for a while, amidst his literary avocations, the evils of the State, and the cares under the pressure of which he had to maintain and advance his position there. The sixth letter of our collection, written in 687, is * [DignitciSy in the Roman sense, is the consideration a man enjoys among his fellow citizens for his political importance. Otium cun* dignitate is, therefore, " an honourable retirement."] | Cicero alludes to the books which Atticus caused his slaves to copy. His friend kept skilful slaves, and understood how to turn their industry to his pecuniary advantage. Corn. Nep. Vit. Att. 13. A. u. 689. B. c. 65. cic. 42. 35 dated from thence. In this year he was chosen Praetor for the next ensuing ; and so great was his reputation with the people and their leaders, that when the comitia were thrice held for the election of Praetors, and twice came to no result, on account probably of the tumults excited by the law of the Tribune C. Cornelius, although his competitors were men of great consideration, he was each time unanimously placed first.1 In this office it was his busi-» pto LeSe. ness to inquire into the illegal proceedings of the provin- J> \;'^'« 67c cial governors.2 ' •>• ' I n t h e ninth letter h e makes mention of C. Macer, PJS/.V" who, being t h u s accused under Cicero's prcetorian auspices, w-o'co, n. up. was condemned in spite of t h e intercession of Crassus. H e thus writes t o A t t i c u s 3 : " I have b r o u g h t t h e business 3 KP. 9,2. of C . Macer to a n end, w i t h t h e m a r k e d approbation of ' the people. I have done h i m strict justice ; nevertheless, by his condemnation, I have excited so strong a feeling in my favour as far to outweigh any benefit I might have looked for from himself, had I acquitted him." * In the vsame letter he mentions his speech for the Manilian law, by far the most important of those he delivered as Praetor. It has given occasion to the charge of flattery against him; and it must be owned that it exhibits him as an unscrupulous panegyrist of Pompeius; but to form an opinion of a man's character from his political speeches is even more unsafe than to judge of a poet's morals from his works. However, it is not our object to represent Cicero * Plutarch (Cic. 9.) relates that Macer, confident in his own influence and that of his relative Crassus, had laid aside his mourning garb before the case was decided, and thought fit to present himself in the Forum in ordinary habiliments. Crassus had there met him with the tidings of his condemnation, upon which he had betaken himself to his house, fallen sick, and died of fear and mortification. Valerius Maximus (ix. 12.) tells the story differently. On Macer's character as an orator see Cic. Brat G7. c 6 36 L I F E AND LETTERS OF CICERO. as spotless; the progress of our work will prevent any such misapprehension. While still Praetor, he defended (in a speech now extant) A. Cluentius Avitus, who had been, accused before the Praetor Q. Naso of poisoning his father-in-law. His defence of M. Fundanius also occurred in this year; and shortly before the close of his PraetorshipJ that of the already disgraced Tribune Manilius, who was accused of rapine and extortion. This latter process, however, was interrupted by the disturbances attendant on the entry of the new Consuls into office.* In the midst of his constant occupations in the Forum, Cicero found time to attend the school of oratory held by M, Antonius i suet, de Gnipho.f l uiamm.i. The cause of the above-mentioned disturbances was as follows: —In the year 688, P . Autronius and P . Sulla had been nominated Consuls, but being convicted of bribery, they were not admitted to the office ; L. Cotta and L. Torquatus being chosen in their place. P . Autronius allied himself with L. Catilina and some others for the purpose of assassinating their successful competitors. Catilina was at that time excluded from the right of suing for the Consulship, lying as he did under a charge of malversation in his province.^ Crassus and Caesar were also suspected of collusion with the conspirators; the former, it was said, was to have been made dictator by them, and the latter his master of the horse. The plan failed, having been twice very near execution; but * Plut. Cic. 9. Comp. Bio Cass, xxxvi. 27. The latter differs considerably from the former. But the way in which Plutarch narrates the circumstance seems quite natural, and corresponds with Cicero's relation to Pompeius. Dio is notorious for his bitter hostility to Cicero. t The defence of C. Corn. Gallus, of which we have only some fragments remaining, belongs to the year 689. \ Catilina had been Praetor in Africa, A.U. 687, A.u. 689. B.C. 65. cic. 42. 37 it nourished in Catilina the rage and hatred which broke out afterwards under the Consulate of Cicero.* Having filled the office of Prretor, Cicero had claims to the administration of a province: but this object did not lie so near his heart as the attainment of his Consulate; and being a homo novus, it was requisite for his success that he should not leave Rome. 1 In the capital alone i pro Mur. could his distinguished talents be of service to him; and he felt besides a deep concern for the welfare of his country, together with a proud and well founded confidence in himself, which led him to hope that he might ward off, or at least suspend for a while, the ruin that threatened it. Accordingly, in the year 689, he began to sue for the Consulship; not that he would have been able to hold this office in the following year, for it was necessary that two years at least should intervene between the Pra3torship and the Consulship; but it was usual for the candidate for the supreme dignity to show himself familiarly among the citizens of Rome the year before his regular and formal solicitation, and to strive to recommend himself to them.f I n the tenth letter we find this practice noticed.2 From 2 EP^°. . (Ju.i.l.) it we discover how much confidence (and justly, as the issue proved) Cicero placed in the favour of the people, as well as the measures which he took for attaining his object. Other circumstances were propitious to him besides the afFection of the citizens.3 Catilina, the most enter- 3 Pro Mur. 20. prising of his competitors, had been impeached by P . Clodius: his guilt was manifest, and therefore, although Crassus, and Cassar, then iEdile, supported him iu this second application for the Consulship, there was nothing * Sail Cat 18, 19.-, Suet. Jul. 9.; Dio Cass, xxxvi. 27. According to Sallust, Autronius alone of the rejected Consuls was in the conspiracy, Suetonius and Dio Cass, include Sulla also. Comp. Liv. JEpit. ci, f This was called prensatio, " shaking hands*" 38 LIFE AND LETTERS OF CICERO. really to be apprehended from him. The other candidates gave him little uneasiness; not even excepting C. Antonius, who also enjoyed the favour of Crassus and Caesar, and who did in fact eventually become his colleague, as he had previously been both in the JEdileship and the Proctorship. He describes many of his supposed competitors as men of little consideration. It is worth while to remark the wish he expresses that Thermus (by adoption C. Marcius Figulus'*) might be chosen Consul for the year next ensuing ; because he was the most likely to stand in his light, having made himself very popular by the repair of the Flaminian Way, a work now approaching its completion. When we read in what disparaging terms Cicero speaks of this Thermus, we see what trifling circumstances might often determine the choice of a Consul/ Cicero's wish was fulfilled; Thermus being elected Consul for the following year, together with L. Julius Ca3sar. Cicero began his prensation l on the 17th of July, a day when the Campus was crowded on occasion of the election of the new Tribunes: he requested to be sent by the Senate to Gaul on a legatio libera f; the Cispadane Gauls being Roman citizens, whom he desired to gain for the * [Minucins Thermus, adopted into the patrician gens Marcia, is mentioned in the Fasti as C. Marcius Figulus, Consul with L. Caesar, A. u. 690. He is supposed to be the Q. Minucins Thermus to whom some of Cicero's letters are addressed, a noted partisan of Pompeius in the civil war. The adoptive name was often dropped in common parlance. See Orelli, in voce.} f This was the name given to the Leave, which the Senators obtained from the Senate, for the transaction of their private affairs in the provinces, where they enjoyed higher consideration in virtue of it. [It was often obtained as an honourable excuse for being absent from Rome on emergency. Ordinarily it was the duty of a Senator to remain at his post, any absence from which might give occasion for unpleasant remarks. This explains the extreme uneasiness Cicero felt at a later period (see under A.U. 710) at leaving the city, and his anxiety to return to it,] A. u. 689. B. c. 65. cic. 42. 39 consular election of the ensuing year. He left the charge of furthering his interests with the lieutenants and retiJP,U&_pf Pompeius, to Atticus, who was then more within reach of the great captain. He urgently entreats his friend to return early the next year to Rome, where his influence was of the highest consequence to Cicero's success. We see him, also, striving anxiously to keep on good terms with all the powerful and influential. H e even refused a just request of the uncle of his friend, the rich and distinguished Caecilius, whom on account of that relationship he would naturally have desired to keep in good humour, because the granting it might have lost him the favour of Domitius Ahenobarbus. 1 For truly as he i EP. 10,3. says, ov% isprjcov, ovos poeirjv apvvcrur}vr ' 2H The attainment of the object for which he had striven xxlL 159during so many years with all his energies was a t stake. There is a very remarkable passage in t h e last of t h e letters belonging to this period. 3 " I am preparing to * EP u. defend Catilina m y rival. W e have the judges we wished; A. v'm and t h e accuser is perfectly content with them. I f C a t i lina is acquitted, I shall be t h e more sure of his good will towards me in t h e matter of m y s u i t ; if otherwise, I shall bear it like a man." W h i l e in this letter he thus speaks of Catilina, just before he had said 4 : " Catilina will cer-< EP. 10,1. tainly be m y competitor, t h a t is, if the judges declare t h a t the sun does not shine at noon-day." Cicero had probably reflected since he had last written, how dangerous a rival Catilina might become, favoured as he was b y Crassus and Ca3sar, should t h e issue of t h e above-mentioned process b e propitious to h i m ; while in that case, supposing he had himself been his defender (and perhaps Catilina m a y have applied to him for help), a compromise might b e effected to further their common object; each mutually sacrificing his friends for the support of his competitor. So 40 L I F E AND LETTERS OF CICERO. difficult is it for the man who seeks advancement in a corrupt State, to preserve the moral purity of his conduct. There is, however, reason to believe, that from some change of circumstances, with which we are not acquainted, Cicero did not actually defend Catilina.* He was acquitted (infamia judicum, as Asconius observes); his accuser Clodius himself had been silenced with a bribe, and the Consul Torquatus, against whose life Catilina had conspired, had come forward in his place.f Cicero's domestic happiness at this period was somewhat disturbed by the differences between his beloved brother Quintus (who in the year 689 held the office of -ZEdile), and his brother's wife Pomponia, sister of Atticus. This grieved Cicero the more, as he had been himself the pn> » Nep. vu. moter of this unfortunate marriage.1 Quintus was of a sanguine and excitable temperament; his wife seems to have been jealous and irritable. Cicero exerted all his fraternal affection, and all the influence of his age over his brother, to effect a better understanding between them, and for the sake of his friend also, he felt himself bound 3 Ep. I. (Att. to make every effort.2 On the other hand, he found a source of pleasure in the betrothal of his daughter Tullia to C. Piso Frugi, who was a member of the noble house of the Calpurnii, and highly esteemed by Cicero for * j?P.8. (<*//. his qualities both of head and heart. 3 Tullia could then (in the year 686) have been scarcely nine years old; for Cicero was probably not married before 677 ; but the great men of Rome resembled those of modern times in * Ascon. (In oral, in tog. cand.), p. 85. [Defensus est Catilina, ut Fenestella tradit, a M. Cicerone. Quod ego ut addubitem hcec ipsa Ciceronis oratio facity maxime quod is nullam mentionem rei habet, cum potuerit invidiam, facere competitori tarn turpiter adversus se coeunti.'] We might also expect Cicero to mention the fact, had such been the case, in his speech for L. Sulla. . f Cic. pro Suit. 29 de Harusp. resp. 20, A. TT. 689. B. c. 65. cic. 42. 41 this custom of betrothing their children at an early age. Many letters of this period 1 evince his paternal love for» EP.\. 4.6. TuUia, and the tenderness with which he treated this child, io.)' the darling of his heart (delicice nostra). Two years afterwards (688), a son was born to him.2 These joyful events 3 EP.I\. may have afforded him consolation for the losses his family had sustained. His first letter to Atticus begins with a lamentation on the death of Lucius *, his uncle's son, who accompanied him to Sicily, when he went there to collect proofs and materials for the prosecution of Verres. A t the close of the same year he lost his father f (686). 3 * Ep.i. (Att, I t may strike us with some surprise that, in his letters ' to his most intimate friend, he should speak in such brief and cold terms of a parent who appears to have been a truly excellent man; and we are glad to find that he mentions him elsewhere with affection. But he notifies the birth of his son, an event which no doubt afforded him great pleasure, in a few words only ; and we may observe, as a general rule, that we must not expect to find the real outpourings of the heart in the letters of the ancients: least of all when the writer, as was the case with Cicero, was absorbed in public affairs, or was endeavouring to reach some high position in the State. Public life was the animating principle of their whole existence. The Roman * De Fin. v. 1. He terms him fratrem, cognatione patruehm, amore germanum. f SeeEp. 2. (AttA. 6.) [The slightness of the filial tie among the Romans, induced perhaps by the harshness of their domestic institutions, is curiously illustrated by the extraordinary coldness with which this event is mentioned. Q.frater, ut mihi videtur, quo volumus animo est in Pomponiam, et cum ea nunc in Arpinatibus prcediis erat, et secum habebat hominem xpV^T°l-'-a^V, D, Turranium. Pater lobis decessit A.D. viii. Kal. Dec. Hcec habebam fere, quae te scire vettem. Tu, velim, si qua ornamenta yvfMva gratia Galbanu 44 L I F E AND LETTERS OF CICERO. him in that crisis, that notwithstanding the desire of Caasar and Crassus to set him aside, the people, instead of voting for him, as usual, by ballot, proclaimed him Consul with loud acclamations.* Antonius had a few more centuries on his side than Catilina, and became therefore Cicero's colleague. In this year Cicero defended the Praetor of the former year, Q. Gallius, who was charged with having procured that office by unlawful means. He was acquitted. This speech is lost, with the exception of a few fragments only. A.U. 691. B.C. 63. CiC". 44. M. TULLIUS CICERO ; C. ANTONIUS. Pompeius, summoned to Judea by the Maccabean brothers Hyrcanus and Aristobulus, who were contending for the high priesthood and supreme power, seizes the temple at Jerusalem, gives the government to Hyrcanus, takes Aristobulus captive, and imposes a tribute on the Jews. He then goes to Amisus, and Mithridates having been put to death in the meanwhile by his son Pharnaces, in conjunction with his soldiers, Pompeius establishes the latter as sovereign of the Bosphorus, takes possession of the fortresses of Pontus, and reduces it to the form of a province. C. Julius Caasar is chosen by the people Pontifex Maximus. L. Lucullus triumphs over Mithridates and Pharnaces* Octavius (afterwards Augustus) is born. Cicero had now attained the highest dignity to which'a Roman could lawfully aspire; and this, as in the case of his previous offices, in the very year assigned by the * Orat. ii. contra JRullwm, 2.: \_Meis comitiis non tabellam, vindicem tacitce libertatis, sed vocem vivam . . . . tulistis. In Pison. L non prius tabelld quam voce. Asconius (ad Or. in toga cand.) contents himself with saying omnium consensu.'] A. u. 691, B, c. 63. Cic.' 44. 45 laws.* With a view of attaching his colleague to himself, and withdrawing him from the connections full of danger to the State into which he had entered, Cicero had resigned in his favour the rich province of Macedonia, which had fallen to himself by lot, for the ensuing year, and contented himself with Cisalpine Gaul, which however he subsequently transferred to Q. Metellus.1 On his 1 saii. cat. 26 Cic In . "m . - mft entrance into office, he had to maintain a contest &*&•& with the Tribune P . Serviiius Eullus, who, in order to gain the favour of the people, had proposed a highly pernicious agrarian law. Cicero delivered three successful speeches against him; one in the Senate, and two before the people. They have all come down to us, with the exception of the beginning of the first, and remain a monument of the orator's great political sagacity.f He next applied himself, in a speech which is unfortunately lost, to soothe the populace, who were dissatisfied at the cession to the knights of separate seats in the theatre.2? Pfotcfc. & . 13 - PI™. Ho was straining every nerve to carry into execution mst.Nat.vn. his favourite scheme of raising the Equestrian order, and connecting it more closely with the Senate; and in this he * In Rullum, ii. 2. [anno meo : see above.] f [It will be seen in the sequel, that the author is not quite consistent in his praise of the orator's sagacity in this matter ; for he will be found to confess that Cicero was fatally blind to the political exigencies of the time, and of these none is now at least more evident than that which these laws were meant to meet, by drawing off the idle population of the city, and establishing it in colonies on the public domain. This had been the object of political reformers from the Gracchi to Caesar, and it afforded the surest means of alleviating the most pressing dangers of the State. But it ran counter to many prejudices, and, above all, it was the measure of a political party; accordingly the optimates stoutly opposed it, and Cicero, thinking that he was serving the interests of Pompeius, joined in the opposition. The ability with which he turned the passions of the populace against their own interests is unquestionable, but the course he took was pernicious to the Republic, and probably dishonest in itself.] 46 LIFE AND LETTERS OF CICERO. so far succeeded, that when the Senate and people of Rome were mentioned in public affairs, the knights were also brought in by name.* He studied to pacify the sons of Sulla's proscripts, who demanded a repeal of the Dictator's enactment, which it seemed then dangerous to cancel, by which they were excluded from every post of Honour in the State. On this occasion he delivered the » £p.2G,2. speech (no longer extant) " de Proscriptorum Filiis" l Of considerable importance, also, is his speech before the people, on behalf of the Senator C. Rabirius, accused by the Tribune T. Attius Labienus of the murder of Saturninus, who had been slain in a tumult thirty-seven' 2 2 A.U.C54. years before. The charge was invalid, as the Consuls and the Senate had declared Saturninus a public enemy, and invited an armed attack upon him. But the real ground of the accusation was the wish to deprive the Senate of the powe^r of investing the Consuls with unlimited authority in cases of emergency ; and to alarm it, by establishing a precedent for the reversal of decrees passed many years before. We may easily perceive that this was their object. The vote upon this case, which would in all probability have been unfavourable to Rabirius, was never passed f ; and other events intervening, Labienus let the charge drop. * Plin. Hist Nat xxxiii. 8.: M. Cicero demum stabilivit ecpiestre nomen in consulatu suo . . . . ab Mo tempore plane hoc tertium corpus in republics factum est, ccepitque adjici Senatui populoque Romano et Equester ordo. | [" Cicero defended the criminal ; but his eloquence was not likely to avail, and sentence was given against his client. The charge was capital, and an appeal lay in one quarter only, the comitia of the tribes. This resource seemed to offer but a slender chance of success . . . . But for the timely inteiference of a Praetor, Metellus Celer, Iiabirius could hardly have escaped the confirmation of his sentence. When the frontiers of Home were but a few miles from her gates, and the advance, of the Etruscans behind the barrier of the Vatican and Janiculan hills was frequently sudden and unexpected, watch was kept upon an eminence A. u. 691. B.C. 63. cic. 44. 47 We possess Cicero's speech, but dnly in a mutilated form.1 Catilina made another attempt to obtain the con- \2Su%^tU' Bulship for the following year, and was again unsuccessful, 26aSfoifxxp"<; principally owing to the efforts of Cicero, who moreover comp*aia* increased the severity of the Calpurnian law against PlS0n ' 2 ' illegal canvassing.2 Thus checked and thwarted, he now2,,Cfc-P™ ^ ° # < • # Muren. 23. in hastened to put his long-meditated schemes in execution, Vutm-15and this was the time to call forth Cicero's utmost foresight, prudence, and resolution. We shall omit in this place all details, as the circumstances which have reference to Cicero's letters will be again alluded to in their proper places; we shall only here notice the speeches delivered against Catilina in their chronological order. 1st speech held in the Senate, 8 Nov. = 12 Jan. B. C. 62. 2nd speech before the people, 9 Nov. = 13 Jan. „ 62. 3rd speech before the people, 3 Dec. = 5 Feb. „ 62. 4th speech in the Senate, 5 Dec. —1 Feb. „ 62. Towards the end of the year, Cicero defended L. Lieinius Murena, Consul elect for the year 692, who had been accused of ambitus. He was successful, though on the other side were Cato, and the renowned lawyer Serv. beyond the Tiber, to give notice of the approach of an enemy, whenever the people were occupied in the transaction of business in the Campus Martins. The signal of danger wras the removal of the great white flag, which floated conspicuously on the summit of the Janiculum. The people broke up hastily from their elections'or debates, and rushed to man the walls. The old custom remained in force for centuries among a people moie than usually retentive of antique observances. Metellus, acting possibly in concert M ith the managers of the prosecution, struck the flag and suspended the proceedings. The excited and bloodthirsty populace understood, and perhaps laughed at the trick, consenting cheerfully to be baulked of their prey for the sake of a constitutional fiction. The object of the charge, which was only intended, perhaps, to alarm and mortify the nobles, being already gained, the prosecutors abstained from pressing the matter, which was allowed to fall into oblivion." Merivale, Hist. Bom. Emp. i. 120.] 48 L I F E AND LETTERS OF CICERO. Sulpicius, who had been beaten by Murena, in the suit for the Consulship. Before this he had made a successful speech, now no longer extant, in defence of C. Calpurnius Piso, accused of extortion during his Consulship. We may remark, finally, that while Consul, he carried a law restricting the legationes libera to the term of a single Legg.ui.s: yean 1 BOOI II. L E T T E E S OE C I C E E O , IN THE YEARS 692 TO 694. CICERO AS AN INFLUENTIAL CONSULAR. BOOK II. SURVEY OF HISTORICAL EVEXTS. A. U. 692. B. C. 62. Cic. 45. D. JUNIUS SILANUS ; L. LICINIUS MURENA. CATILINA, endeavouring to withdraw into Gaul with his army, finds the passage barred by Q. Metellus Celer; he is beaten at Pistoria by Petreius, legate of Antonius the late Consul, and is himself slain with 3000 followers. In the other parts of Italy likewise the conspirators are subdued. Julius Csesar and Q. Cicero are Praetors this year. M. Porcius Cato, Tribune of the people. A.IT. 693. B.C. 61. Cic. 46. M. PUPIUS Piso CALPURNIANUS ; M. VALERIUS MESSALA NIGER. Cn. Pompeius triumphs a third time. The revenues were increased by him nearly one half. C. Antonius, Proconsul of Macedonia, is replaced by C. Octavius, father of Augustus. Q. Cicero goes as Propraetor to Asia: J u lius Caesar in a similar capacity to Spain. A.U. 694. B.C. 60, Cic. 47. L. AFRANIUS ; Q. C^CILIUS METELLUS CELER. Julius Caesar returns from Spain. The Triumvirate. The years noticed in the above summary are amongst D 2 52 L I F E AND LETTERS OF CICERO. the most important in the annals of the Republic, as well as in the life of Cicero. The Commonwealth still existed, shaken though it was by the disturbances and civil wars of the last seventy years? and undermined by the corruption ever spreading in its interior. Though few in number, there still remained Optimates in the true sense of the word, such for instance as the excellent Catulus, who dared oppose some resistance to the turbulence of the people. Pompeius was as yet unable to succeed in the execution of his ambitious plans, while Cato and his party, in alliance with Lucullus, Crassus, and their adherents, employed all their efforts against him, and even Cicero was far from wishing to assist him in all his schemes. Cicero's political principles had acquired firmness during his Consulship. Before attaining the supreme dignity he had sought in various ways to gain the favour of the people and of the Tribunes; but, on his very first day of office, he came forward against Rullus with vigour and decision, and made it evident what course he intended to pursue. Opposed both by nature and principle to the unbridled rabble, and to the demagogues who knew how to influence that rabble for their own ends, he avowed at once his purpose of ranging himself on the side of the Optimates. Theirs was the cause for which he contended, as well against the patrician Catilina and his distinguished associates, as against the Tribunes. To these principles he remained true: and thus during the three years succeeding his Consulship he stood forward as the guardian of the State which he had saved in his year of office from destruction. When in the letters of this period we read these expressions, " He of whom you write (Atticus had been speaking of Pompeius) has nothing noble, nothing sublime about him ; his sole aim is popularity, and that he courts A . U . 694. B.C. 60. cia-47. 53 by the most undignified means ; " * again, " Pompeius is silently endeavouring to maintain the splendour of his embroidered triumphal robe l ;" when we further read Cicero's * EP. 23,8. (Att \ is ^ words, " The Commonwealth can no longer preserve itself;"2 and then reflect that the following year saw Caesars 5^.23.2 Consul, we have the outlines of the political picture presented to us. With regard to Cicero, in order to form an accurate judgment of him at this period, we must remember that in the preceding year he had been Consul, and had then reached the highest point at which his ambition aimed. He had done his part towards attaining the summit of renown and dignity: but a higher Power caused an event to take place just at the time of his Consulship which could not fail to invest it with distinguished glory, — an event which, while it gratified his thirst for fame, saved at the same time the State from destruction. Through his administration also the Senate acquired in a great measure that authority and firmness which made even Pompeius cautious in his pursuit of popularity, and which enabled it to comport itself with dignity on various occasions. But no sooner was the safety of Rome assured by the fall of Catilina, and Cicero possessed of the glorious title his ambition coveted, that of " Father of his Country," than he was destined to prove by experience how often the highest fortune of mortals is closely followed by disaster: the one might indeed almost seem fated to attract the other. The last day of his Consulate, glorious as it was, might have warned him how slippery was the ground on which his foot then rested. When, in com* [Ep. 25. (Att. i. 20.) Nihil habet amplum, nihil excelsum, nihil non submissum atque populare. Comp. 18, 4. (Att. i. 13.) Nihil come, nihil simplex nihil iv TOLS TTOMTIKOIS honestum, nihil illustre, nihil forte, nihil Ubernm.~\ D 3 54 L I F E AND LETTERS OF CICERO. pliance with ancient custom, he was about to resign his authority with a public harangue, the newly elected Tribune Q. CaBcilius Metellus Nepos * forbade him to speak, saying it was not for him to address the people, who had condemned Roman citizens to death without a trial. Upon this Cicero raised his voice, and swore in the hearing of all the people, that in his Consulate he had preserved the Commonwealth from ruin; and the people cried aloud with acclamations, " Thou hast spoken truly !" f Plutarch says expressly that Metellus was acting on this occasion in concert with Caesar, who entered on the Prajtorship the following day, and that it was the object of both to overthrow Cicero; it is apparent, likewise, from 1 p»o scst.b. the oration for Sestius * that the Catilinarian conspiracy, though nearly extinct, was still exerting an influence on the Tribune's conduct. This was natural enough, as eleven Senators, and even the first Praetor, Cornelius Lentulus Sura, had concurred in Catilina's schemes, be-' sides many Tribunes of the last and present year, among whom wrere Eullus and Metellus Nepos himself; even Cicero's colleague in the Consulship was suspected of participation in the plot. Henceforth it became a current saying that Cicero had condemned Roman citizens to * EP.U,*. death unheard 2 ; and attentive observers must have per(),v v ' ceived that the measures were already in preparation against him which afterwards came to a triumphant issue in the hands of Clodius. Caesar, who, there can be no doubt, was already maturing his ambitious schemes of dominion, and who had played no inconsiderable part in the * The Tribunes at that time entered on office on the 10th of December. f Ep. 14, 4. (JDiv. v. 2.); 252, 19. (Att. vi. 1.) in Pison. 3. (Comp. Plut. Cic. 23.) Tliese passages show what importance Cicero attached to this circumstance. Magnuspratextatus illo fid die, he writes to Atticus from his province in the year 704. A. u. 694. B.C. 60. cic. 47. 55 affair of Catilina, must have felt a man like Cicero to be a great obstacle in his way, possessing, as he did, popularity and weight in the Senate, being an open partizan of the Optimates, and all his political efforts being directed to the preservation of the ancient constitution. I t is evident that Caesar already aimed at effecting a disunion be-tween the people and the Senate; and in attacking one of the Senators, Q. Catulus, he struck a blow at the whole body.1 But the aggrandizement of Pompeius was l nio caSS. a matter of indifference to him; to whatever eminence that leader might attain, he felt conscious of his own capacity to rise beyond him. He even went so far as to promote the increase of his power, in order that the Romans might grow familiarized with extraordinary elevations.* It is therefore no matter of surprise that he gave his support to the proposition of Metellus Nepos, who, having been recommended by his brother-in-law Pompeius to the Tribunate, which he had accordingly hastened from Asia to obtain, now suggested that the Imperator should be recalled at the head of his army to restore order.f Under cover of this scheme it was no doubt intended to take active measures against Cicero and the Optimates. This Rogation was however rejected, chiefly through the firmness of Cato, who had been wisely appointed colleague to Nepos; and it was now apparent what had been the real object of the earlier unsuccessful exertions of Metellus against the veto of the Tribunes, by which they mutually destroyed each other's power.J * Caesar, according to Dio (xxxvi. 26.), intrigued for a resolution of the people in his favour, similar to the lex Manilla, arid aimed at exposing Pompeius to envy on account of the powers entrusted to him. t Comp. Dio Cass, xxxvii. 43.; Pint. Cic. 23. \ Plutarch (Cic. 23.) imagines that Cicero obtained the title of father of D 4 56 LIFE AND LETTERS OF CICERO. Cicero had frequently opposed the restless Tribune who ' EP. 14,4. manifested such hostility towards him 1 : and he makes {Div. v. 2.) J mention of an oration which he had delivered against '2(ftt'i\C)'- nuT1 - 2 ^ *s uncertain whether he took any active part orll\x'/nsi' a g^inst the Rogation. Neither he nor any of the ancient Gtli xviiL7, authors say anything on that head. It was impossible that it could meet with his approbation; but his line of policy forbade him to act openly in opposition to Pompeius, though he may have resisted the instrument without naming the man who wielded it. There is no doubt that Caesar was acting in concert with Nepos, when the latter laboured to persuade the people to complain of the conduct of the Senate as illegal in condemning a citizen to death without their concurrence, — an incessant clamour, which 3 Dio cass. could only be kept within bounds by an energetic decree.3 comp!'s4uet. All we know of Cicero's transactions with Metellus, from his own mouth, is contained in the fourteenth letter of our < Div. v. 2. collection4, in which he defends himself against Q. Metellus Celer, at that time Propraetor of Cisalpine Gaul, who had reproached him for his treatment of his brother the Tribune. * After those occurrences Nepos was forced to fly from Rome; and he joined Pompeius, who was then on his return to the city. The letter preceding this is a very important one. It 5 A u.692. is addressed to Pompeius, who was then 5 , at the close of his country on that occasion, from a speech of Cato, in which he praised his Consulship. Cicero himself says (in Pison. 3.), that Catulus conferred it upon him. Appian (Bell. Civ. ii. 7.) mentions Cato as the person from whom the appellation came. He does not however state the time with precision. The common opinion is that he obtained the title on delivering the fourth speech against Catilina. * This is the Metellus, who was so active as Praetor in opposing Catilina, and afterwards cut off the retreat of the Catilinaiian army in its attempt to escape across the Alps, and so put an end to the war. Mucia, wife of PomN peius, whom lie afterwards repudiated, was sister of the two Metelli. Suet. Jul 50. A. u . 694. B. c. 60. c i c . 47. 57 the Mithridatic war, still in Asia. Cicero had sent him an account of the proceedings during his C o n s u l a t e 1 — l PIOSUII.-IA conceived, no doubt, in the same self-laudatory spirit which breathes throughout his letters and other writings. B u t Pompeius, though his advancement was the work of F o r t u n e rather than of his own genius, was meditating further schemes of ambition ; to him accordingly, not less than to Ca3sar, a man like Cicero appeared an unwelcome obstacle ; and the commander in his military cloak might well have been jealous of the renown of the Consular in the Toga. # I n the communications which he addressed to the Senate and to Cicero, Pompeius noticed not at all, or but very slightly, the deeds of the Consul: and this was a thorn in Cicero's soul, the existence of which we recognize in the tone of the present letter, for it must be remembered that, over and above any feelings of wounded pride, he required the favour and approbation of P o m peius, both for his personal security and for the maintenance of his policy. Crassus, turning to his own account the Sullan proscriptions and other favourable circumstances, had acquired a considerable number of houses in Kome, and one of these, a magnificent edifice, situated on the Palatine hill and overlooking the F o r u m f 2 , Cicero bought of him in the 2 c\c P,0 domu, 44. * [This letter seems to have been an elaborate political pamphlet. Cicero says of it, pro Sull. 24. : Epistolaui meam quam ego ad Pompeium da mcis rebus gestis et de summa reipubl. misi. T h e Scholiast on the Or pro Plane. describes it as epist. non mediocrem ad instar voluminis scn'ptam. It was made public, and the citizens surmised, from the complacency ot its tone, that it could not be agreeable to Pompcius, who, it was well known by every one but Cicero himself, could bear no rival in populaiity. See Or. pro Plane. 34.] f This house had originally belonged to t h e T i i b u n c , M. Livius Drusus, who was assassinated in the year 663. See the famous story connected w ith it, Veil. Pater, ii. 14. D 5 58 L I F E AND LETTERS OF CICERO. year after his Consulship. He states the purchase-money at three millions and a half of Sesterces *, in a letter to > E/>. i5,2. P . Sextius the Quaestor of Antonius. 1 In the same letter ^com °i n e savs > t n a t t n ^ s purchase had involved him in debtf 2 ; 1^7. {AH i. ] 3 u t a C o n s u l a l - 0 f his celebrity found a stately dwelling desirable for the maintenance of his dignity, and a site overlooking the Forum would naturally have charms for the " Father of his Country." His pecuniary embarrassments seem to have affected his relations with Antonius, his former colleague in the Consulship. This selfish and avaricious man had acquired notoriety at an earlier period by his extortions in Achaia, and on that account the Censors had expelled him from the Senate J, into which, however, he was subsequently re-admitted. He now spread the report that a portion of the wealth he had amassed in his province of Macedonia 3 EP. \6,2. w a s destined for Cicero 3 ; and accordingly people began (AU. \. 12.) t o whisper that it was not without an eye to his own interest that the latter had given up his claim to that province. Cicero was very anxious to suppress these rumours, and from the manner in which he writes on the subject to Atticus in the above passage, we cannot doubt that they were without foundation. It is a more probable conjecture, that Antonius had promised him a pecuniary remuneration if he would undertake his defence in the Senate against the prosecution with which he was threatened : and this conjecture acquires additional probability if, as there is reason to believe, Antonius is the person referred to under the name of Teucris, which occurs in * [Computing the Sestertius at 2|<£, this may amount to about 30,000/. of our money.] f Gellius (N. A. xii. 12.) asserts that in order to purchase this house, Cicero borrowed two million Sesterces from Sulla, whose defence he had undertaken. J Ascon, Pcjl. in Or, in toga cand. A.U. 694. B. c, 60. 59 cic. 47. the sixteenth and some later, letters.* Antonius acted with such injustice and extortion in his province, that as early as the year 692 complaints of him were lodged with the Senate. Cicero defended him at first1, but being i Ep. 15,4. informed by some adherents of Pompeius, who arrived in / y v t , ) Rome before their leader, that it was his intention to press for the removal of Antonius from his province 2 , and 2 EP. IG, 2. being irritated moreover by the rumour above mentioned, he abandoned him, at least for the present. Afterwards, when Antonius underwent a second and more severe prosecution under the Consuls Caesar and Bibulus 3 , he 3 Comp. EP. defended him, but without success.f The debt, we find, 2.) was subsequently discharged by " Teucris." 4 ; Ep ls 8 ; Cicero did not repent of his resolution to decline the }jj; u\ML '* charge of a Province at the expiration of his Consulship/5:. Ep.u '2(Div. v. •> ) He felt himself in truth to be what we have described him at the commencement of this period, and he hoped to become, in conjunction with Pompeius, the stay and support of the State 6 : above all it was his anxious desire6 ty.12,2. . . . (Div. v. 7 ) to maintain that good understanding between the knights and the Senate, of which he had laid the foundation during * The argument Schiitz alleges against this supposition, that in that case Cicero, in the sixteenth letter, immediately after using this mysterious designation, would not have mentioned Antonius by his own name, seems of little weight. Cicero had to secure himself against the messengers, who were wont to open the letters entrusted to them (18, 1. Att. i. 13 ). When he is talking about this pecuniary claim, he calls Antonius, Teucris ; when he speaks of things which required no secresy, he designates him by his own name. The context in the sixteenth letter {Att. i. 12.) appears to me to make it sufficiently evident that Teucris and Antonius are the same person. [There seems no reason for identifying Teucris with Antonius. As a female appellative, it more probably refers to some woman from whom Cicero expected pecuniary accommodation, which he much required, as appears from the letter, at this time. See Orelli, Onom. in voc.~] f Cic in Vatin. 11.; Pro M. Ccelio, 31. If we compare these passages with others in the letters, we may learn how much caution we must exercise in estimating the judgments Cicero pronounces in his speeches. D 6 60 LIFE AND LETTERS OF CICERO. » 7?^. 19,5. his administration.1 (Alt. i. 14.) . . At the same time he perceived that . . under existing circumstances a considerable amount of political wisdom was requisite in order to maintain influence over the destinies of the Commonwealth. Caesar pressed on towards his object with more daring, and at last boldly cut the knot. Cicero sought to preserve existing institutions. Caasar was resolved to overturn them. Accordingly we see in many passages of his letters at this period, how carefully Cicero observed the characters and actions of men, and in what manner this observation affected his own dealings with them. His pride 2 EP 18,2. was irritated by the conduct of Piso 2 in omitting when, {Att.'u 13) . . r » • i • • i i 1 1 in spite or violent opposition, he was advanced to the Consulship (for the year 693) through the influence of Pompeius, to ask his opinion first in the Senate. This was a token of respect which had been shown to the honoured Consular the year before by the Consul Silanus. He consoled himself, however, with reflecting that he need now pay no more regard to this perverse personage; that the Senate had murmured at"the omission*; and lastly, that the other Consul, Messala, manifested the utmost respect for him, and indeed gave every token of being a true patriot. He behaved with more deference than was con• Ep. io,4,5.sistent with his own convictions, towards Crassus 3, Anto(Div'.v.'ti) nius 4 , and at one time even towards Clodius.5 His [JiLL*™.) successful speech in defence of P. Cornelius Sulla, who was accused of participation in Catilina's conspiracy by L . Manlius Torquatus, a son of the Consul of the year 689, * Cicero mentions on this occasion who were the Consulars of most consideration at that period; (their opinion was always first asked in debate). The first whom the Consul called on was C. Calpurnius Piso, his relation ; the second, was Cicero ; the third, Q. Lutatius Catulus, whom the Dictator kSulla had pronounced the best man (Pint, in Pomp.); and the fourth, Hortensius the orator. Cicero estimates the Consul Piso very differently in the speech for Plancius (c. 5.). On his character as an orator, see Brut. 67. A.u. 694. B.C. 60. cic. 47. 61 was perhaps intended by him to place his own character in a milder light, shaded, as it now was, with the reproach of having caused the murder of Roman citizens. For in consequence of a decree of the Senate, a fresh inquiry into the wThole affair was set on foot under the Consuls. Silanus and Murena. One L. Vettius gave information to the Quaestor Novius Niger, against the Praetor Caesar, as an accomplice in the conspiracy, and Caesar was accused also by Q. Curius, who adduced Catilina himself as his authority. Vettius engaged to produce a written document in Catilina's own hand, addressed to Caesar. The accused, though in reality innocent of the specific charge, had no doubt rather encouraged than restrained the enterprise of which he could not fail, together with most of the statesmen of the day, to be fully aware; for he knew that any disorder in the State was likely to further his own ambitious views. He was hard presssd, and turned for help to Cicero, who produced evidence entirely exculpating him. Curius, who had been one of the conspirators, but was the first to give intelligence of the plot, was disappointed, through Caesar's influence, of his promised reward; while Vettius was thrown into prison, after suffering cruel illtreatment from the hands of the populace.1 Many other 1 suet conspirators were taken up, and condemned under the above named Consuls; amongst them Autronius, who, though formerly a schoolfellow and friend of Cicero, and afterwards his colleague in the Pra3torship, could not pre2 vail upon him to undertake his defence.2 P>O Pompeius was at this time the especial object of Cicero's attention. He had returned to Rome at the end of the year 692, having first disbanded his army at Brundisium, either from alarm at the failure of the Rogation of Nepos, or from unwarrantable confidence in his personal influence. Unfortunately the letter to Atticus, to which Cicero alludes 62 L I F E AND LETTERS OF CICERO. in the nineteenth of this series, is not extant. It appears to have contained a detailed account of the first oration Pompeius made to the people after his return, and would have been very interesting from the commentary it would have furnished on the following words: e' The speech was neither gratifying to the oppressed nor encouraging to the ill-disposed; the rich were not grateful for it, and to the good it appeared insignificant: the consequence was, that it made no impression."* "We gain, however, a tolerably clear notion of what the schemes of Pompeius were, from Cicero's letter of February 13. 693. I t seems that he praised in general terms all the recent acts of the Senate, but carefully avoided entering into particulars; and Cicero himself was forced to rest satisfied with this general praise. I t would appear that Pompeius was actuated by secret jealousy of Cicero, and by the wish to avoid breaking with any party; either with the remnant of Catilina's adherents, or with the friends of Clodius, who had at this time already committed the crime of which we are soon to speak, f He found, however, the influence of the Senate to be greater than Nepos and others had led him to expect. He was at the same time anxious to be esteemed a friend of the people, and he seems to have fancied that he had only to appear in Rome and flatter all parties in order to gain the ready submission of all to the great Pompeius, the favourite of Sulla, the restorer of what his patron had destroyed, the conqueror of Mithridates and of the pirates. Cicero knew that Pompeius was secretly jealous of him, at the same time that he praised him in public, though not * [Ep. 19, 2. (Att. i. 14.), written 13th February. Prima concio Pompeii qualis fuisset scripsi ad te antea. Non jucunda miseris, inanis improbis, beatis non grata, bonis non gravis. Itaquefrigebat.~] f Clodius had before this assisted Pompeius by abetting the mutinous soldiery of his own brother-in-law, Lucullus, in Asia. Dio Cass. xxxv. 14. A.U. 694, B.C. 60. cic. 47. 63 indeed in the Senate, and he takes notice of it repeatedly in his letters to Atticus. 1 I t must at the same time havei EP. IS, A become gradually evident to him that Pompeius was not 1 I u.y 3 i i - i i a i T i TT . . C o m p . 192 the champion whom the State then needed. He would c^- viii never have allowed the infamous affair of Clodius to end as it did, had he been the master spirit he fancied himself, and would have had others esteem him. The transaction here alluded to, gives a profound view of the corruption of the State, and is important to us as it proved the means of bringing about what Metellus Nepos had been unable to effect, the abasement of Cicero. About the end of the year 692 a young man of an ancient and noble family, Publius Clodius, at that time Quaestor, who had once been Cicero's friend, and had assisted him in the affair of Catilina's conspiracy, in the prosecution of an intrigue with Caesar's wife Pompeia, ventured to disguise himself as a woman, and steal into Caesar's house during the celebration of the mysteries of the Bona Dea2, at which the presence of men was strictly 2J>e Bar. / . Res P' 17, 18 forbidden. Cicero foresaw in this outrage the germ of great evil to the State 3 , and though he was for some time 3 Ep.i8,s. & b (Att. i. 13.) lukewarm in the performance of the duties devolving on a Consular, he soon made use of all the influence and authority of his name, to cause the crime to be duly punished. In January, 693, Q- Cornificius brought the matter before the Senate. W e are surprised that this should not have been done by a Senator of more consequence; but Cicero, though he likewise expresses astonishment at the circumstance, did not offer to come forward. The Senate demanded the judgment of the College of Priests; they pronounced it a sacrilege, and it was therefore resolved to bring it before the people. The Senate desired that the Praetor, on whom the conduct of the process devolved, should select the judges himself. This was contrary to the 64 L I F E AND LETTERS OF CICERO. ordinary rule, which provided that they should be chosen by lot, subject to the people's approval. Upon this point every thing depended, as soon appeared. The Pra3tors could only choose respectable judges; whereas election by lot was a matter of chance, or might give room for corruption. The Consul Piso laboured to hinder the Rogation, although it had been issued in his own name; but his colleague Messala stood firm to it, and Cato supported him; Cicero wavered. We can perceive from many instances in his conduct, that he was not apt to take in the whole import of a case at once, and that his will required some subsequent impulse from without to rouse it to vigorous action ; perhaps, also, he did not feel sure of the assistance of the well-disposed, and he may have been staggered by the number of the culprit's adherents, and have already had some misgiving of the injury he was one day to suffer from this daring man. Clodius did all in his power to hinder the Rogation. Pompeius was now residing without the walls of the city, engaged in preparations for his triumph. Accordingly the Tribune, Fufius Calenus, who was in the interest of Clodius, having assembled the people in the Flaminian Circus, brought Pompeius to them, and asked him whether a decision given by judges chosen by the Prastor would be satisfactory to him. Pompeius did not dare to speak against Clodius, connected as he was with the most influential citizens*; he contented himself with praising the conduct of the Senate in general terms, as he afterwards did in the Forum. Caesar remained quiescent; he was willing to spare Clodius, wTho was in * One of his sisters was the wife of Lucullus (Dio Cass. xxxv. 14.) ; another, the notorious Clodia, nicknamed Quadrantaria (Ep. 26. Att. ii. L), of Q. Metellus Celer (Ep. 14. Biv. v. 2.); and a third, Terentia, of Q. Marcius Rex (Plut. Cic. 29). Clodius was related also to Pompeius through the family of the Metelli. A. u. 694. B.C. 60. cic. 47. G5 great favour with the people; nevertheless, he divorced his wife; for " Caesar's wTife," he said5 " must be above suspicion."1 i piut. Cic. • 28 The day of the Rogation came. Every art was employed by the party of Clodius to gain over the people. Piso, the younger Curio (who afterwards played an important part in the rivalry of Pompeius and Caesar), and a number of young men who two years before had followed Catilina, were active in the business; the grossest corruption was practised.2 Then Cato raised his powerful voice from2 ^». 19,6. the Rostrum, riortensius, Jb avomus, and others supporting him. The assembly was dismissed without having come to any decision. When the Senate met to take the affair into consideration, Clodius descended to the most abject supplications ; he could gain nothing, however, and again sought his safety with the people. The Senate decreed that the Consuls should exhort the people to accept the Rogation. If Cicero had been fainthearted before, his courage now rose in proportion. But his hopes were soon dashed. Hortensius, fearing lest Calenus, in virtue of his office, should object to the unusual form of procedure, and imagining that " a sword of lead would suffice to cut Clodius5 throat," 3 3 Ep. 21,2. allowed himself to be satisfied with judges chosen by lot from the Decurice judicum.* After certain of these had been rejected by the right of a challenge allowed by law to the accused, the men brought together as judges were such as, to use Cicero's words, " a wTorse set could hardly have been collected round a gaming table." 4 Still the 4 EP.I\,». better class did not give up the affair for lost. Cicero * The reader should observe the passage in the twenty-first letter (Att. i. 16)., Maculosi Senatores, etc.; which lays before us in a few words the materials of which the corps of judges in a criminal process was at that time composed. 66 L I F E AND LETTERS OF CICERO. came forward as witness, asseverating that he had seen Clodius in his own house on the very day of the ceremony, when he pretended to have been at Xnteramna, about 1 com?. Epm. seventy miles from Rome.1 The judges applauded Cicero L > loudly; the courage of the culprit and of his patrons gave way. The Senate praised the judges,, and addressed words of encouragement to them, while an armed guard was appointed for their protection. At this juncture Crassus interposed with the resources then most powerful in Home. He administered bribes to the judges through the instrumentality of a slave of the lowest class; such as did not want money, though most were poor, were gained by still more infamous means: such was his success, that Clodius was finally acquitted by a majority of thirty-one to twentyfive. When the high-minded Catulus shortly afterwards chanced to encounter one of these base hirelings, he said, " What did you want guards for ? was it for fear of being robbed of the wages of your shame ? "* Cicero deeply lamented an issue which his fears had 2^.21,3. too truly anticipated. " K n o w , " he writes to Atticus 2 , " that the State which you believed to be secured by my care, and I by the care of the Gods, and wThich did indeed appear to be established on a firm basis by the union of all the well disposed, and by the vigorous measures of my Consulate, has, unless some God looks down on us with mercy, already slipped from our hands by this one judgment ; if that can be called a judgment when thirty meny the most frivolous and abandoned of the Roman people, violate for gold every right, human and divine; when a Talna, a Plautus, a Spongia, and other wretches like these, maintain that a deed was not committed which all men, * On the affair of Clodius, see Epp. 16, 4. ; 18, 3. ; 19, 3, 6. ; 21, 1, 2. (Att I 12. ; 13. ; 14. ; 16.) A. u. 694. B.C. 60. cic. 47. 67 aye, and the very brutes-themselves, know to a certainty was committed." 1 Still he did not lose courage. " The l comP. EP. 23 3. (Att i wretches thought," such are his words next following 2 , wo " that if religion, chastity, the honour of the judges, and(AU'A. fe.) the authority of the Senate could be overturned, then recklessness and lust might openly avenge themselves on the good among us for the pain my austere administration had i\nflicted on the bad. But I have infused courage into the minds that were cast down. I have restored the Senate to its ancient vigour, I have revived the despairing." Cicero doubtless brought on his own misfortunes by the constant and iiTitating persecution of Clodius, which he kept up after his acquittal. We admire the honourable and upright Consular, when, in addressing the Senate, he endeavoured to reassure those who had been shocked at the unexpected result of the trial; but his prudence yielded to his invincible love of sarcasm, when he made his galled opponent feel the superiority of his wit. He continued these sarcasms after Clodius had already begun to take measures against him.3 In this strife of wrords, Cicero 3 EPP. 23,6.; • • 24 5 " 26 4. certainly does not appear with the grace and decorum be-(i«."i. i8.;'i. fitting a Consular *; nor is it any valid excuse that a similar license seems to have been not unfrequent in the Senate at that time. I n the speech which he delivered in presence of Pompeius before the popular assembly, when he seems to have had it much at heart to display himself in all his merit by the side of the victorious warrior f, he laid great stress on * Non consulare, inquies, dictum; fateor. Cicero writes thus on occasion of one of these altercations with Clodius (Ep. 26., Att ii. 1.) ; and in his work De Officiis (i. 40.) he says: Turpe est valdeque vitiosum, in re severa convivii dicta aid delicatum aliquem inferre sermonem. f This is supposed to he the speech [de Consulatu meo~] which Cicero mentions (Orat 62.) ; some fragments of it are to he found in Quintilian (Instit Or. ix. 3, 40. 50.) 68 L I F E AND LETTERS OF CICERO. the connection between the Senate and the knights, which, * Ep. 19,5. during his administration l , he had been the means of cementing. To preserve this connection continued to be one of his main objects. He was attached to the Equestrian class, to which he had himself originally belonged; and he hoped by its agency to strengthen the power of the Senate; for the knights were large owners of land throughout Italy, and could uphold, as such, the proprietary instir tutions of the State. He calls them the ornament of the 2 ProPiando, State; the prop of the Commonwealth.2 The scheme was in itself a plausible one; for it is only too evident that the Senate stood in need of assistance, that the best men of the Optimate party were deficient in energy, that the common herd were the dupes and tools of every designing character. But unhappily Cicero sought to substantiate his ideas through the instrumentality of men devoted to self-interest by the very nature of their avocations; men who had attained an important position in the State simply by the power of money, who constituted a class out of which the ranks of the Senate were recruited, and who by means of their wealth exercised a tyranny of terrible power in those days.* Bad were the prospects of justice in a State where the noble Rutilius fell a victim to their cabals for his endeavours to check their extortions in his province.f The knights possessed a share in the administration of justice; in the affair of Clodius, as we have seen, judges of their class * Ep. 22,3. had been corrupted with bribes. 3 e s . i.J7.) , . -T i i o. They now felt themi i r • 'J selves aggrieved when the Senate passed a decree tor m* The knights had the exclusive management of the finances of the State, they farmed the revenues in the provinces, and all the public works, &c. were under their superintendence. f Pseud. Ascon. in Ccec. div. 57. Rutilius Rufus damnatus est quod cum prcetore (Sccevola) consenserit suo, ne publicani aliquid agerent in provincia sua. Quo cognito equites Rom. {nam turn ante Sullana tempora judicabanf) damnarunt eum. A. u. 694. B. c. 60. cic. 47. 69 quiring into the bribery practised on that occasion/ To this cause of dissatisfaction another was added. Such of them as had compounded with the Censors for the revenues of the province of Asia discovered afterwards that they had made themselves answerable to the State for a sum exceeding the amount of their calculated profits, and required accordingly that the terms of the contract should be altered.1 This the Senate refused; and hence arose aij^.22,3. difference between the two orders which caused Cicero deep concern. He exerted all his eloquence in the knights' behalf, but was opposed both by Metellus Celer, the Consul elect, and by Cato, who held the dignity of the Senate to be irreconcileable with the sordid interests of the second order.2 Piso, if we may believe Cicero, did not comport 2 comp. 1.1. himself on this occasion with the dignity befitting; a Consul. s.'cJm.^is The Tribunes opposed the decree against the judges of *•) ' Clodius. " T h e Senate," writes Cicero to Atticus 3 , "is3 Epm23,4. angry, and the knights are estranged from it. Thus has cimp.'26,'e this year (693) beheld the overthrow of two pillars of the State, which my exertions had set up ; the Senate has lost its dignity, and the harmony of the two orders is destroyed."* During all these transactions, Pompeius did nothing; or rather he pursued a line of conduct which ought to have opened the eyes of every unprejudiced person, and clearly manifested that he only aimed at establishing his own power and influence on a secure basis, and reviving once more the dictatorial power of Sulla, his original patron, though indeed without making use of Sulla's means. But he failed to see the impossibility of maintaining such influence without a constant succession of brilliant actions. He succeeded in raising to the Consulship Afranius, his * Caesar no sooner became Consul than he released the knights from one third of their liabilities. Dio Cass, xxxviii. 7. 70 L I F E AND LETTERS OF CICERO. former legate, a man whom Dio calls an excellent dancer, Dio. Cass, but a bad statesman1, and who was in no way equal to the actual posture of affairs. Cicero makes repeatedly the most severe remarks upon him, and considers his Consul2 j?p.24,4.; ship a stain on his patron's reputation.* 2 Pompeius, on his is', so.) ' ' part, well aware that no one would think Afranius fit for his post, had recourse, as Cicero says, to the engine by which Philip of Macedon thought himself able to reduce any fortress whatever. Soon a rumour went forth, that the Consul Piso was distributing bribes at his own house; and Cato and his brc-ther-in-law Domitius immediately sought to oppose the evil by drawing up edicts against such proceedings. Metellus Celer, meanwhile, the colleague elect of Afranius, was incensed against Pompeius for divorcing his sister Mucia. Pompeius made his triumphal entry into Rome on the 30th of September (693), which was also his birthday. The pageant was the most brilliant of the kind that had been yet seen, and was contrived in every way to dazzle the populace. Among other tablets, inscribed with the names of nine hundred subjugated cities and a thousand fortresses, one was carried before him, on which he was 3 Dio. cass. designated as the conqueror of the world.3 Three hundred and twenty-four princes and chiefs of vanquished nations, clad in the habits of their own countries, preceded the chariot of the victor, which glittered with jewels and precious stones ; the treasures and valuables displayed for the gratification of the people surpassed all calculation. Nor did Pompeius scorn to appropriate to himself on this < Dio. cass. occasion the glory really due to his predecessors.4 Ca3sar, on his part, renounced the honours of a triumph, because it would have stood in the way of his attainment of the 1 * This L. Afranius is the same whom Caesar worsted in the civil war in Spain, A.U. 705. A. u. 694. B.C. 60. cic. 47. 71 Consulate*, and besides he looked forward to the certainty of gaining yet more brilliant triumphs at some future clay. But with regard to Pompeius, great as was the splendour with which he now made his appearance, it could not blind him to the disagreeable fact that the Senate still withheld its ratification from his acts in Asia.1 On this point, his 1 Diocass 1 m xxxvii. 49. creature Afranius was unable to effect anything for him. After his triumph was over, Pompeius caused a law to be proposed by the Tribune Flavius (in the year 694) for the partition of lands amongst his soldiers.2 There was * Epp. 23, s ; nothing popular in this law but the name of its originator; ^ ib^f"'L yet it experienced the most violent opposition from the Senatorial party. Cicero, however, hesitated to declare himself decidedly against it, and contented himself with endeavouring to remove every point which could be prejudicial to the possessors of the lands.3 The apprehensions3 EP. 24,4. excited by some disturbances which had broken out in Gaul soon cooled down the ardour both of the defenders and opponents of this law, which was at first so great that on one occasion the Tribune Flavius had caused the Consul Metellus to be arrested.4 I t was not carried. Pompeius < Ep.p, G himself, ashamed of having given occasion to such scenes, broke off his connection with the Tribune, and repented of having disbanded his army. 5 He now felt how insig- * DI0. cass. •n , • v, i • xxxvii. 50. nincant in reality his power was. Though Cicero could now see through the character of Pompeius, and detected his weaknesses with a keen eye f6> ° EPP. 2 4.; 2 he still remained steadfast to him. Perhaps, like many men Utt\ 17.-I P . . . . . . . L ., , ot sanguine disposition, he was apt very easily to change his opinion of people, and to think more favourably of * A.U. 694, after his victorious administration as Praetor in Spain. Dio Gass. xxxvii. 54. App. B. C. ii. 2. f Cicero frequently gives Pompeius nicknames, such as Sampsiceramus, after an Arabian prince, on whose subjugation he especially prided himself. i. 20—i. is.) 72 L I F E AND LETTERS OF CICERO. them as soon as they flattered him. And Pompeius was no doubt wise enough to keep such a man on his own side. He knew how to turn his foibles to his own accountThus on one occasion he said to him in the presence of many people, " I n vain should I have laboured to gain a third triumph, had not you saved the city for me to 1 De off: \. triumph in." l Cicero Avas well pleased to observe that Ep.*}™?' the populace regarded him as the confidant «f Pompeius, and greeted them both Avith loud applause when they made their appearance in the Circus: he smiled Avhen the unfledged youngsters Avho had rioted Avith Catilina spoke among themselves of his illustrious friend by the name 2^.21,6. of Cna3us Cicero.2 I t Avas indeed his constant endeavour lt u 16 ' ° to stand well with all parties in Rome, as far as his political principles allowed; and in this he was successful: his kind and conciliatory demeanour gained him the good will even of Catilina's reckless adherents, whom his severity after the discovery of the plot had naturally alienated from 3 Ep. 24, G. comp'21,'6. him.3 But, with regard to his relations Avith Pompeius, Cicero had another important reason, and a nobler one too, for remaining firm to him. This he explains clearly in the following Avords to his friend : — " As things noAV stand, any difference between me and Pompeius cannot fail to occasion the most terrible discord in the State. I have therefore taken all possible care that no such difference should arise: and this, not so as to involve any departure from my own sound principles, but so as to turn him if possible to better thoughts, and cause him to abandon somewhat of his mischievous love of popularity: and this you may know, that he now speaks of my political conduct, against which many persons had prejudiced him, with more praise than he does of his own deeds. For he bears me this witness, that whilst he only served the State A. u. 694. B. c. 60. cic. 47. 73 successfully, I saved it. How far his speaking in this manner may be of service to me, I know not; but it is undoubtedly useful to the State. What if I should likewise succeed in inspiring better thoughts into Caesar." \EP.2G,G Cicero's political system may be thus briefly described : —(Att.n. u The, people are lawless and ungovernable; among the Patricians are many unworthy members who flatter them and make common cause with them. This ought to bind the Optimates the closer together; but they are few in number, and stand in need of some great leader under whom to marshal themselves. Pompeius has at present the greatest name; true, he is too much bent on gaining popularity, and that not always in the most creditable way —yet he is an Optimate at heart; and as the only heir of Sulla, though he might wish to relax the chord which his predecessor had too tightly strained, he would never abandon the Pepublic,-that many-toned instrument which a rude touch might so easily destroy, to the reckless hands of the rabble, and of the Magnates who count upon them. In this view he considered himself and Pompeius, in spite of the foibles which the latter so frequently displayed, as the safeguards of the Republic. And he had indeed good reason in after times to look back with pleasure and selfapprobation on the three years succeeding his Consulate. The Senate, that rock on which Rome's greatness rested, though shaken and soon to be utterly destroyed, was as yet erect to outward view, honoured and powerful; and Cicero after his glorious Consulate, and especially since the noble Catulus was no more, stood first in reputation among its members. Proof of this was given during the Consulate of Metellus and Afranius, when dangerous disturbances having broken out in Gaul, certain Consulars Avere to be chosen by lot to send there. The lot fell first on Cicero; but all the senators declared with one accord £ 74 L I F E AND LETTERS OF CICERO. that he must not leave the city. A similar resolution was next made in the case of Pompeius. This was one of the brightest days in Cicero's life; and the honour was one Fp.24.3. which he had well merited.1 Six years later he wrote 2 EP. 148,A. t ' m s t° the Proconsul Lentulus 2 : " I bear in mind that /p. i.o.) ( ] u r j n g m v Consulship, on the 1st of January, so firm a foundation was laid for the stability of the Senate, that none need wonder~ tit the courage and authority that body exhibited at the nones of December*; and likewise that down to the Consulship of Caesar and Bibulus, whilst my opinion, though that of a private citizen, had the greatest weight in the Senate, the sentiments of the Good Men were almost all alike." But there was one more farsighted than Pompeius or Cicero, who nourished bolder projects than the former, and was gifted with greater power to bring them into execution; and it is not a little remarkable that Cicero mentions the name 3 Ep. 2G, G. of Ca3sar at the close of the passage above quoted 3 , expressing a doubtful hope that he might succeed in bringing him to a better mind. Such hope might well be doubtful; for he must already have anticipated what he says at a later period, in his brilliant description of the Optimates in his speech for Sestius. He there calls them " the rock and defence of ceremonies and auspices; of the authority of the magistrates and the dignity of the Senate ; of ancient custom, of law and justice ; of credit, of the provinces, of the allies; of war, of glory, and of empire." " Greater," he says, " are the power and resources of our enemies than of our defenders; since rash and reckless men are driven forward by the slightest hint, and are ready enough to revolt against the State of their own accord; so that the better men, anxious to preserve peace even at .the expense of * On which clay the condemnation of the Catilinarians was passed. Flacco, 40. Pro A. u. 694. B. c. 60. cic. 47. 75 dignity, often lose both by delay and hesitation. But those who would help the Optimates to defend the Commonwealth, either betray them from caprice, or shrink from them through timidity. Thus the Optimates are left to stand alone." * There were indeed but few in the Senate to whom Cicero could look with any hope for the salvation of the State. Hortensius, unquestionably one of the best and most influential of the senators, had given a strong proof of defective judgment in the affair of Clodius; Cato spoke in the Senate u as though he were living in Plato's republic, not amongst the dregs of the people of Romulus." * His 1 ^ 2 (AU. 0 severity against the knights in the above mentioned affair had widened the breach between that order and the Senate; Favonius was only " Cato's ape ; " he caricatured his pattern, and displayed his own incapacity. The noble Catulus died the same year that Caesar returned from Spain (694); of him Cicero says, " Neither the storms of danger, nor the breeze of honour, neither fear nor hope, could ever seduce him from the principles of his life."2 Elsewhere a pr„sest 17. he says: " I now tread the path*of the Optimates without a patron and without a companion."3 Besides these there3 ^.2.5,4. were indeed but few exceptions to the character he gives {Ail ''' 20} of the remaining senators: " They think they touch the sky with their fingers, if they have bearded mullets in their fish-ponds, winch come to feed from their hands; little care have they for the fortunes of the Republic." f4 < Ep 2 G.G. (Mi. ii. i.) * Pro Sestio. 46, 47. In this speech Cicero describes the Optimates, in his sense of the word (the best citizens), at full length. f [We can hardly doubt that Cicero covertly includes both Lucullus and Hortensius in this charge of unworthy trifling. Varro (de lie Bust. iii. 17.) gives a curious description of their fish-ponds. Lucullus, it is said, " cut through a mountain" to introduce sea water into his preserve ; for which Pompeius gave him the nickname of Xerxes Togatus. (Pompeius was particularly jealous of his Asiatic victories.) Hortensius, we are told by MacioE 2 76 L I F E AND LETTERS OF CICERO; In looking through the letters of this period we seem to be contemplating the plot of a well contrived tragedy. We have before us Pompeius, who after having done his part towards shaking the fabric of the State, now at the summit of his greatness, returns to Rome, but only to see the last rays of his fortune extinguished; Caesar, conscious of his powers and of his superior influence, watching the moment which was to give full scope for their display; the State itself scarcely escaped from the ruin with which Gatilina had threatened it, governed by men wTho were, with few exceptions, incapable and selfish voluptuaries; the people for the most part a lawless and undisciplined rabble, at the service of any one who would flatter and court them by supplying their wants, or gratifying their love of pleasure; the solemnities of religion outraged by a Clodius, and the culprit acquitted by corrupt judges through the oversight of an Hortensius ; the virtues of a Cato in such a community utterly lost; in a word we see the Republic ripe for destruction. Finally, amidst this gloom and danger, we behold one man who, loving his country with a patriot's ardour, turns fondly to the good old times, though himself a son of these latter days; sees 1 /•/>. 2 2. the fatal moment approach 1 ; hastens his own ruin by pro3 voking a scoundrel; and leans for support on a chieftain who wrill abandon him in the time of need, only to fall himself after preparing a place for one yet mightier, destined in his turn to destroy the Republic altogether. The interest of the tragedy is heightened by the circumstance, that Caesar, the man on whose destinies all turns, is scarcely brought before our notice in the letters of this period. His name occurs for the first time in one of the bius (Saturn, ii. 9.), moistened his planes with wine. For the extravaganco oi the] Roman fish-ponds see Plin. Hist. Nut. ix, 80.; Martial, x. 30.] A. u. 694. B. c. 60. cic. 47. 77 latest; and the words have an ominous sound — "* Caesar, for whom the breeze now blows most favourably."* Let us now turn to that portion of Cicero's life which is not devoted to politics. We find him full of occupation as a public advocate. Besides the oration against Metellus already mentioned, it appears from his letters that he delivered many speeches the same year, which like that are no longer extant. And as patron he defended P . Cornelius Sulla in one which we still possess, and of which mention has already been made. In the year 693, he delivered the speeches against Clodius, of which a fragment only is preserved in a letter to Atticus. 1 It i s | $ ' .2,1G*greatly to be regretted that we do not possess those he addressed to the Senate in the presence of Pompeius on the same occasion, of which he speaks himself in such high terms.2 The speech for the poet Archias should':f^\l]A^ probably be referred to the same year; and in the following he defended (in a speech no longer extant) P. Scipio Nasica, subsequently the brother-in-law of Pompeius, against Favonius, who had assailed him with a charge of bribery.3 Meanwhile he collected such of his political3 ^•.. 2fi j 7 orations as he considered most important, twelve in number, and which, as they were all delivered during his Consulship, he called his consular orations. This collection he wished to bring inrto general notice in order to kindle in the Roman youth emulation of the models there displayed of true nobility and greatness.f * Ep. 26, 6. (Att. ii. 1.) Ccesar, cujusnunc venti valde sunt secundi. f Cicero himself enumerates these twelve speeches {Ep. 26, 2., Att. ii. 1.) 1. In Senatu Kal. Jan. (contra Ruttum). 2. Ad popuhun de lege agraria. 3. De Othone (now lost). 4. Pro Itabirio. 5. De proscriptorumjiliis. 6. Quum provinciam in condone deposuit (both lost). 7 —10. Catilinarice. 11, 12. Two shorter speeches on the Lex Agraria (the third .against Rullus j the other we do not know of). I n Ep, 18, 6. we may E 3 78 LIFE AND LETTERS OF CICERO. In the year 694 he wrote, both in Greek and Latin, the i EP. 24,8. history of his Consulship.1 The Greek he sent to Atti(Att. i. 19.; • -i i i • i i i . cus, in order that he might look it over, and pomt out any departure from the pure Attic idiom. He describes the great care and attention with which he had composed this work, endeavouring to keep close to the rules and exam* Ep.w, i. pies of Isocrates and Aristotle. 2 From the same passage we may also conclude that he had not been sparing of selfcommendation. He sent the work likewise to the philosopher Posidonius of Rhodes, in order to stimulate him to write upon the same subject with greater skill and elegance of style.* He next composed a poem upon his Consulship in the Latin language, a fragment of which is pre3 Ep.29.(Qu.served in his twenty-ninth letter. 3 Besides these occupations, and numerous others, in which he was engaged, we find him deep in. the study of the works of celebrated authors: for instance in those of Dicaearchus the Aristotelian, whose political writings he * EP 27,2. warmly praises.4 His appetite for knowledge was voracious. His friend Paetus the amiable and sportive epicurean, in whose society he often took refuge from severe labours, and with whom we become better acquainted from many subsequent letters, had presented him with the library of Servius Claudius, whose property he had inherited. Claudius had died in Greece, or at all events had left his books there, and Cicero writes to Atticus: " As you love me, as you trust I love you, set your friends, your clients, your guests, and even your freedmen and see a proof that Cicero, after delivering a speech, was wont to polish and make additions to it. * Atticus likewise narrated the Consulship of Cicero in Greek, Ep. 26, I., and Corn. Nepos, vit. Att. Others did the same. See Ep. 27, 2. [where Schiitz, Erncsti, &c suppose such to have been the case with Ilerodcs, of whom Cicero says, conjurasse mullein quam restitissc conjurationi si ilium mihi audiendum putarem.'] A. u. 694. B. c. 60. cic. 47. 79 slaves, to work, to see that no scrap may be lost. Daily do I find more refreshment in these studies after the labours of the Forum." 1 He thus sought to win for himself, i Fp, 2rK R.; and through himself for the Eoman world, those laurels (j™X 20'.;12' which had hitherto adorned the Greeksr; and he was aware how far he had already been successful: he says to Atticus, u I have made the Greeks jealous." 2 2 Ep .2,;<, Devoted as he was to these occupations, and so diligent in " n* } the employment of his time, it was natural that he should desire to keep aloof from the diversions which pleased the generality of the people, both high and low. To escape from the gladiatorial shows given by the Consul Metellus, he retired to Antium, where he possessed an estate.3* ^/Vr0}1Here he seems to have employed himself with the publication of his twelve consular speeches. Men whose faculties are devoted to political and scientific pursuits, are frequently found to display a certain degree of coldness in the tenderer relations of life. It is a delightful spectacle where the great statesman and scholar appears likewise in the character of the affectionate husband, father, and friend. Thus it was with Cicero ; and it is touching to hear him pour out his whole heart to his friend just after the unfortunate affair of Clodius, when all the hopes he had built on the Equestrian order were dashed to the ground, under the Consulate of Afranius. In the absence of Atticus and of his beloved brother, he says his only hours of recreation are those which he spends with his wife, his dear daughter, and his sweet infant Cicero 4 ; 4 EP 23,1. (Alt. i 18 ) and again after uttering imprecations on the false and selfish connexions of the Forum: " Neither my hours of toil or rest, neither business nor idleness, neither my public nor my domestic life, can dispense any longer with your society and advice, so valuable on every matter in which I am concerned."5 » EP 22,2. 80 LIFE AND LETTERS OF CICERO. The passages in which he mentions his brother Quintus at this period deserve particular attention. He describes » Ep. 22, i. him as a man of sanguine and irritable temperament *, friendly and genial, easily offended, but as easily pacified; tender-hearted, and possessed of great kindness of disposition. But these qualities, though accompanied by an excellent understanding, were not based upon strength of character or will; and we shall see in the sequel into what errors such a disposition could lead him. That'Quintus possessed considerable talent is evident from the long letter his elder brother addressed to him when he was Pro* Ep.w r> occasion of some domestic disagreements between him and Quintus, who was his friend's brother-in-law. 1 To-'^^-vi.a . . . . . (Mt * l7-> wards his brother's son, Cicero entertained similar kind feelings.2 He was an indulgent master to his slaves,'2^-^V* where they deserved his kindness. At a subsequent period we shall be gratified with observing his relations with Tiro. In one of his present letters he laments the death of his reader Sositheus 3 , and the words are worth remark-?ft7-.1(:-* 3 (Mt.\ 12.) ing: " His death has distressed me more than a slave's death should." There are three letters only extant of the year 692, and none of these addressed to Atticus, who seems to have gone to Greece towards the end of this year. There are seven of 693, all addressed to the same correspondent, with the exception of one to C. Antonius. Of the year 694, besides the long epistle to Quintus already men- . 'tioned, we have six lettters, all to Atticus: of these the fifth is dated from Tusculum. After the Ides of March 694, Cicero went into the country. He returned to Rome from his Pompeian villa, on the 12th of May.4 On the* A> .-*< \1st of June we find him journeying to Antium, from whence he seems to have proceeded to another of his estates 5 ; but in the course of the same month he 5 Ep ^, i. was again in Home. He could not at this period : gratify that ardent desire for a life of studious retirement in the country, which he already expresses in such E 5 82 L I F E AND LETTERS OF CICEKO. strong terms. Melancholy circumstances gave him more leisure in the year next ensuing, which we shall proceed to examine, after saying a few words on his character in general. Many and bitter are the charges to which Cicero has been subjected. Dio Cassius, for instance, says l: " Cicero pretended that the balance of the State wras in his hands, and gave the Senate and people to understand that whichever scale he threw the weight into, would undoubtedly sink. He wTas a mere timeserver, and passed, now to one side, now to the other, in order to curry favour alternately with each." But if wre read with an unprejudiced mind the letters hitherto brought before us, we shall surely pass a different judgment upon him. Cicero's intentions towards his country were upright; but no hand less powerful than Caesar's could have extricated it from the confusion in which it was then involved. Cicero wras no Cassar. He aimed at preserving ; an object no longer to be attained in the straight and honest course trodden by the great men of Rome's better days. Ca3sar found it equally impossible to bring his bold conceptions to effect by the methods of right and justice. Nor can we wonder, however we must lament it, that in times so corrupt as these, even Cicero should not have been altogether free from prevalent errors and defects. His early connexion writh Catilina has been already noticed, and the compact, not less discreditable, wliich existed apparently between him and Antonius; as likewise his defence of that worthless man, who had committed such illegal acts in Macedonia. We are surprised also at the lukewarmness he at first manifested in the case of Clodius*; nor, finally, can we fail to be struck with the conscious pride and satisfaction, deserving often no better name than vanity, which * Ep. 18, 3. (Alt. i. 13.) : nosmetipsi, qui Lycurgci a principle fuissemus, quotidie demitigamur. A. u. 694. B. c. 60. cic. 47. 83 obtrudes itself upon us in many passages of his letters.* On the other hand, our reprobation of these failings is in a great measure softened by the candour and freedom with which he discusses all his concerns with his friend. Other pleasing features in his character are the disinterested spirit of which we have such numerous indications in his correspondence (for example Ep. 29, 9.); the genuine humanity of his disposition, of which among others there is an unmistakeable proof in his twenty-second letter; and his gratitude to those to whom he was indebted for real and lasting benefits.! Who can read without emotion these words in his letter to his brother ? l " Had fate i EP. 29,9. transplanted you amongst rude and barbarous nations, such as Africa, Spain, or Gaul, your sense of humanity would indeed have prompted you to make every provision for their welfare and advantage. But placed as you are over a nation which is the seat and home of humanity itself, and from whence it has penetrated to others, truly you are bound to exercise it in their behalf from whom we have ourselves derived it." How amiable Cicero appears as a husband, a father, or a friend, has already been noticed. The evidence of this is sure and irrefragable. He enters into no eloquent disquisitions on love or friendship in his letters, but contents himself with imparting to his friend the tone and sentiments of his heart. But we must make a distinction between his letters to Atticus, Quintus, and some of his more intimate friends, and such as are written to mere political allies, concerning whom, as we have seen, he expresses himself with some severity to Atticus in his * How often too in his speeches : O nonce illce Decemhres, quce me consule fuistis! quern ego diem vere natalem hujus urbis aut certe salutarem appellare possum. Pro Flacc. 40. f Pietas, gravissimum et sanctissimum nomen* Ep. 148, 1. (J)iv. i. 9.) E 6 84 L I F E AND LETTERS OF CICERO. i AttA. is. twenty-third letter. 1 In the one class we see Cicero the statesman pour tray ed; in the other the man himself. And now his political firmness was to be exposed to a severe trial. The close of the year 694 drew near; Csesar, his Proprietorship having expired, had returned from Spain, where in the midst of his legions he had acted as an inde2 Appian, pendent sovereign.2 The Consulship of the next year ' awaited his acceptance. Cicero foresaw that an agrarian / law similar to that proposed by Pompeius would immedis Ep. 28,3. ately be brought forward.3 Nor could he doubt as to the (Att. a. 3.) J & further projects which Caesar cherished in his mind. Cornelius Balbus, the Proprietor's intimate friend, came to him with the assurance that Caesar intended to consult him and Pompeius on all his measures; and to use his utmost endeavours to effect an union between the latter and Cras* Ep.m. 3. sus 4 , for these two were now enemies, and the panegyric Crassus had pronounced in the Senate upon Cicero, the day Pompeius was questioned concerning the affair of 5 \AU.'\AA.) Clodius , was no doubt mainly intended for that statesman's annoyance. Pompeius had hitherto been unable to extort from the Senate a ratification of the bold and arbitrary arrangements he had made in the kingdoms and provinces of Asia. Lucullus was foremost in opposing him, eAiF.P9.an*B' a n ( i w a s seconded by Crassus.6 But Caesar, who had already attracted Crassus to himself, found the means of gaining Pompeius likewise, and this he effected by promising him the confirmation of his acts in Asia, with or without the ratification of the Senate. Pompeius and Crassus were accordingly reconciled with each other, and exerted themselves to the utmost to promote Caesar's election. Crassus, who possessed unbounded wealth, did not spare his gold; and thus was laid the foundation of the first triumvirate.* But to Caesar it was of no small * Varro wrote a specific tract on this alliance, which foe t.calls a tripleheaded monster, rpucdpavov, [in allusion to Cerberus], Appian, B. C. ii. 9 A. u. 694. B. c. 60. cic. 47. 85 consequence that Cicero should be included also in this league; a man so highly favoured by the people, so much considered by the Senate and the knights, could not fail to add force and authority to his schemes. Cicero, on his part, felt, as he wrote at the end of this year to Atticus, that a grave and arduous crisis of his life was at hand. Clodius was aspiring to the Tribunate, and used such threatening language against him, that he already thought of summoning his friend to his aid.1 Should he unite him- * EP, 26,3. self now with Caesar and his associates, doubtless it would secure his safety: but he must sacrifice his political principles. Should he, on the other hand, refuse the proffered alliance, not only would he risk the loss of that influence in the State which he alone could at this moment wield, but his life itself was in danger. " With Pompeius," he writes 2 , "I am closely connected; it rests with me whether2 ^.28,3. I choose to ally myself with Caesar also. In that case my foes will be conciliated; with the multitude I shall 'remain at peace ; my old age may hope for tranquillity. But my decision is guided by the maxims I have myself laid down in the third book of my poem on my Consulate : ' Keep thou the path, which thou troddest in thy youth, and followedst as Consul with brave heart and manly virtue. Stand fast therein, and wax in renown and good men's approbation.' * This is the precept of Calliope herself, inscribed by me in a volume replete with genuine aristocratic principles, and my motto shall always be that > of Hector: —• £12 OLC0VO2 CLpLGTOS a/JLVV£G0CU TTSpl 7TaTp7]9"\ Interea cursus quos prima a parte juventce, Quosque adeo consul virtute animoque parasti, Hos retine, atque aagefamam, laudesque bonorum. f Horn. 27. xii. 243. BOOK in. L E T T E R S OE C I C E R O , IN T H E YEAR 695. B. c. 59. CESAR'S FIRST CONSULATE. BOOK III. CESAR'S FIRST CONSULATE. T H E Triumvirate, as it is called, of Caesar, Crassus, and Pompeius, of which however there could be no formal or public recognition, was established at the end of the year preceding; and Cicero had it now in his power to show whether the expressions quoted from his last letter were merely transient ebullitions of the excited feeling which often causes a man to overestimate his own powers, or whether he was indeed the statesman qualified to save the Republic from impending ruin.* From the tone which prevails in the first letters of the period on which we are now entering, it is evident that he laboured under great depression of spirits and bitter indignation, and was determined to have nothing more to do with public affairs, which had fallen into the hands of those three chiefs, their creatures and dependants.f Nor, remembering the light in which he always regarded the period of his own administration, can we wonder at his mortification. * We have twenty-three letters of this period, all addressed to rAtticus, except one to Quintus. In the early months of this year, we find Cicero on his estates, and the first letter is dated from Tusculum ; from the second to the sixth, from his villa at Antium ; the seventh from Tres Tabernse ; the eighth from Forum Appii; the ninth to the fourteenth from his house at Formise ; and the remaining nine from Rome. f JEp. 30, 5. (Att. ii. 4.) Statui nihil jam de republica cogitare. JSp. 33, 2. (Att. ii. 7.) Cupio istorum naufragia ex terra intueru 90 L I F E AND LETTERS OF CICERO. Whether it were owing to this state of feeling, or whether in consequence of the advice of Atticus, Cicero quitted the city early in the year (perhaps in February), !??-?°',t- and repaired to his villa at Tusculum 1 , to divert himself (Att.u. 4.) * ? with his studies. He next visited and resided for a while at some of his other estates. He wished to compose a 3 Ep. 32, i. geographical work 2 , in order to enrich the literature of his country in this branch of science, as he had done in others/ and display the capacities of the Roman genius and language in a fresh field of knowledge. For this purpose he had provided himself with Greek books treating on the subject. His friend urged him to set to work; but he lacked the energy and freedom of mind necessary for such an undertaking. " I am become a perfect idler," he wrote to Atticus from Antium, whither he had gone from Tus3 Ep.p, i. culum 3 ; " I amuse myself with reading, or with counting the waves: the idea of composition is hateful to me." He * Ep. 30,5. says further in the first letter of the present period 4 : (Att.ii. 4.) L. i n i.i - l i t * " 1 am firmly resolved to think no more about public affairs. In these times the life of every good man is inse3 Ep.4o,<2. cure." Again he writes from his Formian villa in April 5 : " S o utterly unnerved am I, that I feel I would rather live under the sway of a tyrant^ in the idleness in which I am now languishing, than engage again in public strife, though with the best prospects of success." He studied to assume an aspect of deep melancholy: and he accordingly avoided the games which were held at Antium during his< (Att.ii. 10.) « Ep.M. residence in the vicinity.6 Caesar's grand design now approached its fulfilment. Pompeius had played into his hands admirably; and, though many might regard the elder statesman as Cicero once did, he must have felt conscious in his own mind how insignificant a part he was beginning to act in public affairs, and been the more induced to attach himself to the younger A. u. 695. B.C. 59. cic. 48. 91 and stronger. Caesar was a great gainer by his connexion with Pompeius. His success in persuading the Senate to ratify all that had been done in Asia, involved no sacrifice whatever on his own part; while Pompeius, who had nothing so much at heart, became in consequence firmly bound to him. And now, his reputation once again enhanced in the eyes of superficial observers by this alliance, Pompeius for a time felt renewed strength, and even ventured, at least in Cicero's opinion, to cherish dreams of monarchy.1 Many influential men among his adherents l Ep.w, I. supported Caesar's projects; and the latter, by effecting a reconciliation between Pompeius and the wealthy and powerful Crassus, begot a notion, that nothing could withstand the compact he had founded. He had won them over by the argument that their mutual hostility could not fail to enhance the influence of such men as Cicero and Cato; while an union of interests would reduce them to insignificance.2 He was conscious withal that his rivals 2 pint, crass. . . . H. would keep each other in check; while he, on his part, reaped the fruits of their mutual alliance. On the other hand, it was of small advantage to the Optimates that they succeeded in giving him M. Bibulus for a colleague, instead of Lucceius, whom he wished for, and with whom he had made a compact for attaining the Consulship together.3 3 ^p.22,5. This election, to obtain which bribery had been employed, and that with the consent of Cato himself4, served in the4 Suet. Jul. end only to afford signal proof both of the Optimates' i.'c. S " ' weakness and of Caesar's power. Gladly would Caesar have gained Cicero too; but in this he failed: Cicero's principles forbade such an alliance; so did the pride which his Consulship had created and fostered in him. But he felt himself now utterly powerless to swim against the stream. The citizens, he perceived, were getting weary of him 5 -—he should be compelled to stand by, a mere 5 EP.Z\,\. 1 J (AtL ii. 5.) 92 L I E E AND LETTERS OF CICERO. spectator of the mighty events which were preparing; he could no longer place confidence in those who called themselves Optimates, but who showed him no gratitude for the » Ep.42, i. great services he had rendered their party* 1 : and hence resulted the despondency we remark in him at the beginning of the year 695, How he came notwithstanding to offer no opposition to this state of things is easily explained from his character and circumstances. He was a man of lively fancy, great in the toga, but no hero in the ordinary sense of the term. When he wrote that letter to Atticus, the Ep. 28. last of the past year (694) 2 , it might possibly have appeared to him a grand and not altogether impracticable idea to lift his arm against the possessors of power, and, if a higher destiny so decreed, to bury himself in the ruins of the Republic. But a lively imagination is wont to enfeeble energy and resolution, and how deficient Cicero was in these qualities f we shall have striking evidence in the next portion of his letters. Besides, since the days of Marius, all the chief concerns of State had come to be decided by arms. Now Pompeius was the first captain of the time; Csesar had trained himself to war in his province; and the military reputation even of Crassus was such that he might fairly connect himself with them. J But Cicero was no warrior; and he might now feel that this single circumstance must decide his future position in public affairs. Meanwhile, as they could not gain over Cicero, Ca3sar and Pompeius wished to find some honourable means of * Hortensius was, however, an exception to this. f At least at this period; for at the close of his life, as well as during his Consulate, he surpassed himself in respect of these virtues. J [Pompeius, being summoned to bring the war with Spartacus to a close, had snatched from Crassus laurels which he had already fairly gained; but Crassus had distinguished himself in the contest with the Marians, and had won for Sulla the victory of the Colline G-ate. ] A. u. 695. B. c. 59. cic. 48. 93 getting rid of him. They entertained, it seems, at one time, the notion of sending him to Egypt, to reconcile the king, Ptolemseus Auletes, with his people, and to declare him a friend and ally of the Romans.* Cicero, who had heard of this, or some similar scheme from Atticusf, eagerly caught at the idea. 1 He had long wished to visit Egypt; thei EP.Z\, i.]i mission was an honourable one; it would remove him from '"" J the scenes which had become so loathsome to him; and (so spoke the flattering voice of self-love), perhaps, when once he had left them, hi§ countrymen would desire to have him back again. Yet, by thus complying with the will of the Triumvirs, he felt he should incur reproaches from the few who shared his sentiments in the Senate, and principally from Cato.2 He was, however, spared the diffi-a EP. 31,1. culty of deciding, for the whole scheme fell to the ground; Ptolemaeus being forced by his people to fly to Rome. He bestowed a transient thought on the office of Augur, a vacancy having been caused by the death of Q. Metellus CelerJ; but it does not seem to have occupied his mind long, although he confesses to Atticus that this was the * Alexander HI., king of Egypt, was deposed by his subjects, and Ptolemreus Auletes raised to his throne. The Egyptians found themselves no better off under this vain and incapable monarch, who maintained himself only by means of Pompeius, whom he loaded with presents. Pompeius sought to get for him the title of Friend and Ally of Rome, and disposed Csesar in his interests. The Egyptians, on the other hand, found a patron in Bibulus, but he effected nothing for them. In order to collect the vast rums he had promised his powerful allies, Ptolemseus oppressed his people ; they rose against him, and he fled to Rome. f Atticus, who had returned to Italy at the end of the preceding year, spent the first month of 695 with Cicero in Rome, Ep. 30, 2. {Alt ii. 4.), and remained there when the latter went into the country. Early in the summer he returned to Greece, whither Cicero's first letter from Rome is directed. Ep. 44. (Att. ii. 18.) J See Cicero's lamentations on the death of Metellus, in the speech for Caslius, c. 24.: quum parietem scepe feriens eum, qui cum Q. Catulo fuerat communis, crebro Catulum, scepe me, scepissime rempublicam nominabaU 94 l (Ip'"l'2i L I F E AND LETTERS OF CICERO. on ^ ^ a ^ w ^ w n ^ c n ^ n e Triumvirs could tempt him.1 He made no effort to procure i t ; nor surely would the Triumvirs have wished to retain him in such an office in Rome. But Cassar did not as yet abandon the hope of gaining him, or, at least, of bringing him into a position which would prevent him from obstructing the present and future schemes of the Triumvirate. He courteously invited him 45?3.'A{Au\\.to be his legaius in his expected province.2 Cicero 1 8 > is-) hesitated for a while, and felt more inclined to accept this post than a legatio libera which wTas offered him at the same time. Certainly it would have secured him more effectually from the persecutions of Clodius; but he deemed himself now sufficiently armed against that danger, and 3£p.44,3. even longed for an encounter with the demagogue.3 m.j'un.) '' Another proposition, that he should fill the place vacated by the death of one of the twenty commissioners of Csesar's agrarian law, he rejected with horror. " Nothing," he 4 ^B.45,3. writes to his friend4, " would have disgraced me more id mfjul'.)9'' the eyes of the world." , Cicero had .penetrated the design of the three confederates, and was convinced that it aimed at the entire subversion of the constitution, such as he and a few others had endeavoured to preserve it. " What can be the object," » 2?/>.43, i. he writes to Atticus 5 , "of this sudden matrimonial conm.Mai!) " nection?* of this division of lands? and of this lavish expenditure of money ? Were this the end, it would be bad enough; but this cannot, in the nature of things, be the end. For what satisfaction can any such measures give them in themselves ? They would never have gone so far, had they not meant to prepare the way for further and more ruinous undertakings." The concurring testimony of historians leaves us in no doubt as to the nature of the * Caesar had given his daughter in marriage to Pompeius. A. u. 695. B. c. 59. cic. 48. 95 schemes entertained by the Triumvirs; and the events of Caesar's Consulship sufficiently bear out their views* as well as Cicero's surmises. Caesar leagued himself with Pornpeius and Crassus, under the agreement that no political measure should take place against the will of any one of the three. l At the commencement of his Consul-120suet. Jul. ship, Caesar affected great moderation2, and managed t0 2Dio.ca>s xxx.vi.ii 1 throw on his colleague the suspicion of sowing differences between them. 3 But his designs soon stood clearly forth.3 APPian, 1 Among the particular measures which Cicero perceived were to prepare the way for greater projects, was that of the division of lands, just mentioned, proposed in the first month of the year. Pornpeius, we have seen, brought forward a similar law, but had failed in carrying it. Caesar knew better how to attain his object, and managed to invest his proposal with the most specious appearances. The public revenues were not to be diminished. He pretended to give inhabitants and cultivators to the desert tracts of Italy; and to support, by agricultural labour, a number of idle and turbulent citizens. The special provisions of the law were these : — The portion of the Campanian territory which belonged to the State, together with the Campus Stellatis, which an ancient ordinance forbade to be alienated, should be distributed among 20,000 citizens, each having three or more children, burdened, however, with a certain impost; lands held by private proprietors were to be redeemed and divided also among the people, f |Cicero clearly perceived that Caesar's aim was to obtain * See Dio Cass, xxxvii. 51.; Plut. Cess. 13.; Crass. 14.; Suet. Jul 20.; Veil. ii. 44.; Appian, B. C. ii. 10. foil. f See Ep. 43,1. (Att. ii. 17.), with the remarks of Manutius and the commentators on Suet. Jul. 20. The first division was effected: but the other, that of the lands belonging to private individuals, was stayed the next year by the Tribune P. Clodius. See some further obstructions, JEp. 90. (Qu, fr. ii. 1.) 96 L I F E AND LETTERS OF CICERO. popularity by this enactment. This inspired him with a feeling of dread; and, to tranquillize his fears, he tried to discover some weak point on which the measure was assaili Ep. 42, i. able.1 He seems not yet to have appreciated the m. Mai'.; ' mighty intellect of its author, who had taken care so to frame the law, that nothing objectionable could be laid to its charge; a feature wherein is exhibited a wide difference from the former proposition of Rullus. But he soon recognised the genius of the man, who, in spite of the constant opposition of his colleague Bibulus, of Cato, and others, found means of carrying his law, by submitting it, after long and fruitless debates in the Senate, to the vote of the %A$?l?n{0, popular assembly.2 Pompeius delivered a speech on this xxxvmfi*. occasion, in which he reviewed the measure in detail, and enlarged on its merits. " I f any one," he said, in conclusion, to Caesar, "should draw his weapon against you, I will raise sword and shield in your defence." Crassus, on his part, was not wanting: the Tribune Vatinius, with six others, had been gained over entirely to Caesar's interests x and thus the resistance of Bibulus, while it caused a tumult on the day of the Rogation, which endangered his own life, was of no avail to his cause; and equally fruitless was the opposition of Cato in the Senate, for which Caesar had actually ventured to put him under arrest.* The agrarian law was carried. An additional clause was appended to it, to the effect that every one who sued for any public office should swear to propose no change in [lu.'itSly lt* Caesar also caused the people to swear to its perpetuity ( and at the same time obtained from them the enactment of another edict, compelling the Senate and every magistrate to take a similar oath for its ratification. Refusal to take * " It is not the law, I fear," said Cato, " but the reward which is expected for the law." Cato's arrest was immediately afterwards withdrawn by Csesar himself, who was ashamed of it. Dio Cass, xxxviii. 3.; Plut. Cat. min. 33. A.u. 695. B.C. 59. 97 cic. 48. this oath was to be punished with death or banishment. The Tribunes, and even the Senators, who had opposed the law most vehemently, took the oath accordingly; nor did Cato himself resist, when Cicero represented to him that he might well dispense with Rome, but that Rome could not dispense with him.1 And now twenty men of the firsti piut. cat. consideration were selected to divide the lands; Pompeius plan, B.'C.H. L 32.; Dio and Crassus being themselves of the number. From this^ass"xxxviiL time Caesar paid no more regard to the Senate, to whom he had recommended his law in its most specious aspect only to give himself an appearance of moderation: henceforth he applied for all his objects directly to the people. The senators, who could never assemble in a body unless summoned by both Consuls, now resorted often to the house of Bibulus, whom they urged to the promulgation of edicts aimed against Caesar.2 2 Appian.i.c. How grievously Cicero was vexed by these proceedings, how little Caesar's many admirable regulations availed to soothe him, appears from several of his letters. From them also we learn that Caesar was doing his utmost to recommend his law as salutary and unobjectionable before the day of the Rogation arrived. The people in Rome and in those parts of the country where Cicero was residing, gave vent to some murmurs at the proceedings of Caesar and his associates.3 But this signified little. The enter-s EP.Z%%% prising Tribune Vatinius was entirely in the Consul's tiA^'isfli.) interests; there were men enough ready to draw the sword for him in the streets of Rome; he understood how to gain the support of the upper class; Cato he had at least rendered powerless to injure him; and Bibulus, whom the rabble had bespattered with dirt on the day of the Rogation, reaped small advantage, either for himself or for the State, from the adulation bestowed upon him by the friends of a constitution now doomed to irretrievable ruin.4 Foiled4 Ep. 41/1.; T? 4 5 - 4 7 . {Att. ii. 15-21.) 98 L I F E AND LETTEKS OF CICERO. in his resistance to the agrarian law, he withdrew to his own house, and proclaimed the remaining days of the year 1 1 Dio Cass, dies nefasti, disqualified, that is, for public business. His edicts were read with transport by the friends of the Republic : its enemies at first resented, but were now satisfied with ignoring them. The knights, in whom Cicero still continued to place some confidence, whose interests he still tried, whenever he 2 Ep.43,3. could, to favour 2 , were gained to Caesar by his remitting to them a third of their contracts with the State.* This was just what Cicero wished two years before; but now the knights were indebted for it, not to the Senate but to Caesar, whom they made their idol accordingly.! Meanwhile he amused and conciliated the people by shows and gladiatorial combats, with profusion and liberality of every kind. In these efforts he far exceeded the limits of his own resources; but he acted on the principle that he who aims at winning the great stake, must not trouble himself about minor matters. Nor does he seem to have been at all scrupulous as to the means of procuring money for this 3 suet. jut. enormous expenditure. 3 Yet with all this, we must not lose sight of the fact, that Caesar's ambition never excluded a genuine zeal for the public welfare. Many admirable laws and institutions, made during his tenure of the Consulship, give evidence of this, and do honour to his political sagacity. £ * Dio Cass, xxxviii. 7.; Suet. Jul 20. [The publicans in Asia had besought the Senate to release them from the covenants they had unwarily contracted as farmers of the provincial imposts. Cato thought they ought to be kept to the bargains they in their blind rapacity had made, and this refusal had irritated them against the Optimates, and threw them into the hands of the enemy. See above.] f Appian, B. C. ii. 13., Qe9eia£ov aMv. % [These laws related principally to the government of the provinces (e. g. Lex Julia de pecuniis repetundis, lex Julia judiciaria), and were A. u. 695. B.C. 59. cic. 48. 99 Pitiful, meanwhile, was the part played by the great Pompeius, of whom, as early as in May, Cicero wrote : " We have everything to fear: Pompeius affects the tyranny and avows it."* Dio Cassius truly says of him: " P o m peius could now hope for no further extension of his power. When he saw Crassus already in possession of considerable influence, and Cassar on the way to it, he could not but anticipate the probability of his being overthrown by the united strength of both: but if he made common cause with them, he might hope to rise again to his former consideration.1 But the history of all times and nations teaches i DIO cass. how perilous is the man's position, whose political preeminence rests wholly on the support of others. He who had been unable to carry his own agrarian law (for that brought forward by Flavius was indeed his) found himself now compelled to support Caesar's: he dared not even refuse to be appointed one of the " Twenty," though theirs was an office which Cicero, notwithstanding its external dignity, rejected with indignation as degrading.2 He 2 Ep.jb. 3. united himself in marriage with a daughter of Caesar,com'p 'veil' . ii. 45. . who had been at an earlier period betrothed to Servilius Caepio; and thenceforth he was first asked his opinion by his father-in-law in the Senate, instead of Crassus, who had previously enjoyed that empty distinction.f As early adapted to conciliate the subjects of the Republic, in which Caesar undoubl" edly had a personal object.] * Ep. 4 3 , 1. (Att. ii. 17.) d/jLoXoyovixevcos rvpavvida crvo-Kevafcrcu. Comp, Ep. 42, 1. (AU. ii. 16.) f Appian, B. C. ii. 14.; Suet. Jul. 21. [The form of conducting a debate in the Roman Senate was this: The Consul, or Praetor in his absence, called upon all the members successively to declare their sentiments, which they did either in a speech or by merely assenting to the opinion of some preceding speaker; in which case they rose from their place and went over to him. At the conclusion of the debate the groups thus assembled were counted. Comp. Plin. Ep. viii. 14. 19. The Consul usually called first upon one of the Consuls elect, next upon the Consulars, the Praetors and other F 2 100 LIFE AND LETTERS OF CICERO. as the beginning of May Cicero writes to Atticus: " Pompeius is weary of the connexion, and sorely repents > Ep. 48,3. having entered into i t ; " 1 and in a latter letter he says : comp. 47, "2' " He wishes once more to regain the place from which he j has been forced to descend ; he imparts his distress to me, » Ep. 49,2. and sometimes seeks openly to repair it." 2 His alliance (Alt. ii. 23.} with Caesar, in fact, brought him no other advantage than the confirmation of his acts in Asia. The people, who know how to discriminate between the real substance of power and its mere outward semblance, now insulted him as freely as they had before applauded him. At the games of Apollo celebrated on the 5th of July, they compelled the actor Diphilus several times to repeat, " Through our misery thou art become great ;"* and hailed the words with acclamations. Tremendous was the shout which resounded in the theatre when he uttered the sentence: " The time will come when this thy greatness shall cause thee to sigh deeply."f And these are the words of Cicero: " Our unhappy friend, who until now never knew what unpopularity was, who heard nothing but the voice of praise, who dwelt in an atmosphere of glory, now wretched and desponding, knows not whither to betake himself. He sees that he has proceeded too far, yet to recede were difficult; the good being his enemies, the bad not his friends. But how soft-hearted I am! When he harangued the people high magistrates. But he was not bound to any particular order. In Sallust's report of the debate upon the punishment of the Catilinarians (Catil.' 51.) we find Catulus, a Consular, and Princeps Senatus, speaking after Caesar, who was only Praetor elect. But whatever order the Consul assigned at the commencement of his administration he was expected to maintain throughout. Csesar's conduct, therefore, in this respect was noticed as an innovation.] * Ep. 45, 2. (AtL ii. 19.) Nostra mispria tu es magnus. These words are from a tragedy, perhaps one of Attius. f Ibid. jEandem viitutem istam veniet tempus quurn graviter gemes A. u. 695. B.C. 59. cic. 48. 101 on the 25th of July against the edicts of Bibulus, he who formerly was wont to stand so proudly on the same spot, and magnify himself and his own exploits, strong in the people's love, and honoured with universal approbation,— I could not restrain my tears! What a humble, abject tone he now adopted, displeasing both to his audience and himself! Oh, this truly was a spectacle at which none but Crassus could rejoice ! * And as Apelles would have felt severe pain could he have seen his Venus, or Protogenes his Ialysus, bespattered with dirt, even thus it was with real grief that I beheld him whom I had laboured to adorn with all the colours of my art, now suddenly defaced." 11 Ef)m 47> 2. Though Cicero's lively fancy, and the pain he really felt, ( ^ ,11,21,) may have led him to some exaggeration in this passage, he assuredly perceived the true bearings of the case; and so he would have done, apart from his mortification at Pompeius officiating as Augur on the occasion of Clodius's adoption into a plebeian house; when he threatened in his anger " to address a glorious Palinode " to him for whom he had once delivered the most magnificent speeches.2 If2 Scil.pro leg. he was sorely distressed at the conduct of Pompeius, h e ^ i . \AUAU found no consolation in Cato, though he always continued to respect and honour him: thus when the proposed embassy to Egypt was occupying his mind, he quoted with reference to Cato the Homeric verse: — HovXvSdfjbas fjboc irp&ros sXsy^stTjv dvaOrjast^ 3 ^.31,1. (Att. ii. 5.)' and affirmed that this one man was worth a hundred Hgm.z/.xxii. thousand in his eyes. Yet he admitted that the patriot whose words and deeds were worthy of Plato's republic, could not maintain himself and his virtue in the Roman * Whose old hostility to Pompeius had not quite yielded to the political persuasions of Caesar. F 3 102 L I F E AND LETTERS OF CICERO. world such as it then was. He even went so far as to }J?." ?£'!.) ascribe partly to him the subversion of the State. 1 He was probably thinking of the case of the knights, whose claims, already mentioned, Cato was then opposing. And Cato, in fact, found himself, after long refusing, forced at last to swear adhesion to the agrarian law; after which 2 Dio pass. n e resisted the measures of Caesar no further.2 xxxviu. 7. Thus had Caesar become master of Rome. "Believe *" writes Cicero to Atticus 3 , " t h e whole State and government have whirled gaily round, with less noise than I could have expected, and swifter than they should; partly through Cato's fault, but more from their iniquity who set at nought laws and auspices, who squandered on kinglings the estates of the Romans, and heaped enormous treasures on their own creatures." We who are privileged to survey the times that followed, and can see how Caesar's mighty genius, born for dominion, was clearly developed afterwards in his deeds, can pronounce, without hesitation, that all hope of maintaining the Republic was already at an ^nd. But, at the period of Caesar's Consulship, Cicero cherished other ideas. At its commencement he was, as we have seen, cast down and desponding. But a temperament like his rises again to hope as easily as it yields to despair. He who in the beginning of the year 694 wrote, < EP. 23,2. " T h e Roman Commonwealth can no longer endure," 4 L&i3.5?)' {4tt. i. 18.) me . . ° now, when its condition had really become much worse, was once more hopeful. After Caesar's Rogation, he thus writes to Atticus: " One source of hope yet remains to 5 £.9.33,2. us — discord between the Triumvirs 5 ; and from what Curio tells us, this would seem already to have begun."* And soon afterwards: " Be sure that I have learned * We do not know with certainty what this disagreement was. It was at any rate of no importance, and of short duration; we find a few hints of it in Ep. 33. (Ait. il 7.) A,U. 695. B.C. 59. cic. 48. 103 nothing, either from experience or from the writings of Theophrastus*, if you do not speedily hear that people are wishing for my days back again, f For though the power of the Senate may have been hated formerly, what, think you, are people likely to feel when this power is transferred, not to the people, but to three arrogant chiefs ? Soon you will see raised to power, not those only who have never swerved, [meaning himself,] but even Cato, who so damaged us." 1 i EP. 35,3. But Cicero relied too much on the temper of the people. Prone to murmur when the powerful rise and introduce a new order of things, as easily do they suffer themselves to be tamed when a transcendant genius undertakes to manage them. The youth Curio, whom, but a short time before, Cicero had treated with scorn, now, full of zeal for the nobles and hatred of the Triumvirs, inspired him wTith exasperated hopes.! 2 But a few years later he had to2Ep.33,2.? *" • 34 1 . ' 36 2. • behold in this same Curio the most active friend and s u p - ^ L W . n'. porter of Csesar. Rarely is the gift of divination bestowed upon a party man in a period of party dissension. Had Cicero possessed it, he assuredly would have continued to think and feel as he did at the commencement of this fatal year, when he said, " I have resolved to think no more about the Kepublic;" 3 and would have abandoned himself3 EP- 30,5.; r , . comp. 39, 2. entirely to philosophy and study. How much misery ( ^ ii - 4 - 13 > would he have avoided had he continued of the same mind * From his book on " The Republic," which Cicero greatly admired. f [My days (nostra tempora.) He refers to his own Consulship, and the three years which followed, in which he still fancied his authority paramount. See Ep. 148. (Div. i. 9.), nobis consulibus . . . . nobis privatis usque ad Ccesarem et Bibulum coss, &c. f [Caius, son of C. Scribonius Curio, a chief of the Optimates, at this time a mere lad. Cicero had spoken of him most contumeliously, as the creature of Catilina and the profligate M. Antonius. Ep. 19, 5. (Att. i. 14.)] r 4 104 L I F E AND LETTERS OF CICERO. i up. 42,2. as when he wrote in May to Atticus 1 : " Had I chosen to [Att. ii. 16.) . *1 resist my enemies, I could have round the means. .But I have made up my mind — as your friend Dicawchus* differs from my friend Theophrastus, in that the former prefers the practical life, and the latter the speculative — to pay a compliment both to the one and the other. Diesearchus, I fancy, I have fully satisfied: henceforth I will devote myself to the school, which not only allows me to repose, but blames me for having ever disquieted myself. Therefore, my friend, let me turn once more to my noble studies, and repair again to the port whence I should 2 comp. ^ . never have hoisted sail." 2 This is the proper place to ii.4.>°* v 'mention the sentiment he so emphatically expresses to Atticus: " No one is more unfortunate than I am, none more fortunate than Catulus, both in the brilliancy of his life and the opportuneness of his death." How indeed could he, whose life was his love for Rome, fail to envy the fate of Catulus, at moments when the cry was extorted from him, " The Republic is ruined and undone." f When Cicero penned this sentence about Catulus, he was in Rome, whither he had repaired in June, after an interview1* with Atticus, who was then on the point of returning to Greece. Though in an hour of despondency he might long for death, yet his natural temper still impelled him to the stage on which alone he could enact the part assigned him, So true were the words he once wrote to Atticus: " There is no other difference between you and me, I have always thought, than the different kinds of life we have respectively chosen: for while a certain feeling has constantly urged me to strive for the high places of the earth, a love of honourable ease, assuredly a * Dicsearchus was an Aristotelian philosopher at Messana, the author of some historical and political writings. f Ep, 47, 1. (Att. ii. 21.) De republica quid ego tibi subtiliter? tota periit. A. u. 695. B. c. 59. cic. 48. 105 feeling in no way blameable, has always actuated you.* The labours of the Forum, which my ambition once made endurable to me, I now sustain for the maintenance of my dignity." 1 In the same spirit he now writes in his &r^\Ftp\2h2: letter from Rome: " I bear myself pretty highly, considering the general humiliation of those about me, yet abjectly enough for one who has done such fine things as I have." 2 We see that the consciousness of his own 2 ^44,2. .,, . , . . , . T (Att.il. IS) greatness still continued to inspire mm; — " 1 crave my country's blessing," he exclaims: " if I have done less for her than I ought, I have at least done more than she uaimea. ^ ^ ^ {AtfAi 9»} And now a juncture was at hand in which he needed all his prudence and firmness; for a heavy storm was gathering over him. Clodius by the use of illegal means had accomplished the design of exchanging from the ranks of the Patricians to those of the Plebeians; a project which he had unsuccessfully endeavoured to execute the preceding year.4 Cicero, when pleading for Antonius in 4 ac.pro the beginning of the present year f, had allowed himself in the heat of argument to give utterance to the feelings which political events had excited in him. The expressions were repeated in an exaggerated and perverted form, * This ease, this life of opulence and comfort, Atticus acquired after all in a manner which does his character no honour. He was befriended by Sulla, and he supplied the younger Marius with his money; the strictest confidant of Cicero, he kept nevertheless on good terms with Clodius; he connected himself at the same time with Cassar, with Brutus, and Cassius;. nor did he fail to gain the favour of Antonius. f I say in the beginning of the year, for in an early month we find Cicero already out of Rome; nor is there any trace in his letters of his returning to the city from his estates before June, while Clodius was already suing for the Tribunate at the commencement of April. The quidam viri in the speech pro domo (c. 16.) can only mean Csesar and Pompems. F 5 106 L I F E AND LETTERS OF CICERO. by malicious persons, to Cassar and Pompeius. This was at noon; three hours afterwards the adoption of Clodius > cic pro was carried.1 Suet. Jul. 20. The object of Clodius in becoming a Plebeian was to get himself elected Tribune, and in that capacity to effect the ruin of Cicero. Suetonius, Velleius, Plutarch, Dio Cassius, and Appian concur in affirming that in this design he was abetted by Caesar*; thereby bearing out 2 cic pro the words of Cicero himself at a later period.2 W e may readily believe that Pompeius acquiesced in Caesar's plans from weakness, and the desire of propitiating him. He was certainly present as Augur at the assembly at which 3 Ep. 36, I. the adoption of Clodius was carried.3 I t is true he exacted from him a promise to take no hostile measures * Ep. i5,3.; against Cicero during his Tribunate 4 , which post by 46, 2, 3. (Att. & ? . ii 19,20.); Cesar's help he speedily obtained.5 He continued also to < Dio cass. hold encouraging language to Cicero, and declared himself • xxxviii. 12. e Ept ^ 2. his truest friend.6 But what could be expected from the {AU. n. 20.) p r o m i s e s 0 f a Clodius, who no sooner obtained the Tribunate than he behaved like a madman ? f What from the friendship of a Pompeius, who already played but a second part in the State; which, as circumstances then stood, was equivalent to no part at all. W e possess no very clear insight into the conduct pursued by Cassar towards Cicero at this period; partly owing to a break in the correspondence with Atticus, which would otherwise have given us a key to many matters affecting Cicero ; partly to the circumstance that in the speeches delivered subsequently to his banishment, in which he enters so * See Suet. Jul. 20.; Veil. Pat. ii. 45, 2.; Plut. Cic. 30.; Cats. 14.; Dio Cass, xxxviii. 10. 12.; App. ii. 14. f Gic. Ep. 48, 1. (Att. ii. 22.) Volitat, furit, nihil habet certi; multis denunciat; quodfors obtulerit, id acturus videtur. A. TJ. 695. B. c. 59. CiC. 48. 107 largely on the subject of Clodius*, motives of political caution deter him from making more than a slight and casual mention of Caesar. But comparing what we know on this subject from other sources, with the speech here referred to, we may arrive at the following conclusions : Caesar, after he had founded the Triumvirate and entered on the Consulship, could not fail to be discontented with Cicero, who steadily refused to take any part in the alliance he had concluded with Pompeius and Crassus, and was not sparing in his remarks upon these proceedings, either in his speeches in the Forum or in private conversation with his friends, when he could not always suppress a witty sarcasm. When in his speech in defence of Antonius, delivered in January or February, he touched upon political matters, and his words were reported to Caesar in a garbled form, Ca3sar in an ebullition of anger got Clodius adopted into the Plebs, and Pompeius as Augur sanctioned that transaction, illegal as it was, by his presence. Caesar was by nature mild, and we possess indubitable proofs of his high esteem for Cicero: the step just taken, though calculated to further his own designs, might, he perhaps felt, be attended with awkward consequences. Possibly, he might again have entertained, in spite of what had passed, a hope of gaining Cicero over to his own interests; or possibly Atticus may have been advocating his friend's cause with him. He seems to have thought of sending Clodius away on a foreign mission, and thus preventing him from suing for the Tribunate. 1 If we mayi^ < 3 3 2# credit a letter from Cicero to Atticus 2 , Caesar endeavouredl At *' u ' 7} z Ep. 36 1, ' like Pompeius to shift from his own shoulders the blame (Att- "• *-•> of having made Clodius a Plebeian. But the latter, intent solely upon his meditated revenge against Cicero, was incensed at the proposition of being sent to a distance. He * Most fully in the speech: De provinciis consularibus, 17. foil. F 6 108 L I F E AND LETTEES OF CICERO. preferred his claims to the Tribunate in April, and threatened, should he gain the office, to reverse all Csesar's meaJ Ep. 36,2 sures. 1 Meanwhile Csesar, as we have seen, persevered in his endeavours to conciliate Cicero: he offered him one of his own lieutenancies*; when that was refused, one of the twenty commissionerships. But Cicero was still blind to the danger impending over him. " I long to enter the lists with Clodius," he writes in June to Atticus ; and in later letters he expresses the same sentiment. Pompeius, in fact, kept on encouraging him. Then at last Caesar let him drop, and connected himself more closely with Clodius, who with his assistance became Tribune, f When Cicero returned to Kome in June, the sight of * Plutarch (Cic. 30.) says that Cicero had solicited such a post in order to protect himself against Clodius, and received the promise of one: by and by Clodius reassured him, and thereupon he threw it up. Caesar, irritated at this, abandoned him to his enemy* But this account is contradicted by Cicero's letters, 44, 45. t Probably in July, as that was the season for the election of Tribunes. In 689 the comitia for this election were held July 17. Cic. Ep. 10, 1.; (Att. i. 1.) The new Tribunes entered on their office Dec. 10. Cicero enumerates the principal events here treated of in the following order;— 1. He is occupied with the idea of a mission to Egypt. Ep. 31. {Att. i i 5.) Probably in March. 2. He mentions the Vigintiviri. Ep. 32, 1. {Att. ii. 6.) Probably in the same month. 3. He laments the disregard of the most important laws. Ep. 35, 3, (Att ii. 9.) At the beginning of April. 4. Clodius sues for the Tribunate, and menaces CaBsar. Ep. 36, 2. (Att ii. 12.) At the beginning of April. 5. Csesar gives his daughter in marriage to Pompeius. Ep. 43, 1. (Att ii. 17.) Early in May. 6. Cicero invited by Caesar to be his legatus. Ep. 44, 3. (Att. i. 18.) Early in June. 7. Again, to be one of the twenty commissioners. Ep 45,3. (Att.il.19.) In July. 8. Affairs occasioned by Vettius. Ep. 50. (Att. ii. 24.) In August. The last letter of this period (to Atticus) belongs to the same month. A. u. 695. B. c. 59. Cic. 48. 109 the city filled him with profound grief and indignation. " We are hemmed in on all sides," he says in his first letter from thence to Atticus ; " and we no longer refuse to be slaves, but death and exile inspire us with terror, as if these were something worse than slavery, when indeed they are far lighter evils, and the misery of these circumstances, which all with one sigh deplore, none ventures to relieve by the utterance of a single word." 1 " Know,"i EP.U, I. he says in his next letter, " that there was never anything u'u'18,) more shameful, more disgraceful, more repugnant to men of all ranks, ages and conditions, than the present situation of the Republic. These popular men, forsooth, have taught the very populace to hiss at them. Wretch that I am ! Why are you not here ? Nothing would escape your penetration. May be I am too purblind, too devoted to justice and virtue." 2 W e lay stress on the latter words,2 EP. 45,1. because they ought to weigh something in the scale (ML k 19.' against the severe judgment so many have passed upon Cicero both in ancient and modern times. Unfortunately the month of August furnishes us with scarcely any letters to Atticus. For at the earnest request of his friend, who began gradually to perceive the extent of the danger which menaced him from Clodius, Atticus had returned to Rome. Cicero had written to him in the beginning of the month: " If you love me as much as I am persuaded you do, wake if you are sleeping, walk if you are standing, fly if you are running." 3 We3 Ep. 49,4. have accordingly no expressions of the feeling with which Cicero heard of the extraordinary proconsular powers committed to Ca3sar, and the way in which they were acquired. The Senate of the preceding year, more cautious than prudent, had assigned to the Consuls then to be elected the supervision of the roads and forests for their pro- 110 L I F E AND LETTERS OF CICERO. vincesl: for it feared the enterprising spirit of Caesar in a more important sphere. But he was well aware of this object, And now, in defiance of the Sempronian law *, which restricted to a single year the occupation of a province, with the aid of his brother-in-law Piso, his sonin-law Pompeius, and the Tribune Clodius, and by means of a Rogation of his creature Vatinius, Caesar obtained from the people, who had no right to give it, but who* were alarmed at the rumour of hostile movements in Gaul, the government of the Cisalpine together with Illyricum, with a force of three legions, for five years; and the Senate, fearing lest he should still extort from the people whatever else it attempted to withhold, consented to add the Transalpine province, with another legion.f Caesar had now attained the object of his most ardent wishes; the stepping stone, as he regarded it, to the final goal he aimed at. These were the provinces which, according to the expression of Suetonius, offered him the fairest opportunity for a triumph. J Here he might train himself an army such as might conquer the Roman world: for in one of these provinces alone could a standing force be legally maintained on this side of the Alps. § " Now," * [This lex Sempronia was enacted by C. Gracchus (A. U. 630). It provided also that the provinces should be assigned prospectively before the election of the Consuls. Sail. Jugur. 27.; Cic. de prov. Cons. 2. 15.; pro dom. 9. In later times this was seldom observed in either particular.] f Dio Cass, xxxviii. 8.; Suet. Jul 22. [The people possessed the original right of assigning the provinces, as well as of electing the Consuls. The prevalent custom, according to which the Senate enjoyed this patronage, wae, in fact, a tacit usurpation. In some cases the people actually claimed and exercised the right, as when they gave Numidia to Marius (Sail. Jugur. 73.), and the Eastern command to Pompeius by the Manilian law.] J Suet. 1. c. idonea materia triumphorum. § Cisalpine Gaul was the spot where a bold aggressor could best plant his batteries against the city, and on this account Antonius, at a later period, was so eager to occupy it. A. u. 695. B.C. 59. cic. 48. Ill said Cato in the Senate, " now you have made yourselves a king by your own act and deed, and brought him, guards and all, into your citadel." 1 Caesar himself, if we mayi pint. cat. credit Suetonius, behaved with such arrogance after this success, as to boast a few days after in the Senate-house, that he had gained his demands against the will and to the utter mortification of his adversaries; and now he would boldly trample on all their heads. We gain some insight into the practices which Caesar and his party allowed themselves against the defenders of the Republic, from Cicero's account of the proceedings relative to a certain Vettius 2 ; the same whom he had 2 ^.50,2. before employed as a spy in the Catilinarian conspiracy, in which Vettius had been concerned. This man had promised Caesar to bring Curio the zealous enemy of the Triumvirs 3 , and certain others of their opponents, under sus- 3 ^.34,4. picion of a plot against the life of Pompeius. But n e ^ W l u 8 > spread his nets so unskilfully, that he became himself the victim of his own arts. I t was believed that Caesar, or perhaps Vatinius, to whom at a later period Cicero ascribed the entire management of this transaction 4 , in4 cic.m order to prevent any dangerous consequences from the dis- m' ' covery, had caused Vettius to be put to death in prison.* The nobles were naturally exasperated to the highest * The comparison of Cicero's letter with what Dion says about this affair (xxxviii. 9.) will show how little the historian can be trusted when he speaks of the orator. Appian, who makes Vettius affirm that he was bribed by Cato, Bibulus, and Cicero, to assassinate Caesar and Pompeius, says that the people, after that incident, allowed Caesar to guard himself against violence, and that Bibulus from thenceforward shut himself up in his house as a private citizen. Vettius wanted, perhaps, to effect the second time the design against Caesar in which he had previously failed. (See p. 61.) It is evident from comparing the passages, in Vatin. ii. and Ep. 50, 2., that Cicero spares Caesar in his speech against Vatinius. Suetonius in speaking of the affair of Vettius has no such tenderness for Caesar. Jul. 20. 112 L I F E AND LETTERS OF CICERO. degree when Vettius, the day after he had been committed to prison for his false accusations, was by Caesar's command brought forward to repeat them to the people from the Rostrum—"from the very place which Csesar as Praetor had forbidden Catulus to ascend when he wished to refute the charges against him, and on which the Consul Bibulus i Ep.bo,a. could never venture to appear." 1 Meanwhile he provided (Att. i i . 24.) , i P l • i l against the reversal or his measures the next year by procuring the election to the Consulship of two creatures of 2 Appian, his own, Aulus Gabinius, and Piso 2 , whose daughter Calpurnia he had recently married.* After his return to Rome, Cicero kept aloof from political affairs. " I do not mix at all in the concerns of the Commonwealth," he writes to Atticus; " I devote myself 3 Ep.48,1. entirely to my pleadings:" 3 —and in the following letter: " I attend no political consultations, but abandon myself wholly to the business of the Forum; and the consequence is, as you may imagine, that people often talk of what I did in former times, and wish them back again." This seems to have afforded him some consolation. " My forensic labours," he says in the same letter, " are acceptable not only to those whom I directly serve, but to people generally. My house is much frequented; I am treated with respect; the memory of my Consulate is revived; a friendly zeal is generally manifested in my behalf; so that I begin to think sometimes that I ought not to avoid the 4 Ep. 23.) I. conflict which threatens me." 4 His activity was great, b u t 49, (Att. ii. few monuments of it remain. The two speeches he delivered for the late Praetor Aulus Thermus, drew down warm congratulations on the orator, while his client's acquittal * With reference to this marriage, and the alliance of Pompeius with Caesar's daughter, Cato had exclaimed, " Matrimony is. the pander to tyranny:" 5tajUao"Tpo7ret>ecr0cu yd/iois TTJV ^ye^oj/iav. Appian, 1. c. A. u. 695. B.C. 59. cic. 48. 113 on two impeachments gave general satisfaction.* He was equally fortunate in his defence of L. Valerius Flaceus, who had been Prastor during his Consulate, at which time he had done good service against Catilina; and who having subsequently received Asia for his province, where he was succeeded by Quintus Cicero, was now accused by D. Laelius of malversation. He found a second advocate in Hortensius. l \ 5*-.?1*-2\ {Att. n. 25.) The speech which Cicero delivered for Flaccus, and which we possess in a mutilated form, is one of the great orator's most brilliant efforts. I t is important, among other reasons, because it gives his judgment on the character of the Greeks 2 ; proving that he was by no2 proFiacc. means blindly partial to that people; and also for a curious passage relative to the Jewish nationf, in which we perceive traces of the contempt the Romans entertained for their religion, and the importance they nevertheless possessed in Rome. In this composition Cicero appears by no means to labour under timidity and apprehension, although the fate of the ill-timed expressions in his speech for Antonius must have given him a presentiment of danger.3 On the contrary he alludes to the poli-3 see above, . (p. 105.) tical circumstances of the day in a bold and unembarrassed tone 4 : " Y o u r sentence, oh Judges, concerns not Lydians,* pr0Fiacc. Mysians, or Phrygians; but it affects your own Republic, the constitution of your State, the common weal, the hope of all good men, yea, and whatever else can strengthen or sustain the courage of worthy citizens. Every other refuge of the good, every other safeguard of innocence, every other support, counsel, help, privilege of the Commonwealth is overturned." The defence of Antonius has * Cic. pro Flacc. 39. The speeches have not come down to us. f Cic. pro Flacc. 28. Scis, Lceli, quanta sit manus (Judceorum), quanta concordia, quantum valeat in concionibus. 114 LIFE AND LETTERS OF CICERO. already been mentioned. I t is no longer extant; it would probably have afforded a remarkable, though not a pleasing testimony of Cicero's art. I t was of no avail to his client, who was banished, and retired to Cephalonia.* i EP. 32, i.; W e find from a letter to Atticus 1 , that when Cicero comp. 34, 1. % . {Att. ii. e. s.) W as residing at his estate at Antium, highly mortified at the turn events were taking, he occupied himself in drawing up anecdotes relating to the secret history of the times,v and of the men in power, after the manner of Theopompus, who wrote a similar but more bitter commentary on the history of Philip of Macedon. This work seems never to have seen the light.f The letters of this period furnish us with few particulars relating to Cicero's domestic life: but there is something very pleasing in the occasional mention of his son which occurs in the midst of his details of political cares and anxieties. If, however, his heart was gladdened by observation of his child's opening faculties, his glance into the future must undoubtedly have been troubled at thinking of the times which his mature years were des2 Att. ii. r. tined tovvitness. Prom the thirty-third letter 2 we find that he had procured, with the assistance of Atticus, a Greek tutor for his own son, then six years old, as well as for his 3 AU ii. 9. brother's. The concluding words of the thirty-fifth letter 3, Ki/cspcov 6 fjbiKpos aairaX^Tai TITOV 'AOTJVCUOV, m a y have been added by the young Cicero to show that he had commenced Greek; a conjecture too pleasing not to be, * On the impeachment of Antonius, see Dio Cass, xxxviii. 10. He was accused by Laslius of complicity in the Catilinarian conspiracy, and of malversation in his province by another. He remained still in banishment when his nephew, M. Antonius, recalled other exiles by Caasar's direction. He was first summoned home by Caasar in his Dictatorship. •j- It is a question whether the 'Aj/e/cSora, Ep. 698. (Att. xiv. 19.) are identical with the work here mentioned. [See below.] A.U. 695. B.C. 59. cic. 48. 115 readily admitted. Doubtless it was with heartfelt pleasure that the father wrote in his forty-second letter l9 Ktfcspcov \ AH. a. n. apicrTOfcpaTiKG>TaTo$ irals. He saw perhaps his own principles beginning to bud in his child. Nor can we fail to be gratified at observing a trait of affection for his birthplace in one who admired Rome above all things, the imperial city in which he had a stately dwelling, besides possessing splendid and elegant villas in the fairest regions of Italy. " W h y should I invite you to Arpinum?" he writes to Atticus, " T^PVX8^ a^^ ccyaOrj fcovpoTpoffios, ovro sycoys f}9 yai7]$ BvvaaaL yXv/cspcorspov aXXo IBsaOat.^2 * Ep. 38,2. {Att. ii. 11.); Horn. Odt/ss. A letter, written perhaps November, 695, to his brother15"27'' Quintus, whose government was then coming to an end, contains some curious particulars, and gives us an insight into the characters of the two. They were both, as we have often had occasion to remark, of a sanguine temperament ; but there was this difference between them, that the younger paid too little regard to men and their opinions, the elder too much. Quintus had a lively sense of right: but he wanted the conduct, calmness, and circumspection indispensable to one whose duty it is to administer justice, and to make his qualities appreciated throughout a wide sphere of influence. Any violation of right threw him into a passion, and his punishments seemed inflicted to satisfy his own feelings rather than the demands of justice. Nor was he always consistent with himself; and his elder brother, usually so mild and forbearing, found occasion to reprehend him severely.3 Marcus 3 Ep. 52> 5. hated injustice: yet he did not refuse sometimes to connive at it from regard to those in power. There are instances of this in the letter last referred to, when he is speaking 116 L I F E AND LETTERS OF CICERO. of Cassar and Pompeius, and of the Preetor elect, L. Flai Ep. 52,6. vius.1 Again, the manumission of Statius, a favourite slave of his brother's, seems to have caused him no little * EPp. 52,i.;vexation.2 This affair was much talked of in Rome, (Q«.>.°f.2.;where it was thought that Statius possessed too much Ait. ii. 18 19.) influence over his master's mind. Marcus was convinced himself that the matter was of no importance; but his 3 Ep. 45, l. words are remarkable 3 , when we reflect how considerable a (Att.u. i9.) p a r t g } a v e s a n ( j f r e e d m e n played in later times: " Though there should be nothing in it contrary to justice and honesty, you should remember that there is always something repulsive, and not strictly in accordance with selfrespect and dignity, in a master showing excessive favour to a slave or freedman." The excitability of Cicero's character appears in all the letters of this period. At one moment he is plunged in profound melancholy, amounting even to despair; at the next he indulges again in unwarrantable hopes. The dangers which threaten him personally he encounters at first with careless contempt, openly bids them defiance, and thinks himself quite secure in the promises and assurances of Pompeius and others; all Italy he thinks will stand up for him, and bring him out of his troubles with redoubled « Ep. 52,9. glory.4 But as the danger approaches nearer, he becomes anxious and cast down, and eagerly implores his friend's assistance. One thought alone remains firmly fixed in his mind throughout: and that is the consciousness that he has laboured honestly for the good of the State, and the memory of his glorious Consulate. " My folly," he writes 5 Ep.&, 2. to his friend 5 , " and what I must needs call my vanity, (for it is a fine thing to know one's own faults) find some satisfaction in one circumstance : — I used to be stung by the idea that six hundred years hence the political deserts A. u. 695. B.C. 59. cic. 48. 117 of Pompeius would appear greater than mine; I am now for ever relieved from any such apprehension." Comparing the letter quoted at the close of our second division, with what we have learned from those of the present period, we must conclude that Cicero was born too late to be capable of upholding the Roman Republic in its true spirit. He was wise and great—but the foundations of the Commonwealth were undermined: Caesar's star shone too potently, and such a nature as Cicero's could make no resistance to its conquering influence. BOOK IY. LETTERS OE CICERO, IN THE YEARS 696 AM> 697. CICERO IN EXILE. BOOK IV. SURVEY OF HISTORICAL EVENTS. A, U. 696. B. C. 58. Cic. 49. L, CALPITRNIUS PISO CESONINUS ; AULUS GABINIUS. CAESAR defeats the Helvetians at Bibracte, and brings them into subjection. He then compels Ariovistus to leave Gaul and retreat beyond the Rhine. A.U. 697. B.C. 57. Cic. 50. P. CORNELIUS LENTULUS SPINTHER ; Q. C^CILIUS METELLUS NEPOS. Clodius had entered on his Tribunate in the December of the preceding year; and it was evident that he would employ every means in his power, to execute his projected plan of revenge against Cicero. He had no resistance to fear from Pompeius, who did not dare to take any step independently of Caesar, or contrary to his views; and that Caesar had now quite abandoned Cicero, and desired his removal in order to the furtherance of his own designs, is clear from the account of the latter in his oration for Sestius.* Cato on his part was not sparing in remonstrances, and testified loudly against the method in which Cicero was attacked: but he was unable to stand against the Consuls and their powerful allies.1 Moreover, just1' cic.j»ro at the time of Cicero's fall, he found himself obliged to ' * Pro Sest. 28. This speech, and others connected with it, must not, of course, be regarded as conclusive historical documents. G 122 1 Dio Cass, xxxviii. 12. 2 Dio Cass. xxxviii. 12. 8 Ep. 52, 9. (Qu. fr. i. 2, 4 Cic. in Pison. 5. 5 Appian, JB. C. ii. 14. Dio Cass, xxxviii. 9. L I F E AND LETTERS OF CICERO. accept a commission which was altogether at variance with his principles.* Clodius treated Bibulus on the last day of the year 695 in the same manner as the Tribune Metellus had treated Cicero on a former occasion l , and he now proceeded to his work, strengthened by a party which he had formed for himself among the people, the knights, and the Senate itself. I t is not improbable that, as Dio remarks 2 , Cicero may have made himself many enemies by his pride and love of satire. When he makes mention of the Consuls, Piso and Gabinius, in his letters and speeches, he depicts them as men of the most corrupt and abandoned character. Yet but a short time before their entrance into office, we find him expressing a highly favourable opinion of them 3 , and promising himself safety from the attacks of Clodius, through their protection. One of them indeed had testified great respect for him at the commencement of his Consulate 4 , and was highly valued by him at a later period. W e must therefore suppose that the ill usage he had received at their hands, led him to paint them in colours of too dark a h u e ; and this supposition is borne out by the violence of his oration against Piso, which is by no means consistent with the dignity of a senator. Piso, who was a man of distinguished family, may very possibly have concealed the profligacy usual among the nobles of that day, under the mask of a stoical gravity. In treating Cicero as he did, he was furthering the plans of his powerful son-in-law. Gabinius was a thoroughly dissipated man, like many others in that age, and was unscrupulous in the choice of means for his ends. He was a friend of Caesar and a favourite of Pompeius 5 , both of * The commission was to take away the kingdom of Cyprus from Btolemseus, a younger brother of Ptolemseus Auletes, and constitute it a Roman province. A. u. 697. B. c. 57. cic. 50. 123 whom had had an eye to their own interests, in procuring his elevation, and that of Piso, to the Consulate. Clodius too succeeded in securing their countenance and1 assistance in his designs. Cicero asserts l that they concluded a» Pro se&t. . . . 1 0 * regular compact with the Tribune, on the understanding that while they should obtain through his agency the provinces they most coveted, together with forces and money to the extent of their wishes, they should abandon the Commonwealth to his discretion; and this compact they mutually agreed to ratify by Cicero's ruin, That a man like Clodius should have sworn irreconcileable hatred against Cicero, is perfectly conceivable in itself, and events leave no doubt that such was the case: revenge against such an adversary must accordingly have been a great gratification to him *; but besides this, it seems probable, from a review of his whole course of action, that he cherished plans not inferior in extent and daring to those of Catilina and Caesar f, and to the success of these designs the removal of such men as Cicero and Cato was necessary. Csesar felt the same with respect to his own schemes. The first object then of Clodius was to gain the favour of the people. He succeeded in this by enacting laws calculated to flatter them, and place himself in the light of their benefactor; while he set aside thereby many wise institutions of antiquity. Nor did he omit to frame other measures with the view of procuring himself friends among * It is not necessary, in order to explain this hostility, to recur to the scandalous anecdote in Plutarch. [Cic. 29. " Terentia had a grudge against Clodius, on account of his sister Clodia, who was supposed to wish to marry Cicero. . . . Now, as Terentia was of a sour temper and governed Cicero, she urged him to join in the attack upon Clodius (in the affair of the Bona Dea), and to give testimony against him."—Long's trans.] f Cic. pro Sest 7. It is worthy of remark, that Clodius consecrated the ground on which Cicero's house stood to the Goddess Liberty. Ep. 88, 1. (Att. iv. 2.) G 2 124 L I F E AND LETTERS OF CICERO. the upper classes.* At the same time he sought by other enactments to ensure the success of his undertaking against Cicero; for instance, as soon as the new Consuls had entered on their office, he abrogated the hex JElia Fiifia, thereby removing the check upon tumultuous assemblies of the people, which had subsisted for the last hundred years, and which Cicero calls the bulwark and fortress of VoXri5.'; P u kli c tranquillity. 1 According to Dio 2 , Cicero was aware Dio Cass, of the object Clodius had in view, and gained to his side ixxviii. 14. Veil. Paere. 11. 45. . . . . the Tribune Ninnius; Clodius however succeeded in deceiving him, and in tranquillizing the fears of both. He then came forward with a Rogation, to the effect that whoever had caused a Roman citizen to be put to deatl without a 3regular hearing and formal sentence, should be outlawed. This proposal, which, without expressly naming him, was clearly aimed against Cicero, so overwhelmed him with surprise and grief, that immediately on its announcement, and while it was yet uncertain whether it wTould be carried or not, he arrayed himself in mourning, to move the compassion of the people. The law he might, as he Mt.'iiLii) afterwards confessed4, have applauded as a good and just one; or he might have given himself no concern about it, as not affecting himself: but what alarmed him, was the open declaration, on the part of Clodius, that he was acting on the authority of Pompeius, with the consent and under pro sest. the protection of Cassar and Crassus.5 In this state of 7, 18. A dismay and pusillanimous weakness, he had to endure the most degrading insults from Clodius and the turbulent i piut. cic. ruffians in his pay.6 * These laws are enumerated, in Pison. 4. foil.; Ascon. in or. C. Pis.; pro Sest 15.; Dio Cass, xxxviii. 13. The law by which Clodius instituted certain guilds and fraternities (collegia) which might easily assume a political character is especially worthy of attention. A. U. 697. B. c. 57. cic. 50* 125 Such auxiliaries were necessary to the Tribune, in the contest he had to maintain against Cicero's party; for no sooner was the proposed law made known, than the liveliest emotion was testified throughout Italy. Citizens of every rank and age, as well as the Senate, assailed the Consuls with pressing entreaties to take vigorous measures for his protection, but they seemed indisposed to do anything. Immediately all the partisans of the accused, both in the city and from every part of Italy, met in great numbers in the Capitol, and unanimously agreed to put on mourning, and leave no means untried to save him. The Senate was at this moment assembled in the Temple of Concord, a spot which recalled to mind the most glorious of Cicero's exploits.* The fathers addressed themselves one and all with urgent prayers to Gabinius, in the absence of Piso: a procession of knights appeared in mourning garments, like suppliants before him, but all were repulsed with pride and contumely. The Tribune Ninnius however ventured to propose that the Senate likewise should put on mourning; and this was agreed to. Gabinius, incensed, rushed out of the Temple, called the people together, and denounced the knights in violent language; declaring that they should pay dearly for helping Cicero against Catilina. He next attacked the Senate : " Those were deceived," he said, " who imagined that body retained any influence in the State." He caused L. Lamia, a knight who had shown particular attachment to Cicero, to be banished two hundred miles from the city.f The mourning however was universal; and there was no * On the 5th December, 691. f Cicero faithfully remembered this man's devotion to him. See his .recommendation of him to Decimus Brutus, when he sued for the PraetorShip in 710. Epp. 786, 787. (J)iv. xi. 16, 17.) a 3 126 L I F E AND LETTERS OF CICERO. city or community of Italy which did not pass the most gratifying resolutions in behalf of the persecuted statesman. The two Consuls now issued a command that the senators should lay aside their mourning, while Clodius and his band stormed against the knights and other nobles. The great orator Hortensius narrowly escaped with his life in one of their riots, and the senator Vibienus was [ ;'comp.' so severely handled that he died of his wounds.1 4 Cicero still had some hopes of Piso, and repaired to him in company with his son-in-law, who was his relative. He found the Consul sick, or feigning sickness. His instances were unavailing: " Gabinius," Piso replied, " could not maintain his position without Clodius; he for his part would stand by his colleague, as Cicero had formerly done iinPison.G.^y Antonius: every one must take care of himself."2 Two days after this interview, Clodius assembled the people in the Flaminian Circus, before the city gates, to give Caesar, who had already assumed the command of his army, the opportunity of being present. Here the Tribune presented the Consuls to the people, and begged them to give their opinion on the affair that now agitated the city. They expressed their approbation of all that had been done. In reply to the question, what he thought of Cicero's Consulship ? * Piso contented himself with saying, that he had no pleasure in violent measures. Gabinius gave a harsher answer, and pronounced a heavy censure upon the Senate and knights. The same question being put to Caesar, he replied, that the proceedings against Lentulus and the other accomplices of Catilina were certainly ille* In Pison. 6. Dio Cass, (xxxviii. 16.) makes Clodius ask the Consul's opinion on his law. But Cicero is here the best voucher of what really occurred ; and we see clearly, in the way in which he makes the question be put, what the machinations of Clodius were, and how he was already preparing a ground for his subsequent Rogation. A. u. 697. B. c. 57. cic. 50. 127 gal; and this he had not hesitated to declare at the time: still he thought it harsh, at this distance of time, to pass so severe a sentence, and had always himself preferred mild measures.1 Thus did he consent to Cicero's fall, while * Dio..9anssxxxvia. 9. pretending to wish him no injury. Cicero was aware that the Triumvirs feared lest all their acts of the preceding year should be reversed, -if they failed to secure a friend in the Tribune. 2 An attempt to^ProSest. annul them had indeed already been made, but without success, by the Praetors C. Memmius and L. Domitius.3323Suet-JuL He had now to learn from the conduct of Pompeius, who had given him such solemn assurances only the year before, how weak are the ties of friendship, when power and dominion interfere. Pompeius had retired to his Alban villa, not from fright at the warnings which the partisans of Clodius whispered into his ear, that his life was threatened by the machinations of Cicero and his friends 4 ; but418ProSestfrom consciousness of the unworthy part he was playing, and a desire to withdraw himself from the importunities of the Optimates. However, M. Lucullus, the elder Torquatus, the Praetor Lentulus, and many other nobles, found their way to him, and urgently implored him not to abandon his friend, with whom the welfare of the Commonwealth was so closely connected. Pompeius referred them to the Consuls, saying that he as a private citizen would not venture to contend writh the armed Tribune; but if the Consuls and Senate should openly oppose Clodius, and demand his services, he wrould not then refuse to take up arms himself.5 Yet one more attempt did Cicero 5 *» Pis°n* L x 31.; comp. make; he repaired in person to Alba, demanded access to^ 7 9;. 5 j 5< Pompeius, and threw himself at the feet of the man for whose advancement he had laboured and performed so much. But this too he found fruitless; the only answer G 4 .128 L I F E AND LETTERS OP CICERO. he obtained from Pompeius was, that he could do nothing i /?*>. 866,1. against the will of Cassar.* 1 Thus abandoned by all who had it in their power to fdd him, Cicero took counsel with his friends as to his best course: whether to oppose force to force, or, quitting Some, withdraw himself by flight from the storm. Lucullus advised the former course. Nor was Cicero destitute of numerous supporters, quite prepared to fight for him; but Cato f and Hortensius, backed by Atticus and Cicero's own family, preferred the latter mode of proceed2^.69,4. ing.2 They flattered him with the hope that after a few Pku.&c."3i).;;days he would be recalled with honour. The hour of xxxviiu 17. danger shows of what stuff a man is really made. Caesar (if we can imagine him placed in a similar situation) would have stayed and conquered; but Cicero's nature was little suited to deeds of strife and violence; accordingly, he gave way before his enemies, and quitted the scene of his former glories before sentence was pronounced against him. Hence it might have been foreseen, that even should he be permitted this once to return, he must inevitably sooner or later fall a victim to the spirit 'of an age in which violence triumphed over justice. Before turning his back on his beloved city, he took an image of Minerva which belonged to him, and set it in the temple of Jupiter Capitolinus, thus placing Rome, as it were, under the guardianship of the Goddess of Wisdom and lDiugEio, Moderation. 3 Hit u.cc. rpj ie g a m e , Cces. 17., refers to the first campaign in Gaul than, as Abeken supposes, to the Spanish government. So Drumann and Fischer (liomische Zeittafehi),] A. u. 697. B.C. 57. cic. 50. 131 might reasonably be adduced in favour of their choice. In the present instance it can hardly admit of a doubt, that had Cicero remained in Rome, he would have fallen a sacrifice to his enemies.* I n the letter last mentioned, he expresses an ardent wish for Atticus to come to him, and discuss the plans for his further journey. In the neighbourhood of Vibo, Cicero had a friend named Sica1, who with a generous disregard of the danger) ^-..5.4- , I » o jo (Ate. in. 2.) he thereby incurred, received the unfortunate man into his house and gave him shelter. Cicero's object was to repair to Sicily orMelita 2 ; for these islands, Sicily in* %&&particular^ had been long devoted to him ; the inhabitants retained a grateful recollection of his administration as Quaestor, and of his having taken their part against Verres. The Praetor of Sicily, C. Virgilius, was his near connexion and friend; but his awe of Clodius, from whose power he had himself once suffered, made him close the island against him.3 Whilst he was with Sica, Cicero re- 3 ProPianc ceived a copy of the Rogation, and heard of the mitigation of his sentence, which, however, did not permit him to remain either in Sicily or Melita. In great alarm, on his friend's account as well as his own, he instantly determined to leave Vibo; and the weather not allowing of a sea voyage f, he hastened overland to Brundisium 4 , in-y°™ ^attending from thence to cross into Greece. All the places he passed through were devoted to him, and offered him shelter in defiance of his enemies' threats. Such proofs of * It is very interesting and important towards a right estimate of Cicero's character, to compare with the outpourings in these letters,-what he says of his own conduct in later speeches, particularly that for Sestius (16—19.). f It must he remembered that according to the existing state of the Soman Calendar the season here spoken of was still winter. [March 20th, A. U. 696 = April 8th, B. c. 58, according to the correction of the Julian Calendar. All the dates therefore of this period are to be set forward nineteen days to obtain the real time. Fischer Bom. Zeittafeln, p. 239.] G 6 132 L1EE AND LETTERS OF CICERO. love and respect only increased his pain, and he still con'(Atf.'mX) i t o regret that he had preferred life to death. 1 He earnestly besought Atticus in every letter to hasten to mm, that they might consult together what plans he should next adopt. From Brundisium he would willingly have crossed into Achaia, but he had enemies there, the chief of whom was Autronius, Catilina's confederate, 2 *EPP*M* whose banishment he had helped to bring about. tmue{ L 60, 1. (Att. 7 or p/««c 'ii ^ 3 e & same "^ ^ reason, and also from its proximity to Rome, he deemed it hazardous to go to his friend's estate in Epirus; his thoughts took a wider range, and were for Epp. 58,59, some time directed to Cyzicus, in Asia, on the Propontis. 3 J 2. (Att. lii. 6.; 3 i ' Div. xiv. 4.) \\r e h a v e a letter to Atticus, dated from Thurii on the 10th April, and another from the neighbourhood of Tarentum on the 24th. He was now forced to abandon all hopes of seeing his friend in Italy. " I look upon this/' he writes, " as an addition to the long catalogue of my 4^.68. misfortunes."4 Atticus probably thought it wiser to remain in Rome, that he might watch his opportunity for promoting his friend's interests, and protect his family. I t was well he did so, for Terentia was cruelly harassed, his son-in-law ill treated, and the lives of his children « Epp. 57.76, threatened. 5 • 1. {Att. lii. 5.; £n,.xiv.2); On the 16th or 17th April, Cicero reached the neigh- Vro Sest. 24. 5 1 o bourhood of Brundisium, but abstained from entering the city, which was well affected towards him, out of regard to its welfare. He spent thirteen days in the gardens of his friend, the knight M. Laenius Flaccus, who at the peril of « EP. 59,2. his life granted a refuge to the exile.6 This noble-hearted & (Div. xiv. 4.); ° Pro pianc. m a n , with his sons and aged father, of whom Cicero 41. j Pru Sest. 63 * 3 ° 3 speaks with emotion, placed him, when he no longer felt it safe to remain in Italy, on board a vessel which brought him, after a stormy voyage as Plutarch relates, to Dyrrachium, where again he met with a favourable reception. A.u. 697. B.C. 57. cic. 50. 133 Here, however, his fear of Autronius and other Catilinarians increased, and having abandoned the idea of residing in Epirus, he hastened by the most northerly route to Mcedonaia, where one of his friends, Cn. Plancius, was Quaestor.1 This friend no sooner heard of Cicero's arrival1, Ep.m,s. . , (Att. ni. 7.) at Dyrrachium, than he hastened to meet him, without lictors or the other insignia of his dignity, and clothed in mourning. Tears flowed freely during their silent greeting, and Plancius carried his unhappy friend to his own dwelling in Thessalonica. Here he arrived on the 22nd Mav. 2 * Ep. 6i, i. l n e state of Cicero s mind at this juncture, is best P™ Plane. shown in a letter he addressed to his wife and children from Brundisium on the 30th April. 3 At the beginning 3 ^.59,1. & ^ G (Div. xiv.4.) }ie says:— " I write to you less frequently than I might, for miserable as every hour is, yet, when I write to you, or receive your letters, I am altogether dissolved in tears, and cannot endure my misery. Oh ! that I had loved life less ! had I then died, surely I should have lived a life of no suffering, or but little. If fate has in reserve for me the slightest hope of recovering any of my former happiness, my error has not been so great; but if these misfortunes are doomed to last, then I long to see thee, my dearest, as soon as possible, and to die in thy embrace ; since neither the gods, whom thou hast so piously worshipped, nor men, to whom I have devoted my services, have shown us any gratitude." His sole remaining solace was the remembrance of his glorious life and actions. " I have lived in honour, I have gained renown. My virtues, not my faults, have caused my affliction. My only error was the not relinquishing life itself when I lost its honours."4 But 4 Ep.w, 1. . such thoughts only resemble the lightning which for a moment illumines the night, making the succeeding dark- (Div. xiv. 4.) 134 L t F E AND LETTERS Otf CICER6. ness more perceptible. '" I hate," he writes at the same time to Atticus, iC all frequented places. I avoid mankind, i Ep.6ot i. I can hardly bear the light of day." 1 The circumstance that his brother had just set out on his return from his province, was an addition to Cicero's troubles. Where should he see him? how tear himself 2 EP.m,z. from him again ? 2 A t Dyrrachium he was informed that Quintus was sailing from Ephesus to Athens; other accounts said that he would travel through Macedonia. He despatched a messenger to Athens, in case his brother might have arrived there, to desire him to meet him at 3 Ep. 6i, I. Thessalonica.3 Arrived at this place himself, without {Att. iii. 8.) . x . . . having received any certain intelligence about Quintus, except that he had left Ephesus, he became uneasy lest he should have been impeached at Rome. His enemies indeed might well consider their triumph but half complete, till they had involved his brother in his ruin. Nor were the accounts of Pompeius, which he received from Atticus, calculated to raise his courage. The man who could quietly suffer his prisoner, Tigranes, to be taken from him by Clodius, was not likely to afford him any assistance against the Tribune.* Thus the transactions of the month of May failed to inspire him with the hope which Atticus sought to impart to him. He still hesitated about remaining in Macedonia. Again his hopes turned to Pompeius, and he wrote a letter to him, although at the same *jspp.67.;62,time he called him a hypocrite.4 3.; 63, 4. {Att. "r" ISV' J L * Ep- 61» 2. Tigranes, son of the king of Armenia of the same name, who had been in alliance with Mithridates, was kept, after adorning the triumph of Pompeius, as a hostage in Rome, under the care of the Praetor Plavius. He bribed Clodius to aid his flight. He escaped, and set sail, but was obliged, by contrary winds, to put back to Antium. Both Clodius and Flavius hastened after him with armed men, and a combat took place between them, in which M. Papirius, a iloman knight, and a friend of Pompeius, was slain, and Plavius with difficulty escaped. Tigranes got off. See Asconius ad Orat. pro Mil, A. v. 697. B.C. 57< cic. 50. 135 Exhausted with doubts and anxieties, his strength seemed utterly to fail him; and he gave full vent to his iH-humour both against himself, and against an individual in whom, he was convinced, he had too implicitly trusted, and who had betrayed him 1 ; for he was firmly persuaded |\£$'${>h that the envy his Consulate had awakened had caused his ruin.2 Several passages in his letters seem to indicate * EPP. 63, i.; Hortensius as the object of these suspicions, which were (Qu'fr.ji however probably unjust. # 3 is-) So crushed did he feel, that he actually declined a visit ^^(MtliL from his brother, who arrived at Athens on the 15th May,i.'3.)M' and whom a short time before he had longed to see. The thought even occurred to him of putting an end to his life. He already regarded himself as non-existent. He Writes to his brother, excusing himself for having shunned an interview with him. " You would not have seen your brother; not him whom you left; not him whom you know; from whom you tore yourself with mutual tears, when he accompanied you on your way. No trace or shadow of him would you have seen, but the image of a breathing corpse."4 What wTonder, when he had thus 4 EP.Z\\: given himself up, that he should also have abandoned his trust in the gods ! 5 All that he had left behind and which5 ^.63,4 ; cornp. 70 2« he despaired of seeing again, now floated before his mind (^- ™- is-) in the most alluring forms: " his brother, not a brother only ; in the charms of intercourse, a friend; in devotion, » * There is no trace whatever, bating the insinuations of these letters, of Hortensius having betrayed Cicero. On the other hand, we may see in the Brutus, c. 1., how heartily and honourably Cicero spoke of him at a later period, when he had recovered from his suspicions. Quum e Cilicia decedens Rhodum venissem et eo mihi de Hortensii morte esset allatum opinione omnium, majorem animo cepi dolor em. Nam et, amico amisso, quum consuetudine jucimdatum multorum officiorum conjunctione me privatum videbam etc. . . „ dolebamque quod non, at plerique putabant, adversarium aut obtrectatorem Jaudum mearum, sed socium poiius et consortem gloriosi laboris amiseram. 136 LIFE AND LETTERS OF CICERO. a son ; in wise counsel, a father." His daughter, " a being of what piety! what modesty ! what intelligence! the image of himself in person, speech and soul:" his son, " the fairest and dearest of children; already only too intelligent, for he felt the sorrows of his family: " * his wife, " that most faithful partner, the truest of consorts, whose society he must now forego, that some one might remain to protect the beloved children, whom alone theitf 5 -EP-63J- misfortunes had spared to them." 1 (Qu.fr. i. 3.) . His beautiful house, now in ruins, was another subject of grief to him. He writes to Terentia, " Then first shall I regard myself as restored, when our house has been re2 Epp. io, 6.; stored to us." 2 7fi. (Jtt. in. \o.; mv. xiv. For such complaints as these, Cicero has been charged by many with unmanliness, while but few have been found to excuse him. Doubtless he could exhort and console 3 Ep. 176. others in similar sorrows better than himself.3 The lancomp.vi79.'' guag-e of the first and second books of his " Disputations (Biv. v. 18.) ° J? , „ , „ . , , at lusculum sounds very nne; but these were the exercitations of the philosopher; at Thessalonica we have the man, in perplexity and sorrow; a man too who was anything but a Stoic by nature. Two things are to be taken into consideration: first, the excitable feelings and temper, without which so much of Cicero's works would lose their charm for u s ; secondly, his being a Roman citizen, devoted to the State by birth and circumstances, as well as by inclination. To the Roman citizen his country was something more than it is to us: it was the element in which alone he could live; the air which alone he could breathe; how much more must this have been the case with a man who had done for his country what Cicero had done! These reflections, though they may not suffice fully to exculpate him, will still deter us from condemning * The boy was at that time about seven years old. A.U. 697. B.C. 57. cic. 50, 137 him so severely as some have done, who have allowed too , little for his character and situation. Whilst at Thessalonica, Cicero resided in the house of Cn. Plancius. He experienced some inconvenience from the crowd of people who flocked about the Quaestor; but he found him a true friend in his distress. The Prastor of Macedonia, L. Appuleius, though an upright and patriotic , man, and well disposed towards Cicero, did not venture, as the first magistrate in the province, to declare openly in his favour or render him any assistance; but Plancius forgot the Quaestor in the friend; and when L. Tubero, the legate of Quintus, came to Thessalonica, and described to the exile with friendly zeal the dangers which awaited him in Achaia, endeavouring to persuade him to turn his steps to Asia, he forced him to remain with him, and by his gentle persuasions succeeded in diverting his cares and soothing the anguish of his soul. There is an affecting passage in the oration which Cicero delivered on a subsequent occasion in defence of this faithful friend, in which he alludes to a certain night which Plancius had spent in watching with him, and soothing him in his affliction; and relates how ardently he then wished a time might come, i when he might repay such love and devotion.1 PmPianc. However his friend's efforts may have tranquillized Cicero for a space, and withheld him from extremities, they could not avail to impart to him firmness and endurance, or give him hope for the future. Long did he hesitate whether to remain in Thessalonica: his fears urged him further. The representations of Atticus, however, who was ever hoping for some favourable change of circumstances, prevented him from yielding to their suggestions. His friend Sestius, one of the new Tribunes, and his son-in-law Piso, whose noble and honourable behaviour had increased the love and esteem in which he held him3 138 L I E E AND LETTERS OF CICERO. * Epp. 69,2. - also advised him to remain in Thessalonica \ as they an, 81,2. (Qu.fr. . . . . . i . i . i i.4.;Di». xiv. ticipated certain movements in Kome, which might perhaps result in his favour. Atticus and others, especially Terentius Varro, endeavoured to give him confidence again 2 Epp. 70, I. in Pompeius ; they calculated also upon Ceesar.2 Accord4.; 73,1. (Att.. * , TT n • i • • i • • n in. 15. is.) mgiy (^uintus did all in his power to raise the spirits ot his brother. But hopes such as these could take no root in Cicero: he continued to indulge in wild abuse both off himself and others, and even Atticus, who had done so 3 EP. 70,5.7.; much for him, did not wholly escape his reproaches.3 He (X?iii.i5." carefully weighed however the ground of the hopes his friend presented to him, and pondered on the idea, which he and the Tribune Culeo, an adherent of Pompeius, had conceived, of attacking the Rogation of Clodius as a Privilegium.* The letter in which Cicero discusses this point, depicts in the liveliest colours the shipwrecked mariner, who menaced by the raging flood, sees the fragments of his vessel scattered round him, but has lost all presence of mind, and while just able to keep his head above the water, and perceive what can save him, has not strength to seize it. When his friends hold out rational grounds of comfort to him, he thinks of the clause in the law of Clodius, which decrees, that " no one shall be allowed, under a heavy penalty, to speak in the Senate in the exile's favour," though he afterwards says himself that 4 Epp. 66, i.; such a clause no one need care much about.4 Then he is (Att'ln. i2.' uneasy at the election of his former enemy Metellus JSTepos, as Consul for the ensuing year, forgetting that his good friend Lentulus is given him for a colleague, and that Pompeius and Lentulus, who were both suffering from * Ep. 70, 6. {Att. iii. 15.) A Privilegium (lex privo homini irrogatd) was a law directed against a particular citizen, which was forbidden by the leges sacratce and by the Twelve Tables. A.U. 697. B.C. 57. cic. 50. 139 the insults of Clodius, had bound themselves strictly tpgether. In addition to all his troubles, he now heard that Quintus, though he had been received in Rome with great favour1, and that on his brother's account, was about t o l p r o Sestbe accused by a nephew of Clodius of malversation in his province; and that the management of the process would devolve upon the Praetor elect, a brother of Clodius, upon commencing his functions.2 He sank deeper than ever in lJj!f\?2\l' dejection: on the 21st August he was again thinking of Cyzicus 3 ; but before he repaired thither he was willing to*Jjp-.*K wait for what the 1st September might bring forth in the Senate.* His nature was peculiarly impatient of delay, and utterly unable to persevere in hoping for the distant results of time. The letter addressed to Atticus on the 16th September, is a living testimony of the deep despondency which had laid hold of him.4 He mentions his ^ J^ 4 *^ resolution to go to Epirus; he could not fail to observe, that circumstances were inclining in his favour: yet the melancholy which still haunted him may have suggested to him, that on the overthrow of all his hopes he might incur the penalty of disregarding the conditions of his exile.f Accordingly he begs his friend for just soil enough to cover his body. The province of Macedonia having been assigned to Piso, his troops began to pour into the country, and they were reported to be already in Thessalonica, which was * On the first day of each month the gravest affairs were brought forward in the Senate. The 1st September this year would be more important, on account of the Consuls, who had not long been nominated. [So A.U. 710, after the death of Csesar, the senators were specially convened for September 1. During August they were mostly absent from Rome.] f Ep. 74. (Att iii. 19.) Dyrrachium, where he soon after went, and his friend's estates in Epirus, were strictly within the distance from Rome assigned him by the edict. 140 LIFE AND LETTERS OF CICERO. therefore no longer a safe abiding place for Cicero. He accordingly abandoned this asylum, and arrived on the 16th November at Dyrrachium, which was a free town and well disposed towards him, as he had often protected Epp.n, i. ; its interests.1 Although at first compassion for Cicero's <^«.'iii. 22.; unhappy situation makes us judge leniently of his com3.) ' ' plaints, unmanly as they often were, and find some excuse for him in the peculiar bitterness misfortunes such as }.iis must have had for a man of his temperament, it is impossible to overcome the painful impression made upon us by his vacillation during his residence in Thessalonica, by the faint-heartedness he displays in the midst of fortunate omens and conjunctures, and the impatience and despondency with which he regarded a future that opened under such favourable auspices. Nor less must we condemn the means he adopted to avert the consequences of the unauthorized publication of a speech he formerly de*Epp.ee,2.;livered against Curio* 2 , and above all his behaviour in! i2.15.) towards the friend who had testified such zeal and perseverance in his service. Yet his wife and son-in-law afforded him examples of energy and endurance which it the morebehoved him to imitate, as their misfortunes, as well as any hopes they might entertain of future prosperity, all , * Ep. 66, 2. Percussisti autem me etiam de oratione prolata. Cut vulneri ut scribis. medere, si quid potes. Scripsi equidem illi olim iratus, quod ille prior scripserat; sed ita compresseram ut nunquam emanaturum putarem. Quo modo exciderit nescio. Sed quia nunquam accidit ut cum eo verbo uno concertarem, et quia scripta mihi videtur negligentius quam cceterce, puto posse probari non esse meam. Id, si putas me posse sanari, cures velim. [ Abeken supposes the subject of this speech to have been the younger Curio. In that case he would surely have been qualified in Ep. 70. as adolescens, meus, or iilius. See Billerbeck in he. Manutius and Schiitz refer it to C. Scribonius Curio the elder (Consul A. u, 678). The speech itself is supposed to be cited by Quintil. (v. 10. 92.), and entitled by him in Clodium et Curionem, a combination which makes us think rather of the younger Cimo than his father* A . u . 697. B.C. 57. cic. 50. 141 centered in him.1 The strong affection for his family h e * ^ * ^ so repeatedly expresses, is at least refreshing, amidst the £D/^ ^f^ ebullitions of peevishness with which his letters abound.19" "We feel moved to pity although we cannot excuse him when we read: " One thing I assert, no man ever lost such blessings as I, nor fell into such calamities. Time not only does not diminish, but it increases my grief. Other sorrows are mitigated by time, bat mine cannot fail to be daily augmented by the sense of present misery and the remembrance of my past life. I have lost not only my family and my possessions, but myself also."2 comPP*. G°8, 2? j We must now give an account of what had occurred in \iu'I1U15* his affairs previous to his arrival at Dyrrachium. Pompeius had not borne the affronts he had received from Clodius, especially his interference with regard to Tigranes, quite so patiently as Cicero imagined. This interference, on the contrary, had converted him into an opponent 3 of x^lSif 30" the audacious Tribune, whose attempts moreover to deprive him of his influence with the people he could not fail to perceive. The flight of the Armenian prince took place in M a y ; and Cicero had heard of it in Thessalonica by the 29th. On the 1st June his friend the Tribune L. Ninnius, in secret understanding with Pompeius, proposed his recall in the assembly. The Senate resolved unanimously to recommend the measure to the people's acceptance; but the Tribune iElius Ligus, wT>n over by Clodius, put his veto upon it. The Senate then resolved to postpone all business, till the Consuls should have made a new motion in favour of Cicero : this, however, they declined, pleading in their excuse the clause of the Clodian law.4 ^ f p ^ - ^ - ' Thenceforth, Pompeius, through the medium of his intimate friend Varro, began to make overtures to Cicero.5 L^-.674'L | He was too dependent upon Caesar, to take, without his ™ tffA[f5' 180 ' 142 (J?iii3'i8) LIFE AND LETTEES OF CICERO. consen ^ a n y 2 \ 7 y (Div. xiv. 1 Tribunes on our side, if Lentulus prove as zealous as he appears to be, and if we have also Caesar and Pompeius, we need not despair/' His friend Atticus, who had supplied him with money at the time of his flight and afterwards 5 , besides spending^ good deal for him in Rome, had 5 ComP. now come into a large fortune by the death of his uncle v^Attfi?' 144 LIFE AND LETTERS OF CICERO. Cascilius*, and might therefore be expected to render him yet farther assistance. Moreover, prudence would now incline the majority of the senators to espouse his cause. Nevertheless, he could not shake off his despondency and irresolution, or cease to torment himself with anxieties. That Ca3sar, Pompeius, and Crassus did not 1 Ep.so.t. declare themselves more quickly and decidedly for him l: (Att. iii. 23.) that the Consuls elect had chosen their provinces without waiting for the accession of the new Tribunes, whereby ( J f m2,24 these latter might be offended f2; and lastly, that Atticus 3 EP. 83. should leave Rome before the end of the year 3 , were cirCrftf.iii. 25.) . * cumstances that occasioned him the utmost disquietude. <2w?.'!iv.!3.)He writes to his wife on the last day of November 4 , " I have almost blotted out your letters with my tears. For I am pining away with grief; and my own misery does not pain me more than yours and your children's: But I am so much more wretched than you, as I alone am the cause of our common misfortune. I t was my duty, either by accepting a legatio to escape the danger, or by prudence and vigour to resist it, or else to fall bravely. Nothing could have been more miserable, more disgraceful, or more unworthy of myself than this; and, accordingly, I am overwhelmed with shame as well as grief. It shames me, not to have afforded an example of virtue and diligence to my best of wives, to my darling children. Day and night your misery and destitution, your grief, and your infirm health are before me. My hope of relief is very small. Many are hostile to me, all jealous. I t was difficult to thrust me out; to keep me out is easy." * From this time Atticus wrote his name Q. Cheilitis Q. fil. Pompomanus Atticus. See the address of Cicero's letter to him, Ep. 75. (Att. iii. 20.). f According to the lex Sempronia, the future provinces of the Consuls about to be elected, were to be determined before their election. After the election, but still before their accession to office, these provinces were formally assigned to them, and this was called crnare provincias. A. u. 697. B. c. 57. cic. 50. 145 A visit from Atticus, which he received towards the end of the year at Dyrrachium x, must have been some1 ^.83. comfort to him; but his friend had hardly left him when his old anxieties began again to disturb him. The news which reached him from Rome of a delay in his affairs, or of any possible hindrance occurring to them, sufficed to dash to the ground all hope and confidence. T H E YEAR 697. On the 1st January, after the completion of the religious ceremonies, the Consul Lentulus brought forward in the Senate a proposal for Cicero's recall. The senators had assembled in great numbers, the populace was in the highest state of expectation, and envoys flocked to Rome from all parts of Italy. The Consul Metellus expressed himself with moderation, and was favourable to his colleague's proposition, which was also supported by the Consular L . Cotta, who in a powerful speech urged that Cicero should be recalled by the Senate, and that with every mark of honour. Similar sentiments were uttered by Pompeius; he was of opinion, however, that the resolution of the Senate should be confirmed by a decree of the people. All the senators assented 2 ; and in spite of the opposi- a p,-0 sr-st. tion of the Tribune Serranus, who had been gained by Clodius, the proposition was on the 25th January brought before the people, with the active co-operation of the Tribune Q. Fabricius. Upon this the friends of Clodius raised a tumult with hired gladiators, which resulted in bloodshed. The Praetor Appius Claudius took part with his brother; the Tribune Sestius and Quintus Cicero hardly escaped with their lives; and Clodius finally con3 quered by fire and sword.3 Proscst. We learn from a letter to Atticus 4 , with what intense 4 Ep.u. anxiety Cicero watched the issue of the resolution of the H 148 LIFE AND LETTERS OF CICERO. Senate. He determined on the strength of that decree alone, to go to Rome, even if the law should not be passed by the people; and rather to lose his life than suffer any longer exile from his country. As might have been expected, he did not carry out this intention, but his despair was unbounded when the intelligence of the occur\ f^-.8.5-^x,rences of the 25th January reached him.* l (Att. m . 27.) j J # For this act of violence, Clodius was arraigned by the Tribune Milo ; but his brother the Praetor Appius, the Consul Metellus, and Serranus the Tribune, sheltered him 2 Pro SesL ** with their edicts 2 ; and Milo now took in pay a band of gladiators to defend himself against those of his opponent.f The Senate upon this decreed that no other business should be entered upon till that of Cicero's recall was effected. Letters were issued in the name of the Consuls, to every part of Italy, summoning to Rome all persons well disposed towards Cicero and the Republic: all the governors, legates, and quaestors of the provinces through which he would pass, were enjoined to provide for his wel\*ro Sest' fare.3 Pompeius exerted all his influence, both within and without the city, in his behalf, and Lentulus kept the people in good-humour with public games. Cicero's recall was again decreed in the Temple of Honos and Virtus, iiPl<5Sest' which Marius had built with the spoils of the Cimbri.J 4 * The letters 84, 85, which Schiitz assigns to the year 696, seem to me to belong to the period in which I refer to them. [Billerbeck also assigns them to Jan. 69 7, In 84 Cicero speaks of Senatus consultum quod de me factum est, evidently the decree proposed by the new Consul Lentulus Spinther.] f De Off. ii. 17.; Dio Cass, xxxix. 7, 8. Clodius had hired these gladiators in the expectation of becoming iEdile, or at least under this pretext. J The succession of events and decrees for Cicero's recall is not easily made out, inasmuch as the speech for Sestius, which is the main authority, is an unsafe guide for them. The 60th chapter of that speech, however, seems to me to prove that the meeting in the Temple of Jupiter was later than that in the Temple of Honos and Virtus. For the decrees which were meant to secure the carrying of the law, and which were there added to those of the former assembly, went quite as far as the Senate could legitimately go. A. u. 697. B. c. 57. Cic. 50. 147 Clodius had done his best to hinder the decree being passed, and he now succeeded in preventing its being carried into execution.* In May, the Senate being assembled 35Cp™ Sesiin the Temple of Jupiter Capitolinus, Pompeius made a speech, in which he avowed that Cicero had saved his country. The Consul Metellus at the same time solemnly renounced all animosity towards him; and once more a decree was passed, more strongly worded than before, and so framed as to overcome any impediment that might be thrown in the way of its execution, and the following day vigorous measures were taken to ensure its adoption.2 l0p$SestTwo months, however, elapsed before the decree could be presented to the people This was done at length on the 4th August, and on that day Cicero was recalled at the comitia of the centuries, whither the people, and not only the residents in Rome, repaired in great numbers, and where the votes of all the centuries were unanimous. The remonstrances of Clodius were disregarded. Time, it is said, has a purifying effect; but Cicero's letters, infinitely valuable as they are, counteract this influence, inasmuch as they make us live and move in the period in which they were written, and place the man and all his foibles before us. The picture he has presented of himself in this period, is unpleasing, and we long to see him again, in a more favourable light. Cicero however was more completely removed from the eyes of the Roman people during his banishment, than from posterity, who have his letters by which to judge of him; and the period of separation was long enough to remove the transient spots which might have dimmed his lasting reputation. We close the present period with the following scene which occurred without premeditation. 3 3 ProSesit On the day when the Senate was framing in the Temple"56,57, of Honour and Virtue the decree for Cicero's recall, the H 2 148 L I F E AND LETTERS OF CICERO. people were assembled in the theatre ; and there the art of xEsopus the actor, and the words of the poet which he had to deliver, excited the liveliest remembrance of the exile, the warmest sympathy with him. When he spoke of the Greek who " supported and upheld his country and stood by it to the last, regardless of his own life, in its time of direst need,"* every one thought of the Consul, whose foresight, prudence, and perseverance had confounded the frightful schemes of Catilina; the mention of the man " endowed with the highest gifts of intellect," recalled to their recollection the orator who had so often swayed the populace from the rostrum ; and when the heroine of the tragedy addressed her father in accents of grief, they thought of the man whom Catulus had invoked as " F a t h e r of his Fatherland." 1 The words " I saw all this in flames," reminded them of the hour when Cicero's house on the Palatine was destroyed, and when .ZEsopus exclaimed with emphasis and deep emotion, " You allow him to live in exile, you permitted him to be driven from his home P the audience felt at once all the exile's exceeding merit, and the injuries he had suffered at the hands of his countrymen. * Fro Sest. 56. Tlie play was the " Andromache " of Ennius, and the words referred to Telamon. Certo qui rempublicam animo adjuverit, Statuerit, stetcrit cum Aehivis . . . . . . . . re dubia Nee dubitarit vitum qfferre, nee eapiti pepercerii, . . . . Summum amicum, summo in hello . . . . summo ingenio prceditum . . . . O paler . . . . . . . . Hoc omnia vidi inflammari . . , „ O ingratifici Argivi, inanes Graii, immenwres benefice Ejemdare sinztis9 sistis pelli, pulsvm patiminu BOOK V. LETTERS OE CICERO, IN THE YEARS 697 TO 702. B. c. 57 TO O Z . CICERO'S RESTORATION. B O O K V. SURVEY OF HISTORICAL EVENTS. A.U. 697. B.C. 57. Cio. 50. P. CORNELIUS LENTULUS SPINTHER. Q. C^SCILIUS METELLUS NEPOS. T H E Belgae unite against the Roman armies. Caesar, having penetrated into their country with eight legions, compels them to submit. The Nervii alone remain in arms, and are conquered in a hard fought battle. Ptolemseus Auletes, having been banished from Egypt, comes to Rome to implore succour. M. Cato returns to Rome, having, in pursuance of the Cloclian law, converted Cyprus into a Roman province. A.U. 698. B.C. 56. CiC. 51. CN. CORNELIUS LENTULUS MARCELLINUS. L. MARCIUS PHILIPPUS. The Veneti and other Armorican tribes rise against the Romans in Gaul. Having received liberal supplies of money from the public treasury, Caesar equips a fleet? beats the enemy at sea, and compels them to submit. Meanwhile the Aquitani are defeated by Crassus, and the remaining tribes by others of his lieutenants. Piso and Gabinius carry on a shameful maladministration of their respective provinces, Macedonia and Syria. H 4 152 L I F E AND LETTERS OF CICERO. A.U. 699. B.C. 55. Cic. 52. CN. POMPEIUS MAGNUS II. M. LICINIUS CRASSUS II. Caesar conquers the Usipetes and Tenctheri, German tribes who had crossed the Rhine with the view of establishing themselves in Gaul. He compels them to recross the river, and then leads his own army across it to carry on the pursuit. The barbarians continuing to retreat before him, he returns into Gaul after eighteen days; then conducts two legions into Britain; where, however, he does nothing of importance, and spends the winter with all his legions in Belgium. Gabinius conducts Ptolemseus back to Egypt, and after some successful encounters with his enemies, reinstates him in his dominions. A. U. 700. B. C 54. CIC. 53. L. DOMITIUS AHENOBARBUS. APPIUS CLAUDIUS PULCHER. Cgesar crosses a second time into Britain, gains a victory in the south of the island, receives hostages, and returns to Gaul. The Eburones rise under their chief Ambiorix, and destroy a legion stationed among them in winter quarters. Q. Cicero defends himself with difficulty against the Nervii, and is saved by Caesar. Crassus prepares for war against the Parthians, but after loitering for some time in Mesopotamia, returns to Syria, where he enriches himself and his troops with plunder, and especially wTith that of the temple at Jerusalem. Pompeius places his province of Spain under the government of his legates, L. Afranius and M. Petreius. A.U. 701. B.C. 53. Cic. 54. CN. DOMITIUS CALVINUS. M. VALERIUS MESSALA. Caesar reduces all the revolted tribes in Gaul, and A.u. 702. B. c. 52, cic. 55. 153 crosses the Rhine a second time to intimidate the Germans. Crassus at length advances against the Parthians, but, betrayed by Abgarus, king of Osrhoene, he is surrounded by the Parthian army, and flies to Charrha?, while his son falls gallantly with the cavalry. At Charrhaa Crassus holds an interview with the Parthian general, and is treacherously put to death. Scarcely the tenth part of his army returns to Syria. A.U. 702. B.C. 52. Cic. 55. CN. CiECiLius METELLUS, PIUS SCIPIO from the 1st Aug. Up to that date POMPEIUS alone, III. Increased disturbances in Gaul. The Arverni rise under Vercingetorix. Soon the whole of Gaul is in arms. Cassar exerts all his strength, and Vercingetorix at length surrenders himself. I n Syria, the Quasstor C. Cassius drives back the encroaching Parthians. The Tribune of the people, M. Caelius, carries a law empowering Caesar, though absent, to sue for the Consulate. FROM 697 to 699, On the 4th of August 697, the same day that the law for his recall was passed in Rome, Cicero, informed no doubt of the favourable turn his affairs had taken, quitted Dyrrachium, and the next day landing at Brundisium, once more trod the soil of Italy. There he was met by his daughter Tullia, whose birthday it happened to be.^J^-.s^i. The colony of Brundisium was engaged in celebrating cs°e™p'6£10 ' the anniversary of its foundation; and on this same 5th of August, 246 years before, the dictator, C. Junius Bubulius1, had consecrated the Temple of the Dea Salus on the Quirinal hill.2 These circumstances gave additional* ftf -hf ^ \ fervour to the. congratulations of the Brundisians ; and if S ^ ™ H 5 154 L I F E AND LETTEKS OF CICERO. Cicero's heart was melted at the sight of his daughter who i ProSest.3i.had recently lost her noble husband Piso 1 , his enthusiasm might kindle at the thought that the Goddess who presided over his country's welfare had recalled him as its representative. On the 8th, while still at Brundisium, he received tidings from his brother of the extraordinary rejoicings writh which the law for his recall had been accepted and ra L?fAvY) tifi e d by all the centuries.2 He could not have desired a procedure more honourable to himself in form and substance. The Senate had issued a decree that no one should observe the heavens* whilst they were sitting to decide upon the law, nor attempt any hindrance whatsoever, on pain of being considered an enemy of the State and severely punished. If the law should not be carried within the five days to which its discussion was confined, Cicero should be permitted to return to Rome, and should be reinstated in all his dignities; the citizens who had assembled from all parts of Italy to assist in his recall were to be thanked, and requested to present themselves again on the day fixed for the ratification of the 3 Prosest. law.3 Then might Cicero call to mind the remarkable 61, 62. <> = dream with which he had been visited during his flight from Rome, and whilst he was still in Italy. In the morning, when dreams are wont to be most vivid, he fancied in his sleep that he was wandering mournfully in a desert place, when his countryman C. Marius met him, with his fasces decked with laurel, and asked him the cause of his melancholy ; and on Cicero telling him how he had been driven by force from Rome, Marius spoke words of comfort to him, and caused a lictor to conduct him into " the Monument," where he would find deliver* By the lex JElia Fufia an assembly of the people might he broken np on the appearance of unfavourable signs in the heavens. This law, abolished by Clodius, had been revived after his Tribunate. A. u. 702. B.C, 52. cic. 55. 155 ance. The Temple of Honour and Virtue was called the " Monument of Marius," 1 and in this temple had been ^ w«»^ passed the first decree of the Senate for Cicero's return, 2 which was ratified by that of May. 2 DeDivin.i. He now left Brundisium where he had again found a welcome in the house of Lsenius Flaccus, and where he was vividly reminded of the sad days he had passed there in the first bitterness of his exile.3 He longed to be in *Pro sest. Rome, but he was retarded on his way thither by the crowds of congratulators, who flocked to meet him, and by the deputations to which he had to give audience, as well as by the fetes which were everywhere held in his honour. " All the towns on my road," he says in his speech for Sestius4, "seemed to celebrate my return with festivals.* prosest. The highways were thronged with deputations sent from «»'i,*^« 22. all parts to meet me. On approaching the city, I was joyfully greeted by an innumerable host of well-wishers. Such was my way from the gate to the Capitol, such my entry into my house*, as to touch me with grief, even in the midst of my pleasure, at the thought of all the misery and oppression under which this grateful city was groaning." f He arrived in Rome on the 4th of September. * He must mean the house of a friend, or some other residence of his own than that on the Palatine. f Comp. Ep. 87, 1. " When I drew near the city, not a single citizen whose name is known to a nomenclator, failed to come forth to meet me. On arriving at the Porta Capena (through which the road to Capua lay) I beheld the steps of the temples crowded with men of the lowest classes, who expressed their sympathy with the loudest acclamations. By a similar stream of people, by similar shouts of rejoicing, was I attended all the way to the Capitol." The speeches in Senatu, and ad Quirites post reditum, which bear Cicero's name, are held, it is well known, on strong grounds, to be spurious, [The genuineness of these orations was first questioned by Markland in the middle of the last century, assailed still more vehemently by Wolf, and surrendered tacitly by Orelli. As usual in such cases, it is far easier to point out internal grounds of suspicion, than to establish a plausible theory H 6 156 LIFE AND LETTERS OE CICERO. On the following day he returned thanks to the Senate, (Jlfiv!'i2); anc ^ afterwards addressed the peo]}le in the Forum. 1 The Sxijf.T' Senate was at this time engaged in deliberations touching the supply of corn, as the citizens were suffering greatly 2 EP. 87,2. from scarcity.2 Clodius had endeavoured to make them believe that Cicero was the author of their distress; but his insinuations, it would appear, had had little weight, for the rejoicing was great and universal at the public reading of the edict to provide measures of relief, of which Cicero 3 Ep.%7,2. was announced to be the author. 3 The people were desirous that the supply of the city should be entrusted to Pompeius, who on his part was anxious for the office, since, in the position he then occupied, anything was acceptable to him which tended to enhance his importance in the eyes of the people. In consequence of his pressing solicitations Cicero proposed in the Senate that he should be treated with on the subject, and that if he accepted the commission, a law conferring it on him should be framed and presented for ratification to the people. Pompeius gladly consented to for the existence of the speeches themselves on the supposition of their being spurious. The objections to them however seem far from conclusive (at the present moment the current of opinion seems to set again in their favour), and in any case their value as historical documents is little impeached by them. It is known that Cicero delivered speeches on the occasions to which they refer, and that he was well pleased with them as specimens of his oratorical powers ; we may conclude therefore that they were published and obtained notoriety in Rome. The impugners of the genuineness of the existing speeches allow that they must have been written, as rhetorical exercises, no later than the Augustan age, being evidently the same as those on which Asconius (temp Neron) commented. It is clear therefore that if they are not Cicero's, the writer must have had the originals before him, and kept the facts and details distinctly in view." Merivale, Hist. Bom. Emp. i. 368., note. It may be added, that the feebleness in style and sentiment objected to these speeches is no more than we might naturally expect from the mortification and humiliation which lay at Cicero's heart at the moment, however much he might disguise them from himself and the world.] A.tr. 702. B.C. 52. Cic. 55. 157 undertake the charge, but stipulated for absolute command over the public stores and corn-rents, and for the assistance of fifteen legates to act under his directions. The popular mind having been first prepared by a speech from Cicero, the Senate, although many of the principal members at first hesitated to increase the power of Pompeius, resolved to grant all his demands, and a decree to that effect was accordingly presented to the people, Cicero, who conducted the whole business, wisely refused to second the proposition of the Tribune Messius, who, influenced no doubt by Pompeius, moved that this charge should be still further augmented by combining with it a military command. Anxious, however, not to offend the Great man whose countenance he still needed for his own interests, he contented himself with remaining silent.1 \ S'-.^V {An. iv. i.) In requiring his fifteen legates, Pompeius named Cicero as the first whose services he was desirous of securing, and promised that he should be his " second self."2 No doubt*\ftf\f\2: it was a great point for him to have such a man on his side. Cicero however would only accept the honourable invitation on condition that if the next Consuls should hold comitia for the election of Censors, he should be allowed to sue for that office, or, should he desire it, for a legatio votiva.* As he was unwilling to leave the city at this time, he appears, with the approbation of Pompeius, to have deputed his brother Quintus to discharge his new * Ep. 88, 2. (AH. iv. 2.) After the words of the passage here cited, votivam legem sumere, some MSS. read : prope omnium fanorum ac sacrorum ?ocorum: which are supi^osed to be a gloss. The legatio votiva was the leave got by a senator to fulfil avow. [i. e.to tiavel abroad on private affairs under pretext of making offerings in holy places, with the privilege of a legatus, or envoy of the Republic. Orelli regards the whole passage as genuine, and supposes the latter formal words to be introduced in jest.] 158 LIFE AND LETTERS OF CICERO. duties. Quintus accordingly went into Sardinia in December.* Cicero's most engrossing care at present was the recovery of his villas and of his house in Rome. After the demolition of the latter, Clodius had by the most daring and shameful means appropriated to himself a large area on the Palatine hill, and had besides caused the Portico of Q. Catulus (a memorial of the victory over the Cimbri, which abutted on the house of Cicero), to be destroyed, and another erected in its place, destined to bear his own name.f This was annexed to a Temple of Liberty which he erected on a portion of this large space of ground, hoping thus permanently to alienate the whole area from Cicero. The restoration of the property became under these circumstances a question to be decided on by the Pontifical College. The cause was accordingly brought before it, and Cicero delivered an oration on the occai Ep. 88,I. sion, on the 30th of September.1 They decided that " i f Dio.' cass!' he who consecrated the temple had done it without the xxxix. 11. - *• * Ep. 90, 2. (Qu.fr. ii. 1.) The chief authority for the above is the speech pro domo (5, 6.), the genuineness of which is no doubt much suspected. On the importance of the commission given to Pompeius, see Dio Cass. xxxix. 9. [He was to receive the proconsular imperium, with authority superior to that of any provincial governor. D i o r e m a r k s , Kal 6 {xkv, axrirep iirl rols KaraTrovrKXrous irpSrepov, ovroo tcaX T6T€ inl T $ TrdffTjs aiiQis Tr/s olKOVfjiivrjS, TTJS vnb rots 'PcafxaioLS, Tore oxxrris, ap^eip e^eAXe.] -\ On the site of this monument stood, at an earlier period, the house of M. Fulvius Flaccus. When this man was executed by command of the Senate, for his connexion with the attempts of C. Gracchus, his house also was razed to the ground, and upon its foundation Catulus afterwards erected his Portico. Of kthe speech which he addressed to the Pontiffs, Cicero says, Ep. 88, 1. (Att. iv. 2.): Si unquam in dicendo fuimus aliquid, aut etiam si unquam alias fuimus, turn profecto dolor et magnitudo vim quondam nobis dicendi dedit. Wolf has shown that the speech pro domo which we possess as Cicero's, by no means answers to this encomium. A.U. 702. B.C. 52. cic. 55. 159 express authorization of the people, the area in question might without prejudice to religion be restored to Cicero." This judgment was laid before the Senate and received the support of nearly all its members, especially of M. Lucullus and the Consul elect Marcellinus. But Clodius, who had already tried to excite the minds of the populace by an harangue, in which he called upon them to protect their ic Libertas," l vehemently opposed the edict in a long' EP.8S;I* oration, and got his faithful adherent the Tribune SerranusDioCak* ' '"" xxxix» 11.* to interpose his veto. The Senate defended itself by means which it then not unfrequently adopted.* I t declared that if any violence were used against its decree, the man who forbade it should be held responsible. The measure was carried, and the sum of two million sesterces were voted to Cicero for the rebuilding of his house, and half a million and a quarter of a million respectively for the restoration of his Tusculan and Formian villas, f2 The Portico of?S,-.88»11 (Att. iv. 2.)} Catulus was to be forthwith reconstructed. SxixTn8.' Cicero was by no means satisfied with these sums, and he recognized in the result of the transaction the work of his ill-wishers, who had been striving ever since his return to clip the wings they saw again about to grow; and here we may discern the first seeds of that discontent which caused him in the year following to throw himself into the arms 3 3 Ep. 106, I.; n f PJjpcar or -o^sai. ^ 87,2. (Att. ivl His vexation was the greater, as he was already suffer-5'1,} ing under pecuniary difficulties which induced him to offer * So in regard to the law about Cicero's return. The passage 88,1. is important. It shows us how the Senate had learnt at last to protect itself from the obstinate opposition of the Tribunes, and their measures so often seditious, t [The compensation for the Palatine house was fixed at H. S. vicies, something less than 1800/. of our money; that of the Tusculan quingentis mittibus, or nearly 4500/.; of the Eormican at half that sum ; certe valde illiberaliter. ] 160 LIFE AND LETTERS Otf CICERO. Ep. ss, 2. one of his estates for sale l ; and the happiness which a few {Ait. iv. 2.) L l ' . weeks before he flattered himself he had at length attained, was further disturbed by some domestic annoyances arising probably from the want of harmony between himself and 2 EPp.*7,2.;his wife. 2 «8, 2. (^W.iv. l 2 > -) : ; EP.S9. (Ait. iv. 3.) . m Clodius, meanwhile, persevered in his violent proceedins;s.3 On the 3rd of November one of his hired gan^s ° , . drove away the workmen from Cicero's ground, pulled clown the Portico of Catulus which was completed nearly to the roof, and set fire to the neighbouring house of Quintus; Clodius himself rushed furiously through the city endeavouring by promises of emancipation to get slaves to join him; for even his own had abandoned him. On the 11 th of November, Cicero was personally attacked by him and his gang in the Via Sacra, and compelled to take refuge in the house of a plebeian. The following day they threatened the dwelling of Milo, and a bloody conflict ensued. Clodius looked forward to obtaining the ^Edileship this year, and thus escaping the punishment due to these lawless acts. The populace was in great measure favourable to him, and he was protected by his brother-in-law the Consul Metellus, who still cherished his old dislike to Cicero. Milo, however, by virtue of his office, could hinder the comitia for the election of JEcliles, and this prerogative he vigorously exerted.* Clodius succeeded by means of his party in exciting a tumult in the Senate, and thus thwarting the proposition of Eacilius for a legal in4 ^.90,2. quiry into his conduct.4 i.) ' This was in December. I n the beginning of the following year he was actually chosen JEdile. Amongst the * Already in the course of these proceedings Cicero writes in November, Si se inter viam obtulerit (Clodius), occisum iri ab ipso Milone video, Ep. 89. (Att.iv. 3.) A.u. 702. B.C. 52* cic. 55. 161 Tribunes who entered upon office in December 697, Cicero placed his best hopes on Raeilius, and after him on Antistius Vetus; he could also securely count on the friendship of Plancius, who had so warmly befriended him in Macedonia.1 \&'$*: In the summer of 697, soon after his return to Rome, he wrote to his friend Atticus 2 , " I have recovered more 1%$;^^ fully than I ventured to hope, more than in my present circumstances seemed possible, my ancient reputation in the Forum, my influence in the Senate, and the favour of all good men." To preserve all this, and thoroughly to recover his position, was now his principal object; and in the first months after his return, in the elevation of spirits consequent upon that event, he felt he had strength and courage for the task. 3 " M y courage is great," he 3 JS>». 89./« writes in November, when he had already suffered many s-) annoyances, " greater even than in my former prosperity." Whilst writing in this strain, however, he must have forgotten how totally different were his own position and that of the State from what they had been in the days of his Consulate. Appian says writh reference to the part acted by Pompeius in his recall 4 , "Pompeius hoped that 4 Appian, the experience of the last two years would have rendered g^p- ^ i0 / Cicero more wise and cautious in his political conduct, 6, whilst at the same time he was anxious to check the ambi« tious attempts of Clodius, and he therefore effected Cicero's recall from the banishment to which at his instigation he had been sentenced," The same might be said of Caesar, except that he could not fail to observe with satisfaction the enmity of Clodius against Pompeius. Thus Cicero's position was far from one of freedom or independence. As at the time he was aspiring to the Consulate he had furthered the aggrandizement of Pompeius to secure his 162 LIFE AND LETTERS OF CICERO, own advancement, so now was he .forced in all his actions still to consult that chief's interest in gratitude for his recall. The brightest period of his own life now lay behind him ; and Pompeius, whose star was likewise on the decline, used him to maintain as much as he could of his own earlier lustre. If Pompeius on the one hand indulged Gicero by letting him remove from the Capitol the tablet on which the decree of banishment and other violent mea-v suresofthe Tribune had been inscribed*, Cicero on his part, by his first public act, when he got for Pompeius the command of the corn supplies, in spite of the secret opposition of the nobles, had proved his own dependence upon him, and let it be seen what part he must thenceforth play, if he wished to mix in public affairs. The next year (698) opens with a series of letters differing considerably in character from most of those with which we have been hitherto occupied. They are addressed to statesmen by a statesman, and we may notice in them a more artificial and laboured style of diction, together with an ambiguity of expression, often throwing out significant hints of matters which it appeared hazardous to speak of openly; whereas the earlier letters of Cicero, addressed for the most part to Atticus and Quintus, were familiar and confidential, and written in language answering to their contents, though they too are characterized by a concise and careless brevity which often leaves more to be inferred than is expressed.f * Dio Cass, xxxix. 2 1 . ; Plut. Cic. 34. In his hatred to Clodius, Pompeius fprobably viewed this proceeding with satisfaction. It caused some coldness between Cicero and Cato, who returned from Cyprus in 697. Cato had discharged the commission imposed upon him by Clodius, miserable as it was, with great diligence and honesty ; in money matters even with meanness ; and he now wanted to have his acts confirmed by the Senate. Cicero's proceedings against Clodius seemed likely to obstruct this object. Dio Cass, xxxix. 22. f Of the period from Cicero's return to the end of the year 697, we have A.U. 702. B.C. 52. cic. 55. 163 In January 698 the Senate was busily engaged with the question, whether the king Ptolernayus Auletes, who* as a friend of the Komans and a fugitive from his own subjects, had appealed to it for aid *, should be reinstated in his dominions, and if so, in what manner this should be effected. The honourable commission which had been promised to Lentulus, at this time Proconsul of Cilicia, was .now ardently coveted by Pompeius, who had received the fugitive monarch into his own house, and was anxious to lead him back at the head of an army. He wTished to obtain a military command which might place him more on an equality with Caesar; while the aristocrats, on the other hand, dreaded to increase the power which his commission for supplying the city gave him; and the more as his union with Caesar and Crassus still subsisted. Just at the right moment, an oracle was found in the Sybilline books, which declared that " an Egyptian sovereign would seek the protection of the Romans. Assistance, it said, might be granted him, but not with force of numbers." f The Senate availed themselves of this circumstance, and all idea of employing a military force was abandoned; the only question now being, whether the king should be reinstated at all; and if so, whether the commission should be three letters to Atticus and one to Quintus. That to the latter is directed to Sardinia. Besides these a jocose letter addressed to Fabms Gallus, from the Tusculanum, whither he had retired on account of sickness, probably belongs to the same year. Ep. 91. (Div. vii. 26.) * Ptolemseus had caused the envoys to be assassinated who were sent by the Alexandrians to counteract his suit at Rome. Dio Cass, xxxix. 13. f Ep. 92, 1. 3. {Div. i.) ; Dio Cass, xxxix. 15. [The phrase, it is said, was sine multitudine, which was interpreted to mean, without an army ; hence Cicero speaks of religio de exercitu. In his letter to Lentulus he does not scruple to hint that this pretended oracle was a forgery (nomen inductum fictce religionis, Ep. 92, 2., Div, i. 1.). Hcec est opinioy he says, pdpuli Rom.'] 164 LIFE AND LETTERS OF CICERO. entrusted to Lentulus or to Pompeius and two others; or, lastly, to three envoys of inferior note. Cicero was sorely perplexed by this question. He felt bound to advocate the cause of Lentulus, who had the voice of the Senate in his favour, and had been instrumental to his own restoration, while, on the other hand, he dared not decidedly oppose the wishes of Pompeius, who, whilst professing indifference on his own account, and even advocating the; claims of Lentulus in the Senate, was secretly endeavouring by the aid of his faithful adherents to secure the appointment for himself! Ptolemseus also desired that his should be the agency employed on the occasion. Cicero appears to have been misled for some time by the silence of Pompeius, and the secret nature of his proceedings, of i Ep. 100,2. which he complains in a letter to L e n t u l u s l ; though perhaps he was not altogether sorry for it, as he was thus able to range himself on the side of Lentulus, together with Hortensius and M. Lucullus, and to assert at the same time that he was acting in accordance with the intimations made him by Pompeius himself. In this manner we may explain a confidential letter to Quintus, in which he tells him that he has fulfilled his promises both to Pompeius and to Lentulus most satisfactorily, and without 2 Ep. 97,5. offending either party. 2 In the numerous letters however, (^u.ji.n. ^flj.gggg^ t o Lentulus on this subject, we find manifest 3 Ep. 92_9r,, tokens of his embarrassment 3 ; and one cannot help sus100, 101. 113. \2^(PivA' . r pecting that the rhetorical style so often apparent in them4 was adopted to conceal a secret grudge against Lentulus,* possibly for the inadequate compensation of his personal ^ Ep. 88. losses.4 The king's cause occupied the Senate for a long time. Pompeius, not being supported by Caesar's party, saw his 5 Ep. loo. own hopes frustrated 5 , and then came forward without reserve as the most zealous friend of Lentulus,,. whom he A. u. 702. B.C. 52. crc. 55. 165 counselled, in conjunction with Cicero, to undertake the restoration of the king on his own responsibility ! , for the * &P- J1^ Senate had begun to discourage the scheme altogether. I t was of some importance to Pompeius to gain the good will of so distinguished a personage as Lentulus. The coveted honour fell, however, eventually to neither of them. For the cause being long procrastinated, and Ptolemseus, after a considerable loss of time and money, finally placing himself under the protection of the Ephesian Diana, Grabinius, who was Proconsul of Syria, took the matter into his own hands, probably at the instigation, certainly with the approval of Pompeius, and by force of arms reinstated the king in his dominions, stipulating for a large reward for his services.* Clodius, who still continued to enjoy the favour of the populace, was chosen .ZEdile on the 22nd of January f, and on the 3rd of the following month he instituted a process against Milo 2 , accusing him of violent conduct inJ^y^Vs the transactions at the beginning of the year 697, which produced Cicero's recall. Pompeius came forward as Milo's patron, but his speech to the people on the 6 th, as well as that of Clodius, was tumultuously interrupted. Nothing was effected on that day, and the process h a l no decided result. The object of Clodius was indeed only to irritate and affront the friends of Cicero and abuse his defenders, especially Pompeius 3 , who was gradually losing 3 DioCass. ground with the people through his means. In coming forward in defence of Milo, Pompeius was probably actu* These proceedings are detailed by Dio Cassius, xxxix. 12—16. 55—62. f This at least was the day appointed for the election. It should have taken place before the close of the year. The delay is attributed by Manutius to the intrigues of Clodius and his opponents, the one party seeking to become iEdile before the impeachment de Vi with which he was threatened, the latter to frustrate this object. Clodius succeeded, and baffled his prosecutors, Ep. 97, 4. (Qu. fr. ii. 2.) 166 L I F E AND LETTERS OF CICERO. ated by his desire to bind Cicero as closely as possible to his own interests; for it was becoming daily more apparent to him that Caesar was rapidly eclipsing him, and he must have contemplated with alarm the lengths to which his policy of flattering the populace might lead him. An aristocrat by birth, as were all those whose early fortunes had been founded upon Sulla, Pompeius needed for his adherents men of weight and importance like Cicero and, Lentulus, to balance the scales against Caesar. True, he, like his rival, had flattered the people, and had risen through their favour; but he wanted the art which enabled Ca3sar permanently to enchain their affections, so that he could look down on their transient caprices with indifference; as for instance, when, in the time of his Consulate, Bibulus withdrew, and the tide of popular favour » Ep. 45, l. for a moment turned against him.1 (Att. ii. 19.) # m & Pompeius at this juncture had his old enemy Crassus and the Tribune C. Cato against him, and it is not improbable that they and their adherents sought to disunite 2Ep.99,4. him from Cicero 2 , his alliance with whom might seem dangerous to the opponents of the Optimates. The conqueror of Mithridates now saw himself compelled to bring his country partizans into the city to ensure his personal safety. He complained to Cicero that "his life was threatened, that C. Cato was supported, and Clodius bribed, by Crassus, and that both were encouraged by him and Bibulus, as well as by Curio and his other calumniators. I t behoved him to take care that he wal not utterly ruined, for the common people were almost entirely alienated from him, the Senate unfavourable, and 3£p.9M. the young men reckless," 3 Cicero was right when he (aw /r 11,3,) ' ' exclaimed in a letter to his brother, "Pompeius is no 4£/>. 104,4. longer the same man." 4 How little he now expected ' from him is apparent from his confidential words in another A.U. 702. B.G. 52. cic. 55. 167 letter to him.* " I did not go into the Senate" (after the scandalous events consequent on the process of Milo), " for I could not be silent on so grave a subject, and I feared to offend the well disposed by advocating the cause of Pompeius, wTho was attacked by Bibulus, by Curio, Favonius, and Servilius the younger." We are tempted to believe that Caesar fomented these disputes at a distance t ; there can be no doubt that they fell in with his own desires. Pompeius was well aware of this, and his uneasiness and jealousy increased with the acclamations which hailed the successive accounts of his exploits.1 Time wras when he had himself reigned l r>i .°- S 3 3 e •L & xxxix. 25. alone in the applause of his countrymen. U n d e r the influence of such feelings., a change of relations came to pass which just before had seemed in the highest degree improbable: a close alliance was formed between himself and Crassus, and they made common cause together, without however any formal r u p t u r e with Ca3sar. The first object they proposed to themselves was the joint attainment of the Consulate for the ensuing year. Clodius, who hoped by serving Pompeius to secure his future favour, once more shifted sides, as did the Tribune Cato, and ioined their party. 2 2 DioCass. x x x i x . 26. The Consuls of the year 698, Lentulus Marcellinus and 29.; comP.' . £/>. 120, 2. Marcius Philippus, were excellent men, nor was it their (du.fr.n.9.) fault if the authority of the Senate and Optimates was not efFectually maintained. 3 They resisted to the utmost of3 Ep. 104,4. their ability the unconstitutional attempts of 0. Cato, who was now a devoted partizan of the Triumvirs, as well as the extraordinary measures proposed for augmenting Caesar's * Ep. 99, 2. (Qu. fr. ii. 3.) This letter is remarkable for the lively picture it gives us of the proceedings of the popular assemblies at that time. f Dio says (xxxix. 23.), " Ceesar, although absent, supported Clodius in his fury against M. Cato, and furnished him, as some say, with charges." 168 L I F E AND LETTERS OF CICERO. power.* Marcellinus handled Pompeius so roughly as to wound Cicero's feelings. Had the Consuls of the succeeding year proved equally zealous, and been vigorously supported by the Qptimates, the Senate might yet have succeeded in taking and keeping a strong position against the Triumvirs. The principal candidate for the Consulate in the year 699 was Domitius Ahenobarbus, a member of an old and distinguished patrician house, and a decided aristocrat. But his election was not desired by Pompeius, who though an enemy to democratic power was no friend to an oligarchy of which he was not himself the leader; nor would Csesar permit the advancement of a man, who had once rashly threatened that the first act of his Consulate should ' suet jui. be to recall him from his government. 1 To the avaricious 24. Crassus, a state of affairs which tended towards the restoration of the ancient order and discipline was anything but desirable; and thus the three colleagues, impelled by different motives, combined to oppose Domitius as their 2 EP. 117. common enemy.2 At Lucca, whither Ca3sar repaired from Transalpine Gaul, the Triumvirs met and concerted measures for crushing him, and forcing him to leave the field to Pompeius and Crassus.f Caesar could not hinder his colleagues from obtaining their object, which they sought with the view of emulating his greatness; nay, he had still so much to demand from the next year's Consuls, that he was actually constrained to further their designs. The comitia * Monstra de Ccesare. f How eagerly men of rank and distinction crowded about the Triumvirs, appears from the statement of Plutarch (Cses. 21.), that so many official personages were seen at Lucca, that 120 lictors might be counted there together. At the same time there were present more thaa 200 senators. Appian, B, C. ii. 17. A.u. 702. B.C. 52. cic. 55. 169 were now violently interrupted, and their proceedings obstructed, in order that, the year having expired, the appointment of Consuls might devolve upon an interrex. The Tribune Cato 'rendered effectual assistance in this transaction 1 , and Caesar sent his legate Publius, the 1 Dio. cass. x x x i x . 27 • son of Crassus, with an armed force to support his associates. comp. AP3 . plan, 5 . C. ii. Marcellinus could make no resistance. The Senate put17on mourning, and during the remainder of the year no senator of the Patrician party made his appearance in the Curia.2 But all was in vain. In the beginning of2 Di°- cas*. ° ° xxxix. 28.31. 699, Pompeius and Crassus were elected Consuls by an inter-rex. The positions which Csesar and Pompeius at this time respectively occupied, rendered it necessary that each should promote the interests of the other; the only question was, which of them should first reach the summit ; which should most clearly perceive and most promptly seize the fortunate moment.3 Pompeius when asked by 3 Dio. Cass. Marcellus at the end of the previous year, whether he was foii. in earnest in suing for the Consulship, had replied: " I do not want it for the sake of those citizens who love order and moderation; but on account of the restless spirits in the State, I desire it with my whole heart." 4 In this we 4 Dio. cass. xxxix oO need not accuse him of falsehood; for history is not without examples of blind ambition going hand in hand with a conviction of patriotism. But Pompeius had a very indistinct notion of what the State required, and was utterly deceived as to his own strength. Ca3sar laboured under no such delusion; and in the attainment of his own ambitious ends would have saved at the same time the Koman world, had not a rash deed prematurely cut him off. For truly the condition of Rome was at this period unspeakably wretched. The people were led astray, and their interests abused by their representatives; by those who I 170 L I F E AND LETTERS OF CICERO. should have protected their just rights, but who were now fallen into the hands of the chiefs, and were tools of their power, which increased every year. The Optimates, unmindful of their honourable name, were governed by their own selfish interests, and acted without concert or system.* The Senate was broken up into parties; and a Consul really worthy of his office, proved nevertheless unable to maintain law and order. Ep.wii, To return to Cicero: writing at this time to Atticus ! . \Att. IV. D.) ° J with reference to the death of Lentulus f, he says: . . . . " He loved his country so well, that his being snatched from its conflagration seems a special favour of the Grods; for what is more degrading than our life? than mine especially ? . . . . If I speak as duty urges me on public matters, I am esteemed a madman; if as circumstances constrain me, a slave; while if I keep silence, I am said to be in durance; and I am the more grieved at this, because I cannot complain for fear of being called ungrateful." We cannot be surprised to find him exclaiming in a letter to Atticus, some months before the election of the new 2 Ep.we. Consuls 2 : "Farewell to the principles of justice, truth, and goodness! The falseness of those Optimates transcends all belief; for Optimates they profess to be, and would be were there any faith in them." And again: " A s those who are not in power refuse to love me, I will cultivate the regard of such as are." Cicero had Cassar more especially in his thoughts when he wrote this. He had just composed what he calls a Palinodia in his honour. I t was very evident to him that his own idea of the Republic could not be maintained * See Cicero's complaints against the Optimates, Epp. 106, 1.; 113. (Att iv. 6.; Div. i. 7.) •f Not the Proconsul of Cilicia; the personage here mentioned was Flamen of Mars. A.U. 702. B. c. 52. cic. 55. 171 against the power of the Triumvirs, and the violence of the age; he saw how ineffectual was the support on which he could reckon from the so-called Optimates; and his feelings were somewhat irritated against them moreover at present, on account of the inadequate compensation they had accorded for his loss of property. Nor could he honestly help feeling that he was alone far too weak to maintain himself in opposition to the chiefs. The letter we have been quoting from is a remarkable one; but we must not conclude that Cicero had finally abandoned the maxims which had governed his conduct in early life, and which were deeply engrafted on his nature. Time and circumstances were now at variance with them, and his susceptible and highly irritable temperament renders it easy to account for the contradictory tone of many passages in his correspondence. The following extract from a letter to the Proconsul Lentulus 1 , displays all the1, £?• m 2. (Dev.i. 8.) characteristics of its writer, particularly where he speaks of politics, and at the same time discovers the dawn of a sentiment which exercised a decided influence over his whole life, and was destined to bring about its catastrophe: " You are aware how difficult it is to lay aside the opinion one has formed upon public affairs, especially when it is well grounded. Nevertheless, I conform myself to the wishes of him whom I cannot with honour oppose: and I do this with no insincerity, as some may suppose, for so powerfully is my mind attracted towards Pompeius, so strong, I may say, is my passion for him, that all that is profitable to him and agreeable to his wishes appears just and right in my eyes." * - * These expressions may surprise us, when we remember the numerous passages in Cicero's letters in which he laments the weaknesses of Pompeius. But sanguine temperaments do not suffer themselves so easily to abandon the objects of their affection, even when they perceiye weaknesses in I 2 172 L I F E AND LETTERS OF CICERO. However contrary such a course may have been to his genuine feelings, Cicero adhered to the resolution he had taken, and continued his double allegiance to Caesar and Pompeius. He had soon occasion to testify his devotion to them. The law for the allocation of lands in Campania had not yet been carried in all its clauses; for part of the land to be distributed was in the hands of private individuals, and it was a matter of difficulty to obtain a sum of money from the State treasury sufficient to purchase it from the proprietors. In December, 697, the Tribune ^QX'/VALI.)Lupus had spoken against the law *, and in the following April there was a sharp debate on the subject in the 2 Ep 103,2. Senate 2 , on the same day that the forty million sesterces (Qu.fr.ii.b.) y J J had been voted to Pompeius as manager of the supplies. Cicero* who was adverse to the lawr, proposed that it should be brought again before the Senate on the 15th of May; imagining that after such an outlay it would be certainly 3 ^p.i48,3. rejected.3 Pompeius and Caesar however, who had just bad their meeting at Lucca, were dissatisfied with this proceeding: and the former having occasion to go into Africa on the business of the supplies, paid a visit to Quintus in Sardinia on his way, and reminded him of his pledge that Marcus Cicero, in case he were recalled from banishment, would attempt nothing contrary to the inthem. Those lamentations were indeed themselves immoderate, and even in them we may recognize Cicero's love for Pompeius. [It will be observed that the author constantly speaks of the affection Cicero bore Pompeius. Yet it must be remembered that already, in the earlier part of this correspondence, Cicero had bitterly denounced his vanity, ambition, selfishness and hypocrisy ; we shall find, at a later period, that he further charges him with the most flagrant disloyalty to the Commonwealth. It is a proof of the exceeding fickleness of Cicero's feelings and judgments that he still allows himself, upon any show of favour from the great man, to warm into expressions of personal regard; but I cannot recognize throughout his letters any calm and consistent affection for the object of these capricious effusions ] A. tr. 702. B. c. 52. cic. 55. 173 terests of the Triumvirs.* Upon this Quintus wrote to Ms brother, who now perceived how hazardous was the step he was about to take. He remembered the conflict his mind had undergone, when on a former occasion he had wavered between the Triumvirs and their opponents; he reflected how little the support of the latter could be relied upon: and the motion about the Agrarian law was dropped, f That Cicero should find it impossible to recover his former authority, however much he desired it, was under these circumstances natural enough; equally natural was it, that he did not entirely withdraw from public life in consequence. The legal business of the Forum still furnished him the means of recovering and retaining the favour of the people. Here he had the field to himself. Ca3sar and Pompeius found it even conducive to their interests, that the man through whom they had gained their objects should possess the esteem of the populace. I t seems they applauded him when he carried into effect his intimation to his brother ] : " I willingly withdraw from \gv the Curia, and all business of the State, but before the tribunals I am still what I was." * How effective this pledge of Quintus's was towards his brother's recall we may judge from Ep. 99, 8. (Qw. Jr. ii. 3.) f The circumstances and the corresponding letter are, as it seems to me, thus best arranged. On April 5. Cicero made his motion about the Agrarian law ; this offended Pompeius, who conferred about it with Caesar at Lucca, and again with Quintus in Sardinia. Quintus thereupon wrote to his brother and changed his note. Under this altered aspect of affairs Cicero proceeded to write that remarkable letter to Atticus, Ep. 106. (Att. iv. 5.) ; which accordingly, if my view is correct, cannot be of so early a date as April 10., which is assigned to it, but must have been written somewhat later. A careful perusal of Cicero's letters makes one often suspect that the dates assigned them cannot be quite accurate, and that they stand in need of a revision. We meet with proceedings about the Agrarian law at a still later period. Ep. 225. (Div. viii. 10.), A.U. 703. I 3 174 L I F E AND LETTERS OF ClCEKO. The most important oration which Cicero delivered in the year 698, was his speech for the late Tribune P . Sestius, who had done so much towards his recall. When in the commencement of the preceding year, while the decree for his restoration was still pending, Clodius with his hired rabble and gladiators had converted the Forum into a field of battle, in order to prevent its passing, Sestius and Milo found themselves compelled to repel force by force, and hired gladiators of their own to oppose those of Clodius. Many were the fierce and bloody encounters which ensued; and now, at the instigation of .Clodius, Sestius was arraigned by M. Tullius Albinovanus before the Praetor M. JEmilius Scaurus, on the 10th of February, on a charge of riot.'* Cicero undertook his defence, and Hortensius spoke also in his behalf, and he was acquitted on the 13th of March. Cicero was actuated by sincere affection and gratitude, and wished besides to put down the cavils of his maligners, who called him ungrateful. In this speech, he described in lively terms the whole course of Clodius's hostilities against him, and his own banishment and restoration: it is further remarkable as expressing his political principles, and his view of the character of the true Optimate. I t does him the more honour, inasmuch as Sestius, who was a man of a gloomy and wayward disposition, seems often to have given him 1 EP. io2, i. cause for complaint.1 Cicero's speech against Vatinius, who had made himself notorious during the Consulate of Caesar, and now appeared as a witness against Sestius, 2 Ep io2,11. formed an interlude in the process.2 The orator com{Qu.fr. ii.4.) r * Ep. 99, 5. (Qu. fr. ii. 3.) By the lex Lutatia de Vi Seslius was at the same time accused of ambitus by Cn. Nerius. [The law of Q. Lutatius Catulus de Vi, that is against those who occupied public places and carried arms (A. IT. 676), was perhaps a renewal or confirmation of an existing lex Plotia. Cic. Att. ii. 24.; pro Cart. 29.; pro Mil 13.; de Har. resp. 8.J Sail. Catil. 31. But see Fischer, Romische Zeittafeln (A. U. 676).] A. u. 702. B. c. 52. cic. 55. 175 pletely crushed him amidst the applause of his audience; at the same time he expressed himself with great freedom about Caesar and his associates.* Before this, on the 11th of February (in a speech no longer extant), he defended L. Bestia, who was accused before the Praetor Cn. Domitius of bribery in his suit for the Prastorship. He thus laid, as he said, a good foundation for his subsequent defence of Sestius 1 ; but he was 1 EP. 99,,7.^ not successful in the attainment of his immediate object.f He was more fortunate in his defence of L. Cornelius Balbus, the Gaditane, who stood very high in Cassar's favour, was now serving under him in Gaul, and afterwards became the manager of his household. The accuser disputed the franchise accorded to him. Cicero also successfully defended his friend, M. Cselius, accused of poisoning the notorious sister of Clodius, and of intending to assassinate the Alexandrian ambassador, Dio; these charges were brought against him, under the Lutatian law de Vi, by Atratinus, whose father he had himself once brought to just ice. $ * We possess this speech too, under the name of Interrogation " Questions put to Yatinius." Cicero himself describes it, Ep. 148, 3. (JDiv. i. 9.) Tota vero interrogatio mea nihil habuit nisi reprehensionem illius tribunatus; in quo omnia dicta sunt libertate, animoque maximo, de vi, de auspiciis, de donatione regnorum. f See Philipp. i. 5., where he alludes to the result of this trial. Quid Bestiam ? qui se consulatum in Bruti locum petere profitetur Quam absurdum autem, qui prcetor fieri non potuerit, eum petere consulatum ! JYisi forte damnationem pro prcetura putat. J I have refrained from citing here the speech de Haruspicium responsis, which, if it is really Cicero's, was delivered after those for Sestius and Caslius, and before those de prov. Cons, and for Balbus, on account of the strong evidence it bears of spuriousness. The occasion of the speech was this : when, in the year 698, a prodigium occurred in the Ager Latinensis, and the Haruspices pronounced their judgment that it pointed to the sin of erecting private dwellings on consecrated spots, the iEdile Clodius applied this immediately to Cicero's house; Cicero thereupon delivered the speech referred to. i 4 176 L I F E AND LETTERS OF CICERO. The great orator's speech in the Senate, entitled " de provincils Consularibus," is one of the highest importance. Therein he urges the recall of Gabinius and Piso, the Consuls of the year 696, from their respective governments of Syria and Macedonia. These provinces had been assigned them in virtue simply of an edict of Clodius, and not by a decree of the Senate, and they had governed them with gross injustice and rapacity. In the same speech he combats the proposition of the Senate to deprive Cassar of one, if not both, of the two Gaulish provinces; for the rapidly increasing power of the great commander had begun to inspire that body with alarm, and many of the senators were for recalling him altogether. Cicero thus prepared the way for the law which Trebonius carried next year, decreeing him fresh supplies < De prov. of money, and increasing the number of his legates.1 ' His conduct in this transaction will not surprise us if we call to mind the letter before alluded to, in which he appears in a moment of excitement to abjure all his principles; but how ill at ease his conscience was is 2 E-p. ii3,6. apparent from a letter to Lentulus 2 , written probably in May of this year 698, in which he observes a marked silence respecting the part he had been taking for CaBsar in these proceedings. After the significant words, " This state of affairs does not please me," he continues, " I must admonish you of a truth which, though addicted from my youth to the noblest studies, 1 have learnt from experience rather than reading, — no man can retain his security if he loses, nor forfeit it if he retains, his dignity." Since he could not be a Cato, how much more wisely would he have acted, had he remained firm to this maxim! W e find it consistent with the rest of his character that, in order to maintain his dignity and the renown of his former actions, he sought to exhibit himself in something A. u. 702. B.C. 52. cic. 55. 177 of a becoming lustre by the side of Pompeius and Cassar. His anxiety on this head is shown in a letter to Luceeius (probably in May 698), in which he urgently requests him to write the history of his life from the commencement of the Catilinarian conspiracy until his return from exile.1 This letter, however we may be disposed t o 1 ^ . ios. . . . (Div. v. 12.) palliate particular expressions in consideration of the circumstances under which it was written, is a standing monument of his vanity and of the self-esteem which animated him, even at a time when his influence in the Republic had dwindled to a mere shadow. He thought highly of it himself, and in writing to Atticus mentions it with complacency as " a very fine composition."*2 \Iu\fW' In reference to his domestic affairs, we find that in the spring of this year he gave his daughter Tuliia in second marriage to Eurius Crassipes, one of Caesar's adherents.3Iffli'Til4''' The repose of which he stood so much in need at home/*''il# 4 - 6) was continually disturbed by the family disputes between Terentia and his brother's wife Pomponia, and this made him glad to remain at his country residences, where we find him in the months of April and May 698. At his paternal estate of Antium he enjoyed an interval of agreeable leisure, during which he occupied himself with his library.^ J J f ^ * [One passage at least in this letter ought to be quoted; the reader must judge for himself how far it is susceptible of excuse. Neque tamen ignoro quam impudenter faciamy qui primum tibi tantum oneris imppnam {potest enim mihi denegare occupatio tua) deinde etiam, ut ornes me, postulem.. Quid si ilia tibi non tantopere videntur ornanda? Sed tamen qui semel verecundice fines transierit, eum bene et naviier oportet esse imprudentem. Itaque te plane etiam atque etiam rogo, ut ornes ea, vehementius etiam quam fqrtasse sentis, et in eo leges historice negligas: gratiamque illam, de qua suavissime quodam in procemio scripsisti, a qua te affici non magis potuisse demonstras quam Herculem Xenophontium ilium a voluptate; si me tibi vehementius commendabit ne aspernere; amorique nostro pluscidum etiam quam concedit Veritas, largiare.^ 1 5 178 LERE.AKD LETTERS OF CICERO. Quintus Cicero, since the completion of his' business in Sardinia, had been living partly at Rome and partly on his estates till the year 700, when he was summoned to Gaul by Caesar, to act as his legate. Atticus had returned to (Itf'ivA.) I t a ly about the end of January 1 , and took up his residence in Rome, where Cicero frequently addressed him during his own sojourn in the country. In February Atticus was married to Pilia, by whom he had a daughter Attica, or Pomponia, who subsequently became the wife of the celebrated Agrippa.* W e possess twelve letters of the year 699, in which Pompeius and Crassus were Consuls for the second time.t During this period Cicero adhered firmly to the resolution he had formed of offering no resistance to the Triumvirs, but yielding passively to the stream of events. Resistance, indeed, would have availed little at a time when, as he himself writes to his brother, the Consuls, together with 2 £v 12^|"Ca3sar, had everything in their own power.2 But deeply must he and the whole Senate have been pained when Afranius brought about a decree encouraging ambitus, in consequence of which the Prgetorships of this year could be filled by the mere arbitrary will of those who now held sway %; and Cato was excluded from that office, to which he had been previously invited §, in order that it might r Attica and Agrippa had a daughter, Vipsania Agrippina, who was the first wife of the Emperor Tiberius, and became the mother of Drusus. f Viz., five to Atticus, two to Quintus, to E. Gallius and Marius one each ; the single one to Lentulus is very important* The two which remain are letters of recommendation. % Ep. 120, 3. (Qu. fr. ii. 9.) Manutius (in he.) explains the object of the law, iVe qui prceturam per ambitum cepisset, ei propterea fraudi esset; [referring to Plut. Cat. min. 42. and Pomp. 52. The letter itself gives no intimation about it.] § It was offered to him, on his return from Cyprus, to protect him from being called to account for his conduct there: he however rejected it.' Plut. Cat, min. 39.; Val. Max. iv. 1. 14. [The words of Val. Max. are, A. u. 702. B. c. 52* cic. 55. 179 be bestowed on the contemptible Vatinius. Though, in attaching himself unreservedly to Pompeius> Cicero may have followed the dictates of his heart, we cannot doubt that the following words, in a letter to Lentulus, express the genuine state of his feelings at the present juncture : " The principles by which I guided myself when I was in possession of the highest honours and had accomplished the greatest undertakings, dignity in my speeches as a senator, independence in administering the general interests, all are past and gone! But not for me more than for others. I must either echo, without influence myself, the decrees of individuals, or place myself in unavailing opposition. The spirit of the Senate, of the tribunals, of the whole State, is altogether changed. No senator who is faithful to his principles, can now hope to obtain the Consular dignity.1 i EP J , (Div The truth of this statement became evident when, in accordance with the treaty which had been entered into at Lucca between Pompeius and Crassus, the Tribune Trebonius passed an edict giving to the latter the province of Syria and to the former Spain and Africa, both for five years, and with extended powers. At the same time, to appease Caesar, his proconsular authority in Gaul was Cypriacam pecuniam maxima cum diligentia et sanctitate in urbem deportaverit Cujus ministerii gratia Senatus relationem interponi jubebat ui prcetoriis comitiis extra ordinem ratio ejus haheretur (before the legitimate age, i. e. set. 40. Cato, born A. TJ. 659, was 39 in 698, but was of legitimate age the year following.) Sed ipse id fieri passus non est, iniquum id fieri esse affirmans, quod nulli alii tribueretur, sibi decerni. Instead of saying the Prsetorship was offered to Cato, the writer should have specified that the Senate proposed to make a decree in his favour releasing him from the restrictions of the lex Annalis. He must still have sued for the suffrages of the tribes. The object of this intended favour is probably divined rightly by Abeken. Cato had accidentally lost the accounts of his money transactions in Cyprus, and it was known that Clodius was watching an opportunity to fasten upon him a charge of malversation in his province.] I 6 180 LIFE AND LETTERS OF CICERO. prolonged for another five years, chiefly through the influence of the Consuls. In vain did Cato and others, who endeavoured to uphold the sinking State, oppose these measures; and equally fruitless were Cicero's efforts to dissuade Pompeius from so largely augmenting his 1 Phil.u. 10.;rival's power.: * 1 rivaVa i ^ n w ^ r Suet.CVes.24 xxxixfS. Cicero may have derived some consolation in this state of affairs from the confidence shown him by Pompeius, who visited him in April at his villa at Cuma3, behaved in the most friendly manner to him, conversed at length on the Commonwealth, spoke of his desire to obtain Spain for his province, and did not conceal his dissatisfaction ] 8 W 4?i?9, i. ' ^ k n ^ s o w n conduct.2 All this might be true, but Cicero Oitt.iv.io. pU£ n o £ 3 ^ i n such declarations; he elsewhere complains /7?p'10?\2, of his reserve and reticence.3 He found a more effectual (Div. i. 5.) solace in the retirement of his villas, and in his much loved studies, which, as he writes to Atticus, were always 4 {Alt. iv. 10) a refreshment and support to him. Ep.m,2. In another letter to the same friend, speaking of his pleasure in the society of the learned Dionysius f, he says: " There is nothing more * Perhaps Cicero speaks in Ep. 129. (Att. iv. 13.) of the proceedings (altercationes) in the Senate, upon the question of this increase of Caesar's power. This letter is written from Tusculum. [Schiitz assigns for its date the close of Nov. 698 (699). Crassus had just left Eome for the East, before the completion of his year of office. Crassum quidem nostrum minore dignitate aiunt profectum paludatum quam olim cequahm ejus L. Paulum, iterum consulem. O hominem nequam. For the circumstances see the historians. Plut. Crass. 16.; Dio Cass, xxxix. 39.] f Dionysius was a freedman of Atticus, [particularly skilful in the binding and decoration of books, for which Atticus had lent his services to Cicero. Ep. 106. (Att. iv. 5.) Biblioihecam mihi tui pinxerunt constructions et sillybis. Ep. 111. (Att. iv. 8.) postea vero quam. Tyrannio mihi libros disposuit, mens addita videtur meis cedibusi qua quidem in re mirifica opera Dionysii et Menopkili tui fuit. Dionysius was also an admirable scholar. Ep. 122. {Att. iv. 11.) Nos hie voramus literas cum homine mirifico Dionysio. Cicero had also a slave of this name.] A. u. 702. B.C. 52. cic. 55. 181 delightful than to know everything." l He spent this spring J 3^122. at his villas at Cumse and Naples, where he was within reach of the noble library of Faustus Sulla, whose father, the Dictator, had brought most of it from Athens as the spoils of war 2 : he had also for a neighbour a friend named* -p0-.118*21 (Att. ° IV. 10.) Marius, a man of wit and spirit, of whom he was extremely fond3, and it is pleasant at this time to hear him3/*>. 121,2. giving utterance to light-hearted jokes. At the close of 10-> November, while parties were hotly disputing in the Senate, he writes from Tusculum to Atticus that he had been working diligently on the books De Oratore.A The^J^-.J29^ following words, written to the same friend in April, ^^.'i1.4^8 spring directly from his heart: " I had rather seat myself on your little bench under the bust of Aristotle, than in the Curule chair of our rulers; and I had rather walk up and down with you in your hall, than in the company of him [Pompeius] with whom I shall soon find myself 5 obliged to walk." 5 EP. m, 2 & # (Att. iv. 10., He derived his chief pleasure from literary labours, such as the work above mentioned *; for at this time, as he writes after his defence of Gallus Caniniusj, even forensic speeches were distasteful to him. This lastnamed oration was delivered on the day when Pompeius, who had before entertained the people with gladiators, gave the celebrated games at the dedication of his magnificent theatre, and the temple connected with it, to Venus Victrix. Very characteristic is the letter in which Cicero gives an account to his friend Marius 6 of these « Ep. m. games, the most costly and splendid, he says, which hadc°W- «»pt * It was possibly at this period also that Cicero composed his poem De Temporibus suis, which has not come down to us. Epp. 120. (Qu.fr. ii. 9.); 117. (AtL iv. 8.); comp. Ep. 148. (Div. i. 9.) t Ep. 126. (Div. vii. 1.) Gallus Caninius was Tribune in the year 698, and in the contest about the restoration of Ftolema^us had shown great zeal for Pompeius. Ep. 97. (Qu. fr. ii. 2.) 182 LIFE AND LETTERS OF CICERO. ever been witnessed. I t shows how far he stood in learning and moral cultivation above the age and country in which he lived. # To this year belongs one of the most important of his orations now extant, that against Piso, Caesar's father-inlaw, under whose Consulate he had been banished. H e had previously, in his speech on the Consular provinces, opposed Piso's longer continuance in the province of Macedonia, which was suffering from his misgovernment. And now Piso had returned in secret to Rome, flying from his disorderly and ill-managed army. 1 Unbending and arrogant, confiding in the protection of his powerful son-in-law, he made his appearance in the Senate; he insulted Cicero, who had ventured to utter reproaches against him, and who now in return for his insults gave vent to his hatred and indignation in a speech which, it must be confessed, was hardly worthy of his own dignity, comparing his Consulate with that of his opponent, their respective departures from the city and returns to it, and the general course of their lives and actions*f" During this year, Gabinius, Piso's colleague in the Consulship, on his own responsibility and by force of arms, * [Qui ne id quidem leporis liabuerint quod solent mediocres ludi. Apparatus enim spectatio omnem tollit liilaritatem . . . . quid enim delectationis habent sexcenti muli in Clytemncestra ? aut in equo Trojano craterarum tria millia? . . . . quae, popularem admirationem habuerunt, delectationem tibi nullam attulissent, &c. Billerbeck suggests that this disparagement of the show is assumed to console his correspondent Marius, who from the weakness of his health could not come to the amphitheatre.] •j- This speech was delivered shortly before the celebration of the Games. Asconius in Orat. c. Pison. In the period embraced by our fifth section Cicero made two other speeches; one on the affair of King Ptolemseus, of which some fragments, together with a mutilated commentary, have been lately made known by Mai (see De Republ. ed. Halle, 1824, p. 516. foil.); the other for Cispius, which must have been at this time, Cicero himself mentions, pro Plane. 31. A. u. 702. 33. 0. 52, ciG. 55. i83 reseated Ptolemaeua on his throne 1 , for which enterprise 1 Ep.iis,i. 7 r # {Ait. iv. 10.) he was menaced with a rigorous prosecution at Rome. Two months before the year closed, the term of Grabinius's Proconsulate having expired, the rapacious Crassus hastened to his wealthy province of Syria.* 2 His oppo-2 np.\w. nents, and chiefly certain of the Tribunes^ placed all possible impediments in his way; none were so urgent as Ateius in seeking to hinder his departure by alarming him with frightful prognostics. But Crassus disregarded all their efforts, and gloomy denunciations attended him as he set forth upon his journey. 3 Cicero, writing some- ^bL^S!-' what later to Lentulus 4 , states that Crassus went almost ^is.fc^p. directly from his own house (/. e. the gardens of his son-f^ 2 ^. in-law Crassipes, where he had been supping in company { D w ' u 9 ) with Cicero) to his province, which might serve as a proof to the citizens of their mutual reconciliation* For the enmity formerly subsisting between Cicero and Crassus on account of the Catilinarian conspiracy, which had afterwards been healed over 5 , had broken out afresh* fv-.™>5: 7 (Att. l. 14.) during the affair of Gabinius.f Now, however, a good understanding with Pompeius and Cassar was important to Cicero; and Pompeius urged him to reconcile himself with the third Triumvir, whilst Cassar also in his letters expressed his regret at their continued hostility. Cicero resolved accordingly to comply with the wishes of his powerful friends; notwithstanding which, we find him designating Crassus as a "good-for-nothing fellow" in writing to Atticus shortly after his departure. 6 So m u c h \ ? ^ ^ r (Alt.iv * Gabinius refused, at first, to deliver up the province to the legate whom Crassus sent to demand it. He afterwards changed his mind, and appeared humbly at Eome the next year. Dio Cass, xxxix. 60. 62, f When the affair of Piso and Gabinius was discussed in the Senate, and Cicero (de prov. Cons.) urged their recall, Crassus, who had spoken some days before against Gabinius, took once more the part of the Proconsul, t& Cicero's prejudice. JSpf 148, 6. (Div. I 9.) wl '* I3.j 184 i Dio# Cass# L I F E AND LETTERS OF CICERO. for political friendships! As for Pompeius, his interests pointed to a very different course from that of his colleague. Far from wishing to betake himself to his province, whither he despatched a legate to act in his stead, he was only too glad that the duty of superintending the supplies of corn gave him a pretext for remaining in Italy. The election of the Consuls for the ensuing year had been deferred to the close of the present, doubtless, through the intrigues of the Triumvirs. They were unable, however, to hinder the choice of L. Domitius; Ahenobarbus, who had been forced at the last election to give way to Pompeius and Crassus; and this was another reason why Pompeius found it desirable to remain in Kome. Appius Claudius Pulcher, a brother of the infamous Clodius and a connexion* of Pompeius, was selected as his colleague.1 x x x i x . 60. T H E YEAR 700. I t may have been partly prudence which impelled Cicero, in the existing situation of the State, to look round for some stay to rest upon; for his letters frequently express his conviction that Rome can subsist no longer. His affection for his brother, who had become a devoted adherent of Caesar, may have had its weight also ; but most assuredly paramount to every other motive, it was the recognition of a loftier spirit which induced him to throw himself into the great man's arms, and which dictated the following 2 Ep. HO, I. expressions in a letter to Quintus 2 : " You act like a true (Qu.'fr. ii. ' 15.) * [The connexion was remote. Appius Claudius (the elder) married a Cecilia Metella, and his sons were Appius and Publius, the Tribune. Another Csecilia, married to Scaurus, was mother of iEmilia, second wife, to Pompeius.] A. u. 702. B.C. 52. cic. 55. 185 brother in exhorting me to this course [to seek Caesar's friendship] : but you urge one who' is already straining every nerve in that direction. Perhaps I may succeed at last, like eager travellers, who if they chance to have overslept themselves, make such exertions to repair their error, that they reach their journey's end sooner than if they had travelled all night. Thus, if in spite of your frequent exhortations I have hitherto slumbered instead of using my endeavours to cultivate this man's good will, I will now atone for my tardiness by redoubled diligence." This resolution on Cicero's part could not fail to mature Caesar's friendly disposition towards both him and his brother. Quintus bad been attached to him from an earlier period. He had been won over to his interests as far back as the time of Marcus Cicero's Consulate, when Caesar had voted for more lenient measures against the Catilinarians, and through the intervention of Pompeius he had given security for Marcus. 1 The great commander had recently j 4 s # u ^- Jfoffered him the post of legate, upon which he entered in3- c-0^1^ the spring of the present year, greatly to his patron's satisfaction, as we find from several of Cicero's letters. The principal cause of Caesar's pleasure was, doubtless, the prospect of gaining the adhesion of the elder brother through the influence of the younger. Balbus, who acted for him in Rome, had informed him of the favourable disposition of the two Ciceros, and of Quintus's resolution to repair to him, and with his despatch containing this intelligence he sent one from Marcus himself; but the bag in which they were enclosed, was wetted through before it reached Caesar; so that all he could decypher was the agreeable information respecting the brothers contained in the letter of Balbus. He writes in answer 2 , " I see you 2 Ep.m: have written something about Cicero, which I could not12-) 186 L I F E AND LETTERS OF CICERO. make out. But as far as I can discover from conjecture, it appears to be something that I had imagined was much more matter of desire than of expectation." From this time he wrote frequently to Cicero, and his letters were \iu'JrA\. fu^ °f friendly interest and regard. 1 He assures him 15,) that, " however he may be disposed to grieve at his separation from his brother, and to long for his society, he shall have cause to rejoice at his being with Ca3sar rather than with any one else." The policy, if such it was, which induced Cicero to attach himself more closely to Cassar, was sound and well considered. Towards the close of the year he writes 2^.158. thus to his brother 2 : " I earnestly beseech you in all so ' your cares, labours, and wishes *, to remember the object we had in view when you went to join Caesar. I t was no trifling or ordinary gain we sought. For what must that advantage be for which our separation seemed not too dear a price ? We sought to obtain, with the friendship of the best and most powerful of men, a firm support for our dignity, and our very existence in the State." Nor was it less wise and politic on Caesar's part to gain over Cicero to his interests. In him he made conquest of the great Consular, the foremost among the Optimates in public estimation, formerly his opponent in the State, the reviler of his administration. Cicero's banishment had already shown the Optimates what they were to expect by continuing their opposition to Caesar; his present treatment should show them what advantages they might reap by espousing his cause. The ambitious leader perceived moreover that it would enhance his credit in no small degree, to count among his adherents one whose house was still thronged with suitors, and whose appearance in * Quintus had taken part in the campaign against the Britons. A. u. 702. B. c. 52. cic. 55. 187 the Forum and the Theatre was hailed with acclamations of applause.1 That it was not, however, policy alone t h a t * ^ - ^ prompted his advances to his new friend, was proved by his conduct towards him at a later period, when he found himself Dictator, and Cicero had lost every remnant of his influence. W e do not need Cicero's rhetorical defence of himself in his letter addressed to Lentulus in Cilicia2,2^P- ) ^ to make us excuse his conduct on the present occasion: on the contrary, we fully agree with Wieland, in general no favourable observer of his weaknesses, when in commenting upon the letter to Quintus cited above, he says: " Had Cicero lived in the days of Scipio and Paulus iEmilius, there would have been no better patriot in the world than he. But could he at that period have been all that he was, coming into the world midway in the seventh century of Rome's existence? Where is the stoical barbarian, who would give up his writings that he might have been a more stouthearted and resolute defender of the Republic?" Of what avail was Cato's virtue? What hopes could Cicero repose in Pompeius, who five years before had suffered him to fall for Caesar's gratification, and whose reputation was now so far eclipsed by that of his rival ? W e can hardly be wrong in thus interpreting a few words in a letter addressed to Quintus in February: were the ways of the age and of the great men who lived in i t ! The defence of Gabinius was a heavier charge against Cicero than even that of Vatinius; and we may believe how dear this second sacrifice to Pompeius cost him, for he had told Quintus before, that a defence of Gabinius * Ep.\w?\. would entail upon him everlasting disgrace. 2 I t would 4.) surely require a great stretch of charity to agree with * vftal-Max- Valerius Maximus 3 in regarding his services in behalf of these two men as a striking example of placability and humanity. As far back as the month of February, the Publicans of the province of Syria had brought a grave accusa4 % 134. tion against Gabinius before the Senate 4 ; and Cicero in ( Qu. fi. ii. ° 13 -> his speech on the Consular provinces, had complained of 5 Be prov. the treatment these personages had received from him.5 No indictment ensued at that time, but the Tribunes of the people, Memmius in particular, threatened a speedy and more severe impeachment on the ground of Gabinius's illegal conduct in his government. On the 20th September Gabinius arrived before the consideration used to come forward to give testimony in favour of (laudare) the accused, a practice which Pompeius forbade by an enactment in his sole Consulship, A. u. 701.] A.u. 702. B.C. 52. cic. 55. 195 gates of Rome; and on the 28th entered the city secretly and in the night, though on his road he had everywhere boasted that he would demand a triumph, and even while waiting without the gates continued to give vent to these aspirations.1 Appearing in the Senate on the 7th October ^ ^ 4 6 , to render an account of his government and campaigns, [f™\fr-m" (he seems by this time to have been persuaded that a triumph was out of the question), he immediately encountered a steady opposition from the Publicans. On Cicero's coming forward with a speech against him Gabinius called him in reply, " this exile." " Then," writes Cicero to his brother 2 , "all the senators rose against him, as* #p-1*6.7. 7 ° (Qu.fr. 111. well as the Publicans, with loud exclamations—what could K> be more honourable to me? — and behaved just as you would have done yourself." Grabinius was awaited by three sets of accusers, and three separate accusations.3 The 3 T>P. 146,7. . l . ( Q u . f r . in. first was a charge of high treason, for having, unautho-1-) rized and for the sake of an enormous Bribe, reseated Ptolemaeus in his kingdom by force of arms. Lentulus was fixed upon to conduct this accusation; but he was not a man fitted to carry through such an affair, and it was asserted that he had been tampered with.4 Pom- 1 £;>. 149,5, , l . T . -, U«.iv.l6.) peius spared no pains to avert a condemnation: the judges were of the same stamp as those who had given sentence in the affair of Clodius: and the result was that Gabinius was condemned by thirty-two votes and acquitted by thirty-eight. 5 " Y o u see," writes Cicero to his brother 6 , 5 Ep. 153,1. J & (Qu. fr. in. "that there is no Commonwealth, no Senate left, no self-4^; £omPrespect any longer existing among the Optimates." An 6 EP. 153,1. hour after the acquittal of Gabinius, some other judges,4.; indignant at the issue of the trial, sentenced one of his freedmen, named Antiochus Gabinius 5 to banishment from the city for having unlawfully assumed the rights of citizenship. Cicero, on his part, was satisfied with him- 196 LIFE AND LETTEKS OF CICERO. self, by reflecting that he had steadily resisted the demands of Pompeius to defend the accused, and had even given i Epp. 153, his own testimony strongly against him.1 iQu.fr. m. 4. The well-disposed and those who were hostile to Gabinius, believed that this acquittal would the more certainly produce an adverse sentence in the two other processes 2 Ep. is3tu with which he was threatened for bribery and peculation.2 He had been impeached by P. Sulla for the first of these crimes before the sentence had passed which acquitted \ai.'fr\i! him of treason (majestas)* 3 ; the transactions respecting 3) the last had been delayed, owing to the illness of Cato, to whom, as Praetor, belonged the duty of presiding in the 7 M 9 446-' c a u s e * 4 This time justice won the day. Caesar exerted 4 \TAUAV]' himself in behalf of the criminal; Pompeius did all in his ^'E He P o w e r t° save him 5 , and even succeeded in persuading lMo^ass'5 Cicero to come forward as his defender, notwithstanding xxxix. 63. ^ e o r a £ 0 r ' s previous boast that he would do nothing for « EPP.UG, Gabinius, even at the Triumvir's petition.6 All, however, 7 * 1 5 3 1 .* • • • • * * pro Rabir. was ineffectual; and Gabinius was condemned to banishPosM2.; Dio A T • T ^ n i i • H Cass. I.I. ment, At a later period, Oaasar recalled him.7 !. i.10 ass' Such was the price at which Cicero had to purchase the protection of Pompeius and Caesar! Did we not learn, from many passages in his letters, how painful these sacrifices were to him, and how sharp the stings of conscience in spite of all his attempts to excuse himself in the eyes of his friends, we should be almost tempted to believe that all sense of justice was extinguished in him. W e have seen his remarks on the compact between the candidates and the Consuls. When the former were impeached for corruption, as well as the other two, Messala * What was the result of the charge of bribery (ambitus) we do not find stated in Cicero. Dio always speaks of both charges together. St. Jerome has preserved a small fragment of Cicero's speech for Gabinius. (Apol. adv. Ruff.) A . U . 702. B.C. 52. cic.55. 197 and Scaurus, Cicero, after relating the circumstance to his brother, adds: " I t is a difficult affair, but I will do my best for our friend Messala: his escape will save the rest." 1 )EP \B%I. ( Uu. fr. in. Cato stands out in a finer light in contrast with the 3 ) depravity of the time. In a letter of Cicero's 2 , imme-'^v 1 4 ]; diately after a complaint about the prevalent corruption,15,) we meet with the following information respecting him. Each of the candidates for the Tribunate deposited the sum of 500,000 sesterces with him, which they were to forfeit if they used means which he should pronounce to be unlawful. " If," observes Cicero, " these elections should end without bribery, it must be confessed that a Cato can do more than all the laws and all the judges." Cato was Preetor this year: the same in which Ahenobarbus could so disgrace the Consulship ! Cicero appears at this time to have withdrawn himself as much as possible from the meetings of the Senate. " I have resolved," he writes to Quintus, when absenting himself from an important discussion about the bribery of the year, " not to join in any attempt to find a remedy for the Republic without efficient protection and assistance." 33 Ep-144,2. 1 . (Qu.fr. ii. In the beginning of the year he gives his brother an16-) account of a transaction relating to the king of Commagene, in which he took part, and which is interesting, as showing how these monarchs were treated by the Senate.* Cicero employed himself all the more busily at this period with his forensic speeches. He writes thus to Quintus in October: " You must know that not a day * Ep. 132. (Qu. fr. ii. 12.) Commagene was a small district of ancient Syria, the chief city of which was Samosata. When Pompeius constituted Syria a Roman province, Antiochus, the last of the Seleucidse, received Commagene, with the title of king, under the Roman protection. K 3 198 L I F E AND LETTEKS OF CICERO. \i£'r*\i\" P a s s e s * n which I do not speak for some accused person." 1 3) His defence of the Roman knight, C Rabirius Postumus, may be regarded as a sequel to that of Gabinius. Rabirius was charged with having received a portion of the sum obtained by Gabinius for restoring Ptolemaeus. Gabinius, being condemned, was not able to pay the fine, so Rabirius was sentenced to supply the deficiency.* Cicero's speech on this occasion has come down to us. Besides 2 Ep. 142,7. this he defended Messius 2, a legate of Cassar's ; the same (Att. iv. 15.) i i -i ' i - i i n who had endeavoured to procure so large an extension or Pompeius's power in the business of the corn supplies. He 3 Epp.iu, defended Drusus also 3 ; and his oration for JEmilius Scau(Qu.fk ii. rus has been mentioned above.! Now too he revised and 16.; Att. iv. 16 ' )- published a speech made the preceding year in defence of Cn. Plancius, who as Quaestor of Macedonia had generously assisted him in his exile, and who was now accused of bribery in suing for the JEdileship. This admirable defence is the more creditable to Cicero, as Plancius had done ^ EP. H6,4. but little for him in his Tribunate in 697.4 (Qu.fr. iii. l pianc°'6i Towards the close of the year it appears that Cicero supported C. Pomptinius in an application for a triumph. Pompfcinius had been Praetor in Cicero's Consulate ; the next year he had, as Propraetor, defeated the Allobroges; and up to the present time he had remained beyond the walls of Rome, vainly awaiting the reward of his services. At length, after much trouble, he obtained the coveted distinction, but could only celebrate his * Both Gabinius and Eabirius were impeached by the lex Julia de repetundis, by which restitution could be required. f See above, p. 164. note 2. Abeken. Drusus was accused de prcevaricatione, which meant that he had accepted a bribe to betray the client whom he had undertaken to defend. He was acquitted, as were also Messius and Plancius. A. u. 702. B.C. 52. cic. 55. 199 trmmph amidst contests and violence.1 When we s e e ^ ^ ^ 9 ' what exertions and sacrifices the great men of Rome were ^ 7 ^ ^ wont to make for the sake of this honour, we shall b e ^ v i ^ ^ " inclined to judge Cicero leniently, when we find him also 45'.' xxxlv ' advancing a claim to it. The more however he withdrew from public affairs, the more closely did he connect himself with Caesar, who in turn rewarded with peculiar kindness the adherence of the two brothers, the younger of whom, indeed, did him good service as his lieutenant. He not only wrote frequently to the elder Cicero, notwithstanding the press of business in which his wars engaged him, but received with favour every one who came recommended by him, and even thanked him for introducing Trebatius to his notice.*2 To a letter from Clodius, written in a bitter ^ y 4 ^ 2 spirit against his old enemy, he refused to return an J^: ^ ^ . answer, though pressed to do so by Quintus 3 : he read &l^'U6 4 poem by the elder brother f; expressed a flattering (£«•/> •"*• opinion of it in a letter to the author, and likewise in conversation with Quintus; and marked the passages with which he was not quite satisfied.4 In return, Marcus \£%}fal} Cicero celebrated in verse Caesar's campaign; chiefly*^'11,l0,1G'* indeed in compliance with his brother's urgent request J, for he seems to have entered on the task somewhat unwillingly, and at one time destroyed what he had written : the poem, however, was subsequently completed.5 Here 5 H>.I4G,4.; we have Caesar and Cicero in characteristic lights: the&c?".{?•' 0 in 1. 8, 9.); comp. 140, I. * A number of the letters of the years 700 and 701 are addressed to this learned jurist. He is the same to whom Horace dedicated the first satire of his second book. f Probably the poem de temporibus suis. f Quintus himself was a mighty poet: at one time, whilst acting as lieutenant under Ca3sar, he composed four tragedies in sixteen days. Ep. 1449 4.; 154, 7 / K 4 200 L I F E AND LETTERS OF CICERO. one making preparations in Gaul for the conquest of the world; the other singing his exploits in Rome. The connexion was one which might well gratify the great commander. Ca3sar at this time was paying his court to the citizens by the embellishment of the capital. He extended the Forum as far as the Temple of Liberty, for which purpose it was necessary to pull down several private houses: he caused the enclosure for the Comitia of the tribes in the Campus Martius to be constructed of marble, roofed over, and surrounded by a portico 1000 paces in circumference: a public mansion adjoined these edifices. In the execution of these great works Cicero gave his assistance, along with llu.\l?i6) OpP* us > a confidential friend and agent of their designer.*1 A t one time Cicero thought of going to Spain in the capacity of legate for Pompeius; but this design he abandoned in consequence of Cassar's wish, which accorded 2 Epp. i33.; with his own inclination, that he should remain in Rome. 2 140, 1. (Div. ,-,, . . vii.5; Qu. Xne same plan it may be remarked was in contemplation, and very near being executed, towards the close of the 2 Ep. 157,2. vear. 3 (Ait. iv. 18.) J I t is evident from many passages in these letters, that Quintus had brought his brother over to the conviction he strongly felt himself, that their mutual interest lay in espousing Cassar's cause.f The younger brother unquestionably exercised great influence over the elder: and it is perhaps not uncommon to see men eminent for talents, acquirements, and even political wisdom, submitting to the counsels of others less highly gifted than themselves, but possessed of a bolder temperament * Suetonius says : Forum de manubiis inchoavit, cujus area super sestertium millies constitit. Jul 26. In the same chapter he mentions the games and banquets which Csesar gave to the people in Jilice memoriam. f Atticus also thought this alliance desirable. Ep. 201,3. (Ati. v. 13.) A. u. 702. B.C. 52. cic. 55. 201 and a more impetuous will. Many of his letters during his exile bear witness to this dependence of Marcus Cicero upon his brother: and now, in opposition to his ardent aspirations after repose, Quintus exhorted him to secure and extend the favour he had already acquired, and regain with additional lustre the reputation of his former days. 1 6i You admonish me often," writes i EP. H4, I. Cicero, evidently annoyed by these importunities, iS to ie"' r°"' labour for station and dignity; but when will you suffer me to foe?"* _ _ *^fFor now, more than ever, did the wearied statesman L) sigh for the true life, a leisure ennobled by intellectual occupation ; otium cum dignitate. " I have much consolation" (about the state of the times), he writes to Atticus; " a n d I turn to that life which is most conformable to Nature, my beloved studies and meditations. In the pleasure which the science of Oratory gives me, I find compensation for the labour of public speaking. My house and my fields delight me. I think not of the height from which I have fallen, but of that to which I have risen again." 3 In May we find him at his Cuman villa; after- 3 EP. HO, 5. wards at that near Pompeii, where he remained till the beginning of June. 4 He passeoL September at his paternal 4 EPP. 137; farm near Arpinum, where the coolness of the Fibrenus.^j ««•>• refreshed his frame.5 Whilst at Cumas, he was employed5 EP.U%,\. upon the books de Mepublica6, with which he was also*-) engaged at Tusculum, towards the end of November.7m.1®' *' The plan of the work was altered, and then again resumed. \i^:}^hl; " I t is a comprehensive and laborious work," he writes6'6'* to Quintus from Cumas or Pompeii; " but if it succeeds, my labour will have been well employed: if not, I will throw it into the sea, which I am looking at while writing; and then I will begin something else; for rest I cannot." 8 «EP.m. K 5 202 L I F E AND LETTERS OF CICERO. His time was much occupied now in the education of the young Ciceros (for he treated his brother's son as his own) ; and in this work he availed himself of the help of Dionysius, a learned freedman of his friend's, whose ini Epp. no, structions he found useful to himself also.1 He seems to 2." H'^ 9. (Qu.fr. iii. have kept his son, now eleven years of age, hard at work. 1.; Att. iv. r . . . 35.) I n October he writes to Q u i n t u s : "I am going t o T u s culum, taking my Cicero with me to a school of learning, not of play." * Quintus's son, who wras the elder of 2 Ep. 152,4. the two, already attended the lessons of a rhetorician. 2 3.) "You know his talents," writes Cicero to his brother; "I observe his diligence." B u t it would appear that the severe method pursued with him was not pleasing to the b o y ; for even at that early period he showed signs of a *(QEu'f}b9iii s e n s u a l disposition. 3 W e shall see, at a later period, what 9,) vexation he caused his uncle. In the summer, Atticus made a tour in Greece and \JttAvfi5.) &s™4> fr°m which he returned, greatly to his friend's 5 5 EPi 156i h joy, at the end of November ; for their mutual regard (Att.iv.it.) c o n t J n u e ( j steadfast, in spite of the injustice Cicero had been guilty of towards Atticus at the time of his exile and after its termination, when he reproached him for s Ep. 87, i. having counselled him unwisely.6 They did not separate again till the period of Cicero's Proconsulate. W e must now glance at the state of public affairs. Pompeius, notwithstanding his professions, never seriously intended to go to his province: on the contrary, he seems to have been covertly aiming at the Dictatorship. \iu'}r\t t ^ c e r o tells Quintus, in a letter written as early as June 7 , 15) that such a scheme wras even then in contemplation: he s ea s \a£'fr\n' P ^ °f fr again in October 8 , and towards the end of 4.) November 9 ; and from another passage in his correspond(Qu.fr.p. e n c e of the same date, we find that this was an object of * In ludum discendi, non lusionis. Ep. 153. (Qw. fr. iii. 4.) A.U. 702. B. c. 5% cic. 55. 203 ardent desire to the well-disposed among public men; for the conduct of the Consul Domitius had shown how little was to be expected from the Optimates. 1 In t h e ; ^ . i % 3 . passage just mentioned, Cicero says that Pompeius him-8-) self at an earlier period had expressed his desire to become Dictator, though he now disclaimed it. Yet he had appointed a certain Hirrus to manage the affair for him. Possibly the state of feeling among the majority in Rome who, remembering Sulla, dreaded a revival of his office2, may have rendered Pompeius timid and cautious ; ^ ^ Cassbesides which, we know what a thorough dissembler he was.3 In the beginning of December, Cicero writes tolPufc'Js™T his brother: " Nothing has yet been done about the Dictatorship. Pompeius is absent; Appius intrigues against him; Hirrus is preparing.* Many are named who will object to him f; the populace cares for nothing beyond the passing moment; our chiefs declare they will 4 have no Dictatorship; keep you quiet." 4 £>. 159,3. 9 And, in fact, no such Dictator was created. Pompeius -) had, no doubt, ardently desired the office5; for he trusted y^fn2'0 that the possession of it would enable him at once to outstrip the advancing fortunes of his too powerful rival Caesar. He forgot the vast difference between a general no longer young, who had for years reposed upon his laurels, and one still in .the full vigour of life, who was gathering fresh wreaths daily, and had created an army fit to conquer the world. The connection between them had naturally become less firm, and it was further * Hirrus intended, on succeeding to the Tribuneship to which he had been elected, to bring forward an edict for the Pompeian Dictatorship. The Tribune M. Caeliiis Vinicianus also was in favour of i t ; he was derided by Cicero and his friends. Ep. 206. (Div. viii. 4.) f [MuJti intercessores numerantur. " Many Tribunes are named who will intercede."] K 6 204 LIFE AND LETTERS OF CICERO. weakened by an event which now occurred. This was the death, of Julia, the wife of Pompeius and daughter of 9E(Qutf,7.' Cassar, who expired in childbed in the summer of 700. 1 in. i.) rj^-g e v e n £ pl u n ged her father into deep affliction, though 8 (Qw^m ' ^ e b ° r e his sorrow with magnanimity. 2 H,) The Senate, in the meanwhile, was occupied with inquiring into the excessive bribery of this year. I t was in contemplation to erect a kind of secret tribunal; but this being prevented by the veto of one of the Tribunes, and the baseness of the Consuls*, accusations were brought 5 % ]29' * n ^' ie u s u a ^ manner against all the candidates.3 Other a1/./r!r'iii.62.) m t r i g ° e s se ^ on foot by Pompeius came into play, and the Consular Comitia were in consequence put off from xiD45.Cass* raon^h to month 4 : an interregnum was evidently at hand. Cicero foresaw, however, that Domitius and 5 EP. 151,2. Messala, although accused by Pompeius 5 , would obtain the Consulship, and he became security to Caesar for the good conduct of the last named, in the event of his sue\Qu'fth\\' c e e d m g« 6 The end of the year arrived, and Rome was s,) without her chief magistrates. During this year the city had been visited by several calamities. An inundation which followed a heavy fall of rain, and did considerable damage to houses and gardens, caused superstitious fears, and connected the disorders of the State in the minds of the people with the anger of the Gods. Concerning these disorders, Cicero writes thus to Lentulus: " You will no longer find the Optimates in the same disposition as at the time of your departure. The State, which was strengthened by my Consulate, then for a while shaken, and which, enfeebled previously to your accession to power, had been by you again restored, * The passage in which Cicero speaks of this affair in the Senate and of the conduct of the Consuls is very remarkable. He says • Hie (in Senate") Abdera, non tacente me. Ep. 149. (Att. ir. 16.) A. u, 702. B. c. 52. cic. 55. 205 is now entirely abandoned by those whose duty it is to uphold and protect it." 1 And he thus mourns over it * Ep. us, a.: i again to Atticus: " We have lost every thing, not only the sap and life-blood, but even the outward form and colour of the ancient city. No Commonwealth now exists, where happiness or repose may be found."2 With*^-.1^9^-1 the religious feeling which belonged to him, he regards the inundation as a punishment for the acquittal of Gabinius, and recalls to mind a pious sentiment of Homer. Cicero's spirit must indeed have been oppressed by heavy care?-, however cheerfully he jests in some of his letters, and however secure he felt himself in the friendship and protection of Caesar. A letter addressed to his brother about the end of the year from Tusculum, where his troubles and anxieties were generally forgotten, betrays his real feelings : " I withdraw myself from all care about public affairs, and devote myself to my studies; nevertheless I must confide to you something which from you, of all men, I would most willingly conceal. I am grieved, my dearest brother, I am grieved to the heart to think that there is no Republic, no justice left, and that these advanced years of my life, which ought to flourish in senatorial dignity, are either harassed with labours in the Forum, or if they seek relaxation, must find it in study at home. That verse which from a boy I delighted in — Aisp aptarsvscv ical virdpoyov ifjuasvaL aXXcov3— 3 niad.vj, 208. has quite lost its significance for me. I may not attack * Ep. 155, 1. (Qu. fr. iii. 7.) Viget Mud Homeri: "Hftar' oTrcopiv^ ure Ka.Sp6ra.Tov xeei vdeep Ztvs, ore Br) p 'avfipecrai Korecrcrdfxeuos X a ^ 6 7 r ^T» (cadit enim in absolutionem Gabinii,) Ot (Sir) slv ajyopfj GKOXIOLS Kpivooai frefito'Tas, 'EK Se diKTjv iXdacoort, &e«j/ omv OVK aXdyovres. It, xvi. 385. ' 206 L I F E AND LETTERS OF CICERO. my enemies; some of them I must even defend. Neither my inclination nor my hatred are any longer free; and of all men Caesar alone regards me as I could wish; some indeed think he is the only man who sincerely loves 1 Ep. 1M, 3. m A " 1 (tttt./j.iii. 5, lilt; * 6.) T H E YEARS 701 AND 702. We have very few letters of Cicero belonging to the next two years, and what there are contain little that is important, either to his own history, or that of the State. Nearly seven months of the year 701 had elapsed* before the new magistrates were elected, and during this interval the State was administered by Interreges. Great disorder was the consequence of this unsettled state of affairs, especially in the judicial business.f The adherents of Pompeius, Hirrus in particular, chose this time to propose a Dictatorship, which in fact would have been justified, if ever, by actual circumstances. But the Senate resisted it strongly, and none so vehemently as Cato. Pompeius, who had been absent when the proposition was brought forward, now returned to the city, and declined accepting the proposed office, being ever cautious not to push things to extremity. Through his intervention, Cn. Domitius Calvinus and M. Valerius Messala were chosen 2 DIO Cass. Consuls, and entered immediately upon office.2 The xl. 46. * Dio Cass. xl. 45. Appian, B. C. ii. 19., says eight. f There were in the interval at least thirty-five interreges; for each of them held his office only five days. The disorder in the tribunals, however, was not perhaps so great as is generally supposed. See Schiitz's note on Ep. 167, 1. (Div. vii. 11.) [He believes that though, in the absence of Praetors, there was a general cessation of legal proceedings, the interreges themselves decided at least in ordinary suits of debt. The interrex, however, had jurisdictlo. Niebuhr, iii. 28., from Livy, xli. 9.] A. u. 702. "fe.c. 52. cic. 55. 207 popular favour their great liberality had won for them during the preceding year, had led Cicero already in the autumn to predict their success.1 Rome still continued in^g'ii^ieo a state of anarchy, although it had recovered its chief magistrates; and soon after their election, tidings reached the city that the army of Crassus had sustained a defeat from the Parthians, with the loss both of the general and his son Publius.* This event must also have contributed to weaken the connexion between Pompeius and Ca3sar; and Cicero, in anticipation of the evil days impending, used every effort to procure the Consulship for the ensuing year for Milo, a man who gave some promise of being able to re-establish tranquillity, and to whom he was himself under 2;reat obligations.2 He was doubly anxious to 2 ^-* 78 '?& t> J (Div. 11. 6.); achieve this object, because Clodius was canvassing for the ^^.J 5 ^ 5 , Praetorship the same year. From such a foe in such an 8,) office what might he not fear! and on whom could he place more reliance than upon Milo, should the latter succeed in obtaining the Consulship! f Pompeius, who had once been so powerfully supported by Milo against Clodius, became now, however, one of his most vehement opponents. He no doubt entertained a dread of his violent character; while on the other hand, from Metellus Scipio and Hypsseus, the other candidates, he hoped to gain assistance in his schemes for the Dictatorship, to which Milo was opposed.3 Clodius also tried every 3 EP. ISS , SJJ (Qu.fi. means to prevent Milo's election, and was supported by -3 * The younger Crassus had before this served under Caesar in Gaul. Crassus had undertaken the war without full powers; he had only the authority which the law of Trebonius gave him. f Cicero's efforts on Milo's behalf produced his speech JDe cere alieno Milonis, which was directed against Clodius. We only possess some short fragments of it, with a commentary ascribed to Asconius. Blood was shed in the frays which occurred between the party of Milo and that of his rival in the suit for the Consulship. Ascon, in or. pro Mil. iii. 208 LIFE AND LETTERS OF CICERO. i EP. 89. three of the Tribunes, particularly by Munatius Plancus Bursa. Tumults and bloodshed followed, and the Consul Domitius was wounded in endeavouring to restore order. Again the year came to a close without any elections for the next Consulship or the other magistracies. And now an event occurred which had been predicted by Cicero five years before *, and which at once destroyed Qn tne2 0th January, 702, Clodius and Milo encountered each other on the Appian Way, in the neighbourhood of Bovillae. The latter was on his road to Lanuvium, the former returning from Aricia to Rome. Each was accompanied by a large retinue. An affray took place between their followers, amongst whom wrere some gladiators, which 2 Ascon. in ended in the assassination of Clodius.2 The news of cass. xi. 48.; this deed, and the spectacle of the corpse which was Appian, l # . . . B. c. ii. 21 publicly exposed on the Rostrum, immediately excited a great tumult in the city, which was inflamed still more by the Tribunes adverse to Milo, especially by Bursa. The people, roused to fury by the murder of their favourite, vented their rage upon the Senate which took Milo's part. The remains of Clodius were brought into the Hostilian Curia; a funeral pyre was erected with benches and other combustible articles; and the Curia itself, as well as a neighbouring Basilica, was consumed in the flames. Further violence ensued. Milo's house escaped destruction by his care in fortifying and garrisoning it. H e was himself absent; but soon returned, and gave occasion to a fresh outbreak, which compelled him to leave the city once more. In this state of things, amidst disturbances fomented by Pompeius himself, men's thoughts turned once more to a Dictatorship.* But there were few to whom the name * According to Appian, even the Senate also was inclined towards it. A. u. 702. B. c. 52. cic, 55. 209 itself was not an object of dread; and a compromise proposed by the Consular Bibulus was now gladly embraced, Cato himself supporting it. The three candidates for the Consulship, Milo, Q. Metellus Scipio, and P . Plautius Hypsasus, were all set aside, and Pompeius elected sole Consul.* Thus invested with extraordinary power,—ruler of Spain and Africa, at the head of a large army,—sole Consul, to avoid the name of Dictator, — Pompeius proceeded in the first instance to issue a severe edict against ambitus, which had in this year again been carried to its highest pitch.f A t the same time he promulgated a law concerning tumults, aimed especially at Milo. He was fully resolved that this man should fall, in spite of all the measures effected by himself and his followers, under cover of which they had proceeded to such extremities.11 The three Tribunes before named, Bursa as usual foremost, gave him their strenuous aid. The process against Milo commenced in April. Appius Claudius, a nephew of the murdered man, M. Antonius J the future Triumvir, who a few years later married Fulvia the widow of Clodius, and P . Valerius Nepos, came forward as the accusers. The Consular Domitius Ahenobarbus presided * On the 25th February, under the auspices of the Interrex S. Sulpicius Asconius. f We learn from. Plutarch (Cces. 28.) in what a shameless and public manner the bribery was carried on at the elections, and by what bloody frays they were accompanied. X I know of no other M. Antonius at this time. He was designated Quaestor the year preceding, with the support of Cicero (JPhilipp. ii. 20.) He was at that time an opponent of Clodius, and plotted to assassinate him. We need not be surprised at finding him now among the accusers of Milo. Fulvia may have instigated him to come forward in behalf of her murdered tiusband, who had formerly been his associate. Soon after this Antonius betook himself to Caesar. It is strange, certainly, that there should be lothing in the second Philippic of Antonius as the accuser of Milo. AC B SQ. vtu. 210 LIFE AND LETTERS OF CICERO. in the tribunal. Hortensius, Cato, and others were advocates for the accused, but Cicero alone spoke for hirn. But, however courageous he had shown himself in undertaking the defence of Milo when assailed by such powerful enemies *, even Cicero's accustomed resolution forsook him in the defence itself. On ascending the Rostrum he was frightened by the shouts of the Clodian party, and by the appearance of the armed force with which Pompeius by had surrounded the Forum, in order to secure himself against violence, and give an imposing air to the proceedings^ Dio tells us that " He gave utterance to but little of that he intended to have said. His words died on his lips, and it was evident that he was glad to leave off speaking." $ Milo was condemned to banishment by a majority of thirty-eight votes over thirteen. He forthwith quitted Rome and repaired to Massilia. Cicero afterwards revised his speech, and sent it to him in his exile, and in this form we now possess it. § Cicero afterwards successfully defended M. Saufeius, one of Milo's friends, who was accused in accordance with the law of Pompeius mentioned above. He was said to have been especially active in the murder of Clodius, but i--jtsecm.ro was acquitted by a majority of votes.1 The subsequent lone. * Dicturum diem Ciceroni Plancus ostendebat, posted autem Q. Pompeius idem minitatus erat. Tanta tamen constantia ac fides fuit Ciceronis, ut non populi a se alienatione, non Cn. Pompeii suspicionibus, non futuri periculi metu, si sibi dies ad populum diceretur, non armis quce palam in Milonem sumta erant, deterreri potuerit a defensione ejus, quum posset omne periculuni suum et offensionem inimicce multitudinis declinare, redimere etiam Cn. Pompeii animum, si paulum ex studio defensionis remisisset. As con. f In fact, some citizens were slain in a fray with the soldiers during the hearing of the witnesses. X Dio Cass. xl. 54. Dio was indeed an adversary of Cicero's; but the account of Asconius is substantially the same. § Dio Cass. 1.1. Milo was condemned also by the law against ambitus. Ascon. A. u. 702. B.C. 52. cic. 55. 211 condemnation of Bursa, which the intercession of Pompeius had been ineffectual to avert, afforded Cicero a higher gratification even than this acquittal. He had himself accused him towards the close of the year for his violent conduct as Tribune, and especially for setting fire to the Hostilian Curia, in the late tumult. 1 He had strong i Dio Cass. xl. 55. personal grounds of animosity against Bursa, from having' been the constant object of his persecution and calumny. 6 ' Believe me," he writes to his friend Marius, " this sentence has caused me more joy than the death of my enemy. . . . . I hated Bursa more than Clodius himself." The popularity of Pompeius was now on the increase. He had formed a closer alliance with the Senate since he had become sole Consul, thinking that he might soon wrant its authority to resist Caesar. On this principle also must we explain his- adoption of a colleague for the last five months of the year, in P . Cornelius Scipio *, whose daughter Cornelia, the widow of P u b lius Crassus, he married about this time. He affected the character of one who venerated the ancient forms of the Republic. By ratifying a decree which the Senate and people had passed, to the effect that no newly elected Consul or Praetor should be sent to the government of a province within five years after he had been in office, he sought to set limits to the unrestrained and lawless pursuit of the highest dignities, and he took some stringent measures with regard to the tribunals. 2 Yets D3o c.iss. xl 5(3. 52. he did not shrink from the augmentation of his own authority, even in contravention of existing laws, and he consented to the prolongation of his Consulate in Spain for * By adoption Q. Csecilius Metellus Pius. [He is more commonlycalled Scipio, there being at the time no other distinguished personage of that name.] 212 LIFE AND LETTERS OF CICERO. five years, with an increased military force.* O n the other hand, Dio asserts t h a t Pompeius himself, dreading t h e jealousy of his rival, caused a law to be proposed b y his creature, Caelius, authorising Cassar to sue for the Coni suet. JUL sulship whilst absent from Rome. 1 Cicero took an active x 26.; Ep. 294, # a. (i*«.vii. part in furthering this measure, and Cato's earnest opposi2 EP. 284,2. tion was fruitless. 2 (Att. vii. 1.); rp . . Appian,,B. c. I r u e xpatriots saw with & grief to what lengths th&> li. 25.; Liv. ° Epit. cvii. aspirations of the two rivals would lead. Cato, in hopes of affording some support to t h e tottering Republic, offered himself for the Consulate of the ensuing year ; b u t his designs were too well known to both the contending parties. M. Claudius Marcellus and Serv. Sulpicius Rufus 3 Dio cass. were elected. 3 Cato never sued again for this dignity. A s for Cicero, he obtained the post of A u g u r , in t h e room of P . Crassus, who had been the object of his great esteem and affection, and had always looked u p to him with 1T5 P , 1 3 K 1 , admiration. 4 This office, rooted as it was in the original (Dw. v. 8.) ' ^ o constitution of Rome, and tenable for life, conferred great lustre on its possessor. Cicero was presented to the people agreeably to custom, and recommended to their choice, by 5 PMUpp. ii. Pompeius and H o r t e n s i u s 5 in their capacity of Augurs* 2 6 Brut. I. After his election he was consecrated by Hortensius. 6 f Cicero's love of letters was still unextinguished; and in this year, which was one of so much anxiety to him,—when, moreover, the number of new laws enacted, and of trials in which he took part, must have given him abundant 7 EP. 182,2. o c c u p a t i o n 7 , — h e appears to have written his treatise " d(e (Div. vii. 2.) , r ' x r * Dio Cass. xl. 56. Plutarch says that it was prolonged for four years. Pomp. 55. f Cicero himself speaks thus of the Augurate. Maximum et prcestantissimum in republiea jus est augurum, et cum auctoritate conjunctum. JDe legg. ii. 12. The late Tribune Hirrus was his competitor. Ep. 203, 1. {Div. viii. 3.) A, u. 702. B. C. 52. cic. 55. 213 Legibus," in which he professed to take Plato for his model.* Among the few letters of 701, 702, some of the most remarkable are those to C. Scribonius Curio, who had returned from Asia, where he had been Quaestor in the former year. His father, Consul in 678, and subsequently one of the most illustrious of the Consulars, had expired .shortly before his son's return. 1 He himself had been d e - ^ ' i n scribed by Cicero as a partizan of Clodius at the time of the affair of the Bona Dea, and had received from him the contemptuous appellation of " Filiola Curionis" as the reputed favourite of M. Antonius, his junior by a few years.2 He is the same Curio whose name Vettius so*J^ ] 9 (^ shamefully employed in the pretended conspiracy against f£UiPP'"• 2Pompeius.3 This youth was richly endowed by nature, 3(jtf-^%h and had attracted the observation of Cicero, through whose intercession with his father he had been rescued from the desperate situation into which his dissipation had plunged him.4 From henceforth Cicero numbered him *8fW/*P-"• among his friends; and his character being formed under the Consular's eyes, great things might naturally be expected from him. He appears to have done his patron considerable service during the period of the Clodian 5 persecution.5 %p-}66»: i 1 (Div. ii. l b . ) ; It is a fine trait in Cicero's character, that, desperate as gi?also Brut' he considered the prospects of the State to be, he could yet devote himself with earnest solicitude to form the minds and opinions of such among the rising generation as gave promise of distinction, seeking to develope their mental qualities, and to inspire them with a generous patriotism. The same man who, not long before, had written to Atticus 5 " There is no longer a Republic in which I can find pleasure or repose; but this I bear in the recollection of * See Goerenz, Introd. ad Libros de Legg., p. xvii. foil. 214 L I F E AND LETTERS OF CICERO. (Ituivht) * ts P a s t b e a u t y m the days when I governed it," 1 now exclaims to Curio, then on his return, " Whether you nourish any hopes for the Republic, or whether you despair of it, so prepare yourself, so plan, and so determine, as one destined to restore to its ancient dignity and freedom a 2 EP. 175. State oppressed and ruined by misery and corruption ;" 2 and again: " Such are the expectations entertained from your genius and your heart, that I beg and conjure you/ to justify and fulfil them; let my advancing age find p 6 re ose m ?2? ii i^ P Jouv youthful vigour." 3 Such were the hopes which Cicero placed in Curio, who, on his first arrival in the city, joined his party, and for a considerable time, including the period of his Tribunate, supported the cause of the Optimates and of the Senate, but finally went over to the side of Caesar, and became the most zealous promoter of his schemes.* * The whole of this fifth section comprises ninety-five letters, of which twenty-five are addressed to Quintus, twenty to Atticns, ten to the Proconsul Lentulus, thirteen to Trebatius, six to Curio. Of the remainder we may note particularly one to Julius Cassar, one to Crassus the Triumvir, and two to Cicero's friend Marius. That we have lost many of Cicero's letters is apparent as well from many passages in our collection as from the testimony of other writers ; it is natural it should be so. BOOK ¥ 1 . LETTERS OF C I C E R O , WRITTEN DURING HIS PROCONSULATE, IN THE TEARS 703 AND 704. B. c. 51. 50. CICERO AS PEOCONSUL. B O O K VI. SURVEY OF HISTORICAL EYENTS, A.U. 703. B.C. 51. Cic. 56. SERV. SULPICIUS RUFUS ; M. CLAUDIUS MARCELLUS. T H E Consul Marcellus urges in the Senate the recall of Caesar from his province before the expiration of his appointed time; but the moderation of the other Consul and the intervention of some of the Tribunes hinder the passing of the decree. Csesar finishes the war in Graul, after having defeated the Bellovaci, Trevlri, Carnutes and Cadurci, and conquered the province of Aquitania. His legions winter in Gaul, and he is occupied in endeavouring to reduce the whole of the province into subjection. A.U. 704. B.C. 50. Cic. 57. L. -ZEMILIUS PAULUS ; C. CLAUDIUS MARCELLUS. Applus Claudius Pulcher and L. Calpurnius Piso, are the Censors for this year; and these are the last appointed by the people. To the law mentioned above (p. 211.), by which five years were to elapse before a Consul or Praetor should assume in person the government of a province, was annexed a clause, providing that such province should in the meanwhile be administered by Consular^ and former L 218 LIFE AND LETTERS OF CICERO. Prastors, who had not been governors before. Of this number was Cicero; and to him was now committed the administration of Cilicia, together with the three districts of Laodicea, Cibyra and Apamea in Asia, which had been hitherto governed by Appius Claudius Pulcher, the brother of Clodius, and the provinces of Pisidia, Pamphylia, Xsaurla, Lycaonia (united to Cilicia since the victories of Pompeius), with the island of Cyprus, all of which had similarly been included in the command of his i Ep. 509. predecessor.1 The province of Syria fell at the same time cu!)\'deriiv. by lot to the Consular Bibulus. Of the two Consuls for i. 1. J the year 703, the one, Marcellus, a decided Optimate, was vehement in his hostility to Csesar, while the other, Sulpicius, feared him too much to venture on any steps to 2 Ep. 202,2. diminish his power and influence.2 2.); hp. 2io, "We have already seen that the rupture between the two viii. 5.); comp. Suet. jui. 29. L J 2. {Div. , leaders was preparing to break out. 1 i. o Pompeius took his i measures accordingly, and it cannot be denied that he conducted himself with prudent foresight during the term of his Consulate, and for some time after. This third Consulate had manifestly restored him in public estimation ; and we observe a great increase of respect and confidence in Cicero's tone, when speaking of him at the commencement of the present period. He writes thus, 3 -Ep/>.'i89,i.;after visiting him on his way to his province at Tarentum 3 , 6 *7.) ' (where Pompeius was then residing for the benefit of his health), and conversing with him for three days: " I can assure you," (he is addressing Ca?lius,) " that Pompeius is an excellent citizen; and that he is preparing himself with spirit and wisdom to serve the State in whatever way its 4 Ep. 189,1. interests may require." 4 He strongly opposed the wish Pompeius expressed, to assume the government of his own province, which, if sincere, could only have been with the view of opposing Cassar more effectually, in case of an A. u . 704. B.C. 50. cic. 57. 219 open rupture 1 ; and said he should consider the cause of! EP 198,3. the nobles as for ever lost should Pompeius leave Italy. On the other hand, we find Cicero seeking by every possible means to relieve himself from his liabilities to Caesar, who had lent him a sum of 800,000 sesterces.2 lsf^lbs?4'5' W e also find that Quintus was no longer in Caesar's9.f'v' retinue, but accompanied his brother in the capacity of legate to Cilicia. In short, circumstances were now in the position to which they had long been evidently tending. For a time Cicero's mind might have been subdued by the genius of Caesar, and his sympathies attracted by his kindness and magnanimity; but not even a Caesar could change his natural temperament; and this invariably led him back to Pompeius after every temporary distraction of his affections. I t would seem also that Caesar was less anxious to conciliate him than formerly, if we may argue from the circumstance that Plancus Bursa, whose condemnation had rejoiced Cicero more than even the death of Clodius 3, was now living at Ravenna, liberally 3 EP. 182,2. (Div. vii. 2.) endowed by the great commander.4 Besides, if the bro- 4 E^ ^ thers had still had reason to rest all their hopes upon him, is it likely that now, when he had just completed the conquest of Gaul, and was preparing for yet greater undertakings, Quintus should have discontinued his attendance upon him ? The nearer the decisive rupture seemed to approach, the more keenly did Cicero regret the necessity of leaving Rome. What events might not take place during his absence! and how important, in his own opinion, might not his personal influence prove! Accordingly, we find him, even before he set out, anxiously providing for the speediest possible termination of the period of his government ; and the letters written on his journey, from the very earliest to those of later date, contain urgent exhortt2 6> 220 L I F E AND LETTERS OF CICERO. ations to Atticus and his other friends to prevent any i F.pp. m, i.. obstacles to his return. 1 He left it in charge to Cselius, & 185, 12.; 187.; . . j9'o [A%')4 to send him the most precise and detailed intelligence of 2 EPp. 192, i ; political events. 2 200 2.' 201 »; W.; 207. There was another reason why he disliked leaving: R o m e . J (Div. viii. L; ° AH v 12, i35 The office of Proconsul was by no means to his taste* 14, 15 ) J He J was not one of those who looked to the administration of a province as the means of indemnifying themselves for the expenses incident to their previous political career, or ns a source of future wealth and influence. On the contrary, he detested the extortion and injustice in which"the provincial governors so generally indulged. But to be far from Rome, from the city he had saved, the scene of his own labours and exploits, was almost more than he could endure. "Nothing," so he wrote to Atticus after his entry into his province, " was more ardently desired than my arrival, and nothing can exceed the affection with which I am everywhere greeted. But I cannot describe how adverse to my inclinations are my present duties.( My ardent spirit, which you know so well, and my active energies, have here no field for exercise; here, my noblest occupations must needs slumber. I have to administer justice at Laodicea, while one no better than Plotius does the same duty at Borne; and while our friend * has a whole army under his command, I am forced to content myself with a couple of legions, which in truth do not deserve the name. But this, after all, is not what I miss; the public gaze, the Forum, the city, my own house, these are what my soul longs for. The panniers are strapped on the ox's back: it is no fit burden for me; yet I will bear 3 Again, 3 E 207< s i t ; only, as you love me, let it be but for a year." (Att.y.ib.) w r j ^ n g to- his friend from Athens, he says: " I cannot * Eithei^Cassius, who had succeeded to the command of the vanquished army of Crassus, or Bibulus. A. u . 704. B . C . 50. CIC. 57. 221 express how ardently I long to behold the city again, and with what repugnance I discharge this vapid office." * < Jf/v19^1. Undoubtedly, Cicero overrated his influence in the State, cw™\] f^lt. but this was part of his peculiar character. A terrible v ' 10) disenchantment was in store for him. Standing at the gates of Home in January, 705, he must have wished himself far away in his despised province of Cilicia. In addition to these sources of vexation and anxiety he had now to think of a new matrimonial alliance for Tullia, who had been recently divorced from Crassipes. Several plans offered themselves, and we see from many of his letters how much this care for his beloved daughter weighed on the father's heart. 2 2 EpP. m ; Cicero had received, together with his province, the209;4-'^"-' L 0 ' # v. 4. 13, 14. command of an army {cum imperio)3 to provide for itsp^ security and protect it from surrounding enemies. Two ( I ) ^ m - 2 ) legions with their quota of horse were stationed in Cilicia, but this force had been considerably diminished under the Proconsul Appius, so that in order to meet an apprehended war with the Parthians, a reinforcement appeared necessary. He accordingly exerted himself to procure additional troops by enlistment in Italy, but the Consul Sulpicius opposed him 4 , and he was compelled to proceed on 4 Ep. 19L his journey without them. The legates assigned him were, comp. 187,2.* together with his brother Quintus, M. Anneeus, L . Tullius, and C. Pomptinius, who had obtained a triumph in the year 700. He could not make up his mind to part with his son for so long a time, and accordingly took him, as well as his nephew, along with him. Both youths were consigned to the instruction and superintendence of the learned Dionysius. When Cicero arrived in his province, he gave them over to the care of Deiotarus, son of the 5 king of Galatia of the same name.5 EPP.\%^ 0 195.; 209, 3. # He began his journey at the commencement of May. (^"-v-3-iJL 3 222 L I F E AND LETTERS OF CICERO. At Arpinum, his native city, he was joined by Quintus, at whose Arcanum he partook of a noon-day repast, when he had occasion to observe the unhappy terms on which Quintus and his wife Pomponia lived together. On his own Cumsean estate he was greeted by a numerous assem\Itf'v8l)' ^ a S e °^ n * s dependants l9 so that, as he writes, he found himself surrounded by a Rome in miniature. Hortensius, although sick, caused himself to be transported from a distant residence to meet him. At Tarentum, where he 1 P 18 A ' lh arriye& o n ^ i e 18th of May 2 , he had the long and important interview with Pompeius which has already been mentioned. At Brundisium he stayed till towards the middle of June, detained partly by indisposition and partly by the expectation of being joined by his legate (^jiP^l'Pomptinius, who however did not arrive.3 On the 15th of .193. (AH. v. . ^ g month he landed at Actium, whence he proceeded by wfT uit *an(^ t o Athens, arriving there on the 25th.4 v 9. io.) Here he was received with great rejoicings ; his literary attainments and his love for the Greeks were well known, while the great simplicity and moderation he had observed throughout his journey, contrasting as they did strongly with the ordinary habits of a governor on his route to his province, had gained him all hearts. He remained in this city till the 6th of July, lodging in the house of Aristo the academician, while his brother took up his abode in a neighbouring one belonging to the Epicurean Xeno. He passed some pleasant days in conversing with the philosophers of Athens, and in examining the monuments and other objects worthy of note, and had also the pleasure of rendering a service to the Epicureans, though by no means favourable to their philosophy.* Pomptinius here joined 5 J5?-19?'i4o llim 5 - ' Att. v. 11.) * This was by interceding for them with Memmius, who having been banished from Rome (see p. 191.), was then living at Athens. He had A.U. 704. B.C. 50. cic. 57. 223 Leaving Athens, Cicero took ship at Pirseus, and after a voyage of six days, the first part of which was somewhat stormy, he landed at Delos, passing by Zoster, Ceos, Gyarus, and Scyrus on his way.1 On the 22nd of July x Ep.mA. he arrived at Ephesus, where he received three welcome pieces of intelligence: first, that the Parthians, who had caused him considerable anxiety, were then in a state of repose: secondly, that the contracts with the Publicani in his province had been concluded; and thirdly, that a mutiny of the soldiers in Cilicia had been quelled by Appius. 2 In Asia, and especially at Ephesus, he was re-2^p.2oi, i.; ceived as warmly as in Greece. His next stage was (^"'v-13-9Tralles, which he reached on the 27th of July, and on the last day of the month he entered his own province and arrived at Laodicea. 3 " Make a mark against this day in L^v??5'.1.:5 ° J 207. (Div.m. your calendar," he writes to Atticus 4 , with the desire that Jg^"-vhis friend should be on the watch to prevent the possibleJ ftp- 204. prolongation, through any oversight, of his proconsular year. Great as had been Cicero's disinclination to undertake the administration of a province, his distaste to the employment must have increased when he had entered upon its duties. In the beginning of August, he writes in the following strain to Atticus: " T h e object of great expectation, obtained from the Areopagus the grant of a piece of land on which Epicurus had formerly resided, and where the ruins of his house were still standing. Cicero now wrote to him and begged him to consent to a revocation of the gift, as it gave offence to the philosopher's disciples. The example of Memmius, Milo and others, evinces the indifference with which many of the principal Romans regarded exile from the city; an indifference which is perhaps more unpleasing to us than Cicero's despair. Cicero's letter to Memmius, then on a journey to Mitylene, exhibits his respect for his distinguished countryman ; it is also a masterpiece of art. Ep. 197. (JDiv. xiii. 1.); comp. 198, 5. L 4 224 L I F E AND LETTERS OE CICERO. I have arrived in a province which is utterly and for ever ruined; . . . a province full of the frightful traces, not (Jf v°i6) °^ a m a n ^ u t °^ s o m e w ild beast." 1 And again: " I have enough to do to heal the wounds which have been inflicted {Itl'^ii) o n my P r °vince." 2 I n the following month the Parthians crossed the Euphrates and threatened Cilicia; and Cicero, writing in consequence to the supreme authorities in Rome, says: " The forces of our allies are so much weakened by the injuries they have sustained at our hands, or are so alienated from us, that we can neither expect anything {Div'w'i) from them, nor place any trust in them." 3 Besides this, the troops assigned to him formed a very inadequate force. CD£' w36 Several cohorts were wanting to complete the two legions4, which had with difficulty been brought back to their allegiance after the mutiny mentioned above. I n case of a war with the Parthians he could only rely on the assistance of Deiotarus, king of Gralatia, who was a firm friend to the Romans. The State on the other hand seemed to think that, having once despatched a governor into a province, it had done its part, and expected him to do everything •' EP. 210, i. without supplying the requisite means.5 Such was the (Div. viii. 5.) ° condition of the Commonwealth. Csesar and Pompeius had gradually drawn within their own grasp the whole of its resources. Still Cicero's courage did not fail, and he at once set about fulfilling the promise he had made his friend immediately after quitting Rome. " I will satisfy all parties * Ep. 186. by my diligence and moderation." 6 Again, before his {Att. v. 3.) EP. 195. (i*tf.v.9.) J m J ° . arrival at Athens, he says: " I reflect daily upon your exhortations, and impress them upon my followers. I shall endeavour to perform the functions of my high office with the utmost modesty and sobriety ;" 7 and from . , . . T T . , J , . . Athens he writes: " Hitherto our journey has cost nothing, either to private individuals or to the country through A. u. 704. B.C. 50. cic. 57. 225 which we passed. We have taken nothing from our hosts, not even what the Julian law allows us. # All my subordinate officers are actuated by the desire of maintaining my reputation, and as yet every thing goes on prosperously. The Greeks have not failed to remark this, and my praise is in every mouth.1 We cannot 1 sp.195. wonder that feeling and acting thus, and endeavouring most conscientiously, as he did, to make his subordinates conduct themselves on the same principles throughout the whole period of his Proconsulate, he was regarded by the Greeks and Asiatics with sincere love and admiration. This year may indeed justly rank among the fairest of his existence. Remember how Verres ill-treated his province, in what a state Lucullus found Asia.2 And was2 EPP 198, A ; Cicero's predecessor better than other governors who had i.;'209,2.;' r ° 228. 2.; 250. ravaged the beautiful regions of Asia? 3 The officials^(^"j^n. under Appius seem to have been even worse than their 21,) 3 jpjp 252 2 master. Before his departure from Rome, Cicero had (^«-v*-1') preferred a request to him, that he would in person deliver up to him the province in as orderly a condition as possible. He looked forward with eagerness to this interview, to which Appius consented, though secretly intending to avoid it. At Brundisium one of his freedmen told the new Proconsul that it would be most agreeable to his master to meet him at Sida, on the coast of Pamphylia; and thither accordingly Cicero agreed to repair, although it would have been more convenient to him to have proceeded immediately from Ephesus to the Asiatic districts of the province. At Corcyra, however, he learned from a friend and companion of Appius, that it would be better to have the meeting at Laodicea. Thither he now directed his course, and more willingly than to Sida ; but on his arrival he found that Appius was not there^ but in * This was a law enacted by Julius Cresar during his first Consulate. L 5 226 LIFE AND LETTERS OF CICERO, the remote city of Tarsus, where, contrary to all right and precedent, he was holding courts and making regulations with the full knowledge that his successor had already gjf^-J^^6*5 reached the province.* 1 Subsequently to this, when vr.i viv.in. Cicero was in,the camp at Iconium, Appius did really come to that city, though under circumstances which lead one to suspect that he was glad to avoid a personal interview with his successor. Well indeed might he shrink from a public meeting with a man whose mere entry into the province offered such a contrast to the whole period of his own government. Nevertheless, after his return to Koine, he made the most unjust complaints against Cicero for not having come out of his camp to meet him with the 2 Ep. 244,3. customary marks of respect.2 3 EP. 208,2. Cicero remained three days at Laodicea 3 , and then continued his journey, passing through Apamea and Synnada. He spent three days in each of these cities (which, together with Laodicea, were the chief places in his province), hearing the complaints of the inhabitants, and relieving them of their burdens as far as was then in 4 Ep. 238, I. his power.4 Greatly indeed was this relief wanted. " I heard nothing," he writes to Atticus, " b u t that the people are unable to pay the capitation tax imposed upon them. Every one has sold his lands; the states sigh and 5 js?/>. 208, i. groan; life itself has become a burden to the people."5 (Att. v. 18.) & . . . Before his departure from Eome he had framed his edict, the public manifesto, that is, which set forth the nature and method of his proposed government. Especial care was bestowed on the head which treated of the outlay to be made for the governor and his officials, and herein was inserted much that was new and beneficial. The rate of * According to the lex de provinciis ordinandis the ex-governor might remain in his province thirty days after the arrival of his successor. But he was certainly not entitled to act in the manner Appius was doing. A.U. 704. B.C. 50., cic. 57. 227 usury and interest was reduced to the least oppressive amount, viz. 12 per cent.1 In accordance with t h i s j ^ - 2 ^ . 1 edict and its principles, he was anxious that neither him-^g 25 ( 0 ^-i self nor his retinue should be costly to the province, and^)1"5 Att'v' he exercised the same moderation that had characterized his journey through Greece, exacting neither provisions nor fuel, nor even such things as the Julian law entitled him to demand. A lodging of four beds only was assigned to the Quaestor and the legates, who indeed often made 2 shift with their tents. 2 EPP-MS, I. ; 209, 2. (Ait. v. The Proconsul could devote but little time at first to 16>17*) the administration of justice; this he reserved for the winter, and hastened on to Iconium in Lycaonia, where his army was encamped, intending to take advantage of the summer for ordering his forces and making such expeditions as should be necessary.3 In the mutiny which3 EPP.^U had occurred before his arrival, six cohorts had separated H.- DW.'XV. themselves from the main body, and without a legate, tribune, or even a centurion at their head, had encamped near Philomelium. Thither Cicero had despatched M. Anneius, who succeeded in inducing them to return to their colours, so that on his arrival in the camp on the 36th of August after a ten days' sojourn in Iconium, he found all his troops assembled there, and was able to review them.4 His strength was further augmented by a 4 EPP. 228,1 ; ,. ~ -. .,. . n , . , 238,1.; (Ait. battalion or veterans and some auxiliaries irom the neigh- v. 20.; Div. bouring kings and free states who now joined him. On the 30th of August an ambassador from Antioehus, king of Commagene, brought tidings to the camp, that Pacorus, son of Orodes king of Parthia, who had married a sister of Artavasdes ruler of Armenia, was about to cross the Euphrates with a powerful army, whilst his brother-inlaw invaded Cappadocia.5 This information caused an 5 EPP. 212.., 238 1 • 214 alteration in Cicero's plans; for had he adhered to his first 1. &*>- *v*. 1 JL 6 3, 4.: Att. v. 18.) 228 L I F E AND LETTERS OF CICERO. intention and proceeded by the shortest route to Cilicia, though the mount Amanus would have sheltered him on the side of Syria, he would have left the enemy a free passage into the Asiatic province through Cappadocia, which country had been commended to his protection; and of this they would no doubt take advantage unless Cassius should stoutly oppose them.* This officer, as Quaestor to the late Proconsul Crassus, was commanding the army in Syria, Bibulus not having yet arrived to assume the reins of government, and was then occupying Antioch. Cicero could not venture to divide his army, which, in i .Ep.221,2. spite of the assistance of the allies, was far from strong;.1 (Div. xv. 1.) r & ' t He resolved therefore to lead it at once into that part of Cappadocia which bordered on Cilicia, in the hope of alarming the Parthians and Armenians, and inducing them ?J?v2Sfd)' to abandon their design of invasion.2 His confidence was further increased by the arrival of an ambassador from 3 Ep. 238. Deiotarus, with promises of ample aid from his master.3 (Div. xv. 4.) . On the last day of August, accordingly, he led his army from Iconium towards the east, and encamped at Cybistra, at the foot of the Taurus, in the friendly province of Cappadocia. He sent his cavalry into Cilicia, in order to afford some protection to this country, and to acquire early 4 Epp. 2i3.; intelligence of what was passing in Syria.4 21 jEp.223,3, hazardous measure for the present. 1 But to Cicero, and s.') w'vm' to all discerning men, it was evident that the long threatened storm would soon burst. Writing to Thermus, Proprietor of Asia, he says: " Who knows what times may be * EP. 258. m store for Koine ? I look for stormy days." 2 But (Dw. n. is.) g i o o m y a s m i g n t D e the forebodings awakened in his breast by the tidings Cselius sent him from Rome, he was not one to lose all presence of mind at the approach of danger. There were moments when the state of affairs seemed to him less desperate, and throughout this and the following year he continued to discharge the duties of his office with undiminished zeal. Nor had his natural cheerfulness forsaken him, as we see from many of his letters to Atticus during this period, but especially from one addressed to ^p.246.r Partus 3 , the lively and amiable companion who had it so often in his power to cheer him in after days. Very interesting also is a letter he wrote to Volumnius, in which he playfully reproves his friend for not watching assidu4 Ep. 229. ously enough over his " farm," the salt works of Rome.* 4 Referring to different witty sayings, the authorship of which had been erroneously ascribed to him during his absence from the city, he says: " I thought the various characters of my wit were so well defined that every one must immediately recognize them ;" and again: " My wit is an estate I will sedulously maintain." I t was well for him that he possessed so much natural gaiety, for a new and harassing business awaited him in the beginning of the year 704, whilst he was still appre5 j j ». 250,2.; tensive of a war with the Parthians 5 , who were wintering B p D ' 254.; 256, 4. . . . [?.u-v\?}-i in Cyrrhestica, a district of Roman Syria. Div. x m . 57.; ^ ' On the 5th of •' Ait.vi.2.) January, having finished his campaign, Cicero broke up * Possessio salinarum mearum. A. u. 704. B.C. 50. cic. 57. 237 from Tarsus, and, to the great surprise of the Cilicians, and, above all, of the inhabitants of Tarsus *, proceeded to visit the Asiatic cities of his province. By them his coming was eagerly anticipated; for the beneficial effects of his administration had penetrated to these regions ; and during the five months of his government which had already elapsed, the inhabitants had enjoyed an exemption from any burdensome rescript, and had had no troops quartered upon them—an immunity which the rich towns had been in the habit of purchasing with enormous sums.f It was now their turn to experience, in common with the rest of Cilicia, how different their present governor was from any of his predecessors. They witnessed his earnest endeavours to lessen the burdens of the Provincials to the utmost, and his careful attention to the interests of all classes. In a letter to Atticus, recently quoted, he says: " In Cyprus (I speak the simple truth, without exaggeration) not a single farthing shall be spent on my account." ' Jj^^g 0 ' 5, The presents offered him by the native sovereigns were iffij: p1^. all returned, and, in addition to his other benefits, he Cic ' 36, averted a threatened scarcity, and established a moderate and regular rate of interest. For all this, he would only allow the people to testify their gratitude and admiration in words. I t is thus we find him exemplifying, in his own person, the character of the good and upright governor which he had drawn, many years before, for the edification of his brother.2 \&^u\. * Ipse in Asiam profectus sum Tarso, Ep. 250, 5. (Att. v. 21.) The line of the Taurus divided Cilicia Proper and Pisidia from Lycaonia and • Pamphylia. The Cilician Proconsulate comprised all four districts, but the two latter only were popularly included in the term Asia, which in its restricted sense was confined to the western part of the great peninsula of Asia Minor.] t The Cypriotes, apparently under the administration of Appius, had given 200 Attic talents. 238 L I F E AND LETTEES OF CICERO. He now devoted himself to the administration of justice and interna] affairs. During February and March he held assizes in Laodicea for the inhabitants of Cybiratica, Apamea, Synnada, Pamphylia, Lycaonia and Isauria. Before his departure from Taurus, he had despatched Q. Volusius, a man on whose integrity he could rely, to Cyprus, to transact the legal business of the few Roman citizens who traded in the island. Part of May and June 1 Ep. 250,7. he destined for the affairs of Cilicia.1 During his sojourn amongst them, many of the cities were relieved, some entirely, but all to a great extent, of their burden of debt. Justice was dealt to all according to their respective codes of law, and their prosperity began to revive with the recovery of their freedom. Not content with abstaining in his own person, and that of his officers, from inflicting any burden upon them, he managed quietly, and without public scandal, to bring their native magistrates to account for their embezzlements. By these means the cities were enabled to discharge their debt of ten years' standing to 3 Ep. 256,3. the Publicans 2 , a class whose interests it was but natural that Cicero should guard, belonging, as it did, to the Equestrian orderc By another judicious enactment, all those who were paying more than the now authorized rate of 12 per cent, interest were to be let off with this more moderate rate, provided they paid it within a given time, while such as failed to do this were to be held to their original compact. This arrangement was advantageous to the Publicans, who preferred a certain though 3 EP. 252, is. lesser gain to the risk of more exorbitant usury. 3 Cicero was accessible to all men, and unlike his predecessors caused everything to be brought immediately to himself, without employing the medium of a confidential slave. Before daybreak he walked up and down in front of his dwelling, as he used to do in Rome when canvassing A.U. for honours.1 704. B.C. 50. cic. 57. 239 His hospitality and munificence won all l EP. 256,3.1 . . . . . . (Att.vi.V.) hearts.* "I see you/' he writes to Atticus, "rejoicing in my moderation and forbearance. You would rejoice still more were you here with me." And in another letter: " I am in no way burdensome to the cities, although perhaps I may be so to you whilst I go on praising myself. Bear with me if you love me, for you wished me thus to act." 2 In the letter from Laodicea which was written on the 2, Ep. 250,5. (Att. v. 21.) 5th of March, he says: " I am glad you approve of my conduct towards Appius. He wrote me two or three etters on his journey home full of reproaches for my having abolished some of his regulations. As the physician who has to surrender his patient to another, resents the adoption of a different treatment from his own, so Appius is sometimes grateful^ sometimes angry, when he sees the province beginning to revive after he had reduced it to death's door. I do nothing, however, at which he has any right to be annoyed. I t is the dissimilarity between our course of action which offends him; and what greater contrast can there be indeed than between my administration and his ? What shall I say of his prefects, legates and companions, and of their extortions and iniquities? But now no household can be governed with more prudence and discipline, or can present a more orderly appearance than my whole province does." 3 The late Proconsul behaved with the utmost arrogance •J,f'vl52n' towards the successor whose merits so far surpassed his own. One community having complained of a heavy tax imposed by its magistrates for the erection of a monu* Plut. Cic. 36. " Cicero entertained the principal men of the province every day at his own house, in a style of liberality though not of magnificence. ISTo porter was required to grant admission. The Proconsul himself was never to be found in bed ; but always to be seen by early morning standing at his door, or walking up and down before his house, ready to receive every one with cordiality." 240 L I F E AND LETTERS OP CICERO. ment in honour of Appius, Cicero caused the works to be stopped, till he had taken the matter more fully into con* Epp.2u, 2.; sideration.1 With equal zeal he espoused the interests of 249, 1. (Div. x . r 9 m. 7.9.) the Provincials, on occasion of their sending an honorary deputation to their late governor in Rome. The indignation of Appius was roused by the distorted accounts given him of Cicero's conduct in both these transactions, and he addressed angry remonstrances to him on his journey homewards, which, conscious of the integrity of his 2 Ep. 222, I. motives, Cicero emphatically repelled,2 He did not wish, however, to bring their differences to a rupture, for Appius enjoyed high consideration in Rome; his name stamped him as a leading Optimate, and Pompeius was at some 3 Ep.256,6 pains to secure him as a partizan. 3 During his Proconsutt. vi. 2.) j ^ e Appius "would seem to have done his best to secure that statesman's influence among the rulers of Asia. Meanwhile, his conduct in the administration of his late province could not remain either unknown or unblamed in Rome, and as soon as he had arrived before the gates of the city, Dolabella, an ambitious and enterprising patrician, and a zealous adherent of Caesar, impeached him, first, of Majestas, as having acted on several occasions in a manner derogatory to the dignity of the Roman Commonwealth ; and secondly, of bribery in his suit for the Consul* EP. 242,i. ship.4 Confiding, however, in the support of Pompeius Q)iv. viii. 6 . ) f „ , . ° i r » i - I - I I r^- and of his own party, and firmly persuaded that Cicero, who might have furnished the most convincing testimonies against him, would abstain from producing them, he entered the city, renouncing the triumph which doubtless would Epp. 26i,i.;have been accorded him, and confronted his accuser.5 249, 2.; 242, }- ^•. i .%,Dolabella had been recently separated from his wife, and was now preferring his suit to Tullia.* His ingrati_ * Before Tullia's betrothal to Dolabella, Tib. Claudius Nero, afterwards the husband of the celebrated Livia, had applied to Cicero in Cilicia for A.V. 704. B.C. 50. cic. 57. 241 ating manners won her consent, to the no small embarrassment of her father, who did not wish to be considered a party to the present impeachment. From the apologetic epistle he addressed to Appius 1 , and another to C^elius2, JJg; g^|y it appears how little it cost him, when a political friend- (SiJ'nuio.") ship was at stake, not only to conceal his true sentiments, * $>• ?7 2. *> r . . . (Div. in. 10.) but to express the very opposite. His testimony was of the greatest service to Appius, who was honourably acquitted, and the upright governor of Cilicia sent his congratulations on the event, as though the accused had been the most innocent of men.3 Soon after this, Appius3EPP.205,i.\ m • • • n \ n 1 275, 1. (Dit;, was appointed Censor in conjunction with Caesars father-w.2.12.) in-law Calpurnius Piso. -He exercised the utmost rigour in the discharge of his new duties; and amongst the first of those whom he turned out of the Senate was the historian Sallust.4 nfi'fm,. Our indignation at Cicero's flattery of Appius is in©"^ casst xi. some degree modified by the following words addressed to Atticus: " If, as it would appear from your letter to Brutus, Appius expresses himself gratefully towards me, I am pleased to hear it. But even on the very day I am writing this before dawn, I am thinkino; of reversing 5E many of his unjust regulations and edicts." 5 r>- 25 ?> 2* Though the manners and exigencies of the times may be allowed to form some excuse for Cicero's conduct *, it is with pain we see others whose names adorn the page of history, and whom we are wont to admire as the champions of liberty, not merely tainted but deeply imbued his daughter's hand. The father was favourable to his suit, and sent trustworthy messengers to his wife and_ daughter, hut the latter was already betrothed. * Sic vivitur is Cicero's expression to Cselius in speaking of his relations with Appius. Ep. 273, 2. (Div. ii. 15.) M 242 L I F E AND LETTERS OF CICERO. with the general corruption. A certain M. Scaptius who had large pecuniary claims on the inhabitants of Salamis, in Cyprus, and had been strongly recommended by Brutus to Cicero's protection, presented himself before the Proconsul in the camp in Cilicia, in the autumn of the year 703, and urgently sought assistance in the recovery of his debts. Cicero promised his aid, but refused the application for the prefecture which was made at the same time, agreeably to the rule he had laid down, never to confer that office on any one engaged in money transactions; for a prefect of this kind received from the governor a certain number of soldiers, and had it thus in his power by main force to extort payment. Scaptius had himself received the prefecture of Cyprus from Appius, who was father-inlaw to Brutus, and had employed his troop of horse to shut up the senators of Sal amis in their Curia, until five of them perished of starvation. Cicero having been informed of this barbarity by envoys sent to meet him at Ephesus, had immediately recalled the troop of horse from the island, a proceeding by which Scaptius considered himself highly aggrieved. When other deputies from Salamis appeared with Scaptius himself before the Proconsul in Taurus, Cicero urged them to liquidate their debt, threatening compulsion if they refused. The Salaminians declared themselves quite ready to perform his demands, and the more so as he had returned to them the sum they had brought him as a present, which exceeded the amount of their debt. Scaptius, however, and Matinius, his partner in the transaction, now demanded 48 per cent, interest, whereas by Cicero's late edict they were legally entitled to no more than 12, with the compound interest in addition. They appealed to their compact with the Salaminians, and to former decrees of the Senate, which had legalized transactions of this nature, A. u. 704. B. c. 50. cic. 57. 243 rendering the law of Gabinius against usury in the province's inapplicable to that particular case. And now for the first time Cicero discovered that Brutus was the real creditor; that the Salaminians having some time ago sought to raise a loan in Rome, and having met with various repulses in consequence of the Gabinian law, Brutus had at length agreed to furnish them with the sum wanted, but at an usurious rate of interest, and under cover of the names of Scaptius and Matinius. Cicero was alarmed at this discovery. If Scaptius gained his object, Salamis would be utterly ruined; on the other hand, after carefully examining the decrees of the Senate just referred to, he found that they did generally declare the demands of Brutus legal, and even allowed him to appeal to them, but at the same time gave him no legitimate authority to exact such exorbitant interest —at any rate Cicero did not hold himself bound by them.* Represent* It is difficult to ascertain the exact nature of this transaction. In Letter 250. the second decree passed by the Senate in favour of Brutus is given. Non ut alio ea syngrapha esset quam ceterce, sed ut eodem. According to which it would appear that Brutus was entitled to claim the 48 per cent, interest. Cicero, however, continues, quum kcec disseruissem; which Wieland translates, "After I had declared the true meaning and intent of this decree." The words will not well bear any other signification, and as thus interpreted they agree with the following passage in Letter 256.: Vetabat Auli lex jus did de ita sumta pecunia. Decrevit ig'dur Senatus, ut jus diceretur ista syngrapha. Nunc ista habet juris idem quod ceterce, nihil pr&cipui. I have given in the text what appears to me the most probable version of the affair. [The author's language seems obscure. I believe the case to be this. The Gabinian law restricted exorbitant usury ; and Cicero, acting in its spirit, published in his edict the rate which he would allow, namely 12 per cent., the interest if not paid to be added to the principal, avaTOKi(Tfx6s. But the Provincials found it difficult to obtain loans from the Roman capitalists on such terms; and Brutus, through his agent Scaptius, had lent the Salaminians money at 48 per cent.; while, in order to secure himself, he had got the Senate to pass a decree, in contravention of the Grabinian law, to sanction his transaction and M 2 244 L I F E AND LETTERS OF CICERO. ing this to Scaptius, he pressed him to come to an amicable arrangement, which the latter appeared not unwilling to do, although he sought to indemnify himself in another manner. The Salaminians, he privately informed Cicero, were under the delusion that they owed him two hundred talents, whereas their debt did not, in truth, quite reach that amount. He would be satisfied, he said, with the payment of that sum, and the ordinary interest upon it. Cicero, however, desired the deputies to produce their account in his presence; and this having been formally examined, it was discovered that their debt amounted only to one hundred and six talents. The Salaminians offered to pay this sum immediately, and implored Scaptius to receive the money, or at any rate to allow them to deposit it in the Temple, by which a stop would be put to the further accumulation of interest. Cicero took their part, and remained firm to the rule he had laid down with respect to the payment of interest. But so keen was his sense of what the Romans called officia*, so anxious was he to maintain his friendly relations with Brutus, that he consented, at the request of Scaptius, to postpone the decision of the question, leaving it to devolve upon his successor, i Epp. 252,4.; who might very possibly be less strict than himself.1 After 250, 8.; 256, 6 J ° re a m \ J ne uu vi\' v ^ ^ g ^ affair to Atticus, he says: "There you have jji.; vi. 2,3.) .£he whole matter. If Brutus disapproves of my conduct, I shall cease to care for his friendship. Of his uncle's approval I feel sure." It appears, however, from another letter, that he did not really feel this boasted indifference about the maintenance of his friendship with Brutus; and for Cato, we can hardly believe that he would have let the engage succeeding Proconsuls to respect it. This decree of the Senate could not overrule a law of the Commonwealth, and accordingly Cicero was justified in refusing to be bound by it.] * [.Officia; social and moral duties, here used of the duties of friendship.] A. u. 704. B.C. 50. cic. 57. 245 matter rest, as Cicero did, when a single word from him would have secured justice to the Salaminians. Thus even Cicero's justly vaunted Proconsulate cannot be exempted from censure. In his own estimation, however, he had acted with propriety, and he ventured to appeal to the conscience of Atticus for advocating the interests of Brutus. " W h a t ! " he writes, «you, the panegyrist of all that is correct and virtuous! ' have I heard from your mouth,' as Ennius says, the request that I would furnish Scaptius with a troop of horse to enable him to extort bis claims? . . . Do you, whose image ever rises before me when I think on any thing just and honourable, do you ask me to make a Scaptius my prefect? . . . How could I, after that, ever again read or even touch the volumes you so eloquently praise ? * Ah ! my beloved Atticus, herein you show too much affection for Brutus, and too little for me."* 'EP. 25c That Cicero was really anxious to retain the friendship of Brutus, is evident from the pains he took to recover the money owed him by Ariobarzanes, whom he engaged to promise that the sum destined as a present to himself should be transmitted to him. But the king had another and a more formidable creditor in Pompeius; and though be paid him a monthly instalment of thirty-three Attic talents, this sum fell short of the simple interest due,t 2 2 EP> 252'3. . r . C4«.vi. 1.) and he despaired of ever being able to refund the original debt. Cicero nevertheless praised the clemency and forbearance of Pompeius, and though he commiserated the * The work de Bepublica. t [The king of Cappadocia was one of the poorest of monarchs. The resources of his country lay chiefly in the captives made in mountain warfare. Mancipiis locuples eget ceris Cappadocum rex. (Hor. Ep. i. 6.) He had been placed on his throne, after many revolutions, by Pompeius, who made him pay dear for his support.] M 3 246 i JEP.L256,5. L I F E AND LETTERS OF CICERO. unfortunate monarch, and saw how impossible it was for him to satisfy the demands of his creditors, he did not hesitate to urge upon him the claims of Brutus. 1 The case of Ariobarzanes is an example of the wretched condition to which the smaller sovereigns of Asia were reduced by the rapacity of their conquerors, and the enormous burdens imposed upon them under the name of military contributions and tribute.* By forestalments and the accumulation of interest on their arrears of debt, their affairs became more and more embarrassed, till they sank into a state of hopeless and irremediable insolvency. During the year 704 Cicero continued to display all the activity required by his office. He carried on at the same time a brisk correspondence with his friends, and there are proportionably more letters belonging to this than to any other period of his life. He was careful also to preserve his interest with all the leading men in Rome, besides those with whom he was on terms of friendship. During his sojourn at Laodicea, in the months of March and April, we find him writing to Atticus before daybreak ; and one of his letters to his friend in the year previous he dictated in his carriage, while hastening to the 2 ^pp. 252,2.; camp at Iconium. 2 ^56, 6.: 209, \.{Att.v\.\: 2.; v. 17.) r After his return to Cilicia in May, Cicero remained # . . . for some time in the camp, for in spite of his exploits on Amanus, the country was still harassed by banditti. Anticipating the possibility of a renewal of the war by the Parthians, he exerted himself to put the army in a high state of discipline, and fixed his quarters where, in case of necessity, he could most easily march to the assistance of Bibulus, of whose unfriendly conduct towards himself he took no notice. In the end, however, his 3 EPp. 268,i.;anxiety about the Parthians proved groundless.3 \i^ivvl' - ^ ^ i s activity on Cicero's part proceeded from a 17.)" A. u. 704. B.C. 50. cic. 57. 247 sense of duty, as well as from an honourable ambition, not from any real pleasure in the functions of government. " You cannot imagine how I long for the city, for my friends, and for you especially," he writes to Cash*us from Laodicea in the April of 704 : " I am heartily sick of the province ; whether it be that my fame is already so high, I have now rather to dread its falling than expect it to rise ; or that the employment itself is unworthy of my powers, competent and accustomed as I am to discharge the more onerous duties attached to public office; or, lastly, because a serious war is impending, which I shall escape if I am able to leave my government at the term assigned me."1 Though we may deem such complaints^-255, i. unworthy of Cicero, we must admit it to be natural enough that a man possessed of his refined cultivation, and used to the intercourse of kindred spirits, animated too as he was by the keenest interest in the gravest affairs of state, should sigh for Rome, the seat of civilization, and the centre of political movement.* In this frame of mind he wrote to Cselius, " Venerate the city, my Rufus! and live in its light. From childhood I have deemed all foreign wanderings base and unworthy of those who can acquire fame in Rome." 2 In his anxiety to return thither, Cicero 2^.263,2. paid no heed to the storm which was lowering over i t 3 ; 3 Epp^m.and whilst still at a distance from the city, he appears to fS.2i?3'i8.'; have overlooked the rapid deterioration of public morals xv ' 6,; u*12' which must have taken place, when a curule JEdile and a Censor could openly accuse each other of the grossest immorality, f 4 * EP. 279,1. J ' * Even the common talk of the day which formed the topics of discussion in the social circles of the city was acceptable to Cicero. See Ep. 243. (Div. viii. 7.) f The Censor was Appius, the iEdile Cselius Bufus, who in his letter to Cicero informs us of these charges. M4 (D1v.viii.12.) 248 LIFE AND LETTERS OF CICERO. Cicero's Proconsulate was at length drawing to an end, and, much to his satisfaction, the term of his government 1 EP. 294,2. was not prolonged.1 He was now busily engaged in preparing a statement of his accounts, copies of which, according to the Julian law, must be deposited in two of the cities of the province, and in the public treasury at * EPp. 270.; home.2 His successor had not yet been named, and as 271, 1.; 302, . . 2. u«. vi.7.; the province could not be left without a governor, the care v. 29.) 0 f nominating one in the interval devolved upon him. His choice would have fallen upon Pomptinius, had he not already left the province. For several reasons he decided against Quintus, who had come there with reluctance, and whom he was moreover unwilling to leave behind in a situation full of danger and responsibility. He dreaded also the animadversions such an appointment would excite in Rome, where it would be said that he prolonged his own government in bequeathing it to his brother; and besides Quintus was a man of passionate temper, and 3 EP, 256, I. might at once undo all the good he had been effecting.3 His Quaestor Mescinius, on the other hand, was judged by all unworthy of the office; and at last he was forced to decide in favour of Caelius Caldus, who had been designated Quasstor, and had but just arrived in the province. The choice was hazardous, for Cselius was young, and gave no great promise, either moral or intellectual; but resolved as he was under any circumstances to leave his 4 £/?/>. 264,i.; province on the appointed day 4 , Cicero had no alternative., 4- u«.vj.3. He quieted bis conscience with the reflection, that many 15 -> governors had done the same thing, and, as is often the case with those who undertake a charge at the call of duty alone, he was disposed to place the strictest limits to his self-sacrifice. Cicero's office expired on the 30th of J u l y ; on the 3rd of August we find him at Sid a, on the coast of Pamphylia, A. u. 704. B. c. 50. cic. 57. 249 prepared to embark for Greece.1 He set forth cheerfully1 Ep.mtz on his homeward journey. But unmixed joy never falls to c°W-2^, i. the share of man, and we hear him complaining to Atticus,vi-3-5-> " Vain and transitory was all the glory which attended my administration at the outset, and which you lauded to the skies in your letters. How far from easy is the practice of virtue! how difficult is it long to wear its mask ! witness the discontent manifested by my followers, because, agreeably to what I hold to be just and honourable, I have deducted the salary of the Quaestor Caalius from the sum decreed to myself, and have deposited a million sesterces in the treasury, which they imagined was to be divided amongst themselves. . . . They could not shake my determination, however, for my own fame 2 was dearer to me than their gratification."*2 EP. 284. (Ait. vii. 4.) Though considerations of this nature may have had power to disturb Cicero's peace of mind, in the seasons of despondency to which with his irritable temperament he must have been liable, there was much to afford him satisfaction in his retrospect of the past year. He had made a fresh and a great stride, and raised himself to a level with his superiors both in birth and age. This he felt when he wrote the remarkable letter to Appius, protesting against his unjust reproaches. iC Before," he says, " I had reached what men consider the greatest of honours, I never admired you for the names you bear; I judged the men great who bequeathed those names to you. But after I had myself attained the highest dignity of the Republic, and * It appears that Cicero carried his disinterestedness so far as to live, for a considerable time at least, at his own expense in the province. See Ep. 207. (Att. v. 15.) How conscientiously he acted with regard to booty we learn from Ep. 271. (Div. ii. 17.) However, he gained no inconsiderable sum during his government, as we find from Ep. 386. (Att. xi. 1.) [Such is the interpretation we naturally put upon the words Habeo in cistophoro in Asia H. S. bis et vicies, a sum equal to about 20,000/.] M 5 250 L I F E AEJD LETTERS OF CICERO, borne it as I imagined so as to exalt my reputation to the utmost, I hoped to have ranked henceforth as your equal, I will not say as your superior. And indeed both Pompeius whom I honour above all men, and P . Lentulus whom i ^p.244,3. I prefer to myself, appear to have held the same opinion." * He had another and nobler cause for satisfaction in the consciousness of having performed a difficult duty. If we are willing to allow him this merit, the following words addressed to Atticus will not fail to afford us pleasure. " Never in my life have I enjoyed so much satisfaction as I now derive from the consciousness of my integrity. The fame I have earned gives me less pleasure than the remem2 EP. 228,2. brance of the conduct by which I gained it." 2 Nor, after (Jtf.v. 20.) . . , „ -^ ... examining the government of the Proconsul, can we disparage as mere idle boasting the words that follow : " What I have done is worthy of the volumes which you esteemed so highly.* Cities preserved — a rich tribute of gratitude earned from the Publicans — no man outraged by lawless acts — few even injured by the necessary severity of jus3 EP. m, i. tice — finally, exploits that deserve a triumph." 3 The preparatory honour of a supplication he had already obtained under flattering circumstances, though, as we have seen, against the wishes of Cato and his imitator Favonius; * Epp.267, i.;and his friends now held out to him hopes of a triumph.4 263, 2.* 276 5. (Div. viu. We learn little of Cicero's domestic affairs from the ML vi. 6.) ' letters of this period, beyond the fact of Tullia's marriage. Unfortunately, none of those addressed to his wife or daughter remain to us. The intercourse between Quintus and Pomponia had again become much disturbed, as Cicero himself had occasion to observe during his journey to the province ; and whilst Quintus was in Asia a separation seemed to be impending. Their son, however, succeeded in once more establishing harmony between * The books de Republica. A.U. them.1 704. B.C. 50. cic. 57. 251 This young man, though endowed with several1 EPP.m, 3.; J to > » ^ 256, 1.. 270. great qualities, appears to have inherited from both his ^Y'coj/ 1, parents a highly irritable temperament, and he already at ^f^* (Autimes occasioned his uncle much trouble. He and his cousin Marcus agreed very well with each other, — all the better perhaps from their difference of disposition. " The boys are good friends," Cicero writes to Atticus; " they study together, and perform the same tasks; but one requires the bridle, the other the spur. Their instructor Dionysius I esteem highly, although the boys declare that he is extremely passionate."2 The young Quintus re- 2 #/».252,1. ceived the gown of manhood from his uncle's hands at 3 Laodicea.3 EPP. 228,4.; T • 1 1 n 1 T T 252 » 9' (MU I t is pleasant to hear expressions or love and tendernessv- 20.; vi. 1.) from the mouth of the Proconsul, in the midst of his absorbing cares and anxieties; as, for instance, when he speaks of his friend's little daughter *, whom he had not yet seen 4 , and of his beloved Tiro, " t h e purest and most J J ^ 2 2 ^ industrious of young* men" 5 , whose health was matter of5 ^.270. J & . . . such grave concern to him. Philotimus, his wife's freedman, occasioned him much annoyance. Cicero had reason to suspect his honesty in some money transactions f; nor is it unlikely that the circumstances which led subse-* * Pomponia, afterwards the wife of Agrippa and mother-in-law of the Emperor Tiberius. f These transactions were connected principally with the purchase of some property of Milo's which Cicero had effected under the name of Philotimus. Milo was himself at that time in banishment, and his estates were being disposed of in favour of his creditors. He expressed himself dissatisfied with this proceeding, under the impression that the freedman was the actual purchaser (Ep. 193.); and Cicero has been suspected by modern authors of not having acted altogether so disinterestedly as he would lead one to suppose in the letter referred to above. (Comp. 203, 2.) We cannot, however, presume to blame him for a transaction the exact nature of which is so obscure. M6 (4tt. yi. 7.) 252 L I E E AND LETTERS OF CICERO. quently to his separation from Terentia wrere already beginning to operate. There are eighty-three letters belonging to this period; and these may perhaps be considered the most interesting of the whole collection, on account of the circumstances and events of which they treat, and the celebrity of the persons to whom they are for the most part addressed, nor less from the living picture they present us of the writer, whose mean and noble qualities are equally laid bare in them. Twenty-eight of the set are addressed to Atticus, who was sometimes at Rome, and more frequently in Epirus during the years 703 and 704, and may be considered as forming a complete diary of Cicero's journey and his residence in the province. Whilst these letters afford a specimen of the confidential and unreserved intercourse existing between Cicero and Atticus, the twelve addressed to Appius contain a living image of the political friendships of the time. The following passage is worth noting, referring to the complaints made by Appius of the reproachful tone of some of Cicero's letters to him: " If, as you say, these letters were ill expressed, then you need only believe that they were not really mine. For, as Aristarchus disclaims for Homer every verse in the Homeric poems of which he disapproves, so I would have you reject as not mine whatever displeases you in my i Ep. 265,4. writings." 1 " These words," he adds, " are meant in j e s t ; " but we accept them in earnest as a capital illustration of the character of the class of writings to which Cicero's correspondence with his political friends belongs. Two pieces of the collection addressed " To the Consuls, Praetors, Tribunes, and the whole Senate," are mere for* Epp. 2i9.; mal State documents.*2 The letters to M. Cato have ; 22l. (Diw.xv. 3 . 1.) * The account of his campaign in Cilicia, which, as we learn from Ep. 240. (I)iv. xv. 13.), he despatched to the Consuls, is unfortunately lost. A. u. 704. B. c. 50. cic. 57. 253 been already adverted to. One to C. Cassius 1 evinces i Ep. 241. the friendly relations which had for some time, subsisted between him and Cicero. Another to Curio 2 congratu-«Ep.227. lates him on his approaching Tribunate, in which office he v so grievously disappointed his friend's expectations. Eight letters are addressed to M. Cselius, whom Cicero had formerly defended, and who was Tribune in the year 702 (in which office he had proposed the decree in Caesar's favour before mentioned 3 ,) and curule iEdile in the 3 see p. 212. year following. The remaining twenty-eight letters are less interesting, with the exception indeed of those to Volumnius and to Partus, already described.4 They are4 Epp3° ^ J l • {Ait. VII. 1 ) from Athens, while on his journey home, and sail ignorant how much cause for complaining the ensuing months would give him. Very characteristic, too, are the following words which close another of his letters from Athens: " What, I pray you, will become of us ? I am best here in my watch-tower on the Acropolis." i 2 This was writ- 2 EP. 282,4 •• * ten just after he had received intelligence that Csesar was about to occupy Placen tia with a considerable army. § For the sake of his son and nephew, Cice±o took Ilhodes * Ego, in cujus causa reipublicce consisiebat Ep. 294, 1. (Att. vii. 3.) f Incidi in ipsam fiammam civllis discordice. Ep. 301, 2. (Div. xvi. 11.) f [In arce Athenis statio mea nunc placet. Travelling with an armed retinue he was lodged, perhaps, in the citadel. See Manutius in loc. I question whether Abeken has given the exact sense of the words.] § This was an exaggerated report. [Caesar had only one legion with him in the Cisalpine.] w 3 (Att. vi. 9.) 270 L I F E AND LETTERS OF CICERO. iis/>p.27o.; on his way.1 He was desirous of showing them that vi.7,8-)" ' flourishing island, and of introducing them to the celebrated school of rhetoric where he had himself studied with so much zeal and success under Molo. Here news reached him of the death of Hortensius, in whom he had to mourn a friend and associate in his present difficulties, and a former colleague in office, with whom he had looked « Ep. we, 3. to living henceforth more familiarly 2, as the suspicions he had harboured of him during his exile had long ago vanished. " I was deeply affected," he says ; u for I had lost, not an adversary or a detractor from my merit, but 3 Brut, i, 2. a companion who sympathized in my honourable labours." 3 From Rhodes Cicero sailed to Ephesus, where he arrived towards the end of September, after a tedious voyage of twenty days. Here an acquaintance of his, Battonius by name, met him, with a letter from Atticus, who had gone to Rome on the 20th September; he also brought him tidings of Caesar, whose daring ambition had so long caused him deep uneasiness. He now heard of his absolute refusal to disband his army, and of the favour g£w-281.i-in which he was held by many of the highest magistrates.4 o«*.vi.8,9.)On the 1st October he left Ephesus, and, after being again delayed by contrary winds, landed on the 14th in the Piraeus, from whence he proceeded to Athens. Here he received more letters from Atticus. as well as some from Terentia, and gained further intelligence respecting Caesar's movements ; intelligence which, as we have seen, cast a gloom over his residence in his beloved city of 5 Epp. 283, i.; Minerva.5 His disquietude was enhanced by the arrival 282, 1.4. J * (Div. xiv.5.; 0 f letters from both the contendino; chiefs, each of whom Att. vi. 9.) & 7 was now prepared for the approaching struggle and « Ep 284,2. anxious to secure his adherence.6 In the midst of his cares and perplexities, however, Cicero enjoyed a momentary gratification in pointing out to his youthful com- A.U. 706. B.C. 48. eic. 59.; 271 panions the monuments of the former glory of Athens, and introducing them to her celebrated teachers of philosophy and rhetoric. After a short sojourn in this city, he went to Patras in Achaia, where his favourite Tiro, whose health had already been a subject of anxiety to him in Cilicia, became so ill that he was forced to leave him behind -' . . . ^iffi. His regard for this freedman is one of the most beautiful \;} Dtv-xvitraits in Cicero's life. Let us think of him as he is represented to us in his works, his letters, and in history. His energy and perseverance have achieved for him the highest possible reputation for eloquence, and the death of Hortensius has left him without a rival in this department, whilst Rhodes and Athens have borne flattering testimony to the position he occupies. His Consulate has placed him on the highest pinnacle of fame, and he is now returning from the province, his administration of which has even increased his reputation. Yet, in the midst of these gratifying circumstances, in the midst also of the anxiety which oppresses him in the threatened dangers of the Commonwealth, we find him full of the most tender affection for his freedman, and appearing as though this were the absorbing passion of his soul. We cannot indeed read without emotion the letters addressed to Tiro, dating from the 3rd November. A father could not express more tender interest in a beloved son. Three of these letters bear the same date. We detect in them the writer's ardent longing to be rejoined by the object of his interest, though the dread of his venturing to sea before his health would safely admit of it always preponderates. His brother, son and nephew all share in these sentiments. He sends a slave to Patrae to inquire after Tiro's health, and writes himself to the sick man's physicians. Omitting nothing which sincere affection 272 LIFE A^D LETTERS OF CICERO. could suggest to cheer him and alleviate his sufferings, he exerts himself, in the midst of the most harassing i Ep.30]. cares, to write him a long letter full of minute details.1 n.)' No doubt he painfully- missed Tiro's assistance in his business and literary avocations, but his tenderness towards him was caused by purer motives. Whilst he was still lying sick at Patras, Cicero, writing about the middle of December to Atticus, says, " I see you are anxious about Tiro. Though, his services are invaluable to me in all my pui suits and occupations when he is in health, yet it is his intrinsic worth and excellence, rather than the consideration of my own interests, that make me long for a 7?p.296.2. his recovery."2 That his letters to Tiro convey a true expression of his feelings towards him, is proved by the 3 Ep. 293,3. tenor of those addressed at the same time to Atticus. 3 His care for Tiro remained undiminished even when his 4 #pp.358,2;anxieties had reached their climax.* 4 ix.'i7'.; x. i) Cicero qui tied Paine on the 2nd November, and passing through AJyzia in Acarnania, and Leucas, reached the 5 EP.292, i. promontory of Actium on the 7th 5 , wherehe was detained (Diu. xvi. 9.) by stress of weaiher till the 9th. On that day he sailed to Coreyra, but was here again detained by storms till the 16ih, and was then kept, from the same cause, at Cassiope, a harbour of the Corcyrseans on the main land. Tie set sail for Italy on the 23rd, and landed safely on the following day at Tlydruntum. On the 25th he reached Brundisium, and bis wife Terentia, whom he had begged to come as far as she could to meet him, entered the city by the gate of the Appian road at the same time that he left * According to the common opinion Tiro did not get his emancipation until after Cicero's return from his province; but Schiitz assigns an earlier date to this event, because in the letter Quintus wrote expressing his joy upon it he appears to have been for some time separated from his brother, on which account Schiitz imagines it to have been written during the time that he was acting as Caesar's legate in Gaul, perhaps in the year 700. A. u. 706. B.C. 48. cic. 59. 273 the harbour, and husband and wife rejoined each other in thp "Forum l Uitf J} O I U K l , ' EPP 283 3 ' - 292, 1.; 293, 2. Cicero now trod the soil of Italy as Imperator; and, ^"'xli'.'t; accompanied by his lictors with their fasces wreathed in xvl ' laurels, aspired to enter Rome in triumph. This was an honour eagerly coveted by every Roman who conceived himself qualiiied to play a part in the mighty Republic, when he returned from the administration of a province. I t was the surest passport to power and favour, displayed as it was before the eyes of a sympathizing and all-powerful populace. Cicero was the more entitled to expect it, as it had been accorded to Lentulus, formerly a governor of Cilicia, for achievements exactly similar to his own 2 ; and his immediate predecessor Appius 2 EP. 250,3. was also secure of obtaining it.* W e have seen in what terms Cicero wrote to Cato, early in the year, when he was soliciting a supplication. Probably, he regarded this honour as the forerunner of a triumph, and such Cato seems to have considered it. 3 On this occasion, however,3 Ep.zm. . . . . . (Div-xv-5-) his friends in Rome anticipated the expression of his wishes.4 After Cicero's arrival at Athens, when the a c - 4 ^ . 263. counts which he received irom Rome announcing the approach of the open rupture between Csesar and Pompeius became daily more alarming, causing him to look forward with the greatest apprehension to the 1st of January, the solicitation for a triumph appeared to offer him a convenient excuse for absenting himself from Rome and the Senate on that critical day.5 Although in his heart he 5 EP> 284*2-: (Alt had decided for Pompeius, he feared having to declare * It is worth remarking that Caesar first learned the art of war in contests with the savage Cilicians. Suet. Jul. 3. Tacitus mentions a certain Sulpicius Quirihius who, in the time of Augustus, received the insignia of a triumph for the conquest of the castles of the Homonadenses, wild mountaineers in Cilicia. {Ann. iii. 48.) w 5 vii 1 } 274 L I F E AND LETTERS OF CICERO. himself openly, and give his vote against Caesar, and it wras probably this dread which caused him to loiter over the latter part of the journey he had begun in so much haste. In a letter to Atticus from Brundisium, he says: " I had no ambition to obtain a triumph before those impudent letters of Bibulus were written and followed by so splendid a supplication.* Had he really achieved the deeds he wrote of, I should rejoice in his honours, and seek to promote them; but that they should be conferred on a man, who, as long as the enemy was on this side of the Euphrates, never set foot outside his door,— and denied to me, in whose army he placed all his hopes of his own,— this would be a disgrace to us,—to us, I say, including you. For this reason, I shall try every means, and shall, I hope, i EP. 293,5. succeed in gaining my desire." l I t was not the distinction Att.xii. 2>) T»« • i^» conferred on Bibulus alone that stimulated Cicero; he would have considered himself degraded also by the side of Lentulus and Appius had he not permitted himself to sue for a triumph. These expressions betray a susceptible and irritable temperament, but they hardly justify the severe condemnation some writers have passed upon him; whilst the passionate tone of the passage just quoted, which is apparent also in that immediately following, testifies at least to the sincerity of his feelings. His wish to enter Rome in triumph was met by Pompeius, whose policy it was, by supporting the leading Optimates, to bind them more closely to his own interests.! But Cicero's anxiety on this point soon * This was a supplication of twenty days, granted by the Senate at the instigation of Cato. [Such honours were of course generally conferred or withheld from motives of policy. Bibulus, as well as Appius and Lentulus, was a warm partizan of the Senate.] f Ep. 295, 2. (Att. vii. 4.) [Pompeium vidi iv. Id. Decembres. Fuimus una duas horas fortasse. Magna Icetitia mihi visus est affici meo adventu; A. u. 706. B. c. 48. crc. 59. 275 came to an end, and after his interview with Pompeius we find him distinctly declaring his indifference with regard to a triumph.1 * EP. 298,5. The dangers which now threatened the State might indeed well have extinguished all aspirations after its highest honours, even in a more ambitious man. In the midst, however, of the agitations with which the new year opened in the Senate, several voices demanded a triumph for Cicero 2 , and the Consul Lentulus promised that he 2 EP 381» & r (.Div. xvi. 11 ) would himself propose it, as soon as the more urgent business of the State should have been despatched. Cicero, after informing Tiro of this, adds: " For myself, I show no eagerness for anything, and my influence is so much the greater." To preserve this influence in the present state of affairs, now that he wras once more in Italy, wTas his chief anxiety. The year 705 was rapidly approaching. C. Claudius Marcellus and L. Cornelius Lentulus were about to assume the Consulate, and soon the Senate would have to decide on Cassar's proposals. Cicero's embarrassment is vividly portrayed in the letters he addressed to Atticus during his journey, and before his arrival at the gates. W e will quote a passage from one of those written from Athens. " I conjure you by my fortunes, by all the love you bear me, by your uniform prudence, to consider the situation I am placed in. I foresee such a struggle in de triumpho hortari, suscipere partes suas; monere ne ante in Senatum act cederem quam rem confecissem, ne dicendis sententiis aliquem tribunam alienarem. Immediately afterwards, however, we find Pompeius proposing to send Cicero with the imperium into Sicily, much to his mortification, and allowing the question of the triumph to drop. It is probable that Appius and others were jealous of Cicero's obtaining the honour, and exerted their influence against him. It may be suspected, also, that the advice given him not to enter the Senate was meant to obviate the moderate counsels he would doubtless have given in the impending crisis.] N 6 276 L I F E AND LETTERS OF CICERO. reserve for us, as we have never yet had to undergo, unless the Deity, who relieved me more effectually than I dared hope in the Parthian war, now extend his succour to the Republic. But this misfortune touches me in common with all, nor is this what I would commend to your consideration, but rather the problem which I individually have to solve. You see how, in accordance with your advice, I connected myself with both chiefs: with one because he deserved so much from me; with the other because he was so powerful. By the friendly devotion I manifested to their interests, I succeeded in obtaining the affection of each as much as any man. So close was at that time the connexion between the two, that while I conceived that in allying myself with Pompeius I should not be called upon to do anything against the good of the Republic, I did not expect that in adhering to Caesar I should be required to fight against Pompeius. At this moment however, as you point out to me, and as I can myself discern, a mortal contest is impending between them. Both reckon me among their adherents, unless indeed one of them only feigns to do so: for Pompeius does not hesitate to believe, wThat is the truth, that I entirely approve of his present sentiments towards the Republic. I received letters from each of them at the same time lu^Att^ii ^^ ^ o°* y o u r s 19 a n d I am led to believe that they value 3>) my adherence above everything. 'Now what am I to do ? I speak not with reference to the final result (for if the affair is to be decided by arms, I would choose to be conquered with Pompeius, rather than to conquer with Caesar), but of the question which will be in agitation when I arrive*, whether Caesar's claim of absence is to be respected, or whether he shall be required to dismiss * Cicero expected, at that time, to reach the termination of his journey yet earlier. A. u. 706. B. c. 48. cic. 59. 277 his army ? * When I hear the words, ' Speak, Marcus Tullius,' what shall I say ? * Wait, I beseech you, till I have consulted with Atticus.' There is no room for compromise. Shall I speak against Cassar? Where then are all my solemn promises? For this claim of absence I supported at his own request. At his request do I say ? At that of our Cnseus also, preferred to me in that glorious third Consulate of his. Shall I now be of a different opinion ? I fear not Pompeius alone, but — Tpebas, fcal TpomSas: TlovXvhdfjLas? fiov Ttpmros iXsy^si^v fcaraOrjosL.^ Whom do I mean ? You, yourself, the panegyrist of my actions and of my writings." l i EP. 284,2. On the 6th December Cicero reached Herculanum 2 ,2 Ep. 294,1. whence he repaired to the Trebulan villa of his friend Pontius Aquila. On the 10th he had an interview with Pompeius, who had undertaken a journey through the south of Italy, hoping by bis absence from Kome at that juncture to avoid the appearance of being implicated in the transactions of the Senate. l i e incurred the blame of many of the knights and senators for this conduct 3 , 3 EP.296,4. which, however, was of a piece with the wish to save appearances which be continually manifested. Meanwhile the opponents of Csssar siiU looked to him for countenance, and he in reality directed all their machinations. Cicero had an interview with him for two hom*s. Pompeius, who was evidently anxious to secure his adherence, * In the last letter Cicero received in Asia from Caelius, he says: "Pompeius is firmly determined that Csesar shall not become Consul, unless he gives up his army and provinces; Csesar, on the other hand, is convinced that he is lost if he does not retain his army."' Ep. 280, 2. (JDiv, viii. 14.), written in September. f Iliad, vi. 442.; xxii. 105. 278 L I F E AND LETTERS OF CICERO. manifested the most friendly disposition towards him, expressed great joy at his return, and advised him to sue for a triumph, promising to use every effort himself to promote his success. A war with Csesar he seemed to \Atf'vh5,i) ^0°k u P o n a s inevitable after what had recently occurred.1 Cicero's irresolution was now at an end. Obeying the dictates of his nature, he determined to espouse the cause of the Republic, or rather of the Senate and Optimates. The letter he wrote to Atticus from the Trebulanum, shortly before his interview with Pompeius, is very re2 EP. 294. • markable.2 I t proves that, as Cicero plainly perceived, the strife between the two generals was only for supreme power. But yet, though he still endeavoured to preserve Caasar's good will, he could hardly avoid espousing the interests of Pompeius, inasmuch as the Senate and the Optimates were ranged on his side. Besides this, he had latterly conceived a more exalted idea of the character of fEpp.i99,i.;Pompeius3, and the feelings of friendship and devotion he i.; 264,2.;' had for many years cherished for him, now spoke loudly ioV^tt" * n k*s Phalli " What then will you do? do you ask? " vi.» YIQ says in a letter to Atticus written some time later: " I will do, even as the cattle do, who, when they are scattered, follow their own kind. As the ox follows his herd, so will I follow the Optimates, or those who are A *»- 298,5. called by that name, even if they run wild." 4 (Att. vii. 7.) Gloomy indeed must have been the thoughts which occupied him when he could write in such a strain ! But still more melancholy are the terms in which he speaks of the party for which he had declared himself, in the same letter (of the 20th December) : " You say that I am the object of vast expectations, and that none of the welldisposed, or of the not ill-disposed, have any doubt of my sentiments and opinions. I do not understand whom you mean by the well-disposed, for I know of none myself; A. u. 706. B. c. 48. cic. 59. 279 at least of no such class. Can the Senate be said to be well-disposed, through whose means the provinces remain without governors ? * Or the Publicans, who have never been constant to any one except now to Caesar ? Or the Usurers ? Or the husbandmen, wTho are actuated solely by their desire for peace ? Unless, indeed, you imagine that they dread a king, who for the sake of tranquillity have never yet shrank from one." For the rest, he for his part desired nothing more ardently than peace, for he plainly foresaw on whose side victory would declare itself in the impending conflict, and trembled for the consequences. Rather indeed than stake everything on the chances of war, he would have acceded to the demands of Caesar, extravagant as he deemed them.1 l Epp.2M,2.} 296 4.* 297. From the Trebulanum, Cicero went to his villa near (Att vn. 3. 5. 6.); Veil. Formiae 2 , intending to proceed on the last day of De- Pat - "•48cember to Terracina, and thence to the Alban villa of (Au.\aX) Pompeius. He hoped to reach the gates of Rome on the 3rd January, his birth-day 3 , but was delayed till the 4th.^J^? 6 ;. 3 He had another conversation with Pompeius, who overtook him at Lavernium on the 27th, and they proceeded to Formise in company. Their discourse turned chiefly upon a speech which the Tribune M. Antonius had delivered on the 23rd, in wThich he had violently attacked the whole public career of Pompeius.f Cicero perceived that his companion dreaded, above everything, Caesar's * When the Senate was deliberating on the question of superseding the governors in the provinces, and Curio protested against it, the Consul M. Marcellus endeavoured to take measures against his intercession, but was overruled by a majority of voices. This was in Caesar's favour. Ep. 272, 2. (Div. viii. 13.) t Possibly this speech may have served as the model for Cicero's second Philippic. 280 1 \EP.299. (Ate. vii. 8.) LIFE AND LETTEKS OF CICERO. gaining the Consulate a second time *; and that he felt confident that he could easily get rid of him, if he were treated as an enemy. His words seem to have inspired Cicero with courage, and made him feel as if he were once more listening to the great general of former times.1 & ' . On the 4th January he arrived before the walls of (2^'xvi!2* ^ o m e « 2 At length he had reached the place where for 1L) twenty months he had so constantly and passionately longed to b e ; where alone, as he imagined, he could live *,£p*y\>?i and breathe. 3 In what condition did he find the city? J (Div. li. 15.) And what were his own feelings now that he stood before its gates ? Such is the caprice of fortune, that when a man has attained the object of his ardent desire, it generally proves but an empty bubble, or something even worse. We have seen what grief and anxiety Cicero had been suffering for months past, though he could sometimes recover courage wheu he remembered the tutelary Goddess < Ep.294,2. of the city, the protectress also of his own fortunes 4 : but (^W.vii.3.) . what now weighed most heavily upon him was the consciousness that much of the blame he imputed to the rulers of the State, attached also to himself for having assisted in making Caesar so powerful f; and thus he was denied even the miserable consolation of accusing fortune.$ * Turn, (in priore consulatu) plus valuit quam tota respublica. JEp. 300. (Att vii. 9.) f " If the Republic is to be defended, why was it not defended when Caesar was Consul ? . . . Why was his imperium prolonged, and in such a manner ? Why was there such a struggle for it, that ten Tribunes brought forward the proposal that he should be permitted to sue for the Consulship while absent." Ep. 294, 3. f [Cassar had tried to ensnare Cicero among others by a loan of money, for Cicero himself, after the dilapidation of his fortune by Clodius, was reduced to pecuniary difficulties. The patriot was too honest to surrender his political principles to his necessities ; nevertheless, there is something ludicrous in his complaint to his faithful Atticus, that he must sacrifice the funds he had reserved for the expenses of his triumph to the repayment of A.U. 706. B.C. 48. cic. 59. 281 " I torment myself day and night," he says, at the conclusion of the last letter before his arrival. His reception was as warm and honourable as he could have desired; but his attempts to mediate between the contending parties were utterly fruitless1, for various were l %VP>301,2.; 0 r J 302, 1. (Div. m i the conflicting interests which stood in the way. The™-11* 12«) Consul Marcellus was a determined aristocrat; whilst his colleague Lentulus, who was dependent on his creditors, looked forward to a civil war in the hope of becoming a second Sulla. He urged the strongest measures, disregarding all the proposals of the more moderate party, and threatening, should he be opposed, to throw off the authority of the Senate, and betake himself to Caesar, who would gladly receive him.2 Scipio, the father-in-law of^cses.mi. Pompeius, hoped amidst these civil broils to escape from a trial which menaced him. Cato regarded Caesar as even a worse foe to liberty than Pompeius. None heeded Cicero's recommendations of peace and concession.3 Its viut. Ges.\ r 31.; Pomp. # was now carried by vote in the Senate, that Caesar, against g ; 5 ^ - ^ whom Cato and Scipio declaimed the most violently, 1L) should lay down his arms immediately, or be declared a public enemy. L . Domitius was named his successor in Cisalpine Gaul, and appointed to command an army; while the Consul, Praetors, Tribunes and Consulars were charged to watch over the safety of the Republic. These decrees were passed on the 6th January- 4 Pompeius took4 c&s.BeiL n 1 • • • n 1 1 i Civ.i.b. part m all these transactions, principally through the medium of Scipio; and the Tribunes Antonius and Cassius, finding their protests disregarded, hastened secretly and in disguise to Caesar's camp, accompanied by Curio and his debt to the enemy of his country. Mihi autem Mud molestissimum est, quod sohendi sunt nummi Ccesari el instrumentum triumphi eo conferendum. Est enim'd/nopcpovavTiiroXLrevoijJvov xpew^giAeVrjs esse. Ep. 299. (Att. vii. 8.)1 282 L I F E AND LETTERS OF CICERO. M. Cselius, who had likewise declared for him in the i Bio cass. interval.1 xll. 1—3.; %?v.\B\-5.< Here let us pause for a moment to reflect upon the posture cJvAiw*11' °f affairs, and the aspect they presented to Cicero. We have already seen that he had lost all faith in the Commonwealth as it then existed, and was fully aware that Pompeius aimed at supreme dominion, whilst he could not fail to perceive the miserable condition to which his govern? ment had reduced the State. On the other hand he saw, that amid the baseness and selfishness of the so-called Optimates, and the utter nullity of what was once the people, the Republic could maintain itself no longer; wThereas under Pompeius it seemed yet possible to preserve at least its outward semblance. Full, moreover, of aristocratic prejudices, he saw in Caesar the destroyer of time-hallowed institutions, and failed to discern in him 2 Ep. 3oo.; the creator of a new order of things 2 : while he regarded 304, 1. (Att. & , ° . vii. 9. u.et his followers as a set of upstarts, strangers to the ancient L passim.) ° decorum. " A new system produces new men." He felt the truth of this axiom; and from the high rank which his unceasing exertions had gained for him amongst the Optimates, looked down with abhorrence on these " new men," to whom all his feelings were so much opposed, while he affected to believe that the crowd which flocked to Csesar's standard was composed exclusively of " voluptuous youths," " a good-for-nothing populace," and " insolent Tribunes." * The horror with which he regarded them is conveyed in the description he wrote of them, when he beheld them assembled around their victorious /^•• as9 ;^ leader.3 {Att. IX. 18.); (SJJ'vm 3'; He had soon to acknowledge that he had been led astray 14.) * * Caesar could not afford to be very particular in his choice, and there were, no doubt, many characters of this description in his camp. And after all what was the character of many of his opponents ? A. u. 706. B. c. 48. cic. 59. 283 by his imagination, which caused him to regard Caesar, once the object of his adoration, as a second Cinna or Sulla, if not an actual Phalaris. 1 He had doubted whether ^f^^M.; he should not be called a Hannibal rather than a Roman [£*%$'7* Imperator 2 , and would not allow in his character even a2 ^.394,1. shadow of goodness.* But in a short time he had to stand in the presence of this very Cassar, and in his own person to experience his clemency, and had then to confess, if not utterly blinded by prejudice, that the virtues of a great man march hand in hand with his wisdom towards the goal which fate and his own will have set before him. There was nothing, indeed, of Sulla or of Cinna in Caesar's composition; he desired to rule, and nature had formed him for a ruler. In his road to sole dominion, for which Eome was then ripe, and which alone could save her,—for without it she could no longer exist,— many ancient forms must of necessity be trampled on, many ancient rights must be violated. His motto was : — " Si violandum est jus, regnandi gratia Violandum est; aliis rebus pietatem colas." f We may not arrogate to ourselves the liberty of judging such a man, but let him who would adopt his maxims first examine whether he be himself a Caesar. $ Timoleon is * When Cassar had crossed the "Rubicon, Cicero wrote to Atticus: O hominem amentem et miserum, qui ne umbram quidem rod /caAoO viderit! Ep. 304. In another letter he says of him: Ne simulare quidem poteril quidquam TTOALTIKCCS. Ep. 307, 6. {Ait. vii. 13.) f The words of Eteocles in the Phssnissse of Euripides, 534, 535.: Enrep yap aducsiv XP^t Tvpavvidos irepi KaKkiGTOv adiKeTv * r'&Aka 5' iv(re€tlv xpewr. Suet. Jul 30.; Cic. de Off, iii. 21. J In his speech against Vatinius Cicero asks him: Si jam violentior aliqua in re Ccesar fuisset, si eum magnitudo contentionis, studium glorice, prcestans animus, excellens nobilitas aliquo impulisset, quod in Mo vivo et turn ^erendum 284 LIFE AND LETTERS OF CICEKO. perhaps without a counterpart in history, but even he stands at a vast distance from Cassar in respect of intellectual greatness. And what was Pompeius in comparison with him ? " He betrays the utmost timidity and perturbation of mind," i ^p.307,2. Cicero writes of him to his friend on the 20th of January. 1 J (Att. vn. 13.) # As soon as the news reached him that Ca3sar had crossed the llubicon and was advancing rapidly through Picenum, he hastened to leave Home, in order to escape the tumultuary concourse of the citizens about him, and reach his two legions in the south of Italy, which constituted his only hope for the moment; whilst Favonius sneeringly observed, it was time for him now to stamp upon the 2 Appian, ground.2 Cicero was wrong in blaming him for abandoning: 3eU.dv.iU EL . . . - ^ i . 3 7. liome at tins juncture* 5 ; lor he was not m a position to u 3 ? 304/2'.'; 32 4.; maintain the city: his real fault consisted in not having vii.'iofii*.; prepared himself in time to encounter such an adversary viii. 1, 2.) 4 CSS,M Civ. i. 14. . as Cassar, who, on his part, could venture to commence hostilities with a single legion, in the conviction that soldiers would join him at every step, and that the troops he had left beyond the Alps would follow him with the celerity he had himself taught them.* Meanwhile Lentulus, in too great consternation to execute the orders of Pompeius, and carry off the public treasure and offerings in the temples, fled the day after his chief, and neglected even to lock the inner sanctuary of the treasury. 4 He J was followed by the other Consul, and most of the au^ thorities. Pompeius had declared that he would regard as 5 Dio Cass, enemies any that remained in Rome 5 : he required the pian, Bell. Civ. ii. 37. essct, et maximis rebus, quas postea gessit obliterandum : id tu iibL furcifer, sumes et Vatinii latronis ac sacrilegi vox audielur, hoc postulantis, ut idem sibi concedatur quod Ccssari ? * T h e twelfth, legion overtook him after he had taken Cingulum (Cses. Bell. Civ. i. 12.). Many soldiers h a d joined him befoie this, and he had levied recruits in all directions. A.U. 706. B.C, 48. cic. 59. 285 magistrates and the Senate to join him in Campania. In the present posture of affairs he was regarded as a Dictator. No attempt was made at enlistment in the city; the moment for action was lost; nothing appeared safe this side of Capua. " The abandonment of the city by her magistrates, above all the flight of Pompeius,5' writes Cicero to Atticus, "has made an amazing impression on men's rmnd<3 " * * ~ 1 E P' 302 2 ' - minus. utf.vii. ii.) Immediately after this, he quitted his own residence in the neighbourhood of the city*, and proceeded to Campania. Pompeius had committed io him the superintendence of the Campanian coast 2 , where he was charged to2nPp.301,4.; levy troops, to provide for the tranquillity 01 the region, VP. 11.•, Bw. and to watch over the interests of the Pompeians generally. The Consul Lentnlus and other leading personages met him at Formiae. All were alike in alarm and perplexity.3 His own anxiety increased daily. " Shall ^"Ifa.'^ifh.) he writes from hence to Atticus, " embrace without reserve the cause of Pompeius ? I am not alarmed by the danger, but I am distracted with grief. Everything has been done so inconsiderately, and so entirely against my advice!" 4 He had, besides, begun to suspect that Pom-\ftf'^\2> peius was meditating a flight beyond the sea, and his distress was further augmented by his fears for the females of his family, who had remained in the city. What treatment might they expect from Caesar ? How would Pompeius interpret his conduct in leaving them there ? " 5 '^f^fc6"' Pompeius was now traversing Apulia and the adjacent i2V)14,; xvL districts with a show of activity, but in reality undecided how to act. His hopes rested solely on the two legions at * On Jan. 19th, according to the date assigned to Ep. 303. This letter was written either on his journey from Rome, or immediately before his departure from the city. In the next letter, of the 21st Jan., we read that Caesar was already besieging Ancona. Atticus informed Cicero of this from Rome. 286 LIFE AND LETTERS OF CICERO. Capua; for the new levies were pressed unwillingly into the service, and showed no readiness to fight against Cassar's 3w^3o3805*; veterans.1 Cicero derived some encouragement from the 13*/140*'12' desertion °f Labienus, one of Caesar's ablest lieutenants 2 : 2 Epp. 304.; but what was the good of this desertion, since he in whose 307.; 308. . ° {£'**•?}*' U- favour it was made could make no use of it, at least in 7 13, 14.); Dio Cass. xii. 4. Italy ? A gleam of hope presented itself to Pompeius, when Lucius Caesar, a relative of the Imperator, who had been sent to Rome to persuade him to peaceful measures, returned with an answer to the effect that he was willing to cease from hostilities, if Pompeius, on his part, would retire to his province, and restore entire freedom to the Republic, Cicero saw the ambassador at Minturnae, on the 25th of January, and sneered at his insignificance, whilst the terms offered by Caesar appeared to him in3 Ep.307,6. tolerable.3 (Att. vii. 12. Div. xvi. 13.); Pompeius, encouraged by the acquisition of Labienus, returned the following answer in the presence of the Consuls at Teanum : — " Caesar's terms shall be granted, on condition that he retreats beyond the Rubicon and relinquishes all the cities he has taken : when this has been done we will return to the city, and leave all further 4 Ep. 308, I. negotiations in r the hands of the Senate 4 ; but until Caesar VIM-TIG"' (Alt. vii. 14.) . ° n i # T-» gives security for the performance of these terms, Pompeius 5 pees.Beii. and the Consuls will not suspend the levy of troops." 5 Caesar was incensed at the conditions required of him, nor was it likely he would consent to disband his army, while his adversary continued to augment his own. The negotiation proved fruitless, and Curio laughed at the whole <*£;>. 3i6. affair.6 I t seems probable that Caesar himself was not in (Att. vii. 19.) • 1 1 1 1 1 i earnest m the proposals he made, or that at any rate he did not wish them to be accepted. But the fact of his having proposed terms of accommodation placed him in an advantageous position, and enabled him to appear innocent A. u. 706. B. c. 48. cic. 59. 287 of the blood of his countrymen which was soon to be shed. After despatching his proposals, which were equitable in themselves, he continued to display the same activity in his movements. " Out upon the accursed robber!" Cicero exclaims; " shame upon the Republic! whose disasters can scarcely be repaired by any amount of future tranquillity." # l > ^p.315,2. (Att vii 8 " 1 No dependence could be placed either on the Consuls. They had appointed Cicero to meet them at Capua on the 5th of Februar}'. He had gone there before this, on the 27th of January, to expedite the levy of troops, and had found the Campanian colonists little disposed to take part against Caesar, to whom they owed their estates.2 But2^p.3os, i.; 311 • 314.* now, in obedience to the Consuls, he hastened thither c^«'vii. i4. lb, 17.) * Caesar's account of this negotiation does not quite harmonize with Cicero's. (Cses. Bell. Civ. i. 6—14.) According to the former L. Caesar and the Praetor Eoscius met him at Ariminum (c. viii.), bearing proposals from Pompeius (privati officii mandata) of a nature he could not accept; and he sent them back to Pompeius, with his own terms. The envoys found Pompeius at Capua (c. x.) ; not at Teanum, as Cicero relates. And the unfavourable answer he returned was received by Csesar at Ariminum, where he still was (c. xi.), who then first proceeded to occupy Ancona and Pisaurum, and to advance himself upon Auximum (c. xii.). After his successes there, Pompeius and the Consuls fled from Rome (c. xiv.)'; which would imply that Pompeius had returned there from Capua, after his first flight in consequence of the passage of the Rubicon, which is out of the question. On the other hand, Cicero, as related in the text, saw L. Csesar on his way to Pompeius, at Minturnae on the 25th Jan., after the flight from the city; and the siege of Ancona had commenced before the 21st* (Ep. 304, 1.) According to this, Caesar must have left Ariminum before receiving the answer of Pompeius, whose interview with the ambassador must have taken place after his flight from Rome. (Comp. Dio Cass. xli. 6.) As, however, Cicero's letters were written on the spot, and his accounts are corroborated by the historians of the time, we must assume that Caesar has been guilty of some inaccuracy [if not wilful misstatement], and by narrating the negotiations with Pompeius in connexion with the first mission of Lucius has given rise to the impression that his departure from Ariminum did not take place till after they had been brought to an unsuccessful issue. 288 L I F E AND LETTERS OF CICERO. again from the Formian villa, where he then was, in the most inclement weather, and on his arrival found neither of them there. Late in the evening, however, Lentulus made his appearance ; but Cicero soon found that nothing was to be hoped for either from him or from his colleague. The recruiting was everywhere unsuccessful. Those employed in the service scarcely dared to show their faces; for while Pompeius continued to wander up and down, doing nothing to any purpose, Csesar was near at hand. By the beginning of February the whole of the Picenum \?jT„317,.:.",was in his power 1 ; a fact known however only to Cicero, 318. (Ait. vn. * ? m J * 2o,2i.)i ^ 0 w h o m it had been communicated by Dolabella, then with the advancing general. " Our Cnseus ! " he exclaims, " who wrould have believed i t ! is completely overthrown ! Pie is totally without sense or courage : he has no troops, no activity: he is ignorant not only of the enemy's force, but of his own also." The Consuls themselves scoffed at his commands. When he desired them to return to Rome and possess themselves of the money in the treasury, *• i:p. 318. Lentulus recommended him to go first himself to Picenum. 2 (Ait. vii. 21.) D # Corfinium, a city in the country of the Marsi, still held out, under the command of L. Domitius Ahenobarbus, the Consul of the year 700, to whom the province of Gaul had been recently assigned. He had hoped that Pompeius 3 Ep.336. would ioin him as he had seemed at first inclined to d o 3 : iAtt. viii. 12.) and had he done so they might have saved Rome, and prevented Caesar from pressing forward into southern Italy. But Pompeius dared not risk an encounter with his rival, and urged Domitius to join him with all speed in the south. Domitius, however, still lingered at Corfinium, and still hoped to receive aid from him ; for which obstinate disobedience Pompeius thought fit sharply to relJEpp.336. prim and him.4 -ffiik) if> After wasting all this precious time in Campania and A. u. 706. B.C. 48. cic. 59. 289 Apulia, Pompeius, whose thoughts were now evidently directed towards Greece, proceeded about the end of February to Brundisium. The failing state of his health must serve for his excuse. Cicero writes: " All our hopes rest upon the health of one man, who falls sick once a-year." l Caesar could triumph even over bodily sufferings.l Ep.ws. He laid siege to Corfinium about the middle of February, and after a week's resistance the place surrendered on the 22nd.2 The cohorts of Domitius went over to him and 2 #p/>.326.; 338. {Ait. viii. gave up to him their commander. All who submitted he^J^JY 3 * treated with the greatest clemency.3 Then with winged 2»3& J 3 ° Ep. 337. speed he advanced to the shores 4 of the Adriatic in quest (>*#• vi»- is.) of his antagonist; but he, hard pressed, and finding him-(^«!'vii.22.) self hemmed in on the land side, took ship in the harbour of Brundisium, and set sail for Greece. This was on the 17th of March: the next day Caesar entered the city.55 EP.356, i *" copy; comp. Thus the great Pompeius, flying before the face of the sj51 (-*#•ixman whom a short time since he had affected to despise, abandoned Italy, the theatre of his former exploits, never again to behold it. He probably already felt that which a later poet thus expresses, — " Provida Pompeio dederat Campania febres Optandas ; sed multee nrbes et publica vota Vicerunt; igitur Fortuna ipsius et urbis Servatum victo caput abstulit." * During this time Cicero remained in Campania engaged with the duties assigned him there. He would not undertake any office of more importance, that there might be no obstacle to his efforts for obtaining peace.6 Every- 6 ^.3io,i. where he met with the greatest indifference7, and out of12-) heart as he himself was with the undertaking of Pompeius, {Ati.vwiz.) whose abandonment of the city he could not cease re* Juvenal, Sat x. 283—286. Lucan gives an admirable portrait of the two rivals. Phars. I 129—150. O 290 LIFE AND LETTERS OF CICERO. gretting, harassed also by the suspicion that he sought his safety out of Italy, he performed his task with lukewarmness. He says ^himself that there was nothing for him to d o ; and he let Caesar know that he was residing quietly Epp. 336.; on his own estates, generally at Formiaa.1 314. (Att.vih. ' & J i2.; vii. i7.) I t was not only because Pompeius was destined to be the loser in the struggle, that Cicero was so much injured by his close connexion with him. The unhappy consequences of the first false step became now more than ever apparent. So tenaciously had he clung to Pompeius, that he had frequently allowed his feeling for him to overcome his reason and discretion; but now disgusted with his leader's blunders, and with the little attention which his advice had received, he was seduced into practising deceit towards the man whom he had once so highly honoured; for we can give no milder name to his conduct towards Pompeius, when we compare the letters addressed to him 2 Ep. 334, B. from Formiae2 with those he wrote to Atticus on the same ii.) ,vni 'subject. 3 While he led Pompeius to conclude that he m f 33|f.'; was discharging his commission on the coast of Campania 2,3?)vm' ' with zeal and success, he communicated the real state of the case to Atticus, as we have just described it. Again, from Cicero's second letter to Pompeius, in answer to his summons to join him without delay at Brundisium, the latter could have entertained no doubt of his determination to fly with him into Greece, with entire devotion to his interests; whereas, from many of his letters to Atticus, we discover that he strongly condemned this flight, and had not the slightest intention of quitting Italy. " I was deceived,9' he afterwards confessed to his friend, " by the hope that peace might yet be effected, and, if so, I did not choose that Caesar should be angry with me after he Ep.m. had become reconciled to Pompeius." 4 And this was all (Attt x 8 ) the result of his former boundless devotion to Pompeius, A.U. 706. B. c. 48. cic. 59. 291 now that his opinion of him had suffered such a change. " The bad cause he has never failed to maintain successfully." W e read in another letter to Atticus: " In the ] best of causes he has succumbed." l EP. 322. . (jft&vii.250 Of this good cause Cicero had more and more despaired ; and when he recalled to mind the whole course of the administration of Pompeius, he could not but observe how it had been calculated to bring about the existing state of things. In one of the letters which we have just described as so contradictory to those addressed to Pompeius, he writes: " Our Pompeius has acted without either discretion or courage, and, I may add, entirely in opposition to my advice. Of his former acts I do not wish now to speak; how he encouraged and supported Caesar, and placed arms in his hands against the Republic; how he caused laws to be passed by compulsion, in express contradiction to the Auspices; how he added the Further Gaul to Caesar's province, and connected himself with him by marriage; how, as Augur, he countenanced, by his presence, the adoption of Clodius; how he testified more anxiety to procure my recall to Rome than he did to retain me there; how he prolonged the term of Caesar's government, and contributed, in various ways, to augment his power during his absence; or, finally, how the same Pompeius, who in his third Consulship undertook the preservation of the Republic, suffered ten of the Tribunes to procure a law allowing Caesar's claim of absence, and even sanctioned it by a decree of his own; how, moreover, he opposed the Consul Marcellus when he required Caesar's recall. Passing over all this, what could be more disgraceful, what, more ill advised, than this retreat, or rather this shameful flight from the city?" 2 It is curious to*• EP.326,2. observe in this passage how his old wrongs recurred to ?°mP-29^ 3.' x ° ° his mind after so long an interval, and how completely o 2 (Att, vii. 3.) . 292 LIFE AND LETTERS OF CICERO. he forgets, while detailing all these grievances, the active part he himself had taken in most of the transactions he blames. H e resented not having been taken into counsel 1 JP- sis- b y the Pompeians in any of their m e a s u r e s 1 ; and this (-Att* Vll» /I.) i • i feeling, to which was added his indignation at t h e flight from Kome, is plainly discernible also in the letter he wrote to Pompeius with the express design of removing 2 Ep. 334. D. all doubts of his devotion. 2 T h e Imperator himself must (Att. vm. 11.) . . , , . r have divined what was in his correspondent's mind when he read the words : " I recollected that, in return for the important services I had rendered the State, I had been made to suffer the most wretched and cruel of punishments." Nevertheless, his aifection for the m a n was not extinguished. " I was moved to indignation against him," he wrote, while Pompeius was besieged by Caesar in B r u n disium, " when I reflected upon the errors of the last ten years ; which period embraces the year of my own great affliction, from which, to say the least, he made no attempt to shield me. N o w , however, I have forgiven all that, and allow myself only to think of his good deeds and the dignity of his character. L i k e t h a t man in H o m e r , who to the words of his divine mother — AVTLKCL u. 706. A. B.C. 48. cic. 59. 293 "Whilst Csesar was rapidly advancing to Brundisium, Cicero was in a state of intense uneasiness, and undecided how to act. Should he repair to Pompeius whilst he was yet in Italy ? In obedience to a summons from him he had already set out to join him, when, on a false report of Caesar's approach, he was induced to retrace his steps. 1 ^ f / ^ / ' j ^ . Again he hesitated whether to follow Pompeius in' the event of his leaving Italy. In this distress he determined to occupy himself with the discussion of various theses and questions suggested by the actual position of affairs.22Ep.ub. At other times he called up to his imagination the ideal hero whom, in his treatise on the Republic, he had pourtrayed as its supreme director.3 Had he not been morally 3 EV. 334,1. I T i i i n T * n 1 (iitf.viii.il.) blind, he must have confessed that Caesar was the man, as nearly as human imperfections allow; that Pompeius was not so he was now sufficiently persuaded. Caesar, indeed, he acknowledged to be (i a prodigy of vigilance and energy." 4 " Have you ever," his friend Cselius asks, * Ep.m, 3. "read or heard of a man more vigorous in action, or more moderate in the use of victory than our Ca3sar ?" 5 5 Ep. 335. Ca3sar, meanwhile, since his passage of the Rubicon,^-) had made several attempts to gain Cicero. He was annoyed at finding that so many of the leading men had quitted the city with Pompeius, and on January 24th he sent Trebatius to Cicero to entreat him to return, assuring him that his so doing would afford him the highest satisfaction.6 To this Cicero made the reply before adverted < Ep.su. * to, namely, that he was residing quietly on his estates/ Caesar then wrote with his own hand, and repeated his request, and his confidential friend Balbus likewise addressed him to the same effect.7 Cicero replied, as pru-? EPP. 325.? dence and the respect due to Caesar's position demanded, 1.15.) but gave no hope of acceding, contenting himself merely with an exhortation to peace.8 The great Imperator knews ^.332 j 0 3 (^«. viii.'9.) 294 L I F E AND LETTERS OF CICERO. well the advantage to his cause of the acquisition of such a man as Cicero; nevertheless he evinced great moderation on this occasion, and made no attempt at coercion. He expressed himself pleased at his remaining neutral, and 1 J T9 334,2. begged him to continue so. E /. Again, during his hasty march to Brundisium, he found time to write him another friendly letter, begging him to come to Rome, where he hoped soon to profit in person from his advice, while he thanked him for keeping away from the camp of Pompeius. Cicero next received the copy of a missive from Caasar to his friends Balbus and Oppius, in which he still threw out hopes of a reconciliation with Pompeius, and distinctly explained the maxims on which he intended to govern. " I will endeavour," he says, " to win the favour of all men by moderation, and to secure a lasting victory. Others have incurred odium by their cruelty, and yet have not been able long to maintain their conquest; Sulla only*excepted, whom I have no intention of imitating."* But all Caesar's efforts were in vain. Cicero's imagination too vividly depicted to him the anticipated consequences of his victory ; the proscription of the Optimates and the promotion of the conqueror's creatures; the abolition of debts ; the confiscation of property. " Laws, tribunals, Senates, no longer exist: no property, public or private, * EP. 348. will suffice to satisfy the cravings of those needy upstarts, 2 (Att ix 7 ) «/ i. How can this man act otherwise than wickedly ? His life and manners, his former actions and present undertakings, his companions, and even his steadfastness of purpose, are so many pledges of what we have to expect Ep.343,2. from him." 3 In reply to Cassar's last letter, Cicero exAtt. ix. 2 ) x J * These letters of Caesar, addressed to Cicero, Oppius, and Balbus, have come down to us enclosed in Epp. 347. and 348. {Att. ix. 6, 7.) In Ep 350, 3. {Att. ix. 9.) Cicero comments in his own manner on Caesar's kindlyletter. A. u. 706. B. c. 48. cieu 59. 295 pressed his willingness to use all his efforts for the promotion of peace, but begged that he might be permitted to retain his gratitude to Pompeius.1 I t was this strong l EP. 352, CODV (Alt ' feeling of gratitude which impelled him still to adhere to11-) his ancient benefactor, notwithstanding the frightful threats he held out of what he would do if he gained the upper hand; how he would reduce Rome and Italy by starvation; how he would devastate the country with fire and sword; and give up to plunder the possessions of the wealthy, " Our Cnseus," Cicero writes, " is terribly ambitious of such a royalty as Sulla's." 2 He was deterred from imme-2 EP.ZW.<, diately following him by these forebodings. " Shall I," Tltli*. 7'. he writes, " who have been called the Saviour of the city, the father of my country,— shall I lead into it an army of Geta3, Armenians, and Colchians ? * Shall I bring famine and devastation into Italy? 3 He shuddered at the bare 3 &P> 351. J . {Att. ix. 10 idea; but when premature tidings reached him of Pompeius' departure from Italy, he was seized with regret at not having accompanied him. In the same letter to Atticus he says: " He had performed no great action which should have made me wish to follow him; but now my old affection for him revives. I cannot endure the longing desire I have to be with him ; books, studies, philosophy, cease to interest me : like the bird of Plato, I gaze day and night on the sea and long to fly over itlf . . . . As they say the sick man has hope whilst he has breath, so I refused to abandon myself to despair as long as Pompeius remained in Italy; but now the sun seems to have disappeared from the horizon." 4 4 ^.351. To follow Cicero through the mazes of his ever shifting aims and purposes is no easy task; and yet more difficult * Cicero plainly perceived that the hopes of Pompeius rested on the Eastern provinces and the allies. f See the ninth of the letters ascribed to Plato. o 4 296 LIFE AND LETTERS OF CICEKO. would it be to give in a short space any adequate picture of these alternations. At one moment he rests his hopes on the terror inspired by the mere name of Pompeius; £p.329,3.; and in the next despairs of him altogether l;—now calling 330. (AU.yin. r b ' & 6,7.) to mind all that he had suffered from him, he bitterly inveighs against the man he had once so highly extolled ; and then again overflows with gratitude for past benefits. By turns he admires and despises Caesar; at one time resolved to adhere faithfully to Pompeius, his determination soon gave way before his distrust and indignation. Now he seems to forget himself in his love of his country and his leader; and then allows himself to be swayed solely by iIt?.'\m! 12.)^ selfish interests.2 Never was there a nature more susceptible or more guided by impulse than that of Cicero; and often as our indignation is roused against him by many of the letters of this period, we cannot help feeling compassion for him, and gladly recall to our remembrance the magnanimity which shone in him so brightly in former times ; while we linger upon the traits of love and friendship which even now are not wanting.* Caesar quitted Brundisium soon after its surrender, with the intention of reaching Borne by the 1st of April. The number of his adherents had been much increased by his late brilliant successes; and many of the leading citizens, who had left Borne some weeks before, now returned thither. On the 27 th of March he was at Sinuessa. The day before, Cicero had received another letter from him, couched in the most flattering terms, and repeating the request to join him at Borne. " Y o u have augured rightly of me," such were his words, " and have proved your knowledge of my character, * Thus we find him in his direst perplexity constantly remembering his dear friend Tiro, and even anxious to extenuate, in addressing him, the excessive wretchedness of his own feelings. See Epp. 301.; 310.; 313.; 328, 2.; 329, 3.; 358, 2. A. u. 706. B.C. 48. cic. 59. 297 in deeming that nothing is more alien from my nature than cruelty. This in itself gives me much pleasure: I rejoice, I triumph in having my actions approved by you." ] | Jf/f7, The praise which Caesar bestows upon Dolabella in this letter, and his assurances of regard for him, seem to have been intended as a bait to allure his father-in-law to Rome. But Cicero could not justify it to himself to accept this invitation, and had even power to resist the yet stronger temptation which Caesar's actual arrival at Pormiae on the 28th offered to his vacillating nature. In this interview, Caesar once again urged him to return, on the plea that his continued absence from the city would be taken as implying condemnation of his measures. But he remained unshaken. His case, he said, differed from that of the others. " Well then, propose terms of peace," Caesar suggested: and to Cicero's question, whether this should be based on his own principles ? he answered: " I desire not to prescribe to you in anything." " Then," said Cicero, " I must declare to you that your intention of repairing to Spain, or of transporting an army into Greece, is against the will of the Senate." " I will not hear of that!" exclaimed Caesar. " I knew it," said Cicero, "and therefore I will not appear in Rome: for I have no choice, but to speak of this, and much more on which silence is impossible." Caesar then endeavoured to break off the conference amicably, for he was determined not to provoke a rupture with a man whom he esteemed so highly; and merely begging him to consider the matter, he took his leave. Cicero was highly satisfied with himself for having remained firm to his character and principles in this trying interview; and he breathed more freely now that it was over. In the letter to Atticus in which he relates the circumstances of it, he says: " I " am pleased with myself, which has not been the case with o 5 298 L I F E AND LETTERS OF CICERO. me for a long time."* Speaking of the effect of his language upon Cassar, he says: " I have spoken in such a manner as to give him more cause to think well of me than to thank me." We have already seen what sort of impression the followers of Caesar made upon him. Raised as he himself had been by his own exertions to the rank he now enjoyed, and placing himself, as he aspired to do, 1 £p. 244,3. on an equalitv with the most ancient families1, he stiff ma(Div< in. 7.) 2 EP Z - 2?A} com p. 360. . . . tizes with the opprobrious epithet of a " kingdom of the dead " [troop of shadoios] f these men who were destined to stamp a new character on the Roman world.2 ± {Att. ix. is, From Formia3 Cicero repaired to Arpinum, and there bestowed upon his son, who had now attained his sixteenth year, the gown of manhood. His fellow citizens testified their gratitude for the honour he conferred upon them in selecting his native city for the ceremony, which he was lmP.P(Attixlprevented from performing in Rome itself.3 17.19.) Still under the influence of his inextinguishable affection for his old patron, he was now fully resolved to follow him into Greece. " L e t me go," he writes from Brundisium, " where my desires draw me; and abandoning all my possessions, let me follow him to whom my appearance at this juncture will occasion more joy than if we had continued together. When we were together last, we had great cause for hope; but now, I at least am in utter despair. Except myself, no man has left Italy that does not regard Caesar as his enemy." His determination to join Pompeius was hastened by the persuasions of his * Ego me amavi; quod mild jampridem in usu non venit. f NeKvta. [The Same expression occurs in previous letters, and Cicero himself ascribes it to Atticus. It alludes to the grisly phantoms which thronged about Ulysses when he poured the libation of blood into the trench: Tovs 8' iirel ivx&hfj 694 , , = 11 Feb. 60 J? 11 695 ,, = 1 Feb. 59 » 11 696 ,, = 22 Jan. 58 11 11 697 ,, = 12 Jan. 57 11 11 698 ,, = 1 Jan. 56 >1 If 699 ,, = 22 Dec. 5Q 11 11 700 , , = 12 Dec. 55 11 11 701 , , = 2 Dec. 54 „ 11 702 ,, = 21 Nov. 53 11 11 703 , = 3 Dec. 52 11 11 704 , = 23 Nov. 51 If 11 705 , = 13 Nov. 50 „ 11 706 , = 2 Nov. 49 11 11 » 707 „ = 23 Oct. 48 11 708 , = 13 Oct. 47 11 11 After the reformation of the cal endar in this year, Jan. 1 A. u. = Jan. 1 B. C ] f In conjunction wi th Carb o who commanded the remnant of Marius and Cinna's armies, this Cseliu s collected an army m the south of Italy to oppose Sulla, by whom he was soon crushed. 302 L I F E AND LETTERS OF CICERO. tempt would have been little short of madness, and, as soon became evident, he was not the man to abide by a !£/>?• 3078-; daring resolution.1 He also flattered himself with the \iU\6)'12' n o P e tna/ k Ca3sar would not long be able to maintain his authority; a hope which was strengthened by the popular 2 Ep. 374. murmurs at his seizing the treasure. 2 Cato, who held (Att. x. 8.) . e*=> . T Sicily for the Pompeians, had abandoned the island to 3^.382,3. Curio, which excited Cicero's vehement displeasure 3 ; l (Att. x. 16.) # though we cannot imagine that he would himself have displayed more firmness.* Thus harassed and perplexed he adhered to his purpose of leaving Italy, and at length, on June 11th, accompanied by his son, he set sail from Cseieta with the intention of joining Pompeius, and was ^p.385.; followed by Quintus both father and son.4 (Div. xiv. 1.) J ^ Thus he once more turned his back upon Rome and Italy, and all that was dearest to him. One consolation accompanied him, which he thus expresses in writing to his friend: " My mind dwells not upon the honours and dignity I have lost, but on my past achievements; the deeds I have accomplished, the reputation I have enjoyed. My conscience sustains me when I reflect that while I was able I served the State to the best of my abilities, that my intentions towards it were the most honourable, and that I foresaw, fourteen years ago, the storm which has overwhelmed i t : with such a conscience for my com« Ep.366, l. panion I take my departure." 5 From the time of Cicero's departure from Italy till the beginning of the following February we are without any letters; and there are but four letters to Atticus written 6£p?>.386.; from Epirus and from the camp of Pompeius 6 , besides a o87.; 391.} 392. {Att. xi. 1-4.) * Cicero was unjust towards Cato as he had been when, in the month of January, he wrote: " Cato would sooner submit to the tyrant than fight." JSp, 309. {Att, vii. 15.) A. u. 706. B. c. 48. Cic. 59. 303, few brief notes to Terentia, from that month till the middle of July.* Caesar, meanwhile, was making rapid strides in his career of victory. Leaving Rome on the 9th of April V A-u-?05and taking Graul in his way, where he entrusted the siege of Massilia to Trebonius, he pressed forward into Spain, and in forty clays annihilated the power of Afranius and Petreius the legates of Pompeius.2 In the middle of ju^re°™ |sth August Massilia surrendered, and was made to pay dearly j£u.'c?vTiL for its long resistance. Csesar then returned to Rome, 32, where he had been created Dictator during his absence. Not choosing to recall the memory of Sulla, he only retained this title eleven days, during which time he made use of its extensive powers to cause himself to be elected Consul for the ensuing year, with a colleague of his own naming. After making several important regulations, especially as regarded debtors and creditors, he started on the 27th December f for the final struggle with his antagonist in Greece. And now once again Pompeius appeared in the character of a great general, and many were the dangers and difficulties his adversary had to encounter, and which his good fortune alone could have enabled him to overcome, before his final victory at Pharsalia on the 9th of August 706. * For this seventh book we have 135 letters. (These are from Ep. 281. to 394. in Schutz's edition.) Of these eighty-seven are addressed to Atticus, seven to Terentia and Tullia, four to Tiro, two to Mescinius Rufus, Cicero's former Quaestor, two to the Consular Servius ?Sulpicius, one to Ceelius ; from the latter to Cicero we have three letters, and one from Dolabella. Besides these 114, there are twenty copies of letters; two from Pompeius to Cicero, and as many from the latter to him; three from Caesar to Cicero, with one from him in answer ; three to Domitius, and one to the Consuls Lentulus and Marcellus from Pompeius ; two from Cassar to Oppius and Balbus; five from the two latter and from Matius and Trebatius to Cicero; and two to the same from M. Antonius. f We must make allowances here also for the disordered calendar. 304 L I F E AND LETTERS OF CICERO. On reaching his Imperator, Cicero saw realized before his eyes the errors he might have anticipated from his previous conduct. The period of Cesar's absence in the west, which Pompeius might have used to recover his fortunes in Italy, had been lost in preparations, considerable indeed, and calculated to check the enemy on his arrival, but not finally to overthrow him. " You ask for letters from me," Cicero writes in the beginning of July, when the decisive battle was approaching ; " but there is nothing worth writing about; neither the events which happen nor the measures which are } i?P,392. adopted are such as to give me any sort of satisfaction." l He could not fail to observe that his presence was useless to Pompeius. He would undertake no duties of any kind, because, as he himself confessed, there were none Lf'xf 4 ^ l a t su * te( ^ n m l - 2 The language of the Pompeians ter* rified him, and he shuddered at the thought of their gaining the ascendancy when he heard them breathing fury 3 Ep. 452. against their opponents.3 (Di-ti.vii.3.) & PI* The rew letters of this period to Atticus which remain to us evince the mental dejection into which he had fallen. < piut. cw. If we may believe Plutarch 4 , whose account agrees well with our knowledge of the man, Cato even reproved him for having come over into Greece; saying, that for himself it would not have beseemed him to abandon the cause to which he had devoted his life but that Cicero ought to have maintained his neutrality, in order, that after the event he might have been able to take part in public business; adding, that for his own sake it behoved him to have avoided making Caesar his enemy.* * According to the same author Pompeius did not desire Cicero's presence, and reproached him for going about the camp peevishly, and deriding the arrangements which were not agreeable to his opinions. We may see from the second Philippic (c. 16.) that there was some truth in this. A.U. 706. B.C. 48. cic. 59. 305 Cicero himself only tells us, that as the exhortations to peace which he had not ceased to urge ever since his arrival in Greece were unheeded, he recommended Pompeius to protract the war. The advantage gained over Ca3sar at Dyrrachium might have led to more important results had Pompeius followed his advice ; as it was, it only served to increase his self-confidence, and his partizans urged him on to a decisive conflict. " From that time," Cicero says, " the greatest of men became nothing of a general. (D^.vii.s His own anxieties were at this time enhanced by pecuniary embarrassments. His gains from his province, amounting to 2,200,000 sesterces *, which sum he had deposited in the hands of the Publicani at Ephesus, had been appropriated by Pompeius, who was now in great distress for money 2 ; and, besides this, the time had arrived for^-J9^. the payment of a second instalment of Tullia's marriage portion to Dolabella, and as a divorce between them * We find, from comparing Ep. 386. with 387. (Att. xi. 1. 2.), that this was not the entire amount of his gains, as he writes to his former Quaestor, Rufus, Ep. 302, 5. (Div. v. 20.) See the remarks in Schiitz's edition on this Ep. [On this subject Cicero's statements are confused. His affairs were embarrassed, his calculations of income from his estates inaccurate, and he knew perhaps very little about the state of his accounts. To Rufus he states {Ep. 302, 5.) that the whole of his gains from his province, deposited at Ephesus (2,200,000 sest.), had been extorted from him by loan by Pompeius as early as Jan. 705 ; but, in speaking of his resources to Atticus, Eeb. 706, he reckons a similar sum, meaning apparently the same, in Asia. Ep. 386. Again, in Ep. 387., he states that he has withdrawn one half of this sum. I am inclined to suppose, in opposition to Abeken, that Cicero had realized no more than the single sum of 2,200,000 sest. from his province ; that Pompeius had borrowed, or perhaps only proposed to borrow it, Jan. 705, but if borrowed had repaid it the same year; and that Cicero forgets in Ep. 386. that he had already withdrawn half the sum he there mentions as belonging to him. Abeken's view would fix upon Cicero a direct falsehood, besides the crime of realizing twice the sum from his province which he himself allows to be legitimate.] 306 L I F E ANP LETTERS OF CICERO„. seemed not improbable, Cicero was in some perplexity iom^*4 i6'2 k ° w t o a c ^ X ^ n e P a ^ t n e m oney, it would in all pro{Att xi. 4. lability soon be squandered by his spendthrift son-in-law, and there would be small hope of his ever recovering it in the event of a separation ; at the same time it was by no means desirable to come to an open rupture with Dolabella, as he was high in Cassar's favour. Under the %Z \AS I \ P r e s s u r e of all these troubles he at length fell seriously ill.2 At this juncture he felt little inclined to sympathize with Caelius, who*expressed the bitter regret he now felt at having yielded to Curio's persuasions and embraced 3 (Di%'fiti Caesar's cause.3 Much greater was the effect produced 17<) upon him by a letter from Dolabella at Rome, while Caesar was at Dyrrachium, exhorting him, in the most earnest and friendly manner, to abandon the Pompeian 4 Ep.389. cause, and remain quietly at Athens or elsewhere 4 ; it was, 9 ; (Div. ix. 9.) in fact, in reliance upon a similar letter from his son-inlaw, containing assurances of Caesar's favour, that he soon after returned to Italy, not knowing what might there > Ep. 400, i. await him.5 • (Ati. xi. 7.) After the battle of Pharsalia, at which he was not yiut. cic. present *, being detained by sickness at Dyrrachium 6 , without waiting for an express permission he crossed over 7^.395. to Brundisium, whence he wrote, Nov. 4., to Terentia, 7 y (Div. xiv. 7 * i2,) At Brundisium he was informed of the death of Pompeius. " I never doubted," he writes to Atticus, " that such would be his end; such utter despair of success possessed the minds of all, both kings and people, that, go where he might, this I was convinced must ensue. I cannot but lament his death, for I knew him to be a man 8 Epp.398,i.;of virtue, sobriety, and integrity." 8 J n , 400, 1. (Att. „ xi. 6,7.) This book we will conclude with a general survey or the . , . * i ? • i i * His son seems to have been engaged in the action as a cavalry officer, at least if the passage De Off. ii. 13. refers to the battle of Pharsalia. A. u. 706. B. c. 48. cic. 59. 307 period it treats of. I t forms a part of one of the most rer markable epochs in the world's history; an epoch in which men, whose names rank amongst the most illustrious of any age, appear upon the scene; men such as Caesar and Pompeius, and many others to whom we assign a second rank only because their lot was cast in the same age with these extraordinary characters. From the contemplation of an epoch like this, in which the highest interests of nations were at stake, and the most powerful springs of political action opposed to one another, even our own times may derive instruction. As regards Cicero himself, this period is also one of great importance; and, fortunately for us, it is more prolific in letters than any other, and these too for the most part addressed to Atticus, and consequently giving us an insight into his inmost soul.# We may indeed account it a rare good fortune that documents relating to an age of such infinite grandeur and importance should have come down to us ; documents, too, in which the characters and actions of its leading personages are fully revealed to the eyes of the intelligent reader. Of the intelligent reader, indeed, alone; for it must be confessed that, except in the few letters of a Csesar, a Pompeius, or an Antonius, the characters exhibited are only reflected in the mirror of Cicero's own mind, troubled and distorted as it frequently was. Even Pompeius, whom he knew so intimately, is placed at times too high—at others, too low; nevertheless, we can recognize, in the delineation, the heir of Sulla's power and principles, f Cicero's faith in the old Republic, of which he could never divest himself altogether, renders him still * We have twenty-two letters to Atticus alone, written in Feb. 705. There are twenty-four written in March. f In reference to Pompeius the Epp. 352., 348., and 398. (Att ix. 11. 7 and xi. 6.) are highly important. 308 L I F E AND LETTERS OE CICERO. more blind with regard to Caesar, who nevertheless stands out in bold relief as the greatest statesman and hero of his day, and whose conduct towards Cicero himself cannot fail to interest and please us. The main interest, however, of these letters, consists in the light they throw upon the character of the writer himself, which, notwithstanding his false views and ever varying sentiments and resolves, is distinctly exposed to our view. In his letters to Atticus he does not spare himself. We discern throughout them his weak side, his prejudices, his irresolution, and frequently his overweening and mistaken self-confidence; we are more than ever assured that, however refined was his mental culture,—-such, indeed, as no earlier age could have given,—however great were the special acts he performed for the Commonwealth, he was deficient in the moral force and grandeur indispensable to one who aspired to control the age, or even to keep his proper place in it. Cato, though not entirely exempt from blame, had at least the glory of remaining true to his own views, and following them even to death; but what period is there in the life of Cicero in which he may not be taxed with feebleness, with shuffling, with shrinking from his principles ? Non omnia possumus omnes. Cicero was endowed by nature with a keen susceptibility to the noble and beautiful; and with a mind peculiarly alive to every impression. Cherishing, moreover, a deep reverence for morality, justice, and order, he gladly turned his thoughts from the corruptions of the age, and took refuge in the contemplation of the nobler past.* * How far was Rome at that period from, the ideal of a well-constituted State, such as Cicero describes in his treatise de Legibus (iii. 12.) ! Ita se res habet, ut si senatus dominus sit publici consilii, quodque is creverit, defendant omnes, et si reliqui crdines principis ordinis consilio rempublicam gubernari velint, possit ex temperantia juris, quumpotestas in populo, auctoritas in senatu sit, teneri ille moderatus et concors civitatis status. A. u. 706. B.C. 48. cic. 59. 309 To a spirit thus appointed, so delicately bred from its youth upward, the principles of aristocracy were no more than natural. In the society of the Optimates or the Best Men he found his congenial elements: through them he had attained greatness, and them he wished to bear rule. Accordingly, we must not reproach him with his incapacity for understanding Caesar, and with finding in Caasar's followers " a kingdom of the dead." l His was * see p. 298. not a nature which could endure being torn up by the roots; and nobler motives for his enmity to the great Dictator might be found in his gratitude and regard for Pompeius, and his fond adherence to a constitution which had been the glory of centuries. On this all his greatness was founded: this had been the object of his life-long care; and it was not therefore possible that he whose mission it was to destroy it should ever gain his real affections. In this one point he remained true to himself amidst all his wavering. Unhappily for him, the Optimates of his day were for the most part no longer in reality the "Best Men," and thus it was impossible but that in pursuing the course he considered right, he should frequently become involved in inconsistencies and error. Living, too, in a degenerate age, he could not remain wholly untainted by the surrounding corruptions, while his habit of living by imagination in the past and the ideal only served to cloud the present, and cripple in him the energy which seizes the moment. That even in this respect he was often success ful; that he vanquished as Consul a Rullus and a Catilina, and saved the State from utter ruin; that his whole career was signalized by many noble exploits, the last year of his life by glorious energy,—all this he owed especially to the circumstance of his being born and bred a Roman. Had he been endowed, on the other hand, with a less exquisite 310 LIFE AND LETTERS OF CICERO. sensibility, we should have lost the sublimest creations of his intellect. If as a statesman he was forced to succumb to Caesar, it is refreshing to learn with what mildness the conqueror treated him, and we rejoice to think that he was destined at last to fall in a worthier struggle with Caesar's less worthy successors. BOOK VOL LETTERS OE C I C E BO, FROM THE BATTLE OF PHARSALIA TO THE DEATH OF C^ESAR? IN THE TEAKS 706—710. B. c. 48—44. CICERO DURING CESAR'S SUPREMACY. BOOK VIII. SURVEY OF HISTORICAL E V E N T S . A.TJ. 707. B.C. 47. Cic. 60. C. JULIUS C^SAR, Dictator; M. ANTONIUS, Magister Equiium. C-2ESAR entrusts the government of the city and of Italy during his absence to M. Antonius. He encounters great difficulties in Egypt where he has espoused the cause of Cleopatra, but is finally successful in the month of March. He remains three months in Egypt, and then proceeds to Asia, where he conquers Pharnaces, son of Mithridates, who had usurped the throne of Pontus, and regulates the internal affairs of the country. On his return to Rome he causes Q. Fufius Calenus, and P . Vatinius, to be made Consuls for the few remaining months of this year, and himself to be elected for the next, resigning at the same time the Dictatorship. After this he again leaves Pome and proceeds to Africa to vanquish the division of the Kepublican army which had allied itself with Juba king of Numidia. A.U. 708. B.C. 46. Cic. 61. C. JULIUS C^SAR III.; M. JEMILIUS LEPIDUS. At the head of an inconsiderable force Caesar encounters the ten legions of Scipio* and the four of Juba, at Thapsus. He gains a complete victory. Juba follows the p 314 L I F E AND LETTERS OF CICERO. example of Cato in ITtica, and puts an end to his own life. Scipio, Faustus Sulla and Afranius perish in their flight. Cassar reduces Numidia to a Roman province. On his return to the city, he enjoys a quadruple triumph in honour of his victories in Gaul, Egypt and Asia, together with his recent successes in Africa. He is named Dictator for ten years, and JPrcefectus Morum for three. Meanwhile Cnseus aud Sextus, the sons of Pompeius, assemble a powerful force in Spain; and Caesar having been appointed Consul, marches against them without delay. His reform of the calendar was effected in this year, which gained three additional months. A.IT. 709. B.C. 45. Cic. 62. C. JULIUS CiESAR IV., sole Consul and Dictator; M. -ZEMILIUS LEPIDUS, Magister Equitum. The Pompeians are routed at Munda on the 17th of March; Cnaeus Pompeius perishes in his flight. Cassar enters Rome in triumph. His person is declared inviolable, and the Dictatorship together with the title of Imperator is decreed him by the Senate. Two Consuls are however elected as usual — Q. Fabius Maximus, {$ujfectus> C. Caninius Rebilus,) and C. Trebonius. A.U. 710. B.C. 44. Cic. 63. C. JULIUS CAESAR, Dictator; M. JEMILIUS LEPIDUS, Magister Equitum; C. JULIUS CAESAR, Consul V. ; M. ANTONIUS. Brutus and Cassius, with others of the Republican party, form a conspiracy against Caesar, at this time engaged in preparations for a wTar with the Parthians, and assassinate him on the 15th of March. A.U. 710. B. c. 44. cic. 63. 315 The following letter which was written by Cicero in the December after his arrival at Brundisium, in deep dejection of mind *, betrays a degree of weakness which even his \^; increased afflictions cannot excuse. " The greatest allevi- xi.V)2' ation you could afford my sufferings, would be to tell me that I have not entirely forfeited the esteem of good men. Thisj alas! you cannot now do. But should you ever have it in your power to give me such an assurance, it will be the greatest possible comfort to me. I see indeed no prospect of it as y e t ; but the course of events may bring about this change in men's opinions, as it has with regard to my refusal to follow Pompeius into Egypt. For this I incurred universal opprobrium, till now that the fatal issue of that journey has induced men to moderate their disapproval of my conduct. At the present time, I am censured for not having gone into Africa, my reason being that I did not approve of seeking aid for the Republic by applying to the most faithless of all barbarians, and that to lead them against an army accustomed to victory. My motives are probably not appreciated; for I hear that many of our best men have gone into Africa *, and many, I know, have long been there.f I am sorely perplexed by all £his. My sole chance of relief is in some, if not all of them, thinking better of their enterprise and consulting their own safety. For if they persist, and actually gain the day, only think what will become of me! 'What,' you will say, c will become of them if they are defeated ?' Why, their failure will be at least honourable. This is * Cato in particular. f Several Pompeians had collected in Africa under the former Praetor, Attius Varus, and the Numidian king, Juba. Curio marched against them, after having made himself master of Sicily, and defeated Varus ; he was, however, afterwards vanquished by Juba, and lost his life in the battle. This took place as early as the year 705. Dio Cass. xli. 41, 42. p 2 316 L I F E AND LETTERS OF CICERO. i EP:m, i.; what distracts me." 1 We must here make a remark (Att.'xi.i * equally applicable to all the passages in Cicero's letters which excite our disapprobation. He is a rare instance of a man who can expose in his confidential outpourings to a friend the most secret feelings of his heart, and all the workings of an imagination which sooner or later was sure to yield to the sterner dictates of reason. Many a great man has probably been assailed in his weaker moments by similar thoughts and feelings, but he has not exposed them to the view of his fellow men, either from being more reserved than Cicero, or from having no Atticus to whom to confide them. But there is this great difference: that the weaknesses of the really great man are stifled and forgotten in his actions; whereas Cicero was subject to frequent recurrences of the constitutional dejection which was the main source of his errors.* We have seen how greatly he valued the esteem of the good; and this he conceived himself to have forfeited by his return to Italy, which wTas looked upon as equivalent to a declaration of submission to the conqueror. In a later letter to Atticus, however, he says : " You wish to know what people feel and say about me. I have found 2jsp.408. I. n o o n e estranged from me." 2 To many of his contemw$t'ten'ii3the poraries, Cicero's character was as well known as it is to ourselves, and his vacillation did not surprise them. Some, * In considering Cicero's unhappy frame of mind and self-reproaches, Hamlet's words have often occurred to me: Cicero might at times have said with him, " I am myself indifferent honest; but yet I could accuse myself of such things that it were better my mother had not borne me We are arrant knaves, all." Act iii. sc. 1. [The real complaint against Cicero is, not that he was weak in character or allowed himself to acknowledge weaknesses of which he was ashamed, but that his moral sense did not revolt against the inconsistency of his conduct and principles. Hamlet accuses himself; Cicero seldom or never. It is to be feared that he felt nothing of the disgrace which his admirers lament and extenuate.] A.U. 710. B.C. 44. cic. 63. 317 also, may have shuddered at the probable consequences of a victory gained by the infuriated Pompeians ; as a specimen of which, Lentulus # had already claimed the house of Hortensius, and Caesar's garden and villa at Baiee, as his share of the booty.1 They did not wonder that Cicero^ E(pjtfl\1' should entertain some dread of the ascendancy of such &f?l.c™£' party. Writing on this subject to Atticus, he says : ^ v i] x ' 6,; (e True it is that Caesar's followers make similar stipulations; but these men are insatiable."2 On this account chiefly2 EP. 398,3. . T i i i (^«.xi.6.) he was anxious tor peace; and this anxiety was redoubled after the battle of Pharsalia. The following is the account given by Plutarch 3 : " W h e n the news of the*™-Cicdefeat of Pompeius arrived at Dyrrachium, where Cicero and several of the leading Pompeians then were, Cato offered to resign to Cicero, as his superior in rank and age, the command of the fifteen cohorts which garrisoned the town. Cicero, however, declined to assume the command, and continued to urge his pacific counsels, till Sextus, the son of Pompeius, became so exasperated against him, that he called him a traitor, and drawing his sword, would have murdered him, had not Cato interfered." Whether it was this occurrence, as some assert, that drove Cicero to separate himself abruptly from his party, and to return into Italy, trusting to Cesar's generosity; or whether he was moved to this step, wThich he speaks of himself as sudden and hasty 4, by other circumstances unknown to us/(^f*x?6g V one thing is clear, that he had now proved by the bitterest experience how little fitted his nature was for the times in which he lived. His lamentations and self-reproaches when speaking afterwards of this error, move our pity 5 : c0^'IJiVi* nor can we greatly blame him for the error itself, for^f x L i 5 , steadier politicians than himself might have now discerned * Consul in the year 705. p 3 318 L I F E AND LETTEKS OE CICERO. that the struggle had become purely a party question, and that the State could look for salvation to the Cassarians alone; but we do blame him, when we find him seeking by unworthy excuses to justify his desertion of a cause he had once so warmly espoused. The letters to Atticus written from Brundisium, from the beginning of November, 706, to the end of the following August*, are the most melancholy of the whole collection. During the period of his exile, Cicero had been harassed by the dread of a reckless and uncompromising adversary; but now he had a nearer and more formidable foe than Clodius in his own uneasy conscience. Thus, while the letters of the former period are more passionate and querulous in tone than those we have now to consider, they do not betray the same painful state of discontent with himself. Then, he had been deserted by a powerful friend in whom he trusted; but now, it was himself who had proved false to that same friend. Then, he was living in banishment from his beloved country, but was supported in the moment of his deepest despondency by the hope of being yet again restored to i t ; now, he was indeed residing in his own country, but it was no longer the same to him, and the contemplation of its present condition added a sting to his self-reproaches. Besides this he was under constant anxiety as to the rei Ep. 398, i. ception his conduct would meet with from Caesar l ; and this andi. i.' ' made him fearful of leaving Brundisium to rejoin his family and Atticus, notwithstanding their urgent appeals and the 2^.396,2.; longing he felt for their society.2 He could not flatter 397. (Att.-ai. ° & J # *.; Dw.xiv. himself that Antonius, left by Csesar at the head of affairs 3 Ep. 404, I. in Italy, entertained any friendly disposition towards him.3 * We possess of this period of time twenty-one letters to Atticus and twelve brief ones to Terentia, besides one to C. Cassius who was with Cassar. A. u, 710. B.C. 44. cic. 63. 319 When Caesar, deceived by false intelligence, imagined Cato to be in Italy, and expressed his displeasure at it to Antonius, the latter wrote to Cicero, and in the same polite terms he had used before the battle of Pharsalia, informed him that he was to leave Italy ; and it was only on Dolabella's assurance that his father-in-law had come there in accordance with Caesar's wishes, that he at length consented to frame ail edict expunging Cicero's name from the list of those who were forbidden to remain in the country. This edict was in itself a cause of vexation to Cicero, inasmuch as it openly represented him as a deserter from his party.* Whether Caesar had expressed such a wish before the battle of Pharsalia, or whether Cicero so interpreted Dolabella's letter from Greece in his favour l , we cannot J EP. m. with certainty decide; but it is evident from many of his letters that he still harboured distrust of the conqueror, whose clemency he had so often experienced. He feared that some one might have whispered to Caesar that he repented of having returned to Italy; that he was dissatisfied with the new order of things. 2 He might appre- 2 EP. 400,2. hend that the opposition Caesar met with in Egypt had had the effect of further irritating him. From December, * Ep. 400, 1. (Att. xi. 7.) {Turn ille edixit ita ut me exciperet et Lcelium nominatim. Quod sane nollem. Poterat enim sine nomine res ipsa excipi. See Manutius, in he. Quo modo poterat sine nomine re ipsa fieri Ciceronis exceptio ? Si sic videlicet Antonius edixisset: Ex omnibus Pompeianis ne cui liceat esse in Italia, nisi quorum causam Ccesar cognoverit, aut de quibus Ccesar scripserit. Quo edicto Cicero non nominatus re ipsa quidem exceptus esset, siquidem DolabellcE Uteris gravius offendi Pompeianos intelligeret tarn aperta significatione : eos porro iratos habere nolebat, si forte, ut incerti sunt bellorum exitus, victores domum revertissent; deinde quod exceptio ilia nominatim facta quasi legem et necessitatem Us qui excipiebantur imponebat, ne discedere ex Italia possent, ne scilicet Ccesaris beneficium aspernari, aut etiam renuntiare viderentur; unde illud in Ep. 404. (Att. xi. 9.) " exceptionibus edictorum retineor,"~\ p 4 320 L I F E AND LETTERS OF CICERO. 706, to June, 707, no letters had been received in Italy from the victorious general, fully occupied and embarrassed i Ep.412. a s n e was.1 At last in July Cicero received one 2 , but {Att. xi. i7.) ki n( j a g w a g j | . g f0ne ^ did n o t remove his anxiety. " What 2 J Ep. 423. ^ (D/y.xiv. a master gives, a master can take away," he writes to s EP. 425. Atticus. 3 Pie suspected also the goodwill of his friends iA!?'x!n?y Balbus and Oppius, Caesar's vicegerents in Rome 4 , who 4 l l Ep. 404,1. ; 3 o {AU. xi. 9) {ia(j encouraged him to hope the best from their leader.5 {Att.'xi.i)' The tidings of Caesar's hazardous position in Egypt, and of the strength of the Pompeians in Africa, the general expectation moreover of their speedy return to Italy, news at which he would have rejoiced a few months earlier, now served only to increase his disquietude. He cordially hated Caesar's cause, and indulged no hopes of personal advantage from him; while from his own party he could anticipate only injustice, and in the event of their success how could he venture to meet them? " I can discover nowhere any ground for hope," he writes to Atticus 6 , 6 Ep. 411, 1. . . {Ait.xx. 16.) "especially since Caesar has met with this repulse;"* and in bitter repentance of the false step he had taken in returning; to Italy, he says in another letter 7 : " My own & 7 Ep. 404, 1. J ' . J J {Att. xi. 9.) error has been my rum. 1 cannot attribute my mislortunes to accident. I have brought them all upon myself." But nothing grieved him so much as the unjustifiable conduct of his brother. -Quintus it was, who in the preceding year had urged him to leave Italy and repair to Pompeius; upon which Caesar, who in reality disliked the 8 9 Ep 407, 1. vounffer brother , and had shown him favour solely on 8 Ep. xi. 12 ) "•' (Att. 404, 2. © J {Att. xi. 9) Marcus's account, remarked that he had sounded the trumpet for the latter's retreat into Greece.9 After the battle * The disasters which Caesar met with at this time are mentioned in Ep. 411, 1. He says in the same place: Mora Alexandrina causam illorum (Pompeianorum in Asia et Grecia) correxit, meam evertit. A.U. 710. B.C. 44. cic. 63. 321 of Pharsalia, however, Quintus sent his son to the conqueror*, for the double purpose of securing his own pardon^ and accusing his brother, who he fancied was labouring to prejudice Csesar against h i m x : indeed he \£f'^\ seems himself to have sought him in Asia, and to have had a personal interview with him at Antioch. 2 « ^.425. These machinations were however ineffectual; for Caesar knew and respected Cicero, and indeed for his sake pardoned his brother 3 , who as soon as he saw that 3 EPP.425.; 1 . ' 426. (Att.SLi. Marcus was safe, wrote him a warm letter of congratula- 20>21) tion.4 From our contemplation of the weak side ^\Jtf'J%\ Cicero's character, we gladly turn to the nobler aspect in which the following trait presents it to us. On hearing that Csesar regarded Quintus as the instigator of his brother's hostility towards him, he wrote to mollify his anger and implore forgiveness for him, notwithstanding he had treated himself so ill f5; he also took care that 5 EP. 407,1. . % ' # . (Att. xi. 12.) certain of Qumtus's letters, which fell accidentally into his hands, and which he found to contain odious reflections upon himself, should not operate to his disadvantage.^ 6/J;f'^4$\m * Probably from Patrae in Achaia; whither several Pompeians, and Quintus among them (Ep. 396, 5., Att. xi. 5.) had repaired. j* Cicero was not at that time aware of the full extent of his brother's baseness; but the latter had used violent language against him after his arrival at Brundisium. (Comp. Ep. 407, 1. with 404, 2.) Cicero's immediate inducement for writing this letter to Caesar was the fear lest he should imagine he had not followed his own opinions in the choice of a party. His fraternal affection, however, is also clearly apparent in it. J [A packet of Quintus's letters, directed to his friends, came it seems into Cicero's hands. Some of these he transmitted at once to the persons for whom they were intended, who presently came to him full of concern at the atrocious things they contained against him. Thereupon, Cicero opened the remaining letters (hoc ego dolore accepto volui scire quid scrip' sisset ad cceteros), and sent them to Atticus for his inspection, leaving it to his judgment whether they should be resealed (nam quod resignatce sunt, habet, opinor, ejus signum Pomponia) and conveyed to their destination. p 5 322 L I F E AND LETTEES OF CICERO. He forwarded to Atticus a copy of his intercessory letter on this occasion, and added these words: " Should I ever again find myself in Caesar's society (although I have no doubt that he will as he promised show clemency to my brother), I shall be the same as I have always been." Thus could Cicero write, although in a previous letter he [Itt.'iiX) n a ^ declared *: u My brother has acted in a manner of which I could not have deemed him capable; and he has caused me more pain than I ever felt before." He had now another cause of anxiety in the serious illness of his beloved Tullia, whose marriage with Dolabella had turned out most unhappily. She was now at a £/>/>.397.; Rome 2 , and on her account Cicero denied himself the y 398, 2. (Div. xjv^i9.; AU. pleasure of a visit from Atticus. " A l a s ! " he writes 3 , 3 EP. 4oo, 2. €C what a calamity ! What can I say ? I must be brief, for my tears gush forth as I write. I leave everything to you; do you advise me Excuse more, for my grief and tears warn me to dwell no longer on this subject. I can only add that nothing affords me so much gratification as your regard for Tullia." Much as he disliked Brundisium, which place he fancied disagreed with his health, he appears to have prolonged 4 Epp. 410, u his residence there for ten months.4 During this time he 414." 426.; . . . . 42772. ('AU. received accounts of certain proceedings of his son-in-law xi 15 18 21 22 > which greatly vexed him. Dolabella, who was of the Equestrian order, had got himself adopted, as Clodius had done, into a Plebeian family, for the sake of obtaining the Tribunate, a circumstance which must in itself have caused Cicero some bitter recollections. He had been favoured by Caasar; but embarrassed by his extravagance, This is a curious trait of the morality of the times, not so much as regards the act itself, which may perhaps admit of some excuse, as from the evident unconsciousness of the writer that it requires any.] A. u. 710. B. a 44. 63. GIG. 323 and desirous of popularity, he aimed at a violent measure for the reduction of debts, against the policy of Caesar's and his lieutenant's regulations. Tumults arose in Rome* and the blood of citizens was shed; nor was tranquillity restored until Caesar's return. Dolabella himself was however pardoned. The antagonist of Catilina and Rullus could not witness such proceedings without distress; but the father suffered not less concern. The marriage portion of Tullia, the second instalment of which had been paid *, her disso-1 %P- 41 6,2. 1 / (Att. xi. 25.); lute husband had squandered; and now when it was morecomP-P-*305than ever apparent that a separation between them must eventually take place, the time had arrived for the payment of the remainder of the money.2 Cicero still shrank2 EV. 417,2. however from urging on this separation, on account of ' ' Caesar's continued favour towards Dolabella 3 ; but it took3 EP.m. (Ih'z/..xiv. 13.) place at last, though at what period we are not informed. Cicero's domestic peace was further disturbed by disagreements with his wife, which ended in a divorce. Terentia appears to have incurred debts, and to have acted dishonestly by her husband's property. The name of Philotimus, of whom whilst in his province Cicero made such bitter complaints 4 , occurs in connexion with that of4 see p. 251. Terentia. He had been heard to say that she had behaved abominably.* 5 Tullia's means depended in some measure5 EP. 411,3. 1 • rv . (Att.xi. 16.) on her mother, and on this account Cicero urged his wife to make a will, and was impatient at her delay.6 Having 6^.417,2.; lent large sums to Pompeius, he was himself now in such xi. 23] 24.) \ want of money that he had parted with a valuable estate.77 Epp.zw,; T , , T I T . 394 4 In such circumstances he was unable to derive anv -' 6 . . - (Att.-sX. Biv xiv - - -); comp. solace even from his daughter's visit to him at Brundisium f^f ^Atu in June. One from his wife he had already declined.8 8 Ep. 395. J * \Auditum ex Philotimo est earn seelerate qucedam facere. ] p 6 {Biv. xiv. 12.) 324 L I F E AND LETTERS OF CICERO. i f xl12iV With reference to his daughter's visit, he writes *: ss I do not derive all the pleasure I might expect from the society of a daughter of such rare virtue and merit, so pure and noble in nature, and so tender in her affection for me. On the contrary, it grieves me to see so much excellence involved in misery, and this owing to no fault of her own, but solely to my own unpardonable errors." He was now fully convinced that he had sorely deceived himself in trusting to Pompeius for the Republic; but still he could not regard Caesar in any other light than as the cause of her ruin and of his own misfortunes. " You 2 Ep.sm. compare," he writes to Atticus 2 , " the present times with those of Sulla. There was less moderation then, but men's aims were loftier and nobler." But Caesar was now about to return, flushed with his recent successes in Greece, Egypt and Asia. The manner in which he had conducted himself towards Cicero during his absence, the disregard he had paid to the accusations of Quintus, the friendly tone in which he had addressed him, and, lastly, the permission he had accorded him of retaining the title of Impe3 Pro Lfgar. rator with the laurelled fasces 3 might have reassured him; but he could feel nothing but distrust. Caesar had sent on the abusive letters of Quintus to his confidants Oppius and Balbus, and this, which he did only as marking his disapprobation of their contents, Cicero misinterpreted as * EP. 427, i. a spiteful publication of his calamities.4 Now that the (Alt. xi. 22.) I I chief's return was expected, he would fain have sent his 5 Epp. 412.; son to meet him 5 ; but his intentions were frustrated by J 413. (Att.xi. . 17.; Diir.ix. s o m e delay in Caesar's movements, Gladly would he have 6 Ep. 426. avoided a personal meeting 6 , but he dared not keep aloof. (Att. xi. 21 ) l ' r\ -n i • Caesar landed at Tarentum m September. For the circumstances which follow we must quote Plutarch; for, unfortunately, Cicero's letters give us no information relative to the first meeting. " W h e n news came that A.U. 710. B.C. 44. cic. 63. 325 Csesar was landed at Tarentum, and was coming round by land to Brundisium, Cicero went to him, not being altogether without hope, but feeling shame in the presence of many persons to make trial of a man who was his enemy and victorious. However, there was no need for him to do or say anything unworthy of himself; for when Caesar saw Cicero coming forward to meet him at some distance from his attendants, he got down and embraced him, and talking with him alone, walked several stadia. From this time he continued to show respect to Cicero and friendly behaviour." J 39F Cicero now left Brundisium. Of his lictors or of a triumph we hear nothing further: the sight of Csesar had put all such ideas to flight. In the beginning of October he was at Tusculum. In December we have a letter from Rome; the first cheerful one after so many gloomy epistles of the preceding months. T H E YEAR 708. The effect of Csesar's return upon the spirits of Cicero may be likened to the influence of the sun, when it dispels long gathering clouds, and restores serenity to the heavens. In the letters which now follow, the great orator appears like one just 'awakened from slumbers oppressed with frightful dreams. Undeceived at last as to his hopes and confidence in himself, submitting to be flattered and protected by the man whom he regarded as iris opponent, and against whom he had so loudly and openly declared himself, he now sought in his darling studies the peace and consolation to which he had been so long a stranger. From a letter to his friend Partus, written in the summer 326 L I F E AND LETTERS OF CICERO. of 708, we may gather in what manner he comported himi EP.4m,i. self under Caesar's rule. 1 " I have nothing to fear from (Div. ix. 16.) , , ' o , . . the autocrat, except in so tar as everything is uncertain when once the right has been departed from, and no one can answer for what the future may bring forth, which is at the pleasure, not to say at the caprice, of a single individual. However, I have avoided giving him offence, and, on the contrary, take care to conduct myself with the utmost moderation. For as once I deemed it my business as member of a free State to use freedom of speech, so now with the loss of liberty I feel it my duty to say nothing which may excite the displeasure either of Ca3sar or his associates Those philosophers who alone appear to me to understand the true signification of virtue, hold that the wise man is answerable for his faults only. Of such I am doubly innocent; first, inasmuch as my sentiments were just and right; and secondly, because when I saw right could no longer be maintained, I advised against contending with superior force. Thus, in the performance of my duties as a good citizen, I am certainly free from blame. I t only remains for me to do nothing foolishly and rashly against the men in power, and in this, it appears to me, I shall be acting the part of a wise man As the records of the Greeks are full of instances of how the wisest men of Athens or of Syracuse submitted to the yoke [of tyrants], and while their country was enslaved, preserved in a certain sense their personal freedom, shall I not deem myself capable of maintaining my position so as neither to offend the pride of any one, nor injure my own dignity?" # We have certainly no right to blame * Est aliquid in nostris consiliis, licetque inter abruptam contumaciam et deforme obsequium pergere iter ambitione et periculis vacuum. Tac. Ann. Iv. 20. A. u. 710. B.C. 44. cic. 63. 327 these sentiments as long as Cicero could view those of others without intolerance, and could honour and appreciate a greatness which was foreign to his own nature* That he had this merit we see from the judgment he pronounced upon Cato (who had put an end to his own life in Utica that he might not survive his country's freedom), whose panegyric he undertook to write. " Cato cannot be praised without signalizing his firmness and earnestness of purpose, and this must needs be displeasing to Caesar's friends. For he foresaw the state of things wThich has come to pass ; he strove with all his power against it, and he gave up life that he might not witness its accomplishment." 1 And now Cicero experienced abundantly the 1 ^.45,1. truth he so beautifully expresses in his speech for the poet Archias.2 " Letters nourish the young, gladden the aged, 2 Pro Arch. add grace to prosperity, and afford in adversity a refuge and a solace." In the interval between his return to Rome and the assassination of Caesar, he wrote works of great importance ; and although he could no longer shine in the Forum as a statesman and a free citizen, his eloquence was frequently exerted in the cause of humanity, and sometimes succeeded in vanquishing the victor himself. In the beginning of the year 708 he writes to his learned friend Varro, whose position was politically much the same as his own 3 : " Be it known to you that no sooner had I re- 3 Ep. 431. -1 i • i T i • • i (Div. ix. 1.) turned to the city, than 1 renewed my connexion with my old friends—my books." Again, in another letter, he , says 4 : " Although nothing can be sadder than the present 4 Ep.m. times, I know not how it is, but my favourite occupations seem to produce richer fruit than formerly; whether it is because I can now take refuge in nothing else, or because the virulence of a disorder makes us appreciate medicines we set little store by in health." And again 5 : " I lookup-*&-' J ° upon these Tusculan days of yours as the model of a true {Div. ix. 6.) 328 L I F E AND LETTEPwS OF CICERO. life* and gladly would I give up all I possess to be able to lead such a life without hindrance myself. I do imitate you as far as I can, and I find a welcome repose in my studies. Why, indeed, should it not be permitted me, since my country either will not or cannot avail itself of my services, to return to that course for which, though perhaps improperly, some would authorize us to renounce all public action ? " Cicero moreover was proudly conscious that his studies might prove serviceable to the State, should it not disdain to profit by them. " L e t us," he writes iEp.uo._ as;ain toVarro 1 , "resolve to pursue, in common, those (Div. IX. 2.) & 7 *• ? * studies whence in former times we sought pleasure only, but to which we must now look for all our welfare, yet not refuse to hasten at call to build up the Republic, not as architects only, but even as plain workmen. Will none employ us ? Yet, let politics be the subject of our writings and of our studies; and if not in the Curia or the Forum, let us, like the most learned men of old, serve the State amongst our books and letters, and investigate the principles »comp.d which he dedicated to M. Brutus, to A.u. 710. B.C. 44. cic. 63. 329 whom Cassar had given the government of Cisalpine Gaul. The Partitiones Oratorio? and the Orator1, likewise d e d i - * 5 | ^ ; ^ . ; cated to Brutus, were produced the same year.* Of the^^p.^.* " Panegyric on Cato" we reserve a more particular mention J?.1 it){Dw' to a future page. Abandoning more and more all idea of public activity, and resolved, should Csesar permit it, to withdrawT entirely from politics2, his love for oratory« 7 |PP.gu was still ardent 3 , and he was pleased with instructing^ i, ) 33,; ix* others in the art in which he thought no more to exercise3 Ep. 437. , a himself.4 He compares himself in this to Dionysius of 100 Syracuse, who, after he was expelled from his dominions, (Divl VH.'M.) kept a school at Corinth.5 IDWAXIIS.) In the cause of a friend, however, or of any one who shared his political views, he could not but recall the power his words had once possessed, and found it impossible to adhere to his resolution. Thus he defended Q. Ligarius, who had incurred Csesar's hostility by the activity he had displayed on behalf of his adversaries in the African war.f Before this too, when Cassar, yielding to the petition of the whole Senate, had pardoned one of his bitterest opponents, M. Marcellus, the Consul for the year 703, Cicero seized the opportunity to move Cesar's natural kindness in behalf of others, on a day " when the old ^Republic appeared to live again." " I had made up my mind," he writes to Sulpicius6, " n o t from indolence, but^;* v 6 ;^, * This date is assigned in preference to an earlier one from the words cap. 1., Quoniam aliquando Komce exeundi potestas data est. The priority of the Brutus to the de Finibus, appears from Ep. 449, 4. compared with Brut. 26. See also Ellendt's edition, p. 9. The Orator was begun immediately oirthe completion of the Panegyric on Cato, Or. 10. The Paradoxa were written, as we may infer from the introduction, before Cato's death, perhaps at the beginning of 708.J f Cicero addressed to Ligarius, before his public defence of him, two letters of consolation, which have come down to us. (Epp. 465. ; 475. Div. vi. 13, 14.) Schiitz proves that it is not the oration pro Ligar. which is mentioned in the latter letter. This is spoken of in Epp. 603, 2.; 610, 2. 330 LIFE AND LETTERS OF CICERO. from wistful remembrance of the reputation I once enjoyed, to be from henceforth silent. But the magnanimity of Caesar and the courteousness of the Senate have shaken my resolution. Accordingly I thanked Caesar in a long speech *; and now I dread lest I should be deprived, on other occasions, of the honourable leisure which has been my sole consolation in my misfortunes. Since, however, I have escaped offending him who perhaps might have construed my continued silence into a declaration that this was no Commonwealth at all, I will for the future be moderate, and even submissive, so as both to obey him and indulge my own desire for study." To those who seek it so nobly and so wisely, consolation is never denied. We find Cicero soon, not only cheerful, but gay, as his letters to Paetus in particular bear witness. Writing to his friend from Tusculum in i Ep.m. June, he says 1 : " T h e resolution I have formed to give (Div. ix. 18.) . . . . lessons in rhetoric gives me much satisfaction, for I shall gain much by it. First of all, it will serve to fortify me against the times, of which I have at present the greatest need. How far this will be so I know not, but 1 see as yet no reason to prefer any one's advice to this; unless, indeed, I had better have died — in my bed I mean — * Wolf, as is well known, has endeavoured to prove that the speech we have under the title Pro M. Marcello is not Cicero's, and Spalding has adduced additional arguments on the same side. Many critics, ^however, maintain its genuineness. [There is no doubt that the speech was held to be Cicero's by Asconius, i. e. within the Augustan age; and the internal arguments against it are shown by Drumann and others to be anything but conclusive. The strongest circumstance against it, such as it is, is Plutarch's anecdote that Caesar, on occasion of Cicero's speech for Ligarius, said he had not heard him " for a long time ;" whereas, if Cicero really addressed him for Marcellus, there could have been but a few months' interval. But it is sufficient to reply that Plutarch's anecdotes are not always to be relied on. Among the most recent critics, Nobbe and Bruckner admit the oration without difficulty.] A. u. 710. B.C. 44. cic. 63. 331 which I am willing to allow, but no such fate was in store for me. I was not present at the battle. Some indeed,— Pompeius, your friend Lentulus, Scipio, Afranius, perished miserably.* Cato had an illustrious end ; and such an end may be my own should I desire it, but I shall take care that it be not so necessary for me as it was for him. So much for the first advantage which will accrue to me. Secondly, the occupation conduces to the recovery of my health, which suffered from want of exercise; and then again my oratorical talents, such as they are, would have withered away without employment. Lastly (which perhaps you would have placed first), I have partaken already of more peacocks •)• than you have even of pigeons." Again: " I have thrown off all my care for the Republic, all my meditations on wThat I was to speak in the Senate, all study of causes, and have thrust myself into the camp of my adversary Epicurus." x He describes, also, with con-1 Ep. 456. siderable humour, a banquet which he, the man "Quern adspectabant, cujics ob os Graii ora obvertebant sua"% enjoyed at the house of Volumnius, in company with the courtezan Cytheris.2 Vast indeed is the difference between these 2 Ep. 474. J m # letters and those written from Brandisium! It was not only to Partus that he exhibited himself in this cheerful * Lentulus, the Consul of 705, was seized and put to death by command of the Egyptian king Ptolemasus, after the death of Pompeius. Scipio, the father-in-law of the latter, perished in his flight, after the overthrow of the Eepublicans in Africa. Afranius, who had fled to Mauretania after the battle of Thapsus, was made prisoner, and, according to Dio (xliii. 12.), murdered by Caesar's orders. Hirtius gives a different account. (Bell. Afric. 95.) f At the tables of Hirtius and Dolabella, whom he instructed in the art of oratory. J A verse from Telamon, a tragedy of Ennius. We meet with it also in the Tusculan Disputations, iii. 18. This Cytheris was the woman with whom Antonius made his progress through Italy. See Ep. 376. (Att. x, 10.) {JJiv. ix. 26.) 332 LIFE AND LETTERS OE CICERO. light; nor was it a mere passing mood expressed in isolated letters. Many others, written in no jesting vein, show that he enjoyed peace and resignation, while he took i.Ep.441. a wholesome interest in life, his occupations, his family \ (Alt. xii. 1.) J r . and in nature. Cicero was now, too, once again enjoying the society of his beloved Atticus. He had written to him from Tusculum in J u n e : " As I live, neither this darling villa, no, nor the Isles of the Blest themselves, would ever. a Ep.444. compensate me for losing your society days together." 2 And again: " When I was in Rome, and in immediate anticipation of seeing you, the hours of waiting seemed 3 Ep.449,6. insufferably long to me." 3 How must Atticus have {Att. xii. 5.)j . . . rejoiced in the friendship of such a man, who confided to him every thought, every whim and caprice of his rich and noble nature, and who, vacillating and sensitive as he was, to him at least remained always the same ! *Ep.us. Tiro also had rejoined him 4 : and how keenly he still (Att. xii. 4.) relished the sweets of friendly intercourse appears from his words to Partus: " Although I cannot but confess that I am loved and honoured by many, yet of all my friends none is dearer to me than yourself That you love me, and have loved me from the beginning, is one great cause of my partiality, perhaps the chief cause: but this is the case also with many others, while your amiable disposition and your agreeable qualities are peculiar to you *Ep.m, i alone."5 This period is more fertile than any other in (Div. IX, 15.) r # # ^ familiar letters addressed to a variety of friends. As Cicero had himself experienced how invaluable are the consolations of true friendship in times of public calamity, so he now did all he could by word and deed to comfort, assist, or save such of his friends as were suffering from e Epp. 434.; the hardship of the times.6 Cseeina wrote to him from 437."-'465.;' hi s banishment: " You have been so much in the habit of 514. (Div. A.U. 710. B.C. 44. cic. 63. 333 exerting yourself for your friends, that they do not merely xm. 29.78. . . . . 79. 10.; vi. 13. hope for your assistance, but demand it as their right." 1 12.) Quintus was again in Rome 2, but his brother makes ] ^p' ^' 5 * only cursory mention of him. Harmony could not have(^"-xii,1-> been entirely restored between them, and the feelings of Marcus must have been shocked by seeing the part which Quintus took in promoting his son's entrance into the college of the Luperci 3 ; his object in so doing being to z EP. 449^1. flatter Caesar.* Cicero continued to live on friendlyuterms with Dolabella, as, although the separation between him and Tullia had now taken place, he could not venture to break with him on account of the favour shown him by Caesar. He sent Tiro to meet him on his return from the African campaign 4 ; and after this time saw a great deal * EP. 449, §. of him, both as a guest at his luxurious table and as his instructor in the art of rhetoric. 5 A friendship such as this, 5 EPp.450,2.; . . 471- (Div. of a purely political nature, could not satisfy the cravings^.16.; vii. of his heart, but for these he found ample solace in other members of his family. How touching are the following words, written to Atticus from the country: " O that I might hasten forthwith to the embraces of my Tullia and of your own Attica! Let me hear, whilst I remain at Tusculum, what the child prattles about, or, if she is in the country, what she writes to you." 6 He was also pecu- 6 %P- *4U; liarly alive at this time to the beauties of nature, a taste for (£"•xii-!which is frequently associated with such strong domestic affections as his were. He would gladly have left Rome, sa place calculated to awaken only sad recollections, but he was afraid of doing so lest such a step might be * To the two ancient colleges of the Luperci a third was added in honour of Caesar — the Julian. Many of the Eoman youth, particularly from the higher ranks, sought, out of flattery to Caasar, to be received into this association, which as well as the whole Lupercalian ceremonial gave scandal to respectable and enlightened persons. 334 L I F E AND LETTERS OF CICERO. construed as a sign that he contemplated leaving Italy. He did not therefore go into the country till May. Part of June and July he spent at Tusculum; and in August and September we find him in his villas near Cumas and i Ep. 459. Antium. ci Nothing" he writes l9 " is more to my taste (Att.X3i.9J • ? i - 7 i than solitude; nothing can be pleasanter than this abode, the shore, the view over the sea, and everything else."* When again compelled to return to Rome he met friends there who were clear to him, and, with his old love for the city still strong within him, he found his residence there as agreeable as under the circumstances it could be. He thus describes his manner of life to Peetus: " In the morning I receive visits from many of the dejected Optimates, as well as from the exulting conquerors, who always observe the most marked respect towards me. When these visits are over, I bury myself with my books, and read or write. Then men, slightly my in* feriors in learning, come to be instructed by me. All the rest of my time is given to the things of the body.f I have mourned over my country more deeply and more 2 Ep.466. constantly than ever mother did for her only son."2 (Div. ix. 20.) j>u£ a jj these enjoyments would have failed in restoring Cicero's peace of mind, had he not attained a consciousness that, though his conduct had been erroneous, and in single instances he had swerved from duty, still, in the great catastrophe of his country, in heart and purpose he had remained true to her. Neither in Greece nor at Brundisium had he been blessed with this conviction; but nowTime had exerted its usual softening influence, and en* The words following this passage deserve notice : Sed neque hcec digna longioribus Uteris, nee erat quod scriberem; et somnus urgebat. f [Inde corpori omne tempus datur: a phrase implying all the care a man hestows upon the preservation of his health ; his meals, his exercise and his relaxation.] A,TJ. 710. B.C. 44. cic. 63. 335 abled him to forget his weaknesses in the sense of his purity of intention. We learn this from a letter to his friend Marius, written in the summer.x Even in the 1 Ep. 4 2 5 beginning of the year 708 we find him telling his former Quasstor, Mescinius, that he derives comfort from the purity of his intentions and principles as well as in letters. 2 To Sulpicius he thus expresses himself: "Al- 2 ^.438. though I yield to none in my sorrow for the public misfortunes, I have nevertheless much to console me, especially in the rectitude of my past conduct; for long ago I discerned, as from a watch-tower, the impending storm." 3 And doubtless he was sincere in his words to 3 Ep.46i. (Div. iv. 3.) Marius: " I saw no cause to resolve upon death, but much to wish for it; for it is an old saying, ' When you can no longer be what once you were, you have no reason to wish to live.' I t is, however, a great consolation to be free from blame*; especially as in my case I possess two sources of comfort, in the enjoyment of the highest kinds of knowledge and in the fame of my glorious deeds. As long as I live nothing can rob me of the first; death itself will not deprive me of the second."4 4 EP. m. His words to Mescinius mark the difference between his own character and that of Cato : u I will speak the truth ; you appear to me to possess that more gentle and tender disposition which belongs to most of us who have been bred in personal and public freedom."3 To Varro, who 5 Ep.438. ? 1 i • • -1 1 • - r » « i T x i 1 • i com P- &75. had invited him to J3aia3, he replies: " I s that the right (-P^-y.'21-* 7 s x & Att. xii. 46.) place for us whilst our country is in flames?"6 To 6 Ep.439. Partus he wrrites: " I must rest satisfied with what is granted me. The man who cannot content himself with this ought to die. They are measuring [by Caesar's orders] the domains of Veii and Capena. The latter * If Cicero extends this expression to earlier years, he certainly flatters himself too much. 336 L I F E AND LETTERS OE CICERO. place is not far from Tusculum. I fear nothing, however *, but abandon myself to present enjoyment, only hoping it may last. Should it be otherwise appointed, hero and sage as I am, having deliberately chosen Life, I must needs give my affection to the man by whose i Ep, 455. generosity life is secured to me." 1 Never, in truth, did the citizen of a Republic lose his freedom to a nobler master than to Caesar. His clemency proceeded as much from his native generosity as from views of policy, though unfortunately it yielded in the end to the passion of self-aggrandizement. Cicero brings it forward as a ground of consolation to his friends of the Pompeian party who had not yet been pardoned. Thus, writing to Ligarius, whose fear of the conqueror kept him at a distance from Rome, he says: (e Caesar will not be harsher towards you than towards others; for circumstances, the lapse of time, public opinion, and, I believe, his native disposition, concur in rendering him daily more 2 Ep.m. lenient." 2 To Caacina, who was also in banishment, he writes : " Caesar is mild and merciful by nature Besides, he delights in men like you of distinguished talent. He yields to many whose petitions are just and dictated by a sense of duty, but not to the vain and 3£P.47o.; ambitious."3 Again to Marcellus, so magnanimously (Div.'vi. 6. pardoned by Caesar, he says : " The autocrat favours men of genius, and sets as high a value upon true superiority and dignity in others, as circumstances and his own f * In this respect Cicero certainly had nothing to fear from Caesar. [The land measuring refers to a projected assignment of estates to Caesar's veterans.] f [I consider the key to much of Cicero's recent despondency, and the sudden rebound of cheerfulness we observe at this time, to be the apprehension he was led by his study of earlier Roman history to entertain of slaughter and confiscation upon the establishment of Caesar's authority, now falsified by the remarkable mildness he exhibited. It is the extreme surprise he felt at this unexpected moderation that accounts for the ex- A.u. 710. B.C. 44. oic. 63. 337 interests permit." 1 In fact Caesar united in his o w n 1 ^ . ^ . person all the qualities that the Roman world then needed. Nature herself had stamped him for a ruler at the period when Rome could no longer exist without one. As a soldier and a general he ranked higher than any of his countrymen, and had won for himself the admiration of the progeny of Mars. His love of literature and of art, and of all that conduces to refined civilization, commended him to an age highlv sensible of their attractions. 2 His^fp-4?9° ° (l)iv. vi. 5, humanity is testified by the honourable manner in which he invariably mentioned the name of Pompeius 3 , and b y ^ j - ^ his forgiveness of Ligarius, from whom he had received many provocations, and whose subsequent treachery was probably not unsuspected by him. When Q. Tabero brought forward his accusation against this Ligarius*, who had been long languishing in a species of banishment, Ca3sar resolved upon his full condemnation, and made no secret of his intention to his friends, though at the same time he consented to hear Cicero's public defence of him in the Forum. He believed himself fully armed against the pleadings of his natural clemency, and he held papers in his hand relative to the accusation, by referring to which he trusted to secure himself against any impression which the orator's eloquence might produce upon his mind. When, however, the speech turned upon his own noble qualities, and mention was made of the battle of Pharsalia, his firmness forsook him. He thought of Pompeius, and of the uncertainty of fortune, and every consideration at travagant panegyrics, as they seem to us, he lavishes upon it in the speech for Marcellus, which have even induced some modern critics to question its genuineness. It requires no little insight into the frightful character of the Roman revolutions to appreciate Cassar's merits in this respect, and the deep and lasting sense his countrymen entertained of it.] * De vi. What is ahove related is taken from Plutarch (Cic. 39.). See also Quint. Inst. Or. ix. 2. 38. Q 338 L I F E AND LETTERS OE CICERO. length was borne down by the impulse of his native generosity. His colour changed, he trembled violently, and the papers fell from his hand. Ligarius was pardoned. The words by which Cicero had worked upon the conqueror's mind were these: " No quality is so popular as kindness; for none of your numerous virtues are you more beloved and admired than for your merciful nature. It is in conferring benefits on mankind that men approach nearest to the level of the gods. The greatest gift which fortune has bestowed upon you is the power, the noblest attribute of your nature is the will, to do good to the multitude." In the letters of this period we have evidence of Cassars desire to console Cicero for the fall of the Republic. " At that time," says the orator, writing to Figulus, " no wish occurred to me which Caesar did not anticipate. . . . . I have met with the kindest treatment from him." Again to Caacina he says: " Every day Caesar's regard for me seems to increase." How much pleasure Cassar derived from the treasures of his wit and intellect, we see from the following passage in the letter to Partus above referred to : " If I am altogether to avoid giving offence by my sharp or witty sayings, I must resign all pretensions to be considered a wit, which I should be ready enough to do were it possible. Caasar himself, however, has a nice sense pf discrimination. I hear that he has already collected some volumes of Apophthegms, and that he rejects any which are brought to him falsely ascribed to me; and this he is the better able to do now, as his intimate friends live almost daily with me. In the varied course of our conversation many things which I may have said perhaps appear to them not wanting in wit or pungency. These are retailed to Cassar along with every thing else which is done in Rome, in obedience to his express commands*; * Cassar had not yet returned from his African campaign. A. u. 710. B. c. 44. Cic. 63. 339 and thus it happens, he pays no attention to any thing which he may hear of me from any other quarter."* This letter and many others of the same period prove how good an understanding existed between the writer and Csesar's confidential friends. Thus he says to Ampius "f: " All Csesar's friends are bound to me fortunately by ties both of friendship and of old habit, so that I stand next to their chief in their estimation. Pansa, Hirtius, Balbus, Oppius, Matius, Posthumius, all testify the greatest regard forme." 1 His presence often graced the splendid tables I2f^i14f91 of Hirtius, Dolabella, and others of the foremost Csesarians, ^ ^ ^ and they on their part did not disdain to appear at his 6,; 1X*20,) more simple board.2 Balbus was so intimate with him3^p.454. r (Div. ix. 19, that on one occasion, returning to Rome from some journey, he repaired in the first instance to his house.3 In fact the 3 Ep. 432. partizans of the autocrat appear to have felt with him how important an acquisition Cicero was likely to prove, and even if his active services could not be secured, his mere presence in Rome, and his neutrality were advantages they could not overlook. Like their master also they could appreciate the refinement and wit displayed in his conversation. Nevertheless, it cannot be denied that the great orator had lost much. He who could once with reason boast that he had saved Rome, whom a grateful people had once * [Duruy, Hist des Romains, ii. 532., has a few biting words on this part of Cicero's conduct: '* Content de la royaute qu'il avait toujours, cello de resprit, il ne laissait percer ses regrets qu'en de malignes plaisanteries. Ce role de frondetir spirituel plaisait a Cesar; il se delassait de l'adulation. Chaque matin ou lui apportait les bons mots de Ciceron et il wa faisait nn recueil. L' ancien consulaire, le pere de la patrie, devenu le bouffon de la tyrannie!"] f T. Ampins Balbus (who must not be confounded with L. Cornelius Balbus) had done much for Pompeius in his struggle with Caesar, and had obtained the appellation of the Trumpet of Civil War. He is mentioned, Ep. 334, B. and 372, 1. (Att. Tui. 11.; Biv. ii. 16.) Q2 340 L I F E AND LETTEES OF CICERO. hailed as Father of his Country, who had afterwards upheld for a brief period the dignity of the Senate and the power of the Optimates, and whose very banishment proved his importance in public estimation, was now compelled to Efv vf222.) sa7> " •• ^ e e l t n a t •• c a n ^° b Llt ^ile;"* and again, in a letter " " Ep.473,2. to Partus 2 : " You talk to me of Catulus and those times. Wherein do they resemble these? Then I refused to withdraw from the guardianship of the Republic, for I sat at the helm and held the rudder* ; but now there is scarcely a place for me in the hold of the ship. Would one decree the less be passed if I were at Naples ? Now that I am in Rome and constantly present in the Forum, the decrees of the Senate are enrolled in the presence of your favourite and my friend (Caesar). When he chooses, my name is affixed to them, as if I had been present; and I hear of such an one having been carried into Asia or Armenia, purporting to have been framed in accordance with my advice, before I have even been told that it was in contemplation. I would not have you think that I am jesting, for it is a fact that I have received letters from the sovereigns of the most remote districts of the world, thanking me for recognizing their titles — men of whose very existence I was ignorant." (Caesar was induced to take these liberties with Cicero's name by his anxiety to preserve the appearance of respecting ancient forms). Nor could Cicero regard without emotion the fate which had befallen many of his companions among the Pompeians, though well aware that if successful they would have been even far less merciful than their opponents. He saw their property confiscated, and distributed amongst the adherents of Caesar. He had to mourn also many of his most distinguished countrymen, many of his *• This refers to Cicero's refusal to undertake the government of a province immediately after the conclusion of his Consulate. A.U. 710. B.C. 44. cic. 63. 341 private friends who had fallen in the civil war.1 We r e - 1 ^ - ^ member how he shuddered on first seeing Cesar's retinue. Custom had probably blunted the edge of the feelings he then experienced, and he knew that many men of honour and reputation, and favourably disposed towards himself, had joined their destiny to the conqueror's. Yet, he writes to Sulpicius in the autumn of this year: " Y o u regret your determination (to undertake the government of Achaia), and fancy us, who abide in Rome, more fortunate than yourself. I, on the other hand, think you, if not quite free from trouble, yet happier than myself. You at least can venture to bemoan yourself in letters, whereas I cannot even do that with safety: and this is no fault of the conqueror, who is as moderate as can be desired, but of his victory; for in the case of civil wars victory must needs be intemperate." In a later letter he says: " The end of civil war is necessarily not only obedience to the conqueror's will, but submission to his associates also, by^J-^ 5 - 1 8 whose hands he has got the victory.2 The society of Csesar's friends was, no doubt, agreeable as well as useful to Cicero, but still they were not his old associates, and his intercourse with them was not grounded, in the genuine Roman sense, on an equal participation in the affairs of the Commonwealth. He writes to Mescinius: " N o w that some of my friends are dead, others absent, and others changed towards me, I had in good faith rather spend one day in your society than all this time with niost*0^-443683;Jt of those whom circumstances have forced upon me." 3 He£??3'J*2i,i was doomed also to encounter many an unfriendly face in the streets of Rome, whose sight he would gladly have avoided by escaping to the country. " Let us," he writes to Varro, cc avoid the eyes of men if we cannot escape their tongues; for those who pride themselves on their victory look down upon us as the vanquished; and those Q 3 342 L I F E AND LETTERS OF CICERO. who grieve at our defeat cannot endure that we should ^tl 4 °2.) still exist." i But Cesar's magnanimity and apparent deference to Cicero failed after all to establish a feeling of real confidence between them. This is clearly intimated in a 2 ID$AVS.) letter from the orator to the Consular M. Marcellus , who was then living in exile. " My sorrow and concern for you nearly equal your cousin's *, though I come behind him in my pleadings for you. For I have not the same freedom of access to Caesar, and have need of intercession in my own behalf. Anything I can do I owe to his indulgence only, nor can I forget that I am a vanquished 45oT?4^ man." 3 That the conqueror himself recognized the footing fx?i6.'i7>'ir.on which they stood respectively to each other, appears 130 from his exclamation on hearing that the great Consular was waiting in his ante-chamber for the moment when he might be admitted to his presence. " Can I be simple enough to expect that this man, complaisant as he is, should feel like a friend towards me, when he has to sit * Ep. 680. so Ions: waiting for my convenience ? " 4 Cicero's feelings {Ait. xiv. 2.) & & J & must have been severely tried when the conqueror of Pompeius and of the Republic celebrated his fourfold triumph, and was created Dictator for ten years. Thus, in spite of the sportive gaiety which at times characterized his letters, he had his hours of heavy disquietude, and the general tone of his mind at this period was probably grave and serious. It was well for him that his sensitive nature made him so open to the impressions of kindness. " Although in my own person," he wrote to * The word in the Latin is frater, which may also denote the son of a paternal uncle. The brother of M. Marcellus, Cains, during whose Consulate the civil war broke out, perished in it, following Pompeius. His uncle, Caius, was Cicero's colleague in the Augurship; and his son of the same name, Consul in the year 704, is the one here meant. A.U. 710. B.C. 44. cic. 63. 343 Figulus 1 , " I have met with no great harshness, and 1 Ep.463,i. indeed in such times as these have no wish which Cassar has not freely gratified, yet am I so tormented with grief that it seems a sin to remain alive. For, together with many of my intimate friends who are scattered in flight, or have been torn from me by death, I have lost all those whose friendship I acquired in the days when, with your assistance, I saved the Republic from ruin*, and I find myself involved in the shipwreck and total loss of property which they have sustained. I not only hear (which of itself were miserable enough), but, far more distressing, I see with my own eyes the fortunes of men with whose aid we once extinguished the flames of civil discord scattered to the winds: and in that same city where once I flourished in honour and renown, I now live in destitution. True, I experience great kindness from Ca3sar, but this cannot make up for my sense of restraint and the universal change around me. Thus, deprived of all that nature, habit and inclination had made necessary to me, I feel vexed not with others only but with myself. Born for noble exertion, I have now no motive, either for action or for thought; whereas once my intercession was powerful to serve the obscure or even the guilty, I cannot now hold out a hand to Figulus, the wisest and best of men, once the most highly considered, and my own true friend besides." We see from hence that he did not deceive himself as to his true position; but was fully aware that his political existence was now nothing more than a name.2 Plancius 2 EP. 45g.•• ° {Div. ix.'l7.) had congratulated him on having retained his former con* Plutarch, in his life of Cicero (cap. 20.), and in the treatise, 'Ei irpeaSvTepcp TroXLTevTeov, informs us that Cicero when Consul, and especially on occasion of Catilina's conspiracy, had made use of the counsel of his friend Figulus. Q4 344 L I F E AND LETTERS OF CICERO. sideration (dignitas). " If," he replied, " this consists in desiring the welfare of the Republic and approving this wish to good men, then I do indeed still enjoy consideration ; but if it consists in carrying out any such wishes in deed, or defending them without reserve in words, not a i Ep. 5i6, I. vestige of what I once enjoyed now remains to me." l <• His character and principles still bound him to the vanquished party. " I do not repent my decision," is his , E 448 frank confession to his confidential friend Varro 2 ; " for I (Div. ix. 5.) w a g i m p e ii e d n o t by hope b u t by duty; it was a hopeless cause and not a duty which I abandoned. Thus, I was more patriotic than those who remained at Rome in the first instance, and more prudent than those who, when they had lost all, refused to return thither." So steadfast indeed was his adherence to his political principles, that, when the news of Cato's suicide reached him, he composed a treatise in praise of the Republican, whose actions he had 3 though he thus exiE 445# not always cordially approved of ; xii\'4%o^' posed himself to the danger of offending Cassar. But the generous Dictator contented himself with writing a pamphlet which he called Anti-Cato> in which he extolled Cicero's eloquence and course of life, and compared him to Pericles and Theramenes.4 In a letter to Balbus, 4 Plut CiCt 39 ' written the following year from Spain, Ca3sar observed that Cicero's Cato, which he had often read through, had given him lessons in eloquence, but when he read the 5 Epp.628,2. Cato of Brutus he fancied himself an orator.5 460; compConduct so magnanimous as this, whilst it could effect xii.'4or)*, Tac. no change in Cicero's views or disposition, serves to explain the principles by which he was now guided, and on which he grounded his admonition to M. Marcellus, who refused to revisit Rome after he had received his pardon. " No place ought to be sweeter to you than your country. You should pity it, rather than love it less, because its A.U. 710.. B.C. 44. cic. 63. 345 beauty is diminished; and robbed as it now is of so many of its most illustrious citizens, you should not deprive it of your presence also. If your greatness of soul refuse to bend the knee to the conqueror, let not your pride reject his liberality ; and if it be philosophy to endure life without your country, not to long for it is a proof of hardheartedness."* Although on his first return and before \ %?• ?68^ (Div. lv. 9.. he had become settled in Rome, or begun again to taste repose, he often wished himself away from the city, where the sight of the conqueror oppressed him, though the fear of giving offence withheld him from quitting i t ; — although he could then say with truth, " Let us shun the sight of men; " 2 yet subsequently there can be no doubt 3 EP.UO. that he really entertained the sentiments he expressed to Marcellus, for his words bear the stamp of sincerity.* We honour these sentiments all the more from the freedom with which he avowed them at a time when the [Roman world was completely in Caesar's hands. What danger was then attendant upon writing or speaking we frequently hear from Cicero's own lips.3 We have seen3 e. g. EP. that he had boldness enough to expose himself to the conqueror's wrath by writing a panegyric upon Cato. " I t is an Archimedean problem," he writes with reference to it to Atticus; " I cannot imagine how I am to write what the company at your table f will read with pleasure or even with indifference." He certainly was influenced hy no consideration for the conqueror in the composition of this work; he was not therefore deterred by any fear of him from publishing the treatise de claris oratoribus, the introduction to which affords such a noble proof of the * There is no contradiction here with the gloomy picture Cicero draws of his life in Rome in his letters of the year 709, Epp. 517, 1.; 526, l.j {Div. vi. 1.4.) In these he is addressing a friend whom he wishes to console for his absence from the city. Comp. Ep. 521, 5. {Div. vi. 18.) f Cesar's distinguished friends, who frequently supped with Atticus. Q 5 346 L I F E AND LETTERS OF CICERO. author's ardour. It first treats of the death of Hortensius, upon which Cicero proceeds: " After the enjoyment of uninterrupted prosperity he quitted life at a moment as unseasonable to his fellow-citizens as it was seasonable to himself. Had his life been prolonged he would have had to mourn over the Republic without the power to succour it. He lived as long as it was permitted to him to be happy himself and useful to his country. . . . Were Hortensius still alive, he would deplore, in common with every good and faithful citizen, all that we have lost; but in addition to this he would experience one sorrow peculiar to himself, or shared but by few, that, namely, of seeing the Forum of the Roman world, the theatre of his talents, bereft of the polished eloquence, not unworthy of Greek or Roman ears, which once adorned it. I t torments me to think that the Commonwealth can dispense with the weapons of wisdom, genius and authority, which I had learned to wield; the proper weapons for an eminent statesman, and for a virtuous and well-constituted State. To me, especially, there is this cause of grief, among so many greater ones, that having reached the age when, after all I had done, I hoped at length to escape into the haven not of indolence and uselessness but of a moderate and honourable leisure, when my eloquence itself was already ripe and began to mellow, at that very moment arms were resorted to •—arms, I say, which even they who had wrorn them well could no longer use with * Brut. i.2. advantage." 1 To return to Caesar. In the beginning of this eventful year he defeated the Republicans at Thapsus in Africa *, and was compelled by prudence to adopt severity in his treatment of the enemy. He returned to Rome about * On the 5th of April according to the calendar as it then stood, which •vvas not regulated until later in the same year (708, annus confusionis). It was at that time sixty-seven days in advance. [See below.] A. u. 710. B.C. 44. cic. 63. 347 midsummer *, and celebrated his splendid fourfold triumph, 1%P> 454. on which occasion his munificence towards the soldiers and citizens was in keeping with the pomp which surrounded him. At the close of the year he was forced to go into Spain in order to subdue the sons of Pompeius, and with them the last remnant of the Republicans.2 LIT o>/J'; V1 8 lv H,) Besides upwards of thirty recommendatory epistles of ' '' * inferior interest 3 , there are forty-eight letters belonging3 ^.435.; 9 -i ,. . ° 4 36.; 481 to this year, addressed for the most part to distinguished Jia. g>^ men who played a prominent part in the great drama then 67} enacting.* Seven are addressed to the learned Terentius Varro. This celebrated writer had joined in the unsuccessful resistance offered to Caesar by Afranius and Petreius in Spain; but one of his legions having deserted him, he gave in his submission to the conqueror with a second legion at Corduba, and was now living quietly under his protection on his estates in Italy, devoting himself to his literary avocations. He was about ten years older than Caesar, but had attained no higher office in the State than the Praetorship. Eventually he was preferred by Augustus to the superintendentship of the library founded by Caesar and enlarged by himself. There are two letters to Servius Sulpicius the great jurist, who was Consul in the year 703, when he opposed the efforts of his colleague, M. Marcellus, against Caesar. * We must here also mention a letter to C. Trebonius of the end of the year 707, Ep. 429. (JDiv. xiv. 20.) Trebonius had joined Caesars party, and he it was who conducted the siege of Massilia with such brilliant success. In 707 Caesar entrusted him with the government of Spain. Before his departure for that province, he sent to Cicero a work in which he had collected the orator's witty sayings and speeches, accompanied by suitable prefaces ; this gave occasion to the letter here mentioned. Trebonius became afterwards one of the conspirators against Caesar's life. See also Phil. ii. 14. Q6 348 L I F E AND LETTERS OF CICERO. Deeply impressed with the misery of the times, and mourning over the subversion of the old Republic, he yet took part against Pompeius in the civil war; and after the battle of Pharsalia was made Proconsul of Achaia. Three letters are addressed to M. Marcellus, who after the battle lived an exile in Mytilene; eight to Papirius Paetus, the accomplished, witty and good-natured Epicurean ; who, though of patrician birth, had never, from choice we may suppose, filled any public office, but lived as a wealthy citizen in agreeable idleness, and enjoyed Caesar's special favour.* We have already seen how fond Cicero was of him, attracted, we may suppose, by the charm of his wit, "not Attic," he says, " but old Roman, which is more pungent still. As I live, I know no man but yourself in whom I recognize the character of the old i Ep.m.i. genuine humour of our country." 1 Three letters are addressed to Aulus Carina, a Roman knight of an old Etruscan family, who had wielded his pen as well as his sword against Caesar, and had therefore some difficulty in obtaining pardon. He was probably the person whom Cicero defended in 685. He wrote an erudite treatise de Etrusca disciplina, which has unfortunately been 2 suet. Jul. lost, and also a book against Caesar.2 75. 8 To M. Marius, whom we met with at an earlier period Ep.45% of this work, there are two letters, the first of which3 is (Div. vii. 3.) i l l • • I « I T • • r t very valuable as containing a detailed exposition ot the principles which had governed the writer's conduct during the last few years. The colours in which he pourtrays his course of action betray indeed the art of the rhetorician, and prove how time had blunted and obscured his recollection of his real views and sentiments. * x In Ep, 473, 2. (Div. ix. 15.) these words occur. Roma quum sum et urgeo forum, senatus consulta seribuntur apud tuum amatorem (Ccesarem), mewn familiarem. A. tj. 710. B. C. 44. Cic. 63. 349 The following letters of this period are also generally important; those to L. Mescinius, Cicero's former Quaestor, to Nigidius Figulus renowned for his extraordinary learning ; to Q. Ligarius whom he afterwards defended (two in number); to M. Brutus, entrusted at that time by Caesar with the government of the important province of Cisalpine Gaul; to Cnaeus Domitius son of the Consular L. Domitius, who had defended Corfinium against Caesar, and afterwards fell at Pharsalia; to L. Munatius Plancus, then with the Imperator in Africa, whom we shall find playing a considerable part in the next period; to Plancius the friend of his exile; to Volumnius (two), his witty and jovial boon companion, whose social qualities procured for him the nickname of Eutrapelus; to Curius, to wrhose care he had commended Tiro during his illness at Patrae; to Ampius Balbus, who had been pardoned by Caesar; and finally to P. Servilius Vatia, Caesar's colleague in 706, and now by his appointment Governor of Asia. A letter to Fadius Gallus, Cicero's Quaestor in his Consulship, deserves mention as an example of the strong language he could make use of when provoked. Only nine letters addressed to Atticus in this period are preserved to us; they are dated from Tusculum, Antium, or some other of his country seats. We have often remarked, in regard to the earlier periods of our work, the importance of the letters belonging to them; in general interest, perhaps, those of the year 708 surpass all the rest. I t is a melancholy though grand spectacle to behold a man of lofty genius and generous disposition struck down by the resistless stroke of fate, and dragged from his accustomed sphere. But it is encouraging on the other hand to find that such a man, not unmindful of the lot of humanity, can yield to destiny with submission, and find the legitimate sources of consolation within 350 L I F E AND LETTERS OE CICERO. his own breast, displaying virtues in his adversity which under other circumstances might have remained unknown. The peace which breathes in the letters of this year, and their equable frame of mind, the calm regret for what is lost, give them a peculiar charm, especially if we read them immediately after those written from Brundisium, and they are widely different from most of the letters not addressed to Atticus, which are, generally speaking, of a political character. A wise and sympathizing nature cannot fail to be moved when the good sense, moderation, selfdevotion and human feeling of a great man speak to us as they do in the letters of this year. T H E YEARS 709 AND 710. In the years we have now been examining, Cicero appears in a situation and frame of mind the most congenial to his nature, and the most favourable to his happiness. W e have seen him resigned to the course of events, tranquil, nay, even cheerful. But melancholy impressions again fill the mind on the perusal of a letter, which meets us as it were accidentally amongst the rest. It is addressed in the middle of the year 709, to Lucceius, and its import soon convinces us that some new sorrow must have assailed the long afflicted citizen. " My life," such is its tenor, " has fallen upon times so evil, that now, at a period when it ought to be crowned with all honour, I am even ashamed of living at all! For what haven now remains for me, deprived as I am of all glory and satisfaction, public or domestic? The pursuit of knowledge, it is true, still remains, and unceasingly do I occupy myself with it: what else indeed can I do? But I know not how it is; knowledge herself seems to close her sheltering portals against me, and almost to reproach me for continuing longer in a state of existence A. u. 710. B.C. 44. cic. 63. 351 which holds out no prospect but that of protracted misery. And are you then surprised that I keep at a distance from the city, when joy has abandoned my dwelling, when the times and the personages, the Forum and the Curia, are alike odious to rae?"1 \*fcmf^In the same month he writes to Atticus: " You ask whether the love of knowledge has quite lost its power over me? In my present circumstances, I fear its influence is even pernicious. Without my attachment to intellectual pursuits, I might perhaps have been of harder mould. For a refined temperament has no affinity with what is stern and coarse." 2 \AUI^\.'A%: Too true were these words. Cicero must needs have been made of sterner stuff than he was to have been able to resist the overwhelming calamities which the year brought down upon him. In his own home, that hallowed spot where the bowed and stricken spirit can most securely look for rest, and is most easily softened to submission, no joy, no rest, remained for him. Between himself and his wife Terentia, whose society he had so fondly pined after when in exile, a misunderstanding had recently, as we have seen, arisen, which, probably at the close of this last year, ended in a divorce.* If this event, both in itself and in the causes which led to it, may justly be regarded as a heavy misfortune to Cicero, his new choice of a partner was assuredly not less of a calamity. By the advice * See p. 323. Ep. 516, 2. (Div. iv. 14.); Plut Cic. 41. According to this historian, Terentia was again married more than once, and, if we may "believe Valerius M. viii. 13. 6., attained the age of 103. [St. Jerome has preserved a statement that Terentia married the historian Sallust for her second husband, and Messala for her third. Dio Cassius gives her a fourth, Yibius Rufus, who was Consul in the reign of Tiberius, and valued himself for the possession of two things which had belonged to the two greatest men of the age before him, Cicero's wife, and Caesar's chair, in which he was killed. Dio Cass. lvii. 15.] 352 L I F E AND LETTERS OF CICERO. of Tiro, he sought to make a second marriage the means of repairing his dilapidated fortunes. Various ladies were passed under review by himself and his friends; the daughter of Pompeius among them; but Cicero feared to enter into this alliance on account of Caesar. Of another lady recommended by Atticus, he says with a shudder, " h e 5 !J?xu ii) ^ a ( l n e y e r beheld an uglier person." l His choice finally fell upon Publilia, a young, fair and wealthy maiden, who, Plutarch says, was his ward. But the marriage was not a happy one. Publilia possessed none of that intellectual cultivation which Cicero required in the partner of his home; and besides, he was sixty-two years old.* I t has been conjectured, and not improbably, that Cicero's son, now twenty years of age, disliked his father's new connexion, and on that account desired to leave the lltt.'£n?7.) paternal roof. His wish was to join Caesar in Spain 2 , but Cicero objected to such a step, as too inconsistent with his own principles: moreover, the younger Quintus, who still continued to entertain hostile feelings against his uncle, was now' in Caesar's camp, and had through the offices of Hirtius acquired his favour to such a degree, that his cousin might feel himself in an unpleasant position if p 5 g6f 2\ 6oo. 1. treated with less consideration.3 Young Cicero next 38?XUL9.) thought of setting up a separate establishment of his own; but at his father's desire consented to betake himself to Athens, there to continue his studies. He was handsomely equipped for his journey and residence there, and was accompanied by two freedmen, Martianus and Montanus Tullus. It was not long, however, before he gave ssofiftl'i?*''his father cause for vexation.4 632.' (Att'/xii. But the heaviest blow fate had reserved for Cicero was 24. 32. 52.;: siii. 1. 47.)' * Cicero was reproached for marrying a young maiden, himself being a sexagenarian. " To-morrow," he answered, " she will be a matron." Quint. Inst, Or. yi. 3. A.u. 710. B.C. 44. CIO. 63. 353 the loss of his daughter. After she had been parted from Dolabella in the preceding year, and while still under his roof, as Plutarch relates, in the month of January she gave birth to a son. At first her strength seemed to return satisfactorily; but appearances were deceitful: the conduct of Dolabella, the misfortunes of her beloved father, her mother's divorce from him, and his subsequent re-marriage, had all affected her deeply. She died, as it would appear, in February, at Cicero's Tusculan villa.1 ^.^pf5211, The grief of the bereaved father was unbounded, as his fv! ?o.t ML' letters written in the following month testify; for of the x n ' first few weeks succeeding the sad event we possess no memorials. " I t is all over with me, Atticus," he writes, " i t is all over with me! I have long felt it, but now I am indeed convinced of it, now that I have lost the only being who still bound me to life."2 Immediately after this 2 EP. 541,1. & , . . . A J ,, , (^«. xii.23.) event, he went to join Atticus on a small property the latter possessed near Rome, where he remained thirty days. But here he saw too many people: he longed for solitude, and accordingly repaired to a peaceful secluded estate on the island of Astura, formed by the river of that name where it flows into the Tyrrhene sea, not far from Antium.3 T 3 £p/>.567,3. i • T n 1 ' A • T T 5 35, I-; (Att. " In this desert, he writes to Atticus, " I am not dis-xii.40.19.) turbed by the sight of any human being. Early in the morning I bury myself in a wild and dreary wood, and do not leave it till evening. Next to yourself there is nothing I love so well as solitude. In solitude I can hold quiet converse with my studies; though not without frequent interruption from my tears. I strive against my grief as much as I am able, but my strength is not equal to the contest." 4 *isp.s!t\,2.:t We cannot reproach him with utterly abandoning himself^"'Xl1,15,): to his sorrow; for in an early letter addressed to Atticus 354 L I F E AND LETTERS OF CICERO. from Astura we find, that while yet residing at his friend's suburban abode near Rome, he had read all the works he could find calculated to assuage immoderate grief, and that he did not avoid the visits of friends and others kindly disposed towards him. He composed for his own use a work bearing the title De Consolatione, which he characterizes * #p.53o,3. as more powerful than any other then extant.* 1 " I write (Att xii 14 V comp.EP. 'all day long," he says in his letter: " not that I really acxii.4o.) complish much, but it serves in some measure to divert my grief: it is far from doing all I could wish, for my wToe presses too heavily upon me; but I can discern some slight alteration, and I exert myself to the utmost to recover my external appearance at least, if not my mental tranquillity. Sometimes I fancy I do wrong in resisting my sorrows, sometimes in giving way to them." He had an idea that it was a point of duty to feel the full bitterness of a calamity, and would have considered himself committing an injustice to Tullia's shade had his sorrow not been commensurate with her worth. " When you say," he writes to his friend, " that people wish me to come to Rome, I would have you know that your opinion is of more weight with me than that of all the world besides. Nor do I hold my own opinion in slight estimation : and what I think of myself is of greater consequence to me than what all the rest of mankind think. But I go no further than the wisest have warranted; for I have not only read all they have to say (and it is no small proof of the patient's firmness when he consents to take medicine), but have examined and commented on their maxims in my own writings. Thus, it would not appear that my spirit is wholly crushed and broken; and I will not abandon this course of healing to plunge into yonder crowd, lest a worse relapse should be 2^.538,5. the consequence." 2 * Of this work only a few fragments remain to us. A.u. 710. B.C. 44. cic. 63. 355 No one who shares in the tender sympathies of humanity will blame Cicero for feeling thus acutely, but will rather honour him for the above expressions, and admit the further truth of his words when writing (in May) to his friend Ser. Sulpicius.* I blame myself for not bearing my sorrows as so wise a man as you thinks I ought to bear them: but at times I am almost overpowered by my anguish, and can hardly support myself, for I have not those sources ^f consolation to which others, whose example I place before me, have turned in similar calamities. Even Quintus Maximus f, who lost a highly distinguished son, one who had filled the office of Consul, and had achieved memorable actions ; and Lucius Paullus, who was bereaved of two sons in the course of a week, and your Gallus and M. Cato, who had also to deplore the loss of a son of great endowments and eminent virtues ^ : all these lived in days when the honourable consideration they enjoyed in the State could afford them some grounds of comfort. But for me, when I wTas deprived of all those honours you speak of, the rewards of rny own strenuous exertions, one sole source of comfort was still left, which now, alas! is torn from me. Not in zealous labours on behalf of my friends, not in political occupations, did I seek tranquillity for my mind: I might have nothing to do in the Forum : the Curia I could not bear to look upon. I thought, and was it not true ? that all the fruits of my (Jiligence and good fortune were lost. But when the Reflection that the same fate had befallen you and others made me resolve to bear my reverses with fortitude, one spot was still left me whither I could turn for shelter * In answer to his famous letter of consolation, Ep. 557. (Div. iv. 5.) f Quintus Pabius Maximus, Cunctator, De Senect. 4. J Cato Censorinus. Gallus belonged to the Sulpician family. L. Paullus was the conqueror of Perseus. Liv. 45. 40. 356 L I F E AND LETTERS OF CICERO. and peace. A daughter I had, in whose attractions and conversation I forgot all my cares and anxieties. But since this last wound pierced me, the others, which I thought were healed, seemed to open afresh. All is changed. Formerly, when the Commonwealth dismissed me sorrowing, my home received me with solace; but now, when the aspect of that home fills me with sadness, no solace, no peace, do I find in the Commonwealth. Thus, neither at home nor in the Forum can I rest: my home offers me no consolation for the state of public affairs* and i jsp.565. public affairs afford no relief from my domestic sorrows." * From the month of March to that of May Cicero remained in the retirement of Astura, from whence many of his letters to Atticus are dated. Already in the earliest of them he mentions an idea which had first occurred to him at his friend's suburban residence, and which occupied him busily the whole summer through. He talks of it eagerly in all his letters to Atticus, and it would appear to have kept him more than anything else from utter despair. He desired to erect a monument to his daughter's memory. I t was to be a temple, and was to be erected on a spot where it might attract general observation. No cost should be spared in the purchase of an appropriate piece of ground. I t was nothing short of an apotheosis he meditated, and he regarded the scheme in the light of a vow, which burdened his soul till it; should be put in 2 £pp.528,2.; execution.2 " Regard no expense,"* he writes to Atticus : 569,2.; 561,1. (Au. xii. i2. M i i -n T T (e silver utensils, costly carpets, elegant villas, 1 can dispense with; but this one object is a necessity to me." And again: " I need not large revenues; I can, live con* This refers to some gardens in the vicinity of the city, which he was desirous of purchasing for the monument. There are allusions to this subject in almost all the letters 528—613, which are for the most part addressed to Atticus. The temple is also mentioned in Ep. 727. A. u. 710. B. c. 44. cic. 63. 357 tentedly on small means; but what I desire is to raise a monument which, as though dedicated to a deity, shall survive all the changes of property which distant futurity may entail." 1 ' _ ktfffi' Various plans were proposed and rejected, and manyX11,23,19,) sagacious advisers applied to. All the writings of the most cultivated ages, Greek and Roman, were consulted, that the monument might be everything that could be desired.2 Cicero seems to have thought of nothing else. J^'xif/iV.) ^ Atticus, however, to whom he had entrusted the purchase of the ground and other business connected with it, found many difficulties in his way. Possibly he thought the prudence of the whole affair questionable. His inactivity called forth frequent admonitions from his friend. The monument, it would appear, was never erected. The times, indeed, were not favourable to an undertaking for the success of which order and tranquillity were requisite. For at least half a year Cicero continued to avoid social intercourse, and resided on his country estates ; first at Astura, and subsequently at Antium, Arpinum and Tusculum.* His friends did all they could to divert and console him, and endeavoured to persuade him to return to Rome, where his presence was ardently desired by many. 3 *^^ 5 ^ 3 -! But their entreaties were in vain. If he had conceived a j ^ ^ , ™ ; distaste for public life before, he now regarded it with IfjAtL xii# perfect abhorrence'. Some of the letters of condolence addressed to him in his solitude are extant. Besides the celebrated letter of Sulpicius f 4 , we have one from Luc- 4%P- ,557ceius 5 , the same friend whom he had urged so warmly5 EP. 568. to write the history of his Consulate. We regret the loss * Till the month of April Cicero's letters are dated from Astura; and from that time till the end of August or the beginning of September from his other villas. \ " The Boman friend of Rome's least mortal mind." Byron, Childe Har. iv. 44. 358 LIFE AND LETTEES OF CICERO. of one from Brutus, dated from his province of Gaul. Cicero says it was sensible and friendly, but cost him *£/>/>. 529,2.; many tears, and failed, at the time, of its intended effect.1 J 530,4. (Att.t 3 7 7 xu. 13. i4.) ifi[e s e e how reluctant he was to mix with others, from his expressions of dissatisfaction at the visit of Varro, with whom he had become intimate the preceding year.* Atticus was the only person, at least in the earlier days 2 Epp. .579.; of his sorrow, whose society was welcome to him. 2 " I xii.'50'.j xii wish for you alone," he says in his second letter from Astura. A n d in a later one we have the words already 531^2'fl«3';(luo*e(^ : " N e x t to you I love nothing so well as solitude. 3 x». 13.15.) _ 4 g a ] n : '5529762'; a n c ^ m ° d e r a t e views are daily gaining ground h e r e . " 3 Y e t my. vi. io. ]3 e f ore long, all is despair again. " E x a m i n e all the parts and members of the Commonwealth," he -writes to L u c ceius, " and you will not find one that is not broken or enfeebled. W h a t is there amongst us which is not in fact 4 (D?v fvV) destroyed ? " 4 N o doubt his hopes and fears varied with the frame of his mind. W e remark an increasing cordiality in his relations with Brutus, who had returned this sum» Ep.520,4. mer from the Cisalpine Gaul, where P a n s a succeeded him. 5 (Diu. xv. 17.) . . A s yet indeed .Brutus was on terms of amity with Caesar, having been favourably treated b y the conqueror after the battle of Pharsalia, where he had fought on Pompeius's side, and had been entrusted by him wTith the administration of that important province. After the defeat of the A.U. 710. B.C. 44. cic. 63. 363 Pompeians in Spain, Brutus made a journey on purpose to meet Caesar, and seems thereby to have somewhat checked the ardour of Cicero's friendship. However, he made up for it by writing a panegyric on Cato*, and having divorced himself from his wife Claudia, daughter of Appius, he married Cato's daughter Portia, lately the wife of Bibulus. This event caused Cicero the greatest satisfaction.1 Henceforth he testified the utmost consider\^:6^ ;6 ation for Brutus, and dedicated to him his lately finished 6oi, 3°/ 602. work De Finibus. This summer too he composed a pane-s^xiS!1^.;* gyric on Portia, the sister of Cato, who had married then.) Optimate Domitius Ahenobarbus, slain in the civil war.2 cif^fxhii Here again we see how little he would stoop to any base 37,48,) surrender of his personal feelings and opinions. That he was conscious of a wide separation between himself and Caesar, is manifest from the cold manner in which he speaks of a letter of condolence addressed by the busy Imperator to the afflicted father.3 It was dated from* j ^ ! ^ ) Hispalis, on the last day of April. To us there is something touching in beholding Caesar, after the hard-won victory which was to secure his dominions, turn his thoughts immediately to his suffering friend. But Cicero felt that he could not consistently with honour unite heartily with one whose sway becoming each day more firmly riveted, shut out every hope of the re-establishment of the Republic he longed for: and the horror he had experienced four years before on seeing the upstart minions of Caesar was fresh in his memory. After he had destroyed the treatise intended for Caesar, * Cicero was not altogether satisfied with erroneously asserted that Cato had been the favour of the execution of the Catilinarians ; discovery of the conspiracy were, besides, not forward. Ep. 538, 1. (Att xii. 21.) , B 2 this panegyric. Brutus had first to give his sentence in and Cicero's services in the brought prominently enough 364 L I F E AND LETTERS OF CICEKOi which we have before described, he wrote to Atticus: " Do not you know that the pupil of Aristotle, the man most distinguished for genius and modesty, when once he had obtained the appellation of king * became proud and vindictive, and no longer knew how to bridle his passions ? How then can you imagine that he whose statue has figured amongst those of the Gods, he who has dwelt under the same roof with Quirinus, will take any pleasure in a work which preaches moderation ? " f And now honours were lavished on the conqueror of Pompeius's sons, most revolting to Cicero's mind. Csesar celebrated a gorgeous triumph; and it was decreed that the robe which adorned him on this occasion should be worn by him at every festival, and that his head should always be encircled with the laurel wreath. He was honoured with the title of Deliverer; and the word Imperator, prefixed to his name, acquired a signification never before attached to it. The State, moreover, presented him with a public residence; and the Dictatorship was prolonged for i Dio cass. the term of his life.1 His statue inscribed with the words Liv. Epu. ' " To the invincible God," having been placed in the temple of Romulus which stood next to that of the Dea Salus, on the Quirinal hill, Cicero observed to Atticus: " Would he were indeed a neighbour of Quirinus, rather than of Salus."\ And in another letter he begins thus: "Does Brutus really say that Caesar wishes to ally himself with the Optimates ? A joyful piece of news truly ; but where will he find any Optimates? unless he should be good * i. e. the great king, the king of Persia. f Ep. 587, 2. (Att. xiii. 28.) In one of the processions with which the games of the Circus were opened, the statue of Cassar was carried among those of the Gods. Suet. Jul 7.; Ep. 626, 1. (Att. xiii. 44.) J That is, were withdrawn from the land of the living. Ep. 574, 4. (Ait. xil 45.); comp. 587, 2.; 626, 1. {Att. xiii. 28. 44.)] A.U. 710. B.C. 44. cic. 63. 365 enough to go and hang himself;"1 after which he proceedsi Ep.m. to express in no ambiguous terms, his wish, rather than his expectation, that some Brutus or Ahala might be forthcoming. He was wholly unqualified himself to act such a part. When the younger Quintus, seeking to do him an ill turn, maliciously observed in Caesar's camp, that " i t would be well to be on one's guard against him," Cicero wrote to Atticus: " This might give cause for apprehension, did not Caesar know that I have not a spark of courage in me." 2 True it was, that apart from the free2 Ep. 620.2. utterance of his principles in his writings, Cicero's courage only showed itself in occasional jokes and sarcasms upon Caesar's conduct.3 There was nothing indeed for him but 3 Suet. Jul. . , -. , 39 ; Macrob* to submit to the conqueror, and hope patiently for the sat. a. 3. continuance of his favour. Two letters which he sent to Caesar in Spain, from his retirement at Astura 4 , are not a4 Epp.bsu 555. (Div. little remarkable in this point of view. Their purport was xiii-15-16-) to recommend to him a young friend of his own, and a freedman of P . Crassus. In the first of them he says: " The father of the young man I recommend to you (PraBcilius) used to laugh at me and reproach me because I did not connect myself more closely with you, especially when you urged me to it in so honourable a manner; a W sfjbbv owiroTS Bdfjiov svl arrjOaaaiv S7rsc0sv 5, for the voice 5 0dys$t vii# of our great ones continually sounded in my ears, WfCLfJbos icrcr', Ivd ris as /cat byfnyovcop sv slirrj.6 6 0d u 303. Admonitions such as these could not fail to soothe and console m e ; and when they repeated M.rj fiav aairovBei ys zeal cucXslco? aTroXoLftrjv, ' A \ \ a jjiiya ps%as n, Kal SGGOJJLSVOIGL 7rv6sa6ac7, they were like to set on fire one who had already B 3 7 n , XX ii. 304. 5. 366 L I F E AND LETTERS OF CICERO. scorched himself before the flame of empty glory. But you see I am not to be moved by them. And thus I turn from Homer's magniloquence to the sage precept of Euripides: MiCTCO CT0(j}LGT7]V} OGTIS OV% 0LV7(d (TO(f)09.% ,n L 343 2 II. xi. 733. The elder Prsscilius commends this verse highly ; and he says that a man may look ' both before and behind him/ a/jia irpocraco /cat oTricraco *, and none the less, "AlBV apLCTTSVSLV KCll VlTSipO^QV S/JbflSVaC aXkcDV." 2 Whoever has learnt to understand Cicero from his letters, will not accuse him in this passage of flattery, but will rather recognize in it a curious mixture of honesty, sagacity and simplicity. The sagacity is shown in the peculiar style adopted, for it is well known that Csesar was fond of quotations from the old poets. Though Cicero continued on amicable terms with the Imperator's friends, he could not, during this year of sorrow, live with them as familiarly as he had done before: and hence his intimacy gradually declined, both with them and with Caesar. He was annoyed too with Hirtius for writing in disparaging terms of Cato, and paying no 3 Epp.m.i regard to his own panegyric.3 1. {Att. xiii. We find him in a more tranquil frame of mind towards 4o.) ' ' the autumn of this year, when Csesar was expected in Rome after the close of his war against the sons of Pompeius. H e no longer refuses to comply with the wishes of his friends when fitting occasions arise for him to take a part in public affairs; as for instance, when Lepidus, the Master of the Horse, invites him to come from Tusculum and be present in the Senate on the 1st of September, a * It is not known to what tragedy of Euripides this verse belongs. A. u. 710. B. c. 44. cic. 63. 367 proceeding, he said, which could not fail to gratify Caesar.11J^. 632. When Ariarathes, brother of the king of Cappadocia, was about to visit Rome, Cicero, who had cultivated very friendly relations with him ever since the period of his Proconsulate, wrote to him from Tuscnlum in June, requesting him to make use of his own residence.2 Atticus 2 EP.m, 2. {Alt. xiii. 2 ) having urged him to address a forcible epistle to Caesar, then on the point of returning, he accordingly set himself to the task, and Brutus, on occasion of a visit he paid him at Tusculum, approved of what he had done. However the epistle, which consisted of remarks upon Caesar's Anti- Cato, was finished, and the author sent it to Oppius and Balbus, who wrote in reply that they had never read a better composition. They caused it to be forwarded to the Dictator. When it was despatched, Cicero wrote to Atticus: " It was mere forgetfulness in me not to send you a copy of my letter to Caesar. I t did not proceed from the cause you surmise, i. e. that I had adopted so ridiculously subservient a tone that I was ashamed to let you see it. I assure you I have written just as if Caesar were my equal. Bat I do really think well of his work, as I have before told you. I have addressed him then without flattery ; and yet I think he will never have read anything more to his liking." * Caesar gained the victory of Munda on March 17th, the festival of the Liberalia. Cnaeus, the eldest son of Pompeius, whom Cassius on a former occasion writing to Cicero calls a "fool," 3 wTas slain in the pursuit; the younger 3 ^p.523,2. Sextus made his escape. T. Labienus was amongst the 30,000 Pompeians whose dead bodies strewed the field of battle.4 In October Caesar wras in Rome, and Cicero ap- 4 m Ben. 1 * Ep. 037, 1. (Att. xiii. 51.) thought of this epistle ? What must Cato's real friends have R 4 Risp.Zl. 368 L I F E AND LETTERS OF CICERO. i Veil. P. ii. pears to have gone to meet him on his disembarkation,1 On 5.'(Attxm! his Dictatorship being prolonged for life, he laid down the office of Consul, in which Q. Fabius Maximus and C. Trebonius were appointed to succeed him. And now Cicero once more took up his residence in the city, whence he writes in October to his friend Cornificius: " The utmost tranquillity prevails here ; yet I would rather witness a healthy activity, worthy of our Commonwealth ; and I am not without hope of it, for I see Csesar's 2 Ep. 6io. thoughts also tend that way.2 The partition of the promised lands amongst his veterans now engaged Caesar's attention; and Cicero exerted what influence he possessed with those charged with the business, on behalf of certain p 41 L? ?v^ ~~ districts and individuals.3 At this time also he made a 644. (Div. xiii. 4-9. speech in defence of King Deiotarus 4 , for whom Brutus (Dw. ix. J4.) had before interceded with Caasar.5 This defence, though (Atl'%iv.\) it did not immediately produce an acquittal, doubtless helped in determining the Imperator to defer the final sentence till he could institute a regular inquiry into the circumstances on the spot.* But if Cicero appears on the whole more reconciled to life, the posture of affairs could assuredly give him no ground for real satisfaction. " Here is peace," he writes again to Cornificius, " b u t such a peace as would not please you greatly were you amongst us, and which certainly does not please Caasar. For the close of the civil war brings with it not merely the absolute supremacy of * Deiotarus, Tetrarch of the greater part of Galatia, was a faithful ally of the Roman people ; and, after the Asiatic wars of Sulla, Lucullus and Pompeius, he had received an addition to his territories with the title of king. He adhered to his patron Pompeius till after the battle of Pharsalia, when he went over to Caesar, and assisted him against Pharnaces. Caesar had deprived him of the Lesser Armenia, but had left him the regal title. He was now accused by his grandson, Castor, of an attempt against Caesar's life, and the Imperator was consequently prejudiced against him. A.IT. 710. B.C. 44. cic. 63. 369 the conqueror's will, but a necessity likewise of submitting ourselves to those who have helped him to gain the victory." 1 Many an edict which Caesar now fearlessly puti EP. 645. forth without any regard to old prescriptive forms, ran sorely counter to his feelings. Such were the partition of lands amongst the veterans; the final triumph in commemoration of a victory gained over Romans 2, and the a piut. c {Mt. xiv. 6.| the former view we shall feel compelled to yield our assent, when we read the following lamentation from Cicero's pen a month after the event: " One cannot imagine anything more absurd than to praise the Tyrant's murderers to the skies, while we defend the acts of the Tyrant. O merciful Gods! the Tyrant is slain, but tyranny yet lives. A thousand times better were it to die than to bear what is now going on and promises to 3 EpP. 684. continue." i 3 688. (Att. xiv. e. 9.) / ^ n ( ] Cicero writes this still unshaken in his political prejudices, nor yet recognizing the truth, that of all men Caesar alone could have succeeded in guiding Rome to the destined goal, whither for a century past she had been tending, and in averting the evil of those fearful days to come, in which he was himself fated to fall a victim. * [Quid mihi attulerit ista domini mutatio prceter Icetitiam, quam oculis cepi justo interitu tyranni ?] f Goethe, Farbenlehre, Th. 2. s. 126. J [Contend Idibus Martiis simus: qui quidem nostris amicis, divinis viris, aditum ad ccelum dederunt, libertatem populo Romano non dederunt. (Att xiv. 14. 2.)] BOOK IX. LETTERS OE CICERO, WRITTEN IN THE LAST FIFTEEN MONTHS OF HIS LIFE, FROM CESAR'S DEATH TO HIS OWN, IN TKE TEAKS 710 A*D 711. B.C. 4 4 CICERO, ANTON1US, AND 43. OCTAYIUS, B O O K IX, CICERO, ANTOOTUS, OCTAVIUS. A.U. 710. B.C. 44. Cic. 63. Consuls: MARCUS ANTONIUS ; P. CORNELIUS DOLABELLA, sufF. T H E rash precipitation with which Caesar's murder had been resolved on is evident from the want of purpose which appeared among the conspirators immediately after the deed was committed. They seem to have imagined that, the blow once struck, every thing else would follow as a matter of course ; and that the people, exulting in their recovered freedom, would declare at once in favour of their deliverers. But it was not so. The people and the Senate were alike confounded and dismayed; and the Fathers sought safety by flying from the Curia. The Consul Antonius, whose life had been spared by an illjudged caprice of mercy, casting off his robe of office, took refuge in his own house, which he closed and fortified. But while the conspirators were losing time in the contemplation of their exploit, he recovered his self-possession, and perceived the advantage he might reap, by dexterous management, from the present posture of affairs. Some of Caesar's veterans were in the city; and Lepidus, who had been master of the horse the preceding year, and had been since nominated to the government of the Hither Spain and Narbonensis, possessed a considerable force in the suburbs, which he 380 L I F E AND LETTERS OF CICERO. stationed in the Forum the night after Caesar's assassination, in readiness to support all Antonius's measures. Both resolved to conceal their real views till the temper of the people was ascertained, and their adhesion and that of the army secured. The Consul, in order to bind Lepidus more firmly to his interests, promised to give his own daughter in marriage to his son, and likewise obtain for him the Chief-Priesthood, vacant by Caesar's death.* As soon as the deed was done, the conspirators had called out Cicero's name, and hailed him as the man from whom were to emanate the measures necessary to the i*'"z.ii. 12. restoration of the Republic.1 From the Curia, the scene of the murder, they repaired to the Forum; their left hands wrapped in their togas as if for defence, their right hands still grasping their bloody daggers; the cap, the symbol of liberty, elevated on the point of a lance, preceding their steps; and here they summoned the people to rise for the cause of Freedom. Several persons of consequence, Dolabella for instance, Lentulus Spinther, son of the Consular, and Favonius, joined them to share in the glory of the day. But the populace made no sign. Beginning now to distrust it, and apprehensive for their own safety, the conspirators betook themselves to the Capitol, as to a fortress, and from thence scattered money among the multitude; whilst Caesar's corpse was conveyed by three slaves, in a litter, to his own house. Cicero, who was doubtless among the first who repaired 2 ^oCass, to the Capitol 2 , urged that the Praetors, Brutus and Cassius, should summon the Senate thither that same day. " W h a t might not then have been accomplished," he writes, a month later, to Atticus, " when all the welldisposed, and even the lukewarm, were rejoicing, and the 3 Att.xiv.IO.power of bad men was crushed?" 3 But his counsel was * Both these promises were fulfilled. A. u. 710. B.C. 44. cic. 63. 381 not followed. On the other hand, the conspirators requested him to go to the Consul Antonius and stimulate him to undertake the cause of the Republic l ; this he very * Pha. a. 35. sensibly refused to do. " I replied," he says, in the letter above cited, " that Antonius would promise every thing while he was in fear for his own safety, but as soon as that was over he would be himself again." The courage of the Republicans began to rise when the Praetor Cinna, son of the notorious Consul, and for a moment Dolabella also, declared in their favour, and a portion of the populace came over to their side. At the demand of their partizans, Brutus and Cassius now quitted the Capitol to deliver a public justification of their deed in the Forum, and to propose a plan of action for the future. They made propositions, likewise, with regard to Sextus Pompeius, and then returned again to the Capitol, which was surrounded by a guard of Decimus Brutus's gladiators; showing thereby how insecure they felt themselves, and that their cause had as yet made no progress. They next made proffers of peace to Antonius, who meanwhile had recovered his presence of mind and resumed his Consular authority, and also to Lepidus. But these maintained their resolution of dissembling, being secretly afraid of D. Brutus, who had under his orders a considerable force intended for the province of Cisalpine Gaul, to which he had been recently appointed by Caesar, They replied that they could not hold intercourse within the walls of Rome with the murderers of the Dictator, whose person the Senate had declared inviolable, and to whom they had pledged themselves by an oath: it was not for them, however, to decide this point on their own responsibility; the Senate should issue a formal decree on the subject. A meeting of that body was promised for the following day, March 17, to be held 382 L I F E AND LETTEKS OF CICERO. in the Temple of Tellus, near the dwelling of Antonius. The night before this was to take place, or it may have been two nights before, Antonius caused Caesar's treasure and papers to be removed to his own house.'* The conspirators, though invited to this meeting of the Senate, did not appear. The Temple of Tellus was surrounded by Csesar's veterans. Cinna was present among the senators, clad in his Praetorian garb, which he had for the moment laid aside. He had been roughly handled by the populace as a traitor to Caesar, and barely escaped with his life. Now, however, several in the assembly took the part of the conspirators; and there was even some talk of bestowing marks of public favour upon them. * This treasure, which Caesar had deposited in the Temple of Ops, consisted chiefly of the confiscated spoils of the Pompeians. The accounts of its amount differ, though all agree in stating it as considerable. Cicero (Phil. ii. 37.) gives 700 millions of sesterces as the sum which, according to the books of accounts, should have been forthcoming. In addition to this, Antonius received from Calpurnia, Caesar's wife, his private treasure, twenty-five million denarii, which Octavius afterwards demanded from him. (Plut. Cic. 43.) In the above narration, as well as in what is next to be related, I have followed Appian principally (Bell Civ. ii. 118. foil), as his account appears to be most consistent, but I cannot agree with him in the date he assigns to the meeting of the Senate in the Temple of Tellus, i. e. the 16th of March. Cicero expressly names the feast of the Liberalia, which fell on the 17th. (Ep. 689. (Att. xiv. 10. 14.); comp. 693, 2. and Phil. ii. 35.) The resolutions of Antonius were not so rapidly taken that he could contrive his schemes on the very morning following the eventful Ides. It appears to me that the 16th was the day on which Brutus and Cassius left the Capitol to make their propositions to the people. Plutarch Cccs. 67.; comp. Dio Cass. xliv. 20. foil.; Plut. Cces. Brut. Ant. Phil. ii. [Drumann (Gesch. Bom &c. i. 84.) coincides with Abeken in the arrangement of these dates. He concludes that the transfer of Ceesar's papers and effects to Antonius took place on the night of the 15th—16th; thinking it hardly probable that Calpurnia would have thrown herself so unreservedly into his hands, except in the first moment of alarm, and before she could be reassured by the moderation of the conspirators, the tranquillity of the city, and the military attitude of Lepidus.] A. u. 710. JB, c. 44. cic. 63. 383 But Antonius employed every artifice to weaken the faction of the Republicans. What, he asked, if the other party should gain the upper hand, would become of all the State officers whose appointments were derived from Caesar's authority ? How would the soldiers get their promised lands, if his decrees were to be reversed ? Dolabella had been nominated to the Consulate for the period while the Parthian war was expected to keep Caesar at a distance from Rome, and he had already assumed the reins of office.* By these means Antonius succeeded in gaining over all the veterans, and many persons of distinction, Dolabella amongst them, to his schemes. Next, whilst the Senate was sitting, he endeavoured, in concert with Lepidus, to work on the feelings of the still irresolute populace; and a demand of vengeance for the murdered Dictator was at last excited. Meanwhile, however, the Senate decreed an amnesty for the murderers* which Cicero was strenuous in advocating l: the edicts and ap- 1 PML \. \z. pointments of the late Imperator were to remain in force. Another decree was passed in favour of the veterans. Then Lucius Piso, Caesar's father-in-law, pressed for the public reading of the will which the Dictator had made in the preceding autumn, and had committed, according to custom, to the care of the College of Vestals 2 ; at the 2 suet. Jui. same time he recommended that a public funeral should be solemnized. Both requests were acceded to. Brutus and Cassius, on their part, summoned the people the same day to the Capitol, where the speech of the former had some effect even upon the veterans themselves, to whom he promised to secure the lands destined them by Caesar. The following morning the Consuls convened the people in the Forum, where after a long speech from * This was not agreeable, however, at first, to Antonius. Dio Cass. xliv. 53. 384 L I F E AND LETTERS OF CICERO. i veil. rat. Cicero*, the amnesty of the Senate was ratified. ii. 58. , Antonius . and Lepidus sent their sons as hostages for the safety of the conspirators; and thus encouraged, the latter quitted the Capitol and joined the Senate. Brutus supped with Lepidus; Casshis with M. Antonius.* They were present also at a subsequent sitting of the Senate, where they received the ratification of their appointment by Caesar to s^piut. Ant, their respective provinces 2 , Macedonia being allotted to Brutus, and Syria to Cassius. But the mutual professions of amity which passed between the leaders were false and hollow. Antonius and Lepidus had in their hands the means of determining the populace in their favour. Caesar's will, which contained the most liberal bequests to the Roman people, was publicly read: his funeral was solemnized. Antonius exerted all his eloquence, and every method he could think of, to inflame the minds of the multitude on the occasion. The corpse was consumed in their presence. Then a tumult arose; the conspirators felt that they were no longer safe, and their apprehension was the greater as they knew that the city was filled with soldiers who idolized Caesar.f * [" While they were at supper, in the course of conversation Antonius asked Cassius whether he had still got a dagger under his arm (in the folds of his toga). ' Yes,' replied he, ' and a big one too, in case you too aspire to the tyranny."' Dio Cass. xliv. 34.] -j- The Tribune Helvius China was murdered in the tumult. The flames of the funeral pile caught the neighbouring houses. Dio Cass. xlv. 23. [The details of this famous .ceremony are given with more than usual minuteness by Appian and Suetonius. The principal features and colour of the scene have been seized with marvellous felicity by Shakspeare in the third act of his " Julius Caesar." But the great dramatist overlooked, or more probably refrained purposely from marking, the religious feeling which animated it. The mass of the Roman people, amidst all the scepticism of the upper classes, was still deeply imbued with a corrupt and perverted sense of religion. The general admiration for the mighty Imperator had grown into a morbid sentiment of actual devotion, and the A.U. 710. B,C. 44. cic. 63. 385 Cicero was in E-ome on the day of the murder; and, as we have already observed, may possibly have witnessed the terrible deed with his own eyes. Plutarch 1 , however,1 Piut. cic. . 42.; expressly affirms that he was not taken into the secret beforehand; and this author's remark is probably true, that Brutus and his friends were too well aware of his utter want of resolution to venture on entrusting him with it. Thus, he said of himself on a former occasion: " Csesar knows I have not a spark of courage in me." And in the second Philippic he defends himself on very plausible grounds against Antonius, who had reproached him with participation in the plot.2 But the best proof of 2 FlliL a n. his innocence is afforded by his words to Cassius and Trebonius (Feb. A. u. 711): " O h , that you had invited me to that noble banquet on the Ides of March! Assuredly if you had, no fragments would have been left." But that he most truly rejoiced in the event, appears not only from various passages in his letters, but also from a short note decrees of the Senate which declared him " a god" were no more than a time expression of the popular feeling. The law forbade burning or burying the dead within the city ; the first, perhaps, for fear of conflagration amidst the wooden tenements of which old Rome mostly consisted, the second from considerations of health. But it was a prevalent idea that a city was hallowed and secured by containing within its walls the tomb of its tutelary divinity. The same feeling which prompted the Christians to raise churches over the relics of their saints incited the Romans to consume their hero's body in the centre of their capital, in order that the ashes might hallow the spot, the spot the future temple, the temple the city and the State itself. The Senate, the priests, and the Republican party generally, opposed themselves in vain to this inchoate apotheosis. The agents of Antonius promptly availed themselves of the sentiment, and contrived the appearance of the martial youths, who with a javelin in one hand should apply a torch to the pyre with the other. The spot where they appeared was hard by to that on which the Divine Twins were said to have shown themselves to announce the victory at Regillus. Thus a divine sanction was given to the popular sentiment, and the subsequent deification of the Roman emperors owed its first origin to the frenzy of a genuine enthusiasm.] S 386 LIFE AND LETTERS OF CICERO. he addressed to Minutius Basihis, one of the conspirators, immediately after the assassination.* He seems to have quitted the city shortly after the funeral. Early in April we find him at a country resii £>. 679. dence, not far from Kome 1 , whence he writes to Atticus, (Att. xiv. 1.) ^ describing a visit he had paid to Matius, one of the late Imperator's most trusted friends.f Gloomy were the truths he had to learn from this man's lips: " That the condition of Rome is utterly desperate ; that no way remains of extricating it from its miseries, for if Caesar's mighty genius could devise no remedy, who else shall discover one!" At the time, Cicero thought these expressions too strong; but in the course of the next few weeks, as the schemes of Antonius developed themselves, he found more and more reason to concur in the opinion of Matius. Soon after the above conversation, he writes to his friend: " What grieves me is that with the recovery of Liberty, there is no appearance of our getting back the Commonwealth. I t was never thus in any other State." And again : " Alas! I fear that the Ides of March have brought us nothing more than the momentary gratification of our hatred and our * Epp 68-2; vengeance.2 091.; com p. 701. (Att. xiv. 4. 12. is ) *" * Ep. 677. (Div. vi. 15.) This letter does not contradict the supposition that Cicero was present at Caesar's assassination. As soon as the deed was done he fled, with the other senators, from the Curia. He now seeks for more certain information respecting the issue and the plans of the conspirators, with which he was unacquainted. This note to Basilus looks as if it were intended to be sent from house to house. Basilus is mentioned among the conspirators by Appian, Bell. Civ. ii. 113. •f Ep. 680. (Att. xiv. 2.) is written in answer to one from Atticus, in which he described the applause with which the populace greeted Brutus and Cassius in the Theatre. This must have been at the Megalesia, the festival of the great Mother of the Gods, which was celebrated on the 4th or 5th of April, at which time the conspirators were still in Rome. On the 12th of that month Cicero mentions an interview between them and Antonius as if it had just taken place. Ep. 684. (Att. xiv. 6.) A.U. 710. B.C. 44. cic. 63. 387 And now he thought with regret of the fault that had been committed by Brutus in not putting Antonius to death at the same time with Csesar 1 ; of the neglect with* PMIAI.H. which his own advice had been treated, of assembling the Senate in the Capitol on the yery day of the murder; and of the warning words of Atticus, that all would be lost if once a public funeral were permitted. 2 He called to mind2 Ep.689. r . 5 . (^«.xiv. 10.) the meeting of the Senate in the Temple of Tellus, while a guard of Caesar's veterans kept watch around i t ; and the apparently desperate situation of the conspirators, who were unable at that most important juncture to sustain their cause either by money or by military force.3 Of whatl$pp('jf*'2,; avail were the demonstrations of joy, with which the xiv - 14,2i) various Municipalities received the news of the Tyrant's death4, or the acclamations which greeted Brutus and^^-J^4Cassius at the Festival of the Megalesia? Cicero now felt what might indeed have occurred to all observing persons: " The deed has been executed with the courage 5 of men, but the plan was only worthy of children." 5 Ep. 7o » ' . comp. 693 2 Att of appeal to the people even in the case of a criminal \47'sf\^ < seized in open act; arid brought subordinate officers into the decuries of the judges- Caesar had granted the Latin franchise (Latinitas) to the Sicilians; a step which appeared highly objectionable to Cicero, notwithstanding the partiality he entertained for those provincials. But now Antonius having accepted a valuable present from them, posted on the Capitol a law purporting to have emanated from the late Imperator, but of which nobody had ever heard before, bestowing upon them the right of Roman citizenship. Another circumstance, repugnant to the feelings of all honest men, was the recovery by Deiotarus of the territory of which he had been deprived by Caesar; a result accomplished by the most shameless bribery, of which Fulvia, wife of Antonius, was the channel.* * Ep. 691. (Att xiv. 12.) ; Phil ii. 36, 37. Caesar had taken Lesser Armenia from Deiotarus, who endeavoured to regain possession of it s 3 390 lEn.m. L I F E AND LETTERS OE CICERO. Amidst schemes and intrigues like these, Brutus and Cassius perceived that Rome was no place of security for them. They had not ventured to leave the city as yet, on account of the office they held. But no obstacle was now opposed to them, when they withdrew as far as Antium and Lanuvium, there to await the course of events in the city.* Antonius did more: he procured a decree of the Senate releasing them from the official necessity of remaining within the walls. Their chief reliance, in case of an open contest, rested upon Decimus, and they entered into secret negotiations with Trebonius and Cimber for the levy of money and troops. For a while they remained, hesitating and uncertain, in the neighbourhood of Rome ; but were indignant on receiving a commission to supply the metropolis with provisions, conferred on them by the Senate, possibly with the view of giving them a decent pretext for leaving the capital where they were no longer safe, but undoubtedly brought about partly by the agency of Antnrius. For this purpose Brutus was to go to Crete, Cassius to Cyrene. f They remained, however, in Italy until the autumn. Under these circumstances, Cicero regretted that he had not exerted himself to procure a legatio libera from the Senate.1 He had felt a disinclination to absent {Ad Att. xiv. 5 -> himself from public affairs in the present critical juncture, hoping still to find some means of saving the State. But through the intervention of his envoys at Rome ; but the negotiation was interrupted by Caesar's assassination. Fill via, Antonius' wife, was daughter of the freedman Bambalio. * Cicero had heard that Brutus was seen at Lanuvium about the middle of April Ep. 686. (Att. xiv. 7.); Phil ii. 13. t Appian, B. C. hi. 6. 8. This decree was issued in the beginning of Jane, as we learn from Ep. 721. (Att xv. 9.) As to the distribution of the provinces I have followed Appian, for Cicero's letter contains no precise information respecting it. A.IT. 710. B.C. 44. cic. 63. 391 what now remained in his power? Whatever hopes he had ventured to entertain were before long undeceived. "Look at our public authorities/' he writes to Atticus, on the 11th of April, " if they indeed deserve to be called so. See the satellites of the Tyrant filling our offices ; see his army, his veterans, marshalled in attendance on our chief rulers. I foresee the conflagration which all this will one clay kindle.1 , . . What is baser than to maintain 1 Ep.esz. (Aft xiv 5 1 the very same system for which we hated Ca3sar? The very same Consuls and Tribunes whom he chose are retained in office for two years." And hence he came to the conclusion: " I find no point from whence I may direct my energies for the public good."2 Accordingly h e 2 ^ - ^ . betook himself to some of his more distant estates, and entertained the idea of a journey to Greece, his parental affection being an additional inducement to him to visit that country.3 In the months of April and May, while3 E^ 686.; Antonius was making a tour through Southern Italy for (^-*iv-7the purpose of securing the adhesion of Caesar's veterans, we find Cicero at his Tusculan villa, and also in the neighbourhood of Lanuvium, Fundi, Formias, Sinuessa, Puteoli, Pompeii, Naples, and other cities. In regions such as these nature spread before him all her charms, and Atticus it appears counselled him to yield himself up to her delightful influences. But he did not possess that tranquillity of mind which is indispensable to the enjoyment of such scenes. To his friend's question, whether he would prefer more hills and distant prospects, or a voyage by sea (he was then at Puteoli), he replied: . 'AAAa . A X \ ' OV ScUTOS £7T7]pdTOV Spjd fJbifJbTjkeV. XCT]V ASLSIJJLSV fisya 7rrjfia, StoTps^h, slaopocovrss craojorsfjbsv, rj a/iro'fX&vOai.4' SV SOLTJ SS His greatest anxiety arose from the apprehension of a s4 A iuad,\^ 392 L I F E AND LETTERS OF CICERO. civil w a r ; for there appeared small probability t h a t Sextus Pompeius would lay down his arms. " What I shall do in that case I know not," he writes in the same letter; " for neither on the one side nor the other shall I be allowed the same freedom of action that was granted me in Csesar's wars. W h e r e v e r these rascals can discover a man who has expressed joy at his death,— and this we have all of us done in the open light of day, — t h e y will regard him as an enemy, and not be satisfied without his blood. I t remains for me, then, either to betake myself to the camp of Sextus, or, should circumstances render it more advisable, to that of Brutus, — an odious alternative, b y no means suitable to my years, and the less so as the issue of the war is so uncertain. I t seems to me that you and I may say to each o t h e r : Oi) TOL TSICVOV sfiov, dehorat iroXspbrjla spy a, 'AXXa crv y IjjLsposvra pbersp^so spy a \6yoto.* B u t all this accident will determine; which, in such matters, is a more efficient umpire than reason and re3 EP. 692,i. flection."1 (Att.xiv.l3.) Besides the comfort afforded him by the recollection of the Ides of March and by his correspondence with B r u t u s and Cassius, he found solace at this time in the philosophical studies so congenial to his nature. To the above outpourings of his heart he adds the w o r d s : " I will endeavour to acquire that strength which it must rest with ourselves to possess; the strength to comport ourselves wisely and steadfastly, remembering t h a t we are men on whom these reverses have fallen. Then will we fly to letters, which will be powerful to console us, and the remembrance of the Ides of March will afford us no * Iliad, v. 428. 9. Cicero changed the words, in the last verse, epya ydfioio into ipya \6yoiot A. u. 710. B. c. 44. cic. 63. 393 small comfort." Accordingly, it was at this time probably that he wrote one of his most pleasing works, the " Cato " or " De Senectute," which he mentions in a letter of May l l . 1 He appears also to have em-1.Ep.704. ployed himself on the composition of the history of his own times, which unfortunately has not come down to us.* 2 He was cheered by letters from his son at Athens: * £p>698. J ' (Att. xiv. 1 m but his pleasure on his account soon gave place to anxiety.3 His relations with his brother had changed 369fpfA^' again, as we gather from the manner in which he speaksX1V*7*16) of him, but were still far from cordial. Quintus had been separated from Pomponia, and was highly mortified at this time with the conduct of his son, who having at first behaved very undutifully to his mother, now espoused her cause against him, and declared himself a warm partizan of Antonius, as he had already been of Ca3sar.4g8|^96892»' Greatly to Cicero's annoyance, he appeared crowned with [i%™'l: a garland at the festival of the Parilia, which had acquired increased importance in connexion with Caesar, openly declaring that he had placed it on his head in honour of the late Dictator, and now laid it aside in token of sorrow for his death; willingly would he bear " the reproach of still loving the murdered man."f 5 Yet more 5 EPP. 693, \ . w i - i - i 1 70 ° - (•<*«• xi grievous was it to Cicero to have to designate the youth 14.19.) as Antonius's right hand.6 His animated correspondence6 %P- ?03,3 0 l * It has been assumed that Cicero's son published this work, entitled 'Az/e'/c&oTa, after his father's death ; but it is hardly probable that he would have ventured to do so in defiance of OctaYius. It appears, from the letter just referred to, that Cicero was occupied with another yet more secret work, perhaps the 'HpaKAe&iov. See below. f The Parilia, or Palilia, the festival of Pales and of the foundation of Borne, were celebrated on the 21st April. In the foregoing year, the intelligence of Csesar's victory at Munda arrived on the eve of that day, and thus the recollection of the conqueror was now connected with the feast. s 5 (Att. xiv. 20 394 LIFE AND LETTEES OF CICERO. with Atticus was one of his chief sources of consolation , but Atticus had his own anxieties and apprehensions, and did not wish to compromise himself with any party in the *.E;>.695. State. 1 Cicero, therefore, had to summon all his phi(U1V. XVI, y J l 23>) losophy to his aid to carry him through the troubles of the times. Antonius's real designs, which the conspirators were not long in penetrating, became gradually evident to Cicero likewise; in fact it was not easy to keep them concealed under the profession with which the Consul set out, of acting only in strict conformity with the duties and prerogatives of his office. Early in April Cicero wrote to Atticus: " Try to discover Antonius's thoughts. I believe he troubles himself more about banquets than ^ Ep.mi. about matters of dangerous import." 2 But only two days (Ait. xiv. 3 ) ° l . . later he complains of the tumults excited by the " dice s&>683.! player." 3 H e found causes of disquiet in the military force of the tyrant, in the unbridled licentiousness of himself and his associates, in the bad use he made of Caesar's treasure and ordinances, and the spectacle of inconsiderable men and Caesarian soldiers still in possession of the property lawfully belonging to members of the Pompeian faction, with which the Dictator had en* Epp. 684.; dowed them.4 H e might fear too for his own friends xiv'. a io.) under the present order of things; for Antonius had 6 PM. ii. 40. already confiscated some property belonging to Varro. 5 Nor could the meeting between Antonius and the two leaders of the conspiracy, which was mainly intended to lull the e EP. 686. latter into security, long deceive him.6 But what most irritated him was a letter from Antonius in April, requesting him not to make any objection to the recall of 7 Ep. 692. a. Sextius Clodius.* 7 H e easily saw through the profes(AU.xiv.V6.) J & X * A brother of the notorius Tribune Clodius, who had been banished on account of the tumults which took place after Milo's murder, and A . u . 7 1 0 . B.C. 4 4 . c r c . 6 3 . 395 sions of friendship with which t h e petition was accompanied, yet he felt powerless to refuse his assent to a measure which in fact t h e Consul would have carried through whether he approved it or not. Again, Caesar's name was borrowed t o give authority t o t h e transaction. " Antonius has written to me," Cicero informs his friend, " i n honourable terms as relates to myself; b u t with so total a disregard of what is right or beseeming, that a t times one could almost wish Caesar back again. F o r his papers are tampered with, and then we are told he that left injunctions in his will about measures to which in reality he would never have consented." 1 Antonius and Caesar U EP. 692,2.; , . T/Y» • i • PI comp. 693, 2. there was indeed a vast uiixerence m t h e import 01 these(Au.rdv. 13.; xiv. 14.) two names; a difference to which Cicero himself was not insensible. Under the sway of the former even freedom of speech now seemed fettered; the very thought of him roused feelings of indignation in Cicero's breast: and in such a moment it was that he paid this well-merited tribute to the shade of the murdered Dictator: " I believe that I could speak against that accursed faction with less danger to myself whilst the Tyrant lived than now that he no longer exists. For Caesar, I know not how, treated me with great forbearance. But now, turn where we may, we are rebuffed, not only by Caesar's acts, but by his very thoughts." 2 2 EP. 698. ^ Notwithstanding all this, he indulged in t h e vain hope of maintaining his good understanding with A n t o n i u s , whom Antonius, who was connected with him through ITulvia, now hoped to employ for his own purposes. It may be easily conceived how much this proceeding must have wounded Cicero. We possess the letter of Antonius (692. a.) and Cicero's reply (692.&.). This last is highly remarkable, as showing how easily Cicero could assume an appearance of cordiality against his real feelings. He dared not complain when Antonius at a later period made use of this letter, as we find in the second Philippic. s 6 396 L I F E AND LETTERS OF CICEEO. which, based on an acquaintance of many years' standing, (sfy.'xvf.* had never yet been openly interrupted. 1 He purposed to fg 693 appear in the Senate on the 1st of J u n e 2 , when the {Att.xiv. 14.) Consul was to present a general scheme for the government of the Republic, and for that of the provinces in particular. Meanwhile a youth had made his entrance on the stage, whose first appearance showed that he was destined to play a chief part in the great drama. This was Octavius*, the grandson of a sister of Caesar, by whom he had been 3 suet. Jul. adopted and made heir to three-fourths of his property. 3 Octavius had been with his uncle the preceding year, subsequently to the battle of Munda; and afterwards resided at Apollonia in Epirus, applying himself to the completion of his studies, more especially oratory and the art of war. Here he awaited the arrival of Csesar, intending to accompany him on the Parthian expedition. He was now in his nineteenth year, having been born in Cicero's Consulate. At the news of Caesar's death he quitted Apollonia and his studies, and was already in Italy on the 11th of April. He reached Naples on the 18th, and announced that he had come to claim the l£pp-mi Dictator's inheritance.4 At Puteoli he had an interview xiv. 5. io) w ^ n Cicero, and testified the utmost respect and devotion * The subjoined table will show at a glance the relationship between Caesar and Octayius: C. Julius Caesar=Aurelia. I Julia=l. L. Pedius. =2. L. PiI I narius. I | L. Pedius, L. Pinarius. Consul, 711. C. Jul. C8esar,=Cornelia, Dictator. j dau. of Cinna. | Julia, wife of Pompeius. Julia=C. Marius. Julia=Atius Balbus. | Atia= Octavius. | C. Jul. Cass. Oct. Augustus Atia married, secondly, Philippus, of whom mention is frequently made in Cicero's letters. The father of the Dictator had a brother, L. Julius Caesar, whose daughter Julia married M. Antonius Creticus. The Triumvir M. Antonius was the only son of this marriage. A. u. 710. B.C. 44. to the experienced statesman.1 cio. 63. 397 But Cicero did not like l EPP. 69O.; 691. (Att. to hear him called Caesar by his adherents; for he wasxiv-n-12.) surrounded by many who threatened death to the perpetrators of the late deed. The young man seemed disposed to act with too much precipitation; so that his mother, whom he visited at the estate of her second husband Philippus near Puteoli, urged him to conduct himself with moderation and duplicity. But he appeared confident in his own position. Many soldiers, including some of Caesar's veterans, joined him, and pressed him to take into his own hands the execution of the vengeance so long delayed by Antonius. At Terracina, on his way to Rome, he heard of the alterations that had been made in the Dictator's provincial arrangements, of the honourable recall of Sextus Pompeius, and of the other arbitrary measures adopted by Antonius. 2 All these were so mmy'2BAv&??> spurs to his impatience. Before the end of April he wasfo11- in Rome ; Antonius being then absent in Campania. He went instantly to the Consul's brother, the Praetor, and told him he had come to claim his inheritance: he then caused L. Antonius, the Tribune, to present him to the people.3 As soon as the Consul himself returned he went 3 EP. 703,3. to him, and upbraided him with his delay in exacting vengeance for the late deed, at the same time demanding Caesar's treasure and the confirmation in due form of the act of his adoption. The young man's audacity was far from agreeable to Antonius, so greatly his superior in age; and his demand of the treasure placed him in the utmost embarrassment. He replied, in an angry and scornful tone, that Caesar's treasure appertained to the State, and had been applied to its service. The truth was, however, that he had made use of it to pay his own debts and those of his colleague Dolabella, and to secure partizans to his own interests. 4 The ratification of 1]\Q^ PMIAIZI. 398 L I F E AND LETTERS OF CICERO. act of adoption he did his best to hinder by delays. And thus Antonius and Octavius found themselves placed in a position of mutual hostility. Antonius had been making a tour through Southern Italy for the purpose of gaining over Cesar's veterans: he had left Dolabella in Rome, being secure of his fidelity. Octavius sold his own patrimony and made use of the property of his mother and step-father, in order to pay the people Caesar's legacy; for Antonius pertinaciously withheld the repayment he claimed; and so far did he now belie his former professions of desiring to see all Caesar's dispositions ratified, that he even set on foot an inquiry ^Appian, into the legality of his acquisitions.1 The favour of the 20 people, however, was won by Octavius, and his claims to his uncle's inheritance were declared valid. This was particularly manifested at the celebration of the games which Caesar had vowed in honour of " Venus Genitrix" 2 Ep. 708. and which now Octavius solemnized in his stead 2 , and suet. Oct. id. afterwards during the magnificent spectacles given by the Pra3tor C. Antonius in the name of his absent colleague Brutus.* And now the downfall of the conspirators in the popular favour was complete; while Octavius on the other hand continued to gain room for the execution of his vast and daring projects; leading the Optimates to believe, by his dexterous policy, that he belonged to their party, and 3 piut. etc. causing Cicero to express satisfaction in his devotedness.3 Antonius, who returned to Rome probably about the middle of May, had however still some friends in the Senate, and by their means he succeeded in obtaining his own appointment to the province of Macedonia, with the command of the * These were the Apollinarian games, which commenced on the 5th July. Comp. Ep. 723. (Alt. xv. 11.) It was during the celebration of the games held in honour of Venus Genitrix that the comet appeared which was supposed to announce the deification of Csesar. A. v. 710. B. c. 44. cic. 63. 399 legions quartered there, which had been originally destined for the Parthian war.* * He had previously procured from ^f^V. 3 ; the people Dolabella's appointment to Syria, with the ^/WxVxl2.Vv, conduct of that enterprise. . The legions which Antonius m. ?1.an' "Ct withdrew from that service he got Dolabella to grant him, on the plea that Syria was not threatened with invasion. His real object was to employ them in the Cisalpine, for which he meant to exchange Macedonia with Decimus Brutus. The Senate objected to the exchange; but he gained his point by applying to the people.f He had long intended to act as Csesar had done before him, in making Gaul the basis from which to conduct his -operations for the attainment of supreme dominion.2 \£ft.WiL Cicero did not make his appearance in the Senate on xiv!'^.")"* the 1st of June, though he had repaired to his residence at Tusenium in the full intention of proceeding thither. He received warnings, from his friends and from Hirtius likewise to absent himself, and was informed that armed men had been despatched on the road to Tuscuium to secure his person.3 He was unwilling besides to see Antonius; 3 Epp.iv.; n i • i n T • 1 1 * 1 1 T 1 718. \Att. XV » ior bitter was the feeling with which he wrote: " 1 have 5.8.) resolved to keep at a distance from the city, where I not only once enjoyed the highest honours, but retained some dignity even in my slavery." He had continued to maintain amicable relations with Csesar's friends, though without giving them his confidence 4 ; while they, like their great 4 ^.688. ; 0 & . . 690.; 704. leader, had good reason for desiring to count so distin-[f *%*}*•dguished a man as one of their party. W e find him giving * Cassius was to receive the province of Cyrene as a compensation for Syria, and Brutus Crete instead of Macedonia, which had been already assigned to Dolabella, on the 17th May, as we learn from Ep. 688. (Att. xiv. 9.) f The refusal of the Senate took place probably on the 1st of June. Ep. 693, 2. 400 1 Ep. 69i. L I F E AND LETTERS OF CICERO. instructions in the art of rhetoric to Hirtius and Pansa the Consuls elect for the ensuing* year.1 The hatred they (Att. xiv. 12.) entertained for Antonius led him at one time to form some hopes of gaining them to the interests of the Republic; but he was soon forced to confess the groundlessness of * EPP.7ou such a project.2 He may possibly, however, have thought 21.5 xv. 5.) ' of securing himself a refuge in their protection in case of the total annihilation of his political visions. His next step was to apply by letter to Antonius for a legatio libera ; and he was greatly pleased when Dolabella, who was preparing for his departure to Syria and the war against the 3^.723. Parthians, appointed him his legate. 3 This gave him liberty to leave Italy, without imposing on him any duties beyond what his taste or convenience might incline him to undertake. His political hopes were in fact already at a low ebb. Once again they had been somewhat raised, when Dolabella in the absence of Antonius destroyed the altar and column erected to Caesar's memory by Amatius and his 4 EpP. 696.; crew, and caused the ringleaders to be put to death.* 4 697.; 711, 1. . . . . . (ML xiv. is. J" or this act of iustice Cicero greeted his son-in-law as a 16.; Div. x n . «J ° i2.\ Apptan,2'" second B r u t u s ; " and L. Cassar, the uncle of Antonius, B. c. m. 3. c o n g r a tul a ting him on the event, said that Dolabella " was the only Consul worthy of the name since the man who 5 .Ep.699. had put clown Catilina.5 Yet this very Dolabella was soon (Div. ix. 14.) r J . won over by the bribes of his colleague to give himself up 6 Ep. 775,1. unreservedly to his service.! 6 And as for Antonius, the (Att. xvi. 15.) J ' 9 * According to Appian, Dolabella even proposed in the Senate that the Ides of March should be declared to be the day which saved the country. •j- It is curious to see, in the midst of the extravagant praise which Cicero heaps upon Dolabella and the joy he really experienced at his change of parties, that he cannot refrain in his confidential letters to Atticus from sarcastic hints at his delay in restoring Tullia's marriage portion. JEpp. 700. 701. 702. A.U. 710. B.C. 44. cic. 63. 401 measures he proposed and carried through in the Senate on the 1 st of June only served yet more to incense Cicero against him.1 All Cicero's hopes now centered in Brutus 1 PMALi and Cassius ; yet even his confidence in them was not unshaken., as appears from the following w7ords in a letter to Cassius, written probably about the end of M a y : "You have done better service to the State than I could have ventured to hope: but she is not yet satisfied. She measures the demands she has yet to make upon you by the greatness of your mind> and of the deed you have wrought. HithertOj all she has gained by the murder of the Tyrant is vengeance for her injuries. What has she yet recovered of her former glories ? Or shall we indeed account it one of her glories that she obeys him dead5 whom living she could not brook? that she receives his written memoranda as laws, whose formal edicts she ought to have cancelled." * * *,#>. f.n.; {Div. x n . 1. * It is difficult to trace the sequence of the events which followed Caesar's death in the authors who have described them. I set down here the circumstances mentioned in Cicero's letters with the true or probable date of the documents themselves. As most of the letters are addressed to Atticus, and are immediate replies to his advices from Borne, we may conclude that they refer to events which had only just occurred. These dates, then, may be taken as nearly the earliest assignable to each. The date of some events is stated with precision. Cicero journeys from Astura April 11 Ep. 683. Arrival of Octavius in Italy „ 11 Conference of Antonius with Brutus and Cassius, probably in Koine 12 „ 684. Cicero at Eundi 12 Brutus at Lanuvium 15 „ 686. Cicero at his Puteolanum 16 Brutus satisfied with the act of Antonius in putting the pseudo-Marius to death „ 18 „ 687. Lepidus in the Eurther Gaul „ ,18 Dolabella appointed to Syria -. -. „ 19 „ 688. Octavius at Naples ^ * „ 18 „ 689. 402 L I F E AND LETTERS OF CICERO. Meanwhile Brutus and Cassius lingered in the neighboured of Lanuyium and Antium, with feelings embittered by the disrespectful and arbitrary manner in which they had been treated. When Dolabella overthrew the altar erected by the demagogues, as before mentioned, Cicero indulged the confident hope that the moment had come when they might effect something for their cause in \Itt *x?v7'i6) ^ o m e l > a n d they proposed to appear there on the 1st of June and show themselves to the people from the Rostrum. But on hearing that Antonius was assembling Trebonius repairs to his province - April 19 Octavius with Cicero; Balbus, also Hirtius and Pansa 20 Ep. 690. ?) The Sicilians have received the franchise „ 22 5> 691. Decimus Brutus with his legions in the Cisalpine „ 26 > 692. > Rehabilitation of Sextius Cloclius „ 26 Cicero is convinced that Sex. Pompeius will remain under arms - - - - » > 26 Further spoliation of the Temple of Ops „ 27 it 693. Antonius applies for the Cisalpine „ 27 Octavius in Rome „ 27 Dolabella overthrows the column in honour of Caesar May 1 JJ 696. 3 » 698. Cicero at his Pompeianum „ Antonius at Capua, on his journey into the 3 south of Italy „ 7 „ 700. M. Brutus meditates voluntary exile „ Antonius at Misenum » 11 J) 703. Antonius arms some of Caesar's veterans „ 11 5» 704. Games exhibited by Octavius „ 18 » 708. Trebonius at Athens „ 22 » 714. Octavius successful in his appeals „ 23 J» 710. Cicero at his Tusculanum „ 27 > 718. » Remarkable meeting of the Senate under the presidency of Antonius (Phil. ii, 42., i. 2.) June 1 „ 719. Cicero's interview with Brutus and Cassius at Antium « „ 8 „ 723. Brutus meditates going to Asia „ 10 ,,724. A. u. 710. B.C. 44. cic. 63. 403 many of the veterans round his person, and had appointed others to be in Rome on that day, they became frightened, and wrote to him to ask whether he could ensure their safety. This address1 while it bears witness to their great 1 Ep.nz. apprehensions, shows their folly in complying with the advice Antonius gave them in reply, and discharging the followers who might have proved a defence to them. At the meeting of the Senate on the day above-mentioned, the Consuls elect did not venture to appear; the well-disposed portion of the aristocracy kept aloof from the city ; and the measures that were passed were carried more by the agency of the people than of the Senate. The veterans proved the most effective instruments for giving the weight of authority to the Consul's enactments; and he found himself in a position which enabled him to execute, alter, or reverse Caesar's decrees iust as he chose,2 2 PML \ 2.; On the 8th of June Cicero went from Tusculum to visit Brutus and Cassius at Antium. He found them extremely angry at the edict of the 5th, by which they were charged with the commission of supplying the city with corn. Cicero also expressed his indignation at it. 3 He found with^p-^i.; them Portia the daughter of Cato and wife of Brutus, [$*'{*?'9* Tertulla sister to Brutus, married to Cassius, and Servilia mother of Brutus and half-sister of Cato*; the ardent Republican Favonius was also present. Cicero advised them to submit to the odious decree. He saw that totally .' * Servilia had been Cs&sar's mistress long before, and it was even supposed that Brutus was his son. Caesar made her rich presents, and bestowed on her some of the confiscated goods of the Pompeians and of the Tribune Pontius Aquila. Ep. 704. (Ad Att xiv. 21.); Suet. Jul 78. We learn from Ad Att. xv. 11. the influence which she possessed over the Csesarians, and the suspicion with which Cicero regarded her. [These scandalous stories will hardly bear sifting. Servilia was probably older than Caesar, and must have been between sixty and seventy at the time when he is said to have shown her such favour. Brutus was only fifteen years his junior.] 404 L I F E AND iLETTEES OF CICEEO. unprepared as they were for any important enterprise, they ought at present to think only of their personal safety: the salvation of the Republic depended upon it. But he could not persuade them. Cassius, who was the most vehement, wished to go to Achaia, where many of the Pompeian faction had betaken themselves. Brutus, full of confidence in the justice of his cause, was for proceeding to Rome, where the old Republic could still reckon upon some adherents among the populace. Cicero employed all his eloquence to dissuade him from such a step: it was, he said, to rush upon certain ruin. Brutus was obstinate, and it must be allowed, that what with the excitable passions of the conspirators, their gross negligence of all ordinary precautions, and his own wTant of consistency, Cicero had at this time no easy part to play : but his business was to advise for the future; and therefore it was hardly becoming in him so dwell as he did on the recollection of all that ought to have been done on the Ides of March, however true such considerations might be. Servilia at length engaged to contrive that the charge of the supplies should be expunged from the decree, so that Cassius might be enabled to leave Italy at once, as he desired, and go to the province already assigned him. I t was not difficult after this to make Brutus abandon his rash project; he now proposed to remain where he was, whilst the games which he was bound to give in his quality of Praetor should be celebrated in Rome by deputy, and after they were over he would set out for Asia. " Apart from this proof of affection and duty," writes Cicero to his friend, after relating the above transactions, " I cannot help asking myself e H SsOp' 6869 (TOL rl Svvarac vvv, SzoTTpoTcz; * * This, according to Valckenaer, is a verse of Sophocles. Diatr. ad Eur. Fragm. p. 192. A. u. 710. B. c. 44. cic. 63. 405 " I found the vessel altogether unsound, or I might say actually shattered: no plan, no rational deliberation, no method of any kind. I am therefore the more firmly resolved as soon as possible to take my flight from hence where, u c Neque Pelopidarum facta, neque famam audiam? " x l Ep- 723." Hence it appears that all he had effected by his intervention was to prevent Brutus from rushing headlong on his own destruction. The chief pf the conspiracy remained as before, utterly inactive 2 , and shortly after the meetings Ep.-M. above described, he writes to Atticus: " When 1 saw clearly at Lanuvium, just as you do, that our friends had only just so much hope of their lives as Antonius chose to allow them, I gave up the cause for lost. Now listen to my words uttered with calm deliberation: the death which our enemies design for us is in my estimation an ignominious fate, and the more so as it is dictated to us by Antonius. This impending misery then I am resolved to fly from, not through fear of death itself, but because I hope to encounter death some day in a worthier shape. This is all the fault of Brutus:" 3 and in an earlier letters ^.731. he observes: " He (Brutus) has taken more pains to secure the immortality of his own name than our welfare."4 4 EP.706. I t is obvious that the cherished vision of Cicero's mind had been the reversal of all the late Dictator's obnoxious decrees, and the reestablishment of the Republic in the same condition precisely as during his own Consulate and the period immediately following. Never had his imagination been more active than on the Ides of March. The hopes he then indulged in at another time he would have pronounced impossibilities ; for the next hour after the murder gave plain proof that no scheme of political re- 406 L I F E AND LETTERS OF CICERO. volution had been previously concerted by the conspirators; and from the fact of their instantly calling out Cicero's name, it would seem that they relied entirely upon him for the restoration of the ancient government. But allowing for an instant the practicability of such a restoration, it is very evident from the general tenour of his life, especially after his exile, that Cicero was not calculated to be its instrument. To overthrow Antonius in the full career of his ambition, together with Dolabella, his creature and colleague, or to induce them of their own will to lay downv the Consular authority ; to purge a Senate chiefly consisting of Csesar's partizans ; to hold the veterans in check and at the same time satisfy their demands; to kindle the enthusiasm of the people for a cause they had forgotten— all this was no slight or easy task. In moments of great excitement impossibilities may be overlooked; but a reaction speedily occurs in minds of less energetic order. Already, in the assembly held in the Temple of Tellus, Cicero was well pleased at finding himself able to obtain an amnesty for his friends, and was fain to consent without opposition to the ratification of Caesar's measures. Soon after he turned his back on Rome, he begins to speak disparagingly of his beloved Brutus and Cassius, whom he at least had no right to blame ; and after a few weeks have passed away, we find him once more quietly occupied with the composition of philosophical treatises, Some faint hopes, though mingled with doubt and anxiety, he still rested on the young Octavius. On the 10th of June he writes thus to Atticus: "' He possesses,, as I have not failed to recognize, intellect and courage; and the disposition he has testified towards our heroes is just what we could wish. But how far he is to be trusted, considering his immature age, his name, his inheritance i Ep. 724. and his flatterers, is an anxious question." l (Ati. xv. 12.). A. u. 710. B.C. 44. cic. 63. 407 When a man no longer young finds himself circumstanced as Cicero now was, his natural habits and disposition are wont insensibly to reassume their sway. As early as the commencement of April we find him occupied in building at his Tusculan villa; at Puteoli, where he spent a great part of the spring, he gave lessons in rhetoric to Hirtius and Pansa; then again we find him recurring to the subject of the temple which he designed to dedicate to Tullia; and above all his literary pursuits continued to employ his time and thoughts. 1 His noble ggf?-^8.1-"' treatise "De Senectute" has been mentioned already. ^lll'\7]ff'; was succeeded by another with the title u De Amicitia^f^'i^1^;^^ He composed also the work entitled " De Gloria" un- 14 ° fortunately no longer extant, but of which he thought very highly himself.2 To this period likewise we may probably ^f^-775484'; refer the composition—or at all events the completion — iH^l'/7'' of the work " De Natura Deorum" dedicated to Brutus; the treatise "De Divinatione? that " D e Fato" part of which is lost, and probably the commencement of the "Be Officiis"* " "_ \»$!^t Before setting out on the journey he had so long con- ^Atu xv*14,) teniplated, he had the satisfaction of seeing his nephew join the Republican party, and of presenting him in person to Brutus 4 , who was at this time at the island of NesisJJ^ff.7*^;; near Puteoli, having continued to li nger on board his vessel xv^! 5.f * V x. near the coast, after leaving Lanuvium. Cicero had quitted 19 ' Tusculum at the end of June, and was now likewise in the neighbourhood of Puteoli, where he continued to reside up to the time of his departure for Greece. Parental affection had made himfixupon Athens as the object of his journey, his appointment by Dolabella* to the office of honorary legate for five years, giving him the option of residing or travelling wTherever he chose.5 H e purposed5 EP. 723. * On the 2nd of June. 408 L I F E AND LETTERS OF CICERO. however to be In Rome again by the 1st of January, when Hirtius and Pansa were to enter on their Consulate, and a favourable crisis in public affairs might be antici1^^.748.; pated in consequence.1 758 (Att. xvi.5.6.); u At length, after much delay and hesitation, the eve of Phil. i.2» . . his departure arrived, and feelings of gloom and despondency took possession of his mind. e( My departure," he wrrites to Atticus, "brings with it many disquieting thoughts, especially that of leaving you. I dread too the difficulties of the voyage, which seems alike uncongenial to my age and dignity, and there is something rather perverse in choosing such a moment for i t : for I quit my country in peace to return to it in a time of war * ; and the moments I might so pleasantly occupy in my rich and smiling domains, I must now spend in a distant and laborious expedition. But one thing cheers me — I shall be able to be of use to my son, or at least to find out what may be done for him. And then I hope you will come to Greece as you promised, and if so, everything will wear a brighter coloura Ep 754,2. ing," 2 It must be confessed that his courage and manliness compfS.' 'were at a low ebb when he wrote this; but ere long wTe shall see the nobler part of his character again in the ascendant, and the lofty sentiments of his better days accompanied by a corresponding energy of action. The tenderness of his attachment to his friend is in itself a pleasing trait; it was duly reciprocated by Atticus, who 3 Ep.744.^ wept wThen they took leave of each other at Tusculum.3 " Had you shed those tears in my presence," writes Cicero, " perhaps I should have given up my voyage altogether." He extended the same affectionate interest to his friend's i Epp.743.; little daughter Attica.4 Nor was their mutual regard a 754, 2.; 758. and else- & *> = xv^s'-^i' * Cicsro could not fail to apprehend war when he reflected on the 3. 6.) bearing of Antonius towards Octavius, and on his determination to wrest the Cisalpine from Decimus. Ep. 732. (Att, xv. 21.); comp. 720. 729. (Att. xv. 7. 18.) A.U. 710. B. c. 44. cic. 63. 409 mere matter of sentiment. It displayed itself in works of active zeal; and we observe with pleasure Cicero's indefatigable efforts to save the property of Atticus at Buthroturn, which was threatened by the depredations of Caesar's veterans. Many letters are occupied with this subject, some being addressed to other individuals concerned in i t . 1 ^ ^ ^ Atticus was equally zealous in the service of Cicero, and753, it was to his counsel that the latter had recourse when his pecuniary affairs became embarrassed, as seems to have been the case at the present period.2 \Iit'™i Cicero had at first intended to set sail in company with *nhdef^e" Brutus, but the latter delayed his departure too long on account of the games which C. Antonius, his colleague in the Praetorship, was exhibiting in his name at Rome. 3 3 ^-^ 8 ^ Cicero had frequent interviews with him, and visited him in the island of Nesis a few days only before his own departure. 4 He found him highly pleased at the manner in \ftf;^\; which the games had been received.5 Loud acclamations' Phu.n.i ° # comp. Flut had attended the delivery of certain passages from Attius's-*'*'-21play of Tereus, expressing hatred of tyrants, and this consoled him for not having been allowed to represent the tragedy of Brutus by the same author, and also for his disappointment in Cicero's absence on the occasion.* 6 Libo, 6 Epp- US, father-in-law of Sextus Pompeius, joined them at Nesis,5-s xv- 26.) bringing intelligence that Sextus was ready to lay down his arms, provided his patrimony were restored to him, and that the chiefs of the Caesarian faction would disband their troops.7 7 Ep. 749,1 The matter he said was already in treaty; Lepidus hadcomp.x3io4' acted discreetly in this affair in concert with Antonius ; for io?ss'x v' * These were the Apollinarian games, which were partly dramatic and partly gymnastic, and included also combats of wild beasts. The PraBtor C. Antonius was brother of the Consul. Brutus was also hurt at the games being announced for the Nones of Julius; the name Quintilis should have been used, he thought, for the other recalled the memory of Caesar. Epp. 749, 1.; 747, I. (Att. xvi. 4. 1.) T 410 L I F E AND LETTERS OF CICERO. to him it was of great moment that Spain, which he governed conjointly with Asinius Pollio, should be evacuated by the six Pompeian legions. Lepidus had the neighbouring division of Gaul likewise under his command; Asinius and Plancus, the latter of whom held the rest of Transalpine Gaul, were yet to be gained, and then if Antonius should succeed in getting possession of the province assigned to Decimus Brutus, who would be able to oppose their schemes ? At Nesis, Cicero likewise met Cassius, who was lying Utt.'lvi.'l) W ^ n n * s vessels off Naples.1 He and Brutus exhorted each other to adopt a more decided line of resistance to Antonius, and the fruits of their resolution afterwards appeared in a document they addressed to him on the 4th of August, in reply to a hostile edict and letter on his part, a.Ep.757. the purpose of which was to frighten them out of Italy. 2 But it was too late: they had already wasted five important months, which Antonius on the other hand had employed with the utmost dexterity for the furtherance of his designs. What could they venture to hope from Octavius ? Or what from the people ? of whom, when speaking of the applause bestowed on the Apollinarian games, Cicero complains: " A l a s ! that the Roman people can only use their hands for public acclamations, instead of performing with them any deed for the defence of the 3 EP. 7 0 3 Commonwealth!" 3 5 {Ait. xvi. 2.) And now, saddened by the spectacle of all that followed on Caesar's assassination, by the intrigues, the party animosities, the short-sightedness of those whose aims were purest, and the demoralization of those whose talents placed them foremost in the struggle, we turn with a sense of relief to linger for a while amid scenes which awaken the purer sympathies of humanity. Such we find in a letter addressed by C. Matius to Cicero at the end of A. u. 710. B. c. 44. cic. 63. 411 May. Our pleasure, indeed, is purchased at some cost: for the letter to which this is a reply forces us to acknowledge with pain that obstinate devotion to a party will too often induce men, great and honourable in every other respect, to forget all the sentiments of moderation and mercy. More especially is this the case in a Republic. Cicero had been treated by Ca3sar with singular magnanimity. The reflection upon the Ides of March, which he had found so consoling amidst the first disappointments thereupon ensuing, gave way before long to a sense of vain regret for " the man who treated him with admirable kindness." l And now that the schemes of Antonius had gra- l EPP. cm 698. (Alt. dually unfolded themselves, we find him (at the end ofxiv-13- wMay) writing thus to Atticus: "Think of me as.you will; if things go on as they seem likely to do, the Ides of March will comfort me no longer. For, possibly he (Cassar) would not have returned among us *; we should not have found ourselves constrained by fear to give our sanction to all his ordinances ; or again, favoured as I was by him, I might very well have borne him for a master in my old age, since now having got rid of him, we are not any nearer to freedom."2 Yet even in this passage he cannot*fp-710< help uttering a bitter curse upon him f; and assuredly his heart remained unreconciled to his memory, while he * This may be taken as referring either to the probability that Caesar, who was in ill health at the time of his assassination, might have perished in the campaign for which he was then preparing against the Parthians; or, which seems a more probable supposition, Cicero intended to say that had things been conducted more prudently, and had the life of Antonius not been spared, another Caesar would not have risen in his person to act as a still more pernicious foe to the Eepublic. [Abeken follows, apparently, Schutz's reading; llle enim [aut] nunquam revertisset. But, omitting the conjectural aut, the meaning is, " He might never, perhaps, have returned,'* and can only refer to the chance of Caasar's death in his Parthian campaign.] f Gratiosi eramus apud ittam, quern Dii mortuum perduinL T 2 412 L I F E AND LETTERS OF CICERO. assailed even the generous friends of the deceased with sneers and vituperation. One of these was C. Matius, a Roman knight; a man of refinement and susceptibility. He was warmly attached to Caesar, whom he had attended in Gaul; and doubtless when there he had helped to confirm the good understanding between his leader and Cicero. Though faithful to Caesar, he declined any active participation in the civil war, and, conducting himself with good sense and moderation, did his utmost to restore general tranquillity. Caesar reciprocated his feelings of attachment ; and Matius employed the credit he enjoyed with the chief of the State, in doing good offices to many individuals, Cicero among the number. He continued firm in his friendship to Caesar during the period of his dominion; and how deeply he lamented his death we have already 72 ; s e e i 1 , 1 3sf^5i4 ' ^ t n a * t m i e Cicero failed to recognize the truth jttix^'i1^ °f ^ s w o r ( ^ s 5 i n writing to Atticus he even blamed and Biv. vi. 12.) a]3Used him.2 He reproached him, moreover, for concur683. (Att "' ring in the ratification of an earlier edict of Caesar's, which xiv. 2. 5.) ° . the circumstances had demanded; and above all, for promoting the public games given by Octavius in his \i6PP(At?'* h ° n o u r ' 3 Matius complained of his language; and Cicero, xl' 28.?iv' l W ^ ° c 0 1 1 ^ not afford t o forfeit so great a man's regard, 4 Ep. 715. wrote to h i m in excuse. 4 H i s eminent talents and cornCD^, xi. 27.) . mand of language were n o t wont to desert him on occasions like t h i s : y e t how cold and artificial does his letter aw?' xi6,28 s o u n d when compared with t h e reply of M a t i u s ! 5 In this we behold the merits of Caesar set forth in attractive colours, and the whole breathes an atmosphere of pure sentiment, both delightful and refreshing. Could Cicero, who was assuredly no stranger himself to the softer emotions, read without a sense of shame the following words: " I was conscious I had done nothing which could offend the feelings of an upright man. How little then A. u. 710. B. c. 44. cic. 63. 413 could I imagine that any one would have brought you to believe such things against me, without the slightest proof, great and various as are your mental endowments, and faithful as I have ever been in my partiality for you ? I t is charged upon me as a crime that I lament the death of one who was bound to me in the closest friendship; that I find it hard to bear the reflection that the man I loved has been murdered. For they say, our country ought to be more to us than any private friendship, Thus they take it for granted that Caesar's murder was beneficial to our country. But I will be honest: I confess this is altogether a height of wisdom to which I have not attained. In the civil war I was not, properly speaking, of Caesar's party; I did not regard his cause with favour; yet I would not abandon my friend. These dissensions and their origin I alike condemned; and I sought to stifle them in their birth. When my friend proved victorious, no temptation of honour or of wealth seduced me. On the contrary, I even suffered loss of property in consequence of one of his laws; a law which gave many the power of remaining in this State, who are now rejoicing in his death. I exerted myself in behalf of many who were in the conqueror's power, as zealously as if it had been for my own safety. Thus, the deliverance and well-being of all being the object of my desire, how can I do otherwise than grieve most deeply at the murder of him in whom all hope of the general welfare centered ? And to see those very men the perpetrators of the deed, who were the subjects of general envy on account of the favours they received at his hands! < Then you shall suffer,' they say, ' for your presumption in daring to disapprove of our exploit.' O unexampled arrogance ! And shall one man then be allowed to glorify himself for a deed of violence., while another may not even grieve for it with impunity? But they can do T 3 414 L I F E AND LETTERS OF CICERO. nothing with me. No danger nor terror shall turn me aside from the duties of friendship, or from indulging in the natural feelings of humanity. I could wish that Csesar's death were lamented by all the world. And as for my own patriotism, if the whole course of my life hitherto, and what remains of it hereafter, do not bear witness to it, I will not attempt to prove it by any lengthened demonstration." While acknowledging that in the correspondence which passed between Cicero and Matius on this occasion, the latter appears in by far the most advantageous light, we must remember that Cicero stood somewhat in the position of the hero of the ancient Tragic Drama, whose destiny was to struggle against time and circumstance. And, if he erred in failing to recognize the great mission of Caesar, was not his error human ? Once he had been himself the instrument of saving the State from destruction, and had been called the Father of his Country. Let not blame then be cast upon him by any who have known what it is themselves to have embraced a political party, and fought and laboured for it with all their strength. I t is true his letters to Atticus at this time exhibit no marks of enlightened statesmanship, or of the qualifications requisite in one who might have averted the ruin of the State : but he disarms us by his own words after relating the incapacity of Brutus and Cassius, and the treatment they submitted to from \ ?p' 721« x Antonius. " I am worn out," he says. " with sorrow." 1 (Att. xv. 9.) . On the 16th or 17th of July, he set sail from his residence near Pompeii, with three small vessels. He kept along the coast as far as Rhegium, ready to land any where he might like. He came to shore at Velia, and visited the estate of his friend Trebatius, then absent; to 7 *>.755. whom he addressed a letter from the spot (July 20.). 2 This letter and another to the same written from Rhegiuiii A. IT. 710. B. C. 44. Cic. 63. 415 on the 28th, are in a cheerful strain. The last is accompanied by his treatise entitled Topica, which he had completed on the voyage.1 I t was occasioned by a \ Ep.im. former request of Trebatius, who having met with Aristotle's work so entitled in Cicero's library at Tusculum, asked for explanations on the subject. Cicero advised him to study the work itself, but Trebatius could not master it, nor did he derive any effectual assistance from a certain Rhetor to whom he had recourse. At that time Cicero was too much occupied to attend to his wishes, but promised his aid at some future period; and now in his friend's own home he bethought himself of his engagement. As he pursued his voyage to Rhegium he wrote down his observations, which form an excellent introduction to the work of the Greek philosopher. Cut off as he was from all literary assistance, and assuredly not in a state of mind favourable to sustained mental exertion, the execution of this treatise may well astonish us by the idea it conveys of the clearness of his intellect, the retentiveness of his memory, and his facility of expression.2 2 Topka, 1. Before arriving at Khegium, he stopped again to pay a visit to another friend at Vibo. This was Sica, who had received him hospitably at the time he was quitting Italy as an exile. From hence he again wrote to Atticus, requesting him to settle some debts for him. At the same time he sends him an introduction to prefix to the treatise De Gloria which he had before presented to him ; for happening to read over the Academicce Qucestiones on his voyage, he discovered that the preface originally sent with the De Gloria had also been used for this latter work. iC I keep," he says, " a volume of introductory chapters, ready written, from which I make a selection when I want one for any new work. Thus it happened that at Tusculum I gave you this preface along with the book, T 4 416 L I F E AND LETTERS OF CICERO. not remembering that I had used it already. As soon as I discovered my mistake, I composed another instead of it, i Ep. 758. which I now send you." J Assuredly did we not know (Alt. xvi. 6.) . . . . . what Cicero was in his public and official career, the occurrences of this voyage would make us imagine he was born to be an author only. The remainder of this letter is written in a dissatisfied and melancholy strain. " Truly my Atticus," he says, " I often ask myself, rj Ssup' 686? aoi rl Svyarac: why am I not with you? why am I not beholding those jewels of Italy, my own delightful villas? 1 must not say too much about it. But, not to be with you! and wherefore? to avoid danger? If I am right, there is none near at hand; and you wish I should be back again by the time it really comes; for you say my journey is every where highly approved of, but only on the understanding that I am to appear in Rome again on the 15th of January. I will indeed do my best to return by that time; for I would rather be in Rome, encompassed with fears, than free from alarm at your beloved Athens." He desired to avoid the usual route to Greece, which lay from Brundisium across the sea, fearing to encounter the Macedonian legions which Antonius had ordered into if7"!'^ 33#i -fr^y*2 He accordingly directed his course to Sicily, and (^.xvi.5.) entered the harbour of Syracuse on the 15th of August. But he only remained a day or two in that city, believing that a longer sojourn in so important a place would give rise to unfavourable surmises. As he was pursuing his voyage, however, adverse winds drove him back to Leucopetra, a promontory not far from Rhegium. From thence he made another attempt to get into the open sea, but had scarcely sailed three hundred stadia* when he * [Among the Romans the mile was strictly a land measure. At sea A.U. 710. B.C. 44. cic. 63. 417 was a second time driven back to Leucopetra. "Whilst waiting for a favourable wind, at the neighbouring residence of his friend Valerius, certain citizens of Rhegiurn arrived there, men of consequence, who had just left Rome, bringing the intelligence that there appeared every prospect of a reconciliation between Antonius and the two chiefs of the conspiracy, from whom they likewise brought an edict expressed in energetic yet reasonable terms. The Senate, they said, was to assemble in great force on the 1st of September, and Brutus and Cassius had earnestly requested that the former Consuls and Prastors would be present on the occasion. There was reason to hope that Antonius would dismiss his evil counsellors, relinquish his designs on Gaul, and conform to the wishes of the Senate.1 One of these men had lately conferred i ma. i. with Brutus at Naples, having been his guest there. They showed Cicero at the same time a speech addressed by Antonius to the people, which pleased him so much, that he immediately began to think of returning to Rome. In this design he was confirmed by hearing from the same informants that his presence was ardently desired in the city, where his journey had been the subject of much animadversion. When his resolution was taken, without reference to the sarcastic observations of Atticus in a letter which greeted him in the Straits of Messina, his friend now blamed his journey (of which he had before expressed approbation), saying it was very suitable to the views of an Epicurean, but little worthy of a Stoic philosopher.2 » JEP. 759. Cicero reached Velia on his w a y back o n t h e 17th of August. Brutus no sooner heard of his arrival there, than he hastened on foot to meet him, from three miles' distance where his ships were lying at anchor. " O ye they used the Greek measure stadium, equivalent generally to an eighth of a mile, which was employed indifferently hy land and water.] T 5 418 LIFE AND LETTERS OF CICERO. J F.P.759. gods!" exclaims Cicero writing to Atticus 1 ; "how sin(Att xvi. 7 •} cerely did he rejoice at my return! all that he had hitherto concealed in silence, he now poured forth from the fulness of his heart.* But what he most regretted was my absence from the Senate on the 1st of August." On that day, the Consular L. Calpurnius Piso, father-inlaw of Csesar, had had the courage to come forward with a spirited and patriotic speech in opposition to Antonius; but he had been feebly seconded by those in the Senate 2 pkii. i. 4. who ought to have given him their support.2 This example was calculated to arouse Cicero's emulation; and the more so as his self-esteem was wounded on hearing from Brutus that it was currently reported he had gone to Greece to amuse himself with the spectacle of the Olympic Games. Cicero and Brutus never met again after this interview. The latter quitted Italy together with Cassius, shortly after; and from Athens they departed to the provinces which had been assigned to them respectively by Caesar, having no regard to the subsequent exchanges decreed by j. veil. Fat. the Senate and people.3 Thus it was that the caprice of the elements, the entreaties of his friends, and his natural inclinations, concurred in bringing Cicero back to Italy; once more to tread the soil on which the fabric of his glory had been reared, on which it was destined yet again to appear conspicuous in the eyes of the world, and then to be cast down to ruin. On his arrival in Rome on the last day of August, he found all the anticipations verified which his last conversation with Brutus had awakened in him; and he experienced the truth of his own words to Atticus within * Namely, how much he was grieved that Cicero should leave Italy just at that time. A.u. 710. B.C. 44. cic. 63. 419 a fortnight before : " And so it is, that having withdrawn myself when the danger appeared less imminent, I am now about to throw myself headlong into the fire."* Joy- )]$%™f\ ful acclamations, indeed, greeted him when he appeared before the gates of the city, and the people loudly testified their eagerness for his return 2 ; but he did not venture to^plut-Cicshow himself in the Senate on the very next day, as Antonius requested, having heard that a proposition was to be brought forward for paying divine honours to Caesar; for Antonius now openly professed himself a partizan of the late Dictator, and the executor of all his designs. Cicero excused himself on the plea of fatigue, upon which Antonius publicly declared he would send workmen to pull down his dwelling.3 His interview with 3 PM:L5.; Brutus had already convinced him that nothing was to be expected from the edict of which the Ehegian messengers had informed him, or from another issued by Antonius in the same strain: and it was evident that no prospect whatever existed of an accommodation between the Consul and the Praetors. On the following day, which was the 2nd of September, he made his appearance in the Senate, and delivered against Antonius, who was absent, the first of the Philippic orations. He spoke, as he afterwards said, " with less freedom than was his wont, yet with more than the dangers impending over him, and the threats of Antonius, rendered prudent." 4 " I t was to* pku. v. 7. follow the example of Piso," these were his words, " who spoke so courageously on the 1st of August, but which was not imitated by the other senators, that I hastened to Rome. I t was not that I expected to do good to the cause (for of this I had no hope, nor was my strength sufficient for it), but that in case I should meet with a fate befitting humanity (for monstrous and unnatural are some of the ills with which I am threatened) the T 6 420 L I F E AND LETTERS OF CICERO. words I this day utter may remain an imperishable witness of my love to the Republic." He then proceeds to relate the whole course of his conduct since Caesar's death; explains the motives which had led to his departure from Italy and return thither; complains of the reception he had met with from Antonius, and of the posthumous honours decreed to Caesar; at the same time declaring his acquiescence in all the late Dictator's enactments^ providing they had not been falsified or added to by Antonius, against whose edicts he protests in decided and vehement terms. He concludes with exhorting Dolabella, who was present, and Antonius, also, to remember the paths of true glory, and to aim at acquiring the love rather than the fear of their fellow citizens. Moderate as was the tone of this speech, especially when compared with those that followed, it sufficed to inflame the ire of Antonius, and rendered all reconciliation at once impossible. Speaking of it afterwards, Cicero says: " I attacked Antonius so vigorously — for I was the only freeman in an assembly of slaves — that he could not endure it, and his whole wrath, heightened by the fumes of wine, was poured out i Ep.m,2. upon me." 1 The circumstance thus alluded to took place at a sitting of the Senate on the 19th of September. Cicero had been summoned by Antonius to attend it, but did not choose to appear. For seventeen days, at his residence near Tibur, Antonius had brooded over this speech.* In his reply, he seemed, as Cicero wrote to Cassins, " not so much to 2/?P.862. speak, as to vomit words."2 Cicero was confident that had he not, at the urgent request of his friends, stayed * Phil, v. 7. In a letter to Cassius, Cicero says : In villa Metelli (Scipionis) complures dies meditatus erat. Div. xii. 2. This Metellus was father-in-law to Pompeius, and after the battle of Thapsus had thrown himself into the sea. Antonius now possessed his villa. A, u. 710. B.C. 44. cic. 63. 421 away from the Senate and taken measures for his personal security, he would have fallen a bloody victim to the enmity which Antonius then declared against him.1 The l EP> 762. (Div. xii. 2.) substance of the Consul's harangue we learn from the PM - v - 7 second Philippic which Cicero composed soon afterwards, as though with the intention of delivering it, face to face, in reply to his antagonist: it was, however, never really spoken.* It must be confessed that Antonius dealt some forcible blows at certain failings of his opponent. H e read aloud a letter he had received from him in the affair of Sextus Clodius, expressing the utmost devotion to his interests; but his principal charge against Cicero was that he was the author of the conspiracy against Cassar, and the instigator of all the subsequent proceedings of the conspirators. He hoped by these accusations to excite the wrath of the veterans against him. " The madman," writes Cicero to Cassius, " asserts that I was the author of your glorious deed. Would I had been so! He would not then have been able to tyrannize over us." 2 2 Ep. 763. s~*. . T . A , {Div. xii. 3. Cicero s indignation against Antonius now knew no bounds. Through him he beheld himself deprived of all he most highly valued, his Consular authority and his influence in the State. He thus writes to Plancus at the end of the month : " Since I have been summoned back by the Republic, the schemes of Antonius have given me no rest: for to such a length does he carry, I will not say his effrontery, since that is a crime every where prevalent, but his despotism, that he cannot endure even a free look, much less a free word: " 3 and soon after he writes to Cas- 3 EP.IW. (Div.x. * The second Philippic was probably composed at Puteoli, whither Cicero repaired towards the close of October. He sent it from thence to Atticus, with these words: " When will the day come when you will deem it expedient to make this oration public?" Att. xv. 13. And he writes again, on the fifth of November: " Oh that I might live to see the day when tins speech may range freely among men !" 1.) 422 L I F E AND LETTERS OF CICERO. sius: " The fury of Antonius augments daily: he has had inscribed on a statue which he has erected in the Rostrum, Patri optime merito, so that you see you are to be stigma(zw»'x!i3'3) ^ ze( ^ n o t o n ty a s m u r derers, hut as parricides."1 Again in the second Philippic, when describing the earlier life of Antonius, he gives vent to his embittered feelings in terms of unrestrained and immoderate abuse. His return to Roine at once convinced him how utterly groundless were the hopes he had allowed himself to entertain at Rhegium, and in how critical a position the Republic was placed. His great care now was to confirm the principal military officers and provincial governors in their loyalty to the Commonwealth. From Sextus Pompeius there was not much to expect, at all events for the present. He had actually quitted Spain on receiving from Lepidus the promise that his patrimonial inheritance should be restored to him, and had taken up his residence at Massilia, where he watched the course of events, and assembled a 2 Bio Cass, naval force.2 But much depended at this juncture upon piln, B\ C?" Decimus, who with the Senate's approbation had taken possession of Cisalpine Gaul as a Praetorian province, and kept his soldiers in martial training by making incursions upon some Alpine tribes, while by distributing booty among 3 Ep. 76i. them he secured their good will.3 At the time of Caesar's (Div. xi. 4.) ° death, Q. Cornificius was governing Africa with Consular authority. Antonius wished to appoint a new governor in his place; but the Senate having decreed the prolongation of his command, Cornificius found means to maintain himself there, and there was reason to hope that he would now prove faithful to the cause of the Republic.* 4 M. Brutus 4 E 764> l?e/Vaiso779!);had gone into Macedonia, where Q. Hortensius as Procon(Dto.xii.22.) * Cornificius proved faithful; after the Triumvirate was established, however, T. Sextitis was sent by Octavius to take his place, and a battle took place between them in which Cornificius was slain. A. u. 710. B.C. 44. cic. 63. 423 sul was actually commanding*; Cassius to Syria, where he 1 T>\O cass. might expect a struggle with Dolabella. I t was especially important to secure L. Plancus, who was posted with a considerable force in Transalpine Gaul i for he might be able to hold in check the wary Lepidus, who was now more closely bound to Antonius by the ties of family connexion "*2 ; while on the other hand should Antonius sue- 2 EP.%% , . {Div, xii. 2.) ceed in making himself master of that province, and unite his forces with those of Lepidus, all would be lost. Asinius Pollio who governed Baetica and Lusitania, would doubtless side with whichever party proved strongest. At the end of September Cicero writes to Plancus: " I live in the greatest apprehension, not for the safety of my life, which is neither barren of years nor of deeds, nor (were that anything) of glory. But it is for my country I feel this anxiety; and most especially do I long for the period of your Consulate!; but that appears so distant as yet, that we must think ourselves fortunate if we can keep breath in the body of the Commonwealth till it arrives. What can we hope for in a State where all things are held in subjection by the weapons of the most atrocious and abandoned of men ? where no power remains in the hands either of Senate or people? where no laws are held binding, no judicial authority is recognized, — in a word no shadow or trace of a Commonwealth can anywhere be discovered?3 But he wrote in a somewhat sanguine strain of l^'lmY\ the young Octavius, in a letter to Cornificius about the middle of October : " Great expectations,", he says, " are centered in him. I know not what he may not be capable of undertaking for the sake of fame and honour."4 H e 4 EP.i^a ° * The earlier connexion of Lepidus — for he and Cassius had married the sisters of Brutus — was thrown into the background. f L. Plancus had been already nominated by Cassar to the Consulship for 712, together with Decimus, (Div. xii, 23.) 424 L I F E AND LETTERS OF CICERO. was not, however, so dazzled by the young man's abilities and promise as to place unreserved confidence in him. From the depressing spectacle which the actual aspect of affairs presented, he raised his eyes to more remote contingencies. " The Roman people," he writes to Cassius at the end of September, " can perceive that there are three Consulars, who because they mean honestly and dare to utter their sentiments freely, can no longer return safely * Ep. 702. within the precincts of the Senate." l By these he meant L. Piso, P . Servilius, and himself. L. Cotta rarely took heart to attend the assembly, " where soldiers were a closer 2 Ep.im. and more vigilant audience than senators."* 2 L. Caesar, uncle of Antonius, " the best and most steadfast of citizens," * Ep.im. was labouring under illness. S. Sulpicius was absent.3 (Div. xii. 2.) The other Consulars were not to be depended upon; nor at this time could much reliance be placed on Hirtius and Pansa the Consuls elect, f " Thus," exclaims Cicero to Cassius, " all our hopes rest on you and Brutus." Towards the end of this year, Dolabella prepared to go into Syria J, intending to suppress the Republican party there, and to conduct an expedition against the Parthians. The latter design was however little more than a pretext for getting a considerable force under his command, and especially the troops collected under Trebonius in Asia, with which he might be able to make head against his political foes. The Macedonian legions which Antonius had artfully contrived to lay his hands on, as we have before seen, landed at Brundisium in the autumn, led by Caius the * \_Nec nostrce dignitatis videtur esse ibi sententiam de republica dicere, ubi me et melius et proprius audiant armati guam senatores.~] f See Quintus Cicero's words on this subject in writing to Tiro, Ep. 780. {Div. xvi. 27.), and compare Cicero's expressions, Ep. 747, 4. (Att. xvi. 1.). % At the end of October he was at Baiae. Ep. 766. (Att. xv. 13.) A. u. 710. B.C. 44. cic. 63. 425 Consul's brother. They proved the occasion for an open breach between Antonius and Octavius. A short and superficial reconciliation1 between these two personages had ^A£pi?£'30> been succeeded by a return of their former hostile dispositions. When the people desired to elect Cassar's heir to the Tribuneship, Antonius had interfered to prevent ^2'2B^c?m!h.A report was allowed to circulate that Octavius had at- xiv°. 46.ss' tempted to procure his rival's assassination. There was probably no truth in the story.* 3 On the 9th of Octobers Ep.iu. Antonius repaired to Brundisium, to ioin the Macedonian 23.);' suet. 0ct 10 . . . . - legions; he designed to procure their fidelity by a distribution of money, and then to lead them to the capital: his ultimate intention was to employ them against Decimus Brutus, but he wished first to overawe the Senate by their presence. Octavius meanwhile had not been idle. When the Consul addressed the legions at Brundisium, he was encountered by reproaches for having so long delayed to take vengeance on Caesar's murderers; and his attempts to work upon them by gifts only excited them to mockery. Two legions shortly afterwards went over to Octavius, who was more splendid both in his promises and his performances, and who had already succeeded in establishing his influence over the Caesarian veterans in many cities in vSouthern Italy.f 4 Thus deceived in his expectations, ^ ^^67.? Antonius fell into transports of rage, and caused a great xvi - 8 - 9-> number of the centurions (Cicero says three hundred J) to * That Cicero was himself aware of such a design has been concluded from his words : Prudentes et boni viri et credunt factum et probant. Others are satisfied that the story was a fiction of Antonius, who sought thereby to excuse his retention of Caesar's inheritance. Appian doubts its truth, and on reasonable grounds. f Appian, B. C. hi. 40.; Dio Cass. xlv. 12.; Liv. JSpit cxvii.; Cic. Phil. iii. 2. 4.; Phil. v. 8. The legions which went over to Octavius were the fourth and the Martian (Ad Div. xi. 7.); some soldiers from the second and the thirty-fifth also joined him. J Phil. iii. 4. 12., v. 8. According to this account the sufferers could not have been all centurions, for there were only sixty of these to each legion. 426 L I F E AND LETTERS OF CICERO. be put to death before his and Fulvia's eyes. He then sent on the troops to Ariminum. Cicero did not think it advisable to be in Rome just at this time. He quitted it towards the end of October. (i&'xvfk) ^ n t-'ie 2 5 t a w e fi11^ n ^ m a t Puteoli. 1 Matters had now indeed been pushed to extremities. What he was to expect from Antonius he had fully learnt from the Consul's speech of September 15th, announcing open war against him; he had entirely broken off with his son-in-law Dolabella, who was devoted to Antonius, and who besides angered him now by refusing to restore Tullia's marriage 2 Ep. 775 i portion 2 ; little was to be hoped from the Senate ; the real (Ati. xvi. 15.) L 7 # L 7 m views of Octavius remained still to be discovered. No sooner had he escaped from the city than he hastened to his beloved studies. He wrote much at this time. u You exhort me to write," he says to Atticus : " your advice is \fu'xvi'l' fr*endly> but I assure you I do nothing else."3 He com110 pleted the books De Officiis, which he dedicated to (his uff'xv^ii' son * 4 ^ o w > to °? n e fe^ niore I inclined than formerly to xvi. ii.) enter on the work recommended by Atticus, in imitation of the anecdotes of Heraclides: he was quite impatient to undertake an historical composition.* The second Philippic was a product of this period. Now, too, the Cicero speaks under the influence of passion, and paints with the darkest colours. Appian says that Antonius decimated the legions as the rigour of the law demanded, but did not permit the execution of all upon whom the lot fell. * Ad Ait. xv. 13. 4., xvi. 13. We must distinguish between two of Cicero's works relating to the history of his times. With the one which he calls 'AveicSoTa, on the model of the Philippics of Theopompus, he was occupied in the year 695 (Att. ii. 6.), and it was not completed in 710 (Ep. 698., Att. xiv. 17.)j that is if the work mentioned in this letter is the same with that mentioned in the former one. The other book he called cHpaKXe'&Lov, which is the one here treated of. It was so named after Heraclides Ponticus, a disciple of Plato, who wrote a work upon the State, which contained several anecdotes of contemporary sovereigns and statesmen. A. IT. 710. B.C. 44. cic. 63. 427 consolations of Philosophy were doubly welcome to him. From Puteoli he writes to Atticus: "1 have thrown myself into the arms of Philosophy (for what else remains for me?) and I am investigating the subject of moral duties in a noble essay."1 Again, writing to Cornificius 1%P- ?66. before he left Rome, he says; " This (the unfortunate condition of the State), and all the evils that can befall a man, I endure with resolution; so that truly I owe many thanks to Philosophy, which transports me from the midst of my cares, and furnishes me with a defence against the storms of fate. Follow my example, I entreat you, 2 and look upon crime as the only evil."2 jEp.7u. If we knew nothing of Cicero but from these and simi- 23.)" lar declarations, we should imagine him to be in practice, if not in doctrine, a thorough and consistent Stoic. But his letters afford the clearest evidence how far this was from the truth; and if Philosophy did really at times afford him the support he boasted, it often left him defenceless when most he needed help. Yet, while refusing him our admiration as a rigid Stoic, we feel that his susceptible temperament, so finely attuned to every change of influence, renders his character all the more attractive. I t was his inextinguishable sense of goodness and beauty in every form, that at times makes him appear almost unconscious of the evils and disorders by which he was surrounded. I t is really pleasant to find that the conduct of his son, which had caused him frequent anxiety ^ now afforded him sincere gratification; and indeed, a letter from this young man to Tiro, about this time, brings him before us in a very amiable light.3 He was considered3 Ep.*m.\ worthy to serve under Brutus in Macedonia, and distin- 21.)' guished himself in the cause of the Republic.4 Nor could4 -PM.X.6. Cicero fail to regard with satisfaction the conduct of his nephew, who was exerting himself to make Antonius 428 LIFE AND LETTERS OF CICEEO. 3 Ep. 774. render an account of his application of the public trea(Att. xvi. 14.) . r r . r l sure. To his friend's daughter, the little Attica, his heart was ever open. Thus he ends a letter to her father on the 2 \AII'1V\.' ^th °f November : " A s my Attica is always good and 1L) happy, which I like children to be, kiss her heartily for me."f He appears now to have resumed with his brother the friendly intercourse of former times. But Atticus remained ever the trusted friend with whom his inmost thoughts were shared. We are extremely fortunate in possessing ten letters addressed to him during these im3 Epp. 766- portant months of November and December.3 775. {Att. x v . 1 13.; xvi. 8. When he retired into the country at the end of October \ , all that he had determined as to his future course was, that he would oppose Antonius to the utmost of his power. He shrank from the prospect of taking up arms; yet Octavius had now surrounded himself with so strong a military force, that a struggle between him and Antonius appeared inevitable. " I agree with you," he writes in his first letter to Atticus, after leaving Rome; " w e will not assemble forces, or take any military command, but lend our countenance and support to the cause." " I am quite of your opinion in what you say about the main4 Ep. 766. tenance of freedom. I t is the sweetest of blessings."4 {Att. xv. 13.) . # ° It was during the period of Cicero's absence from Home, that the arrival of the Macedonian legions at Brundisium, and the successful machinations of Octavius among the xvi. 8. 9.) P L¥ ?'1®J''* This was to veterans, on the Nones5of December, quibus nos magna on Caesarian take place occurred.§ He writes to Atticus 768, 1. {Att. y ° f Atticce, quoniam, quod optimum in pueris est, hilarula est, meis verbis suavium des. £ He resided successively at his villas near Puteoli, Sinuessa and Arpinum. § In the beginning of November Octavius had already 3000, and this was before the two legions which have been mentioned went over to him. A,U. 710. B.C. 44. cic. 63. 429 the 1 st of November: " I have had a letter from Octavius. He is doing great thiDgs. He has gained all the veterans at Casilinum and Calatia. And no wonder; for he presents every soldier with 500 denarii. He purposes next to try the other colonies. His design is very evidently to begin a hostile movement against Antonius. And thus it appears that we shall certainly have war within a few days." Yet how could he persuade himself to obey without reserve the guidance of a youth, who up to this time had paid him the respect due to a father, and whose actions now were wholly unauthorized by the Senate 1 : who, as 1 ^w» 774.? J J ' 778. (Att. Caesar's heir moreover, could hardly by possibility feel ^ ^ • j , ^ ' heartily inclined to the cause which Cicero held so pre- PML v*16cious? These are his own words on the subject, to Atticus: " Whom shall I follow ? Consider his name, his age. And now he demands a secret interview with me, either at Capua or in the vicinity of this city. This is itself a proof of childish inexperience, to think that any such interview could remain secret." 2 A g a i n : " Octavius 2 EP.767. & (Att. xvi. 8.) conducts himself very sagaciously. He means to advance to Rome at the head of a large body of troops. Yet he is but a youth after all. He fancies the Senate will immediately assemble for his sake. But who will appear ? Who will venture to offend Antonius in the present doubtful posture of affairs? I receive letters from him daily. He says I must do something; must come to Capua; must be once more the instrument of saving the State. At all events I must betake myself to Rome without delay. ALSS naturally regarded with suspicion. Decimus had sent his legate Lupus to Cicero, in whose house a few trusty friends now assembled to consult on the state of affairs. Decimus had thrown himself into the city of Mutina and was there besieged by Antonius. 2 BAc?lii!h. Octavius, again, not waiting for the Senate's orders, had broken up from Rome before the close of the year to march against Antonius 3 ; it seemed as though he were 3 PJHI.V. 17. desirous of showing how ready he was to act by Cicero's advice. Nor did he fail thereby to remove much of the Consular's distrust of him- Yet was Cicero far from trusting in him alone for the success of the cause; and he wrote repeatedly to Decimus, Cassius, Plancus and Cornificius, exhorting the latter not to surrender the government of his province to Calvisius, who claimed it by the appointment of Antonius.4 Most welcome to h i m j ^ - ^ . was a letter which he received before the close of the year2'20 from Plancus, who, if any one, was in a position, as Cicero imagined, to ruin or to save the State. Were Antonius defeated at Mutina and prevented from joining Lepidus, the State was saved: the other alternative it was for Plancus, by his most earnest endeavours, to avert.* Cicero had been on intimate terms with his family before the birth of Plancus himself, whom he had loved from childhood, taking a kindly interest in his education and tastes; and the youth had requited his affection with corresponding gratitude and reverence.5 Cicero had o b - ^ J - ^ served with some anxiety his devotion to Cassar's interests, '29,) * Plancus had, three legions, Asinius Pollio two, Lepidus four. B. C. iii. 46. u 3 Appian, 438 L I F E AND LETTERS OF CICERO. and the trust reposed in him by the usurper. But circumstances had now changed. Caesar's place was occupied by Antonius, who was openly endeavouring to bring the whole State into subjection: could Plancus be made to consider him as an enemy, the year 712, which Caesar had assigned for his Consulate, might prove an era of salvation for the Republic. To secure this end was the i Ep.im. object of an earlier letter to Plancus 1 ; and the reply was as follows: " I cannot neglect the smallest duty towards you without committing a grave fault. Your intimate friendship with my father, my own devotion to you from my youth up, and your affection for me, conspire in producing this feeling. And therefore be assured that you are the only man whom I am resolved to honour with filial reverence. Such a sentiment befits alike your age and mine. Your advice appears to me a proof, not only of sagacity, but of an uprightness which my sense of moral excellence teaches me how to value. What inducement should I have to espouse the opposite cause? To the good qualities and advantages I possess, from the favour of fortune or my own exertions, though, indeed, your affection leads you to prize them too highly, yet, by the admission of my enemies, I need no other addition but an honourable fame. Rest assured, then, that whatever my strength can perform, my prudence foresee, or my influence effect, shall be consecrated to the service of Ep. 788. the Republic." * 2 (Div. x. 4.) J - * We have 116 letters belonging to the period which elapsed between Caesar's death and the end of the year 710, seventy of which are addressed to Atticus. The most important of the remainder are — one to the Consul Antonius, two to Dolabella, three to C. Cassius, five to Deeimus Brutus, one to Trebonius, two to Munatius Plancus, five to Cornificius, to Matius and Trebatius one each, two also to Tiro, to whom here are likewise three addressed by Q* Cicero and the younger Marcus. Besides these, there is one letter from Antonius to Cicero, and the same number from Hirtius, A. u. 711. B. C. 43. cic. 64. T H E YEAR 439 711. A.U. 711. B.C. 43. Cic. 64. Consuls; C. VIBIUS PANSA ; AULUS HIRTIUS. The commencement of this year was important for Rome, most important for Cicero. The new Consuls were to prove whether they were sincere in their professions of devotion to the Republic, or whether their old attachment to ; Ca3sar and his party was to be transferred to Antonius, the enemy of freedom. Hirtius, though no friend to Antonius, had loved Csesar, and gave evidence, soon after his murder, that he entertained no friendly disposition towards its authors. But he contented himself with directing Cicero's attention to the acts of the Consulate on which he was now entering, and upon which he said he might form his own judgment. 1 Cicero did not^ 0 |^* 05 -; feel easy, apprehending that Antonius might gain him ^J*22,; xv* over by his unscrupulous use of Caesar's treasures; and of Pansa's firmness he had strong doubts.2 The earnest]^f'^%, endeavours, also, of Hirtius to dissuade Brutus and Cassius from taking up arms, might admit of an unfavourable construction.3 Cicero spared no pains to secure3 Ep.iw. (Alt. xv. 6.) their fidelity; he continued to live on friendly terms with both of them, and gave them instructions in his art. But his letters to Atticus show how little he dared expect from them, especially from " him who was given up to wine and sleep."* 4 lltll\% Still, hope was by no means abandoned. Immediately upon his last return to Rome, we find Cicero visiting Dec. Brutus, Trebonius, Plancus, and Matius; as well as one from Decimus to M. Brutus and Cassius, and two from the two last to Antonius. * Pansa. Hirtius was possessed of considerable talents. The letter of Quintus, addressed to Tiro, contains still stronger expressions with reference to the Consuls elect. u4 440 L I F E AND LETTERS OF CICERO. 1 Ep. 776. Pansa 1 , and in their declaration on assuming office on oomp.768. ' the 1st of January, 711, the Consuls distinctly professed their adhesion to the cause of the Republic, and their dis* Pha.v. I. approbation of the conduct of Antonius.* 2 But though encouraging to a certain extent, their expressions were not strong enough to satisfy Cicero, not strong enough indeed to meet the political exigencies of the moment. Perhaps they felt that to proclaim Antonius in distinct terms a public enemy, was to disparage Caesar's memory. Not only did they avoid taking this step, but he was even allowed to receive from the people the formal appointment to the government of the very province he was now striving to acquire by force of arms. They were reluctant to pursue warlike measures against him, and required as a necessary preliminary the consent of Fufius Calenus. This was little relished by Cicero. Calenus had been Consul four years before by Csesar's appointment: he was Pansa's father-in-law, and a personal friend of Antonius, whose wife and children were now residing under the protection of his roof: a moderate course was therefore the utmost that could be expected from him. But moderation in dealing with Antonius promised no safety to the State. Calenus pronounced that before proceeding to open hostilities, an embassy should be sent to Antonius, requiring him to desist from his actual invasion of Gaul. Cicero rose to oppose the motion; and in a speech known as the fifth Philippic, showed by circumstantial proof that Antonius had been already in fact declared a public enemy; that to send an embassy to one in such a position were to act in {e contravention of the constitution of the Republic, of the usages of war, and of all former precedent; that it would be an offence against the majesty of the Roman people and * On this account they are called in Ad Div. xii. 4., written in January, egregii Consules, A.U. 711. B.C. 43. cic. 64. 441 the dignity of the Senate;" 1 and that any hesitation or 1 ^^•••9. delay in their proceedings would be giving a certain advantage to him. The proper course, he said, would be to command him instantly to raise the siege of Mutina, and to enforce this command by the authority of arms. In a second division of his speech he demanded rewards and honours for Decimus Brutus, for Lepidus, whom he hoped by these means to deter from offering any opposition to the Senate, for Octavius, Egnatuleius, and all the veterans and other soldiers who had given their adhesion to Octavius and the Senate. In the course of this harangue we meet with the following remarkable words: " O that Caius Caesar—I mean the father—had in the days of his youth made the regard of the Senate and the Optimates the object of his ambition! But, neglecting this, he wasted the whole vigour of his genius (and no man ever possessed more) in gaining the arfection of the fickle multitude. His son (Octavius) pursues a different course. H e is dear to all, but chiefly to the best and noblest. On him rest all our hopes of Freedom. His labours in the affairs of the Republic are directed to strengthen, not to undermine its foundations. I know the inmost thoughts of the young man. Nothing is more precious to him than the Commonwealth; nothing more important than your dignity ; nothing more desired than the good opinion of worthy citizens; nothing dearer than true glory." 2 He2 P ^„ v L 1 8 . concluded thus: " Despatch is necessary: had we been more prompt in our movements, we should not have had war at the present moment." The deliberations of the Senate lasted into the night, and were continued the following day: and notwithstanding the vehement opposition of the other party Cicero would have triumphed, had not the Tribune Salyius interposed to prevent the final resolution. The u 5 442 L I F E AND LETTERS OE CICERO. sitting was adjourned, and in the meanwhile the mother, wife and friends of Antonius employed their utmost endeavours in his behalf. In the end his interests prevailed, though for three successive days Cicero had conli Phii. vi. i.; manded a majority in the Senate.1 The testimonials comp. Ap- i R-*^,0, of honour were voted as Cicero had recommended, and ill. 50, 51. ' with further additions: the command of the army was formally conferred on Octavius, together with the dignity of Propraetor, which elevated him at once to the rank of a senator, and he was allowed the privilege of suing for the Consulate without having filled the office of Praetor the previous year. But on the other hand it was decided that a deputation should be sent to Antonius consisting of Servius Sulpicius, the first jurist in Pome ; L. Pi so, who notwithstanding his former spirited conduct on the 1st of August, did not desire his adversary's total overthrow, and had just spoken effectively in his favour; and L. Philippus. The terms of their commission were strongly drawn, and by Cicero himself.* Antonius was to engage not to make war upon Decimus, the Consul elect; he was to raise the siege of Mutina, to make no levies of troops, and to conform himself in general to the commands of the Senate and people of Pome. The envoys were then to visit D. Brutus in Mutina, and to inform him that the Senate were highly satisfied with his conduct, and that a pwz.vi.2, due honours were in store for him.2 3. This decree was passed on the 4th of January. From the Senate Cicero went straight to the Forum, and was 3 ma. vi. I. presented to the people by the Tribune Apuleius. 3 Here * It is impossible to believe Appian's account, which is that Cicero altered the terms of the decree, so as to make it stronger against Antonius* We meet with inaccuracies in many passages in his history, especially in matters which concern Cicero, as is apparent on comparing them with the Philippics. A. v. 711. B. c. 43. cic. 64. 443 before an unusually large assembly he delivered the sixth Philippic, in which he gave an account of his late proceedings, and explained the decree just pronounced by the Senate. He strove to excite the passions of his audience, assuring them that it was not an embassy that wTas sent, but a declaration of war. Antonius he prophesied would refuse to comply with the demands of the Senate. " Let then the envoys make all haste, and do you get your accoutrements ready. For the word has gone forth — if he obeys not, it is war. He will not obey ; and we shall have to regret the loss of so many days in which we might have been acting. But who will not be stimulated by your concord, your unanimous determination ? I t will be for you to confirm the resolution of the Senate, steadfast as it already is. I t is not the will of the Gods that the Roman people should be slaves. The Immortals have decreed that your dominion shall extend over all the nations of the earth. Let others bend beneath l the yoke; freedom is the birthright of the Romans." l rhii.vi.7. The exaggerated praise which Cicero bestows upon Octavius in his speech of January 1st rather startles us when we remember the apprehensions of him expressed in his last letter to Atticus; and we are tempted to consider it as meant rather for a rhetorical display than for an expression of his real sentiments. We may indeed suppose it to have been uttered partly with the view of stimulating the youth to fulfil the prophecies and expectations of which he was the subject. But it is also true that he had really acquired Cicero's confidence, and that principally by affecting great zeal in his service and deference to his opinion^ in addition to which his energy and resolution in acting against Antonius were just what Cicero desired to see. Writing to Trebonius in February, Cicero says: " W e have admirable Consuls; Decimus behaves nobly; u6 444 iBp.793. (Div. x. 28.) L I F E AND LETTERS OF CICERO. Csesar is excellently disposed, and I expect everything from him." 1 And in a previous letter to Brutus he speaks of r B A 3 Ep. 790. him as u my Csesar."*2 Nor was it a mere empty boast when immediately after his speech he wrote thus to Decimus: " Levies are made at Rome and throughout all Italy; if levies they can be called where all offer themselves voluntarily; so great is the passion of men for liberty — so great their abhorrence 3 Ep.790. of this dreary slavery," 3 He speaks so frequently and so conTp.?92.-' naturally in this strain, that we cannot believe him to have 794.. 796. , (biv.xii.4. been using exaggerated language merely for the sake of keeping up the courage of his correspondents. Thus full of hope and energy, although the course of events had not been such as altogether to satisfy him, Cicero entered upon this year (711), the last of his life. He was not insensible to the many dangers which were likely to beset him during its course, and he stood in need of all his courage and of all the proud consciousness of merit which animated him, when, writing at the commencement of the year to Cornificius, he said: " I have defended the Republic after my old fashion, as opportunity offered. I have placed myself at the head of the Senate and people; and since I have undertaken to lead the cause of freedom, I have not let a moment pass which could 4 Div. xii.24.be employed in providing for the general welfare."4 H e was strong also in the conviction thus expressed in the eighth Philippic : " I who used always to oppose the rashness of the multitudes, am now by this glorious cause 5 Fha. vii. 2. converted into a popular leader." 5 Most difficult was the task now before him, and it required no ordinary effort to maintain within himself the * It is worthy of remark that Cicero here gives Octavius the name of Csesar. In his last letter Plancus says: " Scis tu, mi Cicero, quod ad Ccesaris nomen attinet, societatem mihi esse tecum. Ep. 854. (Div. x. 4.) A.u. 711. B.C. 43. cic. 64. 445 courage and endurance necessary for its accomplishment. In the Consulars, who should have been his surest allies, he found no support; they were either disinclined to the cause, or they were timid, and did not venture to approve of such revolutionary measures against one who after all was acting wTith the semblance of legality. L . Caesar alone, the uncle of Antonius, behaved honestly and consistently; nevertheless for his nephew's sake he too contented himself with giving a moderate vote on the question. ! i3?v7|42,; The party which favoured Antonius, headed by Calenus, xfj&.fxih'5 were making every exertion to gain over the Senate andf;); PM-V111' people, and to guard against the unfavourable influence which a hostile vote might have upon their cause. To secure their ends they were diligent in circulating letters in which the late Consul's views and objects were represented in a more favourable aspect. The seventh Philippic, delivered by Cicero in the Senate shortly after the departure of the envoys, brings before us the machinations of this party and the hard struggle he had to maintain against them ; but we also learn from it that Hirtius, though not yet recovered, had already set out for Gaul, to give the weight of his personal authority to the demands of the envoys.2 He intended to join Octavius2 PMI. VU. 4, and assume the chief command of the army ; while Pansa should remain in Rome to make further preparations for the war and superintend the affairs of government. I t was the lukewarmness evinced by Pansa and his evident disinclination to the war, instead of which he occupied the Senate with less important matters, that was the immediate occasion of Cicero's speech. The more opposition he encountered in the Senate, the greater was Cicero's anxiety to keep the provincial governors faithful to their duties. He was indefatigable in his exhortations to D. Brutus, Cassius, Plancus, Tre- 446 L I F E ANB LETTERS OF CICERO. bonius, Cornificius *; and the long series of letters he wrote after his return to Rome all bear the same stamp — that of a man devoted heart and soul to the task of saving his country. And assuredly when we read these letters in conjunction with the fourteen Philippics, we have as striking a display of Cicero's political greatness as at the period of his Consulate. But again and again we have cause to lament that the residence of Atticus in Rome afforded no opportunity for his familiar correspondence with this most confidential of his friends. One letter only, JEp.1%. not occupied with the public concerns, is extant. 1 I t was Div. ix. 24.) r l . , addressed at the end of February to his lively and facetious friend Paetus, and it proves that in the midst of his cares and anxieties and the vast schemes which occupied his mind, he had not lost the amiable gaiety of his disposition. How pleasantly he rallies his friend for giving up his intellectual banquets and evening assemblies! and how earnestly he entreats him not to renounce social intercourse with "honest, pleasant, and friendly men"—the true solace of life ! But the letter is invaluable to us on account of the closing words : " Do not — I entreat you by your * We may certainly add M. Brutus; but unhappily the letters to him are not extant. [In the edition of Cicero's works we find two books of Epistolce ad Brutum, purporting to contain a correspondence between Cicero and M. Brutus during the course of the year 711. Middleton, in his Life of Cicero, made use of these letters without suspicion; but their genuineness was soon brought in question by Tunstall and Markland, and hare since been generally rejected. Schutz, Abeken, Billerbeck and Drumann pass them over in silence. I understand, however, that they have recently found a defender of the name of Hermann ; and Bruckner, in his Life of Cicero published 1852, refers to them without scruple. They contain, unquestionably, several statements that seem irreconcileable with known dates and circumstances; the occurrence of three or four presumed unCiceronian words and phrases is of less weight; but the whole character of the letters is frigid and scholastic, and it seems hardly possible that the real correspondence of such men at such a time should contain so little of the slightest interest either in fact or sentiments.] A.u. 711. B. c. 43. cic. 64. 447 love to me — do not believe because I write thus playfully that I have abandoned rny solicitude for the Republic. I assure you that I think of nothing, day and night, but the welfare and freedom of my fellow citizens. I neglect no opportunity of exhorting, of acting, of warding off dangers; and I am strong in the feeling that if all this zeal should cost me my life, I may well deem my lot a glorious one."* The envoys returned, it would seem, about the end of January, but without the noble Sulpicius, who had fallen sick before seeing Antonius, and died not far from his camp.1 This was a cause of sincere grief to Cicero. T h e ^ ^ j ^ answer of Antonius fully justified all his objections to the 28,; xli,8,) embassy. " Odious above all," he writes to Cassius, " I might say criminal, is the conduct of Piso and Philippus: they were sent to deliver certain distinct demands from the Senate. In no one point did Antonius comply; and now they bring back the most outrageous requisitions on his part." 2 These requisitions were, that the Senate 2 EP-792. i (.Div. xii. 4 should grant lands and other rewards to his soldiers; sanction all the decrees he had passed, founded on Caesar's directions; demand no account of his expenditure of the public money; and confer on him the province of Transalpine Gaul for five years: on these conditions he would relinquish his claim to the other Gaulish province.3 I t 3 Phil. viii. is easy to see that his object was, by protracting negotia- "' tions, to gain time for reducing Mutina. He would not allow the envoys to have an interview with Decimus, but sent his Qua3stor Cotyla to accompany them back to Kome, and to watch over his interests there. Cicero had the mortification of seeing this man allowed to appear in * This letter prove* that Antonius and his adherents aimed at Cicero's life, as also appears from some passages in the Philippics. 44:8 LIFE AND LETTERS OF CICERO. the Senate, when, according to his views, he ought to have 8Mo! ' ^ e e n turned back from the very gates of the city.1 Again Cicero pressed for an immediate formal declaration of wTar, and that Antonius should be pronounced a public enemy. But Calenus and his party were still strong in opposition; and L. Caesar, who was also unwilling to proceed to extremities, carried a motion, now that the answTer of Antonius had rendered war inevitable, to make use of the milder term tumult, in speaking of the approaching contest, and to call Antonius the opponent 2 PAtv.viii.i. instead of enemy of his country. 2 A second message to him was proposed by the moderate party, but this motion Cicero succeeded in getting rejected; and at his instance it was ordered, that the citizens should exchange the garb of peace for that of war. He himself renounced the Consular privilege of retaining the Toga, and appeared in the Senate wearing the Sagum *, when he delivered his speech, known as the eighth Philippic, against Calenus 3 phu.vni. and the other advocates of peace.3 At that time hostilities had actually commenced with the movement of * Pha. viii. 2. Hirtius. 4 The day following, again in the Senate, Cicero spoke the eloquent ninth Philippic, and in it requested extraordinary honours for the deceased Sulpicius, whichr were accordingly granted to that distinguished patriot.f The winter retarded the operations of the war; nevertheless, in February, Hirtius had made himself master of the city of Claternre; Octavius was encamped at Forum Cornelii; Pansa was occupied in raising troops as far as 7,viii * In one of the fragments of Cicero's letters to Octavius he says: Prid Non. Febr,, cum ad te liter as mane dedissem, descendi ad forum togatus, cum reliqui consulares sagati vellent descendere. The words togatus and sagatus would appear to have been here transposed. f The statue which was erected to him before the rostrum of Augustus was still in existence in the third century A. D. Pompeius, in the Digest, i. tit. ii. s. 43. ch. 46. A. IT. 711. B.C. 43. cic. 64. 449 Bononia, Parma, and Regium Lepidi, which Antonius had in his hands*; the whole of Hither Gaul was in the power of the Eepublic and well affected to its cause.1 {^fv]7^;^) In Syria, Cassius, who was preparing for a struggle with Dolabella, had been joined by L. Murcus and Q. Crispus with their legions; one legion belonging to Caecilius Bassus had also gone over to him, and four others which Dolabella's legate A. Allienus was bringing from Egypt, did the same 2 , so that Cassius soon beheld himself at the 2 Epp.766.; head of a considerable army ; and he wrote to Cicero o n ( ^ . xv. 13.; . . . . . XH 1L12 - 0; the 7th of March from Tarichea in Palestine, describing ^^.cass. his position. In Macedonia, M. Brutus, having been ££pJ|n'1L creceived by Hortensius the late Proconsul as his legitimate successor, had driven C. Antonius before him, forcing him to shut himself up in Apollonia, and had brought Macedonia, Illyricum and Greece under the yoke of the Republic.f 3 Plancus and Asinius Pollio were reputed \^[ x?u>.) friends to the cause; and assuredly, though we cannot class them as Republicans in the same rank with Brutus and Cassius, a sufficiently wide distinction is to be drawn between them and Lepidus. A letter from Asinius to Cicero from Corduba on the 16th of March represents him in a very favourable light.4 What he says of his devotion \^fv''^%] to Julius Ca3sar reminds us of Matius, and in the desire he expresses for peace and literary pursuits we recognize the friend and future protector of Virgil and Horace. Nor can the lofty spirit of reflection, and the liberal and humane sentiments displayed by one who afterwards became so distinguished, fail to command our reverence, though we should look in vain for any expression of that ardent love * Claterme is now Quaderna; Forum Cornelii — Imola; Regium Lepidi — Reggio. t L. Antonius was second in command in the army of his brother Marcus. 450 L I F E AND LETTERS OF CICERO. of freedom which was no longer in harmony with the tendencies of the age. While affairs seemed thus prosperous beyond the bounds of Italy, and the united efforts of the Consuls and Octavius gave room to hope for a1 favourable issue to the contest with the chief enemy of the State, Cicero did not remit his activity in Rome. In the tenth Philippic he successfully opposed the proposition of Calenus, that whereas M. Brutus was acting without the Senate's authority, he should give up his army to C. Antonius and Vatinius, the regularly appointed governors of Macedonia and Illyricum.* And in the eleventh Philippic, delivered about the middle of March, he urged that the province of Syria should be formally assigned to Cassius, writh the orders to carry on the war against Dolabella.| For news had arrived in Rome that the latter, on his march to Syria, had made an atrocious assault upon Trebonius who held the government of Asia, and after torturing him for two days, had caused him to be ignominiously put to death. He had laid his hand on the public revenues, and had committed various other acts of a most unwarrantable character. J This intelligence caused great excitement in the capital. Pansa called the Senate together. Dolabella was declared a public enemy, and his property confiscated. Cicero, glowing with indignation at the flagitious conduct of his former son-in-law, turned the public feeling to * Cicero's proposal was that Brutus should receive the thanks of the Senate for his achievements, and his army be left under his command; while Hortensius should remain as Proconsul in Macedonia until the Senate appointed him a successor. Phil, x. at the end. We learn from Phil, xi. 11. that Cicero carried this motion. f It was not known at Rome at that time how well the affairs of Cassius had prospered in Asia. Ad Div. xii. 7. J See Phil, xi., and compare the letter of Cassius. Ep. 816. (Div. xii. 12.) A.u. 711. B.C. 43. cic. 64. 451 account by depicting in lively colours the fate which awaited the Republicans should Antonius and his party prevail. The condemnation of Dolabella involved the question, to whom should the government of Syria be committed? The secret opponents of Cassius divided themselves into two parties, one of which desired the appointment of Servilius, who had been associated with Csesar in the Consulate of the year 48 ; while the other, at the head of which was Calenus, wished that Hirtius and Pansa should draw lots for the two provinces of Asia and Syria,1 Bothi PM.XI.D* projects were strongly combated by Cicero in his eleventh Philippic, delivered before the Senate. He saw that their real object was to divert the attention of the Consuls from the great business before them; and in fact Pansa showed himself very ready to lend an ear to these propositions. When the sitting of the Senate was over, Cicero was presented to the assembled citizens by the Tribune Servilius; and disregarding alike the objections of Pansa, and the prayers and entreaties of the mother, the mother-in-law, and the brother of Cassius, who feared the Consul's resentment, he spoke again in eloquent and glowing terms on behalf of the leader who had with such signal success brought Syria under the orders of the Republic. Cassius, he doubted not, would act as the public welfare demanded, without waiting for a decree of the Senate. 2 And thus 2 .Ep. 803. in fact it happened. Cassius maintained his position, and named himself Proconsul 3 ; although the provinces, having) Ep. 8i6. been granted to the Consuls, ought legally to have beenv governed by their lieutenants until they could themselves assume the duties of administration.4 Cassius indeed l^'lf\l\ could not well have acted otherwise; but all these transactions show how completely the constitution of the Republic was at this time unhinged. 452 L I F E AND LETTERS OF CICERO. Cicero had to keep a watchful eye on Lepidus, as well as on the party of Calenus. He had procured great public honours for him, hoping to retain him in the interests of the Republic, although he had done nothing deserving such distinction, except in pacifying Sextus 1 phii. v. H. Pompeius. 1 Nor did he now testify any gratitude for the favour; on the contrary, he strenuously urged 2 EP. 8oo. measures of conciliation towards Antonius 2 ; and his inin March, stances had such effect on Plancus, that he too now began to talk of peace, while Cicero was grudging every minute that delayed an open rupture. The treacherous acts of Lepidus are related in the letter of Asinius of which we 7 ; tnf^ "' have before had occasion to speak.3 798. (Dw. x . A 6.3i.) -por one single moment Cicero's firmness was shaken. But it was the hesitation of a noble spirit, no sooner felt than overcome, and leading only to more vigorous efforts for the future. Decimus was hard pressed in Mutina; the fate of Trebonius had struck terror into the hearts of all his friends, of the great orator more especially. Various artifices were employed to produce the impression that Antonius in his present difficulties would assume a more humble deportment. Fulvia and her children put on the appearance of deep affliction. And Cicero was assailed on his weak side by a decree which passed the Senate at Pansa's suggestion, ordering that his statue of Minerva, which had been thrown down by a storm, should 4 zip- 8 !?» L x be re-erected in the capitol where he had placed it.4 The (Div. xii.25.) l r proposal for a fresh negotiation was then renewed, and seconded by Pansa. Antonius, it was said, would listen to reason this time, and Cicero with four other Consulars should be sent to treat with him. Cicero acceded. But no sooner had he done so than a sense of his error flashed upon his mind, and undeterred by any feeling of false shame he delivered a speech in the Senate, the twelfth A.U. 711. B.C. 43. cic. 64. 453 Philippic, in which he confessed his mistake, and in energetic terms refused to countenance the embassy. He represented that supposing such a measure were resolved upon, he, at all events, was the last person who ought to be sent to negotiate with Antonius; nor could he be contradicted, or accused of a display of vanity when he uttered the words, " Do you think I am to pay no consideration to the safety of my life ? Truly I set little value upon it now, especially since the acts of Dolabella have made death a thing to be desired; only let it be death unaccompanied by torture! But to you, senators, and to the people of Rome, my life ought not to be quite indifferent. For, unless I greatly deceive myself, my care, my vigilance, my speeches in the Senate, in the midst of all the dangers with which the hatred of bad men threatened me, have been the means of saving the Republic from total ruin. On this account I remain in the city, and will still remain here if I may. This is my proper post — this my appointed charge. Let others devote themselves to the camp, levy war, and defend kingdoms. I, in accordance with the aim of all my former actions and of the words I am now uttering, will continue with you to protect the city and all that belongs to it." l Probably, if we possessed any letters from Cicero* to Atticus at this period, we should find in them symptoms of the vacillation we have so often had occasion to remark in him; and, as has been said before, to look for stoical consistency in a man of his susceptible nature would be unreasonable. But no momentary expression of doubt or despondency could outweigh the effect produced by the incontestible facts before u s ; his speeches *, his letters, his * The Philippics in particular were looked upon, even by the ancients, as masterpieces. Liv. Fragm. ap Sen. Suasor. 7., says, Caput Ciceronis in rost?Hs positum, ubi eo ipso anno adversus Antonium quanta nulla unquam humana vox cum admiratione eloquentice auditus fuerat. 454 L I F E AND LETTERS OF CICEEO. noble confession of error, his pride in denominating himself the treasure of the Roman Commonwealth, all bear witness to the sincerity of his patriotism; and none could controvert the language of his appeal from the Forum to the assembled people: " Am I ungrateful ? " (for our present purpose we will substitute the word vacillating ;) " Who is less so than I am ? seeing that after I have attained the highest honours of the State, I again subject myself to those laborious duties in the Forum of which such honours wrere the natural reward and completion. Am I inexperienced in the administration of the Commonwealth? Who, on the contrary, is more experienced than myself, who for twenty years have been occupied in waging war upon those citizens who are the 1 PMLVL6. Republic's enemies?" 1 And we will add the following passage from a letter to Cornificius: " There is but one vessel now for all good men to embark in; and I am doing all I can to keep it afloat. Might but its course be prosperous! But, whether prosperous or not, my skill shall not be wanting to it. What more can virtue % Ep. 812. * r q n ? " 2 (Div. Xii. 25.) U U * And here let us throw a glance over his productions at this period. The documents before us are the fourteen speeches to which the appropriate name of Philippics has been given *, and of which the last twelve were delivered between the 20th of December 710 and the 22nd of April 711. During the interval between his return to * See the JSpp. ad M. Brutum, ii. 4, 5. [Brutus is here made to accede to Cicero's wish that the speeches should be thus denominated. Whether the letters he genuine or not, they are unquestionably of great antiquity, and may serve to prove that this name was popularly used from a very early period. We have no other authority, except Plutarch, for the notion that Cicero himself called these speeches Philippics (see Cic. 48.), and the notion itself may have been merely suggested by an allusion to the orations of Demosthenes so called, in a letter to Atticus (ii. 1., A. U. 694.)] A. u. 711. B.C. 43. cic. 64. 455 Rome and the commencement of July, which is the date of the last letter he ever wrote, we have fourteen letters to D. Brutus, eleven to Plancus, together with two to his legate Furnius, seven to Cassius, nine to Cornificius, and one each to Trebonius and Lepidus. Though all having the same political object, and thus bearing in some measure the character of State papers, we must not expect to find a uniform business-like tone pervading them. They are the effusions of a mind quickly moved to love and hatred, and full of enthusiasm for the public cause; while the diversity of the personages to whom they are addressed, the different relations in which these stood to the State and to the factions which divided it, and the changes occurring in their positions and circumstances, combine to give the interest of variety to this important collection. But it is the same Cicero who is always brought before us, whether we read his words of encouragement to the stern and energetic Decimus, on whom for a while all the hopes of the Republic appeared to rest; or his paternal exhortations to the youthful Plancus; or his praises of the eager, fiery Cassius; or whether he narrates the progress of events to Cornificius, urging him to remain fixed at his post; or whether he addresses in reserved language the crafty, treacherous Lepidus. Everywhere we see in him the lover of his country, the man of genius and courage, the master of Latin eloquence. And interspersed with his letters are others addressed to him by cotemporary actors in the great drama; by Decimus Brutus, Plancus, Asinius, Pollio, Lepidus, Caius and Lucius Cassius, Galba, Lentulus ; some of which are formal accounts, to be transmitted to the Senate, of various important events; so that these letters, like many belonging to the earlier periods, may be regarded as the 456 L I F E AND LETTERS OF CICERO. principal sources of information for one of the most remarkable epochs in the history of the world.* And now to resume our narrative. Although Cicero was not able at once to overthrow the project for a second deputation to Antonius, it remained unaccomplished, and doubtless chiefly owing to his speech. At the end of March the Consul Pansa marched forth with his newly i Ep.soi. raised legions to ioin Hirtius and Octavius.1 Meanwhile {Biv. x . 10.) . & . . Antonius and his partizans ceased not to carry on their intrigues. I t was about this time that Lepidus, as we have seen, was strenuous in his recommendations of peace. Antonius himself wrote a letter to Hirtius and Octavius, professing to direct them to the course which was really for their advantage, and to turn them aside from following the counsels of Cicero, whose object, he said, was nothing more nor less than to revive the defunct party of Pompeius. Hirtius, however, forwarded this letter to Cicero, who read it aloud to the Senate in his speech entitled the thirteenth Philippic, commenting on it sentence by sentence, and taking occasion to exhort the Senate to caution and steadfastness. In the same harangue he rejected the pacific propositions of Lepidus, to whom he also addressed a laconic letter, with these words : " I am rejoiced at your wishing to re-establish peace among fellow-citizens. Should it be a peace involving no danger of slavery, you will have acted with due regard to the Republic and your own honour. But should it be calculated to reinstate the most iniquitoiis of men in the possession of unlimited power, then be assured that all citizens of sound mind are * We have in our collection, belonging to the year 711, eight letters from D. Brutus to Cicero ; nine from Plancus to him, with one to the Senate and people ; three from Asinius Pollio; one from Lepidus to Cicero, and another to the Senate; two from C. Cassius; one from Lucius; besides one from Galba and one from Lentulus, with a dispatch from the latter to the Consuls, &c. A.u. 711. B.C. 43. oic. 64. 457 resolved to choose death in preference to slavery. My opinion, therefore, is that you will do best not to make any attempt to bring about a pacification of this nature; which can satisfy neither the Senate nor the people, nor any one else who means well." 1 The less he felt inclined [jf^;^%t) to trust Lepidus the more anxious he was to secure the fidelity of Plancus, and he tried to induce the Senate to pronounce a panegyric upon him; but in this he was unsuccessful.^ _ _ ^;x8% The Antonians persevered in their machinations and calumnies against him. A rumour of disasters at Mutina having got wind, it was given out that Cicero was aiming at making himself Dictator, and the propriety of assassinating him began to be mooted. The Tribune Apuleius, who ever since the period of his Consulate had been his firm friend and ally, undertook to justify him from this charge before the people; but his audience cried aloud with one voice, " Cicero has never had a thought but for the welfare of the Republic." A few hours afterwards the most favourable intelligence arrived from the theatre 3 of war.3 Phu.xiv.6. The Consul Pansa had reached Bononia with the four newly-raised legions. Antonius broke up from his camp on the 15th of April with two legions, several Praetorian cohorts, and all his cavalry, hoping to prevent the junction of the two Consuls; for Hirtius was posted at a short distance from him, awaiting the arrival of his colleague. But Hirtius had meanwhile sent on first Sulpicius Galba*, and afterwards the Martian legion, which having deserted from Antonius, seemed now the fittest to oppose to him, together with two Praetorian cohorts under the command * Galba was at first Caesar's legate, but became afterwards one of the conspirators against him, X 458 L I F E AND LETTERS OF CICERO. of Carfulenus, and these troops joined Pansa on the night preceding the 15th. On that day an engagement took place at Forum Gallorum.* The Martian legion attacked too soon and too eagerly, carrying along with it the Praetorian cohorts, and thus brought Pansa's forces into the greatest danger. Unable to resist the onset of Antonius, they fled to their camp. But the enemy was prevented from pursuing them thither by the Martian legion, which had now recovered itself; and Antonius in the act of retreating fell back upon Hirtius, who was hastening with the fourth and seventh legions to support his colleague. With much loss Antonius succeeded in regaining his camp. Pansa, who had been dangerously wounded early in the day, was carried into Bononia.f Octavius was not present at the engagement, having staid behind to protect the camp of Hirtius against an attack i pMi.Ts.vr. from L. Antonius. 1 When the news of this victory reached Rome on the 21st of April, the people rushed to Cicero's dwelling. With joyful acclamations, as though the occasion were a triumph and he its hero, they escorted him to the capitol 2 phi.™.5.and back again to his own house.2 The next day, at the summons of Cornutus, Praetor of the city, who in the absence of the Consuls occupied the chief post in the government, the Senate was called together to hear the despatches of Hirtius, and to pass measures in consequence. A suggestion was made that after this event the citizens might be allowed to lay aside their military garb. But Cicero rose, and in his last Philippic spoke in strong terms against this. Antonius, he said, was not yet crushed ; it were shame to adopt a peaceful attitude while Decimus, * Now Castel Franco, seven miles south-east of Mutina. f The chief authorities for the details of this battle are a letter from Galba to Cicero (ad Div. x. 30.), and the fourteenth Philippic. Appian must also be consulted. A. u. 711. B.C. 43. cic. 64. 459 the object of their solicitude, lay beleaguered by his forces. He dwelt on the merits of the Consuls and of Octavius; said that the latter deserved at their hands the title of Imperator *, and proposed a festival of grateful commemo-1 Dio cass. ration to last for fifty days. He then spoke of the rewards due to the soldiers who had fought so bravely, and proposed that the State should raise a monument to the slain, to whose friends and relatives he likewise addressed some words of consolation.* His suggestions were accepted and ratified by the Senate. A few days after this battle Hirtius and Octavius attacked Antonius in his camp. He was compelled to lead out his shattered legions, and was routed in a bloody combat. But Hirtius, in his zeal, had ventured too far; he had penetrated to the centre of the hostile camp, and was slain near the Praetorium. Immediately afterwards the Consul Pansa died of his wounds at Bononia.f And now Cicero seemed to have attained the reward of his endless labours and anxieties. The people loudly rejoiced, and recognized in him the deliverer of his country, as he had been twenty years before; his opponents were silenced, the commanders in the provinces vied with each other in assurances of their devotion to him and to the Republic. How different his position now from the moment, four years ago, when he stood before the victor of Pharsalia. To his one great error, the belief that Rome could still be a Republic worthy of the name, he clung to the last. But now, instead of following the lead of Pompeius as formerly, he had ventured to trust to himself; * It is interesting to compare this speech with that of Pericles (Thucyd. ii. 34.) on a somewhat similar occasion, which Cicero evidently had before his eyes in his peroration. f See Appian, B. C. iii. 71.; Dio Cass. xlvi. 38. This second battle must have been fought on the 25th of April at latest; on the 28th Decimus was at Rhegium. Div. xi. 9. x 2 460 L I F E AND LETTERS OF CICERO. and his virtue was rewarded with the privilege of doing "mightier deeds in the toga than could be effected by I^'xii'i3) a r m s , M 1 ^ n ( ^ ^ i e P ro °f that n e deserved the glory which had fallen upon him was given by his still unremitting efforts in the cause. At the end of April he writes to Cornificius: " We have lost at a most unseasonable crisis Hirtius and Pansa, men whose Consulate brought with it the promise of salvation to the Republic ; for though the State is delivered from the rapacity of Antonius, it is not yet restored to its proper position. If fate permits, I will uphold its dignity according to my own ideas, though I am sorely wearied. No weariness ought to stand in the (zwS'xi?'25)way °f duty and conscience."2 But Rome had in reality forfeited her freedom. Whilst Cicero and all the friends of the Republic thus appeared triumphant, circumstances had fallen silently into a position which might well have tempted one less adroit than Octavius to take the great game into his hands, and play it out to his own advantage. Antonius, though beaten, was not annihilated; Lepidus held himself in readiness to make common cause with him ; Asinius and Plancus, though as yet faithful to the Senate, cherished the memory of Csesar, and had been once the companions of Antonius; Brutus and Cassius, though confirmed by the Senate in the possession of their provinces, were at a great distance 3 veil. pat. from the scene of action 3 ; the two Consuls were dead, and Octavius saw himself at the head of the warriors formed in his illustrious uncle's school. And now it was seen how different were the elements of opposition to Antonius around Mutina and within its walls. Forced to relinquish the siege, he had immediately broken up with the rest of his army, the cavalry of which < Ep.8i8. had suffered little 4 , and had taken the nearest road over the Apennines to the southern part of Transalpine Gaul, A. u. 711. B.C. 43. e r a 64. 461 meaning here to effect a junction with Lepidns on whom he relied as Cesar's friend and adherent. He had alreadyreceived aid from him secretly while engaged in the siege of Mutina, and the camp of Lepidus, who occupied the country between the Rhone, the Isara and the sea, would afford the best place of refuge for his shattered forces. To reinforce his weakened infantry he opened all the prisons on his way.1 At Vada, not far from Genua, whither he 1 Ep. s<3. • . . . . {Div. xi. )0.) had arrived in haste and disorder, he was joined by his legate Ventidius with three legions from Picenum. 2 aS'x1il"i5) Decimus, though burning to make an end of Antonius in Italy, had lost two invaluable days. After the enemy had broken up from Mutina, he found himself destitute of cavalry and cattle. He could not trust Octavius, or at all events he wished to confer with him before venturing on any further step, in order to ascertain how far he might be relied upon. The day after the decisive battle, Pansa summoned him to Bononia; but on his way thither he was met by the news of the Consul's death*, and returned accordingly to his little army. 3 He had an interview with * EP.M\. Octavius; and urged him to take the road over the Apennines, prevent the junction between Ventidius and Antonius, and pursue the latter across the mountains; whilst he should himself march in a contrary direction and hinder the escape of Antonius over the Alps.4 But54^p-813. x whatever Octavius might promise, his mind was engaged with very different schemes. Writing somewhat later to Cicero, Decimus says: EP. 847. self in despair.5 On the 4th of June Plancus recrossed (Div. x 23.} the Isara, and posted himself in readiness to effect a junction with Decimus, who might be with him in three days' G Ep.8i7. time.6 After a Ions; and difficult march across the Alps, (Div. x. 23.) & . in which his troops suffered severely, Decimus came, bringing one legion of veterans, one of soldiers who had served two years, and eight of newly raised levies to join * The letters of Decimus to Cicero, which were written from the places above mentioned, give us the exact details of his march; they are dated as follows:—Eegium Lepidi, 28th April, Ep. 811.[(Div. xi. 9.); Dertona [Tortona], 5th May, 813. (Div. xi. 10.); Vercella?, 21st May, Ep. 824. (Div. xi. 19.); Eporedia [Torea in Piedmont], 24th May 837. (Div. xi. 20.); that from Pollentia Ep. 841.) was apparently written about the end of the same month. A. u. 711. B.C. 43. cic. 64. 463 the forces of Plancus, which consisted of three legions of veterans, and one of younger soldiers, but well trained and efficient: all of them had suffered severely on their march from hunger and sickness.1 The union of these two com- l EP. 854. & 4 m (Div.x.24.); manders could no longer avail to sustain the sinking cause of ^ ^ B-cthe Kepublic. Lepidus and Antonius wTere too strong for any resistance they could offer; and Pollio who appears to have been slighted by the Senate, had begun to yield to the seductions of Octavius.2 The last letter of Decimus to 2 EP.79S. . {Div. x. 31.) Cicero, dated the 3rd of June, bears witness to the writer's despondency.3 Plancus indeed as yet remained ^ j - ^ , faithful, and for some time longer continued to hesitate between Cicero and the Caesarians.'*4 1.^11,Pat11. 63. On the 6 th of June he still hoped for assistance from Octavius and his powerful legions 5 : but this hope became 5 ^- ^ weaker and weaker. On the 28th of July he writes to Cicero: " I have addressed the most urgent solicitations to Octavius; and he failed not to assure me that he would come without delay ; but I see his mind is occupied with other plans, f You well know that [hitherto] I have participated in your regard for him: partly because as long as Caesar the Dictator lived I was his friend, and naturally extended my interest to the young man also, partly because, from what I could observe, I judged him to be of a mild and humane disposition; added to which, loving Caesar as I did, it seemed hardly consistent with honour not to recognize the son of his adoption. But—I speak more in sorrow than in anger—the existence of Antonius at this moment, his alliance with Lepidus, the force they both possess, their daring hopes and enterprises — these are G things for which we have to thank Octavius." 6 ^P- ^ Nevertheless, Plancus still thought it possible that Oc* The expression of Velleius, JDubia, id est sua, fide, is too severe. | That is, about the Consulship. See the conclusion of the letter. x 4 464 L I F E AND LETTERS OF CICERO. tavius would of himself return to a sense of his duty, o that the influence of Cicero whom he pretended to venerat so highly would have some effect upon his mind. Mean while he sent his own legate Furnius to do all he could ij Iniv'Tu) ^ i e w a y °^ P e r s u a s i° n * 1 Cicero, however, had by thi time penetrated the real views of the young Caesar. Afte the month of June he makes no more mention of him ir his letters ; all his hopes henceforth rest on Decimus anc lm*pm?'' Plancus, and yet more on M. Brutus and Cassins.1 (Dtv. xii. 9.; xi. '25. " There is nothing nobler," he writes to the latter, " thar June I8J1.) your valour and magnanimity. And therefore we woulc fain see you as soon as possible in Italy. If we only had you here, we should think we had the Kepublic back (zS&x'S'io., again." 3 This desire as he said himself, was unappeasable. earlym July.) a n ( j the same letter gives evidence of tbe gloom and anxiety which clouded his mind. It concludes with these words, the last of his writing, which have descended to u s : " There are still many things to be set to rights, even though the Republic should seem to be delivered from the iniquitous projects of its enemies." And truly the conduct of Octavius after the battle of Mutina was such as to justify this feeling. In spite of the urgent entreaties of Decimus, he refused to stir a step in pursuit of Antonius; while even supposing he had it not in his power to make the veterans act, still there were other soldiers under his com4 Epp.si\\ mand on whom his ally had every claim.4 But the fact 837. (Dfv. xi. io. 20.) J m J t w a s ^ h e required an army for his own purposes, and he now found himself possessed of a considerable force at a most important juncture. For this was the moment to show that he was in good truth the inheritor of Caesar's power, and nothing could conduce more effectually to the furtherance of his designs than the conduct of the Senate. The aristocratic party had begun to lift its head again ; it had persecuted Antonius as Csesar's champion and succes- A. u . 711. B.C. 4 3 . Cic. 64. 465 sor, and desired now to thrust aside his adopted son after having availed itself of his services as long as they could be useful. The troops of the late Consuls were assigned by a decree of the Senate to Decimus.1 Decemvirs were ] DIO cass. J m xlvi. 40. # chosen for the business of apportioning lands to the victors at Mutina, and among the number, in spite of his remonstrances, was Cicero himself. Octavius was not named : an omission which greatly incensed the veterans.2 l^l'uw'h. A commission of ten was also appointed to inquire into the 2 1 ' 2 0 ) public acts of Antonius, which, as Appian observes, was a preliminary step towards the reversal of Caesar's decrees. Thus in reference to the present temper of the Senate, or at all events of a considerable party in it, Cicero could with sincere joy write to Decimus in the middle of May: " The Senate adopts a resolute mien, and has resolute leader*. ^DiVm xi> 18# > In the beginning of July if not earlier, as we see from the last letter of Plancus, Octavius sought by means of his veterans to intimidate the Senate into giving him the Consulship. Cicero, it seems, tried to dissuade him. I t is evident that the good understanding between them had been disturbed as far back as the month of May # , when Octavius complained of the following words ascribed to Cicero : ci The young man must be praised, honoured and advanced;" f4 a saying which was diligently propagated,4 EPP. 837.; When, under the pretext of announcing that the leg-ions20- 2l-);? x •, comp Suet. refused to be led against any one who had formerly served veVpat a under Caesar, four hundred veterans appeared and demandedfi2, the Consulship for Octavius, the Senate hesitated, and one of the soldiers striking his sword said, " If you do not * After this month the name of Octavius never occurs in Cicero's letters. f That is, into the other world. Juvenem esse laudandum, ornandum, tollendum. The play upon words is quite in character with Cicero's other witticisms. [It cannot be literally rendered either in English or German. We might speak, with a double meaning, of overwhelming with honours.] x 5 466 L I F E AND LETTERS Ofl CICERO. xi?]i042a4:i' £ l v e Caesar the Consulship, this shall." Cicero replied, 6i If this is his way of asking, no doubt he will obtain it.''* l When the troops, consisting of eight legions besides cavalry and auxiliaries, heard of the Senate's refusal, they demanded to be led to Rome. Octavius assented, this demand being in fact but the echo of his own wishes. The Senate, thus constrained, declared itself willing to accept him while yet absent as Consul, and dispatched envoys to announce his elevation.f The landing of two legions from Africa revived hope for a moment; but they went over at once to Octavius. In vain did the eyes of the Republican party turn to Brutus and Cassius. Octavius made his entry into Rome; a day was appointed for the election; and the youth of twenty was chosen Consul together with his relative Q. Pedius. M. Brutus was master of Macedonia and Greece, and 2 Dio cass. had shut up C. Antonius in Apollonia 2 ; Cassius had xlvii. 21. 3 . united under his command all the forces of Syria : and Dolabella, who had penetrated into that province after the murder of Trebonius, having made a fruitless attempt to Epp. 8i6.; take Antioch, had thrown himself into Laodicea 3 , where 842.; 812.; . . . . ]4J-'yxM3)2' Cassius besieged him ; while Lentulus, the Quaestor of Trebonius, endeavoured to keep Asia faithful to the Senate, and defended it., against the fleet of the intruder. {-. * These words, Dio adds, cost Cicero his life. t Suetonius says that Octavius gave his riame to the month Sextilis, in preference to September, in which his birthday fell (ou the 23rd), because it was in the former month that he attained his first Consulship. {Oct. 31.) Velleius (ii. 65.) says: Consulatum iniit Ccesar pridie quam viginti annos impleret X. Kal. Octobres: i. e. the 22d of September. Dio states that Octavius died on the 19th of August, " the anniversary of the day on which he entered upon his first Consulship." (lvi. 31.; comp, Tacitus, Ann. i. 9.) These dates may be brought into harmony, by placing the declaration of the Senate on the 19th Aug., and the actual election on the 22nd Sept. J This Lentulus, — from whom we possess two letters, one addressed to the Consuls, Piaitors, &c, the other to Cicero, both dated from Perga on the A. u. 711. B.C. 43. cic. 64. 467 Dolabella's army soon began to suffer from hunger, while the enemy's ships cut off all access to him.1 Early in July {^p'^\ a rumour became rife in Rome that his whole force was annihilated.2 So much was true, that reduced to despair 2 /" ss3. . L [Viv. xii. K by the vigorous blockade of Cassius, he had put an end to his own life.3 But all these prosperous occurrences3 njocass. were useless to the cause of the Republic. Brutus kept hip eyes fixed on the progress of events in Italy, but he had let slip the favourable opportunity when a bold stroke might have changed the face of affairs. Had he been on the spot at the moment after the battle of Mutina, his presence might have been the salvation of the State. As for Cassius, he was too much occupied with the contest against Dolabella to be able to oppose any obstacle to the schemes of Octavius. The latter now assumed the name of Caius Julius Caesar Octavianus in consequence of a decree of the Senate confirming his adoption by Caesar. He then caused two edicts to be passed: one releasing Dolabella from the stigma attaching to his name as a public enemy, and the other (Lex Pedia) summoning all Caesar's murderers to trial. As they did not appear, sentence was passed upon them in their absence, and this condemnation was extended to Sextus Pompeius also. After this Octavius quitted Rome at the head of his eight legions, apparently with the intention of marching against Antonius and Lepidus, but really hoping to win them over to his interests ; for he felt that if they continued hostile, he could not possibly maintain his position in face of the twenty legions of Brutus and Cassius. When he had left the city the Consul Pedius, 2nd of June, Ep. 842, 843. (Div. xii. 12,, xi. 13.)—was a son of Lentulus Spinther. After the death of Trebonius he endeavoured to obtain from the Senate the Proprietorship of Asia. L. Cassius, probably a nephew of Cuius, took also an active part in the enterprises against Doiabella's fleet, x 6 468 L I F E AND LETTERS OF CICERO. doubtless by his directions, proposed that Antonius and Lepidus (for the latter had also been declared a public » EP. 853. enemy after his junction* with Antonius 1 ) should both be (Div. xii. 10.) J J . . J % relieved from this proscription. The motion was passed. The reconciliation between Antonius and Octavius was effected by the mediation of Lepidus. Plancus had up to this time remained faithful to Cicero and to the Republic; but when he beheld Decimus condemned and outlawed, knd Asinius Pollio had in consequence gone over to Antonius and Lepidus, he could hold out no longer, but repaired to 2 Appian, the standard of the Caesarian leaders.2 What must have v }°- c£?*' * been Cicero's feelings on hearing of his defection I There v^eii. Pat.ii. j s something melancholy in the thought when we call to mind the letters that had passed between them ; yet would we not judge Plancus so harshly as some have done. To hold out against the memory of, the great Cassar—against the revival of his power in the persons of the four associates, to do this in reliance upon Cicero, (whose sentiments Plancus respected, indeed, yet hardly made them altogether his own,) in reliance upon the already failing power of Brutus and Cassius—such devotion seemed no longer within the reach of the virtue of the age, since Cato had perished in its name. Decimus Brutus had increased his seven legions to ten; but these were mostly young recruits. His first wish was to pass the Alps, escape to Macedonia by way of Aquileia, and join Brutus and Cassius. But on this route he had to fear encountering Octavius. He therefore resolved on the longer and more difficult way across the Rhine and through Rhoetia.* His army lost heart * [If we rely upon the geographical accuracy of Appian's statement, \?e may suppose that Decimus intended rto take the route of the Bernardin or Splugen Pass, descend into Helvetia by the upper valley of the Rhine, and A.u. 711. B.C. 43. cic. 64. 469 at the perils they had to contend with, and gradually abandoned him; first the new levies, who went over to Octavius, then the soldiers of older standing, who joined Antonius. The Gaulish cavalry, which composed his body guard, still adhered to him. He now gave them also permission to disperse, ^nd dismissed them laden with all the money he had with him. Three hundred men, however, refused to quit him; and with this small remnant he pursued his way to the banks of the Rhine. Overcome with their hardships, all but ten left him. Thereupon, disguised as a Gaul, he fled to Aquileia. Being taken, he was brought bound before Camillus, a Gaulish prince, who, at the command of Antonius, cut off the head of his l former benefactor.1 App.m. 98. In Decimus Brutus the Republic lost the most able and resolute leader that had upheld its cause since Caesar's death. His correspondence with Cicero gives us some insight into the character of the man; and it is impossible not to feel our sympathies awakened for his fate. Yet, when we reflect on the manner of his death, as well as on that of Trebonius and of so many others of Cassar's assassins, on the fate also which afterwards befel M. Brutus and Cassius, we cannot help exclaiming in the words which the great poet puts into the mouth of Brutus at Philippi: — " O, Julius Caesar, thou art mighty yet! Thy spirit walks abroad, and turns our swords In our own proper entrails ! " 2 a Shakespeare, Julius Ccesai, Act ft. And now, leaving their legates behind them, Antonius Sc ' 3, and Lepidus, with their allies, broke up from Gaul. At Bononia they were joined by Octavius, and on the 2"*th then cross to the right into the valley of the Inn. A director and not more difficult route would have been that by the Soglio and Maloya Pass.] 470 L I F E AND LETTERS OF CICERO. of November, on a little island in the river Klienus *, was concluded the Triumvirate, of which Cicero was destined to fall the most distinguished victim. CicerS had not ceased to encourage and exhort, by his letters, the absent Imperators. The last in our collection ^To8gassius'is dated at the beginning of J u l y 1 ; but it is certainly not (Div. xii. 10.) ^ e j ag £ fa wrote, and there is strong ground for the supposition that Octavius or his partizans may have de^ stroyed or suppressed some later letters addressed to M. Brutus, Cassius, Cornificius, Plancus, Asinius, and possibly to Octavius himself also, describing his conduct.f One from Plancus, dated the 28th of July and separate from the general collection, has been accidentally pre*Ep.m. served.2 It speaks of the endeavours of Octavius to (Dtv. x. 24.) L procure the Consulship, and gives some insight into the schemes of the future sovereign. Immediately after the compact at Bononia, he had betrothed himself to Claudia the daughter of Antonius; and this lends some colour to the suspicion that it was on her account he consented to surrender Cicero to the vengeance of his new father-inlaw and of Fulvia, who had formerly been the wife of Clodius. We know little of the five last months of Cicero's life, and that little is of doubtful authority. Appian and Plutarch relate that, after the battle of Mutina, Octavius induced him to acquiesce in a plan of sharing the Consulship between them, and was desirous himself of getting an honourable pretext for laying down the command of the legions; that, by this arrangement, Cicero was to * Others call the stream the Lavinius. [The ancient authorities are : Appian, B.C. iv. 2.; Plut. Cic. 46.; Ant. 19.; Dio. Cass. xlvi. 54. See Mr. Banbury's article Bononia in Diet. Gr. Bom. Geogr.~] f It is there that the whole collection of Cicero's genuine letters to M, Brutus may have perished. A.U. 711. B.C. 43. cic. 64. 471 have the sole direction of affairs, Octavius promising to follow his advice as that of a father.1 Cicero, he adds,' Appian, listened to these proposals, and incurred the ridicule ofriut.'c/c.s. the Senate thereby. This account will hardly find credence with any impartial person who has followed the course of Cicero's actions during this year, and can form a judgment on the respective characters of him and Octavius: besides, how would it tally with the words uttered by Cicero, according to Dio, on occasion of the demand of the Consulship by Octavius, words which certainly bear the stamp of genuineness. According to Appian 2, Cicero was taking an active part in the Senate 2 Appian, at the time of the arrival of the African legions. This is what we should naturally expect. Appian adds, that he obtained access to Octavius on the entry of the latter into Rome; whether he then apologized for his conduct in the terms the historian ascribes to him, or whether indeed there is any truth in the circumstance at all, we must leave undecided. He is stated to have been again active in the Senate when a rumour got abroad that the two powerful legions, the fourth and the Martian, had declared for the Republic; and, on discovering its falsehood, to have quitted the city. 3 It is not probable that 3 Appian, he ever returned thither. In vain did he turn his eyes towards Brutus and Cassius, whom the Senate summoned in all haste to its aid as soon as the plans of Octavius became fully developed. He was doomed to learn the. death of Decimus and the defection of Pollio and Plancus* Cicero was at his Tusculan villa with his brother, when the news came of the formation of the new Triumvirate and of the proscription it decreed.* They hesitated * The authorities for the closing days of Cicero's life are : Plutarch (Cic. 47, 48.); Appian (B. C. iv. 19. foil); Dio Cassius (xlvii. 10, 11.); Livy (Fragm. apud Sen. Suasor. 7.); Valerius Maximus (v. 3.); also Aufidius 472 LIFE AND LETTERS OF CICERO. whether to fly to Sextus Pompeius, to Cassius, or Brutus, and at last decided on the latter. They set out in separate litters for Astura, intending from thence to take ship for Macedonia. While on the road they frequently allowed their litters to approach, when they would indulge in mutual lamentations. Then it occurred to them that they were not provided with money sufficient for so long a journey. Quintus accordingly resolved to return to Rome. Marcus was to continue his journey. Their parting was sad in the extreme. Quintus, on his arrival in Rome, was discovered by the hired assassins of the Triumvirs and put to death, together with his son, whose filial love in these last moments cast into oblivion the many errors of his life.* Marcus arrived at Astura, placed himself on board a vessel immediately, and got as far as the Circeian promontory. But when the sails were spread to continue the Bassus and Cremutius Cordus (apud Senec. ibid). I have collected from their narratives what appears to me to be the most probable account. I have been guided particularly by these words of Livius : Unde (a Caieta) ALIQUOTIES in altum provectum, &c. This author mentions the Formian villa so decidedly, that I cannot follow Appian, who speaks of one near Capua. Valerius has Caietanum, a villa which is mentioned once, Ep. 9> 3. (Att. i. 5.) ; and it seems to me not improbable that it was here, close to the sea, that he spent the last night of his life. Livy might easily confound the two villas which lay so near together. Capua is too far from the sea. * Dio (xlvii. 10.) says: " The younger Quintus Cicero did his utmost to save his father from the assassins who were tracking him. He not only concealed him so that he could nowhere be found, but would not suffer the most cruel tortures to extort anything from his own lips. On learning this, the father came forth, unsought, from his hiding place and delivered himself up, bewailing and admiring his son." Appian's account is: " Quintus Cicero was seized, together with his son, by the assassins who had been sent after them. He implored them to put him to death before his son, who, on his part also, requested to be slain first. The murderers, replying that they should both be satisfied, divided themselves into two parties, and slew the father and son at the same moment." A. u. 711. B. c. 43. cic. 64. 473 voyage, a fit of irresolution came over him, and he caused himself to be set on shore again, and went some way on foot in the direction 'of Rome. Again he turned, however, and passed the night at Circeii. The thought of Octavius's treachery gave him no rest. At one moment he entertained the idea of going to Rome, stealing privately into the dwelling of Octavius, and plunging a dagger into his own breast on the domestic altar, in order to bring the vengeance of the gods upon the traitor. But his constitutional indecision and his dread of torture deterred him. On the morrow after this melancholy night* he yielded to the pressing entreaties of his slaves, and once more embarked. But adverse winds and a rough sea causing him to suffer from sea-sickness, as soon as he reached the harbour of Caieta he got on shore again, and though oppressed by sinister forebodings, betook himself to his Formian villa, which was at no great distance. To the warnings of his attendants he replied: " Let me die in my own country, which I have so often saved." Once more he laid himself down to sleep; but his slaves, anxious for the safety of their beloved master, and frightened by omens of coming disaster, forced him to get into a litter, and hurried with him through a thick forest towards the sea-coast. Meanwhile, a troop of soldiers, eager for the reward set on his head, arrived at the Formian villa, which they found closed and barred. The band was commanded by Herennius a centurion, and by the Tribune Popilius Lama, whom Cicero had once successfully defended in a hazardous process, at the intercession of Ca> lius. The road which the fugitives had taken was revealed by the treachery of a countryman. As soon as he perceived the troop approaching, Cicero made his slaves desist from any attempt to defend him. He commanded them to set down the litter, and having drawn back the curtains 474 L I F E AND LETTERS OF CICERO. stretched forth his head, calling out to Herennius, " Come on, old soldier, and strike, if you understand your own business." Most of the soldiers covered their faces when they saw Cicero's countenance disfigured as it was by the mental sufferings he had undergone, his disordered hair, and the fixed glance which he cast upon them. But Herennius stepped forward; and after three strokes the head » Taciww. fell.* The 7th of December was the fatal day.1 J de clar. Or. t 17 - The assassins brought the head to Antonius, who was sitting on the tribune. He received it with undissembled joy, paid the stipulated price ten times overf, and after it had been treated with great indignities by FulviaJ, placed it, with the hands which had likewise been cut off, on the Rostrum, the spot whence his victim had so often fulminated against him all the powers of his eloquence. Men could scarcely raise their eyes in tears and lamentations, to behold these beloved relics. Such was the end of Cicero, of whom Julius Caesar had once said, " his triumph and his laurel wreath are so far nobler than those of warriors, as it is a greater achievement to extend the bounds of Roman intellect, than the 2 vvm.fftst. dominion of the Roman people.5'2 Nat. vii. 30. . And we, in conclusion, reflecting how our hero controlled, in the toga, a Verres, a Rullus, a Catiline, and an Antonius, and again, what was the fate of Rome after the establishment of the Imperial despotism, may add the words of-Cicero himself eight months before his death: " I t is my fate never to conquer without the Republic, nor to be 3 Phti. xiii. conquered but with her." 3 15.) U * According to Appian it was Lsena who dealt the mortal stroke. f He added 250,000 Attic drachmas to the usual reward. Appian, B. C. iv. 20. % She took the head on her lap, insulted it with the bitterest words, spat upon it, pulled out the tongue and bored it through with her needle. COMPARATIVE TABLE OF CICERO'S LETTERS. • The numeration in the first column is that of the ordinary edition ; in the second that of Schiitz's chronological arrangement and of the author's text. L E T T E R S TO 1 i j° i i 10 2 11 3 I 8 4 9 5 1 2 6 3 7 8 4 9 5 10 6 11 7 12 16 18 13 19 14 21 16 22 17 23 18 .24 19 25 20 II. 1 2 3 4 5 6 26 27 28 30 31 32 7 1 33 1 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 i 47 22 48 23 49 24 50 51 25 in. 2 54 3 53 55 4 5 57 58 6 60 7 8 61 9 62 10 ! 1n 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 22 23 24 25 26 27 IV. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 64 1 11 ATTICUS. 65 1 13 66 14 68 15 67 16 70 17 71 18 V. 72 73 1 74 2 75 3 78 4 80 6 82 7 83 8 84 9 85 10 11 87 j 12 88 13 89 14 98 ! 15 106 16 109 17 111 18 117 19 119 20 118 21 122 1 129 137 142 149 156 157 184 185 186 187 189 190 193 195 196 198 200 201 204 207 208 209 214 220 228 1 250 1 VL 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 252 256 264 268 269 276 270 281 282 VII. 1 2 * 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 284 293 294 295 296 297 298 299 300 303 304 305 307 308 309 311 314 1 476 LETTEKS TO ATTICUS — Continued. VII. 18 19 20 21 22 25 YIII. 1 2 3 5 6 7 9 11 12 13 14 15 IX. 2 4 5 6 7 9 10 11 14 15 16 17 18 19 10 12 13 14 16 17 18 XI. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 20 21 22 23 24 25 XII. 1 3 4 5 6 7 9 11 12 13 14 315 316 317 318 319 322 324 325 326 328 329 330 332 334 336 337 338 339 343 345 346 347 348 350 351 352 355 356 357 358 359 360 x. 1 3 36 4 7 361 363 364 366 370 374 375 376 378 379 380 382 383 384 386 387 391 392 396 398 400 402 404 405 407 408 409 410 411 412 414 425 426 427 417 421 416 441 444 445 449 453 539 459 515 528 529 530 15 j 531 j 16 18 19 21 23 24 28 30 32 532 533 535 | 38 1 39 40 41 42 44 46 47 48 49 50 51 621 j 622 1 623 624 I 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 26 27 28 XVI. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 11 13 14 15 16a 165 16c 16rf 538 651 626 541 542 628 632 546 548 633 1 550 634 I ! 34 636 556 35 | 560 637 1 36 52 ! 650 I 561 38 563 xiv. 40 1 567 679 I 680 1 2 41 569 45 3 681 574 46 682 I 4 575 i 49 5 683 578 50 684 6 579 580 51 7 686 52 8 581 687 688 9 XIII. 689 583 10 1 690 1 584 2 11 691 593 12 6 692 1 600 13 9 693 I 601 14 10 602 11 15 696 J 604 ! 16 13 697 I 610 698 19 17 701 20 611 18 19 700 617 25 703 570 20 26 21 704 I 27 j 586 22 705 28 587 589 30 XV. 1 590 706 31 16c 2 708 32 591 16/ 592 4 710 33 5 629 34 717 719 6 35 619 37 1 620 1 ? 1 720 j LETTERS TO QUINTUS. I. 1 2 3 4 II. 1 2 3 4 29 52 63 69 I 5 6 ] 104 90 9 97 io ! 99 12 102 13 103 i 14 120 121 132 134 138 140 15 144 16 III. 1 | 146 151 2 3 | 152 4 l 5, 6 7 8 9 477 I. 1 1 2 3 4 5 5 6 7 8 9 ii. 1 2 5 6 7 8 10 11 12 13 15 16 17 18 IIT. 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 IV. 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 12 13 14 15 LETTERS TO AND FROM DIVERS MUENDS. 43 i V. I 1 5 | 210 I XI. | 242 j 6 1 243 j 7 2 8 3 223 I 211 j 95 1 9 4 10 225 | 5 96 I 598 | 11 100 J 267 I 6 101 I 654 1 12 279 J 7 113 I 646 I 13 272 1 8 280 j 9 125 S 108 J 14 335 10 148 I 558 I 15 568a j 16 13 367 166 388 16 5686 1 17 IX. 176 168 17 1 431 175 179 18 2 302 440 178 19 3 439 438 20 1227 VI. 4 413 21 199 1 5 226 25 517 448 4 255 526 6 446 26 616 263 5 479 8 27 6 470 9 389 28 257 273 8 10 519 476 XII. 372 10 11 1 527 j 537 12 514 | 12 649 2 271 13 465 14 699 3 258 473 14 475 15 4 183 15 450 16 5 677 18 521 455 191 17 7 596 18 451 194 ! 21 8 22 432 205 454 9 19 VII. 213 20 10 456 1 126 24 , 795 244 11 222 2 ! 182 25 246 12 452 3 249 26 474 13 133 261 5 X. 14 145 780 265 10 1 15 2 11 275 765 167 16 170 12 4 788 277 17 796 13 5 171 18 172 799 371 15 6 22 756 461 10 804 23 19 755 818 469 I 2 0 15 24 635 18 827 557 I 2 4 25 1 XIII. 638 1 2 3 565 I 2 5 847 8 652 j 24 854 1 464 30 1 3 1 626 466 656 I 2 5 4 27 800 468 I 32 229 5 793 1 525 33 471 I 28 7 566 | VIII. 809 I 30 8 192 I 31 463 I 798 I 10 1 516 2 202 1 33 833 | 15 433 3 1 203 I 35 840 j 16 f 29 I 4 i 206 92 I 93 I 94 I 1 1 2 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 17 18 20 21 I 1 1 13 14 15 12 131 I 1 I I 1 1 1 1 1 685 1 713 j 757 J 761 776 777 778 790 811 813 843 786 787 823 824 837 845 852 844 715 716 711 ; 762 763 792 794 803 849 850 853 797 816 t 851 842 841 714 640 645 779 764 789 812 57 67 68 77 78 79 | 669 254 509 462 618 435 436 XIV. 1 2 3 4 5 6 79 76 81 59 283 394 7 385 8 390 1 1 i 413 12 395 13 419 14 306 19 397 20 429 23 423 XV. 1 2 3 4 5 6 13 14 16 17 18 19 21 221 219 212 238 266 278 240 241 522 520 518 523 430 XVJ. 1 2 3 4 5 16 7 197 1 8 641 1 9 642 I n 644 I 1 2 643 1 16 I 437 2 i 554 1 23 1 555 1 26 285 286 287 288 289 290 291 313 292 301 310 668 781 695 855 1 434 I 27 1 780 I N D E X. A. JEMILIUS PAULUS, Consul, 263. AFEANIUS, L., Consul, 69. 178. ANTIOCHUS, king of Commagene, 189. 227. ANTONIUS, M., is called Teucris, 57. 209. Augur and Tribune, 268. Aids Caesar, ib. Propraetor and Vicegerent to Caesar, 300. Consul, 379. His acts after Caesar's death, ib. His speech at Caesar's funeral, 384. His measures at Eome, 389. His reply to Cicero's first Philippic, 420. His quarrel with Octavius, 425. Besieges Decimus at Mutina, 447. Is declared an enemy by the Senate, 448. Is defeated by Hirtius and Pansa, 459. Joins Lepidus in Cisalpine Gaul, 461. Is reconciled to Octavius, 468. APPIUS CLAUDIUS PULCHEE, Consul, 184. 189. Proconsul of Cilicia, 209. 226. 239. Is impeached by Dolabella, 240. Is appointed Censor, 241. AEIOBAEZANES, king of Cappadocia, 229. 246. ATTICUS, 26. Comes to Eome, 42. His character, 105. Inherits a fortune, 143. Aids Cicero, ib. AUTEONIUS, P., nephew of Sulla, 36. Consul, 44. Proconsul of Macedonia, 45. Is prosecuted by Caesar and Bibulus and defended by Cicero, 58. B. BALBUS, 185. BELG^D, The, conquered by Caesar, 151. BIBULUS, M., Consul with Caesar, 91. Opposes Caesar's Agrarian Law, 96. Proconsul of Syria, 218. 234. BEITAIN invaded by Caesar, 152. BEUTUS, DECIMUS. See DECIMUS. BRUTUS, M. JUNIUS, 243. Governs Cisalpine Gaul, 349. 363. Praetor, 380, His acts after Caesar's death, 387. Leaves Rome, 389. His progress in Macedonia, 449. 480 INDEX. C. CELIUS C ALDUS, Governor of Cilicia, 248. His letters to Cicero, 253. C^JSAR, C. JULIUS, supports Pompeius, 27. Is suspected of joining Catilina, 36. 61. Opposes Cicero as Consul, 44. Is made Pontifex Maximus, ib. His ambitious schemes, 54. Is divorced from his wife Pompeia, 65. Is Proprietor of Spain, 84. Sues for the Consulship, ib. His Agrarian Law, 95. His acts as Consul, 98., et seq. His conduct towards Clodius, 107. He assumes a province, 110. Defeats the Helvetians, 121. Drives Ariovistus from Gaul, ib. Defeats the Belgae and the Yeneti, 151. Overthrows* the Germans, 152. Invades Britain, ib. Eeduces rebels in Gaul, 153. Defeats and takes Vercingetorix, ib. Sues a second time for the Consulship, ib. 212. Meets Pompeius at Lucca, 172. Continued as Proconsul of Gaul, 180. 199. Embellishes Home, 200. Finishes the war in Gaul, 218. Comparison between Csesar and Cicero, 235. Causes of his quarrel with Pompeius, 260. His recall agitated in the Senate, 261. 266. Declared an enemy by the Senate, 281. Crosses the Rubicon, 284. Endeavours to gain over Cicero, 290. 297. Overthrows Pompeius, party in Spain, 303. Is appointed Dictator, ib. His kindness to Cicero, 338. His fourfold triumph, 347. Defeats Pompeius' sons, 367. Is created Dictator for life, 368. Is murdered, 376. CESAR, C. JULIUS OCTAYIANUS. CALENUS PUFIUS, 440. 448. See OCTAVIUS. 450. CASSIUS, C, 153. 228. 234. 371. 380/449. 451. CATILINA, L. SERG-IUS, excluded from the Consulship, 36. by Clodius, 37. Is acquitted, 40. His conspiracy, 47. CATO, M. PORCIUS, 32. 65. 75.196. 206. 212. 234. 302. Is impeached 327. CICERO, M. TULLIUS, Praetor, 27. Supports Pompeius, ib. Political views? 28. Speech on the Manilian Law, 35. Refuses a province ; sues for the Consulship, 37. Prepares to defend Catilina, 39. Elected Consul, 43. Opposes Rullus' Agrarian Law, 45. Defe ds Murena, 47. Joins ^the Optimates, 52. His opinion of Pompeius, 53. His oath on resigning the fasces, ib. Exculpates Csesar from charge of joining Catilina's conspiracy, 61. His feelings and conduct on the acquittal of Clodius, 66. His political system, 73. His Consular Orations, 77. His history of his Consulship, 78. His private character, 79. 81. His doubts as to joining the Triumvirate, 84. He refuses posts offered by Caesar, 94. Is persecuted by Clodius, 124. Is banished, 128. His recall, 146-7. Becomes legate to Pompeius on the corn commission, 157. His speeches—" de provinciis consularibus" 176.; and against Piso, 182. Joins Caesar, 183. His defence of Milo, 210. Is made Augur, 212. Proconsul of Cilicia, 218. His government, 229,, et seq., 237., et seq. Applies for a triumph, 234. 274. Comparison between him and Csesar, 235. 481 INDEX. Leaves his province, 248.; and returns to Rome, 268. Sides with Pompeius, 278. 304. Meets Csesar at Brundusium, 324. Goes to Rome, 325. Devotes himself to literature, 328. His friendship with Csesar and his party, 339. His grief at his daughter's death, 353. His annoyance at Caesar's measures, 369. Peelings at his death, 376. 385,, et seq. His dislike of Antonius, 395. His advice to Brutus and Cassius, 404. His correspondence with C. Matius, 411., et seq. His Philippic Orations, 419. 435-6. 440. 443. 445. 448. 450-1. 453. 456. 458. Penetrates the schemes of Octavius, 464. Sides with Brutus and Cassius, ib. His flight from Rome, 472. His irresolution, 473. His death, 474. CICERO, Q., JEdile, 40. His character, 80. Propraetor of Asia, ib. Legate of Csesar, 152. 178. 184. Legate of M. Tullius Cicero in Cilicia, 219. His disagreements with his wife, 250. Breaks with Csesar, 299. Intrigues against his brother, 321. 333. His death, 472. CLODIUS, PUBLIUS, his sacrilege, 63. Acquitted for it, 65. Adopted into the Plebs, 105. His Tribunate, 106.123. His persecution of Cicero, 124., et seq. Opposes his recall, 145., et seq. Is made JEdile, 160. Prosecutes Milo, 165. Slain by Milo, 207. CORNELIUS, C, Tribune, law against usury, 29. Accused of treason and acquitted, 30. CORNELIUS SCIPIO, P., associated in the Consulship with Pompeius, 211. CRASSUS, M. LICINIUS, 35, 36. Opposes Cicero as Consul, 44. Aids Csesar in his suit for the Consulship, 84. Joins him and Pompeius, ib. Consul a second time, 178. Goes to Syria, 179. 183. Defeated and killed by the Parthians, 207. CURIO, C, 103, 213. 263, 264. 268. D. DECIMUS BRUTUS, 387. 422. 434. Besieged in Mutina, 447. 452. Meets Octavius, 462. Who does not aid him, 463. Is deserted by his army, 468. Is slain, 469. His character, ib. DEIOTARUS, 221. 228. 389. DOLABELLA, CN., 240. 305. 322. 371. 383. 401. 424. 450, DOMITIUS AHENOBARBUS, L., 127. 168. 281. 467, Consul, 184. 189. 209. 288. Taken by Csesar ad Corfinium, 289. DOMITIUS CALVINUS, CN., 189* 206. G, GABINIUS, A., Consul, 112. His character, 122. Proconsul of Syria, 151,152. Restores Ptolemseus to his kingdom, 165, 183. Is defended by Cicero, 194. Banished, 260. Y 482 INDEX. H, H I R T I U S , 439, 440, 457. 459. HORTENSIUS, 27, 65. 75. 210. 212. 222, 270. Cicero's character of him, 346. J. JULIA, wife of Pompeius, her death, 207. K. KNIG-HTS, their privileges and appointments, 68. Gained over by Caesar, 98. They intercede for Cicero against Clodius, 125. L. LiENIUS ELACCUS, M . , 1 3 3 . LENTULUS MARCELLINUS, Consul, 167. 193. LENTTJLUS SPINTHER, P., Consul, 122. Proposes Cicero's recall, 145. LEPIDUS, master of horse to Caesar, 379. Joins Antonius, 380. L E X FUPIA repealed, 124. Revived, 154. L E X MANILIA, 27. 35. L E X SEMPRONIA, 110. 144. LUCULLUS, L. LICINIUS, his reverses in Asia, 26. 28. dates and Pharnaces, 44. Triumphs over Mithri- M. MARCELLUS, C. CLAUDIUS, Consul, 263. MARCELLUS, M. CLAUDIUS, Consul, 218. 329. 372. Demands Caesar's recall, 235. 261. MEMMIUS, C , 127. 189, 190. 222. 260. MESSALA, M. VALERIUS, 189. 206. METELLUS NEPOS, as Tribune, forbids Cicero to speak, 54. Proposes the return of pompeius and his army, 55. Joins Pompeius, 56. Consul, 121. MILO, 165. 174. 207. Slays Clodius, 208. Is banished, 210. MITHRIDATES, king of Pontus, 27, 28. Killed, 44. MURENA, L. LICINIUS, 47. O. OCTAVIUS, 44. His projects, 396. His quarrel with Antonius, 425. His intrigues, 460. Obtains the Consulship, 466. Takes the name of Julius Caesar Octavianus, 467. His reconciliation with Antonius, 468, INDEX. 483 P. PACORUS, the Parthian, 227. PANSA, 439, 440. 456, 457. 459. PARTHIANS, the, 153. 207. 228. 234. 236. PHARNACES kills his father Mithridates, 44. King of Bosphorus, ib. Piso, Consul, 112. His character, 122. 126. PLANCTUS, CN., 133. 137. POMPEIUS MAGNUS, CN., Consul, 26. Restores power to the Tribunes, ib. Placed by Gabinius over the Mediterranean, 27. Conducts the war against Mithridates, ib. Conquers Syria, 43. Takes Jerusalem, 44. Returns from the East, 62. Triumphs, 70. Joins Caesar and Crassus, 84. Marries Cesar's daughter, 99. His diminished popularity, ib., et seq. Proconsul of Spain, 152. Given extraordinary powers to demand supplies of corn, 156. Meets Caesar at Lucca, 176. Consul a second time, 178. His magnificent theatre, 181.- Conduct at the election for Consuls, 190. Loses his wife Julia, 204. Elected sole Consul, 209. Associated with P . Cornelius Scipio, 211. Causes of his quarrel with Cassar, 260. His measures with regard to Cesar's recall, 261. Leaves Rome on the approach of Caesar, 284. His indecision, 287. Leaves Italy, 289. POMPTINUS, C , 198. 221. PTOLEMJEUS AULETES, king of Egypt, 151, 152. 162. 165. R. RABIRIUS, C , 46. 198. ROME, its corruption, 28. 189. Its wealth, 32. Catalina's conspiracy, 47. Its state, 76. 170. Its calamities, 204. State of parties, 282. Events after Cassar's death, 380., et seq. RULLUS, P . SERVILIUS, Tribune, his Agrarian Law opposed by Cicero, 45. S. SERVIUS SULPICIUS, 347. SENATE, the, neglected by Caesar, 97. Its intercession for Cicero, 125. Votes his recall, 146. Restores his house, 159. Inquires into cases of bribery, 204. Opposes the Dictatorship, 206. Declares Caesar an enemy, 281.; and Antonius, 448. SEXTUS POMPEIUS, 367. 382. 409. T. TEUCRIS. See ANTONIUS. TERENTIUS V A R R O , 347. 484 INDEX. TIGRANES, king of Armenia, 28, T I R O , Cicero's freedman, 271. 332. T R I U M V I R A T E , the first, 84. 89. T R I U M V I R A T E , the second, 470. V A T I N I U S , P . , 193. 373. V E N E T I , the, conquered by Cassar, 151. V E R C I N G E T O R I X , 153. V E T T I U S , L., 6 1 . 111. T H E 1LND. LONDON: A. ami G. A. SPOTTISWOODE, N ew -street-Square.